Chapter Eight: How Vipy Met Obi

Two years ago

It was raining when Viper met her partner-to-be. She was crouching in an alley, curled up against the wall, trying to glean what protection could be eked out from the meager eaves of the surrounding buildings. The weather was generally warm in the southern islands of Anima, so the rain did not have the same bite it did in the distant north, but no matter how warm the water, if one could not get dry, chill would set in. She wished she could say that it was that cold which was responsible for the shaking running through her, but those tremors came from something deeper, something much more sinister. She could see the bustle of the busy streets, heard the carefree people passing her by. She hated those happy people. Hated them for living so free of care, when she was suffering. The logical part of her knew that these random villagers were hardly responsible for her current predicament, but the logical part of her wasn't really in charge right now. Another part of her, a large part, wanted nothing more than to walk out into the crowd, pull out her guns, and pull the triggers until they ran empty. And who knows, if she was still armed, she might have done exactly that. But she had sold her guns months ago, buying a few days respite from the tremors, the burning in her mind, the hunger. So, instead, she huddled under the eaves of some unknown building, hoping for the blessed respite of sleep.

When she felt the rain stop, she thought she had indeed fallen asleep. She looked up, seeing that the rain had not actually stopped, rather there was an umbrella covering her huddled form. The umbrella was composed of alternating purple and white stripes. Following the handle to the hand holding it, Viper's gaze then turned to the figure holding it; a white suited woman, face covered by a fox mask. The ears on top, however, appeared organic. A faunus, then. The faunus woman was crouching next to her, holding the umbrella so that it covered them both. She briefly wondered who this unexpected intruder was, before noticing the silver boots of a figure standing silently beside them. Her eyes travelled up, her fevered mind strangely fascinated by the fact that his jacket seemed like a black version of the ones common amongst Mistralian guard, with two functioning rows of buttons. Further up, very further up, she was confronted with a black, glass mask. He was a tall bastard, she'd give him that. And thin, too. If he were less than six and a half, she was a fish. And right now, she was about 72% sure she wasn't a fish. The figure loomed above her, leaning slightly towards her, and maybe it was the fever, but in the half darkness and the pouring rain, Viper thought she saw something of the reaper in that black clothed man.

"Is it time for me to go?" she asked, wearily.

The spectre cocked his head, confusion in his pose. "And just where do you propose to go, little faunus?" His voice surprised her by how high it was. By the sound of it, he was much younger than she would have initially guessed.

She shook her head. "I don't know."

The figure knelt down, reaching out a hand. Viper scrambled backwards, dragging her hand down the right side of her face to make sure that it was covered by her hair. The figure stopped in his tracks. "I mean you no harm. Please, let me see."

Her eyes darted to the fox, but the masked girl remained unspeaking, simply holding out the umbrella silently. She looked back to the other. It was strange. A faceless stranger should be terrifying, should inspire distrust and misgivings, but there was something about this stranger that was strangely comforting. There was no judgement in his mask, it simply reflected her own face back at her. When he again reached for her, she resisted the urge to back away. He first took her hand, examining its calluses and scars. She examined his gauntlets as well. They were interesting, each finger ending in a clawed point. On the back of each hand a black symbol was etched into the silver metal. The symbol was a complex knot in the shape of a crescent moon. She could tell he felt the way she shook through their contact, but he made no sign of acknowledging it. Instead he simply let her hand go, before reaching up to her face. The urge to run grew so strong that she nearly threw up, but she remained motionless. With surprising gentleness, the spectre pushed back the fringe of her hair, exposing the right side of her face. Almost that entire side of her face was covered in a large bandage, from her hairline, almost to her mouth. The bandage was soaked through, red staining the white. The fox girl gasped, raising a hand to her face, and she could see the black figure clench his other hand into a tight fist. Slipping his hand away, he allowed Viper's hair to fall back into place, covering the majority of her injury. Standing up, he stood a while in silence, before coming to a decision.

"Rin." he said, his tone commanding.

"Yeah, Obi?" the fox girl responded.

"Get back to the inn. Tell them we're going to be staying another night. Then, go to a store. Your clothes aren't going to fit her."

"Okay." With that, the fox darted off. Turning back to Viper, the so-dubbed Obi knelt down, before lifting Viper. Even as he lifted her, she fell unconscious.

Oberon was strong, sure, but even so, he knew that she should not be as light as she was. Without a word, he turned and began walking down the road, following the path which the fox had already disappeared down. It was not too long before the afore-mentioned inn came into sight. Oberon deftly hooked his foot beneath the pull bar of the door, and leveraged himself inside. The innkeeper, a young woman in a too short skirt, looked up, opening her mouth, no doubt to question why such a bedraggled woman had been brought to her establishment, but she apparently thought better of questioning the actions of the spectral figure, closing her mouth without comment. He whispered an order to her as they passed, then brought Viper to a small room, with two beds. He set Viper down on the bed and picked up a book.

When Viper awoke a few minutes later, she found herself in an unfamiliar room, with Oberon sitting in a nearby corner, reading. When he saw that she was awake, he handed her a robe, and pointed to the bathroom off to the side. Viper knew he was telling her to get out of her wet clothes, so she made to follow his directive. Halfway there though, she stopped in her tracks. Something about this guy's impassivity got under her skin, and she was seized with the desire to see him rattled. In the pursuit of this goal, she lifted up her drenched shirt right in the middle of the room, tossing it to the ground. She looked over her shoulder at Obi...who was ignoring her completely in favor of a book on creation myths. Defeated, she turned to go into the bathroom, only to be faced with the masked fox.

"Uh, do you guys need a minute?" Rin said, a teasing mirth in her voice.

"Apparently not," Viper replied.

Rin held out a bag in her hand. "Here's the clothes Obi asked me to get. I had to estimate your size, but they should fit well enough." Viper took the bag and moved into the bathroom, and changed into a set of warm pajamas. They did fit well, apparently Rin had a very precise eye. In addition to the pajamas, there were several full outfits, and a pair of sturdy boots. She wondered who these people were that they thought so little of buying so many sets of clothes for a complete stranger, but she did not intend to look a gift horse in the mouth. When she had finished, she poked her head out of the door, only to be promptly turned back around as Oberon joined her, indicating for her to sit on a stepping stool. She did as he prompted, and Oberon opened up one of the drawers beneath the sink, drawing out a sizable medical kit. He knelt in front of her.

"Look left." he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Reflections."

It took her a moment to understand his statement. Then it hit her. If she looked directly at him, then she would see her injuries reflected in his mask. Touched by his simple consideration, she turned away, allowing him to work, unabated. He peeled away the old bandage, getting a look at the injury for the first time. She did not have to look to know the damage. After all, she could feel it. Two ragged claw marks ran down the side of her face, over the socket where her eye used to be. Again, he made no sound, but she could see the tension of anger in his stance. With surprising dexterity for the fact that he was still wearing metal gauntlets, he cleaned the wounds, checking to make sure the stitching she had done was holding. She was quite proud of her needlework, after all, stitching without depth perception was a hell of a feat. Finding no issue, Oberon put a new bandage over the wound, then put away the kit.

Together, they left the bathroom, Viper following meekly, only to be confronted by Rin. "Obi, the innkeeper came by while you were gone, told me you asked for this." She handed him a bottle of whiskey. "I don't remember you being a drinker, though."

It was surprising how much snark could be conveyed through posing alone. "It's not for me, idiot." Placing a tumbler on one of the bedside tables, he filled it with whiskey, then handed it to Viper.

"Okay, then," Rin remarked, confused. "Why?"

"The withdrawal." he replied, simply. Viper tensed, clutching her glass.

"Withdrawal? Alcohol withdrawal? Why would you give her more alcohol, then? Wouldn't that just compound the pro-"

Oberon held up a hand, bringing her to a grinding halt. "Not alcohol withdrawal. I gave her alcohol because it will help her keep her body from tearing itself apart. And no, that wasn't figurative."

"And what the hell kind of drug causes bodies to as you say, 'tear themselves apart?'"

Oberon looked to Viper, then turned back to Rin. "Dust."

"What?"

"I'm sure you've heard of consuming dust before."

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, doing that can be very addictive. There's a reason they say that power corrupts. And it's one thing if you take it willingly, but that's not always the case. You see, dust addiction is a very effective control mechanism. Some people..." he looked directly into Viper's eyes, then, "some people use it to control slaves."