Eriss was slowly walking along the shore. She was angry. Again, children half her age were allowed to take the Hunting exam, and again her Eld-Mother Said no. Her Birth-mother was fine with it, but still she was denied. She kicked a piece of shell, and heard a dull 'thunk'. Interested, she hurried forward. A large piece of Flotsam, some kind of strange Material... and under it, a hand.
An outsider! And apparently a wounded one. She pulled the Horn from her belt and Blew.
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Raiko woke up In a bed. Confused, she sat up... only to be met with a spear pointed at her throat. An old lady, around 70 or so, Held the spear.
"Who are you, outsider, and why have you come here?" Suddenly the spear was pushed away, by a small woman with large Fox ears. "MOTHER! THAT IS NO WAY TO TREAT GUESTS!"
"GUESTS SCHMEST, SHES AN OUTSIDER AND INTRUDER!"
"SHES A YOUNG GIRL, WHO WAS VERY DEHYDRATED, THAT WASHED UP ON SHORE MOTHER!" The tiny woman rubbed her temples. "ERISS! BRING THIS YOUNG LADY SOMETHING TO EAT. ILL DRAG THIS OLD TROUBLEMAKER BACK TO THE CLAN HALL."
A Sweet voice replied "Yes Mother."
The tiny woman dragged the older woman, who was twice her height, out by the ear. And the Sweet voice exclaimed "ELD-MOTHER! WHERE DID YOU GET A SPEAR! HOW... YOU WERE EMPTY HANDED WHEN YOU GOT HERE!"
"KAHAHAHA! THIS OLD LADY HAS HER WAYS, LITTLE ONE."
"HMPH." The door opened again, and a young Fennec-Type Faunus Walked in, carrying a tray with a bowl of some kind of soup. "Crazy old bat, won't let ME join the hunters, but goes around with hidden spears... sigh." She turned toward Raiko.
"Sorry about Eld-mother. She takes her duties as Clan Chief very seriously. Hi. I'm Eriss."
She sat the tray of food on the Bedside table.
"H...hiii..."
"Oh, crap. Sorry, you probably need a drink!" The girl ran out, and returned with a pitcher of water and a cup made of carved Shell. She filled the cup, and handed it to Raiko, who drank it swiftly.
"Thank you" raiko rapped, her throat still a bit raw from the salt air. "My name is Raiko. Nice to meet you. But how did I get here?"
"Oh, I found you washed up on the beach. Oh, you should eat before it gets cold. Its Homemade Udon."
The food was delicious.
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Several days passed, and Raiko grew used to living on the island. She learned the locals called it Est, and there were few Men at all. One Family Here, the Priests of Est, possessed a Semblance that enabled same-sex Reproduction... meaning the majority of the children here were conceived while a third person stood there with a hand on each parents shoulder.
The upside of this was the Semblance was hereditary, meaning the population grew. The downside, is that the children, like their mothers, would be female.
Not that there were NO men, there were a few... 7, actually... out of 70 adult islanders. Exactly 10% of the population. Of the children, there were only 4. Harems were a thing here, and polyamory the norm, but there were a few Dedicated couples, such As Eriss's mothers, and her Grandparents, who she called Eld-mother and Eld-Father(one of those 7 men)...
The people were kind, and Raiko was shocked to learn that Grimm weren't very common here. In fact, on the island, there were exactly 3 Grimm. The Sharklike Dreadfin, which reappeared Seasonally, A massive Sea-Serpent Like Grimm that only came once every few years, and the one called the Calamity of the Deepwood cave. This last one greatly interested Raiko, as it's description didn't match any she had ever heard of...
And so came the day of the festival...
Drums. Music. Laughter. Raiko stood next to Eriss, both clad in Fancy-looking armor. They were playing the part of the Founders of Est, a play told for generations.
Then the screaming started. A voice shouted "CALAMITY" And people ran. Eriss pulled her into a Nearby hut, as the two watched the Village hunters, ACTUAL Animal Hunters, far removed from the Hunters of theAcademies, Rush out to fight the thing... and then she saw it... it walked... no, IT HOPPED into the fire-light. It's black body encased in White Bone plates, long ears, claws half the size of a man, massive Fangs... and an immense, Bladed Horn jutting from between the eyes... spikes on it's shoulders, and instead of the expected puffball, a long, thin, whip-like Tail tipped in foot long blades.
A Grimm Rabbit. They watched, as the hunters drove it back, before it took a spear to the eye and turned to flee... odd behavior for a grimm. But as it fled, it Snapped at the Spear Thrower... and the woman was Split in half with a horrible Ripping sound.
As the screams died, and the night grew silent, Raiko spoke a single word, as if the universe was speaking through her...
"Rabite."
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