General Notes: Welcome to another edition of Hunter or Something. Or as we sometimes call it, HoS. This chapter is both longer and shorter than intended. Longer because Dos New Ideas, and shorter because... spoiler! Enjoy.


Writer: Coeur al'Aran

Director: College Fool

Chapter 4


"Wow, it sure is coming down out there," Ruby said, pulling her head back into the cave from which it had been peeking out. Though she'd had her hood up when she looked out, saving her hair from the worst, lowering it only let more water drip on the damp cloak. "We're lucky we stopped for a break when we did." Despite that luck, she didn't sound very happy.

"Tell me about it," Yang agreed, sitting beside the small fire they'd dared to start in the cave. "The humidity later on is going to be bad enough. My hair doesn't need the rain. Or mud." She took a pause from checking her weapons to sniff at some of her tangled locks.

"Well, it is monsoon season," Kalie pointed out. There was hint of humour in her voice, but only a hint as she sat at the back of the cave and watched the entrance warily. "On this side of the Barrier Mountains, when it rains, it pours. It'll probably keep up for days. How are you all holding up?"

They were good, all things considered, though good didn't mean great or in high spirits. Ruby seemed to mind things the least, maybe because she'd had her hood up when it was still just a sprinkle. Her quietness was for other reasons. Others showed more signs of the wilderness, and the weariness with it. Yang blew some hair out of her eyes as she tried to focus on Ember Celica, and a leaf fell out. Blake was worse, with nicks and tears and worst of all, brambles, stuck to her clothes and leggings. The brush here was thicker than the stuff around Vale, and despite their attempts to avoid the worst of it they hadn't had much choice when their guide chose to slip through.

It was Weiss, though, who bore the worst of it, and not by a small margin. It wasn't just the damp or dirt dirtying her typical white attire, it was the way Weiss had taken off her shoes and was rubbing her calves and ankles from the spot she'd taken a seat on. She noticed their looks, and an expression of discomfort was replaced with aggravation.

"I'm fine," she said, though that didn't mean unbothered. "I fight in heels all the time. It's just that Beacon and Vale are usually… flatter," she explained. "And quicker. Walking on hillsides all day is just a bit harder. I'm fine, though. Nothing some pain-killers won't help with when we get back."

Yang was happy to accept that, and was honestly impressed Weiss hadn't complained as much already. Well, aside from the occasional branch coming back at her. After getting her foot caught in a vine herself, Yang wasn't inclined to give her any grief about it. Aura or no, some things just hurt if you weren't expecting them.

Still, the thought sparked something in Yang, especially as she felt Blake looking at her. A little feeling in her gut suggested why. "Well, maybe you can get a bottle at the store back at Edge," she suggested. "Hey, Kalie, your boyfriend works there, right?" she asked, noticing Blake flinch a little as she did so. Huh, weird. "How much does a bottle of pain-relief cost?"

Kalie, alerted a bit when her name was called, looked away from the cave entrance. "A bottle of drink or a bottle of pills?" she asked, just to be sure. "Pills cost a few thousand lien."

That startled Yang. "A- A few thousand?!" she sputtered, surprised. "It's maybe a few hundred, tops, in Vale!" Even less at Beacon, where aches and pains from combat training were a constant and the school made it affordable to students.

Their guide didn't seem surprise, or perturbed. "That's where they make it, yeah?" she asked. "Makes sense it'd be cheaper than out here."

"That's still weeks of pay, though," Blake said though a bit of her usual passion was absent. Yang didn't need aura to tell her that yellow eyes were on her, and felt more squirming in her stomach.

"At least we have it now," Kalie said, missing any awkwardness. "Even when the roads are open, other villages would usually buy up merchant stock before they could get this far out. That or bandits would steal medicine for themselves. Now that SDC flies supplies in, it's always in stock when we need it." She gave a genuine smile towards Weiss. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Erm, yes… you're welcome." Weiss sounded about as comfortable accepting the gratitude as Yang did for raising the subject in the first place. Then again, Kalie had been especially polite to Weiss since they were introduced. Was that just something country-girls did when seeing someone with as much class as Weiss tried to convey? Or was it because the boyfriend of one was an employee for the other? Yang doubted either answer suited Weiss, since the heiress glanced away. "I just hope we don't need any of it once we find Ren."

A silence fell over the group as the unspoken was spoken at last. The unhappy feeling in Yang's stomach churned more at the reminder. Suddenly the rain outside didn't seem so bad. Suddenly she wanted to go out there and press on, rain and night or not. To do something, anything, rather than to just wait here in a cave. It was an uncomfortable itch, the same she'd had - they'd all had - since hearing about Ren's accident. It'd been hard enough this morning when she hadn't been able to just stay in her room and wait. That's why she'd gone out looking for things to do in the first place, just like Blake and Weiss. Now…?

Now, she wasn't the only one finding the cave claustrophobic.

"It won't do anyone any good if we go out there unprepared," Blake murmured, reading her thoughts. "Ren's counting on us to do this right. JNPR is counting on us to bring him back safe. If he's survived this long, he can last another night." Despite her words, though, she didn't sound eager to wait either, rain or no.

Yang gave her partner a shaky smile. She didn't necessarily like waiting, and liked that conditional 'if' even less, but Blake wasn't wrong. They just had to hold out hope that Ren was alright. Dad used to say at Signal that hope was a Huntsman's most powerful weapon in the wilds.

"I wonder how the boys are doing," Ruby said from the side. She'd been the quietest out of them all for most of the day, really, though she'd perked up once they started moving. But now, she too was looking out towards the cave entrance, though not nearly as warily as Kalie was. "I hope they're alright."

Yang wasn't sure she agreed, even if she didn't quite wish them ill. Her blood still burned whenever she saw Cardin, but that was supposed to be in the past. It didn't keep her from relishing, just a bit, the thought of CRDL and the jerk being stuck together. There was a certain sort of irony about that. But even if Yang didn't worry about them, Ruby apparently was, and being that sort of person was why Yang loved her sister.

"I'm sure they're safe, Ruby," Yang said, not even lying. CRDL weren't pushovers, and no one had set half the forest on fire in retreat. "They're probably hunkered down in a cave, same as we are."

Everyone was surprised when Kalie laughed, surprisingly sincere. "I wouldn't be surprised if Jaune was making them rough it out under some trees even now," she said, mirth evident. "That sounds like the sort of thing he would do."

"What? Why would he do that?" Yang asked, incredulous, even the image appealed to her. "It's raining cats and dogs out there."

Kalie squirmed a little, her smile fading. "Well, you know." She shrugged uncomfortably, and Yang had the feeling it was more to do with his beef with them - `Real Huntresses` as he called them - but it wasn't. "Grimm don't like the rain either, and there are only so many places they can go to get out of it. During the rainy season, more hunters die in caves than outdoors. Jaune used to say that the scariest Grimm was the one between you and escape. At least outside you're surrounded, not trapped." A shiver visibly went through her despite her proximity to the fire, and she rubbed her arms even as she nervously looked at the cave mouth again. "I know what he means."

The other girls traded a look as the mood dropped again. It wasn't lost to them that Kalie was sitting the furthest away from the entrance, and with her bow the closest at hand. Yang, who was closest to her, reached out to slap a hand on her shoulder- hard enough to make a loud noise.

"Well, I say we got the best guide for knowing when to rest! After all, we'll need to stay sharp if we're going to rescue Ren before the boys, right?" she asked with a warm smile she didn't necessarily believe. Trying to keep her mind off that was why she'd wanted a drink so early in the first place. "Besides, we're here! You saw us clear out this cave easy enough, right? We can cover the watch."

There was - if you looked just right - only the smallest of signs of battle in the cave. A few stray rounds. Claw marks on the wall. The ash had blown away, and the only sign of the cave's previous inhabitants were a few droppings that had been awkwardly pushed to the side.

Kalie seemed to accept that, or at least pretended she did. "Yeah, you're right. Could be worse, right? There could be more Grimm further in," she suggested with a thin laugh. "Besides, dry socks!"

"I think I'd prefer fish, but I'll just settle for not being out in the cats and dogs as Yang puts it," Blake said. "Or having a cat or dog in here after being out there." Her nose twitched. "Edge was bad enough, smelling like wet dog everywhere. I wouldn't want one in here."

"I would," Kalie disagreed almost immediately, mood rising. "Dogs make great guards against Grimm, especially since they usually don't bother killing animals. Edge uses them as Grimm alarms, but hunting dogs…" Kalie had a mixed, almost wistful expression on her face. "A hunting dog is more than man's best friend; it's a partner, really. They don't just help you hunt; they can keep you sane and keep watch against the Grimm. They're our only friends out here this close to the Grimmlands. It takes a lifetime to train one, and I know some people who would pay a fortune for the chance. I used to have a dog when I was younger, but…" Kalie trailed off miserably, but then paused when she realized the girls were looking at her. "What? What is it?"

It was Blake who responded first, shaking herself out of a stupor. Eyes that might have been a bit wider were now narrowed with understanding. "It's nothing. Something just… makes sense, I guess."

Kalie was visibly confused, before her eyes started to widen to. "Wait - don't tell me. Did she-"

"I have a hunting dog too!" Ruby interrupted, speaking a bit too fast at first. "Well, maybe not a hunting dog - maybe a Huntsman dog - but he does all that too, even if he's just a corgi. His name is Zwei."

"Zwei?" Kalie echoed, looking at Yang was a certain expression. "Like-"

"Yeah!" Ruby interjected again, nodding rapidly. "I know, right? I wish you could meet him. He's so small and cute! I thought about mailing him but we didn't have the time, and there were, uh, 'reasons' to leave him back. But he's the best boy, really, and he even gets to help in fights because he has his aura unlocked."

There was a pause as the other members of Team RWBY watched the young civilian hunter be bowled over by the force that was Ruby Rose. The fact that Ruby was so odd - and yet so sincere - seemed to be working, and the lingering unease looked to have faded for the moment.

Still, Kalie paused, though this was a different sort. "Aura," Kalie repeated, as if testing a memory. "Isn't that - isn't that against the rules if you're not a Huntress?" she asked.

Yang and Ruby exchanged looks. "Nothing on the books against pets with aura," Yang said with a shrug.

"Huh," Kalie said, and sounded introspective.

The conversation tapered off, silent except for the rain. Even though they were dry and almost comfortable, even though they were safe, Yang couldn't help but feel the itch of unwanted idleness as the rain came down. It was bad enough imagining CRDL still roughing it out without her mind drifting to Ren, alone and probably injured. It just didn't sit right with her.

It was clear she wasn't the only one it bothered. As Yang finished putting Ember Celica back together, Weiss put on her shoes, and Blake stopped picking things out of her stockings and rose to her feet. The air in the cavern changed, just a bit, but Kalie was the last to notice it as the Huntresses stood.

"What are ya'll…?"

"Well, it's not like we're going to get any sleep here anyway," Yang said, offering a smile. "Rubes, think we can keep going?"

Ruby lit up, just a little. "Ahuh," she nodded before turning to Kalie. "You can keep up with us, right?"

"Now!? At night?" Kalie bit her lip as a bit of hesitance flickered over her. "Probably, but isn't it a bit too dark for you?" she asked. "Even if the rain lets up, cloudy nights are no joke. Even if the Grimm don't see you, it's no good if you fall down a hill in the dark and break your legs."

Team RWBY traded looks, and smiles, at an inner joke of their own. A while ago, that might have been enough to deter them. Now, though…

"Don't worry," Ruby assured, even as Blake braced herself to step out and take the lead into the night. "We have a secret weapon."

"You mean Blake's faunus night-vision?"

There was a sudden pause, and a stumble, as Team RWBY startled and turned back to their guide.

"You… knew?" Weiss asked, honestly surprised.

Kalie cocked her head to the side, green bandana keeping hair out of her eyes. "Was I not supposed to?" she asked, sounding confused. "I mean, I didn't early on. I thought she was one of those cosplaying perverts from the city-"

"Excuse me!?"

"Don't mind her. She thinks we still don't know about her book collection," Yang said with a smirk, ignoring Blake's subsequent squawk.

"But no one seemed to care, and she didn't seem to be doing it for anyone," Kalie went on. "Then we got here, and you sent her in to check the cave first even though it was dark inside…" she trailed off, and then paused. "Plus, there was the feline grace and that stuff about wanting fish and not liking dogs." She paused again, taking in the awkward silence from the girls. "Um, was I wrong? Is it-" she paused, and eyes widened. "Oh my god, are you some other kind of faunus? Maybe a sloth? I'm so sorry, I just assumed-"

Kalie's panicked words were cancelled out by Yang's laughter, but it was Weiss's cough that broke through.

"Ahem. Yes. You are quite correct. Good job," Weiss praised, before turning to the side. "What is it about country people…?" The aside finished, she looked back at Kalie. "Still, with Blake on our side, the night won't be much of a problem."

That didn't seem to reassure Kalie. "Maybe not, but it's not just that." Kalie insisted. "This isn't a good idea. It's not safe. The Grimm-"

"Are all in shelter like you said, right?" Yang smirked and cocked one arm, revealing Ember Celica. "And even if they aren't, you saw us fight. You know we can look after ourselves."

"We can look after you too," Ruby said. "If that's what you're worried about. We're strong. I promise."

Kalie looked between the two of them, clearly still a little reluctant, but Yang could see it fading from her eyes – the confidence coming back. Probably confidence born of the fact they were there to protect her. After all, her job was to be the guide. Theirs was to be the muscle. When it came to dealing with Grimm, there were few people better.

Kalie gave up with a nervous smile. "If you say so. You're the Huntresses, right?"

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered. "That's the spirit!"

The moment of cheer led to Ruby smiling, which made Yang smile more. Laughter aside, it felt good to be making progress or at least to be going back to making progress. The rain would suck, and the forest would be murder for her hair, but some sacrifices had to be made if they were to do the right thing. And, with any luck, rescue Ren before CRDL.

Her own good humour lasting at least until she stepped back into the rain, she idly wondered if Team CRDL were having as good a time as they were.

/-/

It was inevitable that the chatter about the legend he'd told them wouldn't last. The members of Team CRDL seemed to have fun discussing how they'd fight a giant Ursa, but sooner or later it drifted off as the weather got worse. Eventually, Cardin came and found Jaune outside the camp. His expression was stern, his eyes narrowed. "Let's talk," the bigger boy suggested in a tone that suggested it wasn't really a suggestion at all.

Jaune nodded. "Okay, but not here. Follow me as I check the perimeter." It might be best to get this out in the open now, but that didn't mean he intended to give Cardin his undivided attention, or let him undermine what he'd accomplished with the telling of that legend. He'd known something was coming, of course. Cardin wasn't exactly subtle. He'd been able to realise that much in the short amount of time they'd spent together.

Cardin glowered more, but followed Jaune as he checked the perimeter. Watched as he tapped the trip lines he'd made (none of them broken - good), held his words as Jaune strained to hear anything in the Brush (nothing, but that wasn't so good). Once they made their circuit - once they could see that the other members of Team CRDL were lightly dozing despite themselves and despite the rain - only then did they have words a day coming.

"I take it you didn't like my story," Jaune guessed, leading off before Cardin could.

"Outsmarting a Grimm is pointless," Cardin said. "No Grimm can outsmart a human. A faunus, maybe, but Grimm are just dumb beasts."

Jaune gave him a sceptical eye. "That just tells me you don't know much about beasts. Animals aren't smart either, but they can be clever. Any real hunter would know that."

Cardin flushed. "They might not be smart enough to read between the lines, but I know an insult when I hear one."

"Animals or your team?" Jaune needled. He sighed, thinking better of the insult a second later. "Look, I never said you were stupid, but if you thought that tale was all about you, you missed the point."

"That us Huntsmen are useless and stupid, and your frontier hunters are the true heroes. That sound about right?" Cardin asked. "Yeah, real subtle there. I don't appreciate being mocked. I know about your issue with Huntsmen."

Jaune didn't rise to the bait. "I doubt it, but whatever. That legend wasn't about Huntsmen. Not really. It was about people who don't respect nature. City people, really, who think they can just power through every problem out here, and don't know enough to care otherwise. Don't care enough to look for other ways of doing things." He looked Cardin straight in the eye. "Do you know why so many towns and nomad caravans die out here?" he asked Cardin.

"Grimm," Cardin answered instantly. Everyone knew that.

"It's because they're stupid," Jaune countered with brutal frankness. "It's because they're amateurs, city folk fresh out of the Kingdoms who don't know a damn thing about life out here. Settlers, refugees, outcasts - people who don't want, or aren't wanted by, the Kingdoms, but don't know enough to survive outside of them. Grimm are a part of it, sure, but only a part. Starvation, disease, and building a house that collapses on you in the winter play bigger parts. Real frontier folk - men and women who know what's what - we don't die out like that. We pick up and move. We evacuate towns before Grimm can mass and overrun us. A caravan knows how to scout ahead and avoid Grimm nests, knows when to circle the wagons and when to break our fast. We live out here, and we're still alive after decades of doing it, and not just because more people can't stand the cities every year and try to get away from you. You lot seem to think settlements disappear every year – and they do – but that doesn't mean we've died. It means we've packed up and moved before the Grimm can kill us. That's not failure on our part. It's success. It's survival."

Cardin flushed, and part of Jaune knew he was just egging it on, but he didn't care. Part of him wanted to frustrate the Huntsman, to return the favour for a day filled with subtle slights and blatant bullying. The rain was doing his mood no favours.

"Those city folk don't know how to survive out here," Jaune continued, and worse than scorn was the pity. "You come out here with your training and ideas of how things should work and think you can conquer the Wildlands – make nature work the way you want it to. And you fail, and people die, and eventually the survivors have the experience to know better than to think they can stand against the Grim."

Cardin gripped his hands into balls, a distant crack of lightning and roll of thunder fitting the mood. "No wonder you wouldn't shoot. You're too scared to take the fight to them."

Jaune didn't even disagree. "They're stronger than we are. There's more of them. That's just a fact. And when you're faced with something stronger than you, to fight is to die. So, you don't. You bide your time and hide, and those who survive can rebuild. It's sad, but it's going to happen regardless. Our way keeps everyone alive, and it's not like you actually win anything for killing Grimm. They vanish when they're killed, so no meat, bone or fur. Why fight what you can avoid?"

"Because this is our world," Cardin retorted angrily. "This is our territory. We rule here."

"Is that why you call it the Grimmlands?" Jaune asked rhetorically. "Kingdom territory ends at the walls. The Grimm are a force of nature. If you want to survive out here, you have to respect that. You treat it with the caution it deserves. You don't have to like it, but you don't fight it like it's some kind of war to be won. You don't 'fight' Grimm, any more than you fight fire."

"Fucking ignorant hicks," Cardin muttered. "Figures you'd be an even dumber blonde than your sister."

"What was that?"

Cardin laughed. It wasn't a merry sound. "You know nothing, Jaune Arc," he said. "Not about strength, not about survival and definitely not about nature. You're afraid of fire? In the Kingdoms we fight fires - and we win. We put them out. We don't cower from nature, we conquer it! We build dams and make walls and master our surroundings, make them work for us. That's why we don't just survive, but thrive. That's why more people live within the kingdoms than without. That's why more people want to live within the kingdoms than without."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "So that you can cower behind your walls and claim mastery over a world you can barely take a stroll through?" he snapped derisively as thunder echoed in the distance. "Impressive."

"We make strength," Cardin countered. "Strong walls, stronger armies, and the strongest heroes. There's no Grimm force we can't take." He stood proud - too proud - and looked down on Jaune at the same time. "Your sister was a rube, but even she knew where to go for real power. We stand against the Grimm, and history will remember that the Kingdoms never backed down. Legends will remember us," he sneered. "Not the ones who hid like cowards… or ran and left family behind, brother," Cardin mimicked a feminine tone.

Jaune snarled as lighting flashed, nearly roared before the thunder that followed. That bastard - no, that bitch-

Breathe. Hold. Let go.

The mantra came without him really meaning it to, instinctive as it always was. The familiar words echoed, a calming whisper in his ears, and for a moment he wasn't soaked and cold and furious in the Grimm Lands, but safe and surrounded by warmth and calm as always.

Jaune touched the bandana on his arm, remembered comforting hands, and let loose the breath. The breath, the desired scream of rage, the hate that had wanted to break free… it was simply gone, released in a safe way. Cardin watched, no doubt seeing it as some sort of submission to his point, but when Jaune looked back at him it was without passion.

"You," Jaune said coolly, staring at Cardin through the rain, "are everything I hate about Hunters."

"Oh?" Cardin asked without a hint of apology, the rain bouncing off his unyielding features, all but challenging Jaune to rant and rail and insult him.

Jaune didn't. "You think you know what you're talking about, but you don't," he informed. "Not about me and certainly not about the Wildlands. I don't know what your problem with me is, and I don't know what your problem in general is, but I don't care, Cardin. If you're done venting, I'm done with you."

"You're giving up?" Cardin asked, contemptuous.

"If that makes you feel better," Jaune said. "Build a wall and claim you've conquered me if it helps, but it's more that I don't see a point in continuing. I've been asked to help you find and save your friend. I'm going to do that," he said, looking Cardin in the eye. "Educating you isn't on the list."

"He's not my friend," Cardin bluntly reminded.

"I don't care. He's not my friend either," Jaune returned, equally blunt. "I lost mine a while ago, but I'm still going to help save yours. That'll be easier if you finish venting and stop attracting Grimm."

Cardin stilled at a thunder clap. "You think I'm attracting Grimm?"

"You have aura. You're in the Wildlands. You're wet, cold, tired and afraid. Of course you're attracting Grimm," Jaune said, as if explaining something to a small child. "Don't they teach you Hunters anything? They can smell fear, especially that of your kind."

"You think I'm afraid?" Cardin demanded. He rose a little taller, eyes flashing.

"Your entire team is afraid," he said, trying for a more diplomatic approach. "You're in the Wildlands for the first time in your life, alone and far from help. It's wet and miserable. It's natural. You're just the only one I couldn't distract with a story. That's why I agreed to have this little talk."

Cardin gripped his hands again. "You looking down on me? Humouring me? And how is making me this pissed going help?" he demanded, rage building.

"I don't like you," Jaune understated, "but I don't hate you. Venting is better than letting it fester. Holding your negative emotions just draws the Grimm in faster. Let it go, and they won't come after you."

"Or maybe they'll come faster," Cardin countered-claimed. Thunder crashed again, rain fell. "But that doesn't mean I'm afraid!"

Jaune only looked at him impassively, ran dripping off him in wordless silent scepticism.

Cardin clenched his fist again. "I'm not!" he protested. "Not again. Never again!" Memories flashed behind his eyes. "If she could do it, so can I. I am not a coward! I will not run! Let them come!"

A Nevermore screamed in the distance. A bestial roar followed.

And then another.

And another.

Jaune closed his eyes, took a breath, and let it go. "Looks like you'll get your wish," he said, sounding detached. "They know we're here now." It wasn't an accusation, only a statement of fact.

Cardin was shaking, but an excited smile on his lips suggested adrenaline was as much responsible as anything else.

"Team Cardinal! Assemble!" he roared, rousing his team with a formidable spirit. Watching as his team stumbled up, grabbing their weapons and falling into well-practiced formation, Cardin stood tall, pride and anticipation building.

"We'll defeat the Grimm, make this area safe of them, and accomplish our mission," he predicted. "I'll show you the power of the Kingdoms, and of Hunters," Cardin vowed.

Jaune didn't respond. When Cardin turned to see why not.

He was no longer there.

/-/

"This is harder than I thought it would be. Crescent Rose wasn't exactly designed for this," Ruby complained, cutting through another wall of vines and foliage before them. The scythe's blade made short work of it, but the haft caught on more, requiring her to force all her strength into pulling it free. It was like the plants themselves were trying to drag her down.

"Well you're still the best bet," Weiss shot back. "It's not like Myrtenaster can cut through them, and Yang's as good as useless."

"Hey!"

"Figuratively speaking, I mean." Weiss rolled her eyes. "At least Gambol Shroud is working out."

"Only as much as my arms," Blake said, hacking through another thicket of thorns. Even if there hadn't been rain, sweat would have dampened her brow regardless. They were trained Huntresses with stamina far above what most people could boast, but they were made for short intense fights. Not late-night bush-whacking. "Are we sure we're going the right way? Can't we go around this?"

"We're following the signal from your friend's scroll," Kalie said, looking at the scroll she'd been given and comparing it to a map she had in her other hand. "According to this, his beacon is probably a few ridgelines that way. The valleys here aren't deep, but they are long, and walking around them would take all night." She looked up, and really did look apologetic. "Sorry, but the best way is directly through the valley floors, even if that means brush from streams. If it were daylight I could look for the thinner parts to break through, but..."

"Blake?" Ruby asked, hopefully.

Blake shook her head. "I can see in the dark, but I can't see through solid objects. All I see are plants, plants, and more plants. I can't tell what's thickest," she sighed, before making another hack.

"Maybe we'd better stop now anyways," Kalie suggested, trying to not sound too eager at the prospect. "At least until it's light enough to see."

"No. We're not giving up on Ren," Ruby decided, making another hack that inevitably got caught. "We will save him tonight. We're not going to give up because of a bit of brush!"

Yang knew there was no arguing with Ruby when her mind was made up like that, but then sometimes you didn't have to. "Hey, Ruby, remember that story Kalie told us earlier? The one about the Moon Ursa?" Kalie had told them it when they'd started chopping through, once it'd become clear of just how slow their progress was becoming.

"Yeah? What about it?" Ruby asked. Of course she'd remember it - she'd thought it was pretty cool. Cool enough that Yang thought she'd do something embarrassing, but Yang couldn't help but agree with Ruby's response.

Mom totally would have killed that thing.

"I'm just saying, not that I think it's real or anything, but imagine if you were that Huntress in the story, and trying to get away from Grimm. Wouldn't a briar patch like this just be the worst? It'd be like an all-natural snare for catching dinner. Even Huntresses like us would have a hard time fighting in this."

Kalie seemed to shiver under the lukewarm rain, but Weiss nodded. "Indeed. It's like an arena already filled with traps and tripwires. Every branch we break is an alarm for those around to hear, while these vines alone…"

"Are you saying you want to give up?"

Yang winced at the sound of that. It was a challenge, and one aimed right at their pride. "I didn't say that," she replied. "More like a… pause, or another break. Kalie seems pretty worn out," she said.

Kalie did look tired, but it wasn't necessarily physical exhaustion. It was more the sort of jumping at the sound of every broken stick, and flinching at the darkness. It was obvious their guide was nervous, not that Yang could blame her. It was dark, raining, and they were trapped in tightly-enclosed thickets. It wasn't exactly horror-movie territory, but it was close.

"I… I can't say I'm comfortable with this," Kalie admitted as attention turned towards her, even as she kept looking into the dark. "Faunus aren't the only ones who can see in the dark you know. And even if they were, I'd never hunt in conditions like these. It's too easy to get sick or injured. I mean, I know this is important to you, but… it's important not to rush things, you know? Even for Huntresses. Sometimes you need to take a breath and relax."

Ruby didn't - wouldn't - put it like that, but she wasn't deterred.

"Sorry Kalie, but that's our friend out there, and for all we know he might be sick or injured already. Ren is… he's a really good guy. Even if he's quiet at times, he means so much to his team, and he's our only guy friend at Beacon. He's the type that everyone can depend on, enough that things might fall apart without him, and…" she trailed off, and changed track. "Besides, isn't it safest to be doing this now? If we wait till the sun is up or the rain's gone, there'd be more Grimm to find us, right? But right now, they're probably all in their caves, and the rain is muffling our sound."

It was more rationalization than reasoning, but that didn't make it wrong.

"I-I guess we can keep going. You're the ones going to school at Beacon. That makes you the experts on Grimm, right?"

"Don't underestimate Beacon's Huntresses, okay?" Ruby thought of another hunter who had done just that, and her stomach still clenched when she remembered the sneer on his face. She could too save people. She was a real Huntress. She'd prove it by saving Ren. "I know tonight's tough, but we're better trained, so we can handle any Grimm that appear." She locked her gaze onto her guide. "Trust me. Trust us."

"Totally. Leave it to us. We're like, the best first-year team." Yang flexed an arm, but her boast was cut off in a yelp as a branch slapped back from Blake and hit her. "Okay, seriously. I'm about ready to just burn this place to the ground. Maybe that'd get rid of some Grimm too."

"R-rain aside, t-that wouldn't be a good idea-"

"Joking, Kalie. It was a joke. I'm just annoy-"

Whatever she was got cut off by a sudden lightning bolt, and then a loud peal of thunder. In the almost unnatural silence that followed, Yang let out a quiet breath and made to move forward. A pale arm stopped her.

"Wait!" Blake hissed, holding her back. Her eyes were narrowed. "I hear something."

"What?" Yang asked. "What is it?" Beside her, Kalie seemed to stiffen.

Blake seemed uncertain, but listened intently. Ruby did too, not that it helped. She couldn't hear anything unusual, and in fact couldn't hear much at all. Just the pitter-patter of raindrops, and paws…

Kalie gasped and tore the bow from her back. "Grimm!" she yelled.

Crescent Rose came forward, and not a moment too soon – as red eyes lit up the shadows between the trees, snarling and growling in their direction. Kalie hurried behind them deeper into the thicket, and Yang took a place between her and the Grimm.

"It's just Beowolves," she said. "We'll be fine. There's nothing to-" She trailed off, voice choked in a startled cough. Ruby turned to her in concern, but her sister was fine – just staring behind and up in shock. Come to think of it, wasn't it a little bit darker all of a sudden? That didn't make since though- out of the corner of her eyes, she could even see the moon.

But when had the clouds parted? Ruby turned to look.

Her heart froze.

/-/

"Jaune? Jaune! Where are you!"

"Where did he go?"

"The coward ran and hid!" Russel yelled, even as the sound of Grimm approaching could be heard in the distant brush. "He abandoned us!"

"Never mind him. Keep an eye open, but stay in formation." Cardin controlled his men like a seasoned drill instructor. "Follow my orders and we'll get through this in one piece."

Such was the banter of Team CRDL as they formed their battle lines. In the distance an ominous trampling was coming nearer- sounds of Grimm of all sorts and types. Despite starting at different places, they all made their way as fast as they could.

If they were coordinated to arrive at once, it would be a short bloodbath. But Grimm weren't coordinated. They weren't intelligent. Some were fast, some were slow, and they'd all arrive at different points. That gave the defenders a chance.

"Stay under the trees!" Cardin reminded his team. "Nevermore will get here fastest, but they can't aim through the foliage. We'll be safe from them as long as we-"

The condition would remain a mystery as something darted through the leaves and slashed past Cardin's face. Aura would prevent any real damage, but a small cut drew red all the same. There wasn't even time for Cardin to attempt a counter-attack as the shape raced back towards the canopy.

"What was that?"

"Nevermore chicks!" another answered, as tiny nevermore darted through the tree limbs and made passes at the group. That might have been overstating it, but it was true. A larger nevermore might be too big to fly through, but the smaller birds had no such problem.

"Take out what you can!" Cardin ordered, predicting where one bird would fly and swinging his mace in an intercept. "These small fries will be a real pain when the real deals show up!"

Team CRDL went into action, swinging blades with precision and agility befitting their training. Despite the Nevermore's diving speed, they were predictable - only so many paths to fly in and out of the enclosed area. Knives slashed, weapons swung, and Lark spun his halberd as a veritable shield, dicing any bird that flew in his direction. Though large feathers plunged through the canopy, they were so poorly aimed that they themselves became a sort of cover for Team CRDL to duck behind. Soon enough the murder was diminished, and not a moment too soon as the boys caught their breath.

"That should help us for now," Cardin panted as he team gathered together. "Mama Bird's not happy, but she can't do anything from up there as long as we have these trees."

"What's next?" Lark asked.

"Anyone seen Jaune?" Dove thought to ask.

"I didn't hear screaming," Cardin reasoned, "Assume he's alive. Get ready for the next wave. If we go by ground speed, next should be-"

"Boarbatusks!" Sky called in warning, even as a new rumbling came closer. It was indeed a brood of the man-eating monsters, too far to be picked out, but tearing up a dust cloud that could be seen even in the dark as they rolled up the hill.

"Dodge and hit the flanks!" Cardin ordered. "Don't bother trying to go through the armour!"

"Dude, I'm not sure we'll be able to do that," Dove warned, a tremor in his voice. "That's a lot of them coming up this way."

It was true. Even if it was too dark to count, the brood's size was undeniable- just the dust cloud visible at night was enough to tell. Dodging one Boarbatusk to counter-attack was easy, but dodging the one second that would aim where you'd just jumped to attack the first? Or the third that followed the last? Even experienced Huntsmen could have trouble keeping the footing needed for an attack after so much evasion- and that was without rain making everything slicker.

Grimm weren't intelligent, but they'd evolved, been culled, to have a certain animalistic cunning.

"Focus on the last wave," Cardin prepared them. "We'll whittle them down from last to first until-"

The first Boarbatusk was upon them before he could finish, and practically fell on them as it flew out of its murderous roll with a startled squeal. As soon as it passed through a gap between two trees it had stumbled out of its roll, inertia carrying forward in a short, impromptu flight that ended with it helpless at the feet of Lark, who quickly gored it.

One might have been an accident, but it wasn't just one - it was several, all stumbling as they passed through different trees. The Boarbatusks were as surprised as Team CRDL, and infinitely more alarmed as the junior Huntsmen exploited their moment of weakness.

"Jaune's traps!" Dove realized. "They're getting caught in the traps he placed earlier!"

"Guess he's not useless after all," Sky quipped, a mix of a cheer and a jeer.

"They won't last forever, so make them count!" Cardin directed. Though there were more Boarbatusks than traps, the disruption had broken the Grimm's rhythm. What might have taken turn after turn of Boarbatusk charges - what might have lasted into the next wave of Grimm - was broken by the chaos, as individual charges were avoided and the youngest Boarbatusks easily struck from the sides.

"Cardin, look out!"

Cardin didn't even look as he jumped aside at the warning, but even that wouldn't have saved him had Russel not grabbed and pulled him further. The unarmoured teen let out a cry of pain as a boulder of mass rumbled through where Cardin had been, and a splatter of red indicated his saviour hadn't gotten off with just a shove to the ground.

The boulder spun to a stop as it turned and revealed its true form - a massive Boarbatusk, easily five times bigger and five times bonier than the garden-variety they'd been fighting before. Red blood dripped from one of its tusks, and it looked at them with pure malevolent hate.

"That one doesn't look happy to see us," Sky noted uneasily, wishing he could hide further behind his weapon.

"Must be the Brood mother," Russel reasoned. "Probably didn't like us killing the others."

Cardin flourished his mace before him and snarled. "Yeah, well it isn't going to like us any more after we kill it, too. Now stop panicking. We're Huntsmen; we're trained for this."

The Brood mother was far larger than its fellows, but no more intelligent for it. Cardin side-stepped the massive tusks, then dodged further back when it tried to rear up and pound him with its mighty hooves. Sky and Dove took advantage of the opening to attack from behind, scoring hits, and he smirked as the beast bellowed its fury.

He wasn't used to playing the distraction, but he could do it well-enough, as long as the enemy was slower than him. He might not have been on Nikos' level, but that didn't mean he was a slouch. When the Grimm turned to try and gore Sky, focused only on the source of its pain, Cardin lunged in with a cry, spinning on one heel and delivering his mace into the back of its knee with incredible force. The blow was enough to shake him – and the Brood Mother – which buckled for a second and tried to kick back.

Russel had him covered, of course, yanking him out the way even if he could have dodged on his own. "Thanks," he said anyway.

"Heh. I got you, man."

"If you two are finished flirting!"

"Chill, Dove." Cardin stepped in to herd his teammate away, taking the beast's attention once more. His mace made a figure-eight through the air, and the Brood Mother followed it angrily. "I'll keep it busy," he called. "I want you guys to hang back until you see an opening to get at its underside."

"Got it!" The three nodded and backed away, the action ensuring the Brood Mother focused on him and him alone.

"Come on, you big bastard. Let's see what you've got…"

It lunged forwards. He took three steps back, deflecting the tusk aside with the haft of his weapon. When it swept its head to the side to try and eviscerate him, he ducked under the second – then lunged back up and rammed the head of his weapon into the underside of its jaw. It would have caved in the skull of a normal Boarbatusk, but this was much larger, and it was merely stunned at best. Taking it for what it was, he gripped both its horns between his hands and tried to tip it onto its side. Even though it was bigger and far heavier than he, his feet were squared and set, while it was stumbling on four.

It started to tip.

"Come on! Fall already!"

His muscles bulged, but to his frustration the thing started to regain its strength. One of its hooves dug down, preventing him from moving it any further – and he would be in a bad spot if it got itself under control. He was about to shout for his team to help when something whistled past his body. A feathered shaft sprouted from the beast's hind-left leg.

For a moment, both Cardin and the beast looked at the protruding sliver a wood dumbly, as if wondering what it was. That was before an audible 'crack' was heard, though, and electric arcs suddenly leapt from the point of impact. Cardin instinctively let go of the Grimm's bones, and was lucky enough to get away with just a jolt. The Brood Mother had no such escape, and squealed in sudden and unexpected agony. The electricity did what brute force had not, and seizures wracked the Boarbatusk enough to make it fall.

"Now!" Russel yelled, leading the pack to descend on it. Their weapons flashed as they leapt atop it and started to hack and slash, Sky severing one of the tendons to prevent it rolling back onto its legs. It squealed and kicked, but his team were no slouches. Soon enough it gave one final squeal, and then began to disintegrate like all Grimm did.

Cardin huffed and leant on his mace, eyes on the carnage before looking at the figure emerging from the shadows. "I thought you fled."

"I was just getting out of your way," Jaune replied, stepping from the shadows of the tree line. "That's what you wanted, right? A country bumpkin like me would only be a liability." The tone wasn't in jest, but Cardin didn't have the energy to take offense. Not when he remembered the arrow that tipped the balance.

"Nice shot," he grunted. "What was that?"

"Dust arrow," Jaune said, reaching the Brood Mother's corpse and yanking out the shaft. At the end were fragments of yellow shards. "Besides, I'm a hunter. If I couldn't make that shot, I'd go hungry." He looked at the shattered arrow, and gave a soft 'tch'.

"Now if only Grimm were good for meat, this wouldn't be a waste." He placed the shaft back into his bulky quiver, where it seemed to secure quite easily. Only then did he look at Team CRDL. "Camping's a no-go now. How are you holding up? Ready to move?"

Cardin leaned a bit more heavily on his mace than he liked as he turned to take in his team. Dove and Sky were panting too, but were still on their feet without any real blood. Aura damage only, then. But Russel…

"Russ, how's your arm?" Cardin asked.

It wasn't good, that much was obvious. It hung unnaturally, and blood flowed down it. Whatever the Brood Mother had hit, it had torn through even the aura.

Russel seemed as surprised to notice it as anyone, even as Sky moved to bandage it. Was that the adrenaline fighting off shock? Still, Russel did what Cardin expected, and refused to be a wimp. "It's nothing. I can keep moving," he said, even as he visibly failed to move it, and struggled to hold his weapon in his off-hand.

Jaune and Cardin both nodded, for different reasons. "Good," they said, almost in stereo. "Come on, we need to get going-"

The two boys stepped past each other in opposite directions.

They stopped just as quickly, to turn and look at each other. Jaune spoke first. "Uh, your friend is this way."

"He's not my friend," Cardin said, by reflex as much as anything else. "And I know."

"You know you're going in the wrong direction to save him?" Jaune asked, not believing his own words.

"We're not saving him," Cardin said, to the alarm of his team. "We're withdrawing."

"What!?" Jaune wasn't the only one surprised.

"We're withdrawing," Cardin repeated, even as his fist clenched tightly. "Russel is hurt – don't tell me you can't see that. He needs medical treatment and we're in no shape to continue on as it is."

Jaune's mouth opened, but nothing came out of it for once. He honestly looked flabbergasted. "What do you mean you're in no shape? He's still alive! Look, he can even walk!" Jaune said, gesturing towards Russel, who wavered but remained on his feet.

"Combat incapable is what he is," Cardin said, trying to ignore the flinch and look of hurt that went across Russel's face. The truth was the truth and no amount of bravado was going to change that. "He can't do much with one hand, especially his off-hand. There's no telling what he can actually do if we run into another fight like that again. He's a liability." It hurt to say that, but it was the case.

That didn't mean Jaune had to accept it. "That's it?! You became a liability when you chose to fight the Grimm in the first place, but you didn't see me giving up then!" Jaune exclaimed, voice raising more than Cardin had heard it before. "First, I couldn't get you to NOT fight, and now you're suddenly afraid of maybe fighting?"

"I'm afraid of a team wipe. I'm afraid of my friends being killed!" Cardin said, as much as it galled him to admit it. Lucky hit or not, seeing Russel hit like that - saving him no less - was a sharp reminder of his own mortality, and the morality of his team. "We're already down to 75 per cent combat effectiveness, maybe 80 if we include you. We might survive another battle like that, but two? Three? We only need one more real injury before we can be easily overrun – and then we all die. That's not a risk I can afford to take."

Jaune didn't seem to get it. In addition to pacing, his arms moved with a frantic energy. "Risk? There is no risk! No more than any other time on the frontier! Four or four hundred, the Grimm can always overwhelm you! That's what it means to be out in the Grimm Lands!" His nervous pacing stopped as he looked hard at Cardin. "You want to mitigate risk? Go that way," he said, gesturing in the direction he'd been trying to lead. "You know what's in that direction?"

"Ren?" Dove asked, not realizing it was probably rhetorical.

"No! Nothing! Nothing is in that direction!" Jaune exclaimed. "That," he said, gesturing in a slightly different direction, "is where your friend is. But this," he pointed back to where he wanted them to go, "is where those Boarbatusks you just killed came from. Do you know what that means?" he asked.

No one answered this time. No one knew. That only seemed to make Jaune more frustrated.

"It means that was their territory! Enough for an entire brood of Boarbatusks! That means that there are valleys and valleys of empty space out there right now, because you killed the Grimm who'd claimed it! If you go anywhere else, I can't guarantee what might be coming, but if we go this way - before any other Grimm show up to chase us - you'll be as safe as safe can be out here!" Jaune explained as urgently as he could. "You can wrap your wounds. You can find a cave and take a nap. You can even find your fellow Hunter and boost your number by one. Doesn't that mitigate risk?" he asked, turning Cardin's words back on him.

"Would we be able to make it there and back on time if anyone else was injured?" Cardin asked, not visibly moved. "If Ren was hurt and needed to be carried out of there?" he added before Jaune could answer. "If we ran into more Grimm, could we fight them off? Can you promise me that?"

Jaune hissed, and maybe that was enough for Cardin. Arcs weren't comfortable lying, or making false promises. He couldn't promise anything. Cardin shook his head.

"Russ is walking wounded already. If Ren's fine, he can hold out a little longer – enough for us to try again with another team. But if Ren's hurt too, hurt enough to need help or be carried, that's another person out of the fight to protect him. Both of them will be leaking negativity due to the pain, and that means more Grimm. That means only two people to fight whatever we come across. I don't like those odds."

"So what?" Jaune asked, not seeing the point. "You're Hunters. Fight like it. Or listen to me, and don't fight at all. Isn't saving him your top priority?" he asked.

"No," Cardin answered, simple as that.

"Excuse me?"

"No," Cardin repeated, remembering why he was right. Why he had to do this. "My top priority isn't to rescue him. My top priority is to ensure no one else needs rescuing. All lives being equal, Ren isn't worth two or more people. Losing a team of Huntsmen trying to save one person isn't just a bad idea; it's the kind of thing that can get everyone killed." He learned forward, looking Jaune straight in the eye. "I'm a team leader, Jaune, not just a Huntsman. That means I'm responsible for more than just myself. That means I have to make the hard calls for the greater good, whether I like it or not. And believe me; I do not like doing this."

Jaune spat in his eye. Aura blocked the spittle from getting in, but not the sentiment.

"I take back what I said," Jaune said, blue eyes burning with something stronger than contempt. "You aren't everything I hate about Huntsmen. You're the worst kind of person, the sort who makes excuses to only save themselves and abandon others to the Grimm. Greater good? Don't make me laugh. People like you have no right to call yourselves Huntsmen at all."

Cardin should have been angry, should have gotten physical at the spittle if not the words. Instead, he felt strangely calm, secure in the certainty that what he was doing was, if not right, at least justified. The teachers at Beacon had prepared them for such an undesirable possibility. Back then, he'd been arrogant enough to think it would never happen. It was strangely liberating to know that, and for a moment he wondered what would tonight have been like had he had this calm earlier.

It didn't matter. Not now, anyway. "Whatever you say, Jaune," Cardin said, simply wiping the spittle off his face. "But we're still leaving." He looked at his team, and there was no question whose orders they were going to follow. "We head south," he said. "That's the emergency area for the evac zone. Once we're far enough for pickup, we'll light the flares and await extraction."

They nodded. Jaune just made a sound of disgust. "Fine. Run away if you want, but I'm not helping. I'll find your Huntsman myself, and probably be back before you," he said. Jaune was about to turn to leave, but only got a step before Cardin's voice followed.

"No. You're coming with us," Cardin said in a tone that brooked no dissent.

"Excuse me?" Jaune said, turning to face the grimly serious boy. "Didn't you hear me? I'm not going to guide you just so you can run away."

"You don't have to. Even I can find south with a compass. But if I'm responsible for this team, I'm responsible for you too. I'm not going to leave anyone behind if I have a choice about it."

"Liar," Jaune snapped, not even remembering to breathe. "Besides, I don't work for you. You're not the boss of me, and you can't keep me from walking away if I want to."

"I'm pretty sure I can," Cardin said, gripping his mace meaningfully. "Even a Huntsman can't run away with a broken leg, but I imagine a hunter would be about as useless with a broken wrist."

The air instantly chilled, and even the rest of CRDL was taken aback. "Cardin man, this is no time for jokes," Dove began.

"No joke," Cardin said, ice-cold, still looking directly at Jaune and not giving him a moment to slip away. "You come with us willingly, or Russel drags you with his one good arm. Either way you're coming with us," Cardin warned. "You and your sister can hate me all you want, as long as you're still alive to do so." He let out a bitter laugh. "Not like she could hate me much more regardless."

Jaune didn't care about his laughter. His blue eyes blazed with a frigid fire.

"I dragged myself out of the real Grimmlands for her," Jaune said, voice too steady to be called a snarl. "Leg broken every mile, not even the Grimm stopped me."

"I heard. Impressive if true," Cardin conceded.

"Then what do you think I'd do to you, Hunter?"

"Nothing," Cardin said immediately, not intimidated in the least. "That's your thing, isn't it? The reason you're a hunter and not a Huntsman?"

Jaune just glared. Cardin sighed, and some of the cold calm gave way to weariness.

"Look," Cardin said, giving up the more reasonable approach, "I didn't want to do this. I don't want to be the bastard here, but I'm not going to take risks either. Not with my teammate's lives and not with you disappearing on us the first chance you get. If I tell my team to go with you and you're wrong, Russel dies. If I leave you and you're wrong, you die." He looked at Sky and Dove, even as he drew his mace. "Secure his arms."

Jaune's eyes widened as he tried to move back, but he'd been so focused on his argument with Cardin he'd lost track of the rest of the team - or anything else. Trying to move away just meant bumping into one, and soon he was caught. He tried to pull away, of course he did, but these were Huntsmen. They had a grip that could wield weapons to slay monsters.

He was just a man, barely more than a boy.

It wasn't… it wasn't nice. But it wasn't cruel either, the way they held him in place. Neither Sky nor Dove would look him in the eyes. Someone whispered 'sorry,' but he didn't catch who. He was looking at Cardin, who was measuring an overhead blow with his mace. He was hesitating, and in a moment his eyes caught with Jaune. Jaune seemed calmer, somehow, and didn't beg for mercy.

"Don't make me do this, Jaune. You're angry, and I don't blame you. We all are. But I'm not going to risk you running off and getting hurt, even if I have to hurt you myself. Just give me your word you'll come with us, and I'll let it go." The offer was a good one – probably the right one – and had Jaune been anyone else, he would have accepted.

"Do it," he spat instead. "Show me what kind of Huntsman you really are."

Cardin stopped again, internal strain evident. The moment became moments, and unbearably long. The breaths they'd all been holding had to be released, though no one let go. The moment continued, until darkness blotted out the moon and covered the hillside with shadow.

Cardin's eyes widened.

"Dodge!" he yelled, even as he didn't do so himself. Sky, Dove, and Russel jumped when he said so, their instincts screaming. Cardin began to turn, but noticed Jaune hadn't, and probably wouldn't be fast enough. His retreat turned into a spin and with it the mace that had been ready to come down from above instead impacted against his chest and sent him flying into the darkness.

Not a moment too soon, either, for a boulder impacted the exact spot he'd occupied – crushing through rock and rearranging the ground with ease. A second later and he would have been crushed beneath it.

But now Jaune was gone, lost in the forest at the foot of the mountain that hadn't been there before. The mountain stood taller, blotting out half the sky and any stars that might have been behind it. The boys could only look up, and up and up and up, in shock as they landed.

Cardin's breath caught in his throat.

"Impossible. It can be-"

But it was. And it was a lot bigger than the Ursa Major from Forever Falls too.

/-/

Legendary Grimm Mouk

Duke of the Lunar Cry Mountains

Moon-eating Ursa

/-/


CF's Note:

I think that's a good point to leave off, don't you?

Due to length concerns, we're just short of finishing the prologue of HoS. This chapter ended up being a bit longer than expected, but finishing the prologue would have made it truly unreasonable, so we end it here. Next one will be a fair deal shorter, but no less important.

Not much else to say at this point except- hey! More developments! And clues! And other stuff, including our first battle sequence, short as it is.

Share your thoughts, and see you later.


Coeur Note: There were references to Grimm children in this like "Mama Bird" or "Brood Mother". Yes, we're aware that Grimm breeding has never been covered in the show, but that Salem can make them from pits of tar (like Saruman and Sauron from his tower – oh wait, wow, that's similar), but the point I want to make before cries of non-canon is that it's just "names" on the parts of the Huntsmen. They're just seeing loads of little Nevermore, and then a big one, and going "Mama Bird". It doesn't mean they are literally saying "Bird that is the biological mother!"

Just wanted to clear that up.

I also think CF initially may have hinted that Ren was supposed to make an appearance today, and he was - but that kind of chapter was getting to 17-18k words, and apart from draining me of the will to live, it was also leading to rushed moments because we were trying to force the issue. In SWS, I made the choice to make potentially two chapters one because I felt it fit better, but here it was the other way around. The large single chapter was definitely not to a high quality, so the decision to split it into two was made. At 11k, this chapter is still a more than decent size.


Next Chapter: 4th November

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur