Team OAZN

A - Artemis

Right from the start, she knew something was strange. As soon as she walked into the bar, she had more eyes on her than she was used to. The conversations around her died down ever so slightly, and when they started again, they were hushed, spoken using hands for cover. It made her uneasy. She pulled her hood further down over her head and kept walking.

She walked up to the bar and pulled out a stool, sitting down and resting her hands on the bench. The bartender put down the glass he was cleaning and came over to her.

"Hey," he asked. He seemed nice. "Can I see some ID?"

Artemis looked up. "Oh, I'm not drinking anything," she said, shaking her head.

"Either way, I need to see. Minors aren't allowed here." He pointed with his thumb at a sign over his shoulder. Artemis squinted at the sign – headed by the words "House Rules." 'No Minors' was indeed the first rule, along with a 'No shoes no shirt' rule, and Artemis laughed internally at rules 3 and 4 – "The bartender is always right," and "If the bartender is wrong, refer to rule 3."

Her smile died, however, when she saw the unofficial fifth rule, carved into the sign with a knife – "No Faunus."

"Do you have any ID on you?" The bartender asked with a smile.

Artemis hesitated, then returned the smile and reached into her pocket, pulling out her student card. As she held it out, she was careful to place her thumb on her picture so it covered the ears that gave her away as a Fox Faunus. It didn't matter in the end, as the bartender took the card off her to examine. His face remained neutral as he scanned the card, but then his brow furrowed.

He handed the card back to her, and gave her a look of concern.

"So you're not a minor, but I still think you should leave," he said quietly, "I got no problems, but some of the boys in here aren't too fond of the Faunus."

Artemis looked at the sign again, the rule that doubled as a warning scratched into it, and back to the bartender. She considered for a moment, and he said, "Please. For your own safety." She nodded once, and got up to leave.

"It true? What I hear?" said a loud voice from behind her. She turned to see someone, clearly a little tipsy, pointing at her accusingly. "You a Faunus?"

Artemis raised her hands, ready to defuse the situation and take her leave, but then she felt a hand on her hood. Before she could react, it was pulled off, and the fox ears she was hiding were revealed. Laughter from all around the bar as more people stood up, moving in. Artemis backed up, keeping an eye on everyone, until she bumped into the bar behind her.

The patrons kept walking forward, and the first one spoke again.

"We don't like the Faunus here. Didn't you see the sign?"

By now Artemis was surrounded, and some of the patrons had drawn weapons. She didn't have a choice.

"So what're you gonna do, animal?"

Artemis' eyes narrowed, and she turned to the bartender. "Actually, can I get three shots of whiskey?"

The bartender nodded with wide eyes. Nobody moved, and there was silence as he poured out three shots and put them on the bar behind Artemis. She grabbed one, drained it, and put it back on the bar with a grimace. She swept her gaze across her opponents.

"Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough."

(Play Bad Apple)