AN: I am sorry this one took so long to get out everyone, I had a few life things that came up so writing ended up on the back burner for a bit. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. And keep an eye out for either a Fulfillment chapter or a Glyph Runner chapter next. - Phoenix Commander signing off.
Chapter Five: Talks and Training
"Not again!" Weiss grumbled, her arms shaking as she watched the arrow. It leapt through the air and missed its target by a handbreadth, sending out a shower of sparks as it struck a nearby stone.
"Weiss, take a break for now. You will only gain bad habits by practicing while tired." Blake said as she watched the priestess-in-training retrieve her arrow from where it landed. Weiss is missing more than I would have thought. Have I missed something while teaching her archery?
The white-haired woman's eyes hardened as she stared at the target, the sigils in her eyes shifting from white to black. The arrow snapped with an audible crack as she clenched her fist tight around it. "I won't improve if I do not practice either."
"You've only held your bow for a few days. You will not master it by pushing yourself like this." The goddess of healing replied, shaking her head at Weiss' words as she gently pulled the broken arrow from her grip and turned her away from the target. "You have already loosed a full score, please take a break."
The healer let out a slow breath as her goddess led her back towards their camp. "I'm sorry, Blake. I know I shouldn't push myself, but what if something goes wrong and I can't fight?"
"It's not a bad thing to worry about future events. However, it is a bad thing to worry about them too much." The raven-haired goddess said as they walked, her arm draped over Weiss' shoulders. "That stress is not good for anyone. What I want you to worry about for now is your studies."
Weiss shook her head in confusion, the snowflakes of her eyes flickering between a warm amber and white. "That still does not quiet my thoughts."
"Don't be so eager to fight, Weiss. If we could have our way, neither of you three would even get a glance at trouble." Yang interjected softly as the pair joined her at the campfire, she had finished building, her lilac eyes locked on Nora and Lie Ren as the pair of Fateless sparred with Ruby near the edge of the camp.
"Lady Yang?"
"Being willing to fight is one thing." The goddess of death said, wondering which of their chosen Ruby would defeat first. "It is different when you actually have to and there are lives at stake."
"You're not worried about us fighting Grimm." The white-haired woman said, her own gaze moved from Yang to the sparring match as she realized what the goddess was saying. "You're worried about what having to fight people will do to us."
"Yes. The pain of it fades quicker with us, but with you it can be different." The golden-haired goddess replied, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the match. "Lie has been having nightmares about the shrines, it's not the short-term problems I fear for you, but the long-term."
"Have you gone to him about his dreams, Yang?" Blake asked, she was not surprised to hear that the priest was having nightmares.
"I will after we have dinner and relax a little. We did push ourselves to get this far in four days. Stopping early as we did today was for the best." Yang replied, wincing slightly as she watched Ruby disarm Nora before tripping Ren with the shrine maiden's hammer. Now you are just showing off, Sister.
"Agreed. It would not have been proper to show up at the gates of Mistral's provincial capital after sundown." Weiss said, shading her eyes as she checked the sun's position. "Only another hour or so left before sundown."
"We certainly would have been dealing with disgruntled guards." Blake agreed, noticing that Weiss had switched her bow to her right hand as they talked. "Does it feel better holding your bow in your right hand instead of your left, Weiss?"
"In truth I hadn't even realized that I had changed hands, but yes it does." The blue eyed replied, giving her goddess a small smile as she tested her grip on the weapon.
The goddess of healing placed her hands together into a triangle and held them before Weiss' eyes. "Look through the hole between my palms. Tell me, which eye can you see through?"
"My left eye. I can only see your palm with my right." Blake's student replied after testing her sight as instructed, the confused flickering of color in her irises increasing slightly.
"That was your problem." The goddess said, a dry chuckle escaping her lips. "Fool that I am, I have had you practicing with the wrong arm."
"How can that be?"
"An assumption on my part I'm afraid, and a lapse in attention. Your mother was right-handed, so I had assumed you were as well." The raven-haired goddess replied, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "Given that you had been helped most of your life I had not noticed your dominant hand was your left instead."
"I think you may be the one with the bad eyes, Blake." Yang interjected good-naturedly before standing up, "If you will excuse me, I need to end their sparring session before my sister shows off any more than she already has."
"Good luck with that, Yang." Blake replied, as she glanced over at the fight to see Nora now pinned under her own hammer.
"May I loose a few arrows to see if I was using the wrong hand and eye?" Weiss asked, pulling her teacher's attention away from the fight.
The raven-haired healer gestured at a tree not far from where they were sitting near the fire. "Three arrows, aim for that tree."
With a nod Weiss stood and nocked her first arrow. It struck the trunk with a sharp crack and was soon followed by the other two. The three arrows had struck the trunk in an area the size of a human torso. "I think we solved the problem, Sensei." Weiss said, a small prideful smile on her lips. The confused flickering from the snowflakes in her eyes finally settled on the familiar white.
"I agree, Weiss. Though we will need to work on your precision, that will come with time." Blake nodded, a small smile forming at her student's own smile. With that confused clashing of colors gone it is much easier to see the joy, and that beautiful blue color, in your eyes.
"You are still opening yourself too much, Nora." Ruby said, helping the shrine maiden to her feet and giving her back the hammer. "And we still need to work on your footing, it's why I am able to keep disarming you."
"I'm still not sure how I can keep you from getting within my guard, this hammer is not exactly easy to move." Nora replied irritated with herself, as she looped the weapon's carrying strap about her shoulders. The storm in her eyes darkened fractionally.
"If your hammer makes you too slow to recover while attacking then perhaps you could try being more unpredictable." Ren interjected as he sheathed his pair of kodachi and dusted himself off, wincing slightly as he did so.
"Do you have an idea, Ren?" Nora asked, curious as to what the more experienced priest had to say.
"Use the momentum of your swings to help you move quicker and keep opponents guessing. If you move to where your hammer lands it can throw off an opponent's counter." The green and white robed Fateless said. "You also don't need to just strike with your hammer, you have your hands, feet, and head as well."
"If I could bring all of that into a single fighting style do you think it would help?" The shrine maiden asked, looking between the priest and her goddess.
"It could. Besides, learning to fight without the hammer is not a bad thing either." Ruby said, nodding thoughtfully at the advice. "After we begin your aura training, we will also need to teach you how to control it without your weapons. You never know when you might be without them."
"I thought I was going to have to keep you from going too far, Sister, again." Yang said as she walked over to the three of them.
"Believe me, as enthusiastic as I am about training them, I will not make that mistake again." The goddess of life said, a flush of red coloring her cheeks as she thought about the first training session a few days earlier. "How are you feeling, Ren? I didn't push you too hard this time, did I?"
"Not at all, only the usual aches I felt when I used to train at the shrines." Ren replied, stretching to help remove the tension from the sparring match. "Perhaps a few extra bruises, but nothing I can't handle."
"Good." Ruby replied, giving him a small smile. "I think it's time we started preparing for dinner. If we wait any longer, we will be cutting up ingredients by fire and starlight. And I want to avoid anyone accidentally cutting themselves while cooking."
The goddess of death tried to ignore the pointed look her sister was giving while suppressing a blush. Her attempt at keeping her composure failed as a laugh slipped past Nora's lips. "It is not that funny, Nora."
"It is a little funny, Yang." Nora's smirk at the goddess' embarrassment only widened. "You forget I was at the shrines when it happened, I had no idea at the time that Ruby could run as fast as she did then."
"Until that moment I don't think I had ever witnessed you crying once." Ren remarked, suppressing a small smirk and making an effort to avoid his goddess' gaze.
"Not you too, Lie." The goddess of death groaned in defeat. "I'll leave the cooking to the rest of you then."
"Alright, you three stop trying to embarrass the goddess of death to death. Nora, Ren, can you give Weiss a hand with preparing the ingredients?" Blake asked, putting a stop to the teasing. "Ruby, Yang, do we have enough talismans for tonight?"
"We do, do you think we will need them tonight?" Ruby asked, all traces of frivolity leaving her at the other goddess' question.
"With how close we are to the provincial capital it may be wise." The goddess of healing said, unconsciously checking the growing shadows around them. The night of a new moon always set the raven-haired goddess on edge, even if it did bring its own beauty to the night sky. "Especially with it being a new moon tonight."
"We will get them placed." Yang nodded as she thumbed through the warding talismans that they still had. It would be enough for tonight, but they would need to make more tomorrow. "Last thing we need to deal with right now is an overactive Grimm finding us."
The goddesses and their Fateless had just finished dinner, Yang could see Weiss and Blake sitting off on their own watching the stars. With the night of a new moon, they were able to see the wider ocean of stars that the moonlight usually kept hidden. Occasionally the goddess of healing would nudge her student and point out a shooting star or one of the normally hidden constellations.
The goddess of death turned from her silent observations and focused her thoughts on what she had to do next. "Four days…almost five. We should not have rushed out of the village, he still needed time." She whispered softly to herself, her gaze resting on Ren as he sat cross legged in meditation.
"Go to him, Sister. You know him the best out of all of us." Ruby said, placing a hand on Yang's shoulder and nodding toward the priest.
Without a word the goddess of death went and knelt in front of the priest, as she moved to take his hands Yang realized he was clenching them. Small drops of blood left blossoms of red on the white of his kimono as his nails bit into his palms. "I am sorry, Lie. You should have been given time to grieve." Her voice was scarcely above a whisper, but she knew he had heard her.
"I am fine, Yang." Ren said, finally opening his eyes and unclenching his hands.
"You know that you cannot lie to me." She replied, her voice still soft and carrying at least some of the pain of loss that he was feeling. "You have been keeping a brave face since we brought you back, but that is all it has been. A mask, hiding your true emotions."
"But not from you." The priest said, his voice breaking as he let his mask slip.
"Even from me, though you may not have realized it." Yang said not unkindly, as she gently took one of his hands in hers. She poured what little of her aura that she could into his hand, soothing the wounds his nails had inflicted. "Unlike my sister and Blake, I have not been inside the mind of my Fateless save to seal your aura."
"I…" Ren started as the goddess of death lifted his gaze to look at her.
"Do not apologize to me, you have nothing to apologize for. I only ask that you let me in, let me help shoulder your pain and burdens." The golden-haired goddess said, hoping that what she was saying was right and that he would understand. "I have said that we have to depend on each other, haven't I?"
"I can still see it. I have not slept peacefully since, each time I blink all I see is blood. Every time I try to sleep all I hear is that bastard's laugh." Ren said after a few moments, his voice cracked. "Was there anything I could have done differently?"
"I am sorry, Lie, but no there was nothing that you could have done. And had you been there sooner you likely would not be here with me." Yang said, hating the truth in those statements even as her own thoughts screamed at her. We were too complacent, we never thought you would need to fight Grimm. In our hubris we believed that we were the only ones who would ever need to again after the war.
"What can I do to get past these memories?" The pink eyed priest asked, his iris swirling like a maelstrom of blood in his sorrow.
"The best advice I can give you is to honor the memories that your family left behind. And to not let revenge be your only reason to fight what comes next." The goddess of death said, pulling the priest into an embrace. She could feel him shaking in her arms as the last of his emotionless mask fell away as he let his buried grief finally surface. I can at least promise you that Taurus will not die unless one of us is holding the blade.
"Ren has dealt with death all his life, this is not the first time he has lost family either. But I can understand why it is different for him this time." The goddess of life said somberly.
"Survivor's guilt." Nora said in agreement.
"Yes, I believe so, Nora." Ruby replied, reaching for the stoppered jug that warmed near the flames. She poured out two cups of the wine it held and passed one to Nora. before taking a small sip. "I think Yang was the only one he would have opened up to in the end and I think we all could see he was still in pain."
"Could we have waited in the village for a few days before leaving?" The turquoise-eyed shrine maiden asked, blowing on her cup to cool it before taking her first sip.
The silver-eyed goddess nodded thoughtfully as she spoke. "We could have, but then we would have to wonder if that time would have been enough for him."
Nora frowned slightly at the logic in her goddess' statement. "And while we waited Taurus and likely other Grimm would have been causing problems."
"There never was a good answer to Ren's dilemma. Nothing is ever easy, is it?" The goddess of life asked, irritated in the truth of the question.
"Not for us mortals or apparently the gods." She replied with a sigh, before taking another sip of her wine.
"This is certainly true for the divine. I fear Ren's pain may be a facet of myself as well as Yang." Ruby said darkly. "It is said that 'Life is a fickle and cruel mistress' for a reason."
"The ones who frame you in that light are fools." Nora replied without hesitation, a scowl curling at the edge of her lips.
"You really believe that do you?" The goddess asked as the silver of her eyes brightened, intrigued at her remark.
"Yes, because after you gave me my life, I did what I could to make something of it." The shrine maiden retorted incredulously. She wasn't sure if the goddess was actually questioning her or if she was genuinely curious. "When times were hard, did you ever hear me complain or curse my lot?"
The goddess of life held up a placating hand, "No, not once. You were right when you said that man, had to make something of his life and live it without expecting me to do it for him. Self-reliance is my intent of course." The sliver of her eyes shifted once more, losing their luster. "I was not questioning you. It is just that very few realize what I want for mortals now, my sorrow over loss is born from their wasted potential as well as their deaths."
Nora shook her head as she thought about her goddess' words. "I think that may be something we can try to fix while we deal with the problem of finding Taurus."
"Hmm…now that you have said it, that could be part of why my father sent us from the shrines." Ruby nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. "Besides the Grimm and widening our worldview of course."
Minutes slipped into hours, the others had gone to bed and yet Nora and Ruby remained by the fire. Both lost in their thoughts over what had happened over the last few days.
"What thoughts trouble your mind, Nora?" The silver eyed goddess asked, breaking the silence between them. I must try to answer one of her questions at least.
Nora's voice sounded small, unsure of how to say what she wanted to. "Many questions, but most of them start with, why?" She wasn't even sure if she wanted the answers or if she could meet Ruby's gaze feeling as timid as she did in that moment.
"Why you, why were you alone for the better part of six years, why did I wait six years to call you to the shrines?" Ruby asked, gently wrapping her arm around the young woman's shoulders.
"Yes, but I'm not certain I want the answers yet." The shrine maiden replied, the storm of her eyes darkening from her own uncertainty.
"They…They are not easy for me to give." The goddess of life hesitantly admitted.
"Can you give me one, at least?" Nora asked, finally looking at her friend. "I'll hear the other ones when we are both ready."
"I chose you because I could no longer stand by and let you be alone. When I found you, I had been distant to all of those that I had given a life. My intent for mortals to be self-reliant had turned into a wall that I had unknowingly built." The shining silver of her eyes had dulled once more as she looked back on those distant days with disappointment in herself. "Seeing you struggle alone, a child, for so long with no complaint or curse thrown toward me…even if I deserved it. I knew then that I needed to change. How could I leave you alone, without a friend or family after that?"
The shrine maiden shook her head as she gave the goddess a warm, if small smile. "I find it hard to believe you could ever be that distant to people, Ruby."
"Of the three of us, Blake has been the most open with mortals. I was only a little better than Yang." Ruby replied with a dry chuckle.
"But here is the thing, thanks to Ren, Yang is slowly realizing that not everyone fears her." Nora answered, as she carefully plucked one of the many roses that clung to the goddess' hair and began to trim the thorns with her tanto. "And, for the better part of twelve years I have not met any mortal more open and welcoming than the shrine maiden you hide yourself as."
The goddess of life couldn't hold back her growing smile as she replied with an arched eyebrow, "My promise to you is an eternal one. You will never feel alone until the end of days, you still realize this?"
"How many times must I say yes?" The shrine maiden asked in reply, brushing aside her orange locks to set the rose behind her ear. "Shall I learn a new language to better convince you, my Lady?"
"You needn't go that far, my dearest shrine maiden. The rose was enough." the silver eyed goddess said, chuckling at the teasing.
"I may not be a great fighter, but if there is one thing that I have mastered it is how to care for your roses." Nora said, a little pridefully.
And so, the night passed between the three goddesses and their Fateless. None of them could see or sense the figure in white and red that watched the small camp. She bowed deeply in the direction of the camp, before fading away in a cloud of silver light. Be well, all of you. Sleep dreamlessly and deep. May your pains fade away and may you awaken untroubled with the new dawn.