"In the dance of light and shadow, we find the true essence of balance and harmony."

Anonymous

Chapter 8: Ambrose Farms

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Well... these have been an eventful couple of days.

On one hand, Eren and some of my farmhands showed me the first farm in my expanded business. And it was so beautiful. The barn, the razed land... everything there was a reminder that my family's dream for an expanded Ambrose Farms is finally coming true. And I couldn't be more thankful.

On the other hand, we almost got killed while Eren was showing me the farm.

Nobody knew where they came from, but a gang called "the Wave" began terrorizing villages like Maykr very recently. They tried to steal the supplies we brought from Kuroyrui, and then tried to kill us. Thankfully, the barn gave us the shelter we needed while Eren distracted them.

I felt terrible leaving him out there on his own, but his Titan reminded me once again how capable he is of defending himself.

Oddly enough, I was forced to defend myself as well. When one of those "Wave" members tried breaking into the farm, I threw a brick at him from the hay loft. I stopped him, but... I think I might have killed him.

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I tried not to think about it on the way back home. Instead, after I made sure Eren was okay, I thought about all the other trouble that the Mayor of Maykr told me about. About how there were more gangs like the Wave fighting for supplies and control. Everyone was surprised to hear such a thing, but it was true. Eren was surprised as well, but I could see the determination on his face. I could hear in his voice that he was willing to fight again.

And just like before... he was going to seek out the source of the trouble and stop it.

I know Eren and his friends have to do this. I mean, who else could? They've taken on worse things than a few gangs, and they're perfectly capable. But after I said goodbye to them, I couldn't help but feel... disappointed. That after all their hard work, with Salem and the Grimm, and Cinder's speech in Mistral... that even more things are going wrong than they should.

It's almost like for every good thing Eren does... there's always something bad creeping around the corner.

I was thinking about this for a while, after Eren and his friends left. I couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way. If he knows that there's always some conflict close to home that needs his help. It can't be easy for him, for any of his friends. Honestly, I don't know how he does it. But after today, after seeing him defend Maykr and the farm he helped build, I'm proud that Eren's willing to protect the outskirts. That he's fighting for the future we want to build together.

More than that, Eren actually inspired me to do something of my own.

Before the Wave attacked, Eren and I were talking about the new farms we were going to build. Along the way, Eren brought up the idea of creating a symbol for ourselves. That since I wanted to turn Ambrose Farms into a business, we were probably going to need a symbol that most businesses and products have. A symbol that would represent us, what it is we have and what it is we do. It was a good idea, but I couldn't think of anything at the moment.

But after I got home and thought about it, along with Eren's work, I got the perfect idea.

I was never much of an artist, but I drew a picture of what I wanted Ambrose Farms to be. The symbol is rather common for this Kingdom, but thinking about Eren made me remember its significance.

I drew what's known as "yin and yang." It's a circle with a white half and a dark half, with an opposite-colored comma-like dot called a tomoe in each half. It's a very simple image, but one that has been very prominent in Mistral's culture. It stands for the idea of opposing forces; forces that interact and create a certain kind of order. Namely, that all things co-exist together, side by side, even though they're quite opposite forces of nature.

The idea was created before the Great War, when Mistral and Mantle tried to suppress art and creative thinking in order to prevent more emotional thinking. It was a misguided attempt to try and prevent the outbreak of more Grimm attacks against civilization, ultimately doing more harm than it did good. According to history, the yin and the yang was a concept that was used as a way to explain that one cannot have good without evil, life without death, or order without freedom. It was sided to justify the use of emotional expression, but war began regardless.

After the war, Mistral allowed art and self-expression to return to the populace once more, and one of the most prominent aspects was the yin and yang. Looking back, I can certainly see how Eren's current situation also applies to the yin and yang. That even though there's bound to be some sort of rising conflict at hand, Eren will always be there in an effort to create peace. His methods might not... sound peaceful, and some may even deride such actions, but there isn't any evil force standing up again or causing any more trouble.

It's funny to think about, but I can't help but feel that Eren and I could also apply to the yin and yang. I've always been a bit more... passive, when it comes to conflict. The incident at Maykr was probably the first time I've ever defended myself from someone dangerous. But Eren has never once backed down from a fight, for better or worse. Nothing that I could do would ever stop him from fighting, but I honestly like to think I was able to teach him what exactly what one should fight for. That instead of recklessly charging head first at something or someone just because they're contemptible, Eren has to fight for the people who need him.

And that's exactly what he's been doing ever since we found each other again at Glory Dawn in Argus.

So, I decided to use the yin and yang for Ambrose Farms. But I decided to tweak it a bit. Instead of half black and white circle with small black and white dots in the picture, it was now a nature inspired green and clear. The tomoe-like dots were swapped out with leaves tipped on long stems.

I was never much of an artist growing up, but I hope that I did a good enough job with this one.

Since I'm running a farm, I thought leaves would be better than small tomoe. The leaves would represent the crops that we grow across the outskirts. It will be creating those forces that make up and sustain our lives and the lives of our fellow villagers. That together, Eren and I can create a new future for the communities that we're working with.

I can't wait to show him when he gets back. I think Eren, Peter, and all those who have worked with Ambrose Farms will love it!

Carla Yeager
Citizen of Kuroyuri – Kingdom of Mistral
Manager of Ambrose Farms

Hey there guys! The Avenging Titan here! I hope you are all doing great! And hey, I didn't take forever to do another one of these!

This was another spontaneous idea that came from "Atreides1225" and his suggestion of the Eldia inspired brooch for Cinder. Since Eren and Carla are working to expand the farm, we figured it could also use a symbol of its own.

This is what I had found that Court and I agreed was the best:

www . pngegg en / png – ewjmq

I will also upload it on my DeviantArt profile as well like I did with the Dark Wing. For those who are wondering, my username is the same as my profile here on FFN, just without spaces.

Just one last thing to add before signing off. Court mentioned this on the recent chapter on ANP, but RWBY has a new home now! That home is VIZ Media, one of the biggest distributors of manga and anime, and has also done work with RWBY related manga as well. Now, so far there hasn't been any news regarding Volume 10 from VIZ, but I am cautiously optimistic that we will get something. Regardless of that, A New Path and Beyond the Path will continue down the path we paved for it (there's a lot of paths here).

Anyhow, I hope you all have a wonderful day. This is The Avenging Titan, signing off!