Legal Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth. The True Runes and any other Suikoden-related lore that pops up in this fic are the rightful properties of Konami.
Chapter Twenty:
There was silence in response to Watts' question, and Clover felt his knees hit the side of the bed as he backed up, promptly sitting down to collect himself at hearing of Grimm Water again. The same thing that had poisoned his mother, and here someone was actually trying to sell them the merits of it? It was too much to even believe.
Apparently, James thought so as well because his eyes narrowed and he clenched his hands into fists at his sides, "Explain yourself." He ordered with authority, clearly unamused by the suggestion.
Clover had to bite back a laugh, because what was there to explain? The man was clearly insane if he was suggesting...what was he even suggesting, exactly?
Watts held up his hands in a placating manner and, for the first time since he'd stepped inside the room, Clover saw the vial of dark liquid he was holding, its contents sloshing against the sides of the container, "Now, now," Watts said in a placating tone, "I can understand your concerns, but there's no need to worry. This batch of Grimm Water is perfectly safe for consumption. I've diluted its more negative properties a great deal."
Clover tried to keep himself from snorting derisively since, as a mer, he knew there was no such thing as a "perfectly safe" dose of Grimm Water. To his shock, the monarch seemed to tilt his head in a considering manner, "You said that this had something to do with controlling the Rune of Punishment and mitigating its effects." Ironwood said instead, steel blue eyes narrowing even further, "How so?"
Clover's teal eyes widened in surprise, having nothing expected the question at all. Was James truly considering hearing more of this insane proposal? He knew better than most the horrible nature of the Rune of Punishment as its bearer, but he also knew full well the dangers of Grimm Water for his people.
Watts' lips curved upwards as if he had expected the king's curiosity, "Grimm Water helps keep mer docile. It softens the edges, so to speak." He informed them, "If Captain Ebi were to medicate himself fairly regularly with this, then his inclination to even rely or use the Rune or Punishment would also lessen."
...Because he'd be too drugged to do so, Clover thought as his eyes narrowed. He was about to stand up again and protest when—
"Clover." Ironwood's voice reached his ears just before he could do anything, and he paused at finding the older man staring at him intently.
Clover swallowed dryly, his dread multiplying tenfold in an instant, "Sir?" He asked, inwardly pleading that Ironwood wouldn't order this of him.
"Ah, such formality won't do when you're to become consort, Captain Ebi." Watts chided.
He ignored the lanky man, his face focused on Ironwood alone. "Perhaps you should try it." The bearded man said at length.
Watts smirked as Clover gaped, "With all due respect, sir—" The brown-haired knight tried to say before James cut him off completely.
"It would only be temporary until everything is finalized, but a way to curtail the Rune of Punishment's effects isn't something we should take for granted." Ironwood told him, "After all, you don't have to fight anymore."
"But—!"
"Truthfully, a selfish part of me would prefer it. To lessen my worry over what might happen in the future." The black-haired man stated, motioning with his head to the vial in Watts' hand.
And Clover's stomach dropped at the realization that Ironwood was saying this at all. He swallowed dryly, "James, are you telling me to...?" He trailed off, already knowing the answer without confirmation.
Ironwood clasped his hands behind his back, his face impassive, "Consider this an order, if it makes it easier." He said seriously, tone not brokering any argument.
It didn't make it easier if it was an order. Not really. And yet, Clover couldn't say no in that context either, given everything that James had done for him in the past. He nodded glumly and stepped forward, Ironwood's hand reaching out to gently clasp his shoulder.
Watts' smirk only grew as he held the small vial out to him, Clover trying to still the shaking in his fingers as he took it. He swallowed the contents easily enough, the Grimm Water brackish and oddly salty on his tongue.
...Nothing immediately happened. At least, he didn't feel any different.
"It should take a few hours to take effect." Watts informed them.
Ironwood's hand squeezed Clover's shoulder as the mer shuddered under the contact, trepidation building in his gut over what he had just done, "I'm proud of you, Clover." He said, as if that was all that mattered.
Clover couldn't bring himself to respond, however, as he thought about his mother and silently willed his eyes not to water once more.
The training grounds behind the knight's academy were surprisingly quiet and empty at this time of day, something that Clover was immensely grateful for as he swung his fists into one of the training dummies in a far back corner of the space. Right now, given what had happened earlier, he wanted nothing more than to be alone.
He had run into Elm and Vine on his way there, nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder in one of the academy's corridors. "Hey, boss man! Long time no see." Elm had greeted him happily enough, raising an eyebrow slightly at his surprised reaction not a moment later, "Everything all right?"
Vine stepped forward then, a rather knowing look in his eyes as he calmly added, "It is unlike you to act so caught off-guard to Elm's more boisterous actions."
"Ha! That's a funny way of saying you're used to me if I ever heard one!" She crowed, smacking the tall and lanky man merrily upon his back. Vine, who was used to her antics, managed to brace himself so that he barely moved and didn't face plant on the floor, a fond look crossing over his features as if she'd just proven his point for him.
"I'm...I'm fine, really." Clover got out weakly to try and assure the pair, rubbing the back of his head as he smiled slightly, "I was just lost in thought, I guess."
"Makes sense, given everything." Elm said as she crossed her massive arms over her chest and nodded in affirmation, "Still, no need to be a stranger around here!"
Vine nodded his head in agreement, "You will always be the captain of the Ace Ops regardless of what happens, sir." He said, as calm and steady as ever.
Clover smiled at that, "Thank you." He said, truly grateful that the Ace Ops still viewed him as a comrade, if nothing else.
That encounter had been little more than an hour ago, after which Clover had hastily excused himself to rush out into the frigid air of the outside training area in order to try and calm his growing unease. A very large part of him was still horrified that he'd even drunk the Grimm Water, that James had even encouraged it as much as he had. Not only was he still unsure of the side effects, but knowing what the liquid had ultimately done to his parent made his stomach churn. "Docile," Watts had said, but what did that mean exactly? After all, his mother had tried her hardest to cover the effects on her own person so as to not worry him when he had been a child.
Perhaps this whole situation was just showing Clover how phenomenally stupid he could be when it came to what he felt was expected of him. Not for the first time in his life, the mer questioned why he always felt the need to follow orders. He punched through the air again, hitting the dummy before him straight in the shoulder.
"Lucky charm?"
Clover wheeled around at the surprised sound of Qrow's voice, the other man standing just a few feet away with his hands raised in a placating gesture given how Clover had yet to unclench his fists, "Relax, Cloves," he told the younger man wryly, "It's just me."
"Qrow." Clover said as his teal eyes widened in embarrassment as he lowered his hands to his sides, "What are you doing here?"
"Checking in with the girls." The elf responded easily enough, red eyes watching as a sweat-soaked Clover turned away from the practice dummy to face him fully, "Saw you out here in the freezing cold. Figured I should see what's up."
Clover ran a scaled hand over his forehead, and for a brief moment he could swear his vision blurred, "I'm fine. Really." He tried assuring the other man despite the growing evidence to the contrary.
Qrow raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? Because you look as if you're about to collapse at any moment." He observed as his light red eyes trailed down to the bruised knuckles of his partner's fists pointedly, "And you normally don't beat yourself up when you're training."
A jab of anger hit Clover on account of the spy's keen observational skills, "I told you," he stated testily, just wanting this conversation to be over with as he moved to push past Qrow and his far-too knowing gaze, "I'm fine. I—!"
The words had barely slipped past his mouth when his vision went blurry again, the worry in his stomach now joined by a sudden roiling as he stumbled practically right into Qrow's chest. "Cloves?" Qrow sounded alarmed as he held Clover to him to help steady the suddenly weak-kneed mer, and Clover swore he could hear the other man's heart rate speed up in his chest from how close together they were.
"S—sorry, Qrow." He muttered shakily, trying to pull away, "Just give me a moment..." He trailed off as he heard an alarmed cry come from the dark-haired elf as the world seemed to tilt once more and he pitched forward.
Clover woke to movement under his legs, and he let out a large groan as the dizziness in his head slowly subsided and he sleepily buried his face further into the warm cloth that was before him. The movement he felt before stilled at this abrupt turn of events, and the arms around his legs shifted to better support his body weight.
"Clover?" Qrow's voice called out from in front of him, voice tentative and pitched slightly with worry, "You awake now?"
And that was when Clover's mind oh-so-deftly caught up with the situation he was currently in. Teal eyes blinked, as he processed that he was resting on Qrow Branwen's back, the elf actually carrying him through the corridors of the academy towards who knew where. His face heated up at the thought, and he was rather grateful that neither Elm nor Vine had chosen this moment to pop out in greeting, "Wh—what?" He began oh-so-eloquently, his heart pounding so loudly he was certain the other man could feel it against his cape-covered back.
What little he could see of the sides of Qrow's own face also seemed rather red, the elf looking straight ahead down the hallway they were traversing, "You collapsed out in the field." He said in way of explanation, "I wanted to get you to a healer."
The warmth in his face intensified at the thought that Qrow had been acting out of concern for him, and he kept his gaze focused on the back of the older man's neck, "Thank you," he replied, "But you can put me down now. I'm feeling much better."
It wasn't necessarily a lie either. There was a slight fuzziness in the mer's head still, but his blurry vision had disappeared. He'd much rather be standing and walking on his own two feet than have someone see them in such a compromising and embarrassing situation.
"You sure?" Qrow asked gruffly, almost sounding reluctant to break contact with the mer. The thought of that caused Clover's face to go warm again.
Clover nodded before realizing Qrow didn't have eyes in the back of head to see the gesture, "Yeah. I can walk now, Qrow." And he muttered a quick "Thanks." as the other man lowered himself to the floor somewhat to make it easier for Clover to get away.
The former Ace Op leader leaned against the cool wall of the corridor after doing so to catch his breath while Qrow scrutinized him with obvious concern. "You gonna fill me in on what happened, lucky charm?" He asked him after a few moments of uneasy silence passed them by.
Clover glanced at Soul Eater's bearer out of the corner of his eye, "I don't know what you're talking about." He said, instantly regretting the obvious lie. Qrow wasn't an idiot, unlike him.
Qrow frowned and suddenly his hand was slammed into the wall right beside Clover's surprised face, "You were out of sorts on the training grounds, and now this happened." He said with narrowed pale red eyes, "Something is obviously going on."
Clover frowned as he bit his lip, refusing to meet the older man's questioning gaze.
"All right then." Qrow said, letting out an exasperated sigh as he might if one of his nieces were being too stubborn for their own good, hand reaching down to grasp Clover's arm in a tight grip, "To the healers, then."
"No!" Clover surprised them both by the sudden vehemence in his tone, as he quickly pulled his arm out of Qrow's hold and stepped away from the wall then, "I'm really fine, Qrow." He tried again, "There's nothing that a healer could do."
Qrow's frown only deepened, "Bullshit." He said, clearly agitated.
"I'm serious. Besides," Clover continued, really not wanting any other healers knowing how stupid he'd been to allow Watts to push him into a corner, "It's because of what a healer already gave me to take that I had that reaction in the first place."
As the silence stretched between them for a long moment, Clover realized he may have made a mistake by blurting that out to Qrow. The elf had stilled completely then, his observant light red eyes never even leaving Clover's face as the mer shifted awkwardly under his regard, "What are you talking about, Clover?" He finally got out, taking a meaningful step forward, "The full truth. Please."
The tone of Qrow's voice was so earnest and desperate that it pulled on Clover's heartstrings, and he let out a tired sigh before he leaned against the wall once more and resignedly closed his eyes. "Watts suggested curtailing the effects of the Rune of Punishment by using a diluted form of Grimm Water." He finally got out, trying not to think of his poor mother's fate when he thought of the stuff and failing miserably as tears welled in his eyes that he quickly tried to wipe away, "James wanted to give it a try." Clover clenched his hands together tightly, "I guess I just wasn't prepared for the side effects." He said as he smiled ruefully.
Silence lingered in the hallway, tense and uneasy. When Clover finally worked up the courage to face the other man, the murderous look on his face both gave him pause and caused the blood to freeze in his throat as Soul Eater's bearer moved to quickly and purposefully walk past him. "Qrow?" Clover couldn't help but ask nervously as the dread replaced the sadness and shame he'd felt earlier, tentatively reaching out to grab the slightly smaller man's shoulder, "What are you—?"
Light red eyes flashed angrily as Qrow spun around to face him, effectively cutting Clover's question off as the elf's hands clenched into fists at his sides, "Isn't it obvious?" The man with black-and-graying hair said with venom, "I'm going to kill Jimmy."
Author's Notes: …Probably should have seen that coming, Clover. XD