More than one way to protect you

by Z-ro

It were the huntsmen who told him, his spirit was willing, just not able. What else is a thirteen year old kid supposed to do? Jaune did not know what a patrolman was, but it was his only chance to be someone that could protect people. Picture by Perfilles-Studio.

3. Chapter 3 Full Circle

Fox raised his head and gave a slight smile at the sound of the girls as they repressed their yawns. The rattle of the aircraft did little to keep them alert in the predawn hours. The team was roused early in the morning to make the flight. The ship was scheduled to land at their mission site by the crack of dawn. Fox simply kept his eyes closed, not the least bit worried about falling asleep. He felt the ship hum against his back and noted the differences from the normal Bullheads. This one was more silent and far more steady. His team was informed that it was a faster transport for the longer ride. It was appropriate for the higher risk mission. This would be the first time team CFVY left the comfort of Vale and the protected walls around the kingdom for the frontier.

The aircraft shifted as it yawed slightly. "I take it we are here?" Fox asked before he secured his wrist guards. The ship seemed to answer the question for him. The vessel lurched as it dipped to descend, leaving his stomach behind somewhere hundreds of meters above them.

Coco looked out the window to the base below them. She nearly pressed her nose to the glass when she answered their blind teammate. "We're here. It's a large compound with multiple hangars Fox."

There was a shutter and click as Velvet lowered her camera. It fell secured to her chest by the leather strap that was worn around her neck, "And a lot of guns are embedded into the cliff side."

Their escort added as the ship made contact with the ground, "Quite right." He was a slim man with green hair. Doctor Oobleck raised his glasses as the doors opened to the cold morning air. "This is just one of several settlements across the plateau. The entirety of the mission will be on the plateau. Team Coffee, welcome to the frontier settlement, Anvil."

Velvet's faunus rabbit ears tilted slightly as she bent over to nudge her partner. "Wake up Yatsu, we're here."

Yatsuhashi opened his black eyes with a smile that tugged at his lips. "I was not asleep little one." The mountain of a man stood and exhaled at the ceiling height. He had to lean over slightly as he followed his teammate out. Team CFVY were all impressed as they walked onto the concrete deck. The place was busy as any airfield they had seen.

"Doctor, I didn't think some small settlement would have something this large. Wouldn't it attract grim even at this altitude?" Coco asked while she looked to the sky, seeing a total lack of grim.

"The turrets would be the reason for that Miss Adel. The guns are a valuable aid for ships seeking shelter from a grim attack but they are also used by aircraft in Anvil to draw flying grim into the range of those guns. The land-based grim are taken care of by huntsmen like yourself on the ground. For most of you who have grown and spent most of your lives in Vale, I expect a lot of what you see may disturb you at first. Settlements like this one have to take drastic measures at times to ensure the safety of their home."

The group of teenagers remained silent as they were led off the airfield and were inspected by check out. They had arrived at the gates where a small caravan waited to be escorted by three huntsmen. "If you will excuse me CFVY, I shall ask if they are going to Central, and if so, would they care for company."

Coco waited until their escort was gone before she tilted her head. "Yatsu, do you know what he meant by drastic measures?"

Yatsuhashi had a good idea what the doctor meant. "In my village, we had to take up residence alongside the mountain cliffs and grow our rice paddies along them to live. From what I understood when we flew over, this place grows grain. That means they need many people for both, labor and protectors, to have the coverage to sustain the settlement. That leaves a lot of opportunity for grim attacks out in the open."

Professor Oobleck came back in time to add, "It's more crops than you think as well. Anvil provides Vale with a significant percentage of produce and cattle. If Anvil were to fall, Vale would suffer from a food shortage for years until a new settlement could be established. Come, the huntsmen would love the company to Central. That is where we will be staying for the duration of our mission."

The group they had walked alongside was drawn by horses that carried several carriages worth of cargo from the ships to the town. The three huntsmen in the group took a formation one on either side of the carriages and one far ahead as a scout. Coco noted the simple clothes. Hard leather on one, light chain-mail on the other. They all used similar weapons. So none of them were from the academies? She wondered. There were other ways to become a huntsman. But to see three together like this, you would think at least one of them would have come from the same school.

"Excuse me?" Coco asked.

"Yes miss?" The blonde man half turned. His stubbled beard moved as he answered her.

"Where did you learn to become a huntsman?"

The man turned to his partner and they both laughed before he answered. "The same place you did." Coco blinked before she felt Velvet next to her. Coco waved Velvet's hand away in a shoo gesture. "So you made your own weapons? Why use the basic ones?"

Coco ignored Fox who groaned as she started to actually ask questions. Not much was going to stop her until she was satisfied. The two experienced huntsmen smiled and did not look offended.

"Miss, when do you think was the last time I was at a major city to get parts to service such a specialized piece of equipment?"

Coco humm'ed out loud. "But couldn't you just order the parts and do it here if it's been that long?"

The blonde smiled. "You must have just recently built yours."

Coco frowned. "How did you know?"

"Most huntsman who have built their own weapons, start when they have all the time in the world and likely in school. We don't have the luxury nor time to work on something we built as young adults. And getting the parts out this far would take weeks if we were lucky. Being out here with no weapon for that long on duty? Well some of us could do it. But then they would forgo weapons in the first place. No Miss. On missions this long you tend to give up a lot of things you would find pride in your youth." To the doctor who walked with them. "First years?"

Doctor Oobleck smiled. "Yes." That seemed to end the conversation. Coco continued to hum to herself. Her arms crossed her chest and she tilted her head back and forth while she thought what the man said. Eventually, Coco took the lead along with a man named Alex to continue to ask questions. Team Coffee just let her go.

The older man walked with a confident weight to his steps. He must have done this for years. Coco thought to herself. She looked over her shoulder to her team. Velvet and Yatsu took turns describing to Fox what they saw. His semblance took too much energy to allow him to look around for long periods of time and if the pace was any indicator, they would still be walking for a while before they arrived at their destination.

The leader of CFVY wondered what she would do when she was out of school. They had only started five months ago. But she couldn't imagine to just settle on some kind of protection job in a small settlement like this. The group stopped at Alex's call. Coco rolled her eyes as she heard the shutter snap one more time from Velvet's camera. Ahead of him, Alex's teammate seemed to have stopped to speak to someone before the man disappeared past them. The stranger was a blur as he ran past her towards the port.

The man ahead of them waved. "It was just Andrew. He wanted to check to make sure the team had arrived on time."

Alex smiled. "Sounds like him."

Velvet's curiosity got the better of her, "Is that another huntsmen?"

"No," Alex answered with a shake of his head. "He is a patrolman."

Yatsu raised an eyebrow. "The settlement is large enough to have law enforcement?"

Alex laughed. "The Port, where you all just landed isn't even considered one of the settlements. Anvil isn't just one settlement. It's the name of the Plateau. The settlements themselves are about four times as large and there are five of them besides the port. We have three patrolmen in Anvil."

Yatsuhashi gave an uncharacteristic "Huh."

Coco looked to Yatsu for an explanation.

Yatsu took his time processing the information before he noticed Coco's look. "The patrolmen are like I said before, law enforcement. They effectively take control of the settlements in the events of emergencies, circumventing the local government. They enforce the law and coordinate with huntsmen in the event that a grim invasion occurs. What surprised me was that there are so many of them in Anvil. Usually, for even a large settlement there is only one. Rarely two. I've never heard of three in a single area before."

Coco lowered her shades to look at her teammate. "Wouldn't you want more law enforcement though? Why keep it to one sheriff?"

Doctor Obleck seemed content to let Yatsuhashi answer when the man looked at his teacher. Yatsu apologized to Alex who just shook his head and gestured for the teen to go ahead and explain. "They are also trained fighters Coco. They specialize in hand to hand combat. They have to be able to disarm anyone that violates the law. That includes huntsmen."

Fox listened silently to the conversation as it finally ended. The group had taken that bit of information and digested it on their own. But he could feel the energy from Velvet who walked next to him. The steady cadence allowed the caravan to move without incident but Fox huffed at Velvet's polite patience. "Just blurt out your question Velvet or you're not going to get an answer."

The girl nudged his side for being rude.

"What is it miss?" Alex looked over his shoulder.

"Yatsu still didn't explain why it is odd to have more than one? I mean, we combat each other all the time."

Alex laughed. "You've had your aura unlocked for a long time, haven't you young lady?"

Velvet nodded, she unlocked her aura when she was eight. "Yes, I did sir. I don't really remember a time when I didn't have aura."

Alex's amused looked moved to her teammates. "I take it, that it is the same for all of you? You all don't remember what it was like before you had your aura activated?" Every one of them would have to have been similarly talented to be accepted into Beacon.

Fox raised his hand. "I do." He did not add anything beyond that but his shoulders shivered slightly at the memory.

Alex gave the teen a nod. "Then maybe you can't appreciate it why they are so rare. They still have their aura locked."

Coco looked up at that.

Alex continued, "Patrolmen are just normal civilians. They did not have the ability to unlock their own auras naturally. You know how dangerous it can be to have it forcefully unlocked as well. If you don't you will by the end of the year I'm sure." Alex spared a look to Doctor Oobleck who nodded his agreement. "But there is still a need for law and order. When the Patrolmen were first created, no one who had aura would want the job. Huntsmen are a unique breed of people and we attract grim. Civilians usually don't want that kind of danger inside the village walls unless it was absolutely needed. So normal people had to find a way to enforce themselves and the laws. Even if it's against people like us."

"But huntsmen wouldn't hurt people."

"That's enough Velvet. Not everyone who unlocks their aura is a huntsman. And like you saw from a few of our upperclassmen, any fool can get drunk." Coco said not unkindly.

Yatsu patted her shoulder gently. The girl's ears dropped slightly.

Alex went on with an almost admiring tone. "They train for years before they are confident enough to fight against aura users. Remember, it's more than just a drunken brawls. They investigate crimes as well. And even as huntsmen we encounter the rare criminal with aura. In Vale, that means the police calls on your headmaster and his huntsmen. Out here? With no payroll? That's the job of the patrolmen."

-o-

The morning was always a special time for Jaune. It allowed him to relax while he ran for his early patrol. The late spring air made him ready for the warm months. The forest seemed to agree with the sentiment. Most of the wildlife was about and only disturbed when he ran by. It was a good sign. It meant there was no grim in the area.

Jaune slowed as he entered Central. He bid the guards a good morning from under his hood of his Pumpkin Pete's hoodie. The cartoon bunny was hidden away underneath his blue jersey. The guards gave him a polite, "Good morning Jaune." before he made his way to the office.

Alex and Koben wanted to have a meeting before they started the first day of the migration. They had more people volunteer than they had in decades. But Anvil was happy to accommodate. Most people could not afford to move on their own. But when the population reached a certain point, Anvil would find and fund anyone who was willing to leave Anvil to prevent the settlement from becoming too big of a target for the grim.

For many people who were not happy living in Anvil, the migration was a way out.

Jaune lowered his hood as he walked inside. His blonde hair had gotten longer since he had moved out of his family's house and it pooled around his neck and out of the base of his hoodie's neckline. His long hair was an annoyance he was reminded of as it clung to his neck. Jaune ran a hand over his neck to pull it out of the way.

"Good morning."

"Morning Jaune." Koben waved.

"I confirmed that the huntsmen escort arrived this morning and are currently walking with Alex's morning shipment. They should be here in an hour or so. Group A is ready to depart and will gather in Central at noon. Koben is responsible for the people in Central for the first day of departures. Jaune, you have The granary organization and group B tomorrow at eleven in the morning and Wednesday's organization and group C at noon in The Houses. I am taking both of your patrols when you are providing scouting reports." Andrew turned his head to Koben who was happily drinking his morning coffee. "Koben you will be taking my patrol on both of Jaune's days."

Koben sipped his cup one more time and exhaled a happy sigh. "Got it. Sorry. Astel did not get a chance to buy any yesterday with the usual store closing. I've been drinking this all morning."

Jaune looked over the map for his two areas. "How did the detachment look?"

"It's what we expected. A bunch of trainee's and their escort. Expect the kids to be the ones running the show Jaune. Their escort will just let them handle it. If you need to tell them anything, tell it to their designated leader first. No need to butt heads when we don't have to."

Jaune nodded. "Will do. Anything I should expect? The last migration was before my time." Jaune could actually say the last migration was the reason he even became a patrolman. He shook the thoughts away. It was weird thinking he wanted to travel the world to see friends that left Anvil. Jaune had not thought of them in years.

"No, most families will organize themselves. Just make sure you're thorough when you scout for the escort."

-o-

Team CVFY walked past the stone and metal gates of Central with the carts ahead of them. The walls themselves were nearly twenty feet tall with guards that patrolled on top of the wall itself and the entrance. Each wore a sidearm. An indicator they did not have aura. Fox listened as Velvet took the time to describe what she saw between clicks from her camera. He smiled slightly as he smelled the whiff of food, sweat, dirt, and oil.

"It's really full, isn't it?" Velvet finally added once she was done describing the settlement.

Coco called behind her. "It is. A lot of people are gathering."

Doctor Oobleck added. "This will be the first group you will be escorting back to the port today. They will be moving off the plateau to new lands. You will have a patrolman with you at all times to guide you through the paths and to scout for you."

Coco raised an eyebrow. "Is that necessary? We were just taking a group of these people, right? We could easily handle them and protect the villagers."

The professor smiled. "You misunderstand Ms. Adel. This entire group is your first escort. Expect for it to take all afternoon and likely into the evening if they are slow." Coco and Yatsu surveyed the group. There were easily three hundred and fifty men, women, and children present. "The other groups you will be escorting through the week will come from the other settlements."

That fact made team CVFY focus on the enormity of their responsibility.

Coco's first thought was to ask why so many people were leaving but she was interrupted by Fox who patted her shoulder. He silently shook his head before he faced at the mass of people he could feel nearby. He had a good idea what her next question was. And it would do no one any good to voice it when the villagers were watching. She patted his hand on her shoulder. "I'll ask that later. Thanks for the reminder, Fox."

"The patrolmen you will meet will take the task of guiding you through the safest paths with the minimal amount of grim."

Andrew and Koben walked to the group. They were waiting for their time to greet their escort. "We will also draw away grim if we deem the pack is too large, or if the grim itself is too large to safely handle. Greetings huntsmen. My name is Andrew, the lead patrolman for Anvil. Your scout from Central will be Koben here. Jaune is already at the granary to prepare his group for tomorrow."

As Coco asked for details Fox took the time to face the two men. Indeed they had no awakened aura. But he could feel their physical presence. His eyes opened with blank milky eyes and his semblance allowed him to see them. Two firm souls, aged with experience stood in front of him. The shadows of the others felt like background noises. It was an odd experience for him to see something so different from aura users and the civilians. After a moment of staring he refocused on what was being said as Coco stated his position in the escort.

-o-

Koben stopped to rest in the middle of the road. He found a good route for the escort as they made their exodus across the forest. The group was making good time with the dry road. The good weather was something he was pleased to see. It would mean the ships would fly out on time. In the last migration the final escort had to detour a few times to avoid a large unexpected mass of grim. Koben himself had to run interference and get some support from the port to help clear it out so they could proceed. That whole affair pushed back the timetable by hours. The overall migration was forced to last a full week rather than the planned three days.

This migration was much larger than he had expected and every bit of good weather will help get this group out quickly and safely. Koben allowed himself a moment to feel sad to see a few of them go. His favorite restaurant and grocer closed last week and they will be moving their families south closer to Vale. But ultimately it won't matter to Anvil. The settlement always grows. The place makes money and it will draw people whether they knew the danger or not. Koben gave a frustrated puff of air at that thought. Ultimately he looked around and decided to scout the path one more time for the next mile before he turned back to the group.

Koben was disappointed when Coco did not jump at his approach like she did the last few times before. "The next mile is clear on both sides. If we can keep it to the main road we will make good time. I'll try my best to make sure grim are drawn away from it."

Coco nodded while the wagons started the call to start moving again. "Thank you Koben. Coffee, take your positions. Let's go!" The Caravan started its trek again.

Koben let it get it ahead of him. At the end, Doctor Ooblek walked at the rear. "All is clear for them?"

Koben smiled. "It is. We wanted to make sure this group had no issues. We had a few huntsmen curate this route for us."

Oobleck thought for a moment, "The group did seem a bit too large. When did you have time to have someone- Ah, the man Andrew."

Koben laughed quietly. "Yes, he was doing the final walk through when he found your team this morning."

Obleck faced forward as the group walked. "I had wondered why the route was so clear on the way to Central. I had first thought it was the scout that was clearing grim ahead of our journey to the main settlement. But he was actually doing one final sweep before the civilians walked it."

"Yeah. We won't have that luxury tomorrow. But this is the largest group. The others will be much smaller."

Koben walked side by side with the doctor for a bit longer in comfortable silence. The teens ahead of them were talking with various people about their destinations. "I appreciate the tact your red-headed student made in interrupting the leader Coco.'

"I am sure he did not like the idea of so many people emitting negative emotions during the trip. How large of a chunk is this taking out of Central?'"

"It's nearly eight percent of the population of Central. The other settlements will be a little higher percentage but fewer people. Anvil will lose roughly seven percent of the population with this migration. It's the largest I've ever seen."

"Will it impact the production at all?"

Koben shook his head. "No. At worst, the workers will have fewer amenities. But it leaves us patrolmen in a bit of a bind. Would you be willing to do me a favor?"

Obleck raised his glasses higher upon his nose. "What is it and I shall decide."

"Would you speak with our youngest patrolman Jaune. He trains every day for combat both against us and the local huntsmen. He is the age where he could become a Beacon student. Both Andrew and I would be his sponsor. We have offered him the option to unlock his aura last month. However, he refused."

"Did he give a reason why?"

Koben shook his head sadly. "He's not been forthcoming. He is talented. We had thought he would have jumped at the option to unlock his aura. It was his questions on becoming a huntsman that brought him to us. But that was years ago."

Oobleck stayed silent but pushed up his glasses along his nose, "I'll speak with him."

"Thank you."

Barthalamew Oobleck did not let it show, but he was surprised by the gratitude in the other man's voice.

-o-

Linda sat bored while she watched the granary below her. She had admitted to herself hours ago she probably should not be sitting on one of the grain silos but it was the best spot to watch the entirety of the settlement. Her dog ears perked as they tilted slightly behind her. Several children began to play in the area. The huntsmen looked down to the kids. "Oie! Not around the silos! Go back to the main courtyard!" The children gave a scream in surprise before they picked up their ball and ran back giggling all the way.

She smiled at them. There would be fewer children after this week. Most families that had young children were leaving. She understood. And deep down if she ever had children she was not sure she would want to raise them in a place like this either. She blushed at the thought before she stood. "Ok, enough of that."

Linda jumped and fell down the forty feet. She landed gracefully at the base of the silo and sauntered off to a new lookout. Her sword tapped her thigh in rhythm to her steps. Her current assignment was to be on the lookout for grim in the actual settlement, but this far deep into the settlement it was more of a token task than a real job. She was always thankful that it was only for a single day for any huntsman. It was boring.

Linda stepped out of the shadow of the silos and looked up at them. The silo's themselves were protected near the center of the village near the safe houses. Linda ignored the chatter of the adults that walked by when she stepped onto the main road. Many were hurried as they made their last minute preparations. Linda's nose twitched at a group. They smelled like anxiety and relief. It was the same as last migration too. A lot of people never gave any indicator if they wanted to leave until the migration opened as an option. It was just too bad that this time seemed to have hurt a few people. If there was a silver lining to this whole migration, the guy who had constantly asked her out was leaving with the migration. Although I will kinda miss him. She thought with a smile.

"Tripod. Get over here."

Linda's ears perked as she turned to her favorite patrolman. His head was covered by his signature hoodie with only a few tufts of blonde hair poking out the top and bottom around his neck. "Jaune! Wha'cha need?"

"Have you heard from Ruge? The mayor has not received her official notice that she was closing, but Ruge has already boarded everything up and left."

Linda frowned, "No I haven't seen her. I thought she was leaving today. It's not too late, is it? Do you know what will happen if she didn't sign the documents?"

"She will lose a good chunk of the finance for the move."

"It's only four, maybe you can make it in time."

Jaune opened his scroll as it blipped to life with the message Local Connection Only. Jaune ignored it as he contacted Koben. "Jaune, what can I do for you?"

"Is Ruge traveling with your group?" A minute passed before Ruge, an older plump woman with tanned rosy cheeks popped into the camera. She gave him a warm smile. "Hello Ruge. Do you know where you left your papers for closing your store?"

The woman with the dark brown hair blushed. "I think I left it in one of my briefcases on its way to Vale."

Jaune laughed. "I'll be on my way to meet your convoy to have you re-sign those papers if that's alright?"

"Please do Jaune."

Jaune closed the link. "I'll be off then. Later Linda. Oh, before I forget, we still on for sparing tomorrow morning? I know you were supposed to play tour guide."

"Of course. Later Jaune." She sighed as she watched him run off. Linda could feel the tension leave the civilians as Jaune left. She didn't like what that meant. But then again that's why these ones were leaving. The woman thought she would stay longer with her adopted father, but the more she thought about it. She realized maybe it was a good time to move on as well.

-o-

"Incoming. Seven o'clock and approaching fast." Fox called from the west side of the caravan. "It's a patrolman."

Velvet smiled from the other side of the wagon. "You can already tell?"

Fox nodded. "They are a lot different from everyone else. It's hard to explain." They just were.

Team Coffee was given the signal to keep the civilians moving. Koben broke off to meet the other patrolmen as the guy slowed and came to a stop at the end of the caravan. While the wagons kept the pace going, parents soon had to take turns resting on and off the wagons to make sure the group kept to the schedule. Fox let himself slow past Velvet and reached for the nearest wagon to steady himself to keep himself walking forward. He let his semblance drop and the vibrant world of colors dropped away so he could concentrate on listening. Several meters behind him he could hear the new patrolman's young voice. Apparently, the patrolman shared the sentiment.

"When Andrew said that it would be a bunch of kids, I didn't expect them to still be older than me. I bet the Central group loved that."

Koben and Doctor Oobleck laughed. "They didn't voice it, but a few of the normally vocal ones were not pleased. I think they only didn't say anything because of Barty here. Besides, you remember Linda was considered young when you met her and she was already seventeen at the time."

Jaune greeted the woman that walked with them. "Good afternoon Mrs. Baugh. Here you go." Jaune pulled out a folder from under his sweater and Roge signed the familiar paperwork. "Thank you. I'll be sure this is processed before you land in Vale."

"Thank you very much Jaune." She paused to glance around. She looked to the group ahead of them and spotted her husband. He held his small daughter close but seemed to not want to look their way. She reached gave a frustrated sigh before she hugged the young man. "It's not your fault child. Good luck."

Jaune just felt the sudden lump in his throat rob his ability to speak.

Jaune had purposefully stayed well behind the caravan. It would do no good to be seen by this lot. A complicated knot formed in the pit of his stomach as she returned to her husband. Jaune knew most of these people. A few noticed him. But their backs were purposefully turned away.

Koben patted the young man's shoulder. "It's fine Jaune."

Jaune forced himself to take a step back and pulled up the hood to cover his hair. "Y-you're right. I… I should go now. I shouldn't be with this group. I will run ahead and let Avery know that he should expect you all in an hour and a half if you keep this pace. Koben, I'll see you tomorrow morning at the meeting. Barty, it was a pleasure."

The man waved just as the boy tightened the hood around his head and disappeared in a blur of speed. Fox felt him move as he ran by, a gust of wind followed in the teens' wake. Fox felt there was a story he probably shouldn't pry in. Which was why he sighed as Coco asked from the other side of the wagon. "What do you think that was about?"

Fox reactivated his semblance to look at his leader who had swapped places with Velvet when he was not paying attention.

But he still heard the Doctor murmur, "So that's the boy you wanted me to talk to?"

"It is."

-o-

Team CFVY collapsed in their chairs with various levels of exhaustion. The constant focus and alertness for hours on end tired them more than a day of training. It hit Fox and his use of his semblance the hardest. He tried to stay awake but he had eaten his dinner and silently dozed on the couch with his empty plate on his lap.

The patrolman Koben had been good as his word. He did most of the work by luring any grim away from the civilians. No one on the team even spotted a grim that day. Koben warned them that tomorrow would be a little rougher, but the trip itself will be a shorter one as the next settlement was closer to the port.

Coco looked around the room they all rested in. It was a huntsmen's safe house. The lounge room could easily hold forty people and more just to relax. They had been given a room on the third level for them all to rest but the group was just happy to finally have dinner.

"What do you all think of the mission so far?" Coco asked around her meat and potatoes. It was creamy with a hint of butter. While far from the meals she would have liked, it filled her stomach and warmed her up.

Yatsu hummed. "They made the day easy for us."

Velvet nodded and drank her juice. "I am thankful the patrolman guided us. I didn't realize there were so many roads that threaded through the forest." If there was one thing the group had not expected when they landed, it was the number of paths between two points. They had been told enough traffic flows through Anvil that the narrow paths couldn't accommodate both ways on a single road. The paths themselves allowed guides to avoid areas if there were grim in the area and put their clients at risk.

"I was referring to the trek to and from Central and The Port. If the route was normally that clear, they would not have hired someone outside to escort people. Even with that number of people, two local huntsmen could have done the job fine."

"Hiya!" A red-headed woman in her twenties plopped next to Yatsu. "My, aren't you a big one?" she patted Yatsu's armored arm gently before she looked over to Coco. "And you're right about that one. Since you all flew in today, we decided to clear out the route a little. I take it you're the leader?"

Coco set down her plate. "I am. Coco Adel, and you are miss?"

Linda smiled. "My name is Linda. I'll be your guide for your stay. If you need any information on Anvil or you looking for anything on your off time feel free to look for me. Except for the morning. I do morning training at The Houses. It's a good fifty minute run from here. If you wanted to join me it would probably take a little longer each way. I am not sure how long you would be able to keep my pace."

"We'll pass tomorrow. We will do our morning training in the courtyard out back."

Linda gave a smile. "Ok. Well, I'm here the same hours you all are. So just let me know. Have a good night!" She charmed the group with a smile as she waved with one hand back and forth. Coco smiled thinking the gesture likely got the girl out of some hot water with how cute it was.

Velvet giggled as Fox gave a snort before he settled back into a light snooze. "Poor guy is wiped. At least tomorrow will be a shorter one."

"Agreed little one, I think it would do him some good to ease the use of his semblance unless we call for it. I could not imagine using my own for the entire afternoon like he has done."

Coco finished her plate and looked at her partner. He seemed dead to the world. "I'll speak to him in the morning. I think I am going to make him sit out training tomorrow morning too. Just to make sure his mind is clear for the mission. Either of you have objections?"

The faunus and the swordsman both shook their heads in a no. The group chattered away a little longer before Velvet stood and began to take their plates. When the girl was gone Coco finally voiced something that had been bothering her. "What do you think of what's going on with everyone leaving and the patrolman?"

Yatsu gave the woman a patient smile. "Coco, are you doing this again?" It was more a question out of curiosity rather than the kind of exasperation she would have received from Fox.

"Come on Yatsu. You noticed how skittish this group was. Local wildlife made them jump on the way. And we both knew how apprehensive some of them were the closer we got to the end."

"A few were alarmed at how young we were as well." He allowed. Yastu looked over to see Velvet caught in some kind of conversation with a few old huntsmen. She giggled politely at something they said.

"Not to mention the young man that ran to the convoy. Those that noticed seemed to shrink into the carts until he left. The woman told him not to blame himself. But a lot of those people seemed to."

"Or they felt guilty about something too. Why don't you just ask? That Linda woman seemed willing to give us answers."

"I don't know… this seemed kinda personal."

Now Yatsuhasi gave her an exasperated look. "But not personal enough for you to feel no guilt about digging around."

Coco raised an eyebrow as she looked over her shades. He simply stared back, not the least bit cowed. Velvet returned with a grin. "These guys are a riot. Did you know there was a huge grim attack a few years ago? It's why so many people are moving."

Fox started laughing. The three stopped to look at him. Coco looked put off as she crossed her arms in a pout. "I thought you were asleep."

Fox leaned forward and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. "I was but I felt that my partner was being nosy again so I woke up."

Coco scowled but looked to Velvet. "So what did you hear?"

Velvet turned and pointed to the ornament on the wall. It was forced to lay on its side. The white broken half of a mask was too large to sit upright. The mask had a row of four empty holes but the mask was molded to give the sockets a constant furrowed look. "That, is the remains of a real boarbatusk mask. It was one of two that attacked this particular settlement years ago."

Yatsu stood and walked to it. The others followed. With the group in front of the specimen, it was Fox who touched it first. The total lack of aura, the lack of anything organic that could have held aura made him pull his hand back.

Velvet snapped her camera and held it close to her chest. There was a slight awe in her voice. "It's real… This grim must have been huge."

"And there were two of them that big. When we arrived back in Central one was missing a leg but they both had destroyed the last defensive barrier for the settlement. The civilians were in mid evacuation before we had the chance to defend it." Linda walked up behind him while she sighed at it. Coco pressed her hand against it. The mask must have easily weight four hundred pounds on its own.

Yatsu looked around. There were quite a few huntsmen that live in Central. "Where was everyone?"

Linda pointed at the mask. "That one was an intelligent grim. We weren't sure how smart it was. But after two months of investigation, we were able to put together how it herded grim with its partner. The two knocked trees and warped travel lanes miles long to bring them to the plateau and helped them burrow up here from the base. We were not aware of the plan and only responded to the migration that was literally burrowing below our feet. That guy and its partner burrowed under the city defensive walls to bypass them and enter the settlement."

Velvet hugged herself. Yatsu moved his hands to her shoulders and squeezed them in support. The group took their time to stare at the mask. Its hollow eyes seemed to glare at them even after death.

Coco tried to imagine how large it was. "You said that one of them was missing a leg… So there must have been fighting. How many people died before you could respond?"

Alex walked next to the woman. "None." He nodded to that mask. "It was a miracle. We have the patrolmen to thank for that. The youngest one gave us the early alarm and distracted the grim pair for an hour by himself. That's how long it took from the time of the signal to our first response team to get there. He even managed to maim one with some equipment he cobbled together from our armory." If Coco thought he may have admired them when he first spoke of them on their way to Central that morning, there was no mistaking that respect now.

"You would think it would be enough…"

Alex frowned and looked around before he spotted Obsidian. All four members of team CFVY turned to look. His charcoal black hair was short and he had a scowl on his face from his perch on card gambling table. The man was in his late thirties and clearly disgruntled. "You know they are scared Obs."

"Then they could have just quietly left. There was no need to stir up a hornet's nest." There were a few growls in agreement. Team Coffee looked around. They realized that everyone was listening to the story and no one was pleased with the turn it took.

Alex bid the group a good night before he went to speak with the disgruntled huntsmen.

"What happened?" Velvet asked quietly. Coco internally thanked the girl's curiosity. Fox would never let her hear the end of it if she asked.

Linda wrung her hands together unsure how to answer that. "We don't rightly know. One second the settlement was perfectly happy with Jaune. That's the young patrolman we were talking about. The next day it was like half of the people turned on huntsmen and patrolmen at the same time. There was a town hall that started with the volunteers who would want to leave Anvil since the population was so large. And it must have come from there."

Coco moved her head back as if she was slapped. "Wait, wait, wait. You mean these people are leaving because the place is too populated?"

Linda smiled with a mmhm. "It happens every so often. When we reach a critical amount of people we start looking for volunteers to leave Anvil. If we have too many people, Anvil creates grim or worse, attract them from the river basin. One of our jobs is to monitor grim concentration. Not just killing them. We let the Mayor know when it reaches a certain point. Then it is up to them to sort out who will want to volunteer to move. The settlement pays for the cost, of course. But it seems so many more people are leaving this time and the coffer's running a little dry. A few huntsmen were thinking we may need to renew our own contracts."

Coco covered Fox's mouth to prevent him from interrupting her. "Why is that?"

Linda shrugged but said, "Our pay comes from the taxes. With this population dip, we'll all feel it a little. Huntsmen take up the majority of the budget though. I am not too concerned if it's across all the huntsmen. There are a lot of us. And the mayor always wants more, not less huntsmen protecting Anvil. Next year's budget will be on a much tighter chain so people worry."

-o-

Jaune stretched in his back yard. He did his best to clear his thoughts while he hopped on his feet. His gloves were tight around his fists and steel caps lined against his knuckles and fingers. "Ready for the next round Tripod!"

She thrust with the sword and it sang as it cut through the air. Jaune opened the palm of his hand and the metal plates laid against the bottom of his palm screeched as he pushed against the offending blade. He gripped his free hand and spun. The back of his hand slammed against the back of her head. She stumbled and rubbed the spot that was hit as she lowered her guard and started to walk away from him, their usual indicator for a time out. "Really?" Linda grumbled. She felt that through her dwindling aura.

Linda has gotten faster. Jaune felt satisfied at the thought. He figured she would eventually. You could only get thrown around so many times before you had to adapt. Jaune called after her. "I nearly went for the ear out of habit."

Linda laughed as she raised her sword. "You so would have been dead if you did." Linda kept her body low as she ran at him. She slashed upwards before she adjusted her grip and pulled downward after he dodged the first attack. Jaune saw the hand grip change and flipped back to avoid the second strike. He kicked off the ground and landed another kick against the woman's shoulder to push her arms loose and kicked the sword into the ground where it buried itself into the earth a few inches. Before Linda could pull it out, Jaune slammed his foot against it before he used it as leverage to kick with his free leg. Linda raised her head up just in time to catch a tip of a steel toe to the chin that laid her flat on her back. Jaune caught himself hands on the ground and stopped in a hand stand to just tease her before he let his legs fall down as he gracefully completed the back flip.

She laid there a moment and sighed. "I missed it when you didn't have those metal plates. At least the only thing that hurt was my pride. Now it's usually my ass."

Jaune smiled as he kicked the tip of his steel toe against the ground with a few clinks. "Dad did say it was a good way to add weight. I don't have to rely on being able to lift huntsmen anymore. Which is nice when I spar with Alex." It was one of the things the experienced huntsman had on Jaune. Alex was just fast enough to adjust his weight to counter Jaune's throws. Normal throws would not work on him.

Linda sat up and stretched. "I would say its swords next. But I have to cut this short. Your escort should be at the grainary in a few hours. I need to meet up with them and guide them in."

Jaune nodded as he grabbed a towel and tossed it to her. "Did you need to clean up first?"

She waved her hand as she handed him the dulled practice sword. "Naw I'll clean up at home. Later Jaune." The girl picked up her own sword and latched it to her hip.

Jaune watched her go before he walked just inside the house door and hung up the practice sword. He paused as he looked at Crocea Mors. His father called it an odd tool. Granted that all huntsmen weapons had some kind of ammunition. As a strictly soldier only weapon, his was only a combination of blades and shield. Jaune's father said he had to get a little creative as he worked around the limitations.

Jaune couldn't physically handle the recoil and heat that huntsmen weapons tend to emit. The shield was on hand only to answer projectile dust attacks. Jaune looked at the clock. He still had a few hours. He picked up the sword and sheath and went to the center of the yard. Nathaniel Arc, Jaune's father, had told him to start with his left hand. It did not occur to Jaune until a month into training why the man insisted on it. Jaune unsheathed his sword with the right and spun the sheath in his left. He felt the slight shift in weight as the sheath edge collapsed into a handle with one edge lengthened to a blade while the other side flattened to a hard edge.

The patrolmen raised both blades, the left blade in front and practiced. Jaune's mind flowed through a number of things. What he planned to do for the day. What he should practice on with Linda tomorrow. What he would do after the migration was over….

Jaune finished the stroke with his left and spun to a low crouch to finish the strike with his right before he sighed at where that thought headed. Sweat dripped off his nose as he stood up and walked off the exertion. It was fast aproaching the time to meet the group and he needed to shower. Jaune looked up and put away his blade and let it rest at his hip. He had heard a few people talk before he heard their polite knock on his wooden door that closed off the fenced back yard. He grabbed a towel as he answered, "I'm coming."

There was no urgency in the knock and he knew it would not be Andrew or Koben. They both would have sent him a message through the scroll. When he opened the gate he blinked at the couple that stood in front of them. It was an older couple he spoke to pretty frequently up until they made plans to move. They both looked apologetic and embarrassed. Jaune smiled. It was good to see them after so long. "Sandy, Fern, what can I do for you two this morning?" Jaune moved a way from the gate and invited them in.

The two walked in with a smile. They held a basket out to him. "This is from the lot of us Jaune. We wanted to let you know that we believe in you and appreciate everything you did for us."

Jaune breath hitched as he reached for the basket. "You didn't have to…"

Fern smiled as he handed the basket filled with an assortment of fruit, a deck of cards, even a couple of guitar strings. That made Jaune smile. He used to play for the bar once in a while. He had forgotten about it since he had been so busy lately. Everyone was happy to have someone play music, but everyone had a lot of uncharitable things to say about his singing. That didn't stop them from singing along until the late hours.

Jaune looked at the pair. "Thank you. This really does mean a lot to me."

"Has there been any word from the Mayor?"

Jaune still kept the smile but it looked very brittle to the couple. "None yet. We'll see what it looks like after everyone has left."

"It's been quieter since the Baughs and the Heaths left with the central group."

Jaune gave the pair a pained look. "Cole was always prickly when I shopped at his wife's store. I think it hurts most from the ones that lived here longer. You know? They knew my family, they knew me."

Sandy reached out and hugged the teen. "That escort brought up a lot of bad memories. If they hadn't been apart of it, I am sure no one would even have bat an eye."

"Will you stop at the pub tonight? Maybe bring the guitar? The party won't be the same with out you." Jaune looked hesitant, he had not planned on going. "Come on, one last time before we leave?"

Jaune laughed. He kept his smile as he looked over the guitar strings in the basket. "Maybe. Thank you both."

"Good luck today Jaune."

Jaune kept his smile even as his heart hurt. "Thank you."

Jaune closed the gate behind them and walked inside. He set down the basket and cleaned up as he enjoyed the warmth of the gesture.

-o-

Jaune stood in the shadows of the grain silos and waited for the group to gather just inside the gates of the granary. The Granary had the largest structures in Anvil and they cast their shade over half of the settlement in the mornings. The silos rose high into the sky and were made of a thick concrete and metal bands. Jaune leaned his head back against the cool building and looked at the sky. The birds flew in a circle around the settlement looking for loose food and grain they could scavenge from the trash. The only other things in the sky would usually be the cargo ships.

The Granary was the only place outside the port you could actually see aircraft. The silos needed short ranged ships to carry its cargo during the autumn season to the port. They were usually hollowed out aircraft to pick up specially fitted grain containers. This early in the spring, there was no such craft in the air.

Jaune checked the list of over two hundred and seventy names. It was the smallest group for the migration. Of the group that was leaving today, most were day laborers who took the option to look for jobs elsewhere. Jaune smiled at a few of the families but they did not seem to have the same tension the Central group had the day before.

"Good morning Linda." Jaune greeted. The group behind her jogged through the front gates. They all seemed fresh. "How were they?"

"So-so. They need conditioning. They were pretty slow."

Coco scowled when the two locals laughed. "I'm Coco, the team leader of CFVY, we also go by Coffee."

"Good morning Coco. I'm Jaune, your patrolman for this escort. We have two hundred and seventy-two people and twelve wagons to move. Expect the journey to last three and a half to four hours. We'll have breaks every hour for ten minutes for the horses and for the civilians to rotate off the wagons." Jaune opened his folder and handed them each a copy of the map with a highlighted path. "This is our intended route. I will be doing scouting reports for your team and draw grim away from the path if they prove to be too large of a pack."

Coco looked over the map and shared it with her team. "Thank you Jaune. We'll be ready in a few minutes to get everyone up and moving within the hour."

Jaune and Linda watched the group spread out to look over the civilians preparations. In his mind Jaune could see where some people were coming from. It was like he was outside looking in. "I saw them briefly yesterday…"

Linda sighed as she crossed her arms across her chest. "It's weird seeing people our age doing this huh?"

Jaune laughed. "It is." The patrolman looked and noticed the lone adult huntsman. "Good morning Barty."

"A very fine morning to you Jaune." The lanky man took a sip from his thermos. "It looks like the preparations will be completed soon."

Jaune smiled. "The Granary does not have many people who live in the lap of luxury. They have been ready to move for a few hours now. It will take longer for the parents to round up the children. We should be able to leave early."

"Very good. The escort yesterday was an easy affair for the team but for the student Fox. The red headed man has had problems with his stamina. Expect the team to ask for assistance to cover for him."

Jaune looked at the group. "Thank you for the information." The three watched as Team Coffee guided everyone to line up and check to make sure everything was prepared. Jaune noticed the easy conversations between the team members and the civilians. "They seem to be comfortable with the work, how long have these students been in Beacon?"

"Six months. This will be their third mission. Miss Adel as proven to be an exceptional leader of the team. She is a curious one though. She may try and pry in anything that catches her interest. Please do not be offended if she begins to ask personal questions. There are times where she can be too assertive."

Jaune's smile tightened. "I'll bear that in mind. Thank you for the warning."

"Jaune! They are ready!" Linda called from across the street. The wagons took up both lanes and the horses neigh drowned out some of the chatter. Jaune did not realize they would be finished so soon.

"Thanks!" Jaune bit his lip and smiled at her. She stuck her tongue at the response. She knew he was about to call her by her nickname in public. He waved at Coco already regretting he was giving her access to his scroll contact. "Coco, do you have a scroll active?"

"Yeah. Why?" She took hers out as he pulled out his.

"Here." He tapped a code and tapped her scroll to his. "This is my point of contact." The serial number rolled across her screen. "Call if you need assistance while I'm scouting."

Coco looked at him in surprise. "Thanks. The other guy didn't do that…"

"He probably didn't even think of it. Scrolls are new around here. Lead us when you are ready Team Coffee."

Coco waved at her team. One last glance was enough for her to click a few commands on her scroll before she turned and hollered "Let's move out!"

-o-

Jaune jumped over several low branches before he slid to a stop at the base of the hill. Above him, the pack of grim lost their footing and started to tumble after him. Jaune counted them and knew he missed two. The patrolman ran up a tree and over the grim who rolled in an uncontrollable roll down the unstable rocks of the hill. With several grunts of effort to clear the top again, he scanned the forest and found the two he had outrun. They were still a fair distance away from the civilians, but he wanted to make sure they would not bother the escort.

Jaune found where to drag the last two grim then whistled at the pair of beowolf grim. When that did nothing he threw a rock he picked up. The rock zipped between several trees before it found its target. The impotent throw barely got one of their attention. Thankfully both grim started to chase after him sensing an easy meal. Jaune led the two down a different path and into a darker part of the forest covered in brambles. Jaune dove under an upturned tree root before he used the down trunk as a launch pad to get himself above the brambles and into the trees. The grim struggled as they heedlessly ran into the roots and growled and tried harder to push through to get to him. A particularly aggressive one sniffed and snarled through the bramble before there was a screech as needles scrapped across the snout of the white mask. Jaune gave a satisfied huff.

That should do it. Jaune started to go back but still kept an eye on the grim as he went in a slightly different direction before he veered off to where the escort would be. When he spotted the main road he allowed himself to think of the last leg of the journey. Less than an hour away and there were no more opportunities to change course. But that also meant there would be less grim the closer they reached the port. Jaune looked at his scroll and noticed the time. The group took more time than I thought, but we left really early too. That's a relief. In his mind, he had already decided to go to the bar tonight. Fern and Sandy were right. He wanted to say good-bye and have one good last memory of them.

The Houses had become his sanctuary for the last week. It felt good to be supported by people he did not even know after being brought to the court house in Central to discuss what occurred at the town hall. Jaune shook the lowered gaze. "Stay focused Arc." Jaune kicked up speed and found the group. The pace was pretty fast for an escort. They must have sensed that they were getting close to the port. The wagons helped with the effort considerably. A coachman waved at him as they noticed his blue jersey. Jaune waved back as he slowed in three steps and walked next to Coco not the least bit winded from the run.

"Everything is cleared for the rest of the way. Anything larger we will hear it before we see it."

Coco looked at the sun, the day would hit mid afternoon when they crossed into the port. "Thanks Jaune. And thanks for covering for Fox."

Jaune looked over his shoulder to Fox who instantly waved at him. Jaune returned the gesture. "Any time. Was anyone else having difficulties with the mission?"

Coco shook her head, "No. But I am sure we will need to rest more than we planned. Velvet wanted to tour around on our off time. But we were wiped last night. And I don't know about my teammates but my legs are sore. Not lot of effort to walk, but man am I stiff."

"It must be hard, it's a lot of walking." Jaune kept his face neutral, but he had to turn slightly away from her to allow for the tug at his lip.

Coco exclaimed, "Exactly! How am I supposed to get a souvenir like this? I think we were going to have to skip training in the mornings anyway, so that may be my only chance. But we still have to travel to whatever the next settlement is to start that escort mission then go back to Central. How large is this place anyway?"

Jaune smiled as she stretched her arms out. "It's between twenty to thirty-four miles across depending on where to where. But most settlements are not even ten miles apart. The walk seems longer since you are not able to go at your pace and some places to The Port are closer to that twenty-mile mark. Thankfully this year we avoided that little issue by helping people move to the closer settlements, or they would have had to travel to central then to The Port the following day. We didn't want to do that to you." Jaune admitted. Jaune had already escorted two settlements to Central. It was why they were the first and the largest even if the two outlier settlements only added a small fraction to the large bulk that was the Central group.

"Well thank you. So what's there to do in on our off time? I want to try and look around."

Jaune laughed thinking of what Linda considers fun. "You are asking the wrong person. I rarely have the time to go out. And it's kind of hard to keep friends my age when I actually have to police them. I also have to stay at The Houses that is usually full of only laborers and huntsmen. I am on call in that settlement. You won't catch me in Central unless I need to be there."

"Well shit. That sucks." Coco seemed to have pouted for a moment.

Jaune tilted his head and gave her a considering look. He lowered his hood to really look at her without his hood and hair getting in the way. The spring air made his blonde hair fly wildly from the wind before it settled. "I will say there is a bar at the houses. You won't find any modern music though. It's a place for the old workers and the huntsmen. They serve all kinds of drink and food. And I had planned to go tonight to play my guitar, a last farewell at the Houses before tomorrows escort."

Coco snorted. "A night with a bunch of old people… sounds like a real night on the town."

Jaune laughed. It didn't sound like an out right dismissal. Jaune relaxed while thinking of the friends he made there and the age difference. It mirrored his earlier thoughts on how young he was compared to everyone else. "I had not planned to go myself but I was reminded this morning I know quite a few good people. I felt I should go say good bye to them tonight. Your team is more than welcome to come. Linda will probably be going anyway and she could guide you through the forest."

Coco hmm'ed to herself but knew she had decided to go. But there was Fox. And he was struggling this time. "I'll talk it over with my team. We still have one more escort with you tomorrow don't we?"

"Yeah. But it is starting at The Houses. Speak to Linda, maybe she can get you a room at the Huntsmen lodge there if it's too late."

Coco grinned already thinking about having some fun. "I'll talk it over with my team. So… what kind of songs do you sing?"

Jaune already began to think of his guitar. "Just a few bar songs. Jovial folks stuff. Maybe a few eh-" Jaune coughed as he said, "Bawdy ones too which I am sure a few people will request."

Coco just gave him a confused look. "Bawdy?"

Jaune realized she did not know what he meant. The heat started to rise up his neck. "You know… bawdy, songs about women… and their… parts…" Jaune looked at her hopefully. Maybe she got it?

Coco finally caught on to what he meant. She raised an eyebrow above her shades. "Like what?"

Jaune looked back at her. Coco just kept staring, fully expecting an example. Her hands rested on her hips, and she looked perfectly comfortable holding that position and walk straight ahead. After a moment he sighed as he looked up at the sky. "You're really going to make me sing one here." Jaune looked over his shoulder. Coco had taken point. Thankfully she was a good twenty feet from anyone in the convoy. He ignored her victorious smirk. Jaune cleared his throat and his voice pitched as he sang,

Now is your chance for all the joy!

This is no dance she has no toy!

Forget the wine her legs are fine,

A farmers daughter is the best

Draw a last breath in her breasts

Feel that cold steel on your back?

The farmer found you, best talk fast

Say you will walk her down the pew.

Her father said he never knew!

Listen son, wise words to learn,

Don't fall for the first pair of milky thighs

Or your free life will freeze you'll be paralyzed

That's. How. I. Got. A. Wife.

Jaune felt his face reddened as he finished singing one of the more tame songs he knew. Coco took a moment to really just processes what he sang. Several wagons behind her, Coco could hear Velvet's laughter. Not for the first time, Coco wondered how good her teammate's hearing actually was.

"That's a bawdy song."Jaune added needlessly. He rubbed the heat on his neck and finally built up the courage to look at her.

Coco blinked a few moments before she laughed loudly, covering her mouth as she did so. "And here I thought it would be a romance song."

"I had no clue what I asked for when they started teaching me those. You can imagine the conversations I had when I started asking questions." Jaune grimaced and he stuck his tongue out while he made a gagging sound.

Coco took her time to let her laughter echo across the woods. So much so, that Jaune rolled his eyes at his walking partner. She waved at a few of the civilians behind them that were leading the caravan when they called after them if they were ok. "Jaune, Linda said you became a patrolman years ago, when did you learn those songs?"

"Just after I was stationed as the permanent patrolman for The Houses. Maybe two years ago?"

Coco grinned as all sorts of questions popped in her head. "Did you get the talk before or after you learned one of those songs."

"Hey, I wasn't that young when I started singing at the pub!" Jaune scowled. Coco was having too much fun and just gave him that same unflinching look. She seemed satisfied to wait until he admitted to something. "Fine, I didn't know some of the more colorful things. I still regret asking what they were talking about in a song where a guy was eager for his sweet and tart pie."

"By all that is mighty." Coco snickered.

"I'm not singing that one tonight." He gave her a look as if he was would be nauseous if they didn't stop.

"Maybe next time then." She answered before she hummed to herself. She felt her team staring at her back as if to will her to not give the poor young man an impromptu inquisition. Not turning back she grinned to the sky. "What's it like being a patrolman?"

"It's a lot of running." He answered.

The sudden loss of humor startled her. Coco blinked behind her shades before she looked at him and realized his eyes never stopped moving. They were constantly moving back and forth ahead and to their flanks. "You don't have to keep looking. We can sense the grim well before they come up on us. Velvet and Fox will let us know about one well before you could flag a warning by sight."

Jaune 's eyes relaxed slightly. They never did stop moving but Coco could see that the glances around them were more relaxed. More of a survey of the land rather than searching for threats. "Thanks Coco. I don't really work with Huntsmen. I forget that you likely have more efficient ways to sense them."

"It's fine. It's a huntsmen trade skill. I learned it from my father pretty early when I was little."

Jaune had a hard time thinking of Coco as a child. Then he abruptly laughed. He laughed good and hard.

"What's got your funny bone tickled?"

Jaune's mirth kept him silent for a moment. "I just figured you must have been a terror with your why questions as a kid."

Coco slumped for a moment and crossed her arms. The reaction made Jaune laugh again. That observation was a little too close to home for Coco. Her eyes, hidden by her dark shades, never left the forest ahead of them. But her voice and posture said he had her undivided attention as she had free reign to ask anything that came to her mind. And her team could do nothing to stop her.

"What do people do in some of the bawdy songs?"

"I am so not answering that."

Coco smiled and took off her shades and tilted her head. She batted her eye lashes, "What if I say pretty-please?"

Jaune smiled at the failed attempt to be cute. Coco had nothing on Linda's cutesie act. "You don't do that very often do you?"

Sometime later Coco saw the entrance to the port and sighed in disappointment. She never did get a few of the questions out of Jaune about what was going on with the last group. She even gave up a little about herself to get him to share. But then again, he was still looking for grim.

Coco picked up quickly that the guy seemed to always be on alert during the whole run. It took a while for him to even relax enough to start asking questions she wanted answers to. But it ended too quickly. She looked to her team as they gathered up.

Velvet informed her before Coco even said a word. "We're on board for the visit to the bar Coco. I asked Fox and Yatsuhashi while you were busy having fun up front."

"I was not having fun up front. I was getting information."

Fox pinched the bridge of his nose. "She still has her shades off doesn't she?"

Coco realized she did and put them back on with an accused look at Velvet, daring her to say something.

-o-

"Linda! We need rooms at the Houses! Jaune promised to sing me a song!"

Velvet flushed and started laughing in the same breath. The faunus knew the kind of song Coco was hoping for. Velvet did feel slightly guilty to listen in to their conversation, but she was more curious why Jaune kept looking over his shoulder at the group in the final stage of the mission.

The rest of the afternoon escort was spent listening to Coco make Jaune as uncomfortable as possible about details of some of the songs. Velvet felt she should have somehow been offended with the lyrics but when Jaune felt so embarrassed at reciting some of them she just enjoyed seeing him squirm as much as Coco apparently did. The constant questions Coco asked drove the poor guy to puce levels of embarrassment.

Speaking of embarrassments… Velvet was broken out of her thoughts as Coco's partner stood up. Fox grabbed Coco by the scarf and pulled her, 'Hey watch the scarf!' back onto her seat.

Fox pointedly faced downward and away from where he knew the older woman walked into the lounge. "I have the most embarrassing leader in all of Vale."

"Did he say he was going to sing?" Linda grinned excitedly.

"Yeah tonight at The Houses."

Linda looked at the group. "Did you all want to go? It's a good run. And we'll probably be staying there the night." The woman looked to their instructor but he merely raised his hand at them.

"We can make it in a forty minute run if we go now before it gets too dark." The group immediately stood up.

-o-

Jaune muttered under his breath and took a sip of water. His fingers ran of the strings. The patrolman had taken a seat near the booths of the bar to sing. It allowed him to see the entire bar including the doors. He had taken off his hoodie and patrolmen jersey and wore a simple black shirt and blue jeans. The door opened and closed several times while he played a wordless tune. He looked at the crowd and suddenly changed the tune to a more upbeat one. He missed his chance to start and let the song roll around again before he stood up and with renewed energy sang,

The huntsmen looked to the clouded sky, and knew it was here

The cowards turned to run from the greatest puppeteer

Outgunned the huntsmen groaned with no way out

That's cause the wives found them drunk and passed out.

The claps to the rhythm of the songs started immediately along with stomps of feet. At the chorus, the rounds of laughter joined Jaune as a few men sang with him,

Run! Men! Run!

Run! Men! Run!

You never want to see her when you are full of piss,

Forgiveness won't happen! Just give her a kiss!

Jaune strummed through several chords as the laughter died. He ignored the laughs as he cleared his throat and grimaced as his voice pitched as he reached for a high note. When he caught their eye, he winked at Fern and Sandy when he walked by.

Remind her you are loyal

You just want to have some fun

You are still the man she knew and love

If you can't face her, your friend will give you a shove.

Jaune switched from playing the guitar strings to beat the guitar with his hand as he sang. He had always tried to keep the songs to his octave range but his voice pitched and he stopped to cough much to the jeers of the crowd. Jaune struggled to keep his singing voice as he laughed,

Your men will stand by you.

Never waiver, never coup

Even when you leave,

They will not grieve

They will just send a prayer that you will come back to them

They won't save you any booze just because you are their friend.

They just know your wife!

The crowd finished the last line together,

Run man run! Run man run! We won't save you any booze, my friend

Because we all know your wife!

The song ended with a round of applause.

"Alright. I am done for now, my voice needs a rest." A few cheers answered him.

"You still haven't sung me a song yet!" Someone shouted over the crowd. Jaune looked up to see Coco with her team at a table. Fox looked like he wanted to hide behind Yatsuhashi but settled for covering his hand with his face. Velvet simply grinned with a click of her camera while she ignored the embarrassment that was her leader.

Just as loud, Jaune answered her with, "I will romance you with The Wench and the Stable Boy later!" The crowd howled and cheered. Jaune set down the guitar and went to the bar for some water. Everyone seemed to go back to their own conversations and the place built to a slow din.

Jaune relaxed and just absorbed the atmosphere before he turned to greet the Doctor who had just walked to the bar.

"That was quite the performance. Is this a usual night for you?"

Jaune shook his head. "Tonight is special." Jaune looked at the crowd and smiled. He spotted quite a few faces that will be gone after tomorrow. He gave himself a somber smile thinking about his own future. "This is a farewell party."

Barty turned to catch both Andrew and Koben lean against the wall quietly talking amongst themselves. He caught Koben's glance. The patrolman raised his glass at the doctor.

Bartholomew Oobleck finally had the last piece click into place. He had wondered why Koben had been so desperate for his aide. The other huntsmen in the lounge said they were worried about their contracts as well. So what was it that the patrolmen seemed to be keeping quiet from everyone? This had to be it. For the patrolmen, this was Jaune's farewell party. Barty leaned against the bar while he let the fact sink in. "You think you will be relieved as a patrolman."

Jaune did not look surprised that Barty figured it out. "Don't tell anyone yet. But yeah. Well, I better be. Anvil could barely support three patrolmen before. Pearl, that's the mayor, donated the house I live in here at the Houses. That has allowed the patrolmen to be sustainable for so long. She has been fighting for help from the capital, but they had been ignoring Anvil for years now. It was enough for Vale that there was money invested in the extended towers for the scrolls."

Jaune looked at the crowd. A sense of nostalgia filled him as he looked at the bar. When he leaves, he would have to give up his home, find something new, move back in with his parents. "I will miss this, but there were a few other things that happened recently that solidified the decision for us. Pearl knows that I am not important enough to keep around if it comes to a fight. If she tried to fight for me, it will bother a lot of people. Especially after everything that has happened the last few weeks."

"So that's what it was. Coffee has noticed something has been off with the people of this mission. I did not think it ran so deep." Jaune nodded as he finished his soft drink. He smiled at a few people who walked by before he looked back to Barty. "You seem confident she will draw the same conclusion you did."

Jaune leaned against the bar and watched the crowd, "She will do what's right for Anvil. I am a contract myself. I can't just quit. I have to be released. I've made small inquiries about other jobs, but with so many people moving out at once my options are nearly non-existent. I will need to move to a new settlement if I want to find something."

Barty set his drink down. "Koben and Andrew mentioned they would like you to attend Beacon."

Jaune grinned into his cup of water. "And I've told them I am honored, but that I wasn't interested." Jaune gave the man a side glance before he thought he should clarify. "Barty, It's more than just attending Beacon. I've seen what happens to my family when one of us unlocks their aura. It is hard for us to control it in the last few generations. I don't want to think what that would look like with my training." Jaune closed his eyes and they furrowed. "I don't trust I could properly control my aura around others." Jaune looked at his hand.

Barty could feel the shift in Jaune's latent aura.

"Are you are suppressing your aura?"

Jaune shook his head. "I wish I had that level of control or I wouldn't be so worried. I have just felt that my aura has been ready to unlock for a long time now." Jaune gripped his hand. "It only needs a little push. I've been very careful."

Jaune gave Barty a look under his long bangs. His eyes seemed more exhausted now than he did moments before. Jaune was haunted by the thought of his own aura. "Please don't tell anyone. I'll worry about it if I do unlock it. But right now?" Jaune let himself trail off.

"I won't say anything further then." Barty looked over Jaune's shoulder and shook his head. "Judging from how her team is losing the struggle to keep her in her seat, I think Coco is getting impatient. "

The two turned to look at Fox shake his slapped hand as Coco tried to push him out of the booth to get up. Yatsuhashi simply rested a massive hand on her small shoulder. Coco glared at him unable to move.

Jaune let the amusement filter into his voice, "Excuse me Barty."

"Have fun. Would you have some time later tonight to talk? I would like to speak of a few other things before we leave tomorrow after the escort."

Jaune smiled, "Of course."

Barty smiled as he watched the teen walked off. So much to think about.

Jaune picked up his guitar and the tavern quieted. The young man smiled at Coco's self-satisfied smirk as he approached Team Coffee. He knelt next to the table and leaned close to their leader. His grin turned vengeful, "Coco, will you be my wench if I teach you the chorus?" The cheers instantly put her on the spot. The noise drowned out the sudden click from Velvet's camera. Yatsuhashi seemed to adopt Fox's slouch as they both seemed to want to slide under the table at their booth. Coco nodded, completely at ease with the request. Jaune looked at the team, at least someone was going to be uncomfortable. Now if he could only make her blush.

"Ok Coco, there are a few rules to this song."

The crowd listened. This was a song Jaune learned from the couple he spoke to that morning. He glanced and saw Sandy laugh and whisper to her husband. "There are two verses you will sing. You will sing the first one until you give in and sing the last one to end the song."

Coco smiled. "That doesn't sound too hard."

Jaune laughed as Velvet twitched her ears. No doubt she could hear some other bits of conversation given the blush that spread across her cheeks.

"I lose if I don't get you to sing the second chorus before my part of the song ends. I win if I make you laugh or if you give in and sing it on your own." Velvet caught his glance. He winked at her which made the faunus girl blush more. Jaune was happy to see he had Coco's undivided attention. After two practice rounds, Jaune started the song.

Barty watched Coco as she made a valiant attempt to keep a straight face. Satisfied that Coco was not immediately going to break, Barty stepped outside. He let the pair make a spectacle of themselves not the least bit worried about the results of the song.

Coco's team had no such luxury. It took Velvet barely the second line of Jaune's singing to realize Coco relaxed into the role. She elbowed Yatsuhashi and he exhaled as he noticed on Coco's second round of her verse when she leaned closer to Jaune. Halfway through the third verse, Fox quietly groaned "Oh no, she's having fun."

Coco had her shades off and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she sang,

You're cute and hard to resist,

But truly your barely apart of this,

Not in the mood to have time to spare for you

Velvet laughed and clapped with the crowd and it was after the third verse that she realize that everyone stopped singing along. The song was the longest they had heard tonight. Jaune strung the tune again and sang another verse as he leaned in and in a soft voice sang,

Auburn hair and gorgeous eyes,

My hearts gone, please realize,

Held in your hand,

don't squeeze too hard!

I need that for our dance,

if you would please this stable boy.

Jaune gave her an earnest smile before he made a ridiculous face with his tongue sticking out of his mouth. Coco broke into a laugh and patted his shoulder "Cheater!" finally she sang the last line she was taught of the song.

This wench is so weak

I am too meek

Show me my love

this dance, my stable boy.

The crowd cheered with the last line. Jaune quietly set down his guitar and relaxed. "So?"

Coco waved her hand in a so-so manner. "You so cheated." She laughed for a moment but adjusted her cap and pouted. "I was hoping for something more risque."

Jaune laughed as he looked over to Barty only to realize he was absent, "Pretty sure your babysitter would be concerned if I tried to serenade you with one of those."

Coco smiled but cleared her throat to swallow anything she might have said. Instead, "Thanks for the song Jaune. It was fun."

Jaune grinned and patted the back of her chair. "I'll see you guys around later tonight, I want to go say hi to a few people that invited me out." He bid the team a farewell before he walked away to a couple at a table a few spaces down.

-o-

It was late evening when Barty had his chance to speak with Jaune again. The crowd had dwindled to a few groups outside the bar. Jaune stood alone now that Coco and her team had to call it the night. Bart gave Team Coffee an early reminder that they had another long day ahead of them. It was enough to get them to retire. "Excuse me, Jaune? May I have some time to speak with you before you are off for the night?"

Jaune had his hood up and had worn his blue vest to signal he was on duty for the final hours. His guitar was strapped to his side and he strummed a few notes together as he gave everyone who passed him a good night. "Hello Barty. Sure. We are done here. My office is just down the road."

"Thank you."

The two chatted quietly as Jaune made them both a relaxing tea. The two shared stories until there was a dull in the conversation.

"Andrew spoke with you?" Jaune finally asked. He had expected Barty to bring it up sooner, but the doctor seemed content to keep it to small talk.

"Koben did. And he was vague as to the reasons why. He only asked me to speak with you. They both seemed worried. Have you decided what you will do when you are relieved from duty?"

Jaune repressed the urge to shrug. It was something his sisters would do. Something young adults would do. Not officers. "I am not sure. I looked into other settlements but most either had one already or do not need one. Anvil was being a little excessive with the enforcement by having me on board. I only realized recently how much effort Pearl had put in to keep me here for this long."

Barty's quiet voice asked, "How did you find out?"

"There was an incident a few weeks ago. While on patrol, I found an escort mission that had been attacked by grim. I had sent out a message for assistance when I noticed a few civilians were cut off from the group. I baited the grim to follow me to give the pair of civilians room to run back to their group. The huntsman cleared them up and thanked me later that night. Almost ten days later I am called into Pearls' office along with Andrew and Koben. The people I rescued thought I had abandoned them and were calling for my job." Jaune looked at his tea and set it down. There was a bit of bile that began to taint the tea while he retold the experience. He exhaled the anger through his nose.

"She must have worked hard to have you still be here with us." Barty stated while processing everything.

"I learned days after the meeting that most of the people that called for my job were from Central." Jaune paused. He could feel himself loose control and closed his eyes. His brow twitched in frustration before he felt he got it under control. "Have you heard of the boarbatusk grim that invaded Central a few years ago?"

Barty set his tea down. "Only briefly from Linda."

Jaune allowed a small bubble of amusement to come through his chest. "She would bring that up. I was with the volunteers on the walls when we realized that the two grim had made it to the bunker. The guards' ammo was not making a difference so I jumped down from the wall to pull the two grim away the central bunker. Everyone on that wall knew that I probably was going to die. I was just a trainee. I barely completed my first full run that same day." Jaune laughed at himself. He lost the smile as he recalled the hearing.

"If- if the people who were asking for my job were anyone else in Central, I probably would not have felt anything about it. I could chalk it up as a misunderstanding. But there were a few people who were the most vocal of removing me that stood right next to me as I jumped off that wall. When they heard the story from the guys I saved, they were first in line to have me step down."

"That seems like a very drastic change of opinion," Barty observed.

Jaune shook his head. "Unless it wasn't a sudden change of opinion. I had seen it before in a few people when I was on duty but never made the connection. I would catch some of the disdain in their reactions. An occasional reluctance to follow my instructions was not rare. I always thought of it as just people being annoyed that an authority was telling them what to do." Jaune finished the tea in one drought and sighed while his head leaned back in his chair. He looked at his cup and played with the handle.

"I think Andrew always knew. I really am thankful that he sent me to The Houses. He did a great job of protecting me. For a while…" Jaune lowered his hood and looked at the man dead in the eye. "When it was time to volunteer to move they made it clear I was the reason. It was like they all slapped me in the face. They knew the risks when they came here. Most have had lived here for decades. But that all changed at the breach. Because I was a kid, or because I failed to stop the grim before the walls broke. I don't know. But all they saw was a boy getting rescued by huntsmen and that night they had to abandon the settlement because they-" Jaune paused and exhaled as the anger left him. His voice was quiet as he finished, "-I couldn't protect them."

Jaune voice cracked for the first time in what seemed like months. "I nearly died for them. And I can't even tell if they just don't trust me, or if they are just scared. I trusted and fought alongside the volunteers for years on the city borders. I am still so angry." A hot sting began to form in his eyes. He looked up at Barty, and that same haunted look from the bar returned. "Am I allowed to say it's not fair? To just say, fuck off? What about the next time? It was their favorite question when they had the hearing. I kept my job. Pearl and Andrew did an amazing job protecting me. But I knew it would be time to go when I saw the number of people leaving."

Jaune had been staring at his cup and heard the voice ask, "How did you know?"

Jaune thought about the headcount and how many of them were from the permanent residents rather than the migrant workers. "We are very sensitive to the population in Anvil. Both patrolmen and huntsmen are aware how many of us are needed for Anvil to function. When we saw the final total I knew my time was up. It was just the sheer number of bodies in Anvil." Jaune swallowed the lump of anger in his throat. He gave himself a helpless angry laugh at the life he worked so hard to achieve fall apart around him. "I wanted nothing more than to have just gone up to the group at Central as they left and shouted congratulations you did it! You got what you wanted. I can't be a patrolman anymore." Jaune went hoarse and he stopped. Angry tears blurred his eyes.

"You love this job."

Jaune rubbed his eyes with his finger. "I do. If it was just a job, oh well. I thought a huntsman was a job at being a hero. But this?" Jaune leaned back and his head banged against the wall as his chair was pressed against. "This felt like it was a calling. Like I belonged. I would be happy if I could do this for the rest of my life." Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat.

Barty let the silence pass before he sighed at the teen. "So it comes back to the same question, what will you do now?"

Jaune laughed. A self-deprecating tone filled his voice. "I am young. I can find something."

"Andrew said you were talented. He did give me your file… You would qualify for most jobs in Vale."

Jaune exhaled a calm breath. He cleared his throat. "Thanks Barty. That's actually reassuring. After everything calms down, I may go look at see what I can find in Vale. Thank you for allowing me to vent. I haven't really had the luxury to talk like that with anyone."

Barty gave a reassuring look to the teen. "You are welcome. Thank you for the tea Jaune. Don't give up on being a patrolman just yet. I am sure you can find something. It may just take some time."

Jaune stood and walked the older man out of the building. "Thanks. I'll see you in the morning."

The door closed behind the doctor and Jaune locked it behind him before he went home. His hood was up over his head and puffs of warm air blew from his nose as he walked back home. He at least felt better talking about it. He knew he couldn't vent it to Linda. She would start a crusade; bless her heart. And Andrew and Koben had their own problems from the whole debacle. Jaune ran his hands over the strings of his guitar when he got home. It was a good day when all things were considered. He got to spend some time with some old friends he would likely never see again, and made some new ones that would be just as fleeting as his old ones.

I made some good memories. I can't argue with that.

-o-

The morning training brought multiple steps to Jaune's back door.

"Linda?" Jaune addressed his friend when he opened the gate.

"Yes Jaune?" She said with a smile as the whole group walked into his backyard.

"You have a few tag-a-longs behind you." He leaned to his left to make a show of looking around her. He was rewarded with Coco's confident smirk. "Morning Coco."

"Morning stable boy." She playfully winked at him as she toyed with the tuff of her dyed hair.

Jaune grinned. "Charming as you are lovely wench."

Coco smiled and adjusted her beret and preened. "Oh, please go on."

Velvet interrupted the two. "We were invited to watch this morning. Doctor Oobleck said it would be a good idea to see a patrolman train."

Jaune nodded. "Very well. We'll start with hand to hand Linda."

Linda removed her sword at the same time Jaune pulled on his gloves. The exchange lasted longer than she expected. Jaune seemed content for the two to spar without ending the fight quickly like he usually would. She grimaced when he finally grabbed her belt and rolled. She attempted to catch her self, but he adjusted the flip. Linda landed flat on her back. The huntswoman found that the following groans from the observers only accentuated the pain.

Jaune's shoes made a clink sound as a vicious kick mercilessly hit her shoulder. Linda tried to recover but the metal heel brought her back down to her knees. Jaune stopped before he made a follow-up. "Good job Linda. But you are still too predictable. You have been sparing with me for years. You know the angles I will come at. Anticipate them. Be creative. You've done it before."

Linda just leaned over her knee and concentrated on breathing. Eventually she nodded that she got it. Jaune smiled and patted his friend's shoulder. "Linda is going to need a break before we keep going. Any plans for the last day in Anvil?"

Coco sighed out a disappointed, "I didn't get a chance to shop like I wanted. So I think we are leaving empty-handed."

Jaune tilted his head and looked to Velvet. Wasn't the girl taking pictures the entire time? "That's too bad. At least you can make a scrapbook for the trip."

Velvet perked up at that. "I kinda like that idea."

Jaune heard Linda sigh. She seemed content to stay on the ground which caused him to smile. "I would offer to spar with you, but I am not sure that is a good idea before your last mission."

Fox murmured to himself, "At least Jaune has some sense." Coco elbowed his ribs.

"That's too bad." Velvet lamented.

Jaune looked surprised at their disappointment. "I wouldn't think you would be that interested in an aura-less fighter."

", in particular, will be interested in your fighting style. Her semblance allows her to mimic the fighting styles of others. She is always looking for a new fighting style to acquire."

"I would have asked if that was ok. I don't want to steal anything." Her ears drooped and she glared at Yatsu for omitting the information.

Jaune nodded. "Every bit helps you survive longer. I understand. I will probably be visiting Vale later this month. If you are still interested, maybe I could look your team up?" Jaune made a motion to pat his pocket where his scroll was.

"She would love to," Coco answered for her teammate.

"Please don't bring the guitar."

"Shut up Fox," Coco emphasized with a slap on the shoulder.

"You're awfully comfortable with Coco, Jaune." Linda observed from the ground.

Jaune smirked at Coco. "Kinda of hard not to be after she made me recite every raunchy song I knew. After that what's there to be shy about? That must be its own circle of hell."

Jaune laughed before he nudged Linda's shoulder with his foot. "You ready for another round?"

The girl grumbled a few more times as Jaune paused once or twice to show Velvet exactly why he moved in certain ways. It would not be enough for her to emulate but it was more than enough for her to understand why he moved the way he did. Velvet simply nodded and took pictures happy to see how he moved in fights.

Linda walked off the bruise she knew was developing against her lower thigh. "Sorry Jaune I think I'm almost out."

Jaune looked at her and agreed. "Yeah. You are starting to limp. Go walk it off Tripod. They already know where to go for the final escort."

Linda grimaced before she walked out the gate to look for a shower. Coco laughed. "Tripod?"

Jaune laughed when Linda turned back to give him an annoyed look before she gave team Coffee a smile. "Jaune likes to give nicknames to people he likes."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Whatever tripod."

Coco smiled. "What's mine?"

Immediately and without thinking, Jaune answered, "Wench." Jaune blinked. "Thank you Linda. I'll be sure to show you how grateful I am tomorrow in practice." He had turned to look at her but the woman was already long gone. Jaune shook his head and noticed the time. He quickly started to shoo the huntsmen out of his backyard. It was getting on in the morning. The group would need to get ready soon.

"Jaune?"

Jaune saw Coco just outside the gate. She had relaxed against it while he closed up. Her team had long since left the two of them behind. "Yes Coco?"

"Thank you for helping Velvet."

Jaune elbowed her gently. "You're welcome. You were really worried about her?"

Coco nodded. "She had her last weapon destroyed by some other classmen who were pretty racist towards faunus. It really shook her confidence to fight with no weapon during combat class and doing these missions without one. But she is too polite to ask for help. So I also wanted to apologize for being…"

Jaune smiled. "Assertive."

Coco elbowed him back. "Sure. That sounds so much nicer than what I was going to say."

-o-

Fox was embarrassed when he signaled to Coco he needed to rest. He never thought he would have to have kept his semblance up for this long. He was a big man and could admit it was a bigger hit to his pride than he anticipated.

Coco just patted his back and told him to get in a wagon. As soon as Fox started to get into a wagon, the blonde patrolman took his spot on the escort. Jaune simply gave Coco a playful wink and walked along the left side of the convoy without complaint.

"Excuse me Ma'am."

The woman moved over and Fox got up on the wagon and sat down with a sigh. Fox leaned back and closed his eyes. He did not think that he would be this much of a hindrance on this mission. The constant constant use of his semblance to observe the area had burned through stamina he did not realize he needed for such a long mission. He kept his eyes closed for a while and opened them to realize he had actually fallen asleep. Fox shook his head and slapped his face. It must have been a fair distance since he could feel Velvet and Yatsuhashi had swapped positions. Fox faced the woman to excuse himself, "I am sorry ma'am I did not mean to fall asleep. I'll get up and resume my-"

The woman rested her hand on his and calmly said, "It is fine huntsman. You need to take rest when you are able to. First mission?" She went back to her knitting needles with calm hands and resumed her work.

"Third actually, but I use my special ability to see." The woman looked up at him and Fox moved the hair that covered his eyes to reveal two faded pupils.

"Ah, you're blind?"

Fox nodded. He tilted his head so his ear was facing her direction. "I am. On missions like this, I use an ability to see but with these escort missions and so many going back to back… Clearly, I was not prepared. Coco told me to sit and rest for a bit. And I guess I just fell asleep."

"It's fine. You will find most of us in this group will be accepting of anything your team does. We always had a living group of huntsmen at The Houses. We are familiar with the differences." The woman shook her head. "I just wish more people did.'"

And suddenly Fox was given the opening Coco was looking for. Fox never saw Coco roll her eyes, but he did a very Coco like eye roll to himself under his bangs. "We were told there was an incident at a town hall that started some enmity between the civilians and their protectors. But the other huntsmen were not aware of what started it."

The old woman hummed to herself before she explained. "That's because it started before then. And I could see how the huntsmen did not make the connection. It was a routine escort mission." The woman set down the knitting needles and looked at him. "We were told there was an escort mission a few weeks ago. It was only supposed to be a two-hour long walk from The Houses to Central. The huntsmen that were hired had to change the route midway. They had discovered a group of grim nearby. To make sure they were safe, the huntsmen had rounded the wagons for the groups' protection. The huntsmen set up their defenses and began to eliminate the grim. When you live here as long as we have, you understand the dangers of this life. Some are more comfortable with it than others. It was one of the later that panicked."

Fox nearly flinched at her flat unimpressed tone. "That did not sound good."

The woman lips thinned. "When I heard it, I wanted to shake Cole and ask what he was thinking. It was a reaction we expect from new hire workers in their first month, not people like us who had lived here for years. Three of the party ran from the huntsmen's protection." The woman stretched her legs and sighed at the work in her hands. "Jaune had come to check on the group since they were running behind. He had discovered the fleeing men and intercepted the grim. Take it as a lesson to never overestimate what you think is common knowledge young man. The fleeing idiots were completely ignorant and fully expected Jaune to fight the grim."

"Without aura?"

"I don't think they even knew what it was. They thought he was being a coward when he ran. He drew them away and herded the group of grim to help the escorts clear them faster. Jaune then left to report the incident. The remaining journey to Central seemed to fester the groups' complaints. The town hall happened the next week and what should have been a quick list of volunteers to leave Anvil became a demand for Jaune to stand trial."

Fox swore under his breath. "That seems a bit extreme."

"They thought he should have protected them the way he protected them at the breach. It became clear that many at that meeting did not know the difference between a huntsman and a patrolman. And they clearly did not know what Jaune did at the breach."

"When the Mayor stood by the Huntsmen and Patrolmen, rumors took hold inside Central. That the patrolmen were there just for show because it was cheaper than huntsmen. That Jaune was a con artist, how else would he be doing a job when he was that young? There were more but the worst were about Jaune. The worst part was that some people from each settlement began to believe it. The Houses were guilt free of the whole affair thank all that is good. The Houses has as many huntsmen as laborers. And Jaune has been stationed there for years. I suppose it also helps that we have the most interaction with both huntsmen and patrolmen. Unfortunately, some people still believed those rumors. Most of them have left no longer feeling safe in Anvil. There is little anyone can do to change the opinions of those who are already gone."

"The first group we escorted were really anxious." Fox recalled the tension that wound so many of the civilians.

"Seeing so many huntsmen so young probably did not put them at ease either. Most huntsmen here are in their thirties or more. But most of the problems were in Central. There were a few families at that meeting that were convinced Anvil was not safe. It was not a stupid fear. We did have a serious invasion. But any man or woman who volunteered on the wall during that invasion saw Jaune then. A boy. Who faced grim to keep them distracted with no weapons. Only a fool would forget and accuse him of being a coward and derelict in his duty. It is shame." She looked at the teen ahead of them. His hood up and he looked uncomfortable with the group. He said something to Yatsu and disappeared in a blur.

The woman sighed. "I hope he is able to move past this. Only a few people had any problems with Jaune before the incident and it was only because of how young he was. Those people are gone now." The woman pulled out a ball of yarn from her satchel and started to thread it in the needle. It was more to calm her than anything else. "They couldn't wait to sign up to leave."

Fox faced the woman. "Thank you for sharing. A lot of people were uneasy in Central. We weren't sure if that was the same everywhere… We were concerned for a number of reasons."

"I understand. I have a son my self who is a Beacon student. He graduates this year. He tells me all sorts of stories when he calls."

"Thank you for the spot to rest."

Fox got down and walked alongside the wagon for a moment until she said, "Any time Huntsman."

-o-

Team CFVY cheered as they walked past the gates of the port. The final group was escorted safely. Thankfully it was a jovial group. Most recognized Coco as the singer from the bar. Most of the men seemed to cheer or whistle as her whenever Jaune was nearby. She smiled politely at the group but knew she had to ask Velvet what that was about. Velvet had have been listening to what they said and could explain the cheers. But that could be saved for the flight back. Coco looked around and waved her team together. "We'll be flying out in twenty minutes. Good job guys. Sit back and relax. That includes you too Fox."

Fox murmured something but nodded. Coco frowned at him but moved along.

Jaune seemed to have said his goodbyes to a few people who boarded the last ship. His return marked the arrival of the other two patrolmen. It was the oldest of the three that greeted them. "Anvil thanks you for your help Team Coffee."

Jaune turned to the Doctor. "Thank you for the words last night. It was a pleasure to meet you all. Even the inquisitive ones." Jaune looked over to Coco's unrepentant gaze.

"Stable boy, you better think we had a great time."

"Sh, not now wench, I'm working."

Velvet seemed to join the round of groans from her male teammates. That caused Jaune and Coco to share a smile.

Jaune waited until they had started to walk to the ships' ramp before he whispered, "Velvet, wait." Andrew and Koben glanced at their fellow patrolman both curious why he was talking to himself. Velvet's ears twitched and she turned her head. Jaune gave her a knowing smile. In the same whispered tone, "When she asks about the song, tell her not to read too much into it. It was the first thing that popped into my head. Oh, and take a picture for me." He added as an afterthought.

Velvet blushed as she thought of the meaning of the song to the locals. It was a true real-life courtship song of the area. As in please be my future wife song. To hear him say it was not meant that way made her nod slightly with a sigh of relief.

Just as the door closed he started to whisper something else. But it seemed to be more to himself. Velvet turned around and looked to Jaune as the doors began to close. The ships engines kicked to life and the wind made the noise almost painful to reach out and hear him. The thrum of channeled air made her ears droop to protect themselves. She saw him move his lips and could not hear exactly what he said, but the last word was definitely waiting.

Velvet stood there as the doors closed. She only realized she tried to tease out the meaning a little too long when Coco noticed her stand still.

"You ok there Velvet? You didn't tire yourself out from the last escort did you?"

Velvet nearly eeped aloud. Her ears stood at attention and they thumped against the aircraft's low ceiling. "Nothing! I am good. Just something that Jaune said."

Coco smiled as she sat down and strapped in. "What did my stable boy have to say?"

Velvet gave an exasperated look to her leader. She suddenly perked as she realized what Jaune was asking for her to do. "Jaune said that you shouldn't take his wedding proposal too seriously." Coco jerked her head up, mouth wide open. There was a flash and a click from Velvet's camera.

Velvet laughed as she lamented, "Ah, The only downside to that picture is going to be the shades."

Fox wisely kept his laugh to himself. He was sitting next to Coco.

Coco for the first time covered her mouth with her hand and sank into her seat. She would not let give Velvet the satisfaction of seeing the heat that ran over her face. "The whole song was a…?"

Velvet nodded and smiled at her friend. "Usually the first two verses are the same but every verse after that was about the intended." Velvet took another picture finding it oddly satisfying to see the myriad of colors her leader could produce.

"Wait! He cheated!"

Fox snickered from his reclined chair. He let his head lazily turn to her, "Pretty sure that was why he said to not take it seriously Coco."

Coco just thought about the song and realized she still played along with him the entire day. Extremely flattered, she allowed herself a small laugh now that she understood the caravan's behavior.

Across from the team, Barty looked out the window to Anvil as it faded over the horizon. The plateau was barely distinguishable from the rest of the landscape this far out. But even at this speed, it would still take hours to get back to Beacon. The doctor thought of Jaune and knew that the boy would be a valuable asset to Beacon. If Jaune was not interested in becoming a student there could be other avenues that were open to him.

The doctor heard Coco scream a voiceless growl into her hands. He smiled at the team fondly. Team Coffee was a good group. They were fortunate they did not learn what had happened to Jaune before their arrival. It was better to not let that taint the experience. Barty was pleased to see they had made a friend out of the patrolman. It may have been due to how close in age they were, but it was heartening to see huntsmen and patrolmen get along so well. Most settlements had no such luck or opportunities. It's rare for the two groups to communicate with each other unless it was during a disaster.

Anvil was unique in that regard. Barty thought to himself. The boy himself, by the nature of learning to become a patrolman, forced the two groups to work together. I only wish other settlements could learn that lesson. The doctor closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.

"No Velvet, he is not touching any pie, how did you even hear that?" Coco asked mortified.

Velvet took great joy in taking another picture.

-o-

Linda sighed as she sat on Jaune's couch. "They should be in Vale by now."

"I would think so with that kind of ship. Professor Branwen's ship barely took three hours."

Jaune laughed as he could hear the slight groan come from Linda. "Tripod. What is it?"

"So you and Coco?"

Jaune shook his head as he passed her a bottle of soda. "Nothing going on, just a good bit of teasing and nothing is going to come of it."

Linda did not look convinced. When he looked like he was going to cave he turned away. "Shut up Tripod."

Linda laughed. That was all she really needed to hear. She leaned back and hmm'ed. "Should I make reserve a date for the wedding?"

"Haha. I just happened to see Fern and Sandy and instantly thought of the song."

Linda sighed. "Those two need to be a song. He sang for like what? Two hours non-stop before she said yes."

"You did see that I made Coco stop after the seventh verse? I was not going to try and break Fern's twenty-eight verse record."

"Don't think its a record when no one records those Jaune. But you had seven verses. How often were you sneaking a peek at her in a few short hours?"

Jaune had no answer for that one. So he ignored it. Linda giggled at the victory. "Well, they are gone now. And that means the migration is over! I am so done with babysitting. I am going to miss seeing people our age though."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Tripod, go join that team. They still have been asking you right?"

Linda sank into the couch. "Yeah… but what about you?"

Jaune scowled. "Don't try and pull me into that. You're just nervous. Go do it already. And I've been thinking of taking a break actually."

Linda laughed. "You finally going to take that vacation you been promising yourself for the past few years?"

Jaune looked away and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah, something like that."

-o-

Jaune repressed a frustrated sigh as he looked at the white building. Andrew patted the teen's shoulder before the three patrolmen walked into Pearls' Manor. They were welcomed and immediately escorted into the mayors' office room. It was lined with books and comfortable leather chairs. If anything it was far more comfortable than the hearing room. Jaune thought with a bit of anxiety in his chest.

Pearl sat in her chair front and center. Her strawberry hair was a mass of curls that framed her face around square glasses. Next to Pearl were two men Jaune did not recognize, but by the sucked in a breath from both Koben and Andrew, they knew who the two were right away. Pearl smiled at the three. "Good evening gentlemen. Please take a seat. I believe introductions are in order. To my right is Nickel Julian, our Governor for Anvil. To my left is Professor Ozpin the headmaster of Beacon."

Jaune exchanged greetings along with his team before Pearl eagerly wiggled in her seat. "I thank you for your patience Patrolmen. The past two weeks have had us do a lot of negotiating due to the sudden population drop. Now Jaune. You understand the situation we are in don't you?"

"Yes ma'am. We knew that if Anvil would need to save funds, I would need to be one of the first to go. I have said I would freely volunteer to be cut first to Andrew in the past." Jaune looked over to Andrew who nodded in agreement. Jaune was a fully established patrolman. A single Patrolmen was by far the most expensive asset to support. A squad of huntsmen could be seen cheaper until you consider everything a normal patrolman does from relaying sensitive messages, training, police work, coordination during a crisis the list could be as long as the mayor and by extension, the council in Vale decided of him. To replace one when one retired or died in the line of duty was not just about money, but resources to fully train one to survive on their own. And the job was usually a lifelong career. Jaune thought thickly, Usually…

"Jaune, patrolmen take years to develop. Because you started so early and the fact that the last major crisis has matured you quicker than we expected I have had a hard time finding you a home." Pearl looked over to Nickel.

"But if you are interested, there are two options if you wish to continue to be a patrolman."

Jaune exhaled the pent-up energy. "What would these options be sir?"

"The first would be a small mining village south of Patch Island. You will be out of my jurisdiction and under a new governor. They have had a spurt of growth and crime has started to become a serious problem. It has only now started to generate enough money to find a second patrolman. They currently have one but he will retire within the next four years. The town is looking to groom a new patrolman. They had found a candidate but were willing to wait to see what your reply was. Your pay will be smaller than what you had here I'm afraid. And you will not have the support of housing like you had here as well. It will be a new kind of challenge."

Jaune nodded. While not ideal, he could work with that. "What was the other option?"

Jaune was curious about the other man who sat quietly. He leaned forward against his cane, both hands rested on the top lever-like handle. "The other option will be a larger challenge. I can not guarantee you legitimacy of being a patrolman however. But for all intents and purposes, you will be the only patrolman for Beacon and by extension Vale."

Jaune felt both Andrew and Koben exchange looks behind him. "Pardon me for not understanding, but why would an academy need a patrolman?"

The older man smiled slightly. "Vale itself does not have a patrolman precisely because they have huntsmen readily available. But it comes at a cost to Beacon itself. We often have to send out our faculty, or huntsmen we have chosen to aid in investigations. You have experienced this yourself last year when Qrow Branwen came to Anvil for one such investigation."

Jaune suddenly understood what his role would be. "But because I will be working for Beacon there is no way to legitimize my role as a patrolman in the eyes of the capital?"

Ozpin smiled. "That was quick, but yes. You would be a patrolman without any territory and no city to protect. But you would be the first response team as a representative of Beacon to the Kingdom of Vale as a whole."

Jaune would have sunk into his chair if he was not sitting down. "Why offer this to me?"

Ozpin smiled and his shoulders moved for a moment while he allowed a low laugh. "No patrolman who has their own territory would likely ever take the job. We can not afford to pay you much. If I am not mistaken, the job will be about the same if not a little less than what Nick here would offer you for his job. You will be considered a part of Beacon faculty and as such you are subject to rules and laws within Beacon not Vale. You would have room and board. But as my faculty would explain to you, you may feel isolated from the rest of the world until you are called. It is up to you to find ways not to feel so."

Koben murmured, "Grim mothers bitch."

Jaune silently laughed at Koben's reaction. "Do I have any time to think about these two offers?"

Nick answered first, "I can not give you any time I'm afraid. The sooner we commit to a course of action the better for Beryl Rock. That is the name of the settlement."

Jaune nodded and understood. Jaune looked between the two men and thought about the offers. More work and he may or may not be considered a patrolman, or be a patrolman and be very poor for a while.

A long while. He amended to himself. At least four years. But if he had a choice, where would he do the most good?

When Barty had told him there would be offers. Jaune had not expected this. He knew he had to make a choice now. The only real swaying factor was what he could do in both situations. Beryl Rock had a patrolman they were just training a replacement if he did not go. But Beacon was trying something new, they never had a patrolman. Was that reason enough?

He nodded to himself. It was. Because there was one thought, one conclusion, he decided in his time in limbo. He looked up to the three adults in front of him and confessed, "I talked to Barty- Doctor Oobleck about what I would do a few weeks ago. I told him being a patrolman was my calling. I would never want to do anything else. But that does not mean I have to be called a patrolman." Jaune looked over his shoulders to Koben and Andrew.

"A patrolman is more than a title. It is who we are." Jaune stood out up and faced the headmaster. "Headmaster Ozpin, I accept your offer."

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! This story took a while edit but I am happy with how it turned out. Don't know when the next one will be up. Since these are long it will probably be another long while.