Yang Xiao Long
The air was almost as tense as her arm, the only thing putting in more work than her muscles being the table they flexed upon, the poor wooden structure giving it's all to survive the onslaught not even directed at it.
"You're not gonna win." Word's spoken with a cocky voice, but after the results of their previous matches, the confidence had been earned. Around them, huddled as close together as they could and doing everything short of placing bets, were the men and women who were supposed to be on guard duty.
Yang's own smirk was almost beaten out by Coco's, the woman taking this so seriously that her signature sunglasses were elsewhere. "You say that like I haven't been getting stronger." Once again, her words held truth. As her experience with her 'new' power had grown, so had her understanding of it, as well as her ease of which she summoned her reserves of strength.
"You're not wrong." Both of them sported grit teeth now as the table cracked beneath their interlocked hands. "But even if you've been getting stronger-" Yang was set to finish this, and with a triumphant roar of a cheer, she forced the back of Coco's hand into the table below, and the once sturdy furniture collapsed into nothing but rubble. "So have I!"
The sounds of cracks and the shattering's of the object one would once call a table were completely overshadowed by the cheers of the surrounding soldiers, and Yang herself. The only silent one for a moment after the fact was Coco, frustration plastered on her face that quickly melted with a sigh and reformed into a sportsmanlike smirk. "Welp, you beat me... again."
Yang, one always ready to stir the pot, responded in a much less sportsmanlike way. "As usual."
A twitch of her eye, and the frustration was back. "Wanna go again with your other arm?"
The barely contained rage in Coco's expression nearly had Yang laughing, but, the challenge was one she was perfectly willing to rise to, holding up her shining yellow prosthetic limb in preparation. "Sure." The confidence was enough to call Coco's bluff, and the admittedly much more graceful winner of the two conceded the 'second' arm wrestle without a fight. "Thought so." Not that she didn't want to wipe that smirk off Yang's face regardless.
The fort was simple, having been teetering on the edge of falling apart for years until only a few months ago. Its entire purpose seemed pointless when considering Vale's barrier, and the amount of strong individuals packed inside the capital, it all made the fort guarding the waters to said city feel rather unnecessary. Still, the soldiers stationed here had liked that, after all, it allowed them to remain nice and lazy. That was, of course, till the first wave of Grimm started emerging from the sea, pitch black fur damp with either water or the strange liquid that they were constructed from.
Even given the soldier's laziness, a few Grimm were no issue. As far as recorded history was concerned, Grimm had never been a major threat to civilisation. The beasts were treated more as a pest to towns and villages, and most farms held defences that could keep all but the leviathans in the deep sea from getting close. No one fears mindless beasts that can't defeat the average citizen on their own... But, give those beasts a collective mind and task, raise their numbers to the point of insanity... And suddenly you have an issue that would be called something much worse than just a 'pest'.
Yang herself was quite aware of this, so when she was sent here, there were no complaints. No, the complaints had come when Coco was sent as well... But, not as she was. Sending one Dragon was probably already overkill in Yang's mind, so sending two? That was just strange... But, ever the good Hunter, she had kept that to herself.
And good thing she did. Of course, Yang had been right in her assessment of the Grimm's strength. They were easy to dispatch, resembling ants more than beasts or monsters, especially when she transformed. But like ants, they didn't come in small numbers.
The sheer scale was ridiculous. They came in waves, never announced or signalled before it simply began. Hundreds, thousands, they just didn't stop coming. The areas surrounding the fort had been burned and singed, all the grass and dirt melted away and replaced with stone that moved and shifted like a wave, nearly everyday it was treated to more Fire Magic. Of course, that wasn't the only kind of Magic used in such large quantities to deal with the flood of beasts rushing past the fort daily in their attempts to head for the capital. But, those two types of spells didn't exactly mix well in their residuals. Only a thin sheet of metal remained from Coco's Magic, melted and forming over the stone and through the cracks of the blasts left behind by Fire spells more similar to explosions than blazes.
Long gone were the lovely greens that made up the Vale countryside surrounding this fort, only remnants of battle and Magic remained. But, despite that, it had a strange comfort to it. There was a point it cut off, a line that twisted and turned along the edge of the furthest explosions and stab wounds in the earth from large shards of metal... No Grimm had gotten further than that line, and thus the field remained undamaged past that.
Looking out the window now, Yang couldn't help but trace her eyes over that line, following the edges of small craters and some fairly larger ones as well... Weirdly, it made her think of home. Or, perhaps that's simply where her thoughts wanted to be.
"Anything out there?" Sitting across from her, Coco was rather tense, which was in stark contrast to Yang's calm mind as her thoughts drifted like waves.
A snarky remark was the first thing that came to the blondes mind, but her response was tame. "Nope." Even if she couldn't resist putting emphasis on the 'p'.
"That sucks." The groan of annoyance was surprising, and Yang's crimson eyes switched their target from the window to Coco's seemingly tired seated position. The usually stylish woman looked nothing like what her usual demeanour would lead you to believe, leaning back and practically draping herself on the chair. "When are they gonna show up..."
A smirk graced Yang's lips as the source of Coco's annoyance became clear, the Grimm had attacked every day so far, they knew that today would be no different. It just hadn't happened yet. "Maybe they won't show up." Red eyes drifting back to the window, her next words were quiet enough to only be meant for herself, even if the Dragon across from her would hear it anyway. "Wouldn't that be nice..."
"No way! They have to show up!" Her words were spoken with a new spark of life that seemed to charge her whole body with energy, making her practically jolt up and stare into Yang's eyes. "I want more practice!"
"Practice?" Obviously, Yang knew what she meant. Even if they were weak enemies by comparison, fighting and using Magic would always make someone stronger over time. "I mean, I guess? You know that won't matter too much after all this, right?"
Slumping down once again, Coco sighed. "Yeah, I know." Despite her words, she slowly looked up at Yang from across the table. "You don't think they'll even consider letting me stay like this?"
There was a lot to unpack there for Yang, the immediate assumption being that 'they' was referring to Ruby and Weiss... But, something else came to her first. "What about Velvet?" An obvious question, but one Yang failed to realise the implications of until Coco threw them back into her face.
"Did you think about Blake before becoming a Dragon?" The hypocrisy hit her hard, and welcomed with it was a reevaluation of her friend. Yang wasn't sure if Coco would value staying as what she was now more than she valued being with Velvet, and if that was the case, from her words, Yang could guess that Coco thought she felt the same way about Blake.
"That... That was different."
"Was it?" Brown eyes locked onto Red, and both women, both Dragons, were stuck without anything more to say. How could Yang respond to that? It wasn't true, but... If Blake were to ask, would she turn back into a Hellhound for her wife?
"... Why would I...? Blake wouldn't turn into a Dragon for me..."
That voice in her head crept up her spine and made all but her mighty mane of hair stand on end as she shivered. That hadn't been a conscious thought, instead, that came from deep within her. Yang hadn't thought she was upset at Blake for that, but... Deep down, it seemed that she still held on to some form of anger towards her. But, the Dragon had long since understood how to keep her emotions in check. That dark voice that had crept up was swiftly squashed and pushed back into a box that was locked with a key even she didn't know the location of. Yang was quick to try and justify her wife's actions, her wife's choices... But the more and more she thought, the more insecure she sounded to even herself.
"Faunas heritage is important to her."
"She agreed to become a Dragon if she has to anyway."
"It's not like Blake would actually let herself wither away like that, not just for pride."
"... She wouldn't actually leave me here alone..."
When the familiar howls of the charging mass of dark liquid that was the first wave of Beowolf's sounded from far outside the fort's walls... Both Dragons were thankful for something new to think about, a safety rope thrown to them that pulled their thoughts away from what they didn't wish to linger on any longer.
Weiss Schnee
"Just hold on, take a deep breath, let it out, then take another. This will all be over soon."
Light blue eyes flickering back and forth, switching sight line constantly between what they should be looking at, and where their attention actually was.
"It's just... this is quite abnormal. We're not used to numbers this big." He was trying to be helpful, truly he was. Though, perhaps that was simply because it was Weiss herself here talking to him.
"I understand that. But the Royal Wizard has been quite efficient with her latest work. The newer machines use less and less Dust, and from what I've heard, her next plans involve the main Mana pipes." That was the truth, but not the whole truth. Ruby had indeed made quite a few breakthroughs since returning to Vale, and she did further intend to upgrade the Mana pipes next, but more importantly than that, it seemed that Argus had developed a new way of... coping with stress.
Both of these things combined, and Vale's storehouse was overflowing with Dust. The capital city wasn't used to having such large amounts at any given time, and the construction of a new storage location was definitely a necessity now. Weiss herself was overseeing this now as to keep the exact details as to where all this Dust was coming from in control, and to ensure a quick and efficient transportation line set up for whenever else Argus decided to turn a room of their castle into a frozen wasteland of Dust.
But, that wasn't what had her focus at the moment. Standing in the loading docks of the castle, Weiss could see quite a few Airships parked around, some of them unloading equipment, some of them preparing to set out... But one was holding all of her focus. While all the others were sleek and shiny, akin to metal hawks that were ready to blast away through the sky... There was one older airship that was unloading crates and crates of something onto the floor just off of its ramp. The wooden ship was quite the sight to see, especially with its glorified balloon meant to keep it going next to all these gravity engines.
After spotting one of the crates with an open lid, having a collection of strange potted flowers inside of it, Weiss had hit her limit of patience. She excused herself from the very accepting Dwarf, who was probably relieved to not have to speak directly to the Queen anymore, and she made her way over to the older airship. Luckily, the men unloading the ever-growing collection of crates saw her before she reached them, and their heads were bowed as she stopped just in front of them.
"What is all this?" Her eyes wandered to the side of the ship, an angle she hadn't been able to get from where she stood earlier... The markings on it was a symbol depicting a great wolf with bat-like wings and sharp fangs.
"Your majesty, this should explain." Who she could only assume as the captain of the airship handed her a sealed envelope, one sealed with the same symbol in wax that was engraved on the side of the wooden ship. With a sigh, Weiss flicked the side of the envelope open and pulled the letter out.
As her eyes scanned over it... They widened in shock, then settled in guilt.
This letter... This was for Ruby.
Keeping a brisk pace, Weiss clutched the letter in one hand as her heels clacked against the wood and stone beneath her. The echoing noise of her steps announced her presence long before anyone would actually see her, but her eyes failed to locate even a single person that she passed on her way to the training room. As she approached, the only thing her focus could move back forth from was her path, and the letter she held tightly. The envelope that was supposed to be sealed had been ripped open, and was clearly and rather shamefully visible to any that might peak at it. Its contents, however, being the letter inside, were for Ruby's eyes only... Of course, her own eyes had also been made privy to the details of the letter already, and the Queen's face reflected both the shame and regret of that fact as the training room door opened before her.
Stepping in, her nose found Ruby before her eyes did, the embarrassingly familiar scent of her sweat was something Weiss followed till her eyes caught sight of the Queen Consort. Said woman was currently dressed in what was perhaps Weiss's favourite outfit of hers, the training clothes that resembled a gym outfit more than training armour... Though, when one's own flesh was stronger than any metal, armour was a bit of a moot point.
Her current training partner swapped every minute or so as Weiss stood there awkwardly, trying to summon up the courage to call Ruby over to discuss the details of the letter. Glancing at the line-up, Weiss noted that it was some of the members of the Drake Squad, specifically, being Blake, Velvet, and Gray. Only after spotting Blake did her mind wander to the thoughts of the location of her children, but any questions she might have had were answered with a simple turn, spotting the three children practising a bit of Magic with Argus. A frown formed from her lips as she saw that, knowing that Argus didn't usually enjoy practising Magic.
It took only one step for her walk over to them to be interrupted. "Weiss." Turning with an expression that was a bit more startled than she would like to admit, Weiss put on her best smile as Blake approached her. "It's good to see you... Are you alright?" The Faunas woman was as good at reading people as she was.
"I'm perfectly fine." A lie, one which they both caught. "I'm... fine...?" Raising an eyebrow in suspicion this time, Blake wasn't having it, and her arms crossed to reflect that. "I... need to talk to Ruby."
Finally hearing an answer that satisfied her, Blake shrugged and glanced back at the group still training. Weiss's eyes followed, and she watched as Ruby deflected Gray's attack with ease. It was strange, watching the man fight felt... off. He was physically strong, that much was obvious, but... His movements didn't feel right for the weapon he was wielding. The training great sword he held onto, when he swung it, it's almost like he didn't actually put much force behind the blows, any more than was necessary to move the thing anyway. If Weiss were to guess, maybe he was used to using a Magic weapon? Something that did the damage it some other way than just slamming it into things, perhaps...
"You know she's your wife, right? You can just call her... Or, you know, go over there and talk to her." Her eyes refocused on Blake now, switching their target from the weird tattoo on Gray's arm and looking into Blake's eyes with a frown.
"I am perfectly aware that I can talk to my wife whenever I see fit. I just... right now..." Averting her eyes now, her voice grew almost guilty sounding. "Don't see fit to... at the moment."
Blake's eyebrow raised in a teasing way, and Weiss prepared herself for the comments... But, instead, the Faunas finally noticed the item Weiss was holding onto for dear life. "Weiss, you're holding a letter." Almost immediately did Weiss understand that Blake had fully caught her, as she pulled the letter out of view. "An open letter." Leaning closer now, Blake's voice grew more and more unimpressed by the second. "Addressed to Ruby."
"I...! Am... perfectly aware... of that..." Sounding like a very guilty broken record now, Weiss looked on in what appeared to be horror as Blake turned and waved over to Ruby.
"Ruby! Your wife is too nervous to talk to you." Usually, a teasing comment like that would leave Weiss mildly annoyed, but the situation at hand left her instead dreading the next few moments... Or, however long she could delay this talk for. Ruby, of course, didn't at first notice Weiss's worried expression, instead, looking over with a bright smile that Weiss was sure was only meant for her. Somehow, it made her feel guilty, even if she wasn't at fault for this.
Moving over at a brisk pace that clearly reflected her excitement for all to see, Ruby pulled her wife close into a warm and cosy hug... It was funny, actually. Weiss hadn't even realised the moment Ruby had spotted her upset demeanour. "You ok?"
The urge to answer affirmatively was powerful, but stronger still was her willpower to answer honestly. "No... Ruby, you... got a letter." Holding it up to the taller woman's chest, Ruby clutched the hand of Weiss's that still held the envelope. "I'm sorry, I opened it... I read it and..." Her voice was a whisper, showing how guilty she felt.
"Weiss, it's ok. I don't care if you read my mail." Ruby didn't for a second seem bothered by it, but it wasn't actually that part that made Weiss worry for how Ruby would take this. Taking hold of the envelope, Weiss slowly let it go as Ruby pulled the letter out from within.
Still whispering, Weiss continued. "It's... a letter of inheritance... There are crates being moved to the gardens now... Someone... Someone named Vermilion Rose has died. Apparently, you were her closest living relative..."
10th Day, Twelfth Strike, 2116 PE
I apologise immensely for the slow release of chapters lately, but I've been unable to make myself sit down and write for quite some time now. I wanted to try and push through this, but I have been unable to do so at a steady rate.
Due to this, I've decided to put Abaddon's Curse on hiatus for now.
Rest assured if you've been enjoying this story, it has an ending planned, a sequel planned, and I fully intend to see them both reach their conclusion.
As well as this, I don't intend to stop writing once it's over. I have plans for different fics, and different stories to tell already in my mind, and like this one, I want to see them made. But, I don't want to force myself to sit down and write, because I don't believe I can make it the best it can be like that.
During this hiatus, I will attempt to write a different story in the meantime, in the hopes that it is simply burnout for this story and not writing altogether.
If you've been enjoying this story, I hope you'll check it out as well, even if it isn't RWBY.
Once again, I fully intend to reach the conclusion of this story, and even if I spend some time writing others, Abaddon's Curse, and the story it's a part of, will reach a close. Thank you for reading, and thank you to everyone who has given me feedback.