Next update: Friday, April 27th.

Chapter 7

(Time: Day three, of the cracked lunar year.
Location: The wilds of Mistral.)

Raven had been forced to make camp for the night to allow her clothing to completely dry. She's fallen asleep, a fitful rest, that carried her to the grey morning light, just before dawn. The first thing she did was make an all too important call.

"The delivery should be there soon." She said to the woman awaiting orders on the other end of the line. "You'll have to accept it in my place."

"Rodger that." The complaint voice sounded. "Although, you know everyone else will throw a fit when then find out you won't be coming back for a little while."

"Then you'll just have to put them in their places, now won't you?" A gentle smirk played across Raven's face. "I'm sorry about this, but you'll just have to make due on your own for a little while longer. How are the food and water supplies?"

"We're stocked full right now." The woman voiced pleasantly. "It's all going well."

"I'm glad." Raven replied slowly. "How long could you enforce a lock down for? Comfortably..."

"A few weeks, tops." The woman said. "Maybe less."

"That'll have to do. Enforce it." Raven said then. "Vernal, once the supplies reach you, I want you to personally bring me three vials of each kind of dust that's been delivered. The rest should be distributed among the tribe. Tell them it's payment for a job well done so far. You'll have to keep laying low until a new camp has been secured. Chances are, we're going to have to move our location."

"To where?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Raven paused, pondering whether or not it would help to speak freely on the matter. She decided against it, keeping her darker thoughts to herself. "Anyone who leaves the safety of the woods does it at their own risk. With the increased Grimm populations and the crackdowns on security, the villages aren't safe anymore. That goes double for Mistral. If anyone is stupid enough to get caught, they won't be rescued."

"I'd rather not leave this peaceful little forest, I like it here."

"We may not have a choice." Raven went on to say, her hesitation obvious to the woman who knew her so well. "We have to do what we know is best for the tribe. Too many of them have their faces plastered all across wanted posters. With the Faunus striking out against the Schnee Dust Company, tensions are on the rise. There's talk about an embargo, and that'll mean fewer jobs for people like us. It's too risky for most of you to take missions from the main cities."

"Isn't that what you've been doing?"

"I have the connections to cover my ass if things go sideways. The rest of you don't." Raven said softly. "I'll do anything to keep us safe. If I have to, I'll upheave the whole damn camp to Vacuo. For now though, I'm on the way back to my personal dwellings. That's where I'll be staying for the time being. Bring my share of the dust there, as soon as you can."

"I will."

"Oh, and Vernal…"

"Yes?"

"I mean it, stay safe…"

As soon as first light approached she began traveling along the flowing river. This far into the wilderness, she never strayed far from it if she could avoid it. There was a luxury to always have a clean place to drink, and a good possibility of finding food. Her footfalls were careful and meticulous. She was ready for anything, as a huntress should be.

Idly, she studied the landscape. Always remaining mildly attentive, just in case there were any changes. Her mind was fixated, deep in thought as she considered the problems going on in all of the large cities fortified by the kingdoms. In a lot of ways, they weren't her concern. In others, she dared not to think of the trouble it could cause for her. If those selfsame problems trickled outwards to the villages and forests that she frequented, work would become all the more dangerous.

She didn't mind calculated risks, but unknown variables were outright stupid, and she hated placing her bets on them.

Yawning, her aura flared gently against her skin as she began a following a path upward. It would be slow going as the dirt path twisted between the trees and the rocks, narrow in some parts, wide in others. It was a long walk, made more difficult by the steep terrain. She finally crested that tall hill, marveling as it jutted outward, looking down into the sprawling valley below.

She could see a great deal from up here. In the distance, wisps of smoke marked where villages were nestled in among the trees. She noticed a gathering of Grimm meandering about nearby, idly trampling along the greenery. There were animals too, deer drinking along the riverside, and birds nesting in trees. Not too far away, she could smell a campfire, which meant a group of travelers were likely making use of the berry bushes and fish in the stream. All of this and more made the quaint little valley what it was.

There were dangers too, though, plenty of them, each one with a name and a face she knew well. Her bandit brothers and sisters, her kinfolk, resided in that valley.

Without a reason to worry too deeply, she leapt into the air, turning into a bird as she soared downward. She flew for several miles, over a nearby bandit camp just to peep in on it. Some of her followers noticed her, but many more were completely oblivious. Most of them paid her no mind at all, thinking her to be a simple bird high up in the tree. With nothing amiss, she took off and soared on for a little while longer, choosing to land where her tiny cottage lay hidden far away from everything.

Although she kept a tent in the bandit camp, she could benefit her people more from leading them at a distance.

The dwelling was modest, hardly used. A layer of dust and leaves on her front stoop a testament to this. A tiny stream ran her waterwheel that helped to power her home. It wasn't as big as the rivers scattered around nearby, but for a single person, and the occasional guest, it suited her just fine. Just as she was about to go inside and make herself something hard to drink, a flock of otherwise peaceful birds flew away in mass from the forests.

For a moment, the sky was dotted black with the numbers of them, and they sped off into the distance.

A loud, fearful shout erupted from the forest, moments later. She paused, hand gripping the hilt of her sword as she listened carefully. Some Grimm could torment the mind, and some Semblances were made for deception. She stepped forward into the trees, searching, and finding the one who had made such a terrible racket. The boy huddled up into a tiny ball, his white hair caked with dirt, and his blue eyes wet with tears.

Raven grumbled to herself, it was an unattended child.

She looked around, trying to find the source of the distress, finding none. There were no other humans, and she doubted this kid was a semblance user. She let go of her weapon, and watched him sob. Aloofly keeping her distance, she considered what she might do with him. Turning away seemed the best option, but his crying continued, his sobs loud as he tangled himself more tightly in his torment.

Raven rolled her eyes as she went over and knelt in front of him. "Cut it out, kid." Her voice muffled by the white mask she often used to hide her face. "You'll attract the Grimm."

He screamed and backed away from her, crying all the harder. The boy wasn't all that old, unarmed and terrified. She bit her lip. Maybe she could dump him off in the village by her home. The headman was nice enough to take troubles off of her hands before, although the trouble in question had never once been a child. She could also dump him off somewhere more useful and make some cash.

"if you keep crying like that, I'll leave you here." She barked, seeing him sniffle more for her cruelty. She stood then, and leaned against the nearby tree, removing her large white mask entirely. "Where are you from, kid?"

"A-Atlas." He said, and his clothes certainly looked it.

"God damn, what's a boy like you doing that far from home?" It was an entirely rhetorical question, one she didn't expect an answer to. He didn't give one, either. "Look, either stay there, or come with me." She told him, not sure what he would do, and not concerning herself too deeply with his choice. "What you do, is your decision."

She began to walk away, entirely at peace with letting the wilderness get to him. If the Grimm didn't, the wolves surely would. The predators lived all around in these parts. Her sympathy was lost on those who would not help themselves. Raven didn't expect to be followed, but after she'd made some distance she heard the crunching leaves that stated otherwise.

She turned her head, those wet blue eyes peeping at her. She was terrified, but curious too. She raised an eyebrow, gesturing at the empty place by her side. "Well, are you coming?" She groused, eyebrow upraised, palm outstretched. It would be for him to be right next to her.

Instead, he shook his head and kept his distance. He said nothing to her, cowering inwardly.

"Suit yourself." She shrugged, continuing on walking. Sure enough his footfalls followed again.

There was nothing wrong with a little due caution, suspicion at the forefront of every action. She even thought it to be the smart move, all things considered. She meandered her way home, the lad following her only fast enough to keep her in his sights. That was all well and good, Raven supposed. The more afraid of her he was, the less likely he was to get attached. She had no intention of keeping him around.

Still, she wasn't the monster everyone rumored her to be.

Opening her home to him for the time being was the least she could do, so long as he helped himself along. She was not a person to coddle anyone, ever. She didn't have much to feed him, only some leftover fish, a few handfuls of wild berries, and some dry bread that she cut the mold off of. She tossed all of it on a wooden plate, sliding it in front of him as he sat on the floor in the corner.

He picked it up and ate it eagerly, unaware of the scrutiny she gave him.

Raven swore she had seen his features someplace before. She just couldn't place where. The boy had some rather fine looking clothing too. If they weren't so covered in dirt and grass stains, she was sure he'd be from the higher-end of Atlas.

"Hey, those are some pretty nice clothes." She said, gesturing to him. "Your parent's rich, or what?"

He didn't answer her. Only continuing to scarf down his food.

"Who are you?" she tried again.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

She stared at him, the simple reply stabbing into her brain. "You're like what, twelve? You can talk to strangers if you want."

"I'm ten." He said, looking up at her. "I'm not supposed to say a lot of things to people I don't know." Then he sadly curled into himself again. "It's the rules."

"Doesn't matter what the rules were before." She said to him. "You're talking to me now, aren't you?" His blue eyes looked down at the floor and she sighed. "Listen, I don't really care if you tell me or not. Thing is, if I don't know who you are, or where you come from, I can't help you."

"Will you help me?" He asked.

She didn't answer at first, instead walking over to the fireplace to get some logs lit. She mulled over her answer. Atlas was a long way from where she lived. She didn't want to have to make that kind of journey. He'd be worth more money sold off, and that was an option too. "If you tell me what I want to know, I might take you as far as the village in these parts. Hunters and huntresses pass by there all the time. If I don't feel like helping you, they will."

The boy seemed to consider this, and she could see the cracks in his resolve. His eyes began to water again, teetering on the verge of tears.

"So, who's your family?" raven asked softly. "You want to see them again, don't you?" She looked down at her sword, then, back at the boy. "If you ran away, I can help with that too. I know a place you could belong...if you want that sort of thing."

He bit his lip. He knew what he was supposed to say. His sister and his babysitter drilled it into him before they left the snowy north. "I don't have a family, not anymore."

"I don't believe that." She said. "If you're going to lie, try again."

"I don't have a family...not anymore." He said again, knowing not to stray away from that phrase. If he went back to Atlas, his father would take them. If she knew he was a Schnee, he might not be allowed to go back to Winter. He wanted to see his sister again, but he was tired, he was cold, and he was lost. There wasn't anything he could do, so he hid his face in his hands.

"No family. So that's how it is, huh?" She grumbled to herself as she sat in front of the burning fire. If he didn't want to tell her, she wouldn't drag it out of him. If he was a runaway, if he had cut ties with everything he used to know, she wouldn't judge him on that. the rest of the world could do a better job of hypocrisy than she ever could. Instead, she eyed him with a mild acceptance. "Fine kid, have it your way..."