Arslan was tired. She wasn't the only person that was tired, but still, she was tired. Not as tired as Jaune, apparently, as he fell asleep the moment she got him in a bed. She envied him sometimes, being able to lay down and just sleep. Turn into a corpse and be unbothered for a couple of hours. She looked down at the ranger, the dull glow from what she assumed to be the dust running through his veins had started to fade. Arslan shook her gaze away from the almost hypnotic pulsing lines, moving away to go find someway to be useful. She ended up sitting next to the camp fire, a large pot boiling water over it.
One of the women handed her a knife and a pile of vegetables. "come, help us."
Arslan started to chop the root vegetables put infront of her, carefully making knuckle sized cubes to put into the soup. Others bustled around her, most heading home to inspect whatever they had left.
Splosh. A little girl pulled a tiny doll from the rubble.
Chop. A man looked at what was left of his shop, holding a half broken pot before tossing it to the side. He sighed, shaking his head. His wife gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. They said nothing.
Splash. A mother was fretting over her son. She had been doing so for the last hour, gripping him tightly and sobbing tears of relief into his shoulder. He awkwardly patted her back with one hand, the other still gripping the spear he had killed a diminutive grunt with.
Chop. Jaune was sleeping. He laid there, still in sight of Arslan's careful gaze, still as a corpse. Arslan was… vaguely aware that he didn't like sleeping. He had spoken to her, in a moment of rare, true honesty, that he suffered from terrible dreams. She gazed into the fire, wordlessly taking a bowl of thin soup to sip at.
A woman, draped in thin purple cloths and heavy woven blinkets, her bobcat tail swishing behind her. "Abarsh Hidikargu" Arslan said, greeting the woman with a bowl.
"Awww, thank you darling. Aren't you just sweet?" The old bobcat asked, crooning in their native tongue. Arslan smiled at her, helping her sit down. "Thank you, darling. The cold outdoors is harsh on these old bones." Arslan hummed, sipping her soup.
The old woman next to her hummed, looking around the destruction. "You know, many might consider it a miracle from the gods that we survived."
The lioness nodded solemnly, her eyes glancing over to her fellow blonde. "yes, we are truly blessed to have had such an outcome."
The old woman shook her head, smiling. "I said nothing about blessings, dearie. I said Miracles." She croaked, sipping at her soup. "There are some small acts of magic left behind in this world, after all."
Arslan raised an eyebrow. "Abarsh, magic hasn't been true since the time of gods, and they left us long ago." She sighed, looking back into the fire. The old woman raised her eyebrow.
"Oh, is that what you think?" the Madame giggled, bobcat tail swaying behind her. "You think the tales of old decrepit tombs is a true history?" she put her bowl down. "no, no, no. There are still little bits of magic around. I know you know that. You've seen it. The way the world roils at it."
Arslan stared at her. "he bleed color." She confirmed. "When I look at him through my semblance, the world if painted in hazes" I am fairly sure that's from immense dust concentration. She thought to herself, still not quite believing that magic was real
The old woman smiled. "Is that how it is? He bleeds light?" The lioness nodded. "Mmm, I see. So, what do you think he is?" She asked, tilting her head.
Arslan just blinked at him. "What he… is?" She was a little confused. She wasn't quite sure if the old fortune teller was senile, pulling her leg, or actually being honest. "I mean, he's human. He's a little weird, but he's human." The old lady just hummed, looking at him.
"Perhaps, perhaps." She said quietly, before looking back up to the lioness "Dearie, you should look around more often. You said you could see his color, right?" Arslan nodded, finishing her soup. "You might just find more than you think there is."
Arslan groaned, putting her head into her hands. "Arbash, the last thing I want is to have my life even more complicated." There was a sound of something scraping against stone. Arslan looked around quickly identifying what could have made it. Bolin was up, walking around and dragging his staff along the stonework. He seemed to be peering down at the people resting in cots.
Arslan stood up, pacing over to him as quietly as she could, soup bowl in hand. "There's soup if you want it." She offered him in a whisper. He just shook his head, not particularly interested. Instead he was just gazing down at a familiar sleeping blonde.
"I overheard your conversation with the woman." He said somenly. Arslan raised an eyebrow at him, curious as to where this was going.
"And what of it?" She asked.
He just looked down at the dreamer, solemnly. "Why is he so much more powerful than me?" He asked the ground with a mutter. Then he turned to look at his leader. "is that why you chose him over me?" Arslan looked at him, confused.
"What?" She asked, not sure where this was going. "Choose him over you?"
The blue man nodded, his teeth clenched. "yes. You chose him. Even though it was me that was there next to you from the very begening, at every opportunity, at every turn, you choose him." His jaw was grinding, his eyes locked onto the sleeping man. "I just don't understand it, Arslan. You used to be smart, you used to be so smart. People are supposed to get smarter as they get older, but you? It's just been bad decision after bad decision." He practically spat. Arslan growled, a twitch forming on her temple. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Alright, what about our miraculous success today was a mistake?" She asked with a tapping of her foot.
For the first time in their conversation, Bolin looked at his leader. "Nothing… But everything before hand?" He asked. "We shouldn't be here. We should have never come here." He wheeled on her, fire in his eyes as he let out an infuriated growl. "You come here because Jaune wanted you to! You accepted this mission because Jaune wanted you to! You listened to him for no other reason than he wanted you to! You followed him because he wanted you! You chose him over me because he wanted you too! You are blind because he wanted you to!" Arslan's grip tightened on her hand, a clenched fist growing tighter. Hell, you bent over for him when he wanted you to! How did it feel" he would have continued, but he found his nose inexplicably collapsed and his jaw fractured.
That was too much for Arslan. She had had enough and wasn't going to let him another word out. "That is enough. You will shut up, or I will remove your ability to speak." She growled at him, grabbing him by his lapel. She dragged the stunned man across the courtyard, tossing him roughly at her leading teacher.
"he's your problem. I'm not dealing with him any more." She snarled, not bothering to stick around. She was going to go to sleep. Or beat a mountain into submission. She would decide on the way.
Jaune woke up to an unfortunately familiar chill. He stared up at the stone ceiling of the mountain. Standing up from the gravestone, he dusted the frost off him. He gazed through the window, looking at the snow-covered mountains before him.
He turned to look at the wizard tower, with the sack of flesh inside, pulsing and growing away. Or dying, Jaune wasn't sure. He looked back at the mountain, then to the tower. Then to the Mountain.
"You know what?" he said to no one in particular. "I think I am going to go sledding."
He was half covered in snow, enough piled onto his shoulder that had Nora been there, he would be a walking ammunition bin. Trudging through the deep snow, the incline would have been treacherous had it not been the fact for all of Jaunes hiking, through both Mistral and the Dream. Eventually, he made it to an appropriate height. Gazing out to the ice covered plains, he could see far into the horizon.
He could see the town he had entered this frozen north. To it's left, a vast expanse of ice. To the right, even more vast expanses of ice.
That's a lot of ice. A thought loudly.
You know, sometimes? B started, looking at his obvious counterpart. I genuinely hate you.
A smiled. But only sometimes.
Jaune put a shield onto the ground, giving it an experimental push. Happy with the lack of friction, he jumped on it. Getting down onto his belly much like a penguin, he rushed down the mountain side, snow and ice splattering against his face. He sputtered as he rushed down the mountain, the wind making his hair flap against the back plate of his armor. His breath was coming out oddly, in sporadic gasps and shouts. It was a totally strange and foreign feeling, but one that he really didn't care to stop. It continued for some time before he recognized it.
I'm laughing. He realized, wanting to face palm. "I'm laughing! I'm actually laughing!" the dreamer cackled as he flew down the mountain. He was laughing in sheer, pure, glee. A sound unfamiliar to the dream. The gray sky hissed at him displeased, but Jaune quite frankly didn't give a damn. He didn't give so much of a damn that he didn't even notice.
He laughed all the way down.
He was going too fast. The dreamer looked up, seeing the rock ahead.
"Oh, whoops." He said, colliding into it a jagged piece of stone. It sent him flying, skirting through the air at a rapid velocity. He would know that it would kill him when he hit the ground, turn him into a motorcycle crash on an autobahn. He would know that it would shatter his skull and spine, throw a couple organs into paste when he made contact. He would know, if only he could stop laughing and whooping.
His head was detached from his body when he hit the ground, smiling even in death.
Jaune figured that something happened to team ARBN over the week. Considering the acidic demeanor of everyone involved, it apparently was bad.
By bad, you mean significantly worse than usual B noted. Jaune nodded.
Yeah. That level of bad. Never before had he seen team ARBN, a normally functional team, get into a very physical fight over breakfast. Sure, he had his suspicions (and repeatedly confirmed and kept track of those suspicions. No, he was not stalking them B, not shut.) and those led him to where he absolutely shouldn't be. In lionhearts office, or rather right outside his door. Team ARBN was in there, and he had caught the majority of a screaming match. Those where words even he was never going to repeat.
I didn't know that Arslan could be that loud. A commented, cleaning out his ears. What a set of lungs.
It took one single powerful yell from the headmaster to shut the four of them up. "Enough!" He shouted, stunning the four arguing teammates.
"Mr. Bolin, as far as I am aware, and I am very aware of my own schools rules, Ms. Altan is fully, and I mean fully in her right to request your removal from team ARBN. She has presented… amicable evidence to your removal. I have no reason to deny her."
"But-" Bolin started and Jaune could hear his voice cracking. Apparently someone did something, because he did not continue. The headmaster continued on.
"as such, I will be making you an independent student until further notice. You are dismissed." The voice was cold, cold enough that it made Jaune shiver and stand at attention, and he wasn't even in the room.
Bolin apparently had a stiffer spine than Jaune, as he had a retort. "You can't do that! That is-" he was cut off by a deep growl. Sometimes Jaune forgot that much like Arslan, Lionheart was a lion faunus.
"You. Are. Dismissed. Now get out." There was a soft pattering sound as someone walked towards the door. Jaune quickly dipped into the shadows, disappearing out of the perceivable realm. Bolin marched out, somewhere between a sulk and a stomp.
His attention was drawn away as the headmaster started speaking again. "Now… what to do with team ARB- team ARN. ACS? Aces?" he pondered, probably looking up at the air. "I like it. Team Aces. I was hoping to enroll you into this years Vytal Festival, but a full four man team is required…"
Someone cleared their throat. "if I may-" Dr. Cortez started. Huh, Jaune wasn't aware that he was in the room, but he was technically team ARBN's advisor. "We could move another student into team Aces."
The headmaster hummed. "I assume you have someone in mind?"
"Of course. I'm would be almost insulted if you thought I didn't. I was thinking about Jaune." There was a conspiratorial moment of silence. Jaune froze, a dozen feeling running through his head. He was going to be on another team. Another group of people was going to be close to him. He was going to be on a team again. He was going to have to work with a team again. He was going to have to fight with another team. Could he even do that? Could he even… trust another team?
"That seems… like a rather good idea. JARS? It works just as well." He hummed. There was a cracking sound, probably the headmaster leaning back in his chair. "If I may ask, why do you suggest Mr. Arc?"
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Jaune is very capable of holding on his own, so there is no issue with him either falling behind in the team or that the team devalues him." He explained. "Beyond that, he worked well enough with team… with our students here. I also believe that the continued isolation of being a single huntsman is …unhealthy for him."
There was a heavy silence. "I see. "the headmaster noted. "You've thought hard about this. Dare I say, you've scripted this?" It was far to respectful for the doctor to have not written it out somewhere
The doctor laughed. "You know me just a little too well, headmaster. I was going to suggest that Mr. Jaune be incorperated into ARBN anyway somehow, this just was a most excellent excuse."
There was a wise hum from the headmaster. "Ms. Altan, are you and your teammates amicable to this arrangement?"
Interestingly to Jaune, but not at all surprising, it was Rheese that answered first. "Yes! We'll take him!" She said. If Jaune was in the room, he could see her give Arslan a conspiratorial wink but he wasn't, so he was ambitious to both Rheese's scheming and Arslan's disgruntled blush. Although that might have been residual blood from her screaming match.
"That seems resounding." The headmaster said. "Martha, please call Mr. Arc to my office-" it was at this moment that Jaune opened the door, walking in with a stone face.
"I was summoned?" He asked, putting on his best poker face. Dr. Cortez gave him a smug side eye, but let it side. The headmaster just blinked.
"Were you just outside of the door?" He asked, not sure whether to be concerned, confused, or impressed.
Jaune shook his head. "No sir. I was wandering around when I had the feeling you wanted me." He answered calmly. The headmaster nodded.
"Right. So, I have news. You are from now on going to be a part of team JARS. Yourself, Arslan Altan, Reese Chloris, and Nadir Shiko. Are there any questions?"
Jaune nodded. "Yes, one." The headmaster nodded, indicating he could speak it. "Shouldn't the team be AACS? Aces? I feel that my replacement of Arslan as team leader would be unproduive at best, and counterproductive to our cohesion at worst. Replacing a perfectly functional and component leader seems unnecessary and overly convoluted." He answered.
And frankly stupid A commented with a snort. Jaune did not add that. Lionheart hummed. "I will make the team name AACS, Aces, as you wish. I do however do fully believe that you should be it's leader, Mr. Arc."
Jaune gave him a level, unwavering look. "I will accept that name." He spoke. Nothing was mentioned about the leadership, but his disagreement was clear as day in his gaze. Lionheart gave a nervous gulp.
"Right. Dr. Cortez, can I entrust you to team AACS's relocation into a common living space?"
Dr. Cortez gave him a even glare. "Kids, you're adults. Figure it out and let me know what the outcome is." He said, turning heel and leaving the room. Lionheart sighed, pinching his temple with a vocal grumble.
"AACS, you're dismissed. Have… just make sure that Sebastian gets the paperwork done." All four of them look at each other, not at all confident in their ability to ensure that outcome.
I AM NOT DEAD! it's a freaking miracle. I am actually surprised we're getting another chapter out of this story. I lost a lot of steam when this document broke the chracter limit on google docs and I had to port it over. that and constant breaks on this site didn't help me.
So, firsts things first: Bolin: Bolin is a character I wish I did better, but I suck really badly at writing evil characters, just bad ones. I pulled an Ironwood with bolin, turning his reasons for his dumbassery into something that is explained off screen in the authors notes. Bolin is a naracist and in love with Arslan. As such, he thinks he's always right, and is very defensive/ protective about her. he see's Jaune as a threat to basically his worldview and that's he doesn't like him. I know I didn't do this character justice, but this thing has already broken google docs and takes approximately 5 minutes to save to word so I don't think I have the physical space to do him justice. Whoops. This was an elaborate scheme to write him out of the story without killing him (which was my first idea, just to make Jaune suffer more)
But we're now where where I want everyone to be for the most part, and we're heading to the vytal tournament next! Not sure if I should do some worldbuilding filler for Mistral first or not. I am really tempted, because I love the character idea that comes with it, but again the story is massive. We are at 280848 words according to Word. So thank you for reading this monstrosity!