Ozpin didn't say anything for a while, his attention focused on the young man just standing across from him. Gales just waited, a small yawn escaping him as he scratched his shoulder. "I have to say, this is… troubling." Ozpin said after a while as Gales just shrugged slightly. "A dragon."
"Wyvern." Gales corrected as Ozpin nodded.
"It sounds like something out of a fairy-tale."
"Fairytales usually have some truth in them."
"That is quite true." Ozpin stated as he seemed to think about something. Gales just blinked sniffing the air as he tilted his head.
'I smell a secret.'
'As do I.'
"A fairy-tale or not, I don't know how to feel with this… "wyvern" so close to Vale." He stated as he seemed to glance at his cane for a split second before looking back to Gales. "What do you recommend Gales?"
"Me?"
"You seem to have previous experience with this wyvern, what would you recommend we do about it."
"Nothing." Ozpin didn't show it, but Gales response did surprise him.
"Nothing?"
"There's nothing we can do about it - at least not yet." Gales stated before scratching his head, scratching with a speed that rivaled a dog. "Ah that's the spot… The students aren't ready to deal with that beast of a wyvern - I'm not even ready to deal with that thing." He admitted. Taking down the Old King is going to need to be near impossible for now."
"The Old King?"
"That's what I'm going to call him." Gales stated. "And I'm not joking on doing nothing to bother it right now. That Wyvern's got more destructive power than an Alpha-Class and the experience and intelligence to match. We get on its bad side; there won't be a Vale left to come back to."
You sound like you have experience in that situation." Gales flinched slightly as he started thinking back.
Lots of burnt buildings.
Even more corpses.
Children crying.
"I've… seen what happens when you taunt one. It… "reminds" you where it stands in the hierarchy." Neither said anything as Gales took breath and pushed his thoughts back. "But if you want to deal with it… that's gonna require a lot of prep work, a lot of determination and a whole lot more luck." He suddenly shrugged. "But before that, leave it be. Quite literally if you don't taunt it, you have a better chance of it leaving you the fuck alone." Gales stressed.
"How are you so certain?"
"Territory." Gales stated. "The Old King's likely set up his territory in the Emerald Forest, a place where he's established himself as the Apex Predator. As long as we don't do anything stupid in his territory - he'll be fine with us."
"How large is his territory?" That got Gales to sigh.
"That's a good question." Gales admitted. "Figure that out and you know where you're allowed to go and where to stay out of." Gales stated.
"I see." Ozpin stated as he got up from his seat before walking over to Gales. "That should be all for now Gales, thank you." He stated as he rested a hand on Gales shoulder. "Right now however you should get to the school's medical wing."
"On it." Gales stated as he turned and started walking off. He stopped for a moment though, smelling the air before seeming to frown. "Oz?"
"Yes?"
"Nothing… forget it." Gales stated before rubbing the back of his head and left the room. Left alone Ozpin just walked over to his window and seemed to think for a moment.
Medical Wing
"How are you still standing?" The nurse asked as Gales just grinned slightly.
"Power through the pain." The teen stated as he let the nurse continue checking on him. "So~ what exactly is broken?"
"I'd have an easier time telling you what's not broken." The Nurse muttered as she kept a hand on the teen shoulder. Her semblance was practically made for this situation. By laying hands on another, it let her see what injuries were present throughout a person's body. Helpful in diagnosing a patient. "You're not going to in active duty for quite a while." She paused. "In fact, I'd recommend you retire immediately."
"Well, I can't have that." Gales muttered as he closed his one good eye and took a breath. "This is gonna sting."
"What is-" The nurse suddenly went silent as she felt - rather saw something move under the teens skin. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stepped back in surprise. "What in Remnant?"
"Yep always stings." Gales muttered as he released a slight squeak. Shaking out of her stuber the nurse rested her hands on him again as she activated her semblance.
"You just… how did…" She looked at the grinning teen. "You just fixed every broken bone in your body… and the tears in your muscles are gone." She whispered. "Is this your Semblance?"
"Nope." Gales stated as he stretched. "But my master put me through such insane training I can consciously control every cell of my body." Gales stated. "To an extent anyway." The teen admitted. "I can't manually fix my body in an instant, but I can realign my broken bones, dislocated joints, and muscle tears." Gales explained before going silent. "Among other things, but as I said can't just stitch myself back together. Gotta actually take some time off and let nature take its course." The nurse stayed silent as she continued letting her hand rest on Gales form.
"You're right, your bones and tears are realigned, and the damage is still there…" She admitted.
"And your saying your master taught this ability? This can be learned?" She asked in a bit of excitement. "This can save hundreds of Huntsmen and Huntresses in the field." She stated. "This "skill" can keep Hunters alive long enough to receive actual medical attention." Gales frowned slightly, but the nurse didn't seem to notice. "Can you teach this to -"
"No." Gales stated. "I can't teach it."
"Why not? This can help so many people."
"Its… it's her legacy." The teen mutters. "She developed this skill not me; and as her student or not, I got no right to just pass it on without her consent." The teen admitted. "Sure she taught me to use it, and the techniques she created from it, but…" He fell silent before chuckling weakly. "Besides I can't teach it if I want to, I haven't mastered the technique myself." He scratched his head. "I can only use the fundamental stuff."
"But -"
"Olive." Another nurse spoke up as she walked up to the pair. "Let it be. He has his reasons, and you can't force him to pass on something that isn't his." Olive actually seemed embarrassed for a moment as she pulled her hand away from the teens chest.
"Of course, I'm sorry, Gales."
"Don't worry about it." Gales stated as he relaxed and the nurses left him alone for a moment. "Now I just need to let my body heal itself properly."
"Do you plan on jumpstarting your body's healing factor?"
"Well that's not a terrible idea." Gales muttered as he laid on his back and started to breath.
8 years ago
"Ow!" A young Gales cried out as Ashe withdrew the knife ad set it down. "What was that for!?" He brought his cut palm to his lips and began to suck on the blood spilling from it.
"It's time to start the next step." Ashe stated as Aun just glanced at the pair before going back to step. "You're going to heal that cut on your palm."
"Kay~" Gales muttered as he reached for the ointment resting on the table only for Ashe to stop him.
"No Gales your no going to heal it with that."
"Then how do it heal it?" He grumbled as Ashe held up her palm and cut it. She held out the hand as the blood started to gather to the surface sat across from her student.
"Gales, the training I've been putting you, all I've been teaching you, is to master your body." She states Gales alternated between looking at her and the blood on her hand. "As I've told you before, to master my Hunting Style, Supremacy, you must master your the flesh you're soul binds itself to."
"But I already did that." Gales complained. "I'm aware of every bone in my body, and can feel everyone of my cells and nerves." Ashe smiled lightly, but shook her head.
"You are aware, but you have not mastered the domain that is your body. You must learn to control them, talk to them."
"You want me to talk to my body?" Gales tilted his head in confusion. "Like… how my stomach talks to me when it's hungry." Ashe giggled, Aun seemed to even chuckle at that statement.
"Not exactly." Ashe keeps that smile as the blood reaches the end of her palm and starts to doesn't catch Gales attention though, it's the cut she made on her hand.
"Learn to control every cell of your body and can do a number of things, control how often you need to feed, close yourself off from pain, and." The cut on her hand was gone. "Even promote your bodies ability to heal."
"That is so cool!" Gales squealed as Ashe licked the blood from her palm to clean it. "So I'm going to learn to do that?"
"That's the next step, yes." Ashe stated.
"So how do I do it?"
Even after all this time he still hadn't mastered this part of Ashe's technique. Master could control every cell while moving, Gales had to go completely still. That in itself sounds simple doesn't it? But the process is surprisingly complicated He had to shut down his senses, temporarily stop the unconscious movements of body like his heartbeat and keep himself alive throughout the whole thing. Not only that, activating his old and new cells took a lot a focus, telling them to begin repairing themselves took such a precise degree of control was unheard of. Ashe said that if one screwed up they could create tumors throughout their entire body. Gales could only use the healing aspect of Ashe's technique for a few seconds at a time, but in those few seconds he roughy stitch his body back together.
Breathing Gales sat up feeling the effects of his impromptu healing season as he flexed his muscles. "Still rather rough, but it'll do." He told himself as Nurse Olive came back and started bandaging him up.
"Regardless of your "skill" you'll need to take it easy for a while, no sparing in classes, no active duty understood."
"Yes mam~" Gales stated as he seemed to think. "Oh… I have somewhere to be tomorrow, that cool?"
"I can not, in good conscious recommend it."
"I'm a do it anyway."
Elsewhere
"Is she ok?" Oscar asked weakly as he looked to Atalantia. A sense of panic on her face as she trapped herself on top of a seat.
"She's fine." Leo stated as he looked outside a window, watching the world travel by without much interest.
"She's not used to this I'm afraid." Lacus states as she patted her sisters head softly. "She doesn't like confined spaces."
"It takes forever getting her on an Airship, let alone this… thing." Leo grumbled as he hammered a fist on the wall."
"You called this a… train correct?" Abel asked as Oscar nodded. "Interesting, we've never been on of these."
"Never?" Oscar got a nod.
"I've seen them in books." Lacus admitted. "Old books, held in the archives." Abel glanced at his sister getting what she was implying. "Tell me how long have your people had these."
"I'm not to sure honestly, probably a few centuries."
"Interesting, how do these work?" Lacus asked. "Do they run on ore or gas."
"From what get they use to run on coal, but we switched over to electricity a long time ago." Oscar admitted as he scratched his head. Abel perked up at that.
"Electricity? As in a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles." Abel asked as Oscar blinked.
"Uh, yes~" He began sceptically. "Is that… rare where your from?"
Much was lost after the Calamity." Lacus began. "Many of humanity's accomplishments shattered and lost to time. Electricity was one of them." She paused. "Thanks to the archives, our family is one of the few that retain the knowledge of electricity and how to produce it, but most of our land has forgotten how to."
"Really?" Oscar asked curiously. "Then how do they -"
"Gases, oils, ores." Lacus states as she looked to the distance. "They reverted to using nature's offerings."
"Oh…" Oscar looked to Abel. "But I thought you said that your family stuck to the old ways."
"We do."
"Then why electricity?"
"Electricity is a tool off the forefathers before the Calamity." Abel explained.
"Abel…" Leo grunted out. "He doesn't need to know."
"It's fine." Abel stated as the two locked eyes for a moment. "Our forefathers, those that existed in the civilization before, they were perhaps the most advanced civilization in the world." Abel stated. "The things they could do with their science were so advanced that they could appear as magic. With that technology they raised an empire that expanded across the globe." Abel explained with a sigh. "But that empire is no more, all that remains of it are scattered factions and families."
'For now.' Leo thought as he took a breath. "What's the nearest town?"
Beacon
"Bed~" Gales breathed as he leaned back on his bed and relaxed. "I missed you~" he patted is bed as though it was a pet and smiled. "You're not as soft as a cot made out of Moofah fur, but your still awesome." The teen admitted as he closed his eyes. "I could stay here forever~" He stated as he smiled. "You gotta try this, Neo." The air shattered and Neo was found sitting at his desk. That smile was still on her face as she got up and dropped onto his bed, bouncing slightly before laying down.
This couldn't have been fair this bed was softer than hers was. Maybe she could steal this bed. Neo glanced at Gales for a moment before deciding against it; she'd let him keep his bed, couldn't say the same for one of the others though.
"Comfy~" Gales stated as Neo seemed to agree. She sat up though, seeming to sense something as the door to Gales room had a knock on it. "Be right there Pyrrha." The teen muttered, grudgingly getting to his feet as he made for his door. "Sup."
Pyrrha, blinked in confusion as she looked at Gales Neo going unnoticed as she started lightly bouncing on the bed. "How did you know it was me." Gales tapped his nose as Pyrrha smiled. "Right, super smell."
"Like a fanged wyvern." Gales admitted as he invited Pyrrha in. "So what's up, shouldn't you be in class?"
"Class ended a while ago." Pyrrha stated as she gestured to a notebook she was holding. "I - I took notes for you." Pyrrha flourished as Gales grinned.
"Thanks!" Gales stated as he smiled and took the notebook.
"I… I also brought some ointment - for your wounds." She stated as she set the notebook down and held up a container.
"Thanks again." Gales stated happily. "But I already had some ointment put on." Gales stated. "I made some yesterday and used it." Gales admitted "But this'll be great for la- hey!" Gales held the back of his head as Neo picked up the pillow and started hitting him with it. "Hey, hey! Stop it! Stop it!" Satisfied with her work Neo did just that, and with a rare frown looked to Pyrrha and nodded. She grabbed Gales, pulling the taller and stronger teen back to the bed, pushed him down and beckoned for the redhead to come over. "What are you-"
"Is my other half really this much of an idiot?"
"Hey!" Gales paused as he felt Neo mess with his shirt. "Hey! You gave me this shirt! Don't take it off!"