A/N: Hello, I'm back with another chapter in AAA! Woo! I said that I'd have the next chapter out before the end of the day, and I made it! For once. This one's gonna have a bit more drama that the last two. Not that a bunch of filthy attempted rapists getting their shit wrecked Isn't drama, but I digress.
Enjoy!
RWBY is owned by Viz Media and was created by the late Monty Oum
Arc's Adventuring Accessories
Chapter 3
On seeing the now empty lot, other than the bodies, the girl blurted out, "He's not here!" Before she began to search about for him frantically, darting to and fro like some kind of manic hummingbird.
Warner watched on in silence as he took in the situation. There had clearly been a scuffle here. A serious one if the various limp forms had anything to say about it. One, no doubt over the girl in question, he mused as he noticed a somewhat smooshed bag of groceries lying in all the muck.
As he knelt down to check over one of the corpse in more detail, a scruffy-looking, and clearly malnourished, youngish fellow with a severely broken neck, Scarlet suddenly took off back the way they had come. He only just barely managed to grab her by the tail of her cape, feeling it tear in his hands as he did so, and said, "Whoa, girl! Where ya goin'?!"
"It's Mr. Arc! He's hurt! I have to help him!" She cried desperately as she struggled to wrench her cape from his grasp, resulting in it tearing some more. He winced at that, feeling bad about it. The girl had worn that cape for as long as he could remember.
"Ey now," He started, trying to calm her down. "This is a crime scene. You can't just go trampling about all willy-nilly. Besides which, do you even know where to begin looking for him, or what?"
She paused at that, slumping, and he thought that he might've gotten through to her so loosened his grip. That was a mistake. Her head jerk up and a light glinted in her amber eyes as she exclaimed, "His house! He lives even further out from the village than me!" Before she swirled, breaking his grip on her cape, and took off again faster than he had ever seen.
"Ah, uh, You'll need to make a state...ment. Ah, fuck it. I'm retired anyway." He said with a sigh of resentment as she vanished from sight in the pouring rain before going back to look over the bodies once more. He frowned as he stared down at the abandoned grocery bag before kneeling before and looked inside. It had milks, eggs and a few other products. None were too damaged... and the rain was bitingly cold right now.
He looked up at the sky before glancing around at all the water-filled footprints amidst the mud-splattered ground. The smaller, child-sized ones in particular. Then he shrugged before gathering up the bag and its spilled contents before making his way down the road for a bit, he had time enough to make a delivery before he called in the boys at the precinct.
The corpses weren't going anywhere, obviously.
/ /
Scarlet ran. She ran as fast as she could, going by the narrow path leading up to her home in a blur of motion. She ran on, not quite sure if she heard a voice on the wind calling for her or not. The wind and the rain drowning out everything but the sound of her blood pumping in her ears as she sprinted on, panting.
She had to make it! She had to get there in time. If she didn't, if he was dead when she got there...
She didn't know what she would do.
He had saved her, when no one else would've. He cared about her, even when she wasn't worth the effort. Her mom had said that. Her dad had said that. That they were worthless. They came from nothing and were nothing, so they shouldn't go looking for help, because it wasn't going to be there anyway.
Only Lily had said otherwise. Only she had hoped for a brighter future. And look what came of it.
She had been raped and killed by some stranger when it turned out she didn't have the money to pay his and his band's toll.
That was what her parents had told her as they broke her heart and crushed her dreams.
But, that wasn't her reality, was it?
There were good people out there who helped without needing a reason to. The Crimson Crusader and her Band of Heroes went out of their way to save villagers and lone travelers whenever they could without compensation. They had save nobles and freed slaves. They had thwarted the likes the Black Knight and the Lady of Flames as they both tried to end the world.
And they weren't the only ones to inspire her either.
Mister Gourd, the owner of the Grocery Store, and Miss Holiday, the owner of the Carpenter's Guild, had both offer discounts to her father on learning of Lilly's death. And Mr. Arc, Mr. Arc had paid for their groceries for them and given them the money for her sweet sister's funeral.
How could her father and her mother say that they were nothing, that no one cared about people like them, when there were so many who did? She didn't know, and, right now, she didn't care as she thundered up the narrow, zig-zaggy path to the lone cottage way, way out from the town.
She looked towards the front of the house as she came up around the path, hoping to see something, anything, that hinted at the man being there or- There! The front door of the cottage was open, though the interior was dark.
She slowed as she approached the entrance, not wanting to be attacked should the man still be on high alert or anything like that, and called out, "Mr. Arc! Are you there?" There was no answer.
She approached the door with caution, tilting her head to try and see inside. She openly sighed in relief as she made out the footprints in the mud outside that led in. The ground had been fairly dry this morning, before the rain had set in. She pushed open the half-opened door, calling out, "Mr. Arc! Are your there?"
Still no answer.
She stepped inside slowly, cautiously, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. She saw a small table before the door and to the left the entrance to a small, if fully packed kitchen. To the right was the entrance some kind of other room and, following the trail of muddy footprints was the bedroom - where a body laid on the bed. She gasped as she saw the still form, lying on there on the bed and rushed over, calling out shrilly, "Mr. Arc!"
She ran over to him and placed her hands on his torso in an attempt to shake him awake as he wasn't moving, only to gasp in horror as her hands came away wet with blood. "No," she whispered harshly at that as her eyes welled up with tears. "No. Not again!"
She collapsed unto the ground then and buried her face in her hands as she started to weep at the injustice of it all. Only to stop as she heard the sounds of someone grunting, groaning, and looked up to find that Mr. Arc had somehow rolled over onto his back and side, clutching at his wounded side.
In that instance, Scarlet made up her mind. No one lese was dying today. Not on her watch. To that end she got back to her feet, while wiping the tears from her face and eyes before looking around the room for some thing to staunch the bleeding. There didn't seem to be anything readily available, though. She wiped at her face with the shredded ends of her cape as the blood, water, and lingering tears tried to distract her from her search, then she pause mid-wipe to look down at what she held before looking over at Mr. Arc as he grunted in his semi-lucid state, before clenching her cape tightly as a determined look came over her face. "Don't worry, Mr. Arc. It's my turn to save you," She said as she undid the string holding the cape around her neck as she approached him.
/ /
The dream came to him again, as it often did, when he let his guard down. More a memory than anything, really. It, always started the same way, too. There she would be, lying naked in his bed, her long, dark hair pooling around her as he ran a finger up the curves of her hip, her back as she watched him, an amused look on her face. The room was white, always white, and far brighter than she would ever had allowed.
He allowed himself to relax, knowing that this time, hopefully, it would end well for him, as his dream self leaned in to kiss her as she did the same, her hair casting down to chide those unique eyes of hers. Then he hissed as he looked down at the burning dagger piercing his chest before looking back up at her in shock to see the utter contempt in her eyes as she began to speak. The words, so hard to make out were-
"-Quite lucky to be alive, Arc."
He blinked his eyes open and hissed as the harsh light shining down into them as well as the burning in his chest and side. He then placed a hand over his eyes as he rubbed at them before growling out gutturally as he looked around the room to find the local physician standing there before him, "Wha' was that?"
The man sighed at that, his bespeckled face looking unamused at his current patient, as he reiterated, " I said, Mr. Arc, that you are lucky to be alive after that stunt you pulled. One man, no matter how well-trained, going up against five others all armed in some way while defenseless should've been a death sentence. I don't know how you managed it, but I know Ms. Tear certainly appreciates it."
Jaune looked down to find himself bandaged up tightly in clean linens, even though he was sure that someone had originally wrapped him in wet strips of faded red, before looking around the room again in detail as the dizziness and confusion from from his forcibly induced slumber gave way to a mild curiosity and the bitterness that was always a part of him now. He was in his room, in his house and it was still raining outside. Great.
He sighed at that before clambering out of the bed to sit up next to it as he rubbed at his face some more before saying gruffly, "They were armed, true, but untrained, and that made all the difference. Now, what 'appened? Why're you 'ere?"
The physician, Dale, sighed harshly at that before replying, somewhat annoyed, "What I'm doing here, is patching up your useless hide, Arc. And, as I said, if it wasn't for that girl, you would already be dead. She quite literally saved your life when you stupidly decided to walk home in the rain while bleeding out!"
Jaune jerked away from the sheer vitriol coming from that statement before shrugging in silence. He hadn't thought the wounds that bad himself, but if so, oh, well then. It clearly wasn't his time yet.
He wisely decided to keep that to himself as he looked up and saw the unrepentant rage exuding from the physician as he glared at him. Instead, he sniffed before asking, "So, how long was I out, anyway?"
Dale continued to glare at him in silence for a bit before he finally sighed as he leaned and dropped his glasses so that he might rub at his own eyes before replying with, "Three days. Should've been longer, but you're a remarkably tough bastard, I'll give ya that."
He frowned at that before glancing at the clock next him. On seeing the time he stood, attempting to leave as he said, "Well, shit. I need to go an' open the store then."
Dale held up a hand as he said, "That's being covered," before he then grabbed and held him as he almost stumbled and fell over. "The Tear girl has been running your shop for you every day while you were out."
"Hrrgh!" Jaune grunted in pain before snapping, "Who asked 'er to!"
Dale frowned at him in warning before saying, "No one. She did it for her own reasons. Maybe because you saved her. Maybe out of a need to repay a debt." Jaune frowned at that as he stood there with Dale holding onto him.
"Hrm, fuck it," he then growled as he ripped his arm out of the man's grip and sat back down on the bed. "What does it matter now anyway."
Dale frowned at that as he looked down at the hand that held the one-armed man before him as it instinctively clenched at that, and the defeated, bitter tone that Arc used. Then he sighed while closing his eyes tightly before opening them again with a gentle shake of his head. This wasn't Vale, and he wasn't the Head Physician of the King anymore. What did it matter if his patient didn't care if he lived or not, right?
Still, he found himself saying, "You know, you're a mystery to me, to all of us here at Dead Marsh Pines, Arc."
The man in question merely stared back at him silently, his one good eye glaring lidlessly at him as he continued, "You just appeared out of nowhere, what, eleven years ago now? And set up an Adventuring Shop where no one with any sense would set one up due to all the crime that around that dead-end part town. Somehow repairing and renovating the same kind of burnt-out ruin as the rest of the shops in that area in less than a week before opening with a fully-stock store soon after." Dale stroked at the salt and pepper, imperial beard he still kept to this day as he mused, "No one ever seen your supplier. Not for the lumber or for all your stock. Strange."
Jaune merely shrugged as he looked at him in question, saying, "I know someone with a gift at finding things on short notice is all. They're discreet, they're fast and they cost a pretty copper or two when it comes to delivering on time, is all."
Dale made no attempted to question the man's finances. His shop was the most popular in town for a reason, after all, whatever his means of creating it in the first place. Instead, he merely stepped towards the man as he pointed at the various scars on his frame, currently shiftless to bared for all to see. "And, then there are these scars," he said, instead. "Those cuts across your abdomen alone should've killed ya, but then there's that jagged line on your back where someone who was very angry at you stabbed you with something sharp, and painful. Not to mention your arm, and that scar right there."
He pointed at the jagged, burn-like scar on his chest, his fingers just brushing at it as he said, curious and horrified, "Someone shoved something in here with incredible force, and vitriol." He glanced up at the man, looking him in the eyes as he continued, "It just missed your heart. a couple of millimeters to the left and we wouldn't be talking right now." He blinked as he said, "Not sure how you survived the heat, though. That, should've been enough on it's own."
Jaune glared at him for a moment more in silence before looking down at the scar on his chest. You were never anything more than a pawn to me. He then winced as that voice from his past echoed in his mind before replying gruffly with, "Can't say. Just I'm just tougher than most."
Dale frowned at that, dropping his hand as he asked, "And the reasons for those scars, for your arm and that eye of yours?"
Jaune frowned for a moment at that before he smiled bitterly as he joked, "A, disagreement, between my former Adventuring Party, and myself."
Dale frowned at that, knowing that wasn't the full truth, but unable to come up with a good reason for prying any further. Especially, as the man in question promptly got back in bed and threw his covers over himself in a very overt way of saying he was done with the conversation as he fell back asleep. Dale stood there for a moment more, pondering on if he should inform Warner or one of the Constables about this before finally shrugging and muttering as he departed, "Take care, Mr. Arc."
/ /
The next day...
It had been a quiet day for Scarlet, which was good after what had happen the day before, and now she was currently in the back of the store at the end of the day, pulling out new inventory to stock the shelves for the next day. It was tiring work, but fulfilling. Still, she could use some help what with how busy the store had been over the last few days.
Apparently, something big must be going on in the wider, wilder world as camping supplies and healing potions were off the shelves going like crazy!
Thankfully, Mr. Arc was fully stocked up with extras. Well, extra healing potions, though only the minor ones. He was down to one last Camping Kit.
She made a mark on the clipboard she found for that before looking around the surprisingly large store room for the building. Like, way larger that it should've been for so small a building. Maybe it was just some kind of an optical allusion? She thought to herself.
Then she shrugged, not really caring, as she went back to inventorying. Though, she was wondering how to contact the man's supplier. Mr. Arc was dangerously low on quite a lot of things from basic Adventuring Supplies to the more mundane groceries that he also kept. Still, first things first...
Hrrgh!
She grunted as she picked up the heavy crate of potions, the red liquid inside sloshing about as she took a wider stance so as to not jostle the bottles too much. Apparently, even the vials and containers used for healing potions were quite expensive, being made of a specially treated and tempered glass that was somehow able to contain the magical draft within without it expiring for some time.
As she took a step towards the main room she let out a low cry of alarm as she shifted too much one way and fell into the pile of loose planks of wood leaning against the wall. They fell with an cacophony of noise as they clattered to the ground, causing a billowing cloud of dust to rise up around her like a smokescreen. "Oh, no." She wined and coughed to herself at that as she shift the crate from either hand to look at the mess now before her.
She sighed at that before setting the box back down and went to pick up the planks of wood before she forgot and tripped over them when she came back in, like she had already done two days ago. At least, the limp was getting better.
She paused as she went to pick the planks as her eyes instinctively drifted to the wall they were leaning again, and the item that hung there. It was a red cloak. And she meant red, vibrant and almost glowing in intensity. Beautiful.
She walked over and found herself running her hand along the fabric. It really was beautiful. A rich, vibrant red cloth that looked thick enough to be worn winter, or rainy weather like right now. As she fiddled with the material she could just imagine herself one day wearing something like this while she was out exploring the Wilds. Then her eyes narrowed as she noticed that there also seemed to be some kind of embroidery now that she was getting a good look at the seams of the cloak.
R.R.? I wonder if that's the name of the designer? She thought, curious. Maybe she'd meet them one day. Be nice to have a cloak like that after-
Ding-a-ling!
"J-just a minute!" She called as she heard the door to the store open before snatching up the crate of medication again and hauling it out to the front. "Let me stock these healing drafts and I'll - OH!" She started saying only cry out in surprise as she saw who it was while flushing profusely. "Mr. Arc!"
The person in question merely stood there saying nothing in return as he scowled while surveying the interior. His hair was plastered to his head from the torrential downpour outside and she could the bandages from his wounds under his clothes. She made her way around the cashier desk after setting the heavy crate of healing potions upon it and ran up to him, asking, "Are you okay? Should you even be up right now?"
He then glowered down at her, causing her to freeze in place, wondering if she had down something wrong. After a moment, he sighed heavily before wiping the tangled, matted mess that was his bangs away from his brow, and inadvertently revealing the jagged, lightning-like scar and empty socket that was his left eye, before he said, in a voice made of gravel, "'M fine, lass."
Then he looked around again before saying, "It's looking pretty empty in here. Been busy?"
Scarlet smiled and laughed good-naturedly at that remark, perhaps a bit too loudly if his sudden wince was anything to go by, from being nervous, before saying while waving her hand, "Heh, nah. I had this." Before she suddenly interjected while pointing a thumb back towards the supply room, "Oh, but you will need a new broom, though."
He gave her an inquisitive look at that before saying, "Why? What happened to the old one?"
Scarlet's amber eyes widened at the question as she recalled what happened-
### /### / ###
The previous day...
A hunched-over, gangly-looking man in a hood strolled into the shop at the end of the day and looked around. On seeing that no one was there he smiled to himself, revealing a gap-toothed grin, as he began to shuffle about, looking something easy to pilfer.
After all, if the owner of the business was too forgetful to lock-up why shouldn't he just take what he wanted. He had heard that the owner, a bullheaded, scary-looking fellow with one arm was currently bedridden after fighting off a score of attackers so it wasn't like he was really to blame for not locking up. But whoever was, oh, they were in for a treat tomorrow.
He chuckled to himself at that and his good fortune as he began to dump random items in the burlap sack he pulled out from somewhere.
He was still chuckling to himself as he walked by the door to the back opened and a scrawny girl slightly smaller than he stepped out with a broom in hand while humming. The two paused in what they were doing at the same time, looking at each other with wide eyes and open mouths. Then they screamed.
"AAAAAAHH!" Screamed the girl in a oddly husky manner.
"AAAAAAHH!" Screamed the thief in a high-pitched, girlish manner.
The the girl was swinging at him with the broom, yelling and screaming all the while. The man raised his arms over his head in a piteous defense against the makeshift cudgel as it repeatedly struck him in the head and the back and the arms. Again and again, She smacked him with the broom right up until the handle broke in the girl's grasp and then she kept on hitting while yelling.
Thwack! "Get out, get out, get out!"
Thwack! "AAaaAAgHH! I'm goin' I'm goin'!"
Thwack, Thwack!
### /### / ###
"Uh, it broke." Scarlet replied, choosing to say nothing else.
"Hrrgh," Was all the man said to that before taking the crate of potions and walking over to the empty spot on the shelve for them to start putting them up. Scarlet watched him for a moment before looked up at her and said while glaring, "Well, go get the rest then! We got more customers coming tomorrow!"
"Ah, ye-yes, sir, Mr. Arc, sir!" Scarlet replied as she was jolted in place by that stern command before taking off in a hurry for the back room once more. There immediately came a massive, rattling crash alongside a squealing, yelping cry of pain from within the room. After a pregnant pause a feeble cry of, "Owwie." was then heard.
Scarlet had forgotten to pick up the planks of wood again.
/ /
And, that was how things went at Arc's Adventuring Accessories for the next several days. Mr. Arc didn't say anything to Scarlet when she showed up every morning right as he opened. Not when she said hi or hello, not when she began to sweep with the new broom he somehow found out back and not when she helped him stock up.
He didn't say anything when she came in at lunch to help hi clean and restock for the afternoon crowd nor did ne stop her from eating at the store while she was there. He even bought her lunch on occasion without asking her.
And when she came back and helped out in the evenings so he could close up sooner, he still said nothing. Though, eventually he would wave at her as she left.
And, even with all the help she gave him in the store, he still gave her a discount on her own groceries. Plus, he was paying her, too. It was only a gold a day, but that was more than she had ever made helping out with chopping wood for the blacksmith or delivering packages for the Post Office.
Overall, Scarlet was happy with how things were going. Pretty soon, she began to think that maybe saving up for her own adventuring gear some day wasn't a pipe dream, after all. Especially if she could get Mr. Arc to help out on that front.
Unfortunately, life had a way of ruining such plans for the Tear family. Or, in this case, because of the Tear family.
/ /
"I don't ant you going back to that store anymore," Ann Tear said suddenly, one early morning after Scarlet had been working for Mr. Arc for several weeks.
The girl in question paused as she finished lacing up her new, knee high boots that she just bought before turning around to look at her mother in shocked confusion. "Wh-what? Why?" She finally asked after a beat of time.
Her mother, looking paler than usual, frowned at that before sighing as she said while wrapping her arms around her middle in comfort, "Because... Because I don't like you being there. That's a very rough side of town and I worry. Mr. Arc-"
"Mr. Arc looks out for me. There hasn't been a single crime there since he fought off those men and the Constable regularly patrol the area. I'm fine! Why can't I work there? I make good money doing it, and I like the work!" Scarlet rebutted, first quietly before shouting as she took in her mother's look, knowing what it meant.
"Scarlet! Don't you raise your voice with me, girl," Her mother returned, visibly winced either at the noise or her own shouting before attempting to calm down as she said, "I'm worried, okay? There's been a lot of violence there between that man attacking people or those men trying to, trying to, to-"
"Mom! Mr. Arc doesn't attack people. He's merely protecting what's his. It's not his fault that thieves keep trying to rob the store. And, they're not all that tough, anyway. I've beaten off a few. " She returned, somewhat smugly. It was the wrong thing to say.
"You fought them off?!" Her mother all but shrieked in horror. Scarlet winced at that and tried to say something as her mother clutched at her chest as she screamed, "I WANT YO OUT OF THERE, NOW! NO MORE! YOU HEAR ME SCARLET DAVIS TEAR! OUT!"
"But, but Mother!" She tried to protest.
"NO, BUTS!" Her mother shrieked, the fear evident in her voice. "I WON'T HAVE YOU END UP LIKE LILLY! I WON'T!"
"THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, MOM!" Scarlet returned, suddenly angry. How dare she do this to her, how dare she! This was her dream, damnit! "I'M NOT LILLY, MOM! I NOT! AND I'M NOT DAD ETIHER! I'M NOT JUST GOING TO RUN AWAY AND LEAVE YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT ME TO DO SOMETHING ANYMORE!"
"I, I didn't mean to, to suggest," Her mother started to say as she leaned against the table between them, her face suddenly pale and sweaty.
But Scarlet wouldn't let her, as she continued to scream with her eyes closed, "AND, I'M NOT GOING TO STOP DOING THE FIRST THING IN MY LIFE THAT MAKES ME HAPPY JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE SCARED OF SOMETHING! AND, AND THAT'S FINAL! IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, YOU CNA JUST DIE FOR ALL I CARE!"
Her mother was clutching at her chest now as she leaned heavily against the table. Scarlet finally notice just as her mother collapsed. "MOM!" She screamed in horror before running over to her side to wrap her arms around her as her eyes fluttered rapidly and her head began to lob from one side to the other. She shook her mother, screaming, "MOM!"
Her mother's eyes fluttered open briefly as she gasped out, a trickle of blood coming out of her mouth, "Sc-Scarlet," before once again lost consciousness, and wouldn't wake up not matter how much her daughter shook her.
"H-Hold on, mom. I'm going to go get help," Scarlet said as she laid her mother down while tears trickled down her face. Then she sprinted out of the house, shouting, "Dale! Dr. Dale! Come quick, It's my MOOOMM!"
/ /
Scarlet paced back and forth before the closed door to her mother's room fidgeting with her hands as she sniffled to herself, tears dripped down her face all the while. Physician Dale was in the room right now, taking care of her mom. Or, at least, she hoped so. He had been in there for hours now.
She quickly found herself praying to the absent Brother Gods or the World Tree itself, if just someone would help her.
She couldn't lose her mom. Not after everything else that had happened. Not after that fight. She couldn't be the death of her mother, she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough to survive that. Anything but that.
The door opened. She stopped pacing to give the doctor a pleading look. The look he gave in return, a sudden flinching before a look of deep sadness, broke her heart. "No, she whispered at that look. "No!"
Then she collapsed to her knees and began to weep openly.
Dale grimaced at that. He had abandoned his practice in Vale, no matter how profitable it had been, for this very reason. Just why the Gods seen fit to curse this one family he didn't know, but he hated them for it. IF only there was something he could do...
He sighed before kneeling before the girl and wrapped his arms around her as she cried. She immediately clutched at his shirt as she buried her head in his chest. He said nothing to that, or to the wet streaks she left there. Once she finally tired herself and quieted down he simply picked her up and took her to her own room. It was easy to find, he had been there plenty of times over the years when she had gotten sick. He tried not to wince as he saw the pictures on her wall of her sister and her father before he laid her on her bed and tucked her in.
Then he left, closing the door behind him, to go back and watch over his patient again. It, wasn't looking good.
/ /
"...You, understand what I just said, right? Miss Tear?" Dale asked as he waited for a response from the girl in front of him as she clasped the cool hands of her mother's between her own.
She blinked and looked over at him in silence for a moment, tears spilling down unbidden, before she then nodded and said in a voice hoarse from crying, "Yes. You said that my mother has only about five days to live. That there's nothing you can do."
Dale grimaced at that before he sighed and said, "Aye. That is correct, Miss Tear. But, I caution that that is only an estimate, and a poor one at that. She could live longer. She could die tomorrow. That is all I can say."
"And, you are sure, that there is nothing you can do? She's my mother, damnit," The girl asked, pain and guilt in her every word. But also, something else. A defiant something that he couldn't name.
He sighed at that before shaking his head as he said, "No. Nothing. IF this was the Valean Proper, or especially the Capitol. But here, no. Nothing." Then he clasped her shoulder, gripped it tightly as he shook her, before clapping her shoulder once as he stood and made to leave. He then stopped at the door and sighed before rubbing at his head as he said, "I know I shouldn't even be saying this, but," He turned back towards her as he continued, "If you could find an Adventuring Party that would help you, I know of a herb in the Mountains that could help me produce a poultice. It would be a short term relief. Possibly long enough that I could then get proper supplies from the Capitol. Maybe,"
Scarlet looked at him intently as she said, "Where, in the mountains, exactly?"
He flinched at that and secretly cursed himself for his damned guilty conscience before raising his hand in a cautioning motion, "Now, let's not be reckless here, Girl. The Healing Hand Cave has long been cursed. Longer ago then even I been here. Yes, the herb is there as are other possible riches, but it is full of evil and dangerous bring as are the mountains themselves." He waved his hand in a forceful, violent motion as he then shouted, "Damnit, girl! It's a day's journey to even get up there. Let alone how long you would have to search the cave for the herb!"
She flinched at his voice and looked away. Then she nodded without looking at him. He sighed at that before saying, "I'll, come back tomorrow, okay? And, I'll see about hiring someone to try and help with this okay? Just, don't do anything stupid, alright?"
The girl said nothing to that. All she did was stare at her mother. "Alright. Goodnight Scarlet. I'm, sorry, that I couldn't do anything more." He said before leaving.
The girl said nothing to that.
/ /
Ding-a-ling!
"Hm, your late, girl. That's not like you, " Mr. Arc stated as he wiped down the counter for the day. "Somethin' up wit' you? Your friends, those, annoying girls, were in here early, wanting to know where you were at today? 'Parently, you didn't show up from class today either."
"Uh, um, **cough** My, my mother is very **gulp** very sick and I had to stay with her all day today. Sorry," Scarlet said in answer to that, while avoiding looking at the man as she tried not to cry again for the umpteen time that day.
The man didn't seem to notice as he shrugged before saying, "S'alright, lass. I understand. No need to go into details if you don't want to. I hope she gets better soon."
"Uh, y-yeah, so do I," she whispered as she looked around the room without seeing anything as she took up the broom and began to sweep the ground. Then as Mr. ARc began counting th total for the day she said, "Hey, if it's alright with you, I'll lock up tonight."
He paused at that and frowned at her in silence for a moment as he observed her, Then he asked, "Are you sure? Lass?"
She nodded her head back at him before saying with a shrug, "Yeah. Just need some time to clear my thoughts ya'know? Get some air. It was, quite the scare."
The man grunted wordlessly at that before nodding and said, "Alright, sure."
They cleaned in silence for a while after that before Mr. Arc finally left as she scrubbed at a hard stain spilled from earlier that day. Scarlet waited for a minute, listening to see if Mr. Arc was coming back. Then she stood and began gathering up the essentials that she needed for this. Thankfully, there was still that one Camping Kit left back in the store room as well as a spare dagger as well as a bow and quiver full of arrows. Just before she left she looked towards the cloak hanging there on the wall. After a moment's hesitation, she snatched it up as she left, locking the door behind her before sprinting off into the night.
Dale said it would take a day's journey to get up the mountain to the cave, but she was fast. She always had been. And she knew of a shortcut to the mountain. The trail by her house leading towards the local mines.
She could do this. She had to. For her mother's sake.
/ /
Jaune came awake suddenly in the night. He sat up and looked around, searching for whatever it was. On seeing nothing he decided to get and and get dressed. It was already around 4:30AM, and he had nothing to do beyond working at the store.
As he put on his shirt he found himself unexpectedly smiling. It had been, pleasant, having the Tear girl work with him. He, missed being around others, he found. Then he frowned as he recalled what she said yesterday, and hoped that her mother would get well soon. If he still had his abilities, then maybe...
No. It was better not to think about that. Or, his past. It only led to painful memories.
He sighed at that and rubbed at his head. He had always been an idiot. He just hadn't realized how much. Then he locked his down and made his way down to the store.
On entering the place he realized immediately that something wasn't right. At a quick glance around he saw that several maps of the area and a cooking supplies were missing as were a few other essential items for camping. He made his way to the back store room and found that the lone Camping Kit was missing as what looked to be even more items. He frowned at that and turned around, feeling his ire at the girl being to rise. Only to stop as he realized that the cloak, her cloak was missing from where he had hung it on the wall.
Scowling he made his way back outside and started back toward his house, knowing that a certain family's hut was along the way. He stopped after a moment as he notice a trail of running footsteps. Footsteps, he realized, that led not to her home, but the mountains beyond.
His eyes widened at that. Just why had- Why would she- He recalled what she said about her mother. Recalled what a couple of Adventurers had said the other day, about a special cave that was said to have a magical elixir within. One that was said to cure any wound, heal any sickness,
"Shit," He whispered to himself before turning back around and making his way towards his store once more without thinking. Once there, he jerked the door open violently , slamming it against the wall outside so hard it snapped the hinges off. As he made his way to the special cabinet out front that had the more expense weapons and armors within he began undressing, tossing the worn tunic he had on to the floor before donning his old equipment, and grabbed the sword and sheath held there. The one that was never for sell.
He finally paused at that, wondering why he was doing this. He wasn't a good man, wasn't a hero. So, why? Why was he so determined to save that girl? She was clearly being an idiot. So what if she died, doing so.
He immediately got mad at that. So angry at just the thought of that happening.
He frowned as he began to strap on the sword, at his left side like he always had before donning a greyed over leather armor and not the metal plate he used to wear, allotting for speed over protection in this situation. Then he gathered up a few other items as well. A canteen, some hardtack, a block of cheese and jerky.
Then he slammed the broken door shut and locked the door before leaving, but not before putting up a sign that said the store would be closed for a few days. Finally, he placed the magical sigil on the door like Roman showed him. The one that made the building seem uninteresting to outsiders.
He stalked up the road as he grumbled to himself, "I'mma gonna kill that girl when I find her."
A/N: And so ends this chapter. Next one will have Jaune and Scarlet's first adventure together. Here's hoping Jaune catches up to her soon! Who knows what might find her first after all. Monsters, Grimm, even more bandits. Who Knows!
That's all for now, though. Essiter out!