Chapter Text
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” a large man yelled. Jerking out his arm, the human grabbed the culprit’s wrist and leaned down near her face.
“You think I’m some kind of idiot? If you’re gonna pickpocket, at least do it right, you dumb animal,” he growls at the faunas girl in his grip.
Looking into the human’s eyes, Blake Belladonna presses her lips into a fine line.
Well that could have gone better. I could have sworn I didn’t brush up against him. Damn it, there's a cop over there too. Please Yang, don’t do anything stupid. Or I really I should say, please Yang don’t come in and try to beat this guy up.
The man’s grip tightens, and he looks around before spotting a mall officer. “Hey buddy, this girl tried-”
“Excuse me! Sir?” A bright voice calls out.
When the man turns around, he’s met with lilac eyes and brilliant blonde hair. Dressed in a cream colored crop top, a brown cut-off jacket, and ripped white wash jeans, she is definitely easy on the eyes, proven entirely evident on the way the man skims over her body with great interest. The girl gives him a sheepish grin, then steps even closer to him.
“I’m so sorry for her. My friend… she’s from the outskirts of Menagerie, you see. This is her first time being around a crowd of people like this. Before today, she hadn't even been to a mall before!” She exclaimed.
Blake rolls her eyes at that comment. Thanks Yang. I’m an ignorant faunus girl who’s never left her tribe in the woods. Wonderful.
The man faltered for a moment but persists, “look sweetheart, I know a pickpocket when I see one. A human girl like you shouldn’t be hanging around with this animal.”
While it’s only for a second, Blake notices her friend twitch at that comment. She’s sure she’s the only one to catch Yang’s change in expression. Afterall, the pair can read each other like a book.
Pressing closer, Yang positions herself under the man and flutters her eyelashes. She cocks her head to the side and murmurs softly, “please let her go. I promise she didn’t mean any harm.”
There she is. My knight in shining armor.
Blake smirks as she watches the human’s reaction to Yang’s acting. They’ve had a lot of practice over the years. Two years to be exact. Even though it often feels like they’ve known each other for a lifetime.
Ever since they were seventeen years old and living by themselves, the two girls never left one another’s side. Two years ago during one of Vale’s harshest winters, Blake escaped from the notorious gang, The White Fang, and from her monstrous ex-boyfriend. The streets didn’t offer comfort, friends, or a home to come back to at the end of the day. Those things did not come into Blake Belladonna’s life until she met Yang Xiao Long.
The day the two girls met changed the course of their lives forever. Having been caught by a cop for pickpocketing an arrogant businessman, Blake ended up hiding in the alley behind Junior’s Dance Club. She sat on the ground with her hands in her head, breathing frantically. Fleeing from the police drained the girl of all her energy; leaving her with no hope of escape. Her cheeks were numb from the cold and her stomach felt as though it was caving in on itself.
The cops are coming. They’re almost here and they’ll take me back to him. I can’t go back. I can’t. Not again.
Suddenly, the backdoor to the club flew open, and a mass of blonde hair appeared. Yang’s face was set in a deep scowl at the voice chiding her in the background. One comment in particular set her over the edge and the blonde nearly combusted.
“Alright, alright! Just shut up already, Junior! I’m on it, okay? God, you’re infuriating!” Yang growled and walked down the steps into the alley. Her teeth grinded against each other, and it took every ounce of her willpower to not punch the side of the building.
Noticing she wasn’t alone, Yang stopped and locked eyes with Blake who turned her head toward the commotion. Neither said a word as they stared at one another. Why did they pause for so long? Gold stared at lilac and lilac stared back at gold. The sirens wailed closer, and Yang snapped out of whatever kind of spell she was in. Blake watched her expression change and cocked her head to the side; waiting for an answer. Waiting for something she didn't even know she wanted at that moment.
Communication. Even if it’s non-verbal. They always knew what the other was thinking practically all of the time.
“Here-” Yang pointed her thumb toward the door- “get inside. Hurry!”
Ever since that day, the two girl’s developed a relationship that meant more than words could describe. They don’t need to speak when they swindle people, when they wake from vivid nightmares of their past, or when they hold each other during the quiet moments of their day. It’s a strange friendship, but it’s one they are both severely grateful for.
Because without their unique relationship, Blake can’t imagine what kind of hell she would be living in right now. Although, this lifestyle currently wasn’t... ideal. The human’s unforgiving hand was definitely going to leave behind some bruising.
Focusing back on the situation in front of her, Blake studies the man’s expression. He won’t last much longer with Yang’s antics. Yang’s laying on the “pretty girl” persona awfully hard. She’s surprised but also proud of Yang for not just running in and beating the guy into the ground. It’s funny to Blake to see her friend play the role as the sweet, lovely human girl. If only he knew the damage Yang could do with her bare hands.
“Okay-” he eventually relents after a long stare down with the blonde- “I’ll let her go. But if this mutt gives you any trouble, you better tell someone. I’d hate to see a pretty thing like you get mixed up into trouble because of a faunas.”
With that statement, the fat man loosens his grip on Blake’s arm completely. He walks away grumbling to himself about “trash tainting this town”. Leave it to society to fail in all areas that involve racial acceptance. She slumps to the ground momentarily, then begins to stand while brushing dust off of her clothes. Yang steps forward and offers her hand.
“God, I was two seconds away from breaking that guy’s nose. You did get his money, right? Please tell me you took his money? I at least want the satisfaction of knowing his wallet’s empty.” Yang said while she bounces on her toes excitedly.
“No. No cash this time,” Blake said sadly while Yang deflated. However, her face splits into a wide smile. “I got his credit card.”
“Ha! Yes! Serves that bastard right. He’s going to be wondering why he spent a thousand dollars on room service now. I’m ordering everything I see off of the menu tonight.” Yang chuckles as she snakes an arm around Blake’s waist. The two make their way out of the mall and into the parking lot.
“A thousand dollars on room service? Oh please. Don’t act like you’re not going to try and buy every Achievement Men song on your scroll before you even think about food,” Blake playfully retorts as she bumps her head into Yang’s shoulder.
Gasping, Yang breaks away from their embrace and exclaims, “you act like that’s a bad thing! You can’t deny they're the best boy-band of this decade! You can’t can you? I knew it!”
“We’re literally in the third month of this decade,” Blake deadpans. “It’s the first week of march.”
“And? My point still stands. I’m going to buy life-size cutouts of all of the members and pretend they’re my friends. You’ll be replaced.”
Blake lets out a laugh and rolls her eyes. They don’t have an easy life, but Blake couldn’t be any happier than when Yang makes her laugh. She looks down at Yang’s swinging arm and stares at her hand. The blonde’s laughing subsides for a moment whenever she feels Blake’s fingers lace together with her own. Yang looks at her friend’s eyes and offers a smile smile while gently squeezing her hand.
“You’re going to replace me, huh?” Blake whispers coyly, enjoying the way the late sun rays ignite Yang’s hair into a beautiful golden glow.
“No.” she pauses and sends a grin at Blake that makes her melt. “I don’t think I could ever do that.”
----
“And? What did she look like? Uh huh. So, you saw her from the ninth story of your apartment building, but you are certain she was carrying a pair of diamond earrings in her right hand? And her hair color may have been black or a really dark red, but you aren’t for sure. Don’t call me again.”
Clover Ebi sighed tiredly and placed the police department’s telephone back into its reciever. This was the third person today to waste his time with their false accounts. Vale Police Department’s phones ring nearly everyday with people hoping to participate in arguably the biggest case in Vale’s history. Some call for their fifteen minutes of fame, some call as a practical joke, and some call because they actually believe they saw Raven Branwen in the flesh.
Four years ago, Clover decided that he would be the one to track down the biggest crime leader in all of Remnant. However, at the time when he first took the case, the Branwen gang did not even have its name that it has today. All people knew was that a gang of miscreants ran wild in the streets and left the citizens of Remnant terrified to leave their houses.
The gang members began to be referred to as “The Bandits” because of their recklessness and ferocity. Newspaper titles asked in bold letters, “WHEN WILL THE MYSTERIOUS LEADER OF REMNANT 'S BANDITS BE REVEALED?”.
The answer seemed unsolvable, until Clover Ebi became the first and only person in the world to find the notorious gang leader and provide a photograph.
While strolling the streets one day for clues, Clover spotted a dark figure step out into a nearby alley. She was tall with jet-black hair that reached to her hips. Curious, Clover discreetly followed the woman to an abandoned warehouse. Inside sat Roman Torchwick and his silent accomplice. They greeted the woman but he could see the look of fear on both of the criminals faces. Looking back on this, he realizes how stupid it was to infiltrate a drug lord’s warehouse unarmed and completely alone. He laid low out of sight and ease dropped on the criminals’ conversation. Right before he left, he pulled out his cell phone and snapped a picture. Later that night, Clover arrived back to the station with a picture of the intimidating woman and the knowledge that she’s the one they had been looking for. While this was an amazing start, Clover would not have been able to succeed further without a certain crow.
Qrow Branwen, a stubborn drunk, transferred to Vale’s police department two months after Clover’s break through. His transcripts were questionable, and his prior experience mostly laid in bounty hunting. Clover smiles at the memory of an angry Qrow Branwen muttering expletives as he entered the police station. He smelled of hard liquor and cigarette smoke, but somehow appealed to the other man.
“What are you looking at, pretty boy?” Qrow slurred as he sat down.
“Just the man who ran into the glass door on his way in here.”
“That glass is too damn clean. What do you do? Scrub the windows all day?”
“Well no not exactly. But, that can be your job if you want it to be, Branwen.”
After explaining to Qrow the basics of being a private investigator for Vale, Clover sat down to explain the case at hand. Of all of the investigators on Remnant, he had been the first to develop any kind of a lead on the lethal gang. Not expecting for the man in front of him to help him any, Clover lazily held up the picture he captured of the woman while looking down at his paperwork. Moments passed by, and he did not receive a reaction; causing him to look up in confusion. The drunk man no longer looked dazed. In fact, his red eyes widened and his expression could not easily be read. Clover cleared his throat and looked Qrow in the eyes.
“Do you know anything about this woman?”
“Ha. Well… you could say that.”
“Oh?”
“That’s my twin sister, Raven Branwen.”
“You’re saying your twin sister is possibly the most dangerous person in the entire world?”
“Hey, I’ve been known to have some pretty bad luck. I’m not too surprised by anything anymore.”
Finally after years of mayhem, the world had a name and a face for their fears. And, Clover finally found someone he felt he could start a life with.
Qrow adapted to the job surprisingly fast and pushed to change his life for the better. With the help of Marrow, Elm, Harriet, Vine, and especially Clover, Qrow Branwen has been a sober man for three years. The men’s relationship developed casually and led to Clover confidently asking out Qrow to dinner one day after work. Qrow’s reaction was more panicked than Clover expected, which was very endearing to the man. Qrow acted tough on the outside, but it warmed Clover’s heart to see Qrow be affected by his charms. While it's not typical for a private investigator to date his partner, Clover can’t imagine not sharing his life with the man he loves.
In the background, the phone rings once again. Clover lets out another sigh.
I guess I need to work instead of daydreaming. We’re getting closer to cracking this case. I need to stay focused if I want to take you down, Raven.