Ansa threw her dagger at the tree, landing just an inch away from her previous indent. She walked over and pulled it out, returning to the dirt patch and aiming.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" Heidi asked, leaning against the gate.
"Like what?" Ansa asked, looking around. "There's no one here. No one ever comes here."
She took aim and threw her dagger, embedding it in the tall trunk.
They were on front gate duty with a few others who were lounging around. No one ever came near them – anyone who came close enough turning tail at the site of the camp's wall – which left most of the guards entertaining themselves for the hours they were stationed there. Unfortunately the girls didn't exactly get along, and most of the others were either passed out drunk or ignoring them.
"What do you think Serene's doing?" Heidi asked, flipping a coin.
"I don't fucking know," Ansa shrugged, throwing another knife into the wall.
"I wonder how she's doing at a real school."
"What do you care?" Ansa asked, slightly bewildered.
"I thought you would care more," Heidi frowned. "Aren't you two like…" Heidi trailed off suggestively. Ansa shrugged.
"It's nothing serious."
"Obviously." Heidi said flatly. "But still. It's boring around here without her."
"It is kinda weird not having her here getting into fights with Jaron every other day." Ansa conceded. "He's started getting cocky without his usual ass beatings."
Heidi caught her coin. "What do you thinks going to happen if Serene falls through?"
"What?" Ansa paused moments before her next throw. The question wasn't particularly harsh but coming from Heidi is threw her off.
"Well Jaron would be next in line, wouldn't he?" Heidi asked, absentmindedly flipping her coin. "But he's a loose canon so I can't imagine Raven would let him take over."
Ansa thought for a minute, the sharp steel digging into her fingers.
"I guess she'd just have to raise someone else to take over. That's what the last elders did; they took Raven and her brother and groomed them into the next leaders."
"Then they lost one to Beacon. They should probably stop sending them away."
"We don't know Serene's not going to work out," Ansa pointed out, not liking how defensive she sounded, finally throwing the knife.
Heidi looked at her for a moment and shrugged. "Better safe than sorry. Although Raven might not have all that time to train someone else."
Ansa didn't like this conversation. The next dagger hot the wood beside Heidi's head.
"What the fuck?!" She cried, jumping off her crate and landing in the dirt, looking between the blade and Ansa in bewilderment. "What the actual fuck!"
Ansa shrugged, pulling the ones from the wood closer to her. Heidi glared, pulling the dagger behind her out and throwing it at Ansa. Fortunately, she was an atrocious throw and it skittered to a stop at Ansa's feet. Ansa looked at it, unimpressed.
"How are you still alive?"
"Piss off."
They drove for almost an hour, giving them enough time to get out their weapons, through mostly dead and dying forestry, until they passed under a sign over the gate that read 'ROSETTE FARM'.
It looked like it had been abandoned for years.
The long, dead yellow grass was bent in the strong wind. Angry storm clouds gathered in the distance, the fog hinting at rain thick over the mountains that acted as an unofficial border between Vale and Vacuo.
The buildings were a mishmash of wood and stone and entirely decrepit. The roof of one of the barns like buildings had almost completely collapsed in, and the other barn, red and looking to be the only building entirely made of wood, was slightly slanting with the wind, paint peeling and wood rotting all over. Maybe a dozen animal pens were visible in the yard through the wild, overrun yard, most of which had been trampled or destroyed. The hint of rotting animal carcasses was in the wind.
"Nice place to visit," Maizie muttered as they came to a stop on the loose dirt patch in front of the main farmhouse.
Champagne turned off the Jeeps engine and the silence slammed into them. It was eerie, all encompassing, even the wind seemed to be muted.
They piled out without being told, landing carefully in the loose, pulled up dirt, each afraid to break the suffocating quiet.
Champagne led the way through the yard, five sets of eyes scanning around them.
They walked up the few steps to the front porch of the farmhouse, and Serene noticed the deep scratch marks from the Crocuta's claws in the strong wooden door.
"This is creepy," Maizie muttered to Serene as they kept watch, Champagne slowly pushing the door open and stepping inside.
"I'll take downstairs; you four clear the second story and I'll meet you up there," She said softly, nodding to the staircase.
Jazz pulled out her axes and Nyla pulled out his gun, moving slowly and in sync to the staircase. Serene pulled out her staff and separated the two parts that made it up, taking the rear and Maizie retracted her claws and followed her partner.
Jazz led Nyla to the left of the second story, and Maizie and Serene went right. For all their dysfunction when it came to sparring, they cleared the second story like two pairs of experienced Hunters, hiding in the silence and shadows of the abandoned house.
"It's clear," Jazz announced as they met Champagne at top of the stairs. She nodded and led them up to next flight. It was open plan with boxes and other miscellaneous items under sheets, which were under a thick layer of dust.
"Looks like they haven't come inside yet." Champagne said, clipping her fans back to her belt.
"How long have they been here?" Jazz asked.
"A few months," She answered, "but the villagers aren't comfortable with them being so close." They headed back downstairs.
"The guy in town said there was an attack?" Nyla asked.
"A few of the Crocuta's have been attacking humans and animals in the other nearby farms. The negative emotions of the villagers are just drawing more Grimm in."
"So how many Grimm are we talking here?" Maizie asked.
"According to the reports up to fifty Crocuta's have been nesting here."
"Fifty?!" Nyla asked, whipping around to face the teacher.
"That's actually pretty standard for Crocuta's," Maizie pointed out. "Some packs can have up to seventy. They're the most social of any Grimm."
Serene, Jazz and Nyla looked at her in surprise.
"What?" Maizie said defensively, looking between them. "I pay attention in Grimm Studies."
"How are we going to take out that many Grimm?" Jazz asked, looking at their teacher.
"Well that's only ten each," Champagne shrugged, as though taking on ten vicious, deadly, large wolf sized Grimm was no big deal. "I should be able to take out maybe six or seven straight away if we're lucky. Sniper can perch on the roof and start taking them out as they approach," She pointed over to the window that led to the roof. "You two think you can take the ground?"
Serene and Maizie nodded, adjusting their grips on their weapons.
"Good. You," Jazz, "take up the rear with me. We need to get as many in the yard before I set off the land mines."
She headed back to the stairs and down the dusty attic.
"Wait," Jazz called. "Land mines?!"
They explored the rest of the large yard, finding barely a square metre without a sign that Grimm had been through. The buildings had been clawed at, any part they could get loose being torn apart and destroyed.
"I don't suppose you four think you could get the Grimm in here?" Champagne asked, putting her hand on the wall in the stone barn. Serene looked up from where she was stepping over the floor, covered with the rocks from the collapsed roof.
"Why?" She asked, looking over at the wooden doors. One was in the dirt a few metres away and the other was hanging on it's hinges.
"We get some in here and I can blow them up."
"I meant to ask," Jazz said quickly, trying not to trip over the stones, "how exactly are you going to do that?"
The professor 'tutted'. "Someone hasn't been paying attention in class."
"Yes I have," She retorted defensively.
"It's my semblance," Champagne said, reaching down and picking up a fist sized stone. They watched as it shimmered slightly, and she threw it into the air. As it reached its peak it blew apart, sending small shards of rock out in all directions, but not far enough to hit any of the girls.
"Oh yeah," Jazz muttered.
"I also do have dynamite just in case."
"…."
"Cool," Serene nodded, kicking a small rock.
"Let's start setting up."
The team followed her back to the jeep and took the trowels she gave them, looking between each other trying to figure out the context.
"Landmines typically go in the land," Champagne said, pulling out a sack of rocks and a black bag of dynamite.
"Oh," they muttered, and began digging.
The landmines were planted in the area with the most signs of Grimm – the dirt field by the side of the farmhouse. "Worse comes to worse," Champagne said, "We've got a backup plan if you get overwhelmed."
"You said you could drive," She said, tossing the keys to Nyla.
"What?" Nyla asked, looking up and blinking owlishly.
"Get the car into the barn," She pointed over to the once red wooden barn, slightly standing off from the rest of the buildings, in the overgrown field with the wild grass.
The rest of them grab their bags from the back of the jeep and moved it to the porch. Serene pulled out her scroll, checking it briefly. No new messages.
"We need to put these up," Champagne said, pulling out to large fog lights. Maizie and Serene looked at each other than back at her.
"You just… carry those with you?" Maizie asked.
"When I'm supervising rookies." She said, testing the railing before climbing up onto it. "It's best to have as much light as possible and those storm clouds don't look particularly merciful."
Serene glanced out at the distance again. The clouds weren't much closer, but they were much darker.
"When do you think the Crocuta's will come?" Nyla asked, walking up the steps, dirty from the barn.
"Probably won't be long now," Champagne called, drilling in one of the fog lights above the rusted gutter. "It's strange enough that there are none here now. I suggest you all get ready."
Champagne finished putting up the lights and the four got to work. Nyla swapped out their coat for a jacket and changed their socks, having stepped in a puddle in the barn. Serene checked the dust was full in her gauntlets and staff an pulled off her jacket. Maizie tied back her thick hair, messy from the wind, making her ears stick out.
Maizie let out a growl as she tried to brush her thick, bushy hair back, getting stuck in several painful knots.
"Ugh, here," Serene grabbed the brush out of her hair, kneeling behind her and brushing out the knots easily.
"Wow, how did you do that?"
"I used to have really long hair."
"Really? I can't imagine you with long hair."
Serene pursed her lips in annoyance. She brushed the rest of the obstructions out and started to braid it.
"How long was it?" Maizie asked.
"At my waist, at it's longest. It was curly though, so it may have been longer."
"Why did you cut it?"
"Too hard to maintain."
"All black?"
"Yep."
"Cool. I got mine from my dad, so he has to brush it. He's not good at it."
Serene snorted. "Mine's like my mother, but I don't think she ever learned anything more than a ponytail."
Maizie was quite for a moment. "How old were you when you lost them?"
"Eight, maybe nine. I'm not sure. It's been a long time."
"I'm sorry. That must have been hard."
Serene shrugged. "I'm fine. We weren't much of a family anyway."
"Hope you lot are done braiding each other's hair," Professor Champagne called, running up to the front steps. "It's go time."
The four stood, tight grips on all their weapons, moving to the edge of the porch.
The sound of demonic cackles echoed in the air, sending a cold chill through them.
Fourteen Crocuta's, at first count, made their way down the slightly incline beside the house, walking towards them.
"Ready?" Champagne asked, crouched on the railing.
The four glanced at each other and after a moment nodded, stepping down the stone stairs into the dirt to meet the Grimm head on.