I Will Not Scatter
Chapter 10
Can You Follow?
Apparently, at the premier huntsmen school that was Beacon academy, "trust exercises" meant baby's first training missions. However, they weren't exactly what the older students were assigned nor did they involve free falling into your partner's arms while battling Grimm hordes. At the end of the school day, three days a week, they were passed off to a staff member who would take them on a little excursion that would last no more than two to three hours at most; said staff member would then apply a rule that they had to follow, and that usually involved something that forced you to depend on one of your teammates.
Once they were only allowed to communicate with others using written cards that one's partner was holding. To talk to your partner, you had to use charades or non-verbal cues and they had to interpret which cards you wanted. During that exercise, they were instructed to find a rather seedy establishment to supposedly get information about Grimm smugglers, and had had to ask directions from civilians using said card cues. It had been infuriatingly difficult for her. Luckily, the people of Vale were seemingly used to Beacon student shenanigans, because for the most part they went along with it. Professor Wu had stood by the entire time, quietly applauding them when they managed to actually find the place.
Another time, they had to carry their partners piggyback style while trying to outrun Boarbatusks, luring the Grimm into a killing pen. Murt had come up with that one, and had been thoroughly amused by the correlation between piggyback and Boarbatusks; he'd watched from a tree and laughed heartily the entire time. Summer at least had believed it was great fun, racing ahead of her brother and Tai while carrying her. Raven had only taken satisfaction in the fact that her brother had dropped Taiyang, who had been making fun of her face at being toted around like a disgruntled koala. The boys had had to do it over, while they got to watch from the tree with Murt.
Today, after being dismissed from Grimm Biology, team STRQ ambled down to Professor Arc's office. Summer was practically skipping, followed by an amused Qrow and Taiyang. Raven was admittedly dragging her feet. She did not want to deal with this today; but hopefully, if they went through the motions, then they'd eventually be out of the headmaster's eye and back to actually learning what they'd actually to learn.
Arc was dismantling several training weapons and performing maintenance on the components when they entered her office; it was a brightly lit room full of gear, pads, punching bags, and training droids. The teens stood there awkwardly as she finished what she was doing and looked up, green eyes intense as ever.
"Afternoon, teach," smiled Qrow roguishly. Her brother had developed a bit of a crush on the older woman, and enjoyed antagonizing her when he could get away with it.
"It's Professor Arc to you, Mr. Branwen," she responded coolly, standing up. "We've gone over this. Several times."
"Yes ma'am."
"So what are we doing today, Professor?" asked Summer, thumbs in her pockets.
"Well," she picked her screen up. "I've decided that you lot should get another excursion in to the city."
"Oooh do we get to use cards again!?" chirped her partner. She had enjoyed charades; it meant she got to wave about even more than she did normally.
"Not this time," said Arc.
Summer tried to conceal her disappointment and failed. The Professor picked a box up off the floor, and pulled out four sets of what appeared to be blindfolds. Qrow's face lit up in an expression that was probably indecent; Raven kicked his shin before anyone else could see.
"Today," the professor continued, oblivious to the twin's taking turns kicking each other. "You will take turns guiding your blindfolded teammates through the city. You will not be allowed to speak to them verbally, but they can ask you questions. You will be allowed to touch them, but!"
She looked up suddenly and they all flinched in horror.
"It will be appropriate touching at all times or I will scald the hormonal soup out of your damn heads, I swear to Dust. These are trust exercises, not 'let's play grab-ass', do I make myself clear?"
"Yes ma'am."
"I would never-"
"Heh, soup."
"Have you had problems with that before?" asked Raven.
"Nothing but people being silly, but I made sure they never did it again," the Professor muttered. "Now! Partners are going to switch for the first round; Taiyang, you'll work with Raven. Qrow, you'll guide Summer."
Raven glanced at Taiyang who had that mischievous look on his face again as he tried to hand her a blindfold; she stared flatly. She had to draw the line somewhere right?
"No."
His face fell. She couldn't tell if he was genuinely disappointed or not, and didn't care. Professor Arc was studying her as if she was inspecting her mental schematics, like one of her precious weapons laid out on the table before them.
"Why?" she asked, tone blunt.
"I am not comfortable with this, and I will not do it," she said in a monotone. "No amount of threats or outrage is going to convince me either."
Summer looked at her in concern, ears flicking.
"You aren't comfortable with the exercise or you aren't comfortable with Taiyang as your partner for it?" asked Arc, straight to the point.
"Both."
"Why?" she asked again.
"I don't have to justify myself," she said.
"Hmmm. What if you guided Taiyang and he wore the blindfold?" Arc suggested.
Raven shrugged.
"Better."
"You can compromise on that?"
She looked at Tai, who seemed legitimately hurt but too stubborn or proud to say anything about it. She thought that was a bit rich, seeing how just the other week, he had not wanted to be her teammate at all and had called her a neurotic jerkwad. People were strange.
"Yea, ok."
"Mr. Xiao Long, are you alright with that?" the professor asked.
"Sure," he said. "It's not a big deal."
"Alright. Do either of you two have an issue with exercise?" she asked Summer and Qrow, hands on her hips.
Summer and Qrow looked at each other before shaking their heads.
"Good!" Arc clapped her hands together crisply. "Let's get to a transport, then, I don't want to take a ferry. They smell like bleach and vomit. The exercise will start the moment we take off."
The group struggled to keep up with Professor Arc's tiny but brisk strides. Occasionally, Taiyang would hang back like he was trying to talk to her, but never seemed able to convey what he wanted. Finally, he gave up and just trotted along besides her.
The transport was an old clunker that Arc gave an extremely cynical sniff at, grumbling something about 'like being back home' and 'budget cuts'; the pilot, who had had his feet propped up on the dashboard reading a magazine nearly pissed himself when she yelled up at him to 'quit screwing off'. She turned to face them on her heel and appeared surprised.
"Why are you all still standing there?! Load up!"
They scurried onto the transport. Qrow handed Summer her blindfold, who donned it and stuck her tongue out at him goofily, before patting at his face. He laughed.
Taiyang had seemingly recovered from any hurt feelings he may have had; he passed her his blindfold to tie on for him. He was a bit more reserved than normal, though.
As the transport lifted off the ground with a shudder and drunk list, Raven dutifully steadied him before putting his hand around a handhold hanging from the ceiling. Qrow caught Summer and lifted her up, letting her hang on to him cautiously.
Professor Arc rolled with the aircraft without ever losing her footing.
"So! Today's mission is simple: guide your blind teammates to the spot marked on your maps without letting anything bad happen to them!"
Raven and Qrow shared a look, before he raised his free hand.
"Yes, Mr. Branwen?"
"I feel like I'm at a bit of a disadvantage here; just gonna point that out."
"Why?" she asked.
"You know why," he rasped.
"Yes. And?"
"Well then, for the record, I'd like to state that this is bullshit. That's all," he grumbled.
"Noted," Arc smiled sharply. "Are you saying you can't do it?"
"…No."
"Good. You're right. This will be difficult, for you especially; you are at a disadvantage. But you have to learn to work around your Semblance's weaknesses Mr. Branwen. And the only way to do that is to try your very best."
Raven studied her twin, who was holding her partner like an egg he might accidentally drop at any second. With dull acceptance she realized her concern extended to both of them. Their glorious leader did not seem worried for herself in the slightest, and kept patting Qrow's face comfortingly.
"You'll be great."
The transport shuddered and groaned its way through the skies, soaring over the outskirts of Vale. Raven stared down at the city below. So much wealth resided there; tiny people safe from the Grimm in their cute little houses, secure in the knowledge that other people were working to keep them safe. They could walk down a street without their weapons. They could stroll in a park with their families, and pop down to the store for food or Dust or anything they wanted. It was insane to her that something like this could exist in the face of every horrible thing that lay outside the kingdoms walls. She didn't know if she hated those tiny people below, or if she wished she was one of them.
Minutes later, they touched down in the city, on a flat rooftop. Raven and Qrow leapt down first to help their partners; Tai waited until she reached out and took his hand. His palm was rough and warm, and he stepped easily to the rooftop.
Summer just fucking pounced at Qrow, laughing as she made him catch her. Her sense of smell and hearing definitely gave her an edge in this endeavor, because despite the blindfold, she followed Qrows movements.
Arc paced in front of them, imperious and stern. The woman really didn't fit Raven's idea of someone from Vacuo at all.
"Qrow, Raven, you have your maps and I assume you can read them. The four of you must reach the target marked there. Your blind teammates are not allowed to fight; you are escorting them. Don't let anyone or anything impede you, but also don't hurt any civilians that bumble into you or your teammates ways."
"Violently shoulder check all pedestrians that mess with the blind guy," she muttered. "Got it."
Taiyang chuckled besides her.
"Begin!" barked the little professor.
She reached out and took Tai's hand, leading him towards the stairs; the boy trailed after her, a wry twist to his lips. How she was going to get him down the stairs without being able to talk to him she had no idea.
"So does this count as a… 'blind date'?" he joked. She stopped suddenly and let him run into her.
"Ouch! I was kidding, c'mon!"
Sighing, she pulled him through the doorway; the stairwell was several flights and dimly lit. She glared suspiciously at it. Perhaps there was an ambush lying in wait.
"You're thinking about pushing me off something aren't you?"
She tilted her head in consideration. That would get him down the stairs. Shaking her head, she considered her options. She couldn't walk backwards to guide him, she might waltz ass first into something she did not want to waltz ass first into.
She placed both his hands on her shoulders, and at the edge of the stairs tapped his knees.
"Step?" he guessed. She nodded.
Tai stepped after her, surprisingly confident. Behind them came Qrow and Summer, Qrow's brow was tense with concentration. He looked like he might just scoop her up and carry her to the target, but that was not allowed unless they were being pursued apparently. Summer held his hands carelessly, ears up and listening to every little thing. Qrow copied Raven's method, carefully keeping track of Summer's footsteps and any sign of his Semblance acting up. They moved more slowly than her and Tai.
As Raven grew more relaxed, she picked up speed as they descended the stairwell; so relaxed, she almost didn't notice the trap on the last flight in time. She threw her hand back and pressed against Tai's chest as he halted.
"What's up?" he asked.
She couldn't speak, but maybe she could spell it on his hand. Taking a finger, she started spelling 'trap' in his palm.
"T..R..A..D? No, P. Trap," he enunciated. "Oooh ok. So we're in a trap house, awesome. Are we going to be blind drug mules then?"
Raven rolled her eyes but found herself smiling anyways. In front of them, the staircase was rigged to collapse, which she honestly thought was a crap thing to do to a bad luck harbinger and a couple of blindfolded kids. No matter how deadly those kids were.
She considered their options. She could trigger the trap at a safe distance and see how much of the stairs fell; the downside could be that the trap took out all of the stairs. Or, she could just cheat.
She tapped Tai's fanny-pack. He pursed his mouth. She tapped again, impatient.
"Can I help you?"
She glared at him. He was being dense on purpose. She shook the leather pack, noticing the stitched up zombie face sewn onto the front of the bag.
"Dooo you want a snack? A water? Dust cartridges? A snorkel? A towel?"
She huffed, loudly.
"A….puppy? Bird feed? A Semblance?"
Dick. She took his palm and wrote 'fuck off'.
"Geez, what?!"
She wrote 'portal' in his hand.
"Ooh, well why didn't you say so?" he asked, grinning. "Kind of surprised you're actually asking this time."
She could still push him. He pulled out two balls of duck-tape, rolled in such a way that the adhesive was on the outside. He handed them to her carefully.
"Don't teleport your hands off," he muttered. "Those babies are live."
Raven tossed one duck-tape ball to the base of the stair well, past the wires and rickety plywood. It stuck for a moment before cracking to life, a brilliant yellow color. She stuck the other the wall besides them. It sprang open, connecting to its twin.
Qrow and Summer had caught up to them. Qrow took one look at the rigged staircase, and his eyes widened, before he started desperately pointing at the portal; Raven didn't stop to question him. She dragged Taiyang through the portal, and fell through on the other side. Qrow could feel when his Semblance affected something or someone, and could see the strings of fate and fortune that connected people and objects. So he knew when something might go tits up.
Raven was already pulling Tai to a safe distance as her brother and partner tumbled through after them, and the stairs immediately rumbled and collapsed. Qrow picked Summer up and placed her as far away from the ragged pile of stairs as he could, sweating. She smiled at him reassuringly.
"I'm good! You're doing great, Qrow!"
Something in her chest twitched at the sight of her brother smiling in relief at Summer; she didn't have the words or insight to describe why, but it was like a blend of joy and sorrow. He noticed her looking at him strangely, and as was the ancient custom of their people, promptly flipped her off. She responded automatically in kind.
"Are we going to move again, or do I need to get out the tents?" asked Tai dryly.
She took his hand and led the way out of the building and into the dimming sunlight. They were in an abandoned building in the rougher part of the commercial district. The map was marked for the opposite end of the district, with latitude and longitude marked out in neat, militant hand writing. Why they didn't just upload the damn thing to their new scrolls, Raven did not know.
Alert and searching for any unpleasant surprises amongst the crowds, Raven led the way down the street. Some people admittedly stopped to stare at the four armed huntsmen stumbling blind and mute down the street. Perhaps they thought they were being hazed, or were part of a bizarre cult. However, no one said anything about it, and most had the sense to get out of the way.
Raven forgot to 'mention' a curb at one point, and Taiyang nearly ate shit on the concrete. She caught him, eyes bugging for half a second. He laughed it off as she helped him up, ears as red as her armored gauntlets. She noted grudgingly that he smelled nice, like leather and pine. Taking his hand again, she noticed Qrow shooting her a smug look that she did not appreciate at all.
After about twenty minutes of dodging traffic, sudden potholes, drunk people, dogs on leashes and one guy with crutches, they had neared the site marked on the map. She and Qrow both stopped, inspecting the scene. It was a small, well kempt park with fountains, a running trail and children playing.
Cautiously, they proceeded forward. The screech of tires pulled her gaze to the right, and she stopped short, Tai running his nose into the back of her head with a yelp. A black van was barreling towards them, hopping the curb and knocking a street sign over.
"Well that doesn't sound fun," Tai said stuffily, before she promptly shoved him into the bushes and jumped away from the vans bumper.
Qrow had managed to pick Summer up and in an aura fueled jump, leapt on top of the granite wall behind the bushes that Tai was currently sticking out of. The van had come to a screeching between her and the others. In the driver's seat was Murt, grinning like a madman escaped from a hillbilly asylum. The door slid open, and out popped several more of their so-called instructors, dressed in black and carrying paintball rifles.
Raven didn't hesitate. She kicked the first one right in the face; Peter Port's aura flared as he was knocked back into the van, falling on top of another person. She used her momentum to flip jump to the top of the van, unsheathed her sword and sweep away the paintballs that were now flying her way. She realized, distantly, that this was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever been a part of; she wondered what her tribe would think of her right now, and realized, she did not want to know.
Qrow set Summer on the wall temporarily, leapt onto the van with her, and then there were two of them slicing and splashing paint every which way. People walking in the park had stopped to watch them, and a few were taking photos. Murt, crafty bastard that he was, just starting backing the van up, leaving their hapless teammates exposed. Cursing, Raven fell on top of the van's front and stabbed it while Qrow covered her, triggering her fire Dust; it ignited, leaving the van's engine smoking and dead, as she pulled the blade free and charged their nutty professors.
"Whooo watcher now!" cackled Murt, sticking his head out the window.
"Kick their butts, guys!" Summer cheered wildly from the wall.
She bowled into the mass of black sweaters, kicking and slashing; considering they were just paintball guns, it wasn't hard to disarm them, but they were all trained in hand to hand combat and were instructors at a school for huntsmen. If they had been serious, she probably would have died.
Qrow swept in with his scythe, knocking over opponents, Semblance catching Professor Wu who actually decked another guy right in the mouth so hard he shot down the street. The twins made eye contact in the chaos, came to the same conclusion, and Raven darted over to the bushes and proceeded to fireman carry Taiyang towards the drop point as Qrow caused more chaos. They couldn't win in a fight against them all, even without real weapons. The mission was to get Tai and Summer to the drop point anyways.
Tai hung limply, a humorous look on his face despite the fact that she was literally hauling him like a sack of potatoes; or perhaps because of that. Behind them, Qrow had scooped Summer up over one shoulder, and was sprinting after her. In the middle of the park was a bench, and sitting there in all her diminutive might was Professor Arc. They skidded to a stop in front of her, panting a bit desperately. Summer was giggling hilariously from where she hung from Qrow's arm.
"Welp, Joan, she killed it!" called Murt from the van. "Guess we're gettin a taxi!"
Professor Arc graced them with a small smile that reached her fierce green eyes and they relaxed.
"Good work," she said. The Branwen's relaxed with unanimous groans and set both of their teammates on the ground. Tai and Summer pulled their blindfolds down and laughed at each other, and the fact that their partners were covered head to toe in wild splashes of paint.
"Right! Take ten, and then switch! Summer, you'll be guiding Raven! Taiyang, Qrow! Drink some water, too please, you're both pale enough as it is," instructed Arc, pulling her screen up. "I will update your maps."
Tai pulled out some water bottles, passing them out; when she took hers, paint smeared across the plastic. She really hoped this didn't stain her armor or sheath, that would be distressing. Team STRQ collectively plopped down on the grass, chugging water and inspecting each other; Summer had dipped her finger in the paint on Qrow's shoulder and drew a smiley face on his hand. Taiyang somehow managed to convince him to give him his other hand, and promptly drew a dick. Qrow responded by sharing some of the love and wiping his hand on Taiyang's face.
"Ok! Enough lounging around, we need to be back in time for chow!" barked Professor Arc. They all leapt to their feet, gathering their weapons. "Same rules as before! Taiyang, Summer, you have the maps! No talking, I know that'll be hard for you Ms. Rose-"
"Hey, c'mon!"
"Get those blindfolds on!"
Raven glanced at Summer, who smiled gently and handed over the red bandana. She took it and cautiously tied it around her own eyes; the park and sunset disappeared, and she exhaled slowly.
"Begin!" declared Arc. Raven held her palm up as an invitation and Summer's fingers wrapped around her own. They were cool, and callused where she consistently gripped her tiger hooks, but still unsurprisingly soft.
Summer pulled and Raven followed, listening to the environment. She could hear the rustle of paper as the faunus opened the map, Taiyang shifting closer to likely have a look. Qrow bumped into her shoulder blindly, and she instinctively bumped him back; he pushed her shoulder, chuckling. Summer took that as a sign to separate them, moving between her and slapping Qrow away before slipping an arm through her elbow and starting off again.
Raven found herself halting of her own accord as they entered large crowds, or areas where the terrain changed texture suddenly; Summer, who was typically prone to rush ahead on a normal day, was abnormally patient with her. If Raven stopped, Summer didn't tug, or push, she just waited and held her hands. Occasionally, she might boop her nose, because she was still Summer and needed to be ridiculous on a biological level.
Taiyang and Qrow followed along behind them. She wasn't sure how they were fairing, though occasionally Qrow would laugh. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending. Still, Summer managed to guide her through the crowds, down some steps, around more drunk people (it was apparently a minor holiday, and people were using it to get rowdy) through what sounded like an arcade, and up more steps.
Suddenly, Summer stopped short, and it was Raven's turn to blindly bump into someone. She smelled roses, mint and honey; a pair of fluffy wolf ears tickled the sides of her cheeks. She could feel Summer tilt her head up to look at her, and her breath tickled her chin. Raven managed to not embarrass herself further, though her face felt like it had probably lit up like her bandana.
"Um…sorry," she mumbled. Summer patted the side of her face in acceptance of this before focusing again on whatever was in front of her.
"Is it a trap?"
Summer shook, waving Taiyang over to where they were; she and Tai conversed either in writing or charades, it was hard to tell. Finally, Summer started off again. Behind them, she heard a curse and what may have been a trash can falling over with a crash.
The girls continued down the concrete. Raven could hear ducks and splashing water, the calls of revelers, music, and could smell delicious things being cooked on many grills. The ground changed under her boots from asphalt to grass and she paused. Summer was sniffing the air, but seemed confident; her thumb rubbed circles on her hand thoughtlessly and Raven relaxed, taking a cautious step forward, prompting her partner to continue.
The sound of splashing and ducks grew more pronounced; Summer took her hands and set them by Raven's sides. She pressed her shoulder to convey 'stay here' and stepped away. Something dragged over the ground in front of her. Raven raised her eyebrows in concern. Suddenly, Taiyang coughed in alarm and something whizzed past her cheek, splashing into the water. A fraction of a second later, Summer tackled her to the ground.
At this point, Raven just went with it, letting the little faunus cover her as someone tried to snipe their prone forms with paintballs. Besides her, Qrow had also been knocked ass to grass by Taiyang and was coughing and cursing.
Summer made the decision to utilize her Semblance, giving them cover; the perfume of roses hung in the air as she picked her bodily up in both arms. Raven was honestly glad she was blindfolded at the moment, because at least she couldn't see herself being carried like a baby.
Her partner hustled over to whatever she'd drug from the water, and laid her into the bottom of what science said was likely a boat. Qrow soon joined her, as Tai tossed him in with a lack of delicacy. The twins listened to the sounds of paintball fire and Taiyang's Semblance cracking the air; more rose petals were falling into the boat. The blonde, from the sounds of heavy stomping and leather scraping, climbed in with them and continued to cover their bodies as the rowboat jolted forward at a speed implying Summer had become their motor.
Shouting followed them, and the sound of what may have been jet skis. More paintballs soared over their heads and splattered against the vessel's sides.
"Hey, asshole," said Qrow.
"What?" she asked.
"No, different asshole. Your knee is way too close to the family jewels."
Taiyang shuffled awkwardly and yelped as a paintball struck him.
"Boom! Headshot!" called who might have been the school nurse.
"Tai? You ok, man?" asked Qrow, shifting next to her.
Tai did something, moving around more; his knee brushed against her leg.
"If you've really just painted a dick on my face, then you're going to regret it," droned her brother.
Taiyang giggled and Raven couldn't help but smile. He gasped facetiously, and pressing a finger against her cheek, pointing out her smile.
"Get outta here," she brushed him away casually.
He paused. Then what was undoubtedly more paint was being applied to her cheek. She gave a long suffering sigh.
"Taiyang, if that is a cartoon paint-penis, then I promise that whatever Qrow does to you is going to pale into comparison to what I do-"
He booped her nose. Before she could respond appropriately, the boat ramped suddenly up onto something and shot explosively into the air. Raven was sorely tempted to say the hell with everything and take the blind fold off. Besides her, Qrow disappeared as Taiyang's Semblance let out a hearty crack.
"Huh. Summer?"
The wind whistled around the airborne vessel.
"Anytime now, Summer, would be a fantastic time."
She could hear more ducks as the boat nosed downward into the unknown. Apparently Summer had practically launched them into goddamn orbit.
"Summer? Alright, this is coming off-"
Before she could, though, her partner was there and had picked her up again, and they were freefalling. Much to her own embarrassment, she buried her face.
"Fuuuuckfuckfuckfuck-"
They landed softly all things considered, buffered by rose petals. Raven could still hear the jet-skis out on the water behind them, circling. Farther away, what was probably the unfortunate, commandeered watercraft crashed through the foliage and splintered against the ground. Slow clapping came from in front of them.
"Aww, ain't that just cute. Good job, ya'll! Can take the bandanas off, now," proclaimed Murt.
Raven pulled hers down. Summer was still holding her, smiling like the sun and covered head to toe in blue, pink and yellow paint. Her cloak and leggings were wet from the lake that stretched off behind her. In that moment, an odd thought popped into her head, noting how beautiful her partner really was. She blinked.
"Um. Can you put me down now?"
"Oh! Yea, sure!" chirped Summer.
Raven tried to salvage her dignity, with as much grace as she could; it was considerably difficult considering the circumstances. A few meters away, Qrow was standing with his partner, who was chuckling at her brother's disgruntled expression. Tai had indeed painted a dick on his face. She touched her own cheek warily.
"Haha no worries," Summer laughed, taking her hand again out of habit and leading her over to them. "It's just a smiley face."
She sighed in relief, letting herself be tugged along by her partner without protest.