Chapter 4: Forest of Misunderstands
-Emerald Forest air space-
As Fenris was sent into the air he kept a close eye out for any way to land safely, but found that there were no trees he could grab onto with his chains without destroying half the forest. So he decided to just grab his swords and embrace for impact.
But before he could make contact with a tree trunk, he suddenly felt someone grab his shoulders and pull him over the tree before hovering. Looking up, he saw it was Luca.
"You looked like you needed a hand." The snake faunus said as he strained to keep upright. "And clearly also need to lose a few pounds." He added with a groan.
"Whatever. Thanks for the save." Fenris grunted as they reached the ground. After the snake faunus caught his breath, they started trekking through the forest.
The Wolf faunus took a quick whiff of the air as they walked around and smelled the familiar scent of coffee and oak wood incense that he recognized as Ozpin.
"The ruins are this way." He told his new teammate as he led the way.
"How do you figure?" Luca asked.
"The eyes may be deceived, but the nose always knows." Fenris replied, getting a confused look from his feathered companion. "I can smell where they are based on traces of Ozpin's scent he left behind." He clarified in a deadpan.
"Alright, then. Lead the way." The snake faunus nodded. As they walked, Luca retried to get a small conversation going. "Do you really think there's no Grimm in this forest?" He asked, getting a snort from Fenris.
"Fuck no. There's bound to be a few that escaped detection." He stated.
"How do you figure?" The boy questioned, which made Fenris's face turn sour.
"Call it a hunch." The faunus replied, not wanting to give him his secret of being able to sense Grimm like they sense negativity.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Ozpin and Glynda, the Headmaster was busy using his tablet to manipulate the forest to cause certain pairs to come together.
For example he caused a section to switch itself around to keep Ruby from running into Fenris and Luca, and instead run directly into Weiss.
"Hm…" The man hummed as he looked over everything.
"I've read the reports that Qrow made about that Fenris boy, and I have absolutely no idea what possessed you to allow him into our school." Glynda stated, her face cross. "He was created to hunt and kill huntsmen after all." She added.
"Miss Rose seems to have dealt with that particular aspect of him." The man noted.
"For our sakes, I hope so." She sighed.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile at another part of the forest, Sun was hanging upside down from a tree trunk as he tried looking for the ruins. Though all he could see was trees.
"See anything?" Neptune called from on the ground.
"Nothing but trees, dude." Sun called back as he climbed back down. "I don't think I can see much from up high with all that foliage." He added.
"Looks like we're walking then." The blue haired boy shrugged as they started doing that.
At a different end of the forest, Ruby and Weiss were walking together towards the ruins, but due to the speedster accidentally ending up on the opposite end of one of Ozpin's alteration plates, she got separated from her partner.
This unfortunately had the added consequence of leaving the heiress alone in her part of the woods, right as a pack of five or six timberwolves came out of brush, circling her.
"Ugh, of all the times…" The whitette groaned as she brought Myrtenaster out to fight. 'Alright, let's see how this works.' She thought as she got into a stance and loaded some Fire Dust and waited for a wolf to lunge at her—but stopped when Ruby slashed at it out of nowhere. "What are you doing?!" She questioned.
"Stopping you from burning down the forest." The girl snapped. "I mean seriously, Fire Dust? In a wooded area? Are you serious right now?!" She questioned as the two got back to back.
"How—?" Weiss questioned.
"I was in the trees, Weiss. It's sniper 101 to always attack from a vantage point." Ruby rebuked. "Maybe if you took the time to actually get to know me before judging me, you'd know that." She added as she swung her scythe to mock scare a few of the wolves, making them jump back.
"I'll be sure to correct that once these wolves are dealt with." The heiress said as she changed her Dust type to Wind.
"Good idea." The cloaked scythe user nodded before a wolf decided to lunge at the duo.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Yang, she started looking for Ruby, but ended up finding two very large Kodiak bears who were foraging for food. They turned to her and growled threateningly.
"Uh, you wouldn't happen to have seen a little girl with a red good pass by, would you?" She asked, but got more growling in reply. "Guess not." She sighed before having to leap back as one of the bears attacked her.
The bears started swinging and charging at her in an attempt to get her out of their territory, but the blonde was avoiding their attacks with absolute ease.
"Man, you guys couldn't hit the broad sign of a ba—." The brawler said, before she stopped talking as a single strand of golden hair suddenly floated down to the forest floor. "... You…" She growled, much to the two bear's confusion. "YOU BASTARDS!" She roared as she blitzed at one and punched it to oblivion.
As the second looked at the other bear and then at Yang, it quickly turned tail and ran, which allowed Blake to drop down from a tree branch as Yang started to calm down.
"I take it you're not a fan of people messing up your hair?" The girl questioned.
"It's… A personal thing." The blonde sighed, causing Black to look at her quizzically as they walked together. "People say that my hair is one of my most attractive features. So if I wanna get a date later down the road, I REALLY don't need it to get damaged." She continued.
"Okay, I guess." Blake noted slowly, not fully seeing the point. As they two continued moving into the forest, Yang started talking more with Blake listening to her.
However, as the two passed a rather large tree, the blonde's boisterous nature ended up startling a large cluster of Leaf Wings. They're Pterosaur-like creatures about the size of the average owl that had camouflaged wings, creatures that would attack when they're startled or provoked.
They screeched as they unfurled they're wings, getting the attention of the girls. When they saw them, they're eyes widened as the Leaf Wings descended on them, prompting them to run.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Weiss and Ruby, they were still trying to make their way to the temple, both still having a rather rough argument.
"For the last time, stop treating me like a kid!" Ruby snapped.
"Then stop acting like one!" Weiss retorted.
"I'm not! You're the one acting like a kid, acting like you're little miss perfect!" The Silver Eyed girl shouted back.
"I'm not perfect! Not yet at least." The heiress hissed. "But I'm still leagues better than you." She added coldly.
"First off, that's rich coming from the girl who almost set the woods on fire." The scythe user stated, holding up one finger. "Second, you don't even know me, so how can you say that you're better than me? And besides, have you ever tamed a wild werewolf on your own?" She added.
"Hmph." Weiss huffed, leaving the question unanswered. As they continued, they came across an old tree, which wasn't noteworthy by itself.
What did make it noteworthy was the giant Nevermore perched in it, sleeping. "What the—?!" Ruby gasped. "What's a Grimm doing here?"
"Especially one so old." Weiss noted. "I thought Ozpin said that there wouldn't be any Grimm here at all." She added.
"There must've been a gap in whatever barrier keeps them out." The red tipped girl theorized. "Either way, sticking around is a really bad idea. Let's move." She added.
"I second that notion." Weiss nodded as they turned to leave, but right as they did, the Leaf Wings Yang startled earlier appeared in front of them, startling them forcing them toward the tree.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The girls screamed as Ruby comically jumped into Weiss's arms as they ran towards the tree.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile back with Yang and Blake, they were making their way into the ruins together— the bowed girl giving Yang the silent treatment due to the leaf wing incident—when they saw that Fenris and Luca already beat them there.
The relics they all had to retrieve seemed to be chess pieces of some sort. And the piece that the two boys chose was the black Queen piece.
"Certainly seems rather underwhelming…" Luca noted.
"Not to me." Fenris grunted as memories he really wished he could discard altogether surfaced briefly as he gazed at the piece in his hand.
It would seem that the past just wouldn't stay buried.
Dragon Emperor0: Alright, if I'm timing this right, next chapter should be the final chapter of the Initiation part of the story. And by that time, I think Weiss may be a bit more accepting of Ruby as a leader given how she totally just called her out here… But knowing Weiss, I wouldn't hold my breath.
ThermalsniperN7: I wouldn't, either. But it is nice to see Ruby stop her from setting the forest ablaze.
Dragon Emperor0: And in regards to Fenris's ability to sense people like Grimm does. Yes, that also works in reverse on Grimm as well. It's how he and Luca were able to avoid running into any on the way to the ruins.
ThermalsniperN7: This won't be an uneventful initiation, though. There's still gonna be combat involved. Anyway, see you next time!