The hailstorm had subsided by the time he'd awoken. The fire had burned out and he felt cold despite the layer of fur he'd wrapped himself in.
Yawning, Jaune rolled out of the cocoon of fur, stretching his back and wincing at the crack it made. He really wasn't made for sleeping rough, but the thought of actually being a hero made the dull ache subside a little.
"This really is a quest." He mused as he shrugged on his boots, trying to be quiet as he noticed Ruby was still asleep, snoring gently under a mountain of fur and her cloak.
The horses were still asleep too, so Jaune decided to shrug on his cloak and see what damage had been wrought by the previous night's storm.
"Food first" He thought to himself as his belly rumbled. They were still some days away from Snowmire, about three or four if they kept up their pace and weren't delayed by further bad weather, and they'd decided to ration their supplies just in case they were snowed in.
Opening one of their bags that contained their food, Jaune perused through the items within. Most of it was slightly frozen and hard but at least it meant there was less of a risk of the cured meats and dried fruits from spoiling. Jaune didn't know the exact lifespan of the food, only that they'd last longer cured and dried than normal food would.
Shrugging, he pulled out a strip of cured beef, two dates and a carrot. He wasn't sure how to cook so he didn't dare try making a stew with the beef or carrot. He didn't want to wake Ruby by burning the lodge down.
Speaking of, he'd have to wake her soon if she didn't do so herself. It was light outside and they needed to hurry if they wished to keep ahead of whoever Nikos inevitably sent after them.
He popped one of the dates in his mouth as he gently moved the chair that partially blocked the door. It remained where it had been when Ruby first placed it down, so he doubted anyone had tried entering when they had slept. After silently opening and closing the door, Jaune surveyed the great Solitas road and the surrounding wilderness.
It was a mess.
A tree had fallen further down the road, blocking the way they had come from. Branches, leaves and patches of ice dotted the paved road and the forest surrounding the lodge looked haggard and worn, the branches of tree bare of leaves and many branches seemed like they would fall off if someone so much as breathed on them.
Jaune sighed, stepping off the lodge's decking and onto the road. He considered chopping the fallen tree, both to clear the road and replenish the firewood he and Ruby had used so the next traveller to enter the lodge wouldn't freeze. But after a moment's consideration he decided against it. It could delay their pursuers by a few more hours at the least, buying them the time they needed to get to Snowmire. The ice was the greater problem.
It was not thick and did not cover the road entirely, but the few patches that were there could very easily be a problem. Their horses wore shoes, so they could easily trip and fall on the ice, crushing his or Ruby's bones due to momentum and their weight. Even if the horses managed to stay on their feet, they could possibly pull a muscle, slowing them and even possibly leading to lameness.
Not good.
Normally, there would be a shovel and a box of salt at the back of their lodge so they could salt the road if necessary, another law made to ensure the Solitas Road remained clear for travel. However, theirs was empty and the shovel was nowhere to be found, likely being stolen for one reason or another. This would mean they couldn't clear the ice and as such would have to walk, guiding their horses around the patches of ice. That would slow their pace considerably.
Again. Not good. They couldn't chop up the fallen tree now, they'd need every advantage available to stay ahead of whoever hunted them. At the very least, the road beyond the tree could be icy too, forcing their hunters to slow their pace as well.
Jaune resisted the urge to sigh once more.
"Sigh too much and you'll become just as cynical as your father." His mother's voice teased in his head. His mother had been demanding at times, but she'd always been insistent he kept his "youthful optimism".
He wasn't optimistic. He just liked seeing and believing in nicer things than most.
He shook his head, refocusing on the situation at hand. Whoever had stolen the resting lodges shovel had at least left behind the axe that rested on a shelf just above the fireplace. Even a thief could appreciate the necessity of one aspect of the Lodge Law at least.
Sneaking back into the lodge, Jaune took the axe and went back outside, munching on his carrot as he did so. It was hard but still retained some juices to it once he started chewing. He'd eaten the dates and the beef was too hard to eat for now, so Jaune finished eating the carrot before strolling into the forest behind the lodge.
There were a dozen or so tree stumps scattered around behind it, and Jaune noticed a fallen tree trunk sticking up underneath a mountain of mud and leaves.
"Well that makes my job easier." He mused aloud as he strolled closer to the tree, shrugging the head of the axe off his shoulder, where he'd rested it as he'd walked.
The wood was damp but not rotted. It would dry in the lodge, at least he hoped it would. Considering the hailstorm last night it was unlikely there would be a single inch of dry wood in the forest, so Jaune went about chopping the fallen tree trunk down to size.
His job was halfway done by whoever had chopped it down, likely the last residents of the lodge before him and Ruby. Perhaps it was the shovel thief?
To keep his mind busy whilst he began the relatively mundane task of chopping up a halfway cut up tree trunk, he wondered why someone would steal a shovel. Maybe they needed a weapon to defend themselves? Maybe to fend off wolves or maybe even a bear! What if it was a beleaguered hero, tired from a long journey and ambush by a wrongdoer just as they'd let their guard down?
What if there was a secret black market for stolen shovels? What if a blacksmith had stolen it and melted the metal down to make a weapon for a knight?
So many possibilites. Jaune didn't realise he'd chopped the fallen tree trunk into a dozen or so chunky circles that looked like really big and fat coins.
In a painstakingly slow process that made a fire burn in his arms, Jaune carried each nugget of wood to the chopping block that rested to the right of the lodge. As he piled the dozen or so nuggets next to it, he took a moment to rest his arms and try to decipher what type of wood the trunk had been. It was hard due to the mud and the fact it was somewhat decayed, but it seemed like some type of softwood, especially considering how easy it had been for him to cut.
That was good because it meant that it would dry quicker. However it wouldn't last as long as hardwood would, meaning he'd probably have to chop a new tree down afterall.
"No wonder the fire barely lasted the night. The softwood wouldn't have lasted long enough." He muttered, placing one of the softwood nuggets on the chopping block. Oh well, he'd just have cut down another tree to make sure the lodge was supplied enough for a fire that would last the night if replenished.
He made sure to aim for the centre of the nugget, chopping it in half. For good measure due to their size, he put the split pieces on the block again and quartered it. If he kept it up, he'd be able to have forty-eight firewood logs ready for whoever next used the lodge.
It was a sobering thought to think that it would be his pursuers.
By the time he'd quartered a third log, he heard the sound of mud sloshing as someone walked near him. Looking up, Jaune saw a bleary eyed Ruby approaching him, an apple in hand.
"Morning Jaune." Ruby yawned, before trying to take a bite out of the frozen apple.
"Morning Ruby."
"Have you eaten yet?" She asked worriedly, and Jaune smiled reassuringly at her.
"I have. Two dates, an icicle masquerading as a carrot and some frozen beef that I'm hoping will unfreeze by the time I'm done chopping these". He replied, taking the moment to lower the axe and rest his arms, pulling the beef from his pocket and dangling it at Ruby.
Despite shaking it, the meat refused to shake, still frozen mostly solid.
"Most of the food is like that." Ruby sighed, gesturing to the apple she'd barely been able to bite into. "We should put the food closer to the fire next time, just to make sure it won't freeze."
Jaune nodded in agreement, watching as she leaned against the wall of the lodge.
"Don't let me stop sir knight." Ruby said, smiling cheekily and pointing at the pile of wood nuggets.
"Oh so I'm a knight when it suits you?"
"Yup."
Jaune rolled his eyes, not particularly bothered considering she'd just woken up. He'd make her chop up the wood for the next lodge they stayed in. Inns were too dangerous considering he may possibly have a bounty on his head. Plus they would have to be wary about funding. There was no telling how far the dragon had fled, and there was the chance they'd have to charter a boat at some point.
"That's unlikely." Ruby told him after he pointed out that concern as he finished quartering his fourth log. "My magic put you in a two week coma, what do you think it did to the dragon which was my actual target?"
"Damage."
"That's one word for possibly crippled." She replied, and Jaune nearly missed the log he swung down at.
"C-Crippled?" Jaune asked with a stammer, and Ruby giggled and rolled her eyes.
"Silver-eyed warriors aren't called Humanity's shield just because it sounds cool Jaune." She explained, mirth lighting up her silver eyes. "Our magic is something that can kill even the strongest dragon with ease."
"But how?" Jaune questioned, picking up the halved wood nugget and setting it up for a second strike. "That's ridiculously overpowered!"
"No one really knows." Ruby shrugged, trying to bite into the apple again. "There are theories though. Some think it's a gift from god, or gods depending on your belief. Others say our ancestors made a deal with some sort of demon or evil deity. Others think it's some sort of technique Humanity developed to stand up to dragons. Similar to how hedgehogs are spiky to deter predators."
"But no-one knows?"
"No one. Not even me or my mother or her mothers before that."
"Wait. It only came from your mother's mother and etcetera?"
"Pretty much. It might be different for some families but most silver-eyed warriors are female."
"Woah."
Ruby snorted.
"What?"
"Just your reaction I guess. The fact most silver-eyed warriors are female are one of the reasons some think our ancestors made a deal with the devil or something."
"That's stupid."
Ruby shrugged.
"Doesn't matter I guess. I doubt we'll ever know and it's not like people are trying to lynch us or something. Besides,there are some male silver-eyed warriors, it's just that they're rarer."
"How many are there?"
"I don't know. Mum told me that there were at least a dozen she'd met in her travels, and she's been to pretty much everywhere by this point."
Jaune paused to take a seventh wood nugget from the pile, resting for a moment again. It was just chopping wood! He'd been trained by Klein the Knightly! Why did his arms ache so much?
"Only a dozen?"
"According to mum. Besides there are probably more. It's not like she could've met all of them."
"Yeah. Your mother's the Dragon Bane isn't she?"
"Yup."
If Jaune was a Faunus, his ears would've perked up immediately.
"Really?! That's so cool! She's literally a living legend!"
"Yup." Ruby replied, smiling at his reaction. Her smile seemed sad somewhat, despite the glint of pride in her eyes. "She's super cool."
"Really?"
"Yup. She taught me how to fight, how to use my magic, and she saved my dad!"
"Really? That's so cool!"
"Y-Yeah. You d-didn't know?"
"Nope. What happened?"
"I'll tell you later." Ruby replied, something shining in her silver eyes. "I'm gonna feed the horses! Have fun!"
She turned and practically skipped back to the lodge, and Jaune could only cock his head curiously.
"T-That didn't seem like something she'd normally do."
Granted he hadn't known her for long, but a week or so on the road told you a lot about a person, despite the lack of conversation on behalf of him sulking over abandoning Klein.
With a silent prayer for the knight, Jaune went back to chopping the wood. His earlier estimate proved true, with forty-eight firewood logs done by the time he'd finished. It was more than had been left behind for them, so Jaune decided it would be more than enough for whoever came after him, his aching arms singing as they realised they wouldn't have to cut down more wood like he'd thought.
He piled some of the logs in his arms, carrying them inside where, true to her word, Ruby was feeding and grooming their horses.
"Do we have time for that?" Jaune asked, glancing at the sun on the eastern horizon. It hung low in the sky, not a dusky dawn hue but a bright, early yellow. If he had to guess, it would be sevenish.
"Yup." Ruby replied with a mock glare. "Unless you want fleas and creepy crawlies and an uncomfortable, grumpy horse to ride."
He put the logs down into their storage container before raising his arms placatingly. Even their horses were glaring at him from the suggestion.
"I just want to get to Snowmire quickly. I'm worried about being snowed in." He explained, only telling half the truth but if the sympathetic look Ruby sent him was indication, she knew the true reason he was worried.
"I know Jaune. It won't take long and I should be done by the time you finish bringing in those logs." She replied gently. "Besides, we can't ride them because of the ice."
Jaune nodded in agreement.
"How long till it melts do you reckon?"
"Noonish. Sun will be hottest then. We'll pick up the pace and should hopefully reach a resting lodge before nightfall."
"As you say brave knight." Jaune replied with a mock courtesy, making Ruby giggle and roll her eyes.
He left the lodge, quickening his pace. The logs were heavy but he made good progress and by the time he'd finished Ruby had started strapping their bags to their horses' staddles.
He helped her, tying his bags to the horse lent to him by Weiss. It was a pure white Atlesian Percheron. It was heavy and strong, made for endurance but capable of short bursts of speed. Traditionally, the Atlesian Percheron were at the spearhead of nearly all Atlesian cavalry charges during a battle, but they were replaced by the Valean Charger after the two kingdoms became one.
The horse was calm and quiet, gently swishing its tail as he finished packing. He didn't know it's name, and decided to think of one whilst on the road.
Ruby had finished before him, and had led her horse outside by the time he untied his from their custom made hitching post. He briefly considered taking it with them, if only to save them the effort of building another if needs be, but it would only overburden his horse, so he decided to leave it behind.
"Slowpoke." Ruby teased, sticking out her tongue , one hand resting on the handle of her scythe, which was sheathed to her back, and one holding the reins to her horse.
"Only because I'm tired chopping up all that wood." He replied, a little harshly since Ruby looked away guiltily. "Besides I was stuck trying to name my horse."
"Really?" Ruby asked, perking up and taking the distraction. "She's quite obviously a Snowblazer."
Well at least he knew his horse was a she now.
"That's completely unoriginal. Just because she's white she has to be something related to snow."
"It sounds cool! I could've suggested Snowflake or something you know."
"And that would really make me change my mind."
"Oh yeah? What's your bright idea for a name then Mr Namesworth?"
"Icicle."
"That's the single most terrible name I've heard for anything other than an icicle itself."
The two of them continued to banter as they led their horses down the Solitas Road, guiding them around patches of ice here and there. They were too busy debating between each other to notice the dark clouds that roiled in the distant horizon, nor to take notice of the gentle breeze blowing it in their direction.