Mr. Derothoga led team AMBR to a nearby coffee shop, getting the huntsmen out of the rain.
"Well, the issue is that there is… something in the forests." The secondary Magistrate tried to explain.
Arslan leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "What kind of something? Grimm?" She queried. Archibald shrugged.
"I have no clue," he admitted. "The townspeople speak of an Arrbra Chelo that has moved into the forests."
Arslan shifted back in surprise. "An Arrbra Chelo?" She asked. Bolin phffted at the idea. "Phft- a forest spirit? Come on, those don't exist."
Arslan whacked him on the back of the head. "Please forgive my teammate." She said without missing a beat. "He doesn't know what he's saying."
Archibald gave Bolin a scalding glare, but subsided. "I understand." He said, before asking a question. "Gren'roth Feral?"
Do you speak feral?
Arslan nodded. "Alarsh Vymsghra. Queth falare?" I speak the language. Why?
"We will speak in feral, then." Archibald said. "As I was saying, the townspeople that enter the woods believe that an evil forest spirit has taken residence in the forest. I am sure that it is just a grimm of some form." The magistrate explained.
Arslan nodded. It was common for people outside of the large cities to be rather superstitious about these things. Grimm were being sent from the pits of hell to punish humanity and faunus kind for their misdeeds, spirits haunting places long forgotten, and men with semblances far beyond any reasonable possibility.
Arslan supposed it was just what happened when almost all the possible funding was sent to the big four cities. Ignorant people made up whatever explanation made sense to them, even if it wasn't right. Arslan was fortunate enough to be educated by the monks of Nortas Veles Monsestic temple.
Rheese leaned over, pulling Arslan out of her momentary musing. "So, what are you two talking about in languages we don't understand?"
"We were discussing the issue." Arslan said. "The prevailing theory is that it's the work of a grimm that has taken residence."
Arslan returned her attention to Archibald once more. "Is there any evidence of the… forest spirit?" She asked. "Tracks, territory markings, corpses that have been left behind, that kind of thing."
Archibald shrugged. "You would have to ask the locals that have seen it, or claim too."
The magistrate looked at the clock on the wall. "Excuse me, but I have someplace to be. Busy running a town and all that." He chuckled, excusing himself from the coffee shop. "And Team AMBR."
The four huntsmen looked up at the leaving magistrate.
"Good Hunting."
Team AMBR sat there for a moment, before Arslan stood up. She walked toward the door. The rain splattered on the ground.
A steel plated boot hit the muddied ground, the moss bending and sinking into the dirt beneath it. It was a boot of beaten leathers, a cord loosely wrapped around the cuff. Hanging from the cord were scraps of metal, old half broken coins, shards of blades, plaques with holes bored into them. It had a fisherman's charm effect, giving the boot a rustic kind of feel. It was caked in black blood and guts. At its end was a pair of worn, torn, and beat to hell jeans. The cuffs had been ripped off a long time ago, but that was hidden under the boots. Several stains, particularly at the knees and outer thighs, were stained in a large variety of questionable colors. Fortunately, most of it was covered with a flag wrapped around his waist. The flag was a reddy brown color, with three stripes on its leftmost side, tucked into the man's belt. The one closest to the edge was a bright orange, faded with ash and time. It stretched just a little beyond the halfway mark down the flag. Next to it, just under half a foot away was a solid blue line that crossed the entirety of the flag. And next to that, almost hidden with a moss grown grey cowl, a green line stretched upwards, making just above two thirds of the way up the brown background. Just above the wrapping a corded armor vest. The chest area was covered with a plate of metal that once was painted white. A massive set of staples was embedded into the plate armor, following a crack in the armor piece that stretched from the man's left shoulder to the center line.
That lichen infested cape rested on the shoulders of the man, who's face had withstood more punishment than most huntsmen would in a lifetime.
An unshaven jawline was covered in little blonde hairs, a singular hairline scar across his left cheek created a crater of untouched skin. A crooked nose, bent to the right, was accompanied with a small scar where the cartilage met the bone of the facial structure.
Tired blue eyes, almost grey in the shadows, scanned the rainy forest.
Of course, you couldn't actually see any of this, as it was all hidden by the hand carved mask. It was a rough carve job on the outside, painted in a similar manner to the dreamer flag. An orange stripe on the right most side of the mask, stretching just below the eye hole of the mask. Next to it, half way between the center and the edge, a blue stripe ran across the length of the mask. And finally, the left most side of the green stripe, mirroring it's orange counterpart, lined up on the center of the mask. He had carved it in his last extended stay in the dream two nights ago. It was woefully unproductive, all things considered. He hadn't even left the City in that dream. At least he had discovered another set of spells.
Jaune held a gloved hand out to catch the rain, collected into large drops from the trees above.
There was something satisfying about the rain. It was calming, purifying in a sense. It washed away the scent of alcohol. The scent of blood.
It was good to be free of the lingering stench of the Dream.
Not that the dream was useful. He had gotten some sleep a couple nights ago, and had discovered a whole slew of "ranger spells" wrapped up in the flag he wore around his waist. He had yet to find anything on either the portal to KrythHollin or any more information on the disease that wipes out the Eternal city.
But at least he got some new digs, so it was a win-win situation. Except for the dead man he pulled the waist flag off of. It was a loss for him.
Eh, he was already dead. A commented with the usual nonchalant air he had.
Jaune agreed with him silently, tilting his head back to catch the rain. His arms lifted to catch as much of the water as he could, letting each impact of the rain tear away a chunk of the ash that coated his self.
Jaune closed his eyes, letting the somber peace seep into his soul. Perhaps, even for a moment, he could rest. Take a break from his personal purgatory, and this flawed world. Then he felt something at the very depths of his instincts.
Something had entered his space.
Jaune sighed, pitying whatever Grimm had dared to enter his territory. Again.
Team AMBR looked at the old forest of pines. A deep fog rested, obscuring whatever visibility there was in the dense forest.
Bolin gave out a sigh as he pulled his staff out. "So, who's ready to walk into the clearly haunted forest?" he asked his team.
"Aye." Rheese said excitedly, twirling her twin guns.
Nadir shrunk under the glaring weight of the eerie forest. "No, not really." He muttered, nervously fiddling with his assault rifle.
Arslan shook her head, a small smile creeping on her face. She really should't take such amusement from her teammate's poor disposition to the forest. But damn it it wasn't kind of funny.
"Don't worry Nadir." Arslan schooled her face into a kind smile. "I'm sure that it is just some grimm. And if it is truly haunted-" Arslan was about to go on about figuring out how to kill a ghost as a team, but Rheese snuck up behind the pink haired man.
"WE'LL USE YOU AS A VIRGIN SACRIFICE!" She cackled, making the on edge huntsman jump out of his skin.
"GAH!" He cried out, turning on his green haired teammate. "Rheese! Don't do that!" he whined, fuming.
Arslan closed her eyes, forcing a chuckle down her throat. She would not embarrass Nadir any further.
"Rheese. That was unnecessary." Arslan used her Leader Voice. Rheese rolled her eyes. "Yes mom." She groaned in an overexaggerated tone, clearly poking fun at Arslan's tone.
"Rheese." Arslan warned.
Rheese turned to her pink haired friend. "Sorry for scaring you."
Nadir took a deep breath in, finding the will to forgive the nymph deep deep in his soul. "It's ok. I forgive you."
Bolin rolled his eyes with an audible groan. "Would getting a move on any time soon be possible? We have grimm to kill, and the sooner I can get out of this rainy outer town and back to Haven, the better."
Arslan turned, rolling her eyes out of his view. Lord help me. She prayed. She had known Bolin for most of her life, meeting him at a young age at the Temple. And he just kind of ended up sticking around. She wasn't sure why, really. But he always seemed to be in the same room one way or the other.
She supposed they became kind of friends due to sheer exposure to each other. It must have been some kind of cosmic law.
It really shouldn't have surprised her that he ended up on the same team as her. It must have fallen in accordance with that cosmic law.
With the begrudgingness you could only find in a teenager given responsibilities, Arslan trudged forward through the rainy mud.
Team AMBR walked through the forest, the mist clinging to them like wispy hands, grasping and clutching at the semblance of warmth. Nadir was practically shaking in his boots, his head on a rapid and twitchy swivel.
Bolin turned to look behind at the nervous gunner. "Would you relax? There's nothing here. It's not like that Caped Ghost the hunter was talking about is going to come out and eat your soul."
Nadir gave Bolin an unimpressed look, before hearing some small piece of wood snap.
"What was that!" he turned on a dime, leveling his gun in the general direction of the sound.
Rheese gave something akin to a mix between a chuckle and a sigh. "Relax Nadir," She said, patting his shoulder. "It was probably a squirrel or something."
Arslan walked towards the source of the sound carefully, her rope dart in hand. She moved the bush aside. A branch of decent size lay broken, fallen from the trees.
That's a little large for something the size of a squirrel to break. Arslan thought with a frown. Were they not alone in these woods? She looked up, but couldn't see anything in the fog and leaves.
Bolin walked over to his leader. "Anything we should be concerned about?"
"I don't know." Arslan said, looking down at the branch. "I can't tell if the branch fell on it's own, or if something else knocked it down. Something big."
Nadir perked up at that. "That sounds… concerning." he said, looking around the forest.
Arslan hummed, activating her semblance. Like a great bell underwater, the world was washed in a wave that turned everything it touched into a harsh black and white. The seemingly black and white world of her semblance, stretching around her like an all revealing circle, revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
Arslan's semblance was a useful one, Noble Presence. It allowed her to sense the energies of Souls, or in the case of the grimm, an empty black hole of a space, within about 10 meters or so from her position.
"There's nothing there." Arslan said after a moment, retracting the circle of aura.
Nadir relaxed at those words. Bolin gave a small huff, crossing his arms.
"Tell us something we don't know, Ars." he smiled. "Now let's go find this ghost."
The squad walked on, deeper into the forest. As they went deeper and deeper into the woods, they couldn't help but feel that it was getting colder. Darker. Oppressive, as though they were not welcome to this realm.
The team moved closer together, instinctively entering a loose surrounded formation. Every hair on Nadir's body stood up as the fog rolled in, denser than ever before.
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. Not a single smidge of like here, No siree." he sang in a high tone under his breath.
Bolin turned, an extremely annoyed grimace on his face. "Would you stop that?!" he snapped at his pink haired teammate.
Nadir flinched away, hunching to seem smaller.
"Thank you." Bolin huffed. Arslan would have to talk to him about that later. Now was not the time.
They walked in silence just a couple minutes more, before Nadir broke it again. "Hey, Arslan? Could you please use your semblance again? I feel like something is watching us."
Bolin turned to face nadir. "Really? Really Nadir? Come on." He groaned. "Grow up and grow a pair already. No one cares."
Oh, Arslan would most certainly be having words with Bolin after this mission.
There was a sound of something moving in the trees, like someone had just steps on a slippery patch of moss. Nadir instinctively leveled his AR at the sound in the trees and shot a burst off into the bush.
The bullets sent leaves and wood bits flying everywhere as the mist was forced away from the impact.
The world stood still for the briefest of moments, with Team AMBR watching the spot intently
"I think I got it." Nadir said after a second, a nervous smile breaking on his face.
"Your friend has good eyes." an unfamiliar voice said from behind them. "And good aim."
Team AMBR jumped, wheeling to face the interloper.
Jaune moved through the forest with a fast grace, fueled by simply going at such a steady rate that nothing could impede him. He had taken up to striding as his default speed now, something he wasn't sure when it had started.
It felt like he had done it for years. Perhaps he had, at this point.
Jaune tilted his head, listening for the shifts in the mist. He could just barely make out the intruders direction. Pressing his ear to the ground, he closed his eyes and focused.
The world faded out of view as he closed his eyes, letting the earth tell him the numbers of his prey.
"Four sets of footsteps, varying weights." Jaune said to his comrades, finding the timid beat of their walking. "To our north left. eight beats…. They're human." he said with a sigh of relief.
Do we know how to even interact with humans anymore? A asked, his eyes wide and his face veering away at the thought.
Did we ever know how to interact with humans? B countered.
"I wasn't that bad." jaune said
Eh, I suppose you're right. A admitted with a shrug.
"You guys are mean." Jaune grumbled, striding towards the source of the footsteps.
He hopped up on the lowest branches of a tree. He proceeded to jump, scamper and climb his way to the humans that had entered the woods. They got louder and louder as he got closer and closer, the rain just barely masking his soft footsteps on oak and aspen branches.
He could see them! He could see actual human beings!
A group of four, clearly Huntsmen, or atleast armed with rather colorful and unique weapons and gear, were slowly making their way through the misted forest. The rain pattered down, making their steps squelch and splash lightly in the muddy puddles.
Jaune landed on a branch that had a bad case of rot. It snapped, tumbling to the ground. The sudden loss of the solid ground underneath him sent Jaune into a free fall.
Jaune regained his wits, Jumping into the mist and landing on a more solid branch.
The four huntsman, and now that Jaune got a closer look at them, they were probably students, like him. Anyway, the four huntsmen turned to the sound, obviously high strung.
"What was that!" The man with pink hair, tied in a long braid, cried out. He had some kind of modern looking firearm in a death tight grip, white knuckling the metal and plastic
He needs a fat rip on a bong. A noted. Jaune was inclined to agree.
One of the two females, with a head of bright shining platinum silvery blonde hair, and deep chocolate colored skin that reminded Jaune of Hot cocoa on cold winter nights, walked over to investigate.
She was surprisingly pretty, is the same way one might find a wild animal to be pretty. Taught muscles that could kill when exerted covered underneath a sun blazen skin. She moved with that undeniable lethality, as though she was the queen of this forest. As though she was an Apex predator, and she knew it.
It was not the same grace that Pyrrha moved with. That was practiced, polished and repeated until perfection.
Nor was it like Blake's or Weiss's, so undeniably high esteemed. So imbedded, like they were royalty of some kind. Jaune supposed Weiss saw herself as royalty, at least a little.
So undeniably human, as though it were to hide something.
But this? This woman, this huntress moved like she was exactly that. A huntress. A predator. Jaune found himself watching her with an intent that probably crossed into creepy territory.
She looked up to where Jaune had been just moments before.
Huh. her eyes are olive colored. Jaune thought, interested at the unique color. Sure, Ruby had silver eyes, and Yang's were purple, and Nora's was an interesting shade of blue. Heck, Ren's eyes were pink.
Come to think of it, a lot of people have really strange eye colors. B noted with a half invested interest.
"Anything we should be concerned about?" The other monk asked, clad in similar robes to the darker monk. But it seemed he chose his accent color to be a deep navy blue, instead of red.
"I don't know." The blonde dark skinned monk said, kneeling to inspect the branch Jaune had sent tumbling to the ground. "I can't tell if the branch fell on it's own, or if something else knocked it down. Something big."
The pink haired hunter perked up at that, looking nervous. "That sound…" He started, trying in vain to hide his fear and unease "Concerning." He finally decided.
The blonde straightened up, looking around.
She's looking for you. A noted. You should probably hide.
Jaune stood stock still, murmuring under his breath a ranger's poem. "Oh wood, Oh bark, oh leaves of green, let those that seek me leave me be, let me disappear into dark, let me know they cannot see what they once could." his words tumbled out of his mouth like falling leaves, silent but for the smallest fluttering.
A feeling as though he had faded out, becoming less solid and more like the mist he crouched in, washed over him. It pulled him from his back, fading him into ashen greys.
There was a moment of dead silence, as Jaune dared not to breath lest it break the spell he cast.
"There's nothing there."The predator said with confidence.
Did she use a semblance? She clearly didn't actually look around for us. B questioned, curious about the certainess in her tone.
The pink boy relaxed visibly, as did the green haired girl on a hoverboard to his right.
"Tell us something we don't know, Ars." The darker haired monk said.
Ah. so her name was Ars. An interesting name.
It's probably a nickname, Jaune. A suggested. Jaune nodded, agreeing.
I bet you're right A. But what would it be short for? I can't think of any names that have the phrase Ars in them.
A and B looked to each other, coming up blank. They responded to Jaune's question with a shrug.
The male monk opened his mouth again. "Now let's go find this ghost."
Ghost? There's a ghost in this forest? A questioned, superstisously looking over his shoulder. B sighed, shaking his head.
No, you dimwit. Those don't exist. He grumbled, exasperated. I'll bet money it's a Geist or some other kind of supernatural-esc grimm species.
Ah. A nodded. That would make sense. We have been killing a lot of grimm in this forest.
Jaune interjected at this point. Yeah, but nothing like a Geist or a Kappa. Most of them have been Beowolves. Kind of interesting that there would be this many grimm in the middle of nowhere though. Jaune responded, stepping to a sturdy looking branch.
The Huntsman were moving again, deeper into the woods. Jaune was going to follow them. If they came here, that certainly mean that they came from somewhere. Perhaps he could hitch a ride? And besides. Jaune continued his train of thought. I was the one who did all the killing. You guys just sat back and watched.
A was offended at the insinuation he didn't do anything. HEY! I cheered you on.
And I did provide advice and information. B supplied his own two cents.
Back seat fighters. Jaune laughed in his head, quietly following team AMBR
He did that for a few minutes, the team in complete silence, before the pink one started to hum under his breath. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all. Not a single smidge of like here, No siree." he sang, high pitched and nervous.
The blue monk, Can we just call him blue? We can call the pretty one red. A suggested.
Blue then. Jaune corrected. Blue snapped on the pink one, causing him to flinch away. 'WOuld you stop that?!" He did in a half spit, half yell in anger. Upon seeing the smaller pink one's show of subservience: "Thank you." he huffed with a nod. He redirected himself, satisfied in his show of dominance. They continued on for a couple minutes more, the recent outrage keeping them in a tense silence.
Holy moly, if we hadn't killed all the grimm, these people would be drowning in beowolves. A commented with an uneasy laugh.
Jaune was inclined to agree. The tension could have been cut with a freaking log at this point.
The silence was broken by the pink one's nervousness. "Hey, arslan?"
Ah, so her name was Arslan. That made sense
Arslan. Aaaarrrslllan. Jaune rolled the name around in his mouth, tasting it.
It tasted spicy almost, like some kind of exotic wood. It also had a starchy feel to it, like some kind of exotic potato.
A spicy potato. A spice-tato?
But there was this fascinating undertone of sweetness, like a dark chocolate, or coco.
So more like Spicy hot cocoa, but in potato form.
He found he rather liked the taste of it.
Jaune refocued his attention to the four below. Blue, Green Skateboard girl, Arslan, and the Pink one.
"Could you please use your semblance again? I feel like something is watching us." The pink one said, rather timidly.
Blue groaned, turning to face the pink one. "Really? Really Nadir? Come on." he growled at him. Ah, so his name was Nadir.
A cooler name, like a cold drink. But with some oddly hops like undertones.
It tastes like brack water. B said flatly. You know, the kind you find clay in.
It did, didn't it? Or like coffee, but minus the caffeine, with a touch of beer hops. But cold? It was an interesting taste. He wasn't as much of a fan of it as Arslan, but he could see himself getting used to it.
"Grow up and grow a pair already. No one cares." Blue continued. Jaune squinted, leaning forward in his branch. He already didn't like Blue.
He seems kind of like an asshole. A commented, agreeing with Jaunes assessment of Blue. A didn't like him either.
The shift of balance made the branch bend down, rusting the leaves in the mist. The four Huntsmen jumped, instantly ready for combat. The pink one, Nadir B reminded him, actually pulled the trigger on his gun, firing off several shots. Jaune's eyes widened as he Jumped out of the way, disappearing into the mist. He landed with a soft and silent thud behind them.
They were too focused on the bullet ridden spot in the tree as Nadir lowered his rifle.
"I think I got it." He gave a small laugh, partially from nervousness, partially from stressed pride.
Jaune stood up from his crouched position. "You friend has good eyes." he said, brushing off his shoulders. "And good aim."
The four huntsmen wheeled on the voice, brandishing weapons. Jaune reflexively acted, drawing a sabre almost completely from its sheath. There was a metal clang as Blue's metal staff made contact with the blade.
Nadir's beyonce had thrust forward, forcing Jaune to lean aggressively to the side. His armored glove raised to collide with the gun knife.
"Do not be afraid." Jaune said, loud enough to clearly be heard. Not that it was that hard, considering he was within stabbing distance. "I am not your foe."
"Well, then just exactly who are you!?" Blue yelled, reading to strike at Jaune again.
Jaune sighed and sheathed his sabre, pushing the bayonet away from him.
Crap, how do you introduce yourself again? Jaune asked his head space mates.
Hello is a good start. B said, impressed and exasperated that Jaune had managed to forget how to introduce himself. And telling them your name is also a bonus.
Right. Jaune thought. Thank you.
"Hello. My name is Jaune ar- Just Jaune. It is nice to meet you."
Another chapter done! yay!
And finally new characters! Now, what will i do with them now?
I'm so excited that we are almost done with the first arc of this story? What did you think of it, and what do you think is going to happen next?
I love hearing your theories about this story, or you personal thoughts as to how the story should continue and unfold. If it's better than what I have, i just might write it in. Please leave a comment, as it fuels this story's progress.
Constructive critism so that I may improve going forward is always apricated.