Back after two weeks. Let's get this ball a rollin! Don't worry, it's much longer than the last one.
Crue felt his Aura getting dangerously low as he traversed the rooftops of Kuchinashi. They had been moving for a while, with the Ace-Ops keeping up fairly well, but as far as Crue was concerned, the roofs were his domain. His Semblance and fighting style made traversing them a breeze.
Though in saying that, he wasn't able to use his Semblance as much due to using it as a means of tracking Tortuga. He knew she weighed more than him, not a slight against her but that shell had to have added a lot.
He had never truly tried to use his Semblance in this way before, but he'd be damned if he would make it work. A small beeping sounded out from his Scroll that caused him to stop in his tracks. Harriet came to an immediate halt after him, having been keeping up with him the closest.
"Why'd you stop?" She asked accusingly. She had said nothing since they had begun their hunt, and Crue knew why. He couldn't say he blamed her, if he was in her situation he'd be acting the same way.
"Aura." Crue grunted out, taking out his Scroll and checking it. "Fuckin' Hell." He sighed. It was in the red. If he kept going, he was sure he'd be drained completely. He didn't know if that would bring out the Wolf inside him, but he didn't want to take that chance.
The other Ace-Ops eventually caught up, the last being Elm who was carrying Winter. "What is the problem?" She asked, her head peeking over Elm's shoulder.
"His Aura is getting low." Harriet answered, her tone suggesting it wasn't a good excuse. Crue held back on a glare in her direction, slipping his Scroll back into his pockets.
"If I run out of Aura I won't be able to help." Crue shot back, looking around for a clue as to where to go next to find Tortuga. As he was scanning his surroundings, with the Ace-Ops in the background making plans, a small flickering light caught his attention.
With the dreary atmosphere and constant drizzling rain, he was surprised anything would stand out. He squinted through the slight fog and managed to get a slightly clearer view of the what appeared to be a building, the flickering light he saw was the lights in the window turning on.
"Oh god damn it." He hissed, realising what the building was. A tavern. Way to support the stereotypes. "I do not need a fucking drink right now. Well..." He considered it, but the idea was washed away when he saw the clientele entering the building.
"Hey." Crue spoke up, catching the attention of the Ace-Ops. "This, Hana guild. Are they Huntsmen trained?"
"Yes." Vine answered. "Of varying degrees, but they are. Why?" For his response, Crue gave a short nod to the tavern he was staring at. Once it was brought to their attention, the Ace-ops could see what he meant.
Several people, clearly Huntsmen from the way they were dressed, were coming and going from the tavern. "I get the feeling someone in there might have an idea. If this group is as dangerous as you say, they probably have a lot of people."
"He makes a good point." Clover, who would have once looked physically ill upon having to say that, gave a small nod of gratitude to Crue for pointing it out. "There looks to be only one visible entrance, there is probably a back door in, so the best bet would be one of us to go in while the others guard the entrances-" "Wait."
Crue across Clover's plan with a concerned glance. "You aren't thinking of going in there, are you?" At his words, a series of dark looks were instantly directed his way.
"You think we're just going to let-" "I'm not saying leave Tortuga." Crue cut that line of thought before it could even begin, stopping Elm in her tracks.
"We are trying to find Tortuga." He reminded them that he was also a part of this mission. "Tortuga, the Ace Operative from Atlas. You know, the place where you are all from and all dress the same." He gestured to their respective outfits.
As each of them took a moment to glance down at themselves, Crue continued. "You walk in there, and everyone and their mother will know why you're there and who you're looking for. Someone from Atlas goes missing, someone from Atlas shows up. They're gonna go completely underground and hide Tortuga where no one can find her."
"You're suggesting you go in." Vine caught on first, and almost immediately each of the Ace-Ops disagreed. If it wasn't for the fact they were on a random rooftop, their argument probably would have caught a lot of attention.
"He's right." To his surprise, Winter cut across the argument with a sharp statement. "With Tortuga taken, they would expect someone like her to act. We would be too obvious." She looked annoyed, not at her words, but at the fact she was unable to help. With her damaged leg, and the fact she was a Schnee known far and wide, she would have been the worse person to try such a tactic.
"Too obvious?!" Harriet hissed out through gritted teeth. "His stupid face was plastered across the world and blamed for the Fall of Beacon. You don't think anyone might recognise him?" She threw a hand out in Crue's direction, pointed directly at said 'stupid face'.
Crue scowled at her description, but as the Ace-Ops realised Harriet was right, they turned to look at Crue for his response. Before them all, Crue gained a smirk that suggested he had already thought of that.
"I never said I was going to be the one going in there..."
…
The bouncer to The Skillful tavern prided himself on making sure only those deserving got in through their doors. And he would continue to do that, no matter how many people tried to barge their way in.
But he would be lying if he didn't say the man currently approaching him didn't make him a little bit concerned. A long green cloak that came down to his calves, with the sleeves torn off allowing for the arms to be shown in full. One still covered in a plain white sleeve, but the other showed a bare, muscled arm.
Such clothing was not unfamiliar to man, but it was the head that set him on edge. An emerald helmet covered the man's face, but through the holes that allowed him to see out, the bouncer saw a single, steely blue eye.
A shiver ran up his spine that had nothing to do with the cold air of Kuchinashi. The man walked with a purpose, and looked dead set of entering the tavern. But the bouncer had been doing this job for several years, and he'd be damned if a single, somewhat intimidating Huntsmen was all it took for him to back down.
He held up an open hand to stop the man's approach. To his surprise, and relief, he stopped. The helmeted head turned to look at him, waiting for him to continue. "You need to prove you're a Huntsman to get in here."
The single blue eye blinked, and then with a single wave of his hand, gestured to his entire being. "Yeah, I know. You look that part." He had seen the excuse many times before. 'Do you think anyone who isn't a Huntsmen would dress like this?'.
"Still need proof." The man rolled his head, an exaggerated motion of rolling his eyes done solely so the bouncer could know how he felt about the situation. The helmet suddenly froze, staring at something off to the left.
The man held up a single gauntleted finger, and walked over to the bounty board outside of the tavern. The bouncer wondered what he was doing, as he examined the board and ripped off a notice.
He walked back over and held up the page he ripped off. The bouncer suddenly felt a rush of pride that his instincts were correct, but it was overshadowed by the creeping chill that travelled up his body.
The image on the bounty matched the helmet of the man before perfectly. 'The Wolf. Rogue Huntsman. Reward: 200,000 Lien. Please contact Valean, Mistrali or Atlesian enforcement if you have information about his whereabouts.'
"That do?" It was the first words he had spoken, and the bouncer nodded.
"Yeah. That'll do. But, uh, there's one more thing." The Wolf looked annoyed, or at least the bouncer thought he did behind the mask. "You need to solve a riddle." The Huntsman's shoulder's dropped as he stared at the bouncer through his helmet.
"It's part of the tradition. I'll make it quick." He held up his hands in defence. "You measure my life in hours and I serve you by dying. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. What am I?" The bouncer really hoped the man before him was just muscle.
The Wolf remained silent for a moment, bringing up a hand to cup his chin as he thought. "A matchsti- no." He shook his head, before it shot up and stared at the bouncer, pointing at him with an armoured finger.
"A candle."
The bouncer nodded, and jerked his head towards the door. "Don't go starting any bar fights. Rules are rules." The bouncer wondered if the man before him would even bother following the rules. Thankfully, he nodded in acceptance. But, his next words didn't do much to inspire the bouncer's confidence.
"I won't start any." With that, The Wolf folded up the bounty of themselves and entered the tavern. The bouncer began wondering if it was time to search for other employment.
Inside, the tavern was bustling with various patrons, all of them obviously Huntsmen and Huntresses. None of them paid any attention to the newcomer, which served The Wolf well. He made his way to the bar, where an older woman with white hair stood manning it.
A long scar ran down one side of her face and crossed over her nose. Her eyes immediately clocked The Wolf's approach, and quickly made her way to meet him at the counter. "Can I help you?" She asked.
Despite looking older in the years, she carried herself with a strong and confident posture that could have only belonged to a Huntress. "Not looking for any trouble. Just a drink." He held up his hands passively.
The barkeep's faded grey eyes analysed The Wolf, staring into his own. Finally, she gave a nod. "Alright. What do ya want?" She crossed her arms in acceptance.
A breath came out from under his helmet as The Wolf looked at the various bottles on the shelf behind the woman. "Got any cider?" He needed to remain sober for time being here. "And, maybe a straw."
He tapped the bottom of his helmet, which covered his chin. The woman gave a short chuckle. "Sure, I'll get that right to you." The sound of raucous laughter suddenly made itself known, and The Wolf glanced over to see a group of people at a booth.
There was one man in the middle of two women on either side, arms around both of them. He looked fairly unremarkable, with dark blue hair and an angular jaw. On the table before them were several drinks, most of them half drank already.
Across from the man were a few other patrons, though The Wolf couldn't see any resemblance or reason they would be. He honestly had trouble picturing the man in the middle as a Huntsman. He didn't give off the same aura as everyone else.
"I still can't believe you of all people manage to kill him, Palter." One of the men across from him said. The blue haired man just laughed.
"Believe it, Ollie. You know my Semblance, you know I can't l lie." Palter threw his hands out from around the women as he laughed once more. "And you all know I killed the wolf!"
"Yeah, yeah, like you haven't bragged enough about it already." One of the men across from Palter waved off his words, leaning an elbow on the table and looking somewhat bored. "What The Wolf look like anyway?" His eyes wandered over Palter's shoulder as he spoke.
"Oh, he was huge. Seven foot at least. With a dark green cape that whipped in the wind, and jagged emerald helmet. And his eyes seemed to stare into my very so-" "Eye." The man across from Palter corrected, staring at a point behind him.
"What?" Palter looked annoyed at his interruption.
"He said, 'eye'." Came a new voice, one that sent a deep chill through Palter's bones. Slowly, his neck craned to the side. A steel blue eye was staring at him through a dark green helmet. "You know. Eye. Singular. As in, Eye'm wondering who the guy saying he killed The Wolf is."
The two women who had been around his shoulder's vanished so quickly it had to be Semblance related. The Wolf set himself down on the vacated spot, and threw an arm around Palter's shoulder before he himself could leave.
"So, Palter. Tell me, how'd you kill The Wolf." That single blue eye stared through him and into his soul, not unlike the description he had just given.
"I-I-I uh..." His eyes darted from side to side, as the group of people across from him stared daggers at not the man with a 200,000 Lien bounty, but the man who had lied about defeating him. "I did kill the wolf. You must be a fake."
His words had a strange effect on those present, like they immediately believed his words, but The Wolf's very presence gave them second thoughts. "Oh no. I'm the real deal. The genuine article, if you will."
"He said that when he was next to you." The man across from Palter pointed an accusing finger at him. "You said your Semblance couldn't lie."
"What's your Semblance?" The Wolf asked. He watched as the man suddenly turned a shade of pale and tried to bite down on his lip.
"It force's people to tell the truth around me even if they don't want to-fuuuuuck." His head slammed down on the table, as it seemed that his Semblance affected himself as well. The Wolf looked to those on the other side of the table, who nodded in confirmation at his words.
"Well then, how did you manage to convince these fine folks that you killed me." He waved a hand across the other side of the table, where the 'fine folks' in question were casually checking their weapons, or picking their teeth with daggers.
Horrible dental practices aside, Palter was shaking under The Wolf's iron grip on his shoulder. "Iiiiiii- did kill the wolf." It looked like he was forcing the words out. "Just not The Wolf." Murmurs of confusion sprung up around the table, but the grip on Palter's shoulder suddenly increased dramatically.
"Did you kill an innocent fucking animal to take credit for killing someone who uses the same name?" The pointed fingers of The Wolf's gauntlet dug into Palter's shoulder, as the eyes of those across from him narrowed.
"Nnn-nnn-nnoo-yes!" Palter slapped a hand across his mouth, his own nails digging into his cheek. A feeling of shared rage grew inside The Wolf, from himself, and from his namesake within.
Before he could bare his fangs and forget all about that 'No Bar Fights Rule' a voice spoke up that sounded vaguely familiar. "Now, now. Can I ask what you're doing with my most trusted ally."
When The Wolf sat down at the table, those across from him looked concerned at his prescence, before realising his ire was directed at Palter. When the owner of this voice made themselves known, it was like all colour had been drained from their faces.
The three, clearly tough-as-nails and armed to the teeth immediately got up from the booth and made room for a new figure. He was well built, with a dark red leather jacket and a torn black shirt under it.
But what caught The Wolf's attention the most was the dark grey pig mask he wore over a mane of wild red hair. "So. You must be The Wolf." He said, and The Wolf finally realised why he sounded vaguely familiar.
"And you must be Gotham's reckoning." A passable imitation of the man before hims voice echoed from the green helmet. There was no sign of emotion from the man before him, which he figured was the point of the mask, but those around him sucked in a deep breath through their teeth.
"You seem to be fond of insulting those stronger than you." A set of fingerless leather gloves came to rest before him, the hands interlacing as though they were having a business deal.
"Don't flatter yourself. I insult those weaker than me too. I find it's a great way to get someone to make a mistake- you motherfucker." The Wolf turned with a glare to Palter, who squirmed under his increased grip.
"I can't turn it off!" He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.
"Palter is right. His Forced Truth Semblance has no off switch, and even now it's affecting me." The man across from him turned to stare at Palter, presumably with a glare.
"Huh, so this is how it feels to be on the other side of that." The Wolf finally understood how all the people he had talked to while masked must have felt with his lack of facial features. At least he still had his eyes shown.
...eye. Whatever.
"So, what brings you here, aside from looking for a bat to break." His joke received no laughs, and The Wolf resigned himself to being an unrecognised comic genius in this world.
"You have an odd sense of humour." "I'm not from round here." The Wolf immediately countered the man's words, and was somewhat amazed he hadn't just blurted out just how 'not from round here' he really was.
"What's your name, anyway?" The Wolf asked. He knew he would have to answer, thanks to Palter. The man in the mask must have realised it too, if the way his muscles suddenly tensed was any indication.
"Vermillion Raddock." He answered.
"Huh, that's the second Vermillion I've ran into." The Wolf brought a hand to cup the bottom of his helmet in thought. Remnant was a whole world, obviously there were going people with the same name. "The other one scares me more, though."
"Oh?" Vermillion sat a bit straighter, puffing out his chest as if to challenge his words. "And why is that?"
"Because she knows very intimate details about my sex life that I have no doubt she will publish in one of her books- fucking!" He suddenly slammed a fist down on table, rattling the glasses and pointing a finger angrily at Palter. "You need to go."
"Couldn't agree more! Haha!" He very quickly stood once The Wolf had released his shoulder and looked ready to dash out the door.
"Palter." Vermillion's voice froze him in his tracks, as he slowly turned to look at the man in the mask. Wordlessly, Vermillion gestured to his side. Palter looked between him and door, before slowly making his way over to stand next to Vermillion.
That left The Wolf and Vermillion alone in the booth sitting directly across from one another. Vermillion had both elbows on the table with his hands interlaced, whereas The Wolf was lax, leaning against the seat with his arms resting on the top of the seats.
"You've asked me mine. What's your name?" Vermillion asked, staring at The Wolf.
"I'm The Wolf. Wow, that's... concerning..." He glanced to the side, trying to figure out why he had answered the question like that. He looked to Palter, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable in the current situation. "I think your Semblance is translating."
"Interesting." Vermillion hummed, leaning back a bit and loosening his fingers. "So, tell me Wolf. Why are you here?"
The Wolf's hands clenched down on the headrest of the booth. "Looking for someone. A tortoise Faunus. Atlesian Specialist. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"I do." Vermillion answered, before his head snapped to Palter. "I think The Wolf was right about you needing to leave. But before you go..." He slowly turned back to stare at The Wolf. "Why are you interested?"
"Well, the truth is..." The Wolf began, lowering his arms to rest them on the table. "I've been being hunted by her and the rest of her group since the moment I set foot on Mistral. And I wanted to know who finally managed to get the jump on her."
"But maybe we should save the rest of this conversation out of view of the peanut gallery." The emerald helmet jerked to the side, where several patrons had ceased their conversations to watch the interaction between the two masked men.
Vermillion obviously agreed, looking around at everyone who suddenly found better things to do than stare. He made a hum of agreement. "Yes. Let's. I think we could work well together. We'll meet again, say tomorrow at the old Pastel estate." Vermillion probably would have liked nothing more than to stand tall above The Wolf as he made his exit, but unfortunately due to the fact he had sat in the dead centre of the booth, it meant he had to awkwardly shimmy out of it.
Once out and standing free, he gave a quick tug at his jacket while looking around, as if daring anyone to mention how foolish he looked. "I think I've seen dogs with flees shake less." Vermillion turned with a glare that The Wolf could feel even through his mask.
With a smirk that he was certain Vermillion could sense, The Wolf shrugged. "Blame him." He said with a nod to Palter. Apparently, Vermillion did, seeing as he placed a rough hand on Palter's shoulder and pushed him along and out of the Skilful.
As soon as they left, conversation resumed in a hush that, despite the low volume, was nearly deafening. The sound of glass being set down on the table caused The Wolf to look up and see the bartender staring at him cautiously.
"Be careful with the Hana guild, boy. They're the strongest crime family in Kuchinashi for a reason. They're the only one left." With that, she walked away after plopping the most ludicrously twisting straw The Wolf had ever seen into his glass.
Without missing a beat, he slipped the straw under his helmet and took a long sip. He let out a sigh of relief, before glancing around to make sure it was just him.
"You get all that?"
The earpiece under his helmet crackled in affirmation.
…
"Headmaster! We need to talk to you!" Neptune hammered onto the door of the Lionheart's office. Normally, he would never even consider doing such a thing, but with what Sage had found out, he threw decorum out the window.
He continued to knock on the door, until finally it was wrenched open and he nearly punched his Headmaster in the face. "Mr. Vasilias!" Leonardo Lionheart exclaimed, looking extremely red in the face and out of breath.
"What on Remnant possessed you to act this way?!" He quickly left his office, where Neptune got a brief glimpse inside to see the back of one his teacher's heads. They were sitting in the chair facing Lionheart's desk and didn't seem to be moving.
Before Neptune could question it, the door was closed with Lionheart standing almost protectively in front of it. "I was in the middle of-of-of a very important meeting! I do not have time for interruptions." He placed his fists squarely on his hips as he tried to glare at Neptune.
"I'm sorry sir. It's just that Sage used his Semblance and found out that-" "I'm sure whatever Mr. Ayana found can at least wait a day. I am expecting a very important visitor soon and I cannot have a student interrupting me."
Neptune made a gesture with his hands as though he was running out of patience with the Headmaster, which definitely felt like it should be the other way around. This felt like it was going nowhere, so, thinking quickly, Neptune took out his Scroll.
"If you just sign this, I'll be out of your hair, I promise." He held out his Scroll on a blank screen. Lionheart grabbed it and with a few quick flicks of his finger, the man's signature was ready and waiting.
"There. Now, go on. I have to get ready." With that, he entered his office, and Neptune heard the distinct sound of a lock being turned. Ignoring the parade of red flags that conversation threw up, Neptune technically got what he came for.
He was chosen out of the three because he had the best record with his teachers, and he thought that would help him. Neptune quickly turned and ran to rejoin the others. He met up with Sage and Scarlet outside the main building, Sage having finally gotten dressed.
"Well? Did you tell him?" Scarlet asked immediately upon seeing him. Neptune shook his head with a frown.
"I didn't get the chance. He kept talking about how he couldn't be interrupted and was super busy. Something felt... wrong." His words brought a concerned glance from his teammates.
"So you didn't get permission for us to go?" Sage asked with a frown. To their surprise, Neptune gained a smirk not unlike the one belonging to the man they intended to find.
"Oh, I got permission. For anything." He held up his Scroll, showing Lionheart's signature. "He was in such a rush he didn't bother to check what he was signing." Sage and Scarlet glanced at each other in shock.
"Damn, Neptune. Never thought you'd do something like that." Scarlet sounded impressed with his teammate, giving him a short punch to the shoulder.
"Hey, if we're gonna find Crue, we need to think like him too." He pocketed his Scroll, as Sage handed him his weapon. Tri-hard was topped up with Electric Dust and ready to go. "Alright, let's go find ourselves a dead man!"
"Dude." "Sorry. A not-so-dead man."
…
Sun was no stranger to odd sights during his time as a Huntsman in training. But, if he was being honest this was probably up there. "Oh my, how interesting." Before him lay, and he used the term correctly, Neo resting her head on Kali's lap.
He briefly wondered if Blake would be jealous upon seeing how Kali was treating Neo. He also wondered if her lap was as comfortable as Neo made it seem, before banishing that thought to the deepest recesses of his mind under a titanium safe with a hundred number combination.
He already knew Ghira didn't have the best opinion of him, if he ever found out that thought had even crossed his mind, he would probably be sixty feet under by breakfast. And that wasn't even telling what would happen if Blake found out.
So, instead, he sat down at the opposite side of the table and helped himself to some tea. Kali gave a polite nod to him as he sat down, but refocused on Neo, running her hands through the girls multicoloured hair.
He couldn't see Neo's face, but her hands were just visible above the table, moving quickly and performing intricate motions. "Oh, the top of Beacon tower? Really? How romantic." Kali crooned.
Neo's hand made a so-so motion, before continuing to communicate in sign language. "I didn't realise you knew sign language, Mrs. B." Sun commented. Neo's hands froze, as if she hadn't realised Sun was there.
"Hm? Oh, yes. A lot of our recruits came from the Schnee mines. Explosives, machinery and a whole host of other things are quite detrimental to your hearing, especially when it's as sensitive as ours."
Neo made a few gestures, catching Kali's attention once more. She gave a soft smile. "Don't worry dear, my hearing is fine." She gently rubbed a hand against Neo's head, who seemed to melt under the affection.
"I take it you're not quite used to this." Kali chuckled softly. Neo shook her head in her lap, before making a series of gestures that caused Kali to frown. The expression looked so out of place that it actually caught Sun off guard, feeling as though somehow he was personally responsible for the scowl.
"She what?" Kali's voice, which was normally sweet as honey, was now completely flat and could probably stop a Grimm in its tracks. Sun's blue eyes flicked to Neo's hands, watching as she explained.
She held up two fingers, before intertwining them and then holding up a single finger, then making a circular motion with her other hand over her stomach. She made a few more gestures that caused Kali's frown to lessen.
"So they're gone?" She asked. Sun didn't see it, but he figured Neo nodded. "Hm. A shame. I would have liked a few words with that woman." The vitriol that dripped from that last word seemed to drain the warmth of the Menagerie evening.
Kali let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry, dear, I shouldn't let my anger get the best of me." She took a breath, before eyeing the tray of tea on the table. "I should bring Ghira his tea. Or maybe have my dear daughter bring it. She's been anxious to talk to him."
She made a small motion of flapping her hands up, and Neo begrudgingly sat up, clearly missing the comfort of her lap. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon." She gave a small ruffle of Neo's hair, before taking the tray and exiting the room.
As soon as she was gone, Sun glanced to Neo, who let out a small yawn. "So, you're an orphan too?" He tried to make casual conversation. The girl before him froze, her mouth stretched open as her eyes suddenly went wide.
She stared at Sun with pink and white eyes, as she made a gesture. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I know sign language." He nodded in confirmation. "Most people from Vacuo do. Sandstorms make it hard to hear other people talking, ya know."
He cracked a smile, but it soon withered as he saw Neo's expression turn to one of anger. "Oh, I guess I wasn't supposed to know any of that, huh." He leaned back, away from Neo as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Neo's glare agreed. Sun held up his hands passively in apology, before resting them on the table, awkwardly slapping his hands to make a rhythm. The silence that followed grew slightly more awkward, before Neo hesitantly signed something that caught Sun's attention.
"My folks?" Sun asked, as Neo nodded. Maybe hanging around Blake had made her curious. "Honestly, and this isn't a cop out I promise, I can't remember anything about them." He gave a shrug.
"Literally can't even remember their faces." He shrugged to show it didn't bother him much. "Maybe they were the worst of the worst but, I wouldn't know. I was part of a nomadic clan in Vauco, the only family I really have left is a cousin called Starr. Haven't talked to her in a while..."
He looked off to the side, a slight frown before it faded as he turned back to Neo. "What about you? From what Mrs. B said, your mom sounds like a piece of work." He figured the petite girl in front of him wouldn't mind the insult.
Neo rolled her eyes, and signed a much worse insult than anything Sun would ever think to call her. "Wow. That bad, huh." He tried not to show pity, because he was certain Neo wouldn't be a fan of the expression.
"Yes, that bad." Neo signed with a roll of her eyes. "She hated me from the moment I was born, because it was just me." She scowled at the table, as if the grains in the wood were responsible for her childhood.
"Just you?" Sun repeated in confusion. "That's what you meant with the..." He mimicked Neo's actions earlier, intertwining is index and middle finger. Neo nodded with a frown, clearly annoyed he had witnessed that.
"Apparently," She began, closing her eyes as old memories resurfaced. "I was meant to be a twin. But, at some point during her pregnancy, I absorbed my sister." Her eyes fluttered open, showing pink and brown.
"And my parents weren't happy about that." She gave a half-hearted shrug, clearly not as over her parents as Sun was. She wasn't sorry about how they went, but she was sorry she missed out on what a proper childhood should have been like, if the way Kali treated her was any indication.
Somehow, she had the feeling the woman already knew Neo didn't have the best upbringing before she even spoke a word to her. Well... 'spoke'. "Do you think that's why you've got two Semblances?"
Sun's question caused Neo to snap from musings. She gave a small nod. The thought had occurred to her more than once. In fact, that's where Neopolitan first came from. The thought of what her sister might have looked like.
If only she acted like a sister should have too. "I'm pretty sure these are because of her as well." She tapped the side of her head, the colours of her eyes switching as she did so.
Sun nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, they're pretty cool." Sun said. He opened his mouth, as if to say something else, before thinking about it. "Might be wrong, but I'm like 80 per cent sure Crue said they were his favourite thing about you."
Neo's shoulders fell slightly, gaining a small, soft smile. It faded quickly, remembering that the object of her affections was no longer with her. "Oh, is this the partner I've been waiting to hear so much about."
Both Sun and Neo turned upon hearing Kali's voice, seeing her enter into the room sans the tray of tea. She looked to Neo with a kindly smile, but also a spark in her eyes that showed a hunger for gossip.
Sun wondered if he should be present for this, but seeing as he was already there for a rather unintended history of Neo's early life. Surely this wouldn't be much worse...
A few minutes later and Sun felt he knew more about Crue than he ever wanted to. However, a different piece of information caught his attention. "Hold on, did you say the White Fang here don't wear masks?" He asked Kali.
"Hm? Oh, yes that's right. The White Fang has no reason to hide here, so they have no reason for the masks. Why? Is something the matter?"
The way Sun nodded fiercely grabbing his Scroll and standing suggested that yes, something was the matter. "I saw someone in the market yesterday wearing one... I need to talk to Blake!" He took off running out of the same door Kali entered.
"Oh dear. I hope he doesn't interrupt anything." She trailed off, cupping her cheek with a small sigh. She shook away her worries as she turned back to Neo. "I'm certain it will be fine. Now, you said something about having a picture of Crue?"
Neo gave a nod, rubbing a thumb over the small locket around her neck. It was the only image she had left of him, as she had lost her Scroll in the crash of the Atlesian Battleship. She didn't feel comfortable taking the locket off, afraid of losing the last memories of Crue.
Instead, she shuffled over to sit next to Kali and clicked open the locket. The picture that she stared at every night before sleep. "Oh, what a handsome man. Hm. He looks a little familiar..." The older woman hummed in thought.
"Has he ever been to Menagerie before?" She asked. Neo began to shake her head, before she paused. She didn't really know much about Crue's life before they met, now that she thought about it.
He had told her about what happened with his family, how he grew up fighting to survive and dealing with various criminals to make a living. But, he never gave any concrete locations or times of when all of it went down.
All she knew is that he wasn't from Vale, but that didn't mean he was from Menagerie. If he was, Blake probably would have known a lot more about him. In the end, she decided to sign where Kali recognised him from.
"He was blamed for the Fall of Beacon." She said with a scowl. She hadn't known that was Cinder's plan, and she didn't even know he was blamed until Blake told her. She had been on the battleship while all that was going down.
"Oh. Oh my. That was him? Then, that was the same boy who fought against that Atlesian." Kali's amber eyes were wide in recognition. She suddenly looked deep in thought, before turning to Neo. "You know, I think I should bring you to the market tomorrow to show you something you might like."
Neo was about to ask what she was referring to, before a sudden shout from the doorway Sun had gone through sounded out. Neo was immediately on her feet, with Kali following soon after. They arrived on the outer decking of the home just in time to see Blake leap into the shadows.
"What's happened?" Kali asked, seeing Sun gripping his hair in frustration. He turned upon hearing her, and quickly jumped onto the railing.
"The White Fang is evil, I totally called it, and I'm bringing your daughter back!" He jumped onto a palm tree with minimal difficulty, and quickly turned back to shout once more. "Neo! Protect Mrs. B!"
Under any other circumstance, Neo would never have followed any instruction from Sun. But, given the nature of the request, Neo was inclined to follow it. Hush shattered to life in her hands, as she removed the blade from it's sheathe and stood protectively before Kali.
Kali herself could only bring a hand up to her mouth in worry of what danger her daughter had gotten into.
Hell yeah, plot! Lot of things happening in this chapter, a lead on Tortuga, a follow up to SSSN, and a brief glimpse into how Neo is handling being on Menagerie. A lot better now, I'd say. And as for her background, some of it is canon and some of it is my own spin. I know it was disproven long ago that Neo only has the one Semblance, but she's had two in EHL so I'm sticking with it. It also kinda makes her growing up an only child hit a bit harder.
I was going to mention something along the lines of 'That's what Neopolitan started out as, her wondering what her sister might have looked like' but I could never fit it in. Ah well, now yous now. I think that's everything. If you have any questions leave them in the reviews and I'll try have them answered for next time.
Anyway, hope you liked chapter, let me know if you did, and as always...
Until Next Time
-Friday
