Raven stepped out of her flip-flops as she touched down onto the sand below the deck. The warm grains were pleasant between her toes, but she knew that they made for unsteady terrain. She paused for a moment to try to recall whether or not she had ever actually fought on sand before. Bar her experience against the giant beetle grimm, Raven found that she had not. She had also been wearing her usual boots at the time- a far cry from trying to run barefoot across the dunes. Maria Calavera stepped out of her footwear as well while she walked on ahead toward the water. The sight gave Raven a boost of confidence in the idea that she had made the right call. Even so, she couldn't help but feel nervous about the other woman's level of experience.
"I've seen you fight back at Beacon," Maria mused as she turned around to face her opponent. The woman took a short scythe in each hand, giving them a quick whirl. "Both supervised and otherwise."
"And what's your verdict?" Raven asked as she sank down into a fighting stance, her back foot digging down into the sand and creating a small mound behind it.
"…this ought to be fun," Maria answered with a grin. "I only hope that it helps you, one way or another."
"Even if I lose… I learn," Raven said calmly. "That will make this worth doing regardless."
"I've always liked your attitude," Maria praised. "Your move."
The motorized scabbard at Raven's waist whirred, and then reversed direction as she settled upon a blade. Maria's muscles tensed as she watched the rotation to the best of her ability. Raven had no idea whether or not her opponent had seen the chosen dust-imbued steel. She had a feeling that in the end, it wouldn't matter either way. With one final, tense exhale, Raven charged forward and drew her katana in a sweeping slash.
Maria slid underneath the slash, twisting during the movement to watch the dull grey arc of the sword sailing overhead. A series of heavy stones the size of her body manifested in the wake of the dust-infused blade. Just as Maria got clear, the heavy rocks crashed down into the beach to arrange themselves like jagged teeth jutting up from the unstable ground. Maria landed into a roll, and Raven turned and kicked off one of the boulders to launch herself into the air with a downward raking slash. The falling blade was met with a pair of crossed scythes held aloft, trapping the katana between their blades.
"Creative," Maria remarked as she pulled the blades in opposite directions to keep Raven's sword locked in place. "Your unusual applications of dust are something to be proud of."
"This isn't a lesson where I'm looking for feedback," Raven snapped as more rocky protrusions began to jut from the blade, adding to its mass. The curves of Maria's scythes were slowly forced apart by the bulk, though she managed to hold on for a few seconds longer. "Fight me with all you have!"
Within seconds, the sword became too heavy for Maria to keep held aloft, and she pushed her scythes inward to release her grip on the weapon. Raven's stone-covered katana slammed down into the beach like a sledgehammer, and Maria took the opportunity to stomp a foot down atop the implement. With a quick flip, she crashed her foot into Raven's chin, sending the young huntress reeling backward as she touched down in the sand and whirled her scythes. The rocky coating around Raven's sword fell away as she slammed it back into her sheath with a scowl.
"…you want to say something," Raven accused as she rubbed her face. "Out with it. I want to learn."
Maria smirked, beginning to circle opposite of Raven as her protégé's scabbard began to rotate once again.
"I knew you couldn't resist. Taking risks in combat for the element of surprise is all well and good… but don't take one unless you're confident in your ability to carry it through. Heavy weaponry isn't your style, regardless of your strength. You aren't muscular enough to swing a club like that around quickly enough to react to a speedy retaliation."
"Noted," Raven said with a nod.
It was Maria's turn to charge in as she slammed the hafts of her scythes together to assemble them into a whirling double-sided weapon. Raven drew a bright orange, steaming blade, causing sparks and embers to jump from the steel as she turned aside each of Maria's advancing strikes. She watched the spinning rhythm, counting silently as their weapons met and pinged off each other with precise timing. Seeing her opening, Raven slashed downward into the sand, an arc of flame following the motion and burning down into the grains. In an instant, blinding sunlight reflected upward into Maria's eyes from the superheated glass shards that had formed just before her.
Maria arrested her momentum to avoid stepping onto the shards beneath her, squinting past the sudden brightness to watch Raven's next move. Another slash went down into the beach, but Raven directed it straight ahead as the katana rose back upward. Molten glass fragments flew forth from the tip of her blade, and Maria just barely managed to dip her upper body to one side to avoid the burning slag. With a heavy sideways blow, she batted Raven's katana aside and rammed the flat head of her elongated weapon into her student's stomach to send her backward. Raven stumbled back into the rocks she had previously erected, nearly dropping her weapon as she fell hard into the sand. Upon looking up, Raven saw that Maria had the tip of a scythe coated in burning, semi-liquid glass aimed directly at her nose.
"Altering the battlefield is an effective tactic… provided the opponent doesn't also benefit. I've seen enough and fought enough battles here in Vacuo to be familiar with the strategy of using the sands against people. That likely would have been enough to best any of your friends, but thus far, you're coming up short. Rise."
Maria pulled back her scythe and ran her hand over the blade to dispel the burning goop. As if on cue, a shrill voice echoed from behind her, and Raven's attention was drawn to a group of three sprinting toward her along the beach.
"Raven!" Summer called from the head of the pack. "And… Professor Calavera?"
Raven pushed herself up and out of the sand, hoping that Maria would be distracted by the newcomers. Unfortunately, the woman didn't even turn to look behind her, and Raven found herself clashing weapons once again. In a bid for freedom, she opened a portal next to herself and leapt through it, landing in the sand right next to Summer.
"Uh, hey!" the girl said cheerily. "Are you guys having a d-"
Raven paid her friend no mind as she sprinted the few feet toward the water and sheathed her sword once again. Maria arrived through the portal only a moment later, slinging one of her scythes through the air at Raven's back. Raven looked over her shoulder just in time to dodge low, digging into the dampened sand with her feet. Maria rushed in, calling her scythe back and causing it to loop in from behind Raven as she struck out with the other. The very moment the tide rolled back in, Raven drew a bright yellow blade, electricity crackling around it.
"Oh," was all that Maria said as another portal opened behind Raven.
The scarred huntress hopped backward through the portal as she threw her sword down, impaling it down beneath the shallow water. Arcs of electricity jumped from the steel and lit up the shallows, though Maria was no longer there. Raven emerged from the dimensional door near Summer once again just in time to see her professor inverted in midair. Her other scythe had left her hand, flying for Raven's abandoned portal as the original projectile reached her and she grabbed the handle.
With the push of a button embedded in the shaft, the airborne implement dragged Maria through the sky and toward the portal before her at high speed. Raven felt a sharp impact against the small of her back as the first scythe slammed into her through the opening, and then another, weightier blow as Maria followed through and landed atop her. Raven went down to the sand immediately, and before she could even gasp for air, a curved blade appeared in her peripheral vision an inch from her eye.
"Inspired," Maria said, sounding entertained as she drew back the scythe to rejoin it with the other. "But I know your capabilities. That was the third elemental trick you tried in rapid succession. Don't let your best options become predictable."
"…noted, again," Raven grumbled as she spat out some sand and planted her palms into the beach. "Still… it's like you're untouchable."
"Yeah, I'll say," Summer agreed as she watched Maria pat Raven on the shoulder and slide off of her. "That midair pivot was insane! You have to teach us how to do cool moves like that…"
"Gravity dust," Maria answered as she brushed some errant sand from her legs and stomach. "Perhaps I shall."
"What the fuck is going on!?" Kali asked, her lungs burning as she and Willow finally reached the group. The faunus leaned forward and braced her hands on her knees as she looked over at Raven's sparking sword. "And why is the ocean under attack?"
"…I got really mad at one specific fish," Raven snarked as the electricity from the blade finally fizzled out, causing smoke to lazily drift upward from the water.
"I somehow doubt that," Willow protested as she folded her arms across her chest and nodded toward Maria. "Professor. Is everything alright?"
"Not quite, no," Maria admitted as Raven left to retrieve her weapon. "Between your friend and I, though, things are quite fine."
"Well that's good," Summer said warily. "But what's the bad news?"
"There's been a break-in," Raven answered. "Someone rummaged through the beach house and took… some of my things. Everything else was untouched. They didn't leave a trail. Willow, please tell me you have cameras."
"Of course we have cameras," Willow answered, sounding exasperated. "I'll have to call home to ask how to pull up the footage from the company database, b-"
"No," Kali denied as her ears flattened. "No, we're not doing that and tanking this whole vacation. What do you think your dad is going to say the second he finds out we're in 'danger', even if we're all hunters? He's going to make our lives a living hell, if not demand that we head back to Atlas outright."
"Then what's the plan?" Summer asked. "Hunters or no, I don't really feel safe knowing someone's out here with some kind of personal grudge against Raven."
"Especially if it's a Watcher," Raven said coldly. "Which it likely is. Bartholomew is decent with tech. We could have him try…"
"…so is Velvet," Kali reminded. "She seems to be into vehicles and gadgets. Couldn't hurt to call in a favor."
"That sounds like a decent enough idea to me," Maria agreed. "Having a local team you can rely on and befriend for your stay in Vacuo is smart, and from what Professor Gumo told me, BASS is among the best in their year. If you'll have me, I wouldn't be opposed to staying for a day or two as well while we sort this all out. More security couldn't hurt."
The girls exchanged a series of looks before all eyes ultimately fell on Willow.
"It's your call," Raven said with a shrug. "I'm not opposed, despite the fact that I just got my ass handed to me."
"You did better than most, especially for a first attempt," Maria considered.
"Right. Well…" Willow began, "I don't see why not? We have ample room, though not enough beds…"
"I'm fine with a sturdy floor," Maria said with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about me. I'll likely just occupy the basement, keep an eye on anything strange going on down there. Look for tunnels in the walls and such."
"Sleeping alone in the basement?" Summer asked, visibly shaken. "But… but bugs. And it's cold…"
"I thought you liked bugs," Kali said, sounding surprised. "You went beetle-hunting and chasing butterflies multiple times last year!"
"Yeah, but not spiders!" Summer said as she made a face. "Basement-bugs are gross. Centipedes and…"
"…bugs," Maria repeated with a blank stare. "You're scared of bugs, and you may be a Maiden."
"…the less we dive into this, the better," Raven warned. "Come on, let's all just… get back to the house. And Professor? Before I graduate… I'm going to win one. Be ready."
"Will you, now?" Maria asked with a smile as she waved the girls to follow her back toward the deck. "That's the spirit…"
Author's Note:
Next time, Roman encounters Cerise.
-RD
