Reading over these past few chapters, I've noticed that I tend to forget to describe what a person is wearing or how they look in general. I forgot to mention that Jaune has a short ponytail now, and Neo has reverted back to her pre-volume 4 outfit (But she still has the hat).
Anyway, on with the story!
Jaune and Neo sat atop their horses, looking towards the gate that stood in front of them, as well as the guards that protected it. As far as Jaune was concerned, Halworth was a fairly unassuming town. It was far away from both Mt. Glenn and Vale, and it was insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It was quite small too, and He very much doubted they had anything worthwhile to give to Mt. Glenn or, worse, Vale.
All in all, it would be a safe place to get a drink and rest for the night. He'd have to find an inn and, failing that, find someone with a spare room for the night. Lien was useless out here, so he'd have to trade in whatever supplies he had. He'd made sure to pack well before leaving, so that wouldn't be a problem.
The guards currently staring him down would be.
"What are you doing here, shithead?" The guard spat out. Okay, they immediately hate me. Good to know, Jaune thought to himself. If he had to guess, it was the fact he was wearing a military uniform that probably pissed them off. Both of the Cities were despised by those outside them, especially their militaries.
Jaune sighed as he looked towards Neo, who looked back at him and shrugged. Jaune turned to face the guards. "Look, we're just here to stay for the night. We're not-"
"-looking for any trouble. Yeah, yeah, that's what all you army fucks say. Some of Vale's boys encountered you shitheads in a town up north. Next thing you know, half the people there were dead. If you weren't looking for trouble, you wouldn't be down here."
"Look, it's just for a single night. We'll be out of your hair by the morning."
"Really?" The guard said dismissively. "Tell you what, if you can find someone stupid enough to set you up for night, you can stay."
"Okay then. I really do mean it, we're not here for any trouble."
"Yeah, yeah." The guard looked towards one of his fellows and ordered them to open the gate. The other guards complied, staring at both Jaune and Neo as they went into the village. Neo, ever the diplomat, turned around and flipped the bird towards one of the guards, who only responded by spitting on the floor and flipping the bird back.
"Well, that was a great first impression. Wouldn't you agree?" Jaune said to Neo. She turned to face him and nodded with glee. Jaune rolled his eyes and turned his attention towards the horses. "Now, time to find a stable."
Finding a stable in this village was easy enough, as horses were common outside of the cities, since any other form of transport would be too expensive for a single person or a small group of people to use. Finding a bar in the village was just as easy. It was located by the front gate, where the guards stood watch, glaring at them as they went inside.
The first thing that Jaune noticed was the broken front window and the wooden boards that were lazily put up over it. Sighing, he walked inside with Neo close behind. His eyes were immediately drawn to the wall, which looked to be hastily plastered over. Of course, the obvious bullet holes were still there. He looked towards the barman, a plump man with a disinterested look on his face. Jaune merely sighed and found a stool at the counter.
Overall, not the worst bar he's been in.
"So, what can I get you two?" The barman asked.
"A glass of beer." He pointed with his thumb towards Neo. "And a bottle of your hardest drink for my friend here." Neo perked up with glee. Really, who would of known someone as small as Neo could be such a hard drinker?
Then again, who would of known someone as frail looking as her could be one of the most dangerous people on Remnant.
Jaune, smartly deciding not to state his thoughts out loud, took his glass from the barman and took a sip. It was… alright. It was not too powerful, and not too weak, but it was rather tasteless, which was a surprise considering it's beer.
Neo snatched the bottle of liquor from the barman, who scoffed and walked away, and put it up to her lips. Jaune could just tell this was going to be an interesting night.
3 glasses down, he was starting to feel a little… tipsy. He wasn't completely drunk, like his companion, who was currently kissing her third bottle of liquor. Or her fourth, he hadn't bothered to check.
Sighing, he looked at his glass of beer and decided to put it down. He was done for the night, and so was Neo, even if she didn't like it. "Alright, I think you've had-" Before he could finish, a bottle went flying straight for his face. He dodged it with ease. "-enough."
Neo flipped the bird and tapped the counter heavily. The barman, confused and slightly scared from Neo's display, came over. "I think you've had-" A bottle went straight for his face. "HOLY SH-" was all the man could say before the ballistic bottle knocked him out cold.
"Neo…" Jaune said, with a complete lack of surprise. This happened a lot when they hit the bar. They were banned from most of the bars in Mt. Glenn for a reason. Jaune sighed and then immediately picked up his beer, drinking it all in one swig. The Brother God's cursed him with a little devil for a friend.
The sound of the door opening suddenly caught his attention. He turned around to face the newcomer, expecting them to be one of the guards. Instead, he saw a young woman, probably in her early twenties, enter the bar. She had short brown hair, and a set of panda ears on top of her head. "Oh, hello!" She said, cheerfully.
"Uhhh… hi." Jaune responded, and then waved lazily.
"Your the newcomers, right? I heard you were looking for a place to stay for the night."
"Yeah, we are. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies usually love It. And this-" Neo burped loudly beside him. "-is Neopolitan. Tiny, sour, will probably cut your tongue off, everyone hates her." Neo turned to him and gave him the middle finger.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Cecilia, Cecilia Burrows. Long, savoury, falls off the tongue, and people usually like it."
"Heh. Nice to meet you, too. How much for a night?"
"Oh, no need to worry about pay! I get enough from my job. I can take you in for free."
"Nice. Well, Neo, what do you say-" Neo immediately turned to face him, then glared at him. "Sorry. What do you think?" Neo nodded lazily and then went straight back to caressing her empty bottle of drink. "Alright, thanks for the offer. Come on, Neo, let's go." Neo reluctantly moved from her chair, and Jaune stifled a laugh before getting up himself.
Cecilia's home was fairly large, at least by most village's standards. Being a doctor probably afforded her some privileges. Rightfully earned privileges, considering her importance to the village.
Jaune, Neo and Cecilia all sat together at the kitchen table in her house. She got them all a cup of coffee, something Jaune desperately needed considering all the bullshit he went through today.
"So, why are you here?" Cecilia asked innocently. It was probably the only thing she could think of to start a conversation.
"We're here to deal with the Grimm. There's a few of them building up out here, for some damned reason."
"Grimm? I didn't notice any while I was out of the village. There was a group of bandits out there. Keyword being was."
"Oh? What happened to them?"
"They got wiped out in a matter of minutes by a single person. I gave them a room for a week, to help shelter from the storm as thanks."
"Huh, neat." Jaune took a sip of his coffee. It was hot, just how he liked it. "That was quite the nasty storm. You don't usually see them this time of year."
"You sure don't. Just wait until the snowstorms hit."
"May whatever God's are out there save us from that shit show."
"May they indeed."
While, they talked and talked, Neo listened in with barely veiled boredom, before deciding to retire herself to her bedroom. "Oh, I have a double bed that you two can use."
Jaune immediately spat his drink out, before snapping his head up. "What? No! W-We'll just take separate rooms!" Cecilia laughed at his response. He looked towards Neo, and found her looking towards him with a grin on her face. She put up her left hand, formed a hole with her thumb and finger, then stuck her other finger right through it. "Fuck you." Jaune put up the middle finger in response, and she silently laughed at him.
Whoever raised her was hopefully burning in hell.
Jaune let out a small yawn as he awoke from his bed. It was probably the best sleep he'd had in quite a while, since the bed was comfy and the room was warm. He got out of bed and slipped into his uniform, before leaving the room and heading downstairs.
He was greeted by the smell of bacon and eggs as he entered the kitchen. Neo was sat at the table, and Cecilia was cooking up some breakfast. "Morning." Jaune said, letting out a yawn as he sat down. Neo looked up towards him and simply nodded before going back to drinking her coffee.
"You know, I was wondering, should I start renting out my rooms to travellers?" Cecilia said.
"That's an odd way to start a conversation, but yeah, probably. I can safely say that was the best night's sleep I've had in ages."
"I'm glad you liked it. The last person certainly did."
"Hmmm. I do want to ask you a bit more about this huntsman that came by. Tell me about her."
"Well, she saved my life. First at that bandit camp, and then she saved me from a crazy serial killer."
A serial killer? In a place like this? Jaune was intrigued. Even Neo perked up a little at that little bit of info, because of course she would be interested in bloody murderers. "Huh, interesting. She must have been quite the person."
"Oh, she was! She promised to return one day, and I hope she keeps it. Something tells me she will."
"Well, you never know. Describe her to me, will you?"
"Oh, sure. She had long black hair-" A fairly common hair style. "-and gray eyes-" A rare eye colour, but one he could work off of if he went looking for her."-along with a red cape-" A weird choice of clothing, but one that… Wait, what? "-and a black hoodie." Black hoodie?
"Uhhh, what was her name?" Jaune asked, as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Oh, her name was Ruby Rose."
Jaune's coffee ended up splattered all over the table as he spat it out. "WHAT!?"
There ends chapter 8. This is (Probably) the shortest chapter I've made so far.
Anyway, on to the next chapter!