Enlightening Green

At Patch Island, Rose/Xiao Long residence.

Taiyang looked stupified at Silva's alias for the Mistral Regional Cup, but he soon started snickering at Silva's joke. He may not have seen him in years but what he said to him left a deep impression in his mind, so Taiyang instantly recognized Silva from his arms. Qrow also got a good laugh out of Silva's alias and commented.

" Well, at least I know he isn't anything like Rav- I mean her because no way in the world would she use a fake name like that for a few chuckles."

Taiyang nodded in agreement and added.

" Yeah, she didn't have much of a sense of humor, if at all. I can count on one hand the number of times she laughed at something."

Qrow felt a small bit of relief that Silva had a sense of humor as that meant he likely wasn't a cold-blooded killer. Ruby then innocently asked her father.

" Dad, what kind of name is Mai Bals Itshes?"

Taiyang stiffened at his daughter's question, and Qrow gave him a look of pity. Yang also added fuel to the fire unintentionally and missed the joke.

" Yeah, Dad, Mai Bals Itshes doesn't relate to any color I can think of at all."

While Yang was going through puberty and started to develop sexual interests, she hadn't linked the false name Silva used to male genitals. Hearing his daughters say those three words made him silently curse Silva for putting him in this awkward situation. Qrow slipped away into the kitchen with the excuse of making himself some snacks despite the fact he could barely roast meat on an open fire. As Taiyang tried to find the words to say to his daughters, Yang commented.

" You know, that guy Mai Bals Itshes looks familiar for some reason. It's strange. I would definitely remember a guy with a name like that, especially with those arms of his."

Taiyang had mixed feeling about his daughter remembering Silva. Part of him was glad that she remembers as Silva helped out a lot when he was at his lowest with the loss of Summer, his second wife. On the other hand, however, Silva's relation to Raven complicates everything. Ruby then continued to pester her father for answers.

" Dad, Mai Bals Itshes doesn't have any weapons. Is he like you?"

Taiyang felt it was just wrong for his sweet innocent Rosebud to say those three words on so many levels. Again Taiyang internally cursed Silva for putting him in this situation, and as much as he wanted to dump it on Qrow instead, there was no telling what he would reply with as he was, as always, drunk. Part of Taiyang wished he had a son to talk to, but he has given up on a third marriage for now as his priority is his daughters.

***

I, Silva Branwen, am now talking with my previous opponents about this whole Faunus Hierarchy thing. With faunus not only have a single animal feature, but they also have a few other things as well that make them different from humans. Aside from the obvious night vision that all faunus have, they also have the instincts of animals as well. It varies from individual to individual, but they are there. Faunus have the social nature of humans as well as animals, which makes social dynamics... interesting in groups of faunus.

For starters, faunus seem to gravitate towards other faunus with leadership qualities as a sort of Alpha. Learning this, I could think of a few examples right off the bat, Ghira, Sienna, and Adam. Another interesting tidbit is that Alphas seem to clash with each other for dominance which could explain a few things about Adam's future cult of faunus supremacy in the White Fang. But I am going off on a tangent here.

The main reason why they didn't fight me is that their instincts were sending warning alarms like crazy about my level of danger. While it depends on the faunus in question, most faunus can pick up on how dangerous someone is with their instincts if they are combat trained. As I thanked them for explaining everything to me, I made a note to head to the Menagerie after I was done in Atlas as I realized with this encounter, I had never really been around other faunus. I went to find Neopolitan and Emerald at the fairgrounds outside the arena.

Mistral's fairgrounds remind me of Japanese festivals with all the food stalls and games. Unfortunately, I noticed that a lot of booths had signs that said that they don't serve faunus, which means that if I want something to eat here, I need to most likely hunt for a faunus vendor. I sighed and tried to sense Emerald and Neopolitan's Aura to find them without relying on my Semblance. Thankfully they are not far and are together; I gave the both of them some spending money so that they could enjoy the festivities.

I saw the two of them carrying various foods and goods from the stalls they went to and having a good time. I walked up to them and asked with a smile.

" Enjoying yourselves?"

Emerald replied with a sincere smile.

" I've never been to a festival before; thanks, Silva."

" So long as you have fun."

Neopolitan then offered me something that looked like a Korean corndog. Basically, a hotdog on a stick with a thick, deep-fried batter covering that is different from American corndogs because the batter is wrapped around the meat, making it almost look like soft-serve ice cream covered in condiments. I took a bite and thanked her.

" Thanks, Neopolitan."

The tri-colored girl gave a mischievous smile in return, and I noticed the corn dog was quite spicy. I smirked at her as, unfortunately for her, I like spicy food. I smugly took the corn dog out of her hand and ate it. She pouted a little at failing to get the reaction she wanted out of me but didn't make a big deal out of it. As the three of us wandered around the fairgrounds, some guy called out.

" Mai Bals Itshes!"

I turned to see a guy marching over to me, looking self-important, and Neopolitan playfully elbowed me for my alias as she smirked at the guy that said it out loud. I smiled at the poor dumb fool for not picking up on the joke and saying that out loud. The guy then started running his mouth, which I ignored.

" You, who paid off those other animals, have no business in this tournament!"

As he ranted about how a "lowly beast" like me should even be allowed to participate, it went in one ear and out the other. I don't care what people say, as words only have power over you if you let them, but if this idiot tries to start a fight, however, that's another matter entirely. He soon finished his rant and left while saying.

" I hope you understand your position now, you worthless cur."

I just rolled my eyes, and Emerald asked me, looking a little concerned.

" Is it always like this for you?"

I shrugged as I answered.

" Depends on the area, but faunus discrimination is rampant, so there is that, but it's irrelevant right now. Let's just enjoy the rest of the day."

We continued to check out the various stalls until night came.