Chapter 12

[Glynda Goodwitch]

"Things are getting more complicated," Qrow informed, flask in hand as he brought it up to take a gulp from it. "It's as you said, Oz. The lower Grimm population around here is making huntsmen and huntresses have to go further away to get jobs done. They are spreading out."

Well, wasn't that a cheery way to start their meeting? Glynda could already feel a headache coming their way. Every meeting they'd had for a while was problems and more problems, ever since Amber ran away. First, they lost the Maiden, again, and then things started piling up once right after the other.

"And this at a time when things should be worse, considering the pseudo-cold war state of the gangs," Glynda pointed out, massaging the bridge of her nose. Because there wasn't even a single chance that this might just be due to an improvement in the levels of negativity of Vale. This was entirely unnatural.

"Salem has used that trick several times already," Ozpin commented from behind his desk, half paying attention and half checking things on his computer. He didn't look at all perturbed by those news. Then again, he wasn't easily affected by many things, after having experienced so much. "This won't be a problem. Either she's sloppy or there's something else going on or this isn't her at all," their leader added, making both Qrow and Glynda send confused expressions his way. "It'd take more than this to make her actions effective. Furthermore, it'd take time. Before the scheme could be used as intended, we'll have our next batch of first years and students will have come back for classes. Students will be here and we'll have all that we need to push back when she decides to take action."

"That'd be a lot more reassuring if my niece wasn't starting next year, you know?" Qrow pointed out and Glynda had to feel bad for him for that. It couldn't be easy to know that one's relative was going to join a war that they didn't even know was happening around them. Furthermore, the man couldn't even inform his niece.

"As I said, I don't think that's all or that this is Salem at all. She's a lot of things, but sloppy isn't one of them," Ozpin said. Glynda wasn't sure if she should take that as a reassurance or not, truthfully. "Moving on, did you find anything else on Amber? She should be our priority for now."

"You sure?" Qrow asked, leaning back on his chair. "Because it's not the first time she goes on a "trip", is it?" he added and Glynda had to agree with him on that. Amber had never dealt well with her burden as a Maiden. Over all things, however, what she hated the most was being trapped, unable to roam the world as she once had.

Which was why she'd run away from time to time. Glynda understood, she really did… but it was incredibly foolish to do it as Amber did. If she had just told them where she would go, things would have been much better. Instead, even the one time she did do that, she'd end up doing something completely different. She was too much of a free spirit, after all, and her plans were about as predictable as the winds.

"Be that as it may, I think we'd all be much more at ease if we knew where she is," Ozpin pressed, making Qrow nod, even if the man also rolled his eyes. It was true that it was a common occurrence for Amber to disappear, which made it a little easier to accept when it happened… But Glynda agreed with Ozpin on that. It wouldn't do to be too confident that she would be fine.

"Anything else we need to discuss?" Ozpin asked, turning to look at the screen in front of him as he continued with his work. She didn't envy the man. She'd more than once done his job, as Deputy Headmistress herself, especially when he was busy with other… not school-related matters. It was a headache she didn't wish on anyone.

Except maybe Salem.

"Well, on the… less important matters, I still can't find anything on Vincent Blackwood," Qrow grumbled, clearly annoyed by that fact. As he said though, the man wasn't as much a matter to discuss as he was a… thorn on their side. Or, more specifically, on Qrow's, because the man seemed to have the entirety of Vale's underground information network under his thumb. "The man has all avenues blocked. We won't learn something unless he wants us to."

"And we couldn't force this information out of someone with a visit because…?" she asked. To that, Branwen scoffed.

"And you are supposed to be smart?" he asked and her already present glare intensified. "If we do that, then you can kiss any other information goodbye, from anyone. No one wants to deal with someone that will call the cops on them," Qrow told her as if she were a particularly slow toddler.

Glynda sighed, because she was already aware of that. They were hitting walls all around and it was frustrating them. There were a number of matters to deal with and they were finding no answers whatsoever, even as the days went by.

"So, nothing on Blackwood, nothing on the mysterious decrease in Grimm population, nothing on Amber, and nothing on the White Fa-" she started listing off before being interrupted by a cough.

"Actually, I did find out what was up with the terrorists," Qrow said, giving Glynda pause and making Ozpin glance over his screen. "They are after your friend, Oz. Astra seems to look enough like a Schnee that the White Fang wants a piece of him."

Well, wasn't that concerning news?… Or maybe not, who knew? Vincent Blackwood and Silver Astra had been people of note since the duo caught their attention, mainly because they were unknowns. One of them had turned the local underground world upside down and the other had gotten… very eye-catching results while doing his test to sell weapons.

They were no normal people and the more time passed, the more nervous they were becoming. After all, they weren't only unknowns in terms of allegiances and power, but they were also unknowns in terms of goals. No one with those kinds of results settled for just opening a shop, after all. No one caused a mess of such magnitude with criminals just because.

There was something going on there and until they could confirm that they weren't in league with Salem… They'd have to keep an eye on the duo. Which was a bit difficult, since they had no information to go off of and they seemed to have a concerningly easy time eluding Qrow at random times.

"That's… certainly interesting news," Ozpin replied. Immediately, both Qrow and Glynda herself were set on edge. Not because of what the man said but because of how he turned away from the screen and looked directly at Qrow, his expression focused and interested. It wasn't always that the man was pulled from his view of the entire world situation to hone in on… 'Silver Astra?' Glynda wondered, confused. "You haven't found anything about him either, I gather?"

"Nothing at all. As far as I – and the world, really – am concerned, Blackwood and Astra appeared out of thin air. I haven't found anything that I haven't reported already or that you haven't told me."

"Hm, I see," Ozpin mumbled, turning back to his computer screen, but he didn't seem to be actually seeing it. "... I'll have to ask you to stay here and keep an eye on them, Astra and Blackwood and even the White Fang. Our main priority is still Amber, however. The duo might be interesting individuals and potential dangers, but making sure the Maiden is safe should be our priority."

In summary, things weren't changing much, it seemed. Glynda would have been frustrated, but more often than not, that kind of meeting didn't really go anywhere. They'd learned to be happy with such "unproductive" meetings, however, because they were better than the next most common one, which was things going badly. Better nothing than something bad, after all. Good things didn't come along nearly enough, sadly.

"For all we know, Blackwood and Astra are responsible for everything else that's going on," Qrow commented, gulping his hip flask before continuing. "They are no joke if what little we know of them is any indication. They are already responsible for the underground Vale going crazy, they are responsible for the White Fang going crazy, and it's suspiciously convenient that the Grimm numbers started going down when they arrived here, isn't it?"

There was silence after that, while Ozpin and her considered what he said. If Qrow was right, which was unlikely but could happen, then their main issues at the moment were basically reduced to three people, Amber, Astra and Blackwood. That is, aside from whatever Ozpin was doing, because the man was always looking at bigger things than what happened in Vale. The bigger picture, he called it, but few of their circle knew what he was working on most of the time.

As it was, it seemed that things had finally started catching his attention now, with everything that had piled up.

"I do believe…" Ozpin started slowly, eyes locked on his screen. "... That the answers will come to us."

"Have I ever told you that your cryptic shit is very annoying?" Qrow asked, unimpressed. Glynda begrudgingly agreed with him – in the privacy of her own mind, that is –, because he wasn't wrong, even if he could have worded that better.

"I'm not being cryptic, for once," Ozpin told them, a small smile on their faces. "Silver Astra and Vincent Blackwood requested a place in the Huntsman License examination coming up."

All Qrow and Glynda could do as they processed that piece of information was to sit where they were, in silence, and blink.

[}-o-{]

[Coco Adel]

"Can you believe that?" she asked excitedly as she and her team sat down at the cafeteria. "Actual huntsmen."

"If they were actual huntsmen, they wouldn't be taking the License exam," Fox pointed out, like the buzzkill he was. "If they have to take it, then their capabilities are doubtful, at best."

"They'll be showing the practical tests though," Velvet mumbled, shoulders drawn in and looking down at her plate. Coco frowned at that, but her partner was a work in progress. At least now she spoke. 'One step at a time,' she thought to herself.

Besides, she was too excited at the moment.

"Exactly, Bun!" she exclaimed. "We can see what's expected of us! And see how cool we are going to be… or are supposed to be! It can be like a peek into the future. Like going to watch fighting competitions, but with extra huntsmen and extra power. Can you imagine?!" she explained, already feeling herself going glassy-eyed at the prospect.

That'd be a sight to behold.

After all, proper huntsmen never participated in competitive fighting. It was frowned on by the rest of the huntsman community to waste time and energy like that when one could be out there fighting actual monsters. At most, there'd be some charity tournaments to gather funds for something, but those were rare because huntsmen didn't take well to being told to be a spectacle by rich people.

A shame, but Coco still remembered one such event that her family had taken her to.

It had been so impressive that it was the reason why she'd decided to become a huntress herself. She could have grown up to be just a designer like her mother or taken after her father and be a businesswoman, but instead, she'd seen those fights. Coco had seen what the protectors of humanity could do, the power they wielded, and realized she wanted that.

It had started as just a way to be "cool". She had been but a child, of course. As she grew, however, her desire to be like that had a lot less to do with that, even if the core idea remained. She wanted to be that strong, that impressive, but she also wanted to be so for the right reasons.

And now, she got a new opportunity to see huntsmen showing off. Or, supposed huntsmen, sure, but at the very least they should get some sort of show out of things. On top of that, the best part was that Coco would know much better than she had when she was a child. This time she'd have training, meaning that she'd be able to properly appreciate the show.

Hopefully.

"I really can't wait," she said, grinning widely. Her team returned the gesture too, which was nice, even if Fox and Yatsuhashi seemed more amused by her enthusiasm than anything. At least Velvet seemed happy, even if it was just because Coco was happy instead of because of the show. "How come you guys aren't excited about this? You should be! This isn't some huntsman or huntress-in-training tournament, these are going to be actual huntsmen-level tests!"

"We get it, Coco," Fox commented, chuckling and shaking his head. "It's just that we aren't as excited. We are definitely looking forward to it, but don't you think you are overreacting a little?"

Nonsense.

"Nonsense. What overreacting are you talking about? I'm reacting just the right amount, I'll have you know."

"I don't think that's how it wor-"

"And besides, that'll be a learning experience. A fun learning experience for once," she continued, resolutely ignoring Fox. "Imagine that! Instead of getting bored to death in Port's class, or confused like never before with Oobleck, or absolutely crushed by Goodwitch, we'll learn by looking at someone else, going through that suffering." That explanation certainly seemed to interest her teammates. Seriously, did she have to spell things out for them?

No wonder she was made team leader.

"I am afraid I must sadly inform you that your assumptions might be an exaggerated view of reality, team leader," Yatsuhashi said then, making her blink. "This event might turn out to be a much more disappointing experience than you are expecting it to be."

"... Why?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Surely he was wrong, right? She was looking forward to this, ever since they were told about the whole thing. If she was the one in the wrong. "And I swear to the gods if you go on another poetic and cryptic tirade one more time, Yatsu-"

"What the big guy means is that these exams aren't usually all that," Fox took over, still looking a little amused. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm sure it'll be nice, but they'll do a whole lot of written testing, which we won't get to see, thank the gods. From there, they'll probably be getting thrown into the Emerald Forest like we did for Initiation. From there, maybe they'll have them fight against some of last year's students, at best, as a test to both the huntsmen and huntsmen-wannabes and some nice extra training for the students. I think that's how it has gone before."

That… sounded a lot more underwhelming than she'd imagined, indeed. Coco wasn't sure what exactly she'd thought would happen, but she'd expected it to be more epic than that. That almost sounded like a better version of what they were already doing, and not in the exciting type of better.

She deflated.

"If it helps," Velvet mumbled, fidgeting with her fork a little as she moved the food on her plate around. "I think it will still be an enjoyable experience. Just not-"

"Not all that, yeah," Coco finished for her, sighing as her shoulders dropped. "Thanks, Fox. Now I'm sad."

"It's what I'm here for, captain," the blind boy shot back with a grin. "Gotta tone down your energy. The gods know these two wouldn't manage that."

"I resemble that," Velvet mumbled, even though she was smiling a little.

"It's resent."

"I said what I said."

"I am not, indeed, well versed in the arts of mediation and impudent speech."

"You mean sass?"

"So, I am very glad to have you here to undertake such endeavors, partner," Yatsuhashi finished, completely ignoring Fox's interruption. Once he did, he nodded to himself while their blind teammate and Coco rolled their eyes. Her rabbit faunus teammate was too shy to do so too, but that was fine. Maybe they'd get there in time.

"Well, there goes my enthusiasm, I guess," Coco grumbled, definitely not pouting.

[}-o-{]

[Lie Ren]

"So, you don't have licenses?" Ren asked, blinking at Silver after the man told them that Vincent and he had gotten a spot in the next Huntsman License examination. The blue-eyed man blinked back at him then, apparently as caught off guard as he was.

"No? We never did say we had those, right?" Silver asked, turning to look at Vincent.

"Nuh-uh," Blackwood answered, shaking his head and continuing to tap away at the scroll in his hands. "You know what they say about assuming, kid."

"If it helps, there's no chance we are failing the exam," Silver reassured them, but Ren wasn't too worried about that. He'd been confident in their ability to get into Beacon by the time Initiation time rolled around. And that was without the more than good teachings they'd received from Silver and Vincent.

Huntsmen, they might not be, but Ren was still very confident in their skills and their ability to teach them how to be better. He'd seen the two of them in action and he'd seen normal Huntsmen in action too. There was a very clear difference between the two and that was with Silver and Vincent not even trying.

Ren and Nora knew all about being good without having proper certification. There was a reason they'd have to do the Preliminary Combat Test, after all. Neither of them had ever attended proper combat schooling, and that certainly didn't translate into a lack of skill on their part.

The same could be applied to Vincent and Silver, as far as he was aware.

"We do know our stuff."

"Humble as usual. The two of them couldn't have found better teachers if they had searched under every rock this side of the tree… or the continent, whatever," Vincent commented, making Ren blink at the unfamiliar saying. "We'll kick ass, then do a bunch of missions to show off, and then your recommendation will get you in there in two seconds flat."

"Yes, and besides-" Silver started, only to get interrupted by an exclamation.

"Fuck!"

"Language," Astra scolded, frowning at Nora.

"Better luck next time, Ex-Queen of the Castle," Vincent mocked, smirking at the redheaded girl, who was now pouting at him. "Git gud, skill issue and all that. I should change my name to King of the Cast-"

"Vincent," Silver said with an unimpressed raised eyebrow.

"Fine, ruin my fun," Vincent said, throwing his scroll up and letting it fall into his shadow and disappear while Nora continued gripping hers. Ren could only sigh at the sight. It seemed his childhood friend would spend the night trying to get better at whatever game they had decided to play.

And then he'd have to deal with her the next day.

'Business as usual, really,' he thought wearily.

"Anyway, time to stop with that game, it's getting boring," Vincent continued then, throwing his hands in the pockets of his coat and walking around looking up thoughtfully. "What to do, what to do?" he asked out loud and Ren could see Silver looking at his old friend wearily, as if he knew what would follow would be exhausting. He could relate.

A part of Ren wondered if looking at those two was a peek into his and Nora's future. He guessed there were worse things, for sure. However, he didn't know why he felt the slightest bit disappointed thinking that. Both Silver and Vincent looked fine. Sure, they had ghosts in their pasts, but so did Ren and Nora, and life was full of tragedies as they well knew. They had each other though, and it looked like they always had, like Ren and Nora.

And yet, he couldn't help but think that there would be something missing if he ended like them with Nora.

"I know!"

"No," Silver denied immediately.

"I haven't even said what I-"

"No," the white-haired man adamantly stood his ground.

"Fine, be that way," Vincent replied, giving him an almost pouty look. "Plan B-"

"No."

"Plan C-"

"No."

"Fine, Plan D?" Vincent shot, completely undeterred now. Evidently, his frustration from before had been an act. Not that Ren was surprised. Sometimes he wondered how much of anything the man did was his actual self. The man always seemed to be playing some kind of act. "Is Plan D fine?"

"I don't know, is it?" Silver asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, it is, Mr. Boring," Vincent answered with a roll of his eyes. "I'm thinking I'll take both kids out so you can have some peace here," he explained before smirking. "And I'll even be nice and not have as much fun as I'd like to. Ain't I the best."

"Yes, Vince, very nice of you," Silver replied flatly.

"I know. Be sure to use that time wisely. It's not always that I'm this… responsible," Blackwood said, faking a shudder at the last word. "Now, come on, kids. Follow Uncle Vinny to the land of Somewhat Fun. Not as good as the land of Fun, but we can't have that on account of Mr. Boring, I'm afraid."

Nora responded to that instantly with a loud "Booo!", but Ren found himself very relieved. Most of the time, "the land of Fun" ended up with them in some kind of trouble. He wasn't even sure how Vincent managed to get them out of those every single time. Ren suspected copious amounts of money though, and maybe some pulling of strings from not-so-nice contacts.

In a way, Ren was grateful for that, since it allowed Nora to have the backing they'd always lacked. As orphans, nobody would stand up for them when they got in trouble. Even when they weren't at fault, or when people got things out of proportion, nobody would take their side except them. Now someone did, and it was… nice.

He'd rather Vincent didn't enable Nora quite as much though, admittedly.

"You don't need help here, Mr. Astra?" he asked because he didn't like not doing his part. Cleaning and helping here and there was all well and good, but nowhere near enough to make up for all the two did for them. Alas, it seemed that both Vincent and Silver agreed on something for once and it was to deny most chances to try and pay them back.

"It is alright, kid. You did more than enough as it is. Go have fun. Also, I need at least one responsible person following those two children," Mr. Astra said as he rose and walked in the direction of the forge. The man had steadily been producing weapons one after the other at a scary rate so far, and from what he could tell, they were all of very high quality, even though almost all of them were classic analogs. Ren assumed it wouldn't be long before the shop was open to the public. A few more days at most. "Just have my number on speed dial for when Vincent starts causing trouble again."

"I'll have you know that I can take his scroll before he can manage that," Vincent pointed out, getting a flat look from both Silver and Ren. The man was completely unrepentant though, standing by what he said with a smirk. "I did say I'd hold back though. What's the worst I could do?"

"I don't wanna know," Silver answered, bringing a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I really don't wanna know."

[} Chapter End {]

Arc: The Hunter License exams are closing in, and our guys will finally have fancy plastic telling them they can go and kill stuff instead of… well, still do it but without the fancy plastic.

Adrian: Remember kids, the fancy plastic thing is important… I think.

Arc: This chapter is mostly a setup for further things that we have planned (vaguely) in the future, so hopefully you enjoy it.

Adrian: And some bits of world-building were sprinkled here and there. Because let's be real, RWBY is full of holes. We'll have some fun filling up some of them… or trying to. Either way, we hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Random Arc Question: What is your favorite Grimm?

I think it is the Apathy for me. The concept of an enemy that forces you to lay there and just accept being killed by them was amazing. Blake saying "It's fine…," is still one of my favorite scenes in RWBY.

Adrian: Mine is the Beowolf. Is it simple? Yes, but it looks so cool to me. Especially the alpha one.

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ