Interruption (Conti.)

"You didn't tell me you were a Roma," Adam said as we took a winding course through the city.

I nearly asked why it mattered, but I supposed I could guess. Each of the different countries had their own history with the Faunus, each complicated in their own ways. On Mistral especially, things had been…it was hard to describe. Oftentimes, Mistral was held up as a historical example of equality between Man and Faunus, with some of the best known examples of Faunus in positions of power within a non-Faunus community. But if you look a bit deeper, beneath the cartoon specials and speeches and such, and get into the real history of Mistral, it…well, Faunus were treated equally, yeah.

Equally badly, by and large. Mistral would roll over a Faunus village in its path and force them into servitude. They'd crush resistance and crucify them around towns so that the negativity would draw Grimm to devour others. They'd extort and exploit and devour everything they had.

They'd just do the same to the human village down the street, too.

In fairness, Mistral had had policies that were both progressive and barbaric. The reason Faunus could rise above their situations and obtain such famous positions was because Mistral had implemented a system wherein slaves could rise from their positions and become citizens…it's just they had still taken them slaves. There was a lot of stuff like that, in all of the Kingdom's histories; amazing things and terrible things and contexts. And after thousands of years of development, of change, those things eventually resulted in what we have today.

Which, thinking about it, was as good as it was bad. Mistral's practices in the past had eventually led to it being such a place of diversity, but its history of empires and conquests and rulers had been the source of how it now functioned, too. And though those two things may have seemed unrelated, they weren't and they tied into everything else.

Maybe even the White Fang.

"I didn't think it was important," I said, shrugging. "My mom doesn't really like that part of our family and I only get to see grandma rarely. I guess she keeps busy."

Adam grunted in agreement without looking my way.

"You know why the Roma are called the Children of the Wolves, right?" He asked.

"Because Remus and Romulus might have been Wolf Faunus," I nodded. "Or might have been adopted and raised by a Wolf Faunus; the records aren't completely clear on that front. It was a long time ago, even for Remnant. If you're asking if I have any Faunus blood in me, then almost certainly. I've never really looked into it, but statistically speaking most people have some Faunus blood, especially those descended from Mistral. A lot of the time the traits won't pass on and most of the time all that matters is how you look. So I might be related to a Wolf Faunus if you go back far enough, but you can probably trace me back to something more recent, because if you were hot enough, Mistral's kings and queens didn't usually care if you were human or Faunus or married or…well, you know. Go back a few hundred or thousand years and we'd probably find some Faunus wife or concubine or slave I'm descended from."

Adam grunted again and I shrugged.

"It's stupid, I know," I said. "Humans and Faunus can interbreed and have a lot—and everything that's happened is just the result of which genes line up, what's dominant and what's recessive. A huge amount of people, including the ones that hate the Faunus the most, probably have Faunus ancestry somewhere down the line, but they mated with a human and the traits just didn't pass on. Some…would it be insulting if I used the term breeds? Some breeds of Faunus shine through more than others, but a lot just vanish. Genetics didn't really come into until relatively recently, beyond a generation or so, and even now, it's usually appearances that matter. It's shallow, but…"

"But true," He finished. "Pretty much no one is pure Faunus or pure Human, not after thousands of years together, and yet…"

I nodded understandingly, even though he probably wasn't looking.

"I know," I agreed. "I'm just saying that, however true it may be and whoever I may be related to, the 'We're not so different, you and I' argument is probably not going to work. I didn't think old blood really mattered."

"It doesn't," He sighed. "It doesn't mean a thing. But it's…politics…"

"Ah," I said, musingly. "The White Fang is looking to set up in Mistral? I…can't imagine that going over well, Adam."

"It didn't," He stopped as we reached a street, letting cars roll by. "It's…the White Fang tried before, back when it first got started; Mistral was the natural choice, given its position as…well, one of the more accepting Kingdom's, at least. But the leadership in Mistral doesn't abide competition or dissent. It didn't go well and the White Fang focused its attentions on Vytal instead. But still…things are better for the Faunus here in some ways, worse in others."

"That's Mistral, for you," I shrugged a shoulder, waiting patiently for the lights to change. "Land of the highs and lows."

He conceded with a snort, turning to look at me out of the corner of an eye. He'd put on some sunglasses, despite it being nighttime—which looked kind of silly, but I guess he could see fine that way so…

"The Families can all trace their lines back to some Faunus, whether they were descended from one, taught by them, married them, or whatever," He continued. "Most of it long enough ago that it doesn't matter genealogically—but historically, they were famous people, remembered in myths and legends, so it does matter. After all, people know they're related to Faunus, so it's not like they could hide or distance themselves from the fact. As a result, the Families have taken to a policy of, at the very least, neutrality towards the Faunus, which is both good and bad. On one hand, the rulers of Mistral are not prejudiced against Faunus and so official discrimination. On the other hand, the rulers of Mistral…aren't very nice people."

"Ah," I said, looking down a bit. "Yeah."

"Because the people who most publically support and are related to the Faunus are…how shall we say…criminal scum," Adam nodded towards me as if as an example. Which I guess I was, sort of, but it was kind of hypocritical coming from him. "The view of Faunus in Mistral has been altered accordingly and such perceptions often force them into the roles because of discrimination against them in their daily lives."

I eyed me friend a tad disbelievingly, looking him up and down.

"Um," I said. "No, offense Adam, but if you want to make people stop thinking of the Faunus as criminals…well, I'm not sure the White Fang are the best people for the job, is all?"

"I fucking know, right?" He actually laughed. "Anyway, that's the official explanation and its true—it's probably even on the agenda, somewhere down the line. But…well, that's not why we're here; why the White Fang wants to set up shop, I mean. Changing all that…that's long term stuff, something that's not gonna be fixed except over decades. Ideally, the White Fang wants official backing and support from Mistral but it's largely been content with things on that front for a while now. Since the change in management, we've even done a few odd jobs for the Families in exchange for…considerations, let's say. But the Families control most everything and are willing to keep things positive, so we've largely focused our efforts elsewhere. Everything else can be handled later."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here," I noted, frowning.

"Things have apparently changed," He said, looking up. I got the feeling he had closed his eyes. "We've…I don't know what's happening, not really, but I'm getting the feeling that the schedule's been moved up. For whatever reason, they think things will start to change very soon. Things that shouldn't matter for another few decades are getting brought up. The guys in charge…there's…there's been talk. They're expecting something soon."

"How soon?"

He shrugged a shoulder, the set of his mouth making him look uncertain.

"A year?" He guessed. "Maybe two? Not right now or anything, but for something as big as this…"

It was too fast, I finished the thought, frowning slightly. I couldn't really argue with him there—if he was talking about cultural change on the scale I thought he was, it just wasn't something that could happen quickly, not without heavy resistance. If the White Fang suddenly thought they had a realistic chance of pushing something like that through anyway…then this was something big. Really, really big.

Quite possibly big enough to warrant getting my mother involved in. Which meant I was walking into the situation I wanted to avoid, potentially putting myself between my family and friends—which was somewhere I really didn't want to stand. And…

"What's this have to do with me?" I asked before putting several pieces together. "And why'd you bring up that I was a Roma?"

Adam just looked at my calmly and I pursed my lips, abruptly wanting to react. Even so, the Gamer's Mind kept me calm and I took a deep breath, considering things. Silence could speak as loudly as words and I knew what his was hinting at.

"The Families," I said at last. "They're involved?"

"Of course they are," He replied. "However good a time the Olympia Festival may be for meetings like this, nothing goes on in this city without the knowledge and consent of at least one Family. I'm not sure how much or why, but…"

I nodded, accepting that even as I swallowed down words.

"And my Family?" I asked. "My grandmother? Does she know what's going on?"

If…if my grandmother came down on one side of this and my mother on the other…and if my sister's got involved, too, the rest of my family…if this was—

Careful, Jaune, I thought to myself as I forced my mind away from the thoughts, the implications, my sudden concerns for the future. Baby steps.

"I don't know," Adam said at last—or, at least, it felt like I'd been waiting on his answer for ages. In reality, maybe he'd answered promptly. "But…I thought you should be aware. Of what you're getting into."

I nodded, accepting that calmly.

"And the White Fang," I continued. "You don't know what they're planning?"

This time, Adam did hesitate, pausing for a minute as he looked at me and remained quiet. At that moment, there was a part of me that wanted to demand the answers, take them, make him tell me—but I didn't. That was fear talking; a very logical, quiet, steady concern that hardly felt like an emotion at all, but which set up shop in the back of my head and showed little sign of moving. I was aware of it, felt it even, but I thought through it with my power and waited patiently. It didn't control me.

"No," Adam said finally. "They're keeping things quiet and they're working with someone—who's working for someone who's working for someone else, from what it sounds like. Distancing things."

I looked over his face for a minute before nodding slowly.

"Okay," I said. "Thank you. For telling me, I mean. I…didn't want to know this, but maybe I needed to. So thank you; I know what you must be risking for this."

He grunted at that, a bit uncomfortably, and shrugged like it was nothing.

"You're not the only one who has reason to worry," He said and I wondered if he meant himself or Blake.

"But," I proceeded regardless. "I need more information."

"Yeah." He agreed.

"And you know what I have to do to get it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I nodded again and looked forward, organizing things in my thoughts. My mom, my grandmother, Autumn and Gou, the situation in Mistral, the White Fang and the Families, there was…

God, how do I get wrapped up in so much, so quickly?

"Okay," I said aloud. "What first?"

"First," He replied. "We need to make sure everyone believes it's you."

I assumed he meant Jian Bing and glanced his way.

"Have there been imposters?" I asked.

"Imposters, crazy people, the usual," He shrugged. "Nothing major, but we'll need to deal with it now."

"What do you propose? I can use some of my powers, but I'm not sure what they'd recognize, considering. The White Whale is kind of noticeable and also on another continent. The mask and cloak?" I shook my head in irritation. "Can't you just vouch for me? You were there."

"My presence will do a lot to prove your identity," He nodded. "But a few people might be suspicious about you abruptly turning up. Just in case, it'd be best to avoid questions. It doesn't need to be unquestionable or anything, just enough to stall any questions. From there…well, improvise."

"A show of power?" I guessed.

He blew out an exhausted sounding breath and nodded.

"A lot of Grimm always gather where the White Fang does," He said. "Negativity and all. They need to be dealt with regularly to avoid drawing attention, but things tend to get troublesome after a while, as more and more come. But for this, they should work fine. So…God, I'm regretting this already, but…let's go Hunting, Jaune."

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