Chapter 10
Players and Pieces
The silent and peaceful forest, home to many exotic wildlife and several species of the much feared creatures of Grimm was bathed by the unfiltered sunlight. No clouds were visible as such, much was illuminated under its direct influence. The green, brown and everything in between coexisted harmoniously in a sea of life. It would've been an ideal sight as such peace and silence was slowly becoming rare throughout the whole of Remnant. Or at least, that was what the blonde knight wanted it to be.
He watched as a chaotic dance unfolds before him. The carcass of a deceased Ursa near the edge of the clearing was slowly decomposing. The kill was most probably courtesy of Nora and Ren. Ruby who was beside him just moments ago, decided to reunite with Yang but their much awaited embrace was ruined by Ren's energetic companion. They were all standing in front of the ruins that Ozpin had told them where the relics that they must retrieve were being held.
"Yep…she is too energetic for her own good." He told to himself.
. Blake merely watched things unfold beside the two sisters and Nora, somewhat unfazed by all that has been transpiring around her. Not too far from the four, Pyrrha was still being chased by a Deathstalker, Ren struggling to rejoin his partner and Weiss screaming at the top of her lungs as she rode a black feathered Nevermore.
"This just can't get any worse huh?" Instantly, he regretted him saying it as he stood on a tree branch.
"I can't take it anymore!" Jaune flinched as he watched his fellow blonde explode in flames.
"Did she just…yeah she just exploded." He said to himself as he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again!?"
At her statement, Jaune amusedly counted up to two and watched as Ren finally joined the group. And true to her words, the white haired Schnee screamed once again, only now was that she was holding onto one of the giant Grimm's talons.
"How could you leave me!?" Her inquiry was most likely directed to Ruby as Jaune remembered him colliding with her a few feet above ground.
"She's gonna fall." He mumbled as he readied himself for the inevitable catch.
Without a moment's hesitation, he jumped from where he stood which earned several worried calls from the two sisters and Pyrrha who was still being chased by the Deathstalker. He disregarded them and summoned his semblance once more. Jaune was blessed, at least to say as he was born into a family with rather potent aura manipulation abilities. As such with that paired with a bit of imagination and perseverance, he could now manifest his aura into any solid object, be it a dozen floating spears of a pair of Nevermore wings. It was a step above his family's 'pinnacle of aura manipulation'. Much like what he was currently doing.
Despite his initial fear with 'flying' thanks to his eldest blonde sister, he was able to conquer it. A great help especially when one was facing the airborne creatures of Grimm.
Wind rushed around Jaune's being, his hair became disheveled by the sheer force of his flight. His hearing was deafened both by the roars of the avian Grimm and of the snowball tumbling through the air. His wings glided to position him just below the Schnee heiress when he saw the Nevermore eject its feather projectiles.
"Shit!" He yelled in annoyance as he projected a pair of shields, one for Weiss and the other for himself.
He maintained both until he was close enough for his aura shield to cover Weiss as well. Jaune moved in perfect synch with Weiss's falling form as he pulled her to his arms all the while defending both of them from the assault of the giant Grimm. He embraced her tightly to avoid hearing a disturbing splat on the forest ground.
"Weiss, I'm going to drop you alongside the others. You guys deal with the Deathstalker, the Nevermore is mine." He looked at her, satisfied as she gave a weak nod as red streaks appeared on her cheeks.
Dissolving his shield as they descended, Jaune then summoned several spears to counter the relentless assault being thrown at them. He watched as his ghostly spears met the black feathers and clashed in midair. He launched another wave before the Nevermore could even position itself, some bounced off its thick skin while a few managed to nudge itself into its flesh. Another bloodcurdling roar was heard, courtesy of the bird like Grimm.
As the two were about a feet from solid ground, the knight lessened his approach and like a landing gear of an airship, dangled Weiss with her feet pointed towards the ground.
"Wa-wait! Jaune, can't you put me down a little more safely?" She asked as Jaune prepared to release his grip on her arms.
"Sorry Weiss but I have to maintain as much speed as I can so that I can return to the fight."
He glanced at the surprisingly determined and resolved face of Weiss. It was rather baffling for him considering how her voice seemed to shake earlier but he banished it out of his mind. A smile graced his face.
Looks like they've have some good combat experience huh?
"Alright Weiss, I'll drop you so that you could rejoin the group. Use your ice glyphs to stall that Deathstalker then tell everyone to regroup. Do you understand?"
The Schnee in question scoffed but agreed nonetheless. As Jaune neared the group, he yelled to Weiss.
"Go get them Weiss!" And like bombs in a bomber, he released his lithe payload and quickly climbed into the sky.
Now it's just plain old dogfight. He thought as he was filled with the excitement and rush of combat.
He unsheathed Crocea Mors and activated his actual shield in preparation for combat. The wounded Nevermore circled, he could see drips of some black liquid come from its wounds. As the two faced each other and flew towards each other, Jaune produced recreation of the swords used by his ancestors. From the sword of the great warrior King Roland down to the sword of his father and launched it towards the Grimm with the motion of Crocea Mors. The Nevermore reared and released its own feathers towards him but Jaune's swords outnumbered the released projectiles. Needless to say, the Grimm was no match and was shredded to pieces within seconds.
Jaune hovered as he confirmed his kill. His blonde hair was ruffled by the air current that enveloped him. His breathing labored as he sheathed his weapons. His sight was slowly blurring and he could feel his body burn up.
Not good. He thought as he faced the obvious effects of fatigue.
He could feel that his wings were fading and he deduced that he won't be airborne for any longer than a minute. He was sure that his aura was nearing its end considering all of the beating he had received earlier. Surveying the ground battle, he was relieved that the rest of the group was able to down the Deathstalker. Its stinger firmly nailed into its exoskeleton and through its flesh. The knight began his slow descend onto the forest floor. His vision slowly darkened as he faced the threat of a blackout.
Damn it, used too much aura. He thought annoyingly as he chastised himself.
He was too confident that he could pass the initiation without much trouble. But due to his carelessness he had allowed the Deathstalker to deal a major blow and drain but a droplet of his aura. The damaged done to his body forced him to use his reserves to heal himself which were also drained during the dogfight.
Still need to train. He thought as his consciousness slowly faded.
He felt his wings completely evaporate followed by a short drop to the ground. His face met the soil, the pain of the contact dulled to that of his whole body. He couldn't move at all as he heard the cries of his friends and their fast approaching footfalls. Slowly, his body was turned so that he faced the worrying eyes of the pack. He smiled weakly, mostly directed to Pyrrha who held him in her arms.
"Sorry…guys but…I might…need some…help." He said between lungful gasps of air.
"Jaune are you alright?" Ruby's trembling voice reached him.
Damn, so cute.
"Ye-yeah. Just fatigue…due to…aura…exhaustion." He weakly replied.
He tore his gaze from the people that encircled him and towards the ruins. He could faintly see several chess pieces on top of pedestals arranged in a semicircular manner.
"Did…you…guys have…your…relics?" He asked, still lying limply on Pyrrha's arms.
All seven nodded. He smiled back at them as he tried to stand up but failed miserably. Jaune took a few moments to recuperate, after which he sat up much to the protests of his body. He grunted with the sheer effort that he had to put on just to complete the simple task.
"Alright…guys…let's get…back to the…cliff." He told them as he attempted to stand.
He nearly fell to the ground as his knees buckled. He was caught by a certain tall redhead and a certain small ice princess.
"Jaune, don't push yourself." Pyrrha told him.
"We got you." Weiss added.
He heard Yang snicker behind him but was too tired to stop her from what she was about to do or say. As such he braced for the worst.
"So is it White Knight or Arkos?"
"Shut it Yang." He weakly deadpanned as both red and white supported his weight.
He was replied by a howl of laughter from the blonde, a 'whooing' from Nora and a worried stare from Ruby.
"Relax Jaune." His father, Jonathan told him as he chopped a piece of wood in half.
"Once you reach your age of becoming, you don't have to worry about being awkward." He reassured him as he cleaved another piece of firewood.
Jonathan's bare chest showed his experience both as a huntsman and as a husband and father. Several scars lined up his muscular body. Some were due to his fieldwork while others were from an enraged Joanne or from Jaune's older siblings when they were still toddlers.
"And why is that dad?" Jaune asked as he gathered the chopped wood in neatly stacked piles.
Discarding his white tank top due to the intense summer heat, Jaune revealed his quickly forming body. Several scars were also visible from his time in a nest of King Taijitus as well as his spars with his older sisters. But all were merely fleeting memories of an old dream. Jaune wiped the sweat forming on his face with the back of his hand as he gazed on their estate. Due to their heritage, the knight family of Arc was regarded as one of the old nobles of Remnant as such, they were wealthy enough to maintain the large estate as well as to support their small village when needed. But not as much as the big corporations that now filled the kingdom.
"Mainly because every male Arc has a sudden growth spurt once they reach eighteen." Jonathan said as he straightened his tired back.
"And that means?" Jaune asked as he poured his attention back to his father.
Jonathan grinned at him, the same mischievous smile that at times, his mother and father shared at each other.
"Well, why don't you ask your mother for that?" He said as he chuckled.
Jaune sighed. "Dad, are you sure you should be saying that to a thirteen year-old boy with raging hormones?"
"Meh, you'll get there anyway so at the very least, I could give you the general overview right?" Jonathan said as he stretched his sore muscles.
Jaune face palmed as he muttered disapprovingly. "Dad."
Jaune felt his eyes become heavy as his weight was distributed to the two maidens beside him. He smiled weakly to himself at the memory.
Damn it dad. This feels like a lot of trouble. He silently said as his mind faded into oblivion.
