Heya folks! Saint here. Sorry about the lateness of this update. Writers block reared it's ugly head again. Hopefully the additional length of the chapter makes up for it.
I've got some stuff to talk about at the end of the chapter, so I'll see you there.
It most certainly, was not fine.
For when Lavi and Skoto got close to the top of the ridge, a myriad of voices assaulted their ears.
"Get em' movin towards camp."
"Heh, chief is gonna be pleased. Plenty of young blood we can put to 'work'.
"Maddie...I'm scared."
"Hush child, everything is going to be fine."
Lavi bristled, moving rapidly towards the ridge-line; his footsteps remained light and fluid, even across the rocky terrain. Skoto followed after, albeit slower. Lavi reached the ridge first, his body flush with the ground while his head peaked above; he stifled a gasp and motioned to Skoto to come. Sprawled himself out in the incline, Skoto crawled towards the ridge slowly. Once he reached the peak, he stuck his head above and felt his heart drop at the scene.
The villagers were all bound in thick rope, some showing signs of a struggle. Even Alva and Ekri were bound in thick, heavy ropes, both of them still; seemingly unconscious.
Roughly fifty people surrounded them, all of them garbed in a varying levels of armor. Their faces were painted with a red paw-print, presumably of canine origin, on their left cheek. Many lay still on the floor, bruises and cuts lining their form.
"Man..." one huffed, "Those two brats were tough."
Another, adjacent to Maddie, laughed, "Haha! Yeah they were, right up till I got my hands on this fine doe right here." He roughly pulled on Maddie's hair, causing her to fall to her knees with a yelp. Skoto's clenched his jaw hard at the sight, while a soft growl escaped Lavi's throat. "Minute I got some steel 'gainst her pretty little throat they bout shit themselves!" he laughed, spittle flying from his mouth.
"Do what you want with me," Maddie ground out painfully, "But leave the children be."
"Oh don't you worry," the man mocked, "I'll be doin whatever, I wants with ya." he ran a single finger down the side of her cheek, Maddie grimacing in response. "Later, though. For now," he beckoned to his people. "Lets get 'em back to camp!"
"Skoto..." Lavi rumbled.
"I know..." he replied.
The bandits began to gather up their wounded, corralling the villagers towards the west.
"Skoto...they're getting away."
"What would you have me do?" Skoto whispered. "We are tired and hungry, and they have everyone as hostages...running in now would only get us captured too."
Lavi groaned, pressing his forehead into the dirt as they villagers were dragged away. Two men hoisted Ekri's war hammer with them, while another grasped Alva's sword; whistling as he appraised the weapon.
"What are we going to do, then?" Lavi finally asked.
"We are going to follow them." Skoto replied, rising from the dirt. "We are getting them back, Lavi. That, I will promise you."
Lavi stood a moment later, following behind him. The two silently slid into the forestry the bandits had gone just a moment ago, trailing behind them slowly and purposefully. They followed well into the night, till Remnant's shattered moon was high in the sky.
Eventually, after hours of travel, they came upon a small encampment. Wooden spikes set side by side, acting as walls, with braziers lining the exterior; casting the encampment in a dim glow.
Skoto and Lavi watched as the group approached the gate, as the man pushing Maddie along raised his hand in greeting.
"Open up!" he shouted, "We got some new 'recruits'!"
It was then Skoto saw that along the wall were many guard posts, each accommodating a bandit with a lit torch lighting the post. Rattling chains resounded throughout the forest, as a makeshift gate was raised, allowing the captives and bandits into the encampment. The gate then lowered, closing off any entry. Shouting and cheering could be heard from within, though the guards maintained their position atop the towers.
In the underbrush, about twenty yards from wall of the encampment, were Skoto and Lavi. Dark bags hung from underneath their bloodshot eyes. Mud and dirt clung to their forms like another set of clothing. Despite all of this, however, their breathing remained level and calm.
"Skoto," Lavi whispered. "What's the plan?"
Skoto hummed in thought, before speaking aloud.
"The walls of their 'fort' are well guarded. There aren't any blind spots, and they've cleared the forestry close to the encampment; making it impossible to sneak up on them. Not that it would help us to be closer, scaling those walls would be difficult even if we could get close enough." he grunted in annoyance. "Our lack of ranged combat is steadily becoming apparent."
"I wish we could have afforded a gun-mode," Lavi complained. "Alva is our only ranged."
"We will make due," Skoto replied. "So then, we cannot scale the walls and we cannot get close."
Skoto brought a hand to his face, dragging his hand down his face. A yawn escaped his throat, spreading to Lavi a moment later.
"Uh...Skoto," Lavi murmured. "I don't think I've ever been this tired."
"I know, I know." Skoto babbled back. "J-Just give me a minute to think, I just need a minute."
We cannot scale the walls. We cannot approach the walls. We cannot get rid of the guards atop the walls. What to do, then?
Skoto groaned, a headache blossoming in between his eyes. If only he had gotten more rest. Skoto looked to Lavi, only to find his eyelids drooping; his hand on his cheek. Skoto rapped his hand against his cheek, his eyes springing to life.
"I-I'm awake." He whispered harshly, "I'm good. I'm here. What's the plan, boss?"
"Don't have one yet." Skoto rubbed his eyes, "What are they so fortified for, anyway?"
"Uh...definitely the grimm, bro. Maybe huntsmen every now and the-"
"The grimm." Skoto whispered in realization.
"The grimm?"
"Their fortifications are meant for the grimm. Let's put them to the test."
Lavi appeared hesitant, a grimace on his face. "Won't that put everyone else in danger?"
Skoto frowned, "You're right, bringing the grimm here would only endanger everyone's lives. We have to think of a different way."
The two remained silent, as more cheering and shouting sounded from the encampment. The longer the silence went on, the more pained Lavi looked. Even Skoto appeared to be getting frustrated, as he frequently went to rub the bridge of his nose.
Finally, Lavi groaned. "I can't think of anything. My head hurts."
"I...we could...ugh." Skoto took a fistful of hair into his hand, his knuckles turning white around his gray hair.
We cannot scale the walls. We cannot approach the walls. We cannot get rid of the guards atop the walls. What do I do, Khai?
An angry snarl answered him.
Skoto's head whirled around to the origin of the growl, his tired eyes training upon the form of a pack of Beowulf. Their hateful red eyes did not peer back at him, however; he and Lavi were well hidden in the underbrush, the dirt clinging to their forms making them even harder to spot. No, their eyes glared at the walls of the encampment, black ooze dripping from their mouths.
"Skoto….!" Lavi whispered frantically. "Our people inside, their negativity attracted them!"
Skoto was not given time to reply, as the Beowulf threw themselves from the shrubbery into the open. The men atop their posts shouted frantically, and after a moment a hail of gunfire assaulted the grimm. The bullets ripped through them violently, the bodies falling to the floor, the telltale disintegration already occurring, albeit slowly.
"Guns..." Lavi whispered, "They have guns."
"Stolen, I'm sure. We couldn't afford guns. Such things don't matter to thieves."
"Right, of course; but this makes them a bit more dangerous than the white fang members."
"Then...maybe we have no other choice." Skoto murmured.
Lavi bristled at that, before relaxing a moment later. A deep frown settled on his face. Before he sighed in resignation.
"Maybe you're right." He answered back.
The two were silent for a moment, the only sound being the occasional gunshot from the guard towers; coupled with a howl of pain from the grimm on the receiving end of the bullet.
"Hey Skoto," Lavi began. "Do you remember the day we went on that picnic?"
Skoto smiled.
"Ah, yes." he answered back. "I helped Maddie make cookies."
"Yeah, and Khai grilled hamburgers, it was the only time he ever cooked something edible," Lavi chuckled against the back of his hand. "Remember how he pushed Maddie into that stream? "
"Oh my gods," Skoto laughed,"She would've killed him, if she hadn't been laughing so hard."
"Yeah...I know we're orphans, and that means we don't have parents...but," Lavi swallowed, his eyes glistening. "That's not really true, is it? We had a mom and dad, didn't we?"
"Yeah..." Skoto murmured. "Yeah, we did."
"Khai...Khai was a great dad, wasn't he?"
Skoto swallowed thickly. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes.
"Yeah. He was."
"We didn't ever get to realize it. It all happened so fast, but he died back there, for us."
"Y-Yeah, he did." Skoto's word came out shakily, his eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears.
"A-And n-n-now, they've t-taken our brothers, they've taken mother." Lavi's speech began to babble at this point, Skoto turned towards his brother and saw thick, heavy tears rolling down his cheeks. His eyes were not filled with grief, however. They burned with rage. Rage, that Skoto felt welling up inside of him as well. Adrenaline filed his veins, washing away any sort of fatigue he felt moments before.
As they ground their teeth and burned with anger, grimm answered their call.
They came from the darkness of the forest, their forms slithering and twisting through the gloom like terrible spirits, their red eyes leaving streaks of crimson in the dark. Amongst the boarbatusks, the beowulf, and even the occasional nevermore lumbered an ursa major many heads taller than it's brethren. The beast pawed at the ground, chunking the earth as it did so. A hail of bullets assaulted it's hide, but the beasts thick hide and powerful armor made the bullets inert. The beast charged at the wooden wall, supported by a pair of ursa minor. Together, the three cracked the wooden pillars leading into the encampment.
Skoto gestured to the three, "We move after them. We'll retrieve our Alva and Ekri's weapons, then free them. Then we'll find Maddie."
Lavi nodded, his dagger and sword unsheathed.
"On three then," Skoto rose to a crouch, palming his glaive. "One...two..."
"Aaah!" a short, man with brown hair let out a satisfied sigh, reclining back into a messily constructed wooden chair. "Tonight was one helluva haul, Miguel." He picked at his teeth with a short, slender bone. The man, Miguel, towered over his friend; his head was bald and a thick beard dangled from his chin.
"Mmhm." he grunted.
"Ah don't be like that, Miguel!" he exclaimed. "I know you've had your eye on a few of the new-bloods." the man whispered conspiratorial, elbowing him from his reclined position. "Plus, you even got some new steel!" he pointed to a large, red war hammer strapped to his back. "And I got me a fancy mecha-shift blade." He pulled the blade from it's scabbard, eyeing the blade with a hungry look in his eye. "It's 'spose to become a bow, but I can't get the damn thing to switch," he pouted. The sheathed the sword back into it's scabbard, before sighing; reclining further back into his chair. He tipped back too far, however, and was sent sprawling to the floor as his chair slipped out from under him.
"Heh..." Miguel chuckled.
The man's head whirled around, staring at Miguel in shock.
"Did….Did you just laugh?" He asked, amazed.
Miguel nodded, confused.
"This is the first time you've ever laughed in the five years I've known you." The man rushed from his prone position, slinging an arm around Miguel.
"Hey everybody!" he cried, the party silencing for a moment. "Miguel 'jus fuck-"
"We gotta problem!" a guard yelled down from the tower. "Shit ton of grimm! They're at the wall-Ahhhh!" He screamed, as a swarm of nevermore shrouded his form, causing him to fall from his tower.
"Oh my-!" the man screamed. "Miguel! Get read-"
The sound of splintering wood interrupted the man's speech. The party silenced completely, everyone's attention trained onto the wall from which the sound originated. The wooden pillars had cracked, and pulsed occasionally, something beating on it from the other side of the wall. The crowd watched, a terse silence filling the air as the pillars were bashed. With each strike, the pillars caved further and further inward.
Then the wood gave.
A sea of black surged through the hole in the wall, and at the head of the tide, reared up on it's hind legs, stood an ursa major. The creature's thick, burly hide dotted with the telltale signs of gunfire. It's bone plates were marred with many battle-scars, the most prominent being a missing ear. The creature let out a terrible bellow, the low rumbling noise echoing throughout the forest. Then, slowly, a mountain of a man strode forward. Atop his head was a crudely stitched leather helmet; in the shape of a beowulf skull. The bandits smiled at his presence, drawing their various weapons; staring at his broad and powerful shoulders. Strapped to his back, was a large axe, many sizes greater than he was. With both hands, he hefted it from his back, resting the head on his shoulder casually. No words came from his lips, as he challenged the horde.
"That's right! With chief here, we'll never lose! He's killed shits three times as big as you!" He spat at the grimm.
More curses flew from the bandits, as the grimm steadily approached. The bandits became so distracted, they did not notice two forms dart in from the hole in their perimeter. The two boys quickly hid behind a few wooden barrels. Skoto's head peaked above, one hand upon a barrel, while he scanned through the crowd.
"There." he muttered as his eyes found his brothers weapons. "See there?" he gestured to Lavi, who rose a moment later. "Those two, near the back."
"I see them." Lavi responded. "How are we doing this?"
"They are already out of sight," Skoto began. "Incapacitate them silently, then grab the weapons." He removed his hand from the barrel, his hand coming away red. Casting his eyes to the top of the barrel, Skoto saw a red pigment staining the top of the barrel.
"Ah," he muttered. "The mark on their faces. They must use this dye." His face lit up, before he turned to Lavi. "Here, I have an idea. Come here."
Lavi shuffled closer, till he was shoulder to shoulder with Skoto. Skoto covered his fingers in the pigment, before bringing his fingers to Lavi's cheek. He re-applied the dye to his fingers a few times, before sitting back to admire his work. A rudimentary paw-print was colored onto Lavi's face, not unfamiliar to the mark the bandits bore. Taking a few minutes, Lavi applied the mark to Skoto as well.
"There," Skoto said. "They do not know our faces. So long as they do not look closely, we should be able to blend in."
"Okay," Lavi took a deep, stilling breath, then his eyes turned towards the two men. "I'll take the big one."
Skoto glanced down at him, confusion evident on his face; before he seemed to remember something.
"Okay, then I've got the small one. This way, and remember to act naturally."
The two boys stood from the barrels, slinking towards the back of the group.
As they got closer, one could make out the two men talking.
"Augh! Miguel! I hate being in the back line! We should be up there, with chief!"
"Mhm-hrk!"
Lavi, upon reaching the taller man, sprung up; landing on the mans shoulders. Then, using his legs, wrapped around his throat in a vice. The man reached up, grabbing at Lavi's legs, but was unsuccessful in pulling him off.
"Miguel?" he began, "What was th-ack!"
Skoto came a moment later, wrapping the shorter man in a headlock. He struggled and clawed at Skoto's face, but was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempts to get free. Miguel, in an attempt to get free from Lavi's hold, threw himself onto the ground. Lavi impacted the ground roughly, grunting in pain as his head rocked against the dirt. His hold remained firm however, even as the man beat on his legs; the blows glancing off of Lavi's aura. His face began to turn red, the veins on his face bloating as he struggled feebly. Skoto swept the other man's legs out from underneath him, putting himself in a crouch with his arms around his throat. Choking noises escaped his throat, and Skoto stiffened; clamping his hands down around his throat. For a moment, it seemed as though the people in front had heard the noise, but a swell of grimm brought their attention back to the breach.
"We'll be taking these back," Skoto murmured to the choking man. "Thank you for holding them for us."
As their shuffling ceased, Lavi kicked the man's larger body away, letting out a harsh breath.
"I'll get Pendulum, you get Wasp." Skoto shuffled over to the larger man's body, and with both hands lifted the hammer, grunting as he did so.
Lavi sheathed his own sword, before lifted Wasp with one hand, sheathing his sword whilst palming Wasp. The two's eyes met, and they nodded.
"Hey! What happened to those two!"
From behind the two, a few stragglers at the edge of the group had taken notice of the struggle.
"Oh crap." Lavi muttered.
"Run!" Skoto called to his brother, the two taking off towards the other edge of camp.
"Hey! Wait!" A few attempted to pursue, but were drawn back towards the breach by a dwindling swell of grimm. Skoto and Lavi ran, the encampment was mostly empty; as most of the bandits were at the other end, trying to keep the grimm from swarming through.
Skoto's eyes caught two shadows in a tent, seemingly sat at the middle of the tent.
"There," Skoto muttered, pointing towards the tent.
The two made their way to the front of the tent, and moving the flap revealed Alva and Ekri, bound to a large wooden stake. A piece of cloth was stuck in their mouth, and tied around their head; muffled words desperately trying to escape their lips. They struggled viciously, with little success. As the two made their way inside, Alva and Ekri's gaze found their brothers.
"Cavalry's here," Lavi grinned, making his way to the other two; who only struggled even more furiously. Their muffled noises growing more and more frantic.
"Okay okay sheesh," Lavi muttered, drawing his knife. With one hand, he removed the cloth from Ekri's mouth.
"That creep has Maddie!" Ekri cried.
Skoto's eyes widened almost impossibly large, before drawing his knife; quickly cutting through his brothers bindings. Ekri and Alva stood quickly, arming themselves with their lost weaponry. They quickly busted through the tent flap, running down a path guided by Ekri and Alva. Alva pointed to a fairly large tent, "There! That's where we saw him take her!"
Ekri practically tore the flap of the tent off when he reached it.
The four boys peered into the darkness, their eyes adjusting to the dark slowly. After a few moments, the boys made out two forms. One was Maddie, scarcely covered by a blanket. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose steadily in her sleep. A large welt had formed on her forehead. The second form was a man, one Skoto recognized as the man who dragged Maddie away. As the boys walked in, he was pulling up his trousers. The man turned towards them, his face was rough and grizzled; sporting a newly formed bruise across his cheek.
"Huh? Oh, you must be here for your turn right?" He chuckled, pointing a thumb back towards Maddie's resting form. "She was a fighter that one, but I slapped her around some. She'll be real quiet for you."
Something inside of them broke.
A spray of blood splattered against the cloth of the tent, and onto Maddie's sleeping form.
With a mighty roar, the chieftain brought his axe on the downed ursa major. Multiple lacerations littered his form, blood dripping down his forearms and face. His axe tore through the creatures neck like wet paper, the creature letting out a low moan of pain as it died. The chieftain slumped to one knee a moment later, using the pole of his axe to hold his body upright. Countless corpses, both grimm and bandit, littered the clearing. Approximately half of the bandits remained, with the living sporting numerous wounds.
"W-We…..we did it…." one huffed, his breath coming out in harsh, short pants.
"How many….did we lose?" The chieftain panted, nursing his right arm.
"About...half?" One muttered, "It's hard to tell….too much blood."
"How's our...ammo looking?"
"Used it all taking out the birds," one griped, "Damn things were relentless."
Any reply the chieftain had died on his lips, as a body flew through the air from the other side of camp, unceremoniously crashing into barrels with a cry of pain. The man had his trousers on, but was shirtless, fragments of barrels chipping into his form.
"What the hell?" The chieftain muttered, "Didn't think...we let any grimm past."
A few men and women removed the debris from his body, hoisting him to his feet once the broken barrels were clear. Blood dripped down his form, most of it originating from a large slash wound, starting at the shoulder and ending at his pelvis. The gash was deep, and the chieftain knew at once the man would not survive.
"What did this to you?"
The man lifted his head, his eyes wide and full of fright. With one shaky hand, he lifted a hand; pointing towards the setting moon. The chieftain turned, and his breath caught in his throat.
Four figures stood at the edge of the tents, the light from the moon silhouetting their forms. After a terse silence, the figures began to walk forward. Allowing the bandits to observe them in greater detail
Thick markings trailed along their arms and legs, wrapping around to their tricep and calf as the markings traveled further up his body. They snaked along their collarbones, the two lines becoming four as they converged on the neck. They split once again, arcing along the side of their faces till they converged at forehead. Their eyes were vacant and dull, but were focused on the bandits in front of them.
"Hey..." One man muttered, "It's those kids from earlier!"
"Yeah!" Another replied. "Only this time, they got two more brats with 'em."
One cracked his knuckles,"They must not have learned their lesson the first time."
The boys remained silent.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"
Shoot him.
I have no arrows.
Thou hast no need for those frail darts.
Alva brought his bow to bear, pulling back on the string. The bandits laughed, as the boy had nocked no arrow in the draw.
"Haha! Look at that, little shits so scared he forgot how to use his bow!" He chortled loudly, picking up a sword from the ground. "Hey idiot!" he called, "You forgot the arro-"
A soft glow emanated from the marks along his arm, until a light in the shape of a ball formed at the notch of the bow. The light was amorphous at first, but was given form after a few moments. The light took the shape of a simple arrow, before seemingly solidifying with a flash.
"….Oh shi-"
Alva released the string, and the snap of the bowstring echoed in the silence of the clearing. The 'arrow' sailed through the air at blinding speeds, a trail of gleaming light left behind as it flew. The arrow founds it mark in the man's torso, but was unfettered as it pierced through him, bursting against the wall a moment later. The man looked down in a daze, his eyes unfocused whilst the hole in his torso steamed; his body fell to the ground in a heap a moment later. Silence settled over the clearing, whilst the smoking corpse of the man sizzled.
Then like a dam, the bandits rushed towards the boy; loosing a war-cry from their lips as they charged.
"Wait!" The chieftain cried. "You fools! Fight as one!"
Burn them.
I have no fire.
Thou art never without fire.
Ekri planted his war hammer firmly into the ground. The marks along his throat and forehead illuminated violently, flashing brilliantly in the dark. His throat bulged, as if he were about to retch. Then, with a mighty bellow, a gout of flame loosed from his lips, extending in a cone in front of him. Fire hungrily lapped at the charging bandits, encasing their forms after but moments spent in the blaze. The victims screamed in pain, collapsing to the floor; desperately attempting to put the flames out. The inferno burned on, however, till the victims panicked struggles stilled, their screams silenced. The flame lessened till naught but a trail of smoke billowed from Ekri's lips. The markings began to lose their glow, as Ekri dropped to one knee; breathing heavily.
The few remaining bandits were effectively cowed, their legs shaking as they backed towards the breach. For some, their fear was so great they attempted to escape through the breach.
Give chase.
I am tired.
Thou wilst never tire.
Lavi darted forward, his movements sluggish. As he passed, a bandit clumsily attempted a swing of his axe. Lavi ducked under the swing, placing his hand on the man's arm. The man let out a wheezing cough, falling to his knees quickly; his breath coming out in quickly and shallow. Lavi's grip on the man's arm tightened, and one could see the marks on his arm swallowing what little moonlight illuminated their forms. The bandit slumped to the floor face-first, while Lavi stood up straight and tall. The bags under his eyes slowly disappeared, his shoulders standing more firmly. With newfound speed, Lavi tore into the fray; his blades but flashes of steel. His blades cleaved through muscle and sinew, flecks of blood coating his form. With a leap, landed on the back of a man who had turned to flee, sinking his weapons deep into his torso. Lavi rose his head, transitioning into a backwards flip as the chieftain's axe traveled in a downward arc, the missed swing cleaving deep into his own bandit's corpse. The chieftain's eyes were frantic, as he stared at the four boys.
"D-Demons!" he cried. "S-Stay back!"
A handful of bandits remained, surrounding their frightened leader. Skoto strode forward calmly, his glaive transitioning to the wicked scythe form mid-stride.
Guide them to the end.
I do not know the way.
I will show you.
Skoto's eyes burned with a pale green, as the marks traveling his body emanated a soft glow. His sight changed, and he saw the world in a way that he found difficult to describe. Their forms faded away, bleeding into different colors, casting each person in a colorful glow. The bandits in front of him, were muted earth tones; the only exception being the chieftain, who was a muddy brown. Each color, also contained a vile purple color, which pulsed angrily at the center of the nebulous shapes. As he strode forward, he saw the strange shapes move towards him; each one carrying a muted gray in their hands as they charged. Their charge was not slow, but Skoto saw – no, this was not seeing, something new and alien to any sensation he had ever experienced. Their movement tingled along his arms and legs, swelling in his chest and stomach, brushing along his eyes and ear; each so clear and vivid it was if he could feel – yes, feel their movements. The colors, began to lean and lurch towards him, as if they were dancing.
Skoto could do naught but dance along.
Skoto weaved through the colors as they came at him, his body twisting elegantly as the earth tones careened around him. His body instinctively bringing his scythe down upon the colors as he danced. When his scythe collided with the colors, it was as if he'd torn open a water balloon; and the colors drained, leaving behind empty clouds of stillness.
Once all of the earth tones had been drained, Skoto set his eyes upon the brown with a sliver of purple within it. For some reason he couldn't explain, the pulsing purple left a terrible taste in his mouth; akin to a caustic, rotted fruit.
"Come then, vile thing." He whispered, his voice a cacophony of different, indistinguishable sounds. "I will free you….Free you of that filth inside of you."
The earthen tone spasmed violently, before it too lunged towards Skoto, bringing with it a muted gray in the shape of a large axe. The strike was not slow, none of them were; Skoto was simply so aware of the impending blow that it was simple to twist out of the way. Skoto barely registered the weight of his pole-arm, as he swung it in a wide arc, the color draining from the earthen tone. Skoto watched, enraptured as the bronze pigment drained from the amorphous bead.
Beautiful, is it not?
As quickly as the sight came, it faded; and Skoto's vision returned to normal. It was bright, at first; but as the light faded Skoto felt shock crawl up his veins like a terrible chill.
His hands, which were once a vivid and peaceful gray, were now coated in a viscous red. As his vision cleared further, Skoto felt bile squirm in his throat. Surrounding him, were countless lacerated corpses, their life-blood spilling from the body in thick spurts. His head whirled in around, his eyes and movements becoming more frantic. His eyes spun around the clearing, before settling on the corpse of the chieftain. He had been decapitated, an expression of shock and anguish carved onto his face. He sunk to his knees, into crimson-stained grass. Unbidden, tears began to fall from his face, as sobs racked his body. He sat there, even as villagers began to appear from the other end of the camp. Even as their whispers of fear and wonder brushed against his ears.
Eventually, Skoto rose from his knees. Wiping his face with the back of his sleeve, Skoto turned towards his brothers. They laid about ten yards from him, their eyes closed with chests rising steadily and peacefully. Skoto stumbled over to their forms, and promptly collapsed alongside them, falling into a dreamless slumber.
When Maddie awoke, she felt a terrible throbbing in her head, and a hand gripping her shoulder. She sat up, violently, lashing out at some unseen force atop her with a panicked yell. A woman's soothing voice filled her ear, one she did not recognize. She opened her eyes, and while it was bright for a moment, she awoke with an old woman looming over her. She was a faunus, with horns of a sheep sitting atop her graying hair. Her face was slender, with light blue eyes.
"It's okay...hush…. you are safe. We are free."
"The children," Maddie whimpered after a moment. "Are the children safe?"
"Yes, they are all unharmed. All of our people are….unharmed."
"What happened?" Maddie groaned, clutching at her head.
The woman grimaced, "I'm not certain, all of us were kept at the opposite end of the camp. By the time one of the children managed to wiggle out of his bindings, it was already over."
Maddie sat up, slowly, aided by the woman. She idly took note of the fact she was still in a tent – different from the one she was in last night, at the very least. She kept the blanket around her lower body, grimly noting the soreness she felt prickling at her thighs and pelvis. She roughly shook her head in an attempt to force the thoughts away. The woman hissed through her teeth; grasping at Maddie's head gently yet firmly.
"Easy girl, that filth may have given you a concussion."
Maddie's eye widened, turning to stare deeply into the woman's sorrowful blue eyes.
"Yes...I know what happened to you."
"...How?" Maddie finally whispered.
"A blind man could have pieced it together..." She hesitated, placing her hands in her lap as she sat beside her. "But let's just say I've experience in the matter."
"You…?"
"Yes, I was. The circumstances were different, but I was in your shoes, a very long time ago."
"Then," Maddie swallowed dryly, her voice catching. "W-What do I do?"
"You talk to a professional," the woman replied. "Someone that is trained and licensed to help you through it. Make no mistake – I am more than willing to listen, but that's it. I can't help you like a qualified person can."
"Do you see any licensed therapists around here?" Maddie replied dryly, a hollow look in her eyes.
"Talking smack is a good sign, I think." The old woman replied, "You're taking this rather well."
"I want to cry." Maddie replied, "I want to cry and scream until my throat is sore; but what good would that do? What's done is done. I'll save my tears for when they matter."
"That's probably a detrimental coping mechanism," the woman remarked after a moment of silence. "But if that's what helps you move forward, it can't be that bad, right?"
Maddie did not reply, and began to rise from her bedded position with the old woman's aid. The woman appeared to have replaced her torn and soiled clothing with surprisingly clean; but unremarkable clothing. She rose completely, resting her weight on the surprising firm shoulder of the old woman.
"I'm Maddie, by the way."
"Ciara," the woman replied, her withered hand resting delicately on her shoulder. "Ciara Craith. But just call me gran, everyone does."
"Oh..." Maddie muttered, embarrassed. "Satet. I'm Maddie Satet."
"It's quite alright, I imagine you're not quite used to using last names."
"Yes," Maddie replied. "It supposed to help the boys and gi-" Her words cut off as a look of realization spread across her face.
"The boys!" She gasped. Her eyes frantically met with the Ciara's surprised eyes, and she gripped her shoulder tighter. "Have you seen the four that were leading us? They have white, red, black and gra-"
"Calm down!" Ciara gasped, pain in her voice. Maddie slackened her grip on her shoulder, her eyes filled with remorse.
"I'm sorry," She whispered.
"That's the grip of a mother," Ciara declared after a moment.
"I'm not thei..." She sighed, almost happily. "Have you seen them?"
"Yes. They're here, at the other side of camp.
"Can you take me to them?" Maddie pleaded.
A look of hesitation appeared on Ciara's face, words struggling to spill from her mouth.
"I can...but whatever happened last night..." The woman exhaled. "Well, the reason we're not still bound isn't because those bastards had a change of heart." Her blue eyes met with Maddie's brown, and at once she understood the meaning.
"They're…?"
"Dead, yes."
Her boys had…
"Please take me to them." Maddie begged.
"Okay," Ciara relented. "But mind the smell."
Maddie leaned on Ciara, and the two made their way to the flap of the tent. They walked down a makeshift path, the sun hanging high overhead. The further they walked along the path, the more evident a foul scent became to Maddie's sensitive nose. Repressing a gag at the pungent and rotten scent, Maddie pressed on. After what felt like ages, the two finally neared the other end of camp.
Maddie successfully held the bile in, but only just. The corpses had quickly began to rot under the morning sun, the acrid smell was suffocating and overwhelming. A few bodies were blackened, curled up in a fetal position. Repressing her disgust, she turned to Ciara.
"Where are they?"
"Here," She motioned to a tent adjacent to the clearing. Quickly shuffling their way towards the tent, Maddie clambered inside quickly.
The four boys were laid out on four separate sleeping pads that were carefully placed side by side. Skoto's blanket was spread out across all four of their bodies, forcing them to huddle closer together to fit underneath.
Maddie felt her eyes glisten with unshed tears, and brought a single hand up to wipe away the liquid. Relinquishing her hold on Ciara, Maddie shuffled over to the sleeping boys. She sat down next to them, gently running her hands through their hair.
"I'll leave you be," Ciara stated, making for the exit. "We'll move when the boys have awakened?" She asked.
Maddie simply nodded, not trusting her voice to relay the words properly.
Her boys…
Maddie noticed flakes of dried blood some of their exposed skin, and gently ran her hands along the skin till the flakes had been rubbed off. Her eyes spied the black marks that ran along their arm.
"What is this?" She asked quietly, "Your semblances? Of course you'd all unlock them at the same time."
Her hands traced the marks, till they ended up at their foreheads.
"You..." She started, choking on her own words. "You all did well. You defended us, no matter what anyone says. You did what you had too, I'm sure of it." She laid a tender kiss on each of their foreheads, "And I am so incredibly proud of you. Of each of you."
"We didn't do what was right." Skoto answered, his eyes still closed. Maddie flinched at the sound of his voice, not expecting him to be awake.
"We killed them in cold blood. Some of them tried to run, but we killed them anyway. I'm not good. We weren't defending anything."
"I burned them." Came Ekri's shuddering whimpers. "They won't stop screaming. Even when I sleep. That wasn't right."
"I k-killed them," Lavi whimpered. "I didn't want to kill them...but I was j-just so angry. I couldn't stop myself..." He broke off into a fit of sobs, ducking under the blanket.
Alva muttered under his breath. "The a-arrows flew through them like they w-were nothing. They didn't even bleed. There were just...holes. It wasn't right, Maddie. It didn't feel right at all."
Maddie caressed her boy's heads, softly brushing away their tears. "Maybe you're right," she began. "Maybe what you did was wrong. Some of those people probably didn't deserve what happened to them." She brushed hair off of his face, and she saw his eyes were dark and harrowed. "I've never taken a life, so I can't claim to know a single thing about what you're going through. But I know that you did it to protect all of us. Sometimes, doing the right thing will make you feel wrong." She felt her own tears falling down her face. "I'm sorry..." She sobbed, "I don't know what to tell you - how to help you-!"
She was cut off by four warm bodies colliding with her. She stiffened for a moment, her instincts betraying her; before burying the feeling within her and stretching her arms as wide as possible, desperately drawing them in closer to her.
"Hush now..." She bawled. "I-It's all right now."
"I-I wasn't strong enough," Ekri whimpered. "If I had b-been paying better a-attention, they n-never would have caught us off guard, a-and y-you wouldn't have bee-" Ekri was cut off his voice failing him.
"Don't you dare blame yourself." She whispered. "That wasn't your fault." She brushed the hair from his forehead, staring down at his wounded face. "We didn't ever get to treat this properly, did we?" Maddie whispered, tracing her hands along the healed scars on his face. His eye was intact, but the wounds had left a considerable amount of scarring on his face. "I'm sorry, Ekri."
"It's okay," He whispered. "I've already got plenty of scars. One more doesn't bother me." A large yawn escaped from his throat, his eyes drooping.
"Don't go to sleep yet," Lavi whispered. "We still...have to get to the river."
Maddie began to hum a gentle, soft melody. It's tone was light and rich, and fell upon the boy's ears; their bodies relaxing as she continued her gentle humming. Before they knew it, Ekri, Lavi and Alva had all fallen asleep. Skoto remained awake, his eyes struggling to stay open.
"You can rest for a while, Skoto." Maddie reassured him.
"I'll rest...when we're safe." he replied.
"I see," she responded. "Then I'll stay awake, and wake you up at the first sign of danger. Okay?"
"...Promise?"
"I promise."
Skoto curled up beside her, resting his head on her lap. He gently drifted off into sleep once more.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Are we there yet?" Ekri asked sullenly.
"Close," Alva muttered, his frame drooping. "Can't you feel the humidity in the air?"
"I don't have nerd senses," Ekri replied, his voice lacking energy. Maddie was slung across his back, her head resting against the crook of his neck as she slept. "Let's just cross the stupid thing. I'm sick of this shitty forest."
"Language," Lavi stated blandly.
Ekri simply huffed, his eyes vacantly staring forward.
A lengthy silence fell over the group after that. The boys lead at the front of the group, with the villagers following a considerable distance behind. No sounds emanated from the forest, even as the sun beat down on them from high above. A loud snarling caused all but the boy's at the front of the group to flinch in fear. A large ursa lumbered from the depths of the forest, growling at the boys at the front. The creature appeared to be alone, as no other grimm accompanied it.
Ekri merely groaned in annoyance, "Really? More of you?"
"You took care of the last one," Skoto stated. "I will handle this one."
Skoto drew his blade, and in one quick motion, ducked under the creatures tremendous paw; before removing the creatures head from it's body. As it's head rolled away, Skoto could be seen shivering lightly; before strapping his weapon to his back as it folded into it's compact form.
The boys casually walked past the corpse casually, even as the creature slumped to the dirt. As they walked on, a sound started to resound throughout the forest. A gentle gurgling began to resound through the brush.
"Hear that?" Alva stated suddenly. "It's water."
The boys quickened their pace, and after a moment the broke the treeline, revealing an immense river. The water churned and sparkled in the mid-day sun, the natural incline of the land dragging the water out towards the sea. A fresh scent hung in the air, and the boys could not help but inhale the intoxicating scent. A large rope bridge, spanning the entire length of the river, swayed gently as the water churned.
"So this is it, huh?" Lavi muttered in awe.
"It's….beautiful." Alva declared after a concise silence.
For a moment, the boys and villagers did naught but stare at the river. Then, the villagers began to cheer, the children joining a moment later. Happy tears sprung from many of their eyes, some taking a moment to embrace the other.
The boys couldn't find it within themselves to do the same.
"You four don't seem all that happy," A woman's voice called out. The boys turned, and saw a woman with light blue eyes, gray hair, and the horns of a sheep walking towards them.
"The blood on my hands is spoiling my mood," Skoto replied, a wry tone in his voice.
"Yep," The woman mock-sighed. "You're definitely her kids."
"What?"
"Oh, don't mind me." She whispered conspiratorially. "Just talking to myself."
"Right…." Ekri muttered.
"That was quite the mess you boys left back there," She stated, conversationally. "You didn't look like you were capable of that, till you were covered in blood of course."
A anxious silence set over the boys for a moment.
"Listen... uh..."
"Ciara," She answered pleasantly. "Ciara Craith. But just call me gran, everyone does."
"Right...okay 'gran'." Ekri started. "It's been a long couple days, and of all the things I don't wanna talk about that happened; that is real close to the top of the list."
"Fair enough," Ciara mused. "But perhaps you should talk about it at some point." She poked a finger into his chest, "Not talking about it at all is just as bad, if not worse, than being forced to talk about it, shrimp."
"Shrimp...?" Ekri muttered, looking down on the woman.
"Ah, but what do I know?" She shrugged. "I'm just some old lady. Definitely don't have loads of world experience or anything like that, right?" She elbowed his side mockingly, before making her way towards the bridge, ignoring the celebrating villagers.
"Huh..." Lavi muttered. "She was...nice?"
"Yeah," Ekri stated, drawing out the word awkwardly. "Nice. She was nice."
"Are you whippersnappers coming, or what?!" She called from the foot of the bridge.
The group, paused, before they began to make their way across, and each of the boys held their breath as the rickety platform creaked under the weight. They looked to the forest, an apprehensive look on their faces. When the final villager crossed, they slowly began to release their held breath, glancing at each other at the end of the exhale.
"Glad to know I wasn't the only one expecting some big bastard to pop out of the water," Ekri chuckled grimly.
"Our luck the past few days would have certainly allowed for it."
"I'd prefer you didn't jinx it," Skoto said, making for the bridge. "C'mon, lets go get ahold of this 'Ozpin'.
"Glynda, have you found the time to look over the files of the incoming students?"
"I have," she replied, placing a large stack of vanilla folders on his desk. "They are a promising bunch."
"So they are," he replied, sipping his coffee whilst taking hold of a folder. "I apologize if the task was arduous, I realize that classes do not for another six months, but I wished to be prepared."
"It was no problem," Glynda replied. "It was for my benefit as well."
"So, what did you think of -"
A sudden buzzing coming from the inside of his drawer cut off his speech.
"Ah, excuse me." He reached for the drawer, pulling a scroll out.
"Strange, I do not recognize the number..." he muttered, before answering.
"-he hell do you work this thing?" A voice came through.
"Let me see it, you have no idea what you're doing."
"Wait, I think I've got it. Hello?"
"Hello." Ozpin answered pleasantly, "Who are you, and how did you get this number?"
"Ah," shuffling was heard, along with what sounded like muted yelling. "Khai said to contact a guy named...Ozpin, said we could find him at this number."
"Khai?" Ozpin remarked. "To receive two calls from him within the same year….what does he want this time?"
"He's…Khai is dead."
Silence settled as the sentence resounded through Ozpin's office.
"...Dead, you say? Are you certain of that?"
"Yes."
Ozpin sighed and looked very old and tired in that moment. He leaned forward; rubbing the bridge of his nose. "That is...a shame. A terrible shame. " Ozpin took a deep swig from his mug before continuing. "That still does not answer my question, however – who are you?"
"We're…We were under his care. Our village was overrun by grimm, and he stayed behind to prevent us from being pursued. He said you could help us. We have children and civilians, some in need of medical attention."
"I see," Ozpin answered. "In that case, stay where you are. I will dispatch bullheads to your location immediately."
"Ah," another voice answered. "Thank god, I am so ready to get out of this goddamn forest."
"Langu-!"
Ozpin ended the call, before rising from his desk.
"Sir?" Glynda asked.
"If you wouldn't mind," Ozpin started, grasping his cane. "Would you ready some bullheads? It appears we've some guests arriving in Vale."
Ah, we get ever closer to the start of the show. I'll admit, this will be my first time writing the canon characters. I hope I do not disappoint.
Also, I hope you aren't shocked by the transition of more explicit events in the story. I decided on a mature rating from the beginning, with the plan of easing into it as the story progressed.
Finally got to reveal the semblances, as well. I spent a great deal of time deciding what they should be, and I must say; I'm satisfied with the results. I feel like they fit the characters well.
We also got introduced to another character, Ciara. It's possible she'll obtain a larger role in the story - but maybe not. I haven't decided yet, actually.
I'd love to get some of you feedback on all of this, or any other questions or remarks you have to make; your reviews and reading are greatly appreciated
But uh, that should about do it for this chapter.
See you next time!
