Jet swung his lance for the umpteenth time at the umpteenth beowolf that charged at him, feeling rather bored as he saw it die in the same way. These packs were really starting to irritate him.
They had been travelling across the snowy plains for several hours now. Aside from Weiss' occasional mutters of having luxuries back home, they were all silent, focussing on making their next step.
Jet stopped and thought as he speared his fifth wolf on his lance, then swung his weapon upwards, flinging the unfortunate Grimm up into the sky, ready for a lethal fall on the way back down.
He really needed to find more exciting ways to kill them, besides stabbing or blasting them to dust with his ranged attacks. Jet was shrouded in flames, walking calmly through the thick of it all. Occasionally, a beowolf would get in his way, only for it to be blasted or slashed away.
His team of six were fighting hard. Each had formed a pair, Weiss with Blake, Ruby with Yang and Lilac with Izzet. He was in the center, and would take out the bigger targets.
As the last of the pack were routed, Jet spotted a pair of Ursa Majors in the distance. He crouched, and began charging, aiming his lance at them. Izzet noticed his change and sent telepathic warnings that he was preparing to fire. Ruby and Yang closed with him to cover him from any immediate threats, while the other two pairs moved to cover his back.
Five seconds later, Jet fired his massive beam at the two Grimm. They were enveloped in purple light and energy, barely getting out a roar before they were covered in it.
Several moments later, Jet stopped firing. The Grimm that were targeted were nowhere to be seen. They'd been obliterated, leaving no corpse, no smoking embers.
"Transmuted into nothing." Jet growled, resting a little. It had been the fifth shot he'd fired like that, and the kick was something else.
"Let's keep moving." Yang encouraged, and Ruby nodded.
Around half an hour later, Lilac was the first to ask for a rest, and the vote was unanimous. It was growing dark, and Jet took flight before coming back to them with a good spot within a basin formed by hills. A frozen lake was nearby, and if necessary, they could get water from the lake and heat it.
As Jet set up their two-man tent, Ruby took a close look at Jet's features, having not done so the last time she was around him. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, a look she'd normally associate with him being tired. But she noticed that he was different in two ways, ways that discredited her theory of his current condition.
He met her gaze, and she saw it clearly. The normally emerald irises of her lover's eyes were tinged a little red, dulling their glimmer, and his gaze was sharp. Much sharper than any other time he'd looked at her.
"What is it?" Jet asked, sticking the pole of the tent he was holding into the snow. Even his tone was a little more… forceful.
"Just looking at my handsome boyfriend." Ruby said awkwardly as Jet lifted another pole.
'Pretty sure we're more than boyfriend and girlfriend at this stage.' Jet thought to her, and she felt herself blush. He thrusted the pole into the snow, and dusted off his hands. Their tent was fairly large compared to most. All of theirs were. They were also insulated against the cold.
Jet laid a mat out at the entrance to their tent and scraped the snow off his boots, before crawling inside. Ruby did the same, and saw Jet remove his boots before pointing at all four corners of the tent. A dark field appeared, but this one tinged the tent a warm orange, not unlike a bedroom lamp.
"This field makes it completely warm, and repels all cold and snow. People can come and go and see us while we're in here." Jet explained. He clapped his hands together, creating a dark flame in his hands, but as he held the flaming orb away from him, it highlighted something Ruby hadn't seen upon her first gaze upon her lover.
His irises had a red ring on the outside. A deep crimson, all the way around. It was small, but it was definitely there. It looked like it was just about to begin an invasion on the emerald brilliance of his normal eye colour, a red wave of evil.
Jet seemed to have noticed her staring at him, as he asked; "What's the matter?" before tossing the flame out the tent flap, where it instantly fizzled out and died in the absence of its controller.
"Are you okay?" Ruby asked him. Part of her knew that he was not okay by any stretch, but she wanted to see what he would say.
"I feel fine." Jet replied, after a pause. Ruby dug into her backpack, taking out an apple and some instant food. She took a bite, before offering the unbitten end to Jet. He took it and took a bigger bite, before passing it back to her, flashing her a playful smile. Ruby knew the game he was playing.
She took the biggest bite she could out of the flesh in-between their initial bites, before tossing it to Jet. He caught it and reciprocated, digging deep, before raising his eyebrows as if to say 'game over', before tossing the core to Ruby. She realised with a jolt that Jet was right. While Ruby loved apples, she hated the cores.
Resigning herself to eating it, she moved to take a bite when Jet held his palm out for the apple. Curious, Ruby gave it back, and Jet conjured the fire again, evaporating the core, seeds and everything, instantly. A pleasant smell of fruit and warm sugar blasted outwards before he clapped again, smothering the flame.
Grinning, Ruby turned to the two cups of pot noodles that she'd brought out. All she needed to do was warm them up with a fire. She showed them to Jet, who nodded in understanding. Ruby had to admit to herself, she enjoyed this in-tune feeling.
He took one of the pots and held it in both hands, before conjuring the same violet flame. The pot began bubbling within seconds, and after about ten seconds, he ripped open the film on the top before putting the steaming pot before Ruby. She looked at him as he started to heat the other, and he tilted his head, as if to say 'ladies first'.
Ruby reached into her backpack and dug out two sets of plastic cutlery, before tossing one to Jet, forgetting that he had the other pot in his flaming hands. Jet moved the fire out of the way, and the cutlery landed in his lap. He put the pot down after heating it, before taking the cutlery, though he waited for it to cool.
They ate in silence, hearing the bustle of the other two tents. Ruby ate slowly, not just because the noodles were hot, but because she wanted to display her manners and impress Jet. Judging by how he was mimicking her behaviour, albeit a little slower, he was trying to do the same.
It was, Ruby realised, one of their first meals together. Wow.
Something attracted Jet's attention, and he looked towards the wall of their tent, putting aside his pot. He said nothing and maintained this for a full minute, before he turned back to Ruby.
"Telepathy with Izzet." he explained. He took a couple more forkfuls of his noodles, during which Ruby finished her food, before he pushed his half-finished bowl towards Ruby. "Not hungry."
"You sure? It's tough out there." Ruby questioned.
"I'm an Angel of Darkness. And besides," Jet reassured, pushing it right in front of her, "the fuller you feel, the fuller I feel."
Not needing any more encouragement, Ruby tucked in to Jet's remaining noodles. By the time she was finished, she was full and content. She checked Jet, and sure enough, he looked more relaxed and happy as well. Ruby laid down on her side, expecting Jet to do the same, but he instead made to move outside the tent, before beckoning for her to do the same. She did, and upon moving outside, found soggy grass under her boots instead of snow.
"Everyone!" Jet called. "I need your attention!"
Slowly, her teammates and Jet's crawled out of the other two tents. Once they were all assembled, Jet beckoned to the walls of their 'basin', which now flickered with orange energy.
"This is a Warm field." Jet explained. "It will cover us from cold and snow. I've also projected a barrier along the top of this, in case a storm comes tonight. But bear in mind that these can fail, so there will be individual warm fields and barriers for each tent. The snow shouldn't get us, but if it does get into your tent and the warm field fails, yell. I'm very easy to wake up and I can get rid of any snow. Lilac and Yang, you can do the same?"
At his question, both nodded.
"Well then, I guess goodnight, and see you all tomorrow." Jet concluded, before turning back to their tent. Ruby followed, eager to spend a little alone time with Jet, particularly as she wasn't so sleepy this time.