HART-TNG
Chapter 2
There is no easy way-
Autumn Delacourt learns that a dream is not achieved overnight. It takes years of hard work to even begin to learn how to be a Huntress.
The forest had its own noises. Branches knocking together in the breeze, leaves rustling, birds calling in the higher twigs.
The sun danced on the two fingers of stone thrusting up from the soil, the tops towering over the two people standing in front of them.
"What do you see?"
Autumn cocked her head to one side as she studied the granite surface, wondering what this particular training was supposed to be teaching her. "Uuummm! A rock?" A swish of displaced air left her with a stinging sensation in the seat of her pants. She pressed her lips together to keep from crying out as her teacher walked past her, fire-staff resting on one shoulder.
Not fair! I answered the question!, she thought.
Akiko's staff tapped against the face of the right hand stone. "An answer, but not the right one." she said.
Autumn nodded as she rubbed the sting away. Saying anything to the contrary would be plain stupid, and her aunt detested stupid people.
"This is your first opponent." the Huntress continued. "When you can destroy it, we will move on to your next level of training." She stepped back to stand beside her niece. "Form your staff and strike the stone." Her cheeks dimpled between the two golden strands of hairs that framed her face. "Show it who's the boss!"
Autumn shrugged and drew her weapon from its resting place on her armored back plate. Extending it into a shaft of metal, she gripped it at one end. Stepping forward, she swung it like a bat, putting everything she could into the blow.
Pain erupted in her palms as chips of stone sprayed between the trees. Dropping the rapidly vibrating shaft, she jammed her hands under her armpits and performed what her mother called 'The Owee Dance'.
Her aunt erupted into laughter, hand clutching her stomach as she doubled over. When she regained control of herself, she waved a hand at the angry glare being directed at her. "Your face!" The woman chuckled again. "If only I had recorded that!"
"S'Not funny! That hurt!" the Faunas girl growled, wringing her hands.
The Huntress snorted derisively. "This is not pain!" The staff tapped her right leg. "When I was your age, I tore the tendon in this ankle during my training. And I still finished the bout!" She leaned forward, putting herself nose to nose with the angry girl. "That is pain!"
Akiko walked to the stone and placed her palm flat in the ragged channel that had been made by Autumn's staff. The edges were level with the back of her hand. "Not bad... for a beginner!" The Fire-staff came off her shoulder as she faced the second stone. "Observe!"
A half step to the side, a spin.
"HAI!"
The stone exploded, gravel ricocheting off trees as the metal rod drove through it.
Grounding the staff, Akiko regarded the girl coolly. "From now on, whenever we are in training, you will address me as 'Sensei'. Failure to do so is a sign of disrespect and will result in punishment. We will be training every other day until I decide that you are ready. Do you understand?"
Autumn gulped. "Yes, Sensei." Who are you and what have you done with my loving aunt? she wondered.
"Good. Now get down on your stomach and do fifty pushups!"
Pushups were followed by sit-ups, then stretching. The final task was pull-ups, with her staff held by two branches. The sweating girl couldn't find breath to complain, or a reason. Her aunt had performed every exercise with her and hadn't slowed down yet. She was doing her own set of pull-ups, but with only her left hand gripping the staff.
The girl had to pause for breath halfway through. "Aunt... I mean... Sensei?"
Akiko's pace continued as she responded. "Yes, child?"
"Why all the exercises? I'm in pretty good shape as it is."
Her teacher paused at the bottom of her set, both hands gripping the shaft. "You must develop strength... " she swung herself effortlessly into a handstand, "agility, and... " one leg dipped until the foot rested on the metal, the rest of the body pivoting upwards until she stood upright, " balance!" Dropping off the side, she caught the bar with her right hand and resumed her exercising. "When you have mastered these, you will be a far better Huntress than many. And you will need them to face our enemies. There is more to what we do than just bashing things. You will also be studying to improve your mind. Be prepared to wake early and go to bed late! Enough loafing, get back to work."
Autumn sighed and pulled herself up again. This wasn't the adventure she'd been expecting, and she still had to deal with her first fencing class!
Puffing a bit, Autumn paused inside the door of the training salle that Hart had set up. The hopeful smile began to slip away under her godmother's steady gaze. "Am I late, Aunt Hart?"
"No, you're not. And that will be the last time you call me 'Aunt' inside these walls.
Autumn felt her hopes sinking. Here we go again!
"From now on, you will refer to me as either Miss D'Ore, or 'Master'. You will be training here every other day, the only excuse for not being here that is acceptable is if you are deathly ill!" She paused for a moment, apparently waiting to see if there was any response to that remark. Autumn bit her lip, wondering if she was ever going to be allowed to rest.
"The sword is not the weapon!" Hart stated, tapping the side of her head. "This is! You will learn many things here besides how to use a blade. Metallurgy, history, and tactics will all play a part along with other subjects over the years. At times I will send you to learn from others that I think have something to teach you. Do you understand what I have said?"
The girl nodded vigorously. "Yes, Miss D'Ore!"
Hart sighed as she drew Oathblade. "Somehow I doubt that you do, but we all must begin somewhere." The blade moved to a guard position. "Draw your weapon and strike me."
Autumn blinked in surprise. "Er..What?" She yelped as the flat of the sword slapped hard against her leg.
"Are you deaf? Strike me!" The blade slapped the other leg, harder than the first.
Confused, the girl darted out of range and drew her weapon. Her lips trembled as she gripped the hilt uncertainly. Why is she doing this?
The older woman's lip curled into a sneer. "Has my friend bred a coward? STRIKE ME!" she roared.
The girl swung her sword up and charged forward screaming incoherently. Oathblade twitched upward, easily pushing the heavier sword aside as Autumn ran into the balled fist that Hart swung at her stomach.
Her teacher's voice filtered through the pain as she lay curled on the floor.
"The Grim will tear you apart if you hesitate. Dark Hunters will slice you to ribbons if you are not willing to do what it takes to stop them. Criminals will shoot you in the back if you give them the chance. Those weaker than you will perish if you do not fight well enough to keep them from harm. This is the reality. This is what it means to be a Huntress. I am barely thirty years old, yet have spent half my life in battle and been touched by Death once already. There is pain as well as joy in what we do, god-daughter mine, but there is nothing more in life that I would rather be than the protector of my people." A hand gently caressed her hair. "I will teach you all that I know, because I love you and want to see you live a long life. There will be pain, but it will lessen as you learn how to avoid it. There's a lot of knowledge to absorb, but I have watched you since the day of your birth. I know you can do it." The hand withdrew. "Rest for a moment, then we will begin."
Everything hurt the next morning. Muscles she didn't know she had were tight little balls of pain. The sun was just rising as she gingerly toweled herself off.
A gentle tap on the bathroom door startled her for a moment. Her mother's voice was muffled by the wood.
"Hurry up, honey. Your father is waiting to take you to the rifle range."
Sighing in resignation, she turned to the pile of clothing. Gritting her teeth, she pulled the shirt over her head. I don't know if I can survive any more exercising.
Hath waved a friendly greeting from the wooden table next to the firing line as she stepped out of the car. Ulfur waved back before driving away, leaving his daughter reflecting on his prediction that this was going to be an interesting day.
Setting the newly formed rifle on the table, she held her arms out for their usual hug.
"Nope!" He pointed to the triangular red cloth waving at the top of the flag pole. "When that's up, you are in class, little girl. From here on out you are the student, a recruit in need of guidance. I'm not 'Uncle Hath' until we're done here. While you're in training you call me 'Sir'. What you choose to call me afterwards is up to you. Understood?"
Dropping her arms, she straightened her spine. She could play this game! "Yes Sir!"
Picking up the rifle, he examined it meticulously. "What caliber is your weapon?"
Autumn wilted a bit. "Caliber?" She barely managed to catch it as it was flung at her chest.
"Left hand on the fore-stock, right hand behind the receiver. Hold it at a forty-five degree angle across your body!" he ordered.
She looked helplessly at the metal in her hands. "Fore-stock?"
Hath's head dropped into a waiting hand. "I swear I'm going to have a little talk with your father about the state of your education to date!" he mumbled. Straightening, he pointed towards the table. "Place your weapon there and step back."
Gingerly, she placed it as ordered and stood, waiting nervously for the next confusing words. His hand touched the area directly in front of the small magazine.
"Fore-stock." He continued along the length of the weapon, naming every part as he came to it. When he'd finished he stood in front of the girl with his arms crossed.
"Your weapon means life and death. Life for your friends, death for your enemies. Shoot straight and you all live. Miss, and someone you care about will die! This is not some game where everyone gets up afterwards and goes home. We are the protectors of our comrades, of our people. We work as a team, relying on each other to stay alive." He waved a hand in the air. "I know there are Hunters and Huntresses who decided to go it alone in the world, and most of them are dead now. Our enemy changed and they didn't." His finger poked her in the chest. "You will learn how to adapt, to survive where others have died. Otherwise everything you learn will have been wasted." Hands on hips, he stared down into her upturned face. "Do you understand?"
She gulped nervously. "Yes Sir."
"Good. Now recite the parts of your rifle to me."
Obediently, she raised her hand and let it trace the same path his had along the metal, reciting the litany of parts. When she finished, he nodded sharply.
"Good enough for a start." He lifted a set of calipers from the table and tossed it to her. "Now, since McCoy didn't see fit to tell either of us just what it was he made for you, let's find out what caliber this thing is!"
She paused for a moment, instrument hovering over the barrel. "Sir? Are we going to shoot today?"
Hath snorted. "You ain't shooting for a while yet, girl! When you can tell me what every part of this here rifle is and what it does, then you'll be ready to learn about aiming and controlling your breathing. Once you know how to do that, you can learn the math for figuring the flight of the Dust round, and all the things that affect it, and what round is best for what you plan to do. Get that into your head and we'll see about shooting for the first time. After about a thousand rounds at short range, you can learn more math for figuring the long-range shots."
She stared into the distance, trying to take in all that he required from her. "How long did it take you to learn all that stuff?"
He grinned at the question. "Two years. And two more years of constant shooting to get really good at it. I've probably fired about a million rounds since I first learned how." Hath scratched at his chin absentmindedly. "I quit counting after the first thousand Grim I killed. The numbers don't matter anyhow. Seems like there were always more of them coming along trying to kill my buddies."
She stared at the rifle barrel, thinking about what Hart had said the day before. "How many... friends didn't... ?"
Hath sat heavily on the bench. "Six." One hand brushed absently across the bridge of his nose. "I made six mistakes in eight years, and six men didn't make it home. Everyone said it wasn't my fault, that you can't be ready for everything that can happen. But I remember their faces and names, and how I didn't keep them alive." Clearing his throat, he stood again. "I'm gonna teach you everything I can so you can keep your friends alive, girl. But be ready for the day when things go wrong, 'cause it'll stick with you for the rest of your life!"
Fear of failure made her resolution to become a Huntress waiver. Her stubborn inner nature came to the rescue, however.
My mom did it. So can I! The thought stiffened her resolve. "Okay. I'll do my best to learn everything." She turned and held out the instrument. "But first you're going to have to show me how to use this thing!"
"That's the spirit!" Hath said, taking the calipers from her. Moving to the end of the table, he began explaining how to measure the inside dimension of the barrel's muzzle as Autumn leaned over to watch.
Yang was waiting for her when she finished. Seated on a yellow motorcycle, the blond waved gaily. "C'mon! We're going to the beach!" she called.
When Autumn had seated herself, Yang passed a small helmet back to her. "Gotta be safe, girl. Wouldn't want anything to happen to you... yet!"
As she settled the helmet in place, the youngster felt she was missing something here. What the heck did she mean by 'yet'! The answer came moments later, as Yang cranked the accelerator as far back as it would go. Clutching desperately to the woman's belt as they roared out of the parking area, she couldn't see the grin on her tutor's face.
A short, and entirely too fast by Autumn's estimation, ride ended where the pavement turned to sand. Sun sparkled waves crashed on the golden sand, leaving a darker swath as they receded.
"Leave your staff here. You won't need it." Yang told her. Leaning it against the motorbike, she copied her tutor's example, hanging the helmet off the other handlebar. Stripping off the half-skirt and jacket left the brawler in black shorts and a tee shirt. Yang draped them over the seat before leading the girl down to the edge of the water were the sand was firm.
Hands on her hips, the older woman glanced down at her. "We're going to do some running to start." she explained. "You need to build up your stamina, but I'll take it easy on you at first. We can talk while we run, so if you have questions feel free to ask. Okay?"
The girl nodded, but held up a hand. "Is there anything special I should call you?" she asked hesitantly.
Yang struck a pose, the golden hand forming a fist in front of her scowling face. "Call me "Mighty Xiao Long, Queen of all she surveys!" A grin split her face as she lowered the arm. "Or Yang... whichever is easier!" She bopped the giggling girl gently on the head. "Let's hit the road. We've got a couple of kilometers to cover."
Curiosity overcame her halfway down the beach. "Yang? Did my mom really beat you the first time you two sparred?"
Yang held up a finger. "Yep, but only the first time." She grinned at the memory. "I was kinda predictable back then and she took advantage of it. But afterwards, we were pretty evenly matched. She taught me a few moves I hadn't thought of, and I did the same for her."
Autumn ran quietly for a few moments, trying to keep pace. "She taught you something?" she finally asked.
"Yep, sure did!" Memory of a blow being deflected in a surprise move made her grimace. "She taught me that being bulky doesn't mean you're slow. And never underestimate your opponent, cause each one is different!" Her lips pursed for a second. "Nobody's shown you anything about your Aura yet, have they? Like how to focus it to absorb or strengthen a blow?"
The girl's stomach twinged in response to the question. "No, not yet." And I wish they had!
"Okay, then! When we finish our run, we'll start with that. Some of the things I'm going to show you can cause some serious damage to yourself if you're not prepared for them." she warned.
Autumn gulped at the thought. What the heck is she going to teach me?
Days seemed to last forever as her training progressed. The exercises seemed endless as her body struggled to keep up. By nightfall she could barely crawl under the sheets.
Two weeks into the program each of her teachers handed her a book, parts of which needed to be read every night. A week later she was given her first homework assignments and sent home early. The simple joy of not doing something physical was crushed by the struggle to assimilate the information before the next day.
By the end of the first month she felt sure that she wasn't going to make it any further. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to make any progress. Her mind seemed to overflow with everything they were trying to teach her, and nobody could be pleased. Either her balance was off, or she forgot part of an equation, or her timing didn't quite match her opponent's. Her frustration grew daily.
The first Saturday in her fifth week came to be the lowest point ever. Yang seemed disappointed when Autumn turned down a ride home, preferring instead to walk the distance by herself.
Stacking her armor in the cabinet by her bed, she shut the door firmly, wondering if it would be worthwhile to open it again come Monday morning. Throwing herself onto the bed, she curled up in a tight ball of childhood misery and closed her eyes.
A few minutes passed before the bedside sank enough to roll her over, bedsprings complaining. She thudded gently against a warm body before reaching the edge. Only one person could make that big of a dent in the firm surface.
"Hi Mom." she murmured, suddenly thankful for the company.
"Hi yourself! You're awful quiet tonight." Renee said softly. "Tired?"
The girl snuggled into the warm comfort. "Yeah. Like every day, it seems." She raised her head, searching her mother's face. "Did you have to go through this too? I mean... I dunno if I can explain it..."
Renee stroked her daughter's hair. "Well, mine wasn't quite the same. I was fourteen when I started classes." Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, so was everybody else. Except for... "
Autumn's curiosity was aroused now. "Except for what?"
Her mother looked at her young face for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "I'll show you. Come with me!"
Leading the way to the living room, she retrieved a large scrapbook with a torn cover from the bookcase. With both of them seated on the couch, she talked while flipping through pages of pictures.
"Out of everybody at Beacon, there was only one person who started her training as young as you. She became one of the most promising students the staff had seen in a long time. I know I could never beat her! No matter how hard any of us tried, she was just too good for us." The pages stopped moving as the woman gazed at one photo filling half a page. A younger Renee with her arm around the shoulders of another girl, standing in a group. Almost reluctantly, her finger slid across the frozen image to rest on one smiling face . "That's her."
Autumn studied the face of the human girl. Flame red hair piled in a high ponytail and sea green eyes. Something about what she was wearing looked familiar. "Hey! Her armor looks like mine!" Gripping the edge of the book, she leaned closer for a better look at the figure. "Who is she?"
She was startled by her mother's sudden sniffling. Tearing her eyes away from the picture, she was astounded to see her mother crying.
" Pyrrha Nikos. She was my friend!" Renee choked out finally, wrapping her daughter in her arms. "And I miss her!"
Disconcerted and a little frightened, Autumn hugged her mother as tight as she could until the crying tapered off.
"I'm sorry, honey." Renee wiped her eyes. "Sometimes it catches me off guard. Remembering things from that time, and how much we lost."
Autumn closed the book gently. "I guess I don't understand. Was she really that special?" Her finger traced the edges of a ragged tear on the cover.
"Yes, she was. Pyrrha was born to be a Huntress. She started her training early, and by the time she was seventeen she'd won the championship in Mistral." Renee smiled, and hiccupped. "She just had it all. Strength, balance, eye-hand coordination you had to see to believe! She could face four to one odds and come out the winner. Even Tan's Semblance couldn't beat her."
Autumn frowned. "Uncle Tan? What's his Semblance like? Is it like yours?"
Her mother laughed as she dabbed at her eyes. "Not at all, thank goodness! No, his was... different back then, in a really terrible way."
Autumn listened in fascinated horror as her mother related the story of how Pyrrha had overcome the monster that her loving Uncle Tan had hidden inside him. She shivered as the climax was reached, when Nikos had to nearly kill him to stop the madness.
Curiosity won out over the fear. "Jeez, Mom! How strong is his Semblance?"
"Well... !" Renee pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. "There came a day when he used it to save all of us, and it nearly killed him."
The girl's eyes widened as her mother related the story of how they'd faced thousands of Grim, her team and four of their friends in a battle they all knew couldn't be won. But her Uncle had made the decision to sacrifice himself to give the rest of them a chance to escape.
But Renee had chosen to stay, along with another girl, in hopes of helping him. With the aid of a sniper rifle in the hands of his girlfriend, Tan had been the victor. But his life had hung by a very thin thread for nearly a week afterwards.
Her mother tapped her lips. "I wonder if Ruby still has that locket?"
Autumn flipped the book open once more, staring at the picture. "And he couldn't beat her." she whispered.
Renee hugged her daughter closer while gazing at the photo. "She was special. Strong as she was, she was also one of the most caring people I have ever known. It's no wonder Jaune loved her."
"Jaune?" Her mother pointed towards another face in the crowd. She scrutinized it for a moment before turning to her parent. "Umm... He kinda looks like a dork!"
Renee shrugged and smiled lopsidedly. "Kinda. But he had a heart as big as the world. Nowhere near her level of competency, but he never gave up either! He was a brave man, even when he lost her he kept going."
The girl closed the book again, this time with a deep sigh. Her mother gave her a worried look.
"Autumn, is there something wrong?" she asked. The small hand closed into a fist on the tattered cover.
"Mom... it's so hard! I don't know if I can do this." She turned a troubled face upwards. "Is everyone expecting me to be her?"
Pulling the book from her lap, Renee set it aside and wrapped her arms around the girl. "They don't. It was hard for all of us in the beginning. My instructors weren't exactly gentle with me either. They wanted us all to know what kind of life we'd chosen. Everyone is teaching you in the same manner they were taught. The only difference is your age. Hart and Akiko have never taught anyone before this, and I doubt Hath has ever taught anyone younger than eighteen. Yang taught her sister a few things, but that was just helping her out and not in a classroom. All of them are worried because they want to get it right for you." She lifted Autumn's chin with a finger until she could see her face. "Don't fret about trying to be someone else, love. Just be you! If they say or do something you don't understand, ask them to explain it. You'll learn more that way."
The girl leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. "I hope they're ready for a lot of questions then! I'm not very good at things like math, or metallurgy!"
Renee shifted slightly, draping an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Honey, you need to make better use of your resources."
Autumn's face grew puzzled as she looked up. "Resources?"
"I'm not very good with math either, but I'm a pretty good historian. Your dad knows all the math for shooting, and Akiko is a math whiz. Tan and McCoy know all about metallurgy. Harper, Tams, and Chance can teach you everything about leading others. Everyone you know has some sort of skill. You just need to ask them for help!"
Her daughter's face brightened. "I can?"
Renee stoked her hair. "Of course you can, silly!" She gripped the girl's chin and gently shook it. "They're probably wondering why you haven't! I know your dad certainly is."
Autumn felt like a load of stone had been lifted off her shoulders. Throwing her arms around her mother, she hugged as tight as she could. "Thanks, Mom!" Vaulting over the back of the couch, she trotted down the hall to her bedroom.
She couldn't wait for Monday to get here.
A/N : When I was eleven, I shot my first bow. Somehow the arrows never seemed to go where I wanted them to, even though it was a measly ten pound draw. By eighteen I could draw a one-hundred pound longbow with reasonable accuracy.
At eighteen, I learned how to rappel off a cliff. It was terribly difficult the first few times, being a very long way down with a sudden stop at the bottom. Within three months I was laughing as my friends and I raced down a hundred foot cliff with wild abandon.
If it means that much to you, follow your dreams and never give up. Practice something and you will get better at it, and if life gives you a cliff... just make sure your rope is tied to something sturdy before you leap.
And... yes! I miss Pyrrha too.
Keep writing!
Vindictious