Cardin was somewhere in the vague, fuzzy dreamscape of painkillers and concussions, when a new nightmare approached on the horizon. Not the "Oh Oum the wardrobe has Grimm in it" nightmares of his childhood, or the many… visions of youth that caused him to do more laundry than he'd like to admit... Lisa Lavender man… Who let her on Daytime TV?
No, this one was new, and was only amplified by some recent events that the young Winchester was having trouble recalling. He was strolling on his family grounds, where for some reason, everything seemed larger than usual. Trees he swore he could have jumped over in his full plate before he left for Beacon seemed to loom over him, gargantuan, their dark branches casting shadows that seemed to encompass miles.
He wandered aimlessly in this unsettling, not-quite reality world, the Chateau as large and as distant as the shattered moon, trying to remember how he got here. Something to do with a classroom?
He scratched his chin, and pure genius flaked off onto the floor.
Then, everything began to shift, as the ground rumbled beneath him.
bu-bump
Cardinnn.
"Hello?" Cardin asked, perplexed by the distant voice. He stopped dead, trying to locate the source of the noise by hearing alone, before twirling around on the spot, trying to see what called for him. Definitely like a warrior, not like ballerina. It didn't matter how graceful his Mum said he was. Damnit, the woman didn't give him enough respect. Made him dance to weird music while wearing frills and-
Bu-BUMP
Caaaaardiiiiiinnn.
There it was again! That voice was definitely no Lisa Lavender, Oum bless that woman, it sounded more like if Ozpin's voice was slowed down and played through a blender. He also noted, with only slight panic, that the voice was getting louder. Yet there was nothing here, in this damn dried river turned-valley once scaled to his size, there was still nothing! Nothing mobile at least. He tried to calm himself by listing the things immediately around him.
Humongous Tree?
Check.
Rock the size of Vacuo?
Check.
Dried-up lake bed, looking utterly dead, like he would be when that thing-
Okay, this wasn't helping. Plan B.
He grabbed at his belt for his mace, only to find a… Carrot roughly the size of his torso?
BU-BUMP
Caaaaaardiiiiiiiiinnnn
He turned on the spot once more, brandishing the improvised vege-weapon in desperation. Come on, there was nothing there before, what am I worried about, everything's FINE he thought, frantically trying to steady his breathing, and focus on his surroundings instead of the approaching noise. However, the sound was only getting louder and clearer. It sounded like some small animal jumping around, only made bigger. Much, much bigger. And slower, more deliberate. Some kind of game animal, he'd remembered hunting a few in his youth. The headache wasn't helping matters. Let's see, he was holding the training rifle, and he'd felt the rush of pursuing his prey. However, he was feeling something different now though.
This time, he got the impression that the animal was chasing him.
BU-
K
That sounded an awful lot like the gargantuan tree behind him snapping like a twig.
Cardin stiffened where he stood, and braced himself involuntarily. "No, I'm not looking around." Said Cardin aloud. "There's nothing there, just like the last three I've checked. I'm not going to be fooled again."
A shadow loomed over him. There was a sudden gust of hot wind as it bit the carrot he was holding down to the leaves. The leaves slipped and fell out of his shaking hands, eyes widening in shock. He let out a small whimper.
He whipped around.
fuck.
Standing, sitting, whatever those Oumdamn leporids do, in the wreckage of a tree about the size of Beacon's tower, Was the brownest, most muscular and fuckhuegst Rabbit he had ever seen. This thing could eat Mistral before Grimmzilla blinked. Ears roughly the size of a continent laid across it's back, and spinning in the centre of each of it's eyes were the two Crescents of Arc, burning with malice, and as he choked on his spit, he recognized another emotion in those orbs.
Hunger.
Fuck.
It was somehow holding the hunting rifle his father had used all his life, yet coloured maroon instead. Jaune's shield covered it's face like an armour, and dotted in it's fur like spots was the ever-present sigil of Arc. Two Circles, One large, one small, as yellow as what was probably running down his leg right now. The claws were blades, and not in that whimsical-metaphorical way, this monstrosity had Crocea Mors where the talons of Rabbits should be.
Cardin quivered momentarily, his eyes unable to blink, as he scoped out every detail.
And riding atop the beast, just like in Oum's book of revelation, standing between the ears with pitchfork in tow, was Lucifer himself, with a wide, manic grin.
...He looked an awful lot like Jaune Arc.
The nose of the behemoth wiggled in only the most menacing of ways, eyes gleaming gold and disorientating Cardin as they spun independently, at different speeds, in different directions, at one point he swore he saw a third eye open. Cardin was not only entranced by the visual illusion, but undeniable, heart-seizing fear.
CAAAAAAAARRRRRRDIIIIIIINNNNN! The beast roared, spraying the poor boy with leftover bits of carrot and spittle. Satan leered down at him from atop the mountainous peaks of the ears.
"Yes?" Squeaked Cardin, ready to sacrifice a small child to the newly risen Elder God of Root Vegetables.
The nose breathed in a small hurricane's worth of air, drawing Cardin ever closer to the titanic herbivore - Please Oum on High, LET IT BE A HERBIVORE. He thought desperately as the vacuum lifted him from the ground.
The rabbit brought forth it's paw, catching Cardin as he was caught in the updraft, bringing him close to eye level with the beast. It sneered down at him in the most condescending way. He knew, in that moment, not a thousand child scalps would spare him from it's wrath.
The maw of Brown Fuzzy Beelzebub opened once more, regarding him with cruel curiosity. However, rather than devouring the adolescent whole, it's jaw unhinged and it asked the most simple of questions to our dazed anti-knight.
"What's your dominant leg?"
He woke up screaming bloody murder, clutching his casted leg.
The nurse staff of Beacon made a vow to forevermore stock bedpans in the first-aid ward.
It had been a long enough Saturday that Jaune was starting to deal with complex emotions again, rather than the constant panic that usually encapsulated his weeks.
He felt that nagging guilt by association with regards to uhh… Let's call it Project: Maroon Whirlwind. Yeah, that sounds all mysterious and awesome. Sounds like a kickass tv show-
Crap, thought train left the station. Point being, he was feeling a little bad that he left a kid in the hospitable through inaction. The fact that that kid was Cardin wasn't enough to deflect that guilt entirely though.
He got off of the bed he was currently reclining on. Everyone else had plans for Saturday, his was chiefly "recover". He'd make sure to catch up with the rest of his team and RWBY later, but at least some time was needed each week otherwise you'd develop cabin fever. It was good to get a break. He tried to redirect the recently off-the-rail thought ramblings back to a more productive topic, as he chose a chair at the communal desk area of JNPR.
Outside of the bullying in the first few weeks at Beacon, he hadn't really spoken to Cardin. Jaune couldn't say he knew, or cared to know much about him. He had a vague idea that he was of noble descent, and with all the fancy regalia on his armor, his family certainly wasn't dirt poor like the Arcs.
But that was beside the point. He needed some gesture to make up for his part, and Velvet's, since he knew full well that she wasn't apologizing. One, he was certain she felt no remorse, that grin was proof enough, and two, he'd confronted her on it earlier.
"What do you mean, apologize?" Velvet asked, seemingly hurt. One ear flopped down in only the most pure of ways. God, she'd even started the misty eyes. Those cute, brown eyes- Damnit! "I wouldn't hurt Cardin! I try to avoid him on principle!" She said, pouting.
Even in remembering the scene, Jaune rolled his eyes so hard he swore he saw his frontal lobe.
Well, a face-to-face apology would be terribly awkward, and he'd have trouble making it sound sincere - "Sorry for just watching you get your karma in only the most fitting of ways," was not likely to register well. So, spoken word was out, and texting just seemed tacky… A card?
Perfect, a get well card! All of the right intentions, without any risk of inserting his foot in his mouth! He grabbed out a sheet of A4, from the stack of printing paper, creased it down the middle, and stopped, trying to figure out what next to say.
He mused it over outloud. "Dear Cardin," No, Cardin definitely wasn't dear to Jaune. Scratch that. He wrote "To Cardin," in the neatest scrawl he could manage at the top of the page.
"I'm writing this to apologize for just watching you get beaten around by a girl half your weight so fast there may have been Cherenkov radiation," He spoke aloud. Damnit, again, not sincere. He instead wrote "Concerning that incident on Wednesday, I'd like to apologize. You got badly hurt, and we both know that was at least partially my fault."
He struggled to find a way to keep Velvet's role in this incognito, without objectively lying to the young Winchester. "I promise that I won't accidentally start a fight, and I hope that you'll promise to stop bullying Velvet." One and the same in terms of the end result, but hey, would anyone else know? It was also pretty useless advice. Jaune doubted Cardin could speak her name aloud without shivering, let alone approach her.
"Let's try and start this again, huh? Arcs never go back on our word." He finished by signing his name at the bottom of the page, including the two moons as part of his signature.
Stretching, he reflected on how unfortunately mentally taxing that was for a Saturday. His scroll buzzed lightly in his pocket. A message, rather than a call.
After Jaune fetched his scroll, and brought it to the lock screen, he stopped. Jaune blinked once, and then twice more at the title of the sender.
"Your Bunny."
"And here I was thinking that subtlety was her strong suit…" Jaune thought with a rue grin.
Bracing for impact, he unlocked his scroll.
"Hey Jaune. Liking the recently Cardin-free atmosphere? Enjoy it while it lasts, Aura means bones heal quick. I figure we could grab some fresh air at this cafe in town. What do you say, Sunday? My treat."
Jaune had the feeling he no longer wore the pants in this relationship, and that this new skirt was a little too breezy in all the wrong places.
"Sure. Bring yourself, not the persona."
"What persona?"
Jaune's expression roughly resembled Goodwitch's at the end of a class with himself in it.
"Anyway, I'll meet you at La Coniglietta. 10:30 for Brunch?"
"Sounds like fun. Keep the collateral damage to a minimum."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't hurt other students."
"Did I say anything about students?"
"...Well played." A little brown bunny emoji was added at the end of the message.
He smirked, and locked the scroll, and dropped it back in his pocket. Score one for Jaune, 400 for Velvet. The smirk faded to a grimace. Wow, even when thinking to himself he managed to trivialise his accomplishments. Go figure.
As he was packing up all supplies from the desk, lest Nora steal them and draw on his face, he looked at the Card one more time. Something was missing.
Ah, a cover! But "Get well" in pen looks just a little pathetic. What could he add? Personalized messages were a bit of a bust, and a joke was too obviously sadistic.
Wait…
Jaune smirked. Well, he and Velvet did have more than a few things in common. Apparently he could add sadism to the list.
With a remarkably well captured sparkle in the eye, a sketch of a Rabbit sitting on it's haunches adorned the front of the Card.
Of course it was brown, do you really need to ask?
And that's a wrap for the introductory Arc (GEDDIT?). From this point on, it's gonna be about developing Jaune and Velvet's relationship to functional levels, or possibly increasingly more worrying levels of dysfunction. This one's not as large as the first chapter, but I'd say it's still entertaining none the less. Cover's Cardin's perspective. He may or may not continue to be a character.
Other than that, I'd like to inform you guys that I've got Exams and Mid-year stuff coming on in Australia right now. Usually such an announcement is made to say that the works on hiatus but, I use writing as stress relief. If anything, I'll probably churn out another chapter by the time the exams come around.
So, look forward to that guys, and I hope I won't be here much longer.
