The Phantom and the Angel

The Phantom and the Angel Part 6

Under normal circumstances, Zephyr always made sure that if he was in public he maintained a certain level of decorum and stability. As a Huntsman and the head of his family, he understood that his mere presence would inspire confidence in his fellow Faunus, that his strength helped keep civilian moral high and kept away the Grimm. And on a normal day, he took no small amount of pride in his ability to inspire others and made sure to keep his head held high and his expression confident so long as he was in the public view.

But today...today was not one of those days. And as he stormed though the cities dirt streets he was certain his furious visage was terrifying his fellow Faunus as he passed considering how quickly they moved to get out of his way. Not that he cared all that much at the moment.

Three days, it had only been three days since the illusions of peace he had been enjoying since moving to Menagerie shattered like glass. From the moment he had first seen the hungry flames that night he knew that something was wrong. The night had been calm, there had been no reports of rouge Grimm in the city, and the flames were far too ravenous to be a simple house fire. Every instinct the hawk Faunus had had been warning him that something was amiss, but no matter how much he couldn't trust the situation, his duty to stop the flames was clear. And so, he focused all of his attention on fighting against the fire and ensuring that there were no threats in the immediate vicinity.

And it was because he was necessary at the scene of the fire that he had been there to overhear the call that shattered his idea of peace. A woman claiming to be a Huntress, their voice strained but vaguely familiar to the Huntsman, called over the radio for assistance in apprehending pirates fleeing from their land.

Pirates that she claimed had an unconscious winged Faunus in their cargo hold.

Zephyr's blood had frozen over at those words and, with more speed than he would have thought himself capable of, rushed over to the radio to request for more information. Unfortunately, he was just in time to hear the gunshots over the other end of the line before the connection went dead, his heart dying at the exact same time.

Without letting any of his internal turmoil show Zephyr turned and began shouting orders to everyone around. Some would remain on site to ensure that the fire was truly extinguished, some would proceed to the Chieftain's home and inform him of the situation before sending someone to check on his home. While the rest would accompany him to the docks in order to investigate the ship in question.

A part of him couldn't help but feel like he was betraying his love by not ensuring her safety, that she could be in just as much peril as their daughter and in need of his aid. But he also knew that Terra would be furious with him if he didn't prioritize Safira, that the life they had brought into the world together. And so the hawk Faunus made his choice, he would see to his child.

Zephyr made his way down to the docks, found the first vessel that was larger than a dingy, and using his water semblance sailed out into the night with as much speed as possible. While Zephyr knew that in reality it didn't take long for them to reach the ship, as it was the only one out at sea and was simply drifting aimlessly, Zephyr couldn't help but feel like it took hours to reach the ship, each second that passed more agonizing than the one's preceding them.

When they arrived at the ship the hawk Faunus quickly dispatched the few confused looking sailors he found floundering around on the deck, as they were either accomplices to the crime or guilty by association, as he searched each room in turn. He knew somewhere on that accused pirate ship was his daughter and the unknown Huntress who had saved her, but beyond the control room of the vessel having clearly been a site of battle he could find no sign of either, a fact that had caused the ice to once again return to his veins.