A Step too Far
Chapter 3
Coming to terms
An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far.
A year went by and Praetor and Blake had been scraping by. The pair travelled via trains and by airships, something that still fascinated Praetor. He had learned that Dust, crystallised elements such as fire and lightning, apparently had universal applications to the people of Remnant. And through reading history texts and the occasional monument plaque, Praetor gained a basic knowledge of the last hundred years. There was a full scale war between the four kingdoms, simply known as the 'Great War'.
Peace from said War was apparently brokered on the Island of Vytal and as such the Vytal Festival was created to celebrate the event. The festival itself features a tournament, which Praetor and Blake were lucky enough to snag seats to, between teams from the four main Hunter Academies.
Blake was watching the current match with rabid attention. The large octagonal arena was split in two, one half an ice field and the other a desert with a sandy hill. One team was currently occupying the ice field and holding off the other team with various firearms. Praetor counted a sniper rifle, a pistol, a rapid-fire machine gun and even a bow firing dust-tipped arrows. The opposition was attacking with a fervour, moving in a serpentine pattern and firing of a couple of rounds when the defenders had a lull in their shots.
It was clear that the defenders favoured ranged tactics and evasion, while the attackers had an affinity for close combat. According to the Aura meter displayed on the large screen, the attackers were beginning to lose with most of their Auras showing yellow. Aura was apparently some kind of protective force field that was wielded by Huntsman, it was allegedly formed from the human soul. Didn't make a lick of sense to Praetor, but he accepted it regardless. Some Huntsmen also developed super-human abilities, called a Semblance.
Semblances are usually widely varied from person to person and seemed to range anywhere from super speed to channelling elements. One of the attackers seemed to have super strength, as demonstrated by him slicing right through a large chunk of ice in a single swing of his massive blade. His target, the bow wielder back flipped away and suddenly blinked out of existence, only to appear half-way across the field and loose an arrow at her attacker.
The arrow impacted and exploded into a fireball, sending the large swordsman out of the ring. To Praetor's shock, the girl's bow snapped into a blade and she charged the remaining attackers in a fast paced melee, utilising her blinking at every opportunity to distract them while her team took advantage of the opportunity to concentrate fire.
The match ended not long after and the audience was dismissed for the remainder of the day.
Praetor and Blake had wandered around the festival grounds for a few hours, sampling bits of food and trying out the games. Both of them wore casual clothing, leaving their gear back in the hotel. Praetor's hair had grown out, but he kept it as short as he could without visiting a barber. Throughout his hair were several grey streaks, in fact more than half of his hair was grey. The same went for his beard, which he kept trimmed.
Blake had also grown a bit taller and her pitch black hair reached her shoulder blades. She still kept Praetor's blade on her person at all times, it was a means of protection as well as a memento. Her figure was beginning to fill out as she had just hit puberty, something that Praetor had no idea how to deal with.
The two of them stood in front of a small noodle shop with Blake looking longingly at a bowl of noodles, what really captured her attention was the chopped tuna heaped on the top. Her belly rumbled at the sight of such a delicious treat. Praetor chuckled as she blushed from embarrassment.
"Do you want some Blake?" he asked, looking at the small stand.
"…yeah." She replied meekly.
Blake slowly moved towards a seat with Praetor following behind. The two took seats and were immediately greeted by the proprietor.
"Hi there, what can I get you guys?" the man greeted with a bright smile.
"…I'll have what you recommend." Said Praetor.
The owner wrote on his notepad, then turned to look at Blake but quickly saw her ears and frowned.
"We don't serve her kind here." He snarled. As they were traveling, Praetor and Blake had seen some rather unfair things happen. Very few times it had gotten to the point that they would need to interfere. As it was Blake was always ready to stand up for her fellow Faunus against unfair aggression. Things still hadn't settled after the Faunus Rights Revolution which allowed Faunus to seek their own place in the world. However several people still held grudges over the years. This resulted in unfair work practices, using Faunus people as cheap labour for mining and construction.
Needless to say, Praetor was not happy with this man's attitude. As much as he wanted to leap over the counter and break the man in two, he knew that it would not set a good example for Blake. Instead he stood up and left, leading Blake away by the hand.
"We'll find another place to eat." He told Blake, who looked very upset at what just transpired.
"…he was mean." She muttered.
"People can be Blake." Praetor agreed. "That's why you have to be strong, so people like that don't win. You have to be strong enough to prove that they're wrong." He sighed, relaxing his grip on her hand a little. "But sometimes no matter how hard you try, some people won't, can't change."
"Why though?" she looked up at him, questions burning behind her eyes.
"I wish I could answer that Blake," The Titan smiled mirthlessly. "I really do."
The next few weeks saw the two travelling from Atlas to Mistral. While the main stretch of the trip was by airbus, they would be let off at a small town a few hours travel from the city. The land surrounding the city was mostly marshlands and swamps with a few jungles.
As they landed, Blake took the opportunity to say something that had been bothering her.
"Praetor. Can you teach me to be a Huntress?" she asked, looking out her window. The question had been bouncing around her head for a long time, she had seen the man fight; he could shrug off the impact from a rocket without so much as a scratch and then utterly destroy his opponents with his bare hands. In her eyes, he was the perfect candidate to teach her.
"…I cannot."
"What!?" Blake all but shrieked, whipping her head around to stare at him. She was certain that he would say yes, the man had cared for her over a year, why wouldn't he show her how to be a Huntress? "Why not?"
Praetor gave her a sad smile and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I simply cannot." Before she argued further he held up a hand to stop her. "I didn't say that I couldn't show you how to fight however."
Blake panted as Praetor crouched in front of her. In her right hand was her knife, originally Praetor's, strapped to her leg was a pistol he bought her. The two had been sparring, with Blake's win condition that she land a hit on him. She had yet to accomplish that goal all day however.
"Do you want to take a break?" the Titan asked. Blake viciously shook her head, she wasn't going to give up so soon. "Alright then." Praetor took a stance, both his arms up to guard. "Attack when you're ready."
Originally she had been hesitant to attack, thinking she might somehow hurt him. He quickly proved her wrong by shooting himself with her gun without even flinching. Blake was also instructed to hold nothing back and do anything she could to hit him.
After taking one last gulp of air, she charged headfirst at him and feigning to the left before quickly changing direction and heading right. For half a second, Praetor could swear that Blake had created an afterimage before it disappeared a moment later. Despite this quick distraction, he leaped to her left and rolled into his stance, ready for the next attack.
Blake ran low to the ground, keeping her head bowed. As she came close to him, she scooped up some dirt and threw it at him. On reflex, Praetor closed his eyes and ducked to avoid the dirt. Blake on the other hand, used her natural agility to jump high over the Titan and come crashing down on his back, slashing the blade against his armour. It bounced off, but Praetor stood back up and smiled brightly at the girl and she smiled right back.
"Good job, Blake." He laughed out. "We'll take a quick rest before we start the next lesson, evasion."
Blake's smile was replaced by worry.
Every day, Praetor and Blake travelled on foot back towards Vale. Each time they stopped, Praetor took the opportunity to teach Blake something, whether it was practicing shooting targets or full out fighting. At this point in time, the two were squaring off in a forest not too far from their campsite.
Blake grunted as she attempted to block one of Praetor's punches, luckily he was pulling them and not throwing them at full force. She rolled with the momentum and sprung back onto her feet and dashed away from another punch that shattered a small tree. Blake didn't even have a second before she was on the retreat once again with Praetor nipping at her heels. She turned to block another punch so she could dodge the next one.
CRACK
"Aigh!"
Praetor stood there, his arm outstretched and his eyes wide open as Blake writhed in pain on the ground, holding her arm.
"Blake!" Praetor immediately dropped to her side and held her up by the shoulders, careful not to jostle her too much. "Blake, I know it hurts but please bear with it." He carefully pried her hand away from her arm and he quickly felt sick. Blake's arm was twisted at a wrong angle. He carefully picked her up by looping his arms under her knees and around her shoulders. "Don't worry Blake, you're going to be alright."
He brought her back to the camp, being very careful not to jostle her along the way. They had set up camp in an old ruin up against a cliff and with only one way in or out, it was easily defensible. Praetor laid her down on her bed roll and quickly fetched their medical kit. In a few minutes Blake's arm was properly set, splinted and bandaged. He lifted her back up into a sitting position and held out a pain killer and a water bottle. Wearily, Blake used her good arm and swallowed the pill. Praetor lifted the bottle to her mouth let her drink. Soon after, her eyes started flickering and she began to drift off to sleep.
The worried old Titan built a small fire and begun his night long watch.
The morning light shone over the camp as Praetor stood vigil. As soon as the light hit his eyes, the Titan almost immediately fell asleep. He had been keeping watch the entire night, and with all the traveling he and Blake had done the day before he hadn't gotten any sleep for at least thirty-six hours. Any shadow that moved funny or any sound that wasn't right set him on edge. It reminded him of the Hive caves on the moon, any mistake would bring their horde upon any interloper.
Praetor was so focused on the entryway, he didn't notice Blake stirring from her sleep. Blake was almost tempted to just sleep for a while longer, but then she remembered the events of the previous day and immediately felt her arm.
There was no pain. It felt completely normal, like her arm hadn't broken like a twig. In one of those rare times, she was thankful for joining the White Fang. She quietly got up and walked over to Praetor, who still hadn't noticed her. He jumped when she slid her hand into his.
"Blake!" he exclaimed in shock. "I didn't hear you get up. Is your arm feeling well?" He asked in worry, crouching down to her level.
"It's fine, it's all better now." She replied calmly.
"What? How?"
"My Aura, it was unlocked when I joined the White Fang." She explained with no small amount of shame. Praetor tenderly grasped her arm and examined it. It was perfectly healed, not even a scar.
"Well, if you want to keep moving, we can." He sighed. "There's a town not too far from here, we might be able to catch an airbus to Vale." The Titan stood back up and made towards his gear.
Praetor may have hid it well, but Blake could see the hurt in his eyes as he examined her arm. He was remorseful, sad that it happened at all and probably running through the scenario again and again, trying to find a way to fix it.
"I forgive you." She whispered. Praetor stopped and let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Thank you Blake." He whispered back. "I'm sorry it happened at all."
According to many Huntsman and Huntresses, it was almost a necessity to attend a preliminary combat school before enrolling in a Hunter Academy. There were exceptions however. If one made a good enough showing in the enrolment tests, previous education was ignored.
As it was however, Praetor was not confident enough to risk his sole training of Blake being enough for her to be accepted to one of the academies. The last time he took her on seriously, he ended up hurting her more than he could bare. If he could not train her, she might do better learning amongst her peers.
Therefore, Praetor decided it was wiser for Blake to attend Signal Academy in addition to his training. Unfortunately, the costs for tuition was staggering. He'd have to take numerous jobs abroad to even afford it, even with their savings, let alone set her up with a place to stay.
Blake would be thirteen next year, the required age for young Huntresses and Huntsmen-to-be. By the time she would be seventeen, she could apply for Beacon to become a fully-fledged Huntress.
All this ran through his mind as they travelled via airbus to the island of Patch, where Signal Academy was located.
"Blake," he called. Knowing that the girl would listen to him. "How do you feel about attending Signal Academy?"
The island of Patch simple, its main city stretched across its eastern coast with Signal Academy's tower acting like a lighthouse for airships. Every building seemed to be made of brick and mortar unlike the sleek towers of Atlas and the rustic wooden houses of Mistral. It gave the town a homely and inviting feeling.
The home they rented was a simple two story house wedged in between two others of similar design. While it had a small backyard, it was unlikely to see much use. Blake immediately rushed upstairs and claimed dibs on the larger bedroom, which Praetor had no problem with. He helped her get settled in, moving the furniture to her demands and unpacking her belongings.
After which, he decided to take a walk to learn the neighbourhood. There was a pub on the a street corner a few blocks away and the grocery store was a scant fifteen minute walk away. The Titan purchased a few things for dinner and began his walk home. As he passed the pub, a dark haired, drunken man with a large blade strapped to his back walked out and bumped into Praetor, dropping his flask and spilling its contents all over the sidewalk.
"Damn it, watch where you're walking asshole." The drunk barked at Praetor, surprisingly coherent for a drunk man. There was also a dangerous glint in the man's eyes, something rather familiar to Praetor. The Titan wanted nothing to do with this man.
"You should follow your own advice." Praetor calmly responded, intent on walking away. As he began to walk, he heard the distinct sound of a weapon being drawn. He turned back to see that the drunk had his weapon at the ready, albeit upside down.
"You know, you remind me of someone." The drunk said, drawing out his words. "Someone that stepped into Vale about a year ago. A man in full armour with a little girl hanging off his arm." The drunk levelled his large blade at Praetor with one arm. "Ring any bells?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Praetor lied, taking another step. He didn't get far as the drunk dashed in front of him in the blink of an eye with his blade in mid swing towards the Titan.
Praetor stopped the blade from even hitting him by grabbing the blunt edge with his free hand, much to the shock of the drunk. All attempts to break his grip were thwarted by Praetor's sheer strength.
"What are you playing at?" The Titan growled with a glare at the other man.
"A simple test." The drunk smirked. "You appear out of nowhere and start taking jobs meant for Huntsmen. Did you think that no one would notice?"
"I have caused no harm!" Praetor practically shouted, indignant.
"This isn't about what you have or haven't done. You're dangerous and an unknown." The man's smirk turned into a frown. "That is very serious problem to certain people." The man gave one final wrench backwards and his sword folded down, freeing it from Praetor's grasp and revealing two gun barrels pointed at the Titan.
Praetor dropped his groceries and twisted his torso out of the way just as the gun fired a veritable wall of small pellets that grazed his chest but were stopped by his barrier. Praetor immediately retaliated, closing the distance and throwing an Arc enhanced punch towards the Huntsman.
The punch was blocked by the flat edge of the sword, although the force behind it pushed the Huntsman back several metres. Not giving his opponent any time to rest, Praetor sprinted towards the man, Arc energy building up around him as he drew closer and discharged it as he barrelled into the Huntsman, sending him flying down the street.
Qrow was a very dangerous man, ask any Hunter in Vale. Give him a target and it would be taken care of, no problem. The man in front of him however, wasn't like any other target, he was almost like a force of nature. It wouldn't be impossible to take him down, but it certainly would take a lot of effort, not to mention he would leave a fair amount of scars.
He was rather glad that the man didn't have his weapons and armour with him; that scenario would probably require Qrow to break out the Scythe… and maybe some back-up. But it wasn't his job to subdue or kill this man. He was to simply stall him until Ozpin waltzed in and had a chat with him. And Qrow really, really didn't want to piss off Ozpin… just in case the stories were true.
The fight had been going on for almost five minutes now. While this would usually draw attention, the part of town that they were fighting in was quite sparsely populated, so those who did witness the fight, immediately recognised Qrow and turned away. Besides, there hasn't been nearly as much collateral damage as there usually was.
Many of Praetor's punches came within inches of Qrow's face, although the same could be said of the reverse. It was clear to Qrow that Praetor was holding back, like he was afraid of doing anything lethal. That was a point in the right direction, Qrow figured. But it wouldn't be enough to let him off the hook.
Qrow got a little sloppy with one of his swings as Praetor grabbed the blunt side again and quickly head butted Qrow. Instead of falling on his ass, the Hunter rolled with the impact and slashed upwards, cutting through Praetor's barrier and leaving a shallow cut on the front of his shirt.
"Enough." Commanded an experience voice. Qrow immediately retracted his sword and stowed it away. "I believe this tussle has gone on long enough. Don't you, Mr Praetor?" Out of a nearby alley, walked an almost elderly man with a cane in one hand. He pushed his spectacles up a little with a free hand. The man's silver hair was a sharp contrast to his black three-piece suit. Praetor put this man's age at around late-fifties to early-sixties.
"Ozpin, about time you showed up." Qrow said in a bored tone.
"Well, I would have been earlier, but someone dropped their groceries and I had to make a quick delivery." Ozpin gave a slight smile at Praetor. "Now, might I suggest that we go somewhere else for a chat?"
Signal Academy was located a fair ways away from the main city and situated atop a hill. Unlike Beacon which was separated from the ground by sheer cliffs, Signal relied on a perimeter fence that merged onto the main city wall.
Qrow, Ozpin and Praetor sat around a table in the staff's breakroom in an awkward silence.
"So..." Praetor started. "What would you like to know?" he asked with his arms crossed.
"Are you a threat?" Ozpin asked bluntly, a coffee mug in his hands.
"No." Praetor answered equally as blunt.
"That is satisfactory."
"What?!" Qrow exclaimed, slamming down his flask, unable to believe what he heard.
"I believe him."
"How?"
Ozpin looked back at Praetor and stared at him. The man's eyes peered over his glasses and looked straight through Praetor. His deep green eyes seemed to be able to examine every single crease, hair and superficial detail.
"I can see it." He simply stated, as if it explained everything.
"Of course." Qrow sighed. "Look, Prey. Ozpin may be satisfied but I'm not." He leaned his arm against the table. "I want details, where did you come from and what are your intentions?"
"That seems fair, Qrow." Praetor leaned back in his seat and considered what to tell him. "The information you desire only pertains to the last two years. My life before then is irrelevant and I will not speak of it."
"Fine, just tell me what I need to know." Qrow switched arms.
"I lived in a village called Darkwood for four months, acting as a guard and slayer of Grimm. After those four months, I left to seek a better life. On my way to Vale, I was attacked by White Fang extremists. Among them was my charge, Blake Belladonna. She joined the White Fang to assist the Faunus in their protests, yet I suspect it was due to a lack of options due to being an orphan." Praetor paused to take a breath and sip from his glass of water. "I accompanied her to Vale and she has been in my care since."
For the past year we travelled around Remnant, taking jobs so that we could pay our way. A month ago, Blake expressed a desire to become a Huntress. I agreed to train her, but seeing as I am not a Hunter, we came to Patch in search of official training." He finished up the recount with drinking the last of his water. "Then the events of this night transpired."
"...Blake Belladonna…" Ozpin muttered, looking at his Scroll, the profile of a young, black haired girl on its screen. "Would you permit me to meet your charge?"
"What would be your intentions?" Praetor suddenly gained a very dangerous look.
"I merely wish to evaluate her with my own eyes." Ozpin waved the scroll. "These reports do not paint a clear picture."
"Very well." Praetor detected no ill intent from the aging man, besides if the man tried anything, he would be there to intervene. "You can visit tomorrow."
Despite the late time that Praetor returned, Blake had already cooked herself dinner and eaten. She even went so far as to leave something for him to heat up. Before he went to bed, the Titan quietly opened the door to Blake's room and entered. In the dark room, he made out her small form curled up under the sheets with her hair tied into a low pony-tail. As quiet as he could, Praetor snuck towards her and laid a light good-night kiss against her forehead.
"Sweet dreams." He whispered. While he retreated quietly and silently closed the door, Praetor missed Blake smiling as her eyelids fluttered open.
"…mmhm." She mumbled. "Papa?"
AN: So... This is a little awkward... I know that I said it wouldn't be until after Christmas, but I just couldn't stop writing this time. Is my writer's block finally over after 3 long years?
Doubtful, but regardless I'll keep going as long as I can.
Now I originally planned the previous chapter to be rather tragic and much darker. Remember Darkwood? I originally had planned for it to become overrun with Grimm, then for Praetor to go berserk in the middle of it, killing civilians and Grimm alike. Afterwards he would wake up and find little Aubrey's body, this would lead him into despair and eventually when he and Blake met, he would project the image of Aubrey onto her. He was supposed to protect her out of guilt and eventually see her as Blake, not the girl he failed to protect.
Now some of that I borrowed from 'The Last of Us', but to be fair I had just finished replaying it. I figure that the original plan sounds much more interesting, but for what ever reason I just couldn't write it.
But enough of that, who's played Grimm Eclipse? I have, playing as Blake of course. I have not been able to play as Yang or Weiss, but Ruby is just plain OP.
Ok, now I'll shut up. Until next time, keep those spirits up.
~Dys