The Great Eastern Desert of Anima was extremely hot.
On an average midday, temperatures could rise to well above one hundred degrees. Often times clouds in the sky were a rare luxurious sight, with them being the only shield in between the relentless sun, and all that lay below. Without them, the sun's rays beat down upon the world, with blinding light reflecting off of the bright yellow sand and appearing even brighter. Nature's very own oven, where only a certain type of strong could thrive.
Of course, Grimm tended to qualify as their own type of strong on their own. In the hot and warm environments that this desert offered, many variations of Grimm made their home here, in various places. Some preferred to bury themselves deep underneath the sand, some sought shelter in whatever shades were available. Other kinds of Grimm even took to flying in the air, being completely resistant to the heat of the yellow sun. With no sorts of civilizations to serve as their magnets for negative emotions however, these Grimm tended to wander about the desert, in search of nourishment or even some other reasons to live. After all, if there were no humanoids to terrorize, what was there for them to do?
However, while the desert remain largely unoccupied, life was still to be found out here. Against the stretching yellow of the desert landscape, a figure trekked across the expanse. It walked slowly and carefully, so to avoid anything unintentional. The steps taken were deliberate and precise, feet planted firmly as it moved forward. Granules of sand in this desert were said to be extremely unstable, the smallest jostling causing waves to cascade down along slopes. Any normal person would've had the utmost difficulty even attempting to cross this unforgiving land. Fortunately, Angelita Amarillo grew up here, used to this harsh land; uncooperative landscapes would do nothing to stop her.
The girl of sixteen walked along, confident in the direction she was going. The further west she went, the more likely she was to arrive at Anima's capital city of Mistral. The sun was high up in the sky around this time of midday, but earlier she'd seen where it had risen from. Simply walk away from that horizon's direction, and she would go west; an important lesson she'd come to learn in recent years.
The sun was also its hottest and brightest from where it was in the sky, with relentless light and heat beating down upon the world below. Fortunately, Angelita was covered; quite literally. She wore a massive curved carapace on her back, stretching from the back of her head to reaching down to the backs of her knees and splitting below to accommodate two legs, with looped straps secured around her upper arms and upper thighs. The outside of this curved armor was a dull yellow color, after having been exposed to the sun's rays for years. That same outside was undoubtedly super heated from the sun always on it, but the other side was not. In fact, it provided more than adequate shade from the sun, and even harsh winds and sandstorms that would blow in against her back. Yes, this specialized back armor, named Derma, worked many wonders from her, without being too heavy or over-encumbering; a perfect curved body shield.
Yet despite that, Angelita did feel weighed down by something heavy. It wasn't her back armor that she was wearing, which she'd had for most of her life. That hardly weighed anything for her. No, what she was heavy with was grief.
As she walked she reached down to her belt loop to retrieve a small water container, her throat feeling a little dry. Before she did however, her eyes looked upon this canteen; a modest little thing, yet seeing it brought back floods of memories. The more she recalled, the more she could feel tears threatening to spill over.
This water canteen didn't belong to her. It belonged to someone else; someone who was actually close to her once.
"Ah..." Nemo Aridsol lowered his canteen from his mouth, having sipped his fill. He stood facing the vast desert landscape, stretching out as far as could see. The small rise in ground being stood upon let him see further and for miles. He was able to see so far of course, without the sun's glare in his eyes, thanks to his thick cloth wrapped around the top of his head, covering it all the way to his brow-line. His hair was thoroughly concealed, while his two horse ears could be seen sticking out from the wrapping. While they were a little warm from how tightly they were wrapped, no more warmer than that from the sun.
The monotony of the vast sands was broken by the sight of movement bellow. Black bodies, with heavily sun-tanned white hard shells scuttled across the ground. Grimm; deathstalkers by the looks of them. Numerous of these arachnid-like creatures were creeping along the sands, slowly crawling in his direction, with many more seen cropping out from under the sands. This was starting to become a problem, one that would need to be addressed soon.
From his side, the younger Angelita glimpsed him out of the corner of her eye. His action of sipping water made her instinctively lick her lips, until she reminded herself that she had already drank a sip. She was good herself; her throat was moist, thick cloths wrapped around parts of her body to shield her from the heat, with her curved, armor carapace adorning her back to shield her from heat and winds. The bite of the desert would not be holding her back this day.
"Alright... you ready for what needs to be done?" Nemo asked her.
"I am," Angelita said with a nod, "Those Grimm are coming too close, and we're to slay as many as we can-"
"'Enough' to send a clear message," Nemo cut in sternly, "We're not looking for any prolonged fight here. We need them to know that to come too close will be their deaths."
"Come on, Nemo!" Angelita protested, "They're Grimm! They'll never learn! The only thing that needs to be done is all of them slain, no trace-"
"Angelita Amarillo," Nemo forcefully cut in, effectively silencing her, "What is the Great Rule of the Animan Desert?" The short-haired girl opened her mouth, desperate to want to get her point across. However the hard, stern look being leveled at her by her guardian let her know that would not be happening.
"The Rule... is 'Only what is needed'," she said, "But still, aren't Grimm an exception-"
"The Rule of the Animan Desert applies to 'all' things, especially to Grimm," Nemo said, letting his gaze look back out at the Desert's lengths. His hand drooped down to brush against the hilt of his weapon he kept upon his waist, "These Grimm aren't as mindless and unthinking as you think they are. If enough of them are killed, the larger group will acknowledge the message to steer clear of our home."
Angelita frowned as she listened to her guardian explain; this was absolutely repetitive. She'd grown up her whole life in this desert, with him, learning how to fight and survive against these creatures of Grimm that were a common sight in this desert. Her guardian taught her to fight them, and she herself adopted a combat style unique to only herself. It mainly involved her armored back-carapace she constantly wore outside combined with her Semblance of Spin-Dashing. This method of fighting had suited her well enough in the past, but only when the minimum of these creatures were to be slain. How much more impact could she leave if she were allowed to let loose more? To unleash her fury upon these mindless beasts so that they don't even get the chance to learn? They could be made to steer ever clearer from their home! Why couldn't Nemo see this...?
"So, are you ready?" Nemo's question broke her out of her thoughts. Shaking her head she then nodded, "Alright, then let's send our message; draw weapons." Angelita reached to her waist with her hand to draw her weapon, Anky; a mace with six extended points for its head, with the shaft stretching a little longer than her own arm's length. Nemo Aridsol also drew his weapon, the Gobi; a scimitar with a steel blade gleaming in the sun's light, "Then let's go..."
With that, they both jumped upon their flattened rocks and used them to effectively slide down the sand rise. They both looked down upon where they were bound for: a dip in the land, down from the solid rocky rise of their home to the free-flowing sand below. The Deathstalkers continued to scuttle about, not moving too much towards their territory anymore, but were still numerous by the count. As the two humanoids drew closer to them, these creatures of Grimm appeared larger in size as well. Angelita steeled herself, hefting Anky in her hand as she and Nemo were nearly upon them.
Their flat rocks came to a slow halt as they finally reached the bottom of the natural slant. They then quickly removed themselves from them and stood poised at the ready. The deathstalkers' heads turned and noticed them in full now, making some strange clicking noises with their maws. They slowly began to advance, but Nemo and Angelita stood their ground, not moving from their spots.
"This is it, just let them come to us," Nemo said, "And go for one at a time, if you can help it."
'Yes, if I can help it,' Angelita thought to herself. She focused on her small, yet numerous foes before her, the deathstalkers clattering noisily.
One boldly began to approach her, pincers pinching and its tail twitching with anticipation. But Angelita did not grant it any satisfaction; when it reached the desired distance between them, she reached forward and brought down Anky upon it's body, hard. The pointed head of the special mace more than did its job in bludgeoning this Grimm, as it soon began to disintegrate into black dust. She pulled her weapon back to see that the other deathstalkers were not deterred by her display. In fact, they began to move towards her, individually, with an emboldened attitude this time.
From the side, Angelita could hear the familiar rounds of Nemo's Gobi being fired off. Sounded like he was preferring to finish off his Grimm targets at distance. She herself preferred up close and personal combat, but to each their own.
One by one, a deathstalker approached close to her as the first one did, and all were finished off by a quick smash of an Anky strike. A couple times however, a deathstalker would actually leap towards her, making a different sort of clicking noise as it did so. Angelita dispatched these ones all the same, but she felt... different, as she did so. Somehow slaying the Grimm that did 'that' action itself made her feel... superior, somehow.
She could feel herself grinning every time she did so as well. So much so that she decided to quickly take to a ranged approach. She flipped Anky around in her hand so that she was grabbing one of the pointed parts of the mace head; that pointed part actually was one of the handles of the six sawed off shotguns that comprised the whole of what made her weapon.
She didn't even bother looking through one eye as she blew away another deathstalker, than quickly re-aimed to fire at another. One shot after another, her grin grew until she was smiling big now. This was fun! What was the harm in taking out many more as she could-
"Angelita!" Nemo's voice suddenly rang out. Her head snapped up to see his, looking at her sternly, instead of in surprise as she'd initially thought. Her gaze turned back towards the deathstalker Grimm before her. Now that she had ceased her assault, and realized that her mind had been temporarily cleared, she realized that the Grimm were actually in full retreat. The arachnid deathstalkers were scurrying away from her and Nemo's position, burrowing back under the sand when they had retreated far enough away, "That was plenty. What did I say about only what was needed?"
"W-what? Was that not allowed?" the younger girl incredulously asked, "We were doing so well, weren't we?"
"You were getting carried away; didn't you see them retreating?" Nemo retorted. The girl looked back at where the deathstalkers had retreated to. Truth be told, she hadn't noticed what the Grimm were actually doing, only that she was enjoying the thrill of killing them, one by one.
"I... I thought I had..." she said.
"Let's hope that the message was clear enough, without negative consequences..." Nemo said with a sigh, "Come on, let's head back home." With that he holstered Gobi back onto his waist and turned around to ascend the hill again. Angelita replaced Anky back on her own waist as well and quickly rushed up to join him. They began their steady climb upward, stepping carefully to avoid unnecessary amounts of sand falling down and burying their feet too much. All the while, Angelita would spare glances towards Nemo even as he continued to stare forward. The look on his face made her a little worried; the silence she sometimes got from him at the worst of times could be unbearable.
"Nemo? I'm... I'm sorry, if I disobeyed you back there..." she tried to say.
"As well you should be..." the horse faunus said simply. The sentence cut deep, and Angelita nearly flinched from it. Nemo seemed to sense the harshness of his statement and followed it up with a sigh, "You know... you know that it is a hard life we live? To live as we do in the Animan Desert's embrace? To live and survive out here is to not be greedy, or act as if you control the land you live in. It means control of yourself, first and foremost."
"I know, and I get it..." Angelita said, "It's just... I guess I don't like how... confining it feels..." She suddenly felt something on her head, only to realize that Nemo was patting her! The rough, coarse hand still managed to feel so soft and gentle upon her, that the girl couldn't help but feel more relaxed, safe even.
"You've always had such passion and drive within you," he said, a little smile on his face, "Always so eager to grow up, and into your own..." The back-armored girl found herself smiling at the sight of her guardian's smile as well.
"Yeah, I want to... But, am I really able to do that, from the way I'm having to live, here in the Animan Desert?" Nemo pulled his hand back.
"One day... you'll be ready to answer that question yourself," he said. The two of them continued to ascend, and had reached midway of their hill, when they noticed something. All around them, specks of sand began to slowly cascade downward the slope on their own, at various points. Combined with a faint rumbling they could feel beneath their feet, and both looked at each other with concern.
"Um, what was that...?" Angelita said. A louder rumbling could be heard from behind them, and both turned around to the source of the noise. Down at the base and to more flatter ground, where the sand slowly rode down towards, bursts of sand could be seen erupting from a singular point. The eruptions then exploded all at once into a burst of sand, flying everywhere, as something emerged from the ground.
"No... no, please don't tell me..." Nemo said, looking upon the figure. What emerged from the sandy ground beneath was another deathstalker Grimm, except this one was far more massive in sheer size. From the ends of its front claws to where it's tail stretched out, it must have measured in at least twenty feet long! This one's white armored carapace was also sun-bleached, with marks of scratches here and there. There was no doubt between either of the two: this must have been a deathstalker adult!
"Oh my..." Angelita said, taking a step back, then almost stumbling as she nearly tripped on the uneven ground behind her, "Maybe... it doesn't know we're here...?" The deathstalker's claws clicked a couple times, snapping at the air, then spun both of them to face in the direction of her and Nemo! Its maw could be seen dripping with saliva, even from the distance between them. The clicking sound it made was far deeper compared to the smaller spawn that came before it. A low and threatening gurgling sound, directed straight at the two humanoids. Its back legs began to waddle back and forth in the sand, carrying the massive creature forward and towards them.
"By the Gods..." Nemo could be heard saying softly.
"Wait, did... did I do this...?" Angelita suddenly realized, "Did this this suddenly appear... because I killed too many? Did I anger these things enough to send THAT thing upon us?!"
"Angelita! Keep it together!" Nemo's voice rang out. He drew forth Gobi again from his waist, "Why it's here doesn't matter. It's here now, and we'll have to deal with it! Understand?!"
"Ah- R-right!" the girl shook her head of her momentary anxiety. She too drew forth Anky from her waist again, gripping the shaft end with both hands. The giant deathstalker continued to advance towards them, straight up the sandhill. It's claws pointed directly at them, while the massive stinging tail from behind wobbled back and forth, as if deciding which of them to strike at.
"Wait, I think it's just focused on us..." Nemo said.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean-?!"
"If we keep it's attention on us, it'll never know about our home where we live!" Nemo quickly said, "No time to explain- just follow what I do and let's lead it out and away...!" The giant deathstalker was now upon us, thrusting both of its claws towards them. Angelita was almost frozen on her feet in that instant, but quickly regained her senses to move out of the way, mirroring Nemo's movements. The two of them leapt to their respective sides, circling around their length of the deathstalker's body. The giant creature was almost confused to find its opponents no longer directly in front of it, but quickly adapted to spin its body to follow Nemo. It wasn't long before the older horse faunus and the younger human rejoined each other side by side on the complete opposite end of the Grimm, with the creature itself making a complete 180 turn as well.
Nemo's Gobi folded itself into its desert eagle form and he let loose a couple rounds upon the creature. The rounds for the most part bounced off of the thickly armored back, with some of them managing to scratch it just barely. Quick to understand, Angelita flipped her Anky around so she held it by one of the mace-head points. She too fired off point-blank blasts as close as she could afford at the deathstalker's armor. Her rounds also grazed the stark-white of the armor, scratching it just barely as well.
In response, the deathstalker's arms waved in front of it, as if confused by what was happening, and its front maw let loose an open growl again. It's massive tail behind it waved menacingly for a moment, then quickly shot forwards towards the two humanoids.
Eyes widened, Nemo quickly shoved Angelita to the side and away from him, thus creating space between the two of them for the tail strike to completely miss. The massive stinger crashed into the sand, creating a small burst of particles to momentarily cloud one's sight. In that moment, Angelita couldn't see anything; not Nemo, the deathstalker, nothing. Coughing, she waved her arm before her and in front of her face, trying to clear away the sand debris. Her vision returned with clarity, though with enough time for her to witness something; the giant deathstalker's eyes seemed to glare straight at her. Red orbs glowing with menacing intent that seemed to bore into her very being. In that moment, Angelita felt as if she'd forgotten the basic action of moving, which ended up costing her. Movement in front of her, and the deathstalker's claw rushed forward and slammed into her, throwing her a good distance further away.
The sun-tanned girl tumbled and sprawled across the sand, her rolling finally coming to a stop. As she pulled herself to her hands and knees, she felt a moist feeling upon her midsection and legs, combined with what felt like wet sand sticking to her exposed skin. Her eyes widened as she realized it was her drinking canteen- there was a massive blow to its underside, a huge ripped hole that caused all of of the liquid contents to spill out! This was not good, she needed to get back into it! Her hand reached out for- wait, where was Anky? Angelita frantically looked all around where she was knocked away, until she saw it. There was her weapon, at least twenty feet away from where she had initially hit the sands. She pulled herself to her feet and quickly made to grab for it.
As she moved, she looked back over at the deathstalker, its attention now focused completely on Nemo. The horse faunus was effortlessly dodging back and forth against its attempts to grab him with its pincers. He would even jump into the air at times to kick off of a pincer that had missed him, flipping through the air stylishly. He was certainly having no problem holding his own; for all the years Angelita had known him and grown up with him, he'd always been more than capable in a fight. It made her proud to know someone as skilled as him, knowing he'd be able to stand his ground even by himself.
Turning her attention back before her, she finally skidded to a halt against the sand, right before Anky. As she reached down to retrieve it, Nemo's voice could be heard.
"Angelita! Hurry up! Not sure how much longer I-" The abrupt sound of his voice being cut off immediately alarmed her. She pulled herself straight back up to witness something shocking. Nemo was somehow in the clutches of one of the deathstalker's pincers! The massive claw lifted him into the air with ease, his flailing body doing nothing to stop it.
"Nemo!" Angelita screeched.
"Drgh-!" the man's face could be seen twisting up in visible pain. His left hand tried desperately to push against one end of the claw that was crushing him, while his right hand reformed Gobi back into its desert eagle form to fire off rounds as best he could at the beast. The rounds ricocheted off of the armored back however, doing little to hinder it. It was then that Angelita noticed something else about Nemo's body; it was glowing, with an outline of bright yellow, all around it... until that glow appeared to shatter right in the deathstalker's grip! His Aura, it was broken completely! If something else were to happen-
The worst was yet to come as the deathstalker's tail began to swing menacingly back and forth suddenly. In the span of a few seconds, the sharp-pointed stinger of the tail shot forward, and impaled Nemo's unguarded chest completely. Blood burst from his mouth as he coughed it up, combined with a scream of absolute pain.
"NOOO!" Angelita screamed a blood-curdling scream, equal in intensity to his. Her heart felt like it leapt out of her chest, and the sweat on her body felt so much more colder. This could not be happening! That did not just happen!
No... it did...
Teeth gritted hard in her mouth as she bent her upper body forward to curl into a ball. Derma, the curved armor on her back stretching outward and over to wrap around her back's length and join in the front, thus encasing her in a more round form. Semblance activating, her spinning form launched itself forward at high speed, desperate to reach Nemo again before any more lethal damage could be done. Was she going to launch forward while aimed for Nemo? Or was she planning to bash against the creature? And where exactly where was she going to hit it at? These small details were not at the forefront of her mind in that moment. All that matter was that she get closer to him!
Her answer came in the form of her ball form hitting against... something. She felt it; it wasn't a dull impact like what she'd expected the white armor of the deathstalker's carapace to feel like, but rather a singular hard point. Also reaching her ears was the sound of a wailing and screeching sound, completely different from Nemo's screams. She must have hit something on the deathstalker instead! She uncurled herself from her ball form to find that she was sailing through the air, looking down to see what she had done.
There was Nemo, still in the grip of the deathstalker's claw, yet completely disconnected form the main body itself! But how?! Then she saw it- Gobi, back in its scimitar form, laying flat against the desert sand, between the claw and the deathstalker's main body. She understood- she had spin-dashed straight into Nemo's Gobi to bash against it hard enough to sever the claw, and in that way had freed him from the Grimm!
She landed squarely upon her feet, wasting no time in spinning back to face the deathstalker with Anky's shotgun barrels aimed straight at it. Fortunately, the giant creature apparently had wobbled and backed away from the fray, in clear pain form this massive severance of it's appendage. It's mandibles were twitching all around as it cried in pain; but Angelita was not feeling merciful in that moment. That thing had just mortally wounded her Nemo, her guardian! It would not live to see another day!
The range she was at right now meant that her rounds weren't as accurate, but she fired them off anyway, hoping that by some miracle they would instantly kill this Grimm. They bounced harmlessly off the body of course, with the deathstalker itself spinning around completely and re-burrowing itself into the sand with a great rumble. Angelita's eyes widened- it was getting away!
"No-! No no no! You get back here...!" she screamed, running out to where it buried itself. It was no use though; by the time she reached the location, the Grimm was already gone, with its path into the ground being resealed behind it by the sand. Her hate and frustration only grew more and more, resulting in her letting out a massive growl of anger.
"Ugh..." The familiar sounds of Nemo instantly broke her haze, and for a moment she felt a brief flicker of hope. Was he still alive?! She quickly dashed across the sands, desperate to get back to him. She felt Anky slip from her hand as she slid down to her knees before him.
"Nemo... Nemo...?" The sight before her was a gruesome one; the horse faunus now had a massive bloody hole in his chest, directly above the grip line of the pincer claw that still held him in a vice grip, "Er- hold on! I'll get you out of this...!"
"AngelitAAAA-!" Nemo exclaimed as pain burst up through his body when the girl began to pry the pincer open. The tips of the pincer thankfully were more pointed, narrow, and thinner than the rest of it. This allowed for Angelita to easily slip her hands into both ends of the pincer tips for easy leverage and pull. Resistance felt heavy, despite being a severed limb, but she did finally manage to feel it give a little. She strained ever harder, pulling with all her might until finally, the pincer ends broke away from each other with just enough space for Nemo's body to slip through. Completely freed, Angelita flipped over the pincer out and away, forgetting about it as instantly as she looked back down.
"Nemo-!" she rushed down to his side. The sight of this much blood, staining the yellow sand with its dark red color, it was almost too much. Angelita could almost feel something building up in the back of her throat, but she swallowed it back, "Are-are you... what do I..." She looked down at him again, "Say something, please!"
"Angel-" His words were cut off by a sudden burst of blood-filled coughs, staining his front with even more blood, "-lita... Is... that you...?"
"Yes, Nemo; it's me!" the girl tried to carefully angle her hands underneath his head, then immediately stopped when she saw his face wince hard, "No-! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But... Nemo... you have to talk to me! What do I do? How do I stop... this?!"
"Hm?" Nemo looked down at the new hole in his chest where Angelita indicated. His face scrunched up in disgust, then the sound of cough-laughter escaped his mouth, "Heh... Don't bother... there is no 'fixing' this... Looks like... it's really my time..." He slumped his head back to relax.
"What?! No no no, don't say that!" Angelita panicked as he spoke those words, "Don't talk like that! You're going to live! You're going to make it through this, and we-"
"Angelita..." Nemo raised a single finger up to the girl's lips, silencing her, "Listen to me... We all... have our time... to go..." His hand dropped down, "I've lived... a good life I feel..." She felt his moist hand upon hers, "But you... you still have so much more... to live... Much more, than only what I could give you..."
"But Nemo..." Angelita's eyes had freefalling tears by this point, no attempts were made to stop them, "You're all I have! Without you... There's nothing for me anymore...!"
"Angelita... my Daisy..." Nemo's grip tightened a little on her hand. Through her tear-filled eyes she looked at his own eyes, at odd peace in this moment, "You know that's not true... The Animan Desert... it's only one part of this world we live in... So much more..." His grip on her hand lessened a little, "That's why... Where ever life takes you... may the... rising sun... be ever... at your... ba-..." The grip relaxed completely, slipped from her off her hand, and slumped to the side. Nemo's head fell back, into the cradle of Angelita's other hand.
These actions seemed to momentarily break the girl from her stunned state, and she was reminded of what had very much happened, just now. He was gone; Nemo Aridsol had died, right here in her arms! Her guardian, the single person that had raised her in this desert for as long as she could remember... was gone.
"No... no no no no, please..." her breaking voice managed, "Don't go... come back... please come back...!"
Her cries went unanswered, with Nemo remaining unmoving.
Finally, Angelita could hold it in no longer; she bent herself back, eyes clenched shut, and let out every ounce of grief, sadness, sorrow, and anguish she had bottled up into a great cry, as loud as she could muster, aimed straight for the skies.
Ever since that fateful day, that tragic day, Angelita was deathly silent. There was simply no reason for words to escape her mouth anymore, not simply because there were no other ears to hear her. What did that matter anyway?
Her intense anguish and mourning had eventually worn off, or had worn down to the point where she could function relatively normally again. Perhaps numbness in this case was preferable to how she'd felt before, as it meant far fewer Grimm that she had to fight off that because attracted to her fresh misery. Now that she had more control over herself, the body of her recently departed guardian had to be tended to. He'd once told her that he considered the Great Animan Desert a bigger part of his life than anywhere else in this world, and thus it was here that he'd like his body to be lain to rest. Admittedly, Angelita only half-heartedly agreed to his request at the time he'd told her this, thinking that he'd never leave her. Well now, with her expectations completely uprooted, she would now be tending to his last wish.
Nemo Aridsol was buried on their property, within the general space of their hut. There was a dried tree that had sprouted out of the ground, its thin, spindly body providing a pitiful attempt at shade for Nemo's grave. Maybe that wasn't too much of a bad thing; Nemo had never complained about the sun beating down on him in life, why should he complain about it now in death?
There was no gravestone to mark where he was buried. Instead, Angelita opted for the next available, and appropriate option. His Gobi was firmly planted into the ground, above the spot of where his head was. It was his weapon through and through, despite Angelita's occasional requests to try it out even once. Every time Nemo had fed her some line of 'weapons choosing their wielders' or something like that. Maybe he just preferred to play favorites? Whatever the reasoning, his weapon would forever mark where the desert dwelling horse faunus was now buried.
And Angelita stood in front of the grave, staring at the patch of dug ground and sand. The feeling that gripped her was powerful, but different from before. She no longer felt intense sadness and grief from that first moment she'd lost him. This time, it felt... a different sort of silence, one that felt deafening. No one was around with her, to break this silence, and so it built, greater and greater. Angelita was truly isolated, and only now was coming to understand that.
"It's... it's not fair..." she barely spoke the words clearly, "It's not fair that... that you had to go... And... and for something that was my fault...!" She could feel imminent stinging tears in her eyes, threatening to fall. She took a quick moment to wipe her eyes before they had a chance to.
"I... I really caused it, didn't I...?" she said, "If I hadn't... gotten so reckless, done what I did... maybe that bigger one would never have come! And you'd never be..." She drew in a sharp intake of breath, letting it out slowly.
"Well, no more..." Her eyes were steel now as she looked back upon the grave, lips a firm frown, "If being careless really costs me this much... I will never lose myself again. 'Only what is needed'... Shame it took 'this' to finally understand that meaning..."
Her head drifted to the left, where their hut still stood. To think that Nemo had built this extremely modest hut all by himself. The same hut that she'd grown up in, learned everything he had taught her: from walking, eating, hunting, harvesting water, and even fighting Grimm. It was even inside this same hut that she had unintentionally discovered what her Semblance was- the ability to spin-dash herself when crouched into a ball form! The look on his face at the time was memorably scary, but still worth it for the all the fun it was...
But... it was different now; Nemo was gone. And now that he was gone, no one to live with her anymore, this was no longer a place to properly call 'home'. Her home was with Nemo, not this hut; there was nothing for her here anymore. And with her new conviction, she would be leaving, setting out on her own.
But bound towards where? Well...
In the same direction as the hut she was also reminded of the sun's presence. It was morning, a dawn breaking as it began to rise up into the air slowly. She turned her head more in its direction, avoiding looking directly at it, and was reminded of one of Nemo's last words: 'rising sun be ever at your back', or something like that. The rising sun... sure it might have easily been delirium, but at the same time truly felt like he meant that literally. He wanted her to 'live more', which somehow could've meant going somewhere... If he meant travelling, perhaps he was referring to travelling 'west', so that the morning sun would be behind her? It made as much sense as anything else, and it was the only plan she had at the moment.
Her right hand brushed against her sheathed Anky on her right side, while her left hand reached down for Nemo's canteen- no, 'her' canteen. She unfastened it and brought its tip to her lips, fresh water waiting to greet her. As she did, she got a good look at this new canteen, and how different it looked and felt compared to her own. Because, that was purely the reason she had something that belonged to him- of course it was! Her canteen was busted, destroyed, and she'd still need one for this no doubt hot journey before her.
Having sipped her conservative fill, she replaced the canteen back upon her waist, making sure the lid was securely fastened as well. This was it- this was really it; she'd be off, completely on her own, for whatever new life awaited her. She prepared to turn to walk on in the direction of 'west', but not before sparing one last glance at Nemo's grave.
"Well... this is it..." she spoke softly, "Goodbye, Nemo... And thank you, for... everything." She turned her head and proceeded to walk, mindful of the slippery loose sands on the dunes. She walked on, while Gobi remain planted at the head of Nemo's grave, sunlight producing a small glaring glint against the steel of the blade.
Her parched throat quenched with precious water, Angelita lowered Nemo's once canteen from her mouth, re-securing its lid on its top. How much time had passed between then, and now? Two days? Or was it three? The majority of Angelita's mind didn't really care. However long it took, she had spent it carefully maneuvering across the Animan Desert's tenuous sand dunes. Every day she traveled, she made sure that the morning sun was always directly behind her. In all honesty, the actual walk across the sands itself wasn't nearly as tiring for her as it should've been. True she was walking nearly non-stop across a hot desert landscape, a hotter sun beating down on her, with a limited supply of water on hand, but it was nothing she wasn't used to.
Still, at least two days hiking was a long time to move, and without stop at that. But finally, after a long hike of two days trekking across the Animan Desert, the rising sun pointing her west, was then that she finally came across something. The landscape itself appeared vastly different. The ground itself appeared darker, probably thicker, and no longer sun-bleached a bright yellow color. Higher elevated landmasses could also be seen, far larger and higher than any of the highest sand dunes that she'd ever seen. There was no doubting it: Angelita had reached the edge of the Animan Desert, and gazed for this first time this new land of Mistral.
"I... I finally made it..." she breathed, then glanced a single eye over her shoulder behind her, "So, Nemo, this is really the 'new part of my life' you had in mind for me?" From this view she had a much bigger sense of how much she'd actually traveled. The horizon's edge looked so much further away, the sun's rays distorting the edge in a small mirage. She slowly turned her head to face forward again, shaking it ever so slightly, "Hmph, I wonder if you've ever been out this far...?"
Amidst the view of this new land, a beaten path could also be seen. It led horizontal to where she stood, both directions veering off but eventually curving back westward; the same direction she was walking herself. Was this a path she should take? And if so, which way should she go? Both directions appeared not that different from each-
A rumbling sound quickly put her on alert: heavy vibrations from within the ground. She'd run across the occasional infant deathstalker Grimm during her travels, expressing extra caution in either dispatching them, or avoiding them altogether. But this was not simply a deathstalker infant; it was something much bigger, and... familiar?
"Wait a minute... I remember feeling this... from before...!" Angelita's narrowed eyes flashed with anger. She quickly withdrew Anky from her waist, just as something new was happening. She snap-spun to the left side, in time to witness something. The sand of the desert burst upwards in a single, concentrated explosion, as something emerged from below it. Sliding out from beneath the sandy depths was the massive form of a deathstalker; an giant, adult deathstalker. Thankfully from the precise way it emerged, it was facing the side and did not have her in its sight-lines.
The sight alone was enough to make Angelita grimace; She'd made a concentrated effort on avoiding Grimm that would be too much to handle, especially on her own. That was one lesson she was learning to take to heart. And as the deathstalker giant did not see her, she was nearly tempted to carefully move onward, allowing the two of them to go about their business. However, something about this deathstalker caught her eye, something all too noticeable...
It had only one pincer.
"No... it really can't be..." Angelita breathed. There was absolutely no way this could be! But it was! The same deathstalker that she and Nemo had fought back at their hut, with Angelita managing to actually sever a pincer with the aid of Nemo's Gobi! A massive detail like a missing appendage was definitely not something that was common, and highly unlikely for anything else to have caused it, "I really don't believe it! It's you!
The deathstalker simply stood idly, it's pincer-less arm cradled close to it. It made a small clicking noise as it looked forward in the direction it faced. Its tail slowly swished back and forth, something that Angelita specifically took note of. The very same tail and stinger that had claimed the life of her Nemo! And here it was now, alone without any of its infants, and completely unaware of her presence.
"Nemo..." she spoke softly to herself, "I know... I know you'd probably tell me to simply move on, but..." Her eyes narrowed hard as she looked at it again, "The very thing that killed you is right there! I'm sorry... but I have to do this! For you!" She hefted Anky's shaft end into her hand, "Please understand, you didn't deserve to die...!" With that, she broke into a charge, barreling straight for the giant deathstalker.
The Grimm thankfully hadn't heard her footsteps coming from a long distance away, or else it might've turned in time to counter her. As it was though, it was nearly unguarded when Angelita finally reached it. She wasted no time in swinging Anky with all her strength into one of its legs, taking joy in the small crunching sound she heard. Her weapon had scored a solid hit against the leg, resulting in the massive body lurching suddenly inwards upon its now damaged leg. Angelita quickly rolled out of the way before the unbalanced deathstalker could risk falling down upon her. When she looked back up, the giant Grimm hadn't fallen to its side as she thought it did, but was still standing somewhat crookedly. Its intact legs twitched beneath it, rotating its frame, and the monster's eyes were now refocused upon her.
"Yes, you monster! Remember me?!" Angelita called out. The deathstalker's mandibles wiggled in place with some sort of thick liquid dripping from them, "I don't know how you got here, but you're going to pay for killing Nemo!" The Grimm gave no verbal reply, yet its clicking sounds intensified. Its single pincer also snapped open and shut repeatedly, and it began to charge towards her.
Angelita tightened her grip on Anky's shaft; this was really it, she would really be fighting this thing! Could she defeat it? What if she couldn't? Or worse, what if it actually managed to kill her? None of that mattered; in this moment, Angelita would be doing as much she could to hurt this thing, just as it had hurt her and Nemo!
Lurching forward, the deathstalker's lone pincer snapped out towards her, causing her to jump back. As she regained her footing, she looked up in alarm to find that she had to jump away again; its tail and stinger were about to shoot out at her! She jumped away again, a small explosion of sand impacting where she had once stood. As she skidded to a halt, she saw that the tail and stinger were still embedded in the ground. The deathstalker appeared to strain its body on the tail, as if yanking on it. Did it get stuck? Now was her chance!
She rushed forward and put as much strength as she had into a side-swing against the tail's armor, found right beneath the stinger portion. A small bit of joy filled her being as she saw her strike actually managed to leave a decent crack in it! She swung herself and Anky around the opposite way to strike just as hard against the other side of the white armor. Small fragments of white chipped away as the head of her weapon scored another decent hit. Every hit she scored earned a noise from the Grimm that sounded like a cry of pain. A quick glimpse at the tail and Angelita could see literally cracks and holes in the armor forming; her attack was working! The tail began to rise from the ground however as the deathstalker was attempting to lift it back out! It was now or never!
Angelita spun back around, flipped Anky to grab one of its blunt points, pointed it straight at the damaged spots, and let fire a blast at point blank range. Specks of black dust and white chippings exploded through the air, and the tail was pulled from the ground much faster with no more stinger adding extra weight to it. The deathstalker's cries of pain were intensified now, screeches ringing out through the air that almost forced Angelita to cover her ears. But the back armored girl didn't care; that was an impressive blow she'd dealt upon it!
"Yeah! Take that you monster!" she taunted, flipping in hand back to hold it like a mace. The giant Grimm was still crying out in pain, stumbling backward and awkwardly. As Angelita prepared to move in to deal another blow to it, she felt something yet again. Vibrations, felt from beneath the ground. Her heart froze in a moment of fear; was there another giant deathstalker coming?!
Her answer came in the form of small patches of sand bursting up, and smaller deathstalkers emerging from the sands in scattered spots. Some quickly rallied to the giant deathstalker's side, while others noticed her and quickly moved towards her.
"No no no, I don't have time for you all-!" the girl said. The infants did not listen to what she said, and rather quickly lurched forward to sting and pinch at her.
Angelita swung Anky back and forth, making sure to land decisive hits against the smaller Grimm. There were far more of them compared to their giant counterpart, but the armor on the backs of these ones was definitely not as strong. Single smashes were all that were needed to crush them into fading black dust. However, where one was vanquished, another one seemed quick to take its place. If this kept up, or if Angelita slipped up even once, it was likely she would be overwhelmed.
In between her strikes, Angelita cast a glance back up and past the infant deathstalker group and at the giant one in the back. By now it had ceased its cries of pain, but its eyes were now focused solely on her. The bright red and yellow eyes were not so easy to read as a human's, but Angelita didn't need that to see that it was watching her with absolutely angry eyes. Its sole pincer was snapping in her direction loudly and threateningly. The deathstalkers surrounding it snapped their pincers as well, making smaller clicking sounds of their own. That giant one was the only one she was after- damn these smaller ones! But they were keeping her occupied by having her focus on them! She had to get past them...
One last strike against one of the deathstalkers and Angelita quickly crouched into her ball form. Derma encircled her body and her spin-dash Semblance engaged. Her spherical form practically rolled straight through the deathstalkers in her pathway, obliterating them, as she steamrolled straight forward. She couldn't see visually when ever she spin-dashed, but a different sort of detection was used. She used her senses of hearing and touch to tell exactly what was around her and what her current traveling pathway felt like. And right now she could feel each deathstalker infant crushed, on her way to the giant...
A thudding crash, a quick change in motion, and Angelita released herself from her ball-form as she flew backward into the air. With her body facing down she could see exactly the path her ball-form had taken, and the damage she'd managed to inflict. She'd managed to destroy all but three of the infant's with her traveled path, and the giant deathstalker's front mandibles had been shattered from her impact. Angelita could feel a strong sense of pride in her feat; she had wounded this creature yet again, and would continue to land powerful hits.
However, her good feeling almost immediately vanished as she noticed something else; the deathstalker was not only quick to recover, but had shot its pincer up towards her! Eyes widening in horror, she tried to pull out Anky to shoot at it, but was too slow. The giant pincer snatched her out of midair, gripping her hard against her stomach, with Derma thankfully keeping her back guarded well enough.
"Grgh! Let... me... go!" she cried out, trying to pound against the pincer's armor with Anky's mace-head. Unlike the legs and the tail, it seemed this portion of the armor was too thick, as her strikes hardly made dents. Each failed strike made her panic a little more, forcing her to strike harder and faster. This couldn't end here- she had to slay this thing, for Nemo!
She was slowly aware of being brought down lower and closer, until she noticed that she was being held right before the Grimm's ugly face. From this close proximity, she could see exactly the extent of the damage her spin-dash bash attack had done- both the sharpened mandibles were completely broken off, leaving two stubs wiggling in place. Unfortunately, this close distance also meant that when the deathstalker clicked its loud threatening noise at her again, a deafening growl. Her left hand shot to cover her ears while her right hand tightened around her- wait, what?! Where was Anky?! It's not in her hand, did she drop it?! Her panic only intensified as she looked all around to see where it could've fallen. She couldn't look around for long, as she felt tightening pressure around the front of her midsection, as well as the tiny sounds of cracking behind her. Was Derma starting to crack?!
As she struggled to free herself, she was vaguely aware of the image of transparent yellow before her eyes. Her aura, it was flaring up, and quickly at risk of being shattered! When was the last time she was at risk of this happening? As the pressure of the squeeze grew stronger, Angelita suddenly beheld flashes; images from her mind...
Her earliest memory, at the age of six; she complained to Nemo about how hot the sun was, having been allowed outside for the first time in years. Nemo just smiled and told her to wear light clothing to conceal her skin, but not suffocate it...
Age seven, Nemo showed her to the local water spot; a small oasis in this desert. It was here that the two of them would harvest precious water, if they ever hoped to survive out here. He also taught her the importance of moderation; how one must never be greedy or take more than what is needed. Because in this life, living in the Great Animan Desert, only the strong, and careful, survive...
Age ten, a close encounter with a Grimm jackalope that nearly gored Angelita's back; a cruel way for one to have their Aura be unlocked, much less discover of it in the first place. Nemo was there for her, though the attack had scarred Angelita, physically and mentally. After the incident, she vowed to always have her back covered, literally if need be. Nemo thought the notion was ridiculous, but eventually came to realize that could serve as adequate sun shielding. The two then spent many months hunting for rare, lasting materials that could be fashioned into such a protective cover. Large pieces of metallic sheets were combed from the sands and even harvested from cliffs of hardened rock. Eventually, Derma finally was created, something that would always have Angelita's back, very much literally...
Age twelve, after many more months of rigorous construction, Nemo and Angelita finally had a weapon the girl could call her own. Anky was her new personal friend, with its mace-head of six points and long shaft that was the barrels for six shotguns, all fused together into a single weapon. The recoil and reloading took getting used to, but Angelita still was very happy then to have something to guarantee she'd never risk falling to a Grimm again. Nemo was happy for her as well, though in his case that she would finally stop asking to use his weapon...!
Age fourteen, a very important thing happened during this time. Angelita asked why her name was not Aridsol, like Nemo's. The horse faunus was silent, not answering immediately. He brushed the question off at the time, but Angelita persisted time and again, her curiosity only growing with each denial. The times she pushed the question only led to friction between the two, with Nemo never giving her a satisfying answer. Angelita's frustration only grew with him, hoping one day she'd get a proper answer from him...
Age sixteen, a day where everything changed. Nemo and Angelita had seen some deathstalker infants, daring to encroach on their territory. They would have to employ their method of moderate culling to send a clear message to them. But the girl had a restless heart, and a lower tolerance for Grimm, which only contributed to her losing something that she treasured more than anything in Remnant. She could still see the menacing look on that giant deathstalker's head...
The same deathstalker that was crushing her in its pincer right now! Every bit of pressure applied upon Angelita brought her aura that much closer to shattering completely. Try as she might, she could not pry herself free!
"I'm... I'm so sorry... Nemo...!" she grunted as she struggled harder. , "I've... messed up... again...!" Cracks started to form in Angelita's Aura, even as things started to appear blurry before her. This was really it, wasn't it...
A sound of thunder, the deathstalker's screech of pain, and the mounting pressure upon the girl's body was immediately lessened. Her muddled mind sensed this, but her higher mental processes felt dulled from the pain and over-exertion she had earlier. She also had no chance to see exactly what was happening, as she felt herself being thrown away from the deathstalker's grip. Wind rushed by her face as she sailed through the air, until she immediately felt herself hit the ground rolling sideways. She came to a skidding halt finally, her head facing the giant deathstalker. The Grimm was flailing its appendages around erratically by now, but why? What was happening?
Angelita struggled and tried to squint her eyes to focus, but the pain and exhaustion had gotten too much for her to withstand. All she could make out were faint, fuzzy outlines of smaller figures, humanoids, moving back and forth between the Grimm. That, combined with voices; very faint... distant... voices...
Angelita's eyes shot open. However, expecting to find herself in the sunny outdoors still, she was largely surprised to find herself somewhere else. It was darker, yet pleasantly lit, and warmer. She blinked a few times, refocusing. Everything finally came into clearer view, and she could now see she was in a room, and... in a bed...?
Her elbow shifted inward, and her heart lurched by what she didn't feel. Derma wasn't on her back! She quickly lurched herself forward in complete alarm, then gave a small cry as pain radiated through her upper body. Her hands rushed to her midsection where the sore spot was felt. Just what had happened? Where was she?
"Ah, you're finally awake." Angelita gave a yelp of surprise this time, as a man's voice was heard right next to her. She looked to her side to find the speaker himself. A man sat in a chair, facing the bed she was in. He was dressed in a strangely well-made getup, consisting of a red long-sleeve top, with bronze colored patches found here and there upon it. It's material was very fine to look at, which might suggest this was made of something valuable. His hands he kept folded in his lap, some sort of reading material there as well. He had a gentle expression on his face that never once faltered.
"Gah-!" the girl exclaimed, "W-what? Where am I? Who.. are you?"
"Please, be at ease," the man said, "You've only just recently awoken, especially after so long..." Angelita blinked.
"W-what...? I don't understand... what happened?" The man shifted his sitting stance so that his back was leaning more against the back of his chair.
"Quite simply, you were fighting a group of deathstalker Grimm," he said. Her eyes widened as she was reminded of it. Her mouth twisted open to speak, until the man gently held up a hand, "But don't worry, the deathstalker prime and its infants have been dealt with already..." Angelita's eyes widened, and she was suddenly aware of something within her. An empty feeling, deep within her being...
"That... giant deathstalker..." she breathed, "I... I was supposed to kill it... I had to!" The man tilted his head.
"Why do you feel you had to?"
"Because! That was the one that killed-" she hesitated before continuing, "It killed... someone close to me..." The man did not immediately reply, instead continued to watch her, as if studying her. The girl then let out a pained sigh, "But more importantly- where is all my stuff; Derma and Anky?!"
"Hm? Oh, is that what your weapon and armor are called...?" the man said, then gently pointed to a direction off to the side. Angelita looked over to find her precious possessions laying at the foot of another nearby bed: Derma, Anky, and her water canteen! How did that of all things come loose?!
She quickly made an attempt to exit the bed and retrieve her items, only to be met with sore pain radiating up her body. The man calmly and gently held up a hand to stop her.
"Oh no no no; please, allow me..." he spoke. In the midst of her pain, Angelita found herself looking at this man, this rather strange man. He was acting exceedingly... nice. There was no other way to describe it; he wasn't being apprehensive, impatient, nor irritated at all. Just speaking as friendly as was possible to her, despite having never seen her before, nor her him. It reminded her of those times when Nemo was fair and nice with her. Even as she watched him move towards her items, she found that she could not object to his actions. He returned to her quickly, bringing with him her canteen.
"The others figured this to be a water container, and it was rather low, so I've taken the liberty of refilling it. I hope you don't mind." He calmly handed it over to her, and she accepted it. It felt solid within, which meant he was telling the truth. She unscrewed the lid and took sips of what was within; it was water. She drank her small fill and lowered the canteen from her lips.
"Ah, thank you..." she said. The man gave a curt nod, "But wait; did you say 'others'?"
"Indeed, what happened was myself and a small group of students were traveling up that road when we caught sight of you," the man explained, "You were fighting a giant deathstalker, all on your own, when a multitude of them suddenly appeared. We rushed in as soon as we could to lend aid, but with the distance that was between us..." The man interlocked his fingers together as he leaned forward again, "I must ask though: what exactly were you doing out there on your own, fighting a Grimm of that size and those numbers? Are you by yourself?"
"I... I..." Angelita struggled to find the words, "I'm... by myself. I had someone I was close to, but that deathstalker Grimm had killed him. Then it suddenly reappeared; I had to kill that thing, while I could!"
"Hm, it sounds like you were very devoted to this other person of yours," the man said, "What was his name?" Angelita looked at him, studying his face this time. The man was of middle age appearance, with wrinkles in his skin here and there. If she had to guess he was a little older than Nemo was. But importantly, his eyes did not betray any feeling of harsh judgement in them. They simply looked at her with a desire to learn more; they were patient and eager to listen. As a result, Angelita found herself more at ease, her stress wearing off slowly.
"His name was... Nemo Aridsol," she said.
"I see... He sounds like a good man for you to have known." Angelita felt a tug at the corner of her lips. This was the first time she'd heard Nemo's name be spoken of highly by someone other than herself!
"And who are you, exactly?" she asked.
"Oh! Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier!" the man said, "My name is Professor Roger Rohan." He suddenly extended his hand towards her, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?" Angelita looked at the hand in initial confusion at first. She cautiously reached out with her own hand to take his, leading to him shaking the two hands.
"I'm Angelita Amarillo."
"Miss Amarillo... that's a beautiful name," Roger said.
"Uh, thank you...?" Angelita said. She could feel a slight flushing on her face from this sudden praise about her name of all things, "So... where am I? How did I get here?"
"We brought you here; myself and the students I was with," Roger explained, "You are in the infirmary at Haven Academy for Aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses."
"Huntsmen... and huntresses?" Angelita said.
"That's right; in these halls we impart valuable knowledge to young students; not simply in slaying Grimm, but knowledge in general. Students who come here wish to know more, often times about the world they live in, and we are obliga- hm... actually no, rather we are all too happy to teach them what they wish to learn."
Angelita blinked. A school, to teach people to kill Grimm? And a place to learn more about the world? She was reminded of her more restless youth days, where there was so much more she felt she wished to know. At the time, Nemo could only tell her so much; other times there were things that he outright would not.
But now, those days were well and truly over. She was out of the Great Animan Desert, and in this vastly new place. And at a heavy disadvantage just the same, as she knew nothing of the land beyond where she grew up in.
"You... you're not from around here, are you...?" Roger interrupted her thoughts, "In fact, in the desert was where you came from, wasn't it...?"
"H-huh?!" Angelita flinched. That was definitely not something she'd told him about, "How... do you know that?"
"Well, if you'll pardon my curiosity, but it seemed quite evident from your rather tanned skin," Roger pointed out with a gentle smile, "Combined with the way you seem unfamiliar with what's around you? It seemed a bit obvious... I hope I'm not being too forward or insensitive here, but... This Nemo Aridsol; he was your guardian, wasn't he?" Angelita looked up at the man, expecting to see some sort of mocking look in his eyes. Roger Rohan simply looked back at her with a caring expression, no judgement about him at all. Her own gaze softened as she looked away.
"Yes... he was..." she said, "And... well, he's not around anymore, because of me...! If I wasn't- If I had just done like he had taught me, it all wouldn't have-!" She stopped mid-sentence to prevent tears from falling again. She was so certain she was over this already! But apparently not...
She flinched again as she felt something- a hand rubbing her shoulder. Roger Rohan's hand gently rubbed her shoulder, and Angelita felt herself relaxing more.
"It's alright, you don't need to say anymore, if it makes you uncomfortable..." he said, "In fact, in light of these horrible events, something good might come of it for you..."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Angelita asked.
"Well, might I be so bold as to assume that you are technically without a home...?" He paused briefly to allow Angelita to answer, which she did with a nod, "That is what I refer to: once your ails were healed, you would kindly be sent on your way. However, instead of resorting to that... rather callous action, I instead have another proposition..." His back straightened up, and he spoke with a more professional tone this time, "As a new semester is beginning, I would like to formally extend to you an invitation to attend Haven Academy, as a student!"
Angelita blinked once, then twice, each time disbelieving what she'd heard.
"W-what? Me, be a student?" she said, "But, how would that help me?"
"Being a student here comes with more than just learning; you would be provided with living arrangements, food, required items for extra-curricular activities, just to name a few. And of course, included as well would be honing your skills to be a proper huntress, and slay grimm effortlessly, and for all the right reasons."
"But... you hardly know me," Angelita pointed out, "Why would you do all that... for me?" Professor Rohan simply tilted his head.
"You make it sound like I'm making a special case for you, given your... unique circumstances," he said, "But the truth of it is merely acting out of common decency."
"Decency?"
"Believe me, I would do this for anyone I felt it would be beneficial to, and just as well would be beneficial to this great academy." He spoke with light, happy voice, which made it more noticeable when his tone of voice lowered a little, "However, as you have been told of the benefits, I feel it only right to not shy away from telling you the... negatives, either. The road to education here would likely be rough in itself, but the entire endeavor of combating grimm is often a matter of life and death. True you survived your encounter with the giant deathstalker, but there might be times where death would be all but certain, if you were to fail..." His hands interlocked in front of him as he leaned forward again, "So... bearing all of this in mind, the benefits and the risks associated, would you still be interested in attending Haven Academy, Angelita Amarillo?"
Angelita sat there on the bed, with her back straightening. A few minutes ago her straightening it caused it to hurt upon trying, yet now was hardly causing any pain. It brought back memories to what might have caused it- the giant deathstalker, the one that had killed Nemo and nearly killed her as well. At this point, she was definitely not a stranger to the possibility of failure when it came to Grimm encounters, but perhaps she was only now understanding the extent of the dire consequences that came with. Death was certainly a possibility, she had seen it happen before her eyes.
And now this man, this professor at this 'huntsman academy', was offering to her lessons in combating Grimm far more efficiently; so that death would be less likely to occur. But it wasn't just that- he'd mentioned there was a chance to learn more about this world in general. So many potential things that Nemo never told her, yet would've likely wanted her to learn...
It seemed it was never any difficult choice in the first place.
"I... accept your offer," Angelita replied to him, "If there's really things I could learn that could help me in life, then I'd be willing to learn them. As for the risk of death... I'm no stranger to it..." Her voice trailed off in sadness at the end, but she looked back up at Roger, determination in her eyes this time. Her eyes met his, and he returned her gaze with his usual gentle smile.
"Wonderful! I'm pleased to hear that from you!" Professor Rohan said, "Now then, I believe it's time we make this official..."
"Huh? What, I have to do something now?" Angelita quickly asked, eyebrow raised, "I can't exactly fight Grimm right now, since my back still feels sore-"
"Perish the thought!" Roger said with a raised hand, "I wouldn't make you do that! And besides, while it is true candidates usually prove their worth by demonstrating how they slay grimm, I technically already caught glimpses of your combat prowess in action!" After he spoke he lifted himself from his chair, "No, I was referring to the more... 'literary' methods of the enrollment. If you were feeling up to it, I would formally introduce you to the school's Headmaster, Leonardo Lionhart."
"Headmaster?" Angelita said, slightly confused, "Wait, so 'you're' not the...?" Roger smiled again, with a small chuckle as well.
"I'm flattered that you thought so highly of me, but that's not my role," he said, causing to Angelita to flush from the embarrassment, "I am merely one of the teachers, while he oversees us and the students. It would be from him that you would be enlisted."
"Alright then, I think I can stand up..." Angelita slowly and carefully slid herself to hang her legs over the bed. The pain was no longer as heavy or noticeable in her back anymore. Her feet touched down and she regained her balance, "Just, I'd like to put my things back on first...?"
"Absolutely. I could even give you privacy if you'd like?" Roger offered, which Angelita nodded, "Good, just take your time; when you're ready just step outside, I'll be waiting to guide you." With that he walked over to the nearby door and exited the room, leaving the door cracked open a little. Now alone, Angelita moved rather quickly to reunite herself with her precious armor. Very rarely did she ever remove it, for good reason, so it it was an almost strange feeling to be holding it now in front of her. Thankfully it was worn by a series of buckling straps at her upper biceps and her upper thighs, and the entire apparel item was fully in place. She breathed a sigh of relief; she was protected again.
She then picked Anky back up, first taking a moment to inspect it first. There were a few scratches on the body itself, and was completely depleted on ammunition, but all that could easily be remedied. She placed her trusty weapon back into the holster on her waist, and was ready to move.
As she walked towards the door, she reached down for her canteen. The water container that once belonged to Nemo Aridsol was held before her, and she stared at it more. Memories of him came back to the forefront of her mind. Initial pain was quickly replaced by hope, and resolve. For the first time in her life, bigger, more grander things were in store for her, and she'd be making sure to make Nemo's memory proud by doing her best!
She took a swig from the canteen, placed it back on her waist, then exited through the door, closing it shut behind her.
-There was once an armadillo, who had a great desire to sing as beautifully as its peers. It visited its neighbors: the frogs, the crickets, and the birds, begging them, "Please, teach me to sing as wonderfully as you!". But each time, the armadillo was openly denied by each one, all claiming, "Don't be ridiculous! Everyone knows armadillo doesn't sing!" With each denial, the armadillo grew more and more sad. But one day, a kindly travelling wizard took pity on the armadillo's plight. He said to it, "I have heard your great desire to sing, and I would be willing to help you. But be warned, to achieve your dream will also mean your death." But the armadillo was firm in its desires and told the wizard, "I do not care if it means my death; I would love nothing more than to sing as wonderfully as the other animals!" An understanding was reached, and the wizard was true to his word: he killed the armadillo, hollowed out its shell, and fashioned it into an instrument. The music this instrument produced became the finest in the land, with animals all over proclaiming "Listen! The armadillo has learned to sing beautifully!"-