Once more into the breach.

REAPER IN RED

Chapter 25

The Forever Fall Forest was quite a large body of land, filled with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of trees, all with brightly coloured and beautiful red leaves. Most people could only see the full picture that the scene of trees made. That brilliant red which swayed with the breeze, all held up by strong white logs. It looked so uniform. So exact and identical. No matter which way anyone looked, all that could be seen was the red and white.

Mom had taught me to look closer. She said that Forever Fall was nature's embodiment of humanity. Something that all young Reapers needed to learn. All the trees together made up an impressive forest. Strong enough to survive harsh winds and massive thunderstorms. Even fires, if and when they broke out and wreaked havoc on everything, the forest survived and flourished in the ashes. Mom said it was very much like humans themselves.

But there was more to it than that. While the forest looked so consistent, so steady, I only had to look more closely to spot the differences. Each tree was different. The reds of their leaves were all different, some crimson, some rouge. Others were ruby red. And others still were nearly orange. One had a birds nest, bringing new life into this world. Another held the decaying remnants of a elderly mammal. Some had vines, some had moss, many more with branches that jutted out every which way. The more I looked, the more I could realize that each tree was different, unique in some way.

Mom's lesson that day didn't make much sense to me then. I don't think I had fully understood it at this point in my life, either. But living around humans for so long, talking with them, laughing and crying with them. The message was slowly seeping in. It almost made me wonder what other lessons mom had taught me, that I was just too young or too inexperienced to fully understand.

The trees did always look extra lovely when I thought about her.

"Please keep extra vigilance, students," came Headmaster Ozpin's voice, interrupting me from my thoughts.

It seemed like all of us were lost in our thoughts. While the headmaster stayed in between us all, this random freshly made team of ours stood around him like bodyguards. The rabbit girl -Velvet Scarlatina- stood out front, with the green haired meanie in the rear. Jaune and me stood on either side; me on the left and Jaune on the right. Maybe it was because I was left-handed or something. It made no matter.

Velvet was quiet, though she seemed super pumped for the adventure. There was a little hop in her step whenever she moved, and her tall ears bounced playfully. Was it rude to say hop to a rabbit human? Blake had been telling me that some words were considered rude to use for humans with animal traits -darn, faunus. I have to get better at remembering that humans called them faunus- and didn't like to be called or associated with certain things.

Even though Blake seemed to have gotten used to the fact that Yang would call her kitten or kitty or anything else associated with a baby feline. It was true though. Blake was very much cat-like.

But while she and the meanie were doing whatever they were doing, Jaune was the only one acting… non-Jaune-like. Well, they all weren't acting very Jaune-like, but Jaune was the only surprising one. He walked as if the fate of the world was on his shoulders. He was sullen, quiet and very sad. But above all else, he looked hyper focused. One handheld onto the scabbard of his, able to transform into its shield at a moment's notice, while the other looked ready to grab at his sword just as quickly.

He stared straight ahead, but his eyes were on a swivel, looking everywhere for the witches. Jaune had always been deathly fascinated by witches. It was like he knew more about witches than even Weiss! He knew more about them than me, that was for sure. But then again, I didn't know much about them. Witches tended to stay away from Reapers. It might have had to do with their intelligence. They were wickedly smart after all. Maybe not as smart as Reapers, but what creatures are?

Jaune stumbled over a loose low-hanging branch, quickly righting himself. I waited for him to look around like he always did. To check to see if anyone had noticed his little tumble. I was even prepared to give him a Yang smirk and wink. That would get a laugh out of him. Or at least a groan.

But no, there was no reaction out of him. His head didn't rise to look around and there wasn't even a sheepish expression on his face. No shoulder hunched over in embarrassment. Nothing. Not even a single sign of anything which had come from my books on the subject.

Just that same somber face and lowered shoulders and focused gaze on nothing at all.

I huffed. Everyone was being so quiet and calm and collected. It was really ruining my fun. Come on people! We were going to fight some witches. Huntsmen liked that sort of stuff, right? It wasn't like they were that strong.

Okay, maybe they could be a little strong. But people were just so squishy. Headmaster Ozpin wouldn't be super squishy thought. He was the headmaster. And he always spoke in circles. It played with my head a little bit too much, and I'm pretty sure he knew I'm not human, but he hadn't attacked me or anything. So I think we came to a mutual understanding.

What that understanding was, I had no idea. But it looked like he was perfectly calm, even with me walking beside him.

"So…" I began, not really sure what I wanted to say, just that this silence was boring me to tears. "Does anybody know how they want to beat the witches?"

"ABC," Jaune half-whispered, half-muttered, not taking his eyes off their invisible target.

"That is correct Mister Arc," the headmaster said with a nod. "Though I do believe a more exact plan could be discussed between the four of you on how best to go about this mission."

"Are you not going to help us?" The meanie said.

Headmaster Ozpin shook his head, "of course I will be there to assist you all, Mister Thrush. But this is still a mission for your students to master. I will of course be willing to interrupt to ensure the flow of the discussion remains on topic, but it is up to you all, with the final decision resting on your team leader, to come together with a strategy that befits students of Beacon Academy. Something which proves all your strengths and covers all your weaknesses. Whether they be known to all, or just to your lonesome."

Why did I have a feeling that the headmaster was calling me out just then?

"I guess that means it's time to talk." Velvet said, motioning everyone towards her. "I guess to start off with, we can go through names and a bit about ourselves. Coco always said that the best path to a good team was some good team bonding. Though, for her that usually meant shopping sprees. Oh, I'm Velvet Scarlatina, second year. Not a team leader, but partner to one for Team CVFE."

"Russel Thrush, first year and member of Team CRDL."

"Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR."

I looked between all of them, before remembering it was my turn. "Oh! I'm Ruby. My team is Team RWBY. I'm pretty good with a scythe if I do say so myself. And my mag -erm- semblance is super speed."

I could feel Headmaster Ozpin's lingering gaze on the back of my head. I was not enjoying it. Instinctively, I pulled my cloak's hood over my head. I always felt safer when my neck wasn't exposed.

"If we're getting to weapons, then mine are my dust-capable daggers. Get's me up close and personal to the animals, which is a perk." Thrush gave Velvet a look, which she seemed to shrug off.

"I'm mainly a hand-to-hand fighter," Velvet said, still not paying Thrush any mind. "I do have my weapon, but I prefer not to use it unless extremely necessary. And lastly, you Jaune?"

"I have my sword and shield," Jaune said simply, still lost in his own world.

Was that what I looked like when I got trapped in my own head? Just talking to myself while my mind swam in circles and circles without any clear thought process? It was… a little weird. I would need to catch and stop myself from doing that more often. It just looks grumpy. I always thought it made me look roguish or mysterious. Why didn't Weiss or Yang warn me!

Velvet began talking. She wanted to go over the points which Professor Goodwitch had made before we left, as well as explain anything else which we first years might not have understood. Most of it was fairly easy to understand. I wasn't paying much attention. Something about watching out for their cackling. Ya, those creatures did like to move around a lot. And to be wary for any dust usage. Blah, blah, blah.

I guess it would be important for humans to know more about the Loud witches we were going to be fighting. What did Jaune say in class again? They negated semblances and stopped the effectiveness of dust? That wouldn't affect me all that much. I only used a little bit of dust for my Crescent Rose's munition, and I didn't have a semblance. So no worries on that front. And even if they did try to override my dust, I could override their magic with my own. Nothing trumps Reaper shadow magic!

Wait. No magic in my human form.

It would be safest to just shift every once in a while to clear off any lingering witch spells. Wouldn't do well to have a witch be the one to take me down!

But how would I know when to start or stop using my dust or 'semblance'? Did the humans know what spells spoken accounted for what magic was being used? Because I sure didn't learn any witch-talk.

"Do you know what spells witches use when they talk?" I tried asking.

"Huntsmen focused on witches tend to learn a great deal about the words used in witch magic. Most students learn a handful of spells to look out for in their third and fourth years. Professor Port guarantees that he could hold a full conversation with a witch, though how communicative Loud witches truly are with one another is another matter entirely."

So yes, I can't just play around and guess at what spells are being used. I would have to look at what my new teammates were doing.

"Can witches spell a specific person? Or are they more… area of effect types?" Thrush asked.

"Videogame logic? Really?" Velvet said, shaking her head. Then she gave an imperceptible shrug. "I guess it's not the worst logic I heard. They can target specific people, groups of people, particular areas of their surroundings, specific people within a group, you name it. Their spells are a language. Just change the word for 'group' to the word for 'you' and it will have that particular effect."

"Correct, Miss Scarlatina. Your team leader is perhaps the most fluent in a Loud witch's language, though Mister Arc may know his fair share of spell words as well. I will be with you to inform you of anything that may be missed by your compatriots," Headmaster Ozpin informed. "Once more, it is essential you all remain vigilant and focused. Double check what is working and what isn't at every possible moment. Loud witches are better for student practice, as they only negate or reduce a person's ability to attack. Their potions may be damaging, but Loud witches cannot use your own dust against you."

Okay. In all that, only one thing of importance was said. I had to actually pay attention during this fight to know what I could and could not use. The headmaster would know for sure, and if there were any possible remaining inkling he had that I wasn't a Reaper, or other monster for that matter, using magic when I shouldn't be able to would be a clear way to ensure he knew.

At least that would make it more fun, right?

Right?

The chapter coming up next is really throwing me through a loop and not in a good way. So, if the quality isn't the best, it's because I'll be spending like zero time editing it. It already ate up more than a month of time trying to just get it out and while I'm not even done it (it's like an average length chapter) I'm already sick of looking at it. Which is unfortunate, since it brings up 1 of 2 reasons this entire mini arc exists in the first place.

Alucard45 - Ruby is just too charming and naive. It's so adorable.

JackTheSpades - Well, thank you so much for reviewing as often as you do! Really, it's true for everyone that takes the time to comment on this story regularly and irregularly. It's also been great hearing your analyses of the chapters and what you think will be coming up next for our young Reaper

Dragonqueen1993 - You're too kind! Too kind! And yes, nothing is more fun than witch hunts and cookies! And since Ruby is getting involved in a witch hunt, that means it's the perfect time to eat cookies without her taking them first! *goes to check cookie jar* Oh, that's why she went on the witch hunt... she already finished them all.

FN75 - I hope you enjoy it. Just 2 more left (well, maybe 3 at most).