"Holland Muerta, the runaway. A young charming fella from Vacuo who killed his father in cold blood. Though he says he quite deserved it. Nonetheless, he's a useless flirt in my opinion.
"Morrow Snape, the deserter. An Atlas soldier who abandoned his post after watching his entire unit being slaughtered by Grimm. Has a good enough eye to shoot a bottle cap a hundred yards away.
"Hori Zen, our swordsman. Parents were from Mistral but he was raised on the streets of the Kingdom. Don't underestimate him though, he might have more knives than bullets but he'll still put one between our eyes.
"Smoke Oake, the exiled. He was kicked out of his tribe and forced to scavenge the wastelands for weaponry. Not much of a gun guy, but still just as deadly as the rest of us.
"Jason Hawkes, the vengeful. Lived deep in the Emerald Forest with his wife and children for years until bandits came. Killed all but him so he took it upon himself to kill hundreds of them. Now, he's a quiet man. Just don't anger him.
"Troy Black, my husband. And you know, the legendary bounty hunter of stories." Sitting back in a chair with his legs propped up on a table, the man with a cigar shuffled through his deck of cards. "There ain't a Vacuan alive who isn't afraid of him. He's crawled out of hell more times than I can count. Always gets whatever job he's given done but won't take any lien. Gotta go out of your way to find some gold for him. Well, if he was still for hire that is."
"And then there's me." He brought his legs down and leaned across the table. "Matthew McCree, at your service." He tipped his hat towards team MACE.
Sitting on the floor, the four girls stared blankly at him. They were inside a small shack behind some metal bars. Their hands tied in front of them.
"I want to kill him." Kris mumbled. "He talks more than me."
"Debating about it." Kagami took a deep breath.
"Aw, what? Come on now." McCree shuffled his cards once more before he began to deal them out into five piles. "Why don't we play a game, girls?"
"Dad!"
He grunted as a hand struck the back of his head and knocked his hat off. "Hey now! What's that for?"
"What do you think you're doing?" Asher narrowed her eyes while snatching his hat up. She held it out towards him.
"Just talking to them. They look bored." He placed his hat back on his head and sighed. "Thought I'd cheer 'em up."
"They're prisoners." She gestured towards the group of girls. "Of course they ain't gonna be happy."
Rolling his eyes, McCree went back to his cards. "That's Asher. Likes to go by Asher McCree." He snickered some. "Guess she didn't like the sound of Asher Black. She-" He let out a loud grunt as his arm was punched. Eyeing the fiery redhead, he sighed. "Well, guess you don't get to know about her." He shrugged.
"I'll hold him if someone else shoots him." Cheyenne slowly breathed in as she closed her eyes.
"I'm down for it." Elise quietly agreed.
Outside, Black carefully tied a small message to the leg of a smokey falcon. "Send him to the guild. Someone there will contact Miss Sanguine."
Nodding, Smoke whistled with his fingers. The bird quickly took off and began to fly through the night sky towards the Kingdom. "He will be there by morning."
"Thought you weren't into this anymore, eh?" Holland leaned against the outside of a small makeshift dining hall. "Or was that just a bluff to get people to leave you alone?"
"If it was, it didn't work." Black slid his hands into his belt and exhaled. "I told her I wouldn't go out of my way to track them down. Can't exactly ignore them when they walk right up on us." He then quietly chuckled. "You're lucky we heard the fighting." He eyed Smoke.
The Faunus heavily exhaled and rolled his eyes. "They only managed to best us because of their numbers. They are not that good."
"Yeah they are." Hori spoke up. He was carefully sharpening his katana. "I would not want to mess with them in a fair fight."
He scoffed at that and looked away. "Is Snape and Hawkes done cooking? I am hungry."
"He oughta be." Black shifted around in the sands. "I'll go get Matty. Y'all go on in and set things up." He paused for a second. "Make an extra bowl for them."
Asher wasn't happy when she was told she'd be watching team MACE during dinner. Sitting on the table with her feet in the chair, she quickly inhaled her bowl of beans and crab meat. Hearing a stomach grumble, she chuckled and set her empty bowl down. "What? Y'all hungry?" She grabbed a second bowl that was meant for the group of girls.
Baring her teeth, Elise tightly gripped her hands together while pulling on her restraints. "I thought that was supposed to be for us?" She snapped.
The fiery redhead shrugged. "Yeah." She jumped down onto her feet and walked over towards the bars holding them. "It is." She nodded while taking a hefty spoonful and placing it in her mouth.
Hearing Elise's stomach grumble louder, Kris flashed her teeth. "What the hell is your problem?!" She snapped while kicking at the bars.
Hearing the metal creak, she let out an amused scoff and took another bite. Crouching down, she came close to the bars and smiled. "Nothing's wrong with me."
Silence fell between them before she kicked at the bars again with a frustrated scream. Asher didn't even flinch.
"Alright, alright." Kagami gently pulled her friend back. "You're only doing what she wants. She finds joy in your retaliation."
"Ooh, look at you." Asher took another bite of food. "I bet you're their leader, huh?" She licked the spoon before setting the bowl down near the bars. "Come get it, Greenhorn."
Staring coldly back at her, she eventually exhaled and pushed herself up to her knees. She slowly moved over and reached for the bowl. She wasn't surprised at all when her collar was grabbed.
Jerking her against the bars, Asher flashed her teeth. At the same time, she drew one of her revolvers and placed it against the side of her head. "You think you're smarter than me, don't you?"
"I don't think, I know." She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as the barrel of the gun pressed harder against her. "I know you won't shoot. Your pa said not to."
Her eyes widened slightly as she bared her teeth. As her temper flared, she brought her pistol around and struck her in the side of her head. "Say somethin' again why don't you!" She hissed while shoving her back.
Quietly grunting, Kagami closed both her as. Once she caught herself, she sat up straight and gently placed the bowl of food beside Elise. With a small playful smile, she eyed the fiery redhead.
"Tch." Asher bared her teeth and quickly stood. She roughly holstered her weapon before going back over to sit.
"Yeah, that's what we thought." Kris held up her middle fingers before sitting back with a huff.
Eyeing the half eaten bowl of food, Elise carefully picked it up. "It looks like beans and ground crab. Maybe some onions." She held it out towards her vegetarian friend. "Think you can pick out the beans to eat at least?"
The short redhead scrunched up her face a little before sighing. "I should. I won't get sick unless I eat a bunch of the meat. Just the beans should be fine." She scooted a little closer.
"You eat as many of the beans as you want." Cheyenne shifted in. "We'll eat the rest."
"I might take a few beans though." Kagami flashed a small smile. "I don't understand how someone can just eat meat and not have something of a different texture." She eyed Elise.
Blinking, the farm girl swallowed some of the ground crab. "What?" She blinked more. "Wait, was that an insult towards me?" She gestured towards herself.
Watching them, anger flashed in Asher's eyes. She quickly turned around so her back was facing them. She hated having to watch captives. It was endlessly boring.
Everyone on team MACE slept heavily. They were all exhausted and frustrated. Trading out turns with Smoke, Snape stepped in to watch them with a plate and bowl. "Wake up." He loudly spoke even though he didn't mean to. "Got you kids breakfast."
Elise slowly shifted awake at the word breakfast. She was laying on her back with her head on Kagami's legs. "Food...?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Don't move." Kris waved her hand. She was curled up and using the brunet as a pillow.
Nudging Kagami, Cheyenne pulled away slightly. The jadette was resting on her shoulder. The two of them had fallen asleep leaning against the wall.
"You don't gotta eat it now. Get up when you're ready." Snape knelt down and quietly placed the food inside the bars.
Elise couldn't help but eye the marksman rifle on his back. It was vintage with an Atlas origin. Her gaze then trailed towards their breakfast.
Seeing where she looked, he let out a quiet laugh and ran a hand through his dark green hair with white streaks. "What? Never had flatbread with cave beetles before?"
"That's... disgusting." Kagami furrowed her brow.
"Heh." He chuckled. "Yeah. Food here takes a bit to get used to." He grabbed a canteen and placed it alongside the food. "But it's quiet here. Minus some fools and Grimm." He stepped away and sat down. "You guys get up when you're ready." He gave a nod before grabbing a book off the table and sitting back.
Blinking a few times, Elise glanced up at Kagami. "At least he's nice." She smiled.
Once noon came around, it was Hawkes who took a turn watching the four girls. He also brought lunch with him. His large body creaked the floor boards with each step he took. "How are you girls doing?" He genuinely asked as he slowly sat down on the floor next to the bars.
"Better if we weren't tied up." Kris waved her hands.
"Fair." He set a bowl of fried worms down and slid it towards them. He then placed a second bowl in his lap. "Remember to thank the Gods for your food. You never know when we might run out and be unable to find more."
"Uh..." Kagami blinked a few times.
Cheyenne glanced at her friends before lightly shrugging. "Um, bless this food, Oum Brothers."
Elise shrugged back. "Yeah. Thanks for this meal." She swallowed hard as she grabbed one of the fried worms.
"Do you have anything that is... that isn't an animal?" Kagami glanced at the large man. "She's vegetarian." She pointed at Kris.
"Huh?" Hawkes gave her a confused look. "What?"
"I only eat fruits and vegetables and plants and stuff. And eggs and stuff but I don't think anything like that is around here." The redhead slouched. "I want some eggs..."
"Oh. Oh!" He sat up straight. Quickly, he went to pat down his large jacket. "Hold on a minute." He searched until finding a pocket. He reached in and pulled out a bag. "Here." He tossed it inside. "It's dehydrated cactus. Uh, cactus jerky."
Kris' mouth drooled at the sound of that. Quickly, she scrambled for the bag. She grabbed a piece and went to gnaw on it.
Sighing, Kagami reached out and grabbed one of the fried worms. At least they were getting fed and had a roof over their heads. They just needed to wait for a moment when no one was inside watching them. She knew they weren't going to always keep an eye on them forever. They had to slip up eventually.
And when they did, the four girls were going to be ready for it.