In Want of Some Porcelain

Chapter 7: Mysterious Schnee Castle Part 1

Jaune: "Two bullhead rides?"

The chart does not lie. There are indeed two rides on this trip, one into Mantle, and another, more expensive one straight up to Atlas. He's got the Lien for it, but there goes pretty much his entire day... and all for what? Some bath he doesn't even need, and then something dumb is going to happen and then he'll probably get karate-chopped off of Atlas or whatever.

...Okay, that one won't happen, but Jaune's mind is running through all the FUN possibilities that could be had over at the manor. At least the bath will be the most luxurious one he will ever have. And maybe he'll get to be an official guest, getting to eat some exquisite Atlas cuisine? Nah, probably not...

He'll have to ask Weiss about tha- wait!

The hell is he thinking about food for? Now's the best chance he has to make things... well, tolerable at least with Weiss. Now with a mission, his mind and body straighten out, and he is prepared to take this challenge head-on. As if on cue, the first bullhead arrives, and Jaune rolls on in with confidence unparalleled.

Before he knows it, the doors close and the plane lifts off, bound for the most gritty city in all of Solitas.

Jaune runs his hands through his pockets, rummaging around for several seconds until they finally land on the one thing guaranteed to keep his mind busy throughout this whole adventure.

Jaune: "Phew. Thank god I still have Diamond-Man."

With his eyes focused, time isn't really a pressing concern at the moment. He pays no mind toward watching the sun rise over the sky, doesn't even look to see how small all those houses and things look from all the way up here. It's just him and the rest of the comic.

----

One bullhead ride later...

Jaune steps off the bullhead, planning to take a nice look around the city, maybe find somewhere to stop and eat real quick, take a fe-
...

Jaune: "Uhhhhhh...."

The city of Mantle, to put it lightly, sucks. There is something just... off about this place. The colors are all muted, the people just look a little... dead inside. The nearest major point of interest is a bar. That is followed up by another bar. A few blocks down from that are the sounds of a bustling factory. He's got a good bet on who works in those, but he's not stupid enough to say it out loud.

Mantle Citizen: "First time, isn't it."
A faunus that he does not know the name of taps him on the shoulder.

Jaune: "Uh... Yeah. I'm just here to go to Atlas."

Mantle Citizen: "Lucky fuck."
He turns away and walks off toward the city, vanishing into the crowd in little more than a second.

Jaune: "Uhhhhh...."

A lightbulb goes off in his head as he realizes just how much his shiny white armor and blonde hair sticks out in this place. This is crueler than a Grimm, but he cannot wait to get up to Atlas, which he can see a tether to just to his right. He steps back to get a better view and holy hell.

It looks like a utopia up there. Not a single speck of trash can be seen. Kids are just frolicking up there as if the Grimm are just some fairy tale.

*screee* The bullhead arrives, stopping any potential thought-provoking realizations about the disparity between the two kingdoms dead in their tracks. He goes to get on the first step but is stopped by the driver putting her hand out.

Bullhead Driver: "What is your name, sir?"

Jaune: "Jaune Arc."

She moves her eyes slightly to the right, checking what is almost certainly a list of some kind.