The Crown has Come Home

"Wild red jackal, crowned with daring and ingenuity."

The late night streets of downtown Vale seem quite. But soon, this silence was broken. The sound of the midnight wind as a whistle between buildings mix racing heartbeat of a runner, a female cat fan by the named Celeste Star. Her feet hit the ground at a rapid pass, just running, running, running. But this was no simple late night jug. To the trained ear, this was unmistakable sound, the unmistakable speed of someone running for their lives. And that someone was Celeste.

Prior to now, Celeste was working overtime at nearby café. Normally she would not. The Faunus already worked late evening to closing shift. The buses stop at a quarter to twelve and café closes at eleven. Almost every day, he nearly catches the last bus home plus walking the streets was not exactly safe for a Faunus. She knew working this late was a bad idea,but with her family barely getting by as it is and the thought of overtime pay overrides her sense of self- preservation. A mistake she now pays for.

Celeste had seemed to gain an entourage, an unwelcome one at that. Three human boys who come to the café, barely order any kind of food or beverage. Instead, they constantly barraged her; pulling her cat ears, make few racist or sexist remarks, and cause ruckus for other customers. Her manager tried his best to get rid of the trio, but the group would only get a warning from the police and soon switch their tactics to sitting on a nearby bench. It seems that even staying up this to harass her was not a deterrent. Celeste started running the minute one of the boys copped one of her breasts. She didn’t know how long she been running or if she created any distance between her and the boys. Celeste finally rests in the closed off alley in a neighborhood she was familiar with.

Did I lose them?

“Well there you are miss kitty.” A voice from behind her announced.

In an instance, every hair on Celeste’s neck stood up straight. She turned around only see the trio’s grin. They did not seem as breathless as her. Celeste ran to the back wall and curled up into a ball.

“Come miss kitty,” the trio’s leader said,” We just want to play.”

“Go away!” Celeste shouted, hoping someone would hear.

The trio laugh and slowly closed in on the scared cat. Celeste braced herself for the worst. Nothing happens. She soon heard footsteps, a fourth person had joined the fray.

“Somethin’ going on here gentlemen?”

The trio turn around on the heels, blocking any view Celeste had. In front of the trio stood a boy dressed in a red coat wearing a dark gray hat, he had to be around their age or a year younger. They could not make out his face due to the clouds covering the night sky and boy’s skin messed almost too well with the night.

“What the heck do you want?” The trio’s leader asked.

“Oh,” boy answered,” hearing someone yell ‘go away’ kind of worth investigating.”

“What you mean kind of?”

“Because I personally don’t care, but,” he peek over the leader’s shoulder and saw a cat with its back against the wall,” I ain’t too fond of… well whatever going here.”

The boy on the right side of the leader took out something from his sleeves. The red-clad boy probably did not see it, but Celeste did. A small handgun. Celeste was about saying something, but the boy on the left turned and glared at her. Shut your mouth, he said without a single word. The leader soon motion the handgun boy to keep his calm.

“Tell you what,” he said,” we’ll let you have a taste and you don’t say in return. How about it?”

“Oh,” there was a hint of interested his voice,” can I have a see first before I taste?”

At that moment, Celeste’s heart sank. She should have figured this fourth boy wasn’t here to save her. Just a wanderer, a human wanderer at that, all too similar to the trio. The leader nodded and the trio step aside to let the red-clad boy through. Each step he took made Celeste’s heart race. Soon only mere inches separated them.

“Please,” she pleaded,” I’ll give you money, just don’t –“

“Relax,” boy said, in a low voice,” I’m going to be your princess charming tonight.”

What?

Celeste looked up. The boy was smiling. Why was he smiling? He was outnumbered and from what she could tell from his face alone, was at least a year younger than her.

“How?”

“Just watch.”

The red-clad return to the trio. The leader saw that the red clad boy had a smile on his face.

“So do we have a deal?”

“Not happenin’”

The leader,” well, I tried boy, don’t say –“

His sentence got cut short. The boy’s right knee rams deep into the leader’ stomach. He barely saw the boy move. The leader fainted, his eyes rolled back into his head. The two other boys only stared, dumbfounded.

“Pewter!” both boys shouted.

“Pewter?” The red clad boy asked. “What kind of name is Pewter?”

“You’ll pay for that!” The second boy charged at red with full speed.

Attempting to tackle red into the ground, red spin his on heels, drew a deep red revolver from his side. The distance was closed in mere seconds and second boy hit the ground hard. The third boy, the one with the handgun, could not see what happen. Between the night and clouds blocking the moon’s light, all he made out was two figures and only red was still standing. Celeste, however, saw how the microsecond fight went down. Red,turning on his heels, slammed the frame of revolver into the boy’s temple. Red soon aim at the handgun boy. Even without seeing it, red could hear the gun rattling in the boy’s hands.

The clouds finally moved and moon beam down rays of ghost colored light. The boy was face to face with red, his figure no longer surrounded by darkness. Red coat easily a size too big for his frame, tawny colored shirt with matching his pants, and dark gray eyes. He was smiling, the smile of a jackal. Red had to no more than thirteen years ago from his height and built. Yet this thirteen year took two boys year older than him. As handgun boy looks into red’s eyes and notice something. Unlike him, they lack fear. In that instance, the handgun boy pointed his weapon, both out of fear and shock.

“Back off!” he yelled.

“Or what?” the red jackal asked.

Handgun boy pointed his weapon at Celeste. This only widens the red jackal grin even more.

“Try it.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” said the jackal,” see I don’t know about your little pea shooter but my baby here modified with a hair trigger. Just one tap and you can kiss your hand good bye.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Com’on now think with your head for a second,” the jackal said,” both y’all boys are down and one of them need some care. I could have easily blown your hand off right now if I wasn’t being merciful.”

“This is your idea of being merciful?”

“Do you see three dead bodies?”

“You’re insane!”

The jackal laughed,” Maybe, but choose right, right here, is whether or not you’re willing to lose a hand. Now do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?”

Handgun boy retreated into his mind for a second. The leader, Pewter, was down and so was Jasper, the second boy the jackal took down. Handgun boy, Rowan, realized at that moment what was clear from a few seconds ago. They lose. Rowan lowed the gun.

“Good call,” the jackal said,” now pick up your pals and get out of my sight.”

Rowan nodded, picking up his two friends and walk off into the night. The jackal and Celeste exit the alley. She then hugged the jackal and thank him too many times he lose count.

“Ok, ok,” the jackal said,” can I ask you a quick question.”

“Sure, anything.”

“Do you know where the Red Jackal Armory is?”

“The Armory?” Celeste remembered the name seconds later,” Oh Adewale’s shop. Just go down this road and take a right on Jolan Street, walk a building down and should take you to the front door. Plus, you can’t miss it, got a big jackal shape head neon sight.”

Celeste pointed down the road the jackal needed to take. He nodded to thank Celeste was about to start running before Celeste asked a question of her own.

“Wait, what’s your name stranger?”

“Ade,” the jackal, Ade, answered,” Ade Ijakumo.”

The jackal ran down the road as Celeste turned to walk away. At that moment, she came to another realization. Ijakumo, which was also the last name of Adewale. Celeste smile, she heard a rumor that Adewale’s son was lost in Vacuo. She smiles because his lost son and return. For Ade, he ran and he ran. Vale was alien to him, the streets, the sounds, everything. This was not his home, the great hall known as Wellspring was, but it’s gone now. Wellspring was left in ruins, attacked by some unknown foe while most of Ade’s clan, the House of Jackals, were away. As per tradition, if Wellspring were to fall, the Jackals need to shatter and wait, for their leader to rally them. And that’s what Ade did. He wander the wilds of Vacuo for two months and earned enough lien for airship ticket.

Some would think that going to weapon ‘shop at this hour would be pointless, but Ade knew his father better than anyone. The man would work from one sunrise to another. He would be there Ade just knew it. He ran, thinking, finally, after two months he could see his father, his mother, and his sister’s face after so much time has passed. The alien city known as Vale was now his home. Ade has returned home.

Author’s note: The title kind of play on the names between son and father since Ade means “crown” while Adewale means “the crown has come home.”

There’s also a reference to Dirty Harry though I never saw the movie.