Author's Notes:
Guess who's back. Back again. Shul is back, and kinda tired.
Sah my epic gamer guys, gals and everything in between. It's been a long couple of weeks for me, but I found time to actually write this so yaaay. Can you tell I'm tired?
I hope that there are minimal mistakes in this chapter. Sucks to read back a chapter a few days after you've written it and then notice a bunch of stupid words spelt wrong - or words spelt right but not the correct word was used. Like `except` and `expect`. I'm staring at the screen with the most disappointing expression ever. Man, lets get onto the chapter and finally wrap up Initiation.
Keep the train rolling, keep the story flowing.
Word of warning from me of the future: next chapter won't be for a little over a week. I've just gotten done writing chapter 8 with everyone's favourite birdman, so I've got more ground to make.
Was it just him or did it just get really dark all of a sudden? A quick glance upwards revealed that it actually wasn't just him – the Nevermore's wingspan was quite literally blacking out the sun.
"That is a big bird…" Jaune said again, head still fixed in position as he stared at the gliding Grimm above. It was needless, he knew, but really – he'd never seen a Nevermore this large out and about Remnant. Same with the Deathstalker.
It was almost like someone had placed them there on purpose.
Yang, who was currently running in front of him, made to look in the same direction. "Uh-huh, yeah, thanks for that– Ruby! What exactly is the plan again?"
Rose petals whiffed past Jaune's face, dragging his attention back down to in front of him. Ruby didn't bother to turn around to answer her sister's question, "If we get on the bridge, that huge Deathstalker behind us will either be forced to stay there or fall into that massive gorge below!"
His features widened. That wasn't a bad plan – totally something he would have thought of, by the way.
Boots on grass turned to boots on cobble as the group started to make the way onto the ruined structure. The Nevermore screeched from the blacked-out skies above, still letting out yet another ear-splitting sound that had Jaune wincing just to bear it. Behind them, the Deathstalker was much the same – unrelenting in its chase.
A voice from his side warned him, "Jaune," it was Pyrrha, "it's not getting any slower and we're getting closer to the bridge." Her voice lowered, and Jaune would have pinpointed it as fear, "At this rate…"
Jaune grit his teeth. It would try to cross the bridge with them – whether or not it cared for self-preservation. Grimm were incarnates of destruction, after all; even if it had the tiniest of chances for their deaths, the beast may continue to risk its own demise. Though, it did seem quite intelligent for Grimm standards with how large it is…
No, he wouldn't risk it. Not when there were so many other lives on the line. Ones that could have lived or died thanks to his decision making.
Mossy green covered cracked grey as the party leaped onto the bridge that connected them to a labyrinth of similar-looking bridges – all connected to a singular location, an ancient castle or temple held up by a multitude of pillars.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha warned once more – this time strained and more desperate, "Look out!"
The blonde turned back, noticing that, while it sounded like she shouted with more effort, her voice was much quieter. Pyrrha had stopped her jog near where the grass melded into the stone of the bridge – Ren and Nora looking at him with worry, the latter pointing excessively.
But he noticed that they weren't specifically looking at him.
His head snapped to the side of the bridge, out-looking at a void that seemed endless in depth. Though what grabbed his attention was the giant mass of black feather, wearing an ivory mask, heading straight for the middle of the stone structure itself.
Ruby, Weiss and Blake had all but crossed the bridge entirely – each one of them using their innate, given powers or pure agility to traverse the stretch of cobble. That meant that the only ones who would be caught up in the Grimm's self-destructive tackle…
Were him and Yang.
The blonde girl in front of him shoved her arms behind her, the gauntlets – which Jaune realised were the bracelets from when they first met – on her wrist let out a deathly click.
"Shit," she cursed – eyes flicking behind her at her yellow gauntlets and then flashed a grin at Jaune, lilac widening with distant fright before she turned around to keep running.
They were jammed.
Red shell casings stuck out of the ejector at an unnatural angle, preventing usage while being proof that it had seen some action before they all met up. Yang tried using her weapons to cross the bridge and dodge the oncoming attack, meaning that they were a form of mobility.
But were they her only form of mobility?
His right leg, coming back down to take another stride forward, shined with a faint golden glow – encompassed with white. He couldn't take the chances. Even if they had their differences, and in Yang's case – general and obvious hatred, Jaune wouldn't fate somebody else for death unless they really deserved it.
Yang didn't deserve to die.
With a Semblance-empowered burst of energy, Jaune leapt forward – overtaking Yang and stopping her from continuing on the bridge. His arms whirled in a slow windmill as they balanced him out, landing a few steps in front of the blonde.
"Jaune, what the hell-"
"No time." Jaune dashed forward and grabbed Yang by her jacket collar, another hand at the hem of it. The light in his legs faded, instead finding itself within both of his arms. The teen's voice was shaky. Even after seeing most of what Remnant had to offer, situations like this were never easy. "Do you trust me?"
"What- hell no! What are you trying to do?!"
Alright he expected that. Jaune winced, cracking a forced smile as he pleaded, "Try not to elbow me in the teeth for this later, alright?"
"Hang on-"
With a low and powerful grunt, the blond stepped forward and hurled Yang well past the halfway point in the bridge all the way to where Pyrrha and the others were. At least, that was where he was aiming.
His arms screamed as the muscles were forced with Aura, powered by the will of his very soul, as Yang's screams of confusion and bloody murder echoed along the gorge walls.
"WHAT THE FUCK, JAUNE, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?! I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KILL-"
Mostly the latter.
Yang's screams and shouts eventually evolved into a roar of pure rage that was proceeded with a massive explosion of what sounded like the baby of shotgun blast and a napalm bomb. In turn, that was proceeded with a screech of pain from the Deathstalker chasing them – preventing it from getting onto the bridge.
Looks like she got her gauntlets unjammed.
That group could handle a Deathstalker, especially with a furious Yang on their side. In fact, he pitied the scorpion-like Grimm for what was to come. Almost as much as he pitied himself for what was about to happen with the Nevermore still steady on its path of destruction.
Jaune's entire body burst forth with a radiant yellow and white glow as he threw his body as far as he could out of dodge – arms covering his face and legs already in the air, preparing for the lack of footing.
The Nevermore shattered the bridge like it was made of glass, sending huge chunks of stone hurtling through the air at colossal speeds. Jaune would have wagered that it would have looked pretty grandiose and, in a way, beautiful from good enough distance. What Jaune wouldn't bother wagering on was that he was going to fall into an endless pit.
Because he was currently falling into an endless pit.
Fat lot of good that whole preparing himself thing did. His full body amplification really only made it so he wasn't completely blown back by the Nevermore's tailwinds – he wasn't even hit by the Grimm itself despite its humungous wingspan.
Free-falling with, and surrounded by, differently sized chunks of rock – Jaune could do nothing to alter his own trajectory. He peeked from above his arms, eventually letting them flail uselessly upwards and staring upwards into the light.
At least the sun was out again.
…
And it just blacked out. Again.
"Ja-!"
That was weird. The Nevermore wasn't above him, he could tell that much from the deadly screech that was coming from the side – almost like it was celebrating the fact it killed a teenager. Cheer more, you piece of shit.
"Jau-!"
If only he had a way to just get up. Like, grapple onto the ledge of the nearby rock or platform with his hands, or something.
Hang on.
Jaune came back to life, out of his brainless stupor. Taking a sharp gasp of air, he immediately regretted the action as air came flooding in due to his speed. Now coughing roughly, the falling teen covered his mouth with one hand and tried to fumble around for his grappling hook again.
It felt like déjà vu.
"Come on… come on!" He practically had to yell at himself to get the thoughts past the wind whistling past his ears.
"Jaune!" A black silhouette, covered in shadow yelled again. It shot out a hand as the figure got closer and closer, apparently swinging towards the descending blonde, "Take it!"
Without a second thought, the hand that was itching for his grappling hook flung out to meet whoever was stupid enough to even attempt such a rescue mission.
He would take it obviously, it's not like he liked falling to his death, but it was still a stupid action go forward with – completely irresponsible. Something that a certain someone would do despite everything about such stupid and reckless behaviour.
The shadows of the figure cleared as the momentum from their swing flung the two high into the sky – the light of the sun revealing who came to his rescue.
"Blake?" Jaune was as surprised as he was relieved, the two still flying high as Blake shot him a side glance.
Her gaze found their way back forward, no doubt trying to find a place to land, "You can thank Ruby; she threatened to go down there herself and save you."
"That definitely sounds like her," Jaune smiled softly, sapphire eyes darting in a different direction to Blake's but with a similar intent, wind rushing past his entire body. "Totally had that under control, by the way."
Blake smirked, "Right." Her eyes came to harden as she spoke, "We're going to land next to Ruby and Weiss soon, get ready."
"You're right about one thing," the blonde interrupted, left hand reaching over to his right leg's belt and pulling out the device he was blue-balled from using twice at this point.
The two teens were still rising higher into the air far past the height of the Nevermore, blonde and raven hair fluttering wildly behind them. Amber eyes laid themselves on the focused pupils of sapphire, "What are you talking about…?"
Jaune's arm extended, lining up a shot with his hook-shot that was anywhere but next to Ruby and Weiss, "We're landing soon, get ready!"
With a hiss of rope and a puff of steam, the grappling hook was sent firing towards the back of the massive avian-like Grimm. Such a huge target could never be missed; the spiked end bit of the reinforced rope impaled the feathery flesh with a barely audible sound.
His gloved finger released the trigger, snapping Jaune forward as he pulled Blake along with him, who released a silent gasp in surprise.
Tugging at the device, the hook came free of flesh as the two teens were angled above the Grimm. Jaune let go of Blake's hand and yelled for her to brace. Landing with a roll, the blonde turned his head to see the raven-haired girl crouched and clutching at the beast's large feathers for stability.
"Okay," she shouted, sharply turning her head towards Jaune – causing him to flinch back slightly at the intensity behind her golden stare. "What now?"
Despite the undeniable feeling of fear being present, the blonde took a deep breath – closing his eyes and letting the adrenaline pump while experience took the wheel. Jaune's eyelids rose, revealing glowing pearls of sea-blue. They were filled with determination and will, unblinking despite the fearsome wind that pushed against their faces.
"We need to somehow get this Nevermore to stop flying – or at least prevent it from moving around so much." Crocea Mors revealed herself with a flash of light reflecting off the steel as Jaune pointed to one of the wings, "You take one side, I take the other, and we run across tearing it up as much as we can before we jump off."
"That's insane, how are we supposed to-"
"What about this whole day isn't?" Jaune replied, face hardened into a more confident smirk. It wasn't his best plan of action, but it could certainly work. Maybe if he had more time, he would have come up with something a little less reckless.
But he learnt from the best, after all.
Blake shook her head in disbelief, allowing the slightest tug of her lips, "How long do we have?"
Considering the length of the wing and the speed they were able to move at… "Five seconds?" Jaune guessed with a shrug.
The girl's weapon shifted into a blade as she pulled the sheathe from her back – the ribbons attached dancing gracefully. She stabbed one of the two swords into the Grimm's back to keep her steady in the absence of her clutching hand.
"Ready when you are."
Jaune nodded, turning his head towards the side he was responsible for. Left hand grasping the feathers while his right arm was outstretched and holding Crocea Mors, the blond's body radiated once more.
His supplies were about halfway out. Considering everything he had to go through today and the amount of stunts he pulled with his Semblance – not that bad.
Muscles twitched, ready to rupture with power, "Go!"
Blake nodded, keeping her body low and dashing towards the left as Jaune sprinted to the right. The Grimm they were clambering on let out another deafening screech, finally noticing the parasites that were infesting its feathers and crawling across its back.
Luckily, it seemed as though Weiss and Ruby had stopped their ranged assault on the Nevermore long before they had landed. No sudden rocking to shake his movement, no explosions of light or high-calibre sniper rounds whizzing past his face.
Perfect.
The legacy blade inserted itself into the coal flesh with ease, Jaune stabbing the weapon with both of his arms and tearing it along as he ran. Blood and feathers ripped up, spraying black ooze onto the pristine sword and onto Jaune's own trousers and hoodie.
A turn of the head told Jaune that she was doing much the same, wrenching her two swords along the wing before melding them into one and slashing it back and forth against the appendage.
Quickly refocussing, the blond noticed that he was coming up towards the end of the wing. The glow of his body was directed straight into his legs once more as he burst forth – the force behind his jump landing him near the head of the massive bird.
Snapping his eyes next to him, Jaune saw a gun-blade linked with a ribbon – followed by the material growing taught as Blake pulled it, bringing herself to a crouch next to Jaune.
"It's tough, but I think I got through enough," She said, amber eyes conveying the message clearly.
"Same here." He doubted he sliced through as much as Blake, but what he did would be enough to hinder the Nevermore's movement speed and control. Evidence of that was shining through, the flight growing more turbulent as the two communicated.
The next question from her had an obvious answer, "What now?"
Jaune looked at the drop below them, a miniscule speck of black and red waving its arms above her head as a speck of white – just as big – looked into the sky with a faint look of distress. At least it seemed like she cared.
"Now?" Jaune answered with another question, letting Crocea Mors sing as it cut into one of the Grimm's masked eyes, "Now we jump."
Blake eyes widened for a nanosecond before she complied, leaping across and aiming for one of pillars below with almost feline accuracy. Jaune made to follow, but was too slow – the Grimm at his feet buckling with feral anger and pain as its eye was slashed through.
Stumbling to keep his balance centered, the blonde took a knee and desperately sheathed Crocea Mors – completely unwilling to lose it again if he lost his grip on accident. The Nevermore screeched, bucked left and right, back and forth as Jaune struggled to get a grip.
Inching towards the side of the avian-Grimm's head he slowly began to lean off of the side as he body began to lightly glow once more. Gritting his teeth, Jaune could taste the blood that leaked from his gums as he began to pull the Nevermore to the side.
Through pure will, and muscles threatening to snap, the massive creature began to incline to the side – unable to redirect itself with its wings damaged and torn. But that's wasn't to say it didn't try. Large feathery appendages began to flap desperately and wildly with no care for what it would run into.
Which worked into Jaune's favour since he was currently driving the Grimm towards the nearby cliff-side.
Ramming the monster into the spiked edges of the rocky wall, Jaune swore as he almost got himself launched off of its head at the sudden stop. His body shook, the bones in his body vibrating – but he knew that the Nevermore was much worse off.
"Jaune! Over here!" Ruby's voice made it past the screeches of the Nevermore, much louder than he thought it would be. Crazed relief washed over him, knowing that he could probably do this and still live.
It was good timing too, because his arms – even with the power of his Semblance to help them past their limits – were about to give out.
His boots slammed into the side of the Grimm's head, kicking the teen off and sending him backwards into where he heard Ruby. In response, the massive midnight beak of the beast was open wide, breath smelling like rotten corpses and gunpowder, as it let out a final ear-splitting screech of defiance.
The blonde felt that he had enough in him to pull off just one more action out of his belt. Specifically, his torso belt – the one that contained a multitude of dust-based explosives. Jaune's hand swiftly unclipped a canister than was bound with red tape labelled `FIRE` in all capital letters.
Guess what it did.
Target wide and open, Jaune pulled the ringed pin with his left hand – ripping it from the canister – before chucking it into the Nevermore's gullet. The boned beak snapped shut, probably thinking it was part of Jaune and it was getting a smaller taster of its main course.
Well, be careful; this one's a little spicy.
…
Man, he nailed that.
The grenade exploded, streams of fire and shrapnel exploding from within the mouth – escaping through any orifice it could. Orange cascades of flame barrelled out of the Nevermore's nostrils in volumes that shouldn't have been possible and Jaune could have sworn it was about to burst through the eye that he cut through.
At least that would have happened if the Grimm didn't open its beak a second after the detonation took place. The fire still raged, flying forth as its pointed bill parted to let out a smoky shriek.
Uh-oh.
Tearing his arms up, the fire scorched his Aura, lowering his levels even further. His clothes were damaged and none of his equipment was about to prematurely blow – but it was pretty damn warm all of a sudden. An inferno blazed past his body, blowing him back more than he intended in the first place.
It ended up working in his favour; it's not like he could do much else to cross that massive gap – he might as well have caused a little more damage while making the jump.
Ruby yelled again, "Jaune!" In truth, he was relatively fine. Ruby was just being what Jaune thought `being Ruby` was. Not that it helped his red-cloaked friend's perception of things. "Don't worry, I'll catch you!"
Now that was something that he didn't want to happen. Aura or not, Jaune was a pretty heavy guy – and to catch him like some sort of ball would no doubt probably crush a girl of Ruby's petite stature.
Flipping himself around, Jaune uncrossed his arms from his face and began to wave them in an attempt to call Ruby off. "No, no! Don't catch me!"
"Catch you?! Why wouldn't I? I got you, Jaune!" He winced as Ruby very clearly misheard. Now directly looking at the girl, and beginning to get closer and closer to the platform itself, Ruby began to rush towards the blond's landing zone in a blur of roses.
But damn it, she couldn't have been that fixated on catching him, could she? "I said don't catch me! Don't catch me!"
Ruby began to nod quickly, arms spread wide and prepared.
If anything, she was prepared to get hit by a seventy or so kilogram male covered in dangerous explosives and various weapons. "Do catch you? What do you think I'm doing? I- woah!" Below her combat boots appeared a glowing circle, a white snowflake emblazoned within.
It tore her away from her spot, dragging her away in a way that made it seem like she was being pulled from the hood. Pure white turned to pitch black as the snowflake within morphed and shifted to fold in on itself – creating a more intricate pattern in the process.
Being constricted to the force of gravity for the majority of his life, you could probably imagine Jaune's sudden shock at that all being thrown at the window.
Pretty damn shocking.
It grew in size, encompassing more of the ruined temple platform before he slammed into the stone below. That was the plan, but like many other of the plans he's formulated over the course of the past few hours – it did not go according to his mental schematics.
Hovering suspended in the air with little to no repercussion on his body, Jaune let out straining noises, trying to keep his balance in the anti-gravity environment.
"Whoa, whoooa, whoa-"
At least as long as it remained.
"Owch! Damn it…"
It didn't remain long.
"What were you thinking, Ruby?" Weiss lowered her rapier, sounding as haughty and as self-important as she ever did.
Putting two and two together wasn't hard, at least if you were sober. Luckily, this was one of Jaune's better days – being able to piece together that the gravity phenomenon was linked into Weiss' weapon or Semblance, in one way or another.
His mind flashed back to the locker room, the glowing red rapier pointed straight at his jugular, only after the chamber had spun onto that specific colour. Did it conduct dust? That would make sense if there was a variation of black gravity dust that she had made for her somehow.
Even the regular purple crap was expensive as all hell – he would know, he used it with his weapon, after all.
The white-haired girl continued her berating, "You could have been crushed to smithereens! Did you see how fast he was moving?"
Ruby was on the floor, similar to how Jaune was, after being pulled by – what seemed like – magic. But Jaune knew better, such a concept didn't even deserve to be entertained. Magic didn't exist. Totally.
Ruby shook her head, standing up while smoothing out her skirt while pouting cutely, "Wasn't that fast… I could so move faster…" That same head snapped towards Jaune with a huge smile. "Jaune!" Ruby burst forward in a hurricane of petals, leaving Weiss to cough amongst the red storm.
Jaune was barely sat up before the floral explosion knocked him back down in a tight hug – her small arms wrapped around his torso. "I thought you were going to die! But then you were like hwaaah and hiyaaah and then drove a Nevermore into a cliff! That was so cool!"
Was it? Well, maybe it was. But there were more… pressing matters to attend to. Jaune craned his neck outwards, not really willing to address it but doing it anyway, "Hey, Ruby, you're a little… close." It's not like he didn't appreciate the gesture, or anything.
It was just that it wasn't every day girls just did that, you know? Especially when sometimes there were things in the way. Ruby's things were pretty nice.
Hey, me, degeneracy called – it's looking for someone wearing a tacky red cape. Heard of him? Jaune cursed his own imagination for wandering off in that direction. It was all Vul's fault, somehow. That much he was sure of.
Her silver eyes widened as she was back on her feet faster than Jaune could blink – the only real proof that it happened being the small amount of petals floating around. "Whoops! Heh heh… sorry." Ruby let out an adorable noise as she struggled to pull Jaune to his feet.
"It's fine." He grunted as the action brought him back to verticality, slowly moving his face away from the girl. Jaune wasn't about to let anyone else acknowledge the small tint of pink on his face. He was a growing boy, let the hormones run free.
Blake appeared suddenly next to him – her form dropped next to a pillar, the landing as silent as when they became partners. The click of Weiss' heels were getting closer and closer as she stood near Ruby, crossing her arms as the rapier she once held was now at her hip.
The four stood looking off of the empty space beyond the edge of the temple platform. Red, white, black and yellow staring at the monstrous mass that managed to raise itself after being scraped against a cliff. It dove, picking up as much as wind as it could under its torn wings, before coming back up – albeit much shakier than before – and made the four cover their faces from the tailwind kicked up.
It subsided as Blake turned to face the group, "Okay, what's the plan now?"
Jaune shot her slight look, born of a mixture of amusement and annoyance at her curiosity, "How many times are you going to say that today?"
"As many times as I need to. What are we doing now, Jaune?"
And like that, the raven-haired girl had just placed everything onto his shoulders. Weiss and Ruby turned to look at him, one looking skeptical while the other just seemed genuinely curious – placing a finger to her mouth.
His flat look towards Blake said it all but just in case, "Thanks, Blake."
Blake shrugged, half closing her eyes, "You got us this far into this mess, now you get us out. What do we do now?"
A singular eyebrow found its way quirked upward before Jaune shook his head, letting the thoughts run through. If his partner was about to put him in charge of this ship – he would make the voyage the best way he could.
Barely and with many bruises.
"Tell me again why we're listening to this… guy again?" Weiss asked, obviously less an enthusiastic at the thought of following Jaune's lead.
Jaune opened his eyes, turning his body to full face Weiss – his own form towering over hers, "Weiss."
She took a step back, "W-what is it?"
One of the blond's gloved hands gestured to the weapon that lie on her hilt, pointing with all fingers extended, "Your weapon, it conducts dust, right?"
It was evident that she was taken slightly aback by the observation as she her head flinched backwards, her cold blue eyes looking up and down Jaune. "It does, what of it?"
"And you have ice dust, don't you?"
Her look grew even more suspicious, "How do you know?"
Jaune thought it was wise not to mention the light blue marker he saw on the chamber's surface. "Lucky guess." He turned to get a good look at the Nevermore, its flight path slow and weary – slowed extensively. Calling out, Jaune didn't bother to look back, "Those symbols of yours, you can pass dust through those, can't you?"
"They can," Weiss' voice grew frustrated – inquisitive. "All of these questions, Arc, what are you trying to get at?"
A single finger pointed upwards at the Grimm. Jaune kept it there, this time acknowledging Weiss and facing her, "Think you could freeze those wings? Easy target."
Her icy eyes blinked, as if taking in something, before she closed them fully and began walking forward next to Jaune. Revealing their colour again, Weiss' chin rose to get a better view of the Nevermore, "Theoretically. Though, it's too far away for me to create a glyph – let alone control its specific location."
"No problem," Jaune opened his palm, filling it with a golden glow. "I have something just for that." Extending his arm, the teen cusped his hand over her snow-white shoulder and began to flow his Aura through. Weiss tried to back away, but Jaune held tighter, reassuring her with honest sapphire eyes, "Bear with me for a second, okay?"
Reluctantly, Weiss complied; her eyelids getting heavier for some reason. They snapped back open as she gasped, startled by the sensation that she undoubtedly felt. "What did you just do?"
"There, that should do it. Try using your Semblance now."
Weiss regarded Jaune in a manner he was getting accustomed to despite them only having met a day ago. "How did you know it was my Semblance?" She asked.
Jaune shrugged, "Lucky guess."
It was true, really. Not many people this day and age could just conjure up a mystical lava-lamp snow-flake ring out of sheer nothingness. Not many people, period. But Weiss didn't see it that way, making a show of giving a cute pout with furrowed brows – completely taking Jaune off guard.
Weiss? Cute? Even if it was only a day, the amount of time Jaune had spent with the girl was enough to make him think those two words held no place together. She wasn't as bad as Yang, though.
Jaune felt a chilling sensation down the back of his spine.
Drawing her rapier, Weiss held it vertically – parallel to her face – with both hands. Once again, her eyes shut themselves as she appeared to be in immense focus. Her voice came out surprised, "I-I can feel it. I can reach it. It's in range…?" Her last statement came out as more of a question, one doubtful eye staring down the blonde beside her, "What exactly did you do to me, Arc?"
"Call it encouragement," he evaded. "When I give the word, create your glyphs and pump them with ice to freeze over its wings, got it?
Another hesitant second.
Eventually, Weiss turned her attention away from Jaune, closing her eyes once again as she attempted to grasp the location of the Nevermore once again. "Of course I do; who do you think I am? This task will be simple." She replied proudly.
Yeah, thanks to me. Jaune rolled his eyes, and twisted backwards to meet the other two members of their little action squad. "Blake, your ribbon is reinforced, right?"
Black hair bobbed as she nodded swiftly, narrow golden eyes meeting Jaune's in distinct attention, "Yes. It could take the weight of a Goliath on a good day."
Jaune smiled, "Is today a good day?"
Blake smirked, giving an indifferent shrug, "It's alright."
"Good enough. Ruby-" Her silver eyes lit up at the mention of her name. Jaune was afraid she was about to pop into a pile of rose petals due to the excitement, like a little red balloon.
"Yes?"
"Okay, first," Both of Jaune's hands landed firmly on her shoulders, squeezing them slightly as he tilted his head forward. "Calm down."
Ruby took in a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. "Okay, calm. Now what?!"
She wasn't calm.
He'd work with it. "I'm having Weiss freeze over the Nevermore's wings. Once she does, it's going to be falling down in an extremely predictable trajectory. What I want you to do is-"
She gasped, leaning in – starry eyed, "Slice right through it?!" Her trembling voice was filled with much more elation than a young girl should ever have for wanting to kill something. Maybe encouraging the beast within wasn't the best idea.
But Jaune never was the most responsible person, and he sure as hell wasn't about to start here.
"Right through its neck."
Ruby's smile widened.
Jaune let go of the shaking girl's shoulders, jogging around to a nearby pillar. The cogs in his head turned, formulating what to do. This was insane. Absolutely crazy. Under no circumstance should this have been entertaining or feel like a break in any way or capacity. So why did Jaune wear a smile of his own? It was plastered across his face, truthful and honest. To some, he might have been seen as a madman. So why was he smiling?
Really? This all just seemed like fun.
Not one time in the past year did he feel this way when travelling around Remnant with Vul. Not once. There was so much of… of everything. Pain and destruction. Blood and death. People and betrayal. And, sure, the possibility of death was still here – they were fighting a Nevermore that was flying across a gap of infinite endlessness for crying out loud!
But it just felt different.
"Blake, ribbon!" A gunshot rang out as the gun-blade came whirling towards his hand. Against all odds, the handle landed perfectly in his palm – making Jaune stare at it before he shrugged and wrapped it around the pillar.
Throwing it back, the only difference being the lack of gunshot, Blake caught the weapon and stared at both him and it with confusion before she visibly piecing together Jaune's idea. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Her amber eyes were filled mirth as opposed to intrigue as she chucked the ribbon back with another shot.
"Well." His hands found their way toward the weapon this time, shooting forward to wrap his fingers around it, "There's only one way to find out."
Back and forth the strangely long ribbon came, with each wrap around making the line grow taught with each rotation. Like a well-oiled machine, both Jaune and Blake repeated the process over and over until the voice of Ruby yelled out to them.
"Guys! Weiss says that this is going to be our best shot!"
Cerulean looked up from its work. The Nevermore was circling the platform slowly, but this time it was hovering the high above the cliff opposite to the group. If Ruby was to be fired from their makeshift slingshot now, she could easily land on top of the cliff and complete her role unharmed.
"Alright, that should be good enough. Thanks, Blake." She nodded as Jaune knotted the gun itself at the behind the center of the wrapped black material. "Ruby!" She turned almost instantly, waiting for the words to be spoken.
And Jaune would provide, "It's time."
Ruby exploded into roses, leaving Weiss once again in the dust of her petals. Though this time, the most she had to give was a furrowed brow due to her deep concentration.
Her weapon, Crescent Rose shifted into its scythe form as she hooked the edge over the midnight cloth – pushing it back slightly at the weight. Blake wasn't lying – that ribbon was tougher than it looked. "Send me in, Jaune, I'm ready." The small girl growled menacingly.
"Hold on for a second," Jaune replied, not yet happy with sending Ruby off without insurance. For what he planned to be the final time today – the blond's palm began to glow as his Aura to fuelled his semblance once more. His hand rose itself, reaching over the small barrier between the two and clutching the girl's forearm.
"Huh?" Ruby didn't expect her friend to grab her, making her whirl around to take a look at what was happening. Briefly glancing at his hand on her arm, silver trailed upwards to Jaune's face. "Is that the same thing you gave to Weiss?"
The blonde nodded, not at all taken by surprise. Ruby seemed like the type to catch on quickly, much like himself. "Yeah, do you trust me?"
Her head tilted as she shut her eyes, letting a few red-tipped bangs fall over her face. Jaune found her toothy grin infectious. "Of course! Why wouldn't I?" He made an effort not to elaborate on his question. Her naivety truly was as endearing and inspiring as it was worrying. Complaining about it wasn't something the blond was about to do.
"Right." As Jaune concentrated to use his discovered ability, Ruby turned around and focused herself at the task on hand – her target in the clouds.
His Semblance manipulated to work Aura. Well, work with it. As a by-product of training it, he managed to attune himself so much so to the inner-workings of Aura that he developed the ability to sense and thereby understand it. At least to an extent.
But that extent told him of Weiss' concentration, Blake's determination and Ruby's hope. Each one of their Auras, their souls, told him of that. And while he could understand others, his own feelings and thoughts were much harder to determine and comprehend. Everything was scattered and fragmented to him.
But in there here and now, the pieces unified into one picture – one job. Work with these three girls to take down that Nevermore and secure his place at Beacon.
He felt the connection between him and Ruby open up, allowing him to gently move his own Aura through and work on her speed – her Semblance. Again, he guessed as much. People didn't really explode into a gale of rose petals and get from zero to the speed of sound in a split second. Slowly, the feelings of red were coated with gold-tinted white as the glow of his hand deluged Ruby's arm.
"A-ahh… Mmfffp! More…" Ruby bit her lip, almost drawing blood as her head jerked forward at the intense sensation she must have felt.
In an instant Jaune drew his hand back and took a defensive stance, arms raised in the air. Somewhere in front of them, he was sure that Weiss had stumbled over herself and somehow ended up on the floor. Blake stood by a pillar, the sheathe end of her blade drawn and ready, but a crimson tint to her features.
The girl opened her eyes, probably not even aware that they were closed in the first place. Her head span back and forth, looking to the others – uncertainty written across her face. "…W-what? What happened? I feel… faster – lighter."
He shot a suspicious look to Blake, who gave an equally bewildered glance to him. Did she really not…?
Jaune slapped himself on the cheeks, much to the surprise of Ruby – who recoiled at the action. Shaking off the pain, he wrapped the remainder of the gun-blade's ribbon around his wrist. It was the part he knotted at the center.
"You've already noticed – but you'll be able to move much faster." The blonde gave the ribbon a test pull. Tight. Good. "Aim right for the neck while the Nevermore's coming down and slash right through."
It was almost like the past minute went forgotten as Ruby gave him a single, powerful nod. It had only been a day, but Jaune would have thought that her smile defined her. "Got it."
"Weiss! How's it lining up?"
She called back, recovered and once more in complete concentration, "It's in range! If you want its wings frozen, now is the time to do so!"
No time like the present. "Do it!" Jaune yelled out as he began to fuel his body with the remainder of his Aura.
Blake clambered up the nearby pillars, jumping off of each foundation and making her way up to the top to get a better vantage point. It looked as though her boots had some sort of magnetic attraction to the surfaces she was clinging to, but it simply wasn't the case. It was pulled from a pool of both talent and skill.
With terrifying levels of agility and coordination, she rebounded from each vertical plane as her fingers gripped the edge of the apex part as the girl pulled herself upward. She was just in time to see the spectacle unfold.
Two massive ornamental circles, embellished with snowflakes of the purest white began to illuminate the black wings of the Nevermore. Ice formed lightly. Its frozen texture scattered scarcely across the flesh until the two glowing symbols began to rotate faster.
Faster and faster, the gyration appeared violent – almost like a saw blade. They came to an instantaneous halt before the size of the discs grew immensely in size, compacted and shattered with an audible noise. Each segment was rapid and direct, coming one after the other.
All of a sudden, a glacier bloomed across the Grimm's appendages – encasing both of the things in a frozen prison. Huge puffs of chilled air flew off from the tips of the icy spikes that patterned the wing's edge. It was undeniably beautiful.
A ghastly squawk from the Nevermore's beak proved that it begged to differ.
It tried to move its wings to no avail, the action making the tension of its efforts visible to all parties. With no way to properly move forward, the Grimm screeched as it fell onto its back in mid-air – letting the frozen appendages thrash around uselessly above its body. Flakes of ice glistened from a distance, shedding off of the beast as it plummeted.
"Hrrgh!" Jaune's voice groaned from below her.
Her attention snapped downwards to see that the blonde's face was warped in a fierce scowl – his teeth grit as he began to pull back the slingshot. Her ribbon was stiff against his wrist, growing tighter as he continued heave and ho.
Across his body was smouldering with a flickering white. Each yank was supported by his combat boots digging into the ground under him. Ruby hung onto the ribbon with her scythe, absolutely buzzing with exhilaration – winds seemingly collating around her dress, making her red cloak flitter.
"Ruby, are you ready?!" Jaune managed to pant out. One of his eyes was closed as he attempted to steady himself – the black ribbon prepared to outburst with force.
It was like he didn't even have to ask. Her answer came as fast as Jaune asked the question.
"Yes!"
Undoing the twirl of cloth around his wrist, he held strong as the glow around his body crackled. No time left. He let go of the ribbon, making the black material snap forward and send Ruby rocketing forward. Jaune himself was blown back by the very action breaking the sound barrier.
Pure shock caused him to tumble backwards, rolling on his back against the temple floor as the force of the air shattered his Aura. A cloud of kicked-up dust covered the crumble of yellow. Looks like he was finally out. Not bad for a day's work.
Balancing himself on his elbows and forearms, Jaune inclined his head upwards to watch Ruby soar. Like a meteorite, she flew - trails of blazing rose petals were littered across the open air. He could only watch in distant amazement as the tiny girl continued to accelerate – Crescent Rose, that scythe of hers, locked under her elbows as she fired the sniper function to rotate her.
Ruby was a hurricane – a tempest. A shooting star, followed by a shower of red that became the edge of her fatal rotation. They almost appeared razor sharp as her battle-cry was audible from his position.
Blake and Weiss were in similar shock and Jaune let a satisfied smile grace his features. His sapphire eyes rose to bear witness to the unbelievable display once more.
Go get 'em, Ruby.
The Nevermore's head was severed straight from the neck in an ultimate, lethal strike. Showers of black blood transfigured into a rain of soot – dancing within the cloud of roses as Ruby's boots dug into the land on top of the opposite cliff. Similarly, her scythe ploughed the dirt, bringing her to a complete stop.
And as the beheaded Grimm began to descend further into the abyss below – Ruby stood tall from her perch, victorious and smiling. Her hood fluttered and her eyes caught the light, all of this way apart. She was even in a cheesy little pose that Jaune had to admit was pretty cool, all things considered.
What was this high? He had never before experienced anything like it.
Well, one thing was for sure. As Jaune traded joyful looks on the floor between Blake and Weiss, and words of congratulations were shared amongst the trio, he understood that maybe there was hope to be had after all.
Maybe there was hope for him after all.
/-/
The applause was deafening. Who knew Beacon had so many students and faculty within it? Thinking about it, it did make sense, but compared to yesterday – this was insane.
"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark. The four of you managed to retrieve the black bishop pieces and, from this day forth, you will work as Team CRDL – led by…"
Silence.
"Cardin Winchester."
Once again, the clapping came back at full force. It was pretty bad at the front row, too. Jaune could feel the nerves building up and the swear pouring down. Honestly, it was impressive how Professor Ozpin could even present the ceremony with so much charisma. The silver-haired headmaster essentially oozed it out of his being.
Some men were just men of the people. Such was the unfairness of life.
He felt a sharp prodding against his ribs. He jumped back slightly, turning his head to see Ruby with a smile. "You'll be fine, Jaune, don't worry!" The red-hooded girl was sat to his left while Blake was to his right. Weiss on Ruby's other side, crossing her arms and watching the procession with undivided attention.
Jaune resisted the urge to roll his eyes and laugh, "Ruby."
"Yeah?"
"Your knees are trembling."
Her once triumphant attitude broke apart as she stammered and stuttered to keep up her façade. Ruby's eyes darted to her legs, attempting to cover them as she replied, "Eek! N-no they aren't! You're just imagining things… heh, normal knees… today's been real hard on you, huh?"
She probably didn't even mean it and was trying to redirect his attention, but Jaune found the statement to be true in more ways than one. Today certainly happened. "Ruby?"
"Y-yeah?"
"Thank you. For trying to cheer me up." She seemed like the type to want to do as much good, no matter what. The type to want to save everyone.
The self-destructive type.
Ruby's blubbering ceased as her bright smile returned, "Yeah. No problem!"
The click of heels found themselves in front of the four teenagers. She turned promptly, pivoting on her footing as she tapped meticulously on the device she held in her arms. The stage was actually quite tall and her presence did nothing to hinder the vision of the people watching the grand event.
At least if you're name didn't rhyme with lawn, jewellery, price or cake
"You four are on after the next team. Please be prepared to make your way on stage," She informed – nodding her head towards the staircase leading upward and around.
Getting a better observation, Jaune recognised her as the woman who stood next to Ozpin both at Induction and Initiation, most likely his secretary or vice-principal. Judging by the tired look on her face and the constant sentiment that she would explode in anger at any moment – he was guessing the former. No vice-principal would look that on edge.
Looked like a woman with way too much paperwork to deal with.
Each one of them nodded, earning an understanding nod back from the woman who began to make rounds across the groups of students.
"Ooh, ooh – Jaune, look! It's Yang!" Ruby pulled his sleeve and pointed happily on the stage.
With his attention redirected, Jaune had no choice but to look up. Sure enough, the fiery blonde stood confidently on stage – arms crossed with her lips pulled into a fearsome grin. She was next to Pyrrha who, by comparison, was much more akin to an angel next to a demon.
Her gloved hands were linked in front of her as she stood tall, but not arrogant. Nora had an excitable smile that you probably cut yourself on, while Ren would have seemed disinterested if it wasn't for the ghost of a pleased pull on his features.
"Pyrrha Nikos, Yang Xiao-Long, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you managed to retrieve the white rook pieces and, from this day forth, you will work as Team Prismarine – led by…"
The professor's smooth voice trailed off, letting the absence of words wash over the audience.
"Pyrrha Nikos."
Cheers and applause, noticeably much larger than the previous team, as the red-haired girl received congratulations from her comrades on stage. Yang gave her multiple solid pats on the back while Nora, for all intents and purposes, leapt onto the girl's arm and was hanging off of it. Ren came up not long after, offering a nod of approval as the newly formed team celebrated – the letters `PYRN` appearing on the screen behind them.
Pyrrha's emerald eyes tore themselves from her friends on stage as she began to scan the audience. She found what she was looking for. She found Jaune. In response, he offered a thumbs up and a smile of his own – to which she widened her eyes before nodding with furrowed brows. Definitely seemed like the competitive type, for sure.
Ozpin's head slowly turned off-stage, smiling whimsically. "Will the next team please make their way towards the stage?" His eyes – his being… Jaune swore that it was all aimed at him. He couldn't even move. All of the intensity focused-
"Jaune, come on! We're late! I can't believe we're late!" Ruby exploded into roses yet another time. Really, Jaune should have been thankful for it.
"That dolt… doesn't she know we're supposed to all go up together?" Her partner lamented, stomping her way towards the staircase. It shouldn't have been too hard considering Ruby literally left a trail of red in her path.
Blake was next to stand, turning her body halfway and nodding her head to where they had to go expectantly. Her amber eyes glowed but they no longer instilled fear over him, as they once admittedly did.
Guess it was his time to shine, much to his dismay.
The two jogged up on stage, where Ruby was stood ramrod straight in obvious stage-fright and Weiss was posed elegantly in front of the audience – seemingly much more acclimated to the limelight. Luckily Jaune only had a case of the shakes, barely noticeable.
He hoped, anyway.
"Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna. The four of you managed to retrieve the white knight pieces and, from this day forth, you will work as Team Raspberry – led by…"
Gods it was so much worse on stage. Jaune felt like he would melt under the electrical silence the headmaster had forced upon the entire academy.
"Ruby Rose."
Cheers erupted. Weiss kept her face neutral, offering her congratulations to Ruby as the girl hugged her in return. Jaune did much the same, nodding and smiling at Ruby while Blake crossed her arms and tilted her head in the general direction of the commotion across from them.
Though, as the snow-white girl attempted to pry Ruby off of her – Jaune couldn't help but shake the presence of something higher. Something shocked. Something surprised. Something sad. It was freezing; it felt for his face and grasped at the flesh. It was something powerful.
Weiss' true feelings were powerful.
Her Aura was cold like ice.
"Congrats, Ruby." Jaune said, finally stepping towards the short girl after the even shorter girl managed to escape her clutches. "You deserve it."
Ruby shied away from the praise, scratching her cheek, "Awww, shucks… you don't mean it, really."
Amidst the roaring cheers that still echoed across the hall, he continued, "No, I do."
Her head was fully turned at this point. A complete one eighty. "T-thank you…"
"Sorry what? This crowd's kind of loud, don't you think? Anyway, let's get off this stage – man, I am tired." He yawned to emphasize, stretching his arms as he walked off the stage.
Weiss, Blake and even Ozpin tracked the blond as he strutted off-stage via the stairway. Even some of the crowd were making questioning noises – though applause was still present. Really, Ruby was just happy that he wasn't there to see the blush on her face. Why did he have to be so nice and understanding?! Similarly, Jaune was happy that nobody else could see the pink rising to his cheeks.
She got to him in the same way, damn it! The very same way she first said it during the post-Induction sleepover! He slammed his metaphysical head against the confines of his mental being while contemplating slamming his actual head against the wall next to him.
"Well," Ozpin chuckled, drawing the attention of the girls left on stage not dealing with hormonal imbalances. "Imagine his surprise when he finds out that you're all sharing a dorm room."
Weiss and Blake almost fell over. Ruby had already fainted.
Ending Notes:
And on that note, Initiation is finally wrapped up!
I'm actually kind of proud with how I portrayed the fight against the Nevermore. Please, tell me how I did since it might be possible that I didn't spend enough time on certain parts or spent too much time on others.
There were parts I was iffy on and where I don't think I wrote as well as I could. For example, when Blake and Jaune were running atop the Nevermore to tear up its wings. Followed up by the whole – fire in the Nevermore's hole – thing with the grenade.
And yeah, I'm trying to slowly flesh out Jaune's perception on the world without fully explaining it. I'll need to get ahead with the Qrowments before I do that.
Speaking of, there haven't been any for the past two or three chapters – right? That'll change soon; don't you worry your cute little faces off.
Funny thing about the whole Ruby fiasco after Jaune uses his Semblance:
I finished writing the chapter for the night since I was absolutely shattered and when I woke up and opened my Word doc again I see in all caps: `TOTALLY HAVE RUBY MOAN AFTER JAUNE USES HIS SEMBLANCE`. That alone had me just staring at my PC screen like, "…wut?"
After writing it up, I spent like five minutes looking at the bit wondering what the hell I was doing. I ended up keeping it just for comic relief since a part of me still found it hilarious that innocent and pure Ruby is unintentionally being sexual.
Just know that if I return to that dynamic, it's NEVER happening in front of Yang and it's going to be amazing. (why do i do this to myself)
Also Teams PYRN (Prismarine) and RASB (Raspberry) are a thing now!
Please note, I am fully aware that prismarine isn't a colour. Hell, it isn't even a word in general. In fact, here's an omake of sorts to give you an idea of Team PYRN got its name.
Glynda sighed, eyes shut in frustration as she pinched her nose. Ozpin, just minutes before the ceremony had continued to launch every single idea of a team name at her. Some didn't even make sense.
"Prismarine?" She asked - incredulous, "Ozpin, that isn't even a colour. You could have just named them Prism and be done with it!"
Ozpin sipped at his mug while his vice-principal relayed her concerns. Slowly, it was brought back down to see an infuriated Glynda Goodwitch – expecting answers and expecting them now.
"Come now, do you really think Prism as good a name as Prismarine? Three syllables are better than one. At least, most of the time." The headmaster's voice was soft and soothing. Unfortunately for him, it would take much more than a calm voice to quell the wrath of an angry Goodwitch. "And anyway, there are no particular… rules about having to name the teams after a colour."
Glynda's voice rose, to which the headmaster bore with grace and ruptured eardrums, "Yes, there are! You made them!" She threw her hands in the air, pacing back and forth. "You may be the headmaster, but you can't just go around making up entire words and naming teams after them!"
Gently, he laid down his mug on a nearby and tucked his cane underneath his armpit. "Alright then, Glynda, look at me."
The vice-principal stopped her infernal march and crossed her arms defiantly, body turned away from her damned employer.
"Don't be like that… look at me."
No response.
"Please, entertain me."
Nothing.
"If not for me, then for an old friend."
A defeated sigh. She turned on her heel, one knee cocked upwards and arms still crossed as her bright green eyes were flat, but sharp. "Go on," she commanded.
Ozpin chuckled as he set the scene, "Close your eyes and imagine…"
She did as told, shutting her eyelids and awaiting what the silver-haired man had to say.
"Imagine a whole new world, a world where the seas are prismarine and the skies are prismarine. Imagine the sea creatures below – coloured prismarine – and where hidden and ancient prismarine temples lie in wait. Imagine eyes – bright, prismarine eyes – like the ocean… imagine-"
"Alright!" Glynda him off with a held up hand. Her breath was unsteady as she panted to regain it. "I get it."
Ozpin had long since returned to his mug, taking a celebratory sip – if only to hide his smug smile. And Glynda knew that was why he did it.
That sly wizarding bastard.
Totally how I would imagine it going down.
This A/N has been stupidly long so if you read this far in, thanks! I don't think I could write another word after all of this. Taken so much creative juice to do so already.
As always…
Hang on- what's going on? What do you mean we've got a- Wait! You can't-!
Hauling the worn backpack over his coated shoulder, the man pushed the lodge door open with ease – allowing the bright light to blind his vison for a second. Just a second.
"Honey… are you sure about all of… well… this?" His beautiful wife looked apprehensive about the whole ordeal. She never was quite the same after what happened that one fateful night. Even with the doubt scribbled across her face – he couldn't help but stare lovingly into her beautiful emerald eyes.
Turning around to meet the woman who questioned him, the man replied, "I have to, sweetie." He stepped forward, leaning in and giving a loving kiss on her lips. It was one that she reciprocated. "I've asked the village guard to be on high-alert, though you know as well as anyone that no Grimm ever dare set foot 'round these parts."
She leant in, her blonde locks ticking his forehead as they touched affectionately. "And who do we have to thank for that?"
He chuckled.
It was early morning. Very early morning. He had a boat to catch after all. "The girls are all still asleep, right?"
"Of course." They stayed in their embrace for a second before the woman stepped back, an amused expression pulling her features. "You want me to tell them that you love them for you, don't you?"
His own features contorted as he struggled to find the words, "Well, I… you know…"
She let out an entrancing laugh, full of motherly love for both her husband and the children he knew she loved so much. "Oh, dear… has the big, scary huntsman turned into a softie after all these years?" Her laughter ceased, expression lowering alongside her voice. "Why can't you just do it yourself? You know they won't mind…"
"You know it's not that easy."
She raised her head, her emerald eyes locking onto his deep sapphire. Understanding. Considerate. What he fell in love with her for.
"I know."
"Mommy…?"
His wife swivelled backwards, her long knee-length skirt fluttering upward slightly at the rotation. Kneeling down, she picked up the little girl whose voice was tired and unsteady.
"Aw, my little Amber… what are you doing awake so early?" Like she always did, she treated their children with tender care. His wife's voice was sweet and elegant in an attempt to sooth the girl.
"I heard-" his youngest daughter yawned, both hands wrapped around the present that her brother got for her. It was for her most recent birthday. "I heard Daddy and Mommy talking… so I came to say bye-bye."
She made it seem as though he was always away. And in a way, she was right. And it broke his heart.
He tried his best and made as much time as he could for his daughters, but he wasn't yet retired. He had so much more to do. Especially after…
Suddenly, the man found himself within the lodge cabin again – stepping closer towards his groggy daughter. Held from under the legs by his wife, he found himself leaning in and placing a kiss on her head as he whispered, "Daddy loves you, sweetheart."
This time, his daughter spoke, nodding cheerfully despite her apparent grogginess, "I know."
Smiling, he backed away from his little girl – only to find himself face to face with a giggling wife, "What?"
She waved off his advances, "Nothing, nothing… I'll make sure to pass your message onto the other girls – don't you worry."
"No, wait. What? What were you laughing at?"
His wife continued giggling as she began to push him out of the lodge door. "Come on, go now or you won't want to leave. Come on, go!" She was successful in her endeavour. He was stood out in the light while she was safely within the cabin. A pointed finger was directly aimed at his face – green eyes accusing, "And don't you dare come back without finishing what you went out to do."
He was left wide-eyed before shaking his head at his own stupidity. He needed that. "I wouldn't dream of it. I'll see you later, June."
Nodding firmly, her expression softened back into one moulded of pure love. "Make sure of that."
"You too, Amber."
"Mmmffpl…" His youngest mumbled into the chest of his beloved – drool dampening the material. She was already asleep.
Hauling the worn backpack over his coated shoulder, the man gave a wave over his shoulder as he began to walk away from the cabin. The log door closed shut, leaving the faces of his wife and daughters home.
But not all of his daughters, unfortunately.
"You better find him out there, Dad." The voice was controlled, cautious. Some may have said inherently seductive. But to him, it was simply the voice of another one of his more… troublesome daughters, in her pajamas and out in the front yard of their humble home.
He sighed, but managed a worn and gruff smile, "Of course, Coral. Now get back inside before your mother finds out. How did you even get out here?"
"Through the back door," she shrugged before her voice turned pitchy and sarcastic. "And I think it's a bit late for that…" Coral began to walk back towards the log cabin, each step crunching the grass below. But before she fully returned, she called out behind her, "And if he's not out there, make sure to tell us straight."
The girl's voice was now barely above a whisper; she knew it was enough for her father to hear. "…We love him too much to be lied to."
His gaze hardened. He wouldn't dream of doing anything of the sort. Shaking his head, the man turned back – dirty, blonde locks waving in the wind's gentle breeze. The sword at his hip jingled at each step. Battle-worn, old, reliable.
But not as reliable as that one.
Old combat boots thudded against the ground; his strides began to pick up pace – purpose only befitting a man on a mission fuelling each footfall.
Nicholas Arc had answers to find.
And there was one place where he knew he would find them.
Thank you for reading this chapter!