Jaune trailed behind team ARBN, noticing that one of them constantly looked back, as although to make sure he was still here. He remained in sight, silently following them, like a ghost. Reese skirted up to Arslan, tapping her shoulder.
"Ars, buddy." She whispered, causing Arslan to look over her shoulder. "We need to talk about something."
Arslan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, about?" She asked. It was not often that Reese had concerns about her leadership or her decisions.
Reese looked back to Jaune. "About our new found friend."
Arslan closed her eyes and sighed. Gods damn it. She mentally groaned. "I have already heard enough from Bolin about his suspicions." She said, a hard tone in her voice normally enough to shut down the repeated tirade that Bolin had given her twice now.
Reese's eyes widened, blinking. "What-no? I'm not here to complain about him. He's just literally sucking the color out of the world around him." Reese said, giving the words a satirical flatness. Arslan rolled her eyes. "He might not be that personable but he is not that bad." She said, Reese shook her head.
"Not like that." She explained. "Like he is literally sucking the color out of the leaves. Either that or I am going insane." the skater continued. Arslan turned around, looking at Juane with no small amount of skepticism. Jaune's masked face tilted to look at her, like a parakeet at a zoo or some other equally curious animal. Arslan didn't quite see what Reese was getting at, he looked like the same Jaune to her. Arslan turned back to her teammate. "I think you're losing your mind, or need to get your eyes checked." the leader said flatly. Reese was about to respond with her own sarcasm, but instead just nodded.
"I'm sure, but still. It might have to do with his weird quiet thing." Reese responded. Arslan opened her mouth, only to close it again. She supposed that if Jaune seemed to absorb sound, he could possibly absorb color as well.
Arslan shook her head. She would find out later. The five of them exited the woods, Jaune lingering behind a few feet away from the woodline. Arslan turned back to the ranger, who was reluctant to leave his domain of solitude.
"Jaune, are you coming?" She asked tentatively, hoping to not scare him back into the shadows. He stood there for a moment, dreading the return into the crowded, screaming, clamoring air. Jaune shifted his gaze from the small peaceful town full of people to Arslan, who stood there waiting patiently. Jaune let out a sigh and walked out of the treeline to join them.
Arslan smiled as the ranger walked away from his forest's shadow and into the light.
Team ARBN began their walk to the small town. "Well, I have to meet with the magistrate, tell him the good news." Arslan said, adjusting her robe to fit better. Her honor mark and it's singular mark, the emblazoned red infinite knot she had earned many years ago, for leaving the temple as a fully fledged monk at such a young age.
It seemed miniscule and meager in comparison to Jaune's three plain stripes.
Arslan turned to address her team, tell them to go enjoy themselves. "Alright team." Arslan said as she spun. "Good job today, you all are free to do whatever you wish within reason." She said, giving Reese a particular side eye. "We ship out tomorrow, so be ready to leave tonight- wait." Arslan gave a quick scan of her team.
"Guys?" she asked, her looking becoming frantic. She got up on her tiptoes to see above the heads of her teammates.
Bolin perked up, seeing Arslan's distress. "Ars, what's wrong?"
Arslan turned to look at her teammates. "Where is Jaune?" She asked, seriously. Reese turned, eyes wide. "I could have sworn he was right behind us…" She trailed off, searching for the grayed ranger.
Jaune, on the other hand, had actually separated from team ARBN quite a while ago. Only a yard or so into town he saw the bakery he had been pondering about.
He turned, slinking off from the huntsman team. He was unnoticed by them as he made his way to the simple shop.
And a simple shop it was. A simple mortar and cobble stone box, terra cotta shingles making for a cute red fired roof. Smoke from a burning oven wafted out from a smoke stack. Jaune took in a breath, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the scent of freshly baked bread.
Ahhhh. A and B synchronize, letting out a satisfied breath. There is nothing quite like fresh baked bread. B sighed, and Jaune was inclined to agree with him.
Fresh bread really smelled like something else, wasn't it? Jaune walked into the bakery, as silent as the reaper, and the door barely made a sound as it swung open.
A young woman was manning the cashier, clearly no older than Jaune. It was not often that Jaune was really reminded of his height, but sometimes he remembered that he was particularly tall to most people. Now was one of those times as he looked down at her.
She was decidedly rather short for her age, assuming she was indeed roughly seventeen. She was busy fiddling with the old cash register, trying in vain to open the stubborn mechanical arm that held the bills inside. Jaune reached onto the counter, lightly tapping the countertop bell to alert the girl that he was awaiting service.
Ting~ The sound rang out through the quiet shuffling silence. It wasn't a true silence, but rather a background sound of small fires and the tapping of metal registrars that disappeared in your ears, there but not unnoticed. The sound was deafening in the room, tolling like the grave bells.
The poor girl froze, jolting her head to look at where she assumed her customer's head. Then she slowly looked up to meet the face of the towering man that stood before her. He was like some great tree, tall and seemingly impossibly vast, and yet thin at the same time, in his dark grays. Or was he closer to those wind spirits that the testaments spoke of? Imposingly tall, silent and stooping. Waiting
She felt like she had turned her blood turned to ice as her throat thickened. She gulped, mustering the courage to serve the customer. "Y-yes sir?" She asked shakily.
Jaune leaned down a little, making eye contact with the cashier.
"I would like…" the gray man rasped as he stooped to look at the menu. A gaunt face, weathered with decades of ash, scrutinized the hand written menu that was propped up on the counter.
It was a fairly small menu, with only a few items that could be bought.
Herbed bread, normal bread, more bread, scones, rye bread, Jaune listed off. That's a lot of bread. Jaune turned the page, looking at the offered drinks.
"I would like a Scone." He said, looking up to meet the cashier in the eyes. He was still stooped, giving him an almost vulture-like allusion. "And a coffee." he finished with a willowy whisper, as though he were afraid of the sound it made. Like he would disturb some sacred spell with his words.
Like a spirit's whispers.
The stiff girl gave a shaky nod, holding out her hand with a terrible shiver. "Y-your pay, sir?" She forced out, doing her best to be polite to the ghostly man, lest he take her soul.
Jaune reached down to his coin purse, pulling out a gold disk. He carefully placed the metal coin in her hand, turning away to clear the kiosk for when another customer might come.
The cashier looked down at the coin in her hand in complete and utter disbelief. "What the unholy fuck?" she whispered, staring at the weighty coin in her hand. It was about an inch and a half in diameter, and a fifth of that in width.
"One moment, sir." she squeaked out, before dashing to the back room. The back room was a very warm room, lined with stone and brick wood burning ovens. "Laquesha!" She called out into the seemingly empty room. There was a sound as a wry, thin, cream and coffee toned lady covered in soot and flour.
"Oh, Annebell, what is it now? Did Karuun come by to flirt with you again?" Laquesha teased, her hands on her hips with a wide smile. Annebell shook her head.
"No." She said, trying to control her squeaking voice so that the huntsman would not hear her fear. "One of the, uhh, huntsmen came in."
Laquesha beamed. That was fantastic news! Huntsmen had money, usually. And that meant that they could pay in line, and not in strange bargains for chicken eggs or free house work.
Laquesha blinked, her face shifted. "So, besides your crippling shyness-" She teased, causing Annebell to shuffle in place . "Why did you need me?"
Annebell held out her hand. "He tried to pay with this." She said, Laquesha walked over, peering curiously at the coin.
"Oh." She uttered, realizing what was being offered. "Oh. My. Lords." The baker picked up the coin, holding it to the light. "He paid in a gold coin?" She asked, dumbfounded. Who the hell uses gold as a currency anymore? Gold fell out of style some couple hundred years ago, at least. Since at least the great war, perhaps even sooner.
"What do we do with it?" Annabell asked curiously. She had never seen gold in her life, and now she was holding a coin that probably hadn't been used as a common currency in some several centuries.
Laquesha took the coin. "Well, I'm not entirely sure." The manager admitted. "If there was a bank around, we could trade it in, or we could sell it to a museum. But there isn't" She scratched her head. It still is gold, though, and gold was valuable.
Annabell peered at the gold coin. "So what are we doing?" She asked.
Laquesha walked into the counter, gaining the attention of the ranger that lurked in the corner of her shop.
"Sir?" She asked. Jaune gave a small nod, walking over to the counter.
"Is there a problem?" he asked. Laquesha made a hand gesture, rocking side to side. She put the gold coin on the table.
"You overpaid." She stated simply, pointing to the coin. Jaune's eyebrows raised an imperceptible amount.
And I thought they were going to make me pay in line. Jaune thought.
They still might. A said. It's not like gold is a currency here.
Jaune made a ticking sound, giving a momentary grimace. Damn. he responded, picking up the gold coin. I forgot about that.
Jaune cleared his throat,"Would you prefer lien?" He asked, shuffling around looking for his wallet. He knew he had it somewhere.
Laquesha looked at the old cash register. "Your total comes out to be eight seven lines." She said, cracking open the resiger with a blunted and dull butter knife. Jaune continued to search, patting down his pockets and the crevices of his cloak before he found it. The beaten and weary X ray and Vav wallet had certainly seen better days, and had taken refuge in the forgotten pocket of his hoodie. He cracked the aged fabric open, pulling out his various plastic cards of lien.
Jaune closed his eyes as he finished counting his cash. "I only have seventy three…" He groaned quietly.
Laquesha tilted her head, having heard the huntsman speak, but could not make out the hushed words. "Come again?" She asked
Jaune sighed, closing his wallet. "I only have Seventy Three Lien." he repeated, louder this time.
Laquesha nodded. So he's broke. She thought. Seventy Three lien couldn't buy you a gallon of milk at a supermarket, much less a coffee and a scone. The manager considered it. He was a huntsman, or at least in training, right?
That means that he kills Grimm for money, right?
"How much is the magistrate paying you for this trip?" She asked, leaning down on the counter. Jaune blinked.
Do we get paid? He asked his tenants.
A shrugged. No one mentioned no dough to me, bro. He said.
B gave a similar motion. I do not recall the mention of money. The figment admitted.
Laquesha laughed. "I would hope that you got paid." She admitted. "Everyone should be paid for their hard work. Not paying them just ain't right, is it?" She said, a mirthful twinkle in her eye. Jaune gave a solemn and silent nod. "I suppose."
Laquesha appeared to be contemplating something. She studied Jaune, and came to a conclusion. Jaune looked like shit.
Dark grayed eyes that betrayed the extreme tiredness Jaune held back. Bags under them that rivaled Laquesha's on her worst nights, when she was trying to drown herself in booze and hopeless dreams some years ago. A stooped frame, broken from trying to keep his back straight and his chest full of pride. Her eyes lingered on the scar on his face, clearly given by a human blade. It was too thin and clean to have been from the brutal claws of the grimm.
She wondered how he got it, because she had never seen a huntsman that had a scar. Not that she had seen many, and this group of five students was the most she had seen at once. But she had seen a few professionals come through town.
None of them had scars. And only the old ones had that look in their eye.
Laquesha had decided. This was a man who had fought in the name of duty, in the name of honor, in the name of his sacred oaths, whatever they may be, and had been broken for it.
She had decided. "How many grimm did you kill on your trip here?" She asked, genuinely curious about the answer. Not that she doubted the huntsman's abilities, but out of sheer curiosity.
Jaune stopped, having to think about it. "I would have to say about a dozen." He said, still holding onto his wallet. Laquesha made an impressive sound.
"That's a lot of grimm." She said, putting the coffee and scone down. "Anyway, here you go." The food was pushed to the other side of the counter.
Jaune gave her a blank look, but his eyes hinted at his surprise. "I can't pay you the full amount." he said, about to push his order back.
Laquesha laughed. "You already have sugar." She chuckled. "You did that by keeping this town safe. Now take it, before I force more food on you."
Jaune gave her a stunned look, before a small smile. It was a strange feeling, but a welcome one.
Like an old friend that had come for coffee.
"Thank you." he said, giving them a deep bow. "And may your kindness be returned. I would return it, but I am not sure how i could…" he trailed off, straightening up and grabbing the offered food.
He exited the small bakery, holding a warm coffee in his hand for the first time in what felt like decades, perhaps centuries. He sat down on the small metal chair that was just a little too short for his lengthy legs, and put his wrapped scone and coffee down on the table.
A rare moment of peace for the ranger. Jaune took a deep breath in, tasting the air. It felt less cluttered than it did before. Jaune took a sip of coffee.
It was strangely bitter, but in a comforting way. It was familiar, but only faintly.
The cup was put back down silently. Jaune took the moment and basked in it, much like a lizard on a warm rock, or a suburban dad on his freshly mowed lawn.
B just had to ruin Jaune's lounging by alerting him of something. We are being watched, he said. Jaune deflated, his senses perking up as he searched for his watcher.
He spotted them, huddled behind a crate of some equally small and insignificant shop.
You bothered me because of some children? Jaune sighed, listening to them whispering about something, probably him.
"Children." he said out loud, causing them to fall silent. "I know you are there."
One of the children stood up. "I told you he would see us!" he yelled at his partner. The other child stood up, sticking their tongue out.
"Only because you wouldn't shut up, dumb butt!" The second child yelled. They were a darker child, most likely male as well, but it was hard to tell.
The first child looked offended. "I am not a dumb butt! In fact, you are the dumb butt!" He responded with a particular loudness. Jaune sighed, a small smile on his face.
For a moment their faces were replaced with feminine blonde ones, their faces blurred and indistinguishable. Siblings, unlike the two squabbling friends in front of him today.
Blurred blonde faces that jaune could not remember. He remembered that they were blonde, like he was. But he could not remember their faces.
It saddened him that he could not remember those faces. They were sisters, after all. It should have made it easier for him to recognize them.
"Are you ok, mister?" A voice came from in front of her. Jaune jolted, his head whipping into focus. The two children had approached him in his pondering, peering over the small cafe table curiously, much like some small house animal. Jaune reeled back in his chair, almost losing his balance on the metal seat. His arms's flailed, trying to regain his balance. The left hand lept to the knife at his hips, ready to stab whatever dared startle him.
Gagh! Gremlins! A cried out, leaping behind his couch. Jaune forced his muscles to relax, and his hand away from the dagger on his belt.
"I…" the ranger started, about to say he was ok. But those words would have rang false.
Eh, Jaune shrugged, Wouldn't be the first time I would be lying to myself. He admitted. "Yeah, I'm ok." He said to the children.
The darker one's head tilted. "Really?" He asked innocently. "You kinda don't look happy though." he said. Yes, now upon closer observation, the darker of the children was indeed male.
Jaune's head tilted.
"Who said that I have to be happy?" He posed, taking another sip of coffee.
The children seemed confused by that. They looked to each other, then back to the gray huntsman.
"Why would you not want to be happy?" The lighter one asked, clearly taking the words for their most common hidden meaning. Jaune gave them a sad smile at the question.
"You misunderstand, child." he said, breaking his generously proportioned scone in half, offering the section to them. "Sit, and I will explain, if you wish to understand." he offered them. The two children did, splitting the other seat in front of the cafe. The darker one grabbed the offered pastry treat with a great haste, about to devour it with ravenous speed.
"Share, child." Jaune commanded. The offending gremlin stopped, about to take a bite. They had the decency to look sheepish, breaking their portion in half and handing it to their yang counterpart.
"I am assuming you have questions?" Jaune offered, taking a bite of his own portion of scone. The two looked at each other, before turning to the huntsman and exploding into questions.
"What kind of weapons do you use?"
"How do you use the huntsman magic?"
"How many grimm have you killed?"
"What kind of weapons do you use? Can we see them?"
"Why are you sad?"
"How did you get your scar?"
"You look tired. You should have some coffee, it makes mom wake up!"
"Do you have any other scars? Can we see them too?"
Jaune held his hands up to stop the onslaught of questions, giving a small laugh. "Children, please." He pleaded with a smile. "One at a time. Which questions do you want answered first?" He asked.
The two were practically bouncing at this point, so incredibly excited to be speaking with someone as rare and exciting as a huntsman. The darker one seemed to be so excited as to what he would ask, fumbling with his words until they tumbled out in a rushed form.
The lighter one, however, opened their mouth only to close it again. They pondered what they would ask, their face betraying their question.
"What kind of weapons do you use?" the darker one managed to enunciate.
"Why are you sad?" The lighter one asked, nibbling on their remaining portion of scone. The darker one had already consumed his broken fourth, the bread being inhaled almost the moment after it was split between the two.
Jaune's face softened at such wide eyed innocent empathy. He reached forward, about to grasp the lighter child's hand, but faltered.
No, that would be too much.
He instead curled his hand in on the other, clasping them together.
"You." He started, looking into the lighter child's deep green eyes. They were kind, innocent eyes that had yet to be exposed to the horrors one endured. And yet they were so thin, in that way children were. Perhaps they knew some of those horrors, and yet chose to be kind anyway. "You are kind. A kind soul gifted with a brimming heart full of empathy and passion for your fellow man." Jaune continued. "A gift, truly. Pray you keep it, child, for the world is indifferent. And indifference is the end of all innocence, of all kindness. You must look at the indifference of the world and decide to be stronger than it." jaune paused, letting the duo decipher and take in his words. "To be kinder than it. You will need that kindness in life. Others will need that kindness in life."
The two gulped, not expecting such a gravid and sobering conversation today. And Jaune met them with a shrug. "But as for why? I…" Jaune let out a sign, his eyes becoming downcast. "I suppose part of me forgot. Another part of me is afraid."
The darker one blinked. "But you're a huntsman!" He cried out, partially accusatory. "You can't be afraid of anything!"
Jaune raised an eyebrow at him. Can't be afraid of anything? I scoffed. Little shit doesn't know jack about anything, does he? Bitch don't know what we've been through, what we know, what we-
He was cut off by B, who hit him in the back of the head with a newspaper. He is but a child, A. He is innocent and young. He will grow, but to expect such growth or metaphorical height from him now is unintelligent, empathetic, and most certainly unbecoming of us. B berated the reactive figment. Go ahead Jaune, you can tell them. Me and A are going to have a philosophical chat about what it means to be human.
Jaune made a face at that. Well, have fun. Don't rough him up too much, ok?
Jaune leaned back, taking another sip of coffee and considering how he wanted to form his words. "I am afraid of many things." He said softly, his voice just caring though the world, more akin to light than sound, and more akin to the void than light. It tripped and jumped through space to reach those ears that were listening. The two children sat there, riveted by the ethereal and almost mystical man in front of them, like they had met a god of ancient times, who's name was long forgotten the tongue of man.
"Like what?" The darker one asked, his voice in a terrified whisper. What could scare a huntsman.
Jaune gulped, his throat closing. He knew what he was afraid of, deep down in his soul. He knew it far too well, but saying it out loud? Admitting those fears into existence? No longer having the bulwark shield that was ignorance and denial, putting on a mask to hide them away in the shadows of his mind?
That was scariest of all. The fact that he might have to, in accepting the existence of those fears, face them? That was far scarier than any grimm, drunken thing or demon he might dare to fight.
But they had asked, with their innocence and curiosity. The whims of children, perhaps one of the most insignificant things in the universe. Kingdoms did not bend to it, town did not yield to it, it could not curve the grimm or fend of bandits. It didn't make the rain pour or stop the bleeding, it was to the naked eye utterly inconsequential, insignificant.
And yet Jaune bent for it. And yet Jaune yielded to it, as though it were some undeniable act of physics, like gravity or the passing of time. He was bound to answer such innocence as best he could, to sate such curiosity to the fullest extent of his ability.
"I am afraid of the dark." jaune started with. Not necessarily true, but the dark was something to be respected, if not feared. "And I am afraid of what lurks in it." His voice was graveled and raspy, like that of a parched man. It was thick with burdens, the cracks formed in the wall Jaune held his shadows back with. Jaune closed his eyes, remastering himself. He would let that wall break in front of children. He needed to be strong.
He must be strong. For himself, if no one else.
"I'm afraid that when I sleep, I might not wake up." he continued, his voice becoming a forced monotone, failing to put on the invincible and strong facade he hoped it would. "Or not in the palace I fell asleep." The children were frozen, staring at Jaune with a mixture of fascination, awe, fear and an emotion akin to confusion. It was a sobering experience, a crack in their innocence. The price of a weathered soul, of the passing of time. The price one paid for being a part of this world. One jaune paid double for.
The lighter one gulped. His mouth unwittingly dry and open as he listened to the warrior speak.
"But do you know what I fear most?" Jaune asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.
"What?" The darker one asked, his voice a stunned mimicry of Jaune's own hushness.
Jaune steeled himself, knowing what came next. He would not like it, but the children had asked. They deserved the truth, if nothing else.
He did too, in a sense. He too deserved the truth, deserved to be truthful for once in his life.
"I'm afraid I'm not good enough." He swallowed, like a particularly large pill. It was indeed painful to admit. "That the day might come that I try my all, try my hardest, and I will fail. I will falter and fall, and be unable to rise up once more."
The darker one gave a stunned nod. "But you won't, right? You're a huntsman, you have the huntsman magic. You'll get back up, even if you fall, right?"
Jaune gave him a small, sad smile. "I don't know," he said softly. He was making them sad, something that he had not intended to do. He needed to do something quick. I wish A and B were here. He thought. They could at least try to bail me out. "But, you know what I do know?" The ranger asked, his voice uplifting and full of hope, drawing the conversation away from the painful truths.
"What?" the two asked in unison, morbidly fascinated with the conversation and Jaune's hopeful voice.
Jaune leaned forward, letting the duo unknowingly do the same. "I have always gotten back up so far, even when I was broken and beaten." he said, gesturing to his nose and face. "And I will never stop trying. Even if it kills me, I will never quit." he said. It did not have the same boisterousness that he might have given it some months ago, as though he was initiating some cheap generic anime protagonist, or his old friend Ruby.
It was softly spoken instead. Not a promise, but instead a fact. He would never falter, never stumble without struggling back to his feet. To his hands and knees if he had to. He would drag his carcass by his raw fingers if it came down to it. And that filled Jaune with a feeling that he had not felt in some time indeed.
That filled jaune with pride.
The two children looked at him, stars in their eyes and awed expressions on their faces. "So cool" one of them mouthed, drawing out the words. Jaune smiled, glad that he could put such an expression on their faces. "Now, I believe that someone has asked about weapons?"
The darker one's face lit up at the mention of weapons.
"Yes PLEASE!" He exclaimed loudly, his voice overcome with excitement. Jaune smiled, pulling his quiver off of his shoulder.
Jaune didn't quite know how much time he spent there at that small cafe, talking to two excited and impressionable little children about first his weapons and their various uses against the grimm, but it quickly moved onto his various battles and exodus across the world.
"And the massive serpent, at least five times the size of the small transport ship, rose from the ocean waves once more!" jaune said, putting his many years of storytelling experience to good use. His hands flew up into the air, mimicking the rising of the Jorgunmunder out from the oceans.
The two children stared at him, enraptured by the fantastical diegesis that was being spun to them. The lighter one was gripping to the darker one as Jaune reached the climax of the fight.
"It roared at me, bearing down with it's massive maw of sharp, sharp teeth ready to eat me up."
Jaune leaned forward for emphasis, before leaning back again. His face was masked with the seriousness of the story, but was clearly marred with unbridled joy at this experience.
"But I, thinking on my toes, took a desperate chance and threw the monster's tooth right back into its mouth, stabbing the creature in the back of the throat." he continued, miming throwing a blade into the distance. "Stunned, it fell flat onto the deck. And lo and behold, above it? Well, above it was the sail rack, held up by only a singular rope."
The darker one was practically vibrating through his chair. "What did you do?"
Jaune smiled. "I dashed to the side of the ship, cutting the rope that held that faithful sail. All two tonnes of canvas, wood and rope fell onto the Jorgumunder, breaking its neck in two upon impact." Jaune finished. "Like a toothpick." he made a snapping motion with his fingers, as though there were some invisible toothpick between them.
The two children looked at him with awe and wonder. Jaune looked up at the sky. "Well then, children." He said, standing up. "The hour grows late, and surely you have chores that need attending?"
The two deflated, sensing that this would be the end of their meeting with the gray stranger. "Awww, do we have to?" The lighter one whined. Jaune gave him a smile, peering down on the small child.
"I am afraid all good things must come to say goodbye, even if it is only for a moment." Jaune replied sagely. "Now, what were you two supposed to be doing before you stumbled upon me?"
The darker one pulled out a wad of lien cards. "We were going to buy some bread!" He exclaimed, waving the hundred and fifty or so lines around, as though to show it were real and not some masterful trick of the light. Jaune smiled.
"Is that so?" he said, picking up his now empty mug. "Well, it just so happens that I have a mug to return." He said, opening the door to the bakery. "Now come along, you shouldn't keep your mothers waiting." he said mirthfully. "Lords know I've done that long enough." He chuckled, mostly to himself.
The three of them approached the counter, where Annabell had taken a rather large pry bar to the stubborn cash register, struggling to open the cursed thing.
"Damned ancient rusted piece of shi-" she started, the word dying on her tongue once she saw the two small and skinny children that had just entered. "Shiddle sticks." She changed course, putting the pry bar down under the counter. "Hello! How can I help you?" she said.
Jaune put his mug down on the counter top. "I am just returning this mug." He said. "Those two," His head tilted to the side, pointing to the duo. "Have some bread to buy."
Annabell nodded. "Hello you two!" She smiled. "What would you like?"
The two children held out their cash laden hands. "Whatever this can get us, please!" The lighter one said.
Annabell took the two stacks, counting through them. "There's enough here to get you each a loaf and a half."
Their faces fell a little as they deflated. "Mom was hoping for more than that…'' The darker one whispered to himself. He knew that money was growing tight, but was hoping that he could get more for the hundred and sixty seven lien he was given. Annabell gave a sorry shrug, about to put it back below the counter. Laquesha could open and put it away later.
A rough, calloused hand stopped her. It wrapped around her wrist and prevented her from putting the money out of reach. Annabel frantically looked up, shocked and panicky at the sudden and unwanted contact.
"Give them their money back." Jaune said, slowly releasing her and letting his hand fall back to his side. "I will pay for them."
Annabell blinked. "Don't you only have like, sixty lines to your name?" She dared to ask. Jaune gave a confirming nod. He reached into his pouch, drawing two gold coins from it and gently placing it on the counter.
"I will buy however much this is worth." he said flatly. Annabell's eyes, for the second time today, bulged out of their sockets. She blinked, before disappearing back behind to the kitchen.
"LAQUESHA!" She called out as she ran, drawing the attention of her boss.
The dark woman looked up from her kneading. "What is it now, sugar?" She asked only slightly exasperatedly.
"The huntsman is back." Annabell answered. "He's trying to pay in gold again."
Laquesha blinked, before striding past Annaell. "Well, hello there stranger." She said upon seeing Jaune's towering frame. "Back again?"
Jaune nodded. "I would like to purchase as much bread as this will buy me." he said, pushing the two gold coins forward. Laquesha blinked, looking down at the two gold disks. It was probably worth more than her entire stock, hell, possibly worth more than her entire shop.
"You do realize how much you are overpaying, right?" She asked, shaking her head. This had to have been a dream, or perhaps some kind of joke?
But it was real gold. She had held these coins in her hand before.
Jaune nodded. He was aware that gold was valuable, and that a shop this size only had two to three dozen loaves of bread in stock, particularly so late in the day. "I am aware. And to be frank? I don't care." he said, his voice slowly shifting into that of a command. Laquesha nodded.
"I have twenty six loaves of bread in stock." She said, "I am willing to part with eighteen of them. I need to keep some for the other customers that might come in."
Jaune shook his head. "That won't do. I want all of them. Thirteen each." he said, giving a slight nod to the two children. Laquesha looked down on them. She recognized the gremlin like brats. The darker one had tried to buy some bread a couple days ago, and lacked the funds to do so. She caught him a couple hours later trying to pinch a loaf out of her oven. He was a clever brat, at the very least.
Laquesha shook her head. "Ten each."
Jaune took a coin out of the pile. "Twelve each," he said. Laquesha made a noise as she looked down at the reduced pile, down to a single coin.
"Why did you half your payment?" She asked, feigning shock and scandal.
Jaune gestured to it. "We both know that this coin alone is more than enough to buy 30 loaves of bread, much less 24." he said, his voice turning icey. It had lost any semblance of goodwill or civility, but had turned to a crushing, cold stone. This was the voice of a warrior, a fighter, and a killer. Laquesha gulped, letting out an involuntary shiver.
"Twelve then." She managed to get out. "Annabell, please get the huntsman his loaves."
Annabell scurried away, desperate to escape the terrifying and crushing weight that was the gray huntsman's presence.
She quickly returned with the loaves, wrapped and bundled into two strained and overstuffed bags. Jaune gave them to the two children, ushering them out the door.
The lighter one sprinted out, heading home like a bat out of hell. The darker one, however, hesitated, looking up at the ranger.
"Yes child?" jaune asked as he stepped out into the road.
"Mr. Jaune?" he asked, swallowing his fear. "I have a question."
Jaune looked at him softly. "Yes?" He asked, probing for this clearly stressing inquiry.
The dark child shuffled around, fidgeting with his bag.
"Am I a bad person?" He finally asked. Jaune felt a small part of his heart crack as he saw the crumbling of innocence before him. He fell to his knee, putting his hands on the child's shoulder. Even kneeling before such a small child, he was taller than the boy on his own two feet.
"Tell me, child." he said, his voice full of caring and tentative emotion. "What makes you think that you could be?"
"I-I-" the child started, moving to rub his eyes. "You said that Thomas was kind, that that was his gift." He started. "I wasn't kind, not kind. Or else you would have said so, right?"
Jaune waited for the dark child to continue, knowing that he had more to say.
"I-I've done things that I'm not proud of." he continued, tears welling up in his eyes. "Does that make me a bad person?"
Jaune let out a small breath, wiping away at his tears with his thumbs. "I've done things I regret." jaune started, gathering the child's attention. "I've done things I'm not proud of. I've cheated, lied, even killed to do what I wanted, to get what I wanted." jaune said, looking down at the ground as he remembered his sins. They weighed down on him, his shoulders slumping under the immense weight. "Does that make me a bad person?"
The child blinked. "What-no! You almost died on the fishing boat to protect them! You save those people in cages! You're a huntsman, you can't be a bad person!" he exclaimed, trying to shut down Jaune's question in the best way he knew how.
Jaune smiled. "You might even be right. But I too have done things no man should be proud of. Everyone has or will." Jaune continued, unwittingly about to utter the words that would shape this little child's view on the world for the rest of his life. "I have found that, for the most part, there are no good people. There are no bad people. People are just people, imperfect, flawed, and often afraid. And there is no shame in that. There has never been any shame to being afraid, to being angry, to being sad, to being imperfect. The only shame there is is not striving to be better. It's ok to fall, but you must try, try with all your might to get back up." he said, steading the child by his shoulders. He sniffed, wiping at his nose.
"That's why you're afraid," he said. "Of falling down."
Jaune nodded, getting back onto his feet. "That is why I am afraid." he confirmed, before patting the child on his head. "Now, off with you. Your mother is expecting your well earned bounty, I am sure." he smiled, sending the child scampering off after his friend. Thomas, was it?
"That was kind of you." a voice came from behind him, causing Jaune to jump almost a whole yard into the air.
He wheeled on the interloper, his hand on his knife. "Oh, it's you." he sighed, recognizing the voice's owner. "Don't scare me like that."
Whoo! Done!
I have to say, this might be a favorite chapter I have written for this story, just for this final scene. This was just so beautiful for me to write, and I hope you love this chapter as much as I did.
Jaune finds a moment of peace, and with it, perhaps an understanding.
my friend that I forced to read this story pointed out something that I was actually hoping someone would comment on, but maybe I didn't spend enough time to really hammer in: In JRR Tolkien's work, there are large sections of the story dedicated to the ordinary folk, as they are equally important to the world as Frodo and Aragon and the rest of the fellowship. I try, at least a little, to emulate this in my story here, and also as a neat juxtaposition about this world and the Lifeless dream.
Someone asked for some clarificaiton, which I figured that there are probably some questions people have that should be answered/ explained.
Assumed FAQ's:
About Jaunes OOC'ness. Jaune has, due to the dream and it's package deal of extreme stress, mental taxation, and isolation, Jaune has suffered several mental trauma that has shaped his personality beyond chapter four, and his other impactful interactions with other human beings. His OOCness before chapter four I am accounting to Jaune being really out of sorts, having his entire life pulled out from under him.
About the Dream: There is a lot about the dream that will be answered later (in this dream arc, acutally) but here are some things that won't be explicitly answered in the story proper, so I don't mind putting them here. The dream is not a semblance, nor is it an actual effect of a semblance. Jaune going there is unrelated to his semblance at all. Jaune has spend about twenty to thirty years in the dream, most of it being spend wandering, reading lore, or fighting "fodder" enemies.
magic: jaune is using magic that he is pulling from the realm of the dream directly. this is different magic than maiden, ozpin, or salem, or even brother god magic, and is also why he is yellow to Arslan. this will be addressed way later in the story, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to put it here
About Jaune X Arslan choice: The only reason this is here is because I wanted it. there is like, four? on . and a dozen on AO3, but nine of those are single short smuts. i also wanted something way off the norm.
As for why this story is not just in a different world/ timeline and I have him jumping between the two, there are two answers.
The first: I wanted a Jaune x Arslan fic, and by all the gods above and below I'm going to have it.
Two: this was originally two separate fanfictions, with strong themes of a third. all of them were Jaune x Arslan. The first one, which this story follows the closest plot wise, was my Grimm Au jaune. jaune, being lauched by Cardin really far into grimm territory, fucking dies and is resurrected by a primal Grimm (A grimm that was alive pre salem, and thus not under her control) and imbues Jaune's corspe with all it's corruption and power, resurrecting him into a similar being to Salem, power wise. he proceeds to wander around, not sure where he is going and bumps into team ARBN. The story evolves from there.
The second story was an AU similar to the RPG Au's, inspired by Coul al aran's fic, forged destiny. Just with a deck building system instead of the leveling system. This, in combination with some strong darksouls themes, became the dream aspect.
The third one was a Starwars/ Hammers Slammers/ Space Opera Au that was going to be a trippy philosophical soul story about how the human soul relates to the universe that dealt with talking to gods, experiencing the Truth and the entirety of existence, what the idea of self is, so forth and so on. Mostly it was going to be that one fanfiction I can't remember the name of, but with Jaune having different space magic, and Jaune and Arslan. So that's why this fanfiction is such a mess, among other things.
Like hell i'm rewriting this. If you are confused, at least a little? good. that is the point right now. We are introducing more questions than answers, much like a darksouls game.
who, long notes today.
As always, please leave a comment, head cannon, character idea, scene, or constructive criticism, or really anything else. they are the fuel to this fanfiction and will make it more likely that I upload/ develop this story as I read your comments. I enjoy them and there are some gems in there.