Chapter 4 - Disagreements

"I..."

I uttered. Trying to turn around or to move could've ended lethal. A Blade was held against my neck. So it would be the best choice not to move.

"I didn't kill anybody. And I am no longer a member of the family. I never was in fact."

I carefully turned my head around to look at the stranger. It was a student. She had long, very heavily styled brown hair, red and bluish clothing, and a sword with a very interesting and unique design. It had engravings all over it. She widened her light brown eyes, but quickly changed her expression. I saw rage. Eda stepped between us. Held her weapon straight at the girls head and demanded very purposefully.

"Do not do anything you will regret. Who are you?"

Her eyes wandered to Eda, then at me again. Her attack pose stiffened.

"My name is Lycide Flairtone."

I tried not to laugh. but a giggle still escaped my mouth. I began to grin.

"Flairtone? Are you serious?

You're holding a blade at me only because our families are sworn enemies?"

I just couldn't hold back the sarcasm. It was a way to funny coincidence. What were the odds of me going to the same school as Lycide Flairtone? I giggled again.

"You have to be kidding me."

Eda blinked, still involved in the standoff by aiming her weapon at Lycide.

"You know her, Darkin?"

"Sort of. I heard some things about you.

But I never expected that our ways would cross eventually."

Another student came out of the bushes. It was Yellwin Pyre, the student who gave us the school uniforms, together with Gris Hamelinn. She stared at her, apparently being her partner.

"Lycide, what the fuck are you doing? Don't threaten a student!"

"You don't know anything, Yellwin. It is more like settling old scores."

Lycide said angered, also kind of shaking which indicated that she obviously wasn't sure what she was doing. I activated my Semblance, waited for the dark shadows to form around Lycide in a percentage of a second, and within a blink of the eye, I stood behind her, this time a few meters away from her.

"I am not responsible for the things that happened. Especially not for your brother."

"Shut up!"

Lycide screamed and thrust her sword at me. It was easy to elude her attack, she was not certain about what she was doing. Eda stepped between us again.

"Stop it! I don't know what happened between you guys, but this really isn't necessary. It looks like a fight between seven year olds. We are about to become Huntsmen, there is no time for such bullshit. So please, go your own ways and ignore each other, or let this shit end here and survive together. Damn!"

Lycide thought about it, then she slowly lowered her sword.

"I have nothing to do with the crimes of my family. Honest."

I explained. She just stared at me with a very chilling expression. I knew she wasn't happy with that outcome. I noticed that some sounds appeared, they came out of the tree line next to us. Roars. Creatures of Grimm. Lycide kept her stare at me as she lifted her sword up and held it horizontally.

The blade split in the middle and a barrel was exposed, which was also engraved. Lycide swung it around and held it in the direction where the noises came from, still keeping her glare at me. She shot. It seemed like the whole forest got blasted away. A huge, red blast ripped all the trees in its path out. A lot of the bushes caught fire. The creatures got obliterated instantly. The blast threw the Flairtone girl's hair across her face.

"This isn't over yet, Darkin Tangery."

She said, then she and Yellwin pyre walked away. Yellwin turned around once again and mouthed I am sorry for that to us. Eda and I just stood there and didn't know what to think of that. We looked over to the destroyed part of the trees and then at each other. Eda tried to brighten up the tension a bit.

"I am not quite sure what she meant, but I think she likes you."

"Oh, how funny."

I continued walking towards the airship. Eda followed me.

"But what could he possibly do to prevent this?

This is my only chance to leave the past behind."

"No. I meant, you could speak with someone and try to get as much distance from her as you can. And if there breaks out another fight, trust me, I will step in and punch that sissified lady. It doesn't look bad if a girl hits a girl, you know?"

"Thank you, Eda. I appreciate your desire to help,

but you shouldn't get involved in this. After all, you have a title to loose in your case."

I simply replied. It was very kind to offer me her help, but it wouldn't end good. Eda closed up to me and asked.

"And what about yours?"

I shrugged and kept my stare at the crashed airship while i put my hands in my pockets.

"I don't have a title. If I'd be still hanging with my family, I would become the fucking mayor of you-are-arrested-town. I have literally nothing to lose."

"Wow. it really is in good shape. I think we can be sure that this is not a trap."

Eda had been investigating the wreckage and i stood there and watched the surroundings, to be sure there was no danger for us.

"But I have to be a brush off; there is no way inside.

Not a single door which isn't destroyed or locked."

"Shall we keep going then?"

I asked. Eda turned around and walked towards me, nodding in response as she walked.

"We should. Who knows what awaits us in the forest after all?"

"A treasure at least."

I stated.

"Of course, and don't forget that girl which wants to murder you."

"Oh, please don't remind me of that.

It awful enough that she knows that she is able to see me walking around."

We continued to walk through the thick forest. I pushed away some huge leaves and held them aside while Eda walked past me. I did not want to let her get hit by the leaves, they would swing back as soon as I let go of those.

"Darkin, may I ask you what exactly happened between your family and the Flairtones? I'm really sorry to bother you, but I prefer clarity between teammates."

I sighed. I really didn't like to tell anyone about it, but looking at the problems I had, and seeing that this wonderful girl was about to doubt me, like everyone else did before all of this... I just had to tell her.

"My family was evil. They used money and might to purchase some things that were strictly forbidden at that time."

"That time?"

"The Great War. They got themselves soldiers and mercenaries and interfered with the kingdoms and military. After the war, some things eventually got handed over to someone and so on. Documents got leaked and investigations began. And just before the council of Vacuo was about to send someone over to our mansion..."

I paused and looked at the ground.

"My sister came back, Lycide's oldest brother as a hostage. I honestly have no idea how she got him. And it is important to make one thing clear. My sister is very dangerous, and I don't only mean her skills in combat. She is awful in every aspect. And she killed him, no matter what my father told her to do. Cold as ice. And not one year later, someone finally took revenge."

"And, who do you think did it?"

Eda asked. She looked at me with a very compassionate look.

"I don't know for sure. The Atlasian military tried to hunt me down since that night. But they surely did not attack the mansion. In my opinion, something like an advanced military force did that. Maybe from Atlas. But not the military itself."

"I feel sorry to hear all that. Your childhood must have been critical."

I shook my head.

"No. Not at all. It wasn't bad. I just was way too young, to really understand all those things, and for a long time, it did not occur to me what the hell was going on.

Until it was too late."

That conversation really gave me hope for the future. She understood me. I wished for this moment to never end. But it did eventually. Eda stopped dead in her tracks. I quickly came to a stop as well.

"What is it, Eda?"

"Be silent for a moment. Do you hear that?"

She pointed into the direction we were heading. I looked closely at the trees and plants which were hiding whatever took place over there. Suddenly, a huge flame appeared out of nowhere. But I thought I saw that kind of fire before.

"It must be Pale."

I shouted and ran towards him. Eda followed me, taking out her racket and a light blue feather ball grenade. I drew my sword and my knife. We came closer, but we were stopped again. Ivory came out of nowhere and deflected a huge, white thorn, which came flying at her with high speed. She stared at us with an excited expression.

"Oh, hey, it's you again. Wanna help defend ourselves?"

"Sure."

Eda shouted. She went into a stance and watched closely as Pale came towards us with a long jump. He landed next to Ivory and unrolled himself. He was surprised to see us. His yo-yo came back to his right hand and he caught it without looking at it.

"Nice, you're joining us?"

"We'd love to."

I replied. I concentrated. Focusing on my strength and the enemies in front of me. The creatures of Grimm came out of the forest.

Ursas and some which I have never seen before. We all went into fighting position, ready to kill all those hateful creatures. I noticed that all of us acted like a team. Eda and Pale jumped behind us, whilst Ivory and I used the moment to outflank the creatures. They stormed towards Eda and Pale, whom used their long-range weapons to attack. Eda made multiple rotations and shot one feather ball after another. All of them hit their target. She really did know how to play her sport. Pale however, he made so many tricks I couldn't believe it. As if he would do it all day. One after one, the Grimm creatures died and turned into ash.

Ivory and I rushed in from the sides and delivered hard strikes at the horde. I noticed that Ivory had a unique combat style. She downright jumped at those huge terrifying creatures, and absolutely sliced them apart. No shit, she was ready for the life as a Huntress. After some fighting we met up again, slowly realizing that we somehow got surrounded.

We were no longer in the forest, now we stood on top of a huge cliff. The creatures of Grimm stared at us, probably hungry for more humans. We got closer together as we were looking for a way out. A huge creature came out of the trees. It looked a little bit like an enormous hedgehog, but, yeah, only looking like a Grimm. The bones, the black fur, the claws. And the blood red eyes. It stretched its hind legs out and blurted out a disturbing cry. The red eyes fixed us. I was preparing for it to rush at us, I moved closer to the ground and into position, ready to jump or to use my semblance, but Pale did not wait.

He turned around and let his Yo-Yo hit the cliff right below us. Because of the impact, the cliff tore apart below us and we fell. I needed a moment to grasp what was happening. I saw that the cliff wasn't that big, so I tried to slid down the cliff, just as all the others did. Ivory jumped off the steep cliff and unrolled herself on the ground. Eda jumped off as well, but she used her semblance to cast a little shield and used it to jump on the ground safely. Pale threw his Yo-Yo at a massive fallen tree and swung over there.

I felt my Semblance building up, the shadows and the black fog formed a curvy line downwards, and it did its job. I stood up and looked around, after checking the perimeter I kept staring up at the cliff.

"Hey, what was that about? You got scared?"

Asked Eda while she came closer to us all. Pale shook his head. He pointed up.

"That thing is killer. It shot darts at us, big as my arm. We don't stand a chance against it if we are on an open field. There's no way of beating it, but we can down here."

I turned around to face the forest again. I nodded.

"Okay. So, tell us, what is your plan, Pale?"

"Look. This beast only manages to throw them, looks like it can't control their paths.

If we get through those darts all at once, we can kick it."

"Sounds good."

Said Ivory. She looked around and tried to find a good spot where we could perform an ambush.

"What's about the tree line over there? It looks good, and it provides us with cover."

"Sure. Why not?"

I replied. I saw Eda's eyes widening. I looked to my left, and I instantly saw what she was looking at. My weapons grip nearly cracked whilst it had to hold out me grabbing it. Of course, Lycide Flairtone. What were the odds? Not only was she glaring at me as well, but I noticed how desperately Yellwin Pyre and Thistle Turika tried to hold her back. Eda knew what was going to happen again and made a confident attack pose next to me.

"Don't worry. If she attacks you again, you have the right to…"

"What, do you want me to kill her?

No thanks, I kindly decline. I don't need any more problems."

I saw that Lycide came closer, but she did not attack any of us. No. she marched right in front of me.

"You again. I guess we can't go separate ways, isn't it?

Think about it, a Tangery and a Flairtone."

She kind of chuckled. Pale interrupted her.

"Chill down, would ya? We're in this together. Huntresses and Huntsmen. There's no space for any old stories. Move on or change schools."

He paused, then addressed us all. He pointed up to the cliff again. There was no trace of the Grimm yet.

"We have a common enemy. So, let's kill it."

Lycide and I stared at each other. I did not want any trouble, but I still felt that she didn't think of it as I did. But we were interrupted, this time by a deep growl. Followed by many more, and trampling. The ground shook lightly. We all stared up. The Grimm were coming for us. They stormed down the cliff with ease. We all went into fighting position, interestingly enough, it got even weirder, Lycide stood next to me. I noticed that she knew what she was about to do.

"Let's see what the Tangery rogue has to offer."

She remarked. I replied simply.

"You know, this is not a training ground, so you better place your shockwaves good."

Eda used three feather balls at once. They all hit their targets and caused a gravity field which sent the Grimm flying away. Pale began sprinting towards the horde, wielding his weapon, together with Ivory. Thistle slightly outflanked the creatures, whilst I and Lycide waited for the right moment to attack. I saw a dog-like Grimm coming towards me and stormed forward. I ran full speed, my weapon in its sword form. I ducked as soon as I was near the Grimm. It widened its strong arms and tried to give me a deadly hug. I ducked, and as planned, slid over the ground, turning around and slicing the creature in half. My right arm lightened up and the lightning struck the next Grimm.

My look went over to Lycide who still stood there.

A few Grimm had noticed her and attacked. Lycide slowly pointed the sword down at the ground and let it transform. The blade split in half and revealed the barrel. She shot one shockwave at the ground and brought herself into the air with it. She then swung it around and hit an Ursa with full force. Okay, I had to admit, she really had skills. Eda spawned a tiny shield below Lycide using her semblance. But Lycide ignored it and used her shockwave-sword to get onto the fallen tree. She continued to fight Grimm there.

Eda was confused for a second. She looked around and tried to plan a new strategy. I activated my semblance to accelerate me and to push me to her. Because a lot of those spikes coming from the hedgehog-like Grimm flew exactly at her. I tried to push Eda as gentle as I could. We both landed on the ground, but I prevented her from getting killed by the spikes, which rammed themselves into the ground with force. Eda tried to get up, but her skirt got clamped to the earth by a spike, not far from her leg. She did everything to free herself, while I stood in front of her and defended her from the Grimm. I struck one as another one came from behind us.

It jumped at me, and Eda helped me out with casting a shield. The Grimm hit the shield and fell to the ground. Thistle turned it into ash with a marksman's shot. My gaze wandered over to Yellwin and I saw her fighting with her pen. She turned around and drew a thin line into the air. A Grimm rushed at her.

Wherever the pen drew appeared red dust.. She gave the thin line a little push upwards. Then she jumped up and made a front flip. She hit the line of dust with her fist, with a lot of force. The line shot straight at the Grimm and lit it up. The ground had a very fine and thin outline of the red dust now. She landed and smiled. She did something similar with all the Grimm that followed.

"Damnit, this girl is selfish."

Eda shouted and finally got free from the spike. She angrily looked at Lycide and shook her head in disbelief. Her red skirt was ripped apart at one point now. I looked at her.

"Eda, Are you okay?"

"Yes. I didn't get hurt. Thank you very much, Darkin."

I let my gaze wander around on the battlefield.

"No problem."

We defeated nearly all the Grimm creatures. Now there was one more remaining. The hedgehog. It, of course, shot darts at us. Into all directions, but in the air, they somehow all lit up, one by one. Gris Hamelinn came out of the tree line, shooting at the beast. He had a wooden rifle which somewhat reminded me of a blunderbuss, only with a straight barrel. It was self-constructed, and if not, it had to be old. He hit the ground and unrolled himself a few times, using the most various ways possible. He ended up standing next to Thistle. Some darts made it through, and he eluded them by turning around many times, while also firing shots at the Grimm.

"Hey, did I miss anything?"

He asked. I couldn't recognize him at all, he was way more confident than before, when I met him.

"No. you're right on time."

Replied Yellwin, obviously impressed by his skills. Just as we all were. Everyone looked at me.

"So, your plan?"

Gris asked. I didn't know how to answer.

"What? Why me?"

"I heard quite something from you, Darkin Tangery. I think you get to decide.

We all got our grades and titles, but you are an outsider. No offense."

He laughed. I thought hard. He had a point. I might have a solution for the problem, maybe an even better one than the others who only use what they learned. Lycide rolled her eyes as she closed up to us. Thistle was a range player, but also very good in hand to hand combat. same went for Eda, although range was her specialty. Gris, I did not know how to see him for now, but I thought he would be good in any. Ivory was focused on hand to hand combat, as well as Lycide. And I was better in close combat. So, I thought fast. I shouted. it felt like music was playing faster and faster as I called out the plan. It was an interesting feeling.

"Pale, begin spinning your yo-yo and prepare to do this one giant wave of flames you shew us earlier. Thistle, you and Ivory both look after the other as you close up to the Grimm. Be fast."

They started running towards it in zickzacks to avoid being punctured by its spikes. Pale started spinning his yo-yo slowly. He went into position, ready to jump up. He moved with the Yo-Yo. I continued.

"Eda, be our artillery, would you? Cover them."

"Understood. I got 'em."

Shouted Eda and hit a feather ball as distraction at the hedgehog Grimm. She made a back flip while supporting her weight with one hand. A feather ball fell out of her belt. She balanced it on her racket and waited for the right moment to hit it. I continued.

"Gris, Yellwin, you follow me. We will lure it towards the cliff."

They readied for the upcoming charge. I smiled.

"Lycide Flairtone. You get to have the final hit. Get on the tree and aim your shockwave at the cliff. You will know when to fire."

And with that, the plan began. We rushed towards the Grimm creature, supporting our two friends. The hedgehog was immensely agile. He turned around, nearly quicker than us. Although there could fit a hundred normal sized hedgehogs inside it. The spikes could also be shot sideways, which made it very hard to really push it over towards the cliff. I spun many times and each time I faced the creature, I placed a shot at it. They didn't do shit against it, so I took my knife and leaped at the Grimm. It turned away in time and I had to crouch down very quickly, so I wouldn't get killed by it back.

Ivory spun once and jumped up, using the momentum to thrust her javelin into the Grimm's right eye. She shouldn't have done that though, because the Grimm used its claws to hit Ivory. She blocked them with her stick, but she still got thrown back, against a fallen tree, and lost a good portion of her aura.

Ivory shined for a second in a white tone. Gris defended her with his weapon. He turned his rifle into a halberd and cut off a spike flying into her direction. We lost Ivory for a moment. We pressed on, trying to draw as much attention at us as possible. And we succeeded. With more and more attacking and eluding its spikes, we finally got it far enough. I eluded the sharp claws once again, ducked and go down on one knee. I screamed.

"Eda, cast a shield in an angle."

I was relieved to see that she got what I meant. I nearly had no breath in me. And so did everyone else.

"Pale. Now!"

He jumped up and hit the Yo-Yo with full force onto the ground. The flame ball rushed towards the shield and actually hit it. And the flames got directed right into the cliff. Yes. Now all we had to hope for was Lycide's final blow. She made a move which tightened her grip on the weapon, and it balanced her as well. She thrust her sword forward with full power. Then, the final shot went into the cliff. And what can I say, it worked out. A plan that wasn't thought of in more than five seconds. That was a very interesting experience. Huge parts of the cliff came crushing down at the creature and nearly buried it under the tons of earth and rocks. Its head was sticking out, together with the shoulders and one front leg.

It made awful noises, it was pissed that we defeated it. I used my semblance. I noticed that I couldn't do so for any longer. This was the last chance. It made a curve upwards and down again, directly over the Grimm's head. Lycide used her shockwave to catapult herself over to it as well. We both came flying at it on our own ways and delivered a devastating strike. We nearly got blown away by the ash that formed. It kind of shot out of the Grimm's head. Well, I don't want to reveal something too gruesome. But it worked out fine.

I fell on my knees. Destiny's sun, my brave weapon, stuck in the earth. I fell onto my hands as well. I spat and coughed. My breath was gone. Everyone sat down or somehow relaxed for a second. There was silence around for a long time. Then, as Eda came to us, she spoke up and addressed Lycide. I don't blame her.

"We all fought good, guys. Props."

She sat down.

"You, too, Lycide. I don't have anything against you. But, would you please be so kind and explain to me, what that was earlier?"

"You mean the shield which blocked my way downwards? Yes."

Eda stared at her.

"What do you mean? I actually planned for you to land on the shield and help Thistle, and I would've taken care of the small creatures at the tree."

"And how did you imagine that to work?"

Eda nearly flipped, I saw it in her eyes. But she remained calm. She instead held up a feather ball.

"With those. That is why I am here. That was the reason for Darkin to assign me behind you all. Because I can use those things pretty damn well. And you just think of yourself and I nearly died. Luckily for you it was my skirt to take the hit, if Darkin wasn't there to help me."

"Oh, okay. Point taken."

Lycide replied simply, but arrogant.

"I also have to ask you, Darkin Tangery, who was your plan supposed to help?

We now have a student injured."

Ivory wanted to interrupt her, wanted to say that she was fine, but I said.

"Shut the hell up, and let me worry about her, okay?"

"Yeah, she nearly died because of your wonderful idea."

"No one in Remnant could have ever prevented that."

Yellwin threw in an argument. That did not stop Lycide Flairtone.

"And what would have happened if Ivory Zogeiro had no Aura to spare?

She could have a broken back. And what then?"

I stood up and walked over to Ivory. Eda and Lycide gave a death stare at each other. Ivory silently sat there and took all the hits from Lycide.

"You know what, Lycide, you are exactly the kind of person I hate. You can't stand me out, okay, maybe you have something like an almost good reason for that, but while you're throwing your annoying provocations at me, you ignore the feeling of others. Wow, one hundred points for the Flairtone brat, excellent job."

I hissed, loud enough for her to hear on one hundred percent of it. Ivory looked at me. She tried not to cry, and I knew why. I knelt and tried my best to solace her.

"Hey, everything okay? How badly did you get hurt?"

She shook her head.

"My Aura depleted, but I feel good."

I nodded slightly. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Would you allow me to heal you?"

She looked at me. Pale came closer to us all as well.

"How'd you mean that, Dark?"

"I have a gift. My Aura allows me to strengthen others.

I also have a stronger Aura than average. Please, would you let me?"

"Alright. Do it if you can."

She replied. I concentrated and closed my eyes. Both our Auras shined bright. I felt her Aura like something to take and modify. It was warm, full of life, and strong as well. I healed her, the white shine faded away again. I stepped away from her, and Ivory stood up. He eyes were sparkling.

"Wow. How did you do that?"

She asked. I smiled.

"I filled your Aura again, by giving it a… call it a jump start."

Everyone else came up to us. Yellwin said.

"According to the map, we shall continue our way in that direction."

She pointed into a direction which led to a huge mountain in the distance. We started going into that direction, everyone except for Lycide. She looked at Yellwin.

"What do you mean? What is with our plan? It surely is better than walking over there."

"Actually, Lycide, I don't care how you get over there, but I don't want to travel with a person like you. Darkin was right."

"What?"

She asked loudly. Thistle nodded.

"Not a way to treat somebody, Yellwin has a good point. Find someone who is willing to be your partner or teammate. Teamwork is something you still have to learn I assume."

I helped Ivory walk, she supported her weight on my shoulder. She got seriously insulted. After all, we had to be there for her, at least for a while. We went a bit further down the field, until Lycide cried out.

"I am sorry, Ivory."

We all turned around. Lycide stuck her weapon into the earth. She knelt.

"I didn't mean to insult you in any way. I admit it; I can't be on the same spot as Darkin for too long. The past is way too painful to let it go so easily. Since I lost my little brother, I felt a need to get revenge. I loved him."

Now Lycide was about to cry. Yellwin slowly made a step into her direction.

"He was my brother, the kindest of us all. He was innocent. Why did he need to die? I know that Anthracite was the one who killed him, but the fact that Darkin is her brother, yet alone the thought that Darkin stood there and took it like it was nothing makes me puke. It is nothing personal, but I guess I got upset. Please, I don't want to insult anybody. But I can't control the hatred I feel."

Eda and I looked at each other, then at Ivory. She nodded and let go of me.

"I accept your apology. I understand your situation now."

I slowly walked towards Lycide. I wanted to end it once and for all.

"I know what you think. I understand you as well. But you must listen to me. I did not kill your brother, I did not even understand the whole story until it was too late. Heck, I didn't even know who my sister brought with her that day, until she came to my training and proudly announced that she killed your brother. Guess how this information was leaked in the first place."

She stared at me. I pointed at myself.

"I told people, who would go out and tell the right ones about it. I helped to bring down my own family. Please, I don't want any trouble, so let's come together as one and take revenge on them. What do you say?"

I stretched out my hand. We were too far away for that, but I meant it in a figurative sense. She nodded.

"I see. I am sorry, it is difficult for me."

"Doesn't matter. We can work on that. Together."

Yellwin jogged to her and walked by her side. We all split into a L-shaped formation. Thistle in front, Pale and I helping Ivory out, Gris behind us, next to Eda, followed by Lycide and Yellwin. We marched towards the quests goal, finally having enough of fighting between us I guess. Ready for whatever would be thrown at us.

I thought about us all. We were eight students working together. Everyone had his own ability, all of us were unique, and all with different thoughts. Two teams could be formed out of us all. To be honest, I had hoped for me to at least get in a team with Eda. She was such a wonderful person, it was unbelievable. But for now, I had other things to worry about.

Because the one thing that we all asked ourselves was.

If that fight against the Grimm earlier was so intense, what would await us at the end?