A/N: Woo hoo, chapter 30! Oh yea!
ZyxisORA: Sort of kind of. Imaar means something in the dragon language, so that's why I chose it as a name.
Trying to avoid the enemy was tougher than it sounded.
Unit ARC numbered thirteen in size when including Professor Goodwitch, and without anything to break them from the several chasing Grimm's sight, it made it almost impossible for them to make a silent escape. In the end, they had to resort to a lot of fighting along with running away, slowing them down even more.
It took almost the rest of the day for them to finally break free from the chasers, and with the sun coming down, they didn't really have an opportunity to continue moving. Grimm would have the advantage in the night if they did, with only one person on their teams being able to see in the nighttime.
Opting not to light a fire, the group spread out their bedrolls and tried to settle in for the night, although many of them couldn't really sleep, tossing and turning from the fact that Imaar's forces could be getting closer and closer by the minute.
Jaune sat on a log, eyes out front and roaming through the darkness, trying to pick up any details that he would need to warn the group about. Professor Goodwitch had initially been the one to try and stay awake, looking out for any dangers. Jaune objected silently by staying up, and it wasn't long before the professor gave a resigned look and gathered herself up for some sleep, too tired to reprimand him.
Fingers twirling around the stick that he had found nearby, Jaune held quiet council with Imaar, occasionally using one of his shouts to detect if there was anyone or anything close to the camp.
It's only going to get harder from here. Jaune thought to Vedrahgol, who didn't disagree with the statement. Separated from the main camp, they had the responsibility of approaching the next dragon and putting it down, as well as what would probably be another horde of Grimm standing in their way.
And that's not even counting on the fact that they had to get there in one piece.
The longer Jaune thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed that they would make it out of this mess alive.
Maldovah, the longer you go into any fight, the harder it will get. That does not mean that you should give up however. You would be surprised how close many people would be to succeeding in their efforts before they backed away. Push on.
Jaune hunched his shoulders, face pensive. There's not really any other choice for us anymore, is there? We can't go back, we can't go around… the only thing we can do is march forwards and somehow win the war.
You don't have to win the war. Killing a dragon cripples the enemy, and just that can tip this fight to our favor. Do not think of winning the war. Think of winning the next battle. Only set your mind on the next objective, and you'll find that you finish before you realize.
Jaune appreciated Vedrahgol's advice, and he understood that it was the right thing to think about when low in sprits. This was a millennia old being after all, he is certainly wise enough to impart some sound advice.
But it was hard.
You're right. Jaune finally managed, putting down his stick. What can our next step be? Vedrahgol thought to himself, thinking about the battles that they've faced so far, and the goals that they needed to reach. What was needed of them so that they could survive to the next day?
The faster we kill these dragons, the sooner we can end this fight. Also, if we could kill Imaar, it would more than likely end the war. Jaune nodded. These were statements he had already thought about, but it was nice to hear someone else agree with him. The dragon-soul conitniued to think.
Heading straight towards the place would be the most unintelligent thing to do, as I'm sure Imaar would keep the route heavily guarded. But if we decide to take a more meandrous route, it could spell the end for the fight.
Hunters can move a lot faster than regular humans can. Jaune reminded Vedrahgol, who nodded at the statement. And if we go full sprint with as little stops as possible, we could still reach the dragon's residence in about the same time, but with less resistance. Again Vedrahgol nodded.
But. The dragon interjected, thinking about past events. Imaar will have thought about all of this already, and might have adjusted accordingly. He might have to divert some of his forces, but he could afford it.
Jaune grit his teeth, reluctantly acknowledging that the dragon priest could have thought about that. By and by, Imaar had proven himself to be a competent tactician, and without regard for his forces, could use his chess pieces with reckless abandon, as all of them were pawns that could be replaced easily enough.
If Jaune wanted to continue with a chess metaphor, he would say that they were facing half a board of various pieces that protected their king, with only two pawns that protected his.
He leaned back, pensive.
Pawns weren't useless. In fact, they could be the pieces that would win you a game when you least expected it. If you distracted the enemy with the bigger pieces long enough, a pawn could become something formidable, which meant…
Jaune thought carefully about what he could do, and came to a plan that might have been the only way that they would all make it out of this alive and in one piece.
It only hinged on the fact that he would have to make several huge, calculated risks that could end them before they even started.
But as always, with great risk comes great reward. And Jaune needed that reward.
And so he planned, continuing to think and create something cohesive that one, would bring everyone that was accompanying him out alive, and two, would be something that they would all agree on in the first place.
His mind was so wrapped up in all of this that he never noticed Yang rising out of her bedroll, having had woken up with a violent shudder. It wasn't a big surprise to her to find Jaune sitting by himself in the middle of the night, and decided to give him some company, also wanting to banish the last dregs of her nightmares out of the back of her mind.
She found him staring into the ground with immense concentration, probably talking with Vedrahgol. And so she brushed off some of the dirt on a spot of the trunk next to Jaune and hopped on it, shaking the thing just enough to cause Jaune to snap out of his 'mode'.
"Yang." He said, greeting her briefly. "I didn't realize you were still awake." The girl shrugged, looking at the dark rings on Jaune's face. It had been a rough day or two for the two of them, what with fighting the dragon and each other accompanied by running away from hordes of Grimm. They were both bone-tired, yet seemingly invigorated, as paradoxical as that sounded.
"I slept a little. Woke up though. Couldn't go back to sleep." Yang looked at the night sky, unobstructed by any artificial lights, the only things illuminating the dark sky being the shattered moon and stars. They both sat in silence, marveling the simple beauty for a while.
"You know, my home back in Patch had almost the same view."
Jaune turned to the girl, who continued to look at the shining stars. She didn't say anything else either, and Jaune nodded, turning back to the sky.
"Yeah, my place was the same way. We lived pretty far away from the city."
Yang nodded in understanding. Lips quirked into a little smile, she leaned over to bump shoulders with the boy, who turned and grinned at the girl.
"You should come visit sometime. My home in Patch. You know, after all of… this." Yang waved at the air around them, talking about the fighting and the dragons and the undead Hunters. All of it. An eyebrow rose from Jaune as he looked at the girl.
"Really? Asking me to meet your parents? Already? We haven't even gone on a date yet." Yang laughed quietly at that, shaking her head.
"Please, that can be our first date. Meeting the parents. Or parent, I guess." Yang's tone turned a little wistful. Jaune didn't really like it, and made for more conversation.
"Well, at least I know of one person from your family that'll like me." Jaune joked, twisting his body to look at the impromptu camping grounds that they had set up for themselves. There were a ton of dark lumps that indicated sleeping bodies, but it wasn't bright enough to see which one Ruby was sleeping in. Yang nodded to what Jaune said with a small smile.
"Yeah. That's not all that hard though. Ruby can like almost anyone. Dust, she could probably like Cardin if they spent enough time together." Yang's face twisted visibly enough to show Jaune how much Yang would like that. Her face softened again as she said, "She got that from our mom. Or, I guess, her mom and my step-mom." Yang corrected herself with a chuckle, although Jaune could see just a hint of pain in her eyes. Jaune didn't ask any questions though, instead reaching out to grab one of her hands.
Yang glanced at the hand, tracing it back up to its owner. Her hand turned over, so that she could grasp onto his fingers.
"Her mom died a while ago. Ruby was almost too young to remember much about her. I… remembered." Yang's eyes grew unfocused as she remembered Summer, and her kindness. "She was a great mom but when she passed away…" The girl turned to look at the lumps, somehow instinctively picking out a figure of the sleeping Ruby from the darkness.
"You decided it was your job to protect her." Jaune finished for her, tightening his grip the barest amount for a brief second, something Yang quickly returned. Looking at her face, it didn't take a genius to see what she was thinking about.
"You're worried about her." Jaune pointed it out, just to get it into the open. Yang's jaw tightened just a little, before nodding.
"How can I not? She's my little sister. I never realized things would be this crazy, or I might've told her not to accept Ozpin's offer to go into Beacon." Yang mumbled something under her breath, still loudly enough for Jaune to hear her say, "I almost did, back then."
"I don't know if it makes it worse or not that I'm right beside her." Yang continued on. "On one hand, I can keep a close eye on her and protect her, but on the other hand…" Yang tossed her hair a little bit, letting it resettle. "She's not the only one I have a duty to protect, and it's hard out there. I would know, I'm fighting here." Jaune nodded.
"If you think this is going to be a rough fight, you can't imagine what Ruby's going through, huh?" Jaune asked, trying to clarify. Yang made a strange noise in the back of her throat, nodding shakily.
"It sucks, having to watch Ruby. She's so… she's so strong, but when I watch her, I'm scared that one day, something will make her break and I won't be there to help. Or worse, I'm there, but there's nothing I can do to help." Yang's head was getting lower and lower as she spoke. "I feel so powerless."
Jaune wasn't usually the first person to go and comfort someone, but faced with what he was now, even the most socially awkward can figure out what to do next. With a quick motion Jaune wrapped her in a tight embrace, not bothering to say anything, just holding her as she tried to hide the few tears that slipped out of her eyes.
They stayed like that for however long it was, not caring about the time, only worrying about each other's company, and letting the one lean on the other.
Eventually they settled into a more comfortable posture, almost cuddling with each other. They never said a word, keeping their heads close and their bodies closer, as their eyelids slowly drifted shut and they fell into sleep, the toll of these recent days catching up to them.
And in the morning, when they both woke up, no one bothered to say anything to them, just glad to see that they were able to get some rest.