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Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 57

Ruby waited impatiently by the south-west gate of the Collegium, her white robes wrapped around her and her eyes furiously scanning everyone who came near, especially those in Azure cloaks. Merlot had told her to meet him at sundown – a good time for hunting, or rather being hunted by, Grimm – but he was nowhere to be seen!

Come on. Come on. I need to go meet Yang tonight as well. I don't have time to lose!

Finally, finally, Merlot approached, his azure robes billowing about him and his hood drawn up to conceal his face. It was the person beside him that gave him away, tall and blond with tight leather armour and a sword strapped at his side. Jaune's blue eyes gazed ahead unblinkingly, his face stern, flat and emotionless.

It cooled Ruby's excitement in an instant.

"Apologies for the tardiness," Merlot said. "I was tasked to pick up our escort for the day." He was visibly tense beside Jaune, quick to move away and leave him on his own. "You're ready? Good. Put your hood up. There's a reason we keep them up outside the walls. Arcanists are to be seen as mysterious figures, not people. It keeps our reputations intact and prevents anyone getting ideas when they see a child Arcanist such as yourself."

Ruby tugged her hood up. She'd have argued normally, but right now she just wanted out. The sooner they got into the city, the sooner they'd get outside it and to the Grimm, and then they could double back through the slums.

"Are we going? Now?"

"Yes. Yes. Allow me to speak with the guards, I have special disposition from the Grand Arcanist." He pulled out a scroll tied and sealed with string and wax. The gate guards had already been watching her for a while – an Initiate hovering by the gates wasn't something to ignore – and they made a few understanding sounds on seeing the scroll. "Greetings." Merlot told them. "I'm here to take my apprentice out the Collegium for the night…"

While Merlot spoke and allowed the guards to read through the scroll, Ruby slid over to Jaune. Excited as she was to find Yang, she couldn't quite ignore both the frightening letter from Jaune's father and the fact he'd been ignoring her for well over two weeks now. They'd gone from close friends to complete strangers.

"Hi Jaune." Her voice wavered as his blue eyes swung down to pierce through her. "H-How you doing?"

"I am healthy. I am ready."

"That's… nice. You've not been spending much time with Sun lately. Or me." she added unhappily.

"I am focused on my task. I must focus on my task. I am a huntsman."

Yeah, that wasn't unusual at all. Ruby frowned, her mind almost instantly jumping to what Nicholas said. This wasn't the way a normal person spoke, and it certainly wasn't the way Jaune usually did. He'd always been polite before, even to Malneux and the Crimson Arcanist he'd fought for her honour. Sun was right; something was going on here.

"Does that mean you can't stop by and talk to us every now and then?"

"I must focus on my task at all times. Anything else is a distraction."

An idea came to her. "What is your task?" she asked.

"I am to escort Arcanist Merlot and Initiate Rose to the outer forests in search of Grimm. I am to protect them at all costs. I am to follow Arcanist Merlot's instructions so far as they do not deviate from the Collegium."

Crap! He didn't have to follow her orders. That would've been an easy way for her to demand he tell her what was wrong. Merlot was still talking with the guards, so she had a little time. "That means you're to keep me safe. Right?"

Jaune nodded. "Yes."

"And the best way to keep me safe is to stay close to me!"

"Yes."

"Good!" Ruby planted her hands on her hips. "That means I'm not a distraction, doesn't it? I'm the target. I am the task – so that means it's not a distraction to talk to me and you're in fact following your task by keeping me company!"

Jaune Arc blinked slowly, leaning back. "Y…Yes. Yes, it does." He blinked again, shaking his head quickly. When he looked down on her, his eyes widened just the tiniest bit before softening. Ruby could have squealed happily. "You're not a distraction."

"I'm not! So, we can talk!"

"Of course we can." He laughed. "Why wouldn't we be able to normally?"

Because you haven't, she wanted to say. Because every time someone tried you would blow them off without listening to a word they said. She itched to say that and watch his reaction, but if her suspicions were right then this wasn't his fault. Nicholas had as good as said it was the Collegium destroying Jaune, so it wasn't hard to piece together who was behind this. The fact it was the Sanctum and that the Sanctum was run by the White only made it clearer.

"No reason." Ruby said. Without thinking, she ran into him and wrapped her arms around his stomach. His big hands came to rest on her shoulders. "I've missed you! You've been so distant lately."

"Have I…? I'm sorry…"

"Nnh. It's fine. Just… Just try not to be anymore, okay?"

"I'll try. So, you know I'm a huntsman now…"

That was what he was worried about? Ruby looked up confused. "Yeah. And…?"

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Should it?"

Jaune opened his mouth and closed it again, chuckling and planting a hand on her head. It was a strangely Yang motion, maybe just an older sibling kind of thing. "Most Arcanists can't stand being around a Huntsman. They can feel the empty magical space within them, and it makes them uncomfortable. Then again, that holds true for the Sanctum and you've never had a problem there. Perhaps I should have known."

Empty magic? Ruby focused her senses toward him and sure enough there was a… hole, for lack of a better term. It was greedily syphoning what magic went toward it, but the magic was disappearing, being swallowed. It felt like the magical draining system on their bathtub in the Collegium. A magical hole that sucked away all the water within seconds.

The sensation was weird but not at all bothersome. The magic she felt go into him was replenished almost immediately. It must be because I'm a Wildmage. My magic isn't internal so he's not taking mine. Weird. Weiss hadn't been too cagey around Jaune either, and the Arcanist he'd fought hadn't even realised he was a Huntsman at first.

"Is it a distance thing?"

"Touching makes it strongest. There's a reason I usually avoid it, at least with Arcanists. There's a good reason I avoid touching Weiss where possible. I bow instead of shaking hands. Little things like that."

With him pointing it out, the cases where he'd done so felt obvious, but she'd never noticed them at the time. Weird. "But we've hugged a lot."

"You have hugged me," he said with a quick laugh. "It was hardly something I expected, and I would flinch the first few times, waiting for you to notice and look at me like I made you sick. Of course, that never happened." He rubbed her hair again, smiling fondly. "You're a special one, Ruby. I'm lucky to have you."

It was official. The cold shoulder was not by choice.

"You're my friend," she told him. "You'll always have me – even if you don't want me. And that's a threat."

"Don't you mean it's a promise?"

Ruby grinned. She knew what she'd said, but it was best the White Arcana not if they forced him to tell whatever happened tonight. I'm already decided to get Cinder and Adam out of the Sanctum. One more person won't change much.

"Rose! Arc!" Merlot shouted to then from the gate. "Come. We're through." They walked up and passed the guards, who nodded slowly to them.

The one Arcanist manning the gates who wasn't Merlot stopped her and held out a silvery sigil. It was a flat disk with a raised engraving of the Collegium's twisted snakes symbol, the same that featured on the Arcanum. Instead of an Arcanum, though, it was flat and whole, like a large coin with an embossed emblem.

"This is to prove your approval outside the walls," the Arcanist explained. "It is in case any other Arcanists challenge you in the belief you are Rogue. Show this and they shall understand. If you lose it and are challenged, calmly explain the situation and submit to be brought back to the Collegium. You will be in no trouble. It will return to me if it is lost."

Like the box with Blake's magic on it?

"What if an Arcanist attacks me?"

The man appeared surprised. "They won't. You will always be demanded to surrender first. Do so. Once you explain you had and lost this, they will check with us at the gates. Your name is written down, your allowance to leave for the night recorded. You will be released and given a new sigil."

"I will speak for her if this happens." Jaune said.

The Arcanist looked Jaune's way and… it wasn't a flinch, nor a recoil, but there was a sudden tightening of his jaw and eyes, along with a visible effort not to take a step back. "Having a Huntsman vouch for you will also work. I cannot give him the Sigil, though. The spell on it would be destroyed."

Ruby took it and stashed it in her robes, thanking the man and rushing out toward Merlot. She tugged her hood forward to cover her face and waited for Jaune to catch up. Together, the three of them walked away from the Collegium.

For a moment, she was free.

/-/

They'd left the city gates via the Merchant Quarter and through the large gate known as Trader's Hall – a big, ramped entrance to the city specifically designed for caravans and the like, one that dodged the slums for the obvious reason no one would want to take valuables through the shit hole that was her home. While there was some excitement in seeing the huge gate with its fancy ornaments, numerous guards and long, stone ramp, Ruby couldn't help but look longingly toward the slums and wish they'd been able to walk through it.

Now that they were outside the walls, Merlot was mostly quiet, but thanks to her logic picking Jaune's arguments apart, he was not, and happily answered every question she had.

"My family? Where is this coming from?"

"Curiosity," she lied. "Tell me about them."

"Well, we're a highly regarded noble family as you probably know. We're what might be called `reasonably in line for the throne`, though even that is more fiction than fact. My mother is the current head of the family. Juniper Arc. I have seven sisters, too. They're all wonderful people."

"Are there any Arcanists among them?"

"No one within the Arc family has ever shown the spark, at least as far back as we can tell. One of my older sisters, Coral, is a scholar within the palace. Jade and Hazel are training to be officers in the army. The others, well, they're a mixed bunch," he said with a warm smile. "Sable is already wedded and Saphron is engaged, but I'm not sure she's happy with her match. They're wonderful people, though."

"I met your dad!" she said suddenly.

His smile faltered. "Ah. Dad is… Dad was wonderful."

"Was…? He's still alive."

"Alive but not all there." Jaune's face became stony and he gripped his sword hilt tight, staring out ahead. "I'd rather not talk about it. He has… He has an illness. It has worn away at his mind until there's so little left that he doesn't recognise me anymore. My father is dead in every way that matters. He died a long time ago."

His mind had died from what she could see. That was what it was called in the slums – mind death. When someone would take a heavy knock or fall over or grow old and all of a sudden, they'd be dead without dying. The degree differed. Some people just died inside and didn't move, speak or say anything. Others would still be able to slur and make noise, even move their arms and legs, but it was clear that the person they once were had passed away. Their bodies simply hadn't realised it yet and continued to live.

Nicholas didn't feel like that, she thought as they made their way through the quiet farms outside the walls. If Nicholas had really suffered death of the mind, then he wouldn't have been able to recognise Jaune's name or ask her to save him.

Farmers looked their way in awe but didn't dare approach, simply amazed at the sight of two Arcanists walking side by side. They were in awe of them, much like she had been so long ago, and Ruby was grateful for her hood. There was a chance they might have recognised her, though she wasn't sure. The good food and constant washing of the Collegium had left her looking a lot different than she used to. People didn't even mistake her for a boy anymore. Once they were passed the farms and approaching the outskirts, that became a moot point.

The heavy wooded forests carried on for acres and acres. The desperate – the truly desperate who couldn't even make it in the slums with the floods and the corrupt guards – made it their home. Or had. Now that the Grimm were here, she wasn't sure if they were still around. The last time she'd been there, she'd seen a hovel burned down and a dead body.

At the time, she hadn't placed it as an Arcanist.

Merlot stopped them on the outskirts. "We will have to be careful inside. Our goal is to find and capture one Grimm, but we may encounter more. Any extras should be killed. We're not interested in risking our lives here."

"How do we intend to capture one?" Ruby asked. "We don't have a cage."

"Even if we had a cage, how do you suppose we'd convince a Grimm to enter it? No, we will be taking one by beating it down. They're resilient, but hardly invincible. Once it is unconscious, we shall summon aid from the Collegium that will come and transport it."

"Shouldn't they have come with us? What if it wakes up in the time we're waiting!?"

"Do relax a little, Initiate." Merlot drawled. "This isn't the first time I've done this. Arc, stay ahead of us if you please. We'll be baiting the Grimm in and it will be your job to incapacitate one. I hope you're up to it."

"I will be, sir. Wait a moment." He jogged ahead, about sixty paces or so, and then waved back to them to continue. Ruby watched her friend on his own and apart from their protection and looked to Merlot for answers.

"Grimm hunt Arcanists and ignore Huntsmen," he whispered to her. "That means hour friend is only at risk if he is tramped in their rush to reach us. There's a bigger problem, however. A reason I didn't want a Huntsman to come with us."

Ruby kept her own voice low. "What is it?"

"We saw in the Archives that Grimm will also hunt Wildmages, and that they shall do so to the exclusion of everything else, even ignoring other Arcanists. If he sees the Grimm rampage for you and ignore me, he will know." Ruby shuddered and Merlot placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her close. "Stay with me at all times. If the Grimm attack us both, he won't know that anything is wrong. It will just look like they are targeting the two Arcanists."

As they should be doing. Ruby swallowed and sent him a quick nod, moving close enough that if any Grimm did appear, it would be impossible to tell who their target was. Jaune wouldn't rat her out if he found out though, would he? She wanted to say he wouldn't.

But she wasn't sure he would have a choice.

/-/

The thick trees and shadowy boughs blocked out what little moonlight there was, casting them in near darkness so thick even she wasn't able to make her way through. Merlot summoned a bright orb of glowing light that would both float above their heads and stand out as a beacon to any Grimm within range. Not that it mattered when they would be hunting for her anyway.

"We'll stay here," he called to Jaune up ahead.

"This is only the edge." Jaune shouted back. "There haven't been any Grimm reported this close to the farmlands."

"We're not Crimson Arcanists willing to risk our lives deeper. We'll see if they aren't drawn to us. If we must, we'll go deeper, but I'm sure the Grand Arcanist and Lady Goodwitch would prefer we stay as safe as possible."

"That's true. Alright." Jaune drew his sword and began to move around in a semi-circle, checking the wooded areas ahead while keeping them in sight.

"He'll have to report what we do to Goodwitch after." Merlot told her. "Best he reports we did exactly as we were told."

"What about me finding my sister?" she hissed back. "I can't sneak off if Jaune is watching."

"Don't worry. I have a plan for that."

"Do you think the Grimm will come?"

"Hard to say." He looked ahead, increasing the brightness of his spell. "If we were just Arcanists then I'd say we're not deep enough, but I've no idea how you'll change things. The Grimm in the Archives could sense you for a fair distance. Hmm." He eyed her and smirked. "Cast something."

Ruby froze. "What?"

"He won't be able to tell what is and isn't wildmagic and we're outside the walls. The bell towers won't detect anything you do here. Try and summon a ball of light like mine." He brought it down before her eyes. "He'll think it's the same spell."

It had been a while since she had a chance to let loose and Ruby licked her lips. The tingling in her fingers increased until caution was thrown to the wind. She nodded, stepping a little back and holding her hands out in front of her.

Merlot began to speak loudly, loud enough for Jaune to hear. "Focus on fire for now! With more control you can save energy by drawing away the heat, creating light on its own, but it's easier to let fire do what it wants at this stage. As long as you don't touch it or press it against anything, the heat won't matter."

Fire. Heat. Ruby tried to think of that and felt the power surge up her arms. Instantly, she knew she was going to set fire to the entire forest, and she clamped back down on it. Wildmagic was instinctual. Primal. If she thought in such vague concepts as heat, then it could be anything.

I want a small ball of fire like Merlot. An orb as big as my fist-

Tendrils of golden light spooled out from her fingers. Despite asking for a ball, what she got was a strange weave of lit fabric, like someone had taken string and woven it into a rough, spherical shape. It did glow and it was hot, that she could see by the way the air warped and blurred around its edges. It was far brighter than Merlot's, bathing the nearby trees and Jaune's back in light like the morning sun. The Huntsman spun, eyes wide and hand on his sword.

"No worries!" Merlot called to him. "Typical lack of control from a young Arcanist. Too much power and quite naturally, that equates to too much brightness." The excuse worked and Jaune nodded before turning back to his scouting. It was just a fire spell. Nothing unusual.

Ruby felt alive. Power rushed through her body and out her fingers, feeding into the orb. It had to be cut off before it could grow. Willing it out of her hands, she sent it floating into the air to hover beside Merlot's. It wasn't as stable and it kept twitching and shaking, but it was there.

"Ridiculous." Merlot muttered. "The ease with which you do that is terrifying. You don't even have to think about altitude, do you? The X, Y and Z axis don't even factor into your mind. You just will it to do what you want, and it does."

"It's not steady," she whined.

"Not steady. Not steady…" He chuckled. "I would sacrifice stability for the freedom and speed you work at. It has taken me forty years to get to this point. You're here in less than four months." He looked away bitterly. "Your talent makes a mockery of my efforts."

Ruby wilted. "I'm sorry."

"No. No. Don't waste time with that. The Azure don't care for titles or power, only understanding. I expect I'm one of the few who have had the pleasure to see this. It is simply… frustrating. It's frustrating to know that no matter the effort I put in, no matter how hard I try, it will simply be impossible to obtain a fraction of the potential you have. No doubt, it's that which the White is so concerned about. Potential for good can just as easily be potential for bad."

"Yeah, but hunting us down before we do anything bad…?"

"You don't invite the wolf to sleep in a room with your children just because he hasn't killed any yet, nor a fox to rest among the chickens. It is not entirely fair, I agree, but power corrupts. I can't help but think if I had your power, I would not stay within the Collegium. There are so many secrets to uncover, many no doubt hidden by the White themselves. Perhaps it is a good thing I do not have your potential," he said. "I would only get myself killed. Or worse, thrown in the Sanctum."

A long and ominous howl split the air.

"Beowolf." Merlot hissed. "A good target for us! Smallest of the Grimm and easier to capture."

"It could be a normal wolf," she pointed out.

"Wolves do not approach torchlight, Initiate, let alone fire magic. They are not drawn by wildmagic either."

He'd made her use wildmagic to draw the Grimm in. Ruby cursed under her breath, staring out into the trees. Her ball of light reacted to her mood, whisking forward to cast blaring shadows between the trunks, turning the forest into a black and white painting. It was a stark contrast that set her heart racing. Ruby had thought herself brave and had even killed one Beowolf with Ren, but after witnessing the massacre in the Archives, she was shaking badly. If there were more than one, they'd be in real danger.

"Stand back!" Jaune ordered. "Let them come by me. Lord Merlot, kill any who pass – don't concern yourself with my wellbeing. Your magic won't harm me."

Red eyes blinked ominously in the dark. Ruby pointed. "Jaune!"

"I see it!" he roared, whipping his sword around in a beautiful flourish.

The monster saw them, too. Or rather, it saw her. Ruby stood rooted to the spot as its eyes bored into her soul, narrowing in a way she knew meant it was throwing out everything else. No Jaune, no Merlot, only the succulent Wildmage it longed to sink its finger-length teeth into. It had howled before, like a wolf, but the roar that came from its maw was one no canine could create. It was deep and cavernous, bellowing like a thousand people screaming. With one might lunge, it kicked off the grass and hurtled toward them, toward her, smashing branches and bushes out of its way.

"Steady now." Merlot gripped her shoulder. "Trust in your friend. He's a Huntsman."

Jaune swept in from the left, ignored by the beast. He tucked his sword in tight and twisted, spinning on one foot. Ruby had watched the guards train outside the walls with Yang, and in between Yang ogling the oiled up bodies, she'd heard the experienced trainers launch blistering tirades on people that tried what they called `fancy bullshit`.

That included spinning and pirouettes, turning your back on the foe or trying to switch from one hand to the other. It always led to them being knocked down, either by a powerful shoulder charge or a wooden blade. It just wasn't worth doing, she'd watched them be told. It left you open. It served no purpose.

Jaune made it look good, completing his turn at his closest point to the Beowolf and then twisting back with sudden speed. He used the spin to give him more room to wind up, to swing harder and longer – something that would have gotten him stabbed in the back by someone paying attention to him, but which let him cut a long and powerful sweep.

The Beowolf had just begun to pass when he completed it, and that seemed to be his intent. The blade sliced into and through its hind left leg, less cutting and more lopping off at the knee. He grunted as it did, clearly having to use every ounce of strength he could to make sure the blade didn't get stuck in muscle or bone and be wrenched out his hand. Almost unknowing, the Grimm landed on its forepaws, brought in its hind and launched itself for them. As it did, it suddenly noticed the loss of a limb, lurching to the side in its leap and crashing to the ground several feet to their left, sliding along.

Even then it still tried to swing its claws at them. Merlot skirted her back with one hand in front of her chest, watching it with clear fascination as it snapped, snarled and dug one claw into the ground, dragging itself toward them.

Jaune came up behind it, brought his sword high in two hands and then pierced it down through its remaining hind leg. The beast didn't register the pain. Pinned down, it continued to try and claw its way toward her. Ruby was very careful to stay close to Merlot, even when he started to circle the downed creature.

"Marvellous. Simply marvellous. Well done, Huntsman. A lost leg isn't much – I don't care for our specimen to be mobile anyway. As long as it doesn't bleed out, all will be well."

"It may still." Jaune said, leaning on his sword to drive it down before letting go and standing up. "You may want to cauterise its wound, Lord Merlot."

"Yes. A good point. Stand back, then. Not you, Ruby." He pulled her close before Jaune might notice the Grimm's unusual focus on her. "Watch. While I certainly hope you'll leave the healing to the Emerald Arcana, you may still learn something."

There wasn't much to learn. Merlot summoned fire in the same way they had been taught, and the Grimm hardly cared when its leg was incinerated and burned shut. It must have been agonising. Still, she made a show of nodding like it was a good lesson, all to convince Jaune there was nothing untoward.

"That one was aggressive," the Huntsman said. "More so than usual."

Ruby's heart skipped a beat. "L-Lady Goodwitch said they were more worked up lately!"

Merlot shot her a warning look but Jaune only nodded. "It's true. I've been out here a few times with Arcanists of late, even lost… well, they're definitely more active now than they were last year. Something has them on edge."

"All the more reason for me to study on them." Merlot said. "The sooner we understand what makes these monsters tick, the sooner we can find a solution to them. While I would never countenance the extinction of a species, I think I might be willing to make an exception here. What say you, Ruby?"

"Definitely…" she muttered. The thing was still staring at her, snarling and biting and clearly willing to rip its leg to shreds if it meant getting to her. Luckily, it didn't have the power to do so in that position. The best it could do was pull with its upper arms, and its strength wasn't enough to make it rip its own leg off. "I don't like them. They look… hungry…"

"Hunger? They've never been witnessed eating," Jaune remarked.

"Perhaps that's what it is, then." Merlot said. "Hunger for magic, a hunger that can never be satisfied and drives them wild. I wonder that if this one could think, would it think itself fortunate to be taken to where there are so many Arcanists, or would it be torture to have them so within reach and yet not be able to touch them?"

"I wouldn't know, Lord Arcanist. It's not my place to question-" Jaune's head flicked to the left. His eyes narrowed. Lord Merlot looked, too, not because they had heard anything, but because when your Huntsman acted that way, it usually meant something bad.

"What is it?"

"I heard a branch snap. There is someone watching us."

Merlot huffed. "More Grimm?"

"No. An Arcanist."

Ruby couldn't see anything. "How can you tell?"

"Because she is stood over there and neither of you can see her." Jaune drew a knife from his belt. "Illusionary magic does not work on a Huntsman. Reveal and explain yourself, Arcanist. If you are of the Collegium, there is nothing to fear. The Grimm is dealt with."

Illusionary? Ruby stared the way Jaune was looking but could see nothing. Tapping into her magic, she felt nothing either – and there was the problem. Nothing. There was a pocket of absolute nothingness that felt similar to Jaune's but not as draining. It didn't pull at her senses, but instead just didn't exist. Like a small area of ground had been removed from existence. Or hidden. Invisibility, just like the spell she'd woven on herself to fool the Arcanists and slip out the Collegium.

Blake…?

There was no way to tell, but Blake was of the Shadow Arcana, that specialised in staying hidden, and she'd said she had a way to avoid detection from Arcanists. Ruby swallowed the urge to shout out to her. Blake wouldn't be able to recognise her under her hood, and certainly wouldn't recognise her in the robes of the White Arcana.

The bushes in the direction Jaune was looking parted suddenly, folding around something running in the opposite direction. Jaune tensed but didn't give chase. He slid the knife back into his belt, looking to Merlot expectantly.

"I could see nothing, I'm afraid. We shall report this to Lady Goodwitch or the Grand Arcanist, but there is no reason to assume anything yet, or to give chase. For all we know the White sent someone to keep an eye out on their latest investment." He nodded to her. "It could have been one of ours."

"They would have told me if that were the case, Lord Merlot. And I would then not have drawn your attention to the one assisting us."

"A fair point. Someone else, then. Perhaps a Rogue or someone who isn't meant to be out this late. It matters not. We don't have the resources to give chase, and you'd be leaving us helpless if you did."

"Yes." Jaune sighed and let it go. "You're correct, Lord Arcanist. I will stay."

"Stay you shall – and a little longer than we, in fact. This can't be dragged through the city as it is without causing a panic. You will remain here and guard it, Huntsman. The Initiate and I shall return to the safety of the city and report back to the Collegium, then have more Huntsmen sent out to collect this along with a few Arcanists."

Ruby balked. "We're leaving Jaune on his own!?"

"I'll be fine, Ruby." He smiled her way, more himself than he had been for weeks. "They can't see me, remember? I'll be safer here on my own than I am with you now."

Right. No magic. Or an absence of magic. Once they were gone, the Grimm would hopefully just lay there waiting for other Huntsmen to come collect it. Jaune just had to make sure it didn't kill itself or harm someone else.

"Does this suit you, Huntsman?"

"It does, Lord Arcanist. You will be taking Ruby back to the Collegium?"

"Before the night ends, yes. I have something to pick up first and she will accompany me into the city."

Jaune frowned. "I'm supposed to watch over her."

"You are to protect her, and what better way than to allow her away from the Grimm? There's no harm, I assure you. I only need to pick up some reagents necessary for the tests I will be holding tomorrow. I want to see what reactions a Grimm has to certain chemicals and poisons; see if I can't whip something up that kills it."

"Yes…" Jaune looked a little uncertain, but with a quick glance to her, he let it go. "Alright, Lord Merlot. I shall wait here. Please have reinforcements sent before morning light. I have work in the Sanctum."

"They'll be here before the night ends," Merlot promised. "Come, Ruby. We're only putting your friend in danger standing around here. We'll be safe and sound back in the city."

Ruby was at his side in a fraction of a second. Her new molten light bobbed up and down dangerously, showing the excitement she tried hard not to. With a final goodbye to Jaune and a promise eked out of him to visit her tomorrow – she would see if he could keep it – they made their way out the Outskirts before more Grimm could discover her. One felt lucky, but considering they'd only entered by about fifty metres, it was still dangerously close to the farmlands.

Close enough that they came out to a large group of farmers and guards, several holding torches and the guards with hands on their weapons. The farmers, brave but foolish, had pitchforks, scythes and sharpened wooden spears in hand.

"Gentlemen!" Merlot called, striding up to them. "Is there a problem?"

"Lord Arcanist." The lead guard bowed, and Ruby stared. It was Sergeant Hanner, one of the watch who took bribes from Junior, and the one who had sent her out to scout the Outskirts for him the first time. She slid behind Merlot, but he didn't recognise her. If he could even see her face under the hood and in the dark. "We heard sounds of beasts in the Outskirts. Howls and roars. There have been attacks on livestock of late, and we wanted to make sure we weren't looking at more wolves or bears." He shifted nervously, unsure if he wanted to make an accusation or not. "Does the Lord Arcanist know anything?"

"Wolves." Merlot chuckled and weaved his hands, summoning motes of light that earned gasps and appreciate `oohs`. The light floated into the vague shape of a normal, Valean wolf. Shaggy grey fur and a pointed snout angled downward. "We happened upon a pack while I was taking my apprentice to search for healing herbs. They were just as startled as us, I assure you, good sir, which is likely why they were so loud. I scared them off. A brief flash of fire." He spread his arms and the wolf burst up into a gout of flame, wowing the farmers. "And they scattered deeper into the forests."

Sergeant Hanner looked positively relieved. Whether that was because it saved him the late night trudging through the Outskirts or because he feared what was within, she didn't know. He released his weapon, laughing hoarsely and waving some of the men down.

"Good news. You can understand our concern, I'm sure. Times have been tough with all the attacks of late."

"It is your job, guardsman. You do it well. As do all the brave people here willing to fight to protect their land. Worry not, the danger is dealt with. Return to your homes and waste not the night traipsing through the woods. It is miserable in there. Take that from me."

"Aye. I shall. Does that satisfy the lot of you?" Hanner asked the farmers. They nodded and muttered their assent, farm implements being brought down and chatter returning. Nervous but relieved laughter, along with commentary on Merlot's spells.

It wasn't wolves, though. It was Grimm. Vale had no idea the danger it was in.

Ruby stayed quiet as the farmers turned away and Merlot led her along the path back toward the city. It made sense not to let them enter the Outskirts; they might not have had magic, but they didn't have the absence of it that Jaune did. The Grimm would see them and, lacking her to bait them away, would attack and kill them. Maybe Jaune could protect some, but if they scattered in fear and more Grimm came, he couldn't be everywhere at once.

Understanding why Merlot lied didn't make it any easier to accept. The Grimm were out there, were becoming more aggressive and had already killed people according to Glynda's reports. The threat was very real, and the Collegium was telling people it wasn't. There were desperate people living out in the slums who would still head out into the Outskirts to forage for herbs and mushrooms, unaware of the danger they were in. People like her own mother.

"This is your chance." Merlot interrupted her thoughts in a quiet whisper. "I will await you at the entrance to the Lower Quarter. Central gate. You have at best an hour. Go do what you must within the city but remain undetected. Do not cause a stir."

Ruby nodded and licked her lips. The Grimm could wait for now. It was time to make sure Yang was okay. Stepping away from Merlot, she ditched her white robes and let him bundle them up, stepping out into tight-fitting britches and a tunic that she'd hidden underneath.

Hiding herself with magic wouldn't work, especially not now that she knew the Huntsmen knew how to look for it. Not for what they could see, but what they could and which no one else reacted to. It was better to blend in normally.

Ruby sped up to the closest gate, slid past the distracted guards and slipped into the slums.

Time to see how a Ruby massively changed by the small time she's spent in among the nobles will interact with the slums she once called home.

Next Chapter: 20th September

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