The late summer air lulled past Azure's face. He watched the city contently as it bustled with life. The golden rays of sunshine stretched over his whole body as he wandered, Valerie having joined him on his adventure. Wonder shone in her eyes as she took in the sights.
With academy students back from their team missions, the whole kingdom was teeming with activity. The Vytal Festival was in full swing. The celebration spanned the city, no expense spared. The parades and parties, along with the multi week fighting tournaments, were in full swing.
KRME had decided to do their own thing for the day. Azure, encountering Valerie on his way off campus, decided to invite the bluenette on his activity on a whim. She happily accepted, of course. Currently, the pair were checking out the various stalls in the streets of the city, Valerie procuring a modest sized helping of cotton candy she munched on.
"Mmm, this was definitely a good idea," the young woman grinned, "can't remember the last time I had some good festival fare!"
"Glad you're having fun, Val."
"Glad you invited me!"
Azure nodded, smiling gently. Valerie offered him some of her snack, and he broke off a piece to enjoy.
"Sooooo your mission," Valerie said, "how'd that go?"
The question earned a dry chuckle from the half breed.
"It was, ah, a time."
"Oof. Was it that bad?"
"Not exactly."
"Well then please, regale me, good sir. I'm most curious."
At her insistence, Azure recounted the week-long mission KRME undertook to Valerie. He told her about when they had first met Laurel, the family they were hired to escort, the close encounters with both the Bunyip and Tailypo Grimm, and a bit of the tense moments that happened during said time of the mission. Though, he decided to not spill all the details of that part of the story. Especially regarding Rember's episodes. Valerie listened in earnest, asking occasional questions that Azure answered.
"Good gravy," she remarked after Azure finished his recount. "That's…eventful. I'm happy you all made it back safe."
"Mmm."
"Is everyone okay?"
"As well as we can be," Azure replied. "Jad and I are fine. As far as I can tell, Gayle's alright. And Rem is getting better now that we've finished the mission."
"Laurel really rattled her, huh?"
"Mhm, though she made sure not to play favorites when calling us out."
"I see…"
"Don't worry about it. Showed us just how far we have to grow."
"That's one way to look at it."
The young man turned to his company with questioning eyes. "What about you? What was your mission like?"
"Oh! Honestly? It was far more boring than yours," Valerie admitted. "We picked a request for lost Dust cargo retrieval. So the girls and I followed our Huntress and we were done in a handful of days."
"So you found the Dust, then?"
"Weeeellll…Not exactly. We found what was left of the crates it was housed in. And with no other leads, the mission was considered suspended indefinitely."
Azure pondered quietly. Dust robberies had really been ramping up the last few months. However, the boy remembered the news broadcasting the authorities finally put a face on the mastermind behind the crimes: Roman Torchwick. The crook the halfbreed confronted at the beginning of the school year was currently in custody under the Atlas Military. Apparently, a small militia force of White Fang members were in cahoots with Torchwick, rigging a decrepit train with Dust laced explosives and sending the locomotive on a long abandoned underground railway that was connected to the kingdom in times past. When it hit a sealed off train stop, a horde of subterranean Grimm managed to infest the city streets and endanger the public. Thankfully, a collection of students and staff from Beacon were there to keep the damage under control.
"You get a pass anyway?" Azure asked, and Valerie responded with a succinct nod.
The two teens continued small talking while Azure guided them on. When Valerie asked if the halfblood had any particular destination in mind, he only answered with a simple 'wait and see'. It wasn't until the unfamiliar aroma of burnt dust and metal did Valerie see what their destination was. A modest looking shop, advertised in metalwork and smithing, lay before them. Valerie stayed close by while they entered, the ringing of a bell on the door was replaced by the rhythmic banging of metal on metal. Adorning the walls were various weapons and armor, each more intricate and impressive than the last. Azure made their presence known, as no one was present in the front room, and the metallic clanging ceased from the backroom. The teens waited patiently for the proprietor of the shop to greet them.
Coming into view, smeared with dirt and grime, was Laurel. The woman's eyes filled with momentary surprise before she was all business.
"Well, well," the woman stated, "I didn't think I would be seeing your face anytime soon."
"Hello, Laurel."
"To what do I owe the visit? I was sure you and your team had washed your hands of me."
"Hah. Rem would probably keep it that way."
"Indeed." Laurel huffed dryly. The huntress' body language softened momentarily, asking a mellower "How is she?"
"Better."
"Good to hear."
Valerie watched quietly as the two conversed. The Huntress looked exactly as Azure had described her, though she took note of just how defined her musculature was. Laurel's flight suit was tied around her waist, showing the cloth sarashi keeping her chest bound. Not to mention the woman had hips that could kill. Valerie could feel the weight of Laurel's commanding presence.
"Alright, enough niceties," Laurel stated. "Talk business. I'm sure you didn't just come here for a temporary date stop to show off your girlfriend."
The assumption made Azure flinch in a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.
"We aren't dating." he reflexively answered, only to hear Valerie take the comment in stride, feeling her impish look behind him.
"We aren't? Well we could change that if you would just ask me~" the young lady noted, tone gilded in honey.
"I'll keep you posted."
"Tease. You know it's rude to keep a lady waiting. I might change my tune if you take too long."
"Oh, the horror."
"Aww. Cute~ You act like I'm the first that's flirted with you."
"Mmm."
"Hee. Well if you need more 'firsts', you know you don't need to be shy~"
Valerie broke out into giggles when seeing the unimpressed stare of her friend; It was just too fun not to tease him.
"Anyways," Azure said, procuring a folded piece of paper and handing it to Laurel, "I'm here to request a custom order."
Laurel nimbly took what she was given and unfolded the paper. She studied what exactly she was looking at before addressing the young man.
"This is for you?"
Azure nodded.
"And just what have you prepared for recompense?"
"I have the means to obtain funds. How long would it take for everything to be completed?"
"A few months, most likely. Maybe more. I won't do anything unless you can give me a downpayment first, however."
Azure hummed. He could work with that. After Laurel estimated a quote for him, the half faunus gave the first installment of payment. The Huntress asked if Valerie was interested in buying or ordering anything, to which she politely declined, but said if something came up, here would be her first stop.
"I take it you both will be competing in the tourney later?" Laurel asked. Both of them nodded.
"We have our respective matches in our own pool groups to determine if we get into the main school bracket throughout the week." Azure said.
"Yeah. Main thing this week is the duo and single side tourneys being run." Valerie added.
"I see. I'll be sure to tune in when you are participating then."
With business concluded, the teens said their goodbyes and turned to leave, Laurel calling out to Azure that she would be in touch with any updates to his commission. Once back on the street, Valerie smiled her playful smirk, Azure looking at her with curious eyes.
"What?"
"Don't worry about it. Just being entertained by your cuteness."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me~ Your bashfulness while trying to play it cool is cute!"
"Uh huh. Is this fun for you, Val?"
"Oh, immensely! But if it ever gets too much, let me know, okay?"
"It's fine. Wouldn't want to spoil your fun."
"Awwww, you're sweet. Lookit you, losing that rough exterior."
"Sure."
"Between you and me though, I wouldn't mind a little roughness~"
"...You've been talking with Jad again, haven't you?"
"Hehe, he does have some quality lines, I'll admit."
"Uh, Gayle? Can I…talk to you?"
Rember's ear flicked uncomfortably as she spoke, her tone hesitant.
Gayle blinked, bemused. "Of course."
The two girls walked for a few minutes before coming to rest near the fountain where Rember had found Thistlebutt all those weeks ago. Once they had arrived there, Rember sat on the edge of the fountain, Gayle copying her after a moment's hesitation.
"What's up, Ber?" Gayle asked.
"I, um…I owe you an apology. For how I acted on our mission," Rember replied. "I was a bitch, and I'm sorry."
Gayle frowned uncharacteristically.
"I appreciate and accept your apology," she said. "But I wish you'd just talked to me about whatever was wrong."
Rember grimaced. "I know, I'm such a hypocrite. I gave Azure such a hard time about keeping things to himself, but I did the exact same thing. I just…the only way I know how to prevent someone from getting hurt when I'm like that is by isolating myself. By shutting up and keeping my head down. I'm not proud of it."
Gayle put a reassuring hand on Rember's shoulder and studied her facial expression. The fox girl looked like she was trying to hold herself together, and having a hard time doing it. Whatever had been bothering her on their trip was still bothering her.
"Ber, what's wrong? Even I can tell that something's not right, and I have terrible perception of social cues," Gayle said with a small smirk.
Rember frowned and stared at the ground.
"I'm not really sure," she admitted. "It…there's a lot. I'm still trying to figure it all out. I just…all the shit with Azure, Lupin coming back, Wisteria watching us, and then Azure and Jad getting hurt, and Laurel breathing down our necks, and then the Grimm…it all just adds up. And I don't know what to do about it. I don't know how to not boil over from it all."
"I agree that it's a lot, and I know I'm not experiencing everything that you are right now," Gayle told her, "but you don't need to shut us out. We're a team. We're family."
Rember rubbed her left shoulder.
"I didn't tell you the full story about Lupin," she muttered. "I told Azure the day we dueled, but I didn't tell you and Jad."
"You don't have to if you don't want to," her teammate said.
"No, I want to. It's just…hard."
The girls fell into silence for a moment, but eventually Rember took a deep breath. She pushed aside her gear to reveal her brand. Gayle studied it, confused.
"Pretty," she commented.
Rember shook her head and covered it again.
"I could never use that word to describe it," she stated. "I told you how the White Fang tried to recruit me, but that wasn't all they did."
Shaking slightly, she told Gayle the story of Lupin, her branding, and Fuschia Blair. She was crying by the end of it, but not uncontrollably.
"Seeing him again," she sniffed, "it just brought everything back. All that pain and misery and grief…it's just been stewing inside me. And then at the dance I talked to him again, and found out he's here with the White Fang again…"
"Ber, I'm so sorry," Gayle comforted. "That's a lot for anyone. I can't say I understand, but I can see why you've been so upset."
Rember sniffed again, wiping a hand across her face to get rid of some of the tears.
"Can I give you a hug?"
Rember shrugged, and Gayle gave her a side hug. The two girls sat in silence for a while, just listening to the fountain and the small wildlife that were nearby.
"Thank you for telling me all that," Gayle said after a while.
"It's past time I was honest with you," Rember murmured, rubbing her shoulder. "And I really was acting like a bitch in the forest."
"Here you are, Lady of Stories. Just as promised."
Amused, the school's librarian accepted the returned novels she was given. Standing tall, Jad gave a warm smile, waiting while the older woman fetched another book for him in exchange.
"Burned through these rather fast, didn't you?" the librarian commented.
"What can I say? My partner knows my tastes."
"How is Miss Mensthe? She hasn't been with you the last few times you've come by for more books."
"Busy with studiousness, as usual. She was burning the candle at both ends in preparation for midterms. Then we had the dance, and for our first mission we spent nigh a week away from civilization. So now is some brief recuperation time before we go knock some heads in the arena."
"Ahh, I see. Well, I'll be sure to set aside your next book orders when you come back to return these."
Jad tipped his hat, smiling appreciatively. Tucking away the novels, the young man retreated to the upper floors of the library, close to where Gayle had invited him not that long ago. He found a comfy spot where he could tear open the first tome in his possession, and began earnestly reading its contents.
It was funny. Jad never had much interest in novel reading before joining the team. Any kind of stories he learned were passed onto him orally and committed to memory. But his partner was an avid consumer of literature, and the curiosity of it had ensnared him from the first book Gayle got for him. Now, it was another avenue of relaxation and reflection, and Jad always appreciated that.
On a whim, the ginger peered down to see the goings on at ground level. He was a good few chapters in when the compulsion hit, scanning for signs of activity.
Well hello there…
Near the entryway, all by her lonesome, was a young woman Jad had never seen before. Her face was fair, with loose, curly chestnut brown hair woven in a tight braid. A pair of small antlers protruded from her head, with eyes vibrant and deep as the ocean. The uniform she wore was of Atlas Academy make, and she made it look good. Jad had half a mind to get up out of his seat and go introduce himself to such a beautiful creature. Yet, just as quickly as she graced his sight, she was gone, heading out of the library. The fleeting glimpse of such a breathtaking maiden burned itself into Jad's mind, and he quickly gave up trying to pick back up on reading after failing to re engage himself in his book. So there he sat, waiting on his next whims of fancy, and if he would follow them.
To the boy's surprise, he heard light footsteps heading toward him. Looking in the appropriate direction, he saw a familiar fox faunus approaching him, body language portraying uncharacteristic meekness.
"Heya, Foxy. You and the Pipsqueak done with your outing?"
Rember nodded.
"Jad, can I talk to you?"
The redheaded boy arched an eyebrow. "What about?" he asked.
"About the other day. During the mission."
"Feeling the need to mend some broken bridges?"
Rember nodded.
"No need, Foxy. If Gayle forgives you, then we're all good."
Rember's brow furrowed. "But I-"
"You have personal junk going on," Jad interrupted with a shrug. "I get it."
"I still need to apologize. How I acted wasn't okay, and-"
"I know, Foxy. I know. What's important is that you know what you did, you're working through it, and you won't do it again, right?"
"I can't guarantee it won't happen again, but I'll try."
"Good enough then, as long as you apologize to Pipsqueak too," the boy said.
"I already talked to her," Rember told him.
"Then we're good." Jad assured, lightly patting his teammate on the back. "Remember: People are…?" he trailed off with a grin, and Rember giggled at the comical face.
"Stupid."
"Exactly~!"
A jovial piano tune lulled into Lupin's ears when he entered through the door of the establishment known as 'The Jangled Man'. Straightening his jacket, he took in the elegant surroundings. Part of him kept asking himself what the hell he was doing here, but here he was. Quickly identifying the requestor for his summons, the tall wolf faunus approached the piano tucked off in one of the room's corners with someone sitting upon the bench. At the young man's approach, the pianist momentarily halted and lit up with a perfect smile when the two met eyes.
"There he is! Just who I wanted to see!" the pianist exclaimed, and Lupin nodded in response.
Creed Noir. The more…friendly of Starr's teammates. The raven haired boy had made good on asking Lupin for a moment to 'pick his brain', and to the wolf boy's ire, he couldn't find a good enough excuse to decline. That led to now, and Lupin was already ready to leave.
"Well don't stand there like a bump on a log. Sit down, sit down!" Creed insisted upon seeing the wariness of his company. Lupin pulled up a chair, leaving a comfortable few feet between them.
"So…" the wolf faunus ventured, "was there something you needed?"
"Needed? I wouldn't say I need anything from you, per se…" Creed answered, smile ever vibrant, "I just would like to get to know the person that Wisteria has taken a shine to."
"Really?"
"Indeed! And let me be honest, the fact she's opened up to you as fast as she has is no small feat on your part. She's never liked people."
"All I did was just be myself."
"So I've gathered," the snake faunus hummed, "but you've really helped perk up her mood. So as one who's been with her for a while: Thank you."
Lupin studied Creed with an unreadable stare. Something about Creed just didn't feel right, but he couldn't pinpoint anything in particular. Creed's body language, and his candor, seemed genuine and appreciative on a surface level, but Lupin's gut instinct told him to be wary. It had told him since the first time he had laid eyes on the snake faunus. For now, the wolf faunus simply answered with a simple 'it was nothing' and waited to see how Creed guided the conversation.
"So I must know," Creed spoke up as he turned to resume playing piano, "did you manage to pin down Starr for that one infiltration mission the ladies were going on?"
Lupin guffawed at the question. The remark was all Creed needed for an answer, chuckling to himself.
"She's quite the tough nut to crack, isn't she?" the snake faunus mused.
"Just need to know where to hit, in my experience."
"Ooo! I sense history. You two have always been like this?"
Lupin hummed; Creed certainly didn't waste any time digging for random info…
"I mean…we're siblings. Anything more than that would need more time than we probably have today."
Creed laughed heartily at the remark, and Lupin chuckled along with him.
"Fair enough, good sir. But as one who shares in the pleasure of taking the wind out of your sister's sails, I insist you give me the dirt."
"I'll let you know if I think of anything specific."
For a moment, Lupin watched as the young man in front of him played the piano. He was definitely talented, fingers dexterously and precisely striking the keys to weave an alluring melody. It made him wonder when Creed had developed such a talent. To his surprise, Creed seemed to be aware of the curious look he was receiving.
"Hmm~ Feels good to play the old ivory again. It's really been too long…"
"When did you learn to play?"
"Oh, a long, long time ago. One of the small bright spots of my early youth."
"Before you joined the White Fang?"
"Aye, yes…" Creed answered, his tone touched with nostalgia. "But those memories largely deserve to be forgotten. I won't bore you with that. Insteeeeeaaad~" the young man suddenly swiveled around to address Lupin, dragging a hand on the piano keys, "I wanna know about this old friend you're trying to rekindle the magic with!"
Warning bells sounded in Lupin's head.
"Why so curious?"
"Well, with Wisteria and I pursuing a similar endeavor, I wanted to see just how the surprisingly kindred spirit was doing with his own. Oh, and Wisteria told me. We're tight knit like that."
Lupin shifted in his seat. He finally pinpointed just what was bothering him about Creed. He was just too…friendly. Too willing to ask for personal details, regardless of whether they were sensitive topics or not. That was the way he interpreted it for now, at least.
With the mention of 'old friend', all the regrets he was harbored about Rember came flooding to the forefront of his mind. Maybe he should just accept that there was nothing he could do to mend the relationship, and he should respect the fox faunus' wishes in leaving her be.
"It's complicated," was all he said.
Creed nodded soberly, placing a hand on Lupin's shoulder like he was offering comfort. "That's a shame. Chin up, though. I'm sure if you stick with it, things will go your way."
"We'll see."
"Listen: if you need anything–anything at all–know you have both Wisteria and me in your corner. Friendly faces in the White Fang have become a rarity nowadays."
"I'll…be sure to remember that." Lupin answered, slowly removing Creed's hand while fighting the crawling sensation the contact caused. "Listen, I would love to stay and chat, but I do actually have a meeting with my team about our newest orders."
It was a quickly thought up lie, but maybe Creed would get the hint he didn't want to stay for too much longer.
"Oh! You don't say?" Creed asked, surprised, "Well if that's true I wouldn't want to keep you and have the top brass get on your case. Please, don't wait on my account! I'm sure we'll have more time in the future~"
Lupin got to his feet. The handsome wolf faunus bade his goodbyes and consciously tried to leave in a relaxed manner, only to freeze when he heard Creed call out for him.
"Azure Knyte!"
Lupin cocked his head, and glanced over his shoulder as Creed repeated "Azure Knyte! That's who our team is looking for! He's at Beacon. I'm sure I can count on you to tell either Wisteria or me if you hear anything?"
Lupin looked away and said nothing, just nodding his head. He headed for the entrance as casually as he could. Behind him, Creed waved goodbye with his cheerful smile until he knew the faunus was good and gone, body relaxing whilst concluding his act.
"Yes, keep your guard up, mister bleeding heart," Creed sneered, "It's more fun for me that way…"