#alex umberon

[sageywritings]

Just My Luck

Sometimes you hit the jackpot, sometimes the jackpot hits you. Literally.

The decade mark! Chapter 10 of Flames of Change, my RWBY OC fic is here! If you wanna read up to this point, check the pinned post for the chapter list and as always, hope you web wanderers enjoy. Catch ya! Leo Vega and Alex Umberon belong to @wetsliceofbread

Sienna Umberon belongs to @gruntnuker-rwby

“Come to Mistral and awaken to whole new worlds.” A slogan every Mistrali was more than accustomed to, whether they wanted to be or not. It was plastered on every travel brochure or stapled to the end of every commercial from their tourism department. On one hand, it wasn't exactly fake advertising. Being home to a wide variety of diverse cultures and huge swaths of untouched natural beauty made it an ideal vacation spot for many. The perfect blend of traditional and modern. But on the other hand, it left the door open for more “unsavory” types to make themselves home in. With such a vast kingdom to look after, it was easy for certain criminal groups and black markets to slip under the watchful eye of Mistral's central government, so long as they knew where to go. Criminal hot spots that pop up scattered through the dense forest. Like Kuchinashi.

Being the largest settlement for hundreds of miles and strategically placed on a key trade route, Kuchinashi attracted plenty of activity from the surrounding villages and tribes. Some came for highly rated restaurants, some for the closest taste of nightlife at their disposal. But others in what were called the “lower classes” were there for other reasons. Drug smugglers, assassins for hire, anyone evading the law. Throughout the labyrinth of streets and alleyways, particular establishments thrived in spite of - or because of - the street gangs that constantly crop up. As evident by the line of people trying to plead their cases to the imposing bouncer at the entrance, Orion Kuchinashi was one of those places. A group of humans employed every trick of flattery and bribery to the bear faunus guarding the door, but he stood there, stone faced and undeterred. He denied them access to one of the most electric scenes the whole continent had to offer. Great drinks, live music, an always populated dance floor. And for anyone hoping the gods favor them enough to luck into a quick buck, a gambling den hidden tucked away in one of the club's dark corners.  Mysteriously enough, the phrase “the house always wins” seemed to always cosmically reign true at Orion. But at one poker table tonight, someone was defying the odds among the lost souls swearing that one more round was all they needed to get their money back. 

It wasn't the monkey faunus with the graying beard, although he was merrily laughing and drinking away through his diminishing funds. It wasn't the red headed wolf faunus girl clacking one of her remaining stacks of chips in her hand behind a pair of sunglasses. It wasn't the butch hyena girl that was gripping her cards tighter with each passing hand that didn't go her way. It was all the lion faunus on the dealer's left coolly leaning back in his chair. Even just sitting down, anyone with eyes could tell his beyond impressive stature, especially as he stretched his arms to rest them behind his head. With his jacket hung on the chair he was in, his muscles were on full display from under the white tank top he was wearing, including a tribal tattoo stretched around his bicep. Pushing his wavy brown locks aside, his golden eyes honed in on his next two cards. A queen and a six. He stroked his goatee in thought before glancing away toward the sea of people on the dance floor. The rippling waves of energy could be felt from their table, until the slight buzz of the dealer’s wasp wings snapped the lion back into the game. Her practiced porcelain smile cracked just enough to show her impatience and annoyance hidden underneath. The lion gave her a wink that would swoon anyone regardless of sexuality before tossing in a couple chips to play the round out. After a swig of his drink, the monkey slapped his thigh with a hearty guffaw before calling the ante as well. The lion cocked an eyebrow, the other players groaned, and the dealer inched just a bit closer to the end of her rope.

“No need for the sour look, sweetheart! It’s not like the Kinshika can’t afford it!” The dealer’s professionalism never wavered, as she turned her focus to the next gambler in line.

“The who?” the lion asked without much thought. His relaxed tone certainly didn’t match the reaction he got from the rest of the table. Glares from the wolf and the hyena that would’ve pierced most into backing off. But, he just met them with a shrug. “What? I’m not from around here, just passing through.”

“Yeah like that ain’t obvious,” the wolf grumbled to herself. Again, the lion paid no mind. Right now, he let his growing stacks of poker chips do all the talking for him. But, the monkey took his opportunity to take center stage once more.

“They’re the blood and the poison of Kuchinashi! A parasitic pillar of the community! They’ve been around way longer than the neon signs have glowed through the fog around this town.”

“Get off the damn soapbox, old timer! This ain’t fuckin’ story time with the grandkids,” the hyena growled before tossing her cards away in a frustrated fold. But the lion leaned forward in his chair. He was no closer to having his question answered. The only thing he was able to decipher from that was that this monkey faunus has some flair for the dramatic. He gestured for him to go on.

“Ya see, my boy, in Kuchinashi, a new street gang shows up here at least once a week. They’re all flashes in the pan though, some punks in way over their heads, maybe some Haven dropout trying to become a hitman for hire.” He made a theatrical shooing motion with his hand, accidentally almost flinging his cards in the process. Maybe the hyena was right, he’s not sober enough for exaggeration. “But not the Kinshika Family. They’ve been around for generations. Ever since Old Man Kinshika was just a low level nobody hustling these streets himself!”

“So they’re a gang,” the lion chimed in. “Take it they’re a big deal around here?” The monkey let out a “ha!” that came directly from his belly.

“So big of a deal that when the White Fang came into the area, they didn’t wanna mess with them. They knew better than to challenge the Kinshika, so they entered a pact together. The Family’s been a loyal subsidiary ever since.” It was like the monkey was spinning a yarn to buddies he had drunk with countless times before, not some strangers competing for his money at a poker table. The lion nodded.

“Interesting. Lemme guess, they're tied with this place?”

“They own this place, boy! Now that Old Man Kinshika is exactly that, an old man, he enjoys the lap of luxury and leaves the hard part of running the empire to his lieutenants. And the kids he wants to inherit it all one day. His grandson, Kenzo, runs this place now. But between you and me, I think he's enjoying the jet set nightclub lifestyle a bit too much. This place is a staple of the Kinshika's cash flow, you know. If he was to fumble it, well..”

“Your move, sir,” the dealer interrupted sternly, trying to put a sudden stop to him airing her boss’ business in the open. He folded his hand and hushed to take another sip of his liquor. The other two players were just relieved he finally shut his trap. This left the lion with the wolf, the latter of which upping her bet to try and raise the stakes. By this point, another six and queen had entered the field of the play. The lion didn't flinch. Not until a third six was revealed as the final card. Full house. Jackpot. The deadpan facade behind the sunglasses dropped as the wolf faunus scowled. Meanwhile the lion went in the opposite direction, finally letting a smirk of smug elation loose. As he leaned back again, he still seemed split between the poker game and the dance floor, where a commotion was arising at the front door. A group of men clad in cheaper looking suit jackets and White Fang masks were demanding all the attention as they stepped inside. Perhaps they didn't want to upstage High Leader Taurus by stealing his style. Out from in between two large bodyguards ambled a younger looking man with a pair of deer antlers protruding from slicked back blonde hair. He was the only one in the group whose jacket actually looked designed and not some ridiculously cheap knockoff.

“That’s him. Kenzo Kinshika,” the monkey said while drunkenly elbowing the lion. The lion intently watched as his boys dispersed to a booth and began cracking their way into a couple bottles of champagne to entertain their “lady friends”. On the house’s tab of course. One bodyguard made his way to the bathroom, but Kenzo stayed put and surveyed the sights, the sounds, everything that made this his kingdom. The look in his eyes made it clear he was looking for a woman to score for himself tonight, even as the bruising tiger faunus guard that still flanked him began to carve a path through the masses to lead Kenzo upstairs to his office. But instead, that woman found him. The golden prince was intercepted by what he could only describe as his perfect wet dream come true. Her blonde hair cascaded flawlessly down her shoulders, with purple highlights shining in the club’s strobe lighting. The towering platform boots she was still somehow grooving in lifted her to accentuate every single gorgeous curve from under her dress. A pair of fox ears flicked playfully on her head while her tail wrapped around Kenzo’s waist. To have this fall into Kenzo’s lap, not even have to hunt for the finest catch in the club to 

“Looks like he’s the only guy luckier than me in the building tonight,” the lion chuckled before rising from his chair. “Getting too crowded for my tastes so imma cash out.”

“Sir, you can’t cash out yet, you’ve paid for another hour. You’ll lose your deposit if you choose to leave,” the dealer told him. She made a move to try and block him, but it was like a sedan meeting an 18-wheeler with how much he dwarfed her. The only move he made toward the casino employee was another core rattling smirk as he continued putting on his jacket.

“Then let them fight for my pot. Looks like they need it more than me.” With that, he turned to leave, flashing all the poker participants a peace sign over his shoulder on the way out. They were all left befuddled, and he even caught a mumble of “What was that about” as he departed. Soon enough, even his 6’5 body disappeared from their views amongst the dancing mob. He passed by right by the antlered club owner and what he was hoping would be his escort for the evening before heading into the same bathroom.

“Yeah I own this place,” he could hear Kenzo briefly over the twenty other conversations fighting against the music. The stunning fox’s eyes lit up with excitement as she wrapped one arm around his shoulder before trailing it down his side. Her other hand reached for a hand fan she had on her - where she stashed it was a mystery Kenzo was dying to solve.

“Really? Like that’s so fun! Ummmm what would you say is the best part about it?” she said while fanning herself, covering her mouth in the process but her eyes peered sharply over it. She had the exact kind of trill voice he was imagining. Complete bimbo. He smirked.

“Getting to meet smokeshows like you. What’s your name, cutie?” he said.

“I’m Alex!” the fox replied with a bubbly giggle. All it did was begin revving Kenzo’e engine into even higher gear.

“Well, Alex, glad you walked into Kenzo Kinshika’s club?” She giggled again, mouth still covered to make it look even more adorably innocent. Interrupting for a moment, the guard tapped his boss on the shoulder, motioning that they need to leave. But Kenzo shooed his hand away, and Alex took him by both his hands, wrapping her tail around his waist to keep him dancing. Reaching a hand around, Kenzo firmly grabbed her ass, pulling her close to the point where they were rubbing against each other. There was no resistance from Alex, the only thing she had to resist was the urge to hum by biting her bottom lip. After allowing this for a few more minutes, again the bodyguard intervened. Kenzo again shot him a glare. He wanted to ask who do you think you are, wanted to assert that he was the heir to everything around here. But, his father and grandfather wouldn’t appreciate any infighting amongst their ranks. So, he turned to Alex.

“Lemme get you a drink. I got some special top shelf collection up in my office.” Alex eagerly nodded and took his hand, so he could lead the way, even though the guard led them both. Up a flight of stairs and down a hallway later, he brought them to a fine wooden door. The pair of lustbirds were too distracted with both eyes and both hands on each other to notice the guard attempt to signal to a “Frankie” via his earpiece once, then twice. When it appeared as if he got no answer, he tried to turn to Kenzo but the door was inadvertently shut in his face. With that, he just had to assume Frankie was with the other boys downstairs and couldn’t hear him. The music could cover anything. He had no choice but to assume his post at the door. Inside, the office was dimly lit, almost as if to set the mood, with what lighting being offered centered around a lamp on his desk. A baseball bat autographed by some former pro that his dad got for him rested on a stand behind his desk next to a bottle of high grade vodka. Pouring two drinks mixed with some soda he kept in his mini fridge, he slid one of the glasses over to his date. By the time he sat down in his overly comfy yet overpriced chair, the blonde bombshell had slammed her drink down in once guzzle. Kenzo was petrified with aroused shock.

“Wow. You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” Alex shook her head seductively, which only amplified Kenzo’s racing heartbeat. “Good. Then why don’t we quit wasting time and get right to it then?” Clearly undoing his pants, with one hand, he points below the desk. The fox licked her lips. First putting one gargantuan heel on the desk then the other, she slowly crawled on all fours on the desk toward him. Every move, every sway of her tail or sashay of her hips, in Kenzo’s mind she was begging for this. She wrapped one hand around his tie and pulled him so their faces were mere centimeters apart. Warm breath trickled down his neck as Alex’s lips parted. His heart nearly thumped out of his chest with anticipation.

“I’ve been told I’m the best fucks around.” Kenzo paused slightly. Her voice suddenly lost that bimbo quality. She spoke more confidently, and her pitch dropped. She didn’t sound as feminine as before, just enough to fuzz the gender radar, not helped by his two heads now thinking in opposite directions. “My ass is just that damn good. Even with the pole pretending to be a hole. Leo could tell you that. Isn’t that right, babe?” Kenzo’s shock magnified at seeing a massive silhouette emerging from a dark corner in the room. How the hell he didn’t notice a lion faunus that size was beyond him.

“Damn right, babe,” the lion called Leo spoke up. When his body finally broke through f its paralysis and caught up with his brain, Kenzo made a panicked reach for the bat. Alex yanked him by the makeshift leash around his neck to put a stop to that, and pulled him right so the cold steel of a dagger tip from one of this now retracted fans met his throat. Hearing the commotion, the bodyguard burst through the door. While radioing for backup and hoping the Kinshika Family guys were still sober enough to assist, he wasted no time in facing Leo and nailing him with the hardest punch he could muster right to his chin. It would’ve had any normal rowdy patron coughing up teeth for days. But Leo didn’t budge. It was like punching granite.

“Yeahhh that doesnt work on him. Wanna show him what you did to his poor friend in the bathroom, Leo?” Alex said. Leo grinned right into the tiger’s face, who had barely even move his fist away from Leo. Fingers adorned with silver modified brass knuckles stretched in ready as his knuckles cracked. A surprise ear clap discombobulated the tiger enough to get some space. He covered up, but Leo delivered a shot to the gut so hard it lifted him off the ground. Then a straight shot between the tiger’s arms to the nose. Then a second. Then a third. Reeling, the tiger bounced off the bookcase behind him directly into a forearm smash. Punch to the right temple. Then the left. Then one to the left ear. The unrelenting berserker teed off until an uppercut took him off his feet. He was unconscious before his face even met the floor. At this point, Kenzo tried to make a mad dash out the open door for freedom, but Alex was far too quick, flipping out of his chair and leaving him on his back facing up at a wall of a lion faunus. Leo picked him up by the collar.

“Y-you’re fuckin’ crazy! What is your deal?” Kenzo shouted, trying to cling to any shred of that authority and swagger he sauntered into Orion with.

“Awww is someone mad they fell for the surprise sausage? Don’t worry baby I have a cage that can basically make it disappear and I can bend over and moan like the rest of them,” Alex said with that same bimbo giggle to taunt him. While he wouldn’t admit it, Kenzo was more angry at the betrayal of Alex being the most convincing femboy in all of Remnant more than anything that happened to one of his own men. Still, he scowled nonetheless.

“You fucking freak! Let go of me or I’ll have every thug in Kuchinashi on my payroll to kill you!” Leo lifted him, pressing him over his head as if he weighed as much as a feather, before slamming him hard onto his back. In the moment he spent winded on the floor, Alex stomped one of these heels onto his chest.

“Ooooh shouldn’t have said the f-word in front of him. You’re right though. I am one freaky bitch. But only he’s allowed to say it.” The heel pressed harder onto Kenzo’s sternum, causing him to writhe even harder. He wanted to pull at Alex’s ankle, but the shadow being cast by his looming “babe” - and what he just did to his personal security - convinced him otherwise. “Relax, all I need is some info and I’ll be out your hair and you can enjoy your drink and do whatever boring vanilla guys do in their spare time. The name Sienna Umberon. Ring any bells?” Kenzo shook his head in bewilderment. That question was almost as startling as Alex’s ruse. Almost.

“W-what are you talking about? Y-you guys are mad! If you’re huntsmen, you don’t act like any other ones I’ve seen before!” Kenzo yelled. Leo motioned for Alex to step aside before kneeling down on the deer’s chest, driving the air out of him. He grabbed him by the antlers like a pair of handlebars and forced him to face Alex. Alex sighed, though the playful, toying look never faded. This only irritated Kinshika further. “Don’t you know who my family is? You can’t do this!”

“My gods, you are a stereotype. Is every rich heir of something remotely important just a stuck up prick? Can’t take anything besides the stick up your ass?” Alex laughed.

“He couldn’t even take my pinky,” Leo let out a low, satisfying growl. Depending on who you were, it would either scare someone down to their bones or turn them on in ways they never would’ve pictured. Kenzo was definitely the first one, which caused Leo’s grin to only grow. “Maybe we should ask the Old Man instead.”

“Fuck you!” Kenzo barked with the might of a chihuahua.

“Hey, back on track here,” Alex said while snapping his fingers at him. “We know a lot of White Fang activity is centered in Mistral. Kuchinashi is a major hub, and allegedly these are your streets. So you should know some of what the Fang is doing. So I’ll ask again, and this time you’re gonna answer. Sienna Umberon. What do you know?”

“How would I know anything? I hardly pay attention in those meeting with the White Fang brass anyways. They don’t really concern me,” he finally answered after a moment to ponder.

“What, figured daddy would take care of it all so you wouldn’t have to listen?” Leo grumbled at the pompousness, especially at Kenzo’s shrug. He couldn’t deny it. “What about the raid on the Ospreay estate?”

“H-how would I know anything about that? That’s a whole continent away! Not to mention it’s a bit above my pay grade.”

“Then who do I need to speak to, your manager?” Alex chimed in, hands on his hips. Kenzo raised his arms over his head in lack of understanding of what Alex wanted from him. Alex wasn’t sure either. But he knew he wanted more than this.

“Look, all the Kinshika Family does for the White Fang is disrupt the trader caravans in the area. They loan us some manpower in exchange for a cut of whatever we raid for them. And for the agreement to leave our turf to us.” Alex’s ears flattened. Arms folded and head down, he tapped his foot on the ground. It wasn’t even close to what he was hoping to hear, but it was at least something. He felt like that described the past few months to a tee. Reaching into his boot, he with drew a small piece of paper. It was still neatly folded, and on the front in flowery penmanship written in purple ink was one lone word: “Sienna”. He knelt down next to Kenzo and held the letter out, glaring at him until he unsteadily accepted it between his fingers before Alex let go.

“See to it that this gets to Miss Umberon by whatever channel you gotta go through. Whatever chain of command you need to go up, you make sure it gets there every step of the way.”

“What do I look like, a fuckin’ mailman? I’m not doing that!” Kenzo scoffed. Leo wrenched on his antlers once more, forcing the golden deer back into submission.

“You’re gonna do it, because otherwise we’re coming back. And we’ll bring more huntsmen. And if we were able to get to you by ourselves, do you really wanna test your luck against more? Even if you do win, it’ll still be a massive headache that I’m sure your granddad doesn’t wanna deal with. Double so for the Fang.” Kenzo’s eyes darted away in begrudging acceptance of the fox faunus’ point. “So unless you really want that blowjob, I doubt you really wanna see us again.” Kenzo’s muscles flared with renewed rage at the reminder of why he was stuck in this situation in the first place. He was supposed to have a cherry picked one night stand over a couple drinks, not a night being held hostage.

“You think you’ll even make out this building tonight? I’ll have every one of my men try and take you down,” Kenzo reaffirmed.

“Who’s gonna tell them, you?” Alex let out a sultry snicker. “Gonna do that from the dream world?” Kenzo didn’t even have time to question before the last thing he saw, five furious knuckles from Leo quickly bearing down upon him, knocked him out like a light. Standing up, Leo dusted himself off and shook his hand a little.

“I mean I wouldn’t have blamed him if he said yes. It is the best blowjob I’ve ever had,” said Leo, smirking at his shorter partner. Shying up a little, Alex couldn’t contain his blush, before nudging Leo and looking away. It did nothing to disrupt the lion’s balance. “And there it is. You almost coulda fooled me with the dominant act you were pulling off.”

“Ugh, that does not feel natural. Really not my style, but douchebags like him make it easy.” Alex adjusted his dress before both of his daggers opened up into fans once more. One stayed out in front of him while the other was at his side. He slowly creaked the door open and peeked down the hallway. There wasn’t a soul in sight. “Now let’s get outta here before anyone sobers up enough to question where their boss is.” Out the door, then down the hallway, then sneaking their way into a fire escape staircase. It was eerily quiet all the way downstairs apart from the muffled booming bass that was doing its fair share of masking their exit. The back door shot open followed by an outstretched clenched fist with its knuckles glowing red from fire dust. But, the only thing there for Leo to see was an empty back lot aside from a couple of raccoons rummaging a dumpster for a late night snack. As he stepped out, the glow from hus knuckle dusters dissipated, and the crisp air and cooling rain met his skin. Alex followed suit, checking for any security cameras on the building, but the only one he could spot was out of commission. With ease, Leo lifted his boyfriend over the fence scaling the chain link behind him as silently as possible. The two checked both directions before seamlessly blending in with the other foot traffic on the street.

“Let’s head back to the inn. We’ll probably have till tomorrow morning before anyone figures out what happened to Kinshika. If he has enough wits to remember us, he’ll probably have a bounty on our heads. We can’t stay in Kuchinashi any longer, so we’ll head out at dawn and check out those trader caravans he was talking about.” He avoided looking up to make eye contact, the rain was annoying enough. He was growing jealous of the pedestrians passing by with umbrellas. Leo, however, seemed unbothered by the rain.

“Alex,” Leo said in more of a concerned sigh straight from the heart than a statement. It drew Alex directly to notice. He reached for Leo’s hand and held it tight. “You really sure about this?”

“Huh? Yeah, we’re huntsmen. The people who depend on those goods need our help. It’s what we signed up for, isn’t it?” Alex responded with a question of his own, confused as to why Leo was asking to begin with.

“You’re not doing this to be a huntsman, though.” There it was. Alex’s tail instantly tucked and he brought his hand back. How was he gonna defend himself this time? “I’m… I’m just worried about you babe. You’ve been letting this chase after your sister consume you. Don’t get me wrong it’s been great getting to help the villages out here and do actual huntsman jobs, but… it’s been a lot. Basically ever since we last saw her before the fall it’s been nonstop.”

“I know she’s out there somewhere. I know it. That bitch is too stubborn to die,” Alex said adamantly. Leo nodded. He knew Sienna too well to disagree with that. But while it registered, it did little to sway him.

“It’s been months now and we don’t even have actual proof she joined the White Fang.”

“Trust me, she’s got a track record. No one knows that flammable idiot better than me. You weren’t there when we were in the Fang as kids.” The desperation was beginning to seep through his words, emotion overcoming him more and more. “I’d never go back. I can’t stand what they’ve become today. But her…”

“Do you really think running roughshod on some of the Fang’s most notable just to hand deliver them these notes is the way to do it? Do you think they’d even make it to Sienna and not just get thrown away?”

“I-I just need one of them to get to her! If she reads one of those notes then maybe it’ll convince her… Leo, you just have to trust me on this one, please.” Again, Leo sighed. He stopped his walk to fully face the younger Umberon twin by only a few minutes, running his fingers through his rain soaked hair. If the pleading puppy dog eyes could convince Leo to buy him a new outfit, then surely they would work for something that was much more meaningful. Leo moved a hand to one of Alex’s fox ears and gave it a gentle rub, causing him to push into his hand with a slight hum.

“I’m still with you. Always will be. I just worry about you. I love you, you asshat.” Launching into a hug, Alex rested his head on the lion faunus’ chest as he caught him. No matter where they were, it was Alex’s safest place.

“I love you too. And thank you so much.” The rain suddenly didn’t bother Alex anymore. The cold couldn’t reach him now. But still, it was his turn to sigh heavily. “I do miss Beacon though. When life was easier. When our only worry was what to wear. Sometimes I wonder if we shoulda kept going with our Onlyfans. We were making mad money off of it.”

“I would’ve been chill with the pornstar lifestyle,” Leo laughed. “But you’re right. This is what we signed for, what we trained for at school. Helping these people has been satisfying as hell.” Scooping up Alex with one arm under his butt, he brought him to face level so they could finally look in each other’s eyes. Each of them found an ocean of relief in the other’s gaze, which was felt in the fleeting but passionate kiss that came next. Leo smiled. “Now c’mon, let’s get out this rain. We got a nice shower and a warm bed calling our names.” Alex kept his arms firmly around his partner so he could be carried the whole way back. The only time either of them harshed the soothing peace they found in one another the whole way back was from Alex.

“Hey Leo.”

“Yeah?”

“You know when we find Sienna I’m gonna slap the fuck out of her right? She pissed off her own kryptonite and I hope she knows it.”

“That’s what twins do.”

Somewhere, stealthily jetting through the night skies high above Remnant, Sienna sat on a transport cruising back to headquarters. The mission report to turn in was complete. The celebrations of a successful mission at Beacon had long since ended. Dusty was laid out on a bench across from her asleep, and Karma was finally beginning to doze off next to him after pacing away her energy. But Sienna still sat awake. The memories Solomon forced to spin back into her head resembled more of a tornado than a washing machine’s spin cycle. Leaning over, she withdrew a piece of paper from her back pocket. It was given to her by some other captain she had never encountered before or since.  It was still neatly folded, and on the front in flowery penmanship written in purple ink was one lone word: “Sienna”. Exhaling a deep breath, she unfolded it and read the very brief message for what felt like the two dozenth time.

“Please reconsider. We love you.” -Alex

“Sorry Alex. You’ve just never gotten it. You may never forgive me, but I’ll never forgive every motherfucker we grew up with for what they did to us. This is the only way it’ll change, and if one us has the balls to do it, it might as well be me.”

[fandomalternteuniverse]

Pokémon au

So this au I thought of a while ago and I just thought I would share. So here we go.

Thomas starts his journey with his starter Bulbasaur. He gets a friendly rival in Quil. 

Joan is the professor to give Thomas his starter. Talyn is Joan’s assistant.

The first gym leader the fire type gym leader Roman. His gym is filled with musical type quizzes. They aren't very hard however if you guess wrong you have to battle the trainers to get passed. 

Roman has a team of three Pokémon that he uses to battle Thomas. Those three are. Ponyta with the moves ember and quick attack. Ponyta is at level 10.

Roman also has Vulpix with the moves ember and swift at level 11.

The last one on his team is Numel with the moves tackle and growl at level 11 as well.

Thomas beats Roman and gets The Ember badge after a bit of struggle since has Bulbasaur and Eevee. 

Thomas then takes it over to the next gym leader who is a water type gym leader in Virgil. 

Virgil’s gym from the outside makes it look like it might be a dark type gym or maybe ghost type. But it turns out to be a water type gym leader

Virgil  also has three Pokémon he uses to battle Thomas. The Pokémon are. Vaporeon at level 14 with the moves swift, water gun and quick attack.

He also has a Poliwag at level 13 with the moves water gun, tackle, and leer.

The last member of his team is Maril at level 14 with Bubble beam, rollout and tackle.

Thomas having the type advantage with Bulbasaur he wins. He also has his Eevee and his Skitty join in the fight.

Virgil hands him his second badge the Forest badge.

Thomas makes his way over to the third gym that is grass type. The gym leader is Patton with four Pokémon. Leafeon at level 17 with Razor leaf, Bite, and double edge.

His next pokemon being Pansage at level 19 with the moves lick, vine whip, and bite.

Whimsicott is his next Pokémon at level 19 with the moves Moonblast, gust, posion powder, and razor leaf.  

his last pokeomon being Sewaddle at level 18 with the moves acid, bugbite, and razzor leaf.

Thomas earned the badge thanks to is team of Bulbasaur, Eevee, Skitty, and Trapinch.

Thomas goes to the next gym being a dark type and ran by Remus. Remus has a team with Sandile at level 23 with the moves Sand tomb, bite, dig, and Scary face.

He has a Scraggy at level 25 with the moves pay back, low kick, protect, façade, leer.

Remus sends out his next Pokémon Zorua at level 24 their move set is Fury swipes, scratch, Knock off, torment.

Remus also has Gothita she is at level 26 with the moves psybeam, pound, charm, hypnosis.

his last Pokémon is Joltik at level 24 their moves are Furry cutter, bug bite, thunder wave, agility

Thomas wins the badge with Ivysuar, Umberon, Delcatty, Trapinch, and Seviper.

The next gym is ran by Janus with the ghost type gym leader. Janus’ team is Duskull at level 29 with the moves Shadow ball, wil-o-wisp, confuse ray, night shade, shadow sneak.

his next Pokémon is Luxray at level 30 with the moves, bite, spark, charge, Thunder shock

next one was Drifblim at level 29 with the moves shadow ball, hex, pay back, phantom force.

next Pokémon being Honchkrow at level 31 with the moves wing attack, sucker punch, night shade, hex

Janus’ last Pokémon is Stunky at level 30 with the moves acid spray, sucker punch, bite, toxic

Thomas wins the badge with his team.

Thomas makes his way to the next gym leader being a dragon type leader in Alex. -I don't know which ones would be on her team.-

Next the ice type gum leader being Gavin -I don't know about this one either.-

They face off against the elite four.

TEF are:

Dr. Pacani the fairy type specialist 

Elliot the steel type specialist

Nico the flying type 

Terrence the electric type

The champion is Valerie

The evil Team Caffeine Ran by Remy their plan is to steal all the coffee beans in the region and and make a super coffee so people will stay awake forever. Or that's what Remy tells people when in reality he is make it a part of a mind control so he can control Pokémon and others around him so he can control the region.

With the help of all the gym leaders and Valerie they save the region.

[sageywritings]

Home Turf

After what she would call a productive few weeks, Sienna returns home. And besides the barrage of memories, she’s faced with faces both familiar and new.

A loooooong overdue follow-up to the post-fall of Beacon storyline I started years ago at this point. Major shoutout to all of my friends who allow me to use their characters and show me more patience than I probably deserve. Thank you for being a big reason I write. Hope you enjoy, and read Home Invasion and Back to the Streets before this if you haven’t! (check the main blog) 

Auburn Vulpes (mention of Dash Ospreay) belongs to me

Sienna Umberon and Amber Himmel (mention of Riley Currant) belong to @gruntnuker-rwby

Mention of Alex Umberon belongs to @wetsliceofbread

Rin Aozora (mentions of Hikari Izumi) belong to @solar-moon-byul

The desert sand and unchecked factory activity in the air overwhelmed Sienna’s senses with familiarity. She was too accustomed to hearing the alleyways bustling with the usual gang deal that was just waiting to break down. She could vividly remember her brother trying to get her out of those situations. But even with Alex trying to pacify her flames, he couldn’t stop her from learning the streets’ tricks and trades. A smile crept across her face as she remembered using some of those tricks at Beacon, especially on Dash. His arrogance was always just begging for a taste of comeuppance. The only difference was that it was usually Riley that had to cool her flames. The smile quickly faded.

“Like they’d take me back now…”

Sienna stood in front of a corner store, leaning on the wall with head down and arms folded. Her White Fang mask was in her pocket, a plain black hoodie doing the job of hiding her identity instead. After the raid on the Ospreay facility at Izolim, the higher ups granted her some time in Vacuo for what she justified as “scouting purposes”. In reality, she wanted to take the time to get out of the White Fang uniform and take in her old home for the first time in what felt like forever. 

To her left was the Sunshine Estates, a suburban neighborhood built by foriegn dust companies to house their workforce. But, as the natural resources were drained, and the “investors” pulled out, it had been long left abandoned - apart from the gangs that were willing to bribe the guards for access. Downtown was on her right, with Shade Academy towering over everything as the only source of control in the kingdom. Nothing was there to stop the flooding memories. The nights in the JASR dorm she spent keeping the girls awake until 3 AM sharing stories. Seeing them for the last time the night Beacon fell. Standing over a bruised and bloodied Ospreay backed by her squadron. Happiness, sorrow, pride. It rushed her all at once.

Sienna knew she was flawed. Just like Vacuo. But that’s what made Vacuo so special. It made it home. A home that would accept her. A home where if you could survive, you are welcome. She could take comfort in that at least. It’s the place that taught her how to handle anything thrown at her. Including a man almost knocking her off her feet as he raced down the street in a crazed rush.

“The fuck is the hurry?” she said to herself, glaring his direction upon jolting back to reality. Two more ran past, one on each side of her. Both were faunus females who looked like they were in hot pursuit of the man. She zeroed in on the one of the left: wavy brown locks whipping in the wind, fox ears, black leather jacket, chain dangling from her right hand. Sienna’s eyes widened.

“Again? Damn, Bubblegum, what the hell?” Auburn’s voice was an exasperated sigh at reading yet another headline of White Fang activity. Seeing her team leader’s family name as the center of critical media reports was nothing new to her. It almost always solicited from him the same rant of how he was innocent, powerless to stop his company’s ways. Auburn always tried to distance herself from his talk, not wanting to create more friction within their team than their clashing personalities already caused. But for the first time, the news reports about Dash brought sympathy out of Auburn rather than rage.

“I never wanted this. Maybe it coulda been different if I had stood with you. Like I’m supposed to.”

“Hey, I’m... really sorry about your friend. He might’ve been an ass but that’s just not right.”

The voice didn’t serve to snap Auburn out of her haze, but instead to easefully goad her out of it with a genuinely caring tone. She turned around to face the speaker: a husky faunus that stood a few inches taller than her with a mess of black and white hair tied into a ponytail. Heterochromatic eyes looked at Auburn with as much concern as they could offer. 

“Thanks, Rin,” Auburn said softly. 

“The White Fang have always been too shady to be trusted, and now everyone knows. You know I got your back. Us faunus gotta stick together right?” Auburn let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, you’re definitely a good fit for the Leash.” Rin proudly straightened her jacket and fixed the collar around her neck before giving her new “boss” a silly smile and a thumbs up.

“I’m just surprised that you and the others let me join. Must be weird considering we had really just met,” Rin said on a more serious note despite maintaining her smile.

“We don’t turn anyone that’s willing to help. They were especially on board after I told them about what you did at Vytal.” It felt like everyone at the Amity Colosseum knew about Rin Aozora.

It was only because of Sapphire that they had met in the first place. After facing off against Haven’s Team SPHR in the first round of the tournament, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to meet such a beautifully named team. She eventually turned her focus to getting to know their team leader Shiina, leaving Auburn to meet two of its other members, Rin and Hikari. Off the bat, she could tell the two were an inseparable duo. One would pick up and play with the other’s little habits and quirks. Their communication was the best it could be, especially considering Hikari was mute.

While Hikari was off taking pictures of the arena, Auburn got to know the girl under the husky ears a bit better. How she met Shiina before their time at Haven. How comfortable she was having spent the whole day with a group of faunus. And most importantly, the lengths she’d take to protect Hikari. Which became to evident to Auburn very quickly.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Say something!” The loud, burly voice snapped both of them to see Hikari backed into a corner, shying away from someone harassing her. Auburn never quite learned the exact details, or anything else the bully said. She only watched and served as unnecessary backup as Rin marched forward, turned the guy around by his shoulders, and nailed him with a rattling uppercut that sent him crashing into a concessions stand. Most of the crowd erupted into cheers, but Auburn was the first to congratulate Rin with her signature rock horns. 

After the dust had settled at the Battle of Beacon, Auburn’s teammates were split up. Sapphire was seperated during the battle, Dash was forced by his family to retreat back to Atlas, and Solomon was placed on a team tasked with repairing the CCT. She stayed on campus as long as she could, even refusing the local huntsmen when they tried relocating her to the Vale refugee site. But, nothing could keep even part of her team together. She hated the idea of admitting defeat, but with nothing and no one left for her at Beacon, the only logical place Auburn felt she could go was home. However, the moment she decided on getting a plane ticket back to Vacuo, she found Rin. She told the SPHR member about her plans, and Rin almost immediately asked to join her, to Auburn’s shock. Rin wanted to see new places, and she figured what better time than now. So, Auburn took her in and brought her into the Leash.

“Hey Snowdog,” Auburn said. “I never did ask. Why didn’t Hikari come with you?” Rin’s expression almost instantly sombered and her eyes darted down to her feet.

“Hikari… always thought she was holding me back. She always thought because she was mute she was always a problem, a burden.” Rin’s eyes downcast to her scroll. She was met with a picture of her and Hikari at the top of Haven Tower, the moonlight illuminating their warm embrace. “When I offered to cover her plane ticket and everything, she still refused. She was so scared she even tried to break up with me. I flat out didn’t allow that.”

“So long distance? Must be hard, even with normally functioning comms,” Auburn said. “My nerd’s working his wizardry I’m sure.”

“I’ve been trying to learn as much sign language as I can. That way she doesn’t have to spend so much time writing down her words and showing me.”

“Wow. I’m so sorry,” Auburn said with ears flattened. She wasn’t even certain why she was apologizing. She just knew in her heart that Rin would not let her relationship disappear, all but confirmed by the husky faunus’ gung-ho thumbs up. Before the Leash duo could share any more, their attention was brought to a cry coming from around the corner. One peek to its origin saw a man waving a stack of lien over a small boy, the latter clutching his squirrel tail to his chest.

“C’mon, whattya need this for? Rats just scrounge for food, don’t they?” the man gruffly guffawed.

“Hey!” Rin yelled, wasting little time in making their presence known. “I know I’m new here but if you’re scared of a little squirrel I don’t think Vacuo is the place for you”

“Really? This again, Lucky? Didn’t learn your lesson last time?” Auburn chimed in.

“Oh shit!” Without any hesitation, the crook called Lucky bolted down the street. Both Auburn and Rin quickly gave chase, their loud footsteps terrifying the crook into not looking back. He tried to use everything on the sidewalk as an obstacle, throwing newspaper stands, trash cans, even people in their way. But, right as she hurdled a trash can, Auburn found her opening. Pulling her chain whip off of her waist, she cracked it at his legs. It wrapped around one of his ankles and tripped him, forcing him to crash hard into the pavement. Auburn quickly pounced on him and wrenched his arms behind his back until he dropped the lien. That allowed Rin to scoop it up and run off to return it to the boy.

“Fuck, the cops really should start thanking me. You assholes never make it easy,” she said while making her way through the small crowd that had formed. Suddenly, the last person she passed grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her into an alleyway. As soon as they were out of sight from the street and Auburn could fully realize what was happening, she broke free and elbowed her assailant in the stomach. She spun around with a punch aimed at the head, but the hooded figure ducked.

“Easy, easy, Hellfox,” she said in a instantly recognizable voice that caused Auburn to freeze in her tracks. The hood lowered to reveal the same pierced fox ears and bright blue and green hair that joined Auburn in so many escapades at Beacon.

“Sienna?!”

“Miss me?” She could barely say any more before Auburn wrapped her into a bonecrushing hug. Despite her fellow faunus’ strength, Sienna handled the vice grip well and hugged back. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft.”

“Shut up,” Auburn said back upon stepping back and meeting Sienna’s audacity with a light glare. “I get a pass since I haven’t seen my partner in crime for so long. Jade told me you went missing after Beacon, what happened?”

“I did. I… needed some time alone. Take care of things y’know? I would’ve told them, but… it was just too hard. I couldn’t bring myself to say goodbye to them. I doubt they even wanna see me.” Her eyes darted down and her ears flattened, but only briefly before Auburn’s fiery response brought her focus back up.

“Bullshit they miss you! They just want you to come home! Wait, that means you haven’t seen them yet?” A slight shock hit Sienna before she softly shook her head. “Then why are you here with me? C’mon let’s get Team JASR back to kicking ass as a unit!” Auburn had no idea where to find Jade, Amber, or Riley. But, it didn’t stop her from grabbing Sienna’s by the wrist in an attempt to lead her to no set destination. However, Sienna didn’t budge.

“We can’t!” she said sharply. Caught off guard, Auburn let go of her.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because-” she started before her eyes peered over Auburn’s shoulder to see someone approaching. “Because of something I’d rather say in private.”

“Huh?” Auburn said, turning around to see Rin returning. Unsure of who Auburn was talking to, she stayed back, leaning on one of the walls near the entrance of the alleyway. “Rin’s a friend, anything you gotta say will be safe with her.”

“If you’re a friend of Auburn, then you’re chill with me,” Rin said, giving the leader of the Leash a thumbs up. Sienna wouldn’t even meet them with eye contact. 

“Fine,” Sienna said. A certain gravity loomed in her voice, followed by a long pause. Not used to this coming from Sienna, Auburn’s curiosity and worry simultaneously grew. “Auburn, what do you think of the White Fang?” 

“Are you serious?” The brunette fox faunus was slightly taken aback. Given the weird behavior, she didn’t expect it to culminate into that question. She even lightly laughed it off, not taking Sienna seriously. “I think they need to give me my Ospreay back. No one’s allowed to mess with him but me.”

“Oh. So you’re ok with all these atrocities he’s committed to the faunus.”

That knocked the smiles right off of both Auburn and Rin. Sienna finally looked up again, and her eyes held no jokes to be found. Her ears twitched. Rin stepped up until the point where Auburn extended an arm to keep her back.

“He’s not the one calling shots at the head of the company,” Auburn said.

“Yet he just stood by and let it happen! Not even a word on trying to change anything!”

“He can’t exactly say stuff like that when he’s under his dad.”

“And was Daddy stopping him from talking to us at Beacon? Tell me. Did he ever mention a word to you about wanting to change anything?” Auburn’s crimson eyes glanced downward, the pained expression on her face evident of the truth she did not want to admit. “That’s what I thought.  He’s just as guilty as the rest o-”

“What’s your point? You really gonna side with the terrorist organization that’s making us all look bad?” Rin interjected. Sienna’s ears perked up before she turned fully to the husky faunus. She eyed her up and down and her expression of indignation quickly gave way to a grin creeping across her lips. It was like a hunter first spotting their prey.

“You. I remember you. From the Vytal Festival. That was awesome,” Sienna chuckled. It did nothing to calm Rin. “You’re a Vytal legend in my book, and you didn’t even have to win your match. That’s impressive. But you of all people should know why I fight.” She dug into her hoodie and finally revealed her ornately crafted White Fang mask, a Woodland Recon mask modeled after an ursa. “You know why I struggle more than anyone. Lemme ask you this. Your girl, where is she right now?” Rin’s ears lowered and her previously icy glare softened. 

“Rin,” Auburn spoke up with rising concern. “You know Hikari wouldn’t want you to do this.”

"So you don’t know. You’re separated. You understand where I’m coming from then. And what about you, Auburn?" Sienna snapped her attention toward her fellow fox-eared brawler. "You're one of the, if not the strongest Beacon had to offer. You know it, and I know it! But you also know they're never gonna give you the opportunity to prove it. Not as long as people like Ospreay are in your way."

"I can make my own opportunities," Auburn firmly said. But, before she could go on, Rin stepped forward. Trancelike, she approached Sienna, contemplative to the point of not listening. It took a moment for her gaze to leave her feet and focus on the Fang lieutenant. Then, she slowly extended her hand. Sienna smirked. 

“Faunus like you and me, we gotta stick together, right?”

"I knew you'd see what I see. Don't worry, both you and your girlfriend are both welcome with us." However, when Sienna went for the handshake to finalize the deal, Rin's outstretched hand turned into a middle finger right in Sienna's face. Just like that, Rin thieved the smirk off of Sienna. The burst of laughter from Auburn was the only thing masking Sienna's growl.

"So much for sticking together," she grumbled to herself. Before the laughter had even stopped, Sienna suddenly clocked Rin with a hard punch, causing her to stagger back a couple steps. Where Sienna's fighting capabilities and strength had improved since Beacon, her notorious temper did not. Auburn quickly got between them, perhaps for the first time in her life trying to stop a brawl as opposed to instigating it. Rin stared down the former JASR member while holding her jaw. Then, with one quick jolt of her arms, two elbow blades that ran up the length of her arms emerged. Sienna responded in kind by extending her claws.

"Boss. You're not gonna defend this shit, are you?" Rin said to Auburn. Without a word or a moment’s hesitation, Auburn spun on her heel to nail Sienna with the same treatment she gave Rin. Sienna fell to one knee, but was only kept down very briefly. She snarled as Auburn continued.

"That answer your question? You wanna play Fang Sienna? I'll treat you like Fang. And when I'm done, I'm dragging you back to your team to show them you've lost your mind."

"NO!" Sienna lunged for Auburn with her claws right as the Leash leader was reaching for her chain whip once more. Realizing she wasn't going to arm herself in time, Auburn ducked the strike and went to aim a counterpunch at Sienna's stomach. But, Sienna was too quick. A second slash forced Auburn back. Then, the barrage of punches started to come in. Auburn put up her hands in a defensive boxer stance. It could only do so much to defend herself from Sienna’s fiery claws though, her aura was left to absorb the rest of the damage.

Rin took her chance to launch forward and get in Sienna’s face. The first swing had her blade missing Sienna’s chin by only a mere few inches. The next punch connected to the fire-wielder’s gut. Then, Rin began to start raining in punches of her own. A few connected, most didn’t, but they all kept Sienna on the back foot. Then, with her back pressed to the steel of a dumpster, Sienna quickly pounced back. A wayward miss from Rin caused her to be just off-kilter enough for her to slide between the husky faunus’ legs, slashing both knees as she did so. Rin dropped off her feet right into a knee strike from Sienna that caught her right in the nose. 

However, before a fiery claw could follow up, something yanked Sienna back by the wrist. Auburn’s chain had found its way wrapped around it, giving Rin access to nail a strike to grant her some breathing room. Sienna caught Rin’s next punch with her left hand, then caught one from Auburn she saw coming with her peripheral version with her right. With a primal scream, a ball of flame suddenly burst from Sienna briefly engulfing all three girls. It seemed to do just as much damage to Sienna as it did her opponents. But, she was still first to her feet, catching her breath as she eyed Rin laid out on the ground with her aura flickering.

“You two are only proving my point. You’re both so strong and capable. Imagine what we could do if we-”. A war cry from Auburn interrupted her. She turned around just in time for the Hellfox to pick her up and drive her into a spear tackle. They both ended up crashing through the door of the abandoned warehouse next to. The old door splintered and easily gave way as both the fox bruisers landed on a layer of dust coating the floor that had sat undisturbed for years. Auburn barely had a chance to even roll over and gather her surroundings. Sienna was first to her feet again and sprinted over to aim a penalty kick at Auburn’s head. Eyes wide, she rolled out of the way at the last second.

“Cheap shot! And that’s coming from me!” Auburn remarked, still on one knee with whip in hand.

“Says the girl who sucker punched me,” Sienna snapped back. Auburn again flung her whip into action, this time wrapping it around Sienna’s waist. Forcing Sienna to her, she grabbed her and tried to throw her over her shoulders for a suplex. Sienna was able to tuck and rotate her body enough so her head and neck only absorbed some of the damage. Auburn’s next attack was intercepted with a fist of flame, causing her to growl and wince. Sienna shoved her back with her semblance active.

“Commander, where are you?!” Sienna’s ears shot straight up when her earpiece echoed to life.

“Ambushed! I’m in the old Arashi warehouse!”

“Roger. Sending backup your way!” the voice responded.

“Negative! Prepare an evac. We need to get outta here before we attract more attention. Meet me on the roof!”

“Roger that.” Sienna wasted no time in going for the stairs that led her to a series of catwalks once used to survey the manufacturing floor of this building. By this point, Rin had gathered the strength to give chase once more. She locked eyes on Sienna. Then, she detached both of her blades and clasped them together to form a crossbow. As the weapon whirred with transformation noises and loaded, she icily aimed down sights and fired. An arrow caught a direct hit to Sienna’s calf, causing her to stumble to the floor.

“Auuuugh!” she cried in both pain and frustration. Rin fired another couple of bolts. One whizzed past over her shoulder, another pinged off the railing. But, this holdup gave Auburn enough time to catch up. She swept Sienna off her feet again with a constricting bearhug. She desperately tried to kick and squirm free, but Auburn’s chain was around her neck. Auburn wrestled her to her knees as Sienna grabbed at Auburn’s whip with both hands. Her destination, the fire exit that led to the roof, was a tantalizingly close. It was only a straight run of a few dozen yards.

“Do you have any idea how worried Riley and Jade and Amber are? Do you have any idea how much I’ve worried for you?! We all thought you could’ve been dead!” Auburn cinched in her chokehold tighter as her emotions boiled over. Rin had joined her, standing behind as backup.

“They can think I’m dead. I might as well be,” Sienna said amidst her strain.

“Cut the crap, Sienna,” Auburn fired back.

“This world wouldn’t let me be with Riley! Be with any of them! You heard the things your precious team leader Bubblegum said to me and her at Beacon. So I’m fighting for a world that will. And taking some pleasure at getting back at that little shit Ospreay for how she treated her.” Auburn’s eyes of crimson suddenly widened with flared anger. Even though she was first to start a fight, even she had never felt a rage-induced adrenaline rush like this. Everything around them began to cloud.

“What?”

Sienna scoffed.

“How do you think the Ospreay raid was so successful? They had to have someone that knew the target well. Too well.” Auburn sat there incredulously. She didn’t say anything. “Need me to spell it out for you? I led that mission. I took him prisoner. And I’m making sure he repays the favor for how he treated Riley.” While this was going on, unbeknownst to Auburn thanks to her haze, Sienna’s semblance was kicked into high gear. Auburn’s chain was beginning to melt and twist and warp under Sienna’s grasp.

“Auburn!” Rin’s voice brought Auburn harshly back to reality where she focused in on two armed men clad in White Fang armor bust through the fire exit door. Rin had her crossbow aimed at the two soldiers in return. Then, Auburn’s weapon finally gave way, breaking into several mangled pieces. Sienna elbowed her captor then slashed at her, allowing her to make a break for freedom. The two cronies gave her cover with a hail of gunfire. Acting quickly, instead of pursuing Sienna, she activated her own semblance, Kinetic Armor. An energy overshield formed around her as she rushed to Rin to serve as a bulletproof shield for her. All of the bullets ricocheted off of her, but it kept both her and Rin pinned down long enough for Sienna to disappear into the stairwell. They both chased after her and the other Fang members, but once they reached the roof, there was no sign of anyone. All there was upon first survey was the Vacuo sky beginning to tinge orange for sunset.

“Dammit!” Auburn cursed. She went to the edge of the rooftop and looked down to the street below. The only potential clue left for her was a black SUV speeding southbound. After a moment, she felt a hand touch her shoulder, the same calming hand from earlier.

“Thanks, Auburn. You really saved my tail back there. I really don’t know what to say,” Rin said.

“Don’t gotta say anything. That’s just what faunus sticking together looks like, right?” The pair of newly made partners exchanged smiles then firmly clasped their hands together. It was almost therapeutic to Auburn. A sign of loyalty. Something she valued above all else, something that was in short supply. She was glad to have picked her friends correctly in Rin. Speaking of friends-

“Auburn?”

A familiar voice coming from the street. One that brought Auburn the same wave of nostalgia Sienna’s did, despite this one being much softer spoken than the other fox’s. She peered down to see a girl with bright orange hair with a cat shaped backpack slung over one shoulder. Another friend she had missed from Beacon in another member of Team JASR, Amber Himmel. 

“Amber!” Auburn called out.

“What are you doing up there?” Auburn’s ears instantly slicked back.

“Amber…” she repeated, this time her voice carrying a weight of disappointment in it. Like it was weighed down by something on her mind she didn’t want to share.

“What’s going on?” Amber said one more time.

“We need to talk.”