Drawing her hood up Serana stepped out of the office front entrance and into the light of the morning sun, despite the mild discomfort brought on by the rays of light washing over her body, she basked in their warmth, much to the surprise of the Fall Maiden who eyed the vampire curiously. Much like herself, Vampires were rather common in Remnants folklore, and like many stories, a number of iterations had come into being over the years.
In some tales, they were creatures born from black magic, curses and hexes cast on an unsuspecting soul by a witch as an act of revenge or just spite, others described them as warriors who had lost the battle with the darkness inside their own souls and were subsequently consumed by it, emerging afterwards as the cunning beasts that stalked moonless nights. One of the more recent stories she'd heard in a village she'd passed through, claimed they were average humans and Faunus that had been possessed by the creatures of Grimm, their bodies twisted and warped into a nightmarish vessel fit for the monster that now inhabited them.
Yet in all these stories, their aversion for sunlight remained constant, so seeing the genuine article apparently enjoying a sunny day without bursting into flames, threw her for a bit of a loop. "No, we don't burn up in sunlight." And apparently, her staring hadn't gone unnoticed.
"Oh, sorry" Amber muttered, glancing away towards some passing students as they made their way down the cobblestone path towards the courtyard.
The vampire tittered at the sudden shift in demeanor 'From stubborn to shy at the drop of a hat, you really are an enigma aren't you.' Serana mused, tilting her head back she stared up at Beacon tower admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into its construction. She imagined this is what it must have felt like looking upon the White-Gold Tower back in Cyrodiil, a testament to its people's resolve, standing tall for all to see, a beacon of mankind's strength and unity.
"Amazing" Serana whispered.
Amber followed the Vampires gaze back towards the Academy, seeing it now, with the sun at its back encompassing the central tower and surrounding buildings in an almost divine light. It was a grand sight, one she'd grown accustomed to during her time at the academy, though she couldn't help but wonder how it stood up against the monuments found on Nirn, and speaking of her friends' homeland...
"So... how has your time on Remnant been so far?" Maddening didn't even begin to describe that question, especially given the implications behind it; although, she wouldn't deny she was curious about the otherworlders thoughts on her home.
"Apart from its indigenous wildlife, murderous cutthroats and paranoid, eccentric old men...It's been nice." Serana replied a small smile gracing her features, she didn't know what it was about this place, the mountains, the forests even the people seemed to be so much more vibrant and colorful than what she was used to seeing back home. "Barring a few instances along the way, it's been a far more pleasant experience than I initially expected, although given some of the places I've seen, the bar I have for different realms wasn't all that high, to begin with."
"Mikael mentioned you've both spent time exploring your fair share of worlds." It was strange how easy it had become to talk about these things, go back a few months she'd have still been awed by the concept of other worlds and the various races that inhabited them, let alone asking one of said individuals about their opinion of her own world. "He mentioned a few places in his stories, he didn't go into much detail but I could tell there was some baggage there." Amber trailed off recalling Mikael's tails of the various worlds he'd set foot on, the Souls Cairn and Apocrypha being some of the most prominent, and in her humble opinion...Horrifying. "Are...Are a lot of them really as bad as he made them out to be?"
Serana hummed in response to the Maidens words, in no way was it an easy question. "It's... more of a matter of your own perspective than anything else." Like those touched by Hircine, there was just an equal number of those who reveled at the thought of setting foot in the lord of the hunts domain, as there were just as many who strived to avoid said fate, after all, what one person might call paradise another could just as easily refer to as perdition.
"I've seen a lot in my time, and I won't lie to you, some of it looked like the stuff out of your worst nightmares." Ambers winced, her mind painting a rather grim picture of what skulked about in the darkness beyond Remnant "But there's just as much out there that you'd find just as beautiful as I did." She gestured towards the courtyard around them. "Case in point."
Amber quirked an eyebrow "What do you mean by that?"
Serana flashed a small smile. "Well if you wanted to be technical... every man, woman and child on Remnant could be classified as a Daedra" Serana explained, her eyes flashing in amusement at the wide-eyed look she received from the Fall Maiden. "Not to say that your demons or anything, the word Daedra itself is a term that quite literally translates to "Not our ancestors". If the legends are accurate, it refers to the beings who were not involved in the creation of Nirn, although given your lands inhabitance...Well." Serana trailed off tapping her chin in thought, before shaking her head slightly. "There might be a bit more wiggle room there, but in general, since it is a realm that exists outside of Nirn, then to our people you would be classified as Daedra, although you're defiantly the friendliest I've ever encountered, Mikael certainly seems fond of you."
Amber smiled softly. "He's a good friend."
"Is that all he is to you?" Serana inquired, she hadn't seen Mikael that relaxed around someone in a long time, so she was fairly certain there was more going on here than the two of them were letting on. "I'm just saying the two of you seem awful close, is there anything I should know?"
Amber flushed lightly "Ohh, no, we aren't, well, i-it's like I said." Amber looked away back towards the academy brushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. "He's a dear friend and colleague, we've been through a lot together so it's only natural we'd seem closer than most."
"Hmmm" Serana hummed her eyes twinkling in mirth, the flustered look on the young woman face was almost too much. "Mikael said much of the same about you back in the forest, it's obvious he cares about you, but more than that, he trusts you, surely more than anyone else here." And that in itself was an achievement. Trust wasn't something her brother gave away on a whim, trust has to be earned, and even then it would be an uphill battle for someone to prove themselves worthy of it, something Amber had accomplished in record time. "I dare say he's quite taken by you."
A warm feeling blossomed in Amber's chest, hearing he cared about her, that she had his trust, that he might think of her as more than just friends, she'd admit she liked the sound of that. "You... think so." Amber muttered glancing back towards the vampire out of the corner of her eye.
"I won't say I know for certain." Amber smile fell slightly "But... the signs are there." For both of them, no matter how much they might say otherwise. "What you do with that I'll leave up to you." Serana shifted closer to the Fall Maiden, leaning in slightly she whispered, "Word of advice though, Mikael can be blockheaded at times when it comes to people's feelings, so it might be up to you to make the first move." Serena's smirk grew as Amber's face became more flushed by the second, oh, this girl was too easy.
It was the strangest thing, they were polar opposites one a Master thief who stole, cheated and carved out his way to fortune, the other a Huntress, an upholder of the law and protector of the downtrodden, by all accounts they should have been at odds with one another from the start and yet somehow, they just seemed to click.
She had a feeling their similar circumstances might have also helped, from what she'd learned from Qrow the Maidens were likely the only living -and subsequently most powerful- mages on Remnant, with their abilities, passed on from one young woman to another courtesy of the -if she were being honest, somewhat idiotic- terms set by some long-dead hermit from a forgotten age.
And because of that defining rule of their power, over the centuries the Maidens had been hunted. Some likely out of the fear they could become a great threat to the world or perhaps a hindrance to their attackers own machinations, as had been the case with a few of the mercenaries and assassins sent after her brother over the years.
In Ambers case, however, it was an act of greed plain and simple.
Her attackers, a group consisting mainly of young women, had attempted to bring her down and take the Maidens power along with her life.
Hmm...
The pure and virtuous Huntress, beaten down and sentenced to death by her power-hungry attackers, only to be rescued by a dark and mysterious rouge that had stumbled across her in her time of greatest need, this chance encounter laying the foundations of a romance that would forever bind these two souls together.
Serana tittered softly, gods she was starting to sound like one of those romance novels she used to read as a girl.
Still... if the two ever did decide to explore a relationship together, well, she'd wish them all the best.
Glancing back towards the way ahead, the Vampires smirk fell as she caught sight of the fork in the path, one way leading towards her own building off in the distance, while the other led to where she could only assume was the section of campus where Amber carried out her own classes. "Looks like we'll have to cut our conversation short." Serana noted, pulling Amber back to reality. "I trust you're well enough to make it on your own from here?"
"Y-yes, I should be fine." Amber muttered doing her best to avoid eye contact as she strolled past the Vampire doing her best to hide the mortification brought on by the sudden twist in their conversation. She watched Serana smile out of the corner of her eye, not a mocking one, just... amused, maybe she could just chalk this up as some form of unconventional revenge for what happened back in the office.
Well, she'd take being left flustered, over being her mid-day snack any time of the week. Splitting off from one another Amber hurried her way down the path putting some much-appreciated distance between her and Mikael's sister. Still, even with the distance now between them Amber couldn't help but think back on their conversation, more importantly, what Serena's had been suggesting about her relationship with Mikael.
Her experience with men was... limited, to say the least, she'd spent the latter half of her teenage years and just about all of her adult life avoiding anything that might actually lead to the start of a meaningful relationship.
During her time on the road, it was rare for her to stay in the same place for more than a week before being on the move again. Partly due to the deal she'd made with the headmaster following her inheritance of the Maiden powers, as well as her own fear of what might happen if she did decide to settle down somewhere, the risk not only to herself but any loved ones was too much for her at the time.
So, if reluctantly, she'd made a point to keep her distance from people, civilians and Huntsmen alike. If her attackers had been prepared to face a Maiden and expected to come out on top -as they almost had- then she doubted a fellow Huntsman or mob of villagers who'd rushed to her defence would have made much of a difference.
And then... there was Mikael.
The man who'd not only bested her attackers, the White Fang and a Grimm that would likely give even the most experienced Huntsmen a run for their money but had the resolve to stand in defiance of a god. Looking back on everything now, he seemed so above her, the difference between them in terms of raw power alone was... staggering, to say the least, and yet whenever he looked at her, there was a gentleness, a warmth to those usually cold and indifferent sky-blue eyes.
A feeling that left her wondering if there might be a chance at something more between them.
Maybe when things had quieted down, when the threat of Mora was no longer hanging over them, she'd like to find out for herself if there was any weight to Serena's words.
/
For a school that trained the next generation of warriors to battle the creatures of Grimm, you wouldn't be all that out of place for thinking a class devoted to the study of indigenous plant life along with the awe-inspiring- or more like disgusting -species of insects and reptiles inhabiting some of Remnants more tropical or more likely desolate regions, might have seemed a little out of place.
At least, that was Yang's first impression of Professor Peaches class at the start of the year.
Although their if somewhat reclusive professor, had been quick to set her straight in that regard, as Huntsmen and Huntresses any missions they took following their graduation, would likely take them far beyond the safety of the walls of the kingdom out into the frontier of Remnant, be that escorting dust convoys from some of the more remote mining facilities along their delivery routes to destroying any Grimm dens that happened to crop up near a settlement, or even hunting down criminals who'd taken to targeting unlucky travellers along the unprotected roads.
All of which could lead to them spending days or even weeks at a time living out of make-shift campsites, which in itself opened up a whole new can of worms that helped to reveal the point of this class, understand the environment, more importantly, its more harmful aspects such as the various poisonous plants and animals they'd likely encounter while out on missions.
She just wished the Mouse Faunus didn't go into so much detail at times, yes, snakes, in general, were bad, she didn't need to know how the rattlesnakes in Vale were somehow more toxic than the ones out in Vacuous deserts, or how they apparently had the habit of crawling into your sleeping bag in the middle of the night. She didn't want those fun memories of camping out under the stars with Ruby and their dad ruined because of the chance she'd mistaken a big snake for her stuffed bear one or two times when she was younger, thank you very much.
Pushing open the double doors she and her Team filed into the classroom along with the rest of their fellow first years, breaking off from Weiss and Ruby she and Blake shuffled off to one of the various chemistry setups across the room. A series of formulas, page numbers and chapter titles from their textbooks and a small list of different plants she assumed would be a part of this week's lectures occupied the blackboard in front of them.
The space surrounding the board and the walls to its left and right were occupied by several shelves and refrigerated cabinets of varying sizes and contents, some held different textbooks and encyclopedias on plant life, some held a few examples of the real thing with various roots and a few exotic-looking flowers, while the cabinet closest to them and in her opinion, the most disturbing part of this class, was occupied by a large number of jars each one filled with a weird yellowish-brown 'liquid' with several different bits and piece of what she could only assume were animals, floating inside them.
As per usual, the row of desks closest to those shelves was completely empty, yeah… no one wanted to be anywhere near that mess.
"No professor Peach?" Yang noted, propping her head up on her arms she stared down at the empty desk with a raised eyebrow.
"That's unlike her" Her white-haired teammate note as she flipped through her textbook to the first page listed on the board, while professor Peach may have been one of the more... unique professors at Beacon, she was always a stickler for them being on time, the steadily growing list of tardies the professor had racked up on her and a certain red-haired bomber was evidence of that, making her sudden absence all the stranger.
As if on cue, the door at the back of the classroom connecting to Peaches personal office open and someone who definitely wasn't professor Peach stepped through the door "I'm sorry for the delay, I hope I didn't keep you all waiting " The ashen haired woman greeted them, a hint of annoyance in her tone. She was young compared to the majority of Beacons staff, a decade older than them at the most, a pale unblemished face framed by ashen black hair and a pair of smouldering amber eyes.
"Huh?" Yang muttered recollection flashing in her eyes, she didn't know how but she could almost swear she knew her from somewhere.
Taking her place at the front of the class Serana looked out over the students gathered in front of her, her students, her class... at least for the time being, fortunately, Peach had the forethought to provide her with a lesson plan for the week the other day, before she decided to pull her disappearing act, so she wasn't completely lost on how today's class was supposed to go.
Before she could continue introductions, a certain white-haired girl near what counted as the front row, raised her hand drawing the vampires attention. Weiss Schnee if she remembered reading the class roster correctly, speaking of, her eyes shifted to the young girl with bright silver eyes beside her.
'So, you're the one all the fuss is about.' Serana thought to herself.
At first glance, it was almost hard to believe that such a young girl had drawn the eyes of a Daedric lord, just looking at her as she was now you wouldn't think she could harm a fly, the innocent expression she wore combined with her small unassuming stature only adding to the appearance and yet from all the combat videos Mikael had shown her, she was well aware Ruby Rose was more than capable with that Scythe of hers.
She pitied her all the same, someone so young shouldn't have to face such hardships, the worst part was that she and her friends hadn't even seen the worst of it. These kids... they were all just starting out on the path ahead ready to pursue their dreams and live their lives, but now... there was a very real possibility that by year-end, many of them would have their stories cut short in the worst way imaginable.
Doing her best to push that grim train of thought to the back of her mind, Serena's gaze swept back towards the Schnee Heiress. "Yes?" She inquired. If all went according to plan and they could get the Headmaster and his followers on their side, they might just have a chance of avoiding a future Daedric incursion.
"I don't mean to interrupt miss..."
"Volkihar." Serana finished, she wasn't sure whether Mikael had mentioned her to these girls, but at this point, she doubted it mattered whether they recognised her or not, they'd all be getting the chance to know one another in due time.
"Miss Volkihar" Weiss continued, Serana crossing her arms across her chest as she went on, she had a feeling she knew where this was going. "But Isn't professor Peach supposed to be leading today's lecture?"
A valid question, one Serana was asking herself right now. "Normally, I'd imagine that would be the case." Serana explained, pulling some of her own personal notes on the lesson she'd prepared alongside Peach beforehand, something it seemed she'd be relying on more than she'd expected at the time.
Serana glanced back at the board and the pages before nodding to herself. "However, it seems there's been a minor miscommunication between your Professor and me regarding classes for this week, so for the time being I will be leading today's lecture." Her explanation given, Serana turned and gestured back towards the page number on the board and hummed, while keeping up with the material was well and good and all, in her experience, some practical utilization of said knowledge would help cement these lessons far more effectively, glancing over to one of the cabinets her eyes rested on a familiar weed sitting behind the glass.
'All we're missing now is some...' Serana trailed off her eyes zeroing in on the cabinet to its left more importantly the flasks of grapeseed oil and a container of beeswax.
"Following on from Professor Peaches previous discussion regarding some of the more venomous inhabitance of Mistral's rainforests" Stepping out from behind the desk Serana moved towards the cabinet to her right. "Today we'll be going over how to identify and prepare some herbs found in the region into effective treatments." Pulling the green weed alongside two other plants from the shelf, she set them down on her desk for all to see, sitting back against the desk she picked up the weed and gestured to its leaves. "Can anyone tell me what this is?"
A few hands went up far less than she'd initially been expecting, then again this was primarily a combat school so she couldn't count on everyone having the same interests as she did at their age. She gestured to a pink-eyed young man near the middle row. "Plantago major, or as its commonly known Plantain." He began to explain "A common weed that known to grow in almost all climates and has been used for centuries by herbalists, due to its leaves natural medicinal properties."
"Some examples of these would be?" Serana pressed
The young man continued undeterred. "When prepared properly the leaves can be used as pain relief when applied to open wounds, as well as being able to neutralize the venom of most insects and arachnids."
"Excellent "A smile spread across Serana's features; it was nice to know she wouldn't have to worry about leading them along by the hand all that much. Stepping back towards the cabinet she retrieved the rest of the tray of plantain weed several oil flasks and the beeswax before setting them down on her own desk in front of the class.
"For the next part, one of each pair come up and collect a sample of plantain, a flask of oil and some Beeswax, then we'll go over what you need and what you don't before moving on to preparation." Peach had more than enough samples stocked to fill her needs, and as long as she ensured it was restocked she had a feeling there'd be any hard feelings. Serana paused in her work, shifting her gaze back out over the class more importantly a few of the students near the back, a certain, green-haired?... member of the group, in particular, seemed more interested in the contents of his scroll, then the lessons going on.
The young man quickly found the device enveloped in an amber glow before an invisible force snatched it from his hand, the scroll flew to the front of the class and into Serana's waiting hand, she glanced down at the device, raising an eyebrow at the cartoonish landscape and multi-coloured blocks spread across the screen, then shifted her gaze back to the young man, he at least had the courtesy to look embarrassed. "So, pay attention." Serana said her amber eyes flashing. "If not for your own sakes then your teammates." she added with an offhanded shrug.
"It's not like if you use the wrong plant or get the concentration of some mixture wrong, that you're more than likely kill the person you're treating or anything." While her position here at Beacon might only be temporary that didn't mean she was going to be lax towards her responsibilities, this class was not only meant to teach these kids the dangers of the terrains they'd face while out on their little excursions... but what was out there that they could use, when so far from civilization. "But... if you feel like there are better things for you to do, the door right there." She waved back towards the entrance, she looked over the students with an easy smile, a few of them straightening up under her gaze. "No one? Then let's move on shall we."
Turning back to set the scroll on her desk, she didn't miss the sound of shuffling feet and hushed whispered spreading out across the room behind her. The words "uptight", "tense", and even a "Goodwitch 2.0" being passed around while her back was turned, though she paid them little mind. Harsh as her words might have seemed they were spoken with her students' wellbeing in mind, the knowledge she and Miranda would be passing onto them could be used to harm just as much as it could to heal, so she'd rather avoid any unfortunate accidents further down the line.
Turning back the whispers immediately died down with the last of the few students still on their feet hurrying back to their seats. Nodding to them Serana stepped back around the desk and picked up her own plantain gesturing to the leaves. "While most of the plant itself can be used for medicinal purposes what we'll be focusing on right now are its leaves, take three from your sample and cut them up into thin strips, then deposit a handful into your beaker." Serana explained.
Normally the traditional method of preparing plantain salve could take at least a day outside of a proper laboratory, however, the facilities at her student's disposal would ensure the preparation time was cut down by a large margin. The only thing they'd need to worry about right now would be keeping the mixture's temperature constant during the infusion- it was a common mistake among novice alchemists so she wouldn't hold it against them-, barring that if all went well and they followed her instruction correctly, these kids would walk out of here, not only a little more knowledgeable but also have the ability to put that knowledge into practice.
/
When Oz first brought him and his old team into the fold, showing them the truth of the worlds around them and the darkness that lurked in its farthest reaches, a shadow war stretching as far back as the beginning of time, well... to say it had been a bit of a mind fuck would be an understatement. Everything he'd known or at least thought he'd known about the world they lived in, the Kingdoms, and the purpose of the Huntsmen academies had been turned on its head.
They'd vetted the old man Oz for everything he'd known to the point morning had turned to night, their questions had been replaced by outrage and anger upon learning the true purpose of the Huntsmen Academies until everything had come to a head and the threat of bloodshed -courtesy of his twin- had been brought to bear on the headmaster.
Now while most grown men tended to piss themselves when Raven levelled her sword towards them, Oz hardly even flinched.
That's when Summer, the resident voice of reason had asked the big question 'Why Them?' Surely there were more qualified people he could have revealed this world-shattering secret to, veteran huntsmen decades their seniors in age and experience or even a few up-and-coming generals of the world's strongest military. So why had he decided a team fresh out of the Academy should be the ones to shoulder such a burden.
Faith apparently, as crazy as that might sound.
He'd watched them grow during their time at Beacon not only as Huntsmen but as people as well -himself definitly more than others- he'd watch them step into situations, that as students they probably should have left for the police or actually licensed huntsmen... something his nieces and their own team seemed to have a lot of experience in lately, heh, if he didn't know any better he'd think they were trying to outshine him and their old man.
Speaking of which he was still more than a little on the fence about Oz's decision about not getting in contact with Tai about this whole mess, the guy deserved to know more than anyone about what had happened. His girls were his whole world and if anything happened to them especially after Summer, well...he'd barely been able to help the guy pull himself back out of that pit the first time, he wasn't sure if Tai would be able to make it through that ordeal the second time around.
Which led him to his current position, camped out of a tree branch overlooking Peaches classroom, from there he watched as Volkihar walked the kids through… whatever that slop was she was having them put together. Oz might think fish-boy was the one to keep an eye on but after being on the receiving end of a colossal mind fuck courtesy of Beacons newest T.A, in his professional opinion, this chick was a far more immediate threat. Even after a few days, he could barely remember anything about what went down between them during the ride to Beacon and in all that time he doubted she'd just sat there quietly.
That scared him more than he cared to admit.
What had he told her while he'd been a puppet on her strings, how much of their brotherhoods secrets had he been forced to reveal to her, the Maidens, Oz's curse... for Fucks sake maybe even information about the Relics?
His avian heart quickened as a stray thought rushed to the forefront of his mind... interrogating him might not have been the only thing she'd done. Volkihar had more than enough time to bleed him for information between now and then, so who's to say she hadn't given him a few other orders besides just bringing her to Beacon
Could she snap her fingers and suddenly he'd be some mindless drone, like one of Atlas's tin-men that'd follow her orders without a second thought?
Was the reason he'd agreed not to go after the two of them, because of Oz's reasoning or because she'd made sure he couldn't lay a hand on either of them?
Could he even say his decisions over the last few days were because of his own free will anymore!?
'No, no I'm fine, I'm me' Qrow reassured himself, Oz had given him a once over back in his office, so if anything was wrong the old wizard surely would have noticed it. 'Breath, just breath.' He thought to himself, doing his best to push that treacherous thought to the back of his mind where it could be forgotten, his head was a mess enough as is, he didn't need to make it worse by thinking like that.
Turning his gaze away from Volkihar and towards the lines of students in front of her, he immediately zeroed in on his nieces and their teammates, at first glance there didn't seem to be anything physically wrong with them, thank God, but that didn't mean he was ruling anything out just yet... not when the prime suspects had the ability to make any serious injuries disappear in a matter of seconds.
He watched his youngest niece nudge her partner slightly a silent conversation passing between the two, Ice Queen Jr spared a quizzical glance down at Ruby's beaker, raising an eyebrow she studied its contents for a moment before shaking her head, she muttered something back to her partner and gestured between their stations before flashing a small encouraging smile back at the younger girl.
Seemingly more than pleased with what was said Ruby turned back to her own beaker, adjusting the flame on the bunsen underneath, shovelling a few more pieces of the leaves Volkihar had handed out and giving it a good stir Ruby looked back at her partner, the Schnee nodding in response.
Huh, nice to see not all Atlesian's were as stuck up as the ones he knew.
Speaking of stuck up Atlesian's, he wasn't looking forward to the inevitable conversation they would be having with Jimmy once he and the rest of his brats showed up for the festival. The fact Oz had held off on it for as long as he had would already land them in plenty of hot water, the guy had been more than a little suspicious about fish-boy from the start, so once he found out about that portal or whatever it was that showed up in the courtyard, and then Volkihar just appearing out of the blue... well, it wouldn't take him long to come up with his own idea of just what the hell had been going on.
Then he'd overreact send his people in and not only would they have an international incident on their hands but maybe a pile of bodies to go along with it.
They needed to be careful about this, Salmon and Volkihar weren't stupid, if either of them caught wind that something was up, then they'd be gone before they had a chance to even make the first move. Right now, him 'visiting' Ruby and Yang would probably be their best option, the kids knew him, they'd trust him, so whether they were afraid to speak out or he was forcing them to stay quiet about what happened, he knew if it was him asking her what happened then she'd tell him the truth.
And when she did, if it turned out Ozpins suspicions about the guy were true... well, legendary dragon slaying-whatever or not, he was still just one man, Glynda, Oz and he would be more than enough to bring that fucker down, while Pete and Bartee could handle Volkihar. She seemed like the type who'd try to talk her way out of that mess, he'd have to warn them about her just in case in case she tried a repeat of what happened back in the inn between the two of the-
The sudden ringing of the bell pulled Qrow from his train of thought and back to reality.
Glancing up to Beacon clocktower, the avian Huntsmen was somewhat taken aback by the time, glancing back towards Peaches classroom he watched the students quickly clean their stations before filling out the class into the hallway, Volkihar waving them off as they went before glancing back at the rows of desks and then down at the more than dozen beakers sitting on her own with what looked like pride.
Qrow took that as his cue to leave, sparing a small scowl back at Volkihar he spread his wings and leapt off the branch swooping up and into the air the avian huntsmen tilted his body to the side, gliding down alongside the windows lining the corridor outside the classroom, from there he followed alongside his nieces as they made their way down the hallway on the other side.
Unbeknownst to the veteran Huntsmen, high above his previous perch hidden within the darkness of the tree canopy a single Golden Eye stared out from a blackened void down onto the Academy grounds, shifting ever so slightly from the mortal hiding behind the guise of a bird Hermaeus studied the silver-eyed girl intently.
The barrier his Fallen Champion had erected around the academy was... most vexing, fragile it may be, but still powerful enough that it would take time and a certain measure of strength to disable if he wished to manifest here as he had in the past, time that would, unfortunately, alert those within of his impending arrival.
True, once the barrier had been broken, he could simply flood the academy grounds with his servants and take the girl by force... but he would prefer her transition into his service to be a willing one. There were dangers to this endeavor, not only from the girl's own abilities but the influence of the forgotten lords that sought to reclaim the broken world they had once discarded, should his endeavours here be discovered there was little doubt in his mind they would attempt to defend what they 'perceived' as their domain, as pointless as it might be.
The mortals would never accept their rule. Even now there were already two who sought to ensure their return would never come to pass, though they themselves were a nuisance that would have to be dealt with in time, perhaps as a test of the girls resolve, among other things.
Ahh... but he was getting ahead of himself.
As things were, the opportunity to claim her would soon be upon him, with but a whisper here and a gentle nudge there, the tides of fate had changed once again, now he need only wait for the pieces to fall into place.
The demon of Knowledge's gaze shifted from the silver-eyed girl to her Faunus teammate, her attention split between the conversation between her teammates and the scroll in front of her, another news report, another dust robbery courtesy of the organization she had left behind, the organization her father had built with his own two hands, a father she had betrayed and abandoned in her misguided crusade for justice.
Only for it to have all been sweet honey and lies.
Now the veil had been lifted, her crimes laid bare before her, and like so many lost souls that came before her, she sought redemption, the chance to right the wrongs of the past.
To bring those she once called her brothers and sisters to justice, in order to settle her guilty conscience.
The perfect pawn indeed.
An: Fate is an interesting thing, talk to a philosopher and they'll tell you, it is neither kind nor cruel, just a predetermined path were all destined to unwittingly follow along to the end, whether that ending is glorious or horrid. But if that was the case, then what's the purpose of our journey down that road, if our lives are already predetermined, then what was the point of our struggles and victories, why was it decided that they should win and I should fall?
Just as a pawn is moved from one space to another across the board, it is not their place to understand the reason why, only that they are a tool in a much larger game.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Shadows Rising, this story has been going on for four years now and I am grateful for all those who have shown their support and followed along as long as they have, while I spun this tale, feel free to leave a review, follow and fav if your up to it, and I will see you all in the next one.