AYangThang: I have no idea why on Monday I thought we were still in the month of April...that's what happens when I update while stressed and tired I guess...lol...in any case, hope you all like the fiction so far. Onward to the next chapter.
Next update: Tuesday, May 15th
Chapter 12
(Day Five, of the cracked lunar year.
Location: Island of Menagerie.)
Blake woke up with a faint headache that nagged at her senses. Vaguely she noticed she was lacking her clothes, but thanks to the warm morning, that didn't matter too much.
The only thing keeping her from snarling at the morning sun was the woman in her bed. Blake smirked to herself when she saw the pleasant sight. Yang, carelessly leaving herself on display. Nakedly splayed across the bed in a vain attempt at keeping cool. Her wild mane of hair offered little modesty as the long tendrils cascaded over her. Remembering her own state of undress, Blake worked at pulling the sheet up over their bodies. It was a chore with Yang half laying on top of them, but the Faunus managed it without waking the woman.
Thankfully, the blonde was known for being a heavy sleeper.
Reaching behind her, Blake grabbed the bottle of water that she kept at her bedside. She was parched and drank greedily from the bottle. It seemed to be unseasonably hot, and Blake hated the thought that this year they may break new record highs. Uncaring of the few water droplets than managed to escape her mouth, she sighed, feeling them cooling her heated skin. As they rolled down her chin, disappearing between the swell of her breasts, she paid them very little mind.
With no actual desire to get up, she capped the now empty bottle and set it aside, forgotten. Instead, the Faunus admired her bedfellow. Blake had always appreciated the female form. She found it graceful in all of its many shapes and sizes. The best part of it all was that Yang was beautiful, impossibly so.
Blake made no excuses for keeping several very attractive women at her side. Yang was special though. Different than the others. She doubted Yang even realized it herself. The blonde was rougher around the edges. A boxer, using her fists to do the talking. It was funny in a way, and yet, also terribly tragic. Yang was graced with all of the endowments a beautiful woman should be. Yet, she was also the sort that didn't seem to pay any mind to it.
Her snoring was as graceless as could be, and her mutterings harbored dirty promises.
Blake knew such things would have just as easily slid out of Yang's mouth if she was in one of her tempers. Yang wasn't the sort of woman that could be understood by her words alone, and her looks were a complete misnomer. With a somewhat sly smirk, the Faunus reached out her hand, caressing the blonde's abs. She could never get tired of feeling them flex a little under her fingertips.
A gentle knock and the creaking of the door provoked Blake ire, and she withheld a growl. "What is it?" She asked with vitriol, a bad habit of being disturbed just as she had woken up.
It was Neon who peered through the door, her usual pep gone as she rubbed at one of her eyes. Her tail dragging behind her limply, as if she too, had been disturbed from her rest. "Chieftain Belladonna is waiting for you in the main room. Something about wanting to speak with you…but, I'm not really all that sure."
"Damn it, what could he possibly want so early in the day?" Blake grunted, dragging herself from the bed, her lower back protesting the action. "Keep Yang in bed, let her sleep. I want everyone out culling the larger Grimm for the next several nights in a row." Grabbing the first crumpled up robe she found on the floor, she quickly learned it was Yang's as the too long fabric dwarfed her beyond reason. "You'll have to team up with her, she can't see in the dark."
Neon nodded, muttering an agreement. She looked at Blake's bed and sleepily crawled up onto the corner where most of the bedding was bunched up.
"Oh for god's sake…" Blake groused as she pulled the exhausted cat Faunus from her curled position and placed her in the bed properly, covering her in the sheets. Fittingly, it was at that time that Yang flopped over like a fish, half burying Neon under all of her blonde hair, an inelegant snore dropping from her lips. The usually peppy woman didn't seem to mind as she pulled her tail out from under Yang's hip. Neon's eyes drifted shut again as Blake let out a soft snort of amusement. "Real attractive you guys…"
Thinking very little of the display, she tiredly scratched the top of her head. She knew she shouldn't make her father wait. Locating a clean pair of underwear from the basket, she put them on before she meandered at a leisurely pace down the hall.
Blake found the man exactly where she expected to find him, in the main sitting room sipping on some iced tea. It shouldn't have been a surprise. He had a fondness for the drink, especially if it was Kali's special blend. One of the Faunus attendants following her father bowed to her, presenting a cup that had already been prepared to her liking. She wordlessly took it, taking a drink from the cool cup.
The taste was perfect. Chilled just enough to be crisp, a tiny hint of lemon.
Licking her lips, she then greeted her father. "This is a surprise. You were either woken up too early, or you slept in too late. I don't really care to guess which." She said to him knowingly. "You're here early, either way."
"Indeed." Ghira replied tiredly. "The ideal situation presented itself, so I made use of it."
"You mean, you escaped without waking mom. Don't you know what a shower is?" She grumbled, her nose picking up a stench that told her exactly why her father had likely snuck out of his house. Her mother's heat had finally hit, full force. "Just because I'm an adult, doesn't mean I want to know what my parents get up to."
"I could say the same about you." The man lowly returned, the two glaring at each other in a way that only they could understand. "You've been just as occupied. The scent is indecent."
Blake shrugged, not even going to deny it. "If you know that, you know why I don't want my own dad loitering around my house right now." Adjusting the lining of the robe, Blake yawned tiredly as she sat down, crossing one leg over the other. "I'm in heat." Blake gritted out, as though the man in front of her was somehow stupid. "Let's hear your excuse."
"Your mother." He half snarled, flinching when he moved the wrong way.
"Clawed you up good last night, didn't she?"
His only response was to send Blake something of a perturbed look, and with a soft nod he leaned forward to take the pressure off of his aching back. "You'd know all about that by now, I'd assume."
Her mind thought back to Yang, one of the few humans with the aura and the semblance to keep up with Blake's more primal nature. There were so few like it, able to be pushed to the brink without shattering. In fact, Yang liked it rough, and could give just as aggressively as she got. Yang truly had a habit of putting her through her paces, and self-consciously she placed a hand over her thigh where Yang had bitten her last night with her semblance active.
The bruise would take a little longer to heal, the residual soreness a pleasant one that Blake intended to keep around for as long as her suppressed aura permitted.
She knew that the moment it flared, all evidence of her coupling last night would be gone. It pained her to even consider that. Those passionate love bites were the only markings she had, the only proof of just what she and Yang shared. That would change soon though, Blake promised herself that she would see to it. Soon, there would be a much more important symbol, one for all to see.
Setting the matter aside, too great effort, but she managed to do it.
"Generally, I make a habit not to my claws on bedfellows." Blake said, looking out a nearby window, where a few colorful birds fluttered in a bird bath. "I keep humans here. They have fragile aura when they don't have their guard up. You have to be gentle with them, or they're likely to be hurt."
"Well, no matter what you do with the humans, you shouldn't let them lead you to distraction." Ghira replied. "I was told you turned down over half of the eligible tradesmen in the village, and no small few of the village guard. Men, women, it didn't seem to matter. You didn't take an interest in anyone?"
"Hmm, I did, and yet, I didn't. It's not the right time, at least that's the feeling I get." Blake said, offhandedly brushing aside his concern. "Is that why you're here? To lecture me about finding a breeding male?"
"I wish my reasons were so domestic." Ghira said as he reached for a small cookie that sat on the saucer between them. The light colored cookie sprinkled ever so carefully with powdered sugar met his scrutiny as he eyed it. "The truth is far less parental in nature. This morning I woke up to the displeasure of having a young woman named Weiss Schnee pounding on my door. At first, I thought she was looking for you, but I've come to find out that she wants me to pass judgement over the Atlas incident."
"That's fair." Blake said slowly watching her father eat the cookie, one of Pyrrha's specialties, and Blake's favorite sort. Not too sweet, with a lemon flavoring that made it perfect to take with tea. She reached for a cookie of her own. "You might want to hear her out, what with her being a Schnee, and all."
"Kali spoke with her on my behalf."
"That...couldn't have been good." Blake cringed, knowing her mother had a habit for hospitality that sometimes became excessive. "What did mom do this time?"
"The same thing she always does." Ghira grumbled. "She beseeched me to take a meal with the girl. I'm still considering it. Her demands go too far. I doubt I could even be civil on the topic."
"that bad?" Blake asked.
"She wants the lives of two White Fang members on a silver platter, and I cannot offer that."
"Does she want them executed?"
"No. Not in a manner of speaking. In the eyes of some, what she wants is even worse. She demanded that Atlas branch of the White Fang needed to be entirely removed from the kingdom." Ghira explained, the distaste in his tone clear as day. "Furthermore, regarding the two offenders in question, she wants them signed over as property to the SDC. Property! I couldn't believe it."
"I can. In fact, on some level, I expected it." Blake said sadly, her ears lowering sadly. "It was a possibility that the family would demand something like that. These are not uncommon requests, given the way Atlas view Faunus."
"She's been disowned on top of it, and blames the White Fang for the entire matter." Ghira continued. "The list of demands are her father's orders, but I cannot help but feel that she is pushing his agenda because she also believes in it."
"No, I doubt that." Blake said after some careful consideration. "Humans like Weiss aren't that duplicitous. There's no reason for her to be. Reading the reports, I have no doubts that the vandalism was in fact just as damaging as reports say. They were written by Faunus, not humans. It's also true that the Atlas branch isn't exactly the most forward thinking. Weiss Schnee is a known sympathizer for Faunus kind, at least among our people, but….if word were to get out and reach her father…."
"I'm sure that's exactly what happened. He was displeased, and cast her aside accordingly. Still, her demands might sound more civil, but they are the same as his."
"Actions do have consequences." Blake muttered. "We can't defend violent acts of Faunus upon humans, especially not in Atlas."
"But still, there's a limit to consequences too." He shook his head. "If I were to give two Faunus over to the Schnee family in chains, it would go against everything I personally believe in."
"I agree, we could never do that." Blake breathed. "I'd never as you to. However, I wouldn't be opposed to removing our White Fang representatives from Atlas."
He looked up at her. "What…?"
"That branch of the White Fang tends to act before thinking. They forget that their displays do have ramifications." Blake hated to agree with the angry human woman. Yet, she knew the sort of havoc the White Fang could sometimes bring to the table. "If she's been disowned, as the reports say, it doesn't matter. In the eyes of the people, she's still a Schnee who's been wronged by Faunus."
"I don't like what you're implying."
"Dad, think about it. You don't have to like it, but you have to know that if she speaks out, humans may retaliate."
"And those are my concerns." Ghira replied darkly. "I'm working some things out. In the meantime, I'd rather keep an eye on her. She has no place to go, anyway. A little hospitality and show of action on our end might be enough for her. I was thinking you could take her in."
"Are you really asking me to harbor a Schnee in my household?" Blake asked, half perplexed, and mildly annoyed.
"You've entertained her elder sister in the past, have you not?"
"Winter and I have agreements that benefit the island. If it wasn't for her influence, we'd never get our hands on medical grade dust. Our healthcare is some of the worst in the world, let's face it. Without Winter's support, we'd be back to bandages, herbs, and prayer." Blake said as she drank down the last of her tea. "This is a different situation."
"But, they are sisters, Blake. Kinfolk." Ghira replied. "Surely that means something to you…"
"To me, yes. Family and kinfolk should be at the forefront of all decisions related to household matters." Blake said softly. "However, I have no idea what it means to Winter. If she has disowned Weiss too, then taking her in would be a bad idea…"
"And, what about if she hasn't disowned her? Will she expect you to offer your support?"
Blake and Ghira shared a knowing glance. It was certainly a risk that neither one of them were willing to take.
"Very well." Blake replied, as she poured herself some more tea. "I shall bring her into my home as a guest after the festival. However, the arrangement shall only be temporary. In the meantime, I'm going to send Winter a letter detailing these decisions. You'll have to offer Weiss a guest room in your house until after the festival."