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Chapter 114: Pressure, Paranoia and Puppies
Stygian Blue's first week at Breaktide Academy had come to its' end the previous day after continuing on in much the same way it had begun, namely with the Mouse Faunus slowly finding their footing within the pre-existing social structure of the student body and coming to understand the quirks and idiosyncrasies of its' various members of staff with the help of Astra, Regalia and their friends. The workload had been far more challenging than before, just as expected given that he was now a Third Year student and the redoubled expectations along with new, elective subjects and the reality of integrating himself into a new team which he had commiserated with Tiger over during the few times the two of them had been able to talk to one another.
Overall Stygian had very few complaints, however chief amongst that limited list was his new partner.
Athena-Jade Slate had, much like other aspects of the week continued as she had started in that she had interacted with him along with the rest of her team as little as possible, speaking only when spoken to and often in short, direct bursts which came after being stirred from whatever distraction had been gripping her at the time. Outside of lessons Athena's absence was keenly noted as the Bear Faunus spent seemingly every waking moment either studying and training to a degree which would be remarkable were it not for her undercutting her own progress by choosing to forego sleep and skip meals in a display of single-mindedness which had rapidly transcended mere focus and become a self-destructive tendency which would inevitably lead to a burn out.
As both Athena and Stygian were sent crashing to the ground once again Stygian feared that breaking point might be imminent.
"On your feet!" Professor Arslan Altan's voice rang out through the otherwise empty lecture hall.
With Saturday morning upon them the new partners had made their way to the Combat instructors' classroom for their promised additional training and since their arrival it felt as though Arslan had abandoned all pretence of holding back or measuring her blows and was instead making her own annoyance at being present on campus during the weekend known to her students through a series of sparring matches where Athena and Stygian having the advantage of numbers had meant laughably little.
"Come on, let's move!" Stygian urged as he pulled himself first into a crouch and then onto his feet with a motion much like a sprinter lunging forwards; he charged at Professor Altan with his katana at the ready and began zigzagging through the spacious arena in an effort to keep his opponent of guard whilst a plan solidified into something workable, Arslan held a small blade in her hand and he realised that if her were to rush at her from the left hand side and from above she would be forced to position her body in a way which would leave her overexposed and that he could use his Semblance, which would almost certainly register the blade as the primary threat to better position himself for a strike.
Electric blue eyes remained focused on his goal, betraying nothing as he ducked and rolled under a spinning crescent kick from the Professors' right leg which threatened to collide with his temple, using the motion of skidding to a halt and flinging himself upright once again to leap into the air and ready both his blade and his Semblance; his katana began to flash through the air and at the last possible moment, when Arslan's arm and blade began to twitch he vanishing in a rippling of air.
Realising as he reappeared that he'd been outplayed,
Arslan's weapon was not a dagger, but a kunai and she had thrown the blade across the training area to send Stygian teleporting away before swiftly drawing the blade back by the length of rope fastened and hidden beneath her sleeve whilst in the same motion fending off an incoming attack from Athena.
The Bear Faunus had finally shaken herself out of her dazed state and come rushing in for an overhand swing of her new weapon, clutching it in both hands whilst Arslan had appeared distracted only to be left wincing and staggering, dangerously off balance as the older Huntress brought her weapon back to her hand and used the same jerking motion which had drawn it in to sidestep Athena and slash at her flank. She was clearly exhausted to the point of every movement being more taxing than it had any right to be and yet Stygian could not help but be awed by the raw tenacity his partner showed as she lashed out with her elbow, aiming at Arslan's face and using the brief opening where the Professor evaded the attack to readjust her grip on Heartbreaker and unleash a monstrously powerful horizontal swing which was parlayed into another assault the moment it was avoided. Arslan was still avoiding every attack levelled against her but as Athena-Jade conjured glyphs beneath with her feet and transformed her single swipes and slashes into a graceful maelstrom of blow it became clear that the professional Huntress was no longer directing the flow and pace of the fight as she had been before.
It also gave Stygian an opportunity.
"Heads up!" he called out as he rushed in close, directly behind his new partner and with perfect timing to implement his hastily made plan. Arslan was thus far managing to evade Athena by staying just out range even despite the snowy-haired girls' Semblance though it was a near thing, with just a little more distance to the attack being all it would take to overcome her defences; sensing that Athena was in no state, to be convinced to try working on a new team attack involving the two of them Stygian instead did the next best thing.
He repurposed an old move.
It was a trick he had seen Athena and Zirconia use countless times, the Mouse Faunus leapt up and over Athena-Jade's back and landed in a perching crouch on her weapon with the intent of springing forward and slashing with his own sword to close the distance with Arslan. What happened instead was that Athena, despite his warning was not properly braced and so she staggered forwards as he landed, her arm and weapon sagging which in turn threw Stygian out of position and allowed Arslan to counter. The combat instructor eagerly showed the skills which had seen her appointed to the position as she weaved through her newest students' defences and managed to embed her kunai into his attire enough to unravel the weapons' rope and simply hurl him around the outer edge of the sparring areas before reeling him back in and using his momentum to send him crashing into Athena; both the Mouse and Bear Faunus being sent rolling painfully to a halt in a heap of tangled limbs from which they struggled to extricate themselves.
"What the hell was that?" Athena demanded furiously, her temper barely constrained by a need to keep her voice and frustration in check around Professor Altan who would be unlikely to let such outbursts stand.
"Tried a thing, thought I could get a little extra reach and tie her up long enough for you to a good hit" Stygian wheezed and grumbled as he tried to rise despite the unwillingness of his limbs to cooperate.
"Warn me properly next time!" Athena snapped and Stygian' brow creased, his expression darkening as patience he had shown the short but powerful young woman before him thus far began to wear thin.
"I did warn you. How many times have you used that move before? It was a signature move for you and-"
"You. Are. Not. Her!" Athena's sword was at the ready once again, ripped from the ground with such force that sparks sprayed out and Stygian thought for a moment that she had meant to point the weapon at him. A tense moment of silence stretched out as neither of them immediately returned to the task at hand and instead locked eyes defiantly and allowed the atmosphere to crackle between them until Arslan interrupted.
"I feel that I should remind you that the goal is not to overpower me or beat me by tournament rules" her words were carefully measured, sympathy battling with exasperation "Your goal is to work alongside one another until you develop a level of synchronisation and cooperation….I understand that the circumstances are different, that they are unpleasant but the practicalities are fundamentally the same as when you initially found partners during your initiation"
Stygian suppressed a snort and a fit of bitter laughter at that as he remembered the specifics of his own initiation and how, despite the friends that they had become Tiger Santara had wanted little if anything to do with him; her cold and ruthlessly demanding leadership of Team TRQS second only to Athena's current self-isolation in terms of how difficult it was to work with. A quick glance in Athena-Jade's direction that she too was unhappy with Arslan's choice of words, the Bear Faunus's jaw working silently in a way which left her bearing her teeth at the memory of whatever had transpired between herself and her former partner in and immediately after their own initiation; Arslan allowed them no more time to wallow however and instead flipped the blade of her kunai into a reverse grip.
"Again!" she demanded before rushing at them.
"Wonder how AJ and Stitch are doing" Astra mused aloud as they sat beside Regalia, trying to find words amidst the sudden rush of uncertainty and awkwardness that had come over them, despite the way the two of them had already discussed their feelings without naming what was happening between them and made it very clear to one another that they felt the same way.
Often in ways that involved having their tongues in each others' mouths.
"Heh, I think it depends. If Professor Altan has them running drills and sparring then maybe they'll be fine….But if she makes them spar against her though" the Racoon Faunus paused, expression becoming distant and quietly horrified by the notion "Oh it'll be bad, probably worse than what Team WULF did to those poor First Year kids"
"I can't believe that they're having a party to celebrate that win….Wolfram's competitive but that was just unfair" Astra snorted in faint amusement at the memory of the video which had rapidly made its' way around the student body to a mixture of teasing and commiserations. With the end of the first week of term the time had come for the traditional exercise where, at the end of the first week of classes an entire team of freshmen were pitted against only half of an older and more experienced team in a capture the flag exercise wherein the sole intention was to impress upon the new students just how much they had to learn. Wolfram and Diabla had utterly bludgeoned their four opponents, to such an extent that it had been impossible to find any silver linings or saving grace after the fact; the fact that Ursinia had mentioned that her cousin whom Diabla Fuego was dating was throwing a small party in her college dorms and that Team MARS, particularly Stygian whom Huckleberry Red was eager to meet again were all invited had felt undeniably like celebrations on Wolfram and Diabla's part.
Not that it had stopped Astra from accepting the offer on behalf of their team.
At present however they and Regalia were alone, at a bench overlooking the piers and docks where the sea breeze and fresh, salty air went some way to mitigate the punishing heat of the late summer sun, with Astra being willing to admit that they had forgotten just how overwhelming Menagerie's climate could be whilst Regalia was largely in her element; though she had still happily accepted the ice-cream her partner had bought for her.
"You think AJ will come, I hope she does?" Regalia asked, absently finishing off the last of the ice-cream cone.
"Yeah me too. You know you don't have to come if it's not your thing right, we can do something else…." Astra trailed off, mind-wandering in directions it was quickly dragged back from as they watched the way their partner licked a few drops of melted ice-cream from her fingers; the Deer Faunus quickly composing themselves before Regalia turned their attention back towards them and answered.
"I wanna go; I don't really like clubs and parties weren't everything the movies made them out to be but they're still nice" she paused for a moment "Besides we were invited and we wanted to do something as a team because it's Stitch's first weekend with us in Port Alistair and someone he saved with Team TRQS is here; we should go"
"Agreed" Astra nodded, the uncertainty and worry that they might say or do something foolish abating slightly as they found themselves beaming at their partners' habitual and instinctive kindness "So that's a plan for tonight….But what about in the meantime? We've still got plenty of time before we'd need to head back to Breaktide, so is there anywhere you wanna go in the meantime?"
"So many places" Regalia paused, overcome by a rare moment of indecisiveness "I've missed Port Alistair, there's so many things that you just don't get anywhere else because the way that the people here are from everywhere; but then there's places that I've never seen in the city….I don't think I've ever been to the zoo here and Athena told me about it, I've never seen a penguin before"
"Yeah they don't really just wander around Neo Vale, which is a shame" Astra couldn't help but erupt into laughter at both the mental image and Regalia's own boundless enthusiasm for life as a whole; though their thoughts rapidly began to collide into one another in a way which left them silent and mildly dumbfounded as a realisation struck them "Was AJ dating Zirconia when they went to the zoo or was it before then….Is that what we're doing?"
"I think it was before" Regalia answered uncertainly, trying her best to seem nonchalant though remaining unconvincing as she added "Heh, it could be? Do you want it to be?"
"Okay….We're doing this" Astra breathed out, sea-green eyes drifting shut for a moment as they braced themselves for a conversation that they had alternated between being unspeakably nervous about and equally, giddily excited for "How do you want things to go with us? I mean, we both said that we loved each other as friends and then we made out and then everything happened….And now we make out pretty often and I am really enjoying this but, I just wanna make sure that we're on the same page. Are we dating, are we just friends with benefits, was it just something you wanted to try out-"
"No, no not that last one. Definitely not" Regalia shook her head vehemently, pausing as she struggled with words for several seconds before letting out a sound of pure exasperation "I don't get all of these complications Astra, I've never dated anyone before and you know that"
"Yeah and my dating record sucks" the Deer Faunus admitted, shaking their head at the memory of the utter travesty that their brief relationship with Wolfram Ironside had been "So how do you wanna do this?….Are we official, do you want to tell people that we're dating?"
"I think I do" Regalia nodded, the motion more rapid and eager than her slow and careful words "I don't think I ever really stopped wanting that since I asked you to the dance before the tournament"
"I should've said yes" Astra snorted.
"No, you weren't ready" Regalia answered firmly "But what about now? I don't want this to be like the movies, because they always make it look so much harder than it should be….But am I your girlfriend, or are we just friends who kiss sometimes?"
"I have honestly been wanting to tell people that we're dating since the summer, I just wanted to make sure you were cool with it" Astra admitted with a lopsided and hopeful smile which grew wider by the moment as the two of them locked eyes and the final, lingering doubts were swept aside.
Astra was almost tackled off the bench by the force with which Regalia threw herself at them, arms locking around his shoulders as the two pulled one another into a kiss which quickly grew more enthusiastic than was appropriate for the time and place, with Astra having to make a deliberate effort to keep their hands from trailing to their girlfriends' thighs before finally, breathlessly pulling back.
"Okay" they panted out, grinning at Regalia who wore a matching expression "Let's see if we can find you a penguin"
By the time their training session with Professor Altan had ended Athena-Jade was barely clinging to consciousness, exhausted to such a degree that she was thankful for the countless aches and pains she experienced as the spikes of misery kept her at least somewhat alert.
The situation had not improved in any meaningful or noteworthy way, with the academies' combat instructor informing Athena and Stygian that they would be expected to return the following Saturday morning and again every subsequent weekend until the two of them could function together with something approaching the degree of fluidity and instinctive awareness that she would expect of a pair of Third Year partners, regardless of how little time the two had actually spent working together. Professor Altan had also suggested, with her usual firmness and unwavering sense of certainty that she expected Athena and Stygian to train together on their own time simply as a matter of course; stating that both of them knew what the source of their problem was and that they should be willing to make the effort to correct it.
Athena agreed with Arslan in theory and in general principle of course and understood well enough that the vastly more experienced Huntress was speaking from a place of entirely reasonable concern; at present if she and her new partner were sent out into field to face Grimm, or any of the other threats that lurked across Remnant then there was a very real chance that the two of them would be seriously harmed. What had been most infuriating had been that, on a surface level the two of them should have been able to work together, Stygian's style was similar enough to Zirconia's that Athena-Jade should have been able to mesh with the Mouse Faunus with only a few minor accommodations for his peculiarities and adjustments in timing.
But every similarity, every expertly delivered move that could have come from Zirconia only seemed to make things worse.
The snowy-haired Bear Faunus let out a sigh as she limped and trudged towards the exit of the changing rooms behind Arslan's classroom, clad in a t-shirt bearing Breaktide's emblem and a pair of sweatpants which covered the scars on her legs, though the matching hoodie was far too much given the climate and weather and stopping briefly in front of a mirror to inspect herself and check for any lingering bruises and whilst doing so giving some half-hearted consideration to the idea of wearing colourful band-aids to hide small injuries again only to dismiss the idea with a morose sigh to herself before stepping out into the classroom and preparing to make her way back to the dormitory, hoping that it would be empty for long enough for her to sleep.
"Hey AJ….You okay? That double take-down Professor Altan hit us with at the end was nasty, looked like you landed funny so I'm just-"
"I'm fine Stygian, what do you want?" Athena answered with a degree of bluntness that might have been excused as tiredness and pain getting the better of her if it were not for the general tone of her intentionally limited interactions with her friends all week. Truthfully she couldn't help but be impressed at the tenacity and appreciate the efforts of her new partner, even as she cursed herself privately for allowing anything to chip away at the edges of her self-imposed solitude, one adopted for the sake of her own mental well-being; as she spoke she found herself rolling her left shoulder and slightly adjusting the sleeve of her t-shirt so that the Mouse Faunus would not see where her naturally pale skin had been bruised purple by resounding impact with the floor and whilst the movement caught Stygian's eye he chose not to directly challenge her claims of being fine.
"Okay cool, I'm guessing you're heading back to the dorm right? I was gonna go get something to eat and then study in one of the common areas for a while, maybe hang out with a few people….You want me to get you something-"
"No thank you" Athena answered, cutting across him as his far too reasonable and far too kind words continued to wear down her resolve. In truth the Bear Faunus hated the feeling of being alone even in crowded rooms and surrounded by her friends, but simply could not bring herself to reach out and accept the hand of friendship that was being extended out to her; not whilst the wounds to her psyche were still so raw and the memory of the last person she had trusted as a partner was so painful.
"If you're sure? They might-"
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE STITCH!" the words exploded out of Athena before she could contain herself "Stop trying! Just stop trying to be a friend or a partner or anything else; all I want is to train and get better so I can-"
She fell silent as Stygian teleported directly in front of her from where he had been stood, the fact that her partner's Semblance had subconsciously perceived her as a danger registering in some distant part of her mind; though it was far less immediately startling to her than the look in the Mouse Faunus's electric blue eyes.
"What did I do to you AJ?" he demanded "What the fuck did I do to you that makes having to partner with me, someone you were friends with before somehow so much worse than what everyone else is going through? Or are you just the only person who matters?"
"Of course I don't think I'm the only person that matters!" Athena shot back, affronted by the suggestion and quickly scrabbling for an argument to defend herself "You didn't do anything but-"
"But fuck it, who cares right?" the Mouse Faunus cut across her again, having clearly decided that enough was enough "Fuck Astra and Regalia, even though they're worrying about and you won't tell them anything! Obviously fuck me as well right, clearly I'm completely fine with everything that happened in Neo Vale-"
"If it's such a problem then why are you here? I already told you where we stand!" Athena raged, standing close enough to be nose to nose with her partner if only she were taller and incandescent with sudden anger, more concerned with having the argument and venting her frustrations than reaching any kind of conclusion.
"Did you think I was gonna quit, give up everything because of your partner?" Stygian bellowed back, responding in kind and truly unleashing frustrations that had been bottled up "I'm from Pikesreach AJ! My home is run by corrupt Hunters but I can't talk about changing that any more because if I do then I sound like I'm sympathising with Nero! Nero and his people who came to the stadium with their Cyber-Grimm and started tearing Hunters apart while you weren't there! Where the fuck were you AJ, we could have used your Semblance-"
"I was trying to stop Zirconia!" Athena yelled, terror seeping into her voice as she felt the world closing in around her; the idea that even Stygian believed she had been complicit in some way an unthinkable one.
"Right, your partner who you're so upset at losing; I LOST MY WHOLE TEAM AJ!" Stygian's voice cracked "They were the first friends I made when I ran away from Pikesreach and Snapdragon….Fuck, Snap is gone and we were friends AJ….You weren't there, you didn't see those things, the way they were cutting through us"
"I'm-I'm so sorry" Athena choked out, the anger draining from her and leaving only the buzzing of panic and a heavy, leaden feeling in its' wake "I just-"
"Did you try to stop her, really" Stygian demanded, his voice quite but keeping a raw edge to it.
"What?"
"Zirconia, your 'real' partner!" the Mouse Faunus spat, the anger giving way to desperation "I don't give a fuck about you not liking me AJ, I can deal with that but tell me, please tell me that you didn't hold back or think about letting her get away"
"HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!" Athena screamed, pulling up the leg of her sweatpants to reveal some of the entry and exit wounds where Carmesi Hueso's Semblance had carved into her "I CUT HER FACE OPEN STITCH! I FOUGHT HER WITH EVERYTHING I HAD, IT WAS THAT HARDEST I'VE EVER HAD TO DO AND I HATED MYSELF THE WHOLE TIME BUT I DID IT!"
With that some hitherto uncrossed line was crossed and she shoved her partner, planting her gloved hands on his chest and bodily shunting him back and away from her.
"Don't put your hands on me!" Stygian hissed, tail coiling and knuckles cracking as the physical contact took all of his focus and blotted out any resolution that might have come from the two of them finally divesting themselves of their emotional baggage, without thinking he grabbed at Athena's arms and used them to push the Bear Faunus away.
Athena's reaction was instant, overblown and entirely without a conscious decision.
The glyph that emerged between the two of them was massive, filling the room from floor to ceiling and shining with a blinding, brilliant white as it flung Stygian backwards and away from the door and raised area on which their training with Professor Altan had taken place, towards the front rows of the rooms' ascending seats. Stygian had been trained by Hunters whose regard for their pupils' safety was vastly outweighed by the desire for results and as such the tattooed young man who had always been athletic and gifted with sharp reflexes managed to pull himself into an awkward back-flip, which allowed him to land in a crouch on a desk rather than be sent crashing into it; quickly reorienting himself and casting his eyes around the room to find it suddenly empty.
The sound of running footsteps and heavy, ragged breathing and a flash of movement in the corner of his eye informing him that Athena-Jade was bolting from the classroom and fleeing from the situation as fast as her aching muscles would carry her.
Stygian chose to let her go.
Many first dates were awkward affairs filled with nervous fumbling and an unconscious need to fill every silence with prattling small-talk lest it be allowed to linger for too long, however Astra Mars and Regalia Russet had the advantage of having already had the important discussions and realised where they stood and exactly how they felt about one another. They were best friends, they respected, admired and cared deeply for one another, they loved and supported one another and had fought side by side, saving each others' lives several times already and realising that the two of them found one another incredibly attractive and that they would very much like to explore that part of their relationship with one another seemed almost to be a minor detail in the grand scheme of things, especially in the wake of so many other recent developments.
The end result of this out of sequence approach was that their first 'official' date was going rather well.
Having travelled across Port Alistair, which both Astra and Regalia had been happy to see had been almost entirely restored and improved since the Grimm had breached it at the end of their first year as students, with several new businesses and amenities having appeared whilst they had been absent from it the two of them had reached the cities zoo with plenty of time to space; the place being the only one of its' kind and serving as not only an exhibition for the public, but also a place to prepare and cultivate species to be released into the wild across Menagerie and a place to study the changes that occurred to animals after they were introduced the island.
Upon their arrival the two of them had naturally sought out the promised penguins, with Regalia being awestruck and utterly enamoured by the waddling critters; Astra's attention being split between the animals and Regalia themselves as they took several photos as an excuse their adoring gaze.
From there the two had made their way through the various enclosures and exhibits until they had found something which had left Regalia wide-eyed and positively vibrating with excitement and Astra letting out a small squealing sound at how adorable it was, muffling themselves for a moment before deciding to simply let the moment be what its was. Specifically it was an area which the public could enter and interact with puppies that were being reared to serve watchdogs and companions for those travelling across the Kingdom and through the wastes, particularly those venturing out towards smaller settlements on less frequently travelled routes where bandits and nomad tribes whose relationships with the Kingdom were far less benign than Clan Aiktishaf might lurk.
"Ah, the dog. One of life's truly misunderstood creatures. To whom no man is truly worthy" Regalia nodded sagely, the quote from a movie Astra did not recognise being punctuated by the puppy Regalia was currently playing with licking the end of her nose which prompted her add "Puppies fix everything….Yes you do, 'cos you're a good boy"
"You think there's any chance Professor Adel would let us adopt one, I mean they're gonna be heading out into the wastes anyway?" Astra wondered as they regarded what was surely several litters of puppies but steadfastly refused to allow themselves to hope.
They were powerfully built things, lean and already showing signs of sturdy, reliable muscle beneath coats of short, coarse fur that varied in colouration but was often shades of brown; each of them having flopping and drooping ears and broad, shovel-shaped skulls that seemed too large for their bodies whilst their legs seemed far too small for either they bodies or their boundless enthusiasm and curiosity. When they were full grown they would apparently be massive things, long-limbed and with haunches reaching higher than a man's hip; the result of generations of careful breeding of existing working dogs to create something suited to the unique challenges Menagerie posed.
For now they were simply adorable and the zoo leveraged that fact expertly, having customers pay extra to help with the task of socialising the puppies and getting them acclimatised to people.
"Heh, I wish" Regalia shook her head as she continued to scratch the puppy in her hands behind the ears "Ooh, the Outriders would love these! They could keep up with our bikes and walkers, oh can you imagine what the children would say if Clan Aiktishaf got a few of them?"
"I think that one's determined to come with us one way or another" Astra laughed from their position next to her, playing with another puppy and taking yet more photos and video clips to share later, pausing to point at the edge of the cloak Regalia had taken to wearing where another puppy was alternating between trying to curl up and make itself comfortable and gnawing ineffectively at the edges of the heavy material.
Regalia made no effort to mask her adoring squeal.
"Can you move that one please?" she finally sighed "I haven't got the heart for it"
"Sure, I've got 'em" Astra chuckled, quickly moving around behind her and gently moving the puppy and trying, with some success to direct it towards a small child who was part of another group of visitors within the enclosure. From there Astra reached around and unfastened Regalia's cloak so that it could be kept clear of inquisitive canines, using the moment to steal a quick kiss. Somewhere close by a startled sound escaped one of their fellow visitors and was followed by the sound of them hastily leaving though neither Astra nor Regalia paid the small commotion much mind, assuming that a puppy had unfortunately decided to relieve itself and that they were leaving to clean themselves.
The truth of the matter became apparent a moment later.
"Excuse me….I'm gonna have to ask you two to leave, immediately please"
"Huh?" Astra answered inarticulately as they turned to face the speaker and were confronted by the relatively spindly man, young enough to still have pimples and traces of acne who had been in charge of the watchdog enclosure and it's attached Puppy-pen; behind the visibly uncomfortable teen who was certainly not being paid enough for the situation they had found themselves in were a pair of security guards, one of them holding a walkie talkie at the ready and the other gripping a truncheon nervously.
"What's wrong?" Regalia asked, head cocked in open confusion as she set down the puppy and rose to her feet beside Astra.
"Dude seriously?" the spotty young man answered, incredulity overcoming fear for a moment as he nodded towards Regalia "You've got a shotgun hanging off of your waist. Someone already came and told us they don't feel safe"
"Oh" Astra cracked a smile, waving the concern off as though it were nothing at all; reaching for their scroll only to halt as security guards flinched which left them sighing as they spoke in a more dull, if irritable tone "We're student Hunters, we've got licences….You wanna see?"
"I um….That actually won't help" the zookeeper swallowed as fear once again set in "We, um we implemented a strict no weapons policy. Hunters aren't exempt"
"Seriously?" Astra arched an eyebrow, such exemptions existed for certain establishments but given that the zoo was not somewhere which sold alcohol it was unexpected; their comment seemed to ruffle the security guards further however and prompted the one clutching a her truncheon as though it could help her in any way to clear her throat and step forwards.
"An exemption would draw attention to the fact that you're both Hunters….The last Hunters we had any sort of public association with were Athena-Jade Slate and Zirconia Shadowmoon; given that Shadowmoon is now a wanted criminal the business is choosing to-"
"No Hunters. Right, got it" Astra sneered, glowering darkly at the assembled staff.
"If you don't want to leave we can call the police and your academy; but we don't want to do-"
"Yeah it's fine, whatever. We're going" Astra huffed, more aware than they would like to be of the way that their annoyance caused the zookeeper and two security guards to flinch and retreat into a huddle; reminding the Deer Faunus far too much every worried, well-meaning but hurtful comment their father had made about Hunters along with every suspicious and fearful eye cast towards a Faunus teenager within the working class districts of Neo Vale, especially one whose antlers took up space and whose lean-muscled form was littered with bruises from training as they bought Dust and parts for their weapon.
Without another word they stalked between the guards and fought the urge to deliberately shoulder-check one of them as they did so; instead remaining silent and seething as they marched through the premises with Regalia at their side, the Deer Faunus speaking only when they caught a glimpse of her expression.
She was utterly crestfallen.
"Well….that sucked" the Deer Faunus breathed out, their half-hearted attempt at a light and airy tone falling flat and in response Regalia nodded silently, blinking watery eyes and swallowing before finding her words.
"This is all because of Zirconia….And Nero" her tone was mournful and disbelieving all at once, as though the floor had been ripped from beneath her to reveal a chasm "They've really got what they wanted and made people scared of Hunters"
"Not everyone" Astra assured her without hesitation, reaching out to clasp her hand as they tried to bolster her downed spirits "Not even close to everyone and nowhere near as many people as they'd need to get what they want….But yeah, this is on Zirconia as much as Nero….Feel like strangling her if we ever see her again yet? 'cos I do?"
"I just…." Regalia trailed off helplessly "I wanna go back to the academy"
"Sure, no problem" Astra nodded in understanding, sharing her obvious sentiment that the day had lost its' lustre "Want me to stop and get something to eat on the way, or are we get something from the mess hall before we head out….If you still wanna go to that thing tonight?"
"Should we?" Regalia gaze fell on Astra and the Deer Faunus wished that they knew what to say to ease the pain in her purple eyes; brushing their thumb over the back of her hand and toying with the points of their own auburn Mohawk with the other they made an attempt.
"I'll stay with you either way, but I don't think there's gonna be a problem" they shrugged "I mean it's a college party, so maybe a couple students no some of the people from that protest but at the same time we've been invited by someone whose life Stitch saved; it's Ursinia's cousin….I doubt we're gonna meet anybody who thinks like those people did"
"Maybe, I don't know" Regalia mumbled, expression becoming curious as they paused and added "You've dealt with stuff like this before"
"Yeah….Wasn't because I was a Hunter though" the Deer Faunus sighed "Anti-Faunus racism isn't as bad as it used to be but it's still there. People have thought I looked dangerous ever since they stopped thinking I looked small, chubby and easy to push around….I used to not mind it honestly, I don't like people being scared of me for nor reason though"
As they continued onwards the two leaned into one another and consoled themselves with the fact that their first date had not, despite appearances been a total disaster.
Fleeing from Breaktide Academy in its' entirety and out into the city had seemed, to Athena-Jade's panic-ridden and adrenaline-charged mind to be the most reasonable thing on all of Remnant. Now however, as the Bear Faunus wandered aimlessly and with a sense of dejection and sinking, drowning hopelessness washing over and smothering her to such a degree that she might as well have been blinded by it, the snowy-haired Bear Faunus was forced to look at the situation objectively.
She realised that she had acted like an idiot.
Simply turning around and returning however felt entirely out of the question, the idea of facing Stygian or indeed any of her friends again being one which she would need some time to mentally brace herself for, to say nothing of working out exactly what she planned to say to her team, especially her partner after her attitude and actions over the last week. By the same token there was an undeniable sense of calm and freedom that came with being away from the campus, allowing Athena to breathe more easily as the sense of being watched at all times by potentially hostile and certainly suspicious eyes abated at least a little and so she trudged onwards without direction, her feet beginning to ache as much as the rest of her sore and punished muscles and her eyes red-rimmed and puffy; though after an indeterminate amount of time they widened in vague recognition as Athena realised that her feet had unconsciously carried her into familiar territory. Specifically she was in an area of Port Alistair that was decidedly upper middle-class, located both a reasonable distance from the heart of the Capital city and within sight of the largest of Breaktide Academies' spires, the houses lining its' streets large but ordinary in an unobtrusive way and each boasting gardens that Athena knew from experience were large enough to comfortably land a small aircraft in. As she realised exactly where she had arrived the troubled young woman came to a halt, shifting and fidgeting uncomfortably as she struggled to decide whether she should carry on or turn away and head in another direction.
The choice was taken from her a moment later however.
"AJ! AJ is that you?" Athena whipper around and came face to face with the Grimm Studies Professor of Breaktide Academy, Huntress of renown and hero of Remnant whom even the most strident believers that Hunters should be curtailed would never openly accuse of wrongdoing.
Her Aunt, Ruby Rose.
In that moment Ruby looked far less like the fearsome warrior that she was often portrayed as and much more like the kind and cheerful person Athena knew her be, even if the loss of her loss of her right eye and its' replacement with a cybernetic implant coupled with her various scars and tattoos did give her a tough and grizzled air much of the time. She carried a small bag of groceries and wore simple sandals and faded shorts whose appearance suggested they were more often used for yard work and gardening, paired with a tank-top over which a short-sleeved shirt hung unbuttoned, it's faded colour decorated with countless strawberries with cartoon faces. Her hair was arranged in a loose bun and a pair of sunglasses with red-tinted lenses was currently perched on the top of her head; seeing Ruby Rose without her signature cape of Crescent Rose in its' collapsed form gave the impression that was missing something and that her appearance outside was an unplanned one.
"Hey Aunt Ruby" Athena mumbled uncertainly "What're you doing out here?"
"Realised we didn't have any cookies, or any cream for the strawberries and a couple other things so I rant to the store" Ruby answered with a smile which somehow left the impression that she had quite literally used her Semblance and ran to the nearest convenience store.
"But any, I live here" she continued, nodding to her home only a short distance away "What're you doing here, not that I mind at all, you come over any time but….AJ what's wrong"
Ruby had finally taken a proper look at her niece and realised the state Athena was obviously in.
"Aunt Ruby" her voice cracked and wavered, lip trembling "I think I've messed everything up….I keep messing up and I don't know how to stop and I'm scared"
Athena had barely registered the sound of Ruby setting her small brown bag of groceries down before her aunts' arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a hug with all of the strength that wielding a scythe for years had granted her.
"What're you scared of AJ?" Ruby's words were gentle and soothing but had a sudden edge to them, the legendary Silver Eyed warrior mentally preparing to uproot and unmake whatever had caused her nieces' current misery if the situation called for it.
"After Zirconia-I….Everyone must think that I was involved, they must do! I can hear them talking behind my back, I see the way they all look at me Aunt Ruby" Athena broke down burying her face in her aunts' shoulder "And Professor Adel and Scarlatina and Counsellor Daichi know that it Zirconia who hurt Little Fox, I swear that I never suspected anything but they must think-"
"AJ, AJ stop….Please" Ruby gently took her niece by the shoulders and positioned so that the two were eye to eye, Athena having met enough veteran Atlesian officers through her father and having a cousin who had lost an eye before Ruby that staring directly into a cybernetic as it readjusted minutely but incessantly did make her lose focus the way some people did.
"Has anybody said anything directly to you, or accused you of anything?"
"They don't need to I can tell what they're thinking" Athena answered, her incredulous tone faltering as she realised how absurd that claim sounded when she said it out loud "No, not to my face anyway-"
"I suppose you haven't spoken to Little Fox over the summer?" Ruby asked, aware that Athena-Jade and the only child of Team CFVY had been at least passing acquaintances with one another due to their parents friendship and overlapping spheres of influence; she also knew that Athena had not been particular fond of the boy and felt that was cocky, immature and relied far too much on Coco's reputation to get what he wanted, an opinion of him which Ruby had privately shared whilst he was dating her daughter.
"I couldn't, I mean he wouldn't….No" Athena sputtered the answer out, evidently baffled by the mere notion of taking such a direct approach.
"Okay" Ruby breathed out "Well I did manage to speak to him briefly and so did your cousins….Fox doesn't blame you for anything and I can promise you that not one single Professor, here or at any of the other academies suspects that you're secretly working for Damascus Nero. I can promise you that Athena, unless you think that Velvet Scarlatina who I have known since I was fifteen years old is lying to my face so that I'll lull you into a false sense of security"
"I…." Athena trailed off, uncertainty making her nauseous to such a degree that she wanted to scream and curse at the world; keeping herself in check only because she did not want a video of herself having a breakdown to be filmed from a nearby window and sent to the press, or any news of her cursing in the street like a drunken reprobate to make its' way to her mother.
"If any other student starts or spreads any rumours or even implies that you were a part of what happened I will find out about it and….Well perhaps it would be better for Coco to handle that" Ruby's tone darkened a fraction before the revered Huntress pulled her niece back into a hug "Your team were going to be pulled in for counselling sessions anyway, but I'm going to speak with Yatsu and have him pass you off onto one of his aides. Clearly it'd be a conflict of interest to have you speaking with him directly about this"
"Thank you" Athena mumbled into her shoulder, the metaphorical storm-clouds that had filled her mind finally beginning to subside even as Ruby pressed on.
"This is why you've been spaced out in class? That has been picked up on by your teachers the way" the older woman rubbed at her nieces back "Listen, for what it's worth I think you should talk to Velvet"
"Professor Scarlatina-" Athena-Jade's nervous reply, so unlike her usual self was cut off as Ruby shook her head and clarified.
"Velvet. Not as your teacher, as Velvet who dated Adam Taurus before she found out what he was. Velvet who got pulled into the White Fang after your Dad introduced the two of them….Velvet who's got some idea of what you're dealing with" Ruby paused and considered "And while you're at it call your Aunt Blake as well….Did your parents suggest that?"
"They tried" Athena admitted somewhat shamefacedly "They've been busy with being grandparents and stuff and I just kept pushing everyone away….I've been unforgivable, to everyone-"
"Nope" Ruby interrupted popping the P "You don't get to decide that. They get to decide if it's unforgivable and I think everyone is gonna be happy to forgive you, as long you're ready to keep trying"
"Thanks Aunt Ruby" Athena managed to sniffle as she pulled away from her "But I don't know, I've….well y'know"
"Wanna hang out for a while and talk about it?" Ruby offered, waving in the direction of her house, winking with her remaining silver eye as she added "Besides, you must have some pictures of you new niece and Penny and I haven't had a chance to go to Atlas yet; Weiss is teasing us with how cute that baby is"
"Oh she is adorable" Athena beamed, her face lighting up as she reached into her pocket and began searching for the photos she had of herself and Selenite Moonstone Slate; the Bear Faunus already following her aunt towards the house.
Repairing the relationships she had damaged and facing the world would take time and effort, for now Athena was content to enjoy a moments' peace.
Zirconia Shadowmoon was lonely.
That abysmally painful and yet laughably mundane truth became impossible for the young rouge to avoid as she found herself, once again perched upon a high point of Pikesreach's defensive walls.
Afternoon had given way to evening and was slowly slipping into true nighttime as the late summer sun began to slowly descend below the vast and flat horizon that the wastelands provided, creating a truly beautiful view as the darkening sky was streaked with red and gold whilst at the same time the broken moon and the first twinkling constellations began to emerge and yet Zirconia could appreciate none of it. Ostensibly the Grasshopper Faunus had taken up the secluded position which had steadily become a regular haunt, one which the other inhabitants of Pikesreach, native and newcomer alike avoided as it allowed her to keep watch over happenings within the settlement and in the territory it laid claim to in case the Grimm returned; a threat which felt more credible given the way in which the Alpha leading the small horde had behaved. Whilst there may have been some truth to her chosen excuse the reality was far more sentimental to her, the raised position reminded Zirconia of Breaktide Academy and allowed her to believe, for just a few moments at at time that she could somehow go back to the relative simplicity of that former life; that she could spend an evening on the rooftops with Athena-Jade or nestled together on either of their bunks watching shows that the two of them enjoyed.
The thought made her wish, not for the first time that she managed to bring her violin with her but that; along with almost everything else was lost.
Without her preferred forms of distraction Zirconia found herself staring once again at her scroll, at pictures she could nor bring herself to delete and reliving cherished memories despite how bittersweet they now felt until her vision swam as her eyes grew watery and she removed the modified gas mask she wore briefly so that she could wipe at her mismatched eyes, gently rub at the scars left from her fight with Athena and enjoy the feeling of cold, fresh air on her face before replacing it. A final, longing glance at her scroll before she collapsed and pocketed the device saw her gaze drawn towards the icon informing her that her signal and ability to call with the scroll was, as ever non-existent; communications had been restored in a fashion however as the airships which had ferried the various groups of Nero's faction escaping from Neo Vale had been broken for parts some time ago and the inter-ship communications system from one of them, amounting to a small and limited CCT relay had been brought to Pikesreach where Zirconia could use it to exchange information and report on both Aefen's progress and her own findings to Nero in Jidhir Town.
Privately Zirconia felt that it might be for the best, she was not sure how long she would be able to withstand the temptation of being able to call her old friends and apologise for everything if the opportunity were dangled in front of her.
With a slow exhale, the filters of her mask ridding the air of the dust and grit which otherwise filled it the Grasshopper Faunus rose from where she had been perched, in an almost gargoyle like fashion and began paying attention to her surroundings.
On the outside of Pikesreach's walls she could see inspections of the defences taking place by defenders who had remained disciplined and dedicated to their role despite everything that had happened to Pikesreach and in the distance beyond them other defenders, a mixture of natives and members of Aefen's cult combed through the settlements' crops and fields in search of anything that might be amiss. Elsewhere she could see former soldiers and Cyber-Grimm being briefed and marshalled by Team NUGT as they prepared to split up and begin patrolling the outer perimeter, with Nugget the Chicken Faunus glancing upwards as though he could feel a gaze on his back to peer back at Zirconia. She let him be, it had become readily apparent to Zirconia in recent days that the leader of Team NUGT was a coward and a social climber, one who had joined them because it had seemed to be more strategically viable at the time and who would have grown to be everything wrong with Hunters and an institution and would soon find his efforts to ingratiate himself within the structure of Nero's movement unsuccessful.
The Chicken Faunus would only be a problem if his inevitable blunder managed to cause wider complications.
Turning her attention away Zirconia began monitoring events within Pikesreach and couldn't help but wince at that the way every inhabitant of the town who happened to glance up and catch her peering down at them hurried about their business with fresh urgency. It occurred to her that she had done less than she should to endear herself to the people here and that she had likely left herself open to subterfuge and politicking on the part of any of the individuals whose activities she was supposed to be keeping track of and with that paranoid, but unpleasantly realistic notion she turned her gaze towards Aefen Cruor's castle like dwelling.
A scoff escaped her, she was supposed to be the brooding and mysterious one but the masked cult-leader and her choice of residence was simply far too much.
Gestalt-Prime had taken up residence atop the ramparts, prowling them restlessly with the two Shroud Variant Cyber-Grimm that had accompanied them to Pikesreach flocking about them like great, sinister bats which only added to the ominous appearances of the building which had, from what Zirconia understood previously belonged to a now-dead Hunter, perhaps even the very same she had fought with during the attack on the settlement.
The Alpha Cyber-Grimm and their attendant monsters seemed unlikely to be plotting any conspiracy, Zirconia suspected if Gestalt-Prime decided that their own goals no longer aligned with Nero's then the treachery would be far more violent and direct and so she allowed her attention to drift elsewhere.
Her mismatched eyes quickly honing in on movement below.
Aefen, masked and brandishing her skull-tipped cane as ever marched at the head of a trio of figures and gesticulated animatedly, the various layers of her midnight-black clothing swirling around her whilst the beads, chains and trinkets she wore, in a display which left Zirconia wondering if the woman had matured at all since her own teens rattling as she went. Closer study revealed that the trio trailed behind her was comprised of two members of the Path of the Apex Being, the two black-clad cultists carrying weapons which were pointed at the back of a native of Pikesreach whom Zirconia recognised as one of those who had been involved in the attempts to assassinate herself and other members of Nero's faction immediately after their arrival.
Everything about the scene set Zirconia's nerves on edge and she quickly began moving across rooftops, drawing close as silently as possible; realising far too late that her approach had been spotted.
The response was a series of outwardly unconnected events, expertly done so that treachery would only be suspected by one who already suspected it.
Gestalt-Prime had senses that went far beyond human or even Faunus limits and could see things beyond the simple spectrum of visible light; this obviously alerted the hybrid Alpha to Zirconia's response and through some disguised signal or mental impulse they compelled the two Shroud Variants to take wing, swooping and spiralling with a chorus of chittering noises in a display which was common enough that it would not draw suspicion, seeming to nothing of an expression of whatever primal instinct the things possessed growing restless and one which happened reasonably often yet still being a loud and sharp enough sound to draw eyes upwards and allow Aefen and her cohorts to see Zirconia's approach.
"Lo and behold, a herald of the great one!" one of Aefen's cultists declared, the tone sombre and respectful but loud enough that it was sure to draw the attention of every other member of Aefen's group of fanatical followers that might be nearby; a coded signal.
"Where are you taking the prisoner?" Zirconia demanded, coming to a halt on the rooftop and realising that she would have to handle the situation with care; whatever hierarchy and chain of command might exist officially or otherwise was fiction in the face of the reality that she could do nothing to stop Gestalt-Prime and the Shrouds that swooped around them and Aefen's armed followers, especially not when she had no assurances that her supposed allies would actually come to her aid if they were needed. Something in Aefen's relaxed posture and overly dramatic, sweeping motion with her staff suggested that she had come to a similar conclusion and was enjoying the moment as she answered, her voice smooth and almost dripping with contempt that demanded to be challenged.
"I am a doctor, among my many other talents I care for the sick" she waved her staff at the Pikesreach native whose arms were shackled behind his back "This man is sick and we are here to help the people of Pikesreach….Even the ones who tried to kill you, because we're not animals who let sick people suffer are we Miss Shadowmoon"
"He looks like he'd rather be seen by another doctor" Zirconia noted, regretting her comment instantly as it caused the man who was clearly a prisoner being coerced and taken against his will to stiffen and stand straighter, glaring up at the Grasshopper Faunus defiantly as though being stubborn to the very end was its' own reward. Aefen's mocking body language continued as she gave a deep bow and continued in a faux-apologetic tone.
"Unfortunately their doctors are under-trained and under-equipped for this man's condition….Mostly battlefield medics and people they trained, maybe a vet or two" Aefen shook her head "No, it will not suffice….Not when I can devise a treatment-"
"Devise?"
"Of course" Aefen exclaimed "My laboratory here is for research and testing purposes is it not? My work is fully supported by Mister Nero….Or do you call him father? My people have simply taken to calling him the Great One"
Bile rose in Zirconia's throat at that.
She knew that she was beaten here, she had no pretext to demand that the man be taken back to where he was being held or that she be allowed to know the nature of his supposed illnesses or Aefen's treatment for them; nothing beyond her own gut instinct to explain her suspicions. Moreover the realisation of exactly what the cultists' comment a moment ago had meant left her reeling. She had supposed that the Grimm-worshipping fanatics, given their groups' name had seen Gestalt-Prime as their 'Great One' and the Shrouds as their heralds; to learn instead that she herself was the herald and that Damascus Nero was their supposed Great One made a disturbing amount of sense, he was as ever the 'Benefactor' figure and had brought Aefen's visions into reality and yet it still left the Grasshopper Faunus feeling cold and repulsed to her core.
Aefen took her stunned silence to disappear into her laboratory, her followers in tow and Zirconia realised that there was nothing that she could do in that moment; she would have to speak with Nero as soon as possible.
In that moment however she simply walked away, grateful that her Cybernetic legs did not easily tremble.
The sun had almost slipped fully beneath the skyline of Neo Vale by the time Athena-Jade Slate found her way back to Breaktide Academy and as she made her way slowly through the familiar corridors which led to her teams' dormitory, the Bear Faunus found herself growing anxious again as the sound of voices reached her sensitive ears, muffled by walls separating them enough to make it impossible to make out the details of whatever conversation was taking place whilst still allowing her an accurate idea of how many people were present.
She was currently the only member of Team MARS absent.
As she drew almost close enough to the door to reach out and open it she hesitated, simply staring out in silence for a few moments as she tried to decide exactly what she would say to her friends; several hours spent with her Aunts Ruby and Penny had done wonders for her and left her feeling as though weight had been lifted and pressure released from within her yet Athena still understood that she was not the same young woman she had been only a few months ago, betrayal and heartbreak had left their marks on her and she had allowed them to spill out and taint her other relationships in ways which no amount of strawberries and cream could quite repair. The moment passed however as Athena-Jade realised that the conversation beyond the door had fallen silent and that her team-mates were undoubtedly aware of her presence outside and simply waiting for her to enter.
The act of simply deciding that there was nothing else for it and opening the door, taking the direct and gung-ho approach was enough to leave Athena feeling a little more like herself as she stepped into the dormitory.
"Hey" it was Stygian who spoke first, his tone lacking some of the cheer and energy the Mouse Faunus had been forcing himself to inject into it over the course of the week and when Athena found him the dark-skinned and blue-haired young man was sat on his bunk in a half-dressed state; the vibrant and patterned shirt currently hanging unbuttoned from his muscular frame to reveal his tattoos being something decidedly more extravagant than his usual attire, though at present it seemed that he had gotten half way through changing before simply giving up. Turning her attention to Astra and Regalia she saw that they too were in somewhat uncoordinated states as though they were uncertain of where they intended to go and how to dress for it.
Something she would normally have parlayed into a joke at Astra's expense.
"Hey" she answered, mouth suddenly dry as she took a deep breath and forced herself to continue whilst she still had the momentum and mental fortitude for it "Can we talk?….Or can I talk, because I need to apologise to you guys, I've-"
"Heh, it's okay" Regalia offered her smile that Athena could see was forced in its' brightness "We're all still friends right?"
"We are" Athena nodded, understanding how much the bushy-tailed nomad needed to hear that and how much her friendships with the team meant to her "But I still want to apologise because I haven't treated any of you fairly this last week and I am sorry for acting the way I have, I know that….Zirconia leaving and everything around it has been tough for all of us-"
She trailed off as Stygian slipped down from his bunk, taking care to fasten his shirt by at least a single button as he padded across the dormitory towards her and held out a single hand which Athena uncertainly took; being left mildly embarrassed by the surprised half-squawk that escaped her as her partner pulled into a loose, one-armed hug and gently patted her back.
"We're good, seriously. Everything's forgiven" Stygian leaned in close and lowered his voice as he spoke almost directly into her ear "And I haven't said anything to Astra about our….well, what happened earlier"
"You know my hearing is as good as both of yours right? So what happened earlier?" Astra chimed in, the Deer Faunus currently leaning against Regalia and wearing a bemused smirk "Do I need to step up and start kicking asses, or find you two a get along shirt?"
"You suck, you suck so bad" Athena retorted in a sing-song voice, the feeling of laughing and bickering with her friends bringing back some of what had been missing for the last several months; though as she took a moment to simply enjoy the scene for what it was a thought occurred to her "I thought you guys were going to a party tonight? Did it cancelled while you were getting ready?"
"We, uh….We weren't sure if we were gonna go after all" Regalia admitted, purple eyes downcast in a way which told Athena plainly that there was more to be said and saw the Bear Faunus's shoulders roll back as she prepared to dispense the kind of wrath only a protective older sibling could; a sight which saw Astra wisely speak up and explain.
"We got kicked out of the zoo earlier, officially it's 'cos we had our weapons with us but realistically they were pretty straightforward about not wanting Hunters there"
"I just don't want us to get to the party and have it cause a problem" Regalia murmured "It would've been fun but I don't wanna ruin anyone else's night"
"And I'm saying we were invited by someone dating a Hunter" Stygian countered with a bright smile "We'll be fine"
"What do you think AJ?" Astra asked and in that moment the snowy-haired Bear Faunus found, if not her old confidence then at least something close to it rushing to the fore as she reared herself up to her full, but unimpressive height with her hands on her hips.
"We're going to that party" she declared "And if anybody there doesn't look us or what we stand for then they can some and say it to my face"
Author's Notes:
Well this chapter was largely fun to write….Even if some of it needed a few passes because I was absolutely exhausted.
I've got three more chapters planned out, which gets us to the mid-season finale before I have to start planning again; that being said I'm writing this on the sixth of May and not going to be posting it for roughly a month so I don't think it's going to make a difference to the schedule.
BEFORE THE SUMMARY THERE ARE SOME GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS (Written June 2nd 2023):
Firstly, I haven't paid to much to the specifics since it hasn't affected me directly yet but I understand that there have been issues with FF Net lately...I'd like to remind my readers on FF Net that I also post on Ao3.
Secondly; if this chapter or one following it are posted at a different time or are maybe a day late...My Nan was taken to hospital with pnuemonia last weekend and is currently still there. That is more of a priority than this.
Finally my work schedule may once again be subject to change and that might affect my posting times as well, although given that I have currently just made a start on Chapter 120 there shouldn't be any delays.
That being said, let's summarise shall we?:
Yeah, after chapters devoted to Monday and Tuesday there wasn't much point to doing the full week….Much like an actual week at work.
See there is actually a point where pushing yourself becomes counterproductive and as someone who has collapsed in the gym before I can tell you it's not worth it.
Stitch really did play that well, for an average opponent that would have worked.
If Athena had been using her old weapon and her usual style then she might actually have been able to land a hit on Arslan.
Oh dear, Stygian's idea worked on a practical level and was a bit of quick thinking but completely failed to account for feelings.
Yeah Arslan is demanding but at the same time, if she expected AJ and Stitch to spar until they beat her then they'd be at it for months at least
"Wonder how AJ and Stitch are doing" the smoothest of transitions.
Ah yes, the yearly 'First Week Hazing' that Freshmen have to undergo; Team MARZ were on the receiving end in their first year but having them be the ones to had it out didn't really add anything; so I had Wolfram and Diabla absolutely stomp a whole team out off screen.
Penguins are the best thing at the zoo, nothing that small and uncoordinated should be able to have stare that mean.
You can do a dozen date-like things together but as soon as the word date gets used, then it's awkward.
And I feel like I have once again broken a key rule of fictional romance, by simply having characters just talk to one another like actual human beings.
Oh yeah, AJ is absolutely seething, but she know she's in the wrong really.
See normally this would be a situation where Stitch should just walk away and leave her alone, but the reality is that they are partners whether either of them like it or not, so just burying their heads in the sand is not only pointless, it's actively dangerous.
So now Stitch gets to vent back.
"I can't talk about changing that any more because if I do then I sound like I'm sympathising with Nero" There it is, Nero has now undermined any effort to combat corrupt Hunters.
Yeah, Snapdragon and Stygian were friends; that was mentioned a couple times during the Neo Vale arc.
Asking if AJ thought about letting Zirconia get away is quite possibly the worst thing that he could have said and it's a question that she thinks everyone is asking, because nobody else really knows what happened; by the time Astra and Regalia turned up Carmesi was already there.
And that went about as well as it was ever going to go.
So thinking back to the mention of the Zoo back in Vol.01 reminded me that it was also a research and conservation centre where they readied other animals to be reintroduced into Menagerie and studied the new breeds that are appearing on the island; which is where the idea for the puppies actually came from.
Also, first official date involving puppies….That's a tough act to follow.
I'm imagining these dogs growing to be something like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the face, but much bigger and with different proportions; the puppies are cute though.
I could honestly have wrote a full chapter of this, but alas the plot beckons and so people had to run the day.
The business is well within their rights to have a policy like that; even if it is strictly for PR and political reasons.
But they upset Regalia, jail for them, jail for one thousand years.
Seriously though if you're in a city you know at least a little and you go for a blind panic run I feel like you're probably gonna end up somewhere you can find your way back from, just instinctively.
'Ruby in casual clothes' is just a fun thing to do in this story, she's nearly fifty at this point okay; she takes the cape off on weekends sometimes.
Also, this whole thing can be a callback to Vol.01 kinda 'cos AJ had her heart to heart with Aunt Ruby there.
See good vibes and reassurances are nice, but someone who can say with absolute certainty "I actually spoke to the people you think must hate you and they don't" is better.
Yeah Velvet, Blake and to a certain extent AJ's Dad could all have talked to her on a level that she'd understand if she'd just let them.
This scene went on for far too long without dialogue, but it could almost be passed off as a stylistic choice….Hops is stuck in her head because she's got nobody else right now.
Okay so Zirconia can contact Nero but she can't contact anybody else, that's important.
I'm deliberately setting Nugget and Team NUGT up to be unlikeable and distant from Zirconia for a reason….Also, I should probably give the Chicken boy an actual description in-text at some point soon; I just wish I could find that fan art someone made a few years ago.
I think the fan art for Nugget actually pre-dates the story, back when "A Chicken Faunus called Nugget" was just a shitpost I made….And that's still the only MARZ fan art I know of.
Zirconia just throwing shade at everything about Aefen's style amuses me, our resident mysterious rogue took one look at her and said "You know you're allowed to keep growing after you hit fourteen right?".
Well, well, well….Last chapter Aefen said she was nearly ready for human testing, a few days have passed and now she's leading someone who won't be missed into her lab.
So Gestalt-Prime is roosting on top of the building Aefen is working in specifically to be a lookout against Zirconia at this point; which means that Hops was smart to back off really because her entire team + Carmesi couldn't finish them off even before they became a Cyber-Grimm.
That prisoner was an idiot, if he'd swallowed his pride he'd be safe….But then again, this is someone who saw Zirconia leading the charge on his home.
Oh yeah; she was wavering in her beliefs before but hearing Aefen's cult call Nero "The Great One" is definitely gonna shake her.
Also….as a RWBY fan I definitely snorted and chuckled a bit when typing "The Great One".
And now for a silver lining, which naturally means there will be fuckery in short order.
Stygian absolutely has one of those Baroque pattern shirts in the most jarring colours.
Credit to Stitch for never snitching or telling Astra the specifics of his arguments with AJ; though given where and how he was raised….That probably says a lot about how discipline was handled in Pikesreach.
"You suck, you suck so bad" there it is, she's back.
Thank you to MajorBrony95 for their review on the last chapter.
Yeah even the evil characters who aren't supposed to be redeemable or liked should have some sort of internality and reasoning for what they do, if they wake up and decide to kick puppies for no reason I don't really find it compelling...Every villain is the hero of their own story in their eyes, or as Jamie Lannister said in Game of Thrones "All of us have to believe we're decent, don't we?"
I haven't played the RWBY game, I thought for a second you meant Cinnabar 'Sin' Blaine from FADE lol.
Don't worry you're not supposed like Nugget.
If you don't know who the woman is then I'll save the surprise for you.
Oh Gestalt Prime absolutely wants to overthrow Pantheon, they just know they don't have anywhere near the resources for that yet.
As for a 'Grimm nation' well, that's thinking small...But it's on the right track, at least for what one of the villains is thinking.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.