Cuts of RWBY

A RWBY Fic Collection by AndrewJTalon

DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and ViZ. Please support the official release.

Our final entry for Blake's Birthday week: Arslan, our Faunus Catgirl Nun, speaks with Blake about forgiveness and faith.

The cathedral on Beacon's grounds had stood for centuries. The original building was constructed during the heyday of the First Emerald Dynasty as a place to worship The Brother Gods, but that changed during the accession of the Third Emerald Dynasty with the arrival of the ship known as The Dawn Chaser: the ship traditionally believed to be the first vessel to circumnavigate the world, though some historians dispute this.

The Dawn Treader carried several missionaries seeking to spread the good news of The Table Breaker, and many members of the royal family believed the teachings of these missionaries. As a result the house of worship was remodeled into a Church of The Broken Table.

Yet over the centuries, as the King of Vale abdicated and more power went to the city rather than Beacon, the cathedral had fallen into disuse. The faith itself was strong and vibrant, but without a royal family at the castle, it had fallen into disuse. It was preserved by charity and the students, but seldom opened save for Yuletide celebrations.

Here, Arslan Altan knelt in front of the broken table statue in the sanctuary. Her head was bowed in prayer.

Her ears twitched very slightly. She sucked in a slow, low breath.

"There is no need to hide," she spoke, the acoustics of the church carrying her voice far, "None can hide from God, after all."

A pause. Arslan opened her eyes and looked up. Blake Belladonna had landed in front of her. She scowled slightly at Arslan.

"Can I help you, Miss Belladonna?" Arslan asked politely.

"You're a Faunus," Blake accused her. Arslan nodded.

"Yes. It is on my ID card."

"But you look...!" Blake looked her over. Arslan smiled softly. She took a deep breath.

She unleashed a roar, so harsh and powerful that Blake nearly jumped out of her skin. Arslan stopped, her smile widening just a hair.

"My vocal chords are that of a lion's," she said, "That is my family trait. Though my uncle Raw has ears."

"You don't smell like a Faunus," Blake growled. Arslan stared at her.

"What do I smell like then, Miss Belladonna?"

"Incense," Blake stated, "Very strong..." She trailed off. She shook her head.

"Why... Why are you hiding what you are?"

Arslan closed her eyes and resumed her prayer.

"I'm not. My mother and father are Faunus, this is public record," she said.

"Yes," Blake admitted, "But they've never spoken on Faunus rights, despite being famous! Despite being-!"

"Able to influence things?" Arslan asked. She felt Blake's scowl. "Have you sought me out to shame me for my inaction then?"

"I..." Blake paused. "I wanted to understand why. You're rich, you're well regarded..."

"We work," Arslan said, "through the Church. We reach out to all who need a helping hand, Faunus or human."

"But you could do so much for your people!" Blake insisted. "So much for the welfare of-!"

Arslan opened her eyes and turned to Blake. She narrowed them at the black cat Faunus.

"Tell me," she said, "Does every human child have a mother and father?"

Blake blinked.

"What do you-?"

"It's a simple question," Arslan pressed, "Do they all have mothers and fathers? Do they all live together in homes, happily?"

Blake blinked a few times and shook her head.

"No, but-"

"I believe your own partner lost both of her mothers," Arslan continued, "Abandoned by one, and the other taken by death. Is this not so?"

"It is, but what does-?" Blake scowled. "I-I do care about that but she's not a Faunus! She wasn't enslaved-!"

"Were you?"

Blake gaped.

"What?!"

"Were you enslaved?" Arslan asked. "Were you put in chains and made to work?"

"No," Blake allowed, "But the SDC does it to Faunus all the time-!"

"Agreed, it is a terrible crime," Arslan nodded, "My mother spoke out against the SDC's abuses on many occasions. It even cost her an acting role."

"I..." Blake scowled, "But you don't just-!"

"We don't just what, Miss Belladonna?" Arslan asked softly, "Just care for the welfare of Faunus? Focus all our efforts only on Faunus?"

Blake glared.

"I just don't understand how... How you've done so well and yet you don't speak in favor of Menagerie."

"Or the White Fang?" Arslan asked.

Blake winced.

"They're not the same-!"

"And yet," Arslan said quietly, "They are still connected. Your father may have denounced them, but they still fight. And are still supported by Menagerie. Not all of them, and not by your family... But they are still connected. And any support of Menagerie will be used by the White Fang as a means of justifying more terrorism. Is that not so?"

Blake opened and closed her mouth several times. She then bowed her head, ears flat against it.

"I suppose... I suppose that's fair," she murmured.

Arslan looked at the statue of the Table Breaker. As expected of the Third Emerald Dynasty's artistic tradition, even bound and shaven, even covered in welts and bruises, and even with a knife stuck in his chest, Aslan's face was a study in beautiful nobility. The sculptor had captured it perfectly.

"Aslan came in the form of a Faunus because he came for all of us," Arslan stated, "For at the time, the Faunus were a minority under a mighty empire. Subjugated and under martial law. But His disciples were humans and Faunus. He lived as a Faunus, and died as a Faunus, and the first two to see His return to life were two human women. He spoke that he had come for all of us with souls, to save them."

Arslan looked back at Blake, who was staring at the statue herself.

"Because the world is dark and cold and full of monsters," Arslan said, "And in the end? We all need to stand together against it. I have not hidden what I am... But in light of the larger responsibility to the world? Being a Faunus is secondary compared to having a soul."

"I've heard this many times before," Blake stated, "I've also heard that the Table Breaker was stolen. Based on our Animal God."

"From the White Fang?" Arslan asked, almost amused. "Are they not the ones who also claim Faunus discovered fire? Discovered Dust? Invented writing and civilization itself? What incredible misfortune our race has, to create everything for man but to never claim power that would come with such things."

Blake grimaced. She glared at one of the stained glass windows. Arslan followed her gaze and nodded.

"That's one of my favorites," she said, "When Saint Reepicheep's tail was restored by Aslan."

Blake studied the stained glass intently. She sucked in a breath.

"He had lost his in a great battle. His followers were willing to cut off their own tails, because they could not bare to have such an honor while their Chief went without," she murmured. "And so Aslan restored it, not for Reepicheep's honor, but for the love his people had for their chief."

Arslan nodded solemnly, though her smile grew.

"You know it?"

"I do read a great deal," Blake admitted. She sighed. She sat down on a pew next to Arslan, and slumped a bit.

"I'm... Struggling to find my path," she admitted. "I don't... I don't think this is mine."

She gestured to the church. Arslan nodded.

"Why?"

"Because... There's so much hatred and injustice in the world," Blake sighed, "So much anger. Even when I thought I was doing good... I was doing worse. I tried. I tried so hard to-to change things. To not make people fear and hate us..."

She shook her head.

"I failed."

"You did then," Arslan said, "But it also brought you here. Has that been a disaster?"

Blake thought about it.

"... No," she admitted.

"Then maybe this is where you are meant to be," Arslan said. Blake snorted.

"What? Did the Tablebreaker bring me here?"

"If He did not want you here, you would not be," Arslan said calmly. Blake huffed.

"I don't need a sermon."

"Then what do you want, Blake Belladonna?" Arslan asked quietly.

Blake stared intently at the statue for a long time. She sucked in a breath.

"I... I want to stop the White Fang from doing bad things... I want to make up for my... My mistakes."

Arslan nodded.

"Then perhaps you are exactly where you need to be."

Blake sighed heavily.

"... I'm sorry I interrupted you," Blake spoke. Arslan shook her head.

"You did not. After all, I should help my fellow beings when they are in need."

"Why?" Blake asked, a bit sharply, "Because you'll get into Heaven?"

Arslan smiled wryly.

"Because it is the right thing to do."

Yeah I'm picking on Blake a bit more. And yeah I'm using Arslan as a Warrior Nun to do it, as well as Christian theology. I've been reading a lot more C. S. Lewis, give me a break. My muse just insists upon being heard, and so, here she is.