Far From Home 004

Trifa didn’t know what to make of Jaune Arc.

Her experience with humans was… admittedly limited. She’d grown up in Menagerie, but her mother and father had died when she was really young. A tragic accident, their boat had capsized while fishing, and their bodies were never recovered. With how strong the tidal currents were around the island, that was to be expected, and so she’d grown up in an orphanage.

The orphanage had been fine. The matron was a sweet old lady that took really good care of them, and despite not having a family of her own, Trifa hadn’t wanted for anything. They were provided for, had food in their bellies and shelter above their heads, and while they didn’t have the latest and greatest, they did alright. The other children hadn’t been so kind, though. Due to her faunus traits, she’d been subjected to bullying or just outright avoided. Spiders weren’t well liked, period. She never thought she’d be adopted because who would want the weird, pale spider girl? It was clear that her presence unnerved most people. But it happened.

By the time she was adopted, she’d been ten, young enough to still hold a naive view of the world despite her experiences but old enough to learn and understand.

So that’s what her adoptive parents did. They taught her.

About the Faunus Rights Revolution. About the oppression their people faced, outside of Menagerie. About humans – the inferior species, yet they controlled almost all of the land not occupied by the Grimm.

Funny that.

Her parents were White Fang, so it was only natural that Trifa herself grew up to join. Her first time meeting a human, it had been at a protest. He’d spat in her face while she’d been waving a sign, and that was all she needed to know.

They were the worst.

She’d never met a human she liked. They were all bigoted assholes, and every protest she attended, and later, every wrong that one of these companies levied against her people only fueled her view of them.

If they weren’t willing to accept them on their own, then they would force them to.

As she got older, she learned that not everything was black and white. Faunus were just as capable of being horrible – she knew that better than anyone – and often took advantage of their own. As she traveled the world under the orders of Sienna Khan, Trifa witnessed for herself that maybe, just maybe, some humans were alright.

Vale had been an eye opener.

Mistral was a cesspit of criminal activity and old, speciest sentiment. There were stores that outright refused to serve faunus, and they didn’t bother hiding it, even though technically, it was illegal under their own laws. Corruption ran deep there, and it was not much better in Mantle.

Vale was something else.

She’d been there a couple of months and yet not once did she see a store advertising their rejection of faunus customers. In fact, many of the stores had faunus workers in them. Though Trifa still garnered wary looks due to her appearance, she was never harassed or turned away, even when buying coffee at a Schneebucks.

It was the most welcoming any human settlement had been to her, and it had thrown her for a little bit of a loop.

And now she had to deal with perhaps the weirdest human she’d ever met.

They’d kidnapped him after attacking his friend, and yet he spoke to her as if she wasn’t his jailer. He spoke to her as a person, without a hint of fear or disgust, and Trifa often wondered if he was mentally challenged.

How could anyone in his position be so candid and calm? He would not shut the fuck up, even when threatened, and despite herself, despite her distrust of humans… she was beginning to enjoy his company.

There was something wrong with her. She’d clearly picked up some sort of sickness, there was no other explanation.

Day after day, she followed him as he went about his tasks. Menial things like preparing food, packing boxes, fixing leaks, and doing the laundry. Trifa expected him to complain. Hell, all the new recruits did was bitch and moan, so why wouldn’t he?

And yet he didn’t.

He went about his work with a smile and an endless stream of chatter that drove her up the wall, and yet…

Maybe she was just lonely.

She didn’t have any friends. Even in the White Fang, spiders were not well liked. And maybe she’d cultivated a reputation around it, ensuring that everyone kept their distance – but in the end, she was still a person.

She still craved contact.

She still craved conversation.

Jaune Arc was giving her more than she’d ever wanted. Conversation, not contact. If he so much as tried to touch her…

She sighed.

Yeah, there was something wrong with her head.

She needed a vacation. Maybe after all of this stuff with that Belladonna chick was over with, Sienna would send her somewhere nice where she could relax for a few weeks.

That would be nice.

Today she was accompanying Jaune outside their compound. While a lot of the food they cooked and prepared for shipping was for their own people, what a lot of people outside the know didn’t realize is that the White Fang was heavily involved in charity. They probably assumed that when the Fang became more radicalized, they’d suddenly stop caring for their people but they couldn’t be more wrong. While it was no longer done through legal channels, the White Fang still helped provide food and other essentials to faunus that were struggling.

And there were no shortage of struggling faunus in Mistral and the surrounding areas.

Trifa felt on edge. While Jaune Arc had been a good little prisoner so far, this was his first time outside of his cage. As their covered wagon slowly made its way down the street, the sounds of the city around them spoke of busy streets, and all it would take was for him to scream for help to make things… difficult.

Perhaps the only thing ensuring he didn’t do something so foolish was because they still had Blake Belladonna under their control.

She didn’t like it. When Sienna had proposed that their outreach team take the human with them, she’d protested vehemently. It was too dangerous, there was too much risk, but Sienna wasn’t swayed.

“He’ll be good,” Sienna had said, unconcerned. “Just dress him up as one of us.”

It was an alternate uniform to what they wore when on combat assignments. An all white jumpsuit with black boots, black gloves, and a fake business name scrawled on the back. It wasn’t smart to travel around the city in their easily recognizable uniform, so this was something they wore when they were engaged in their underground charitable activities.

They looked like house painters, getting ready for a job. Innocent. Unthreatening.

Unworthy of notice.

Trifa kept her eyes locked on Jaune as they continued to make their way across the city. The deer faunus Deery was engaged in conversation with him, her expression enthralled as he talked her ear off. She was a new recruit from Vale whom they’d been able to easily turn away from Adam, a slightly ditzy girl who was adamant she hated humans with a passion but appeared awfully chummy with their prisoner.

“No waaaay, are you serious?” Deery squealed. “Seven sisters? Your family is so big!”

Trifa blinked.

Wait, did she just hear right?

“Yep. Sapphire, Saphron, Veridian, Iris, Violet, Lavender and Pearl. I’m the youngest,” Jaune said happily. “Mom and dad really wanted a son, so they just kept trying until it happened.”

Eight kids. Deery was right. His family was huge! There were a lot of nasty sayings about faunus having abnormally large families because they liked to fuck like animals but in truth, they tended to have families of similar size to humans.

If anything, the Arc family should be accused of humping like rabbits!

“I wish I had siblings,” Deery moaned, looking distressed. “I’m an only child. Mom wanted more but Dad wasn’t interested. Mom found out why later – he was busy with a mistress, a human woman,” she rolled her eyes. “Gross, right? I could never mate with a human, that’s totally crossing the line.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That must have been tough,” Jaune said sincerely, either ignoring her comments about humans or just not hearing it. It was difficult to tell with him.

“It was. Mom kicked him out of the house but she eventually let him back in, so long as he swore off human women. But still no siblings,” she complained. “Oh, it must have been so much fun having seven sisters!”

Jaune laughed awkwardly. “Ahaha – I don’t know if I would call it fun, exactly.”

Trifa tried to imagine what it would be like to have a brother or sister. Another person that looked like her, with her pale skin and black, protruding veins and gray hair. Someone that understood her, that suffered the same discrimination she did.

...That would have been nice. Not the discrimination part, but having someone on her side. Who would always back her up, no matter what.

“They liked to braid my hair and dress me up in their clothes,” he said with a long suffering sigh. “I might not look it but I’m actually really comfortable in a dress. More than I should be.”

Deery giggled, and several of the other White Fang members that overheard his words laughed lightly.

Here he was, a human, making faunus rights activists laugh as he told tales of his childhood. Trifa sometimes felt like reality could be much stranger than anything anyone could think up.

Their conversation continued along those lines until they arrived at their destination, an old warehouse that had been converted into a makeshift marketplace. It was here that faunus gathered to sell and trade to one another, away from the biased eyes of the police, and the judgmental gaze of the Mistralian elite.

Trifa vaulted out the back first, giving the area a quick scan before gesturing for them to begin unloading. Another two wagons pulled up beside their one, horses nickering as they came to a stop. Their cargo was mostly food, a combination of canned and non-perishable foods, and the pre-cooked meals they’d prepared and cartoned. She kept a close eye on Jaune as he helped unload and then carry the boxes inside.

To look at him, you couldn’t tell that he was human. Many faunus had traits that appeared on places that were covered by clothes. Trifa could easily hide hers by wearing a turtleneck sweater and gloves to cover her hands, and she knew many others that did so.

So long as they didn’t advertise that he wasn’t one of them, it kept the possibility of an incident low.

Many stalls had already been erected inside, and they were directed over to their corner of the market. Setting the boxes down, they made several more trips to bring everything in before setting up. They had pre-made signs that they hung up on their stalls, advertising their food parcels, and how many people could take.

It wasn’t long until the first customers trickled in, and soon, the warehouse was packed to the walls with faunus.

Trifa smirked as she saw Jaune’s eyes wander around in awe, taking in all the different people. She’d bet everything she had that he’d never seen so many faunus in one place. Even at their compound, they were only a hundred strong.

In here, it quickly swelled to upwards of a thousand.

“Um,” a woman approached, a rabbit faunus with long black ears. Her clothes were threadbare, though her appearance was clean. She was pretty, maybe mid-thirties with a pair of large blue eyes. “I – I’d like my usual, thank you.”

Trifa watched as Jaune was instructed to bag up her order, placing several of the pre-made meals inside, as well as some cured meats.

“Here you are, ma’am,” Jaune said cheerfully, handing over the bag. The woman blinked, taken aback slightly by his cheery attitude.

“Oh, um, thank you,” she said softly, a slow smile tugging at her lips.

The woman shuffled off, though not without throwing a look over her shoulder. Jaune didn’t notice, already packing another bag for another woman, Deery helping to take orders.

Their stall was always one of the busier ones. It didn’t take a scientist to figure out why. Their goods were free, and even though there was a limit on how much people could take, people that were having difficulties weren’t about to pass on free food.

Jaune was all smiles as he went about his work. Whenever an order was placed, it was passed on to him or one of the others, and they quickly bagged it before handing it over. He was exceedingly polite, and it was garnering a reaction, especially from the women. Just like the first, many of them shot looks at him as they walked away, intrigued by this awfully cheery blond, taken in by his affable personality.

Trifa snorted under her breath, shaking her head.

Would they still be making eyes at him if they knew he was human?

Sure, Jaune was… okay to look at. Cute, maybe – boyishly handsome? That was, if you were into that shit. Trifa wasn’t. But she could understand that maybe a few of these lonely women could find him… passably attractive.

He wasn’t ugly. And he was a Huntsman-in-training, so he was fit.

Some people were easy to impress.

“There you go, ma’am. It isn’t too heavy, is it?”

“Ah – no, this is fine,” a younger woman flushed lightly as Jaune handed over the package, their hands touching briefly. She was a cat faunus, and her ears perked up, cheeks becoming a deep autumn hue. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Jaune smiled, all teeth.

Heh – the prick had them eating out of his hands, and Trifa wasn’t entirely sure if he meant for it to happen or not.

“Oh, you’re a new face,” the next person said, an elderly woman that could only be nearly eighty or ninety, peering at Jaune interestedly. Then her gaze swung to Deery. “Oh my, a few new faces. How wonderful.”

Deery grinned, also filled with that weird enthusiasm that Jaune carried. Was it contagious?

“Yep~! It’s my first time here,” Deery said, hands on hips.

“Same with me,” Jaune chimed in.

“It’s a sight for sore eyes, watching such young people engaging in philanthropy. My husband always complains about the younger generations,” she rolled her eyes. “The old grump. I’m glad you’re out here, proving him wrong. If only more people were giving, maybe the world wouldn’t be so bleak.”

Deery and Jaune grinned, and helped put her bag together.

“Would one of you be a dear and help me carry it out, these old arms aren’t what they used to be. You can leave it on the community bus.”

“Sure,” Jaune said instantly, Trifa snapping to attention.

“And where do you think you’re going?” she asked roughly, pinning him with an annoyed look.

He hefted the bag up. “She can’t carry this herself.”

Trifa narrowed her eyes before sighing, “Fine. Let’s go.”

“I can go alone if you…” he trailed off as she arched an eyebrow. “Right. Okay.”

Did he think she was stupid?

It was a bit of a struggle, navigating through the throngs of people. Jaune used his body as a shield, creating a path for the elderly woman to follow while Trifa brought up the rear.

“Oh, you’re such a dear for doing this,” the woman patted Jaune on the shoulder as they finally made it outside. “You remind me of my great-grandson. He’s a strapping young lad like you, though always getting into trouble. Where are you from, deary?”

“Vale,” he replied before Trifa could stop him. “Well – a little to the north, but I’ve been staying in Vale for the past year until – uh, aha, coming here.”

Trifa almost palmed her face. Could he be any more obvious?

“What brought you here?”

Jaune shot Trifa a quick look. “Oh, just a friend.”

The elderly woman shot him a sly look. “Oh, I see. And this friend – it wouldn’t happen to be a girl, would it? A pretty girl?”

Jaune smiled. “Well, she is a girl – and she is pretty. Two for two.”

“Young love is so sweet. I’m happy for you.”

He laughed awkwardly and thankfully didn’t try to correct her. They were shown over to a bus, and Jaune helped carry the goods on board.

“Thank you again,” the elderly woman slipped a piece of paper into his hand. “For your trouble. Take your lady friend out for something to eat.”

Jaune unfolded it and Trifa saw that it was a voucher to some fast food joint.

Now he was charming money out of them. Well, not really money – but close enough. The people that came to this market and used their stall tended to not have very much, so a voucher like this was worth more than it seemed. Trifa shook her head.

“She was nice.”

Trifa grunted. “Just be careful not to say too much.”

When they returned to the stall, they were in a small state of chaos. There was always one that wanted more than they were allowed, and an argument had broken out. Jaune was about to step forward when Trifa grabbed his shoulder, halting him.

“Oh, no you don’t,” she said sternly. “You stay the fuck here, I’ll deal with it.”

“Are you the one in charge?” the man demanded, rounding on her as she approached.

“I’m the one about to stick my foot up your ass if you don’t lower your voice,” she said coolly, her expression completely blank. The man stared at her, not quite sure he’d heard her correctly, frozen. “Now – what seems to be the problem?”

“He wants an extra package,” Deery said, her cheeks puffed up in anger like a chipmunk. It made her look cute more than threatening. “We told him he could only have six.”

“Those are the rules,” Trifa said as he opened his mouth angrily. “Either take six or take none, your choice.”

His mouth stretched into an angry line but after a moment, he looked away, intimidated.

“F-Fine.”

She clucked her tongue in annoyance. If he knew who they really were, he wouldn’t be so fucking lippy. But their identities had to be hidden, even to other faunus. It protected both parties, should the truth ever come to light and Mistral came down on their heads. When shit like this happened, though, she wanted to reveal her true colors just to see them shit their pants.

When the angry man left, Trifa saw that Jaune was watching her.

“What?” she snapped, glaring at him. “What are you looking at?”

“You were just really cool, that’s all,” he said. Trifa scowled.

“Fuck off.”

Deery giggled and covered her mouth when Trifa turned her glare on her.

“The pair of you are fucking annoying,” she scoffed, feeling her face grow hot. What was wrong with her? “Cool? Whatever, asshole.”

“You were. You were so firm and he backed down instantly, I wish I could be so commanding,” Jaune gushed. “I bet if I tried, he’d have just laughed in my face.”

Trifa somehow doubted it.

Though his fighting was subpar, she recalled the way he’d fought tooth and nail to defend Blake. She remembered the look on his face and in his eyes, an unwillingness to back down or submit. He was on his best behavior now but she wouldn’t soon forget how he’d refused to give up, even though he was outnumbered and outgunned, willing to risk it all for a friend.

A faunus friend.

A human defending a faunus, even if it meant it cost him his life.

...it was exactly the type of thing the old White Fang had wished for, when they’d been nothing more than a simple protest group. A story like that would have been used to inspire hope in the cause, an example that coexistence was possible, that respect between their species was possible.

She had a feeling that if he wished to be, Jaune Arc could be pretty damn cool himself.

“Bastard,” she huffed under her breath, annoyed. Now he had her thinking this crap.

He was dangerous.

It didn’t help that ‘Ms. I Hate All Humans… Allegedly’ was on his side, swooning and talking up Trifa’s heroic rescue. Just like Jaune, Deery didn’t wilt beneath Trifa’s angry gaze and only seemed emboldened by it. They’d picked up a cheeky junior in Vale, that was for sure.

What happened to all that timidness she’d displayed before?

Maybe she was one of those people that were only timid until they became comfortable, and then they turned into completely different people. Those people were the worst because it was always hard to judge them during a first or even second encounter. Introverted… until they weren’t.

And apparently she’d grown mighty comfortable around Jaune, enough so to tease Trifa. Enough so that her glares were not having the typical effect.

It was annoying… and not. Others in the White Fang, people that had known her much longer tended to give her a wide berth when she shot them an aggravated look. It was useful – but also, isolating. By design… but also not.

Now she had two people that had slipped through the cracks.

She was going to start enjoying Deery’s company next. She was already growing soft on Jaune, a human. If that was possible, anything was.

They continued with their work. Jaune got distracted by a group of young kids and started entertaining them, cracking jokes and listening to their silly stories. He said not a word to their mothers but it didn’t matter, because the jackass had them hook, line and sinker.

Ridiculous.

“Oh, who’s the cutie?” one of them asked, in a voice loud enough to carry. “He wasn’t here last time.”

“I don’t know but I wouldn’t mind taking him home instead,” her friend replied, eyes locked on the blond as he hoisted one of the girls up and placed her on his shoulders, giving her a ride. “Handsome and good with kids. Say it ain’t so.”

“Do you think he has a girlfriend?”

“Probably. All the good men are always taken.”

Trifa rolled her eyes. Single moms – some of the thirstiest, down bad people you could find. They were devouring him with their eyes like he was a piece of meat, a prime cut of beef, and they were starving, longing for their next meal. Even though they’d received their packages, they hung around, and Trifa didn’t bother trying to get him back to work.

She’d let the wolves have him.

“Mister, Mister,” one of the boys tugged at his hand, getting Jaune’s attention. “Can you do anything cool?”

Jaune looked down. “How do you mean?”

“Like fly or something, do you have wings? Oh – I bet you have gills and you can breathe underwater! That would be so freakin’ awesome! I’ve only got horns,” the boy pulled at the small, growing horns that protruded from the top of his head. “I bet you’ve got something way cooler than these!”

“Oh, no – I don’t have anything. I’m human.”

Trifa blinked as the area immediately around them hushed, some craning their necks around to stare at him, everyone else gawking stupidly as Jaune continued to shift his weight, jostling the girl on his shoulders. The only sound in their immediate vicinity was her cheers of delight, her innocent laughter carrying.

...of all the stupid, moronic… this motherfucker…

She was so shocked by his stupidity that she was frozen in place, unable to process it correctly. A few people in the crowd gave each other nervous looks, unsure if they’d heard right. The thirsty mothers exchanged glances, while an elderly man peered at Jaune interestedly.

The boy who had asked seemed elated, though.

“Really?”

Jaune nodded. “Yup. I don’t have any cool things like horns or wings or extra ears. I’m pretty boring.”

The shock was beginning to wear off but it was only replaced by confusion, not fear or anger. They stared at him as if he was an oddity, as if he were a strange creature that had stumbled out of the forest and claimed to come from another planet.

Humans didn’t come to places like this. Even to cause trouble. They outright avoided them if they even knew about it. They sure as hell didn’t give a little faunus girl a ride on their shoulders, or hand out food packages to those faunus most in need.

In a word, they were stunlocked.

“Mister, can I have a ride now?” another of the girls whined.

“No, it’s still my turn~!” the girl on his shoulders complained.

“Hey, hey – don’t argue. I’ve got enough real estate for everyone,” Jaune said before lowering himself down to his knees, and removing the girl briefly. “Here, look – use my back.”

And then he got down on all fours, giving them ample room to play on him like he was a jungle gym.

A ripple passed through those gathered, whispers passing between them as they watched a human get down and let these children climb all over him, pulling at his hair as they tried to keep their balance, accidentally kneeing him in the side in their haste.

Trifa felt her building anger at his stupid, careless words fizzle as she saw something she’d never believed possible. Acceptance.

Acceptance in the eyes of those around them, the shock fading, any fear along with it. The thirsty mothers resumed eyeing him up, though with an even greater intensity than before, and the elderly man smiled, as if what he was seeing was a long time coming.

...Just who was Jaune Arc actually?