"So who are we looking for again?" Cyprus asked as the pair walked. The night at the Inn was quiet enough, and at the first signs of dawn their packs were fully prepared with Cyprus carrying a small two person tent, a small supply of food and water, and of course an old fashioned map in case their Scrolls lost signal during their trip. At the base of the mountain, Beinnorn had a frosty chill in the morning, despite what looked like a day full of clear skies, the icy winds descending from the peak sent shivers down their spine, however the few who were up this early in the day didn't seem to mind.

Scylla looked to her device and tapped on the first uncrossed name on their list. "Brunhilde Goldenrod, says here she was sent to clear out a Grimm that made it's nest near a radio tower just east of Periwinkle. The town only has a small militia to guard it, so they probably figured it was best to hire a professional." Upon reading the small paragraph of information and details of their character, a visual reference of the woman showed on screen. A rather heavily built woman with bronze coloured skin, freckles along the bridge of her nose and top of her cheekbones, and forest green eyes. Her black hair was wild and bushy, looking fairly unkempt as it frayed out to the sides of her head.

Cyprus scratched his chin, the bristles on his growing out a little and beginning to gain the Teal colour that matched the hair on his head. "Did they find anything out?"

"We'll have to ask when we get there." She replied. "If we don't stop we'll probably make it by sundown, night if we have a break or two."

Neither of them looked forward to the days of hiking along the likely empty roads to the neighbouring towns, due to the Grimm many attempts to expand Vale or create larger settlements resulted in failure. Higher populations of course meant a higher likelihood of drawing the monsters that lurked in the wilderness, even of course even major cities had to defend their borders from time to time. Hunters and Huntresses weren't exactly a dime a dozen, so having permanent protection was for the most part, out of the question. The thought of encountering the creatures of Grimm alone troubled the young student, but thankfully he found some solace in company, his most trusted friend by his side calmed his anxieties for now. The gates of the small village closed behind them with a soft slam, the two stood with backs to the Oak doors and taking in the morning air, set out on their journey.

"So..." He began. "What did you think?"

"About what?" Scylla asked, their feet crunching against the leaf litter that coated the dirt road.

"I've not fought any Grimm since the training at Beacon, I thought I did pretty damn good yesterday!"

The girl chuckled and shook her head. "Well, thanks to my teaching you held your own well enough, and that other guy helped you out, and the militia made sure you didn't get swarmed, and then again I did nail a fair few myself and..."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Cyprus grumbled, scrunching his lips.

"You did alright though, I'll give you that." She said, finally giving her companion some affirmation that he had indeed shown considerable improvement, though taking care to not give him enough praise that his head grew too large for his neck.

As the sun rose, it blazed it's brilliant light over their left side, thawing the two from the chill that took over most of their morning. With the town more so in the distance now, the tail of the mountain range began to dwarf the buildings, creating a brilliant view of snow, tall trees and crystal blue sky above. Cyprus took his Scroll from the pouch on his hip, and snapped himself a quick picture of the sight behind them.

"Souvenir?" Scylla questioned, smiling.

"Kinda, figured the guys wouldn't mind a picture." Lowering the glowing translucent device, he opened the messaging application and sent a picture to Yang. His friend catching the image of the golden haired girl and smirked, successfully resisting the urge to poke fun.

"Wish you were here." She said, resting a hand on his shoulder for a brief, perfect moment before gently urging him to turn around. "Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

The walk was ridiculously long, and while Aura was excellent at healing cuts, bruises and other injuries sustained in battle, it seemed to let certain things pass. As their feet powered through the simple, yet seemingly never ending terrain, their bodies couldn't avoid simple blisters and aches that pained them. It wasn't until a good four hours into their journey that they finally stopped to stop for a quick break. The sun was high but the chill of the mountains still thankfully casting a breeze that was now more than welcome on their backs, and the forest thickened and provided shade.

Finding a convenient pile of scattered boulders by a crossroads, the pair decided to make this their place to rest for a while, taking a container from their pack and indulging in the aroma of fresh sweetbread from the town, filled with a mixed berry jam. Though they didn't have anything other than water to drink, after four hours of walking, every sip felt like nectar. The redhead looked around at the rocks, it was strange to see a scattering of them whereas around there was nothing like it without moving deeper in through the underbrush. While she initially thought of it as a landmark, looking behind her proved otherwise, in the corner was a small glistening shape, a crystalline that pulsed a dull red. Reaching down, Scylla gripped the small crystal and lifted it from the dirt, about the length of her palm, it was expertly cut, and half submerged in the ground was also coated in a layer of moss.

"What's that?" Cyprus asked in a muffled tone, his face full of food.

"Dust Crystal, must have been here for years." She began, inspecting it curiously. "It's still full of energy, see? And it's not natural, so someone probably planned on using it." Looking around more, she noticed soft inclines, almost dent like in the ground surrounding the path. "There was a fight here, Grimm probably. Looked pretty big." It was trivial, but hypothesising was better than sitting in silence.

"There's no other rocks around, maybe it came from the ground?" Her companion asked, joining in on the fun as he rested his legs horizontally across a pair of the large rocks.

"Maybe, or it threw boulders like a weapon."

"Can Grimm even do that?" The older boy asked, sceptically.

"If I listened in class, which I did..." Scylla said with a smirk. "There's still so much about Grimm we don't know, always finding new kinds with new gimmicks."

"Nothing's ever simple, is it?" He scoffed.

"Nope. But where's the fun in that?" Scylla answered back as she carefully returned the crystal to it's home in the soil.

The rest of their break was spent simply watching the clouds pass overhead, and the odd bit of wildlife rush past them or forage for their own food. Mostly it was simply bird calls and squirrels that ran along the branches, though Cyprus called out upon sighting a Doe just beyond the underbrush, the noise startling it enough to dash away before his friend could get a decent look.


As much as they wanted to stop, Cyprus seemed adamant on making sure the two made it to their destination in a single day, which often resulted in cutting across paths, through small streams and thick forest to shave precious seconds off. Unfortunately for him, Scylla protested increasing their pace to more than a slight jog, the fast walk resulting in the sun setting just a few miles out. Without any lights around to guide their way, they relied on the small torches in their packs to illuminate the pathway, which in a sign that they were closing on, was paved with flat stones to create a more sturdy, man made road.

"Cyprus, we'll be walking in this for another hour at least, can we please just set up the tent?" Scylla asked.

"We're almost there! We can have a warm bed instead of some stupid sleeping bag, I think that's worth a walk in the dark." He replied, stubbornly.

"Look, if we keep walking with this light, we might attract attention." She said, swatting at the air as a bug flew in view of her torchlight, casting a shadow before them that caused the two to jump a little.

"Right, but if something stumbles across our tent, we'll be asleep and caught by surprise. I'd rather be ready in case something happens."

It wasn't often the young man passed on the chance for a rest, and the way he so kept a quick pace rubbed her the wrong way. Come to think of it, he had been oddly quiet for most of the trip, usually he can chat up a storm no matter the occasion, but something had been bothering him, that much was clear. Reaching out, she grasped her companion's forearm and tugged lightly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Why?" He replied, his face looking surprisingly innocent.

"Because you can tell me if something's wrong, you know." The redheaded girl said, trying her best not to be invasive.

"I know, I just don't fancy being stuck in a tent all night when we're so close, that's all."

"Are you sure? It doesn't feel like that's all you're worried about."

Cyprus bit his cheek and looked away, looking like a child who got caught copying another student's work, moving past the girl. "I'm okay, really."

Sighing quietly, Scylla took off after him, doing her best to match his quick pace without turning into a sprint. Although the boy seemed dead set on reaching the town, she almost bumped into him as he stopped instantly, his gaze fixed on his boots.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" He asked, quietly.

"What?"

"With Yang. Turning her down, I mean."

Scylla had no idea how to respond. "I don't know, Cy'. I'm sorry."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I should be the one who's sorry." He mumbled. "I wasn't really there for you when Coco...You know. I should have checked on you properly after she called."

"Is this what's been bothering him?" She thought, "Cyprus, you didn't have to-"

"I've never been really good with this kind of stuff, not that I had much experience to learn." He interrupted, scratching the back of his head.

This much was true, since she had met Cyprus, since he rescued her from Ronchi, he hadn't talked to many people besides her. The odd shopkeeper might have recognised him when they went out into the City, but until they arrived at Beacon, she was all he really had in terms of friends or proper company. The change was good for the vigilante in her eyes, but unfortunately it tended to mean he piloted most situations by the seat of his pants, not that she knew much better. For the past few years, she had been along for the ride just like he was, but being in his company, she often kept him in line as well as stopped him from going crazy.

"Cyprus..." She began, smiling as she took his hand. "I don't know if you did the right thing or not, but I know you've always tried your best to help me, and I can say the same about the others. So, might not have been the right choice, but it was a smart one." Her kind smile turned into a mischievous smirk as she tightened her grip of him. "Now stop moping and come on, before they close the bar."

Their legs were sore, their eyes tired and bodies tainted with sweat from the ordeal. Despite that, Scylla grinned and tugged at his arm as she began to run. Guiding him down the stone pathway towards the town, their torches helping guide them safely, and for the first time in a while, they laughed together. Not the light chuckles they shared from a bad joke, or a cheers from a clinking of filled glasses, but a genuine laugh like tears could stream from their eyes at any moment. Stress washing away with every step, the two hoping they would never run out of breath.

It had to end eventually, but their stamina built up through training had them sprinting a lot longer than most, their efforts enough so that the soft auburn glow of lights could be seen in the distance, just at the edge of what their vision would allow. But it had been enough, Cyprus's spirit lifted despite his ever present goal to lift hers more, she always seemed to have a knack for improving his mood, better than the way temporary gifts or trinkets could patch an issue.

The stars in the night sky were beginning to fade as a thick blanket of clouds began to wall them off from the ground below, darkening the road that little bit more as the moon too, faded from sight. The orb in the sky cracked and splintered since time immemorial, old wives tales told that the Grimm came from the shards of the broken satellite that struck Remnant aeons ago, and stories and theories were passed down through history but no proof could be found.


"Gods, finally!" Cyprus breathed, panting softly as they knocked on the gates to Periwinkle, the huge wooden doors surrounded by smooth stone walls almost ten meters high, with a pair of dim lights on either side. As Scylla caught her breath behind him, he smacked few times on the door with the soft part of his fist and waited a few seconds, before trying again.

"Think anybody's home?" She asked, wiping the sweat off her brow.

"Must be, we'll just climb over if they keep the gates shut." He replied, half joking.

A series of bumps and knocks caught the pair's attention shortly after. "I heard that, you ruddy fool." A gruff voice said, followed by the sliding of a piece of wood higher up, a peephole for the man to see the arrivals. "What're ye doin' out there? What's yer business?"

"We're Hunters, on private business." The vigilante lied.

"Another one eh?" He said with a chuckle, and the sound of footsteps descending down a creaky set of stairs before the gates finally swung open. A hooded, older gentleman greeted them, a set of crooked teeth as he sneered at the pair who cautiously entered. "Bloody Hunters, wandering the woods at night, get yerselves killed."

"Do you know anything about the one who came here a few weeks ago?" Scylla pressed as they walked past, through the gates into the town.

"None of my sodding business, go ask the Mayor if ye want to know anything."

Shooing them away, the old man ascended the stairs to his guard position, leaving the two to explore the town. The streets around them were empty, considering the time of night it wasn't much of a surprise, the few streetlamps that were set up cast a yellowish hue along the main road through the settlement. Looking amongst the larger buildings, the two peeked through the windows that cast their light outwards, checking for any Hotel or place to stay, a few minutes, and one awkward look into a family huddled on the couch later, Scylla found their target. A low hanging sign above an entrance, a medieval flagon with the image of a Bee just above it.

"The Morning Mead? Hm." The girl said softly to herself, before calling her friend over and they both made their way inside. A dimly lit open space greeted them, with wooden floorboards, matching tables and uncovered light bulbs that lit up each sitting area, every so often one would flicker before buzzing softly amidst the clinking of glasses and soft music. Inside was fairly empty, only a few locals sat by the bar while a lone young woman tended to their drinks, however she perked up once she noticed them enter.

"Heya, what can we do fer you?" She called out, her blonde hair in a ponytail with a smattering of freckles covering her cheerful looking face.

"Just a room for tonight, if there's one available." Scylla asked.

"Always is here, luv'." The barmaid replied with a chuckle. "You're a Huntress, aint'cha? We saw one come here a little while back, didn't expect to see another one so soon."

"Yeah, we are. And you haven't heard anything about her recently have you? We've come to try and find her." Taking out her scroll, the hacker flicked open the profile of Brunhilde, and showed it to the Barmaid.

"Aye, she stayed here the first night she arrived, but she went out to the radio tower, apparently someone saw Grimm messing around on it."

"I see," Scylla began. "Anything else?"

"Well she must've fixed the thing, but I didn't see her afterwards, you'd have to speak to the Mayor about that." The woman behind the counter said, bending down to fish out a key from a set of drawers. "Here ya go, third door on your right, just up the stairs."

Thanking her, the two ascended to their room, and swung the door open, eager to get a good night's rest. Unfortunately it seems the issues just kept of coming that night, as their next challenge awaited them, with Cyprus sighing heavily as he saw the state of the room.

"I'll sleep on the floor." He grumbled.

"Cy', it's fine, I can."

But she was too late, her companion had already wrestled his sleeping bag from his pack before tossing it in the corner of the room, too exhausted to start another debate. Stripping off his armour to his underwear, he slid inside the cushioned body bag and rolled himself against the wall. Sitting herself on the side of the bed, Scylla watched him attempt to get comfortable for a moment, until she finally decided to throw him one of the pillows beside her and started to remove her own armour.

"Don't turn around."

"I never do."

"I know. Goodnight, Cy."


Their trip to the Mayor's office the next day was uneventful at best, more than anything they realised how indifferent he was towards Hunters and Huntresses, rushing through what information he had and practically pushing the two out the door himself. Telling the two that the Huntress didn't stay for long, leaving for the Tower almost as soon as they entered the town, and asked for payment in advance. If it wasn't for the communications coming back online, he would have sworn she had taken the money and ran with how quickly she seemed to disappear afterwards, not even returning to town once their job was done.

"This rain better let up soon." Cyprus asked, his hood pulled over his head to shield his hair as much as possible.

"I see a break in the clouds, but other than that we're probably in for a day of this." Scylla replied, looking off into the horizon and checking the direction of the wind.

"Well, let's hope we wrap this up sooner rather than later." He grumbled, his weapon holstered on his back as he stood, relaxed against a tree and sheltering under the thick, full branches.

Their trip towards the communication tower was fairly uneventful, a small pack of Beowolves stood in their path, but were quickly dispatched without much of an issue, the success only serving to heighten Cyprus's ego. A cold breeze from the north touched their cheeks, egging them to be over and done with their long shot of a lead, and they continued towards their destination. The tall, metal spike pierced the treeline and gave the pair a landmark to head towards, with more framework exposed through the gaps in the underbrush.

Reaching the base of the tower in a wide clearing in the grass, a dirt path leading straight to the fenced gate that surrounded it.

"You think it's electric?" The vigilante asked as he stepped closer.

"Nah, but just in case don't-"

Too late. Before the girl could finish, Cyprus took hold of the chain wire fence. His eyes rolled back into his head and he began to convulse on the spot, emanating a pained expression and gibberish from his mouth.

"Cyprus!"

The second Scylla called out to him, the facade broke and he burst out laughing, wiping a false tear from his eye before walking over to the gate and pushing it open. With her hand still outstretched in the aid of her companion, her shocked expression faded away and she sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're an ass."

"Come on, that was good." He retorted with his typical toothy grin.

The console at the base of the tower was hidden behind a large steel cabinet, shielding it from the elements. The padlock lay cracked on the ground, the chain that it linked together also lay strewn beside it, along with a patch of red. As the redhead fiddled with the console, checking its status as well as any changes over the last few weeks, Cyprus leaned down to inspect the broken pieces. Unfortunately, any dead Grimm turned to ash and became nought but dust in the wind upon death, so finding evidence of them would be difficult.

"There's blood on the ground here." He said, softly. He wasn't sure if Scylla was too distracted to hear him, or he spoke softly enough that she didn't pick it up. The vigilante put on his figurative detective cap, and began to look around. Portions of the ground were stained with black markings, scratches and dents, all obvious signs of a fight that took place. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't exactly knowledgeable to build a scenario from such distinctive markings, though he continued to search around, looking for any clues.

Thankfully, his patience was rewarded, on the opposite side of the spire, he caught another small mark of dried maroon colour over a pole that connected parts of the fence, and beyond the walls, more scorch marks. Feeling like that was his best lead, Cyprus turned tail and met up once again with Scylla, tapping her on the shoulder. "Find anything yet?"

She shook her head. "Just that the tower was brought back online ten days ago, damaged receiver, looks like. other than that? Nothing."

"Cool cool, hey I found something. Some blood, signs of a fight, they're heading out into the woods." He said, impatiently. Tugging at the hackers' sleeve, he dragged her around to where he left the trail, and quickly leapt over the fence, the trickles of blood were increasingly hard to see, but after a bit of back and forth, the two eventually managed to continue the trail. Several scratches against the bark of trees also helped to guide their way. The faded tracks continued for some time, often resulting in the two journeying in irritating circles as the signs looped back around, as if the fight was lengthy, but took place over a small area. However, before Scylla was about to call it quits, an unpleasant smell found its way into her nose.

"Oh gods, you smell that?" She said, scrunching her face. The scent was sickly with a hint of strange sweetness, like a pile of berries shoved into a month old roast.

"Yeah...Is it weird that I think we should try and find what's making it?" Cyprus replied, coughing a little as he regretfully tried to focus down the scent. Trekking through the forest, they wandered in a foolish, zig-zag pattern and tried to track down what was making the gag-worthy smell. "I take it back, I don't want to follow it any more." He groaned, resisting the urge to cover his mouth, as much as he wanted to.

Moving down a small incline, the pair spread out in parallel and moved downhill. Crawling through the overgrown bushes and plant life, vines and moss covering the roots of trees and mud that lay beneath their feet. Almost slipping a few times, Cyprus took to taking Tempest from its holster and extending it, using the staff to keep himself steady. Out of the corner of his eye, a small glint of metal shone, poking out from a pile of leaf litter.

"What the...?" He said to himself, crouching down and brushing away the coverage, a long, rectangular blade exposed itself, the grip thick and meant clearly for two hands. Lifting it up, he struggled to hold the sheer weight of the weapon, the pommel was the shape of three sharp claws on hinges, a button on the cross-guard clearly meant for some extra device inside it. "Scylla?" He called out, "I think I found something!"

He waited a few seconds, but after hearing no reply he quickly shot up and turned around on his heel. "Scyl'?" He saw her, arms at her side as she stared blankly at her feet. The stench was strong now, and it was clear it was coming from just beyond where the girl was standing, and the vigilante quickly rushed to her side. He was about to show her the blade he found in the dirt, but what he saw next resulted in his dropping the weapon by his feet with a soft crunch as it landed in the mud. "Crap."

Scylla held her hands over her mouth, her skin pale and breath shaky like a model student forgetting to study for an exam. Resting their back against the tree, armour broken and cloth torn, was a body. Littered with scratches, bloated skin and blood nearly completely drained, it was a sight to make the most strong willed nauseous. They turned away briefly before Cyprus gulped and held his breath, and moved closer.

Inspecting the face, it was clear that this was Brunhilde, the skin colour was much paler, but no doubt would have been darker were she alive. The body was caked in mud, blood and dark patches where gashes had bled out into the fabric of her equipment, though she mostly remained intact. One thing did stand out, though. Where the cloth was ripped around her leg, her skin was tinged with a deep purple hue, not unlike a bruise, but with the veins around it profound and swollen, and spreading over her leg with the same sickly violet colour.

"Was it Grimm?" Scylla asked, trying her best not to focus too much on the lurid sight.

"I don't know, but Grimm usually eat, or at least tear people to shreds, I think. I've never seen them kill and leave a body in such a good condition, well...Good compared to most, I mean." He stepped back, resting the deceased Huntresses weapon by her side. "Question is, what kind of Grimm, if any, did this. And what happened to it?"

The girl felt her mouth begin to water uncomfortably, and she turned the corner around the trunk of a large tree, the unpleasant sounds to follow causing the young man to flinch. They didn't have to tools to bury her, but it seems she would be undisturbed by other people for a while, so long as nobody else came looking. Instead, he sighed heavily and took out his Scroll, highlighting Brunhilde's name on the document, and crossing it out with a red line, signalling her fate.

The walk back to Periwinkle was in total silence, Scylla attempted to think of anything other than what they had saw. If this was what the rest of their assignment would be like, would she get used to it? Or feel just as distraught and unwell as she had with finding out this woman's fate?

Cyprus led the way, the rain beginning to pick up and both yearned for a warm fire, and something to forget what they had seen. Making their way back to the inn, he wondered if the townspeople noticed them, the sickly look on their faces or defeated slouch in their step. As Scylla rushed back up the stairs towards her room to shower and rid herself of the day's experience, Cyprus sat by the bar and ordered himself a bottle of whiskey, the first few shots to give himself something else to focus on, and the next few to forget over the course of the night.

"Y'allright there, luv?" The blonde girl asked, her innocent curiosity met with a deadpan gaze from Cyprus, who shook his head and downed his drink.

"Rough day at the office." He replied, with a forced chuckle.