Friday, August 21
POV: Aaron
There were two major things Aaron learned in his week of training Ruby. The first was that she was a fast learner. Ruby ate up any challenge her teacher threw at her. She progressed past floating a rock to breaking boulders in the Emerald Forest. In regards to wards, she cast some basic ones that protected from scratches and the like. Due to Rhunön's ward piercing enchantments, Redemption cut right through Ruby's Aura, something that weapons here couldn't do. Either she encountered or heard about Aura before, or some combination of spells worked to The only reason she still had arms was because Aaron blocked his sword's edge before Ruby arrived at the arena that first day. Her mental attacks became more and more vicious as time went on. The state of her defenses, however, Aaron nor Nalia could judge due to their inability to assault other minds.
Secondly, Aaron was completely outclassed in physical combat. While he technically won every one of their sparring matches, Ruby always held back. Her Semblance gave her too much of an advantage, and the wards to fend of the Dust rounds fired from Crescent Rose ate up too much of Aaron's energy. He needed his Aura unlocked so both of them could use their full strength. Pyrrha offered to unlock his Aura at one point, but Aaron rejected because of the…intimacy of the process.
Ruby also could attack from an incredible range. In fact, most students, law enforcement, and even civilians had weapons that could attack from far away. Aaron needed a weapon to attack from range. A bow and arrow seemed like the logical choice to someone who trained in using them, but the range and power of such a weapon were out classed so heavily by something that could fit almost in the palm of a hand. So, Aaron and Ruby were walking to the Armory on the outskirts of Beacon's campus to get the older Rider a weapon that he could use to even the odds.
"So how's Cerise doing today?" Aaron asked Ruby as they left the dorm.
Ruby beamed at the thought of her dragon. "She's doing great! She killed an Ursa today by herself. Nalia took out the other three, but she got one!"
Aaron chuckled. "That's one more than I have. She coming back yet, or is she still hunting?"
"She's been flying back for a few minutes now." As a confirmation, a loud roar came from behind the two. Aaron turned his head and saw the not-so-small red dragon flying right toward them, or more specifically, Ruby. Knowing what was coming, the older Rider took a few steps away from his student. Ruby's shoulders tensed up. "Here we go again."
Cerise slammed into her Rider at full force. Aaron winced. That had to hurt, even through Aura and wards. The scar on Cerise' leg caught his eye. For whatever reason, the scales there refused to regrow. It wasn't infected, and the skin beneath had healed, so Aaron saw no reason why they shouldn't be growing back. The dragon didn't seem to notice though, so the Rider stopped worrying.
Ruby playfully shoved Cerise' head away from her own. "You're getting a little too big to keep doing that," she said.
Cerise stepped back a few steps to let her Rider up. I will only be too big when your Aura is drained in one hit.
"She's got you there, Ruby," Aaron laughed.
"By the way, nice job with that Ursa." Ruby patted her dragon on the shoulder.
Cerise puffed out her chest. The first of many, I'm sure.
"Ruby, I believe we should get going so I can get my time slot in the firing range."
"Oh, right." Ruby turned and led the way to the armory. Cerise walked alongside her. "What else are you and Nalia doing today?"
Nalia is taking me on 'agility' training in the mountains. Not sure what she means exactly, but I'm guessing it's to work on flying close to cliffs without hitting them. Aaron smirked. Cerise didn't say anything wrong, but she didn't know about what she had to carry while flying.
"She's not pushing you too hard, is she?" Ruby asked.
Not at all. She knows my limits before I do.
"Nalia's been through the training before," Aaron said, "and on a much stricter and more challenging regimen. We aren't trained in teaching though, so we're making this up as we go along." And probably missing some important things.
Ruby laughed. "What would your teachers say if they saw your teaching style?"
"I'm not sure if they'd berate me or congratulate me, or some combination."
"Well I think you've been a great teacher so far."
"Let's see if you have that same opinion when we move away from combat." By that point, the group was just outside the armory. Cerise turned around and flew off to the mountains while Aaron and Ruby walked inside. The walls were lined with all sorts of merchandise. Weapons ranged from simple knives to what Ruby called a 'double-barreled rocket launcher.' The armor showcased varied from vests and other patches that could fit under clothes to the full sets of plate armor that was worn in Alagaësia. Aaron had his ruined jacket repaired and brought it here to get it armored. Armored clothing was fairly popular, if looking around at students in the cafeteria proved anything.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Ruby asked.
"Something small, or something that's good at both long and short range."
Ruby brought a hand to her chin, as if in deep thought. "A pistol or an assault rifle." She walked over to a display case with various types of handguns. She pointed to one of the larger ones inside. "How about the Desert Falcon? Technically both this and Crescent Rose are .50 cals, but the ammo is completely different. Back to this thing, it's fairly close range, but it does the job. If adjusted right, it can have some good stopping power. Looks like this one can fire eight rounds before reloading."
Aaron looked in the case. The Desert Falcon was definitely the thickest handgun in there, but it still looked relatively easy to handle with one hand. "This one looks good for a tight situation," he said.
Ruby nodded the walked over to a wall labeled 'assault rifles.' "As for one of these, I'd suggest the V4. It's getting old, but it's reliable. Police have been using it for years. The military used it when it first came out, but they've upgraded in the past few years."
"What's the purpose of the ridges on the barrel?"
"Various attachments. A flashlight, another grip," Ruby smirked, "a grenade launcher."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Grenades are those small, metal things that blow up, right?" Ruby nodded, and Aaron grinned. "Okay, I'll have to check this one out too."
"Great! I'll talk to the quartermaster and see about getting you some test weapons." While Ruby ran off to talk to the man behind the thick pane of glass, Aaron looked around some more. His eyes rested on the shields in the back corner. He always fought with a shield back in Alagaësia, and he did miss having one when he sparred with Ruby. He was glad he ordered one of them when he brought in his jacket.
After a few minutes, Ruby waved Aaron to the back room. The Desert Falcon and the V4 lay on a table inside, along with two pairs of earmuffs. "Quartermaster said only one magazine for each," Ruby said.
"Where is he anyway?" Aaron asked. "Shouldn't he be here when people are testing weapons?"
"Pfft, he knows me, and I know more about some of the weapons here than he does." She picked up the Falcon and one set of earmuffs and walked over to the firing line. "First off, never point a gun at someone unless you intend to shoot them." Ruby listed off several firearm safety rules that seemed like common sense to Aaron, but those rules are made for a reason.
After finishing her lecture on safety, Ruby put on her earmuffs and motioned for Aaron to do the same. "The safety is on the end of the slide here." She flicked the switch she pointed at, then faced down range. An image of a Beowolf appeared at the far end. "Line up the target in the sights," Ruby brought the gun up to eye level, "and gently ease back on the trigger."
The Desert Falcon made an extremely loud bang heard even through the earmuffs. The gun spat fire and launched a piece of metal flying at the fake Beowolf at incredible speeds. A red light lit up on the Grimm, right in the center of the mask. Ruby fired three more shots, all landed within an inch of the first. The Falcon jumped back in the young Rider's hands after each shot, but she controlled the bucking weapon like an experienced stablehand. She flicked the safety on again and pointed the gun at the ground.
Aaron whistled and removed one side of his earmuffs. "Nice grouping there. I've only seen some of the elves get that close in such a short time."
Ruby shrugged. "It's been too long since I've fired anything other than Crescent Rose. I'm slipping." She shifted her grip to the barrel of the weapon and offered it to Aaron grip first. As the older Rider stepped up to the firing line, Ruby snapped her head back to the wall behind them. "Why is Nalia having Cerise carry boulders while flying?"
"Because you never know how much she'll need to carry someday. It also builds stamina."
"Okay," Ruby said, really not understanding. "Be careful when firing that thing. It has quite the kick." Aaron focused on setting his grip on the Falcon like Ruby had. After a few seconds he had the right grip, then raised the weapon to eye level. A few pieces of iron stuck out of the top of the gun that looked to form a line. Aaron pointed this imaginary line at the Beowolf's chest. He attempted to flick off the safety with an index finger several times before getting it. Ruby snickered behind him.
Aaron slowly pulled back on the trigger. The expected sound and flash came out of the end, but he didn't expect the gun to come flying back at him. He stopped the barrel of the gun only an inch from his nose. "Barzul!" he yelled, using the old dwarvish curse. "You weren't kidding about the kick." He looked downrange at the Beowolf. A red dot appeared roughly where he intended.
"No one ever expects recoil on that level on the first shot." Ruby was visually and audibly trying to hold back a laugh. "Finnish your shots with that and we can move on." Aaron raised the Falcon back to eye level and targeted the dot he made before. He fired once, and controlled the kickback much better than he did before. The shot landed just to the right of the first. Aaron fired the remaining two shots in quick succession. Those shots also hit their target. Even though the gun was empty, he flicked the safety back on.
"This one is definitely an option," Aaron said as he placed the Falcon back on the table.
"I've never seen anybody take to the Desert Falcon so easily," Ruby replied with the V4 already in hand. She ejected the magazine, looked inside, and then pushed it back into place. "This one has less kick and power to each bullet, but fires much faster and has a longer range. The V4 has a standard thirty round magazine, and can fire single shot or a three-round burst."
Ruby brought the weapon up to her shoulder and aimed at the Beowolf again. She flicked the safety off then fired one shot, quickly fired by another two. She flicked the safety switch again, and three bullets flew out next time she pulled the trigger. Aaron noticed something about these shots though. They weren't concentrated on one point. It wasn't until Ruby fired three more bursts until Aaron figured out why. Two in the eyes, one in the nose, the rest forming a smile.
"Showing off? Aaron asked, a smirk on his face.
Ruby shrugged and flicked the safety back to its original position. "When you have the bullets, why not?" She handed the V4 to Aaron. "The safety on this one also controls the fire rate. The first notch is a single shot, the second is the three-shot burst."
Aaron took the weapon and stepped up to the firing line. He turned the safety switch to the single-shot position and aimed at the Beowolf. The Rider pulled the trigger and launched a bullet at the fake Grimm. It hit right in the center of the creature's head. Aaron fired two more shots, concentrating on a close grouping. They landed just on either side or the first. Aaron switched the V4 to the burst-fire setting, then fired one at the Beowolf. The three bullets landed one on top of the other. Aaron fired the remaining three bursts into the target, all ending up in the head of the fake Grimm.
The older Rider lowered the weapon and smiled. The V4 felt right. It wasn't as good of a connection between him and Redemption, but then again, nothing could come that close. "I like this one," he said.
"Are you sure you've never shot a gun before?" Ruby asked, her tone suggesting that she was in a state just short of awe.
"I've never even heard of guns before I came here." Aaron flicked the safety back on and set the V4 back on the table. "So what's the purchasing process like here? Something tells me it's different than it is at a clothes shop in the city."
"It's not too different. We need to let the quartermaster know we're done then pay up at the booth. He'll need to see your ID too. You do have your scroll on you, right?"
Aaron dug into a pocket and felt around for the device he received from Ozpin only two days before. He didn't understand most things it could do, but he did know that it at least could be used for long distance communication and identification. As expected, the scroll sat inside one of the side pockets on his jeans. "I have it."
Ruby nodded, then knocked on the door to the back room. A few seconds later the quartermaster came out and started to talk with the younger Rider. Aaron meanwhile sent his thoughts out to Nalia. How is Cerise doing? he asked.
She is carrying about a quarter of her weight with no problem, Nalia responded, a hint of pride in her mental voice. I think she's ready. She just needs to be fitted.
You have the surprise stored somewhere, don't you?
In our cave. I'll send Cerise back to the Dragonhouse while I fetch it. Aaron pulled back into his own mind just as Ruby apparently finished saying something funny to the quartermaster. The man grabbed both weapons and walked back into the backroom.
"Did I miss something?" Aaron asked his student.
"Nothing you would understand," Ruby said, trying to hold back a laugh. "Come on, Ash said he'll meet us around front." Aaron shrugged as Ruby led the way up to the supposedly bulletproof glass.
"You find what you were looking for?" the quartermaster named Ash asked.
"I think I'm going to go with the V4," Aaron said. "I believe I also have two other things reserved as well."
"I'm going to need to see your ID." Aaron handed his scroll to Ash through the depression between the glass and the wooden ledge. Ash placed the scroll under a red light. Something beeped and the quartermaster looked at something Aaron couldn't see.
"It looks like you have a shield and an armored jacket to pick up. I'll go grab them from around back." Ash disappeared into the backroom. Ruby began telling Aaron about the various weapons in the main room. She started out slow and slowly picked up speed as she talked. Aaron followed along for the most part, but he couldn't understand more than half of what his student said.
Luckily Ash returned from the backroom before Ruby could burn herself out. He placed the shield, jacket, and V4 in a drawer on his side of the glass. "Will this be going on your student account or will you be paying in some other way?"
"Student account will be fine." That was the only way Aaron could actually pay for the gun. While he still had a substantial amount of Lien from his…activities in his first two weeks in Vale, it wouldn't cover half of the V4.
Ash nodded and pressed a few buttons. "Okay, you're all set." He pushed the drawer on his side, and it opened in front of Aaron. "Hope these serve you well. Ruby, don't let him hurt himself with anything here."
Ruby laughed. "Don't worry, he's a natural with the V4."
Aaron grabbed his jacket out of the drawer and held it up. The hole Ruby accidentally made was sewed up expertly. No trace of blood existed either. The jacket itself weighed a little more. The only visible armor plates rested on the shoulders and elbows. The front and back felt like they were filled with a mix of plate armor and some type of armor Aaron didn't recognize. He turned the jacket around and saw the symbol he asked to be sewed on: a white silhouette of a dragon in full flight. Aaron smiled and put the jacket on, barely noticing the weight increase.
The older Rider slung his new V4 over his back, then picked up and inspected his shield. The same symbol on his back gleamed on the metal shield, only in forest green instead of white. Overall, the initial impressions of his new equipment were good, but Aaron wouldn't know how it all held up until he got in a fight. He looked back up at Ash. "Thank you for you service, sir," he said.
Ash smiled and nodded. "Come back anytime." With that, Aaron and Ruby left the armory, heading back to the Dragonhouse to give the younger Rider a chance to earn that title.
POV: Ruby
"Why is Nalia having Cerise come back early?" Ruby asked.
"You two are going to do some training together," Aaron responded.
"So, we're testing each other's mental capabilities again?"
"That's part of it."
Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Why do you have to be so cryptic about everything?"
Aaron smirked. "This time I just want to see the look on your face when Nalia arrives." Ruby blinked a few times. This was either really god or really bad.
Cerise was already waiting in the Dragonhouse when the two Riders arrived. For once, she didn't tackle Ruby on sight. She just looked over at her Rider and hummed. Apparently boulders are easier to break than they are to carry, she told Ruby.
Come on, it couldn't have been that bad, Ruby said as she patted her dragon on the shoulder. You're not about to collapse.
The red dragon nodded. Nalia has some other plans for today that I'll need my strength for. I don't know what.
Aaron said that we'll be training together on something, but I don't know what that could be.
"Nalia's almost here," Aaron called as he walked over to the pair. "Let's see if I can time this right."
"You have some sort of dramatic reveal planned?" Ruby asked.
Aaron smirked. "Something like that. Now, I'd like to say that you two are progressing far faster than I expected. It might be Nalia's and my training techniques, but I'm expecting it's you two. I've never heard of a human Rider able to split a boulder with only a few days of training, and Cerise is growing at an extremely fast rate, even for a dragon." Ruby blushed and Cerise looked away slightly.
The main door of the Dragonhouse opened slowly, revealing Nalia holing something in one of her front paws. "Now it's time for the both of you to know why we're called Dragon Riders." Nalia dropped what she was carrying and Ruby gasped. It was a saddle. There was nothing fancy about it, just a plain, brown leather saddle.
Ruby couldn't hold back her smile. It was a blank slate. She could do anything she wanted with it. As long as it fit Cerise, it was perfect. Cerise shared in her Rider's excitement. The red dragon walked up to the saddle and looked it over herself. She gently flipped it over and sniffed it. Cerise nodded, satisfied.
"Normally, you'd be taught how to make your own, but honestly," Aaron scratched the back of his neck, "I'm terrible at it. After several less than adequate attempts, my friend Brom helped me out. He actually made most of it while I just helped with measuring and fitting."
"I'm sure I could figure it out myself." Ruby walked over to the saddle herself and knelt down beside it. She looked over the straps and ran them through her hands. They felt both smooth yet strong. "How hard was it to find one with straps this long?"
Aaron sighed. "Finding a place that sells saddles was hard enough. Only one in the city would extend the straps to that length. Trust me, in the coming months, you'll need every inch."
Ruby picked up the saddle, looked over at Cerise, then back at Aaron. "How exactly do I put this on?" Over the next ten minutes, Aaron explained the proper way to saddle a dragon, from where to place it on Cerise' back to how tight the straps should be. Ruby insisted on doing all the work herself, with Aaron only telling her what to do.
When Cerise was properly saddled, she stood up and moved all her joints to make sure she could still move. She snorted her approval. This will work, she said. It's light and it doesn't impede my movements too much.
Ruby smiled, then thought of something that could be a problem on a long flight. "Do saddles chafe?" she asked.
Aaron shook his head. "Only if you clamp your legs." he looked over at Ruby, "Just trust Cerise and leave the flying to her. You'll be relaxed in no time."
"Good to know."
Would you two stop talking? Cerise asked as she shook her back end. Get over here so we can fly. Ruby didn't need to be told twice. She jumped from the ground directly into the saddle and strapped her legs in. The red dragon quickly moved outside the Dragonhouse and waited for Nalia. Cerise' excitement radiated off her. I can't wait for you to feel the wind! she told Ruby exclusively. You'll never want to walk again.
Aaron climbed onto Nalia's back while she was moving out the door. "You might want to hold onto that spike in front of you," he called. "Also, while in the air, mental communication is best. We won't be able to hear one another due to the wind." With that, Nalia lifted her wings and drove them down, flinging her and her Rider into the air.
Cerise looked back at Ruby. Hold on tight! She lifted her wings and held them there, making her Rider's anticipation grow. After a few seconds, she plunged them to the ground. Ruby gasped and tensed up her grip on the neck spike in front of her. She wasn't expecting that much G-force, and she almost impaled her own head on the spike. Cerise slowed her ascent but didn't stop climbing.
As the dragon flew, the air grew slightly colder. Ruby suddenly wished her hood and cloak were thicker, even though they couldn't be that high yet. She looked down at Beacon and saw the ground already a thousand feet below her. "Wow," she said, more to herself than anyone. She'd been in flying vehicles before, but she'd never felt so exposed, so free.
The two dragons reached about a quarter mile off the ground. Aaron stood in his saddle arms outstretched and eyes closed. Ruby snickered. She thought she saw the same pose in a movie once. Cerise roared at Nalia, and she roared back. The two dragons lined up side by side in the air, and Aaron strapped his arms to his saddle. Ruby looked at the back of her dragon's head. Cerise, what's going—
Cerise shot forward in a burst of speed, sending Ruby back in her saddle. If she hadn't strapped her legs in, she would have fallen back to the ground below. With some effort, Ruby grabbed the neck spike again. Her eyes watered due to the sheer amount of air rushing past her face. She blinked her eyes several times to try to get the tears out, but it didn't help.
Still, it felt so good. Cerise flew about as fast as Ruby could run with her semblance. But Ruby didn't feel the wind while she ran. The G-forces when Cerise banked and rolled were more intense than any roller coaster could produce, and it was all random. No track for anticipation. This was an entirely new experience, and she loved it.
After several minutes of free flying, the dragons hovered over the city of Vale. They roared at each other again. Cerise was panting, tired from the exertion. Ruby returned her gaze to the back of Cerise head. Next time you take off like that, warn me please.
Cerise turned back with a gleam in her eye. No promises. The Rider and dragon shared a laugh.
Looks like I'm going to have to get some motorcycle goggles after all.
Wasn't Yang pressing you to get some before?
Yeah, she was. Ruby looked at the ocean to the west. She smirked as an idea popped into her head. Speaking of Yang, time to make her super jealous. She explained her idea to Cerise, and she agreed. The red dragon gained height and flew over the ocean. Nalia and Aaron followed close behind, even though they had no idea what their students were up to.
Cerise flew to about two miles over the ocean. The wind blew fiercely and had a bite to it, but Ruby didn't plan of staying up there long. She untied the straps around her legs and threw her right leg over to the left side of her saddle. As Aaron reached the same height and saw what Ruby was doing, he nearly panicked. Ruby! he screamed with his mind, What are you doing?
Ruby just smiled and yelled with her voice and mind, "Skydiving!" She slid out of the saddle and started her free-fall. Her arms spread out by instinct to slow her fall. Cerise circled around her Rider in a more controlled descent. Once again, skydiving was a new experience. The closest she ever came to it was being flung into the Emerald Forest for initiation, and there she had trees and Crescent Rose to break her fall. Here, it was just her, gravity, and the water below. Ruby saw a bird in her way and barely twisted her body in time to miss it.
A few hundred feet above the water, Cerise decided Ruby fell far enough and eased into her Rider saddle side up, then slowly leveled out her wings, bringing them into a fast glide. Ruby struggled to catch her breath as Cerise landed on the beach. She slid off the saddle and lay against her dragon's side. About a minute later Nalia landed next to them. Aaron jumped off his dragon's back. "What the heck was that?" he demanded. Ruby couldn't tell if his anger was genuine or not.
"That. Was. Awesome!" Ruby said when she caught her breath. She turned her head to Cerise and gave her a thumbs up. "Nice catch." She patted her dragon on the shoulder.
Aaron stood dumbfounded, then broke into laughter. "That did look like fun. What did you call that? Skydiving?"
"Yep, it's normally done with parachutes though. I guess we don't need them though."
Aaron continued to laugh. "I guess we don't. I'm surprised no one's tried that before. Now, I can't believe I—" Aaron snapped his head toward the city. Nalia did the same and growled.
Ruby looked at the two in shock. "What's going on?"
Her teacher pointed a finger toward the heart of the city. "Extend your mind about a mile in that direction." Ruby did as instructed. At first she didn't see or feel anything out of place, and was about to pull back when she found what Aaron and Nalia did.
Ruby scowled and Cerise growled. A little girl was being kidnapped.
Another chapter that I couldn't find anything in to really change. Sorry about that, but you try finding a way to insert my OCs in this one.