Following August along the deck of the ship, Topaz smiles and answers to the passengers who thank him for helping with the pirate attack. After a few minutes of walking and interacting with the passengers, Topaz and August arrive at a room with two large guards.
August: "Good afternoon gentlemen, I'm here to see her with Topaz here."
Guard: "You can enter captain, but he has to stay out here."
August: "No, he will be joining me inside. He was able to get some important information that she might want to hear."
Guard: "Fine, but you had better be respectful to her boy. Am I understood?"
Topaz: "Sure thing old man."
Opening the door, Topaz walks in and sees another familiar face. Sitting at the desk of the small room is a girl with long brown hair and rabbit ears of the same color.
????: "Topaz?! What are you doing here?"
Topaz: "Hey Velvet, long time no see."
August: "You know her Topaz?"
Topaz: "Yeah, she was a classmate of mine at Beacon."
August: "You were both at Beacon?! Gods, I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that must have been."
Velvet: "It was scary, and I didn't do much. I can't even begin to imagine what Topaz went through."
Topaz: "I just did what I could to help anyone I could."
Velvet: "Topaz, you did so much more than that. How many people are still alive because of you?"
Topaz: "I really didn't do much."
August: "Velvet, what did he do?"
Velvet: "You can ask anyone who was at Beacon that night. Topaz jumped into danger wherever it was to save people. He fought large groups of grimm alone to save people who were injured, and fought members of the White Fang to protect the citizens of Vale."
August: "Wait, the stories I read about the attack were true?"
Topaz: "Who knows. That night was not one to remember."
Velvet: "Agreed."
Topaz: "Wait, back to the matter at hand. Velvet, you are a princess?"
Velvet: "Not exactly."
Topaz: "What do you mean?"
Velvet: "To explain it properly, I need to start from the beginning. I was born eighteen years ago in a small village along the border of Vacuo and Vale in central Sanus. I was the second child of the village's chief and a woman from an unknown village in Menagerie. My childhood was pretty standard. Good parents that loved me and my older sister dearly. It was when I was ten years old that a strange man came to our village asking for my mother. I found out that this man came from the village my mother used to live in. He told my entire family that my mother was the daughter of the king of a large city in the deserts of Menagerie. Confused from what I heard, I looked to my mother for an explanation. She said that when she was a child, the city in which her father ruled was attacked by a large swarm of grimm, killing almost everyone, leaving her scared and alone. She was found by a passing traveler who took her back to the village where she grew up."
Topaz: "So where was that guy when your mother needed her?"
Velvet: "The man said that he was in Kuo Kuana trying to initiate some trades with them when the attack happened. When he returned to the destroyed city he searched for any survivors, but was unable to find them. After a few years of living in that small village my mother set out on a journey to find a life for herself. Leaving Menagerie, she traveled to Vale and met my father. The two fell in love and moved to that small village where I was born. The man apparently never gave up on finding any survivors from my mother's family, so when he learned that there was a small rabbit faunus that was rescued and raised in the village, he asked where she went and tracked her down and met up with her many years later. It was when he found us and came to us that I found out that technically I am a princess, although it's for a city that doesn't exist anymore."
Topaz: "Ok, that's a lot to take in all at once. But, it doesn't change anything. You're still a friend of mine and August and I came to warn you."
Velvet: "Warn me about what?"
Topaz: "The attack on the ship earlier was from some rather strange pirates who were hired to kidnap you."
Velvet: "Kidnap me?"
Topaz: "Yes, they were after a rabbit faunus princess."
Velvet: "But why."
Topaz: "We don't know. But they left as soon as they found out Jacques Schnee was arrested."
Velvet: "O-Ok, thank you for helping me. But why are you on this ship in the first place?"
Topaz: "Well, I'm heading over to Menagerie to look into some strange grimm movements for General Ironwood."
Velvet: "You've been to Atlas?"
Topaz: "After waking up after the Fall of Beacon, I spent some time with my adopted family before going to Menagerie to find my birth family. After spending some time with them in the deserts of Menagerie, I took them away from the tribe they were at and met back up with my adopted family. From there I went to Mistral and then to Argus, and finally to Mantle and Atlas."
Velvet: "Gods Topaz, you have been busy."
Topaz: "Just an average day."
August: "We will be arriving shortly, I'll leave the two of you alone to prepare for our landfall."
After watching August leave the room, Topaz and Velvet look back at each other and both smile.
Velvet: "It's good to see you again Topaz."
Topaz: "I agree, it's good to see you're doing well."
Velvet: "So what are you doing in Atlas? That place isn't exactly the best for faunus like us."
Topaz: "Oh believe me I know. But, because I was there Jacques Schnee is behind bars and the faunus in the area are living better."
Velvet: "That's wonderful."
Topaz: "What about you? What have you been doing since that night?"
Velvet: "Me? I haven't really done much. Coco and I went to Vacuo to try and get our huntress licenses."
Topaz: "How did that go?"
Velvet: "Honestly, not well. I can't stop seeing that night, it haunts my dreams and paralyzes me with fear when I fight. Coco was able to get her license but I wasn't."
Topaz: "Don't worry about it Velvet. It is completely understandable."
Velvet: "Topaz… how do you do it."
Topaz: "Do what Velvet?"
Velvet: "How do you stay so strong after everything."
Topaz: *sigh* "Velvet, my entire life has been pain. I've just grown used to it after everything. I know that I have to be strong to keep my friends and family safe so that's what I focus on."
Velvet: "Ah. I see, you rely on others to stay strong."
Topaz: "Exactly."
Velvet: "Topaz, can I join you on your mission?"
Topaz: "I'm sorry Velvet but no. This mission is going to be very dangerous and I would rather not put you in any danger."
Velvet: "Oh, okay then."
Topaz: "I'm going to head out, it was really nice to see you again Velvet."
Velvet: "Y-Yeah, it was good to see you again. Be safe on that mission please."
Topaz: "Will do, you take care of yourself as well Velvet."
Leaving the room, Topaz nods to the guards and makes his way back onto the deck. Standing at the railing watching Menagerie grow closer and closer he breathes in the salty air and waits until the ship docks. Once the ship is docked, Topaz quickly leaves the ship and makes his way towards the desert. Passing by the familiar market Topaz is ready to track down this strange group of grimm. Seeing the desert in front of him, he takes a deep breathe and steps into the desert yet again.
…