Credit to u/adeafblindman for the RWBY map I based the chapter off of
Chapter 10
"Just, just shut up for a second. This is harder than it looks." Tightly gripping the edges of the map-scroll handed to me by one of Sienna's underlings, frustration had begun to send ripples disturbing the inner sanctity that guarded my fragile balance. Try as hard as I might, the high-pitched whines that came out as yelps from Derek's insufferable mouth kept breaking my focus at the task at hand. I'd like to think that I'm one of the more patient White Fang members, content to stay in the background and make passing observations while continuing on my business, but my short time with the fox truly tests the person who've I thought myself to be.
"Ahh~, Sienna leaving you in charge was the biggest mistake of her life. Could've just made for a one-way trip from Menagerie to Atlas but instead, you decided to take a detour and waste time on a vacation to visit the four kingdoms.
"Only three—Mistral and then Vale before we reach Atlas," I interjected. I gently lowered the map from my face, feeling a slight twitch of annoyance at his complaint, and gave a generous view of the map to Derek. With a casual flick of the head, I gestured him to grab the right edge of the scroll as I better demonstrated the current plan of action. Lifting my hand, I traced my finger along the scroll, finger gliding through the various continents of where we would journey in the upcoming time. Menagerie to Mistral to Vale and then finally to the harsh, freezing kingdom of Atlas. Slightly turning my finger, I tapped my index finger's nail to the map drawing both the attention and sight of Derek's to what I was pointing at.
"Sea Monster?", confusion and an irrefutable amount of excitement meshed within his high-pitched voice.
"Sea Monster," I replied. I couldn't attest to the accuracy of the map, it having the drawings of unmistakable mythical beasts featured prominently on it, but I wasn't willing to bet both my life and dream on it—if it was just Derek on the other hand, then it'd be another story. Smoothing the jagged edges of my hair with the well-earned calloused hand I had given to myself, the thought of beasts of this magnitude wasn't entirely farfetched in the RWBY universe. As I recall, a Grimm of the appearance of a dragon had made a terrifying reveal in the climactic episode of Beacon's fall—would these beasts be just as the same? Either way, it was best to calm my nerves and avoid a hotbed of unneeded inconvenience when I'm already in over my head. I'd get an ample amount of opportunities to perilously risk my life in the coming trials ahead—sea monster or not.
"The one-way trip from Menagerie to Atlas is obviously out of the question. Menagerie to Vale is way too far for an out-dated and falling apart ferry to take us, so the only option even remotely acceptable if we wanted a chance at our goal would be to take the short ride to Mistral. And since we can't go the direct route from Mistral to Atlas because of the—whatever the thing on the map is—we got to bypass that whole nonsense by taking a short detour to Vale and then continue our trek upwards until we reach a port where we can catch a ship heading to Atlas. From Vale, it's smooth sailing until we're inevitably stopped and searched when we reach the snowy kingdom that the Schnee company calls their own. Don't know how we're gonna get out in one piece though."
He turned his face, glimmering eyes that hinted a touch of respect matched against my own as we walked along a faded-out path and said, "If you figured out all of this by yourself, why are we so lost?"
Deep breathes. In and out. "There's practically nothing on this map that gives me a hint of the specifics of where we are. Yeah, I know the Mistral kingdom is somewhere around this continent but how far? Don't see a key anywhere on this scroll."
"You know what, let me handle this," he yipped. Unexpectedly, he snatched the map out of my grip, slightly stretching the strands of the fabric, and curled the scroll back once again into a cylinder shoving it within the folds of his backpack.
"No map. No confusion. Just follow the worn-out path."
Too exhausted to even object. I shrugged my shoulders and took after his lead. As we walked, we began to explain our preferred positions in combat—him serving as the backline providing firing support as I, the vanguard, warded off any danger. I was a bit skeptical at how his choice of weapon—a revolver with only five slots in its cylinder— was supposed to provide adequate support when plagued with an insufferable reload time. Derek replied with only word that could possibly explain everything and yet nothing at the same time.
Semblance.
He lifted his left hand, white palm outstretched and playfully wiggled his digits. 'Sticky Fingers', he called it. Pop out the cylinder of the revolver while his left-hand digs into the pouch slung to the side of his hip and retrieves five cartridges of dust ammo with fingers on the base of each of them. From then on, it's just the simple motions of jamming the cartridges into the open slots and pushing the cylinder back into place. He asked for mine in return, to which I cryptically replied, "I bring things back." He almost slugged me for that.
I'm not really sure how to describe the power as I'd yet to fully explore the extents of the semblance. Why hadn't I? It just wasn't practical. I brought forth things from the minds of those I touched that would best be forgotten. Thoughts, ideas, and even memories. And from the brief and short-lived practices, Sienna would allow on nameless individuals as she supervised a short distance away, all of what I brought back came out in full force. I couldn't very well blame Sienna for her unwillingness to continue the project as she was subjecting her people to a great deal of distress.
I was interested in this new power, curious to the number of ways I could effectively implement it. The power wasn't so simple as an enhancement to my physical capabilities—but the possibility was still there. If I were desperate enough, I could essentially feed of waves of emotion throbbing off the person I touched as they reexperienced one of their most traumatic events. Sure, I could drown myself in it as I entered deeper into the abyss, but the option is and forever will be open to me in a time of need.
Slouching, feeling more than exhausted after the mental one-way discussion, I halted at the sound of my name being called. In one quick move, Derek slugged his arm over my shoulders and with a jubilant cry said, "Welcome to Lily Leaf, Terra."