Author's Notes:

Super sick today, hope the chapter doesn't lose any quality because of that. If you notice something off, it might be because I simply missed it being sick. Let me know.

Enjoy!

"Text/Messages"

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout, RWBY, or any associated characters

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory

Chapter 65: Bloody Rejection

In hindsight, maybe she had been a bit overconfident. Another full day of getting nowhere with anyone was really killing their morale. That was the first two days gone.

"This is hopeless," Weiss complained as she sprawled out on a bench. "No one will talk to us and there's no sign of him ever being here."

Ruby watched Weiss sprawl across a bench in the center of town. They were currently in a small square where merchants peddled their goods. Looking around, Ruby could see several stalls set up for the merchants who all eyed them wearily.

From what little they had gathered, this had been the town hall before a massive Grimm attack crushed it. The town hall had been moved after and the area cleared before being designated as a merchant zone.

Several guards were stationed around the area including a short-haired blond who kept glancing at them. If even Ruby noticed him, then she assumed that her sister had as well. She had a better eye for these kinds of things. She was curious what the guy wanted but he was around their age. And Ruby had no interest in getting involved in any sort of attention like that.

Besides, she had to focus on keeping her team motivated. They had asked the majority of people in town about the Mimic and the missing Huntsman, and all any of them had to say was that he disappeared to chase Grimm.

Ruby and her partner currently sat in the square, waiting for Yang and Blake to get done talking to a Faunus lady nearby. She had big bat ears and long hair that seemed to morph into said ears, both of which were white. Ruby had no doubt that under that long hair was a second set of ears as well.

"It's not hopeless Weiss," Ruby chastised as she watched her teammates talk with the merchant Faunus at her stall. "We just need to keep going. It's only been a couple days. We have a whole week and a half to figure this out."

Her response made her partner fall silent as they waited. Ruby watched intrigued as the merchant introduced another Faunus with excitement. While she couldn't make out what they were saying, she could see the fourth person.

They were also some kind of mammal-Faunus. Large leathery-black wings protruded from her back and fit well with her darker skin. Massive brown irises that took up almost all of her eyes were matched by a dark brown jacket. Underneath was a black tank top and matching black shorts. And unlike the other Faunus, she had shorter ear-length black hair.

Ruby couldn't help but have her curiosity peak and she stood up and walked over to get in on their conversation.

"This is Dawai, my sister, she's also new in town. Came to visit her dear older sister," the merchant said as she smiled at her sibling.

Taking a second look at the merchant, she wore a butcher's apron and sported a long curved white blade. Her skin was pale and her hair was white as snow, a stark contrast to her sister. Maybe they were half-siblings like her and Yang?

"Oh I know the feeling, actually," Yang replied as she spotted her sister lurking nearby. "Why don't I introduce you to my sister?" She waved Ruby over and the team leader could only pout at being caught.

Making her way to them, the group of girls smiled at her as she approached.

"Well, aren't you a cutie," the merchant replied as she reached out her hand. "I'm Alba, it's lovely to meet you."

"What type of weapon do you have?" Ruby replied while trying to hide her enthusiasm. Looking at her weapon more closely, it was definitely some kind of shift weapon!

"Ruby," Yang warned her as the merchant laughed.

"Don't worry," Alba got out between her chuckling. "It's nice to see someone so passionate. My little Hunter's Eye here is always up to be admired. She loves it."

Unholstering the curved blade at her side, the merchant brought it up and Ruby got to admire its beauty as the sunlight reflected off its edge. There were some intricate curves and she could spot the trigger to transform it at the handle of the blade. A bit similar to her uncle Qrow's in design.

When Alba pressed the trigger, half of the blade shot forward and down before twisting around. Once locked in place, a line shot out connecting the top and bottom halves of the curved blade, forming a short compound bow.

"If you haven't guessed already, I'm a hunter and butcher for Rhyt. I go into the wilderness and bring something back to eat." As she explained it, Ruby watched as she drew the bow back, watching the bowstring stretch inside the slots it was connected to. It probably had some sort of motor that could pull it back when transforming.

"So cool!" Ruby squealed as she got closer to the object of her awe.

"Your sister… Is she always like this?" The other Faunus questioned, earning a shrug from Yang.

A soft voice spoke out, breaking up the nice break for Ruby. "This is… Nice," Blake began with a quiet tone. "But I was wondering if we could ask you questions about the missing Huntsman?"

The line of questioning made the merchant stall for a moment. Ruby saw her muscles tense for a split second before relaxing as she replied, "I'm afraid I won't be of much help there. He came here, helped repel some Grimm with Joshua, then left to go hunt down some more Grimm."

"Who's Joshua?" Yang questioned as the other sister seemed to get intrigued as well.

Alba's smile became brittle as her eyes darted away. "Just some guy that lived here for a while, don't know much about him. He didn't talk to me much…" She paused for a few moments before shrugging and continuing, "All I can say is he left a while back."

But Blake seemed keen on getting more info on this point. "What did he look like?" The Cat-Faunus questioned as she took a step forward. Suddenly far more interested in the conversation.

Seeing her sister's growing discomfort, Dawai stepped in front of them, placing herself between them and Alba. "Alright, that's enough questions for now. I want to catch up with my sister if you don't mind."

Blake took another step forward but stopped when the Bat-Faunus placed a hand at her hip, revealing a very similar sword to her sister's but black in coloration.

"Alright, alright, we get the message." Yang chimed in as she placed a hand on Blake's shoulder.

But Ruby was focused on something else, something she just couldn't get her mind off of. And since it didn't seem like they were going to get any more useful information…

The Huntress darted forward, surprising the two Faunus as she held her hands together and asked, "How does your weapon work? Oh, and can you fly?"

The Faunus in question tensed and looked down at her confused. But after processing her questions, Dawai chuckled before relaxing.

"Same as my sister's. And at best, if I jump from a high enough place, I can glide on my own." She shrugs and shakes her head. "It means I won't ever fall to my death if I have enough distance at least. It also means that my bones are more brittle and likely to break too."

Ruby couldn't help the disappointed look that crossed her face. Faunus with wings were so rare! It would be cool if they really could fly like in the fairytales!

"But," the woman continued, noticing her sad expression. "There is a tool that can help me fly." This widened the Huntress' eyes as the Faunus grabbed an item from a bag behind the merchant's stand.

"This," the woman continued as she produced some kind of grey and round cylindrical device with straps on it. "Is an Atlesian Jump Pack. It has some official name I didn't bother to remember."

Ruby watched as the woman placed the jump pack on her back and wrapped the straps around her arms and torso. Several hugged around her arms and upper body, creating a sort of strap-cage that tightened around her chest. All the while she explained the thing's purpose.

"This jump pack is usually used in short bursts to propel its user up or descend gracefully to the ground. Prolonged use for most people isn't recommended as it's nearly impossible to control. But I'm not just anyone."

The Faunus flared her large black leathery wings out to her sides. They were a massive eight feet in length. It was probably a huge pain to get around in her daily life with those even when she folded them. Only just now did Ruby realize that those big brown eyes and sharp features were accompanied by large canines as well. Dawai looked almost like a vampyre from one of her fairytales! One of the creatures of the night said to suck the Aura from Huntresses!

With a sudden rush of energy and a wink towards Ruby, Dawai blasted off, Dust ejecting from her pack as she flew into the air. At the crest of her ascension, she flared her wings and used the change in momentum to turn herself so she was stomach down towards the ground. From there she flew–or glided as she put it–at a quick pace. Slowly, she began to lower towards the ground as she continued. But every time she fell too much, she'd give another boost of Dust to angle herself back up.

Once she was at the edge of town—which took her maybe twenty seconds to reach—Dawai turned and glided back down towards them. It took her another bit to get back and as she neared the ground she turned her body upwards. With feet facing toward their position, she ejected a smaller amount of Dust to slow her descent before landing with grace next to them.

"Pretty cool huh?" She asked while turning towards the group and undoing the straps.

Ruby felt her muscles shaking as she tried to contain herself. That was awesome and amazing! Stupendous, super ultra cool, she wished she could do that! How did the device work? Were her wings simply too weak to lift her themselves? If she unlocked her Aura, would she be able to do that by herself?

"Yeah, pretty cool," Yang replied as she placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. The younger sister couldn't understand why she did until she noticed the look Yang was giving her. That was the 'please don't do anything strange look' that Yang often gave her.

"Thanks," the woman replied as she put the jump pack back into her bag. While she did so, Ruby noticed a kid with red hair staring at them. Or was it the bat Faunus he was staring at? Oh, she had an idea!

"Thanks for the awesome demonstration, I hope I get to talk to you again before I leave, bye!" Ruby said her goodbyes as she darted past the Faunus with gusto, moving over to the boy who was no older than eleven staring at them. Her speed made the kid flinch but as his gaze turned towards her. Oh, he had red hair and red eyes, he must have a fiery personality!

She heard Yang say something behind her about being rude but Ruby was too focused on a new opportunity for knowledge!

"Hey!" She greeted with a wave. "I'm Ruby, and I'm new in town. I was wondering if I could ask a few questions?"

The boy turned towards her and Ruby felt something was wrong. His pale thin frame was covered by faded jeans and a white torn t-shirt. Dirt adorned him and his hair was unkempt in a wild mess. Other than the general poor hygiene that the boy appeared to keep, his dull red eyes made Ruby nervous for some reason. It was like he didn't see her but only registered that she was talking. She had a hard time describing it, if instructor House was there, she was sure he would have been able to.

"No," the boy replied with an even expression before turning away and gazing at Dawai's wings again.

Ruby swallowed a lump in her throat as she quickly came to a couple conclusions. The first being, that wherever this kid lived, it wasn't good. The second being he wanted to be left alone.

Steeling her nerves, Ruby persisted. "Not even a few questions about Huntresses?"

The boy's eyes flickered towards her once more, this time seeming to actually focus on her. She wasn't sure she liked his gaze.

"You want to know about the Huntsman that disappeared? Then ask Carmine and leave me alone." His answer was still neutral but his phrasing was anything but.

Wait, Carmine? Where had she heard that name before? Ruby picked apart her memories as she felt someone tug on her shoulder.

"Rubes, c'mon, let's just go," Yang said, saving Ruby from a very awkward conversation as she guided her back over to the bench Weiss was sitting at.

As they approached, Blake walked over as well, glancing toward Yang as she explained, "Alba said that kid's name is Cerise. The only orphan in the town. Apparently, he appeared from nowhere and the townspeople have been sharing the responsibility of taking care of him since. Letting him stay at different places around town and giving him food when needed."

"But no one has actually taken responsibility for him?" Weiss questioned with a frown on her face.

"Does that really surprise you?" Yang countered with a frown to match Weiss'. "I don't mean to be rude, wait… Yes I do. This town sucks and it's no surprise he's been out of a home."

Carmine… Carmine. Where had she heard Carmine before? Ruby just couldn't place her finger on it…

"Should we take him with us?" Blake offered. "We could get him to an actual orphanage in Vale."

Yang grimaced and shook her head. "I mean, maybe? I don't know, he's not very sociable. And I mean he didn't even want to talk to us."

"That doesn't mean we can just leave him," Weiss countered as she crossed her arms. "It's our responsibility as Huntresses to help those in need."

"Hey, where did we hear Carmine before?" All three of her other teammates turned towards Ruby as she spoke, their conversation interrupted. They took a few moments to process her question before one of them replied.

"That was the girl that was with House at Beacon," Blake offered and Ruby felt an alarm bell go off in her head.

"Right!" Not wasting any time, Ruby tapped the side of her head as she explained, "I couldn't remember. But that kid sure did. He said there was a person named Carmine here!"

Both Yang and Blake turned to her, their faces lighting up. "Finally, a lead," Yang almost shouted as she pumped her fist.

"We'll have to ask around, but I think Carmine will be easy to find even if everyone here refuses to tell us," Blake commented as she glanced at the buildings around them in this merchant district. "At the very least, they probably won't be around here."

However, Ruby noticed that Weiss didn't appear as enthusiastic as the three of them. Her lips were set in a thin line as she thought about something.

"You okay Weiss?" Ruby questioned, snapping Weiss out of her trance.

"Of course Ruby," her partner replied. The response was just a little too quick for Ruby's liking. "Just thinking about how to find them is all."

"Well, we're not going to find them sitting around here, let's go!" Yang shouted as she turned towards Ruby. "After you."

Ruby trusted her partner, so instead of pressuring her, the team leader turned and began walking towards the houses that lined the different parts of town. She hoped everything was okay…

Exploring the town, they found it more difficult than they thought to track down Carmine. Many of the townspeople refused to talk to them but even the ones that did seemed to almost spit on Carmine's name. These people really were cruel.

After finally finding a lead after almost three days of nothing, they felt hope. Only to have it dashed by the town's incessant need to be cruel.

Ruby sighed and rubbed her eyes. It was already starting to get later in the day. They'd need to pack it in soon. Glancing back, Ruby could see that the rest of her team wasn't in good spirits either, irritation adorning most of their faces.

The only thing they had learned was that Carmine was a girl, which was a good start, but that didn't tell them where she lived. It wasn't anywhere near the square at least. If they didn't find her today, they'd have to go door to door tomorrow to do so. While not hard given there were four of them, it would waste more time.

Turning her eyes forward as her team trudged on, Ruby spotted two figures standing near the outer walls of the town. Both wore the leather brown armor of Rhyt's Guard.

One was a blond skinny man who looked to be entirely zoning out as he stared off into the distance. A green cap rested on his head that matched his eyes. Was that the person she saw staring at them earlier?

The other was a Faunus with small, round, and brown ears sticking out of his head. They looked fluffy to Ruby's tired mind but she knew better than to try and pet them. His brown eyes were scanning the area with a neutral expression on his face.

Deciding to keep going despite the day's failures, Ruby marched over to the two with her team in tow. "Hi there!" She greeted in her best chipper voice. But even she could hear the cracks while waving at them.

The two guards turned towards her as she greeted them. One matched her smile while the other glared at her.

"Hey yourself," the blond guard responded as he outstretched his hand for her to take. "The name is Larry, Larry Oran." While speaking, Larry tipped his green hat to her with his free hand.

Taking his hand, she found his grip surprisingly firm as he continued, "This grump next to me is James. Don't mind him, just like everyone else here, he doesn't like outsiders."

"Why is that?" Yang piped in as Ruby felt her arm slowly grow numb as the man continued to shake her hand vigorously.

"Well," the man responded as he finally let her hand go. Ruby nursed her hand close to her chest as she felt blood flow returning to her limb. "The town is made of mostly refugees and soldiers who left the Kingdoms for various reasons. They have reasons to dislike the Kingdoms and people from them. Not to mention Huntsmen never stop by here."

Before he could continue, an elbow dug into the guard's side from his partner. The Faunus shot Larry a scolding look to which the latter rolled his eyes.

Sensing the distrust, Ruby watched as Blake stepped forward to get a bit more information. "We're just looking for where Carmine lives, can you point us in that direction?"

Larry glanced towards his partner for permission, and much to Ruby's surprise, James nodded his agreement after looking over at Blake. Was it really just because Blake was a Faunus? That was convenient!

"Sure, it's supposed to be the smithy, but we call it the workshop. When it comes to making equipment, Richter is the best in town." His words got a raised brow from Weiss.

His gaze turned and he pointed towards the edge of town, near the northern gate. "Head north and look for a big chimney. You can't miss it."

"Well… Thanks!" Ruby appreciated what he said, even if she was completely blindsided by it. After having everyone in town turn them down, finding someone like Larry was nice. Though she was curious why people would leave the Kingdoms like that? Sure, the White Fang had seen the worst of humanity, but a lot of the people in Rhyt were humans too.

Ruby turned to walk away, getting a few feet before the guard called out to her again. When she turned, Ruby felt a piece of paper slip into her hand as Larry said, "I think you dropped this."

"I didn't-"

"Anyways, hey J-J, what're we doing for food?" Larry cut her off as he walked back over to his fellow guard. The Faunus in question sighed before pulling out his scroll.

Ruby sat there for a few moments before looking down at her hand. A small slip of paper had been stuck there with a single phrase scrawled on it.

"Check in the woods East of town."

Well, that was ominous! But it was also a lead. In fact, now that she thought about it, this was almost like one of the books Blake read once. With intrigue and mystery. And now that they had a couple of leads, this was actually kind of fun!

Ruby let out a quiet "yes" before turning and running towards her team. "I got another clue to investigate after we see Carmine!"

With renewed spirits, Ruby walked up to the door of the smithy! She wondered what lay inside, did it look like Beacon's workshop? Maybe they'd get to meet a grizzled Huntsman! At least, she expected that from the stone and wooden house that they approached. Its brown wood contrasted with the stone base, and a giant billowing chimney rested on top.

Knocking twice, Ruby heard her partner call out from behind her. "Ruby, try not to be too over-the-top when talking to them."

Right, she was practically shaking in place from the energy she felt. Taking a calming breath in, Ruby forced her body to be still as the door opened.

"Hello there!" Ruby greeted as an older man stepped into view. Trying to gauge his age, she wasn't sure but he was definitely older than her dad and uncle Qrow, but he wasn't ancient yet either. She'd guess anywhere between thirty and sixty.

What? She wasn't good with guessing ages!

"Little Lake, were you expecting visitors?" The older man called out as he turned away from them. As he did, Ruby took a glance at his clothing. Faded jeans with a red and black flannel shirt, something that had fallen out of Vale's style years ago, and brown boots. Ruby could almost picture a rustic hat sitting on top of his greying hair.

What really caught her attention was the metallic grey arm that matched his short beard in color. It looked top quality, almost Atlesian military, though Ruby wasn't super knowledgeable about prosthetics. It was attached from the elbow down and his flannel shirt had been rolled up to reveal it.

"No!" A younger and feminine voice called out from further in the house.

When the older man's gaze turned back to them, it was with a slightly harder expression. "What can I do for you ladies?" He asked, his tone polite but holding an edge to it.

"We were hoping to… Ask Carmine a few questions about the Huntsman that disappeared? And maybe about another person?" Ruby offered, doing her best to maintain her composure as the man's face scrunched up and he loomed over her.

"No," the man replied as Yang moved forward. His eyes moved to the blonde as his brows furrowed and a frown appeared on his face.

Keeping a neutral tone, Yang held up a hand as she replied, "Please, we just need to ask a few questions. It's for an official Beacon investigation."

"I said no," the man reiterated as his tone lowered a few levels. Gripping one hand on the door handle, he continued, "If you go near my daughter, it will be me you answer to. Bother someone else."

The older man then promptly slammed the door in their faces and all of the positive energy her team had built up evaporated. It looked like they were out of a clue.

"Why!?" Blake finally shouted in frustration. "Why protect someone like that? Why stop us from doing the right thing?"

Yang sighed as she placed a hand on her forehead. "I really don't know, you would think that they'd want to be rid of the Mimic."

Weiss was the only one who seemed to be thinking rather than being frustrated. She crossed one arm over the other and raised a finger to her chin.

"What if," Ruby's partner began, "helping us hurts them?"

Ruby blinked, what? How?

"How?" Ruby voiced her question as she felt a headache coming on.

Holding her finger out towards Ruby, Weiss continued, "Maybe they're being blackmailed, maybe revealing that information incriminates them? Maybe they just don't want that kind of attention here, if they're all trying to get away from the Kingdoms…"

Those… Were valid points. Ruby could see how a town this far out, wanting to be left alone, would see them snooping around as trouble. And if they did expose the Mimic, that would be a lot of publicity for the town. Publicity that maybe they don't want?

"Ah, why does this have to be so complicated?" Yang complained as she leaned back and ran a hand through her hair.

Blake gave her partner a glance, staring at her in thought before responding, "I… Think you might have a point… I didn't mean to-" She stopped and closed her eyes. Taking a couple breaths in, she opened them and continued, "Maybe we should turn in. It's late, and we can explore the forest tomorrow."

Deciding to step in as team leader, Ruby smiled as she spoke up, "Sounds like a plan Blake. It'll give us a bit to get out of this funk too! Team RWBY, to bed!" The girl shouted with as much enthusiasm as she could muster before darting off for the inn.

Turning her gaze back, Ruby could see her teammates smiling and following along with her antics. That was good enough for her.

Author's Notes:

I was reading through and found that winged Faunus already exist. Somehow, I missed that little tidbit. It's not overly explored how flight would work for Faunus so I did my best to explain it in this chapter.

As for the two sisters, Solidus is their shared last name and vaguely means "Slash." They both deal in specialized sword types but neither has Aura. Both are Bat Faunus.

Alba Solidus, the merchant of Rhyt, is a more outgoing individual. Her name is a bastardized version of Ectophylla Alba, a type of white bat. I'll let you come to your own conclusions about her name from there.

Dawai Solidus. The sister visiting the merchant. More reserved, also a blade-bow fighter. No Aura. Her name is derived from Dawaco which means dark fox. However, she's a bat Faunus and her name is an allusion to the Dark Fruit Bat which is also nicknamed the "Dark Flying Fox".

They're both based on the Wolf and the Fox fairytale (albeit loosely).