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As they walked through the forest rather than along its edge, long tendrils of sand snaked out from the pouches the Huntsman wore, writhing and snaking around them languidly. The long tendrils billowed and undulated like smoke come to life. Or maybe more like tentacles made of sand, affixed to the old Huntsman wherever he wore the pouches. Whatever the case, the sandy thing orbited the man eerily and, on occasion, he would turn an eye on one before turning and heading in whatever direction it had snaked off to.
Why, he couldn't be sure, but you didn't get old as a Huntsman and be active without knowing what you were doing. So he had no real choice but to trust him, and turned his attention back to his team.
"I cannot believe that we have already felled an Armored Kong!" The Mistralian fighter was cheering, marching along beside him with her spear resting against her shoulder. Ecstatic as she sounded, and looked with the wide smile she was sporting, she still knew to keep her eyes open, head turning slowly to watch for any threats. "To think, we would know each other for so short a time and yet accomplish such a deed… Truly, remarkable. I shall have to mark it down."
"Right?!" Nora crowed excitedly, bouncing along in spite of the grime that had been sprayed all over her thanks to the Grimm's earth tearing attacks. And in spite of the rips and tears in her gear, showing off far too much thigh and stomach for his tastes as she bounced around her friend, "Right, Renny? Wasn't it awesome?"
"It is a rather impressive accomplishment." The man nodded, smiling pleasantly and adding quietly, "But please, stop leaping around. You're tearing your clothes more, and it's already going to be a pain to repair."
"Slay him where he stands." Mort demanded, "He dares ruin my fun!"
"It's not that bad." Nora waved him off, even if she did stop her hyper bouncing to turn to him, Magnhold held across her broad shoulders with her hands draped over them like she was toting buckets of water. "S'just a couple teeny tears in my skirt, and a hole next to my belly button."
"You are showing a bit of thigh, though…"
"Oh please!" Nora rolled her eyes, "P-Money, I swear I saw your butt when you were leaping around back there."
"You what now?" The young arena fighter practically squeaked, going ramrod straight and sputtering when the other woman only grinned impishly at her. "Y-You are most improper, you know, Valkyrie. If we were in the Arena dorms then you'd be in a lot of-"
"But we're noooot~" Nora said, turning and pointing a dirty finger at the redhead, her finger spinning tauntingly. Turning to him, she added, singing, "I think P-Money over here needs to loosen up jus' a bit, Fearless Leader. Got any ideas?"
"I do!" Mort answered, "I have plenty of ideas for that!"
He ignored the sword, as he had been doing for half an hour now, and answered, "I think you're teasing her too much, Nora. Maybe just ease off, and calm down, for a bit?"
"But that's boring…"
"I'll make you chocolate and cinnamon pancakes tomorrow." Ren offered quietly, "Assuming that you behave."
"I will be on my best behavior, Renny!" The woman promised, spinning around on a heel and marching along like what he supposed she thought a soldier would look like. She even snapped off a clumsy salute, one tongue stuck out playfully. "You guys have got to try my Renny's breakfast stuff! They're to kill for!"
"I believe the saying is 'to die for'...?"
"Nah, P-Money." Nora chuckled, "Nora doesn't do the dyin'. She does the boopin'. By the way, what do we call that hammer 'n nail trick we did back there?"
"Does it need a name?" Ren asked quietly, "I don't know that we can pull it off often enough to name it."
"We can if I have anything to say about it!"
"How about 'Coffin Maker'?" Pyrrha offered anxiously, like she expected them to smack her down for daring to say anything. "As my spear is like a nail driven hoe by your hammer, and kills things, it makes sense. 'Last nail in the coffin' and all that."
"Ooooh, I like that!"
"Know what I like?" Their old Hunter grunted finally, tiredly, as they stepped onto a thin, brush-filled animal path through a grove of trees that had grown close and thick together. It probably would have been easier to go around, but the sand seemed to be leading them that way. "I like peace and quiet while I'm huntin'. And by the by, we're almost there, so you're gonna wanna- Shit."
"I don't think I need to do that…" Pyrrha murmured before jerking to a stop and staring ahead of them warily as distant cracks echoed back at them loudly, scattering through the trees. "Are those… Those are gunshots."
"Y'all ran into someone else's target 'fore they could get to it jus' a bit ago." Brass grunted as his sand withdrew, the pouches sealing themselves as the last of the sand belonging to each pouch made its way home. "Sounds like someone might'a ran into yours, too. Might wanna get on that before-"
Suddenly, something exploded ahead of them, managing to hurl branches and soil far enough that Jaune heard it scattering in the thick canopy above them. Pyrrha raised her shield and he raised his arms as more pattered down, bouncing off of them harmlessly. In its wake it left silence, the gunfire from earlier having died off in whatever explosion had echoed mutedly through the forest.
"Sounds like the fight's over with, kiddies. Lemme just take a look for us." Brass grumbled, turning to look at them with a raised eyebrow as his sand shot forward probingly After a quiet moment he frowned and asked, quietly, "What're you gonna do, then? Technically, ya beat one o' the big bastards, so you probably can pass the test."
"We can?" Ren asked, "Even though we didn't accomplish the objective?"
"I mean, probably, yeah." Brass shrugged, "Mostly, this is just a skill check. To make sure you brats are worth trainin' after all."
"Someone could be hurt out there." Jaune grunted simply, pushing by the man and following the sandy tendrils he was sure were scouting the way, somehow, now that the man had used them to 'take a look'. "A Hunter's job isn't done while someone is in danger. And neither is a Knight's, for that matter."
"Well said." He heard Pyrrha say as she followed just behind him while Nora just cheered, more than eager to hit something else with her hammer.
"Hmph." He heard Brass grumble, just loud enough Jaune was sure he wanted to be heard. "At least the brats know what their job is… And hell, they did it earlier, too. So maybe…"
Jaune pretended he hadn't heard him, though, rushing ahead with his team at his back. The trees were tightly grouped together in this stretch of forest, roots breaking through the earth under their feet and making it uneven and rough. But it didn't really hinder them that much, three of them more than used to the heavier trees and rougher terrain. And Pyrrha was more than smart enough to follow in their footsteps, so she didn't trip and fall on the unfamiliar ground.
Because that would look wonderful in Initiation…
When a wall of shrubs blocked the way, the tendrils of sand vanishing into its dense foliage, he growled and tried to push through. Long, hooked thorns caught on his armor and pricked along his Aura, catching on him when he tried to pull away and nearly sticking him in the shrubbery. Growling, he yanked free and looked to either side for another way through. But the bushes were long as well as tall, stretching out like a huge sore for a dozen feet in either direction, before vanishing into more thick spurts of trees.
"I don't see a way around…" He murmured, growling, "Nora, you mind?"
"Comiiiiiiing throuuuuugh!" The woman crowed before he'd even really finished saying anything, leaping over them and bringing Maghnhild down to crush the shrubbery like she might a Grimm's skull. Bouncing back, she grinned and gestured at the 'door' she'd made, "One bush hole, ready and waiting for you, Fearless Leader~!"
"We're not calling it that…"
"Hey, it's my bush hole." She challenged, raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips, "I get to name it, Ren."
"But-"
"Bush!" She barked, pushing by and into the clearing, "Hole!"
Sighing, Jaune followed her, pushing through the brush and stepping into a massive clearing that suddenly opened up in front of them. It was maybe the size of a football field, and every inch of it had been torn up. Long furrows of upturned soil ran in trenches all along its length, sometimes mounded into huge hills. Trees and bushes had been ripped up, roots and all, and hurled around it as well, scattered randomly across the field. Some were even on fire, smoke trailing up from them and into the sky.
"It's like a warzone…" Ren murmured quietly, "Just like back at-"
"Yeah. Just like it." Nora nodded, stepping away from the trees with her hammer held in both hands, ready to crush anything that dared to get too close. Carefully, she stalked forward with them at her back, eyes scanning over the destruction until… "I see someone!"
"Where?" He barked, stepping up beside her and following her nod to a mound a dozen feet and more away.
It was big enough for a bus and, resting at its bottom, were a pair of forms covered in dirt and ash. One was black and red, a great scythe scattered nearby. The other was smaller and grey, laying on her stomach and covered in splotches of white that showed through the ash and dirt. A rapier lay over her back like it had fallen there, and her limbs were sprawled out around her.
"Ruby!" He called out, "Weiss!"
Before he could think, his feet were carrying him across the field, Mort Noire held out in front of him, one hand on the hilt and the other on the blade's middle. He'd nearly reached them when a gunshot cracked, his Aura sparking in protest as it glazed off his shoulder and staggered him. Pyrrha slammed into him for the second time that day, forcing him down as her shield came up and she knelt over him, using her body as a shield against the shots.
Then, a familiar voice called out, "It's a trap, you Tides taken knight!"
"A trap…"
"Death Stalkers are ambush predators!" Mort shrieked, their voice a piercing tone that set his ears ringing and eyes watering, "The girls are bait!"
No sooner had the words left Mort's purely proverbial mouth did the mound suddenly explode, detonating so spectacularly that Nora was sure to be jealous and hurling dirt and wood high into the air. The great scorpion surged forth from the soil, claws and mandibles spread wide and eager to obilderate them. His eyes widened as he rose, pulling Mort around and taking him in both hands as Ren and Nora called out their names.
Then, a vibrant yellow, flaming interception missile crashed into the Deathstalker's side, tossing it aside.
"And that is because I had to wait, fucker!" Yang bellowed, eyes the brightest blood red he'd ever seen as she straightened.
She was filthy, too, her jacket gone and leaving her in a tight tank that was battered and torn. Cuts and scrapes marred every inch of her he could see, almost, making her look almost like she'd rolled down a street at something approaching the speed limit. But she didn't seem to give a damn, turning a look on him as she heaved for breath.
"Blakey has my sister and the bitch." She grunted shortly, tiredly, "The rest o' us have the big bastard. Good?"
"Yang? Where did you-"
"I do not think that the Grimm will wait while we talk." Pyrrha warned as she stepped in front of the wounded woman protectively.
True to her words the massive, thoroughly battle scarred monster was on its feet, chittering angrily and clicking its claws as it appraised them. Nora and Ren joined them and it hissed angrily, backing away and towards the woods. Then it turned to look at the ruined mound, no doubt looking for the two it had used as bait. Only finding an empty spot it chittered again, thrashing its fury.
He didn't have long… To think or talk. "Yang, can you fight?"
"Can I fight?!" She scoffed, shoving past Pyrrha and rolling her shoulders. Slamming a fist into her palm she growled, "I'll fuckin' rip its tail off and fuck the hole!"
"Well that's graphic…" Mort murmured, "But wait, how would she fuck the-"
"Partner with Nora, and flank it. When it's distracted, hit it, try and flip it if you can so we can get at its soft belly. Ren, back them up." He ordered quietly, turning a hard eye on her in case she would try to argue. She only nodded, though, eyes locked on the Grimm as it scuttled to the side. Quietly, he asked her, "Is there any chance Blake will come to help us out here?"
"Nah." Yang answered, "She's protectin' my sis and the bitch. And our Hunter is dead, too, so don't bother asking."
So no back up then… "Pyrrha, take left. I'll take right. Try and maim it, however you can. Blind it, cripple its claws or legs, I don't care. I'll be doing the same."
"Understood." Pyrrha answered, "This time, I will follow your lead alone."
"Good. Any questions from the gallery?" No one had any and the Grimm hissed impatiently as it watched them, its eyes full of rage but unwilling to attack them when they were together but seemingly more than aware that they were planning. Then again, he was feeling less than patient himself…
"Then," he rumbled, "scatter."
At his word they did, the two heavy hitters and their back-up sprinting away to the side. The Grimm hissed but Jaune and Pyrrha both surged forward before it could chase them and, roaring so loudly and shrilly his ears throbbed, it launched forward to meet them. He was faster than Pyrrha and met it first, slamming a heel down and bringing Mort around, blade held down along the outside of his arm and along his body. The open claw slammed into him with the force of a relatively small train, hurling him up and pitching him away as Pyrrha stepped into his place and took the other on her shield.
He landed a few feet away and hissed as pain lanced up his legs and his Aura flared and crackled. It was low from just the one hit…?
Pyrrha ducked back as its other claw came around, narrowly missing her. Then, the monster bellowed as she slipped around and slid on her knees, under its armor, to bury her spear in one of its many eyes. It writhed and roared as it backpedaled away, its right claw snapping out at her head as she leapt up and over it, wrenching her spear free in a spray of ichor. She landed on its back and roared, burying the spear in another eye.
She'd taken two, but he brought Mort down and across its face as he finally leapt back into the fray, gouging out another. It roared its furt and he smiled and then grit his teeth as a claw slammed into his side and pitched him up. The other claw caught him, wrapped around his middle, and he heard Pyrrha cry his name as the Deathstalker turned and hurled him at the heavy team. Yang ducked under him, a flash of yellow and fire, but Nora and Ren stopped to catch him and were bowled over by his armored weight.
"Go!" He bellowed, rolling off the hammer-wielder and her partner as the old Deathstalker turned, its gold tipped tail lashing out to ward her off. He tried to rise and felt pain sear up his leg and through his knee, dragging him down as he hissed. Angry, he called out, "I'm out!"
The blonde brawler caught it by the stinger, arms wrapped around the tail and her heels digging in as it fought desperately to get free of her. Roaring, Pyrrha raised her spear and brought it down on another eye, spraying ichor as it slid by and buried itself in the soil. The Grimm surged forward and caught it, using its weight and the spear itself to lever the woman off and then catching her in a claw as she flailed by.
Then its other snapped up and caught her shoulder, pulling as her Aura flared and the woman grit her teeth, choking back a pained, "Gah!"
Finally, Ren and Nora reached it, the former slamming his blades into the joints of its tail, severing it as Nora stooped and caught the golden stinger. She pitched it up to Yang and, grinning, the blonde leapt and pulled it back like a football. As she threw it, Jaune saw Nora pull back her hammer, driving it down into its face as Pyrrha's Aura crackled and failed in a flash of red.
It shivered and spasmed, then hissed and collapsed, smoke drifting out from between its armor plates as Pyrrha thudded to the ground.
Forcing himself up on his feet, and leaning on Mort Noire like a crutch, he asked, "Everyone alive?"
"Yep!" Nora and Yang both quipped loudly, beaming smiles now that the fight was over.
"I think my shoulder is dislocated..." Pyrrha called out as she stood, cradling her arm and hissing as Ren took it and braced her against Yang and Nora before forcing it back in. Teeth grit against the pain, she called out, "N-Nevermind!"
"Good work, kiddos!" Brass called out as he finally emerged from the forest, the Schnee laid over his shoulders while Blake helped Ruby limp along. "I called the Bullhead to come and evac us, so you fuckos just find a particularly comfy pile of dirt and chill. I'll handle whatever fucks along."
Groaning, Jaune was more than happy to do just that, falling on a mound of soil next to him and massaging his twisted knee. The others shuffled over to him and collapsed in mounds of varying levels of bruises and groans while Brass watched over them. Blake was the only exception to that, looking clean and poised with her weapon out and sharp, amber eyes scanning along the forest's edge warily.
After a moment, Pyrrha grunted, "I shall need to mark this down, too. Ser Hunter, do you know any tattooists of good repute?"
"Tattooists?" Jaune asked quietly, "Why do you need a tattooist?"
"How else will I mark it down…?" She asked, shuffling over until she was laying next to him and smiling widely, "In a book or some such? I may lose it then! No, no, 'tis better to use a more permanent ink. An Arena tradition as old as the Arena itself."
"Oh!" Nora grunted, sitting up and smiling maniacally, "We should all do it! We can head into town, get pizza, and get inked together!"
"I-I'm not old enough for that, though?" Ruby tried, rubbing a hand on her bruised wrist with a grimace and looking at her bloodied sister, laid out across the ground and heaving for breath. "And, um, Yang might kill me?"
"Nope, fuck it." She waved the girl off, tired but seemingly satisfied. "Got a fake ID I was gonna give you in October anywho, so we're gettin' inked, girl."
Ruby whined about how much she hated needles and they all laughed. Which of course only made her whine more, throwing dirt at the rest of them with a pout that would have given the Deathstalker pause. Well, at least if it hadn't been put on permanent pause, that was.
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I hate managing eight characters in a fight set, which is why I cut the numbers down. Five was less difficult, but I still feel this came out… Clunky. I dunno how else to describe it, the whole set just feels ever so slightly stilted. Apologies.
However, I think this and the mine has sold the grit and threat of the Grimm in this, and how I will portray 'em. Love RWBY to death, but they tend to shy away from being as brutal as I would with these monsters. Of course, you all know my name, lol.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
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Bukkake No Jutsu :
'Excessively hot Worf from TNG' is one, not something I expected to read or type today. And two, unfairly pretending Worf isn't THE handsomest person on that bridge. XD
Xenonex (Guest) :
To be fair, the nobility system will serve some plot purposes, and already has, here. Just not yet. Another good one like it I VERY FUCKING MUCh reccomend is The White Knight by the author MahinaFable.
Shadow Slayer :
I always saw her as more Greek inspired than Spartan, like I always have - and will based on her ending - considered her a genderbend of Achilles and General Pyrhus (Sp?) of I believe Macedon, from whom we get the term 'Pyrrhic Victory'. However, just glad you like it!
SD Phantom :
Nora is, indeed, the MVP.
Steelrain :
Maybe! XD
8Bit Thief :
Will do!
Brick Laying Psycho :
Especially given recent developments, I would argue rather strongly that JNPR was never intended as side-dressing. But I don't wanna argue, and I am very glad that you enjoy the tweaks I have made!
As for longer chapters, I do my best, but due to developments laid out in ANs elsewhere, I rolled my min word count from 4K to 3K.