Hello again!
Okay, so... I actually have some extra buffer chapters. That means I'm going to put another of these up on Friday, so uh... yeah! Keep an eye out for it.
3. Jumping at Shadows
A human boy walked alone in the deep shadows under the canopy of the Emerald Forest. He was unarmed and jumpy. His head swiveled back and forth, night-blind eyes straining in the dark.
Sienna stepped out behind him and said, "Well?"
He yelped and whirled around like a gun had gone off behind him. Once he saw her—or, more likely, Hazel standing behind her—he relaxed.
"It's rude to sneak up on people."
Nothing Sienna might have said to that would have been useful or diplomatic, so she ignored it. "Do you have information for us?"
"Yeah." He plopped down on a fallen log. "Might want to take a seat, 'cause this is gonna be a while."
Sienna grit her teeth. "Talk quickly, then." It was irritating enough to work with Hazel, and he was at least polite. She understood why, of course—humans could be just as useful as faunus in the right conditions, and it would be a waste not to take advantage of every resource at their disposal. That didn't make it easy or pleasant.
To his credit, the human seemed to get the message. "There's been way more security lately. Not sure why, but if you've been doing anything near campus it looks like they noticed."
Adam must have been caught skulking—that was not a conversation she looked forward to.
"Patterns?" she prompted the human. "Names? Blind spots?"
"Here." He rummaged in his pocket and withdrew a square of paper. "I wrote down where I saw 'em and when. Figured out a bunch of shifts that repeat."
She took the paper, scanned it quickly to make sure he was telling the truth, then tucked it away. "Good. And Blake?"
Next to her, Hazel made a quiet noise in the back of his throat. He disapproved—but then, the man disapproved of almost everything.
"You said to report anything weird about her and her dragon, right? She's been staying in his stall almost a week now. About an hour a day. Maybe he's sick? Haven't really gotten the chance to ask."
"When?"
The boy hesitated. "Uh... usually around five? She leaves before it gets dark."
"This is useful," Sienna decided. "...Thank you."
She and Hazel left the clearing. The human would find his own way back—he should have the route memorized by now.
Once they were out of earshot Hazel said, "You're being polite. Why?"
"He's useful. I'd like him to stay that way." She had her pride, but she wasn't so insecure she couldn't muster an insincere 'thank you' to keep a useful informant around.
Speaking of which... "We need to talk to him."
Hazel raised an eyebrow. "We?"
She hesitated, trying to guess how much he would care about preserving the human alliance. In the end, it came down to the simple fact that she'd already tried talking to him alone. "Yes." Siding with Hazel against him left a bad taste in her mouth, but it was necessary.
Adam wouldn't see it that way. Part of her almost preferred dealing with the human stable hand.
It took around two hours to reach the camp proper. They were still dangerously close to Beacon as far as Sienna was concerned, but Adam wouldn't budge. He needed to be able to get there and back in a day, and that was that.
His tent was just behind their makeshift lab. Sienna didn't know how he could stand the smell—the acrid tang of Dust, which no matter what they did was always mixed with the scent of death. He met them outside, his arms folded across his chest.
"Well?"
Sienna handed him the human's report. "Information on the patrolling schedules of the professors."
"Good." He skimmed it, then folded it up again. "And the girl?"
"Staying with the hybrid in his stall, around an hour a day just before sunset. It could be he isn't viable after all, the stable hand thinks he's sick."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
"He knows who her friends are. He has to."
"Adam." He tensed, sensing the challenge in her voice. "You need to focus."
"We can't do nothing about a traitor—"
"She's been there for months. The damage is done. I know you want to settle things between you, but we have other responsibilities."
He didn't speak for a long moment. His posture was rigid, but she couldn't see his expression behind the mask. Frustrating.
Finally, "I'm going for a walk."
Damn him. "Adam, we need to talk about—"
"Fennac and Corsac have been handling the Dust mixtures. Ask them."
"And write down—"
"The map is on my desk. You can add the human's information to it now, or I'll do it when I come back. I don't care."
"Adam."
"What?"
"You're our leader because you're charismatic. Disappearing into the woods for hours on end makes you less charismatic."
"Is that a threat?"
She winced. It had come out sounding like one. "No. I'm telling you that you can't afford to get distracted. Our personal issues will have to wait until after we win this war. Too many people are counting on us. On you, especially."
He strode into his tent. There was a clatter—I don't care what that was, I'm not cleaning it up—and an angry shriek. Sienna tensed. Adam stormed back out a moment later, shoulder-checking Hazel as he passed. Brand crouched in the doorway, smoke oozing from between his jaws. There was a thick iron collar around his neck, though it wasn't fixed to anything at the moment. Not much point when he could tear the tent out of the ground if he wanted.
"It's alright," Hazel murmured. He stepped forward.
"Don't."
"What is it?" Brand growled, low and threatening. Hazel stopped, then carefully lowered himself to his knees. "What's wrong?"
"He doesn't like humans," Sienna said, hoping he'd get the hint.
Brand turned to her as she spoke and growled. He moved forward, crouching just in the doorway of the tent. Sienna backed up. "Hazel, move."
"He's hurt," Hazel said. "There's a cut, right there—" His hand twitched, probably an instinctive urge to point that he'd squashed. Brand noticed. He lunged, and the human only just dodged out of the way in time to save his arm. A bit of his sleeve caught in the creature's jaws as he retreated into the tent, his eyes glowing molten gold in the dark.
Hazel finally got the hint.
All Twiggy could hear was the thick, leathery sound of her own wings flapping. She clawed at the air, fighting to stay level. No matter what she did she sank further and further, lower and lower, her tail skimming the grass... Finally her forelegs hit the ground and she sprawled onto her side, spent.
There was another thud next to her, this one much heavier. She lifted her head just in time to see Pit flop unceremoniously onto his belly.
"Tired?" he asked.
Twiggy squirmed, trying to get to her feet. A moment later she gave up—she'd try again after a few minutes' rest. "I'm not even halfway there yet."
Pit rested his head on his forepaws. "You'll catch up."
"Easy for you to say."
"It's not." His tail flicked irritably. "I can hardly get off the ground with as much weight as I'm supposed to. They took some off last week."
Twiggy perked her head up a little. "You're having trouble too? But you're..." she trailed off. He'd been bigger and stronger than everyone else since they were babies. She supposed being a few days older had to mean less as they all grew up, but still.
"I'm too heavy," he admitted. "Too big for my wings, I mean. It's the same problem all earth dragons have, only worse."
She took a second to look at him more closely. His wingspan seemed similar to Zircon's, but he was taller and broader at the shoulder, and had more muscle. Pretty much the complete opposite of wind dragons like Freya.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't think about that." She glanced at the silver freckles on his face, then checked to see if there were any other dragons in earshot. There weren't. "Could you use your powers?"
"Maybe..." He didn't seem to like the idea. "Not yet, though. We're supposed to be building up muscle to let us carry heavier loads. Having an easier time now will only make it harder later."
"Yeah." He was right... but she got the sense that wasn't the real reason he didn't want to try it.
"It's okay." His tail flicked back and forth and the muscles in his back legs tensed—like he was thinking about something that made him want to pounce. "I don't need to be able to carry much weight. Just Blake."
Twiggy curled her wings around herself. "I'm scared. What if I stop growing before I'm big enough to carry Jaune?"
"You won't," Pit said confidently. "Think about it. You're carrying half as much weight as the others right now. Adult dragons like Pepper can carry two riders, and half of two is one. So even if you and I never get as good at flying as the rest, we'll at least be able to fly with our partners."
Twiggy stared at him for a long moment. It had never occurred to her to think about the problem that way, but it made sense. She perked up. "Yeah!"
She was about to ask him where he'd gotten the idea to use numbers like that when she heard another dragon approaching behind them. They both shot to their feet, exhaustion temporarily forgotten.
Pepper snorted approval. "It's important to rest when you need it," she said, "but make sure you get back in the air as soon as you can. Conditioning is important—working hard now means you'll be able to maneuver better in the air with your rider!"
Twiggy and Pit both trotted back to the ramps. The weights on her back were still awfully heavy, but her heart felt much lighter. She would work as hard as she could, and even if she couldn't carry quite as much as the others, at least she'd be able to fly with Jaune—and at least she wasn't the only one struggling.
Water roared as it plummeted down the cliff face. The air smelled of damp earth and moss, and overhead the trees were just starting to show their new leaves. Somewhere nearby, a trio of birds were singing to one another.
Zircon poked his nose out. Slowly... slowly... he stuck out his tongue. It touched the water and he pulled back with a yelp. Cold!
On the other side of the waterfall, Nimbus had stuck most of his head in the water to drink. Zircon stuck his snout under, then sneezed. Very cold!
There was a quiet giggle from behind him. He turned, his ears perking up. Sage and Scarlet were both lying in a huge, earthy dip between several rocks. Moss had grown over the rocks and all through the dip, and Zircon had quickly learned that it was softer and smelled even better than the fragrant hay in his stall.
Sage had taken off his shoes to curl his toes in the moss, and was trying to persuade Scarlet to do the same. Zircon wandered over, then lay his head next to his partner and sighed contentedly.
He hadn't liked the idea of being in the Emerald Forest very much at first, but Sage had assured him that the only reason their little spot wasn't part of campus was that it happened to be on the wrong side of the cliffs. Older dragons and their partners cleared the Grimm away regularly—the last time one had been seen this close to the school had been before even Ragnar had hatched.
Zircon still made sure to keep an eye out. After a moment he lifted his head and searched the area, ears pricked for any sound. There was a lot of it, mostly because Nimbus was barking and running in circles and Scarlet was laughing. Nothing dangerous. He glanced up the cliff, to where he could just see some roots from the forest above curling over the edge. None of the rocks looked like they might fall.
Satisfied, he put his head back down and purred when Sage draped an arm over his nose. Moss and dirt were wonderful, but nothing made him feel as safe as his partner's scent.
"Hi," he said. His partner smiled and scratched behind his ears.
Soon Zircon was curled up around Sage and Scarlet and sinking into soft moss. Rocks rose up around them like a tiny wall, shielding them from the outside world. Nimbus wandered over to see where all the others had gone, then lay down on Scarlet's other side. It was cramped with all four of them there together, and Zircon was a little worried about squishing the moss, but right then he decided there was nowhere else in the world that was better than this.
His eyes drifted slowly shut as he relaxed, listening to the sound of the waterfall. The sun was just starting to go down. Zircon wished it wouldn't—he didn't want to leave yet. Maybe if he and Nimbus took turns keeping watch they could sleep here...
Watch! Zircon's eyes snapped open. He'd almost dozed off. This place was nice, but it was still the Emerald Forest. He poked his head up to scan the area around him.
A twig snapped, and Zircon's head swiveled towards the noise. He saw a flash of something disappearing further into the forest. Something black and red. Grimm were supposed to be black and red, and now that he was thinking about it he thought he might have seen horns!
"Zircon?" Sage patted his shoulder. "What's—?"
He leaned down, grabbed his partner's shirt in his mouth, and deposited him safely on his back.
"Grr!"
"It's alright," Scarlet said. "It's just us, see?"
"I saw one of the monsters!" Zircon told Nimbus. "We have to run!"
"But Scarlet said—"
"I saw it!"
Nimbus looked around, but his eye always acted up when he was nervous so Zircon wasn't sure how much he could actually see. Not that it really mattered, since the monster had already disappeared into the woods. He curled his tail around himself, tensing, wondering what it was doing. Would it try to circle around? Were there more?
After a moment of Nimbus nudging his rider to get him to climb on, he and Zircon took off running towards the path back to Beacon. It took longer on the ground than it would if they could just fly up the cliff, but Zircon couldn't carry Sage yet and even the wind dragons hadn't learned how to take off without a ramp.
When they finally reached the safety of the grounds, Zircon put his partner back on the ground and wrapped him up in his wings, hugging him close to his chest.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Scarlet asked.
"Grr!" Nimbus tried.
"Grr... mm," added Zircon.
It took a second, but Scarlet's eyes flew open wide. "Wait, here?" He glanced towards the cliff's edge. "We should report that to Ozpin."
"Agreed," said Sage, his voice slightly muffled. "Just... give us a minute."
Zircon nuzzled him, inhaling the scent that meant he was safe. They would tell Ozpin and Ragnar, and they would get rid of the Grimm, and... and they wouldn't go back to the Emerald Forest anymore.
His tail drooped. He'd really started to like that spot.
Rudder and Justice lay curled up together on a hill overlooking Haven's campus. Steam rose from the fire dragon as he heated his scales. Neither said a word. They were simply enjoying each other's company in silence, looking at the stars... betraying their riders.
Whisper pulled her neck back and slunk away, wishing she hadn't seen.
It didn't matter. She had an actual job to do, so she needed to focus. She prowled through the shadows, sniffing the air, and caught the scent of another dragon. Not one of her brothers, this time. It was late, and most of the students were asleep. This had to be the one she was supposed to watch.
When Whisper approached, she spotted the fire dragon with rich reddish-brown scales Neo had told her about. Paprika. There were two humans with her. "Dragonmaster Lionheart still hasn't told me anything," her rider said. He huddled close to his dragon, stroking her nose. "Useless old bastard. He hasn't even tried to find out who told them! When I get my hands on that filthy snitch, they're going to wish they'd never been born."
"Char—" The other rider started to say, but Char cut them off.
"I knew I should've gone to Beacon! Lionheart probably hasn't got off his knees in years, too busy—"
"Char!" They seized him by the shoulders. "It'll be okay. He said he was going to talk to them about Paprika."
"What good will that do?!" Char started pacing, and Paprika let out a low croon. "She can't use her powers without hurting herself. The council won't understand, and I don't need you spouting the old man's bullshit at me! I get enough of that as it is."
"I'm just trying to help."
Char slumped. "I'm sorry, Lu."
"Me too, but you shouldn't talk like that. You're scaring her."
He sighed and stroked Paprika's nose again. "Sorry, girl. I won't let anything happen to you."
"We won't," Lu added.
"Yeah. We."
"When... when's the verdict due?"
"They said next week, but Lionheart told me he can delay it a bit." Char scoffed. "That's all he's good for."
"Okay, well... that means we have a couple weeks to figure something out, right? Maybe if we get enough people—"
"Nobody cares, Lu." Char hugged both arms around himself, shivering. "They're too scared of the council looking closer at their dragons to do anything."
"Try." Lu grabbed his hand. "Please?"
Char nodded at the ground. They released him, bouncing on the balls of their feet. "Great! Tomorrow we can get the whole team together and figure out a plan. Okay?"
"...Okay."
Whisper watched them for several more minutes. Then, when it became clear they weren't going to say anything else important, she crept away.
Neo was waiting for her in their spot, a small unused shed on the edge of the campus. She drew Whisper's head close and breathed into her ear, "W-will they f-fight?"
She nodded.
"G-good." Neo looked at the ground, brow furrowed, avoiding Whisper's eyes.
"Nneo... gud."
"..."