Chapter 3

Edom was like a blur, weaving through the trees. After about a couple minutes, she stopped, panting. This should be far in enough, she thought, breathing heavily. She reached into her bag and pulled out the object.

It was a toy top. Made of wood. Huh. I never really played with stuff like this when I was a kid. She spun it on her hand. It fell over almost immediately. She put it back in the bag. So, I go to the tree with the sign of the top. She started walking.

A few minutes later, she found the tree. It was a solitary tree in the middle of a clearing. She walked over to it and leaned against it. I REALLY hope I got Aurora. Or that Bart guy. He was cool. But if not them, someone I can relate to. Someone who will get me.

A few more minutes passed.

Sheesh, they're taking a while. I guess I must have outrun a lot of the other students. Edom grinned. Still, I hope they come soon.

The suspense is killing me.

Aurora looked at her object.

It looked like a spindle.

Great! I've used these dozens of times before! She put it back in her bag. Now, to find the tree! She started walking.

As she walked, some mixture of tenseness and sadness seemed to build up in her. This is reminding me too much of the village, she thought. I can't decide whether I'm sad or terrified. She shook her head. I just need to get to the tree! Then I won't be alone, and all of this will be easier! She picked up her pace.

After a while, she saw a sign displaying the spindle up ahead. Okay, just calm down. It could be Bart, or Crimson. And even if it isn't, it's almost certainly someone you can get along with!

Aurora broke the line of trees.

Edom heard the sound of pine needles brushing against each other. She stood up straight. Finally! Sheesh, they kept me waiting long enough. She looked up at her partner.

It was Bart.

He was leaning against the tree, fiddling with something metal. He looked up at Aurora.

Aurora's heart soared with relief. "Bart! Hi!" She ran up to him.

He seemed equally relieved. "Hi!"

Aurora took a moment to catch her breath. "Thank goodness! I-I just, you know, someone I know, and…" She laughed. It came out as some kind of nervous giggle.

He laughed too. "So, you got this, uh, thing?" He pulled out a spindle from his bag.

Aurora nodded. "Yes! The spindle! I got it." She took it out to show it to him, then put it back in her bag. "I guess we're partners for the next four years!"

"I guess so." Bart nodded. Then he craned his neck, looking curious. "So, what do you have on your back?"

"Oh, this?" Aurora took out her wheel. She gave it a spin. "This is Rêveroue. It's my weapon." She put it back. "What are yours? Are they those gauntlets?"

"These?" He held them out. They were, in fact, silver metal gauntlets. They had two different symbols on them: on one, a sun, on the other, a moon. "Their names are Dögun and Kvöld." He looked around. "We better get moving."

"Huh? Oh, right! Back into the… trees, and such…" Aurora glanced at the trees. She was not looking forward to going back in.

Bart gave her a curious look.

"Right! Yes! Let's go!" Aurora did her best to fake enthusiasm.

They walked back into the trees.

I really hope that Crimson got a good partner, too, Aurora thought.

Azura.

Edom couldn't do it. No. "Oh, no. No, no, no. You are not my partner."

Azura looked equally displeased. She was holding a wooden top in her hand. She put it in her bag and turned around. "We need to go now."

"No. I don't care what they said, you are not-"

Azura turned back around, her blue eyes harsh. "I don't like you either. But we're in a zone full of Grimm right now. Either we go together, get through these trials, then talk to the Headmaster about switching teams, or you stay here, and I go ahead without you." Azura spun back around and started heading into the woods.

Edom stood there, anger gnawing at her temple. I'm gonna have to go with her, aren't I. She threw up her hands. "Ugh. Fine. But don't think this gives you the right to boss me around."

Edom followed her into the woods.

Aurora and Bjarte had been walking for about fifteen minutes, and they had both been quiet for most of the time.

Bjarte felt very at home among the trees. This was certainly an environment he was used to. It's been WAY too long since I was last in this place. But… He looked back at Aurora.

Aurora was following him just fine, but she seemed a lot more… tense, somehow. Tense and unhappy. When she saw him looking at her, she gave him a smile.

Bjarte turned back around. Something's bothering her. Should I say something? Am I supposed to? "Um…"

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"No. Sorry." Bjarte paused. "Are… you okay?"

"What?"

"I don't know. You just seem very tense." Bjarte turned back towards her.

Aurora was shifting uneasily from foot to foot. "I… well… I just don't like the woods all that much." Aurora gave a strained-sounding laugh.

Doesn't like the woods? "Why not?"

"Oh, you know. The trees are… really close together, and the… you know, it's just really quiet. Feels kind of lonely, I guess." Aurora had something sad in her eyes.

Huh. Bjarte attempted what he hoped was a comforting smile. "Well, you don't have to feel lonely. I'm right here."

Aurora seemed cheered up by that. "Yeah! Thanks!"

Suddenly, they heard a growl nearby.

The past fifteen minutes that Azura and Edom had been walking had been fairly quiet, thankfully. Azura had expected her to complain more; after all, sweeping the hall was one thing, but now they were actually walking through the woods. I guess she has enough experience walking through places like this. Azura looked up at the sky. Let's see. If my calculations are right, we should make it to the center in about twenty minutes at this pace.

"Why are we going so slowly?"

Here we go. "Our pace right now is fine. We'll be there soon enough. We don't want to wear ourselves out if we get attacked by Grimm."

"Yeah, but if we move fast enough, we wouldn't even have to fight anything. At least we could go faster than this. By the time we get there, most of the artifacts will probably have been taken." Edom sounded sullen.

Azura sighed inwardly. "If we move faster, we risk being noticed. And getting to the artifacts is only half of the journey, anyway. We don't want to be fatigued on the way to the mountain. The Grimm will be even more likely to attack us then. Didn't you ever take Grimm Theory, Edom?"

Edom stopped in her tracks. "Don't call me that."

Azura didn't stop walking. "Isn't that your name?"

Edom started walking again. "Yeah, but don't call me that."

What's the point of a name if you never use it? "What should I call you, then?"

"I don't know. Just… not that."

Azura kept her eyes ahead. "Why don't you want to be called Edom?"

"None of your business."

"If we're going to be partners for this, we might as well be honest with each other." Azura shook her head. Why do I even care? Why am I even asking? This is a waste of time.

"Yeah, and it's honestly none of your business." Edom paused. "Look, it's just a really stupid name, okay? I hate it. So don't call me by it."

"Is that why you introduced yourself as 'Crimson' when we first met?"

Azura heard Edom stomp her foot. "Why are we even talking? We're moving even slower now!"

Azura's anger bubbled up again. "No, I accounted for that. We'll be fine. But we should keep moving."

"What, can you just not walk that fast? Is that what this is?"

"This is-"

Suddenly, Azura heard a deep, guttural growl.

Crimson sounded panicked. "Get out of the way!"

Azura ducked. A dark shape soared over her and landed in front of her.

Beowolf.

It lunged toward Azura.

Azura quickly drew her one of her batons, smacking it on the skull. She heard the sound of bone cracking.

The Beowolf stumbled back, confused. It made a half-hearted lunge forward.

Azura took a step back and brought her baton down again, breaking its spine.

The Beowolf howled, then went limp.

Silence followed.

Edom was the first to speak. "So… Beowolf, huh?"

Azura shook her head. "This is weird. Beowolves normally hunt in-"

A howl sounded nearby.

Packs. "We have to go."

Edom rolled her eyes. "Oh, now we're running."

Azura ignored her.

They began to run.

It looked like there was a pair of Ursi up ahead. They were wandering around an otherwise empty clearing.

For some reason, Aurora felt relieved. I was wondering when we'd be attacked. At least I know now.

A hand pushed Aurora to the ground. She looked up, startled.

Bart was lying down beside her. He shot her an apologetic grin. "Sorry. It's just that they haven't detected us yet."

Aurora nodded. "Do you think we should sneak past them?"

Bart thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Not really. We could try sneaking through the trees, but there's a chance that they'd hear us." He looked ahead. "Besides, they're catching on to our scent. I think we better take care of them."

Aurora looked ahead as well.

He was right. They were sniffing the air and looking around.

"I'm going to see if I can surprise them. If it looks like it isn't working, you back me up."

Aurora frowned. "Surprise them? Are you sure you don't-" She looked over at him.

He was gone.

Aurora blinked in wonder. How can such a big person be so quiet? She looked ahead at the clearing.

He was behind one of the Ursi. It was odd, but… he almost looked translucent. Aurora squinted, but he didn't become any easier to see.

Suddenly, he brought down his gauntlet into the Ursa's shoulder. It fell over without so much of a noise.

He is good at this. Did he really grow up in a mansion? Aurora shook her head in disbelief.

He managed to sneak up behind the other one, who had seen the dead body of the other Ursa, and prepared to perform the same move.

Suddenly the Ursa turned around.

It spotted him. It let out a loud roar and swiped at him.

He dodged it and drove his fist into its shoulder.

It fell over, lifeless.

Bart shook his head, his expression sour.

Aurora stood up. "Wow! That was amazing! I haven't ever seen anyone fight like that before!"

He seemed pleased. "Thanks! I used to do this all the time in-" His expression changed to a panicked one. "-my mansion up north! You know, with my, uh… personal trainer?" He laughed and scratched his head.

Aurora smiled at him. "Sounds like you had a very good teacher!"

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

More growls came from the trees around the clearing.

Azura and Edom managed to get to a clearing before the Beowolves caught up. They stopped and caught their breath.

"We should be able to fight them now," Azura said. "We have more space."

Edom rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know." What does she think I am, an idiot?

The Beowolves entered the clearing and began to surround them.

Edom pulled out her daggers.

A tense silence filled the air as nobody moved.

Edom started tapping the ground with one of her feet. One, two, three. One, two three.

One of the Beowolves lunged forward.

Time for a waltz, Edom thought.

Azura held her batons at the ready, but it seemed like none of the Beowolves were attacking her.

They were too focused on Edom.

As they attacked her, she spun out of the way. She leapt and twirled as they got close to her, striking them with her daggers as they got near.

It was like she was dancing on air.

Azura expected to see her smiling or something, but her eyes were narrowed. She seemed to be in a trance.

Azura begrudgingly had to admit that she was impressed.

But her moves are too intricate. This is taking too long.

Azura saw a blur out of the corner of her eye. She ducked, and a claw whizzed over her head.

Stop getting distracted, Azura told herself. She readied her batons.

Four Ursi surrounded them in the clearing.

Bjarte had to admit, he was confused. Ursi are usually more solitary than this, why would they attack in such a large group? Two Ursi made sense. This didn't. He looked over at Aurora.

Aurora looked pretty nervous, but Bjarte was surprised at just how levelheaded she seemed to be.

One of the Ursi lunged toward Aurora.

Aurora swung the wheel towards the Ursa.

Bjarte watched in awe as she started tearing into the Ursa, wielding the wheel like a flail. Her eyes were hard, much different than the gentle eyes he had seen earlier. It was almost unnerving. But also very impressive.

Soon enough, the first Ursa was down. But she had attracted the attention of the others. They charged toward her.

Aurora continued to fight them, ducking around them or driving them back with her wheel.

A deep growl came from behind Bjarte. He turned around just in time to dodge a swipe from whatever was behind him. He jumped back.

It was an Ursa Major.

Bjarte's eyes widened. This is not good.

The Ursa swiped at him again. He swerved around it and tried to catch its jaw with his fist. The Ursa knocked him back, and he flew a few feet.

Auggh. He rubbed his hands gingerly. Wait, where are my gauntlets?

The gauntlets had come off.

They were behind the Ursa.

The Ursa charged toward him.

He ducked and tried to run past it, but the Ursa caught him in the gut and knocked him back again. He landed in the snow.

His arm hurt.

The Ursa turned towards Aurora.

Aurora's so preoccupied fighting the Ursi, she won't see it coming! He rose to his feet.

The Ursa was large, much larger than him. And if Broderick had taught him anything, it was that he shouldn't fight the larger Grimm alone.

Bjarte was supposed to be terrified.

But rather than feeling the fear he should have, he felt a very different kind of emotion.

He was getting angry.

The claws came out.

So far, fighting the Beowolves had been fairly easy. Edom found that she had defeated most of the ones that were attacking her. Now, they're mostly attacking Azura. She looked in Azura's direction.

Azura's fighting style was different from hers. Edom hadn't noticed it earlier, but it was very… direct. Azura fought her enemies with a ruthless precision and practicality. No flourishes, no neat little moves. It was weird to watch.

Suddenly, one of the Beowolves clawed at Azura's face. She got knocked back a few steps. She seemed to be in pain.

Sheesh. Can't even dodge? Edom prepared to help her.

Suddenly, Azura started fighting more quickly and more furiously than before. She was hitting the Beowolves hard with each move. They were dropping like flies.

Edom blinked and rubbed her eyes.

She could have sworn that she saw blue flames burning at the ends of Azura's batons.

Aurora spun around, alternating between blocking the attacks of the Ursi and slicing at them. This isn't enough, she thought. She swung the wheel in their direction and activated her semblance.

A golden dust showered down from the wheel. The Ursi stumbled backwards, their heads nodding with sleepiness.

Aurora took the opportunity to finish them off.

They fell with a crash.

Aurora looked around. Okay, that's that! Now where's-

There was an Ursa Major charging right at her.

Aurora, panicking, prepared to dodge out of the way.

Suddenly, the Ursa Major stopped, turning its head and swiping at its back.

Bart was riding it. He kept scratching its neck with his bare fingers, which were now covered in white hair.

Oh! Oh, he needs help! Aurora rushed forward with the wheel. "Duck, Bart!"

Bart ducked back.

Aurora slashed at the Ursa's neck. The Ursa stumbled back, clearly wounded.

Bart let out a roar and beheaded the Ursa with a final blow. The Ursa fell forward, dead.

A silence filled the air.

Bart was breathing heavily. He stood up and clutched his arm.

"Bart?" Aurora hesitantly approached him.

Up closer, Aurora could see that he now had claws emerging from his hands, hands which were covered in what she had previously thought was white hair, but looked more like… fur.

Is… is he-? "Bart, are you okay?"

Bart looked up.

His eyes had become fully black.

Aurora stood in shock.

He's a Faunus.

The Beowolves lay dead in the clearing.

Edom could see smoke coming from the tips of Azura's batons. So I didn't imagine that. Well, good for her, I guess.

Azura put away her batons. "That took way longer than it should have. Try not to dance around so much next time."

Edom felt enraged. "Hey, that's just the way I fight! And what were you doing, huh? Are you just jealous that your style is so boring compared to mine?"

Azura turned around. "It got the job done, didn't it? Not everyone learned to fight as 'fancily' as you." She turned back around. "Not everyone grew up in a castle."

Edom shook her head in disbelief. Castle? What? "Are you serious? Is all of this just because I'm rich? You're one to talk! Your family owns a merchandise line!"

Azura didn't respond. She started walking.

Irritated, Edom prepared to follow her, but something caught her eye.

There was a blue ribbon on the ground.

Did it fall out of her hair? Edom picked it up. "Hey, you left your dumb ribbon behind."

Azura stiffened, frantically feeling her hair for the ribbon. She turned around. "Give it back."

Edom shrugged. "Pfft. You've insulted me, why should I-"

"Give. It. Back." Her voice was trembling. Edom saw fear, anger, and desperation in her eyes.

It scared Edom. "Sheesh. Fine. Here, have it back." She gave it to Azura.

Azura put it back in her hair with a long exhale.

Wow. I guess she really likes that ribbon. "Why is that ribbon so important to you, anyway?"

Azura didn't look at her. "That's none of your business."

Edom's eyebrow rose. "What did you say that one time? 'If we're going to be partners, we have to be honest with each other.' Isn't that what you said?"

Azura sighed deeply. After a moment's pause, she spoke. "It was a gift from my grandmother."

The answer surprised Edom. "Oh, yeah? Is she nice?"

"She's dead. She died a long time ago." Azura continued walking.

Edom felt a pang of guilt. "Oh."

They resumed their journey.

As Bjarte's pulse slowed down and the effects of the adrenaline faded away, it dawned on him just how much of a mistake he'd made.

Oh. Crap.

Aurora was staring at him, eyes wide.

I must look like a demon, he thought. He retracted his claws. He wasn't sure if his eyes had gone back to normal yet. I hope she doesn't kill me. He cleared his throat. "I-"

Aurora looked at his arm and gasped. "You're hurt!"

"Huh?" Bjarte looked down at his arm. It had a gash in it and it was bleeding. "Oh, yeah."

Aurora looked tentative. "Is- is it okay if I treat it?"

Bjarte blinked. "Wait, you don't want to kill me?"

"Um, no. Do… you want to kill me?"

"No!"

"Well, then, we're good!" Aurora laughed nervously. "So, uh, are you going to let me treat your arm?"

"It's okay, I could probably treat it mysel-"

Aurora grabbed his other arm and pulled him down before he could protest. In a flash, she got out a medical kit. She pulled out some antiseptic and some swabs. "This might hurt, okay?"

Bjarte was a little bewildered. "Sure."

She started swabbing the wound.

Bjarte winced a little.

"So, um… what happened back there? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Well…" He briefly looked down at his hands. They were normal again. "Sometimes, when I'm in a bad spot, I can do that. I mean, technically, I can do it in any situation, but I try to only do it when I'm in a tough situation."

"Are you a… Faunus?"

"Yeah, I think so. At least, that's what people tell me."

"You don't know?" Aurora sounded confused.

"I didn't really spend a lot of time around other Faunus. I did meet them occasionally, but…"

"Okay, but wouldn't you know if your parents were Faunus?" Aurora paused. "I'm sorry, was that an insensitive question?"

"No, it's fine. Well, I guess my father was a Faunus and my mother was human."

Aurora stopped, shocked. "What?"

Bjarte shrugged. "I don't know how it happened. But… since my mother's a member of a wealthy family, and I was born out of wedlock, they didn't really want me around. So… they left me in the woods."

Aurora's face was frozen in speechless horror.

"I mean, they didn't leave leave me in the woods," Bjarte reassured her. "They left me in the care of Broderick."

"But that's still horrible! Wait, who's Broderick?"

Bjarte smiled. "Broderick Woodcutter. He was my mentor. He raised me, and we lived in the woods together."

Aurora seemed confused. "But…you're here right now. If they abandoned you, why would they want you back?" Aurora paused. "I- that came out wrong, I'm so sorry-"

"No, I understand." He shrugged. "I don't really know. They just came out to find me in the woods one day, took me to the city for a few months, and enlisted me into this school. And they told me to never let anyone know I'm a Faunus." He sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. "Which I obviously failed miserably at."

"Hey, it's okay!" Aurora patted his arm. "You shouldn't have to hide who you are."

He lowered his hand and smiled. "Thanks."

There was a silence.

Bjarte cleared his throat. "Look, um, please don't tell anyone else about this. If it got back to my family that I didn't keep it secret, well…"

Aurora nodded, looking a little sad. "Okay, if you say so." She gently lifted his arm up. "Well, I've done what I can for it, now it just needs some time to heal." She looked worried. "We might get attacked by Grimm, though. You might not be able to fight with that arm in that case."

Bjarte looked down at his arm. "I wouldn't be surprised if it healed fairly quickly. But if it doesn't, well…" He smiled sheepishly. "I guess you'll have to protect me. Sorry."

"It's fine! It's no problem. I am at least moderately certain I can do that! I think." Aurora grinned. "So, should we get going?"

"Sure! Just let me get my gauntlets." He looked around the clearing. He spotted them on the other side.

"Okay!"

After grabbing his gauntlets and putting them on- more securely, this time- Bjarte and Aurora left the clearing.

Oliver looked at the footage from the battle, eyebrows raised. Well. Grane Hallbjörn didn't mention anything about this. Oliver wasn't terribly surprised. It was a small portion of people that weren't hostile towards Faunus, and the Hallbjörn family wasn't exactly a part of that group. I guess I should have a conversation with Mr. Hallbjörn later. He turned his attention away from the footage.

A third of the teams had made it to the mountain so far with the artifacts. They milled around, some of them drinking hot chocolate and sitting by the jets.

In the woods, Oliver could see flashes of bright color and could hear gunfire as students fought the Grimm. Looks like we have an able batch of Huntsmen and Huntresses this year, he thought.

Mist started appearing on one side of the woods.

Oliver's brow furrowed. Could that-?

That wasn't normal mist. But it looked remarkably familiar.

Oliver brought up his scroll and called the Headmaster.

The scroll kept ringing. Come on, pick up…

The Headmaster's calm voice came through. "What is it, Oliver?"

"Mist is forming in the forest. I think we've got another Behemoth."

The Headmaster paused before responding. "Must be the greater amount of students this year."

"Should I send help? I'm not sure they're prepared for something like this."

"You know our policies. We don't intervene unless absolutely necessary. After all, there's a chance that it will ignore the students."

Oliver sighed. "Fine. I'll update you if anything changes."

"You're doing great work, Oliver." The feed cut out.

Oliver lowered the scroll.

I really hope this isn't a mistake.