LVIII - Root Rot

~~~(LVIII)~~~

The snowstorm had yet to abate, and as horrible as it was, it let him distract himself from the jarring news. Ozpin was an immortal wizard who swapped bodies after death and was cursed by the gods to u its mankind in order to finally rest. And his biggest opponent was his immortal ex-wife who was also cursed and accidentally turned herself into the Grimm queen. There were magical relics that were the key to summoning the brother gods.

The gods… Hell… His family and all of Prism believed in the twin deities. Growing up he was taught of their firm but fair ways. Now? After seeing what they were like eons ago? He had far less respect for them. Their faith may have been proven true, but at the cost of his trust in them. He wouldn't be praying to them anytime soon.

In the tale they saw, Salem had been so understandable. Her love died after only being married for a short time. Especially after he'd freed her from that tower prison. He would have done the same thing in her shoes, and maybe that made him just as bad. But… were the gods just in their judgment? Oxon didn't know, gods are gods, and he's just a human. But if there was a way to bring his family, or even his whole town back? He'd pay whatever price they asked.

He felt bad for Oscar. The kid had seemed excited to be on a life changing adventure back in Mistral. He had grown up reading about heroes saving the world from great evil beings, and then suddenly he was the hero, the one with thousands of years of knowledge and experience. But at too great a cost. His soul.

Oxon looked to his side, the boy had taken to walking between him and Ruby. The others seemed to take the betrayal from Ozpin, or Ozma, out on the kid. Oxon was pissed too, but the kid was a victim too, perhaps the biggest victim of them all. Oscar seemed to walk in a daze, continuing forward for the sake of it.

I'll need to talk to him when, or if we find shelter. It's been hours of nothing.

Oxon and the others had been trudging down the trail to… Wherever. As he expected, he was weathering the storm well, his leather outer shell combined with a wool layer beneath his scales kept him well insulated. Though not everything was covered, so he used his aura to keep the few spots where there was exposed skin safe from frostbite.

Not everyone was in the same boat, sure, they used their aura to keep the chill from causing harm, but they didn't have an infinite amount. They dressed for combat and style, not for the weather. Blake was easily the worst off, her light clothes that showed off a lot of skin had been brought in preparation for her trip home, and the northern snow was a far cry from the heat of Menagerie. He gave her a blanket to cover herself, but the storm had been picking up even more, making the cover heavy with snow.

Qrow sighed as he looked at the clouds. The man had been drinking more lately. "Doesn't look like this is gonna let up."

Oxon hummed and looked up. "Storms back home sometimes lasted days, weeks in midwinter, pretty sure we are at a similar latitude even if it's not that time of year yet. These clouds seem heavy with precipitation and could become a whiteout."

"Atlas is much of the same, though it is admittedly much better inside the walls."

"Great…" Qrow seemed even less enthusiastic after hearing from the northern teens. "The snow lovers think it'll keep up… This day really has gone to hell…"

Blake pushed past him, vainly trying to brush off the accumulated snow. "Just wanna get this stupid Relic to Atlas."

"Let's hope we don't have to walk all the way there."

"I thought trails led somewhere."

Maria frowned at the blonde. "Do you have nothing better to do than to harass a defenseless old lady?"

"You get thin skin in your old age?" The old lady shot him a glare, though its impact was lessened by her stature and robo eyes. His mother taught him to respect the elderly, but right now he couldn't find the energy to care. "You voluntarily stowed away in the back so you could join us. So just sit on the bike and take the licks."

"It's called Bumblebee." He sent a raised eyebrow her way in an attempt to communicate that he was on her side here. She ignored him.

Ruby, tired with how everyone was acting, tried to take control and keep people calm. "Everyone, quiet we can't keep making so much noise. Also, does anyone else hear that?"

"The howling of an arctic gale?" His sarcastic answer got him a light slap from the short girl.

Though paying attention to her words, everyone stopped in their tracks. After a moment of concentration, the group heard a faint metallic squeaking. They all looked at each other before moving towards the sound, only a few hundred meters away from them was the gate of a large farm. One of the front gates was swinging back and forth with the wind. Above the open entrance was a large sign.

Brunswick Farms.

"Well, at least one good thing happened today."

Oxon agreed with that statement. "You think they'll let us in?" The place seemed in a bit of a rough shape, whether it was just old or something else, he didn't know. Weiss seemed to though.

"I doubt that will be an issue. It looks abandoned."

"It's still better than the blizzard."

Qrow took the lead and motioned for the group to follow him. "Come on, I think we could all use some rest." Everyone proceeded through the farm's gates, Oxon took one last glance behind him and then at the farm grounds. He wasn't a farmer like some of the others back home, so he couldn't put anything together about the equipment, but something felt off about the shape of everything. The snow started to pick up even more and he took that cue to hurry on.

He jumped a bit as the gate suddenly slammed shut behind him. He spun around hand on the handle of his revolver, but instead of a monster, there was just snow. He sent the metal jumpscare a glare before entering the homestead. Damnit Oxon, it's just a stupid gate…

Once inside the property grounds, he saw everyone looking around at the buildings. The snow storm continued as they walked through Brunswick Farms, making visibility something near impossible as the wind picked up in strength and sound. Greenhouses flanked them, but they would be a last resort for shelter.

Ruby sighed as she looked at the greenhouses. "I don't get it. The empty towns I've passed through were all damaged or unfinished. But this place looks... fine."

"Yes, the tools are still out like they intended to get to work. The plow is facing the fields, so they were planning on planting crops before whatever hit here occurred." Oxon nodded in agreement with Oscar. He'd occasionally been called to do some heavy lifting with the farmers, or to loan out Babe. He didn't know the exact reason for most of what he saw here, but he has some knowledge he could pair with the kid.

"There's something off about the trees too. I'd need to look at them for a bit, but I get an odd feeling looking at them."

The group eventually arrived at the porch of what seemed like the main residence. It was easily larger than the other buildings on each side. Weiss was shivering and she wrapped her arms around her torso to keep herself warm. Oxon removed the wool lining from his helmet and offered it to her. She gave him a slight smile as she put it around her hands. "Maybe everyone left in a hurry. Before things took a turn?"

Qrow tried to open the door, only to show them that it was locked. He narrowed his eyes at that. "Hmm. Stay on guard." Qrow kicked the door open, everyone proceeded forward with their weapons drawn. Oxon turned to watch the way they came in from, afraid there could be an ambush.

Maria yelled at him after a moment. "Close the door already! It's cold enough in here as it is." Not seeing any movement in the homes or barns, he put away Patris and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Not wanting the now busted thing to reopen on its own, Blake and Oscar pushed a nearby drawer to block the door.

Once that was done, she turned to the group. "I saw a chimney from the outside. Maybe we could get a fire going?"

Oxon smiled and unslung his hatchet. "Perfect, I'll get right on that, hopefully they have fire wood prepared or a heavy maul to make some."

Weiss, even with her time in Atlas, seemed unwilling to be without heat anymore. "Please hurry, Ox. I'll look for some blankets in the meantime." Qrow, not wanting people to split up, asked Yang to go with her.

With a task to complete, he went to inspect the fireplace. In an off the grid place like this, he expected to see a crate with pre split logs ready to burn. And finding the living room, he found the box. Though it was not as he expected to find it, the wood inside were whole logs. Nobody but the lazy or idiotic used this for fuel, their lengths were also a haphazard mess, with some being only four inches to ones over thirty. The disparity only made the scene stranger.

"What kinda idiot was using this fireplace?" He doubted it was the original owner. People who found a life out here knew their stuff. Perhaps a person who also needed shelter in the homestead tried to refill the cache in an uncaring manner. The rest wasn't much better.

Even in the fireplace there were half burnt logs of various stages. It was like the people who last used it didn't care about efficiency or didn't know anything about fire stoking. The thick bark was the most fireproof part of the damn thing and took forever to burn! From the smoke coating the area around it, he could tell they had tried burning green, unseasoned wood.

"This is so wrong… Wrong in a way that hurts." He'd begun removing the half burnt logs from the fireplace, seeing that the rest of the place was in decent shape, he opened the flute. Taking a few of the logs, he made to find the rear exit and then split them into correct sections. Suddenly, a high-pitched scream is heard.

"Weiss!" That was Ruby yelling out. He needed no extra prompting to help the girl upstairs.

Dropping the logs on the floor, Oxon ran towards the sound, hatchet at the ready. He thundered up the stairs and ran into the room Yang and Weiss were in. The sight before him made his blood run cold. There on the bed was a pair of decomposed corpses…

"What, the f- heck am I looking at!?"

He was quickly joined by Blake and Ruby who also froze in shock. He saw Weiss and Yang, both on their rears, staring at the deceased couple and shaking slightly. Well, they figured out why the place seemed neat yet abandoned…

Qrow came in next and cursed under his breath. With his help, the four of them helped guide the two girls out of the room. It took a bit of coaxing from Oxon and Ruby to get Weiss up and moving; thankfully, once the mess was out of sight, she started to calm down slightly. The living room was in good shape and he suggested gathering there while he worked on a fire.

Ruby seemed to be the one Weiss listened to in her current state while Oxon was the one to - very gently - guide her to one of the sofas. Once he was certain she was fine, he made to prepare a fire, only for her to grab hold of one of the sashes hanging from his belt.

"Don't go." Her voice was so small. She was still gripping Ruby with one hand and onto him with her other. Gently, with as much care as he could, he pried her fingers off the green fabric. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and standing up. He knew she was scarred by the sight, but they needed fire ASAP, so he flashed a confident grin he didn't feel.

"Don't worry, I'll get a fire going right away, you won't be cold in three minutes. That's a promise. This is nothing compared to starting one in a snow cave." Turning away from the girl, Oxon picked up the previously dropped lumber and went outside to split it. He wouldn't let her stay freezing, not when he could fix it. He'd also need the familiar motions and exercise to help him calm his strained heart.

~~~(LVIII)~~~

Weiss numbly watched a calming fire that burned gently in the fireplace, Oxon moved her closer to help her warm up quicker. She was definitely still shaken from what she saw earlier. Who wouldn't? She trusted that the place was just abandoned from a Grimm threat and had just never been reclaimed. But the couple in the bed…

She flinched a bit as Blake wrapped a blanket around her. Right, that was the cause of her seeing that sight… She could have just let Oxon build a fire and ignored the second floor entirely.

Blake gave a quick smile to her, it was as strong as glass. "Don't worry, it's the one Ox brought, not one of… theirs…" She nodded at the faunus girl before Blake went to sit on the couch Yang was on. Weiss gripped the fabric tight and tried to get a sense of comfort from it. The fabric was rough, itchy, and definitely prioritized utility over comfort. Yet the item could easily wrap around her two or three times if she wished, its large size was something easy to bundle up in. It was very much like the person who owned it.

It's not horrible… At least it's not from the home here. I don't think I could use any of the ones here. I don't want to sleep here either.

Focusing back on the fire, she was glad it had been lit. Oxon had gone to work the second she had been put on the couch. His claims at Beacon and today rang true, within a minute he had a great fire blazing in the hearth. Yet he didn't even stop to enjoy the heat, instead choosing to go back outside into the icy storm to chop enough wood to keep the home warm for a few days. He claimed it was because he wasn't sure how long the blizzard would last. She'd tried to get him to wait, to have him sit with her and calm down himself, but he'd assured her he was ok.

She didn't believe that for a second. He'd been through just as much as the rest of them, his reasoning about "good endurance" and "going through worse as a kid" didn't mean anything to her. His eyes had been just as wide as hers back in the master bedroom. None of them were immune to the sight of a corpse, and she refused to let him pretend otherwise.

Her thoughts were interrupted When she heard the door open and close, turning her head, she saw Qrow walk back in while brushing snow off himself. The man seemed to be thinking of what to say. It didn't help her mind at all. "It's the same in every house."

"What!?"

"Bodies. In every bed. In every home. It's like the whole estate just went to sleep and never woke up."

Weiss clutched the blanket tighter around her. "Then we're not staying here, right?" Seeing it was one thing, but staying the night in the same house?

Qrow walked over to the fireplace and crouched down next to her, rubbing his hands to warm up. "We don't have a choice. Storm outside's only getting worse. We'd freeze to death before we made it anywhere."

"Well, might as well get comfortable." The old woman walked over to a nearby bookshelf, inspecting the contents on its shelf.

Yang said what everyone else was thinking. "Yeah, fat chance." How the old lady was so easy going was crazy, maybe age just did that to people.

"Okay, then, let's do something. If this place wasn't abandoned it might still have supplies we could use." Ruby made a good point, but she still worried about the one person by themselves.

"Hey, yeah. Maybe even a car."

"Do farms normally have cars? Would a tractor work too?" Blake seemed to see some hope in the farmhands idea, if the family had a working one, that would be invaluable.

Getting up from his crouched position, Qrow made his way to the door. "I'll do another sweep of the grounds. No one else goes anywhere alone."

"But Ox is outside making firewood. Should we bring him back inside?" The older huntsman said the storm was worsening as well. The tall teen may say he loves the frigid temperature, but he still had a body that could break down and get sick.

"We need the wood, I tried to get him to come back in, but he refused. I didn't have the energy to argue. If he wants to stay at the woodshed a bit longer to ensure we have enough fuel for the fire, then I say we let him."

"I could check on him." Weiss turned to see Oscar raising his hand. "He's from a rather… primitive… settlement, right? He might be just using an ax or something, but the people here probably had a dust powered splitter. Even if he realized what it is, he won't know how to operate it."

Weiss and Blake gave the kid a smile before the dark haired girl spoke up. "Thank you, Ox is one of those stubborn "I gotta deal with everything on my own" types. It's a good idea to check on him before we find him asleep in a snowbank." She then turned to her partner. "Yang and I can search the other buildings for vehicles."

Yang sounded annoyed and seemed unenthusiastic at the task Blake volunteered her for. They had walked a lot today. "Fine, whatever gets me out of this house." Weiss shot Blake an encouraging smile, one she returned though with less cheer.

~~~(LVIII)~~~

Thunk!

The wood had been properly stored by the old owners, they were seasoned for at least a few years and split like a dream. Oxon wiped his brow as he rested his weight on the large splitting maul. The snow was coming down harder now, and he knew he had enough wood to last the night and most of tomorrow, but they'd still need more.

That and I really don't want to be inside that house. Qrow should have finished checking the others, hopefully those are clean.

After catching his breath, Oxon put the split logs inside the small cart he'd found. Once he finished that, he noticed a form moving in the snow. It was all and seemed humanoid, but that could mean anything. Shielding his eyes from the snow, he cocked the hammer back on Patris.

"Who's there!? If you're a Grimm or a bandit, then fuck off or die!" This whiteout was making everything worse, he only had about six feet of vision in front of him. If it was a foe, then the battle would be tough.

"It's just me!" That was a familiar voice and Oxon lowered the hammer gently. "Qrow says we need to stick together and not go off alone!"

After a moment, the boy came into view. Oscar seemed to have borrowed a coat for the property since one, it didn't fit him by a few sizes; and two, he didn't have it during the walk.

"I appreciate you checking in on me, but I'll be right for a few hours yet." He placed a new log on the chopping block and got the maul up. With a swift and practiced motion, the ax broke through the wood and into the black beneath it. "You can do me and the rest a favor by taking this wood inside, in case they're running low." The kid shook his head, sending a bit of accumulated snow off of him.

"Oxon, you have enough here to keep the fire as it is for twenty hours, that's plenty. Just come inside. The others are worried." Oxon didn't respond, instead he replaced the split half on the block and chopped it in half again. "And I could use some advice."

That had him pause, looking down at the kid, the poor guy seemed lost. The fact Oscar came to him was a surprise. Rubbing the back of his ear, he sunk the heavy blade into a log and motioned for the kid to follow him into the woodshed. The inside of the building was sparse on space, there were saws, axes, and some other strange tools, but it was out of the wind at least.

Grabbing a three foot log in each hand, Oxon set them down so they could at least not be standing. "I'm not normally the guy to go to for advice… but I'll see what I can do." The kid gave a thankful smile and sat down.

"Thank you Oxon, I know we haven't known each other long, and that it's been difficult recently. But I don't know what to do, or who I can talk to." The boy wrung his hands in a mix of cold and anxiousness. "My life hasn't been normal, or even manageable in months. I was terrified at first, I thought I was losing my mind when Ozpin first spoke in my head. I tried to ignore it, but then I got to a point where that was impossible."

"Then I met Qrow who led me to Ruby and the others. I thought I was on a great journey where I would save Remnant, that I was important!" Oscar clutched his head in frustration and anger. "And then we learn I'm nothing but a new pair of shoes for Oz, that soon I'll stop being me! How am I supposed to deal with that!? That the other person in my head is like some terminal disease!" He looked up at Oxon, trying to find some sort of answer. Oxon gripped a bit of hair and let out a frustrated growl. Not at the boy, but at the cure he'd unwillingly inherited.

"Look…" The hell was he supposed to say? "Any answers you're looking for, I can't give you. That's not to say I won't try, but you do realize your situation is one nobody is even remotely able to relate to?"

The farm boy let out a defeated sigh. "Yeah…"

"Now I'm still a bit freaked out about the whole "two minds one brain" situation you got going on, but then again, I bet you are too." The kid nodded. "I am still wrapping my head around that, so I'ma just be blunt, your life is a real shit show. That's ignoring the fact it won't be your life for long." Oscar flinched but didn't disagree.

"If it were me, I'd live my life to the fullest in the meantime. Try all the food and drink you want, give romance a shot if you think you're ready. Hell, this quest is pretty much pointless, so why not travel remnant, there's a lot to see from what I hear. So once we finish everything with Atlas, you could strike out on your own. Or leave now, no offense, but you don't have to come with us, I think."

"That's… You're telling me to just accept it? To run away from it all?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. Especially since Oz fucked off inside your head."

A cheerless, broken laugh escaped the young kid's mouth as he stared at the ceiling. "I don't know if that's the worst or best advice I could have gotten…"

"Hey, I never prided myself on my way with words. All I'm good for is as a shield and heavy lifting."

"I wouldn't say that's all. You got a fire going pretty much by slapping everything together, you saved me on the train, and you talk to me as Oscar and not Ozpin. Me aside, you also seem close with most of team RWBY. Sun seemed to like you, and from what I heard from Ruby, you were well liked back in Beacon." Eh… there was more to it than that.

"I get along with em on the surface, but tell me, do you think they would have told me anything about the plan if not for Oz making everyone skeptical?" Oscar didn't say anything, but he did look away. "Thought so, it's not their fault, I burned more than a few bridges with my actions. It's taking everything I can to try and rebuild them. Even then, who knows if it'll be the same?"

"I guess… Though Weiss seems like the one that should hate you the most, yet she was the one who suggested we check on you out here." She did? Well, he had a guess she didn't hate him from their conversations on the train, but it still warmed his heart to hear.

Absent-mindedly, he touched the cheek that she'd placed a brief kiss on. That had been this morning. Yet it seemed like weeks ago now.

"She's a good girl, they all are. Unlike me, they have always put others before themselves, they're not cowardly or selfish like I am." He let out a deep sigh. "That's part of why I'm here, to try and watch out for them, even if they don't want it or know I'm giving it."

"You're a good man too Oxon, you just need to see it."

"I'll have to disagree on that, but I'm trying, that's for sure." The boy wasn't quite content with that answer. But he seemed to let it go for now, and began looking around the small room. For what? Oxon didn't know.

"And Pine." The kid turned to him, a curious look on his face. "I never much cared for the old headmaster, I've had more conversations with Oscar than Ozpin. Before and after everything. So I prefer the original soul inside ya, not the parasite."

"Thank you Ox, that means a lot." At the thanks, Oxon leaned back and pulled a small glass bottle out from behind a log. He spotted the drink when looking for paper to use as kindling, and he used a quarter of it to light the fire as quickly as he did. The rest though? Well, there was nobody here to tell him not to.

"So just keep it in mind, that body is still yours, so do whatever you want with it." Oxon then took a quick pull of the apple flavored whiskey. It definitely burnt his throat and had him cough a bit, but the bite was much easier than what the Malachite's mom gave him. After a bit of thought, he gestured with it to the boy opposite of him. "That includes things I legally and morally shouldn't offer you. But then again, I am a convicted terrorist. So what do you say, want some? It's pretty strong though."

A surprised yet genuine smile spread out over the boy's face. Oxon could understand a bit of that, camaraderie was a healthy thing to have. Especially between the only guys present. Qrow didn't count since he was old.

Oscar looked at the small bottle for a moment before reaching out to grab it. Oxon was mildly surprised and impressed at the decision, the kid probably wanted to make a choice all on his own. Despite the firm warning, the kid took a large swig. Much to his amusement, the young boy began violently hacking while pounding his chest.

"Ahahaha! C'mon Pine, I know you're a brave soul, but that was a bit much." Amused as he was, he still wanted to make sure he didn't accidentally kill the kid. "You good? You're not gonna die on me now?"

His only response was giving a thumbs up with the hand not actively trying to clear his system. Oxon almost fell off his log due to laughing too much. "Alright, I think once was enough for ya. We can try again another day if you ain't traumatized." The kid eagerly gave the near empty bottle back to Oxon who placed it back behind the log where he'd hid it earlier.

After clearing his everything, the kid then glanced around the equipment inside the tiny building. Oxon didn't know what he was searching for, but there wasn't much here. Though the kids' eyes light up in recognition of something. Oxon was a bit curious.

"You see something useful?" All Oxon saw was junk, probably stuff shoved in here when not needed. Oscar seemed to believe otherwise and moved over to some bladded contraption.

"If we want wood, then this is what we should be using." Oxon got up to get a better view at the thing Oscar went up to. He thought he figured out the purpose, but Oscar confirmed it. "It's a log splitter, and is far more efficient than a plain old ax."

Since the kid was crouched in front of the machine, Oscar didn't see how his eyes narrowed at the claim. "It's what?"

"All one needs to do is flip a lever up and down as needed, it's really handy." Oxon walked over to stand next to the short kid and gave the thing a critical look. It did not look all that impressive, it was ugly and squat, absolutely the opposite of an ax. "That should speed up our fuel creation, that's what you were working on yeah?"

"You want to use this contraption for log splitting?" Oscar nodded his head, obviously proud of being able to help. Oxon was happy for the kid and his knowledge, except not for this. Oxon kicked the thing on its side, probably not hurting it, but meaning the kid would need to struggle to get it back in position.

"Oxon!?" He looked between the machine and him in clear shock. Oxon huffed in satisfaction before walking over to the nearby pile of wood. "What was that for?"

Oxon just hefted a few sectioned cords in his arms and made his way to the door. He turned his head to the left to look Oscar in the eyes. "It's a handy invention, I have no doubt about that, but using anything other than an ax? That's just blasphemy." With his wisdom imparted, Oxon went out to chop the rest of the wood, the way it was meant to be done.

~~~(LIX)~~~

Entering the home was done with more drama than he really intended. The moment he turned the handle a burst of air caused the door to slip from his hands and slam into the inside wall. He physically cringed at the sudden noise he made, he'd get an earful from the others for sure. With more effort than was preferable, Oxon shut the door and latched it.

He was wiping snow off his body and out of his hair when Blake rushed into the mud room. "Oxo- oh, you're alright, what was that bang?" Oxon gave the door a frustrated look as he got the last bits of snow off his shoulders.

"Stupid thing got caught on the wind, sorry for any scare it caused." Next were his boots. While they had been tied tight, snow still managed to find a way inside them. "Oscar should have been ahead of me with more wood. He get here alright?"

"Yeah, he came in a few minutes ago, though he seemed a bit unsteady. You didn't accidentally hit him with a log, right?"

Nah, the fourteen year old kid just had some forty proof apple cinnamon liquor. Nothing crazy. Like hell he'd tell her that. As friendly as they were, all things considered, he had no doubt she'd brain him if he told her the full truth. Oxon was just glad the boy didn't snitch.

"No, but I did teach him proper wood chopping. Though I admit the ax was made for someone of my build." Watching the kid tip over backwards into the snow after he lifted the heavy maul above his head had put his side in stitches. Blake seemed less than impressed. "Hey, it builds character."

Now that his shoes were nice and clean, he slid them on and slipped out of his armor. A few buckles here and there and he was in a simple wool tunic and cotton undershirt. "Well he seems like he's in a good mood. Did you give him some good advice?" Oxon snorted, causing Blake to raise an eyebrow.

"You've met me, I gave what was likely the worst advice possible." He saw her face and rushed to clarify. "Not intentionally of course, but I tried to warn him I'm not exactly the warm fuzzy feelings kind of guy. Though he seemed to take what I said to heart."

Her look softened as she motioned for him to join the others. "I'm glad. I admit I was a bit distant to him recently. It's just…"

"All the stuff with Ozpin?" The girl looked glum but nodded.

"Yeah."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry I told him that folks were upset at the freeloader, not him." She sighed a bit and the two arrived in the living room. The others sent a look their way but quickly went back to recovering from the long day.

"I'll make it up to him later." The girl went to sit next to Weiss, and Oxon saw there was still space near the fire. He hoped to sit and talk to Weiss, given what happened earlier, but it wasn't to be.

Oxon walked over to the fire and sat down next to Yang, removing his outer layer, leaving a simple cotton shirt on. Rubbing his cold fingers near the fire brought quick relief. Aura prevented the ligaments from getting damaged, but it had still been damn cold.

"Glad they had a store of wood, we'd have been burning furniture without it." The girl gave him a look but didn't otherwise respond. He didn't know how she was doing, but wanted to make sure she was fine. "Are you… uh, doing alright? With the whole… you know?"

The blonde let out a sigh that had frustrated undertones and a lilac eye swiveled to look at him out of the corner of her eye. They had a sort of flat look to them, but then again, it had been a long day. "I'm fine, don't worry." There was something there, but he had an inkling that if he tried, he might end up in the fire.

Oscar and Maria chatted about the families that lived here. There had been more than one family that worked the land, along with one farmhand and a huntsman. According to Qrow, the huntsman hasn't been found. So either he died somewhere hidden, or he made it out in time. Oxon hoped he was okay.

After an hour or so sitting in silence by the fire, Ruby came over to talk to the group. "Hey guys, the snow is starting to thin. Qrow said we should get some sleep. We're gonna head out early tomorrow." That was great news and he let out a relieved sigh. The ravenette on the other end of the line got up with a huff.

"Thank goodness." The others followed Blake's lead and began getting ready for bed. Everyone but the old lady.

"Hmph, the last thing you'll catch me doing is letting some kid tell me what to do." The old lady spoke in a bad mimicking of her voice. "Go to bed!"

The cloaked girl tapped him on the shoulder, getting his attention. "You too Ox, we'll have an early day tomorrow."

Oxon turned from Ruby and back to the fire with a tired smile. "I'll keep the fire going a bit longer. Make sure we stay as comfortable for as long as possible." She gave him a happy nod and went to find a place to sleep. Oxon poked and turned the coals, giving a small burst of heat.

Maria sat on an armchair nearby, turning on the lamp next to it and continued reading from the book. Looking at his store, he had a good bit of chopped logs and a few of the whole ones from the last moron who used it. He just wondered what happened, how they had all died, and what would happen once they reached Argus. Sighing, he added a new log to the fire, watching it slowly start to burn.

The fire continued to burn in the fireplace long into the night.

~~~(LVIII)~~~

I really hated (but enjoyed) these episodes. It was so damn creepy and terrifying. RT did really well keeping the tension up.