Up, down, up, down, up, down, up down.
Alden stood at the prow of the Sapphire wave as it slipped its way over the top of the waves, slowly bucking back and forth over the waves. The sea was quite rough today. Maya and Nite were holding onto the large steel cleats to help the balance, Aegan had gone inside because he felt sick. It took a fair amount of experience to be able to read the movement on the ship to hold your balance.
Up ahead, Alden could see the small green blur in the distance, it was harder to see Patch than usual through the sea haar. The Mist covered the sky and made Alden's skin feel damp as the moisture condensed on him. He turned to look back, Maya had attempted to pull her jacket tighter around herself and Nite was following suit whilst shivering violently.
"Go inside, you two are freezing." Alden said Hopping down from the step at the bow.
"H, h, h, h how do you stand it out here?" Nite stuttered as her teeth clattered against the cold.
"You get used to it." Alden said, feeling a small shiver run up his spine, "After a few years."
Nite shook her head and stood up. "Alright, I'm going in." She said and rushed for the door of the heated cabin of the ship.
"Go on," Alden said, turning to Maya, "You go too."
"I'm alright." Maya said, slowly getting to her feet and carefully made her way beside him looking out to see whilst tucking her hands inside the woolly sleeves of her jacket. "Where did this come from anyway?"
"Most likely blowoff from a storm North of here." Alden said pointing into the wind, "Since we can't see it yet I'd say we'd definitely be back to Beacon by the time it hits."
Maya nodded and stood on her tiptoes to look down at the wash of the prow of the ship as it broke the waves. Alden noticed that she had shivered again, and her tail had long since folded up inside the back of her jacket in an attempt to gain extra warmth, forming a comedic bump sticking out the back of her jacket. Shaking his head Alden unzipped the small pouch resting at his waist and pulled out a decently sized fire dust crystal, one of a few he'd bought on the way back to the park, he thought it was best to get as much as he could carry for their mission ahead. He gently tapped it against the side of the boat to cause a small reaction and relished the sudden heat that filled his palm. He pulled open the popper or Maya's jacket's pocket and dropped the crystal inside and resealed the pocket.
Maya quickly looked down when she felt the extra weight. "What did you…" She paused as the heat from the crystal suddenly flooded out of her pocket. "Oh, that's better." She said and pulled her jacket even tighter to her person. They didn't say much after that, they simply watched the waves role by as the ferry fought its way to Patch through the choppy waters.
Ahead looming out of the haze the port could be seen with greater clarity and the ship turned to starboard to counter the heading they had lost due to being slightly blown of course. As it turned again to head into the dock Captain Tiller made his way onto the deck to help direct the ship in.
Maya watched as Tiller stood on the box Alden had occupied not long ago and he lent over the side to see where the fenders were in relation to the edge of the dock.
"Ah, bloody hell, I can't see that stupid rock." He grunted to himself. Maya looked at Alden with a questioning eyebrow raised.
"There's a massive boulder that sticks up above the water during low tide." Alden said, "but in gales such as this it's hard to see as the ship is buffeted by the waves." He looked back at Tiller, "I better go see if I can help." He was gone in a sudden flash at rematerialized on the concrete docks.
"It's just off you starboard bow!" Alden shouted to be heard partly over the wind whistling though the buildings and partly due to the distance. "You need to turn hard to port!"
Tiller turned around "Hard to port!" He called and the boat immediately began to twist away from the rock. The boat moved for only two seconds before Alden called again.
"Okay! That's good! Straighten out!"
"Centre Line!" Tiller called and the boat slowed it's turn and slowly chugged it's way into the slip of the dock. Alden began walking alongside the boat as it drifted in. Maya let her tail slip from her jacket and clambered onto the side of the ship to look down at the water's below, her tail extending to help her balance. She could see several fish quickly scrambling to get out of the way of the ship's prow, as well as
"That's enough!" Alden called from barely a head above her. The Boat drifted to a stop. Alden offered a hand down to her. Maya accepted the offer and allowed herself to be hauled up onto the dock. Captain Tiller threw up a large rope to Alden who caught it and began mooring the ship to one of the huge steel cleats that lined the dock.
Maya saw Aegan and Nite make their way onto the deck as the large gangplank was raised up to the dock. Suddenly she felt very strange, like she was losing her balance and her vision began to rock.
"Whoah." She said, "Dizzy…" She moved her foot to hopefully correct her balance but nearly went tumbling off the edge.
"Careful!" Alden rushed as his hand snapped out, grabbing her arm and pulled her back onto the dock.
"What, is this?" Maya said as her vision swayed from left to right. Her hand reached out and grabbed onto Alden's sleeve to try and find a fixed point.
"Ohh!" Alden said smiling at her "You get Dingyitus!"
"Dingy… what?" She asked.
"Dingyitus, it's an unofficial name for it, but it's an optical illusion for some. Basically, your brain is used to the rocking of the ship so it's trying to predict the rocking even though you've made it to dry land which makes it feel like you're losing balance. Don't worry about it, it'll pass in a moment." Maya nodded slowly and released his arm, closing her eyes to try and stop the feeling of tipping. It didn't pass immediately but faded quickly enough that she felt that she could walk without problems.
The large metal gate slowly grunted to the side as they approached the exit of the docks. And the methodical thud of their boots on the tarmac soon turned to dusty scuffs as the surface turned to trodden dirt. Alden turned around and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Thanks Jackie!" He called up at the tower next to the gate. Jackie simply just waved back at him and he turned again as they headed up the path. They weren't walking for long when Aegan's ears raised up high on his head, and Maya's head twitched.
"What is it?" Alden asked.
"I don't feel anything." Nite added.
"Engine," Aegan said "going pretty fast too."
"Ah ok. This one's nothing to worry about." Alden said and gestured to his teammates to follow him to edge of the road. Soon a dust cloud could be seen above the hill as the growl of the engine grew loud enough for Alden and Nite to hear. Soon a yellow streak rocketed over the top of the hill and raced down towards them. Alden put his fingers to his lips and produced a loud high-pitched whistle.
The bike screeched to a stop, skidding to the side to increase its drag as the engine dropped to a purr. Yang quickly removed her sunglasses, as Ruby spat some dust out of her mouth.
"Hey guys," Yang said "What you doing here?"
"Same as you." Alden said nodding to the bags strapped to the middle of saddle between Yang and Ruby."
"Next time Yang could you slow down a bit more slowly?" Ruby asked rubbing her tongue as more gritty bits had stuck to it.
"Well don't open your mouth next time!" Yang smirked, looking behind her.
"So… how did the whole thing with Blake and the laser pointer go down?"
"Wait, you used a laser pointer on Blake!?" Maya asked.
"Yeaagh." Yang said rubbing the back of her neck.
"I told her not to." Ruby piped up
"Are you an idiot? Wait, what am I saying, of course you're an idiot!"
"How did it go?" Alden asked.
"Probably about as well as you said it would be." Yang said smiling sheepishly, "But on the bright side I think she's coming tomorrow!"
"That's good." Aegan said, "It wouldn't be the same without everyone there."
"So, has everyone got stuff for the dance tomorrow?" Yang asked."
Aegan and I do." Maya said, "We're getting Alden's and then heading back into city to buy something for Nite."
"Fair enough, Ruby and I are going to restock on dust, so we may see you in the city."
"Alright we'll keep an eye out for you." Alden said as Bumblebee growled back to life.
"See you around!" Yang called in farewell as she gunned the throttle and Bumblebee launched off in a cloud of dust.
"Does she ever think to slow down?" Maya asked, mostly to herself.
"She's Yang, do you think the thought ever passes through her head?" Alden said shaking his head and they walked on, boots crunching under the small stones in the road.
Alden opened the door, relishing the slight creak as it moved.
"I'm home!" He called as the rest of the team filled in behind him. Mary's head pooped up over the back of the armchair in the corner of the room. Book quickly discarded she rushed over and crushed her brother in a hug.
"You're back!" She said, pulling back. "Didn't expect you to be here so soon."
"Can't stay for long, just need to grab something and head back into the city, need to go shopping."
"Oh! Well if that's the case, would you guys mind if I tag along?" Mary said, looking over his shoulder at the rest of the team, "I need to grab a few things. If of course, you guys don't mind…?" She said looking over Alden's shoulder.
"We'd love to have you." Maya said. Mary smiled.
"Cool! Thanks."
"Mary? Who are you talking t… Alden!" Ogora said as she appeared from the hallway. Alden walked forward and wrapped his mother in a hug.
"You haven't brought any strange things with you today?"
"Yep, sorry, I brought my team-
Alden was interrupted as Maya slapped him upside the back of his head.
"Hey! You used your hands that time! That's cheating!" Alden complained.
"You declare everything I do cheating." Maya said pointedly.
"that's because you're always cheating." Alden retorted.
"How does that make any sens…" Maya began but was quickly interrupted by Alden as he turned to his mother.
"There's this ball thing going on tomorrow, so I just came by to see if I had anything suitable buried in the back of my wardrobe."
"You're going to a ball?" Marcus said as he appeared from the kitchen. "I feel sorry for you."
"You're not exactly instilling me with confidence." Alden said.
"Nah, it's fine. Just use all your concentration on avoiding being stepped on and you'll get through the evening without visiting the infirmary."
"It's not that bad, and your father is not as bad of a dancer as he puts on." Ogora said, pointedly looking at her husband.
"I'm going to have to learn on the job." Alden said.
"You'll be fine." Mary replied.
Alden excused himself and slipped off his boots as he clambered up the staircase and turned to his room. He cherished seeing the view from his window again, he realised that he hadn't' slept in this rooms since he left for Beacon, he had only slept in the house once when his team stayed the night in the sitting room. He made his way to the wardrobe in the corner and opened the heavy oak door. Stuffed to the far left, behind literally every other item of clothing he owned was what he was looking for.
Alden, (not very surprisingly) hated suits. They were uncomfortable, way to tight just so it was considered "smart", they ripped under the slightest pressure, you weren't allowed to get it dirty and cost way to much for a irritating piece of fabric that you paid so much for just to worry about breaking it. The uniforms at Beacon were bad enough, but at least the designers understood they were being worn by huntsman and huntresses, and so the fabric was reinforced.
Alden had obtained this particular item of clothing a year ago, for his cousin's wedding, after the event he stuffed it in the back of his wardrobe and hadn't looked at it since. He just hoped it still fitted him.
He pulled it out and laid the carrying bag on his bed and unzipped the offending item. He quickly undressed and tried to slip the stupid thing on. He looked at the mirror: he hated it, it felt wrong but, in his father's immortal words: "If it feels wrong then it's probably right." It still fitted him… he thought so it was good enough.
"Everything all right?" Ogora said from the door. He turned and held his arms out in a T.
"Is this right?" He asked. His mother looked him up and down and nodded approvingly.
"Very good." She said and pulled the jacket down so it flattened out. "You look good in a suit."
"It would be better if it wasn't so uncomfortable…" Alden said. Ogora smiled.
"Your dad says the same thing." She reassured, "You'll do fine."
"Yeah, now I just need to figure out how to dance."
"It'll be okay. If you need it, find Yang, she'll be happy to give you a crash course."
"Crash being the operative word." Alden said," But I'll do that, I'm going to need all the help I can get."
"You'll do great. Now get changed, Mary's ready to go and you need to visit the mall."
"That we do." Alden said as he shrugged the Jacket off and slipped it over the hanger in it's carrying bag.
He quickly swapped out the rest of his clothing and sighed in content when he was back in his usual getup. He folded the carrying bag into his rucksack and slung it over his shoulders, before heading back down the stairs. He noticed his team wasn't to be seen by the doorway, but he heard laughter coming from outside and the rustling of leaves.
"So, you off on your first mission soon?" His dad asked from his position leaning up against the back of the sofa.
"Yep, I think we leave the day after tomorrow." Alden replied, placing his bag down with the others by the shoe cupboard. Marcus nodded towards the door.
"Maya said you were heading to the top of the Kingdom if you could." Alden hummed in confirmation.
"Maranis, it has something to do with the dust robberies." Alden said. "We just need to get on a mission that heads there." Marcus scratched his chin.
"The dust robberies? Should have guessed you would end up in something deep."
"I wouldn't be a Cirq if I didn't." Alden replied, "You and mum foiled a plot to kill the queen of Vacuo."
"That we did." Marcus said grinning. "Just look after yourself out there. Whoever it is won't be happy to see you." Alden replied by deploying tempest, the blade gleamed in the descending sun through the window.
"They won't see me for long." He said. Marcus smiled and nodded.
"That being said," Marcus started, "I did a quick search of where you were going after Maya told me. If you get a mission there, then you will be heading into one of the remotest parts of Vytal." He said as he reached down to something on the sofa and pulled up a rucksack. "I took the liberty of packing you this." He said and handed it to him.
Strapped to the underside was a large rolled up piece of fabric, a tent, to be reinforced against trees or whatever shrubs he could find. Although the fabric was no where near as tough as the modern plasticky tents, it was far easier to repair on the fly. A sheath was strapped on the back with a large handle sticking up. Alden pulled it out slightly to reveal a large steel blade, curved along its edge to make it easier for slicing bark or the pelt of an animal. On the other side was a large canteen for storing water. He unzipped the bag and looked inside.
There was a large pouch storing several sticks of dry kindling, just in case they get caught in a storm and there's no dry wood around. In a small pocket was a fire striker- a reasonable chunk of metal with a larger chunk of flint, strike them together and they produced sparks. He could make fire without one, but it still made life easier. There were pockets for extra dust crystals, a rolled up sleeping mat- it was better than sleeping on dirt, stone or snow. But Alden would take a patch of dead bracken leaves any day. There were even pockets to store some dried meats in case food was scarce, Alden gave a quick sniff- rabbit. There was a multi-tool, an extendable draw knife, some Rackanis moss- Which was far superior to any plaster as long as you kept it clean. Hell, there was even a tree tap, which allowed him to extract water from trees if there was no clean source nearby.
Alden quickly ran through everything, double checking he had everything.
Shelter? check
Water? Check
Fire? Check
Tools? Check
Food? Check
Medical? Basic… but Marcus hadn't put much in there as it would have weighed the pack down to much. It didn't matter Alden was sure he would be able to find everything they would need out in the field.
Satisfied, Alden zipped the bag back up. "Thanks," Alden said, "This will be really useful." Alden paused for a moment as it really sunk into his mind about jus what his father had given him.
"What is it?" Marcus asked.
"Well… it's just…" Alden sighed and swallowed before trying again. "I know, I can do everything," He said, gesturing to the bag. "But all the times I've done it properly, you, mum or grandpa was always there in case I messed up. But if something happens out there…" He said gesturing with his hand in an outwards motion. "They'll be relying on me, every word I say could either feed us… or poison us, or get us crushed by a tree, or drown in a riptide."
"Yep… it could." Marcus said, and then leaned forward slightly. "But you will be putting yourself in the same risk, I know how it feels to be in that situation." He said, referring to the time when his team was stranded on the way to Vacuo. "But you'll get used to it, it becomes part of life. It's like how you look to Maya for guidance on how the team operated, they'll look to you for guidance about how to live out there, it's a natural thing. Just remember to think twice… and if it makes you feel more comfortable at the time, make sure you do everything first, from eating to trying cross a river. If you screw up then it'll only be you who's in danger, you don't put your team in it first."
Alden nodded, feeling a bit better. "Anyway, it's just the same as you do here, just in a different space. I know you can do it, once you get in the flow of it, you'll be just as comfortable." Marcus finished.
"Yeah, thanks." Alden said smiling. His dad got up and pulled him in for a hug, patting him on the back. "You'll do great, and I expect to hear stories when you get back!" he laughed.
"I will, I'll try and call you before we leave, but just In case… no promises." He smiled sheepishly
Marcus laughed, "Only in death… or retirement… Doth a huntsman's duty end." He said smiling, "The world is your oyster my boy… break it open."
The first thing that greeted Alden's eyes when he walked out the door to his house was Mary racing Maya… up a tree. Actually… when he thought about it, it was a very interesting competition. Maya had her tail and Faunus balance to help her rocket up the tree. But Mary, like Alden, had lived around, up and sometimes in tress all her life. She knew which branches looked strong enough to grab, and which ones would snap. Maya on the other hand could climb faster, but had to test each branch as she ascended, her tail extended as far out behind her as it possibly could to even out her centre of mass.
They both reached for the branch at the top of the tree, but Maya got their first.
"I win!" She called as he hand clasped to bark.
Mary just flashed her an evil smirk and pulled the branch at the other end.
SNAP!
Maya fell a few branches and landed on a thicker part of the trunk further down, her tail flexing to hold her steady.
"Hey!" She called up.
"The branch was rotten at it's root!" Mary called down, standing proudly on her own branch, clasping the thinner bit of the upper trunk. "This is the highest branch that's stable!"
Maya rolled her eyes but stuck her tongue out up at Mary. "People from Patch are so annoying." She muttered as she jumped down form the alcove in the trunk.
"Jeez, we love you too." Alden deadpanned, but smiled and held up his hand. "Your bag." He offered. Maya thanked him and shouldered her bag. Mary jumped from the tree and rolled as she landed, her Aura flicked slightly by her boots.
They waved back at Alden and Mary's parents and headed down the road. Nite took Alden's bag with his suit in, as he had two bags and she had none.
The way back to Vale was uneventful, the storm was getting closer, but wouldn't make it to them by nightfall. The wind had picked up the, buffeting the ship even more on the way. Nite and Aegan didn't even attempt to stay on the deck this time, huddling down in the heated interior. Alden and Mary stood on the prow of the ship as the wind whistled pass their ears. Maya rekindled the fire dust crystal Alden had given her and stood with them, watching the water break against the prow of the ship.
The Sapphire Wave slowly chugged into port. Navigating through the maze of other ferries and freighters, carrying goods and passengers in and out of the Kingdom. Vales port was a dark grey, concrete labyrinth of waterways and shipping containers, with the occasional logistics office dotted here and there. They passed a massive freighter, filled to the brim with white containers bearing the snowflake logo of the Schnee dust company. The ferry easily wrapped around the tight corners of the interior waterways, no longer buffeted by the waves in the sheltered harbour. Soon they came up to the Wave's Mooring spot, brushing up against the huge fenders lining the side of the dock. Alden and Mary helped the crew to throw up the large mooring ropes to the harbour staff on the dock as the tied the ship down and lowed the boarding ramp to the deck.
They quickly ascended and waited on the dock's edge for Aegan and Nite to emerge from below decks. Nite appeared, supporting Aegan who's ears were dishevelled above his head and was looking rather unwell.
Mary winced, "Seasick?"
"Yep." Maya replied, "But only when it's rough… thankfully, otherwise we wouldn't get him to Patch in the first place."
Aegan happily sighed when they reached them, "Dry land is so underrated."
"You'll get used to it," Alden comforted, "In the meantime, try and keep your eyes fixed on the horizon, it doesn't help for everyone but it's worth a shot."
As evening was drawing on, the city felt quieter, so they were able to move through the streets with ease, without getting bogged down by the crowds of shoppers, tourists and other academies that had come to compete in the Vytal festival. They passed Leda's shop, and even went across the plaza in front of the new library that had opened up a few months ago, just before the beginning of the academic year. It was dominated by a huge water fountain with a large statue standing proudly above its crest. Surrounding it were rows of benches. Tonnes of benches, Alden even thought they could be numbered in the hundreds. They were dotted all over the stone plaza, people could be seen, sitting and laying upon them, some working on paper or computers, others were just reading.
They got to the other side of the plaza and kept on going, lining up along the side of the road and waited for the traffic lights to let them cross to the island in the middle of the road. They turned left and followed the road down before they came up to the large mall the dominated the centre of the city.
A sudden red flash caught Alden's attention and he smiled; Ruby appeared right in front of them. "Wassup?"
Everyone apart from Alden and Mary seemed to nearly literally jump out of their skins, much to the amusement of the siblings.
"Bloody hell Ruby!" Nite said as her frightened soul was slowly allowed safe passage back into her body. Ruby just cackled at them. Yang walked up to them from their left, also laughing at their misfortune.
"Good job Ruby! That was hil-arious!" She laughed, doubling over to catch her breath. "You all looked like you were going to jump to the top of Beacon!"
"I hate you…" Aegan said ad they headed for the huge doors of the mall. Inside you could the way through to the floor above and held behind railings was a hole through the floor, with escalators to get to the three floors below them. Nite stopped and looked over the railings.
"Wow… there are so many more shops here than the one in Vacuo…" she said, her voice quiet over the loud chattering of the crowds passing them by. She looked back at them, "How we going to even find a shop for what we need? Let alone find a way to get there…"
Yang smiled and walked off with a waving motion "Come on this way… I know just the place." They ducked and weaved through the crowds as they made their way to one of the escalators and formed into single file as they stepped onto the moving plates as they descended. Yang led them around a bend in the building and then quickly turned right into a shop decorated by blue lights around the windows. Alden looked around, he saw rows upon rows of dresses of various kinds, from simple summer dresses to wedding gowns. He saw several groups of young women walking about and chatting amongst themselves, he also saw a few couples walking about looking at the items on display. He then noticed the staff behind them giving them questioning looks, also, pretty much everyone in the shop was giving them the same glances.
Yang advanced to the other side of the shop, bringing them all with her.
"Umm… why is everyone looking at us weirdly?" Nite whispered.
"Well we've walked into a dress shop, with bags and armed to the teeth. Frankly, I can't blame them." Alden commented as he dodged a stand in the middle of the isle, not allowing enough space to manoeuvre round it.
They walked into an are with plentiful seating outside the changing rooms. And stood off to the side.
"Right." Yang began, "something in here should probably be best for you taste." She said to Nite who looked around looking very lost.
"Okay?" She said, more as a question.
"Alden, Aegan, it would probably be best if you head off and find something to do for an hour and then come back."
"What?" Alden turned to look at her.
"Shoo," She said waving her hands at him.
"You brought us all the way in here, just to tell us to go away?"
Yang looked to the side as she scratched the back of her neck. "Yeeeaagh."
"Your hopeless." Alden said smiling.
"I'm hopeless? You two would just look at anything Nite comes out in and say, "You look great," preferably in that order." Yang said placing her hands on her hips.
"Would we be wrong?" Alden challenged.
Maya sniggered and shook her head. "Guys…" she muttered.
"What?" Aegan said laughing, "We compliment you and then you get offended at us!"
"Because you're not being critical!" Ruby piped up.
"So what do you want us to say? That you're ugly?" Alden said waving his arms about but smiling.
"That's just rude." Yang said.
"I don't get it!" Alden laughed, "As long as it's nothing outrageously stupid, you girls look great in anything, that's being critically nice, and honest!"
"Oh so you're always checking us out then?" Maya sniggered, giving him a sideways smile.
"I…" Alden's arm collapsed to his side before he turned to her and pointed his finger. "That's a trap and you know it!" Maya smiled sweetly.
"What?"
Alden huffed and shook his head.
"You're evil…"
Maya laughed, "Go on, we shouldn't take long."
The pair waved and turned to head towards the exit.
Yang looked at Maya, "Pointed much?" She said grinning.
Maya looked at her confused "What?"
Yang smiled and shook her head "Nothing." She said, "Come on let's get started." And gestured for the others to pass her and head down one of the isles of clothes. As Maya past her a little way she made certain she couldn't hear her but still couldn't resist muttering "Innocent." Beneath her breath. She looked up to see Mary looking at her, sharing a knowing look in her eyes.
"What's the extra bag for?" Aegan asked as they left the shop and out into the crowds streaming by.
"My dad packed it for me, for our mission… talking of which." Alden said as he led Aegan across the floor and into a large camping store.
"Maranis is in one of most remote places in Vale." Alden explained as he walked through the door. "They may not have any places to stay, and if our…. Theory proves to be correct… well we may not want to be around the village."
He saw Aegan looking round at the various pots, tools and tents aligning the walls and shelves.
"But if we're going with a huntsman or huntress, then won't they bring all the necessary stuff?"
"If they're from Patch or Vacuo then we won't have a problem." Alden explained, "But if they're not, we'll have the basics, we won't have to worry about lugging tents back with us. But it won't help to get some of the advanced stuff, even if we don't use it, it may come in handy later." Aegan nodded and they headed deeper into the shop.
"So what do we need?" Aegan asked.
"I don't think we need much." Alden replied, "I'm happy slugging the more complicated stuff myself, It's just I want everyone to be more or less self-sufficient- at least self sufficient in pairs in case we get separated."
"self sufficient in pairs?" Aegan jokingly asked against Alden's wording.
"Wha- oh, you know what I mean. But seriously. first rule of bush craft: don't go it alone. When we're out there we only split up to a minimum size of two. No one goes on their own. Ever."
Aegan nodded "fair enough."
Alden led them to some benches and put his bag down on one. He quickly unzipped it and looked inside. Aegan watched him as he examined the contents of his bag.
"Ok, fire is a good place to start." Alden said as he turned and looked behind him. "Ah here we go." He came back, giving Aegan a small package.
"What's this?" Aegan asked, taking the plastic form Alden.
"It's a strike stone," Alden said happily in his element. "You essentially smack the two together and it creates sparks. You take those sparks, put them in something soft and flammable and bam: fire"
"Ummm. Matches?" Aegan asked.
"True, true, but matches are annoying, prone to snapping, some won't start if they're wet and noisy, plus you only have a limited amount of uses. Strike stones can last longer than our lifetimes." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small cloth pouch which gently rattled as he shook it, "These were my great grandads, they still do me good today." He put them in back in his bag. "Trust me, you'll always keep them on you after this."
Alden quickly gathered two more sets of strike stones and then proceeded to lead Aegan to where the canteens were.
"These are pretty obvious." He said, putting a few extra in the carrier bag he was holding.
"Apart from that, everything we should need are stored back at Beacon." Alden said walking towards the till and paying for his collected items. "We should be provided with tents and sleeping bags, so… yep, I 'd say that covers everything."
"Cool," Aegan said. "sooo… now what?"
"We kill time until the ladies call us." Alden replied as they headed for the exit of the shop. "Any ideas?"
Aegan was just about to reply when he heard his stomach growl. Alden looked at him and one of his eyebrows raised. "Yep, that's a great idea. Come on I know just the place."
Alden received a call from Yang about half an hour later, so Alden and Aegan headed back for the entrance of mall to spot the rest of their friends gathered around near the door.
"So, we got everything we need?" Aegan asked.
"Yep, finally." Nite said.
"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" Yang reprimanded. Suddenly the faint rumble of thunder echoed across the sky.
"Storms coming." Mary said. "I better run; I want to get across the channel before it hits."
"Okay, see you in a few days when we get back." Alden said and hugged his sister.
"Be careful out there okay?" Mary said quietly with a worried look in her eyes. "Just… come home safe."
"What me? What have I ever…" Alden trailed off as Mary glared at him.
"Promise me." She said looking sternly at him. Alden gave her a small smile.
"I promise."
"Good" she said smiling. Mary then proceeded to hug everyone else goodbye and jogged down the street back towards the port.
They all walked at a brisk pace as it started to drizzle. They wanted to get to the airport before it got heavy. Alden ducked hi head to avoid getting water in his eyes as he ascended the ramp into the airship and the doors hissed shut behind him. They quickly huddled around one of the heating vents and sighed as they warmed up and dried off.
After a few seconds Yang joined Alden at the window looking over the city.
"So" She began, "Where are you trying to get for your mission?"
"Maranis." Alden replied, "it's a small village on Vytal. We think it's got something to do with the dust robberies, and it involves a kidnapped girl. You know, the usual…"
Yang grinned. "We're heading to the south east quadrant; we're looking for a White Fang base, trying to find out what they're planning as we've had a few run ins with them recently."
Alden noticed Maya's head perk up and looked at him when she heard "White fang" coming from Yang. He showed her a subtle thumbs up: her brothers were safe.
As the ramp deployed and the doors opened the dark evening sky was lit up as a bolt of lightning streaked down from the heavens in a blinding flash. In response they picked up their pace and hurried inside, shaking themselves off when they reached the dry. The lobby of the dorm building was empty as most teams had found somewhere dry to hide out the storm, probably in their rooms or the library. They made their way up the stairs until they reached the top of the building and Maya swiped her scroll across the door, the lock beeped and flashed green as it allowed them entry.
"Put your stuff away quickly then meet me out here, I want to show you something." Yang told them and she and Ruby hurried inside their room, leaving them a glimpse of the precariously stacked beds in the corner of the room. They had all been in there many times over the course of the year and it never seemed to get cleaner.
They hurried inside their own room and quickly went about discarding their soggy jackets and jumpers. Alden opened the door to his and Aegan's wardrobe and grabbed a dark grey sweater and quickly threw it over his head and slipped it on. He noticed he could see his breath on the air and quickly went over to the window and pulled it shut and then turned on the giant radiator on the wall.
He opened his bag and inspected the carrying bag inside, it wasn't wet so it shouldn't have gotten through to the suit beneath. He hung the bag up in his wardrobe and then sat on his bed to wait for everyone else.
Soon everyone was out of their et clothes and into more comfortable attire. With all the vital parts for their evening tomorrow inspected and deemed to be okay they were carefully stowed away in their wardrobes and they gathered in the hallway outside their room. Moments later the door to the left of left of theirs opened and Yang and Ruby emerged cuddled up in thick jumpers and jeans.
"So, what did you want to show us?" Alden asked Yang as they smiled in greeting.
"You're gonna love this!" She said excitedly walking down the hallway and gestured for them to follow, "I wanna' show you what we've done with the place." She bounced on her heels, referring to the ballroom. They followed her down the stairs as she was nearly skipping with excitement. They bolted from the door and ran too get inside. Ruby disappeared in a blur and the doow swung open as she rocketed through. She then turned and closed the door with an evil grin and they heard the door lock.
"Oh you cheeky little sh… Yang began to curse as they were trapped in the rain. Alden sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the familiar warmth of his semblance flash. He grabbed Ruby by her hood and lifted her squirming off the ground.
"Put. Me. Down!" She squeaked as Alden pressed the lock on the door and it swung open, allowing everyone to rush inside.
Alden dropped her and she brushed her arms off whilst glaring at Alden. "I hate you. You're no fun" She sulked. Alden laughed and flicked her hair as he walked past. Yang led them through the darkened hallways and into the amphitheatre. With no one else in it the room echoed to their footsteps as they crossed to the other side. They went through another hallway and crossed through one of the locker rooms. Finally, they came to a set of double doors and Yang pushed them open tp reveal the ballroom.
Alden remembered this room from his first night at Beacon, they all did. It was dark and empty with only the only company to the stonework was being surrounded by so many of their peers. Now though…
"Wow…" Nite commented as she walked into the expansive hall.
Wow was the appropriate reaction. Even as the rain poured down, the hall was bathed in warm glow form hundreds of large candles that hung from the ceiling in chandeliers, the walls and standing on the tables. On the tables were huge rolls of cloth lining form one end to another, at each spot were large doilies. Alden knew Yang must have had to compromise on something because she hated doilies, she had once given Alden an hour-long rant about the useless cloths. Above them where rows upon rows of bunting, brandished by large multi-coloured cloth wraps at every pillar in the room. Along the Balcony level several ribbons were wrapped in and out the railings and banisters. On the far end of the hall was a huge window- revealing the swirling mass of clouds beyond, the room was lit up suddenly as another streak of lighting raced from the skies.
"You've done an amazing job." Maya said walking further into the room and spinning around to look at everything.
"Thank you." A voice said above them. They looked up to see Weiss smiling down on them, her ponytail hanging down over the railing.
"Oh, hi Weiss, didn't see you there." Yang called up.
"Where's Blake?" Ruby asked, looking around to look for the kas member of their team.
"She left a while ago." Weiss replied, "Said she needed to get something and just took off. I didn't get a chance to ask her where she was going."
"Well, hopefully that means she's coming." Yang said looking very proud of herself.
"That's a point… how did you try and convince her to come after the whole laser pointer thing?" Alden asked.
"Oh, we talked it out." Yang said.
"You talked it out?"
"Yep."
"No threatening?"
"No Alden I did not try and force her to come. If she does, it's of her own will."
Alden chuckled but continued to walk around admiring the large hall.
It was getting late and soon they decided to retire back to their rooms. The hallways echoed to their happy chatting as they talked about what they expected their missions to be like who they might be shadowing.
"Yeah," Yang laughed, "Imagine what a team would feel like if they had to shadow professor Oobleck! I would feel so sorry for them!" Alden winced and laughed at the thought.
They soon reached their rooms and bid Yang, Ruby and Weiss goodnight before letting themselves into their own room. They stooped in the middle and looked around.
"We won't be seeing this place for a while." Maya said.
"Nope," Aegan replied, "But it'll be worth it."
"I can't wait," Nite added.
"It's just… as much as I'm looking forward to it, a girl's life is probably at stake here. If we screw up…" Maya quietly mumbled.
"Then we'll make sure we don't screw up. We'll get her out of there and get her back to her dad. Not many other first years can get on rescue op. We tend to do these things all out don't we?" Alden said grinning.
"That. We do." Maya added. "Alright everyone, to bed, we've got a long day ahead of us."
As Alden pulled his blanket over him and his eyes adjusted to the dark, he hoped he wouldn't get any dreams or nightmares tonight. He just wanted to sleep for a very, very long time. But he knew he wouldn't get that luxury; he could already feel the weird presence building in the back of his mind. He just hoped it'd be something good.
Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. Real life stuff had to come first.
Now that nonsense is out the way, im sorry this chapter didn't turn out to be the dance, but I felt it was needed to flesh out a few more things. But the next chapter definitely will be, it's the next day so I can't get distracted! Other than that, my favourite parts of this volume are all racing towards us, both the ball, MANA's mission and… what comes after. I'm really hoping the next chapter comes out faster as I'm hoping to have a little more time to write, but that normally backfires in my face when I say that so no definite promises, but it should.
Hope you're all well and staying sane.