Things were never the same since that day.
Oraculi would have been fine, if not for the wine cellar found underneath the inherited estate. It was his grandfather's and hadn't been touched for years because he never cared for alcohol. But Angelus' death had brought out his drinking habits. Although, June wasn't aware of the other reason that he started.
It wasn't long after her mother's death that she gave her weapon a name, Angeli Cadunt, naming one handle Angeli and the other Cadunt. A couple weeks after she named it and practiced with it alone, she asked her father to spar with her. However, all she got was a shrug as he downed another drink. After several other repeats, she figured that she would just have to practice by herself now. Why? she would ask herself. She couldn't understand where his motivation went because she knew her mother would want them to keep going. That's how she got through, so why wasn't her father doing it too?
A couple months later, June's tenth birthday would come up, but it wasn't celebrated in any way. She was surprised she even remembered it, considering her mother was the only one who cared about it. Her father did nothing that day, just like any other, so she thought that was a little sad. Why should I care? With that, she surprised herself. He wasn't rude nor had he gotten abusive to change her opinion of him, so it was surprisingly sudden. Well, he hadn't actually done anything since he got into the cellar.
Oh, she thought to herself. It was precisely because he acted lifeless and did nothing.
Years would go by with no changes. Oraculi would go out from time-to-time to get them food and supplies, but it was only when they were dangerously close to running out that he would ever do this. It was annoying for June. There were many times where she thought of leaving for good. She knew, though, that not knowing how to properly ride a camel would be bad and make leaving without dying impossible, so that was off the table. She also knew that Oraculi wouldn't do anything about it. The years leading up to her fourteenth birthday, being in what felt like a prison with nothing to do, Oraculi would start to become rage inducing for her, not just annoying. When the day did come about, she thought of something to get him up.
When she found her father on the couch, she woke him up.
"Wake up," she said in an emotionless tone. The accompanying slap had managed to get him up.
He grunted in response and got up. He didn't need to ask as June had started to tell him what she wanted.
"We're going to spar, whether you like it or not. Just think of it as a birthday present." With that, he didn't have anything in response.
What Oraculi was paying attention to was not what she said, but her. Her hair was cut short very rough, indicative of a lack of grooming experience. Am I the reason for that? The thought shook him, as this was the first time in a while he looked at her sober. As for her clothes, well, he at least knew she was outside all day, so he was surprised to see that she had covered up everywhere. Besides the fingerless gloves and her face, there was no skin showing. What got him more was that she was much taller. She was definitely taller than her mother, probably about six feet now, which wasn't much shorter than himself.
What he didn't notice, however, was the time.
Annoyed about the seeming unending silence, June had broken it, almost aggressively.
"Just get up!" she said while resisting the urge to slap him again. She walked off to the training grounds, expecting Oraculi to follow soon after.
She expected him to take longer getting ready but she set a time limit for him in her head. Just as it was about to run out, he came out of the house. She kept her unfeeling face, but she was surprised she didn't need to get him again. He came to the grounds and, although he was hungover, was clothed and looked well. June felt something from seeing him equipped like this. She couldn't put her mind on what it was, though.
When he pulled out his greatsword, extending it to unsheath, she felt herself getting excited. She remembered the last time he used it against her, the round she lost, and she looked forward to it. She followed suit and got into a stance with Angeli Cadunt. Seeing this, he charged right after. She was expecting some warning, so she was surprised for a second. However, she was still quick to react.
Oraculi started by swinging his sword to her right side, which was dodged by June with a crouch. In response, he started to spin and bring the sword back around, this time faster. She was surprised by the move but jumped up on the blade. When she did, she was quick to jump up and knock it into the ground, expecting its electrical burst. After the blade was sent down, she disconnected Angeli from the chain and the now individual weapon-handle revealed a trigger. This happened in a split second and June followed up by firing at Oraculi with Angeli. He was forced to take the first couple of shots but followed up to block any more with his blade. She retreated a bit to see what he would do as a follow up.
With the lack of doing anything, she was forced to charge again. She went for strike against his neck, but the weapon was blocked. With a millisecond of shock and realization, she took Angeli Cadunt back and went for his legs. Even though it was a little faster, again the weapon was knocked back from a block.
This speed, she thought to herself, thinking that he'd been holding back the entire time. Underestimation? With that thought she was beginning to become agitated, but what would've been a small annoyance for anyone else would end up igniting a much larger flame. She took a step and went back in, seemingly at full strength, and speed, while aiming for his head. Oraculi was quick to deflect the blow from the nun-chucks. However, she had held back, expecting the block, and then was quick to bring the weapon back down to his legs to bring him down.
Clang!
The chain was caught on the sword, which had been brought into the ground. June was put into a momentary shock, enough time for Oraculi to activate one of his swords mechanisms. A pulse rang out, knocking her off her balance but not enough to push her over. The opening it created, though, was used effectively as Oraculi pulled the greatsword out of the ground, swung it to her side… And landed a clean hit. With no time to at least keep her ground, June was launched across the grounds and threw up sand and dust in her wake. Once she stopped, Oraculi could partially make out where she was, and noticed she wasn't moving.
Did I- Shit! Oraculi yelled at himself. What the hell was I thinking!? He started to run over to her, still ridiculing himself, Was I too tired to realize I should've held back? Or too excited? Ugh, that doesn't matter, I have to make sure that she's- He stopped in his tracks when he saw her start to get up. She didn't seem to be hurt, so that was good.
What wasn't on the surface, however, was a raging fire.
"Thank goodness you're-" he was cut off again, but this time, by a flash. With his semblance he knew what came next was an image of June in front of him. What he saw, though, was a face full of anger. When he realized what was going to happen, he also realized that he wouldn't be able to catch up with her. What followed was a flurry of attacks, mostly from Angeli Cadunt but some still from her currently open hand. He could see the attacks and could think of endless ways to counter them; however, he would never have the speed to catch up with her. She… Was holding back?
The final blow ended up being even more confusing. She punched him square in the chest and, with the speed that she was moving at, hit as hard as he thought it would. What surprised him, though, was that it was more tough than he was expecting, as though her fist had become as hard as steel. Similar to what happened to her, Oraculi went flying back, but he fell and stopped quicker due to his size.
He didn't take much time to recover. That was physically, though, as he took several mental shocks. Sense was knocked back into him quite literally, and he felt horrible. I've been… Neglecting her, haven't I? He told himself. The anger he saw told him how that affected her while realizing she probably hadn't been holding back, but that the emotions in her forced out more power. That would explain her shattered aura and current state, he told himself as he looked at her. She was struggling to move. I should help her. It's the least I could do.
June was panting hard. Breaking one's aura with extreme semblance usage would knock anyone out of a fight, and some could even pass out from it. Lacking the strength, she decided to let herself lay there to recover enough to move. Then, with still staggering breaths, she remembered what had got her in this situation in the first place. She gritted her teeth thinking of it. Between realizing he was holding back all those years ago and his willingness to not hold back against his own daughter after so many years of no training, she had a lot of anger in store. Thinking these things, she didn't hear the footsteps approaching getting closer.
Then, she felt a hand slowly turn her over so her back was on the ground. It was Oraculi. His face looked expressionless, but she could tell it had more to it than that. It was then that one of his arms went to carry her upper back, and another under her knees. He then picked her up and moved towards the house. She was surprised and confused, and she wanted to be angry, but her face only showed tired surprise. He stopped when he got to the backdoor of the house.
"I'm… Sorry about everything. Even if that's not enough," he said. June looked away in response. All he did after that was sigh and go into the house.
He took her to her room and paused again. It didn't take her long to realize that he was looking at the room. She realized the last time he looked at it was years ago when she was a child, so he was probably taking in the fact that the room was organized extensively. With nothing to buy and decorate the room with, she wasn't left with much to do. All of this only fueled the anger, but it didn't come out. She couldn't tell why.
Oraculi laid June down in bed and left the room, and she was left to think about everything. Why? She replayed to herself what had happened, and was left to dwell on it. Why would he all of a sudden change? She couldn't understand it, and doubted that he would actually change. Even with all of this, she was still able to get some sleep.
Things had changed, a little bit.
When June woke up the next day, she left her room and was surprised. Oraculi was in his workshop, tampering with his greatsword. He's… Not asleep? He would usually wouldn't wake up until after noon, since he almost always got black out drunk the night before. She checked on the workshop instinctively, though, and she was almost angry about it. Before she could leave it, however, Oraculi spoke up.
"I… Can't really cook, but I've looked at some of those books. I'll start seeing if I'm able to get some of the things you need," he said. "And make sure to tell me if there's anything else you might want."
"...," was all he got in response before she left the room. Again, she was left speechless and not sure how she should react. She would make breakfast, but only for herself, as she was used to. After that, her own schedule didn't change. She would go outside and train herself more. This time, though, she would look into that power she tapped into the day before.
The next ten months would be the same hell she was used to. Oraculi did change to her surprise, though, as he stopped drinking as often as he did, and he kept his promise about getting her ingredients she would need. She became a decent cook as a result. He even would occasionally spar with her, and after a couple more fights June had gotten better than his one-hundred percent.
Although, that idea of being in a prison was always with her, and it was torture to be kept there as a result. Even if Oraculi was better, she still couldn't be anything close to happy living with him. This all led her to finally trying to leave the desert for good.
"...Father," June said to get his attention as he was in his workshop. He looked up in response. It was the first time she called him any form of dad since she was nine.
"Is… Something up?" he said, worried.
"I think it's time I finally leave."
"..." Oraculi looked down. He didn't show shock, since he was probably anticipating it, but still wasn't ready for it.
"I… Understand. Even if I don't want it," he finally said after some time.
"I… Wasn't really asking for permission."
"Yeah, but I should warn you: Camels can be pretty difficult to tame. I don't think you would struggle with much else."
"I'll be sure to listen."
"Right," Oraculi said back as he started walking out of the room, gesturing for June to follow. "I have a feeling you want to start this as soon as possible, so we should get going."
June followed suit and they went outside.
Sure enough, Oraculi was right.
June took some time getting used to the animal, and it took even longer getting used to her. All-and-all, it took two months. This wasn't really out of place, but for June it felt like an eternity. She did, however, understand the importance of learning to get along with the camel. After those two months, she found that she enjoyed being with it, finding solace with it. That was good in her mind, and now she was ready to leave. Well, that's what she thought.
While she was packing, Oraculi had come to her bedroom.
"You're getting ready to leave, huh?" he asked her. She didn't turn around to respond.
"Yes. I'll be ready by tomorrow."
"Do you think you could make that the day after?"
"...Why," June stopped what she was doing, turned, and responded in a defensive tone.
"Before you get any ideas, it is something important. Do you remember when you were nine and listened to me and Amica talking?" Oraculi said back calmly to get the mood to a normal one.
"...Not really. You're talking about… The… Huntsman killer part, right?"
"No. There was a part about Silver Eyes."
"I can't really say for sure, but no for now."
"Hm, that's fine. This is my fault, like most of this is. Come down to the living room once you're done."
He left her after that, and after she was done, she went to the living room. There was a container on the table.
"What's that?" June asked.
"It's something that holds my contacts."
"And those are?" In response, Oraculi took out his contacts, and showed her what they were. Then, he motioned to his eyes. What she saw was not the dull red color she was used to and instead a silver color that replaced them. She was silent for a bit.
"So," she ended the silence, "those things change your eye color… And?"
"That's it, but they're not the important thing here. It's your eye color."
"This is what you meant by Silver Eyes, then?"
"Yes. I… Should explain," he said.
Oraculi then explained the legend to her, and he added that she used it when she was five to save her mother. June felt one prevailing emotion: Anger. She was mad that he would hide something like that for so long, and she didn't take long to express it.
"Why. Why would you hide something that important!?" June had yelled at him, interrupting him.
"Please, I didn't mean to upset you," he answered. "It was apart of a plan I had to train you, but-"
"You stopped. Years ago."
"...Yes, but I hoped you would never come to rely on the power, and I wish you would also hide them."
"Again, why!? I wouldn't have relied on them, and why would I hide the-"
"Because they're the reason we live in this hell!" Oraculi yelled, trying to convince her. June didn't soften her face, but she stopped talking. He sat back down, disappointed that he broke like that.
"My family, our family, has a bad history. They founded this estate centuries ago to hide from certain people. We never learned who they were but they hunted Silver Eyed Warriors. I'm not sure why. I only ever knew that they were extremely skilled and able to kill us with ease, like your Great Grandfather. I was… Just trying to protect you." June's expression had softened to a blank face. She at least understood it now. She talked after taking a couple seconds to take it all in.
"I don't think you're lying, but I also don't think I'll wear those things all the time."
"I get it. However, I need you to do this for me. Please," he pleaded with her. She sighed and kept her stance.
"I just don't think I can-"
"Please," Oraculi got up and put his hands on her shoulders extremely fast, "I don't care if you forget about me, or think I'm even worse for forcing you to do this, just… Do it. Please." June moved his arms away from her before answering.
"Fine." She walked over to the table and grabbed the case.
"I plan on showing you how the power works tomorrow. The time is up to," he told her before realizing he forgot something, "Oh, and make sure you're not wearing the contacts while using them. They have a habit of burning off."
June nodded that she understood, and went up to her room. With nothing else to do, she tampered with Angeli Cadunt for a bit before heading to bed.
She woke up the next day, ready to see what Oraculi had in store for her. When she went downstairs, he was awake, just sitting with nothing to do. It was earlier than he was expecting, showing some surprise on his face, but he was ready nonetheless. They left the house and walked for a while until they spotted a Grimm in the wastes.
They got close enough to see that it was a Desert Ursa, and Oraculi told June to wait behind him. He got close and the beast noticed him. It started to charge, but all he did was sit still. It kept on and on until it finally came in front of him. Then, a white light came out and enveloped the Grimm, killing it for good. June was taken aback from the spectacle. She was confident she could take out an Ursa, but being able to kill any Grimm in one go without even moving seemed like a fantasy.
He came back and they continued on until they would spot another one. Eventually, they noticed that something was trailing them. Spotting a shadow from the sky, they looked up to see that a Nevermore had noticed them. Its size was alarming, but Oraculi let June take point nonetheless.
"Remember: You have to think of the preservation of life," he reminded her.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine," she said back.
Oraculi backed up to let June get its attention. Once he did and they both stood still, the Nevermore had started to come down towards her. It was as expected, but the fact it had a hunting pattern was concerning, and when it came into better view, the boney white color that encased most of it was indicative of a fearsome beast.
It was only then that Oraculi had started to worry. This is bad, he thought. I don't think I would be able to kill a less armored one of this size in one go. He was regretting letting her do this and he started to run towards her. The Grimm, noticing him approaching, sped up to make sure he wouldn't get there in time. It had gotten too close, however, and he would be too late to help, but, right before it got to her, a light that looked brighter than the sun encompassed the wastes.
Angelus. Mom.
Her thoughts had one person in mind. She was the only person she ever lost, and the only person she wished she could've saved. The power that came from her was too much for her to handle in one moment, so June fell to her knees, exhausted by the usage. What she saw in front of her, though, was the decaying carcass of a Nevermore.
"June!" Oraculi's voice rang out to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm just… Winded."
"Good. That was still… Unexpected."
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked while getting back to her feet. She pushed Oraculi away when he tried helping her.
"A Grimm of that size should be turned to stone. Not to mention that you shouldn't experience that much fatigue after you use them."
"So… Mine are more powerful?"
"That would be the most logical conclusion but that fatigue should be another reason to save them as a last resort."
"I got that part."
After their brief talk, they started to walk back home. It was full of silence, even though Oraculi knew his only daughter would be leaving for good. Once they did get back, June was quick to get her things and a camel prepped. He helped her with it and it only took ten minutes because of that. Before she was able to leave, though, Oraculi hugged her. She did return it, but it didn't have much love. After a bit, she realized he wasn't letting go.
"Would you let me go," she told him.
"Right." He then stopped.
June got on the camel and went off after that. She didn't look back as she left, missing an Oraculi waving at her. She had finally left home for good, and when she realized that she couldn't see the house behind her anymore, she actually felt something she hadn't in awhile: Excitement…
