Been a while huh? Been busy. School and all that, plus a few personal things on the side.
In any case, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 54: True Colors
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"Are you ready?"
Dante looked up at Inuba and immediately looked away, eyes slowly moving back and forth on her within the large private room they were using.
Inuba decided it was best to stretch and the like after such intense training. Along with technically being a qualified doctor and chiropractor, Inuba also knew an extensive amount of yoga, since it had numerous benefits.
Particularly with excellent stretching.
The problem, or perhaps blessing in disguise really, was what she was wearing. It wasn't so much the attire that was… questionable… but the way it fitted itself to her incredible figure.
She wore a pair of black pants that looked like they were yoga pants, but had a slight, glossy shine to them, hugging every contour and curve of her impressive, desirable hips and long, full legs. Her midriff was exposed as she wore a form-fitting, sleeveless black sports-bra top, also having the same slightly glossy shine her pants did. Like her pants, it emphasized her huge bust a great deal, having a small window to her chest near the top and showing off a small amount cleavage.
…
Dante felt like it would have been a sin not to look…
"Y-Yeah…" He said trying to keep his eyes glued on her, "I'm ready…"
Some scant feeling of "good nature" that usually guided him in situations like these tried its best to move his eyes away from the stunning sight. But he was desperately trying to defy that "good nature" he always followed and keep his eyes glued to the kitsune.
"I-Is there something wrong?" Inuba asked, genuinely concerned since he sat on the ground frozen.
"N-No! Just spacing out a little…"
"Then shall we start?"
He didn't even respond verbally, only giving her a few quick nods.
"For the purposes of accurately following my lead, I've made all my tails disappear so you can copy my stances better. If you're struggling to enter a pose, say so, and I'll help." The kitsune offered with her usual warm smile.
A smile like that needed to be made illegal for all the heart throbbing it caused.
She offered her help, yes, but could she help purify the thoughts running through his head?
Regardless of the rampant chaos in his head, Dante, with some struggle, quickly followed Inuba's movements, which started off with a few slow lunges. Easy enough so far, but very hard on the eyes since Inuba was facing away from him and he posed behind her, getting a full view of everything as she stretched her lovely legs.
Just glancing at her supple thighs made his face tingle with the pleasant sensations from the night before…
Shaking his head, Dante focused himself up again, if only for a temporary few moments, and continued copying the kitsune's stances. Eventually, it lead with the two lowering themselves to ground before raising up their upper torsos using their arms, keeping their lower halves completely parallel with the ground. Therein lay another problem for Dante.
His eyes, no matter how hard he tried to move them away, kept tracing down Inuba's back all the way down to her supple, desirable rear, continuing to stir up "feelings" from the past night.
This was Hell, but the nicer, lewder part of it.
He would know. He had been there.
A few more minutes of following along, Inuba eventually stood back up, walking over to the once immortal as he awkwardly stared up.
"Now, I'll help stretch you out."
Compared to her lover, Inuba had a generally calm expression as she put Dante in various poses, helping him stretch limbs out that one normally wouldn't be able to without some form of assistance. But like the teen, thoughts were stirring deep within her, growing in intensity with each pose and each time she used the weight of her own body to add some pressure. He wasn't overly sculpted and muscular like most of those ridiculously muscled types, but his body was what she considered "perfectly toned", every bit of him pleasantly firm and taught wherever her hands touched.
Right now, she helped with folding up his right leg and pushing it towards his body slowly, carefully staring at his facial expressions as not to hurt him. He winced a few times here and there, but it wasn't painful enough to have her stop. He seemed uneasy though.
What she didn't realize was that her bosom was pressed into his leg, pleasantly cushioning the limb as she "pressed" on.
"I-Is everything alright?"
"J-Just fine!" Dante managed to squeak out, trying to not make eye contact.
"Really now, you should tell me if something is wrong."
There was a lot wrong right now, but not for the reasons the kitsune was thinking of.
The eventual slip up happened, the sweat from Dante's smooth skin making Inuba's hand slide off, and therefore making Inuba fall forward. To stop her from falling, the once immortal moved his hands up, and did indeed stop her from falling, but soon enough felt his fingers from both hands sinking into firm, softness.
Opening his eyes, he saw Inuba was on top of him, and his hands were currently "pressed" into Inuba's chest to help keep her propped up. His eyes shifted panickedly, seeing his head was between the kitsune's arms that were straightened out and pressed against ground.
Normally, in situations like this, they would both be doing their best to avoid eye contact and panickingly thrash about to get out of their awkward positioning. But they sat perfectly still, staring into each other's eyes with flushed faces and somewhat embarrassed expressions.
He made to move his hands away, but Inuba's immediately shot up and kept his hands firmly in place against her ample bust, eliciting a soft gasp from the kitsune as the once immortal listened to her hitched breathing.
"You can touch me as much as you like… if it pleases you…" she softly spoke out, still maintaining eye contact with Dante all the while.
"A-Are you fine with that..?"
"I… welcome your touch… Yearn for it even…" She spoke as her body lowered further down, pressing herself against the teen's chest as she lay on him.
Moments after, when their faces were close enough, Inuba slowly lowered her face towards Dante's and locked lips with him, keeping herself close to him as possible. Her body started to heat up with great intensity as she continued kissing him, skillfully using her tongue like Eclypse had once demonstrated to make her kiss all the more effective, her hands touching the sides of her lover's face to feel the warmth building up in his cheeks. He wasn't nearly as intense with kissing like Inuba was, so he worked to copy her tongue movements instead, syncing with her to make the experience all the more electrifying for the duo.
Eventually, they both drew their faces away slowly, a small, thin string of their drool connecting them for a brief as they let out heavy breathes.
Dante looked as though he wanted to say something, but held back, prompting the kitsune to ask instead.
"What's wrong?"
"I…"
He started, but couldn't quite finish his sentence as he looked away for a few brief moments, soon looking back to the kitsune.
"Can I… touch you more?"
She was surprised by the simplicity of the question, but only pleasantly smiled at him as she slowly dived back in for a second helping of intense kissing. This time, she grabbed hold of his hands, and guided them towards her thin waist, his hands almost able to fully wrap around them. She couldn't feel her flesh pleasantly tingling with his touch as Dante gently rubbed her sides, slowly working his way down to her luscious, wide hips. Shocks reverberated throughout Inuba's entire body, but intense heat built up around where the teen's hands held her.
She could feel hesitation from him, his hands unsure of whether or not to go further down and around. But with swift movement from the kitsune, she once again guided Dante's hands, this time to her supple, desirable rear as his fingers slightly sank into her flesh. Inuba made sure he had a firm hold of her butt as she continued to passionately deliver her rather erotic kisses, the pleasant shocks between the two lovers growing with intensity each passing second.
"Don't hesitate… darling…" Inuba spoke in between breaths, "You can do… as you please…"
"N-No…" Dante managed to speak up.
"No..?"
"I…"
Inuba looked at the teen in dazed confusion, noting his already red cheeks as his eyes drifted off to the side.
"I don't want to do anything that you wouldn't like… That's why… I want to make you feel good, rather making myself feel good…"
…
Whatever last strand of reason Inuba had was completely obliterated with that one statement. Her nine white fox tails appeared behind her in a small and short blaze of white flames, flicking about wildly as her breathing becoming audibly louder. The kitsune's ruby eyes were narrowed in a predatory, seductive gaze that shimmered with intense passion, her tongue lolling from her mouth with a powerful, burning hunger welling up inside her as she dove in for a third helping of kisses.
This time however, her hands moved to take off his shirt before removing her top, all while her tails worked to remove their pants and underwear, leaving both of them completely bare.
Inuba continued with her kissing, the few of her tails holding onto their clothing tossing that garments aside as one of the white, fluffy tails extended outwards towards the door, latching on the locks so that they could remain undisturbed.
Using another trick from Eclypse, a small pulse of white traveled throughout the room, all for the purpose of making everything and anything within the room completely silent to the outside.
For the final time, Inuba drew her face away from Dante's to stop the kissing, if only for a short while as her tails whipped about fervently. Her hands held the sides of his face, her thumbs gently and lovingly rubbing across his cheeks before she leaned down slowly and whispered in his ear.
"This time… I'll be taking care of you very thoroughly… darling…" she spoke out before moving to kiss him again.
They sat there together for what seemed like forever, but was only about ten minutes after their… intense "workout". They had their clothes back on, at sat comfortably bundled within Inuba's tails. The kitsune, however, was now wearing shorts of the same fabric her pants did, seeing as her pants became… unusable. Midway in between, they decided to experiment. One thing led to another, and now there was a huge tear in the important parts the pants were meant to cover.
There was also the fact they had a lot of stains now.
"Sorry about the pants…" Dante noted.
"It's alright. It was about time for me to throw them out anyway, hence why I… well… suggested the idea…"
"I-I see…" the teen said, remembering every single shape and contour of Inuba's figure while she wore those pants.
Just talking about it made them embarrassed.
Inuba glanced behind herself, looking further down the backside of her body and letting out a small sigh. He didn't know what it was at first, but he had a pretty good guess as to what it was once he followed her gaze. Thus, his hands found themselves shifting down to Inuba's rear, making her let out a surprised gasp as she immediately snapped her attention back to him.
"To be fair… it's a really incredible butt…"
"D-Dante, please!" She said, slapping her hands on his mouth as he let out a muffled laugh, moving his head out of her hands so he could speak again.
"Hey, you're using my name."
"N-Not important at the moment!" She squeaked, her face turning red as she pinched the sides of his cheeks.
"In all honesty though… There's not a single thing you need to change about yourself. You're perfectly fine as is."
She immediately buried her face into his chest, muffling her voice, "Is that so…"
"That is so." He told her, hugging the kitsune tightly, "We've been in here for a while. We should probably get out before they send a search party."
"Agreed." Inuba said as she used her tails to prop them up, returning to their normal size as they made for the door.
With a snap of her fingers, Inuba replicated the clothes they both wore in mere moments, letting out a sigh as she reached for the door.
Before she could move further, she felt a pleasant jolt run through her as her tails where gently captured. Looking behind her, she could see Dante rubbing her tails and rubbing his face in them, looking very pleased all the while.
"Your tails are amazing too..!" He commented silently, before the tails squirmed out his grasp and grew larger once again to completely wrap him up, holding him front of Inuba.
She only looked a little bit unamused. But he had a fix for that.
Swinging himself forward a bit, he managed to get close enough to Inuba's face to give her a peck on the lips, prompting her to blush a little before she put him down on his feet.
"I love you." He said, making the kitsune jump once more.
Before she opened the door, one of her tails shot out and wrapped around his mouth to make him silent as she dragged him along outside of the room, hiding her ripped pants all the while. When they left the room, they both stared in utter surprise at the living room couch, seeing Athyra Aetherveil waving at them with a pleasant smile on her face.
"I-I'll go for now! Things to take care of!" Inuba said as she quickly unleashed Dante and scurried away.
"R-Right…"
When the teen looked to his mother again, she was staring back at him with the smuggest of smiles.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing. Just looking at my amazing son. What's new with you?"
He was silent.
"Alright, different question then. How many times did you guys do it? You were in there for like a hour."
"A-Are you you seriously asking me that?!"
"Yep. Feel like telling me?"
"Hell no!"
"Did you break some of the furniture?"
Dante went to respond, but immediately fell silent, remembering he and Inuba broke the legs of the couch of the room they were in, but repaired it before sitting down for a while.
"You so did! It's all over your guilty face!" She said before she broke out laughing, "With how hard you two were going at it, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a reported tremor on the news!" She managed to breath out before she continued dying with laughter.
…
As much as he hated to think about it, she could have been right. He and Inuba were very physically strong beings, but as of late, Inuba was far stronger.
It was actually pretty exciting to see her being so aggressive…
The teen immediately shook his head, his ears tuning back into the dying laughter of his mother as she took deep breaths and stilled herself.
"Oh man…" Athyra spoke as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "Teasing you is never gonna get old…"
It would get old quickly if he kept walking away.
"Alright alright, I'm done. Come on, sit sit sit." She said waving him over to the sofa chair across from her.
…
This had to be some kind of trap, but he decided to jump into the devil's mouth regardless, despite his mother being an Angel.
She wasn't very "Angel"-like from what he's seen so far.
"So what is this? Looking to catch up? Not really a need for that if you've been watching me this whole time."
"Well… Yeah, you've got a point there. But it's good to talk a few things out now and then."
"I guess." The teen shrugged as he leaned back into his chair.
Athyra seemed to struggle with her words at first, her mouth moving to try and form the words, but nothing came out. But after a few moments, she worked up the courage, regardless of what Dante's reaction would be.
"Kareina spoke to you two years ago about… something pretty sensitive."
…
He remembered that conversation. It wasn't one he particularly enjoyed.
"You know that aside from being a sort of doctor, she's a damn good psychologist, right? Ever wonder how she's so damn scary when it came to reading people?"
It was scary how she was able to read anyone she looked at. A glance was all it took, and she could feel what you were thinking within every moment of interaction you would have with her.
Word has it that a long time ago, Kareina used to be a very scary person long before she married Tenma. She mellowed out considerably, according to the rumors, but now and then, she still had hints of that frightening side of hers show itself.
Dante was lucky enough to rarely see it.
"She said you were severely depressed, but you blew her off because you thought it was ridiculous."
…
He did get pretty upset about that. It just seemed too unbelievable, unimaginable really that she of all people was telling him what he was and wasn't. The more he thought about it now… the more he realized she was right back then with her diagnosis.
Dante just didn't like hearing it, not after what happened.
"And?" The teen asked.
"Well… Has has that changed, or..?"
"I'm not depressed."
"You were pretty eager back then to deny it."
"I'm not depressed." Dante reaffirmed more sternly this time, "At least not anymore."
"Do you still think about it?"
How could he not? That day… All that time… It was… too much to just forget.
"Not all that much anymore." Dante replied, "I've got better things to think about now than just reminisce about past tragedies."
"Dante-"
"Satannya's gone, mom. That's a fact." The teen said as his eyes trailed the ground, "I've… accepted it a long time ago, and I'm not gonna let it bring me down. Besides…" he said looking up to his mother, "if I glowered about her death all the time, she's liable to come back to life again just to kick my ass for doing something that stupid."
"Okay then." Athyra said with a smile as her body relaxed a bit more in the seat, "She was someone special to you, so I just thought that you might want to talk about it, you know? Unburden yourself." She motioned out with her hands, "It's okay to cry over a loss, Dante."
"I'm not crying."
"It does make you a little crybaby though."
There it is… Dante thought, rolling his eyes.
"All I'm saying is that it's okay to cry if you want, tough guy."
"I'm not crying."
"Guys cry."
"I'm not gonna cry."
"Kittens cry 'meow'!"
"Will you shut up?!"
"Puppies cry 'woof'!"
"Will you stop it?! Look at you, you're-! Nobody's crying all right?!" Dante shouted, feeling a small vibration on his shirt that told him a call was coming in on his Scroll.
"Why don't you cry on my shoulder?" Athyra said.
"Stop saying cry!"
"Come on, cry on my shoulder, you know you wanna!"
"If you say cry again-!" Dante wanted as he picked up the call, "Who is it? What? I don't sound like I'm about to cr-!"
Dante silently cursed under his breath away from the receiver, catching his mother pointing at him with a huge grin on her face to rub in his slip up.
Moments after, the teen moved the receiver closer to his mouth again as he listened.
"So, what's the deal?"
"Not good." Qrow replied from the other end, "So far, I've found no one. Not a single person."
Not even one?
"Some of the people on my list are still out on hunts and haven't come back yet, while everyone who has come back from a recent hunt hasn't been heard of in a while."
…
That didn't bode well…
"What's the plan then?"
"I'm gonna see if I can find anymore people, unlikely as it is. In the meantime, you and everyone else stay where you are. Keep watch, just in case."
"Right. See you when you get back then." Dante said, hanging up before he let out a sigh.
"Guess Qrow Branwen's search for people isn't going all too well." Athyra said, tossing her son a bottle of green tea.
"Right on the money." The teen replied as he caught the bottle, cracking the lid open, "Doesn't make sense. Kingdom like this? There's got to be at least close to a hundred Huntsmen and Huntresses total. But almost none of them being present in Mistral right now? Something's not right here."
"Probably not." Athyra said as she drank some of her coffee while Dante drank his tea, "What's your gut telling you, kiddo?"
His gut…
…
He didn't want to rely on it all too much with how he's wanted for things to turn around. Relying on his gut meant going against the idea that things were looking up.
But the younger him was sharper than any blade when it came to situations like this.
"There's practically no Huntsmen or Huntresses in the Kingdom right now, at least, not any that are known. Some have been out on hunts for a long time now while some came back but haven't been seen for some time." Dante noted, staring down his bottle, "My guess? They've either been captured and taken elsewhere, or more than likely killed off."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, think about it like this." The teen said, putting his bottle of tea down, "I've got a problem with defenses of a city or kingdom, that problem being what's essentially a collective army of highly skilled warriors, Huntsmen and Huntresses. If they're in my way, or preventing me from moving about freely, then obviously, my course of action is to remove those roadblocks entirely by any means, but doing so discreetly as to not draw suspicion, at least not immediately."
"Thus leaving everything open to attack…"
"Basically." Dante affirmed, "In Vale, they attacked us using indirect methods. Hacking into systems, causing widespread panic to draw in Grimm, and sneaking White Fang into the city. Then all Hell broke loose. My guess? Mistral is now the new target. Vacuo could be next depending on how easy their defenses are, and Atlas would likely be saved for last due to it needing a more calculated plan to bring it down."
"So then… That means that as of now, all of us here in our little band of misfits is all we've got in the event of an attack."
"Pretty much. Even if we lack the numbers, we more than make up for it with skill and raw power. While the mixed armies of Grimm, White Fang and stolen Atlas mechs are nothing to scoff at, if we had everyone like we do now, we could've shut down the whole thing quickly enough. Now? My guess is that we'll have to deal with White Fang and Grimm. Maybe even a few personal forces of whoever this damn mastermind is."
Dante glared at the bottle he set down, thinking about a certain fire slinging bitch he was going to slay when he saw her again.
"Personally, I'm hoping they send a few of their tough ones."
"Looking to kick some ass, huh?" Athyra asked, crossing her arms.
"Obviously. We need to start whittling them down, and striking back."
"One step at a time, kiddo." His mother said, scoffing a bit, "You're still pretty banged up."
"As if that'll stop me."
Athyra laughed a little, "Guess it won't. But you need to keep working on your skills."
Right. He could die now if he wasn't careful enough.
…
Now that he thought about it…
"Do you know what did it?" The teen asked.
"I don't know what you mean…"
"Do you know what made us immortal?"
"Ah, now I see… Frankly, I don't know what caused it." Athyra shrugged, making Dante sigh, "All I know is that you've had it in you since you were born. Same with Dawn, Ciel and Leo. It wasn't fully 'on' in your earlier years of childhood, but after all of you experienced enough physical trauma, it just kicked in."
"But why was it connected to me? When I got stabbed with the Eos Blade, I was sure I was the only one affected, but Dawn, Ciel and Leo got affected too despite never coming into contact with it."
"Maybe it's because you were the firstborn? I don't know kiddo." Athyra frustratedly shrugged, "There's still a lot of funky things happening with my memory, so I don't have all the answers I'm afraid. All we both know now is that all of my lovelies don't have their immortality anymore, which means I'm gonna have to step up my game."
"What?"
"You heard me. I'm gonna be working hard my own way to get back into the condition I used to be in. Right now? I'm at badass. The condition I used to be in was ultra badass." Athyra said, demonstrating the levels with her hands, "Right now, all I've got pretty much is raw physical power. My actual power is trickling back in very slowly. That much you should know, given your experience with beings like me."
"Can you actually fight though?"
"Ha! Please, I could kick anyone's ass back in my day before I died. Bet I can kick yours too using only my bare hands."
As appealing as that sounded…
"I'll pass."
He was actually afraid for once, and he didn't need his mother's… temperamental nature setting back his recovery.
"Dante." Athyra said, drawing back his attention, "If you need something or someone… just talk, kiddo. Things are a hell of a lot different now."
"Yeah…"
"Most importantly… Don't stop being you. For someone who didn't have parents, or too many people telling him what was right or wrong… you've done really well these past years on your own. Sure, you had a rough start, and you were basically flying solo most of the time. But you learned, and here we are now. A son and his siblings that I'm super proud of."
…
Was she really proud of him?
"Don't question all that you know now, kiddo. Between me and you, compared to the vast majority, you've got it down right."
"Right..." Dante said, leaning back into his seat.
Both jumped up a little when they heard a commotion near the dining room and kitchen, getting up from their chairs to check out.
Dipping their heads in, they saw RNJR helping prepare dinner with Inuba and Blaire. Ruby and Ren were helping with cooking at the stove, but the two notoriously excellent chefs of the kitchen were keeping pace with one another, "dishing" out meals every few minutes. Jaune Arc helped set up the table with Blaire, while Nora was cutting carrots, occasionally eating a few slices.
"Ooh! Food's almost done!" Ciel said brushing past Dante with Musashi to take a closer look."
"I could eat something." Leo said entering the kitchen with Alice and Bailey.
"The first batch is just about done, so you're right on time." Ren told them as he kept cooking.
"Awesome! Now we just need Qrow and we'll be all set!"
"Do you really think he's gonna bring that many people?" Nora asked, eating another carrot, "This is a lot of food."
"Uh, I don't know, but it sounds like we could use all the help we can get."
Dante and Athyra looked to one another, unsure if they should say something about the phone call from Qrow. But being the like minded individuals that they were, they didn't want to spoil the night with bad news.
"I'm back!"
Speaking of Qrow, he thankfully returned safe and sound.
"Be right there!"
"You're going to overcook that." Ren noted to Ruby."
"No I'm not, shut up!"
Dante and his mother turned around at last, indeed seeing Qrow standing there, but with two very unexpected faces.
"Hey, uh, Ruby?" Dante called out
"I'm coming!" Ruby said, walking in with the tea tray, "So, we didn't know how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it."
She looked up, gasping as she dropped the tray. She stared in disbelief at the sight of not only Qrow, of Yang and her partner Weiss. The little reaper jumped up when she saw Yang approaching her.
"Yang, I... I'm so sorry! I- I should've stayed, and I should've talked to you more! I'd- I just... I wasn't sure if you wanted me around and-!"
Instead of receiving any punishment, her big sister gave her a strong hug instead, making Ruby's lips quiver as they both cried.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Weiss smiled, wiping a tear from her eye, before frowning while looking down.
"Weiss." Ruby called out.
The heiress looked up, and saw the two sisters open their arms up for her. She smiled and eagerly joined them in their hug.
A few moments of their hugging, Weiss and Yang snapped to Dante, gasping as
they walked forward hurriedly.
"What happened to you?!" Weiss asked with her hands over her mouth in disbelief, giving the teen a hug soon after.
"Yeah, seriously. You look taller and stuff, despite also looking a mess." Yang commented, giving him a pat on the back.
"Long story short, I died, came back after five minutes, got my ass kicked for thirty minutes then died again for another eight minutes, then came back again. There was this sad witch, a lot of crazy Grimm… Oh yeah, and me getting stabbed and losing my immortality."
They looked utterly confused, looking to Ruby for an answer, but all the girl gave them was an awkward smile before they all looked back to Dante.
"Anyway, who's hungry?" He asked.
The dinner table was abuzz with the current members of RWBY, JNPR, Dante and siblings, Musashi, the Lianna siblings, Inuba, Eclypse, and Blaire. The mood was quite cheery, everyone smiling and laughing.
"How do you lose your map at a time like that?" Yang asked with a laugh.
"Believe me, I've asked myself the same thing ever since." Jaune explained, smiling and giggling sheepishly.
"Hey, but you made up for it, Mister Muscles! You shoulda seen this guy take a giant Grimm head on!" Nora proudly explained.
"I couldn't have done it without Ruby wearing it down."
"Uh, me? Did you see Ren during that fight? He was out of control!" Ruby noted.
"I'm sorry, I may have lost my temper momentarily."
"No, no! Out of control as in 'awesome'!"
"Oooohhh…" Ren said, realizing what she meant before he smiled, "Thank you."
"So what about you?" Yang asked, looking to Dante, "What crazy things did you kill?"
"Well, let's see…" Dante reminisced, "Killed some Minotaur Grimm, a Geist possessing some rocks, and… what was that huge ass red thing with horns called again?"
"Something with a D, if I remember correctly." Ren stated
"A Diabolica, if I'm not mistaken." Leo added.
"You killed a Diabolica?!" Weiss asked, almost jumping out of her seat.
"Technically we killed one, and I killed another one when I was jacked up on the surplus of Aura from Eclypse." Dante answered.
"It was absolutely crazy!" Ruby exclaimed, "He was like super strong and was slicing air and blowing everything up for miles!"
"It! Was! Awesomeeeee!" Nora sang out, high fiving Ruby,
"And this Eclypse is..?"
"Hmmm?" Eclypse said, looking Weiss' way, "You have an interest in me? Very well then, I'll tell you about me then."
Dante, Ruby, Inuba and Blaire all froze at the moment. They weren't going to do or say anything, but they waited, just in case.
"I am a being capable of transforming into a weapon, created twelve years ago by Dante. Since then, I have acted as his sword, his weapon against all of his enemies." She explained.
Weiss seemed very interested, listening intently while Yang looked skeptical.
"No way." The blonde girl commented, "I don't believe it."
Eclypse smiled challengingly, looking to Dante as he extended a hand towards her. Within moments, Eclypse's entire body turned into a stream of black and white Aura, forming into her sword form as the once immortal displayed her, giving her a few twirls and slow slices as they all admired in awe.
Once he extended his hand outwards, Eclypse reverted to her human form, taking her seat between Ruby and Dante once again.
"Okay, I believe you."
"Isn't it cool?! A person who can turn into a weapon! How crazy is that?!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.
"Very…" Weiss stated, still having a curious look about her, "And these are your siblings?"
"Yep!" Ciel said leaning over to make sure Weiss could see her, "I'm Ciel, and obviously the cutest one!"
"And you're obviously the freakishly strongest one…" Leo commented, receiving a blindingly fast smack to the stomach from his sister, "Other than that, I'm Leonard."
"Dawn Aetherveil, the second eldest." Dawn spoke up, "Our brother has told us quite a bit about the both of you."
"Like what?"
"That you're a crazy hot blonde almost as strong as me." Ciel quickly answered Yang.
"And that you're extremely skilled but colder than the blizzards in Hell." Leo stated, looking to Weiss.
Yang seemed impressed with her small story, but Weiss immediately glared at Dante, who innocently stared back.
"To be fair, you used to be handful before you became… chill."
"Oooooh! Got 'em!" Yang exclaimed, high fiving Dante across the table.
"Honestly, you two and your terrible jokes…" The heiress commented, shaking her head briefly before looking back to the once immortal, "So… is it really true then? You… can actually die now?"
Everyone fell silent as they looked to Dante, some sharing awkward glances between each other.
"Seems that way." He simply answered.
"How are you so calm about it?"
"It's because I've accepted the fact that this is reality now, Weiss. I'm not gonna cry about it, not gonna whine, not gonna convince myself it didn't happen. I'm just gonna move forward. Besides..." Dante paused briefly, jabbing his fork into a piece of broccoli, "Who needs stupid shit like immortality anyway?"
It was a little awkward at first, but everyone soon smiled, easing the brief moment of tension as few chuckled a little.
"Anyway, what about you? Do anything interesting while you were away? You know, outside of running away from home?"
"Well… aside from being captured recently, I did accidentally tap into my summoning ability to bring out a boarbatusk during one of my father's parties. And it may have… tried to attack a really snobby woman who wasn't saying very nice things about Beacon."
"You did not!" Ruby gasped.
"Yeah, right in the middle of the party."
"Please tell me you let that lady have it." Yang asked.
"Of course not!" She quickly defended, "Even if I did really want to."
"No way, I don't believe it."
Just as she said this, Weiss summoned her Boarbatusk right next to Nora, making the Grimm growls and Nora yelp as she fell to her side, making everyone laugh.
"So… Who wants to check out my new arm?" Yang asked.
"Ooh, shiny toys." Dante said eating his last scraps of food, "Let's see it."
The blond raised her arm up onto the table and showed off her prosthetic arm in all its glory.
"It's not a replacement for the real thing, but I'll make sure to make good use of it."
"That's amazing..!" Jaune exclaimed
"Incredible..."
Dante was the only one to take up the arm, quickly glancing it over from various angles as he looked it over.
"Not bad. For Atlas tech at least." He shrugged as kept looking.
"What? You can do better?" She asked him.
"If you let me modify it, I can."
Yang actually looked up, pondering the idea. She knew his skill with technology and forging weaponry was actually pretty impressive, so if he could modify it to make it even better.
"Alright. Take a look tomorrow or something."
Dante gave a small fist pump of victory and sat back down, seeing Ruby taking her turn to examine Yang's arm,
"Is it just as strong?"
"Hm, sure is."
Suddenly, everyone heard a bang on the table, seeing Nora with her arm out ready to arm wrestle.
"Wanna bet?"
"Nora, please, now's not the time…"
In spite of Weiss' protest, Yang placed her arm on the table, smiling at Nora challengingly.
Everyone began to quickly clear the table of dishes and food, taking everything to the kitchen and putting the dishes into the sink. Once that was done, and the dishes soaked with water to keep the stains soft, everyone hurried back to the room, taking their seats as Yang and Nora clasped hands.
"Alright guys, I wanna nice and clean fight. No table flipping, cursing or throwing stuff at one another to create distractions. Are we ready?"
They both gave him a nod, and Dante readied his hand, moving it out of the way to signal the start of the match. Jaune and Ren cheered on Nora with Inuba and Blaire, while Ruby, Ciel and Alice cheered on for Yang.
"Don't let her beat you! You can do it! Come on!"
"You can do this! Show 'em what Team JNPR's made of!"
"C'mon, sis! You can't lose to a girl in a skirt!" Ruby countered.
"You wear a skirt, Ruby." Weiss noted.
"Weiss, you're not cheering loud enough!" she said shaking Weiss.
"It definitely feels like the original, I'll give you that!" Nora commented in a strained voice.
"Yep. But, it does have some new features!"
"Oh yeah?!"
A few clicking sounds and metallic creaks were heard coming from Yang's arm, and suddenly Nora fell back to the wall holding Yang's detached arm in her hand. She groaned in pain while the others look on in concern and shock, except for Yang, who had a smug grin on her face and was currently not trying to laugh.
"Did she... win?"
As Nora came to, she realized she was holding Yang's arm, causing her to scream and throw it back to the blonde, who laughed while she caught her arm.
"Man… I can't believe we ate it all…" Jaune commented, patting his stomach gently.
"Come on Shovel Knight, that was nothing." Ciel commented as she slapped him on the back, hiccuping as she did.
"Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick…"
"Easy there, Vomit Boy, I believe in you." Yang said,
"Oh, we're doing nickname throwbacks now. Wonderful." He said sarcastically while walking away back to the kitchen.
"I mean, the Ice Queen seems to like it."
Weiss stopped giggling and Ruby burst into laughter at Nora's remark. Even so, Weiss smiled, even if just a little bit.
"I so did not miss you people."
"Oh my gosh!" Nora gasped, "She really does love us! What went and warmed your heart while you were gone?!"
"Hey! You make it sound like I used to be terrible."
"Nah. Just a lot to deal with it once." Yang added in.
Weiss let out a huff, looking to Dante for his two cents on the matter, but he just shook his head to tell her she wasn't going to get a peep from him.
"It's been a long time. We've all grown in our own ways."
"You really think so?" Ruby asked Ren.
"Well, think back to when we were all at Beacon, would you say you ever did anything foolish or embarrassing? Or do you think you were perfect?"
"Oh gosh…" Weiss said, burying her face in her hands again.
"I may have been a little too gung-ho from time to time."
"Heh, you? I tried to 1v1 a Nevermore on the second day of school."
"I think you were the only one who was kinda perfect." Yang pointed out to Dante.
"Who, me?" Dante waved off, "Naw sister, I was anything but perfect. Yeah, I got good grades always and did great in combat class, but I could've been better most of the time."
"Agreed. You were fairly sloppy than your usual." Dawn commented with a smirk.
"Says the smartass who can't follow her own plan from start to finish." Dante smirked back, making his sister pout, "In any case, I could've done things better a lot of times. It's just that me and my stupid brain disagreed sometimes."
"Don't even get me started." Jaune said as he walked back into the room.
"That embarrassment? That desire to go back and tell yourself not to be so stupid? That just proves you're not the same person you used to be. You're smarter, you're kinder, you're stronger, and you're not done growing yet. None of us are."
"Seems like you can get real deep when you feel like it." Leo said to Ren, earning a giggle from everyone.
"I try most days."
"Well hold on!" Nora jumped up, "I thought I was pretty great in school!"
"Even at the dance? When you spilled punch all over yourself in front of-"
"Yes, especially the dance! Thank you, Yang!"
He missed this. Everyone in a room, laughing and joking around about the silly things happening in their life, genuinely having a good time.
It was almost like it was at home. Just different people.
"Anyway, got some stories for us this time?" Yang asked Dante.
"Who, me? Naw." The immortal waved off, "Besides, I already filled you guys in with recent events. Not much to say other than that really."
Except that you are now in a loving relationship with four women.
Do you really think that's dinner-worthy talk?!
For me it is.
"Yeah, but, you still have stuff about the past, don't you?" Yang asked.
"I might. Just not right now. I'd have to use my brain too much to remember all the details, and frankly, I'm on vacation for a little while. Meaning I'm excused from using my brain too much. Besides that, aren't you guys like tired or something? You've had a pretty hectic last few days from what you told us."
"He does have something of a point Yang." Weiss commented, "That, and his stories take a long time to tell, since every detail is rather important."
"See? Weiss gets it." The immortal happily stated.
Frankly, he didn't have the energy to tell a story tonight. He was actually tired from all the… exercise.
"You guys hang here for a while. I'm gonna go help with the dishes." Dante said as he staggered up, putting his crutches under his arms as he left the room.
"Is he really alright Ruby?" Weiss asked with concern.
"Mhm. He's just recovering right now, so he's trying to take it slow and… well, adjust since he's more like us now." Ruby explained, "It's kind of hard for him to tone it down."
"And he wasn't lying about the whole witch thing, right?" Yang asked, "He actually got stabbed and everything?"
"All of it's true." Jaune spoke up, "We were all there and… saw everything. A lot of it is just… too much to describe with words. You kind of had to be there to see it."
"He just kind of gave you two the dumbed down version to save time, since he really isn't the type to mope about things." Nora told them.
"And since then, he's been working hard to get back up on his feet. Luckily for him, he'll make a full recovery soon enough thanks to his partner." Ren explained.
"Yeah, have you seen her work?! She's like super amazing!" Nora exclaimed, "Small booboo? No problem! Lost a leg? She'll slap it back on!"
"Her healing is pretty incredible." Ruby said, "Wish I could do a little bit of what she can…"
"Go ask her then." Yang quickly answered, "I mean, why not?"
"W-Well…"
"Oh, I get it. A new challenger has arrived huh?"
Ruby was confused for a moment, but after a few seconds, she understood what her sister meant.
"No no! It's nothing like that!"
"Little Ruby's a little jealous, huh? Scared she might sweep Dante away?"
Considering Ruby knew the truth of the matter, she jolted upwards a little, remembering that if Yang knew about their… newer form of a relationship, she might kill Dante.
And she very well could now, which only terrified Ruby more.
"Uh… We're gonna bounce…" Ciel commented, quickly slipping away with Musashi.
"We'll leave too." Leonard just as quickly announced as he and the Lianna twins left the room in a hurry.
Ecylpse had already vanished once Dante left the area, leaving just RNJR, Weiss and Yang in the room.
"Okay… Weird…" Yang noted, "So what's the deal with… What was her name again?"
"Inuba?" Ruby meekly answered.
"Yeah! So what's her deal? We only saw her like once and that was before the tournament." A smile crept up on the blonde girl's face, "Was she traveling with him for all those months? All alone? Just the two of them?"
"Y-Yang!"
"What? It's good to ask the right questions isn't it?"
Weiss let out a sigh, getting up to leave since she couldn't handle her leader being mercilessly interrogated. She did also feel a little bit thirsty, so she had more incentive to get up and head to the kitchen.
Though, after her short walk and rounding the corner, she instantly regretted it as soon as she saw Inuba kissing Dante, freezing in place entirely.
Inuba's eyes went wide as her head snapped to Weiss, prompting Dante to do the same as the duo stared at Weiss.
"Shit…" Dante silently muttered, "Okay, Weiss, I know you just saw what you saw, but you need to calm down and-"
"T-That's alright! I didn't see anything!" The heiress said, taking slowly steps backwards, "I'll just go, and-!"
A hand stopped Weiss from moving further, and to her horror, Eclypse was standing behind her.
"There's no escape."
Weiss was forced forwards into a chair and sat down in it, Eclypse slamming her hands down atop the chair to keep it still as the heiress frantically looked around between the immortal, his sword, and the kitsune.
"Please, just calm down and listen." Dante asked.
"H-Honestly! I didn't see anything!"
"We all know that's a lie." Eclypse said, clutching the chair tighter, "Your fear tells me everything. Lying will do you no good." she said, whispering in her ear.
"You guys doing alr-?"
Ruby froze upon entering the kitchen, looking between Dante and a somewhat scared Weiss that was being interrogated.
"What are you guys doing?!" The little reaper exclaimed in a hushed tone.
"Put simply, she knows."
Ruby jumped at those words, "S-She does..?"
"She saw me and Inuba…" Dante explained, rubbing the back of his head.
"Wait, I don't understand..!" Weiss spoke up, "You knew Ruby?!"
"W-Well… Um… It's kind of… embarrassing to say… but we're all… together…"
"What do you mean..?"
"It means that she, Inuba and myself are his lovers, along with that red haired woman you saw." Eclypse explained, "We came to a unanimous decision for all for us to be his, rather than have him choose just one of us."
"Y-You can't be…"
Weiss looked to Dante and Ruby, who were exchanging awkward glances between each other.
"Gods… You are serious…" the heiress said, relaxing in her seat as her eyes drifted towards the ground, "How did this even happen?"
"Things were… emotionally tense." Inuba stated.
"And you're alright with this? All of you?"
"We wouldn't be here together if we weren't." Eclypse told the heiress.
"You haven't told Yang either?"
"No! Definitely not!" Ruby quickly exclaimed.
"She's more liable to murder me if anything. And given recent events, I'm actually a little intimidated that she might succeed…" Dante said, feeling a strong enough shiver run down his spine to make him shake a little.
"And you want me to keep this secret I presume?"
"You will keep this secret." Eclypse warned, running her index finger up Weiss' back to make the girl yelp, "Otherwise, I'll be inclined to have my fun with you. Very messy. Lewd. Fun."
The heiress gasped at the warning, more shocked than anything at the words she heard from the platinum haired girl.
"Please don't tell Yang." Ruby pleaded.
"I… I won't say anything… But you should be more careful about your actions together in public. I almost got the wrong impression…" Weiss said with a sigh.
"Seeing as you saw… you still need to be punished for peeping…"
"P-Punished?!"
"Yes…" Eclypse whispered seductively in the heiress' ear, "You have a rather lovely pair of legs, Ms. Schnee… I wonder how they feel like…"
"Stop." Dante immediately called out, Eclypse halting to a still.
"Eh… You're no fun sometimes…" the girl said as she left Weiss alone, allowing the girl to hurriedly leap out of her chair and take steps back.
"Is she always like that?"
"There's never a minute where she isn't thinking of lewd thoughts or trying to do something lewd to me. Trust me, I know." The immortal stated as he pursed his lips, tapping the side of his head.
I want to tie you up later.
Not happening.
According to who, exactly?
"So… We all good?" Dante asked the heiress as everyone else went back to their business, Ruby helping with the dishes.
"Yes… um… We're good… This is just… quite a bit to process with the strangeness of it all."
"Trust me, I'm still not over it yet. And it's been almost a week."
"You're not just messing aro-?"
"No! What do you take me for?!"
"N-Nothing! I'm just making sure is all!" Weiss defended, "Im guessing you still don't know after all this time…"
Dante spun around, curious about her words, "What do you mean?"
"W-Well… Back at Beacon, there were rumors among the male populace that thought you were some sort of… sexual deviant…"
"What?! Who?!"
"I don't know! People! Stupid people who clearly had no idea of how you actually are!"
He couldn't believe it. People told those kinds of rumors about him around school?
"Thank you, Weiss. I think I'm gonna go lament for a while." Dante said, intentionally avoiding using the word "cry" in the event his mother was around to hear him.
He rounded the corner on his crutches while he heard Inuba and Eclypse arguing about the girl's interrogation methods, the platinum haired girl trying to offer evidence to support her claims in spite of the kitsune's arguments and protests.
Letting out a sigh, Dante rounded the corner, planning to go back to the dinner table, but was immediately pulled into his room. One thing he noticed was that the lights were dimmed to a low tint, and when he looked around, he saw Blaire holding him by the arms, keeping him perfectly still.
"Take off your shirt."
"Wow, that is really direct and-"
"Shut it." She said, quickly poking his cheek, "I want to give you a massage."
"A massage?"
"Yeah. Remember my massages?"
Now that he thought about it, she gave really good massages. It was almost hard to decide who was the better masseuse between Blaire and Inuba given their respective… techniques.
"Off with the shirt and sit down on the bed. The pants too."
"Seriously?"
"Hey, don't complain." Blaire said, placing her hands on her hips, "If anything, you should be giving me a massage."
"I'm a little indisposed at the moment." Dante quickly commented, showing his still injured right hand, "But I get your point."
The immortal propped his crutches against the wall and limped over towards the bed whilst… noticing a pleasantly sweet aroma coming from the sheets. He didn't really have the energy to describe it as anything else but therapeutic, so all he did next was pull the zipper down on his sleeveless, collared black shirt, and removed the garment entirely, tossing it towards the chair nearby.
"Pants too."
The teen rolled his eyes and unbuckled his belt, taking off the grey jeans he wore, as well as his socks, tossing them aside to where his shirt was.
He then raised up his arms, "Enjoying the show?"
"Very much." Blaire said with a quirk of her eyebrows, motioning her eyes towards the bed.
Without another argument, the once immortal plopped himself onto the bed and let out a deep exhale, hearing Blaire tinkering with something in the background. When he raised up his head a little bit, he let out a small, shuddered breath once he felt a warm, gel-like substance touch his back.
At that point, the older woman began working her magic, spreading out the warming substance across his back and working out the knots he had. Even someone like Dante had tensed up muscles at times that got into knots. It didn't hurt, but it was certainly annoying to feel it mid combat when he wasn't exactly loosened up.
With Blaire however… It was like her hands were removing years worth of tension in just mere minutes as she continued up and down his back and neck, finally moving on to his arms. His right arm felt really pleasant with how gently she squeezed and kneading around the limb.
When she finished his whole upper body, she moved on to his legs, starting with his thighs and pressing her fingers deep into his skin.
"Good grief… Have you not been stretching?"
"Not all… that much…" Dante said, trying to keep his voice down.
"Honesty… You'd be crying a little if you could feel the full extent of pain. Your muscles are way too tensed up…"
"Sorry… My mind… hasn't really been on… taking care... of myself…"
"Well you need to do a better job of it from now on. Otherwise we'll worry."
"Understood… Thanks by the way… for doing this… I'll repay the favor… later…"
"You better." Blaire affirmed with a smile, "Just don't get distracted."
"Distracted… huh?"
"What? Not attractive enough because I'm a little bit more on the muscley side?"
"That's not it… If anything… It's pretty cool that you're as strong as you are… You might be… a little built… but it doesn't… make you any less… attractive…"
She was really pressing her fingers deep into his flesh to unwind his muscles from the tensions. Was she mad at him?
Blaire had paused for a few brief moments, causing Dante to push himself up and gasp when he saw that now the red haired woman was wearing nothing but a towel.
"T-Turn around..!" She meekly stated, avoiding his gaze.
"Y-You know I've seen you, right?"
"It still doesn't make it not embarrassing..!"
"Even if there's nothing to be embarrassed about?"
She fell silent again, eyes trailing off to the ground as she placed a hand on the upper portion of her abdomen, just a few inches below her bust. She then felt Dante's hand reach back and cover hers, surprising her.
"Your scar doesn't make you any less attractive either. I think it's pretty badass that you have one."
"I-I'm still embarrassed about it…"
"Don't be." Dante reaffirmed, "I'm not one to focus on stupid things like that. You're fine as you are now. Don't change a thing, and don't hide anything. Just be you."
Without warning, Dante was suddenly flipped over so that he was facing the ceiling, his eyes immediately moving towards Blaire and her flushed cheeks.
"Honestly…" She spoke as she leaned over closer to him, "Haven't you learned by now that that mouth of yours gets you into trouble most of the time?"
"I've been told I talk too much sometimes."
"Well talk less right now." She said giving him a kiss, "Besides… It's about time you repay me with a 'massage', right?"
Was it bad to be this fulfilled? This happy? It had to be. Probably was. Did it matter though? Not all too much. This was… an actual shot. One that he wasn't going to miss nor let slip away. He was going to hold on tight.
It also helped that Ruby, Blaire, Inuba and Eclypse would make sure of that.
"Mr. Dante? Will you join us for a moment?"
The teen turned his head to the open door, seeing Oscar-
No.
Ozpin and Qrow inside the room.
"I guess…" The once immortal said, shuffling inside the room as Ozpin closed the door behind him.
"I don't think I need to mention how things aren't looking good." Qrow spoke.
Missing Huntsmen and Huntresses… Theat scorpion tailed lunatic… Those people with Grimm masks that could become more like Grimm… This Salem…
It seems as though within a short amount of time, the world had gotten even more dangerous than it used to be.
"Ever the optimist… While I would not say our current predicament is... ideal, I think we can both agree that the situation could be much worse. Humanity is a resilient force."
"I think we both know that's a double edged sword really." Dante spoke up, the two looking at him, "They're resilient, but they're also weak. At least, that's how it is for the majority. Don't get me wrong or anything, I love humanity and the Faunus and everything, but it doesn't change the fact that while they're brave, there's still weakness in their hearts that can sway them back and forth. Aside from my little rant, we're still at a small disadvantage in terms of numbers."
"He's right." Qrow said, "I've been trying to find and contact anyone I could dig up, and all of them are still gone on a hunt or disappeared after coming back. Pro Huntsmen like that don't just bite it all at once. Salem's powerful. It seems like her reach is growing by the day. What does that say about humanity?"
"That there are indeed a misguided few who have filled their hearts with malice." Ozpin countered, "It doesn't take a great number of people to cause harm, but I still believe there are far more people in this world willing to prevent it."
"You mentioned that the maidens are sort of keys to unlocking the vaults to the relics." Dante started, "What about the Fall Maiden?"
"Cinder?"
"She killed you at Beacon, leaving the relic there unguarded. Is it safe to assume Salem now has said relic?"
"Very astute mr. Aetherveil, I was wondering who would be the first to ask. No, thankfully she does not." Ozpin said, "It's true that the Relic at Haven is very much at risk, and for now, that should remain our primary focus. Let's just say I made finding the Relic at Beacon a... bit more challenging than at the other schools."
"A bit more challenging, huh?"
Did he take those measures into account before or after the previous Fall Maiden had her powers stolen by Cinder? Knowing Ozpin, maybe he set it up beforehand as some sort of protocol. Or maybe he just took extra steps with Beacon, since it was his school.
"It is, but let's not forget the challenges that still lie before us. Now is there anything else we can help you with?"
Now that he mentioned it… Dante always wondered what kind of weapon Ozpin's cane was. Did it stop time? Did it accelerate his time to make him move faster? Did it reverse time maybe? It definitely had to be some sort of time related mechanic.
Or maybe...
"No, my cane is not a Relic."
Damn.
Damn.
You listening in?
I've nothing better to do. Plus, I felt your big brain at work. I thought something interesting was going on, so I decided to pay attention.
Well keep listening then.
"This cane is indeed very precious to me, it is also just that. Precious to me." Ozpin stated, "While I admit it still has a few more tricks up its sleeve, I can firmly say that being a Relic isn't one of them."
Suddenly, Qrow's Scroll was vibrating loudly, prompting him to take it out of his pocket. A quick glance at it and he huffed, showing both Dante and Ozpin the call was from Lionhart before he picked up.
"Yeah? Okay... Yeah, we'll be there." Qrow ended the call promptly after, sighing as he said, "Leo says he had a breakthrough with the council. Thinks he might be able to get together a small raiding party for the bandits. He wants us to meet up at the school tomorrow night to walk us through it."
"That soon? Didn't he say it'd take weeks?" Dante questioned.
"Mmm… That sounds drastically different from your original conversation, does it not?"
"Definitely." The white haired teen answered.
"Interesting…"
"Things aren't looking good, Oz."
"I know… But in the meantime, all we can do is prepare." Ozpin said before looking to Dante, "Keep up with your training and recuperation. Work lightly in the morning with the others and rest for the afternoon before we see Leonard."
"You got it, boss." The teen said as he got up and left through the door.
He closed it behind him, but didn't let go of the knob, his mind quickly working away.
"If it makes you feel any better, I think this may be a trap too." Eclypse said, appearing next to Dante in a burst of her Aura, "I did say that man reeked with fear. And to pull the council together after stating a lengthy period of time? It's far too suspicious on such a short notice."
"Agreed, but…"
Could it actually have been a trap? Maybe he did actually come through. Maybe he gave a powerful plea with the council that moved them to swift action. He seemed like a good person, even though he was a coward more or less.
"You want to give him a chance, I know." The girl said as she leaned against the wall, "But personally, I say we head over now. See what he's up to. And kill him, should he actually be a traitor."
"And if he's not? At that point, we've broken in with the possible intent to kill him. How do you think that's gonna look on us?"
"Does it really matter?"
"Yes." Dante quickly answered, "Killing him might be the easier way just to be safe, but we don't do that anymore. We kill only when we absolutely need to, and only in the moment."
"If you say so." Eclypse shurgged, "At the very least, I am happy you aren't foolishly naive enough to think you can tip toe around killing someone if need be."
"Why are you so keen on bringing this up a lot?" Dante questioned.
"To remind you of the kind of people that are in the world." Eclypse said, pushing herself off the wall, "It's good to be kind and merciful. I applaud it. But there are times where you have to remain firm and resolute, to know when it is appropriate to swing down your sword a final time and pass down your sentence of death."
He knew that. He just didn't want to do it aimlessly and without justification like he did in the past.
He didn't want to go back to being that.
"So long as there is evil in this world and evil people… there will always be a need for those who can't or won't change their ways to die. Otherwise, they will continue to harm and kill others. We must be the ones to make them cease their actions. Permanently."
"And are we right to judge them like that?"
Eclypse laughed softly, her platinum colored eyes shimmering briefly as she raised a hand to Dante's cheek.
"You have always known what is right and what is wrong. Even if you have done wrong in your life, you have done far more good. You've seen both sides of the spectrum clearly and equally. Whatever your decision may be… I always know you will do what is right."
"Always, huh?"
"You know what I mean. You know when it matters most. You know when it counts the most. Your judgement isn't flawless, no one's is. But you know when to act, and know what actions to take at the very least, rather than standing still like most."
He… did feel a little better about some of the conflict he was having…
"Like you always tell others, 'Do as you want to'. If you feel like what you're doing is right, then do it, unless you know it's wrong."
"I get it already."
"Do you now?" The girl said, pinching his cheek, "That being said, it's almost time for bed."
"Oh no…"
"Oh yes." Eclypse smirked as she dragged Dante off, "But we'll save that for later. For now, we'll enjoy the night while we can with everyone."
Am I doing this too much?
...
Nah!
Besides, I'm starting to like writing scenes like that, even if short. It's pretty... liberating, I guess? I don't know. I just know it's getting pretty enjoyable.
In any case, next chapter is when the real fun begins with the fight at Haven. I've already gotten really really far into it and the chapter, so it's pretty much done almost. Just expect it soonish. Maybe Saturday if I remember. But definitely on Monday.
I've got nothing else left to say really, so with that...
I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story Rogue Huntsman written by Xera Stark. The story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out on this story. Plus, I'm working on it with him as a co-author, and my characters are in it too. So if you want to see a sort of alternate story and such with my characters in it, go on over and give Rogue Huntsman a read.
And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, and tells Rogue Huntsman's story from his characters' perspective, like how Knights of White and Black (my alternate story) tells the tale from my character's perspectives.
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!
