Last intermission chapter for this volume. Nearly done.
Scattered around the world are small villages that never grow as big as any of the central cities of the kingdoms. If they're lucky enough to settle in a properly covered area to protect themselves from the Creatures of Grimm they'll last a few months up to a couple of years. Even then they still have to deal with those very same monsters and needed outside help dealing with them. So these kinds of villages were perfect for first year academy teams to cut their teeth on real Huntsman work.
"Alright team, this is the village we'll be staying at for the duration of the mission," Professor Peach said and looked back at Team STRQ and sighed when she saw that one of them wasn't paying attention. She didn't know why the airship was more interesting to her. "Miss Rose, this is very important. As the leader of your team, you should pay attention especially."
"I am Professor," Summer answered and turned back to Peach, "flying and airships is kind of a secondary hobby of mine. I'll ogle the ship later."
"On your own time. Now, as the name implies, village protection is about protecting the host village against the Creatures of Grimm or any other threats. I need to report to the local Huntsmen to let them know we're here, so why don't you all get familiar with the village and its surroundings while things are still quiet?"
"That sounds good. We'll get on that while you get us set up," Summer said and looked at her teammates while twirling a finger in the air. They nodded in return and started to walk away while Summer added, "We'll meet up in the village center in half an hour. Is that ok?"
"It won't take that long, but that works nonetheless."
"And hey, if nothing happens, this'll basically be a free vacation," Qrow added with a chuckle, "I'm down for that."
"Don't be so laid back Mr. Branwen, you never know what'll happen on a mission. This is a job and you signed up for it, remember?"
"Yeah, we all know that," Raven said with a shake of her head while Qrow and Taiyang nodded. Summer rolled her eyes and jogged after them, leaving their supervisor behind with a skeptical look.
"We'll see if you do," Peach said and adjusted her rifle strap, "I always wanted to ask the question."
Peach reported to the Huntsman and got the situation, which turned out to be an all too common one for villages out in the wilds. A large Beowolf pack had discovered the village and had been attacking the past few days. While originally the town was content with letting the Huntsmen whittle down the pack until they were taken care of, one of them saw an Alpha Beowolf among the pack that none of them were prepared to handle. It seemed a straightforward enough mission when it came to protection with the only problem being that Alpha. Peach wasn't overly worried about that considering Team STRQ's claim to fame, though the idea of hunting an Alpha wasn't appealing in any case.
After explaining the situation to the team they decided to split up to watch for the pack. Peach took Taiyang with her while Summer paired with Raven and Qrow patrolled the town with the local Huntsman. Peach must have checked her rifle's magazine a dozen times while walking with Taiyang until a group of five Beowolves attacked.
Peach was quietly pleased that her shot accuracy hadn't gotten rusty after taking down all but one of the Grimm. The one that survived to reach them had it's leg clipped by one of the bullets, which slowed it enough for Taiyang to get it. Peach flinched back a little at the way Taiyang aimed a kick at the injured leg to knock the Beowolf down and climbed on its back while it flailed around. He grabbed its nose and jaw and gave the latter a quick snap to the right before letting it go and wrapped his arms to violently twist the head off, which it did after the fourth twist.
"Well you're certainly thorough," Peach said as Taiyang threw the head away and stepped off the disintegrating corpse.
"I have to be when I'm the only hand to hand fighter," Taiyang answered as he rolled a shoulder and looked back at the nearby forest the Grimm had come out of. "That group was too small for any kind of decent attack. Were they testing our defenses?"
"With an Alpha around I wouldn't discount it," Peach said as she pulled back the bolt of her rifle to eject the nearly spent clip (which gave a satisfying ping), caught it, and put it away before she started reloading. "When a smart Grimm is around, the rest tend to follow suit. It's really annoying and I can't wait for the day to come when we can reverse that. For now, we have to deal with it."
"I think it's more than 'annoying' but I agree. We should report this, since if they're centered in the forest we can better hunt them. That is, if that's a part of the mission?"
"If it solves the problem faster, though caution is always first and foremost." Peach pulled the bolt back and slung her rifle around her shoulder and crossed her arms. "Before we go back though, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Why did you want to become a Huntsman?"
"Oh, that?" Taiyang returned with a chuckle, "I was wondering when this would come up."
"You know this question?"
"Both my folks are Huntsman and… well, they prepared me for a lot of things that can come up in this job. That question is just one of them. I know the 'correct' answer is that protecting people comes over our own personal reasons. I won't deny that's part of the reason for me being here, but it's not the final thing that set me on this path."
"And what would that be?"
"Well…" Taiyang grew silent and looked down at his shoes while scratching the back of his neck. After a moment he sighed and looked back up at Peach, "Can this stay between us?" Peach raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Thanks. Well… the prep school I went to before Beacon was Signal Academy on Patch. It wasn't just a school though, it was also a boarding house for kids who were… orphaned by Grimm."
"A lot of schools double as that nowadays," Peach replied sadly and uncrossed her arms to let them hang at her sides, "All of my colleagues have had to escort children to schools like Signal in the past."
"I went to school with a whole lot of those kinds of kids, and it was only a few years ago I realized how awful it is and how screwed up that kind of thing makes those kids." Taiyang briefly thought back to a long distant memory of Summer glaring anger and hatred at everything around her and clenched his hands tightly while trying to hold his anger in. Then he thought of a very bitter look on Qrow's face as he and Raven told him and Summer of their past in a bandit clan and the utter devastation they narrowly got away from. How Raven nearly broke down in angry tears in one of the few times she had ever let that wall of hers down. Taiyang lifted his fists up a little and shook his head.
"It's so unfair to them and the family they lost and… it's just FUCKED!" He shouted loudly and threw his fists down and stomped his foot down, unconsciously activating his Semblance to create a small crater where it hit.
"Yes Taiyang, it is," Peach agreed and fixed a sharp look at Taiyang as he pinched his eyes to wipe away the tears that had started to show. "And what are you going to do to stop it?"
"I can't, and that pisses me off more than anything!" Taiyang answered angrily and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Once he was calm enough he lowered his hand and stuck both of them in the pockets of his shorts. "What I can do is stop what attacks I'm able to and learn as much as I can. Who knows, maybe that'll help keep more orphans from being made. Even if I have to teach them myself."
"You want to be a teacher? Interesting career choice."
"Well, not right now. That's more of a middle age thing I'd think, after I get my fill of front line work." Taiyang shrugged and gave Peach a smirk, "I dunno, I think I'd be good at that, don't you think?"
"No comment," Peach said with a small laugh and adjusted her rifle strap again as she turned to walk back to the village, "But I'll be rooting for you Taiyang." Taiyang nodded and followed after her, not noticing the smile Peach had.
Not quite the answer she expected from the hot-headed martial artist, but a surprisingly fitting one now that she thought about it.
While it had been known that the Grimm pack had situated itself in the forest, having a more generalized location to work with helped a lot. Team STRQ naturally were quick to volunteer for the eventual hunt, even if it still needed to be sorted out by Peach and the head Huntsmen. Until then the students went back to patrolling the town and outskirts until told otherwise. Peach and the Huntsman went over the options they had for a few hours before they took a break to clear their heads. Peach decided to see how STRQ was doing and walked around the edge of the village until she found Raven fighting off a group of Beowolves.
Peach unslung her rifle in case she needed it and watched Raven tear into the Grimm. The way she attacked the weaknesses of the Grimm showed her practice with her weapon as well as the brutality inherent in everyone raised outside of the Kingdoms. Each Grimm usually didn't take more than two strokes to go down for Raven until only one was left, which lunged at Raven when it saw an opening and just as quickly lost its hind legs.
"Nicely done Miss Branwen," Peach said as she walked over to the Beowolf trying to drag itself over to her.
"It would have been over faster if you had actually bothered to help," Raven said, her voice tinged with annoyance, as she twirled her sword into a reverse grip, walked to the Beowolf, and stomped her foot on it to push it down.
"Did you need the help though?" Peach asked with a raised eyebrow as Raven stabbed the Beowolf's neck, turning its growl into a death rattle as it fell limp, and pulled it out.
"No, I didn't." Raven shook her head as she gave her sword a quick flick before sheathing it. She then sighed and rubbed her eyes while muttering, "Seriously, are all Huntresses like this?"
"It's a unique job culture, I'll give you that," Peach said with a shrug which got a glare from Raven, "though if you have a low view on it, why become one?"
"Because I need to get stronger." Peach was momentarily taken aback by Raven's bluntness, but recovered in time to follow after the girl as she started walking again.
"And why exactly do you 'need' to get stronger?"
"Because I want to kill someone. Becoming a Huntress was the best way to get stronger, so I became one. Is that good enough for you?"
"No it isn't. If you're telling me that revenge is your only drive, then I-"
"And what if I said my revenge is for a Grimm, would that change anything?" Raven stopped and glanced back at Peach, her eyes practically ablaze with anger. Peach didn't flinch as she slung her rifle over her shoulder and walked up to Raven.
"Yes, but not enough to change my opinion," Peach said as she shook her head and moved in front of Raven, "Revenge is always a destructive motivation, no matter who it's against or why it's being done."
"Oh not this bullshit again. Does everyone share the same line about revenge? It really pisses me off."
"Raven-" Peach started to say only to be cut off by Raven.
"Shut up! You don't know a fucking thing about me or what drives me!" She shouted and pointed a finger to her side. "A Creature of Grimm walked into my village like it was nothing and burned it to the ground! I wasn't strong enough to stop it and everyone I knew died for it, everyone except Qrow! I had nothing but the clothes on my back and dreams of revenge after that, so pardon me if my motivations are too simple for your tastes. I don't give a shit if they are!" Raven stomped forward, roughly bumping into Peach's side, and gripped both her sword's hilt and her fist tightly in anger.
"Miss Branwen…"
"I said shut up!" Raven shouted and stopped. After a moment she let out a deep breath and relaxed just enough to unclench her fist. "If you want me to play by the rules of a 'proper Huntress' then I will. Anything to get what I need." Raven looked back at Peach looking more tired than angry. "But don't try and stop me. You and anyone else who tries will be no better than her."
"And what if you succeed? What will you do after it's dead?"
"I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, my life might as well be over once she's dead. As long as she's dead..." Raven turned away and continued her patrol, leaving Peach to stare after her with worry.
"Well that doesn't bode well for her brother."
Night fell and it was decided that a small hunting party would be sent out in the morning to hunt down the Alpha Beowolf. STRQ, Peach, and a small group of local Huntsmen were chosen for this, so they all retired to get their rest for the next day. At least that was the plan until Peach checked in on the students to find Qrow missing. With an annoyed sigh and silent lament about how troublesome they were being, Peach left the guest house to go look for her missing student. She had barely left the house when she heard a whistle from above.
"Yo teach, looking for me?" Qrow said and waved when Peach looked up at him. She glanced at a barrel and backed up a step before she ran and jumped on it to jump onto the roof. Once she was up she sat down next to Qrow, who gave her a light applause. "Nice going."
"Thank you," Peach said and rubbed her wrists, "You're supposed to be asleep you know."
"If I have the choice, I like to sleep alone," Qrow answered and laid back on the roof with his arms under his head, "call me superstitious I guess."
"I'm sure a bed is far more comfortable."
"Yeah, but I'm not too picky." Qrow shuffled a little and let out a small sigh, "Besides, I want to get away from Raven for a bit. She's still a little pissed about earlier."
"She told you about that huh?" Peach asked and Qrow nodded. "Well, tough luck. If she has to get angry to figure out her place in the world, then she'll have to be angry. She wouldn't be the first and she's not going to be the last."
"Easy for you to say, you don't have to deal with her afterwards." Qrow yawned and rocked his body to sit up and crossed his legs. "So what, is it my turn now?"
"If you don't mind. What's your reason to become a Huntsman?"
"Why not?"
"…Excuse me?"
"Well, considering how mad Raven was, she must have talked about our old home. She may have liked a couple of the people we lived with there, but me? I hated everyone there and was more than happy to leave it behind." He paused and glanced at Peach and scratched his cheek when he saw her looking at him in wide eyed shock. "Now don't get me wrong, I'd have been happy leaving in a more peaceful way, but you take what you get out there."
"So you felt nothing when your family died?"
"Of course I did, I was pissed beyond belief. At being thrown out into the wilds with Raven and being forced to scrape out a living, losing everything I had known, who wouldn't be mad then?" Qrow looked up to the stars in the slightly overcast skies and smiled as he added, "But you know what, coming here has been eye opening for me. Living as a Huntsman is way better than what I had before, hell even the time in the wilds was better because I was actually free for once." Qrow looked down and rubbed the back of his head. "I feel like I'm rambling now."
"No, you're not." Peach replied shaking her head, "This is very enlightening. Sad, but enlightening."
"I'm sure it is. Well at the end of the day, my reason is still the same. I have the skills to make a living like this, so why shouldn't I? What else am I gonna be with this giant ass scythe, a merchant? I don't think so." Qrow pushed himself up to his feet and stretched his arms over his head with a small groan. "Well, all this talking got me wound up. I'm gonna go for a walk. See you tomorrow Teach."
"Good night," Peach returned and waved at Qrow as he hopped off the roof and walked through the dark streets. Once he was far enough away Peach let out a sigh. "They're both dealing with the same trauma in different ways and neither of them seem to be thinking about their futures beyond the immediate. That gives me a bad feeling about their leader." She sighed and looked up at the stars while rubbing her hands to stave off the chill. "It's certainly a cruel world where children have to focus on surviving instead of living."
"These tracks look bigger than the others. It might be our Alpha. It looks like they go this way." The hunt had started an hour ago and so far it had been slow going thanks to the forest and the Beowolves scattered around. Peach and Summer had gone ahead to scout out the forest, the former keeping her eye out for hazards and marking their way with her weapons while Summer focused on tracking the Grimm.
'At least that's one thing she paid attention to in class,' Peach thought as she yanked a hatchet out of a tree and pressed a switch on the handle to turn it back into one half of her rifle. She reattached the halves while following Summer, not too hard considering the girl's white cloak, and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "When we find the Alpha you should leave it to me. They're more dangerous than the kind of Grimm you're used to."
"You do have the experience," Summer admitted and looked back at Peach with a look of flat acceptance, "but let's not commit to anything, ok? Nothing ever goes to plan with my team."
"So I've heard." Peach readied her rifle when she heard a howl to her right that was just as quickly cut off. When the howl's echo died out she lowered the gun and let out a huff. "The other's must have gotten impatient and moved up to our side. That might help us in flushing this Alpha out."
"I'll bet it was Raven or Tai, they're always up for a fight. Wanna bet on it?"
"That would be improper as your instructor. Let's try to focus on the mission right now ok?" Summer nodded and continued leading the way with her pistol held half up. They silently walked through the forest for the next several minutes, interrupted only by a Grimm attack or the sound of one in the distance. That was soon broken by the constant sound of a small river they came up on. The Huntresses checked their surroundings until they were sure they were alone before they took a short break.
"Summer, how's your water?" Peach asked as she sat next to the river and took out her canteen.
"I'm fine. I've hardly drank any since we started," Summer replied and crouched down to look at her reflection in the river. She waited for Peach to finish taking a drink from her canteen before she asked, "So do you have something to ask me?"
"Your teammates told you about that?"
"They were complaining about you interrogating them yesterday. Well, Raven was. Qrow and Tai just said you asked them something."
"Indeed I did." Peach took another drink from her canteen before replacing the cap and setting it down next to her rifle. "And you know what I want to ask?"
"Why did I want to be a Huntress?" Summer glanced at Peach and saw her nod before looking back at her reflection. "Well… I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No, that's not right. It's more like… the reason I did have no longer makes sense. If you asked me at the beginning of the year, I would have answered 'to kill Grimm."
"That's what we do Summer, it's not the reason to do it."
"I didn't need a reason. I just wanted to kill them, which is still true even now I guess. I hate them all, those soulless monsters that destroy without reason. I… guess I focused so hard on them that I forgot about everything else."
"You've been hurt too," Peach stated and got a sad nod from Summer.
"Very much. It happens when you lose everything to a Grimm attack. I would have been fine just killing them all, just… mindlessly going from one mission to the next until one of them got lucky and got me. But with everything that's happened with my team and Beacon… I just don't know who I am anymore. I need to figure that out first before I can answer your question."
"I wish I could say you were the first to say that to me," Peach said sadly. Summer looked at her in surprise as she put her canteen back on her belt and grabbed her rifle. "I'm sure you'll figure that out soon and with it will come the answer to my question. Just take your time." Summer blinked and looked down at her reflection again.
"Yeah, I think I'll do that," Summer said with a nod just as a loud roar filled the forest. Summer and Peach shot to their feet and raised their weapons as it died down. "That wasn't a normal Beowolf!"
"That was our Alpha. Let's move!" Peach took off into a sprint and looked over at Summer on the other side of the river with a trail of petals coming off of her as they ran to where the roar had originated.
"It's hard to believe it's been a year already and I'm still no closer to an answer," Summer said as she looked out at the ruins of Mountain Glenn through her binoculars while swirling what was left of her noodles in the cup. She looked down at the plaza where a lone Beowolf was skulking around. It stopped to look directly at her before continuing. "Yeah, keep walking. See what happens if you try something else." Summer dropped her binoculars and looked down at her food and the corgi curled up in her lap.
Summer thought about her childhood with her dad and the stories of her mom, both of which had been twisted over the last ten years and only recently started coming back with anything resembling clarity. Maybe she had wanted to be like them and being a Huntress was the natural way to do so, or maybe she had wanted to uphold the ideals she thought they embodied?
"Or maybe I was always meant to be here? I don't know. God, I think the weirdest things when I'm tired." Giving the cup another swirl she drank the remaining broth and noodles from the cup and tossed it out the building. "Well, good thing it's time for Tai's watch, right Zwei?" Summer asked and gave the dog a scratch on the back of his neck before nudging him off her so she could stand up and wake Taiyang up.
