...So...My recovery period took longer than i expected. It's a pain in my ass to be sure, but its just really inconvenient for all of you. And i'm sorry for that. But now that i'm back, i'll try to get things back to normal from now on. But, without further ado, lets get into the chapter.

It had been a few weeks since Jaune ventured out on his own, and he has quickly learned that living on his own...is hard.

"Boy, i'm starving here. Maybe i should have stockpiled some food before i left." Jaune grumbled as he made his way down a forest path leading to...somewhere. After he left, he quickly made his way to the harbor and traded a good handful of gems that he may or may not have excavated on his own for some Lien. After that, he boarded the first ship to Anima. There was some questioning as to why an eight year old was traveling by himself, but then a nice little family decided to vouch for him, acting like he had gone ahead of them. The family was nice enough. It was a Faunus family, particularly of the Cat variety. The father was very intimidating. Actually resembled Hazel a good amount, but he dismissed the notion quickly. The man was a giant as well with a beard that was just downright awesome. It almost made him want to grow out one of his own. The mother was stunning in her own right. Those ebony cat ears with white fluff inside resting atop some medium length hair. She was obviously from somewhere sunny if the tan on her skin was anything to go by. Her amber eyes screamed of easygoing mischief with a whisper of protectiveness and love while also holding a firm voice of danger that held no faults. The daughter on the other hand...she was real pretty. She held the same eyes and ears of her mother if only a bit more of the childhood innocence that he'd seen in Ruby and Yang. The mother was the first to try and interact with him. The father, while a bit hesitant, went along with her after a glance at each other. The daughter looked at him in curiosity, as if looking for something on his body that wasn't there. After the situation was cleared up and he thanked them, the mother asked if he would like to join them. He thought about it for a few moments, but ultimately agreed, seeing no harm in it. He first introduced himself and got acquainted with them. They were all very welcoming to him. As he was to them. But he told them that he was going to a place just outside of the walls of Anima. The father spoke up and said that they were heading back to their home in Menagerie. After looking into it and it's history, he nodded in understanding. The rest of the trip was him getting along with the daughter that he now knew was named Blake.

Sadly, after only a few hours, the two groups had to part ways. He was still grateful to them and said that he would pay a visit to them when he had the chance. They said that he's be welcomed by them personally. So they parted ways and he got off the boat and into the continent of Anima.

There He was currently trying to get to one of the settlements that he had learned about when he conducted some research. Currently he was trying to make his way to a little village called Shion. From what he gathered, it was a quaint little settlement that is nestled somewhere within the continent of Anima. There, it's very calm, serene and very keen on living in tandem with the land around them. However, as beautiful and serene as it is, the real reason that he was going over there was because there was talk of someone who was once a revered Hunter. Known for their skill in hand-to-hand combat and control over Aura. The plan was to go there, get training, and then move on when he feels like he's hit another wall. What he didn't plan for was that he'd run out of Lien and food before he got to the damn place. Of course he's managed to scavenge some food from the bountiful and green forest around him, but his human body has needs greater than what the forest can provide, sadly enough. in his time traveling, he has come across a multitude of Grim that ranged from the simple Beowulf to the mighty Wrecker.

It would seem being this far out in the wilderness was dangerous. Who knew?

Of course, that would be if he wasn't...well, you know. A literal god among men. Just saying. But that aside, he's moved at a steady pace, and with a bit of a grimace, he moved forward with his wits about him.

'Bleh, Note to self. Don't try to eat Grimm flesh again. They taste like burnt ash dipped in feces and vinegar with the texture of grainy mud.' Jaune lamented in disgust as he was still trying to get the taste of his latest kill of a Beringal out of his mouth. Without much luck, he just looked ahead of himself and down the mostly empty path. It had been hours since he had began walking. Sure he could run to his destination, but saw no point in it. He was in no rush. He was still technically eight and had nine years until he had to apply for Beacon. Plus, it gave him time to practice more of his elemental bending skills. He was now able to create-or, rather gather air around him and control it to a good extent. Water was much the same, being able to create a steady stream of it. So far, all he's doing is trying to create and manipulate the element on a basic level. Metal is being a bit stubborn, but otherwise alright. Earth was the third easiest beside air and water. Lightning was more harder to control than to create. In fact, he could create tons of it, but it would grow unstable quickly if not given his full concentration. Fire...it was being quite...'Temperamental'. Eh? Eh?

.

..

...

Shut up, he's clever.

Aside from that, he couldn't just create a single source of fire and concentrate it onto one source. If he did, it would suffocate itself and snuff out the flame. So he had to sort of make a constant line of fire that was continuously moving and never overlapped itself. He was going to have to put a hold on that. But Plasma? Simple enough. Just gather a bucket load of air, compress it, and then super heat it by causing friction within the space. Just do that enough, and make sure that all the heat is sealed tight within a tiny bubble for maximum effect, do that super quick, let that bastard cook for one second and BAM! You got Plasma. Of course, the process took about three to five seconds for him.

He's going to have to work on that atrociously long charging time.

But once it's created, the Plasma just multiplies on it's own. Keep it as it's Plasma ball to make it more dense and powerful or stretch it out to make more. So it was awesome enough. Gosh he loved the way his power worked. It just dawned on him how he took his powers for granted when he was still a full blown god. Speaking of which. Those two 'Brothers' that the stories talked about were...he and his father? It was hard to pinpoint how the story was so twisted that the tale of how man was created turned into some artistic film about dust, or Dust he presumed. Though, it would be a while before he would tell anyone about what really happened. And even then, he probably wouldn't correct it. Considering that the man, or God he supposed, was still alive and kicking. Another thing that he learned about was that there was a 'God above all'. At first he thought it was referring to his father, but after some extensive research, he found that wasn't the case.

It was quite surprising to find out that his father was only what would be considered a level 4 God. Though you could call it a fourth gen. Where he himself is a fifth gen. The tier system worked like this: There's him, a fifth gen God that can interact and be interacted with by what were considered mortals by physical means. Then there was the fourth gen God that could interact with mortals on a physical level while the mortals themselves could only interact with them through means of what is called magic. Here's where it gets tricky. There isn't much to gather with the rest of the higher tiered Gods, but what he could gather was that a tier three Gods could create and control a universe to their liking based on a set of laws that were fundamental and could only due so from a logical perspective. Even fewer sources gathered that the tier two Gods had the power to influence and even denounce the tier three Gods. Curious was the rather simplistic and strait forward information that came from the first tier God.

"He may act as he pleases. He may do as pleased. Yet as He does, the world shifts to His perspective. The fabrics of space contort to his will. And any and all who oppose His will is thusly cast away to make of himself a useless husk."

It was actually much more complicated than he first thought, he supposed. But it could mean a number of things. First that came to mind about this Origin was that this God could change something within the very fabrics of what this and any other reality were and no one would bat an eye because literally everything would shift around the change to make it like it was always there. In fact, there could have possibly been a change just now and he didn't notice...

Moving on from those ominous thoughts, he looked ahead and caught sight of something, or rather someone down the path and heading in his direction. As they got closer, he was able to make out more and more of the persons attire.

They were a woman, firstly, and carried themselves not quite like a warrior, but someone striving to be one. Secondly, they wore a rather worn cloak that was a faded brown color. The pigments having obviously been worn away from weather and the hands of time. under this rough textured cloak was a simple garb of a white v-neck shirt and some black cargo pants, Her skin was smooth and quite young looking. Her tan speaking for itself in how much she must have traveled. Yet it was her eyes that spoke volumes of her character. They were a soft brown, yet held a firmness to them that had an almost magical glow to them. Her hair was of a chocolaty color, having come down to her shoulders and framing her face quite nicely. On her back was a hikers bad that seemed to only be filled with essentials if the emptiness was any evidence to go by.

As he approached, or rather, they approached each other, the woman seemed to finally notice him and was struck with both confusion and surprise. It was to be expected, not much went through these parts of the continent, and even fewer children on their own. And added to the fact that his clothes were in disarray was a clear sign that he had been in quite a few scuffles. She was soon over her own shock and was replaced with an apprehensive one instead. He went to greet her when she visibly flinched. He raised an eyebrow at her and tried again, actually using words instead of gestures.

"Hi there. I see you're traveling like i am. My name is Jaune Noir. What's your name?" He greeted casually, not at all knowing what might have made this woman so nervous around him. 'She might be a bit socially awkward.' Jaune thought to himself as she came to a stop and seemed to squirm in place while taking glances around her vicinity. But he waited patiently. He had worked up a great amount of patience when he had lived with the Rose/Xiao-Long families. Though the thought of them made a spike of pain go through his heart when he thought about two certain aspiring Huntresses that had wormed themselves into his heart. He swallowed his own feelings for them and focused back onto the woman in front of him.

Said woman was now a small bit less awkward, and was actually able to get out a few words.

"...H-hello. M-my name is...Amber." Amber let out through pauses and stutters. He initially thought that it might have been the cause of a language barrier, but then analyzed her speech patterns and correlated them with jitters that one would have if something was bothering them. It wasn't anything to worry about then. Just anxiety settling in then. He took this instance to further the conversation he had for this woman.

"Hi Amber, where are you headed? I was just on my way to a place called Shion. You wouldn't happen to know it's location, would you?" He asked, not really knowing where he was heading. He just took this road hoping it would take him there. Was it practical? No. Was it stupid? Yes. But he had a feeling that something would happen if he took this path. And something did indeed happen. He met this young woman. From the looks of her, he could almost tell she was only a few years his senior. fifteen, maybe sixteen. He then patiently waited for her response after he made his own little observations. Her face contorted to that of familiarization, and he brightened up upon the sight. Maybe she did know the way!

That joy was soured however when he saw that not a second later did her face contort to one of sympathy. She scratched her cheek with a finger as she tried to find the words to tell him about what she knew.

"...Um...well...yes, i do know where it is...but...It's in the other...direction. I was heading there myself..." She spoke, feeling a small bit less awkward around the child. Jaune himself was beside himself with how much anger was flowing through his head at the moment. He was going in the opposite direction the ENTIRE TIME!? DAMN IT!

He held in his absolutely unyielding rage so that he could talk to this messenger that definitely didn't deserved to be shot.

...horrendously...

...and strait between the eyes...

...And with a fifty caliber sniper rifle...

...that had hollow rounds...

...and burnt to a crisp alongside everything they stood for...

Those thoughts aside, he couldn't let something so minor as something that would set him back weeks, maybe even months back make him spite a woman that didn't know his plight and obviously felt sorry. So he took a deep breath and calmed his mind. After all, it wouldn't due either of them good if he exploded at something as minor as that.

It just wasn't polite.

"Ah, well, that is troubling. I've been traveling this way for a few weeks. Three to be exact. But, um, my rations have been running low...in fact, i actually went through them already..." Jaune trailed off, looking to the side and scratching his cheek. Just then, his stomach rumbled it's loudest yet and he was wracked with an incredible hunger pang. He was almost brought to his knees with how weak he had become. Amber had rushed to his side in worry, looking over his form to make sure there wasn't any other injury to his person. She then proceeded to bring around her bag and fish out a container that held a sort of brownish meat with chunks of white in there. It only took Jaune a few moments before he realized what was shoved into his mouth. It was Hash. made with diced meat and potatoes. A simple dish, if slightly lacking. But right now? FUCKING HEAVEN!!

After finishing what was given to him, Jaune let out a satisfied breath. That was just what he needed. He was even calmer for it too. Maybe the extended lapse of food deprivation was what made him so moody. In any case, he was eternally thankful for the woman that saved him from having to resort to eating the actual plants that the berries grew off of. But even that would have been lack luster as well. And if he was going the wrong way anyway, then who knows how long he would have been traveling? Or even how much longer he would even survive? But he digresses, this woman was someone that he had to thank profusely.

"Thank you so much. I didn't think that my hunger would get that bad. I don't know how to pay you back." Jaune stated, sitting up against a tree on the side of the road. She had joined him as well and was now eating some more hash herself. She shook her head at him and gave a small smile.

"It's no problem. I wouldn't feel right if i let a kid starve. Speaking of which, why are you out here? And, if it's not intruding, can i ask if you have any parents?" Amber asked tentatively. She didn't want to pry too much, considering she herself was...keeping a few secrets herself. And technically, she wasn't supposed to travel with anyone. But come on, this was merely a child. Nothing was dangerous about him, right?

Jaune gave a smile in return and shrugged his shoulders. They were reasonable questions as were most others. And he reasoned that the reasonable question deserved a reasonable answer. Or, an honest answer. The definition of reasonable was very malleable.

"To answer your questions in order, I was trying to get to Shion. But I guess you could say I was turned around." Jaune said, letting out a small chuckle. He looked out into the sky. It was starting to grey as a storm was going to settle in. But he let out a sigh as he thought about her second question. It was easy for him to call Summer his mother along with Raven. And mirrored to that was Tai and Qrow as his father...-s. It would be confusing to say the lease if they were to ever get together-together. That thought alone had heat travel to his cheeks and warmth to travel to his heart. But that feeling soured when he remembered how and why he left. Having to stay away from two people he genuinely had feelings for pained him beyond imagination. But as long as he could keep them safe from harm, he would do anything for them. But bringing himself back to the conversation to answer her other question, he looked into her brown eyes. "And I do indeed have parents. They are currently...staying safe. I decided to leave so that I could better myself. In a way, you could say that i'm going on a 'spiritual trip of enlightenment'." Jaune said, finding that he was indeed going on a 'walk of life' as it would be. And this could be considered a very 'enthusiastic' walk.

Amber saw the ranging emotions spread across his face and decided to not pry any further. But instead, she decided to shift the subject back to Shion.

"So, you're heading to Shion...and i'm heading to Shion...what say we head there together? That way, the trip won't be so boring. But let's head back down the road over there. I just came from a small village that has a couple supplies. There, we can resupply, get you better suited and even get you better clothes." Amber proposed, figuring that they weren't technically traveling together, but rather just so happen to travel in the same direction and heading to the same destination. And if they so happen to camp together or share supplies together, then that would just be from one traveler to another. So she wasn't breaking the rules. She was still following them!

Jaune looked to her, thinking about the kind metaphorical-and literal- hand held put to him and appreciated the gesture. So he decided to take it. Amber helped him to his feet and they walked further down the path and soon came across the settlement that she talked about.

Throughout the time traveling, she opened up to him a bit more. Got more comfortable around each other. Jaune himself felt a familiar connection to her that he felt with the adults of the Rose/Xiao-Long family. But it was something a bit closer and a bit more open. Not quite like a mother, or like an aunt. Something closer. Like...like a sister. He could be more playful with her. Be more open and not feel this pressure to always be so respectful to her. But that's not to say that the was a complete douche to her. More of he was acting like a close friend. On the way to Shion, they eventually got to the subject of their powers, or more of how they were able to be out here in the more dangerous parts to the continent.

"Actually, I was given training in how to take protect myself and others from my parents. I'm trying to be a Hunter, you see. They said that I would be able to make a real difference in the world. I believed them, of course. And I still do. But it's...it's still so far away from me that I doubt I'd be able to do just that. But, if only to prove myself wrong, i'll try my best." Jaune said with a fire in his eyes. He's got a very long road ahead of him if he wants to have a glimmer of a chance of defeating his father. But if that was what it was going to take, he'd take off running. And on that note, he swatted away the last of the Beowulf and their pack. Amber herself took her spear and jabbed it through it's skull. The corpse fading away quickly. Amber swirled it around before compacting it into a dagger and placing it in a sheath that was strapped to her side. The spear itself was simple in design. The pole was gold in color with no other designs. The spearhead was a sort of sharpened crystal. light blue in color, but seemed to glimmer the color of the rainbow when caught in the sunlight. They calmed down from the relatively short fight and went to make sure that their stuff was unharmed. There was a small tear in Jaune's shirt, but it only took his sleeve. And even then, it was due to the sheer force of the punch he threw at the Alpha that had been able to sneak up on Amber. He killed it before it layed so much as a claw on her. That was when she asked him where he got that strength. He took a moment to look at the damaged shirt. It was the shirt that Summer had sewn herself and gifted to him. It was supposed to be worn as casual wear, but he didn't take anything else with him when he left. So that fault was on his part. But thankfully, while he had run out of food, that was only because he didn't have anyone to buy it from. He still had money, just nothing to spend it on. In fact, if he counted right, then he had about...fifty, eighty Lien. between the two. He would have much more, but it would seem very suspicious if a child arrived at a bank with valuable gems and no parents to speak of. He had gems to spare, mostly because he used a sort of...pocket dimension? It was strange. If he willed something to be stored into it, then it would disappear into it and the opposite would happen as well if he wanted it to. It was how he was able to take the components in those training robots that he used when he lived with Ruby and Yang. The way they were able to repair themselves as if they were never damaged in the first place was astounding. So he decided to learn what made them tick. Simply put: nano machines. their bodies were entirely composed of nano machines. But the only drawback was that they were susceptible to E.M.P's or any electrical based attacks. Along with the long list of other element based attacks. That's why not many weapons were made with them. That, and they could only do what they were programmed to do. It left no room for flexibility or improvement. And the ability to maneuver with the battle and adapt to a fight was what decided if a Hunter lived or died. So needless to say, they were used mostly for training drones. And yet...he could see the potential for it. the amount of programming and reinforcing he'd have to do would be arbitrary compared to the payout if he did it right. But for now, he only had a simple Long Sword and Kite Shield. They were already starting to show weathering though as they were not meant to be swung as hard as he was swinging them. But they still got the job done. He didn't have any special preference to weapons, but he figured that an armory wouldn't be a problem with how he wanted to utilize the nano machines.

But those were thoughts that would be for another time. He actually wanted to know more about Amber. She told him that she was on a similar 'walk of life' and that she was training to be a protector of the world. But said that she didn't want to be tied down by some title as Huntress, which was reasonable he supposed. But he still insisted that she at least consider it. She playfully challenged him to make her. That was the end of that conversation, but he would convince her one way or another.

(Time Skip Brought To You By A Chibi Amber And Jaune Happily Walking Down The Dirt Path)

"I'm just saying, being a Hunter would give you so many opportunities that would be awesome for you. Or anyone that had them for that matter." Jaune argued, looking at her to his side. She scoffed at him and gave him a look of her own. She had become much more open to him the longer they talked. But she wouldn't tell him what her powers were. Which was fair. They only met about a few days ago. She actually kind of froze when he asked. So he figured that it must have been a personal matter. He let it go and they went on their way. The subject of family came up and he told her his own fabricated backstory before telling her of his time with the Rose/Xiao-Long families. At that, she said that she had heard of Summer, Qrow, Raven and Taiyang. They were Legends among the Huntsman of their generation. They she shared that she was an only child of a single father. He knew that something like this was a tender matter, and decided to change the subject again. He took the safe rout and tried to talk about the pros of being a Hunter. She seemed to be appreciative of the change of subject and went along with it.

"Yeah, but that also means that you have to listen to the Council. Not exactly the best of groups." Amber said with a roll of her eyes. That was another subject that they had talked about. The Council. He had learned of them from Qrow and Raven mostly. And they weren't too keen on listening to them either. Summer didn't like talking about them and Tai just ignored the subject all together. He had learned that people of power were prone to some...corrupt tendencies. He also realized that they were only allowed their positions because they were very 'influential'. In other words, they had money. And lots of it. It left a bad taste in his mouth that people like that were allowed to go about freely with whatever they wanted to do. Even more so when he remembered that this is what happened in his absence after he created them. For as much progress they made on their own, the nipping fangs of corruption seemed to be on their heels. But they had been in a negative mood long enough. And that, he wanted to lift their spirits.

"Yeah yeah, but you can't deny the appeal. Being looked up to by hundreds of children. The respect of all your peers. Their trust and maybe even your...significant other." Jaune said, giving his own perspective on the life of a Hunter. Of course, he knows the dangers and the need to deal justice, and that was what he believed what a Huntsman is. But the romanticized version is also hard to ignore. And on that subject, Amber couldn't help but look at him in confusion.

"Why do you keep talking about 'significant others' and stuff. You're way too young to be talking about that kind of thing." Amber stated, not knowing how he could be so fond of the idea. She figured that children his age would think of girls as gross and that they had 'cooties' or whatever.

"Well, truth be told, I want to find one for myself one of these days. And i'm almost certain that I've found them already." Jaune stated, thinking about Yang and Ruby as he spoke. He was almost certain that he would marry one of the two. But there was a problem with that. That would entail that he had to chose between one of the two. And that was what pained him so. His heart was strewn between the two evenly. To choose one would leave half of his heart to wither and die. From there he would have two options. Either let them both go and make sure that they both stay happy at the expense of his own happiness, or try to marry them both. It was legal in this world apparently. As long as all of the involved party consents, they could be married to more than one person. But the problem with that is the fact that hes not sure that they both like him, or even if either of them like him at all! And on top of that, if they were willing to share him with each other or if he chose one of them, having their relationship with each other ruined because of him. There were a lot more factors that could hinder that train of logic, but he'd worry about that when he got to it. Now was peace time.

"You're a weird one, you know that, Jaune?" Amber said, looking down at him with an amused smirk on her lips. She would admit, Jaune was amusing. And he was strong. Undoubtedly so. He'd shown it when they were fighting. She could tell that he had extensive training in not only sword proficiency, but in hand to hand as well. And on top of that, she could tell he was holding back his strength. She wondered how strong he really was, but thought that if he could obliterate a Wrecker with ease, then she should be glad she doesn't know what it looks like. On the subject of strength, there was the fact that she was the-

"GET DOWN!"

The sight of a Grimm insect flying at her face was all she saw before she blacked out.

Ah, it's good to be back. Now...I have a lot of catching up to do. Anyways, i'll be back in the next week or so. So until then, i bid you all adieu. Until the next chapter, Toodles~!