Yang smiles as her guardian finally came out again. "So…did you like your gift?" She asks motioning to large bone staff as he prepares for their training session.
Charedon somewhat smiles as tests out the staff by banging against the ground and swinging it around. "Not bad. Could use work."
Yang shrugs. "Best I could give you. Now then, how about we get this started?" She asks getting into her stance.
"It has been awhile since I have been here…it has changed a bit." Charedon says.
Yang blinks. "You were here before?"
"Yes, a long time ago." Charedon says.
Yang drops her stance. "Want to look around then? This fight can wait."
"Nah, most of it is gone anyways." Charedon says cracking his neck.
Yang looks sadly to him. "Charedon…we can still look."
"So tell me, you like that outfit?" Charedon asks.
Yang smiles as she looks to her kimono. "It's real nice. Really warm and comfortable."
"So when is your wedding?" Charedon asks seriously.
Yang eeps and freezes. "Wha…what are you talking about?" She asks rather quickly.
"To accept something like that, doesn't that mean great love or an acceptance for a marriage proposal. Has that changed?" Charedon asks.
Yang was about to speak but stops. "Well…for this culture…it is. But for ours…it isn't. I don't know what to follow to tell the answer."
"Do you like him?" Charedon asks.
Yang became really nervous at that. "Well…maybe. He's still my friend, but…"
"It's not that difficult of a question." Charedon says confused.
Yang became more nervous. "It is for us. Besides…we have…you know what, I might." She said now slouching a bit.
"So what are you waiting for?" Charedon asks surprising Yang as she didn't think he was this much of a conversationalist.
Yang rubs behind her head. "Well…I might tell him after we get the next materia so he doesn't have much to worry about when we head back."
Charedon starts laughing at that. "With this place. That is not really a guarantee."
Yang raises an eyebrow and frowning a bit. "Um…why not?"
"Oh you will find out." Charedon says.
Yang really frowns now. "Okay, I'm just going to hit you." She said getting back in her stance.
"Bring it on." Charedon says smiling under his bone helmet.
Yang keeps frowning as she charges and he just raises an eyebrow before ducking and then throwing her over. "Too angry." He said.
"Why you…" Yang yells.
"Sure you are not with child?" Charedon asks.
Yang growls as she charges and starts trying to punch him as he dodges and sidesteps each one. "This has to be a child." He muses.
"So I am told by Alfarr you use wind powers?" Milina asks Dew.
Dew nods. "Yes, might useful for these storms sometimes if someone is caught out there."
"I see. Maybe I can teach you a bit like I taught Alfarr." Milina says.
Dew blinks. "Really?"
"Yes and it is better I teach you then my flirtatious brother." Milina says.
Dew frowns. "Um…not the second part."
"Yes, now we can. Atlas, don't get drunk again." Milina says.
Atlas looks to her mid sip in her drink before putting the bottle down. "Um…sure." She calls hiding the bottle.
"Like I was saying, we can start training." Milina says.
Dew gulps.
Alfarr sighs as he tries to trace the pathway based on the compass. "It has to be this way." He said with a few writing utensils spent right by him.
"Watcha doing?" Weiss asks.
Alfarr sighs. "Trying to draw our best pathway through. There are many ways based on this direction, but some have pitfalls that can lead to caves that haven't been explored. Heck, soft snow that can lead to an avalanche. I have to find the needy path through it all." He said as she notices the many erased marks on the map.
"You know you don't need to work so hard. Get some rest." Weiss says.
Alfarr hums. "You know the saying; rest is for the dead." He said erasing the current path.
Weiss frowns and puts a hand on his shoulder.
Alfarr sighs and sits back in his seat. "Look, I'll get to bed once I find this pathway. Can't put you all in danger so easily."
"Come on. Get some rest and start again in the morning." Weiss says sweetly.
Alfarr chuckles a bit. "We set out in the morning. Snow and ice would be hard enough and we have more places to go through than the melted parts."
"Yes, but it's no good if our guide is collapsing on us from exhaustion. I have paid attention. You haven't slept much ever since we arrived." She said.
Alfarr looks to her. "Just go to bed. Let me work." Weiss raises an eyebrow before grabbing his ear and pulling him away. "Ow ow ow ow." He said painfully as he tries to keep up.
"Where's your room?" Weiss asks dragging him along.
"Last one on the right." Alfarr says.
Weiss huffs as she slides open the door and throws him inside. "Now bed." She before closing the door and then opens it again. "What are you two doing in here?" She asks confused seeing Ruby and Coco on two other beds.
"All rooms have multiple beds." Alfarr says as Weiss spots a small fox stuffed animal.
Weiss snarks as she sees it and covers her mouth to laugh a bit. "Foxy." She said giggling.
"What? My mother made me him when I was little." Alfarr says looking confused.
Weiss stops and tries to look apologetic. "Sorry."
Alfarr says nothing, setting the stuffed animal upright. At that moment, Weiss realized he had never mentioned his mother nor anyone for that matter.
Weiss clears her throat. "Um…who's your family?" She asks carefully.
Alfarr stops before straightening up. "I only have my grandfather. My mother…she is no longer around." Alfarr says.
They all looked sadly to him. "And your father?" Weiss asks.
"Please never speak of that waste of space again." Alfarr says.
They all jump back a little surprised. "Um…sorry?" Weiss said confused.
"Don't be. How could you know about that?" Alfarr says.
Coco sighs. "Come on. The tension is enough in this room. Time for bed."
Alfarr says nothing before finally relenting.
Ruby sighs as she guides him carefully to bed. "You sure you're okay?"
"I am fine. What about you?" Alfarr asks.
Ruby nods. "Okay. More worried for you because you really pushed yourself today."
"If you think today was rough, wait till we get out in the wilderness. The grimm are not the only danger out there or the most dangerous." Alfarr says.
Coco smiles. "It'll be okay. Just leave the grimm and wildlife to us. You take care of finding us a way in and out."
"If only it will be that easy." Alfarr says getting into one of the beds.
Coco taps his head. "I said leave it to us."
"You will learn why I say that soon enough." Alfarr says.
Ruby rolls her eyes. "Alfarr, don't you trust us?"
"No. It's just there is a reason we haven't expanded the village any more than we have." Alfarr says.
Weiss sighs. "Such a downer." She said closing the door and walking away.
"Ok, so we are ready?" Yang asks wearing some armor made by Alfarr's people.
Ruby smiles as she tries to test moving around in hers. "Oh yeah. I'm ready to put this to the test."
"One moment." Alfarr says going to the barn and opening it up and whistles.
They all look over and soon a flurry of barks and growls came around as some large wolves came running out before stopping in front of them in a line.
"Um…am I drunk?" Qrow asks Winter.
Winter raises an eyebrow to him. "You're always drunk."
"Help me attach them to the sleds." Alfarr says.
Ruby awws at the sight and rushes over to help while giving many pets to the wolves who enjoyed the attention.
"Hey don't leave me out of the crazy petting." Yang said rushing over too and pets and talks to the wolves who has some snickering about the situation.
Alfarr sighs as he heads in and starts pushing out sleds one by one. "How about more hooking up and less petting. We got a schedule." He calls getting some rope and straps.
"But they are cute." Ruby says holding one.
The wolf looks up to her as he was held in her arms. "Aroo?"
"Come on you four." Alfarr says.
The rest of the wolves moves over to him and he straps them in. "Guys, girls? A little help doing this." He said as the wolves were looking quizzically at the girls fawning over the rest of them.
"Why so many?" Qrow asks.
Alfarr shakes his head. "We need sleds because the snow can get deep enough that you would have a hard time walking through it. These wolves really know how to get through."
"Yeah, but why do you have so many?" Qrow asks.
"My family raised them all." Alfarr says.
Qrow raises an eyebrow before hearing a whine and looks down to see a little pup at his feet looking up to him. "Um…"
Alfarr raises an eyebrow. "Huh, guess it's thirteen now."
"Oh it's so cute." Weiss says as Blake was having a hard time with the wolves.
The pup yips and bounds over to Weiss and leans on her leg and barks as it wags its tail.
"Help." Blake calls from atop the house.
Weiss giggles as she picks up the pup and holds it in her arms. "Aw, aren't you a cutie." She said tickling a finger on the pup's belly and it seems to laugh.
"Meep meep." Carby said from the doorway angrily with his arms crossed as he watched Weiss and the pup.
"Carby, come on, you can ride with me." Velvet says.
Carby smiles and bounded up to her and jumps into her arms. "Meep." He said happily as he nuzzles her.
"Now what to do with you little guy as you are not big enough to pull the sleds." Alfarr says.
The pup whines as it looks to him. "Bark." He barks.
"Leave him to me. After all, I look after all of them." Milina's brother says.
Alfarr raises an eyebrow at him. "Huh. So you weren't useless after all." He said picking up the pup and gives the little one to him. "Watch him." He said heading back to the sleds to keep hooking up the wolves.
"Come on little guy, time for some chow." He says.
Alfarr frowns. "Now I know why the place is devoid of food."
"Alright, they are all strapped in. We ready?" Qrow asks pulling the last slack.
Alfarr sighs as he grabs his bag. "That depends. Are you guys ready?" He asks the rest.
"I think we are." Sun says as he walks up.
Alfarr shakes his head. "Alright. Heavy bags and equipment on the sleds. Backpacks with you. Follow the sleds in their line and stick together. Blizzards are quite a surprise here." He said before walking to the sleds and helps move them to the direction they are supposed to go before heading to the front.
"Will we receive any help?" Jaune asks.
"They can't spare the warriors." Alfarr says.
Winter sighs. "Guess we're on our own."
"Are you really surprised though?" Alfarr asks.
Winter shakes her head. "Not really, no."
"Well then we best head out. The faster, the less likely the snow will melt a bit and create an avalanche." Alfarr says getting into one of the sleds where the reigns were.
Qrow smiles. "So then, let's go." He said walking already.
"Dovraba!" Alfarr calls and all the wolves growl before starting to take off.
"Hey wait up!" Yang yells as she tries to catch up.
"What did he say? Dovra…vraba?" Weiss asks making the six wolves of her sled's ears perk up and growls.
Weiss looks to a bit shocked. "Oh boy." She said before yelling out as they took off.
"Vabrava!" Alfarr calls and both teams come to a halt before a huge gate.
Weiss yells as she fell forward and hits the bar. "Ow. Explanation." She calls.
"Those commands are trained into them. Basically they mean go and stop, but a little fancier." Alfarr says as the warriors on the gate start to remove the huge wooden bars that hold the gate shut.
Weiss frowns as she rubs her stomach. "Well could I try?"
"Fine, we need someone at the reigns for both sleds." Alfarr says as some noticed the wolves' fur was standing on end and their fangs were bared.
Both Winter and Qrow walk up and get onto the sled. "Move over buddy." Qrow said scootching over Alfarr.
"These…guys…move…fast." Sun says in between breathes as the rest catch up.
Alfarr smiles a bit. "Well try to follow the trails and only in the trails we leave behind. You don't want to fall in something."
"You kidding? I am riding even if I have to hang on to the luggage." Sun says.
They all look to him funny.
"I am." Sun says climbing on.
Alfarr holds up a finger before dropping it. "Don't cut the lines holding the luggage…actually." Alfarr says smirking before getting more rope.
Sun sighs in relief before being tied down to the luggage. "What the heck?"
"There, now you can ride no problem." Alfarr says as most of them struggled not to laugh at Sun's predicament.
"Not funny!" Sun calls trying to relax.
"Ok, last chance to stay behind. Because once we go out those doors, there won't be any turning back." Alfarr says.
They all stay and gives him a look.
"I'm not joking. Grimm are not the worse things out there." Alfarr says.
They just stare at him again.
Alfarr says nothing else as the gates open up. "If you want to stay, you may." Alfarr says one last time.
Weiss sighs. "No one's going to leave you behind and let you try to deal with everything."
"Then pray we all come back alive." Alfarr says seriously.
Weiss frowns a bit. "You're putting a downer on everyone. Don't make it worse."
"That is the attitude that my people usually have and it most of the time gets some of us back alive." Alfarr says seriously.
Winter huffs. "She is right. You're in your own land, but let's try out ways if you lead us to where we need to go."
"Just so you know, dust doesn't work on all the creatures of Avalon. Many are immune to all, but the purest." Alfarr says.
Winter raises an eyebrow. "Good to know."
"Also, I am going to say this now. Don't go near any water source until I say is absolutely safe." Alfarr says.
Qrow sighs. "Tell us on the way. We're burning night light."
"There are creatures in the water that love the taste of blood." Alfarr says before reading the sled.
Winter rolls her eyes. "Look, we got it. The land is dangerous. We get this materia and we can get out just as quick and worry less."
"Do not joke about this. These creatures are incredibly fast. Turn your back for a moment and it might be the last thing you do." Alfarr says.
Qrow drinks from a bottle. "You really don't us to go huh? Only you?" He said in between sips.
"No, I'm saying don't underestimate Avalon or we won't have anything to bury." Alfarr says.
Qrow hits him on the head. "If you don't want us to go, say it."
"Like most you hear, but don't listen." Alfarr says before getting the wolves to go.
As they travel Alfarr seemed to distance himself from the rest of the group. Ruby and Yang blamed their uncle who had once again put his foot in his mouth without thinking.
"So how much further?" Winter asks breaking the silence.
"I don't know. With all this fog I can't see that far in front of us." Qrow says.
"How far ahead do you think our guide is?" May asks trying to see.
"No idea. We just have to follow everyone else." Reese said.
As they continue on they hear a squelch up ahead before a head flies their way.
"Huh. That's something." Neptune said as it flies over their heads and lands behind them.
"Look at the size of these things." Sage says picking one up.
"Maybe these are the birds we don't get and hunt." Scarlet said.
"I didn't even hear any wing flaps. How could they approach so silently?" May asks as they started to see blood and the bodies of the birds.
"Maybe they have to be to hunt in this area. I mean, it's no run down city for sure." Sun said.
"You still hanging on there?" Blake asks.
Sun laughs. "Yep." He said trying to get some cloth wrappings over him.
"Help me throw them over the edge to attract other predators away." Alfarr orders.
They all start grabbing the body parts over the side of the nearby ridge and see some birds fly after them.
"They will also help keep the more dangerous predators occupied." Alfarr says as Blake, May, and Ruby spot movement through the fog and all of them spotted a spray of blood.
"What are we facing?" Qrow asks putting his bottle away.
"The Zerrengeti are what are feeding right now. They are large snake like predators that live in caves on the lower levels of the mountains. We should move on while they are distracted with their meal." Alfarr says unhooking an injured wolf from the sled and sets him in the sled before applying something to the wound and puts it to sleep.
Sun eyes the wolf near him. "This one is okay, right?"
"He will be fine, but he isn't running for rest of the trip." Alfarr says.
Sun frowns. "We don't have to worry about poisons, do we?"
"Their claws are not poisonous." Alfarr says petting the wolf before getting the sled moving again.
Winter frowns as both her and Weiss stabs an animal getting too close. "So how much farther do we have to go?"
"We have only just started." Alfarr informs.