"You know," Kris sighed with crossed arms, "when we were hired as mercenaries I expected a little more, you know, violence. Not..." She looked down and stared at the screaming kid latched onto her leg. She then winced as his screams became so loud they echoed inside her head. "I could still choose violence." She bared her teeth.
"No." Cheyenne held up a finger while struggling to keep herself from falling because of a little girl with a monkey's tail climbing on her arm. Her brow twitched when she felt her antlers being grabbed. "No... murdering... children..."
"I'll murder them." Kagami sat on the floor with her legs crossed as a young boy struck the back of her head repeatedly with a ball. It bounced off her and he caught it before throwing it back at her head.
"You see that, my friends are having trouble." Elise laughed while laying on her back. In her hands she held up a very small girl. "Aren't they just silly Huntresses?"
"Yeaaah!" The little kid laughed back with a bright smile.
"Never mind." Kagami's face twitched as she closed her eyes. "I'm just going to murder Elise."
"No murdering anyone." Cheyenne held out her arms and shifted her weight around to keep herself balanced. "We need the lien to get back to Vale to stop Sanguine."
"I don't like zucchini either." The little girl Elise held said while sticking out her tongue.
"See!! It's not just me!" The brunet looked over at her friends with a smile.
"She's also like four." Kris said bluntly before flinching and reaching up to cover her ears. "Gods! Can you be quiet?!"
The boy on her leg went silent. He blinked, looked up at her and then went back to shouting.
With her brow twitching, she suddenly leaned down and screamed back at him.
They both went silent before the boy started to wail.
It was going to be a long day.
I'm Billy's bar, Pithaya carefully took aim with her stick across a billiards table. "I think you're all being over dramatic."
"Says the woman who wasn't there." Kris groaned with her head down on a table nearby. "My ears are still ringing. And we barely got paid anything!"
"Billy's just making sure you're actually willing to work." Jayde exhaled while sitting across from her. At a table behind her, Kasune sat with crossed arms. "You always get a horrible job first."
"Well I didn't think it was that bad." Elise yawned. "Though it was tiring."
"Nothing a drink won't help." Kaito flashed her a smile while gesturing towards her with his mug.
"I think I'll pass." She slumped forward. "Whatever we drank before tasted disgusting."
"Hah!" He let out a hearty laugh. "That's because you tried to drink straight soju, kid." He set his drink down and placed his fingers on the rim of the mug before sliding it over. "Jayde's the only one mad enough to drink that shit from the bottle."
"That's true." The Huntress in green waved the unmarked bottle she had in her hand. She then eyed Kagami. "I bet you'd be able to handle it though. You'd probably like it. Probably could use some." She gestured for her to take it.
"I um..." The jadette trailed off. She stared at the bottle with an exhausted look.
"So what is this?" Elise asked while cautiously grabbing Kaito's mug.
"Lager." He crossed his arms and leaned back. "I really think you'd like it."
"Hrmg." Her brow furrowed. She took a small sip. She smacked her lips a couple times before taking another drink. "Hm." She narrowed her eyes while trying it again.
"Hold on! I want something that tastes nice!" Kris practically leaned across the table.
Rolling her eyes, Pithaya lowered her stick and stepped away from the billiards table. "Here. Now be quiet." She grabbed a glass with a red liquid, ice cubes and a lime wedge.
The redhead blinked and sat down. "What is it?"
"Strawberry margarita. Billy makes mine special. It taste like candy."
"Alcohol that tastes like candy..." Kris' eyes widened as she started to grin. "Bet."
"Wait, guys..." Cheyenne held up a hand before lowering it with a sigh as Kris began to down her drink a little too fast. "That's not going to end well."
"What, are you a teetotaler or something?" Kasune teased with a grin behind her mask.
Taking a deep breath, Kagami looked away from the bottle of soju that Jayde had. "I'm going to go get some tea from a shop on the streets. Want any?"
"Oolong, please." The Faunus smiled.
She nodded back. "Got it." She smiled while pulling out her wallet and heading towards the door. She had to have Cheyenne make her one. She didn't have one before and now she had lien cards she had to keep track of. She was really worried she was going to lose it. Though the fact her friend had made it for her and stamped her family's symbol onto it made her want to keep track of it more. Hopefully she wouldn't lose it.
Once she stepped outside, someone slammed into her. She grunted and stumbled but stayed on her feet. "Hey, watch where-" She blinked. She no longer had her wallet in her hand. "Hey!!" She shouted before chasing after a hooded man.
Glancing over his shoulder, he narrowed his glowing green eyes. He then quickly looked ahead of him. Taking a deep breath, he vaulted through a stand and took off down a side alley.
"Oi!" The man behind the stand stumbled back while narrowing his eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" His voice rumbled.
"Sorry, sorry, excuse me." Kagami quickly gestured with her hands while squeezing behind him. "Sorry." She winced before bolting off after the thief.
He didn't even bother to look back at her. He kept his speed and pushed off with his back foot. His feet firmly planted into the side of a building. Using his momentum, he jumped to the wall of the building beside it then launched himself up onto the roof of the first building.
She let out a low groan and bared her teeth. Taking a deep breath, she jumped and ran up the wall a few feet before latching onto the edge of the roof and hauling herself up. She sharply exhaled as she got to her knees. "Come on, man! Just take the lien! I just want my wallet back..." She huffed while watching him jump across the gap between roofs effortlessly.
Landing on his feet, he casually turned around to face her. His hood fell down and his shaggy golden hair with green highlights fell loose. With a grin, he held up his middle finger before taking off again.
"Oh for the love of..." Her shoulders dropped as she pushed herself up to her feet and ran after him. Her jumps across the gap between the buildings were a little less graceful in comparison.
Kagami eventually lost sight of him. Stopping on a roof, she panted heavily and moved her hands behind her head. It was nighttime in Vacuo which only added to her struggles of still not knowing the layout of the Kingdom. She let out a frustrated groan and stared up at the lights of Shade Academy. With a sigh, she turned around.
She tried to focus for a moment. She tried to remember Elise's mother's eyes. Eleanor's semblance would help her track the thief down. She just needed to focus enough...
"Dammit." She blinked as nothing happened. She was about to give up and jump back down onto the street when she caught a glimpse of a shadow jumping down into a dim and dark alley. Her eyes quickly narrowed.
Calmly walking with his hands in the pockets of his lime green jacket, the thief made his way into a place between buildings. Despite Vacuo's brutal environment, the small area was blooming with plant life. It ran up the walls and covered the ground. There was even a small pathway made from stones for people to walk on. Or well, for those who knew about the place.
He took out Kagami's wallet that he had stolen and pulled out the lien in it. He scoffed. "All you have is thirty lien in here?" He glanced over his shoulder and eyed the jadette walking into the hidden world of greenery.
"Sorry, is that not enough for you?" She bared her teeth while extending the blade of her bracer.
He blinked once. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He waved his hands while backing up. He winced as the moonlight bounced off her blade. "Wait, wait, wait! I don't want to fight! I don't know how to fight! I'm not good at it!"
"You stole my wallet! What did you expect?!" She kept walking closer.
"I didn't steal your wallet to steal your wallet!" He held up his hands in defeat and backed up until his back hit the floral covered wall. "Here!" He gestured for her to take her wallet.
With an exhale, Kagami retracted her blade and snatched her wallet back. "Thank you." She snarled while turning around.
"No, wait!" He held out his hand and quickly slipped in front of her.
She glared back at him. "What? I'm not in the mood for games."
"Nor am I." He backed up. He glanced around the garden before looking at her. "I need your help."
Back in Billy's bar, Kagami stared with fallen shoulders at her friends.
Elise had two empty mugs and was working on her third. She and Kaito were talking and laughing about something only the Gods would know. Her face was deeply flushed. And Kris... Kris was quiet for once. Her face was the color of her hair. She was leaning onto Jayde with a lonely look. The masked Huntress simply reached up and patted her head while taking another sip from her drink.
"What about some rum?" Pithaya asked while sitting across from Cheyenne.
"Or sake?" Kasune tilted her head. She was also at the table.
"Or are you a whiskey girl, hm?" She tried pressuring her.
Taking a deep breath, the deer Faunus calmly sat with her hands in her lap. "I don't want anything to drink." She stated for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
"Hey." Kagami suddenly leaned over her friend's shoulder. "I need your help."
"With getting tea?" Cheyenne gave her a look.
"No. No, no, no." She shook her head while pulling her up to her feet. "Just come with me."
"Don't get in too much trouble. I won't help you if you do." Pithaya called out while leaning back in her seat and grabbing her drink.
Cheyenne was confused as she was led through the maze of back alleys. She knew they had taken a wrong turn two or three times with how they looped back around but she didn't say anything. Eventually though, Kagami found where she was going.
"Where... are we?" Cheyenne quietly asked as she was led into the hidden world of flowers and plants within the dusty city of Vacuo. She couldn't help but look around in awe with wide eyes.
"Ganlan's Garden." Sitting on a bench, the thief who stole Kagami's wallet gave her a nod hello. "You must be the outsider's friend. I thought there was two more of you?"
Blinking, the Faunus leaned over towards her friend. "Who's he?"
Kagami gestured towards him. "He likes to talk. Just let him."
"My name is Jaune Verdatre." He stood up while sliding his hands onto the pockets of his jacket. He didn't bother pulling them out as he moved her arms around. "I'm a cultist."
"What?" Cheyenne's eyes widened. "What??" She turned towards Kagami.
"Yeah." She blinked a little and then nodded. "Yeah..." She reached up and rubbed her face.
"Shouldn't we arrest him if he's a cultist?!" She waved her hands.
"You can try." Verdatre smiled with a shrug. "But I'm a slippery fella." He winked.
"Just tell her what you told me!" Kagami quickly interjected in a harsh tone.
"Alright, alright." He slid his hands out of his pockets and moved them behind his head. "I need help. I can't trust anyone who lives in the Kingdom. You guys are new. I figured if Billy is willing to hire you as Huntresses then maybe you can help me."
"But we're not-" Cheyenne grunted as her foot was stepped on. Glaring at Kagami, she exhaled and looked back at Verdatre. "What do you even need help with?" She asked while crossing her arms.
Okay well that was a much longer break than I wanted. I got super busy with life and work and the holidays. I ended up working myself sick (RIP) but I'm for the most part better now. New Year's resolution is to self care better and take time to do things I enjoy. So let's hope I can do that. Onward with the new year. Remember to be nice to everyone. Here's to hoping the next chapter comes out soon!
It's also day 257 (Jan. 4th) of the hiatus if anyone wants to know. Yes I've been counting.