They spent a while longer riding along in silence, Marcelle having continued sleeping. Oscar letting her lean on his shoulder as she rested, the others remaining quiet. He wondered why she was so comfortable with him, but maybe it was because he was just another one of Ozpin's lives? No… this was different. He could tell, the way she looked at Ozpin and the way she looked at him were different. He let her stay there, cheeks still red and doing his best not to think about how close she was or how warm she felt. As the group continued down the snowy path and Marcelle woke up from a bump in the road, and Ruby wanted to break the silence.
"So, Marcelle…?"
"Yes, Ruby?" she asked, Oscar jumping a little, having been lost in thought while she was resting, earning a pat on the back from Marcelle.
"Um… I had a question… about when you started attending Beacon." Marcelle sat upright, smiling. "So you began attending after Ironwood brought you there, right?"
"Yes, the General brought me in for who knows what reason… but I didn't really ask… when I woke up after fighting the Grimm, I was in the infirmary at the academy already." She shrugged her shoulders. "My grandmother thought it was a conspiracy, to take her last living descendant away from home." She added. "But it worked out well, considering that Ozpin taught me a lot more than I could have learned at home."
"So… Ozpin tutored you?"
"… You could call it that, yes." She smiled. The group seemed to shy away at the mention of Ozpin, but Ruby looked like she wanted to know. "Ozpin was good friends with my family long before I was born… he knew the last "cursed child" of the Lune Family, too…" she looked down at her lap as Yang continued to drive. "Granny told me… that Ozpin was a good man, so she trusted him both with my secret and with my teachings…" she gripped her hand into a fist. "And I still trust him."
"How can you trust him after all that's happened?" Oscar asked in a whisper, making Marcelle turn to him with a small smile.
"Because… he didn't bring me into this fight after he told me that secret… he gave me the choice… I could have chosen to run… I could have chosen to leave and never come back… he let me graduate Beacon and leave with no strings attached." She replied, turning to the others as they stared at her. "I chose to be here… And I choose to trust Ozpin…" she stated simply. "And if I end up regretting that choice, no one is to blame but myself." She added. "Not Ozpin… not Salem… only me." Those words seemed to stick in their minds for a while, as no one responded for a good few minutes. Marcelle sighed, shaking her head. "Geez, don't go silent like that, you all look like you're sulking… you're all adults, aren't you?" she laughed a little. "Well, except Oscar."
"Hey…" he grumbled, Marcelle ruffling his hair.
"Just saying." She smiled, Oscar's cheeks coloring again.
"So, I have a question." Weiss piped up, Marcelle turning to her. "Do you still talk to your teammates?"
"… To be honest… Not as much as I'd like. We try, but… Noir's the only one I talk to on a somewhat regular basis… Alder travels the world and often forgets to check his scroll or just doesn't charge it… I normally don't know where he is. I occasionally get post cards from places he's been, but he doesn't stay for long enough to send one back. And Argris, well…" she looked a little sad at the mention of him. "I haven't seen or heard from him since I graduated…"
"Maybe he's just busy enjoying architecture around the world…? Or something?" Ruby attempted, Weiss rolling her eyes at the silver-eyed girl.
"I'd… like to believe that." She smiled. Oscar pat her back a little, making her glance at him, seeing him smile reassuringly.
"I'm sure that's it." He replied, Marcelle nodding her head. Oscar was the one talking, but it seemed like he was using Ozpin's knowledge of his former students. She wondered why, though… was it because Ozpin was trying to help without making himself known? But then she turned to Maria, the skull on her cane making Marcelle wonder.
"There's one thing… I wanted to ask about…" Marcelle watched Maria, who was still staring out at the path they were leaving behind. "… How did you lose your eyes, Miss Calavera…?" she asked softly, Maria tensing for a moment before sighing.
"I suppose Henry never got to tell you…" she turned to look, Marcelle shaking her head. "Alright… I'll tell you." As she told her tale, Marcelle noted the other's expressions, especially Qrow's, turn to one of surprise, shock, and awe. Miss Maria Calavera was the legendary Grimm Reaper. She'd lost her eyes to someone that Marcelle had heard of before.
"A girl with bear-trap teeth and scales. Yellow eyes and a clock at her side." Marcelle stated, Maria turning to nod at her.
"That's right…" she continued her tale, Marcelle staring down at her lap when Maria mentioned the actual event, soon finishing her tale and leaving everyone wide-eyed in horror as she closed her story.
"But the stories about you… I based my weapon off of yours." Qrow stated, Marcelle smiling when she heard that. "I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper."
"Well I'm nothing but a disappointment, so you're well on your way." Maria replied.
"How can you say that?" Blake asked.
"Child, a huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end." Maria turned, looking solemn. "But after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight." She paused. "Afraid someone would find me again… finish what the others started… You shouldn't aspire to be like me. Especially when some of you are clearly stronger already. It's… comforting… seeing that your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape."
"Well… maybe you can do something now." Ruby, with her ever infectious spark, smiled. "Teach me to use my powers the way you did." She added, Maria turning to look at her. Before anyone could speak, Ruby's scroll began to ring. It was Jaune. The group looked up, all seeing the hillside above the white snowy path. A warmer breeze came down as they were climbing the hill.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have arrived in Argus." Yang said after they made it to the top, staring down at the port city. Marcelle smiled, staring out at the sea past the wall and the buildings.
"It's been a long time since I've seen the sea…" she whispered, Oscar looking over at her, seeing her smiling.
"You've been to the ocean before?"
"Yes… a very long time ago…" she whispered, turning to him. "With my parents." She said as they arrived in the city itself, Yang locking up her bike and their cart as the rest of the group looked around for the other part of their party. Marcelle, though, was mostly watching the fascination on Oscar's face.
"Cute boy Oz!" Marcelle turned to see Nora jump and knock Oscar over, the boy landing with a thud and getting the wind knocked out of him by the energetic girl. Marcelle chuckled, helping Oscar up after he sat up on his own.
"You okay there?"
"Yeah…" his cheeks colored a little, making Marcelle smile. They all headed into Argus, soon finding out that the party that went ahead was staying with Jaune's sister and her wife. Marcelle was glad to see everyone able to relax for a while, but she felt almost uncomfortable in this environment. She stayed mostly near Oscar, the boy noticing and letting her stay close. Once they had dinner, Oscar followed Marcelle outside to breathe, noting her posture become way more relaxed outside away from everything.
"Sorry." He turned to her when she spoke at last, seeing her looking upset.
"Why are you sorry?"
"I… don't handle kids too well…"
"Huh…?" he paused, staring at her.
"Little kids stare right into your soul… it's unnerving."
"Pff." Oscar held back his laugh to a chuckle, Marcelle turning to him with a pout. "S-sorry… i-its fine if you aren't good with them but…" he laughed a little. "Is THAT why you were so uncomfortable?"
"… I don't handle it well… my cousins were almost never allowed to see me, save for a few… and their kids, well, I've never had to deal with anyone under the age of 6, and they were all quiet, reserved kids… so babies are foreign to me… I don't wanna hurt them or anything…" she seemed really bothered by it, Oscar rubbing her shoulder a little. "I've only ever known weapons… fighting… anything as innocent as a baby is… fragile, you know?" she turned to him, Oscar smiling.
"It's okay…" he smiled. "You wouldn't hurt the kid, you're careful enough." He added, the woman shaking her head adamantly. "You'd do fine, Marcelle." He reassured her. He was surprised that something like that could get her so wound up. Marcelle took a deep breath, calming herself down.
"Thanks…" she turned to him, smiling a little. "Was it that obvious?"
"I guess only to me." He smiled back. "Ozpin… even though he locked himself up in my… our head, his feelings of worry still show clearly enough for you. I guess I can kind of see the difference when you're tense and when you're not…" He added, rubbing the back of his neck. "He seems to know all your mannerisms, nervous ticks too…"
"I see…" she nodded, patting Oscar's head. "Well tell him thank you but I'm fine." She removed her hand, Oscar feeling like she had taken her hand away faster than the last time. But then he noticed her glancing over her shoulder, turning to see a few heads of multiple colors of hair ducking away from the window. "Ahh, there they go again… spying."
"What…?"
"Yang's been half spying since we got to Brunswick Farms, she was doing it while we were on the path here too… guess now Nora's joined her… and I think Jaune's sister?" she chuckled. "Goodness, I hope they don't think I'm doing anything illegal." She sighed. Oscar's face colored, his mouth agape. "I promise I won't, though."
"Th-th-that's… I… uh… I mean-!" he fumbled for words, Marcelle patting his head, making his face color even redder. But he didn't pull away.
"Easy there, Oscar." She said, heading back towards the door, opening it and hearing Nora and Yang and Saffron jump and rush somewhere to hide their ridiculous grins. "Next time, might I suggest NOT making it so obvious?" she asked, smiling when she found them, all three still grinning. "I'm not blind, you know."
"Sorry sorry." Saffron chuckled.
"You two are SERIOUSLY too sweet though." Nora said. "I mean, c'mon… everyone KNOWS you dote on cute boy Oz." she added, Marcelle rolling her eyes at Nora's air heart to emphasize her meaning.
"I dote because he isn't used to this lifestyle like you all are… even with the training and the knowledge, its different for him." She added. "Besides…"
"He's ADORABLE, right?" Yang grinned, patting her back.
"Yes, well… W-wait, what?" Marcelle's face colored, Nora and Saffron joining in Yang's grinning. "Yang!"
"You didn't deny it~" she laughed, Marcelle covering her face with one hand. She'd been bested by the blonde jokester of the group. Yang got her to admit that she thought Oscar was cute.
"I'm sure in a few years when he'd older, you two will be very happy~" Saffron stated, Marcelle's face coloring even redder. She turned away almost mechanically, Nora and Yang both looking at Jaune's sister in shock that she'd said it so openly. They turned back to Marcelle, seeing steam nearly blowing out of her ears and her entire complexion turning flushed.
"I think we broke her." Yang said, Nora nodding her head, Saffron smiling a little more at the celadon-haired huntress.
"She'd really blushing, huh?" Nora added, Marcelle standing so she was facing the wall, tucking herself into the corner. Marcelle stayed there for a while, trying to calm down as Saffron went to care for her child and Yang and Nora walked off too.
"Marcelle…?" she jumped at the voice, turning to see Oscar. "Are you okay?" A thought crossed Marcelle's mind of Oscar being older and she immediately clamped her mouth shut, nodding her head and rushing off to be by herself, trying to calm down. Yang and Nora grinned at one another, something sparking an idea in their heads.
"We're having girl talk?"
"Oh yeah." Yang and Nora fist-bumped, the plan set in motion.
((Sorry for delay, I've been sick... hopefully I'll keep up this week, we'll see...
I hope you like it~
-Winter Cheshire))