RWBY: Repossession

by WolfPrint

The world of Remnant is a tumultuous place to live in. Humans and Faunus fight in an everlasting war with the Creatures of Grimm, a faction of monsters hellbent on destroying both them and their creations since the earliest known historical records. One grimm of a common type, a Beowolf, makes it his goal to eradicate a possible threat in the form of a little red-cloaked girl.

4. Chapter 4

The whistling wind swirling outside the hollowed tree was the only aspect that had much motion near the two brothers. The two Creatures of Grimm had nothing to say for a long moment as Harkin propped up Ciaran with his limbs. The two stare at each other as thoughts lash around behind their masks.

Silver Eyes: a unique feature from which great suffering is promised. A gift for the Unworthy, a curse to Grimmkind. This sliver of information compounds upon the inconsistent presence of Grimm on the island of Patch. Harkin thinks and ponders, ideas and plans bouncing inside his skull. The circle-filled circle that differentiates his mask from others is rather fitting at the moment, packed as his mind was.

Panic is a process that demands moderation, though. He reminds himself of that and forces himself to speak again. He must be a steady guide for his youngest sibling, he did fight the Silver-Eyed girl after all.

"How certain are you, Care no? I believe you, but such a development is an earthquake for our people on this island. Big actions will need to be taken if so."

Ciaran clenches his right fist at his front. "My eyes don't deceive me, Harkin. That wretch has those eyes that blind. The very energy of her coddling God of Light waits within her petite skull." He points at his temple for emphasis.

Harkin presses his index finger and thumb against the underside of his muzzle, beneath his muzzle. His ears relax and his tail wags slowly again. "If that is the case, I will have to head forth and confirm it myself." His eyes drift to the slit in the tree, to the outside world. Somewhere out there, a nightmare lies in waiting.

The ears of Ciaran flatten against his head. "Do you think me that inept, brother? I tell the truth!"

The older wolven Grimm flexes the padded finger once on his muzzle at the younger sibling. It isn't a matter of my belief in you, ornery Care. The pack back south will not be satisfied with the second-hand testimony I would be giving them if I don't check myself. I may be an official warrior of our pack, but this claim of Silver Eyes on the island would be heavily disputed if my only information is from my rather inexperienced, adolescent brother. Little offense meant to you, Care."

A puff was the initial response from Ciaran. Frustrating as it is to be considered an unreliable source of information, he can't deny the tested beowolf's logic. He was barely a rookie, still in training with infrequent forays into combat with humans and Faunus. His contribution to the cause felt so little. He picks up the meat he dropped. "Yes, I can't deny the concern, Harkin. I still haven't achieved much for the pack; I don't have a lot of influence for a reason."

Harkin raises a brow at his sibling, whose ears flatten against his skull now. He raises his arm and ruffles the scalp of Ciaran. He shakes Harkin off after a few moments of enjoyment, looking up at him in anger and confusion. Harkin smiles, the slit in his right cheek making it quite asymmetrical "Now now, you will attain praise among our own and notoriety from the Unworthy in time." When Ciaran's tail wags, Harkin moves, holding his muzzle with two fingers again. "With that, I have a week of leave from my obligations. I can easily allocate time between caring for you and searching for her whereabouts. Where she lives and frequents will be important for plans to eliminate her as well."

Ciaran has an idea. The suffocating proximity between him and that little red-hooded girl has made a scent profile that is still very clear. She smelled so much like the forest but with a highlight of rose flowers. It wasn't a bad combination, he will admit. "I have her scent memorized, brother. If you are going out to search for her, I can help you track her!"

The furry support against him chuckles, suddenly plopping him to the floor. Ciaran whines at the ache thrumming through the beaten body that is his, one eye open to watch Harkin rise to his full height. He shakes his muzzle at him no. "Not in this condition, you will. I refuse to let you descend this hill until a week through your recovery at a minimum." He turns and circles the deer carcass again, gesturing a limp hand at Ciaran. "Did you so quickly forget that you nearly died from fatal blood loss just hours ago? You can't even stand without feinting from anemia, let alone your other health issues currently."

No… no! A Silver-Eyed Warrior can not persist without a response because he was too injured to help! Finding them… finding her, is paramount! Those eyes are an apocalypse within two pale orbs! Humanity is already straining enough to battle, letting them have the Silver Eyes is not excusable. "Harkin, we would dishonor the pack if don't act against this menace with everything we have. I do not have any illusions of mobility in my current state. You can simply carry me to the site where I saw her, then I can lead you from there. Let me be useful and prove myself. Idleness is my bane!"

A stare was earned from Ciaran's speech, the stare broken by a scarred hand sweeping over it then the coat of fur on Harkin's head and neck. A breath is held, then released in a groan as the hand backtracks on the same path. Harkin closes his and rests his muzzle on two fingers. He is silent for a while.

"Harkin?" Ciaran tilts his head, head craned upward as is allowed in a supine position. "I beg you, please. I have to make this right; I could have killed her off the board if I didn't flounder my chance."

Harkin taps his index away at the end of his jaw, thumb rubbing at his jowls. Nothing is said, only Harkin thinking and Ciaran flattening his ears against his head.

"Fine," Said Harkin. "You can help me track her."

Ciaran perks up, but is immediately met with another chunk of meat slapping him in the face just as he opens his mouth. He should be offended, but any retort was drowned out by his nose going haywire. Instinct fueled by the energy boost from being surprised leads him to snatch the meat in his jaws as it falls off his face.

"However, there are conditions." Said Harkin, raising a finger. "I will be carrying you the whole time, no exceptions.

Ciaran pauses in his chewing to look up at the ceiling for a moment, humming in thought. He won't be able to move much anyway, he tried. A little demeaning, but he'll squash that feeling for the sake of being a useful tracker. He recenters his eyes on Harkin and nods. His neck is starting to act up now being craned nearly ninety degrees off the wood, so he puts his healthy right arm behind his head to rest on. Much better. Ciaran sighs.

Harkin raises a second finger. "You will do exactly as I tell you when we encounter other humans or Faunus."

Ciaran shrugs, swallowing the chewed-up flesh of a deer. "That is reasonable. I agree with that"

"Lastly, you are forbidden from entering combat with any unworthy, even the girl in red, unless I say so or in an act of self-defense."

Ciaran was busy licking his chops of blood when that sentence left his sibling's mouth. He freezes and pulls back his tongue with a meaty smack. He blinks rapidly and makes to sit up, seizing mid-way and landing on his bandaged left arm. He yelps and rocks back onto his back. "Brother, I thought we were hunting her down! You are more than capable of felling her, doubly so with whatever help I manage to provide."

Hark rolls his eyes, taking another ball of meat into his gullet. "You assume too much, Care. We don't know where she will be or who she is with. She could be in a town with doubtless many fighters among them. She could be among other warriors like her, probably her elders since she is an adolescent as you say. Too many factors to predict until we have more information, namely by seeking her first." Harkin raises a paw and twirls it at the wrist. "A lot of things are up in the air right now; we can't just rush in without a plan. That is what gets countless of our kind killed."

Ciaran just puffs away, padded hands clenching at his sides, the left was shaking and throbbing, but he didn't acknowledge it. "That… makes sense."

"I didn't see or hear a yes."

Ciaran closes his eyes and growls. "Yes, Harkin. I am to be nothing more than a tracker, no attacking."

A nod comes from Harkin, he looks back down to the old deer that acted as their meal. It was a mercy to take its life, one already well lived, he left the younger mule deer alone. He was easier to take down too. Aura is a bitch still. "Alright, I will go ahead and hang this deer. It should keep us sated for a handful of days. I will hunt for more when we get back from searching for her."

As Harkin lifts the deer corpse onto his shoulder and leaves through the slit, Ciaran spins his sightline to the ceiling again, staring at the rings that can just barely be seen in the heartwood ceiling at first glance. If you were to peer closer, however, you can catch the ever-widening rings that stem from a single circle at the width of a thumb at the center. The gaps between rings fluctuate slightly to designate the wet and dry seasons in the tree's past. Small gouges that disturb the elegant pattern tell of damage this large organism has long since survived with the scars to prove it. The plant's hundreds of rings would take hours of counting with a lengthy parchment to track it right; the scary thing about this tree is that only the dead heartwood was opened up. The lines of the tree are still hidden, promising untold thousands yet to be counted. The heartwood of the tree had roughly 2562 rings according to his family. Ciaran only managed a third of that number himself until he just gave up.

This tree was around forever and likely will continue to be around whenever a human or Faunus manages to put him down for good. It was here before it was claimed by his family, that several families of grimm or animals doubtless used this tree as shelter or shade. Inside, on top, underneath. Even the unworthy scum that is their enemy likely sought it for similar reasons. You have a generous view from the hill that it made its roots in; there is a view of wonderful scenery or delectable prey or prospective predators, even better on the high branches if you risk a climb. It has a life and provided for countless beings in its lifetime, willingly or unwillingly.

This tree, flora, and fauna as a whole, are why humans and faunus need to be cut out of the cycle. They would eventually cut down this tree and the forest for their uncontrolled urge to "advance". Never mind what all the living things on Remnant want, they need everything to be bigger. A bigger home, a bigger seat, a bigger table, a bigger stick!

Ciaran needs to do this, those rings on the trunk remind him of lives that need to be honored. The descendants of those from before need to be guarded.

"Now that that is now settled," Came the voice of Harkin. A look over from Ciaran reveals to him the battle-tainted form of a grimm slinking in with a pull on the wall on a last squeeze. Some blood is left over on the shoulder where he hoisted the deer carcass, but he is quite prim. "We best head out so we can make use of the day that is left."

Nodding, Ciaran licks off the remnants of blood on his muzzle and rolls onto his right side, back to his sibling now. Awkwardly, he braces himself on his right palm and leg, pushing up onto his knees with a growan, left leg shaking from exertion. A zapping pain pulses from his injured left thigh, making him huff and puff in a haggard manner.

A pressure, a padded hand, presses down on his right shoulder, keeping him from rising. Ciaran looks over his shoulder to see his brother hovering behind him. "That is not advisable, young brother. You can barely move in the best of times." Another hand with an extended finger taps Ciaran's muzzle, making the beowolf snuff and twitch away from the offending appendage. "You have to let me carry you: that is a bullet point that you need and I demand." Harkin points a thumb at himself.

A sigh interrupted by a groan is Ciaran's response before he nods and gives his brother his right arm. Braced against him as he is, his brother speaks.

"We are going to move you into a pick-a-back carry. I will need you to wrap both your arms across my collarbone and clasp the left wrist the best you can. Your legs' weight will be on my hands, so don't worry. I have hefted heavier."

"Fine." Said the young wolf, slowly standing with a wobbling left leg, he tried to put his weight on the right leg.A lot of seething feels the hollowed-out chamber "I feel like a puppy. This is nonsense." Harkin crouches for him. He hefts his damaged left arm over his brother's shoulder first, all twenty phalanges clench from the jolt in pain, this makes Ciaran rest his forehead against the nape of his sibling with a whimper.

The tail and ears of Harkin halt at the whimper before returning to their natural state. He chuffs. "Care. You are still a yearling to me, let alone our elders. You are two generations after me." When Ciaran brings his right arm around Harkin's neck and clasps his left wrist, the older Grimm swipes up the youth's knees in hand and rises, moving only a minute slower than usual.

The jolt of movement elicits a deep breath from Ciaran, the ache from his limbs the annoying cause. "I can't help that I was born after you."

"Yes, you can. By keeping a malleable mind." Said Harkin. He looks over his shoulder at Ciaran, eyes crinkled. "Better learn as much as you can, brother. There is a long road ahead for us grimm."

"Yes yes," Sighs the young creature, resting his head on his sibling's powerful shoulder. "Listen to your elders, train on their advice. They have lived tens of decades more than I have, warranting their methods being studied. One official huntsman could slay a whole pack of adolescents and young adults, which I am. Did I summarize that wisdom you hammered into my skull well enough?"

With Ciaran on his back, Harkin exits the tree that their family line calls home, the entrance somehow wider than before to allow them passage without risking bandaged wounds. Harkin smiles and looks up to the bare branches, where the male deer rests upon three branches that are rather close together, like a haphazard shelf. A bear finding it would be a concern, but he is quite certain such won't happen while they are gone.

Huffing the snowflakes off his nose, Ciaran turns to the outside world. "You have the gist, at least. Already, you are more receptive than a chunk of your litter."

The canopy of slumbering trees swallows the beowolf's vision as he travels away from the crest of the hill, digitigrade legs tensing as they further fight against gravity, the slope of the hill angling sharper each passing second until Harkin has to brace on all fours. Spinning around, he begins to scale down the hill with precious cargo in tow, stabbing claws on paws and hands through the layers of snow to catch on frozen soil. The natural weapons stab into the hard dirt like icepicks, granting purchase for the lengthy beowolf. Ciaran suddenly blinks rapidly and scrunches his face; this time around, it wasn't pain that made him cringe, but confusion.

"Hold on. "Your"?. You ought to use "our". They are your siblings too."

Harkin pauses in his climbing to close his eyes and nod, turning the left side of his face up to look at his young sibling. The scarred side, to be exact. Three lines were forever carved on his head, as if cut into by claws The highest one starts at the edge of his white mask under the left eye and ends under the left ear, a gouge remains in the mask like a bullet graze where the cut ran across. The bottom scar rides his jawline before ending the cheek. The most apparent of them all, the center cut, left his cheek eternally split. Though the rest of the facial scar somewhat healed, the mouth was gruesomely extended halfway up his face ultimately, leaving his face always in a half smile no matter what. You could see the white of his teeth even with his mouth closed. Whether Harkin was grinning at Ciaran, the wolf wasn't sure.

"Hmm, yes. They are my siblings as well, by blood." He pauses and chuckles. "They aren't exactly family members I would want. They all but abandoned you after…" Harkin stops before he finishes and continues his trek down the steep hill.

Ciaran huffs, stiff ears lowering. "It is more complicated than that. They had to get our mother to safety."

Harkin doesn't pause to speak this time, actually moving faster now as Ciaran speaks. "There were six adolescents with her, more than enough to transport mother's battered body. They couldn't send one sibling to find you?"

"I was too close to where the battle was happening, they couldn't risk it."

Harkin slams his limbs into the snow and ice harder now. He rolls his eyes. "Why not? The risk is worth it to retrieve you."

Ciaran smothers his muzzle into Harkin's back. "A weaker pup vs a mature female beowolf? A healthier pup possibly lost to gain one pup or even lose both? It wasn't worth it."

A rumble from Harkin's throat vibrates the smaller beowolf's body. "You were only two pounds lighter, only your brothers were larger than you. The weight difference will likely disappear with training. If not, physical appearance and weight are only a fraction of the story. Strength, speed, skill, and brains regardless of genetics can be honed through training and experience. Harkin turns his head again and shrugs his shoulder to force Ciaran to raise his head and look at him. His eyes were crinkled and the colors within seemed to go dim. "Besides that, you are a valued member of our family pack. That is more than enough to come back to get you."

Shaking his head, Ciaran looks away into the snowy forest. "That isn't guaranteed."

Harkin's right hand clenches, scooping the frozen dirt that was his handhold up into a ball like it was a snowball. He shakes the dirt and snow out of his hand, hooking it into another section on the hill. A hole remained where he gouged the hill. He keeps descending. "Who visited you while I was gone?"

"Why do you ask that?" Said Ciaran. Ears perking.

"You get like this when particular littermates pass by the home tree."

Ciaran stays silent, only to be shaken by Harkin with a shift of his torso. "Who met you, Care?"

A tongue click and glance, then an answer. "Gough and Ebony. They stopped by to help me train."

Harkin breathes in the air fast and deep like a pump and shoots it out his nostril just as fast. From an inflated chest and lungs, a puff of fast, hot air melts away the snow cover of the hill before the two wolves. Like a crater, the epicenter of his puff was the deepest, dirt exposed to the air. "Ah yes. Those two. I'm sure they had such wonderful advice."

"They helped me with my reflexes. My pain tolerance as well."

Still climbing, Harkin closes his eyes, tongue shoving against the back of his teeth. "You were not allowed to strike back? Why reflexes specifically?"

"They told me that I couldn't hit them even if I tried. Fundamentals first was what they said. I need to survive them first before I can strive for more, they told me."

Harkin scoffs. "Sounds to me they just wanted to use you as stress relief."

A huff ruffles Harkin's fur. "Perhaps. Nonetheless, I gained from that spar. Two at a time was new though. They still helped me, whether they intended to or not."

The lithe yet hefty legs of Harkin touch down on the ground level at last, one foot then the other for Ciaran's sake. The older sibling brings a hand to his snout, lightly squeezing it and blowing air out between the fingers. Dragged down the mouth his hand was, in sync with his inhale; the hand of Harkin left his face and the beowolf was ready to speak again. "What did they do to you?"

Shaking his head, Ciaran said, "No, they didn't cut me! I promise that! Blunt force trauma only. Bruises aplenty, that I admit." As Harkin approaches the forest proper, the trashed Beowolf points to the side. "That tree there, give a look brother."

Harkin obliges, stopping and guiding his gaze along Ciarian's arm. The limb led him to find a particular group at the edge of the clearing. Different from the last time Harkin was here, a gap in the tree canopy had developed, the branches looking like they were broken off. The path of destruction ended at a tree with its bark missing on one side, the exposed lumber sporting a massive spider web crack. Harkin tsks and groans. Ciaran speaks.

"They sent me flying off the hill and into the trees. That tree's missing bark broke my fall. If there wasn't snow, you could also see the long ditch leading to it. That ditch was made by me scraping the earth."

Explanation vexing, Harkin huffs; his shoulders hike and drop with his sharp breathing. He continues walking, broken foliage and blood-stained snow telling him where Ciaran roughly came from. "You ought to not be so forgiving toward your littermates. Those two especially."

Ciaran finds himself looking at a patch of red flowers that persist in the thick of winter. Camellias were what they were called he believed. Hardy flowers in rough times. Hopefully, he is ready for the harsh future. "They still mourn, much like I. We were something more before; I know feelings will calm in time." Ciaran realizes they are veering in the wrong direction, tapping his brother on the torso, and he points them back on track.

"It has been over two years since that event, Ciaran. If they have not moved on still, you best stop hoping for much."

Ciaran shakes his head, slowly. "I remember how we were before. Running in the meadows, weaving between the trees, grouping to sleep. I refuse to give up on that. They are not suddenly strangers after two years." As he finishes, the young beowolf looks away again, resting his muzzle against Harkin.

The attention of Harkin recenters on the path ahead, adjusting each time Ciaran's shaky arm dictates. The damn pup was too forgiving, letting himself be toyed with. Harkin would love to see Gough and Ebony try to abuse Care with him there. The bloody fools.

Harkin's mind drifts to a time taken for granted, the image of Ciaran even younger than he was now coming to bear. The small thing found himself a lone plant with a brilliant blue flower sprouting from it. A bumble bee rests upon the vibrant flower, sucking at the nectar that is freely given. The pup is enthralled by the two small living organisms. Young Care would tell Harkin later that the seamless cooperation between the two was "So pretty!" He would go on and on for days after the encounter, about the fact something so beautiful can come from something so small. Harkin would see many times where the pup freezes just to look at nature. Some of his littermates reacted too with interest, but only he lingered so long and with such focus, let alone how often he did so.

His littermates don't know what they are tarnishing.

"Whilst we travel, why don't you tell me about the prey that escaped you?" Said Harkin. Ciaran's mind and muzzle drift from the plant life to Harkin.

Chuffing, Ciaran provides. "Well, the young huntress was cloaked in red and black. Hair is the same. Pale as the moon too. A tiny thing she is, wouldn't even come to your chest, brother. Then, there are the Silver Eyes I mentioned."

Harkin clicks his tongue at the last part, pausing in his trudging through the snow to mull it over. "Silver Eyes. That will need to be passed up to the leadership back south once I see her and confirm it."

"What do the Silver Eyes mean to us?" Said Ciaran.

"It depends." Said Harkin. He faces his palm to the sky. "How much did this huntress use it? Was there a flash or glowing to the Silver Eyes?"

Ciaran pauses, the only sound being Harkin's pawsteps. "No," he shakes his head. "Her eyes… there was nothing of note to come from them." Ciaran points to the left of Harkin. "That way."

Nodding, Harkin turns and follows Ciaran's direction adjustment. "In that case, we don't have to worry yet about her eyes. However, acting sooner rather than later is paramount. Even a basic use of the God of Light's gifts will give her an advantage against our kind."

Ciaran hums. "It stuns those that look at it." He shrugs and redirects Harkin again. "Can you not simply look away?"

Harkin throws his head back in a guffaw, Ciaran's broken body jostling. "Hah! If you think it is as simple as closing your eyes, then you haven't been subjected to a flashbang."

A scoff from Ciaran.

"Let me explain," said the older beowolf, smirking. Or was it just the Glasgow scar? "When Silver Eyes at its most base is unleashed, a flashbang explosive seems like a firecracker. It is a complete shutdown of your senses. Harkin clenches his hand into a fist, then unclasps it like an explosion happened inside. "Discombobulated, victims have and will go limp for minutes. Most don't last long after being stunned; the Unworthy chomp at the bone to capitalize soon after. Harkin puts a palm over his eye and moves aside soon after. "Covering your eyes and looking away will still leave you shaken, albeit to a lesser degree."

"What of you, brother?" Ciaran pipes in. "Surely you can resist the Silver Eyes."

Harkin sighs. The faith is appreciated, but naive."Perhaps." Harkin points a clawed finger toward the sky. "Tell me Care, do you look directly at the sun?"

Furrowed brows form on the youth. "Well, duh! Of course not. You'd be blinded if you just stared at it."

"What do you do if someone suddenly took a flashlight with the power of the sun and pointed it at you?"

"I would close my eyes tight and look away." Said Ciaran. "Pissed off, I'd avoid the light and carve into the pers- oh…." The adolescent grimm pauses, fiery irises twinkling.

Harkin nods, shaking his finger. "Now you understand. Even the most ancient and experienced of our kind suffer the effects of the Silver Eyes' blinding gaze. Although trained and matured eyes prove more resilient, we all should mitigate exposure to said gaze, if not avoid it altogether."

Ciaran nods. "Is that all the Silver Eyes can do?"

He finds himself gripping his brother tighter when a rumbling laughter shakes Harkin's body. He finally settles down, little brother staring at him with blinking eyes. "God no! However, that basic use of the Silver Eyes is the most you can expect from an adolescent huntress like her. She doesn't even have that, based on what you told me."

"I don't think that will take long brother." Chimes Ciaran. "She isn't no weak runt, despite her size. She is agile, and her speed alongside her semblance overwhelmed me. Only with my training could I have predicted her movements when she went into that state. The puff of red rose petals helped."

Harkin raises a brow at the image. "Rose petals? Must be the residue from her Aura powering the semblance. Speed is her semblance?"

"Yes. But not sustained speed from what I have experienced. She did it in bursts that lasted a second at most. More than enough to make her faster than me, though."

"But speed isn't everything."Said Harkin. "You overcame that speed with a sharp mind, seeing as you are still here. Beaten into mush that I have to lug around, however."

Ciaran nips at Harkin's ear, only a flicking of the dark ear showing his big brother noticed at all. "Now hold that thought, she didn't come off our battle unharmed. If it weren't for her aura, that brat would be missing her left shoulder and collarbone." A black-tipped red tongue sticks out to lap at pale teeth and fangs. "I tasted her blood, her essence. It was salty, yet metallic-tinged. Honestly, I pushed further in part to quench the thirst that her blood awoke in me."

Humming accompanies Harkin's response. "We Grimm, at our core, are beasts. Our minds arose thanks to our creator, but those base instincts give us passion, a passion that must be controlled lest it blind us." Harkin flips his hands, looking down at the padded palms, fingers tensing. "The lack of mental control, an attribute that builds with time and education, is what leads so many of our brethren to injury and often death. Our foes have Aura to guard their weak flesh; Grimm, we don't possess an aura of our own to bear unless stolen from our enemies. Only hide and bone, both of which take time to develop. He clenches his fingers as far as they will go until the claws at their ends jab at his palms. They would draw blood if he curled further, no tight fists can be made without drawing blood. "So many cubs and adolescents died before and out of my sight because of instincts untamed, passion left to run free. So quick they rush into battle, unknowing or uncaring of the disadvantage they have since birth." Harkin looks over his shoulder at Ciaran, poking a finger against his snout over and over, ignoring the youth's attempts to flinch away. "You, meanwhile, seem to be scheming behind my back to kill me with stress. I am liable to kill myself with how many times my palm meets my muzzle. It is only through training and intelligence last night you are still alive."

Ciaran growls. He mouths and parries the offending hand with his his sibling both insulting him and complimenting him!? What the hell is he trying to teach him!? "Are you chastising or congratulating me, Harkin!? I am only doing what we were made for!"

"I am speaking as your sibling, Ciaran. I come back to see a bleeding mess on the same floor where I first saw your little body emerge onto the world. You take your near-death experience too lightly. I want it to truly stick in your head; you have so much to see still in your life, so many that will ache if you go. Don't think so little of your life."

The hands interlocking Ciaran's arms tense at the fingers, drawing blood at the forearms. "I'd happily take his place instead that day."

That makes Harkin close his eyes. Breathe in and out. Huff and puff. "He would say differently, Care."

Both go silent, the younger directing the older with barely a mumble and raised fingers. Most of the time, Ciaran rests his head on his elder brother's shoulder, eyes lidded and ears angled down. His tail is just as stagnant.

Little Care is trying so hard to live up to a debt. Harkin ponders. Two years had passed since that horrible event: a long time for Beowolf Grimm as young as Ciaran was, yet the pain never really faded. The agony mutated into motivation for Ciaran, not helped by certain siblings. Of his litter as well. He ought to visit them when this blows over. Mother may be busy with many things, including mourning, but Harkin can fill the disciplinarian role happily enough in the time she is occupied. He wanted to show them a new concoction of dust anyway. Truly be a shame if he accidentally aggravated dust right beside their head. A purposeful smirk traces Harkin's face, the facial scar making his mouth seem like a lopsided crescent moon.

Harkin would be dishonest if he said he wasn't planning how to best punish Gough and Ebony for their horrid treatment of Ciaran for much of the trek through the wilderness. Blood is going to be spilled, only fair if they thought handicapping their brother in a spar and launching him into trees was simply a peachy idea. Deplorable husks of fur, they were.

The forest opens up to a lake long since frozen over. Nothing special to Harkin, but Ciaran perks up from his slump on Harkin's shoulder. He almost throws him over his brother he pointed so hard. "There, brother! This is the place I last saw the girl in red. We last fought atop the frozen lake."

Pain takes over Ciaran, a harsh whine leaving his throat as his beaten body overcomes his brief distracting excitement. Harkin scrambles to resaddle him on his back, the younger grimm seizing and going limp all while on Harkin's back. "Fu- hold on there Care! You are still a blood bag with tape on its leaks!" Harkin checks Ciaran's left arm and leg, confirming the bandages are still secure, though red stains them slowly. "I am your legs right now, so stay still. I'll bring you closer, you fool."

Ciaran mumbles his agreement, eyes still unfocused and lidded in the clutches of nausea. Carefully, Harkin walks along the outside of the frozen lake. He wasn't tempting fate with the weight of himself and Ciaran combined. A minute of scanning the area rewarded him with the smallest of red and black in the otherwise bleached lake. "Care. Is that from your little opponent?"

A head lift and a tilt is Ciaran's response, groggy as he is; the young beowolf's ride obliged, pointing a claw toward the scraps of black and red cloth that are close to being swallowed by snow and ice. He perks up immediately. "Yes, that cloth comes from her. Bring us closer! I can track her scent with that!"

Harkin silently looks from Ciaran to the frozen lake, then back. He blinks and quirks a brow.

A weak chuckle and a smirk is the response of Ciaran. "You can grab the scraps and make it make it back easily enough, right?"

Rolling his eyes, Harkin returns his attention to the frozen lake. Slow and steady may work, but Harkin just wants to get this over with. Mind settled, he lowers to all fours and leans into his haunches. The next second, the beowolf pushes off his paws, pulling himself forward with his arms. Harkin soars over the icy lake, his body a meter above it; Harkin's body eventually gives into gravity a third over the expansive body of water, but he simply slaps his paws and palms onto the ice, letting himself slide across the ice. Ciaran had been whining since the bound, holding on for dear life. Harkin paid little mind, instead zeroing in on the mess of clothing scraps in the middle of the lake. When he nears the scraps, he clenches his left hand, baring claws upon the ice. The rest of Harkin's body passes by, his left paw secured into the ice like an anchor. Harkin's body ceases its slide down a singular path and instead swings like a rope on the makeshift anchor, spinning him around just before his objective. His free hand reaches out, whisking the clumps of cloth up into its clutches.

Done, Harkin yanks on the handhold he made with his claws and propels onward back toward the edge of the lake. The cold on his front makes him wince but he pushes on, Ciaran now planting his muzzle into Harkin's neck scruff as deep as he can.

Right before Harkin and Ciaran would impact the dirt, Harkin slams both hands onto the ice, stabbing all ten claws into the ice. Using the momentum he is still under, Harkin pushes off the ice with his paws and front flips into a brief handstand, hands the fulcrum. He pushes his claws off the ice, utilizing the momentum to flip through the air. Two times he spins in the air the snowy earth beyond the ice lake before he makes contact with said earth. Harkin lands so that he is leaning opposite the direction of his energy of motion, driving his paws through the snow against the frosted ground beneath. Into the ground, even his paws go as he grinds to a stop after two yards of residual movement. Two long ditches are made in the soil, deep enough to swallow his ankles. He looks back at the scene and finds he has traveled well past the lake's edge. Aside from claw marks, the lake was seemingly undisturbed.

Legs spread for the landing were straightened and arms were rotated at the shoulder cuffs. "Well, It seems I handled it just fine, just as you said." Said Harkin. Ciaran doesn't respond, causing Harkin to glance over at the injured thing. "Care?"

Ciaran, the young warrior of the Grimm cause, is crossed-eyed and panting with his tongue out; the young beowolf was overwhelmed and discombobulated, currently trapped in a world that only spun and blurred. The side of his head is plastered against his older brother's body, hands and legs clasped around the only solid foundation in the nauseating experience, Harkin. The only thought he remembers is: Hold the fuck on.

Harkin clicks his long black-tipped tongue off his teeth. Oh dear, I did a number on his poor brain. The blood loss likely isn't helping.

After his thought, Harkin looks down at his clenched hand and opens it to expose the scraps of clothing from his brother's little prey. Flecks of blood are on the strips, filling his nose with the smell of iron. There is also a scent that reminds him of a forest during the spring, specifically roses and the wood of a Cedar tree.

Getting an idea, Harkin sticks the bloody fabrics close to Ciaran's muzzle, wafting the smells around his snout. Nostrils flare and contract almost immediately, Ciaran's muzzle clumsily chasing after the source of his interest. Soon after, once unfocused eyes zero in on the pieces. Harkin chuckles. "That got your attention, eh?"

Ciaran briefly glares at his sibling before continuing with his task. After some more whiffs, the young grimm turns to the sky and smells the air. His ears perk, pointing north. "There, it is faint but her scent is strongest that way. I can pinpoint her with more accuracy as we go."

"Good. We ought to track down and eliminate this girl before she can develop into something monstrous." Said Harkin. He immediately treks into the forest again, looking over at his sibling. "I will be going faster now Care. Can you handle it? Your wounds are still healing from last night."

A huff, then a smirk, and a limp tail goes swinging. "Let's get this brat."

Staring ensues from Harkin for a period. He nods and faces forward again, posture slouching as he drops so his hands touch the snow. He peels off into the snowy landscape, legs, and arms a blur, but his torso itself stays stable to keep Ciaran at minimum risk. Ciaran feels the jolts each time Harkin briefly touches the ground as he flies over it with each bound despite how smoothly it was done, but he simply bites his tongue and bears with it. Pain is part of the deal as a Creature of Grimm after all, he thinks.

As Harkin swerves around trees and hops fallen ones, he fights back the angst within him about this situation. Beyond Ciaran helping him find the remnants of cloth to track the huntress, he doesn't require Ciaran to track down the Silver-Eyed youth, he has tracked down targets by scent many times before. He can return his injured little brother to the tree and take care of the issue himself. That was the logical action, he knew.

However, much to his chagrin, he was not certain about what would happen if he left Ciaran alone. What if he tries to follow him with injured limbs, making things worse for his well-being? What if non-Grimm found him in such a state whether he followed or not? Harkin can comfortably say he is a capable grimm with many dead at his actions, but that is useless if he is far away from Ciaran. No, best he keeps the adolescent close.

Besides, he knows Ciaran would refuse with all his strength to stay somewhere and be "useless", as he calls it. So hard he wishes to prove himself, he forgets about his mortality.

---

In the household of Taiyang, despite the heater only being cranked up enough so that the inhabitants aren't freezing, warmth blooms from within them nonetheless. Within the kitchen area, three people and a dog rest with positivity oozing off of them. Before them, the bamboo steamer baskets lay unweighted with the delectable items once within them. Well-used chopsticks lie in the baskets as the family basks in the warm and satisfying feeling.

Yang stretches her arms out high above her, groaning all the while. "Hoowee, that Char Siu Bao was like an explosion of flavor in my mouth!" She crosses her arms over her head and leans against her seat, circling her lips with her tongue to swipe up the remaining barbecue sauce. "Nice and lean, with a little juice in each bite."

Ruby herself smacks her soles on the tile floor in rapid succession. Humming in overwhelming agreement and clapping. "Say it, sister! That sweet glaze made my eyes go hoohaa!" Ruby puts her thumb and index finger at her chin, glancing her eyes at the ceiling. "Is that honey doing that?" Suddenly, Ruby snaps her fingers and grins. "Honey."

Taiyang, wiping his mouth with a napkin, smiles and leans back in his chair. "Well, I am glad you liked that, girls. But as much as I would love to show you the recipe, I have a training session to subject you to this morning."

It took a moment for the two sisters to realize their father's words fully; the two girls were still relishing stuffed bellies. It hit them soon though, even Ruby in her exhaustion widened her eyes alongside Yang. Grins aplenty absorb young faces and Yang springs from her seat, hands slapping down on the dining table. "Wicked! When do we start!?" Beside her, Ruby nods with balled hands at her chin, begging for answers.

Taiyang raises his hands as if at gunpoint and stands as well. There was much mirth in his eyes. "Now now. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I believe you are forgetting a very important step in dining."

Lilac and silver pools meet across the table, eyelids blinking rapidly. Yang shrugs and Ruby tilts her head. To her credit, Ruby speaks. "What's that?"

Their father covers his mouth with a hand and pins his eyelids shut, a muffled laugh following.

His precious girls look at each other again, Yang waving a hand in the laughing man's direction. Ruby shakes her head and points an index at herself. "Don't look at me."

He opens his ocean-top eyes, uncovering his mouth. A chortle persists, but Taiyang clears his throat. "Sundrop, Shortcake. You two will be the end of me." He lifts his plate, stained with barbecue sauce. "Cleaning up. That's the step."

After a moment, Yang blushes and rubs the back of her hair. "Oh yeah. Whoops." She grabs her plate and bamboo basket, hurrying to the kitchen sink. "Sorry pops!"

Ruby drifted off, a bout of fatigue affecting her response. The water starting in the kitchen struck the realization from her lagging brain. "Oh, okay. That makes sense." She yawns and follows Yang's lead, stepping in front of the sink after her to do her dish. Yang stares at Ruby as she washes, specifically at the subtle bags under her eyes. She notices how often Ruby blinks and shakes her head.

When ceramic clinks on the plastic dish rack and a pale hand twists the water off, Yang lets her thoughts be known. "Rhubarb? Did you get any sleep last night, like, at all?"

The smaller teen was drying her hands on a towel when Yang asked her; Ruby was caught off guard, but she bought time by folding the cloth on the countertop. "I told you before, sis. I was caught up in a game. I missed some z's, that is all."

Ruby hates lying, but it feels less deceitful with half-truths. She was involved in a game of hunting the Creatures of Grimm, technically.

Yang hums and crosses her arms, leaning against the counter next to Ruby. "Really? Were you playing Grimmspawned again? I remember you throwing a tantrum a couple of days ago about that pair of bosses: Stain and Smog?"

An eyelid twitches on Ruby's face as she remembered those pair of asses in gold.

Though, if she thought about it, she did fight a boss yesterday. Or was it today? Damn it. Still, that grimm was the most adrenaline-filled fight she had ever had. Sure, she had sparred with other huntsmen in training, but those were not the same. The worst-case scenario was temporary injuries that lasted a week or two, at worst there were broken bones.

Her fight with that beowolf was different: there was possible death for one or the other. Heck, they both could have died in the right scenario. That grimm: it was smart, agile, and strong. Let alone the willpower. Yeah, all grimm was quite motivated to put her down viciously. That canid though fought past not only the freezing waters of a lake in the middle of winter, but the bleeding holes she put in him. He is probably still kicking around somewhere out there.

Ruby can't lie that she is excited at the thought of clashing with that beowolf again. Talk about a challenge to look back on once she ends him once and for all.

Little red stutters. " Y-yeah. I got stuck on a boss last night. Barely lasted through it."

"Well then!"

The raised voice of their father grabs their attention, both teens glancing at the straw-haired man to see him pushing in his seat. "Then this will be a dual lesson for you, Ruby. You shall experience a combat scenario under the effects of sleep deprivation. One of many inconveniences that a future huntsman such as yourself will almost certainly experience in this way of life. Thank you for your sacrifice, young student of mine."

Ruby slouches, arms hanging as she groans. "Ugh! Light help me!"

Yang juts out a hip and rests a hand on it, smirking with teeth toward her sibling. Ruby shoots a glare in turn.

"Welp," Said Taiyang, shrugging his palms up. "You should have gotten your eight hours of sleep, young lady. Like I repeatedly recommended in the past." He raised a brow at "repeatedly", himself crossing his arms.

Ruby groans, rolling her eyes before shaking her damp hands at Yang. The blonde yelps and flinches away from the water. "Cold Cold!"

Huffing with a nod, she smiles and moves to leave the kitchen.

"Ahem."

Ruby stops midstep in the threshold. She looks over her shoulder at her dad. "Yeah, Dad?"

Taiyang simply raises a finger resting on his crossed arms at the table, where Ruby's chair sits separately. "You forgot to push in your chair, Little Rose Petal. We are martial artists, not savages."

Ruby about faces, walking over and shoving the seat end, saluting with peace fingers. "Okie-dokie Dad. Sorry sorry." She hops over to the threshold again. "Now, I make my exit."

The little redhead blitzes out into the house, leaving Taiyang smiling after her. A giggle interrupts the brief silence, courtesy of his daughter. The straw blonde man glances at the smug sun blondie over his shoulder. "You are in the same boat, Yang. You have no leg to stand on, Miss Giggly."

Yang bites her tongue and clasps her hands behind her back; quickly, the teenage lass saunters past her chair and shoves it into the proper place with a swing of her hips. "Sorry paps."

Scoffing and shrugging, Taiyang gestures toward the stairs. "Grab a coat, Sunny."

"Got Ya!" Said Yang, jogging out of the kitchen and vaulting over the couch in the living room. She didn't reach the foot of the stairwell before her father yelled.

"Oy, keep the parkour outside, young lady!"

"Yes, Dad!"

Sighing, Taiyang stares at the stairs. It is a quiet few moments before the sound of panting closes in on his left side. He smiles and then looks down at their little guardian, Zwei, staring up at him. "They are growing up fast, Zwei. Fast enough to match the challenges out there? With guidance."

Zwei's head and ears twitch and tilt. He whines.

"Yeah," Said Taiyang. "We can only try, boy." He crouches and tussles Zei's head, the cute thing panting immediately. He lets out a trio of barks, shunting Taiyang's hand aside to posture up and take a combat stance. Tail up, butt barely waving and teeth bared at some imaginary foe. A rumble can be heard from his chest.

Taiyang matches him with a clenched fist raised to his eyeline. "Now you are talking."

Just then, a blur of red sails down the stairs, Ruby now in a cloak appearing out of it at the front door. At one point. She skids across the floor past the entrance with her arms flailing and body tilted at a 135-degree angle. The lass stops just before she faceplants the wall across from the stairs, hands jutting out to plant on said wall to finally stop their owner's momentum. Rose petals of red follow soon after to pelt her back and the wall; a subtle trail of petals details her path down the stairs.

Smoothly, Yang follows after Ruby, now in a violet scarf and a black leather jacket with wool inside lining. She looks over to her father as she descends, raising her hands in a shrug. She sticks her tongue out the side of her mouth and twirls her finger at her noggin, moving her head like a bobblehead.

Charming. Taiyang thought. With a signal to Zwei, the blonde walks over to join his daughters outside.

Already, as he steps outside, he spots Yang chasing after Ruby around the side of the house, throwing snow up in their wake despite the depth. Aura-powered muscles are a treat.

As he follows after them, he kicks aside snow with wide sweeps, making somewhat of a path through the snow. He is in no rush. They gotta get mentally settled, yeah. He wasn't thinking of what flowers he should grow next Spring, no sir. Maybe a little.

On the topic of clearing snow. "Hey, Rube Petal! I cleared the sparring ground earlier today, but it seems the snow was blown by the wind! Use your semblance to shine it up, please!?"

Ruby pauses in test swinging her scythe, her baby, to look at her pops with a hum before her eyes circle her. Yep, the fighting area was visible, but snow and some ice were dotting it. Not good for a non-slippery fight against her puffed-up sister. "K! Got it, Dad!"

Squaring herself, Rwby dashes all around the battleground in blurs of red with rose petals flinging off her liberally. After a few dashes, she smirks and turns to her sister. Yang was too focused on checking her gauntlets to notice. In a blitz, Ruby blazes past her sister, sending snow flying onto the blonde. The blonde seizes from the freezing powder and howls out, "Cold cold cold, " She shakes off the snow and glares after Ruby. "Damn it, Rubes!"

Sliding to a stop, Ruby smiles and waves. "Who, me?" She points at herself, pouting all innocent-like.

Yang smirks. "You little-"

A clap makes both girls cringe from the sheer volume, its origin Taiyang's powerful hands. "Girls, you'll have plenty of opportunity to blow off some steam in your spar."

Getting nods from his girls, Taiyang inspects the sparring arena, a wide expanse of stripped dirt with only a singular tree nearby to act as shade during breaks. It was two dozen yards from the house; Taiyang didn't want any sparring to break a window or whatnot. "Ruby, there is innocent fun, then there is being a brat. Put your mouth back in your mouth, it'll freeze and fall off, mark my words.

Caught taunting her sister, Ruby retracts her tongue and stands up straight, flicking snow off her hair with a blush. Yang juts her chin and quirks her head at Ruby with a grin, earning a grumble from Ruby.

"Now, for this session, no weapons." Said Taiyang, raising a finger to the gasping Ruby. His daughter hugs her prized scythe close like a teddy bear like he wants to melt it down. "Rubarb, sweetie. You and I both know you need to practice fighting unarmed?"

Ruby rolls her eyes and groans. "Dad. Crescent Rose and I are one, I stay on the move to avoid being disarmed. Even if I lose Rose, I can grab her with my semblance."

Taiyang's mouth opens, but Yang answers first. "But what if you can't, Ruby!" She gestures with her palms up at Ruby. "What are you gonna do if you can't run after Crescent Rose? She can be tossed off a high place, buried under junk, or hell, someone gets a hold of her. Sometimes, running isn't an option."

Ruby scowls and clenches a fist. Yang is making her sound like a scared child! Then, her scowl loses its edge and she looks down. Her right hand goes to her left shoulder and rubs. The area has long since stopped being sore, but the memory of teeth pressing in against her aura, slowly reaching her skin and drawing blood. That beowolf grimm, it was ruthless and freaking smart. If she didn't have Crescent Rose within reach of her leg, scaring off that beast with her desperate gambit to move him away… she would have had her shoulder devoured. There is doubtless other grimm like him, stronger than him. She didn't want to be so helpless like that again!

Sighing, she looks up at her two precious family members, eyes softened. Father, and begrudgingly Yang, were right. "Alright, I'll try this out, at least."

A fist pump is made by Taiyang. "That's the spirit, Ruby! You will get insight in this spar, I guarantee." Setting his hands on his hips, he walks up to Ruby. He holds a hand out to his daughter, flexing his fingers as she hesitates. She was running her hand down its compacted form. "Trust me, hun. It is good for you to be more varied in your combat options. Adaptive and balanced."

Reluctantly, Ruby hands over her darling, the very thing that has saved her life. When her father nods with a smile and walks towards her sister, her Crescent Rose easily held in one hand with care, a vague longing tugged at her center. She felt vulnerable. She didn't like it; Ruby hates feeling exposed, weak. She can't be weak, she has to be a powerful huntress one day. People are counting on huntsmen to protect them.

Yang already her two yellow, black, and red gauntlets in her palms when Taiyang reached her. His dexterous and long hand easily wraps around Ember Celica, her dad granting a nod before heading over to the tree, where he leans Crescent Rose against the base and tucks Ember Celica inside an alcove in the tree.

Spinning around, he clasps his hands together and takes a breath. "Alrighty! Let's get the action started. Girls, take your positions!"

Yang hops in place, testing her punches and kicks. Muscles are being warmed up, mindset reshaping for battle. Meanwhile, Ruby is more static, simply taking up a basic boxing stance. The petite hands of the girl clench and unclench nervously.

The teens' father at his spot near the tree raises his arm high into the air.

The family dog Zwei bursts through the mound of snow around the sparring ring, sliding to a stop near Taiyang's leg with an old bone in his mouth. Taiyang swings his arm down and Zwei drops his bone. "Begin!"

Zwei matches the beat, letting out a massive bark.

The first to move is Yang Xiao Long, breaking out into a sprint at Ruby full-tilt. Ruby backpedals in response. The blonde jumps, cocking her first back as she flies at Ruby. The shorter girl drops to her left side, cartwheeling out of the way of Yang's Superman punch.

Yang plants herself, chasing after her sister's back. Ruby whips around, ducking and weaving a punch and elbow from Yang respectively. The golden huntress-in-training changes it up with a snap kick, Ruby just barely raising her hands before impact. Yang's boot pushes her hands into her stomach, the shoe catching Ruby in the stomach something fierce. Bent down with a yelp, Ruby sees a fist before it impacts her face right on the nose.

The uppercut from Yang propels her sister up and back, throwing her off her feet and onto the frosted ground hard, a shout expelling from Ruby. The prone teen barely had time to groan as Yang raised her left leg high. A stomp! The red-haired girl rolls to the side, dodging the stomp strong enough to dent the earth up to the toe tip of Yang's boot, small cracks originating from the crater.

Mentally sighing in relief, Ruby growls and props herself up, swinging her right leg out at Yang for a leg sweep at the very leg that tried to bury her in the dirt. Yang reacts, lifting her leg from the crater and up away from the leg sweep. Not wasting momentum, Ruby uses the missed leg sweep to put herself on all fours. She throws a back-kick out with her leg, but Yang raises her left leg, blocking the attack with her shin. Ruby pushes off her sister's leg and rolls forward onto her hands into a brief handstand. Ruby shoves off the ground, flipping onto her feet. Not having the time to be idle, she spins to face her opponent again whilst making distance.

Ruby's intuition proved right because Yang is already bearing down on her again. She launches a barrage of punches at Ruby, the agile youth weaving to and fro and back to avoid contact. After a handful of punches, Ruby's agility can only do so much against the quick and successive attacks of her sister. She mixes in blocking, blocking a right hook with her left arm, then a left elbow with her right. Her arms shake and groan at the stupidly powerful punches they dare to defend against. In close, Yang goes for an uppercut, so Ruby moves to block. Yang's fist stops just before contact. At the same time, Ruby realized she was tricked with a feint, her air escapes her as Yang's right knee drives into her left abdomen. The process of realizing the pain she is feeling is interrupted as Yang punches past her lapsed guard, catching her on the cheek and launching her off her feet onto the ground again with a scream of pain.

Just barely, she manages to roll backward into a crouch; sucking in air with a wince, Ruby holds her side and shakes the daze out of her head. The haze leaves her sight just as a mass of black and yellow quickly increases in size. Yang is already closing the gap!

As Yang reaches Ruby, she preps a front kick, her sister's head at the perfect height for a clean hit. Her little sister raises her arms to defend, her boot making contact with the back of the fists. However, Ruby just barely redirects the kick mostly off her face by moving her fast to the right, letting the kick push her hands past her head. Quickly, she wraps her arms around Yang's leg and stands, bracing her leg on her left shoulder as she does; Ruby yells, pushing into Yang, the girl in red tipping her onto the ground. Mounting her sister, Ruby slams her fists toward Yang's head. The brawler is quick to block the attacks, throwing out her own at Ruby with far more success. One jab catches Ruby hard on the nose, making her flinch back to hold her nose; Yang takes advantage of her sister's retreat, shunting her hips up to push Ruby up and off her. Using the opening, Yang shrimps and frees a leg, shoving it into Ruby's stomach. She grabs the fabric of Ruby's dress and pulls. Rolling backward, she carries Ruby on her leg and tosses her off onto the ground. The girl flies with a "woah!" before impacting the ground, her cloak falling over her head.

As Yang kips up to her feet, Ruby scrambles to her knees and up, stumbling on the frosty earth. Yang is persistent, already closing in on Ruby. Gasping, Ruby retreats, backstepping to keep out of Yang's range. Yang growls, sprinting after Ruby; the girl in black, eyes widening, hops in place into a dropkick at her sister's charging form. The blonde brawler defends against the kick, only for her opponent to disappear from her sight in an explosion of roses after boots make contact. Swiping the roses away, Yang sees her sister shoot away from her. She used her semblance to get!

Ruby fumbles across the sparring ground, tossing up snow and dirt. She struggles up, shaking her head. That was an in-the-moment action. Ouch, she was still dizzy.

"Come on Ruby!" A voice yells, her sister's. Ruby looks up with jangled eyes.

"You can't just keep dodging and retreating," Said Yang, arms spread apart and foot stomping the ground. "You've gotta go on the offensive sometime, else it's only a matter of time I catch you square with one good hit!"

Sighing, Ruby calls back, "I'm not like you Yang! Fists are your expertise!"

"You have to be prepared for the worst, Ruby! It is just a matter of time before Crescent Rose gets lost or whatever!" Yang rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips. "You really think the greatest of huntsmen are one trick ponies, helpless without a weapon!?"

Ruby ceases for a moment, the memory of being shoved down by a handicapped beowolf just last night coming to the forefront. She couldn't even react to such a simple tactic. The only reason she wasn't finished off was the two wounds she exploited; she was lucky that Crescent Rose aided her even when out of her hands. Still, it was the beowolf that chose to toss her away and flee. She was low on aura and her weapon was buried in snow, she couldn't say she could have won against him, even with his wounds. The grimm, he had intelligence in those molten eyes of his. What would even older grimm be like?

No! She wasn't weak, she couldn't be! A huntsman protects, against all odds!

Her hands clench into fists and she goes onto all fours again. She takes the starting position of a sprinter at the start line, oriented right at her sister.

Quickly, Yang takes a fighting stance. A smile cresting her chin. "Bout time."

A deep inhale is taken by Ruby- she blurs, firing forth in a torrent of rose petals, blowing aside snow and dirt in her wake.

Yang brings both arms together as a shield, none too soon. Ruby reappears as she makes impact with her sister through a sidekick. The attack causes Yang to grind backward several feet, carving grooves as she goes, but she stays stalwart. Petals bounce off her in the wind caused by such speed Huffing, Yang shoves the left away with the forearms. She responds with a jab and a straight, making Ruby stumble when she blocks it. The larger sister returns the favor with an axe kick, only to crack the ground as Ruby blitzes away.

More rose petals litter the ground as Ruby completes her retreat to the right side of Yang. She moves again, silhouette blurry as it charges Yang; with honed reflexes, Yang repositions herself in time to block again. A front kick this time. More grooves mark the ground.

This time, Yang grabs the leg that kicked her and pulls. Ruby is forced closer with a yelp and then is swept off her supporting leg by Yang. Suspended in the air as she was, she was an easy target when her sister followed up with a strong punch into the gut.

Spittle leaves Ruby's mouth as she is shot onto the ground by the hit. She only has time to gasp once before Yang squats low and jumps a story into the air. Sucking in lost air in a gasp, Ruby kips into a reverse roll, just barely avoiding the double-leg by Yang. The ground under her soles caves and spiderweb cracks form.

Ruby barely touched her knees to the ground before she sprinted away with her semblance again. She weaves in a circle around Yang, keeping the huntress-in-training's head on a swivel. Ruby changes trajectory and swerves out of her orbit of Yang toward her. She throws a punch, one to be hastily deflected by Yang's forearm. Ruby doesn't linger, running as soon as the punch landed. She resumes her trajectory, pestering her sister with quick attacks that slowed her momentum minimally. One swerved into a punch that was blocked, another one where she tried to knee Yang in the back, only to be dodged.

After defending against a few more drive-by attacks, Yang curses, frustration setting in. As Ruby came in for another attack, Yang sidesteps, letting her sister blast past her. She snags the red cloak flowing behind Ruby, causing her to suddenly stop. Her sprinting legs swing out in front of her, leaving her suspended in the air. She is pulled through the air by Yang, lifted high above the blonde before being slammed face-first into the ground, shaking the earth around the impact. The smaller girl even bounces from the slam.

Hand still clasping Ruby's cloak, Yang rears back her right fist and swings down at her prone sister. Imagine her surprise when Ruby juts to all fours and dashes-

The world goes black for a moment as utter shock and pain sunder Yang's mind. Ruby had propelled herself with her semblance, landing a flying knee at her sister's abdomen. Yang Xiao Long is airborne across the sparring ground, but she isn't out. She bounces and rolls on the snowy battleground, burying her fingers into the earth. She slows herself additionally with boottips digging small trenches. Coming to a stop on all fours, she winces and holds her stomach. Ouch, Rube got her good on that one. Shouldn't have let her guard down. Limited in hand-to-hand she may be, but Ruby was still a fellow huntress-in-training.

Blowing out steam, Yang rips her hand from her stomach and plants a fist on the ground. She pushes herself up onto two legs. Panting, she takes a deep breath and sprints right for Ruby again.

"Dang it. That hurt." Said Ruby. Her whole body, even with aura, was fatigued like mad from the slam from Yang. Physical damage may be absorbed, but the mental toll of being swung like a ragdoll isn't one so easily rectified by Aura. She couldn't spend time resetting herself though, Yang was honing in like a bull.

Her sister Yang initiates their clash with a jump in the air. Like a boulder from a catapult, she arcs down at her younger sister. Ruby yelps and zooms away with her semblance; all that Yang hits is a bushel of rose petals, blasting by them to slam into the earth, cracking it and displacing snow several feet around the impact.

In came Ruby again, leg extended in a right side kick. Yang smirks as the kick comes in, sidestepping enough that the kick glances off her left hip. It hurts, but Yang simply growls through it. She pounces on the opening, turning at the hip to plant a hook into Ruby's gut. The lithe girl is launched away, spittle expelling from her mouth as air is forced out of her sternum. She tumbles hard across the ground, gasping for air as she rises onto shaking legs. Her arms are wrapped around her gut.

"You are far too predictable Ruby!" Says Yang. She pushes loose hair behind her shoulder and crosses her arms, quirking a hip. "It doesn't matter how fast you are if you keep using the same attacks! I'll counter you all day!"

Panting and hunched, Ruby puffs out her nose and takes a running posture, pointing right at Yang.

Yang rolls her eyes and begrudgingly puts up her dukes. This girl is seriously going to head straight at her yet again?

In a blur of red, Ruby dashes at her sister-or so she thought.

Instead, Ruby blows past her sibling, kicking up snow that smacks Yang in the face; Yang spits snow and winds around the guard her back. However, Ruby is the move again, dashing past Yang again. More snow goes up. Yang is blinded by the snow flying around her. She bares her teeth. Looks like Ruby is thinking.

Ruby sprints in circles around her sister, making a fog of snow from the remaining sleet on the ground. Out she bursts from the tornado of snow she created, sliding across the ground into a sprinter's starting position. Hoping that she was aiming right, she takes a breath and then kicks off at the wall of snow she created, rearing back a haymaker before she even sees Yang. In the brief moment she enters the eye of the snow hurricane, she catches the sun through the white. She swings for the sun, her fist meeting skull as she deals a rabbit punch to her smug sister. She didn't get to observe how effective the hit was, already entering the wall of snow again. Out the other side, she came, spinning around and clawing at the ground to slow herself down. Barely stops before she pushes off again, pulling at the gouges she made in the dirt to assist her launch. This time, she bares her shoulder as she enters the fog, exiting it just as quickly; Ruby and her shoulder collide with Yang, stumbling her. However, Yang is so sturdy, that Ruby deflects off her and twirls on chaotic legs. Leaping away into the fog before Yang could grab her.

Out and in. She throws another punch that catches Yang in the ribs. Her next punch is blocked by Yang, but Ruby swerves into the fog before she can counterattack. Yang orients herself to where Ruby last entered the fog. Instead, a boot plants itself into the small of her back. She stays standing, executing a spinning back fist. Ruby had already backed off, leaping into the fog.

Ruby comes in with a kick that connects with Yang, bouncing off her at the same time. Yang didn't even have a chance to react with a counter.

Ruby makes a few passes like this. Either she connects then swerves away, or Yang manages to block and the agile fighter retreats into the safety of her manmade fog.

"Damn damn damn!" Said Yang, exasperated, fists swinging this way and that. Huffing, She turtles in and waits. After a moment of waiting, a red blur enters her peripheral vision; Yang is quick to act against Ruby, about facing and delivering a punch at the red.

Instead of the familiar resistance that a body gives when hit, her fist sinks deeper. She briefly notes contact was made, before Ruby's cloak inverts, spilling forth a pound of snow right into Yang's face. It was during her sputtering, that the true red blur came in.

Leaning into a slide, a cloakless Ruby executes a kick from below, digging her boot into Yang's glutes. Yang is propelled toward the gray and blue sky, blowing aside the fog at the apex. Ruby moves to all fours, pulling at the snow with her hands and pushing off it with her legs. Her hands leave the ground as she blasts off, with snow, dirt, and fog all equally breaking apart at her coming like a a speedboat on water. She follows after Yang as she arcs through the air and toward the earth like a cannonball.

Yang and Ruby have officially left the sparring grounds, going deeper into the fields surrounding their household and within the palisades. The blonde brawler whistles toward the ground, slamming into the layers of snow and against frozen ground. An imprint of her body is made in the snow and ground.

Ruby is not far behind, the girl leaping into the air after her. Her trajectory aimed her pinpoint at her sister. Soaring, Ruby retracts her legs so much, that her bent knees reach her chest. Just as she lands on Yang, she kicks out with both legs. The mother of all dropkicks is unleashed onto Yang, not only burying her deeper into the earth but also reducing her to the share of a plow; the blonde is made to carve a trench into the soil, Ruby riding her like a surfboard.

After fifteen meters of trench was made, Yang finally slowed, Ruby boosting off her sister into a backflip as she stopped. Her landing was far less graceful, landing on her feet but slipping on the snow onto her ass and back with a yelp.

On the freezing snow, Ruby pants with rivulets of sweat pouring down her head. Sweat stings her eyes, making her wince and grind at her eyelids like mad with a hand. She shakes her head and drags her hands about her face, unleashing sweat onto the snow below to freeze. She squeezes sweat out of her locks as she weakly rolls onto her stomach. Situps were not of interest right now. On her knees and palms, she tries to rise, but sore legs fail her and she is back on her knees in the cold snow. Cold.

She scoops up some white powder and smooshes it against her face. Woo. That is cold. It did cool her and wake her up though. She gave a good surprise if she could gloat a little. Knowing Yang though-

From the end of the trench, one Yang was forced to make, an explosion of fire expelled from it, melting snow and blowing it away as big globs of water. Even the frozen ground immediately around Yang's last known location grows wet from melted ice and frost. Yang shoots up from the ditch, a roar escaping her maw. Steam gusts out like a steam engine, her now burning crimson eyes further matching the fiery rage coming out of every pore. Her hair shines radiantly like a miniature sun as fire flicks off the ends of each voluminous lock of her mane.

Ruby Rose suddenly finds strength in her legs again, the redhead stumbling on her feet she stares at the inferno that is currently her sister. Her fists go up trembling. How she is feeling can be summed up in the next sound she pants out her mouth "Shit…"

After her screaming fades, Yang's glare leaves the sky and zeroes in on Ruby, her mouth set in a fine line. Her fists are pumped before she charges down Ruby with greater speed than she ever could before.

The drained Ruby could only muster to slip a left cross Yang threw before a right cross came at her and slammed her raised left forearm. Ruby seethes. She couldn't process the throbbing pain before a left hook caught her right forearm. As Ruby computes two throbbing arms, yelping, a right jab pierces the shield Ruby's fists tried to be and clobbers her poor nose. Ruby screams as her head is shoved back, but Yang already propels a turning kick into Ruby's left ribcage.

Ruby is bowled over Yang's leg gasping for air, left slouched when the leg retracts. There was no peace for her though; Yang followed up her first kick with a left knee to the sternum. This attack sends Ruby sliding on the balls of her feet across the snow away from Yang, who follows swiftly. Moving faster than the hunched Ruby slid, she performs a winding right uppercut. With Ruby bent over, the uppercut catches her on the nose yet again. The smaller girl sails into the air from the attack, Yang following after her sister in a leap.

At the peak of Ruby's forced ascent, Yang crashes into the small of her back with a flying knee. Then with interlocked hands raised, Yang yells and slams down into the gut of Ruby. Much like Yang earlier, but at an accelerated velocity, Ruby Rose zooms screaming back to Earth with an echoing boom. Snow explodes away from the impact, fog rising high into the air.

Even if Yang couldn't see the threat, her right fist is already cocked back into a haymaker as gravity drags her down to the earth. As she nears landfall, she swings down where she is sure her enemy laid vulnerable. Her fist makes an impact, but not with anything soft. The ground she strikes cracks and caves in even if frozen over. Wind generated from the punch sends the fog away, revealing Yang crouched down with a fist stuck in the ground.

Ripping her fist from the earth in a shower of dirt, she whirls up and throws her gaze around. Looking for red. It is after a few moments that the fog from Ruby's trick in the sparring grounds earlier fades finally. She sees black and red, all she needs is to do.

She runs at the red, one that wasn't toward the edges of her vision, but the center. Her enemy was laid low, but she didn't stop. She cannot stop.

She leaps, intending to plant her boot onto her enemy on landing. It was at her moment just before impact that something solid collided with her torso, clotheslining her. The next thing she knew, she was slammed onto her back on the cold ground, the back of her head slamming a second later. This dazed her mightily, her vision blurred for a few seconds. Then, sounds assaulted her ears, more her left ear. It gets clearer with every second until…

"Yang! Calm down! Come back to me, girl! You are in no danger!" Said the familiar voice of her father Yang. The voice and the man grew clearer, a mess of blonde hair was ringing bells in her head. Then it was the blue eyes and tanned skin. He was shouting at her. Why?

"Dad? What happened?" She said, groaning as her whole body ached. Not just from the impact. "I was sparring with Ruby, then… I don't know."

Taiyang looks behind him, then back down to Yang. He sighs deeply. "You activated your semblance, near your maximum I imagine. The power got to you again. Made you go berserk."

Yang's now violet eyes go wide and she shoots up, only the clutch at her chest in pain where her dad slammed his arm into. She pushes through her pain to ask. "What did I do? Is Ruby okay!?"

Taiyang puts a hand on his daughter's shoulder to calm her, before gesturing where she last saw red. There, groaning and writhing, was a battered Ruby. Across her whole body, a somewhat translucent red sheen glows bright, then fades to nothing. Every few seconds, the sheen appears again and increases in intensity before fading again. Ruby's aura was very low based on that layer appearing like that. The slight cracks in the projection that is her aura shield further exemplify how hammered it was. Still gripping the back of her blouse, was Zwei, before he unclasped it and licked away at Ruby's face

"Her aura shield started exposing itself after you pelted her to the ground. One more good hit and you would have done more than just bruise her. How badly? I didn't wait to find out."

Ruby bows and covers her face with both hands. "Oh, God!" She rips her hands from her face. "I did it again!"

Her father breathes in deep through the nose and sighs just as strongly. "Well, these outbursts of yours are getting less frequent. I suspect your emotional state is playing a part."

Yang blinks. "What?"

Before Taiyang could respond. Ruby becomes much more mobile. She feebly tries to sit up before Zwei chips in by pushing at her back with his little body. He stays at the small of her back as support as she coughs and hacks.

With the assistance of her father, Yang stands up slowly. "I need to talk to her."

Nodding, Tai assists Yang in limping over to the sitting Ruby. The redhead only looks toward the snow below, bangs draping off her head to shield her eyes from view. When they near Ruby, Yang takes her arm off her father's shoulders and falls to one knee. In closer proximity now, the older sister strives to make things right.

"Ruby…" Said Yang, running one hand down her length of blonde hair. Sweat galore made it damp. A good sweat in most other situations. "I… messed up."

Lifting her head, the silver eyes of Ruby peer at Yang's violet. Yang can't help but be taken aback, flinching and blinking rapidly. The light is dim in her silver eyes, and not because of the dimmed sunlight that the winter cloud cover caused. "Ruby, I get that you probably don't want to talk to me. I was so caught up in the fight, I kept at it even when there was no fight left."

Clicking her tongue, Ruby responds. "It isn't really that, Yang. It's… something else."

That answer makes Yang quirk her head. "What's up?"

Taiyang himself squats down between his two daughters, gloved hand rising to his goatee. "I know what's up. You are unsatisfied with how the spar went."

Ruby groans and rolls her eyes. "I ain't a sore loser dad."

Taiyang scoffs and waves away the comment. "You can be upset about a fight whilst still being sporty. It can be expected."

Pouting, Ruby pulled her legs under her, joints popping as she did. She winces. Taiyang reaches a hand out, only for Ruby to shake her head. "Thanks, Dad, but I can get up on my own. I can do that at least.

As Ruby struggles up, Yang's eyes narrow. "Ruby, there is no shame in getting helped."

The legs of Ruby were shaky on her way up, Zwei rubbing himself against one of them as she did. She sighs, then responds. "It was a spar for you, but not for me. I put my everything against you, but all I did was bolster your semblance." Ruby's face turns fierce and she growls. "We all know I can't measure up to you without my weapon!"

Yang stands quick to glower down at her sister. "Why do you think Dad put us against each other? To close that gap, Ruby! Crescent Rose won't always be at your side! What if she breaks, or is stolen!?" Yang's hands get animated, poking Ruby on the forehead. "You need to smarten up Ruby, and get versatile!"

Ruby slaps Yang's hand off her head and jabs Yang on the chest with the same hand. "None of that will happen, I and Crescent Rose are one! I take care of her and she does the same for me!"

Zwei watches all this unfold between the two sisters, whimpering and folding his ears against his skull. His muzzle rapidly darted between his two family members at a rapid pace.

Yang's eyes turn red and she yells into the air. She looks back at Ruby, whipping her hand through the air. "How are you naive?! There is no guaranteeing that, Rube! Limiting yourself like this will get you killed! Do you want to see Mom again that bad!?"

"Girls!"

Both Ruby and Yang jump back from each other as their father's voice pierces the air like a bird call. His arms are crossed as he glares at both. His gaze points toward Yang. "Yang Xiao Long. Your argument comes from a place of care and logic, but you express it in the most bullheaded way. What makes sense to you doesn't make sense to others. Empathize, don't dominate."

Yang looks to the side, arms crossed. Ruby was halfway through smirking before her father's gaze was directed toward her as well. The power of a parent's disappointed gaze goes

Unsaid.

"Even if Yang said it like a brute, Ruby, she isn't wrong at the fundamental level. I ain't exaggerating when I say you are a prodigy in combat with Crescent Rose." He smiles before sighing with his eyes closed. "That's the rub though, "with Crescent Rose". You are in sync with your weapon, even using your legs in battle alongside it. Then, without Crescent Rose, your fighting skill takes a near 180. You have some unarmed skills, but you are squarely average in your class. There is a stark contrast, one that I want to help you mitigate."

Ruby is silent, nodding, before turning her back to both family members and walking away. Her cloak was still buried in the snow after she used it as a decoy. She looks down at the article of clothing with a frown and dim silver eyes. Squatting down, she brushes aside the snow atop it and frees it with a light tug. Clipping it at her shoulders, she turns back and walks. She barely glances at Yang before passing by her and toward the lone tree near the sparring ground.

"Ruby Rose, I may not be the strictest father on the block, but walking away from me as I am speaking to you without even a response is quite disrespectful, young lady." Said Taiyang. Despite his accusing tone, his face expressed more calm frustration than real anger.

Despite the turmoil inside her, Ruby stopped as her father finished his reprimand of her. Hand fidgeting with a piece of her cloak, she turns to her family again. "Dad, I understand you want me to excel at every aspect of combat, but unarmed fighting isn't my thing like with you and Yang. A huntsman that loses or breaks their weapon is in an unfavorable situation. My skills will last me till I grab a weapon again or backup from others."

Yang rolls her eyes and rests her hands on her hips. "So what, you plan on playing evasive every time? You cannot always run away from an unwanted fight, Ruby."

Taiyang raises a hand in a calming motion toward Yang. "Though she can word it better, your sister isn't wrong, Ruby. A battle rarely goes down exactly how we plan it to. You have to be ready for as many scenarios as there can be. Being forced to stand and fight, even without your weapon, is one scenario you can't ignore as a possibility."

Ruby sighed and turned to walk toward the tree, where her precious ally rested. She takes the weapon and places it at her tailbone. There, the magnet on her belt attracts and attaches Crescent Rose to her waist. She barely looks over her shoulder. "I'm hearing what you are saying Dad, but I need some time to myself to think things over."

Yang's eyes widen and she starts speedwalking at Ruby."Now hold on, sis. I still have things to-"

Before Yang can reach Ruby, the redhead drops into a running stance and zooms away toward the front of the family property. Rose petals hit Yang in the face as she fails to grab at Ruby.

"Ruby! Hold on!" Yang waves both her arms high in the air at the blur. Even from this far, Taiyang and Yang can see a small red figure at the palisade gates. The sizable doors at the walls open briefly, the red dot disappearing beyond it, the gates swinging closed after. "Damn it! I still had things to say."

Taiyang simply looks after Ruby as she runs. Best to let her ease down in the pleasant nature. "She'll be back, Sunny. Your apology will be given in time."

The tenseness in Yang's shoulders ease at her father's words, sagging as she stares at her fist, they are still clenching. Anger helps her so much in fights. Not in conversations, hell to the no. "I just want her to be safe, Dad. I'll be at Beacon Academy next year, I can't protect her all the way on the mainland."

Taiyang walks over to stand at Yang's side and rubs her back, patting her on the end to rid her of the snow trying to clump on top. Zwei isn't far behind, nuzzling the blonde girl's calf. "Your sister is a prodigy, Yang. She will be plenty strong enough to hold her own till she gets to Beacon with you. Maybe even stronger than you if you ain't careful." She grabs her shoulder and shakes her, making her gaze snap to him. "What you be thinking anyway? Zwei and I will be here to take care of her whilst you kick some ass at Beacon. Let alone Pale's many warriors. We are the safest place on Remnant for a reason, you know?"

A smile inches its way onto Yang's face. "Yeah. You are probably right." She looks to the side for a moment, before her smile drops to a neutral expression. " Actually, isn't there increased grimm activity down south?"

Taiyang's face turns grim, hand slipping off Yang's shoulder to rest on the crook of his hip. His hand goes to his goatee. He ruffles it. "Activity? Yes, plenty. However, the grimm seem to be moving further south than north. On the face of it, we don't need to worry much about our winter celebrations being soured by grimm anytime soon."

Her dad's reassurance drains Yang's anxiety down to a minimum, coming together with the deepest sigh she's had in a week.

Taiyang's gaze looks out toward the canopies just beyond the palisades. A huntsman shouldn't rest too easily. "Still, we are on the outskirts, only so much ground the patrols can cover." He looks down at Zwei. "Zwei, could you watch over Ruby for us? You should be more than enough for most anything that slips past the frontline. Howl if there is a problem.

Zwei, tongue pulling back into his mouth, stands from his resting against Yang and barks. Growling in his throat, he springs off into and through the thick mounds of snow with little resistance posed by said snow. They can even see Zwei hop up now and then, soaring through the air into the fluffy snow with little fear.

Both Taiyang and Yang watch the good boy zoom away before Taiyang suddenly claps a single booming clap, startling poor Yang, and making her yelp. "Now! Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. You have some errors in your technique I wish to buff out." He about faces and walks deeper into the sparring ground. He beckons his daughter to follow with a hand wave. "With me, Sunny. Papa's in teaching mode."

Yang hums an affirmative, looking somberly in the direction Ruby went. She needs to apologize times two when Ruby gets back, she decides. Taking a big inhale, she grins and runs after her pops, ready to dive into the stimulation of fighting.

---

Ciaran's snout whips toward the sky, his ears ramrod straight as he huffs and puffs out his nose as a similar smell slams him in the sinuses. That brat, that thing, was staggeringly close now. His chops are becoming damp from excitement already. Blood will be spilled.

"Something catches your attention, little brother?" Said Harkin. He can't help but be amused at the young beowolf's reaction. He smells it too now like his sibling explained. Roses, during a season where they should be hibernating. It practically smacks the olfactories with the contradiction. Still, his brother is getting too stimulated. Half his limbs are injured for chaos's sake, bloody fool.

"Yes, my brother. That silver-eyed wench is assaulting me with her taunting scent. She is within our grasp at last. We need her gone. I need her gone!" Proclaims the wounded beowolf. His drool dripped onto his brother, his saliva was so out of control. "Vengeance, brother! Had, it shall be!"

The larger hand of Harkin grasps around Ciaran's uninjured forearm wrapped around his neck, easily wrapping around the whole appendage; the adult beowolf applies pressure on his sibling's limb, the slight pain generated interrupting Ciaran's spiral. He whimpers at the squeeze, gaining his attention. "Young brother, do not let your instincts cloud your judgment. Look at yourself. You barely survived bleeding out not even a cycle ago."

A growl was Ciaran's first response. "Injured or not, I ain't leaving you to fight by yourself. I discovered her existence and I plan to play a role in ending it."

Harkin chuffs, rolling his eyes. "You misunderstand, sibling. This isn't a negotiation. You should and will stay hidden as I handle this silver-eyed warrior. I am at a higher skill and experience level than you; this girl you fought is within your means, so I should have little issue slaying her."

"But Harkin-"

The yellow fire in Harkin's red eyes grows in intensity as he glares over his shoulder at his stubborn brother. "You will not fight in your current state. You will. Stay away. And watch. Understood!?"

Ciaran loses much of his resistance and shrinks down at Harkin's glare. His tail tucks between his legs and his ears fold. Even a whimper escaped. He responds after a moment. "Yes, Harkin. I… will obey."

The gaze of Harkin rests on Ciaran for a long while, brows lidding as he examines his brave, but foolish brother. Blinking finally, his eyes dim and he closes his eyes as he sighs. Would it be wrong to trap his brother in a ditch somewhere while he takes care of things? Actually, that isn't a good idea. The adolescent will just make a bunch of noise and attract the attention of who knows what while he is away. Best to keep the fool within a mile of him at most. His visit was just supposed to be a brief vacation to see Can before this island goes haywire in just a few weeks. The greater pack leader's plans are coming together smoothly.

Harkin looks out into the forest again, the angling of Ciaran's muzzle guiding his steps. Harkin isn't too ashamed to admit that taking away a silver-eyed warrior from humanity's ranks doesn't fill him with a little anticipation. Silver-eyed warriors have personally affected his bloodline aplenty.

A strategic and personal win. That possibility brings great joy to his soul indeed. Blood is waiting to be spilled today.