Hello! Life in anchorage has been very hectic this week so far! The snow took down my internet line Monday, my heating quit yesterday, and I'm having my carpet installed tomorrow. So the writing schedule for the week is a tad wonky. But no worries. Today's chapter is here regardless. Friday's chapter will most likely be later in the day, seeing as how I have to move everything I own into the kitchen so my carpet can go in. So not much writing will get done tomorrow till late, and Friday morning to finish up. But thank you all for the patience and understanding. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Please leave reviews! I love reading them!

…..

The rest of team RWBY's break went by rather casually. Jaune had trained and studied most of the day, each day. Yang, Weiss, and Blake all lent him their tips, thoughts, and aid when they saw him lagging on something or missing a random question asked to him by Qrow and Taiyang. But other than that nothing of particular note happened. It had become the norm for all people present to wind down and watch a movie at the end of each evening. Much to Jaune's chagrin, it ended up being five straight nights of thriller detective films. Each and every one was as far-fetched as the last. He used to love them, but now that he had been trained by Qrow on exactly how to properly conduct an investigation, he couldn't take the films seriously.

Like seriously, what kind of master criminal leaves an entire laboratory's worth of chemical ingredients in the open in his woodland retreat? Where all it would take to bust them is one beat cop or detective with half a brain to glance through the windows? Ruby and Blake loved them though, both dark haired girls sitting on the edges of their seats through every film. Qrow seemed to think them as ridiculous as he did, constantly sighing and rolling his eyes at the 'fantastic showmanship' of the cinema. Jaune would find himself agreeing and mentally running through better options the antagonists could have taken to avoid being caught. The fact is, that real life isn't like the movies. Most criminals caught and arrested through investigations were caught on small inconsistencies found in their stories. Or a single drop of blood on the carpet of a crime scene. He supposes that all of those true bits and pieces wouldn't make for good movies though.

Jaune stopped pondering the last few days as team RWBY gathered in the living room. Breakfast was over, and their classes started up again in two hours. If they left now, caught a bullhead on time, and then a second one to beacon, they should be back on campus with enough time to store away their things and get to class. Jaune didn't envy the idea of possibly being late and getting detention. He couldn't imagine their detentions could be worse than the punishments Jaune would get if he failed a quiz or test here with his mentors, but they would definitely be more drab. Jaune moved to stand between his mentors, ready to say his own goodbyes.

"You girls have your boarding passes ready right?" Tai asked, a bit of nerves leaking into his tone.

"Dad, we triple checked, and have a five minute assurance from the flight company. It's all good." Yang said, waving her scroll and smiling.

"Ok ok. Still, if it were me I'd already be at the terminal. What happened to being early for things? Is that suddenly old-fashioned too?" Tai groaned as his daughters scoffed playfully.

"You kids do your best to keep your heads on straight. It's a tough world out there. Let Beacon prepare you as best they can, and be better than we were, so don't slack off too much." Qrow lectured as he gave light side hugs to his nieces and shook the hands of their teammates.

"We promise. We are gonna be the best Huntresses that Beacon has ever graduated!" Ruby exclaimed with her finger pointed to the sky.

"Ahem…" Yang and Blake both said as Yang nudged her sister meaningfully.

"Oh! And Jaune will be the best Junior Huntsmen of the year too!" Ruby said, extending her fist for Jaune to bump his own against.

"I appreciate the confidence in me, Ruby. I know I'll be trying my best, the same as you gals. Here's to the job." Jaune said, after fist bumping Ruby.

"Here here!" Team RWBY all whooped.

"Jaune. Hold out your scroll please." Weiss said with a charming smile.

Jaune did as the girl asked and watched as she programmed her contact information into his scroll. He smiled with some heat creeping up from his collar as he took the device back.

"So I can let you know when Winter is at Beacon." Weiss assured. "But no need to be a stranger either."

Jaune could swear to Monty he heard a satisfied noise come from Tai, and Blake.

"Wouldn't dream of it. I'm excited to see what she will say about Creature." Jaune replied.

"Well, we better get going. Thank you for your hospitality Mr. Xiao Long." Blake said, grabbing her bags.

"You are always welcome girls! If you ever need a place to stay don't be afraid to have Ruby or Yang ask!" Tai offered as the four girls made their way out the door and down the lawn.

The three men watched them disappear into the treeline at the opposite end of the clearing. Eventually Tai centered himself and turned back to Jaune and Qrow.

"Alright. I bet you know what I'm gonna say next, Qrow." Tai seethed, eyes squinted with spite.

Jaune felt himself taking a step back, as Qrow sighed loudly and pulled out his flask. The two older men squared off in every way beside combat stances. The air hung thick and Jaune began to inch away.

"If I promise to drop the advice on relationships, can we skip this shouting match? We have places to be." Qrow spoke as he rolled his eyes.

"We talked about this. Let. Him. Be. Normal." Tai threatened. "Or you can sleep out in the cold. Got it?"

"Yeah yeah. Fine. Can we go get ready now Professor?" Qrow shot back.

Tai scoffed angrily and stormed past Qrow towards the kitchen. Jaune caught the meaningful nod from Qrow and understood his task. With quick feet, Jaune ascended the stairs and entered Tai's room to gather his belongings. After switching into his Huntsman outfit, Jaune strapped on all his equipment and threw his packed duffle bag over his shoulder by the strap. Jaune exited the room with a silent 'thank you' to the ageless house he had been living in. He made sure to stop by the bookshelf down in the living room to grab the last of the books he had yet to finish studying, and his notebooks full of notes. With a double check that he had everything, Jaune entered the kitchen and set his bag on the table. He waited patiently for Qrow to join him with his own belongings while sitting at the table.

"You know what to do. Don't you?" Tai asked gently as the man entered from the back door.

"Stay close to Qrow, write down anything I hear or see that could be useful, and keep my head on a swivel." Jaune recounted for his teacher and friend.

"Exactly. And whatever happens, your life isn't worth losing over it. Don't be ashamed if you have to back out of a fight. Don't overcommit to dead ends either." Tai said, leaning down and placing something on the table. It was wrapped in cloth, covered in dirt, and sand. Jaune glanced back to his teacher and noticed dirt and grime on the man's hands and knees.

"It's a gift. I dug it out from under the side of the house. You need it now more than me." Tai said, gesturing for Jaune to unwrap the item.

Jaune gently pulled the fabric covering away and revealed something unexpected. It was a gauntlet. Plain burnished metal, with black etchings over it in flowing patterns. It had a couple pieces of technology clearly attached to it, but subdued and secured with small armored plates.

"It's my first weapon. I created it back in Signal when I was Ruby's age. I went on to several bigger and more advanced versions later on. I buried it along with the others outside so the girls wouldn't accidentally hurt themselves with it when I wasn't home. I want you to have it." Tai explained.

"I-I don't know what to say…" Jaune spoke, laying a hand on the gauntlet in front of him.

"Don't say anything then. Just try it on." Tai instructed.

Jaune pulled open the straps that would loop around his forearm, and laid his left arm into the gauntlet. It was a tad big on his arm, but his fingers fit their confines almost perfectly. Jaune strapped it down snugly and tucked the excess leather of the straps under the edge of the vambrace. It was much lighter than he expected, most likely being made of the same lightweight alloy as most other modern Mecha-Shift weapons.

"It has two forms. The standard gauntlet you see now, and the flamethrower." Tai pointed to the side of the vambrace. "That takes cartridges of fire dust, kinda like your knife. Press your thumb and pinky together and stretch your hand down while keeping your arm straight."

Jaune did as his teacher instructed, and a split second later, a small bar of metal extended out from the vambrace straight over the top of his hand, an exhaust tube for the dust to be funneled out of. At the same time the bar came out, Jaune felt something slide forward from the underside and rest against his middle finger. Turning his hand over, Jaune saw a small flat metal bar with a bulb on the end pressing against the underside of his middle fingers. It had extended out from the bottom side of the vambrace's frame.

"That is the control release. Grip it after you engage the flamethrower, so you don't have to hold the weird hand position from earlier. Once you do, it will pull against your grip. To stop the flamethrower just let it go and it will shoot back in and cut off the supply." Tai finished explaining.

"How much flame?" Jaune asked curiously.

"Ten foot column, about a foot wide. Lasts about three seconds per cartridge. It's concentrated, so it'll be much hotter than your knife, but with less raw impact. But get it on someone's Aura, or on the eyes of a Grimm, and it can be a trump card. Grimm can't fight without sight, and Salem's agents can't beat you without Aura. If you keep that shield handy, they probably won't even see it till it's too late to avoid."

Jaune smiled with gratefulness as he leapt up and hugged his mentor. Tai let out a surprised 'oomf' before chuckling and returning the quick hug.

"Thank you! I really appreciate it. I can't believe I have a real Huntsman Mecha-Shift weapon!" Jaune excitedly announced as he fist pumped the air.

"Well I'm glad I could help make that a reality. But don't sell your family sword short. For something so old the shield must have been premium technology in its day. Plus, even my gauntlet is a little outdated. It doesn't have an auto-loader like Yang's so you will have to manually put each cartridge in every time." Tai said, trying to settle Jaune's expectations.

"Not to mention that fancy rifle of yours." Qrow spoke from the entryway to the living room. "It's no wonder Atlas has been trying to get them made standard issue for their soldiers."

Jaune turned and proudly showed Qrow the new gauntlet. He could see the man's eyes widen for a second before a smirk rose on his face.

"Good pick. He wouldn't know what to do with your newest models. That will work great." Qrow complimented Tai.

"What's its name?" Jaune asked, turning back to Tai.

"Ignis Ferrum." Tai responded.

"Cool… Got it." Jaune confirmed.

Jaune let the two older men state their separate plans for the next month and a half. Tai would be returning to teach the new year at Signal, and Qrow would be taking Jaune to Mistral on missions. When all the exchange students started heading to Beacon, Qrow and Jaune would return to be present for the Festival. And during the festival itself, Jaune would attend the H.Q.E and hopefully pass to gain his Junior Huntsman license. Then they would come up with a precise plan to proceed further when they knew more about what was going down on Salem's end. Jaune listened closely and internalized the information. Then, with hugs and nods, the three men stepped out onto the front lawn and waved their goodbyes before Jaune and Qrow walked out of the clearing and down the road to town.

Jaune and his mentor talked in length about the preparations they would have to make once they arrived in Mistral. Eventually Jaune asked Qrow a question about travel.

"Hey, can you turn into a bird like Raven?"

"What? Oh. Yeah." Qrow answered.

"And Ozpin gave you that ability with magic." Jaune spoke, more thinking out loud than actually asking.

"Yep."

"Do you think Salem would do stuff like that for her servants?" Jaune asked, his brow deepening.

"No. I don't. Salem is too power hungry. Too egotistical. She wouldn't limit her own power just to have slightly better cronies. Not when they are all so easily replaceable in her eyes." Qrow explained.

"Does she have any Maidens on her side? The only one I know of is in Raven's tribe." Jaune stated.

"Yeah you said that, the Vernal chick right? I already let Oz know. But no, as far as we know Salem doesn't have any of the Maidens. One is under watch in Atlas, one is being kept secret in Vale. Then there is Vernal. The last one hasn't been heard from in months. But last we knew, she was in the dunes of Vacuo."

"Ok, so are we going to Mistral to look around for Salem's agents?" Jaune asked.

He watched the older man's face twist for a split second before relaxing and nodding. Jaune knew it was probably that Qrow wasn't used to being able to be honest about these sorts of things. He was just probably getting used to Jaune being 'in the know'.

"Yeah. Ozpin caught word from some contacts that something fishy was going on at Haven Academy. We got in contact with the headmaster about it, but he hasn't returned us any answers. I offered to go check in and take a look at things." Qrow began. "It will give you a good idea of how to sniff about and seek proper answers about Salem's movements."

"Got it. Where are we gonna stay?" Jaune asked.

"Lots of questions there kid… Nervous?"

Jaune didn't know how to answer that. On one hand he was oddly calm about it all. Maybe he just needed to feel like he was doing something, rather than just waiting to start. But on the other hand, yes, he was nervous. Extremely nervous. The last time he tagged along with Qrow on a job he almost got strangled to death, then almost blown to bits by a revolving mini-gun. If that didn't inspire a little hesitance he didn't know what would.

"I am. But I'm also rooted. I think… I think I just needed something to put my mind to. So I wasn't too caught up in the what-ifs." Jaune replied.

"Well there is definitely gonna be plenty to think about, and plenty to do. Day one in Mistral we are gonna take a simple job in the settlements. Get you some experience with Grimm, and killing them. Out there they don't care much about whether you are an apprentice or not, so no one will spout about you not being allowed to do the job." Qrow informed Jaune.

Jaune nodded and let out a noise that told Qrow he understood. Jaune thought over how that would go. Funnily enough, he didn't feel scared of facing Grimm. After learning that there were much worse things in the world than a Beowolf, the prospect of facing one down didn't phase him. Like when a farmer first killed a ground varmint. Every one after that wasn't even a hesitation. These thoughts stayed with Jaune as he followed his mentor towards the bullhead docks. By the time they got there Team RWBY would already be on their way to Vale. They would arrive in Vale around half an hour after the girls. Then they would stop in to meet with 'Quickfoot' somewhere in downtown Vale before booking a flight to one of the coastal towns southeast of the city. Once there they would hop on a boat to Mistral. If everything went according to plan they would hit the shores of Mistral sometime in the late morning tomorrow.

Here's hoping all the movement training, and getting thrown around, helped Jaune get over his motion sickness when on boats and bullheads.

…..

Ruby couldn't believe this was happening. Her mouth hung loosely open, and her fists dangled at her side limp. Her brain felt like it was buffering while trying to process.

"What is the problem? I only said your father and Jaune were absolute pleasures to be around! Is that wrong to say?" Weiss complained as their team walked down the halls towards the cafeteria.

"No! I'm upset because I didn't know my teammate was such a maneater! It only took you a day to start making moves on Chopper-Boy! Like he doesn't have enough on his plate." Yang berated back.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Weiss lied.

"Oh really? Like leaning up on him during movies, and helping him study every day while trading stories and laughing at every joke he made wasn't you flirting? Get real." Yang drawled.

"Even if I had been flirting, I don't see why it is so disconcerting for you! So what if we hit it off? Am I not good enough for your father's protégé?" Weiss asked in a stressed and confused voice.

"Guys! Seriously? Can you two just admit you both like Jaune and get this over with? Sheesh!" Ruby shouted at her teammates as she rounded on her heel and brought the group to a stop.

Ruby watched as both Weiss and Yang blushed in embarrassment before trying to deflect.

"What? No way. He isn't my type." Yang clearly lied, crossing her arms defensively.

"Jaune is nice, I admit. And a little handsome. But I barely know him!" Weiss tried to reason, but the way her hand gripped her collar gave her away.

"Whatever! I am fifteen, not six. Sort this stuff out on your own time. We need to focus on our schedule and school till at least five P.M. Can we do that at least?" Ruby asked, huffing away her annoyance.

Not staying to listen to her teammate's grumbling, Ruby turned and strode meaningfully to their destination. The cafeteria was usually packed during lunch hours. Today was no different. It would have been easier to get to the food line, had Weiss and Yang not started a hiss and spit over their crush. And Yang said she was innocent and naive. Pfft, yeah, sure. As if the rest of them hadn't been watching her older sister send longing glances toward Jaune all week, or jealous stares at Weiss. Ruby rolled her eyes as she grabbed a tray and utensils before sliding into line. She could groan over it all day if she wanted, but she couldn't really hold it against them. Jaune was nice, had great eyes, and was funny when he tried to be. He wasn't really up her alley, but she could see how her sister and partner might like him that way. But regardless, the new semester was here, and every second the two of them bickered over a boy was a second they weren't focused.

Ruby had planned for them to be super-students this time around. She had even planned to do double time in the library getting caught up academically with her peers. As their leader, she needed to make sure she made her team work just as hard. No distractions if they could at all help it. Taking her seat, food piled up on her tray, Ruby sighed and waved to Nora.

"Hey! You guys have room for four more?" Nora asked with a big cheesy smile as she sauntered up to Ruby's table.

"Four?" Blake asked as she took her seat across from Ruby.

Just then, a familiar looking gentleman walked up from behind Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. He was taller than Ren by an inch or two, thinner framed, and had dull green hair. Slap glasses and a neck-tie on him and you could have mistaken him for Dr. Oobleck from a distance.

"Hello Team RWBY. I am Marcus Oobleck. It is a pleasure to meet you all." Marcus spoke as he performed a half-bow.

"Uhh… What?" Ruby responded in surprise.

"I didn't know Professor Oobleck had a son!" Yang exclaimed as she plopped down at the table.

"Oh no, he is my Uncle. I transferred from Shade Academy to join the team as Pyrrha's new partner. Sorry for the confusion." Marcus laughed as he and his team took seats beside team RWBY.

"Oh. Well then we are glad to welcome you." Weiss added as she began to cut into her baked potato.

"Marcus is a grave robber!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.

"Nora!" Ren chided. "Sorry, what she meant is that he has a degree in Archeology."

"Really? How'd you manage that?" Yang asked the newcomer.

"Well, I attended college online starting during my second year at Oscuro Academy. I just finished my four year degree a couple months ago. My mother suggested I get a back up career started." Marcus explained as he started to dig into his lunch.

"Impressive. I'm sure your uncle will be excited to teach you here." Blake said, closing her book and setting it beside her tray.

"I'm sure he will. Uncle Bart has always been supportive of my efforts."

Ruby watched the boy, taking in his calm nature and smooth flowing sentences. He certainly wasn't as hyper or speedy as his uncle, that's for sure. He almost seemed tired, judging by the bags under his eyes.

"Well I'm glad to see Pyrrha has a new partner. And I can tell you guys get along already!" Ruby said, knowing damn well she can't tell that at all.

"Marcus is delightful!" Pyrrha chirped from the boy's opposing side. "We had very good talks about our interests and I think he will be a boon for the team!"

Ok. So Ruby nailed it then. Good enough for her. The rest of the conversation over lunch went rather smoothly. Ruby herself, and Nora, chatted about Grimm studies and their interests in electronic music. Blake added her opinions into several conversations dotted around. Weiss and Pyrrha talked about their class status and what they hoped was covered in the curriculum this semester. Yang mostly made jokes off of the group's talks, while checking her scroll for notifications rather frequently. It was nice. For once the two teams were both all getting along fine and relaxed enough to have calm conversations.

Ruby smiled to herself as they all split to rid themselves of trash and their trays. Maybe now her team could focus and get back to doing what they were here to do. Ruby could feel the productivity in the air!

"Marcus was nice." Weiss said.

"Gonna try your luck with him too, Ice Queen?" Yang snorted.

"Excuse me?"

Well dang. Ruby sighed and face-palmed her forehead. When would this end?

…..

Jaune wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked out over the ocean. The waves split and rippled outwards from the ship as it propelled itself through the water. He took a deep breath and let the scent of the saltwater center him. His hands gripped the railing on the edge of the deck with sure fingers. The midday sun bounced off the water and left the more distant currents sparkling. People busied themselves on the deck, taking pictures and lounging on the folding chairs. Jaune liked the calmness of travel. It had a mystic quality to it. Like he was some grand adventurer making for fresher shores to save and protect.

Their meeting in Vale turned out to be a simple dead-drop pick up. They retrieved a package from a lock box storage building, which contained an assortment of Lien, ammunition, and travel cards with access codes for all of Vale and Mistral. While Jaune was disappointed he didn't get to meet Quickfoot face to face, the mysterious contact proved to be just as useful as any other time they were involved. Qrow was able to use the travel cards in place of passports, and get them a cabin aboard the ship to Mistral's shores. The Lien would get them a place to stay in the city when they arrived. The extra ammunition would hopefully hold them over so they didn't have to show up on CCTV anywhere buying supplies. Qrow had explained that Salem had an agent who probably hacked every network to alert them when known agents of Ozpin showed up in the cities. Qrow having most likely been last tagged in Vale when they fought Torchwick puts them in the advantage. So long as they keep their heads down while in Mistral.

Jaune thumbed his vest and felt the bundle of documentation in the inner pocket. His Letter of Apprenticeship, layered with his fake Valean Official Press I.D card, and his registration to bear weapons. Everything that would allow him to operate abroad and domestic to further the interests of his shadowy organization. They brought him a certain level of comfort now. Seeing as he was now far away from the help of Taiyang, Ozpin, or even team RWBY, he had been a little nervous. Luckily he was able to keep his emotions in check enough to prevent Creature from appearing and scaring the poor passengers around him. Qrow had gone off to get a drink at the bar cart below the main deck, leaving Jaune to his thoughts. Jaune dipped his hand into his backpack and retrieved a folded piece of paper. The very same paper Vernal had given him before he had been sent back by Raven.

Radio me when you're in Mistral next.

The simple writing was a little crude, Vernal's handwriting probably being the result of being homeschooled by bandits. The following numbers and letters were foreign to Jaune, but he guessed they were a radio channel for narrow bandwidth communications. Vernal most likely didn't have a scroll, seeing as they were easily tracked and monitored by Atlas. Jaune had been paying much more attention to the news than he had been before he was training under Qrow and Tai. He had learned a lot about the political situations around the world. Atlas had been repeatedly accused of monitoring the communications and video sources of other nations. And while they denied any and all involvement in potential hacking or observation, Jaune knew better.

Or, he had been told to know better by Tai and Qrow. Who both told him from experience that Atlas had their finger in everyone else's pies pretty much every minute of every day. Entire divisions of their military were devoted to information gathering, and Jaune had been assured that they didn't just sit around doing nothing. Radio signals were the only thing that were hard to crack fast. They had encrypted keys for the most part. So unless you had the keys programmed onto a radio in your hand, most narrowband channels are simply unreadable for you. Jaune supposed the radio channel number Vernal had given him had the key with it. Seeing as there were far too many numbers to just be a radio channel alone.

If he told Qrow, the older man would tell Jaune to hand the info over to Ozpin. But Jaune felt conflicted over that… Vernal had warned Jaune that Raven would kill him if he stepped on the wrong toes or got in her way. Their camp radio getting located after Ozpin made his contacts hack the signal would only give him away as the culprit. Vernal evidently liked him enough, or felt bad enough for him, that she had given the warning in confidence. But he wasn't stupid. If they got hailed on the radio and found that way, Vernal would pin it on him to save her own skin. Say he stole the information while she slept. He would just be painting a target on his back. And he liked the idea of not being stabbed. Jaune put the paper away and decided he would use the contacts that Dagger gave him to get ahold of a radio, and a signal amplifier. Once he was in Mistral he could wait till Qrow was busy or asleep, and give Vernal a call. If telling her he was in Mistral kept Raven from crashing the party then he would be stupid to pass up the chance.

Footsteps rushing by drew Jaune's attention to the prow. With quick feet Jaune made his way there and gently shouldered through the crowd. Several shouts and screams were heard as Jaune came to the front of the small crowd. He followed pointed fingers with his gaze till he saw a shape in their path. A large moving shape. Jaune's eyes widened as he recognized the monster Grimm. It was massive, easily as wide as the ship was long. Roughly the same shape as a crab, but with white bone spikes jutting out from every side of its carapace. Heavy boots slammed down on the deck, and Jaune whipped his head around.

"Every calm! It's only a Karkino! They are intelligent, and wouldn't attack a ship this size! It would be mutually assured destruction. Please back away from the railings and go back to your business. We will divert course." The large burly first-mate announced to the crowd.

Jaune looked back over the water to the massive beast. Its red eyes seemed to linger on the ship, maybe even on Jaune. But as the ship started to turn starboard, the Grimm let out a loud but extremely deep warble, before turning away and sinking back into the water. Jaune watched from the prow for several minutes before he was satisfied they had avoided danger. His breath was thin the entire time, but by saying a mantra he had come up with to himself over and over, he had managed to keep calm enough to contain Creature.

"I'm in control, my heart is mine. I'm in control, my heart is mine…" Jaune muttered till his heart returned to its normal rhythm.

"Calming isn't it?" A strong male voice asked from just out of Jaune's vision.

"Huh?" Jaune asked, turning. "Sorry…Have we met?"

The man before him was very tall, and broad as a refrigerator. He had tanned skin and muscles that gave him the look of a body-builder. His hair was short, brown, and cropped. The beard the man wore spoke of age and experience. His attire was close fitted, with a sleeveless vest secured by two belts leading down into straight-cut combat pants. His forearms were wrapped, and several gnarly scars dotted the man's arms and shoulders. His expression was dour at best, but his Hazel eyes held a gentle quality to them.

"No." The man stated, striding up to stand beside Jaune, looking out over the ocean. "But you reminded me of someone I knew once, and I'm in the mood for conversation."

Jaune nearly stepped back when the taller man approached, he was at least eight feet tall, and towered over Jaune. But the man leaned down and rested his forearms on the railing, evening out his height to Jaune's.

"Oh. Well who do I remind you of, if I may ask?" Jaune questioned, smiling kindly and leaning against the railing with his hip.

"Just a man from my past. A competitor in my business field. He looked a lot like you." The man explained in his overly deep and grating voice. "He had lighter hair though."

"Business rival huh? What do you do for work?"

Jaune watched a gentle smile almost creep onto the man's face before it faltered.

"I work with minerals." The man said, pulling a large rock from his pocket.

Jaune looked down and saw a geode. It was cracked open, and the center was filled with a mixture of Dust and various crystal rocks.

"Oh, you survey for Dust mines? That's a tough job." Jaune acknowledged.

Jaune had read about mining expeditions always requiring hired protection or Huntsmen to help them go out into the wilderness and establish a staging area. The geologists that went out first to look for signs of Dust were always flanked by protection from Grimm. That might explain the scars and fit appearance. Maybe he had gotten trained to help the protectors out when they went out looking for mineral deposits.

"It can be." The man agreed as he stowed the rock back into his pocket. "Never know when someone else will come along and ruin your plans."

"Makes sense. Competition for new mines must be insane. What with the Schnee having a monopoly and all." Jaune added.

"Indeed." The man nodded and leaned away from the railing. "Safe travels boy. Mistral is hectic this time of year."

Jaune waved as the man left his company and made for the lower deck. Most likely to return to his cabin. He guesses it's as they say, the world is full of colorful people. Here's hoping Jaune wouldn't meet any of the negative people that entailed while in Mistral. He kinda wanted to experience the city without being under constant pressure by Salem's forces or criminals up to no good.

That thought brought up another… What kind of people would willingly work for Salem? They had to be absolute crazies or psychopaths. But Jaune felt like he was a good enough judge of character that he would pick them out if he ever came across them. Couldn't be that hard to do.