The life of a bandit

"Yeah, I often look back at that moment and think; 'Should I have stayed with them? Would I ever get the chance to become truly strong if I returned with Yang and Ruby, back to our little house?'" A black haired teenage girl said, walking down a busy street at night while someone walked beside her, taking in her every word.

"I doubt it. But it does sound like you left behind a good home. Why was strength so important to you?" Her friend asked with increasing interest.

"With all the Mythic class Grimm prowling the wilds, I thought if I grew up there and trained normally, as most huntsmen and huntresses in training do, I could take one on at maybe eighteen. But that Beowolf completely shattered my expectations. If there were any others out there, Yang and Ruby would be dead. The urgency for strength grew in me, you could say." The black haired girl replied, folding her arms underneath her impressive bust.

"Aaa.... Er.. So what did your Mom have you do that made you strong?" Her friend beside her asked, coughing to the side.

"There were a lot of things she taught me. She once told me that people are like weapons. That trials and danger equated to heating the blade and hammering out any imperfections and impurities. Too little tempering, and you have a crappy blade with a ton of impurities. Likely to snap when another, more tempered blade strikes it. Too much tempering, the blade becomes brittle and liable to break down." The black haired girl explained, subtly smirking at her friend's reaction.

"I regret nothing. If I hadn't went with her, I'd never walk the wilds of Anima, visit the many villages in Mistral, meet the faunus clans of Menagerie or see the impressive mountains of Mantle." The black haired girl stopped and leaned against the wall outside a nightclub, a nostalgic smile plastered on her face.

"Eh? What about Vacuo?" The girl asked, standing across from her friend.

"Oh no, fuck Vacuo. I can deal with heat but the fucking sand drove me insane. Raiders were everywhere an oasis could be found too." The ravenette spat in disdain.

"Completely understandable. Damn.. looks like the nightclub opens at eight. Care to continue while we wait?" Her friend asked, taking a seat on the curb nearby.

"Sure. I'll start when I woke up at the Branwen camp."

-Previously, Branwen Tribe-

"Ow.." Yin woke up with a headache, sitting up in an unfamiliar bed while running her hand across her head.

"You're lucky you can even say 'Ow' after going toe to toe with a Beowolf armed with a stick." A mature voice responded, grabbing Yin's attention.

Cue Raven walking in with a tray of tea, setting it down on Yin's lap before gazing at her daughter's eyes and humming.

"Good, you don't seem to have any internal damage to your head. Your aura should cover the rest. Here, drink this tea. Herbal blend that helps with that headache you probably have." Raven offered her a wooden cup, which Yin took before taking a drink.

'I was expecting Buckleys tasting water.. Hm. Not bad' Yin internally nodded and quickly drank the rest of the tea her Mother gave her.

"Now that we're done that. We have some things to discuss. Firstly, being that I am a Bandit Queen. The leader of the Branwen tribe. A tribe you are now a part of. Though you'll be given special treatment, since you're my child, don't expect it to carry you if you can't pull your weight around here. Under ten, you can't participate in raids, so you'll be doing menial labor. Cooking, cleaning, dismantling animals for their meat, repair and other odd jobs the senior members and I ask of you. In return, you'll be trained, hard. Is this acceptable?" Raven asked, looking down at her child with a stoic expression.

"Yes." Yin nodded in response.

"Address me as Chief or Boss near the others. When we're alone or it's just Vernal with us, you can call me M.. Whatever you wish." Raven bit back the words she intended to say with a small shake of her head.

"Mm. Okay Mom." Yin replied with a small smirk.

"Tch.. cheeky little shit, you are." Raven shook her head, though internally felt some warmth at being called 'Mom'.

"Last but not least. When you do turn ten, you'll be expected to kill. When we conduct a raid, it's inevitable. We don't go out of our way to butcher everyone in a settlement but anyone armed and attacking us dies. I'm sure you'll see death before you turn ten but prepare yourself for it." Raven added, in a far more serious tone.

'Yeah, this is probably going to be my biggest struggle. How will I even react to this? Thinking about it, I can say murdering people who are just defending themselves is wrong morally. But.. what's this disconnection I feel? There's no revulsion, no sickening feeling, nothing.. Is it the system, my bloodline or was I always like this?' Yin thought to herself before feeling Raven's hand on her head.

"Glad to see you take this seriously. Rest for now. I'll introduce you to the tribe when you're able to move." Raven said, pushing Yin's head back on the pillow.

"Okay then.." Yin replied, closing her eyes.

[Skill: ?'s Wrath used. Temporary debuff to strength and agility will occur every use. Note: Debuff will disappear upon next stage in awakening]

'Good to know..' Yin thought before feeling sleep take her once more.

-The next day-

"Vernal! Ya little shit! What'd I tell you about drawin' on my beautiful face while I'm workin'!?" A blond man yelled as two other bandits behind him snickered at him.

"Boss said I could if I ever caught you sleepin' at your post again, shitbreath!" A young girl's voice yelled back.

"It's too early for this shit..." Yin grumbled before getting out of bed and walking out of the tent.

There, she saw Vernal and a gruff blond man arguing near one of the camp's entrances. The blond man had several penises drawn on his chin, cheeks and forehead. With additional writing above his lip saying 'Give me cummies, Daddy' followed by an arrow pointing down.

"Hehe...hahahahahaha!" Yin, caught off guard, started to laugh at the blond man.

"Someone appreciates my art- Oh! Mini-Boss!" Vernal exclaimed as she turned around to see Yin laughing.

"Fuck!! What did she draw!? Was it dicks again!?" The blond man cursed before turning to more bandits, who also started laughing at him.

"Ah... That was good.." Yin exhaled, wiping a tear from her eye as Vernal beamed proudly.

"You. I like you. Boss doesn't laugh at my jokes, no matter how hard I try. Not even when I put dog shit in Shay's hand, tickled his nose and got him to wipe his face with it!" Vernal exclaimed in disappointment.

"That's disgusting yet hilarious.. I'm Yin, by the way." Yin cleared her throat and introduced.

"Oh, right. I'm Vernal. Oh! Boss went to go out and asked me to guide you around. Mainly to meet the senior members and stuff. Follow me." Vernal then grabbed Yin's arm and pulled her along.

"Senior members? Was that guy you pranked the shit out of one?" Yin asked, seeing Vernal purse her lips.

"Shay? Nah. He's a fuckin' idiot. He hits on anything with a pussy, fucks up his jobs and brags all the fuckin' time. We're meeting comp-compe...-" "Competent?" Yin cut in, making Vernal nod.

"Yeah, competent members. Like Gray." Vernal then stopped in front of a large tent, though not as big as Raven's.

"Hey, Gray!? I got mini-Boss here to introduce to ya! Are you ass naked? 'Cuz we're comin' in!" Vernal exclaimed before pulling a reluctant Yin inside.

An overpowering musk of sex, smoke and some type of perfume assailed Yin's nose. Her face scrunched up as she heard some groans and looked at a Queen sized bed full of two people. A woman with sizable breasts, short grey hair and a scar on her otherwise plump lips sat up and looked at the two of them with tired, bloodshot eyes.

"What is it, Verns..? You're too young to think of steppin' up.." The woman said with a yawn, not caring about her exposed breasts.

'God damn those are massive.. E cups? Just lucky I'm not at that age yet..' Yin thought to herself as Vernal shook her head.

"Ew no! And you're only twenty-seven! Stop acting like you're so much older. I'm introducing Yin to all the Senior members." Vernal explained.

"Oh? Damn. Like a mini-Raven. A real cutie too.." Gray smiled and pulled out a cigar, lighting it and taking a long inhale.

"Nice to meetcha, hun. I'm one of the few here with their aura unlocked. I'm actually trained too." Gray explained as another woman in the bed wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Come back to bed... S'too early.." The woman grumbled.

"Nah. Out with ya." Gray huffed before shoving the woman off her bed and getting up, revealing her toned naked body.

'Lord knows I'd smash...' Yin idly commented as she looked up at the bandit woman getting dressed.

"You're a dick!" The woman exclaimed before leaving with her clothes.

"Eh she'll be back. All right.. Come on, little munchkins. Let's get somethin' to eat. We'll meet the rest of the members there." Gray said, slipping tight black pants on.

"Munchkins!? Fuck you, I'm TEN!" Vernal cursed, making Gray laugh as she put on a red bustier and a grey open long coat before strapping two monstrously large dust revolvers to her hips.

"Still a snotnosed brat to me. I think little Raven Junior might be more adult than you~" Gray teased.

"No way! She's seven.. I'm automatically more adult than her." Vernal spat, as Gray stepped into her black steel toed boots.

"Her disposition says otherwise. Quiet, observing. Shit I think she was even checking me out earlier." Gray responded, making Yin cough.

"I wasn't.... not.. checking you out? Your chest is huge. That's all." Yin calmly replied.

"Well nothin' wrong with that.. I check out the Chief's all the time~" Gray smirked as she led the two out of her tent and over towards a large table, with cooking pots, dust powered stoves and barbeques set up nearby.

Some of the bandits had all began to trickle in, searching through some coolers nearby for food. It was only when Gray walked over did they fearfully step away from the coolers.

"Ya'll know the rules. Scrubs eat after the Senior members. Shay, get your dirty ass paws away from the meat cooler. And wash the dicks off your face.." Gray chortled at the end as she took a seat.

"I tried!! Vernal used permanent marker!!" Shay cursed, earning a laugh from all the bandits nearby.

"Hahaha! Good one, Verns." A very tall, muscular man with a black beard and short hair said before he took a seat across Gray.

"Oh, Yin. This is Phestus. He's another Senior Member. Crafts our weapons so we're not out here with knives and crudely made guns." Gray said, earning a deep laugh from the man.

"Nice to meet you... sir?" Yin greeted, unsure of how to speak to the giant.

"HAH! Sir? I like the respect, little one. Chief said you looked like her but my gods.. You might as well be a mini-Chief." Phestus laughed before turning to Vernal.

"Ay, Verns. Get us three slabs of venison, three green peppers and some apples. And don't burn the meat again.." Phestus ordered, making Vernal grumble before grabbing the meat from a nearby cooler and beginning to cook.

"For yer first day, you'll eat with us, little Lady. Then ya get to learn with Vernal. Boss lady said she wants ya to learn. But do good enough and we'll teach ya some of our skills ourselves." Gray playfully nudged Yin's arm, nearly making her fall off her seat.

'Damn she's strong.. But this is perfect. I can get a bunch of skills here.. Shouldn't take too long, right?'

-Future, Outside the Nightclub-

"So did it take long?" The girl asked her ravenette friend.

"Eh.. Longer than I thought, less than it should have. Cooking, skinning, cleaning, weapon crafting, repair.. Those were a bitch to master. Combat skill though...?" The ravenette smirked, a prideful grin etched on her face.

"I was a monster."

[A/N: Sorry. Was sick last week. May have another chap out this week to make it up. We'll see. I'll do my best. :)]