SOME INTERESTING THINGS!
I have finally, after many minutes of watching volume 4-5 and listening to music come up with a plot to this story that should follow with the shows story while also world building and hopefully showing that these characters aren't 2D but at the same time please appreciate I'm pretty terrible at writing so do tell me if something doesn't work or how I could improve. Just do it nicely plz.
This chapter was interesting to write because. 'Okay, So her names Tanith and she enjoys flying… what else?... that's a future me problem'
'Oh, lets just have this minor character for the radio operator… I'm gonna call her Castle and she's going to be an unnaturally happy person *literally the next chapter* so actually now she's an ex huntress with a tragic backstory and she's also a Bird Faunus cause feathers in hair… and fuck I've just created Raven with Neptune's clothes… Interests and personality? Future me problem"
…
Fuck past me
Also I realised around halfway through the city outing that I remember fuck all from the first two seasons and am gonna have to refresh my mind on them so there could be a delay while I catch up on them.
Also I may have to rewatch… season 3 which I haven't watched since it came out but the sheer fucking trauma it brings after two incredibly funny and light hearted seasons is enough to sear most key events into my brain. Seriously compared to the first two that thing is like watching black adder and like two seasons in it suddenly turns into Game of thrones (which I have never watched).
Anyway, enjoy!
~§~
Tanith hovered over the bullhead station and slowly lowered into the docking station she was told to land in.
Bullhead stations were common in the cities due to their common use by pilots, and given that Vale is such a large city that it touched the coastline with its centre still being hundreds of miles away bullheads were used commonly to get around quicker then cars allowing pilots to avoid traffic.
Meanwhile Elster had been standing looking out the window and gazing at the city with a nostalgic look in her eyes occasionally, though she got distracted and once or twice even said something that wasn't part of where she was.
"Sorry again" she said apologetically as a clang rang out through the Bullhead signalling that it was docked. "It's been so long since I've been out and-"
Tanith cut her off with an eye roll "For the 12 th time Elster, it's okay so don't worry about it, we don't want you saying something embarrassing over the radio Hmm?" She said smiling cheekily as she continued the shut down procedure.
Elster sighed as she walked in a lazy circle while Tanith finished the shutdown checks "I know, but I don't want my job to interrupt the first day out I've had in 3 years-" she stopped herself and covered her mouth as if that would solve the problem.
Tanith finally stepped out of the cockpit and noted that her guess of a head taller was wrong, Elster was easily a head and a half taller as she stared at the woman with a raised eyebrow. "3 years?"
"Give or take a few months" Said Elster quietly as she rubbed the back of her head
Tanith nodded as she took in the information. "Maybe we should discuss this at your café… if it's still there" she said as she picked up her bag and stepped out of the Bullhead and into the station. The station itself was similar to the hangar at beacon, just less rock walls and a lot more noise. Quickly going to the sign in desk and showing their ID's they were allowed to park the bullhead for the day and were out on the streets of Vale easily.
"So… do you remember where this café was?"
"…"
"…"
"…it was next to the side walk" Said Castle jokingly
"And let me guess, was that next to the road?" Asked Tanith sarcastically.
"I believe if I remember it was on 43 street ummm… Boundary way? Yes, that sounds right" Said Elster nodding to herself as she looked at a map on a wall and began to walk towards the end of the street.
As they walked down the street they saw shops and apartment buildings, but Tanith also noted the occasional bystander send a glare to her Faunus friend, some parents even seemingly putting there children behind them protectively and discreetly. She didn't know if Elster noticed this but she made certain to glare just as hard back.
She realised that Elster was locked onto a café on the other side of the street, outside the café people were sitting at tables with umbrellas to cast shade onto the patrons. They quickly crossed the street and stopped outside it.
"Hmm… seems they closed down and a new café opened up on the old one" Said Elster miffed as she looked at the café's name 'Dusted delights!' "Though that's probably for the best thinking about it" she said quietly.
They walked in and saw a standard café set up, a serving area with display cases of cakes and sandwiches and a display fridge of drinks, then the rest of the café was a seating area, they were fairly busy and there was the loud clatter of food being prepared along with everyone's conversations slowly feeding in to a continuous white noise.
"I'm not feeling particularly hungry, so shall we just grab a coffee?" Asked Tanith as they approached the serving area.
"Coffee sounds good" Said Elster as she looked over the rest of the café.
Ordering their coffee they went and sat down at a table in the corner. The other patrons didn't seem to particularly care for the new comers.
"So… 3 years?" Said Tanith trying to start a conversation as she placed her leather jacket over the back of the chair.
"Yeah" Said Elster rubbing her head "but I enjoy it. It's fun" she said but her eyes told a different story.
"Sounds more like you exhaust yourself everyday, isn't a regular and continuous use of aura like that really bad for yo-"
"So what made you want to become a pilot?" Interrupted Elster irritated and nervous.
Tanith looked at her with narrow eyes as their coffee arrived and the woman awkwardly placed the coffee on the table between them before hurrying off, clearly not wanting to get involved.
"Alright… just tell me one thing and I'll drop the subject of your over exertion and workaholism" Said Tanith as she took a sip of her coffee, grimaced, and added some sugar to it.
"Alright, one thing" she said as she took a drink of her coffee.
"Why do you have an unlocked semblance?" Asked Tanith as she leans back into her chair. She had a theory and simply wanted to confirm it.
Elster stayed silent for a minute as she chewed the inside of her cheek then took another sip of her own coffee "I am a fully qualified huntress, passed the whole school thing at Beacon, good grades and 7 missions under my belt"
Tanith eyes widened as she sat up, a million things running through her head.
Why was she an air traffic controller when she was a fully qualified huntress? Tanith had simply thought she had been in a terrible accident and as a last resort a doctor had unlocked it to help heal her, which wasn't common but still happened.
Where were her team? Everyone who went through Beacon was assigned into a team and though Elster could be one of those people that prefer to be alone teams usually stayed together and did jobs all over remanent.
But Tanith nodded and didn't ask another question as part of the agreement.
"I was 5 when my parents first took me on an air ship. A commercial cruiser ugh… the 186 model If I remember correctly" Said Tanith as she scrunched up her face like it would help her remember "I believe that we were just going to Atlas for a holiday but I couldn't tear myself away from the window. As I grew up I just got more interested in flight and my parents could see this and got me a place at a local flight school to get a shot at learning how to fly and see if I wanted to pursue it as a career" Tanith shook her head
"So, what did you score?" Asked Elster
Tanith smirked "fucking aced that shit and was offered a place at the Atlas school of aviation" her smile faded "but man did they suck, the lessons and teaching was superb don't get me wrong. But the people were either assholes or soooo boring all talking about there military careers and how 'mommy and daddy have hopes that I'll be promoted to squadron leader easily'" She imitated a posh accent and Elster chuckled "I was a bit of an outcast I suppose" Said Tanith rubbing her arm "my hair always made me stand out and in the flight simulations I was quite reckless yet still scored high. I suppose I was a a bit too exciting for them" Tanith shook her head "But we are pilots for goodness sakes I mean surly there's more to the military then 'fly in a straight line at this exact speed and don't touch the controls just let the computer do it' I mean, maybe more explosions and daring manoeuvres" She the looked at Elster "So what about you, what's your history?"
Elster thought deeply for a few seconds. "My parents and I grew up in menagerie, nice place but with some of the worst Grimm on the planet and it being 2/3 desert it was a reminder to many of how we're still second class citizens" she smiled sadly "I always dreamed of fighting the Grimm and becoming a huntsman just to show the world that us Faunus are just the same as them, but mainly it was to see the world" she admitted as she shook her head smiling "So one day I said goodbye to my parents and left to go to combat school, Signal then went in to Beacon…" she trailed off as her face went from a happy expression to sad and tearful. She sniffed and quickly wiped away a tear that tried to escape her eyes.
Tanith reached out and put a hand over Elster's to give it a reassuring squeeze. She was beginning to put together why Elster was both alone and overworking herself. "You keep in touch with your parents?"
"I did… up until 3 years ago…" she said sadly "What about you?"
"I talk to them if I'm free but it's been a while, cause ya know if you called everyday there'd be nothing new to talk about" Said Tanith shrugging.
"Well, a lot has happened for us to talk about now I suppose. They said they were having a child, a baby boy he'd be about 6 or 7 years old now" Elster seemed to go off into thought.
"I'm an only child, my dad often jokes that I was too much of a little shit that they could only worry about one child, and that a second one would kill them" they both laughed.
"So, I'm gonna go out on a limb by the fact that your still in decent shape that you do something other then stay in that room for hours on end?" Asked Tanith as she looked over Elster's body before realising what she was doing and had just said and blushing.
Elster smirked as she leaned back a bit, drawing Tanith's eyes up to her chest before she blushed harder and decided that her coffee was the most amazing thing in the world and not the woman's chest. Elster laughed and stopped what she was doing "Yeah, on slow days I go down and work out for a bit" she smiled "the students always give me weird looks when I occasionally say out loud like 'have a nice day' or 'Ursa you are cleared for lift off' I think I've gained a reputation as the crazy lady that just randomly shows up and works out" she laughed "I sometimes catch Hilbert working out as well mostly accompanied by Tyler drooling off to the side" she shook her head smiling "but then sometimes I also go and watch some huntsman matches, lots of interesting weapons and fighting styles"
"I like huntsman weapons" Said Tanith "I was always fascinated by them and what they could change into. Also drinking, but that's a habit I'm trying to cut down on" she said awkwardly
"Well, I enjoy things with movement, or shiny things" Said Elster as she finished her coffee.
"There we go, a comprehensive list of things to look out for" Said Tanith sarcastically "weapons and moving things" she drained the last of her coffee and they stood up and left the shop.
"So wander aimlessly for a few hours?" Asked Tanith
"Sounds good" Said Elster as she looked around and set off in a random direction. Her tall figure making it easier for Tanith to walk through the crowd as she followed closely.
Before long the crowd slowly thinned as people arrived at there destinations or went for some food and the pair were easily able to make out the shops names and specialities. Tanith saw a shop with a sign of a smithing hammer crushing a Grimm skull and the name 'Huntsman's hammer' over the top.
Tanith quickly pointed it out to Elster by tugging in her sleeve who looked over and then narrowed her eyes in irritation "I feel like I recognise it" she said as they approached and opened the door, a bell chiming as they did so.
Elster looked around the weapons smith shop with mild annoyance as she tried to place Why it felt so familiar while Tanith looked around excitably at the various weapons on display.
"Hey there ladies, I can do anything for you" Said a man with a bushy moustache behind the counter "as long as it's weapons!" He let out a chortle at his own joke. Then as he finally took them in his eyes widened as he looked at Elster. "Ah, So you finally returned!" He exclaimed as he ran into the back.
Tanith raised an eyebrow and looked at Elster who looked surprised and also… scared?
"What was that abo-"
She was interrupted as the man placed down in the front desk two white double headed axes no bigger then a lumber axe, there shafts were thick and the bladed end had the clear sign of a gun barrel.
"Your weapons! Sharpened and ready to go" then he leaned forward "though I have to ask, where have you been these past few years Castle? One day you come into my shop and drop these off without a single word of what you want done with them" he said concerned "and where are your-" he was interrupted as Elster suddenly through open the shops door and shot out into the daylight.
Tanith looked on in worry then opened her bag. "I'll take them for her, have a nice day" she said hurriedly then ran out after her friend. Leaving a very confused shop keep looking on in absolute confusion.
Elster was outside staring at a puddle with wide eyes and shaking while breathing heavily and sweating. Tanith looked at her for a few seconds then carefully walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
The reaction was instantaneous as Elster swung round in a fighting stance and seemed to almost instinctively reach for something on her belt before realising who she was staring at.
"Oh, I'm sorry" she said quickly as she raised her hands and looked at them "it's just that, seeing them a-a-and I-I ju-just froze a-and"
Tanith quickly walked forward and grabbed her hands. "It's fine, but I'm here if you ever want or need to talk about it. But I won't push you" she then looked up at Elster's scared face "but keeping it bottled up won't help" she said as she emphasised this by tightening her grip before finally letting go "now come on, let's wonder around and see if we see anything interesting"
~§~
Walking into a large park the two hadn't exchanged any words since the weapon store.
They walked down the central path of the park as people had picnics and kids ran around but Tanith was more focused on Elster who had a distant look in her eyes and wasn't really focused on their surroundings.
"So, I'm guessing that, something went wrong on one of your missions?" Said Tanith
Elster nodded her head. "Only survivor, was part of team BLUE. Our leader was Brian Khan, his partner was LeLouch Reservoir and my partner Ulrich Cradle" she smiled as she stared at nothing as if remembering memories. "They were great guys, didn't care that I was a girl or that I was a Faunus, except Lelouch but that was only in the beginning. They just respected me for me and my skills. We were great friends… we would go get our weapons done at that shop and then go chill at that café, though it was a different one back then"
"Then, just a few m-months out of beacon we t-took a mission… a-and" Elster began choking up as she shook her head.
"Hey, woah. Take it easy" Said Tanith as she put an arm on Elster's shoulder
"Sorry" said Elster as she wiped her eyes "I must sound so stupid, I feel stupid"
"For what?" Asked Tanith "there's nothing stupid about this"
"But I'm supposed to be a huntress!" She said loudly "I'm supposed to be strong and to protect people!" She looked at her shaking hands.
"And you can do that" said Tanith as she lead them down a side path deeper into the park "but your allowed to have weaknesses too" Elster huffed "this sort of thing is normal, especially if you've been through a traumatic experience"
Elster stood silently for a moment scowling then nodded slowly.
"Have… have you told anyone else about… this" asked Tanith as she gestured at Elster
Elster crossed her arms and looked away. "…no" she then turned and glared threateningly and pleadingly "and no one else is going to know"
"Yeah" said Tanith putting up her arms "no one but us"
Elster nodded before her expression suddenly softened and became distressed "No, wait…. Shit. I'm sorry… I just I-"
Shit, she had just fucked up, she'd pushed away the one person she felt she could tell and felt safe around. And she had just threatened them, she was going to avoid her and then she was going to be alone again and she would forever regret this moment.
Tanith wrapped her arms around her and gave her a hug then quickly letting go, blushing slightly.
"It's fine. But you need to calm down on apologising" she then smiled "now come on, I'm sure we can find something that won't give you a panic attack"
"Actually… can we go back to beacon, I just need to… think for a bit" Said Castle
Tanith frowned but nodded "Sure, no problem"
~§~
As they walked back toward the station a man suddenly ran up to them. He had on jeans and a green jacket.
"Hey! You gotta help, my friend is in trouble!" And he quickly ran off but before he turned the corner he turned around and looked at them expectingly.
"Well that's obviously a trap" Said Tanith "I mean, he could of tried and be more original"
"Yup" Said Elster popping the 'p'
"And let me guess, 'we should go check anyway just in case his friend is in fact in trouble'" Said Tanith sighing as they began to walk after him a he ran around the corner
"My weapons are in your bag right?" Asked Elster
"Yeah, can't miss'em" Said Tanith as they neared the corner
"Open your bag enough so they can be pulled out, stay right beside me" Said Elster as they rounded the corner and saw the man waving down an ally. "How cliché"
"Are you gonna freak out again?" Asked Tanith as they neared the ally the man had run down
"If I don't think about it then I should be fine to take however many there are of them down"
They rounded the corner into the ally which was cast in shadows with dumpsters and the man standing a little bit down it waving at them frantically.
They began walking forward cautiously but giving off the air of unsuspecting. The ally was dark but was lined with dumpsters and other rubbish, obvious for an ambush.
"YARG-"
Several events happened in very few seconds. First Elster suddenly shot her hand into Tanith's bag and brought out her axes, then a man jumped out of the shadows with a knife and Elster quickly brought up one of the axes to block and then used the flat side of the other axe to smack the man across the face knocking him down to the ground.
Then Tanith found herself behind Elster as she stood in a fighting stance and three men standing in front of them, two with a knife and one with his fists raised.
"What the fuck man" said the second man rubbing his cheek "you brought a huntress!"
"It doesn't matter, we outnumber them" the original man- apparently the leader- said and he seemed to give a pointed look at the other two then at Tanith.
"Hey, we will happily walk away and won't call the police, we just want to go home" Said Elster as she kept her eyes focused on the three of them.
"Sure, and then you'll tear out our throats in our sleep you feral animal" replied the leader.
"Well that's just rude" said Elster as she suddenly launched forward and kicked the man in the groin and then slamming the handle of her left axe into his face sending him flying into the dumpster, denting it "Didn't anyone ever teach you manners?"
The other two charged forward, the second one reached her first and Elster easily blocked his sloppy and slow knife swing and punched him in the gut and as he hunched over she quickly dodged the third man's knife swing and kicked his exposed arm, a resounding crack echoed round the ally as it bent in an unnatural direction and the man let out a roar of pain and dropped the knife. Then Elster grabbed his unbroken arm and through him into the second man who had recovered and looked up in time to see his comrade collide into him.
Tanith watched in awe as Elster moved with ease between the men and took them down without being hit and not cutting the men with the blade of her axes. Then the men were down and Elster was standing in the middle not even breaking a sweat.
"That, was fucking incredible" said Tanith as she walked towards Elster
"Meh, they were sloppy, didn't have huntsman training or auras and semblance's" she shrugged as Tanith finally stopped in front of her "they weren't really a threat"
"I felt threatened" Tanith interjected as she reached over and quickly took the axes from Elster. She let them go with no resistance.
"Thanks" she said quietly
"It's no problem" said Tanith as she quickly put the axes into her bag
They took in the scene again and nodded.
Tanith walked up to the first man and went through his pockets bringing out several hundred lien, clearly robbed from several victims.
"Let's go give this to a random homeless guy and then go home?" Asked Tanith
Elster nodded "Home"
~§~
Tanith and Elster were slowly walking through the academy back to the staff dorm.
"-so I step out of the simulator and all the other students are staring at me in shock, cause ya'know 'she doesn't have the standard issue hair cut and doesn't come from a rich military family so she clearly can't be good at flying a bullhead' but I got a perfect score, fuck, you should of seen there faces" said Tanith as she shook her head chuckling at the memory. "They weren't really there to fly, they just wanted to ascend the military ranks so I was the only one to actually pay attention in Bullhead maintenance and flight classes" she then smirked "I had all the bitches"
"Sure you did and let me guess, you spent all your time partying and drinking and getting laid?" Teased Elster.
Tanith went silent for a moment.
"No, but sometimes I wish I did because If you want me being honest, I much prefer playing video games and reading sci-if or fantasy books then going outside" Said Tanith embarrassed "it was a flight school thing that I developed because no one talked to me so I would either go to the bar and drink or just stay in my quarters and read a book or study hard or to relax play flight simulator 23-"
"Wait" Said Elster raising an eye brow "you would return to your dorm after a hard day of flying a bullhead. And to wind down you would… pretend to fly a bullhead?"
Tanith turned pink and crossed her arms "Well when you say it like that it sounds stupid. It wasn't the only game I would play. I'd play Remanent defence force: Grimm Armageddon"
"I didn't really play video games growing up or during training" Said Elster
"Well… no offence but menagerie isn't… wasn't…" Tanith scowled trying to think then sighed "you know what I mean"
Elster grinned "no, I don't know what you mean"
Tanith rolled her eyes smiling "that's because you're a faunus" she said jokingly
"Yeah?" Said Elster challengingly "well at least I'm actually useful in the dark, and have better reflexes"
"Yeah. All I hear are excuses to discriminate against you because I'm a race with an inferiority complex that needs to be angry at something because it's not like we have a natural enemy that could destroy us at any moment and feeds on the negative emotions that are fighting produces" Said Tanith as she tried to look Elster in the eyes and be intimidating which was hard considering she was over a head taller.
And she has pretty eyes…
Elster laughed and soon Tanith joined her as they enjoyed this moment of nothing going crazy. Tanith had the brief thought of how it was weird how close they had gotten over such a short time of knowing each other and even shorter seeing each other in real life. She supposed that helping one through traumatic experiences, both not going out much and being able to relate at not being sociable, fighting muggers and finally just enjoying the company of someone else would bring people close as well. And that was just the first day they met!
Finally Elster stopped outside of a door and waved her key card in front of it, the door sliding open to reveal a standard but obviously lived in room. Several random objects decorated shelves and the bedside table, and most of them were shiny. But what surprised Tanith was the wall that had several photos on it and a camera and an old dusty box on a shelf. The images showed beacon but at various times of day and different angles along with wildlife and even the view of Vale.
"You're a photographer?" Asked Tanith as she walked over and took a closer look at some of the photos
"Yeah, was always interested in it. It's a hobby that I do sometimes when I'm alone or I can't sleep" Said Elster as she stretched.
Tanith looked and noticed the sheer number of the photos that were taken at night and was able to assume that by the looks of it Elster just didn't sleep, she kept this thought to herself though.
"So, where should I put your weapons?" Asked Tanith as she unslung the bag from her shoulders.
Elster looked around the room for a few seconds in thought.
"Put them in the bottom of my wardrobe, that way I won't have to interact with them but I know where they are"
Tanith nodded and walked over to the wardrobe quickly dumping the axes inside the bottom draw.
"Let's go grab some dinner, I'm starved" said Tanith "too much happened for just one day, especially a day where we missed lunch"
"Yeah, it was weird that so much happened in one day"
"Mm, I would almost think that something like that wasn't possible unless it was in a book" said Tanith as she opened the door "and would you look at that, my room is literally at the other end of the corridor"
"That's just luck" said Elster
"How's that luck? I'm near you" said Tanith jokingly
"Ha ha, let's go. I'm hungry" replied Elster rolling her eyes
~§~
"Alright, what's the teams name again?" Asked Tanith as she sat down in the bullheads chair
"Team JNPR, another first year team. Heads up some of your equipment might go haywire while flying, don't worry about it. They have Pyrrha Nikos on there team, her semblance is magnetism" said Castle over the radio as Tanith started up the engine.
The bullhead lifted into the air and rotated to face the door in a lazy circle as it flew out into the morning sun.
"Landing pad 5 today Hunter, it's a busy one" said Castle over the radio.
Tanith manoeuvred over to the pad with the massive 5 painted on it and slowly set down to rest on the pad for a few minutes while Tanith waited for them to show up.
After five minutes she began to get bored. After ten minutes she got irritated.
"Hey, Hunter" said Castles voice over the radio "can't help but notice that… your still there"
"Mmhmm" said Tanith as she looked at the clock again and beat a rhythm into the dashboard.
"Why… are you still here?" Asked Castle confused over the radio "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great but… we have a schedule to keep… so why are you not flying"
"Because they haven't showed up yet" said Tanith irritated
"Ah ha! I get to use the intercom of shame!" Said Castle excitedly
Before Tanith could ask what that was the speakers all over the academy suddenly turned on with a crackle of static. "COULD TEAM JNPR PLEASE MAKE THERE WAY TO LANDING PAD 5 PLEASE? I REPEAT BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY FUN, COULD TEAM JNPR PLEASE MAKE THERE WAY TO LANDING PAD 5?" echoed out over the academy grounds.
"I didn't know you could do that" said Tanith as she looked into the crowd of students who were talking.
"Well, I'm not allowed to unless I need to announce something across the school" said Castle "but it's also pretty embarrassing if it's about someone"
"Well that explains the name"
"You said that like there was something wrong with it"
"I mean… there are better names you could use"
"Suck as?"
Suddenly four people jumped into the sitting compartment.
Two girls and two boys. A girl in a skirt, a girl in bronze armour and a boy in a mistralian tunic and a boy in white armour currently hunched over and panting like crazy.
"Well it's about time" said Tanith as she exited the cockpit and faced them "you team JNPR?" She asked
"Yes, a pleasure to meet you" said the red haired one
"Greetings" said the green one
"Hi! Pilot lady" said the pink one
"Yeah… that's… us" panted the blonde boy as he stood up.
"Well, which one is the leader?" She asked looking at them all
"That's.. me" said the blonde boy trying to stand tall… and failing
"Right…." Said Tanith as she looked at him, standing red faced hunched over and panting, he didn't look like much of a leader. "Well just give me your scroll and we can be on our way" she held out her hand.
He handed over his scroll and Tanith walked into the cockpit.
"Did I just get robbed?" Asked Jaune
"No, it's so the pilot knows where there going. They get the location from the accepted mission on your scroll" Said Pyrrah
"Oh.. I knew that" said Jaune
"Well, the destination is set, everyone strap in" said Tanith as she chucked the scroll back at Jaune who juggled with it before finally catching it.
"Hey castle" asked Tanith whispering as she closed the cockpit door
"Yeah?" Replied Castle, also whispering for some reason
"Are you sure these guys can… actually fight?"
"Beacon is a huntsman school that only excepts the best of the best, they can handle it"
"Are we sure Ozpin is… sane?"
"No, not really. But I've heard he's got amazing judgment, I'm guessing this is about there leader Jaune?"
"The dude may have the armour and sword… but can he actually… use them?"
"Of course he can! It's almost like your suggesting he forged his documents! Which would be ridiculous because we have a very thorough investigation department. It would be impossible to sneak in or get in with forged documents"
"Alright, alright fine. I'm glad to hear that Beacon puts an amazing effort into stopping frauds from getting killed"
"Yeah. I mean what kind of school would we be if we just let any old scrub in with no combat experience at all? So where ya going?" Asked Castle
"A town"
"Fuck you too"
"Well the bad news is is that it is just inside your radio range"
"What do you mean 'bad news' that's amazing news. Lucky you gets pure unrestricted radio Castle"
"It only ever plays one song" said Tanith with a roll of her eyes.
"So… what are you wearing?" Asked Castle putting on a mock sultry voice which made several interesting thoughts appear in Tanith head before she quickly dispelled them.
"Oh. Me? I'm just wearing the Vale standard issue flight suit with a black shirt and shorts on" said Tanith trying to sound sultry as well, but failing and sounding more like she was constipated.
They were both silent for a second before Castle couldn't hold it in much longer and they both laughed. It was nice, usually flights lie, these while pleasant were boring and didn't have much happening, but being able to talk to someone even if only over the radio was a great upgrade.
"So, what do you see?" Asked Castle
"Forest, like this forest doesn't like end at all"
"Yup, the excitement of flying in one direction for an extended length of time" said Castle teasingly
"You're a bird, that's all birds do" Said Tanith
Castle just let out a laugh on the other end.
"So, anything interesting at beacon right now?"
"Well, the Vale ferry and the mail ship are having an argument over the radio and I've just suggested that they should solve this like men and fight each other" said Castle
"I thought you were supposed to stop those sorts of conflicts from happening" said Tanith disapprovingly
"Hey! I did! I redirected the ferry but apparently the ferry driver is to important to park on Landing pad 2! That's for peasants. So yes that is my job but there's nothing in the job description that says that I can't fuel the fire" said Castle defensively
"I'm pretty sure it's implied and probably in a rule book"
"Now there's the problem, it should have been in the job description, because literally no one reads the rule books"
"I memorised all the flight codes and rules" said Tanith proudly
"Yeah but you're a fuckin nerd and if were being honest, you didn't really get out much" said Castle sympathetically "nor did you get laid often by the sounds of it"
"I- you!-I wa-" Tanith spluttered when she noticed that the compass on the dashboard was going haywire and going in circles, she looked to some of her other equipment and saw that it was acting in a similar way, the fuel gauge was spinning in circles and the altitude meter was telling them they were still on the ground.
"Hey, my dashboard is going absolutely mental" Said Tanith as she tapped the glass cover of the compass.
"Yeah, tell team JNPR about that, it should stop"
Tanith raised an eyebrow but opened up the intercom to the cargo bay looking at the display screen she saw that they appeared to be discussing whether a hammer or a sword was better at killing Grimm. But the Leader was looking very green and groaning every so often.
"Sup" the important debate was brought to a halt as they looked around them for the source of the voice.
"Is that you God! Is it my time? Surly I'm too young to go! I haven't done everything I wanted! All the legs that will go unbroken! God why!?" The pink one suddenly started shouting and rambling.
"Ugh, no, it's just me. The pilot… so my dashboard equipment is going completely insane. Would any of you know anything about that?" She asked questioningly. Why would any of them know that?
"Oh!... I'm sorry!" Called Pyrrha as the dashboard returned to normal.
"Everything is back to normal now, thank you" Said Tanith as she turned off the intercom. "So, is that normal? For them"
"Ohhh Yeah, they are the exact same in the academy, but it's standard procedure to note what sort semblance someone has and if that can interfere with the bullheads systems" Said Castle over the radio. "Didn't you listen when I told you about her semblance"
"That was too long ago for me to remember"
"It was literally an hour ago, I thought pilots were supposed to have good memories?"
"What's my schedule look like for the next few weeks?" Asked Tanith trying to cover up the fact that she had been to focused on listening to the sound of her voice rather then what was being said.
"What am I, your secretary?" Said Castle
"Well, you're the one who knows it" said Tanith
"But I'm not supposed to tell pilots that, it's confidential until a few days prior"
"Yeah, but they've already told me that I have something coming up on the 19 so what is it?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you that" said Castle "… but I suppose I could… bend the rules a bit" she said.
"I don't think your supposed to talk to pilots this long either" said Tanith
"I suppose not, technically I'm also supposed to record all conversations for legal reasons but your lucky in that I've decided that I won't record this conversation, it's good to be flexible with these kinds of things" said Castle "you along with a bunch of other pilots are gonna be flying students out to forever fall because there going to be collecting honey"
"Ah, okay. That is valuable information, I will take that information and put it into a secure folder labeled 'secrets' because everybody knows that is the best way to protect secrets" said Tanith
"Yup, I think Ozpin has a few of those lying around" said castle
In the distance a church tower came over the horizon "ah, it appears that the town is in sight let me just radio there control tower, I'll radio back in a moment"
"Alright" said Castle
Tanith switched the radio station over to local frequency "This is Bullhead, callsign Hunter making an approach onto Algun. Over"
"This Algun control tower, were reading you loud and clear Hunter please state your intentions?" Came a mans voice on the other end.
"I'm here to deliver a package. Anybody order some huntsmen?" She asked
"Yup that's us, fly over the church and there should be two landing pads"
"Roger making my way"
"We'll get a tip ready" and the radio shut off
Tanith switched back over to the main Beacon channel.
"Sup, it's me, ya boi" said Tanith as she approached the towns wall
"See! I knew we would knock you out of that military habit!" Said Castle
"Yeah, I guess you did" then Tanith grinned "…over" she whispered her mouth right next to the microphone
"You are the worst" said Castle
Tanith carefully floated past the church tower and maneuvered to the first landing pad, slowly descending down as the landing gear opened up and the machine thumped down.
"Alright team JNPR" said Castle as she walked out the cockpit "go do your huntsman thing"
"Thanks for the lift" said Jaune as he stumbled out before promptly throwing up
"Is he gonna be okay?" She asked as the rest walked out
"Yeah, he hates flying, motion sickness. See you later!" Said Pyrrha as they left.
"Welp, I'm bored" said Tanith as she went back up front
"So am I" said Castle from the radio "what can you see"
"Well I see some shops and people walking in and out of said shops, there's some pigeons on the side walk and the sun is out" she then focused on an ally "I see a white fang member looking at me from the shadows of an ally"
"Wait… really?" Said Castle worriedly over the radio.
"Yup, he's staring right at me and is talking to someone over a radio" she said as she watched the masked man slowly back up into the ally.
"Did he see you watching him?" Asked Castle as the clacking of a keyboard could be heard over the radio
"I don't think so, the sun and tinted glass was probably covering me"
"Right. I'm gong to log this…. Do you have a gun?" Asked Castle
"No, but I can see a store at the end of the street, not that I have the money"
"Some Money has just been transferred to your account, now go buy a gun" came a different but familiar voice form the radio
"God? Is that you?" Asked Tanith as she picked up the radio and slowly walked out to the back
"Yes, I'm going to talk you through this. Do you have your scroll?"
"Of course" said Tanith as she brought it out and opened it.
"I'm going to call you, try not to talk directly, pretend we're having a conversation" said God as the scroll began ringing
"Of course" she said as she turned off the radio and answered her phone. "Hello?"
"Me again" said God
"Right I'm about to walk outside, any tips?" She said as she reached for the door control
"Never look behind you directly, try to use a window reflection" said God as the door opened
"Of course" she said as she stepped out and walked down the steps of the landing pad and onto the street.
"So, George dumped me the other day, he did it over text the absolute bastard!" She said into her scroll as she pretended to window shop but was actually looking behind her.
"Good, keep this up" said God encouragingly as she walked towards the gun store.
"I'm I'm Algun right now, on the job" she said as she approached the road and looked both ways, simultaneously checking for cars and a tail "some annoying huntsman here to kill some Grimm, nothing interesting"
As she walked across the street she saw him, the man this time didn't have a mask and she could see his entire face, but he was wearing the same clothes and was also crossing the street a few building down his dog ears turned towards her.
"Even more annoying is that the tail is brocken and I don't know how to fix it! I'm beginning to panic that I might be stuck here" she said as she felt herself begin to sweat
"Alright, I'm guessing he's tailing you now?" Asked God
"That's what I just said Allison!" She said in a fake annoyed voice trying to cover the panic rising within her
"Okay, I know it sounds cliché but don't panic, he'll realise your onto him and either flee or try something"
"Ughh,, okay" she said as she approached the gun store "I thought it might be a good idea to buy a gun, just in case, ya know cause his ex was absolutely crazy for him and what am I supposed to do if she comes after me ya know?" She said as she entered the store.
"Okay, your in the gun store?"
Tanith gave an affirmative noise
"Right go to the pistol range and purchase a standard 9mm and bullets" said God
"But a 9mm is so boring!" She exclaimed as she went over to the pistols selections to looked over the guns.
"You can get something fancy later, for now 9mm will be enough" said God "is he in the store?"
Tanith picked up one of the display bullets and 'accidentally' dropped it and it rolled through her legs, she turned- quickly scanning the store and breathing a sigh of relief to see that he wasn't there- and picked it up and put it back on its pedestal.
"No, he wouldn't dare try and do that!" She said as she picked up the gun and walked up to the counter.
"Hello ma'am, what can I do for you today?" Asked the male clerk looking slightly bored.
She held her scroll down and smiled "I'd like to purchase this please" she said as she put the gun in the counter.
"Alright, well I'll need to see some ID" said the clerk as he looked over her, his eyes lingering on certain parts of her body.
"Of course" she said as she reached into a pocket and pulled out her flight license and handed it to the man.
The man glanced at it, his eyes widened and he quickly gave it back.
"How much ammo would you like?" He asked as he pulled a box out from under the desk.
"Hang on" she said as she brought the scroll to her ear again "how much ammo do you think it might take to stop that bitch?" She asked
"One should be enough but get two, just in case"
"Yup, I agree with you" she put the scroll down again "I'll take two for now"
She quickly paid and made her way to the door.
She took a deep breath before opening the door only to see a normal street. Frowning she looked around and eventually spotting him walking away.
She pretended to receive a text and quickly put the scroll back to her ear "OMG! You would not believe what he just said to me!" She said as she began to follow him
"What? Did he talk to you?" Asked God urgently
"No, he said that I better not stalk him. He just wants to walk away from this without making a scene. How should I reply?"
"Follow him form a distance, see if you can locate where there based"
"Oh I hear you loud and clear girl!" She said as she tucked the pistol away into her jumpsuit and began to follow him from a distance.
She began to follow him down several streets till they got to a much shadier part of town where she followed the man to a warehouse where she hid in an ally way and watched as he walked up and entered before closing the door.
"I followed him to a warehouse" she whispered "it's on Magenta street"
"Good, well mark that area for White fang activity and send in someone to get inside, good job Tanith, we'll do a proper debrief back at base" said God and he hung up the phone.
Tanith looked at the warehouse and scowled before shaking her head. "That is so not my job" and she turned to walk away. Took a few steps and sighed.
"God fucking dammit" she cursed and quickly began running through several allies.
Eventually she made it to the side of the warehouse and looked up the wall, there was no way she could climb that, looking round she saw a fire escape on the building next to the warehouse. She ran over and tried jumping up for the ladder then when that didn't work she wheeled over a dumpster and climbed on top of it before jumping up and climbing up the fire escape.
She finally reached the top of the building and looked over, the warehouse roof was across and there were several skylights.
She looked down and saw the ally below, as she was a pilot she didn't feel a fear of heights but she didn't like the idea of falling down that.
"I'm a pilot not a fucking huntress" she muttered as she took several steps back then began running towards the edge of the building.
As she reached the edge she jumped and flew across the gap before landing sloppily on the roof of the warehouse.
"Hey, Hunter where are ya?" Asked Castle over the radio attached to the belt
"Shhhh! I'm on the roof of the warehouse!" She whispered a she slowly approached one of the skylight.
"Holy shit, are you running a secret mission?" Asked Castle
"Yes, now keep it down"
"Right, what do you see?" She asked
"Ugh" Tanith our he race against the first skylight to see several cargo containers with the Schnee dust company logo on them. "A bunch of Schnee dust company containers"
"Have you been spotted?" Asked Gods voice from the radio
"Holy shit, this thing can do three way calls?" Said Castle also over the radio
"Yes now please Castle, don't talk. That's an order"
"No I haven't been spotted, I'm just looking into the skylights"
She looked through the next one to see some white fang grunts replace two guards for guard duty. She walked to the next one and saw the man from earlier to walking towards another man flanked by two white fang guards, clearly the leader.
"Okay, I see the guy form earlier and he's approaching I think the leader of the outpost" whispered Tanith as she slowly opened the window to listen in.
The man walked up and kneeled on the floor before the leader.
"Report" said the leader
"A bullhead came in this morning, I scoured it out and followed the pilot to a guns store before leaving, she was delivering huntsman, no dust"
"Did she know you were following her?"
"No, she was clueless" said the man smirking
Tanith smirked
"Would it be worth attacking her, taking her ship?" asked the leader
"No, I don't think so"
The leader nodded "you have done well Caleb"
Tanith got up and ran up to the gap, jumping it and landing on the other roof before collapsing on the roof and breathing heavily.
"Fuck, that wasn't in the job description" she said breathlessly
"You did good, even if it wasn't what you were supposed to do" said god encouragingly and irritated at the same time.
"Yeah, that was good for your first huntsman mission" said Castle
"I'm a pilot god dammit" she huffed as she stood up and began walking to the fire escape
"So go back to your ship and relax" said god
"Right, yes I will" said Tanith nodding as she started looking around "where the fuck is it?"
~§~
After half an hour of just walking and looking confused she was finally able to recognise a part of the town and was able to make her way to her bullhead. On visual inspection it looked okay, non of the systems or plates looked meddled with.
She entered and walked into the cockpit turning on the radio.
"That was a life experience I wasn't expecting" she said as she flopped down onto the seat
"You did great" said Castle "we'll make you into a huntsman in no time"
"I have a gun" Said Tanith "if you get me some duct tape, I'll attach a knife to it and then I'll be unstoppable"
"Yes, terrifying, a midget running towards me with a knife duct taped to a gun"
"I am not a midget!" Said Tanith angrily
"Sure, you just happen to be smaller then everyone else" said Castle teasingly
"Yes, it's me losing life's lottery, unlike some people"
"Yeah being tall has its advantages"
"Bitch"
~§~
"And so my Dad is just standing there with a cake while the rest of us are running around and panicking-"
There was a knocking coming from the side door.
"Something wrong?" Asked Castle
"Someone at the door" she said as she grabbed the gun and stood up
"Why don't you check external cameras?" Said Castle
"Oh" She walked over to the display screen "shut up"
"Hey, I wasn't saying anything"
"You were definitely thinking it"
"Oh yeah" said Castle chuckling
She quickly switched between the cameras before finally landing on the door camera. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just team JNPR back from there mission. She looked at the time frowning.
"We've been talking for at least two hours"
"Yes, And your mission took you an hour after you got lost"
"Right, they worked fast"
"They have the Pyrrha Nikos on their team"
"Is she really good?"
"She was the champion of the Mistral championship 4 years in a row"
"Oh, pumpkin Pete girl"
"… yeah that too"
Tanith opened the door and the team climbed in as Tanith opened the door to the cockpit.
"So. How'd the mission go?"
"It was great! There were so many Grimm, so many legs! All the skulls crushed under Magnhild!" Said Nora excitedly
"The nest was bigger then stated" Said Pyrrha as she help Jaune in. Jaune looked like he had been dragged through a forest by a rampaging Ursa.
"What happened to you?"
"I was dragged through the forest by a rampaging Ursa" said Jaune as he collapsed into a chair.
"Nora said it would be the fastest way to travel" Said Ren as he calmly sat down.
"I'm not gonna ask, Hunter stuff" Said Tanith shaking her head as she walked back into the cockpit.
She turned on the engine and then fired up the jets, fire thundering down onto the tarmac of the landing pad the bullhead lifting off the ground and into the sky.
"Alright this is hunter heading back Beacon"
"Cool, come back quick cause I'm getting hungry"
"Food sounds good" said Tanith as she pushed the engines to the top speed and shot off towards Beacon.
~§~
OMG this was a complete mess.
This probably isn't very good and is an absolute mess.
This probably wasn't very good was it? I'm just trying to build up there relationship without rushing it, don't worry I'll be introducing plot next chapter and hopefully building up the relationship between her and team rwby. This was to build up the relationship between her and Castle, and was to hopefully to try and slowly build up to the romantic relationship.
I don't want to rush it but I also really want to introduce it. I know just how to.
But anyway see you next time when plot will happen.
See ya next time