-Chapter 10-
Spartacusness and Kitty
As another airship transports its passengers, Pyrrha minded her business as she cleaned her spear, making sure they are well-maintained. Her partner, Kuro, still looked upset that he didn't got the certain person he wanted for his partner.
"So…" He spoke. "What are you up to?"
Pyrrha looked at him and gave a soft grin. "I'm just cleaning my spear. It's important to maintain your weapon, keep them clean."
"Hmmmmm." He hummed.
The airship landed, making a thump sound. "We've just landed. It is safe to get out now. Watch your step."
"Hmph! What does he think he is to us? Kids?" Kuro muttered as the hatch opened and soon it did, he jumped into the outside world. Pyrrha walked out maturely.
Kuro moved around like a wild cat, watching the surrounding environment. He sniffed the grasses and even took a bite of the soil, but after crunching them for three seconds, he spit them out.
"What are you doing?" Pyrrha asked, looking a bit disturbed.
"That's none of your business." He said coldy. She shrugged and just ignored him.
"Be careful out here. This place is a pretty place, but it hosts all kinds of Grimm. Some that are common and others that are rare and…"
The pilot looked very frightened as Pyrrha noticed it. "Anyway, just good luck and stay alive!" He started the engine and then flew away.
They looked at the airship until they couldn't see it anymore.
"Hmm, weird pilot." Kuro said. "Well, let's get this mission over with. The faster we find the relics, the faster I can go home and continue with my training. If I am lucky, maybe I can find Blake Belladonna."
"You're really interested in her, don't you?" Pyrrha said.
Kuro's eyes widened and raised an eyebrow at her. "I only want to become better than her! I am not like interested in her or anything like that, if that is what you're implying to, Sparta Girl!"
Pyrrha didn't really like how he talks to her, but she shrugged that thought away. "Forget what I said, but I do agree. Let's complete this mission, so we can all get back home. Sooner the better."
Pyrrha traveled into the woodlands as Kuro followed her, from walking to crawling like cat to jumping like a monkey. She found his…way of behavior strange, but interesting.
"Why do you move like you are an animal, no offense?" Pyrrha asked.
Kuro frowned at her. "Why would you want to know?"
"Just curious. I mean, I fought Fanus huntsmen and huntresses before, but I never, ever seen or met one who moved or act like, well animal. You, on the other hand, seemed to have the movement like a real animal, a wild…cat." She admitted.
Kuro smirked. "That's because I was born and raised in the wilderness."
"Really?" Pyrrha looked little surprised.
"My old hag, Great Grandma Nene, raised me and trained me to use my instinct in the environments. More or less, this woodland reminds me of my homeland, the Dusky Maze Forest." He said.
Pyrrha felt impress for him. "That sounds interesting. I had a time where I was put in harsh environment with just my weapon for a month or two, but living in the forest sounds too challenging even for me."
Kuro smirked wider. "Well, that place I lived in is not all too happy place, but enough talk about me. I want to find the stupid artifact to end this mission sooner, or find Blake Belladonna and spy on her."
"You want to spy on her?" She asked with her eyes rolled.
"Yes! It is all to learn my rival. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Kuro said. He moved ahead as he jumped from branch to branch. Pyrrha followed after him, but noticed that he stopped. Pyrrha soon found out why. She quickly hid into the bushes and watched.
A pack of Goliath walked by slowly, not noticing them at all. They waited about almost half an hour before they began moving. Kuro and Pyrrha walked out, standing in the center of a path that the pack of Goliath left. It was wide and long, far as their eyes can see.
"Usually, I see Goliath near the border of the kingdom, but I guess there are some who lived even far from the border." She said.
"Whatever." Kuro didn't care at all. Suddenly, his ears perked up. He smelled something interesting as he began sniffing around like a dog.
"Did you pick up a sense?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes, and it smells familiar." Kuro said as he sniffed harder. "Yeah…I thought so."
"You thought what?" She asked with curiosity in her eyes.
"The smell belongs to him…Jaune Arc." He admitted.
"What!?" She gasped.
"It's this way." He said as he began running on both his hands and feet. Pyrrha ran after him.
After running through the woodlands almost like forever, Kuro came to a stop. Pyrrha did, too. They came to a quiet scene. There were cracked rocks and some trees fallen to the ground. There were two craters on the ground. Pyrrha looked horrified.
"What exactly happened here?" She thought out loud.
Kuro sniffed around the scene. "It seems that your leader and my teammate, Roy had a rough fight." He also noticed a sticky substance on one of the fallen trees. He touched it, finding out to be a web of some kind.
"But, the question is where they are? Where is Jaune?" Pyrrha said with a sense of panic in her voice.
"Calm down. As much of a mess they left, it does not conclude that they are dead." Kuro admitted.
"I know that!" Pyrrha shouted.
Kuro just stared at her. She soon realized what she just did as she looked down a little. "I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Forget it. Let's just find them." Kuro said decisively.
Pyrrha calmed herself down, and nodded. "Yes, I agree. Can you trace them?"
"Already have my nose on their scent. I may be a Cat Fanus, but I have good sense as a Dog Fanus or just regular dog. It's this way." Kuro said as he ran off with Pyrrha following him.
After some hours of running and fighting Grimm on their way (the sky was now dark), Kuro and Pyrrha arrived to an entrance of dark cave. Cold air blew out the entrance as they shivered a little.
"The smell leads to this cave." Kuro said. "Whatever happens to our respective teammate, they were taken away by something into this cave."
"I just hope they are alright." Pyrrha said.
"One way to find out, Sparta Girl. Let's go!" Kuro said determinedly as he entered the cave. Pyrrha followed his lead, but felt scared of the fate occurred on him.
"Jaune…please, Jaune…please be alright!" She thought.
They walked deeper into the cave. It was damp and cold, but Pyrrha and Kuro were used to it, due to their own training in handling many kinds of environment. Suddenly, Kuro stopped as his ears perked and moved wildy.
"Let me guess." Pyrrha spoke. "There is something in here."
"Eeyup." He replied. In the darkness, multiple red eyes appeared. A spider like Grimm crawled down on the wall and ceiling by webs. They looked vicious and wanted to attack on the hunters.
"I take it that these guys are the culprit who took Jaune and his partner and your teammate, Roy." Pyrrha said calmly as she held her spear and shield.
"Most likely." Kuro nodded with a calm, passive expression.
"Bring it on." Pyrrha said determinedly. They strike at the Grimm Spider as they strike back on them, starting the battle in the dark cave.
