S. 1202/1/15 - Morning
With each step into the heart of the Tratt Plains Road, Jaune's 'allegiance' to the bandits teetered on the edge, uncertainty gnawing at his core as he delved into a mission veiled in mystery.
Once again, Jaune was assigned to join one of the Capua siblings. This time, Josette. Josette was meant to put on the Jenis Royal Academy uniform Kyle stole, then scout for any information about valuable items. It was a simple enough plan, and Jaune's only use was to wait at the bandit camp. He was here in case there was a fight, on Kyle's suggestion.
Jaune has no idea what possessed Kyle to suggest such a thing, but he figured he never had any idea what went through that Psycho's head. Better he never find out, who knows what absolute insanity would lie behind that door? He'd rather leave it unopened.
Jaune stood at the vanguard, a bandit to his right, one to his left, and Josette flanking them. It was a relatively peaceful journey so far, with no monsters really attacking them. He had no idea if it was the size of the party - but it seemed monsters here didn't really care to attack them.
Jaune tried to relish in the peace that surrounded him, though. It was decent being out here, just peacefully walking through some plains.
It was almost nice. Almost.
Though the whole image was spoiled by the fact he knew they weren't here with good intentions.
"The camp is just another five or so minutes away, Miss Josette."
A voice from his right interrupted his train of thought. Five minutes? He hadn't realized they'd gotten so close.
"That's fine and all, but what'd I tell you about calling me 'Miss'?"
"T-That's...to not do it. I apologize, Josette."
"Stop being so formal, too! We're bandits, not some...nobles."
"A-Ah, my apol-," the bandit to his right seemed to hesitate, as if carefully considering the words he was about to say.
"..My bad, Josette."
Josette was pleased with the response, and a small smile appeared across her face in response.
"That's better."
How could they be like this? Stammering and joking around with each other. Talking as if they weren't here with the express idea of being a nuisance to your average civilian.
It would forever confuse him how such people could live with themselves.
The bandits conversed idly in the background as they walked, but Jaune simply tuned them out. It was the easiest on his mind - the less he heard them speak, the easier it was to keep them at an arm's length.
Eventually, they came upon the camp. It was a simple one - nothing that would really stand out should it be found. It looked more like the average traveler's camp than anything as sinister as a bandit camp.
Jaune looked at the camp, which was only a few tents, a sink with a large pot hanging over it, a few barrels, and a fire pit.
The camp was in a relatively open area, and was surrounded by piles of rocks and boulders. The bandits seemed to have set up tents and shoots inside these rocks, and the main area seemed to be littered with various ammunition.
There was a large bonfire at the center, surrounded by a few posts to aid in cooking. Small tents were scattered about the outskirts of the camp.
The crackling of the fire was the loudest sound, followed closely by the distant chirping of crickets and birds.
The bandits were talking amongst themselves, talking about food they'd be eating, gossip, or the stories of their past raids. All of them seemed to have something to say, though they didn't bother with Jaune.
The trees were crowded together, but they didn't really make the camp uncomfortable to be in. It was open enough to be able to move around freely, and he didn't feel like he'd be tripping over anything.
The rocks were cold to the touch, and they were rough around the edges.
All in all - as he said before, a pretty basic, simple camp. With the one twist being that it was full of bandits.
Josette clapped her hands several times, increasing the volume each time until all eyes were fixed on her.
"We're here. We'll just be settling in for today. As soon as day breaks tomorrow, we'll start moving out."
Josette's gaze shifted to the bandit that had been to Jaune's immediate right when on the journey here.
"Dino, you'll assume the role of a tourist. You want to experience the great hot springs in Elmo. In truth, you'll be searching for any information on high-value items from any tourists who are over."
Dino gave a nod, "Will do!"
Josette gave a small, satisfied nod of approval before shifting her gaze towards the one who was to Jaune's left.
"Lonnie - you're going to try and find any sort of Job in Zeiss, something simple will do. As long as it's a job where you can get in on the local gossip, see if there's anything worth anything. Maybe get a job as a barkeep."
And then there were two. Josette looked over to the last bandit - the one who stood just behind Jaune and between the two others.
"Lyall, stay back and defend the camp. Keep it safe from any monsters around, they're not all that strong around here, so you should be fine as long as you use the weapons we gave you."
Finally, it was his turn. Jaune felt Josette's piercing gaze more so than he could see it.
"Jaune, we won't be doing what Kyle suggested. You'll be coming with me. As much of a burden you're probably going to be, it's safest if you're with your better."
Jaune really, truly wanted to deck her in the face right then and there. His rage boiled up inside of him, but he kept himself composed and collected on the outside. He knew that giving into his anger and making a scene would only do more harm than good, so he kept his seething emotions at bay.
Jaune nodded, his face neutral.
"Will do."
With that, everyone had their jobs.
It was time to get moving.
S.1202/1/15 - Afternoon
Jaune sat on a log around the campfire they had going. It was soothing, in a way, to listen to the sound of the fire crackling gently.
Its warmth brings a comforting sense of coziness, something familiar. Jaune had often gone camping with his family in the past - though, obviously for much more innocent reasons than he was out here for.
It was also the only place he could be alone right now - the tents were two a person, save for Josette's. He didn't feel like associating with any of them, and the longer he stayed out, the longer he could avoid Dino.
At the very least, he wasn't going to room with Josette. Just the memory of mistaking her for his sister- of bantering with a criminal- was enough to set his face into a deep frown.
Jaune shook the frown off - if he looked too unhappy, he might trigger conversation with one of them. He'd rather just get the next few jobs over with, get repaying them over with.
"Oh? Is the mighty Jaune Arc lost in thought?"
A haughty, annoying voice had come from his right. If he had a choice, he'd certainly choose to ignore her. But as his circumstances are, he doesn't have a choice.
He turns his gaze to his right and spots Josette, in her usual bandit garb.
"Just relaxing."
He responded as curtly as possible - his attempt at being polite. It wasn't working too well, but he found that he didn't really care all that much.
"Relax? I don't think you have the time to relax. We've got a mission coming up, you're supposed to get prepared."
Jaune thought differently. This was his only chance to relax. Anything after this, and he'd have to be focused the whole way through.
'I don't want to get prepared. I don't want to go hurt people.'
Yet what he thought and what he said were contradictory, "I understand, Josette. I'll...start getting prepared soon."
Josette gave him an arrogant smirk, her lips curving upwards in smug amusement.
"Just make sure you do your job properly. The better you do, the sooner we might let you go."
She continued with a laugh, "Not that I believe you can do anything properly. Do your best, though."
Jaune's face darkened as he examined Josette, his mouth pressing into a thin line.
"I'll do fine, don't worry about me."
Josette's expression turns to one of amusement, her lips curling into an amused smile.
"Oh I'm not worried about you. I'm just curious to see what you do on this little 'mission'."
Jaune narrows his eyes at Josette, his patience being heavily tested. He thought back to the time he fought those monsters a week ago.
"I'm not as helpless as you seem to think."
Josette shakes her head in disbelief, her lips curled up in a sarcastic laugh.
A smirk of incredulity crosses her face, "Your track record would say otherwise."
"I haven't done much for you guys yet," Jaune responds, "But I will repay you."
"Not like you've got a choice. I don't share your optimism in that,"
Josette's eyes shifted from amusement to something else, and her smirk gradually disappeared, replaced instead by a smaller smile. For a moment, it seemed like her eyes were clear.
"But I respect your sincerity."
Her words surprised Jaune. The way she normally spoke suggested she didn't actually respect anyone, but he figured...she seemed sincere enough in those last few seconds.
Suddenly, like a switch had been flicked, her mocking smirk returned to her features.
"I'll enjoy watching your struggle, at the very least. We've got a job to prepare for, though, so go get your stuff ready."
"I'll go do that, then."
Just like that, Jaune got up and started on his way to his tent. Had he looked back, he might've seen a more complicated expression on Josette.
If he'd strained his ears, he might've even heard whatever it was she whispered.
S. 1202/1/15 - Evening
For the past few hours, Jaune had done everything in his power to ignore Dino.
Evidently, he was failing.
As they both sat on opposite sides of the large tent, Dino seemed to just have to talk to Jaune.
Dino leaned over, waving his hand to try and catch Jaune's attention.
"Hey, Jaune! Look over, man. You've been avoiding me all day, what's goin' on buddy?"
Maybe, maybe if he said he was tired, Dino would leave him alone. No, that wouldn't work. Maybe...?
"Ah...sorry, I'm just not that big of a talker."
An obvious lie, if you'd ever known Jaune before. Dino, however, hadn't known Jaune.
Dino put on a bright, friendly smile, "Ah come one, man! We're stuck here together, might as well chat a bit, right?"
It seemed nothing would deter this man.
"...I'm tired?"
"That sounded like more of a question then a statement! Come on, Jaune, just a lil' talk!"
Nothing was going to work, it seemed. So Jaune did the only thing he could: he relented.
"Fine. What is that you want to talk about?"
Dino's face lit up with a victorious grin, "Great! Let's start with...how'd you end up joining us bandits, anyway?"
Jaune felt his expression harden, the corners of his mouth turning down and the creasing of his forehead deepening.
"The Capua's found me while I was dying, I guess. They saved me, so I'm repaying them."
Dino nods, listening intently, "I see, I see. Surely there's some missing details there, right? How'd you end up almost dying?"
"...I made a dumb choice. It's a little bit embarrassing."
"Come on, man! I won't go telling anyone what happened!"
"I left my home to try and become a hero, got attacked by a monster, and ended up almost dying. That's all."
Dino knew that'd be the best he'd get out of him before he closed himself off again - so he didn't push any further.
"Ah, so repaying a debt huh? There's some real honor in that. Can't say the rest of us have as much honor."
To hear that he still had honor was-
Truthfully, had he been alone Jaune might have teared up a little. For the first time in a while, a genuine smile lit up Jaune's face.
"Thanks. It's nice to hear that. I try to hold onto whatever honor I've got left."
Dino frowns internally.
'So an honor problem, huh? He doesn't like that he's helping out bandits, but he's gotta repay his debt.'
"You know, Jaune, it's not like you've lost out on any honor by repaying a debt Honor isn't limited to certain professions or titles, Jaune. Honor is a choice. It's a respectable thing, having the honor to repay a debt. At the very least,"
Dino reaches out a finger and prods Jaune in the forehead gently, his expression bemused, "I know I respect it."
Jaune was genuinely touched for a moment.
'Dino might not be so bad for a bandit.'
"Thanks, Dino. That means a lot."
"Anytime, Jaune! In times like these, we've all gotta stick together! You know, like family."
Family. Such a simple, yet powerful word.
Jaune is overwhelmed with a multitude of different emotions when he reads it, feelings of sadness, of guilt. Of distress.
What a word it was.
"Anyway, it looks like it's about time for us to sleep. See you in the morning, Jaune."
With that, the conversation ended and both Jaune and Dino moved to their respective sides of the large tent - and thus, the day ended.
S. 1202/1/16 - Morning
It was time, he supposed, for him and Josette to venture into Zeiss and do whatever it is that Josette had to do. Jaune was essentially moral support, for all he knew of what the job was meant to be.
He thought he'd be guarding the camp. Not here, dressed up in casuals with a combat belt and Crocea Mors with him.
He definitely didn't expect to be escorting Josette in a schoolgirl uniform into Zeiss. Jaune found that, in the last few days with the Capua's, he'd often wonder how he got where he got.
The two sky bandits walked onto the path, officially entering the city of Zeiss.
Jaune idly read the names of the places they'd pass by, to his right there was 'Zahnrad Hotel'. Pretty nice looking, if a little small by modern Hotel standard.
A few steps later, to his left was what seemed to be a bar. It seemed quite small, and there was only one large table on the ground floor. He couldn't quite see onto the second floor, but he supposed there might be more tables there.
A couple of steps later, to his right stood 'Bell Station General Goods'.
To his left was an armory - 'Stain's Arms & Guards'. It was a common sight - most towns had an armory meant for Huntsmen or the average soldier - how else would they stay safe from the Grimm?
Monsters, here, he corrected.
A few more steps, and Josette suddenly piped up.
"Don't look to your right. Keep your curiosity to yourself here, that's a Bracer Guild."
'The 'specialist' good guys, huh?'
For moment, Jaune entertained the idea of running to them for help. It wasn't long before he recalled the night before, and he'd decided against it.
"We don't want anyone to catch on to who we are. That's why we're in disguises like this, so don't muck it up."
Jaune nodded, "So, what exactly are we doing here?"
Josette stares at him, her lips curving into a mocking grin.
"Just follow my lead and keep quiet when I'm talking to people, you'll be fine."
As always, she'd tell him nothing useful. His expression tensed, his face contorting into a frown.
Josette's chuckle was light and jovial.
"Relax, Jaune. You'll see soon enough, anyway."
Josette turned back to the path they were walking, and Jaune found that he did find something out. They'd ended up in front of one ridiculously large factory.
"In we go, Jaune. Keep up."
By the time Jaune had started moving again, Josette was already halfway through the factory doors.
With that, they stepped through the doors and entered the factory.
As they entered, Jaune immediately noticed to his right was a maintenance shop of some sort. For what, Jaune could only guess.
Straight ahead seemed to be the reception desk. Standing behind the desk was what seemed to be a young woman with purple hair.
Josette walked directly to the receptionist, prompting Jaune to follow. From here on, he was meant to sort of just be quiet, apparently.
"Good morning! I'm Josette Haar, a student from the Jenis Royal Academy! I'm here because I want to expand my knowledge, and to better myself during our short break."
The receptionist responds with a friendly, warm smile.
"That's great to hear, Josette. You'll find the Archives on the second floor interesting, and if you're lucky - you may be allowed onto the third floor to see the workshop in action yourself!"
Josette's face erupts with an ecstatic grin, her shining eyes evidence of the thrill that surges through her veins.
"Oh that'd just be amazing! Thank you very much."
The receptionist and Josette shared one last smile, before Josette turned and began to walk towards the stairs, gesturing to Jaune to follow her.
A couple of minutes of walking up the stairs later, both Jaune and Josette were on the second floor of the factory.
Jaune felt terrible - even if he hadn't said anything, he allowed someone to deceive someone else in a malicious way. That wasn't what a hero would do.
'But,' he'd remind himself, 'I'm not a hero. Right now, I'm nothing but a bandit.'
Josette was leading Jaune through a corridor, and she'd stopped at a door to their left. Josette confidently opened and strode through the door with Jaune uncertainly following her.
The room was filled from wall to wall with bookshelves, each of them overflowing with age-old knowledge. From sheer looks alone, he knew it was a place of immense knowledge.
There wasn't anyone inside at the moment - fairly strange. This archive should normally have a keeper or something like that, so for it to be completely empty was strange.
For Josette though, it was an opportunity.
As quickly as she could, Josette seemed to be searching through the books for anything that could give the bandits a leg-up on any potential valuables.
He watched as she searched with a vigor, flipping pages so quickly he doubted she was actually reading anything. He could see the frustration mounting on her face as she found nothing that would actually be of any value.
He watched as her face perked up, and finally she seemed interested in what it was she held. In her hands was a book that detailed ancient structures that were meant to be researched - fortresses, ruins. Places that were guaranteed to have valuables if they were being researched.
"This..! This is more than enough!"
It was with a smile that she'd take the book and flee - and it was with a frown that Jaune came to terms with witnessing theft again, without doing anything to stop it.
At least, this time, there wasn't anybody to threaten.
And with that, the second chapter comes to an end. I do apologize about the first chapter - it's of decent enough quality, but there are certain scenes I go back to now that I'm certain could've done more clearly. Feel free to call me out on anything you find I did poorly, or if you find anything that could have been done better. The chapters should be of a little bit higher quality from now on. This'll also probably be the last of the quick releases you've been seeing so far. It'll go to what the schedule was intended to be, weekly, from now on. Thanks for reading!