The ringing in her ears as she woke up told her she was still alive.
What was more, it also told her she had not been knocked out for very long, alongside the soreness that washed over her body, and the dull throbbing of her shoulder spoke to some mild injury, blunted by her Level and stats. She vaguely mused in a dazed grunt that if only she had her Armor from before, it might have been fully negated.
Her eyes opened slowly, despite the sluggish urgency she felt to get up and move as quickly as possible, her body was not responding as she wished, a delay in the throughput meaning her injuries, while clearly non-fatal, were such that she was not going to be in ideal fighting shape once she got herself up and going.
The muffled sound of gunfire however was prime motivation for her to push past the groggy and disoriented feelings, her vision only slightly blurry as she forced herself onto her hands and knees, summoned her strength, and then drew her pistol as she staggered to her feet.
Bullets pinged off of metal someplace behind her, and she was grateful that she was behind a decent sized rock, her off hand steadying her as she oriented herself on the sound of a suppressed auto-rifle going full song, rounds impacting both metal and flesh some distance away, a death cry following the long burst.
Glass shattered, and an incoherent insult was shouted before another long burst flowed out and a meaty sound cut a battle cry short.
It was then she realized part of what was obscuring her vision was not in fact head trauma, but smoke, and lots of it, belching from a pair of ruined vehicles not far away.
Inhaling deeply, she braced herself and moved around, looking at the wrecked body of the helicopter, ablaze and bathed in black oily smoke, a red car crashed into it, and a woman with a submachine gun crouched behind an open door, firing at the slightly less damaged black two door to her left, as bullets sprayed across the ground and door she took cover behind.
Pulling her gun up in both hands, the simple glowing three dot sights on top of her pistol wavered slightly as she rested them over her targets head, two rapid shots scattered blood, bone and gray matter across the inside of the door and seat as she moved forward. Her eyes swept the vehicle, looking for any other threats.
When none presented, she paused, glancing over at where she had heard the suppressed rifle fire last, to see her so called savoir stepping out from a stream of smoke, as he replaced the large box magazine with a new one, reloading the weapon. A small tingle at the back of her still fuzzy mind told her she'd gained a smattering of XP for the kill, but not enough to push her even close to leveling up, although her pistol skills did upgrade suddenly.
"Glad you could join the fun." Blaze said tiredly, his lip split, glasses gone and a sizable black eye adorned his face. His clothes where rumpled, and a bloody graze showed along his left forearm, a few bloodless holes in the worn brown jacket spoke to some hidden armor, the limp some unseen injury to his right leg.
"What the hell happened?" Belladonna coughed out, as she likewise reloaded, the smoke still affecting her even with the wind pulling it away from her.
He smirked dourly, "Something most might label as a close call, but what I surmise as my infamous luck." He looped his uninjured arm through a short strap on the modified carbine and slung it behind his right shoulder, before he drew his big revolver out and reloaded it as well, six large empty shells ringing off of the pavement.
Blake grunted slightly as she holstered her pistol, then surveyed the scene: one crashed out red car with four dead bodies around it, it's partner vehicle riddled with holes, tires flat, and two other bodies hanging from windows, two more bodies between it and their own vehicle, one side showing an obscene number of dents and holes, glass shattered but still in place, barely transparent any more, and the burning husk of a small black helicopter, almost on top of the first car, the flight crew little more than charred figures in the front of the mangled craft.
"What happened exactly?" she asked as she walked stiffly over to him, her legs sore, but uninjured, "I remember the missile and you shooting off a flare, then I shot at the helicopter, but another missile came, then there was an explosion, and then… I woke up to this."
Azure shrugged in reply; "I weaved over to the side, drove under a road sign that got blasted by the missile, missed us, but was close enough to roll my car, you got thrown clear, I rode it out, then got out and started shooting. You killed the pilot, and the gunner didn't get on the stick fast enough, they pancaked onto the tarmac, and got hit from behind by the lead car, and I showered them in rounds until the chopper caught fire. Was shooting it out with the rest then you came too and took out the last Redband."
"Redband?" Belladonna asked curiously.
"The Gang that attacked us." Blaze answered as he waved her back over to his car; "Mob run crew, they span a number of cities, based outta Central here in Las Venturas, like a lot of gangs, they take any and all of the jobs they can, including interdiction bounties. Thankfully, they aren't exactly good at it."
"Do they use a lot of people like this normally?" she asked as she followed him, suddenly feeling tired as the adrenaline started to wear off.
"Depends on the job, for something like this, it would be a crew of grunts, triggermen and goodfellas, led by one or two shot callers. I fragged them both, but they didn't zero out, so I'm sure they will be looking to try and catch me, or rather us, as soon as they respawn and can get a ride." He walked up to his car and put the long gun into the opened trunk, which took two tries to close fully, then moved to the open drivers door; "We need to move, I gotta get my package to Old Daleras before sundown, from there we'll grab a plane and get to Central, see about getting you to the local Transport-junction, from there you can go almost anywhere."
Blake nodded in agreement and walked over to the vehicle, bending over to retrieve the heavy submachine gun he'd given her, pulled the door open, replaced it behind her seat, and climbed back in.
The car started, the engine stuttering slightly, before they returned to the road and he accelerated sedately.
"Old Dalears is about two hours away," he said as they slowly got back up to speed, "If the car holds that long, we can drop the package, and get to a safehouse I have on the edge of the city, from there we'll heal up, gear up, and then make for the airport, I have an old plane I don't use much anymore in storage there, that will get us back to Central City in about three hours if we catch the upper level air currents, or they don't try and grief us on the way back."
Belladonna grunted then rubbed at her head and sighed; "We'll need to stop before that, I didn't eat anything I spawned in with, and now I feel like I could devour a rotting corpse. And my clothes are starting to fall apart." She shrugged at his unspoken question, a glance at her with an arched eyebrow; "I have some basic rations, and a few other clothes, but I'll need real food soon, and a place to change."
Blaze nodded once; "There is a gas station about twenty miles down the road, I can do some minor repairs to keep us going while you change, and we can actually get some food to help heal while we go, but we can't wait too long, sundown is just shy of four hours from now, and dollars to donuts we'll have another fight between here and the drop off."
"Will the car hold up for another firefight?" she asked as she looked out of the obscured window to her right, a dozen deformed bullets still embedded in the glass.
"No idea," he replied as they crested a small hill and then descended into a long wide and shallow valley, "Anything bigger than an LMG could hurt us right now, the armor is almost used up, and the motor is running hot, but we still have plenty of fuel and I have more ammo and some spare weapons in the trunk. We'll go down fighting if we must."
Unappealing as that really was, if nothing else, Blake could respect the sentiment behind it…
/*/
After The Battle of Autumn Valley...
"Your work for myself and thusly the people of Autumn Valley has been exemplary, and as such, so too your reward!" Cinder called out as she dug into the loot before her.
Golden coin showered from her palms as she scattered generous handfuls of loot out over her assembled army, her perch upon an outcropping of rocks centered in the midst of the remains of the Winchester camp, both the matriarch and patriarch bound and on their knees before her, a large war chest sitting open between them.
Alistair and Alabaster Winchester had been beaten, their army broken and destroyed in detail, their personal bodyguard slaughtered to a person, and what treasure they had left, now was looted before their very eyes, yet they held their heads up defiantly still.
Surrounded as they were by the elite guard of Autumn Valley, no one would have faulted them any displays of fear or despair, but the almost haughty defiance and arrogant distain they showed was off putting if nothing else, and worrisome for many who had fought this day. But High General Fall was canny enough not to allow it to affect her, outwardly at least.
Stepping back from the chest, Cinder allowed for her lieutenants to take over the distribution of the loot, her gaze returning to the last of their enemies, resolve set hard within her features.
"Alistair and Alabaster Winchester," she stated clearly, her hands coming to rest upon the hilt of her swords, the unspoken promise clear for all to see; "you have committed crimes of aggression and malice against the people of Autumn Valley and the Three Kingdoms, you have violated the accords of Sanusa and Anniea, you are outcasts of the Mercenary Guilds, with a sizable bounty upon your heads, and you are responsible for the deaths of a great number of non-combatant's and the pillaging of Vacuo's Black Hills, her villages and treasure, what have you to say to these accusations?"
"I'll not be a party to a mockery of justice, nor spare any further words to one whose hands are twice bloodier than my own." Alistair declared, his eyes fixed to a point far away over the battlefield.
Cinder inclined her head slightly, as if it was answer enough, a curved obsidian blade slowly drawing from her hip, resting delicately in her hand; "I see, and what of you lady Winchester? Do you submit to your husband's declaration?"
Alabaster shook her head slightly, her long flowing mane of ragged auburn hair the only thing out of place on the buxom yet powerful figure she cut, even on her knees beside her partner; "I demand to be remanded to a proper authority either here or within the borders of Vacuo, if there is a bounty, I should like to contest its legality."
"Alabaster, hold your tongue!" her husband snapped, his gaze fixed upon her now with almost jealous fury.
Fall tutted softly as she closed her golden eyes and drew a long breath. Lowering her blade to her side, she glided over to a place before her prisoners, eyes still closed as she crouched in front of them, her eyes opening slowly, before sparks of magic began flowing from them, licks of flame, and drops of either spilling from the corners of her eyes, now cast in an unnatural light.
"Unified until the moment before the last I see," she then thrust her blade deep into Alistair's neck, angling down into his torso, directly into his heart, a flash of power searing the wound open, as blood poured out and bubbled away in rancid smoke, "So be it."
Alistair did not even cry out, even as his wife whimpered softly, her gaze wavering, but still upon him, as he at last signed out brokenly, blood dribbling from his lips, an unspoken curse, or perchance a more soft answer lost as his eyes flashed, and he went limp, only staying upright by Cinder's hand on his face, her thumb drawing his eyes closed as motes of ash started slowly drifting away, Experience Points rushing into her.
The High General, then slowly withdrew her blade from the smoldering body, mostly now armor and bones, and gently laid down what was left before wiping the weapon clean on the ground, and replacing it on her hip.
"Take her back to our camp, and prepare a wagon," Cinder said as she stood up, and drew in a luxuriant breath, her eyes still shimmering with new power, "We return to the Valley at first light, send couriers ahead to Vale and Elderwood, tell them that today Autumn Valley is safe from further acts of aggression from House Winchester."
"Aye General." A worn looking Lieutenant replied before dashing off to follow the command.
Moving away, Cinder rejoined her Elites, a pleased but tired expression on her face. Their own expressions varied from mirroring her own, to mildly uncertain.
"My friends," she said as she draped an arm over Neptune's shoulders, "today could not have happened but for you and your skill, bravery and dedication. We rest and take satisfaction, and upon our return to Mistral we shall celebrate as only we can."
"Should we have killed one and not the other?" Yatsuhashi asked quietly, as Alabaster was escorted away. Pyrrha and Leo nodded in agreement to the question, even as Neptune shrugged mildly at Cinder's arm removing itself from his shoulder.
"It's clearly what they wanted." Cinder replied, only mild irritation in the undercurrent of her tone, her gaze sweeping the small circle of warriors.
"But to what end?" Leo Gault, the agile spearman and Pyrrha's constant shadow mused as he fussed over the shaft of his weapon, picking at some minor damage that had been done.
Cinder narrowed her eyes at him and tilted her head in confusion; "What do you mean Leo?"
The golden spearman paused in his fidgeting and turned his spear downwards, sticking it into the ground as he replied; "What I mean Cinder, is that we are in fact, one Winchester short of a full set, Alistair, Alabaster and Blossom are all accounted for, two dead, one in chains, but what of Cardin?"
Cinder relaxed slightly, and then waved a hand dismissively over the battlefield; "No doubt among the slain or dying, he would have been in the main force, given his rebellious reputation."
"But no one saw him there." Pyrrha said quietly, her emerald eyes growing dark as she looked down at the ground, her helmet, damaged beyond all repair turned over in her hands, her brows knitting together in thought; "In fact, no one even saw him here at all. None of the scouts, none of the commanders or other leaders reported seeing him anywhere."
"And it's not like he doesn't stand out in a crowd, even one as large as this had been." Neptune quipped as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Cinder scowled lightly, her lips turning downward in displeasure at the thought that the scion of house Winchester might have slipped her grasp.
"Think about this," Gault said as he gestured, his hands helps up in appeal; "There is no way he escaped with any reasonable sized party, the scouts would have seen or heard something and reported it, so he is either alone, or with two maybe three others, and not anyplace near here."
"So then where might he go?" Yaysuhashi asked for all, as he swept the horizon with his gaze, as if a sign of some kind would suddenly appear.
"I don't think it matters," Cinder said with finality, her hands resting on her hips, but her gaze at the space between them, her eyes showing deep and focused thought; "Without an army to back him, or any treasure to buy said army, he is of no direct threat to us, his family name is reviled across the continent, and even in the wildlands of the north, few would risk offending Autumn Valley by harboring or aiding him."
"But what if he left Sanusa?"
The circle of warriors looked to their mightiest member, her emerald gaze fixed on a point on the far horizon, to where a mountain pass marked the point between the lands of Autumn Valley and the Three Kingdoms, leading to the wild and cold North, rife with untamed and barely explored wilderness, and the next to last place anyone sane would want to be this time of year. The unsettled tundra wrapped the north and much of the west coast in what was effectively brutal snow covered mountains of ice. It was also the fastest way to the singular cold water port of Argus, a joint effort between the Three Kingdoms of Sanusa, Atlas far to the north adjoining Atmora, and whatever was left of the Empire of Man on Tamriel.
"Then I'd say he's no longer our problem," Neptune replied after a long pause, "after all, the bounty was for the heads of House Winchester, daddy dearest was just zeroed out, and mommy is in chains. There is effectively no 'House of Winchester' anymore."
"He's right." Leo answered as he took up his spear once more, then slid it onto his back, "Even if Cardin escapes back to Animai, all he is going to have is his Level, and whatever gear he could carry, for everything else, he's starting from scratch."
Everyone seemed to agree with this conclusion, but even so, Cinder pulled Leo aside as the rest started to wander off back towards their camp on the other side of the battlefield.
"Leo," she said softly, her amber gaze following the sleek and powerful form of her redheaded friend, but her hand firmly gripping the golden haired warrior's bicep; "You have contacts in the major capitols still, yes?" her grip was not painful, but it was iron clad, belittling her slighter stature.
"Yeah, I know some people, I even know a guy in Cyrodiil … Why?" his voice betrayed no fear or suspicion, but his question was not as simple as it sounded, and they both knew it.
"Put the word out, fifty thousand for information on the whereabouts of Cardin Winchester."
"You really want a bounty on the guy?"
"No," High General Fall gave a single shake of her head as she let go of him, and moved to follow the others; "Just information. Cardin will run afoul of the wrong someone soon enough on his own. I just want to know where, and if possible, when."
"Gotcha."
/*/
How he had allowed himself to be talked into this ill-advised quest, would no doubt be the next topic of discussion between himself and his partner, assuming they survived this exact encounter.
Gathering up his dropped Sai, he quickly centered himself, then dove in tight, using the bushes still unflattened to cover his approach, the greens and blacks of his clothing aiding him, camouflaging his form from the apparently colorblind golem that was trying to stomp an errant Guardsman to paste. A smear of red along his face spoke of a glancing blow better avoided, but the man held his composure and moved with a deliberate urgency that kept him barely alive as the stone foot once more crashed down into the earth.
Pushing off of a damaged tree, he threw one Sai into the knee joint, locking it in place, and causing the still bent leg to barely miss the poor valiant man from another stomp, and causing the large animated statue to pitch forward with a bellow onto its face, the Guard dodging between its legs. Following the arc he had set himself into, he thrust the other Sai into the back of the other knee, knowing it would only slow the stone and clay beast for a time. But what else could he do at this point? He was a Ninja against a mini-boss with a greatly diminished number of territorial guards at his beck and call.
"Take its head off!" he commanded as he pulled his last weapons out, twin curved blades that bent down over his knuckles rather than moving up like most daggers or knives.
Striking at its squat and thick neck, he had to move away when it bent it's arms at an impossible angle to swing at him. Thankfully, the telltale whine and whoosh of magic told him that at last, help had arrived.
Ice spikes slammed into the Golem across it's body, down the flank and along its left leg. Glancing over, he could see the magic user standing at the edge of the clearing, two fingers extended, an enchanted sword in her left hand, and Runes and Glyphs awash over and around her, as she called upon the might of the elements to lock the sizable beast into place.
Suddenly, a glint of steel flashed past the enchantress, white and bronze gear sprinting forwards at a decent speed as a blond headed Knight charged in, yelling… wildly and with great enthusiasm, rather than with any sort of intimidation factor. Covering himself with his shield, he held a sturdy and elegant sword over his head, which then swung down rapidly, smashing into a frozen arm, shattering the ice encased shoulder.
That he narrowly avoided getting a blast of ice in his back, apparently did not matter.
"Get out of the way you fool!" the pale Enchantress yelled out, as the tip of her rapier glowed brightly, before her, a Glyph shimmering at the end of it.
"Sorry!" the bumbling knight replied, rolling away from the now clearly enraged Golem that tried to headbutt him.
The pale eyed young woman, then cried out in relief as she thrust her off hand at the Glyph, unleashing a torrent of cold, something like a blizzard contained within a few small millimeters raced at the monster, expanding rapidly, wind and snow freezing the ground under it in a path that ended right in Golem's face.
Snowflakes erupted everywhere, harmlessly scattering over himself, the Guardsmen, and the other two, as the Golem's movements shrank to nothing, and it turned into only so much dust, clay and stone.
XP flooded outwards, granting levels to the party of Heroes and Guards, healing them as loot spilled out onto the ground, a large number of coins and random items piling upon top of the remains of the Golem.
"Jaune!" The enchantress bit off as she strode up to the party, her white and blue billowy skirted robes shimmering with receding magic as she sheathed her weapon, eyes alight with fury.
"Uh, yes Weiss?" the tall and sturdy blond headed Knight replied as he replaced his own sword into the scabbard.
She fixed him with a glare that clearly negated the height difference between them; "If you are going to be acting as my Sentinel, then by the powers!" she pointed an elegantly gloved finger into his nose, before pointing at the ground beside her, "Stay where you can cover me and my blind side! What if there had been another Golem that had flanked us?"
"Well, uh… There was… int?" he offered weakly before rubbing at his nose and blushing brightly.
"That's not the point!" she snapped at the Knight, turning on her heel and crossing her arms over her chest, before composing herself and facing himself; "I'm sorry for our delay, but some trolls tried to ambush us on the river trail here.
"It's fine, your timing was well enough," he said as he gathered up a handful of coins and retrieved his Sai's.
"I missed it! Awweee, Renny, why didn't you same some for meee?!" his partner exclaimed as she came crashing into the clearing, her comically large war hammer at the ready, her ginger hair and thin pale hide armor the worse for wear from her unplanned trip through the tree tops at the start of the encounter.
"Nora…" Ren sighed, and then held his hands out helplessly; "You are the one who insisted that you could perform a surprise attack, but used your war cry while still in the tree line."
"So?" she asked as she hooked her weapon onto what was left of her backpack, then continued straight faced; "It was surprised wasn't it?"
The three other players stood there in stunned silence at the Barbarian's earnest confusion.
"Well then," Weiss said as she brushed her long skirt out, then stepped forward offering a hand; "I am Lady Weiss Schnee, of the Masters of Magic Guild from Atlas, and this is my… Acting Sentinel, Jaune Arc of House Arcon in Vale, we were contracted by the Earl of Farmarch to help clear out Golems with the Heroes he had already hired to patrol the roads and trails between there and Greenlake, I presume you are Li Ren and Nora Valkyrie?"
"Yup, that's us!" Nora replied with a big smile, her arm wrapping around Ren's shoulders as he nodded once.
"We have a copy of the bounty here, see?" Jaune offered as he held up a piece of parchment with all of their names listed, and a decent reward promised for it as well when returned.
Ren hummed then replied; "The Earl did mention that bounty as well, he said that it was connected to our own, but I told him it would have been better to have more Heroes for it, given the extent of the territory that we would need to cover." He eyed the two new comers once more as Nora took over: "Seems he took our advice after all!"
"Nora… You said you could do both by yourself." Ren pointed out as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Piffft," she responded, waving her hand dismissively at him, "I said I could, but that I wouldn't do it without you, silly Ninja."
"Yes, silly me." Ren said neutrally, as the guards assembled behind them. "We are less than a day's travel from Green Lake," Ren said looking from his partner to the recently arrived Heroes, "There is a small outpost between here and there, we are to assign some of the soldier's the Earl sent with us there, and have the rest station at the barracks in Green Lake to establish coverage." He gestured to the trail that curved into the trees and towards the river road as he spoke; "Shall we continue?"
"Yes, we shall, thank you." Lady Schnee replied with a small curtsey and pleased smile.
-that evening-
Green Lake was aptly named, as the color of the water was a shade of blue green that both faintly glowed, and reflected brightly against the boats and docks of the small fishing town, built between the Green River that flowed north east towards the provincial capital of Farmarch, and large rolling foot hills to the northwest that led upwards towards the Dragonsbek Mountains and their nearly impassible peaks, always capped in snow. To the southwest beyond the massive lake, laid the increasingly wide and flat plains of the neighboring province and the White River that fed into Green Lake, coming from the Iron Hills beyond the plains, while all points east was flush with forests' to the horizon filled with trees and villages.
The faint bioluminescence was almost ethereal after the sun set, and it provided a measure of natural light. It also provided unique aquatic life that the townspeople used for lighting in some rather ingenious ways, large lanterns that were little more than fishbowls with a bit of moss and a pair of fish in them, cast soft blue green light into the streets, alongside the oil lamps, and pitch torches that lined the well packed dirt streets.
"It's sooo shiny!" Nora exclaimed as they walked along a wood plank sidewalk from the barracks towards the largest inn and tavern in town, rooms having already been acquired by Jaune after they had arrived with the reinforcements, Weiss and Ren having gotten the local captain to sign off on their quest, payment upon return to Farmarch and the Earl's Steward.
"Hmm, this must be some sort of chemical process used by the local wildlife, but for what reason no one seems certain." Ren observed as they followed the trail of light back to the center of town.
"I can foresee that within a few years," Weiss observed pointedly; "Green Lake will grow larger, and this kind of lighting won't be sufficient for the needs of the population long term. Especially as people keep coming here to raise families, or Heroes to retire."
"Farmarch is one of the safest and most stable nations in the whole of Animai." Ren commented as they entered the Inn, named 'the Fire Fish Inn' by its owner, a gruff and portly looking man Jaune had said called himself "Frank Fishman" and who drove a hard bargain it seemed.
The inside of the Inn was better lit, with oil and candle lanterns and sconces lining the walls and large goat horn chandlers hanging in the two main rooms on the ground level, a pair of long tables and booths denoted the smaller front dining room, while a long tall bar wrapping around two sides of the larger Tavern.
Jaune was already sitting at one of the larger booths, a stein and a plate piled with food before him. Seeing the others walk in, he waved them over with a smile, then pushed a stack of three wooden plates to the end of the table as they walked up; "I got us food and drinks with our rooms, half off no less since we are in service to the Earl."
"Ah, thank you Jaune." Weiss replied as she took up a plate and then stepped back, allowing Ren and Nora to get their own plates as well.
"Two rooms, on the second floor, end of the hall, I thought that the girls could share one, and Ren and I another." He smiled proudly before stuffing a large piece of freshly steamed salmon into his mouth then took a drink of the local ale.
"Oh, well…" Ren and Nora said in unison before awkwardly looking to Weiss for a moment, her gaze shifting from the serving table back to their booth, "Yes?" she asked politely, even as her stomach grumbled faintly.
"Well… You see, Ren and I usually bunk together." Nora said matter-of-factly; "Since we are partners. Well, I mean not like together, together but together."
Weiss and Jaune shared a pregnant pause, looking at one another, his eyebrows arching up in alarm as he coughed ale out over the top of his stein and all over himself, and the corner of her left eyebrow twitching ever so slightly as her wooden plate suddenly became coated in a thin layer of frost.
"I… See…" Weiss said with an equally cold tone, her gaze riveted upon Jaune who was turning every possible shade of red, his sapphire eyes looking everywhere but her face as he sputtered trying to clear his throat out.
"Is, that going to be problematic?" Ren asked diplomatically, his purple eyes sweeping back and forth between them.
"Oh, um, no I ah…" Jaune stammered out, his voice cracking slightly in fright, as he at last spared a glance at Weiss who was stoically gazing at him in a preemptive reproach, "Uh no, not at all, it's just that um, how shall we say uh that is I mean, Weiss and I um, well—"
"What Jaune is attempting to say," Weiss said as she took a half step back, and turned to face the others squarely; "Is that he and I have never roomed together before, because there are certain… Proprieties, let us say, that we observe during our contract together. Namely that as he is simply my acting Sentinel, he is unbounded to me, and thus is not afforded full access to me, nor I to him."
The confusion on Ren and Nora's faces made it abundantly clear that they only understood half of what that meant, although Ren's expression was more thoughtful than Nora's, which was mostly just baffled, which she then so pointedly expressed: "Sooo, you're not rutting one another, and?"
"Nora!" Ren admonished as Jaune all but fell out of the booth, dumping the rest of his ale across himself and onto the floor, and Weiss's pale cheeks flushed blood red, her ice blue eyes widening to comical proportions, and the poor wooden plate in her hands became a flat block of ice.
"Whaat?" Not like we do either!" exclaimed Nora animatedly, "Not for lack of hints or trying sadly." She added under her breath as she walked away, this time it was Ren's turn to blush brightly, as Jaune at last slid onto the floor softly moaning to himself.
"We can accommodate whatever suits you best." Ren said softly before he followed after the ginger haired barbarian a hand over his face.
"I'm soo very sorry Weiss." Jaune sputtered as he rubbed his beet red cheeks slowly.
"Oh get up you dolt!" she replied, "And it's Lady Weiss, Sir Jaune."
"I'm not a full Knight yet."
"They don't have to know that. Now get up, eat your food then go clean up, you look like a slovenly outcast. It's unbecoming."
"Yes m'lady."
It was later agreed that Ren and Jaune would in fact share one of the rooms, while Weiss and Nora the other, after a bit of bargaining and a profuse (if wholly unnecessary) promise by Jaune not to seduce Ren with his charismatic skills, and a one sided Blood Oath by Nora to not succumb to Weiss's enchanting ways. Much drink was then consumed, and the four of them fell into bed, with full bellies, fuzzy heads, and for three of them at least, slightly bruised social expectations…
A/N: Still working on that wrap up for the FO4 fic.
Might get it done, after I manage to get outta jury duty, work my last days at my job, and then move almost 100 miles BACK to my hometown in 6 days, to help my elderly mother for 6 to 15 months get my childhood home repaired, refinanced, and hopefully sold for an obscene profit sometime in the next 3 years or less so my mother can FINALLY retire unlike my late father.
Honestly, I hate leaving a more rural area for one of the 15 largest cities in the US, I left for fucking REASONS like the fact that its a million people large, and almost everyone now acts like they have an electrified fork jammed up their anus, rather than chill and laid back as I remember when I was growing up there.
I left it when there were 800k people there, over 10 years ago, and FINALLY moved to a place in the country with less than 30k people, only to have my run of shit luck continue, now I'm in debt, again, and telling bill collectors on me for my exwife's old accounts to go fuck themselves after 2 years. why can't fanfiction pay my bills? Yes I KNOW why... end rant.