Demi-Human Students of Beacon

by Reticent Phoenix

In a Remnant where Humanity and Faunus live alongside Demi-Humans, creatures once thought to only exist in myth and fairy tales. Follow as one such demi-human, an elf, as he tries to get through life in Beacon. Hopefully things don't go too badly for him while he's there.

22. A Bloody Escort Mission

Author's Note:

New chapter, yay.

Not too much for me to say here, except I finally added a fight seen in it. Been a while since I wrote one of those, so I hope it proves at least a bit adequate.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and stay safe through this troublesome year.

---

A Bloody Escort Mission

The morning after the Beacon Dance was nearly as full of excitement as the lead-up to it.

Today was a long-awaited day for the first-year students, as it was on this day they could embark on their first real mission. Sure they had been dispatched to short excursions out of Beacon, but those were more alike to field trips. All those 'field trips' would pale in comparison to these missions, for they would be accompanying an actual Huntsman.

Such an event could not happen without a little bit of fanfare and ceremony, as such, they had all been gathered at the main hall for a speech. Students from Beacon, Shade, Atlas, and Haven were together in this one hall. Faen supposed there was meant to be a symbolic message behind that decision; that they stood together as defenders of Remnant or something. He did not care, and stood with his team like everyone else.

After a stirring speech from Headmaster Ozpin, the various teams of students started lining up to a number of panels displaying a wide variety of missions they could potentially go on.

"So, what mission do you think we should take?" Faen questioned his team as he slowly flicked through all the missions they could choose from. There seemed to be just enough for all the teams, yet the Elf did not wish to be stuck with a trash one. So they had to choose wisely.

"Methinks we should take this one here." Grey immediately answered, pointing a hand over to a panel saying 'Patrol'. Further details stated it would be two days spent patrolling the north-eastern regions beyond Vale, the city, with a Huntsman. "It'll be a cakewalk! We and a Huntsman would steamroll over any Grimm that dares show its ugly face to us."

"Yawn. How about we choose something a little bit more... exciting? A simple patrol mission won't be satisfying for any of us." Odori waved Grey's suggestion away.

Faen took both their words into consideration, and chose to continue flicking through the select choices before him. Patrol duty did not sit right with Faen, as he wanted something with a slight pinch of extra grandeur. More specifically, a mission that gave his team a bit more of a name for themselves. Not enough of a name that they were world-famous or anything, just enough that they could be recognised for their achievements, not species.

"An assignment inside Vale perhaps? The city I mean," Friesian clarified upon making the suggestion, "there are a few of those available. Here's one: work alongside a Huntsman on the city's walls."

"Eh, sounds pretty bland to me. Also, that's militia work, not something future Huntsmen like us should be doing." Faen replied, moving on from the suggested mission in search of others.

"Sheesh, we'll all be dirt poor if we keep thoughts like that when we're Huntsman." Grey groaned in annoyance of his opinion. "Come on, let's choose already. A line is starting to form behind us, so let's hurry this up."

Though Grey spoke with a kernel of truth about how picky he was being with the mission they could take, and the fact there was indeed a small line behind them, the Elf stood by his prior words.

Faen had no desire to take up assignments that would be a waste of his and his team's skills, and this mission would have been just that. Protecting the city's walls were important, Faen's own father spent quite a few shifts standing guard on Selene's protective walls, but like he had said, that was what the city's militia was for. FFOG could do so much better for themselves than get roped into a task that wasted their talents.

"How about this? Escort mission of supplies to a village south of Vale. That sounds to be interesting enough," Odori said as she pointed to a panel that Faen was just about to skim past. He would have not considered it if the Kitsune had not drawn attention to it.

"We should take it. It will take us out of Beacon and away from the city, and these escort jobs always have some excitement to them. I heard one Huntress had to guard a whole caravan from a Goliath, an Ursa Major, and three packs of Beowolves at the same time. No backup or anything, just them alone." Friesian implored to Faen and the others.

"That's... crazy. Who was that Huntress? Did she survive?" Grey asked out of curiosity.

"She did more than survive; she slew them all and kept the entire caravan safe from harm. The Grimm Reaper is what I think they called her, big legend back in the day." The Dullahan continued, earning an impressed whistle from Grey and a hum of intrigue from Odori.

As his team spoke of this legendary Huntress Friesian mentioned, Faen spent the time to consider this option.

A mission such as this would create an image of them caring for the smaller settlements that were often in need of a Huntsman's services, and could aid in disproving the slanderous lies levied against him by Halvard. Those lies included claims he was a callous individual who would never do a kind or morally right act in his entire life. Choosing to help this village would make people think twice about believing Halvard's insipid words.

He did not forget this entire thing was not solely about him, though. Faen had to consider his team too, specifically whether they would benefit from this mission as he might.

Escort missions like this were bound to have them see a good amount of action and danger, as exemplified by the prior example Friesian had cited. Combat experience was guaranteed to come with this mission and maybe some fame for the entire team if they slew a terrifying and powerful Grimm. The panel stated the area they would be operating in had minimal levels of Grimm, so this mission should be safe enough for first-years to take. Not that Faen wished for it to be completely safe, a few Grimm here and there would suffice for Faen.

One last thought formed in Faen's mind, one both selfish and beneficial to his team as a whole. If things went very sideways, but FFOG ended up triumphing over any harsh difficulties they encountered, the team might stand out more. He felt his team had begun to fall under RWBY's shadow, their fellow first-years outdoing them in regards of feats performed and praises received. The most maddening being how most overlooked how FFOG had slain a bloody Hydra Grimm in favour of RWBY's slaying of a Nevermore. This mission might just be what he and the others needed.

Having weighed the pros and cons of the choices laid before him, Faen made his decision.

"Let's go with this one," Faen said with a tone of finality as he input FFOG's team name into the system for the Escort mission. He was their team leader, so as far as Faen saw things, the ultimate decision on what they took fell to him.

The panel took a second to process FFOG's request, before it updated itself to show the mission had been taken up by Team FFOG. At the same time, the Scrolls of all four team members vibrated as they were notified of this new mission of theirs.

Satisfied, for the most part, FFOG started to make their way out of the hall. They ran into AMRT, who were currently in the queue to pick a mission of their own. A quick moment was spent informing them of what FFOG had chosen to do, and received wishes of good fortune from their comrades. Going as far out to the frontier as they were, the likelihood of them needing it was possibly high.

Heading to the main hall's exit, FFOG found themselves in another line as Professors Greene and Taupe stopped whoever was leaving and filled them with a few more details of their mission. It took them a minute and a half of waiting before they got to the door, and came face-to-face with the Gorgon. A blessing for Faen had come to like Professor Taupe, yet those darn snakes on her head still unnerved the hell out of him.

Walking up to her, Taupe took one glance at the four and brought them up on the Scroll she was holding. The details of the team and their mission displayed upon it.

"Team FFOG, you took... an escort mission. Alright then," the Gorgon said to the four Demi-humans, "I am sure you can all behave yourself while out on the field. You have done well thus far in Beacon."

"We'll keep an eye on each other," Faen responded as Taupe finished talking.

"You will have to do more than that. Stay close to each other, and listen to your Huntsman, for it might determine when and whether you come back to Beacon or not." She spoke up again, her tone a touch more serious than was normal for the professor. "You will be following Huntsman Russet Bisonte, and shall find him outside of Vale's south wall at Gate 6. An airship will take you there, but be quick; the mission's client wishes to leave before midday. Any further details you need can be found on your Scrolls."

Faen nodded to the professor, as did the rest of his team, yet he noticed something quite off about the older Demi-human. Apart from the tone of her voice, Taupe seemed tenser, and the lines he could see around her eyes seemed deeper to him. He chose not to puzzle over this, he had his suspicions yes, but whatever matter concerned the professor could surely be handled by her. She was Professor Taupe after all, she could handle anything thrown at her.

"Right; Russet Bisonte, south, Gate 6, got it. Thank you professor," Grey's voice spoke up from behind him. The two other members of FFOG said a quick word of gratitude to the professor, who nodded her head once and ushered them outside with a wave of her hand.

"Good luck, FFOG." She quickly said to them before addressing the team that had been waiting behind them. That bit of business out of the way, the four Demi-humans started to make their way to the docks.

It was happening. He and his team were going to shadow a Huntsman on the field.

The name given to them by Professor Taupe did not ring any bells in his head, so they had no idea of what their Huntsman would be like. With such a void in their information, the team were left to speculate. For Faen's part, he hoped they would get someone who had the experience and knowledge of Taupe and Port combined, with a dash of Headmaster Ozpin's personality thrown into the mix as well. The Headmaster's more approachable and supportive side being what Faen sought in particular.

These were hopes though, and boy did Fate love to dash those.

It was as they journeyed to the docks that the four sighted their peers from teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN gathered on the main avenue. They were talking about something, or at least they were finishing up what they were discussing, by the time FFOG drew close enough to announce their presence.

"Hey there! What are the ten of you all doing here? Planning for your next explosive adventure in Vale?" Grey was the first to greet their friends, and received a welcome response from them.

"See! Even they think too many explosions happen when you four are around." Sun said all of a sudden, his comment directed towards Team RWBY.

FFOG took a second to look at one another, then the their fellow Huntsmen-in-Training.

"Okay. Not the response I expected, but hey, could be weirder. That sort of thing seems to happen a lot with you guys around." The Werewolf shrugged a couple seconds after Sun had finished talking. "What've you all chosen for missions? Us lot have gotten ourselves an escort mission to a village south of Vale."

"We got a Search and Destroy mission." Blake informed FFOG, she and her team steadily backing away from the others and towards the airship docks for some reason. Now why in the world were they doing that?

"We're going to follow a sheriff at a village outside of Vale," Pyrrha spoke for Team JNPR. "We'll be departing Beacon for the village tomorrow morning."

"Neptune and I are going to be working as junior detectives in Vale! Sick badges included!" Sun loudly declared, both members of SSSN striking a pose as the Faunus finished. Back to back and with their arms folded over their chests.

Well, it was nice to see that their associates had chosen missions somewhat worthy of their skills and time. JNPR and SSSN had taken less combat focused missions, potentially anyway, while RWBY had taken one on the other side of the spectrum. It was their choice what they wanted to do, so Faen made no comment about it. Not that he intended to in the first place.

"Nice. We-" Friesian began to say, yet was unexpectedly interrupted.

"Five minutes, ladies! Do you want to come along for this mission or not?!" Professor Oobleck's voice irately shouted from a distant Bullhead airship. The same one that RWBY had been backing away to. Guess that explains why they had been doing that while in the middle of a conversation.

"Wow, you got stuck with Oobleck?" Odori commented to RWBY after she realised who the four's designated Huntsman was.

To be honest, Faen sometimes forgot the professor/doctor was a Huntsman. The constant stream of words related to history that left his mouth during History class being the main reason why. He did go on field missions with students like the rest of the Academy's teaching staff, but not too often when compared to others such as Port, Goodwitch, or Taupe.

Hopefully Oobleck did not overload RWBY's brains by constantly talking of the numerous bits of historical knowledge wherever they were headed possessed. Listening to him drone on in classes was hard enough, doing that on the field would be straight up distracting.

"Yeah, and Oobleck's not the kind of person you leave waiting around for too long. We should really get going now." Yang responded with a quick thumb pointed over to the distant airship.

A shame RWBY had to go so soon, yet his team were in the same boat as them, and could not linger long either.

"That is alright, we'll see you when we get back. Bet we'll all have some stories to tell after this," Grey confidently said. After that, she and the others started to wish the four luck and goodbye for now, with Faen guessing he should do the same as well.

"Take care," was all that Faen could say to RWBY in farewell. He guessed he should have said more, but that seemed enough for the four girls, and after a quick thank you they hurried off to their waiting airship. Soon as they got on board, the airship lifted off from its pad and sped off to the South-East.

Now alone with Team JNPR, Sun and Neptune, the gathering of ten students picked up from where they had previously left off.

"You guys were saying?" Neptune motioned for FFOG to carry on

"We haven't much else to say. We should honestly be on our way, too, for we're supposed to meet our Huntsman before midday. Gonna be one heck of a journey," Grey spoke for the rest of her team. A quick look at Friesian's face showed him to not mind what the Werewolf said, her words probably what he meant to say.

"You too?!" Nora loudly proclaimed her shock at Grey's announcement. "That blows, for us and SSSN are going to have a party tonight. Uh, we are aren't we?"

"Oh heck yeah we are!" Sun immediately replied to her, the orange-haired Human reacting by punching her fist in the air and starting to rave on about something to Ren. A party, after all the 'fun' they had last night? So long as it did not cause them any problems, the Elf let them all be.

Believing that their business with the Kingdomers was completed, Faen thought it time for them to do as Grey said and leave. A quick check of the mission details on his Scroll showed their airship was ready and waiting for FFOG. Mindful of the other detail regarding the mission client's wish to leave Vale as soon as possible, he planned to get them moving again.

Yet, before Faen could so much as utter a word, Fate thought it time to throw a wrench in his plans.

"Faen!" An all too familiar voice cut through the air as they called his name. Turning to face who he knew was approaching, the Elf did his best to hide his annoyance when he locked eyes with Yasmin. "You depart without saying a word to me? I'm hurt."

"I'm sure he had his reasons," Odori remarked in a whispered voice. The Elf-Dracon hybrid heard his teammate, yet did not allow how she felt about those words to show.

Instead, she pushed onward until she was right in front of Faen, her eyes solely focused on him and ignoring the small greetings Sun and Neptune sent her. The latter's voice laced with a flirtatious tone, but was not even spared a passing glance from Yasmin.

"An escort mission through potentially Grimm-infested territory. You are a bold one. I was not even aware first-years are permitted to take such missions." Yasmin spoke in Elven, her own special way of acting particularly spiteful to his team and other associates. They did not speak or understand the Elf languages after all, and seeing their puzzled looks as they tried to interpret what was being said must be enjoyable to her.

Choosing not to act like an asshole, Faen did the opposite of what Yasmin was doing, and spoke in English.

"I hope you are here for more than that, Yasmin. My team and I are on a schedule, so whatever you are here for had best be worth our time." The Elf's voice was calm, yet his words and eyes conveyed his displeasure to the woman considered his equal. Behind all that, a sliver of worry slipped into the back of his mind.

Yasmin was, unofficially, FFOG's fifth team member and might actually be here to join them on this mission the team had taken. Never had that happened before, yet now might be the day she fulfilled that role of hers.

He did not fear for her chances in a fight, their duels had proven her skill several times over. Faen feared for how she affected his team of they were to ever take to the field together. A number of different possibilities had run through his head on how things could go to hell in that scenario and Faen could not afford to have any come to pass. Team FFOG would not suffer a loss of prestige or even its team members because of Yasmin's pretentious whims and... arrogance.

Betraying nothing of her inner thoughts by changing neither her facial expression nor body language, Yasmin looked hard into his eyes and spoke once again.

"Have a care when you tread the lands beyond the Kingdom. I have seen them for myself, and they have become a place of danger even for experienced warriors." He listened carefully for any sign of insincerity behind her voice, yet he sensed none, so he guessed Yasmin really was experiencing a brief moment of niceness.

"Thank you for your concern," Faen replied after a quick sigh. Beside him he heard Odori make a barely suppressed sound of annoyance while he spoke, which the Elf paid no mind, choosing to instead keep on chatting with Yasmin. "How was the Beacon Dance for you? You looked rather stressed when you finally turned up to the ball room. If it is not too much for you, mind telling me what happened?"

"A matter of little relevance to you. Simply know everything is under control," the Elf-Dracon avoided his question, making Faen suspicious.

He had not forgotten about the sight of Yasmin, ready for battle and in the company Atlesian Soldiers, storming into the ballroom. He had watched carefully how she, the professors, and the Atlesians tried to discreetly search all of Beacon. By the time he had left the dance thirty minutes after midnight, the search was still ongoing.

No announcements had been made, and it appeared to the casual eye that nothing had happened or changed. Today was going as expected, none of the staff were acting out of the ordinary, and the Atlesians were back up in their airships likely doing military drills or whatever.

The chances of Yamin telling him anything were slim, and perhaps it was not a smart choice on his part to inquire on what happened. She now knew he suspected something was up, and might report that to her superiors. It was done though, and there was no way he could take it back. What she did next with that information while he and FFOG were away would be up to her, all he could do was respond as best he could to any consequences that might arise.

"Farewell, Faen. We shall speak again when you return." Their conversation over, Yasmin spun on her heel and walked back to the Academy, the long hair of her high ponytail nearly smacking Faen's face as she turned. She probably meant to do that, and again the Elf let out a sigh and massaged his forehead with a gloved hand.

It was too early in the morning for him to deal with any of this.

"So... is she always like that?" Sun questioned FFOG and JNPR. Both Sun and Neptune had only just met Yasmin today, and for their sake, Faen hoped they never interact with her again.

"Oh hell yeah. If you look at her close enough you can see the fumes of bitchiness radiating of off her." Odori answered before anyone else could, every word she spoke soaked in hateful venom. Everyone could hear and feel it, and while Faen agreed with his partner, he wanted to hear nothing more.

"Just stay clear of her, and let Faen be the one to do the talking in any conversation that she's a part of. He's the only one here who can-" Grey began to explain to Sun and Neptune, and while they needed it, Faen wanted to leave the Academy right now. Both for the sake of the escort mission they had taken, and because the topic of Yasmin was one he did wished to be put aside for the time being.

"That is enough. We shall be on our way now," Faen interrupted Grey, "for our time is short and my team has a long way to go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be able to return and share stories or whatever."

Intending to start walking to their assigned airship, Faen made to turn away from the gathered group of students and walk away. Fate, conspiring to delay FFOG's departure, or so Faen felt anyway, threw in another small diversion to make them even later to the rendezvous with their Huntsman. This time however, the chosen distraction was not annoying, simply awkward.

"Uh, Faen... good luck." Jaune said to Faen, a hand extending to the Elf.

He was hesitant to return the gesture, and unintentionally frowned at the proffered hand. Before Jaune retracted it, or things became even more awkward than they already were, Faen took the hand and shook it. The handshake was stiff, and he might be holding Jaune's hand a bit too tightly, but at least it was done.

It was ages ago the incident with Jaune, and despite the time between now and then, things were still a bit iffy between Faenand JNPR. They had largely moved on from how he treated Jaune by now, apparently they did not hold onto grudges as long as he could, but things had not fully returned to how they were prior. This handshake was one of the many small gestures made to mend relations.

"You too, Jaune." Faen stiffly muttered to the Human before retreating his hand and turning towards the airship waiting for him and his team. Again, that too could have been handled more... elegantly, but Faen was in a rush and things like politeness were currently an afterthought.

No matter, there was a job to do, and Faen would be damned before he was late to it.

---

A quick trip on an airship later, the members of FFOG were soon stood outside Gate 6, one of the gates into Vale, the city's high protective walls looking down at them.

They were set to meet their Huntsman here, yet all they knew of them was their name and nothing else. In hindsight, they really should have asked what he looked like when they had the chance to.

Scanning the area around them, FFOG could see the place was experiencing a fair amount of activity. The odd car or truck was coming and going through the gate, Vale militia were patrolling the place, and a small gathering of nomads had made camp a short distance from the gates. Among the nomads were a few Ogres who were practising their throat-singing. Also present near the gate were a few vehicles loading or unloading all manner of stuff, and any one of them could be what the team sought.

It was in the face of this conundrum that Faen heard something that caught his attention.

"Right, that should be all the supplies. We'll set out as soon as the kids arrive," a man's gruff voice was heard speaking to another.

"Sure thing, Mister Huntsman, sir. When do you think they'll arrive?" A second male voice replied, their voice clearer and more deferential to the man who spoke before.

"I don't know. Soon I hope, and stop with all that 'Mister Huntsman' business. We've known each other for years, so use my name." The first man spoke once again, grunting once he finished.

All but certain those voices belonged to who they were looking for, Faen led his team towards their source. Friesian was the only one who did not hear them, yet the Dullahan trusted in the others and followed after his teammates.

Walking over to a space behind a set of delivery trucks bound for other locations in the Kingdom, the team of Demi-humans saw two Human men stood by a open back pickup truck laden with a couple of tightly secured cargo boxes. Attached to its rear bumper was a medium sized carriage carrying even more boxes.

One of the men had a very... rough-and-ready appearance, yet there was a professional air about him. On his head was white hat with a high-crown and wide-brim. A yellowed shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows was worn under a sleeveless grey waistcoat, accompanied by dark-brown trousers and travel-worn boots. Above all that he wore a brown cloth poncho that was frayed in places, and had a couple patches sown into it.

Slung from his shoulder by a leather strap was a long rifle with a classic look to it, and had a fair number of scratches on its exterior. There was no indication of what its alternate form might be, if it even had one that is.

The second man was simpler in appearance, from the look of his clothes to how his looked physically. He wore a simple shirt, trousers, and pair of shoes with no noticeable accessories that might make him stand out in a crowd. Short brown hair rested on his head, and what appeared to be freckles were present on his face

Sure they had found who they were looking for, FFOG approached the men, Faen being the first to speak.

"Excuse us; are you the Huntsman 'Russet Bisonte'?" The Elf read off of his Scroll, hoping this to be the right man they were looking for.

The man with the rifle looked at them, his arms folded over each other and a steely gaze analysing the four Demi-humans. His companion was surprised by their arrival, though a look of relief washed over him soon after.

"Yes, I'm Bisonte. So, you're the kids that'll be shadowing me for this mission?" The Huntsman answered as he continued to look down at them, still eyeing each and every one of them. "You're far more punctual when compared to the last bunch at least. A lot less colourful than the last bunch, too, but that ain't gonna be a problem to me."

With a far better look at the Huntsmen, Faen and his team closely examined him in turn.

His tan skin was rough, the hair on his head had mostly turned to grey with only a few strands of black left, and his face had a fair number of lines decorating it. He had seen a lot; that much Faen could see just from looking at him. That was a good thing, hopefully, for that meant they were dealing with a veteran who knew the ways of their chosen trade.

"Alright then, let's get down to business. This here is Jeremiah, and we'll be escorting this wagon full of supplies bound for his village, Hearth." Bisonte pointed a thumb to the man behind him, who stepped past the Huntsman and offered his hand to the members of FFOG with a welcome smile.

"Mind if I ask what sort of supplies we will be escorting together?" Grey inquired as she took Jeremiah's hand and shook it.

"Dust, canned goods, food with a long shelf life, pharmaceutical supplies, bits of medical equipment, and other sorts of stuff a frontier village doesn't have ready access to like the city-folk here do." Jeremiah was the one to answer this time as he pulled what were presumably the keys for the truck from out of his pocket. "These here supplies are sorely needed, friend. I couldn't make the supply run to Vale last season on account of too many Grimm on my route. It's clearer now, but I'd feel a lot safer with some Huntsmen protection."

"Jeremiah's village is one of the lucky ones. Plenty of villages out there don't have the money, transports, or a safe enough route to make these supply runs. Or even receive supplies like this from the Kingdom itself for that matter." Bisonte added as he unfolded his arms and sent a look at the walls separating them from the city inside.

The students said nothing in response to the information shared to them. It was no secret settlements considered too far from major urban centres, or did not classify as a high priority location, often had to fend for themselves most of the time and find ways to make themselves self-sufficient. One might even call it common knowledge. Villages and towns set up on the edges of the Kingdoms' and Enclaves' territories making up a vast majority of these cases.

At times Faen heard disgruntled talk from people criticising the Kingdoms and Enclaves alike for not doing enough to support the outlying settlements. That potentially vital resources were being hoarded by the big cities for projects of little value or importance, leaving less well-off locations with barely enough to keep themselves together. Plenty of the 'facts' in those talks were blown out of proportion, but there was a glimmer of truth in them sometimes.

That was the reason why Huntsmen like Bisonte existed, he guessed. To aid the people that the Kingdoms themselves were incapable of or unwilling to help.

"Uh, another quick question. Wouldn't it be a lot better if these supplies were transported to Hearth using an airship? It'd be a lot faster and probably carry fewer risks." Odori stated to Bisonte and Jeremiah, her eyes locked on the pickup truck in a rather sceptical manner. It did appear slightly banged up, and there were a couple places were rust had started to form.

"It was, when we had one. Until four years ago another from my village made these trips to Vale on an airship, but she ran into a Nevermore and..." Jeremiah trailed off and his eyes turned to glass. There was no need for him to say more, they all knew what he did not have the strength to say aloud. "We're saving up for a used second-hand airship, but it'll take us another two years before we rack up enough Lien for one. So this will have to do for now."

The Human patted a hand against the truck in a somewhat affectionate manner. Remembering why they were here in the first place, Jeremiah pulled his hand away from the truck and started walking to the front.

"Anyway, I'll start up the truck. Hop in when you're all ready to go."

"Right, right. We'll be ready in a moment, just gotta say a few things to these kids." Bisonte replied to Jeremiah as the latter climbed into the driver seat. Once he finished speaking, the Huntsman looked back at FFOG and spoke to them. "I'll be honest with you kids, I've been running this route with Jeremiah for three years now, and there ain't no telling what'll happen while we're on the road. The current Grimm threat evaluation for the quadrant we're headed to might change while we're out there, and the types of Grimm we could run into could be beyond your skill level. I'm honestly surprised the Academy let you come at all."

"We'll be near the edge of the Kingdom, and a darned secluded one too, so help will be hard to come by if we ever need it. If you have any second thoughts, speak now, and know none shall judge you for backing out. Not everyone is cut out for missions this far out of the Kingdoms, especially those your age." Once he was done talking, Bisonte looked at them with an expectant expression on his face.

All that he had spoken of had not been considered by Faen. He understood this mission would be dangerous, yet what the veteran Huntsman said cast the shadow of doubt over his previous stance.

While Bisonte would be responsible for them while they were out there, Faen too had a degree of responsibility, specifically over his team. Any chance that they might suffer harm because of his choices was a hard pill to swallow. Yet they all came this far, and it would be a mark of shame on Faen to turn back now, especially after having set his mind so thoroughly on this chosen mission. Looking to the rest of FFOG, they too seemed to share his feelings on the matter.

Grey looked back at him with the same supportive smile she gave Faen while he deliberated over whether to come with her to Beacon. Friesian meanwhile gave a positive thumbs-up his way, and would have likely been nodding his head if it were attached to his body. While the Dullahan could not, Odori did, nodding once and possessing a small smile.

His team behind him, the Elf answered the waiting Huntsman.

"We're coming with you, sir."

"Huh, very well. Come on kids, if we set off now we can reach Hearth some time tomorrow." Turning on the spot, Bisonte walked to the other side of the truck and opened the passenger seat beside the driver. "Climb onto the back, there's space there for you to sit on. It'll be a hard road, so make yourselves comfortable and hold on tight."

Following Bisonte's instructions, FFOG took their packs with them and seated themselves in the truck's back. It was hard to be comfortable and there was not too much space for them to sit, but they made do with what they had.

Finally ready and set, Faen tapped the rear window of the truck's driver compartment, signalling to Jeremiah and Bisonte that he and his team were good to go. Backing out from where it had parked, nearly hitting some jackass lorry driver who was not watching the road in the process, the truck carrying supplies for Hearth began its journey. Like the Huntsman had said, it was going to be a hard road, yet it would be greatly beneficial for all parties involved if things went well.

---

Setting off from Vale prior to midday, the ride from Vale to Hearth was not as uncomfortable as one might expect, yet it was gruelling in a couple other ways.

The most notable was how long the journey was, for when the group made camp for the night at eleven o'clock, they were barely halfway to their destination. The distance between Vale and Hearth was not far, comparatively speaking; their road was simply not a straight one. They stuck to a motorway that led south-west, before leaving it for a road that cut through the countryside south-east of Vale. Hearth, as it turns out, was a village situated in the foothills south of Vale's protective mountain range.

Friesian unexpectedly expressed worry when they took to the south-eastern road, whispering something about a 'Mountain Glenn' and became more restless in his seat. He knew not naught of what the Dullahan spoke of, but remained ever vigilant as they journeyed closer to the edge of Vale's 'safe zone'. Safe zone being a general term to describe where Grimm activity was relatively light or non-existent.

Traffic had been a mild problem shortly after having left Vale, but that became less of one the further they got from the city. In fact, traffic died down so much they spent many miles as the only vehicle on the road.

To their good fortune, the route they took was sparse of Grimm, and only a few meagre packs and solitary Grimm dared to harass them. The Grimm themselves were no problem at all, the truck's five escorts were easily capable of repelling all that they encountered. The time spent dispatching them added minutes to their travel time though, which was the only problem with these attacks.

A more problematic issue for the four Demi-humans was how weak of a signal their Scrolls were receiving throughout the road trip to Hearth. They were still within the broadcast range of Beacon Tower, but being this far out, and nowhere near a Relay Tower, any CCTS reliant apps or systems on their Scrolls had such a significant delay they barely worked. That meant they would be in deep trouble if someone needed to contact them or if they needed to call for help all the way out here.

Bisonte had warned them about this, but it was another thing to actually deal with it.

When it was brought up during one of their stops, Jeremiah assured them his village had a CCTS relay tower, so when they got to Hearth they could do whatever business they needed to do with their Scrolls. Good, for the sooner they regained a signal, the sooner Faen's teammates would stop complaining about this matter.

Over the course of their journey, a sort of routine was established in the group.

Jeremiah sat on the truck's driver seat and drove ever onward to their destination, and proved capable of keeping a level head when they ran into Grimm. Faen and his teammates sat at the back of the truck, making sure none of the cargo got lost and fought any Grimm that sought to waylay them. Meanwhile, the Huntsman Bisonte rode shotgun beside Jeremiah, and would pop out at times from the window to shoot any Grimm that was too tough or too far for FFOG to handle with his rifle.

Bisonte was a phenomenal shot and that weapon of his was no joke either. On their journey Faen had borne witness to the Human stop a charging Alpha Beowolf dead with a single shot to its head. He never used it in any way other than as a normal firearm, and used no special ammunition type, which was fine enough for Faen.

Alongside watching the older man fight, FFOG got to talking with him, and learnt a bit about the Huntsman. Born at a nondescript village in Vacuo, he first learned how to shoot there by the time he was six out of necessity, and enrolled at Shade Academy to learn the trade of being a Huntsman. For a long time he worked in Vacuo, then came to Vale and provided his Huntsman services to Hearth for the past few years. That certainly helped explain his rough appearance and even his personality to some extent.

He did not mind the fact FFOG was composed of Demi-humans, only caring for whether they could handle themselves. It also meant Bisonte only intervened in fights when he felt it completely necessary. Faen and his team took hits that Bisonte could have prevented, but allowed those blows to land as a part of a 'learning experience'.

It was now mid-afternoon of the second day of their journey, and the truck was supposed to be nearing the final stretch. According to Jeremiah, they would reach the village before midnight if they kept up this pace. This bit of information sent a wave of relief crashing over Team FFOG, for Faen had no wish to spend another night like the one they just had.

Last night had not exactly been a restful one, for they had to rest in sleeping bags on the earthy floor just off the road. They could have stopped at a small village where they stopped to refuel and might have found lodgings there, yet in a bid to put a few less miles between them and Hearth, they pressed on ahead until the need for rest had nearly overpowered them. A very dangerous decision, both because of the lack of visibility night time brought and the danger a tired driver posed to all. Dangerous though it might have been, they were all still alive and miles ahead of where they would be if they rested earlier.

Just as problematic as the late hour they all stayed up to was how early they had all woken up at. Roused from their sleep at four o'clock in the morning, the group only had half-an-hour to have a quick breakfast and pack their things before they set off again. An early start to the day, accompanied by fewer breaks, was supposed to help in getting them to Hearth in time. It also meant everyone was far from well-rested and quite tired, especially Bisonte since he stood watch all through the night while FFOG and Jeremiah slept.

Still, despite how tired they might be, everyone was more or less back to the routine they established on the first day of their journey. The amount of Grimm encountered had begun to decline, so it allowed two of the Huntsmen-in-Training to rest for short intervals until it became the next pair's turn, or when a Grimm attacked.

Sliding a whetstone along his edge of Aglar's blade while sitting on the truck's back, Faen stopped what he was doing when he noticed the truck slow then stop completely. He had not heard anything approach them, and there was nothing to see when he looked up. The only thing of note was how they had reached a stone bridge that linked the two sides of a moderately sized river.

"What's going on?" The Elf asked Jeremiah, a touched annoyed by this unexpected delay in their journey to Hearth. The abrupt stop and his accompanying question waking both Odori and Friesian's whose turn it was to rest while he and Grey kept a lookout for trouble.

"Please, wait a moment." Jeremiah pleaded as he disembarked from the truck and jogged to the bridge.

"Wha... What's up?" Odori yawned as she pulled her pistols from out of her sleeves, and then proceed to drop them onto the truck's floor. Good thing the safety on both guns were on, or else one of them might have been accidentally shot.

Not having an answer to his teammate's question, he stood up and watched Jeremiah carefully, Aglar ready in his hand. Keeping his eyes and ears open for anything, Faen looked on as Jeremiah walked onto the bridge, stamped his right foot on it twice, then tossed a penny off the edge and into the waters below. Now why on Remnant did the Human do that for?

His task apparently completed the Human hurriedly jogged back to the truck. Still perplexed by what their driver had just done, the Beacon students looked at each other for a second, then back to Jeremiah. Taking the lead, Faen was the first to say anything.

"Why did you do that?" He still had Aglar in his hand, and made sure the Human could clearly see it. Not once had Jeremiah given them reason to distrust him, and he had been nice enough to them all, yet Faen was prepared in the event that treachery might rise its ugly head. Jeremiah, quickly noting the students' curious gazes, stopped before the driver-side door and gave his answer.

"Dropped a coin for Ol' Rockgut. It's bad luck not to when crossing this bridge." Though an answer was given, Faen and the others had absolutely no idea of what the Human was talking about. While no strangers to odd customs, FFOG needed some context to understand Jeremiah's answer to them.

"Who?" Grey scratched the back of her head and asked, her confusion showing through both her face and voice.

"A Troll that used to live under this bridge. His spirit is supposed to haunt the place, and while I never saw anything of the like, I'd rather not tempt fate." Jeremiah cast a cautious gaze at the bridge, as though some terrifying spectre might appear on it at any second. A concern not shared by the four Demi-humans for it was another thing Jeremiah had said that captured their attention.

"A freakin' Troll used to live under this bridge?" Grey asked, astonishment written on all of FFOG's faces. Now that was some big news for the four Demi-humans.

"Swear on me mum, Missus Huntress ma'am, I'm telling you all the truth." Jeremiah put a hand over his heart and raised a hand when he spoke, the same gesture Friesian made when swearing on something. "Stories of Ol' Rockgut were from before the Great War, way before. Of course, before you lot came out from hiding, most people thought the story of Ol' Rockgut was nuttier than squirrel droppings. When it turned out you were all real, we started believing it in a real hurry."

Before the Great War, that was when a Troll had taken residence in an area so near to a Human Kingdom? More human-looking Demi-humans living out here was more believable, but something like a Troll was a much harder idea to wrap around. Not impossible, just harder to imagine.

Unlike how Humans and Faunus portrayed them in the years of isolation, Trolls were not bumbling idiots who could not piece a proper sentence together. Sure plenty might look like it, but the stereotype was highly erroneous for a vast majority of the species. Big meant slow and stupid to most Humans, yet the Demi-humans knew better. Trolls were a dangerous combination of strength and cunning, and had shaped the history of the Demi-human races through the application of both before and after they retreated to the Enclaves.

For example; a lost Enclave of Trolls nearly wiped out all the Yeti tribes of Anima's northern mountains in an attempt to annex their lands, leading to a near extinction of the Mistralian Yetis. Trolls, with the aid of the Jotunns, were the ones who laid the foundations of the Solitas Enclaves. The Sanus Trolls had been among the races to terrorise the Humans, contributing to the events that caused Humans to push Demi-humans to the Enclaves. It was also the second Faery King's Troll bodyguards that smashed the centre of Prince Karneol's army, putting an end to the Midnight Principality and reunifying all of Avalon for the first time in two centuries under the dynastic line of Faery Kings.

If this tale Jeremiah was telling happened to be true, then Faen felt a slight twitch of pity for those harassed by this Ol' Rockgut. He had met a Troll once, and it was not an experience he wished to relive.

"He made people pay a toll to use this bridge after building it for the local villages. If someone could not, he tore them apart and turned them into a stew." Jeremiah explained to them, apparently glad to have a momentary distraction from the hard road they were. FFOG were the only ones listening though, for Bisonte remained sat beside the driver seat, seeming to be asleep. "That was when he was hungry. When he was not, he'd do all sorts of nastiness to people who could not pay. Stuff I'm not sure is appropriate for young ears."

Faen understood what Jeremiah was talking about, he was aware of the degenerate actions people might take when they found the motivation to do it. He kept his eyes and ears open for anything while he listened, for though they had not run into any Grimm for a while, it did not mean they were in the clear.

"Hmmm. What happened to Ol' Rockgut?" Friesian was the one to ask Jeremiah this time, looking positively enraptured by the story being told.

"Local legends have it a knight from a faraway kingdom rode up to the bridge and fought Ol' Rockgut. For a day and a night they battled, until the knight finally struck the Troll down." The Human carried on explaining, smiling ear-to-ear at having found such an interested audience. "The Knight disappeared as quickly as he came, taking Ol' Rockgut's body with him as a prize. That did not mean Ol' Rockgut was gone forever, though. His restless spirit came back to haunt the bridge, or so it's said, that's why every traveller from these parts leaves him a coin to ensure he lets them go by."

A very typical fairy tale, yet there was something that Faen took note of Jeremiah's explanation of Ol' Rockgut's story. If it truly happened, or was based on a true story, then it might have been around the time when the Enclaves' Edict of Isolation reached the height of its strictness. A Demi-human living this far from any Enclave, and raising such a ruckus like this, would not have been tolerated by any Enclave authority at the time. How or why Ol' Rockgut lived this deeply in Human populated territories did not matter. The standard policy of dealing with such an individual then would have been to make them disappear from the Human world; one way or another.

This 'knight from a faraway kingdom' sounded too vague a description, as well as too convenient a cover. With such thoughts in mind, suspicions regarding their true identity began to form in Faen's head. If he were right, then they were less of a valorous Knight, and more a cold-blooded enforcer or assassin.

It was a long shot, but Faen decided to ask about the 'heroic knight' who slew Ol' Rockgut. He might not get the answers he sought, yet who knows, he might learn something interesting at least.

"Does anything in this story say who exactly the knight was or what they looked like?" Faen asked this time around, sheathing Aglar into its scabbard on his back.

"Huh, y'know, I've never heard any rendition of the story go into detail about that." Jeremiah thoughtfully remarked, apparently only now thinking of that issue with his story.

Before Faen could inquire further on this legend of Jeremiah's, the sound of tree branches being parted accompanied by heavy footsteps caught the Elf's attention. He was not alone, as Grey and Odori's ears twitched and went to look at the direction the sound was coming from. It was coming from the trees some distance to the right of the truck, and whatever was approaching sound big.

"Wait, do the rest of you hear that?" Odori questioned as she stood up and focused her eyes on the trees.

"Something's coming our way! Something big! Two-no, three sets of four legs if I'm not wrong!" Grey declared to the rest of them, the entire group having entered full alert.

"Darn it all!" Jeremiah exclaimed loudly, the prior conversation forgotten as he jumped onto the driver's seat and started up the truck's engine. It had been a risk to stay here for too long, and for taking it they had been rewarded with whatever now approached them.

Movement from inside the truck alerted the group that Bisonte had awoken, if he had not been awake the entire time. A stern expression set on his face, the Huntsman exited the truck and held his rifle with both hands. His eyes staring unwaveringly at the tree line as what was coming came closer.

Soon, from the trees a massive form as large as an elephant emerged. Three metres tall at least, with two long arms and two shorter back legs as thick as trees, a barrel-like chest, and a wide face with an elongated snout filled with crushing teeth. Several bone-white spines protruded from its back. The fingers of its long, powerful forelimbs ended in massive curved claws almost the length of Faen's forearm.

Worse was yet to come, for two more of the same Grimm emerged behind it.

"Megatheron!" Bisonte growled as he levelled his rifle and shot at the lead beast. The shot, as with almost every one the Huntsman took, struck with uncanny accuracy and hit the Megatheron's eye. While it did not kill the monster, it took out its eye and caused the Grimm to stumble back in pain.

The Megatherons were not the fastest Grimm Faen had seen, yet these beasts had broken into a lumbering run as soon as they left the trees and would be upon them in perhaps fifteen seconds if they did not act. Their eyes, eye in the lead beast's case, full of malicious intent.

They had the option to run. If Jeremiah pressed down on the truck's accelerator right now, they had a good chance of outrunning the monsters. But to allow a beast of such destructive potential to roam around freely was no option at all. Apart from doing their duty as future Huntsmen, these Megatherons would make a fine challenge for Faen's skills.

His mind set, Faen fit his helmet over his head, leapt off the back of the truck and charged the Megatherons. Gwaedh's blade singing with delightful anticipation as he drew the steel out from its scabbard. His teammates were of the same mind, and had leapt into action at the same time he did, their weapons drawn in preparation of this new battle.

Grey's Rip and Tear locked a new set of claw into them. The long bladed lash of Friesian's Tenebrous Mantle became coated with flames as he activated the Fire Dust locked into the weapon's special guard. Lastly, Odori's Divine Omen slid out from its long sheath, whether she would snap it into its dual swords form remained to be seen.

They had done this sort of thing many times now on their journey to Hearth, but this was the first time they faced creatures like Megatherons. Faen was not even aware of this species of Grimm's existence until now. A lack of knowledge would not stop him and his team, however, and the monsters would be sent back to whatever dark pit had spawned them. That did not mean they were going to charge mindlessly at the creatures, Faen was no idiot.

"Split up. Bear rampant." Faen quickly called over his shoulder to his teammates, his eyes not leaving their latest threat. A strange collection of words to anyone else, yet to FFOG his words conveyed their battle strategy. They spent four nights devising and memorising all code-phrases, hopefully they remembered them all.

Singling the lead beast out as his, Faen then gripped his sabre with both hands and readied it to slash at any of the arms it was bound to swing at him.

The lead Megatheron saw him him with its one good eye, roared with fury and stood up on its back legs, towering over Faen. Raising its right arm over its head, the Grimm threw its clawed hand down at the Elf with all its might. Anticipating where it would land, he leapt backwards in time to avoid the massive limb, the Grimm's claws piercing nothing but the grassy soil beneath them. Bits of dirt were tossed into the air, and the ground shook a bit when the blow struck.

Taking advantage of this, Faen moved forward and swung Gwaedh in downward arc aimed for the beast's arm. Less to harm it, more to test how tough the hides of these Megatheron's were. The Elf discovered just how tough it was when he witnessed the sabre only slice a meagre flesh wound onto the arm. He had not put his full weight behind that attack nor used all of his strength, so Faen estimated he could deal a more telling injurycon the beast if he did.

Retreating a couple steps from his chosen opponent, he was made to jump to the side as the Megatheron threw its other arm at him, claws aimed for the Elf's gut. He got out of the way in time, and a good thing too, for Faen had no desire to know how sharp its claws were.

Now with an idea of strong and resilient these creatures were Faen began to formulate a plan to slay it.

Weaving past its attacks and striking where he could, Faen diverted part of his attention to his teammates and their efforts against the Megatherons when he could. A twitch of pride took hold of Faen as he saw they had understood the code-phrase he uttered, and enacted their team strategy. 'Bear rampant' was code for fighting offensively and hitting the enemy with the strength of the mentioned animal.

Grey fought one Megatheron in the same manner he did, and was a whirlwind of motion. Constantly punching and slashing her claw-blades at the Megatheron like a caged beast set free of its restraints. His friend had the strength to grab onto one of its arms and hold it for a short duration, yet any longer would be too much for her, and there was another arm to look out for after all.

Not far off from Faen was Odori, who also faced a Megatheron of her own, yet was far wilier and graceful than Grey. Two-handed nagamaki in her hands, she evaded the Grimm's attacks and delivered strikes of her own in return. Blows from her weapon were far more devastating compared to his own, yet not enough to sever limbs or hack of necks in one go.

Waves of burning flames shot to the Grimm from outside Faen's field of vision, without a doubt Friesian's doing. His part in this strategy was not to fight the Grimm directly, but to provide support a short distance away. With his weapon and Semblance, that was the best role Faen believed he could fulfil.

Back to the fight Faen had gotten into, his current efforts to slay the Megatheron were proving not as fruitful as he hoped. He could bring it down with the way he fought right now, it was only a matter of time, but that was the thing. They did not have time for a prolonged engagement. They had a village to deliver supplies to after all.

With that information in mind, Faen formulated a new plan to kill this beast.

When the Megatheron next reared itself on two legs, long forelimbs ready to deliver a potentially bone-crushing blow to him, Faen used his free hand to unsheathe Aglar from its scabbard on his back. Perhaps intending to crush him with the full weight of its body, the Megatheron came crashing down at him like a collapsing mountain. Felt that way when the Grimm made the ground shudder, anyway. Try as it might though, the Elf was not there when it attempted to sandwich him between it and the grassy ground.

Rolling backwards, the Elf pulled Aglar from out of its scabbard, transformed the sword into its spear-form, and then flung it at the Megatheron's undamaged eye. Aglar's leaf-shaped blade struck true, and became lodged in the Grimm's eye socket. His foe was not slain as Faen hoped it might, yet it was now completely blinded and more vulnerable. In response to his actions, and the bursts of flame cast by Friesian, it became even more furious and started to wildly swipe its arms around in an effort to end Faen.

One of its claws clipped Faen on his right shoulder, the Elf having underestimated the speed of that swing, and it would have likely left a bloody tear there if not for his Aura and shoulder guard he wore. Still hurt beyond belief though.

The pain steadily began to fade, and as it turned to dull sensation then nothing at all, Faen held his sabre even more tightly as he enacted the next part of his plan.

Running circles around the beast, slashing his sabre and firing bolts from his wrist-bow at it, the Elf's eyes constantly searched for the perfect opportunity to land that one deadly blow to the creature. While blinded, the Megatheron struck out randomly and also at the places where he fired his bolts from, almost crushing him once as it smashed both of its arms down on the ground. That last attack had been random, yet it illustrated to Faen that he must still take care when fighting this monster.

Stepping out of the way as the Grimm slammed its arms on the ground a second time; Faen saw his opportunity and took it. Leaping forward at its lower head, he thrust his arm forward and struck the end of Aglar's shaft with his free hand's palm. Striking it with enough force, Aglar was embedded further into the Megatheron's skull. In fact, all of Aglar's blade and part of the haft was lodged inside of it now.

With 60 centimetres (2 feet) of steel embedded in its skull, the Megatheron swayed on the spot for a moment then collapsed onto the ground as its legs gave way. The ground shaking as the Grimm's large body fell, its body beginning to dissipate in front of his eyes.

Pulling Aglar free from the Megatheron, Faen stood and assessed the situations of his teammates. Friesian had stopped using Fire Dust, and was cracking his bladed-whip at the two remaining Grimm. Grey and Odori were still doing fine against the Megatherons, yet they could still use some help.

Choosing to aid Grey first, Faen saw her opponent wreathed in flames that burned away its dark hide. Friesian's handiwork no doubt. Half-blind, wracked by the constant pain of fire eating away at it, and the injuries sustained from Grey's claws, the Grimm went into a frenzy. This would be a far more dangerous foe than the one he just slew.

Throwing its arms around like a crazed lunatic, both Elf and Werewolf were pushed back for a bit as it advanced towards them. In their retreat, the two were mindful not to lead the beast to the truck. Endangering Jeremiah and their precious cargo was to be avoided at all costs.

They saw an opportunity to leap in and attack, but the Megatheron pounded the ground under their feet with a large fist as they drew close, causing them to stumble and almost lose balance completely. With them in a vulnerable state, the Grimm raised its other fist to strike them down. Only thanks to Friesian's timely intervention of locking the arm in place with ice were the pair saved from the attack the Grimm tried to follow up with.

It refused to die easily though, and the furiousness of the Megatheron only increased with all the damage they were dealing to it.

Breaking the ice around its arm by smashing it with its other arm, the beast swung round to face Friesian. Both ducking under the beast's tail as it turned, the Elf and Werewolf launched themselves into the air with an Aura-enhanced leap and landed atop the Megatheron's back. They practised this on an Ursa Major once, and thought this might also work on Megatherons as well.

Of course, it was none to happy about that, and chose to ignore Friesian in favour of trying to knock the pair off by relentlessly shaking itself. Faen tried to reach its head and plunge Gwaedh into the Grimm's skull in a similar way to how he slew the first Megatheron, but found the Grimm's constant moving to be a major irritant, forcing the Elf to tightly grip one of the spikes sprouting from its back to stay atop the monster. If his hold were to weaken for a second, he might be thrown off the beast.

Grey faced the same problem, and found a different solution to it. Instead of grabbing hold of a back spine, the Werewolf stabbed her claw-blades deeply into the Grimm's back, and started to repeatedly punch her blades in and out of the Megatheron.

Their blades not dealing enough damage as they hoped they would, both Faen and Grey came up with a new idea. Noting how deadly these bony spikes on the Megatheron's back looked, and probably remembering what JNPR had done in Initiation, Grey wrapped her arms around the sharpest and started to pull. A crazy idea as far as Faen was concerned, but they had done crazier.

Using all the strength in her body, Grey was successful in ripping the spike out of the Megatheron and held it above her head with both arms. In response, the Megatheron stood as tall as it could on its back legs and roared even louder than before. Thinking fast, Faen took both of his weapons and stabbed them where the Grimm's neck met its torso, allowing the Elf to hang onto its back. Grey though, with her hands full, had fewer options so she did the best thing her situation allowed.

Before she could be thrown off, Grey raised the spine and then drove it into the Megatheron's back. The sharp point at the spike's top punctured the Megatheron's hide and dug deep enough to remain lodged inside the creature. But not enough for the monster to be slain.

Still clinging onto its back, Faen pulled Gwaedh free and tried to stab it higher, his objective still to plunge his blades into the Megatheron's skull through its eyes. It took two tries before he successfully planted the sabre hilt-deep into the Grimm, two more times than he liked. The beast's constant shaking as it tried to buck him off its back making the task more difficult, and making him start to think twice about this idea.

Perhaps there was another way to achieve his goal.

"Faen, get off that thing!" Grey's voice cut through the air just as he pulled Aglar out from the Megatheron's back and about to stab the blade back inside the creature. Confusion was his first reaction to his friend's words, yet their meaning became clear shortly after he heard them.

Blasts of intensely strong wind began to buffet and push the Megatheron backwards, keeping it on its rear legs and preventing it from getting back on all fours again. It was not Grey who summoned these winds, but Friesian, the Dullahan having slapped some Wind Dust into his weapon and shooting them at it with every swing of Tenebrous Mantle. At first Faen believed his plan to be to keep the Grimm upright so its underbelly was exposed, then he saw Grey join in the effort and use her wind Semblance to pushing the beast, instead of going for the kill right away.

A split second was all he needed to realise their plan. They were trying to topple it over.

Remembering the spike he understood immediately how they intended to end this Megatheron, and dropped down from the Megatheron's back as Grey told him to. Pulling Gwaedh free as he got off from its back. No sooner had he removed himself from the Grimm did Grey the full might of her Semblance, and send an onslaught of powerful wind to finish the beast.

Even when subject to winds that would send most foes flying, the Megatheron continued to persist and refused to fall. It was ready to, just one last thing was needed to force it onto its back. While he had nothing that could do such a task quickly, he knew someone who could.

"Friesian! Throw a Pumpkin at its head!" The Elf yelled at Friesian as he got away from the Megatheron, and started to make his way towards the other remaining one. Odori held it at bay for an admirable amount of time, but the creature would die far quicker if she received some aid.

His teammate heard what Faen ordered him to do, and saw immediately how it would be helpful. So the Dullahan ceased shooting gusts of wind with his weapon, and opened his right hand, a flaming pumpkin lantern bearing a leering face carved onto it manifested in his palm. Without pausing, the Dullahan threw the bomb right where Faen instructed, hitting the monster square in the face. The instant it happened, Friesian's pumpkin lantern exploded.

This was Friesian's Semblance. The Pumpkin Bomb.

The combined force of the Pumpkin's explosion, and the strong winds that kept on crashing against it, forced the Megatheron to fall backwards despite its efforts to remain upright. What was even better was how the monster fell on its back, just as planned. The spike stabbed into the Grimm's back was pushed further inside of the Grimm, part of its sharp tip actually emerging out its underbelly. It let out one last groan before turning limp and finally dying.

No time was wasted by Faen in marvelling at how wondrously that plan went, for he was became locked in a fight with the third and last Megatheron. Its focus was on Odori, who had appeared and charged at its front, leaving its flanks exposed to attack.

The third Megatheron had sustained a good number of wounds, and Odori had actually been able to sever two of the claws of its left hand. Burns also marred the dark flesh of the beast, and deep cuts crisscrossed its flesh, yet there was still plenty of fight in this Grimm. It essentially being a cornered animal would also make it all the more ferocious and deadly. Dangerous though it might be to fight, it would make slaying this Grimm all the sweeter.

As he moved to assist the Kitsune, he watched as she dove under a swipe from the Megatheron's right paw, and jumped back from an attack with its left. The second her feet were back on the ground, Odori charged forward again and leapt atop the Grimm's extended limb. She did not stop at that however, for she launched herself high into the air right above the Megatheron's head.

Descending like a comet back to the ground, Odori raised her nagamaki over her head and swung her weapon downwards at the monster's. The sound of steel slicing through bone and Grimm flesh was accompanied by the sight of the Megatheron's head being split perfectly in twain. Its large body collapsing to the floor with a loud thud seconds after.

Impressive, most impressive. Faen made a note of that move, alongside the tactic Grey and Friesian pulled off, for the future.

With the three Megatherons dead, FFOG took a second to catch their breath and soak in this victory of theirs. Looking over to the truck, Faen saw Bisonte leaning against it with his rifle slung over his shoulder, a neutral expression on his face. Meanwhile, Jeremiah looked on in awe of Team FFOG, and rose his hands as though to applaud them but stopped himself when Bisonte sent him a sideways glance. That their performance in battle was able to elicit what could have been applause from an Auraless individual filled Faen's chest with pride, for they never received a lot of that back in Beacon.

"Ugh, well that was a thing." Friesian spoke up as he walked up to Faen's side, snapping Tenebrous Mantle into its sword-form and sliding the weapon into it's sheathe. With him came Grey, who likewise folded her gauntlets into their non-weapon form. "'Megatherons', right? Didn't know Grimm like these existed, but thank goodness they were not Hydras. The stink of their breath clings to your clothes like-"

"We're not gonna talk about how we killed a Megatheron by impaling it on its own spike? I'd think that would be the first thing we talk after a fight like that," Grey cut Friesian off mid-sentence. It was an impressive feat, one worth discussing about later on, and a subject more preferable to how badly a Hydra breath's breath stank.

"Huh? It was cool and all. What I said was just the first thing to come to my mind was all I'm saying." Friesian's body shrugged its shoulders while his head responded to the Werewolf.

"How about what I did? Have you ever seen a so perfectly executed cut like that before?" Odori stepped in as she joined the group, Divine Will back in its scabbard as well. "What do you think, Faen? Whose kill was the more impressive?"

His team turned their eyes to him, though Faen could, in all honesty, not be bothered to say who he believed to have slain a Megatheron more brilliantly. They had all been excellent, and a check of their Auras on his Scroll showed they still had well over a third of their Auras. Odori's question would have to go unanswered for they had far more important matters to tend to, such as the mission they were meant to be fulfilling.

"C'mon, let's get back to the truck. We've spent long enough here as is," Faen evaded the question, nodding his head over the waiting vehicle. Deciding to follow his lead, the three other Demi-humans walked behind him as they walked back to Bisonte and Jeremiah.

Jeremiah, seeing the Huntsmen-in-Training returning to the truck, put both hands on the steering wheel and got ready to set off again. Their Huntsman, however, did not return to his seat and remained where he was. He had not partaken in the fight against the Grimm, apart from those initial shots, but had definitely been watching them as they fought.

Bisonte did not show whether he liked what he saw nor was any dislike obvious on his face or eyes. If he had anything to say about how they acted, the Human would say. When they finally got back to the truck, Bisonte let his thoughts be known as Faen guessed he would

"You kids today... You're getting even more showy by the year," Bisonte said with a shake of his head. Whether or not he was admonishing them for it, Faen was unsure, and decided to wait for him to finish speaking. "Come then you four. You've had your fun with those beasts; now let's get going before more of these things show up."

With that said, Bisonte stopped leaning against the truck and got back into his seat without another word. Faen and the rest of FFOG were left to just look at each other, and wonder to themselves if what Bisonte said was a good or bad thing.

"Think that was a compliment?" Grey asked her team as she scratched the space between the two wolf ears atop her head in confusion.

"Did that sound as though it were a compliment?" Faen replied somewhat sarcastically.

"Let's just do as he said. The sun starting to really dip towards the horizon, and I'm not spending another night in those sleeping bags." Odori said with a shudder as she remembered how it felt to sleep in them last night.

Agreeing with the Kitsune, FFOG did as Bisonte had told them and climbed back onto the truck together. Soon as they were on, Jeremiah pressed down on the accelerator and resumed their journey to Hearth. The group hoping in their hearts no more delays would occur on their way to the village. As Fate would have it, there were a few more delays further along the road to Hearth, but none like the trio of Megatherons.

Small packs of Beowolves were all the group ran across for the rest of the journey, all of whom fell like wheat before the scythe. It was honestly a relief that such low-level Grimm were all that assailed them, for FFOG felt they needed foes that needed less effort in slaying after the giant sloth-like monsters they faced earlier. They were not going to shy away from any larger Grimm that approached them, no, the four Demi-humans simply wished for a brief reprieve from such monsters.

Whenever they got the chance to, FFOG listened as Jeremiah recounted bits of history and folklore that surrounded the area. Unlike the story of Ol' Rockgut, none of what he said were of interest to the Elf, though the name Mountain Glenn was brought up by the Human. Faen listened with a bit more care when the Human spoke of this other settlement, and found himself to be somewhat interested in it. Jeremiah said Hearth had done infrequent trade with Mountain Glenn, and that a handful of refugees from the city who braved the wilds made it to Hearth after the larger settlement's fall.

Faen made a note of looking into this 'Mountain Glenn', and see what all the fuss was about with it. No doubt it was a great tragedy, the fall of a city to the Grimm always was, but the Elf wished for more information.

Something to do later though, for they still had a job to do.

The afternoon passed, and evening quickly followed afterwards, the shadow of night accompanying it as well. Grimm attacks became few and far between, but much of any fighting that needed to be done were left to Friesian, Grey, and Odori. Curiously, Bisonte could still shoot a bullet into the eyes of any Grimm they came across from time to time with the same unerring accuracy that he did when it was daylight, despite being a Human.

Either the Huntsman was just that gifted a marksman, there was some special mechanisim in his rifle that aided him, or his Semblance was the cause. For his part, Faen felt the last of the three possibilities were the reason why. The Huntsman had not revealed to them what his Semblance was after all, and the Elf guessed it had to be a sight-enhancer or something of the like. Bisonte's rifle appeared to be just that, an ordinary rifle, and Faen saw no way a Human like him could shoot a Beowolf square in the forehead without some form of aid.

Hours dragged on as they covered more and more miles. FFOG began to feel a need to fall asleep, the time now twenty minutes past 11 o'clock, when the team finally saw it.

Light. No, better yet, lights.

Further down the road, perhaps five or six more miles away, the indoor lights of what looked to be three dozen buildings illuminated the darkness ahead of them. No other settlements populated the area according to both Bisonte and Jeremiah, so these lights could only be coming from one place. Hearth. The group had finally reached Hearth.

FFOG's hopes they had finally reached their objective were confirmed when Jeremiah suddenly yelled his joy at having arrived back home. They would not have to spend another cold night lying on the grassy floor, nor would they have to spend any more time riding on the back of Jeremiah's truck. At Hearth FFOG could sleep on beds, have decent food cooked in a kitchen and not over a road-side fire, and a better signal for their Scrolls.

With the village in sight, the Huntsmen-in-Training let out a sigh of relief. For surely the hard part of this mission was over now.

---

And that is a wrap for this chapter.

In case anyone is wondering, no, the hardest part of FFOG's mission with Huntsman Bisonte is yet to come. I have plans for at least the next couple chapter, oh yeah.

References and meanings:

Russet Bisonte - 'Russet' is a dark-brown colour, while 'Bisonte' is Spanish for Bison whose coats are often a brown or dark-brown colour. I generally went for the Wild West gunfighter look with Bisonte, though there are no special allusions with him. Gave him a rifle instead of a revolver, because I did not wish to make a revolver-wielding gunslinger that most Wild West-based characters are made into.

Megatheron - Based this Grimm off of the prehistoric giant ground sloth, Megatherium, one of the largest ground mammals to have walked the Earth. They were as large as modern elephants according to the fossils found. Took a few liberties here and there, to make it more of a threatening monster for my characters to fight.

Friesian's Semblance - Had to have a long think about this before settling on this idea. It is another allusion to the 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow' story Friesian is inspired from. I played with the idea of him creating nightmarish hallucinations/illusions or even an Aura-clone with a pumpkin for a head named 'Jack', yet decided against them for they reminded me too much of Emerald and Sun's Semblances respectively. People can have similar Semblances I know, but I wished for something somewhat original.

I will see you all when I next see you.

---

Omake - The Reviews Are In - Non-canon

It was a regular, uneventful day in Beacon. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and teenagers were beating the crap out of each as part of their education to be future Huntsmen and Huntresses. Not simply because the teaching staff liked watching it or anything.

On this particular morning, Ruby, Yang, and Nora were quietly lazing the day away in the dorm common room. Ruby was munching away on some cookies she baked. Yang had her Scroll out and was checking out people's reactions to photos she posted of her arms' powerful biceps. Nora, meanwhile, was flicking through channels on the common room's television, none of what she was seeing of interest to the girl.

All of a sudden, the door was kicked open and Friesian the Dullahan leapt inside. The expression on his head's face one of excitement.

"Good news everyone! The first reviews for our play have just come in!" Raising a hand above his head, he showed off a medium-sized stack of paper sheets to the three girls.

"Oh, lemme see!" Ruby squealed as she zipped right onto her feet and began to excitedly hop on the spot.

Yes, the four of them had all gathered together and written a two hour and fifty minute long play. It was a dramatic retelling of their time in Beacon, with some musical elements, that had taken the better part of two months to write. Last night had been the first time they performed it, and had been waiting for all the reviews to be collected.

Everything in it had been done by them. From the writing of the script, composition of the music, and the crafting of many of its props. All of it was their work, including the acting.

Gathering around the common room's table, the four playwrights rubbed their hands together and divided the stack of review sheets into four smaller piles which the four of them could go through. Each one of them eager to see how well their play had been received by their friends and teachers alike. The audience had been silent throughout the entire play, most likely stunned into silence by their collective genius, so this was the first time they would hear what people thought of it.

"Ooh, this one's from Pyrrha!" Yang announced to the others, the four deciding to take turns in reading the reviews.

"What does it say? The suspense is killing me!" Nora yelled, doing her best to resist the urge to read the review she picked up.

"Um... oh? 'It was very nice, yet I struggled to follow the plot.'" Yang's face, and that of her companions, fell as those words left the blonde's lips. They had been hoping a review from Pyrrha would be more positive and supportive.

"That's a bummer. Well, even if we don't have Pyrrha hooked to our play, I'm sure the rest are great, right?" Ruby tried to stay positive, and her fellows agreed with her. This was only one review, there were a whole lot more for them to shift through and there had to be plenty of good responses among them.

Choosing Friesian to go next, the Dullahan held the review up to his face and began to read.

"'Your costumes were awful. Never before have I seen such poorly matched together clothing in my whole life.' Coco wrote that one," Friesian let out a loud sigh when he read who had written the review, and turned to Nora. "See! I told you we should have gotten Coco in on the play. She knows clothes better than any one of us here, and would have netted us some sweeter looking outfits."

"Hey! If she, or anyone, wants to question my ability as a costume designer, tell them we can discuss this in a sparring area. For I'm ready to fight anyone who says my costumes suck," Nora shot back, taking up a ready boxing stance as she spoke.

Okay, things were not looking as great as the four had hoped, but they still believed there would be a review that spoke highly of their play. Surely what they were reading were the few bad apples of the bunch.

"Faen said: 'Which one of you decided I was to be portrayed as some emo stooge? You have until midnight to answer me before I start hunting you all down for this mockery. I am serious.' Well shoot, he's not happy either," Nora remarked after reading the white-haired Elf's review.

"'Why did you portray Professor Goodwitch as some kind of cougar? I ain't complaining, but I suggest you all be careful in the future.' That was from Tora," Ruby read aloud, scratching her head because she did not understand what he meant by Goodwitch being portrayed as a 'cougar'. She then noticed another review, and read that as well. "And this one's from Professor Goodwitch: 'You all have detention with me for the next two years.'"

"Yikes, those reviews were bad too?" Yang frowned after hearing what those three individuals had written about their play, before proceeding to pick up a review sheet that was completely covered with writing. Not only that, but eight formerly blank pages now covered with writing as well were stapled to the review sheet, causing no small amount of confusion to arise from the blonde.

Things really were not shaping out as the four had expected. Glowing praises were what they had hoped for, but all the reviews they had read through so far were not what they were looking for at all. Some were not even about the play itself.

Again, refusing to be deterred, the four soldiered on and read more and more of the review sheets.

"'Professor Port left a review, and he congratulated us for putting on such a 'gripping performance'." Yang read from the review sheet she picked up, causing her companions to perk up and crowd around her. Finally, someone who spoke highly of their play.

"That's nice," Ruby said with a beaming smile. However, that smile quickly disappeared when she tried to read the rest of the review and the pages attached to it.

"Then he writes paragraph after paragraph on how we could improve on it, and starts to go tell some story about a cabbage salesman he met. Man he keeps going on forever." The older sister stated as she speed read the numerous pages as best as she could. Given that this was Professor Port, they probably should have something like this would happen.

"'Cabbage salesman'?" Nora questioned, wondering how relevant a topic like that was and how someone could make a living off of selling cabbages all their lives.

That review may have started out well, but it devolved into a mess very quickly. The reviews they read through next were little better, in fact, plenty were straight up worse than those that came before.

"'This is a travesty of a play. You should never go near a theatre ever again.' Well that's just mean," Nora kissed her teeth after reading that one. Disregarding it for the time being, the orange-haired girl started to rummage through her pile in search of a review written by one particular person.

"'Isn't this supposed to be a Huntsman Academy? After watching that play, I feel as though I walked into an insane asylum.' Well screw you, 'Mercury Black'," Friesian crumpled that review into a ball and threw it angrily into the rubbish bin. He had no idea who that person was, but for talking shit like that, Friesian put him in his list of people's asses he would kick.

"'An enthusiastic effort, that cannot. Yet I shall admit this to not be the best play I have ever seen in my life.' Aw, I was hoping Professor Ozpin would have liked it." Ruby pouted at the Headmaster's opinion of their play, as she hoped he would appreciate their depiction of him.

"'The blonde is a terrible actor. Signed N.P.' Who the heck is 'N.P'?" Yang's eyes flashed red for a moment, angered by unknown person's criticism of her acting.

Shuffling through more and more of the reviews revealed that most of those who had seen their play had a low opinion of it. Even their own friends and teammates believed it to have be, well, let us just say they too were not fans of the play. Now this just devastated Ruby, Yang, and Friesian, and they soon lost interest in reading through the rest.

Nora persisted, however, and kept on searching for that one review. The one review that mattered most to her.

"Is there anything from Ren?" Nora asked them, a hint of desperation in her voice as she started to shuffle through the other's piles.

"Ren? It's right here," Friesian replied as he picked up a review sheet literally right in front of Nora, and lifted it up so he could read what it said. "Well... let me see if he did write anything interesting. Oh, all he said was: 'Huh.'"

"Wait, that's it?!" The young woman froze for a second before, faster than the blink of an eye, she snatched the sheet of paper out of Friesian's hand and began to pour over what her long-time best friend had written.

"Seems like it, boy is that dude a man of few words. Right Nora? Nora?" Friesian had looked after from the orange-haired girl for a second so he could exchange a look with Yang and Ruby, and when he looked back to where Nora had been standing a second earlier, she was gone. The only sign that she had stood there a moment ago was the review sheet from Ren that slowly fell to the floor.

To the confusion of Ruby, Yang, and Friesian, they found Nora to suddenly be in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth in a foetal position as though all her hopes and dreams had been crushed all of a sudden.

"All that hard work... Weeks of preparation..." Was what the three could hear Nora whisper to herself in a somewhat manic voice. Deciding it best to leave her be for now, the three remaining playwrights whose sanity was still intact sat down on the table's chairs and contemplated how they could have gone wrong.

From their point of view, the play had been marvellous. Sure it had its flaws here and there, everything in life did, but no way did they warrant the responses they got. It just made no sense to the three students.

Whilst they were pondering over their play's poor reception, Friesian noticed one review sheet had no name on it, and the person who submitted it had left only on short sentence. Figuring that it could not be as bad as all those they had previously seen, the Dullahan picked it up and propped it before his head's face. What he found turned out to be... frightening.

"This one doesn't say who wrote it, but it says: 'I know where you sleep at night.' Uh, sh-should we be concerned right now?" Putting the sheet aside, Friesian became baffled by how neither Ruby nor Yang were on their seats anymore. In fact, they were nowhere to be seen at all.

Now rather creeped out, the Dullahan turned on his seat to ask Nora where their friends had gone. That achieved nothing but to freak the young man out even further, for Nora had completely disappeared as well.

Standing up and looking around the room for any trace of his friends, Friesian started to panic, and felt as though something malevolent was in the room with him. Despite there being nothing in the common room except for him. Reaching into his pocket, his panic levels only increased when he found his pocket to be empty when only seconds ago it had held his Scroll.

Suddenly, as Friesian was about to run for the door, he felt the malevolent presence behind them, and the feel of sharp cold steel pressing against his back. From the corner of his eye, Friesian saw the tip of a bushy black tail wave into view for a split second.

"Ehehehehe." The 'Presence' let out a sinister laugh, and he had only one response to it.

"Shit."