Next Update, Sunday June 24th.

Chapter 20

(Day nine of the cracked lunar year.
Location: The Island of Menagerie.)

Blake didn't intend to hide behind the trees and spy on Yang. She didn't even think the blonde would be this far into the village, but the image was impossible to deny. For whatever reason, Yang was working alongside Blake's mother within the confines of the village walls. It should have been impossible, but the image was there anyway, right before Blake's very eyes, a spectacle of impossibility made real by forces that Blake had no desire to debunk.

"We should go before we're spotted." Blake said, dragging her father back onto the pebble laden path to the south.

"Still, it was an interesting sight to see."

"They still don't get along the way I had hoped they would, but that's a start." Blake said in observation as she kept in step beside her father, a set of documents in each of their hands. "Not to say that I expected things to change so suddenly, but Yang really has nothing to fear."

"Time has to show her that." Ghira replied. "History is a powerful thing for each of us, and although it may be for an entirely different reason, she has her scars too."

"That I don't deny, but-"

"In time." Ghira interrupted.

"Normally I'd agree with you, but Yang is not the sort of person that you can just allow to run free without reprimand." Blake took a breath then. "She feeds off of conflict, finds strength in battles of whit. She is a very caring and compassionate person, but beneath that, she looks for a good fight."

"With her equals, perhaps." The man murmured thoughtfully. "She has never understood her place well. Her skill means little to her in the guard. She treats everyone the same, no matter how green they are." Ghira looked behind Blake to where another human followed her, scythe in hand. Ruby was a girl that Ghira knew well. A skilled fighter, and a village recluse. "Tell me, Ruby, is that normal for humans such as yourself?"

"I don't know." Ruby shrugged then, a cookie perched to her lips. "I mean, maybe." She mumbled around it thoughtfully. "I don't think Yang and I are normal humans, though. We're not like most people, if that's what you're asking."

"Perhaps not." He grumbled. Most would never guess that Ruby had just cleared out a nearby gathering of aquatic Grimm from the water's edge. Not with the way she fawned over her snack. The girl was a homing device for sweet baked goods, and truth be told, Kali was often preparing food for the hunters and village guards. The two were close. Even though he knew Ruby well, he felt compelled to raise his eyebrow in her general direction. "What would a normal human do, then?"

"I think that depends on the human…" Ruby said then, this time popping the cookie into her mouth. "More like, it depends on the people we're around? I don't really understand what you're trying to ask."

"Ruby's a solitary huntress. She doesn't need to worry about rank." Blake went on to say. "Even if she did, it's not in her mind to care."

"I see..." Knowing he wasn't going to get the helpful insight he wanted out of Ruby, he turned back to Blake. "Well, anyway, when it comes to Yang, you must wait things out accordingly. You have to give Yang time to adjust. She will come around to see things our way eventually, and your mother knows that too."

"Yang's…different, for a lack of a better word. That's always going to be a problem." Blake hesitated, before blurting out a question that had been deeply on her mind. "Dad, when you chose a mate from outside the village, was it difficult in the aftermath?"

"Is this something you should really be discussing with an audience, Blake?" Ghira asked, almost shrinking when glimmering silver eyes blinked his way. Ruby's unassuming gaze a danger in and of itself, in spite of her seeming docility.

"Ruby is hardly an audience." Blake said. "Even if she was, she'd be a welcome one."

"If you insist…" Ghira muttered. "You're wondering if I met opposition after choosing Kali?"

Blake nodded slightly, her lips thinning into a tight line as she let a breath of exhaustion slip from them. "I was just looking for a connection somehow. Something I could use to my advantage."

"It wasn't widely accepted at first, Blake, you're right about that. However that had little to do with your mother. It had more to do with the village's assumption that they'd be put in danger."

"What danger?" Blake laughed. "Did they think she'd feed you to death or something?"

"Well, she does have a flair for domestic platitudes." Ghira murmured humorously.

Blake snorted at that. "Idiots."

"The wandering Faunus traveled because they had no place to settle. However, as you know, the bandit tribes often did the same. They often lived within shouting distances of each other. Sometimes, they even join together, making larger caravans. You could never really tell who had an affiliation with the bandits." Ghira explained. "Faunus of Menagerie were those of us with no place else to go either, and they were afraid that Bandits would take our homeland from us. It was a reasonable concern, Blake."

"But they do love side by side, they've done it for decades." Blake pointed out. "I'm not saying that bandits are good people or anything, but they've managed where everything else fails. Faunus need to take notice of that, especially Menagerie."

"Yes, well, you may be right, but the Faunus on this island are not yet convinced of that. They might never be." He said softly. "When it came to my mating, it was a vastly different circumstance than yours, Blake. Like it or not, Yang in a human female. There is no similarity in that regard."

"I'm not surprised, I was only trying to be hopeful."

"There are ways to bridge the divide." Ghira said then. "Working by Kali's side would get Yang into the view of the people. Your mother is well respected for reasons beyond being my mate, and that might work in Yang's favor, or more aptly, in yours."

"Yes, you're right." Blake said with a laugh. "However, that would require Yang to actually enjoy doing that."

"So it does." Ghira agreed, the sentiment bore repeating. "So it does."

If Blake would have lingered a little while longer, she would have noticed that Yang left just as soon as she was able to. The blonde taking home the groceries and meandering around the premises for a solid hour before realizing Blake would be out late. The restless state that Yang found herself in wasn't unusual, and she tossed herself into her workout routine to kill some time.

When even that didn't burn away enough hours in the day, she took a shower and headed back out into the village.

This time, Yang headed directly for the hunter's pub. A confidant grin found its way onto her features when a few surprised old men looked at her. They gawked as though she had lost her mind. Then again, they probably thought that of Blake instead. The stares still weren't letting up over Yang's tattoo, but even so, she flaunted it proudly. She even smiled at those that studied her, hoping a friendly gesture would ease the expressions on their faces.

Opening the large wooden door, she entered into an abyss that only hunters and huntresses dared to dwell in.

She side-stepped a bar fight between two drunk men. Then she ducked when a chair went flying due to the scuffle. She even stopped to watch for a moment, listening to the slurred promises of how they might eviscerate each other. It was nothing new in a place like this. Where hunters and huntresses sat side by side. Faunus and humans alike, glaring daggers at each other, as humans waited for the next ship off of the island.

Things would get violent quickly, the room a powder keg waiting to go off. This was especially true when the argument included a pretty huntress, like the one sitting in the corner.

The spunky but beautiful woman grinned, watching the two men bicker as she heckled them on. Patting her folded up weapon at her side, she cheered when one of the men made contact with the wall. Her wildly exuberant personality made promises that most hunters would dream of, and, she was a human woman besides. That didn't seem to deter the two Faunus men though. Due to the way they were dressed, they probably weren't native to Menagerie.

Rolling her eyes when the man jumped back into the fight, Yang finally made her way to the bar. The bartender knew her of course, glancing her way as if to ask what she wanted.

"The usual will do." She idly drummed her fingers on the counter, watching as he made the drink. "You wouldn't happen to have any work for me, would you?"

"No." The bartender said.

"You sure?"

"I don't need ya. Wukong made a mess of things earlier. Caused all of that..." He said, nodding to the fight. "Stubborn pain in the ass that he is, doesn't even stay to clean it up. Damn fight will last hors at this rate…"

"Yeah, well, no surprises there. Sun likes messes." Yang said with a smirk.

"And you don't?" The bartender scoffed.

"Um, not always." Yang defended, her words falling flat as he glared at her. "Want me to break em' up before they really rip up the place?"

"Nah, don't trust ya."

Lilac eyes narrowed. "You think I'll make things worse, don't you?"

"Understatement of the century." He snarled under his breath.

"Right…okay, so I haven't always been careful. I might have even started a few bar fights in the past, and you're right to be annoyed. That's fair…" Yang said uneasily. "It won't be like that anymore. If I say I'll help, then I will. I'm on my best behavior from now on, promise."

"Till the day someone lights a firework up your ass, maybe. If you ask me, promises like that reek like horseshit."

"Hey, I'm not my uncle, you know…"

"Cut from the same cloth."

"He keeps his word, and he's always helped out around Menagerie when he passes by. He protects your booze shipments, which might I add, are really expensive and hard to come by."

"When it behooves him too, yeah. He helps." The bartender shrugged. "Even so, he always drinks a bottle or two on the voyage. Personal opinion, that's not very professional."

"You wouldn't keep this place open without him." Yang pointed out. "Not with all the Grimm and bandits roaming around on the fringe of civilization."

"Didn't ya hear?" The bartender grumbled. "The Grimm are thinning out along the ports. Soon I won't need him at all."

"Uhhh, you do realize that Qrow's the only one keeping the bandits from stealing your goods, right? Like, without him, they'd take all of your booze before it even reached the port. You'd go out of business. You can't sell drinks, if you can't get them."

"Fair, but that's your uncle." The bartender growled, one single fang bared from under his lip. "As for you, I don't need any more help from like likes of you troublemakers." He set down a mixed beverage. "You young pups don't know shit about being a real huntsmen. You don't know what that even is. All you ever do mess around in the woods, or come here to bring me grief."

"We don't mean to." She could smell the rum as she brought the straw to her lips, taking a tiny sip. "Anyway, I just stopped in for a drink, and I just felt the need to ask if you needed anything since I can't pay cash. Doing the work of the village, it's kind of my job now." She rested heavily on the counter, her tattoo on display for him.

The bartender blinked once, twice, and then rubbed his eyes. "She didn't…" He muttered to himself, looking again. "She did! Well, about god-damn time."

"Thanks." Yang said, her mood brightening instantly from the first real recognition she'd received. "So, about any work…you know, simple stuff."

A low growl slipped from the man's lips. "I dunno…." He said to her from between the aggravated vibrato in his voice. "I don't ask the family for help often. Not my patrons, not their problem. It's the vagabonds that come here, not village regulars."

"It doesn't have to be hard." Yang pushed. "What about things you don't want bother the family with, but that I could do for you? I am a patron, I come here all the time."

"Well, I have a job, but it'll be an inconvenience to the family no matter what you do." He said, pointing over to a man sitting in the far corner of the table. "The guy over there, he's been staying here for weeks. Wants to talk to Ghira. As you can guess, he keeps getting turned down. Maybe if you brought him by, you'd finally get him and that pesky friend of his out of my fur."

"Pesky friend?"

The bar tender pointed over to the human female who was now standing on a nearby table guzzling ale with the victor of the fistfight. "She causes more fights around here than your uncle."

Yang let out a low whistle. "Hell, I should buy her a beer, that's an accomplishment…" She looked over to the human man in question.

"Pain in the ass is what it is." He grumbled in aggravation. "That girl's a feisty one. Easy on the eyes, hard on the ears. Two extremes. Like nails on a chalkboard when she yells, or a bomb going off when she brings out that damn hammer of hers."

"Sounds rough. So, that guy next to her wants to speak to Blake's old man, yeah?" Yang asked, already knowing how hard it would be to grant that request. "Good luck with that. I mean her dad's a great guy, but he doesn't have time to just sit and listen to every complaint we get from the mainland."

The bartender nodded. "Told him that, won't take no for an answer."

Yang just sighed. "Is it a formal complaint?"

"Didn't ask."

"Well, I mean I hate to say it, but it probably is. You know how councils can be. Run by humans, for the humans. I really don't get why."

"None of us do, kid. It's why we live here."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Yang chuckled under her breath. "It makes me wonder what happened. What'd a Faunus do this time, fart in the wrong direction?"

"Wouldn't be surprised if we do get a complaint like that one day. With him though, I don't think that's the case." The bartender explained. "He's quiet, sticks to himself. Unlike his girlie friend, I don't think he's here to start trouble. Though, if you'd take him off my hands, she'll probably go with him."

"Maybe. If they're teamed up together, then there's a good chance of it. Just because we travel together, doesn't always mean we're on the same job, though. She might stay here, if she's looking for something."

"Well, I don't give a shit one way or the other. That's the job." The bartender said. "Get them out of my fur, and as payment, I'll keep my ear low to the ground about you know who. It's a fair trade, don't you think?"

It was an easy choice for Yang, and she took the deal instantly. "Blake's dad, huh? It's not going to be easy. He's always so busy all the time. I'll tell you what, I'll give it a shot."