Percy looked around, stepping off the bullhead and onto the small dock, following Qrow's lead. The island of Patch was fairly small, but still large enough for several small towns and farms. The place was still kind of unpopulated, even as they began walking along the side of the road.
Ruby followed with clear enthusiasm at returning home, amicably chatting with Yang, Nora, and Jaune, as Ren simply admired the landscape and the forest, all alone in his own world. Neo and Mercury were playing a game of "I spy", and somehow having fun and laughing, although mutely, in Neo's case. It must have been because they were pointing at Qrow half the time.
Instead, he walked in comfortable silence with Qrow, following him to wherever he was going, probably the house.
Qrow was the one who broke the silence, "Well kid, we'll head to the house, we can get everything situated, get a couple spars in. Then we'll shower, and- hey you old enough for drinks?"
Percy offered a noncommittal shrug, "I'm a former Beacon student. Do what you will with that info."
Qrow barked a laugh, slapping him on the back, "I like you, kid. Then we'll hit the bar if ya want, maybe bring the brats along too."
"Ruby and Yang?" Percy raised an eyebrow in question.
"Nah, the illusion bitch and the assassin," the huntsman rolled his red eyes.
"You could call them by their real names, ya know."
"Oh, you mean Brat 1 and Brat 2?"
"Heard that!" Mercury yelled from the back of the group, as Neo flipped the bird, earning a smirk from Percy and a small one from Qrow. As easy as it was for him to switch sides, the assassin was a strange personality, one that wasn't entirely unwelcome in their little group.
"So you're buying?' Percy wagered.
Qrow snorted derisively, "Then I got two questions for you. What are you smoking, and can I have some?"
"Wake up," he rolled his eyes, "You're making a minor buy drinks for you."
"And now you're pulling the minor card out of your ass. Come on, we both know you finessed that cash from under ol' Ozzy's thumb and he let you have it."
"That doesn't mean I'm rich, that just means I was poor enough to deserve the pity."
"Was being the keyword there," he stressed, leaning in with a smile, "Good friends like you and I share that bag, am I right?"
"No."
"Tch. I take that back, I don't like you. Sore loser," Qrow half-glared at him playfully.
"A sore loser is what you will be when you get your ass beat black and blue in spars," Percy shot Qrow a knowing smirk.
Qrow narrowed his eyes back at him, "If I had half the natural advantages you do, kid, I'd smoke your ass, and you know it."
Percy let his hands rest on the back of his head, "All I hear is a pissy old bird crying over his age."
Qrow shot him a look, "I'll make sure to aim for the extra painful spots."
"Doesn't matter, since you're not gonna touch me anyway," Percy smirked as Qrow's eye twitched slightly.
"Yeah, sure... unless you got twice as fast as when we last sparred."
Qrow paused, peering at him from the corner of his eye, "You didn't get twice as fast... right?"
Percy only smirked in response. It was fun to watch the old bird wait for his eventual demise.
"Oh who am I kidding," Qrow threw his hands up, "You're a demigod. You could just rail me with storms if you wanted to."
"Sounds like someone's a little jealous," Percy taunted.
"Oh ha ha," the man grumbled mockingly, "You're so funny."
"I know."
They walked in silence for another couple minutes before Qrow spoke once more.
"This is it."
It was a large log cabin, erring almost on the side of a mansion, really, on a large clearing of land. Perfectly suitable for sparring, and a small porch shed Percy could see at the back. He looked from woodline to woodline, "Nice place."
"Yep!" Ruby piped up, surprising both of them as she began leading the way to the large house, "Entire place is ours! Property legal stuff is boring, but out here, it doesn't really matter! We get all of it, even if we get the occasional stray beowolf or ursa sometimes. All good for training!"
"Glad you like your home so much, shortstack," Ruby tried to jerk away, but Qrow had her by the scruff of her cape, and began ruffling her hair as she whined in protest.
Percy chuckled as they moved to the door. Before he could knock, however, the door was opened.
In front of him appeared a man with blond hair and blue eyes.
He was just as tall as Percy, and slightly wider than him, possessing a muscular build. He had light stubble along his jawline, and wore a dark brown vest paired with shorts.
"Hey Dad!" Ruby whooped excitedly, turning into rose petals with her semblance. She bursted into him, apparently trying to knock him over, but the man was solid, and easily caught her.
"There you are, my little cookie monster," he laughed, affectionately ruffling her hair as she hung off his arm, pouting. Yang jumped into his arms, attempting to knock the man over, but he was too strong for that, and he only chuckled, hugging her as well.
"Hello to you too, my sunny little dragon! Oh, and Qrow! Good to see you, man!" the man moved forward to give him a hug, even with Ruby hanging off his arm and Yang hanging off his chest.
"Tai!" Even if he tried to hide it in that grumpy slouch of his, Qrow looked relatively excited for once as they heartfeltly embraced, slapping each other on the back.
"Oh! It seems we have guests," Tai waved at them, "Come in, come in. Shoes off, please."
They were greeted with a spacious interior, a clear living room in front of them, a kitchen to the left, and stairs leading up to the second floor, as well as rooms on the right.
"Hello Mr. Xiao-Long," Percy greeted him.
"None of that formal stuff kid," Tai waved again, as they clasped hands, "Perseus Jackson, right?"
"Just Percy," he corrected, smiling. Tai seemed to be a genuine guy, from what he could initially tell. A father who had raised Ruby and Yang couldn't be a bad guy at all.
"Heh, alright, Percy. Feel free to settle down on the couch and unpack your things, claim a room... we don't have enough for all of you, so you might have to share..."
"Don't worry, Mercury and Neo will be sleeping outside," Percy interjected.
The diminutive girl rolled her eyes at him, not seeming to care as Mercury shot him a fake betrayed look.
"How could you do this to me!? I thought we were friends!!" the assassin griped dramatically, as Percy raised an eyebrow.
"Let's call it survival training, yeah! Learn to camp in the woods, all that stuff. You guys should be grateful, I'm not even making you guys hunt for food."
"I'm so very, very grateful," Mercury drawled, as he slung his backpack off his shoulder.
"It's fine, they can stay here," Tai interjected, clearly not knowing who they were. Perhaps that was for the best, after all.
Percy frowned, but he didn't say anything else, sending a look at Neo and Mercury.
The two of them rolled their eyes in perfect sync, the threat of him hanging over their heads going unsaid.
He only hoped that they wouldn't cause too much trouble during their stay here.
"Oh wow," Tai raised an eyebrow, as he glanced at Jaune.
"Look, we have two blue-eyed, blond bastards now!" Qrow fake-cheered, only to get elbowed in the ribs by Yang.
"You look like a younger me," Tai nodded in approval, "Broad shoulders too... I'm going to whip you into shape, Mister?"
"Jaune. Jaune Arc," the blond answered to the blond, stammering slightly, "And Percy's already training me..."
"Good, that's a good start. An Arc, we could use one of those guys. The Arcs were legendary huntsmen, every single one of them having famously large aura reserves... Don't worry. We're going to put you through hell and back, and get you up to speed. Get prepared for hell," Tai's grin was all teeth.
Jaune Arc gulped under the gaze of one Taiyang Xiao-Long.
Percy laughed.
-----
"And please tell us, what is the state of your relationship with Perseus Apollyon? How close are you with him?"
Pyrrha tried not to shrink under the entire council's expectant gazes as they grilled her on what had happened at Beacon.
She desperately wished she could have just refused the summons of the Council, but since she was the Heir Apparent, she really had no choice but to accept it.
"Miss Nikos?" Lord Nero Claudius prompted her, the overly dressed man leaning forward in his throne eagerly, much like a hawk, eyes filled with nothing but greed.
Above Pyrrha, the five lords sat in the high ceiling, spacious chamber, all of them dressed in regal, fine silks, including her father, Alexander Nikos. Below them were the minor lords of the lower houses.
"He is the leader of our sister team, team PRWBY-"
"We already knew that," Lord Nero narrowed his dark eyes at her, "Tell us more."
"Claudius, there is no need to press the poor child so hard," a calm voice chided.
All eyes turned to Lord Liu Bang, of House Han.
Although the man was dressed in fine silk, making him look pretentious, he had a fatherly air about him. His eyes were warm, and he gently smiled down at her.
Lord Liu was old, seemingly ancient, with eyes full of knowledge and experience.
Decades ago, after the Great War, he had joined the military as a young prodigy, skilled with the blade. As a young general, he'd personally led the army to drive back the Mongols that had tried to attack Mistral's kingdom time and time again. In the far northern parts of the continent, Anima, he had used his military genius and brilliant tactics to push the tribes back to the northwest corner, using Argus as a foothold to do so. Between glory, fame, and military power, he had quickly become widely known in all of Remnant, and Mistral particularly. Formerly one of the three Swords of the Kingdom of Mistral, Liu Bang's rise to power was nothing short of meteoritic.
"I- of course, Lord Liu," Lord Nero deferred, seemingly embarrassed at being called out by the man who had known him since he was a child.
"Yet she must still give her report, no?" Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu of House Edo interjected, playing peacemaker.
"And she will," Lord Nikos simply replied. Her father, gave her a near imperceptible nod to continue.
Pyrrha bowed her head in deference, "Of course. Percy and I-"
A voice cut into her description, echoing throughout the large chamber.
"You will refer to his divine being as Perseus Apollyon and address him by his proper, full title."
Stunned, Pyrrha turned to the man who had spoken.
It was a lower house lord, Lord Oda Nobunaga of House Oda.
Tradition dictated that none of the lower houses speak in favor of allowing the five great houses to have priority, leaving Pyrrha questioning as to why he was speaking up.
"I'm- sorry?" Pyrrha tried.
"Perseus Apollyon is a true god, and as a member of this council, I would have you address him by his proper title," Lord Oda leaned forward, clasping his hands together.
Pyrrha took a step backwards.
She was wrong. So utterly wrong.
They truly believed that Percy was a god! Not that they were that far off, but... she had thought they were less religious than this, that they would try to manipulate him...
Some of the shrewder lower houses might still try to do so, but not all of them, and Pyrrha was certain that Percy could handle a few minor lords.
"You may not order the young huntress to do anything, Nobunaga," her father interjected, narrowing his eyes, "She clearly knows Apollyon well, and is closely linked with him. Do not attempt to abuse your authority over my daughter, or you will feel the full strength of House Nikos."
"And please, do abide by tradition," Lord Liu added. Although his tone was still warm, his eyes were hard, a threat hanging over the top of his head.
The minor lord did not respond, only visibly clenching his jaw in frustration. Try as he might, House Nikos was not some weak minor house to be messed with, and Liu Bang had the most influence on the Council, with political connections spanning across Mistral. The only other house that could rival his was Lord Caesar Augustus of House Caesar, and the two of them were lifelong friends.
"You may continue."
"Percy and I are well-acquainted," she started again slowly, "We are very close friends. He would train me, and the two of our teams would eat together..." she racked her head, trying to think of anything else.
Well, other than that kiss that she'd so boldly given him the day of the Fall... She tried not to blush, but one of the Council picked it up.
Lady Claudia of House Roma spoke, "I sense some... tension from the young girl. I believe their relationship is one that is of friendship progressing to something more," she turned to her with a knowing, maternal smile, "Isn't that right dear?"
Pyrrha wanted to shrink into nothing on the spot. She'd just been ousted in the middle of the Council.
"I- uhh... well-"
Whispers and murmurs arose throughout the large chamber, lords whispering frantically to their advisors, words like 'marriage' and 'arranged' being tossed around that Pyrrha strained her ears to hear.
"There is no need to tease the girl, Roma," Lord Liu interjected again, saving her from her utter mortification.
The woman only smiled knowingly in response, however.
Lord Augustus of House Caesar, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke, his voice silencing all chattering throughout the chamber, "And what do you know of his divine nature?
"I... that is classified," Pyrrha quickly amended, recalling the instructions Percy'd given her.
"A clear lie," Lord Augustus narrowed his eyes at her, before leaning backwards, appearing somewhat satisfied, "Though, if Perseus Apollyon himself gave her these orders, then who is she to deny him? Clearly he is a benevolent, humble god. We have all seen the press conference he gave a few days ago, have we not? He is undoubtedly the god of the seas and the sky, Perseus Apollyon."
"He was sent by the gods to protect the people from the manifestations of darkness and evil, the Grimm," Lord Liu noted, "Therefore, he alone must carry the Mandate of Heaven upon his shoulders.
"Agreed. He is of a divine nature, clearly, and carries the Mandate of Heaven. He has the divine right to rule, and a direct claim to the throne of Mistral," Lord Augustus reasoned.
There were many murmurs of agreement among the nobles, but Pyrrha caught a few murmurs of dissent, though they weren't many in number.
"And all gods require a consort," Lord Nero spoke again, a certain... wickedness gleaming in his eyes, "Might I suggest my own daughter for such a role? I am not so presumptuous to say she would be a good queen, but... I believe she would not be wholly opposed to such a thing."
It was a blatant attempt by him to link House Nero with Percy, and it couldn't have been more obvious.
The suggestion caused a noticeable tension in the room, one that was bound to explode sooner or later, as every single noble in the room cast uncertain glances at each other.
"The matter of a consort, or consorts, if he requires such, can be determined later," her own father waved him off dismissively, probably having noticed it.
Tokugawa spoke next, "What we must do first is establish that he is our god, and because the Council of Vale," he uncharacteristically sneered the word as if it was poison, "is a bunch of buffoons, we may claim him for ourselves."
"Yet, Weiss Schnee of Atlas is on his team, no? I have no doubt the SDC will try to get a brand sponsorship deal with him," Lord Augustus pondered.
"Are we to institute him as one of the Swords of Mistral?" someone called out eagerly.
"He is above such things," Lord Liu instantly dismissed it, "It is of the utmost importance that we establish he is our emperor, and our god, not Vale, or Atlas, or Vacuo. But the god of the sea and the sky, Apollyon, and god-king of Mistral."
"And why is that? He is only a false god!" a no name minor lord cried out, interrupting him.
"To believe his divine nature is anything short of a god is blasphemy!" Lord Commodus of House Aurelius boldly declared back, glaring daggers at the other minor lord, who only glared back with equal ferocity.
And with that, the chamber descended into incoherent shouting, with the five great lords trying their best to calm the situation down.
Just another day with the Mistralian Council.
-----
"I come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right," Qrow enthralled all of them with his enchanting tale.
"What were you doing there?" Ruby whispered.
"I needed information. Tired from battling Grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the town's inn."
Percy nodded. Fair was fair, and Qrow was no amateur.
"The place was crawling with low-lifes and thugs, even a few huntsmen I could only assume had been hired by less than reputable people for less than respectable jobs. And that's when it happened."
"What happened?" Jaune asked, eager for the tale.
"I was defeated... by the mere sight..." the huntsman paused for dramatic effect, "Of the innkeepers skirt length!"
"Uncle Qrow!!" Ruby whined, the rest of them groaning.
"You are the worst!!" Yang glared at him, folding her arms under her breasts. It was Qrow, the guy whose name was spelled with a Q, for fuck's sake. What did they really expect? Percy had to ask himself that question.
"Qrow, she's sixteen," Taiyang groaned with the rest of them, "Your stories always revolve around some innkeeper or another random woman."
"What?" Qrow folded his arms across his chest, "Come on, they're hot! And she in particular..."
"You're such a moron Qrow," Percy groaned, saying the thoughts they all were thinking.
"Y'know, I have some very interesting," Taiyang wiggled his eyebrows, "Stories about Qrow from our time at Beacon..."
This time it was Qrow's turn to groan, "Not the skirt one again, you've told that story a million times..."
"Don't worry, don't worry," Taiyang patted his friend's shoulder condescendingly, "This one is about the time Qrow and Raven tried their bird forms for the first time from Ozpin."
At this point, nothing seemed out of the possibility now, with everything that had been revealed.
Instead of being surprised, Percy spit into his drink, bursting into laughs, "What the fuck, Qrow's a crow? What's he gonna do next, start cawing? Caw, caw bitch!"
The room erupted into a chorus of laughs, as Qrow glared balefully at him through his drink, "Fuck you."
"Alright, alright, let me get on with the story," Tai chuckled, "So, Qrow comes back, right? And he's like practicing his bird form, so he changes into a crow, and starts cawing at everyone. Then he decides to change back," Tai snorted at the memory, "And when he does, he comes out buck naked, with no clothes in sight!"
Percy and the rest of them sniggered at Qrow's expense, the old man only throwing up... the bird, ironically enough.
"I'm so going to kick your all of your asses again tomorrow," he grumbled, "None of you are winning a spar tomorrow."
"I'm pretty sure Neo and I won two spars against your ass today," Mercury reminded him, smirking infuriatingly.
Qrow raised a finger, wagging it, as if he were telling off a child instead of a trained assassin, "Nope! I wasn't using my semblance! You would have lost if I abused it!"
"His semblance is bad luck, by the way," Tai loudly whispered to them, causing Qrow to whine again.
"Dude. Uncool."
"I'm Qrow," Tai mocked, doing a horrible impression of the huntsman, "I break all the rules, I'm the edgy high school kid, my favorite song is Bad Luck Charm," he ran two hands through his hair, "I spend an hour styling my hair every morning. Hey bartender, gimme another drink, it's been two minutes since my last one."
"Taiii," the man whined petulantly, getting laughs from all of them.
"There was this other time where he was learning to fly in his bird form," Tai ignored the sulking Qrow, "And he was about to jump off the chair, when he chickened out! He was just staring at the floor. Then Raven hopped over and bumped him," Tai slammed a fist on the table, sniggering uncontrollably, "Qrow, I'm pretty sure birds aren't supposed to land on their face."
The story gained another round of uncontrollable laughter from all of them, Qrow only grumbling.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, will you?"
"You gotta admit, Uncle Qrow, that was pretty funny," Ruby snickered.
"Not gonna be funny when I whoop your asses tomorrow, I'll run you kids through a wringer," Qrow seemed to brighten up slightly at the prospect, "And maybe I'll kick Tai's butt tomorrow, just like old times."
"Ha!" Taiyang barked a laugh, though there seemed to be a gleam of fierce competitiveness in his eyes, "Good one man! You could never beat me in a spar."
"Aww, Tai, there's no need to lie~" Qrow cooed, a smirk present on his face.
"...Uncool."
-----
"Digging the new outfit by the way."
Blake turned to Sun, who was leaning on the railing of the boat, standing beside her as he grinned, giving her a thumbs up.
"Were you ever going to tell me that you were stalking me?" she instead replied.
She folded her arms under her breasts, glaring at the monkey faunus who stood across from her, hands raised innocently.
"I... well... I did, right?"
"Because Percy caught you," Blake drawled, rolling her eyes at him.
Sometimes, Sun's actions came off as... well, creepy, but she could tell he was a good guy, with good intentions at heart.
"I was just trying to make sure you weren't running off!" Sun exclaimed, throwing his arms up, "I'm sorry, I beg for your forgiveness your highness," he sarcastically said, bowing deeply.
Blake's lips twitched upwards slightly at his antics. What a dork.
"You're one to talk. You left your team behind again, didn't you? Unless Sage, Scarlet, and Neptune are hiding below deck..."
"I can promise you they aren't," Sun chuckled, "You think I could get Neptune on a boat!? Pff... do I look like the Ice Queen?"
Blake hid her laughter behind a cough, admitting that was kind of funny.
"No, but seriously," he sobered up slightly, grimacing as he spoke, "I know I'm not the best... team leader, at all, but they're going back to Haven. They know I'll catch up! I chose to come with you, because all I saw was a good friend in need of help that was leaving her own team. And two is better than one, right?"
That was... sincere, of him. Even if he might have erred on the wrong side of the law at times, he was a good guy at heart.
Blake smiled, "Thank you, Sun."
They stood in comfortable silence for a few seconds, listening to the gentle rocking of the waves and the gentle harmony of the ocean.
A thought suddenly came to Blake's mind, "Hey, are you going to tell your team about..." the word went unsaid, but both of them knew what she was talking about anyway.
"No... but still, everything you've dropped on me... it's kind of crazy, right?"
Blake frowned at the mention of it all, "That's the understatement of the century."
"I know, but all we can do is just, go with the flow, y'know?" Sun shrugged, "That's what I've learned to do as a faunus."
That was an... an interesting philosophy.
"Yeah..." she echoed, thinking.
She looked out towards the sea, which buzzed gently with its own, hidden strength. There was a certain kind of exotic allure to the strength of the tides. Waves rolled towards them, gently rocking the small ship. It forged its own song, creating a harmonious symphony, much like a soft lullaby.
The cat faunus sighed, reaching her hands up to untie the black ribbon that covered her ears. Even though it weighed a feather, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders,
"Guess I won't be needing this anymore," she let it go. She watched as it flew away, into the ocean.
"I knew you looked better without that stupid ribbon," he commented.
"Sun!" Blake yelled at him, embarrassed.
"Okay, okay, jeez," the monkey faunus raised his hands again, "Didn't know you were having a main character moment from one of your books."
"Sun!!" Blake yelled at him, embarrassed.
He opened his mouth to respond, when, all of a sudden, the boat began rocking violently. She stumbled as the waves hit the ship, trying to regain her footing. Then she made the mistake of looking up.
An absolutely massive, serpentine dragon Grimm that towered over the boat.
Large, red wings spanned across the sky, blocking out the sun and casting shadow upon the small ship, with thick, white plates of armor spanning its underbelly.
A Sei Feilong.
AN: A little bit of world building for all of you! I promised that Mistral was going to see significant changes, and here it is!
You can see that Mistral is a blend of Asia, Greece, and Rome. I've taken historical figures from history, but please don't nitpick on Houses or personalities, etc. I will try my best to be accurate, though.
On another note: I've had a thorough discussion with my readers on discord, and I'm now putting up a poll for whether or not the pairing should be polyamorous (Percy x girl x girl). I've realized that what I've written can certainly be turned into a polyamorous pairing with albeit some effort, and since some of my readers want to see that, I'm putting it to a vote. If it wins, the change in pairing should not affect the plotlines much.
I personally don't have too much of a preference on which way it goes, since it won't take too much effort to change the romantic subplots and developments.
The poll is up on my profile. Vote now!
Join my discord! Members get previews of the next week's chapter every week!
Discord links
FFN (remove spaces): discord . gg / M4yMguEz2J
Wattpad/AO3: discord.gg/M4yMguEz2J
How'd you like this chapter? Review, comment, favorite, follow, vote, but only if you enjoyed! It helps motivate me to write more.
'til next time!
-thann3