The Southwest Anima Airbase is one of the largest in all of Remnant, but it was hard to tell by looking at it now. The base was bustling with people, hurriedly walking to or from their terminals, their faces down and their bags clutched close. The half-indoor/half-outdoor port was bulging at full capacity. It was obvious at glance that much of the crowd were refugees, mostly from Vacuo, though some former Atlesian as well.
After the fall of Atlas, a Kingdom's worth of refugees had poured into the sands outside Vacuo. While Vacuo had been less than thrilled about this, the Council couldn’t exact turn them away. Even so, most people from Atlas and Mantle had an extremely difficult time adapting to the “rough and tumble” culture that Vacuo had to offer, not to mention the extreme heat.
Having been used to a certain kind of lifestyle, many began migrating to Mistral due to the previous relationship their Kingdoms had. Unfortunately, refugees were regulated to the ever-expanding lower-level slums of the city, which left a lot to be desired.
Filled to the brim with crooks and delinquents, new arrivals from other Kingdoms were easy pickings. And they were the lucky ones. Despite the initial number of people who chose to leave the deserts of Vacuo, only a fraction had actually made it to Mistral. The rest...well, only the Gods would know.
Things only got worse before they got better. The Showdown of Shade Academy had been more drawn out than the one in Atlas. Defenses were up after the brief message Ruby Rose managed to send out, but the people of Vacuo were mostly nomads and looked out for themselves. Although there was a string of murders across several months, courtesy of Tyrian Callows, the fight didn’t reach its pinnacle until nearly a year and a half later.
In the end, much of the Academy had been destroyed, along with the vault. Thankfully, the Relic was still safely inside the portal, protected by the Summer Maiden. Regrettably, that had been one of the only silver lines. Well, that, and the return of those who fell .
With the other three Kingdoms hit the hardest, Mistral saw a renewed influx of refugees from Vacuo. The surge of people seeking asylum was almost more than the Kingdom could handle, forcing the Mistal Council to come up with the dubious Refugee Protocol.
On the surface, it sounds like a stellar idea. The government provided refugees basic sharehouses, supplies, meals, and most importantly, jobs . These jobs could be anything, as long as someone was willing to sponsor it. Of course, all jobs were “subjected to review” before being assigned, but once assigned, the job must be completed, no exceptions. After all, if they wanted the handouts, they needed to work for it, right? Essentially, they became indentured servants.
Not wanting to face the hardships of being both a refugee and a Faunus in the prejudice Kingdom that was Mistral, many with noticeable animal features instead fled to Menagerie. A blessing and curse, as Faunus here were free to live their lives, but the growing crowds had begun to deplete needed resources. With industrial trade nearly impossible as of late, the country was forced to rely on what little they had available on their own island.
There was one added benefit, however, to the increase in population: more potential activists for the new Faunus brotherhood. Faunus For Equal Rights, FFER (pronounced “fur”) for short. Although it didn’t quite have the same ring to it as the White Fang, it undoubtedly was truer to their cause.
FFER’s founder, Ghira Belladonna, had formed the brotherhood shortly after the attack on Haven, immediately gaining a substantial following from those who had participated in the counterattack. The incoming refugees had been warmly welcomed in the beginning, as FFER built up its foundation. Now, however, it was time to relieve some of the pressure caused by the rapidly increasing community.
Ghira had formed a small council of his own within the organization and planned to meet with them shortly about the matter of sending factions out beyond Menagerie. With the threat of Grimm, as well as dangerous wildlife, sending people out beyond the protection of their country was a risky move, and could not be done lightly.
Of course, there was also the most obvious risk that now lingered in the back of everyone's mind: Salem. Salem had only briefly made an appearance at the Showdown of Shade, and very few knew of what actually occurred there. The only thing that is known is that Salem disappeared after the Academy had been destroyed.
For the first few months, the uncertainty was tangible in the air. Many feared that she could return at any minute, always looking over their shoulder at the first sign of unease. The Grimm were terrible during these times, flaring up at larger settlements and taking down all in their path.
After six months, some began to believe that maybe, just maybe, Salem could be gone for good. After nine months, this belief gained further popularity, and people tried to get on with their lives. With Salem no longer at the forefront of their minds, they had to begin picking up the pieces that broke in her wake.
A year after the Showdown of Shade, people had bigger, more immediate problems to deal with. Tensions with refugees were high, and orphanages were so over-capacity that more and more opted to selling children under the table as unregistered workers. These kids had the pleasure of working the unsavory jobs that wouldn’t pass the review stage for refugee servants.
With the number of potential replacements, this meant that performing well was essential to survival. Orphan rejects didn’t exactly have a long life expectation anywhere these days. Thus, they got competitive .
A year and three months after the Showdown of Shade, the very essence of economy in Mistral had fundamentally shifted. As it turns out, refugees could be quite lucrative if one has unscrupulous morals, a characteristic that happened to be abundant in this particular Kingdom. Still though, there were some that were willing to fight for refugee rights, Robyn Hill standing firmly at the forefront, along with her Happy Huntresses.
Now, a full year and a half after the Showdown, travel by airship has become more accessible, with small, temporary ports in all the major evacuation zones. Not only is this good news for potential evacuees, but it also bodes well for Huntsmen and Huntresses inching to branch back out after being confined for so long in one location. At least, it was for one particular group of Huntsman and Huntresses, who just exited Terminal 5A of the Southwest Anima Airbase, leaving a small flourish of rose petals behind.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
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