XLVI - Driftwood

~~~(XLVI)~~~

The first leg of their trip had been a simple bullhead ride to the continent of Anima. It was a White Fang craft since he couldn't take any public transportation due to his well known face and status. Though blessedly, it seemed like outside of that particular kingdom, his face wasn't known. That allowed him to be able to wander the Mistrali docks a bit, much to his enjoyment.

The girl from before, Trifa, was joining him as well. The pair was waiting for their ferry to the faunus island. He'd tried a few times to start a conversation with her, seeing as how they were traveling a fair distance together. But she didn't seem interested. It was annoying, but he wasn't going to force it.

While the blue haired girl was busy making sure their boat was on time, Oxon was inspecting the stalls. He had been preparing himself for Cinder and the rest, constant training and thinking about each of their skill sets.

Cinder was a bitch that used swords and explosions. Her semblance seemed heat based and hopefully required her to touch the area beforehand. She'd had to lay her hand on him to burn him after all. Keeping out of her range was critical since he couldn't risk his wood covered weapons. It was all guesswork though, he had no idea what she wasike now.

Mercury was like him and primarily took to close and medium range combat. The metal legs could be something promising to think about. He wasn't sure if they were insulated or not, but a powerful shot of shock dust might fry some of the delicate electronics. For that, he'd loaded up on a pack of said dust shells for his new shotgun. Though he still didn't know the guy's semblance, which could be troubling. Unless it was something like letting him make bubbles or some shit.

Emerald was tricky, her power over hallucinations was not easy to counter. If she got him inside one of her mind traps, then it would be near impossible to beat her. The main issue is that he didn't know how her semblance worked, was it reliant on sight alone or eye contact? If it was purely on her end, then there was nothing he could do. If there was eye contact required, then he had a slim chance.

"How much for these glasses?" The bored teenager at the register looked at the mirror like aviators with disinterest.

"Fifteen lien." Oxon paid up using the money given to him by Adam. It wasn't much, mostly only good enough for food and lodging on the trip, but he felt like this was a good purchase. If on the off chance it could help against Emerald, then he'd take it. It was also damn bright in southern Mistral, the harsh reflections off the water weren't helping either.

He put the glasses on, immediately enjoying the relief on his eyes. Once accustomed to the accessory, Oxon began walking back to the dock his boat was scheduled to depart from. There, he spotted his impatient faunus companion. The cover he and Trifa had were as a young couple escaping prejudice of the kingdoms to live in Menagerie. The girl was less than enthusiastic about that.

"The boat is starting to board, dear." Her face seemed gentle for the most part, but her eyes screamed otherwise. He didn't know why she was upset at him, their cover story wasn't his damn idea. "I see you've gone shopping."

"Yeah, the glare has been killer today, thought these might help."

"Let's just get in the boat…" She took hold of his elbow and led him up the gangplank. Oxon was once again back to owning zero personal items other than his combat gear. The glasses were the first thing he'd bought in a long time.

"Okay hun." He let out a sigh as they got on the deck. Adam seemed to be right, nobody questioned them about their reasons for traveling, though they did get some strange glares from other humans. The rumors about Mistral had been right it seemed, though he kind of understood since he witnessed the Fall of Beacon and what the militant faunus did. It was still disappointing to experience.

"Is it always like this for the faunus?" That got the girl next to him to acknowledge his existence.

She looked over the humans giving them not so subtle looks of disgust and shrugged. "You speak as if you've never seen it before. It could be worse, they're not saying anything or hurling trash. You'll see that many of the more "traditional" types tend to look down on mixed race couples, it's common to see humans get really nasty when they see that. To them, it's like "helping the enemy" increase in numbers."

That was horrible… Oxon knew the White Fang was created for a reason, and while he didn't like their methods, he could understand why so many faunus signed up. If only the rest of the world understood that they needed to be united against the Grimm threat. These attitudes were only causing negativity to fester.

"I just don't understand it. My home was one without any faunus. I never even knew they were a thing for most of my life." She gave him a barely disguised look of anger, so he tried to get his point out quickly. "When I arrived in Vale, I admit, I was thrown for a loop when I first saw one for the first time. But to me, personally, I think it would be better to be one. The extra trait combined with night vision? It's something that should be praised, not hated."

"Then you're one of the rare few that the Fang would appreciate, that any faunus would appreciate." She seemed to become conflicted at his words, why, he didn't know. But if he could break through the unfriendly atmosphere that had stuck to them over the last few days? Then he'd take it. "Many humans see us as little more than animals, and treat us as such. I'm sure you heard the whispers as we traveled together?"

"I have and I don't understand them." Looking around, he made sure there was nobody near them on the deck of the ship. Thankfully they were alone while the other passengers were settling in. "We might not actually be together, and you might not be on the top of my list for romantic partners. But still, whether you are human or faunus shouldn't matter."

"What, am I too buggy for you?" She seemed pleased and then upset by his words and crossed her veiny arms over her chest. He must have stepped on a sensitive topic…

Classic Ox… foot in mouth is my real semblance…

"W-what? No, I don't care about that, it's not like you can control it, you're still a pretty attractive person. It's, ah, it's just that I've already got somebody I care for. Even though… well, I'm pretty sure she hates me…" Trifa seemed to relax a small bit at his sputtered words. She turned to lean over the railing of the boat, looking over the calm waters of the harbor. "Though I will admit to not being a fan of spiders, or snakes. Not too good with things that are too small for me to notice and can kill me with a bite. I'm rational enough to separate you from them, though."

"You really are a strange man, Adhmad."

"Uh, thanks?" The horn on the boat sounded loudly, and soon after, it began to move. He watched as the mainland slowly shrank into the distance.

"So what's Menagerie like? It's been damn hot so far, does it get worse?"

She chuckled a bit at that. Finally, some non-hostile emotion!

"You haven't seen hot weather yet, it might not be Vacuo, but if you think this is bad? You're in for a "treat"."

He wilted a bit at that. Normally he'd be mildly upset, but the worst part was that the only thing that was missing from his old gear was his Frost shirt. Some sack of shit probably snagged it to keep themselves cool. Its loss was devastating.

"Noooo..." she snorted at his morose tone. "Why can't everywhere be nice and cool like Prism? I can't wait to be done there and hopefully be back in time for winter."

"What are you, some kind of ice freak?"

"You try living in a primarily arctic and alpine environment for one and a half decades and suddenly switch to these temperatures. It's been hell for me during the warm months."

"Poor little human, it's not even August yet, it's only going to get worse. Oh, and don't get me started on the bugs on the island." The girl laughed at his depressed expression as their overnight boat ride began. Hopefully his business in the faunus nation would be quick… Maybe he could get a new shirt commissioned? Either way, this job was sure to be interesting.

~~~(XLVI)~~~

"Ilia."

Sun looks confused at the new information, did he not see her change colors earlier? "Wait, you know her?! But she doesn't even look like a f-" Her friend suddenly gets cut off when the red colored Ilia strikes him with her electric foil near his shoulder.

"Aaagh!"

Blake cried out in shock as he fell over in pain. "Sun!"

Her old friend looked at the now down blonde before turning to her. "I see you brought a friend, but you're not the only one that has allies on the island. Now give me the scroll!"

Blake narrowed her eyes on the chameleon girl. "No."

Ilia changes color again, this time to a blue color. "You shouldn't have come back." Before Blake can speak she uses her weapon to create a spray of dust, hiding her escape.

Blake stood still watching where she disappeared from before turning to her injured friend. "Sun! Sun!" Sun was unresponsive, bleeding from the wound Ilia gave him. Blake covers and puts pressure on the wound with her hands. And began calling out for help.

"No, no, no, not again, please! Help! Somebody! Hold on, Sun, just hold on."

Why did this keep happening!? First Yang, and now Sun? She wouldn't forgive herself if another person got hurt because of her.

~~~(XLVI)~~~

It was early morning when Oxon stepped off the boat onto the wooden dock. The sun was beginning to peak over the strange, tropical trees. So far, he was greatly impressed by the beauty of the island.

It was hot, even this early in the morning he was miserable. To cope, he'd torn the sleeves off of a shirt he'd been given in order to keep himself cool. His armor was definitely not suited for this environment, so hopefully he didn't need to do any fighting.

He wore his holsters and weapons, but his armor was stashed away in a large canvas backpack. That, along with his spare ammo was a lot of weight, but head carried heavier but it definitely made his back hotter than he'd like.

"Told you it would be hot." Trifa seemed amused by his sweaty suffering. They'd talked more on the ride here and it seemed she had begun to relax a little around him. She was still distant, but not hostile anymore. "Anyways, we should meet with the Albain brothers, they're who your message is for."

"Right." He looked around the harbor market and noticed that he was getting a few stares. "You, uh, lead the way?"

After thanking the ship crew, they walked the streets towards their associates further in. The locals continued to stare at him, most curious, but there were a few hostile looks as well. It was just like Mistral in a way, except the anger was directed at him and not Trifa.

He waved at a few of the more friendly ones, hoping to create some good will. "Uh, I'm guessing there aren't a lot of humans here. Judging from the looks I'm getting."

She gave him a flat look with a raised eyebrow. Clearly his question was a dumb one. "Of course there aren't. This place was made for us faunus to escape to, free of the hatred we receive in the rest of Remnant. The human population here is barely above one percent. Some kids have never seen one of your kind before. Congratulations, you're now a minority for once."

The pair walked in silence for the rest of the trek. He saw a few children stare at him in mixes of confusion and wonder. He gave a smile and a wave their way. Some returned it, others hid behind things. It reminded him a little of the kids he'd met in Vale, but these looked better off.

"Here we are." Turning from the locals and to the building in front of him, this was definitely the place. The uniformed faunus stood in front of a rather nice looking building with the banner of the White Fang on each side of the door. The guards raised their weapons at him, but paused when Trifa stepped forward.

"Brothers, we come with a message for Corsac and Fennec. Please allow us to pass." The two gave Oxon one last glare before returning to their original poses. Clearly the White Fang on the island were just as unfriendly as the ones in Vale. He couldn't throw any looks back here, because he was overwhelmingly outnumbered. His only "ally" was Trifa, but Oxon wasn't going to trust her to help him.

The two entered the building and met with the "twins" he'd heard about. One had ears sticking out of his animal shaped cowl while the other had a bushy tail. They gave a respectful nod to the two of them.

"Welcome home, sister Trifa."

"Is this the person who brother Adam has sent?"

"Yes, my name is Oxon Adhmad, Taurus gave me this letter to give to you." Reaching into his pocket, he handed over the sealed envelope. They took it but didn't open it, it was annoying due to his own curiosity at what the horned faunus was planning.

"We thank you for your help, Oxon. It is rare for humans to travel all the way to our island. Please, let us offer you some hospitality." The brothers gave him kind smiles, seemingly much easier to get along with than the rest of their comrades. He could use the time here to train, surely there were people on this island on huntsman level?

~~~(XLVII)~~~

"If you think I'll just step aside and follow beneath you, you're wrong." Adam knew she wouldn't submit, that let him commit to his plan all the easier. As Sienna turned toward him, he impaled her with his crimson sword. She clearly didn't expect this and hadn't raised her aura.

"I know."

He lifted his blade along with her body, making the weapon slide deeper into Sienna's body, and causing her feet to dangle off the ground. She started to shake from either the rage or the pain. He rested a hand on her shoulder to speak into her ear. "Thank you, Sienna. You were there when our people needed you, but they need me now. I'm sorry you couldn't see this through to the end."

Sienna growled at his words and tried to claw at Adam's neck, but before she could strike, Adam swiftly removed his weapon from Sienna. The woman's body tumbled down the steps of the throne, where it laid still in a pool of blood. With the deed done, the White Fang soldiers begin to withdraw their weapons as Hazel looks down upon her body. Adam ignored the human's clear annoyance, theiraster had what they needed. A loyal White Fang leader.

"Give our former leader a proper burial. All who were here tonight will claim that Sienna was murdered by a human Huntsman. Sienna Khan will become a martyr for our cause, her final act as High Leader."

~~~(XLVII)~~~

Weiss had managed to get herself out of the ruined cargo ship before she collapsed. As she crawled forward, she noticed a few people standing near her.

Thank goodness…

"Help... please."

They did not immediately move to aid her, something that was a bit concerning. Did they not see her current state? One of them, a rough looking man, looked up from her to the other two present. "What do you think?"

The other man looked concerned at least. Looking over the wreck and her injured form. "I think she needs some assistance, she got rid of that troublesome pack of lancers after all. She did us a favor, their extermination will make our lives far easier."

An older woman in an odd outfit came into her vision next. "I think... We just hit the jackpot."

Weiss' face turns to one of concern as she looks up at the woman. She tries to plead once more, but clearly she'd get no assistance. The lady then stomped on her face painfully and caused her to lose consciousness.

~~~(XLVI)~~~

Pretty sure it's stated somewhere that Mistral is pretty racist, just barely below Atlas. Vale is third and Vacuo is the least racist, what with a faunus monarch during the war.