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Requested By : Polemoduke

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Yang spent the sixth morning travelling the same way she had the last three.

Rolling over as their group-alarm chimed quietly, she sat up in her sleeping bag and stretched as much as she could in the tiny tent she had. It was barely two feet tall, and just long enough for her to stretch out, but for how cramped it was it was at least easy to carry. And came down easy, too - all she had to do was pull the pegs up and it fell in on itself so she could wrap it up while her dad did the same with his and his friend stretched.

She didn't even have a sleeping bag, Yang had noticed their first night out.

No, she just slept against a tree, apparently. Although Yang never saw her when she slipped out to go to the bathroom, or heard something that made her anxious. Instead, like always, she padded away from the tree-line, stretching and rolling her neck to pop it.

"Yang?" She turned as her dad offered her a little bowl of stew, the last dregs of what they'd eaten a week ago. She took it and sat, and her dad joined her by the low, smoldering fire, chuckling quietly, "Your hair is a mess."

"Yeah, well…" Yang shrugged, "No shower out here, so best I can do is brush it while we walk."

"You know…" Tai muttered while Spring plopped onto the ground across from her, "Your mom always said the best way to do hair care out here was to pack some conditioner, brush it in, and wash it out after a few minutes. Not a shower, sure, but…"

"Weird." Yang blinked, staring at the dying fire so she could watch both the adults in her peripheries. "Didn't know our mom had hair problems… She's always kept it pretty straight."

And there it was, for the twentieth time since the woman had walked in and sat at that time.

Her dad's eyes narrowed and the woman flinched, ever so slightly. It was almost impossible to see either, and Yang was half-sure she was seeing things that weren't there, but years of watching after Ruby and her attacks had left Yang observant. Especially to the little things, like the way her dad looked over at Spring and grimaced, and the way she shrugged one shoulder and took the bowl of stew he offered. And the way both jerked their gazes away when Yang looked at them properly.

And the quiet was… Awkward.

Not for the first time, she wondered if she should ask…

Not for the first time, her dad spoke up before she could, clapping his hands and sighing, "Alright, so! It's been a hike, but we're a few hours from a little town, goes by 'Vale'."

"Vale?" Yang snickered, "Wrong continent for that…"

"Right?" Dad snorted, "But that's the name. Anyway, it's decent sized. Rae here, uh, she has contacts there-"

"Of the illegal variety." She said, which piqued Yang's attention - it didn't explain the earlier awkwardness, but it explained some from before. Before Yang could ask, though, she explained, "I'm… Something of a Huntress. That entails contacts."

"Criminal contacts…"

"She's… Not wrong." Dad sighed, shaking his head when Yang turned a shocked look on him. "Look, I'm not saying serial killers or whatever. But… Smugglers? Thieves? Weapons dealers? They know things that are useful."

"And should be in jail…"

"Your naivety will get you, or someone you know, hurt some day." Raven cut in before her dad could answer. Yang rounded on the woman, eyes narrow and Aura singing along her back as her anger flared. Quietly, almost like she was bored, she went on, "If your father went into that town and buried every smuggler, thief, drug runner, and gang member there, you know what would happen?"

"I said jail, not-"

"Nothing." Raven cut her off quietly, "More people would come in and do all those jobs just the same."

"That just sounds like you're being lazy." Yang snapped at the woman, already tired of being talked down to. The woman bristled, scarlet eyes brightening a bit in a… Familiar way that Yang added to a list of issues that had been making her stomach churn for days. Ignoring it, for now, she argued, "Just because something is hard doesn't mean you don't do it."

"This is-"

"How much does killing a Grimm really matter?" Yang cut her off, scowling and crossing her arms. "More will just… Spawn, or whatever they do."

"That's different." Raven argued, "A human being can be negotiated with. Terrified, even, if it comes to that. A Grimm…?"

"They can't. Your-" Her dad nodded, choking on the word and stealing a drink from his broth before he grunted, "Sorry, choked on air, I guess. You're right, Raven. Yang, it's… Complicated."

Yang opened her mouth to say something, something she'd been saving for two days, but…

She thought of the little spark echoing in her chest, bit the inside of it cheek until it hurt, and shook the inclination off. Whatever she suspected, sure or not, she didn't have proof. And if her dad thought Spring was needed enough to keep around for this long, then Yang believed him. The cool presence that always echoed calm into her was more important than anything else, right now.

She wouldn't risk driving off someone she needed without real proof.

So, finally, she sighed and said, "Forget it. What's the plan, then?"

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Vale - the small one, not the Kingdom, which was still weird for her - was a pretty big town built along the shore with a towering, white-capped mountain spearing overhead that shot up just a mile or so in from the coast. Its slopes were made of marble mainly, according to Spring, and 'Little Vale' had popped up to mine it, cutting into the mountain itself and the smaller ones to either side of it, closer to the shore. When the marble dried up, decades ago, the quarrying had stopped and Little Vale had changed focus. Now, years later, the mountains had been trimmed back so that they curved almost perfectly around the town, with only a handful of sheer cliffs and dry spots to prove the quarrying had ever happened. Like real Vale, the mountains protected the town on three-ish sides, with a few low spots filled in by stone walls and a stone wall covering the last third on either side, all dotted by lookout towers her dad pointed out as they got closer and he rattled out everything he knew.

All of which was nowhere near as interesting to Yang as the fact that her dad was nervous rambling, for whatever reason.

Finally, though, they made it to the warehouse district, which was a long line of warehouses a block back from the docks that curved with the coastline. It was busy when they got there, with small white hauling trucks tugging trailers back and forth to and from the docks while ships pulled in and out. Some headed straight out or north, towards Vale, while others turned straight north along Mistral's coast. Workers thronged the too-narrow walkway to either side, with alleys full of garbage and the homeless between the warehouses and people making shady deals interspersed throughout.

"Dad…" She muttered, walking between the two adults as they made their way. One guy in a hood gave her a look as they passed by the corner, smiling toothily, and Raven stepped between them, a hand on her sword.

"It's ok, sweetheart, we're almost there." Dad said, "Right, Rae?"

"What?" The woman turned back to them, then flicked Yang a look. Something flitted across her face that Yang couldn't quite read before she looked away, scowled, and snapped, "It's just a crowd, girl. You're old enough not to be afraid of those."

"I'm not afraid of crowds," Yang argued, "just… Ones like these."

"I…" Spring sighed, shook her head, and then sighed again, "We're a block away. Come on, kid, I'll… We're almost there."

Whatever Raven had been about to say, Yang never found out - but she suspected it had something to do with her dad's little smirk and why Spring was so much more willing to half-draw her sword at anyone that looked their way. Even if Yang knew she could break most people here in half, it was… Nice, to have them to either side of her. Protecting her. Like p-

Nope, nope, nope, she cut that line of thought off like a gardener would a snake's head.

Just in time for Raven to grunt, "We're here."

'Here' as it turned out was a slightly wider, way cleaner alley between two older looking warehouses. The kind with thin tin roofs and raised sections Yang knew from movies would have offices and stuff in them. Crates, some old and dusty and some newer, marked with logos she recognized - N-Tech's cogs and gears, and the SDC's snowflake especially - and workers going back and forth between the two carrying crates and tools into one, and rolling larger metal crates out of the other. Whatever they were doing, Raven lead them to a man leaning against the corner of one of the dozen or so bay doors along the factory's walls.

He was young and thin, dressed in worn jeans and a black hoodie that did not look great for the weather, and didn't look up as they came to a stop in front of him.

Instead he just grunted, "Appointment with the boss?"

"Yes." Raven answered tersely, eyeing the other workers sharply even though as far as Yang could tell they were… Just doing their thing. "She has something for me."

"Yeah?" The man sighed, eyes on his Scroll, "First I'm hearing…"

"It's a personal matter."

"Uh huh…" He sighed again, "Always is. Name?"

"Raven."

"Just Raven? That supposed to be-" He looked up as he talked, blinking slowly until his words trailed off and he blinked a few times, much more quickly. Shooting up, he scrambled away and snapped, "Oh fuck!"

"Indeed." Raven snapped, stepping a bit closer and half-drawing her sword. "Now, go and tell the little brat I'm here and want what's mine. And maybe I'll be on my way without finding something to entertain you more than that damn Scroll."

"Y-Yes, Chieftess!"

"It's Chief, the term's unisex!" She snarled after the retreating back, sighing and turning after a second. Yang blinked up at her and Raven grimaced, avoiding her gaze and rumbling a quiet, "What?"

"That… Was kinda badass."

"Yang!" Her dad scoffed, "Language…"

"It was, though, dad! And you've heard me say worse in spars." She rolled her eyes, ignoring her dad's weary sigh to ask. "Who even are you? I mean, really."

"I'm…" There was a split second where Raven looked torn, flicking a look to her dad who just stepped to Yang's side and crossed his arms, offering no support at all. Then she flicked Yang a look, bit her lip, and said, "I'm… An old friend of your dad's, and that's all that matters right now. That and that I'm here to help you."

"Right…" Yang sighed, unable to keep the disappointment out of her words.

None of them got to dwell in it, though, because the skinny man came stumbling back into view, avoiding Raven's glare while he stammered, "R-Right upstairs, to the right of the door. F-Follow the hall to the last door, C-Chief."

"Finally." Raven groused as she brushed past him, "Come on."

"Thanks." Tai added quietly as they passed him, "We appreciate the help."

"Ignore the blonde!" Raven called back, before she realised there were two of them and added, "Both of them! They're morons."

"Hey!" Yang complained, "What'd I do?"

"Ignore her." Tai advised her, "She's just showing affection."

"She is…?"

"I am not, Tai!" Raven snapped down the stairs as they turned past the door and started to climb them. "Fuck you, Tai."

"Hey," her dad said, "at least buy me dinner."

"Ew…" Tai just ruffled her hair and snorted while Yang pouted at the floor. Quietly, whether out of curiosity or a need for revenge, she wasn't sure, she asked, "I thought you and Uncle Qrow were a thing, old man…"

Her dad actually stumbled, grabbing the railing to right himself and stammering, "E-Excuse me?"

Raven just laughed while Yang shrugged and slipped past him, heading up to the landing while Raven held the door open. And smirked. Like a cat with a fish.

Raven lead them straight to an office at the end of a long hallway split by offices on one side and a long, open room thronged by people on the other. The furniture inside was old, but nice, with a long bookshelf to one side of the door and a gun rack stacked with three rifles Yang didn't recognize. A couch stretched along one of the walls, just under a long line of windows, while a fridge, counter-top and pot-bellied stove ran along the other.

And, in the back center, across a thick, rich red rug embroidered with a weathered symbol of Mistral, was a wide desk. A short one, too. Covered in papers, cans, cups and other crap like that, with a wide-screen computer right in the center. The woman behind it was young, too - twenty at best - with waist-length green hair tied in two braids laid down the front of her red dress, and bright emerald eyes that almost… Glowed, somehow, in the dim lighting. She had a thin scar on one pale cheek, but other than that, when she stood and smoothed out the lighter red blouse part of her dress, she seemed nearly flawless.

And, somehow, dangerous when her eyes flicked away from Raven and over to Yang, and then narrowed thoughtfully.

"My, Raven, is that little thing-"

"Irrelevant to you, Malachite." Raven snapped, sneering the word like a slur, almost, and holding out a hand. "You have what I demanded?"

"Ever the diplomat…"

"War is diplomacy by any other means." Raven rumbled lowly, "Care for a demonstration?"

"Tch. No, no… I'll ignore the brat, then, since you're so set on it." She sighed, turning and pulling out a binder as thick as Yang's arms that was waiting, hidden in one of the drawers Yang couldn't see on the other side of the wide desk. "A list of every person known to have been involved in the riots up in Mistral. Some were arrested, or were police or cadets, and have pictures. Others are just, you know, famous and have the same. Finally, if we know where you can expect to find them, there are notes in the margins. No guarantee for anyone outside the walls though."

"It'll help." She sighed, "Did you check for head injuries?"

"Of course I did, we're professionals, whether my cousins left the impression or not."

"Cousins that are already gone, I'm sure…" Raven growled as she passed the folder on to Tai. "Right?"

"Of course." Malachite nodded, "With that, our deal is done, and our organisations can… Set our differences aside, my sister trusts?"

"I am a woman of my word, Jade." Raven snapped, turning to leave and tossing a 'come on' at Yang and her dad.

Yang waited until they were out of the warehouse district, and headed toward an in by the gate on the other side of town, before she asked what their plan was now. Raven just shrugged and gave her dad a look. And he just shrugged, too, and handed her the folder as they went inside.

"Find a table while Raven gets us a room, and I get us food." Her dad instructed her, "Then you get to hit the books."

"Uuuugh, even out here I have homework…"

"Worth it, though." Her dad said as he turned, walking backwards towards the bar and spreading his hands out to either side. "Isn't it?"

She couldn't argue with that…

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Lea :

Yang is… Suspicious of shit. But introductions were never properly done, and Tai is lying badly purposefully on my part. He's entirely uninvested in Raven's secret keeping lmao. But, for now, Yang isn't rocking the boat for reasons explained a bit here - she doesn't wanna risk Blake.

Trust me, though - Yang isn't stupid, she knows stuff is up.

Ricardo :

Why Winter specifically? Genuinely curious.