Author's Note:
Hello everybody! I've got chapter eleven ready for judgement. Don't have much to say here until the second note. So read and enjoy I guess.
Chapter Eleven: Misfortune
"Son of a bitch!"
I tripped on a misplaced shoe slamming my face into the hardwood floor…at the same time Qrow winced, and I internally sighed.
It's been about two weeks since the little incident at the coffee shop. We've gradually been getting used to our various classes, as well as picking out an elective or two. I had gone with the leadership and Anti-Auric combat course, Raven had gone with Dust Arts , Qrow had gone with the Auric classes, likely figuring he could learn how to control his semblance.
It was clear it wasn't doing much good right now…
"You're rather clumsy aren't you?" Raven had a sardonic smile on her face while offering a hand. I took it despite my suppressed anger, taking a deep breath to calm myself
"Shut up…" Shit I could hear the amusement dripping from her saccharine tone. It made me want it either slap her or kiss her…
…
You know…sometimes I hate my inexperience with romance. Else I'd have an idea of how not to say(well think) stupid stuff like that. I least I had it better than Colt Remington, poor bastard had to be caught in the middle of terrifying(and hilarious) love triangle between half a dozen women who could all kick his ass in seven different ways.
Me…I only have to deal with the one, though the main issues with that will be if she's even into girls like that. Also the fact we have a shitload of baggage between the two of us that need to be dealt with first.
Either way, I'll make her my friend even if it kills me…
And it might…
"You have a scary look on your face again Sums…"
"OFF TO CLASS, CAPTAIN'S ORDERS!"
"Why are you yelling!"
"Don't question my orders you scallywag!"
I focused intently on the fight between Qrow and the the unnamed student, though I may have heard someone calling her Mauve.
Either way the purple haired women was doing rather poorly against our resident bad luck charm. Her dual axes did little damage against him despite their heft, or the gravity waves they would emit.
The women operated like a tank, slow, unmoving and incredibly strong. Which did poorly against Qrow, since he could hit almost as hard but throw them out much faster. Death of a thousand cuts basically…it didn't help that periodically some bad luck would strike her.
A weak spot on the floor sinking in and making her lose her footing. Some glass shattering and distracting her. And Qrow took advantage of every opening offered to him on a silver platter.
The battle ended swiftly as the girl tripped a third time and Qrow with s smirk, shifted his stance cutting right across her chest. Her aura dropped below fifteen percent and the match was called.
The girl held back a pout, slapping an offered hand away. She nearly stormed off, until she caught the look our teacher was giving her. Mauve offered a small bow, leaving back to the stands…
"She's going through a pretty bad patch of bad luck huh?" Taiyang commented from my left as Qrow victoriously sauntered back to his own seat.
"She didn't stand a chance." I shook my head sadly, as the girl sulked in her seat, fuming over the loss.
"Qrow has always been…good at turning a fight around. But it's gotten him in trouble as much as he's gotten out of it."
I can imagine…with a semblance like that it's going to bring trouble to someone.
Guess that's the last spar of the day…
He's still never used his scythe before though, it seems he hasn't needed that mode to take down any of his opponents so far. I would like to get up close and personal with it however, it's among the most complex weapons we have outside of mine. Though his makes much greater use of gears, while my Gungnir only makes use of limited telescoping, and a hinge or three. Even then it does make for some maintenance heavy equipment.
Though it's interesting to know that Qrow made his scythe because of Maria…
Too bad that's tempered by the fact that Grimm are basically magic bullshit. Goddamn the fact a grimm like the Apathy can exist is frightening. Who knows what other bullshit can exist, and is something I'm going to have to write down.
I opened up the book I had picked up after mulling it over for a few days…
I had decided to write down a journal on all the respective Grimm species I know or will learn about. Basic tactics to use against them, their strengths and weaknesses and so on. Some of it I had gotten from show or from my teachers lectures.
Most of the time it was rather simple and easy to bring down an average Grimm but that didn't mean you should let you your guard down. Even a simple Grimm if old enough and creative enough could bring you down and kill you.
I took a single step…
CRASH!
Motherfucker! AGAIN?!
This time I picked myself up, waving my arms around for balance. I swear I heard Raven snicker and I stopped the pissed off rant from leaving the tip of my tongue.
"R-Right let's forget that ever happened kapeesh?" My three teammates whistled innocently and I narrowed my eyes. "Did you hear me?" Tai and Qrow couldn't meet my eyes, and Raven still had an infuriating smirk on her face. But it became a healthy curiosity as she got a view of the pages. I took a step closer and turned so she could get a better look.
"Oh…it's just a little book I'm writing on the Grimm. I thought maybe it would help for class." Raven's eyes followed along a section on Beowolf subtypes, her interest peaked now.
"Considered the most common and basal of Grimm, the werewolf like beasts typically use little to no tactics, often throwing themselves against Huntsmen with no sense of self preservation. Older members however exhibit increased intelligence, developing strategies based on previous encounters against their prey. They are not to be underestimated, they are individually weak but their sheer numbers can exhaust a Huntsmen, and no amount of skill will protect you then."
"That's…pretty pessimistic isn't it?" Qrow seemed a little off put by my written word. Again unexpected from someone with my looks. I still looked a lot like Summer Rose since I am her.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Meh…I'm just being honest. I don't think a Huntsmen wants 'Eaten by a Beowolf' on their grave. All you have to do is have some common sense and you'll be fine."
"I just thought you'd be more the big hero type." Qrow didn't seem disappointed. More, just interested and I felt it was good start to our budding team.
I snapped my fingers, giving him a wink. "Oh but I am, but a hero should come prepared instead of going in like some barbarian. Batman instead of Superman basically." The twins were confused while Taiyang nodded sagely agreeing with me.
"I don't know what that is." Raven was blunt with her ignorance though her curiosity quickly turned to another page. One I had only recently completed after shifting through some…painful memories. Qrow read the title on the page aloud.
"Fenrir?" I felt a deep cold despite the warmth of being near several people. It had been difficult to get any information on that Grimm from so many years ago. I had to call Gilda to ask what it had been like.
"May I?" Raven picked up on the air better than her brother, and I nodded rather meekly. She frowned at the overly dreary and nightmarish depiction of the Fenrir, long since burned into my memory. Her hand brushed against the image before she started reading.
"The Fenrir…a particularly ancient Grimm related to the common Beowolf. The main differences lies in its intelligence, size, and durability. Fenrir's are much larger, easily the size of small bullheads. Likely living for many centuries, they are the pinnacle of their kind. Often accompanied by hundreds of lesser Grimm, they use their raw strength and power to put a Huntsmen on the backfoot, and the swarm tactics of their lesser kin to finish them off. Recommended tactics would be to isolate them from their packs, as well as placing or creating obstacles in their path due to their bulk. Explosions and armor piercing projectiles are the best bet to bring them down."
Raven frowned at the excessive load out required, especially since I went into the specifics on what was needed. Which was beyond what anyone could bring to the fight outside of myself. "Preferably they are brought down by a team or even several teams of Huntsmen working together to ensure minimum casualties."
"That…is oddly specific…have you…how do you even know something like that exists?" Qrow was only curious, yet I had the urge to snap at him. Not his fault though…
"One of them almost destroyed my home town."
"Oh…" Qrow winced, and his sister harshly nudged him shutting any further foot in mouth disease.
A bitter laughter escaped my throat. "Heh…heh, that was not a good time."
We stopped any further conversation, though Raven continued to leaf through my book. Most of the Grimm didn't seem to interest her, though a few like…the Apathy and the Dragon gave her pause.
CHINK!
Huh? What was th—!
"Oh god my face! Why is it always my fucking face?!" I screamed in frustration, and in my rage slapped Qrow in the face. Much to his flabbergasted expression I did it a second time. I took a deep shaky breath, brushing my hair back from my face.
"Uh…Summer?" I gently patted the still flabbergasted Qrow as an apology, once my senses had returned to me. Taiyang stopped any further questioning and I huffed away from the trio, gently taking my book from Raven's hands and walking off back to our room.
Stupid…stupid bullshit pseudo-magical semblance!
(Raven's POV)
Does…does she know? And if she does…how? I know what her semblance is and it surely does not allow for her to figure out things like this.
Unless she's more perceptive than I thought…and if she can figure out his semblance does that mean she already knows…
No…no of course not…and even if she does, I have my doubts she'll do anything about it. She doesn't seem the type to tell on people…but it also makes me wonder how much Ozpin may know.
In the brief meetings I've had with him, he always…had an air of a man who could find all your dirty secrets with ease.
But for now…I suppose it would be best to lie as low as possible.
BZZZZ!
Ehh?
I looked around as what sounded like a fly buzzed past my ear. I focused my my eyes and reached out. In an instant I had grasped a…small…fly…does…it have a ca-
SQUISH
Nevermind…I broke it…
Perhaps I was just seeing things…
No matter, I have better things to do…
Like taking care of my oddball partner.
"I'm not carrying you." I told her bluntly despite the quivering of her lips. My fists tightened as her eyes trembled and opened wide, the Huntress in training trying to convince me.
"Ah c'mon, my face hurts so much from getting a plank of wood to the face." She begged me to help her, and I denied her advances…
That…was poorly worded…
I turned to the only one on our team who really knew her. Taiyang had an amused idiotic grin and I held back a groan. Please tell me he doesn't condone this.
"Come on Raven, she's our leader. You have to help her." He smiled even wider.
That…blonde…bastard.
Summer held her hands together, her lip trembling again.
I…
Dammit…
Summer squeaked when I picked her up, wrapping an arm around her waist. She relaxed while I carried her like a sack of potatoes…
If she's going to be lazy I'm not going to make it comfortable for her.
Shut…up Qrow I can hear your laughing you…
Who's that blonde?
I went still as my instincts screamed at me, those piercing green eye glaring at me. She seemed to be sizing me up, her eyes darting to a sheepish Summer…
Who waved back? Why would she…?
Wait…I've seen a person with that same face before…but that had to be almost four years ago and she was…certainly older than that.
"H-Hey Glynda…it's good to see you." Summer laughed nervously, while the Huntress quirked an eyebrow, an amused smirk painting a certain picture.
She was tall, shorter than me but taller than her…friend…sister perhaps? They don't look related though Summer could be adopted.
The blonde's smirk widened, and she placed a hand on her shapely hip. She seemed a rather serious women though I questioned the riding crop on her side.
"You've made some new friends?" Summer nodded with a small grin, waving her hands with an oddly cute fervor.
The silver eyes girl started to squirm out of my grip, and I rolled my eyes.
"I thought your face still hurt…" Summer flushed, mumbling something under her breath. I couldn't make it out but it was probably hilarious…
She brushed her hair back, standing steady on her two feet. She unruffled her skirt, and she lunged.
"Oof!" Glynda yelped out as Summer tackler her, picking her up in a tight bear hug.
"It's good to see you sis…" She mumbled into the older women's neck, and I felt a spike of…something.
"Good to see you too Summer…" the two women released their hold of the other. I felt trepidation as those bright green eyes looked up and down at Qrow and I. She appeared to ignore Taiyang, likelt because she already knew him well.
But in our case we would be an unknown…
She smiled, and I wondered what she saw in us.
"You must be Summer's teammates…" she offered a hand, her back straightening as a serious expresion took over. I shook it, wincing at the strength behind her grip.
It made sense however…she was a four year student if I was guessing correctly. None of the second and third years I had seen, had quite the same level of power and experience behind them.
It…was awe inspiring…seeing how far I still had to go…
"Pretty cool right? Ozpin made me team leader for some reason." Summer raised her eyebrows a few times much to my confusion. Her sister's eyes widened at the action, before suddenly that emotion was suppressed
"I suppose he thought you would be the best fit for leading this team."
She's…definitely the best choice among us four…Qrow…is Qrow. I don't particularly have a desire to lead, and Taiyang…
Is a bit of an idiot…
"An interesting team you've gotten yourself into." Summer shrugged her shoulders, her lips upturning into an almost smile.
Our…leader pressed her hands against her cheeks in apparent happiness as an idea lit up her eyes. She lifted her right index finger into the air, spearing toward her blonde sister.
"Fight me!"
W-What?!
(Glynda's POV)
I wonder what Summer is thinking? She's rarely this enthusiastic about sparring, barring some occasions when her fighting spirit lets loose.
More important was the fact that she knew what she was, and knew that Ozpin wanted someone like her. But then…this isn't even close to the strangest things I had learned in my tenure at Beacon.
And I had always known that my adoptive little sister had secrets of her own…
"Are…are you ready?" I could hear the nervousness in her voice when we entered the sparring circle after obtaining permission.
We both flared our aura, and I felt a spike of surprise at…just how much she had for her age and experience. It was more than double what I had at her age, and I felt disquieted by it.
I wonder how strong she's become after all of these years?
Summer fidgeted nervously for a moment and I felt the urge to call the match off.
She couldn't be ready, I didn't want to hurt her by mi—
I barely dodged a spear thrust from Summer, a smug smirk on her face.
Blue light filled my vision…
BOOOM!
An explosion rattled my ears, but it hardly put a dent in my aura. I sighed, shaking my head, my grip tightening on my weapon.
"You've gotten stronger after all these years…I'm impressed."
Summer didn't say a word, gritting her teeth. I've seen that expression before…
She knows I'm out of her league, and I know it too. And from the stands I could tell her team had the same thoughts.
I waved my crop…and a wave of telekinetic force barrelled down toward the first year student. She quirked a brow and a dozen arrays came to life…
She countered force with force, a blast of pressurized air and detonated explosives stopping my first attack. Another explosion nearly made me move back until I realized the attack had seemingly missed by miles.
Like she wasn't even trying to ai—
Oh…
I see what you're trying to do little sister.
The battlefield was left obscured as harmless smoke blocked my vision…
"An interesting trick dear sister…" I hoped my mocking tone would provoke her, but we both knew she was smarter than that.
SHINK!
My left hand lashed out, with a Dust barrier blocking the axe aimed for my arm.
Our eyes met…and she fired.
A metallic grenade crashed itself against me before detonating, a combination of Thermobaric Dust and detonating thermite taking a good sliver off of it.
Summer jumped back, using my brief moment of distraction to press down on the trigger…
Too slow…
I knocked her weapon out of her hand…a massive wall of telekinetic force hitting her like a truck.
I took multiple steps forward, my heels clicking with each one of them.
Summer looked more nervous. "Perhaps this was a mistake."
I raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"
WOOSH!
BOOM!
My semblance was countered once again, and Summer stepped out of the smoke, Determination written on her face. Her bare hands glowed blue, the "tattoos" on both sides of her hand brimming with energy.
I took a single step…before flinching back as a pulse of malignant aura made something snap.
One of the lights collapsed, throwing tens of kilograms of mass falling where I had been standing.
That's…odd…
I ignored the blast of fire and lightning, easily sidestepping the attack, and with a sigh whipped my weapon against Summer's face. She rocketed across the classroom, and I held back a grin as a good five percent of her aura was lost.
But I had more important duties…
"Qrow," the boy in question grumbled, his calluses hands curling in on themselves. "Is there something you want to tell me?" His sister stiffened, and I noticed her aura flare up for a brief moment.
He looked defeated, and Summer took hold of her weapon, but compacted it ending the match.
"I…how…did…you know?"
Foolish boy…even Summer could tell with how your aura expelled itself…
Perhaps getting it out in the open will help him…
Summer should understand my actions.
(My POV)
Shit…that's…I didn't expect this to happen so soon. But then again Gilda was the one to teach us how to sense aura, gives us a good cue for picking out the use of a semblance. Though her skills in it are clearly above what I'm capable of at the moment.
Though really I didn't expect my match with Glynda to end this way. I was expecting to get knocked out within a minute with how fast she seems to be.
As to why I decided to fight her in the first place…
I wanted to see how far I had to go, and I hadn't gotten to fight her personally before she moved to attend Beacon.
But it seems my attention should have been on my own teammates since today in particular seems to be a bad day for Qrow's semblance.
Who was currently grumbling under his breath as she waited for Glynda to reply.
She looked ready to talk and did so.
"It's quite simple really…that 'accident' was preceded by a burst of aura, and I've felt such surges before an attack by the more subtle semblance among my classmates." The twins nodded their heads in tentative understanding. She pouted to me, and I knew I was kind of fucked. "And Summer is capable of the same thing as well."
The twins turned their heads at the same time.
"What?"
Well…at least I know they really are twins…
I laughed nervously, raising my hands up in defense of myself. "Uh…I didn't want to mention it?" I pursed my lips at the curious and wary emotions I could read in Raven's eyes. "Neither of you seemed comfortable with mentioning his semblance so…" I trailed off, chastising myself at my lack of confidence.
I'm their leader aren't I? It's my job to help them out if they're willing to let me help them.
"It's Misfortune…" My eyes widened as Qrow relented, and I schooled my expression into more serious(and sympathetic) semblance. I stepped out of the ring, waiting patiently for him to continue.
"…"
He sighed, his back leaning against the wall. "You know…most people get easy simple and cool semblances. Sonic roars, kinetic shockwaves, or portals like my sister." The aforementioned Branwen scowled before turning away. "But me…" I could hear the sheer bitterness in his tone. "My semblance tips the odds. Shifts probability in a negative direction. I can't turn it off, and it doesn't discriminate."
Yikes…he sounds kind of pissed…I could see why though. Life's given him a pretty shitty card, and it's not like it's going to get better if the timeline stays the same…
Which it won't…mainly because that timeline kills me. And I like living very much.
I didn't come back from the dead only to die only a few scant decades latter. I'd preferably die of old age, instead of being murdered by either evil dark monsters, or some dumb magic cunt's henchmen.
"You don't seem very shocked or…afraid…"
It's not that complicated Qrow…
"Well one," I raised one finger. "I already kind of knew you had an odd semblance and two." I raised another finger "Your semblance would probably only be dangerous during a dangerous situation, else you'd be dead already. And it's going to have a range limit or else you'd use up your aura too quickly."
Qrow had the dumbest look on his face, like a little puppy.
"You don't…care." I shook my head, giving him an honest smile. I'm not to give up on him just because he has a semblance like that. I genuinely wanted to befriend him. Whether because of bias from before or because he was my teammate it didn't matter.
"Nope!" He looked both surprised and relieved and I made me ask, how the hell did people back home treat him to where he disliked his semblance?
Or…did something happen in the past…?
"Perhaps you would like some privacy?" I gave my sister a thumbs up.
I promised to myself that I would do better…
"So why exactly were you so nervous about your semblance before?" Tai was the one to ask the question once we were alone.
Qrow clicked his tongue, looking rather adorably abashed.
"Besides the fact my semblance is danger to everyone around me?" His tone was dry, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. Thinking more deeply about it, I should have confronted him about his power. Not knowing his semblance, Taiyang could get hurt or even killed in the worst case scenario.
"Probably still would have been a good idea to mention it…"
Stupid to think it couldn't be a threat…when used effectively it would be threat to our enemies instead, but it can be a threat to us.
"What? Changed your mind bright eyes?"
I scoffed. "No. I was just thinking it was a mistake on my part not to say anything. Not knowing about your semblance could prove a potential danger to the dream. Someone could be hurt."
Qrow looked shocked. "Wait you're blaming yourself? But I was the one not telling the tr—." He cut himself off and I blinked at the turn around. Even his sister didn't expect the outburst.
I sighed.
"Well of course. I knew something was up and as team leader I should have done something about it. Fact is your semblance is perfectly usable, we just need to set up a team strategy that takes its area of effect into account."
"Oh." Again he looked surprised. I raised an eyebrow waiting for him to say something. He cleared his throat, and spoke. "Well…my semblance has a range of about…20…25 feet. So outside of that you guys should be safe."
"I think we can work that out. Maybe we can talk about this back in our room."
The twins nodded and I already knew Tai would follow along.
For once I think I was doing alright.
(Ozpin's POV)
I sipped my mug calmly as I watched my four students work out some of their smaller issues. I knew there was more to come however, including information even I knew little about.
Whatever it was I would be glad to have students with such potential attending my school.
Hopefully they would be able to deal with their problems without destroying themselves. And it does seem like my choice of team leader is going well so far.
I've made many mistakes and I don't want this team to be another.
Because those eyes…those eyes of her. The first time I met eyes with her silver pools.
I saw a kindred spirit. A being who was older than they looked. And one hiding just as many secrets…
(My POV)
I adjusted my positioning, feeling discomfort around my chest area. I had woken up in the middle of the night after having another dream. I didn't gain as much information as usual, just some minor flashes. Whatever the reason I was thankful I was obtaining them. They would prove useful for the future…
As to that discomfort…
Wait…
Rustle…rustle…rustle.
Forgot to take off my bra…it's not exactly very comfortable for me. I hid the black garment away, flipping on my back to stare at the ceiling.
It's pretty quiet right now…outside of Tai's snoring anyway.
Nice and relaxing…cozy even with how warm it is in here. But not excessively so, just in that range where I want to snuggle into my sheets.
I had some more time to think now, the last few weeks had been a bit of whirlwind of getting used to being here. Though in many cases things I had been somewhat used to in my old life.
I was training to be a Huntress…it had sunk in to me now.
A slayer of monsters, a participant in a war that would never end. In an unforgiving world, a remnant of what once was. When magic we gift to all, and god's roamed the earth.
So why was becoming a Huntress?
Because I could…because I wanted to be strong enough to survive? My eyes and my heritage…they were both a danger to my life. If I was strong enough…I could at least keep myself alive to old age.
And maybe…another reason…was that I thought I could help people in some way…I wasn't the most emphatic at times…but that didn't mean I didn't care about people.
To die to Grimm…that is a terrible way to go…a fate that no one deserves.
And I don't think I could live with letting that go.
Surprising really, that I had the willpower to do this and to commit to it…
But now I needed to make some plans…
I have about twenty six years before the OG series would have started…in that timeline, I die, Tai falls apart, Raven runs away, and Ozpin drops the ball leading to the destruction of Beacon, and the death of thousands, or even tens of thousands of innocent people.
Things are already changing at a rapid pace…the CCT network is no longer a viable target, since the satellite network above is protected from the Grimm and can penetrate through weather with ease.
Technology is advancing at a far more rapid pace than I once expected…canon did have spaceships and railguns weren't a thing either.
Probably…
Honestly the only thing I can think of…since most of that stuff is pretty far off is to look for any of the canon villains who should still be pretty young, heck Cinder's probably still a baby or not even born at this point.
The modern White Fang might not even exist with his things are getting better. In fact there's been a sizable improvement as Menagerie has become a capital of genetic engineering and climate engineering projects. The relative lack of Grimm has provided them with a safety net, and there's a continuous boom in the economy and the population.
Heck there are whispers of Menagerie becoming true fifth Kingdom, a burgeoning super power. And if the faunus aren't being oppressed and trodden down, we won't have McEdge Lord Taurus cutting people's arms off.
So one less group of assholes to use as tools and puppets for Salem's bitching…
And another thing…both Salem and Ozpin are morons too petty to set aside their differences…admittingly at this point it would be best to either imprison her in a vault forever, or talk no jutsu her back into a sane person.
Wonder if silver eyes would work…not that I'm going to test that theory.
Whatever happens in the future…I wish I get to retire on a nice old farm or something…but…like in space or something. There's got to be planet or two we can colonize out there in the universe.
And a tiny childish part of me wants to be a space captain wandering across the endless sea of stars and void.
Traveling across the universe…to boldly go where no man has gone before…
Someday…but not today…
"Mmm…" I froze as I heard a rustling to my left on the Branwen twins side of the room.
I hoped she wasn't going to—
"Youuu…whyyyy…are you awake?" I held back a squeal at a sleepy Raven. I peeked out from under my sheet, meeting eyes with her half lidded scarlet orbs.
"I…couldn't sleep. Just a weird dream, that's all." She smiled dopily, nodding off within a matter of minutes.
Perhaps it would be best to fall asleep. We do have class tomorrow…
I just…hope…I can…
Zzzzz.
Zzzzz.
Zzzzzz…
Author's Note:
So uh I've established in both my mind and on paper the general storyline and structure. Think of it like a less compressed and more serious volume 1 and 2. I want to establish the characters and their relationships more than that. A little more slice of life, as well as more emphasis on the world too.
So yeah…that's it.