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.

5. Chapter 5 Ruminations

A Jaune turned the tuning peg as the note pitched. That got some laughs from the students as they walked by. Jaune strummed his guitar once before he started to play a small upbeat tune.

The night's so cold…

The hearth goes dark…

Your hand touched mine,

My only spark,

You are my only warmth

In this closed off winter...

This morning Juane sang on the statue's base that led out to the courtyard of Beacon Academy. Below him the students waved as they walked by with their luggage. A few of the more playful students danced as they marched to their Bullheads to leave for the summer. Jaune winked at a team he had seen in the forest a few times on his morning runs. They thanked him for the song as they passed.

A smile, a laugh,

The time it flies

The fire burns red

And then it dies

Our love and bond

Will never thaw

When a summer comes

to an ending winter.

Jaune would almost miss the busy thrum of students inside Beacon Academy. But it would only be a brief seven weeks before they returned and another two more before the new students will shuffle after them. The graduation of the current class was just last week and those students were long gone with their assignments out in the real world.

My heart, your beat,

one in the same…

My hand in yours

will never wane

From morning sun

To evening dusk

I'll never feel cold

From your touch

When Jaune took the job as a patrolman for Beacon, he did not really expect to have the interaction with the students at all bar Coco and her team CFVY. But Professor Ozpin decided he was too valuable of a resource and had the patrolman share some experiences of his time out in the frontier as well as describe how his home settlement functioned. For the seniors, it was an invaluable education. Many of them were destined for frontier lines themselves.

I'll treasure you

Keep you safe in my arms

And love you

My home's where you are

In this endless home in winter

A few passers by whistled as the song ended with the tune of his guitar. Jaune stringed through song as he wondered at the lyrics.

"Stable Boy!" Someone sang to get his attention.

Jaune slapped the strings to his guitar to stop the song. After a moment to sigh, he moved them again. He turned slightly as Coco jumped up to the statue base and sat next to him. "Good morning Wench. Here for a song?" Jaune changed the tune at the suggestion to a slow swing tune before he reverted back to his cheerful beat. His grin was contagious.

Coco smiled and gently shoved his shoulder. "You're just showing off now. No, my team and I are finally heading out for break with the next wave. I just wanted to say goodbye."

Jaune stopped and set the guitar down. "I'll miss you guys. You are all going to Velvet's village?"

Coco nodded. "Yeah, I'll be back in Vale in a few days though. I have to work during the break if I want to have my petty cash for souvenirs."

Jaune smiled as the two of them jumped down. Coco opened her arms and waved her hands. Jaune laughed as he hugged his friend. She was barely taller than him in her heels. It was something she still lords over him now that he thought of it. Jaune felt the hug was too brief even as he knew they had embraced each other for longer than what should have been appropriate for friends.

"Send me a message when you get back into Vale. I'll be really bored up here by myself."

Coco smirked. "I am sure the Doctor O' will have something for you to do."

Jaune grimaced. It wasn't Barty he was worried about.

"Arc! Say goodbye to your girlfriend already, we got the call." Amber called across the courtyard as she walked up to the pair. A few of the students looked at the two's embrace and grinned at what would no doubt be some kind of gossip. Coco and Jaune shared a glanced before they stood apart.

Jaune puffed out an annoyed breath at Amber's tease. "I've got to go now too. I'm sorry to cut this short Coco."

Coco shook her head as she grabbed his guitar for him. "Hi Amber! Keep him out of trouble for me?"

Amber gave the student a careless shrug. Coco smiled and looked back to Jaune. "I'll let you know as soon as I get back into town Jaune. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone."

Jaune watched her go for a few moments. Amber giggled right behind him. "Qrow tended to watch me go too. Be careful, one time she might turn around to catch you. Come on, they are waiting for us."

Jaune sighed as he picked up his guitar case and threw it over his shoulder, "Did you have to call her my girlfriend?"

"Does she, or does she not still call you her stable boy?"

Jaune coughed and looked up to the sky. Amber smirked at him. "I rest my case. Just ask her out already. You two are practically dating as is."

Jaune exhaled a slight groan. "You are starting to sound like Qrow. Just because we like to spend time together doesn't mean we would work. Not to mention I still haven't talked to Ozpin about dating a student when I am effectively staff of the Academy."

Amber didn't see the problem. The worse Ozpin could do was reprimand him. As soon as Jaune knew about the maidens, he was effectively 'in'. Ozpin couldn't afford to have him leave now. "You should just try. At least one of us would be making progress." Amber muttered to herself.

Jaune looked over to her as the elevator to the headmaster's office closed behind them. "You do know he isn't even here."

Amber gave a nearly defeated grunt. "He's ignoring my messages. He reads them. I get the confirmation alert, he just doesn't reply."

Jaune sighed as the elevator lurched upwards.

Amber smirked as she asked, "When are you finally going to sing her the song?"

Jaune just stared at the elevator door willing it to get to the top floor.

"Jaune, you been practicing it all week. Just do it already, the summer is the perfect time."

Jaune muttered, "It is a winter song…"

Amber laughed and rested her hands on her hips, "You are not waiting till winter!"

The elevator opened to a view of the headmaster. Ozpin sat with two screen terminals opened on his desk. Jaune thought that Ozpin needed some rest. The man looked exhausted.

"Sir." Jaune greeted. Ozpin looked up and took of his glasses to rub his eyes. Jaune exchanged looks with Amber before he asked, "Qrow found something?"

Ozpin put on his glasses but that did nothing to hide the rings under his eyes, "Yes… He has. Leo has sent out a communication after being alerted of our impending movements. It was on a closed connection so we are not aware who he spoke to, or even if it was about us. But the fact he did it immediately after I spoke with him over the closed CCT is incredibly damning."

Jaune gave his boss a sympathetic look. Ozpin had confessed that Leonardo had been a long time friend. "That doesn't incriminate him. We'll see what happens on this escort."

Amber shuffled nervously. It would be the first time in a long while that she knowingly exposed herself to danger. The two weeks of fruitless practice with her fire did not build any confidence either. Using nature to move things in a straight line? Sure. But if she had to do anything more complicated, she was still better off using aura instead. "So what's the plan?"

-o-

Jaune gave Tai a look that conveyed all the disdain he could muster. When Jaune first heard of the man, Qrow had said that Tai was his former teammate and friend. He was a guy you could count on.

Jaune's second impression happened a few weeks ago when the man dutifully ignored Jaune when they met at Ozpin's office. After all, the kid was probably serving a detention right? Never mind the school year ended...

Now Jaune stared at the man who seemed to give a contrite apology. Amber fidgeted back and forth unsure what she should do. Jaune just sighed and walked by them both. "Let's get going. We'll be on the ship for a few days so it's fine Tai."

Jaune walked by and lamented the fact he was so young. Again it seemed to be the crux of the problem. When Tai first met Jaune, he just thought Jaune was a student, some kid who just happened to be in the room. It led the man with all his good intentions to make Jaune's job as a patrolman that much harder on this excursion.

Jaune frown and amended that thought. To be fair, it seemed his age has always been an issue. Even as a young idiot when he started to train to become a patrolman. There was a reason he was not back at his home settlement Anvil. Jaune walked into his cabin on the ship and looked around quickly before he set down a little box. The device was something that he picked up from the Vale Police Department. Avery had used one like it during their meetings when he was searching for someone who had been rummaging through the port years ago. The little device had always stuck in Jaune's mind.

Jaune was just happy he could get one. He clicked on the box and it released a slight whine before the sound naturally faded with the creaking sounds of the ship. Jaune wished that they could have taken an airship, but that would be counterproductive. Cross continental air ships were regulated and used primarily by the military. Jaune needed the group to stay out in the open and available for any public access for the sting operation. Hence the jammer. Jaune looked at the little black box and seemed satisfied that it held out the jamming signal long enough for him to open his scroll. The patrolman quickly opened the letter from Ozpin.

With the request for help to ease the transport, Leonardo Lionheart was the only one who knew the details for their trip. Even Qrow's other friends were in the dark on exactly where they were going or who they were. Qrow must have some good friends to just follow when he asked.

Qrow had confirmed that the headmaster had contacted someone immediately after speaking with Ozpin. That meant it was up to Jaune, Amber and Tai Yang to be the bait to confirm that Leo was the leak. Jaune looked over the letter and confirmed the secondary objective. While they could not legally arrest anyone themselves, Qrow had confirmed that there was a police officer in his group who would be observing the escort.

Jaune was happy to have heard that he had back up. It was just unfortunate he did not know how fast they would be able to respond. It was a danger with working with people that he did not know. He had to keep in mind that none of the huntsmen were patrolman. What they considered fast may be vastly different than what he would think if it was a group of patrolman.

Jaune reread the letter and groaned at some of the instructions. When Ozpin had left a majority of the planning to him, Ozpin requested that Jaune should to take in advice from the group. One of those ideas, and the source of Jaune's irritation with Tai, was the other blonde's suggestion.

"Why don't we have Jaune here stay out in the open as a patrolman to help us move along in the port."

Jaune ground his teeth as Ozpin agreed. Jaune looked down and glared at his jersey. It was such a stupid idea. Jaune had argued why it was a bad idea. When Ozpin seemed to disagree he still gave the patrolman the time to explain himself. Jaune snapped the scroll close with an angry loud clack.

Jaune thought of the reasons and there were a few that were important. For one, revealing himself with the jersey told everyone that he had no aura. That could be detrimental if someone attacked the group. Jaune had no aura to protect himself and he would have a very large bullseye on his back with that jersey in the name of helping save a little time. Anyone with a long range ability would know to take him out first. Jaune scowled at the total lack of forethought. But he was more frustrated with the headmaster for agreeing with it.

Jaune exhaled out the anger and just nodded at Ozpin's reasons. While Tai suggested it to allow them to leave the port a little quicker, the headmaster had better reasons. The biggest was eliminating the possibility that anyone else beside our potential assailants would attack the group. It was pointless to do all this and only trip up when some group of morons decided that two skinny guys and a girl would be easy to rob. Yes he put Tai into that group too. The man may be old and experienced, but one glance showed how little training the blonde man had in the last ten years.

Jaune supposed that teaching would do that to a teacher like Qrow and Tai. But that left little comfort to exposing himself to danger without trained back up ready to aid the group.

Jaune sighed as the floor lurched. He simply closed his eyes and practice to breathe. No point in getting seasick on top of being annoyed.

-o-

Qrow looked over to the group. It had been a while since he had seen any of them. But he was thankful they had volunteered. "Ozpin made it a little easier for us. Just keep track of the Patrolman's jersey. There are not that many of them around here." Qrow pointed at the map and route fifteen. "Shiro you good?"

Shiro smiled around coffee stained teeth. "Please Qrow. We got this. They should be coming off the docks soon right?"

Qrow nodded. He looked around to the group of five. They had all been a part of various teams when he had helped Raven here in Mistral before she decided to leave Vale completely behind. "We'll see you guys at the end of the route."

"Later Qrow, don't get too tired in the air."

"I'm not that old." Qrow knelt down before his body turned into a crow. With a parting caw, he took to the air.

-o-

Jaune tightened the knuckle capped gloves and checked his gear. When he was satisfied that his jersey was tight around his torso, he led the three with purpose to a side exit. A sailor with three security guards greeted the trio as they made their way across the deck to the side entrance. The ramp would feed into a private check out used for VIP's. Jaune thanked the crew as Amber started to move through check out. Tai, much to Jaune's annoyance, had gone ahead and was already on the other side with his travel pack. Jaune had informed Tai and Amber in the morning that they would travel out of town and travel down a side road south west until they reached Bramble. The village would be their check in point to finally meet up with Qrow.

Jaune gave the the security clerk a tight smile and walked after Amber and Tai.

At least that was the story Ozpin had told Leo. Qrow was already outside of Port Strands and his group would shadow a fair distance away and follow. Qrow did not specify how, but he had stated he would also scout ahead of their group. Jaune was curious how the older man would pull that off. Of course Qrow knew their intended path. But communications were going to be severely limited once they left the port. I really want to ask how he pulls that off…. Jaune thought to himself as he slung the single band backpack over his shoulder where it nearly bunched up his jersey.

The group left the town. There was no signs of any traveler on the road for the first several hours but it did little to settle Jaune. Amber and Tai looked more relaxed. He was thankful that someone was. But that could be more to the fact that they could handle grim more than thinking of the job they had been assigned. Jaune felt the anxiousness gnaw at him.

"I'm sure Qrow will come around Amber." Tai offered with hope.

Jaune smiled at the idea of Tai being Amber's wingman. The story seemed way more complicated than any relationship Jaune thought he had with Coco. Amber was apprenticed under Qrow years ago rather than being on a team in Beacon. What may have once been hero worship was now full blown love. Jaune shook his head at the story the way Amber explained it. There was a very brief moment where it was reciprocated. But by then, Amber was the maiden and forced to always be on the move. The two had not spoken to each other in years since.

Jaune spared a glance at the caravan that was moving towards the port. They had been in view for the last forty minutes but were now just close enough to make out fine details. A group of seven people with four huntsmen on a passenger carriage. Jaune moved forward and waved at them. The driver waved back and relaxed when he realized what Jaune was.

Jaune sighed in annoyance at Tai when the jersey gave the other coachman their instant trust. Jaune motioned the three of them to get off the road and the carriage driver thanked them as they passed. Jaune did not relax until they were over two miles away. On this level of flat land it was nice to see so far ahead. It was one of the reasons Jaune chose that port in particular.

The group had another day to go by foot. The group had covered winding hills, flat lands and some forest before the road opened to more flat lands. They had been moving along at a decent speed for huntsmen but Jaune could feel Amber and Tai needed to break every so often. It was during one of these breaks that Tai had knelt next to the river as it bent closest to the road.

Jaune was perfectly happy with seeing the two catch up and listened in occasionally when they had talked about Tai's family. Apparently the older man had two girls and one was his age. Jaune could almost forgive Tai for thinking he was a student.

There was a caw far above them.

"He's here." Amber muttered relieved.

Jaune was not privy to what the signal meant, but both Tai and Amber seemed more assured at the signal. "I take it I probably should have been informed of that?"

Amber looked embarrassed when she realized Jaune did not know what the bird meant. Jaune interrupted her before she could explain. "Wait till we get you home safely. I can wait and we don't know who's listening."

Amber huffed at the teens paranoia as they started to break for camp.

Tai seemed to agree with the young man and said nothing about it as he unrolled his blanket. They would need to make camp for the night and Jaune looked around and saw little in the way to be used for a campfire.

Amber dug out a small hole and heated the rocks and added dry grass to the makeshift pit. When the grass caught fire, the fire flickered and stabilized off of seemingly nothing. She raised a finger to her lips at Jaune's unasked question.

Jaune rolled his eyes and just went with it.

The next morning Jaune felt the lack of sleep more than he thought he should had. He has worked on days with less sleep, but the assignment made him uncomfortable. The lack of information forced him to raise his concentration and it piled up over the trip on the ship and the first days travel. Today, they would reach a settlement by late evening and walk towards several rolling hills that fed into the ocean before they would start to move through the scablands of the west tomorrow. If anyone was looking for cover to attack them, it would need to be there where there would be no scroll connectivity.

Mistral was far ahead of Vale in terms of their network and most places had access to the CCT network in Mistral. Jaune was thankful for the information. If someone was familiar with Mistral and planned to ambush them, Jaune could comfortably narrow down the places they may be attacked. He did not rule out the possibility they could come by air ship. But it would have been a red flag that Leonardo Lionhart or Mistral government was involved.

Jaune wished he could have had some communication with Qrow or Ozpin about any updates.

-o-

Shiro walked ahead of the group and did his best to ignore Carmina's bobbed head bounce behind him. She looked to be the first to tire and he knew she was going to ask for a break soon. Shiro was happy at the pace they made on their way down the mountain. They needed to get into a better position when the escort made their way around the next two bends. Even with the road taking so many detours and zigzags around the hills, Carmina had always hated the pace Shiro made for them.

Carmina glanced over to Shiro's bristled black head and asked, "Can we take a break?"

Shiro looked over his shoulder to laugh at her. She glared at him. Shiro vaguely noticed the change in the shadow of the woods before…

Schlp

It took Shiro a moment to understand what happened. The splatter of blood against the trees were the only signs of where his friends once stood. Next to him Boyd screamed, "Carmina! Aoi!"

Shrio looked around the forest. Nothing broke through the woods. "Look for shadows." He ordered Boyd and Ivy. It was dim, but there was a blot of shadows that wove through the woods.

The trees swayed in unison as a gurgle escaped Boyd's mouth. His body disappeared not even a second later.

Shiro pulled his weapon as it moved into a sword. He found the shadow as it moved over the trees. Shiro heard Ivy grunt before he felt his jacket tugged. "Move!" Ivy shoved him against a tree. A loud crack of branches echoed in the forest. Shiro looked back to see another deep gouge in the earth.

Shiro bit back a cry as he jumped higher into the tree line canopy. What ever attacked them had just dove into the forest below him. The huntsman was displaced into the air as a gust sucked him higher. Shiro looked around wildly as he saw that the black mass of a grim took off into the air. It's agile body turned and its talon's wrapped around him with a hollow crunch.

-o-

Jaune tirelessly scanned the miles ahead. The main path ran across the top of a embankment that help prevent flooding of the river. Jaune grunted at the sight of the water, it was too small for ships to travel through, but the flooding during the spring months had apparently been a serious problem for the locals. Behind him, Amber was chuckling at something Tai had said.

A caw got both of Tai's and Ambers attention before it was cut off. Jaune looked up in time to hear the whistle of something in the air. "Move!"

The alarm forced both Tai and Amber to move away from each other. Jaune swore as the whistle turned out to be black arrows made of glass. They shattered at his feet and the shards sprayed into his bare arms. Another caw made the patrolman look up before he realized the next volley of arrows did not follow Tai or Amber. "Get off the road, and down the slope. It's targeting me. If you got a way to send a message to Qrow, get him."

Jaune resisted the instinctual decision to chase after the archer. That would leave them alone. Which he thought was probably the reason he was targeted. "Tai!" Jaune called when moments later a man ran towards them along the embankment.

Tai pushed Amber's shoulder low against the slope and looked around behind them to give Jaune free rein to look to the sky for arrows. Tai rotated his wrist and gripped his hand in preparation of a fight. "I see one man running down the road towards us. Amber behind me and down the slope. Give us cover fire. Look on our three o'clock there may be more."

Amber obeyed and pooled energy in her hands in small fire rings around her enclosed fists.

The man that ran down the road seemed to laugh and cheer as he finally made his way towards the group. Tai caught the attackers fist in his hands. The other man's fist were encased in gauntlets with two curved blades the extended past the man's knuckles.

"Well that was not expected." The man whimpered and squealed in endless glee. The man was slender with limp brown hair that tied back to a ponytail at the base of his neck. He added in a harsh savage voice, "But the best things are never free."

Tai struggled to keep the man's fist locked in his own. But the man twisted and elbowed Tai's stomach. The blow made Tai's body bend. The man raised a fist and his blades extended outward to stab Tai's prone back.

Jaune had dodged another three arrows and charged the attacker. Jaune let his body slide on the ground and his steel toed shoe snapped upwards to the back of the attackers knee. The man gave a surprised giddy whimper.

Jaune kicked his free leg directly upwards at the man's chin. The man laughed as he leaned back to dodge the kick. Jaune turned his torso while he laid on the ground and the upward kick rotated into an ax kick on the man's already off balanced body. The man gave an 'oof' from the impact on the ground. Jaune rolled to a stand as he kept his foot firmly on the man's chest then slid it up to the man's throat. The man tried to lift his leg to kick Jaune off.

Jaune saw the kick in his peripheral vision and leaned harder against the man's throat. Aura or not, he would feel the pressure. Jaune swung a pair of handcuffs and slapped one ring shut against the man's ankle. Jaune used the cuffs as leverage to pull the kick away.

Jaune noticed Tai jumped with a nod. Jaune called, "Amber, fire when you are ready."

Amber built up fire in her hand from her cover from the arrows. She understood how fast Jaune moved. Amber trusted Jaune would dodge it. Her hands extended and two balls of fire flew free to the man. Jaune watched the fireballs approach and kicked hard off the man's throat. The man's aura kicked in immediately to protect him. Jaune jumped and ran back a distance while he looked for in coming arrows.

He quickly glanced at the man as fire engulfed him. He squealed and roared in pain. "My ankle! It burns! Get it off!"

Tai looked at Jaune with a question. Shook his head, he would explain later.

The patrolman looked around. "We still have an archer to find-" Jaune was cut off as the man growled and rolled forward, his body still aflame. He spun his bad ankle and the glowing red pair of handcuffs around to kick Tai away from Amber. Tai groaned with the hit as he flailed in an uncontrolled tumble down the bank. Jaune immediately pulled Amber back and ran up to the man's fully extended leg. Jaune grunted from the sudden burns in his hands as he gripped the still free handcuff in his thick gloved hands. The patrolman twisted the rigid band like a lever against the man's' ankle. The burnt flesh from the super heated metal dug deep into the man's ankle again. He roared a painful cry before the man glared at Jaune then Amber.

Behind Jaune, Amber screamed in a painful cry as she gripped her stomach. Jaune looked back to the man's satisfied smirk before the thin man jerked his body. It caused Amber to cough and groan as black ickor soaked her torso. Jaune grabbed the loose handcuff and kicked the man down the edge dislodging what he found was a scorpion tail. The man started to laugh at the pair as he rolled down the steep hill. The man seemed too pleased with himself to stop laughing. Behind him, Jaune could hear Amber collapse to the ground.

-o-

Qrow rarely had moments where he felt he had lost complete control of the situation. When the arrows flew in the air and nearly killed Jaune outright, he felt this was one of those times. He only barely noticed from which direction the arrows flew. The single alarmed caw was all he was able to make while he was in the form of a crow. He cawed several times in a pattern as loud as he could and flew in a circle twice. It would be the only time he would likely get the chance to signal the others.

Another volley of three arrows flew one after another from the forest line nearly half a mile away. Qrow dove towards the area and flew above the tree line while he looked for something that stood out. Jaune was right with his warning. Salem men had targeted him first. The arrows were a direct counter to the patrolman. If Amber was just with her two escorts, Jaune would have had to make the decision to go after the archer, or stay and defend from two sides.

Qrow circled around and found the archer. It was the woman from Jaune's picture. Thankfully, she was alone. Instead of the tanned leather pants and vest, she wore a pair of green shorts and brown patterned vest. The woman pulled back her empty hands and her clothes glowed in the pattern on the patched vest. Dust infused clothes. Qrow amended.

The dust pulled together in clinks of black burnt glass shards. Three arrows hovered in place across the bow string as she pulled the bow taunt. Qrow saw his opening with her eyes closed. Qrow flew around to see what was sitting behind her long auburn hair that covered her eye. It was some kind of red lens. When he looked closer, he nearly cawed out an alarm as he realized the black and red bulb over her face he thought was some kind of lens wasn't what he thought it was.

It was a grim. The red bulb shuddered and the arrows flew into the air in a perfect arc, no doubt with a high accuracy judging by the first few volleys.

Qrow flapped his wings and flew up and circled around to build up speed. If he had the chance to end this quickly he would take it. Moments before the woman realized he was above him, his body shifted into his human form. His sword already raised to deal the killing blow. There was no way he would allow her to touch Amber.

The woman had no warnings as the blade made contact with her aura. She looked up and screamed as her aura began to crack. The grim quivered over her face before it lashed out around the blade. Qrow tried to push the blade through before he felt something slam into him. It's weight shook his body with every crack of the trees he was burrowed through. Qrow could only feel rather than see something large and heavy as it tried to lower it's maw on his arm several times in rapid bites. It only pulled back when his arm refused to be mangled. A thick heavy leg kicked off Qrow and landed low on haunches and growled.

The woman hopped over the destroyed forest. She stared at Qrow before she focused on her grim that had sat over her eye. She had not realized it was gorged from Qrows' first attack until it began to flake into black wisps of smoke. The woman swore silently to herself before she channeled aura into her clothes. Two blades clinked together in her hands. The woman looked at the grim. "Make your way to Tyrion. If he has the girl, bring her to me. If he doesn't, kill the patrolman before you get her."

The monstrous grim snarled a high pitched whine. It crouched before it jumped forward and bounded quicker than Qrow thought possible across the tree line. The grim jumped over the wreckage and out of the forest in a sprint. It moved even faster in the open land.

Qrow swore as he clicked the switch on his sword. The gears inside his blade whirled to life and his sword extended into a scythe. Qrow felt the aura pump through his weapon as he swung. The trees in front of him started to crack and groan as aura infused pressure sped to the woman heedless of what was in the way. She turned and ran back to the edge of the forest line to give herself room to go between open ground and cover. Qrow followed after her.

Her aura must have taken a hit from that blow. Just a bit more. Qrow thought as he swung his scythe in front of him and pulled it back. Ahead of the woman, a tree trunk was sliced and it slid off its base and tipped over. The woman simply jumped over it. Qrow hopped over it just as quickly and nearly had an arrow through his skull as his reward. The glass arrow shattered behind him as he swung his scythe one more time. This time he added dust to the slice. The forest trees ahead of him were cut and ice exploded from the cuts in wide indiscriminate blasts.

The woman screamed as one knocked her back towards Qrow. Qrow put a little more aura into his steps and swung his weapon downward at the woman. The clink of glass sounded almost too close to the sound of clinked ice. The change in tone warned him of the rain of jagged daggers that flew on top of his head. Qrow pulled back and the two had entered the clearing.

The woman gripped her vest shut. It looked like the ice blast hit her dead center in the chest. Blood seeped through the dust clothes destroying much of the power the clothes stored. She panted and swallowed a grunt as she pulled out something from her hip bag. "You got a choice."

Qrow readied his weapon with the intent to attack before she had a chance to speak. As he took his step forward the black-stone-like thing in the woman's hands pulsed. She raised a single finger that she encased with a long jagged shard of glass and slid it across the black thing in her hand. The thing shuddered as it pumped in three single vibrations.

"It's a grims heart…" Qrow stuttered in alarm. The blood from the heart dropped at the woman's feet. It kept pooling and it spread out in front of her. She took a step back as seven sets of massive paws and hooves started to try and climb themselves out of the nether. The grim had no skin, only raw black muscles around legs, claws and horns. The grim resembled nothing Qrow had ever seen. They were all different masses of animal parts and things that he could not place. And they all locked eyes onto him. Qrow raised his weapon.

"I said you had a choice." The woman patiently interrupted his thoughts. "You could stay and continue to fight me, and probably kill me. Or…" She turned to the grim. "The blonde man with the blue vest. Eat him." The seven monstrosities made of black muscles roared in high pitched chirps and whines. Like the first one, they moved faster on the open road. Qrow glared at her. "Or you can try and save those poor, poor victims from these grim."

The woman gave him a cruel smile. Qrow retracted his weapon, he was on a timer and the new grim were already out of sight. They would be faster than he was on foot.

"I'll be seeing you again." Qrow backed off and started to break into a run. He had never dared transform in front of someone, much less an enemy. He could still feel her smirking gaze on his back as he ran down the road. He would never be fast enough to intercept the grim at this rate.

Qrow lowered his head and swore viciously to himself. "I should transform." Even as everything told him that he would never be able to be an observer again if he did so. But he knew Amber was in danger. "SHIT!" Qrows body morphed into a black crow in the middle of the road and his body ascended into the air.

-o-

The faunus landed in a heap and hissed at the burnt flesh against his ankle. He had been warned that the biggest threat would be the patrolman. He had not been prepared for the trap the handcuffs on his ankle created when they reacted to aura. The cuffs were made of Remnite. The metal was used in huntsman weapons, and it resonated with any aura. "That Maiden bitch will pay." He snarled as he tried to stand again. The foot against this shoulder blades knocked him back.

The faunus turned around to see the aged blonde man glare back at him. "Why is it the blondes?" He muttered as he charged the man. His tail raised ready to make just as quick work against the blonde man. His poison would work just like it did against the maiden.

Tai snapped his wrist up against the Faunus' forearm and slammed his knee against his opponents thigh. The same one with the burnt ankle. "Arg!" The faunus shouted as his tail dove at Tai.

Tai backhanded the tail away and then punched the poisonous tip downward slamming it and burying the stinger into the ground. Tai raised and stomped his foot against the man's back before he grabbed the handcuffs still attached to the faunus leg and pulled the man's opposite wrist across the man's body over his back. The faunus body was forced to bend backwards and he flailed. The faunus instantly regretted using aura to break the bond as the handcuffs vibrated with energy and heat. The faunus screamed again. "When I get out of these, you are dead! You will suffer a slow painful death just like that maiden bitch! No no no.. that is too good, Your family will be first and I will watch and laugh as you sit there while I give you their severed heads!"

Tai glared at the man and kicked his head to knock him out. Tai started to scramble back up the slope as he remembered what the faunus had said.

-o-

Jaune knelt next to Amber. The woman groaned and looked at the black poison that stained her stomach. The liquid mixed with blood. Black and red stained her hands as she held it against her bleeding abdomen.

Jaune's shaky voice tried to calm down as he knelt down to hold his hand over hers to add pressure. "Hang on Amber."

Jaune looked to the sky and realized the arrows stopped for a while now. He hoped that meant Qrow was nearby. Jaune looked down to see Tai run up the bank.

"Tai, Amber's poisoned."

"Qrow should have been here by now." Tai grunted as he got up to the top of the bank.

"He might have gone after the archer. Those arrows stopped almost as fast as they started. Take over for a second." Jaune and Tais hands were slick with blood as they traded spots. Jaune forced himself to focus for a moment. The arrows were fired in an arc from the forest line. But the man came from ahead of them. "We'll need to run back to Port Strands."

Tai shook his head, "It took us a day and a half to get here from that port. We should follow the road, our back up will be there and they will show if they see we are in trouble."

Jaune scowled at him. "We don't know how far ahead of us they were, and it's going to be far if they didn't respond to this attack. We can't count on them if they were not here by now. There was a wagon we passed half a day ago. They may have a better shot at having medical supplies. No arguments Tai."

Jaune knelt beside Amber and quickly pulled out a spare shirt and ripped it into bandages. The group had traveled light but they would need to travel lighter. With Amber's wounds bandaged Jaune dropped the bag. He wouldn't need it anymore.

The patrolman looked up to Tai and nearly rolled his eyes. The man still felt they should have gone on the same path to look for their missing back up. Jaune didn't mention that if those were Salem's people they would know where Jaune had intended to go. And that was the last place they needed to be. Jaune pulled out his scroll and took several pictures of the man they left at the bottom of the bank before he put away his scroll.

Amber grunted into a sitting position as Jaune knelt down. She looked at Jaune under half lidded eyes."I'm sorry. It's either elements or aura. I can't use both at the same time."

Jaune narrowed his eyes as he knelt down. The man probably knew it too. "Tai I'll carry her, get her on my back." Tai reluctantly let the younger man lift her up. Jaune felt his new center of balance and was only slightly relieved she was lighter than he thought. "Let me know if I am going too fast. Amber shouldn't be that much of a led weight."

Amber whimpered before she laughed. "Just get us going Jaune."

Tai and Jaune spared a brief nervous look. Nothing else needed to be said as the two started to run. Both tried their bests to ignore Ambers grunts. Jaune was very conscious of the wet sensation against his back.

-o-

The run was more of a trot for Jaune for how slow he needed to move to not outpace Tai. Jaune said nothing of it as Tai was pacing himself and still moving as fast as he could. They just could not afford to separate in case there were more people after them.

Jaune looked up ahead. They would catch up to the wagon soon. It had barely been moving at a walking pace the day before and they would have to had stopped frequently to rest their animals. Already Jaune felt relieved when the could still see the trail of the wagon fresh against the road. Jaune went around the semi fresh horse manure and turned back to Tai.

"Tai?" The man had slowed and came to a halt as did Jaune several meters away.

"Go ahead, grim are coming behind us. Get her to that wagon. I'll catch up."

Jaune gave the man a look. Amber, still semi-conscious, groaned against his neck. Jaune nodded at Tai. "I'll get her there in time. See you soon." Jaune turned and gripped Ambers' legs. "Amber. Are you with me?"

She grunted but nodded against his back.

"I need you to tighten your grip on my neck. I can get you there faster but you need to help me by hanging on."

Amber breathed out an airy, 'ok'.

Jaune felt her arms grip around his neck and smiled. He started with steady long steps to ease the burden. There is no doubt that the bouncing will hurt her a lot. One step turned into two. Three strides turned into a full sprint in long bounds as Jaune used every muscles in his legs torso and shoulders to carry them both as quickly as he could down the flat road.

-o-

Tai watched the two go and shook his head. The whole time he had spent with the patrolman he could not help compare the young man to his daughter Yang. Where she was playful and unfocused, Jaune was equal parts measured and thoughtful. The teen was the picture of a professional patrolman.

Tai looked up the path and his aura sensed the disturbance as it bounded towards him in quick leaps. It was three minutes before he could actually see the grim on two legs and no arms. It had a large snout with a beak more than a muzzle for a mouth. Tai furrowed his brow. The grim was something he had never seen before. It covered the land in large effortless strides as it released a high pitched whine.

Tai parted his legs and moved his hands to his stomach and diaphragm. With enough aura in his chest, he let loose an earth shaking roar aimed at the grim. The grim lowered its head and kept burrowing through the attack. It veered slightly to its left before it righten and continued its sprint towards the huntsman.

Tai frowned. That roar would usually out right kill grim. But this one just appeared to get dizzy. Tai started to walk to the grim and inhaled again. Another roar vibrated the air. Dry grass and loose dirt and gravel lifted off the ground and spread out in a great 'V'.

The grim groaned and growled as it staggered to a walk. As it reached Tai, it weakly snapped its maw at the blonde man once, then free out of the focal point, sprinted past him.

Tai swore the moment he realized the grim was not going to fight him. It was after something else. Tai instantly thought of the warnings Ozpin spoke about intelligent grim.

Tai leaned back in an inhale then bent forward and exhaled an aura enhanced yell that rumbled and cracked earth meters in front of him. The wave of distorted air and sound slammed into the grim where it stumbled and squealed a loud high pitched groan into the dirt. The grim swerved back and forth attempting to stay on its feet.

Tai just ran knowing he had a scant few seconds. The grim was much faster than he was and Tai knew he could not afford to let it escape. Tai raised his fist as the grim stood up. The sound of flesh against bone echoed loudly and the grim's maw swung widely from Tai's aura enhanced left hook. Tai spun and back handed the mouth another time before he kicked the head high into the air and snapped his foot down at the knee before his rotated his hips and kicked outward. The grim's body burrowed into the ground from the impact.

Tai felt his foot vibrate from the hit. It was as if he was hitting a mountain. Tai inhaled sharply and stomped on the grim's neck. The stomp made the grim hiss in protest. Tai released his roar into the open mouth of the grim where the roof of the grims' mouth visibly vibrated and ruptured before the aura enhanced air caved into the grim's skull. The grims' body collapsed and laid there for a few moments. It took longer for the body to fade than Tai expected. The huntsman gave a relieved sigh when the grim's body finally began to break apart into motes of dark energy.

Tai looked between where he knew Qrow and his back up may possibly be, and the direction where Jaune took Amber. Jaune's decision to go back to the port town and that wagon made sense, but it did not sit well with him to have no one there to support them. There were no guarantees that the wagon would aid them. And that would force Jaune to move on to the town.

Tai started to run back down the road to catch up to Jaune and Amber. He knew he would not catch up any time soon. But wagons do not move that fast. Tai was confident he could at least catch up to that.

Ten minutes passed where he concentrated on the run and his senses spread open to survey the landscape of grim. He was rewarded when he felt a number of grim make another approach. Like the last one, this group had run down the main road, a behavior he had never seen in grim before. Tai swallowed when he realized he would not have the advantage here. The road took a bend around several hills. The mass of unease and anger shifted and started to cut across the hills.

Tai swore and he started to sprint to catch up. The hills would slow them down some, but it was still a shorter path than the one he ran on the road. He tried to sense where they were on the hills and his head tilted a little north east. Tai remembered this part of the road bent to the west one more time before it straightened out towards Port Strands. Tai stopped and put his foot against the roads' railing and jumped into the air. Aura suffused his body as he landed several hundred meters below and into the reveen. He groaned as his legs buckled from the impact. He took a few steps to walk off the strain before he jogged to beat the grim. Even from this part of the road Tai had to whistle at how fast the patrolman moved. Even with no aura to make that kind of short cut, there was no sign of Jaune and Amber nearby.

Tai refocused on where the grim had run. It took him fifteen minutes but he finally was ahead of them again and he waited at the mouth of the road where it started to climb over the hills. Tai backuped a ways from the slope so he would meet them on flat land. It was times like this he could hear both Raven and Summer berate him for not training. Sure he had experience. But that counted for little when he could feel how slow his aura responded to his body. He commanded his body to flush with aura but his body protested as the decades of laclastical training caught up with him. He had always been the relaxed one of the team. Even with Qrow's drinking and party man attitude, it was always Tai himself that never took things so seriously.

Tai was confident that he could pull his weight and keep the team grounded when they got too excited but there was always that part of him that kept himself from fully committing to being a huntsman like the rest of team STRQ.

Tai felt the slow hum in the core of his body. When Tai first saw the grim he had killed, he had formed an idea that there would be more and something different than what he was used to back in Vale. But the number of them that all paused to glare at him made him swallow his pride and confidence at stopping them all. One of the strange muscled grim tilted it's head to emit a hollowed out pitched whine. The group of grim spread apart wide and started to run past him. In that moment Tai realized he would not be able to catch them all when they were that spread apart. He had to wait.

The grim decided to ignore him as they approached. The line of grim spread across the road and into the field. The largest of the group kept its eyes trained on him as it ran by not five meters away from the huntsman. This close, Tai could make out the grims face. It's head was more of a skull than a traditional grim with a bone mask. Sinew and muscle kept the skull in place among black corded muscle at its neck. The grim snorted a high pitch whine as it passed.

Tai waited until he saw them close ranks back onto the road. He ground his teeth as they pulled further away. Just get a little closer together... He thought to himself.

Tai slid a piece of jagged rock into his mouth when they had group up. The huntsman relaxed his jaw and exhaled as he bit the piece of crystal with a loud crunch that could only come from crushed rocks. His cheeks burned from the sudden buildup of ice that crusted his face. It shattered as quickly as it formed. Tai's roar rippled the air. The shockwave hit the grim first as the group stumbled. The one in the lead gave an urgent whine as several others began to speed faster away from the attack. Three at the back of the pack struggled to escape the shockwave. Only one of those turned back to see him. It's eyes were the first to freeze completely and expand, exploding in its sockets. It's limbs froze in place. The momentum that carried its bulk broke from its frozen legs in a pained whine as the remaining body of the grim turned to whisps.

Tai started to run over the frozen landscape as most of the other grim who were further up ahead took some damage to freeze them in place. His attack only killed two. The rest seemed to escape the kill zone.

Tai raised his fist and it exploded in visible white aura. He bit into another crystal and spat a wad of fire onto his fist. Tai's punch slammed into the half frozen straggler. The ice around the grim instantly evaporated imploding the grim. Its body disappeared before it hit the ground.

Tai started to run again. The others were still far ahead of him. They were slowed but were still running. Tai glanced at his hands. Each one held a different crystal. Raw crystals were always dangerous. His control of his aura was the best in his team, but there were so much risks in using raw crystals like this. The impurities would leave any attack as a gamble. Failures were a frequent issue. The crystals were also volatile. They could blow up in his face and hurt anyone who was nearby before he even used them.

Tai looked at the grim as they slowly recovered and began to out pace him in earnest. The huntsman thumbed the crystal in his hand. Out here, he was all alone. There would be no one to get in his way.

Tai inhaled before he raised both crystal filled fists together in front of him. The crack of crystals exploded as he clapped his hands together. He leaned into the explosion and the roar of aura acted like a vacuum. It sucked in the air behind him and the dust explosion suddenly collapsed in on itself before the aura burst forth in several narrow beams of light.

The lead grim cried out a warning as it jumped off the road. Two others made it in time before another pair of grim were pierced by the attack. The two grim cried as the hiss of their remains tumbled into a heap.

The lead grim snarled and barked at the grim next to it. The two of the three grim turned to go after Tai. The biggest grim glared one final time at Tai before it turned around and started to resume its sprint down the main road.

-o-

Jaune ran down the road, confident he would be able to see the caravan soon. This side of the mountains were open plains and he was fully able to run as fast as he needed. The patrolman felt Amber curl her fists into his vest. He had been conscious of the slick stain against his back for a while now. Jaune was not sure if he was hoping it was blood or poison. Either could be deadly by now.

Jaune was relieved that the distance was very short for a patrolman. At most forty miles. What made it so far was how fast a normal person could walk on foot. Even huntsmen could only move so fast for so long before they used up and ran out of aura or just exhausted themselves. The miles rolled by under his feet. If there was anything Jaune could be confident about, it was his running legs. The speed of a patrolman was in a class of its own. He hoped it was enough to get Amber help.

Amber's chin moved against his collar bone. He muttered, "Just hang in there Amber. We'll get you help soon."

"I don't think so Jaune." Her voice was in his ear, but it was so weak he gripped her legs and willed himself to go faster.

"Come on, you still haven't had your chance to talk to Qrow yet. You still want to sort that out right?"

Jaune felt his mouth run dry. He was no doctor and he was afraid if Amber fell asleep she wouldn't wake up.

Jaune felt his heart stop when she released a sob and she hugged his neck tighter. "Jaune, don't be like us." Amber cried through burning eyes. They hurt her more than the poison in her stomach. "Talk to Coco. Care for her. Find some happiness. I don't want you to end up like me and Qrow."

Amber slumped forward and her pale hands gripped his shirt. She gasped out a sobbed, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Jaune nearly let himself crack from the anguished cry. "Don't apologize. This was my fault. It was my stupid idea. If I didn't think of it, you would be safe in Beacon. Just stay awake a little longer Amber. We'll find someone that can patch you up. Just stay awake."

Amber apparently did not hear him. Her lips struggled out, "I I- wasn-..."

Jaune held his breath for a moment but relaxed when she was still breathing against his back. He picked up the little speed he lost and was suddenly aware of how heavy she felt on his back now that she was asleep.

-o-

Qrow would have sighed in relief if he was able. This high in the air, oxygen was thin in the atmosphere. But he found the grim. As he dove down he immediately pulled up as a familiar attack erupted from behind them.

Qrow tilted his avian body to see Tai had unleashed an attack he had not seen in nearly fifteen years. Qrow did a cursory glance at the damage before he dove bomb towards the lead grim. That one was not escaping.

He was already in his human form with sword fully extended. The grim jerked to the side as it felt something above him. Qrow had already adjusted the sword and it slice throw the monsters skull at the beak before the ground beneath him buckled and exploded outward to make way for his landing.

The grim that started to attack Tai did not pause. One jumped high and the other dove low to snap at Tai's legs. Qrow was relieved when they decided to fight in close range. It was Tai's best range.

To prove the point, Tai thrust an aura enhanced foot at the low one. The grim skull crunched against the earth as bone snapped and cracked in a loud echo. Tai jumped back unable to finish it off when the next one snapped at his head and ran around to the side to make Tai turn.

Qrow had never seen a grim do it before but he recognized a pincer attack. "Tai! The other one is getting up!" Qrow transformed into a bird to close the distance and transformed back into his human form with his scythe fully extended. He hooked the grims' back legs as it tried to lung which only cause it to whine in pain as the scythe buried itself deep into its haunches. It blindly turned and snapped at Qrow. The chipped and bloody skull of the grim sprayed Qrow as it snapped at his weapon.

Qrow twisted his scythe and swung it over head where tip buried deep into the beast's back. He gripped the handle and the gears in the weapon came to life as the blades extended into the grim's back and the slight arc of the scythe curved deeper into the monster's body, doing its best for the blades of the scythe to make circle with its' blades inside the grim's body.

The grim grunted a dying whine as it began to fade away allowing Qrow's scythe to complete its circle noose like hook. Qrow looked up in time to see Tai had buried a fist into the muscles of the grim he fought. There was a loud click as if glass broke. The exposed muscles of the grim began to contract and light erupted from the body. Tai pulled his burnt hand from the body as it slumped to the ground.

Tai looked at his shaking hand. "That was all of my crystals." He frowned.

"Where's Amber and Jaune?"

Tai looked further back the road. "Amber was poisoned by the guy that attacked us. The kid took her back towards town. He thought that the caravan we passed yesterday may have medical supplies."

"Let's go. We don't want to stick around incase more grim show up."

"Qrow, what's going on? I've never seen a grim like that before."

Qrow swallowed the lump in his throat. "Those grim were controlled by the woman in the picture we showed you. I've never seen them before either."

"Pick up the pace Qrow. The kid has a lead on us."

The pair had been running only run for a few moments longer before Tai reluctantly asked, "What happened to our backup?"

Qrow frowned and shook his head. "I don't know. They were shadowing us by only a few miles. The would have seen the fighting. Scroll range is limited out here, but they should have at least tried to message any of us."

The pair ran in silence. The only sound was the pound of their feet and the puffs of their breath.

Tai had no idea how long they had run, but he knew he had zoned out there for a while. He just concentrated on running. The black dot ahead of them broke him out of his thoughts. It was a small shade in the middle of the open field. Suddenly it moved, criss-crossing across the road ahead of them before it grew and enveloped them. Then it disappeared.

Qrow looked to his left as he felt something darken his vision for only a moment. He quickly blinked.

"Qrow!" Both huntsman spotted a black rectangle in the sky behind them.

Qrow was alarmed that the first sign of the grim was its shadow. It made no noise. The two huntsmen skid to a halt ready to fight it, but the grim ignored them. The monster gilded relatively low to the ground as it flew slowly over head. Qrow quickly corrected his initial thought as it passed them and moved beyond them down the road. The thing wasn't moving slowly, it was just massive.

"What is it with today?" Tai growled. Ahead of them they could see the rectangle box suddenly bend as the pair of wings silently flapped once before it continued its glide.

Both men sprinted after it. They realized that it was following the road towards Jaune. "Can you catch up to it?" Tai panted.

Qrow shook his head. "I'll try, but it's too fast. You going to be ok by yourself?"

Tai pushed Qrow's shoulder. "Just go already. I don't like my chances if I have to help you fight that when I'm out of dust." Tai pulled open his scroll. The alert for local access only blinked at the bottom. When he opened the communication there was only static. Tai looked up in time to see Qrows small form attempt to follow the grim.

-o-

Jaune instantly spotted the shadow as it was cast over the open fields to his right. He tilted his head and wanted to release a pained hopeless laugh at what he saw.

A patrolman's greatest threat were airborne grim. They could fly by obstacles and fly faster than any patrolman could run. Hours of lessons beat into his head as Jaune realized his predicament. There was no cover in these open fields. There was only one road and a caravan between him and the city walls that would have turrets. And he had a friend dying on his back.

Jaune exhaled and leaned forward as he sped up. "Amber! Wake up!" He struggled to pull open his scroll with Amber's legs over his hip pocket. With a single click he turned on the emergency beacon. His normally green screen with the usual message that said LOCAL NETWORK ONLY turned to a blue rectangle that flared the words INTERNATIONAL SIGNAL. It didn't matter who he called, every scroll in range would get his signal.

"Emergency Alert for all Huntsman please stand by." Jaune looked over his shoulder to get a good look at the grim. The body was a buzzard. As it moved closer he could only make out what could have been mask. But it was the complete silence that bothered him. Grim usually made some kind of noise. Jaune had used those noises to help keep track of them. As it seemed to spot him and fly towards him with a single flap of its wings, Jaune could only move the scroll back to his mouth. "Forty miles west of Port Strands, a flying buzzard type grim is sighted flying low along route fifteen. Grim is approximately seventy feet across and flies silent. Request immediate relay to Port Strands for possible grim attack." Jaune spared a glance at the screen to hit a five minute repeat message before he closed it.

The grim caught up to him less than a minute later. It flew low and kicked up dust in its wake. "Come on Amber wake up!" Jaune's stomach sunk as his fears were confirmed that it was after the two of them. It was not just some random wild grim. The shadow enveloped him and he could see two massive sets of talons reach out to him. He barely had the time to see the fresh gore that had covered its claws before he immediately slowed to let the claws catch up. "Amber, flare your aura!" He threw her over his head and her body flew over the enclosed talons. Amber grunted as she limply rolled across the ground for several feet from the speed.

Jaune felt himself become nauseated from the sudden smell of blood as he let his body fall to the ground. The Shink of the talons as they cut air rung in his ears. Jaune moved his arms to cover his head. With no aura he felt every bump and scrap as his body slid across the ground. The momentum of his own speed tore at his clothes and his flesh as he skidded to a stop. Jaune groaned as he looked up to see the grim fly up and glide around for another pass.

Jaune quickly looked for Amber with the precious few moments. He was relieved to see she was fair distance away down the road and moving. She clutched her stomach and tried to open her eyes. Jaune turned back to the grim to see it was already descending again.

The patromal grunted as he got to a knee and pushed off it to sprint towards Amber. "Hang on Amber. I got you." He placed his arms under her legs and shoulder and lifted her. She grunted and opened an eye.

"Thanks for the warning." Amber struggled to say more but fell silent.

Jaune swallowed air as he saw the shadow in the field circle around and move closer to him. When the wings began to cover the ground over him, Jaune looked over his shoulders. His mind ran full throttle as he tried to find an answer to save them both. Jaune squinted when nothing came forward.

"Don't bite your tongue."

The suddenness of the instructions made him look down to Amber. She gave him an apologetic smile before she grabbed his shoulder. She leapt out of his arms and planted her feet. She threw him several yards out of the way. Moments later she pulled her staff as it instantly glowed with blue aura. The talons that tried to bisect the pair sliced the air as it collapsed onto the woman's body.

Jaune looked up in time to scream. His ears rung as the blood flooded them from the panic as the grim's claws began to close on her. The bird instantly flew up. The wind blinded Jaune for a moment as his stomach heard a sickening snap from the claws.

Amber dropped down followed by the remains of the aura infused staff that saved her life. She was unsteady on her feet but looked up to see the bird circle around.

"Amber let's go!" Jaune started to run to her. She frantically waved a hand at him. Fire cut off his path.

"Let me do my job Jaune."

"You can't fight like that."

Amber coughed and clutched her stomach. "I know."

Jaune looked to the grim in the air. It circled around another time. A single flap of its wings lifted it's body higher into the air before it started to dive. Jaune stared at it, unsure who was its target. His answer came quickly as its wings flapped open wide and its claws were nearly above him. Jaune quickly sprinted to the side. He kept running at a glance of the wings that block his vision of the sun. The tips of the grim's feathers brushed the earth and the talons extended to make contact in a loud crunch. Jaune rolled and bounced once off the ground to land on his feet. He skid to a halt as the grim's claws dug deep into the earth.

Jaune nearly lost his footing as the wind kicked upwards. The grim flapped twice and flew back up into the air to circle around. This time it did not bother to go for another steep dive and instead flew low and inadvertently caused a dust storm to from its wake.

Jaune swore through the haze when he realized that the grim targeted him again. His attitude did a complete turn around as he looked over to Amber. "Take your shot!"

"Over here!" Amber's voice was gurgled as she spat up saliva. The bandages on her stomach were seeped with blood and she waivered unsteadily on her feet. Fire erupted from her eyes before the flames engulfed her body. Wind picked her body up and started to blow a current of air at the grim. The wave of fire followed the current as the heat smashed against the bird and splashed over the grim like the ocean breaking over rocks.

The grim flew through the fire and flew back up with the first cry of alarm it made since Jaune had seen it. The cry was more of a groan like the bending of wood. Amber floated back down to the ground and collapsed. Jaune picked her up and noticed the shallow breathing as a fever overtook her. He started to make a run off the road. That caravan was in the way of the town. If the grim was set on following the two of them, Jaune needed to lower the number of people he would stumble across on his escape.

Jaune was disappointed that the flames did little to slow the bird. A sardonic voice in the back of his mind almost asked why the grim didn't turn into a firebird grim. A hundred meters above him, there was a flash of a hissed explosion followed by the grims' screeched pained cry. The bird flapped frantically to hold itself in the air as it steadied.

-o-

Qrow gripped the feather to help stabilize his footing. He tried to not think about how that feather was still larger than he was. The grim yawed back and forth to force him off it's back. "Like hell I would let go now that I got on." Qrow lamented his favorite whiskey, but Amber's fire had only smoldered the feathers, it needed something else with the help of some aura to really start a fire. As soon as he was satisfied that the fire was holding, Qrow pulled on the grim's feathers to go further up the bird's body. The fire set low on the bird's back but it was not low enough to its tail. He pulled himself further towards the head. The grim suddenly lurched up.

Qrow grunted and gripped a feather in each hand. Around the sudden air current he realized that the grim was flying higher. It took him a moment to make the connection to the fire. It was going to put the fire out with a lack of oxygen. The grim continued to fly higher.

Qrow swore as he began to climb faster. "Arg!" Qrow pulled back his hand to his chest as he touched something sharp. Buried in the feathers was the shine of a sharpened edge with a handle as long as the blade. Its hilt was a giant extended wrist guard in the shape of a box. Qrow took hold of the handle and squeezed and twisted it. The blade instantly pulled out of the thick hide of the grim.

Qrow swallowed as he noted that the blade barely pierced into the grim's armor. The huntsman's weapon, Shiro's weapon, pulled in over Qrow's forearm and the box hilt snapped shut around the handle to reveal a double barrel shotgun over his knuckle and underside of his wrist.

Qrow stared at the familiar weapon and bit back the tear. "Shiro, Carmina… Guys…" Qrow closed his eyes and took the moment to regain control of himself. Grieve later.

Qrow made it to the neck of the grim and stared at the black scales on muscle. There would be no climb unnoticed while on that space free of feathers. Qrow felt the grim lurch again as it made its decent back down. The huntsman spared a glance at the fire behind him and knew it was out before he looked.

The grim seemed to know exactly where its target was. It slowly yawed and dipped. Qrow gripped Shiro's weapon and made the jump from the shoulder blade to the grim's head. The grim bobbed its head mindless of the new weight that rested on its scalp.

Qrow gripped the feathers that were now only as long as his arm and climbed the top of the grim's head to see the mask. That's not what I wanted to see. Qrow thought to himself. His original plan was to try and blast its eyes to get a foothold into the mask. It had always been the easiest way to break past any grim's armor and hide.

There were no such holes on this grim. The mask was a solid piece with small red divots where the eyes should have been.

The grim had no eyes.

The grim's body began to speed up in a dive again. Qrow grunted as he gripped the feathers above the mask and started to channel aura into his friends weapon. "I just need a crack!" The barrels of the gun began to hum with energy. Qrow thrust his fist to the base of the mask and fired what he had scornfully told Shiro were cannons.

The grim's body shuddered and the bird started to pull back up into the air with two great flaps of its wings. It made a long sharp turn as it tilted its body nearly vertically. Qrow scowled as the only thing he could do was hang on. The brief moments he was able to see the mask again, there were only scorch marks. Qrow charged his aura back into Shiro's weapon. As soon as the grim leveled out, Qrow pressed his fist firmly to the top of the skull where it met the mask and enveloped his body with a thick layer of aura. The barrels began to glow hot and red. Qrow gritted his teeth and looked away.

Bwa-boom.

Qrow screamed in alarm as his fingers slipped. There was no pause. The grim's body flew past him in a blast of wind. Qrows' eyes blurred as he tried to concentrate on his arm. Shiro's weapon was unrecognizable. Most of the two barrels and handle that he had gripped in his fist were gone. His hand was burned raw and red. The forearm guard where the blades rested were the only things still in tact but the scorch from the blast left traces over the casing as well.

The bird was completely gone along with any chance to catch it again. It was a miracle he was able to catch up to it the first time when it dove at Jaune.

The grim made another silent turn and dove to the ground. "Amber." Qrow struggled to flip in the air and looked towards the ground. He had not realized how high the grim had flown them into the air. The bird was still making its descent through the clouds. He would never be able to fly fast enough to catch up to that bulky grim's dive.

In his mind, Qrow knew his fight was over as soon as he lost his grip on the grim. There was no one left to help her. I am sorry. Qrow screamed out his rage and her name.

-o-

Jaune kept his eyes ahead as he ran but on the lookout for the shadow. It had been the only reliable warning he had of the buzzard grim. He knew he would need every moment when it showed back up. He was unsure where it went once it had that fire on it's back, but Amber's fire would not last long in the air like that.

Jaune could feel Amber's heated forehead rest on his shoulder as he carried her bridal style. He tried his best not to think of her as 'dead to the world' while she laid in his arms unconscious.

Jaune cheered as he could recognize the water from this distance, he was still quite a while out from the city, but the water gave him hope. There were no roads this far north of route fifteen. He looked to his right and saw main road a few miles south of him.

Jaune was unsure if he had passed the caravan but he felt he should have by now. He looked back to the water line some twenty miles ahead of him. While he was walking west with the group, he assumed that the ground was level. But there was definitely a slope. It was subtle but it seemed to last for miles. His feet carried them both down the gentle slope while he thanked everything that listened for even the little extra help to get Amber closer to safety.

Jaune saw the shadows of the cloud cover move ahead of him. Jaune swallowed and gripped Amber tighter to his chest and willed himself to run faster with no real increase in speed. The shadows of the clouds slowly darkened from just a gray blotch to a circle of sunlight and something forming on the ground. Jaune did not bother to look to the sky. It didn't matter where the grim was. It was fast enough to catch up to him. Jaune felt his stomach clench and his chest ached from all the running he had done. Jaune knew he pushed himself too hard already and his body ached from just dodging the grim the first time. Fatigue finally began to catch up with him. He could feel his body had slowed. His legs were one hundred pound weights even with the help of gravity to spur him further down towards the water.

Jaune felt like he had run for hours to escape the flying grim and Jaune's mind still found no answers. He stared at the shadow as it circled twice before it began to stabilize and grow in size. Finally, the shadow started to move to center over him. Jaune's breathing turned to a pant as he saw that the shadow slowly grow in size.

The patrolman nodded his head as he kept running. A soft contemplative acceptance suffused his body. A small proud smile grew on him. Jaune knew his time would come eventually. It was how patrolmen normally retired. They would encounter a grim they could not out run. It was a good run. Jaune thought to himself. Abruptly, he bit back the laugh at the unintended joke. Instead of breathing, he exhaled a nearly pained cry.

Jaune looked down to Amber and regretted that she would be taken along with him. If anything, he could hopefully throw her one more time out of the grim's claws. If he could just try and give her a few more moments to live. A few more moments of hope. That was enough. At least it was enough for him.

Jaune felt his eyes sting and ignored the shadow as it encased him. He ignored the sudden breeze against his back to look down at Amber. His hands adjusted their grip as he prepared to throw her.

..

…

Just a few more seconds left…

The wind roared louder than the grim did…

...

WARNING TO ALL CIVILIANS, PREPARE FOR AERIAL BOMBARDMENT.

Jaune had not realized he had closed his eyes until they were suddenly opened. Tears blurred his vision. He released the sudden breath he had not realized he had held. Jaune dropped to his knees and covered Amber's ears. His scroll started to repeat the message another time but it was drowned out by the roar of cannon fire that exploded directly above him.

-o-

-AERIAL BOMBARDMENT.

Qrow swore as he quickly transformed into a bird just before the explosion hundreds of feet below him pushed his small crow body higher into the air. The explosions did not stop and Qrow let his wings get carried by the air currents to not get sucked into the fight below him. He could only hope that the ships made it in time.

-o-

Jaune only knew he was still alive because of the high pitched sound that cursed his ears. The explosions seemed to go higher into the air and it allowed him to begin to hear his own breath. He quickly let go of the older woman's ears to check everything else. She still was unconscious but the bleeding finally stopped. And she still breathed.

Jaune opened his scroll. The blue signal screen it emitted turned green as he made it open to the international channel. "This is Patrolman Jaune Arc. Is the grim still airborne?"

"Grim is still airborne and at an altitude of five thousand feet. It's attempting to attack one of our frigates. But it is sufficiently distracted."

Jaune allowed himself a relieved smile and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I have a critically injured VIP. Requesting an immediate evacuation to the Port."

Jaune swallowed as he looked to the sky. Several explosions shuddered the air as the fight seemed to go higher into the air.

"Request granted. Turn on your beacon. A cruiser will arrive in fifteen minutes."

Jaune nearly laughed at that. He lifted up the scroll to his mouth and said into the international channel, "You hear that Qrow? Tai? Get your asses to me if you want a ride home. If you don't get here follow the main road back." Jaune flipped the scroll over and pulled the butt panel off and flipped the emergency beacon switch.

Jaune wanted to keep his optimism. But the roar of the cannon fire sobered clouds moved in currents while the grim fought a fleet with relentless fury. Over the communication channel he could hear the chatter of the Mistral fleet as they called for emergency rotation of the ships as they meanuved the ships with increasing damage to the back and fresh ships in front to keep it's attention.

The time seemed to last forever until the cruiser arrived. But Jaune was relieved when he found out why. Tai was at the hatch entrance as the ship lowered to hover several feet above them. Several men and women jumped down with a flat board. They quickly took control of Amber's injured body and secured her before they began to bring her aboard. Tai jumped down and called over the noise, "Qrow landed on the ship and ordered them to pick me up on the way."

"Where's Qrow?" Jaune asked.

Tai gave a sad look, "He went to find his friends." The ship took off with no other words spoken. Jaune felt his stomach lurch. The ship flew toward the city in a matter of minutes. Behind him he could hear the light rumble in the cloud cover and the chatter of the ships reang through his scroll as they continued to drive the grim away.

-o-

Qrow only knew he found the correct spot from the scraps of earth that tore apart the forest. He circled once to survey the land. Once on the ground, Qrow closed his eye briefly but did not sense any grim nearby.

Shiros' team would have had the training and ability too, for all the good it did them. Qrow lamented. The huntsman looked up to the sky now clear of trees. With the forest cover, they likely did not even see that flying grim coming.

Qrow did his best to keep it together as he pulled a ring off Ivy's remains. Her daughter would appreciate the gesture. Qrow looked around as he swallowed the lump in his throat. The grim had been too fast for them. There was not much of a struggle. There was only one person who he was not able to find anything.

"Carmina. I'm sorry."

Qrow could already begin to feel the grim coming. He quickly rubbed his eyes. There would be no chance for burials for their remains. His own grief guaranteed it. Qrow transformed and was already in the air as the first grim started to roam the area.

Qrow took his time to fly back to the city. He needed the time with all the weight of the momentos he carried to his friends families. He trusted that Jaune would see to the living. Hopefully Amber was among them.

-o-

"Girl! Get me out of this!" The man snarled and snapped in the handcuffs that bound his arm and ankle in an unnatural 'o'.

"Ah, I thought you 'had this' Tyrian."

Tyrian chuckled into the dirt. "Oh, I had them. The girl is good as dead. Better than you Cinder."

Cinder frowned and raised the black heart into the air. Aura would do nothing against those cuffs. They would need something stronger. The shadow that enveloped them landed with a gust of air. Cinder smiled and carrased the tip of the beak of the buzzard grim. "Free him for me." She patted the beat affectionately and stepped back.

The grim sniffed and huffed until it found its prey.

Tyrian frowned. "That can see the cuffs right?"

Cinder smiled, "Maybe."

Tyrian tensed as the tip of the beak found the chains that were too small for its mouth and they snapped under its bite. "Ah, finally. Did you get the kid?"

Cinder scowled then consoled the grim as it whimpered out a wooden groan. "No, It was not your fault little one. Those ships were not in the plans."

Tyrian scowled. "Your plans seem to fail a lot."

Cinder closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them. "Let's get back. The ships are probably looking for Gyan here."

The blind buzzard lowered its head and lifted into the air shortly after Cinder gave it the signal to fly.

"Do you think our Lady would be pleased with me?"

Cinder ground her teeth. "If she is dead."

"Good."

-o-

Jaune did not trust anyone as he followed the staff into the hospital. His hand had been firmly planted on the woman's gurney as they ran her into the emergency room.

Jaune exhaled as he felt a firm hand on his shoulder from one of the nurses. "It would be best if you leave kid, this will not look pretty."

Jaune nearly swore at her before he reigned in his attitude. He just reminded himself the doctors just see a kid. He just glared at the practitioner and looked over to the doctor who seemed to realize what he was. Jaune looked the doctor in the eye. "My Vip, my responsibility. I don't leave her side."

"Very well. Please move to the observation room." Jaune walked through a side door and leaned against the glass wall. From here, he could see as the doctor and nurses cleaned the wound and started to sew the gore that used to be several organs. Her aura had already done most of the vital work apparently. The doctor was relieved the damage had already begun to mend on it's own. It was the poison that slowed them down the most. The dosage she took should have killed her.

Three hours later the doctor stood in the room with Jaune to give them an update. "If she was using aura, it may have burned off some of the excess poison when it raised her body temperature. This kind of poison could not stand high amounts of heat. It denatures." Jaune instantly thought of Amber's body engulfed by fire. The doctor went back to check on the patient.

"Qrow's outside." Jaune shook himself from his thoughts as he looked to a scowling Branwen. "They are not letting him in."

Jaune stepped to the door and opened it. He tapped a shoulder of a caregiver that was walking by. "That man is part of my security detail, could you let him in?" The woman looked at the observer room and the woman inside before she nodded and went to fetch Qrow.

Jaune waved both Tai and Qrow to a corner of the observer room. "You Alright Qrow?"

Qrow shook his head. "How's Amber?"

Tai patted his friends shoulder. "She'll make it."

Jaune sighed and rubbed his neck. "I'm sorry for pulling you all into this. I am sorry for your friends Qrow." Jaune looked over to the older man unsure how Qrow felt about his plan and what it cost them.

Qrow kept is eyes planted on Amber. "It's part of the job Jaune. We knew the risks. And as bad as I feel, I want to say thank you for doing your best to keep her alive." Qrow looked at him. "Thank you."

Jaune smiled and looked to the doctor who was waving them in. It appeared it was safe enough to walk in. Qrow took the spot next to her. The nurses didn't seem to mind as they pulled away the operating room equipment to move her.

Blip… Blip… Blip…

Jaune couldn't help but feel comforted by the steady beat of the heart monitor. She was alive and safe. The thought brought up the image of the grim. Of those people who attacked them. More of them would come for her. And there was something else. The massive flying grim and its hunt for them weighed heavy on his mind. He let those thoughts go for a moment as Qrow rushed passed him.

Jaune spared an amused thought, If only you were awake for this Amber. Qrow took her hand in his. Amber would have been over the moon to see Qrow now.

Jaune wondered how Ozpin would take all of this. "Hey Tai. What would have happened if those guys were successful? If they had managed to kill Amber? It seems different from the last time we ran into them."

Tai raised his eyebrows into his hair. He crossed his arms while he really thought what it would have meant for the maidens rather than what would happen to his friend. "I think they would have started hunting for the new host. Those people know Amber is protected. Whoever the new person would be, they would have no training and there would be a window where we would have to find them too. The new maiden would have no protection. Salem's agents would find the girl an easy target. I don't think their goal of stealing her powers changed. Just how they went about it."

"The host is chosen at random?" Jaune folded his arms over his chest and tapped a thoughtful finger against his bicep.

Tai nodded. "It was for Amber. She said that her last host had a will to find someone like Amber. But Ozpin said the maidens could choose their successor too if they met certain criteria."

Jaune frowned. Asking Amber if she had a successor… "Did she have a successor?"

"Not that I know of. Ozpin reminded her to look for one just in case."

Jaune let the matter drop even while it sat in the back of his mind. Jaune greeted the doctor as he walked back into the room.

The doctor gave the three men a confident smile. "She may take some time to regain consciousness. But she will make a full recovery."

Blip… Blip… Blip…

Jaune patted Qrow's back. Qrow exhaled a relieved sigh and kept his hands firmly in Amber's. Jaune looked at all of the cables Qrow had to move around to make that simple gesture. Jaune clicked his tongue as a thought occurred to him. "Amber is stable right? There would be no complications to move her?" He needed to make sure.

"Give it a day. I would like to keep her for observation but that would be more for safety." the doctor replied. Qrow relaxed slightly as the doctor added. "Amber just needs some rest. The abdominal muscles were torn and are mending. Traces of the poison still remain in her system. They will stay there for the next few months until it thins. But the poison is inert. So long as she does not exert herself when she wakes, she will make a full recovery. Amber should remain in bed with only slight bouts of exercise for a month weeks. She will tire easy. I'll have the notes ready to be relayed to a doctor of your choice in Vale."

"Thank you Doctor. Before your staff leaves," Jaune gestured to the two nurses that were with him. "What would have been the worst case scenario if she walked in with these injuries?"

Blip.. Blip.. Blip…

Doctor Selphius looked at the young patrolman strangely but humored the question. "With her injuries, had her body not purged much of the poison with her aura, she would have died before we moved to the operating table to look at her stomach."

Blip.. Blip.. Blip.. BEEEEP-

Jaune deliberately let go of the cord to the heart monitor. His fingers flinched at his side when the cord clattered to the ground. Jaune calmly looked to the doctor as Qrow and Tai asked what he was doing. "Let's go with that. The patient is now in protective services. I would like your two aids to be witnesses to her declaration of death. Can you do that?"

The doctor looked to the two older men in the room. They got over their own shock before they two nodded in agreement. The doctor sighed, "Lavender, Call the time of death."

The nurse called the time aloud as she wrote down the time on her tablet. The other nurse cover the woman's face with the blanket that had kept her warm. The doctor ordered Lavender to get the paper work together and stood with Jaune in the room. "Do you have a way to move her?" He asked with an amount of uncertainty.

Jaune exhaled as he really thought of what he was doing. He had only heard this described to him once. "I will need to contact someone. Do you have a place private where I can send a message? It will be to here in Mistral."

The doctor nodded before he started to lead the way.

"Jaune?"

The patrolman looked over his shoulder. "Just stay with her. Don't leave her side for a moment. I'll try and get us transport for tonight. Get ready to move."

Jaune was escorted into a conference room with a long table and a dozen seats. At the head of the table laid a communications terminal.

"It's all yours patrolman. I'll see preparing the body for transport." The doctor offered as he departed the room. Jaune gave the man a terse nod of approval before the man left.

Jaune stared at the contact list in his scroll. He clicked on Ozpins' to send a message unsure what to tell him. Well he did like chess metaphors… I guess I'm lucky Amber showed me just fancy moves and instead of actually teaching me how to play. Jaune started to type and hit send.

Pawn takes queen,

Promotes to underside rook.

Jaune set the scroll down. I'm really doing this… When he looked back up he stared at the blank screen. His conflicted gaze stared back at him. That won't do. Jaune gave a long frustrated exhale. He squeezed his eyes shut and just let the feeling of hopelessness overcome him. Now that he was safe to process everything he experienced through the day, he felt his eyes sting in frustration. He looked back at the blank screen and clicked the terminal open.

Jaune dialed in a number he had put into his scroll thanks to Ozpin. He had never wanted to speak to this man himself, but he found that this was a blessing in disguise. Jaune knew he had to be the one to sell the lie.

The man on the other side of the line had a brown graying beard that tapered around his face and into his hair. He was an older man but not as old as Ozpin. "Leonardo Lionhart?"

The man sputtered but nodded. "Who are you?"

Jaune paused as he tried to channel his anger and rage away from his face. He needed to sell Amber's death. "Jaune Arc. Is this a secure line?"

The man paused to look from his end and eventually nodded. "It is now. Where are you now?"

Jaune shook his head. "We are back at Port Strand. We were attacked and Amber is dead."

The man gasped and gripped his table. "Was anyone else killed?"

Jaune nodded. "We lost a few people. I am calling Ozpin right after this, but I need you to book us a flight out of the country now to move Amber's remains."

Leonardo looked dazed for a moment but he eventually registered what Jaune was saying. "I'll see to it. How soon?"

Jaune ground his teeth. "Now. The sooner the better. I had to call in the local support to drive off a grim. It's better that they don't interview me and start asking questions why a Valian Patrolman is in Mistral."

Leo understood. "You will have it in half an hour. The airfield landing four is Haven Academy's official transport In Port Strand. You can use that."

Jaune thanked the man but before he could close the line, Leo offered. "I am sorry for your loss."

Jaune nearly allowed himself a sharp inhale at the condolences. He simply nodded at the terminal before he closed it. Jaune leaned back and blinked back tears as his body shook. When he looked at the turned off screen, his reflection glared back at him.

-o-

When Jaune came back to the room, he found Tai and Qrow stare blankly at the metal case that had arrived with some suspicion. Jaune looked at the doctor and realized what it was. It was made to transport a dead body.

"Can we wake her? Even if it's for a few minutes?"

"I can try, there is no guarantee even if she wakes that she will be coherent."

Jaune nodded and the doctor went to inject something into Amber's IV drip. Jaune was relieved when Amber grunted in pain and fluttered her eyes mere moments later. Qrow hovered over her, his hand firmly in hers. He kissed her knuckles so relieved to see her awake. Amber groggily looked around.

"Qrow?" She grunted. Amber hissed and tilted her head back onto the pillow as her nerves began to feel everything.

The doctor moved forward. He raised her eyelids around her flinched and annoyed look. The doctor nodded to Jaune before he stepped back.

"Amber." Jaune walked up and placed a hand on her bed. "How do you feel?"

Amber inhaled sharply as she looked at Jaune. Her eyes widened as it dawned on her, "I'm alive…" She leaned back. She sniffed slightly and nodded before she looked at Qrow and Tai. Qrow kept her hand firmly against his lips. She sighed at the comforting action tingled. "Happy we made it." Amber groaned slightly from a sharp pain as she touched her stomach.

"I am sorry, but we need to transport you. But you are not able to stay awake for long." Jaune looked to the doctor.

"You will be transported by aircraft back to Vale, but you need your rest. After the aircraft is in the air, you will need to take this medicine to put yourself under. It would be necessary to sleep for a while anyway. But this will make the trip easier. There is one thing you should be aware off…"

Jaune interrupted him. "We can't just move your body in a gurney the entire time. We'll be placing you in a movable bed." Jaune lied through his teeth. Amber could not identify the looks Qrow and Tai spared towards Jaune as he made her focus on his words. Jaune would ask for forgiveness later. He did not want to panic her when she was just recovering and possible endanger her own protection.

Qrow added, "I'll be with you the entire time if you do happen to wake up. We just don't want you to panic if you wake up to find yourself in a strange bed and strapped down."

Amber muttered, "Okay…" Her speech slurred as she tried to focus on Jaune. "I need to tell you som-" her hand relaxed in Qrows' as she fell back asleep. Qrow relaxed slightly at the touch of her warm hand in his and nodded to the others.

The doctor stepped forward one more time with bottle in his hand. "This is a simple pain reliever for her. It will knock her out for a long time. Have her looked at by a doctor you can trust in Vale." Jaune thanked them before the two nurses lifted Amber's body by the blankets underneath her and lowered her into what Jaune could only call a casket. The bed was a metal case lined with a soft mattress and padded foam. The nurses tucked in the blanket and removed the last of her connections to the medical equipment.

"She is ready to be moved." Said one nurse.

"Good luck." offered the other as he moved the bed sheet to cover her face.

Jaune thanked the doctor before the two nurses escorted them to the roof.

Jaune was a little disturbed how easy it was to move a 'dead body' around without anyone taking notice. Qrow in his bird form laid next to her as she was strapped to a gurney with a white sheet to cover her body and moved to a bullhead. It was not uncommon for patients who died to have strict instructions on what to do with their bodies. Huntsmen were very peculiar of where they want to be buried if someone could recover a body.

In the bullhead, the pilot flew the group to the air landing near the sea port. Not even twenty minutes passed before the group loaded Amber's sleeping body into the ship and closed the hatch for take off in the dead of night. The ship was far larger than anything Jaune had ever been in. It was made to transport a hundred people over the sea at high speeds.

Once the gurney was strapped into the anchors of the aircraft floor, Jaune buckled into a seat next to Tai. Jaune took in the older man's disappointed look. "What are you thinking about Tai?"

Tai shook his head as he looked away from Qrow's bird form sleeping next to Amber's head. "This is a mess. What's next?" Tai gestured with his head to Amber.

Jaune leaned back in his chair. "She's my responsibility. I'll speak to Ozpin. I already know what I need to do. But the how? I am flying in the dark myself."

Jaune lifted his finger to his lips for a moment that they shouldn't say more.

Tai released a frustrated groan before he leaned back in his chair and tried to get some sleep. It was a long flight home.

-o-

The airship was faster than Jaune had expected. The overhead intercom said they had a good wind, and were able to save just under half an hour off the seven hour flight. When the group landed, Tai took ahold of the bed handles to push her out. Jaune took the lead onto the tarmac.

It was Ozpin himself that greeted the group when they pulled Amber's bed off the airship. His face was grim. "Where's Qrow?"

Tai gave the older man a smile before he gestured to the bed where a black bird sat sleeping next to Amber's face. Ozpin took a moment to stare at her still breathing form before he exhaled in relief. "Let's go. We can talk on the Gale."

The Gale was actually a ship Jaune had never seen before. It was twice as large as a normal bullhead with heavy armor and luxury seats. Jaune had looked around when he first boarded. There were far fewer seats in the ship than the size suggested. Ten seats were barely behind the pilot.

Ozpin looked to Jaune with some expectation.

Jaune looked to the two pilots. "Is it safe?"

Ozpin smiled. "Yes. Please tell me. What happened?"

During the explanation Qrow had awoken and added what he saw with the woman and how she controlled the grim. Ozpin humm'ed to himself. "If she was able to hold a grim's heart then it was from an ancient grim. It bled grim?"

Qrow shuddered. "Yeah. It was disturbing. I also have to add something else I didn't mention before."

Ozpin looked towards the pilot. He gestured for the pilots to make another circle around Beacon. "What is it?"

"The girl saw me transform."

"I see. But it was necessary. They will look for you now. Suffice it to say, your days observing have come to an end."

"I'm sorry." Qrow looked towards the floor.

Jaune scratched his cheek. "I was actually going to ask you to do a job if Ozpin would allow it."

The group looked to the patrolman. Jaune confessed, "I am unable to provide twenty four hour security for Amber once we find a safe place for her to live. I said protective custody to the doctor. But we don't have the authority to place her through Vale police custody. And frankly I wouldn't be comfortable if we did. We need someone who can be with her for the foreseeable future." Jaune looked at Qrow.

Qrow exhaled a laugh through his nose. "Twist my arm already. I'll do it." He glanced to Ozpin with an apologetic shrug.

"By all means. It is up to Amber if she would be willing to stay hidden. For her safety she may agree, but she has shown a reluctance to stay in one place."

"I'll speak with her Oz." Qrow affirmed.

"Then I may have a place you can stay, but it will be up to you to make a living of it."

"Where?"

Ozpin smiled and signaled the pilots to land. Ozpin ignored the question and asked, "Is there anything we need to do for Amber before you two depart again?" Qrow shook his head. "Then I guess this is where we part ways. Tai, Jaune, say your goodbyes. I need to speak with the pilots."

Jaune stood up as the ship landed. He added for Tai's and Qrow's benefit, "It's best we don't know where you go Qrow. Good luck."

"Thanks Jaune. Tai? Can you do me a favor?"

Tai knew what he wanted and reached for Qrow's bag. "There are a few affects from my friends to give to their families. I would have left them with a friend in town, but we did not have the time. I just need you to ship them for me."

"I will."

"Qrow?" Jaune frowned as he looked over towards Ozpin. The pilots laughed at something he had said, Jaune looked back to the older man. "Can you tell her I'm sorry when she wakes up? Oh, and tell her, her secret is safe with me. I'll take responsibility."

Now Qrow was curious. "What secret?"

Jaune smiled but shook his head. "She'll know what I'm talking about."

"What should I tell the girls?" Tai wondered aloud.

"I would leave it alone. I've disappeared for long periods of time before. I'll give you a call when I am able."

Ozpin added helpfully, "You will not get too many opportunities where you are going. You seem awfully willing to walk away from your life Qrow."

Qrow looked at Amber while she slept. "I don't mind."

-o-

Ozpin, Jaune and Tai stood in the headmaster's office. The three looked at the morning skyline. By now, Amber's and Qrow's ship will be far higher than any grim could possibly fly. Ozpin observed his patrolman. His calm voice snapped Jaune out of his thoughts. "You were given a hard job Mr. Arc."

Jaune swallowed. "Yes sir."

Ozpin set his coffee cup down on his desk. He could feel Tai's eyes on him. In truth, Jaune had surprised him at every turn. He could be honest enough to admit he expected Jaune to look for Amber for at least a month. Not the week it took to find her. Jaune even showed he could protect her from Salem's pawns. And as much as it would pain Jaune to admit, the patrolman's plan worked.

Ozpin knew the look Jaune wore. Jaune had the face of someone who failed his job.

"I am both thankful and relieved to have hired you Jaune."

Jaune's eyes widened and he turned to the headmaster. He schooled his expression. But the shock was still there. Ozpin gave an amused laugh. "Did you think I would have reprimanded you for not getting the outcome we expected?"

Jaune clenched his jaw and simply shook his head. Words seemed to have escaped him. Tai looked at the boy and sighed at his former teacher.

"Jaune. Amber is safe. You have confirmed-" Ozpin paused as he thought of Leo. "Confirmed that we had a traitor among us. You have given us something I thought we no longer had. We have time. Salem will waste years now looking for the next maiden. Thank you."

Jaune felt the lump pressed against his throat and could only nodd. "Over the rest of the summer, I will brief you on everything that I am able about the people you fought these past few weeks. For now, take the week off. Go reconnect with your friends and family. There will be more days like the one you had today. Our job will be to make sure they are few and far between."

"Yes sir." Jaune bade the two a good morning and let the lift to go to the ground level close.

Tai rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He was reluctant to bring it up. "I know I've never really been apart of the whole Salem fight. But what will you do now? You lost Qrow."

Ozpin wanted to bring up he lost more than just Qrow. Leo, Amber, the support they may have had in Mistral left when Qrow parted and Leo no longer trusted. It was down to simply Glynda and James with their connections.

"I was not lying when I said Jaune bought us time. It will be time I will use to reconnect with the school. It has been too long since I've walked the halls with my students. With no way to track a maiden, Salem will be forced to look elsewhere. The spring maiden has been missing for years. Without our support, I am not sure Leo would be able to find her. And the others… They have been living safe lives for years in anonymity. It was unfortunate that Amber had manifested her powers in such a public setting to make herself known as a maiden."

Ozpin felt himself trail off and he shook his head. "Thank you for your help Tai. It could not have been easy to see all this again."

Tai crossed his arms. "It's fine. It did remind me why I left though."

Ozpin could not repress the smile at the hint. "Rest assured I would not ask anything else of you. Thank you again."

Tai laughed. "I should go, I have a few errands I need to do before I go home." Tai sobered up and picked up Qrow's bag.

-o-

Amber grunted against the sunlight. Her eyebrows furrowed as she slowly roused. The last few times she awoke was a blur. Whatever she took knocked her out and every time she tried to wake up, an exhausted grogginess over took her before she fell back asleep. She vaguely remembered laying in a bed with Qrow sleeping next to her head. She was sure it was his feathers that woke her up the first time. The other times, she remember Qrow talking to someone above her.

Happy that there was no longer a feeling of exhaustion when she woke up, Amber finally looked around. That did not last long. She leaned back in her pillows. Her abs were killing her.

Amber ran her hand over her stomach and felt the bandages that wrapped her torso. The drugs did not fully clear out of her system since she knew how slow she turned her head to look around the room. Where ever she was, the ocean was nearby. The sounds of the gulls and the ocean waves told her as much.

"You're awake." Amber smiled at Qrow as he walked in. She let him look over her and take her hand. The rest of the day was a joy aside from the embarrassing moment where she needed help going to the bathroom. Her body was not quite strong enough to sit fully up to her own.

Amber found herself laying in bed for the rest of the day. Qrow did his best to explain what had happened.

"I was declared dead." Amber had mixed feelings about that. She had always valued her freedom. She knew years ago that there would be a danger for doing as she pleased. And it cost Qrow a few of his friends. She was not sure what he asked. "I'm sorry Qrow, what was that?"

Qrow stopped what he was saying to run a hand against her cheek. She leaned into it. "Amber. It's a lot. I know. We are in a nice little village. Very remote."

"Show me?" Amber asked. Qrow leaned forward. Amber eeped as he moved his arms under her back and legs. She moved her arms around his neck once she knew what he wanted. Outside she gasped at the view of the blue ocean. Where every place she had ever visited had defenses against grim. This island was nothing but villagers standing in shallows with pikes to kill fish. Amber could only think it was a paradise if there were never any grim.

"Jaune said he was sorry for making it look like you died. He also said that your secret is safe with him. He'll take responsibility." Qrow let the last bit out as a question.

Amber head snapped up quickly to him. She looked every bit as vulnerable as she felt since she had been poisoned. She trembled in his arms before she realized Qrow had no clue what Jaune was talking about. So Jaune figured it out. Amber lamented. I'm sorry Jaune.

Amber leaned into the crook of Qrow's neck. She knew she confused Qrow as she hiccupped and sniffed. She just hug his neck harder. "Is it ok?" She teared against his collarbone. "Is it ok to not to feel guilty?" It gnawed at her that all she could feel was relief.

Qrow kissed the top of her head and held her as close as he could. Amber simply cried. Qrow murmured to the top of her head, "Our fight is over. Let's enjoy our retirement."

Amber sniffed and nodded her head against his shoulder. Qrow nearly missed it as she whispered, "I love you."

-o-

Jaune had to laugh at himself. He could not keep anything from Coco. It only took her a glance at him over the scroll to see he needed some company. Jaune would have protested that she come over to his apartment on Beacon if he wasn't so tired. The bandages around his ribs and forearm ached whenever he twisted or turned too fast.

"Hey Stable Boy." Coco called. Jaune opened the door and took her in with a single look. She must have come immediately from her part time job. He had never seen her in a skirt before. Coco smirked and raised an edge of her skirt in a curtsy. "May I come in?" She swung the hem back and forth.

Jaune laughed as he made room for her. Coco smiled as she walked in and closed the door behind herself. She spread her arms out and Jaune opened his to hug her. It was a truly surreal moment when he realized he was back home and safe. It took his breath. Coco didn't seem to mind that he froze in her embrace and just held on tighter. Jaune was not sure how long it took him to relax but he finally did and Coco sighed against his ear.

Coco smiled as she stepped back. "That's better." She winked at him as she walked further into his apartment. Coco glanced back and forth around his home. "It's a lot larger than my team's room."

"That's because it was made for a family of four." Jaune laughed as she tensed. She immediately resumed the tour. Jaune had found out early that there were far more personel that lived in Beacon at any given time than there were students. If there was an allowance for restaurants and stores, Beacon could qualify as its own private city.

Coco dropped on the couch and rotated her ankles. "My feet are killing me. You would think with how hard we are on our bodies, standing all day wouldn't be so hard."

Jaune sat down next to her. "Scoot over and lean back. Give me your feet. I can actually help with that." Jaune saw the two flat soles rest on his legs. He quickly slipped them off. Apparently she went to work in them without socks. Coco only flinched once as he touched the arch of her foot. He glanced over and winked at her embarrassed shrug.

"I've done this for my eldest sister a few times when she started waiting." Coco took a while to relax with his warm hands on her feet. But eventually Jaune felt he had a small victory for the slight sigh he got when he stroked the ankle down to the heel.

In the long comfortable silence that followed, Jaune eventually slowed his massage and seemed content to rub them for contact rather than the massage he had intended. Coco wiggled her toes as she murmured, "Thanks Jaune."

Jaune realized he was just staring at the ceiling. When he followed Coco's feet to her face she returned the look with a satisfied glint in those dark almond eyes. Jaune found he couldn't meet her gaze and turned away. Coco shoulders shook out of the corner of his eye. They were the only indicator that she laughed as she muffled it well. She pulled her bare feet off his lap and sat closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Jaune, you don't have to talk about it. I'm just here to keep you occupied."

Jaune felt her relax against him. Jaune wondered how that made him so relax after sitting still for so long. "Thanks. And you're right. I need to be distracted for a bit." Jaune found his gaze resting on his guitar propped against a chair. Coco followed his line of sight and smiled against his shoulder.

"When's the last time I sang you a song?"

Coco let Jaune go as he stood up and picked up the guitar. Instead of sitting back down next to her, he took a knee and knelt in front of her just like he did back in the old tavern at The Houses. He watched as she smiled to the tune of the song. It was a song he had been practicing since he found out the title. And judging from her smile that crinkled her eyes, she knew it too.

"Is that?"

"Yeah. It's the song from that music box. It's called a Love's Eve in Winter." Coco wiggled in her seat and waited. Jaune enjoyed her indulged look as he paused the song, "It's too bad the song is so old that there are no lyrics for it."

Coco slumped in her chair. It was one of the few times he had ever seen her pout. Jaune took the moment to just look at her with a smile that grew on his face. He noted Coco's quick gasp when she finally caught him doing it.

Shy would not be a word Jaune felt he could describe Coco. But she gave a tentatively shy smile back. Jaune looked back to his guitar and started the song again with a quicker beat and sang,

The night's so cold…

The hearth goes dark…

Your hand touched mine,

My only spark,

You're my only warmth

In this closed off winter…

Jaune looked up to see her smile and bite her lip. He almost lost his part in the song before felt his lips curl into the traces of a smile as he focused on her eyes.

A smile, a laugh,

The time it flies

The fire burns red

And then it dies

When a summer goes

to an ending winter.

The song ran through his fingers as he felt how right Amber was. He shouldn't waste any time. Amber and Qrow worked out in the end. But there was no guarantee that he would work out with Coco. There was no guarantee that he would live long enough to wait and try either.

Jaune stood and stepped back to gesture Coco to stand as well. Jaune swayed while Coco swung her arms in a dance. He continued to play his guitar between them.

From morning sun

To evening dusk

I'll never feel cold

From your touch

If it was just Amber in a confused moment begging for Jaune and Coco not to turn out like her and Qrow, Jaune may have just waited a bit longer. There were lines in his song that should have been saved for when he felt more confident in his relationship with Coco. But then Amber made a mistake. In those moments where she thought she was going to die, and when she woke up and realized she didn't, Amber was unable to hide why she was sorry. There was only one reason why she would apologize for anything on what could have been her deathbed. It was because Amber knew who she willed the next maiden to be.

And in the end, that is what made him so willing to sing to Coco. Because he never wanted a world where Coco would know what he had gone through. What he will go through. Ozpin was right, Jaune only bought some time. It was up to him to figure out on how to make the most of it.

Coco got impatient and placed her hand against his in the middle of a note. She looked up to him for a moment unable to voice what she thought. Instead, she helped him slide the guitar and strap off his shoulder and rested the instrument on the couch. Coco still seemed unsure what she wanted to say. Instead, she leaned close with her arms wrapped around his neck.

The two danced in the silence. Jaune found himself drawn to her and their lips met somewhere in the middle. Coco grinned and leaned into his neck as they moved back and forth. Jaune sang against her ear,

My heart, your beat,

one in the same…

My hand in yours

will never wane

And with a vow for a lifetime he sang:

Hold you close in my arms,

As I say,

I'll.

protect.

you.

A/N: Got this done way ahead of what I thought I would! At first it looked like this story as going to be way too short, then way too long. And somehow it came out where I am trying to get these stories to match up.

The song here was inspired by a lot of Maroon 5 for those who are curious. On a stupid note, Five chapters in, and I just noticed that FFN formatted the songs in double spaced lines... Those are supposed to be single spaced for those songs.

Gyan is based on a Hindi folk tale about a blind buzzard who trusted a cat and got blamed when the cat ate the baby birds the buzzard was protecting. Gyan is a translation of the wisdom in Hindi.