Chapter II: A brief stop
More monster!
Frank looked at the reflection in the water, aware that it was horrid to look at. He was fully cognizant of the fact that he would once more be coming closer to civilisation, as his trek continued through the wildlands, festooned with Grimm and other creatures that wished to make him into a meal.
It was not the lesson that he had learned at the farm which he recalled, but the lesson that had come with the mask that he had carved. The mask always led to curious minds looking for a way to peer at the monster which laid beyond, his face marked by those marks that were like the curse that came with the blessing of whatever Grimm-spawned wicked deity had laid upon him.
"It all turns to blood and ashes when I am around."
The farmhouse, the family that had been torn to shreds by the Grimm, banishing him for his monstrous looks, a recollection of what it had been to feel a little shred of happiness, before the despair drowned it with his accursed visage, and the mask had been pushed back on.
There was no solace here for him, as he used his weapon to cut through some of the bushes that were in his way, making a path towards the next village. It had been useful to have the weapon be able to shift to the greataxe configuration when one needed to cut through a tree. Huntsman-forged steel was sturdier than most would believe it, and Frank Stone knew it, as Percey had said that it was a Huntsman's trade that had always lured the monsters that hid with the skin of man, wielding weapons that were above a man's strength.
He emerged from the forest into the large open space of a settlement's perimeter, cut down in order to allow a clear line of sight, his mask fastened on his face, several of them already within easy access.
'I will not be caught off my guard again.'
It had been a mistake to linger around people. He had thought that they could be trusted, but they were wrong. He was a monster, misshapen, corrupted by whatever fate birth had given him, and he was sure that there was some kind of place in the coldest pit of whatever Grimm hell was out there.
The gate was closed as he wandered up to it, looking at one of the villagers that was manning it, the man looking like he had a fine moustache growing, Frank's silence unnerving the man apparently, as a clumsy voice sounded.
"Ahoy! You there, are you a Huntsman?"
Frank nodded, silently. He didn't speak, his voice feeling awfully phlegmatic, as the gate slowly swung open a bit.
"Come on in, it'll be dark out soon! There's an inn down the street, where there's a nice warm bed. There's a mission for you folk there, we've been seeing Grimm sniffing at our gates, and we'll pay well!"
Huntsmen were always in demand on the outskirts of humanity's Kingdoms. As Frank walked through the settlement, he let his eyes go to the people who he passed by. Average civilians, those who would scorn him for his appearance, with their minds more on their next meal than on their next witch hunt.
He entered, the innkeeper looking up, blanching at the mask.
"Well howdy there, good sir. You'd be wanting a room, yes?"
Lightning Blitz could fire dustless slugs or dust ammunition, and it hung from his shoulder, his axe miniaturized, a Huntsman's look, as he nodded.
"Yes."
The word was spoken with a gravelly tone, as Frank placed a chip on the table, the Lien looking weathered. It'd been wages from an expedition into the wilds around the previous village, something that he had made fair and square, before the farm debacle with Hilly having seized his mask.
"Well, I'll be giving you your change, good sir. Might you be a Huntsman?"
Frank nodded, and he didn't slide the identification forward. It required too much work to be using an identification thing, like Percey had, like most Huntsmen had, but his skills spoke for themselves. A mask could hide your appearance, but a legitimate insignia was all that would be needed, as the insignia, something bequeathed onto him by Percey, laid upon the table. Old-style Huntsmen passed these from teacher to student, and from student turned teacher to the next student.
"Ah, I see."
The room that he was led to by the innkeeper was relatively cramped, but Frank minded it not. He took one moment to put his pack on the side of the bed before he started to pull out some of his tools, immediately getting to work.
"We'll bring by your evening meal in an hour's time. Will you be aiding in the defense of the village tonight? It pays, for those who have Huntsman training."
Frank made an inquiring sound as he looked up, his hand putting the wrench to the side, as the delicate inner workings of Lightning Blitz were being exposed. He took a moment to think about it.
"After dinner will be fine. I have travelled a long path to get here."
He would have time to take a little nap before there would be combat or something like it. Night sentry work paid well. There was just nothing to do, which led to him having time to work on his axe and maybe doze for a few minutes or so, with nothing to bother him.
Grimm attacks often made his face itch, which was a good warning that they were coming. Every night spent with no itching meant that there was no Grimm present in the area, which boded well for him.
'A life without worry is something I would wish for, but it is not my place.'
He was a man cursed by the face of a monster, as he had known for a long time, as he ate the meal of potatoes and gravy, with some sausage that tasted like blood. A delicacy, for the 'gallant huntsman', as he tinkered with the inner workings of his rifle, since that would be the primary weapon that would be needed when manning the defenses.
He climbed atop the defensive wall's outlook, watching how the quiet surroundings continued to barely stir, his attention going to his weapon and starting to replace the lighting Dust crystal, fiddling with it to make the next replacement a further worry for the future, his attention bringing only a minor improvement to the weapon's output capacity. With the dustless slugs, the magazine could actually fit nine rounds, since he only had to clear the chamber before it could fire again.
'It works even if it's busted up.'
Endurance and simple mechanics were key to Huntsmen weapons, he had learned from his adoptive father. Frank knew that he was not the most talkative of people, and he felt an itch go through his face, as he caught sight of someone making a run for the gate. His eyes caught sight of the Beowolves that followed behind the fleeing person, and Frank was in action after scouting out the vicinity for any Grimm that were lurking.
'No Nevermores, no Ursa, just the Beowolves.'
His Aura should be able to tank the hits if he did get hit, as he leapt into action, over the wall. He counted six of them, a modest hunting pack, with one alpha staying behind, obviously wiser than the younger ones.
"Get ready to open the gate!"
His voice was sonorous and authoritative, as he saw the person stumble before they made it for the gates, his eyes catching scared chocolate-coloured eyes, a set of ears that were too long to be humane and a small whisper of 'please help me', as he was in motion, the axe shifting into its great-axe form, his axeblade carving through the Beowolf that was about to pounce like a hot knife did through butter, as he protected the woman, even if she was a Faunus.
'One down. The next one.'
There was one snarling at him, as Frank raised his arm to block the strike, his other hand thumbing the button, the axe shifting to its regular woodcutter shape, as he struck with his blade, clearly cutting through the mask, the Beowolf arrested in its motion whilst Frank's aura held, the warmth making him feel heated, as the button was flicked once more and the greataxe took shape, as another came at them, using the broader blade of the greataxe to block the strike.
"Behind me."
The instructions to the civilian, a woman that had been out late, he supposed, since men did not wear dresses, were followed to the letter, as he pushed the Beowolf back and then struck out with his large blade cutting through the body of the Beowolf, his whole body whirling around with the centrifugal force, the edge of the blade missing the young woman's head and cutting through the striking Beowolf, as the itching went down, and they were only with three, Frank assessing the threats of the Beowolves. The Alpha had bony growths on its body, clearly a sign of its age, whilst the other two looked like they were maturing, thus they had stayed behind to watch him, a sign of their intelligence.
"Get ready to run to the settlement."
He was direct, but he was no fool. There would be a face-off against these three Grimm, the alpha of the pack giving him a look, before the other two sped at him. Lightning Blitz was in his hands a moment later and he shot a single-slug payload at them, the barrel electrified for a moment, the gloves that he wore keeping his hands in good shape, as the electricity didn't harm him, but the arcs of lightning that came from the barrel were enough for him to see the sight of the Grimm being hit with the bullet, which deformed against the face of the Beowolf, but not enough to penetrate it. The lightning froze them up however, as he heard the woman move.
He moved almost lazily, cutting through the stunned Beowolves, Lightning Blitz being a deterrent, for the close-combat strike capacity of his melee weapon. Freeze a nevermore and it would come crashing to the ground. Electrify a Nevermore and it'd come down just as well, the seizures from its nebulous muscles enough to make it forced to land to recover from the muscle twitches.
"Just you and me."
It was more a bold statement between him and his rifle, but the Alpha Beowolf was in motion, and Frank blocked the first strike, before the second one came at him, the mask knocked off his face, leaving him to face the Beowolf. This was not a time for him to be worried about the mask, but Frank knew that it would come out that he would have the affliction, should he go in without his mask.
The woman was safe, at the very least, and he fought, his face barely nicked by the claws as he waited for that moment where he could strike, his blade cutting through the hide of the Beowolf Alpha, his eyes adjusting to the sparks, as he pressed Lightning Blitz against the blade and fired.
Electricity raced through the axe and the gearworks would need replacing a little later, but a huntsman should never hurry, Frank knew, as the Beowolf Alpha was dealt with, and Frank felt the itching stop, as he looked up at the half-moon that hung in the sky, another mask fetched from his pocket and placed on his face, the comfortable pressure a blessing, as he let his breathing escape his mouth with a soft gush, feeling like he had done another good deed to make up for his monstrosity.
The woman was nearly at the gates, as Frank leaned down to pick the mask that had fallen up, the replacement that he had furnished for events such as this. A formal mask would show too much of his face, so a wooden one with a blank slate would do.
'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and those who wish not to be recognized shall wear a mask.'
He made his way back to the gates, which were swinging back open to allow him admittance. Every life was valuable, even in these areas out in the wilds, even that of a Faunus.
They were now allies to humanity, no longer enslaved. It was a benefit to humanity, he knew, and he would defend what he could, a monster in the service of the greater good.
'They may not love me but I will do the right thing.'
The gate shut behind him, and Frank could hear the dressing down that the woman was receiving from a man named Jonathan that he'd been introduced to, a man who had been responsible for the coordination of the militia around the settlement.
"You darn animal taking a night out, luring the Grimm to us! Your kind is better off outside the walls!"
Words that would have been said to him, had he unveiled his face. Frank gave a grunt, to catch the attention of the man, who gave him the respectful look that a Huntsman should get by those who were average folk.
"Ah, Mister Stone. The innkeeper told me that you were there for the night watch, thank you for interfering. This little rat has been slipping out and foraging for stuff, and we're-"
Frank looked at the woman, her skin pale as a sheet of white linen, her eyes red, as her hair was long and dark. The bat ears that were her Faunus trait were enough to mark her as a Faunus, but otherwise, Frank could see little that was off about her.
"Send her home. We are all here to keep the inhabitants of this settlement safe. Go home, girl."
The woman, for it was someone who was definitely a woman, spoke up indignantly! Frank thought she might be around seventeen, maybe eighteen, her indignant voice enough.
"I thank ya for the help ya gave, but you don't own me, mask man! Lemme go, I'll go home myself!"
The woman wrestled herself free, leaving the men there, and Frank felt peace settle once more as he climbed up to the top of the wall, taking his place once more, feeling the coolness of the night air against his skin. He had done a good deed this night, and his watch was still there, at that wall, til morning rose.
'They have a store for Huntsman goods and gears.'
Replacing the inner workings of his battleaxe would be the primary goal for the next day, after he had finished his shift.
It would be a long night.
Luckily monsters did not need much sleep.
Frank woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his door, before his alarm would sound, shutting it off after a moment of thought about whether he would need to sleep again, lumbering to the door after putting the mask on. It was not a tingling to his face that he felt, as he opened the door, spotting the innkeeper, who was carrying something in his hands.
"Mister Stone? This arrived for you."
There was a basket with fruits and a few pieces of bread, meat and more wrapped with rough foil, something that would keep for a while for the trip ahead. Frank adjusted his mask a little, as he took stock of it, nodding.
"It was left outside with a note. Will you be staying for a while longer?"
Frank was not sure whether he should. Jonathan had been a man who had been responsible for the defense of the settlement, his fingers tapping away at one of those typewriters in order to fill out an official rapport. There was a sweet little girl that offered him an apple when he came down from the wall, the defense done for the night.
"I may. Are there civilians that scavenge outside the walls before nightfall?"
He asked, the Faunus that he had saved coming to mind. He needed to find the proper gearworks to repair his axe, in order to keep on fighting. It would take some time for him to get the inner gearworks checked and oiled, so he went for the Huntsman supply store, something that was located next to the farmer's market outlet. There was a woman standing at the side of the Huntsman store, banging away at a sign, but Frank barely paid it much attention, his attention going to the inner workings, the mask he wore covering his features.
"Thank you for helping us, Mister Huntsman."
The woman said and Frank's attention went to the woman, a pudgy-looking, soft-faced woman with greying dark hair, a strand of it loose from the bun that she wore, as the sign was now fastened onto the walls.
'Best produce in town'
The words brought him a small spark of amusement, recalling how his father and himself had walked through towns, the mask a necessity, but never an issue. Children who had disfiguring scars or who had been caught by a Grimm often wore such masks if they lived to tell the tale, as the beautiful unmarred people were those that could go maskless.
"It was my duty."
They paid him for his duty, as money was always scarce when the travelling Huntsman walked through a stretch of land and oftentimes had to figure things out with the local authorities and the civilians.
"Hey, Jack! I've got a customer, the huntsman who got the night rat safe and sound back to infest our village."
There was irritation in the woman's voice, but Frank could understand it. The people would be unappreciative of him as well, once his monstrous countenance became unveiled to the people, the mask staying on steadily, as Frank's eyes glanced at the sign again.
"I'm coming, I'm coming… Ahh, you're the fellow that fought to save that waste of space, didn't you? Dirty animals, coming around here to muck things up. Born with the brain of an animal and wild ideas, but handy for courier stuff… Come in, come in. You've got to have something with your weapon's functioning, right? A good man deserves good service."
There was a smell of oil and grease in the workshop as Frank stared dully at the old man as he pulled out several maintenance tools, before he walked to the gearwork bin, starting to pull out several gears, laying his weapon on the table and then comparing the gears.
"A little jam, eh? That's easily fixed. Want me to take care of that for you? My old bones haven't had a good bit of exercise in the past few days."
Frank shook his head, not speaking, focusing on the proper size of the gears. With Huntsmen stores, it was often hit or miss when it came to organisation, since the technology was spread far and wide on the aspect of miniaturisation.
"I'll fix it myself. How much for seventeen of these gears?"
The baseline amount of gears, with three spare ones in case there needed to be a replacement, as he inspected the small belts that worked with those gears to fully unfold it.
"Thirty Lien, on the cheap."
A modest price for the gears, a little cheaper than the last shop he had visited, paying sixty for three sets of it. Several of the tools he tried out, trying to fasten several of the cogs and making it fit together. Functionality over appearance had been one of the things that he had learned in his earlier life under Percey and he applied them.
He was functional over his appearance. A Huntsman who fought for the people to remain safe, a monster that had a frightful appearance that was cast out by the people, Frank giving his weapon a makeover, trying to strengthen the internal gears and looping the mechanism a few times to see how well it expanded.
He became aware that he had an observer, the same Faunus that he'd rescued only the last night, her eyes looking at him with a venomous, irritated look.
"What're you doing here, you beast? Come on, get out my store!"
The Faunus skittered out of the shop, but remained standing outside, glaring at the man that owned the supply store, but Frank chose not to comment on it, as he worked with the gears once more to restore his weapon to working condition.
'It would need a stress test, but it should work.'
A good melee weapon was able to work even if it was broken, Percey had told him, as he put the weapon at his side, pulling out a ten Lien chip for the shop owner to take.
"Thank you for letting me use your tools."
The man nodded, a stern countenance given, as he gave a small motion.
"Come by again. You're defending the people of this settlement, so I'll make the next deal thirty percent off. "
That was fortunate. Frank knew that he would need some repairs if there were Grimm around and he had to cut through the hide of a Titan Kajitu. Those had tougher scales than most Grimm, and their bite wasn't anything to really get to your system without broken bones. If they were smarter because of their age, they'd be a menace, but most of them tended to get killed off quickly because they were aggressive.
He'd only met three and survived thanks to their very aggressive attack pattern being linear. Two heads could fight, but they got in the way of each other often.
"You."
The Faunus woman, whose name he didn't catch, stood there, her arms crossed and feet planted in a steady stance, her eyes looking at him determinedly, even though it was fully apparent to him that she had some kind of goal.
"Mask man, will you train me. I don't see you with an apprentice, so you've got a spot, yes?"
The aggressive tone and the fierce nature would not be a bad idea for an apprentice of sorts, yet her age was around… eighteen or something like that, a charitable guess. That was older than most, who were reared from childhood.
"You are a civilian. I can't accept a civilian."
The bat ears twitched, her face showing irritation.
"It's because I'm a Faunus, isn't it?! Mask man, I want to learn and you can teach me."
It had been a thought in his mind, for a moment. Mastership of the Huntsman arts was something passed on to a student or a child, but Frank knew that there would be no children from him, as no woman would want to be with a monster such as he.
"No. I will teach who I wish to teach."
There were children in this village who might wish to learn, but Frank knew that he should not stay. The marks on his face were vile and cruel markings of an unkind birth, and he would only cause hate and spite. The young woman might be trying to learn at first, but she would fall to the Grimm with a moment of hesitation, if her mind was as fiery as her words.
'The best one to teach is a young one.'
It was a good rule, but the Faunus woman turned red-faced, her eyes giving him a fierce glare.
"I'll follow you until you teach me, mask-man."
Frank was not going to put too much stock in that statement, as surely a Faunus could not follow him around everywhere, but to his annoyance, she did. He had gained a stalker, even with every moment that passed, her presence annoyed others.
Curses were thrown at her, and from them Frank learned that there was only a single Faunus family in the entire village and that she had been one of its members, with the parents disappearing one day, taken by Grimm.
"I won't stop until you accept me as your student."
There was determination in her eyes, as she sat on his windowsill, her pale skin and red eyes a contrast with her Faunus trait and Frank grunted.
"What's your name?"
He had not heard her name yet. She had not divulged it to him, as her eyes were dark and hostile.
"Well, ya didn't introduce yerself either to me, mask man! The name's Carmine Von Blut."
He sighed. This woman was getting to be a menace, as he could see the disapproving looks from the townsfolk, but he left it to slide, his eyes opening and then closing.
"Frank Stone, Huntsman. Miss Von Blut, it is not a job that is undertaken with but a brief understanding of what it entails."
There was a look that was determination and something more that flickered onto her face. Something that Frank wished he could show, but Carmine seemed to have the impression that he was not willing to teach her, because she pointed a finger at him.
"It's because I am a Faunus, isn't it? Damn you, we fought in the war, we won our freedom and you're going to be giving me guff about that?!"
Carmine's shouting drew eyes and Frank merely stared implacably, uncertain whether he should answer. He didn't really bear the Faunus much of a grudge, but this member of their species was uppity and mouthy, upbeat in a certain manner but horrendous in others.
"No. It is a thankless job out in the wilds. Not something suited for a woman."
She actually showed some color on her cheeks, as she burned red with frustration.
"I'm willing to learn, damn it! Teach me!"
She was too old to go and work with him. He was old enough to teach, but thinking that someone would be willing to follow him and learn, a young woman at that… Women did not go to war, even after the Great War had been concluded, before his life had even started. She was younger than him by around a decade. She should have a family.
"No. You're unsuited for it. Go and have a family."
There was no blood on his hands for when she would head into danger with him at her side as her teacher. There was no blood needing to be spilled for a monster to have an apprentice.
She was a woman and she was young. She could settle somewhere with no problem, to have a family that would love her and be the matriarch of whatever family she wished with a man who did not mind her trait.
"No! I want to learn. I want to learn how to fight them! Who needs a family when you can earn your keep by fighting?! It's legal now for us to learn how to fight! My father and mother were slaughtered by Grimm a year before and I am sick of it! You will teach me, Stone!"
The girl, or woman, or whatever she was, was insistent, as Frank gave her a stern look, the mask not really helping much in that expression, as she grabbed his coat, holding on to it with a firm grip, her expression burning with that desire to fight for something good.
He could understand that desire. He was a monster of a man, blessed with the worst blessing of a cruel fate, but he would not consign her to such a fate. It was not a thankful job, but it paid the bills. His disfigurement would make her unable to stomach him, because others did not like to look at him. His whole body was larger than most, and his muscles were like steel, but a woman at his side, as his student?
It would not be a pleasant time for her, struggling with the maintenance. Aura was something that did enough to guard from the lethal blows, but to take her as an apprentice… was too much.
She was old enough to have put several children out on the world, with men undoubtedly having an attraction to her, trait aside.
"You're ignoring me! Stop ignoring me!"
Frank remembered Hilly's interest in him. She had wanted to be intimate with a Huntsman who had protected her, who had fought to save their farmstead, yet the Grimm Curse was with him. He was not sure whether the young woman would even be able to muster the strength of will to fight at his side, to know what his features looked like and not be repulsed.
"You are unsuited for the task, woman."
It was a rougher curse than he'd normally use, but he was not someone who was good at socializing. It fell by the wayside with a face like him, his body too large and unwieldy to make many women comfortable with him.
The woman was not giving him rest, as she punched him hard in the stomach, Frank barely noticing it. Pain was temporary, but muscles were there to build him up and recover. She held her hand, cursing at him.
"No! I'll learn! Who wants to be a housewife in a place that doesn't like me, huh?!"
The anger she showed was enough to make him think about it for a moment. She was young. Older than most apprentices, but she would probably be able to learn to defend herself. It would be a bad choice to make.
"You can move. I will not train you."
She punched him with her other hand, her bat ears twitching, her expression fiercer than before, the pale skin contrasting with her fierce red eyes, her dark hair moving, Frank feeling a sigh coming up as he watched her cradle her hands, her expression pure venom.
"No! I want to learn. You will teach me."
He moved from in front of her, his senses reacting to a sound, his hand catching a rock that'd been thrown.
"Stop bothering the Huntsman, you dirty rat! He's defending our settlement and we're letting you live her without a steady job!"
Someone was throwing another stone, Frank catching it, and Carmine's expression was darker as she glared at him, before she disappeared, moving faster than Frank had expected her to move. Jonathan, the person in charge of defense, approached him.
"Was she bothering you, mister Stone? With our lack of Huntsmen, she's been making trips out the settlement more often, so if you are bothered, we can kick her out. She's been overstaying her welcome since her folks died, nobody wants those rats around."
Frank shook his head, knowing that the young woman would likely be better off with a husband. The speed that she'd shown when running away was something that could be useful to a Huntsman, but there was his hesitation about taking her in, knowing that it would likely be a bloody end for her. Training and teaching someone with no experience, at that age, would be a task that he was uncertain about undertaking.
"Alright. We'll keep an eye on her for that anyways. It's been enough."
Frank ignored it, and continued on with his routine. Something to eat would be wonderful right now, as he started on the trek back to the inn, to do another night of watching over the village. The Huntsmen that had been there earlier had been travelling on, and Frank was not going to let things slip out of his hands, now that his income was increasing. The wages for the night guard duty were easily able to recoup his losses for renting a room at the inn, the food being hearty but good, and nothing that was too heavy on the money pouch whilst repairing his weapons. He had already bought a spare set of gears, and the whetstone would be making his axeblade sharper than it had been before.
'I can work here for a few weeks.'
There was something oddly quaint about this village. As long as he did not show his face, he would have no issues with having an income. The curse of his features and what bad luck they brought was something that he could do nothing about, but Frank knew that he would have an easy time of cutting his losses. He was not attached to the village at all, of course.
'They would hate me for my looks.'
It was one truth that he had known. The other one was to never linger, but he hoped that this time, it would be different.
"Ahoy, Mister Stone. Come here for the night guard?"
Frank nodded, climbing upon the raised platform and raising his weapon, scanning through the newly installed scope into the far distance, his attention never quite slackening.
There had been no tingling from his face that indicated Grimm, nor had there been any tremors that went through his body at the presence of something bigger than a base Grimm, as his eyes closed for a moment.
He could hear a ruckus in the village and he turned his head, looking at several people getting themselves together in a group, murmuring discontentedly, and he would have dismissed it if there had been more reason to it. He was not sure what they were going to do, but he was aware of a mob of people about to bring negativity to the village. It would draw the Grimm like a meaty slab on a raised plateau used for hunting.
'Mobs are not good.'
They often influenced the negative emotion-causing Grimm. Apathy, thankfully, were not always so swift to notice new prey, but their effect could dull the senses of Huntsmen that did not know how to deal with their apathy-inducing aura.
"I'll be a moment. Take over from me. I'm doing a patrol."
It was an excuse, as he followed after the mob, for their faces were mostly angry, negative emotions that made his face itch a little, the mask still in place, his hand continuing to hold his weapon.
The mob of men arrived at the house that stood just a little bit away from most, built clearly in a time before the Great War, since the wood was mouldering and rotting in places, paint having been haphazardly splashed upon the wall, with 'Monsters' and 'Go back to Menagerie, animals!' on the walls, the angry mob formed by their feelings of discontent, as Frank knew that he should take care of the raging emotions, but he hung back. If this was just a threat against the Faunus woman that had bothered him, it would be enough to disperse the heated emotions. If things turned for the worse, the negativity might be able to draw in more Grimm in order to make his life more difficult.
'Wait and see.'
"Come on out, you monster! We're going to make sure that you don't bother our defenders anymore with those weird thoughts!"
The anger was palpable, as Frank remained quiet whilst he watched, the door not opening. The young woman wasn't going to be coming out with an angry crowd at her door, and Frank was pretty sure that there would be little that he could do in order to make the crowd simmer down with just words.
The door splintered when someone used something on it, Frank not sure whether it had been an axe or not, but Frank knew that he should act. A monster would not care for people, but he did not wish to have a horde of Grimm coming down on the settlement.
He aimed Lightning Blitz up to the sky and fired once. The crack-snap-hiss and the bright thunderbolt that shot up from his weapon was loud, the crowd stilling immediately, as he straightened out after the recoil was done with going through his muscles, standing there as a Huntsman.
"Please disperse. You are luring Grimm with your anger."
The words were slow and ponderously spoken, his axe in his hands, the men getting themselves out of the shabby house, Frank looking at the men, and he entered, the Faunus woman called Carmine not shown yet, the men grumbling a little at his orders, but Frank was not going to let them vent their anger at the Faunus during the time he was to take watch.
He might be a monster, but he was fighting the real monsters that lurked outside of the walls. Frank did not wish to know of someone being violated or some-such, or murdered. People who vented their negative emotion physically often lured dangerous Grimm.
'I should have left the day after.'
There was no doubt in his mind about that now, as he watched the door open and the petite woman called Carmine emerged, her expression fierce as she held a sword in her hands.
"Oh, it's you. They came for me, so I figured that they'd need a few pricks of this little fang. Are you going to teach me?"
There was an impatience, an irritation in her voice, as Frank thought about it for a moment. With the mob coming for her, it was a bad moment that could have gone worse for all parties involved. Frank had not had the attraction to a woman, nor would there ever be someone who could bear to look at him, the sword looking rusted, old and weathered, the leather wrapped around the grip half-eaten by time's wear and tear.
"I will not teach you. They were coming for you. Follow me."
There was quiet as he and Carmine walked back to the platform, Frank ascending it, the woman getting up with him after a moment.
"Why're you bringing the animal up there with you, Mister Stone?"
Carmine looked like she was going to give a violent retort, but Frank shut her up by placing one of his large hands on her shoulder.
"There was a mob. The Grimm are attracted to negative emotions and a woman being tormented would call a herd or so towards the settlement. She is with me until I leave, so as to remove the negativity from her presence."
It was a blessing that he could give, his mask allowing him anonymity to the people, who did not witness his cursed appearance, the monster that lurked behind the mask never really shown to them, as Carmine remained silent, before he let go and used the scope to scout for Grimm, watching the quiet surroundings with no comment from her.
"So, how do you wield that gun of yours?"
The question came, as she held her sword in a loose hand, her confidence in saying so making him feel a spark of annoyance which lasted for a short while, as he took a deep breath.
"You are not becoming my student."
She frowned at him, her red eyes giving a leer to him that said that she would not submit to such a request, Frank's fingers brushing over his hair, the mask still in place.
"You will teach me."
He was resolute, like stone.
His eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, the sleeping form at his side belonging to the young Faunus woman, who had not left whilst he had went to his room. He'd shut the door on her, but she'd come in through the window with a smug 'a-ha!'.
Wearing his mask whilst sleeping was uncomfortable, but he had made do, regardless of what the woman thought. Carmine fell asleep nearly instantly, dressed in the same clothes as she'd always had, Frank watching over her for a moment before he grabbed her blade, looking at the chipped edges and the other parts which required some maintenance.
It was more a rapier than a real longsword, he noticed, with the markings on the handguard giving him some indication of its age. Definitely Great War, but in very bad shape.
'Mass-produced weapons that could fight against the other Kingdoms, but whose effect on Grimm was marginal.'
The definition of that had been taught to him by Percey, his adoptive father, Frank knowing that the blade would need to be somewhat firmer if it were to be used by the young woman. A whetstone was pulled out, as he started to sharpen the edge of his axe, building up the smooth rhythm once more, his eye falling onto the weapon, before he grabbed the hilt and started to sharpen it.
"Ah, you'll train me then?"
The request was immediate, Frank's attention on making the edge sharper. With last night's reaction to the Faunus woman, it might be best to let her do as she wished. They would kill her or do worse things to her if they were left alone.
'There is no harm in teaching her to defend herself.'
He walked out of the settlement with her hot on his heels, and they found an isolated glade, where he handed her weapon back to her.
"It is a weapon that works best if it pierces. It will bend, but it will not break."
Frank had little experience with it, but he had seen an Atlesian Huntsman with a dust rapier once, and he recalled some of the forms. The man had been remarkably in good spirits, something about how there was some kind of coming-up rich family called the snow or something, with 'Nick' knowing the best spots for Dust.
Whatever they were, they would be whatever the regular people needed, not monsters like him.
"Try it like this. Arm behind your back. Like this."
He demonstrated, before he critically judged her manner of stabbing and poking, noticing that the slashes were still an incidental twitch, left over from her own attempts to learn how to fight.
'There is some potential.'
She would be able to fend for herself if she were attacked. The speed and the precision were good, as she stabbed at an imaginary Beowolf, as he'd told her. The Beowolves tended to come in packs, but their hides were not very durable towards piercing or slashing attacks. Crushing force was more important for the armoured ones, which was why Lightning Blitz was such an important asset of his arsenal.
'I will buy her something to improve the weapon's capacity.'
He was not taking her as his apprentice or anything like it, but he was preparing himself to leave. He had outstayed his welcome and the townsfolk were giving him looks that did not bode very well for him. It would be another moment of waiting before he would be able to strike, and his body felt lighter with every breath he took, watching how she fought.
'The gift of Aura is not to be given to the unworthy. The Master awakens the Apprentice.'
He felt the heavy tread of every step he took back towards the settlement, his student at his side. They did not speak, or at least, he remained silent and she occasionally remarked something about a local berry sort that she wanted to pluck, finding another thing to remark, and a basket full of gathered fruits at her side, her expression telling him enough.
She was satisfied with being taught a little, even if she was unsuited for the job. A boy would be best to teach, Frank knew, but there were no boys of age around that he could get as an apprentice, or even rear from the ground up into a student that would obey his orders unquestioningly.
Another night of standing guard with her at his side was spent, the money collected, and the rumours about the two of them being involved in some fashion spreading, his ears registering the whispered comments, as Frank went for the store in the morning, with Carmine laid in his bed, still sleeping, the shopkeeper called Jack looking up, the tools pulled up.
"You and that girl, are you intimate? You shouldn't, that monster's kind weren't good before the war and ever since they got their rights, there's still that beastly nature of em!"
Frank supposed that he'd be doing them a favour by taking her along to another settlement, one where she could get a family, rather than to be stuck with a monster of a man like him, as he walked to the workbench, laying the weapon on it, spotting the Dust-heated forge and then getting to work on it.
'A few extra things…'
It was not his own weapon that he was working on, but it would help a civilian out. A little pressure button in the handguard, where a finger could easily nudge against it, a chain that was pushed into the inner metal working and then unfolded into something that would be able to spin and do damage with slashes, as she seemed to be so fond of demonstrating whenever she tried to show off her skills.
"I am taking her along with me to the next settlement when I leave. She causes negativity and that leads to more Grimm."
That was his reasoning, at least.
Carmine made an ear-splitting scream when he returned her weapon, holding it up as if it was the best gift she'd ever gotten. The price had been cheap, Frank knew. With the materials that he'd used, it had barely surpassed fifty Lien, and a gun was cheap to get, especially with Dust bullets. He would teach her how to shoot, since she had an agile style. He was sturdy in his style, with Carmine's motions were faster than his own.
"You fixed my weapon!"
Carmine's pitch was high as her bat ears twitched a little in obvious happiness, her eyes looking at him with something akin to worship or some-such, a strange feeling in his chest. He should have just let them do whatever they had, at that moment where they'd formed as a mob, but he had intervened.
"You will travel with me."
There was nothing more that he could say to her, as he let his eyes watch calmly how she seemed to cheer at that, and they made the plan to set off in three days. Grimm had not been coming for the settlement yet, nor had there been much in the way of ulterior costs. His pack would need a companion if she were to come with him, but he would not call her his student.
"Do you accept me as your student?!"
She sounded excited, as he shook his head.
"I am not suited to take a student. You will travel with me and know how to defend yourself, however."
The rest of the days were uneventful, save for a Grimm that came for the wall during the last night, slain with a chop of his blade, cut in half by the large greataxe form, as he entered through the front gate once more, the itching having lessened.
The innkeeper gave him a solemn nod, as he handed him the provisions that they would be needing for their trip to the next village, nearly three days of travel time removed. Apples, bread and cured meat, wrapped in a package that would keep for a week or three, enough to see the two of them move through the heaviest part with no foraging, Carmine giving the man a glare, before the man gave her the rations that Frank had ordered with the man.
"Goodbye, forever. I'm getting out of here, there's nothing here that I want to ever see again."
Frank didn't comment, as the gate was opened for them. A stone came flying at Carmine, but Frank blocked it without Carmine noticing, as she stepped forward, Frank's mind immediately going to the lessons that he'd known from the time he'd been out, his whole body moving with firm steps, as they walked along.
It was three days when the first moment surfaced that she actually questioned him.
"Why aren't you making me into your apprentice?"
The question was expected, Frank looking at her over the fire that they'd made, their shelter consisting of a tree which had fallen over with a few comfortable beds made from pine needles and a small cover, his eyes closed for a moment behind the mask.
"You are a woman and you should have a family. They were going to harm you, so I am removing you from that situation."
The monster in him made him not answer another answer, one that always haunted him. He had wished for companionship, but his appearance was too frightful for others. They were a good hundred miles from civilisation, the settlement on the map allowing him to gauge the distance between them, as he continued to poke at the bread, which was starting to grow old, due to the time spent between eating it.
"I will be your student, mask man. I'm-"
He was aware of her grabbing the rapier, and he waited for a moment before he'd have to block a sudden strike or something, as she held the rapier up.
"You could have left me."
He had not. He might be a monster, but he was not such a monster that he would let another suffer hatred.
"We will part ways at the next settlement. I cannot teach you."
She looked at him with that fiery expression on her face, as he looked for a long moment, gauging how much it would take to convince her that he was not someone who could teach her, because he was a monster.
Hilly's face came to mind, a farm girl besotted with the idea of a man who had been older than her, but strong and capable of defending them. It had been a moment where he had felt accepted even with his disfigurements, but that had faded. You never got attached. You never should get attached to people when you were a monster.
"I don't care. Teach me. Do you want me to warm your bed?"
'What?'
Frank had not even given thought to that line of thinking, as he knew that no sane woman would ever wish to willingly share his bed, as Carmine crossed her arms, clearly not giving up.
"Do you want me to share your bed? It's a question, Stone. You don't get anything out of the deal I'm offering, so I am offering something. I want to get taught. You don't seem to care much about me being a Faunus, so I will exchange my body for your lessons. Teach me."
'This woman is nuts.'
There was a very small voice in the back of his mind telling him to take the offer. A brief vision of something that might be happiness for a monster like him, a house somewhere far from civilisation, Carmine with her hands busy with cooking food for their children, all for the nightmare to come again, to let him see the monsters that he was making.
'I'm not going to inflict that on the world. I am a monster which does not make happiness spring into the world like the brackish water fills a well.'
A strange saying, but one that fit. He would not be loved by anyone, and even Carmine would recoil in horror at the sight of his face.
"Not good enough, huh? Show me your face, Stone. Show me your face when you deny me!"
She was getting ready to stab at him with her rapier, Frank could tell, as he straightened. It would be time to show her his disfigurement.
"My face is not something to look at with your belly full, Miss Von Blut."
The womanly curves that she had were nothing to really ignore, as she pushed herself up, a dress that she'd picked for her Huntsman attire allowing her a lot of space with her legs to move, even if they were only clad in stockings that went up to the knees, and her cleavage was something that would give men pause, though her height was very petite.
"I don't care. Show me in the morning then. I want to look into the eyes of the bastard who is going to cast me aside."
Frank nodded. He would show her in the morning then. She was maybe eight or nine years younger than he was, but he was not going to let her remain unknowing of what a monster she was travelling with.
The sunlight was waking him, as Carmine laid on her bed, trying to ignore the sunlight and the sounds of birds, Frank realizing that he'd slept a little more soundly than before, as his whole body felt like it'd been rolled down a hill, Carmine's eyes opening, getting up in a single flashy motion.
"Show me your face, you bastard!"
There was no waiting for breakfast, and Frank supposed it would be for the best, as she looked at him as he slowly undid the mask, taking a moment to hesitate. He was showing himself voluntarily, without the usual hesitation that he'd felt when he'd been unmasked before.
"I am warning you, I do not look pleasant."
The Faunus snorted.
"Whatever it is, big scar on your face, mole or whatever you've got there, I don't care. Teach me how to fight, damn it!"
He tugged the mask off, his face catching the sunlight, the pale skin and the high cheekbones catching the light, as the marks of the Grimm Curse stood out on his face. Carmine looked at him, gasped once and then took a deep breath.
"So? What's so bad about a few marks, huh? You're making a big fuss about something. You don't look so bad."
He could tell she was genuine in her words, as he looked at her, his stone-like face remaining as it was, as she tilted her head, before she reached out and poked at his cheek.
"You could try to smile."
He tried, but it was useless. He had never smiled at anyone in the past year or so.
"I'm not seeing it. What's so bad about a few big veins and something- hmm… yeah, maybe it is a little spooky if you're just popping out in the darkness but during the day? You don't have these ears, at least! Do you know how annoying it gets when you hear everything around you in half a village?!"
Frank looked at the young woman before he sighed.
"If you are okay with how I look, I will teach you some more advanced moves, with the Grimm."
He had been dealing with the Grimm during their trek, mainly because she did not have her aura available to her. She could deal with a small Beowolf, if given some more training.
'I am actually contemplating taking her in as my apprentice.'
It was ironic. One monster was taking another who had been born a monster.
"Yes! You won't regret it. Though, can you leave the mask off? You look like you need the sunlight, Stone. You are paler than I am."
He placed the mask back on, somehow feeling relieved that she had accepted his appearance, at least out of self-interest in learning how to become a Huntsman.
'A monster's apprentice.'
That was something he had not expected.
More adventures to come!