Chapter 31: To the Faunus Kingdom
"And then, I took off toward Menagerie. Back then, it was still divided." The black haired teen explained, walking into the night club with her companion.
"Hey, why'd we come in the normal way anyway? Aren't you... you know?" Her friend looked around at the people entering with them and threw a subtle glance at the owner of the club, 'Junior' Hei Xiong, who was at the bar. "Tight with him..?"
"This little excursion of ours isn't for business. If it was, I'd be dressed 'appropriately'." The black haired teen answered, taking a seat in a booth far back in the club.
"Yeah... in 'that' outfit..." The girl seemingly stared into space with a redness beginning to rise to her cheeks.
"A-AH! S-So what are we here for exactly? You said we'd be meeting someone, right?" The girl cleared her throat and asked, fighting her blush.
Yin, (Because it's obvious who this is) smirked at her reaction. "Today's the day I meet her again. My lovely sister should be here in about an hour. Grab some drinks, I'll tell you about what happened in Menagerie next."
-Arc 2, Transport boat-
"Uuuuaaaagh...." The unpleasant retching noises disturbed quite a few of the nearby passengers, though some looked at the seasick Bunny girl with pity.
"There there~" Next to said girl was Yin, who seemed to be multi-tasking while comforting Shia.
"I hate.. this.. so muc-Uaaaaaaggh!!" Shia ejected her breakfast over the side of the ship once more.
"Able to throw trees like javelins but easily defeated by the sea huh?" Yin muttered, though Shia was too busy to try and refute her.
PLOP!
Shia rolled back on the deck, having emptied her stomach. She groaned, the intense light of the sun in her eyes didn't help her stomach, nor the headache that was steadily increasing in intensity.
"Why does Menagerie have to be so far..?" Shia complained.
"It's only a six hour trip. Here, let me try something." Yin picked Shia up off the floor and sat her on her lap before putting her hand in her shirt and rubbing her stomach in a clockwise motion.
"Eeeh? Is it finally time!? I-Oh..? That feels nice.." Shia's nausea gradually began to subside, finally relaxing in Yin's lap.
"Haaaah... thank you.." Shia sighed in contentment, body slumping back in Yin's embrace.
"No problem. How's your aura doing? You just had it awakened a day ago and you're already C class, right?" Yin asked, splitting her attention between Shia and the blue interface screen in front of her.
"Mmmmm.... Yeah, that's what Mother in-law said. The shield stuff is easy but boosting my physique is way harder than she explained it to be." Shia answered, her happy face earning a few Faunus admirers on the ship.
They were both receiving attentive stares. Not only from the men, but from a few of the women too. Especially seeing how close the two seemed to be. It gave the passengers a few not-too-pure ideas about their relationship. Though Shia was too relaxed to care and Yin was focused on the strange message she received.
[Happy Birthday! I totally forgot about the other ones, sorry! Being a Goddess, time just kinda flies on by~ Anyway! I sent you and your sister a gift. Ah! And just so you know, you have an awakening scheduled within a few days. Love- FoxyIceCreamLady]
Looking in her inventory, Yin struggled to convey her current feelings. She recognized the gift, vaguely. She wondered if it was either just 'decent' or really good.
[Dead Man's Tale- Origin: Destiny]
Yup, that was all she got from the description. If it was just a masterwork gun, it'd be decent. But what if it carried some of the 'Light' that the game's Guardians wielded? If it did, how effective would it be on the Grimm? Yin decided to test it out as soon as a big enough Grimm appeared.
As she thought of testing her new weapon, two Faunus teenaged boys awkwardly approached the two.
"Um... Hey there. Are you guys graduates from a Huntsmen Academy too? We just finished our second year." The tanned boy with bear ears on top of his brown hair asked.
"Aaauh..-" Shia was a little too busy enjoying herself to properly reply.
"Actually, no. We came over from Anima. We were taught by a few Huntsmen who frequented our town. Now we're heading over to Menagerie to see if we can help out there." Yin replied, having created her backstory with her Mother a day prior.
Hearing that, the two boys relaxed. Their shoulders losing tension as they smiled at Yin. The passengers had been avoiding Yin and Shia, not only because of Shia's vomiting earlier, but due to Yin's appearance and presence. From her fingers, to her elbows, her arms were covered in black scales, making her hands look like deadly weapons. Then, there were her serpentine red eyes. Yin was subconsciously radiating a dangerous feeling to the Faunus on the ship.
As if they were in front of an apex predator.
"S-So what kind of Faunus are you..? As you can see, my buddy Braun here is a Grizzly. I'm a deer, myself." The other teenager asked, pointing at the antlers at the side of his head.
"Shia here is a rabbit, but you probably knew that. Sorry, she's not good with the sea. I'm a.. Black Mamba." Yin responded, quickly explaining away her black scales.
"Oh! That makes sense.. Sorry, I'm sure you're used to this by now but predator Faunus, especially those with training under their belt, have this sort of effect on other Faunus. But I gotta admit.. I've never seen reactions like these in other Faunus.. Except when facing a Beast King anyway.." The Grizzly Faunus explained, scratching his disheveled hair.
'Beast King huh..' Yin briefly thought back to the night prior, when her Mother explained the situation in Menagerie and the Faunus in general.
-The night prior-
Raven stared into the campfire she set, cracking open a bottle of beer with her bare hands. She had a serious, yet contemplative expression on her face.
"Yin. I need to tell you about the places you'll be going to. You said your first stop was Menagerie, correct?" Raven asked, glancing over at Yin, who was seated across from her, eating a meat skewer.
"Mn"
"I'll write an introductory letter. I had a few flings with someone in Beacon. Last I heard, they were leading chief of Kuo Kuana." Raven explained, taking out a small, yet neat piece of paper and beginning to write on it.
"Chief..? Belladonna?" Yin asked, swallowing the meat before raising her brow.
"Oh, you know them? Yes. The acting chief of Kuo Kuana is Kali Belladonna and Ghira Belladonna. A Cat and Panther Faunus. They should let you stay with them if they know you're my daughter. Oh, hold on. Need to make sure they know it's real.." Raven reached into her robe and pulled out red lipstick.
Yin watched awkwardly as her Mother applied said lipstick and kissed the corner of the note, leaving an imprint of her lips before neatly folding the note and going back to drinking her beer.
'Am... I supposed to just not ask..?' Yin took the note with a grimace and placed it in her pocket.
"Oh don't give me that look.. It's something Kali liked doing back in Beacon. Just to prove it was her that was sending it." Raven rolled her eyes.
"Wait, you hooked up with Kali..? Not Ghira?"
"This was before Ghira. What? Do you think I was abstinent before Tai? I have needs too." Raven scoffed.
"No.. no.. Just.. go on, forget I asked." Yin looked away with an awkward expression, missing the amused smirk on Raven's face.
"Anyways. Shia can come along with you. She passes the strength test, plus she's a Faunus herself. Nora and Ren don't and aren't, so they'll stay here and train. You, on the other hand, need to show at least some of your Dragon traits." Raven explained, nodding as Yin made her black scales appear and disappear on her arms.
"Good. As a human, going to Menagerie is difficult. Unless you have trusted Faunus friends in high places, are a Headmaster of a Huntsmen Academy, or are a Government official, going to Menagerie is like asking to be robbed and killed." Raven explained as Yin threw her skewer sticks into the flames.
Yin made a contemplative expression. "Is the tension between humans and Faunus that bad?"
Raven nodded, putting away her now empty bottle.
"The Faunus Liberation War sowed some deep resentment. Old families that still exist across the Kingdoms still bear a grudge against the three Faunus clans. One of said families, is now known as the Schnee Dust Company. Some other families have moved past that grudge, but the SDC and the Chrollo families have kept their hate going strong." Raven then summoned a crimson portal and pulled out an inverted silver cross insignia and a white dust glyph insignia.
"These are their family crests. The SDC, years ago, when Nicholas was in charge, began to mend their relationship with the Faunus. That stopped after Willow married Jacques Gele. He focused on results and exploited the poor in Mantle, who just so happen to be Faunus, with contracts that heavily favored the SDC. And the Chrollo family, is a mercenary group. A Private Military that only recruits humans. Recently, they've been exclusively taking contracts against some of the White Fang. Even going so far as to work with the SDC with protecting their product. The products which some desperate White Fang members have been stealing for a few years."
Yin remained silent as Raven explained. It seemed the SDC was much like in canon. But the added mercenary group made the situation more volatile. The White Fang's descent into violent extremism was likely going to happen earlier, thanks to this.
'No, it may even go beyond that.. There may be another Great War.' Yin thought solemnly.
"It's a delicate situation in Menagerie. But if you do help them, know that we could make enemies out of the Schnee and Chrollo families. If you truly want to make connections, go look for the Three Beast Kings. Each of the three towns in Menagerie are ruled by one, so they shouldn't be hard to find." Raven then stood up and yawned before pulling Yin's head into an embrace.
"Make sure to call sometime, okay?"
"...Yeah, got it. I will, Mom."
-Southwest sea-
"Land ahead!!" The captain of the ship shouted out loud.
A group of the Faunus passengers rushed out to the front of the ship, some leaning on the rails to get a better look.
"Oh sweet! We're here already? I swear, the trip was longer first time around.." The deer Faunus boy exclaimed.
"Heh! That's cuz we took off from Vacuo, remember?" The Bear Faunus remarked.
"Oh! Oh! Let's see, Yin!" Shia instantly stood up and grabbed Yin's hand, pulling her over toward the front of the ship.
"Relax~ Kuo Kuana isn't going to disappear if you slow down, you know?" Yin snorted. Though Shia was undeterred, quickly pulling Yin along to take in the gorgeous view.
The town looked something straight out of Polynesia. A beachfront town with tall, lush trees, vivid tropical colors and a coral reef surrounding the beach. In the back, was a large stone temple that looked ancient, and behind it, was a large mountain that divided the island into three separate parts.
Yin took a long look at Kuo Kuana and felt her lips press together in order to hide her excitement. The main cause?
The subtle oppressive feeling that seemed to be emanating from within the temple. As if waiting for her specifically.
'No no.. Calm down. Kali first..' Yin took a deep breath, reigning in her Draconic instincts before she was compelled to rush off the boat and charge into the temple.
[AN: Debated three times how to start this volume. Think I went with the right choice. Anyway! I got Yin's Vale outfit commissioned. Also going with this look in general too.
Hmm.. should I hold the pic hostage till you gimme powerstones? I must have TRIBUTES!]
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