The wind blew, the woods creaked, and she could spot the occasional red eyes peeking from the dark undergrowth, the untouched forest beyond the borders of huntsmen patrols having grown with no clear path anywhere in sight.

She'd long since passed the outskirts of civilization, the grave of her mother, the most distant place she'd ever visited in the wilderness, had faded as quickly as it had arrived.

Ruby ran as fast as she could whilst keeping track of her surroundings. Spotting a particularly tall tree, she accelerated further and ran up to the highest branch, crouching on top of it.

Her breath came out nearly as mist, all the desperate searching taking a toll on her. She sat down, carefully inspecting her surroundings, taking in every single inch of ground she could spot.

She shivered slightly, knowing she'd have to search it all on foot regardless. She could barely see the ground through the thick vegetation anyways.

Slipping a hand into her pocket, she pulled out her scroll whilst her other hand adjusted the scarf on her neck. Quickly, she dialed the same number she'd called a few hours ago, when she'd started searching.

Mr. Azul picked up the phone just as quickly as he had the first time.

"Ruby, how far in are you?"

She had set the call on speaker as soon as it stopped ringing.

"I've got no clear landmarks here, and I can't keep track of my location through my scroll. I lost all sort of CCTV connection a few minutes ago."

He muttered something under his breath, but it was lost underneath the light rain splattering on her.

Gods, she was soaked!

"Anything you can tell me about the area? I might be able to figure out where you are right now."

Ruby blinked slowly, forgetting the obvious.

"I-I'm in a reaaally tall tree?"

"...Any estimate about how tall?" Humour seeped into his voice.

"...Twice over any other tree I can see?" Ruby felt red creep up onto her face.

Whatever Azul had said was lost this time to her signal starting to fail on her. She was sure it was a matter of a few more minutes of running before it was gone completely. The internet had been down for quite a while now.

"Repeat?"

"You're all the way to the edge of Patch, Ruby. If that tree is the one I'm thinking off at your pace, you are an hour off from the coast. I doubt they could have ever reached that far."

She bit her lip anxiously.

"Should I retrace my steps?"

"Hmm...No. Get down from the tree, and do a sweep. I think that area is around the limit of where they could be. Any more, and it takes more time to get there than what has passed already."

"And if I find nothing?"

"Run back home. Feel free to retrace your steps if you wish to, but it's not necessary. Thanks to you, we've covered a ton of ground, and outlined the potential area. You're doing good work, kid."

Ruby shuddered as a breath she didn't know she had been holding left her lungs. For some reason, she was completely and utterly on edge, a feeling of unease screaming inside of her.

She giggled nervously, trying to shake off the tension she felt.

"Good thing I asked Amethyst for your number before setting out. I'd be so lost right now."

Azul chuckled.

"Aye, anyone who helps in the search needs to stay in contact with the rest. We've got enough people to check every corner of Patch, but time is of the essence. Give me a call when you get back, and we'll see what other areas need a quick scout."

"Alright, I'm off then."

"Godspeed Rose."

The call ended, and Ruby wasted no time.

In a burst of speed, she hit the ground in a flurry of petals before taking off. Exhaustion was starting to hit her, and she wanted to wrap things up before it got the best of her.

She wanted to find the people, but she was useless if she couldn't walk.

The thick forest proved easily navigatable, but there were plenty of branches hanging particularly low and plenty of exposed roots thicker than her arms, so there was no way she could run at full speed through everything.

Taking it slower than she liked was the only option, so instead, she focused on her surroundings by taking in every single detail she could see.

The sun was still up, but it was only a matter of time before it went down, and the search would come to a pause.

Ruby stopped, rooted in place, glancing down a corridor of trees.

There were no branches on those trees on the lower half of their trunks. They were present higher than that, but not a single one lower.

Her head hurt.

Trees always grow in such a manner as to receive as much light as they can. The sun feeds them, so they chase after it zealously.

Thus, when you find them refusing to grow branches in direct sunlight, you know something is amiss.

Because the trees themselves feel and know things better than most people do.

Creatures of light stay well away from monsters not of creation.

She gasped.

Her head pounded as if a hammer was bashing her skull, and the searing pain felt like a nail was being driven right into her mind.

She shook her head, trying desperately to shake off the feeling.

It died down in mere moments, and she was left wondering why that passage of the book screamed inside her head.

Taking a deep breath, she nonetheless took note of how many of her would fit from the ground to the first branches she could see and counted five and a bit.

About 25 feet then.

Exhaling, she ignored the churning of her gut in favor of walking down the corridor of trees. Slowly at first, and once her courage gathered, her semblance sent her down the path at breakneck speeds.

The thick vegetation had only gotten worse, yet nothing had grown on the path she was walking. No plants, no bushes, no mushrooms or moss. Only dirt.

Ruby kept running.

The dirt path had seemed to go on forever, but now she could see the end.

The dirt dipped down ever so slightly as if it had been walked upon countless times by something much heavier than she was.

In front of her, the mouth of a cave loomed menacingly.

Ruby took a step forward, and all of a sudden, her nose was assaulted by a putrid smell. Sulfur and rot intermixed in a sinuous dance, covered in a veil of dried blood.

She retched.

Her chest heaved as she mindlessly wiped the vomit off her mouth with her sleeves. The stench was horrible, and the way it had taken her by surprise had been too much to handle.

With shaky legs, she moved back, but the stench clung to her still.

Holding her scarf up to her mouth, she pulled out her scroll and called Azul again, only for there to be no signal.

Releasing a shuddering breath, she moved forward, but before she could as much as take another step, her head throbbed.

Sulfur, rot, and dried blood are the smell of a forest walker, their lair all the more potent. They sleep for years and wake up haunted by hunger and thirst.

Quick-witted and strong, they are durable enemies. Their flesh remakes itself under most wounds, and killing one in battle is near impossible. They are ambush predators, monsters skulking in the dark and mimicking the voices of the lost and the eaten.

But much like the forest they are birthed in, there is only one cleanse.

Fire.

Ruby whimpered.

When has she fallen to her knees? When has she started clutching her head?

Gritting her teeth, she climbed back onto her feet, ignoring the way her knees were trembling.

Ruby had no clue what to believe, not anymore. Swallowing the knot in her throat, she made her decision.

A lot of things in the world were fast, incredibly so.

There weren't many things faster than her.

She hesitated for the briefest moment before carefully extracting a flashlight out of her pocket, ignoring how the stench seemed to worm its way inside her nose.

And then, a flurry of petals covered the entrance.

Light shone down the cave as Ruby moved forward, burst of speed after burst of speed. Despite the way she tried her best to cover her nose with her scarf, the stench only seemed to grow more putrid, with another scent mixing with the rest. It was nauseous and sweet.

She'd never smelt anything like it. It kind of reminded her of a steak.

The cave was a straight tunnel at the very least, as she couldn't spot any other paths through the shine of her flashlight.

All of a sudden, however, Ruby stopped dead in her tracks.

"h-help me!"

The voice of a child echoed down the cave.

Ruby ran.

All semblance of measured speed was tossed right out the window. She ran as fast as she could, patience be damned, as Ruby fumbled with the one weapon she had. A revolver she'd made at the forge.

The cries for help kept echoing down the cave.

"m-MOMMY!"

She was getting closer, the noise turning louder and louder but also becoming more...different.

It seemed to get a scratchier quality, but not as if the child had screamed themselves hoarse, instead, being more among the line of distortion.

The sickly sweet scent had become overpowering, and as she took the final steps, she heard crackling flames.

She turned the final corner and froze in spite of the smoldering heat.

Skeletal remains laid out and covered in flames were what she found, of a beast twice the size of an Ursa major, scratching the ground with broken claws linked to an arm nearly turned to embers, and whispering for help in the voice of a child whilst surrounded by corpses.

A child long gone, nothing but tiny bones left, sticking out of its burning maw.

"h-Help, daddy wher-?"

The voice stopped, and one eye nearly consumed by fire, yet still as black as death, turned to stare into her soul.

And the forest walker, in its death throes, started laughing.

Ruby screamed.


Azul sighed as he prepared for the worst part of his evening.

That wasn't to say it had been a pleasant rest of the day either.

At least they had recovered the remains, by bullhead no less...

When Ruby Rose had called him to participate in the search, mentioning she had a semblance that allowed her to cover more ground than the rest of the rescuers put together, he'd been elated. Perhaps the girl could come back with the lost people, getting a notch in her belt that would've given her a free pass to Beacon in two years. A win-win situation.

He stood up from the darkness of his office, paperwork finished, and walked to his drink cabinet.

Too bad he'd forgotten to take into consideration the worst outcome. A girl needed therapy because he'd made a hasty decision.

Somedays, everything goes to shit.

Instead of finding people, she'd found a half-dead Grimm and a pile of corpses. If the girl wasn't rethinking her career choice, he'd eat his boots. How could he say that so assuredly? Because he'd seen the shattered look in her eyes, broken and lost, wandering all over yet seeing absolutely nothing, tear-stricken cheeks glinting in the moonlight.

And now he had to call Tai and explain how that happened.

He knocked back what was left of his glass of whisky and filled it back up, before lighting up a cigarette.

"Fuck."