Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. The list of targets that the dynamic duo sought only continued to grow with every passing day. With each kill, Lotus found her inhibitions fading into the background. After the scare she had, and the subsequent reaffirmation that Widow was her only family left, the shackles that bound her to 'good' had deteriorated under the pressure of proving herself. Lotus didn't mind anymore. Widow did not judge her for the things she did, and as far as Lotus was concerned, her opinion was the only one that mattered.
Their targets became vast in scope. The duo killed petty thieves, assaulted SDC compounds, assassinated government officials, and all the while, grew their reputation. Through Malachite, they were offered more jobs, outsourced to those that Malachite owed a favor. Lotus returned to her training, once again hiding her semblance whenever it was necessary. She was becoming a true powerhouse in her own right, even when she didn't let loose. They often killed huntsman, either as targets, or simply because they got in the way. It was never them, though. Never the three that remained on Lotus's list.
So it came as a surprise when, long after they had given up hope on their quest for revenge, Malachite was finally able to give them some good news. Her informants had found two of the huntsman that had evaded them for so long. It turned out they were a pair of rogues, beholden to no kingdom or city, and had disappeared shortly after the raid on the White Fang.
The informant had gotten their hands on SDC records that detailed out the huntsman that had been hired for specific duties and compared the list to the night of the raid. They now knew who all three were, but the last was proving even more difficult to pin down. 'Daisy and Carob Alabaster', the names of two soon-to-be dead hunters, rolled around in Lotus's mind like the wheels of the cart she currently sat in. They had left the city, for the first time in a long time.
Lotus felt Widow glancing back to where she sat at the back of the cart, feet dangling over the side as the road swayed them both back and forth. Each dip or rock in the road sent a jolt into the wood beneath them that neither seemed to mind. Lotus had adopted the habit of always using her semblance to coat her hands and legs. The act made it all feel more natural once she needed to fight, and keeping her semblance out cost her nothing. If anything, she felt lighter, more mobile, and intoxicatingly stronger because of it.
Her senses had become more finely tuned over the past two years, born from both age, and necessity. A single slip up in their line of work meant death, and neither was in a rush to bring about that eventuality. Lotus could feel everything around them. Stationary objects had started to fade into her range of senses over a year before. Everything had a unique vibration to it, changed by both the shape and structure of the object, as well as the material it was comprised of. Minute differences that had, at first, come as a shock when she was finally able to sense them.
The sense only became more profound when Lotus closed her eyes, as she was doing now. The wind ruffling each individual blade of grass, the leaves in the trees as birds, squirrels, or insects disturbed them, the constant back and forth pattern of the horse's muscles as they flexed and applied pressure to the ground beneath them. The vibrations of the cart she sat on, and the fruits and vegetables held within the barrels that rode alongside her. She could feel it all. It was soothing. A comfort she relished, knowing that none would ever be able to sneak up on her.
"You look awfully peaceful back there, Lotus," Widow quipped back to her over the sound of the clopping horses and rattling cart.
"How could I not be?" Lotus mumbled and opened her eyes back up before blinking in the harsh light. She realized with a start that she had nearly dozed off despite the questionable position she was in. They weren't travelling fast, little more than a brisk walk, but Lotus looked down at the ground. 'Falling off in front of Widow would have been embarrassing, at the very least.'
"When we reach town, I'll leave you to repay our kind savior while I gather information," Widow spoke again, careful to keep any of their intentions obscured from the old man that sat in the front of the cart. He had been kind enough to offer them a ride when he passed on his way to the same town the two of them were headed for. They had graciously accepted, and promised their assistance in unloading his goods when they arrived.
"Fine by me," Lotus shrugged. If the old man left her to do it with a little privacy, she could unload the barrels in no time flat with a little help from her semblance. Six arms were better than two, after all. With a small rumble in her stomach, matched only by the shaking of the cart, Lotus raised her voice to catch the old man's attention, "Is it alright with you if I snag a couple apples, sir? I'll pay for them once we get to town."
"Oh, you gals go ahead and help yourselves," the old man's gravelly voice replied over his shoulder with a polite wave to let them know they were more than welcome to it. Lotus hopped up into a crouch and held a hand against one of the barrels to keep her balance before popping the top off. She held an apple up towards Widow in a silent question, and with a nod from the older faunus, tossed it to her. Lotus grabbed a couple for herself and settled back down, now leaning back against the barrels behind her, more snugly confined to the inside of the cart.
"I'm glad I found you two when I did," the old man spoke again after some time, "You wouldn't have made it to town before dark at the pace you were going. I can't bear the thought of what might have happened to the two of you if the Grimm were to attack in the night."
Widow's lips pursed in amusement that the old man could not see while facing forward as he was, "The Grimm can just as easily attack during the day, but thank you for the ride. We are both appreciative of the kindness you've shown." Lotus stifled a giggle, sharing in the silent joke that passed between them. 'A human worrying about us, of all people.' Lotus shook her head while her giggling subsided.
The old man caught none of it, instead opting to place his hands on the double barrel shotgun resting beside him and lift it up for all eyes to see, "As long as me and Big Bertha are around, you don't have to worry about any pesky Grimm. Took a beowolf's head clean off with one shot just last week. I swear it."
"I believe you," Widow stifled a laugh, eyeing the shotgun. It was an impressive weapon. Lotus had no doubts he could protect them, if he aimed true. That is, as long as there were only ever two Grimm that attacked at a time. Once a third appeared… Lotus chuckled dryly, 'Who knows, maybe he reloads fast.'
"Looks like we'll have to forgo any demonstrations," the old man breathed a sigh of relief from the front. Lotus sat up and Widow turned to face the front as they saw the small village appear through the trees ahead of them. The curve in the road bent suddenly, bringing it all into view. A sign post along the roadside announced their arrival. 'Welcome to Shion', Lotus read it to herself as they passed.
Around two dozen buildings greeted their eyes as they arrived. Each was a mixture of white and tan, with brown, steeply angled rooftops, all gathered around a single T street, with what looked like the main building at the top of the T. Lotus was surprised at how many people she saw walking around the place. 'Small, but densely packed…' Men, women, and children all went about their business, chatting amongst one another, shopping, or playing in the street.
The old man drove his cart to the side of one of the smaller buildings, angling the back of the cart so that it would face two wide double doors that he opened a moment later. "Well, this is where I'd like you to put the supplies. Feel free to come on inside when you're done. I'll have Margaret whip you up some dinner as thanks," he ended it with a smile and a nod, turning to head into the house.
"Alright. Are you okay here, little spider?" Widow asked lightly, gaze already flicking back and forth across the town in search of a bar where she might ask around for their quarry.
Lotus looked at the shed. Shelves lined the sides, full of tools and supplies. There were already some crates and barrels taking up the back corner, but with a quick eye Lotus could tell that space wouldn't be an issue. With her being out in the open like this… "It'll take me a little longer than I'd hoped, but I'll manage. You do what you need to."
Widow nodded and set off, apparently recognizing one of the further buildings as some sort of pub or tavern. 'Where else would huntsman stay?' The informant had told them the two hunters had accepted a mission for Shion, likely to kill any Grimm that might have been spotted in the area. It was typical huntsman work, and they planned on taking advantage of that.
Lotus began her task, thankful that the old man had picked them up along the way. They still would have been walking for a few more hours, well into the night, and would have had to put off their revenge for another day. While they would have been perfectly capable of killing the two huntsman when they came back to town, the two of them would have been prime suspects, unknown by the townspeople. And with a little search, their faunus natures would have been discovered. 'Even the old man wouldn't have given us the benefit of the doubt, then.'
The barrels were large and awkward in her arms, even supported by her semblance as she was. Lotus began tediously shifting them to the back edge of the cart, dropping back down, picking them up on her shoulder, walking them inside, then carefully lowering them down to the floor inside the shed. She took great care in making sure none of them were damaged in the transfer, the old man had passed up asking for payment for the food they had eaten, and even offered them dinner. It was the least she could do to avoid any accidents.
Lotus stood back to admire her work when she was finished. The cart was empty, and a mixture of twenty crates and barrels were neatly stacked into the space, leaving room around the edges for the old man so that he could still reach his tools or other supplies. She nodded to herself and turned back around. While she had been going about emptying the cart, the old man had come back outside to unhitch the horses and take them into his barn to feed them. He stepped back out of the barn and angled her direction, stopping to admire her handiwork.
"Well done!" the old man smiled, "Couldn't have fit 'em better myself. If you don't mind, I just need to pull the cart into the barn now that it's empty, and we can head on inside. Margaret's made some stew, and she's got a pair of helpers of her own that she snatched out of the street earlier, so they'll be joining us."
"Sure thing," Lotus smiled back and walked to the front of the cart. Together they hefted up the front by the bar, and backed it into the barn so that the horses could easily be rehitched to pull it back out at a later time. Lotus dusted off her hands and arched her back, earning herself a few satisfying pops.
The old man laughed, "Ah, if only I could do the same. Back just ain't what it used to be. Come on inside now, they're waitin' for us."
Lotus nodded and followed him inside. They came in through the backdoor, connected by the barn. She made sure to wipe her feet off on the mat before she stepped inside. It was a quaint little home, with the delicious aroma of boiled meat and vegetables catching her nose the instant the door opened. The smell tugged her feet in the direction that the old man led, through the kitchen and into the dining room. Lotus saw the man's wife, Margaret, first. She welcomed Lotus with a smile on her face and arms spread wide. Lotus decided that she would indulge her in the hug and had made her first step forward when a voice rang out from the side.
"O-Olivia!?" an excited girl's voice caught Lotus off guard, and she stopped in her tracks to glance to her right, where the other two presences were already sitting at the table.
"N-Nora? Ren!?" Lotus stammered, seeing the two children now grown up as she had. Aside from their faces, both looked completely different from how she remembered them. They had each gone through their respective growth spurts, with Ren now being almost a head taller than either of them. He wore a green, long sleeve coat with black and gold trim, and white pants.
Nora wore a pink skirt with matching pink fingerless gloves, and a top that was half suggestive, half overly modest. The heart shaped cleavage gap in her shirt was a little risque, but Lotus couldn't even begin to understand the complex metal and wiring that surrounded her midsection.
The oddly dressed girl squealed in delight and jumped up from her seat, charging around the edge of it to throw herself into a hug that took both of them to the floor. Lotus was suddenly very thankful that she had aura to soften the blow, as she crashed heavily on to her back, hearing a few more pops that were much less satisfying.
Nora hugged her tightly, rolling back and forth on top of her before jumping back up with a grin and offering her a hand. Lotus sucked in the air that had been violently expelled in the tackle, and let herself get dragged to her feet. Nora cheerily inspected her, "Oh, this is so cool! What are you doing in Shion!?"
Lotus managed to extricate herself from Nora's grasp and backed up a step, "I'm here with a friend. We… decided to journey outside the main city a bit. See the sights, ya know?" Lotus thought it would be best to take attention off herself and switched the conversation back on them, "What are you two doing here?"
Nora stepped back to pat Ren on the back and grinned, "Renny and I are messengers! His semblance lets us travel all over the place without any fear of the Grimm, so we go from town to town, exchanging mail between loved ones or friends. We get to meet all sorts of people!" Ren silently nodded along. Nora then bent around him, casually brushing up against him as she reached to his side and hefted into sight the biggest hammer Lotus had ever seen in her life.
"And when Renny gets tired, I take care of us with this!" Nora brandished the hammer, careful not to hit the table or any of the walls and furniture. The way she swung it with such ease… Lotus was suddenly also very thankful that she had not stopped using her semblance. That tackled hug would have killed her, otherwise. She was sure of it.
"Nora, not in the house," Ren admonished, earning a relieved sigh from both of the owners who had been, up until then, frantically eyeing the hammer's path as it swung through the air.
The orange haired girl giggled out a soft, "Sorry Ren~!" before very gently setting the hammer back down against the table. She plopped into her chair and scooted in, now eyeing the others that remained standing with a polite smile.
The older couple seemed to shake themselves out of it, and exchanged their own greetings before sitting down as well. Lotus followed their lead, taking a seat between them and Ren and Nora. The older woman carefully ladled out stew into the bowls she had stacked in front of her and passed them down the table. The first was handed down to the end of the chain to Nora, the second to Ren, the third to Lotus, and finally the old lady deposited a bowl in front of her husband and one for herself.
"Don't be afraid to eat up! There's plenty left, so you kids enjoy it," Margaret gave them a comforting smile, and followed her own lead, digging in to the stew she had made. There was silence for a few minutes, aside from the scrape of metal spoons on porcelain bowls while everyone enjoyed the food they had been offered. It was good, better than anything Lotus had eaten in weeks, and within a few minutes she was passing her bowl back down for a refill.
Nora followed suit not long after. For another few minutes, the quiet remained, until a question popped into Lotus's head while she had been stealing a glance at the other two.
"Did you guys get my message in Mistral?" she asked lightly.
"We did," Ren stated between bites.
"We missed you, too~!" Nora chimed in, chipmunking the food in her mouth in order to speak. She at least had the decency to cover her mouth as she did so. Even still, Ren leveled a flat stare her way. Nora just smiled back, unabashed by her own behavior before passing her bowl down again for thirds.
"The place was a mess. What happened there?" Ren asked quietly, passing the soon to be filled bowl to Lotus, who passed it on to the old man.
Lotus hesitated a moment, but decided the truth was fine, "The man that I scared off came back and tried to ambush me. I dealt with him and his friends before sending them on their way." Lotus shrugged, there wasn't much more to the story.
"And the blood stains on the floor?" Ren asked quietly.
Lotus's breath hitched, her eyes refusing to glance at the old couple to her left, instead relying on her extra sense to accept the bowl that he offered her. Lotus passed it back to Ren, letting her eyes meet his in the process, "He isn't dead, if that's what you're asking." 'Not from a lack of trying…' Malachite had never found the faunus, and Lotus's question had never been answered.
Ren nodded, "So the blood…?"
"I have a right to defend myself, don't I? He was waiting to attack me in my own home," Lotus quipped back tightly. It wasn't necessarily true. She had already been moving into the White Fang headquarters by then, but her stuff had still been there. Still, she wasn't exactly going to let herself be guilt tripped over defending herself, she doubted he only had plans to 'rough her up a little' like he'd said. Lotus suspected that under different circumstances, she wouldn't have left that building alive.
Ren seemed to finally accept her recounting of events and dropped the subject, returning to his meal that he had been slowly picking at the entire time. Whatever bits he ate, Nora packed away tenfold into her own stomach. Lotus's eyes went wide when she realized that Nora was already halfway through her third bowl. Lotus finished her second bowl and set her spoon back down in it, pushing it away. Her stomach was mostly full, and she didn't want to risk stuffing herself when they were going to go 'hunting' that night.
"You dears are all welcome to stay in our extra room, if you want. The kids have long since moved out, but there are a couple beds still in there for when we have guests over," Margaret offered kindly, giving them all a reassuring smile as she polished off the last of her own bowl.
"My friend should be getting us rooms at the inn, actually," Lotus smiled back apologetically, "Thank you for the offer, though. You and your husband have been more than gracious enough."
"Ooooh~! Who's your friend?" Nora jumped in, leaning forward against the table, food forgotten in her excitement.
"She's an older woman," Lotus offered freely, "She kind of… adopted me, I guess."
"I'm glad you've found someone that could be a good influence on your life," Ren nodded, lips finally raising with the ghost of a smile.
"Which reminds me," Lotus glanced out the windows to see the slowly setting sun barely visible over the treetops, "I should be getting back to her soon. Are you two still going to be in town tomorrow?"
"We can stay for awhile if you want to catch up!" Nora grinned, "We pretty much do freelance work, so we set our own hours. Besides," she shoulder bumped Ren, "The more time we spend here, the more letters we can gather, and the more lien we'll make when we leave."
Ren nodded his ascent and gave a real smile to Lotus, "I'd like to hear about what you've been up to. It has been about three years since then. We'll all have stories to share."
Lotus grinned, squashing down the nervous twist in her stomach and excused herself, "I'll meet you guys here at dawn?"
They each nodded their agreement, and gave one last farewell before Lotus stepped out into the street. A cold wind had picked up since she'd been inside, blowing lightly down the street past her and causing Lotus to pull her hoodie more tightly against herself. Her eyes fell on the building Widow had went into, and headed that way. The amount of people in the streets had died down as night began to fall, the last vestiges of light now only visible across the furthest reaches of the sky. Only a few remained, going about their last minute tasks before heading into the relative safety and comfort of their own homes.
Lotus could feel Widow inside the building she was heading towards, and pulled it open to the sounds of raucous laughter. Widow was busy playing darts, drilling the drunk man she played with questions in between throws. He seemed none the wiser. Lotus left her to it, instead walking to the bar and sitting down at one of the empty stools. Her senses caught on to another faunus in the room, a few seats down from her, but she decided not to bother him. Best not to draw attention to their own kind in small towns such as this one. From what Widow had said, they weren't known for their racial acceptance.
Still, Lotus found her eyes glancing over towards the faunus every now and then, curiosity piqued by his mere presence. It was certainly more interesting than watching Widow fail her throws on purpose in an attempt to continue the game with the drunkard. Apparently he actually knew something, otherwise Widow wouldn't have kept at it for so long.
The faunus in question seemed to be a moderate build, lithe but strong. It was hard to tell with the thick brown leather coat he wore that reached well past the bar stool he sat on, but Lotus could at least spot the white pants he wore, along with the bare skin exposed in his chest region. His brown hair was long, put into a ponytail that trailed down past his shoulders. He was giddily laughing to himself, in sync with each lull in Widow's conversation, although he wasn't actually looking in their direction.
'Best to not talk to crazies,' Lotus mused, waiting for Widow to finish with her game, and the questions that came along with it. The woman seemed to have dried up anything she could ask the drunk, and quickly ended the game between the two in her next round of throws. She muttered a 'good game' and headed over to Lotus, sitting down on a stool between her and the other faunus.
"Well, according to him, they set out towards the northern mountain range at about midday. From the sounds of it, they took enough with them that they're likely not planning on heading back tonight," Widow tossed back a shot the bartender offered her and set her lien down on the bar to pay for it, waiting for him to walk back to the register before continuing, "Better if we strike while they're outside town. Agreed?"
Lotus nodded and stood, "The sooner the better, right?"
The two left the bar and set out, headed in the direction the drunk man had indicated. Between their faunus night vision, and acute sixth sense, neither bothered to bring any additional source of light. Doing so would just give them away.
They passed the last row of houses and entered the forest. The sounds of the wind died once they entered the trees, leaving them with an eerie quiet that smothered their ears, yet sharpened them to every other sound. Widow activated her semblance, removing any worry the two might have had over stepping on twigs or dried leaves. It was with assurity that they made their way through the forest, keeping their eyes out for any sign of the two hunters that had journeyed out past the safety of civilization.
"Oh, uh. By the way, we need to be back by tomorrow morning. I'm kind of… meeting some people…" Lotus rubbed a hand against the back of her neck, wary of how Widow would take it.
The older faunus continued in silence for a few minutes before sighing and turning her eye to Lotus, "I trust you, little spider. It isn't anyone I should be worried about, right?"
"N-no. Not at all. They're a couple of kids my age. I met them a long time ago, before Crim saved me from the police station. They were nice… I trust them."
Widow nodded, "I'll take your word on it," her expression softened, "Are they friends?"
"You could say that," Lotus accepted the title she gave them, "It was kind of a… victim of circumstances, sort of thing. I stole a man's wallet in the store, and when he saw that they had a bunch of lien, claimed that their money was his. So… I beat him up and gave them their lien back as an apology. I didn't actually tell them it was my fault in the first place, though, so don't mention it if they end up talking to you."
"And when they ask what you've been up to for the last few years?" Widow raised an eyebrow.
"I'll just tell them I've been training to be a huntress or something. Easiest parallel, right?" Lotus shrugged, giving Widow a nervous glance. The older woman just silently agreed with a shrug of her own, turning back to the task at hand as their eyes continued to scan the forest around them.
They were approaching a low hill, and agreed to climb it to get a better vantage point. It was a small rise, but proved enough as they could more clearly take in their surroundings. Both caught the small flicker of light against the trunk of a distant tree. They shared a smirk, 'Found you~'
It was still another ten minutes before they found themselves quietly crouching through the underbrush, eyes and sixth sense hyper focused on the small clearing in front of them. The small sounds of a crackling fire met their ears first, the sole sound in a forest of silence. Their sixth sense caught on, second. Lotus could feel one lying down in a sleeping bag, rolled on to her side and likely asleep. The other was still up, leaning back against a tree with his eyes closed and his ears perked for any sounds from the forest around him. Unfortunately for him, the pair made no sound at all as they continued their approach.
As they stepped into the edge of the clearing, Lotus could finally see them with her own eyes. They burned in anger, for this truly was two of the people she had seen after the raid. The woman tucked into her sleeping bag was Daisy, the man leaning against the tree, Carob. Lotus had done her own research once they found out their names. They were husband and wife, both adopting the man's last name 'Alabaster'. They had no children, so Lotus could entirely avoid that guilt trip again. Their records showed a long history of accepting missions against the Grimm, but dotted among those missions were quite a number involving raids on the White Fang.
Lotus seethed with barely contained anger when her eyes set on them. If any were the most guilty out of the hunters that had attacked that day, these two were certainly prime candidates. Lotus and Widow shared a glance, and nodded. They had already planned on Lotus taking the lead. Widow quietly shrunk back into the vegetation, becoming all but invisible to even Lotus if not for her sixth sense telling her exactly where the older woman was.
Allowing herself a few moments to twist her face into a frantic and worried expression, Lotus burst out of the bushes, throwing herself down on the ground in the clearing. The man's eyes widened in shock and whipped up to stare at her. Lotus continued the act, though, and kept her eyes trained behind herself as she stumbled along the ground. She stopped, pretending to finally notice the crackling fire behind her and turned around slowly.
"Daisy! Up!" Carob whispered loudly. The woman muttered and rolled over to look at him, then immediately spotted Lotus, realizing they weren't alone. Daisy jolted up, sliding out of her sleeping bag with the experience born of having to do so in the past. Her weapon was already in her hands. It was a long staff, lit along the shaft by the tech lines that betrayed its ability to transform into some sort of gun.
Lotus face went blank, and her eyes narrowed as Carob unsheathed his own weapon. It wasn't his. It was Copper's. Lotus would have recognized its form anywhere, she had spent well over a year using it herself in mainly its pistol form to carry out her nightly muggings.
"What's out there, kid? What's after you?" Daisy asked, a tinge of panic in her voice.
Lotus struggled and failed to keep up the act. Her mind burned with fury that carried into her words, "It's not like any Grimm I've ever seen…" The two looked at each other nervously, apparently still too caught up in the situation to notice her shift in demeanor. Lotus stepped closer to Carob, activating her semblance and leveling all four at the man in front of her. They had grown further, and were now just under fourteen feet. Still, Lotus had spent years perfecting her use of them on her limbs, instead of lashing out with them by themselves. If it came to it, she would, but at the moment, she really wanted to beat this man to death with her own hands.
Carob's eyes searched her face in concern, hesitating at Lotus's suddenly diminished panic, alerting him to danger. He didn't have time to ask her any questions, though. The moment his mouth opened to speak, she launched herself forward, driving a semblance enhanced fist so hard into his chest that was sent flying through the tree he had been leaning against previously. Lotus followed up the attack, catching him as he tried to stand out of his roll, another blow across the chest that sent him staggering back. Carob was more prepared for it, this time, and managed to right himself as he drew out Copper's sword.
The sounds of clashing steel behind Lotus, along with the sudden presence of Widow coming back within range, alerted her to the two's fight in the clearing. Lotus took advantage of Carob's attention being momentarily taken off her by the sound. She closed the gap, feinting another punch before dropping into a low kick that swept his legs out from under him. With a gasp of exertion, he managed to deflect her next blow, a plunging jab with her fist that would have been devastating to his aura reserves, if the small crater it left in the ground was anything to go by.
Carob rolled away and back to his feet again, attention now entirely focused on the girl in front of him. He hadn't taken her seriously at first, despite the initial blow. Lotus was still a child in his eyes, after all, and his comrade sounded like she needed help. Carob slowly circled to the side, eyes intently watching Lotus for any shift in her stance. She paced with him, keeping their distance at a range where she could instantly attack him if he dropped his guard.
Lotus growled in frustration when no opportunities were presented to her. 'Guess we'll do this the hard way.' With another snap of her paired legs, she flashed across the intervening space in a single step. Carob brought the sword up between them, edge now alight with the lightning dust that coursed through it. 'Sorry Carob. Invisible spider legs aren't conductive. Trust me, I've tested it.' Her fist was protected by the appendaged wrapped across her knuckles. Lotus's blow didn't slow as the huntsman had expected, instead colliding full force against his guard and knocking the sword back into himself.
His aura reserved tanked, as both the point of the sword and the electric current being produced by it slammed into the front of his own chest with all of Lotus's fist behind it. His aura sparked under the blow, and with the continued contact of the lightning dust infused edge, flickered, and died.
"I'll be taking that back," Lotus sneered, her arm lashing out to grab a hold of his wrist. She twisted it with a satisfying 'snap'. Carob screamed in pain and let go of the sword, only for Lotus to catch it with her free hand. She spun it in her hand and slashed out, cutting a deep gash across the man's chest.
He fell backwards, clutching at his chest with his good hand, and dragging himself backwards with his other elbow, kicking across the ground with his feet in a desperate attempt to distance himself from her.
Lotus's sneer turned to one of pure contempt, "Three years, and this is what you amounted to? A thief that couldn't even put up a decent fight!?" She closed the distance he had made in only a few steps, and unwrapped her appendages. The first pierced down through his ankle, pinning it to the ground. The second, into the thigh of his other leg. She dragged him closer to herself as he screamed in pain, one good hand trying to grasp on to the invisible thing putting a hole through his leg.
The third appendage knocked that hand aside, pinning it as well through his exposed palm. The last went through his other forearm. He was pinned to the ground completely, spread out on the ground in front of Lotus. She stepped between her own limbs and lowered herself down to look into his face, bringing the point of Copper's sword to his chest, right above his heart.
"Any last words, scum?"
Carob's breaths came out in ragged gasps, his eyes frantically looking around himself, "P-Please! Don't do it! I'm begging you! I don't want to die!"
Lotus sneered again, "Did the young faunus boy you murdered three years ago beg like that before he died? Did you delight in his torment before you snuffed out his life?"
"W-What!? N-No! We didn't kill the kid! That faunus did! The one that told us where to find them all!"
Lotus let her mind trail off, picturing the large man that she had defeated with such ease, twice. He wouldn't have stood a chance against Jace, "Ending your disgusting life with a lie. Is that in some way poetic? I can't really tell."
Lotus pressed the sword down into Carob's chest, slowly. His words were cut off entirely as his body was racked with pure pain. His eyes were as wide as they could go, as his body trembled in the pinned position she held him in. The blade sunk the last few inches, now protruding from his back. Carob's body fell limp, still twitching slightly from the electric current running through his dead form.
The blade was slowly withdrawn, Lotus savoring every second of it. She disabled the lightning dust and wiped the sword across his coat before unfastening the sheath from his belt. Lotus attached it to her own, and slid Copper's sword back into place. She felt complete. Both hoodie, and sword now back in her possession, as they should be. The sounds of fighting had already died down in the camp as well. Lotus could tell Widow was the victor. She was the only one her senses told her was still standing.
Widow spoke up as Lotus made her way back into the clearing, "You finish him?"
"Of course," Lotus twisted so that Widow could see the sword on her hip as well, "He had Copper's sword. After all this time, who would have known…"
They both froze as the sound of distant clapping broke them out of their conversation. Both eyes darted into the treeline. A figure stepped out, just out of range of Widow's sixth sense. His hands continued to clap, in a slow, determined rhythm. As he approached, Lotus recognized him. It was the faunus from the inn.
"Well done, well done! Truly, someone using their dying breath to utter a lie is undoubtedly poetic. The truth was snuffed out along with the light in his eyes. Marvelous!" the faunus walked into the camp, stopping a dozen paces away from the pair of assassins. His eyes were brimming with tears, as he brought up a finger to wipe away at one of them.
He noticed their guarded stances and chuckled lightly, "Oh, you have nothing to worry from me, my good spiders." The coat on his back fell off, and Lotus took a step back as a scorpion tail was revealed. 'A scorpion faunus? That's rare.'
"How did you know we were spider faunus?" Widow demanded, eyes narrowing. She did not retreat back at all as Lotus had done, instead choosing to stand her ground.
"Oh, it's a simple trick really. Once you've had dealings with spider faunus in the past, you tend to look out for them," he giggled at their confusion, "It's the way you notice things without ever looking at them. The small movements you make in response to how others move around you. It is fascinating to watch a spider faunus using their sixth sense."
"Why did you follow us out here?" Lotus chipped in. His explanation was… plausible. She had never paid attention to her own movements while focused on others, but she supposed it was possible for others to take note of her reactions.
"Oh, I'm on the hunt for huntsman and huntresses. We both had the same quarry this evening, but when I heard your intentions, I decided to sit back and see how you faired. I'm glad I did!" he grinned wildly and took his eyes off the two, letting them instead roam around the camp, "So, now that you've snuffed them out, what do you intend to do?"
"We aren't locals, if that's what you mean," Widow replied. She hadn't eased up in the slightest, "My little spider has gotten the revenge she wanted. There is still one more we seek, but he's proving to be far more difficult to track down."
"Who are you looking for? Perhaps I know of him," the man smirked, using a free hand to play with his own tail as he eyed them sideways.
The two shared a frown, but Lotus was the first to turn back to him, "His name is Nicholas Arc. Where he lives is unknown to us. From what we gathered, he was only passing through the city when he accepted the mission to kill our comrades."
The man's eyes lit up as he fully turned to them, "Arc, you said? Ah, yes! A name of some interest. If memory serves, his family currently resides in a small town outside of Vale."
Widow shared a moment of silence with Lotus, then shrugged, "That would explain why we couldn't find anything on him."
All the way in Vale? 'It's not as if we don't have the lien to spare for the trip, especially if it means putting an end to this chapter in my life…' Lotus nodded. They would get more information from Malachite, and head to Vale at the earliest opportunity. Lotus's eyes caught on to the scorpion faunus's.
"Thank you…?"
"Ah, dear friends. My name is Tyrian! It has been a pleasure to meet you."
"My name is-"
"The Black Lotus!" Tyrian interrupted, a smile carving its way across his face, "Truly, a name rich with poetic depth! I know you, my dear! We have been watching your development with great interest!"
Lotus paused, "We? Who are you?"
Tyrian bowed low, holding his arms wide, "I am a talent scout, of sorts. My Mistress gathers those with unfathomable potential to serve her! Unfortunately," Tyrian eyed her a moment, his eyes staring deeply into hers, "You do not appear ready. This was merely a chance encounter, but one I would not have missed for the world!"
'A Mistress?' "We've worked for a lot of people. If it pays well, be sure to get into contact once I'm 'ready'. This was only a taste of what I'm capable of, I assure you," Lotus smiled. She wasn't quite calm, not with him still there. Tyrian was off putting. He felt as if he could say or do something at any moment, and it kept her on edge. Widow seemed to share her sentiment, she still hadn't sheathed her daggers. Her eyes were considering, though. Lotus could see the gears turning, and guessed her thoughts, 'If another faunus of his caliber has devoted themselves to someone…' They could both feel Tyrian's aura. It was intense, dwarfing even Vasilias's. 'It would take me over a dozen clean hits to deplete his reserves…'
Tyrian interrupted the short silence, "I'll let you two get along with your night. I need only acquire proof of their deaths," he waved a scroll in his hand and pocketed it as he stepped away, headed towards the brush where Lotus had left Carob's corpse.
The two kept one eye behind themselves as they left, heading back in the direction of Shion. As soon as they left the campsite, Widow's hand fell on her shoulder, shoving her down towards the ground while both their semblances activated. Widow still brought a finger up to her lips, and pointed off to their left. It was out of range for Lotus, but clearly visible.
Four beowolves and an Ursa Major stood off to the side, patiently waiting in place.
"Okay, I'm officially creeped out…" Lotus whispered, shivering at the ungodly sight.
Widow gave them an interested stare, but ultimately decided it would be better off to leave without disturbing them. The two once again silently set off, back towards town. Despite the odd events afterwards, Lotus felt a weight lift off her heart. They had killed two of the huntsman that plagued her memories, and reclaimed the memento that had been lost.
'Tonight was a good night.'