The Wolf, The Lion, and The Dragon - (Vol.4)

Ch.5 Menagerie

Brisa's Pov

An air horn sounds loudly. The offramp is slowly lowered on the ship bearing Blake, me and Sun to allow passengers to disembark. The town has many small buildings and homes set among dunes and palm trees. A loud clanging of a bell from the town bell is heard ringing from its belfry.

Sun and Blake make their way from the deck to the offramp. Blake proceeds without pause while Sun stopped to look at the town.

Sun: "Huh."

Several Faunus in summer wears meander casually at the dock, some waiting for friends or family among the new arrivals. The dock is also a commercial area, with mobile kiosks selling food and other wares. It is a relaxed atmosphere on a sunny day.

Sun is looking around while he, me, and Blake disembark and walk through the market area together.

Sun: "I've never seen so many Faunus in one place!"

Blake: "This is the one place everyone can feel safe, no matter who or what they are."

Sun: "Wow, sure is, uh, crowded, huh?"

Blake: "Yes. Yes, it is."

Sun: "Is it always so... cramped?"

Blake: "Well, when you try and take an entire species and put them on an island that's two-thirds desert, yeah, it tends to be cramped."

Sun: "Are Faunus kind the only ones living in here?"

Brisa: "Pretty much, yes."

Sun: "Wait! You guys have that much more space? Why waste it? A little desert never hurt anyone!"

Blake: "It's not like the desert in Vacuo, Sun. The wildlife here is more dangerous than most other regions."

Sun: "So, they give us a terrible island, in the corner of Remnant, to try and shut us up."

Blake: "That's a pretty good summary, yeah."

Sun: "Huh. Jerks."

Blake: "We try to make the best of things."

The three of us pause in our walk to look at the view of the town the road affords. The road they are on goes downhill and to the side, bordered by palm trees and homes that have either canvas or wood roofs. The vista of palm trees spreads out to the edge of mountainous dunes in the distance. Right in the middle of all this is a large house with an open courtyard that the road appears to lead directly to.

Sun: "Whoa...

Blake: "This, is Kuo Kuana."

Sun: "It's... beautiful. I take it all back. This place looks great! Why would anyone ever want to leave?"

Blake: "That's not the point, Sun! We asked to be equal, to be treated just like everyone else! Instead, we were given an island and told to make do. So we did the best we could. We came together and we made a home where any Faunus could feel welcome."

Brisa: "I remember coming here, but this town, will always be a reminder that we're still not equal. That we're still second-class citizens."

I thought that was wrong since Menagerie is supposed to be a "safe haven", but my kind says that it is more like a prison. They're not wrong though.

Sun: (putting his hand on my shoulder) "Well, hey, this guy's feeling pretty at home."

Me, despite having a gloomy demeanour, irritatingly removed Sun's hand from my shoulder and walked a few steps in front of them.

Brisa: "You won't for long."

There was an awkward silence between the three of us, before decided to break the uncomfortable ice.