Dusting off her white combat skirt and straightening her bolero jacket, Weiss takes a moment to actually look at her surroundings. The Emerald Forest itself wasn't much to look at, considering every normal plant had green leaves anyways. Large stones and boulders littered the ground every few meters. The forest's overhead canopy and general repetitiveness gave the heiress next to no sense of direction.
The overwhelming sulfur and brimstone scent common for dissolving grimm bodies told her that she should vacate the area. Dead grimm only attract more grimm. Taking one last look at the decaying beowulf that decided to stand under her as she fell, Weiss picks a direction and begins her trek, hand resting on her sheathed rapier.
Mere minutes after she began her walk, the heiress finds herself looking up at an odd pair of scores in a particularly thick tree branch. Slightly above that is a break in the canopy, giving Weiss the impression that someone fell through it, and whatever their weapon was left those marks in the branch. That means that there should be a set of footprints nearby where they landed. She could, potentially, stalk and observe this student and their capabilities before deciding to become their partner. With that new goal in mind, Weiss began searching the area for tracks.
A few feet roughly north of that tree, fourteen pairs of prints lay imbedded in the mud; a pair of boots and the rest canine in shape. Weiss didn't even hesitate, following the direction the trail points. Minutes pass before the footprints fade entirely, pointing through some bushes into the clearing beyond.
The explosive crack characteristic of a large firearm blares forth from the clearing beyond the bushes, nearly throwing Weiss off balance. Recuperating from her little jump-scare, the heiress' brows furrow, and with final determination she peeks from behind the bush. Clad in crimson, a cloaked, hooded figure draws back a large scythe. Under the reaper's foot is a small, young grimm with bear-like qualities. Without even bone plates to its name, the ursa cub futilely claws - or more appropriately, paws - at the reaper's leg. With a seemingly practiced antipathy, the figure swings down, relieving the weight of its head from the cub's shoulders. The whining of the cub moments before death clearly attracted the rest of the herd, as five more ursi stalk out of the forest.
He has to have noticed, right? Then why hasn't he moved from the corpse of the ursa cub? Weiss thinks, more worried for the figure's well being than trying to determine the figure's sex. The ursas get a little too close for Weiss' liking, and throwing caution to the wind she bursts from the bushes to stab a bear through its eye, a satisfying clunk sounding out from Myrtenaster. Withdrawing and stepping back a few paces, the heiress watches as the ursa corpse explodes in a brilliant red Dust flame, taking out another two on either side. Weiss witnesses a fourth fall to a boulder forming in the air before dropping onto the largest ursa present.
That just leaves the fifth. In rage at the loss of its brethren in quick succession, it blindly begins swinging at the red figure. A fraction of a second before the claws would have normally connected with it, the reaper evaporates, leaving behind a few waning rose petals. Steel replaces grimm flesh as a definitely female form drops from the sky and skewers the ursa through the chest.
Weiss felt her eye twitch when the figure pulled back her hood to reveal a young face, black and red hair, and silver eyes, before she said, "hello! My name's Ruby!"
"RUBY!" A certain blonde brawler called at the top of her lungs into the forest. Not that it mattered. Her sister made it obvious that she doesn't need - no, want her company. She'd much rather have the company of her wolves, her inability to contact Yang showed her all she needed to know.
Now that she was in the forest though, she could use this time to let out all that pent up anger. A few Grimm nests were about to have a bad day. As much as she was mad at her sister, she would rather take her anger out on punching bags than the redhead.
Well, she does have an aura…
Catching herself before she could entertain that idea too far, Yang shakes her head and continues walking. She knew her semblance evaporated whatever self control she may have normally, which was both a blessing and a curse. While not omnipresent, it wasn't exactly a switch either, and any anger would throw off any rhyme or reason to her actions. On one hand, this granted her a fierce determination and resilience on the battlefield, unrivalled by anyone other than the most ancient of Grimm. On the other, should she become angry at anyone she cared about, she could easily send them through a concrete wall. Luckily that hasn't been a problem yet.
The crackling of fire pulled her back to her surroundings, realizing she had accidentally let her semblance show its own visible effect. Yang's fire wasn't just symbolic. It was very real, as demonstrated by the trail of embers at the brawler's feet, reaching back in the direction she had just walked from. Her semblance was just as passionate. Just as uncontrollable.
And it was time to let it go.
The reverberating crash of another explosion served to only increase her worry and curiosity. Either something was being beaten to a pulp, or someone was blowing up a lot of grimm. Both were good and promising, but from a cat faunus' perspective, it was simply too much for the girl. The explosions became more rapid as she drew nearer, from periodically to several times every few seconds. It didn't help that the fires became more abundant the further she walked.
Blake was surprised to finally get the answer to what was going on in the form of a blonde woman in the bushes, standing in a forest full of dissolving grimm husks, filling the air with a strong wood ash scent. No living Grimm remain in the newly created clearing. Blake decided to wait a bit before entering so as not to provoke the clearly agitated person. "I'm assuming everything is under control?"
Her question was answered with a rush of air as a fist came flying at her only to stop a few inches from her face. Red eyes dimmed until they were lilac as they gazed into amber. "Well, I guess they have to be now."
Trying not to flinch at the near hit had been hard, but trying not to laugh at the clear confusion on the brawler's face was even more challenging. However, Blake managed to maintain her stoic nature as she extended a hand. "Well considering I don't see anyone else around, I guess this makes us partners."
The fires in the vicinity - as well as in the Blonde's hair - died down in ferocity as the other girl grasped the outstretched hand to shake firmly. "Guess so. I'm Yang, nice to meet you…?"
"Blake."
"Nice to meet you Blake. Now then, where are we off to? Cause I was hunting Grimm, not the artifact thing." Yang states a little sheepishly as she runs a hand through the golden locks at the back of her head.
"The ruins to the south," came her simple reply.
"You don't talk much, do you?" The blonde brawler looked her in the eyes for a few seconds before continuing. "Yeah, reminds me of… never mind."
Think of the most uncomfortable situation you can. Now imagine it in silence, reaching your hand out for a handshake, as the woman across from you simply stares, her eye twitching. That was Ruby's world, as she slowly retracted her hand to run through her hair. She drops her scythe to the side, letting the muzzle sit against the dirt.
"Ummm… are you okay?" The reaper tries again for contact, but she was denied. Her wolves announce their approach to their mother with simple telepathic noises.
The first wolf breaks through the underbrush into the clearing Ruby was destroying Ursi in just a moment before, breaking the white haired girl's attempt to understand the sight before her. Fenrir, in his tactful brilliance, decides to growl. In his defence, that did break her out of her immobility. The girl must have seen her pup as a threat, because she wasted no time in lashing out with that rapier.
Ruby was having none of that, shifting her grip on Crescent Rose to allow her better use of the sniper. Pressing the trigger, the reaper traded that recoil for momentum, dragging the scythe blade through the air and coming into contact with the white haired girl's sword, sending it airborne. With a soft thud it lands on the ground nearby.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Both of the young women yell simultaneously. An explosion sounds in the background, but neither pay it any mind.
"I'm saving my kid's life, that's what. You attacked him!" Ruby yelled in response, a little faster to register the words the other said.
"He was rearing to attack me! You heard him!" Weiss returned, just as vehemently. They were supposed to be partners, and their relationship was already going south. This would be a fun next four years…
"Oh please, he growls at everything." Almost to prove her point, the sleek black wolf growled once again, "Fenrir, heel." Obeying orders, he walks up to his mother's leg and sits, refraining from continued growling.
"Hati, fetch." Ruby says, staring straight at the white haired girl's face. Another two wolves breach the forest's underbrush, startling the girl yet again. The pure white wolf, Hati, strolls over to the rapier, picking it up with her teeth, before dropping it off in her mother's hand.
"Now that you seem to have calmed down, mind telling me your name? If we're gonna be stuck together for four years, may as well make it peaceful." The girl nods, reaching out to retrieve the offered blade.
"I'm Weiss. Weiss Schnee. You said you're Ruby, correct?"
"Yup! Ruby Rose, that's me!" Whatever that earlier persona was has evaporated from the girl in crimson, replaced with a 'calmer,' more excitable person. The reaper punctuated her second introduction with a salute you would expect in the navy.
"...Riiight. Anyways, which way are the ruins?" The heiress switched topics, wanting this to be over as soon as possible.
"Oh, I don't know. I lost track of which way was which when I landed on that ursa den. Turns out, combat based around spinning isn't good for navigation."
While Weiss' hand met her face, her mind certainly wasn't done. She had so many questions. How does the younger girl control three near wild wolves? Not only that, but she looks so young, how did she even get into Beacon in the first place? What is with the wolves' names? They certainly aren't from any language she's ever heard, and as the heiress to the SDC, she would definitely know. Now wasn't a good time to think this over, they had a mission to complete. Hopefully the headmaster wasn't entirely truthful with his explanation of this initiation. Hopefully she can still get away from this girl. With a sigh, Weiss turned away from the enigma known as Ruby, looking instead for someway to navigate.
"Hati seems to know where to go." The crimson reaper spoke, walking into Weiss' field of view. The aforementioned white wolf silently began walking into the forest, raising yet another question in the heiress' mind.
The further Yang and her new partner in crime walked from the brawler's impact crater, the more the pouch at her hip buzzed. While Yang didn't mind it, apparently Blake could hear it, and she didn't like it. Retrieving the offending scroll from the pouch the buzzing originated from, she saw a picture of herself, with her aura meter below it. In the red.
"How the…" she muttered aloud. Sure, she may have let herself get hit a few times so she could rip grimm apart more efficiently, but certainly not that much, right? Yang could almost feel Blake's judging gaze. Yes, scrolls are transparent. You learned this yesterday.
"You really are reckless," her reclusive friend sighed, "I guess that should have been obvious. Come on, sooner we get that relic, the better. For your health."
"...Yeah," the brawler conceded.
Before the duo could continue in the direction they assumed was south, the ground rumbled, immediately followed by a deathstalker the size of a bullhead crashing through the forest. On the scorpion grimm's back stood a red haired girl in bronze armor, and hanging on to the stinger was a familiar awkward blond boy. The fight continued passed them almost comically, as the grimm tried scraping Jaune off its stinger.
"Umm, should we help?" Yang walked up to the trail left in the forest. It wasn't stopping at this rate. She turns to Blake, who simply shrugs and begins running down the channel, making her mind up for her.
The temple they were told about before being flung into the forest crept into view. Its age was apparent, most of the temple's walls were fallen, with stone paths leading throughout a larger unknown complex. Vines covered anything that was even slightly elevated. The pedestals in the central amphitheatre-like structure were relatively untouched by nature, with just a bit of moss growing here and there.
"See? I told you Hati knew!" Ruby says with exuberance, towing Weiss along with her. Somewhere along the way, the heiress doubted where they were going, and wanted to take a different path, which meant that Ruby had to make sure she kept following. The white haired girl simply mumbled and admitted defeat.
Ruby let go of Weiss' hand, deciding to flash over to the temple and look at the artifacts instead of wait for the heiress. The pedestals were aligned to be exactly symmetrical in a tight semicircle. Gems of emerald, amber, sapphire and jasper shone atop their stone fixtures, betraying their own energy. These were clearly elemental Dust. Where one type sat, its place was mirrored across the dividing line, and not a single crystal of the eight was missing.
"Dust? That can not be safe." The heiress spoke, catching up as Ruby looked around. "Though, I suppose, neither is our job."
"Nope!" The reaper exclaimed turning to look at her partner. "Any preference? I like the look of the orange one."
"Ruby, that's Burn. The blue is Ice, that green one is Storm, and the brown crystal is Seismic. At least use their proper names." Weiss said with a sigh, and roll of the eyes.
"Oh, okay. But yeah… so is the ora- Burn, good to you?" She turned away from her partner to inspect the crystal. Something about the way it shone spoke to her.
"I think you just like shades of red," the heiress voiced, giving a half chuckle when the crimson reaper jumps back and flushes. Her hand reaches out and grabs the Burn crystal Ruby was staring into, "but no, I don't mind."
On the outside, the younger woman struggled for a moment to regain her composure from being caught in the appreciation of her apparent favorite color, and lightly smile at Weiss, but the story was different on the inside. Ruby was conflicted. On one hand, she really liked Weiss, which she is totally aware could be an understatement. But on the other, the heiress was exactly that, the heiress of the largest Dust producing company on Remnant. Isn't she supposed to be a spoiled brat or something? The high-and-mighty princess who descended from her castle into peasant-land?
Heh. I did always say I wanted to be the knight in shining armor, saving a princess, Ruby thought to herself, before mentally shaking to rid herself of those nostalgic thoughts.
Another thing to think about was that, without thinking, Weiss lashed out at Fenrir. While she was able to put on a facade about it, it wasn't really something she could just push to the side. Could she really trust the white haired beauty?
"Mom. Something moved." Fenrir's voice cut through his mother's thoughts, drawing her attention away from the girl she was smiling at and towards the forest.
"Is something wrong?" Weiss questioned. All she knows is that Ruby was staring at her for a second or two, before her head snapped to the right. Following the girl's gaze brought her own to the black wolf. He stood from his perch, barking at the forest. But how would Ruby have known he would do that? He wasn't barking moments before. Fenrir stopped barking and ran into the trees, leaving silence in his wake.
"Something is coming. Weiss, draw your weapon, and get ready to jump. Three…" Not to be a hypocrite, Ruby did the same, drawing her scythe in one fluid motion. "Two…" She set her scythe, barrel first onto the ground, and one foot on the blade.
The white head of a King Taijitu broke through the underbrush, barreling towards the heiress. Ruby reacted and pushed herself away with a freshly emptied chamber with the hope that Weiss would be able to move in time. Thankfully, that was the case, though not in the way the reaper expected. Reaching into her aura reserves, the heiress crouched down and stuck that rapier of hers into the ground, springing a glyph into reality, angled away from the snake. The massive grimm bounced off of the glyph, redirected to narrowly miss the rest of the ruins.
Pulling the bolt to chamber a new shot, Ruby flips in mid air, planting her feet on a tree about twenty feet up. Before gravity could reclaim her momentum, the reaper squeezed the trigger, thrusting her momentum towards the moving snake. Her swing, one that would eviscerate a lesser foe, only nicked the Taijitu's hide. The unexpected transfer of force threw Ruby for a loop, knocking her off balance and crashing into the ground.
'This won't be easy.'
'Ah, nothing quite like having running like hell when faced with a giant scorpion.' Yang thought, narrowly dodging another claw. Maybe punching it to grab its attention wasn't the best idea, but it was the best she had at the time. Granted, she did distract the Deathstalker from Jaune and his partner, but the brawler wasn't sure this situation was any more desirable. In fact… the situation got worse. Oops.
Figuring she could find better openings, and notice it wasn't fast enough that talking would be a distraction, Yang did as Yang does and looked to her new ally. "So, what's your name? I'm Yang."
Not missing a beat, the renowned fighter sidestepped the incoming stinger so she could try and damage the tail before it drew back. "Pyrrha." Letting out a grunt of frustration that her sword only clinked off the beast's exoskeleton, the redhead glanced at Yang to show her uncertainty. "Were you sure punching it would be wise? Nothing of mine can cut it."
"Nope!" Out of the corner of her eye, the brawler caught a glimpse of Blake jumping onto the scorpion's back and take her own chance at cutting up its tail, only to cause it to thrash about and send Blake flying. Meanwhile, Jaune yelled a mighty roar and ran at the oversized arachnid, shield raised and sword ready to swing. The Grimm scorpion didn't even notice the gnat when he got sent flying back from a single swipe of an oversized pincer.
Seeing the, admittedly amusing, sight of the other Blond go flying, Yang sighed and went to rethink their options. 'I mean… he tried.' Yang thought. They really didn't have many options. Jaune has so far proven to be useless, Pyrrha is an amazing fighter but can't hit very hard, and Blake could get where ever she wanted, but like Pyrrha, she simply isn't able to break its bone or tear its hide.
"Well, I'm out of ideas! Any of you got something?!"
"Other than its mouth and eyes, we can't hurt it. And before you ask, Yang's aura is low." Blake spoke up finally, throwing in her two cents.
Turning to the still standing Blonde, Pyrrha looked torn between scolding and just giving up. Clearly she went for the former when she opened her mouth. "Then why did you join?" The amazonian exclaimed, more in confusion than anger, short lived as it was before she was punted through the nearest tree by their adversary.
The raven haired ninja spoke up then while getting to a vantage point in a nearby tree. "Umm, that may have been my decision." Blake muttered.
"We could just run and hope to find another cliff to throw it down? It couldn't be that hard to trick it into running off a cliff!" Jaune said, hiding behind his shield.
"Eh, it's the best we've got, let's do it! Hey ugly!" Yang yelled, throwing a stone at the deathstalker. "Follow me!" She then began running in as much of the opposite direction of the scorpion as possible. It worked, as the sound of trees crashing to the ground indicated it was pushing them aside to continue pursuit.
In case it wasn't already apparent, there were way better ways this could have happened.
Shortly after the black Taijitu head broke through the forest to fight Ruby and Weiss, the white head rushed out, chasing after a ball of green and pink. When the second pair of hunters in training recovered from their small flight, they immediately returned to the fray. The green blur Ruby saw turned out to be a ninja, and the pink was some mix between Yang's fighting style and her own. Hit hard and with a big weapon. Since they were currently fighting a two headed snake, Ruby decided not to ask their names, instead electing to call them Ninja-guy and Lady Thor. Somewhere along the way, the four of them managed to drag it away from the temple, into a thicker forest.
Ruby had a plan. Since her and Weiss only had to deal with one head at the moment, if they could somehow hold the head still, she could jump onto the grimm's back, hook it, and fire repeatedly with the scythe to break through its thick scales. Only problem, how could they hold it still long enough? She has no idea what Hati and Fenrir's semblances could be, and Sköll's is too destructive. It could be useful to help sever the snake's head, but not to hold it down. As far as they know, all his semblance does is form and drop large, flaming boulders.
"Hey, Weiss! Do you think you could hold it still with your glyphs?" Ruby shouted, grabbing the attention of her partner.
"Yes, but that would drain my aura too quickly!"
"No, I meant just the head, so I could stand on its back and chop at it!"
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It would thrash around and drain my aura!"
That's plan A busted. Plan B, become lumberjacks. "Okay, new plan. Help me cut down some trees. If we do it right, we might be able to trap it!" The reaper flashed over to a tree relatively close to the King Taijitu. Hooking her scythe around the trunk, she pulled the trigger to slice through a meter of wood in one fell swoop, and at a steep enough angle so that the tree would fall in the direction she wanted.
Weiss did much the same, wrapping a ton of smaller glyphs around another large tree, then willing them to occupy the same space at the center of the trunk. Since her glyphs are pseudo-physical objects, they sliced straight through the wood. Both trees fell at about the same time, and settled on the grimm.
Plan B slowed it down a very noticeable amount, but it still wasn't enough.
Dodging a bite, Ruby yelled, "again!" They went through the same motions, but on the opposite side of the snake. This time, it stopped completely.
"Yes! Sköll! Drop it!" The yellow-gray wolf obliged, howling as loud as he could. The boulder pierced about halfway down before it crumbled, having been made in too much of a hurry. Noting how the boulder pierced instead, Ruby dashed over and flicked Crescent Rose out to resemble a war scythe, instead of its customary garden scythe shape. With both hands, she spun it about a bit before stabbing into the wound. With one hand now free, Ruby reaches for her unfinished handcannon. After the slight click of the safety, she aims it into the wound and fired several bullets. At the same time, she mentally willed Fenrir and Hatï to help her drag her scythe through the grimm.
Weiss decided to help, using her rapier's dust containers and many complex twirls and glyphs to fire elemental blasts at the head, just in case it survives, it will be weaker. That turned out to be unnecessary. When Ruby and her children finished ripping the neck apart, that head immediately started dissolving.
When the Reaper and the heiress turned around to help Ninja-guy and Lady Thor, they caught the tail end of one amazing sight. Ninja-guy's dual submachine guns had whittled away a small opening in the snake's skull, allowing Lady Thor to fire her grenade-hammer point blank into the opening. A wave of grimm ichor blew forth, coating everything in a five foot radius in the stuff. It quickly dissipated, however, leaving everything just as clean as before.
"Well that was exciting," Ninja-guy monotoned, "thanks for your help. My name is Ren."
"And I'm Nora!" Lady Thor exclaimed, almost exactly copying Ruby's earlier naval salute, but with one leg raised.
"I'm Ruby, this is Weiss," the Reaper pointed out, "the Temple is in that direction. We already got an artifact, so we'll be heading back to Beacon."
"I wish you luck on your return," Weiss finished, punctuated with a curtsy. With that simple introduction and farewell, the four parted ways.
"I've got it! There, Yang, a vine is hanging down from that tree, over a chasm!"
"Good eye, Jauney boy!" Yang yelled back. They, or rather, she had been running for her life for the past ten or twenty minutes, and she was ready to be rid of the overgrown arachnid. She was, however, impressed by Jaune's stamina so far. Especially since he didn't seem like Huntsman material. Not that he could outrun them, but he was keeping up with the pace of the deathstalker, which was all the brawler wanted to outrun, pacing herself accordingly.
With a goal in mind, she plants her right foot down to take a hard left, kicking up dust. The chasm now fast approaching, the brawler jumps, using her Ember Celica to gain extra momentum. Not expecting the vine to be in her face as fast as it was, she panicked, grabbing it with one hand. The other hand she kept pointing back, firing repeatedly. The branch the vine was wrapped around shook with because of Yang's weight, sending jolts down the glorified leaf.
The blonde's feet touched down upon the ground on the other side of the chasm, on which she simply collapsed, exhausted. Yang laid there, just focusing on breathing. When her other senses came back to her, she noticed she was still holding something. Raising her hand, the brawler saw the vine she swung on still in her hand. Following the line, she could see that the branch snapped, and followed her across.
With a jolt, and fairly loud yelp, Yang threw the vine towards the cliff edge, where weight took over and dragged it in.
She sat there, staring at the cliff, pondering every possible outcome. She could have died. Hell, she probably should have died. The tree certainly tried to make it happen. Her thoughts were interrupted as Blake came into sight, chest heaving, and offering a hand down to help her up.
"How did you get across?" Yang asked, taking the offered hand.
Blake helped her up, before saying, "I used the ribbon on my kusarigama. I had to walk a bit to the north to find a spot that it could reach, though. Pyrrha and Jaune are running around, they'll be here in a bit. They decided since your aura shattered when you hit the ground, they were going to help you get back… Well, mostly Pyrrha."
"M-My aura shattered?" the brawler asked. Her face was a cross between slightly frightened and generally confused. "I don't remember that."
"Yeah, yellow light, danced around your body. I checked my scroll, you definitely have no aura left."
"Oops. Well, at least I'm getting the ladies to help me." Yang said with a smirk. Her partner groaned and pushed her back, which only caused the brawler to chuckle.
AN
NOBODY PANIC, BUT I MAY HAVE CAUGHT AN INCONSISTENCY. IT'S FIXED NOW THOUGH.
Something I have already alluded to, but wouldn't be brought up again until chapter 15, clashed really badly with a fundamental reason that this story can exist. But now they work, and don't clash too badly any more.
Anyway, no Snot. "Trap" is not the wolfy equivalent of a semblance.
Also, hi. I'm back. Sup. A month overdue. Oops. I blame school.
Archer was here… repeatedly, and glaring at points. Pay no mind to the glaring in general direction, just don't make noise, might stay staring that one way.
Blacsparrow: Blac… didn't do much this chapter, sentence structure and a few ideas tossed around. Hope you all enjoy!