Sisters - chapter II - part I (first draft) (Patreon)

“Miss Belladonna, we have arrived…”

“Yes…thank you”

The soft reply came from the faunus girl as the door of the car opened. At that moment, the peace and quiet of the car’s interior gave way to roaring sound of jet engines, belonging to impressive aircraft that was parked parallel to the limousine. Wasting little time, the faunus girl step out of the vehicle she was in and made her way towards the door of the aircraft. She was dressed in her usual formal attire, a long black dress that splits at the hips, allowing the two halves to flutter freely among the wind that was generated by engines. Her black hair, styled in a combination of an elegant braid and a ponytail, mimics the movement of the dress. Above it were her cat ears, a defining feature of her faunus heritage standing tall and aware of the all the of the sounds that surround her. Hidden behind the curved lashes, her deep golden eyes contrasted her smooth and pale skin, which itself stood out among the dark shades of her hair and dress.

She was simply mesmerizing for the eye. A beauty that shows both elegance and power. A beauty that can swoon even the most stubborn of anti-faunus Atlesian officials. It is something that certainly comes in handy in her role as the leader of the now reformed White Fang security force and representative of the new Faunus High council.

Blake Belladonna. She has matured into a fine lady. After returning as one the heroes that had defeated the Grimm queen, Blake has now dedicated her life to fighting for her people’s right, to ensure the prosperity and safety for all faunus, in a world that although had opened up considerably, is still rife with discrimination and hostility toward her kind. But of course, that is not to say that she doesn’t have sympathy for people who aren’t faunus as well – an understanding that derives from experience she had gained, the love she had received and the various bonds she had formed through all the hardship and turmoil, among which, the deepest was with the former members of team RWBY. It is for that exact reason that she is here now.

As Blake moves closer toward the plane, out from it’s door, stepped a girl with a distinctive curled ponytail. Her eyes flash at the sight of the cat girl as she makes her ways toward her.

“Miss Belladonna, I have ever prepared everything for your trip inside, you can rest assured that Menagerie will be in good hands while you’re away”.

Blake can’t help but smile at the girl’s formality and posture. She certainly has changed a lot since the first time they met, yet her sincerity is something that has always remained the same. And for Blake, who now has to muddle through the dirty, lie-ridden world that was international and domestic politics, that little bit of sincerity comes a long way.

Blake reaches toward the girl’s hand and grasps it with her own.

“Thank you Ilia, for doing this so suddenly. I don’t know what I would do you without your help… And I already told you before didn’t I, its fine to call me Blake even out in public. Just because you work under me now, doesn’t mean we can’t talk like friends.”

The sudden heartfelt words and the warmth of Blake’s hands cause Ilia’s face to turn bright red, as she struggled to make out a reply among the whirlwind of emotion that was tumbling around in her heart.

“I…I…I couldn’t possibly… not that I don’t want to miss Bella…I mean… Blake I definitely want…. Wait NO that’s not what I mean,… no wait that is what I…argh!!! It’s…. what if people start making rumors about us or get the wrong idea… (not like I would definitely enjoy it or anything). Especially people in war faction…you know they’ll use anything to turn against you.”

“Its alright Ilia I highly doubt that you calling me by my first name would alter the entire faunus political system. So don’t you worry about me, I can handle those old buffoons any day, especially if I have you and Velvet besides me.”

The word of confidence fills Ilia’s heart with joy and adoration, as she return the cat girl’s gesture by grasping Blake’s hands with her old, her eyes now beam with determination.

“Yes mam !!!”

- Ah , there she goes again – Blake can only internally sigh at her chameleon friend

“Heh….You know Ilia, if you’re so worry about rumors, perhaps holding hands in broad daylight is something to consider as well.”

A booming voice rang out from behind Blake. Moving toward the girls was a tall young man. His blonde is short and ruffled, pulled back in the middle by a red band. He wore a high collar black t shirt that had a extended sleeve on the right side that stretches down to cover his right arm. On the other side, his left shoulder was covered by a pauldron that bares the distinctive emblem of the Faunus High council guard – the only bit of armor presents besides the one that cover his entire legs. If one had not been attracted by the sheer physical state of his body, then his bright blue eyes and beaming smile certainly would do the trick.

As Ilia let go of Blake’s hands, embarrassed by words, her eyes turn into daggers as they turn toward the approaching figure. Then in one swift motion, she reaches for the man’s ear and with all her might, pull his face down to her level, despite the poor man’s plea for mercy

“OW OW OWW…. I’m sorry Ilia, please don’t hurt me”

“Now you listen here Sun, you better not slack off again on this trip, cause if anything … ANYTHING at all happens to Blake, I’ll personally turn you into shark bait you get me ?”

“yes mom… I mean MAM !!”

“Why you…”

Blake watches on as the pair in front of her continue their bickering. She enjoys these little moments in life now, perhaps, because its like an escape for a reminder of the time that they were younger and innocent of all the world’s trouble. It certainly reminds her of when her own team first met each other, how Weiss and Yang would constantly bud heads, how the blonde would always teases her about the book that she read, how Ruby would always come up with these “motivational” activities to bring them all together…

- Ruby… -

Blake received information from Weiss about the incident a week ago, but her duties meant that she was only able to make room today to finally visit her teammate. As a result, it has been an agonizing week, full of anxiety and worries about the condition of her friend. Even after receiving the new about Ruby’s successful operation, Blake couldn’t shake off the feeling of guilt for not being there for them at that moment, especially Yang…who she knows must be suffering horribly. It brought back the dark memories of the fall of Beacon, when she was laying there, staring at blood dripping out of Yang’s sliced limb. At that time, the guilt that she felt, and the anxiety and fear of facing her teammates that follow behind it almost crushed her entirely. It was only thanks to her teammates reaching out that she was able to find reconciliation with herself, and overcome the inner fear that she had. Now, it is finally time, for her to return the favor.

“Blake…. Hey… are you okay?”

Sun’s voice snapped Blake out of her inner thoughts. She turns to see him and Ilia both with a worrying look on their face. As she ponders about the pair strange reaction towards her, she felt a wetness sliding down her cheeks.

“Oh…oh my…”

Blake quickly wiped away the tears that have unconsciously form around her eye, as she makes an effort to return to her normal self.

Seeing this, Ilia takes hold of Blake’s hands.

“ What’s wrong”

“ Its… I’m just worry about Ruby…”

Hearing their friend’s name had an effect on Ilia’s and Sun’s expressions as well, both sharing a similar bond to the red head as Blake does.

Ilia’s grip on the cat girl’s hand tighten as her glistening blue eyes faces Blake’s

“ I know she’ll be okay, and I know all of will understand your situation. So just do the best you can do okay, and don’t beat yourself up doing it ,…. For them, and for us as well “

“ Ilia’s right, Blake. All of us are here for you, just like back then, so leave some responsibility for us to handle to okay? I’ll smash through all of them for you !!”

Sun’s bright smile coupled with his and Ilia’s encouraging words brought a little warmth back to Blake’s heart. She was very lucky indeed to have such caring people around her all the time – a fortunes that she reminds herself and is reminded everyday as time goes on.

Finally, having steadied herself once again, she was ready to go.

“Thank you Ilia, I’ll do my best”

With that, the cat girl gave one last embrace to her friend before turning to board the aircraft. Sun follow suit after her, but just as he was about to board, he felt a tuck on his sleeves. Looking back, it was Ilia who is holding to him. Her face looks serious, but this time, it was actually a legitimate emotion.

“Sun… be careful of the SRED. I know you Weiss is in charge of that ship, but you know how Atlesian are… And with the recent events, they’re not going to take kindly about faunuses on their ship ,… please, protect Blake and protect yourself too…”

Sun’s was slightly surprise at first, but then his expression then changes to match the chameleon girl.

“I know…I’ll do my best”

And with that , the Menagerie trio parted ways, as the aircraft begin its journey toward the Edelweiss.