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All the refugees moved on and I started to heal for real. I wasn't intentionally aggravating my wounds anymore. It would serve no ulterior motive. GaiLong was gone. I was working on a different time table now that there was only one other large settlement left in the valley. All the little ones were gone and now we just had two big ones. Higanbana and Ogedei.

And Nora said they were even more militarized than here at Higanbana. And they were pretty military here, not gonna lie. The civilians had to do drills for the bunkers every week and we observed it from the outside with interest. They probably did it more often now than before Black-Out Day. But still, every week? Didn't that wear on their souls a little.

It smelled of Atlas and it wasn't a particularly good smell. Maybe because I was used to Vale it all seemed off. Maybe it was just different. Like different cultures leading to entirely different moral views and alien ways of looking at the world. Old Atlesian and Old Vytalian had some things in common but the old tongues out here were totally different and unlike anything else on Remnant. Which maybe was to be expected. Cut off from the world and whatnot maybe there wasn't much to be done about that sort of thing.

I wanted to do something about Vernal but Ruby wouldn't let me. She was all worried about me dying or whatever.

"You could die. You goofball. That's why. You're staying until you're all healed up and that's that."

She'd poked me in the side and watched me wince to prove her point. Then she straddled me and kissed me.

You want to talk about mixed signals. That. That right there.

So there wasn't much I could do. I couldn't really go against her. Even if I wanted to. She sort of bent my will up until it was aligned with her's a little passive way. She told me to do it so I pretty much didn't have any choice in the matter. Just because I was willing to die didn't mean she was going to let me.

I could only guess as to Vernal's next move. And she had a really wicked semblance which was definitely in the wrong hands. But until I killed her there was nothing I could really do about that. And I was planning on killing her. We had a score to settle now if nothing else.

On top of all that, she seemed young. My age, or thereabouts, at least. I wasn't sure how old Khans and Khatuns were on average. But nineteen probably wasn't typically it. She was exceptional in some way. Most hunters reached their peak in power between twenty-five and thirty-five. Not so old that they started to decline but old enough to have grown into their semblances and weapons. For her to be so young and leading other bandits was probably prodigal.

So there was that to worry about. And I told the village leaders of Higanbana about how she was using the Grimm as a weapon with human sacrifices. They were shocked to say the least but there also wasn't much I could do but warn them. If the bandits attacked they would have reinforcements with the Grimm. And they could attack any time because they weren't after money or dust or food or water. They were after the sport of killing people. Hunting the most dangerous game there was. Humans and hunters overcame Grimm on the regular, at least on small scales. But there wasn't much sport in killing monsters who didn't feel pain and left nothing behind. The minds of the Grimm were totally and completely alien in character to our own. They didn't have blood or circulatory systems. They didn't have any real sense of pain. Their nervous system was basically the same as their muscular structure. They were fucking weird to say the least. But, like I said, that made hunting them work. Not fun. So I sort of understood where Vernal was coming from in setting up people with aura to die.

That took a contest and some execution.

So with my healing factor I was mostly better by the end of the week we stayed in Higanbana and Ruby and I went out grocery shopping but we stopped to get fried cinnamon sticks at a stand. I stared at a flowered stand in the square opposite the food stand we were investing in. I wondered if I should buy Ruby flowers. She didn't seem like the sort of girl who would be into flowers really. She was more of a gun and weapon gal. Not much in the way of jewelry either. I wasn't sure if I should buy her little presents. Gifts didn't seem like her love language. She was more of a 'spend-quality-time-with-me' girl. You know what I mean? And a bit of 'touch-me.'

She loved when I'd sit in our room in the inn and just stroke her stomach, back, or thighs. Just any touch really and such that I was just focused on her rosey skin. She would shiver a little as I ran my fingers gently across her back. Sometimes it would turn her on and that would lead to stuff. Other times she just let me touch her body which was totally fine by me. I mean, I wanted to touch her body. I liked that. Just running my hands along her calves and the back of her thighs until she got goosebumps.

And then I found out that she was ticklish on her sides. I'd poke her rubs and she'd giggle and hunch in on herself to try and stave me off. But she'd be laughing the whole time and I just loved the sound of her laugh. I couldn't get enough of it. I was so desperate to hear more. Her face would get all flushed from laughing so hard and that's when she became irresistible to me. She'd get as red as the tips of her hair on her cheeks, neck, and ears and positively glow in her smooth skin. She didn't have a single mark or blemish to her flesh. Her aura kept her face and body alight with health and good skin.

And the way she spoke so casually to the man in the churro stand. It was like she'd known him for years and ordered there every day all her life with how easily she talked with him.

"So little lady, what's your plan for the day?" He asked. I shuffled uncomfortably. I wasn't one half as good as she was with just understanding people at a glance.

"We'll probably set off soon to hunt the bandits. If not today then tomorrow. We took our rest but it's time to get back to the grindstone. As soon as Vernal is dealt with or the big Grimm we'll continue on our way to Mistral. We'll probably take the trains from here the same as the refugees did."

"It's a good thing those trains are still running and shipping dust to us. Though the price of dust has increased what with Atlas's embargo."

"Embargo? Why?" Ruby wondered.

"Not sure. But the price of the stuff is skyrocketing. Mistral only has so many mines and there's all the problems with Black-Out Day to consider. Of course there's a shortage. Let me grab your cinnamons. I think they're ready to come out of the fryer."

He walked deeper into the stand and out of sight.

"Why would Atlas set up an embargo?" Ruby asked me. "Isn't it bad enough what happened with their machines at Beacon?"

"I don't know…" I trailed. "They must be… scared?" I ventured. "But even still they only have money to lose. They must be worried about something else. I don't know what that is. There has to be some other factor in play because I don't get it."

"Huh," she shrugged. "You'll figure it out. I'm sure of that much. It won't be a problem for us? Will it?"

"It could be. We use dust as much as anyone else and if everyone runs out of dust that's a serious issue. A lot… a lot of people will die if the shortage gets bad enough. And that's putting it gently."

"We have to do something then?"

"I got nothin'," I confessed. "Say, Rubes, are you the sort of girl I should buy flowers for?"

"Maybe," she said mischievously. "If you're going to buy a girl flowers you can't let her know you're going to buy her flowers. You definitely can't ask her if you should or shouldn't."

"That's not helpful."

"It's the way the world works. You gotta take some risks."

"I'd rather not gamble when it comes to you…"

"This isn't like that. It's not like you buying me flowers would make me dump you. I like you. And thinking about me is sweet. Do you see?"

"A little. It would be easier if you told me what you wanted…"

"Where's the fun in that?" She asked and then she received her churros and kissed my nose. She took a bite out of one and handed it straight to me. I glanced down at the churro. Then over where she was chewing on the cinnamon bread from my stick. She still had a whole one on her own.

"You've got a problem, sweetheart."

"Me? I still have my churro. What happened to yours?" She giggled up at me.

I couldn't even be mad. She was too adorable.

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Ren and I met up outside of our hotel rooms and walked over through the high gardens of Higanbana. Neither of us said anything in the companionable silence for a long while as we strolled casually along.

"Real talk," Ren managed.

"Real talk," I agreed.

"You and Ruby. How'd that happen?"

"There were probably signs. A lot of them. But… but I missed them. And she came out to me with it. She baited me in and kissed me. She made me talk about my feelings with… with Pyrrha. She dragged it out of me and pulled me along and eventually I think she got tired of waiting for me to get a clue. And she finally came out and kissed me. If I had known earlier I would have done something. You know? Or would I? I'm not sure. The point is she was impatient with me which is good because I'm fuckin' dumb. Bro. I'm seriously stupid."

"Jaune you're smart."

"No. I'm seriously dumb," I countered brutally in a way that brokered no arguments.

"I… I haven't worked up my courage with Nora yet. I… she was sleeping in my bed. Not atypical. We… We've done things like that. Shared things, I mean. But… but how do I know? You know? I see her and I just want to… I want to touch her hair and her face. I want to stare at her."

"Ruby tells me to take risks with her."

"And you're comfortable doing that?"

"I got no choice, man. I have to. And you do too. Eventually. When you're comfortable. Nora isn't heading anywhere without you."

"I want to be comfortable and confident now." He pointed at the ground to emphasize his point. "I'm supposed to be romantic, academic, and clever and in the moment while she is just looking at me, man. Or sleeping in my bed."

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, my power grows. Go on."

He sighed up at me. Then he looked away. "What do I do? I want it but I just am uncomfortable making that leap. And I can feel her trying to make it easy on me. As easy as possible. But it's still hard. And she expects me to make that leap. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do. You gotta jump anyway."

"There has to be some angle…"

"Why?" I asked. "You gots to jump, my man. You gots'ta'."

"Excuse me, sirs? Hunters?" A guard came up to us in the little garden we were in. He had a helmet and armor and a rifle in his kit. He was shorter than me but taller than Ren. "I was asked to find you. We found something out of our… pay grade. Yeah, pay grade."

"Okay," I managed. "What's all this, then?"

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We walked into a- I guess it was a barracks? It was low and cobblestone and cement. It had few windows and a large table lined with wooden chairs. It didn't strike me as comfortable so much as sturdy.

There was a weapon on a stone table in the middle of the room. A huntsman's weapon. Except it was clearly bent at odd angles. The metal was warped and internal gears were not only exposed, I supposed some were missing.

It consisted of a series of blocked edges which may have formed a single edged sword, my style in that it was long and single edged. Although it could have been used to form something else given the long shaft beside it. The shaft was snapped in two but it was red and black. Maybe some kind of glaive or even a scythe if I was expounding.

Hey, I'd seen my fair share of scythe.

A pair of barrells probably sat on either side of the main blade, given the symmetry most weapons had, at least. This weapon only had one and the main blades were dinged and dented all across their surfaces. I tapped the blade of Crocea Mors against it, using the bastard sword. and it felt like the same material. The material all high quality weapons shared. Titania.

Normal steel just couldn't hold up to the stresses huntsman's weapons were put under. It had to be Titania or nothing.

"A patrol near GaiLong found it. We hoped you could identify it." The militia man explained in a deep voice. "It's huntsman, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Definitely huntsman." I eyed the barrel and took a closer look. A shotgun shell, dust propellant and probably custom made was still in the chamber. "Ren, run and go grab our weapons expert. She'll be sleeping but she'll want to see this." I flicked the safety on. At least that was still working.

Ren nodded and left to fetch Ruby.

I tried several buttons and switches but they just made those internal; gears spin without properly catching. At a guess, all those gears were Titania too, had to be in order to keep up with aura.

I pulled the shell out of the chamber and eyed it closely. The shell itself was steel and was therefore not a problem.

I leveraged my sword down on the shotgun shell and split it open. I was confident the dust would only go off if the shell was hit properly. I wasn't doing anything like that. There were pellets, metal grains, probably lead or steel on one side, at least at the taste. On the other side was something I was much more interested in and capable of analyzing.

The dust propellant: I smelled it. Burn and a small amount of shock. Enough to propel the pellets at a fairly decent velocity. Close range though. That matched the barrel.

The barrel length was fairly short without a choke or a hop-up. Probably made it a close ranged weapon even for a shotgun.

Ruby stepped down into the bunker behind me. I could smell her, flowers and cinnamon, before I saw her. I stepped back so she could see the weapon and her hands raised to her face.

"You know this one?" I asked.

"It's my uncle's." She recognized it better than a face. "What happened? Where did you find this?" She started to run away with questions.

"They said they found it near GaiLong."

"Jaune he won't survive long without his weapon he-"

"Ruby..."

"He'll have methods to survive but not forever. We have to go rescue him." Her eyes had that look in them. I knew I couldn't argue that he was dead.

"Can you give us a second?" I asked the militia man.

He glanced between us and shook his head slowly. "I'm supposed to- that is I need to…" He was supposed to watch us, then. I interpreted.

I shook my head, hands out. "Never mind, then. We'll pay for it, though, regardless."

"They said that you might." He named a steep price.

I grimaced but agreed to it. It wasn't like we didn't have the money. Well, we did. Not anymore. For what was basically junk.

It was junk that meant a great deal to Ruby, though. Money didn't matter compared to her peace of mind.

I turned back to Ruby. She cradled the weapon in her arms. Like a long lost baby. Of course I'd do what she asked. Didn't she get it by now? That he was probably dead yet I'd still go with her to find him?

"Tell us where you found it," I ordered the guard. It was fair at the price the rider was asking. He knew and his bosses knew it too. We were paying for the location as much as the weapon.

He nodded and laid it out on a map near GaiLong for us. I copied it to my own scroll with a photo. Then I overlaid it with my own digital map and strapped my scroll back to the inside of my wrist.

"Thank you, Jaune." Ruby whispered, stroking the edges of the blades ever so gently, so as to not cut herself.

"Of course."

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-WG