XXII - Oskolok
Well I have employment for this summer sorted out. Another National Park, though it's on the other side of the continent. Sucks there's hardly any on the east coast. Probably not gonna have much internet there either. Woooooo…
~~~(XXII)~~~
Oxon was tired. He'd been swinging his ax around for the last few hours and his arms were killing him. Getting the hang of swinging the ax and using it as a rifle had been difficult. But he'd begun to get the hang of it and created new moves using the recoil. He'd definitely dropped it more than a few times. But the effort was worth it.
He'd seen other classmates use their firearms not just as a weapon, but as a tool to increase mobility. Seeing their skill lit a fire in him and creating a desire to improve himself. Of course he still couldn't compare to most of the people at this school, they'd been training since they were in the single digits after all.
Sure his dad had taught him basically how to handle any of the simple weapon types. But that was in order to convince Oxon to follow his footsteps. And thank the brothers he'd humored him back then. If not, he'd have surely died in the wilderness, or even on that dreadful night.
"Dammit son, just get out of here!" He shivered at the memory. He wouldn't let all those efforts go in vain. He clenched his fist and steeled his mind.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten a thing you taught me." Finding a second wind, Oxon started to bring up a new round of bots to fight.
Before he could activate them however, the door to the training room opened.
"Sorry, I'm using this one, I'm sure another is open though." He didn't bother to turn around to see who entered. It was most likely some random student who didn't bother to see the 'training in progress' note on the door.
Instead of hearing footsteps leave, they instead got closer and he groaned at the sound of the door closing. He dragged his hand down his face in frustration at being interrupted.
"Look, just give me an hour and I'll be done and you can use it ok?" Was this asshole deaf or something?
"I don't need the room, just you." He instantly recognized that voice. It was not one he wanted to hear. Turning around he saw the hapless leader of team JNPR. "Got a minute?"
"I got a lot of minutes, paper birch, none exactly free to you." What did the guy even want? Another spar? "I know third time's the charm and all, but you're not exactly ready for anything other than for me to plant your ass in the ground. I'm all for a hat trick, but I'd rather fight something worth my time."
The desired reaction from the blonde was achieved. Red faced and bristling with anger. "You really take off the mask when it's just me, huh? All polite to everyone else yet your real colors come out when it's just us."
Jaune had him there. He had no respect for the guy from the start, no need to pretend to be a saint now. It was a shame, he could have gotten closer to Nikos but if he hadn't blundered so badly earlier.
Life was easier at the club and it sure is tiring as hell to be at this academy. Sure he got along well enough with most folks, but the majority were too irritating to look at. Winchester and his cronies disgusted him, Arc himself was almost irrelevant except for his partner being Pyrrha, Ruby Rose still terrified him from their first run in, and everything about cinder and her lackies made him want to scream.
He had to keep up a decent image all hours of the day and it was infuriating. The only one he was completely honest with is Arc. In a way, it was refreshing to be with the blonde boy.
"Maybe you're right, maybe I'm only real with you, or maybe they think the same and are just better at hiding it. Either way, here you are, seeking out my company. Are you some kind of masochist?" The blonde was in his combat gear. Was he actually itching for a fight?
"Alright, enough of the insults, I just came to talk." Talk? Talk? Why the hell did he want to talk? A big part of him wanted to scoff at the proposition, but a smaller, and stronger, part of him knew it might help the mission.
"You wanna chat?" Oxon raised a questioning eyebrow, which was answered by a firm nod from Jaune. "Sure, if you want. You didn't catch me in a good mood, but not in a bad one either. This chat lasts until I get tired of it."
Jaune seemed content with the terms and crossed his arms in thought. Probably bullshitting this as he went. It only took a few moments for the guy to speak.
"Why are you here?" Oxon was going to joke about being in the room, but then he saw the surprisingly serious look on his face. Well, not like he was going to tell the truth.
"I'll answer that with another question, why do you care?"
"Because from what you've said, you refused to train how to fight beyond the basics. And yet here you are, at Beacon after being picked up by Haven." He had to give it to the noodle, his mind was sharper than his fighting skills. "You said you didn't care about fighting Grimm, then why did you accept? Why do you train so hard?"
He hadn't had a choice about whether or not to come here. But as for why he actually tried? "I didn't really see any other option. If you asked me a year ago about the Grimm, I'd tell you they were just a nuisance, a lethal threat to be sure, but one I could handily deal with." He saw brief flashes of fire, smoke, and blood as he thought back to his home.
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"Then my home was razed to the ground after a massive horde swarmed over our walls." That put a shocked face on the blonde. Oxon stomped forward and jabed a finder in Jaune's chest. "I had to run away and abandon my family just to survive!"
Jaune raised his hands in an attempt to calm Oxon down. "I-i'm sorry I asked."
"You should be." This moron always manages to piss him off. "And as for why I try, I work hard now because I failed before, and then I ran. I might not have sought out this chance, but coming here opened my eyes. Every day I see skills and strength I wish I had that day. If I or my family had a fraction of their power, then maybe they'd still be here!"
He'd unconsciously grabbed Jaune by his hoodie in the middle of his rant. Snarling, he let him go with a shove. He took a few deep breaths to bring his heart rate back under control.
"We, we knew something happened to your family. I didn't realize it was something so tragic. I'm sorry."
Deep breaths, don't punch the guy. It'll make my job harder, even if it'll make me feel so much better.
Jaune rubbed his neck and readjusted his hoodie "I know you are probably going to reject me, but I was wondering if you and I could train together?"
"You, want me, to train with you?" This had to be a joke. The only guy with a worse record than Oxon wanted to team up.
"Yeah, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but if you were able to improve like you have so quickly, then maybe you could help me catch up?"
"Catch up?"
"Well yeah, It's pretty obvious how far behind I am. I thought since we're in somewhat similar circumstances, that we could help each other. Maybe even bury the hatchet along the way?"
"Fuck that." The wimp flinched back at the sudden vitriol. "I won't waste precious calories or seconds working with someone who probably can't even cut down a sapling."
"Hey, I know I'm not the best fighter, but I'm sure I could help a little! I mean, Pyrrha always says-"
"I do not CARE! What does some tournament fighter know about fighting for her life?! Last I checked, the Grimm don't have rules of engagement!" He knew he was losing it. He had to leave before he blew this even more.
Oxon brandished Bulls Breath angrily. Jaunes hand fell to the handle of his own weapon. "Someone who was raised in a safe and controlled environment won't be able to deal with the cruel reality we live in."
"Okay, Oxon, I get it." One hand on the hilt and another up in between the two. He clearly didn't want to come to blows here. "Just calm down."
After a few deep breaths, Oxon moved away from the infuriating blonde. "This conversation is over." Oxon placed his weapons back in their holsters and stomped to the doors. With the exit open and Oxon halfway out, he turned his head to glare at the gaping blonde.
"If you really want to find a stronger fighting spirit, if you really want to improve yourself in combat, try imagining your family bloodied and broken behind you. That has given me plenty of motivation."
With that, the pale faced blonde was left alone in the training room.
I could really use a drink…
~~~(XXII)~~~
"That has given me plenty of motivation."
Jaune stood still, staring at the door for what felt like hours. It has only been a few seconds since Oxon had given his bit of advice. He had come to find the ax man to try and fix whatever issue they had with each other.
Clearly that didn't work…
He scratched the back of his head as he thought back on each time he mentioned his past. Sure they'd all noticed the use of past tense when referring to his family and home, but this conversation had only brought up more questions about his life right before Beacon.
"And I thought I had a complicated life…"
Hr was hoping to bring Oxon into his training with Pyrrha, or failing that, at least spar together occasionally. Both were definitely off the menu now.
He made his way out of the room only to spot ruby hiding around the corner.
"What're you doing here Rubes?"
The silver eyed girl chuckled nervously. "Uh, well, you see…"
"Ruby."
"Ok, ok, I was trying to hear what you two were talking about." Ah, she'd been eavesdropping. "I noticed you making your way here, even though it's a rooftop training night. I was curious."
He grumbled at that. "Well it didn't go quite to plan. Kinda crashed and burned, really."
"I didn't really hear anything except the end." She was staring down the hallway, probably where Oxon had walked away.
"Yeah, the rest wasn't much better." Jaune explained the brief conversation the two had, and how it quickly spiraled out of control. He left out the insults and focused on information Ox had let slip.
"That's…" she had a faraway look in her eyes, like she was somewhere else.
"Yeah, definitely not what I was expecting. He's been rude, but never really hostile before. On the bright side, I think we can at least rule out him killing someone."
Ruby blinked her eyes a few times and refocused on him. "Huh? What?"
"Weren't you guys worried about the names of his sidearms? Patris and Fratris?" Pyrrha and Weiss had a conversation discussing them and what they might mean. "Pyr had been worried he was some sort of dangerous, secret murderer."
"Right, yeah, I think I remember Weiss muttering something like that. But from what it sounds like, Grimm killed them."
The two began to walk back to their dorm. Each thinking about what occurred in the training hall. They walked in silence for a bit before Ruby spoke.
"His guns make it sound like he killed them. But maybe he just feels guilty?" Jaune turned his head to look at her for clarification. "I mean, he's admitted that he ran away during the incursion that destroyed his home. Perhaps he feels so bad that he sees himself as what killed them?"
Jaune thought about that for a moment. It made sense. It made a lot more sense that Oxon began to dislike him after their fight. Oxon had just lost everything, then he'd been brought into a school for the best of the best, and his first encounter was someone worse than himself.
"Well that's good. He might be troubled by his past, but at least he hasn't killed anyone. You think we should tell the others?" They were almost back, just a few hundred yards away from the entrance.
"Probably? I mean, the more heads the better. I'm sure the rest of your team could think of something to help him right? Though I fear what Nora might think is appropriate for therapy."
The two shared a shiver at the thought of Nora attempting to mend someone.
~~~(XXII)~~~
After a long and exhausting week, Friday has arrived. He and most of the first years were stuck with professor loudmouth as the final lesson for the day. His chat with Jaune the other day had further reinforced their poor relationship. He must have said something to the others, because they were acting oddly whenever he was around.
Speaking of the knight in cardboard armor, he was once again trying, and hilariously failing, at asking out the Scheme.
"Aaand then maybe after that, we could study together? I mean you're smart I'm uh, you know…"
If second-hand cringe could kill, he'd be pushing up daisies. The girl wasn't even paying attention, just staring at her scroll's clock. She only moved once the clock hit four, signaling the end of class.
The poor moron asked if she heard him as she was getting up to leave. She finally spoke up in a brutal way. "No, no, no, yes." His head hit the table in shame as the rest of team RWBY walked past. It seemed Yang was willing to give some encouragement to her fellow blonde.
Oxon let out a snort before leaving the room as well. "Smooth as Ironbark buddy."
He had to stop by his room to snag a change of clothes. Showing up at a terrorist meet and greet in a school uniform would be far too conspicuous. Once he was close, he saw an odd sight. Sun was hanging from a tree and giving encouragement to a struggling Neptune who was busy climbing the building.
He stood there for a moment to soak in the absurdity of the situation. They do know they can just take the stairs? Right? The jovial faunus spotted him and gave a wave. Oxon just shook his head before walking inside.
He put on a pair of brown jeans and a full green flannel button up. A nondescript brown jacket went overtop to ward off the spring chill. He heard some yelling down the hall but dismissed it, probably Sun completing some prank.
As he walked to the landing pads, he idly noticed the temperature was starting to get warmer. Unfortunately for him, he was accustomed to colder climates and dreaded the summer heat. His first summer, when he was still with Junior, had him buying multiple fans and ac units. He thought it was a freak heat wave at first, then it got worse as the sweltering heat lasted.
Wait, last summer… has it really been over a year since I left home? It was late winter when I ran…
"Yeah, the spring berries were the only reason I lasted so long…" Oxon mumbled while idly rubbing the back of his neck, contemplating the fact he'd forgotten to keep track of time. "The anniversary passed and I didn't even know..."
"Didn't know what?" It seems like Blake, Yang, Sun, and Neptune were headed to
Vale as well it seemed. They must have arrived at the platform just in time to hear his muttering.
"Nothing important. Just that it's been a year since I came to vale. I think it was in April of last Year." Shit, looking at the date he saw the date was may 13th… His own birthday passed. "Didn't realize I turned eighteen…"
"Woah, you forgot your own birthday!? You do realize it's a crime not to have a party, especially the big one- eight!" Sun and Neptune slung an arm each over his shoulders as the group boarded the bullhead.
"My partner speaks the truth. It's the right of every human and faunus to party their hearts out on such a momentous occasion!" The bluenette pretended to wipe away a tear. "Poor Ox, how cruel must life be to not get absolutely wasted now that you're legally able to drink…"
"I don't see the big deal about being eighteen?" He already had his adulthood ceremony back home, there was no need for another.
"Ugh, don't be boring like Blake was! She was no fun when we tried to throw her one in January." He looked over at the two girls and shared a slight nod of understanding with the hidden faunus. "I swear I'll make sure mine's a rager!"
The group found some seats as Blake was trying to convince Yang that moderation was a good thing. It wasn't going well.
"We'll throw a bash for ya later, don't worry." Oxon was very worried by Yang's promise. "So what's got you heading to vale on a Friday? Having a fun night out? Why didn't you tell us?"
Oh I don't know, I'm going to track a bunch of terrorists how to pilot a massive death bot. Not like he could tell them.
"I'm getting some work done on my gear, I sent it over to the shop earlier. Should give me more versatility." That wasn't a complete lie, he'd used the last of his funds to modify his armor. One was a undershirt with ice dust woven in, because fuck the heat, and the other was meant to be a secret.
"Sounds cool, we're on our way to spy on the whit-" Neptunes mouth was quickly covered by the other three he'd come to vale with. He was cut off, but that was pretty much all he needed to know. The spreading of Blake's cagey attitude made sense now. He had to hurry to the meetup point ASAP if he wanted to avoid implication.
"We're going to the zoo! You know, see the cute white bunnies that just arrived." Yang must have been trying to salvage something after the blue boy's blunder. He pretended to fall for it and the three released Neptune.
"Right, white bunnies, personally I'm a fan of horses, but Blake and Sun wanted to see the fluff balls." It was a decent recovery, too bad he knew the only thing "white" that Blake cared for was the White Fang.
He waved goodbye to the foursome, wishing them luck on their dates, it was funny to watch the faunus blush. They were in the city to interfere and they were armed. As soon as he was a block away, he broke into a quick jog to where he was supposed to meet.
He sent out a frantic text to Torchwick. It was filled with spelling and grammar errors, but it hopefully got the point across. He had a feeling this night was going to suuuuuck.
~~~(XXII)~~~
When looking at story stats, I can see who reads this in different countries. It's wild to see a wide variety.
To those who are in Ukraine, будьте в безпеці та здорові!
Also found a timeline of the show that someone put together that's been quite helpful knowing what happens and when.
~~~(XXII)~~~
Omake
January 19th
Blake was once again wondering if leaving The Fang for Beacon was the right choice. Sure, she was on her way to righting all the wrongs she'd committed, but at what cost? These thoughts came to her as she stared into the murky liquid inside a red plastic cup.
"C'mon Blakey! Enjoy the booze! You're leeeegallllllll!" Yang, her partner, and the brain behind this "party" was lounging on the floor after a few cups of Patch Juice.
"Yeah Blake, drink the juice!" Her eyes slid to Ruby, who wasn't even drunk since Yang barred her from drinking until she was old enough. That didn't stop the young leader from pretending.
She took a sip of the liquid and didn't find it awful. Yang had refused to tell her the Ingredients, which worried her, but it seemed ok.
"I'm sorry Blake, if I'd known that this was the idea behind the party, I would have warned you." The heiress had her own cup… of wine and was sipping it slowly.
"It's fine, it's not the worst birthday I have had." She was definitely amused by Yang's tipsy attitude.
They had thought about inviting JNPR. They were just across the hall after all. But nobody wanted to give Nora Valkyrie liquor.
"Ok girls, enough boringness for the night! Time to play a game!" Yang pulled out a deck of cards and a can of vale light. She set the can in the center of a ring of cards. "Who has heard of king's cup?"
A few hours later the now intoxicated girls were surprised when a grumpy and beadheaded Glynda Goodwitch knocked on their door. Needless to say the noise complaints had given them up. They had detention for a month after.
~~~(XXII)~~~
My first real time drinking was when my dad gave me "bog juice." It was ¾ gin and ¼ some kind of sweet and sour mixer. I chugged two in about two hours. Boy was I trashed… no hangover though!