Pale Grey

I woke up feeling my side hurting from my fight, encounter? From the young Nevermore, but more surprising than the fact I am alive is that I am in a freaking bed after seven years! I mean, I remember sleeping in some pretty comfortable beds in my past life in various hotels, but since my new life in Remnant, I usually slept on some old cushions as a baby then as a toddler on the ground. Yeah, my second life sort of sucks right now.

I noticed that I was dressed in bandages and eased myself up in a sitting position when I heard a familiar voice that I had less than pleasant thoughts about.

" Watch yourself, you don't have Aura, so it will take you a while to heal from your injuries."

And I am looking at part of the cause of my state Raven Branwen, and of course, she is making herself some tea. I bit my tongue from giving her a piece of my mind and touched my side with my paw, and it stung from the light pressure. I turned towards the black-haired bandit chief and me without my Bound Sword conjuration spell and a black soul gem. Joking with dark gaming jargon aside, I asked her.

" So, what now?"

Raven took a sip of her tea and gestured to another cup on her small table, then said.

" Come drink the fruits of your labor."

" But I got you a flower for tea, though?"

I felt satisfaction at seeing Raven's eye twitch at my dumb joke, but I got up and took a seat at the table on the floor. If I remember correctly, Mistral has a lot of Oriental elements in its culture, which explains the small table and sitting on the floor to maximize living space for furniture. Raven poured me a cup and asked me.

" Sugar or honey?"

" Whatever you think is best, chief."

She gave a neutral-sounding hum in reply that was neither confirmation nor denial. She got up and grabbed a jar full of a red substance, then told me what it is with a bit of reverence in her voice, I think?

" Sap from a place known as Forever Fall forest, very sweet but does not overpower and ruin the flavor of the tea and a personal favorite of mine."

" Please don't tell me you're sending me there next for you."

This earned me a chuckle from Raven, which I hope is a good thing, then replied.

" Tempting but not your capable enough for that just yet."

She sat down the jar and opened it to put a few drops of sap in her and my tea. I took a sip of the tea, and even I could see what she meant about the sap, and my tastebuds are literally that of a kid's still. Definitely get me some of that sap when I go to Vale to experiment with to see what I could use it for, and it reiterates my desire for a Scroll to check the CCT for recipes with the sap and other things unique to Remnant.

After finishing my tea and Raven soon followed, then set the tea aside for now and told me.

" After succeeding in your given task, you will be given no punishment for biting off the Den Mother's fingers or taking a chunk out of the other whelp."

As much as I would like to call out on her BS forgiveness, I kept my mouth shut, and she continued.

" But, with your stunt with the young Nevermore, however, is a grave transgression because you led a Grimm right into the middle of the camp, so you need to be punished for it."

Well, crud, I think this would be a grave offense to the overwhelming majority of Remnant, so I doubt I can wiggle out of this one. I just hope Raven does not send me out on another fetch quest for tea. She then gives me my punishment.

" Considering your penchant for trouble, I feel that it would be best to keep a close eye on you. So you will be running errands for me and keeping my tent clean until I say otherwise. If you do an unsatisfactory job in any capacity, your punishment will become harsher. Am I clear?"

" Understood..."

Okay, clearly, my stunt with Nevermore and getting her tea plant earned her interest. This means I need to work my butt off and try to gain her respect if I can so I can get my Aura unlocked and hopefully discover my Semblance. Raven then got up and told me.

" Well, get started."

" Yes, chief!"

Of course, she makes me get started despite being injured, b*tch. Well, what can I do? I need to get my Aura unlocked if I even want to do half of the things I want to do. I sighed and looked for any clean supplies Raven may have, but as I looked, she told me.

" It comes to my intention that you were never given a name so-."

" I have a name!"

I interrupted her when she brought that up; I may have never have been given a name by anyone, so I gave myself one instead, plus I kept the color naming tradition when I picked out my name based off my features. Raven looked at me curiously and asked.

" Then what is your name, then?"

" Silva..."

" Hmm, as good as any, I suppose, but who gave you that name?"

" No one but myself."

After a few moments of silence, Raven said.

" Very, well, Silva, get to work then."

" Okay, where's the stuff I can use to clean with?"

***

Six months... SIX WHOLE MONTHS OF BEING AN OVERGROWN MAID FOR THAT SURPRISINGLY LAZY BIRD BRAIN WENCH! EVERY INANE THING SHE COULD THINK OF SHE MADE ME DO, FROM CATALOGING LOOT FROM RAIDS TO LEARNING HOW TO FREAKING MAKE TEA FOR HER! AND THAT TWISTED MILF EVEN GOT ME A ORIENTAL STYLE MAID UNIFORM WITH A KIMONO, WHICH I REFUSE TO WEAR!

I sighed from the mental exhaustion I experienced from becoming Raven's maid in all but name. Well, there is at least one bright side to all this, and that is I am sleeping in her tent along with her, but that's probably more about having me on hand for her bidding than anything else. But the worse thing about it is that I get no days off; come on, Silva, do it for the Aura and your Semblance, if nothing else. Right, it's lunchtime; better get started on cooking for Raven, plus her tea.

I sighed once more and tried to think of the positives in my situation; well, most of the tribe does not mess with me, at least, and I got a timeline figured out. Raven has been back with the tribe for almost eight years, and I figured that I am roughly in the same age range as Yang, Blake, and Weiss while being two years older than Ruby, give or take a few months. I went to the dining area where the rest of the tribe ate and got to the cook.

" Hey Cookie, got anything good for me to cook with for the chief?"

This woman's name is literally Cookie, and she has dark skin with pale blonde hair with some brown highlights to match her chocolate-colored eyes. And so far, she is my favorite tribe member, but that is not saying much all thing considered.

" Sure, sure, Snowball, but can you do me a favor first?"

" What is it this time?"

Cookie occasionally asks me a favor, nothing serious, at least usually.

" It's Shay again."

"Ah, got it."

Shay D. Mann was the one I clawed at his genitals six months back, and he is the tribe's favorite punching bag. So long as you don't go too far, you can get away with a lot with him because despite being public punching bag, nobody does it without any reason, which would surprisingly earn the tribe's ire. I guess he makes a really good punching bag but putting that aside for now; I asked Cookie.

" What did Shay do this time?"

" He got into the hooch again and made a mess in the kitchen that I had to clean up before breakfast, so be a dear and use those pretty claws of yours to remind him to stay out my kitchen."

She took out a rack of ribs and told me.

" And these are all yours and the chief's."

Cookie knows how to bribe me. I love me some ribs, plus I managed to recreate a barbecue sauce with a bit of trial and error plus luck. The reason she sends me instead of doing it herself is because while Raven practically made me her maid, she did start teaching me how to fight, or rather, she made me spar with her, and I got beat up, but I still became a better fighter than some of the tribe, like Shay. So I humiliate him by being a kid and kicking his butt, which sends a bigger message; I then ask her.

" Where is he assigned today?"

" Dust storage."

I nodded and went to find that idiot, which wasn't difficult. I saw him napping in front of the Dust storage area, and I just walked up to him then poked him to see how deeply he was sleeping. After a couple of hard pokes, he is still snoozing away without a care in the world, and this makes things easier. I got some cloth lying around the camp and tied up Shay's hands and feet as tightly as I could. Once that was done, I drew out my claws and showed no mercy, and hit the sensitive parts with my sharp claws.

A falsetto rang out through camp, and I grabbed Shay by his hair then told him.

" Cookie says hello."

" Oh, come on! That b*tch is still pissed about this morning?!"

I nodded and used my claws to tear his claws off his clothes, leaving him naked and tied up.

" Come on; you can't leave me like this!"

I ignored him and went to get my reward from Cookie, and she jokingly said.

" My hero~."

" I ain't no one's hero, my ribs, please."

" And so polite too."

She handed me the ribs, and I went behind Raven's tent to make her lunch. I don't regret offering to cook for her as I find cooking in my situation therapeutic and as a means to relax. I dug out the Dust-powered camp stove, and a good size pot Raven got me during one of the tribe's raids. I won't lie and say it does not bother me to think about the origin of half the stuff Raven gives me to serve her better in one way or another. I can't do anything about it right now, and I just focused on the task at hand. I put on some special oven-safe gloves over my paws, apparently, my situation is not unique amongst the Faunus, so there is stuff like this for convenience if you look.

Raven actually got these for me when she asked what I wanted for a reward after three months of working for her which got her asking questions as to why I wanted it and expressing my desire to "learn" cooking which got me making her meals from then on. The layer of skin within the ribs has already got removed. Thank you, Cookie! So I put the ribs in the pot and made a mixture of olive oil, tomatoes, some herbs, and spices, then boiled it with the ribs plus a lid over the pot. I let it cook for over a half-hour and checked the temperature to see if it was done.

After the ribs reached the correct temperature to be safely eaten, I took them out and gave Raven the bigger half on her plate, then poured the excess sauce over the ribs. Not long after, a red and black portal opened, and Raven walked through it. Yeah, to my surprise, she "bonded" with me, so her Semblance Kindred Link now opens a portal to me. She smelled the ribs and asked me.

" I hope you have some tea ready, Silva."

" I was about to get started on brewing it for you."

Raven nodded in approval and dragged her finger across the ribs to taste them, and after licking her finger, she commented.

" A bit heavy for my taste, but it will do, some green chai for this Silva."

" Understood."

Off I go to make tea for a tea addict; I hope I am not stuck like this for the rest of my second life.