Travel between kingdoms, on a grand scale, was a rare thing. Travel between long established cities within the same kingdom was nearly just as rare. Outside of the fact that Grimm roamed the skies, roads, and waters, that enough to deter anyone with common sense from leaving their home behind if they were lucky enough to be born behind walls, it just wasn't convenient.
There might be exceptions for the richest and most influential in the kingdoms but even they had to take on the risk of Grimm. The average person didn't have access to their own personal airship and either had to settle for sparsely scheduled flights or much slower means of travel.
Luckily, with all the ships coming in with tourists looking to enjoy themselves before the Regional Tournament, there just as many leaving for different parts of the kingdom, Argus included.
"Whoa, these tickets are expensive." Emerald complained, peeking over Cinder's shoulder and at the screen of the kiosk, different flights and their costs listed.
"And they never change, busy or not." I said, repeating what Qrow always complained about while looking over Cinder's shoulder. "I say we ride first class. If we're going to be stuffing ourselves in an airship for who knows how long, we might as well enjoy it."
"Make sense to me." Emerald readily agreed.
"You?" I asked, looking back.
Mercury, a single backpack slung over his shoulder and waiting on some nearby seats, shrugged. "You're the ones with the lien."
We might have been willing to spend big but that didn't go for Cinder. After a few pressed on the touch screen, she hovered over the type of tickets Emerald and I were after before settling on ordering economy class tickets.
"Cheap." Emerald muttered.
"It's a waste of lien to pay for a fancier place to sit." Cinder retorted as she inserted cards into the kiosk. Before long we were on the move again, dispensed tickets in hand as we navigated the crowded place.
While every platform in Mistral technically had places for airships, the large building we were in was actually closer to the Central Transport Center that I knew over in Vale, this the main place to leave the city by airship. And it was busy. We'd come early, the sun outside the massive building barely rising, but plenty were already coming, going, and sitting around, noise all across the place.
Without a huntsman's license we had to hand over our weapons as we passed through security, something Cinder was the most reluctant about. Our luggage went too, though Emerald was really the only one to bring an actual suitcase.
It took a long time before all that was over, and, rather than being immediately boarded onto an airship, we found isolated seats among others who were waiting on it to arrive.
Long wait times, too many people, and lots of money spent. I didn't miss places like the airport and was in no way looking forward to whatever Remnant's equivalent of economy class was. Emerald was the only one truly eager about the airship they were waiting on, humming to herself as she double checked her pockets.
Hopefully it didn't disappoint.
XOXO
Uncomfortable seats and not much leg room to work with. It was good to know the two trademark complaints about going anywhere by air still held up.
The sound of automatic gunfire rang out, muffled by the airships thick hull. Halfway through a bar of chocolate, I looked out the window I sat beside me, watching a nevermore be gunned before it ever got the chance to get in close enough to attack. It was just the latest one to be reckless enough to approach on its own, the sound of the airship's weaponry a frequent occurrence.
Mercury, in the seat beside me and arms crossed, had been tense throughout the whole ride, especially whenever gunfire went off but was no longer bothered by it, paranoid attention focused only on those actually on the ship. The guy had a lot of discipline to just sit in one place for hours on end, never dozing off or relying on some distraction.
It might be a beneficial skill but how he developed it was messed up.
Cinder and Emerald sat in the seats in front of us, the former gazing out her window while the latter was looking at her scroll.
Emerald had come super prepared for the whole trip, a pair of wireless earphones in the whole way as she watched stuff from her scroll and ate her own packed snacks rather than the basic stuff the flight attendants were offering. Cinder shared more in Mercury's general paranoia, always looking out the window beside her whenever gunfire rang out or at those closest to her. She lacked his discipline though, endless shifting to try and get comfortable.
"Told you we should've gone first class." I said, leaning forward slightly.
"Tsk." Cinder aimed a light glare back between small spaces in her headrest, the comment only adding to her annoyance.
It should be over soon though. Beyond the windows, far beyond what most could see, I could pick out distant waters. The coast wasn't far now.
XOXO
"This place really does look different from Mistral." Emerald, suitcase rolling beside her and revolvers back in place, had her head craned back, looking up at the buildings around us. Just as quickly her eyes jumped to the traffic, then the distant waters of the ocean just barely visible over the declining stone road.
There were plenty of differences compared to Mistral. The air itself was noticeably colder and carried a subtle saltness that came with being so close to the ocean. The buildings, roads, and decorations were all brick and stone, the styling of the architecting nothing like the aesthetic a majority of Mistral used. More than simple people filled the roads too, cars driving alongside hovering tram-like vehicles carrying dozens of people.
It might not be the kingdom's capital but the talk of it being a popular tourist spot wasn't wrong, nighttime only a few hours off but so many still going about their day.
"So, what are we going to do first? I looked up a few different things ahead of time. We've got to see the beach and-"
"And we should start by finding ourselves a hotel." I said, cutting off Emerald. That eagerness pretty much made her the walking definition of tourist. As much as I intended on trying out some of the seafood that was supposed to be common and especially good here, we needed to keep our priorities straight. "We got a lot of competition, so we need to hurry up if we want to get rooms in a decent one."
Emerald agreed, excitement reigned in as the four of us began our search.
That search saw us going up and down hills, sometimes riding that hovering tram system ourselves. Steadily, as we went street by street, popping into every hotel we passed only to be told they have any available rooms, it was starting to look like we were already out of luck. There might have been many people leaving for Mistral but just as many were pouring in and choosing to stick around for a while.
Try to be the first to arrive tomorrow morning when some guests were checking out. That bit of advice was parroted by each place.
Just based off the vibe of the city and the lack of any gossip, whatever attack Qrow had been talking about wasn't public knowledge.
"I can't believe no one has any rooms." Emerald complained, having fallen in beside me as I led us down another street, eagerness dampened by being turned away so many different times. "A vacation isn't supposed to start with us sleeping on the streets."
"We've slept in worse places." Cinder pointed out.
"On jobs." Emerald stressed. "A vacation is supposed to be comfortable."
"I think we'll be fine." I said stopping, the building beside us catching my eye. It was a simple tall stone with like any other rather than any of the fancier hotels we'd tried, only a small foldable sign just outside its steps signaling that it was a hotel.
"You really want to get a place here?" Emerald, questioned, looking up at it alongside me.
While I wouldn't call it run down, every part of the city we'd been to so far well maintained, including this street, it was obviously the more unsavory area. There were few visitors walking the streets, the few that did veering more on the unsavory side. We, with our weapons in clear view, were avoided despite Emerald's suitcase and looks giving us away as tourists.
The shops around it were far more modest compared to what'd we'd seen on other streets.
"Beggars can't be choosers. We'll just have to try for a better place later." I said shrugging and heading up the steps. "I think the inside will look better."
It wasn't just some random building after all. I'd asked Miss Malachite about things in Argus before setting out and she'd recommended a few things alongside making a few offers. I'd rejected most and put others at the back of my mind, but it would almost be night. There was no harm in making use of her people where needed.
The others followed me as I pushed open the creaking doors.
The entry area of the place was small, with a few chairs in the left corner, and a turning stairway to the right.
"You're in the wrong place." Behind the counter straight ahead, a bag of chips in one hand and feet thrown up, a man waved us away as he watched something on a scroll he had set up on a stand. Unlike those in Mistral's capital where the tattoo was shown off proudly, I picked out the edges of the spider mark along his collarbone, the rest hidden beneath his shirt.
"Are you sure?" I asked, removing my helmet from my waist as I approached the counter and placing it beside his scroll.
The man glanced at it, looked back to his scroll, prepared to wave us off again, only for his eyes to snap back to it.
"Oh shit. It didn't sound like anyone of you were actually going to show up." He said, shooting up and reaching around for something. "Its a pretty busy time around here, even for us, so we've only got two rooms." He said, finally holding up a pair of keys for us. "That's, uh, not a problem, is it?" He questioned, uncertainly glancing to the handle of my weapon.
"Just fine. Thanks." Keys taken, I tossed a pair to Cinder and, one set of directions later, we were headed up the stairs to the right. Cinder and Emerald took a room while Mercury and I entered the one opposite to theirs.
Two beds. A dresser just beneath a window between them. Tables and some chairs. And a bathroom off to the corner. It was a simple enough room that paled into comparison to our actual apartments, but I wasn't going to complain about some lucky reservations Miss Malachite had gone out of her way to make.
While the quiet Mercury headed towards one of the beds, I took a moment to change my aura, energy matching Mom's.
As expected, Qrow was close by. He'd probably taken an airship directly from Haven Academy after talking with me, saving far more time and lien. While they settled in for the night, getting the lay of the land with my own eyes and meeting up with Qrow took priority over some sleep.
XOXO
(A/N: This might just be what I consider my first, well I don't want to call it a nothing chapter, but its really just focused on moving the plot of them getting to Argus along. Usually I manage to get something relatively important, even if it doesn't feel that way at the time, stuff in every chapter, being it character interaction, foreshowing for something else, etc, but that just wasn't the case here. A bit of world building I guess but it really was just them getting to Argus. Mercury would've been my choice for something meaningful but brother is just too closed off that conversations with him felt forced at this point so I cut it all out.
Well it be like that sometimes.
Either way, this one is a little late. Really feeling like I took for granted when my routine generally relied on myself and no one else but thats how it be sometimes. Hopefully I have my whole problem solved soon but either way, I won't let it stop me from hitting my three chapters a week. I'll still try and get another one out sunday but I won't guarantee it.
As always, here is the link for those who want to read ahead for anything I'm writing:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
Thanks to all those who wished me luck and I still hope you're all better off than me.