Chapter 3 Four As One

Tan stopped at the top of a small rise and looked back towards where his partner was laboring up the slope. The faunas had managed to keep up with him for the most part, but the weight of her armor was beginning to tell during the uphill portion of the journey. She was just about beat, judging by the way her ears drooped. Looking the direction that they'd been traveling, he spotted the remains of a stone circle not far ahead. ' If that's not the temple, then we're gonna be at this all day' he thought.

When Renee finally made it to the top, he pointed out the ruins before making her take a seat on a nearby rock. She tried to refuse the rest stop until he reminded her that a stone building was unlikely to run away any time soon. Laying back against the rock, she draped a forearm over her eyes. " Ten minutes, that's all I need. Okay?"

Five minutes of idly gazing at the tree line had passed before he spotted two figures emerging into the sunlight. Patting his partners leg he announced " I think we have company!"

Hart heaved a sigh of relief as they passed through the last of the trees into the large clearing. Parts of the forest had been so dense that her sense of direction had gotten screwed up more than once. Akiko's comments during the march had rankled at first until Hart got the idea that she wasn't really angry, per se. Rather, this was a defense mechanism the girl used when she was upset. The faunas was already beginning to see the pattern emerge, sort of a verbal weather gauge to the girls mood.

Spotting their destination at the bottom of the hill, she decided to test that assumption. Smiling brightly, she turned to her partner. " Hey Akiko? If I told you that we made it, would you shut up for five minutes?" The reply was a silent scowl, which might have been a positive result for the theory...or maybe she was just building up steam for a really good yell. Either way, it was a quiet moment to be enjoyed. Hart shrugged, " Just asking!"

Akiko smiled wickedly back at her. " Three years, three hundred sixty four days and twenty hours before I am rid of you? Hmm! Yes, I can spare you five minutes of peace, stupid girl!"

A finger quickly tapped the tip of her nose as Hart announced in an aggrieved tone " You are a cruel person, Akiko Washi! " The faunas turned a struck and pose. " I don't know if my delicate constitution can stand the ceaseless chatter that flows in an unending stream...Ow!" The staff rapping the seat of her pants cut off the performance.

" Not only a stupid girl, but a bad actor too!" The girl pulled the staff back and quit trying to restrain her sense of humor. "Remind me to find you a drama coach when we return to the school!" she quipped.

Slow clapping cut off Hart before she could reply. They'd been so intent on the verbal sparring that the approach of Renee and Tan had gone unnoticed. " So, is this a one-act play or can we expect more?" Renee asked innocently.

The two quickly regained their composure before answering. Hart glanced at her partner before replying. " Probably more!" she admitted. Stepping forward, she offered a hand to the newcomers. "Hart D'Ore, and this is my partner Akiko Washi. Also known as 'the quiet one' to her friends. "

Renee took the proffered hand. " Renee Delacourt. And this..", she dragged Tan out hiding from behind her with the other hand, " is Tan Tyrson. Also known as the ' lady killer' to the girlfriends he's never had!"

Tan and Akiko shared a look, then rolled their eyes. He took a moment to thump a fist against Renee's armor before taking Hart's hand. " Yeah, like she said." His eyes widened for a moment as he realized that he didn't feel his usual shyness around these three girls. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for him after all. " Have you been to the 'Temple' yet?"

Of the twenty short pillars within the temple's boundary, only four held the ' relics ' that the headmaster had told them to retrieve. Red and yellow crystals carved in the shape of Grim gleamed in the sunlight.

Hart picked up a yellow Beowolf and turned it over in her hands, studying the fine details that a master craftsman had created. " I've never seen Dust crystals like these before." she said, turning towards Tan.

He was intent on inspecting a yellow Ursa, finger running over the spines on its back. " That's because it isn't Dust. This is made of Topaz, but I've never seen a piece this big before!" Closing his hand, he demonstrated that the carving was too large for his fingers to wrap around it. Seeing Hart's puzzled expression, he grinned back at her. " My old instructors went a little overboard making sure that we wouldn't make mistakes when it came to identifying the differences between Dust and gemstones." He shrugged and put the carving in his belt pouch, " I guess the lesson stuck!"

Akiko stepped between the two, looking over Tan's shoulder. " Then maybe that explains why your stupid partner likes rock too, then?" The boy turned to see his new friend running her hand over a stone column while looking up at the curved capstones overhead, an odd expression on her face. Hart took the opportunity to gently slap her own partner on the arm in warning, not wanting to antagonize the other two. As Tan walked towards the other faunas, she pushed Akiko in the same direction.

He paused next to the distracted girl and looked up. Seeing nothing but gray rock he gently laid a hand on her arm. " Renee? You okay?"

" Yeah" she whispered. " It's this place. I read about temples like this when I was in school. Thousands of years ago people came together to build this, then prayed here for someone to save them from the Grim." She turned to the others with tears in her eyes. " This is why I want to be a Huntress. Because people need Huntress' and Hunters to keep them safe! As long as I can remember, this is the job I've wanted to do. " she smiled crookedly through the tears. " I hope that doesn't sound corny."

Tan moved his hand from her arm to cover hers on the column. " No, it doesn't. It's pretty much what I've wanted to do too. Even though my parents didn't want me to, I just had the need to become a Hunter since I was too little to know better. I guess that makes us both corny, partner!" A third hand, with dark skin, covered his.

" Me too. I've wanted this since I was nine. Wanted it so much that I couldn't wait to grow up and go to the fighting schools. I guess everybody that ever passed through Beacon, every Hunter and Huntress that ever lived, is an answer to those prayers." Hart admitted. A slimmer hand covered hers, pressing firmly down.

" My father is wrong! He thinks I will fail here and bring shame to my family. This I will not do!" Akiko turned a fierce gaze on the others. " Like you, I have wanted this for too long to give it up. I do not care what a stupid old man thinks of his child's dreams. I ~will~ be a Huntress!"

Hart pulled the girl into a one-armed hug for a moment, then looked at the other two. " I guess that's settled then!" She smiled wickedly. " I say we team up and kick Grim ass!"

On the hilltop, Glynda watched a smile come to Ozpin's face as he closed the scroll. " I would never have suspected that Miss Delacourt had such hidden depths" she said.

The headmaster raised his cup and took a sip before replying. " Indeed. There seems to be more to this rather interesting group of young people than meets the eye. Two faunas and two humans coming together this quickly despite their varied backgrounds is a promising sign."

Glynda opened her own scroll and began making notes. " Only promising? Have you decided on a leader yet?" Intent on her screen, she didn't see Ozpin turn to look over the forest towards the temple hidden in the distance. " Not yet, but I believe that will be answered by the time they get back." he said quietly.