-Semblance of Brotherhood-
Chapter 7: Dusteel
"I've been waiting for you to call all morning, Rome, is the last one dealt with or not?" He asked the moment his black Scroll started to ring. There was silence on the other end of the call for several seconds.
Something's up. Roman doesn't do shit like this.
"Rome, are you there?" He pressed, his voice growing rigid. Finally, he heard the bastard shout from the background of the call.
"Just a second, kid!" The shift in tone after that told Silva that he was talking to someone on his end of the call. "I know, I know, but this Taro kid's way more dangerous than you seem give him credit for." There was a pause. Who the fuck are you talking to, Roman? Silva raised the phone to his upper ears, leaning into it in an effort hear the other. He couldn't make out anything specific, just that it was vaguely feminine.
After another few moments, Roman seemed to actually pick up the phone, muttering a grateful, "Thanks, Neo." before he turned his attention back to Silva.
"Sorry for the hold up, buddy, got someone here who's wanting to speak to you. I think you're gonna want to hear what she has to say, we can talk about business after that." He explained.
"That's fine. Who is it?" Before Roman could answer, however, there was a short rustle as though someone had slipped the phone from the thief's hands.
"That, would be me." A rich, almost seductive female voice answered, "My name is Cinder Fall. I've heard a bit about you, Taro, just as it seems you've heard a bit about me." Her tone lowered slightly, the barest hint of displeasure in her voice.
That had probably been that last thing Silva had expected out of this call. His lips curled up just a little.
"I've heard that you roped the White Fang into petty robbery." All the information he'd had coming to Vale had come from a conversation he'd overheard in his camp's infirmary. The two guards watching him had spoken of a Human woman making deals with Sienna Khan directly, one who went by the name Cinder Fall. Seems she didn't bother with aliases.
The woman let out an amused hum, "Well, well, I suppose you've already formed quite the strong opinion of me. Allow me to quash those thoughts, if I may?" Felt more like a statement than a question, but he didn't stop her from continuing.
"Ah, it's refreshing to speak with someone who understands basic respect." She remarked, "You see, Taro, my partnership with your little band of terrorists is something that serves to mutually further our goals. They give me pawns to use as I deem necessary, and I supply them with the Dust they need to remain a relevant threat. It's not all that complicated, really."
"So you're telling me Sienna Khan agreed to work with a Human? Forgive me if I find that difficult to believe." She'd sooner have Cinder executed than humor any sort of fair business.
"I can agree with that sentiment." Her voice took on a bit of an edge, then, "No, the person I've made an arrangement with is the new Head of Operations for the White Fang in Vale. Goes by the name Taurus, if I'm not mistaken." A pit formed in his gut. Had they really pushed that project so quickly? He'd heard talk of a branch of the Fang being set up here in the Kingdom, but never expected it to be realised so soon.
"Adam."
"Hm? You know each other? How quaint.
Regardless, I wanted to let you know that I wish to meet in person. There are things I'd like to discuss with you, all of which are too sensitive to speak of over Scroll." Before he could reply, there was another rush of air past the mircophone as the phone likely was given back to Roman.
"Do fill the boy in on the details of our meeting, dear Roman, I have more urgent matters to attend to." She said, the audible click of heels fading away before a door shut.
"Silva." His voice was gritty, like he was talking through his teeth.
"Care to explain what the fuck that was? I asked for information, not to talk to the bitch!" Silva barked.
"Do you have any fucking idea what I had to go through to make sure that was all she did? A rat caught wind of you digging for info on her, she wanted to fucking kill you, dumbass! And before you give me that stupid 'I can handle myself' bullshit, her Semblance is literally fire!" He rattled off in return, causing a small cavern to open up in his gut. A fire-based Semblance? That would make his own so difficult to use that he might as well not have one in the first place. He silence seemed to tell Roman he'd made his point.
"You get it now, hotshot? We fucked around and got involved in some heavy shit, Silva, I'm talking the end of Vale here! She's got enough ordinance to turn half of the city into fucking ash, and she wants more!" Oh.
Oh, fuck.
Pure shock left him completely slack-jawed for nearly ten full seconds. Roman seemed to understand he needed a moment to digest it.
"That's..."
"Insane? Absurd? Absolutely fucking terrifying!? Take your pick!" All of that and more. It was so overboard that it didn't even make sense as some declaration of war. Then again, why bother letting anyone know when you already have enough supplies to torch half the city?
"Why?" It just didn't make any sense logically.
"That's the worst part, man, her actual goal is completely classified. She won't even tell me why we're stealing Dust." But there weren't a lot of things that much Dust could be used for.
Roman let out a heavy breath, "Yes, I'm fine, Neo. Sounds like the kid's fine, too." He half-muttered. His attention seemed to turn back to the phone. "Just do what she says and we'll be fine. If you decide to... improvise, leave me out of it. You know me," Silva cut him off.
"Lie. Cheat. Steal. Survive. I didn't forget who I'm talking to, Roman, and don't worry. You won't have anything to do with what comes next, if things go smoothly." Silva assured, before his tone thickened with aggravation again. "My last mark. Is it done."
"Ah, right, nearly slipped my mind. You're good, kid, little Neo here was touched by your effeciency, so she took the liberty of killing Mr. Overcompensation for you." Relief managed to help dampen his paniced mood, the satisfaction of a completed mission was oh so welcome.
"Good. Tell ice-cream-head I appreciate the save." Before he went and wasted any more time, Silva hung up and stuffed the Scroll into his uniform's inside pocket.
I need to remember this spot. It's... peaceful. In a way he couldn't really specify. He just wanted an out of the way place to use his black-market Scroll without drawing attention, but this outcropping on Beacon's central tower, about midway up, was more than he could have asled for. It was a small, stable outcropping of brick that overlooked the Emerald Forest, made even more serene by the fact that it's position rendered it eternally shaded. He could come here whenever he liked, and never had to worry about being found.
Too bad I can't stay and enjoy it. Huffing, he fell back into the wall behind him.
With Pyrrha...
Before she came to Beacon, Pyrrha Nikos had despised her name. In fact, she'd hated pretty much her entire lot in life until she came to the Academy.
Now? She still hated being an icon, but she wouldn't trade what she had now for the whole world.
"Jaune, could you hand me Milo?" She asked as she strapped her left shinguard to her leg, the adorable blonde giving her an easy smile before passing it to her from her locker. Her own smile warmed just a little bit at how casual the exchange was.
It's like I'm just Pyrrha to him. Which she knew to be true, but the shock still caught her off-guard whenever they talked.
More, whenever she found any possible excuse to talk to him. Still, he didn't even seem to mind her being around him so much. Never gave her that sideways glance of admiration she hated, never asked her how she'd beaten Marshton Mallow in the Mistralian Junior Finals. He just smiled, laughed, and treated her like anyone else.
"Thank you, Jaune." The appreciation was met with a shy, goofy grin that made her heart backflip.
"No problem! I hope you get to fight today, it should be H through N this time." She was impressed that he managed to remember, with how stressed he'd been after their first day.
"Yes, I should be among the last few to battle." Not that she was particularly eager. Her smile died a bit at the mention. The only person she had interest in fighting wouldn't be available, seeing as he'd already fought his Team yesterday.
"Do you know who you wanna call out?" She had a decent idea, but there just weren't many in her year that seemed like genuinely skilled opponents. There was Team RWBY, all of whom seemed exceptionally capable, but Pyrrha liked to think she had a talent for sizing up a potential opponent. They didn't quite match up.
"I think I'm just going to let Mrs. Goodwitch decide, actually." When she'd come to Beacon, the whole point had been to find people on her level, people she could just fight without worrying about going overboard. She adored combat, the rush of adrenaline that came from facing uncertain odds, she truly did. It was why she'd gotten into the tournament scene in the first place, but after a while it became stale. Once her Semblance came into the picture there just wasn't any thrill to it anymore, it felt like she was constantly holding back and even the slightest use of her ability usually ended the match.
And the second I find someone who's completely immune to it, I can't fight them for another two days. It left a mildly bitter taste in her mouth. Ever since she'd watched him hold off that Death Stalker, Silva Taro had been on her mind. The economy of motion in his swordplay, his ruthless utilitarianism even in practice with his own Teammates, and dear Gods, that Semblance! It was like he couldn't even be touched until it was disabled, and even then he was easily the most brutally effecient fighter in their year.
And then there was his sword. It had been the first thing that caught her attention, even before Initiation. When they'd all been about to go to sleep that night, Pyrrha had done a bit of practice using her Semblance. By chance, after a while, her eyes glanced at the only weapon in the entire cafeteria, Silva's sword, and she'd very nearly nearly had to wake him up to ask why she couldn't feel it with her Semblance.
In using her Polarity, Pyrrha had always been able to tell what was metal and what wasn't. She wasn't sure how, but she just knew at first glance if something was made from metal.
That sword was not metal. At least, not enough for her to influence. Which meant that he could completely ignore her Semblance if she tried to make him miss. The possibilities in a battle like that... it sent a rush of enthusiasm through her. It would be a bout determined sheerly by personal skill.
And that was how she liked it.
Towards the end of Combat Class...
When Mrs. Goodwitch finally called her name, Pyrrha came to a decision.
It's okay if he says no, or if she doesn't let me, I need to ask. It's not like we couldn't use the public sparring arenas after school, even if they are a bit cramped...
Regardless, she made her way down to the arena with a mildly eager smile on her face. The Professor seemed to notice her higher than average morale, quirking an eyebrow at her. "Do you have anyone in particular that you'd like to spar with?" She asked.
It took Pyrrha a moment to articulate her thoughts, "Um, yes, actually. But he already fought his Team yesterday, so if he isn't feeling up to it that's okay." Ugh, she was terrible at talking.
"You mean Mr. Taro?" She nodded.
"Well, I suppose that's his choice. If not then you'll fight Miss Xiao Long, is that alright with you?" Again, she nodded. Mrs. Goodwitch then looked down at her large Scroll tablet, and tapped a few buttons.
"Silva Taro, Miss Nikos has expressed the desire to challenge you to a sparring match." The boy in question locked eyes with her in that moment as the class all stared at him, his eyes baggy and his hair unkempt. Yet he still seemed tense, alert.
"Given that you've already had another match this week, it is understandable if you aren-" Before Mrs. Goodwitch could finish, Silva had vanished from his desk and stepped out from behind one of the arena's pillars.
"I accept." He announced, and for a moment Pyrrha grinned with glee. The Professor seemed hesitant after getting a look at him, but he'd confirmed the match before she had any chance to caution against it.
"Very well, then. The countdown commences in ten seconds, and I assume both of you remember the rules of engagement?" Both of them nodded, eyes still locked. Pyrrha was the first to assume a stance, Milo and Akuo sliding into her grip with practiced ease.
"Good luck, Silva. I hope this will be as much of a joy for you as it is for me." She offered, the anticipation in her gut building with each passing second.
"Joy?" His tone was laced with cynicism. "If you knew the night I just had..." He seemed to half-mutter, "Anyway, let's save the pleasantries for after we beat each other into the floor, that sound good?" He deadpanned, and Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle a tiny bit.
"That sounds grand." With that, Silva finally eased into a defensive stance, his sleek, white blade held loosely out in front of him. Just then the intercom began the final bit of the countdown.
"Match begins in three..."
"Two..." Pyrrha dug her heels in, knees bending as she shifted her focus solely onto the battle at hand.
"One..."
"Begin!"
She burst into a sprint, Aura bolstering her speed and within a second she was on him, Milo shifting to spear-form for an opening thrust that Silva slung out of the way with a precise flourish of his own weapon. She halted her momentum, cutting a tight rotation before lashing out with Akuo. The strike met air, and Pyrrha barely slipped Milo behind her in time to catch Silva's counter slash.
They were both just testing the water, prodding at supposed openings to see what the othet was capable of.
Turning out of that block, she maintained the connection between Milo and her foe's blade, the scrape of the two materials sliding against one another grating on her ears as she attempted to suddenly disengage and thrust at his chest. He read her pressure so quickly that their blades never separated, instead just moving in unison to her left side, crossing her arms so that Akuo was unable to stop a kick to her tangled elbows. The blow knocked her back a bit, her eyes snapping up just quickly enough to notice a white flash tear into her Aura before he backstepped to give himself room.
Focus, Pyrrha! Even as she berated herself, Silva had closed the distance and stabbed underneath her guard, causing her to jut Akuo down to knock the strike aside. Then he went for another thrust, this time aimed directly at her face. She jerked her shield up to bash it away, but by then he'd already turned that stab into a slash, wrist flicking in a tight circle to make up for his fully extended arm's lack of momentum. She was only just able to catch the blow with Milo's spear form, before she gave a mighty leap back.
Breathe, he's trying to overwhelm you.
And then, as though he'd fully expected her to try and gain distance, Silva stopped his advance. She knew what that signified. He was ready to start fighting seriously. This was just him giving her the courtesy of a breath before he amped this entire fight up to eleven.
Instead, she charged at him, Akuo raised, and threw herself into a high flip as Silva's blade ghosted by where her knees had been. Milo slipped out from behind her shield as she passed over him, driving down into his exposed shoulder.
He snapped a pivot, shoulders turning parallel with her blade as his own tore up from underneath and slammed into Akuo with a resounding screech. The force of it catapulted her back a couple of yards, but she was able to land gracefully back in a fighting position.
The grin on her face was ear to ear.
He wasn't just good. He was better than her, at least as far as raw swordplay was concerned. He'd outread her at every clash, and didn't even look very affected so far. She felt much the same, but the rush of enthusiasm threatened to make her lose focus. She knew she could win this, she just knew. She'd spent her entire life fighting!
But then, why did she still feel like the amateur here?
Just fight. You can be happy after.
Eyes narrowing dangerously, she stepped onto a sprint once more.
With Silva...
The fight had gone rather slowly until now, he'd wanted to get a guage of how Pyrrha operated and so far, he was impressed. She had a flawless grasp on her situational awareness, reacting perfectly and changing her approach the instant it became predictable. The only thing she seemed to be stuck in was that headlong charge, but that looked more due to the fact that she was a very aggressive combatant. In real life, it was a bad idea to start every exchange the same way. Would get you killed once the enemy caught on. She'd never fought a battle like that, though, so he couldn't really blame her.
This time she led with a few shots of her rifle, but he'd kept a close eye on her aim as she fired, and stepped aside as the rounds passed. As she came within range, her weapon shifted into its sword state, lashing out where she thought his guard to be weakest. Before it could land, he pulled on his Semblance and melted into his own shadow.
The sudden lack of a target didn't phase her much, and as he reformed mid-slash behind her, she spun around and blocked it with her shield. They deadlocked for a brief instant, sharing a look over the rim of her shield.
Then things started to get intense.
A black glow that he recognised encased the defensive implement, a force that he couldn't possibly stop ripping it outward, bashing Regalis aside and eating into his space before he could compensate. He didn't even see her sword before he felt its blade carve across his chest.
Grimacing, he pulled his sword back into line with his center, parrying a follow-up slash before bringing it back close to stop her shield from crashing into his jaw. She capitalized on it, shifting her weapon into its rifle form and squeezing off three rounds before he could disengage. Instincts began to override logic, and with a growl his entire frame blinked out of existence before he briefly reappeared in her blind spot, lashed out, and rapidly repeating it when she turned to face him.
The first few were practically free hits, but after a short period of shock she began to notice his preference for the blind spots, correctly predicting him and meeting Regalis with her own blade. He ramped up the speed, at this point he was flickering in and out of reality so rapidly that he could feel the drain of it on his Aura. In response, her own Semblance seemed to coat her armor, and her movements became so blindingly fast that he didn't dare let up.
He changed his approach the moment he got the chance, this time driving his sword out of her shadow mid-teleport and into the back of her knee. Crimson Aura flared, and with a stifled cry she fell to a knee. A very small chip to her Aura, but at least now he wasn't burning away his own so recklessly.
Don't get eager. Just because you can blitz like that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
He rose from the shadow of a pillar, placing himself directly in the middle of the arena. Pyrrha's head snapped over to him, her armor radiating a black glow that made her seem like some vengeful demon.
She's not going to use it on Regalis?
He'd been waiting for her to do that the entire match so far, pressuring and probing at her defences in the hopes of getting her to fight for keeps.
But, if she wanted to make this about personal ability, and not 'who could decimate the other first with their insansely dangerous Semblance', that was fine by him. His eyes flicked to their Aura levels, impressed at the fact that she was only slightly below him. He was at about half, while she was just a few percent under that. They were practically even.
It was interesting, how different yet equal they were as fighters. Pyrrha, the acrobatic, hyper-aggressive jack of all trades, master as well. She seemed to be all about using every single muscle at her disposal to pick her foes apart at a methodical pace. She was literally the perfect tournament fighter, and that simple truth made her just as effective here, as well as against the mindless, heartless Grimm.
He was almost the complete opposite. Everything he did, each tiny motion, mattered to him. Every time he used a muscle, it was burning his stamina a little bit, and in his environment there simply was no room to waste it. Tire yourself out but beat your opponent on a battlefield? The next man would take advantage and kill you. You needed to conserve yourself as much as possible, because in a skirmish there was always going to be another fighter trying to rip your throat out. Aura meant nothing if you let yourself think it was something to be used carelessly.
Ah, and therein lies the real difference.
She wasn't like that. To her, Aura and stamina were something that could be used like pawns on a chessboard. Take a blow here, deal a stronger one in return, and so on until you put your enemy down. It wasn't life or death to her, only a fight.
He, on the other hand, had been forced to look at combat in a much more crucial light. If he took a single blow, it meant he only had that much left to work off of. Why be lazy, letting Aura smother your mistakes, when you could simply fight like you didn't have it in the first place? That way when you finally did make one, which was inevitable, the person trying to murder you had to work just as hard to do the same damage. And you could use that as a frame of reference for how to avoid taking a hit like that again. He applied the same mindset to his stamina, only exerting himself at the bare minimum level to preserve what he had. It was why he never gripped Regalis tightly if he could help it, why he focused more on using his wrists to generate cutting force than his arms as a whole.
Pyrrha, for all of her calculation and skill, still saw her Aura and stamina as expendable for the sake of winning a short battle. He had learned to treat them like gold.
His musings were cut short when she closed in again, slinging his blade where needed to deflect while maintaining a spacially aware backpedal. With that Semblance she was completely outlcassing him in terms of raw strength and speed, but he frankly preferred it that way. Kept his blood pumping.
Ducking a slash at his temple, he used the instant between her strikes to snap a kick at her side, causing her to buckle slightly. Pulling again on his Semblance, he appeared behind her and faked a high jab to get her back on the defensive. As she pulled her shield up to meet it, he flicked Regalis back low, the blade crashing against her shinguard. She backstepped, retaliating with a vicious swipe of her sword that threw sparks as it grinded against his own.
And just like that, she was back to pushing forward, using a mixture of both sword and shield to parry or outright bash his sword away, and to be truthful he was sure she'd overwhelm him if he didn't start being more liberal with his Semblance.
Gritting his teeth, Silva fell back into Pyrrha's shadow and was barely able to throw himself to the side as her rifle let out another shot, reading his shift in position far better than he'd expected. She was an amazingly fast learner, and he felt stupid for trying the same trick so many times. As effective as instantly moving to your opponent's blindside was, it was only reliable if you went for a killing blow as soon as you did it. People, no matter how talented or intelligent, learned in battle. Even if it was something completely isolated to this arena, she was figuring out how he liked to use his Semblance, and she was looking to use that information to win.
Shame I'm not a one-trick pony.
So, he adopted something else entirely. It was a function of his Semblance that he almost never really used outside of training, but one he knew would give him an edge. On a smaller scale, it was how he took Regalis or his clothing with him when he used his Semblance.
He didn't pull himself into the shadows as her follow-up spear thrust rushed towards him, however.
Instead, he pulled her into them.
All at once, she melted into his shadow. Without letting her sit for any longer than a second, he overcame his own surprise and ejected her from it, driving his blade into her sternum, her wide eyes and goofy smile still present as she hit the tile in a roll. The intercom blared, "Pyrrha Nikos has been eliminated via Aura depletion, the winner is Silva Taro."
Even as she rose to her feet and rushed over to him, Pyrrha's smile threatened to split her face.
With Pyrrha...
I lost.
Fair and square.
Somehow, even in the shock of having just been in literal shadows, Pyrrha felt fantastic. It wasn't exactly that she'd lost the fight, such a thing still grated her nerves mildly, but compared to what she'd gained in turn? This was almost as amazing as meeting Jaune.
This was someone who could not only keep up with her while she used her Semblance on her armor to make her movements as fast as thought, something she'd literally never done before, but he'd beaten her through sheer skill and creativity with his own Semblance.
Hopping to her feet, she hurriedly paced over to Silva, who was in the midst of sheathing his sword.
"That was a wonderful battle, Silva. Would you be opposed to repeating it sometime?" That was what mattered. She didn't just want to fight him again, she wanted to beat him. He looked up at her, the near foot height difference only now catching her attention.
"I agree. I'm going to be occupied with my Team tonight, but I definitely would be happy to rematch tomorrow after class." The reply sent her mood into a soar, her grin nearly painful from just how intensely happy she felt.
"That would be grand!"
That evening, with Silva...
The amount of wide-eyed looks he'd recieved after besting Pyrrha Nikos had been downright annoying, could people not just mind their own affairs? Surely they had better things to gawk at than him? Even his own Team, who until then had completely ignored his existence, had stared at him in genuine disbelief. Only for Thrush to mumble something about cheating, which Silva elected to ignore.
When lunchtime came, he'd nearly been assaulted by fellow first-years, all either hounding him to explain how he beat her, or accusing him of having cheated. The same had followed after classes ended.
Now he was back on that small ledge he'd found, his mind scattered.
If Fall wants to meet, I can't act against any Fang presence in Vale until I know what exactly she's planning. If Adam is complicit, I'll have to work out some way of avoiding contact. If he finds out I'm here, that's it. I'll be dead by dawn. There was no purpose deluding himself. His Brother was well beyond the point of no return. Grief and rage had warped his sense of morality to the snapping point, their last arguement before he'd been kicked out of the Fang had just cut the cord.
His ears picked up a whispery quiet rustle, but he dismissed it as wind due to how utterly silent it had been. Until a familiar voice made his eyes flick open.
"Oh, I didn't realise you were up here." Blake remarked, pausing in the process of pulling herself up the wall, "I can go, if it's a problem? I understand if you wanted some sp-" As right as she was, he stopped her by holding up an open palm.
"You're fine, Blake. I'm only here because I wanted to get away from those other first years. They were..." He stopped himself from being overly contemptuous. "Annoying." Insufferable, petulant, infuriatingly nosy. He didn't voice those thoughts, though.
Blake cracked an amused smile at that, taking a seat on the ledge a bit closer to the wall than he was, crossing her legs and laying a book open in her lap. "I can imagine. And you're sure I'm not bothering you here? I'll just be reading. The library here is decent, but I'm not a big fan of reading indoors, you know?"
"Again, you're fine. And... no, to be honest, I've never really bothered with books all too much. Life keeps me too busy." He said easily, and it was the truth. He was always too focused on something, be it training or thinking. Blake tilted her head slightly, ears twitching underneath that ribbon.
"Ah. I guess not everyone has time for literature. I'll let you get back to relaxing, then, you look exhausted."
"Hm." He nodded, and with that the two fell into a comfortable silence. Only to be occasionally interrupted by the almost cathartic sound of a turning page.
I need to get to the weapons workshop soon. Ruby will be waiting for me by now.
He despised having to leave so soon, this spot was just too perfect. He almost wanted to just go to sleep...
No!
He slapped himself, the sudden sound causing Blake to flinch and give him a hard look.
"Sorry, just... really fucking tired. I need to go." He pushed himself to his feet, throwing his head back and forth to get his blood pumping. She just cracked a small grin and giggled a bit.
"Alright, I'd suggest getting some sleep tonight." She quipped.
"Hah. I'll try and remember." He shot back before falling back into his Semblance. That topic actually brought something interesting to his attention. What would happen if he fell asleep in a shadow?
I don't think I want to know the answer to that.
It was still tempting.
Pacing himself, Silva formed just oustide of the workshop a few seconds later, quickly slipping inside before anyone noticed him. That last swarm of enamoured students had nearly given him a migraine.
"Silva! Where were you? I told you to be here after class, dum-dum!" Ruby's voice caught his attention, and he reply with a scoff.
"I'm pretty sure you meant it as a general statement, originally, but whatever. So, where's this guy you were talking about?" He asked, causing Ruby to drop the previous subject and suddenly blur into rose petals, racing over to a middle-aged man towards the far side of the room. She turned back a waved him over, and out of sheer habit he blinked over using his Semblance.
"Agh!" The man cried with wide eyes, obviously startled by Silva's sudden movement. "Dear Gods, kid, you're gonna give me a heartattack like that! Maybe walk over like a normal person!?" Silva gave him a blank look.
"I'm not exactly a normal person, you know. Just force of habit, sorry if I spooked you." His reply came in the form of a 'Tch,' followed by a murmur about 'Crazy ass kids.'
"Little miss Rose here says you were lookin' to have your sword tested for material composition, that right?" That frontier accent was hard to miss, Silva hadn't heard it very often. He nodded, hesitating a moment before unfastening Regalis from his hip. His ears stung as the man whistled upon laying eyes on his blade.
"Ah, sorry bout that. Didn't realise you were Faunus. But Gods be damned, if that ain't the finest scabbard I ever laid eyes on! May I?" He reached out, and after eyeing Regalis for a moment, Silva handed it to him. It fostered a bit of pride in his chest to see someone so blatantly praise his father's masterwork.
"It's name?" The man asked.
"Regalis, my father forged it before I was born." He answered casually, the man humming in understanding as he studied the sealed blade.
"An heirloom, then. Your pops had an eye for forging, kid. Damn good one at that. Well first off, this gilding on the scabbard is all legitimate gold, it would have decayed by now otherwise. Primary material looks local, Forever Fall wood if I had to guess." He explained, running his fingers down the length of it as he spoke.
"Hilt looks odd, is that a grappling mechanism?" He asked, to which Silva nodded. "Interesting. Not many weapons do that, most go for some advanced Mechashift or really anything that would give them a greater variety. Does it function well?" Silva couldn't help but snort at the question.
"Regalis has absolutely no functional issues. I see to it myself." The man nodded.
"That's good. You'd be surprised how many kids don't look after their weapons these days. Well, s'pose I'll have a look at the blade now." He made to unsheathe it, but stopped immediately when it remained sealed. "Some kinda lock on the scabbard?"
"Yeah. There's a small switch on the base of the crossguard." He pointed to it, and the man flicked it.
Gringerly, he slid the blade from its sheath. His eyes widened when they noticed the ivory color of it, and narrowed in scrutiny when he notice the small bit of inscription on the base of the sword.
"This is..." He trailed off, then looked up at him. "Amazing. I've never seen a blade like it. Give me just a second." He reached into his pocket, producing a small device with an antenna protruding from the top. There was a display, which starting flashing a strange light as the man passed it over Regalis.
"What's that mean?" Ruby piped up, her confused look matching the man's almost perfectly. "Normally it just says what it's made of!" He didn't respond, just staring at the display like he'd seen a ghost.
"Sir? What's wrong?" Silva asked, causing the man look up at him.
"This here ain't just steel, kid. It's a metal compound called Dusteel, nearly impossible to shape, even harder to make it stable." The man reached back into a case of Dust crystals behind him, retieving one of the Fire element. He offered it to Silva, who took it.
"Ya see that blue gem in the sheathe? That's actually a burnt out piece of Ice Dust." To prove his theory, the man pinched the stone with his fingers and twisted gingerly. With a light click, the small gem popped out of the socket easily. "Oh, my, I ain't seen a Dusteel weapon this streamlined since Miss Branwen enrolled. Totally different mechanics from her blades, though, yours seems like it's meant to be compact and easy to use. Her's was anything but easy to use."
The revelation sent a storm of thoughts through his head. Why had he never been told when he was young? How did his father even make it in the first place? Was this guy talking about one of the fucking Branwen Twins!?
"So, I just insert a piece of Dust crystal in the socket, and suddenly Regalis gains elemental effects?" He had no idea what that might look like. Silva made it a priority in his head to figure out how to incorporate this newly discovered function into his fighting.
"Should be that simple, but we won't know if you don't show it off." The man pressured, the eager glint in his eyes causing Silva to look over at Ruby.
"Please!? That sounds so awesome, I've never actually seen Dusteel before!" And with that, any choice in the matter was stripped from him. Sighing, he took hold of his weapon, sheathing it before picking the Fire crystal back up. With minor effort, he snapped off a small chip of it and set it gently into the small space in the center of Regalis' scabbard.
To his relief, it accepted the tiny stone without any hiccups. Immediately he felt the warmth emanating from within his sheath. He flicked the locking mechanism, and slowly slid his normally ivory blade from its sheathe.
An ominous, red glow enveloped the entire room, the shining vermillion blade of Regalis now so hot that he didn't dare touch its edge. The first thing that struck him was complete awe at how beautiful his sword looked like this. Then he noticed how much it resembled another sword he'd once adored. Wilt had truly been a magnificent blade.
Abruptly, he slammed Regalis back into her sheath. The sudden shift in mood seemed jar the two others, who'd been too transfixed to actually say anything.
"Do you have any spare Ice Dust?" He asked sharply, to which the man nodded.
"Gotcha, consider it my gratitude for getting to see something this unique." He replied easily, taking the Fire crystal from Silva's hand and turning back to face him a moment later with an icy blue chunk of the stuff.
"Thanks. I never got your name..?"
"Ah, sorry bout that. Got so caught up in my work that I didn't even bother telling you. Name's Alexander, kid. I don't much care for silly honorifics like 'Professor' or 'sir.'" He explained, Silva nodding in understanding as he began to make his way out.
"I appreciate the help, Alexander, but I need to get moving. Got my Team waiting on me." Alexander nodded with a wry smile, and with that Silva left. Ruby chased after him, rose petals trailing behind her.
"Oh my Gods! I can't believe Regalis is so cool!" She gushed, Silva indulging her excitement as they walked.
"I can't imagine it being any less impressive than yours." Ruby seemed to almost short-circuit at that, eyes bulging as though he'd just grown a second head.
"Ohmygoshohmygosh! You've never seen Crescent Rose!"
And so they continued, Ruby singing the praises of her beloved baby while he laughed at her enthusiasm.
Nightfall, on the rooftop...
They're late.
Sheer force of will was all that kept him there, sitting atop a ventilation unit as the sun finally dipped beyond the horizon.
That, and the strange sense of wanting them to show up. He wasn't going to start excusing it as an obligation to his Teammates, he genuinely wanted to see them improve, of his own volition. Sure, they were exceedingly racist and generally rotten people, but his conversation with Blake that morning had given him a different perspective. If a Belladonna was willing to vouch for a Schnee, then who was he to hold resentment for a few kids who likely didn't even know better?
Now, he didn't care if they were shitty people. They were still people, and all people learned through experience. If they failed to adapt to him, that was their own problem.
"And look at that, actually on time for once! Here I thought-" He cut Cardin off as he stepped out onto the roof, blinking over to him and glaring at the trio like the slack-offs they were.
"Correction, Winchester, you are late. I've been sitting up here for the better part of ten minutes. Now, are the three of you going to keep mouthing off, or are you going to fight?" They were still under the impression that this was just some late-night revenge spar. He would let them hold onto that. Russel snapped first, shoving through the other two with a feral growl as he lashed out with both daggers.
Temper needs to be snuffed out.
Just as the boy cocked an arm back to slash again, Regalis flashed out at his arm. Silva used his Semblance to get behind Thrush, and gave a firm kick to his back that sent him sprawling out on the gravel. He shifted his head to the side, letting Cardin's opportunistic blow sail past him and slam into Sky's shoulder. He blinked over to the center of the rooftop, eyeing them all critically.
Sky was the wealest link as far as commitment and Semblance potency, Cardin held the role of crowd sweeper or tank if needed. His focus was stable in battle, even if he still got flustered. Russel was mostly an unknown due to his Semblance, but he was easily the quickest and most unstable of the three.
All in all?
I've got my work cut out for me.
Hello again! Back with a bigger chapter again, my muse is just having a fit right now.
So, we got to see both an interaction with Cinder, as well as a spar between him and Pyrrha. Learned a bit about Regalis, and set the stage for he and Blake to spend more time around each other. Things are going to be pretty damn slow between them for a while, not really anything happening to sow the seeds of a relationship right now. I do not want that aspect of the story to seem rushed or unrealistic, so I'm going to build it very carefully and very slowly.
So, thoughts on Dusteel? I wanted something that both made sense and could be conpared to soemthing in the actual show, and Raven's multi-colored Dust blade thingy was random enough that I felt introducing the material would satisfy that question. Unless I was the only one utterly confused by her weapon.
My idea with this is that Silva will have access to Dust in a similar way to Weiss, without the whole Glyph side of it. It was either that or give him a gun, which I'm honestly not very keen on.
Things will be broken up into more individual, episodic chapters after this, with an emphasis on develpment and seeing the changes Silva causes by being around.
That's all I suppose, Buh-Bye!!!