Velvet strafed to the left to avoid the first white-banded arrow, but not quickly enough. The arrowhead hit the dirt just inches from her feet and exploded into a ball of white adhesive foam. Velvet's foot was caught in the blast, leaving her immobilized. Icarina wasted no time in putting the second arrow into play, pulling back the string on the bow and firing the red-banded arrow in Velvet's direction.
Velvet knew that she had to act quickly if she were to stay in the match much longer. After a moment of thought, she had formed a plan in her mind. Velvet deduced that, since the white-banded arrow emitted a white, foamy adhesive, then the red-banded arrow must emit an element of the same color. With this in mind, Velvet waited until the arrow was inches from her face. When it was in it's desired positioning, Velvet grabbed the arrow by the middle of its shaft and thrust it into the foam, mindful to not impale her own foot in the process.
Upon contact, the arrow tip explodes with enough power to free Velvet of her entrapment. Unfortunately, it also did so with enough force to send Velvet flying to the edge of the ring. The right half of her battle gear and her face had been turned black by the explosion. She dared not look, but Velvet also felt the sensation that part of her hair had been singed off as well. Overhead, Icarina chortled and shouted insults down at Velvet.
"Nicely done, Velvet. Although,I Wouldn't overestimate myself and make myself out to be anything more than...that, if I were you. Nice hairdo, by the way. Looks a lot better than usual." Icarina punctuated her sentence by pulling out three arrows from her previously unused quiver, whose arrows were marked with a black band.
In what Velvet perceived as an attempt to profit off of her apparent daze, Icarina shot her three arrows in rapid succession. The arrows came in at such a pace behind each other that Velvet did not have time to run. In lieu of the first option, Velvet quickly summoned a Semblance of her father's shield. All three slammed into the Hard-Light copy and splintered without incident.
So Black-Bands are normal arrows. Velvet realized.
"Aww, that's so cute. I guess that shield did you a whole lot better than it did with your father. At least, that's what his bones and his rotting flesh inside of Grimm stomachs can attest to. I guess it's true, then. You are a better warrior than your father. Maybe the next time some Grimm attack, you can actually make it out alive, unlike him." Icarina took her eyes off of Velvet and tilted her head up to the sky, laughing as if she herself was the funniest person on Remnant.
"Velvet." Velvet turned to see Coco, glaring through her sunglasses, Icarina's form reflecting on the black lenses. "Forget everything I told you earlier. Get pissed off. Kick her ass."
A wave of adrenaline shot through Velvet as the copy of her father's shield disappeared under the force of the triple-dose of arrows. She looked up at Icarina, still laughing at herself. This served to enrage Velvet even more. She felt her cheeks become hot with anger. A Hard-Light copy of Icarina's wings morphed onto Velvet's back.
Velvet soared upwards until she was on the same level as Icarina. Icarina took no notice, and continued to laugh. It was only when she opened her eyes to wipe away a tear that she saw her adversary staring her in the eyes, mere feet away. Icarina was physically taken aback, jettisoning herself an additional three feet away from Velvet.
"Damn that Semblance of yours. All you have to do is take pictures. We have to buy all of our equipment, while all you ever needed was that damn beat-up camera of yours. It's not fair." She complained.
"Life isn't fair, Miss Priss. Who are you to complain, anyway? You have that
Cabinet Member in Mistral who'll buy you whatever you want."
Further enraged, Icarina pulled out another wax-tipped Black-Band arrow and put it on her bow with the tip inches away from Velvet's face. Without hesitation, Velvet swiped the arrow from Icarina's now-trembling hands and snapped it in two. She let the two pieces of the arrow fall to the ground below. Velvet further pulled down on all three of Icarina's quivers, snapping the leather straps that bound them to her shoulder with ease. Once again, Velvet clasped them in her hands and let them fall to the ground below. Finally, she snatched Icarina's bow out of her hands and slammed it against her knee. The remains burned apart and blew away in the wind.
Velvet looked at Icarina once more.
"Perhaps we should talk about my father some more?" Velvet asked just before decking Icarina, nearly sending her falling to the ground.
"Perhaps we should talk about your wealth and your 'total humanity'?" Icarina was struck once more by the opposite fist.
"Or, most exciting of all, should we talk about how you came to achieve those two things? How about it? ("Ok, Ok. I get you were pissed off, but I could never imagine you calling someone out like that...in public, of all places." Rojo said in disbelief. "Ok, first off, we were in the air, so only she and other Fauna with sensitive hearing would have heard what was said. Second, please stop interrupting. I'll never finish this if you do." Velvet chided. Rojo lifted up his hands defensively and stayed silent).
This last challenge appeared to get a rise out of Icarina. When Velvet attempted to punch her once more, Icarina grabbed Velvet's fist and tightly grasp it. Icarina threw it away, and delivered a right hook of her 's head jerked back as a result of the force of the strike. She quickly turned it back to begin exchanging blows in midair with Icarina. Velvet sent three lightning-fast punches in the direction of Icarina's face and midsection. Two of the three landed, with momentary effect. Icarina spun around to gain enough momentum to deliver a roundhouse kick intended for Velvet's face. Velvet threw up her arms in a cross, which took the brunt of the blow.
It went on like this for several minutes, each of the two slamming their legs and fists into the other, with spotty effectiveness. Finally, it was ended with the sound of the buzzer that signaled the finish of the first round.
The two descended back to the ground, neither of them failing to lose sight of the other. Velvet looked on as Icarina's coach and parents ran on to give her water and a mended set of her quivers. Icarina waved them away, shouting about how she wanted to beat Velvet into the ground with her own two hands. Her attention was broken as Coco patted her on the back.
"You're under her skin. That's good. People make stupid moves when they're pissed off. Just make sure you're not one of them, Got it?" Coco instructed as she handed Velvet water that swiftly went down her throat.
"Of Course." Velvet knew that Coco knew that she had already failed to do this. Icarina's cracks about her deceased father made Velvet go into a near-murderous rage. They did not have long to talk about it, however. The announcer called upon all non-competitors to leave the ring. Coco hugged Velvet once more, as Icarina's parents did before exiting.
Once more, it was just the two of them, save for the moderator, in the ring. Each of them gave the other a death stare. A breeze blew through the ring, sending a small cloud of dust rolling through the space between them. In any other case,Velvet would have laughed at how the two of them resembled characters from an action film set in an ancient, lawless Vacuole.
Velvet realized that this was not the time to be funny. She only had one goal in mind: Defeat Icarina and defend her father's honor. Her hands clenched into fists Once more and she put her body into the proper battle stance that she was accustomed to. Icarina did the same, likely with the same goals as Velvet in mind, except in defense of her own honor, rather than her father's.
The three monotone pitches sounded once more, only to give way to the higher pitched signal to begin combat. Each fighter rushed towards the other, performing acrobatic moves in an attempt to get the best of the other. Velvet was first, performing a 720 spin and extending her leg on the final spin. It connected, sending Icarina onto her back. Icarina quickly recovered, sending a deadly mixture of kicks and punches in Velvet's direction. Velvet blocked most of them, but was bested by the final wave of the barrage. She was knocked onto her knee and open palm, where Icarina managed to forcefully lay her foot under Velvet's chin. A sharp pain and stars filled Velvet's being as she was knocked along further onto her back.
Icarina jumped on top of Velvet's prone body to stomp her foot down on Velvet's chest. As Icarina primed her foot, Velvet grabbed her leg by the calf and thrust her down by Velvet's side, leaving a billowing cloud of dust in the wake of the attack. Velvet rushed to her feet, and waited for Icarina to rise once more. When she did, Velvet took the opportunity to punch her twice in the abdomen, then follow through with a strong open-palm strike to Icarina's cheek.
Once more, Icarina was sent flying to the ground. She landed on her stomach, and did not immediately rise. She got on her hands and knees, and spit a mouthful of her own blood onto the dirt along with three of her reddened teeth. The sight elicited a large collective groan of disgust from the spectators. Icarina looked down and screamed at the sight of her own teeth out of their rightful place in her mouth.
Icarina glared up at Velvet. It was then that Velvet realized one of Icarina's front teeth was missing. She also took note of the absence of Icarina's once cool demeanor. She got up and charged at Velvet. Velvet was able to easily dodge the attack. This fact caused Icarina to scream out in a blood-curdling manner. She looked to her coach, then rushed over to swipe away her Red-banded arrows. She summoned her Bow, wasting no time in recommencing her firing at Velvet.
Velvet realized that Icarina was blindly firing in her general direction, not taking care to leave the spectators out of the crossfire. She knew that she needed to put an end to the fight before someone was seriously injured. The possible ideas how floated in her mind for a moment, until she came up with a solution.
Without missing a beat, she charged at Icarina, taking care to avoid her explosive arrows. Finally, Velvet reached her target and threw away Icarina's bow. Velvet clutched Icarina's arms and rose up.
"What the hell?" asked a terrified Icarina.
Velvet paid no mind, however. She closed her eyes and allowed her full energy to fill the space in her calves and feet. The raw power of her Semblance wrapped around that portion of her body. Her legs began to curl inwards towards her at the knees. A bright green glow emerged. One that Velvet could see, even with closed eyes.
The sensation that her Semblance gave her was unlike any that she had ever felt before. It was a slightly painful twinge, but simultaneously an exhilarating sensation as her Hard-Light copy of a lance wrapped around her feet and calves. Velvet even dared to let a smile cross her lips at the success that she had been blessed with thus far. She flexed her calves repeatedly, as she'd learned long ago that this move would make her legs fall asleep, causing her to fall and become near immobile after it had completed.
Soon, Velvet felt all of her current Semblance energy in her calves and feet. The glow of the lance(Velvet discovered that it was a lance one afternoon when she made the mistake of opening her eyes to look, nearly burning her retinas in the process). She took one deep breath, then another. It was her first time trying this move on a human opponent, so she was unsure as to how it would affect Icarina, or even work.
No time like the present to find out, I suppose.
With that, Velvet thrust her legs outward, connecting with what she perceived to be the space between Icarina's chest and midsection. As soon as she felt Icarina's body begin to fly back, she let go and did a graceful backflip through the air. Velvet landed on the balls of her feet and her open palm. Her back remained against the backdrop of Icarina's defeat. Velvet elected to keep her eyes closed until a moderator would raise her hand to signal victory.
"Mother! Father!" Icarina screamed out suddenly, earsplitting to someone with Velvet's hearing.
Velvet turned her body to look at Icarina. She had failed to rise up, and remained flat on the ground. A small crowd consisting of het parents and moderators had gathered around, the latter poking her legs with needles as they lifted her onto a stretcher.
One of the moderators turned to Icarina's parents and whispered under a cupped hand, " Now, we can't be certain until we run the right tests, but it appears that that Faunus girl's last attack has left her paralyzed from the waist down."
"Mother! Father! I can't feel my legs! Oh, God. Why can't I feel my legs?" Icarina screamed hysterically.
Icarina was carted away, and everyone's attention was turned on Velvet, including Icarina's mother.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you? You were always jealous of my Icarina, so you took this opportunity to hurt her, didn't you? Or was it because she was affiliated with a politician? Are you a member of the White Fang? Are you one of those...terrorists?"
Velvet was appalled. She had never been accused of being a part of the radical Faunus group before now, and did not know what to say.
"N-No. It was all an accident. You have to believe me. I-"
"Enough lies! Someone, restrain her before she gets away!" Mrs. Daedalusant commanded.
With that, a large group of people began to circle around Velvet. She got to her feet and looked around, searching for some means of escape. Finally, she found a hole in between two would-be captors. She summoned a Hard-Light rapier as an empty threat and dashed into the hole. Out of fear of being stabbed, no one dared attempt to grab Velvet.
"Velvet!" Coco cried out from somewhere behind Velvet. "Velvet, come back-What the hell are you doing?"
Velvet found Coco's change of tone odd, but did not look back to see what had caused it. She continued running until she was deep in the woods, until she had returned to her house. Her feet stopped with the sudden realization that this would likely be the last time she would ever see this place.
Shaking these depressing thoughts out of mind, Velvet rushed inside and found her largest satchel first. From there, she hurried into the kitchen and began filling it with bottled water, cans of potted lunch meat, and other assorted bits of necessary foods. She then tightly rolled her sleeping bag into the satchel and pressed two extra changes of clothes. Velvet threw her brown coat over her shoulders, and was about to step out when she thought of her family, and knew they would want answers concerning her sudden departure. Without another moment's hesitation, Velvet sat down at the dinner table and began writing, tears in her eyes.
Dear Mother and Jacob, something terrible has happened. I have committed a terrible accident and, for both your safety and mine, cannot stay here any longer. I am leaving Ein in your care and pray you will look after him well. I am sorry for any pain that I may have or will cause you. I never wished for this to happen and, no matter what anyone says, I am NOT A TERRORIST. You will likely never see or hear from me again. I love you both,
Velvet
Wiping the tears from her eyes, and scolding herself for allowing some to fall on the paper, she folded it and wrote "Mother and Jacob" on the front. As if on cue, Ein skittered down the hallway and began to bark as he always did until Velvet picked him up and held him up against her. He was a small blonde Pomeranian that Velvet had found on the street two years ago. Ein was lethargic and near death, but Velvet managed to bring him back into the speeding ball of fur that he was today.
He frantically licked Velvet's face as much as he possibly could. Normally, Velvet would push him away. However, given the circumstances of today, she allowed it, considering she would likely never see Ein again. ("Ok, ok. I know you said no interrupting, but how did you have the time to do all this? Wasn't the entire town after you?" Velvet replied with "Two reasons: 1) Our house was not the easiest place to get to. 2) Hardly anyone knew where we lived!." Rojo then abruptly got up and went over to the alley, where he remained for several seconds. He then returned, sat, and simply said "Not paralyzed.") After a few seconds more, Velvet put Ein down and stroked his back.
"Oh, Ein. I'd take you if I could, but you're a big softie who can't handle the outdoors. Plus, you'll have a better home here." Velvet bent down and kissed Ein's wet nose. "I'll never forget you."
That was the moment that she realized Ein would never truly be able to comprehend what was going on. He would only see this as Velvet going on a long trip that she could return from any day. Velvet pictured Ein sitting by the door year after year, waiting for the master who would never come. Knowing her time was running thin, Velvet took one last look at her home, then walked out. She dared not wake her brother or mother, fearful that they may impede on her departure, or, even worse, attempt to come with her. She walked out the door, and closed it for what she was sure was the last time.
Velvet began to run in the direction opposite of her house and the town, when Hansel jumped out from behind one of the trees in front of her. Velvet yelped and summoned a Dagger to put at Hansel's throat. Hansel carefully eyed the Hard-Light copy, then awkwardly laughed.
"Now let's not make any stupid decisions, ok?" He requested.
"Why are you here?"
"I saw the fight. I know they're wrong. What happened was an accident, and you aren't a terrorist. I wanna help you until you can clear your name."
"What of your family? What of Greta?"
"I already explained what's happening, and I didn't let them stop me. Greta's a big girl. She can handle herself without me."
"I may never come back. Are you prepared for that?"
"Absolutely. I already explained that. They didn't want me to go, but I came anyways. You need my help, Velvet. I know these woods like the back of my hand. I can show you all of the vacant cabins and where to get all the right supplies. I want to help, and I'm the best chance you got."
"Do you have your Feng Huo Lun?" Velvet inquired.
Hansel revealed the circular blades from his satchel and held them up for Velvet to see. For simplicity, everyone in Valkryite referred to them as "Wind and Fire Wheels". They were two black metal wheels, sitting at approximately 38 centimeters in diameter. One quarter section of the blades was padded with a dark blue foam, with a cross-guard. The other three sections of the two rings were fitted with long blades that resembled black flames. When necessary, Hansel could thrust both wind gusts and balls of fire at will from each respective wheel. Even when the wind and fire were nit employed, the jagged outer edges could still prove to be a deadly threat to the Grimm, allowing Hansel to slash, thrust, stab, parry, and even disarm human opponents.
"Of course I do. Wouldn't be much help to you if I had to have you protect me, now would I?"
"Good. Ok, you said you knew a place where we could hide out. Point the way."
Hansel pointed to a denser part of the woods north of the village.
"There's a vacant cabin that way. It's about ten miles away. If we hurry, we can get there by dusk. That'll buy us some time until morning."
"How do you figure that?"
"Well, it's common knowledge that the Grimm are most active at night. They're not gonna risk losing a dozen of their villagers looking for a single teen. If anything, they'll stake this area out to see if you'll come back. Once dawn hits tomorrow, we'll hit the road again and get further away from here. Sound good?"
Without a word, Velvet summoned Icarina's wings again and began to rise above the treeline. She looked down and watched as Hansel used his Wind-and-Fire Wheels to claw up the nearest tree and propel himself high up in the air. He then propelled himself forward at the same speed that Velvet flew. He looked up at Velvet and smiled.
One word came to Velvet's mind in that moment: resourceful
The two sailed through the air side by side for miles. Every so often, Velvet would turn around and see if there would be smoke rising up above the trees from the torches of angered townsfolk, or the sounds of their enraged shouts. Velvet did this often, and was consistently relieved to see that there was no visible pursuers. She turned back to her normal flying position. She looked out at the treeline to see if she spot any large wooden structures sticking up out of the treeline. Whenever she failed see anything, her eyes drifted down to Hansel, who was artistically doing backflips, somersaults, and other forms of acrobatics as he flew from tree to tree.
"It should be somewhere near here!" Hansel called out.
"Don't shout so loud!" Velvet called back at the same volume.
Hansel performed a handstand on the tree that he was on, pushing himself upward to Velvet's level.
"I could tell you the same thing, Ms. Scarlatina." He said with a laugh.
Velvet put her fist in her mouth as she stifled a laugh. Hansel was overtaken by gravity and cut into the tree just under him. The two continued flying until Velvet caught sight of a wooden roof. Her Semblance disappeared from her back, and she fell onto the soft grass from about 15 feet. Velvet positioned her body in the precise manner so that she wouldn't cause any severe injury to herself. This was not the case with Hansel. He swung himself into the clearing around the cabin, and failed to stick his landing. He rolled onto his side several times, stopped only by the interjection of Velvet's foot. He looked up at her and laughed.
"And they say you shouldn't put your feet in other people's messes." Hansel said with a laugh.
"Who exactly says that?" Velvet asked with a cock of her head and an incredulous look.
"...People." He replied with a sense of false confidence.
Velvet shook her head and extended her hand to help Hansel up off the ground. He accepted it, and they stood side-by-side to view the single floor wooden cabin. There was a chimney built in, as well as a well-constructed porch that was overshadowed by a supported extension of the roof. There were two windows that proved Hansel's theory that the structure was indeed vacant.
Velvet and Hansel entered the house. She made sure to check all of the rooms to be sure of its total vacancy. Satisfied that it was, she aimed to find a room that she could sleep in. Velvet was exhausted beyond words, and wanted nothing more than to take a bath (thankfully, the cabin possessed a bathroom and running water) and sleep until dawn, unless Hansel wished to sleep in shifts.
The sun had begun to set over the world of Remnant, casting a purple hue over the sky and treeline. Velvet looked up closely at the sky and noticed a large black creature who's face was all too familiar to Velvet: it was a Nevermore. Upon looking into the woods surrounding Hansel and herself, she saw the red eyes of three Beowulfs staring back at her.
Velvet rushed away from the window to find Hansel laying all of his supplies onto the bed of the room he'd claimed as his own. He looked up as Velvet rushed in.
"What's up?" He asked
"Beowulf. Three of them, and a Nevermore flying overhead."
Hansel covered his mouth and swore quietly. He paced around the room for several seconds.
"Ok," Hansel began. "They're attracted by negative thoughts, so we just let them be. Go and take a bath, and think of the most happy thing possible."
"Little hard to think positive right now." Velvet said.
"Well, try to. Our lives are kind of on the line here."
"Ok, and you do the same."
"Already there. Now go."
Velvet nodded walked slowly to the bath. While submerged in the warm water, she recalled the time that Jacob and herself took Ein to the beach. They laughed at the way he attempted eat the incoming waves and the way he rolled around in the sand. She held onto these thoughts as she crawled under the bedsheets. She locked the bedroom door and dreamed about frivolous teenage things that she did not remember the day after. An hour before dawn,a knock made Hansel's presence on the other side known. Velvet had been awake for at least an hour beforehand.
She had spent it getting dressed in a fresh pair of clothes and debating whether or not she should rummage through the homeowner's food supplies. She eventually decided not to, claiming thievery was beneath her. When she opened her door, Hansel was standing there with a plate of scrambled eggs, complete with a fork.
"I know what you're gonna say, but think about it this way: with what you're on run for, is few missing eggs really gonna make that much of a stir?"
Velvet realized that Hansel was right, and let her morals bend slightly to ease the aching in her stomach that she had refused to allow to have potted meat. Knowing that time was of the essence, Velvet quickly slid the eggs into her mouth, then washed the plate out of habit.
"Claim to be in a hurry, yet you insist on washing the plate? That makes total sense." Hansel said with a chuckle.
"We can't leave the house in a pigsty."
"Fair enough. Can we go now?"
Velvet ran back to the room she slept in, grabbed her satchel, then proceeded to rendezvous with Hansel at the front door. She nodded, and Hansel held the door open for his female counterpart. They stood on the porch, Velvet curious of where to go from that point.
"So..." She began. "What do we do from here?"
"We do what any fugitives from the law would do."
"And what is that?"
"We run."