Menagerie
The ship had just landed to Menagerie with the passengers stepping out of the ship including Blake, Sun and their respective Blades.
"Whoa," Sun awed at the sight of the port they stepped to," I've never seen so many faunus in one place." the monkey faunus marveled at so many faunus of different kinds around the port.
"This is the one place that everyone can feel safe," Blake said with a small sigh, "No matter who or what they are."
"I doubt it," Wu piped up as he looked around, earning a small glare from Blake. "I meant if you're a human," the self-proclaimed emperor spoke up catching onto the glare.
Blake wanted to deny it, but the possibility was there. At least the ship captain and his crew on the shore seemed to be on friendly terms as they no doubt retold the fight against that serpent Grimm. If the exaggerated movements of the captain were any indication.
"It seems quite cramped, my lady." Nox showed on his scroll as he tried to look for any suspicious activity.
"Yes. Yes, it is," Blake said simply.
As the four walked down a very crowded street with Sun desperately trying to avoid people. Wu and Nox seemed to have no problems though. "Is it always so crowded here," Sun asked as he nearly bumped into someone again.
"Well when you try to take a whole species and put them on an island that's two thirds desert, that's what you get," Blake said bitterly.
"You guys have that much space," Sun asked in disbelief as he got in front of the cat faunus, "Why not use it? A little sand won't hurt anyone."
Nox shoved his scroll in front of Sun's face. "If the people of Menagerie could do that, surely they would have done so already." The ninja Blade had an annoyed look.
Blake checked the text on the scroll and felt relieved that Nox gets it. "The desert here isn't like the one in Vacuo. The wildlife here is more dangerous than most other regions." Which also allowed Blake to explain it calmly.
"So, they give us a crappy island in a corner of Remnant to shut us up," Sun summarized the end of Faunus Rights Revolution.
"That's pretty much it," Blake said as she moved forward with Nox following dutifully.
"Jerks." Sun muttered as he too followed with Wu. The monkey Blade was looking around the place as he expertly avoided bumping into anyone.
"But it seems you've made the most of it," Wu said as he looked at the faunus going about their lives, looking happy or content.
That surprised Blake, who turned to look at Sun's Blade before following his eyesight to a small group of faunus children playing on a grassy patch. They seemed to be happy. "I guess," Blake said with a small smile.
Then the four reached the top of a hill which gave them a view of the town they were in.
"Whoa." Sun sounded out in awe at the large settlement.
"This is Kuo Kuana," Blake said as she looked at her home which could be seen from here.
"It's beautiful," Sun said in awe, "I take it all back, this place is great! Why would anyone wanna leave!?"
"That's not the point, Sun," Blake snapped slightly, "We asked to be equals. Instead we were given an island and told to make do."
"I admit that I can't understand your people's plight, but does that mean you hate this place?" Wu asked simply.
"It's not that, Wu," Blake said with a sigh, "It's just…We've done the best we could here to create a place where any faunus can feel welcome, but this island…this town…will always be a reminder that we're still second-class citizens."
"I see. But until that changes, this place will stay as a safe haven," Wu then said as he admired the view while munching on an apple.
"I guess that's true," Blake said with a smile as she turned to Wu.
"Dude, where did you get that apple from?" Sun asked apprehensively.
"…I don't know," Wu shrugged as he bit the last piece and threw the fruit to who knows where. Earning a scowl from Blake, but the cat faunus decided to not deal with Wu having possibly stolen something.
Instead, "Time to go home."
At the sound of that, Sun also decided to forget the possibility of Wu stealing, not that he had room to lecture, and decided to try and guess where Blake's house was. "Which one's yours? Can you see it from here?"
"Kind of," Blake said with a small smile.
"Is it that one? What about that tiny one down there? I really like the paintjob," Sun guessed as he pointed to different houses.
Blake grabbed the monkey faunus' hand. "It's that one," Blake said as he pointed Sun's finger towards the largest house in the middle. Actually, it looked more like a small palace.
This made Sun stare at Blake who nodded at the obvious question. The look on his face was priceless. Wu also looked surprised and Nox had his eye wider.
With that, the two Drivers and Blades moved in front of the house with large doors and doorknockers. Blake hesitated as she reached for them.
"What's wrong?" Sun asked in concern.
"It's…it's just been so long since I've seen my parents," Blake said, sounding depressed.
"Well, you came all this way," Sun said supportively.
With an exhale, Blake grabbed the knocker and knocked. The sound was loud and reverberated a lot.
"Okay, if we're being honest, that's kinda intimidating," Sun said, going a little stiff.
"Speak for yourself," Wu said, having his arms crossed and his tail swishing idly.
Then one of the large doors opened, allowing them to see a cat faunus with short black hair. Her ears were slightly longer than Blake's and had earrings. She was wearing a black hakama and sandals with white tabi-socks. Over her white outfit, she wears a black shrug with a long black sleeve. The woman looked surprised at the sight of Blake. "Blake?" the woman sounded out in what sounded like disbelief.
"…Hi…mom," Blake greeted the woman that was her mother.
With that, the woman stepped forward and hugged her daughter. "My baby girl," Blake's mother said, clearly happy to see her daughter.
"Kali, who is it?" Sounded a man's voice from inside the house. The man in question appeared to the lobby, revealing him to be a large muscular man with black hair and beard. The man wears an open dark violet coat with white fur trim, exposing his hairy chest. He wears beige pants with a dark violet sash over it and secured with a large silver buckle. On the shoulder of his coat is a silver pauldron which is secured by curved strips to a clasp on the opposite side of the coat. He also wears black leather boots with white tips that are made to look like paws. The man looked very surprised at the sight of Blake.
Soon enough, Blake, her parents, Sun and Nox and Wu were sitting around a tea table with each of them having tea cups in front of them, although Nox respectfully declined the beverage.
"We were horrified by what happened," Kali said as she looked to her daughter with a worried look, "The kingdom of Vale isn't perfect, but it certainly didn't deserve what happened."
"Please, I knew she'd be fine," Blake's father said with a chuckle.
"Oh, that isn't the slightest bit true," Kali shot back to her husband before returning her attention to Blake, "You should have seen him pacing."
During this conversation, Nox simply sat cross-legged on Blake's right with his arms crossed and being as unnoticeable as possible and, for the most part, actually succeeding. Wu was at the side opposite of Kali at Sun's right and took a sip of the tea, admiring the taste for a moment.
"You guys have nothing to worry about," Sun said cheerfully as Blake took a sip of her tea, "I've seen your daughter in action, and trust me, she's got some moves."
"And the moment's passed," Wu thought as he knew how Sun's delivery might make Blake's parents ask questions.
"And what exactly do you mean by that, mister Wukong?" such as the one Blake's father asked while giving the monkey Driver a glare.
Which made Sun look a little scared of the intimidating man. "Uhh…you see, sir, I just mean she's a great fighter. Not that I'm not saying she isn't beautiful but…" As Sun was stammering to fix the damage he caused, Kali gave her daughter a questioning glance.
"Why is he here again?" the woman asked out of curiosity. She and her husband had already been informed about Nox being Blake's Blade.
"He just…kind of followed me home," Blake said with a small sigh.
At that moment, Nox knocked on the table to earn everyone's attention. When he had it, the ninja opened his scroll for Blake's father to read. Having been informed about Nox not being able to talk, the large man took a pair of reading glasses before reading the text, Nox provided. And the man scowled at what he saw. "Is that so?" the man said menacingly at Sun who looked just about ready to bolt out.
This caused Blake to grab the scroll and read the text that was provided. "I believe the monkey is referring to the sway of what I have heard the student body at Beacon call, 'Bellabooty'."
"Nox!" Blake cried out, glaring at the Blade who dared to look proud of his actions.
Then Sun's sputtering was interrupted by Wu smacking the blonde-haired monkey's head with Trick Pole before speaking up. "What the idiot here is trying to say is that your daughter is more than capable of handling herself in a fight. Nothing more, nothing less." Wu explained, earning a questioning look from Blake's father, the monkey Blade never flinching as he made eye contact with the intimidating faunus.
"…Very well," Blake's father seemed to accept the explanation grudgingly.
After this, Wu whispered into his Driver's ear, "That's the last time I'm bailing you out."
Sun quickly used his tail to pour himself more tea to hopefully forget being terrorized.
Meanwhile, Nox had gotten his scroll back and he showed a new text to Kali. "I hope this does not offend you, Lady Belladonna, but I must point out that I see where my lady has inherited her beauty from." The dark one had his head bowed down a little as Kali red that.
"Oh! Goodness," the older cat faunus said with a mildly embarrassed giggle.
Unfortunately, her husband saw the text too and he was not happy about it, "And what exactly do you mean with that?"
At the accusing tone, Nox quickly showed new text for the intimidating man. "I meant no disrespect Lord Belladonna. I simply like to point out where my lady inherited both her beauty and strength from."
"Lord Belladonna?" Blake's father sounded out with a questioning look, "Please, I am no lord."
Nox looked confused for a moment before showing a new text. "You are the father of my lady, so that makes you a Lord."
"Nox, you're embarrassing me," Blake hissed through gritted teeth, causing the Blade in question to press his head on the floor before rolling out more of his scroll in a long tangent of apologies. "Stop! Just stop," Blake was beginning to regret allowing him in the room.
"I like him," Kali said to her daughter with a small laugh.
"Mom!" Blake did not need to hear that. Thankfully it sounded like someone knocked on the door.
"Darn it! I completely forgot about the meeting," Blake's father said in annoyance.
"Ghira," Kali said to her husband in a pacifying tone.
"Give me a moment," Ghira said as he got up and went towards the front door.
"Is everything okay," Blake asked, deciding to ignore Nox who dared to lift his head at his transgression being forgotten.
"Oh, yes. It will be, it's just hard to deal with them lately," Kali said before taking a sip from her tea cup.
"Deal with who?" Blake asked for clarification.
"The White Fang," Kali said as if nothing was wrong.
"What!?" Blake exclaimed as she stood up alongside Sun, Wu and Nox who had his eye in a cross. The four quickly ran to the front door where they saw Ghira talking to two individuals.
"Dad!" Blake cried out, earning their attention.
"Blake, what's wrong?" Ghira asked.
"Miss Belladonna," One of the two men in matching black robes and red hoods spoke up. although one of them had holes for fox ears.
"We had no idea you had returned," the fox eared man said.
Nox got in front of his Driver. Dual Scythes at ready and his pupil in an X, fully expecting an attack.
"What are you doing," Ghira demanded from the dark Blade. All the while the two robed faunus took a step back.
"What are you doing talking to these people?" Blake all but demanded while keeping her eye on Nox to ensure he didn't start a slaughter.
"This is Corsic and Fennec Albain," Ghira said, introducing the two robed faunus, "They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie."
"Those psychos are here too!?" Sun cried out in open disbelief about this news.
"Young man," the fox eared man, Fennec, spoke up in a calm tone, "I'm not sure what you have heard about our organization, but we're not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe."
"What we've heard!?" Blake shouted angrily, while Wu moved in to grab Nox so he couldn't move in and spill the two's blood, just yet. "We have seen first-hand! You fanatics slaughtered people!"
"What is she talking about?" Ghira asked the two faunus calmly.
"Precisely what we have come to discuss with you, your grace," Corsic explained with a respectful tone.
"Is everything alright?" asked Kali, who had arrived to see the worrisome situation.
"Wait, you guys seriously don't know!?" Sun gaped in disbelief.
"Know what?" Ghira asked in a low tone.
With that, Blake stepped next to her Blade before explaining, "The White Fang was at the Battle for Beacon. They attacked innocent civilians and released Grimm into the school."
At this information, Ghira gave the two representatives a hard look, "Is this true?"
"Sadly, your grace, it is," Fennec replied with his head hung along with Corsic.
"Don't act like-" "That's enough!" Ghira interrupted Blake, raising his arm in front of her. "Explain yourselves," Ghira then demanded from the two.
With that, Corsic started explaining, "Though it pains us to admit, it seems that the Vale branch of White Fang is no longer operating under orders of High-Leader Khan. Rather they follow one Adam Taurus." At the mention of the man, Nox tensed. "I believe you are familiar with the young adept and his…extreme philosophies."
"You know, Beacon wasn't the first time the Fang started shooting up Vale," Sun pointed out accusingly.
"The high council had suspicions of a splinter group," Fennec spoke up, "But they had no proof until this latest incident."
"Incident!?" Blake shouted out with a glare, "People are dead."
"And it is a tragedy," Corsic said in a sympathetic tone.
"Is it?" Wu asked, earning everyone's attention. "Some of the people slaughtered were faunus. So I wonder…is it truly a tragedy if anyone who disagrees with you suddenly…disappeared?" the monkey Blade had a challenging tone as he took a few steps towards the representatives.
Fennec chose to ignore Sun's Blade and return their attention to Ghira, "Your grace, we're here to assure you that brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang."
"And how can I be sure of that?" Ghira asked with a distrusting look.
"We understand if you bear any skepticism towards our words. After all, the White Fang has taken different methods since you stepped down as the High-Leader to become the Chief of Menagerie. This information surprised Sun, Wu and most importantly, Nox. But then Sun remembered Blake telling that she was practically born into the White Fang. This would explain that phrase. "But this…this is not the way to have our message heard."
"And what is your message?" Wu butted in again with a challenging tone," Because from what I have witnessed myself, your 'message' sounds like 'we kill anyone who isn't us'. 'Us', being the White Fang."
"We would be grateful if you didn't let out such baseless accusations," Fennec said with a small frown. The reply seemed to make Wu smirk.
Corsic decided to continue before the self-proclaimed emperor spoke again, "We have ample documentations from the council meeting as well as several strategies to apprehend and punish these strays, if you care to review them."
"I will, but another day," Ghira said before turning his attention to Blake, "For now I would like some time to reconnect with my daughter."
"But of course, your grace," Corsic said with a bow.
"We completely understand," Fennec added in. Then the two turned their attention to Blake. "It was a pleasure to see you, young Blake."
"We were saddened when we heard you had left," Corsic followed up, "But we understand if you can no longer support our cause."
"It is a weary fight after all," Fennec finished.
"Who says I'm done fighting," Blake replied firmly.
"If you ever do wish to return, you merely need to come find us," Corsic said with a small smile.
"Sister Ilia would be elated," Fennec added in, earning a raised eyebrow from Nox who by this time had his eye shift to a cross. But that didn't mean he had let his guard down.
"Goodbye, gentlemen," Ghira then said before closing the doors on the two faunus. Then the large man turned away from the doors with a sigh.
"So…those guys were creepy," Sun commented on the two Fang representatives.
"…I really don't like you," Ghira said, looking Sun directly in the eye. Then the door was knocked again, startling the people inside. Ghira growled before shouting through the door, not wanting to open it right now. "I believe we were done, gentlemen!"
"I'm not those two creeps!" A female voice shouted back from behind the door. This surprised everyone.
With that, Ghira opened the doors to for everyone to see a short faunus girl with beige hair and matching colored cat ears wearing a yellow jumpsuit. "My apologies, I just heard some…troubling news," Ghira apologized to the short girl.
"Nah, it's fine," the girl said dsimissively before continuing, "Just came to inform you that the borders are clean again."
"Dad, who is this?" Blake asked her father.
"Ah, yes. This is Nia," Ghira spoke up motioning to the girl, "She and her Blades have been helping in securing Menagerie's borders for a few days now. Nia, this is my daughter Blake."
"Hello," Nia greeted before eyeing Nox and Wu, "I see you're a Driver too."
"Too?" Blake sounded out before looking past Nia to see a white tiger and a regal looking human with an unnerving eye.
"My name is Dromarch, a pleasure to meet you," the white tiger, now named Dromarch spoke up, dipping his head in what seemed like a bow.
"You may call me Dagas," the regal looking Blade said with a tone that reminded Blake of Weiss during her first few days at Beacon. Only, Weiss felt humble in comparison to this man.
"You look weird," Sun said without thinking to Dagas.
The Blade looked down on Sun with contempt, "I suppose I cannot fault an uneducated peasant for not being able to recognize royal visage. Then again considering your…questionable appearance I doubt you even knew the meaning of necessities such as bath"
"What?" Sun asked with a mildly confused and annoyed look.
"He called you stupid and filthy," Wu translated with an exasperated tone
"WHAT!?"
"You get used to him," Nia said with a small sigh, "He's like that with everyone."
"To faunus or humans too?" Blake asked with a questioning look.
"Chief Belladonna, I must ask you from one ruler to another, why have you not taken action against this White Fang if they seem so…lax with meaningless slaughter," Dagas then asked in a more respectful tone.
"I believe I told you before, that White Fang's current course of action resonates with many who just want payback for what humans have done," Ghira replied with a sigh.
"Quite a conundrum, indeed," Dagas said with a sigh of his own, "I suppose if you indeed take action as things stand, you might turn your own people against you. But unless you stop these increasingly violent…miscreants, you may find yourself and your people in a war with the odds heavily stacked against you."
"I am well aware of that," Ghira said with a sigh, "It's just…not easy to deal with."
"It never is," Dagas stated.
"Does that answer your question?" Nia meanwhile asked Blake who was staring at this Dagas talking to her father like they were equals. "Like I said, you get used to him," the girl added with a small shrug."
"Though I do apologize for his words to you," Dromarch said to Sun with a respectful tone.
"Well…I guess I can forget that," Sun said as he glared at the jackass Blade who was now turning his attention to Kali.
"Lady Belladonna, I do hope we have not imposed on you during our stay," Dagas then said with a small bow to the said faunus.
"Oh, please, you and your Driver have been helpful to us," Kali said with a smile and a curtesy in return.
"It is the least I and my retainers can do seeing as we lack proper funds due to my Driver's…lack of monetary skills," Dagas talked as if Nia wasn't present.
Though to the said kitty girl's credit, she only rolled her eyes.
"Wait, what is he talking about, mom," Blake asked, catching a worrying part about this conversation.
"Oh, right. Nia and her Blades have been staying in a guest room of our house for the past few days," Kali replied to her daughter before once again addressing Dagas, "I do hope it's to your liking."
"It's quite alright," Dagas said with a pleasant smile, "Now, I would like to return to our quarters, Chief Belladonna, Lady Belladonna. Let us go, my retainers." With those words and a small respectful bow to the Belladonnas, Dagas already walked further inside the house.
"I could use a nap," Nia said as she also walked inside with Dromarch in tow.
"Once again, I must thank you for your hospitality, sir Ghira, lady Kali," Dromarch thanked Kali and Ghira before following his Driver.
All the while Blake and Sun were staring at the odd trio.
"Where did she get those Blades?" Blake couldn't help asking.
"She had them, when she was found unconscious near the borders," Kali explained, earning raised eyebrows.
"The borders?" Sun asked out of curiosity.
"At where the desert begins," Blake clarified, "But where did she come from?"
"We don't know," Ghira replied with a small sigh, "No one in Kuo Kuana has seen her before. But she has been helpful, so we don't mind."
"She just appeared out of nowhere and started helping us?" Blake asked with a skeptical look, "Don't you think that's a little convenient?"
That made Kali look thoughtful, "Well, when I went to get her to dinner once, she and her Blades were discussing about how to return to their home. But I didn't want to eavesdrop on her."
"Wait, you guys know where she's from, why did you say you didn't know where she was from then?" Sun asked in confusion.
"Because I have never heard of Alrest," Ghira replied, causing Blake's, Nox's and Wu's eyes to widen.
"She's from Alrest?" Blake asked now even more interested in the girl.
"You know that place?" Kali asked with a smile," Perhaps you can tell her where her village is."
"Alrest is not a village." Nox showed on his scroll.
"Nox!" Blake exclaimed.
"Blake, what's going on?" Ghira asked, his suspicions reignited. His daughter sounded too defensive for it to be a simple matter.
"Yeah, Wu mentioned Alrest too, what is it?" Sun also asked. The said monkey sighed, having realized that no one on Remnant seemed to know about Alrest.
Blake looked unsure of what to say. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, the faunus huntress saw Nox giving her a supporting look. "Well…this is going to sound crazy, but…" And so Blake proceeded to tell what little she and her team knew about the world of Alrest.
In the guest room where Nia and her Blades were staying, the Gormotti girl had flopped down on the bed with a sigh. "How long must we still stay here?" Nia groaned at the dilemma they all had.
"Hard to say, my lady," Dromarch said, having laid down next to the bed his Driver occupied.
"Until we have a proper course of action planned and secured necessary supplies," Dagas said from a red and golden throne that manifests whenever he wants to sit down. He had one leg propped over the other and leaned his right fist against his cheek.
"And then what?" Nia wondered as she turned to look at the royal Blade, "Where would we go? This place is completely different from Alrest. I mean…these faunus are so…odd." Despite being a Gormotti and probably the closest equivalent of a faunus on Alrest, Nia had a hard time wrapping her head around the various types of faunus. The least odd are the ones with scales, because they resemble Urayans.
"And we don't know where our companions might be," Dromarch added in with a downcast look on his bestial features.
"There is also a possibility that we are the only ones who made it into this world," Dagas supplied unhelpfully.
"Don't say that!" Nia shouted at Dagas, getting up off the bed, "I mean…if they're not around…I don't know what to do. They…they are the only friends I have left." The Gormotti sounded very depressed.
"My lady, you still have me," Dromarch spoke up, lifting himself off the ground and moving closer to Nia, "Also, I'm sure sir Rex and the others are out there somewhere."
"Thanks Dromarch," Nia said, lightly hugging the white tiger's soft fur.
In a darkened room, Corsic and Fennec had conversed about the problem at hand, so far, they have only sent a message to Adam about Blake being here. But there was another problem, namely the anomaly named Nia.
"It's a shame we have been unable to recruit her," Fennec sighed, "She seems strong."
"She destroyed a group of Beringels on her own," Corsic pointed out, "So I would say she's more than strong."
"What I don't understand is how she can withstand that thing," Fennec said in slight anger, "I can see it in its eye, it sees us as lesser beings."
"And yet it also has acted respectfully towards Chief Belladonna," Corsic pointed out again, "It seems to me that it has a dislike for us specifically."
"Because we fight for what is rightfully ours?" Fennec questioned.
"Perhaps, or perhaps it's something else," Corsic said, "But for now, we should keep miss Belladonna under watch, don't you think?"
"I think we should, brother," Fennec said with a sinister grin.
AN: Whelp, wrote this faster than I thought. So now, Nia has entered the picture. Nox is trying to make Ghira hate Sun more than the papa panther already does. Wu was challenging Albane brothers, and now Blake tells her family the truth about Alrest.