Darkbloom
Chapter 5
Training that morning went the same as it had the past couple of times, which is to say that Jaune ended up limping back to town, feeling as if his entire body was one big bruise. Cinder marched in front of him, talking without looking back.
"It may not seem like it, but you are improving," she stated.
"Sure doesn't feel like it…" Jaune muttered.
"It has only been a few days; you cannot expect to be a master swordsman yet. You will get there in time, under my tutelage, but for now, you should be happy with your progress as it is. You have already managed to kill several Grimm on your own – that is more than most people on Remnant can claim."
Jaune frowned. She was right, of course, but to him, it still didn't feel like it was enough. Granted, he was comparing himself to her, plus two other people who'd had years of training, but still. He couldn't help but feel like he was coming up short, even if it was through no fault of his own.
The two of them arrived back at town, and found Weiss waiting for them already.
"There you are," she acknowledged. "I was looking everywhere for you two."
"We were at the same place we always are in the morning," Jaune pointed out. "Cinder was training me, and-"
"Sure, sure," Weiss said dismissively. "Let's just hurry up and pick a job before Blake shows up."
"She's still here?" Jaune asked, surprised. "I thought she would have left by now, since she doesn't seem to like any of us."
"Normally, I would have, but I don't have anywhere else to go," Blake said from beside him, making him jump.
"Ah!" Jaune let out. He took a moment to calm his pounding heart, then glared at her. "You did that on purpose."
Blake ignored him, instead turning to Cinder. "You seem to be the leader here. Remiss as I am to work with a Schnee, I suppose it can't be helped – I've got nowhere else to go and need the money. What do you suggest?"
Cinder thought for a moment. "Hm… perhaps two jobs would be better, now that we have an extra mouth to feed. We have the manpower for it, certainly."
"What are you talking about?" Jaune asked, surprised. "Not to sound like too much of a downer, but I count as, like, a negative person. Whoever you send me with is probably better off by themselves than with me."
"Exactly, which is why both Blake and Weiss will be going with you, and I will be working alone."
The three of them exchanged a glance with each other before looking back to her. "Is that wise?" Weiss ventured. "I mean, you know how Blake and I feel about each other, and despite how skilled you are, going out on your own like that is incredibly dangerous."
Cinder waved her off. "I will be fine. Frankly, it is Jaune I am worried about – he is still very untrained. I would feel much better if he went with the two of you."
"I mean, she does have a point," Jaune admitted. "I don't think anyone here wants the two of you working in a group by yourselves, least of all you two. So that means, if we were going to split into two groups of two, then someone would have to end up with me, and at this point, they'd spend more time babysitting me than completing the mission. I don't like the idea of sending Cinder off on her own, but it does make sense."
Slowly, Blake nodded in understanding. "...Fine," she conceded. "I can see the logic behind this arrangement enough to be willing to swallow my pride."
"Let's just be careful not to make this a regular thing," Weiss cautioned. "I'm not sure how much the two of us will be able to stand each other."
"Very well," Cinder said. "I shall go pick out a job for everyone. Fear not – I will pick something easy for you three, since you will be without supervision."
"Easy, she says…" Jaune grumbled as the three of them trudged through the underbrush roughly five minutes later. "In what world is this easy?"
"It's not that bad," Weiss chided.
"Weiss, it's an entire pack of Beowolves, plus an Alpha Beowolf, whatever that is. Excuse me if I'm not exactly excited about this."
"I'm not excited about it either, but five-thousand lien is five-thousand lien, and we need the money."
"Surprising to hear that, coming from you," Blake quipped. "Then again, I suppose there's a reason why you're out here instead of back at your ivory tower."
"If you must know, I had a falling out with my father and decided to leave home for a bit," Weiss hissed. "This may surprise you, but I hate my father as much as anyone else does… not that I'd expect you to understand."
"Believe me, I understand more than you could ever know. You're not the only one with family problems, you know."
"Alright, alright," Jaune announced, shoving his way between the two of them. "We've been out of town for five minutes and you two are already at each other's throats. I vote that one of you starts scouting ahead for Grimm, just so we can get some peace and quiet for a bit."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Blake said, tearing her gaze away from Weiss. "I'm going to do fifteen minutes of recon. Yell if you need me."
With that, she leaped up into one of the trees, then began to jump from branch to branch until she'd disappeared deeper into the forest. Once she was gone, Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, happy to have some sweet silence after her brief exchange with Weiss.
"Good, she's gone," Weiss commented. "So tell me, Jaune – how do you and Cinder know each other?"
Jaune couldn't help but sputter a bit at the abruptness of her question. "Where did that come from?"
"Come now," Weiss said without looking back to him. "We've been traveling together for several days now. I think I've earned the right to have my questions answered. So, I'll ask again: How do you and Cinder know each other?"
"What brought this line of questioning on?" Jaune asked. "Seriously. Last I checked, you didn't seem to care that much."
"You and her live out of the same hotel room, have secret conversations between yourselves all the time that you refuse to elaborate on, and spend a lot of time together that doesn't include either Blake or myself," Weiss pointed out. "Forgive me if I'm more than a little suspicious."
"Weiss, if we'd intended to do anything unseemly towards you, we would have already done it," Jaune said tiredly. "We've had plenty of opportunities for it. The fact that we haven't should be a clue that we're not bad people."
"Great. Then you shouldn't mind answering my questions, then."
Jaune let out a tired sigh. "Fine. We've only known each other for a short time-"
"That's not a definite answer."
"A few days, then. There, happy?"
"Hm. Curious. Why is it that she treats you like her servant, then?"
"Consider it part of an agreement we have." Weiss gave him a disgusted look, and he quickly added, "Not like that."
"Then what is it like?"
"Weiss, I know what you're thinking, but what I have with Cinder is not some kind of weird, lewd thing."
It's worse than that, he had to hold himself back from saying.
Weiss shuddered. "Eugh… fine, we'll move on. How did you two meet?"
"She showed up in my hometown one day," Jaune said. "I ran into her by chance. We got to talking and decided to make a deal – she'd help me with something, and in return, I'd travel with her."
"What does that have to do with you basically being her servant?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that was part of the deal?"
Weiss stared at him. "...What did you agree to, anyway? Whatever she did for you, it must have been something big."
"She saved my sister's life," Jaune explained. Weiss fell silent at that, and he continued. "Anyway, after that… well, you can probably tell that I was willing to do whatever she needed me to do. If that meant traveling with her and basically being her manservant, then so be it."
"Does your family know?" Weiss asked.
Jaune hesitated. "...Not the specifics, no. I'm still trying to find a way to dress it up to them that doesn't make me sound completely insane."
"That's a tall order," Weiss grunted as she pushed her way through some underbrush. "Because your story is insane on its face. The fact that you made a deal like that with some random woman is completely ridiculous."
"Thanks," Jaune deadpanned. "What about you, then?"
"I'm asking the questions here," Weiss insisted. "Where are you two headed?"
"I honestly have no idea," Jaune insisted. "Cinder's the one in charge between the two of us, I just follow her wherever she goes. If you want to know more about our destination, you should talk to her, because right now, I just go where I'm told to go."
"And that doesn't bother you at all?"
Jaune shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it does, but I can't exactly argue with her about it – I'm indebted to her in a way I can never fully repay. If this is what it takes for her to consider that debt settled, then so be it."
"So you're willing to leave your family behind, travel the world with a strange older woman, get in fights with Grimm and almost die because you're untrained and don't even have your Aura unlocked… because you feel as though you owe her something?"
Jaune stopped in his tracks, taking a breath as he did so. "Weiss."
She turned to face him, and was slightly taken aback to see him standing there stone-faced. "Yes, Jaune?"
"Do you have siblings?"
After a moment, she nodded. "I do. I have a younger brother and an older sister."
"Do you love your siblings?"
"Is that even a question? Yes, I do. My brother doesn't make it easy, but I could never turn my back on him. My sister… that's all but unconditional."
"So you're saying that if you'd been in the same position – watching your loved one slowly die, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it, when suddenly someone comes by who's able to save them in exchange for your service… you're saying you wouldn't take that deal in a heartbeat?"
Weiss thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Let's keep moving. We don't want Blake to get too far ahead of us."
They continued on in silence after that, but Jaune didn't mind. As far as he was concerned, Weiss had more than answered his question already.
Blake rejoined the two of them not long after, dropping in front of Jaune from the trees above. He just about leaped out of his skin when she suddenly appeared in his path/
"Ah!" Jaune couldn't help but shriek. He glared at her. "You're still doing that on purpose!"
Blake didn't react to his outburst,.instead brushing a stray leaf from her shoulder. "There's a clearing about five minutes ahead," she reported. "I counted six regular Beowolves, plus the Alpha Beowolf. It's a big one, too – Cinder certainly didn't skimp on the job."
"Great…" Weiss muttered. "How do we want to do this?"
"Can I trust you two to work together for now?" Jaune asked. "Because if so, you both can take on the Alpha while I deal with the stragglers."
Weiss stared at him, surprised. "You think you can take on a half-dozen Beowolves by yourself?"
"No, but someone here has to, and I'd rather you two both fight the Alpha, since it'll tear us apart if you don't," Jaune pointed out. "I'll handle myself as best as I can. If I need help, I'll call out to one of you."
"There's no guarantee that we'll be able to break away from the Alpha and get to you in time," Blake warned. "You could be walking to your own death if you go out there."
"That's a risk we'll have to take," Jaune said. "Unless one of you can whittle the pack down a bit from the treeline?"
"I'm just about out of Dust, unfortunately," Weiss reported. "Still haven't had a chance to restock yet."
"My handgun doesn't have the range needed for that," Blake told him.
"Then I guess we're sticking with my plan for now, much as it sucks," Jaune said. "Alright, here's how I think we should do it – I'll go in first. Weiss, you wait a few seconds, just long enough for me to draw the pack to myself, and then you run straight in for the Alpha. Blake, while she does that, you go around and hit it from the rear."
"Hang on, why are we listening to you?" Weiss pointed out. "You just started fighting Grimm a few days ago and have no tactical training whatsoever."
Blake stared at him, surprised. "...You just started fighting Grimm a few days ago?"
"Do either of you have a better plan?" Jaune asked. They fell silent, and he said, "Then that settles it." He paused to take a breath and try to still his pounding heart. "Okay… go!"
With that, he burst out from the treeline, raising his sword and shield as he went. The Grimm sensed him instantly, all of them dropping down and rushing him. For a moment, Jaune was afraid that Weiss and Blake weren't going to listen to him, but his fears were averted when Weiss came bursting out from behind him, propelled forward by her Semblance. She collided with the biggest Beowolf just as the pack set upon Jaune.
They fell unto him in two groups of three. Jaune was barely able to raise his shield in time to fend off the snapping jaws of the first, and a lucky strike with his sword managed to nearly decapitate another, which instantly took it out of the fight. The other Grimm tried to circle around him, and Jaune grit his teeth, still trying to hold off the first Beowolf. Without warning, Jaune pushed, and to his amazement, the Grimm that was being held back by his shield actually flew back several yards, just enough to give him some breathing room. He wasn't about to rest on his laurels, however – the instant the pressure was taken off his shield, Jaune turned around and stabbed a Beowolf through the eye, killing it instantly.
And then there were four, with three of them still circling him. One of them suddenly lunged for him, and Jaune dove out of the way. Again, his reflexes surprised him.
This is way easier than sparring with Cinder, he thought to himself as he sidestepped another incoming slash, then severed the offending Grimm's arm for its trouble.
As if on cue, Jaune felt a pair of jaws snap shut around his shield arm from behind. He screamed in fear, but his Aura kept him from being harmed. The other Grimm were suddenly energized by his terror, all of them standing up straighter as they slowly closed in, desperate to relish in his horror. That was a mistake; Jaune bashed the Grimm biting his arm with the hilt of his sword, and by chance, managed to jab one of its eyes out. The pressure around his arm suddenly slackened just enough that he was able to break free, and he shoved his sword through the Grimm's head before roughly yanking it free.
He was just in time, too, as the Grimm from earlier – the one whose arm he'd severed – fell upon him, bringing him to the ground. Crocea Mors slipped from his grasp, but he was able to maintain control of his shield, which was fortunate – the three Grimm tried to snap at his upper body, but he held tightly to his shield, which was enough to keep them at bay. Jaune strained, trying to get them off of him, but to no avail.
"Blake, Weiss!" he called. "I need a little-"
A spinning snowflake suddenly formed underneath him, and before Jaune could wonder what was happening, it catapulted him and the three Grimm up in the air without warning. Jaune flew through the air with a yell, landing face-first on the ground below. He was quick to recover, however, and looked around – his sword was lying nearby, so he hurriedly scooped it up just as the remaining three Grimm managed to right themselves, then charge at him.
Jaune met their charge with one of his own. He intercepted the lead Grimm, nearly bisecting it with his swing. The other two tried to snap at him and claw him, respectively, but Jaune was beyond done at this point, his rage having reached a boiling point.
The remaining two Grimm closed in on him, but as they did, Jaune simply raised his shield to guard their incoming blows, then swiped at their legs. He managed to take a leg from each one, and they fell to the ground, dragging themselves after him with their arms. Jaune stood there, out of breath and gasping for air, and prepared to finish them both off, but two gunshots did the job before he could. Both Grimm slumped to the ground, holes where their left eyes should have been. Jaune stared at the dissipating bodies for a bit, then turned around, leveling a glare at Blake.
"Those two were mine," he protested.
Blake shrugged. "You were taking too long."
Jaune sighed tiredly, then sheathed his sword and dusted himself off. "It's fine, it's fine… frankly, I'm just glad I lived through that. How are you both doing? Everyone alright?"
"Good here," Weiss reported.
"Stable," Blake said.
Jaune nodded. "Okay. Was that the entire pack?"
"I believe so," Blake answered. "I scouted ahead for a bit and didn't see anymore. Besides, the Alpha was the main target, anyway."
"True. Okay, let's head back to town and collect our bounty, then."
They arrived back in town a bit later, just as night was beginning to fall. They turned in the bounty poster with the town hall and collected their earnings, then went off to the nearest restaurant.
And naturally, Cinder was there waiting for them, a glass of wine already in her hand.
A vein pulsed in Jaune's forehead. "How long have you been waiting for us?"
Cinder shrugged. "A few hours, so not too long. I was beginning to get worried, though; I was debating coming after you three."
"Well, we managed to do it ourselves," Jaune said. "Since, you know, we're all still here."
Cinder rolled her eyes. "You are always so dramatic. Tell me, Weiss, was he not able to hold his own against the Beowolves?"
"He did okay, I guess," Weiss acknowledged.
"Hm. A shame, then; I suppose more practice is needed."
"Thanks," Jaune deadpanned to Weiss. She gave him a pointed stare in response, and he turned back to Cinder. "I don't think I did too bad… even if Blake did steal a few of my kills."
"I was not aware you were counting," Cinder said as she examined her nails.
"Hey, with the way we're doing things, I figure it's only a matter of time before some Grimm gets a lucky shot in and decapitates me or something. I'm going to take as many of them down with me as I can before then."
"Admirable, but you forget one thing."
"What's that?"
"You are sworn to serve me. I cannot let you die so soon into your service."
"You have a funny way of keeping me alive, then."
"Weiss and Blake kept you alive, as did your own training," Cinder pointed out. "You are not giving yourself enough credit."
"Excuse me if I'm a little short," Jaune said, taking a seat. Idly, he was aware that Blake and Weiss had both left a little while ago, each of them heading for separate tables on opposite ends of the restaurant. "I had to deal with those two drama queens all day."
"Yes, I can imagine that would be infuriating," Cinder said. She reached for the bottle of wine, filled a second glass, and passed it over to him. Jaune accepted the wine and took a sip, making a face as he did so.
"Eugh… I'm really not a wine drinker," he confessed. "It tastes like sour grapes to me."
"That is what wine actually is."
"Yes, I'm aware; I was making a joke."
"Your humor needs work."
"I'll keep that in mind. What do Demon Queens find funny, anyway? I'd like to know, just in case I turn from your servant into your court jester."
"You are already my court jester," Cinder said. "You just have not realized it yet. As for what I find humorous… the old man's head on a stick would be a start."
"I'm sorry I asked," Jaune told her. "That reminds me – what are you going to do about him, anyway? If what you said is true, and I have no reason to believe it's not, then he's still walking around. Is he a threat to us?"
"The moment he finds out that I am no longer imprisoned, he will be," Cinder promised. "As for what I plan to do with him… I suppose there are a few different solutions. I could imprison him the same way he did to me, though that is far less permanent than having him complete his contract. Of course, completing the contract would require someone else to show their ugly head, and it is better for the entire world that she stay sealed."
"Who are you talking about?" Jaune asked. "Do I want to know?"
Cinder shook her head. "You do not. I will leave it at this – the old man had a lover in the past. They met each other during a quest for immortality. They found the secrets they were after, though they came at a price, one far greater than either of them could have imagined at the time. The woman went mad with power and turned on the old man, and he was forced to enlist my aid in order to seal her."
"You two couldn't just kill her?"
Cinder's face darkened. "There is nothing short of the Brothers themselves that can truly kill that woman. Not anymore, at least. The best we can hope for is keeping her sealed, and hoping the seal holds."
Jaune wanted to ask more, but he got the impression that this was a dangerous line of questioning – Cinder was growing more agitated with every word. Instead, he decided to calm the situation the only way he could.
"You're looking a little low over there," Jaune said as he reached for the bottle. "Allow me."
He refilled her glass, and a thin smirk crossed Cinder's face. "My, my – perhaps I chose my servant correctly after all."
"Laugh it up," Jaune said as he picked up his own glass. "I think, in time, I'll surprise even you."
"I will hold you to that," Cinder said, raising her glass. Jaune clinked his wine together with hers, and they both drank.
Back at it again with another chapter for you all. A huge shout-out to Ickbard for helping with this story, as always.
The formatting might have gotten a little fucked in this one, IDK - I had to copy it over from a Google Doc since that was the most up-to-date version. Tried my best to make the formatting appear normal, but some of it might have slipped through the cracks. Hopefully it comes out decent, but I can't really tell from where I'm seeing it here.
Anyway, more shenanigans in the woods for now, basically. At the moment, I'm kinda having everyone meander around a bit more than anything, just to add some flavor to the world. I'm trying to stay away from Beacon; I don't dislike Beacon, even in fanfics, but I want to do something different with this one. Besides that, not much else to report fic-wise.
As far as housekeeping is concerned... updates might slow down a little bit from now on, starting in the next weeks. I'm planning to begin attending some local matches near me. There's a range that does IDPA matches and a completely different range that does US ARMS matches, and I'd like to participate in both. Those would be during the week, and between the matches and work, that's one or two more days I wouldn't be able to write at all, since that'd take me to about 9:30PM on those days. But it's something I think I have to do - I'm way too much of a shut-in these days; I need to get out and do more stuff. Sorry if that's disappointing to some of you, but I'm sick of locking myself in my room all the time.
The fanfics are going to continue, of course, but just know that starting soon, they're going to be slowing down a bit because I really need to actually develop a personal life for once.
But yeah, that's about it. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time!
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