14243, 14244, 14245…
Aspen let out a breath as she continued to count. One hand at a time, she released the bar, steel warm from her prolonged contact with it, just long enough to bend her arms and relieve the dull ache building in her joints. It was her first time properly meditating, and it had been surprisingly difficult to start. Deirean hadn't exactly given her clear guidelines as to what technique to use. She eventually settled on holding herself above a bar in what Laurel had referred to as the "gym," keeping herself up with her arms. It seemed to be effective enough, as the coolness she'd first felt on the airship trickled through her body.
14264, 14265, 14266…
The only trouble she'd had after that had been focusing her mind. Most of the other Hunter-students—including, she supposed, her own team—were performing their own rejuvenation rituals, and their passive auras offered no distraction. Had they been awake, perhaps she would have had something to focus on. Instead, it was her own thoughts that prevented her from concentrating. Thoughts of Deirean, Ozpin, and her actions in the forest created a storm in her mind, but she ultimately found solace counting the seconds that passed. It proved efficient, in that she also forced herself to learn the numbers, even if the lengths proved an obstacle the higher she got.
14297, 14298, 14299…
The small knot of fibers below Aspen's elbow where the IV had been began to itch, and she again shifted her weight to allow herself to scratch it. After her conversation with Ozpin, the two guards had reappeared, along with a third man who dressed similarly to some of the people from the hospital. One of the guards had removed the restraints from her wrists while the other kept his weapon pointed at her lest she make any threatening action. The third man had done something with the tube in her arm, stopping the flow of the liquids before pulling the needle out of her arm. She could feel the small would seal up instantly, but the man's surprised aura seemed to indicate he had not expected it. He'd proceeded to explain something about letting whatever they had put in her run its course and waiting to leave, then left her with a glass of water to drink.
14314, 14315, 14—
"So, you are down here."
The sudden intrusion ripped Aspen out of her meditative state with a start, causing her grip to falter. Her hands slipped back towards her and she fell, catching the bar with her chin on her way down. Landing unsteadily on her feet, she slumped forward onto one knee as she clutched her jaw.
Almost immediately, she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders as Oliver knelt down next to her. "Shit! Are you alright?"
Aspen raised her head to look at the man. Why hadn't she sensed him approach? Was she still being by the sedative? No, she could feel his aura settling over her skin now, guiding her back to her feet. More auras began to make their presences known, and the girl looked around to see several other students in the gym, most of them giving her strange stares. She hadn't sensed any of them… Had she been that focused on her meditation?
"Hey, Aspen," Oliver said insistently, moving his head to the side to recapture her attention. "Are you oh-kay?"
The black-haired girl blinked, still trying to make sense of everything that was happening. Oh… kay? He seemed to be asking if she was hurt, but his use of the word was different than it had been before. Aspen tightened her jaw, letting the pain run its course. "I am… okay," she said hesitantly. Yes, that sounded right.
Oliver's hands dropped from her shoulders, leaving her feeling strangely exposed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." Aspen just nodded as she picked her hoodie up from where she had lain it down. As much as she found comfort in the pressure it offered, the sensation leftover from the needle in her arm was less irritating without the garment. "I heard they used some pretty heavy stuff to keep you sedated last night," the man continued, slowly walking through the gym. "You… uh… feeling alright?"
Aspen paused as she slipped her arms into her sleeves. Hadn't he just asked her that? No, he was asking about the sedative now, not the fall. "It is not affecting me anymore," she answered, zipping up her hoodie.
"Right…" With a sigh, Oliver sat down on a nearby bench. "Look, I'll just cut to the chase. I'm sure Ozpin already talked to you about this, but I need to ask anyway: Why did you attack Ilex and the others?"
Why? The man wasn't angry; in fact, Aspen couldn't remember ever feeling true anger from him. There was frustration, however, and a touch of… sadness. Disappointment. Could she tell him the truth? "It was a…" She paused to search for the right word. "… test."
Disbelief from Oliver—no, surprise. "A test? You were testing them?"
Aspen furrowed her brow at the misunderstanding. "No. Me."
The man's expression briefly shifted to confusion before flipping to realization and back to disappointment. "Aspen…" He sighed, leaning forward to rub his forehead.
In the brief silence, the girl sat down on the bench with him. What she'd done hadn't sat well with her, even when she'd been doing it. If Oliver knew the full extent of what she'd attempted to do—of what she'd almost done—then he'd surely feel the same way about her that Ozpin did. For some reason she couldn't explain, she didn't think she wanted that, but all she could do was brace herself.
"You don't need to prove yourself anymore." Aspen looked at the man, not feeling any of the emotions she'd feared or even seeing them in his eyes. He'd misunderstood her again. She opened her mouth to correct him, but he cut her off. "I know you lost that fight with that Haven kid, but that doesn't mean you don't belong here. You're strong already."
"I'm not strong enough, though," she countered, already forgetting that she was supposed to correct him on something else entirely. "I couldn't beat him, and I couldn't beat the Goliaths in the forest."
Oliver laughed, the sudden burst of mirth causing the girl to tense up. "I wouldn't be able to kill one Goliath with my sword, much less two with my bare hands." Turning, he placed one hand on her shoulder and the stress in her body melted away at the contact. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to get better, but don't let anyone tell you you're not good enough, not even yourself."
A spark of flame lit up inside Aspen's chest. No, that wasn't quite right. It was warm, but it didn't hurt. In some ways, it was like the light in her hallucinations. Happiness. Had she been happy before? She couldn't remember feeling it—not in herself, at least. It was… nice.
"That said, you can't be attacking students anymore," Oliver continued, distracting Aspen from her newfound emotion.
The girl looked down at her hands, one curled up inside the other. "I won't," she said running the thumb of the outside hand over her fist.
There was a flash of distrust from Oliver, and Aspen took in a small breath. "I want to believe you, Aspen, but you really haven't made that easy, especially in the last few days."
She nodded slowly, then turned her head to meet his brown eyes with her red ones. "I won't hurt them because I don't want to." She took another short breath and let it out. "I don't want to hurt anyone again."
Something in what she said must have convinced the man because, after a moment of contemplation, he smiled gently. "Alright," he said, rising to his feet. He glanced down at her as she remained seated and sighed again. "Look… Laurel and I were planning on running the four of you through some sparring exercises, but I can understand if you're not up for that right now."
Aspen looked down as she tried to figure out what Oliver meant by "up." Is he saying I don't have to train if I don't want to? "I don't have a problem with sparring," she clarified.
Oliver hummed, a sound Aspen had come to associate with acknowledgment. "Well, I still think it'll be best if we hold off on it for now, at least until after the festival is over. That'll give you some time to get to know the others better." Ilex had been trying to do just that, at least until she decided to fight Mercury. "You should probably go talk to them."
Aspen nodded. "As you say." She felt a spark of amused confusion from the man before he unexpectedly patted the top of her head with one calloused hand. What was even more unexpected was how the contact inexplicably caused both the warmth to return to her chest and the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end in warning. She kept still, however, as the man walked away. Odd.
(- -)
As she stood in front of the door, Aspen curled her hands into fists. On the other side, she could feel her team, along with several others, partaking in different activities. A myriad of emotions pressed and wormed against her skin, from frustration and disdain to glee and amusement. Taking a breath, she opened the door and entered the training room.
A number of students were gathered around a small ring where Rhys seemed to be sparring with another student. Ilex was among those spectating though, on closer examination, Aspen saw that he wasn't truly focused on the fight. Rather, he seemed more intent on talking with the girl next to him. The only one she didn't immediately see was Carmine. She could feel his aura, however, and soon spotted him sitting in a dark corner of the room, on the upper row of one of the stair-step benches around the room.
As Aspen walked toward them, Rhys tackled into his opponent. Despite being much smaller in stature, the faunus managed to lift the armored teen and eject him from the ring, much to the dismay of some of the spectators. Rhys lifted his arms in victory and spun around. He stopped himself mid-turn as he saw the girl, a grin on his face as he leapt out of the ring and ran toward her. Having been the center of attention just moments before, the faunus's actions subsequently drew that focus to her, including Ilex's. With a few hushed words to the girl he was with, the white-haired teen started to make his way toward her as well.
Aspen paused as the emotional balance of the room shifted toward the negative. Suspicion, curiosity, and fear all struck her at once, and she could feel her heartbeat quicken as her instincts began to take hold. She closed her eyes in an attempt to regain control over herself as her senses began to sharpen, but that didn't stop her from hearing the whispers, the hushed questions as the students recognized her from her fight with the Ruby Team.
Something tapped her arm just above the elbow, and she quickly latched onto the contact to anchor herself. When she opened her eyes, Rhys was standing in front of her, pulling his arm back. |Do you want to spar?| he asked quickly, the grin still on his face.
Aspen's answer was just as quick. |No.|
Rhys's face quickly turned to a scowl and he looked away, but he was just as quickly brought out of his pout as Ilex walked up. "Hey, Aspen," he said, tilting his head back as if to point his chin at her. She did her best not to be insulted by the gesture. "How are you feeling?"
"I am fine," Aspen said, sensing his concern wasn't genuine.
The white-haired faunus stepped in front of her, preventing her from continuing past him. "In that case, how about we hop in the ring, go a round or two?"
As with Rhys, the girl did not hesitate to answer. "No." She attempted to step to the side, but he mirrored her movement.
"You didn't have a problem doing it yesterday with a stranger."
Aspen scowled as she flashed back to Mercury's taunting. "That… was a mistake."
"Of course it was." Ilex laughed dryly, giving her a chance to walk past. "Hey, hold on!" Reaching out, he grabbed her arm roughly. "I'm not—"
Whatever he had been about to say got cut off as Aspen broke his grip with her free hand and delivered a kick to the back of his knees. Before he could fall, she reached out with the arm he had grabbed and caught him by the throat. "Do not touch me," she growled. She could stand Oliver touching her: he made her feel warm. Ilex, though, only felt cold, and she didn't like the cold. Releasing him, she allowed him to stand again. "Follow me. I have to apologize to you three," she said, signing the words for Rhys as well.
"Do you know what an apology is?" Ilex asked, rubbing lightly at his neck. He wasn't mad, but he was annoyed and a little confused.
"I think I know enough," Aspen answered honestly as she began moving toward Carmine. The other students had turned back to talking amongst themselves, though she did sense something new mixed in that hadn't been there before. Respect, directed toward her. She accidentally locked eyes with one source of the emotion, the same girl Ilex had been talking to before. The rose-haired girl gave her a slight nod before quickly looking away to talk to someone else.
Immediately pushing the interaction out of her mind, Aspen climbed the steps up to Carmine. The teen had already risen to his feet and was looking down at her and the two faunus. Disdain and suspicion crawled readily from his aura, but he maintained a neutral expression. "What do you want?"
Aspen held his gaze, fighting the urge to attack him— to silence his aura. Breaking eye contact, she looked down at Ilex and Rhys below her. "I'm here to apologize for what I did last night."
Rhys laughed, a harsh throaty sound that caused Ilex to cover his eyes with his hands and Carmine to bristle with irritation. Aspen furrowed her brow. Had she not done it right? Seeing her confusion, Rys signed, |Why would you apologize for fighting? Fighting is fun.|
"Only for you," Ilex muttered under his breath, having glanced back up in time to see what the faunus had said.
"Honestly, I don't even care," Carmine said, stepping down to the same level as Aspen. "You didn't do shit to me, so it really doesn't matter."
Aspen furrowed her brow. She was unfamiliar with his phrasing, but she could guess what it meant. "I would have."
The human's muscles tensed, and the emotions coming off his aura only grew stronger. "If there's nothing else, I would like to get ready for our training today."
"Oliver cancelled training until after the tournament," she informed him.
Carmine flared his nostrils, an action that didn't quite seem appropriate under the circumstances. "Then I have better things to do," he said, turning to walk down the rest of the benches.
After watching his partner skirt the group of students setting up another fight, Ilex turned back to Aspen with a wide smile. "As the only person on this team who you actually hurt that isn't absolutely crazy—" He cast a sideways glance at Rhys. "—I, for one, accept your apology, though if you wanted to apologize for grabbing my throat, too…"
Aspen frowned. "No." She felt she had a good enough grasp on the concept of apologies and, in her eyes, she had not been at fault for what had happened. Deciding there was no further reason for her to be there, she descended down toward the floor.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ilex reach for her as she passed. Fortunately, he stopped himself from actually touching her. "Okay, fine. Where are you going now?"
She stopped, considering her options. She felt her morning meditation had been sufficient for the time being, and she currently had no desire to fight students or Grimm. There was really only one thing that came to mind. "I am going to work on my armor."
Rhys leapt down the few levels to reach her. |Can I help?| he asked excitedly.
Aspen slowly raised her hands. While she was wary of the possibility that the faunus could damage her supply of Grimm plates, an additional set of hands would make the work go by faster. On top of that, it would be an opportunity to learn about him. |Yes.|
Continuing her descent, Aspen could feel Ilex's hesitation behind her and glanced over her shoulder. The ears on the top of his head were twitching as he scratched his jaw, violet eyes directed to the side. When he noticed her looking at him, his ears stilled and he smiled. Something about it seemed… strange, though. Disingenuous.
"I'll be, uh…" he started, clearing his throat. "I'll be around if you need me for anything."
Furrowing her brow at the odd behavior, Aspen allowed herself to be pulled down the benches by Rhys. Perhaps it had something to do with the different auras, but the contact didn't bother her as much as it had with Ilex. It didn't elicit the same reaction as Oliver, of course, but that was another matter. Putting her thoughts aside, she made her way back around the students watching the new fight. She drew the attention of a few as she passed, but the majority were too focused to notice her. Unless they're ignoring me. In either event, she was grateful that most of their emotions weren't directed at her.
The moment the door closed behind her, Rhys was in front of her, asking where her armor was. |Follow me,| she instructed. It was only a few minutes to reach the workshops from the training rooms and, like the last time she'd been there, there were very few others in the immediate vicinity. That was good; it meant they could work without dist—
"There you are."
Aspen turned to face the source of the familiar voice. Unlike their previous encounters, Deirean was clothed this time, the garments likely stolen given their ill-fitting nature. In truth, he was not dressed all that dissimilarly to herself, wearing simple pants, boots, and a hooded jacket, though whether he wore anything underneath was unclear. "Why are you here?" she asked in their shared tongue as Rhys turned around as well.
"I am here for you," the man answered, taking a step forward. Beside her, Rhys cocked his head as he stared at the man, his confusion palpable. "As I said before, I have need of you."
Rhys tapped Aspen's arm to get her attention, signing, |Why can't I read his lips?|
Aspen ignored him, focusing instead on her fellow rephaite. "I am not going with you."
Deirean scowled, casting a derisive look at the faunus. "That is what you told me yesterday, but you do not belong with these animals."
"It is my choice."
More tapping. |Aspen, why can't I read your lips?|
"You are foolish if you believe you can deny your koravah. When you give in—and you will give in—the havneel will turn on you."
"Perhaps, but there is more to learn from them."
Tap tap tap. |Aspen—|
The feeling of blood unexpectedly washed over Aspen, driving her back a step from its power. Rhys's reaction, however, was more severe. The faunus stumbled back and away from her, a look of terror on his face that was at odds with the complete lack of emotions she felt from him. She turned back to the man to see him sign, |Be still, whelp!|
Baring her teeth, Aspen stepped between them and growled warningly. "Deirean…"
The rephaim locked eyes, two sets of red eyes aflame with anger. Deirean hissed and Aspen could see his rage subside. "There is indeed much more for you to learn, but it is not from them. They are weak." He took another step forward, gesturing toward the still-petrified faunus. "How can you want to stay when last night you attempted to kill this one and his friends?"
Aspen stepped forward to match him. "You wanted me to kill them. I didn't. That is my choice," she repeated.
The two glared at one another, neither willing to back down. Eventually, the feeling of blood ebbed away as Deirean relented. "As you say," he said, beginning to step away. "Stay if you desire, but you would do best not to reveal your true nature to anyone." He cast one last look at her. "Should you require anything, find me, and when the havneel do reject you, I will accept you."
As the man disappeared around the corner, Aspen felt Rhys's grip on her arm. Turning to face him, she could now feel his fear striking deep into her core. |Who was that? Why couldn't I understand anything you were saying? What—|
Aspen's hands settled on top of the faunus's, silencing him. She wasn't sure why she did it, but it lessened the fear coming from his aura, so it seemed to have been the right thing to do. Pulling her hands away, she carefully signed, |That was a personal matter. You do not need to be afraid.|
Rhys frowned indignantly, and his fear soon evaporated as he huffed and crossed his arms. He looked past her at the corner before turning back to Aspen. |Was that your father?|
Father… That was not a word Aspen had heard before. As was often the case, she understood the concept, even though it held no real significance to her. |I do not believe we are related,| she signed, glancing back herself, |though we do share blood.|
Rhys frowned again, but shrugged. |Okay. Can we go work on your armor now?|
(- -)
Foolish, naïve girl.
Deirean shuddered, standing alone amongst the ruins. It was easy to be blinded by arrogance, to believe that one's perspective was the only truth. That was what had led to the downfall of the rephaim, and he would not allow himself to fall into that trap. She does not understand the world she lives in. Others might have accused him of having committed to that flaw already, but he truly did know what was best. Others…
As far as he was aware, he and Aspen Gray were the last of their kind. No rephaite would have allowed the havneel to develop and spread as much as they had, even at the expense of their own lives. Or the lives of our children, he added bitterly. Aspen Gray herself was young, a fraction of his age, and yet it was still impossible to gauge just how much time had passed. If he could find her havashah, perhaps he could narrow it down, and perhaps there would be others like her.
He would give her time, recover his own strength. Once she recognized that her place was not among the havneel, she would come to him and together they could find her havashah. From there, they could train and bide their time. If there was one advantage they had over the havneel, it was time.
A pressure began to build against the man's back, one he knew well. He hadn't yet adjusted to the unusually powerful signature many havneel now possessed, though it did allow him to sense them from a greater distance. There were two of them, their signatures growing more and more prevalent as they approached. Without warning, however, the pressure disappeared. The pech ter'al. While such an answer could have easily been the truth, there was something strange in the way they had simply vanished. It was almost as if he could still feel them, but his mind was ignoring the feeling. Curious. Maintaining his position, he turned to his other senses, waiting for any possible sign of danger.
He did not have to wait long. "So, this is what a true rephaite looks like. I can't say I'm disappointed." Deirean bristled at the sudden return of the two havneel's signatures, and slowly turned to face them. He was by no means intimidated but, until he knew how they had managed to hide themselves from his senses, he wasn't going to risk underestimating them.
Two females stood at the edge of the ruin, one clearly the superior of the other. She wore a red and gold garment that offered little protection, and neither did she appear to be armed, meaning she was either a fool or possessed some other, unseen means of self-defense. Her signature felt of filth and decay, and was more powerful than any he had felt before. The other appeared to be both younger and at least marginally equipped to face him, assuming the tools on her lower back were, in fact, weapons. If anything, however, her outfit offered even less protection of her vital areas. While not as powerful as the other woman's, her signature was complex, both abrasive and pointed with a waxy under layer.
The darker-haired woman—the one who felt of decay—had a smile on her face as she took a step forward. It was a deception, the type of smile intended to lure one in close enough to rip their throat out. "I trust you understand what I'm saying?" she asked.
Deirean bared his teeth. The havneel's current language was different than it was in his time but, even though he had only overheard a handful of conversations that day, he had learned it quickly. "Yours is a simple tongue," he responded, not hiding his disdain.
The fear and suspicion coming off the green-haired female was palpable, and her muscles were tense as one of her hands drifted to the weapons on her back. Decay held out her hand, stopping her associate's—perhaps unconscious—movement. "There's no need for hostility; I simply wish to talk."
While other havneel may well have found her voice to be appealing, it grated against Deirean's ears. "Speak then, before I rip your tongue out."
Decay's eyes narrowed as anger rippled from her signature, but she held herself in check. "I believe you and I share a similar goal: The destruction of mankind." Deirean almost laughed at that. As it was, a hushed rasp escaped his throat as he reevaluated the woman. Her eyes burned with conviction as she continued. "Humanity is weak, and has no hope of defeating the Grimm. Corrupt leaders call on blinded citizens to sacrifice their children for a doomed cause. They deserve to die."
That situation sounded all too familiar to the rephaite. "And why do you believe I would aid you in your personal attempts at power?"
The woman gave him the same false smile she had before. "I don't want power." She took several steps toward him. "I know what you are. I know what Humanity has done to your kind." She stood directly in front of him now, hand reaching up to caress the side of his face. "We both want revenge, and I believe that working together is the best way to achieve it."
A hiss escaped Deirean's throat as he flexed his presence, causing Decay to recoil and freeze. The cunning edge in her eyes was replaced by terror, a look shared by her subordinate at the outskirt of the ruin. "Havneel vrikta!" he snarled. "I have seen your kind countless times over, latching onto the power of others to use as your own." Stepping to the side, he circled the woman. "You presume to know what I desire? You believe I would allow you to live? Mankind is not some child to be punished; they are a disease to be burned from the surface of this planet." Leaning forward until his face was mere inches from Decay's, he bared his teeth. "And I will burn every one of you." Releasing his presence, he relished as true fear filled the two havneel. Backing away, he snarled. "Consider it a mercy that I do not kill you now." He turned and made to leave them behind him.
Before he could leave the ruin, however, a shrieking sound filled his ears accompanied by a fiery glow beneath his feet. What is— He had barely recognized the pressure spike in Decay's signature when the circle exploded, engulfing him in flames. The pain was excruciating as his clothes burned, his flesh melted, and his blood boiled.
He couldn't remember feeling so alive.
Deirean spun and lunged at the woman, intent on ending her pitiful existence. Even in his current state, he was able to latch a hand around her throat and pin her to one of the still-standing pillars, in no small part due to the two havneels' surprise. As he squeezed, however, he encountered an unexpected resistance, accompanied by a pressure increase around Decay's neck. Growling, he began to lift his other hand, only for something cool to be pressed to his temple.
"Let her go."
In his periphery, Deirean saw Wax had drawn her weapons, one held against his head and the other closer to her body. Ignoring the demand, he curled his lip up to bare his teeth. "Do you truly believe you can kill me before I snap her neck?" he threatened.
The girl's eyes flitted to her superior, then landed back on him. A curious, glassy sound filled the air as his victim struggled in his grip. "I don't have to."
Decay's arm came up quickly, and Deirean jerked his head back too slowly. The attack aimed at his throat instead struck the underside of his jaw, but it still had the intended effect. Clutching at the arrow now pierced through his mouth and tongue, the rephaite staggered backward. Decay momentarily dropped to her knees, sucking in breaths and glaring at him in fury.
Before Deirean could recover, Wax opened fire with her weapons. The slugs struck him in the chest, arms, gut, and legs, and he collapsed forward onto the ground. As he struggled to push himself up, he sensed the two havneel flee into the woods, fear and anger perceivable even amidst the whirlwind of agony his own body was in. Ignoring the blood dripping down his body and pooling on the stones, he reached up and gripped the shaft of the arrow embedded into his mouth. With a guttural yell, he tore it out, uncaring of the flesh that came with it. He would heal; they would not.
"Fun" fact: The word "vrikta" roughly translates to "whore."
This chapter was a bit of a pain for all sorts of reasons. The big one, early on, was because I couldn't figure out how to do the first scene. At first I had Ilex looking for Aspen, but that wasn't going anywhere. Then, I switched to Rhys and got a good ways in, but realized I was going to have to write scenes I didn't want to write if I did that. So, instead, I went for Oliver and, honestly, I think it works better for the chapter.
The second scene was a pain because I had to do a bunch of things with it and I didn't have a great plan going in. The "student fight club" ended up being the outcome of that because… why not? Not all of those kids are going to fight in the official tournament, so they may as well make their own. There's also the matter of Deirean coming for Aspen. That bit ended up being a little shorter than I wanted, but I still think it turned out alright.
As for why the final scene was a pain: Conniving Cinder is still difficult to write. Thank God there won't be more of that.
Alright, that's it from me for now. Follow, favorite, review, nothing… Whatever strikes your fancy. Au revoir!
