The Emerald Forest surrounding Beacon academy was a quiet place, most days. The creatures who lived there had long since learned silence was a necessary requirement for survival with the creatures of Grimm. Cloaked in pitch-black fur and heavy plates of bone, these incarnations of hatred and darkness spawned fear everywhere they walked, and the whole of the forest was their domain. Thus, it was an odd sight for many of its inhabitants, both Grimm and otherwise, when a young girl with silver hair came skipping through the trees, singing brightly.
"Dee dum, a barrel of moonlit rum, dee day, the horse eats his hay…" The woman appeared almost ethereal as she traveled and sang, the decadence of her clothes painting an odd picture against the earthy tones of the forest. She bore all the grace of warrior-queen, tight leather curves met by the loose flowing robes of deep midnight blue. Small silver stones studded their length, shining in the dappled light like the million twinkling stars of a night sky. A stone cut into the likeness of a moon, her namesake, hung about her neck on a silver chain, dark and mysterious with its royal blue tint. Opaque glasses hid her eyes, blinding the girl, yet she moved with the lethal surety of a fey warrior, every step silent in her sapphire slippers.
Luna paused suddenly just as she was about to step over a small branch, her head cocking to the side curiously. A second later, she threw herself backwards, narrowly dodging the large scaled body that burst out of the underbrush, long silver fangs gleaming as they struck at where Luna had stood just a moment before. As Luna landed a mere few feet away, a small smile playing about her lips, the young girl reached into one of the many loose folds of her robes, producing a small metallic item. With a press of a button, there came the sound of metal scraping against metal,and slowly, it expanded, until the silver-haired woman was holding a battleaxe in her hands. Trimmed in blue and silver, the massive weapon made her look like a child as she fell back into a ready stance, blade's wicked edge gleaming in the sunlight. The king taijitu's beady red eyes met hers as she fell into a crouch, weapon held delicately over her shoulders in an unorthodox, but ready position.
They moved at the same time, streaks of black and blue lightning against the forest backdrop as they shot forward to clash with a titanic crash. The Taijitu's strike came in the form of a blindingly-quick lunge, gleaming white fangs shining as they were bared wide to swallow the girl whole. Luna, however, was ready for such a basic tactic, her hand twitching to throw the massive axe in her hands into a sharp underhanded twirl, the wide blade crushing the bone plate under the giant snake's jaw and throwing it high into the air. Without hesitation, Luna followed it, pushing aura through her legs to propel herself even higher than the large snake, a wild grin on her face as she brushed the treetops at the apex of her arc. The rush of battle, only a few seconds old, was already exhilarating, stealing her breath as her blood was set pumping. Technically unrelated she may be too Ruby and Yang, but Luna had inherited their love for action and battle all the same.
A simple twist of her wrists brought Her Lunar Bloom to bear once more, eliciting a sickening crunch as the young girl buried it within the taijitu's skull mere seconds before it crashed back down to earth. Luna touched down a second later, rolling to shake off the excess momentum of her fall. She started to rise, ready to strike again and finish the beast off, when a flash of warning slipped through her mind. The next second, Luna threw herself to the side, narrowly dodging the great whitehead that slammed into the ground where she had just been.
Acting on instinct as yet another image appeared in her mind, the young Huntress span, twisting the Bloom to hold it in front of her. Even before she had completed the turn, the original black taijitu head struck, vicious fangs catching on the wide blade. For a second, as Luna struggled to hold back the beast, Luna's celestial blue eyes-freed from the confining visor to allow her future vision to wander- met the snake's unnaturally intelligent red ones. She could see the anger boiling in their crimson depths, a hatred so bright and powerful she almost felt sorry for the beast. To be so consumed by darkness must truly be a horrendous fate, but even as the beast hissed at her, Luna's face hardened. Grimm weren't human, and their concept of pity and fate were nonexistent. There was no point feeling sorry for the monster. All she could do was put it out of its misery.
There was a quiet click, and the long grip of Luna's axe shifted slightly to allow a small bump to appear under her index finger. Steeling her resolve, The huntress-in-training exhaled sharply, just as she pulled the trigger. The weapon in her hands kicked as a loud crack rang out, a split-second before the back of the taijitu's head exploded outwards, painting the forest floor red. Luna had little time to watch as it waved in the air for as few short seconds before crashing to the ground, as she was already whirling to meet the other head as it dove down at her, her blade already swinging. She froze, though, when she was met with a surprising sight.
Rather than the white head marked with blood red that Luna had expected to be just behind her, she instead found a wild mane of bushy hair between it and her, holding the beast back with a thick round shield. The blue-eyed girl gaped at the sight, surprised for the first time in a long time. Just a second before, she had been met with the sight of the taijitu crashing down upon her, fangs bared and dripping venom as they dug into her flesh from behind. Now, however, that vision cracked, replaced with the one before her. The blonde had little time to react to this new development, however, as she was once again astounded when the warrior before her shoved the giant snake away, a feat even Luna would be hard pressed to accomplish. She watched as the girl-and yes, it was a girl, a very familiar one in fact- spun in a full circle, using the momentum to drive smaller war-axe in her free hand into its eye, a sickening squelch meeting the blow. The girl twitched, and suddenly her shield folded in on itself, shifting into a sub-machine gun, before she emptied a clip into the snake's other eye, a grim expression dominating her face.
The large Grimm reeled back from Hermione's assault, thrashing wildly as it struggled to comprehend the sudden darkness that had claimed it. A flash of warning shook Luna out of her reverie, as short as it had been, and as the heavy formed started to fall, the blonde threw herself forward, crashing into Hermione and dragging her to the ground. An instant later, a dull, heavy thud sounded, and the earth seemed to jump beneath them as the Grimm fell to the ground, In a flash, Luna released her fellow student and was back up, slashing viciously at the now-vulnerable serpent. .A few blows in, She achieved her goal, as the Grimm started to dissipate, a sure sign that it was dead.
An air of calm finally seemed to fall around them as Luna lowered her axe, breathing heavily from the exertion. With barely a thought, the girl pressed the catch to turn it back into a small rectangle of compressed metal, sliding it back into the hidden pocket within her robes. It was a short ritual, but one she had long since learned to recognize as both her senses and semblance telling her that there was no more danger. The thought allowed her tense muscles to finally relax, her lungs to release their held breath, and her blood to calm slightly, though it still simmered with the heat of battle and adrenaline just under her skin. Sufficiently calmed, LUna turned to face her unexpected ally, only a single raised eyebrow betraying any of her surprise to find the bushy-haired Huntress-in-training with her own weapons nowhere to be found. With the short, earthy combat skirt and tight white blouse, there wasn't much space to hide even one weapon, let alone two. Then again, it was Hermione Granger. Perhaps she shouldn't be so shocked.
Silence reigned as the two girls locked eyes, either's features perfectly blank as they both assessed the other. They had spent a short time the previous night, catching up somewhat and refamiliarizing themselves after nearly sixteen years apart, but that had both been far too little time, and in a social setting rather than combat, to gain a real measure of the found themselves disappointed, unsurprisingly. Hermione was a bit taken aback to have witnessed Luna wield her heavy Lunar Bloom with such skill and dexterity, but in truth such an incongruous action was not all that unexpected when it came to her old friend, although it was perhaps a bit vicious for the normally kind and friendly girl. Likewise, the cool and calculating aura Hermione exuded, even with her simple but effective arsenal hidden away, brought back many memories for her blonde counterpart, both joyful and bittersweet.
After a long moment of staring at each other, Hermione finally broke the tension as she cracked a small smile, taking a short step closer to her friend. "Well, Luna, looks like we're partners now." She spoke with in a jovial tone, but Luna could hear the edge of nervousness in her voice, prompting the younger girl to return the smile.
"It would seem so, Hermione." She answered, nodding to allieve the other girl's concerns. Truth be told, she was a bit worried herself about how well they would mesh together as partners. While good friends in the wizarding world, Luna and Hermione had never been particularly close before, and sixteen years-a whole other lifetime, in fact-could change someone drastically. Still, it seemed they had managed to reach some sort of understanding with their exchange, as Hermione returned her nod, the corner of her lips quirking even further until they threatened to turn into a real smile. Without any other conversations necessary, the two girls turned as one into the direction they had both already determined was in the general vicinity of their destination, and started moving out. Whatever the case, they still had a job to do. Any problems they may have in the future, could be sorted out then.
XXX
So Potter. Have you found any others from our side of the veil? Or was all that stuff before just pulled out your ass?" Harry paused in his labors to cock his head sideways at Draco, careful not to upset his balance as he did so.
"Perhaps a few," Came his reply, a soft smirk crossing his face at Draco's answering groan. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh you know," Draco answered in a voice as dry as Vacuo. "I was getting kind of bored hanging off a fifty foot cliff by the tips of my fingers, and thought I'd make conversation." A small laugh escaped Harry, and he glanced down. They were indeed pressed up against the rough face of one of Vale's infamous mountains, with Aura and magic all that kept them from falling into the open void below.
"Snarky really isn't a good look on you." He replied, laughing again when Draco answered with an angry hiss.
"Shut up and keep climbing, Potter." The smirk on Harry's face widened, but he did as he was told, and soon enough they had reached their destination. It wasn't much, just a small rock outcropping barely big enough to hold the two as they dropped down, sighing with pleasure as they stretched out their worn muscles and allowed their Aura to soothe their pain. What interested Harry, however, was not the outcropping itself, an utterly unremarkable feature on the side of an utterly unremarkable cliff, but the small, cavelike entrance behind it.
"So what exactly are we here for again? Last I checked, we were searching for a forest temple."Harry sighed before turning a glare on his companion, annoyance radiating off him.
"We are here Malfoy, as you would know if you had been listening the first time I explained it, because this cave is the entrance to a pretty big tunnel network, one path of which opens out at an old abandoned shrine I suspect to be the temple."The shorter of the two boys made a noise of surprise, before casting a curious eyebrow at Harry.
"And you would know this how?" He asked warily.
"The White Fang were using these tunnels up until about two years ago, and I kept tabs on them even after leaving." WIth that, he pushed aside a few cobwebs dangling in front of the cave entrance, likely accrued over the years of disuse, and stepped into the cave, leaving Draco behind to stare at his back. It took several seconds before the snake-faunus realized he was being left behind, and by the time he had hurried to catch up, Harry was silently laughing at the shocked expression he still wore.
"You were a member of the White Fang?" awe and fear mixing in his voice. Draco, of course, had never had much to do with the organization, but he had heard a lot about it, especially since his recent reintroduction to normal society. It struck him as quite strange that Potter would have been part of a terror group. How on earth had that happened.
"I was, up until about three years ago. In fact, I'm quite good friends with the daughter of their old leader, although she thinks I'm dead at the moment." Draco paused for a moment, contemplating that thought, before he just had to ask.
"How'd that happen?" Harry grinned, green eyes glinting in the light of the small ball of arcane energy he had summoned.
"I dropped a building on myself. Actually, she was the one person I didn't want to think I was dead. Funny how things work out."
"Huh." Was Draco's only reply to that, backing off when he heard the pain in Harry's voice. The two men fell silent as they continued to stalk through the tunnels, an uncomfortable quiet settling around them.
The tunnels themselves were odd places, Draco mused as they walked. The light from Harry's orb only extended out a few feet, failing to penetrate the thick darkness around them, but what little he could see was a mess, and the silver-eyed warrior found himself doubting the sanity of anybody willing to live in it. Cobwebs were thick in the corners, wet, sticky stuff that threatened to catch hold every time one of his boots brushed it. Scattered about, as well, were the bones and other remains of all sorts of small animals, such as rats and squirrels, with a few larger creatures mixed in. Draco and Harry's steps were silent, but there seemed to be an odd clicking sound that echoed in the long passageways, sending shivers down Draco's spine. Finally, after a while of listening to it gradually grow louder and louder, Draco decided to distract himself, turning to Harry.
"So if you knew where the temple was, why couldn't we just go overground?" He asked, hoping the edge of fear hadn't slipped into his voice. The proud snake-faunus would never admit it, but that clicking noise was grating on his nerves with every beat, and the hair on the back of his neck was standing on edge. Logically, of course, he knew that it was likely just some loose bone caught in a web and knocking against the stone, but still. It was creepy.
"I don't make a habit of mapping out the 'Grimm' part in 'Grimm filled forest', Malfoy." HArry answered with a roll of his eyes, And Draco glared, forgetting about the clicking for a moment in his anger.
"Yeah, says the guy who was surrounded by them in the first few minutes of his initiation." Came his retort.
"Hey, it's not my fault that my soul radiates darkness!" The larger Hunter complained, the light around them wavering as he threw up his hands in annoyance.
"Of course it is- wait what did you say?" Draco stared at his companion, face blank and eyes wide with shock. Did he just hear that right? Harry sighed, lowering his hands to run them through his hair in aggravation, before throwing Draco a droll stare.
"I had the soul of a megalomaniac sociopath living in my head for seventeen years, remember? A good deal of Voldemort's nastiness seeped in, and now I'm like a walking buffet for any Grimm within a two-mile radius." Draco froze as the meaning of Harry's words slammed into him like a truck. Quick as a viper, his hand shot out to grab the other's shoulder, throwing him into a wall with all his strength. A second later he was there as well, hand crackling with arcane energy as he held it mere inches away from Potter's face.
"Tell me why I shouldn't end you now, Potter." He growled, voice lowered into a near-hiss by the rage coursing through 's eyes widened as he felt the power vibrating in Draco's hand, vicious and angry. The boy had learned from before, it seemed. If Draco had been attempting to hold him down with sheer force instead, Harry probably would have killed him instantly, as even now he could feel the ancient instincts he fought constantly to keep suppressed rising up inside, eager for blood and conquest.
"It's gone, Draco. The Horcrux left nothing in me except a beacon for Grimm." He said, voice low and placating as he could already feel the temperature rising around them slightly. He doubted Draco could feel it yet, consumed by anger and hatred as he was at the moment, but Harry needed to end this now, before someone got hurt.
"Why should I believe you?" Draco asked, silver eyes hard as they bore into Harry's emerald ones, and Harry was forced to suppress a groan, even as he fought the urge to tear out the other man's throat. He wasn't going to get anywhere like this, and they didn't have the time to stand here and argue with Harry basically at gunpoint. The ravenette focused, meeting Draco's stare point for point, gathered his magic, and spoke, a single word heavy with power and intent.
"Legilimens." The snake-faunus stiffened as the memories of a hundred conversations forced their way into his head. He replayed, over and over, the explanations a dozen different aura doctors had given Harry for what effect the foreign soul of Voldemort had on him. The lion was right, it seemed. All the Horcrux had done was cling to the edge's of his aura, with only slightly minute bits of the hatred and anger slipping into color it. At worst, it would have given Potter a slightly enhanced temper, which Draco had already been perfectly aware of.
He stumbled back as Harry turned his head slightly, breaking the mental connection between them with a silent down as his head swam with the new information ingraining itself inside him, Draco groaned, glaring back up at Harry.
"Never do that again, Potter." He growled in a voice stretched by pain, and Harry shrugged, though the shorter of the two could see worry in his eyes as he looked down at Draco.
"It was the easiest way to answer." Harry replied, his own voice carrying an odd edge to it. Draco groaned again, turning a baleful glare on him.
"Still doesn't make it any less painful."
"Of course not, I just shoved hundreds of hours of long, boring conversations on the mechanics of souls into your brain. Be glad you didn't have to sit through it the traditional way." Somehow, Draco couldn't help but laugh at that, and as he leaned back to press his head against the wall behind him, the pain slowly started to fade, forgotten in his mirth. When he opened his eyes though, the last echoes of his chuckling dying away in the distance, he froze again, fear icing through him, As a new sound started echoing in its place. Or rather, it continued echoing, and his attention was finally brought back to it now that they had a moment of piece.
"Potter." The word was a bare whisper, quiet as a falling leaf and sharper than the claws of a beowulf, but Harry's feline ears pricked on top of his head, and his eyes narrowed to focus on Draco where he sat. as he saw the fear etched across his companion's face, Harry's brow furrowed, but it smoothened out in understanding as his ears picked up another sound, one which only now struck him as familiar. His face blanked as memories swarmed his mind, images of a dark forest and ancient blue car flashing just behind his eyes.
"Please tell me you don't see eight eyes."
"I don't see eight eyes." Harry sighed at the blaise answer. This was not going to end well.
"You just lied, didn't you?"
"What do you think, Potter?"
"Well… fuck."
XXX
Hello, I'm baaaaaaaack! Please don't kill me.
Anyways, Yes, I'm back, although I'm not quite sure how long it's been, so I don't know how much I should apologize for the late return. Otherwise, I don't really have anything to say on this story, funnily enough. If you do, however, have the time, I would suggest going to read the Author's note on my new story Brotherhood: Bound By Pain. It has some information in it that you might want to know, but I'm too lazy to write out again. So, I guess I'll see you all later, and don't forget to Review!