Chained in Servility

Chapter 5

Raven shivered as she pulled on the strange clothes. She was so unused to the silky materials outsiders wore. She was used to either wool or cotton and nothing in between. But since they'd be reaching the city of Haven today, they needed to blend in as much as possible. It felt so unnatural to to not wear the loose pants and long-sleeved tops that marked the traditional tribal clothing.

She left the small room, heading to the front of the tent and her eyes widened. "Qrow, your hair—!" It'd been long just the previous night! How could he disrespect the ancestors so flagrantly?!

He blinked and shrugged, running a hand through it. "After the shit Fallon pulled, I don't want to go back. If he was abusing you under my nose our whole lives, what other lies have hidden in plain sight?" Raven's lips quivered, but but she nodded and bowed her head.

"...It's your decision." If a member of the tribe left, they wouldn't be welcomed back, but their decision as respected. She had never considered leaving herself as she just loved everyone too much. At least she'd get a few more years with him before they had to go their separate ways.

She felt his hand on her shoulder and he lightly butted his finger under her chin to make her look up. A warm smile greeted her and their eyes met. "Even if we walk different paths, there's nothing in the code that says we can't talk. Your Semblance will let us see each other whenever we want."

Raven nodded as she tucked her hair behind her ear. That was true. Even though he'd never be welcome back, as long as they met outside of designated tribal territory, there was nothing saying they couldn't talk. Thankfully, there were no shunning policies if paths crossed on neutral territories.

She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes, feeling his fingers run through her hair. "...Yeah. I'm glad for that." She really was. The tribe superseded everything in the end, but she couldn't forget the special bond she had with her twin brother.

He pulled back after a moment and she let out a breath as she pulled back and gathered her hair into a ponytail. A shiver went up her spine as she glanced toward the tent flap. "Do you think we'll be okay? We've only ever been in small towns and—"

"Raven."

"—I don't know what to expect. This is our first time in a kingdom. I wonder if people will discriminate against us because of being Branwens—"

" Raven ."

"—just like they do Faunus. I just really don't—"

" RAVEN! "

She blinked and her pale cheeks blossomed crimson. "S-Sorry..." She hated that she'd launched into the rant; she was just so—

She found her head on his chest and his hand on the back of her head. "Raven, you worry way too much. We'll be fine." She nodded and let out a breath. He was right; she needed to relax and trust in the people around her. They just needed to find their way to the airship port, board one, and head to Vale.

"...Yeah. Let's get packed up. We still have a few hours before we make it to Haven." She wasn't looking forward to the cold walk, but they'd hopefully be in the comfort of an airship before long.

Raven's grip on her backpack tightened and she swallowed as they came over the hill. The huge city opened beneath them and her eyes widened. She took in the sheer size of the sprawling metropolis. How could this many people live so close together? There was no breathing room! Even up here, she could hear the clamor and noise and it made her wince. She'd never get used to anything like this. The most she was used to was about two thousand people during the two times she'd been with the trading group.

Qrow squeezed her shoulder and she took in a breath before following his plunge into the city.

It felt like all hell broke loose around them and she shook, gripping her backpack even tighter. There were too many people and those strange machines—cars, Jia had told her they were called—roared past them. Qrow clamped his hand on her shoulder and she felt him let out a breath. "We'll be fine, Raven. We just have to find our way to the airport." Even he was nervous, but considering the state she was in, she could hardly blame him. But he needed to stay calm so his Semblance didn't spike and potentially get them into trouble.

"Anyway, Jia told me we needed to find a police officer to give us directions..." Her hand passed over the scroll in her pocket that Jia had given her, but she didn't pull it out. Even after several hours worth of lessons, she still couldn't get the hang of the bizarre device. At this rate, she'd never adapt to the outside world and its high technology...

Shaking the thoughts away, she looked up at Qrow who nodded with a grunt.

They started walking and Qrow had to keep a tight hold on her. She jumped at almost the slightest stimulus and clung to her little brother, keeping an eye out for a blue uniform. She really had no idea what to do since there were so many people. She knew this would be hard, but she hadn't expected this . There were too many people, too many noises, too much color. How could anybody survive this, let alone thrive? It was just far too overwhelming!

Raven froze as she felt a hand near her waist and she gripped instinctively, twisting her hips rested her knees on the person's arm. He yelped and the entire sidewalk scattered. Green eyes met hers as her wallet sat in his hand, and she set her gaze on his. "Did you really—"

"What's going on here?" A knot formed in her throat at the authoritative tone and a man in a blue uniform approached. She eyed the gun holster on his hip, but she looked up at him. His expression hardened as he looked at the twins, and she released the young man, pressing into her brother. "Great; a couple of Branwens. All right; you're coming with—"

"Sir, with all due respect, my sister didn't do anything wrong." Raven glanced up at her brother, throat tight as he held her close. She was glad he could remain so level headed at times. "This young man was attempting to pickpocket her. Yes, we are from the tribe, but do we look like we mean any harm?" He had a point. They'd opted to not breaking weapons so that they'd appear to be less of a threat when they entered the city. It had made fighting Grimm a nightmare, but they wouldn't be Branwens if they couldn't improvise in the wild.

The officer narrowed his eyes and Raven snatched her wallet back from the would-be pickpocket, then handed her ID over. Even though they most lived off the grid, they did at least go through the official channels for identification. On the off chance someone left, they needed at least that much to integrate into outside life. Raven was so thankful for that policy now.

After tapping it to his scroll and waiting for a moment, he gave a tense nod and returned the card. "Well, it checks out in the system, but you still need to come down to the station and file a report." Raven just looked at Qrow ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

Raven groaned and doubled over, shaking her head. "That was absolutely ridiculous." Why had it taken so long to file a report? Jia had warned about how inefficient the kingdoms were, but she hadn't expected this ! Three hours for a pickpocket report? Ludicrous! At the very least, they'd gotten the directions they needed along with a map from the officer.

She sighed when she saw the sun sinking below the horizon and glanced back down at the map. They'd missed the last flight to Vale and would need to stay in a 'ho-tel.' He'd scribbled the directions to a nearby one and looked at Qrow. "I guess we need to head to the 'hotel.'" She really just didn't understand the point of them. Unless someone was a Hunter or outcasted from the tribe, they were hospitable to guests. Why couldn't other people follow that? Even most rural villages practiced it...

"Yeah." Qrow took the map and she slipped under his arm as he led the way. At least they'd have somewhere warm to stay for the night...