章 22: Party Hardy (1)
"For a storyteller, an open ending leaves much room for imagination; for the inquisitive reader, however, it is a source of great anxiety." – Joyce Rachelle
~Sienna's POV~
When she first received the notifications containing the invitation for dinner forwarded by Nicholas Schnee for that very day, Sienna had felt dread and… yep, just dread.
There wasn't nothing positive that could come from being invited to a private function hosted by the richest family in Remnant, especially if those were well correlated with the recent activities of the SDC about their workers' conditions.
The trial did well to open up her eyes over the overall situation within most of the factories, where racism surprisingly enough turned to be the least of the problems for anyone being hired by the representative of the company.
It was another reason to be distrustful about the organization's policies, something that should have seen her politely decline the sudden development appearing right on her Scroll.
Perhaps she really should have done that, maybe she should have also called John before getting herself urged by her own concerns of not jeopardizing the entire diplomatic mission in accepting the formal message.
And yet there was no space for her to regret and weep over her silly reactions over the matter, as now she was forced to deal with something far worse than she had initially thought.
If there was something that was truly getting her to instantly hate her past self, it was the fact that now she had to try out some proper dresses for the dinner.
It wasn't going to be a public feast, yet it was underlined the necessity to have some proper clothes prepared for both herself and the trouble-seeking brunet.
The young man had returned from his stroll unharmed, confirming the fact that having Specialist Ebi keeping an eye on him had been a good decision for Ironwood to take over this unnerving topic, and he was quick to pick a simple dark-colored tuxedo with a white shirt and dark-purple tie.
It was so simple for him, yet the struggle for the Tiger Faunus proved to be far worse than she wanted.
A tailor had been summoned by the General to help up with the task, the man mentioning that it was just for the betterment of Atlas-Menagerie's relationship for her to be aided in that simple situation.
It costed him very little to forward some assistance, and the abstract reward from this action wasn't something that the young woman was keen to just ignore on the spot.
Still, there wasn't much for her to brush off all the support she could get in having this nuisance of a need fulfilled quickly and painlessly.
Four hours flied by, and she finally settled for a simple rose-red sleeveless dress, and a pair of black heels.
Sienna had to rebuke more than once the advice of adding something that could 'exalt' her natural features, with the tailor quickly trying to get her to fit something that would've work well with her Faunus attributes.
A polite refusal was then followed by numerous curt 'No's directed at the insistent girl picked for the job, causing some huffs and disappointed looks to come from the paid worker.
With just the dinner being a couple of hours away, the Tiger Faunus decided to spend this time by engaging in some calm discussion with John, hoping to get some entertainment and, if not, some distraction from her growing worries over literally walking in the dragon's lair.
While the invitation had been advanced by Nicholas, there wasn't any doubt over the fact that Jacques was still going to be there.
It was still an important dinner, one that would just aggravate the current state of displeasure created by his most recent actions.
But perhaps she was underestimating the hatred that the businessman had started to develop after facing John and getting defeated on a political-diplomatic match.
Both were silver-tongues, but the young man that just seemed so keen to eagerly at the first sign of danger was someone that gave much more interest over facts to support his thesis than heavy words to sustain it.
It was quite odd to see John give little to no thoughts over the current matter, preferring to keep any topics correlated with the event pretty far from the discussion they both were engaging with.
Perhaps he was just nervous over the matter himself and… he was keeping everything bottled up?
Debatable.
Sure, there were instance where the young man would outright keep the truth out of her reach, bringing up a need to keep everyone safe or just not mess the world too much.
It was annoying to know that he was aware of so much about Remnant's affairs, but she was terribly glad that he had sounded honest in mentioning that she knew just barely about her personality before meeting her.
The future was uncertain, but he had been quick to bring reassurances over her current standing, drowning down any need from her to pester even more over this unique subject.
But there was also a genuine release from the curious individual when dealing with situations he wasn't much prepared about.
Fright was an exaggeration, but there was no denying that he had shown some legitimate nervousness before some unpleasant instance.
And now they were going to go in a situation he himself wasn't much aware about, and he had been keen to point this out just as he had returned from his walk thorough the city.
He was going in blind, unsure of what could've happened from that very situation, and yet he wasn't showing much apprehension over the matter.
Could it be that he had some contingencies ready in case of any escalations? A good guess, she thought positively about, but the situation was just too theoretical to actually have a proper glimpse over his pattern.
Thus the Tiger Faunus waited for the proper opportunity to see where things were going to end up into from this very point.
But while she had expected for the conversation to remain within common topics, the young man decided to make a small detour she couldn't help but find interesting and worth of further explorations.
"Are you sure about it?"
"I'm certain of it," Sienna confirmed calmly, her amber eyes staring curiously at the confused look on his face. "Why? Is this important?"
"Possibly," John admitted with some hesitation. "It could be. I don't know,"
"But what got you to ask about this?" She pressed on, unwilling to let the discussion to fall so suddenly and without a proper explanation. "I mean, you're mentioning about a language that I'm sure it doesn't exist in Remnant, and yet you feel like this question is worth to be asked."
"I've met someone that does seem to have some knowledge of it. Enough to speak it," He replied with a nod. "But I don't think it's much important. She just seems to know about it-"
"Is it from where you lived or-"
"Someplace near to that, yes," He interjected tensely, glancing around and looking for the possibility of any of the guards giving them some attention. "But it's for the best to not continue this conversation now. I will explain you this once we're done with the dinner."
She gave a nod at that promise, hoping for the conversation to now have some 'easier' topics to be brought up… and her hopes were dashed away when the young man rekindled the exchange of words.
"By the way, are you feeling prepared for the dinner?" He inquired calmly, but putting no effort in hiding his fascination. "Isn't this the first time you are-"
"Yes," The woman replied tightly, trying to keep down her irritation from influencing her words. "I think I will be fine."
Letting out a satisfied nod, he started to sport a mirthful smirk on his lips. "I'm glad to hear that. Then I'm sure you have that bouquet of flowers to offer to the kind host of the house when we go in there."
…
What?
An alarm exploded in her head at the mentioning of this tradition, her eyes widening at what felt like the noise of glass cracking at that very instance.
"You… a bouquet?"
John didn't reply at first, merely staring her down with a studious look and getting her even more worried about this circumstance.
The sudden comment had unbalanced her certainty, throwing a massive wrench right into her gears as she tried her best to elaborate what she had just heard.
Did she truly have to bring flowers to the Schnee family? Was this tradition something only known in Atlas?
True, this was the first time she was forced to deal with something this much important.
Her little experience was mostly a difficult remembrance of what she had gained from listening to Kali's tales about the important dinners she had grown accustomed with by being the Chieftain's daughter.
But never she had heard the Cat Faunus mention anything even so closely related to the words leaving the young man's mouth.
Why a bouquet? Why to the Schnee Family of all people?
Her mind was scrambling for something, anything, that could help her to keep up with the facade she had put to deal with John's concerns and-
"Hehehehe-" The young man's soft chuckles were muffled even more as he pressed his hands hard on his lips to keep those shut, making her tense up again. But this time it wasn't dreadful realization that got her this much uneasy… it was annoyance.
Of course, the idiot had tricked her with a petty lie to see if she truly was aware of the traditions owned to this kind of events.
He knew that it was her first time dealing with an important dinner, and he was so eagerly teasing her about it.
"You… you are a jerk," Sienna replied intelligently, drawing even more chuckles from the human with that response. "Is this your attempt at 'coming back at me'?"
"M-Maybe?" His lips twitched even more at that question, his words trembling in between the chuckles. "And wh-what if it was?"
She glared at him, her eyes narrowing furiously as she prepared to retaliate as harshly as possible.
The Faunus should've expected this much irritation from dealing with someone she had 'scorned' up until very recently.
John wasn't someone that just dropped any revenge, even one as small and insignificant as this one in particular was, just for the sake of showing some backbone in normal instances.
"Then you're going to have a harder time to-"
His chuckles merely intensified from her irritation, turning into his rare genuine laugh that generally got everyone to pause for a couple of seconds.
It was indeed an annoying development because… it was incredibly distracting.
Her challenge crumbled behind her lips as her wide-eyed glance stared at the situation without much of a reaction at first, trying her best to keep at bay the need to smile back at that infectious and rambuctious chuckle.
One of the guards around snorted a little at the laugh, while the others were rightfully looking away and trying to not stare at the moron.
John didn't seem to be caring about what his infectious laugh was doing, and Sienna's lips twitched to form a small smile as she started to shake her head at the idiocy unfolding before her eyes.
The true essence of a lovely dummy that was just trying to fight against the general nervousness of a very complicated situation.
Instead of continuing to pursue some more aggressive words, the young woman couldn't help but bring her right hand to cover her own mouth, to try and hold the giggles from leaving.
She continued to shake her head in a mix of disappointment and amusement, clearly having lost control over the discussion all because of that unexpected development.
Goddammit, Bukharin.
~John's POV~
I really didn't want to go there, but there was no way out.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped outside the car that had taken Sienna and I to the Schnee's manor, and I took just a moment to glance at the greatness of the entire place.
I had seen some images already of this building, but I hadn't thought that I would've been urged to visit it for a formal dinner to spend there.
I was nervous, rightfully so as I tried to imagine whatever trap from Jacques I could've ended up facing in this very instance, and yet I managed to find relief in a little detail that was noticeable right as I moved out of the car.
The entire area and the rest of the proximity was completely devoid of journalists.
If Jacques had been the one to truly plan out something for this very unexpected situation, he would've rendered the dinner a little more public, to have journalists keep track for any mistake either the Tiger Faunus now beside me and I could have done during this predicament.
I had a theory that it wasn't something concocted by the ambitious businessman, but rather by his father-in-law as proved by the one that sent the invitation.
Nicholas Schnee was… someone I wasn't keen to tackle even in a pleasant circumstance.
It wasn't like I distrusted the man already by his last name, knowing full well that he himself was the one that literally kickstarted the entire SDC's business with good intentions.
However the issue lingered right about the fact I was supposed to keep close to someone that was far more experienced in politics and in studying characters.
Ozpin didn't say anything about any possible friendship between him and the now old man, and there was no doubt in my mind that both had to have met when the SDC had just appeared on Remnant.
A possible ally to Salem, why wouldn't the headmaster of Beacon consider to have him to his side?
With that thought stuck in my brain, I found it difficult to imagine the fact that I would've been given the chance of giving a proper look to the younger version of the Schnee siblings.
Sure, I had caught some glimpses back during the little attack in the park, but that had been fairly… limited compared to what was going to happen now.
There was no adrenaline, no reason to worry for any attempts at anyone's life, and I didn't have to be worried about having to keep an eye on Jacques.
It was going to be a normal private dinner, with etiquette taking a large bit of the entire reception, and a veteran of politics that would be studying me for the whole time.
Nothing truly concerning… except for any surprises.
Ironwood had been quite annoyed at the fact he didn't have the power to assign Clover to follow us for this dinner, especially since the place was meant to be one of the safest here in the capital.
And I had showed some irritation at the fact, especially with the knowledge that someone with a Semblance that grants good luck wasn't someone I wanted to be parted away for these kinds of occasions in particular.
My instincts were just screaming that this was the best situation for some mess to happen, something very dangerous to explode right onto my face and-
"He-hem," Sienna faked a cough, taking a step towards me. "I think we should get going."
I blinked at her with a surprised look, but nodded quickly as I noticed that I wasted too much time staring at the manor, offering my right arm to the Tiger Faunus.
"M'lady," I hummed mirthfully, making her snort at the courtesy before she actually wrapped her left arm around my right one.
From there we both started to make our way towards the main entrance to the building, glancing around as we tried to cover with our sight the entirety of the palace.
"I've a bad feeling about this."
I blinked again, glancing to the side with a curious look.
"Gut feeling?" I inquired curtly, drawing a nod from her much to my growing concerns over this circumstance.
I can see why you would be worried. It's been a while since you've put yourself in a dangerous position.
[That sounds more like an unhealthy mindset to have. The world isn't trying to kill you at every turns.]
Didn't you say that you saw my memories?
[You've been attacked by Grimm and Raven early on, then there was the attack at the park and saving little Adam's mother… that doesn't sound like a pattern beyond coincidence.]
...I forgot that you were an airhead-
[WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, OZMA!?]
I shook my head at the debacle exploding inside my brain, turning my focus back on Sienna.
"We will keep our guard up then," I said while nodding at the Faunus. She glanced up at me. "I do think that it all smell like a trap. Somehow."
She blinked, nodding silently and in agreement at my reply before turning her sight back to the entrance.
The walk to the short staircase of white marble that led to the principal doors was a brief and uneventful one.
Soon we found the doors being opened by some of the servants working for the family, various butlers and maids waiting for us there already bowing and…
My attention was mostly taken by the lone butler standing centrally in the middle of the path.
At first I failed to recognize him because he still had some hair on his head compared to the version I was best aware about, but I couldn't certainly forget someone like Klein.
"Mr. Bukharin, Ms. Khan," He bowed his head politely, my sight catching onto the fact his eyes were light-brown in this instance. "I'm Klein, and I will personally see that you're led to the dining room."
Sienna and I nodded at the polite greeting, but didn't talk back to the man as he turned around and started to walk through the halls, leading us through the various light-blue corridors of the manor.
[This seems like an unpleasant place where to live.]
It's even worse when your family becomes dysfunctional and beyond fixing.
I remember visiting this manor just thrice in my last life. The architectural style is oddly enough meant to unnerve the visitors to this building.
But why?
I've never asked about it. I just didn't want to know.
Silence reigned all over, and I spared some attention over the various paintings attached to the walls, with some showing Nicholas in some endeavor, while the rest were landscapes all located in Atlas.
Finally, Klein opened the doors that led to the vast dining room where almost every member of the Schnee family was there waiting for us to arrive.
I could see that Nicholas had taken the chair by one of the ends of the long table, while the rest of the family picked one of the two sides of the table, with just a chair being left untouched between the former head of the family and his daughter.
Willow looked carefully at us, showing no curiosity at our entrance but merely addressing us with a polite look.
To her left was her youngest, Whitley, humming quietly while looking at us with wonder and interest.
Weiss had taken the chair beside his, the little girl's eyes were barely hiding her fascination over Sienna and I could see her stare directed specifically at the Faunus traits of the tanned woman.
My gaze ultimately ended up turning at Winter and… I was met with some strong and intense orbs of cold water.
The eldest child of Jacques and Willow looked incredibly interested on me, or rather, it seemed like she was trying to understand me as if I was a closed book she just couldn't reach out and open to read.
Nicholas stood up from his chair and smiled. "Ms. Khan, Mr. Bukharin, welcome and, please, take a seat."
He gestured to the rest of the chairs left unoccupied and we moved towards those.
"Mr. Schnee, we wish to humbly say that we're… honored to be there," Sienna muttered with some hesitation at the old man, I helped her take her seat before going to my own.
"Please, call me Nicholas," The smiling elder replied, then turning towards me. "The same courtesy is applied to you, Mr. Bukharin."
"Then I think it's also courtesy if the favor is returned, Nicholas," I stated back with a calm smile. "Please, call me John."
Sienna didn't reply to that, merely nodding at the entire situation as Nicholas took a moment to sigh.
"And I'm deeply saddened to say that my son-in-law, Jacques, will be missing this dinner because of some unexpected issue at work," He commented with a genuine note of dismay. "I would have notified of this instance myself after sending the formal invitation, but these news had reached me just less than an hour ago."
We both nodded, but before any of us could've responded to that development, Willow decided to speak up.
"My husband has been dealing with an increase of pressure after the recent events," The woman added with a patient voice. "I hope you all understand that it isn't directly related to what happened a couple of days ago."
I sighed. "There is… no need to apologize," I replied with a formal tone, glancing at the Tiger Faunus for some agreement on this bit. She merely glanced at me and I bit down another sigh. "The role your husband has surely drains him of free time with how complex his work is."
"That's good to know," Nicholas admitted with a small smile. "I understand that it's quite awkward as something to mention, but I think it's for the best to inform our guests of how things are right now."
Soon after this little parenthesis, several servants moved to start dispensing food for what was meant to be a formal dinner with rich people.
With attention directed to my manners, I proceeded to carefully dissect the particularly tiny sliver of seasoned meat some poor souls would easily consider a 'normal steak'.
The dinner is set to be a lengthy one, not a substantial one.
Still… this just makes me sad.
There was some silence during the first couple of minutes, and I decided to use this opportunity to properly study the behaviors of those sitting at the table.
My worries about Nicholas trying to twist some more details about me proved to be incorrect, with the man happily putting his attention right on the dish in front of him.
Willow was slow with her bites, perhaps she expected something to happen and she didn't want to be caught up in the middle of taking one of the tiny pieces by her lips.
Whitley didn't seem to have a full grasp of manners, with his steak having been already cut up in little parts so that the child had no reason to make use of the knife that was currently missing by his side of the table.
Weiss had a similar situation, but instead of carelessly devouring the meal, she was putting some effort to not seem famished, a small smile was adorning her face as the girl enjoyed the delicious meal.
Winter was… following her mother's example to a certain extent.
She was quite slow with her bites, but instead of showing little attention to the table, she was outright still watching me.
The situation was indeed confusing if not unnerving as I couldn't think up of anything that could've gotten the teen to be interested on me of all people.
It would've been a normal thing if she had been interested in Sienna, perhaps seeing her as the strong diplomat that someone as respectful as she was could make a role model out of.
Yet her attention was completely directed at me and… there was no verbal interaction. She was quiet, her eyes silently trying to 'say' something and with me failing miserably to catch whatever message it was.
[Could she be crushing on you?]
I've some doubts about this theory. There are some stark signs that would tell if this instance was true or not.
Like blushing and looking away if I returned her stare.
But she didn't when I decided to turn my sight at her once I was done with my plate.
In fact, the girl seemed to be almost encouraged to stare even harder as I deigned her some direct focus.
"Winter, is there something wrong?"
I blinked as I glanced at Nicholas, the old man having noticed for a long time now that his older granddaughter had been looking at me for some time now.
Willow took a moment to study the situation herself, while little Weiss and Whitely merely gave some little glances around, seemingly fascinated by this development.
The girl sighed and gave a solid nod.
"If I may ask without sounding uncouth," Winter started with a polite tone. "Can I inquire about something I just don't understand about you, Mr. Bukharin?"
Her mother appeared quite mortified by this inquiry, while the elder at the end of the table merely stared at the scene with a certain degree of curiosity.
"I suppose I can spare some answers," I said with a slow nod. "Of course, I can't reply to personal questions."
Willow's uneasiness lessened at my response, but she stopped eating as to see where this situation was escalating into.
If Sienna had been paying attention or not to the situation, I couldn't tell because I couldn't see her from where I was looking… yet I could feel her put her fork and knife by her plate.
She gave a quick smile. "Mr. Bukharin, I understand this might sound impolite but… why did you join the White Fang?"
"I suppose it's… a surprising discovery to make, but no, it's not too personal or even impolite," I assured with my own smile. "Let's just say that I was saved by a group of them."
"Saved?" The white-haired young lady pressed on with a hint of curiosity and I nodded.
"There was a situation that saw me put in quite the difficult instance. One that could've seen me dealing with some horrible consequences… but I was found just in time by a group of those and brought to safety."
"Sounds like a complicated mess from the way you're cutting some of the details," Nicholas pointed out. "I suppose it was quite tragic."
"I was traveling through Mistral for a work-related situation," I replied with some more detail. "And I was attacked by a tribe of bandits while stopping mid-way."
"Bandits are… truly a problem for that Kingdom," The woman admitted with some disdain. "It's a shame that the Council just doesn't spare enough efforts to get rid of those."
I nodded at that, but just as I pondered about it I actually remembered something I had discovered a while ago and never bothered to truly check properly.
"Actually… Willow- Can I call you Willow?" I asked first, gaining a small smile from the married woman.
"Only if you allow me to call you John," She retorted softly and I nodded with a small smile.
"I've heard that you've frequented Beacon Academy for some time as part of a program for Atlas Academy."
Willow nodded. "Only for just a year, yes," She admitted with a sad smile. "Any reason behind this question?"
"Only that I had the chance of meeting some graduates from there. They are now hunters… well, most of them since two are now teachers-"
"Will you give give me a name, John?" She interjected with a hint of amusement. "Did anyone ever tell you how cryptic you tends to sound while going around some topics?"
"Too many times."
It wasn't me that answered, but Sienna. The tanned woman muttered this with a disappointed tone, eliciting an amused twitch from Willow's lips.
"I guess… and I wanted to ask if you've met someone by the name of Raven Branwen,"
She tensed up, her blue eyes going wide open with a hint of surprise at being mentioned this name.
"You… you've met Raven," The woman parroted quietly.
"Yes, I did," I confirmed with a tight tone. "But I guess there is a reason for you to sound like that about it-"
"I thought she had… left the corps," The woman admitted quickly, her calm posture breaking at the mere mentioning of part of her past at Beacon. "And… you were attacked by bandits."
She blinked, taking a moment to breath. "I suppose you aren't angry at each other or-"
"I'm more of a life consultant to her after a couple of odd bumps," I explained with some hesitation. "She is still dealing with the fact she is back with the rest of the team."
"They all still live together?" Willow inquired with some surprise. "I thought that it would've been a temporary situation."
"They settled with ever since their family started to grow bigger," I replied with a nod. "In fact, both Raven and Summer are mothers now-"
"Summer is… a mother?" I was swiftly interrupted by the woman, her tone drawing some amusements out of the rest of the table, with only Sienna appearing a little concerned by the topic.
From what I've understood from Raven's last visit, she still hasn't truly accepted the woman as a friend.
"I will have to call her and check if-"
Clang!
A loud noise of metal being bent and twisted interrupted her intrigued words, urging our collective attention to turn towards the only doors that connected the dining room to the rest of the house.
In front of those was a tall and bulky man giving us his back for a couple of moments, then he turned and… I felt sweating nervously.
"Sir, who are you? I don't know how you entered the mansion but-" Nicholas tried to speak against this newcomer but the familiar individual merely sighed.
"Forgive me for my intrusion, I don't mean no harm..." The 'stranger' mentioned quite politely. "But I need Mr. Bukharin to follow me. Someone important wishes to speak with you."
...You got to be kidding me.
My eyes were wide open as I continued to stare at the approaching figure of Hazel Rainart.
"And she will not accept a 'no' as an answer."
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