Pre-Note: Yes, Violet's hair is white. I wrote it as gold, going on autopilot mostly, thank you for pointing it out.
{-ooo-}
"Oscar. Listen to me. Please. I beg. "
"Then beg." Oscar spat, bending over and spitting out the mouthwash. His reflection looked like him, but it wasn't him. It talked like someone else. Said weird and confusion things he could hardly believe. Of magics, maidens and witches. Of dark and dastardly plots. Of life never-ending.
Clapping his cheeks, Oscar furiously shook his head. Pretending he didn't hear another voice in his mind.
"I'm fine. I'm me. I'm not insane." Oscar whispered to himself, green eyes staring back at him from the mirror with a weight of experience that was not his own.
"You are not insane." The older, more cultured voice in his head spoke. Rich with experience, and heavy with something Oscar never wanted to know. "Life, is stranger than fiction in many cases."
"You can take your fiction and stick it up where the sun never shines." Oscar murmured under his breath, a large yawn escaping him moments later. Sleep had become a luxury ever since he suddenly woke up with another voice in his head. It was constantly yapping at him, urging him to run out in the forest on some banal quest. The worst part was that Oscar was beginning to cave. He slept with one eye open, fearing that if he woke up, it wouldn't be him.
But Oscar also wanted something more. He didn't want to be just some farm boy, spending his life tending to cows or ploughing the field. Only for his mother to find him some wife to marry and settle down with, popping out one or two kids who he would teach to become just like him. Farmers without a future on a middling farm somewhere in Mistral.
He had nothing against farming, food had to come from somewhere. In fact, they were rather respected in their little community. Often getting their groceries cheaper. It was hard work, he loved it, but Oscar also wanted more.
His heart beat at the thought of exploring the world. Of scaling towering mountains where neither men nor grimm had set foot. Charting long forgotten places and monuments that had been forgotten by time. Helping people where he could, writing down stories and learning old stories and legends. He didn't want to become a huntsman, fighting and him didn't see eye to eye. Oscar dreamed of something more, of helping people, of being special. And not being just another farm boy on a farm.
"You are special Oscar." The voice in his head said. Warm and gentle, just like his late grandfather. "You just have to take that first step. Every hero through history has all been just like you. A teenager with a dream in their chest, and a desire to do more. You just have to take that single step forward."
"Am I depressed?" Oscar whispered to himself, stepping out, greeting the early morning with a deep inhale. A lazy mist roiled over the fields; the crops already harvested while next year's crops were planted. The cows had moved into the barn, so had the pigs and goats. It wasn't cold, Mistral's autumns were humid, and her winter's temperate. But that didn't stop the air from being nippy with a certain freshness that only existed in the early moments of the morning.
"No, I'm not depressed. I'm just… tired." He nodded to himself as he closed the door behind him. The fresh morning air quickening him right up. The weight of sleeping bad still clinging to him as he forced a smile. 'Or not sleeping at all.' He grumbled in the sanctity of his mind. A mind that wasn't entirely his own anymore.
There were no words to properly describe the dread that came with suddenly having another voice in his head. Something else shared his most private, most intimate sanctuary. Even now, just walking through the early morning mist he could feel the presence in back of his mind.
Silently listening, silently pushing his buttons.
"Oscar! Don't!" The voice suddenly bellowed in his mind. Locking him in place, hand already holding around the barn door.
'What?' Oscar thought, something cold going down his back.
"Oscar. The silence." The voice in his mind pointed out. Shaking his head, Oscar heard the silence. It was early in the morning, and he was tired. So he had just moved completely on autopilot. But now that it was pointed out for him, it screamed unnatural.
There was always some level of noise coming from the barn. Grunting pigs, mooing cows, and bleating goats creating a symphony of noise and life. The barn was silent, to the point Oscar wasn't sure if the animals had escaped or something. It had been silent throughout the night, and if they had escaped, it would have been impossible not to notice.
Holding his breath, Oscar leaned towards the barn door. He heard breathing, faint rustling, nervous bleeping. He also heard something else. Voices.
"Jaune." An energetic voice called out. Somewhat muffled through the door. "Now that you got a kid, do you still think 'I am sorry my child, but this must be done' when you hold in the power button to turn off a computer?"
"Nora." A tired voice groaned out. Exasperation falling of it in doves.
"It's early." Another voice called out.
"Yes, exactly!" Nora shot straight back. "The early bird gets the worm. If you lazy butts get up, we can ditch the farm and find someone who can hopefully tell us where we are."
"I'm sorry, okay." Another voice grumbled, followed by the sound of rustling.
"What are my student's doing here?" The voice in his mind spoke. For the first time since he woke up with it, honest confusion clinging to it's tone.
"Are they safe?" Oscar whispered, releasing his mistake not a second later when the barn turned dead silent. Taking a single step away from the barn doors, they swung open, a hand shooting out and pulling him in not a second later.
The smell of smoke hit him first. Thick and pungent. It wormed it's way into his nose, itching and scratching as he broke out into a cough.
The second thing he noticed was how bad they looked. It just looked like they had walked straight out of a fire, and then trekked in the woods for days on end. They looked like death had warmed over. 'Smelled like it to.' Oscar thought, staring up at the girl that had grabbed him.
There was something almost feral in the blue eyes of the orange haired girl. Dark bags under her eyes. The tenseness in her shoulder falling as she looked him over.
"Sorry 'bout that kid." She apologised with a tired smile. 'Nora' the voice in his head said, Oscar already recognised her voice earlier. "The last few days have been a doozy. You don't mind us crashing here? We haven't touched anything but thrown ourselves in the hay."
'Ask them how they got here.' The voice in his head demanded. 'They were at Beacon. In Vale, before it was Scorched. That was three days ago. Now they are here. In Mistal. Far from any docks, and in the middle of the wilderness. That's not possible. Crossing to Mistral by sea would take days, at the least. Not even a bullhead would be so fast. That is all without mentioning how there are no air docks out here.'
"Cool." Was Oscar's mature reply. Already having decided to do the opposite of what the voice in his head wanted. Was it petty of him? Yes. But Mama Pine never taught him what to do when a voice suddenly appeared in the back of his mind and started whispering crazy things straight out from dreams and nightmares. So he settled on the simple and trusted method of doing the opposite of what it wanted.
"Yeah, it was." Nora smiled tiredly. Letting go off him and giving him a good-natured pat on the shoulder.
Giving Oscar more than enough time to look around. A form of red, crimson, and scarlet, with some hints of black laid buried in a pile of hay. Groaning and weakly waving for them to go away. Another boy stood and stretched, dressed in some old-mannerly priestly cassock. Piercing pink eyes, black hair with a strand of pink, and deep dark pits under his eyes. A tenseness clung to his shoulders, and his jaw looked cut from stone.
Letting his eyes wander further, he noticed a head of gold and one head of snow. Oscar knew there was many hair colours around in the world. But he had never thought hair so white could exist naturally. Yet, here was living proof he was wrong. Snow white hair, snow white eyebrows, even snow-white eyelashes. He had half expected her eyes to be white as well. Two cold and tired pools of blue stared back at him unblinkingly.
'She's like a porcelain doll.' Oscar thought idly. Pretending he didn't hear the voice in his head urging him to do something else.
"Who did that to you?" A voice called out. Sharp and gravely.
"Huh?" Oscar replied with a tilt of his head. Turning to look at the person who had the doll like child clinging to them. His eyes were blue. Frightfully deep pools of blue aquamarine that just went on and on, lulling him deeper into an endless abyss.
Seting the girl down, the doll pouted and stood up. Looking around curiously as the tall, almost towering man stared down at him. There was anger in his eyes, hurt, but paradoxically, Oscar knew it wasn't directed at him. It was for him.
"What?" Oscar coulndt help but ask, feeling like something weird was happening. 'Why would a stranger be angry at my behalf.'
"Who did that to you?" The man, boy, asked again, coming before him and kneeling slightly. Placing a warm and comforting hand on his shoulder.
"What? Who did what?" Oscar asked again with a frown, feeling a jittery shiver racing through him. As if something was about to happen.
Blue eyes shone, and Oscar felt something punch him. Not physical, none had laid a single had on him. But it felt like someone had brought a sledgehammer to his chest. Coughing, he took a step forward. Feeling sore and a deep aching in his entire body, yet his shoulders felt lighter. For a moment the voice in the back of his head was gone.
"Yes! It's gone! I'm not insane!" Oscar cheered in glee, looking up and seeing the stone carved face of everyone around him. Everyone staring at something behind him.
Turning, Oscar saw what felt like a million golden, silvery, threads connect him to a shining floating form. It's eyes were blue, then grey, purple, gold, green, constantly changing from one colour to another. A moment it had spiky white hair, then it had soft black hair tied in a bun, the next it had a head of grey falling like a waterfall. It's skin was constantly changing colour, from pale to suntanned and everything in between, changing every moment just like it's cloths. One moment rich and refined, replaced with old plate, then a stylish yukata, a monks ensemble, a farmers pants and shirt.
The being was just as confused as him. Everchanging eyes looking down at hands that kept changing and flickering.
"Why is that connected to me?" Oscar asked, voice breaking as he coulndt help but stare. It was terrifying, it's mere presence sent shivers racing up his back. Yet it was also majestic. Larger than life and radiating a noble gentle light. Washing away the worries he felt. Leaving him content and at peace.
"Mr Arc. What… What did you do?" It spoke. Voice a waterfall of noise. The words were garbled, slurry, hitting into him like a truck. The hoarse and rough voice of someone who spent his life shouting orders on the killing fields. A smooth and silken voice that brought with it images of palaces and velvet silk. Hollow, as if it had given up. Yet also noble, hopeful, a light of hope in a dying world.
"Headmaster." Arc said with a frown. Voice hard and gravely.
"Oh come on." Nora whined loudly, falling back into a pile of hay. "One day. Can we have just one day without something weird or something supernatural. Is that too much to ask?"
"So that's why I coulndt see your soul." Arc frowned, reaching forward. Only for the strings between Oscar and the thing to taunt. Rocketing It right back into him. A gasp escaping him. The weight on his shoulder back as if it had never left.
"You wound me, Oscar. I'm a little more than a thing." The voice spoke in the back of his mind. As if the last moment just hadn't happened. In an instant the presence in the back of his mind was back. A familiar and foreign weight resting over his shoulders.
"What was that?" Oscar gasped, reaching out and grabbing onto the older boys shirt in desperation.
"I too would like to know that, Oscar." The voice said, measured and cautious. Perring out through his eyes and looking over Arc in new light.
"Magic."
"Impossible." The voice that spoke was his, yet also not. For a brief moment panic was everything he knew, but he could move his arms, he could look around. It was simply that, for but a moment his tongue was not his own. And Oscar never thought he could ever be so afraid.
"Improbable, to be correct." Arc snarked, eyes staring down at him. His jaw pulled tight. "But coincidentally as it is. That's what I thought when I saw you as well." Rolling his shoulders and giving him, but not him, a long look. "The Infinite Man in the flesh. Or maybe in the spirit is more fitting."
The silence was crushing, furiously shaking his head, Oscar tried regaining control of his tongue. Only for ice to come running down his back. Blurry shaped appeared everywhere, until a dozen floating ghosts appeared floating around the barn. Hands over their noses. While some of the younger ones were in staring contests with the goats.
"Wha… what?" Oscar asked, eyes darting around in confusion. Breaths coming out in ragged panths. Spots and shadows appearing at the edges of his vision.
"No you don't." Arc whispered, before a strong hand grabbed him by the shoulder. Something strong and foul stanching pushed under his nostrils not a second later. It burned, tears appeared in the corner of his eyes. But it pushed the darkness away. "Sorry about this kid but can't have you fainting on us. You can look at this like pulling of a band-aid, better quickly instead of drawing the pain out, right? Just… don't think too deeply about it."
"What? What's going on." Oscar demanded, eyes darting madly from face to face. Taking in the frows, the softness, the idle curiosity. Heart hammering in his chest as his breathing speed up. The blurry shapes becoming clearer by the second, until he saw a dozen young girls floating idly in the air. Everyone looking like sisters. Everyone bearing the same scar over their heart. Hushed whispers in a language he didn't understand suddenly growing out everything in the barn.
Time and time again, Oscar found his eyes drawn to the dead woman whose arms were wrapped around Arc's neck. One eye a roiling pit of darkness and filth, the other a filled with apathy.
"Why do I have that… that… That thing inside me? Why can I see ghosts? What did you do?" Question after question came tumbling out of his mouth, his breathing rough and panting. Darkness creeping into the edge of his vision again.
"In order, I don't know. You awakened Insight, and for that I'm sorry. And for what I did? I tried to exercise what soul was inside of you. But it would seem I wasn't successfully." Arc explained patiently.
"Can't you, I don't know. Do the thing we, or you, did for Amber when her soul was in Pyrrha's body?" Nora asked slightly snappishly. "Exorcize the kid as payment for letting us crash for the night. Then bouncing when we are done?"
"What?" "What?" Oscar and the Infinite Man exclaimed at the same time, even if only Oscar heard the question asked.
"No." Jaune said quickly, dashing the hope Oscar felt in his chest before it even could flower and bloom. Something thoughtful flashed through the taller blonde's eyes, idly sniffing the air. Smacking his tongue as if tasting something. "Amber… what bound Amber to Pyrrha's soul and trapped her in her body was made by mortal hands. Made from the very hands of the sprit trapped in your body-"
"Arc's wit is as sharp as ever." The Infinite Man spoke in his head. The compliment sharp, something churning hidden behind it. "And Glynda had the gall to say I was making a mistake."
"- What gives the Infinitive Man his immortality, is not made by mortal hands." Jaune explained, face as if carved from granite. "No, I'm afraid I can't do much. I really don't want to find you what happens when you meddle in something Divine's business."
"Gods are real!?" Oscar and Nora exclaimed as one.
"The Gods are very real, I'm afraid miss Valkyrie." The Infinitive Man said, whispering a soft apology in his mind as Oscar's tongue moved without his control. The hands that flew up to his mouth freezing in their place as his body struggled against itself. 'Please Oscar, if only to allow me to explain.' Without waiting for confirmation, Oscar felt his body move. A long look cast at Jaune. "I had my suspicions, Mr Arc. But I must say, I never wanted for them to be true. Your semblance is the work of something Divine, is it not?"
"Wait what?!" Oscar exclaimed, briefly managing to wretch control over his body. The panic crashing into him full force. The Infinitive Man gently wrapping him in something and keeping it at bay.
"Partly." Jaune answered with a frown. "A mad Queen wanted a child, so she performed a magic ritual. Not expecting something Divine to usurp it." Something heavy, wrathful and terrifying momentarily passing over his face. "I don't know when it happened. It could have been when I was a child. Or it could have been the moment Pyrrha unlocked my aura. Unfortunately the when doesn't really change anything."
"Reality truly is weirder that fiction." The Infinitive Man sighed, turning to look thrown a little look at Violet that had inched her way behind Jaune, before going over the multiple spectre's that swam through the air. "I always thought it was the Gods that have created Remnant, at least that was the belief when I was young, and they still walked among us."
"!" Nora's exclamation was silenced by a single raised palm from Jaune. In a second she clacked her mouth together. Having to force herself to keep the questions inside.
Giving the team leader a nod of approval, The Infinitive Man continued. "I take it, Violet, and her sister are not from this world? To think…"
"What about you?" Jaune asked with a little frown. Interrupting his mussing. "What was your sin?"
"I'm afraid my sin, as you called it, is no worse than yours. If your sin was merely existing, Mr Arc. Then my sin, was dying before my time." The Infinitive Man revealed with a sad little smile. A sea of emotions Oscar never thought possible to feel drowning him for a single second.
"How?" Nora exclaimed, not able to keep her silence anymore. Echoing Oscars sentiment completely.
"And what of the boy?" Jaune asked, the frown never leaving his face. "What was his sin?"
"His sin… is nothing more than being a likeminded individual to me." The Infinitive Man whispered, heartbreak and unwillingness not his own slamming into Oscar like a sledgehammer. "That's my curse. When I die, instead of going to my family, my loved ones. I am 'reborn' in the body of a likeminded individual. Something completely outside of my control. Something outside both of our control."
The spectre around Jaune's shoulder hugged him tighter. Leaning down and whispering something in his ear. The smallest of nods escaping the boy. Rolling his jaw, as he mulled over something.
"We are in Mistral, right?" Jaune said, asking it like a question even if how he said it was like a statement.
"How?" Oscar asked, furiously shaking his head and entire body. having enough of being a spectator in his own body.
"You are rolling your r's." Jaune replied with a simple shrug. "But we should get going." Brushing away some straws of hay. He walked past Oscar. A big hand coming down and ruffling his hair. "Just… think of this as a bad dream. You're a good kid with a sharp head on your shoulders. Don't go chasing questions that shouldn't be answered." Something flashed through the elder boys eye as he looked down at him with warm eyes. Cracks momentarily creeping out of his pupils before disappearing as just a dream. "Life is easier that way. Take it from me. Some questions should best be left unanswered."
"What… what if I still want answers? What if I want to know more." Oscar asked, feeling the phantom sensation of soft fingers through his hair as he turned around. The team walking past him. Something hard and resolute in everyone's eyes. There was kindness there. It was impossible to not see it. Nora gave him a little hug, placing a quick kiss on the side of his head before waving farewell with a bright smile.
"You're a smart kid." A soft and serene voice called out as pink eyes walked over him. A soft something on his lips. "But you are safe here. Watched over by those who love and care for you."
Staring at the team, Oscar didn't know what to feel. Their eyes were crystal clear. As if they could see some clear path forward. 'It doesn't match how they hold themselves.' Oscar noticed. Tired, black bags under everyone's eyes. Jaws clenched tight like granite. Their clothes scuffed, littered with burn marks and cuts.
Yet, when the sun crept over the trees. Bathing them in a gentle light. Oscar swore they looked larger than life.
Jaune turned to him, a soft smile on his face. The cracks in his eyes momentarily returning, turning his irises a gentle gold. "Was that what you saw, Gehrman?" His voice echoed like a whisper beside him. Shaking his head, he sighed, before throwing him a little smile. Beginning to walk away. Looking back at him over his shoulder.
"But if you want answers… Be careful what you wish for. That voice inside your head? That which should be impossible? You'll find things aren't so impossible. Just… improbable."
Oscar clenched his fists. Throwing one look around the farm. The frozen animals softly coming to life, only daring to breath now that the team was a bit away. Tightening his jaw, Oscar took a deep breath.
The air in the bar tasted like shit, cow fart, and piss. But he didn't let that get to him.
Oscar took a single step forward. And he ran.
{-ooo-}
"Why are we stopping here? Why not spend the night in a town?" Oscar asked his traveling companions. Sitting on a log, nerves and curiosity mixing as he took in Jaune set up a large family tent together with Violet, while Ren started the fire and began preparing some quick meals. Pyrrha and Nora out in the woods setting up some traps and some quick and dirty warning systems so they would know if anything strayed too close to their camp.
"You really want to explain to the neighbouring towns, why a farm boy, a nervous farm boy at that, is following some random strangers?" Ren replied dryly with a roll of his eyes. "Because that's going to go well."
"We haven't been away from Beacon for more than a week. And we have already kidnapped someone." Jaune groaned into his hands.
"Does it help if I tell them I came willingly?" Oscar asked, cringing slightly as the implications hit him. Not knowing what he had been thinking. With 'The Infinitive Man' or what he called himself in his head, sleeping badly, and then having his worldview shattered after he was bombarded with revelations he didn't want to know, he had been in a bad headspace. Where running away with the people that seemingly had a grasp of everything seemed like the good idea.
"Our sentence? Maybe." Jaune shrugged nonchalantly. "But as it stands. We didn't kidnap you, did we? We just came to pick up my cousin who developed a weird sort of soul-cancer. And since we are Huntsmen-in-training, my aunt called the academy, and we got this as a sort of 'practice mission'."
"Mr Arc, please do not call me a cancer, if you could be so kind." The Infinitive Man sighed, giving Oscar back control over his body and sinking back into his mind just as quickly.
"Please. Never do that again." Oscar shuddered. Dread gripping his heart. Feeling like he was a meat puppet. 'My apologies Oscar. It is simply, I do find being compared to such an insidious killer galling. Just as you, I never wanted this. The word simply hits a little too close to home.'
"Still, it's a believable excuse." Jaune shrugged, standing up with a satisfied smile on his face. Coming over to take a seat by the fire. The tent sat up quickly and securely. "If you don't mind. You'll be sleeping in the same compartment as me, Violet and Ren."
"I can understand splitting up boys and girls, but why is Violet sleeping in the same compartment?" Oscar asked curiously as the girls came back from the forest. The tension in their eyes fading as they stepped closer to the fire.
"Because Violet can't sleep without Jaune being close." Nora answered for him. The little girl shooting her a nasty glare. Lips in a pout as she huffed. Crossing her arms from where she sat beside Jaune.
"Okhay?" Oscar asked, still not entirely sure.
"Here." Jaune said, reaching into his coat and pulling out a cane. Throwing it towards him. A familiar instinct not his own raised his arm, allowing him to catch it out of the air without a problem. 'I'm not going to thank you.' He grumbled in his mind as he looked over the cane.
It was ugly, but a practical ugly. Full of hard lines and little decoration. It was sturdy. Heavy, with a sharp point. Again, like a gentle hand, The Infinitive Man guided his arm. Making him give the cane a sharp twist. In an instant the cane transformed. Rasor sharp blades glittered in the firelight. Sending a chill down his back. Morbid curiosity enveloped him for a moment, gently running a finger over the blade. A hiss escaped him as he quickly pulled back. A drop of blood coming from the cut on his finger. He hadn't even used any force, just brushing past the edge was enough to cut his skin.
"Something to defend yourself with." Jaune said. "I have some other weapon at hand, but… the headmaster never went anywhere with a cane. We can always teach you something else if you want."
"Thank you, but…"
"Think of it as a gift." Jaune cut him off. A raised eyebrow sent his way. "Or as an apology, for granting Insight. If that makes it easier."
"Insight. Is… is that what lets me see." Oscar asked, eyes wandering to the floating ghosts around them. A shiver racing down his spine. But he wasn't scared of them. Not like he had been. They had looked at him curiously, the ones around his age even blushing slightly when he looked at them. But they hadn't been malicious. Instead flickering between cautious and curious.
"No, they are special." Jaune replied with a little frown. "Insight is, it is another way to perceive the world. Ren sees dead people. I see souls, bonds between people, and different auras of healthy, wounded, sick and more. W-"
"I see flakes of gold." Nora cut off with a beam. "A shit ton converge around Jaune. But just as many converge around you. Huh, Ruby, Adam, and fire bitch all had some flakes of gold around them, now that I think about it. And I've also gotten really good at predicting when something is going to happen."
"I see flaws." Pyrrha replied with a polite smile. Even if there was an underlying frustration to it. "Faults in how a branch grows, faults in how you walk. Flaws in everything."
"But… what about the ghosts?" Oscar asked, taking the offered bowl of quick brew stew with open hands and beginning to shovel food down his mouth. Not having noticed how hungry he was until he was eating. "Why do I see them… if I don't see anything different?"
"They are bound to me. Or… they are haunting me really." Jaune replied with a shrug, chewing on his spoon. The ghosts lashing out with sharp and loud words of denial. Even if Oscar didn't know the language, he understood what they said. "I freed them from captivity in an evil queen's tower. But they can't pass on. And they want revenge. So they are 'bound' to me, to the promise I made while freeing them,"
'He lies.' The Infinitive Man whispered in his mind. It's voice heavy with traces of faint nostalgia. 'Or he isn't telling the whole truth. The tower is true, the freeing is true, but there is something he isn't saying. Something he isn't sharing.'
'And?' Oscar shot right back. 'Why is that any of our business? It's not like he owes me answers.'
'Because magic is impossible. It should have been impossible.'
'Improbable.' Oscar shot straight back, some sense of vindictive schadenfreude welling up from within. He didn't understand the Infinitive Man, probably never would. But he understood that it also lied. Just like Jaune didn't share everything, The Infinitive Man also spoke more half-truths than anything. 'At least one of you have my better interest in mind.'
"So… they are ghosts… but they are special ghosts?" Oscar summarised.
"In a way, yes." Jaune shrugged.
"Oh, fearless leader, not that I want to interrupt or anything. But got any plans in that noggin of yours?" Nora asked, butting in before Oscar could ask any further questions. "I'm sure you can answer whatever questions Oscar have tomorrow. Maybe he even has some things he wants to sleep on. But plan. What are we doing? Beacon fell. The old docks burned. And we are stuck here, in the middle of the asscrack of Mistral. What do we do?"
Oscar wasn't the only one who noticed the faint hysteria that crept into Nora's voice. Now, with something warm in her belly and a proper place to rest. The shock and the weight of what happened in the last few days came crashing full force.
'She is not the only one.' The Infinitive Man pointed out, steering his eyes. Helping him point out that he meant. A jittery uncertainness clung to Pyrrha. Finger's coming up to play with her hair. Finger's tapping against her bowl. Her feet relentlessly tapping against the floor. A tenseness clung to Ren's jaw. Eating with well-practiced quick and sharp movements. Scanning the surroundings with his eyes.
A shiver traced down Oscar's back as the atmosphere got to him. His spoon shacking slightly.
The only one who didn't seem affected was Jaune. Even Violet seemed uncertain. Eyes glassed over as if lost some deep and dark place.
"I have some ideas." Jaune said softly, sitting straighter, the heavy atmosphere pushed away as everyone turned to him. "Some goals as well, but they are more nebulous than anything."
"Come on then, fearless leader. Spill." Nora grinned, her shoulders falling ever so slightly.
"Firstly, we need to lay low." Jaune started, eyes wandering over them as no one butted in. "We need to figure out what happened in Vale, we also need to gather ourselves. We all look like shit. We are tired, twitchy, and running on fumes. We need to get ourselves together. Maybe visit a small town to touch up on supplies, and what other things we coulndt get from Oscar's village. Rest and recovery, that's the first and most immediate goal."
"For the next step, that's where thing becomes nebulous. Less hard goal's, and outlines of a plan." Turning to Pyrrha, he gave the girl a raised eyebrow. "Cinder's not dead right?"
"No." Pyrrha breathed out. "No she's not." Shuddering slightly, she looked out into the dark forest. Emerald eyes turning into pinpricks as a burst of orange flame exploded out from her eye.
"I was afraid of that." Jaune sighed. "Expected it, but I would have love to be proved wrong. But it does make the next step easier."
"What do you mean by that, Jaune?" Ren asked with a little frown.
"I left Cinder with two parting gifts. Or curses, if you want to be exact. One is cursing her with necrosis. Constantly. Not even cutting of the affected spots will end the curse. Slow it down maybe, but not cure it." Jaune shrugged, ice gripping Oscar as he listed to the man so easily condemned another to a slow and crippling death. "The other curse is kinder; she just goes boom."
"Ahhh." Nora explained, eyes wide open in open wonder as she stared at Jaune.
"I need an adult." Oscar whispered as he realised what sort of madmen and madwomen the group consisted off. 'I am an adult.' The Infinitive Man whispered in the back of his mind. Dread gripping his heart not a moment later as a deep body shudder left him. 'No thank you. I think I will shoot my shoot with the madman.'
"Since Cinder isn't dead, that makes what comes next easier. She is going to be gunning after our heads, but she will be desperate, and we know what she wants." Jaune said, swallowing another spoonful. "Pyrrha, humour me. If you suddenly got an early onset of 'body dying' syndrome, together with 'ticking time bomb' syndrome. And you were a power-hungry maniac that knew of one person who could potentially cure you, what would you do?"
"She's after Spring." Pyrrha frowned, clenching her jaw as her knuckles turned white.
"Most likely." Jaune nodded. "There's a chance she will go after my family, using them as leverage to force me to lift the curses. However, from what little I know of her, Cinder also seems like the type of person to hyper fixate on her goals. Not to mention she may or may not be paranoid. Even more so now that she has a timer on. That's without all that could go wrong by forcing me to lift the curses. But… say… if she were to get her hands on Spring."
"She will get her hands on even more magic and a cure." Ren finished for them. Frown deepening, crossing his arms and staring into the crackling fire.
"Exactly." Jaune finished.
"So… what's the goal?" Nora asked, tilting her head curiously. "Find the Spring Maiden before miss fire and fury can?"
"It depends." Jaune replied with a little frown. "The goal is to find the Spring Maiden. It is what comes next that is still up in the air. It all comes down to the Maiden herself." Letting the words hang in the air, Oscar felt something clench in his stomach. Not at all liking the hardness that fell over the older boy. "If she wants to work with us, great. We can set up an ambush, solve our little Cinder problem right then and there. If she doesn't want to work with us, or if she goes into hiding. That's ok, we can work with that. If she thinks she can take Cinder on alone, we'll act as hidden bodyguard to help her. The problem stems if she is openly hostile, or if she is falling into Cinder's way of thinking. Wanting more power."
"A power-hungry half-maiden is bad, a power-hungry Maiden who have set her eyes on her fellow Maidens. That's worse. Especially if she manages to get the boost from the half-maiden power in Cinder." Ren summarised, exhaling deeply and running a hand through his hair. "Please tell me you have a plan."
"That depends." Jaune replied, turning to give him a look. Oscar sat straighter, a little frown on his face. "I'm sorry about this Oscar. But can you ask the tag-along in your head a question? Does a maiden need to be living."
"What are you planning now Mr Arc." The Infinitive Man spoke from out of his mouth, Oscar felt his brows crease into a frown without his control.
"Something stupid perhaps." Jaune shrugged, even if he never once took his eyes off him. There was a power to him, a seriousness that coulndt be mistaken for youthful ignorance. Jaune knew what he was asking. He knew the consequences of what could happen if he succeeded. "I'm working on something, something that will allow the girls to freely pass onto their next great adventure. Many of them, Analise, Alexandra, Isabella, all are ready to pass on. But they are shackled to the world of the living. I'm already more than halfway there to having a way to ferry them to what comes next. But… nothing is stopping them from carrying something else with them to the afterlife."
"Have you lost your mind?"
"No." Jaune replied easily, not at all bothered by the frown the Infinitive Man gave him. "I assure you; I am thinking clearly. I am not asking for permission. I am saying it clearly, that should the Spring Maiden be hostile, or should she be a power-hungry psychopath. I will do what I must. I'm not blind to that The Magic can be used to do so much good as it can bad. But if no-one can use it responsibly. If no one is able to not let the power go to their heads. Maybe they shouldn't have it."
"Those are heavy words." The Infinitive Man frowned.
"Why, or what, made you create the magics in the first place, I don't know, and honestly, I do not care. None of my business." Jaune shrugged, scooping down the last of his stew. Reaching down to push another piece of firewood into the fire. "What I do know, is that I'm not going to let Cinder, or another fulfil their god complex."
"So that's the plan then." Ren stepped in as Oscar tore control back of his body. "Lay low, scout out Mistral for the Spring maiden, maybe travel to Atlas or Vacuo if we need to. Maybe protect the maiden or handle her and make sure the Magic isn't passed on to someone else. And have one of the Queen's ferry the power with them to the afterlife if worst comes to worst."
"Sounds simple enough." Nora shrugged with an eager smile. "Sounds like the plot of a movie even." In an instant all her worries where gone as she turned to him and poked Oscar playfully in the shoulder. "So what do you think. Does Team Juniper save Spring from Fall sound like a good movie plot or what."
"It… it does sound like something straight out from a comic book." Oscar replied with a little smile. Scratching at his chin as he felt his heart pound in excitement. He never expected to be drawn into such an adventure when he woke up today. Maybe he was getting caught up in the excitement. Loosing sight of what an adventure such as this entailed. But it was to late, or too early, for regrets.
Nora grinned a bright and carefree smile at him. Only to instantly frown and turn to Jaune. "We need a new name. Juniper, Juniper was us, but we aren't Juniper anymore, are we? Violet is here to stay, and Oscar is joining. So we need a new name."
"And not Team Trauma." Nora quipped before Jaune could open his mouth. "We can call us that as a joke. But we aren't Team Trauma, are we. Just like RWBY isn't team Daddy and Mommy Issues."
"Could've fooled me." Ren scoffed with a roll of his eyes.
"Are we following the anagram format or are we making a random one up." Pyrrha asked, leaning forward with a curious quirk of her lips.
"We aren't at Beacon anymore, are we?" Was Nora's instant reply. "Team Thunder." She shot out instantly.
"What about Team Occult?" Ren asked looking at the ghosts. Who themselves threw out names in a language Oscar didn't quite understand. Not that he minded, simply glad that the hard and crushing atmosphere from earlier was gone. Replaced by a warm, jovial one as everyone threw out their own ideas for names.
{-ooo-}
Note: My code takes an hour or two to build the models, only to spit out a single error. And that is still only with building one model, instead of the three I'm tunning. Fun.
Note: Huh, I didn't think much of it when putting the ghostly queens in top of a tower. But… honestly, Jaune, Oscar and Ozpin/Ozma have a shit ton of parallels.
Note: Oscar is a tired little shit that woke up with a random voice in his head demanding he do things. This isn't the boy that was worn down and won over that set out on a journey alone. Instead this is him right after Ozma 'woke' up in him.