Playing For Keeps - Ch 63 (Adv) - Strange Bedfellows (Patreon)

DM: Paladin -› Nightshade | Tuesday 21:19

‹Paladin› sorry to put a rush on suddenly but I need that dossier on the Albains, they tracked Qrow down and demanded to meet me tonight

‹Nightshade› It’s fine, I have it.

Nightshade sent a file!

‹Paladin› good job, and thanks, but they’re gonna be here in like ten minutes so gimme the tl;dr

‹Nightshade› I don’t know them all that well. They only stepped up after Adam and I left Kuo Kuana. But I know they’re true believers. Sienna Khan wouldn’t have appointed them as chapter leaders otherwise.

‹Paladin› threat analysis?

‹Nightshade› Not one I’m a hundred percent confident in, since I’ve never seen them fight anyone but civilians, but… He never admitted it outright, but I think Adam was unsure he could take both of them at once. He was always more polite to them than anyone other than Sienna, at least when they were together.

‹Paladin› what did your dad have to add?

‹Nightshade› More of the same, mostly. He’s never seen them fight either, but they ARE accomplished activists, switching back and forth as necessary to sway a crowd. He didn’t know they were meeting with Spider, but he didn’t seem surprised, either at that or the deal you said they had. They come meet with him fairly often, and politically he can’t turn them away, but I do know he doesn’t fully trust them. One thing he mentioned is they keep trying to provide him with a helper or secretary. He keeps turning them down, and they accept it, but they always bring it up again the next time.

‹Paladin› a contingency for if they decide they need to act against him?

‹Nightshade› He didn’t say it in so many words… but probably. His impression, and mine, is that advancing Faunus rights is the ONLY thing they care about. And since they’re Sienna’s, that probably means ‘at any cost’. I wouldn’t expect them to go quite as far as Adam, but…

‹Paladin› Adam’s choices aren’t your fault and they don’t reflect on yourself

‹Paladin› nor on the Fang as your father established it

‹Nightshade› …I know.

‹Paladin› and remember we already agreed that sometimes violence is the only answer left

‹Nightshade› I know. Just be careful, Jaune.

‹Paladin› as careful as I can be

Closing the chat, I glanced at the clock. Nine minutes. I might expect Qrow to be late, but who knows if they will be. So they rely on charisma to sway a crowd, do they? Well, I may not have courtly graces, but I do have enough CHA to play that game… and when in Mistral, do as the Mistrali do, right? What do I remember about hospitality from Homer…?

Opening the dossier with my Semblance, I headed into the kitchen and started pulling leftovers from out of my [Inventory], heating the shoyu chicken and pitas back up. Qrow’s Aura, along with two I didn’t recognize, appeared at the edge of my range, heading toward the building, and I started the kettle for tea as they began to climb the stairs before throwing together a salad that I doused in the leftover goma-ae.

The kettle reached temperature, around 75°C, and I dropped some sencha leaves into a teapot before topping it up and starting a timer before quickly unequipping my boots and popping [Eagle’s Splendor].

Qrow’s Aura reached the door as I quickly set four places at the table, and I glanced up as it swung open and greeted him in Konpaku. “Okaerinasai.”

Qrow blinked, clearly caught off-guard, but rolled with it, replying, “Tadaima.”

Obviously picking up my intention, he paused to take off his shoes at the door — something neither of us had bothered with any other time we’d entered the apartment. Behind him, the Albains exchanged a glance before bowing in unison.

The one with the fox tail, Corsac, intoned, “Ojyama shimasu”, and his brother Fennec followed it with “Gomen kudasai”.

‹What Must Be Done›LV 86Corsac Albain

‹For The Greater Good›LV 85Fennec Albain

I paused as they also took off their sandals, racking my brain for the correct response, then shrugged and switched back to Common. “I don’t remember how to say, ‘Please come in’, but you’re welcome to do so. Can I offer you some tea?”

“You needn’t go to any trouble,” Fennec said politely.

“Not at all,” I insisted. “Please, join us.”

The brothers exchanged another of their meaningful looks, but sat down and accepted a cup of tea each. Qrow already had his cup and was smelling it appreciatively, so I served myself last. I tended to hate green tea, but it was a good symbol of the hospitality ritual I was leaning on.

If I recall, it’s rude to ask a guest questions before they’ve eaten, so I suppose I’ll fill in the yapping, I mused. “Please, help yourselves,” I added, gesturing for everyone to eat and taking my own pita once the others had served themselves, all of us murmuring, “Itadakimasu”.

“Please excuse me for not making the food fresh,” I continued. “A busy day is a bad excuse for offering poor hospitality.”

“Not at all,” Corsac echoed me. “It’s very tasty, and this tea is excellent. As expected of the Familias of Mistral.”

I’m really not cut out for noble politics; I can’t even tell if that comment was backhanded. Deciding to take it as literal, I smiled. “You’re too kind. Can I offer you anything else? Wine? A place to rest tonight?”

“…That’s not necessary,” Fennec said after a brief pause. “You surely must be wondering why we wished to meet you?”

“That can come after dinner,” I replied. “Might I trouble you for news from Mokupuni o Pālaha?” I wasn’t sure I was pronouncing that right, but both their eyebrows — and the angle of Fennec’s ears — rose at the attempt. “I haven’t seen my sister Shani in almost a year; I hope she’s well.”

Corsac, who seemed more inclined to go along with the pace I was setting, took over again. “Shani Arc is well-appreciated in Kuo Kuana. While we have our political differences, she follows our laws, and we have never heard of her treating anyone unfairly.”

“I’m hoping to visit her sometime, maybe over the Summer if nothing interferes.” I hadn’t been planning that before this moment, but I wouldn’t mind doing it. Maybe an excuse to make Blake meet her family, too. “If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll surely swing by whenever I’m ready to Hunt down Echidna.”

“You are… planning to Hunt Echidna the Lamia?” Fennec asked incredulously.

“In time,” I shrugged. “I’m certain our… mutual acquaintance informed you about the bounties I’ve claimed in whole or in part.” Heard her tell you, more like. “My mentor–” I gestured at Qrow “–and teammates have been quite supportive of my ambition to complete the set, so it’s just a matter of research and preparation.”

“You would be doing our people a great service, should you succeed,” said Corsac. “While the Grimm are far from the only danger in the Never Never Land, a sharp reduction in their number would permit some expansion of our most overcrowded cities.”

“The Never Never Land?” I asked.

“The arid interior of the continent is often called such,” Fennec explained. “At least among faunus whose families moved during the Great Migration; it refers to a poem by a Migration-era poet. Those who resided on the island before the Great War more often refer to it as the Red Belly.”

“Out on the wastes of the Never Never — That's where the dead men lie! / There where the heat-waves dance forever — That's where the dead men lie!” Qrow recited softly, and both brothers bowed their heads in acknowledgment.

“Regardless, my brother is right,” Fennec went on. “There are many dangers in the interior, whatever one chooses to call it, but the Grimm are the foremost threat which cannot be managed by ordinary citizens.”

I nodded consideringly. “That makes sense. People can adapt to almost any kind of climate, weather, or diet, given the incentive, and ordinary animals can be chased off or hunted trivially with modern weapons… the issue, as ever, is the Grimm, and that there are never enough Hunters to protect possible expansions.”

“Even expansions from the major cities sometimes fail, Huntsman support or no,” Qrow sighed. “Look at Mountain Glenn.”

“Almost entirely down to the Grimm issue,” I reminded him. Which itself was exacerbated by Merlot’s experiments drawing way more Grimm than the settlement should have attracted, if the game’s lore was accurate.

“Point,” he acknowledged.

Casual conversation continued as we ate, the brothers Albain expounding on the nature of daily life in Kuo Kuana, while Qrow and I mostly listened or shared light news from Vale and beyond that might not have reached Menagerie. When the food was finished — and damn, I really overdid my cooking for Bia and I if the leftovers fed four people even a light dinner like this — I got up to start the kettle again while Qrow collected the plates into the sink.

Once we were all settled back around the table with fresh tea, I leaned back and looked between the Albains.

“Thank you for the meal,” they said together, bowing in their seats.

Corsac continued, “I admit, we did not expect quite such a welcome, given your colleague’s reaction to us earlier.”

I smiled blandly. “That would be because you prevented him from assisting with an operation to apprehend a psychotic murderer who attacked me at Yakushi Hospital this morning. Seven people died, and while Callows has thankfully fled the Kingdom, it’s rather unfortunate we were unable to capture him.”

Both their eyes widened, and they looked from us to each other before bowing quite a bit deeper. “We sincerely apologize,” said Fennec. “We had no idea and would not have waylaid Mr Branwen had we known.”

[Observe], surprisingly enough, revealed that he was telling the truth. I guess they found out a bit about Tyrian since learning his name on Sunday. It also gave me a stronger impression that, although they were showing around Grandma’s level… that wasn’t the whole truth.

Grandma, much like my sisters, teachers, and Bia, was somehow holding back her true, higher level — the glimpse I’d gotten of Bia during the fight earlier showed her at 112 instead of the usual 76, providing the first real evidence that my theory about lower ‘resting’ levels might be on the money.

The Albains, on the other hand, didn’t give off the same vibes of restraint, which made me think the mid-80s were their actual combat levels. Which could be because they don’t know how to restrain it… or they might have come in hot if they really weren’t sure how they would be received.

Sighing, I waved him off. “You couldn’t have possibly known. It was supposed to be a trap for Callows, after all, so we didn’t let the news spread.”

“Regardless, it is a poor first impression when we are approaching you to ask for your help,” Fennec insisted, bowing again.

“My help?” I repeated.

“As you have surmised, we did our best to gather information about you after we learned you had retrieved Headmaster Lionheart,” Corsac said. “While the man himself would deny it, he is an extremely important symbol for faunus equality.”

“Our urgency in this matter decreased when the Headmaster returned to Haven Academy in good health yesterday,” Fennec continued. “But as it turned out, many of our sources reported that — much like your sister Shani — you seem to hold no prejudice toward our people.”

“When Flight 1387 crashed, you rendered aid to faunus and humans equally, triaging by the danger of injury rather than race,” Corsac picked up. “And as recently as two weeks ago, you let yourself be arrested alongside some faunus comrades — as well as some brothers of ours who have unfortunately been led astray — before exposing the latest of many cases of police brutality against our race.”

“And while rumors reached us that you lost all your memories prior to July of last year, you rescued a faunus woman who was injured during a home invasion mere days later,” Fennec added. “Humans of such integrity, particularly with the personal and professional connections you can boast, do not come along often. Even without the aid you rendered Headmaster Lionheart, we would have wished to meet you.”

I glanced at Qrow, but he gave a fractional shrug, telling me to handle this how I wanted. “Funny you should mention those last two,” I drawled. “Because those ‘astray brothers’ of yours seemed baffled that I stood up to the cops for Sun and Leo. Like it hadn’t even crossed their minds that humans could be anything other than monsters.”

“It is regrettable, but there are many… extremist voices among the White Fang,” said Fennec. “While many consider our current High Leader’s position to be a radical departure from the Founder’s, I can assure you that High Leader Khan’s goal is equality, not chaos.”

“We do not condone unnecessary criminal behavior that does not serve that cause,” Corsac said flatly, before letting his brother finish.

“And we do not consider all humans our enemies.”

I stared Fennec in the eye as I leaned back further and untucked my undershirt, lifting it and my tee-shirt to reveal the long, thin white scar across my left flank, angling up from just above the hip bone nearly to the armpit. “Tell that to Taurus and the ‘brothers’ he ordered to execute an unarmed faunus civilian for the crime of offering Ghira Belladonna’s daughter a couch to sleep on,” I said coldly, letting my shirts drop again once they’d gotten a good look. “The gut-shot Jazz suffered originated from a White Fang’s pistol, and the three of us only escaped by knocking out three operatives and shoving Taurus out a window.”

Their eyes widened in unison, and [Observe], once again, indicated the surprise was genuine. “We… had not heard this detail,” Fennec said faintly. At my raised eyebrow, he elaborated, “We were aware that Brother Taurus’ chapter had grown somewhat… liberal in their interpretation of High Leader Khan’s directives. The White Fang’s official stance is that violent operations are sanctioned only in response to aggression or mistreatment by humans and human-led corporations or governments.”

“We will not insult you by denying this in private,” said Corsac. “Robbing or damaging the stores of companies that refuse to serve faunus customers, raiding of Dust mines relying on indentured or enslaved faunus labor…”

“Kidnapping and executing SDC board members,” Qrow supplied.

“That was not the intended outcome!” Corsac snapped, before Fennec laid a hand on his shoulder. “The kidnapping was supposed to be for leverage, not–!”

“That regrettable incident was condemned,” Fennec said more calmly. “And if you will recall, the ones responsible were turned over to the authorities.”

“In Mantle, not Atlas,” Qrow pointed out.

“We deemed the latter more likely to mete out vengeance rather than justice,” Fennec replied. “You may feel free to confirm that those former brothers remain incarcerated, despite further… operations in Solitas.”

“Then in case the other details of the Vale chapter’s operations have escaped your net,” I spoke up. “Taurus is openly collaborating with members of the human-run underworld in Vale to steal and stockpile Dust in quantities amounting to several tonnes so far. My arrest two weeks ago was following a burglary at a Dust shop — one which I interrupted and reported, which is why I was present to be arrested — carried out by half a dozen White Fang under the orders of Roman Torchwick. A rather openly bigoted human thief, if you’re not familiar.”

Fennec cocked his head. “Such negative experiences with the Vale chapter, along with the undoubtedly… colorful opinions of Miss Belladonna… and yet you agreed to meet with us?”

“You’re not Taurus,” I said bluntly. “If you were, I imagine Ghira wouldn’t bother meeting with you, given you’re part of the faction that urged him to step down. But he does, so obviously he thinks you can be reasonable, differences in political stance notwithstanding. For that matter, I doubt Leonardo would feel safe meeting you regularly if you were anything like Taurus.” Even if he’s not the most reliable judge of character, to be honest. “And frustrated by your timing or not, you also convinced Qrow to arrange this meeting. So yes, I agreed to meet you, because until I form my own opinion of you, I trust the opinions of the people I know I can trust. And to address the unspoken question, yes, I’m willing to hear out your request and give it due consideration.”

Fennec blinked, and Corsac actually chuckled. “I must say, it’s actually somewhat refreshing to hear that we’re receiving that benefit of the doubt from… anyone, but especially a human,” he said.

“The Kingdoms’ propaganda rarely paints the White Fang in any positive light, so even sympathetic humans are often hesitant to speak with us,” said Fennec.

“Not to sound too supercilious, but Justice is one of the principles I try to structure my worldview around,” I replied. “And Justice which doesn’t begin by assuming all people are equal… isn’t just.” I leaned forward. “That said, my sympathies toward the faunus and the White Fang do not dispose me to ignoring damages caused to humans just because they happen to be human. I will not suffer the wicked to harm the innocent… and neither of those categories is bounded by race. If your favor runs counter to that, I will have to decline. Do we understand each other?”

The Albains exchanged yet another glance, this one a bit longer than the others. One of Corsac’s eyebrows rose, and Fennec’s ears twitched in response. Corsac let out a tiny breath through his nose, and his brother’s lips twitched. Finally, they turned back to face me and bowed in place again, intoning together, “We do understand.”

“I do not believe our request will oppose any of your principles,” Fennec continued. “We have several messages we would like you to pass on when you return to Vale, and separate from that, a standing request that you continue to set an example for young humans and faunus alike.”

“You don’t have to ask me to keep doing Good.”

“In addition,” Corsac took over, leaning forward himself. “In light of what you revealed to us today, we would like to remain apprised of the actions of the Vale chapter. Our cell structure prevents the organization from becoming too bloated to act, but it does mean that individual agendas can begin steering individual chapters in directions counter to the wishes of the High Leader.”

I frowned, considering that. “Maybe she didn’t presuppose his exact actions, but I find it difficult to believe your High Leader didn’t expect behavior like this from Taurus. You don’t put someone like him in charge without someone to restrain him unless you’re expecting bloodshed.” Frankly, I don’t know how she didn’t foresee his sudden but inevitable betrayal… Actually, I guess she did; she just didn’t expect all her guards to be on his side.

“We cannot speak to High Leader Khan’s reasoning,” said Fennec, shrugging. “But I can say that she has not been pleased with the limited details we have been receiving from the Vale chapter, and that she will be remarkably displeased at the information you’ve shared.”

“Thus,” Corsac repeated, “We are asking that you, or someone, keep us informed about anything you discover about the Vale branch’s actions. Particularly if they run counter to the Cause.”

I didn’t reply immediately, and to my utter surprise, Fennec said clearly, “If you find their actions to be endangering innocent people, we will not fault you for opposing them.”

Well then. If they mean that… “I had to come here in a hurry, but I have a few sources I should be able to tap when I get back home. But here’s what I know for certain at the moment…”

[Quest Complete!]

[If I Only Had The Nerve]

[You have gained 106,500 EXP and 150,000L! Increased reputation with: Mistral, Mistral Familias (Argos, Khagan), Mistral Underworld, Spider, Ozpin's Guardians, Menagerie, White Fang (Menagerie Chapter), White Fang Leadership. Greatly increased reputation with Mistral Familias (Alexandria, Roma). Decreased reputation with Salem's Circle. Greatly decreased reputation with White Fang (Vale chapter).]

Spider is a separate reputation score than Mistral Underworld? I guess they're more international, but still… And I'm guessing that the White Fang Leadership was the 'catch attention' reward from Part 1 of the quest. It could've been positive or negative, but since the 'Grimm' we were investigating was the Albains all along, resolving the quest would mean catching their attention one way or the other.

The question is, did my reputation with the Vale chapter of the White Fang decrease more, or is this just a notification of my standing from separating out my already-negative rep with them from the rest of the organization?

[Bonus Objective – Confirm once and for all whether Leonardo Lionheart has betrayed Ozpin’s Guardians: Complete!]

[Bonus: You have gained 144,000 EXP. Earned skill book “Sì Shǒuhùzhě Bùzhòu” (pending delivery). Greatly increased reputation with Ozpin’s Guardians.]

Hm, I’m guessing someone’s going to physically hand me that shortly, like the [Weapon Design] skill book way back in July.

[Bonus Objective – Kill Tyrian Callows: Failed. Tyrian Callows escaped.]

[Bonus Failure Penalty: Decreased reputation with Salem's Circle. Relationship with Tyrian Callows is now Hated. Relationship with Arthur Watts is now Hated. Salem's Circle is now directly aware of your identity.]

Well, that was bound to happen eventually. At least his escaping didn't cut my rewards this time.

[Secret Objective complete: Redeem Leonardo Lionheart!]

[You have gained an extra 73,000 EXP and 5,000,000L! Vastly increased closeness with Leonardo Lionheart. Leonardo Lionheart is now an Ally. Lionheart is now a Supporter.]

Holy f–! Five MILLION additional Lien? That's gotta be straight from Leonardo… I suppose he can afford it? Anyway, that brings us to 323,500 total quest EXP, accounting for…

[Level up! Your level has increased by 8!]

…Eight entire levels. Fuck yeah.

[Your skills have increased. Tap for a full list.]

Mostly the noncombat ones, natch. Charm, Enlightened, even one to Bargain. Biggest pull is the 40 stat points… I really need to get those spent, but I’ll think about that later.

Name: Jaune ArcLevel: 72 (Next: 7.73%)Title: InitiateRace: HumanAge: 18Job: Journeyman HuntsmanClass: PaladinSemblance: The GamerHP: 9253/9253MP: 5072/5072STR: 234 (100)CON: 297 (105)DEX: 167 (54)INT: 140 (51)WIS: 119 (53)CHA: 163 (53)Points: 167Money: 6,190,025LStatus: Cursed – Yellow Death [High]

A/N: If you’re enjoying this story, feel free to check out my discord server at https://discord.gg/H6V854Fvbg

The title probably gives away ahead of time that the Albains are going to be reasonable, but whatever.

The Ancient Greek concept of Xenía (Greek: Ξενία, often translated as ‘guest-friendship’) was a ritualized and institutionalized form of hospitality toward guests and foreigners. It comes up all over Ancient Greek history and mythology, particularly in The Iliad and The Odyssey. This includes a bath, food and drink, gifts, and an offer of safe escort to their next destination; in turn, guests are expected to be courteous and not a burden, and to return the favor if ever asked.

Since I’ve been trying to incorporate East Asian cultural influences into Mistral as well, I also tried blending in a little bit of Omotenashi (Japanese: お持て成し, ‘welcoming/hosting guests; hospitality’), which is much less formal and much more focused around concepts of empathy, anticipation, and authenticity, trying to recognize and attend to your guests’ needs before they are expressed.

Sencha (Japanese: 煎茶, lit. ‘infused tea’) is the most popular form of tea in Japan, made by steeping whole leaves in water around 75-80 °C for about 60 seconds. Shincha (Japanese: 新茶, lit. ‘new tea’) refers to the tea leaves from first harvest of the year, is generally considered the tastiest sencha.

Reminder: Konpaku (Japanese: 魂魄 or こんぱく, lit. ‘soul’) was mentioned in Chapter 29 to be — in this story — the Southeastern subcontinent of Anima (itself Latin for ‘soul’); the Northwestern subcontinent (the ‘dragon’ shape enclosing the Sea of Monsters) I named Psyche (Greek: ψῡχή, also ‘soul’).

In this context, ‘Konpaku’ is referring to a particular ‘old Animan’ language/culture, which for our purposes is Japanese — there are others, such as one equivalent to Chinese, which the Lie and Xiao Long families descend from, or Mongolian, represented by the Khagan Familia.These stand in contrast to the ‘old Mistrali’ (Greek/Roman) culture that the other Familias represent.

Okaerinasai (Japanese: おかえりなさい, lit: ‘returned’, fig. ‘welcome back’) is a ritualized greeting to someone returning [usually home]. The corresponding phrase from the person returning is Tadaima (Japanese: ただいま, lit. ‘right now’, fig. ‘I’m here [now]’).Ojyama shimasu (Japanese: お邪魔します, lit. ‘I’m going to be a bother’) – functionally something like ‘pardon the intrusion’ when you enter someone’s home. On your way out you would change the conjugation of the latter word to say Ojyama shimashita (Japanese: お邪魔しました, lit. ‘I have been a bother’).Gomen kudasai (Japanese: ごめんください) is something like ‘please excuse [me]’

The phrase Jaune fails to remember is Dōzo ohairi kudasai (Japanese: どうぞお入りください, ‘please come in’ or ‘please come up’).

In keeping with the geographical similarities between Menagerie (Mokupuni o Pālaha) and Australia, ‘the Never-Never Land’ is one of many euphemisms for the Australian Outback, referring to the poem “Where the Dead Men Lie” by the Australian poet Barcroft Boake.

Sì Shǒuhùzhě Bùzhòu (T. Chinese: 四守護者步驟 / S. Chinese: 四守护者步骤) is a wholly-fictional title (and probably nonsense construction anyway); the intention is ‘Four Guardians Stances’, a fictional expansion to the already half-fictional Xíngquán. Any similarities to actual martial arts are likely due to me reading about actual martial arts, but do not represent any real practice or lineage.

Discussion Prompt

Is Jaune being too naive here, given he knows that in Volume 5 these brothers were willing to support Adam?

At the moment, I’m leaning toward a position where the Albains (and above them, Sienna Khan) are radical, but not extremist, if that makes any sense. From the text of the show, Ghira’s White Fang was becoming ineffectual, and Sienna’s got the ball rolling again. In her own words, “I want humanity to fear the faunus, to know that we demand respect!” The word ‘fear’ here is questionable, but in the spirit of having her not be one-dimensional I’m choosing to take it as ‘fear treating us like garbage’.

In a pithier quote, Sienna took over the White Fang (at least in my AU) by appealing to the sense of, “Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.”