Roman Torchwick
"...Although they decided that Ruby should be the leader of the team, instead." Weiss said, a bit of indignation coloring her voice. She and Torchwick were seated in a private cabin at the very back of the airship, cut off from the observation deck by a thin wooden door. They were the only people on the craft, so the extra privacy wasn't exactly necessary, but Torchwick wasn't about to complain. This was the last time he would technically be connected to a rich girl, so he may as well enjoy one final taste of the privileged life.
Inside the cabin were two gray, padded benches arranged on either side of a window that took up most of the outer wall, showing the jutting mountainscape that consumed the land beneath them and the ethereal blue of the sky above.Weiss had taken a seat on the far bench, beside the window, soTorchwick took the seat across from her, and propped his legs up on the small table between them.
"Heh, bet that pissed you off." Roman replied, leaning back against his seat and staring out the window. She'd started talking about her experience at Beacon almost as soon as they were in the air, apropos of nothing. For all her bravado, her great escape had made her a lot more nervous than she was willing to admit. If he had to guess, once it had succeeded, all those nerves vanished at once, and left her feeling a little gabby. That was fair enough. It wasn't like they had anything better to do while they were in the air.
"It was a decision I had… strong opinions about, I confess." Weiss admitted, turning the corner of her mouth down and scrunching her nose. "Ruby can be impulsive. And reckless. And loud. And surprisingly dumb when she wants to be. Even then, there is something about her. She really does bring our team together in a way no one else could."
"Little Red is certainly a person who exists, yes." He replied dryly. That was about all he could say about her that wouldn't be seething in contempt, and it was probably for the good of his partnership with the Ice Queen that he not badmouth the friends she was gushing about.
"Well, once we got that unpleasantness behind us, we were a great team! Not just in battle, but in everything. The four of us seemed to complete each other. When I was with them, I realized I'd never actually felt 'happy' before, you know?" She rested her her forehead against the glass of the window and gazed into the early morning twilight. "I really miss them. I hope they're okay."
Torchwick relaxed a bit, allowing his back to sink into the plush padding of his seat. There hadn't been any structure to the order in which Weiss told him about her life in Beacon. She'd jumped around from describing the campus, to the faculty, to her classmates. None of it was information he was dying to learn, but it was clear she enjoyed the reminiscing, and it was a unique experience to learn about the daily lives of a group who had been such an enormous pain in his ass for so long.
I realized I'd never actually felt 'happy' before, you know?
He winced as he remembered the images he'd seen during her concert. He had tried not to think about that incident, ever since it'd happened, but it was always in the back of his mind. Every time he looked at her he saw those images and remembered those feelings. That loneliness was so… familiar.
"I swear, Little Red is half-cockroach. I'm not sure there's a force in the universe that could put her down. Kitty Cat and the Blonde Berserker, I'm less familiar with, but eh, I'm sure they're all fine. I've resigned myself to the fact that you brats will always be around, trying to save a world that doesn't deserve it."
"You really do have a nickname for everyone, don't you?" She looked over and flashed him a small smile. "… but thanks for trying to reassure me. You've really been on your best behavior lately."
Huh! Come to think of it he did. Nicknaming people came so naturally to him that he'd stopped giving it any special thought a long time ago.
"What's life without a little whimsy, I guess?" He said with a shrug. "I still maintain that anyone will betray anyone else, if the situation is bad enough, but if you care about your friends then I care about them, too. Remember, while we're connected, transitive property, and whatnot."
"Anyone will betray anyone else, huh?" To his surprise, something about his words seemed to bother her. She frowned a bit, scratching her cheek. "Hey, Torchwick?"
"Why the long face?" He leaned forward, perplexed by her sudden mood shift. They'd been together for almost a month at this point, it wasn't like she'd never heard him say something cynical before.
"Can I ask you something? About the day you met Cinder?" She hesitated, as if debating whether she wanted to advance the subject or not. Her question just made him more confused.
"The Witch? What about her? Not sure she deserves this heavy atmosphere." Had they discussed her before? Ever since his arrival, they'd been so caught up in the immediate emergencies of Weiss' concert and her escape, they hadn't had much time to discuss the events of the attack on Vale. Even if they had, it would be a weird thing to bring up in the middle of such a lighthearted conversation.
Weiss rocked her head from side to side, as if debating an invisible opponent, before finally speaking again.
"No, you're right. Never mind. I'm just overthinking a dream I had."
Torchwick perked his ears. After the experiences he'd had, he knew there was something going on with their connection. Was it possible that he was sharing his memories with her in the same way she had with him? If so, he would need to figure out how to put a stop to that… the idea of anyone- much less one of Little Red's merry band- getting a front row seat to his past memories made him deeply uncomfortable.
"Now I'm curious! Go ahea-" He was about to coax her to continue when violent turbulence shook the cabin. There was a sickening thud as Weiss' forehead suddenly slammed against the glass it had been resting on, eliciting a cry of pain from her as the pair of them were rocked by the sudden force. Without thinking, Torchwick leaped up to try to steady her, turning around and using his knees to grip the table between them so that, when she was finally thrown forward, she fell into his back instead of the ground.
"Are you alright, Snowflake?" He called out. The direction of the craft had shifted, slanting diagonally as it began to pull upward. What is this idiot pilot doing!? This is a commercial passenger craft. It's not designed for high altitudes.
"I'm fine. It was more surprising than anything." She said, though she was still nursing the left side of her face with her hand. As the shaking subsided for a moment he could feel her calming down... Enough so that it finally dawned on her that she was resting against him, and she pulled away with an awkward gasp.
"We're climbing. We really shouldn't be doing that, unless our pilot harbors a deep and unrequited pining for the ground, anyway. I think something bad is going down."
"Are we under attack?" She asked, a note of worry in her voice. Torchwick threw up his arms and gave an exagerated shrug.
"We're in the cabin of a craft that just experienced violent turbulence, and is currently pulling itself upward, that is the extent of my knowledge, presently. Shall we go investigate?"
Weiss gave him a nod, and he let her take the lead as they headed across the abandoned viewing deck and toward the cockpit. The entire far wall of the viewing deck space was made of transparent glass, and through that they finally caught a glimpse of what might have been the cause of their troubles: a group of Griffons… a flying breed of Grimm that Torchwick was (uncomfortably) familiar with. He could see five of them in total, flapping their wings violently to maintain their positions. They were keeping pace with the craft, matching any changes the pilot made to direction or elevation, but otherwise holding steady.
"Strange..." Weiss mused thoughtfully, staring at the creatures for a moment before suddenly breaking into a sprint toward the cockpit. She was the huntress, after all. If she said this was unusual, Torchwick was inclined to believe her.
The pair of them made it to the small door that separated the crew section from the public spaces, ignoring the posted sign that warned against trespassing as Weiss forced it open by slamming her shoulder against it.
"What's going on?" She demanded of the pilot as soon they had broken through, though in truth she could have spared herself the question had she simply looked around first.
The Griffons they'd already seen were part of a group at least fifteen strong, who dotted the sky around the ship, visibly holding their positions on the other side of the cockpit's forward windscreen. The pilot was focused on the controls, jerking the vessel to and fro in his efforts to escape the siege, though when they entered the cockpit he shouted back an acknowledgment.
"You guys..." He was a middle-aged, heavyset man with a mellow voice, though that was about all Torchwick could tell about him. His body was covered by a denim jumpsuit, his eyes wereshielded from the glare of the snow by shaded goggles, and his head was protected by a leather helmet. "Sorry, a little busy at the moment."
"When did this start?" Weiss asked. It was clearly hard for her to stand upright with the ship changing directions so violently, so she awkwardly lurched herself up to the front of the cockpit and sat down in the co-pilot chair, strapping herself in. Torchwick wasn't having the easiest time staying upright himself, but at the very least he didn't have to worry about banging his head on anything, so he contented himself to stand behind them and rest his back against the side of her chair.
"No idea. They just came outta nowhere as we entered the mountain range. At first they just hovered around us, so I hoped maybe we could pass without trouble." The pilot explained, not taking his hands off the helm or his eyes away from the windscreen. "But then one of the bastards slammed himself into one of the sub-engines. Did it deliberately! I've never seen a Grimm behave like that. Just killed himself to take it out. They tried doing that to the others, too, so I had to start getting rough."
Torchwick leaned back and furrowed his brow. His understanding of Atlesian aircraft was fairly comprehensive… a relic from the life of a younger Roman Torchwick who died long ago.
These new-ish Atlanetan airships had fairly sleek designs: A narrow front that swelled into a wider middle for the transport of goods and people, and then a rear compartment made up of four flipper-like wings and the engine system. They had four engines, one primary and three subs, with the sub engines existing primarily to ease the strain mobility and dust consumption placed on the main engine. A craft wouldn't need to fear crashing if it lost a sub engine, or even if it lost all three, but that would put the main engine at serious risk of overheating and stalling out, so the pilot would need to look into an emergency landing.
The primary engine isn't any better protected than the others, though, and poses a much greater danger for the ship if it's destroyed. If the grim here are smart enough to want to make them crash, they could have just taken that out. If the Grim wanted to eat them, then why weren't they trying to smash through the glass of the windscreen? They could clearly see them.
He pondered for a few moments.
"Are they trying to force us to land?" He asked, not realizing he'd said it out loud. The question caught Weiss by surprise, who looked back at him and shook her head.
"They shouldn't be that intelligent. Something is wrong here, though. I've never seen Grimm behave like this- and I'm not sure this species should even be here." She replied. Oh right, they were still in Atlas. The climate and topography were natural shields that protected the people here from most types of Grimm.
"Smart enough to fly into an engine and die?" The pilot's response was justly confused, given he was only party to half the conversation. "Either way, I'm just glad they haven't bull-rushed the cockpit. I'm going to have to put us down somewhere, though. Be ready for a fight if they swarm us on the ground."
"Put us down?" Weiss repeated with a thoughtful frown. Her disappointment was clear. They had a long way to go, and had barely even begun their journey.
"There are settlements all around the mountains here. We have to stop in at one of them and run some maintenance. I can make the trip even if the engine is shot, but if I don't put out the fire and clear the debris, it could cause us some trouble… and that's not a good thing when you're crossing the ocean."
The Grim suddenly broke their calm pattern and began to zig and zag like angry hornets about the craft. Another wave of turbulence rocked the ship and sent tremors across the cockpit. The pilot and Weiss were thrown back and forth against their harnesses. Torchwick, significantly less secured than the other two, found himself violently thrust to the side. He impotently groped for the back of Weiss' chair to steady himself, forgetting for a moment that his hands were purely decorative at this point, and fell to the ground with a thunk.
Seemed another engine got taken out...
The pilot was already angling the airship downward again, navigating the mountain peaks as he searched for one of the settlements he spoke of.
"But if we land in the settlement, won't we be leading the Grim right to the people there?" Weiss protested. Ever like a huntsman to worry about other people while in danger of falling out of the sky.
"Maybe it's escaped your notice, Snowflake, but there's a damned swarm of them outside. You really think any humans are safe right now, even if we stay in the air? Just brace for combat when we land." Perhaps it was the fact he had… experience with this particular species, but he was feeling more anxious than he normally allowed himself to express. As they made their landing, though, he quickly learned that he needn't have been so worried.
A crowd had already gathered around them before they'd even left the airship. They'd put themselves down in a broad, snowy clearing directly adjacent to the village, close enough to gain aid without too much difficulty, but far enough afield to prevent any debris they kicked up from doing damage to the buildings.
Weiss had thrown herself out onto the fore-deck as soon as the ship had ceased movement, poised for battle with a hand at the hilt of her sword, but there was no need. Their antagonists had vanished at some point while they were in the process of making their landing...as suddenly as they'd appeared.
Torchwick sensed danger, but didn't feel like he was particularly clever for doing so. Nothing about that had been typical of how the Grimm behaved… even someone as clueless as himself could tell that. Perhaps more pressingly, the people around here worried him, too. They'd gathered up awfully fast considering the Grimm were everywhere just moments earlier, though he was so naturally guarded and suspicious of others that he couldn't be sure how reasonable his fears were.
About fifty of them had gathered around after the airship landed. Looking over them, it seemed the village was primarily made up of faunus. Wolves, foxes, a few possessing vaguely reptilian features that Torchwick couldn't identify exactly. There were a few humans spread among them as well, but it was clear they were the exception, rather than the rule.
Weiss had been braced for battle, but with no enemy to fight, she relaxed her stance a bit, letting her hands fall away. As she walked toward the crowd she stopped suddenly, either due to a discomfort with them or due to not knowing who specifically to address. Fortunately for her, as she approached them, one of their number broke away from the rest and began to walk toward her.
"Seems you've had a rough morning, stranger." The older man called out to Weiss in a deep, stern voice. He was a cervine faunus, tan-skinned and muscular, with long, flat ears that extended outward from the sides of his head. He stood well over seven feet high, not counting the antlers sprouting above his head, which added two feet more, and his body was three-fourths as broad as Weiss was tall. His arms were crossed, and he wore an even expression that refused to give the slightest clue as to what he was really thinking.
Weiss hesitated a moment, looking like she had to resist the urge to shrink away from his intimidating stature, but then bowed her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry for the disturbance, but it was an emergency. I'm just glad the Grimm dispersed."
"Now, now, no need to worry about that! We're just glad no one was hurt. The Grimm won't attack us here. 'Tis part of the deal we made." The words were friendly, and he made an effort to smile, though the uncanny way his lips curved implied that it wasn't an expression he made often. There were some murmurs in the crowd behind him, but they went silent as he cast a dark brown eye back at them.
"Deal?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. That wasn't a word that was ever used in relation to the Grimm! The large man lowered his head, his gaze falling to the weapon at her sash. He leaned in suddenly, drawing his faceas close to her ear as his prodigious size would allow, and speaking in such a slight whisper that Roman had to imitate the movement just to hear him.
"Are you a huntress, miss?" He hesitated long enough for her to give him a nod of affirmation, before following up with, "If you've time before your flight is ready, please come visit my home. I'll explain everything there. It's the large house in the village center, I'll have my daughter show you in."
Weiss wasn't even given a chance to reply one way or the other. He immediately pulled away from her and turned to address the crowd who had gathered.
"Alright, you lot! Let's stop gawking and show these strangers the kindness of the Mountainfolk! Raymond, Issac, Taylor, get some of the young men together and see what you can do to help with their repairs. Get the bathhouse fired up, and bring out the good meat! No need for them to be stranded and hungry!"
There was a moment's pause, and the group began to disperse, their voices erupting into a cacophony as each separated to perform the errand they were given. Weiss watched the activity, directing the work crew to where they could find the pilot, and never losing the deep frown of consternation she'd been wearing ever since they'd landed. When they were finally left alone, Torchwick stood beside her and spoke.
"Ice Queen, call me crazy, but I think something strange is going down." He said, his eyes on the group that had vanished into the airship. What was it about them that disquieted him so? That they were faunus? Hmm… it was true he had no particular love in his heart for their kind, but he didn't really hold them in any more contempt than he did everyone else in the human race, sans himself and Neo.
"Everything about this is strange." She replied, "but we're stuck here anyway. We may as well hear him out."
They began to travel toward the village itself. Every bit of the ground was covered in several inches of snow, which complicated Torchwick's life terribly. He was forced to focus on each individual step, making certain to phase his foot through the snow before pressing his heel against the ground, and continuing this for each step he made. It was annoying, but not as bad as having Weiss try to explain why a set of ghostly footprints was following her around everywhere.
When they reached the first buildings of the town, he was shocked by just how tiny it was. There were no real stores to be found here, only an arrangement of small, ramshackle buildings set up in several rows alongside each other. The citizens who hadn't set out to rubberneck at Weiss' airship were all trotting about their business, though most stopped to cast curious eyes at the Ice Queen whenever they felt she wasn't looking.
Moving around this place was like taking a walk in the distant past. In the modern day, Atlas was defined by its technological prowess, yet (due to some severe wealth inequality) it housed communities like this one, that looked like they'd scarcely changed in hundreds of years. A reminder of the kingdom of old, protected not by human ingenuity, but by sheer rocky walls on three sides, and a large barren snowfield on the fourth.
They did happen upon an outdated aircraft docked beside one of the end buildings, though. It was a humble little thing, likely used to travel between villages or to take longer trips to the bigger cities down the mountain, but the sight of it made Torchwick a little nostalgic despite himself. He'd learned to fly in crop dusters only a little smaller than this, as a kid.
Finally, they reached the village center. The houses here were larger than the ones on the perimeter, however slightly, with each even including a fenced-in yard area in their front. Weiss looked about for the 'largest' of them, settling on a two-story log cabin near the center of the line. A wooden swing-bench had been set up beside its entryway, with a young girl sitting on it. As Weiss approached, the girl turned to see her, excitement filling her eyes as she did so.
"Oh my gosh!" The girl declared shrilly, leaping up from the seat and raising her hand high above her head. She ran up to them while waving furiously. "You're not just a huntress! You're Weiss Schnee!"
She was a cervine faunus as well, almost certainly the daughter they had been forewarned of. Unlike the massive antlers of her father though, she had to content herself with two tiny black nubs that extended only three or so inches from her dark red hairline. She had his tanned skin, though, and the same large, brown eyes… which she currently held wide open as she stared at Weiss, as if she were some kind of superhero.
Torchwick hated kids, and as such was a terrible judge of their ages, but were he to guess he would say she definitely wasn't any younger than 9, or older than 12. Somewhere in that range.
"I, um..." Weiss stopped abruptly, her voice stammering a bit.
"I saw your show a couple weeks ago!" The younger girl gushed, pure delight radiating from her voice. "Well… Papa and I weren't allowed to go in, 'course. Had to listen from the entryway! You got the voice of an angel! I'm a huge fan!"
"Oh, um… thank you?" Weiss blushed furiously and looked away, clearly overwhelmed by her praise.
"No need to be shy, Snowflake. Give her an autograph. You'll make her year." Torchwick said, wearing a broad smile. Weiss turned to glare at him, but since she was still blushing as she did so it was a gesture he found more adorable than intimidating, causing him to burst into laughter.
"Ain't no thing! Now c'mon! Papa's waiting" The young girl was oblivious to the teasing Weiss was being subjected to. She grabbed Weiss by the wrist and half guided, half tugged her into the house. Torchwick looked around one final time before following them inside. The people on the street around them were still eyeing the newcomer... a bit more openly now that Weiss couldn't see them doing it. He shook his head and followed the group inside.
The interior of the home was as modest and humble as the exterior. The entryway, living room, and dining room were all merged into one, with the spaces for relaxing and eating separated by nothing save three leather armchairs that were centered around a small television hanging from the far wall. In the center of the room was an oaken dining table, barely big enough to seat 4, and behind it was a long gray counter-top that served to divide the kitchen area from the rest of the ground floor. The staircase to the upstairs was immediately to the right of the doorway, presumably leading up to the bedrooms.
"Welcome, welcome! What'd ya think of our humble village?" The old deer was seated at the dining table, across from the entryway, and when he saw the group enter he beckoned for Weiss to take a seat.
"It's nice. A bit… rustic, I guess." She answered, taking a seat awkwardly. The old man's daughter watched her take her seat before doing the same, grabbing the chair at the far corner and dragging it closer to Weiss before sitting down.
"No need to be nice for my sake. Atlas has sprinted toward the future faster'n any other nation in the world, but here we are. A relic of a bygone era hiding out in the mountaintops." The old man said with a laugh, before gesturing from himself to his daughter, who waved to Weiss enthusiastically. "Ah, but where are my manners? It occurs to me that we haven't been introduced. I'm Edward Burroughs, village foreman. This is my daughter, Erica."
"Weiss Schnee, a pleasure..." Weiss offered a polite smile to both of them. She seemed as uncomfortable with being here as Torchwick was, though since she was one of those heroic types, she wouldn't let herself admit it. "And it really is beautiful here. I've never been to a place like this."
"Why, thank you, then, Weiss! The mountain provides for most of our needs, though we must work hard to make it so. I'd say there're a dozen little settlements like ours in this area… Just a few hundred people each. The environment is harsh, but that also protects us from the Grimm." He frowned, and shook his head. "Well, until recently, as you've seen."
"Right, I was curious about that. You said something about a deal before?" She asked. The foreman went silent for a moment, resting his forearms on the table as he looked into her eyes. As ever, Weiss was much more patient with this kind of behavior that Roman would have been. If you wanna ask for something, ask for it, dammit!
"Aye. About 2 weeks ago, a dozen Grimm approached our village. They stood in a line, still as statues, only springing to life if one of us ventured out to investigate 'em. We'll have one wander into town every now 'n again, of course. Usually nothin' we can't handle ourselves. Seldom do we gotta bother the huntsmen or the military, but this was something else entirely. As if it wasn't weird enough, then one of 'em talked."
"One of the Grimm… talked?" Weiss tilted her head, trying to make sure she'd heard correctly. The foreman gave a wry smile.
"Don't fault you your doubt, miss. I'd doubt it too, were I not there. She talked though, all the same. All the other Grimm seemed just puppets to her. She could move 'em about as she pleased, and she made them do things I never saw a Grimm do. They marched in step around us, and when they were all spread out she said she was givin' us a choice: if we offered her two people to eat, we could have six months of peace. If we refused, they would kill us all."
"Heh, weirdly sporting, for Grimm. I'd have just ate you all and been done with it. I mean, what could you do about it, right?" Torchwick was only half listening to the old man as he explored the house, poking his head through walls and up the stairs in an effort to find something to clue him in to what game this village was playing. Weiss didn't even dignify him with a response though. She was too busy being horrified by what Edward had just told her.
"You sacrificed people?"She muttered, leaning forward in her chair. Her host nodded solemnly.
"Wasn't an easy decision, but we did. Had no choice. With that many Grimm, even if we managed to fight them off we'd have lost way more than two people. The talkin' one honored her word, though. They left quietly after that, and the Grimm've stayed clear of our borders ever since. Every week after that, I've gotten word that she's approached another of our sister villages, making the same demand. Reckon she intends to squeeze us for all the easy food she can, since we're too small and isolated for the rest of the world to take notice."
"Why haven't you asked for help? You're citizens of Atlas, so certainly the military would send aid." Weiss, again showing the world what a sweet, naive girl she was. When you're rich and have the right last name, it's easy to fall into the mistake of thinking the police and the military are eager to help everyone, just because they always bend over backwards to help you. Roman had had to learn that lesson the hard way, too.
"Of course we tried!" Boomed Edward, so forcefully that even his daughter jolted a bit. "We've been trying to get help nonstop ever since that night! The army is too preoccupied preparing itself for war. The huntsmen have been in chaos ever since the Grimm assaulted Vale. Even when I get lucky and get through to someone in spite of all that, no one believes a tall tale about talking Grimm, and our two deaths at a time can't compare to the devastation others are facing. With the world in its current state, little communities like ours've been left to die. Especially since we're… well, you know."
"I see… That's terrible." Weiss lowered her face toward the table as she thought about what he'd told her. Torchwick didn't even need to see her face to know she was mortified. The little Ice Queen seemed to have an especially high level of guilt when it came to the faunus. A moment of silence passed before anyone spoke again.
"Let me be blunt, Weiss." Edward finally said, taking a deep breath. "The talking Grimm had an army of a dozen two weeks ago… and since then that number's only grown. We don't know exactly how many Grimm have taken up residence in these mountains, but she likely controls around fifty by now. When half a year passes and she returns, she could have hundreds… or thousands. When she does, she won't need to settle for token offerings from tiny mountain villages like ours anymore… and the rest of the country will regret not solving this problem while it was still small.
"We're happy to help repair your airship. Help yourself to any supplies you need. We'll even pay you what we can. You can make any demand you please of us, but in exchange, please… please slay that monster. It's unnatural for the Creatures of Grimm to congregate in such numbers here. If she dies, I'm bettin' the rest will scatter."
There it was! Of course that's what they're after, hoping to find a single hunter stupid enough to go die fighting some new type of Grimm. Weiss had every bit of Little Red's insane obsession with heroics, but even she wasn't crazy enough to think she could handle potentially fighting fifty Grimm by herself. No, she would turn him down and then all Torchwick would have to do is-
"I'll do it." Weiss said with a determined nod. Edward's face lit up at her words… but it took all of Torchwick's self control to avoid falling over in shock.
"That's wonderful!" Declared Edward.
"You're so awesome, Weiss!" Declared Erica.
"Have you lost your gods-damned mind, Snowflake!?" Declared Torchwick.
"Your villages are trapped, and no one is paying any attention. I can't just ignore it now that I've seen it." She continued.
Oh. Oh, oh. Oh, no. Torchwick should have known it was something like that. He'd hoped self preservation would trump her empathy at least in this case, but he had forgotten that reckless disregard for one's own life was one of the required traits of the huntsmen.
"We are truly in your debt, Weiss. The talking Grimm resides in a cavern a couple hours' walk from here. I'll have Erica show you the way, but there's no hurry! Take your time, and provision yourself as ya need before you head out."
They exchanged a few more words, and Edward offered a few dozen more 'thank you's before Weiss finally departed, an eager Erica happily accompanying her. Against all hope, Torchwick waited in the home as she left. He kept his eyes on Edward as long as he could, hands on his hips as he examined the great buck's face.
He just wanted the man to give him some clue. An evil smirk, a finger pyramid, a 'muhahaha, my evil plan is complete!', anything he could use to definitively prove that there was some hidden deception here. He needed something he could use to talk Weiss out of doing this.
Unfortunately, as he was left alone in the darkness, Edward simply sat in silence, a sad look on his face. He reached into the pocket of his jacket after a moment, producing a small silver flask, and unscrewed it thoughtfully. By now, Torchwick was so far from Weiss that he was beginning to feel their tether slowly pull him away, but he kept on watching the old man… and just before he was dragged away, he got a clue.
Edward had set the cap of his flask on the table, brought the open container to his nose, and smelled it thoughtfully. The deep, sad frown on his face grew ever deeper and sadder as he tilted the flask upward and took a long pull of its contents. When he was finished he looked into the darkness, and muttered to no one in particular.
"'The huntress with two souls', huh?"
Crunch crunch crunch
The satisfying sound of snow compacting beneath boots filled the air. The three of them were traveling up a narrow path behind the village, with Erica up front and Weiss following a few yards behind. Sheer rocky walls protruded on either side of them, their deep blacks and browns a sharp contrast to the white of the snow that layered itself generously on any flat surface exposed to the sky. As they walked, Weiss stared forward resolutely. Her eyes were narrowed, though whether that was out of a huntress' determination or a desperation to see through the blinding glint of the sunlightbouncing off the snow, Torchwick couldn't be sure.
Apparently, she hadn't wanted to waste time. As soon as they left the old man's house, she made a brief stop by the airship to confirm its condition, then immediately began to prepare for the journey. By the time she departed an hour later, she was wearing a thick white coat made of woolen fibers, black-and-blue checkered thermal stockings, and slightly more water-resistant boots. She had needed to modify her wardrobe for the more intense cold of the mountain, but also had to consider her speed and flexibility in combat, so finding a combination of clothes that would stop the cold from killing her without enabling the Grimm to do so was a challenge.
"So, uh… we're really doing this?" Torchwick had tried to find a chance to discuss his protest with her before this, but she was always in a position where she was either in earshot of a crowd or in a state of undress, so only now did he finally get the chance to try to understand what she was doing.
"We're really doing this." She confirmed in a serious tone, staring out at the path ahead. Torchwick sighed deeply and closed his eyes, massaging his eyelids with his fingertips.
"Look, I said from the start that I would follow your lead here, and I meant that, I did. Still, I'm not gonna be able to relax if I don't confirm something: You do realize these people are lying to us, right? That everything that has happened since the Grimm attacked our airship has been some kind of elaborate setup, right?"
"Oh, I know that." She said, her tone and the direction of her gaze unchanging.
"...Any chance you'd listen to me if I suggested we just bail? We could leave right now. Screw our airship. The village has a little two-seater patrol craft we could lift. I started flying those things when I was 12 years old, so I'm sure I could walk you through it. Wouldn't be the most comfy ride in the universe, but it could get us across the ocean."
The suggestion did finally provoke a change in Weiss, who turned the corner of her lip down and pulled her head back to look him in the eye.
"I don't think the villagers will take too kindly to that." She said. Torchwick knew better than to think she would go along with such a plan, but at this point he was desperate. If she wanted to play hero, he knew there was no stopping her, but she could at least consider that she was throwing his life away, too.
"I mean, I think you could take 'em, Ice Queen." He raised a hand and jerked his thumb back toward the village. "I like your odds against a few disgruntled mountain yokels way better than I like your odds against fifty Grimm by yourself."
"No! You're just going to have to trust me." Her frown grew deeper, and she shook her head. "Besides, I'm not alone, right?"
Torchwick scoffed.
"I'm flattered to be thought of, truly, but come on! That's not what I mean and you know it. If it came down to a fight, at best I'd be your cheerleader."
She had stopped responding to him by now, though, her way of letting him know it wasn't open for discussion any more. He scratched the top of his head and brushed his bangs from his eye. He hadn't expected to be able to talk her out of it, of course, but it was still frustrating.
"Can you at least tell me why we're doing this? I was led to believe you were the level-headed one in your group of friends." Well, actually, he'd always figured she was the prissy one in her group of friends, but that was neither here nor there. Weiss took another few steps, but did give him an answer.
"They're lying to us about something, but they still need our help." She said softly, looking up to where Erica was marching ahead of them. The young girl was smiling broadly as she took wide, playful strides, watching her boots vanish into the snow with each step. "No one else will come to help them, right? I won't abandon them. I refuse to become the kind of person who only cares about problems that directly affect me."
Damn it, Atlesian nobility! Torchwick thought with a bitter sigh. I was grateful when you lit a fire under her to get her to leave the nest, but now you have her doing this.
Weiss seemed to be struggling with her own identity. After the events at the manor, she had a firm idea of exactly what she wasn't- She wasn't what her father had wanted her to be, and she wasn't like the detached wealthy class she had grown up alongside. Now that she'd freed herself from that, she was in the process of trying to establish what, exactly, she was. A less cynical person might be impressed with her growth, but Torchwick was more concerned with the pressing necessity of keeping her from getting herself killed in the meantime. She really didn't have the right to accuse Little Red of being dumb!
The group traveled a while further, until the hill they'd slowly been climbing crested, and the rock walls around them fell away to expose a winding, blinding expanse of snowy fields all around them. Erica let out an excited giggle as she doubled back toward Weiss, throwing out an arm to point into the distance.
"That's the place! The talkin' Grimm just hangs back there, most times. Lets the ones it controls do most of the movin' about." Her extended finger pointed toward a wide, circular cave mouth. Compared to the blinding light of the snow all around it, the darkness of its depths was like an inky void threatening to swallow up everything around it. Erica reached into her pocket, producing an object which she promptly thrust toward Weiss. "Papa says you should take this. Mirrors should be enough to light stuff up, but just in case, y'know?"
Weiss looked down at the object- a black, angle-head flashlight- and took it with a smile.
"Thanks, Erica. You've taken us far enough. It could be dangerous from here, though, so go on back home. You can leave the rest to us."
"Us?" The little girl raised an eyebrow, swiveling her body about as if searching for someone. Weiss let out a startled groan as she realized she'd misspoken.
"Oh, uh, Sorry. I meant me and my sword." She stammered out, reaching for the hilt of of Myrtenaster, and drawing out a quarter of its length in demonstration. "Y'know, I sometimes personify her. Like, to make sure she's okay with whatever it is I'm doing."
The girl cocked her head, Weiss' answer somehow managing to make her more concerned than she was already. Despite himself Roman chuckled. She really wasn't great at being put on the spot.
"Is that why you talk to yourself so much?" Erica asked with wide eyes. Seemed she was suddenly very worried about her idol's mental well-being.
"Y-Yes! Exactly!" Weiss smiled as wide as she could, despite glaring at Torchwick from the corner of her eye. "She… She really likes to complain about everything."
A silence fell over them that somehow managed to be more awkward than any Torchwick had ever experienced with Weiss before. The young girl pursed her lips and relaxed them a few times, contemplating what she'd been told.
"Well, okay! I do weird stuff sometimes, too. Good luck, Weiss! Good luck, Weiss' sword!" She finally nodded her acceptance and turned to run back toward the village.
She hadn't even ran ten feet before she came to an abrupt stop, though. She turned around and looked back at Weiss, her brows knit and a pensive grimace on her face.
"...and I'm really sorry. For everything." Erica muttered. She looked down at the ground, shook her head, then resumed her trek back to town, running at full speed. Weiss and Torchwick spent a moment watching her leave.
"So, uh… You gonna stand there and tell me that, that-" Torchwick jerked his head toward the fleeing child, "whole thing that just happened raised zero alarm bells? Really?"
Weiss was quiet. She returned Myrtenaster to its sheath and turned back toward the cavern.
"She needs help, too." She said, finally. Torchwick sighed again, but by now the fight was out of him.
"Fine. I just want you to know, though, I am a very petty man, Snowflake." He stretched, weavingthe fingers of both hands together and resting his palms behind his head as they walked. "If you get yourself eaten because of this, I make this solemn promise to you: I will spend the entire time we're climbing that staircase together being insufferably smug about how right I was about everything."