AN: Hey everyone, I'll be honest. Your boy hasn't been taking care of his self and my dog dying does not help. Sorry for anyone looking for the update on The Witch's Apprentice. I just didn't have it done it in time. I didn't use my time wisly and have a shit load to do.


Chapter 8: Laying Down the Cement of Resolve

Another day passed, and Tai Yang knocked on their door. "I'm just here to discuss what happened with Weiss the other day."

Jaune nodded and then motioned to the table. "I'll get the prisoner." Jaune shuffled to the door with worry and hope. They could take away his best lead before he could even get an ounce of help from her.

"No need," Tai said from behind Jaune. He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned around to see an easy-going smile on his superior. "I'm just here to tell you what happened and to keep your guard up." He nodded his head as Tai continued with his orders. "Apparently, The Goodwitch was trying to figure out whether she could seduce you." He laughed and clapped Jaune's shoulder. "Thankfully, you're not Qrow." He laughed some more. The worried Paladin eventually joined in with a stilted laugh.

"Don't worry, we won't switch you out with someone else. Just to tell you to watch out for whatever tricks she tries to play on you." Then he grabbed Jaune's other shoulder and stared into the similar blue eyes of his suboradant's. "You got this. I know you do. I wouldn't have sponsored you if I didn't know otherwise."

Jaune shifted uncomfortably, and his eyes darted to the red sash on his side. "Tai," he said strained. "I," Jaune tried and failed to find the right words for the betrayal that had just begun yesterday. He could say flat out that he wasn't able to do this job, that he couldn't be the person to watch over Glynda Goodwitch. He looked back to the man who believed in him. He opened his mouth, and so did Tai.

"I-"

"You-"

They chuckled at the double interruption. Jaune motioned for The Human Dragon to go on once the merriment subsided. "Jaune, I know that you can do this. You were in a dark place, but you crawled out of there. I know it wasn't easy, but you made it." Tai touched his bandana, and Jaune touched his sash. "But the death of others should never chain you to the past. They would never want that of us."

Jaune nodded softly. "You're right."

"Keep your head up, Jaune. I know you'll do what you need to do." Tai hugged the younger man and then left the brick cottage.

Jaune deflated when the door closed. He almost gave up the whole plan. He didn't want to betray Tai. Hell, he didn't want to betray the order, but he needed to find Cinder. He just needed to. He would have her head in the end. She would pay. Cinder Fall was more of a criminal than Glydna Goodwitch. The destruction of The Beacon set civilization back by years.

Then, there was the soul ritual she interrupted. If they couldn't find her soon enough, the Relic in their possession could be stolen. He'll need Glynda to make it so that when he's close enough to Cinder, Jaune will know. Maybe it could be like a sixth sense, akin to how Glynda explained her idea.

The witch's door opened, and Jaune turned to see his ever-stalwart prisoner. Her brave visage barely faltered despite her circumstances. He wondered what made her so unyielding, the events that led her to research something that was even deemed punishable by the gods. If it wasn't for the Brother's Accords, Glynda would've been killed by the God of Destruction's Grimm.

"I'm glad you didn't sell me out. For a second, I thought I might have to seduce you."

Jaune chuckled softly, "And here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor."

She walked up and tapped him on his chest. It was a light tap that wouldn't do much to him. But he couldn't help but chuckle some more. "Oh, shush. Now, let's inspect that brand on your stomach. Let's find a place for you to lay."

"Your bed will do fine. Is that agreeable with you?" She nodded and led him to her single bed. The bed was put together, even though she didn't have much. Her room was clean as well. She gestured to her bedding, and he lay down so as not to ruffle the bedspread too much. "So what do I need to do?"

"Just lay there and don't move too much. If you start to feel pain, then tell me immediately. It could be a defense mechanism of the spell or simply the spell reacting badly to whatever prodding done to it." Jaune nodded along as she lifted his white tunic to look at his waist.

The mark was just as grotesque as ever to him. An arrowhead with a heart made the head of the arrow. His skin was warped and burned around the witch's brand. She touched it gingerly, probably with the hope of not harming him in her inspection. The longer he looked at it, the more it looked like the brand was trying to leave his skin. It was as if Cinder had left a horrid creature inside of him to fester.

She hummed as she traced it from the right arrow tip to the top of the right half. She blinked once and then traced the left half down to the tip. She blinked again and then looked at the skin around the brand. "You said Ozpin wasn't able to remove this from you?"

"Yeah, why?" His curiosity was springing from his mind now.

"From the looks of it." She squinted her eyes to focus on the finer details of the brand. "If my first estimates were correct, it should be something he could remove from you."

"Wait? Really? Does he want to lure in Cinder?"

"He could. What could Cinder Fall have done to warrant the order to have her head?"

"She interrupted an important ritual and killed my partner. But they should've at least told me their plan." If it was true, that is. While he could believe there was information, he wasn't privy. It hurt to know that his peers were using him to hunt down the woman he wanted to hang.

"Well, it's possible that she might know when the spell is removed from your body. It could even be possible that she somehow added another layer to the spell. I'll need a magnifying glass to look at the spellwork." She backed up so Jaune could raise, and he did. "To reverse engineer the spell itself, we'll need a wand to etch spell work into an object and writing material to record our findings."

Jaune nodded and stood from the bed. "That sounds good. What are you looking for exactly? Beyond its purpose, obviously."

"What I'm looking for beyond its purpose is what it's doing to your body. Spells need power, and it might be siphoning off from your Aura. Do you have large reserves?"

"I do, actually, and now that you mention it, if I focus hard enough," Jaune closed his eyes and looked inwards. "I feel part of it being pooled into this section of my body." He gestured to where the brand was and then looked at Glynda. "It was so insignificant that I might not have noticed it. I can even feel it slowing down on the pull."

"Interesting. It might send out pulses, and it sends out your location at intervals." She paced around the bed and then looked at Jaune. "We'll have to record that as well, but I believe that we might be able to, at least, get her location. However, if she's half the witch the rumors say she is, she'll know when we find her."

Jaune's face morphed into contemplation, and searched for any way to improve their odds to find Cinder. He could let Ren and Nora in on their plan, but he didn't know how they would take it. Ren might tell him that they needed to bring it to the order. Who might run them to the ground purely on the idea of them trying to take down a notorious criminal? Nora would mention how we could get more resources, and backing the order would give them a better chance.

Honestly, they were two peas in a pod. But he wouldn't give them the trouble that his plan would bring. He had to be willing to do the ugly work as a leader. He couldn't expect them to do the same if he couldn't carry such a weight. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Glynda rolled her eyes, and Jaune chuckled at the display. "I'll make sure to ask Nora for a magnifying glass.

"Are you sure you can trust that barbarian to handle something so delicate?"

"Oh Nora? She ran a job of delivering a caravan mainly consisting of eggs and chickens. It got to a point where she had to carry the eggs and fight a salamander. She was able to save almost all the eggs."

"Well, I hope she takes it just as seriously."

It was Jaune's turn to roll his eyes, and he left the room. "Well, let's get lunch, alright?" She nodded and followed Jaune out to their common room. She sat down and reached for the second book of Peter Port's stories. He couldn't wait to see her reaction to 's story about his dragon-slaying quest. He rummaged through his pantry for anything, and the only thing he found was the vegetables.

Something was missing from their food collection. He decided to check the cold box that Ozpin had made for them to use. There were eggs, bread, milk, and cheese, but no meat. "Where did our meat go?"

"The meat is gone?" Glynda said from behind the book.

"Yes." Jaune squinted his eyes to look closer to the floor, and he saw little paw prints coming to the pantry. Then they left, leading to their front door. "Paw prints?" He wondered what animal so small could steal all of their meat. He even had a large set of ribs in the cold box, and they were gone. "Well, it's time for a leafy meal."

"Boo."

"What? I thought that was a decent pun."

"Try harder." As they fell into conversation, a badger nibbled on a cow's bone. It looked at the brick cottage and licked its lips.


AN: Leave a review if you have the time. I read them and do my best to interrupt them neutrally. If you like my work, you can find me on YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook under DragooFire. As well a_dragoofire on Twitch. Thank you for reading, and I hope I made you smile.

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Next Chapter: July 19th