Jaune walked through the town, turning and spinning to take in the life of this town. His hood had fallen off his head at some point, but Jaune was far too in awe to care. The rain had stopped just as Jaune passed the first barricade, as though the heralding of some angel was upon the small town.
Arslan watched the ranger look around, his face set in a stone mask of…
Not quite indifference? It was a neutral face, but not uncaring.
His hair had grown long, going just a bit past his shoulders. It was like looking at a blonde Aragon, or perhaps Borimir. His ratty armor, cracked and worn, a shell of a hunter, made him stand out in the town square like a sore thumb.
Man, when was the last time I even read Lord of the Rings? Arslan thought to herself as she led them to the inn.
"So, Jaune." Arslan started, drawing the stranger's attention from the town to her. "You're a student, right?"
Jaune nodded, twisting to the side so that his tall lanky frame didn't absolutely demolish a wayward child running down the street. The child still managed to bump into Jaunes knee, sending him carading off to the side momentarily.
"Sorry Mr!" the child yelled over his shoulder, not even stopping. Jaune reached out, pausing halfway through to a fully extended arm. Perhaps to stop the child, perhaps to wave goodbye?
It was hard to tell. Jaune sighed, moving away from the awkward moment.
"You were saying something?" jaune asked, turning to the lioness. Arslan considered asking him one of the many questions she had bouncing around in her head. She sifted through each curiosity, ranking and sorting them into what would be most likely to be answered.
"What year are you?" She asked after a moment, opening the door to the inn. A rusted sign hung above the door, a lizard wrapped around a frothing mug of ale burned into the bronze lined wooden plate.
Jaune stared at his, his face going slack. For a moment, it was replaced with a similar wooden sign, plastered in ash and faded by time, attached to a mostly broken brewery.
-Ok, Jaune?" A voice snapped him back to reality. He blinked, his head shaking a little as he refocused.
Arslan gave the blonde a concerned look. "You ok Jaune? You kind of blanked out on me for a moment." She asked.
Jaune nodded. "Ye-yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm all good." he rambled, for the most part unconvincingly. Arslan looked him over, before pushing the door open. "If you say so." the dark skinned huntress said, walking into the inn.
The inn itself was a pretty standard wooden building. A large open eating area lit by burning lamps made up the majority of the first floor. A bar that stretched across the majority of one wall was the only encroachment onto the single monolithic wooden room. It had a surprisingly homey feel to it, slightly worn with the ages of boys and men. The hardwood floor was covered in scratches from the scraping of chairs and tables, and the chairs themselves had clearly been well used over the ages. Only a couple of stragglers and alcoholics were left in the large room, making it feel surprisingly empty. Jaune cast his eyes around, instinctively marking out every possible exit in the room.
There are four total windows of escapable size. Two to the main road, one to the back alley and one to the side. One door that leads out to the road, and another that leads down to what I assume is the cellar and kitchen area. B analyzed. This room in particular is best suited for combat. It is large enough that all of our weapons are viable, but ranged weapons arn't. Beyond that, there is ample movable cover to hide behind.
Jaune blinked, his head turning on a swivel. You do know We use ranged weapons as well, right? Jaune asked the voice.
B froze for a moment, trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had missed such a blaring and obvious. Damn it. Well, we can still hit them with our sword.
Sound thinking. A commented from his couch, munching on a bag of chips.
Jaune blinked. Wait, since when did A have a couch?
Since when did you have a couch? Jaune asked, confused as to how a shapeless voice could even sit on a couch, much less eat potato chips. A shrugged, emphasising his confusion with a crunch of unhealthy starchy goodness. A looked around, noticing that they were holding up traffic.
Yo, Jaune! Time to get moving. A called out, causing Jaune to start walking again. He made his way to Arslan, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Sorry, I got…. Lost in thought. You know, like a normal person." Jaune mumbled, just barely loud enough for the lioness to hear.
Arslan gave him the side eye as she walked up the stairs. "No problem." She said, just a little suspicious. She had to suppress a laugh at the poor blonde's awkwardness. The laugh died when she remembered
She knew that look on his face. It was the same look that she had seen whenever she watched some of her fellow peers fight in the arena. He was taking in the room, analyzing it, formatting plans. For what? It's not like he expects to be attacked, does he? Arslan pondered, noting his paranoia. He was like that as well, tense and prepared when they had met as well.
Jaune, in the meantime, felt like hitting his head on the stair bannister. Really? Really? Jaune berated himself. Like a normal person? Who even says that?
Not normal people, I can tell you that. A said nonchalantly, unmoved from his couch.
Jaune groaned internally. Fantastic. Jaune thought. Fantastic work jaune. Now she probably thinks you're some kind of weirdo
A looked up from his relaxed position. Oh look! Ass! He called out, distracting Jaune from his self criticism
Jaune looked up, seeing that Arslan's waist was right at eye level on the stairs. Oh, wow. She must be a runner. Jaune thought as he watched the muscle shift with her movement.
B wheeled on his counterpart, wielding a bat with righteous intent. NO! He cried out, physically wacking the couch potato voice on the head. We are not doing this! No Horny!
Jaune flinched, the imaginary impact of the bat resonating with a wooden bonk sound throughout his body. It made him falter, missing a step with the sudden flinch.
Arslan turned quickly at the stumbling sound, grabbing him by the arm. The ranger teetered at a precarious angle on the stairs. With a heave, the lioness pulled Jaune back onto his feet.
"Th-thank you." Jaune said, looking down. He really, really hoped that Arslan couldn't see his blush.
"No problem." Arslan nodded, making sure that the blonde was steady on his feet. "You ok? You look like you could do with some sleep." She asked, concerned. This was the third time in the several minutes she had met that Jaune had shown signs of exhaustion. She was, of course, familiar with the state. She had worked herself hard during her career as a fighter and a huntswomen, and bouts of exhaustion were not uncommon for someone as hardworking as herself. But she had never seen anything as bad as Jaune's case. Jaune stumbled, he paused, he was possibly paranoid, and he talked to himself.
She could see his lips move, without sound behind them. It was as though he was speaking to someone that wasn't even there.
Jaune gave a short laugh, one that betrayed his exhaustion. "Nah, i'm good." he chuffed.
Arslan gave him a skeptical look as they reached the top of the stairs. "Oh?"
Jaune nodded. "Yeah. my eyes close when I sneeze." he grinned at his joke.
Arslan, however, was not impressed. "No, seriously. When was the last time you slept?" She asked, crossing her arms. Nadir was bad enough, with his obsessive tangents that would keep him up at night, holed up in his room until he had exhausted the internet of every scrap of information related to his newest obsession-interest. But even he seemed to function better than Jaune.
Jaune gave her a blank stare, his brain trying to remember when he last slept. It must have been recently. Jaune thought, scratching his head.
It was three days ago, jaune. B said flatly. Have fun telling Arslan that.
Jaune gulped. He admittedly did not like that prospect, as he admittedly found Arslan a little intimidating. Who wouldn't? The girl looked like she was made of muscle, lean and taught cords of steel under that skin that looks like it felt like a hundred degrees to the touch. Jaune couldn't really see her legs, as that was hidden by rather baggy pants, but if her biceps were anything to go by, she could probably break skulls with them.
What do you mean probably? A asked. You saw that ass. She could totally break us with her thighs.
B groaned. Could we please not?
I mean, our head would just explode, like a watermelon.
B took in a deep, deep breath. Jaune leaned back a bit, the mental image was… interesting. Jaune looked down at her hips, hidden by her combat robe.
He wondered if she could break him like a melon. Arslan groaned, pinching her nose.
"Has it really been that long since you last got some rest?" She groaned.
"Uhhh…" Jaune toned. "Sure. Yeah, that's accurate."
Arslan sighed. "You know that's not healthy, right?" She asked, Jaune nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." he sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
Arslan led him to one of the rooms. "We're staying here for now, or at least until thursday." She explained, opening the door
Jaune's head tilted. "What happens on thursday?" he asked, curious.
"That is pick up day." Blue called out, sitting on the floor doing not much more than scrolling through the internet. His name was Bolin, right? Yes, it was Bolin. Not that far from blue, come to think of it.
Bolin blinked, looking up from his scroll. "Oh, what are you doing here?" he asked, standing up.
Arslan stepped forward between him and Jaune. "He is staying with us for a little while." She explained. "At least until pick up."
Bolin's eye twitched a bit at that statement. "Ars, i really think-"
"Bolin." Arslan said, her voice as cold and as hard as steel. She knew where this was going. "If you have something to say about my decision, we may converse outside."
Bolin nodded, before briskly walking out the door with excessive force.
I think the term you want there is storming, buddy. B noted, correcting Jaunes language. Arslan rolled her eyes, but followed him anyway.
Jaune turned to the more interesting colored members of team AMBR. "sooo…" he started, turning his head to the door. "What was that about?"
Rheese sighed, flopping from her bed onto the floor, her legs dangling in the air. "Eh, they're probably off to fight over nothing again." She said, tapping her scroll. It looked like she was playing some kind of game, judging off the reflections on her face.
Nadir looked up from his corner and nodded. He just as quickly, like a meerkat, turned his head down and disappeared into the corner once more. Jaune raised an eyebrow, walking over to where Rheese lay.
"Can i sit here?" He asked, looking down at the green nymph. She just shrugged, not looking away from her game. Jaune just continued looking down, not entirely sure what to do.
"Uhhhh…." He hummed, his hand moving to the back of his head. What does that mean? Go away? Go ahead? Indifference?
A's face contorted, the lower jaw muscles stretching down and the eyebrows raising. The expression was often accompanied by a shrug on most humanoids, and a general sound that can only be explained as the universal translation of "I dunno". However, as A is a figmental voice inside Jaunes brain meats, caused partially by stress, isolation induced insanity, and something jaune wasn't sure how it came into being, or even what it was. Anyway, as A is a figmental voice in Jaune's head, he couldn't really shrug, or make the universal translation of "I dunno". Sure, he conveyed such expressions in what could possibly be considered a "shrug", but that was only in the mental picture.
Jaune still wasn't sure where that couch came from however.
I have no idea how to interpret that. B admitted. And so jaune was left standing there for an uncomfortable amount of moments. Rheese looked back up at the blonde lanky giant, the angle making him appear a certified colossus rather than simply just really tall.
"You know you can sit down, right?" She asked, raising and eyebrow.
Jaune's head bowed as he turned a little red from embarrassment. "Thank you." he murmured, lowering himself to sit down next to her.
They sat there in silence for a couple moments, Jaune put his hapsack duffle bag container thing down from his shoulder with a loud, deep THUNK. Rheese and Nadir gave it a look, startled at the weight it had to it. Jaune opened it up, pulling out his various items he had collected from his travels.
A rock from the forest near Morralle that he thought looked cool. It had a slate blue color to it's greyness, along with a swirling pattern of lines that was probably caused by running water or tree roots.
The wooden coin he had carved from the Dream, along with his mask.
That tattered crested banner, a worn and ancient doll that had seen better days, plastered in ash and dust. A rolled smooth lump of glass. A broken helmet, an inscription in an unknown language outlining the brow. An artistically bent piece of metal. That harsh wooden set of Marrakech he had stolen from team worcestershire sauce. Man, it had been forever since he played it.
An unbidden memory floated to the surface of his head. Him and Nora were sitting in a Beacon dorm, wrestling and fighting over a little pebble. All because Nora rolled poorly.
We laughed so joyously, as though we would be able to do this tomorrow. Jaune thought sorrowfully.
Or perhaps they were laughing because they knew it would be the last time they could do so together.
Jaune sighed, turning the box over in his hands.
I miss Nora. He sighed, reminiscing fondly on the excitable girl.
Rheese watched Jaune slowly, methodically even, pull out various strange items out of his sack. She watched him pull out a wooden box, worn and beaten with harsh use. She watched him roll it in his hands, contemplating the thing with what seemed to be bittersweet memories.
Jaune put the box down, turning to look at her. Or rather, her scroll.
"Your scroll." he started, getting her attention. "What are you playing on it?"
Rheese's eyebrows hiked up slightly. "Kind of a weird thing to ask, John" She said, returning her attention to her scroll. Jaune blinked, turning to look at her.
"I'm sorry?" Jaune asked, confused at the statement. I mean, I guess I'm a little weird? I've always been kind of awkward… Jaune trailed off to his mental renters.
B shrugged at the statement, at a loss of what to do. I'm not good with whatever you guys call emotions. He offered, as though that actually explained or pertains to anything related to Jaunes question.
Is that why you continuously veto the idea of lewding Ars? A asked from his couch, leaning upwards to shout his question. Because I don't know any hot blooded man that wouldn't drool over that ass-
BONK came the increasingly familiar sound as B hit A over the head with a bat. Yes! Now stop it! He commanded.
A cried out, holding his hands up in a futile effort to protect him from the bat of bonk. Alright, Alright! Stop it! He scrambled, falling off of his couch to get away from the offending stick. You've made your point! You can't handle women!
Jaune rubbed his temples, hoping that it might quell his tenants arguing. I am the landlord of this brain space, and you will be within the noise level compliance! He yelled at them. They, fortunately, shut up.
Thank you.
"I'm playing Brick Breaker." Rheese said, not turning her attention away from her scroll.
Jaune squinted, wracking his brain. "That sounds familiar…" He said under his breath.
Did one of his sisters play it before he had to leave them? He wasn't sure anymore.
"It should." Nadir called out from his corner, looking up from his scroll. "It was the third most popular mobile game last year." He offered, his voice trailing off as he came toward the end of his sentence, laced with concern that no one really cared.
Jaune looked up and smiled at him. "Ah, thank you. You are Nadir, right?" Jaune clarified. Nadir looked shocked for a moment, but opted to rapidly nod his head.
"Thank you Nadir." jaune repeated, before reaching over for his large book of tactics. He opened it, seeing Nora's pancake recipe tucked inside. He smiled at the sight, before turning the page.
He had read this book so many times, from the road to the Dream, he might as well be able to recite the damn thing, word for word.
Is this what Will Murray felt like in Ground Hog day? Jaune pondered for a moment.
Arslan opened the door, fuming. The lioness stomped over to the windowsill, grabbing her rope dart.
"Going out?" Rheese asked, looking at her leader's steaming red face.
She was greeted with an aggressive sounding growl. "Ah. good hunting. Try not to collapse a building this time."
Jaune gave Rheese a very concerned look. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh yeah." Rheese said, still looking at her scroll. "She collapsed a building once. Admittedly it was a walking OSHA violation…" She trailed off. "Nadir?"
"Yes?" Nadir asked tentatively, knowing what she was going to ask.
"Could you watch Ars? Make sure she doesn't accidentally repeat the Gorgia incident." Rheese asked. Nadir slumped.
"Why can't you? You're more likely to survive." he argued.
Rheese tapped on her scroll again, biting the tip of her tongue. "I'm on the last level of this set! I'm so close i can taste that new personal best!"
Jaune sighed, standing up. He grabbed his satchel, leaving the items on the floor where they were, and walked out the door.
"Oi, where are you going?!" Rheese called after the blonde ranger. Jaune didn't answer, instead quietly closing the door after him. As he turned, he saw that he was face to face with Bolin, who looked almost as furious as Arslan. He glared at Jaune, who saw Arslan walking down the stairs. Jaune decided to push past, slipping by the blue monk. He grunted harshly, causing Jaune to twist to look at him. He, with overly aggressive force, pointed his two fingers at his eyes, and then flicked them to jaune. The universal symbol for "watch." His eyes flicked to the stairwell where Arslan had just disappeared down.
Ah, he wants me to watch Arslan. Keep her out of trouble. Jaune deducted, nodding and giving Bolin a thumbs up.
B squinted suspiciously. I am very sure that it is not what he means, but ok."
Jaune scampered down the stairs, just barely seeing the yellow flit of Arslan's robe disappear through the door. Jaune ran after her, bursting into the single road in the town. He saw the yellow flitter of her robe head toward the woods at a brisk pace. Jaune sighed, chasing after her.
"What has you going in such a hurry?" the ranger asked as he approached the lioness from behind. Arslan jumped, spinning in the air like a startled cat.
"Mothra Manta!" She cried out, clearly spooked. "jaune! You startled me." She breathed out, relieved that it was just the blonde ranger. Once her heart had stopped trying to give her a heart attack, she looked up at the tall man. "Jaune? Wait, why are you here?"
"I was told to stop you from destroying a building?" Jaune said, the statement turning into a question half way through. "You're not going to destroy a building, right?" he pleaded, really really hoping that it was merely an exaggeration. Arslan groaned, her fuming anger shifting to fuming embarrassment.
"I collapse one structural wall one time!" Arslan bemoaned through her hands, the despair muffled.
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Do… do i want to know?" he asked, hesitant as to what his answer would be.
Arslan sighed. "It's nothing. It's just Bolin is…." She trailed off, not finishing the sentence. "Nevermind."
Jaune raised an eyebrow. He might have been socially awkward, but he could tell when a woman was upset. He did grow up with eight of them, after all.
He also knew when to pry, and now wasn't the time. Arslan looked ready to deck someone at the moment, and Jaune would very much like it to not be him.
"Soo, where are we heading?" Jaune asked as they returned to walking. They were heading towards to forest where Jaune was found.
"I'm going to find something to punch." Arslan grumbled as they approached the tree line. "You don't have to come with me."
Jaune made a noncommittal noise. "I don't." he admitted, and yet he followed his new found friend.
Arslan rolled up her sleeves as she marched towards a tree.
"We should probably choose a tree deeper in the forest." The ranger recommended to her. Arslan turned, her brow furrowed.
"Why?"
"The trees are sturdier in the deeper forest. More punches per tree." The ranger explained. Arslan considered the logic with a small amount suspicion, but the logic checked out. "Fine." The lioness said. She could wait a couple moments longer.
"Lead the way Mr. Ranger."
Jaune nodded, striding into the forest.
Arslan stared after him for a moment. Why are his footsteps so quiet? She wondered as he soundlessly walked over the detritus. Arslan followed him into the green grey depths. Jaune stopped at a place he believed suitable, looking around. "Will this suffice?" He asked his guided friend.
Arslan turned, looking around the grove. "This is fine." She growled, excited at the promised outlet of her rage. She got into her stance, going through the motions slowly, like the build up to some old kung fu fight scene. Arslan stopped, her stance dropping a little. She could feel Jaunes piercing blue eyes watching her. She sighed, turning to where the ranger was.
Except he wasn't there. The gap between the trees that the blonde was once standing was empty.
A clicking sound came from above that spot. Arslan looked up to Jaune, who sat on a branch above the ground. Arslan blinked, shaking her head to dispel the illusion. She looked again.
Nope, he was still there.
"Wha-how did you get up there?!" She called out, confused at the sudden teleportation.
"I climbed." he said, his voice caring with an odd resonance. It was as though he wasn't a couple meters away, but right in front of her. Arslan filed it under "more questions to ask Jaune later".
Arslan cleared her throat. "Can you, uh, not watch?" She asked, shifting her weight on her feet. "I don't like people watching me vent."
Jaune nodded. "Understandable." he said, his voice travelling in that odd manner. He turned away, his back facing Arslan.
"Thank you." Arslan called out to the blonde.
Jaune made a cross on his chest, giving a satirical eulogy for the poor tree. Jaune heard the crack of wood, followed by a slew of expletive muttering.
Arslan swung her fist, ripping off a chunk of the tree with her orange-yellow aura covered fists. "Arrogant little know it all-" She cursed under her breath, following up the wide swing with a set of aura infused jabs. "Who does he think he is!" She huffed, her shin ramming into the tree, shaking it's very foundation with the strike. "Questioning my decisions at literally every turn! If he was supposed to be the leader, Lionheart would have made him so!" A head size chunk of wood was blasted into smithereens with an open palm.
She screamed with rage, the sound almost drowned out the constant sound of pulverized wood. The tree looked really quite worse for well, like someone had taken an ax to it. It was probably on the cusp of collapse, and would have toppled if not for some timely intervention.
An armored glove gently grasped her wrist, stopping the closed hand, glowing like hot steel, from completely blasting apart the poor tree.
"GRAAAA!" Arslan yelled, spinning to throw a punch over her shoulder. It made contact with flesh, followed by bones making a sickening crackling pop sound.
Jaune instantly regretted his decision as he felt his face get flattened with what felt like a brick that was approaching at concerningly rapid speeds. He flew into the ground with a painful sounding thud.
Arslan instantly dropped her combat stance, her hands going to cover her shame. "Oh my god!" She cried out, falling to her knees next to the now prone, and probably severely concussed Jaune. "Shit! Jaune, are you ok?"
Jaune only groaned, still trying to blink away the pain. "Nooooooo~" He groaned, his voice unsteady. His jaw felt weird, once he got used to the pain. Jaune reached up to grope at his face haphazardly. He was still woozy from the blow.
Oh. Jaune relized, feeling his jaw. That's not in the right place.
Yeah. B nodded. It's a couple inches to the right of where it's supposed to be, buddy.
Ouch. A said, wincing. Jaune forced himself up so he could reach into his satchel. Reaching around, his head swaying with every blink, he fumbled until his fingers met glass.
"What are you looking for?" Arslan said, concerned as to what the blinking ranger was reaching for.
"Alcohol." He answered, pulling out a rounded bottle that clearly held liquor.
Huh, i didn't know we could pull alcohol from the dream. B noted. A shrugged at that statement.
We can pull swords and other shit, why not health potions? The figment argued.
B closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, praying to whatever being above to give him patience. If I hear you call alcohol "Health Potions' ' one more god damn time, I am going to slap your ass!
A giggled at that. Ohh, Kinky!
NO! B yelled at his counterpart with every bit of force he could. Jaune teetered forward at the sound, before refocusing on the task at hand. Uncorking the bottle, jaune started chugging. The bottle drained at a rate that would have made even a particular transforming drunk crow proud.
There was no warm flowing feeling, or fizzing, or magical healing that came with it. Or if there was, jaunes absolutely fucked jaw and addled brain overpowered the feeling.
But the numbness that came with alcohol did come. And with that, Jaune put his knuckles to his off placed jaw. He closed his eyes in a tight squint, preparing for the pain he was about to put himself through.
His jaw snapped back into place with an equally painful sounded CRACK. Arslan's eyes bulged as jaune let his greyed aura wash over him, repairing the muscle and bone damage.
"On second thought." Jaune said, working and wiggling the recently healed appendage. "I probably should have called your name instead."
Arslan took a deep breath in and out, relieved that Jaune seemed to be ok. "You don't say! What in the world were you thinking?!" She cried out, her hands making contact with the ground as she leaned forward, even if it was to be a little more intimate via proximity.
"That you wouldn't absolutely demolish my facial structure?" Jaune asked, his head tilting to the side. He moved his jaw again, working the soreness out. "You have a good punch by the way."
Arslan gave him a concerned and flabbergasted look. Maybe I rattled his brain harder than I thought I did. She thought.
"Jaune, can you follow my finger?" Arslan raised a finger up, remembering her first aid training. Jaune's eyes followed it.
"Yes I can." he said, a soft smile on his face. "I'm fine, Arslan. Now, we have more pressing matters." Jaune sighed, nodding to the left. Arslan's head turned.
Oh.
"You could have opened with the fact that Grimm were coming this way." She said, a smile slowly crawling back onto her face. This was just what she needed. A good fight against some monsters. She activated her semblance, the wave of sensory energy expanded from her. It washed over the grimm, pinpointing their position and movement. Seven beowolves in total, four are breaking off to the left and right for a pincer. Arslan noted, her fists starting to slowly brighten once more as she filled them with aura.
She turned to look over at her blonde comrade, who was inspecting a katana with a bored kind of interest. His soul is so… dull. Arslan noted, his outline not the bright whiteish that most people possessed, but rather a muted yellow grey. Although i've never seen anyone with a hint of color. Another thing to add to the list of asking about later. They had a fight to win at the moment.
"They're breaking off into three groups. Left, right and center." Arslan called out as Jaune got into a stance. His head turned to the lioness, indication that he was listening.
"The center group has three beowolves, the others have two." Arslan continued, gulping to calm her nerves. She was always a little anxious before a fight. What if things go wrong? What if they are stronger than expected? What can happen, and what can i do about it? Were the thoughts that played in her head just before she got into combat. They were good thoughts to have, grounding thoughts that prepared her for the worst.
"Do you want the center of the flank?" Jaune asked, centering his sword ahead of him. Arslan wondered if that was the blade he usually used, considering the several sheaths at his hips and wrapped in his strange duffle wrap container sack on his back.
Arslan shook her head. If they had one more person, taking the zones would be an acceptable, heck, even great plan. But with two? It left a flank, front, left or right, open for exploitation.
"Let them collapse on us, but don't let them get behind." She ordered, deciding on a plan. Jaune raised an eyebrow, but conceded. It was a plan of action, even if it wasn't the one he would take.
"As you wish." Jaune said, taking a step back as the grimm approached. One got within lunging range, snarling and promising death to the blonde. Jaune surged forward, bringing the katana down in a two handed strike on the grimm's skull. With a heave forward, the blonde pushed forward. The grimm was forced up, exposing the grimm's soft underbelly. Jaune twisted, cutting a deep slash through the torso of the beowulf. It screamed as it started to dissolve, falling to the ground with a thud. But Jaune was already moving to his next victim. He approached the beowulf like water, flowing smoothly to try and strike. But the beowulf was faster, bringing a claw a incredible speed towards Jaune's face
Uh, no. Jaune thought as he re-angled his blade to block the claw. The metal jolted with the impact against two hundred pounds of muscle and fur. I've already been punched in the face once today, and that is most certainly enough.
Jaune glanced out of the side of his vision, seeing that the left flank was being pushed, and Arslan was busy absolutely evicerating a poor wolf grimm. Her blazing fist caught a swipe of it's paw, and with a squeeze the bones in that paw broke. Arslan put the screaming grimm out of it's misery by punching it in the face. It's skull mask collapsed under the iron fist like she just buried her fist in a cake.
Jaune flipped, spinning on a horizontal axis out of the way of another attack. He spun three throwing blades in between his knuckles. At the apex of his spin, the blades flew out at the encroaching left flank. His cowl flared out with the spin, much like those Spanish dresses.
One blade flew into the forest, missing it's mark completely and flying into the depths of the forest, probably never to be seen by Jaunes eyes again. The other two found their partner, being the side of a grimm. The throat and the side of it's ribcage, specifically. The grimm squealed as it stumbled and fell to the ground, already wheezing with labored breaths, bleeding out to death.
Jaune landed on his knees. He spun, dragging the tip of his blade just above the dirt battle floor. It was a dance, he supposed as the katana swung at and upwards angle, cutting off the paw of another grimm. The grimm reeled back, trying to clutch at the missing appendage. Jaune lept to his feet, driving his sword forward into a stab. The blade struck true, piercing the beowulf with extreme prejudice. Jaune stepped back, readying to stab the stunned and standing grimm again. He lunged forward once more, this time striking it in between the ribs. And again, and again, and again jaune stabbed until the grimm fell backwards with a thud.
Jaune turned to look how Arslan was holding up. She blocked a paw with her aura enhanced fore arm, ducked out of the way of a bite that would have taken her head off, and lunged forward, driving her knee into the ribcage of the offending grimm. Jaune heard the bone structure collapse under the impact force.
A beowulf lunged at Arslan from behind. The girl spun, surprised and taken unawares by the attack.
And for a moment, the sky was darker, the grimm was larger and more bearish, and instead of Arslan, there stood a light skinned dog faunus, scared and shaking.
Oh no. Jaune thought, his brain panicking as the world shifted under his feet. Not again.
Never again.
DONE! Ok, this is a longer chapter than usual, at least page wise.
We see some of the team AMBR dynamic, and more importantly we see Jaune's social awkwardness kick in. I tried really hard to write jaune as being the kind of social awkward i wanted him to be. Quiet, not very good at picking up ques and out of it, so to speak, but not the cringy weird that he was in volumes 1-3. instead he's more like when we first meet Aragon in LOTR. Suspicious, dark, and dirty as hell.
Actually, come to think of it, There are kind of a couple Aragon comparisons already, isn't there? I really hope i did the inability to function in society normally aspect of Jaune justice in this chapter
in other news. we also see more of Arslan in particular, but don't worry, we will see the others in more depth next chapter.
As always leave a comment about what you think will happen next, long term plot devices, character arcs that you think would be fit in the story, or scenes that you think should be written in. I love reading them, and if they are better than what i have currently planned, or i find them particularly inspired, I might write them in. I already have one particular scene inspired by a comment planned out for about mid story.
Thank you so much for reading this and commenting, it means the world to me.
In other news, I'm not good at creating hooking blurbs, and was thinking about rewriting it. What should i rewrite it to?