A/N: We have had a two day reprieve from tornadoes and sirens. I'm still so tired, but the muse? She's still coming up with ideas and insisting I write them. Side note, Detective Pikachu is amazing, highly recommend. I'm gonna play with timelines a bit.
They were on their first away mission since transferring to Shade. Teams Coffey and Cardinal had been allowed to stick together, they were grateful for that. The constant barrage of condolences and sympathetic looks from other students and teachers was lessening, thankfully. Still it was gr and at to get away from all of that and focus on honing their skills as huntresses and huntsmen. The two teams ha been assigned to a rather remote village. They would be shadowing pro huntsman for the first week and then allowed access to low level jobs to work on their own. The week of shadowing was finished yesterday. They arrived in the new village just hours ago to start their week of huntsmen work. Their temporary mentor mentioning in passing that he was surprised the team working for the mayor wasn't part of their schools. The statement made them raise an eyebrow or two, but the odd observation was quickly forgotten.
The two teams were currently gathered around one of the towns mission boards at the edge of the settlement debating on the scarce few jobs open to them. Cardin doing his best to make sure the workload was divided up equally. The fall of Beacon had changed everyone present, but the change was quite pronounced in Cardin, he had been humbled and was proving to be quite a steadfast friend for Team Coffey. It took a while but just as the two teams were satisfied with their job for the day a sound not unlike an explosion rocked the ground. A flash of red rockets by them crashing into a nearby tree with an oomph. An explosion of rose petals were all that was left as the red blur sped back in the direction it came from. The eight of them looking between each other and the direction the swirl of red came from.
"It couldn't be, could it?" Velvet questions.
"Who else could it be?" Cardin answers, still in shock.
The sound of dust rounds going off in the distance draws their attention. "Them or not, it sounds like someone is in a fight." Coco smirks, twirling her briefcase. "Let's go kick some ass, Beacon style." She lowers her sunglasses winking and taking off towards the sounds of the clash. Yatsuhashi, Velvet and Fox following immediately.
Team Cardinal trailing behind, ready to lend a hand as well. They all stop at the edge of a clearing and their jaws drop again. They don't find Team RWBY as they had expected, rather they find Ruby and the survivors of Juniper. That's surprising enough on its own, the fact that they are fighting a petras gigas, and from the looks of things winning, was quite a wake up call for Team Cardinal. They watched as Nora knocked one of the things arms off. When it took a tree for it's new arm Yats had to hold back both groups. Cardin wanted to argue, wanted to rush in, he was working very hard to be a team player. Team CFVY were technically in charge of him and his team, so if Yats said wait, they would wait. A quick brainstorming session with Jaune and a flashy combo from Nora and Ruby found the whole event wrapped up in another few minutes.
"Woo hoo! Way to go!" Coco cheers grabbing Rangers attention. The four are confused for several seconds until they find the source of the cheering. They jog to meet up with the two waiting teams.
"Hi Coco! It's really great to see you all! What are you guys doing all the way out here?" Ruby asks as Jaune, Nora and Ren join in on greetings and small talk with the others.
"We're doing our first round of away missions for our classes at Shade. What school are you guys here with?" Coco questions as they begin heading back to the village.
"Oh, we're not with an academy." Ruby answers fiddling with the cuff of one of her sleeves.
"Not with an academy? Why were you all the way out here fighting a grimm?" Velvet's curiosity getting the better of her.
"The mayor hired us." Nora explains.
"The mayor hired a bunch of kids?" Cardin sounds incredulous.
"I mean, we've been in town a few weeks and are leaving as soon as Jaune's armor and sword are reforged. I guess he figured he may as well take advantage of having us around while he could." Ruby shrugs.
"If you aren't with an academy, why are you all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?" Coco more demands than ask.
"We're on a mission." Ruby explains, her tone indicates she has no desire to further explain.
"Wait, if you're on away missions, shouldn't you all be working right now?" Nora changes the subject There's a bit of an unspoken understanding that the fewer people aware of the true nature of the mission the better.
"Aw, maaan. We are so far behind schedule!" Cardin whines.
"Well we're not leaving town until morning, why don't you all meet us at the diner in the middle of town for dinner? We can all catch up then!" Jaune offers, looking to Ruby for confirmation, she nods at him with a smile. Cardin notes the interaction, clearly Ruby is in charge of whatever this mission of theirs is. The three groups part ways at the towns mission boards.
Velvet picks up on Coco's sudden quietness. "You alright Coco?"
"I'm ok Vel, I was just thinking about how worn their clothes were, especially Ruby's" Coco states quietly.
"They seemed in good health and spirits, lets focus on the tasks at hand for now." Fox puts his hand on Coco's shoulder in a show of comfort.
The evening comes and the three groups meet outside the diner as planned. The change in Jaune's armor and gear are praised by both groups. They spend the time eating and catching up. The owner of the diner refusing payment for Team Rangers meals and the friendly banter between them really drives home the message that the four have been acting in the capacity of professional hunters. The three groups head back to the lodge, their plan to hang out in Ranger's room for more catching up and some card games. Cardin pulls Jaune aside letting the rest of their companions head inside.
"What's up?" Jaune asks the unusually nervous Cardin.
The Winchester shuffles his feet not really knowing where to start. "I, uh wanted to say sorry, for the way I treated you back at Beacon."
Jaune is caught off guard so much so that he chuckles a little. "Thanks man, I really appreciate it, no hard feelings."
Cardin hadn't expected his apology to go over so easy. "I'm a little curious about something, okay if I ask a question?" He decides to change the topic.
Jaune shrugs. "Sure."
"Why is Ruby traveling with Team Juniper?" He looks apologetic figuring the team name may still be an open wound, but the young knight doesn't seem to flinch. "I figured if anything we'd cross paths with RWBY." Jaune flinches a bit at RWBY, though that's odd Cardin keeps his face neutral.
Jaune runs his hand through his hair. "It's.. it's a bit complicated.. after.. you know. Mr. Schnee came for Weiss, Sun saw Blake run off and Yang…" Jaune pauses looking for the right words. "She's lost her spark."
"I can't imagine, how did you convince Ruby to go with you?" Cardin queries
"Other way around, she contacted us. All things considered I'm really glad she did." Jaune half smiles. "C'mon, if we don't get inside Nora'll get impatient and drag us in by the ears."
Inside Ranger's room Jaune and Cardin find everyone generally talking and laughing. Coco has their map and is questioning them about the marked off locations on it. "What do all these marks mean?" She points to a black X, a red circle, and a few stars drawn on the colorful paper.
"Oh, the X's are abandoned towns, or towns taken over by grimm or bandits." Ruby starts.
"The circles are our goals, knowing WHERE you're going and how far keeps us motivated!" Nora adds.
"The stars are where something especially good happened, stories we'd like to remember and retell some day." Ren adds.
Jaune smiles proudly, his system was simple and effective.
Velvet joins Coco in looking over the map. She finds a circle with an x running through it. "What's this one mean?" She asks pointing at the little symbol. Ruby leans over, her eyes easily finding the spot Velvet is pointing to. The color drains from her face and her eyes immediately seek Jaune.
He knows, even on the other side of the room, he knows the location. Ren and Nora know just from Ruby's expression, everyone in the room picking up on the sudden change in atmosphere. Jaune clears his throat to get everyone's attention. "Travelling can be really rough, there are some things we'd rather not tall about."
Coco is very curious, but she respects their privacy, she shrugs. "How about we get to kicking these guys butts in cards?" Velvet puts the map aside and produces a deck of cards from seemingly nowhere. The three teams play cards and swap stories for a few hours before heading to bed. Cardinal and Coffey see Team Ranger off the next morning. They are joined by a few townspeople and the mayor.
"Shame to see them go." The towns blacksmith sighs.
"They were really good to this little village indeed." The mayor smiles.
"You lot come from Beacon originally from what I hear." The blacksmith asks turning to the two remaining groups.
"Yea, we are.. were." Cardin answers.
"Well, if you're anything like your friends that just left us, this town will be singing your praises to your teachers on pickup day." The blacksmith claps Cardin on the shoulder and walks off. The two groups filled with determination as their former classmates disappear over the horizon.
"Alright guys and gals, lets get out there and make Beacon proud!" Coco half cheers half demands, her seven companions nod in agreement. "For Beacon" Cardin adds, a drive in him waking, wanting to match Jaune's groups apparently amazing reputation as hunters.
A/N: The map scene is a lil reference to it gets easier. The rest, I thought would just be fun and nice to see CFVY and CRDL (?) for a bit.