The smell of smoke was overwhelming, and the trees were burnt to a crisp, much like the surrounding area. They were doing their best to keep up in the fight, not wanting to let them get a chance to hurt them, but that was already too late; they had already hurt some of the other caravan numbers.
Moving quickly, Alex turned to smoke before quickly reappearing next to the orange-haired girl, quickly blasting her in the face with a smoke blast. Her aura quickly flashed as flames licked her face, Alex had to dissipate as she swung her hammer at him quickly. The smoke particles were separated before regathering in the air where he reformed once again, "Raaaah!" he let out a cry as he dove downwards at the girl, his mace held over his head, smoke billowing off it as he tried to smash the girl into oblivion; unfortunately, that wouldn't come as he was smashed mid-air by her hammer.
Alex's body was flung to the side, his body smashing through a few burnt trees along the way; all he felt was pain; each tree and rock felt like a hammer against his insidious. He raised his arm into the air, absorbing the smoke that was clouding the air, healing his body back to what it had just been and refueling him.
He didn't know where Orion was or how he was faring against Ren. He needed to get to him; he had just started to get up when he heard noises in front of him. When he looked up and saw Nora once again standing right in front of him, her hammer raised above her head, seconds away from smashing into him, he brought his arms up to shield himself, but it was no use! The girl's power was overwhelming! There was no way he was going to be able to defeat her; she was all-powerful!
"Nora, that's not how that went at all." "What? That's totally how that went!" Alex couldn't help but bring his hand to his face as he let out a groan. He didn't even know how many times he had heard Nora change up their first meeting. Yet here he was, listening to her do that again with the other kids and, surprisingly enough, some adults at the library they were at; they had come here to get a few recipes Orion wanted and a few books for Ren! Why was he the Nora wrangler today?
Alex slid in front of Nora, taking her attention from her and putting it on himself. "What actually happened was that after Ren and Nora spotted me, they asked who I was. I had to do my best to explain that I was with our caravan, and we were making sure they weren't bandits or someone else trying to attack us." Nora crossed her arms and pouted slightly at my attention-stealing.
"After that, our group revealed ourselves to them, telling them we were not there for a fight; thankfully, Nora and her friend Ren understood and apologized for aiming their weapons at me. After that, our caravan leader asked if they wanted to join us because they told us they were also heading to Vale so they could apply for Beacon. We also asked because more numbers made it safer." I looked at the crowd, who now seemed slightly disappointed at the relatively normal retelling of the events. So, I shared a bit more, mainly because I enjoyed the attention I was getting. Sorry, Nora.
"But that doesn't mean we didn't fight at all. Nora and Ren are actually helping my cousin Orion and me train for Beacon, which means we have to spar with them pretty often, which may or may not have led to a few forest fires here and there. But we put them all out, eventually." This seemed to cheer up the small crowd, and Nora said, "Now, if you excuse us, we have to get these back to our group now." I gave a short bow as I motioned for Nora to come on. She gave the crowd a giant smile before rushing off ahead of me, where she, of course, physically dragged me out of the library; I could hear their laughter even after the door closed.
Alex, slightly out of breath from Nora's enthusiastic exit, adjusted the stack of books in his arms. "You know, you could help carry some of these," he joked, trying to catch up with Nora's brisk pace. Nora, already a few steps ahead, turned and flashed a mischievous grin. "But you're doing such a great job, Alex! Besides, I need to keep my hands free in case of surprise Grimm attacks. You never know!"
As they made their way back to the caravan, the soft glow of the campfire came into view, casting dancing shadows across the path. The usual sounds of the evening routine filled the air – the clatter of cookware, the murmur of conversations, and the occasional laughter.
Orion was waiting for them, a look of concentration on his face as he practiced manipulating small flames in his palm, a circle in the center of it. "Oh, you're back! Check this out," he called out, his eyes lighting up as he showed off his latest control over his magic. Alex set down the books and watched, impressed. "Nice work, man. It looks like you're getting the hang of it." almost as if on cue, the fire would sputter out, and the small circle glowing around Orion dissipated.
Orion stared down at where the flame had been before sighing. He looked back up at his cousin as if remembering something. "Oh, Yeah, we're training with Ren, and Nora has been really helpful. Speaking of which, we've got another session planned for tomorrow morning. Early."
"Early, huh?" Alex groaned playfully. "Can't wait."
Orion's smile flickered as he watched the last remnants of the flame fade away. "You know, these sessions with Ren and Nora are really something. I never thought training could be this intense... or fun."
Just then, Ren's calm voice approached from the darkness. "Training is not just about intensity; it's about understanding your own strength and learning to channel it," he said, stepping into the campfire's glow. Nora was right beside him, her hammer resting on her shoulder.
Nora piped up, her usual vibrancy filling the air. "Yeah, and you guys are doing awesome! I mean, sure, we had to put out a few fires," she winked at Orion and Alex, "but that's all part of the process!"
Alex couldn't help but chuckle. The bond they were forming with Ren and Nora felt like a real team, something he hadn't expected when they first joined the caravan. "Thanks, guys. We really appreciate the help. Beacon won't know what hit it when we arrive."
Ren nodded, a subtle smile on his face. "The path to becoming a Huntsman is challenging, but you both have the potential. Tomorrow's training will be essential. We'll focus on aura and semblance control." As the evening wore on, the group shared stories, laughter, and plans for the future. The caravan felt like more than just a group of travellers; it was a place where bonds were forged and destinies were shaped.
Orion glanced at Alex, a sense of determination in his eyes. "We've got this, right?" Alex met his cousin's gaze, nodding firmly. "Yeah, we've got this."
The following day, Nora greeted them both by shaking them out of their hammocks, "My ears burn!" Nora just laughed at the two. Thankfully, Ren chose now to walk over and help the two up. "Sorry, but you two are heavy sleepers; I expected you two to be used to this by now; Nora isn't very quiet." "Reeeen, I'm not that bad." "Nora, last week you woke up the entire caravan because you saw a nest with baby birds in it." "But they were so cute, though!"
After the warm wake-up call, the group left the grounds of the caravan; they weren't too far out from Katashina, the small village where Nora and Alex bought the books and recipes. Thankfully, the four had decided to train a bit further away, mostly to make sure any fires didn't go too far.
"Alright, Orion, you're with me today. I can be more helpful with your aura than I can with Alex, Nora, you're with Alex." this led to a small groan as Alex realized he had to fight with Nora again. She had been his sparring partner for just barely under a month; sure, he sparred with Ren often enough, but once they realized his strength was above average, he even learned his full strength was actually a decent bit stronger than Nora's strength, which had actually made him feel better about himself, until they followed it up by saying that he may be stronger. However, Nora was still more trained than him, and she could control her strength better in combat.
Orion had closed his eyes and went through the aura basics Ren had taught him, bring out his aura and holding it above his skin for as long as possible; he learned pretty quickly that most people could hold aura to shield their bodies for an undetermined amount of time, but holding it wasn't the problem it was keeping it up during combat and keeping it held even while out of combat.
Orion was improving with his aura, much like his magic; they seemed to work like a muscle. The more he used it, the stronger it got and the better he got at using it. Crrrr! Orion gritted his teeth as he felt Ren's blade scratch off his projected aura. It was only for a second or two, but he could still feel the force behind each slash at his aura.
They learned that the idea for strengthening his aura as quickly as possible was holding it out for as long as possible and trying to tank as many hits as possible before his aura was brought into the red, or in some cases with Nora and Alex, it shattered. Nora and Ren were a bit hesitant when they asked about aura strengthening and at such a quick pace, but once they explained their situation, that they were training to go to Beacon and had joined the caravan to get away from an old and horrible life, they agreed to try and take them up on the task.
Orion was gritting his teeth when he felt the final attack hit; it was aimed at his neck. It had just barely held, bouncing off his aura before it shimmered brightly for a second and shattered. "Hah, hah." He opened his eyes to see Ren now kneeling in front of him. His eyes closed; it took a few seconds before Orion understood what he wanted to do.
Orion closed his eyes once again and focused on the feeling of his aura. It was hard, like trying to do a push-up after a full day of working out your arms, but eventually, he was able to bring it back up where he focused on regaining his aura. It took a good few moments of total concentration, but eventually, he was able to do it.
Orion stood checking his arms to make sure his gauntlets and grieves were on correctly before he started the same on Ren, he drew a bright circle in the air before it glowed a light green before vines quickly sprouted out of the circle towards Ren. It was brief, but Orion was able to catch where Ren's aura briefly glowed out of his body where he was about to be hit.
Quickly, Orion mobbed forward, then to the left of Ren, aiming a punch to his arm. Ren's aura didn't outwardly glow until he landed the punch, his aura flaring briefly before settling down, besides the brief glow from the beginning. He moved backwards again drawing a circle with his legs, it glowed a bright yellow before light blasted out of it he pushed his arms out, launching them towards Ren; he ran to the side of the blast and watched as it ran over Ren's body in a bright flash the boy grunted his eyes straining even while closed.
Right after the light hit Ren, Orion lifted his hands in the air and slammed them downwards onto his skull. This time, the light shone after the attack, and he watched Ren wince in pain; his eyes opened, looking directly at Orion; he rubbed the spot for a few seconds before smiling, even if briefly, at the other boy.
"Hiding your attack behind another is smart, although maybe be careful next time with how much strength you use behind your swings. You'll tire yourself out if you try to hit with all your strength all the time. You're similar to your cousin in that regard. Hit too hard and too much, and you'll tire out. Also, I could hear where you came from. Try to be lighter on your feet." Orion nodded along, trying to run the information in his head and use it for next time. The next thing the two heard was a loud smashing noise of metal hitting metal before they both watched as Alex was seen getting flung overhead and hitting a tree with a loud groan.
Orion and Ren looked back at Nora, raising a single eyebrow; Nora held her hammer in both hands, looking a little embarrassed, "Whoops, my bad, I might have gotten a bit carried away there." Orion just smirked slightly, "You think?" Alex groaned before sitting up against the tree, "Break time?" "Yes, Alex, break time."
The four would gather in a small group setting, or, in Alex's case, Pacing back and forth, each of them was holding a small plate in hand, a snack sitting on each plate, "Soooo." began Nora, her voice breaking the silence. "We still have a little way out before making it to Beacon. How much money does everyone save up so far?" Alex and Orion blinked at the girl, not thinking she would be the one to ask about their financial situation.
Alex spoke up first, "If I remember from last I checked, I have around 2900, I think? So better than last week. It helps we stopped into town yesterday and later today; maybe we can find some odd jobs?" The three nodded to his thought. Ren responded first, "Not a bad thought, and I already looked over to what we have since we both just bought some recipes and books. Ours is a little low. Thankfully, the books were pretty cheap; I'm standing at 3500 lien."
Orion let out a small sarcastic huff, "I'm at a whopping 2500 lien." now everyone turned to Nora, waiting for her to tell them how much she had; it seemed it wasn't the best time since she was in the process of shovelling her snack into her stomach and was trying to steal Alex's other sandwich half, "Hey! Bad Nora!" he gave her hand a small smack before shovelling the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. "Owww, Ren help I've suffered a grieeeevious wound!"
Nora held a hand to her head in a mock dying pose before flopping and landing on Ren's lap. "Bleh." Alex and Orion snickered a little at the girl's antics before Ren once again raised his eyebrow at Nora and then at the other boys; Alex coughed into his hand, trying to hide his laughter. "Ahem anyways, uh Nora how much do you have saved up?" She layed down her body still stretched over Ren's lap playing dead. "About 5000 saved up."
The three looked at Nora with different versions of a surprised look on their faces; they were all astonished that Nora, of all people, had saved up more money than them. "How, how did you end up with more than us?" "Easy, I hoard it all like a glorious dragon! And I just don't spend it." The two cousins grumble something along the lines of 'It's not fair' and 'But the food looked so good.' "Ren, what was the place you said we were trying to get to for the airship?" Alex asked. He was trying to remember why the name sounded so familiar to him the first time Ren brought it up.
"The village is Shion. It is close to a familiar village Nora and I know of. It's the best choice for us right now; the other villages we already went through and Mistral City does have an airship port, but we don't have the money for it right now, and if we tried to go there, we would need to backtrack on our own." Alex scrunched his eyebrows together. Why did that place sound so familiar? He knew that what Ren was hinting at was Kurogiri, the village he was in that got destroyed, so what was the other village?
"We also still need to save up a bit more before we try and buy airship tickets for us. If the amounts we all have saved up now are any indication we should have enough in around two more months, which is also about how far out we are from Shion, I asked Marlowe already. That was what he told me." Ren sighed moving his arms as well as moving Nora off of him and gathering up the plates. "Alright, that was a rather nice break, but now it's time to get back to training."
They had finished training about an hour later, having already been out there for over an hour before the break. Once they completed training, they rejoined the caravan, where they could see just about everyone was up and moving, some already packing things to sell to the town or trade with some of the others. The small group looked around, trying to get a grasp as to what they should do next. "Let's try and search for some of those jobs then."
With that, the small group of four left for the small village, planning on getting some small job or helping around anywhere they could, hopefully making enough money to get four tickets from Shion to head to Beacon.