Chapter 35: An Ox Faunus' Past and An Unexpected Night Visitor
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, I only own my OCs
Another cool morning arrives in Vale City and Xavier sits on a bench in Beacon Academy's courtyard enjoying the chirping of birds in the morning sky. He lets his mind wander to Cassandra Lynch. He remembers the times when he played with the girl when he was a kid and how his parents would tease them about being future husband and wife, much to the kids' embarrassment although secretly Cassandra imagined herself being married to Xavier.
The ox faunus brings his head up to look at the sky remembering the last time he saw Cassandra.
He hears the clicking of a camera, bringing his gaze down he sees Emmara standing there with her camera.
She apologized timidly, "H-Hi, Xavier. The shot looked so good, I couldn't resist."
Xavier said, "No need to apologize, Emmara. What brings you here? I'd expect you to be with Tira since you two seem to go everywhere together."
Emmara stuttered, "Well, I-I wanted to explore Beacon grounds early."
Xavier noticed the shy girl's face take on a sad expression so he queried, "What's wrong, Emmara? Did something happen?"
Tears filled the corners of Emmara's eyes, "My sister and Cassandra got into another argument yesterday. I tried to calm them down but Cassandra turned her ire on me, stating I was too weak to finish a Grimm and asked why I was even here. Tira got more angry, the angriest I've seen her. She's usually energetic and had a grin on her face and likes to tease me."
Xavier said, "Cassandra wasn't always like who she is now, Emmara. Before the Grimm ate her family, Cassandra was a kind soul. My parents were close friends with hers. They used to take me over to the Lynch residence for me to play with her and her siblings."
Intrigued, Emmara asked, "Can you tell me more about what Cassandra was like?"
Xavier nodded, "Of course. Please, sit down." The timid girl did so as the ox faunus briefly closed his eyes to gather his thoughts before looking at Emmara, "I'll tell you more about Cassandra and myself."
Flashback 10 years before the events of RWBY
Xavier was born to Alec Stone and Zana Stone.
His mother was the undisputed champion of an underground fighting arena in Atlas, having sustained no losses during her reign. She entered the arena as the youngest combatant at 19 years old and quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with.
She stood 5'10" tall, large C cup bust, in her early 20s sported an athletic build made for agility and power, shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes, horns protruding from her hair and tanned skin. She wore black spandex shorts with a fractured skull on the sides, a matching sports bra, fingerless gloves, gray boots and black elbow pads when in fights. When not in a match, she wore blue jeans, a short-sleeve charcoal gray shirt, styling shoes and black leather jacket.
His father Alec Stone stood 6'5" tall, sported a ripped and muscular build, also in his early 20s, short black hair, dark brown eyes, was a freelance artist in addition to package loader in a warehouse that was a short walk away from his studio apartment. He wore blue jeans held in place by a dark gray belt, charcoal gray short-sleeve shirt, black shoes. The payment from his main job was sufficient enough to cover the monthly rent although he hoped on finding an actual house soon.
One day, Alec was wandering after finishing his shift when he decided to stop for a drink at his favorite local bar in downtown Atlas. Stepping inside, he saw it fairly packed before walking up to a booth, taking a seat as the bartender came over and Alec ordered an alcoholic beverage. Alec and the barkeeper had been friends since freshman year of high school and neither had expressed interest in becoming Hunters. Instead, they embarked on different paths of work. Alec chose to sign up for warehouse work while doing art as a side hustle.
The barkeeper was a young human male in his mid 20s, stood around 6'1" tall, lightly tanned skin, green eyes, shoulder-length auburn hair and athletic build. He wore a light blue button-up shirt, a white undershirt and black dress pants with a pair of work shoes. He dreamed of opening up his own business soon.
He asked, "Another day, another shift of work over, huh?"
Alec took a sip of his drink, "Yep. Same old, same old, Lium."
The now named human began cleaning an empty glass, "Any luck in the dating department?"
Alec lightly twirled the glass in his large hand, "Not since I was cheated on by my high school girlfriend Melissa." The mentioned person was a woman that attended the same high school as the ox faunus, they met during Alec's second semester of his sophomore year and started dating shortly afterward. Everything seemed to be going well between the two until shortly before graduation, Alec found out from a fellow student that Melissa was seeing someone when another student, a deer faunus, expressed a mixture of surprise and skepticism. Initially Alec didn't believe it, feeling it was just typical high school gossip. But as time went on, he began to realize it wasn't and started becoming suspicious, maybe even questioning his girlfriend's commitment. The red flags started rearing their ugly heads when Melissa wasn't returning his texts like they normally do. To reinforce Alec's suspicion, Lium said he saw Melissa walking towards her home with someone that evening, and judging by the way the girl's arm wrapped around the boy's, they were intimate. Using his invisibility semblance, he crouched inside a nearby bush and poked his scroll out, selecting the video recording mode. He listened to Melissa mention how much better Arthur was compared to Alec and she loved him.
Lium's eyes widened at the person's name. Arthur was the high school's top athlete and leader of the football team. Not only that, but he was dating his older sister Ashley, who planned enrolling into the Atlas military. Though lately, she was suspicious about her boyfriend's behavior and now this recording will prove his older sister correct as well as helping Alec get out of this relationship he has with Melissa.
That weekend, he called both Alec and his sister telling them to meet up with him at a cafe. The duo followed his request and Lium showed them his video recording of Arthur and Melissa kissing along with the confession of the latter. Alec was shocked while Ashley gripped her cup of water so tight it crushed the plastic, drenching her hand in the liquid. Lium felt the menacing aura his sister was giving off and felt a bead of sweat run down his cheek. His sibling was scary when she was angry.
She said, "Thank you for showing me this, brother. I'll make sure Arthur and I have a long chat."
Alec agreed, "I'm with Ashley on this. You helped prove my suspicion correct. Now I know what I need to do." A week after his graduation party, he confronted Melissa about her cheating on him behind Alec's back. Melissa tried making excuses and said Alec was just being silly but Alec wasn't buying it, playing the video recording he requested Lium to do. Once the recording stopped playing, Alec gave his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend an icy glare as if daring her to challenge that.
The girl tried making excuses, but seeing Alec wasn't budging, she ultimately cracked and admitted Arthur was better than Alec. Once she was done, Alec told Melissa they're done and had no plans of them getting back together.
Following this, Alec severed ties with his ex-girlfriend including deleting her from his contact list. Afterwards, he focused on himself, getting in shape, finding work and hopefully finding an apartment he can reside in for the time being until he saved up to buy a house.
Luck was on his side as a warehouse that was near the studio apartment was hiring people and Alec applied there. His strong work ethic garnered him respect from the fellow workers and pay raises. He also took on commission requests to earn some side income. There was also a gym a short walk away too, so he hits the weights and performs high intensity interval training sessions up to six days per week with one rest day.
Coming out of his trip down memory lane, both Alec and Lium hear the front door of the bar open, making both of them look at that direction.
Walking into the place was Zana. Alec kept his gaze to the front as the MMA fighter ox faunus took a seat next to Alec and ordered for a glass of water. Alec finished the rest of his drink and seeing an opportunity, he looked at the hot young ox faunus.
Alec introduced himself, "Hi there, my name's Alec Stone. Come here often?"
Zana replied, "Every now and then. I assume you already know my name?"
Alec said, "Who doesn't? You're the most popular MMA fighter in Atlas, Zana. I watch your matches sometimes. How long have you been in the mixed martial arts business?"
Zana replied, "About four years now."
Alec told her, "And I guess you have your own fan base."
The female ox faunus said, "I do. What do you do for a living?"
Alec said, "I work at a warehouse that's a short walk from the studio apartment I live in. I draw as well. I can show you sometime." Zana was impressed that Alec was able to support himself. The two spent the next few hours talking until Alec felt it was time for him to head home, paying the toll of his drink then bids both her and Lium farewell. But before he exits the entrance, Zana gave him her phone number in case he wanted to call. The male ox faunus was surprised that Zana took an interest a regular working person like him. Nevertheless, he exchanged phone numbers with her and bid Zana good-night.
Making his way toward his studio apartment, Alec had a big grin on his face that a hot young athlete would exchange phone numbers with him. Walking up the stairs to the third floor, he pulled out the key to room 40, the one he's living in and stepped through the doorway, closing the door behind him and locked it. He next opened the fridge and reached for the leftover steak he cooked the other day and heated it in the microwave oven along with some rice and baby carrots. Setting the silverware on the table and napkin, Alec heard the timer on the microwave oven go off signaling for him to take his dinner out, shutting the door behind him and setting the plate down on the kitchen table before pulling out the chair for him to sit on. Grabbing his scroll out of his pocket and laying it down, he browsed on the web for a video he liked while he ate his dinner.
The next day, he headed out for work again, same old, same old. Fortunately, he got off early today so that left Alec with a lot of free time. Feeling the need for some inspiration on what his next drawing should be, he walked around enjoying the cool temperatures. Whether by coincidence or fate, he bumped into Zana. Seeing an opportunity to score a possible relationship with her, Alec offered her lunch. To his surprise, the female ox faunus accepted his offer. They journeyed to a popular cafe in downtown Atlas. While they chatted, they began to get to know each other better. They took turns sharing what their hobbies were, what their future goals were among other things. However, neither went into more personal things.
After about a month, the two started dating and slowly worked their way up from there despite Zana's schedule. Before long, they became a couple, having great chemistry with each other.
Following the one-year mark of dating, Alec knew in his heart Zana was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. So one day, after saving up enough, Alec entered a jewelry shop looking through the selection of rings finding one he could use to propose to his girlfriend. When the jewelry worker came over asking Alec if he'd found any ring he liked, the ox faunus pointed at the red ring in the center of the third row in the glass casing. The worker smiled, stating that fiery red gem is the most popular in the store due to its rarity.
Alec settled on getting the ring, paying the 900 lien. Fortunately, he saved up for this occasion. The worker thanked him for shopping at the jewelry store and wished him luck with his proposal. The ox faunus called Zana telling her to meet up with him at the fountain in downtown Atlas.
The female ox faunus headed to the designated area, finding Alec waiting for her. No one else was around thankfully.
She asked, "So, what's the reason why you wanted us to meet up here?" Alec walked toward with a confident gait in his footsteps while simultaneously butterflies filled his stomach.
He stopped walking and said to Zana, "We've known each other for a year now and during that time, I got to know you for who you are. Your smile, your passion and personality. That's why…" He pulled a ring box out of his pocket, knelt and opened the box, "...Zana, will you marry me?" Tears of joy filled Zana's eyes at the sight of the ring and Alec's confession.
Zana nodded, "Yes! I will marry you, Alec!" The male ox faunus stood up, grabbing Zana's dominant hand and gently placing the proposal ring onto her ring finger, Zana pulled her future husband into a passionate kiss.
The two had a small wedding, nothing spectacular.
A couple of years later, Zana gave birth to a boy she named Xavier Stone.
Xavier's parents spoiled their son but knew when to be strict and enrolled him into a school that accepted faunus.
Eventually, the Xavier family befriended a family of humans, the Lynch family. Both parents, Meinhardt and Julia Lynch, were members of the Atlas military and had 3 kids, two girls named Cassandra and Alice, and one boy named Eddie. They were about a year apart in terms of age with Cassandra being the oldest at 8.
Meinhardt stood around 6 feet tall, sported a lean and muscular build due to the intense training the Atlas military puts its new recruits through, presently in his mid 30s, fair skin, green eyes and wore a long coat, red shirt, black jeans and brown boots.
Julia stood around 5'10" tall, had a slender and feminine muscular build, pale skin, icy blue eyes, ear-length hair, 40C cup breasts, in her early 30s, and wore a black winter jacket, green shirt, gray winter pants and light brown winter boots.
By this time, Xavier was 5 when he met Cassandra and had no problem befriending the human girl, surprising the adults while Cassandra's siblings teased the two, sometimes resulting in Cassandra chasing them around the house while Xavier watched. As the weeks passed, Xavier's friendship with Cassandra and her siblings grew and occasionally invited him to play and one time Cassandra gave him a silver necklace with a sapphire attached to the end. Xavier thanked her and promised to give her something in return. Eddie teased his oldest sibling again but this time around, Cassandra caught him and placed Eddie in a headlock and demanded he apologize to which he defiantly said never prompting Cassandra to tighten the headlock, earning more laughter from Eddie. Xavier laughed, telling the two he was kind of envious of them wishing he had a sibling himself.
Xavier commented, "They say love your family even if they are knuckleheads." During spring break, Cassandra's parents invited Xavier and his parents over for a barbecue. While Xavier's parents talked with Cassandra's, Xavier was playing with the siblings along with the young ox faunus showing them the picture he drew of him with the Lynch siblings in a flower field and the drawing was decent, but the Lynch siblings could see the effort that was put into the sketch. Xavier offered the drawing to them not just as a sign of friendship but also for them accepting Xavier for who he is given the discrimination the faunus were facing.
By the time evening comes, the Stone family felt it was time to head back home.
The Lynch siblings share their good-byes with Xavier until Cassandra commented that maybe she'll see him enrolled into Atlas Academy someday. Xavier shrugged with a friendly smile saying they might. The Stones take their leave after that, unaware this would be the last time they would see the Lynch family.
The following day after Xavier returned home from school, he caught his parents talking about how creatures called Grimm attacked a human family, leaving only one survivor being scarred physically and mentally as the parents and two siblings were killed by the Grimm.
That night when the Stones were having dinner, Alec noticed his son was deep in thought, "Something wrong?"
Xavier brought his gaze up to his father, "Dad, what are the Grimm?"
Alec said, "They're creatures of darkness. They kill without hesitation, no remorse, no mercy. That's why the academies train Hunters and Huntresses to protect Remnant from the Grimm. There are varieties of Grimm out there, with new species waiting to be discovered. The life of a Hunter and Huntress is a dangerous one as they tend to die at a young age. Don't worry about it, son, Grimm sightings within Atlas City are rare. There are Atlas soldiers patrolling the streets for that reason." A bit later on, they retire to bed with Xavier hoping Cassandra and her family are safe.
As the years passed and Xavier grew up, he continued his education and entered a massive growth spurt when he turned 8 years old.
That day, his town was attacked by Grimm and the Atlas military was able to defeat the monsters as Hunters and Huntresses from Atlas Academy joined in the town's defense. Zana participated as well. When the threat was neutralized, Xavier asked his mother if she could train him. Zana was surprised at first that her son wanted her to train him and warned that she will be strict in the training regimen. With strong determination, Xavier told her he was sure of his decision. With a sigh, Zana became his teacher and mentor.
True to her word, Zana wasn't joking about the training regimen; it involved a combination of high intensity interval training, sparring sessions, weight training, proper nutrition and recovery.
The first month of training was brutal and unforgiving for the young ox faunus, his muscles felt like lead every time he moved. After each training session Xavier ate for post-training recovery then passed out. Initially, Zana said they'll do Xavier's training on the weekends since he had to attend school. But as he became better conditioned, Zana bumped it up to six days a week in the morning with one rest day which he used to the fullest for recovery and draw.
By the time Xavier was 13, he stood 6'3" tall and had some decent size and definition to his muscles along with unlocking his aura and discovering his semblance. One day, he was walking around the town with his mother doing some errands when the two crossed paths with an armored young woman.
She stood 6'3" tall, long, straight black hair that went to her mid-back, looked to be 16 years old, wore blue plated armor with a silver trim, twin horns on the breastplate and an eye decal at the center, black leggings, dark brown boots, fair skin, had an eye patch over where her left eye would be, leaving only her right eye one visible and red in color that had a piercing gaze that Xavier and his mother could feel, as if the mysterious young faunus woman was staring into their souls. Strapped to her back was a claymore sword.
She walked forward not taking her eye off the ox faunus duo until she stood before them, her face donning a stoic expression.
The armored warrior greeted, "Hello, my name is Rena Schwartz. I'm visiting Atlas City for the time being and I noticed you two. What are your names?"
Zana said, "I'm Zana Stone and this is my son, Xavier."
Rena mused, "Ah yes, Zana Stone, the 'MMA's infamous Terminator'. I heard you haven't lost a single match during your career as an MMA fighter, very impressive. How big is your undefeated streak?"
Zana replied, "Thirty wins and zero losses. That was before I retired."
Rena nodded, "I see." The armored faunus noticed Xavier's physique, "Is your son training for some tournament?"
Xavier replied, "No, I asked Mom to train me. Grimm attacked the town but thanks to the combined might of the Hunters and Huntresses of Atlas Academy and the military, the attack was thwarted. After that, I asked Mom if she could train me." Intrigued, Rena requested a sparring match with Xavier to test the ox faunus herself.
The trio entered a dojo themed building designed for weapon training, the interior was wide enough for swords and other melee weapons to be used.
Removing her claymore from her back, Rena rested the weapon against the wall and grabbed a wooden practice sword for their sparring match. Standing on the opposing end of the mat, Rena held the wooden sword in both hands with the dominant foot held back.
Xavier stood there in an MMA fighter stance with his hands taped up. Even though he had yet to make a move, Xavier couldn't help but feel unnerved by the cold look in Rena's eye. He charged forward, thrusting his fist forward that Rena blocked with ease. He threw another punch that ended with the same result. Xavier next launched a series of punches hoping one of them hit Rena but to his shock, none of his attacks connected. Rena was blocking them as if they're happening in slow motion. Rena sidestepped a punch, grabbing the outstretched arm and slammed the ox faunus to the mat. Rena was merely testing Xavier, if she wanted she could've severely injured him. The ox faunus got up and retaliated with additional punches that the one-eyed faunus blocked with ease. Xavier grasped the wooden sword and tried pulling it out of Rena's hold when she retaliated with a kick to the chest. The ox faunus stumbled backward followed by Rena using her weapon on his leg, tripping him and placing a foot on his chest pointing the wooden sword at him as the sign to surrender. When the one-eyed faunus saw him admit defeat, she nodded before removing her foot and pulled Xavier to his feet before return the wooden sword to the rack. She slid the strap of her weapon's scabbard through her left arm until it rested diagonally across the dominant side of her body and tightened it to ensure it stayed put.
Xavier commented, "You must've seen your share of battles."
Rena replied, "I see a lot of potential within you, Xavier. I'm seeking to form a team and you'd make a great addition to it."
Zana interjected, "Now wait just one minute here, young lady." Rena directed her gaze to the older ox faunus, "What is it exactly that you do? Do you attend Atlas Academy?"
Rena said, "No, I'm a mercenary. I take jobs for money to support myself, been doing so for some time."
Zana declined, "My son is not joining you to pillage towns of their resources nor rape innocent people!"
Rena told her, "I don't do any of those things. I primarily purge towns of Grimm, hunt and kill wanted criminals and ex-hunters/huntresses, human or faunus. The acts you accuse me of goes against my standards." She did her best to calm Zana and convince Xavier won't be committing heinous acts but Zana outright refused and told Xavier they're heading home. The younger ox faunus apologized to Rena of his mother's behavior stating she's like that around new people. But the one-eyed faunus didn't relent.
Over the following days she continued trying to convince Zana that she'll make sure Xavier doesn't die or wound up severely injured to the point he's crippled for the rest of his life. In the end, Zana finally relented with the intervention of Alec. She warned Rena that if she made Xavier crippled, she'll hunt Rena down and kill her. Rena promised she'll make sure that doesn't come to pass.
Xavier received a parting gift from his father. A pair of silver gauntlets with an emerald at the front. He put the items on and clenched his fists, the gauntlets deploy covering his entire forearms and repeated the process to see the gauntlets retract close to his wrists when not in use. He dubbed them Gemini after the twin constellation.
As the ox faunus traveled with his new team leader, Rena trained him further discovering that while his offense was incredibly powerful, his defense was lackluster and told Xavier that sometimes the best offense is a good defense. During each training session, Rena was patient and spoke motivational words and encourage.
His first test as part of the future Team RXDY was to help his team leader liberate a town being raided by some ragtag of bandits. Safe to say, she was impressed by her new teammate and knew she made the right choice picking him. Now she needed to find three more members to complete the team. The two continued traveling Remnant, taking on missions and two more teammates. He was impressed that his team leader knew survival skills to know how to last a night in forests. However, she made sure those didn't happen too often, ensuring they stayed at hotels or inns whenever they ventured through villages within the four Kingdoms.
End of flashback
Safe to say Emmara is surprised by his story.
She asked, "So, Cassandra was a kind person back then before her family was eaten by the Grimm?"
Xavier nodded, "Yes. To think she said we might see each other in one of the academies." He held up his silver necklace, "This was a present from her. I'm certain beneath all that rage and utter hatred for the Grimm is the same Cassandra I met as a kid, waiting for the right person to pull her out of her darkness. Her parents were from the Atlas military so it's expected they'd have a strict schedule around her family's household."
Emmara next said, "Your mother was an MMA fighter? I can imagine her and Tira would get along?"
Xavier chuckled, "Maybe. Although, my mom would be labeled a pedophile if Tira tried to flirt with her."
The shy girl queried, "And you mentioned your gauntlets were a parting gift from your father?"
The ox faunus nodded, "Yes, before I joined Rena's team. It took almost an entire month for her to convince my mom to let me go with her. I was ultimately forced to enlarge my gauntlets Gemini to accommodate my massive arms I now have as well as bigger clothes and boots. Any way, you can reach Cassandra, Emmara. You just need courage and resolve to do it. I'm saying this now but you need to build confidence and train yourself because you can't hide behind the safety of Beacon Academy forever. The life of a Huntress is a dangerous one and it's not just Grimm you need to watch out for. There are bandits, wanted criminals and former ex-Hunters and Huntresses, humans or faunus, that decided to use their skills for selfish reasons. Should you encounter any, you need to defend yourself because your teammates won't be around all the time to save you, Emmara. You need to stand on your own two feet. I understand you want everyone to get along but this is reality not some fairy tale you were told to as a child." He next stood up and stretched sighing as he felt his bones pop, "You might wanna head back to your team, Emmara. Knowing your sister, Tira's gotta be worried about you. Perhaps one day, you can tell me more about yourself."
The timid human girl replied, "S-sure. I can do that."
Xavier asked, "By the way, did your team decide on who'll represent TEAL in the Singles round?"
Emmara answered, "We h-have decided on Alexia. Tira can be reckless at times in battle, I lack stamina to hold out in battle and Cassandra wouldn't hold back, she'd probably severely injure her opponent. That, or n-not participate at all." Xavier pulls out his scroll to check the time and discovers it was almost 9a.m.
Xavier said, "You might wanna hurry back and get breakfast, Emmara. I don't know what the eating schedule is at Beacon Academy since my team and I don't attend but you better haul ass back or you'll go hungry. If you don't eat, you won't have the energy to focus on class."
Emmara laughed a little, "You sound like Tira."
A voice offered, "I can help with that." They both turn to see Yumi standing there with her tail idly swaying.
Emmara greeted, "H-hi, Yumi. H-how are you?"
Yumi smiled, "Hello, Emmara. I can bring you to Beacon Academy." She grasped the timid girl's hand, "You better hold tight because we're bolting there." Emmara only has time to yelp before Yumi zips past Xavier making the ox faunus laugh.
Yumi and Emmara reach Beacon's cafeteria just as the rest of Team TEAL exits the cafeteria.
Tira blinked then hugged the wolf faunus, "Hi, Yumi. It's nice to see you, my cute wolfy."
Yumi groaned from the tight hug, "Yeah, nice to see you too. Can you let go?" The fiery redhead rubs her cheek against Yumi's unable to resist the cuteness of the wolf faunus.
Alexia said, "You can release her now, Tira."
The leader of Team TEAL reluctantly released Yumi, "But I don't wanna." She turned to the half-faunus, "At least I have a sexy ninja to have fun with." Cassandra feels Emmara looking at her and when she turns her attention to her, the shy girl quickly looks away.
Later that evening, Smith Schwartz is walking back to his home after picking up groceries. He's lately been thinking of moving elsewhere to set up his forgery, somewhere with more landscape so that he can make his blacksmith shop bigger to hold more tools and have more open space in general. He has been making reasonably good money making weapons for Hunters and Huntresses looking for replacement weapons or for the new blood starting their journey. Thus far, he's made guns, blades, knives, bows and even a combo weapon.
Smith has also been dealing with thugs looking to steal his forged weapons. For what reason, he doesn't know. However, it was costing him time and potential customers.
He soon sees a group of bandits block his path wielding what appears to be stolen weapons from the actual owners. Smith places the bags of groceries down as he glares at the bandits with annoyance.
He spoke with a voice that reflected it, "I swear, this is the fourth time you pricks have come to try and steal from me. You either don't know when to quit or just gluttons for punishment." He cracked his knuckles and entered an MMA stance, "This'll be the last time you bug me. I won't be held responsible if you four end up in a hospital from this ass whipping you're about to receive." The bandits simply laugh at his warning.
They charge as Smith narrows his eyes. He sidesteps a downward swing of a Dust sword and drives his knee and elbow into the attacker's gut and back at the same time before judo flipping him over Smith to the ground. He almost knocks the bandit unconscious with a hard kick to the temple. Out of the corner of his eye, Smith spots the second bandits thrust his pistol-knife at Smith's chest but he catches the outstretched arm, slamming it onto his raised knee, knocking the weapon out of the second bandit's hand before slamming the fool's head to the ground hard, the bandit's aura flickers as it struggles to take the impact. The third bandit aims to put a bullet in Smith's head when the blacksmith kicks him in the balls earning a high-pitched squeal from the attacker then punches the man square in the face certainly knocking a few teeth out from how hard Smith's punch is. He brutally stomps on the bandit's face. He next throws an icy glare at the final member of the group daring him to attack. He seems to wisely choose retreat instead of suffering a potentially broken nose. He order his comrades to pull back. Smith stays put until they're gone in case they decide to change their minds. Once the bandits are out of sight, Smith picks up the bags of groceries and resumes walking toward his home. A deep noise comes from his right, turning at that direction the young man sees the exact same bird that's been watching him for the past month and it's been starting to freak him out. The bird is sitting on the branch of a nearby tree and makes another deep noise like it's trying to talk to him. Picking up a pebble next to his feet, Smith throws it at the black bird telling it to scram. After the animal flies away, the blacksmith resumes heading home.
Standing in front of the main door, Smith reaches for the key in his pocket, inserting it into the keyhole he hears the lock being undone for him to enter. Closing the door, Smith places the groceries into the proper shelves and looks to cook some steak he marinated earlier in the morning. He sets it on the cutting board and pulls a cooking pan and spray some cooking spray on it. He suddenly hears the front door being knocked on.
Smith sighed, "If it's those bandits, I swear to Gods I'll break their legs to ensure they don't walk again." The way he says it would make Nora Valkyrie proud.
Twisting the handle, Smith sees who'd be visiting him. To his surprise it's a woman based on the obvious figure and long, wavy, jet-black hair.
Her outfit consisted of a V-neck black and red wrap style top with a black pleated skirt that has black shorts underneath, with series of beaded necklaces. She also wears a red obi sash around her waist alongside a red tassel wrapped around her waist that carries her weapon's sheath. Attached to it is a long black object that is either fur or feathers, with a red and white bandanna material-like hanging from behind her. Her forearms bear red armored gauntlets that protrude outwards and black fingerless gloves. She wore black mid-thigh high boots, that had armor plating with red splatter patterns and black heels. She wore a full-face mask in the shape of a Nevermore with four slits on it.
Attached to the woman's waist is a scabbard that has a rotary chamber filled with different types of Dust blades. The blades, when connected with the accompanying handle, are reminiscent of the long-bladed, single-edged ōdachi or "great sword".
He asked, "Can I help you? I'm closed for the night but if you need a weapon made or your current one needs repairs, I can do it tomorrow."
The woman spoke said, "I was walking around and your workshop caught my eye and I wanted to check it out."
Smith said, "Listen, I was about to cook dinner but if you want, I can go for a drink with you a bit later tonight if you're still in town. There's a tavern not too far from here I go to from time to time. We can meet up there."
The woman tilted her head slightly, "I'll think about it." Smith watches her leave before closing the door and resumes cooking his dinner. As the steak cooks, the blacksmith heats up some leftover pasta he had one of the previous nights and pulls a bag of baby carrots out of the fridge. Once the 4 minutes are up, Smith flips the steak so that the other side cooks evenly. The timer on the microwave oven goes off signaling the pasta is ready, Smith takes the plate out and sets it on the kitchen table, setting a napkin and silverware next to it. The timer on his scroll buzzes, telling the blacksmith his steak is done. Turning off the knot for the stove burner, he uses steak tongs to place the cooked meat on a platter for it to sit for 3 minutes, something he learned after his first attempt at cooking steak when he moved out of his father's home. At least his father was kind enough to teach him how prepare and cook food.
Once the 3 minutes are up, Smith places the steak on his plate. After getting a glass of water, he cuts into the steak and places the cut pieces into his mouth savoring the taste, taking occasional sips of water and eat a baby or some pasta every now and then. The meal is devoured in no time and Smith cleans up the mess in his kitchen and places the dirty plate in the dish water before washing his hands and drying them.
He lets the food settle in his stomach for a while until it's time to meet up with the woman he encountered earlier. That is if she accepted his offer. Putting his shoes on, Smith leaves the front porch light on and steps out the front door, locking it afterwards. Smith walks toward the tavern he sometimes visits. Thus far, the woman he met earlier didn't meet up with him so that must mean she's waiting for him inside. Entering the tavern, the waiter tells him that someone has reserved a table for him on the second floor. Curious about it, he follows the waiter up to the second floor to see the mysterious woman sitting at the table waiting for him.
'So, she took up my offer.' Smith thought as he sat down on the opposite side of her.
The server is a beautiful young woman in her early 20s with bob-cut style blonde hair, green eyes, 40D cup breasts, fair skin and wore a maroon-colored blouse, a black mini-skirt, underneath that are black shorts and charcoal gray shoes with a black trim. She also wears her name tag.
She greeted, "My name is Kristine and I'll be serving you tonight." She handed the two menus, "Can I get you started with something to drink?"
Smith said, "I'll take the usual." He asked the dark-haired woman, "What about you, Miss?"
The woman finally spoke, "Some tea will do." Kristine writes the orders and says she'll be back with their drinks soon.
Once the server is out of sight, the woman removes her mask, showing her face to Smith's expression changes to one of awe. Only one word comes to his mind: beautiful.
The woman's skin is pale white in color though Smith debates whether the woman never heard of sunlight or it's her natural skin tone, whatever the case it framed a beautiful face, black eyebrows and her alluring red eyes that had a few lines underneath them and his eyes divert to her more impressive assets when Smith realizes he's staring at her chest and shakes his head to regain his composure. It's been 10 years since he last met a hot woman and one is sitting in front of him.
He greeted, "Hello there, the name's Smith Schwartz. May I know yours, beautiful warrior?"
She replied, "Raven." Smith moves to offer the woman a handshake but his instincts tell that'd probably be unwise to do.
Smith queried, "So, to what do I have the honor of gracing your presence?"
Raven said, "I've been around town and I heard of your accomplishments being able to start your own business at merely 20 years old, kicking, scratching and clawing your way out of poverty to become one of the most successful men of their time. Very impressive feat. How long have you been a blacksmith?"
Smith smiled, "It's nice to hear praise from you, Raven. Blacksmith is a rare job these days and I like working with my hands, I didn't earn all those calluses for nothing. To answer your question, I've been in this business for 10 years. During that time, I've forged some high-quality weaponry for veteran Hunters and Huntresses or those just starting out. Of course, it didn't happen right away. My first few projects were abysmal disasters. But that's the only way you improve, right? Through trial and error."
Raven replied with some measure of mirth twinkling in her red eyes, "That's an important trait to have. The weak die, the strong live. Survival of the fittest in this cruel reality we call life."
Smith interlocked his hands together, "That whole 'the weak die, the strong live' is some motto you live by, huh?" Seeing the hot woman nod, he added, "But I respectfully disagree with you on that one, Raven. The weak can become strong if they have the desire for it. They need guidance. It's the strong's job to help the weak."
Raven gave him a shrug, "And I respectfully disagree with you there. That sort of mindset led to the deaths of many young, aspiring Hunters and Huntresses."
Her object of interest replied, "That kind of job never caught my interest, honey. I'm a builder, not a fighter." Raven stores that information in her mind, taking in more the further her conversation with Smith goes.
Kristine returned with their drinks setting them on the table, "Here you go. Are you looking for something to eat?"
Smith declined, "No thanks, I had dinner a while ago. What about you, Raven?"
Raven shook her head, "I'm good myself."
Kristine bowed, "Very well. Enjoy your drinks, I'll be back in a little while." Raven takes a sip of her tea, enjoying the flavor.
Smith mirrored her action, taking a sip of his beverage, "That weapon you carry, Raven. Is it a Dust sword by any chance?"
Raven raised an eyebrow, "What's it to you if it is?"
The young man shrugged, "Those are rare these days. I hardly see them around. I'm guessing that scabbard has a rotating chamber that has different types of Dust to form your blade. Most requests I get are either a gun-sword combo or some weaponry that uses Dust for ammo."
Raven retorted with the same monotone, "Would you care for a demonstration?"
Smith said, "Tempting, but no. I don't want to be cut down so early by one such as you, dear."
A little grin formed on Raven's face, "Are you flirting with me, Smith?"
The black-haired man gave her a smirk, "Can you blame me? It's not every day I get to have a drink with an attractive woman." He took another sip of his drink, "But enough about me. Tell me about yourself, Raven. What is it you do for a living?"
The woman crafted a lie, "I take on special missions that your regular Hunter or Huntress can't. Only veteran fighters can take on such a task."
Smith reminded, "My offer still stands, you know. If you want upgrades or improved version of your Dust sword, I can still do that."
Raven replied, "I'm confident in my weapon as it is." They spend the next hour talking with Raven taking in every bit of information about Smith and yet, she suspects he's keeping some things a secret from her. No matter. She'll find out eventually. She just needs to be patient.
Kristine returns to their table and Smith asks for the check and says he'll pay with cash. The young blonde-haired woman returns a few minutes later with it and Smith places two 20 lien into the check book and hands it to her. He downs the last of his drink.
Exiting the tavern, Smith said, "I enjoyed my time with you, Raven. I'm going to set up a weapon stand tomorrow during the Vytal Tournament since the Singles matches have been sorted out earlier today. Why don't you come by and check out some of my weapons? You might be impressed."
Raven replied, "I might. I'm not exactly well-liked by some." That one is true given she leads the Branwen Tribe. She keeps that one hidden from the blacksmith.
Smith asked, "Can we meet up again sometime? I'd like to get to know you more." Raven contemplates the offer. No one has expressed interest nor was she interested. How can she? She's the leader of a notorious tribe composed of murderers and thieves that pillage and steal resources from towns.
She finally spoke up, "I'll think about it. We may see each other sometime. I bid you good-night, Smith Schwartz." She puts her mask back on and walks away, Smith watches her progressively vanish from his line of sight before he ventures back to his home.
Fetching the key from his pocket, he inserts into the key lock unlocking the door to allow him entry to his single floor home with his workshop built on the right side, a door separates it from his home and has a furnace that serve as the forge for weapons his client requests or for repairs. A rack lines the left wall and stacks with forging tools including a hammer used in the shaping phase of a bladed weapon along with an anvil used to lay the hot metal on.
He steps inside and closes the door locking it. Flipping the light switch on, Smith takes off his shoes and closes the blinds of the windows before venturing into his bedroom to turn on the light there. Smith grabs his sleepwear which is comprised of gray sweatpants and white tank top then enters the bathroom to shower. Once that's done, he dons his sleepwear and turns off the light to the hallway of his home. Entering his bedroom again, he closes the door, flipping the covers of his bed open, flipping the light switch to cast the bedroom into darkness before climbing under the covers and closes his eyes to sleep. While he enjoys the quiet, it does get kind of lonely living in his home by himself since his adopted daughter is out doing missions with her team virtually all the time. Smith wishes he can share his bed with a beautiful woman at some point.
A/N: Chapter 35 done.
Here, we got to see Xavier's connection with Cassandra and even told Emmara from Team TEAL about it and what Cassandra was like before her family was eaten by the Grimm and herself scarred both physically and mentally.
Later, Smith had an encounter with Raven Branwen and offered to go for a drink with her to which Raven accepted and they talked for a while.
Also, fellow readers, my friend the Emerald's Edge, who's writing Team RUST and continuing TEAL after his close friend 1st Lieutenant Fae was tragically killed in a car accident in January of this year, is currently living in his car with his 2 pet rats and emotional support dog in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. He's been looking for a place to rent or roommates in his State. He set up a GoFundMe campaign for it. You can DM me on Twitter if you have an account there, I go by volcanolord72 on Twitter. I'll send you the link there since FanFiction doesn't allow us to post links to other websites in our PMs on FF. The Emerald's Edge's real name is Brandon Shepard.
Read and review.
Stay tuned for chapter 36.
Vader 23A