Saffron

"Are you sure we won't run into your mentor? Or someone that you know?" Adam inquires.

"I already explained to you that as long as we don't cause a commotion we'll be just fine." I explain, "And I doubt we'll be seeing anyone I know in the slums or any authorities, at that."

…

Silence follows my response, "Adam?"

"Yeah?" His quick response relieves my worry, although his prior silence confused me. "Why'd you go quiet all of a sudden?"

"Ah- sorry. I was lost in thought…" He replies.

"Thinking about... what?"

"Thinking that if the reason we're wearing cloaks is to disguise ourselves from these 'authorities,' then wouldn't that make us stand out more?" Adam points out.

I ponder the thought momentarily before coming up with an answer, "Down here? At the lower levels of the city? Definitely not."

This causes Adam to raise a brow, "What do you mean?"

I observe my surroundings, noticing the number of eyes on us, eyes that range from everyday passersby to eyes hiding in the shadows of alleyways, "First, let's get a move on. I'll explain it to you then."

Adam nods as we continue following the rocky path. Alongside the route, which roughly stretches from the west side of the slums to the east, are houses made of scrap metal that barely qualify as houses. It wasn't easy passing by beggars on every corner. I felt awful going by them, not even donating a single lien, but I couldn't help them all, and we're low on lien. If you're not careful in the slums, you might lose money anyway, if not by beggars, then by thieves.

"So, where to begin…" I watch from the sidelines as a thief snatched a beggar's money. It was only a few blocks down. I want to help them, but at the same time, I don't want to attract attention to ourselves.

"As you can tell, the lower levels aren't entirely monitored by authorities, or really governed at all. It's a place where the poor end up living and the criminals of Mistral go to hide from the authorities." I say.

This gloomy feeling is really getting to me…

"I mean, to think the only way to escape from the authorities is to just hide underneath their very nose." I blurt out.

As I turn around, I find myself met with an empty space where Adam had stood just moments before, "Adam..?"

"Th-thank you-" A child's voice catches my attention. It's a rare occurrence for people who live in the slums to express gratitude, especially when living in the slums is an everyday struggle, from trying not to die of hunger to trying not to die from others.

And, as expected, "Adam, what are you doing?!" I quietly shout as I run up beside him.

"Hm?" Adam hums, "I noticed that young man taking something valuable from her, so I intervened and retrieved what he stole. He darted off already, so there's no point in looking for him now." Adam says casually.

"You can't- What if he-" I tried to spit out an explanation but kept stuttering over myself. I refreshed my brain and took a moment to take deep breaths, "What if he comes back with his buddies to get back at you?"

"Then I'll just send them off like I did with that young man."

"Okay… let's say he's not coming back for you, but instead, he comes back for that child you helped out? What then?" I ask.

"That won't happen." Adam replies.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I'll protect her." He answers with a look that spoke, 'Isn't that obvious?'

I massage my face in agitation, grumbling, "Adam, we won't be here when they come back. We've got places to be, and we can't stay in the city forever just to keep her safe."

I cross my arms, "Not to mention kindness doesn't get you far down here in the slums. I have first hand experience. It was when I helped a beggar from getting killed by some group of thugs, and what did he do to thank me? He returned the favor by pick-pocketing me and ran off with my money."

Adam slightly frowned upon hearing what I told him, which made me feel guilty in no time. I don't believe that anyone is to blame for these people ending up in the slums. All the beggars and criminals ended up here because of their poor choices. Yet, this is coming from someone born in the upper levels of Mistral. I practically sound like some heartless or self-centered person, but I'm not. I do feel bad for them. It's just that I don't know how to help. Even if I tried to help, the way this city runs is too complex for me to fix alone.

There's a cause for everything. There's a reason why that mugger attempted to take the child's money. The reasons can vary, but they always involve money in some way. For example, the necessity of food, if not for the people descending from the upper levels of Mistral and donating to the poor, the beggars would have no way to survive except for stealing, which gets them killed fast in the slums. The people living in the upper levels of Mistral are rich and kind, so they usually give beggars a good chunk of lien. So resorting to theft is a last resort kind of thing. I do know that thievery against upper-level individuals is prohibited. It's an unwritten rule amongst the people of the slums. However, it can occur when they're desperate enough, but they usually try to stay away from doing that because specific individuals within the slums punish those who break these rules. If people from the upper level were to stop coming down because it's too dangerous, then that would affect the slums as a whole.

I'm unsure what happened to the beggar I saved, but it probably isn't good.

It doesn't change that no matter what, people in the slums are not allowed even to lay a hand or mug people who descend from the upper levels of Mistral. If they were to lose their source of income, it'd be over for the people living in the slums. It runs like this: upper-level individuals donate money to the beggars, then thieves mug the beggars of their money unless the beggar is protected by a syndicate or group of some kind, which then the beggar would have to pay a protection fee, leaving little to no money to buy food for themselves.

Thieves can also work with these syndicates, and if the syndicate needs more money, it's always the beggars who will get the short end of the stick. It's simple and straightforward for thieves and syndicates to work together. The thieves rob the beggars of their money. The beggars then turn to the syndicate for help, but the syndicate pretends to be unable to find the thief yet still asks the beggar to continue to pay the protection fee. But since the beggars got robbed, they can't, so it leads to beggars being sold off into human trafficking.

It's cruel, but it's how it goes in the slums. Of course, It's a little different when you're a Faunus. You're bound to get kidnapped and sold to the Schnee company. Please don't ask me why the Schnee company likes Faunus workers. They just do. Of course, I only know this since Lionheart always talked about it during my training sessions, saying how despicable it is. And it is.

Anyway, even if you want a job to move up from the slums, you're out of luck. It isn't easy to find jobs in the slums. No company, business, or locals want to set up shop in the slums. The only business down here is trade. Unless you're some criminal organization, anything else is just asking to run your shop into the dirt. I know a well-known information broker is somewhere in the slums, but I can't remember the name of them. That's beside the point, though.

"I get it, I do. I want to help them too, but to help everyone in the slums? That's just too much for one person to handle. Even for you, Adam."

The child beggar abruptly intervenes, "Why can't I just come with you guys? You'll stop them from taking my lien, right?"

I give her a blank look, baffled by what she just suggested. I scream internally. How has a child this innocent survived this long in the slums?

What she just asked is practically asking to die or be sold off in human trafficking, if it were anyone else, of course. I want to help her, but at the same time, I want to get out of the slums as soon as possible. Regardless, I'll feel rotten for leaving a kid as clueless as this one behind.

The best thing to do is to reason with the child, "What if we're bad guys? The type of bad guys who sells kids like you to other people, people who Oum knows what they plan on doing to you?"

The young girl pales, "Why would you do that, I did nothing wrong?!"

Taken aback, I attempt to fix the misconception, "What- No- we're not going to do that. I was just saying what if we're bad people? You don't know if we are."

The girl's mouth starts to twitch, and it slowly turns into a smirk. "I'm just kidding. I know you guys aren't bad people; he saved me from getting robbed. That must mean you guys are good."

Great, now I'll feel bad for leaving her. Thanks, Adam. I mentally roll my eyes.

"Even if we take you with us, it won't last long. Me and him are going to be leaving the city as soon as we get what we need." I explain.

She tilts her head to the side, "What are you looking for?"

I glance over at Adam with uncertainty, "Guess there's no harm in telling you—we're trying to get a hold of a map of Remnant…. we kind of lost our map not too long ago."

"A map of Remnant… wait-" She digs through her pockets, "I have a map of Remnant!"

"Wait, really?" I say.

"Yeah, here it is." She lets out a toothy grin while holding the map, "I snatched it off someone not too long ago. I think he was planning on selling it for lien. He didn't plan on it getting stolen, though."

I cringe, "You stole it from someone..?"

She nods, "Yep."

"You know stealing is bad, right?"

She raises a brow, "Everyone does it here, so I don't see the issue."

I sigh, "Fine. What do you want for the map? I know you're not just going to give it to us for free, unless…?"

"Nope, it's not for free." The girl made sure to pop the P in 'nope' "The price is… taking me with you."

"What?!" I shout, garnering the attention of the few people roaming the slums, "I hope you didn't forget what I said about us leaving Mistral after we got what we need. That means me and my friend over here are going to be outside the city. We won't be coming back to Mistral for a very long time."

The child shrugs her shoulders, "I know that, I'm not dumb. And I know this might be asking too much from strangers, but can you take me to the city of Vale?"

"Vale? You want us to take you to Vale? Why?" I repeat.

She rolls her eyes, "You want the map or not?"

I swipe the map off her hands, "Fine, we'll drop you off at the city of Vale, but we're traveling by foot, so it'll take a couple of months before we arrive there. There's also some towns we're going to be visiting, so you'll have to be patient."

"I don't mind." She smiles gleefully,

She probably has nothing left here if she's willing to come with us. There is no point in asking if her parents are alive or dead, as sad as that thought is. It might make things awkward anyway… though I can't believe I negotiated with a kid.

We continue down the same rocky path. We had planned on finding someone who sold maps down in the slums, but now that we got our hands on one, there's no point. So, we decided to take off west of the slums, "I forgot to ask but what's your name, kid?" I ask, catching her attention, "I'll start first. I'm Saffron and my friend over here is Adam."

The kid fiddled with her hands before meeting my gaze. Now that I got a closer look at her, the iris of her eyes is a deep red. Her medium-brown skin looks considerably smooth for someone who has lived in the slums for whoever knows how long. And her hair reminded me of mint ice cream, the color, of course.

"Oh- My name is Emerald."

"Emerald, what a lovely name, it kind of suits your hair color." I say.

With a neutral look, Emerald replies, "Yeah, I know."

Ouch-

Qrow

Damn you, Ozpin…

I'm unsure about you guys, but have you seen a bird sweat before? No? Thought so. It isn't a sight you'll never get to witness unless you're me. I'll tell you that traveling more than thirty miles without rest isn't easy.

So, why am I forcing myself to do the bird version of a marathon?

'Cause of Ozpin, duh.

Ozpin sent me a text about my sister meeting him face-to-face. Ozpin didn't mention the part where she probably damaged school property. She always goes out of her way to cause damage whenever she's around, but it's whatever.

Ding

The elevator door opens to the headmaster's room, "What'd she say this time, Oz?" I pull back my hair with a hand, worry making itself known on my face.

Ozpin sips his mug, "That's what I'd like to know."

I hold back a snarl, "Don't tell me she came here to cause a ruckus again."

Ozpin shakes his head, "Please, calm down, Qrow." Ozpin says, "Would you like some coffee, my suppliers were kind enough to give me a discount this time around."

I swear, Ozpin and his coffee.

"No thanks, it's already late and I'm pretty damn tired after you made me fly across the goddamn globe within a couple of hours." I mention.

Ozpin stirs his coffee, "More for me." Ozpin sips his mug, "But moving onto more important matters… I truly wish to know why your sister seemed so… distraught at the time of her arrival."

"Really? Her of all people? Being distraught? Pretty ironic considering the people she massacred were distraught too when their village was getting raided by low live bandits-" Ozpin interjects, "Now's not the time, Qrow."

Ozpin sighs, which isn't too common, "I, too, think that whatever has happened to her is some retribution of some kind for all her wrongdoings. However, it doesn't entail anything good for us or Remnant as a whole. Someone of her caliber is not to be trifled with. I'm sure you know of her strength, you both were top students of the prior generation of Beacon students."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it already. There's either something or someone out there more big and bad than her, enough to scare her. One problem, what does that have to do with me?" I snort.

"She came to me asking for you." Ozpin states.

Hearing that widened my eyes, "We're talking about my sister, right?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"I'm positive."

"Raven? Her looking for me?" I say.

"Yes, Qrow, she came looking for you…" He sips his coffee.

"You've got to be pulling my leg here, Oz. She never goes out of her way to look for me unless it's something important…"

"It must've been important enough for her to come in contact with me. And I believe you know much of her opinion on me than I do." Ozpin says, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure.

I run a hand through my hair, "Shit- Why didn't she use her semblance to get to me, then? Is she revolted at the sight of my presence now? Heh- took long enough." Unlike most people, only a select few know of Raven's semblance and what it can do, and I'm among those select few.

If Raven wanted, she could've teleported to me at any part of the day, like when I'm outdoors, indoors, in a bar, and all that. Do you get what I mean? But I'm positive she could've just teleported to me if she had something important to say to me.

I took a swig from my flask. Ozpin coughs, "I can assure you it's anything but that, Qrow. Although it would be more convenient if it were that way, unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case. And there's a reason for that."

"For whatever reason, your sister cannot use her semblance now. Do not inquire why since I'm not entirely so sure myself." Ozpin sips his mug, "You won't find her here in Beacon. She's somewhere else. I would have accommodated her a room within Beacon Academy, but it seemed my mind had other plans then." Ozpin lowers his spectacles, locking eyes with me, "It has been quite a while since Raven had last seen her family that she left behind in Vale. Don't you agree?" Ozpin sips his mug.

"You're telling me that you sent my sister, a bandit leader, a killer even, to my niece's house just so she could say, 'Hey, husband and daughters of mine, that I left long for a tribe of bandits, how's it going?' really? Am I dreaming right now?" I questioned my reality.

I shook my head while pretending to slap myself to wake up from this supposed dream, "Oz, it would've been easier if you gave her a room inside of Beacon. Not over at Tai's family- and he just recovered from losing his wife!"

I lean over Ozpin's desk, "I mean, I'm not entirely worried about Tai. He's a big boy, he knows how to handle himself, but what about my nieces? If Raven influences them and they turn out to be like her when grown up, I'm going to be pissed, I'll still love them, of course, but I'm still going to be pissed."

"I understand your distress, Qrow, but if we were to bring Raven over to our side, the stalemate between Salem and us would be no more." Ozpin brought his mug with him as he moved towards the shattered window.

Raven did end up breaking school property.

Ozpin continued, "If Raven were to join us, this tug of war would be in our favor. In a matter of time, grimm will become a fairy tale of the present..." Ozpin trails off, "I hope you understand why I sent her to Patch? It was so she can reconcile with her family."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." I grumble, "I'm guessing I have to head over to Patch now?"

Ozpin nods, "That would be most preferable. I have a gut feeling that your sister would be restless tonight, so it's best not to keep her waiting." Ozpin took in the scenery of the city lights from the broken window. However, his eyes were lying in the direction of Patch, "When your sister abruptly showed herself into my headquarters not too long ago, she was worst for wear, and she looked to be worn down. When you discover the reason for that, I do hope that you'll inform me as soon as possible."

Man, what happened to Raven?

"Fine, I'll check up on her, ask her what happened, and if she does say anything, I'll text ya' the info. One more thing before I leave. I'm guessing I won't be getting a day off tomorrow, right?" I say without expecting much.

"Time is of the essence, Qrow. I will see you off." Ozpin says with a barely noticeable shit-eating grin.

I scoff as I transform into my bird form, taking off through the shattered window—too pissed to even look back.

I guess I won't be getting any sleep tonight, huh?

AN: Sorry for not uploading in a while. I was burnt out. Writing 50k~60k words within two months can do that to you. It went through my motivation in no time. I'll probably be uploading once a week, if not once a week, then once every two weeks. It depends on if I get some cool idea for the story I want to work up to. Also, during my time gone, I haven't watched RWBY or Ragnarok in a while, so some of my knowledge of both worlds is kind of lost to time unless I start researching again.

Rest assured, the story will continue.