"Olivia! Over here!"
Lotus heard the name being called from across the street and peeked overtop the crowd as well as she could, having to stand on tiptoe to do so. Past the bustle of heads, Lotus could just make out a waving pink glove. A portion of the crowd parted and Ren and Nora were revealed, standing near the front of the combat school.
"There they are," Lotus pointed out to Ruby, drawing her attention across the street as well. The two of them checked for traffic before jogging over to the Mistralian pair, both with varying levels of excitement. It was mostly Nora supplying the positive energy. As always, Ren appeared to be immune to any and all emotions, and Ruby was busy fidgeting with her skirt and looking at the pavement in front of her.
Lotus stopped on the sidewalk next to them, "Ren, Nora. This is Ruby. Say 'hi', kid."
"N-Nice to meet you!" Ruby replied, finally glancing up from beneath her bangs to get a look at them.
"You were right, Olivia. She's adorable!" Nora gleefully announced, stepping forward to pat the top of Ruby's head.
"It's nice to meet you as well, Ruby. Olivia has told us a lot about you," Ren said.
"All good things, I hope…" Ruby replied, shooting Lotus a furtive glance.
"Cute, kind, sexy, naive, fun to be around…" Nora started counting them off on her fingers while shooting the faunus a playful smile.
"You made up half of those," Lotus gritted her teeth, giving Nora a disapproving frown.
"Yes, but which?" Nora laughed, putting her hands behind her back and simpering at the faunus, "Or did you want to keep things up with that girl at the club?"
"I've told you already, Melanie is a fling. There's nothing real there," Lotus sighed with a shake of her head and placed a hand on top of Ruby's head, "Besides, the kid is two years younger than us and probably doesn't even know if she swings that way, yet."
'My consolations go out to whoever has the unfortunate luck of falling for her. I wouldn't want to deal with two huntsman father figures and a bombshell for a sister-in-law.'
Ruby swiped Lotus's hand off her head in embarrassment and kept her gaze locked on the school's front doors, "W-Was there a reason we were meeting here in particular?"
"A final spar before tomorrow," Ren answered in a level tone. Lotus could see the barest amount of sympathy for Ruby's situation in his eyes. Stuck between Nora and Lotus, a position that only a fool would wish for.
"Good! I can handle a spar!" Ruby blurted out, darting for the school's door and leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake.
Lotus couldn't help but laugh, and was quickly joined by Nora only a moment later, "Told you she was something else."
"I can see what you mean," Nora replied, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye, "She's more than you could ever handle."
"Let's not keep her waiting too long," Ren said, now leading the two other girls into the school.
By the time they stepped into the combat hall, Ruby could already be seen down on the arena floor, stretching out and getting in a few warm up maneuvers with Crescent Rose.
"Oooh! That's a big scythe," Nora announced, eyeing the weapon with a mark of appreciation as Ruby spun it effortlessly through the air.
"So, how do we want to do this?" Ren asked once they were all four gathered on the arena floor.
Lotus eyed the group and gave a shrug, "Two on two? Ruby and me against both of you?"
Ren gave Ruby a thoughtful frown before turning to Lotus, "That should be fair enough."
Lotus could tell he was taking previous spars into consideration. The three of them had fought in various configurations over the past few weeks. While neither had managed to best Lotus in a one on one fight, she had yet to beat both of them together.
Lotus didn't fault herself in the slightest for the losses. For one, she couldn't bring herself to go all out against them, for fear of giving too much away. On top of that, they worked together seamlessly. 'Years spent on the road together will do that to you.' In a similar vein, Lotus doubted anyone could stand up to both herself and Widow at the same time if the pair of assassins were working together.
'Fat chance of that happening again any time soon.'
"Sounds good to me," Ruby nodded, weighing the competition and seeming satisfied with the match up.
"Let's do this!" Nora cheered. The ginger girl pulled the enormous hammer from her back and backed across to the other edge of the stage.
Ruby and Lotus followed suit as Ren also got into position. Lotus pulled out Oath and allowed it to straighten out into its full length, "Nora is easier to fight up close. Your scythe has more range than her hammer, so try and use your speed to keep that extra bit of distance. If you move too far away, she'll catch you with her grenade launcher. On the other hand, it's better to stay away from Ren. If he closes in on you, use your semblance to back off. He's more than capable of disarming you in half a second flat, and watch out for his hands. He's adept at aura manipulation. One palm strike from him and you'll find yourself knocked off the stage before you know it."
Ruby nodded along as Lotus filled her in on what details she could in a short amount of time. The advice was solid enough, if lacking in any specifics. If pressed, Nora wasn't shy about firing off her grenade launcher in short range as long as it meant getting an advantage over her opponent, and Ren's most dangerous weapon was his mind. What he lacked in strength, he more than made up for in technique.
"I'll focus on Nora first. She's the heavier hitter out of the two. Try and distract Ren from a distance and keep him off my back. Sound good?"
"Yeah!" Ruby shouted, cocking back the bolt on Crescent Rose. In only a few short minutes, the small reaper had gotten over her nervous disposition and was rearing to fight.
Lotus activated her semblance, covering her real limbs with her invisible appendages. The surge of strength that flowed into them felt as good as ever. Lotus let out one long breath and peered across the arena floor to their opponents. Nora had already transformed her weapon into its grenade launcher form.
'Time to test out my accuracy.'
Oath's blade folded down, revealing the barrel of the shotgun hidden within. Lotus leveled it towards Nora, prepared for the volley of grenades that was certain to come as soon as the battle began, 'At least my weapon has a spread.'
With Ren finally settling into position, Nora raised one hand into the air, "Ready!?"
At a nod from both Lotus and Ruby, the girl brought her hand down in a quick gesture for the match to begin. The heavy blasts from Crescent Rose immediately rang out, fired directly at Ren who was forced to change into a defensive stance and block the shots as well as he could.
Lotus launched herself forward in a low sprint, keeping her profile small as the first few shots of Nora's grenade launcher flew her way. Lotus raised Oath and fired, relying on her sixth sense to guide her aim. The spray of shotgun pellets met each grenade halfway, exploding them in midair before they had the chance to reach Lotus or Ruby.
"Come on then!" Nora shouted, transforming Magnhild back into its hammer form and swinging it at Lotus the moment before she appeared through the heavy pink smoke cloud.
Lotus dodged the blow, stopping the instant before she would normally have been in range. The edge of the hammer passed by her chest with only an inch to spare. Lotus feinted a slash towards Nora's stomach, then once again backed off as the ginger girl pressed the trigger on her weapon's handle.
A pink explosion on Magnhild's front end reversed the weapon's trajectory, allowing Nora to whip the spike back towards Lotus's head. The faunus ducked beneath the blow, transforming Oath into a hook to catch the hammer by the handle as it passed above her. Lotus used the momentum against Nora and yanked along with it, pulling the other girl off balance. A moment later, Lotus's fist slammed into Nora's stomach, driving the air from her lungs.
Lotus could feel with her extra sense that Ren was still being kept busy. He had already attempted to close the distance on Ruby once and been left empty-handed when the younger girl zipped away across the stage. Shot after shot rang out, tempo broken only when Ruby needed to reload.
'Ruby's going to run out of rounds before long,' Lotus thought, straightening out Oath before Nora could return the favor and use Lotus's own hold against her. The other girl was hardly a slouch, and could almost go pound for pound with Lotus on the best of days.
Nora recovered and unleashed a quick series of heavy swipes, all aimed towards putting Lotus off balance. Fortunately, the faunus was more than adept enough to retain her composure and weather out the attacks. Lotus responded with a few blows of her own, focusing on punishing the gaps in Nora's defenses.
Lotus was given only the barest fraction of a warning to duck before one of Ren's daggers flew overhead. Nora capitalized on the distraction and slammed downwards with a powerful swing. Lotus rolled to the side, but was caught in the explosion as Nora once again fired off Magnhild, this time as it contacted the floor next to the faunus. Lotus was sent flying a dozen feet across the ground by the shockwave.
Ruby blurred across the arena in a flurry of petals and managed to deflect Nora's follow up attack, allowing Lotus the extra time to roll to her feet. Ren regrouped with Nora, both now only a few steps away from Lotus and Ruby. Ren's dagger returned like a boomerang, and was deftly snatched from the air as it passed him by.
'Two can play that game,' Lotus smirked, transforming Oath into its sickle form and igniting the lightning dust along its edge before hurling it at Ren. The boy was forced to dodge instead of firing at Ruby as he had planned, leaving the younger girl with at least some leeway as she desperately began to fend off Nora's heavy blows.
"Remember to keep your distance!" Lotus shouted as she ran by her teammate, closing the gap between herself and Ren. Lotus had already activated the gravity dust in her gloves as she launched into a flurry of blows at Ren. He deflected Lotus's strikes as well as he could, but wasn't quite capable of keeping up with her sheer speed and ferocity.
The attacks kept him off balance long enough for Oath to return. The sickles electrified point drove itself into the center of Ren's back, sending a myriad of bright pink ripples and yellow sparks surging around his body. It was soon followed by another blow from Lotus's fist colliding full force into his chest.
Ren doubled over as his aura shattered, and Lotus was quick to pull her weapon away to avoid any lasting harm. She twisted in place at the sound of Ruby shouting in pain, and caught sight of her being flung across the arena floor from one of Nora's heavier blows. The younger girl's aura flashed as it broke, leaving her in moaning heap when she finally stopped tumbling across the ground.
"So we meet again," Nora said mysteriously, sparing a glance towards Ren to check on him. Her eyes returned to focus on Lotus once he gave her a shaky thumbs up.
Lotus deactivated the lightning dust coursing across the edge of Oath's blade. She'd long since learned that lesson. Using lightning against Nora was the biggest mistake you could ever make. The two slowly circled each other from only a handful of steps away, either capable of closing the distance in an instant.
"Surrender, Nora. You don't stand a chance," Lotus smirked.
"I don't know the meaning of the word!" Nora reversed her grip on Magnhild to blast herself across the intervening space. Her shoulder rocketed towards Lotus's chest with far more force behind it than the faunus would be able to handle. Lotus instead spun, allowing Nora to fly past, and slashed at her back with Oath. The blade caught the girl by the shoulder, earning a bright flash of pink aura from the scored hit.
Nora stomped down hard, stopping her momentum in an instant as she swung back around with Magnhild. Lotus was forced to throw up Oath as a guard and hold her ground against the mighty blow. Despite her slight advantage in strength, Lotus was still pushed back, her feet sliding across the ground no matter how hard she dug in.
The two began a back and forth exchange of attacks, each vying for advantage. Lotus smiled as they fought, remembering what Ruby had said before about her typical fighting expression, "You're lasting longer than usual. Did those couple of days off with Ren provide you with a bit more stamina?"
"Puh-lease," Nora scoffed, going for an overhead blow that Lotus narrowly avoided, "I've always had the most stamina."
Lotus went for an uppercut in response to Nora's attack and managed to get a slash across her shoulder, now laughing, "I don't doubt that in the slightest."
The back and forth exchange continued as Lotus slowly chipped away at Nora's aura levels, refusing to overextend and place herself in harm's way as Magnhild repeatedly failed to connect. In desperation, Nora's attacks became more erratic as she vyed for speed instead of power. It wasn't enough to catch Lotus, though, and after another minute, Nora's aura finally shattered.
The girl dropped to her knees in defeat and breathed out heavily, using her hammer to keep herself propped up. Lotus followed her lead, placing her hands against her knees and breathing out raggedly.
Lotus smiled and gave Nora a nod of approval, "I think we're ready for Beacon."
Ren and Ruby had recovered by then. Ruby cheered while Ren allowed himself the tiniest quirk of a smile to his lips.
"You guys were amazing!" Ruby yelled heartily, giving Ren and Nora a genuine smile, all previous inhibitions long since forgotten.
"You didn't do so bad yourself," Ren replied with a nod.
"Oh," Ruby's cheeks turned a darker shade of red, "I was just following Olivia's plan."
Ren shook his head, "No amount of strategizing could have given you that level of skill. Your positioning with your semblance and the accuracy you displayed were both superb."
"No kidding!" Nora said, clapping Ruby on the back, "I got lucky with that final hit!"
"Oh, stop it," Ruby preened under the compliments, shaking her head with a smile, "You knocked me off balance and followed it up while I couldn't defend myself. That was hardly a lucky hit."
"Still, you did good," Nora smiled and recollected her weapon, returning it to her back, "I don't know about you guys, but I could use a cold one after that."
"Uh-Umm," Ruby stammered uncertainly, eyes flickering over to the faunus.
"She means a smoothie, kid," Lotus laughed, putting an arm around the younger girl, "It's a little too early for any of us to end up like Qrow."
"Oh!" Ruby laughed at her own mistake and leaned into the embrace, "Where did you mean, then?"
Lotus bent down to begin cleaning up after their spar, "There's a place we go to pretty often down the street. My treat."
"Sure!"
As they each cleaned up their spent shell casings, Lotus took stock of her current aura level, 'That one blow from Nora wasn't half bad, even if it was only from the edge of the explosion.' Lotus's aura was sitting at around ninety percent, still well above the majority of huntsman-in-training that shared the school with them on a daily basis. 'A full on hit would probably knock me down by a quarter.'
'At least I'm getting used to fighting with Oath.' Learning to use the blade in such a short time had been a struggle. Lotus was still far more comfortable in hand to hand than she was with the blade, no matter how many bells and whistles they had loaded it up with. Still, adding it to her repertoire would only serve to make her more dangerous in the long run.
With the arena floored returned to its previous pristine state, Lotus walked alongside Ruby as Ren and Nora led the way out of the school and to the small ice cream shop. With the time being a few hours past noon, the shop itself was packed with other patrons that had beaten them to its cool interior. The line stretched well past the front door, leaving the small group of four to stand outside as they waited.
As always, Lotus's eyes remained on a swivel, idly keeping watch on their surroundings, even as the others delved into some light hearted conversations. Most of the questions were directed towards Ruby, who was growing more and more comfortable with the two Mistralians.
Eventually, the younger girl managed to fire back a few questions of her own, starting with how they had all met in the first place. Nora was the one to answer that, regaling Ruby with the heroic tale of Olivia triumphantly returning their hard-earned lien after it was stolen by the devilish crook.
"How did you two even earn that much in the first place?" Lotus asked aloud, turning to Ren as Nora continued her tale to Ruby.
"Some of it was scavenged from my home before Nora and I escaped. The rest we earned through odd jobs on our way to the city of Mistral," a smile tugged at Ren's lips, "I was always in charge of the lien. Nora would have spent it a hundred times over if I let her hang on to it."
"Would have been a lot of pancakes, though," Lotus smiled.
"What did you do to get by?"
"Eh," Lotus gave a half-hearted shrug, "I'm not exactly proud of it, but… I was a thief for a long time. It was the only way I knew to get by in the city like that."
Ren nodded, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I thought as much the first time we met. You'd obviously been living rough, and didn't seem to have many reservations about causing harm to others."
"The men that harassed us?"
"Yes. It would have been tough to miss all that blood on the ground. How did you do it?" there was a slight frown in Ren's brow, as if that was the only part that had confused him all this time.
"People underestimate little girls, especially big men like those," Lotus half-answered with a dismissive wave, "I kept a knife hidden up my sleeve and my semblance was helping me get by, even back then."
Ren nodded his understanding and left that line of questioning alone. Ask any Mistralian orphan and they'd tell you how dangerous it was to go unprotected, especially in the slums. Their conversation was broken off as the line finally continued forward, allowing the group of four to step into the shop.
Lotus blinked in surprise, but immediately managed to return to a more reserved expression as she spotted both Emerald and Mercury near the front of the line. The pair were in the middle of a conversation, one that Emerald seemed to be ready to drop. Her eyes caught on to Lotus mid-roll before widening as she turned back to Mercury.
With a brief exchange, the grey-haired assassin let his gaze roam across those gathered in line behind them, not pausing on Lotus in the slightest. Still, a small smirk curled his lip as his eyes past nearby, right before he turned back to Emerald as if the action had been the most natural in the world.
Mercury pulled the scroll from his pocket and typed out a message. Lotus felt her scroll buzz, on vibrate as she always had it. The faunus nonchalantly pulled her scroll out and glanced at the message across the lock screen.
"No contact."
Lotus didn't need to be told twice. She repocketed her scroll and immediately turned back to the conversation at hand between Nora and Ruby, blocking Emerald and Mercury from her mind as if they were any other random bystander.
"If you ever get the chance, you should visit Shion!" Nora nodded vigorously to Ruby, "There's a really nice old couple there… I forget their names, though."
"Arthur and Margaret," Ren interjected, "We stayed at their home a few of the times we passed through.
Nora rubbed her head in embarrassment, "Renny always carried the mail, since he was better at keeping track of names."
"I think it was more because I refrained from crumpling them, unlike you."
"That happened once!"
"You used one of the letters as kindling."
"Well, yeah. It was raining! What else were we going to use?"
"Literally anything else."
Nora screwed her face up in defiance and refused to respond. Ren just shook his head, letting it go. Lotus couldn't help but laugh, 'That's the most I've ever seen them argue. They're a match made in heaven… or whatever else there is that actually exists.'
Lotus noticed both Emerald and Mercury leaving, but refrained from glancing in their direction. Her sixth sense was more than enough to keep track of them once she'd caught on to their presence. The store's bell made a small jingle as they left, and once again the line slowly shuffled forward, putting them that much closer to their desire.
After a few more minutes of idle chatter, the group managed to get their orders taken. Lotus paid for them all at the checkout despite Ren and Nora's protests. They weren't given the chance to argue though, as the faunus took it upon herself to get to the cashier first and waved away their concerns.
"You guys can get it next time."
Nora shot her a disapproving frown from around the spoon in her mouth, "You said that last time."
"Did I?" Lotus stared off into space as she pretended to think back on their last visit. In truth, making a point of buying things for others made her feel the smallest bit better about herself. There was no way the ex-assassin would ever make up for all the atrocities she had committed, but… 'That doesn't mean I shouldn't try.'
There was also something oddly funny about buying ice cream with blood money, not that Lotus could share her humor with the others. 'I guess Merc and Em would understand.' Lotus could already imagine that was the part of the conversation the two had been having moments before she'd entered. It sounded a lot like a comment that Mercury might make.
Ruby finally arrived with her tray, stocked high with the assortment of items that Lotus had purchased since she couldn't make up her mind. The young girl plopped down into her seat in a huff, however, earning a curious frown from the others at the table.
"So rude…" Ruby mumbled, refusing to touch her food and sending furtive glares towards the front counter.
Lotus followed her gaze to catch the eye of one of the employees, who quickly averted his head to look at another customer, "What's the matter, kid?"
"I overheard one of the employees saying you probably stole all the lien you had on you," Ruby replied angrily, stabbing at her ice cream but bringing none to her mouth, "I can't believe he would say that just because you're a faunus!"
Lotus snorted, devolving into a small laughing fit, "Is-is that all?"
Ruby frowned back at her, "You aren't upset?"
The faunus placed a hand on Ruby's arm, even as her laughing fit started to die down, "Kid, that is leagues beneath the worst thing I've ever had someone say about me. Seriously, don't pay him any mind. He isn't worth your time or energy." Lotus grabbed Ruby's spoon from the hand that still held it in a death grip and scooped up a helping of vanilla ice cream, then aimed it towards her mouth, "Open up."
At a quiet "Told youuu~" from Nora, Ruby instead snatched the spoon back out of Lotus's hand, cheeks going red, "I can do it myself…"
Lotus held her hands up and backed off with a smile, going back to her own, "Alright, alright. Don't get your combat skirt in a twist~" Ruby puffed her cheeks out in a pout before attacking the food in front of her, ignoring Lotus as she once again let out a few laughs. The atmosphere slowly returned to its previous giddiness soon enough, though.
The small group of four spent an hour in the shop, enjoying both the desserts, and the company of the others there. Ruby had well and truly gotten over her previous anxiety by the time she and Lotus were waving goodbye to Ren and Nora. Lotus shared a quick hug with the two, and parted with the promise to see them the next morning on the ship ride to Beacon.
"I can introduce you to Yang before everything starts as long as we manage to end up on the same ship."
"I like the sound of that!" Nora replied heartily, "If she's anything like Ruby here then I'm sure we'll get along!"
Lotus exchanged a knowing smile with Ruby, "You'll like her, Nora. I wouldn't say she and Ruby are exactly that similar, though."
"Any friend of yours is a friend of ours," Ren said kindly.
'Only the ones I'd want you to know about...'
Lotus gave Ren a smile, "She is more… Nora's speed, Ren. I wouldn't get your hopes up too much."
Ren and Nora said their final goodbyes and left, headed back to their apartment for the last night that they would need it. Lotus and Ruby watched them go before the faunus turned to the younger girl.
"So, bit of the day left. You wanted to go pick up that weapon magazine, right?" Lotus asked, taking note of the quickly diminishing sunlight that was beginning to dip down beneath the city's skyline. There was only a half hour of daylight left, at best.
Ruby rocked back and forth on her heels and nodded, "Yup! This newest issue is supposed to feature mostly spears! That's kind of like a scythe, just with less on top."
"I think there's a bit more of a difference between them than that, kid."
"I meant in general," Ruby replied with a shake of her head. "The majority of features used to collapse the haft are the same, with designers mostly focusing on using the Mk XI design to have the haft shorten into itself. The only difference with Crescent Rose is that it also uses a Mk III with the blade to fold into itself."
Lotus shook her head in exasperation, "You nerd."
"I'm not a nerd! Nerds don't kick butt!"
"Whatever you say, kid. You want to lead the way? I'm not really familiar with where you might get a weapon's magazine around here."
"Any dust shop will sell them!" Ruby skipped forward and gave Lotus a small wave to follow, "Come on. My favorite shop is this little place called From Dust Till Dawn."
"Clever name."
"Yeah, this nice old guy owns it and he doesn't mind if I check out the extra magazines on display."
Lotus shook her head in amusement and continued to follow Ruby through the rapidly emptying city streets. Now that they were headed away from the main thoroughfare and into a less active part of town, the number of people was dwindling down to the point where only a few could be seen dotting the sidewalks.
"So Ren and Nora mentioned that they delivered mail between towns to get by… How did you manage?"
Lotus smirked, "Kill quests."
"Ooh~, what's the biggest grimm you've killed?" Ruby's eyes widened in awe.
"A deathstalker, truth be told."
"Wow, you must have taken on a lot of difficult missions already then."
"You could say that. I was one of the best around, especially in the slums. Only the higher level missions really ever held my interest."
"So, do you already have a license or something?"
"Wasn't necessary in Mistral if you knew who to talk to."
Lotus's smile died on her lips as she felt a familiar presence flash into range then disappear, the elder spider faunus revealing herself for only an instant.
Lotus slowed her steps and took only a moment to think of an excuse. She remained facing towards Ruby as she patted down her back pockets and let a worried expression cross her face, "Speaking of lien… I think I forgot my wallet back in the shop. Where's the dust store? I'll meet you there after I run back."
"I could go with you…"
Lotus waved her hand, "No, no. They're almost closed, right? I don't want you to miss out on your magazine. It'll only take me a few minutes. I might not be as fast as you, but I am fast."
Ruby glanced over her shoulder and pointed, "It's a block away. Take a left at the corner and you'll see it ahead of you."
Lotus smiled and nodded, making a small shooing motion towards the younger girl, "Don't wait up. I'll be there before you know it."
"O-okay!" Ruby replied with some uncertainty, "See you there!"
Lotus waited until she'd turned the corner before letting her gaze sweep back over to the mouth of the open alleyway. In a few short steps she was between the tall brick walls, peering into the shadowy corners that the dark interior provided.
"What do you want, Widow?" Lotus called out quietly, preemptively shrouding her limbs with her semblance. She may not be able to use them in their natural form, but as long as she could feel her own increased strength, she'd know they were activated.
"There's no need for that," Widow stepped out from behind an alcove, a smile plastered across her face, "The first day of Beacon starts tomorrow, and since you might make a scene if I showed up at the platform… I wanted to wish you good luck while I still had the chance."
"You had to do that now of all times?"
"Would you have appreciated me stopping by your apartment?" When Lotus failed to respond, Widow nodded, "And so, here I am instead. As always, I only have the best intentions."
"Aside from killing people I care about?" Lotus sneered.
"The best intentions for you, Little Spider."
"Odd way of showing it."
Widow sighed, "You'll come to see the truth, in time. Tell me, do you believe you would have been stronger than you are now if you had gone to combat school? Even here, you have fought others that attended such schools. Were you victorious?"
"That's not the point…"
"That is my point!" Widow breathed out and took a step back, allowing herself a moment to calm down after her outburst, "Whether you like it or not, I have spent years molding you into someone that can protect yourself from anyone that might cross your path. I did that for you, not for myself."
"And all it cost me was another family," Lotus replied flatly, taking a step back towards the mouth of the alleyway, "Now that I've found another… I can't trust you, anymore. Not around them."
"I can understand your hesitation…" Widow followed Lotus a few steps, "Please, Little Spider. I only want to wish you luck. What would be the point in me repeating the mistakes of my past? You are already strong. The next lesson is one that you must learn on your own…"
"What lesson is that?" Lotus stopped backing away, as she had nearly reached the sidewalk and wasn't truly ready to fully break away from her mother.
"That trust is not something that should be so easily given. You are the Black Lotus. You cannot fully hide your past. The truth will be revealed, one way or another. I would warn against getting too comfortable around your 'team', whoever they end up being. Three knives to stab you in the back are far worse than anything I could ever do."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lotus replied stiffly, taking note of Widow's continued approach, "Are we done here?"
Pain flashed behind Widow's eyes as her arms hesitantly raised out to the sides, open handed, "Would you allow me one last hug before you leave? It is all that I ask for…"
Lotus eyed her mother's hands, double checking that they were indeed free of anything. With one last backward glance over her shoulder, she instead crossed the final few steps and weakly hugged Widow around the waist. She had never grown quite as tall as the older woman and so her hold was much lower.
Widow pulled her in tightly, returning the hug in full force. Lotus was reminded of the few times in the past that they had embraced, and subconsciously increased her own grip. After everything… 'She's still… my mother…'
An explosion tore through the night air, along with the sound of broken glass and a feminine shout. Lotus pulled away immediately, her mind trying to place where the sound had come from. Widow frowned in confusion, then seeing Lotus's obvious panic, pointed off in a direction that would have matched the way Ruby had gone.
"It came from that direction. Do you want me to help?"
"No… I'll handle it. I wouldn't want you killing anyone," Lotus took off through the alleyway, determined to take the shortest route to where the explosion had been, and to where Ruby was.
"Goodbye, my daughter."
Lotus barely heard the whispered farewell as she turned the corner, already in a full sprint with the assistance of her semblance. The world itself blurred past as she flew down the darkened streets, only one purpose in mind.
Another explosion ripped across the city street as Lotus turned the corner, forcing her to duck back for a moment and allow her eyes to readjust. The blood in Lotus's veins chilled as Ruby's scream of pain reached her ears. The faunus's eyes narrowed, and her sixth sense was brought into full effect as she took in the scene before her.
Lotus recognized Junior's henchmen from the club. All of them were currently armed, although only a quarter of them remained standing. The other dozen were scattered about the street, knocked unconscious or moaning on the ground from wounds sustained in their fight. Standing in their midsts was a man that Lotus did not recognize, wearing a long white coat and a black bowler's hat with a red stripe.
His position over Ruby, with his weapon aimed down at her face was what brought her blood to absolute zero. In a fraction of a second, Oath was in her hands and firing towards the man's back. The shotgun blast collided in a solid hit, sending a shockwave of aura rippling across his back as his aim was knocked off target.
"Back. Away." Lotus commanded, a growl threatening to work its way past her lips. She stalked forward towards the man, covering half the distance so that only a dozen feet remained between them. Lotus unfurled her semblance and hovered a pair of invisible appendages in the air, ready to strike the man if he dared point his weapon back in Ruby's direction.
A number of the goons shared uncertain looks amongst each other, likely recognizing Lotus from her time spent in the club. One in particular backed away the most, raising his hands as he dropped his sword, "Hey, uh, boss. We really shouldn't mess with this chick."
"Listen to your lackey," Lotus warned, taking another step as she did, "I can and will kill you where you stand if you even think about continuing this."
"Well, well, well. Bit feisty aren't you?" the ginger man mocked, raising his cane to rest it on his shoulder as his eyes drifted to Lotus's wrists, "Then again, what else is there to expect from an animal? Do you even realize who you're talking to, Sweetheart? I'm Roman freakin' Torchwick!"
"You're a dead man if you don't leave... Right. Now," Lotus spared a glance to those around, "That goes for everyone here. I doubt Junior would mind as long as I paid him for your replacements."
The gathered henchmen scattered, each tucking tail and running from the person they already knew to fear. While Lotus had paid to have Junior keep everyone silent, that hardly would have stopped gossip amongst coworkers. Lotus's reputation among the guns-for-hire had only grown over the past month since she'd had her fight with Yang.
The man's expression darkened as he watched the other men retreat, then shrugged as he turned back to Lotus, "Ah well. Can't win 'em all, am I right?" Torchwick slung the cane across the back of his shoulders and turned to the side, "I guess if they know who you are, that means I'll be seeing you around? I look forward to doing business with you, kid."
Lotus only narrowed her eyes as a final warning. Torchwick tipped his bowler hat and flashed a smile before walking away, "Careful. A bloated ego is dangerous 'round these parts."
'You're one to talk.'
The warmth slowly returned back to Lotus's veins as Torchwick disappeared from sight. She knelt down next to Ruby and propped her head up, feeling for a pulse and simultaneously checking for any wounds. Lotus found her heartbeat, as she'd known she would, but double checking brought her a sense of ease that she hadn't felt during the entire confrontation.
Aside from some tinged clothing and a growing bruise on her temple, Ruby seemed alright. Her aura had already been weak from sparing earlier, so it was now having an even tougher time recharging than it would have had otherwise. As she sat there, though, Lotus could slowly feel it recuperating. The bruises progress was halted, and began to recede.
Another presence appeared, this one from behind and possessing a rather respectable aura level. Lotus turned her eyes away from Ruby to take in this new figure. 'She's tall…' The blond-haired, green eyed older woman was approaching the two of them, eyes scanning the mayhem that had been wrought on the city street. The limp form of many of Junior's henchmen still littered the ground. A few of those that had been conscious had managed to escape.
Lotus tensed as the woman pulled out what she first believed to be a weapon. At second glance though… 'Is that a riding crop?' Whatever it was, the woman raised it high. Shattered glass and cracked pavement alike returned back to an undamaged, unblemished state. Lotus could only watch in awe as the street around her was transformed.
With that matter settled, the woman returned her attention to the two younger girls. The blond's stern expression softened, "Is she okay?"
Lotus nodded, "I stopped Torchwick from doing anything worse…" the mental image of the ginger-haired man standing over Ruby with his weapon aimed at her face was still fresh in her mind. She had to clench her right hand into a fist to stop it from trembling with barely suppressed rage.
The older woman eyed the weapon that Lotus had set down next to Ruby, then glanced around at those that were still unconscious, "And the others?"
Lotus shook her head, "Ruby took care of them before I got here. She would have still been weak from our spar earlier…"
"And yet she managed to bring down eight of them. Impressive."
"Twelve, actually. There were a few more that crawled off somewhere," Lotus didn't bother to look up, sensing that Ruby was finally beginning to wake. Her breathing choked for a moment as she attempted to breathe more deeply, sending her into a coughing fit that racked her body.
Lotus placed a hand behind her back and helped to prop her up into a sitting position, "You're alright, Ruby. I've got ya."
The woman received a call on her scroll and stepped away to take it, leaving Ruby and Lotus with a little privacy.
"What happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me that. I showed up and found you unconscious and surrounded by goons," Lotus puffed out her chest, "I scared them off, though. No big deal. What did they want?"
Ruby raised a hand to her head and rubbed at her temple, letting out a small groan as her fingers touched the thick bruise, "They came into the dust shop and tried to rob the place. I tried to stop them, but their leader caught me off guard in the middle of the fight."
"Said his name was Roman Torchwick. Ring any bells?"
Ruby nodded, "I've heard his name on the news a few times. Supposed to be a big shot gangster around here… Guess I have a face to put to the name now," the girl's eyes strayed over to the older woman nearby, "Who's that?"
Lotus shrugged, "Showed up after the fact and repaired the street."
Ruby's face brightened, but she was still in no condition to move just yet, "I bet she's a huntress!"
"Probably," Lotus didn't understand the excitement apparent in Ruby's voice. She lived with two huntsmen and was training to be one herself. Surely the allure of the position should have worn off by now. To her surprise though, Ruby directed her to help the younger girl to her feet, which Lotus complied with hesitantly.
The woman finished up her call and turned back around, "You're on your feet. Good. We'll need to head down to the station and get your statements."
Lotus grimaced, "I'll pass. You know, I've got an early day tomorrow, and-"
"That wasn't a request, unfortunately. There's already a squad car on its way to pick us up."
Ruby's previous excitement had died down under the tension between the two. The older woman's demeanor demanded respect though. She looked over Lotus with a curious eye, a spark of recognition glimmering there for a moment, "Ah, you would be Ms. Mandevilla, yes? My name is Glynda Goodwitch. If you end up passing Initiation, then I will be your Combat Instructor during your stay at Beacon Academy."
Lotus forced herself to calm down. It would hardly due to make a bad impression with one of her teachers before school had even started. 'At least I didn't go straight to killing them. I doubt she'd have given me a gold star for that one.' The mention of a squad car had definitely raised alarm bells in Lotus's mind. Willingly stepping into one wasn't something she'd ever thought she would do, 'Yet here I am…'
The small group waited in silence until the police car finally pulled up, flashing its lights but refraining from blaring the sirens. Ms. Goodwitch 'helped' the two of them into the back of the squad car, then took her own place in the front passenger seat. The man wordlessly set off for the police station, using his lights to assure that their ride was expedited, at the very least.
The car pulled up outside the front entrance and stopped, allowing the small group to exit. Ruby and Lotus were led by Ms. Goodwitch to separate rooms, which Lotus was annoyed to realize was an interrogation room. 'We couldn't sit out in the office chairs for something like this?' Lotus sighed, and let it go. It was a minor inconvenience at best, compared to years spent in Mistral.
Lotus sat on the table instead of in one of the chairs, refusing to play along if this was some sort of tactic designed to manipulate her. After a few minutes had gone by, the faunus began to drum her heels against the table leg in boredom. Her feet froze soon after, though, when she felt a presence that sent chills down her spine. Lotus took the extra few moments to compose herself before the door opened.
A familiar, grey haired middle aged man stepped into the room, cane dangling at his side and a smile on his face, "Miss Mandevilla, is it?"
"That would be me," Lotus replied, careful to keep her voice in check, "And you are…?"
"Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster at Beacon Academy. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh," Lotus was taken aback by the admission, but thinking about it now, she supposed it made sense that someone working for the school would have been the one to deliver the chess pieces to the ruins for Initiation, "Nice to meet you as well, Headmaster."
"So, Miss Mandevilla, I wish to make this brief, if you don't mind. I'm certain that you are not opposed to that idea?"
"Read my mind," Lotus replied, more than eager to be literally anywhere else.
Ozpin turned to the side and activated a projection screen across the wall, displaying a scene depicting Lotus's stand off with the group of gathered goons and Torchwick, "Might I ask, exactly what was said during this conversation that spurred those men's reactions?"
Lotus hadn't quite been expecting for there to be footage of the event. Goes to show another reason why the Mistral Council was more responsible for the safety of its citizens than the general huntsmen or huntresses were. Proud hunters certainly weren't operating those cameras.
"I threatened them," Lotus shrugged, trying to be as vague as possible.
Unfortunately, it appeared that wasn't enough to ease Ozpin's curiosity, "And how did you go about doing so?"
If she revealed her own connections and how the goons had known her, then that would paint a target on Junior's back. While the crime boss wouldn't exactly be able to land a scratch on the ex-assassin, it was bad business to be known as a rat. Even if Lotus was getting out of said business, she still had a reputation to maintain.
'Besides, who knows what that might lead to? I can't say the same about getting on Cinder's bad side. That woman is dangerous.'
"I can be rather persuasive when I need to be," Lotus replied finally, giving Ozpin a nonchalant shrug, "I think they might have been a little unsure of themselves after a girl even younger than me managed to take out the majority of them before they could take her down."
"Hmmm. Well, I am glad that you were able to resolve the issue without resorting to any more violence. It is the mark of a true huntress to be capable of ending confrontations before they even begin. I look forward to having you in my school, Miss Mandevilla."
"Thanks. I can't wait to go there," Lotus spared him her best smile, though a good portion of it didn't have to be faked. Lotus was excited to go to Beacon. The existence of the man with two souls had put a damper on her mood, but that wasn't about to stop her from making the most of it.
"If you'll excuse me, I still must interview Miss Rose. Another officer will be here shortly to assist you with a few necessary documents, then you will be free to leave."
Lotus sighed, but acknowledged that she would wait patiently for whatever needed to be signed. 'These people and their paperwork.' Lotus hated having her actions documented. It was only common sense to avoid leaving a trail at any and all opportunities.
Ozpin left, and was replaced a few minutes later by a secretary of sorts that set down a folder full of papers. Thankfully, he filled her in on all the basics of each document so that she could skip along and just sign on the dotted lines. After only another ten minutes, Lotus was finally able to step back out into the hallway to be greeted by an overly ecstatic Ruby.
"You will never guess what just happened!" Ruby was practically buzzing with energy. Lotus could see the occasional rose petal fall to the floor despite the younger girl still standing in one place, as if her semblance was reacting to her mood and expecting them to zip off at any moment.
"... Youuuu, won the lottery?"
"No!"
"Bought another bag of aura infusion dog food for Zwei?"
"What? No!"
"Were you given one of those little 'get out of jail free' cards, but for real life?"
Ruby's patience broke, incapable of holding back her excitement any longer, "No, Olivia! Professor Ozpin accepted me into Beacon two years early!"
"Wait, really?" Lotus was dubious of the implications, but couldn't deny Ruby her moment of happiness, "Congrats, kid!"
Ruby hugged her scythe tightly, "Me and Crescent Rose really proved our stuff out there!"
"I'll say. He must have been really impressed by the footage," Lotus tapped her chin and looked around before grabbing Ruby by the shoulder and ushering her out the front door, "You'd better hurry back home. You don't have very long to pack."
"I'll say," a gruff voice interjected from off to the side. Qrow straightened up from where he'd been slouched against the wall and gave Ruby a once over, "You don't look half bad, kid. Other than that shiner on your forehead."
"Uncle Qrow! You won't believe the good news!"
"Ol' Oz has got you headed into Beacon two years early. He told me already," at a look from Ruby, Qrow raised his hands, "Hey, don't blame me for ruining the surprise. That's all on Ozpin."
"Did he get into contact with you when he got to the station?" Lotus asked, walking side by side with the other two as they headed in the direction of the docks.
"Actually, Glynda messaged me around the time you got picked up by the police car. I flew over as fast as I could but you were already in the interrogation rooms," Qrow sounded mildly annoyed at that fact.
"They didn't really interrogate us, Uncle Qrow," Ruby admonished.
Lotus gave a fake shudder and held herself tightly, "Speak for yourself, Ruby. They threatened to break my kneecaps if I didn't talk. But I refused to give away your secret!"
"Pfft, I don't have any secrets!"
Ruby was too wholesome for Lotus to even doubt that statement, "Aside from the occasional stolen cookie, no doubt."
Qrow snorted and shook his head, "We once put out a jar on the counter full of them just to see how long it would take Ruby to talk herself into stealing them all," there was a twinkle of amusement in his eye as he turned to smile at them, "The first dozen were gone in a day, a second dozen the next. Once there were only five or so cookies left, she spent the next week breaking off chunks of them throughout the day to make it look like other people were eating them. We woke up to find the last pieces gone by the end of the week."
"Uncle Qrow! I was ten!"
"It was still hilarious. As if we hadn't noticed the first twenty missing and the slower thefts would fool us," Qrow laughed and placed a hand on top of Ruby's head.
The young girl crossed her arms and turned her head to the side in defiance, choosing instead to speak to Lotus, "So, Olivia. Are you coming back to Patch with us for the night?"
Lotus considered it for a moment but held her hand up in rejection of the offer, "Sorry, I'm going to get what rest I can back at my apartment. Plus there's stuff I need to pack."
The group had reached one of the more major city streets as she said so, with only a half dozen blocks left to reach the harbor, and a similar amount to her apartment. While Lotus did feel a slight amount of trepidation in letting Ruby out of her sight after the night's events, she was more than reassured by Qrow's presence at her side. The older huntsman would never let someone lay a finger on his niece as long as he was still standing.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, Ruby.
"Yeah!" Ruby darted forward for a quick hug that Lotus reciprocated a moment later, "See you tomorrow!"
Lotus waved goodbye to the pair and watched them for a handful of seconds before turning off on to the street she needed to go down. Her apartment, and sleep, awaited.
'It's finally time to begin my life as a huntress…'
And with the addition of Ruby to the roster, that now meant there were three people that Lotus knew she could get along with. Lotus was starting to feel more positive than usual about how wrong Widow had truly been.
'There's nowhere to go but up from here.'
Thanks for reading!
Next Chapter will finally have Lotus at Beacon. This has been a long time coming, and I'm excited to get into some of the things that I have planned.