LV - Stem

~~~(LV)~~~

Walking through the lower end of Mistral was a new experience for Oxon. He thought his knowledge of Vale would prepare him for this kingdom, but that was far from the case. The atmosphere was kind of similar, people went about their day, kids ran in the streets while bedraggled parents chased after them, and almost nobody gave the heavily armored teen any attention.

While the general feel was something he could compare to Vale, the social culture was wildly different here. It's almost like there was a class system in place. People not from the upper level were almost seen as second class citizens. The rich folk lorded their power and influence over those they believed to be beneath them. It was no wonder that Mantle sided with this kingdom in the war.

The city itself was built on the mountain side, which reminded him of his home a little. Though Prism was without such different levels of wealth. In this city, depending on how high or low one was on it, the higher their status. The higher up, the safer one was from all but the avian Grimm. That made land there highly sought after and greatly expensive.

Oxon was traveling from Haven towards the lower half of the mountain side. The lower he went, the more obvious the differences. Homes began to drop in quality and the roads had more issues. According to the drunk, this was just how the place was run.

Speaking of the man…

As promised, Qrow sniffed out the "Junior of Mistral", a crime syndicate with a spider motif. That was something he was not a fan of, creepy arachnids spooked him to no end. No offense, Trifa! Thankfully, he wasn't going there on his own. The elder huntsman along with Oscar had come along with.

They accompanied him for a multitude of reasons: making sure he gets there, making sure he gets the needed documentation, or to make sure he's not robbed getting there or back. But he really knew it was due to lack of trust, sure, the young boy seemed amicable, but Oxon saw through the bullshit. Like the days prior, he was without his weapons, the group still didn't trust him to be armed. Though he still had a boot knife.

"You know where we're going, yeah?" The slouched man merely huffed and kept walking. Now, Oxon greatly respected the man for saving him, but sometimes his personality grated on his nerves. Especially since he kept giving him odd looks and muttering to himself. Not to mention the disregard for the safety of Oscar, who is a child. He looked in the range of twelve to fifteen, definitely not old enough to meet with a crime lord. "Also, are we sure Pine should be here? I don't know his background, but what if the kid gets hurt? Things could get dangerous and you're the only one of us with a weapon."

"You afraid you're gonna get a booboo?"

"I'm afraid the kid is gonna get stabbed! Or shot! Or - or abducted!" The last part was a sudden worry he had just thought about. Oxon glanced at the hazel eyed boy with a worried expression. He just seemed bemused. "Don't wander too far now, you need a shield, I'll be there. Sound good, kid?"

He got a chuckle from the boy, something that put Oxon on guard a bit. It wasn't like most kids were so casual about possible bodily harm. "While I feel that your worry is unnecessary, I appreciate it nonetheless." He nodded, satisfied as much as he could be. With his piece said, Oxon continued to focus on the mission outlined by Ruby, Qrow, Jaune, and Oscar.

They would board the northern line to Argus where they would meet Jaune's older sister, Saffron, and then prepare a way to get to Atlas. Though the news Weiss gave them about the border being shut was not good. Ruby has faith that her partner's reputation and influence will help them. Oxon agreed since he had no idea what the northern kingdom was like, maybe the Schnee name just had that much sway.

"Once we get this, we should be able to get to Argus tomorrow, Right?"

Oscar nodded as he spoke. "Yes, while it doesn't seem like Mistral is looking for you, Atlas will be different. Speaking of the kingdom, Qrow, Oxon, how likely do you think it is that Weiss can convince the Argus garrison to take us to Atlas?" Oxon was going to speak but got cut off by Qrow.

"Mini Ice Queen? Eh, I'm sure the brat can figure something out. That, or daddies credit card will." Oxon felt a flash of anger at the way he spoke of her. "Ice Queen or mini Ice Queen, it's usually the same. Nepotism is Atlas's default state."

"Hey! She's earned everything she has!" The older man glanced back at Oxon from over his shoulder, with a mocking grin present.

"Oh? I didn't realize the girl had fans among terrorists."

"She's friends with Blake."

The man laughed at the quick retort.

"Yeah, you got me there. Between You, me, and those ex Fang girls, we sure got a whole bunch of people with less than clean backgrounds."

Wait? Him too?

"What do you mean by you t-"

"Ah! Here we are!" Oxon was miffed that he got cut off, but he resolved to ask him or his nieces later. Following an outstretched finger, Oxon saw a few people in gray and purple outfits, spider tattoos worn proudly. With a motion for them to follow him, Qrow walked up to the rather unassuming building. "Let me do the talking, yeah? We don't want to make any more enemies by accidentally offending them."

Oxon nodded along with Oscar. Seriously, why was the kid allowed to join them when the man denied Yang and Ruby? Probably just being protective or whatever, but still… The kid seemed way too calm.

He and the two guards spoke briefly and Qrow slid the men a few lien chips. Money, huh? That seemed all that was necessary as the two stepped aside with far too unconvincing smiles.

Once allowed in, the trio found themselves in front of a rather homely looking woman. She looked just a little over middle aged, maybe a bit older than Qrow. She didn't seem the type that would be the head of a large syndicate based on information, but then again Ruby didn't seem like a vicious scythe-gun using fighter the night of the dust robbery. He kept his aura up just in case.

"Well now, ain't this a treat, Qrow Brawnwen is in need of my services. Your sister is a common enough customer, but from what I hear, you're the straight edge of the family." At the mention of his sibling, the man took a deep swig of his flask and mumbled a few curses. "Hmmm… or not. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"Hello, lil miss. We're here for some documentation." The man got straight to the point, something he appreciated. "Kid here comes from outside the kingdom, no documents to his name."

"An identity, huh? Is it just a simple fake? Or is it a full fledged ID that's in the system?" Oxon didn't know what each was and let Qrow deal with the details.

"The real deal, good enough to pass transportation checkpoints." He slid her a scrap of paper which she unfolded with a curious eyebrow raised. "That's the name we're going to use."

That was an annoying surprise. He already had an alias picked out! "Wait what? I thought I was going to choose. Shouldn't it be something I'd remember?"

Oxon didn't like the amused chuckle that spilled from Qrow. "Oh, you'll remember it alright."

"Now, onto the means of payment, lien is always acceptable, but if you have any juicy information for trade? Then we might be able to work something out that way." That made sense, she dealt in information, so having more always helped.

Qrow pulled out a wallet, grumbling about him being owed for this, and was preparing to ask for a quote when a girl in gang colors entered the room. She seemed a bit disheveled and cranky. She waited for the woman to acknowledge her before speaking. "Miss. Malachite, that girl is back again. She still is demanding information on Fall."

The older woman rolled her eyes and huffed at the information the girl gave her. This must have been a constant annoyance. "Tell her we'll contact her if and when we get anything. We'll find something eventually as long as it's there."

Oxon paused at the name the gang member said. Malachite. He knew only two others with that name. He paid a bit more attention to the woman behind the desk, there wasn't much in common that he could see besides the name. She definitely noticed his staring.

"What's wrong hun? I got something in my teeth?" That might have been a code, because a few of the guards moved their hands to their weapons. The move was noticed by Qrow and Oscar as well.

"Now, now… We just want the ID and documents. Not a fight."

She made a noncommittal sound and strummed her fingers on the desk. "I'm just curious as to why Mr. Silent here is giving me a once over? I can't imagine I'm his type." Ew… Ewwww! No, definitely not. The woman saw and laughed at his expression, which seemed to dissolve some of the tension.

"It's just, uh, do you have any relatives?" Her laughter stopped and she gave him a curious yet stern look. "In Vale, specifically? I know two people that also go by Malachite. They are twins working in Vale."

"You know those two?" Oxon nodded at her question. "And how would you describe these two girls?"

He didn't mention their gender, though the girls were probably known by this "Little Miss Malachite" woman, likely a relative.

He gestured to his chest. "About this tall, black hair, Mil likes red and Mel prefers white. Their tongues are about as caustic as they are sharp. Do you know them?" There was a moment of silence where everyone was getting a little tense. That was dissipated by the crime boss grinning at him.

"Well well! Ain't this a su~prise! They asked for me to keep an eye out, but I didn't think it'd actually happen!" Out came a bottle of some amber liquid and two glasses. It must have been good since Qrow's eyes were glued to the paper label. "Sit, Oxon Adhmad!"

He should have been concerned that she knew his name, but he didn't think there was anything he could really do. She gestured to one of her men who then brought out a chair opposite of her. Qrow made to sit and sample the booze, but she gave him a glare before giving Oxon a smile. He followed her gesture and sat down at the seat. This was definitely going a way they weren't expecting. A glance at Qrow showed the man's obvious envy, Oscar just seemed confused yet amused at the event.

"May I ask about what you were looking out for?" Why would a crime lord - Crime Lady? - be looking for him? Did Vale put out a bounty on him since he escaped? Probably not due to the grin on the woman, unless she intended to collect. "I didn't know that people were looking for me."

"The girls you described are indeed known to me, being my daughters and all." Huh, they must take after their dad, looks wise. "After the whole debacle at Beacon I made sure to send some people to check on them and make sure they were ok, the men came back with a message about a month ago. The girls and Hei talked about a certain coworker of theirs who has been caught up in the whole thing and got locked up. Now my girls were fixing to break you out, except for the news that it already happened. They had kept an ear to the ground in case you tried to stay in Vale, but you obviously haven't, so they asked me to see if you came to Mistral instead in order to avoid the heat."

She slid him a tumbler of the bourbon which he looked at suspiciously. His track record with booze was not great. He wasn't ready to embarrass himself again. He took a light sip, just the way Lisian taught him, and had to use every ounce of strength to not cough at the strong flavor. It tasted as if he was eating tree bark, an oak most likely from the tannins.

"Thank you for the drink. It's… nice." The woman rolled her eyes while Qrow made a strangled sound of agony.

"I'm glad you can appreciate it." It seemed like she knew she was torturing the older man by the smirk she sent him after taking a sip of her own. "Now I must wonder just why my darling daughters seemed to be so worried about you? I keep tabs on my folks, especially the loyal kind, is that what you were?"

"Ah, I guess? I was only there for a little under a year. They hired me after I moved to the kingdom from my old home. Though I did help out after the whole "Blondie Incident" a few years ago. They took a bad hit and I was in good enough shape to help patch them and a few others up." That had been a hell of a time for him, first the club got a pretty good thrashing, then he got his ass beat by Ruby when they'd attempted a robbery. Besides that, the club was pretty good, honestly. Even if Lisian gave Oxon a headache most nights. "We got along alright for the most part."

"I heard about that, and so you earned their good graces after that?" He nodded to confirm her question. "Well, if you're such good pals, then I'll give ya the friends n family discount. I won't hear the end of it if they heard I tried to hustle ya."

"Thank you very much ma'am, I appreciate it." He then recalled the message relayed by the gang girl. "Uh, was the "Fall" mentioned referring to "Cinder Fall" by any chance?"

The woman seemed interested in the question and confirmed it. So there were others out there looking for her, though perhaps it was in vain now. Still, it didn't hurt to share the information on the very much evil woman.

"She was present at the battle at Haven, went down into some sort of cave or whatever for something. From what I was told, since I didn't see so myself, her, Raven, and some whatever bandit went down and none came out. The only body found was the Bandit girl, so maybe she's dead?"

"But you can't confirm it."

He shook his head. "Nobody saw the fight, only that there was no sign of life anywhere down there. So whoever is searching for her might as well give up. Or not, since we never saw a body, that bitch might still be kicking." He still wasn't sure what power she'd gained at Beacon and Haven(?), teleportation or something might let her escape without a trace. Though why not tell her teammates and escape together?

"Hmmmmm… That's quite the interesting story." Did she not believe him? It was pretty odd, he admitted, but still true since Yang was the one to tell it. "But it should be enough for that kaleidoscope of a woman. I'll take that information as payment for the ID, it should be done by tomorrow. I'll send a courier to deliver it either later tonight or early tomorrow."

"Thank you very much!" Oxon had a smile on his face, Miltia and Melanie seemed to still be looking out for him. He would need to thank them when they met next. The twins mom seemed surprised at his positive attitude but didn't seem bothered by it. Things went easier than expected, who knew his coworkers back in Vale would be connected to a Mistrali crime network?

"I'll be sure to tell them you're not dead in a ditch, hell knows they've been badgering me for results. And if anything on the Cinder front changes, I'd appreciate an update."

On their way out, he noticed a shorter girl giving him an odd look. It was half parts hostile and half parts curious. Having never met the girl, he gave an awkward wave and grin that didn't feel stable. She didn't attack him at least, so that was a positive, she did enter the room after them. Getting what they came for and not having everything devolve into a brawl, Oxon and the others left the building in high spirits. Well, except Qrow, he was still upset at not getting to sample the good drink. Oxon saw that as karma for insulting Weiss.

The group made their way through the City and back to the school. Oxon though still had things he was looking for and places to go. Oscar seemed to not mind the extended trip while Qrow just grumbled. A fun day out, truly.

~~~(LV)~~~

Once back at Haven, where they decided to stay while waiting for their final preparations to be finished, Oxon and the two suspicious non-students parted ways. He wasn't sure why Oscar and Qrow spent so much time together, but it made Oxon uncomfortable. Not for the normal reasons, he knew Branwen was a decent enough guy, but that there were moments where Pine seemed off.

The boy was a happy and amicable kid most of the time, but at others it felt like he was an old man trying to fit in with his grandkids. The aged dialect he occasionally used was creepy, which made Oxon feel guilty at being disturbed by the kid. Oscar hadn't treated him with much suspicion compared to the others. He'd been pretty nice, actually.

Maybe the kid just came from a family that was super polite? He didn't seem like the warrior type, but it seemed that he trained with Qrow and the others. He used a cane like it was a saber, it reminded him of Roman. Though it was unclear if his weapon had a long range function.

He heard from Blake that Ruby was celebrating her birthday tonight, and she'd leant him some lien to let him buy some materials while he was out this morning. He found a rather exotic hardwood that definitely fit the girl, he just hoped she'd be okay with the creation.

There was another reason he wanted to go out so early this morning. The faunus of Menagerie had begun their journey home today. Ghira and Kali would be back home in a few days and Oxon was unfortunately not going with them. Kali had offered, but she had been expecting him to want to stay with the others. He still appreciated the offer; it meant a lot that he was wanted by the two. She kept teasing him about calling her "mom" and Blake "sis", but it was still far too soon for him. Maybe he'd try later.

But tomorrow morning, their group would begin their journey to Argus. He saw the group off with a bit more tears than he'd like to admit, at least Blake had been in a similar state. After just recently reuniting with her parents, she was hesitant to see them leave. A few of the guys and girls he'd trained had mobbed him in a group hug and it took all his strength and a decent aura boost to stay relatively upright. The group tried to convince him to sail back with them, but begrudgingly accepted his goals. It didn't stop them from demanding his return, Pakaa was insistent on him settling down in their village.

He would miss all of them for sure, but the goal of killing Cinder's boss was an important one. Someone so monstrous couldn't be allowed to live. Like witches broom on a lodgepole pine, she couldn't be left alone. He wasn't sure how strong she was to have been seemingly allied with the Grimm in Vale, but with the ten (nine if they didn't count the literal child) of them? He'd like to see anybody come out unscathed.

Cinder, dead or fled, had clearly been beaten by somebody, Raven Branwen most likely. That meant even if she was alive, she wasn't invincible and may even be debilitated. That would be good, and from what they told him about her and his brother's fight, she was only using one arm. Something had happened since he saw her on that roof in Beacon.

He almost wished she was still kicking, so he could also beat her down.

"Hey Ox!" The sudden call out brought Oxon out of his revenge fantasy.

From one of the dorm buildings was Sun and Neptune. The three teammates had come to the school after the news broke, especially since their leader was in the news. He had as well. The local media speaking on his fights in the Vytal Festival and the fact that he didn't side with Cinder here as proving his innocence. There were obviously skeptical people, but news of his prison break must not have reached Anima yet. Like JNR and half of team RWBY, Oxon had avoided the Mistral team when they arrived, though it seemed like he couldn't hide forever.

"Sun. What's up?" He looked between the two nervously, sure, the blonde kept his word since Oxon hadn't betrayed them again. He has started warming up to him again, and Oxon tried to make sure he maintained that path. The last time he saw Neptune though… That wasn't a great night.

"I was telling the team about my time in Menagerie, how I totally kicked White Fang ass. When I mentioned you, brainiac here wanted to see if I was pulling his tail." The bluenette was definitely focused on Oxon, the expression was hard to read.

"Uhhhhh..."

"When I heard you were here, my first thought was to try and arrest you, like back in Beacon. You were present at two schools under attack by terrorists? That didn't seem like it was chance to me." He then nodded to his partner. "Sun convinced me otherwise. He told me about your circumstances, which lined up with something I heard from a gangster in Vale."

Three lien on who that was.

Oxon leaned forward, imitating a Mistrali now he'd read about while here. He wanted to get his feelings across to the guy as strongly as possible. "Thank you, I know I have a lot to make up for, but I will do everything in my power to do so." He couldn't see their faces since he was bent ninety degrees, but after perhaps half a minute, Neptune told him to raise his head.

"I get it man, kinda surprised you knew about that kinda thing." The guy rubbed the back of his neck in a mix of awkwardness and frustration. "I'm still a little iffy, but if everyone else seems to agree, then I'll accept it."

The tall teen walked up to Oxon with a fist out, Oxon hesitantly bumped it with the back of his knuckles. "That's for saving my school." With that last sentence, Neptune walked off, either to his room or to wherever he lived in the kingdom. The brief encounter had been strange and far too quick for him. Sun patted him on the back as he walked up to him

"He might not seem it, but he's glad you aren't still an enemy, and he wanted to apologize for his words at Beacon, but it seems like I gotta do it for him." Oxon shook his head.

"There's nothing to forgive, really." Sun smiled at that.

"Thanks. Well, I gotta get ready for the party, you gonna show?"

Oxon pulled out the Rosewood block, showing it to Sun. "Yeah, just gotta careve this little guy first."

"That's a pricey bit of lumber, don't mess it up now." The blonde had a grin that turned wistful. "Too bad everything happened so quickly, I left that monkey you carved me in our dorm."

"I can always make you another? Whenever we see each other again."

"Sounds good to me!" A notification went off on the faunus' scroll and he smiled at the message. "Gotta bounce, see ya tonight!"

With that Oxon was alone again. He let out a heavy sigh and checked his scroll, there was only a few hours until the party, he'd need to focus if he wanted the piece done by then.

~~~(LV)~~~

I definitely forgot about the Twin's mom being here until I was writing the last chapter. I know it was brought up in the Roman Holiday book, but I haven't had a chance to read it.

I saw the teaser for volume 9. It seems quite interesting.