Chapter 28 – Mistral: Argus Limited and Haven


[A/N] In case it wasn't obvious, this chapter we will be leaving the comfort of Argus and heading for Mistral (City). Can't imagine who we'd want to talk to there!


ARGUS STATION AND ARGUS LIMITED

The transport station at Argus was a thing of architectural beauty and modern technology, Selene decided. The walls of the main ticketing and terminal building rose several stories high, with large windows high up. Pale blue virtual screens hung in the air down the center of the structure, advertising multiple methods of travel and destinations.

Cinder was staring around her with eyes full of wonder.

Selene was managing, barely, to handle the sea of people moving like intersecting rivers, like trails of ants, from platform to platform, or from platform to baggage, or from check-in to platform. It was the most people she'd ever seen crammed together thus far. It gave her the shivers.

Garek gave her a gentle squeeze. "It'll be okay, we're already ticketed and through the worst of security. We just need to find the right Platform, then we can board and find our sleeper car."

Yes. That would be… better…

Selene scanned the screens desperately.

Platform 1: Naval Link to Seaport (Atlas) departing every thirty minutes.

Platform 2: Airship to Atlas. Ship AAW5226

Platform 3: Airship arriving from Atlas. Ship AAW 232

And so on. There were airships to and from Atlas and Mistral, Ansel, Vale, and Vacuo. There was shuttle to a separate set of landing pads for chartered and private Bullheads, much like the small one that they had smuggled Cinder to Argus on. The choices were overwhelming.

There!

Platform 12 (Elevated): Argus Limited!

She felt her feet beginning to move, and pulled Garek and Cinder along with her toward the up escalator to the second floor.

As they moved toward the gate, Selene kept her eyes fixed ahead, leaving Garek and Cinder alternating between looking around and glancing at her in concern.

"Selene… you're going to be fine."

"I will be fine. Yes. I will be fine. Yes." She muttered, mantra-like.

"Garek… what's wrong with Selene?"

"People." Selene said. "Too. Many. People." Cinder had never seen her react this way. Then again, they'd made a point of avoiding large crowds pressed in like this.

"Oh…"

Finally, they made it. Garek showed their tickets. He'd paid extra lien for early boarding, anticipating some of Selene's difficulties. So, they were able to board the train immediately. Selene felt her nerves calm as they made their way down the central aisle of the train cars.

Much better. Yes. Nice. Very nice.

The train was elegantly appointed, with one car for baggage, coaches dedicated only to reserved or open seating and dining, and sleeper cars and private cabins for those who wished to have a more private and restful trip. Their cabin was on the second level of one of the coaches.

Cinder's face paled a little as she saw the door. "I remember this train," she said quietly. Selene felt Cinder shudder. "When you said that time, that you were taking me from Atlas to Mistral… when you got me out of the Glass Unicorn, I didn't understand what that meant. I didn't know Atlas and Mistral were separate Kingdoms then. I was… I didn't get it, but… I know this train. I've been in one of these rooms."

"That means you rode the train once. Was it when you were… taken to Atlas? Do you remember which town you came from?" Selene asked.

Cinder shook her head, golden eyes flicking around the passage. "No… but I'd know it if I saw it, I guess."

"Do you want to see it?" Garek asked. He could see Cinder tense up. "Cinder, we're not trying to get rid of you, kid. The whole point of this trip is to get you an ID so we can get you registered at Sanctum. We're not gonna go through all that trouble and then drop you off in some town we've never heard of."

Cinder exhaled, looking up at Garek. "Yeah… yeah… sorry I just… I'm not used to things going well, and last week…"

"That rattled you."

"Yeah. I was waiting for… someone to tell me I was in trouble."

"It's okay. Just let us know what you want to do. Okay?"

"Okay."

They settled their carry-on items in their private cabin, and Selene expressed her desire to stay there for a while. "I will spend some time… recovering. Can you bring me something to eat?"

"No problem."

"I'll stay with Selene," Cinder said, patting her on the shoulder. It was odd seeing Cinder act like a caregiver to Selene, but there was something sweet about it.

Garek headed down to the dining car to get something to go, feeling a gentle lurch as the train begin to slowly move down the elevated tramway from the station, picking up speed as it headed south toward the opening in the city walls.

He made it back with food, just in time to hear the train's whistle announce its passage through the Argus Limited gate. They could see, at an angle, massive doors sliding open far ahead, and then a momentary darkness as the train passed through, and then… open landscape as the train bore east, leaving Argus and… he realized… what had become his home… behind.

It was a strange feeling.

"Wow…" Cinder said, eyeing the open and snowy countryside. There was something different about seeing it from several meters off the ground.

"Yes. It is very beautiful."

They stayed in the private car for most of the trip. Cinder and Garek ventured out more than Selene, but even she joined them a few times to take meals in the open dining car.

It was four hours later and well toward noon before they reached the first stop on the line after passing through rolling hills and mountains, still heading generally more east than south. A quiet ping sounded, and a soft voice announced Argus Limited Station #2, with shuttle service available to Lake Town, Fort Timid, and Brunswick Farms.

"Any of those sound familiar, Cinder?" She shook her head. "Ah, well why don't we get some rest. It's supposed to be another four hours before the next stop."

The next leg of the journey was very mountainous, including several tunnels cutting through steep passes, and at times the view from their window was a steep drop, or a wall of stone that had been carved into the mountain to make room for the tracks. A few times, they heard a rumbling mechanical sound from the roof of their car, and then the sound of gunfire, but it didn't last long.

Garek's scroll rang. Apparently, the train had its own repeaters? It was his parents.

Garek's mom's face swam into view. "Ma!"

"Hey son, how are things in the big city?"

"Funny you should ask, we're actually on a train headed from Argus to Mistral right now." He tilted the Scroll so she could see Selene and Cinder, who waved, and out the window at the landscape roaring by.

"Oh! Planning to be gone long?"

"Not long, why do you ask?"

"Well, Nicholas Arc stopped by today, said his oldest, Saphron, was talking about visiting Argus. Seems she's tired of small town life, wants to try her hand in the big city." Grace smirked at that. "Hard to keep 'em here once they get a taste. So… he was… hoping… that you'd take her under your wing, maybe get her a job with one of your friends?"

"Huh… that's… actually pretty cool. I'll talk to Pete and Selene about it. Go ahead and give her my contact info."

"I thought that's what you'd say. How are you all doing?"

"Hey Cinder, wanna talk to my mom?"

"Yes!"

He moved over and leaned against Selene as Cinder chatted with his mom like they were… well like they were family. He heard comments about the Emporium and Argent and Grimm Apocalypse. Finally, Cinder handed the scroll back to him, and he moved it so both he and Selene were in frame.

"She's a little talker, isn't she?" His mom said, lips turned up.

"Getting there. More than she used to be, that's for sure."

"I can tell she's happy." She gave the two of them a look. "And have you two talked about wedding plans?"

"We have," said Selene, and Grace made a gurgling sound so Garek interrupted.

"But the timing's still up in the air, ma. We need to get things settled here."

Grace put her chin in her folded hands and glared at the camera. "Oh, stable enough to start a household, but not stable enough to get married?"

"Ma, you'd be surprised. Cinder's practically self-sufficient."

"Fine." She looked nervous for a moment. "But you two… you're okay, right? This isn't cold feet?"

"Hah! No ma, we're great."

"I assure you, Mrs. Grae, we are very much in love."

"Okay… just… Garek, don't let Selene get away. The fact that she's put up with you for over a year…"

"Thanks ma… Thanks for that." He looked at Selene, and she had a wicked gleam in her eye.

"I know my boy. Call when you get back!"

Selene gave him a knowing look after the call ended. "So… I am… putting up with you, am I?"

"Please don't start."

An hour later, there was another ping of the announcement system. Argus Limited Station #3, with shuttle service to Wind Path and Barret's Point the voice proclaimed.

Selene heard Cinder gasp. "You recognized that name?"

"Yeah… Barret's Point. That's it… that's where the orphanage was." Cinder was staring out the window as they slowly rolled to a stop. "I recognize this."

Garek slowly moved up behind Cinder, crouched down, and wrapped his arms around her. "Remember where you live now, and who you are, and who you're with."

Cinder took in a deep breath. Let it out with a shudder. "Yeah. I'm never going back there. I've got a family now. I live in Argus, on Evergreen Avenue. And I have friends." She looked up at Selene. "Nobody is gonna take me away."

"That's right."

After thirty minutes, the train started moving again, and they could feel the tension drain out of Cinder. "Wow… that was intense." Cinder blinked, grabbed her scroll, and snapped a picture. "Still… I should… I should have a picture of the station, so I don't forget." Selene nodded.

Two hours later, Garek was plying Selene with wine as they neared the next stop. She glared at him, but drank it, because she knew why.

Her fears were realized as they made a final turn through a mountain pass, and saw the city of Mistral, capital of the Kingdom, spread out before them. It was… huge. Bigger than Argus in every way. While there wasn't the monstrous wall, the city itself was staggering. Twin mountain peaks reared up out of the sloping plain overlooking a bay of Lake Matsu, and the city climbed up in tiers of stone, wood, and steel, level upon level upon level framed by verdant slopes and waterfalls.

And then, at the very top, a massive bridging had been constructed from peak to peak, creating what looked like a huge, flat expanse.

Haven Academy. Its graceful structures loomed over the city, flanked by the dual CCT towers that Terra and Sophia had explained worked like a single array.

The enormity of it… the population it must hold… began to eat at Selene as the train continued to roar toward it, and it grew more and more massive in her sight, until she had to turn her head and stare at the walls of the car instead. "Selene, it's okay. We'll take care of you." Cinder reassured her, rubbing her back. Selene took a gulp of the wine, and then held the glass out for Garek to refill.


MISTRAL CITY AND HAVEN ACADEMY

For Selene, the trip from through the Mistral Transport Terminal, through Mistral's steep streets, and to the Silvered Boar Hotel was a blur. Thankfully so.

For Cinder, it was a wonder. "It's so huge… bigger than Argus! And the waterfalls and the terraces…" She was standing on the balcony of their suite, staring in turn at the lower levels sprawled out before her, stretching kilometers toward the lakeshore, and then she turned her head to look back up at the winding and steep streets and ever larger buildings further up the mountains… and finally at the underside of Haven Academy.

"Yeah, it's gorgeous. But it's also kinda a cesspit." He laughed. "Ok, that's simplifying it too much. The truth is, the city is divided up into levels." He grabbed Cinder's shoulder and pointed downward. "The lower you get, the closer to the lakeshore, the rougher, poorer, and more dangerous it gets because its closer to being overrun if there was a big Grimm assault." Then he pointed upward. "The higher you go, the richer and posher and safer you get. And most of the city is at least influenced by organized crime. It's… pretty corrupt compared to Argus." He sighed. "You know, when I think about it, Argus has just about that perfect mix of Mistral and Atlas culture. It's got the Atlas 'law and order' but without being so militaristic, and the Mistral love of art and beauty without the… annddd I've lost you, haven't I?" He said as he noticed Cinder's glazed expression.

"Yes?"

"It's okay. Just remember, everybody thinks their home city is the best." He winked at her and added, "But Argus actually is." Cinder laughed. "Come on, let's turn in for the night. I'm exhausted."


The next day, Garek caught an early air taxi to the campus. He remembered how enchanted he'd been as a fresh-eyed seventeen year old.

He still was, but there was an ache there too. He could see the building where STAG's room had been. The room he'd shared with Scarlet, and Amber, and… and Toller.

It still hurt. But it was a pain tempered by what he had now, still sleeping at the Silvered Boar.

His feet tread familiar paths, found their way through the entrance gate. The school year was well underway, and the sight of all those hopeful faces, some of which turned to him in awe, was bittersweet. It was hard not to feel proud of what he had accomplished. What they might accomplish. But he knew that half of them wouldn't make it past forty years old.

No wonder a lot of experienced Huntsmen often turned out morose or acted like the gods' gift to Remnant. He shook his head.

The Great Hall entrance, with its huge statue and sweeping staircases. Up to the second floor, a familiar door to knock on, one that had given him detention… more than once.

"Come in, it's open!"

Garek complied to find his old Headmaster, shaggy hair and full beard and looking a little older, a little more worn than he'd last seen him… five years ago? "Headmaster Lionheart!"

Lionheart stood and straightened his brown vest and broke into a broad grin, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. "Huntsman Grae, it is truly a pleasure to see you again. You mentioned you might come by. What brings you to Haven?" His voice was as rich and deep as Garek had remembered.

Garek looked around the Headmaster's office. Little had changed. "I was visiting Mistral City on business with my fiancé and my ward, and thought to visit my old haunts."

"Fiancé! And ward! Good heavens, Garek, that is wonderful news!" Lionheart seemed genuinely pleased, and looked Garek up and down. "You look well, Garek! How have things been, beyond that? Please, sit down!

Garek moved forward, and sank into a comfortable chair. "Now that is a long tale, Headmaster. Perhaps I could introduce you to Selene, and tempt you with a drink, my treat, and spin my tales of adventure?"

Lionheart laughed again. "Still got that silver tongue, I see. I'd love to meet her some time, but why not spin that tale now? I've got some very nice scotch here, and an hour available."

"Not nearly long enough for the telling! And I can't make it my treat that way."

Lionheart shook his head, though he was smiling. "I'm afraid it's difficult to extract myself from my duties in this manner, Garek. Always something demanding my attention."

"But surely, you can humor a former student? We can meet you after hours, just name the place. I insist." Garek leaned forward. "I want you to meet Selene, and Cinder. Seriously."

"Ah, you're going to spoil me. Fine. How about Thursday evening, unless that interferes with your business. Do you remember the Boiling Cauldron?"

Garek laughed. "How could I forget it? It that place is still open?!"

"Indeed it is, and still has small private rooms you can reserve. That way you can go into all the gory details without scaring the third-years." He chuckled.

"Great! How's seven that evening sound? I'll make the reservation for us. I've definitely had some adventures, and I can't wait to catch you up."


The Boiling Cauldron was a known hangout of the upper classes at Haven, and the presence of staff now and again wasn't unknown as well. Designed for multiple small groups, it consisted of a larger central room with many small tables, and more private areas separated by curtains along the perimeter. Garek arrived early with Cinder, and ordered their drinks first. A beer for Garek. Wine for Selene, and fruit juice for Cinder.

Lionheart arrived fashionably early, and they heard the host/bartender direct him to their spot.

"Ah! There you are! And this must be your lovely fiancé!"

"Headmaster Lionheart, this is Selene Lumerent. Selene, Headmaster Lionheart."

"Charmed, Headmaster Lionheart."

"Bah. Please, call me Leonardo."

"Then you must call me Selene."

Lionheart's smile grew and his eyes sparkled. "Good heavens, Garek. You've clearly been punching above your weight class." He winked at his former student. "And this must be your ward?"

"Yes, this is Cinder. Just Cinder, at the moment."

The tween looked up from her book and gave a small smile. "Hello sir."

"And hello to you as well, young lady." He looked at the three of them. "And so studious. Well, I must say, you make an interesting trio. I assume there is a story there?"

"Oh yes there is."

"That is…" Lionheart sobered for a moment. "It's good to see you like this, Garek. I had… feared for you, after your fourth year."

Wow… I hadn't realized that Lionheart had been holding on to that trauma too…

"I… yeah I was in a bad place for a while, sir. But I'm doing much better now."

"And that warms my heart," A waiter came, and he ordered a scotch, and waited for them to bring it. Taking sip, he sighed in satisfaction. "Still good service here. So, you have me here. Tell me of your adventures, young Garek."

"Well, you mentioned my fourth year already, so we won't drag that out again. And then right after graduation, the rest of my team broke apart." Leonardo nodded solemnly, and Garek spent some time going over what had happened in the six months after graduation.

"Losing the rest of my team hit me hard, sir. I… I didn't handle it well at all. Started seeing threats everywhere. Had a hard time trusting people. It got worse. Even stopped visiting my family in Ansel as much." Frowned. "Didn't realize it at the time, but it was self-destructive. I was gradually isolating myself. Probably would have ended up in a very bad situation." He noticed that Cinder was listening intently. She hadn't asked about their past before.

Lionheart was looking more and more troubled. "We need to invest more in counselling for new Huntsmen, Garek." He sighed. "But it's hard to get the Councils to squeeze out additional funding, I can tell you."

"I can believe it. Maybe we could discuss that some time?

"Oh? But I'm sorry, I interrupted.

"Right. Well then about a year and a half ago, I ran into Selene out in the middle of nowhere. She had the opposite problem." He nodded to her.

"Yes. My father was a Huntsman, and absent. My mother became…. overprotective, and kept me socially isolated. I found myself, well into adulthood, and yearning to see the broader world, but unable to imagine interacting with so many people. And thus, we… found common cause," Selene smiled. "Garek has helped me gain confidence around others, and I have helped him to trust again."

Lionheart's eyes looked like they might actually be tearing up. "That is… that is… very wholesome." He took another sip of scotch.

"Yeah… so we've been together for about a year and a half now, travelling together. I reconnected with my family, and introduced her. We decided to visit Argus, since it was the nearest large city."

"I found that quite difficult. But again, Garek assisted me in… learning to cope with so many people." She blushed. "There were large quantities of wine involved."

Lionheart laughed, and tilted his own glass in salute. "Ah drink, both a balm and a mocker."

"Yessir. From there, I reconnected with a friend in Atlas, a Huntsman my age out of Atlas Academy. We ended up visiting him in Atlas. And that's where we discovered this little waif." He patted Cinder on the head, and she rolled her eyes at him. "In some less than ideal circumstances, and took responsibility for her care and upbringing." He squeezed her shoulder. "She's something else."

"An instant family. It suits you." Lionheart took another sip. "I'm not joking. You look like you are thriving, Garek. You are not the student I worried over at graduation. And your-"

"Family. Yeah. We are. We've put down roots in Argus. Can you believe it? Me, living in Argus. Much less Selene. We've got friends there. Selene's even made ties with the Nikos family."

Lionheart's face showed his surprise. "The Nikos family. That is indeed impressive, though I have to say, Alexander has, in the past, been… a handful to deal with."

"Ah, yeah, not our favorite person there, I'll tell you."

"Helena is a good friend of mine. And we adore young Pyrrha." Added Selene, carefully.

A wistful smile. "Ah, yes. Possibly the next generation of Mistral Huntsmen in children like her." It turned into a slight frown, but he rallied.

"And what about you, young Cinder? What do you want to do when you grow up?"

Cinder carefully marked her page, and closed the book, setting it on the table. "I'm going to be a Huntress, sir. One of the best."

"Oh ho! And How do you know that?"

"I've been training with Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Garek," she was careful to use their titles. "And I'm learning how to use my Semblance."

Lionheart glanced at Garek. "It's… something else, sir. I'll tell you about it later." Garek smiled. "So how about you, sir?"

Lionheart scoffed. "Me? I persist, year after year." He gave a deep laugh, but Garek had been forewarned that the Headmaster might be under some pressure, and it sounded forced to him.

"Persist. Thinking on it, I can't imagine what it's like to be Headmaster. They say it's lonely at the top? You're surrounded by staff and students, but isolated by your authority and responsibility?"

"Ah, Garek." Lionheart sighed theatrically. "Trying to play school counselor? Or looking for a job as one?" He gave a wry smile.

"Honestly asking, sir, with the hindsight of adulthood and my own personal tragedies behind me." Garek scratched at an ear. "When I was a student, I saw you as an unassailable rock of authority and self-assurance. But then again, I saw nearly all Huntsmen I met that way. Now… it's been almost seven years. I watched my partner die. I saw my teammates abandon me. I've seen a friend afraid to make the right decision with lives in the balance. I'm starting to learn the value of questioning my assumptions." He shook his head and stared at his drink.

Lionheart's mirth faded, became more serious. "Questioning assumptions. That's a good habit, young man."

Selene interjected. "Yes. But an annoying one. Garek has taken to wheedling out my own unsaid concerns and fears. He now fancies himself able to help others with their problems as well." She smiled ruefully. "He is not wholly wrong."

"I try." Garek continued. "And the fact that I'm a faunus, as are you sir, just adds additional pressure and complexity to any problems we face. I saw that firsthand on my recent visits to Atlas."

"No, you're not wrong. But that's not why you invited me here, surely. I don't want to burden my students, even former students, with my own pitfalls. Tell me more about your young ward here."

Garek sighed. That was Lionheart's second or third attempt to divert discussion back to Garek's family.

"That gets a little more complicated," he looked at Selene.

"Come Cinder, let us move to the common area and let Garek and the Headmaster discuss a few things. You can tell me of the book you are reading."

"Okay."

Once they had exited, Garek looked at Lionheart's furrowed expression as he nodded to where they'd gone. "Ah. Well, it's not that she doesn't know what I'm going to say, but some of the tale would be… painful for her to hear again."

"Oh?"

"Cinder was originally an orphan. From what she says, might have even been from a village here in Mistral somewhere. She was 'adopted'" and he did air quotes "by the proprietor of a high-class inn in Atlas…" And Garek launched into an altered version of her rescue, omitting anything that might lead back to the Lone Huntsmen, Charlie, Helena, or Rhodes."

Lionheart looked both horrified and impressed. "That we live in a world where such things occur, but I am heartening that you and your fiancé saw an opportunity and took it, at risk to yourselves. I'm… well I'm proud of you, Huntsman. That was selfless of you."

"We're doing our best. Selene has helped me a lot. We really have turned into some strange sort of pasted together family now. But that leads to a problem. I don't think her previous… guardian ever provided her an identity in Atlas, and she doesn't have one in Mistral either. We'd like to at some point formally adopt her, but we're afraid of it getting back to Atlas."

"Ah… yes I can see that. I may… know someone who could assist you with that." Lionheart sighed. "It shouldn't surprise you that Mistral runs on a combination of legitimate and less legitimate business practices. As Huntsmen, we attempt to hold ourselves apart from these matters. We are not police, Huntsman Grae, and can allow… certain relationships, to exist. They can be useful in extreme circumstances."

"I understand, sir, and that's what I hoped you'd say."

Lionheart wrote some information on a scrap of paper. "That address should get you on your way. Make it clear you are a Huntsman requesting a service. Be cautious, and polite. And do not mention me, please. It will be expensive, but probably not out of your reach."

"Thank you again, sir. I'm very glad we could reconnect. Also, about Cinder… she's got quite powerful semblance. I think it might have been triggered by what she experienced in Atlas." He held out his hands. "We call it Scorching Caress. She can superheat anything her hands touch. Last week, she and a group of her friends were almost the victims of some sort of trafficking ring and…"

And he launched into his second tale for the night. As he spoke, he could see Lionheart's eyes growing wider and wider, until he finished with the discussion afterward.

"Good gods… Garek. That… such a powerful Semblance, used so brutally by one so young. And you say she suffered no ill effects?"

"Not that we have seen. We're taking steps to guide her toward using it in a more restrained way. But I can't say that I'm not worried."

"Yes. Yes. You need to get her into a combat school, immediately Garek, around people with aura. And they must be told of her past, so they can provide guidance and oversight. An accident among the civilian population could be tragic."

"Thank you again, for your advice and help. You're… well you're important to me both on a personal and professional level, sir."

"Oh? You mean regarding this?"

"Ah, not just that. Headmaster, you are a hero, a Mistralian treasure, a symbol, and a wielder of exceptional influence and authority here. And you are a faunus. The fact is that Remnant needs that… needs you. And whether they realize it, the faunus need you as a symbol and bulwark against humans who see us as less than they are."

Lionheart sighed, as if the weight on his shoulders had just become heavier. "Being a faunus Huntsman is difficult as it is. But when interracial strife occurs, it can be even moreso. We both do bear heavy burdens. And the personal?"

"I try to imagine myself in your position, and just the idea of it shakes me to the core. I look back at the last six years, and realize that if I had not found Selene, I would have broken, sir. I've seen a friend who felt impotent in the face of a young girl trapped in a life she felt she couldn't escape, and I was able to give a fresh perspective on that problem. I was able to be the friend that released them both from prisons that were made both by others and themselves." He leaned forward. "I don't know what kind of burdens you bear, sir, but I'd help you if I could."

Something flickered across Lionheart's features. "That is admirable, Garek, and I can admit that many things weigh on my mind... especially in these troubled times."

"I feel like I'm only recently understanding how dangerous the world can be, and how people can be very good at convincing themselves they don't have anything but bad options. And frankly, I owe you, sir. If you ever feel backed into a corner, remember that."

Lionheart leaned back into his chair. "Do you have reason to believe I am in some… particular danger?"

Garek had pushed too far. He felt his guts twist with the surety of the knowledge. He hadn't intended to, but he was trying to put just the right suspicion into Lionheart that he might know something, but with deniability. He wanted the man to think he might be an option if Lionheart were in trouble. It was somewhat laughable really, the mighty Leonardo Lionheart, hero and symbol, Headmaster of Haven Academy, being told that one of his former students was 'there for him' if he ran into a bind.

But that was step one. "Probably no more than I am, Headmaster. It's a dangerous world. We're all in danger. It's better if we band together to face it, don't you think?"

Lionheart narrowed his eyes at Garek, and turned his words around in his head. He reached the wrong conclusion. "Are you… trying to recruit me for the White Fang, Garek?"

Garek made a strangled sound, and then coughed. "Sir, as much as I appreciate the work, the peaceful work, that most of the White Fang are doing toward faunus rights… No sir, I'm not a member of the White Fang. I'm talking about people, sir. Just people, who don't want to be pawns in others' power games."

"Pawns? Garek, do you know something?" And that right there was the confirmation Garek needed, that Lionheart latched on to that word.

"Maybe just enough to know I don't want to be one, and to have serious damn trust issues. Enough to be concerned for you, too. I think someday we might be able to help each other out, but I'm not going to be pushy. I respect you, sir." He stood up. "I've got a lot of people I care about, that I need to look after, sir. I'd be happy to add you to that list." Garek downed the rest of his drink. "But I've bothered you enough. Thank you for the help with Cinder. I really appreciate it."

"Wait…"

"Yes sir?"

"I… thank you, Garek. I appreciate the thought. But I don't think I'd want to involve you in my personal problems."

"What was that epic poem we studied, back in second year? It talked about how when titans clash, the foundations of the world tremble?"

"I believe… it was called The Struggle."

"Right. That was it. I don't think it matters whether we want to get involved or not." He smiled at Lionheart. "I'll settle the bill, Headmaster. And I'll keep you posted on how Cinder's doing. Maybe someday she'll want to join Haven like I did."

He turned his back on his old Headmaster, and feeling an itch between his shoulder blades, walked out into the common area of the tavern where Selene and Cinder were waiting for him. There he waited for a moment, and heard Lionheart come up behind him.

"Selene, Cinder, it was a pleasure meeting you," the older faunus said over his shoulder. "Garek… it was nice to catch up." Garek nodded and Lionheart left.

Selene began to ask something, but Garek held up a hand asking her to hold any questions. He walked carefully to the men's washroom, locked himself into a stall, and threw up until his stomach was empty and cramping. Then he went to the sink, rinsed his mouth out, and drank a little from the tap.

They were waiting by the washroom door with wary eyes when he came out.

"Garek?"

"Just nerves. I'll be better in a bit." He paid, and they headed back to the Silvered Boar.


Once they were back in their suite, Garek sat on his bed for a few minutes, just breathing and marveling at the experience. Selene made sure Cinder was in her room listening to music with her headphones, and returned.

"How did your conversation go?"

"Mostly just me making vague comments that I wanted to be helpful and hinting that I might know something, and him making vague comments that maybe he had problems but didn't want my help. Oh, and I got a contact to get Cinder an ID." He swallowed down acid again. "Gahhh… I hate this. It was different with the Lone Huntsmen. They reached out to me. Here, I'm trying to draw in someone and I'm terrified that it'll come back and bite me on the ass. What if he isn't actually turning on Ozpin? What if he's a double agent and now Ozpin starts looking at us? What if he talks to Watts and says the wrong thing?"

"Garek, you are doing that thing again."

"I know, but dammit this isn't irrational fear, Selene."

"No, I understand. But what have you truly told him? Surely he cannot see you as a threat to him, regardless of which way he leans."

Garek frowned. "That's the problem. I'm trying to get him to see me as a potential ally but not a threat if he decides not to work with me. I don't know how to do that. If I start bragging about having information and allies, then I become potentially dangerous. If I don't, then I can't actually help him if he really is having issues. I don't know where the damn line between those two is, or if there even is one."

"Perhaps, this is something that will take time."

"Maybe, but I don't know how much time we have. If he's really being recruited by the Queen, we want to get him before he makes promises to them. How would she react to someone who did that, and then tried to join us?"

Selene frowned. "Poorly."

"That's what I thought.


[A/N] And so we get a quieter chapter of the Argus Limited, and a wild 17 year-old Saphron Arc appears by reference! For those who know canon, Saphron Arc and Terra Cotta end up married later in the canon timeline with a little Adrian Cotta-Arc born FoB +1 November, around the time RNJR head off from Vale.

And of course, we hit our next major plot point. So far, Garek and Selene have been recruiting either canon characters who don't know anything about Salem and her world, or non-canon characters. And here we have Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart. If they can recruit him, that would be a major coup, but one with serious risks as well. He betrayed Ozpin in canon. Can he be turned to Garek and Selene's 'third way'? And if so, can he be trusted not to betray them?!