Chapter 49

Four months later


Clara, Dusty's home


I woke with a start, I'd had another weird dream. They'd been happening every once in awhile since Beacon fell, they'd start off normally but then they'd twist and I wouldn't feel like myself. In the dreams I was always with my team, out hunting Grimm and then my perception would gradually change to feel like my zero aura self. They were just nightmares, but that didn't unnerve me any less. I took a deep breath as I looked around the room, it was pretty unadorned at the moment seeing as I'd only lived there a few months. This was Dusty's house, he said an old teammate had left it to him in their will. Dusty had taken me in and allowed me to live here, he was out most days so the house was mostly kept to myself. I yawned and got dressed, pulling on some warm clothes and heading to the door. I grabbed a shovel and an ax leaning next to the door and went outside, the cold air immediately made me shiver. It's been snowing steadily for a few days now, I've started getting into the routine of clearing my paths to the firewood and the main road. Thankfully I don't work entirely alone, I had an Ursa that could help clear path just by scooting across the ground.

"Why did Dusty's friend set the firewood shack so far from the house, it would've been smarter to have it next to the house." I muttered to myself as I trudged along behind the Ursa. I came up to the firewood shack, which was next to the main road and began splitting logs. Then I heard footsteps behind me, I turned to see Ruby and what remained of team JNPR walking up the road.

"Good morning Ruby, where are you guys headed?" I asked.

"Mi-" Nora started to say before Jaune cut her off.

"Vale, we're getting some supplies," Jaune said.

"Sure you are, which is why you are in your combat outfits with your weapons and packed backpacks," I said, Ruby sighed in response.

"Please don't go tell dad, at least not until we get off the island," Ruby begged.

"One condition, where are you guys headed and why?" I asked. "I know from experience it's smart to let someone know first."

"Mistral, we have a few reasons to go," Jaune said.

"Cinder, she said she was from Haven and it's the only lead we have," Ruby explained.

"While I still think your whole plot of four teenagers taking down whatever mastermind plot is going on is ridiculous, I don't see anyone else trying to do something about it," I said.

"You could come with us if you want to help," Ren said.

"I would, but I have things to handle here," I said. "But who knows what the future holds, you guys should probably get going." They each waved their goodbyes before heading down the road.

I continued splitting logs before deciding I had enough and took the split logs back to the house, all the while wondering if I'd done the right thing there. Then something else entered my thoughts suddenly, I had something to do today. Erik and I were going to meet up with everyone in Vale, why am I so forgetful sometimes. I grabbed my wallet from my bedside table and started running towards the Xia Long household, where Erik was living. I knocked on the door and was greeted by a smiling Taiyang, seems he didn't know yet.

"Good morning Clara, what brings you around?" He asked.

"Erik and I were headed to town to catch up with friends, where is he?" I asked.

"Upstairs, probably asleep." Taiyang joked.

"Thanks." I said, heading up the stairs. Erik was sitting on the edge of the guest bed, pulling on a pair of boots and gloves. He looked up at me as I walked in and grinned, pulling himself up and walking over to me.

"Come on let's head out," Erik said. "Knowing him, Argus has probably dragged team LIAC there early."

"Yeah, probably," I said, stepping out of the room. We left the house just as Tai was carrying up a tray of food, so we'd left just in time. We trudged along the road towards where the ferries were, both of us quiet. I could easily guess what was eating up his thoughts, as it wasn't far from what was taking up mine. It may have been four months, but the imagery of the fall of Beacon was stuck in my mind. The bodies littering the streets, the Grimm swarming around the streets, and the look of fear in that Faunus's eyes as I went for his throat. I don't think I'll ever get over that particular ordeal, partially because I can never sort out my thoughts on it. I always start with thinking it was awful, then the disgust of it fades away and it seems like a rational decision. It just fluctuates between the two as I think of it and it scares me, it makes me think of some of what Azoth said he went through in his journal.


Isaac, ?


"Where the hell is Heron, I would've thought that the chaos of the aftermath would've been a perfect time to strike." My dad joked. We were in the dark empty place we'd been when he first revealed himself, he'd recently figured out how to force me to dream here.

"More like the obvious time to strike, too obvious," I said. "I would have been more on edge then than I would have been later, but thanks to a voice constantly reminding me of the threat I won't let my guard down."

"But now there are police and order is somewhat restored," Dad stated. "That makes it harder."

"But now there aren't fully trained hunters running around everywhere, only piddly officers." I countered. "This is why mom always made the plans and you didn't."

"Fuck you." He said. "I can't wait to see-"

"Okay, I'm done waiting Isaac, wake up!" Elith's voice suddenly sounded. My eyes popped open with a start and I immediately pulled myself up and looked around, disoriented. I looked around the room, it was somewhat small and lightly furnished. There was just the small bed I was in and a closet, there were two doors leading to the outer hallway and the bathroom respectively. The bathroom had another door leading to Eliths room, we'd rented connected rooms in a place called 'The sheets.' It was a pretty simple, not to mention cheap, place that was a good enough for us to stay in as we worked to fix up Vale.

Elith was standing in the doorway connecting our rooms wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt with her arms crossed impatiently.

"I'm up, what's the matter," I asked.

"If I let you sleep any longer we'd be late," Elith said.

"Late for what?" I asked.

"Meeting up with everyone, how could you forget?" Elith answered.

"Cut me some slack, I was up late chasing off looters last night," I said defensively as I got up and gathered up some clothes to change into.

"Fair enough," Elith replied as she backed out of the room to give me some privacy. "So did he drag you back to that dark place again."

"It's been a whole month and he has yet to stop, I think that question is becoming redundant," I replied.

"It's still worth asking, how am I supposed to know what's going on in your head," Elith asked.

"Fair point," I replied. I pulled on some warm clothing and retrieved my knixes from my bedside table before opening the door again and walking into her room, then we both made our way out into the hall. We made our way out into the streets and trudged along through the snow, making our way to the meeting place.


Elith, Vale


The last four months had been pretty boring in all honesty, Isaac and I were just working to help with Vale's reconstruction and doing some security work. I'd received a letter from Sparrow not long after Beacon fell telling me how Dad wasn't going to let me come back, even in these circumstances. It didn't bother me at all though, I prefer living here with Isaac and helping out people who deserve better than what they've gotten.

"Do you think Vale will ever recover fully?" Isaac asked as we passed by a rubble-filled alleyway.

"The city probably will, I don't know if Beacon is recoverable though," I answered. "It might as well be mount Glen at this point."

"Sad, but probably true," Isaac said, we walked in silence for a little while. There is one issue that been bothering me that being around Isaac hasn't helped, the feelings I had for him. No matter how many times I remind myself that it's stupid to get involved like that my mind seems to forget about it. Perhaps I should just admit it to him, he can say no and I can stop wasting my time on this issue.

"Hey Isaac, I've been meaning to say something." I started.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Well-" I started.

"Isaac, Elith, hey!" A loud voice came along from behind us, I instantly recognized the booming quality to be the hallmarks of none other than Robin. I silently thanked Robin for saving me from my idiocy.

"Hey Robin!" I called back, I looked to see her and the rest of her team heading towards us.

"I'm glad we came across you guys, we weren't sure which restaurant we were meeting at," Sage admitted.

"It was Grosvenor bar and grill." Isaac supplied.

"I told you I was right Cadet!" Sage said.

"You usually aren't." Cadet countered. "You generally don't have the best memory."

"True, but it doesn't make me automatically wrong," Sage said.

I chuckled, it had been awhile since I'd seen them and I was glad to see they hadn't changed that much from the fall of Beacon. They hardly seem phased by it, then again they didn't suffer much from it past the standard. No dead or traumatized teammates for them, team CRMS is a lucky bunch it seems, past whatever happened to Misty. It didn't take long to reach the restaurant, where Carter, Ivory, and Argus were standing outside of.

"I told you we were early," Carter said to Argus.

"Better early than late, and I never said we weren't early," Argus said.

"We've been here for thirty minutes Argus." Ivory submitted.

"We would've been here for an hour, but you two dilly-dallied as you got ready to go," Argus said. "Your abilities to waste time are why I have us come early."

"I can and will slap you, Argus," Carter muttered.

"Hey guys looks like Clara and Erik are a bit late," Isaac said. "Let's just take seats and wait for them."

"Sounds good." Ivory said. The nine of us headed inside and took a seat at a large table.

"Don't start without us!" Clara's voice suddenly rang out from the doorway, she and Erik slipped into chairs at our table and we all immediately started chatting.


Erik, Grosvenor bar and grill


"So Sage, you're from a village right?" I asked. "Why haven't you and your sister gone back home yet."

"We aren't allowed to, not until we graduate from an academy," Sage said. "No exceptions, another stupid rule my tribe has."

"How many dumb rules does your village have?" I ask.

"More than you can count, I don't get them," Sage replies. "My sister follows them like a religious text though."

"She can't be as bad as Argus," Carter said.

"Obeying the law isn't a bad thing," Argus said.

"It is when you're really uptight about it," Clara said.

"At least Argus doesn't think you can figure out a baby's destiny by seeing what type of Grimm tries to kill it first," Sage said.

"Wait what?" Elith asked.

"That's part of our tribe's traditions, when you're born they leave you out in a clearing until a Grimm comes for you," Sage explained. "Depending on which kind comes you are raised to a particular job and fighting style."

"That's weird." Ivory commented.

"It seemed normal back then, but now that I've seen normal lives it seems ridiculous," Sage said. "A small nevermore came to me, so I was trained in scouting and taught archery."

"What was your sister again?" Cadet asked.

"An alpha Beowolf, she was trained for leadership and swordsmanship," Sage said. "Made it extra disappointing for her when 'that sleaze Persi' became the team leader."He mimicked his sisters intimidating voice for a moment, drawing a laugh from everyone.

"Enough about Sage, he drones about himself enough already." Robin joked. "What about team EICE, what have you guys been up to?"

"Dusty hasn't been home for awhile now, so I've been stuck doing almost all of the work around my house," Clara said. "I hope he's alright, I hate not being able to keep in touch easily."

"I'm sure he's fine, he's a skilled huntsman from what I saw on our mission," Argus commented.

"I've mostly been doing household chores and hunting Grimm on Patch," I said. "There isn't that many powerful Grimm there, but practice is practice."

"Isaac and I have been helping stop looters in Vale, that's the more interesting part of our job," Elith said. "I'm also almost done with my new weapons, they'll seem familiar when you see them."

"I don't get why people can just do stuff like that," Carter growled. "The city is already hurt, it's beneficial to no one to slow its recovery." Everyone nodded in agreement, it was nice to meet up with these guys again. My own team had kept in contact, but we'd only had sparing contact with everyone else.

"What about team LIAC, how have you guys been?" Elith asked.

"Well enough, we've been living in a flat that Ivory swears she did not steal the key to," Carter explained.

"I didn't, I'm friends with the guy who owns it and he lent it to us." Ivory claimed.

"Sure you are," Argus said.

"I have friends and a life outside of you two, you're aware of this right?" Ivory said defensively.

"Good point," Carter said.

"It doesn't alleviate my suspicions," Argus said. We continued to exchange small talk for a time, cracking jokes and catching up on small events in our lives. Like how sullen Yang has been recently and what kind of looting attempts we've dealt with.

"I wish Liath were here right now." Carter mused.

"So do I," Isaac said. "I want to thank him for what he did, even if it was foolish."

"Make that two of us," Robin said.

"Three," Elith said.

"At least he got to leave doing what he liked the most, beating the ever-loving shit out of every living thing in his general vicinity," Carter said.

"Not the worst way he could've gone," Sage commented.

"Agreed," I said. The small talk returned, but a bit of gloom remained over the conversation. We hung out for a few hours and got a bite to eat before we all had to depart and return home, promising to meet up next week at the same time.

Author's notes

This chapter was mostly made to establish where they are four months later, sorry if it was somewhat boring. Interesting things happening next chapter, many interesting things….