RWBY: The Novelization: The Stray

RWBY: The Novelization is not endorsed by Rooster Teeth in any way. Views, opinions, and thoughts are all my own. Rooster Teeth and RWBY are trade names or registered trademarks of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. © Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.

 

On a beautiful afternoon, Team RWBY found themselves in downtown Vale. The streets and lamp posts were decorated in streamers of brown, green, and yellow. Large bunches of balloons in the same colors were anchored to the sides of buildings, and there was even a large banner being hung overhead just outside the main port saying “Welcome to Vale.” The reason as to why and why the girls were there was soon revealed.

“The Vytal Festival!” said Weiss excitedly. “Oh, this is absolutely wonderful.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile this much,” Ruby said. “It’s kinda weirding me out.”

“How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament. Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking.”

Yang sighed. “You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring.”

“Quiet you!”

“Remind me again why we’re spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?”

Ruby plugged her nose. “Ew. They smell like fish.”

“I’ve heard transfer students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today,” explained Weiss. “And as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom.”

“In other words,” began Blake, “she wants to spy on them so she’ll have the upper hand in the tournament.”

“You can’t prove that.”

Suddenly, Ruby said, “Whoa.”

Down one of the streets, one of the shops had its windows broken and was taped off by Vale police.

Team RWBY approached. “What happened here?”

“Robbery,” explained Detective Sergeant Burnie. “Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle.”

“That’s terrible,” said Yang.

“They left all the money again,” noted Detective Constable Joel.

“Yeah, just doesn’t make a lick of sense,” said Detective Burnie. “Who needs that much Dust?”

“I don’t know.”

“You thinking, uh, White Fang?”

“I’m thinking we don’t get paid enough.”

“Hm,” said Weiss haughtily. “The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates.”

Blake started and blinked. “What’s your problem?”

“My problem? I simply don’t care for the criminally insane.”

“The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They’re merely a collection of misguided Faunus.”

“Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet.”

“So then they’re very misguided. Either way, it doesn’t explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale.”

“Blake’s got a point,” said Ruby. “Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum,” Weiss continued. “Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed as she inhaled sharply.

“That’s not necessarily true,” observed Yang.

Suddenly, there was a shout from behind them. “Hey! Stop that Faunus!”

The girls rushed back to the docks just in time to see a boy about their age jump over the side of the ship from Vacuo. He had blonde hair, a terrific set of abs shown off by his open shirt, and a monkey tail. He dodged a couple of shipmates calling back, “Thanks for the ride, suckers.”

“You no good stowaway!”

The Faunus turned back. “Hey. A no good stowaway would’ve been caught. I’m a great stowaway.” He casually took a banana from his pocket and peeled it.

Detectives Burnie and Joel arrived on the dock. “You’re in a lot of trouble, mister!”

The Faunus ran around them and threw the banana peel over his shoulder hitting one of them in the face. They chased him up from the docks and onto Vale’s main street. The Faunus ran past Team RWBY, and just as he passed Blake, he winked at her.

Blake’s eyes widened and she couldn’t breathe for a second. She felt something that she hadn’t before. Then she paused; could he see through her disguise?

Yang said, “Well, Weiss. You wanted to see the competition, and there it goes.”

“Quick! We have to observe him.” Weiss led the charge after Vale’s detectives after the stowaway.

Unfortunately, the girls started losing ground, and as soon as the stowaway and pursuers were gone around a blind corner, Weiss had the misfortune of running into a very hard bystander both of whom fell.

“No!” cried Weiss from the ground. “He got away.”

“Uh… Weiss,” said Yang, pointing at the ground beneath her.

She looked down and found a girl about her age with shoulder length orange hair. Weiss quickly stood, alarmed.

“Sal-u-tations!” said the girl from the ground no worse for wear and even offering a smile and wave.

“Are you okay?” asked Yang.

“I’m wonderful! Thank you for asking.”

“Do you… wanna get up?”

The girl thought for a second. “Yes.” She sprung to her feet.

Team RWBY backed up some and exchanged glances.

“My name is Penny. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hi, Penny. I’m Ruby.”

“I’m Weiss.”

“Blake.”

“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”

Blake elbowed Yang.

“Oh! I’m Yang.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Penny.

“You already said that,” noted Weiss.

“So I did.”

“Well, sorry for running into you,” said Weiss as she turned away.

“Take care, friend,” said Ruby as she left with the others.

When they were a safe distance away, Yang mentioned the obvious. “She was… weird.”

“Never mind her,” said Weiss. “Now, where did that Faunus riffraff run off to?”

Suddenly, Penny appeared in front of them. Weiss almost had a nervous breakdown trying to figure out how. “What did you call me?”

“Oh! I’m really sorry,” said Yang. “I definitely didn’t think you heard me.”

“No. Not you,” said Penny. “You,” she said, leaning in.

“Me?” said Ruby with a squeak and leaning backward. “I don’t know um—uh—I…”

“You called me ‘friend.’ Am I really your friend?”

Ruby looked to the others. They tried to tell her to say no. “Yeah, sure. Why not?”

The others stared at her.

“Sen-sational!” cried Penny. “We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!”

Ruby groaned. She leaned over to Weiss. “Is this what it was like when you met me?”

“No. She seems far more coordinated.”

“So,” began Yang, “what’re you doing in Vale?” Yang’s natural friendliness could not be stopped or undone by a little strangeness as many of her friends were stranger than this.

“I’m here to fight in the tournament.”

“You’re fighting in the tournament?” said Weiss incredulously.

“I’m combat ready!” said Penny with a salute.

“Forgive me, but you hardly look the part.”

“Says the girl wearing a dress,” noted Blake.

“It’s a combat skirt,” corrected Weiss.

“Yeah,” agreed Ruby. They then gave each other five.

“Wait,” said Weiss, coming to a revelation. “If you’re here for the tournament, does that mean that you know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?”

“The who?”

“The filthy Faunus from the boat.”

“Why do you keep saying that?!” Blake’s patience was wearing thin. “Stop calling him a rapscallion. Stop calling him a degenerate. He’s a person.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” feigned Weiss. “Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamp post as a lamp post?”

“Stop it!”

“Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time, he’ll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang.”

“You ignorant, little brat!” Blake stormed away.

Weiss gasped. She was silent for a second before going after Blake. “How dare you talk to me like that. I am your teammate.”

“You are a judgmental, little girl.”

“What in the world makes you say that?”

“Uh…” faltered Yang. “I think we should probably go.” But Weiss and Blake were content to settle their argument in the streets of Vale.

“The fact that you think he’s likely to join a terrorist group simply based on his species makes you as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be.”

“So you admit it? The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“I don’t understand why this is causing such a problem.”

“That is the problem.”

“You realize you’re defending an organization that hates humanity, don’t you?” asked Weiss. “The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil.”

“There’s no such thing as pure evil!” Blake objected. “Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It’s because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures.”

“People like me?!” Weiss really didn’t understand where Blake was coming from. Why was she being so obstinate?

“You’re discriminatory!”

“I’m a victim!” she shrieked.

That caused everyone to pause.

“You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don’t particularly trust the Faunus? It’s because they’ve been at war with my family for years. As in actual bloodshed. My grandfather’s company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember.

“Ever since I was a child, I’ve seen family and friends disappear. Board members, executed. An entire train car of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood.

“You want to know why I despise the White Fang?! It’s because they’re a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!”

“Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!”

Again, everyone gave pause.

Weiss stepped back. “‘We?’”

“I—I…” Blake’s eyes darted around. But she saw only one choice, so she ran, disappearing into downtown Vale.

“Blake! Wait!” called Ruby. “Come back!”

But Blake was gone. She ran until she couldn’t run any further and found herself in a poorer district of Vale. Its buildings were rundown and in disrepair. The people were surly and unkempt. She passed by an old tenement as a man threw a stray cat out into the street. “Beat it, you filthy animal!"

Blake paused. A tear came to her eye and she found an old argument she had had with herself creep back into her mind. She reached up and undid the black bow that hid a pair of cat ears atop her head.

How could she reconcile the human and animal within her? Was she a beast, not all that dissimilar from the creatures of Grimm?

Tears welled up in her eyes. She began to sob quietly until a familiar stranger’s voice spoke. “I knew you’d look better without the bow.”

Keep writing, my friends.

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