Chapter 6: Aura
Jaune Arc is beginning to think he might be in a bit over his head.
For a while, he'd had a pretty lucky run.
Falling to his death? Saved by what had to be the best trick shot in the four kingdoms history. Mad skilled and ultra nice, Pyrrha Nikos is basically about as rare as those mythical flame birds in one of the stories he read to his sisters, and by some very favourable roll of dices he managed get onto this girl's radar, enough to warrant a save-my-butt from her.
Stuck in the middle of Grimms neighborhood? Somehow in the not insignificant amount of time Jaune'd wasted just hanging out – literally - on a tree, he encountered the grand total of zero Grimms.
Involved in a deadly contest? Well, how about his buddy for a partner to carry Jaune through the ordeal? Despite the ridiculously loose condition to partner up, somehow he, pinned high up from the ground, was the first person Mors ran into. For some reasons the big guy was giving off vibes so metal he might as well have magnets sticking to his body. And if the explosion that'd prolly been heard by half of damn Vale was how Mors does his thing, boy aren't the goth furballs in for a treat from this guy.
For realzies, Jaune had no idea what deeds of the past life had earned him this series of karmic favor.
But he thinks the ominous gunshot was the sign said series of good fortune had expired.
Case in point, the tree branch.
The blond knight groans as he sits up from sprawling on the ground, one hand rubbing his sore face. Turns out it didn't take much to ground one Jaune Arc. He prays to all aspects of Mr. Oum that this was about how hard the monsters in this career would hit, though he knows all of them are prolly laughing at his prayer at the moment.
Pyrrha has rushed to his spot shortly after she heard the whack and is now, fretting
"Jaune! I am so so so sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
He accepts the girl's hand and pulls himself up, then dusts off his jeans the second time of the day "I'm okay, Pyrrha. My fault too for not paying attention." He brushes a few fingers to his cheeks, where the redhead had set her eyes on and a slight sting's poking, the fingers comes back a bit red "Tis' but a scratch." He grins disarmingly.
A few steps away Mors has lowered his sword. He has switched to holding the sword with one hand, tapping the tip to the dirt in slow beats and watches them passively. Even for someone as inexperienced as Jaune, he can intuitively know that's the big guy's ready-for-combat pose. The sight of something so large and so heavy being handled with such casual ease rustles Jaune's timmies a bit; but then, he guesses it isn't like normal people's standards applies to Huntsman. Kinda makes you wonder how they managed to raise the bar that high…
"….activate your aura?" Jaune turns back to the curious girl in front of him
"I'm sorry wha?"
"Your aura" Red eyebrows climb to their owner forehead. Uh oh...
"Gesundheit?" Please by all that are holy let the diversion works…
Pyrrha looks nonplussed for a few seconds, then she breaks into the smile that sends inner Jaune groaning: he too smiles like that whenever he watches his adorable little sisters, with crumbs on their cheeks and half bitten cookies in their hand, trying to pin blames of eating unauthorized treats on a cookie monster who raided the kitchen.
The redhead speaks slowly
"Jaune…Do you know what Aura is?" He really doesn't like where this conversation is heading, which is to a landmine of difficult questions that may expose some delicious scoops Jaune very much doesn't want to let slip. The knight looks over to his partner, who returns his gaze (at least he think so?) steadily and continues on with his damn Drum Hero minigame with the dirt. Staying focused he said, what kind of crap is that?
Jaune's on his own, he needs to go on the offensive.
"Pshhh… Of course I know what Aura is…" he points emphatically at Pyrrha "Do you know what Aura is?"
The smile widens and she shakes her head. The jig is up so bad he might have better chance convincing dirt it's actually water. There's a point in a man's life where he has to know when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em. And boy isn't it folding time right now. Well… if it's these two, he might still be okay should the cat decides to leave its bag.
"Aura, in a way, is a manifestation of our soul…" and Jaune knows, there is probably not a being more graceful than this girl in front of him "…it bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"
"Uh.. yeah?"
"That's your aura. A kind of sixth sense, if you will. And with practice, our Aura can even be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."
That explains how the Huntspeeps are able to go toe to toe with the monsters. It's a pretty cool thought: his very own hidden superpower.
"So is that why the Grimms are so strong? They have like naturally uh.. usable Aura?"
The girl shakes her head
"The monsters we fight lack a soul, they are manifestations of anonymity. They know only darkness, while we know light."
"That's… kinda vague…"
"Hmm…that is true. I do not understand it very well either. I think, to have a soul you will need to have both light and dark in you, like how people only seems complete if they both know joy as well as they know melancholy."
Pyrrha takes her shortsword (it's a shortsword now… huh) into one hand, holds up her other and casually push the sword tips into the free hand's palm. Very faintly, the girl's hand glows, although it makes no sense, black. The blade point pokes deep into the palm, but somehow can not break through Pyrrha skin. It's like she is wearing an impenetrable black glove. Jaune watches the whole act in fascinated horror.
"When one can understand the light and dark within themselves" Pyrrha continues, putting her weapon back "one can control their own aura, and expel it out like an outward force to protect themselves."
"Ohhh… Kinda like a force field!"
"Yes, you can think of it like that" the girl laughs "now close your eyes" gently, Pyrrha holds onto Jaune hands with hers "and focus on my words."
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." and suddenly Jaune feels it.. a connection, of sort. Like something is steadily knocking on the door to his… everywhere! The palms of his hands, the pit of his stomach, the back of his mind, his entire being!
"Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." the words doesn't really make sense, but they make Jaune understand…something (this is pretty frustrating); like he has always known it but only notice it now. It's as if he's not only listening to Pyrrha's words, but also to the ideas behind them. He…or something of his, starts to…pulse? to the tempo of the knock, harmonizing with whatever's on the other side.
"Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul," and they connects, him and Pyrrha. Suddenly he is aware of something that has always been inside of him, seeing a similar thing of Pyrrha through their link. He feels like he understands the girl on the other side much better than he should be, like he has known her for quite some times. "and by my shoulder, protect thee."
White glow visibly flares out of Jaune's body. He feels strong; really really strong. Like he can take a thousand tree branches to the face no problemo now. The sting on his cheek has completely disappeared, with not even the phantom pain remains. It is the most amazing experience Jaune has ever been through in 17 years of his life. Suddenly the Huntsman business doesn't seem so impossible anymore. He is actually a little bit excited for some action now, who would've thought. And he has the lovely redhead to thank for all… omg she looks like she's about to tip over.
"Pyrrha!"
The girl exhales slowly, and smiles at him
"It's all right. I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own. You have a lot of it"
"O-okay" Jaune inspects his glowing hands again, the awe still hasn't washed away "Wow…"
"Are you fit for combat?" Somehow Jaune has completely forgotten about his very big friend with a very big sword wearing a very conspicuous outfit over there. And he's not the only one it seems. Pyrrha jumps a bit at Mors voice
"I am, please don't worry. As long as it's not a long lived Grimm, the monsters pose no threat to me."
"Noted. If we encounter the aged variants, please let me take front line. Let us move on then?" They nod. Mors hefts his sword back onto his shoulder and starts walking. A few steps later he looks back at Pyrrha
"Is the process of unlocking other people's aura usually very taxing?"
Pyrrha puts a finger on her lips
"I'm not too clear on the matter. I only did it twice, once for my cousin and the second time for Jaune. Jaune's unlocking was a bit more draining" Well hello there uncomfortable feeling of guilt. Pyrrha put an assuring hand on Jaune arm. "But it's nothing serious. I do hear cases where one was bedridden for an entire day, however."
"I see, do you know what determines the repercussions?"
"I don't know, sorry"
"I understand, please don't worry about it."
-Rest-
Glynda looks up from her scroll. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie will be partners for their years at Beacon. Quite a good fit, considering their long history together, and just as intended.
Despite what Ozpin explained to the students, the platforms were set to shot at certain angles, increasing the odds of certain pairs forming. The seemingly fast and loose rule is to merely keep the student flexible and accept their partner more willingly. It seems more acceptable if it happens by chance, Ozpin reasoned.
Although it is almost certain the very badly compatible students will have no chance of partnering up with each other. Of course, the pairs wouldn't necessarily form as they are intended. Miss Rose was supposed to pair with Mr. Arc, a competent guidance for a bumbling Huntsman and an anchor to reality for a naive young girl with very potent power. Miss Schnee was supposed to pair with Miss Nikos, a friend with no fear of pressure from her partner's shadow and a figure of humility for a sheltered child. And Mr. Morskoy…
It was quite a mistake they've made
"Miss Valkyrie has partnered with Mr. Lie. With that…" the headmistress sighs "all of the pairs are set. Miss Nikos is the odd one out"
Ozpin pauses from watching his scroll, clicks his tongue and joins Glynda in the sighing activity.
"That is quite unfortunate… it will make our plan for this situation much more unpleasant to carry out."
"I'm not sure about this set up anymore Ozpin. I don't know if the Council will allow the exception anymore. They weren't too happy with Miss Nikos enrollment here back then; and now the pride of Mistral is going to be without a partner. They will not deal with the backlash from the East. It's much easier to put Miss Nikos on the first ship back to Mistral...Oum I don't think they will want to take their chances with even Atlas were it Miss Schnee who was left out."
"Maybe not Miss Schnee, but Miss Nikos…they have bigger incentives to keep her here than their unwillingness to deal with Mistral outrage" Glynda purses her lips when she hears what Ozpin's implying "... Perhaps there is a silver lining in this, Glynda. Miss Nikos working solo might be for the better with the plan we have for her."
"You are asking a lot from a 17 years old girl."
"...I know." Ozpin drops his head a little.
"I don't like this Ozpin."
"Neither am I, Glynda dear. But look at all the options we do not have."
Glynda sighs. Ozpin is right, he always is.
Every year they made especially sure that an even, multiplication of 4 number of students were accepted into Beacon. Every student would have a partner and a team. A singled student would be very troublesome. And with the amount of special acceptance this year, they were extra careful about balancing the student number. Mr. Morskoy, Mr. Arc, Miss Belladonna and Miss Rose had filled up the quota nicely; but then suddenly 3 students they have already accepted dropped out near the start of the semester.
Mr. Black, Miss Sustrai and Miss Fall.
It wasn't hard to find out what happened. Apparently Mr. Black and Miss Sustrai had sustained severe injuries from a Grimms attack during their trip to Atlas. It seemed Mr. Black was too excited for the upcoming semester that he started his Huntsman career early. He went on an excursion with someone he knew and dragged Miss Sustrai along. The situation went sour and neither of them would get well enough by the time school starts. Word is they would enroll at the closer to home Haven Academy to recuperate while attending school there. Miss Fall, who seemed close to the two naturally stayed with them.
And such they were left with this mess.
Glynda lets out another frustrated sigh when she thinks about the fiasco. She does not want to be mad at the two reckless students who are already very hurt. Medical records from Facility 3 said that the boy got a broken arm, a dislocated, fractured shoulder and a puncture in his diaphragm; the girl had a collarbone almost shattered and half of her rib cage fractured, along with a large, thankfully not critically deep cut from her shoulder down to her hip. The Grimms they encountered must have been very powerful to blow through their auras and do that level of damage.
… And very clever too, considering the wounds seemed quite deliberate.
For some reason, Glynda could not help but glancing at the cliff edge, where there is an enormous gash on the terrain; mark of a massive slab of metal forcibly tear through the earth to speed off like a missile, promising doom to whatever lies at the end of its path.
A/N
I'm back guys! Life has gotten into the way too much but now I'm here to continue what I started! Let us pray that I will have the strength to finish my story.
So just some trivials about my version of RWBY universe
In Atlas, Facility 1 is the central administrative building; Facility 2 is police headquarter; Facility 3 is something like the central hospital; Facility 4 is the Fire Department head and Facility 5 is our favorite Atlas Academy, which also double as the military command center. Think of them as megastructures that handle the essentials of a city nation.
For the reader who said Mors is something of a gentle giant, that is absolutely what I am going for. But he can't be too gentle what's with the profession he has, can he ;)
For the reader who asked if Mors is going to be in team JNPR, I hope this chapter somewhat answer your question. But read on and find out. All I will say is that I will try to keep the team name somewhat meaningful.
So do you think Yang would be a tigress or a dragoness were she to have an animal motif?