Valestars Coffee, Part Duex (Open)

(Sunday, Week Eleven)


Roy sat in a booth near the window. No reading as he had months ago sitting in this same coffee shop. But thinking. He looked haggard, his long blonde hair unkempt, no part of him was the same since his failure. His usual tidy self had become unkempt, his clothes wrinkled. He looked like hell because he had been pushing himself too hard.


He hadn't seen Coran in more than a month. Hadn't talked to any of his friends in a while, either. Not that he had had many, though.

He sighed, sipping at a latte.


I should be training for the next initiation. I'll be ready this time. I won't fail again. I need to be ready for anything.

This was the first day he had taken off training since he had been able to leave the infirmary. That huge leech thing had nearly killed him, all because he had been overconfident. He ran a hand through his clean but unruly hair, wondering idly if he should get it cut. He'd had long hair all his life, and it would take getting used to, so he decided against it.

He let out another sigh. He really should be training.

Roy's depressing reverie was broken by a young lady practically flopping into the shop like a fish, disturbing a couple of people who were near the door at the time. He cracked a small smirk, but he didn't laugh out loud. He hadn't laughed since...well, that's another depressing thought, he was so in this funk of self loathing and training that he couldn't remember the last time he laughed.

He finished his latte, and decided to get one of the sandwiches they sold here. He hadn't been eating well, and it showed in his face. Brushing his hair out of his eyes, he decided against it in a split second. Line was getting long, he'd wait a while. The seat across from him was empty, though why Miss Fish Flop would want to sit next to him was anyone's guess. He looked like he had gone through hell, and in his last training session he had.


In the past weeks he had actually developed some muscle definition. Nothing overly dramatic, but it was a change that was noticeable. His lithe frame had changed into one of lean muscle.

And so he sat, sipping his latte, across from the only empty seat in the place. Were things going to get interesting?

Who knew?

Roy gave his best smile, though it was a wan smile. He had recently gotten over his fear of women, having replaced it with a fear of failure. He hadn't been dealing well with pressure lately. He adjusted his jacket, suddenly a little cold, though that was the only sign of nervousness he gave. She looked like she knew how to fight, what with the bow and everything. He respected that.

"Go ahead."

He went to sip at his latte before noticing it was empty, as he noticed a cloaked figure slip out the door, just barely. It was subtle, but there was a glint of recognition in his eye.

Then he was interrupted by someone bringing him a fresh latte and a sandwich, along with a note.

Rudra was what the note said. Just the one word. There was another glint of recognition in his eye, but it was barely there this time. He recognized the word, but couldn't place it. The handwriting seemed familiar, too. He shook off the feeling and greeted the young lady. Though he looked a bit haggard, he was still handsome after a fashion. If you liked long haired pretty boys, at least.

"Roy Atenwood."

The teamless Beacon student gave his wan smile.

"Sorry for taking so long to introduce myself...the food distracted me."

He took a bite of the sandwich and then it hit him. Rudra. His mother. There was a connection there. He knew his birth mother and his father had split up due to ideological differences in how Faunus should be treated in society. His father was a faunus rights activist, what was his mother? He couldn't quite remember, his father never talked about her...

Roy frowned for a moment. He seemed...offput? That was about right. He was discouraged, and being driven mad by his own inner demons. But something else was up, now, too. Rudra....rudra...why did it seem so familiar?


"You could say...life hasn't been going well lately."


Rudra. Why was it nagging in the back of his mind so much? He thought deeply, and then it hit him like a ton of bricks all at once. Cult of the Rudra. His mother had started some group revering a fake god of sorts, and....something. Something nasty he didn't quite remember.

"Actually, something might be more wrong than I thought..."

He didn't elaborate just yet. He felt, somehow, that he could trust this woman. He didn't know why, but he looked at the note again, and sighed. He might need fighters for whatever he had to do. Something had to be done, he felt, but he didn't know what, just yet. He was thinking in circles.

"Have you ever heard of something called 'Rudra'?"

"I think that's a Hydra."


Hmmm. I'll need to talk to Father.

Roy frowned, but it was a thoughtful frown, not a harsh one. More "I'm thinking" than "I'm unhappy." He had to think hard, he hadn't heard anything about his biological mother or her cult in years, and then it hit him rather suddenly. The reason her and his father had split up was because she was sacrificing Faunus to summon her god or something. In fact, she was believed to be dead, but whoever had slipped him this note apparently thought he could stop her or something.

But not alone.


"Tell me...how well can you use that bow?"

He didn't know her, but she seemed...nice? Trustworthy? Whatever it was, he felt she could help. Somehow.

"We're not presently in danger, I think...but I have a hunch much more is at stake than just two lives."

He frowned again. If his mother was sacrificing Faunus again he'd need more than one person helping him. Perhaps

"It's not something I can talk about in public, though. "


Sacrifices, naturally, were dark business. He needed help to deal with this, and help he would get, even if he had to use his father's connections to the White Fang to get it.

Roy knew, at that moment, he would need all the help he could get if his mother was up to her old tricks again. If this was her old tricks. Lord only knew what she had been up to back in the day. His father had forged connections with most Faunus Rights groups, while she had simply disappeared off the face of the planet. He let out a sigh. Then he produced a pad and pen from his jacket, and wrote down the address of his father's clinic.


"Meet me here, in a week's time. I'll explain everything then, and you can feel free to back out. All I can say now is that lives are at stake, and you will be compensated with Lien or Dust, your choice."

He held out the scrap of paper with the address on it.

"I understand...and...thank you."

Roy smiled, this time a little more lively, and stood. He gave a polite bow, as was the tribe's tradition, and went to leave.

"If you'll excuse me, then, I have arrangements to make."