Chapter 7

"Everyone still has all their limbs?" Jaune asked, stretching as they gathered around.

"Still have all of them. Well, maybe a few hair strands less," Ruby offered with a smile. "How's everyone doing on ammo?"

Ruby smiled slightly as she heard the clacking of metal, and rattle of ammo cartridges. Everyone checked their supplies, counting bullets, and grenades. At the end of it all, they had been pretty conservative, though Nora was a little low on grenades to power up her attacks, and Ruby herself was out of gravity dust entirely.

"Can your hammer use any form of dust?" Ruby asked, motioning to Nora's weapon.

"Hm? Magnhild? Yeah, it can accept raw dust in order to power its swings, but I can't fire unless I have it in grenade form," she explained, motioning to the stub barrel.

"Here, take these," Ruby offered, handing over her clip of fire dust. "I'm not really going to use them, considering we're in a forest."

Nora nodded her thanks as she began emptying the dust in the ammo into her hammer.

"Alright," Weiss stated loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "I recognize we just fought a Nevermore, but there are still plenty of hours in the day. I say we get walking, and find the next site."

"Any ideas where that might be?" Emerald asked.

"Jaune, did you hear anything when you were back with the others?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes narrowing in thought.

"Not really. Everyone seemed to be pretty content to sit back. Though since then they probably launched the rest of the students in, I guess," he replied with a shrug before seeming to realize something. He pulled out his Scroll, typing away. "I need to tell Yang you're alright."

Ruby was surprised to hear that apparently Jaune and her sister had met, and a little irritated that she was sending others to keep an eye on her, but her thoughts were cut off by Weiss.

"Then we can be sure that there is likely nothing back that way," Weiss concluded. "However, we didn't see anyone go flying over us, so no one has made it this far in yet. That means the only choice is to go further in."

"Isn't that a bit risky?" Nora asked.

"Compared to fighting a Nevermore?" Ruby asked with a smile, prompting Nora to nervously chuckle and nod her head in concession. Weiss nodded slightly in thanks before continuing.

"The forest extends quite far in both directions," Weiss continued, tracing a map on the ground with the tip of her rapier. It was roughly circular, and bisected by a line. A small building lay on one side, and between the two features, a massive 'X' had been drawn. "Seeing as we have at least three team members who can move quickly, I say we cycle pairs scouting ahead while the main bulk continues heading in a straight line."

Weiss emphasized her point by drawing a line from the center towards the unmarked edge, adding lines radiating off. "This way, we can cover maximum ground with minimum risk."

To Ruby, it sounded like she had finished a rehearsed speech, but the others seem fairly impressed with her confidence. She wasn't about to undermine that. "Sounds good to me."

"Alright, Ren and Emerald, I want you two up first," Weiss instructed, turning to each of them as she called on them. Ren merely nodded, but Emerald looked surprised.

"Wait, me? I'm not that fast," she pointed out.

"And what about me? Why aren't I scouting?" Ruby asked, genuinely confused. A horrible sinking feeling hit her. What if Weiss was still mad about the Nevermore? What if-

"You spent a lot of energy fighting the Nevermore. You need to rest for a bit, and recover your Aura," Weiss insisted, firmly but gently, before turning to Emerald. "Besides, I saw you in that fight. You move faster than the rest of us without dust assistance."

"Fair enough," she agreed after a moment. "So, where to?"

"I'll leave that up to you both. Use your best judgements." Ren and Emerald nodded before taking off in opposite directions. "Well, time to get marching."

Ruby fell into step a little bit to the side of Weiss, watching her in the corner of her eyes. That had been...unexpected. Ruby had got the impression she was smart and focused, but that sounded almost...practiced.

"So, where'd you learn to do that?" she asked, curiosity burning inside her. Weiss glanced at her with a cocked eyebrow before smiling.

"Just a little something I picked up back home in Atlas," she confided, smiling to herself before picking up a half step, leaving Ruby with more questions than answers.

"She's something else, isn't she?" Ruby jumped slightly as Jaune stepped up beside her.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Wish I had her skills," he said wistfully. "She's clearly trained for this."

"It seems you were doing fine on your own," Pyrrha pointed out from the other side. "In battle, you lead effectively."

"I didn't really lead, I kind of just...suggested things."

"When others take your suggestions, they are following your lead," she countered with a smile. "We have our talents, and they fall in many places."

"Wow, that sounds...poetic."

Pyrrha nodded. "It sort of is. It is hard to explain...back in Mistral, we call it arete. A sort of natural order of perfection."

"Uh huh." Jaune's tone was utterly unconvincing, but to her credit, Pyrrha only laughed.

"Arete is not a word that is translated easily. It roughly means perfection, but here, perfection is thought of as a singular truth. One thing everyone should aspire to. In Mistral, my perfection was different than another's. Take Ruby for instance."

"Me?" Ruby straightened in surprise, having thought the conversation had moved away from her.

"Yes, you. Look at the fight with the Nevermore. Weiss' job was to hold the Nevermore in place, while you disabled it. Had the roles been reversed, I doubt we would have been successful."

"Yeah but-"

"You are faster than Weiss, and you hit harder. However, she has more control over dust, and is a tactician. Both of you aspire to perform the best as you can. Weiss did not ask you to hold a Nevermore, she did it herself. That is arete."

"Huh, guess that makes sense," Ruby muttered, running the words over in her head.

"So, does this thing apply to everyone?" Jaune asked.

"Pretty much." To everyone's surprise, Nora pitched in, stepping up to be in time with them. "Back when Ren and I travelled a lot, we heard people talk about it all the time. Well, sort of. You see, we were from northern Mistral, which uses a different language than southern Mistral, so we couldn't always understand them. But the word arete was thrown out a lot, and in reference to a lot of things."

Nora giggled slightly, and began gesturing with her hands as she spoke. "One time, we were walking through this town, and this guy was buying a horse. And the two guys started arguing, though I couldn't tell you what about. All I know is they pointed at different parts and bickered back and forth, with the word arete constantly being used. Trust me, when you are trying to learn the language, that is a major drag."

"You must have had quite the experience travelling so much," Pyrrha pointed out. Nora smiled slightly, but it seemed only to be a half smile.

"Sorta. Ren and I kind of wandered the roads, going wherever we could. Couple of highwaymen you might say!" Nora shook her head at the pun. "We saw a lot of different people. Kind of an eye opener you know. Never heard the concept explained before though. Nice to know they weren't talking about hair or something."

The rest of them chuckled, but faded into a contented silence as they walked. Even so, Ruby couldn't help but look around, feeling her attention divided for some reason. The thought irritated her for a while until she realized what was gnawing at her.

It was beginning to sink in where she was, and what she was doing. She was at Beacon, getting to practice her skills, and train with other dedicated Huntsmen. She had just taken down a Nevermore, with a team no less. And she hadn't even realized how easily she had been talking with the others until now.

Part of her was almost flustered by the realization, but somehow, she managed to hold it back, instead just walking in silence beside the others. Secretly, she was a little thankful when Emerald came back, and it was her turn to do the scouting.


With a quick slash of her scythe, the last cut needed to fell the tree went straight through, and she quickly dashed back as it began to fall. Gripping her scythe, she began to weave a path over it, dragging her scythe behind her as she ran the length of it, before doubling back a few times. By the time she had finished, it had been reduced to manageable chunks.

With a sigh, she sat down, and took a quick breather as the others collected the wood, bringing it over to where they had set up the fire pit, not far away. She watched with half-attention as they took turns collecting some. Jaune tried to take more than he could, Nora piled it high in her arms with Ren's assistance (and needed it again to unload it), and she was surprised as even Weiss assisted.

Watching them sort through it reminded her of the fall back home. Ruby smiled at the thought; this time last year, she had been helping her father cut down some firewood to store for the winter. It was hard work, but when the days got cold, she was grateful they had done it. All her friends agreed on that.

The thought of her friends made Ruby's stomach twist a little. They would be starting their third year at Signal, without her. She wondered how they were doing, and what they were studying. Would they make new friends? Replace her? What would happen when they came to Beacon? Would they remember her?

"You alright Ruby?" A concerned voice snapped Ruby out of her spiralling thoughts, and she looked up to see Weiss, concern plain on her face. "You did a lot of work, scouting and cutting trees."

"I'm fine," Ruby assured her, but she couldn't help rubbing her hands together.

"Alright, but come over to the fire at least. I won't have anyone catching hypothermia on my watch," she insisted, grabbing Ruby's arm. Caught off-guard, and off-balance, Ruby found herself half-stumbling and half-dragged to the fire pit, where Weiss forced her to sit on one half of a larger section of log.

"Now, we just use a quick flourish of this." Weiss drew her rapier, spinning the hilt. An ever so slight glow surrounded her, and the smallest amount of flame appeared atop the blade, which she plunged into the tented logs. Somewhere within, she could hear the hiss and pop of smaller chips catching alight, and smiled as she saw the puff of ash and dust as the first large log caught and the fire grew. Dousing the flame, Weiss gave a bow. "I have made fire!"

Ruby chuckled and gave a light applause, the others joining her quickly. Weiss seemed vaguely surprised, quickly returning to the log Ruby was on before setting herself down carefully.

Across from her, she could see Jaune lean forward, taking a deep breath. A smile crossed his face, and he perked up excitedly. "This is just like camping back on Patch! Too bad we don't have any marshmallows."

"We'd need chocolate as well," Ruby pointed out. "And some crackers."

"For what?" Weiss asked, looking between them with confusion.

"Don't tell me you've never had S'mores," Nora gasped dramatically.

"I never really camped," Weiss explained, leaning forward on her knees. "Closest I got was when Klein taught me how to stoke the fireplace in my room. Said we should know how to take care of ourselves if the heating went out."

"Well Ren here happens to be one of the best at it, isn't that right Ren?" Nora asked, elbowing her companion.

"I have some experience," he admitted with a light smile. "I shall have to offer them some time."

"Maybe after we get set in teams and everything, we can take a weekend and go camping or something!" Jaune suggested enthusiastically. "We can bring tents and all kinds of fun things!"

Jaune paused as he realized he was not only standing, but gesticulating enthusiastically, prompting a small laugh from everyone as he sat down, rubbing his neck nervously.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Jaune," Pyrrha agreed.

"Gotta admit, it does sound tempting. But don't we have to worry about Grimm or something?" Emerald asked, uncrossing her arms.

"Not if you camp pretty close to the city. The defenses we have ensure the Grimm give a fair berth, so you can get into the countryside and still be pretty safe," Ruby pointed out. Emerald stared at her a moment before nodding. It was a nod Ruby could recognize; one of just beginning to process something new. "You never been camping?"

"What? No I, I mean!" Emerald began defensively, only to sigh. "I never went far outside the city. Never had a reason to."

That seemed fair to Ruby, so she just smiled. "Well, you are more than welcome to come along. The more the merrier."

Ruby tuned out the string of denials from Emerald as the conversation turned to jest, instead pulling out Crescent Rose. It had gotten a fair bit of work done today, and she wanted to make sure her sweetheart was still running fine. Carefully expanding it, she laid the head across her lap, the blade facing away from Weiss.

Lightly, she hovered a finger over the blade, feeling her Aura pulse against the metal. It was the only thing separating her finger from the sharp edge of the blade, but in a way, she could almost feel it. Slowly, she ran her finger a couple of inches down, feeling the almost electric tingle of her Aura responding to the threat. Pulling her finger away, she stared at it for a moment before deciding that it was a little dulled compared to normal.

Pulling out her whetstone, Ruby set to work, softly shaping her blade. She wasn't the type to roughly beat out any imperfections, or continue sharpening forever. She knew exactly how much her sweetheart needed, and would do just that. Her right hand carefully gripped the spine of the blade, while her left performed long, smooth strokes down the curved blade.

Her softer touch and gentle handling prevented the whetstone from scraping too much, like she had heard some others do when sharpening their weapons. She didn't blame them. After all, if she were in a hurry, she would be forced to do the same. But for now, she had all the time in the world.

Eventually, she managed to shape the blade until it was sharp once more. Pressing her finger close, this time she came within a hair's width of the blade before her Aura repulsed it, and she smiled to herself. Looking around, she spotted her pack with the others. "Hey Weiss, would you mind grabbing the kit from my bag? It should look like a red box."

Weiss nodded, picking through the packs until she found Ruby's, and withdrew the kit with a slightly confused expression. She walked back over and handed it to Ruby, sitting down with obvious interest. "Maintenance?"

"Yep," Ruby answered off-handedly, picking through the kit for her screwdriver. Some people liked drills, but those were hard to get the pressure right on. "What about you? How do you clean your weapon?"

"Myrtenaster doesn't require much cleaning. Once the dust runs out, I clean the chambers, but that is the largest bulk of it."

Ruby briefly looked up from her disassembly. "What about sharpening? Don't you have to use a whetstone?"

"Drawfile," Weiss answered with a smug grin, standing up. Ruby watched as she went to her own pack, pulling out a small case. Sitting back down, Weiss laid Myrtenaster across her lap before digging out a small file. "You just draw it perpendicular to the edge. More intensive, but it sharpens it the right way."

Ruby nodded in approval before continuing her job. Carefully, she undid the bolts that held the barrel in place, removing it from the bulk of the weapon. She was dimly aware of Weiss watching in interest, so she turned the object in her hands so she could see it.

"The thing about a gun like this is that you need to make sure to clean it. Dust rounds leave a lot of material behind, and if you leave it in there, it can react with another round, and cause a backblast, or a blowout," Ruby explained.

"It also depends on the weapon," Ren added, surprising both of them. With a flourish, he extended his weapons from his cuffs. "My weapons are rapid fire, and thus contain lower amounts of dust in their rounds in order to prevent too much build up. They don't hit as hard, but there are more of them."

"I barely ever have to worry about that. Magnhild's grenades are self-contained, and it uses compressed air in order to launch them. Only time I have to worry is if I burn the dust for a swing. Then I have to clean the burn ports," Nora explained, flipping the head of her hammer around so they could see the vents on the back.

"Makes me glad I only have a sword," Jaune joked. "All I have to do is clean it."

Ruby nodded, finally working the barrel free from the rest of the weapon, carefully setting aside the body as she braced the barrel between her knees. From her kit, she pulled out a short rod. With a flick, it telescoped out to its full length, and she carefully affixed a small swab to the end before gently inserting the end into the top of the barrel. The whole thing was easily taller than her, but she carefully held in with her palm, gently twisting it further and further down.

Tuning everything else out, Ruby focused on what she could feel through the rod. She had to keep it centered to avoid scratching the edges, but she could feel the friction of the swab as it went down. Near the base, she had to twist more vigorously, gently guiding it downwards as she felt the residual dust being pushed downwards. As time went on, she was able to switch to a gentler grip, only barely twisting between her fingertips.

Finally, she felt the pressure give and she quickly gripped to prevent the whole rod from sliding out entirely. At the bottom, she could see the swab, dirtied with dust. Carefully, she turned it on its side, deliberating for a moment before turning to Weiss. "Would you mind holding the handle while I remove the swab? Just...be careful."

"Alright," Weiss agreed, sliding her fingers around the handle. Ruby took a moment to appreciate the steadiness with which she held it, before realizing it was very similar to the way she held her rapier. Ruby smiled to herself. It was a shame Weiss didn't have a gun; she'd have been excellent at clearing them.

Cradling the barrel in one arm, she knelt down, and removed the swab, inspecting it. From what she could tell, it was all dust, and no chipping. That was good news. Grabbing a small box from her kit, she placed the swab inside, with a mental note to take care of it later. Sitting back on the log, she thanked Weiss before taking the handle back, drawing it back out, careful to clear the top before turning it.

Then she grabbed another swab, and got ready to do it again. "How many times do you have to clear it?"

Ruby turned to look at Weiss questioningly, but the girl just motioned to the gun. "Oh, technically only once, but I like to be sure."

"Much easier with pistols," Emerald chimed in, flashing her weapons. The barrels, once the extension were folded back, were quite short, and her clearing rod reflected that.

"Now I'm sure that a gun wouldn't be for me," Jaune commented before standing up with a stretch. "Alright, guess I'll take first watch."

"You don't have to do that-"

"Nah, it's alright. Ren, Ruby, and Emerald spent all day scouting. They all deserve to rest. Weiss held down a Nevermore, and you defended me from its last attack. Least I can do is let everyone get some sleep," Jaune assured Pyrrha, stepping away from the fire before she had a chance to respond. The champion seemed torn for a moment, but seemed to think better of it, resigning herself with a sigh.