Maos was sleeping in the Inn, he had chosen to join beacon and was going to join Qrow.
Maos had a strange dream, he was a child around 8 years, and Osiris was next to him
Maos was dressed in white clothes, hiding most of his body, he even had a hood
"Where are we master ?" asks Maos
"here is the fountain of life, the place where the god of light resides," said Osiris
"But...where is he ?" asks Maos as he stays by Osiris's side
"he'll be here soon," said Osiris
"Both of the gods will be here, and they will punish you"
"huh ?"Maos look at Osiris, Osiris starts burning and turns into a pile of dust
after that, the fountain of life starts boiling as the god of life came out of it, the god of darkness arrives,the god of darkness suddenly charge at Maos
Maos scream as the god of darkness was about to him
Maos woke, screaming, and sweating
he touch his chest and felt the pendant offered by the merchants
Maos was heavily breathing, he look around, it was the room of the Inn,his room
Maos get up...still having trouble breath
"I'm safe...I'm safe, I'm in a godless world"
maos calm himself down
he start changing, he went to look in the mirror...and immediately understand his current situation
he turns around
"I know you are here, don't bother to hide," said Maos, he realise he was still in a dream
"so you noticed,"said the god of darkness as he appear in front of Maos
Maos look around, waiting for the god of light to show up
"my brother is not here at the moment, he is busy creating another realm," said the god of darkness
"what do you want ?" asks Maos
"I'm here to warn you," said darkness
"warn me about what ?" asks Maos
"it is only a matter of time before our brothers are summoned back to this world," said darkness
"Salem and Ozma have been fighting each other for a long time now, Salem currently has the advantage, she's aiming at her own death, gathering the relics and hoping we will kill her with the rest of Humanity"
"It's a good idea...sadly our deal to save humanity only applies to Ozma, not Salem"
"you mean Salem will remain after you destroy this world"
"Exactly...we will just be sent to another realm," said darkness
"do you understand what I mean? if Salem is the one to summon us, humanity will be destroyed regardless of it's state and her curse will remain"
"Just thought you would be to know that," said darkness
Maos stay calm and glare at the god of darkness
"i guess that already, you guys are like that...what do you want? you must here for something else, the god of light be there if not" said Maos
"you truly are clever, no wonder Osiris thought highly of you," said Darkness
"I am here to make a deal, I want you to destroy Salem," said darkness
"huh ?...why ?" said Maos
"wasn't she punished by you and the god of light"
"Indeed she was, however...she jump into the fountain of darkness...she's now part Grimm," said darkness
"What ?! is she crazy ?!" said Maos
"she was hoping to die by falling in it, she thought that since the fountain of light gave immortality, the fountain of darkness would grant her death"
"but that's absurd! darkness doesn't kill anything, it just corrupts things," said Maos
"every if someone immortal thanks to the fountain of life jumped in the pool of darkness, it would kill them...she may have thought that light and darkness were going to cancel each other...but it's just not the case, humans naturally bear, Light and darkness inside them"
"Exactly, she was corrupted by my pool...and now as an insult toward me, she took control over the Grimm, MY creation"
"she modified some of them,she tainted my creations !"
"you seem pretty mad about your creation..for someone who rules over destruction," said Maos
"I rule over darkness!" said the god
"do not mix darkness as the essence of destruction as I can create as well, just like my brother can destroy as he pleases "
"my brother simply takes pride in his creation, while i take pride in my destruction"
"however this does not mean I despise creation as I am your creator as well"
"I have pride in the creation of humans,I gave you magic so that you could have a never-ending potential"
"and I took away this Magic, I still decide to leave Dust to this world,I could have taken away the remnants of magic, but I choose not"
"This was my own decision"
"thanks to dust, humans have survived and evolved...while the human lost the ability to do, their exposure to dust in their everyday life made them evolve to gain an aura...a mere SEMBLANCE of what magic is"
"aura is essentially magic..." react Maos
"Exactly, as much as it may surprise you, the part of the deal that humanity shall be destroyed after the relic are gathered is an idea from my brother"
"I do not wish for humanity to disappear as they are one of my few creations, however, a promise is a promise"
"...so what's the deal you came here for...you want me to destroy Salem...let's say I agree how do I do that and what do I gain from it ?" asks Maos
"your punishment shall be reduced, I shall ignore you previous...blasphemy and disrespect," said the god of darkness
"in this world...there's everything you need to destroy Salem
"my brother left a gift to human, silver eyes, they have eyes light that reflects his power, it allows one to destroy darkness itself"
"if a well trained silver eyes warrior fights Salem, he or she may be able to defeat her"
"like purification ?" asks Maos
"I think there a few spells for that...some clerics back were able to achieve that, a spell I could learn"
"Indeed, however, this power and those spell are nothing alike," said darkness
"Salem was engulfed in true darkness, it is nothing like a Grimm or magic, silver eyes is another type of energy than magic or aura"
" another type of energy ?" react Maos
"you do not possess it, even if you were to learn a spell and reach a high level of magic, you wouldn't be able to actually affect Salem's darkness"
"which is why I am here, I can give you this power, it will help you defeat Salem"
"...but how would that stop her, she's immortal, I can't actually kill her! this will only purifier her !" said Maos
"the power of darkness still affected her immortality, if you purified her, she will fall apart and lose her power on grim, and in that state, it will be easy for you to put her in a cage...you can use the staff of creation for that, Ozma can help you with that part"
"but why would I do that? i don't know her, she doesn't know me!"
"and even if she causes the death of Osiris, given you two destroy humanity after, it means nothing"
"do you really think she will let you free like that? if you ever slip up and your existence is revealed to her, she will track you and make to sure eliminate you"
"she's immortal, you have no way to protect yourself against her..except running away...and again...she wouldn't just stop chasing you"
"I give can you a way to protect yourself"
"wait...but she's probably hunting silver eyes on a daily basis!" said Maos as the god of Darkness approach him slowly
"Don't worry, I have something to help you hide it, I even have something for your to hide your magic too...this pendant will help to do that,i will make a magic item,it will hide your magic and make people believe you have an aura" said the god of darkness
"hey hey! I didn't agree to the deal, plus you have no power here!" said Maos
"what do you have to lose? you gain a way to protect yourself and can reduce your future punishment, and on my side, I can get revenge on Salem for stealing control over the Grimms, and in the end...it's just one more secret to hide"
"...I mean..." said..maos, he was trying to find the flaw in this, but he couldn't find a flaw, but he knew why the god of darkness was doing that[they need Ozma to win..and since Salem is immortal, he can't stop her...they need me for that]
"Plus, you misunderstand, something, my brother and I have no influence on this world, we cannot come physically to this world and our power was greatly reduced because of it..however, we still have a bit of power left"
the god of darkness's hand suddenly grabs Maos's face", mostly around his eyes
Maos suddenly have an insane amount of pain
"don't worry,I may be the god of darkness, but I'm a no Stanger to light"
Maos open his eyes, he felt no pain, he had trouble remembering what happened to him, kinda like he was drunk
he gets up from his bed..and put on his clothes, he then looks in the mirror
he stares at him for 20 second
his eyes were not red anymore,he had silver eyes now
"whaaaaat ?!"
Maos suddenly remember what happened
"fuck!"
maos punch the mirror
"you okay in there ?" asks someone in the corridor
"huh ?" reach Maos
"yea-yeah...everything's fine"
Maos heard the footstep getting farther
maos walk around the room, complaining like a child
"shit, shit"
"I don't want silver eyes, I like my normal eyes!"
"Plus if I achieve at least 10th level spell,I should be able to strip Salem away from her immortality anyway!"
[sadly the gods thinks i can't reach such a level]
"well... I can also use it to get rid of those silver eyes...I think there's even a spell at like at lower level.."
maos look at himself again...at the shattered mirror
"..."
he suddenly felt something in his pocket...he looks at a piece of glass
"What is that?
he suddenly felt like he knew what it was and put it on, by some strange instinct
it was contact lenses...when Maos put them on, Mao's eyes were back his red color, it's seem really natural
he didn't even feel it.. it feels like it was before
he then manages to take them off easily
"I mean...at least the god of darkness gave something to hide those silver eyes"
maos put on the contact lenses
he sigh
[I need to stop thinking about it..]
[I will get used to it]
[wait which hour is it?]
maos look at the clock, it's 7 am...I still have a lot of time
Maos touch the pendant...[right he did something to it...what if I take it off?]
Maos took the pendant off
he didn't feel any difference [he said that people would believe I have an aura...i should keep it on]
Maos went down stair
"good morning," said the bartender
"you're up early"
"I guess I am"responded Maos
"want something to eat ?" asks Jiro (the bartender)
"I have a piece of bread ready"
"Sure, I'm hungry anyway"
Maos sit down at the counter and start eating in silent
"by the way, where are the huntsmen ?" asks Maos as he looks around
"I asks someone to bring it back home, I also gave them back their credit card," said Jiro
"when they return..hopefully, you won't be there"
"by the way..do I need to leave like right now..or i can wait here till I have to go to the airship," asks Maos
"Sure you can stay here, you just have to leave before tonight so somebody else can have the room if needed, plus I kinda took a bit more than needed with the credit card from the huntsman...for all the time they didn't pay for their drinks"
"aren't you afraid of them ?" asks Maos
"Well, yes but since last night, people start calling those guys out, they won't cause trouble for a while I think...plus even if they come here, I can just call my insurance or sue them for the thing they broke and I have a lot of witnesses,I would win money if they attack me"
[better not tell him, I broke the mirror...]thought Maos
Maos start eating
[well, if I can stay here for now...I should go to my room and try to learn a new spell...maybe I could even learn a level 1 spell today, the longest time to learn a level 1 spell is 10 hours, I have around 6h left... ]
Maos suddenly got really excited and start eating faster, he eat quickly and then 2 glasses of water
"you want a coffee ?" asks Jiro
"what's that ?" react Maos
"...figure so...it's a drink, a hot drink, it can help you wake up, it can relaxing for some people," said Jiro
"..sure,i could try"
"ok," said Jiro as he start making coffee after a minute, he come back with a cup of coffee
"it doesn't have any particularities, but there's a lot of types of coffee, you can add sugar, milk. chocolate, the list is weirdly long"
Maos taste the coffee
"hmm..." he was making a weird face
"you don't like it ?" asks Jiro
".. I'm not sure...I mean I don't dislike...but saying I like it would be wrong..." said Maos
"oh...I guess you would like a different type of coffee... I hear that in vale there is a lot of places where you can drink coffee of different type...you need money for that though...I think beacon even has their own brand of coffee so you probably can get coffee there as well" said Jiro
"oh thanks for the information," said Maos as he finish his coffee
[sure...you don't dislike, nor like it, but still finish it in an instance...]thought Jiro
"Well, I will to my room,...I have to fix my staff, it got broken a bit"
" as long as you pay and don't bother the other customer, you do whatever you want in that room," said Jiro
"...good to know I guess..." said Maos as he went upstairs
Maos was now in his room
"Okay...now... the book of magic," said Maos as a book appeared in his hands
"tell me what spell can I learn in 6h ?"
the book shows the list of 0th-level spell
"no...what level 1 spell can I learn in 6h"
the page turn a single revealing a short list of level 1 spell learnable in 6h,there was 8 spell on the list
Maos look at the list
[well...hypnosis and Implantation of thoughts aren't on the list...]
"jump...create or destroy water....blackout...Page storage...Heightened awareness...Speed reading...command...burning hand"
"hmm...Maos read the description of the spell
"create or destroy water is not really useful right now, burning hands is good at close range and it does damage,"
"but speed reading and page storage could be really useful since it would help me learn about this world...no...Qrow know I don't know anything about society, if I learn everything in a single night it will be weird, plus i like to read, I don't want to rush learning,"
Maos kept thinking
"jump could useful..it would increase my Mouvement in general...plus using wild magic to jump higher(by enhancing his body) or even flying is way too hard at my current level"
"but blackout...he could really help me hide in society..at hiding some of my weird action like practicing spell or ritual if someone sees me"
"Heightened awareness is good too, but I don't need it right"
"Command is just not that good...I may as well learn suggestion or charm-person instead...suggestion is better"
"jump or blackout..."
Maos look around
"Which one do you recommend ?"
book turn the page and show the spell blackout
"blackout it is then"
/blackout: The caster makes his target forget everything that happened between the moment he casts his spell and the moment the spell ends, the spell ends automatically after 1 minute, but it can end earlier if the caster chooses to. this spell when cast at a higher level can allow the caster to increase the spell duration, therefore allowing the caster to erase more memories in a longer time period than 1 minute, this spell can only be cast on one person
the knowledge of the spell was suddenly inside Maos's mind
in general for this kind of spell, you need someone else with you to learn it, a willing(or not) participant to be a test
"Okay...now how does it practice it...on me I guess..."*
"...hmm...i need something else...oh .I know!"
Maos went downstairs again
"you have something to write ?" asks maos
"why? do you need to send a letter ?" asks Jiro as he serves coffee to someone, his wife giving some people breakfast,she was human
"no...I just need to practice...my writing..." said Maos
Jiro sighed as he took out a pen and a few pieces of paper
"here, don't forget to bring them back I need them to write the profit
"Sure," said Maos as he took the paper and pen and immediately went to his room [hmm...this pen is interesting...]
in his room goes the desk
[i'm using the spell, then write something..then end the spell...if i do it correctly i will forget i wrote anything]
and that's what he did for 5 hours and 24 minute
Maos open his eyes...and see all of his writing
"i think it's done...better check...book of magic..."
he looks at the book of magic as the book contains a page about Maos's progression, mostly the number of spells he knows
level 0 : [shape water], [light] , [ray of frost] , [prestidigitation], [firebolt]
level 1 : [magic missile] , [mage armor], [blackout]
wild magic control: level 0 (meaning he can only control the equivalent of a level 0 spell in terms of power)
current spell casting level: 1 (meaning he can only cast spell up to level 1 for now)
"i made it!" almost scream Maos
"my third ever learn level 1 spell!
he then looks at the hour it's 1 pm
"in less than 6h a historical record!"
maos was basically jumping around in joy
he suddenly felt hunger
"ho..right.."
maos went downstairs and had food
"did this kid pay for his food ?" said Jiro's wife as she see maos going upstairs after he finish eating
"he beat the idiot and I took money in advance from their credit card, he could stay for a whole week, I would care..plus he kinda needs it, he's basically alone"respond Jiro
Jiro's dog ears were moving a bit as he heard maos walking upstairs
"so cute," said Jiro's wife
"look at you being caring"
"It's not like that...it's that this kid is really weird, while he doesn't seem like a bad person, the way he beat up that huntsman just for the money say the opposite, he's like in a weird grey area of good and evil...I find it disturbing" said Jiro
"it's like he's not part of this world
maos was in his room
"it's 2 pm, now, I have 1 hour left...I should get going..if I have to wait in line for the airship...plus I don't know where the station is, I just know it's the academy...I'm curious about what this academy looks like...sadly...i won't have the time"
maos took his staff and Osiris's staff and went downstair
he looks at Jiro and his wife
"so... I'll be going, thanks for the night and the food"
"so what do intend to do ?" asks Jiro
"going to beacon...finding a job in vale...finding a library and read everything single book in it...that kind of things," said Maos
"beacon hub ? so you're gonna be a huntsman ?" asks Jiro's wife
"i mean...it's not my main objective...but it seems so"respond Maos
"well...try not to become like the idiot last night"
"well I don't drink alcohol...so I guess I won't be one"
"never say never," said Jiro
"I hope I won't be one," said Maos
"That's better said Jiro's wife
"Now go to the upper level, the airship to vale only comes 1 time a month, you probably don't want to miss, you may be an hour early,but you never know" said Jiro
"Yeah, you right!" said Maos as he start walking toward the door of the Inn
"I hope i'll see you again one day said Maos as he close the door
"come with your own money next time!" said Jiro
Maos finally left the Inn
Jiro sigh
"i hope he'll be fine..." said Jiro
"See, you care about him!" said Jiro's wife as she smug at him
there a silence
"he didn't bring back the pen and paper even if i told him to..." said Jiro
"it's fiiiine, I'll just go grab it in his room,"said Jiro"s
Maos was outside the Inn
"ok now...the upper level," said Maos as he start looking up
he starts walking toward the upper level, he was just on the stair and about to reach the next level
the upper level really has a different energy than the lower level, there are a lot of colors..and people seem nicer in general
maos start looking around [i need to find my way to the next level...the academy and the airship station are on the top level..]
this level was like a big market, they were a few houses of course, build on the mountain's side, and a lot of people were out today
maos keep searching...until he saw the 4 huntsmen from yesterday,they were just talking...but they were right on the road toward the upper level
[i won't be able to pass by them...even with people with me]
the road where the huntsman, had a direct fall to the lower level on the left side and a wall on the right side
maos then look at the house, build on the side of the mountain
[if I jump from house to house.. I should be able to avoid them...i may also go higher faster]
maos go next to a house...he concentrates his wild magic to enhance his body and then jump 15m in the air and land on the house roof
however turn out, that someone suddenly making a 15m high jump is not really discreet in a market full of people, the huntsmen immediately saw him
"hey look!"
"it's the kid again !"
"let's get him!"
[i should have seen that coming !]
Maos prepare himself to jump toward the next house
the huntsmen rush as the house
one huntsman goes ahead and slides, takes a knee while turning toward his teammate, and readies his two hands, all 3 huntsmen put their foot on the first huntsman's joined hand; the first huntsman ad his strength to his friend's jump, and they all 3 reach the roof pretty quickly
[they are really coordinated and agile when they aren't drunk ?!...I really should not try to fight them]
Maos use his wild magic and jump the other house, this time it was harder, the next house was 16m away from him
[i can do it,i can do it]
Maos jump he easily reaches the next house
"What kind of jump was that ?!" react one of the huntsman
Maos see that the next house is a bit closer than the previous one, it's 10m away at best
maos turn around to see the huntsman progression on the first house, they were already on the edge of the roof, the 4 of them look at Maos,then they look at each other, the huntsman with a spear drew his weapon, he then jump and throw his spear in the wall,it's now stuck in the wall,the huntsman use the spear at the platform,and then jump to the second house, the 3 other huntsman jump and use the spear as a platform to jump again and reach the house, the last huntsman draws his mace, the weapon suddenly became a flail with a long chain,he aims at the spear stuck in the wall and grab it using the chain of the flail and give it back to it's owner
Maos was going to jump, he didn't realize the huntsmen were going to catch up to him so quickly, he lost concentration on his wild magic
maos jump in a rush as the huntsmen arrive on the same roof as him, Maos jump toward the house 10m away...however...due to losing control..his jump was a bit stronger than expected..
maos suddenly make a 13m jump, passed above the house he aimed and was going to fall flat on the lower level
closer
his instinct suddenly kicked in, and a green orb the size of a tennis ball made of wind appear inside Maos's left hand,maos immediately clench his fist on the orb, crushing it, then he seem to punch below him with the same hand
a sudden hot wind came from below Maos, the column of wind was so strong he sent maos back in the air and even higher than before,maos wasn't really controlling his fall, but he did manage to land a house even higher..one which was on a higher level than he was before
he crashes on the roof, and he wonders how he did not broke it
"aaaah...my back...i should think of a landing strategy...could be useful someday..."Maos made a few sounds of pain[my back...I should have used Mage armor...]
[should have learned jump too...]
the column of wind quickly disappear, and the huntsmen were unable to catch up to him, even if they wanted they could not, Maos really up insanely high with that use of magic
Maos slowly get up
[mage armor]
Maos was now protected, he goes into the street as the house he landed on was on the edge of a street
"wait...what level am I?"
maos go to the edge of the road and look around
"hey!I only have one more level to go" said Maos as he search again for a road, this time it was a normal road
he goes up and finds the famous haven academy
[this school looks like a magic academy...]
Maos could a lot of people his age
"well...now...better find the airship station"
he look around...he was a bit lost
"excuse me" suddenly said someone behind Maos
maos suddenly jump away like a cat as he was surprised
"no need to be scared," said a man,Maos look at him, he see a middle-aged man with a mane of tan/gray hair and a beard. He had a tanned complexion with brown eyebrows and dark brown eyes.
the man seemed kind
"i am Leonard lionheart, I am the headmaster of the academy, a pleasure to meet"
"you seemed lost...are perhaps a new student?"
"..."
"..."Maos stare at lionheart as he takes a calm composure again [he seems well educated and kind..is he lion Faunus ?!...that's awesome]
"...sorry,...you surprised me...that's all"
"I am Maos..pleasure to meet you as well"
"you're the headmaster ?"
"Indeed I am," said lionheart
"If you are here to take the entrance exam, I'm afraid it is too late, the entrance is over since a week, however, the entrance for Beacon is still open"
"huh ?..oh..sorry, there's a misunderstanding here... I'm not here to join or anything...I'm just searching for the airship station...you know...the flying things...I do intend to join Beacon though"said Maos
"i have to meet a certain Qrow"
"Qrow...tall man, black hair, red eyes ?" asks lionheart
the headmaster look at Maos, [red eyes, black hair, similar facial trait...no not much similar facial trait..just a tiny bit]
"Are you two related ?"
"no we're not," said a sudden voice joining the conversation, he had a flask in his hands
maos this time wasn't surprise, he smell alcohol even before Qrow arrived
"i thought you already left, "said lionheart
"nah...i had to refill my flask" said Qrow
"in my academy ?" react lionheart
"Don't underestimate your student" responded Qrow as he drink from his flask
Qrow touch Moas on the shoulder
"Sorry,Leo this one is going to Beacon"
"I told him already," said Maos
"oh...you did," said Qrow
[he's drunk isn't he ?]thought lionheart and Maos
"Anyway,...Let's go...MOas" said Qrow
"MAos" correct Maos
"MOas," said Qrow again while staring at the sorcerer
"MAos!" insists the sorcerer
"fine Maos I got it!" said Qrow
as he start walking away
"come on kid, I ain't waiting for you...at least not for long," said Qrow
"This is going to be a long flight..."
"Probably, but at least your safety is assured, Qrow is one the best huntsman I ever met," said, Lionheart
"Really ?" asks Maos
"Indeed"
"MAAAos you coming are what ?" asks Qrow from far away
"well...seem like you need to go, it was a pleasure,i hope we'll meet again," said lionheart as he bow a tiny bit in form respect
"..a pleasure as well, I hope we'll meet again," said Maos as he imitates Lionheart's movement and then turn to follow Qrow
lionheart look at Maos [he seems like an interesting person]
"Follow me, the station is over there"
maos could see an airship landing, this one was different than the other...by a lot, this one was fully metallic and did not have the shape of boat,and mostly...it seems huge
Qrow looks at the hour on his scroll ( basically a phone)
"what is that ?!" react Maos with stars in his eyes
"a scroll"
"What ?...no it's not,"said Maos
"Scrolls are made of paper..or animal skin... sometimes"
Qrow stared at Maos
"don't worry, you'll get one at beacon..."
"I think...it takes a bit of time...to adapt to this new lifestyle.."
"by the way..why did you take that much time to get here? the airship leaves in 10 minutes"
"Well, I had to find the way...I don't know this city"said Maos
"wait...you mean you took a long way ?! as you mean...you walk all the way here from the Inn ?!" ask Qrow as he starts laughing
"yeah ...is there something weird about that ?" react Maos, confused
"why didn't you just the elevators ?" asks Qrow as he points to the elevator in question
"..." Maos stayed silent and felt extremely embarrassed, he even blush a little because of it
"i...I didn't know what it was... it wasn't active when I passed in front of it..." said Maos
the elevator was active and bringing up some point
Qrow and Maos look at the people coming up
it was the 4 huntsman from last night again..they seem angry
"..." Maos and Qrow look at each other
Qrow started walking again, but way faster
"let's hurry kid, and stay quiet"
maos follow Qrow toward the airship
after 40 seconds they arrive at the airship station,
"let's take the ticket..you still have the money I gave you,"said Qrow
"yes," said Maos
Qrow and Maos start waiting in line
Qrow get a ticket first, then maos come in next,Qrow just start going in toward the airship without looking at Maos
"hi, you want a ticket to vale ?" asks the ticket seller, it was a woman around 30
"ye-yeah...how much is ti ?" ask Maos
"It's 9100 liens for a one-way ticket" respond the woman
"..." [it's not as expensive as I thought it would be...]
" a problem ?"
"no...I'm just surprised by the price"
"Well, it's normal huntsman and huntsman in training get a big reduction, the man before you already show his card and told us,you were a student"
"what's the usual price ?" asked as he gave the money of Qrow to the woman and get a ticket
"About 30 103 liens"respond the woman
"a huntsman gets a 70"
"69,77 actually," said Maos as he correct the woman like a robot, which she didn't seem to take that well
"but still 70%...it's a lot..."Maos was shocked by the reduction
"first time ?" said the woman
"yeah..."admit Maos
"Hey! kid you're coming or not, I already said that 2 times, I won't say it 3 times" called Qrow from the ship
"I should go, thanks," said maos as he went to join Qrow
"Have a good flight!" said the woman
Moas went inside the big airship made of metal
the inside was well decorated, there were around 10 tables with couch in circles around the table at the seat, each table had a short wall of white glass separating them,, this flight could carry 50 people, and given the price, not that many people apart from huntsmen were taking this kind of aircraft
"let's see there," said Qrow as he goes to a table and sit while drinking from his flask [it's been a long time since I took one of those]
Maos follow him while looking everywhere at once
[This must be world-shattering for this kid]thought Qrow
maos sit in the front of Qrow
"hey catch that"Qrow suddenly throws a book at Maos
maos catch with ease
"what is it ?" asks Maos
"a book that talks about vale, like the region and culture and history in general, it's basic but should be enough for now, I stole it from one of the libraries at haven...you know how to read right ?""
"yes, I do ...thank you!" said Maos as he look at the book with a smile and start in his eyes
he began to smell the book a bit
[the smell of old book...I missed this ]thought Maos
"Don't worry, you will have the time to read it till we arrive, you have about 10 hours"
"10h?!
"Well, yeah, we are going to another continent, how did your people travel long distant," said Qrow as he start to close his eyes to sleep
" We didn't, secluded village remember ?"said maos as he state the obvious [we use a teleportation circle to just move from place to place..but traveling on foot wasn't that uncommon either]
"well...i hope you can be patient" ad Qrow as he fully rests on the couch
Maos was now in some sense alone, he look at the book,the book was that long 200 page at best
"well...let's read"
Maos started reading at incredible speed, he quickly got absorbed by the book (it's basically the world of remnant: vale)
after a few hours Qrow wakes up,he sees that Maos is reading, he had almost finished reading the book
[what time is it ?]thought as he look at his scroll
[he almost finishes the book ?! it's only been 3 hours]
author's note: as an example, the average speed for reading Is about 5.6 hours for a 200 pages book
"hey kid...you seem like that book," said Qrow
no answer from Maos, he was too much in the book
"kid ?"
"..."
"kiiiiiid"
Qrow insist for 10 seconds
"hey!" called Qrow
Maos was on the part of the different type of Grimm in vales, he was fully concentrating on imagining the Grimm
"heh ?!"maos was surprised and almost drop the book
"How is the reading going ? "asks Qrow
Maos give a grumpy look at Qrow
"it WAS going great," said Maos
"don't be like that, I still paid for everything"
"yeah,I know," said Maos as he sighs
"so...any question about Beacon or vale so far ?" asks Qrow
"well, not really...the book told me plenty already..."
"you do realize that reading something from a book and asking a person who knows the subject is different ?" asks Qrow
"you right, books are better...because at least they won't scream at you if you reading another book," said Maos
"damn you really bothered by that? you must really love reading books"react Qrow
"yes, I do," said Maos
"my niece likes to read books too...well, one of my nieces does, "said Qrow
maos suddenly raise an eyebrow
"she mostly read things like fairy tales, she loves those ones"
"Well, fairy tales are great to learn and teach things to children, they were invented for that," said Maos
"fairy tale about a little girl getting killed by a monster can easily teach children to not trust strangers or simply be more careful"
"and some fairy tales are a disguised way to pass down a real event to a young generation and some are simply to give hope to people or make them realize how big the world is"
"fairy tales are sometimes seen as childish or stupid by adults when in reality, it's the opposite, a child has a simple mind if you manage to write a childish story that can introduce a complex subject or simply trained the child 's mind...then your story is genius"
Qrow stared at Maos with a kind smile
"What ?" asks Maos
"Nothing...I just think you and my niece ruby would be good friends"
"a teacher name Oobleck will probably be your favorite teacher, also I think the headmaster Ozpin will take an interest in you"
"and why ?" asks Maos
"just a feeling,"said Qrow
after that, there is an awkward feeling
there is a sudden message from a voice on a mic
/snack can now be bought,one free snack of your choice will be free/
"oh," said maos as he get a bit hungry
"maybe I could get something to drink.."
"have tried soda ?" asks Qrow
"what's Soda ?" asks Maos
Qrow stared at Maos in shock
"What ?"asks Maos
"a whole new world will open to you when you get into Beacon," said Qrow
"...is it a bad thing ?"asks Maos
"future will tell,things sure will get interesting"said Qrow
Maos just get up
"I'm gonna get free soda...whatever it's called"said Maos
Maos was going to the tiny store in the airship,it seem really small but had enough snacks for the whole travel
maos see from far away that there's a 6 taste of soda...he kinda wanted to get them all...just to get a taste
[maybe I could ask Qrow for money... no,that doesn't feel right,I'm already in debt to him, asking money would be an insult to his kindness]
[but i really want to taste those sodas...]
[i got an idea...blackout will finally have some use]
Maos go to the shop and look at the man there
[blackout],maos use the spell on the man, and the man will forget the next minute
"hi..what can I do for you ?" asks the man
"can i get that soda over there the orange one"said Maos
"there it is"
thanks"said Maos as he act as he leaves
[end blackout]
the spell ends, therefore the man in the shop doesn't remember that Maos went there
maos put the can of orange soda in one of his pouch
Maos go to the shop and look at the man there
[blackout],maos use the spell on the man, and the man will forget the next minute
"hi..what can I do for you ?" asks the man
"can i get that soda over there the red one" said Maos
"there it is"
thanks" said Maos as he act as he leaves
[end blackout]
the spell ends, therefore the man in the shop doesn't remember that Maos went there again
maos put the can of red soda in another pouch
Maos then repeat those exact steps 5 more time
maos go back to Qrow with a lot of sodas
"How did you get so many ?" asks Qrow
"the seller was kind ?" said Maos
"maybe I should have let you with Raven," said Qrow, he didn't mind the idea, but he knew that feeling that you can get anything you want by stealing can easily
get to someone's head
"I thought you said you didn't like stealing"
"I don't enjoy it, I got curious about the soda...I admit it was a childish need" said Maos
"How did you even do that ?" asks Qrow
"secret" respond Maos
"want now ?"
maos show the cans
"..." Qrow stare at Maos
[is he mad ?]thought Maos
"I swear, I'm way too nice to you, you better stop that kind of behavior when in vale," said Qrow
"I won't steal anymore when I get food, water, and a roof, and I do intend to find a job," said Maos
"you could have just asked me for money to buy the sodas, there aren't that expensive, they're like what 100 lien ?"said Qrow
"I don't like being too dependent...Plus you already paid for the travel..asking for money didn't feel right"admit Maos
"Also the can was 300 liens...want one ?"
"300 liens each ?!, that's stealing...the regular price is less than 100 lines!" react Qrow
"Okay..Maybe they deserve to be robe...give me the red one...also don't throw it..just pass it to me"
"i don't want to have soda everything on my capes"
Maos and Qrow start drinking soda
maos took his very first sip of soda
"so ? asks Qrow as he watches Maos
maos took a simple sip...and then drink the whole can
Qrow had a smug
"I have the feeling you like it" said Qrow
"This is amazing," said Maos
"I wanna drink more and more and never stop"
"don't drink too much,it can be bad"
then Maos and Qrow share the can of Soda
then after an hour passed,Maos finish the book and fell asleep in the airship
"by the way, kid how did you make those staff ?" asks Qrow
"uh ?staff ?...I didn't make them, they were both given to me" said Maos
"by who ?" asks Qrow
maos grab the staff made of wood
"the one made of wood used to belong to my mother...before she passed away,"said Maos
"sorry for you kid" said Qrow
"don't worry...I was 6 when it happened...I had time to heal from that"
[around the same age as ruby when she lost her mother]thought Qrow
"what about your father ?" ask Qrow
"He was a musician from what I heard...I don't know much about him, he died before I was born"
"and the other staff ?" asks Qrow as he points to the staff of Osiris
Moas's expression suddenly saddened
"this one...I got it recently..., it's used to belong to the man who take of me after my mother passed away" said Maos
"He was the strongest man i ever met,i guess you could say he was my adoptive father..even if our relationship was mostly that of a teacher and its a student"
"was ?" asks Qrow...even if already guess the answer
"yeah...he didn't make it...he died protecting me..."said Maos
Maos start doing a sad face
Maos eyes start tearing up a bit, but not to the point of crying
"we were already the last one..." said Maos
"there was no one else left, only us...and now there only me..."
Qrow look down
"Sorry kid...I didn't mean to bring painful memories like..i know what it feels to lose someone"
[this kid already had only one parent, then he lost it, then he got another parent..and lost it again...and they're the only he lost]thought Qrow,this only strengthen his desire to give Maos a future
maos teary eyes were beginning to bother him...not because of the actual tear, he wasn't crying, but mostly because of contact lenses..seems crying or even simply having teary eyes with it on, is really uncomfortable, they were actually moving...which alter Maos's vision
Qrow stop and stare at Maos as he could the eyes being weird
"tch..." [it's moving on my eyes ?!] he has never felt so much discomfort in his eyes before
[what the ?]thought Qrow
"darn it...I hate it"maos took the contact lenses, revealing his silver eyes to Qrow
maos look up and suddenly remember that Qrow was in front of him
"..."Qrow had a confused and surprised face
"you got silver eyes..."
there was silence at this table
"please forgot about that,." said Maos
"but why ?" asks Qrow
"why hiding them"
[think of something fast]thought Maos
"It's just..that...people in my village were avoiding me because of it...they thought this meant i was cursed, that i would bring nothing but problems to the village,those things were to hide them, I don't know how it was made, but it works," said Maos
Maos wasn't lying that much, he did see the silver eyes as the curse as it was forced on him and represented the gods, he knew those eyes were drawing a big target on his back, Maos was also seen as weird in his academy, first because he didn't know many spells and was constantly reading a book or doing ritual or alchemy and second because of his druid blood due to his mother...many people were expecting Maos to awaken some druid's ability like the ability to turn into animals or directly talking to plants, sadly for Maos, it never happened,
while the first part never really affects Mao as he personally didn't care about what people thought of him, he himself would admit that he kinda wishes that he had awakened the power of druid and is still deep inside hoping to unlock those powers;
"It's not a curse, you shouldn't see it like that," said Qrow
"you are born with it and that's it"
[except I wasn't!]thought Maos
Qrow sigh [in the past, silver eyes people were a target of Salem, she would send bandits and Grimm to kill them, in the end, people made the conclusion that silver eyes were a curse and even began hunting silver eyes to protect their villages and families, which is why silver eyes are so rare this day]
[if the story of the secluded village is true and I'm starting to seriously believe it is, it's totally possible such belief was strongly present]
"I get what you mean"
"I want you to stop wearing them, it's part of how you are, you can't just hide them like that, seriously even a Faunus would find that stupid and a lot of them try to hide their animal feature," said Qrow
"huh ?" react Maos
"you heard me, in beacon, nor vale...nor anywhere, nobody thinks that the silver eyes are a curse anymore..in fact, my own niece has silver eyes and she had a regular life, she currently training at a combat school, you are safe"
maos try to take back the lenses, but Qrow directly take them
"I'm gonna keep that"
"it's mine," said Maos [i need it to hide my eyes, I don't want to attract Salem's attention]
"give it back"
"I said no," said Qrow
Maos get up as his wild magic active and enhance his body
"don't even about attacking me, kid, you have no chance and you know it" said Qrow with a serious tone
[if i go all out,i am sure I can take you on! with my wild magic I could easily blow up this whole airship with a single finger!]thought maos
"you may have an emotional connection to it, however, it's holding you back"
"don't be stupid kid,you and i both know you are pretty smart"tch..."Moas knew Qrow was right, not in the way Qrow thought, but still
maos would be hiding his eyes for a long time,maos already didn't like the idea of hiding in general, and if someone discovers them, like people that work for Salem,if they know that maos were hiding his eyes before, then they would easily guess that Maos knew about Salem and the target on Maos's back would only get bigger, not only that, the silver eyes was still a kind of power,Maos would need it to defend himself against Salem, however by hiding the eyes and repressing and not accepting that power as his own, he would overall weaken that power as a whole and the day he actually faces Salem, the power of the silver eyes wouldn't enough to save him
after a few seconds of silence
maos seat on the couch again
"fine!"said Maos still trying to contain his wild magic and anger
maos start being grumpy and went to sleep
[he really is a kid...he may not be related to me or raven...but his grumpy side is the same as raven as the same age]thought Qrow..while he was relief Maos choose the peaceful option, he laugh a bit at the comparison and drink a bit from his flask
"hey kid"
maos slowly wake up
"we arrived,"said Qrow
Maos get up,with his silver eyes not hidden at all
they went outside as the airships had already landed
maos saw a whole other world, vale was so much different than mistral, building, car, bike, the roads made of concrete
his eyes were showing once again a look of whoa and shock,and admiration, this city seem like the pick of the modern world
"the biggest airship station is next to the beacon," said Qrow
"you see that castle over there"
"that giant thing ?!" react maos
"That's Beacon"