"I wish you would stop following me." Blake Belladonna glanced back to the girl walking to her side. A set of mismatched eyes looked up, blinking and swapping the pink and brown before shaking her head.
Neopolitan refused. Blake let out an annoyed sigh and continued on. The girl hadn't left her side since Vale. Despite many of Blake's attempts. Many of them. And despite the fact that she should turn her in, despite the fact she was probably an enemy, Blake was glad for the company. Not that she would ever tell the girl that.
Leaving her friends was one of the hardest things she had ever done. But, she had to leave them. To protect them. Yang lost a part of her, because of Blake. Weiss had nearly died because of her too. Because everyone around her always ends up getting hurt. She tugged at her long tailcoat and briefly wondered if that's why she was so ok with Neo following her.
Someone to watch her back, someone she didn't have to worry about being injured because of her. Blake had changed her outfit since Beacon, it held too many memories of the good times with her friends. Her long white tailcoat covered a sleeveless black crop top. Two thigh high black heeled boots covered her legs, along with a pair of black fitted pants.
It was also the style of where she was headed and hoped it would help her fit in a little better. Her amber eyes slid to Neo, using her parasol to keep the beating sun off of her. She had changed too, though Blake had trouble telling whether or not it was real or her Semblance.
She had gotten rid of the strange brown corset, and now wore a cropped white shirt that covered her entire upper torso and came down in points to just above her belly. The buttons were a chocolate brown in colour, standing out against the white, and Blake could recognise where she got the inspiration from.
That still took some getting used to. That Neopolitan had been dating Crue. And he'd known. And was fine with it, even when she pretended to be Polly. Blake still had questions to ask, but she was holding off until she was certain the girl couldn't avoid them.
The two were in one of the many port towns on the lower eastern side of Vale, and Blake took a small amount of pleasure in seeing the discomfort Neo was in. She clearly wasn't used to the hotter climates and looked ready to melt like the ice cream she seemed to dress herself after.
The pleasure became less funny when the shorter girl took off her hat and began to fan herself, her face actually looking a little red. Blake glanced to the side, spying a small vending machine. With a sigh, she walked over to it and purchased two bottles of water.
"Here." She said shortly, tossing one to the mute girl. Neo looked surprised, but managed to catch it in the bowler hat. She gave Blake a surprisingly genuine nod of gratitude, before hooking her parasol under her arm and opening the bottle, drinking it greedily.
Blake sat down on a shaded bench, drinking her own water. She felt Neo's presence sit down next to her, and scowled as she stopped drinking, looking to Neo. "Why are you still here?" Blake asked, causing Neo to blink in surprise, her eyes switching between pink and brown.
Neo pointed to Blake, then linked her index fingers together and pointed to herself. "I was nice to you, when I didn't know who you were." Blake responded to Neo's reasoning. She was annoyed that she had grown used to the girl's way of communicating, and could easily understand her. "If I knew who you were, I wouldn't have been as nice."
It was a thinly veiled threat, but Neo nodded in agreement nonetheless, the motion seeming somewhat hollow. She then pointed to Blake once more, and pressed two fingers against her breast, before wrapping a hand around the small necklace that had become a new addition to Neo's person.
Blake's body tensed, before it slackened, and she leant back against the bench. "Yeah. I did care for Crue." Neo made a circling motion with her finger. "And yeah, I guess he cared for me too." She crossed her arms in annoyance.
"But he's gone. So you have no reason to be here." Her amber eyes narrowed, as Neo's grip on her necklace tightened and her eyes were cast downward. Blake immediately felt the urge to apologise, but she pushed it down. "I, that was, I shouldn't have said that."
"You're looking after me because Crue cared for me." Blake stated. Neo nodded once more, her hand dropping from her necklace, where a small locket with an engraved wolf made out of triskele could be seen.
Neo rested her hands on a pair of chocolate-coloured jeans. Her fingers tapped the jeans a few moments in thought, before making a few more gestures to Blake. The Faunus let out a small sigh along with a small frown. "Of course, I miss him. He, he was always kind to me. Even when we had barely spent any time together. He just, was there."
Neo nodded in understanding. Blake somehow could feel she knew exactly where she was coming from. "You still haven't told me how you two even got together, let alone how he knew who you were." Neo smiled, and made a small motion of her index and middle finger walking across her leg.
Blake let out a small scoff, but despite herself her lips curled ever so slightly upward. "Yeah, an enthusiastic walk through the city. I remember that." She recalled the day her and her friends were first introduced to Polly.
It was the day after her group had fought with the White Fang on the highway. Her amber eyes widened. And with Torchwick. "Oh. You met when we fought each other." She looked to Neo, who seemed to be remembering the night in question.
She shook her head and jabbed one finger in the air before moving it back. "The night before?" Neo nodded. "I'm still iffy about the whole fact you worked for Torchwick." A raven eyebrow raised, as Blake looked at Neo suspiciously.
Neo nodded, but then thought to herself for a moment before her appearance changed. For a second, Blake thought she was looking into a mirror. Then, she noticed the lack of ears atop Neo's head.
"Cinder." Blake hissed in anger. The image dispelled, Neo matching Blake's expression of anger. Neo pointed to her hair, punched her fist against her palm and then pressed a hand against her chest and touched her bowler hat.
"She threatened you and Torchwick to help her." Blake interpreted. Neo nodded, before reaching up to the hat and holding it carefully in her hands. She gripped it onehanded, and made a grandiose gesture, before making a motion to take Blake's wallet from her pants.
She didn't steal it, but Blake got the idea. "Torchwick only wanted to steal. And do the whole gentlemen thief shtick." Neo nodded, flipping the hat back on her head. "And so did you." She nodded once more, tapping the locket around her neck. "And Crue was ok with that."
Neo smiled sadly, and even with everything she had caused, Blake found herself feeling bad for her. She shook her head slightly. Neo was a criminal, and so was Torchwick. She shouldn't feel bad for them at all. She should hate them.
But then, if she let herself succumb to that train of thought, she should also hate Crue, for associating with them.
She couldn't bring herself to even entertain that idea. So, with a sigh, she accepted the fact that Neopolitan would be tailing her for the foreseeable future. At least she'd be able to see the girl struggle in the Menagerie heat.
The thought brought a small chuckle to the Faunus, catching Neo's attention. The girl raised an eyebrow as Blake waved her off. "Nothing. The boat should be soon. Hope you've got your sea legs." Maybe it was the fact she didn't talk back, or that Blake had already been somewhat close to her as Polly, but the more time she spent around the girl, the less her animosity remained.
Neo looked less sure about getting on a boat, but if that's where Blake was going, she'd follow. She wasn't lying when she said one of the reason's she was following Blake was because she was nice to her, even if it was when she was disguised.
Kindness was as rare to Neo as snow in Vacuo. It's why she was here now. It's why she was worried when Weiss was injured in her doubles. It's why she fell for Crue in the first place. Her hand gripped the locket around her neck as she ran a thumb over it fondly.
They may have met each other in a night of carnal passion, something that Neo would always remember, but it was the morning after that she remembered and treasured more. Crue had stayed the night. He was there when she awoke. And glad to be there.
And then, he had actually been happy to be in a relationship with her. Even if it started off as fake, simply something to excuse the two knowing each other intimately in front of Cinder. The feelings they shared were real, and Crue made sure Neo knew that.
He listened to her, which was ironic to think now. She had been born mute, much to the disdain of her parents. Then, somewhere along the way, after they were long gone, she found her voice. She hated it. Hated her voice. Hated that it had come to her so late in life, after so much could have been different if she had just been able to speak from the start.
But, even if she hated her voice, Crue loved it. He loved it when she talked to him. And he loved it when she didn't use her voice to talk to him. He loved her. Neo swallowed once, blinking away some small tears at the corner of her eyes.
And now he was gone. Along with her voice. She had screamed herself hoarse when she found out he was dead. When he didn't show up where they promised to meet up. She decided there she would never speak again. Her voice died with Crue.
She brought her locket up so that she could see it and clicked it open. A picture of Crue kissing Neo's cheek swung upward, the girl in the photo looking delighted at the action and smiling widely. Neo sniffed, before something white suddenly entered her periphery.
She clicked the locket shut, seeing Blake holding out a small tissue to her, while looking away from the scene. Neo didn't say anything but did take the tissue gratefully and dabbed it at her eyes. She made a small noise within her mouth as thanks, as Blake nodded while still looking away.
"Come on. The boat should be leaving soon." Blake stood up from the bench, dusting off her long boots. Neo gave a nod, wiping her eyes once more as she followed. As they made their way to the docks, neither woman noticed the brown cloaked figure watching them from the shadows…
…
In the Loose Thread, Crue was staring at a map. "I am so fucking lost here." He groaned, putting his hands into his head as leaned his elbows on the table he was sat at. The inn was bustling with people, majority of them eating and drinking.
A ghostly finger suddenly entered his vision, hovering above the landmark for Beacon Academy. Crue refused to look up and see the face of the person who died there. He kept trying to concentrate on finding a way to Mistral, before he finally gave up.
Crue grabbed the map and made his way to the bar, where the Shark Faunus was working. "Hey, Coby. Could I get a hand here?" He asked, setting the map down on the counter. The Innkeeper looked up with a raised eyebrow, after setting down a plate before a blonde woman sat a way down the counter.
"What can I help you with?" He asked, making his way over.
"Lost as all Hell. I'm trying to get to Mistral. Wondering what the best way to get there is." He explained, pointing to the continent on the map.
Coby let out a short breath, blowing his lips as he tried to think. "You've got me. I've only ever lived on the west coast. Mistral's as far off as Atlas to me." Crue let out a curse as he stared at the map of various villages and routes dotted across Vale.
"I'm sorry, did you say you were trying to get to Mistral?" A new voice asked. Coby and Crue turned to see the woman Coby had served earlier looking at them with a raised blonde eyebrow. She had short and wavy blonde hair, tied into a small ponytail.
Bright blue eyes looked at Crue expectantly. "Uh, yeah. Need to get there fairly quickly." He explained, glancing the woman up and down. She wore a dark red blouse with a white vest underneath, and a set of regular blue jeans.
"You could go to Dromremy. It's a port town on the other side of the Kingdom." She got off her chair and examined the map, before placing a finger below the town in question. She trailed the finger along a route that led almost directly to Seamsly, going below the mountains that Vale was so well known for.
"Huh. That looks like it'd work." Crue examined the route in more detail, before looking back up to the woman. He didn't recognise her at all, but the eyes looked vaguely familiar. "Guessing you want something in thanks, though." He raised his own eyebrow.
"Yeah, I want to come with." She gave a smirk. "I had a Huntsman booked to escort me, but they haven't shown." The blonde explained. "I just want to go home. You're clearly a Hunter, so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask."
Crue thought about the request. The woman would probably be a big help if she's travelled this route before. He wanted to get to his friends as soon as possible, but that didn't mean he should just turn down people who needed his help.
"I can pay you. I was planning on paying the other Huntsman." Suddenly the request looked a lot more inviting. The Faunus was running low on funds, which is why he had to kill the Spinetrap just to get a room and a way over to Patch.
"Alright. I can do that." Crue nodded to the woman. "Gonna be one Hell of a hike, though." He warned.
"You think we're walking there?" The woman laughed, before shaking her head. "No, dear, we're not walking." She got up from the counter, before leaving an amount of lien on the wood. "Thank you for the meal, Coby."
"You're welcome, Miss Million." The Innkeeper nodded. "Take care now, the both of you." He gave a small nod towards his fellow Faunus as well.
"Will do." Crue said, before following 'Miss Million' out of the door. "By the way, I didn't actually get your name." He called after her.
"Oh, that's my fault. I was just excited to get home." She came to a stop next to what Crue considered a surprising sight. A car. Crue's mind equated it to a mini-cooper from his world, albeit with tyres that looked like they could drive at a ninety degree angle.
For some reason, the idea of a regular person driving a car in a world filled with Grimm was one that had never come across Crue's mind. "My name is Vermillion, but everyone just calls me Millie." Vermillion spoke up, leaving an unasked question in the air.
"I'm Crue. Glad to be, escorting you?" He tested the words. "Though, I hope you know how to drive that thing, cause I sure don't." He had no idea how to drive a car. Motorbikes he could drive. Though the only reason he knew how was because they were easier to steal when he was back in Dublin.
"Don't worry, I have a licence. I only need you because, well…" Vermillion gave a small shrug of her shoulders, gesturing to her entire body. She looked a good few years older than Crue, but he gathered what she meant.
"You're not a Hunter." He answered, as Vermillion nodded. "Well, lucky thing you ran into me then." He managed a smirk.
"Yes. Lucky indeed." She gave a soft shake of her head, before walking over to the driver's side door. Crue's eye twitched as he watched her get in on the left side.
"That's gonna bug me." He sighed, walking over and getting in the car on the wrong side. He shrugged off his small satchel from under his green cloak and set it down between his legs. "How long will it take to get to, Dromremy, was it?"
"Only a few days, provided we don't run into anything." Vermillion explained. "I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain a little while we drive, I like hearing stories from Huntsmen, they usually serve as good inspiration."
"Inspiration?" Crue asked, turning his head to look at Vermillion properly. It was then, he noticed a reflection in the rearview mirror. Turning, he saw several boxes loaded with the same repeated book cover in the backseat.
A black sheet with red lines across it. "Oh, I'm a writer. My publisher is here in Seamsly." Vermillion smiled. The smile faltered as she saw Crue tense up. "That, that isn't a problem, is it?" She asked.
"No." Crue's voice came out strained, like he was trying not to punch himself in the face as he spoke. "Nope. Not at all. I just, haven't had the best experience with Author's. And this…" He sighed. "This feels like karma."
Vermillion hummed in confusion, but seeing as Crue didn't make to exit the car, figured it would be fine. "Well, I hope you've gotten into some hijinks as a Huntsmen. Especially the saucy kind." She said jokingly, as she clicked her seatbelt in.
It was then she noticed the sudden reddening of Crue's cheeks. He coughed to the side as he put on his own seatbelt. "Ooh, this is going to be a fun drive, I can tell." Vermillion smiled as they began to travel.
Hm, who could this new character be? A callback to another fic of mine? Who's to say. Also sometimes I genuinely forget there are honest to goodness cars in RWBY. Like, regular ass cars. I know there are the floaty ones in Atlas but Vale has ones with wheels.
A rare thing indeed. But, now Crue has his way to Mistral. Kind of. He'll still have to go across the whole Kingdom, with everyone else that he cares about several leagues ahead. Also, he has no idea where the hell Blake is headed. He just assumes Mistral, because he has no better ideas.
Blake and Neo make for an interesting pair to write for, with Blake having to be the talkative one. It's been a long while since the Fall of Beacon, and the two have had plenty of time to get used to another's company. It's only really because Neo is not hiding the fact she's following Blake that she doesn't take too much issue with it.
Silent and Silent. But with a mysterious follower. Oh, who could it possibly be? Some things are still the same as how the show goes, I will say. Though more are different. One thing that is certainly different, is a certain redhead that's alive and… well, I can't say well.
But, you'll be seeing two big changes in the next chapter! Can't wait for you to see them!
That's all for this chapter, hope you enjoyed, if you did let me know, and as always…
Until Next Time
-Friday
