Hello everyone and all, Melody here. I don't have much to say here as per the norm so let's get to the chapter.
Sincerely, Melody
Normal P.O.V., Six
Six and Eirwin sat on a small hill overlooking the White Fang base. Eirwin watched it through binoculars while Six noted down anything she mentioned. It had been a week since they arrived at the mission site and they had determined a shift order for who would watch while the others would rest and guard their basecamp. Currently, it was around four in the morning and the temperature was at negative five. They still had an hour till they would change shifts with Gilford and Meonoquanee. Other than Eirwin relaying information to Six, the duo was silent. The White Fang wasn't known for majour acts of terrorism or anything at the moment but there had been reports of people claiming to be part of the White Fang attacking humans at random.
"So what can you tell me about the White Fang? I might sound dumber than a tree stump for askin' but I personally haven't heard a lot about them." Six spoke up during another period of silence.
Eirwin shrugged and set the binoculars down, there hadn't been any movement for the past hour and a half. "Well, they're a Faunus Rights organization. Protests and the like, personally I don't really follow them though; I mean, you've seen the news right? Having equal rights with humans is kind of hard since others don't like to listen most of the time. Plus stopping racism isn't the simplest thing and will take years to change in my eyes." She explained which shocked Six slightly.
"Why wouldn't you be big on Faunus Rights?" He asked and got another shrug in response.
"Well life can be shitty no matter who you are. You see racism with humans between people who don't have the same skin tone, some Faunus hate other Faunus based on their traits or whether or not they hide the fact their Faunus. I just don't see the point in caring as long as I have friends that don't care." She answered and looked over to him. "I'm sure you've faced discrimination since you're not fully human."
Six looked down at his arm and shook his head. "Nah, not really. I used to have this arm covered with fake skin so people didn't really notice. Only thing people have ever really commented on was the fact my eyes had a weird colour." He explained and leaned back in his chair. "Remember though, you got a friend in me."
Eiriwn smiled at that and nodded. "And vice versa." She replied and chuckled a bit, eventually starting to bellow with laughter.
"What's so funny?" He questioned as he tipped back his Desperado hat.
"You're really a strange one Six. You know that right? Sometimes I think you aren't even from this planet whenever you ask questions or comment on things. Hell, I've never met anyone with an accent like yours. It's like you were pulled out of an old cowboy movie or something." She informed him as she stifled her laughter, turning it into small giggles.
Six cracked a smile at that. "Yep, I'm a regular ol' gunslinger ready for a showdown at high noon. Would be weird here though considerin' all the snow. I really miss the desert."
"Well, you are in a tundra which is technically a desert." She told him which caused him to shake his head.
"Nope, I refuse to accept that. A desert is a place full of sand and critters that can kill ya in an instant. Scorchin' hot sun and colder than hell nights."
"We do have a blocked out sky and wolves that can eat you in the tundra. Close enough to a desert, right?"
"Ya can say that but there's also a strange beauty to the desert that you can't get from a tundra. You can't see the sands shifting here. Sands can reveal the past and cover the future. In the desert it feels as if time stands still; It feels like whatever has happened there only happened a second ago. In a desert I feel closer to my old friends, here I just feel cold."
Eirwin was taken back a bit by what he said. "But you do have new friends here, you got Flynn and myself and the others. I know you'll never get them back but you can make new memories with us. They might even make the tundra less cold." She explained then picked up the binoculars and started to watch again.
"That would be nice…" Six replied before falling back into silence.
Normal P.O.V., Leon
Over in the forests of Vale Leon sat in the camp he and Amber had set up. He kept watch as she slept, leaning against a tree with his 10mm at the ready. They had a system down, he'd keep watch from 8-5 and she'd keep watch from 5-8. Amber discovered that Leon was an insomniac within the past week. It worried her but he just told her not to think about it; Worrying about him was a waste of time in his eyes. Reaching to the side, Leon grabbed a small log and threw it onto a fire. The crackling of the flames was the only real sound around and it put Leon at ease.
The duo had decided for a cover story they'd just say they were siblings. Amber thought of some complicated stories but Leon just liked the simplistic one. As he sat there he noticed Amber start to stir and wake up. Slowly sitting up she yawned and stretched out her arms. Looking over to him, she offered a smile.
"Good morning Leon." She yawned out again. "Anything happen while I was out?"
Leon shook his head. "Nope, I'm not feeling tired so wanna get going earlier than usual?" He asked as he slowly got up to his feet and grabbed his stuff.
"You should probably get some sleep. I don't want you to pass out while we're out there walking." She explained as she got up and grabbed her staff.
"I'll be fine, trust me. I've walked for a long time so the fatigue is basically gone when it comes to that stuff." Leon replied and started to gather his supplies.
"If you say so." Amber said then started to gather her stuff.
The pair got their stuff together and put out the fire. Looking around, they picked a random direction and started to walk. Leon had his Victory Rifle at the ready while Amber had her staff strapped to her back. Reaching to his hip, Leon pulled off his flask and took a sip of blood. One thing he had to think about was a good source of blood he could get lest he start to waste away. Vance had been a good man to introduce him to the ways of the vampire but due to a random mutation from radiation, Leon found himself reliant on it. His skin actually would become more sensitive to sunlight without blood and he'd feel weaker during the days where he went without blood. Ten pints of blood could only last so long when he drank half a pint a day.
Silently walking seemed like it would become the norm for the duo. Amber wanted to talk but Leon wasn't big on it. He preferred to only speak when necessary and idle chatter seemed to annoy him. So they silently walked around, Amber finding it awkward and Leon not even noticing.
Leon walked about ten feet behind Amber. While he was meant to be her bodyguard, if he was in front of her and was hit he'd probably go down quick; Especially since he wasn't good at melee combat in any sense. Amber seemed to be fine with it though; His cold gaze unsettled her. Even with the training she had received from Ozpin, she didn't expect to get a bodyguard. She felt that she didn't need one. Having a traveling companion seemed nice though even if the guy kind of creeped her out.
"Soooooo…" Amber spoke up as she looked over her shoulder to him.
"Yes?"
"What's in the flask? I hope you're not an alcoholic like Qrow." She commented casually as she slowed her stride and started walking beside him.
Leon simply held the flask up to her. "Give it a sniff then you tell me. If you guess right, I'll explain why it's in here."
Taking a quick whiff, her nose scrunched up immediately. "God! That smells like pure iron."
Leon let out a chuckle then strapped the flask back to his hip. "Close. Guess again if you want."
Amber went quiet for a few moments as she thought of what it could be. Eventually a look of horror dawned on her face, bringing her to a halt instantly as she reached for her staff and aimed it at him. "Is that bl-"
"Yep, it is. I'm a strange mutation honestly. I need this to survive, so please don't start beating me to death; Or burning for that matter." He casually replied as he looked over his shoulder to her. "If you want to question my biology, go ahead. I can fully accept if you hate me because I'm only your bodyguard."
"What kind of person needs to drink blood to survive?" She practically screamed at him, her staff still raised at him.
Leon chuckled a bit at this and turned around, fully facing her. "Someone that's dealt with Hell itself, seen Death, and shook the Devil's hand. I mentioned before when we first met that I was a Vampire Bat Faunus but wouldn't mention my trait." He explained with a sardonic smile as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "That was a lie. I'm just basically a Vampire. I have a special health condition that requires me to consume the blood of others. The doctor said it's more than likely connected to my Semblance and I'm probably a rare case of someone having a Semblance that their body actively rejects." He said and took a drag from his cigarette.
Amber slowly lowered the staff and gave him a confused look. "What do you mean your body is rejecting your Semblance? How is your body capable of rejecting a physical manifestation of your soul?"
He simply shrugged. "Maybe it's because I don't believe souls exist. If a Semblance is the physical manifestation of a soul, then what would happen if a person rejects the existence of such a thing? If such a belief is so entrenched in a person, what would happen?" He questioned with a bored look in his eyes.
"How am I supposed to know?"
Leon just shrugged once more. "I figured Ozpin would explain that kind of stuff to you. I honestly have no clue."
Amber took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. "I have to ask two things then. One, will you harm innocent people so you can drink their blood? Two, what is your Semblance?"
"As for your first question," Leon started as he finally let out a cloud of smoke. "No. I will not harm innocent people. If I ever do, then you have my express permission to kill me. With the second one, blood manipulation within a range of thirty feet." He answered and grabbed his flask once more. Shifting his left hand slightly, the blood started to flow from the flask and form a mirror with the fine iron particles. "A nasty side effect is that my blood needs a regular supply added to it by ingestion." The lie was so simple and without a tell, Amber easily believed him; Especially with him forcing his own blood to cause a small nosebleed. "Now, may we continue?" He asked and only got a silent nod as a response.
Normal P.O.V., Six
Six and Eirwin walked back to the camp quietly, earlier Gilford and Meonquanee had arrived to relieve them of duty. Parked beside the camp was their snowmobiles, four in total. When they arrived they saw Flynn over a campfire with a stew pot hanging over it. He greeted them with a wave as he finished cooking. Six was honestly surprised to see him still awake but shrugged it off. Walking over their captain handed them both a metal bowl and spoon. The contents was a simple beef stew with carrots, onions, and celery. Serving himself a bowl, Flynn and the duo sat down by the fire and started to eat.
"Did you guys see anything?" Flynn questioned before taking a bite.
Eirwin shook her head. "Negative sir, no activity at the base."
"Damn, hopefully something happens. Being out here is dreadful." Flynn replied with a sigh.
"Well with what we saw the other day, they might be arming up for something big but we don't have enough proof to act on it." Six commented as he drank some of his stew.
Flynn nodded and was about to speak up until his walkie talkie buzzed and Gilford's voice could be heard. "Hey Captain, we have movement. They appear to be outside the base getting trucks ready. Weapons and personal are being loaded up." The Demolitions Expert's voice came in static but clear enough.
"Heard." Flynn replied and set down his bowl. "Get into position where you're at, we'll get ready on our end." He ordered and got a simple "copy that" in response. "Eirwin, wake up Porfirio. Six, get the snowmobiles ready."
"Roger that." The two replied in unison as they both went to do their tasks.
Once they were ready, the quintet went into their ambushing position. The roads leading to the warehouse the White Fang was using went through the forest and weren't used by anyone else. When they arrived, they saw Gilford and Meonquanee in their positions. Gilford had Dirge Singer ready and Meonquanee had Nightingale's Delusion. All they had to do was listen, watch, and wait. They all held their breaths once they heard the convoy approach. Once all eight trucks were in view; They struck.
And with a cliffhanger, that's the chapter. A shorter chapter at that. I can feel any hatred being directed towards me and I accept it fully. So, whenever I introduce a new Semblance into the story I'll do a little info blur thing about it. So here's Leon's.
Semblance: Haemokinesis: This allows Leon to control the blood of living creatures within 30ft. This can be used to control a person's movements via blood flow, remove the iron from blood, form weapons from blood, or increase natural healing.
Now onto the reviews
ILikeHotDogs: Glad you liked the chapter friend, I guess I missed the loose thing. Hopefully, I didn't miss anything in this chapter. I hope you're able to get a new laptop soon, I can't wait until you're able to beta again.
Kpmh2001: Yay! Glad you enjoy the direction it is going in. Considering his Semblance, would you consider Leon a bit op now? Not trying to be condescending, I'm genuinely curious. I enjoy playing characters with weaknesses, especially ones that aren't lucky and I agree, the Wanderer is far from lucky. What makes Boone's death truly tragic, is the fact he'll never know that Six actually survived and basically has Survivor's Guilt. He did go out like a badass though.
VGBlackwing: While usually, I would agree with something like that, Six would more than likely wipe the floor with Leon. When in comparison to Leon, there is nothing average about Six. His lowest stat is a 6 vs a 1. Who knows though, a certain monochromatic song might be planning a fight between the two for a later chapter.
Anyway, I once again hope you all enjoyed the chapter and such. Please leave a review because I love getting feedback from y'all. Have a good evening, morning, midday, and afternoon so on and so forth.