With the sun directly above, Baren shot across the white tree tops at near inhuman speeds. Her wooden sandals knocking the snow off the branches and sending it falling onto the white blanket below. Coming to an immediate stop in less than a second, she glanced down at the ground below to see footprints left behind. Letting out a very quiet sound, she followed them silently before jumping down. Her clothes and hair fluttering in the wind before she landed. As she did, the snow around her puffed up in a small cloud. "Alright," She stretched her left shoulder out. She went to continue, only to stop herself. She blinked, tilting her head as a dart shot through her hair. She raised a single eyebrow before exhaling and nodding. "Okay. Let's do this then." She slid her left foot back in the snow.
Letting out a rage filled scream, Kris darted through the snow towards her while fumbling as she reloaded the single shot air compressed rifle. Raising her arms, she brought her weapon around to bash.
The old warrior stepped to the side, dodging with ease as her right sleeve blew against the cold air. "You might want to be more careful with your friend's weapon." She glanced back before bringing up her left hand and catching a dart between her fingers.
"Shut up! Where the hell are my friends?!" The redhead snapped, reloading the weapon through her stumbling. "And why the hell does this work so slow!?"
"Patience is a virtue." She responded with a smirk. Raising her hand, she tilted her head slightly as she caught the dart fired towards her. "Something you desperately need to learn."
"No! You are reckless and irresponsible!" She went to reload again. "I'm sick and tired of it! I hate adults like you!" She snapped before taking aim again.
"There we go..." She nodded to herself before reaching up and snatching the dart that came centimeters close to her face. Dropping the three between her fingers into the snow below, she shot forward in a lunge.
In the middle of reloading, Kris' eyes went wide at the old warrior. In a flash, she was disarmed and sent onto her back on the ground. The snow puffing up around her. Groaning, she went to sit up just as her stomach grumbled.
Crouching down in front of her, Baren flashed a smile as she set the rifle down beside her and reached behind her. Pulling out a small box of strawberries, she rested her arm across her thigh. "You didn't eat last night. I got these for you."
"From where?! We're in the middle of literally nowhere! And again, without my friends! And my weapons!" She shot back quickly, glaring harshly in her direction.
"Mantle." She said plainly. "Unlike the four of you, I've lived in nowhere my whole life. I move much faster."
Flashing her teeth, the redhead's eyebrow twitched slightly. Her shoulders shaking in a rage before she snatched Elise's weapon and stood up. "I'm done talking to you."
"Uh huh." She nodded while standing up. "So you don't want any?" She motioned the box towards her.
Groaning, she glared back at her before holding out her hand.
Smiling, Baren pulled the box back. "Well now you only get them if you talk to me." She chuckled.
"What?!" She snapped, throwing her arms downward before growling. "Fine! Whatever! What the hell do you want?!"
Nodding, the old warrior sat down before placing the box of strawberries on her lap and opening it. "I want to talk. Each time you answer my question, you get one and in return, you can ask a question back." She said while grabbing one of them and tossing it to her.
Catching it, she kept her glare. Exhaling she slowly leaned up against a tree trunk while plopping it into her mouth with a grumble. "Fine. Whatever. Where are my friends?"
"Nope." She held up a finger. "You already asked your question when you asked me what I wanted. It's my turn."
"What?! That's not-!"
"Patience, remember?" She inhaled the cold and crisp air slowly. "Now... what do your parents do?"
"What does that have to do with anything?!" The short redhead snapped.
"Ah, answer." Baren held up a strawberry.
Growling, she stood in silence before crossing her arms and grumbling. "Dad's a drunken idiot... but he tries. He's the better of the two. And mother's... she's..." She trailed off. "She's a bitch."
"Mhmm." She nodded back, tossing her the strawberry as she quietly thought. "Your turn."
"Where are my friends?" She demanded with a harsh glare.
Sighing, she shook her head softly. "I'm so tired of explaining this..." She exhaled softly before rubbing her face. "Listen, the four of you are in desperate need of more learning. You're all good, but all of you still have a long way to go before you can call yourselves Huntresses. And since you're preferring real world experience over going to an academy, you're going to need a teacher. Or at least someone to make sure you don't die in the process. So I scattered you to teach you separately."
"How does stranding us in the freezing cold teach us anything?!" She sharply shot back.
"Not your turn to ask a question." She slouched forward and smiled at the girl's aggravated groan. "So, how did you enjoy attending a combat school?"
Baring her teeth at her, Kris' nostrils flared for a moment before her stomach made a loud sound. Exhaling in defeat, she looked away. "I hated it for the most part. Always being told what to do and when to do it. I didn't even want to do it back then. But... it was nice. I liked being able to get out of the house. And I made my own really cool weapons." She glanced at Elise's rifle. "That don't work as slow as this thing!"
"Mhmm." She nodded back, tossing her two strawberries. "Your turn."
Quickly devouring the two, she glared back at the old warrior. "How does stranding us in the cold without our own weapons teach us anything?"
"All of you need to learn something." Baren held up her hand then pointed towards her. "You specifically, you lack patience and discipline. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something you need to be aware of. You can keep your head rushing in fighting style, but you still need to know when to wait and listen to others." Chuckling at the girl's growl, she reached up to rub her face. "Exactly my point." She lowered her arm. "Cheyenne lacks confidence but from what I can tell, she's doing a good job at gaining it. A very good job to say the least. Kagami's insecurities make her easily get overwhelmed on touchy subjects or when she's in an uncomfortable situation. Those emotions aren't good when hunting Grimm. And Elise..." She shook her head softly. "That girl is a whole mess. A good fighter and a good person, even resourceful, but her mind is easily clouded by overthinking simple tasks or conversations."
She narrowed her eyes, glaring at her for a moment before softly sighing. "I don't need some old hag to tell me what to do." She mumbled while glancing away. She then grunted, a clump of snow colliding with her face and breaking apart. "Hey!" She snapped while brushing it off her.
"Don't call me old." Baren lowered her arm before relaxing again. "Who did you spend more time with when growing up?"
The redhead groaned, holding out her hand. "My mother."
Nodding, she tossed her three more strawberries.
Catching them, she popped each one into her mouth and swallowed. "Why do you even care?" She crossed her arms and glanced away.
"I'm just curious." She shrugged. "I need to get to know you and why you act the way you act before I can help you grow. You have to understand something before you can work with it."
"No not-" She groaned heavily, letting her arms fall while she turned to face her. "Why do you care?" She put extra emphasis on her sentence.
"Because no one else did. Obviously." She twirled a strawberry between her fingers before tossing it. "Plus, you're Kagami's friend. She cares about you. So I do too."
She blinked, catching the berry before crouching down. "Adults are always acting like they know what's best for me..." She placed it into her mouth before swallowing. "Officer Keegan was okay but... I just hate being told what to do. I like doing it my way and if I mess up, I'll learn from it."
She nodded, letting out a sigh while holding out another towards the young girl. "Do you ever wonder if they're trying to help you because they have experience? And maybe you remind them of themselves and they don't want to see you get hurt the same way? You said you were already stabbed, didn't you?" She raised an eyebrow.
She blinked a few times, reaching out and grabbing the berry before swallowing it. "I know they mean well sometimes I just..." She sighed and slouched forward. "I don't know..." She reached up to rub her face before groaning as she lowered her hands. "I know you mean well..."
"Think about it." Baren stood up. "I need to go check on Kagami. Be careful." She held out the half eaten box of strawberries.
"I'm good. For now." She faintly smiled back. "Thanks..."
She nodded, tucking the box away before pulling herself up into the trees in an instant.
Kris blinked a few times, slowly standing up before shaking her head. She sighed, pulling out the air compressed rifle and examining it. "I still hate you." She muttered before trudging along. The sun slowly setting until it was just over the horizon. Peeking around a tree, she clenched her jaw while aiming. With her finger pecking at the trigger, she took several deep breaths before seeing the ground rumble. Seeing it begin to break apart, she fired a blue dart.
Just as a Centinel shot out from the ground with a demonic cry, it was struck. Its body encasing in ice as it struggled and froze stiff. Jumping out from behind the tree, she sprinted ahead with a small battle cry of her own as she jumped into the air. Both her feet colliding with it as its body shattered. A small black mist dissipating as she landed on the ground. Glancing at the pink sky, she let out a shaky breath while rubbing her arms. "I guess I should make a fire... that was the last one." She swallowed a little, making her way to a large tree. Brushing the snow away to make herself a little dip to hide in, she placed several branches and logs down inside it. Crouching down, she pulled out a red dart. Placing it on the logs, she put a finger against it. Pushing her aura into the Dust dart, it quickly burst into flames while igniting the wood. Scooting back, she let out a small exhale while leaning back up against the tree to relax.
"Well it's good to know you're resourceful enough to not freeze to death." Jumping down from the trees, Baren landed in a low crouch beside her before sitting down. "Have you been thinking?" She quietly asked with a raised eyebrow.
Sighing, the redhead slouched forward slightly while bringing her legs up towards her chest. "A little..." She trailed off a little. "I took out an infestation of Centinels." She shivered a bit. "They're so gross."
"Really now?" She faintly smirked. "Those are a pain to get rid of." She leaned over slightly. "It takes a lot of patience and resolve to seek and wait them out." She chuckled softly.
"Yeah... I missed a lot." She took a deep breath, rubbing her knees with her thumbs. "But I wanted to see if I could do it. And I did." She faintly smiled.
"And none of that had to do with anything I said, huh?" She grinned and nudged her. "You did it because you wanted to, hmm?"
"Shut up." She shoved her away while flashing her teeth. "Why else would I do something like that other than because I wanted to do it myself?"
"Mhmm. Okay. Sure." She nodded back and rested her arm across her chest. "If that's what you have to tell yourself to sleep at night."
Kris let out a quiet groan before sighing and relaxing once again. Her gaze falling towards the dancing flames as the fire crackled. Biting her lip, she tugged softly on her friendship bracelet Cheyenne had made for her. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her head slightly. "Do... do you think I'll ever do something good with my life?"
The old warrior blinked a few times before smiling while closing her eyes and leaning her head back. "Everyone has the potential to be something great. What matters is their resolve and how they want to use their potential. And if they have people around them to help guide them. A dark road walked alone only leads to more darkness."
She glanced at her, smiling softly before looking back into the fire. "My mother would always complain how I couldn't do anything right. All my teachers did too..." She trailed off a little.
"Well they seem like assholes." Baren let out a chuckle, moving her hand to her knee. "Sometimes there's just people you can't change." She eyed her.
Kris rolled her eyes, leaning her head back again as she watched the sun slowly disappear over the horizon. "Whatever..." She trailed off before looking away. "You're still an old hag." She grumbled before grunting as a large pile of snow fell from the tree above her. She quickly glared over, brushing herself off while flashing her teeth. Seeing no one, she growled louder. Though this time with a soft smile.
Grinning up in the tree, Baren chuckled before shaking her head. "Goodnight, Kris." She muttered under her breath before rushing away.
Back in the kingdom of Mistral, Sakuya had her arms crossed while standing in front of her two children. Letting out a sigh, she softly shook her head. "Are you two sure about this? You two could just stay here and relax?"
"It's the least we could do." Nihilus nodded towards her, his new sword at his side. "Even if you are able to live out here by yourself and completely fine, some lien to spare wouldn't be a bad idea just in case."
"Plus," Thanaton held up a finger. "It's the only thing we know how to do."
"That too." Her brother nodded in agreement. "We'll be careful. I promise."
"I know, just..." She sighed again, shaking her head. "Be home for dinner."
"Excuse you-" The purple haired woman was cut off.
"Of course." He nodded back while pulling his sister away with him. "And... thanks for the modifications to my hoodie." He flashed a faint smile back.
"I'm glad you're happy with it." She smiled back, moving her hands behind her back as she watched them leave.
In the depths of Mistral, Nihilus quietly stalked through the shadows of the city. With his hoodie fully zipped and hood up, he raised his hands to his shoulders and slowly slid them down his arms. The white fabric slowly fading into black. "How's up front?" He whispered into his earpiece.
"Boring." Thanaton sighed. Rather than wearing her normal clothes, she had on a rather revealing red and white dress. Sliding in between a group of women in similar clothes, she kept herself hidden in the middle while following. "I hate whatever these clothes are. And you're getting to do the fun part of this job."
"Yeah, yeah." He sighed and shook his head. "Just keep playing along and we'll get some curry before heading home. I've heard of a really nice place around here. Apparently the chef puts coffee in it." He made his way around a corner.
"Better be worth it." She grumbled, following the group of women around a building and to a backyard with neatly trimmed hedges and pathways lined with flowers. "Ugh, gag me with a spoon. It smells like a perfume grenade exploded back here."
"Behave." He mumbled softly, glancing back and forth before cutting across an alley. Grabbing the edge of a building, he pulled himself up and began to climb. Keeping out of the line of sight from anyone, he jumped off the building while turning. Narrowly catching the windowsill of the house his sister was in the backyard of. "You ready?" He asked.
"Just say the word." She rolled her eyes.
"Then let's go." He slowly began to move.
She exhaled, slowly moving to the side of the group. Holding out her hand, her fingers gently brushed against one of the many potted plants with a faint sparkle. Migrating back into the middle, she waited till she and the other women stopped at the back door and were far enough away. Grinning wickedly, she snapped her fingers.
The potted plant she had touched suddenly exploding. Shards of the pot along with dirt scattering as the plant itself lit on fire. A majority of the women ducked while raising their hands to protect themselves as others screamed. The group scattered slightly as they moved away from the house.
"What the hell is happening out there?!" A male voice shouted from inside before a heavyset man with long white hair stepped out onto the porch of the second floor. His beard braided. In his red and white pajamas and matching robe, he scratched at his neck. "Girls! Calm down!" He waved his hands before reaching up and rubbing his face. "What the hell... guards-!"
"Rory Ginger." Nihilus let out quietly, slowly sliding his sword into his chest. Watching the man glare back at him and cough up blood, he nodded. "I'm taking this." He reached around, grabbing a ring off the man's hand. Pushing the blade in deeper, he raised his foot and placed it on his back. "Your old allies send their regards." Pushing him away while removing his blade, the old man stumbled forward and onto the railing before leaning over it. Coughing several times, he groaned before slowly falling over it.
Sighing, the blue haired young man flung the blood off his sword before sliding it away. Walking back into the man's room, he examined the ring for a moment. It was golden with a skull that wore a crown on it. While small diamonds trailed across the crown, rubies were put in place of the eyes. Pocketing it, he glanced around to see several maps with details of police and military locations along with... something else. Hearing screaming from the backyard, he quickly grabbed the blueprint for a weapon and folded it up. Tucking it into his pocket, he sprinted for the outside before calmly jumping off.
Walking away from panicking women and through several guards that were rushing over, Thanaton eyed her brother who jumped out from a bush and followed beside her. "Can I do the fun part next tiiiiime?" She whined as the two of them left.
"Sure, sure." He ran his hands over his arms, turning the fabric back to white while pulling his hood down. "We'll take turns with these bounties. Sound fair?"
"I guess." She shrugged. "But I'm not wearing these clothes again. I feel like a slut."
"You looked like one before wearing that." He quietly chuckled before being shoved aside. "What? I'm not wrong!" He grinned.
"I don't care! Shut up!" She shouted back.