Next Update: Monday, May 7th
Chapter 10
(Time: Day Four of the cracked lunar year.
Location: On the Island of Menagerie.)
Another day of hunting went smoothly. This time, Blake was sure to leave Yang behind so as not to wound anymore of the blonde's sensibilities. With fish procured from a nearby stream, and a few small animals in hand, the girls finally had enough to bring home to their families. Blake and Kali reminisced about Blake's first successful hunt on her own, and the complete mess it had turned into when Blake accidentally charged into the muddy waters of a bog while in pursuit of a bullfrog.
"That was before I was given my first weapon." Blake grumbled, hoping to clarify why she went running after her pray to begin with. "Besides, I caught it didn't I?"
"Yes dear, although it was the only thing your group of trainees managed to catch that day." Kali replied. "As I recall, you and Neon wandered off. I had to pull the two of you out of a tree several hours later."
"Frog legs are a delicacy." It was a weak retort, all things considered. Blake clung to it all the same. "Besides, the only reason we wandered off was because our clothes were wet, and we wanted them to dry."
Kali raised a knowing eyebrow, which caused Blake to avert her gaze, glaring daggers into the ground underfoot.
"Don't look at me like that. What took you so long to find us back then, anyway?" Blake asked.
"You act as if I'd actually lost you, but that was hardly the case. I wasn't too far away." Kali said then. "I knew the two of you were fooling around in those bushes. I could have scolded you, of course, I thought of doing strictly that. However, it was the first time you'd ever willingly left my side, Blake. I was furious with you, but if I'd let that fury dictate my actions at the time, I was positive that you wouldn't draw anything meaningful from the experience."
"So you actually let that Ursa chase us?"
"It was almost a guarantee that your racket would agitate it. Besides, it was a small one. Terrifying for you, but hardly a threat with me being so close by." The older Faunus said, her tone light and airy, in spite of the conversation. "A little healthy fear was the best teacher at the time. Besides, you had a different upbringing compared to the other villagers. My expectations of you were vastly different than my expectations for Neon."
Blake nodded at that, frowning a bit in deep thought. When she was little, she was never one to be off of her mother's hip. In her earliest years of life, she trailed after her mother like a shadow, spending time outside of the village walls before she had even grown out of diapers, as was custom of the Faunus nomads from the mainland, where Kali hailed from.
The guards hated it, and Ghira had only allowed it because he knew better than to argue with his mate.
After all, being a mother was Kali's primary task in the village at the time. She held the authority over Blake's wellbeing, and no one was to question it. Her child was to be with her at all times, and Kali stood firm on that subject. Not even Ghira could sway her. As Kali's only child, Blake has the luxury of her mother's undivided attention as a youth. Very few cat faunus would ever know the sort of upbringing Blake had. She never needed to share her mother's tutelage, since Blake never ended up with any siblings.
The elder cat Faunus recalled quite happily the way Blake would toddle after the butterflies in the wilds. Pouncing on them, and often missing the brightly colored creatures. With her first fish successfully nabbed on a hook by the age of five, Blake had already began chasing after rabbits and other small animals well before being considered an adult in the village. For years, Blake would come back empty handed. A mouth full of bitter foliage, or a face full of dirt for her trouble.
Back then, she was hardly the intimidating huntress that she was today.
Much to Blake's dismay, her mother found such youthful failures to be adorable, and happily told the stories of such unfortunate incidents on their walk back that evening. The girls in their care laughed at Blake's expense, earning a scowl that Blake had obviously learned by the Belladonna patriarch himself. Yet, due to Kali's snickering, the girls were hardly intimidated by the display. They even laughed harder as the Belladonna matriarch flicked her daughter's ear teasingly for her trouble.
Upon arrival to the village gates, the parties had already started once again.
This night in the village would be perfect. Not a single ill omen ahead to be worried about, the moment a fortuitous one. Blake felt a smile tug at her lips. The festivities were already in full swing, the Faunus of Menagerie once again seeking suitors in the weeklong celebration of parties, feasts, and ceremony. Blake's many wards stayed near her side for safety as she saw them off to each of their respective families.
Some of the older noble girls stayed with Blake. The youths spending the time to learn the complex social nature of Faunus culture. When it came to high ranking people, such as themselves, the mating bylaws were extensive. This was the perfect learning opportunity, and watching Blake conduct her own proceedings would prove beneficial for these young noble girls as they grew older.
They watched in awe as she shared tea and a few moments with each interested passerby. Blake, for her part, respected this part of the ceremonies, but held no interest in it personally.
She calmly turned down another offering, this time a roll of soft silk. She told the hopeful man with antlers that while she appreciated his sentiment, she couldn't settle for a fisherman's son. The next man in line approached her with a gift of flowers, the tusked male a simple florist and basket weaver. He was a well-spoken, older gentleman, with a family of his own already. His first mate was older now, and could no longer safely carry children. He was looking to expand his family, and thought Blake would be a perfect addition.
Gently and kindly, Blake turned him away too. She refused to accept a mate with so many prior obligations, and told him so. She would only accept a mate willing to absorb into the Belladonna family. She would not deviate from her own family merely to be absorbed into another. A woman was the next in line to step up, a fellow cat Faunus from a nearby village on the island. She came looking in search of breeding female her son. Of course, Blake couldn't accept. She'd never leave her own village, not when she was the only heir.
The next in line to step up was a friendly face, but, he obviously knew he wasn't in the running.
"Hey." The monkey Faunus said with a smirk. "Thought you could use some company."
"Take a seat." She invited, hearing the grumbles in the line waiting behind him. That she favored Sun went without question, and it always bothered the other villagers.
"Relax, my dudes." Sun said loudly to the people waiting in line. "If I was in the running, you all wouldn't even be here." The majority of them were young men. He turned back to Blake, and could tell that she was exhausted. "Tough crowd, isn't it?" He said, pouring the carafe of vodka and orange juice into two small cups.
"You have no idea." She said, gazing up at the broken moon. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."
"As many as there are people in line." Sun said quietly enough not to be overheard from beyond his places at the table. He looked behind Blake to the snickering young girls eyeing him, and paled. "Holy merciful crap. Must be something in the water."
"Something like that." Blake smirked.
"Why are there so many of them?" He asked, knowing full well, the hand full of young noble women were eyeing him like a chew toy.
Blake only shook her head. "Don't let the girls intimidate you. Their ogling doesn't mean you any harm, most of them are first timers."
"Ah…" He said slowly, picking his cup up with his tail and sipping from it. Using Faunus appendages at the table could be considered rude, but he only smirked at his as he looked over her shoulder again. "I don't care how many times I see it, I just don't get it…" The tittering on from the peanut gallery continued. "Seeing that mob of hormones behind you kinda makes me glad there's no breeding season for monkey Faunus. It doesn't really matter when our women mate, so they aren't as crazy during the festivals."
"There are some species who only have one optimal season, and that's why these festivals occur all over Menagerie depending on the time of year." Blake replied, eyes narrowed as she lowered her voice. "I'm not so lucky, since my heat will come and go until fall, which is exactly why I make you wear a condom whenever we rut…which is all we do, and that begs the question…what are you doing here, Sun?" The last part of her question was a low growl.
"Well, you know...the festival seems so exciting and all..."
"That's the largest load of crap I've heard from you in a while." Blake deadpanned, flicking her ear in agitation. "Neon's probably going stir-crazy, and you left her like that."
"Relax, I already took care of it."
"I know her stamina, so I doubt that. I sent her to you, because I knew you would respect her wishes."
Sun just rolled his eyes. "To be honest, I'm here because Yang's a little bit worried you're overdoing it again."
At Yang's name, Blake perked up. "She's worried?" She asked, sipping the cold fruity drink in front of her.
"Well, yeah. I mean, you never seem to catch a break, and she totally knows it." He said, pouring himself more of the sweet drink before topping Blake's cup politely. "Being a good friend and all, I figured I'd check in on you…you know, since she's not allowed passed the guards…"
This greatly displeased the cat Faunus. "Why can't she get passed the guards?"
"Well, uh, she's human, and all."
"So what?" Blake half snarled. "She's always been human. What's it matter now?"
"Dunno why, but you heard me loud and clear." Sun said. "The guards are being all uppity again about giving Yang free reign to wander around wherever she wants to go. She thought punching Corsac onto oblivion would piss you off, so she rang me up. I got in line to check on you…glad I did, that line was way too long."
"I'll deal with it." She said, standing up slowly. "Girls, Sun's going to chaperone you for a second while I go deal with something. Stay put. Don't move, and don't torture the daylights out of him."
"Hey, wait, whoa, don't leave me here stranded like that!" Sun protested. "Not with them. Besides I'm a dude, it's against the tradition."
Yet Blake only narrowed her eyes. "Watch them." She demanded, a glint twinkling in the depths of her eyes that promised retribution for insubordination of any kind. She trusted him with their safety a great deal. She knew he could be counted on, in spite of his reluctance. "I'll only be a moment."
He gulped back his retorts and nodded, even as the girls continued to eye him like a piece of meat.
Blake strode down a set of steps, looking stunning in her black kimono with shimmering white flecks of dust. The sparkles decorating the otherwise plain fabric. Reaching the bottom of the steps, she looked to the two brothers, holding back a snarl as she eyed them in her fury. The human woman was still arguing with them.
"Yang." She said, addressing the blonde standing off to the side. "Follow me." It was a simple order, but it pulled a smile from her all the same.
At the annoyed looks of the guards, Yang was more than happy to comply.
Blake narrowed her eyes at the guards, but she said nothing, a wordless show of fang and the glower to match. It accomplished more than words could among Faunus culture. With the smell of rage wafting off of her, they knew her thoughts on the topic quite quickly, and averted their gazes downward before provocation took place. A public display of dominance wouldn't behoove them.
There were few who would even think to challenge Blake, fewer still with the capabilities for doing. Absolutely no one could do so without also provoking Ghira himself. No one would dare display dominance over the chieftain, it was the worst offense a Faunus could possibly commit.
"Come along." Blake groused, leading the blonde back up the stairs, the Faunus sighed. "You always cause such a rucks without meaning to, Yang. You know better than to interrupt my mating proceedings." Blake scolded gently. "What I can't understand is why…"
"You'll be here for hours." Yang said with a roll of her eyes. "And don't think I'm oblivious. I know how hard you've been working even though it's the festival."
"The festival isn't a reason to slack off. The people count on me." Blake replied. "If you want to be up here, fine, but you'll have to sit behind me with the rest of the girls. Even if I'm just going to turn these people down, it would be rude of me not to at least hear them out." With a long, tired sigh, she looked back to Yang with a frown. "Besides, one day we will have to choose a man to sire my offspring. It would be nice if the father of choice was your mate as well."
"Yeah, well…ya know…we'll think about that later…"
Blake would have none of Yang's avoidance of the topic. Her eyes saying as much as her gaze leveled on Yang. "It would please me to see you carrying a child alongside me. Many Faunus women enjoy that luxury, sharing in that special time. It would please our mate too, I'm sure. The man that I decide on, should be one you would like to breed with as well. Keep that in the back of your mind, at least."
Yang only laughed a little uneasily at the idea of being a parent. "Hey now, gimmie a couple of years before we start thinking about all of that. Kids are a big change. Huge, ya know?" She said, though the way she tangled her fingers with Blake's own softened her reluctance. "I'm going to go sit with the others, try not to overdue it."
Blake reached out and grabbed Yang's hand. "Wait a moment, Yang. It is a festival, and we should enjoy ourselves. Sun's already here, and we have some more time." Blake said with a soft smile. "Since he so willingly provided us something to drink, I think we should take a moment to relax. I could use a break before the proceedings continue."
"So, uh…you want me to sit with you?" Yang asked, mildly shocked. "Like, up here, where I'm not supposed to be?"
"Yes, indeed." Blake responded as she sat back down on the large, low cushion. "Join me at the table for just one drink. Please, Yang, let me at least pretend we can observe the same traditions my people do."
"Yeah, but Blake, I don't have a gift."
"The gift of your company will always be enough for me." Blake said, giving Yang another little tug in the direction of the table.
Yang felt a smirk drag across her face. With an earnest request like that, how could Yang possibly refuse?