Interlude: Angel Sky

Once upon a time, in the old days of the Reigal, there was a Guardian who ruled over the frozen glaciers of Staneia, the Guardian of Ice. While her heart was as cold as her title, her love for all life shone brighter than any sun. She helped the faunus in Staneia establish communities and villages, and as her way to granting prosperity, she granted them the talent for hunting. To honor their Guardian's blessing, granted to them on the crescent moon of winter, the faunus of Staneia created the Crescent Moon clan. Leading this clan was the Webber family, who had close ties to the Ice Guardian. Over the years, the rich game in Staneia fed the growing community of hunters, and the place grew to be a vital source of meat for the rest of Vastel.

However, tragedy struck after one hundred years of prosperity. Some in the Crescent Moon tribe started getting jealous of the attention and favor the Webber Chieftain at the time was receiving from the Ice Guardian. Records of rumors at the time have gone so far as to assert that the Guardian fell in love. While the Ice Guardians left Staneia to attend a meeting with the other Guardians, these people set their devious plan into motion. They carefully planned a brutal massacre in Stardew Village, resulting in countless deaths. Then for the next step of the plan, they tricked the Webber Chieftain into believing the Ice Guardian was responsible for the deaths, and that she had many wicked plans when she returned. The Chieftain didn't want to believe them at first. Deep down, he truly loved the Ice Guardian; however, as rumors of the Ice Guardian's 'plans for Staneia' spread, his people pleaded for him to take action, to protect them, to do something about it, and the pressure on the Chieftain mounted until he cracked and agreed to act. The killers then used this opening to push for extreme measures, and in the end, although extremely reluctant, the Chieftain agreed that the Ice Guardian must die for Staneia to live.

And so, when the Ice Guardian returned, the Chieftain led her into a deep forest. Inside, the Chieftain stabbed her in the back with a Dust knife granted to him by the Ice Guardian. The Guardian, confused and hurt by the betrayal of her trusted friend, she tried to run for her life even as she was wounded. However, even her cries were drowned out by the blizzard as the bitter winter storms erased the warmth in her heart. With what appeared to be her final breath, she cursed the Webber family to be doomed to…

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~~Staneia: Snowy Outskirts~~

~~July 19th: Four Days before Alisen Incident~~

On the cold fields in the outer regions of Staneia where the grass is visible, a herd of deer was eating their fill of grass. Little did they know, a predator lurked in the bushes nearby. A small figure, a white bow in its hand. With one deep breath, the figure pulled on the stringless bow, tiny ice crystals coming together to form a string and a sharp arrow. As she released, the arrow shot broke apart into three separate arrows of ice, each finding its mark and sinking into the neck of three deer. As the bodies fell to the ground, the rest of the herd fled the area.

"Hmhm." A girl's giggle rang out into the clear fields as the figure in the bushes stood up and began making her way to her kills.

The girl was a faunus who bore the white ears of a snow wolf and was small in stature. She had long, light purple hair that extended to her thighs, round, pink eyes, and long, slender limbs. Her outfit consisted of a simple, white tribal combat dress with blue trims on the sides over a black body shirt underneath the cloth. The dress's skirt ended at the top of her knees. Everything underneath was covered in white bandages, and on her feet were a pair of tribal shoes, designed for comfort and silent movement on the plains of snow and grass.

The faunus girl examined the three deer carcasses before she set her bow down and clasped her hands together. "Oh, Ice Maiden. May these three departed souls find haven in your eternal afterlife."

A loud growl behind faunus startled her from her prayer, making her jump in fear. Her blue ears perked up as she turned around to see a beowolf coming towards her.

"G-Grimm?" She whispered as she held onto her bow tightly. She noticed that two more beowolves appeared, surrounding her and her game. Her heart beating rapidly, the girl took in a deep breath. "Remain calm. Think of them as hungry wolves." Her gaze sharpened as she held her bow in a defensive stance.

Theme Song: "Come My Way" (Inuyasha)

Viewing her arrow as a sign of defense, the beowolves all charged toward her.

"This meat is not for you! Go away!" The girl shouted as she pressed a button on her bow. In a flash, it flattened into a straight line and extended into a white bo staff. In a single move, the girl had forced the beowolves back with a circular swing of the staff, knocking one on its rear.

With some distance established between herself and the Grimm, the girl turned her staff back into a bow. Before the beowolf in front of her could react, she fired in quick succession, putting three ice arrows straight through its chest.

The two remaining beowolves both rushed her, wickedly sharp claws out and gleaming a deadly black.

The girl dodged backward, her bow straightening out and turning back into her bo staff and encasing it in ice. She dashed forward, smashing her bo staff into the skull of one beowolf. The wolf collapsed.

The second beowolf lunged toward her, but the girl had turned, bringing the staff around with her. There was a sickening crunch as the staff caught the beowulf mid-pounce, sending it flying away with a whine. Before the beowolf could get up, the girl had stepped back, turned her weapon back again, created three ice arrows, and fired. The arrows found their mark, piercing straight through the two dazed beowolves and killing them.

As she watched the corpses vanish into dark particles, she heard movement in the forest. She turned and suddenly saw a much bigger beowolf, charging out of the forest towards her.

"Another one?" She asked.

Not having the time to dodge, the girl transformed her bow into the bo staff to block the claw strike. She managed to not get ripped to pieces, but the feral attack still blew through her incomplete block and sent her flying.

"Ah!" The girl screamed as she landed on her back. Her forehead bled freely as she put her hand on her abdomen, where the tip of the claw had grazed her. Struggling to stand back up, she sees the alpha beowolf preparing to charge again. "No...I've come too far...to die here!"

Her small body began generating a light blue aura. The wind behind her picked up speed as she began drawing on her bow again. Seeing the alpha beowolf rush towards her, she jumped aside even as she shot ice arrows at the ground, creating a slippery floor of ice.

The momentum of the alpha beowolf carried it past where she had landed and skidding ahead.

Seeing her opening, the girl rushed forward, ignoring the pain from the throbbing wound on her forehead and stomach, and turned her bow into a staff again. She slid underneath the alpha beowolf and encased her weapon with ice, this time giving it a pointed end. She stabbed the resulting ice spear straight through the alpha wolf's body.

The monster let out a howl before jumping away from the girl, doubled over in pain as black blood flowed out.

"Right where I want you," The girl said as she transformed her bo staff back into a bow and drew. The light blue aura gathered around her body as six very sharp ice shards appeared around her, "May you find peace in the Ice Guardian's grace!" As her arrow flew, the ice shards followed. All seven attacks pierced straight through the alpha wolf's body, freezing it solid. A moment later, it crumbled into a pile of ice.

The girl let out a sigh of relief as she held her wound. "I need to hurry back. I..." She tried to stumble to her game, but blood loss caused her vision to blur. "No...I won't...Ngh!" Biting her lips, the girl sucked in all the pain before taking out a medical kit. Inside was a bundle of herbs and bandages. She took some of the herbs and rubbed them against her wound to slow down the blood loss and heighten her healing cell activity; others she put in her mouth and chewed to dull the pain and let her move. Then she lifted her clothing, enduring the cold, and wrapped the bandages around her midsection.

After giving herself the necessary attention, she went to her kills, tied them together with a rope, and began dragging them away from the area before any predators and scavengers could start getting ideas about three dead prey and a potential, injured fourth.

She made her way to an isolated wooden hut. At the entrance was a faunus male with light blue hair, sitting in a meditative position. He wore a tribesman battle outfit with a purple beanie on top of his head. When he opened his eyes, the girl showed him the three deer she hunted along with three beowolf masks.

"I did it...Mr. Toru." She said with a proud smile.

The man named Toru stood up and observed both the deer and the Grimm mask. The girl's heart beat fast as she looked at the stern expression he had on his face. "Show me your injuries."

The girl's eyes widened before she lifted up the upper half of her dress to reveal the bandaged wound. She knew she couldn't hide her forehead injury, but didn't think Toru would be able to see through her attempt to conceal her abdomen wound. Although the way she grimaced in pain every step probably gave her away more than any acting on her part.

Toru examined the wound but did not touch it. "Two inches wide. Based on the number of bandages needed to cover the wound...four centimeters deep." He stood up and placed his hands on his hips. "You definitely fought an alpha beowolf when I told you not to fight any Grimm."

"B-but..." Angel's averted her gaze from Toru's piercing blue eyes.

"First, we need to get this wound of yours treated." Toru led Angel into the hut. As he was treating her wound, he asked, "Why did you fight the Grimm? Did you have no other choice but to defend yourself?"

"Y-yes. I also would have lost the deer to them if I ran away. I-I didn't want to let you down, Mr. Toru, honest!"

"That is a part of nature, Angel." Toru applied a healing gel to Angel's wound. "You will find powerful predators who will want to take your bounty from you. Would it not be wise to save your life and give up your game?"

"M-my life is important to me, y-yes, b-but I had already blessed the souls of the deer I killed. I-If I allowed those dark monsters to devour their corpses, th-their souls would never find haven with the Ice Maiden."

"That part isn't anywhere in the teachings of the Ice Maiden. Their souls will still-"

"I-I know that, b-but I couldn't help but feel obligated. I-I took their lives away, s-so the least I could do is protect their mortal bodies."

"So you were willing to fight and die for the sake of the dead." Toru watched the girl nod shyly. "Does this also apply to the living?"

"Y-yes. L-living or dead, I-I believe every being deserve a peaceful ending to their lives so they can meet with the Ice Maiden."

Toru said nothing else as he wrapped Angel's wounds in fresh bandages. He then started to apply more healing gel to her forehead before he said, "What is a peaceful ending, Angel?"

"A-a peaceful ending?" Angel winced at the sting of the healing gel.

"Yes. What comes to your mind when you think of a person's peaceful ending?"

Angel closed her eyes to think about her answer as she felt Toru put a bandage on her forehead. "I-I think a peaceful ending to your life is when your loved ones are the last people you see before you depart."

Toru remained silent for a moment. He turned to the burning fire that kept their hut warm. He closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath, but Angel could not hear. He turned back to the blue-haired faunus, "Not many people in this world had the fortitude to reach that end. You could have met a very gruesome end when you faced down that Grimm."

"I-I..."

Toru raised his hand, silencing Angel before he put the hand on her head. "My dear Angel, if this is the belief you want to commit to, then it is not my place, or anyone's for that matter, to judge you. I already gave up on changing your mind when you declared you wanted to be a huntress. But are you willing to stand by your belief even when everyone deems you naive for doing so?"

Angel nodded. "I-I stared into the eyes of the Grimm, a-and I imagined all the people who were killed by them. S-such a horrible ending to their valuable life...I-I know my wish for a world without suffering is impossible, b-but I still want to try, Mr. Toru! I-I want to be like the late Chieftain Kane. I-I want to live and fight for what I believe in!"

Toru went silent for a moment. He then turned to Angel with his usual stern look, which made the little faunus flinch. "If Lord Webber heard you say that, Angel, he would fear for your life as I do now..." Angel felt something light touch her head. She opened her eyes to see Toru without his beanie on. In a second, she realized he had placed his beanie on top of her head, exposing his white, arctic fox ears. He looked down at her with a warm smile. "...but I think he would approve of your belief."

"M-Mr. Toru..."

"There is no more need for formality. You better take good care of that beanie from now on, am I clear?"

"Y-yes sir!"

"Good. Then in five days, I will take you to Oroseia for the entrance exam. You are ready, Angel Sky."

Angel's smile widened as she hugged Toru. "Th-thank you so much, T-Tiggy! Th-thank you!"

Toru chuckled as he returned the hug, "Just promise me you will run if things get too much for you."

"I-I promise!"

"And..." Toru cleared his throat. "If you make any friends, please don't feed them your cooking."

"B-but why?" Angel asked, "Y-you loved my cooking."

"I...did. It's just..." Toru looked away. He remembered the day when Angel served him octopus covered in peanut butter. "People have different tastes. Ask them if they are allergic to peanuts, first."

"Ooh, I'm sorry, Tiggy. I didn't know you were allergic, but I'll keep that in mind." Angel smiled as she rubbed Toru's beanie…no, it was hers now. "I won't let you down, Tiggy. I promise!"


Angel Sky

Race: Snow Wolf Faunus

Affiliation: Staneia Citizen

Dust Affinity: Ice

Weapon Name: Conis

Submitted by LazyfoxLover


Jurabi: Hello, everyone! I'm back with another chapter; however, this chapter is moreso one of seven interludes where I will introduce the submitted main OC's for this story, showcase their capabilities as fighters, and their personalities and relationships. I hope you all love these as I will strive to make them similar to the character intro shorts in RWBY while adding in a sprinkle of Guardian lore.

Again, many thanks to LazyFoxLover and Hofund for helping me through the redrafting phases of these chapters and having a hand in uping the quality of writing. And I thank you all for taking time to read this chapter! If you did, please leave a review, a follow, and a favorite. I would really appreciate your support of this story.

And I will see you all in the next interlude!