Happy Thanksgiving! Well, actually, Happy Black Friday! Nothing like following up a day of being grateful for what we have like a massive shopping day. That being said, I may have picked up a few new Switch games this morning. Looking forward to cracking them open.
Stuffed myself last night at Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Played some games together. Crushed my oldest nephew (12) in foosball too. This uncle doesn't take it easy on the kids. I play to win. All in all, a nice evening, but MrsTheGoose and I pretty much collapsed the moment we got home. People-ing can be exhausting.
The bonfire proved less awful than Adam imagined. Oh, it was still a bit of a pain. Sienna forced him to stand beside her as she welcomed everyone and made some grand speech before welcoming Ghira to say a few words. Being trapped between the two - both politically and now physically - made the whole thing an awkward affair. Worse, no one in the audience missed the silent third wheel, with some clearly more interested in him than the two speakers. But at least Sienna didn't expect him to give a speech or even light the bonfire. Instead, she and Ghira did it together as a rare show of unity.
The moment the fire roared to life - courtesy of some well-placed fire dust - Adam saw his chance to slip away at last. The sudden blaze gave him the perfect opportunity to skirt the crowd's edge as he tried to put some distance between himself and the two celebrities up front. He managed to make it all the way to the food tables while everyone was distracted.
Well, almost everyone.
"It's Adam!"
"You're an inspiration to us all."
"I can't believe you took on a Specialist like that!"
"Thank you for saving us."
At least the last one he could handle. Some older woman from Atlas, if he recalled. More so because he didn't recognize her as being from Shidekobushi, so that only left one option. The others, though? Hero worshippers who saw him as some sort of superhuman taking on the whole world. Some of them even wore matching masks, making him glad he'd left his in his room. Not that anyone would miss the only guy running around with a ribbon across his eyes. He did his best to be polite, enduring their praise as best he could before finding an excuse to escape.
"Adam!"
Never had he been so relieved to hear Blake's voice. It didn't take him long to spot her waving him over. He'd half expected her to be wearing her training outfit, but it looked like she'd decided to go with something a little more formal. Adam had a feeling Kali was behind her button-down blouse and skirt combo. Who got all fancied up for a bonfire?
Said the man in a blazer.
Blake rushed up and practically dragged him over to join Ilia. Bane was there too, naturally, but that was nothing new. Ilia, on the other hand, looked different. He'd seen her once or twice recently, but only in passing. Now, he could tell her time in Menagerie had changed her for the better. When he'd rescued her, she'd been a frightened, malnourished shell of a girl who hid away from the world in anger and fear. Now, she looked brighter. Healthier. Maybe the change in diet helped, or just the extra sunlight and fresh air, but Adam had a feeling it was something more.
She looked happy. Visibly so. Almost as if her chameleon skin brightened at the change, breathing new life into a hopeless girl. No more did she hide away in the dark, cloaking herself against the eyes of the world. Nor did she hide her true self anymore. Bane whispered something that had her shining with laughter. When Adam snatched a shrimp off her plate, her skin flushed a bright red, warning him before she pounced and tried to reclaim it.
The four of them laughed and talked throughout the night, largely ignoring everyone around them in a rare carefree moment. Music played. People danced. The fire roared. Everything seemed to fly by as Kuo Kuana forgot the horrors of the world beyond for a few hours. At some point, Blake suddenly decided they needed pictures, whipping out her scroll before anyone could object. Ilia riding on Bane's shoulders. Blake clinging to Adam. The two girls standing cheek to cheek. Adam tried to replicate Ilia's pose atop Bane, only to be dumped on his face the moment Blake took the photo. In the end, Blake convinced someone to take a picture of all four of them clustered around their table.
Maybe Kaito was right. Maybe he needed to take some time for himself every now and then - to actually enjoy life rather than just live it. A chance to remind himself exactly what he was fighting for. Looking around, he could tell some people had already left, but plenty more continued partying late into the night, free of the cares of the world. Here, in their secluded refuge, they could truly live. Not as slaves and victims, but as people. For one short, wonderful moment, they lived a dream of peace and happiness.
He'd fight to make that a reality.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
The next week flew by, and before Adam knew it, they were boarding a ship for Vale. Well, not Vale, but Vale's continent of Sanus. Blake wasn't thrilled to see him go, complaining about him ditching her to avoid training again. It was probably worse seeing her dad go as well, especially when both of them forbade her from tagging along. The night before they'd left, Blake had made him promise two things: to come back safe and make sure Ghira made it too.
At least she'd be busy while he was gone. Sienna had started training Ilia - which came as a bit of a shock - and asked Blake to help her with the basics while they were gone. No one had ever asked Blake to train before. She was always too small. Too young. She couldn't accept fast enough. Training someone meant she was useful - that she had skills worth teaching. It probably meant the world to her that someone asked. Especially someone as skilled as Sienna. Spending time with Ilia would be a good distraction as well. Something to keep her occupied until everyone got back.
Even so, Adam had been forced to promise extra training on his return. If nothing else, that always seemed to smooth things over. Not that they'd slacked off lately. Kaito had changed his routine to focus on the basic form of his Semblance again. Specifically, he wanted Adam to find a way to limit the discharge. He hoped cutting out the extra step of using a ranged attack would help, but so far he'd strung together an impressive streak of failures. Blake, on the other hand, had become scarily good at switching her weapon forms on the fly, alternating between short, mid, and long range with ease. He'd have her attack him while Kaito sat nearby, facing the other way. Whenever he felt like it, Kaito would call out a new form and Blake had to adapt immediately. If she hesitated at all, Adam would attack and make her regret it. She'd definitely picked up the lessons fast that way, though she still struggled going from mid to long range. Having your weapon twirling around on a ribbon meant she needed a second or two to recall it and aim.
Adam rarely gave her that time.
Despite his punishing training, Blake never backed down from a challenge. More than that, she understood his ruthlessness in the ring didn't mean anything outside it. He could demolish her in training and they'd still hang out that evening. She continued teaching him to draw, but sometimes they'd just sit around and chat or quietly read in the same room. It was weird how quickly she'd become a part of his life.
A part that didn't want to see him go. "Do you have to go?"
"Yes." No matter how many times Blake insisted he didn't. "I have to."
"But why?" Who was he to stand in the way of such solid logic? "Sienna can handle it."
"Probably, but why risk it?" If one of them would be enough, then two would be more than enough. Better to be over prepared than under. Oh gods, he was starting to sound like Sienna now. "Besides, we wouldn't want to risk your old man like that, would we?"
"He can fight." It was almost adorable how she defended her father, at least until Adam remembered she was only doing it to get her way.
Come to think of it, he'd never actually seen Ghira fight. Blake insisted he could, but how long had he let his skills languish behind a desk? When had he traded in a sword for a pen? "I'm sure he can, but he shouldn't have to." Not if Adam did his job properly. "Don't worry, Blake. We'll be fine."
"Then why can't I come?"
Aside from the fact that she would annoy the heck out of him? "Because someone needs to stay and train Ilia."
"She could come too."
"Sure, why not just bring everyone in the White Fang? In fact, why not all of Menagerie? I'm sure they could use a vacation." Was he laying it on a little thick? Probably. Did she deserve it? Absolutely. "We won't be gone long, Blake."
It was hard to remember just how young Blake really was sometimes, but her mumbled response reminded him. "You promise?"
"I promise. We'll be back before you know it."
As it turned out, there wasn't just one Belladonna upset that he was going.
"Does he have to come?"
Adam felt a sudden urge to test the structural integrity of the ship's hull…with his face. So that's where Blake got it from.
"Yes, he does," Sienna answered a very irritated Ghira. "Adam is our best fighter. If something happens, we'll be a lot safer with him around."
"You say that like you expect something to happen," Ghira replied. Even if the two agreed to work together, it didn't look like they were getting along. At least they'd saved their squabbling until they were alone. Adam just wished he could give them even more privacy. "This is a peaceful mission."
"In Grimm-infested territory," Sienna had to remind him. "Maybe you've forgotten, but things aren't quite as friendly outside the cities." Or in them half the time. Adam had only fought one Grimm in Atlas - that weird, white one Specialist Schnee had used against him. Fitting that a Schnee would use even the Grimm to get their way. "Most of our men won't last long against the Grimm. That's what Adam and I are here for."
"Only for the Grimm?" Ghira stared at Adam as he spoke, making it clear just how much he believed them.
Adam hated having Sienna speak for him. "I'm here to protect everyone." Not just Ghira. He'd cut down anything that dared to threaten a single member of the White Fang. "That, and to help unload the supplies when we get to Novus."
Because unlike Ghira, Adam was still just another member of the White Fang. Sure, he specialized in combat and had even led a mission, but at the end of the day, he'd put in just as much work as anyone else to see the mission through. No fancy office and oversized desk for him.
"So you'll follow my orders, then?"
"You're the boss," Adam assured him. He doubted Ghira would demand anything unreasonable. "I'll be patrolling the outskirts while we're moving, but if you need me to do anything, I'll get it done." Carrying boxes. Helping the medical team. Heck, he'd scrub the truck beds with a toothbrush if needs be. Someone had to do it.
"As long as we keep it peaceful." Fat chance if the Grimm attacked. Or bandits. Neither of those ever seemed interested in peace. Ghira's words would do little to dissuade them. Adam's sword, on the other hand…
"I'll do my best." And that was all Adam could promise. Unlike what Ghira thought, Adam didn't go around looking for a fight; it came looking for him. He'd tried keeping his head down in Orostachys. Shidekobushi would've been a boring trip if not for the bloodthirsty locals. They would've been in and out of Atlas with no one the wiser if the SDC hadn't hidden military robots in their basement. Then, when he'd tried to leave, they'd sent a Specialist after him. He would've been just fine walking out unnoticed, but they never gave him the chance.
The voyage to Sanus proved a rather unremarkable affair. Not that he expected much out in the middle of nowhere. Aquatic Grimm were a thing, but they tended to linger closer to the mainlands. Out here, with nothing but water as far as the eye could see, there wasn't much negativity to draw them in.
Adam mostly hung out on deck throughout the day, preferring the fresh air to the cramped quarters below. Every morning, Sienna would summon him to the bridge where she'd review their course and position with him and Ghira. They were making good time. Better than expected, though only by about half a day or so. When they finally spotted the shores of Sanus, most of the day had already passed. Rather than camp out on shore, they spent the night preparing to disembark and slept aboard the ship.
Dawn found them already hitting the trail with a long journey ahead. Ghira rode in the front vehicle, leading only in position while Adam and Sienna kept an eye on the perimeter. They made it two days before their first Grimm sighting. The single Ursa barely stepped foot out of the treeline before Adam cut it down. If it hadn't roared in those final moments, most of the convoy probably wouldn't have even known it was there.
On and on they went, venturing further into unfamiliar territory. It wasn't that different from Anima, though. The path was smaller and more worn than the Merchant Highway, but it still had enough space for them to travel without any problem. The trees had begun to change, signaling the coming of colder weather, but they'd be long gone before that became an issue. At night, when they'd stop for rest, Ghira would try to mingle with the rest of the White Fang, but there was an obvious disconnect there. He wasn't really one of them anymore. He might've been once, but most of these people barely knew him now. Ghira was a name more than a person to them.
It was almost sad to watch. The organization he'd led for years now barely recognized him. Maybe once upon a time, things had been different, but those days were dead and buried. Adam wanted to feel bad for him, but he'd brought it on himself. Hiding away in his mansion, he'd become a relic of a bygone era, and he knew it. The awkward look on his face when small talk dissolved into long silences felt painful to watch.
Not that Adam watched that much. After dinner, he'd take first watch, prowling around the outskirts of camp for even the slightest hint of a threat. A few men acted as sentries closer in, but they were just there as an extra set of eyes. Their instructions were to raise the alarm so Adam and Sienna could come handle things, and while a few Grimm did approach the campsite here and there, they never got close enough to cause any trouble. Adam ended them before that could happen. Sienna had similar success, though she reported only one Grimm in all her watches.
For being so far from Vale, the Grimm presence was pretty thin, especially once they got closer to Novus. They'd gone a whole week without so much as a hint of them. Even the ones they'd seen earlier were all singles. Out here, he would've expected there to at least be a pack or two roaming around, and with the size and speed of their convoy, they'd make tempting targets for the Grimm.
Instead, they found their way through the forest with ease. The trees began to thin before opening up entirely to a large settlement. It looked almost untouched. The thick wooden posts forming a crude wall had barely weathered and missed the usual signs of conflict. Adam couldn't see so much as a scratch.
"You said this place was a few years old?" Adam asked as Sienna came alongside him. The pair made their way to the front truck as the convoy began to slow and Ghira hopped out to join them.
"Around two years, if I recall." Two years was more than enough time for a village to rise and fall in the outskirts. Those first few months were always the most dangerous. New arrivals, overflowing with hope and fear, all gathered in one place with barely any protection. Even once defenses were set up, you still had to endure your first winter. Poor planning claimed as many settlements as the Grimm did. "Why?"
Adam nodded to the walls. "They're spotless. Almost like they were just built."
"Maybe they replaced them?"
Ghira's suggestion proved just how out of touch the man could be. "You don't replace an entire wall." One or two posts, maybe, but not the whole perimeter. Not if you wanted to survive, at least. But that wasn't the only reason Adam doubted his theory. "Look at the bottom." Sienna and Ghira both followed his instructions, but neither of them seemed to understand. City dwellers. "The grass grows all the way up to the base."
Sienna was the first to connect the dots. "If they'd just replaced the entire wall, the ground around it would still be torn up."
Adam nodded, but there was more. "And if it's not new, then how has it gone this long without a Grimm attack?"
"What do you mean?"
"Have you ever seen a Grimm attack a wall?" Both of the leaders nodded, but Adam had a feeling they didn't truly get his point. "It's not a pretty sight. Put something in a Grimm's way, and they'll tear at it until either it falls or they do. The ground would be torn to pieces if that happened, but there's not a blade of grass out of place. Which means there hasn't been a single Grimm at the walls of Novus in a long time."
"How?"
That was the million lien question, wasn't it? "Either the Grimm have ignored this place," unlikely, given how far out it was, "or someone's kept them from reaching the walls."
"Like a Huntsman?" Ghira sounded excited, either from the possibility or just being involved in the conversation again. "That's great! That means Novus should be safe."
Adam and Sienna exchanged worried looks. There'd been a Huntsman at Shidekobushi, but he hadn't been there to protect anyone. He'd come for Adam. If they had a Huntsman on site, there'd be trouble. Adam's promise of no violence would be out the window if they tried to arrest him again. "Maybe I should wait with the trucks," he offered, keen to avoid being seen until they knew the coast was clear.
"Too late."
The gates of Novus swung open at Sienna's words. The guards of Novus must've seen them - as if they'd miss the sudden arrival of a convoy outside their gates. Adam could see a few men above the gate, armed and watching, though more out of curiosity than concern. A trio of men walked out to meet them. Such a small group bode well. If Novus saw them as a threat, they'd either send a bigger force or just stay behind the walls and wait.
"Let me handle this," Ghira quietly instructed before marching forward to meet their welcome party. "Hello!"
"Who goes there?" The leader of the three, judging by his spot in the middle, demanded. He was a tall, gaunt man who looked like he'd seen more than his fair share of harsh winters. His hand hovered near a holster on his hip but made no move to draw as shrewd eyes studied the new arrivals.
Wait, didn't Novus call for them? "I am Ghira Belladonna, of the-"
"The White Fang?"
Uh oh. Make or break time. Adam's left hand angled his scabbard for a better opening attack as his finger rested on the trigger. If it came to blows, he intended to make the first one. None of the three looked like a Huntsman, though. In fact, they didn't look much like fighters at all.
"You're from the White Fang."
"We are," Ghira confirmed to the faunus member of the trio. He stood a few inches shorter than his taller leader, though some of that height was made up for by a pair of red fox ears.
"The White Fang?" The taller man sounded far less thrilled. "Here? I'm sorry, but you'll find little of value in Novus. Gods know we barely have enough to survive on."
"What?"
"You'll find little resistance here," he continued. "Take what you want, but leave our people in peace."
"I…think there's been a misunderstanding," Ghira tried. "We're not here to cause any trouble."
"Good, because Novus can hardly bear the trouble it already has."
"And we're not here to steal from you." Ghira waved to the men behind him. The three in front tensed as two faunus in matching uniforms hurried forward, hauling a crate between them. One of them pulled out a crowbar, wedging the lid open to reveal tightly packed cans of food. "We're here to help you."
"Help us?" The leader of Novus looked at the supplies with wide eyes. "B-but how?"
His fox-eared companion spoke up. "I called them."
"Rufus?"
"You said we needed help," Rufus explained. "Cantil refused to renegotiate, so I figured I'd ask them for help instead."
"You went to a bunch of terrorists for help?"
Ghira objected to the label. "We're not the monsters some claim us to be."
"Oh, and I suppose that was some other White Fang that attacked Atlas?" The man zeroed in on Adam almost instantly. "And am I to assume you have an evil twin?" Negotiations were breaking down fast. There'd be no mistaking Adam, not when he was wearing the exact same outfit including his Grimm mask.
"That was a…misunderstanding." Even Ghira didn't believe his own words. "Please, we aren't here to hurt anyone. We merely came to help those in need."
"More like to help faunus in need. Guess I should be glad Novus has more than just humans, or you'd have left us to starve." He wasn't wrong. Then again, he probably wouldn't have asked for their help in the first place if it wasn't for this Rufus guy. With a grunt of disapproval, he said, "I am Alvis Cakal, mayor of Novus. These are my advisors, Rufus," the faunus beside him waved shyly, "and Oliver."
"This is Sienna and Adam," Ghir answered, completing the introductions. "My…associates." Wow. Way to make it awkward, Ghira. Then again, Adam doubted introducing them as his rival and Atlas' Most Wanted would be a great start. "We received a call for aid. We have food, dust, blankets, and coats."
"And what, praytell, do you expect in return?"
So trusting. "Nothing," Ghira assured him. "Despite what some may claim, we are a peaceful organization."
"Peaceful?" They could've done without Mayor Cakal's snark. "Is that what you call attacking Atlas?"
Adam couldn't help himself. "They attacked fir-"
"Atlas," Ghira interrupted meaningfully, "was a tragic mistake. One I can assure you we do not wish to repeat." At least they could agree on that. Adam didn't exactly look forward to blowing himself up again. Next time, they'd stick to stealth.
Mayor Cakal smirked at his assurances. "So you came here to, what, save face and improve your public image? Come save a bunch of poor villagers and hope the world will forgive and forget?"
Ghira took a step forward. "No, we-"
"Look, do you want the supplies or not?"
"Sienna…"
Sienna ignored him, facing down the mayor with far less tact. "I don't really care what you think about us. Rufus reached out to us for help, and here we are. Now, do you want to accept the supplies the White Fang are so graciously offering, or would you prefer to starve on that high ground of yours?"
The people back in Menagerie could probably hear Ghira's palm striking his face at Sienna's words. They were blunt. Direct. Tactless. But most importantly, effective.
"Fine," Mayor Cakal spat at them. "Far be it from me to refuse to help the people of Novus. Just know that you will be watched." As if that mattered. They'd pretty much admitted there was nothing Novus could do. If Sienna wanted to take over the town by force, the worst she'd face would be this idiot's condemnation. "I expect you to be on your way tomorrow."
"Two days," Sienna countered, much to the mayor's disliking. "Our men are tired from the long journey. I'm sure Novus wouldn't begrudge their saviors a single day of rest, would they?"
Mayor Cakal grit his teeth, but in the end, there was nothing he could do. "Very well. Two days, but not a moment longer." Or what, he'd throw a temper tantrum? "Rufus, since you were so eager to contact these…" Mayor Cakal bit back on whatever he wanted to say, "people, you can deal with them. Come, Oliver."
The two humans couldn't leave fast enough, abandoning their faunus counterpart to handle things instead. That was fine with Adam. Rufus proved to be more than enough, directing them to where they could offload the supplies. Food and dust would be brought to the storehouses, while coats and blankets would be taken to the mayor's office. He'd oversee distribution to everyone in Novus, likely so he could be seen as providing rather than the White Fang. While the pettiness of the man amused Adam, Ghira's words to him and Sienna afterward did not.
"What was that?" Ghira demanded after pulling them both aside. Bad enough he wanted to question them, but couldn't he have waited until after they unloaded the trucks?
"What was what?" Sienna's feigned innocence didn't fool anyone. "Oh, you mean the part where you were getting nowhere and I stepped in to fix everything for you?"
"There was no need for that. You promised to keep it peaceful."
Actually, Adam had promised. Sienna never technically agreed to those terms. Thankfully, she chose not to poke that rapier wasp's nest. "And we did."
"You threatened him."
"All I threatened was to leave if we weren't wanted. Should I have demanded he let us in? Storm the gates and force the supplies into their hands?" Aggressive charity. That was a new one. "The people of Novus need these supplies. When Rufus reached out to us, he said they wouldn't have enough to last the winter. We came all this way to save lives. I wasn't about to let some moron's ego get in the way of that."
She had a point there. Ghira was getting nowhere with the man, but Sienna had solved the entire situation in an instant, and without having to harm anyone. Sure, she'd been a little pushy, but at the end of the day did it really matter? As long as they were saving lives, who cared if they were overly pleasant?
"It didn't have to come to that," Ghira insisted, refusing to back down.
"It did and you know it." Sienna stood her ground defiantly. "People like that will never see us as anything but animals."
"Behaving like one won't change their minds."
"Then let them curse us when we leave!" Those close enough to hear the sudden outburst stopped and stared, but Sienna ignored them, eyes burning as she faced off with their leader. "When their children are fed and warm, they can think what they want. Or would you rather see them die just to prove your point?"
"No, I-"
Sienna didn't give him a chance to fight back. "Face it, Ghira. You were getting nowhere. We'd still be standing outside these walls arguing if it wasn't for me. The people of Novus - real people with real problems - don't have time for you to debate every imbecile with a grudge. They need action. And if that means I have to step on a few toes along the way, then I will."
"I just think-"
"Then stand here and think." Sienna stomped past him, heading for the trucks. "Meanwhile, I'll be over here, doing what we came here to do."
Everyone watching hurried to look busy as the confrontation came to a sudden end, but Adam knew they'd heard. More than that, several nodded along to her words. Ghira may have hoped to reconnect with the White Fang on this mission, but all he'd done was show how ineffective his methods could be. Worse than that, he'd let Sienna compare her own methods against his, and the results spoke for themselves.
Adam thought about trying to try and talk to Ghira, but what could he say? Sienna was right. Ghira couldn't even get them in the gate, but the moment she'd taken the lead, everything worked out. She'd even gotten them an extra day to rest and recover, which was sure to win her even more praise from the men. None of that was what Ghira would want to hear, though, so Adam quietly slipped away to follow Sienna and help unload the remaining supplies.
Work went quickly, but there was an uneasy silence that hung over their effort. Bad enough they'd heard Ghira and Sienna arguing, but their presence hadn't gone unnoticed by the village. People gathered a distance away, watching them work with hushed whispers and pointed fingers. Several armed guards - probably the bulk of Novus' defenses - stood between them and the citizens, eyeing them suspiciously as if they expected the entire relief effort to be some great deception. If the White Fang wanted to attack, Novus wouldn't stand a chance. Heck, judging by the guards, Adam probably could've conquered the city by himself without even breaking a sweat.
They continued working in a silence punctuated by the occasional command from Rufus. In no time at all, they'd deposited their goods, keeping only enough food and fuel to get them back to the coast.
"Thank you," Rufus said once the work was done, singling out Sienna and Adam. Ghira finally reappeared, having missed all the actual work as he sulked somewhere alone. "And sorry about Mayor Cakal. I probably should've told him you were coming, but…well, you saw how he can be."
"It's not a problem," Sienna answered for them. "We're glad we could help."
"He means well. It's just…he has a little trouble trusting anyone, especially with all the news reports and the recent shortages." News reports about Adam, he didn't specify. Not that he needed to. "Anyways, don't worry about him. He really does mean well."
"He sure has a heck of a way of showing it," Sienna grumbled.
"Recent shortages?" Ghira asked, pretending Sienna didn't exist. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing new," Rufus said, though there was a clear note of anger in his voice. "Cantil just upped his prices is all. Nothing we haven't dealt with before."
"Who's Cantil?"
"Oh, that's right. You're not from around here." Rufus shook his head at the realization. "Cantil's a lieutenant from Tutela, a larger town further west. He and his men patrol this region, killing Grimm and driving off bandits…for a fee."
"Protection money?" Ghira guessed.
"Basically. We don't have a lot of fighters, so they do the fighting for us. In exchange, we provide Tutela with supplies, which helps them grow larger and offer better protection. They've been doing it for years with at least half a dozen villages in the area." Not a terrible idea. New villages and settlements often struggled to find adequate fighters, so contracting someone stronger made sense. As long as the prices were reasonable. "Problem is, the last time they came by, they demanded more money, saying there'd been more threats in the area. We either had to pay up or try to fight ourselves. Figured it was better to pay than risk fighting the Grimm alone, but they ended up taking way more than we expected."
"They ripped you off," Adam summarized. "The threat isn't higher. We barely saw any Grimm on the way in." And those had been a few days out. The area around Novus was empty. "He lied to you. There aren't any Grimm for miles."
Rufus shrugged "Or they cleared the Grimm after we paid. Cantil may be demanding, but he's the only reason we've lasted this long." With a sigh, he added, "Either way, what's done is done. Cantil got what he wanted and you came along just in time to replenish our supplies. Life goes on."
For now. "You know he'll just demand more next time." If they could pay once, why not again? "You have to stand up for yourselves."
"We can't. Even if we wanted to, no one here can fight off Cantil and his men. And if we don't keep paying, they'll abandon us to the Grimm. We won't last the winter if that happens. Rationing food and fuel sounded a lot better than death by those monsters."
Ghira saw his chance to be useful again. "Maybe we can talk to this Cantil. See if he'll-"
"Don't bother," Rufus interrupted before Ghira could make any promises. "Cantil protects us, but, well…let's just say I'm not the one he talks to, if you know what I mean." To drive the point home, Rufus glanced upward. So, Cantil didn't like faunus then? Talking to the leaders of the White Fang probably wouldn't go over well, then. "Anyway, I appreciate all you've done. If you want, I can see about getting you and your men some rooms."
"Thank you, but I think things would go a lot smoother if we camped outside. Especially after our last conversation with your mayor." Ever the diplomat. Adam had been looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed tonight, but it looked like they'd be roughing it until they got back home. At least Mayor Cakal would have one less thing to complain about.
"You sure? It's only for a couple nights, and with the supplies you gave us, the least we could do is-"
"We'll be fine," Ghira promised. "The last thing we want to do is cause any more trouble for you."
"Thank you." Rufus sighed in relief. He'd probably be getting an earful from the mayor later regardless. At least he could soften the blow a little. "If you need anything - anything at all-"
"We'll be fine," Ghira repeated. "We'll be out of your hair within the hour."
Their day of rest started to sound less and less appealing if they couldn't even stay in town. Why bother at this point? Might as well get a head start on home. The sooner they reached Menagerie, the better.
The men didn't take Ghira's news of camping out very well, which was probably why Sienna let him make the announcement in the first place. To be fair, he'd been the one to throw away their comfort just to appease an ungrateful mayor. Might as well let him be the bearer of bad news. Rufus came out to join them for dinner that evening. He and Ghira chatted privately while Sienna and Adam ate with the men. He filled them both in later, saying the mayor had calmed down a bit now that they'd left the village. He sounded so proud of the fact, but neither of them were particularly impressed. Playing nice with someone who couldn't even thank them for all the provisions didn't deserve such generosities.
At least they wouldn't have to worry about Mayor Cakal and the annoyances of Novus much longer. In two days, they'd be on their way home, and Novus would be nothing but a distant, unpleasant memory.
Nothing like a nice, relaxing mission with no drama or fighting. Except for the political drama between Ghira and Sienna. And their power struggle. Drat. At least there's no real fighting going on.
Keeping it short on the naming game this week rather than trying to explain two town names and four characters. Anima (Mistralian) cities in canon are named after flowers from what I've seen. Could've gone with geographical terms for the Valean side of Sanus (Vale can be used as valley), but decided to go with Latin instead, even if Patch definitely works better with the first idea. Not overly important there, but just figured I'd throw that out. The only name I really wanted to detail, though, is their new friend Rufus Vulpes. As a red fox faunus, I really wanted to give him a deep, meaningful name befitting of his position in Novus. And by that, I mean his name translates to red-haired (Rufus) fox (Vulpes is the scientific name for fox). In other words, my red fox faunus is named...red-haired fox. Truly the most creative name I've used since good ol' Jack Corvus (Beacons of Love).
Enjoyed the quick bonfire scene. Almost put it in at the end of last chapter, but wasn't sure it would fit as well there. Now that it's written, I realize I could've worked it as a chapter ender pretty easily, but it is what it is. Novus will be a relatively short mission, but every chapter has a purpose. Looking forward to connecting all the dots in the near future.
Next chapter: The White Fang finishes up at Novus.