Chapter 001 – The Way That We Have Been

"Almost home…" a little bunny-eared girl muttered to herself as she walked down the cobblestone street of Oakenhille. A relatively safe and small farming and logging village on the fringes of Vale's northeast borders. Although at one point it had been bigger, namely when it had been created, as it had been founded for the express purpose of mining a newly discovered Dust vein, it was now much smaller, as the vein had dried up, and many people had left, looking for better job opportunities. Now the village mostly consisted of its inhabitants that had never left, or those who seek to get away from the hustle-n-bustle of the city for a simpler life. Many houses on the outskirts of the village now lay abandoned, but was making a slow, but sure, recovery due to the staple-crop farming and high-quality timber Oakenhille provided to the Kingdom of Vale.

The girl had had another long day in her elementary school and longed to get back to the comfort and safety of her home. This was in no small part to her classmates' incessant need to humiliate her because of her rabbit ears, a very clear sign that she was a Faunus. Faunus were actually pretty much identical to humans in every way that mattered, save for some animal characteristics, like animal ears, a tail, cat eyes…Pretty much anything could go. Unfortunately, it also meant that those exhibiting these traits were severely discriminated against, for reasons that the girl didn't really understand. She didn't really know why some of the other girls in her class would gossip about her just because she had an extra pair of ears. If anything, she thought it made her cuter. At least that was what her mother said. They also didn't know that she could hear EVERYTHING they said even if they were whispering. It hurt to know that people called her a freak or an animal, after all she had never done anything to hurt them, so why were they so mean with her?

The boys on the other hand were much more physical. Some boy named Rouge Rubar who sat behind her in class had yanked on both of her ears again while reading. She had yelped loudly in the middle of reading time, which had led to Mrs. Ginee to berate Rouge while she softly rubbed her drooping ears. She would always say that Velvet needed to stand up for herself, since she wouldn't always be there for her, unlike her mother.

Velvet had always liked Mrs. Ginee, she didn't make fun of her because she was a Faunus (and she also gave out this super yummy vegetable bread that none of the other students liked. More for herself!). However, the teacher was a minority in the village. Most people would ignore the bullying entirely thinking it was children being children. Although, children were impressionable so they had to have picked it up from somewhere. It also didn't help that there were only three Faunus families in the village of Oakenhille (four before the Addersons had left the village for the city of Vale last year), thus one didn't see it often.

Pausing, she opened her bag and looked inside to make sure she didn't leave anything behind. She had a habit of leaving her pencils behind in her cubby box then having to borrow her sister's, which made her slightly mad after the first ten times. Rummaging through her things, she found the book she had picked up in the library named 'The First Hero.' She thought the name was pretty cool, but it was a few levels above her reading level, unfortunately. She wanted a challenge though since most books in the library were childish, about princesses and princes and the like. And while like every girl, she liked them, but knew that life wasn't always so simple or easy. Although, she hadn't read this book before, she knew it was an old fairy tale that was known for its rather…. interpretive endings. Depending on who you asked and what version you picked up you got anything from a gleeful happily-ever-after to a melancholic ending. Thus, she wanted to read the book herself, and see what she made of the story.

She gently placed the book back into her bag and looked over to her right. Where her little sister Clover, who had ash-colored bunny ears (she herself had cocoa-tinted ears), was merrily skipping alongside her older sister by one year (she had begrudgingly shared some of that super awesome vegetable bread with her). Her sister, noticing her staring, turned to look at her, head tilted to the side.

"Wut is it sis?" asked little Clover with her small hazel eyes. A small grin appeared on her face, with some of the crumbs of the vegetable bread still remaining around her mouth, giving her a cute look.

"Are you still scared from the ground shaking this morning? Need me to hold your hand?"

"No!" she quickly retorted. Clover was much more mischievous and outgoing compared to herself. She always envied that trait of her younger sister. It mostly stemmed from her mother spoiling the youngest of the family. Something that Clover had quickly learnt to exploit, what with her using the Puppy Dog Eyes on the Scarlatina matriarch whenever she wanted something. Their mother never could resist those eyes, though to be fair, few could, and most of those were among the mean people anyway.

"It was barely even shaking. Although, Ms. Ginee made us go under our chairs. That was pretty fun."

In truth, anything that broke from the norm of school was fun. Fire drills and Grimm alarms were treated more like small parties to the students, much to the chagrin of the few teachers at her school. Alas, in their young age, they would take anything over seating at their desks and listening to the teacher drone on and on, even if it was supposed to save their life in case of a Grimm incursion or a fire.

"Yeah, Mr. Hoover made us go under our chairs too," she spoke as she nibbled down the last bite of the bread. They both walked down the path, taking in the sights of the small buildings that held houses and small, but numerous shops. The village wasn't that big, but it was quite homely, with a lot of small shops that held everything, from freshly baked bread to weapons for the few Huntsmen and Huntresses of the village alongside the local militia (although they were more for guiding the residents away from danger while the Huntsmen dealt with the threat, as many of them did not have their aura unlocked).

A voice called out from behind the two, stopping the girl from further pondering.

"Excuse me you two. May I ask you a question?"

Both sisters turned around to face the feminine voice behind them, their eyes widening as the caught sight of the person who had spoken.

'Wow! She's really pretty!' Velvet thought to herself as she noticed the young woman's long raven hair, held up in twintails. She was wearing a red long-sleeved sweater with a cross on the front with a black short skirt and knee-socks stopping at mid-thigh. She had piercing azure eyes and smooth creamy skin, something that she heard older girls envied, though to Velvet, that only made the woman very pretty. Also, for some reason, her mind told her that the super-friendly smile on the woman's face was fake, but Velvet didn't believe that. Anyone smiling like that couldn't be faking it, right?

'Mom would be super jealous of her. Although mom is pretty too!'

Her mother probably had a good decade or more of experience than this pretty lady, though she didn't know which one was prettier, her mother or the lady. While her mother was pretty, the lady had something about her that made her stand out, a way of holding herself that she couldn't help but envy. It was confident, borderline arrogant, and spoke of a person who expected to be respected, someone that people looked up to by sheer instinct.

"What do you want to ask?" Clover asked, still smiling (Her manipulative, I'm-super-cute-and-I-know-it smile she used to get extra helpings of desert).

"Hey, mom said not to talk to strangers," she warned her sister. It was a carryover of when her mother used to live in the big city, not particularly useful in a village where everyone knew each other. And Velvet has never seen this lady before, which meant that she was an unknown.

"Oh, don't worry! I just need to ask you two things really quick," smiled the young woman. She seemed amused by the almost panic Velvet was experiencing, though it didn't seem malicious, more like an adult finding fun in a flustered child.

'Um, I think she's okay. No one that pretty could be that bad, could they?' Velvet mused. Plus, her smile was way too friendly for someone who would want to hurt them.

"Uh, okay what do you need?" she eventually asked, her voice meek.

"You two are Faunus, right?"

The browned-eared girl slightly cringed.

'Oh great, here comes another meanie.'

"Yup!" this time Clover spoke with gusto.

Everyone knew what a Faunus was. Unless you managed to live under a rock out in the Badlands for your entire life, you knew what a Faunus was. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on the point of view, Clover had yet to be exposed to the racism towards their kind, either because there were fewer students in her year, or because they had yet to pick it up from someone around them, Velvet didn't know. She dreaded to think what it would feel like for her sister when they would begin picking on her. It hadn't been easy for her either, to suddenly have people you were friends with in kindergarten start bullying you for no obvious reason.

"Okay. Now for my second question. Could you tell me where to find the…" the lady was interrupted by a hand being placed on her shoulder. It was a tall, blue-haired man who came out from his shop still wearing his apron.

"Excuse me miss, are these two bothering you?" This was Mr. Brighton, he was known for being racist against Faunus ever since his childhood sweetheart married the Addersons's eldest son before they moved to Vale. Though, unlike most, he was always indirect about it as to not tarnish his 'nice-guy' appearance. Subtly charging the Faunus families more for the same service, that kind of thing. However, everyone in the village knew about it. He was also one of the few single men left in the village, at least that what her mother said. That and to never go into his shop. He was also putting on his 'charming-guy' smile while subtly eyeing her up and down.

The pretty lady left eye slightly twitched (out of view of the man, but all too clear for Velvet), and she subtly shifted her shoulders to remove the man's hand from them. For some reason, her smile seemed to become rather forced, and Velvet feared that Mr. Brighton might get slapped. Oh, he'd deserve it, but then he'd get angry, and take out his anger on the easiest target, which at the moment, were her little sister and her. They'd run, of course, but she could do without being chased around the village by an angry man.

"Oh no, these two are being just absolute sweethearts. I just needed…"

"Why don't you come into my shop and we can get you what you need? These 'Faunus' probably need to back home," he spoke with a slight sneer as he regarded the two sisters.

This time the woman's eye began to twitch even more, and Velvet could tell that she didn't like being interrupted. Her mother had told her that no woman liked having idiots drooling over them, and the lady seemed to be the kind of woman who really, really didn't like it, nor being interrupted. And from the single, terrifying experience she had with women like that, she knew that the nice lady was very likely to explode in a way that would be quite unfortunate for her would-be suitor.

"No thank you, I was in the perfect company of this two before you came about. You should get back to… tending your establishment and leave us be," she glared, her eyes flashing strangely for a split second as they made contact with Mr. Brighton's.

"I…. uh… umm. I mean yes, I'll go back to tending my shop you have a nice day."

His words were strangely slurred to Velvet's ears, was Mr. Brighton coming down with the flu? It was out of season at the moment, but that didn't mean it was impossible either. Slowly, he turned around and walked back into his shop, both Clover and Velvet captivated by the lady. She talked down Mr. Brighton before he even had a chance to flirt with her! Their mother could learn a thing or two from her! The Scarlatina matriarch was always a pushover when it came to handsome men. She always told them stories of their daddy using his sweet nothings to sweep her off her feet, whatever that meant. However, Velvet became slightly depressed at the thought of her father.

The lady pinched her nose and let out a quiet groan.

"Can't believe I just did that. I must be really wound up," she quietly muttered to herself, most likely not expecting the sisters to hear her every word.

"At least he went away. Mommy says he's a meanie," Clover remarked, making the woman look at them with wide eyes.

"How did you?" she looked at Clover incredulously. Clover merely pointed to her animal appendages sitting on her head.

"Right, Faunus," she sighed, "Your mother is a smart woman. Anyways, could you point me the way to the Harvest Moon Inn? I seem to have lost my way while shopping for groceries," she explained, showing a small bag of groceries in her right hand with another smile on her face, this time far less forced than the one she had shown Mr. Brighton.

"Are you new to Oakenhille? What's your name? How old are you? You know you're really pretty! Almost prettier than mommy! But mommy has bigger boobs! Are…" started Clover, childlike curiosity clear in her eyes as she stared at the taken aback young woman.

"I uh… wait, what!?" stammered said woman, caught off guard by Clover's antics. She obviously wasn't used to dealing with children.

"What is coming out of your mouth young lady!" she growled, reaching down and pinching Clover's cheeks.

"Awwaah! Stwaaap. I gwiwvee… I gwiivveee…" squealed the small girl, giggling the whole time.

"Ah! Ah! Clover, we need to get back home. Mom is going to get worried!" spoke up Velvet. While she could see that the young woman wasn't really hurting her sister, she knew Clover could easily anger her even more with her playful remarks, and she didn't think it was a good idea to piss off a stranger they knew almost nothing of. Plus, this woman had made Mr. Brighton leave very easily, so they didn't want to anger her too much.

"The Harvest Moon Inn is down the street and to the right of the carpenter's shop," she added, this time to the fuming lady, who was glaring at her sister as if she hoped to cause her to spontaneously combust. Her arms had crossed under her chest, making her breasts seem slightly bigger, something she had seen other older women do when their breast size was talked about.

"Ah I see, well thank you miss…?" she nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Umm…." She hesitated, unsure of giving her name to a stranger, but she eventually relented, it was just her name after all, it wasn't as if she was following someone she didn't know.

"Velvet…. Scarlatina…. And this is my sister Clover."

"Well Miss Scarlatina, thank you for your help. Hope to see you around again soon," waved the stranger, taking a few steps before pausing, her hand fishing a small Lien card in her pocket and plucking it directly into the Faunus' small hands. A small tingling feeling shot up her arm as their skin made contact.

"Ah! I can't take this!" stammered Velvet. Her mother had always been very clear of never accepting things from strangers, telling her horror stories about what happened to the children who did accept.

"Think of it as payment for your services," grinned the young woman, giving the sisters a wink, before walking down the street until she was out of sight.

"She was nice," remarked Clover, breaking the silence, as she rubbed her cheeks.

"Yeah, she was…" nodded Velvet.

It was rare for them to meet people who were that nice. Most strangers avoided them or didn't even notice them, and those who didn't usually went out of their way to be mean to them. Someone who didn't ignore them and was nice to them was a welcome novelty.

"Anyways! How much money did she give you? We can stop by Nevería on the way home for ice cream!" grinned Clover, bouncing up and down in anticipation.

"We already have plenty of ice cream at home Clover."

Looking down, she gazed at the piece of plastic only to reveal a… one lien card…. What a cheapskate! You couldn't even buy an ice cream cone with this! Not wanting to break her little sister's heart, she quickly diverted the conversation:

"Let's go home Clover. We're going to get yelled at."

"Ah! We should hurry, I don't wanna get yelled at again!" squeaked the girl, taking off down the street as fast as her legs could take her.

Velvet let out a big sigh before she raced off to catch up to her sister. At least Rabbit Faunus could run really fast, so they should be home quickly. It was one trait of Faunus that she was glad to have, more so than her ears since they made her stand out. Yet her mother had always told them to bear them with pride, that they were a part of themselves they should be proud of, so she would do her best to do just that. Speaking of Faunus, that lady was very nice and wasn't mean to her or Clover for having bunny ears, despite the strange question in the beginning, as if it wasn't obvious at first glance that they indeed Faunus. She was also really pretty! Although Clover said that their mother was prettier, she thought the lady was the prettiest one. Not to criticize her mother, cause her mother was beautiful too!

"I hope I see her again…" muttered Velvet as she raced down the streets after her sister.

"Ah! Clover! Not that way! We're not going to go to Nevería! We're going home!" she groaned, as her sister entered the shop, despite her having perfectly heard her.

Maybe some ice cream would be okay. She had some left over from this week's allowance. She only hoped her mother wouldn't be too mad.

Right?

Next Chapter: 002 - What My Heart Held

Authors Notes: See more details on my author's page for more details on this story.

Big Thanks to Arawn D. Draven for beta'ing this chapter! Check out his awesome stories if you have time!