Jaune had woke up in his tent and looked around and got up from his cot and grabbed his clothes and got dressed again. He left his tent and almost ran into some kids as they ran past his tent, playfully running after one another.
Jaune smiled a little, but he looked around and saw some people packing up their tents and clothes. While some were preparing large spiked barricades, and placing them outside of the camp, some were carrying crates of dust to a different spot, while some were carrying arrows and bows, while others carried carts of armor.
As Jaune looked around, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly turned around only to see Hawks.
"I was coming to get you, but I'm glad your awake, saves us some time," Hawks told him "now come on, we still gotta get your new armor"
Jaune nodded and followed Hawks to the forge and there Devin was working and hammering out dents in someone else's armor as they approached. Again, Devin was the master blacksmith of the Branwen tribe, he was a tall and buff guy who had long orange hair in small braids and a short yet puffy orange beard, he had dark blue eyes, and a scar the went across his nose and wore black slothing underneath a red leather apron.
Devin saw them coming and smiled when he saw Jaune, "Ah! there's a lad now!" He cried in a deep booming voice.
He walked up to Jaune and without warning, pulled him into a hug and squeezed him tight, and lifted him off his feet. Jaune almost couldn't breathe.
'is this guy related to Nora or something!?' Jaune thought
He was then set back down and Jaune was able to breathe again as Devin broke the hug, and Hawks just smiled at him.
"So, what brings ya here lad?" Devin asked
"My Armor" Jaune said, "Is it finished?"
Devin nodded with a smile, "Aye, it's done" He said as he moved back into his shop to get it "Your new armor is gonna feel a wee different, no doubt, but I think you'll like, as long as you like red and black" Devin said with a chuckle
Devin then walked out and handed Jaune his new set of armor and Devin smiled, and Jaune looked at it and smiled as well, he then left to go try it on and Hawks and Devin smiled.
"I think he'll like the way he looks in that armor," Devin said with a smile
Meanwhile, back at his tent, Jaune had begun putting the armor on. He first put on the long black sleeved undershirt and then the black pants, and also tied his red tattered sash around his waist, before he finally put on the chest piece, which was a dark red leather with a square pattern on the front and back, the flaps attached to the chest piece reached down to his knees, but the square pattern stopped around his upper thighs, he then put on the pair of black gloves with red-colored metal armor plates over each of his fingers and the back of his hand, and finally, he put on his dark brown boots. He stapped Crocea Mors around his waist and walked out of his tent and there he already saw Hawks and Devin waiting out in front for him
"You don't look half bad kid," Hawks said "Though you could use a haircut"
Jaune chuckled, "Maybe another time" Jaune said
"How does it feel lad?" Devin asked, "does it fit like a glove, or do I need to make a few adjustments?"
Jaune smiled, "It's perfect Devin, thank you," Jaune said
"Just doin my job," Devin said "Well, I best get back to the forge, see ya two later"
As Devin walked away, Jaune turned to Hawks, "What now?" he asked
"Get Vernal, then head to Raven's tent, were having a war council there and she wants all of us there," Hawks said
Jaune nodded and asked where Vernal's tent was, Hawks pointed him in the direction and Jaune began to walk where he pointed.
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Vernal was currently helping her uncle, Aunt, and kid cousins pack so they could get away while the war went on.
Vernal's Uncle, a middle-aged man by the name of Erik Branwen, a cook and old warrior for the Branwen tribe. He had short curly brown hair, light brown eyes, tan skin, and a clean-shaven face. He currently wore a dark grey shirt under a long brown coat, and he wore a pair of tattered black jeans and a pair of wool shoes.
Vernal's Aunt, a woman named Bryn Branwen, was a middle-aged woman with long dark red hair, dark pink eyes, and fair and light skin and she also had two silver earrings. She currently wore a dark red dress and a pair of brown fur boots
Then, there was her first cousin, A 7-year-old boy by the name of Lucas Branwen. He had dark red hair like his mother, light brown eyes like his father, and had light skin. He currently wore a red shirt, cargo shorts, and a pair of sandals, and also wore a red beaded necklace around his neck.
And finally, there was her other cousin, a 5-year-old girl by the name of Brianna Branwen. She had black hair like her father which was tied into a braid, and she had beige color eyes, and she wore a small little dress and a pair of white shoes.
Erik looked to his niece with a worried expression, "Are you sure you have to stay?" He asked
Vernal looked to her uncle and gave him a reassuring smile, "I'll be fine, I promise, it's you I should be worried about" She told him
"I know you can handle yourself but still I don't want to lose you, Vern," Erik told her "You're my sister's daughter, if I lose you, I'd feel like... I failed your mother"
Vernal looked to her uncle and walked up to him and gave him a tight hug, and after a minute, she broke it and looked at him, "I Promise, I'll come back safe, no matter what Uncle Erik" Vernal told him
Erik smiled a little, "You better" He told her "I don't think I could handle the rascals all by myself, neither would Bryn" Erik chuckled
Vernal chuckled alongside him before she felt a tug on her hand and turned around to see both Lucas and Brianna looking up at her, and Lucas held his sister's hand.
"You'll promise we'll see you again?" Lucas asked
Vernal went on one knee and placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder and gave him a soft smile, she then held up her hand and had her little out, "Pinky Promise" She told him
Lucas then wrapped his pinky around her and nodded and Vernal smiled
"Now, while I'm gone, you need to watch after your sister, keep her safe, understand Lucas, that's the most important thing above all else, got it?" Vernal asked
Lucas nodded, "Got it," He said
"Good," Vernal said, she then turned to Brianna and have her a hug and then kissed her on her forehead, "You listen to your brother alright? be a good girl, ok?"
"Ok!" Brianna said in a cheery voice
Vernal smiled and then got up and turned to her Aunt, who had a soft smile on her face as she looked at Vernal
"Be safe Vernal, and come back unharmed" Bryn said
"I will," Vernal said before she and her aunt hugged
"Vernal!"
The family turned to the front entrance of their tent and Vernal recognized the voice. It was Jaune.
"Who is that?" Bryn asked
"My Partner, Jaune" Vernal replied
"You mean the boy you were fretting over?" Her aunt asked
"I wasn't fretting over him, I was just worried that he was dead after I was promised he would be unharmed," Vernal told her aunt,
"Oh please dear, I know you were worried about him, after all, he's a Branwen now, and you Branwen's have a strong sense of family, even if he's just a Branwen by name, he's still a part of the tribe," Bryn told her niece "You care for him as you care for each person of the tribe"
Vernal sighed and nodded, accepting her Aunts words. It is true, despite being so new, if you joined the tribe, you were family, no matter what, and family looked after each other. Vernal then looked to her Aunt "Look, I'll go see what he wants" Vernal said
"We'll come with you," Erik said "Besides, I wanna meet the kid that's gonna be watching my niece's back"
Vernal sighed and knew they wouldn't take no for an answer and so she left the tent with them following right behind her. However, when she saw him, she also got a good look at his new armor and she would admit that he had looked great in it, though, he could pull his hair back or cut it.
"Sup, Jaune, what is it?" She asked
"Raven's having a war council, I was told to come and get you," He told her
"Vernal, aren't you going to introduce us,"
Vernal heard her Uncle, "Jaune, this is my uncle Erik, my aunt Bryn, and my cousins Lucas and Brianna" Vernal said
Jaune gave them a kind smile, "It's good to meet you all" Jaune said "I'm Jaune" He told them
Erik then walked up to him and gave him a smile, and held out his hand "I've heard a lot about you" Erik said
"Same here," Jaune said with a smile as he took Erik's hand and shook it firmly. "Vernal tells me your the best cook in the whole tribe"
Erik chuckled, "She's not wrong," He told him, "I've heard you managed to last a few good hours against Hawk, not many people can"
Then Bryn walked up to the boy and held her hand out as well and he shook her hand, "It's nice to meet You Jaune, my niece was very worried about you"
Jaune smiled and he glanced at Vernal who didn't meet his gaze, and he looked back at Bryn with his smile still present on his face, "So I've been told" He said
Bryn chuckled, and she then looked to her kids, "These are my children, Lucas and Brianna Branwen" Bryn told Jaune
Jaune then turned to the two young children and smiled at them, he then bent down and looked at Lucas
"Nice to meet you, Lucas," Jaune said and then looked to Brianna "and very nice to meet you as well Brianna"
Brianna giggled and Lucas smiled at him, Jaune smiled, and he stood back up and looked over to Bryn and Erik
"It was nice meeting you all, but I and Vernal really need to get going," Jaune told them
"Oh it's alright, please do go," Bryn said
"Jaune" Erik called and Jaune turned to him "I trust you to watch my niece's back, She can kick ass but always forgets to check her 6," Erik said
Jaune chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll make sure Vernal comes back in one piece" Jaune said
And with that, the two of them left and the family began packing up their tent. Vernal and Jaune walked to the tent. Jaune then looked to Vernal and had a smug smile on his face
"So you were worried about-"
"Say one more word and I'll cut your dick off"
And with that, Jaune shut his mouth and they walked to Raven's tent in silence.
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Within the tent, Raven, Hawks, Shay, Sophia, Vernal, Jaune, Natasha, and Ögonen were there. On the table was a map of the area around them.
"It appears that what Natasha said was true, there is a group of 30 Helveteshund tribesmen to the east, but some other scouts have reported back and have seen another group of Helveteshund tribesmen coming from the north, there are around 40 of them," Raven said "Right now, our defenses are up and we've got 20 of our best men leading our civilians far from the battle, for now, which leaves us a bit undermanned, were down to 50 men," Raven said
"So what' the plan?" Hawks asked "If we stay here and guard the fort, we might stand a chance, but we don't know what kind of weapons they have"
"Actually, thanks to Natasha, we know that they just have standard dust Ar-15's a few grenades, and some vehicles," Raven said "What we need to do is take out the vehicles so they don't ram the gate open if they do, they'll enter the fort and we won't stand a chance"
"How much time do we have before they attack?" Shay asked
"The plan is and still should be to attack by nightfall, so we have until then" Natasha replied
Jaune began to think and he then had an idea, "Raven?" He called
"Yes, Jaune?" She asked
"What if we had a few men waiting in the forest, once the 40 Helvetehund tribesmen pass the, and stop near the gates and attack, they get behind and ambush them from behind with grenades," Jaune said
"and what about the 30 coming from the east?" Sophia asked
"Enough stay here to defend the fort, we only need a small group to attack from behind," Jaune said "And as for the vehicles, we can take them out with the grenades and anyone in the fort can rain fire down onto any of them, we have bullets and arrows, we should be alright on that part"
Raven nodded, "He's right, they won't expect an ambush from the back, they must know that we already know about the attack due to Natasha's disappearance and they'll come full force, they won't expect the ambush at all"
"But who'll lead the small group?" Shay asked
"I will," Vernal said "I can take 9 people with me, wait out in the forest and bite the fuckers in their asses," Vernal said
Raven nodded, "Alright, then Vernal, that's your duty"
"I'll help," Jaune told Vernal
"No, You won't," Raven said
Jaune and Vernal looked confused as they turned to Raven
"Jaune, you, Shay, and Sophia will be manning the front gates, while I, Hawks, and Natasha will be manning the east wall," Raven said "Vernal's much better at stealth than you"
"but I-"
"No buts Jaune, Man the front gates with Shay and Sophia, trust Vernal to do your plan right, you've already put yourself in as much danger as it is, and if the plans fail, I don't want you to get taken a possible 2nd time," Raven said
Jaune took a deep breath in and exhaled and nodded in reluctance
Raven smiled, "Good, now get the preparations ready, Natasha and I have something else to discuss"
With Raven's last order, they left the tent while Raven and Natasha stayed in the tent. Natasha looked at Raven and she could see that Raven was up to something.
"So, Jarl Raven, what is it that you want to discuss?"
Raven looked at her and then walked over to her table and sat down at it. She then gestured for Natasha to take a seat and Natasha looked at the empty chair for a second and then walked over to it and pulled it out and sat in it.
"Tell me, Natasha, if we win this war and your father is dead, what will happen between our tribes?" Raven asked
"I will make sure that no war happens between us again," Natasha said "You have my word"
Raven scoffed, "Surely you must know that your words will not stop any future conflict between our people, but I may have an idea"
Natasha's brow raised when Raven finished, "What are you proposing?"
Raven smirked as she looked at Natasha and still, Natasha could not tell what Raven was thinking...
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A/N: For those of you wondering, Jaune's Armor looks like the Dawnguard armor that Gunmar wears from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but with black sleeves, Black pants, Jaune's V4-8 Gloves( just with red metal instead of gold), and Jaune's v7 boots.