Morning. Neela peered out as her feet lightly met the dirt path and she stopped for a moment, taking in the beauty that the morning had to offer her. The sun had just broken the threshold, perched upon the horizon much like a bird singing on a branch, ushering in the dawn of a new day. The sunlight slowly crept through the woods, beams of light gently brushing past the tree line to greet both Neela and the morning dew, left on the grass from the cool evening that had graced Patch the night before. Neela found herself in a momentary awe, struck by something so simple, yet it gave her pause. She took a long moment, syncopating her breathing to match her hunting instincts and movements.
She wore a dark teal leather armor set, which only covered her torso and included a hood that she only normally wore up when she was out hunting, blinding most of her peripheral vision and allowing her to better focus on her target. She wore black spandex sleeves on both arms that were complemented with light Atlesian metal shoulder pads and forearm guards, the left included a touch screen interface that allowed Neela to choose what Dust the arrow was coated with when she removed it from her quiver, and the right had controls for her grappling hook. A small brown pouch on her right hip contained her specialized arrow tips. Her short skirt matched the leather in color, paired with black leggings, and then boots that corresponded with the teal. Her reverse bob cut hair was a slightly lighter shade of the same color that her outfit was, with three braids close to her left ear. Her eyes were her one Faunus feature, amber.
It had been a long time since Neela had needed to be up early enough to greet the day like this. It was back in a darker time in her life when she was told, no, when she was coerced into thinking that all humans were the same and that all that they cared for was the destruction of Faunus. Back when running from them was all she knew. She thought about it as she took in the eclipsing moment, in a few short moments the majesty of this wonder would be lost on all of nature until the brief lapse in time during which it would happen again the next morning. She took a deep breath in and she made her way down the path slowly, heading into the woods, but pausing before she reached the edge of the clearing. She turned back to look at the log cabin.
This cabin was the second half of her childhood, and easily the most important part as well. This is where she blossomed from a girl into a young woman, the place where her mothers and her sister had shown her what love really looked like, and they had shown her that love came in many forms. Home cooked meals, support in all of her decisions, the time that she had with her sister. This was where she struggled with an understanding of a hate that she had been forced to accept, and she overcame against her fears and predisposition. All of it was precious, and she wouldn't have traded any of it away for all of the Dust or lien in the world. She had to pause, this house was just an absolute on a yet incomplete journey. In a few hours, she'd be on her way to Beacon Academy.
Her mothers had told her stories of their time at Beacon, it was the only time in the history of Remnant that one of the towers had fallen as they had lulled themselves into a false sense of security and allowed evil to strike faster and harder than ever before. But the world had been returned to the state it was in before the attack, after only fifteen short years. They were enjoying a peace that was greater and even stronger than the previous period. The tower had been rebuilt. The kingdoms had slowly come back together and formed a new joint treaty, showing the darkness that was hiding out there, once and for all, that they would come together and would not allow themselves to be separated. They would act as a whole.
Though it wasn't as if Blake and Yang were forcing her into choosing Beacon. In the depths of Blake's heart, Neela knew that her mother wanted her to continue attending Patch, so that she could stay at home. It was her path to choose however and after weighing up all of her options, it seemed as if her best choice was heading to Beacon, likening the transition to leaving the White Fang. Change wasn't always a bad thing, and sometimes it was a necessary step in moving forward in life. Neela would train as hard as possible and when she graduated, she hoped that she would work under Glynda as her entire family had before her. It was a demanding goal that she had set before herself, but everyone that loved her had faith in her, and it drove her to push harder.
Neela turned back towards the woods again, moving in slowly as she removed her bow and crouched slightly, leaving the path, and sneaking under a fallen tree that had been there since she had been brought home. She watched as her memories danced past her eyes, a much younger Faunus girl running into the woods with her best friend. So carefree and naive. She cherished the innocence that she had somehow retained through it all, but she also acknowledged that at a certain point in one's life, it's better to be informed. It was the same day from that memory that Yang had saved them from a pack of Beowolves. Neela loved her mother, but she wasn't sure she had ever felt more loved than that day.
That wasn't to say that Neela didn't feel love every day from her mothers. That day in particular however, Yang had risked everything to save her, and it was then that Neela knew that she never wanted to leave Blake and Yang, ever. Neela sighed, thinking about the memory before quickly covering her mouth. Why was she being so reckless? She had come out here to stalk her prey and yet she had let such a simple slip up escape from her. She was better disciplined than that! This was her final free morning to train before leaving for life at the Academy and she needed to treat it she same as everyone that had come before it. She stopped for a moment and activated Hunter's Gaze, her semblance that allowed her to see hundreds of feet in every direction, as long as she was at a standstill.
When she used her power, it felt as though she left her body, able to snap back in an instant if need be, but everything around her faded and she could see and sense everything around her. She could mark enemy positions throughout an entire small building if need be, and it made her a valuable asset. Granted, her semblance didn't assist her offensive abilities at all, but she had trained herself to the point of fighting being an instinct. She examined the area, closing her eyes and noting nothing more than a few small animals that were chasing after each other through the woods. She steadied her breath.
She felt a wave of relief as she deactivated her ability and made her way further into the forest once again, her target wasn't in range which gave her hope that she hadn't been heard earlier. This was the last thing that she had to do before she left Patch, a feat that she had never accomplished despite countless attempts since she had been adopted, and she was determined to have a successful hunt no matter what. A wave of ecstasy hit Neela without warning and she crouched, stopping her movement again and surveying the area without her semblance. A few robins landed on a tree branch above her and sang to each other, surely a couple of friends catching up with each other. Or perhaps lovers, caught in a song of romance, only to fall prey to one another. She felt the ground and picked up a few of the leaves that had been padded down. She smelled them. She smiled slightly, this was the scent of her mark.
It was hard for Neela to explain, but she never felt more comfortable and confident in herself than when she was stalking prey. Perhaps it was her innate animal instincts, but it gave her a sense of determination and an undeniable rush of adrenaline and with it, clarity. They had come through here nearly ten minutes ago, but they weren't moving very fast. Perfect, Neela thought as she slowly followed the trail. Today will be the day I finally get her. It came to her naturally… it was almost a supernatural feeling in fact! The trail was growing stronger and she moved a touch quicker, out of the leaves to avoid creating any unnecessary noise, and grabbing the grip on her bow, she pulled down hard, transforming it into a sword. She reached over to her right wrist with her left hand, activating a small electronic device that consisted of two buttons, and continuing towards the smell.
Something's wrong! She froze in place and observed the path again, her mind slowly shifting to show her that her prey had worn different shoes today than they normally would, and she could picture it in her head. If they had gone to that kind of trouble, they were on to her, and Neela would have to take extra care to try and spot them first. She moved beside a large tree trunk, placing her back against it and activating her semblance, still unable to spot her target. They had to be nearby, there was no reason that their scent would be that strong if they weren't! Unless…
Neela took off running the other direction, not stopping to look back one as she shifted her sword back into a bow and selected ice Dust on the touchscreen that she wore on her left forearm. She reached back and loaded the arrow, flipping her right wrist, the grapple hook she wore beneath her arm extending and pulling her into the trees. She perched for a moment, taking several deep breaths in as she tried to steady herself and regain focus, but it seemed that her target knew she still needed to work on maintaining clarity when put in a strange situation. She activated her semblance, but it was too late and she was knocked out of the tree by a blast, landing on her back on the ground.
"How did you know that I doubled back around?" The voice asked Neela as she tried to shake the ringing that had filled her ears. She took a knee and glanced over at her mark, shaking her head and slowly standing. Neela was disappointed in herself, but she had also learned her lesson, and she took every failure to heart so that she could do better the next time. She brushed herself off and stood ready, her bow loaded with the ice arrow still. Neela offered a smile as she thought her answer over.
"Ten minutes would be more than enough time for you to head into the woods, leave your arm behind, and cover your tracks as you went back to the house. You also grabbed Blake's shoes to try and throw me off," Neela told her as she fired her arrow. It struck the dirt in between Yang's feet and froze her to the ground and she chuckled and smiled. "What threw me off the most was the fact that the smell of oil was overwhelming, I assume you did that on purpose."
"You got me!" Yang exclaimed. She blasted the ice off of her feet and moved over to Neela as Neela placed her arm through her bow. Yang threw her arm around her daughter's shoulders and pulled her close. "I can't believe it Neela! Today's the day that you get to begin attending Beacon! It seems like it was just yesterday that Blake and I saved you from that collapsing building!" Neela looked at her mother and nuzzled her head against Yang's shoulder. Neela sighed as she looked back towards the house.
"It's hard to believe that I'm leaving," Neela told Yang. Yang pulled away and looked her in the eye, lifting up Neela's chin with her left hand.
"Don't think of it that way. You can always come home whenever you want," Yang reminded her. She threw her arm around Neela again and she hugged her mother back for a moment before it started to become awkward for her. She tried to push Yang away, but Yang had a death grip around her. Neela was surprised at her inability to escape, despite Yang's other arm laying in the leaves several yards in the other direction. "Don't think that you can't ever come home! I'll miss you too much! And Shadow won't allow it either!" Neela smiled at the mention of her little sister.
"I wouldn't want Shadow mad at me," Neela agreed. Yang let her go, tears beginning to fill her eyes as she smiled at Neela.
"I just can't believe it," Yang told her, juggling the words around in her own head. She walked away to retrieve her arm and Neela began heading back to the yard, waiting for just a moment for Yang to return to her. Don't think of it that way, Yang had told her. Neela recalled Yang telling her the same thing when they had taken her from the White Fang when she was far more reluctant to leave. Don't think of it as leaving the White Fang, Yang had told her, think of it as starting a brand new adventure! Somehow Yang always knew what to tell Neela, and knew when to say it. "So are you excited that Eliana is going with you?"
Everything stopped for a moment as Yang continued past Neela to the house and she stood in awe for a long moment, the weight of the entire situation had hit her all at once. She and Eliana would both be going together, wouldn't they? It almost seemed too good to be true.
"Of course! She's my best friend!" Neela exclaimed. She chased after her mother as they reached the edge of the woods. Calling Eliana her best friend was probably the grossest of understatements that Neela could ever make about anyone she had ever met. Eliana Latherus had been more than a best friend to Neela, she had been everything. The older that Neela had gotten, the more that people expected greatness purely based on her last name alone. They knew she was a Xiao Long, and merely due to her namesake, people expected that she would be an amazing huntress, but it wasn't that easy. Neela pushed herself to be great, harder than anyone she had ever met, and when everyone else assumed that it came naturally, Eliana saw the truth. Eliana had been there shortly after they brought her back to Patch, and they knew everything about each other.
"Still just friends, huh?" Yang asked Neela. Neela flushed. Well, they knew almost everything about each other. Neela wasn't sure what the exact moment was that it had happened, but over the course of the last year, she had noticed something that hadn't been there in the past. She found Eliana more and more distracting. She found it cute how Eliana walked and talked, and the way she laughed caused Neela to melt. On more than one occasion now Eliana had asked her what she was staring at, but by no means was Neela ready to admit that Eliana's breasts had caught her gaze.
"What are you talking about?" Neela asked trying to deflect the question. "Of course we're just friends. We're just really good friends mom." Yang smiled and she gave Neela a playful shove, despite her daughter's frustration.
"Uh huh. You tell me the same thing in an hour or so when we're with Eliana and her mother, without blushing, or even the slightest hint of frustration, and I will give you Ember Celica," Yang told her. Neela rolled her eyes.
"I don't want Ember Celica mom!" She exclaimed, a smile tugging at her lips as she shoved Yang back.
"Your loss! Looks like Shadow will be getting them when she's old enough after all!" Yang told her. She continued towards the house and Neela stopped for a moment, still deep in thought.
"Hey mom!" Neela called out. Yang stopped, looking back at Neela who traced her foot in the grass, running her hand through her own hair. Yang held back a smile, knowing that Eliana was the only thing on Neela's mind. Yang wasn't sure why Neela resisted her own feelings so hard, but she understood that it was a different situation than it had been with her and Blake. They had always shown feelings towards each other that were more than mutual, but Eliana and Neela had been just 'friends' for a lot longer before Neela realized what was going on in her own head. "When I'm ready, I can talk to you, right?" Yang chuckled.
"Of course! After all, I am the cool mom!" Yang exclaimed. The window slid open beside the door on the cabin and Blake filled the space.
"I heard that!" Blake yelled out laughing. Yang looked back, blushing and waving at Blake. Neela laughed at the two of them. Her mothers had always been so cute together. "You two better hurry up! Neela still has to pack, and we still have to pick up Eliana before the airship arrives! Are they still just…" Yang ran her hand across her throat trying to cut Blake off as Neela looked at her mother, a scowl on her face. "Right. Got it!"
"Don't worry kitty cat! I'll be done with her out here before you need her!" Yang called back to the house. She looked back at Neela, shaking her head and using her cybernetic hand to mimic Blake's mouth as she spoke.
"You'd better be! And you better not be making fun of me out there!" Blake called out to them. Neela laughed again as Yang took a battle stance and faced Neela down. Neela slipped her bow off and drew it back, loading a gravity arrow onto the string.
"Ready?" Yang asked. Neela's mind filled with wonder and doubt about everything. Her future away from her parents and on her own. Her life at Beacon. Being away from home with Eliana. Meeting new people. Making new friends. Making enemies. The idea excited her and she held the arrow steady, staring down the sights.
"Ready."
Thanks for joining us again this week. The next few chapters may seem short and choppy but it's all build up for when we finally get to glimpse into Team NITE's life at Beacon. Next Week - Letting Go!
A special overdue thanks to that guy who wrights for beta reading the first chapter and trailers. Also a special thanks once again to my co-creator OrganoidZero.
A big thank you to Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!