Chapter 2: Training Haze
Honestly if I had known what I was in for on that second day I probably would have just zipped myself into my bedroll and rolled all the way back to the monorail terminal. According to my 2nd hand scroll it was five in the morning when the male sergeant from the day before, Heart I think his name was, thundered in with a megaphone in hand and began yowling at the entire mess hall to get out of their sleeping bags. I was used to being up early of course. Being the only daughter of a farming family I'd been up at dawn to help with work since I was five, but after the events of yesterday I was still fatigued emotionally. So what I saw when I rolled over was pretty effective at jolting me awake; a huge black feathered cocoon lay where Olive had carefully tucked herself into her bedroll the night before. The khaki material was still visible at the bottom and I could see the shape of her legs beneath it. But her top half was completely hidden. She gave no signs of stirring. I wondered if her feathers were thick enough to insulate her against the sergeant's continued bawling.
Sure that he would notice her any second and begin some racist tirade, but unsure of the proper etiquette for waking her, I leaned over and whispered for her to wake up. Nothing happened and I felt pretty stupid. If all the yelling hadn't woken her why would me whispering? So instead I took hold of the edge of her wing and shook it gently.
"Olive come on" I insisted, a little louder this time, "you need to get up!" Thankfully my grip on her wing seemed to illicit a reaction. Her wings ruffled uncomfortably and the cocoon opened slightly to reveal one emerald eye glaring at me.
"I'm awake" she grumbled, "Nobody could sleep through that racket!"
"Then why are you still laying there?" I asked, "Do you want to get yelled at directly?"
"Good point" she admitted. She slid her feet out of her bedroll and stood up. I had to jump backwards as she stretched, her wings unfurling to their full extent flapping once or twice before settling back into their resting position. The girl two beds down gasped and I glanced over to see her expression was something resembling awe, her eyes wide and round.
Well at least it's not disgust I thought, though I wondered how she had gone the whole night without realising she was sleeping next to a winged giant of a woman. Once everyone was up the sergeant seemed to calm down. He stopped yelling, switched his megaphone off and began walking down the rows of beds instructing people in the correct manner to repack their bedrolls. I didn't have any trouble. I'd had to use them before when my dad and I went out on long cattle drives back in Vacuo.
I noticed Olive hadn't had any trouble either. I glanced at her as she looked up from fastening her bustier over her forest green blouse. She kept her eyes focused solely on the task of dressing, pretending not to notice the sergeant was also staring from a few paces away, though not at her bedroll. The thing was under bust and laced up to just beneath her . . . well suffice it to say it made her assets even more obvious. It was these that Sergeant Heart seemed interested in. I shot him a furious glare and he turned away. Then I glanced back at Olive. This time she noticed and she seemed confused by my look for just a moment then realised the question in it.
"Oh I watched you do it just now. Then I copied you" she told me.
"Oh" I said flatly, returning to pulling my old, slightly dirty pink top over my head.
Sure, why not?
"I'm a fast learner" she said nonchalantly, reaching down the pick up her leather pants from where she'd folded them neatly at the end of her bed. They were brown, with crossed lacing running down the side of each leg below the waistband, but they still looked infinitely more practical than the frilly skirts and short shorts I'd spotted some of the other students wearing the morning we arrived. It was only as I was pulling my boots on, watching her lace up her own brown leather knee boots that I began to wonder how she'd dressed her top half at all with those wings. Then as she stood and turned her back to me I could see that her bustier also had a low back, dipping below the spot where here wings emerged. The top of a green button showed over the edge which told me that her blouse must have a split to fit around her wings and be buttoned up underneath. I glanced down at my faithful, faded and worn old blue jeans and decided I was a little jealous of Vale fashion. It always seemed to combine antique and modern into something that was both attractive and practical without giving thirsty teenage guys too much to gawk at. Not that I was unhappy with my own wardrobe. I'd have been uncomfortable in anything else; too 'dressed up'. But Olive's outfit was so clearly tailored specifically for her . . . unique body type that I wondered where she'd gotten it. Was there specialist shops were Faunus could buy clothes for a specific body type? Or was her family rich and just had everything custom made?
The two of us were just strapping on our holsters, mine for my guns and hers . . . for what I wasn't sure as she didn't carry a gun and the staff she had carried with her yesterday seemed to have vanished, when Colonel Ironwood and several other members of the faculty reappeared on the stage.
He stared around the room at us, that reassuring half smile from his introductory speech still visible, taking us all in for a few moments.
"Good morning students" he began, when the chatter had died down. "Yesterday was a big day for you all, I know. But the next three days will be even more so. Starting today you will be participating in a skill exam to determine your potential future here at Atlas academy."
I felt a spark of panic flair in my chest more tests?
Around the room I heard some groans and angry muttering but Ironwood waved one hand, the gloved one, in the air as if to shoo away their complaints and my fears.
"There is no reason to be worried. Rest assured that each and every one of you already has a place here at the academy. The upcoming tests are simply designed to help me and the faculty to decide where your strengths lie, and determine the team you will be a part of for the next four years here at Atlas Academy. There is no ranking. This is not a competition. It is merely an initial assessment of your skills."
That didn't really put me at ease. So there was no leader board? It still meant that the Headmaster, my new teachers and all my peers would be watching me as I tried my best not to screw up. Someone else was apparently unconvinced because I heard a scoffing "hmmph" from off to my left. Looking down the line I saw the Faunus in black military clothes shaking his head. Ironwood turned to glare briefly at him and the guy glared right back, unafraid, with the same look of distrust and dislike he had fixed me with when I'd gotten off the monorail yesterday.
That guy definitely doesn't like humans I decided, definitely avoid.
"I will now hand over to Lieutenant Hawk our school councillor and student liaison, who will explain the first part of the upcoming exercises. Good luck." With that he took a step back and the woman who had first met us at the monorail terminal stepped forward. A white canvas rolled down behind her, the lights in the room dimmed and a projector flickered to life, throwing up an image of what looked to be a top down view of the snowy forest below the academy. There was some text on the slide too but I couldn't really make out from my position looking between the shoulders of taller students.
"Good morning Atlas Academy students" she greeted us formally "you should all recognise me from yesterday but I shall introduce myself properly now. I am Lieutenant Alba Hawk, Atlas 1st tactical reconnaissance unit. I am also your councillor and student liaison for as long as you are here at Atlas Academy. I will be glad to help you with any questions or problems you may have." She offered a smile but her hands never shifted from the small of her back. It was a very military introduction, not a very reassuring one. "Over the next seventy two hours you will be participating in an examination that will consist of two stages. The first will present you with a scenario that any Huntsman or Huntress could potentially encounter on the job" She extended a telescopic pointer toward the image of the forest. "The task will be a retrieval operation. Today Group A will undertake the test and group B will observe. Tomorrow, the groups will switch. You and your partner will be dropped at Frostholz Forest's northern edge here, beneath the academy" she touched her pointer to a location in the image, "make your way through the forest using whatever method you see fit, dispatching any Grimm you encounter. Retrieve one of the Attaché cases and return to the deployment dropship for extraction. Any pair that is incapacitated or is unable to retrieve one of the cases will score poorly." I looked at Olive. She was the only person I could think to ask to be my partner. Aside from her the only other person I even knew by name was Ash and I got the feeling that teamwork wasn't exactly his strong suit. "Attacking your classmates is forbidden, however you may team up with other pairs in order to overcome unexpected situations."
Unexpected situations? Geez I thought. I was worried about doing well on the test. Now I'm worried about just surviving it!
"Questions?" Hawk asked.
When nobody offered any she clicked again and the image on the projector vanished. I expected a new one to replace it but Lieutenant Hawk glanced over her shoulder. Colonel Ironwood rose from his chair as the lights came up and stepped forward once again. He cleared his throat and his grin became a little awkward.
"I would just like to apologise to you all for what I said at the start of this briefing. I'm afraid I wasn't entirely truthful. I should have said that the first stage of the assessment will not be a competition." He paused to make eye contact with everyone in the room, gauging their reactions. "As many of you will be aware, at the end of this semester Atlas will be hosting the Vytal festival tournament. As such there is a new 2nd stage to the examination. On the final day you will all come together to participate in tournament style duels in the school arena with the winners of each round progressing via a tournament style bracket system until we have an overall champion. During the first bracket you will participate in your pairs. The winning pair from each fight will then progress. The second stage matches will be one on one. All you will have to rely on is your wits, your weapons and your skills. I wish you all the best of luck. Remember that the staff, students and I will all be watching." He smiled that half smile again. "No pressure. I wish you all the best of luck." He turned and walked off stage. Immediately movement and babbling broke out as people began to discuss the upcoming trials and find partners.
"Attention please!" Lieutenant Hawk was back at the front of the stage again. "If you could all please consult your scrolls you will find that our computers have already determined, based on your transcripts and the interactions I observed yesterday, who your partner will be." Angry muttering broke out. Lieutenant Hawk cleared her throat again. She clearly had more to say. When the angry muttering finally died down she spoke again. "I feel I should also make you aware, that the individual you have been paired with will be your partner for the entirety of your time here at Atlas Academy." The angry muttering became to an outraged roar. Lieutenant Hawk remained impassive staring out at the crowd. When the row showed no sign of subsiding she reached to her waist and drew the sidearm that hung there. I stuffed my fingers in my ears just before she raised it over her head and fired a shot into the air. Apparently it was a blank since no hole appeared in the ceiling, but it did the job of shutting everyone up. I was sure she was about to explode with rage and have the entire hall doing push ups until sundown but when she spoke aloud she sounded calm and reassuring. "Please understand that this is not done to sow discontent. It is merely another part of your training. There will come a time when you will be required to work with those you aren't particularly well acquainted with or possibly even don't like. Of course if you wind up with someone you know . . . well I guess you're pretty lucky aren't you?" She smiled faintly. She really was the school councillor after all. I had been anxious as all hell, and everyone else had been furious but as she said that everyone seemed to relax. I had a pleasant feeling of calmness wash over me that I couldn't understand the source of. Some of the others around me even looked confused as though they couldn't understand why their anger had suddenly left them. After another moment the pleasant fuzziness faded away to just regular calm but the room seemed to have sufficiently cooled. Lieutenant Hawk sighed and rotated her neck as though it were stiff. "Consult your scrolls now and then move to stand by your new partner" she instructed, pulling a pair of rectangular wire rimmed reading glasses out of her pocket and slipping them on to consult her own scroll. "And if there are any questions or confusion, speak to me immediately. We have a lot to do today."
With my anxiety rapidly snowballing into dread again I pulled my scroll from the breast pocket of my jacket and, after a few deep breaths to prepare myself for what was to come, consulted the screen. I could have almost cried with relief. The photograph I had had taken on the day I applied for Atlas Academy had flashed up on the screen, my name beneath it. And alongside it was an image of a black haired, black feathered, green eyed woman. I didn't even need to look at the name. There's no one else it could have been but Olive. I glanced over at her. She was looking at me with relief but as she looked her eyes drifted down apparently taking me in in my entirety, lingering on my freckles, the spot of dirt on my nose that I hadn't been able to shift in the shower before I left for the Academy, my guns, my jeans, my boots. For just a moment her expression changed from relief to worry. Did she think I couldn't handle myself? Then again, I'd spent half an hour in the line yesterday trying to judge people's ability based on their appearance. What right did I have to feel offended because someone else was doing it to me?
Apparently someone wasn't as happy with their new partner as I was. From across the room a furious roar got everyone's attention.
"You have got to be kidding! There is no way I'm working with you!" The entire hall turned to see Ash pointing a furious finger at the cat Faunus. His one red eye burned with rage and disgust. Across from him cat guy was standing with one hand in his pocket the other still holding his scroll. He fixed Ash in turn with an icy glare.
"Believe me" he said, his voice was quieter, deceptively calm but with an edge to it that nobody could miss. "I am just as unhappy about this as you are. But these are the orders we've been given, and we will follow them without complaint." I wanted to back away a few more feet but I couldn't tell who from; Ash's burning rage or the feline Faunus' cold fury?
"Ash Draed, Cairan Frost, what is the problem over here?" demanded Lieutenant Hawk, hopping down from the stage and striding into the midst of the confrontation with absolutely no hesitation. Ash rounded on her as she drew near.
"The problem Lieutenant is that your computer is talking crap! You need to run me through that program again because there is no way I'm spending the next four years tied to this pompous, overfed, soft-faced house cat!"
Soft faced? The lines of Frost's furious face were sharp enough to cut glass. He said nothing but I could feel the tension ramp up another notch at the insult.
"ENOUGH!" Hawk yelled and calm crashed into me this time. Like, it actually hit me in the face, as though it were a physical force. And it clearly did the same for the others as the fury in the air suddenly evaporated.
"Mr Draed, listen to me" Hawk insisted calmly, "This is exactly the sort of personality flaw this selection is designed to expose. And in time it will make you a finer Huntsman as you learn how to co-operate with others. Something your transcript says you are sorely in need of I might add" she said, looking at him over the rim of her glasses. "This selection process is the same for you as it is for everyone else. Nobody changes partners I'm afraid." Ash opened his mouth again, no doubt to say something very rude, but she continued to stare at him and her look hardened into a warning glare. "Of course if you still feel that you are unable to work with your new partner, you are welcome to collect your bags and get right back on the monorail."
"Fine" Ash grunted, his eye not meeting either of hers.
"Good boy" Hawk said turning away.
"And Mr Frost" she went on turning her eyes on him now.
"Yes Lieutenant?"
"The faculty is well aware of your past record with partners. I hope I don't need to remind you that inflicting serious physical injury to your new one will not be tolerated."
"No ma'am. I don't. There is no need to remind me" he agreed darkly. She nodded and turned away but I was just close enough to hear Frost as he muttered, "neither did you need to inform every human here" under his breath.
After that things were relatively uneventful: Breakfast, a safety briefing, distribution of the school's student manual (which was so thick you could have used them as bricks and built a house with them). Then Olive and I joined the other students from group A on the walk out of the academy to a landing pad where a pair of Atlas dropships waited to fly us to Frostholz Forest. As it turned out my estimate on the number of students had been off. Group A was half of the new students and there were only thirty two of us so I guess there must only have been seventy or so after all. We filed aboard as quickly as we could. Olive had some trouble with the size of the dropship's cargo bay. She managed to whack both me and the guy on her other side with her wings as she struggled into the harness, but before long we were on our way. I started to feel a lot better as we flew, more like my old self. Once we were through the whole 'welcome to Atlas' spiel and actually doing something I started to feel less anxious. It reminded me of a time when I was little. My dad had once signed us up for a parent and child sports festival with the grand prize of fifteen thousand Lien. That had been a month before . . . well, before mum and I had lost him. I was only eight but I'd gotten so keyed up in the days leading up to it that the night before I had been physically sick. The anxiety of messing up and letting dad down had really done a number on me, but the second that the first event had started all that anxiety had been forgotten in the rush of excitement and the thrill of the competition. The feelings I'd had up until getting on the dropship had been pretty much the same. After a minute or two I turned to Olive to see that she had produced a book from somewhere and was rapidly flipping through the pages.
"Come on Olive" I joked, "I don't think you've got time to finish that chapter. It's only a short flight."
"It's a book on the geography of Atlas" she told me without looking up, apparently speedreading, "the cold mountainous terrain and sheer cliffs that surround both Atlas and Mantle keep most Grimm at bay but it means the ones that do wander the wilds here are tougher than anywhere else in Remnant. Thankfully there shouldn't be too many of them in Frostholz. Its proximity to Atlas means that soldiers and Huntsmen are constantly running population control operations." She sounded like she was trying to reassure herself not me.
"Okay" a male voice broke over the comms system. "Time to get out of those harnesses kiddies, drop zone in thirty seconds. When the light goes green, jump, utilize your landing strategy to reach the ground safely, retrieve an attaché case and then return to the marker on your scroll's map for exfil. Only one case per pair. Each pair must have a case to complete the exercise. Doors opening in ten seconds." I felt my excitement turn to horror again.
Landing strategy? I'd heard rumours about Atlas Academy testing its prospects by throwing them from a dropship in flight but I'd thought the guy who told me had been kidding.
"Door's open" the pilot shouted, and sure enough the hatch in front of me began to slide open. We had been the last to board the dropship. Unfortunately for me that meant we were at the front of the line.
"Olive?" I asked weakly.
"What?" she said, concerned by my tone.
"Catch me?" Then we were jumping.
Any grogginess left over from the morning was blasted away by the icy wind of freefall as we plummeted toward the snow covered trees below. It stretched the skin on my face back and made my hair fly out behind me like a pink party streamers. I rolled in mid-air to look back up. I saw the other students in free fall; all of them had their weapons out. All of them except Olive who was streaking toward me like a black missile, her wings tucked around her streamlining her descent. She shot past me and I rolled over again to follow only to find the ground much closer than before. Then Olive was alongside me.
"Give me your hand!" She yelled into the whipping wind. I reached out and grabbed wildly for her outstretched arm, the wind stinging so much I could barely keep my eyes open to see her. When I caught hold of her we both tumbled together for a second, then she had my other hand and her wings flared wide open. My neck nearly snapped at the sudden drop in speed. Behind me Olive yelped in pain. "I've never flown for two!" She groaned. The ground was still coming up fast but we had slowed massively.
"Okay, when I say, let go."
She was silent for barley a second, "Okay."
"NOW!" I yelled.
Time for a bit of clever gymnastics, and some luck. I thrust my hands out in front of me grabbing at the bare lifeless branch of a tall tree. As I caught hold and the impact nearly ripped my arms from their sockets, but the momentum carried me around the branch like a gymnast's high bar. I let it propel me all the way around the branch for a full revolution, then released and flew toward the trunk of the tree in front of me pulling out Dawnlighter as I went. As I began to drop I thrust them forward, stabbing their attached blades deep into the bark, anchoring myself there. Above me Olive hovered, panting heavily but looking impressed as I yanked the first blade out of the wood and began to lower myself toward the ground.
"Nice job" she congratulated me between pants. "You're heavier than you look though, I've got to get down though my wings are killing me" she admitted dropping below me as she flapped toward the ground.
We reunited at the base of the tree.
"That was impressive" Olive told me reaching out a hand to help me up as I dropped from the lowest branch, bum first into a pile of snow. "I was honestly worried you were going to go splat for a second there. I guess I underestimated you."
"Years of gymnastics training" I told her, "I was even a cheerleader for a little while."
"Hmm, pink and peppy" she joked.
I grinned "oh har har Olive" I said sarcastically turning to stare around the stretch of forest where we'd landed. "I'm just thankful my aura kept me from ripping the skin off my hands. So, which way now?" She glanced around too, her feathers rustling to dislodge some snow I'd brought down with me.
"We're on the forests southern edge. I'm not sure exactly where but Hawk said the cases were at the northern edge." She produced a compass from a pouch on her 'belt of many things' as I thought of it. Apart from the buckle in the front the thing was more pockets and pouches and vials than belt. She consulted the compass for a moment. "Which means we need to goooo" she swirled her finger in the air as she examined it, "that way" she concluded pointing in a direction opposite to the one I thought we needed to go. (Hence why I should never be trusted to navigate for the group when trying to find our way in a new city, MUM!)
Together we began to trudge forth in the snow, wary of Grimm and other potential threats. Progress was slow. The snow on the ground lay thick and powdery and my boots sank almost up to the cuff with every step. I was wishing that I'd worn a winter coat instead of my leather jacket. I'd packed one of course but I'd thought I'd have time to get to my luggage before being thrust into a practical exercise. After about fifteen minutes of walking my teeth were chattering and my feet were numb. I was also seriously hoping we didn't run into any Uber Grimm because my joints were rapidly freezing and I didn't think I'd have anywhere near the manoeuvrability I needed. If we spotted them far enough away I knew I could bullseye them pretty easily but if they jumped us, got in close quickly, then I'd be in trouble. I had no idea about Olive. As far as I was aware she had a staff which meant either dust mage or some form of martial art or possibly a combination of both. It then occurred to me that I hadn't gotten a proper look at her weapon. In fact I hadn't seen it at all since the day before. I wondered if that bitchy girl from the registration line hadn't had it confiscated or something after all. When I asked her about it she grinned, and reached behind her back. I heard the sound of metal being drawn from leather and she produced a two foot long green stick with a flower bud on the end. Confused, I was about to ask her why she was waving a fancy candlestick at me when she pushed a button and it telescoped rapidly to four feet in length, the bud unfolding to reveal some sort of chamber/mechanism that I didn't get a chance to look at before she whirled the thing over her head in a blur and stabbed the end down into the snow.
"I present to you Calibre Alto" she announced proudly, "my very own reinforced alchemical staff. A bit flamboyant I know but I wanted something truly unique when I was designing it."
"You made that?" I asked, incredulous.
"With a lot of help" she admitted wryly, "but yeah. It's customary for students at Signal Academy to forge their own weapons. Mine took a little longer than most but it was worth it. Plus since it was on the Academy's budget I was able to get all the bells and whistles!"
"Bells and whistles?" I asked. Her eyes sparkled and I groaned internally, feeling as though I had just activated her nerd mode. I had.
"Yeah, the revolving cylinder in the head of the staff has seven chambers, each containing a different elemental dust crystal. With just a twist I can switch out any of the crystals in the six outer chambers for the one in the central inner chamber. Combine that with any other dust that I insert into the recombination chamber here" she indicated a trio of holes in centre of the shaft from which black veins seemed to snake out from across the staff's entire length, "and the possibilities for dust combinations in combat are only limited by my own knowledge and the dust I have with me!" She said all of this very fast, without pausing for breath. I was impressed for a moment.
"Hold on, doesn't that mean you're in real trouble if you run out of dust, or if the enemy is too close or too quick?"
Olive grimaced "yeah that's what my instructor said. That's why the final product is somewhat different than my original design. I had to change some of the materials to a more durable metal so that I could use it as a melee weapon too. That and my instructors made me spend another three years learning a modified form of Bōjutsu." When I looked at her blankly she rolled her eyes as if I were a bit thick. "You know? The ancient Mistral art of staff fighting?"
I whistled appreciatively.
"That's awesome!" I admitted.
"Not really" she insisted. "I've never seen actual combat, or even a live Grimm. Just practice matches with tutors, and the images in my textbooks." I doubted that a lack of real world experience would slow her down that much. For the first time I realised that I was feeling jealous more than anything else. Olive Valerian seemed to me to be everything I could ever want to be, and more than I ever could. She was taller than me, she was smarter than me, and she was prettier than me (at least I thought so), she had a better weapon and training than me. . . Everything she did was just so next level. And she was just so fricking nonchalant about it all. As if none of it was a big deal! I squashed it down as best I could. Jealously of your partner was not a good thing to develop on your very first mission together. She made it more difficult to ignore though when she asked:
"So what about you?"
I looked down at Dawnlighter sitting in their holsters slug on my hip. I looked back up and shrugged. My weapons were inherited; given to me by my mum as a seventeenth birthday present from my dad. They had originally been his though I had made one or two modifications, making it easier to deal with the faster, grabbier Grim. Namely the short blades under each barrel, plus my personal crest embossed onto the grips.
I had just looked up to answer her when a feral snarl erupted from somewhere off to our left. Not one from a Grimm but Not entirely human either. It was a sound I recognised: Ash. Olive heard it too. She flattened her wings against her back and collapsed her staff. We both scurried to a nearby bush and peaked around it, careful not give ourselves away by dislodging any of the thick snow on it. In the clearing beyond I could see Ash dodging and rolling, loosing arrow after arrow from his bow into the chest of a massive Alpha Beowulf. The thing was wickedly fast, slashing at him constantly, forcing him to remain on the move. But he was equally quick, dodging and weaving with practiced ease. His fighting style didn't seem refined or fluid, like a martial artist's or as though it has been taught to him by someone in an academy classroom. It was wild, rapid and unpredictable like the Beowulf he was fighting. He spent almost as much time crouched low on arm and legs when he moved as the Alpha did, as though he had learned to fight from the Grimm itself. It was a brutal contest but in the end Ash won. They both had equal speed but Ash had better agility and a better weapon. Soon the Alpha crashed down into the snow, twelve arrows sprouting between the ribs that showed gruesomely on the outside of the creature's chest. He strolled right up to the creature and began yanking his arrows out of it before it was even fully dead.
No sooner was the last arrow free than another roar sounded, deeper this time. Ash spun dropping back into his feral crouch as an enormous Ursa smashed through the underbrush on the clearing's far side.
Ash snarled back challengingly. "Come on Then!" he bellowed, "Come on! Give me a fight to remember!" And the Ursa seemed ready to do just that, rearing up on its hind legs and roaring its own challenge at him. Ash snarled in response and darted forward, stringing an arrow as he went. He was halfway across the clearing before a single shot shook the snow from our bush and made us both jump. The Ursa toppled forward, dead, and Ash had to skid to a halt to avoid getting crushed by its falling corpse.
"What the . . .?" he asked, sounding both disappointed and confused. Twenty feet to our left Cairan Frost stepped from the tree line, a smoking revolver held in his right hand. He looked vaguely irritated.
"If you need to dispatch a target you do it quickly and efficiently. Why waste bravado on a creature that can't even understand you?" he demanded holstering the weapon as he strode briskly forward.
Ash growled, his red eye fixed menacingly on Cairan. "I wouldn't expect you to understand house cat!"
"Don't call me that!" ordered Cairan, his tone making it clear that it wasn't the first time Ash had used the derogatory nickname. "Now, I'm sure your audience enjoyed the show . . ." he gestured ambiguously in the direction of our bush and we ducked again, "but we have an objective to complete. So if you are done playing gladiator let's go!" He ordered, never breaking stride as he crossed the clearing and disappeared out the other side. Ash tore his eyes away from our hiding spot to glare threateningly at the retreating back of his partner.
"I told you not to give me orders cat!" he yelled, but sprinted off through the trees after him anyway.
Olive straightened with a long exhalation of breath. I followed suit.
"I hope we don't have to face either of them in the tournament round!" Olive said, reaching into her pocket and producing an old watch that she consulted briefly. "Frost is right though; we do have an objective and the timer's running. It's already been nearly an hour since the exercise started" I gave myself a little shake to dislodge the images of the fight from my head.
"Well what are we waiting for then?" I asked, screwing some of my humour and confidence back into place. "Let's get going."
Olive smiled at my enthusiasm. "Sure" she said with a slight chuckle, "I'll fly up and take a quick look around." She unfurled her wings, crouching down, and with a jump and a massive downward sweep of her wings that stirred up a great flurry of snow and made me splutter, she launched skyward. A minute later she dropped down in the centre of the clearing and I hurried over to her.
"North is definitely that way" she told me pointing in the direction Ash and Cairan had disappeared, "and there is gunfire and shouting off to the east as well as Griffons circling to the West. The safest path is straight ahead." She paused for a second then added, "It would probably be better for me to stay on the ground too. At least for a while."
"Can you not fight in the air?" I asked, wishing that she had offered to stay in the air to guide us quickly through the forest.
"I can but I don't really want to if I can avoid it. It's not something I'm particularly good at and wing injuries are especially painful. They take a long time to heal too, particularly if the smaller, more delicate bones are broken."
So it was back to sloughing through the snow in a general northerly direction, mostly wishing I had warmer clothing but occasionally dispatching an overly curious grim with a bullet or two from Dawnlighter or a blast of fire from Calibre Alto. We didn't encounter anything too powerful or massive. I suspected that was because Ash and Cairan were ahead of us clearing them out. I also suspected that Olive was deliberately following their trail for that exact reason. After twenty minutes of trudging along we broke out of the trees into what looked like a small military encampment. Crates and boxes were scattered around the ruins of several slashed tents and a burned out truck.
"Whoever was here got hit hard by Grimm." I commented.
"Or that's what the instructors wanted it to look like" replied Olive, still staring around intently as though expecting an ambush.
"Do you think they're in the tents?" I asked. As though on cue, Carian emerged from the largest tent with an aluminium briefcase in hand.
Question answered I thought. As he straightened he caught sight of us. His eyes didn't turn hostile when he spotted me, as they had when I'd gotten off the train yesterday, but neither were they friendly. They were utterly unreadable, his face completely impassive and I had no idea what he was thinking. I had hoped being partnered with Olive would help show I wasn't some Faunus hating bigot and had at least scored me some points. He wasn't glaring at me with intent to kill at least. He stared for a second longer before giving us one quick nod and striding off back the way he had come. Ash emerged from the tent just after him.
"Alright shrimp?" he asked with a grin as he passed me. "Better get moving. I don't think there are many cases left" he warned before taking off after Frost.
We split up to search the camp. After a while I began to worry that Ash had been right and there were none left. The first three tents I tried all came up empty and at the forth I nearly head-butted another classmate as he and his partner ducked out of it, case in hand. Panic was just beginning to set in as I ducked behind the burned out military transport truck into a final very small tent. Inside, poking out of a shredded sleeping bag was an aluminium case just like the one I'd seen Cairan carrying. I grabbed it and rushed back outside to find Olive emerging from another tent looking disappointed. I raised the case over my head and called to her. She looked up and her face immediately brightened, her wings giving a little flutter of delight as she jogged over to me.
"Nice job Misty" she said, still smiling. "I thought we were in trouble for a minute there." She shivered and rustled her wings again. I shivered to; the relief of finding the case had briefly made me forget that I was freezing. "Let's get out of here before you turn into a strawberry snow cone" she joked.
The extraction zone was different to where we had been dropped off I guessed because there was no room for the dropship to land right against the cliff. Our pickup location was on the edge of a frozen lake. Olive and I emerged from the trees to find Lieutenant Hawk waiting for us just beyond the tree line, the other students gathered around her as she inspected each pair. We fell into line just as she reached us.
"Well done you two" she said with a smile, "a bit of a rough start with your drop but overall a good use of navigational skills and strategic thinking; allowing the others to clear a path through the heaviest resistance." She turned from us to look back down the line. "Well done to all of you. You have completed the exercise with half an hour to spare. A promising start." She reached to her pocket. "Now if you will all give me your . . ." she looked down at the hand in her pocket and frowned. "Damn, I left my scroll on the dropship. Please wait here whilst I go and get it. I need to make sure everyone is accounted for before we board. Don't want anybody getting left behind do we?" she said turning to jog back across the open space.
I watched her disappear into the dropship for a few seconds. As she re-emerged we began to make our way over to her, Olive and me at the head of the group with Cairan and Ash behind us. There was still about forty yards of open ground between us when everything went sideways. First there was a CRACK of gunfire from further down the shoreline and the lieutenant went down. Then a group of a dozen people clad in raider armour broke cover from further down the treeline to our left, streaking toward the dropship and the lieutenant's prone form. She was still moving but she had been hit in the leg or something because she wasn't able to stand.
"AMBUSH!" roared Cairan from behind me. "Protect the Lieutenant! Long range weapons hold your fire we can't afford to hit the dropship! Charge!" Nobody followed his command, because at that moment a WHOLE PACK of Beowulves burst from the trees directly behind us, falling immediately upon the students at the back of the group. We all turned to defend ourselves. We had to, but I was still aware of what was going on down by the water's edge. As the Beowulves encircled us I caught a glimpse of the fight by the shoreline. The dropship crew were engaged in a firefight with several of the bandits but three of them were hauling the unconscious form of Lieutenant Hawk out of the line of fire toward the tree line and I realised that they must have led the Beofwulfs to us in order to keep the students busy.
I lost sight of what was going on after that as a Beowulf lunged at me and I ducked, drawing Dawnlighter to retaliate. The creature flew over me and I fired two shots into its belly. As it landed and staggered I turned and put another two rounds right through its skull. All around me the other students were similarly engaged in combat. There was a blast of fire and heat to my right and a Beowulf howled in agony, enveloped in flame, as Olive blasted it with her staff before whirling the thing over her head and smashing it in the jaw. The charred monster fell still moving but Olive twisted her grip on the staff and with a metallic CLACK a vicious spike emerged from the base which she proceeded to ram right into the fallen creature's throat.
"Textbook" she muttered as she straightened. The next few minutes were a blur of combat as the students made quick work of the remaining members of the Beowulf pack. By the time we reached to dropship the bandits were all gone. The dropship crew and students all looked harried but none seemed to be seriously injured.
The students hurried aboard the dropship clutching their cases. I had needed a few minutes to find ours as the furious fighting had left it half buried in the snow and difficult to spot. It was only after the last student had passed me that I realised who was missing.
"Where's Lieutenant Hawk?" I asked one of the soldiers.
"We couldn't get to her" he told me quietly, "we tried but these bastards were on us the second we opened the hatches." He stepped back to show two of the bandits, a male and a female both bound and unconscious, slung into a corner of the hold. I looked at the woman closely. Her clothing was a patchwork of grey and white fabrics with a few pieces of armour here and there to protect vulnerable areas like her shoulders, wrists and elbows. She had a few cuts and scrapes from the fight and a trickle of dried blood ran down from under her hairline, probably from the blow that had knocked her out. Her hair was long and pale, a typical Atlesian blonde, but dirty and held in a loose ponytail by a scrap of cloth that she used as a ribbon to keep it back.
"We'll aren't you going to go get her?" demanded Ash, dropping his own case to the deck with a loud clatter and moving toward the soldier.
"No chance" the soldier said. "We're nearly out of ammo and our objective is to escort you nuggets back to Campus and get these two to the holding cells for interrogation."
"But she was injured" Ciaran put in, stepping up to stand beside Ash. "Are you telling me that the humans in the Atlas military aren't willing to look out for one of their own?" The soldier was stone faced and didn't respond.
"And what about all of you?" Cairan demanded turning to the other students. "Are none of you going to help a superior officer in danger?" Some of the students looked ashamed but none answered.
"Listen kid" snapped the soldier, "Going after her would be suicide, especially after dark! The Colonel and the other staff will have seen what happened on the monitors and they'll send out a search and rescue patrol to get her. Until then sit down, buckle up and shut up!"
"You humans disgust me" Cairan growled, not sitting.
"And you Faunus piss me off! Besides you wouldn't even know where they went!" he shouted moving up the cargo bay toward the cockpit
At his words I suddenly remembered something ash had done when we first met.
I leaned over to him and whispered "hey Ash?"
"What is it shrimp?" he answered distractedly, his gaze still locked on the soldier.
"When you sniffed me back at the monorail and were able to tell all that stuff about me, was that part of your semblance?"
"Yeah?" He looked at me then, seeming mildly impressed that I'd figured that out.
"Think you could use it to find the Lieutenant?"
"I like your thinkin' shrimp. . . But first we got to get out of this ship" he gestured at the two soldiers crouched at the still open hatchway.
"The dropship will begin to lift off before they close the hatch. When I give the signal, release your buckles and run like a mad Razorback. If you hesitate you'll be crushed in the door" Cairan said, obviously having listened to our entire conversation.
"Got it" Ash said with surprisingly little anger or condescension. He turned to Olive "you in or what Dust Witch?"
"Dust MAGE" she corrected irritably, "and of course I'm in but for the record; I think this is a fantastically bad idea and if we die I'm holding you two responsible" she glared at me and Ash.
"That's fair" I said.
Outside we heard the engines spin up and sure enough the dropship left the ground before the two soldiers retreated up the ramp and it began to close.
"NOW!" yelled Cairan bolting out of his seat and charging for the hatchway, the three of us right behind him.
"What're you doing? Get back here!" yelled one of the soldiers, making a wild grab for me as I passed. I closed my eyes as I hurtled through the closing portal into open air. There was an awful sensation of dropping for just a second before I fell with a whump into the snow. I was briefly worried when I didn't hear the sound of a fourth body dropping to the ground. Then I remembered that Olive had wings. Sure enough, I looked up to see her fluttering down to earth with far more grace than any of us managed. She landed next to me and we sprinted for the trees. Not waiting to see if the dropship would come back down to get us.
I charged headlong into the underbrush only to be nearly choked when someone caught me by the collar of my top and yanked me to a stop.
"Woah there shrimp" Ash said letting go of me. Olive joined us a second later and we watched through the leaves as the dropship rose higher, hovering for a few seconds, before wheeling away to the southwest and disappearing from view.
"Okay then" I said, "what now?"
"Now it's the dog's turn to be useful" Ciaran remarked.
"Frost I swear . . ." Ash growled but he ended the threat on a frustrated huff and turned back toward the lake. I nearly yelled after him to come back but decided against it. He crossed back to the spot where Lieutenant Hawk had fallen. He crouched low to the ground, looking at something in the snow. Then he went still for a moment before crouching low once more. The second time though he looked more like he was sniffing and when he looked back to us I swear I could see the golden glow of his eye from my spot by the trees. He waved us over and the three of us approached, stopping a little ways off as he continued to circle the area. He was low to the ground, almost on all fours, his head weaving back and forth as though his nose was literally following one of those wavy stink lines you see in cartoons.
"Tell me you have the scent and you're not just chasing your own tail" Cairan remarked, sounding impatient.
"I've got 'em" Ash assured. "They carried her rather than dragged her, and the blood from the injury was surprisingly minimal making the scent harder to track but they headed North West from this location, around the lake by the looks of it." he gestured between my feet and I jumped aside. "And with my enhanced vision I can just make out their tracks." I had to really squint in the darkening light but sure enough when I crouched down I could just barely make out boot prints heading back toward the trees at the edge of the lake. The constant light snowfall and updrafts from the dropship's engines had almost completely obliterated them. "Come on" Ash barked, darting away. The gold in his eyes was gone now but he was still following his nose. As we began to follow Carian turned to Olive, taking in her wings sceptically.
"I assume you can manage sustained flight?"
"Well enough" she responded coolly.
"Good then I would like you to get up above the treeline and watch for enemies or breaks in the canopy that might suggest a clearing of some kind. Stay within earshot and if you do see someone please drop down quietly. Be subtle. The last thing we need is to for you to get shot down and I'd hate to have to carry you around. You look heavy."
"What makes you think I'd give us away?" Olive asked indignantly.
"Because nothing says 'Target' better than a six foot two woman with bird wings" Cairan remarked, smirking. Olive flushed, she opened her mouth to respond but as she did her wings flared brushing the branches over her head causing a large amount of snow to drop on her. Cairan actually chuckled at the sight, and I had to admit it was funny to see her spluttering and flailing indignantly. She shook the snow off, still slightly pink with embarrassment and glared at Cairan, but she knew that his point had been proven.
"Fine" she conceded turning back into the clearing and launching skyward again to follow from the air, barely hovering above tree height.
We made our way through the forest slowly and carefully, following the trail that only Ash could see, and avoiding all Grimm that Olive warned us of. We had no idea how close the bandits were and any sound of fighting could have given us away. It wasn't until the forest ahead began to climb steeply that Cairan spoke to me directly for the first time.
"You surprise me" he said so suddenly I almost missed it.
"What?"
"There are three Faunus here, and you are the only human. Yet you haven't once complained about it or passed comment. Aren't you worried we'll steal your valuables and leave you for dead? Or that we'll turn on you and savage you?" He sounded intensely sarcastic but I wasn't sure whether to laugh at his dark humour or turn and run from his threat.
"Why on Remnant would I think that?"
His eyes narrowed suspiciously on me "What do you think then?"
"I think you are cold and way too serious, and you scare the crap out of me when you get angry. I can tell you hate humans, including me, though after what I saw yesterday I can understand why." I paused wondering to risk saying what else I was thinking. But he was still staring at me, looking sceptical so I plunged on. "But I also know you do care because I overheard you and your sister the day we arrived." He looked taken aback but I kept going, eager now to prove he could trust me not to shoot him in the back.
"I think Ash is . . . okay" I said carefully. I ducked under a low branch as we made our way up the slope. "He's obviously been through a lot and seems to hate humans too but not for the same reasons as you I think. If I had to guess I'd say he thinks humans and some Faunus (I remembered how he had called Cairan a soft-faced house cat back at the academy) as weak and he finds them pathetic because of it." I glanced up at the sky as Olive passed overhead, flashing through a gap in the trees. "As for Olive it's clear that she's a genius when it comes to dust. She's obviously from a rich family and isn't used to doing anything half way. She's smart, powerful, funny and way too pretty. I like her a lot" I admitted. "I hope we'll be good friends as well as partners." I took a break from singing my new friend's praises to negotiate a crevice in the rock. "But" I went on, "she's also naïve" I admitted remembering how shocked she had been by the registrar's response to her being a Faunus at the welcome ceremony. "And when it comes to combat she has almost no experience."
By the time I finished speaking I was actually out of breath. Though that may have actually been from the climb and not from speaking; the hill we were climbing was so steep now that we were almost scaling a vertical cliff. It was nearly totally dark now. The shattered moon was rising into the night sky, though the stars were obscured by the light pollution of Atlas some miles distant. Cairan was quiet and thoughtful for several minutes and I was worried that I'd pissed him off again.
"You know" he said finally, "I actually wanted to know your thoughts about Faunus. I didn't expect to get a full analysis of each person's personality. It's like you didn't even factor in the fact that we aren't the same species." He looked back at me and his icy blue eyes showed a little surprise but now there was also respect there.
"Why would I?" I asked seriously. "We're all people. There's no reason I would think of you differently just because you're a cat and she's a bird. Even if I am jealous of Olive."
"Jealous?" Cairan asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Well yeah, who wouldn't want to be able to fly?" I asked. He didn't answer for another minute, instead just staring at me before finally remarking, "You seem to be rather good at reading people." I shrugged.
"I'm a people person" I admitted, a little self-consciously, "I like to make friends and it's easier if you can get a read on them quickly."
Cairan looked like he was going to say more but at that moment Olive dropped through a break in the trees ahead of us and hurried back to where we were waiting. Ash, who had been leading the way from a few yards ahead of us turned back to hear what she had to say.
"There's a camp at the top of the hill" she said, a little out of breath. "The crest of the hill is a little ways ahead and they've set up camp there with sentries looking down into the woods."
"Did they see you?" Cairan asked. Olive had been getting bolder as the sky got darker, flying higher and higher as the sun got lower until she was soaring almost fifty feet above the tree tops.
"I don't think so" Olive answered, "they were looking down not up, and there was a group of Grimm harassing them on the far side of the hill, so I got a good look at their defences."
"Could you see Hawk?" I asked.
"No but there was a large steel cage against the eastern wall of the camp big enough to hold several people" Olive said.
"Okay what about the guards?" Ash pressed. He already sounded eager, like he was spoiling for a fight.
"There are way more than the dozen that attacked by the lake; at least thirty but most of them are fighting the Grimm. There are sentries along the walls all the way around the camp and at the gate, plus a few inside but that's it."
"Approaches?"
"Only two" she answered. "The hill right below the camp turns vertical with two crevasses, one at each end of the camp, that you could walk through but each is watched."
"So air is our best way in" Cairan mused. "It looks like you're our best bet Olive but as I said; stealth isn't your strong suit. You could drop into the camp easily but when they spot you they're going to be on you fast. Plus you'd have to fly the lieutenant out because she's injured."
"What if I blew up the camp wall using my dust crystals?" Olive suggested. "The panic of the Grimm breaking through would give me a chance to get away."
"There's still the problem of you being spotted. They'd know it was you who broke the wall and they'd gun you down before you could get Hawk free and fly her back to us." I perked up. Finally, it was my turn to show off.
"I could get in, free Lieutenant Hawk and blow the wall before they knew I was there, then when the panic starts Olive can fly Hawk out whilst I come back down the Crevasse by the gate." All three of them turned to look at me; Ash doubtful, Olive confused, Cairan interested.
"How?" he asked simply. I showed him. I closed my eyes and concentrated hard on the image of the raider girl I'd taken the time to examine back at the dropship. I felt the draw on my aura and a gasp from Olive told me that my semblance was working. I opened my eyes and was gratified to see that all their looks had changed to shock.
"That is incredible" gasped Olive, circling around me. "You look just like that bandit the soldiers captured. Even the injuries are the same!"
"It's not perfect though" Cairan observed, "Your eyes are still the same colour."
"Plus it doesn't work on my voice" I said, releasing the illusion. "And I can only keep it up for about ten minutes before it'll start to drain my aura and give me a killer headache."
"So it's visual only?" Ash asked.
"Yeah" I admitted. "If someone brushed up against me they'd pass right through the bits that weren't really there like the armour plates but it should be enough to allow me to move around the camp without drawing too much attention."
"It'll do" Cairan said decisively. "Olive, give her the Crystals then get ready to fly. Ash you and I will position ourselves under the trees at the base of the crevasse. We need to be ready to back her up if they chase her. Let's move!"
Ten minutes later I was being carried by Olive again as we hovered directly above the camp. She had been right. There were several large Ursa outside the camp and the bandits seemed to be struggling to keep them at bay. The sentries inside the camp were either looking down into the forest or firing on the Grimm from the walls but none were bothering to look straight up.
"This is as low as I dare take you" Olive whispered, "any lower and they'll spot us for sure." I looked down we were still way too high for my liking but not so high that I couldn't drop without injury. There was a tarpaulin awning that the bandits were using to keep the snow off their supplies. I directed Olive to drop me onto it. I hit the canvas with a muffled Fwhump and rolled, quickly dropping to the ground and ducking behind the boxes before anyone could see me. I took a few seconds to concentrate once again on the image of the bandit girl I had committed to memory. When I began to feel the draw on my Aura I opened my eyes and stepped quickly out from behind the boxes. Across the camp some of the bandits were scurrying around carrying weapons but none of them were paying the cage much attention. From where I was I could see that there was someone in there.
The stack of boxes I had landed next to was on the side of the camp nearest the fight. Amongst the boxes of food there were also several crates of Dust with the Schnee Dust Company logo on them, no doubt looted from a train or something. I opened them up and tipped them over spilling piles of dust and crystals onto the dirt. Then I took the large and volatile crystal Olive had given me and stuck it on top of the pile. A shot from my revolver would set the whole thing off, and with this much extra Dust the wall would be obliterated. Now I just had to get to the Lieutenant.
As quickly as I dared I made my way across the camp, doing my best to stick to the shadows wherever possible. My disguise was fine for a passing, hurried, glance but it wouldn't stand up under scrutiny. And it definitely wouldn't hold up if one of them actually tried to talk to me. Eventually I reached the cage. Lieutenant Hawk was inside, her uniform rumpled and a bloody bandage tied around her leg wound. Her hands were tied behind her back, bound to one of the bars of the cage. As I approached she caught sight of me and I knew my disguise was working because a look of hatred formed on her face.
"What do you want now, scum?" she demanded. "Shouldn't you be out there getting eaten along with your comrades?" I didn't say anything in case a bandit was nearby, just kept jogging toward where Hawk sat against one side of the cage. "I've already told you sick buddies that I'll not do "favours" for you or anyone else, and if you try it I swear I'll break something!"
"Keep it down Lieutenant" I urged, crouching beside her and using Dawnlighter's blade to cut her loose. "It's me Misty Thulia. I'm here with a couple of other students. We're here to rescue you!"
"What? How did you find me?" Hawk asked rubbing her wrists.
"That was Ash. Listen, can you pretend to be tied up a little longer? I've got to set off the distraction. Olive will fly you out of here as soon as the panic starts" I told her, pointing up.
We squinted skyward for a moment. It took a minute but we could just make out her silhouette where she was holding position in the sky above. Lieutenant Hawk looked back down at me and nodded, tucking her hands behind her back again "Understood."
I turned and scurried back across the camp. I would have stayed by the cage but there was no line of sight to the boxes from there and I'd only have one shot before someone noticed. I was just about to duck behind one of the tents when a voice called out from behind me and I froze.
Damn it! So close!
"Hey Maple" the voice called again. "What're you doin' over there? We thought those Atlas military pukes had gotten ya! Come help us out!" I slowly turned to see one of the bandits jogging towards me. I waved awkwardly; big mistake. The guy stopped and was instantly suspicious. "Maple? You Alright? You're hurt and something looks . . . different." I took a step back trying to get out of sight around the tent. Just a few more step and I'd be able to set off the explosion! The bandit reached for his gun. "Don't move!" he ordered, stepping closer. "You're not Maple. Her eyes aren't green. Who are you?" Again I couldn't answer and I thought about reaching for Dawnlighter again but I doubted I could get either one of them un-holstered before this guy could shoot me. My ten minutes were nearly up too. "Answer me!" he ordered "what have you done with Maple?" I had just decided to go for my gun when Olive dropped straight down from the sky, slamming into the man's back boot heel first and knocking him out cold as something cracked.
"Nice save Olive" I said with relief.
"I've been hovering overhead as close as I dared and when I saw you were in trouble I had to help!"
"Thanks" I said, smiling.
Olive shivered "its creepy hearing your voice coming out of someone else. I'll go get the lieutenant; you make sure they're looking the other way."
"Got it" I turned and sprinted around the tent just in time to find one of the bandits crouching over the pile of dust. "I'd move if I were you" I warned. He might have been a bandit but he was still a person and I didn't want to see him blown apart in a Dust explosion. He whipped around to face me and his eyes widened in horror when he saw my gun. Then he was diving out of the way and I pulled the trigger. The explosion was deafening. Five or six types of Dust went off at once and splintered chunks of barricade went sailing through the air. As did one or two bandits who had been on the other side. Exactly as planned all the sentries and all of the bandits still in camp were soon running directly toward me. I didn't stop to see if Olive had the Lieutenant. I couldn't. They would be on me in seconds. Instead I turned and dashed out of the newly made hole/crater in the camp's border, doubling back along the wall toward the crevasse. The two bandits that had been guarding the main gate passed me, sprinting in the opposite direction but other than a glance they didn't acknowledge me.
The second I was in the crevasse I dropped the illusion. My head was pounding so hard I couldn't see straight and it would have depleted my aura entirely if I'd kept it up any longer. The sounds of gunfire and animal roars were growing louder and I could only guess that the panic of the breach was only drawing more Grimm. I stumbled out at the bottom of the crevasse, nearly tripping over my own feet with exhaustion. I would have fallen had Ash not caught me against his chest and steadied me.
"Woah there shrimp" he said, "that was quite a nice explosion you caused. We could see it from down here. I think you caused an avalanche somewhere too!" he laughed. I laughed too but it made my head hurt. I tried to disentangle myself from Ash and make my way back to where Olive and the Lieutenant had just landed next to Cairan but Ash stopped me again.
"Here, let me help you Shrimp" he turned. "Here climb on" he offered.
I hesitated "Not really helping my image of a weak human is it?" I asked feebly.
"Are you kidding?" he asked, looking genuinely incredulous. "Any girl who is brave enough to sneak into a bandit camp to rescue someone and blow the entire camp's population to hell in the process is alright by me. Now come on before I change my mind!"
I nearly protested again but my vision swam nauseatingly, and the ache in my head slammed against the inside of my skull like a jackhammer. I climbed aboard and he jogged down the hill to the others as if I weighed no more than a stuffed animal.
"Well done" Lieutenant Hawk congratulated us as Ash and I drew near. "To orchestrate that entire rescue on the spot and implement it so flawlessly? Well, I'll be giving a special recommendation to the Colonel when we return." She paused then said, with a warm smile. "On a more personal note, you have my eternal gratitude. That camp is not within the boundaries of the testing ground and they knew that. They never would have been picked up on the fixed cameras and search and rescue would have had a tough time locating that camp." She looked back up the hill. The sound of gunfire and screaming was quieter from where we were but still audible. "They were going to hand me off to a slave trader at the first opportunity" she explained. Olive gasped in horror. "Apparently there are plenty of rich men who will pay a lot for an 'older woman'" she shuddered. The idea made me want to puke even more than the pounding in my head. "I dread to think what would have happened had you not found me. Thank you all. Now, let's get back to the lake. I don't want to be anywhere near this place when the Grimm finish with those bandits and the search dropship should be there by the time we arrive.
Good Idea I thought.