SLVR

by saundersmarcelo

If you watch RWBY, then chances are you are familiar or have heard of the popular fan made team known as Team SLVR, created by Mark Zhang. In my first ever fanfiction (which is set in the main series/timeline of RWBY), this story will follow the lives of Simin Megistus and his team (Lycan Arcadia, Vella Moisia, and Ragora Cinarum).

28. Volume I: Chapter XVI: Drawing Lines:

Volume I: Chapter XVI: Drawing Lines:

(August 12th: Dorado: One week after Dorado fell)

The sun had set on the ruins of what once was called home to many villagers. The entire vicinity was hugged by a grayish, dim hue.

There is no life native to these ruins anymore. The only living things that ever enter are simple scavengers searching for whatever the grimm hadn't already devoured. Sometimes it was a vulture nibbling a chunk off the body of a deceased shopkeeper. Sometimes it was a human passerby looting for supplies to keep themselves going. On this young evening, however, a strange blind man had made his way in.

The man was 29 years old and 5'7" (1.72 meters). Complexion that of honey with a slight tan and pink hair that was tied up into a bun. Though if it were let down, it would come to about his shoulders. In his hand, he carried what appeared to be a pink cane. Though, he didn't use it as if it were a device to help him navigate his surroundings. But rather it was just something he carried with him like an accessory.

He was also dressed mostly in white. For his torso, he wore a black tunic that reached down to above his knees, thinly lined with light brown fur at the bottom. Over that, he wore a white long coat that had some thin lining of light brown fur around the neck, held together at the torso and below the chest by a pinkish belt with a black buckle. For pants, he wore a pair of white trousers tucked into his black boots.

The way he approached the ruined village wasn't as if he had just stumbled upon it. But rather it was with a purpose. As if he knew he was looking for this place. He was here to meet someone.

"Finally..." The man thought to himself. "This place is a bit harder to find than I thought. These people aren't the most ... extroverted types, I can tell. No wonder he chose this place."

"I found the place." The man announced into a scroll.

"Good job." A female voice spoke from the other side. "Let me know when you find him."

The blind man did not respond. As he traversed his way through Dorado, he made his way toward the east quadrant, Sol. There he entered a destroyed house. He entered the house without hesitation, moving to the kitchen where a dead body laid. It was the body of Jonah Megistus. The blind man approached the body and crouched as he placed his hand on its chest. He knew it was him.

"Ma'am... I've found him..." The man spoke up through his scroll.

"And?" A female voice on the other side spoke.

"Deceased..."

There was a heavy sigh on the other side.

"And what about the son? According to Azrael's report, he had a son."

"No sign." The man answered. "I've increased my awareness to the point it surrounded the village. But I found no signs of a child. I tried pushing it further to a kilometer around the village, but I couldn't get it that far."

There was a brief pause on the other end. As if the woman was contemplating what to do next.

"Don't worry about it, then." She spoke. "You don't have to continue looking."

"But-"

"I'm sure he'll turn up." The woman on the other side assured him. She didn't sound the least bit concerned.

"You sound alarmingly at ease about this..." Said the blind man with apprehension.

"If I'm not worried, you shouldn't be either." She said with confidence. "Now, have you met with Azrael yet?" She moved on to the next subject.

"About that..." He sounded like he was about to deliver bad news. "When I expanded my aura to sense anyone in the village, Azrael wasn't here either. He's not here at all... Aside from a few scavengers I sensed on the other side of the village, I'm the only living soul."

The woman on the other side let out another sigh. "So, it finally happened." She didn't sound disappointed or surprised. But more that she saw this coming and was waiting for the day, but couldn't do much about it.

"What is it?"

"It seems the Angel of Death is no longer with us..." She sounded disappointed as she spoke to herself. "Coritais is not going to like this... I tried to warn him of this and take precautionary measures, but he just wouldn't listen. That man is too sentimental sometimes."

"I'm sorry? Was that to me?" The man mistook what the woman on the other side said to be for him.

"No, I'm sorry. I was just thinking aloud is all." She paused briefly before speaking again. "Iullian, Azrael has gone rogue."

"And how do you know that?" The man said with concern and shock in his voice.

"Call it intuition. As of now, there is a vacant gap in your team."

"I'll go seek him out." He tightened his grip on his cane. "I can find him-"

"No." The woman said without hesitation. There was a small hint of urgency in her voice.

"No?" The man in white was confused.

"He'll come back one way or another. I'm sure of it."

"If what you said is true, a rogue Azrael is incredibly dangerous! If he leaks any-"

"My answer is no, Iulian." She said firmly. "You will not pursue Azrael. Coritais would say the same thing. It's not worth the risk. Besides, Azrael knows better. He won't. Be it enemy or ally, we still know what we can and can't trust him with."

Upon hearing that, the blind man reluctantly dropped the subject.

"So what now...?" He said almost defeated.

"I want you to come back. You did a good job today."

"It doesn't feel like I accomplished much..." He sounded disappointed in himself.

"You've accomplished enough. You have no control over what happened. This was unforeseen. So don't be so hard on yourself. Right now, what's important is that you fill Azrael's shoes and also find someone to fill the vacant spot he's created. Right now, it's just you and Sadim. That spot must be filled as soon as possible."

"Well, I think I might have someone in mind." He suggested.

"I take it you're referring to that girl you brought with you from Mistral?"

"She's very capable." He vouched. "And a very fast learner. She'll grow into the role very quickly and will save us the time and trouble of training a new member or rearranging our positions."

There was a pause on the other side. The woman was contemplating his suggestion.

"I trust your judgement, Iulian. However, I want you to prepare her for the position."

"But ma'am," He started to question. "What about Cameron? I'm supposed to be meeting up with him soon regarding the whereabouts of Ra-?"

"That wasn't a request. If she's as fast of a learner that you make her out to be, then I expect you to be the one to teach her. Cameron can wait. You are now the most experienced and strongest member in the group. So I expect you to step up. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am..." The man now named Iulian relents.

"In the meantime, I will deliver the bad news of Azrael to Coritais. That... will be its own ordeal." The woman sighs on the other side. She could imagine the potential reaction she might get. She then continued. "By the way, since you were about to bring it up, regarding Raven Branwen, I know you were supposed to meet with Cameron to discuss her whereabouts. But with that now being indefinitely postponed thanks to Azrael's sudden departure, were you able to stumble upon any clues of your own regarding Raven Branwen's whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately, no." There is a hint of frustration in his voice as he exited the house. "It's like a game of hide-and-seek in the dark, but the person hiding is constantly changing positions. I feel at this point we'll only find them by chance."

"Well remember that Cameron has already infiltrated them." She brought up. "So long as we have him in there, finding her and knowing her weaknesses and strengths should be easier. He and his team are sitting on a lot of information."

"True, but any information he has is borderline useless if he doesn't relay it to me in a timely manner." He factored in. "Ever since he got in, he's gone completely dark and under the radar in order to blend in with them. There has been no communication with me since. He does this almost every time he is on one of these operations."

"To be fair to him, Raven Branwen has been a difficult target to locate and has been one of our most evasive targets. He's trying anything he can to prevent from being discovered or any traces to us. That's why he is being more 'under-the-radar' than usual this time."

"He could be dead for all we know." The man complained.

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"Well... no... But-"

"Then show some faith. If he were dead, you wouldn't be complaining about his constant secrecy. The reason I know this is because if something were to happen to him, the rest of his team, who he shares his information with, would be the first to know. And as a result, any information he compiled at the time and shared with his team would be forwarded to us. The fact, you don't know anything about him right now regarding this, means all is well. It's best to assume all is well right now. He has been there for a year and still hasn't been discovered. If he can hold out for a year, he will continue to hold out for as long as he needs to or even wants to. So please, show some faith in him. He'll be fine."

"Fine." He relented. "That reminds me, have we settled on a candidate to take Raven on yet?"

"Well, Azrael was on the top of the list. But obviously, he isn't anymore. Bastion is another one, but he is more of a last resort in case we need a guarantee she doesn't get away. So he is on the bottom. That narrows it down to you and Sadim or Cameron. It's still being discussed."

"So nothing conclusive yet?"

"No, not yet. Now come back, Iulian." She ordered. "We need you here."

"Hey!" A male voice interrupted the man's call. It came from behind. "You lost?"

The blind man turned his head back. Though he couldn't see, there were at least seven armed individuals. They all had their rifles in hand, with the exception of the one that called out to him.

"What is it?" The woman asked through the scroll as she heard the voice from her end.

"I'll call you back, Belle." The man hung up his scroll before he turned to fully face the man who called out to him. "Actually no. I am not lost."

"Well I doubt that, considering where you ended up." There was a hint of malice in his voice. "It's very dangerous out here for someone like you, blind man."

"Look, I hope you don't intend on holding me up." The blind man sounded like he was in no mood to deal with them or entertain his games. "I am very busy and have somewhere to be right now."

"Oh, don't worry." The man replied with cockiness in his voice. "It'll be quick and painless. You can just hand us your valuables or drop them in front of us and you can wander off to wherever you're going. Then you can go blindly stumble your merry way into a few trees while you're at it."

Some of the other guards chuckled at the leader's joke. The blind man, however, simply responded with a bored and mildly irked sigh.

"So how about you-"

"You're annoying. I'll be leaving now." The blind man then gave a dismissive, casual wave and began to walk away without hesitation. "Goodbye."

The leader was taken aback slightly by the blind man's lack of concern and dismissive attitude.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?" The man tried to regain his previous demeanor. He was genuinely puzzled by the triviality he was being treated as. "What? You think you're some kind of badass? Are you stupid, blind man? You think I'm gonna be brushed off by someone, who clearly doesn't know where he is or who he's dealing with?"

"Oh, I wasn't aware I was dealing with someone. Last I checked, I was being confronted by a loudmouthed inconvenience. And besides you are the ones who approached me." The blind man scolded. This only annoyed the leader.

"Fucking prick!" He said under his breath. "If you value your life, I suggest you give us whatever valuables you have on you. Now! If you comply, we'll only kick your ass. Keep walking... well..."

The other scavengers then raised their weapons at the blind man. In response, he stopped.

"And if your friends value their lives, they will drop their weapons. And as for you in particular, you will put your weapon back into your holster."

The scavengers were caught off-guard. How was he able to tell they had their weapons in hand and trained on him? Another thing, the leader was in the process of pulling his weapon from his holster as the blind man was calling him out on it. As if he already knew it would happen.

The man clearly agitated and impatient, cocked his gun so the blind man could hear it. His act was met with a disappointed sigh.

"I know you can't see, but I sure know you can hear! You think I'm fucking around? I'll shoot your damn brains out if you don't comply! I promise, you will die where you stand!"

The blind man turned his head to them and shook his head in disapproval.

"Don't make promises you can't keep..." He then proceeded to continue his walk, ignoring the warnings he was given.

"Hey! Are you even listening?"

The man continued walking in silence.

"I'll kill you!"

"I doubt that…" Iulian spoke up confidently, his back turned.

"You know what? Fuck it! Kill him! Just kill him!" The leader ordered his companions.

Without hesitation, all the man's companions pulled their triggers. Each of their bullets careened toward Iulian, fixing to find their mark in his body as they rapidly approached. But in the blink of an eye, the blind man brought up his cane. With it, he deflected every single bullet in rapid succession. All the bullets were sent back with such precision that each one was sent into the center of each shooter's forehead. They all were dead before they hit the ground. The only one still alive and unscathed, was the man who ordered it.

The leader slowly turned his head back. His face was overcome with horror. All his companions were dead behind him in less time it took for him to turn around. He trembled as he looked back at the blind man.

"Would you like to join them?" The blind man said.

"Y-you're a huntsman?" The scavenger replied with a shaky voice.

"You ask a lot of questions." Iulian observed. "If I were, don't you think I would have led with that as a deterrent for you to leave me be?" The blind man answered rhetorically.

"P-please don't-"

"I have no intentions on killing you." The blind man assured him. Iulian started to approach the man, who was shaking in his boots. "You didn't do anything to me. And you haven't tried to kill me. Directly at least. So I have no reason to kill you."

The blind man was now a few feet in front of the man. The scavenger still held his pistol in his quaking hand.

"But I noticed that you still hold your weapon against me." In response, the blind man lowered his forehead to the barrel. "Are you intending on giving me a reason?"

The scavenger looked into the man's faded pink irises eyes. It unsettled him. Because though his eyes were blank, his expression showed confidence. There was a complete lack of concern or worry in his expression. It was as if he knew what would happen next.

Reluctantly, the scavenger lowered his weapon and put it back into his holster. He then took a step back.

"I knew you'd make the right choice." The blind man said. "Now, I suggest you find a new crew to run with. And don't bother me again."

The blind man then left the man where he stood, stunned. He didn't bother putting his guard back up. He simply walked away, confident in the direction he was going, as if he already knew the way.

. . .

18 Months Later: February 9th: The Branwen Tribe's camp:

*Simin's perspective*:

I sit only a few feet from the bandit, who was telling his story. With me is Sophia and a few other bandits.

"And that's what happened..." The man recounting his story concludes.

"So let me get this straight." Sophia chimes in. "You saw some blind guy wandering a ruined village and tried to rob him and he killed your whole crew just like that?" She snaps her fingers.

"That's the gist of it, yeah." He confirms.

"Cool story!" Sophia leans back.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Well, there are some parts I'm a bit skeptical on."

"Like what?" He crosses his arms.

"So this blind guy just knew all those weapons were pointed at him? And there's the whole thing where he was able to call out you pulling out your pistol as you were about to do it. I mean,... I don't know."

"Jeremiah believed me."

"I'm sure he does." Sophia says almost patronizingly with a teasing tone. "I believe in a lot of things too. But I don't know about that. I mean your story's got some lapses in logic in it that leaves me with more questions than answers. How was he able to call out that you were about to pull your weapon out before you even did it? And he knew exactly where your barrel was pointed to press his forehead against it?"

"Sophia, shut up!" The bandit is irked.

"What? Don't get mad at me for actually stopping to think about what you're telling me."

"First time for everything..."

"Hey, fuck you!" Sophia sounds almost annoyed.

"Fuck you! You weren't there! How about I go find him and ask him for some of those answers when I get out?" He sounds annoyed by Sophia's skepticism.

"Maybe you should." Sophia says in an almost challenging way, playing to it.

"I better get an apology when I get ba-"

"Hey! Come on! We gotta go." Jeremiah taps the man on the shoulder as he walks by.

He is armed with a rifle as he heads toward the front gate with the man in tow. At the front gate, there is another group of about twelve bandits that he joins up with. They are about to head out for a recon investigation of a recent incident.

Very recently, a group of bandits traveled to a nearby village to loot it. None of them came back. According to scouts, there was no trace of them. The camp was a bit rattled by it. Apparently, that's never happened before. It was initially suspected that maybe it was an ambush by authorities. So, some went out to nearby villages and rest stops and gas station stores to do some prodding. But there was no talk of arrests being made. According to the ones who went out to dig, the people were just as oblivious as the camp was of their whereabouts. It was also thought maybe the group encountered a huntsman or grimm. But according to scout reports, there were no huntsmen or grimm in that area. It even had Raven scratching her head. In response, she arranged a reconnaissance/rescue crew to go out and find out what happened to the missing team and bring them back or at least just find out what happened.

The story traveled around camp fast. There were many different reactions. Some of shock or concern. Others of doubt and dismissal. But one of the people on the recon team, Jeremiah, was very interested. He even opted to be a part of the recon team. He was the only one in the team who volunteered. Jeremiah seemed to be the one who took it the most seriously. Ever since he heard the story, his demeanor changed to being more 'no nonsense' and somewhat intense. Raven has also made him the leader of the expedition.

"Like I said-" The bandit spoke as he got up to leave.

"Yeah, yeah." Sophia interrupts him, playfully shooing him off.

"I'll remember that!" He calls as he leaves.

"Please do." Sophia jabs before he leaves earshot.

"What do you think, Simin?" Sophia looks over to me. "Do you buy it?"

"I mean," I hesitate as I form an answer. "...It's not too unbelievable for me. I mean I've seen crazier stuff, so it wouldn't surprise me."

"You think so?"

"When you've seen enough things, Sophia, it's hard to doubt."

"Well, I won't believe 'til I see it then."

"Simin!" I hear a nagging voice call to me. It was Vernal. "What are you still doing in camp?! Move your ass and come to training!"

"But training doesn't start for another ten minutes."

"It started five minutes ago!" She angrily corrected me. "Raven's been waiting this whole time for you. And I've had to be on the receiving end of that because of your tardiness! Now get up and move! You've been with us seventeen months now and you still haven't learned to not keep Raven waiting."

Vernal then grabs the back of my collar. With ease, she lifts me to my feet with one arm and nudges me forward.

"Hurry!" She barks.

"I'm going! I'm going!" I tell her. "We'll talk more about this later. Okay, Sophia?"

"Fine with me." She gets up and moves on. "Good luck with training, Simin."

I then made my way to the training area with Vernal hurriedly pressing her hand on my back to keep up my pace.

. . .

Once reaching the training area, Raven was pacing back and forth. Once noticing us, she gave me an earful. It took about a minute for her to finish and we finally were able to start our training.

"Okay, listen close you two!" Raven calls out to Vernal and me. We were standing at attention like two soldiers about to enter an active warzone.

"Today's session is going to be a bit… unorthodox. Due to lost time, I've had to change it up a bit."

"'Unorthodox'?" Vernal asks for clarification.

"What I mean is today's session will only last 5 minutes..."

"Only 5? What's the catch?" I thought to myself.

"... For one of you?" Raven adds.

"What does she mean by that?" A look confusion grew on my face.

"Today, you will both have the choice to either work cooperatively or competitively. The two of you will have five minutes to either land a hit on me or disarm me. Whichever of you lands the first hit on me or disarms me before those five minutes are up will essentially have the rest of this session off and will be free to go."

"And what about the other person?" I ask with much curiosity.

"Glad you asked, Simin, because I was just about to get to that. Whomever doesn't end up landing the blow or disarms me will have to endure a test of… well… endurance. You will have to simply hold a full-body plank for the remainder of the session." She then walks off toward a group of high bushes.

"That sounds pretty difficult, but not as difficult as I had initially anticipated. I've been training with them long enough that I should be able to handle that, especially since the sessions last about one hour each day. But knowing Raven, she has something up her sleeve."

"But…" She continues. "...you will have to hold the position with this resting on your back." Raven adds. She rolls from behind the bushes a large log that looked to be about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter and 6 feet long (1.8 meters). It made me and Vernal's eyes widen and my jaw drop.

"This thing…" Raven says as she easily lifts it and brings it over. "... will be resting on the back of the poor soul who ends up holding the full body plank for the next hour. I'm not exactly sure how much it weighs, but one thing's for sure, I pity whoever it's going to be."

"We're supposed to hold that for almost an hour?!" I exclaim.

"Maybe next time, don't keep me waiting." Raven jabs.

"Um, Raven." Vernal slightly raises her hand as if we were in a classroom. "What would happen in the event that neither of us disarm or strike you within the time limit?"

"Good question. In case of the event neither of you are successful, you both will have to share the burden. So in short, if one of you hits or disarms me, then the other has to hold a full body plank with this log on their back. And if neither of you do, then you both will have to hold it together. However, the only way for either of you to have a chance in hitting or disarming me is if you work together. This is essentially an exercise that can either be handled cooperatively or competitively. However, I highly recommend for your sake that you handle it cooperatively. Either way, one of you is going to have to make a sacrifice if you want to reach your common goal here. Now are there any more questions?" Raven calls out.

"What will you be doing?" I ask. "Is this going to be a full-on sparring session where we all just go at it or are there going to be handicaps on your side?"

"Right." Raven says as if it nearly slipped her mind. "As for me, I will be limiting myself to just blocks and counterattacks. So when you go in to strike, you better not miss or leave me any openings because you can bet that I will take advantage of them. Also, I should let you know that I will be using my semblance for this fight. I don't plan on making this easy. Now any more questions?"

In response, we both stayed silent as we now had a full understanding of our situation.

"Okay then." Raven shoves the log to the side with her foot. The thing leaves a trail of flattened grass in its wake before stopping against a tree. Raven then puts on her mask and draws her sword. In response Vernal and I draw our weapons as well.

"Your 5 minutes start... Now!"

. . .

So the only way either of us will have a chance to hit or disarm her is if we work together. But we are also, in a way, sort of working against each other too since our goal is to be the one to do it first. I guess it just depends on how we view it at the end of the day.

I wonder what Vernal thinks of this. Knowing her, she's quick at assessing situations and knowing what she needs to do before acting on them. But how does she feel about the fact that we might need to work together on this? It's no secret that Vernal doesn't take too kindly to me, especially after the elk hunt incident. Will she be willing to cooperate in this situation or will she take her chances working competitively? One way to find out, I guess.

Still with our weapons out, Vernal and I surround Raven. I stand on one side and Vernal on the opposite. We are hoping to possibly utilize whatever blind spots her mask might give her to our advantage. It might still be difficult since her senses are almost as keen as they are without her mask. But even the smallest of advantages and opportunities should be utilized to their fullest potential. At least, that's what I've learned from training with her.

"I hope you two aren't planning to blindside me" Raven speaks up. "It won't be that simple or easy-"

The second Raven finished her sentence, Vernal tosses one of her crescent blades at her like a frisbee. I assume that was meant to be a distraction as well as my cue to come in to strike once Raven turned her back to me to block it.

Maybe we are cooperating after all.

I charge in to make my move as Raven blocks Vernal's shot. Vernal's weapon ricochets upward. I decide to go for Raven's midsection to land a solid strike on her ribs while her back was turned. But Raven got her back foot up and kicked her sole squarely into my chest. She kicked me back a couple feet before I could do anything.

She then follows up by bringing her arm back to swing the sword at me. But in the nick of time, I got my weapons up and blocked it. However, the shot hit so hard that I could instantly feel the vibrations of the blow through my wrists and forearms as I was knocked back further. As I slid back, I saw a moderately sized branch fall from the trees where Vernal's weapon was knocked. It was about to land on Raven's head. Raven quickly notices it and starts to bring her blade up again to cut the branch in half while turning back to Vernal.

As I had my physical exchange with Raven, Vernal was already charging in to take her opening. She goes in to land a hit on Raven with her remaining weapon. But little did the girl know, as Raven was bringing her sword up to cut the falling branch, she sliced a portal open right in front of Vernal in the process. Vernal was about to pounce on Raven, but ended up charging through the portal created in front of her at the last second.

Next thing you know, as I was recovering from Raven's counter, I felt something hard crash into me from behind and knock me back to the ground. As I lifted my head, I can see that it was Vernal that crashed into me. This made me very confused until I looked behind me and saw the other side of Raven's portal behind her right before it closed up. Raven had cut a portal to me in front of Vernal to redirect her attack into me.

Vernal's second weapon that Raven initially deflected then landed back at Raven's feet. Raven simply gives it a look before kicking it over to Vernal.

"You couldn't have kept her distracted a little bit longer for me?" Vernal talks down to me.

"What are you talking about?" I rub my head. "I thought you made that opening for me."

"I was making an opening for myself." She corrects me. "I was banking on you taking the opening and keeping her back turned to me so I would get a bigger window."

"Wait, so you were using me?" I say with realization.

"So what if I was?"

"You better take this more seriously if you aim to succeed!" Raven calls out to us in a taunting manner.

"Next time, pay more attention." She jabs with a cold tone.

Vernal then charges back to Raven with hesitation hoping to deprive her of any more breathing room she may have just given herself.

Frustrated at Vernal, I charge in as well, hoping to get a shot on Raven first. Just like that, chances of us working together went out the window as we were competing with each other.

Once again, we both close in on Raven. She didn't bother moving as she allowed us to get close.

Vernal reaches her first and brings both blades up and tries to hit Raven in the abdomen. Raven responds by lining up both blades and blocks them both with her sword. She locked her blades onto Raven's sword and slightly turned her wrists in. As she did that Raven immediately caught on to her game and parries both blades to the side. As she did so, a small array of lasers caused by a triggering of dust cartridges shot out from Vernal's weapons and almost hit Raven. As Raven parries Vernal's shot, she slightly shoves her out of the way, knocking her off balance. She did so to prepare herself for me, who was just about to come up on her.

As I come up and try to see if I'll have better luck, I also go for a stab to the torso. But Raven blocks my shot as my sai hooks onto her blade. Not expecting her to be able to block the follow up, I gear to make another attempt with my free arm. Raven just turns her sword over, catching my follow up strike in the process and brings her blade to the ground, pressing it down with both of my weapons still hooked and leaving my arms trapped.

As she did that, Vernal had regained her balance. The girl leapt up a bit to go for a spinning back strike with her right hand using her crescent blade. But unfortunately for her, Raven was already in the process of bringing her blade to the ground to trap me by that point. This causes Vernal's attempted headshot to miss as Raven basically ducked it.

Vernal then immediately tries to bring down her left crescent to Raven's body, seeing that it was wide open. But the clever Raven slightly turns her hip inward. This brought the scabbard that was attached to her belt to be brought into the path of the strike. It blocked the hit with a metallic clang.

Raven then uses her back foot to kick Vernal's leg from under her. Vernal gets knocked off her feet. Raven then brings her same leg inward and hits me in the ribs with a knee strike as I was basically still pinned this whole time. As her knee connects, I end up getting knocked away again with a tumble.

The woman then gets back up to her feet and she brings her blade up to Vernal's head for a horizontal strike as Vernal was getting up. The way she moves it so effortlessly makes it look almost weightless in her hands. Vernal barely sees it coming and dodges and ducks under the blade, taking a few strands of hair off her head. She tries to gear up for a quick strike to Raven's midsection, but Raven kicks her back before the girl could fully extend her arm. Vernal leaps back to try and lessen the blow, but still gets caught in the chest as she gets knocked away.

While Raven was preoccupied warding off Vernal, I was already getting back up and try to take the opening again. But when Raven made her swing at Vernal, she followed through with that swing, bringing it all the way around in anticipation of me coming at her again. But luckily, I saw it coming and dove over the low swing of the blade. But unfortunately, as Raven did so, she also cut another portal. And I ended up diving through it.

As I dove through the portal and came out the other side, I ended up chop-blocking Vernal from behind in the process, cutting her legs out from under her.

As I recover, I look back up to Raven. She hasn't moved from her spot this entire time. Throughout the time that has passed so far, Raven has practically been stationary. We haven't budged her even a little bit. She may as well be toying with us. She's not even trying

This is frustrating! Raven is just one step- maybe even two steps- ahead of us.

"You're uncoordinated." She scolds and lectures us. "Like I said before, if either of you want a chance to strike me or disarm me before your time is up, then you need to work together."

"Vernal, she's playing with us." I turn to the girl as she gets back up and wipes some dirt off her face.

"Yeah, I can see that." She catches her breath a bit and rubs the back of her leg. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Every time we take advantage of an opening, she just closes it up right before we can strike. You know what we have to do." I try to get through to her.

"I said tell me something I don't know!" She sounds annoyed.

"Oh, so now you know?"

"Shut up!" She gives a frustrated sigh. "Alright, Simin. Just this once, we'll work together."

"So what do we do?" I consult her since she's known Raven longer than I have.

"I feel like the only way we'll beat Raven is if we overwhelm her. Create more openings than she can cover up. One of us will be able to slip through eventually and land the hit." She presents her game plan. "Both time's she's used her portals was to build distance and get us away from her. And she's only really done that when we've gotten close to getting her. In other words, we have come close to hitting her twice. And that is two times we have pushed her into a corner and given her no other choice to use her semblance. But in this specific fight, she's using her semblance like a reset button to keep herself a few steps ahead of us and send us back to square one. We need to figure out how to use that to our advantage so she can't give herself that breathing room she needs."

"Not to mention she only does it the second one of us gets knocked away." I add. "So, if one of us ever getd knocked away, maybe the other should adopt a less offensive approach and switch to defense until the other person catches back up so that we don't get lured in and fall into a trap like we have the last two times. Maybe we can figure out how to use her portals against her."

"That's... not a bad point." Vernal surprisingly gives me credit.

"So, what's the game plan, Vernal?" I ask so we go over it again.

"For now, stick together. We can't let ourselves get too far from each other for too long. Otherwise, Raven will open a portal to reset us and build more space to breathe. The key right now is to overwhelm her and choke her out. Don't give her any breathing room. If we stay together, she can't use her portals. And should one of us get too far apart don't go in alone."

"I hope you didn't forget there is still a time limit." Raven calls with confidence in her voice as she's been sitting there just waiting this whole time. She is leaning on her sword that she stuck into the ground.

"We're going over plans!" Vernal shouts to her.

"Well at least you two are learning." Raven crosses her arms. Her posture still remained confident. But I couldn't tell if it was confidence in us, herself, or both. "Just don't take too long." She adds.

With our strategy set, Vernal and I resume our attack toward Raven with our weapons still drawn.

"Simin, I think I have an idea." Vernal speaks up. "Toss your weapon at her the moment I hit the ground. Not a moment too soon or too late. We'll carry it from there."

"Okay." I trust her.

Vernal then charges toward Raven and essentially pounces toward her. Her weapons crossed almost like she was trying to cross-slash her in the chest. Raven easily telegraphs her attack though.

Raven crouches low and strikes Vernal in the gut with the hilt of her sword and basically throws the girl over her back. Now's my chance. As Vernal is about to hit the ground I throw one of my sai at Raven. I pull the trigger in the process to increase the speed of it and chasing after my throw as well. Raven sees the weapon coming and makes a horizontal slash in the air, creating another portal. This portal was to Vernal and it opened up behind her so that my weapon would come through and hit her in the back before she could get up.

Vernal immediately leaps out of the way to her right t dodge. This essentially leaves Raven in between the two portals and back in the path that weapon was traveling. But Raven's insane reaction speed leads to her turning and slicing open another portal just before the weapon connects with her, the previous pair of portals disappearing in the process. Though I can see the new portal Raven cut, I didn't see another portal open up behind Vernal. Which means one thing: the portal she cut was to me!

She tried to counter by redirecting the shot back at me this time.

I slightly move to the side at the last second as I was running toward her. My weapon, still propelled by the combination of the strong recoil and my throw, whizzes right by me with a faint, high-pitched whistle. Raven assumed I wouldn't see it coming and that it would hit me. Because of that, she eased a bit as she turned around, her guard slightly down. But unfortunately for Raven, because I noticed it at the last second and dodged, the weapon was now hurtling toward her again. Raven just sees the object still coming at her from her peripheral vision. And she quickly picks her guard back up as she notices it at the very last second.

She might barely have enough time to make a full motion to cut another portal or get out of the way. But even with that, there was Vernal who had leapt out of the way and already got back on her feet. She was already moving back in for a follow up attack as I was closing in too. We pretty much had her trapped.

As a last-ditch effort to get out of her situation, Raven raises her weapon vertically in front of her, one hand on the hilt and the other resting on the back of the blade, to block the sai. As Vernal was coming in, my weapon collides with Raven's weapon. A loud, metallic clang rings from the collision. Just before the weapon hit, Raven slightly brought her feet off the ground. Because of this, she allows the blow to knock her back into the portal she had cut when she tried to redirect it to me. She barely escaped our attack as she created distance between us again. Raven then quickly closes the portal before we could follow her through it.

I turn around to face Raven again. I could see that she briefly let go of her weapon and started slowly opening and closing her palm. A clear sign that she felt the impact of the blocked blow a little.

"I believe this is yours, Simin." Raven casually says. She takes the sai I had thrown at her and she beams it back at me.

I catch the weapon with my free hand. It stung a little as the cold metal object hit my palm. Next thing you know, I see one of Vernal's crescent blades whizz by me as she throws one of her crescent blades at a tree adjacent to Raven.

"Keep going! Don't let her breathe!" Vernal yells as she runs by me toward the direction she tossed.

Vernal must have put a lot into that throw. The blade almost effortlessly slices through the trunk of the tree she threw it at as it ricocheted back to her hand. The tree then started to fall down as Vernal quickly ran to the base and swiftly ran up it and disappeared into the canopy.

"What's she planning now?" I thought.

Instead of Raven slicing the tree in half as it came down on her, she instead decides to leap backward out of its path. I assume the reason was to prevent herself from being potentially cornered if she had decided to stay and cut it. Just as the tree landed, I was already running up as well.

I attempt to catch her off guard by somersaulting over the fallen tree. I pull the triggers of both of my modified sai to give me the boost I need to propel me over. I then pull the triggers again to send me hurtling back down toward Raven more quickly. Hopefully there's a blind spot in her mask that will prevent her from seeing this in time to react.

But Raven was still vigilant enough to react. She seemed to have my move predicted. She leapt backward with a one handed back handspring. I miss and stab into the ground in the process. As she bounced off her hand, she uses her sword to make an upward vertical slash toward me, creating a deep gash in the ground while doing so.

In an attempt to counter, I sidestep the attempted counterattack. I then try to go in for another shot while she is about to land back on her feet. I anticipate Raven will try to parry my blows, so I flipped both sai at the last second to the modified gun ends as she brought her sword around to parry it. I fired two shots at Raven.

In her split-second window, as Raven swung her sword, she made a small incision into the small bit of space between the bullets and herself. She did it in anticipation I would do something like this. In the process, she made a small precise portal that redirected both of my bullets. She's very clever with how she uses her semblance in combat, despite it not being a combat-oriented semblance. As my bullets entered through the portal, I could hear them hit their unknown mark. They collided into a branch on a tree above us. It was blocked by leaves and branches.

"There you are." I hear Raven mutter to herself. She slightly turns her attention to the trees while she instantaneously and swiftly brings the hilt of her sword back and nails me in the chest. I am stunned by the blow for a couple seconds.

Vernal, knowing her cover was blown, suddenly drops from above from another tree- approximately the same place where my redirected bullets hit. Raven sees it coming and slices another portal to Vernal directly above herself. This ends up creating another portal above Vernal.

As Vernal falls through the portal, she falls into Raven's trap and essentially enters a constant state of falling. If this were any other time, I would be on the ground laughing at the sight before me. But I have to take my opening and get back into the fight.

Recovering from the blow to my chest, I charge back to Raven. The situation is briefly turned into a 1v1. In the very few seconds I have, I attack Raven with a flurry of attempted strikes and shots. She manages to block every attempt with ease. Everything I threw at her bounced off her sword as if she were deflecting a storm of rapid-fire bullets.

As I try to go for another strike to Raven, she once again hooks her blade to my sai. She practically picks me up in the process and flings me into Vernal, who was still perpetually falling through the portals. I end up crashing into her and we both get the wind knocked out of us. But fortunately for Vernal, she was freed from her falling prison. However, she was a bit disoriented from what just happened.

Vernal and I don't take a second to catch our breaths or regain our bearings. We both just simultaneously glance at each other and jump right back into the action. We were fully aware we were running out of time at this point.

Vernal, who was to my left, runs toward Raven at an angle as we were also nearing another adjacent tree. Vernal then takes a few steps up the trunk of the tree for extra elevation. I decide to follow her lead and emulate her movements. Except instead of running up the tree, I just planted my feet slightly above the base. In sync, Vernal and I both dive toward Raven with a last-ditch effort to land a blow or disarm her. Raven won't be able to use a portal on us due to the fact that we are too close together this time.

Raven makes a horizontal swing toward us as we head toward her, trying to clip both of us at the same time. The blade would have gotten us both but Vernal pushed me down with just enough force. It made just enough space between us that the blade just glided between the small gap between me and her. As Vernal dives toward Raven like a missile, she snatches Rave's sheath off her waist, stripping her of it and removing a means of defense for her like she did earlier.

Meanwhile, while that happened, I had a plan of my own. While Raven's blade glided between Vernal and I, I was holding my sai to my sides at an angle that her sword would catch them as it came between us. The moment that happened, I used it to my advantage.

The second I felt the impact of her sword hitting my sai again, I pull the triggers of my weapons. The recoil adds more momentum and force to how I was hitting the ground. This force deeply lodges the end of Raven's sword into the ground and briefly leaves her defenseless.

I know what this is going to lead to. But, I think I'm content with it at this point. I just want us to beat Raven or else we both are going to have to suffer. Now it's time for Vernal to take her opening.

I decide to make an attempted sweep to knock Raven over, but Raven reads my shot. She leaps up, trying to flip herself over her sword. She maintains her grip on the hilt as she aims to use the momentum of her rotation to dislodge her weapon from the ground as she lands. But just as Raven was about halfway through her rotation, Vernal lands a clean strike on Raven's wrist. In the process Raven's grip on her weapon was knocked loose, causing her to involuntarily release it as the momentum of her movements carried her away from her weapon.

And in the process, we landed a clean hit on Raven and successfully disarmed her. We won!

Raven lands to her feet a few yards from her weapon. She seems almost surprised judging from her body language.

"I was wondering when you two would start working together." Raven gives us praise. A rarity.

She removes her mask as she walks back up to us and retrieves her weapon.

"We realized we didn't have much of a choice." Vernal says.

I didn't respond to Raven's remark. Though that was mainly because I was on one knee as I try to catch my breath.

"Regardless, you two did well. Wasn't perfect, but you achieved your goal. You were more coordinated after you two regrouped and were able to utilize your advantages a bit better and too keep me covered. In the end, Simin gave you the perfect opening you needed."

Once Raven said that, Vernal starts to look a bit reflective. Meanwhile, Raven notices me catching my breath.

"I hope you're not too tired, Simin."

"I-I'm not tired." I immediately stand myself straight up and stop huffing.

"Then I take it I don't need to tell you what comes next?" I take it that was Raven's way of saying to get into position.

"Nope." I say with a sigh. I get down on the ground, stomach first, and begin to prop my body up with my toes and forearms.

A full plank for an hour is hard on its own. But I feel like I can handle that after training with them for well over a year now. But with that log on my back? I'm wondering if Raven is honestly expecting to me to do this, or if this is just punishment for being late.

Surprisingly, this entire time, Vernal has been quiet. I would expect her to be rubbing it in or at least be quietly celebrating. But she is completely silent.

On that note, Raven slowly places the log on my back. I feel the strain on my body begin to skyrocket. My instant reaction is to clasp my hands together as hard as I can, lower my head into the grass, or grit my teeth.

"Don't let it roll off of you, Simin. Or you will have to start over." Raven warns me. "As for you Vernal. You're dismissed."

"Alright..." Vernal simply says with a nod. "And, uh... good luck, Simin..." She gives me only a glance before heading back to camp.

"What's gotten into her?" Knowing her she would think this is a long time coming since the hunting incident. She would want to see this. Not that I'm saying I want her to. I mean, if a robber breaks into your home and just exits out the backdoor without even touching or looking at anything, you'd be confused, wouldn't you? It's not that you want them to rob you. But you'd be wondering why they didn't.

"In the meantime," Raven continues. "I have other things to attend to. So I will leave you here. Oh, and if you try to roll that log off while I'm gone, I will know. So, I would recommend not trying it for your sake." Raven then walks away, disappearing behind the tree line.

"Wait, Raven! Are you seriously going to leave me here?!" I ask, worried that she actually might leave me out here in the open in a vulnerable position.

"Yes." She stated coldly. "I'm sure you don't need me to babysit you and hold your hand while I'm gone."

"But what if a coyote or a bear or-or a grimm-"

"I'll see you in an hour." Raven interrupts. "If anything happens, scream or something."

"Is-... is she seriously just going to leave me here alone?" I think with an astonished face.

With that Raven turns and leaves. She doesn't even look back or say another word.

"She seriously just left me here alone!"

Despite my fear of being alone, it was enough to distract me from the strain on my body. At least for a little bit. But after a minute passes, I feel the log suddenly get a little heavier. Next thing you know, I hear what sounds like a sparrow chirping. In response, I let out a long groan.

The next hour is going to be absolutely hellacious!

. . .

1 Hellacious Half Hour Later:

"My body feels like it's about to break! I can feel my body bucking and wavering. What was Raven thinking putting this on either of us?!"

Throughout this time, I've done my best to keep myself distracted. I tried counting the blades of grass. How many bugs have crawled or landed on my arms. And even trying to tune out and pay attention to the sounds of nature around me. But this just too much...

"How strong does she think I am?" I start voicing my thoughts. "Because I think she is heavily overestimating me here. Can she even do this herself? Who does she think I am? I'm not some kind of iron man! And worst of all, these damn birds won't get off! This thing was already heavy enough without them on top of it!"

"Are you done complaining yet?" I hear a female voice call out. I can tell it was Vernal's voice.

I look up and see that she was carrying a stool with a cushion with her. What? Did she finally decide to come and watch? Well, at least the humiliation should be enough to distract me now.

"What do you want?" My voice is labored, strained.

Without another word, Vernal just kept approaching. As she gets close she waves her arm at the small flock of birds, scaring them off the log as the log lightened up a bit. After that, she bent down and slid the stool under my body, which eased the strain off my body and allowing me to rest and recover. This confuses me greatly.

I look at her with a bewildered expression.

"Shut up. Don't give me that look." Vernal tells me.

"But I didn't say any-"

"I said shut up." She seems flustered all of a sudden. "I'm just returning the favor. That should take some of the load off. Now you can catch your breath and rest a bit… and maybe get you to stop complaining as well."

"Vernal, why are you acting so weird?" I question her actions out of confusion and suspicion.

"Why did you do it?" Vernal answers with a question.

"Do what?"

"What you did back there. You prevented both of us from going through the burden and took it yourself and I can't stop thinking about it. And I blame you! You could have taken the opening. But instead, you willingly created another opening for me. Why?"

"Well, it was either going to be one of us or both of us. So I decided to take one for the team."

"But this situation could have very easily been the other way around. But you chose different. So, why did you do it exactly?"

"Well, even though you took her sheath away, she still had her sword on her to defend with. With how she's been countering everything we threw at her, I wanted to make sure she had nothing to defend herself with and ensure an opening. I mean, yeah, that meant you would be the one getting the hit in. But it's better than both of us failing. It's not that deep, Vernal. I was just doing what I had to do."

Vernal takes a breath through her nostrils. It seems like she's contemplating what she is about to say. Eventually, she would speak up again.

"When I took her sheath away, I fully expected you to take the opening and that I'd be the one stuck with that thing on my back. But I never would have predicted that you would do that for me and give us a bigger opening. I didn't expect that all." Vernal pauses before continuing. "You're a bit... different... But only a little bit."

"Is it a good 'different'?" I ask her.

"It's not a bad one." Vernal says indirectly before returning to her subject. "I guess at the end of the day, what I'm trying to say is... thank you for what you did earlier... and sorry for trying to make it into a competition..."

"Wait... di-... did she really say that?" This is the first time I've ever heard Vernal say 'sorry' or 'thank you'. And she said it to me. Granted I could tell this was probably her first time. But I think she honestly meant it. I kind of wish she would apologize for everything else though... But, I'll take what I can get. I won't push it with her.

"Well... apology accepted, Vernal. And you're welcome..."

"But this doesn't make us friends." She slips back into her usual demeanor.

"Oh, I wasn't even considering that." I jab back.

"Okay, good. At least we're on the same page. I will, however, ease up a bit on you... But only a bit..."

I then see Vernal reach her arm under me.

"Wait, what are you doing-!?"

Vernal suddenly yanks the stool holding me up out from under me. Once the stool is pulled away, all the stress on my body instantly returns. In response, I give her a very annoyed look.

"...Starting now." She says with a smirk. "What? Don't look at me like that. Did you think I was going to leave the stool there the whole time? I was just letting you catch your breath and rest for a bit. You're training for today isn't done, remember?"

Vernal stands up and starts to walk away, stool in hand.

"Anyway, I'll see you when you get back." Vernal gives a slight wave of her hand.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Vernal, please wait!" I plead as she walks away.

Vernal suddenly stops and turns around in response to my pleas.

"Do you… do you mind keeping me company for a bit? Please? Just sit down and talk to me and distract me? Please, Vernal? It'll help make this thing feel a lot easier and faster."

"Hmm. I don't know." Vernal says. She places a hand on her chin and looks off into the sky like she's contemplating her decision. "What's in it for me?"

"Is she really trying to bargain with me?"

"Vernal, please!" I beg. "Not now..."

"Relax, Simin. I'm just messing with you." Vernal sits down to my relief. Never thought I'd consider having Vernal as company to be relief.

"Th-thank… you." I struggle to say.

"Yeah. Don't mention it. So, what now? Do you want to talk about something? Or do you just want me to sit here and stare at you?" Vernal allows me to choose the subject.

"Literally anything that doesn't have to do with my current position." I answer.

"Well alright." Vernal shifts to get comfortable. "Then we'll talk about anything."

. . .

One Half Hour Later: Mari and Raven:

The two individuals have been sparring for the past hour with their breaks extremely limited and shortened. Defensively, Mari has been holding her own as defensive and evasive skills have greatly improved. Even Raven finds trouble to land a hit.

But despite, her skills in that category, the girl has not once taken advantage of any openings to strike and avoids giving counterattacks. She refuses to actually fight back.

For every time Mari doesn't fight back or take an opening, Raven makes her pay dearly. For every opening Mari doesn't take, she ends up giving Raven an opening. And Raven responds by striking Mari with the hilt of her sword. However, due to Mari's aforementioned evasive skills, Raven has only been able to actually connect five or six times. But since Mari does not have her aura unlocked yet, Raven holds back with her strikes. She only hits the girl hard enough for her to feel it and leave a mark, but not cause real damage.

To Raven, out of all sessions she's had with the girl, this one has been one of the most frustrating. In Raven's eyes, if Mari would let go of her restrains, they would have made significant progress; but, the girl continues to hold herself back. Ever since her argument with Raven eleven months ago, Mari's already slow progress seems to have slowed even more. It seems Mari has dug her heels in.

Raven has a task to complete. But as times goes on, it becomes less likely Raven will be successful. But she does not want to give up on her. As much of a pain she considers Mari, she doesn't want it to come to that, should it ever. But she is on a time limit. And their time is running out.

As she makes another swipe at Mari with her sword, the girl swiftly evades the attack and moves toward her opening. But just like every other time, she refuses to take her shot. Because of that, she takes a swift strike to the ribs by Raven's hilt. The girl crumples to the ground, winded. While she is down, Raven brings her sword to Mari's neck, stopping just short of her skin.

"If I were an enemy," Raven says with a cold expression looking down on Mari. "...your head would have been rolling. In fact, if I were an enemy, I could have killed you at least seven times now. All because you refuse to take advantage of the openings you gave yourself."

Mari couldn't say anything. She was still a bit winded from the strike.

"But if it's any consolation, at least your evasiveness and defensive skills have gotten significantly better... as that is apparently the only thing you can really do." There is a bit of sarcasm in her comment.

"Th-thank you?" Mari coughs as she places her on her sore ribs.

"That wasn't a compliment, Mari. It was a criticism." She responds.

"Oh..." She looks down with disappointment.

"Do you have any idea, how many times you could have struck me, but didn't?"

Mari doesn't answer Raven's question.

"Twenty-two. Twelve of those opportunities were in the first half hour. And the seven times I managed to strike you were a result of some of the openings you left me by not following through." There was an annoyed undertone in her voice. "You're still holding back."

Mari stays silent. She looks almost defeated.

"Why do you still hold back?"

"You already know why." Mari mumbles silently.

"I'm tired of that answer, Mari." Raven sounds impatient.

"Well it's the truth. I don't know what you want from me?"

"I want you to care, Mari! I want you to start caring."

Mari has no response.

"Do you just not care, Mari? Is that it? Is that why you hold back? Is that why you refuse to try? Because you just don't give a damn? Pacifist or not or whatever it is you want to call yourself, anyone who actually gives a damn about their life and wellbeing would at least try in your position. So I will ask you again, why do you refuse to fight back? Why do you hold yourself back? What is it about this that bothers you to the point that you continue to do this to yourself?"

The girl stays quiet, opting not to answer Raven's question. Eventually, she responds.

"Why did it have to be me...?" Mari speaks with a deflated voice.

"What?" Raven asks Mari to repeat herself.

"Why did it have to be me?" The girl speaks up.

"I could be asking the same thing." Raven comments. "But, that's not my question to answer. It's nobody's to answer."

"But why?!" Mari sounds almost desperate. It's as if she is pleading for an answer.

"The 'why' doesn't matter. It won't change anything. You just have to accept it and-"

"But I don't want this." Mari reiterates.

"You say that as if there is a choice."

"And that's the problem, Raven!" Mari gets frustrated toward Raven's dismissive tone. "There was never a choice. I never had a choice. The biggest thing to affect my entire life going forward and I had absolutely no say in it. Am I the only one that sees a problem in that? Where was my choice?"

Raven takes a breath. There is a tiredness by her energy. As if she knew what she was in for and was not looking forward to it.

"There are a lot of things in life we don't get to choose, Mari." Raven speaks with a 'matter-of-fact' tone. "Some things are going to get thrown your way that you won't expect. And sometimes those things are going to change your life forever. There's not much we can do about that. That's just how it is. And in times like that you have two choices: change, or-"

"Is it really much of a choice if the alternative is death?" Mari challenges Raven's point.

"It's do or die, Mari."

"What you want me to do is kill and hurt, Raven! Putting aside the fact this was forced on me, I'm not a killer, let alone a fighter. I'm just not the kind of person for this. I want to be able to control my life again. That's all I want. I want to be able to forge my own path."

"And in the process, you leave yourself wide open and vulnerable. Unfortunately for you, Mari, because of your situation, you no longer have that luxury anymore. With that into consideration, despite how you feel on the possibility of fighting and hurting other people, there are those who have no qualms in doing the same thing to you. And they will do it with no hesitation or remorse, simply for something as petty as a power grab. You can live your own life, sure, but it won't be a long or productive one. I can promise you that.

"What you and I have in common, Mari, is that we didn't choose the lives we live, but rather it was the other way around. If I never joined the tribe when I was younger, I would have died in the woods with no chance of survival. I had to make that decision to make this my life because any other way would have likely led to my death. Your situation isn't that far off when you think about it. You are put in a situation you didn't ask for nor want to be in. And I get that. But the point I'm trying to get across is there are things that we have no control over that dictate our lives and we need to step up and face them and do what we need to do to move with them, otherwise we won't last. If you don't step up, Mari, you will most certainly die. And you're right. There isn't much of a choice if the alternative is death. But is death a preferable outcome to you as opposed to doing what you need to do to live?"

The girl remains quiet as if she were searching for an answer. In the meantime, Raven continues her attempt to level with her.

"Mari, the world has a habit of doing its own thing and we're the ones that tend to get affected by it. And there are things we need to do to respond to it accordingly. But, I'm not one to run and give up when things get tough or when life throws me a curve ball. When I am given a difficult task or am being faced by an obstacle or have a responsibility that I need to uphold, I put my personal feelings aside, I plant my feet into the ground, and I face it and take it head on. I do whatever it is I need to do, no matter what it is. And if you don't believe me, the fact we are even having this conversation is proof that my words are true, because you wouldn't be here if I was lying. The whole reason why you're here is because I have a responsibility to uphold, too. And that is to prepare you for yours. You may be a pain in my ass, but I still deal with you. And I won't give up on you either.

"And regardless of whether you believe you are the person for this or not, that's irrelevant. You're going to have to become the person for this, whether you like it or not. In life you accept the hand you are dealt and play it to the best of your ability. And sometimes, these things are subject to change and you need to be ready, willing, and able to change with it if you want to last. I've seen literal children face and deal with this harsh reality and still end up standing in the end. Why? Because they adapted. They changed. They did what they needed to do. You're only hurting yourself by doing this, Mari. I'm trying to mentally prepare you for potential enemies and challenges you'll have to face that will undoubtedly be thrown your way. But the only thing in your way is you. You are your own worst enemy, Mari. And it's going to get you killed someday because instead of opting to just accept things and change with them, you push back and stay pathetic and weak. And you will die pathetic and weak."

"Then I guess I'll die!" Mari snaps without thinking. There was defeat in her voice.

Raven pauses for a second as she is briefly rendered dumbfounded by the girl's rash response.

"Excuse me...?" Raven says.

The girl doesn't respond. There was almost a look of regret on her face.

"Look me in the eyes and say that again." Raven demands.

Mari didn't speak a word after that as she stayed sat on the ground. Raven furrows her brow in response. She was astonished by the words the girl spoke to her.

"Mari, have you given up?" Raven asks the girl.

She doesn't answer. She looks to the ground as if searching for a response.

"I don't know what it is about the ground that interests you, but I asked you a question, Mari. My eyes are up here. I said, have you given up?"

Mari stays silent. She looks up to Raven with a melancholic expression. Her eyes had a dying, dimming light behind them. Though she was quiet, Raven already found her answer.

"On second thought, don't. It's written all over your face. You really don't care"

"I don't want to anymore..." The girl admits as she drops her head. She fiddles with a blade of grass in her hand before picking her head back up. "There's really no way out of this, is there?" She utters.

"No. There isn't." Raven answers her.

"Then what's the point in living a life I have no control over? I have no say or determination of my own path anymore. So what does it matter? What difference does it make? I'm stuck with these for the rest of my life now. And I can't choose my own future anymore because of it. This life I'm living, I refuse to call it mine." Mari almost mutters the last part as she looks to the blade of grass in her hands.

"It matters plenty, Mari. Whether you live or die, it does matter and it does make a difference. And it is because of your responsibility that it matters and makes a difference. You need to be strong enough to bear the weight of your responsibilities and willing to do things and shoulder the burdens that most people are not. I am not letting you give up and I am not giving up on you. But in order to do that, I need your cooperation. It's time for you to step up and accept it because it isn't going to go away no matter how fast and how far you run."

"But I just want to live my life." The girl repeats as she digs her heels in. "I just want to be free...!"

"Well I'm sorry, Mari, but we all want something." Raven dismisses coldly with slight annoyance. "But not everyone can get what they want." She said bluntly.

"Then my life is already over..." Mari responds as if what Raven said was a confirmation to her previous question.

"As you knew it, yes."

Mari doesn't respond to Raven this time. Instead, her entire body physically relaxes, almost limp. Her shoulders and head drop. Her posture slightly dips. Even her hands and wrists go limp. The will just visibly drains from Mari's body. It was like watching one's soul be crushed and their spirit die. In Mari's mind, if her life is already over, then what is she even doing anymore at this point?

Seeing this annoyed Raven and her demeanor would change. She could tell Mari was disheartened after hearing that. And that lit a fire under the woman.

"Mari, I'm going to be blunt with you here. This is your life now and there is no going back for you. So you better start caring if you want to keep living. Whether you like it or not, this is your life now. You have a target on your back, do you not get that? If you value your life even a little bit, then surely you would get your ass up and fight for it. Yes, you might have to hurt or even kill others. But weigh your options here. Would you rather die and in turn empower your killer, or would you rather fight and keep living?"

Due to Mari's disheartenment, Raven's words went in one ear and out the other. Because of that, she shifts gears with something that she knew would get Mari's attention.

"And if your own self-preservation isn't enough to convince you to start caring, then what about the people those coming after you might hurt?"

Mari's ears perk once hearing that. Mari could read what Raven was about to do, but restrained herself. And Raven, noticing, takes that as her cue to push the envelope.

"What about the people you can protect? If you can honestly continue your unwillingness to cooperate with that in mind, then I don't know what to tell you. The fact you won't buck up because the thought of getting someone else's blood on your hands makes you a little squeamish tells me you're full of it! Because of your responsibility, continuing to act like this- like a moping, petulant child- tells me that you are not just complacent with the prospect of you dying, but you are content with the likelihood of other people dying if it means you don't have to get your hands dirty. You would sooner let people die in your stead than actually do something to prevent it."

Mari's body begins to tense up when Raven spoke those words to her. Turmoil slowly creeps onto her face as her breathing becomes stressed.

"Mari, I'm not a saint. I don't even consider myself a good human being considering the things I've done, regardless of my necessity to do them. But at least I know what I am! And I've figured out what you are, too. You're a hypocrite and a coward."

"SHUT UP, RAVEN!" Mari outbursts, her fists balled as she stood up to face her.

With Raven's attempt, she ended up striking a nerve. And it was as if the stress and pressure the girl endured the past couple of years was being unleashed. This was the first time Raven had ever heard Mari shout like that. This was also the first time Mari had ever shouted like that at all. It was as if Raven cracked a dam open. It took the bandit leader by surprise for a second. Raven's words were like a hot poker in the rear. And they angered Mari.

"Shut up! Stop trying to act like you understand me!" The girl continues. "Stop trying to act like you know me! You don't know a thing about me. And I can look you in the eyes and say that with confidence. And if there is anything I understand, it's that you don't understand! I've lived with you for three years. And I've had to put up with you looking down on me and talking down to me, putting me down and dismissing me like I'm lesser for just wanting my life back. Acting like it's pathetic and weak for daring to believe that maybe we don't have to slit the throat of the person next to us to live. Calling me a coward and a hypocrite for not wanting or being willing to be a glorified child soldier in some forever war I never wanted any part in to begin with! I'm tired of it, Raven. I'm done! I had a life that I could call mine, Raven. I was happy where I was! And I was forced to leave it and everything and everyone I loved against my will. I'm stressed, Raven. I'm stressed. I'm scared. And I've been trying so, so hard not to lose it and break. And you want to call me a hypocrite and a coward? I never signed up for this! I didn't volunteer for this. I was drafted into this. I just want to go home! I just want to live my life again. And since then, I have been miserable and stressed for almost every waking moment of the past three years. And I'm done letting you add to that!

"Raven, we come from different backgrounds. And I'm sure you've gone through a lot that has led to you becoming who you are and thinking how you do. But despite acting like someone with much more experience in the world than me, how is it that you only see things through one perspective? Why do you dismiss everyone else that isn't a cutthroat as either completely wrong or flat-out naive or lesser or simply inferior and never bother to try to understand them?

"You say I live my life sheltered, but you live and talk and act like someone who's spent their whole life being told what to believe and to live only one way. At least my beliefs are my own! At least I actually want to live my way rather than how someone thinks I should live, especially when it's in a way that involves hurting other people. And at least I try to broaden my perspectives and try to understand more than one way to live, even if I don't agree or align with it. And if you don't believe me, I've lived in the middle sections of Mistral. And though my upbringing was a bit 'cushy', I've also been living with you for almost three years under your rules as well. It might not be a very diverse variety, but it's a very stark contrast. I've seen and experienced two very different worlds and could take something away from each. Yes, in other environments such as out here, you're going to have to do... difficult things to survive; something you take to a very extreme level and try to enforce on Simin. I've also learned that there are places that are more fortunate where people don't have to go to such lengths- where you don't have to be cutthroat to live and thrive. And taking both of those into account, maybe those that have it better, such as those in kingdoms, should do their best to help, whether it's those in the slums, or even people like you, so they don't have to do those things.

"Raven, I highly disagree with your view and think it's horrible mainly because of how you express it- because how far you take it. It's nothing more than fuel to hurt innocent people. Not to mention it just divides people because you paint the world as this stupid, tribalistic battle royale. But though I may not agree with you, I can at least say I understand why you do these things and think how you do.

"Yeah, this world has horrible people in it. Yeah, terrible things happen in this world. But that doesn't excuse committing literal mass murders and crippling lives because, 'that's just how things are.'! That doesn't give you the excuse to add on to it. That doesn't give you the right to make things worse! It's far from perfect. So why not dedicate your strength to trying to make it better? You have the choice. With someone of your strength, you could be contributing to the world and actually protect people. But your mentality tells you that it's the opposite. Even if you tell me it's my job to protect people, you will turn around and harm those same people. And why? Because you think it's your right or your necessity? Because it's survival of the fittest? Shut up! You willingly live your life with one perspective, because it's the only one you know. And it's the only one you choose to know. If this life chose you, you choose to continue to accept it rather than change the life that has chosen you. The same life you try to force onto Simin, too! You give up and accept things how they are rather than reject that horrible reality you live in and try to push and struggle to make things better. You chose to submit. And that, on its own, is your weakness.

"Because you've had it rough out here, you respond accordingly. But you don't even bother to think why other people respond differently. Because you refuse to see things from other perspectives or broaden your horizons because you've spent so long around people who think and act like you. And because of that, you think everyone else is just stupid or inferior because they don't live like you do. Because they don't think like you. Because they don't respond like you do. You just blindly live by someone else's view and never bother to see things any other way! Are you even real, Raven? Or are you just playing a role that was left to you, like a glorified understudy? Because all you know how to do is repeat what you've been told and live like an elitist pet parrot who's lost their owner."

Mari was breathing slightly heavily by the time she concluded her incensed rant. In that moment, Mari had unleashed three years of pent-up frustration. Frustration surrounding her situation. Frustration toward Raven's elitism in conjunction to her cutthroat, survivalist mentality. Frustration toward many, many things. She had waited a very long time to say it- all of it. But she didn't have the courage to until now.

As Mari had unleashed her verbal flurry, Raven silently stood there patiently. It was as if she spent her time waiting for Mari to finish.

"Are you done?" Raven says in a calm and composed voice.

"I said what I needed to say." Mari responds, her posture upright as she felt a slight boost in confidence speaking her entire mind.

"Good."

No sooner than Raven says that, she proceeds to swipe the girl across the face with an open palm slap, also knocking off the white lily that sat tucked in the girl's hair. It sounded almost like a gunshot. The sheer volume even startled a small flock of birds that were perched upon a nearby tree. It is a miracle Mari wasn't knocked unconscious as her frame hit the ground with a thud.

"Look at me." Raven commands with a chilling authority. She sounds calm, but she is practically seething internally.

The girl remains on the ground. She is still reeling from the blow Raven dealt her as her left ear rang. Due to the ringing making it hard to hear Raven, Mari instead reaches for the lily. Raven gets irked by this and steps on the flower.

"Look... at me!" Raven repeats with deliberation. There is a growling undertone in her voice.

This time, Mari hears Raven. She slowly picks her head up to face the visibly irritated woman, her hand held up to the stinging area. Half the girl's face is covered in a deep shade of red in contrast to her usual pale tone. She cannot even open her other eye due to the impact of the slap.

"I've said it before, and I will say it again. You're much more powerful than me. Yet, here you are being knocked on your ass by a slap of all things. I'd call you a joke, Mari, but that would be redundant. You don't need me to tell you that. And if anything, you're not even a joke. You're just depressing. Get up." She orders.

Mari hesitates.

"I said get up!" The woman repeats herself again.

The girl was instilled with fear. Her burst of courage and confidence was snuffed out the moment Raven struck her. Mari slowly picks herself up to her feet to face the woman.

"If you ever disrespect me or demean my position like that again, I will break your fucking arm. Then you can cry and scream and shout and throw all the tantrums you want. Do you understand me?"

Mari hesitates to answer, still recovering from the shock of the blow.

"Goddamnit..." Raven mutters before speaking back up. "Do you understand me?!"

"Y-yes! Yes..." Mari says with an almost whimper. She retreats slightly when Raven raised her voice.

"Let me make one thing clear to you, Mari." Raven continues. "You can criticize how I live and how I think all you want. But don't you dare question who I am." Raven threatens before continuing. "I call you a hypocrite because you are. And your little tantrum showed that. I call you a hypocrite because you say that I should be using my strength to help people, yet here you are actively expressing refusal to do those exact things you expect of me, despite the fact you are just as capable. Whether it's your 'pacifism' or your desire for freedom and autonomy, it doesn't change the fact that you are expecting of me things that you, yourself, won't do. And not because you are incapable, but simply because you don't want to do it.

"I call you a hypocrite because your refusal to own your responsibility puts just as many people in harm's way- arguably more- than anyone who would actively do it directly. You openly allow it to happen when you could be preventing it and you don't even care. You preach about how we should be protecting and helping and looking out for others, yet you don't care if your own little 'freedom' is stained in the blood of those you are responsible for. The price for your freedom, Mari, is the deaths of other people. They are the ones that pay for your inaction. And, yes, I know I am one to talk because I am one of those people that actively harm others, regardless of my reason. But tell me, how many people have died at my hands, be it directly or indirectly, that you could have saved had you just stepped up? And it's not like you can't either. You more than likely could. But I know you won't. And that is why I call you a coward as well. Because your stubbornness to live your life how you want and your fear of hurting other people only gets more people hurt and killed. When I call you a hypocrite and a coward, I mean it. And on top of that, you are selfish."

"Th-that's not true..." Mari denies. She has a look of guilt on her face. Raven's words were having an effect on her.

"Oh, it isn't? How about we put that to the test, then?" Raven then pulls her sword out. She hands it to Mari.

The girl takes it in her hand with a curious and worried expression. Mari wondered what Raven was planning. Suddenly, Raven grabs the tip of the sword and holds the end against her chest before disengaging her aura. Mari looks at Raven with confusion.

"Mari, some of my scouts have been tracking a nearby caravan. By the last report they gave me this morning, they are going to be crossing near us in the next hour or so. And they are going to get ambushed. After this conversation, I think I'm going to personally lead the attack on said caravan. And I don't feel like taking prisoners. I'm going to kill them, Mari. All of them. But you can prevent that. You can stop it right now and save their lives by pushing the end of the sword into my heart."

"Wh-what..?" Mari stammers. She looks shocked by what Raven was suggesting to her. She was in disbelief.

"I know you heard me. Kill me, or people are going to die today. And it will be your fault for not doing anything about it."

In reality, it was all a bluff on Raven's part. There was no caravan, no scouts, and no impending attack. Raven lied to Mari to simply see what she would do and catch her in the act. She wants to test her. In Raven's mind, either Mari goes through with it and owns her responsibility, or she doesn't and gets exposed to herself and proves Raven's point. And even then, in the extremely unlikely event that Mari would, Raven's superhuman reaction time would allow her to avoid any serious damage before the blade can pierce deep enough into her skin.

"I... Raven, I..." Mari takes a couple steps back, the tip of the blade leaving contact with Raven's chest.

In response, the crimson-eyed woman immediately closes the distance by taking two steps forward. The sword is once again pressed against the woman's chest. Raven looks into Mari's eyes, letting her know she wasn't going to let her out of this one so easily.

"Raven, p-please don't make me..." Mari pleads. She sounded like she was desperately trying to hold back tears. Her grip tightens on the sword. But she did not move it a single centimeter.

"Please stop...!" The girl continues to beg.

Raven says nothing. She practically stares a hole into Mari.

Mari could feel her heart rate increase. Her blood was rushing through her veins at the thought of what Raven wanted of her. Her breathing was a bit heavy. Her limbs shook and shuddered. The girl felt even a little dizzy. It was an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and fear and realization. She didn't know what she was scared of more. The thought of what she might have to do? Or perhaps of what will happen if she doesn't? Mari couldn't bear to even harm another human. But to take another human's life? She was being told to go above and beyond something she was against, regardless of what it was for.

And in the end, she couldn't bring herself to follow through.

Mari's hand waivers. A steadily flowing river of tears falls down her cheeks. The girl couldn't even look Raven in the eyes as her head droops. Her face twists and contorts with emotion. And she drops her shaky arm and weakly releases the sword. It falls to the ground at Raven's feet.

"And there you have it." Raven says. There was a hint of victory and satisfaction of having her point made. But there was also a solemn declarative tone as well. Her gaze was stone-faced and almost somber.

"Stop! Just please stop." Mari pleads in response. The child's voice begins to grow frantic. "I can't- I can't- I can't take this anymore! I don't want to do this anymore. I- I don't wanna be the Spring Maiden anymore!"

Mari begins to unravel in front of Raven. In response, the woman leans in. She speaks with authority in a lowered voice.

"You don't have a choice." Raven's words are like twisting a dagger into her heart.

In response, Mari breaks down. But Raven does not let up. After the things Mari said, Raven doesn't want to just twist the knife, she wants to drive it all the way through for her disrespect.

"Just like you, Mari, I have a responsibility too. And you know what I do? I fucking own it! But you, Mari, you're one of those people that will spend their lives constantly bitching and moaning about how we need more good people in the world, about how we need more people to take responsibility for others. And the moment you get a taste of that responsibility yourself, you realize its bitter flavor and you spit it out and reject it. You never once do anything to be- let alone think of being- one of those so-called 'good people' you say we so desperately need. And I know you're thinking that's not true either and that you try your best. Stop kidding yourself. You just proved that you would sooner let someone else die if it means upholding your own values- no, if it means protecting your ego like the cowardly, selfish hypocrite you've shown yourself to be. And all for what? So you can have the freedom to not do anything about it? And then you'll cry about how something should have been done to stop it, conveniently and completely ignoring that you were the one capable of stopping it yourself. I'm not going to pretend like I'm a good person. But the fact you seem to think you're in any position to be in that conversation is laughable. And the worst part is, you aren't even aware of that because you push all the blame on people like me for the things that you are entirely in your power to prevent and are responsible for preventing. But you know what you can do instead?"

Raven then gets invasively close to Mari.

"You can go cry me a river... and drown in it. And then you can come back so we can have the same song and dance until it gets through your thick skull."

With that said, Raven gets up to her feet and sheaths her sword. The woman looks down on the girl with sternness. But after her initial feelings toward Mari's comments subsided, there was also a hint of pity to enter her gaze.

"Of all the people to get the maiden powers..." Raven thinks to herself. "Why did it have to be this one...? Of all the people..."

Mari sat there on the ground, her hand cupped over her face as she began to silently sob. The girl reaches for the lily Raven had now taken her foot off of. It was a bit flattened and crumpled. Her tears fell and wet the petals that her foggy eyes were locked onto. Seeing the pitiful sight Raven created makes the woman feel a slight twinge of guilt. Raven's hand instinctively moves slightly. As if she were about to reach out. Her hand hovers just over the crown of the girl's head before she pulls herself back quickly.

"No..." She thought. "I've been too easy on her for most of the time I've had her. I should've been harder on her from the start. Then maybe we wouldn't be having this problem. Either way, I have to turn it up on her."

Raven breathes deeply through her nose. "I'm running out of time."

"When you're done," Raven speaks solemnly. "...pick yourself up and head back to camp." Raven then walks away from Mari, leaving her beside herself.

. . .

*Simin's perspective*

I think Vernal is starting to warm up to me a little bit... I think...

She left a while ago. But when she was keeping me company, we just had some small talk. It was a bit hard to find a topic to stick to. We didn't really say anything much anyway. The only real takeaways are that I remember she said she was thinking of cutting her hair short and getting a tattoo on her arm. But that was about it. It's hard to remember. This stupid log makes it too hard to focus on anything outside of holding it up.

I really hope Raven gets back soon. This is literal torture! My body feels like it's about to collapse. My arms are all wobbly. And everything has been burning so bad, that I think I'm starting to go numb to it.

...(Sigh).

I hope she didn't forget about me...-

My worries are suddenly interrupted by something entering my peripheral vision. I turn my head slightly and see the scarlet red of Raven's clothes stand out.

"I'm saved!" I mentally celebrated. Though the log still rests on my back, I am hit with instant mental relief.

I wish she'd walk a bit faster though. I feel like I could give out at any second. Can she go any slower?

Raven takes her time to reach me and rolls the heavy load off of my back with her boot. The log hits the ground with a heavy thud, giving me instant relief. The strain on my body completely releases its grip. I don't hesitate to let myself collapse on the cold, soft ground as I could no longer hold myself up.

"Get up, Simin. We're heading back to camp." Raven orders. She seems to be in a mildly bad mood judging from her tone.

"Raven?" I weakly call out.

"What?" She says with a sigh as she knew I was about to request something.

"I can't move." I tell her.

"And what do you expect me to do about it?"

"Can you please carry me?" I boldly request.

"...What?" There was a bit of surprise in her voice.

"I can't move. Please carry me?" I repeat.

"Stop playing around, Simin." She says with an annoyed tone. She nudges me with her foot to try and get me to move. I just continue to lay down and stare back up at her crimson red eyes with a pleading expression. "Look, you can either stay here on the ground or you can get up and follow me back to camp. Your choice."

Raven turns on her heel and starts, walking a few yards, she realized I was still on the ground and hadn't moved. She then reluctantly walked back to where I was laying. When she went about twenty yards, Raven stops in her tracks and looks back at me. I haven't moved a muscle.

I can see Raven take a breath and slightly throw her head back in annoyance. She then storms back over to me.

"You're serious, aren't you?" She says.

"Please, Raven? I'm too tired to-"

"Yes, I get it. You can't move. You don't have to keep telling me."

Raven then briefly glances to the side as if she were unsure of what she was doing. Another sigh escapes her lungs.

"Alright, fine." She acquiesces.

Raven bends down and picks up my limp body. She hoists my arms over her shoulders and hooks her arms around my legs as I rested on her back, my chin sitting on her shoulder so my head wouldn't droop. It was almost like she was wearing me like a backpack.

A small, refreshing breeze suddenly blew by. Some of her hair blew into my face, briefly blocking my vision. As the breeze stopped, her hair finally rested and I could see again. I slightly shifted my head over to the side and I could barely see Raven's face. She had a somewhat slightly embarrassed expression, but you could tell she was trying to hide it, though not very well. I guess I could understand her embarrassment though considering who she is.

I wonder if she ever did this with her daughter before she left her. What was her name again? I think she said it was Yang. It's probably best that I don't ask though. It might be pushing it a bit and I'm afraid she might drop me on purpose if I do.

"Thank you." I weakly say.

"You tell no one." Raven says sternly as if this were a humiliation.

"Okay." I answer. "I wasn't planning to though..."

"Good…" She coldly responds. "...also... you're welcome, Simin."

As my gaze was still fixated on Raven's avoidant and slightly embarrassed expression, her expression was predominantly filled with a sense of intensity. As if she just finished something unpleasant. I also couldn't help but notice something with her eyes. They looked very tired and a bit weary. I could also see some signs of stress. There was also a look of slight pity and guilt in her eyes. I wonder if she's okay.

"Hey, Raven?" I speak up.

"What is it?" She asks as she gives me a brief glance with her eyes, notifying that I have her attention.

"Is everything okay?" I ask her.

"Yes. Everything is fine." She dismisses my curiosity. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you just look a bit stressed is all and I was wondering if there was something bothering you." I explain.

"No." She states bluntly. "Nothing is bothering me. And even if something was, it shouldn't be any of your concern. Okay? I'm just… tired..."

The way she said that sounded almost like she was trying to be reassuring. But at the same time, I could tell she was also telling me to mind my own business.

I decide not to press it.

"Okay... If you say so..." I drop the subject.

For the rest of our short journey back to camp, we both stay silent as the tired Raven carries me on her back.

**CHAPTER END**

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Hey everyone!

Heads up. These author's notes will be long. So I thank you in advance for anyone patient enough to read through them. I try to keep these short, but there is a lot to unpack with this chapter.

I really hope I did a good job with this chapter. I've been incredibly nervous about it and have been getting cold feet the past week or so, especially with the Raven/Mari dialogue, which I gave a major overhaul to and I lost count of how many times I proofread and edited it to get it as good as I thought possible. So yeah. I hope it payed off. Just want to get this out of the way real quick. If you want a good idea of what the conflict between Raven and Mari is like and what the tone of the final act will be between these two, I suggest listening to the song, My Way by Limp Bizkit because I feel like the lyrics paint a decent picture. Also if you want a good idea of Mari's mental and emotional state right now, listen to A Little Bit Off by Five Finger Death Punch. Anyway:

Let's start by addressing the elephant in the room. So yeah, Mari is the Spring Maiden! This has been a reveal I've been very nervous about. I've been trying to be as discreet and subtle as possibly regarding Mari's identity since she debuted. And I've given multiple hints throughout this volume, but I was worried if people figured it out yet or not. So I hope I did a good job at hiding it.

For anyone who's curious, these are basically every hint that Mari was the Spring maiden:

1. (Ch9. Ultimatum) In the author's notes, I stated that her last name is Varep, meaning her full name is Mari Varep. The name, Mari Varep, is an anagram of the Spanish word "Primavera". And for those who don't know, "Primavera" means "Spring".

2. (Ch10. Human Connection) Mari leaves Simin a note saying that she heated up his food until it was really hot. Simin wondered how Mari was able to heat it up to that level. When he questions her about it, she completely sidesteps it rather than answer what should be a simple question. This is meant to mean nothing at first, but it was supposed to very subtly imply that Mari used her maiden powers to heat up her hands to keep his plate and food warm, but she didn't have an answer ready when asked how.

2. (Ch11. Second Chances and First Impression) In this chapter, Simin asks Mari a question as to where she's from how she ended up with Raven and even points out how different she is from the bandits. Mari immediately gets nervous as if she were backed into a corner. This was probably the biggest hint and I was worried people would immediately figure it out here.

3. (Act 4 set up) I briefly note Raven's interest and fixation on Mari when Simin is walking up to Raven. I also bring up how Raven mostly trains Mari while Simin and Vernal are usually stuck together, which gives a bit more focus as to who Mari might be to Raven.

4. (Act 4 set up) Also, Vernal brings up that Mari is the most powerful person in the camp and that Sophia should be thankful that she's so nice.

5. (Ch.13 The Shepherd and His Flock) Raven says that Mari is very stubborn and won't change when the time calls for it. When Simin tries to press her on what she means, Raven dismisses the question. Later in that chapter, when Raven states that everything she does is for the tribe and names Vernal, Mari, and Simin, she singles out Mari and says how she's a different story.

6. (Ant. Ch.8 Sophia's Remorse) When Raven tries to reject taking in Sophia, she brings up how she's already taken in a kid from Mistral that she could barely tolerate. Raven was referring to the Spring Maiden, a.k.a. Mari.

7. (Ant. Ch.9 Friction) When Mari kills the beowolf, its head separates from its body and a wet, leaf with a silver-coated layer along its edge. It's meant to imply that Mari used her powers to freeze the leaf and used it to decapitate the beowolf.

8. (Ant. Ch. 9 Friction) Later on in that chapter, Raven also directly states that Mari is much more powerful than her.

Moving on, with this chapter, we finally return to the main plot of this volume. And in addition, we officially kick off the final act. With that being said, I'd like to take some time to talk about my worries for this chapter and the final arc:

By this point in this volume, the two main conflicts are between Mari and Raven, and Simin and Raven. And ever since Mari and Raven made their debuts in this arc, I've been setting up the growing conflict between Mari and Raven along with Raven and Simin. However, for most of the time, I have been sort of multitasking with this. While I've been setting up and building the conflict between Raven and Simin, I've also been simultaneously indirectly approaching Mari and Raven as well with Simin acting as a conduit for a bit and getting caught in the middle as he tries to adjust. But with this chapter, this is where I officially kick off Raven and Mari's conflict becoming direct. However, I have a huge worry with this. I cannot third-wheel Simin! But at the same time, I haven't given Mari's character a whole lot of attention until recently. And with this reveal that she is the Spring Maiden, I'm sort of at an impasse. On one hand, because of how important Mari is to both Raven's and Simin's personal stories combined with the bombshell that she is the Spring Maiden and the fact I've been neglecting her character's development until recently, I need to give her a lot of attention and make up for that. But on the other hand, Simin is the main character at the end of the day and I cannot neglect him in the process.

So because of that, Mari and Simin are basically going to be taking turns tagging in and out of the spotlight in Act 5. Mari is going to be getting a lot of focus in this act, but I will be doing some stuff with Simin as well. For example, this chapter we have Simin earning Vernal's respect and starting to apply a bit of the lesson from the hunting incident while the stuff with Mari and Raven takes the bigger spotlight. So in short, one of my main conflicts has heavily relied on an indirect approach with Simin being the conduit between the two. And with it now being more direct, Simin is no longer going to be a conduit for their conflict. But I can't push him aside, especially since he is still the main character and I don't want to third wheel him in his own backstory. I have four chapters left of this volume to be able to execute the two main conflicts of the volume. What I feel I need is to balance it. Simin will get more involved as the final act progresses, but I have to be careful not to push him aside too much.

Another thing. Because of how indirect the conflict between Mari and Raven has been, I'm not sure how well I transitioned to it becoming direct and how naturally I built up to it. I mean, in this whole volume, Raven and Mari almost never talk to each other directly for more than five seconds until just recently. And their first actual conversation with each other is in Anthology chapter 9: Friction, which was meant to set this up. Then after an 11-month time-skip between that chapter and this one, they start getting into it again and they're more heated. So taking into account the fact the two literally have one prolonged "on-screen" conversation, plus an 11-month time-skip between then and now, is the writing here justified? Or could I have built up to it better? As stated earlier, most of their conflict has been mostly indirect and through Simin. And it's now become direct. My worry is did I build up to this well?

Anyway, I think those are all my worries. Now I want to talk about Raven and Mari's characters and the now direct conflict between them.

In this chapter, Mari and Raven removed the gloves and just absolutely tore into each other verbally. I mean they dressed down each other and each went straight for the throat. They may as well have been trying to kill each other with their words. So what I want to do is briefly cover both characters individually and talk about their impending collision, which they are on course for, and the factors involved.

To summarize, Mari stood up to Raven and then proceeded to straight up call Raven out on her crap. And then Raven got pissed and just went in on Mari and turned up the heat. I mean, it was just a verbal brawl where both parties were just throwing haymakers at each other. And here is where I start breaking down both characters because a lot of what they say, though biased from each side, does carry a layer of truth.

So to start, breaking down what we knew of Mari's character prior to this chapter, she is a genuine, sweet, kind, caring, supportive, and empathetic person. We also know that Mari is a pacifist, who hates the idea of hurting people as she would rather be kind toward others than do anything to intentionally hurt.

In addition to this, we have her ideological values. Aside from her pacifism, one of the things Mari values most is one's freedom and autonomy. By this, Mari believes people should live their lives happily, freely, and responsibly. She values freedom in the sense of living your life however you want and to choose and forge your own path (so long as you're not hurting or infringing on anyone). And she despises anything that assertively infringes on that. In her case, the Maiden powers are something she considers an infringement on her freedom and autonomy and she hates them for it. And to an extent, she isn't really wrong for hating them considering what they've done to her life.

Another thing in this chapter, we expose and explore Mari's flaws a bit. Regarding Mari's values of freedom and one's own autonomy, when she received the maiden powers and had this responsibility thrust on her along with the potential unfortunate reality her powers bring, this led to Mari digging her heels in regarding her values and beliefs. And in turn, she completely rejected and pushed back against her responsibility and despised her powers as she developed a more hardline view regarding her pacifism and value of freedom as they are a major part of her character. This is why she uses the powers in very, very small amounts or in trivial ways like heating up Simin's food or freezing a leaf to quickly kill a beowolf and carry on like nothing happened. And it's through this that we see Mari's stubbornness show. Because even though she has her responsibility now, due to her values of freedom and her pacifism, she is adamant on not using her powers and only applies them as little as possible and digging her heels in with her views and values. And Raven's dismissiveness and bluntness toward her and her feelings definitely didn't help matters either.

In addition to this, Raven has a point when she considers Mari a hypocrite and coward and selfish. Now don't get me wrong. Raven was definitely gaslighting the hell out of Mari near the end of this chapter. And what we hear and what is said in this chapter regarding the girl is Raven's view of her. And Mari's feelings I would say are justified. But Raven's narrative isn't exactly false. Biased? Yes. False? I'd say no. When Mari got the powers, the reality she was suddenly living in combined with Raven's brutal approach toward her made Mari become more hardline. She went from a pacifist who doesn't want to hurt people to becoming a complacent pacifist, who will let you die if it means not getting someone's blood on her hands, even if she is the one able to stop it (i.e. Mari doing the bare minimum to stop the fight between an injured Simin and the bandit in chapter 11 and then calling Vernal over, who wasn't even going to hesitate to try and end it immediately by force).

So her hypocrisy is mostly shown when she claims to not want to hurt people and wants to take care of people, but has also shown that (though unintentionally) she creates a situation through her inaction and stubbornness where people get hurt by refusing to act. And she refuses to act because, in addition to how she doesn't like fighting, choosing to act in her mind would also mean accepting a responsibility she never consented to and would mean resigning herself to a life she doesn't want. It would almost be like if an assailant has a gun to a hostage's head and you also have a gun, but you don't like the idea of shooting someone and would rather not hurt anyone. Put aside the fact that you had the gun shoved into your hands and you were pushed into the situation against your will with no way out. So you let the hostage get shot and killed because you don't want to shoot anyone, even if that assailant is posing a threat to another person's wellbeing and life and you are the only one to stop it. And that's where the cowardice comes in as well because her now hardline pacifism scares her off from doing anything that even slightly goes against her values and beliefs.

And Raven basically exposes Mari to her hypocrisy and cowardice to the point, she forces Mari to face it through a bluff. On top of that, Raven never told Mari that she was lying about the caravan. So in Mari's mind, she fully believes she actually just let a whole group of people die because she couldn't bring herself to kill Raven. And now she has to grapple with that thought that is eating her alive. In the end though, I don't think Mari can 100% be blamed for her behavior as she is a child (she's 16, turning 17 by this point) being pushed into such an extreme and stressful position when she just wanted to live her own life and not hurt anyone. In a future chapter, we will explore her character more deeply and hear her side of the story. I feel like it'll be understandable why she acts this way. So we will be getting her perspective.

I want to make this clear though. I'm not trying to villainize Mari here or paint her as a suddenly horrible person in any way. Throughout this story, I've basically been painting her as this sort of paragon "can-do-no-wrong" figure. Especially since she's done a lot of good regarding Simin. But what I did aim to do with Mari this chapter was to show her flaws as well and show that she is far from perfect in her own right and is actually pretty grey, too (at least I hope I did a good job of painting her as grey). She's a kind, supportive, caring, genuine, sweet, and empathetic kid. But she can also be cowardly, stubborn, irresponsible, can be selfish, and can also be hypocritical. And her unfortunate situation and Raven's dismissiveness and bluntness toward her is what amplified and brought those traits out and made them more apparent. At the end of the day, the girl is just scared, stressed, and a bit depressed. And I want to make it understandable why all of these traits are part of her character, whether it be through her upbringing, her situation and circumstances, her personality, all of the above, etc.

We have a decent idea of what her story is. But we still need to get her perspective and actually see her side of the story. But for now, this is the information that I will reveal as of this point in the story. We will see her side soon because from a certain point of view, I think it can be understood why she acts this way once we reach that point. But I can't reveal all the details now mainly because spoilers and I don't want to give it all away. But we have a good idea. But we don't have Mari's whole perspective yet.

Moving onto Raven, this will be in the context of Raven's depiction in this fanfic. Now because she's a canon character, I tried to depict her as faithfully as possible to her character in the show. But I've also tried taking some creative liberties that do not inherently contradict her canon character.

Raven is a brutal bandit leader, who is hardline elitist with her extreme views of "survival of the fittest" (views she inherited from the tribe she practically imprinted on) and will do anything and everything to protect and preserve the people she cares about. She knows she's a bad person, but she believes that this is what she needs to be in order to live. Otherwise, she risks going back to being the scared, little kid she used to be and got berated as, walked on, and abused daily with her brother.

Raven had only known brutality, cruelty, and coldness in her early life. And when she broke out and was taken in by Shepherd with Qrow, she was taught how to harness and direct those things. She was also taught that the world is a cruel place, and one must be cruel with it to live and protect what she values. For Raven, it's do or die. Kill or be killed. If your not the one slitting throats, then you're the one getting your throat slit. So Raven, living with the tribe and constantly being around these people, who she sees as her saviors, her protectors, her teachers, her family, etc., fully buys into what they teach her and holds their views as the way and becomes practically an elitist about it. And that makes Raven feel validated and justified through external approval by those around her. And from that point on, she continues to apply this to all aspects of her life.

And due to the fact she holds Shepherd and the tribe so highly, she has no intentions on letting go of her beliefs, let alone considering others. It was all she knew. And she took it all to heart without question.

Even when Raven goes to Beacon, she fully intends to return to the tribe due to her promise and loyalty to them. She literally returns to them the moment she is physically able. And important thing to note, when she went to Beacon, obviously she met many different people and experienced different mentalities, especially within her team. However, despite that, she held the tribe's beliefs and values as the highest and dismissed others as beneath or lesser than what she knows. And that says a lot in this context regarding the matter of her elitism and undying loyalty to the people who took her and Qrow in. It wasn't just about keeping a promise, but returning to the ones responsible for making her who she is. It was a return to form for her.

And with Shepherd's death, it only blows that up even more. Because now Raven feels obligated to honor Shepherd and take care of what she held dear as they did with her. Loyalty. An elitist mentality. An obligation. A familiarity. These are all the driving points for Raven to continue what she does.

Now taking into account the things Mari said about Raven, Mari wasn't exactly 100% right, especially since she is making a lot of assumptions based off her time with Raven without knowing her on that personal of a level. But she was not off the mark. She knows little about Raven on a personal level, but she was at least able to discern the basics after living around her on a daily basis for so long.

For starters, Mari describes Raven as someone just as sheltered as Raven calls her. Maybe even more. Raven does have an argument in calling Mari sheltered. But Raven is just as sheltered in the sense that she's been living with the same mentality and rules ever since she joined the tribe. Any form of change or challenge in views that she is presented, she outright rejects and dismisses as she does with Mari and even puts her down and condescends her for it. And despite her experiences at Beacon, she immediately returns to the tribe first chance she gets due to multiple factors like her elitism, loyalty, and familiarity.

Whenever Mari tries to challenge Raven's views, aside from calling out her hypocrisy, Raven basically dismisses her and almost looks down on her views for it. She thinks it's weak and pathetic and considers places like the middle-class sections of Mistral to be weak and cushy in spirit, mind, and body. She even considers the people in villages weak, too. Raven basically lumps Mari and people like Mari and most people who come from the same places as Mari in the same category of weak or inferior while propping up the idea that people must be cutthroat and brutal to get by. To Raven, those types of people she props up are the ones people should strive to be as that is the way to get by. And if you don't do that or think that's extreme, then you're just weak and pathetic in her eyes. Yeah Mari is a sheltered person. But in a way, due to Raven's rejection of opposing views while holding her own very highly and deeply rooting herself in a lifestyle that has raised, molded, and groomed her with little desire for change or consideration toward things outside of what she feels is necessity makes Raven just as sheltered from an ideological perspective.

Next, Mari accuses Raven of not thinking for herself and that her views are simply just the views of those around her that she's been indoctrinated into. She basically says that Raven is not what she thinks she should be, but rather she is nothing more than what other people think she should be. Now Mari isn't off the mark here. There is an argument to be had. In Raven's early childhood, before she joined the tribe, the things she did were out of desperation to survive (except when she murdered her father).

Joining the tribe is when the "survival of the fittest" mentality starts to set in because she is living with people, who she feels will teach her how to survive. In turn, she chooses to just straight up adopt their view rather than adopt her own view (especially since she's at an impressionable age). And what they teach her is that she is going to have to be this way all the time because if she isn't, then she risks becoming weak. And it's the weak that get taken advantage of and ultimately die from the perspective of the tribe and Shepherd. And so Raven dedicates herself to living their way and fully assimilating into their way of life. Now most of this is an assumption on Mari's part since she doesn't know Raven's past. So Mari only has Raven's behavior to go off of.

I mean, Raven literally adopts Shepherd's last name to honor him for taking her and Qrow in. And in addition to this, to "prove" the narrative that the strong live and the weak die and hammer this ideology into her, Shepherd takes Qrow and Raven to raids to experience firsthand this "truth". And Raven does not question it one bit. She just takes notes and adopts it, even if she doesn't exactly enjoy it. And because of how she holds Shepherd and how the tribe's lifestyle has become so integral to her living, sees the lifestyle of the tribe to be the lifestyle and anything else is weak and will get you killed, and therefore lesser in comparison. So with that in mind, Mari's assertion is not that inaccurate.

Moving on, Mari calls Raven weak in her own way for accepting the world for what it is rather than change it to what she wants it to be. Taking into account Raven's thoughts toward what she does, Mari's not wrong. Raven has openly stated before that she does not like doing what she does. Raven knows she's a horrible person, but believes she needs to be in order to be strong and survive the only way she knows. But in Mari's eyes, Raven is just giving up and accepting things for what they are rather than change thing to what they could be so that she doesn't have to live a life where she feels she needs to do these things she dislikes so much. And because she's so knee-deep into this mindset that's been ingrained into her, she'd rather just continue with what she's doing than try something else that breaks from that, which only leads to her digging her heels in as well.

After that, Mari then proceeds to insinuate that Raven is fake. That everything she is is nothing more than her trying to be someone she's not. That she's just a "glorified understudy", which is just a verbal backhand. This basically goes back to the independent thinking point of Mari.

Everything Raven is right now, is what she was told and taught and groomed to be. It's all she knows. Even when she went to Beacon, she restricted herself to the tribe's views through elitism and dismissing other views as lesser or wrong. Raven, in Mari's eyes, is the result of someone who never saw the world through their own eyes and just submitted herself and relied on another person's observations to create her and then proceeding to keep herself restricted to it.

In this fanfic, Raven has yet to have something to really challenge what she knows and force her hand. She's yet to fully think for herself here. Everything she's done and said and thought are things that have been ingrained into her mostly due to the people she's lived around within the walls of the camp and what they taught her. And the reason she holds so tightly to her views is because they are what has kept her going and that these views have been handed down to her by someone she holds highly. By the end of this, the last name Branwen is going to go from being a name Raven adopted to honor Shepherd and become something that Raven makes her own when she does something that challenges and conflicts with Shepherd's rules.

So when Mari calls Raven an elitist pet parrot that lost their owner, it was basically a verbal slap in Raven's face. And she 100% meant it.

And with both sides thoroughly covered, I can finally dig into the conflict between the two!

On a literal level, the conflict between Mari and Raven consists of multiple factors. What they want for Simin, Mari's ideologies vs Raven's, and the Spring Maiden conflict, which mainly centers around Mari wanting to be free from a situation she was forced into while Raven basically just goes, "Tough. Grow up!". And a lot of these factors intermingle and intertwine with each other a bit.

So as stated earlier, Mari and Raven are on a collision course. And I will be covering their points of conflict. Starting with Simin.

Raven, Simin, and Mari are important to each other in some way. For Simin, Raven has been sustaining him and supporting him through training him and giving him a place to stay as a part of the tribe. Meanwhile Mari has been his emotional support and looking out for him and being there for him when she can. For Mari, Simin is important because she doesn't want Simin to end up like her, someone who's given up or lose their freedom or autonomy or think that they don't have a choice in how they live. She wants him to live his life and be happy since he has his whole life ahead of him. Meanwhile, Raven is important to her in the sense that she is literally reliant on her and has to depend on her. And for Raven, Mari is important to her because Mari's the Spring Maiden and Raven has been tasked to train her and make her her responsibility. And Simin is important to her because she sees a bit of herself in him, which has allowed her to grow a bit attached and form some kind of bond with him. Raven honestly thinks she's doing what's best for Simin by teaching him these things and taking him under her wing.

And this leads to a conflict of interest between Mari and Raven regarding Simin. Raven, seeing herself in Simin, wants to teach Simin her ways to survive. And to do that, that also involves instilling in him the things Raven has adopted and imprinted on. But for Mari, she wants Simin to just live his way and be happy and responsible and do what he wants so long has he's not hurting anyone, especially considering she was there for Simin and showed support to help him out of his turmoil. And because of that, Mari and Raven see each other as holding Simin back. Raven believes Mari will keep Simin weak and stunt his growth and make him vulnerable. Mari believes Raven is mentally trying to chain up Simin and make him be what she thinks he should be and become someone he hates rather than let him live his own way and make his own choices.

And this is where I segue to their clash in ideologies.

On one hand, you have Raven. Someone who believes the world is a cutthroat jungle where you either walk or get walked on. And if you don't want to get walked on, you're going to have to be strong. And strength is to be brutal and cruel to others because they will be the same to you the first chance they get. In Raven's eyes, that is just how the world is and there is nothing you can do or say about it. So you can either accept the world for what it is and get with it, or you can leave it. This will be or your life. If that doesn't work for you, then you are embracing weakness and you better be okay with an early death. If you don't like how the world is, so what. Live with it, or die from it.

On the other hand, Mari believes that there is so much more than that and there is no definitive image of what the world is or is said to be. She doesn't think Raven is inherently wrong. But she doesn't think she is inherently right either. Mari even agrees with Raven to an extent in chapter 12. What Mari does think is wrong is how Raven expresses things because she takes it to such an extreme level and is very elitist about it too. On top of that, she disagrees with and is critical of is Raven's oversimplification and reduction of things to just the world being this and only this. To Mari, the world is what you make of it and want it to be. And she acknowledges the world can be brutal and carry hardships. And in times like that, you need to be strong. To Mari, strength, is pushing for your future and living how you want. Showing your fortitude and not letting anyone take your life and future from you. It is also about being compassionate, caring, kind, supportive in the face of hardships. It's about showing restraint and self-control. Not losing sight of who you are and maintain your integrity along the way. Never losing hope for a better life. Mari believes in a life where people don't have to hurt each other or take advantage of each other to live and everyone can be united and look out for each other. A life that is yours where one can live happily, responsibly, and freely. And to Mari, if you don't like how the world is, don't live with it. Change it!

However, this brings me to another conflict of interest between the two: the Maiden powers.

When Mari had the Maiden powers and had this responsibility thrust on her, she saw it as her life being robbed from her and being dictated. Suddenly she no longer had autonomy or say in the course of her life. And because of that, she dug in and pushed back and rejected her responsibility. And considering her responsibility could involve doing things she believes could compromise who she is as she is not a fighter or killer, she would not budge and was adamant on avoiding it. She doesn't want to resign herself to that life. A life that she believes will dictate what kind of person she will have to become, whether she wants it or not. She would barely acknowledge her powers and responsibility by going out of her way to avoid topics about where she's from or who she is and using her powers in trivial ways or minimal degrees. And Raven sees all of this.

As a result, Raven sees Mari as very naive, whiny, wimpy, pathetic, childish, and petulant. So to respond to it, Raven gets blunt and brutal with Mari to try and harden her and mold her. And that just makes Mari dig in even more. Think of it like trying to push your hand to the bottom of a tub of oobleck. The substance resists the more you try to move it and push against it. And when Raven runs low on the time she has with Mari, she gets desperate and starts going even harder on Mari. And for the duration that she is with Raven, Mari is just undergoing incredible amounts stress and pressure. She's scared, she's stressed, she's unwilling, she's disheartened, and the burden the powers brings along with Raven's treatment toward Mari does a number on her mental and emotional state. And she has enough and blows up on Raven this chapter.

And in response, Raven just goes in even harder on Mari. The combination of not taking too kindly to getting called out like that along with her desperation of being low on time leads to Raven verbally eviscerating the kid. She does it to 1.) Put Mari in her place for what she said and 2.) to hopefully give that final big push to break her stance and send her over her breaking point in hopes that she'll step up. And doing that is going to bite Raven hard...!

But even though Raven is very critical toward and thinks Maris is a pain, she does care about her and sees her as a part of the tribe, even if the girl doesn't feel the same way.

And that is basically it for the Mari/Raven conflict synopsis!

So with that out of the way, there are just two more small things I want to very briefly cover. The first is the fight.

I hope the fight in this chapter was enjoyable. It was a bit hard for me to write if I'm being honest. This was technically my first fight involving more than two characters. But I think I got a better feel for Raven as a fighter. But I'm not sure how I did overall. Sometimes I wish I could animate or draw these things, but I don't know how to animate them and suck at drawing. But I still have fun writing them! It's a bit tiring sometimes though, but fun overall. But anyway, yeah. I hope the fight as good. We have three more fights left.

And lastly, the new side plot!

So as we saw at the start of this chapter, a mysterious blind man named Iulian has traveled to Simin's old village. And it is heavily implied that he has some sort of connection to Simin's father as he looks for him and finds him dead. In addition, there is another character named Azrael that he was supposed to meet with, who just deserted. This throws a wrench into things because this Iulian was supposed to convene with Cameron and now Iulian has to push that back to find a replacement for Azrael. Azrael's identity is a mystery. But what I will say is that we've already seen him. I can't say too much regarding that because I will basically be spoiling a lot of the plot, so I will just leave that here.

But the most important thing to know related to this volume is that this Iulian character is also seemingly hunting Raven Branwen. And it's implied that he is working with multiple people to do this as her tribe has also been infiltrated by this Cameron character, who is compiling information on Raven and her tribe for this operation. It's also lightly implied that this information-gathering may or may not have a correlation with the missing bandit team that Jeremiah and his team are going to investigate. We've already met Cameron, but we'll formally be introduced to him soon as we find out who he is.

There were other ways I was considering approaching this where the opening scene was cut and we just skip straight to the guy telling the story and Sophia just mentions the blind man when going over it. The intention was to make it seem like something that is under wraps and in the shadows that starts to make its way into the scene and become more noticeable and known. But I was having difficulty with that because there were other points that needed to be addressed that I would not have been able to do without the scene itself and I would have run the risk of being needlessly vague.

Also for anyone wondering how the bandit knows about the parts he wasn't there for in the flashback, he didn't. The flashback is told from a third person narrative. But the story the bandit tells are only the things he saw himself. So Sophia and Simin don't get the full story; just the bandit's perspective. But we do. They don't know as much as we do or have the same amount of information that we do here.

Also, just want to say this now, this new plot isn't going to really play a huge role in the finale. This is more set up for the next volume as well as a precursor to the rest of the series.

Anyway, until next time, her is fun fact #28:

Fun Fact #28: The opening to scene to this chapter was originally going to be a setup chapter. But I didn't think it would fit anywhere as its own chapter. So I made it the opening scene to this one.