Chapter 3: Shiromori Rin
When Corona awoke, it was to find Rin nestled snugly in her arms. Smiling softly, she gently held her partner, running a hand up to stroke her silky white hair. Eventually, she moved on to rubbing Rin's ears, tracing their shape gently. On her left ear, there was a triangular split near the tip, an old scar. Corona frowned as she traced the scar, hating whatever unknown entity had dared to harm her little fox. Continuing her, let's call it manual examination, she reached the start of Rin's tattoos. Examining the complex images that marked her partner's skin, she thought, as she often did, of the day the two of them had met.
Three years ago.
In the northern reaches of Atlas, two figures trudged through a forest of white. The only sound to be heard was the crunch of snow beneath metal boots. One figure, encased in golden armor, was feeling the effects of the cold. "Oberon," she said, voice reverberating in her helmet, "how long until we reach the village?"
The black clad figure by her side cocked his head slightly, considering the question. Without a word, he dissolved into a black mist, which travelled up the side of a nearby tree. Reaching the top, he solidified, and looked out over the forest. Seeing the village, he descended and returned to Corona's side. "Two miles," he answered, voice little more than a whisper. The faceless helmet turned to face her, and he seemed to study her for a time. "You are cold."
Corona raised an eyebrow, the effect of which was rather dampened by her own helm. "Of course I'm cold. Aren't you?"
"No."
"That must be nice."
"No."
She stared at him, wondering if she should ask, but ultimately deciding against it. "Understood. We should probably keep moving."
"Yes." The conversation, if it could be called that, having reached its conclusion, they set out once more. It was not long before they reached the aforementioned village, an isolated settlement in the wilderness. The front of the village was defended by a stone wall, while the back abutted the side of a mountain. The gates of the village stood open, and Corona could see no sign of guards. Before they entered the village, she snapped her fingers, and Oberon dissolved, melding with her shadow on the ground. Thusly hidden, they made their way into the settlement. However, when at last they entered, it was to find the streets empty, the houses dark, and the air silent. Corona could not see anyone, but the tingling sensation being produced by her aura meant someone was watching them.
"How many?" she whispered to her companion.
"More than a hundred within range. They are hiding in the buildings, weapons trained on us. Should we tell them we can sense them?"
"No, better to let them believe they have the upper hand."
"Very well." Corona could not see his face, but she rather thought that she had heard a hint of a pout in Oberon's voice. Together they made their way towards the center of the village, where an ornate shrine stood at the top of a small hill. Just as Corona's foot was about to cross the threshold of the shrine, she felt a thin, sharp object press against the back of her neck.
"You really ought to pay more attention to your surroundings," said a melodic voice behind her. Corona slowly turned to see a short, white haired fox faunus standing behind her, holding what appeared to be some sort of needle to her throat. Taking off her helmet, Corona smiled at the girl.
"Is that so?" Corona replied, unfazed. "Perhaps you should pay more attention to where you step."
"What?" the girl asked, lost, before looking down to see a gray, metal gauntlet rising out of Corona's shadow, holding a wicked black sword that was conveniently poised to go straight up into her heart if she came any closer. "Oh... Wait, no, what?" Oberon apparently decided that that was his cue, as he took that opportunity to rise up out of Corona's shadow, solidifying as he went. Finished, he towered over the faunus, leaning slightly over her in order to increase the sense of looming intimidation. The faunus's jaw dropped at the sight of him. "Yeah, no, that is like, eleven different kinds of cheating."
A deep rumbling chuckle was Oberon's only reply. His blade, which he had yet to withdraw from its proximal location to the girl's chest, dissolved into shadow, racing up his arm where it blended with the black of his jacket. Soundlessly, he moved out of the way, allowing Corona an unobstructed view of her would be assailant. The white haired girl looked to be a few years younger than Corona, and wore a white and purple jumpsuit, that Corona thought accentuated her form nicely, highlighting just the right, -nope, nope, not going there. This is not the time to be ogling the locals, even if she is really pretty and probably smells nice, and- a flick to the side of her head brought her back to reality, and the confused expression on the fox faunus' face let her know that she had, in fact, been standing there staring for some time. Looking left, she saw Oberon withdraw his hand, presumably having been the one that flicked her.
Feeling a blossoming heat in her cheeks, Corona coughed awkwardly. "We have business with the leader of this village. Do you know where we could find them?"
"Maybe," came the sing-song reply. "Why should I tell you?"
"Your village is in danger, and we have come to help defend it."
"And what, pray tell, does Raven Branwen want with our temple?" asked a voice from the crowd. At the sound of the voice, the crowd parted, revealing an elderly, shaven headed man. Corona turned to face this newcomer.
"Why do you assume this has anything to do with the temple?" she asked.
"She is not the type to go out of her way to help people. Thusly, we must have something she wants, no? And since the only thing that makes us any different from your average village is our temple, it is simple logic to conclude that her goal is the temple." Corona looked to Oberon, wondering if he agreed with the man, but, unsurprisingly, his mask gave no indication of the mind beneath.
Looking back to the man, she replied, "As for my master's intentions, I cannot say, but we have been ordered to protect you, and protect you we will."
The man shrugged. "I see no reason to turn away help that is freely offered, but I must say that we have no reason to believe we will be attacked. If you still wish to remain, however, you may stay in the temple. My granddaughter will show you to the guest rooms." The fox faunus giggled and grabbed Corona's hand, dragging her along with a skip in her step. However, she quickly came to a stop, realizing that Oberon had not moved from his spot in the middle of the square.
"Umm, aren't you coming?" she asked hesitantly.
"No," Oberon replied, his voice still soft, though surprisingly firm. "I will remain." The fox looked back at Corona, who shrugged. Hesitantly turning back, she made her way to the temple, periodically glancing back at Oberon with a troubled expression. Shrugging it off, she dragged Corona through the doors, leading her to the second floor housing, directing her to exterior room overlooking the square. Saying a warm goodbye, she disappeared back into the temple proper. Corona looked out the window, where she could see Oberon standing immobile, though she had no doubt that his eyes were roving constantly, watching for any sign of enemy attack. Turning away, she could feel the fatigue of their snowbound trek getting to her, and decided that now was as good a time as any to catch what sleep she could.