Caran was, for the last couple of days at least, straight up not having a good time. Gotten caught in a Branwen raid, enslaved, shoved in a cage and put on a cart with a bunch of other faunus was not her definition of fun.
She didn't think it was anyone's definition of fun. And that statement didn't even come close to doing justice to the things she had experienced.
She brokenly wondered where her boy, Paujo, was. She knew he was on another cart.
At Least the nights were not cold. The campfire was both hot enough to just barely feel it from her cage, and the huddled mass of bodies provided a dirty ambient warmth.
Like laying in a festing bog that would likely drown and preserve you.
Then that… person came along. He- Caran assumed that they were a he, judging by his build- had snuck into the camp. Caran was amazed that he had gotten so close without being noticed. She had noticed him when another girl in the cages gave him a weary one eyed stare.
He had responded by putting his hand to his mouth, motioning them to be quiet.
And then he unleashed possibly the most brutal slaughter Caran had ever seen in her life. Not even the bandit tribe had slain with such efficiency.
Caran started counting her prayers when the man approached her cell, reeking of blood. The red stuff had splattered against him, staining his cloak.
Wait, was that moss growing on him? Was he some kind of wild man? Or an Arrbra Chelo like in the Holy Books?
The man spoke, his face hidden in the backlighting from the fire. "Be not afraid." he said in her native tongue. Sure, it could have also been translated as "do not be afraid." but the phrase itself was literally what the Angels spoke to the various prophets and holy men upon their meeting.
"You will suffer no harm from me."
Caran stared at him. Holy Mesto, he was an Arrbra Chelo. Perhaps he was a form of Karmora itself.
The Karmora grasped the lock that held the cage closed, and his fist clenched. The metal bent under the grey glowing fist until there was a snapping sound. The Karmora released his hand, letting the shards of the lock fall to the ground. The cage door swung open as the Karmora turned to another cage.
He ripped the lock off of this one, freeing the yellow eyed girl from before. Caran watched as the Karmora freed the fellow slaves, one by one. The locks fell, ruined and broken under the shattering grey hand.
Caran looked for her child, Paujo in the small crowd of newly freed Faunus. She saw her little panda boy standing wobbly on his own two feet. She ran over to her boy, falling to her knees and holding Paujo close to her chest. The mother turned to the Kamora. "Thank you so much." She pleaded to him.
"Jaune." He said softly. No, not softly. He didn't project his voice, but it carried nonetheless. Caran blinked.
"My name is Jaune." He reiterated.
Caran stared at this… Jaune. She wracked her brain for any name in the holy scriptures that would have a name like "Jaune."
She came up blank. Sure, there were some sounds similar enough, but those were not names that any sane parent should give their child.
"Jaune." Caran said, rolling the word on her tongue. She looked up from her baby boy, only to see that he had vanished to help the others to their feet.
Jaune walked away from the touching family moment to go help someone else to their feet. He pushed an oncoming headache to the back of his mind.
That wasn't important right now. These people were. Jaune weighed his options at the moment.
He clearly couldn't just leave them here. They were going to be grimm chow A said
Yes, but they'll slow us down. We are on a time limit, you know. B responded.
Jaune shut B up. They were not leaving them behind.
But did he have them march in the night, or stay here?
They were tired, probably malnourished and in no condition to make good ground. However, having them just kind of sleep in a bloodied battlefield seemed like an equally bad idea.
Jaune helped a middle aged man to his feet.
Jaune glanced at the corpses he had left behind. They didn't turn to dust here, nor did they reek of booze. It was probably more disturbing than in the dream, where they dissipated once you looked away from them for a bit.
Those will attract grimm. That and these people. B put in his two cents. Jaune nodded, giving his chin a scratch.
"We must be going. This place will be swarming with grimm within some hours." Jaune called out to the refugees. He started to clear off the carts, sending the cages tumbling to the ground. The more able bodied refugees saw what he was doing, and caught in, pulling the cages off.
They had set off within ten minutes, having managed by some miracle to fit everyone in the three carts.
Jaune took the back most cart, driving the horses as best he could. He knew that beowolves, should they attack, would chase from the back to enforce an ambush up ahead. Their best option would be to break the weaker force and move backwards, so to speak. Jaune kept a wary eye out during the night.
A young child, a boy named Yuuba, at least Jaune thought it was Yuuba. It could be Yeuba? Feral is hard. Anyway, Yuuba tugged on Jaunes' cowl. Jaune looked down at the child, whose ears were pinned behind them.
"What is it, child?" Jaune asked.
Yuuba yawned. "It's late, Sakrra Jaune." he managed to get out. "Won't you sleep? It is a high moon and you must be tired."
Jaune laughed, giving a tender glance to the world around him. "Tell me, Yuuba, look around." he instructed. "What do you see?"
Caran perked up from her seat in the back of the cart. It was rare, in the short time, that the Karmora spoke. Yuuba shrugged.
"I dunno, trees? Plants?"
Jaune nodded. A far answer. A reason. "Yes, there are trees. And there are plants." jaune admitted. "But i don't see that."
Wait. That's not quite right. You do see that. B interjected. Jaune mentally rolled his eyes at him, ignoring him for the moment. Shut up. I'm trying to sound cool and wise. He responded.
"I see life. Everywhere you look, the world is teeming with life. I admire such life, and such life should be cherished." Jaune said wisely, before cracking a grin. "And someone must make sure nothing bad happens to your people." jaune said, his limited amount of Feral prevented him from using his normal slang. Sure, he knew more than enough to get his point across, but only rather formal words.
It really made him sound like a foreigner, someone not used to the language.
Yuuba nodded. "You should sleep, child." Jaune said, returning his eyes to the road. "We have long roads ahead of us." Yuuba yawned, leaning against the soft mossy feathered cloak.
Jaune watched the sun rise from a moving cart the next morning. He could feel the strain from staying up for two? Yeah two days in a row.
He would have to sleep soon. Perhaps sometime today he could sneak in a cat nap. The horses had obediently marched through the night, but the toll was clear.
"Let us let the horses rest." Jaune called out to the other carts. "They deserve it, and besides, we could use a moment to stop for food."
The other drivers nodded, and got off. The horses were detached and led to the edges of the road. Jaune got off his own cart, carefully leaning Yuuba flat down.
"Where are you going, Karmora-Jaune?" The middle aged woman, Caran, if Jaune remembered, asked. Her son, Paujo was huddled close to her.
"To gather food. Do not be afraid, I will return." Jaune said as he stalked towards the forest. He almost fell backwards when he was restrained by his cape. Jaune coughed from the sudden choking, turning to see what had gotten a hold on his cloak.
Three children, ranging from the age of about ten to at most sixteen, were standing behind him.
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you, children?" Jaune asked.
The two oldest, a brother and sister with brown hair and rabbit ears, shuffled nervously.
The youngest, a small tiger tailed boy, bounced excitedly. "We want to help you hunt! You're going to go hunt, right?" The boy practically vibrated.
Jaune's eyebrow raised even higher. "Do any of you three know how to hunt?"
They at least had the self awareness to look abashed at the ground. Jaune could practically see his ghost mimicking them behind the three, like a shadow.
Jaune sighed. "I suppose each one of us must start somewhere." He said, pulling his bow off of his shoulders.
Adun and Kiki, the twins, gave a glance to each other. That bow hadn't been there when they approached him, was it?
Adun shrugged, accepting it as it was. Mrs. Caran had called him an Angelic facet, but Adun knew that he was one of those Huntsmen that the Merchants always talked about! Must have been a Huntsman thing, like their Soul Shields.
Jaune held the bow out to them. "Draw this if you can." he instructed. Adun raised an eyebrow at the simple instruction, but took the bow in hand anyway. He tried to pull, only to strain his arm for a mere inch. Jaune gave something half way between a chuckle and a sigh, lightly taking the bow back from the teenager. He gave him a kind smile. "I'm sorry, young one, but you are not strong enough to wield this." he said. Adun's face fell at his words. "Yet." Jaune quickly tacked on as he slung the bow back over his shoulder.
"Now come. Just because you cannot draw a bow or wield a blade does not mean you cannot hunt."
The three children perked up at that, eagerly following him into the woods.
Jaune leaned down, pointing at a growth of mushrooms. "Adun, Kiki, Takrota." Jaune ordered with that odd voice of his. The one that was incredibly soft, yet seemed like it carried for miles.
The three children scampered back over to their at the moment teacher. "What is it, Mr. Jaune?" Adun asked as he put a fistfull of mushrooms away in a bag. Jaune shifted to let them see what he found. A collection of dark brown, almost black mushrooms with reddish wart like bumps grew at the base of the tree.
"You see these?" jaune said, pointing. They nodded. "These are poisonous, don't eat them. If they break, don't breathe in their spores." jaune said sternly. It was frankly a miracle that he remembered this much from his camping trips with his grandfather. He so far had managed to instruct the children on where to find various edible mushrooms and berry trees, pointed out various animal hidey holes and nests to them, and told them how to avoid the various foods that leaned to the more dangerous side of the spectrum.
Jaune glanced at the bundles of food that they had found.
"Let us return to camp. That should be enough for now." jaune called. The children nodded, but Takrota frowned. "Are you sure this is enough? We have lots of people…"
Jaune gave the fretting boy a smile. "Don't worry. I will go and hunt once we return. But this should tide us over for now." jaune explained as he led them back to camp. They strode over fallen branches and gnarled roots, slid down small drops and leaf covered slopes, forging their way through the woods until they reached the familiar sight of the caravan. The survivors had set up something of a camp while they were gone.
"WE'VE RETURNED!" Tacrota yelled out to the camp. Jaune ushered the children to the camp, doling out the collection of food they had found.
One of the adults frowned, looking down at the handfull of berries he was handed. "Is this all?" he asked. Jaune shook his head. "I'm heading back in to hunt for some more food. None of the children can properly wield a bow, and I do not trust them with a blade." Jaune said as he carefully set his bag of forest goods down. "Keep them safe while I am gone."
Jaune turned to stalk off into the woods once more, the man frowning behind him.
"What a strange young man." he said as the Hunter disappeared into the forest.
Jaune took a deep breath in, taking in the forest scent with a smile. His bow slipped naturally into his hands, as though he was dreaming.
Heh. That's probably not a good thing. A semi joked.
Jaune did find it concerning how close this felt to dreaming. Jaune put the thought away, reminding himself that there were people counting on him.
Jaune moved silently through the forest, like a spectre. His eyes pierced the wooded expanse as he searched for his prey to usher to the grave.
Jaune saw a suitable target in the form of a wild boar, snuffling and overturning the undergrowth. Jaune drew his bow back, aiming for where Jaune assumed there was a major artery. Jaune let the arrow fly. The boar squealed, abruptly turning to the man that would dare shoot it. It looked Jaune in the eye, its own beady little dots promising hell to pay.
Jaune froze like a deer in headlights.
Oh, god damn we fucked up. A said as Jaune was forced to scramble. B gave him a look.
YOu doNT SAY! B responded as Jaune rolled to the side, letting the massive thing pass by him.
Holy mother of God, that thing must have been the size of a horse! A massive, hairy, stount, angry horse
Jaune had never really appreciated how massive boars were, did he? Because holy hell, he had messed up. Jaune rapidly exited out of his musing as he was forced to dodge again. Fortunately, he was a somewhat skilled fighter and had a decent survival instinct. He had survived Beacon, after all. Just imagine what this boar could do to a normal man/
He was suddenly very glad that he didn't take the kids on this hunt. A brief vision of a red splatter on a tree flashed before his eyes. Oh, that was a bad thought.
His eyes widened. Oh shit.
He had been caught with his metaphorical pants down. And the boar had realigned its charge. To line up directly with Jaune. Jaune braced for impact as the tusk of the boar slammed into him with the force of a jackhammer. Or Nora. Perhaps it was on Nora level forces.
Jaune felt liquid, probably blood, fly out of his mouth as his aura to a drastic dip. Jaune was sent flying, his back hitting against a nearby oak tree.
"Alright then. No more Mr. Nice Jaune." he grumbled, drawing his sword and knife. The boar prepared to charge again, and Jaune hunkered down.
In.
Jaune focused on the boar, letting the rest of the world both fall out of focus and under his scrutiny, should he need to use the natural arena.
Out.
Jaune saw the boar twitch. He saw the wind rustle the leaves above him. He saw his vision tint almost with the color of grey.
In.
The boar charged him. Jaune leaped forward, gracefully landing above the beast. His sword thrust down to create some chip damage against the powerful pig.
The boar squealed as it retaliated with a back kick. Jaune closed his eyes and held his arms in front of him. There was a sudden draining feeling as Jaune felt himself seem to melt and dissolve in the air.
There was contact, but no contact. Instead the space where he was exploded in a storm of green leaves. Jaune hit the ground several feet away, tumbling with the inertia. He felt his face slam against a small rock, and his nose crack. Holy shit, that Jump had probably saved him a broken set of ribs, if him bouncing off the ground had broken his nose.
Jaune's eyes were wide as he stood up. The boar grunted in confusion.
He felt the connection, so how was this featherless chicken was not only standing, but not injured?
Jaune was meanwhile straight up confused and concerned. He had jumped. Teleported. Blinked. Like he did in The Dream. He did that a lot in The Dream, and he knew exactly what it felt like.
Well, that's not good. B said with a noticeable amount of concern.
A rolled his eyes. Look, that's great and all. He started, before gesturing to the boar. But we are fighting a Two Tonne Tusked Death Machine! Could we please focus until we are not in life threatening danger? A pleaded. Jaune shook his head.
Right. Dangerous food now, existential crisis about the subconscious and its effects on reality later. The boar charged again, and Jaune rolled to the side, using the back end to sweep into a cut across the things neck.
Tch. Not enough to truly pierce the hide. Jaune thought as he saw the cut seep blood just a little. Not enough to indicate that he had nicked an artery. Jaune quickly swapped to his bow, and lodged and Arrow into the boar's side. It did little to hinder the beast, as it roared at Jaune again, preparing to charge once more.
Jaune's brain ran at a mile a minute, calculating and cross checking with B various possible routes of attack. Jaune saw a prime chance to end this battle. Hopefully.
The boar charged, and Jaune tensed. As it approached at concerning speeds Jaune got ready to move. The beast moved closer, three yards. One yard. One foot.
Jaune exploded into movement, dashing to the side and punching his arm out. It connected with the arrow, driving the wooden shaft deep into the boars neck.
It let out a painful squeal as it thrashed, hoping to clip Jaune. Jaune blinked backwards upon impact, again dissolving into green leaves.
"You gotta stop doing that." he grumbled as he worked his way towards the boar, hoping to put it out of it's misery.
The boar charged once more, determined to drag this featherless chicken down to hell with it. Jaune dipped out of the way, letting the boar trip itself over its own failing nervous system. It spun, flipping into the air in an ungraceful manner. It landed with a terrible thud.
Jaune approached the poor beast, as it wheezed and collapsed.
"I suppose you can feel it, can't you?" Jaune asked rhetorically. "The fading of the light?"
Jaune closed his eyes, giving a bit of remembrance to his own deaths. His knife flicked into his hands.
"Yeah, It's pretty shitty." Jaune opened his eyes. "Let me ease your passing, my friend."
The knife slit the boars throat, and jaune watched those beady eyes relax and fade out. Jaune gave a long suffering sigh.
It still didn't quite feel right. Or real?
Real was something that the world felt more and more lacking in.
You should probably get some sleep, jaune. B recommended.
The Boar makes it to the camp first. Then I can rest once we get moving. Jaune responded, grabbing the boar by the scruff. He started to drag the massive thing.
James Majorla had seen many things in his life as a bartender and a cook. But watching the admittedly lithe hooded ranger drag an entire fully grown boar behind him. "Alright! Does anyone know how to cook a boar?" The ranger called out to the crowd.
The collection of thirty or so Faunus turned to stare at the hunter.
James blinked, finding himself raising his hand. Jaune nodded to him, pushing himself forward. The boar dragged behind him as he dropped the massive corpse in front of james. "I would like to get moving by noon, but we must be moving by sundown." Jaune said flatly.
James just stared wide eyed at the boar. "You want me to do what?"
"I want you to prepare this boar. Smoke it, dry it, cook it, but it does not matter." Jaune said with a shrug.
"I don't think you understand just exactly what you are asking me to do." James countered. Jaune actually knew quite well what he was asking. He himself was a cook and understood what cooking meat entailed.
Jaune turned to motion to the children, only to find them already approaching. Jaune smiled at their diligent approach. "Children. Please assist our good friend in preparing the boar."
And I am going to go take a nap. Jaune thought as he left poor James to instruct the children in how to properly butcher a pig. He hopped onto the head of a cart. Caran gave him a side eye as he put his head down and promptly fell asleep.