Weary Purple

It has been a few days since the Grimm attack on Mantle after Jacques unleashed his so-called theory and generated so much negativity. James Ironwood was going over the various reports and such and felt the fatigue get to him after a few all-nighters. He wanted nothing more than to put Jacques in a cell for generating all this mayhem but couldn't because of the fake Schnee's PR team and lawyers doing what they are paid to do. As James went through the reports, he noticed that there were some discrepancies in the system keeping Atlas afloat. To ordinary people unaware of magic, the float system of Atlas runs off a particular machine that uses Gravity Dust to power it. In reality, the Staff of Creation was used to bring the city aloft and stay airborne despite any conditions that may come about. So long as the Relic is not used for anything else, Atlas will remain above the clouds.

The general rubbed his tired eyes and heard his secretary tell him over his intercom.

" Sir, Huntsman Branwen and Specialist-in-training Schnee are here to see you."

" Send them in..."

After James's order, the two entered his office, and Qrow took a sip out of his flask and asked.

" So what do you need this time, Jimmy?"

" General, sir!"

Winter greeted Ironwood with respect after sending a glare to Qrow for his lack of decorum, but the reaper ignored it without effort. The general sighed and brought up a screen to show the two of them some footage captured by the security system. It was Silva driving the mob away and resisting arrest by Atlas's military police, plus his actions against the Grimm hoard attacking Mantle. Qrow felt a headache coming on but overall felt Silva did the right thing on all accounts.

Silva's dealing with the mob to prevent them from attacking the slums and drawing even more Grimm because there is no way the faunus would take that lying down. Resisting arrest is the smart thing to do because while Qrow may not be knowledgeable about the laws of Atlas, he knew they were extremely biased against faunus. The reaper felt proud of his nephew for taking action in helping deal with the Grimm despite his less than positive feelings for the kingdom. Winter was shocked at first but considered Silva's actions and knew that the snow leopard faunus was in trouble.

James asked his ally as the screen paused at the scene where Silva met up with them and the Happy Huntresses.

" What can you tell me about this young man who brazenly resisted arrest for harming civilians and fought Grimm without a license or supervision?"

Qrow sighed and told the truth.

" For starters, he's my nephew. Although, now that I think about he is technically my brother-in-law since he and my sister are a thing."

Qrow shrugged casually at his realization, and the general looked at his ally, stunned as he couldn't process what he heard at first. Winter was also surprised that Silva was the drunken reaper's in-law, and silence descended on the room. James blinked once, then twice, and asked as he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

" So wait... he and Raven are...?"

" Yep. Imagine my surprise when I first heard about it, but while I still want an explanation from my sister, I can deal with it, especially since she has changed for the better if Snowball is to be believed."

The general slumped down into his seat at the bomb landing in his lap, but he immediately used his Semblance, Mettle, to power through his shock. James refocused on his original line of questioning and asked.

" Qrow, can you bring him in for a... discussion on his actions?"

After learning of Silva's relationship, he planned on being more lenient than before in handling him. Still, he was already planning on going easy on the snow leopard faunus beforehand, as the only actions he had issues with were attacking the MPs and resisting arrest. James saw Silva as an asset that could be beneficial to bring into the fold since he has already demonstrated strength and integrity in the face of danger. Qrow quickly nipped those plans in the bud.

" Nope, he's no longer in the kingdom."

" What?! How?!"

The general was shocked at this new information as the kingdom was in disarray from the Grimm attack and air traffic was down. The reaper explained nonchalantly.

" He has an airship stashed away, somewhere."

James held the bridge of his nose and sighed as he asked.

" Can you at least contact him?"

" I've been trying, but I only get voice mail so far."

The general then requested his ally while sounding tired.

" Can you let me know when you get in touch with him as I wish to speak to him personally?"

" Jimmy, what are you up to?"

Qrow guardedly asked as he didn't want to see his nephew behind bars for putting a bunch of idiots in their place but felt he needed to talk to him about resisting the arrest regardless. James sighed and assured his ally.

" I just want to work with him to help him avoid being put in a court of law as we know what will happen regardless of his defense."

Qrow relaxed and promised the general.

" Sure, Jimmy, I got you."

***

Ilia Amitola was helping out around the slums as she gathered information on finding the one behind Red Auction Incident. The slums within the Mantle Crater were relatively untouched by the Grimm attack thanks to the walls surrounding it and the single easy-to-defend entrance. No one talked, but it was clear they knew something as they evaded the subject or acted with hostility. As the chameleon girl walked around to see if there was anything she could do to help, an older grey-haired man with a rat tail in heavy grey robes appeared in front of her and then said.

" I heard you have been asking questions, young lady."

" Yes, I have."

Ilia confirmed the statement and took out her White Fang mask, which made the rat faunus relax a bit. He then asked the chameleon girl.

" Why are you looking for the one behind the Red Auction?"

" The High Leader Sienna Kahn wants to recruit him."

The old rat hummed and then said.

" So Ghira did step down after all, huh. Well, if this is the case, you are too late."

" Why?"

Ilia simply asked, feeling confused.

" He has already left the kingdom."

" I see. Do you know who he was?"

The older man smiled and told her.

" Do you know why no one wants to say anything about him? It's because we all owe him a great deal of gratitude, not once but twice."

" What do you mean?"

Ilia asked the rat faunus while looking curious, and he explained.

" That young man may have hidden his identity, but we all know he was the one that killed those scum at the auction. The stench of blood clung to him, which gave him away, but everyone kept silent as he also saved several of our relatives that were thought missing or even dead from being sold as property."

A little rabbit girl no older than ten tackled the rat faunus and said.

" Grandpa, there you are!"

The older man chuckled and messed with his granddaughter's hair, then said to her.

" Yes, here I am, little one."

" Grandpa, stop!"

The girl giggled as she pushed away her grandfather's hand away from her hair. The old rat refocused on Ilia and told her.

" That young man not only reunited several people like me and my granddaughter but also stopped the mob that was going to attack the slums because of the bast-, I mean bad man Jacques Schnee's so-called theory. So I ask you, young lady of the White Fang, please drop it for everyone's sake."

Ilia looked shocked with what she had learned as she could see the good the Assassin had done already and felt that inviting him to the White Fang would be a good idea. The chameleon pressed once more before agreeing to the older man's request.

" Can you at least give me a name?"

The old rat sighed and told her as he picked up his granddaughter.

" Very well then, young lady. The tavern master told me the young man's name was Silva Branwen. Now, don't cause that young man any grief, you hear me!"

" Thank you, and I just want to invite him to White Fang, nothing more."

Ilia assured the old rat and decided to call her captain to let her know what she had learned and make plans to head back to Mistral.

***

I, Silva Branwen, felt myself get up after I crashed into my bed after snatching the Staff of Creation out from under Tindick's nose. As I got up, I recalled where I put the Staff and dug out the lockbox I had made for the Relics. I opened the lockbox after entering the code and saw the Lamp and Staff together, shrunken down to almost a seventh of their original size. I took out the Staff, and it expanded to its full glory. I felt giddy with this Relic in my paws as I could now deal with Salem by sending her to the moon if I didn't succeed in reasoning with her.

While I would like to have Atlas brought down, I wanted to hold off on that for now so that no one knows the Staff is missing. With the Staff keeping Atlas afloat with its magic despite being in my paws, I relished the thought of James opening the Vault for some reason to find nothing. The general might not be his off-the-deep-end self, but I never liked him, as from his interactions with Arthur Wattz and his reactions to the Fall of Beacon say a lot about his bad traits that make him someone I wouldn't trust unless I had no choice. His heart might be in the right place, but he can easily ignore it when he wants to because of his Semblance.

I got up and heard my stomach rumble, and headed to the kitchen for a bite to eat. As I got out of my room and headed to my condo kitchen, I saw Emerald lying on the couch with a book in hand and greeted her.

" Morning, Em."

" Silva, your awake!"

She looked at me with worry and surprise, which made me ask.

" What happened?"

Emerald sets aside her book and tells me with a bit of hesitation.

" Silva, you have been asleep... for two days straight."

I was surprised to hear that and wondered what could've caused this. As I considered what I had learned, the mint-haired girl asked, looking concerned.

" Silva, are you alright?"

I assured her with a smile and said.

" Aside from starving, I'm fine, Em. Thanks for asking."

Still, considering I have been asleep for a few days, I need to see Willow soon and hear if she takes me up on my offer or not. Even if she doesn't, I am still going to deal with that fake Schnee, Jacques Gele. But for now, I need to eat. I hope the twins have plenty of stuff in stock.