"Duck!"
"Goose!" Yang yelled jokingly.
When Blake shouted that, her entire crew dropped to the ground. But Yang couldn't help herself. With precision, the faunus sliced another beowolf in half. It'd been waiting in the shrubbery for the perfect moment.
Successfully, Blake sheathed her katana and the crew began moving again.
"Damn, what was that?" Yang asked. "Like, the tenth beowolf that tried for an ambush?"
Casually, Qrow rested his scythe on his shoulder. "At least that ursa tried the upfront approach."
"They probably think they're too big to have any problems," Weiss suggested and looked to her captain. "Are we still headed east?"
Ruby gazed at the map in her grasp. "Yep, we should get there in six hours at this pace."
Multiple groans. This trek wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so hot. And humid. And horrible.
For a while now, the Thorns were journeying into the jungle. Thanks to the intel Blake retrieved, Sienna should be in here somewhere. If they were going to make sure the military wasn't going to capture Weiss and drag her back, they had to capture the leader of the Khans.
So far, the crew only cleared about three miles out of twenty-five. It seemed like grimm were around every tree and in every bush. It was going to be a long haul- it was a long haul. Each member was physically fit, but a trek like this could prove taxing on anyone. Especially since they were lugging around equipment to prepare for the night.
Hefty bags weighed them down, but inside were the essentials. First aid treatment, food, lots of water bottles, and tons of dust crystals. Due to the highly volatile crystals, one person was designated to carry them to avoid an explosion. That person simply avoids combat with the grimm. That person was Weiss since it was the dust she stole from her father.
Noting the measly twenty-five miles, Yang only shrugged. "I just wanna camp out. It's been too long since we've done that."
A little annoyed, Weiss said. "This isn't a vacation."
Yang simply raised her arms and gestured to all around them as beads of sweat rolled down her face. "This is a workout. I was just thinkin' that we can't exactly sleep in one of their cabins. So, where are we gonna sleep? Outside."
"It'll be interesting," Blake agreed as she adjusted the bag on her back.
"You doin' good so far?" Yang asked, recalling her girlfriend was hungover the day before.
The faunus waved her off. "I'm okay, guys. For the millionth time."
"Just checkin'," Yang reassured.
For a while, Qrow had been leading the group along with the captain. When he noticed his crew was sweating up a storm, he said. "Let's take a water break."
To Blake, that sounded like she was holding them back. "I told you, I'm fine. I don't need-"
"I need it," Qrow said sternly as he plopped onto the forest floor, causing the leaves to crunch. "We haven't had water yet and we're almost four miles in. Drink it even if you don't want it. Drink it, or I'll make you."
The Thorns merely glanced amongst each other and shared shrugs.
Ruby knelt next to her uncle on the dry mud. "Dehydration can sneak up on you."
"Exactly," Qrow replied after he chugged a few gulps.
The Thorns were genuinely surprised he didn't bring some mead along with him to drink instead. By now, the water bottles were lukewarm instead of containing a chill. At least they weren't hot. Yet.
After gulping an entire water bottle, Yang gave a satisfied sigh. "I had no idea how much I needed that."
Resting like this was heavenly. It made them notice just how much the sun was beating them into submission. It was challenging them to continue on as the humidity progressively rose.
Their thin tank tops were glazed with sweat as they downed the drinks. Fortunately, the girls had pulled their hair into ponytails to prevent unwanted heat around their heads. Although sweat still trickled down their necks.
"We brought plenty of water," Weiss reassured them when she noticed Blake eye another bottle. "Don't hold back and drink when you want to. Staying hydrated in this heat is essential."
"Okay, mom," the blonde jokingly replied.
"Especially you," Weiss paid no heed to her teasing. "Since you like to steal all the grimm."
"Okay, okay," Yang dismissed. "I'll let my Rubes get 'em now."
Since Yang and Qrow killed the majority of grimm so far, Ruby used a bargaining tone. "How about this. Whoever the grimm is closest to, gets to kill it."
They were talking about killing grimm so easily. Like it was child's play. It was then that Blake recalled Laana's words. Sienna held her meetings so far into the jungle that only the fittest survive to attend them.
"Except Weiss," Ruby continued. "If one's near her, I'll take care of it."
Every step Weiss made had to be precise. Otherwise, the bag she was carrying might explode.
"My dunce of a hero," Weiss drawled.
Collectively, the Thorns stood to continue trekking. Qrow was in front with Ruby and Weiss in the middle, and Yang and Blake were behind the formation. After they hiked for a few minutes, Qrow stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the mud.
"What's up?" Ruby asked and met his line of vision. "Woah…"
Interested, Yang caught up to them. "What's wrong- oh."
A colossal footprint. No way it was human. It was-
"A goliath," Weiss breathed in awe. "I've heard about them, but I've never seen one. It must be close by."
Cautiously, Qrow rested his scythe onto his shoulder. "It's the one grimm I won't mess with."
"Why not?" Ruby asked, wondering why it scared her powerful uncle.
"They have dense armor, they're massive, and they only move in herds. If you deal with one, you deal with ten. To top it off, they're the only grimm protective of their own. You screw with one, the others attack."
"Wow…" Ruby mumbled.
A few feet away, Blake pointed at more tracks. "It looks like they headed this way."
Weiss breathed a sigh of relief. "The opposite direction. Good."
Nonchalantly, Qrow tossed his bag to his firecracker.
"Uh, what're you doing?" Yang asked.
"Being cautious," the pirate said and closed his eyes.
After a few moments of concentrating, the man warped into a blackbird. He gave a squawk and jetted to the sky. His crew watched like it was the most normal thing in the world. In the past, Qrow used this form to blend in and to warn the crew about threats.
"How long can he hold that form?" Weiss asked, having seen him a few times like that before.
"Couple hours," Yang explained. "Still dunno why or how the hell he can do that. He jokes and says, 'magic,' but I doubt it. Just keep it on the down-low."
From being told that, Weiss scoffed. "Who would believe that?"
"Exactly!" Ruby chirped.
Several minutes passed.
Along the way, the crew tripped over countless tree roots. They were thick and begging to trip them. This place was like a tropical rainforest.
"Ah crap," Yang mentioned. "I gotta pee."
"Already?" Ruby asked, baffled.
"I'll be right back," the blonde said and then yelled up to her uncle. "I'm gonna pee, so don't look!"
The squawk was lower than most. Probably telling her that she had nothing to worry about.
Weiss crossed her arms and stared at Blake. "Does your girlfriend have a bladder the size of a pea?"
"Heh," they heard Yang chuckle from behind the bushes.
"Seems like it," Blake replied.
It didn't take long for Yang to join her crew again.
"Sorry about the wait-"
A resounding squawk pulsed down to them. The alarm. After hearing that, the trees rustled in the distance. Entire groups of trees. Unfortunately, the grimm blend with the jungle, so it took Qrow a minute to identify them.
A quick glance to the left confirmed that there was a goliath herd in the distance. They seemed to be doing their own thing, but it was only a matter of time before they charged the crew.
"Holy shit," Yang breathed, taking note they were the size of buildings. "They're huge."
Ruby's eyes twinkled. "They look so cool! Let's kill 'em."
Before she could dart away, Blake grabbed her shoulder. "How about no."
"Brace yourselves," Weiss warned, suggesting she had a plan.
Easily, Weiss formed five glyphs beneath all of them. The crow in the sky received a floating glyph. When that was done, she flicked her wrist. In a strong burst, the crew leaped forward and rattled all the vegetation.
Yang wore the brightest smile as she soared with her arms back. "Aw, hell yeah!"
While they enjoyed it, Weiss was busy veering them out of the way of the thick trees. At least she didn't have to worry about Qrow racing above them. He couldn't smack into anything up there.
"Imagine how I feel!" Ruby exclaimed as she twisted into a red blur.
Combined with the propulsion glyph and her own semblance, Ruby was flying faster than the speed of light. She was effectively in the lead and well-ahead of her crew.
From the sight, Weiss shouted in amusement. "Wait up, dolt!"
With renewed force, they caught up to their captain thanks to the glyphs. At these speeds, the wind hit any exposed skin. Although, the breeze felt nice and slapped all the sweat off them.
"Agh!" Blake screamed a few times from almost slamming into some trees. "How are you controlling all of us?! I'd barely be able to do this myself!"
"Practice," Weiss replied as she glided alongside her.
Over half an hour had passed as they flew in this manner. The crew was impressed their friend was able to keep up the glyphs for this long. She even prevented the dust from exploding. Weiss figured she might as well since they were covering more ground this way, and she wasn't as fatigued as she anticipated.
Along the way, a few grimm tried to jump the group, but they were simply too fast.
Ruby was in the front, so when she slowed down, her crew followed. Weiss gradually slowed her glyphs and the crew went back to trekking. Now that they had a breather, they noticed the sun was dipping.
According to the map, they were getting close to the cabins.
Leisurely, Yang put her hands behind her head. "It was nice while it lasted. How much ground did we cover?"
Weiss panted a bit and took a deep breath. "My glyphs… can cover one mile… in about three minutes…."
"We covered twenty miles?!" Yang yelped in disbelief.
While Weiss caught her breath, Ruby rubbed soothing circles on her back. "That's insane. Good job, Weiss."
"It was… simple enough…"
Abruptly, Qrow dropped beside them and retrieved his bag from Yang. "I was wonderin' when that'd end. Good job, kiddos."
Swiftly, he grabbed a water bottle for Weiss and handed it to her. After thanking him, she downed the entire bottle.
Concerned, Ruby glared at the map. "If we really covered twenty miles, we should be here."
Silent, Yang elbowed her sister in the side. "Does that look like a cabin to you?"
Since Blake had the best vision, she used them to her best ability. There was a cabin alright, and many more hidden behind it in the dense forestry. They'd finally arrived.
"Heck yes," Ruby celebrated in a whisper. Since they were near a Khan hideout, they had to be quiet. "Alright crew, let's find a safe spot to rest for the night."
Eager, Yang popped her knuckles. "Can't we just kill her now?"
"Love the enthusiasm, firecracker," Qrow said. "I want to see her dead as much as you, but we have a plan we have to stick to."
"Ugh, fine."
Why walk when you can use glyphs? Yang is rearing to kick some butt!
Stay dandy,
~Toto
