"Nora!" Valerian yelled, dread turning her blood to ice as she looked upon the destruction she had created.
Much of the house had collapsed due to the powerful wave of energy she had created. She had not intended to use so much of the Summer Maiden's power. She should have known that facing Tyrian would have provoked such a reaction from her. That was a decades long wound that had been forced open. Blue flames ate away at the splintered wood that may have once been considered furniture, spluttering as their dinner was interrupted by some unburnable piece of limestone or tile.
This dread was accompanied by an irrational sense of panic as she recalled another, somewhat similar, situation. The memory barged itself to the forefront of her mind- of Summer Rose, too injured to fight, struggling to hold her back. Summer was desperately trying to stop her from doing something that would surely have ended in her own death, as she watched a Grimm fly off with her only child.
Not again. She begged herself.
Why calling upon this Huntress's name had conjured such memories Valerian did not know but she couldn't let what had happened then happen again now.
"I'm here!" A hoarse voice called, accompanied by the sound of shifting rock. A small amount of white rock quivered momentarily until a ginger haired head peaked through, aquamarine eyes wide with a faint flare of mystical powers behind them. Valerian let out an obvious sigh of relief as more of the Huntress appeared, relatively unscathed, although Nora's pink Aura did flicker as she finally, fully, extracted herself from the ruble.
Nora Valkyrie staggered on the uneven ground, brushing dust out of her hair. Valerian Carrie seemed completely unaffected by the destruction she herself had conjured. She was standing in a ring of broken furniture and blue fire, a true entity to fear. Val smiled at Nora but it quickly shifted into an irritated smirk when someone far less pleasant succeeded in peeling themselves out of the destruction. Tyrian Callows forced a piece of library of his chest and looked around himself, surveying what Valerian had done with obvious interest
Hastily Nora searched the ruble, her hands itching and uncomfortably naked without Magnhild. However, if her weapon had been misplaced before, now it was completely unreachable, buried under what once had been Valerian and Bellamy's home, along with those beloved frames. On the plus side, it seemed Clover had also been buried with Nora's hammer. It was a small victory, a side effect of Valerian's mistake, but they had to take all the victories they could. At least now both Maidens could focus their attention on their only, admittedly slimy, adversary.
Said Faunus was casually brushing dust off his trousers, smiling the type of smile that filled Val with discomfort. A smile that was on the border between happiness and insanity. His pincer twitched excitedly behind him.
"I think it might be time the kid sits this one out." Tyrian began, giving Nora a disinterested look. Valerian was the one he so desperately wished to fight. The fully realised Summer Maiden, an enemy with which he really had to put his life on the line. He licked his lips in excitement and his body tingled with anticipation. "The adults want some alone time."
Valerian narrowed her eyes at her former teammate but he did not deserve her concern.
"Are you okay?" Valerian asked, failing to hide the worry from her voice, a sentiment that touched Nora for this woman was still practically a stranger to her.
Nora nodded her head, her large eyes never leaving Tyrian and she carefully manoeuvred her way towards Valerian, weaving through the flaming debris and balanced upon unsteady rocks.
"Can you fight?" Valerian questioned next, her voice becoming more serious.
"Is Tyrian a creep?" Nora countered, her casual yet confident answer causing Valerian to smile. Nora had no weapon to speak of, her hammer was MIA and she was still unable to Manifest anything, weapon or otherwise. Although it was most certainly nowhere near enough time, Nora had been trying to conjure some form of hammer using the Winter Maiden's powers since she'd lost her actual weapon. But even if she were unarmed, Nora refused to become a burden to Valerian as she had become to her friends back in Atlas. She would fight even if it meant using her bare fists.
Leering, Tyrian ran towards Valerian anticipation of the fight ahead adding a spring to his step. The Faunus took another step but rather than finding rough footing, the surface of the ruble that greeted him was surprisingly smooth. His momentum went against him, the man flailing his arms to try to steady himself as he recognised the gleam upon the rock- ice. A fine layer of frost covered the area between him and Nora, the Huntress's hands were outstretched as a strong wind blew in his direction.
Feeling his balance being lost, he fell backwards, the tips of his gauntlet piercing through the ice to the rock below. The action slowed his movement just enough to see Valerian, encased in deep blue flames, zooming towards him. Her flaming billhooks each aimed to strike a killing blow. With his gauntlets still held within the rock, Tyrian leaned so far back he had to use his tail for support and to stop him toppling to the ground. Valerian was flying too fast to stop in response to his actions but her trajectory was predictable. Still using his blades and tail as an anchor, he pushed himself off the ground, both his feet coming in contact with Valerian who had been passing overhead. The force sent her stumbling sideways while Tyrian had his whole body balance at ninety degrees to the ground. A flash of blue and ginger caught his attention and, just barely, he managed to swing his pincer sideways, its hard metal tip swatting Nora away as she charged at him.
With a good tug of his arms, he finally freed his blades from the ground only to duck as Valerian jumped in from nowhere. Tyrian tried to stab upwards but instead found himself falling backwards as his footing was, once again, frosted over. The Faunus cursed the younger Huntress as his back collided with the uneven ruble, the air being knocked out of him in the process. He wasn't injured in the slightest but the fall had been enough to daze him briefly, a fact Valerian did not fail to observe. She leaped forwards, her fiery blade pointed towards his face. Tyrian could feel his movement slow, any slower and he really would have to fear for his life. In that instant, still recovering from the impact, he rolled out of Valerian's way, a blade piercing the rock beside his head, so close it lightly singed the closest ear.
Using the impaled blade as a pivot and the Maiden's flames as a jet she contorted her body, attempting to spear through Tyrian while he was still on the floor. Hastily he rolled again, attempting to get back on his feet, his breathing heavy. He shuddered as he felt the chilled wind of the Winter Maiden wash over him, bringing with it a wave of ice that threatened to freeze him in place if he halted in his movement for even a moment.
Tyrian's face contorted in irritation as Nora attempted to freeze the ground under his feet, unbalancing him. He bounced further away as Valerian, without hesitation, used the Maiden's powers to project herself forward. Her sapphire blades blurs in her hand, extensions of her arms. She had been skilled with the walking stick-gun combination weapon but she had trained with billhooks since before she'd entered Shade Academy. They were not simply Manifestations, or weapons but extensions of her body, responding to her slightest movement. This would be an interesting fight.
Or it should have been an interesting fight
The brat was spoiling his fun.
Tyrian evaded the two Huntresses's in the next attack. He doubted either woman had even met the other before this day but, with the way they responded to each other's actions, Valerian heavily attacking while the child supported her, it was almost as if they had spared together many times beforehand.
Tyrian took a mental note of the situation. Neither Huntress had yet to land an attack so he was free of any injuries, however he had had to stay on his toes to remain in such a status. He could feel his limbs tiring. If his actions slowed even in the slightest he knew that Valerian would not hesitate to lop off his head.
His slowly growing fatigue was also accompanied with frustration. He wanted to be in peak condition to face Valerian but fighting two Maidens at once, even if one was untrained, was taxing. His pincer twitched beside his head hungrily. If he could just get rid of the brat he could focus on Valerian Carrie and the real fight. His dark eyes moved away from Nora and to a section of ruble some distance back.
A crooked smile spread across his face.
Maybe he would have that battle with Val after all.
Nora clenched her fist desperately trying to conjure a weapon. Even a tiny toothpick would have helped at that point but she couldn't concentrate on Manifestation. The Maiden's power was responding to every other whim of hers except that one. Frost had begun to form on her arms, making a captivating pattern as they mingled with the scars across her skin. The tips of her fingers had begun to gain a bluish hue but not once did she feel the chill. How much more of this could her body take?
But if Valerian, with her sickness, could continue to fight, she wouldn't let a little cold stop her.
Nora narrowed her eyes at Tyrian, focusing her next series of punches at him. However, before she could prepare her strike something cold slid across her neck and pressed itself against her throat.
Her breath hitched as she suddenly felt a presence, a cold, unwelcome presence that cut through the cold of Maiden's own power. The presence was filled with menace and malicious intent. Suddenly it felt as if a predator had appeared behind her and that Nora was the prey. A single unwarranted movement and she would be dead. From the corner of her eyes she could just make out Clover Ebi's once handsome face.
Valerian hovered on the spot, momentarily twirling the two billhooks but she faltered when she saw the smile that spread across Tyrian's face. She'd never liked it when he smiled, even when they were students. It usually meant trouble for her and that someone was going to get hurt.
"I'd be careful about what you do next," Tyrian sneered. "Or else maybe the kid could end up a head shorter."
Valerian's eyes widened, realising, too late, who Tyrian was referring to. She turned, her hair flying wildly with the movement to see Nora being towered over by the companion she had hoped to have buried. The gleaming, needle-like arm was pressed to her neck, its tip unnaturally curved so it was pressed to her pale neck. Nora's pink Aura was flickering against the limb as it slightly pierced through her Aura to make a hole where it touched.
"Get away from her." Growled Valerian, the fire around her eyes flared even more intensely in response to her anger.
"I wouldn't do anything too hasty." Tyrian sang, his venomous voice stopping her movement. "You Know the Scourge? That nasty sickness you hate so much? It's caused by these teeny tiny Grimm that suck Aura. Even a tiny sting from them is enough to infect a person. But this Necrogrimm? He doesn't need a Nemusa to collect Aura, he's evolved enough to feed for himself. If that stinger pierces her skin, it will suck her Aura dry in minutes. She'd be dead long before the Scourge ever kicks in."
"I will incinerate you!" Valerian hissed furiously. "Both of you!"
"Oh? Would you risk hurting your precious friend?" Tyrian tilted his head, amused at the idea.
"The Winter Maiden's powers will keep her safe!" Yelled Val. It had protected her when she'd caused the house to collapse. It could protect her against her fire again. Theodore would have to forgive her for damaging the garden, just as Bellamy would have to forgive the house.
"Is that a risk you really want to take?" Observed Tyrian. "Her powers seem a little unstable."
"Don't listen to him!" Nora yelled, struggling as much as she could given her current predicament. "You can't let them get the Relic!"
But Valerian was not listening to her pleas. She was looking into Nora's aquamarine eyes and the lack of supernatural power that surrounded them at that moment. She'd seen eyes such a colour many years ago, in her daughter. Why did such memories insist on surfacing now? To superimpose her daughter's face on hers?
"You're despicable!" Valerian hissed, just causing Tyrian's smile to broaden further.
"Complements won't help you now." He observed, taking a few steps towards Valerian. The Huntress looked at the Faunus with contempt before lowering herself as close to the ground as she could. The two Manifested billhooks sputtering out of life.
"No!" Begged Nora. She couldn't let Salem have both the Maiden and the Relic. But what else could she do?
"Now was that so hard?" Mocked Tyrian, stopping before Valerian. His tail whipped forward, encircling her neck and causing her to gag as her hands clawed at it, her response instinctive.
But her struggles soon died down, her body realising the Faunus would not choke her to death just yet. Instead she chose to remain quiet, Tyrian didn't deserve an answer. She knew her words and her struggles would only fuel this insane mind of his. Instead she focused her eyes on Nora whose Aura still flickered against the Necrogrimm's stinger. Tyrian had not been lying about the damage his companion could inflict.
Nora struggled slightly against Clover's hold but she too knew that Tyrian had been telling the truth. She could feel its tip penetrate her Aura, cutting though it like butter. She could use the Maiden's powers but, because of her, Valerian had also been captured. If Nora did anything now against the Necrogrimm, Valerian would pay the price.
Nora's eyes locked with Val's and a silent conversation crossed between the two of them. They would have to wait for the right opportunity to strike, when both of them could escape without risking the other.
Casually, and with a somewhat giddy excitement, Tyrian shuffled with something in his pocket. He raised his hand to reveal his Scroll. Quickly, he selected one of the contacts before bringing the communications device to his ear.
He smiled cruelly as he spoke.
"I've got you a little present."
And that's another chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it and thank you so much for reading. I'll see you Friday :D