God, he hated having to get up so early in the frigging morning.
Muffling a small belch into his fist Qrow steadied himself against the wall with the other. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes the Black Reaper let out a small sigh and pushed off the wall stuffing his hands into his pockets as he went, his head ducked off to the side in an effort to shield his eyes from the morning sun peaking in through the windows.
Of all the times Glynda could have gotten back to him with an update on Fish Boy and his Tricky Bitch of a sister it had to be just a few hours after he finally got back from his latest bar crawl, God he hated his semblance sometimes.
Honestly, it was his own fault for not turning in early for the night like Glynda told him to do when she'd offered to take over the night shift for him, but instead, he'd just headed off to the nearest hole in the wall he knew the second she was out of earshot and started racking up another tab he didn't intend to pay off anytime soon.
Rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes Qrow spared a glance through one of the windows towards the first-year dormitory, if what he read about in Glynda's message was right, he'd be seeing his nieces again soon enough, for better or worse considering how their last interaction went. Frustrated, both at himself and this whole shitshow they'd been dragged into, he reached for his flask once more. After the week he'd had no one could blame him for turning to a little liquid courage to help him through the day he had ahead of him.
Bringing it to his lips he was disappointed when only a few drops of the premium whisky he liked to carry dripped out past the rim and onto his tongue. Qrow pulled his arm back scowling down at his flask and clicked his tongue "Yeah... just my luck." He bemoaned sighing Qrow stowed his flask back on his belt and continued his way down the hall, looks like he'd be going at this sober.
The closer he came to his goal the more he began to hear the same low rumble of high-end machinery he still remembered from his time as a student reverberating through the hallway ahead, rounding the corner his eyes settled on the industrial-strength steel doors and tempered glass windows that made up the airlock into Beacons Foundry.
Pulling out his custom black scroll he swiped it over the console on the outside, Qrow slipping through the gap as the heavy metal doors slid open. Stepping out onto the main floor the Blake Reaper found himself stopped in his tracks as what could only be described as a static charge passed through the air, followed swiftly by a sharp pulsing beat he could feel deep in his bones that... resonated with the fragment of borrowed power at the heart of his verry soul.
"The hell..." Qrow whispered bringing a hand up to his chest in realisation, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.
It pulsed and fluxed through the air like a current passing through a live wire. Still, despite what he was feeling at the moment, it wasn't nearly as wild or untamed as what he'd experienced back when he and Glynda had started training Amber to tap into her new abilities in the weeks after she'd first inherited the Maiden powers.
Comparing what he'd experienced back then to now, was like comparing water to oil.
Despite appearances to the contrary, despite the sheer volume of energy he could feel flowing through the air around him it somehow felt like something was missing from it all, as though the full brunt of whatever was causing this was being held back, no, directed by something else. How Glynda had managed to put up with it for so long when he was already feeling more than a little overwhelmed after only standing in it for a few short moments, he would never know.
Speaking of said blond combat instructor, from his place by the door Qrow could just make out Glynda's form standing by the edge of the balcony connecting to one of the workshops on the upper floors. Her back was to him her attention instead focussed on the mix of blue, red and green lights illuminating her form in an almost ethereal glow, loose tresses of blond hair swaying in an unnatural breeze that formed from out of nowhere.
'What the hell is that?' Qrow thought to himself as he moved towards the stairwell connecting the various administrative offices, workshops and Dust laboratories that made up the majority of Beacons Foundry. Opening up his scroll as he went, he typed out a quick message to Glynda to let her know he was here before beginning his climb.
About halfway up he heard a door open from one of the upper floors. Seconds later the blond combat instructor emerged, peering down at him from over the railing above Qrow raised a hand in greeting and for a second it looked as though she was about to respond. Then her eyes narrowed, a grimace settling across her features, her nose crinkling at the familiar acrid scent rising up off of him.
"Oh, for goodness' sake, please, tell me your joking?" The Black Reaper spared the deputy headmistress a dismissive shrug as he rounded the stairs leading up to her level, pinching her brow Glynda called down to him, a mix of disappointment and disapproval clear in her tone. "Do I need to remind you of the academy's stance regarding alcohol and disorderly conduct on campus again?"
"Hey, I've had a lot on my mind recently, I needed some time to wind down a little." It wasn't as though she hadn't put herself through more than a few all-nighters because of everything that had been going on lately and considering all the sneaking around and hidden cameras she'd been setting up across campus, her own nightly escapees weren't exactly all that that noble, to begin with. "Besides, I'm here aren't I." He added his hand instinctively slipping towards his flask, though he stopped himself halfway with a small sigh. "Cut me a little slack, okay, we've got more important things to worry about right now." She wouldn't have asked him to come so early if it wasn't.
Crossing her arms over her chest Glynda fixed the Black Reaper with a flat look 'I'd say you should take your own advice but we both know that won't be of any help.' Especially considering the state she'd found him in the evening prior. She wasn't blind to how his state had begun to deteriorate since their confrontation with Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long, but she'd never expected it to have gone as far as it did until the previous day.
That afternoon he'd disappeared off campus and refused to answer any of her calls or messages, to the point she'd been close to raising the alarm in fear that something may have happened to him. Then as if by luck she'd received a call from one of the cleaners who spotted him making his way back into the teacher's dormitory, she'd arrived at his room soon thereafter intent on getting to the bottom of why he had decided to suddenly go silent and disappear off campus for most of the day.
It hadn't taken her long to reach the building nor track down the quarters he'd been assigned for his stay at Beacon. However, any concern she may have had for him at that moment evaporated after she'd found him lying out in the middle of the floor muttering incoherently to himself as he sipped at that flask of his. It was a familiar sight, one she'd come to witness from the man time and time again after a hard mission, though that didn't mean she hadn't had half a mind to give him a thorough dressing down then and there.
When he finally realised she was there and spoke to her there was none of that usual bravado nor bouts of sarcasm she'd come to know from him when he was trying to deflect the situation or brush past any unflattering opinions directed his way, just this feeling of silent resignation and disinterest that left her taken aback, her anger slowly being replaced with concern.
In the end, there was no dressing down of any kind, just a short exchange between them where after she helped him to his bed leaving him to get some rest with the assurance she would take over his duties for the evening, she'd been sure to dump the contents of that wretched flask of his down the nearest drain as an added precaution before she'd left.
However, it would seem that her efforts at the time had been for nothing, as much as she may have hoped otherwise. "So, you wanna' give me a rundown on the situation?" The blond combat instructor narrowed her eyes in response to his tone, though didn't react any further, it wasn't worth arguing with him in this state, and as he said, there were indeed more pressing matters that required their attention at the moment.
"Verry well" Glynda relented "As of this point Mr Salmon and Miss Volkihar have begun the final testing phases for the items they intend to pass onto Miss Rose and her team." Reaching for one of the pouches attached to the back of her skirt where she stored the majority of the dust she used in combat, retrieving the item in question she held it out for Qrow to examine.
Sitting comfortably within her palm was a silver pendant attached to a steel chain and clasp, it was unsuspecting in almost every way, though that may have been the point. It was both light enough to not be a detriment to the wearer, but heavy enough to not go unnoticed should it be knocked free or be taken from the wear, though she could see the simplicity in its construction reducing the chance of the latter, though it did not seem her companion shared her appreciation for the item in question.
Qrow narrowed his eyes "The hell is this?" He asked accepting the pendent from her hand and bringing it up to his eye, he studied it for a moment before fixing the deputy headmistress with a small scowl. "You're telling me this is what they've been working on all this time?" He scoffed passing the pendent back towards the blond combat instructor, ignoring the slight look of irritation she sent his way.
To say he was disappointed would be an understatement.
When that bastard said he had a more reliable way to keep Ruby safe outside of the academy, he'd been expecting some kind of armour or a weapon for his niece, you know, something she could actually use to defend herself if that slimy bastard tried something again, not a bunch of cheap looking Jewellery.
"I had much the same reaction when they first showed them to me." While she may not be as well-versed in the inner machinations of the arcane as someone like Ozpin, surely an item as small as that would not be ideal for containing the amount of magical energy they would use to power the spells themselves, nor stand up to the strain placed upon it by the enchanting process itself. "You'd hardly think something so small would be able to grant the wearer such a wide variety of benefits, let alone survive the process to imbue it with such power in the first place."
Serana had assured her they had constructed the pendants with that verry issue in mind, with the pendent itself being comprised of various magically affinitive metals blended together, to both reinforce the pendant's structure while also allowing it to act as a natural conduit for arcane energy. It was a technique that had fallen out of use as the theory and practice of magic and by correlation enchanting became more refined over the years, with new technology and methodologies coming into use that helped to simplify and streamline the process even further.
That however was where the true issue lay.
A lack of access to the equipment their people used upon Nirn, had forced the siblings to turn to more archaic and less reliable forms of spellcraft for their needs. The latter of which was further emphasised when Mikael handed her a pair of safety goggles and asked her to stand on the other side of the room, and for good reason.
That crystal they had used, something about it felt... off.
While on the surface it may have looked almost identical to the dust you'd find on display throughout the various shops in Vale, however the light that pulsed at its centre alluded to something more and she'd begun to wonder about them and their purpose. Were these crystals the mysterious and rare resource Miss Volkihar had been referring to when she'd arrived at the headmaster's office the previous day? Were they the secret to the barrier that now surrounded Beacon, guarding it and its occupants from dark forces beyond their comprehension?
Whatever they maybe she'd had little time to wonder as to their purpose any further before the two began their ritual. Under Mikael's power, the Crystal had risen into the air held in place by an unseen force above the pendant laid out on the workstation, then Miss Volkihar stepped forward, her hands wreathed in dark ethereal flames that shot forward and enveloped the crystal.
At that moment the entire workshop was bathed in a radiant bloom of colour, as cracks began to form across the crystal's surface, the light within growing brighter by the second, an unnatural wind picked up from out of nowhere whipping across the workshop and her face forcing her to take a step back, her heart beginning to race within her chest.
Yet despite the almost frightening display of raw power before her, her eyes remained locked upon the crystal itself.
A static charge passed through the air as the first fragments broke away and disintegrated into wisps of light that arched and flowed in the air around the remnants of the crystal, just then Serana had called something out to her brother, the two bracing themselves to which she did the same. Then with a flick of her wrist, the stream of raw magical energy had been directed down into the pendant, little by little the crystal was reduced to nothing and the sudden storm came to an end, all that remained had been the pendent she now held in her hand the runes carved within its surface pulsing with arcane power.
Leaning back against the railing an inquisitive look passed over the black reaper's features "So you tried it out?"
Glynda nodded back slowly "I did." More so out of a need to ensure the final product functioned as designed, rather than risk the possibility of providing those girls with a set of faulty equipment that could put them in more danger than without. "I can confirm the process was successful and the first two of the... enchantments, are functional."
The first test they'd carried out had involved her attempting to cut herself with one of the daggers provided by Mikael. Without the pendent just running one of her fingers over the edge of the blade had been more than enough to draw blood; but after slipping the pendent on, even gripping the blade tightly in her hand only caused it to break through the first layer of skin.
The second of the three was meant to simulate an attack from a mage and involved her having to escape Serana's grasp while enduring a series of short electric shocks, the results of which were much the same as the first. Taking Serana's hand, she'd endured a quick three-second burst of electricity that caused her entire body to seize up, making it impossible to pull away let alone move while under the effect of her spell. But while wearing the pendent the effect of her spell, while still present, had been lessened enough that while still difficult she'd been able to pull herself free of the young woman's -admittedly strong- grip and recover enough to have retaliated if she so wanted to.
"And the last one?" Qrow enquired Glynda's expression morphing into a small frown.
When it came to the final and her opinion the most worrisome of the test so far, the centre rune, the one designed to both bolster the wearer's mental faculties and protect the mind from outside influence, she'd admit to having more than a few reservations involving herself with that one and as such had excused herself from the room when the time came to carry out said tests. "I chose to abstain myself from that one." The headmaster had spoken of building trust between them, of lending faith and deepening the bonds between their alliance, but like any reasonable individual, the idea of having one's mental faculties and perception of the world around them, tinkered with was perhaps a step too far for her.
Especially without someone she knew to oversee the process and ensure nothing untoward was to happen to her, paranoid as it may have been, after the incident Qrow had reported to them regarding his first encounter with Miss Volkihar, she wasn't willing to risk another possible information leak. Fortunately, neither had seemed all too offended, nor wary of her decisions "The engravings on the pendent are a match to the designed Ozpin reviewed." Glynda assured him "And from what I observed of the testing, the spell craft involved mirrored what we saw in the footage with Miss Xiao Long, though I wish I could give you a more definite answer regarding their functionality."
Qrow hummed in understanding "Can't blame you for backing out of that." He doubted he would have been any different if he'd been in Glynda's place, the idea of willingly allowing himself to be put under by either of those two after his last experience with Volkihar wasn't an appealing one. "Take it from someone who knows, having someone poking around in your head isn't something you want." In any case, if there were still any doubts, they could always have Oz give the things a once over before handing them off to the kids just to be safe. "...You think all this will be enough?"
Glynda let out a small breath. "In all honesty, I don't know." The ordeal described in Miss Rose's own tale of her encounter with the so-called Prince of Fate did not inspire the utmost confidence in any of them, her tale of his cunning, cruelty and seemingly overwhelming power had left them floored, even more so knowing that verry threat had now set its sights upon their home.
And yet their allies had seemed confident that the situation was far from lost, that they could defend against this dark god's machinations and perhaps even persevere against him, as outlandish as it may have seemed. "I won't claim to know what our chances would be in an actual battle, though those two seem confident in our efforts thus far." One would think them fools for thinking they could stand against a god, yet the weeks of peace that had passed since the initial incident and now the barrier that surrounded the academy lent credence to his claims and inspired an ounce of hope in all of them. "However, there's still the matter of its true intentions on Remnant to consider."
"The Relic." Qrow sighed.
Glynda nodded back slowly, while this Hermaeus Morra's main efforts may have seemed to be focussed on acquiring Miss Rose specifically, given what Mikael had described of the creature's nature to them they could not rule out the possibility its machination went far deeper than any of them could have suspected. "I received a response from Leonardo early this morning, he's begun withdrawing more Huntsmen from the field to further bolster Mistral defences."
Some falsified reports of rising Grimm activity around the capital had been more than enough to pacify the Mistral council for the time being, but as Leonardo had said himself, this was only a temporary solution, something to which she had to agree begrudgingly. "But there's only so much that can be done without Spring." They wouldn't be able to keep those huntsmen within the city indefinitely, eventually, they would each return to active duty, leaving the academy a target for this creature once again.
"For all we know, he's already got her." Qrow spoke up with a scowl.
The girl had been M.I.A, for over a decade now and considering the deal Fish Boy made combined with its apparent knowledge of the silver eyes and Maidens, they could assume this wasn't that... Things, first time on Remnant. "What if the reason we haven't heard a peep from Spring this long is that he already scooped her up back when she first went missing and has just been waiting to find a decent Silver, he could use to take her out." He doubted time was an issue for a god, even a dark one, so it could probably afford to take a minute to "browse the selection" and see if it could pick up a little bonus for itself on top of the relic.
Glynda took a moment to contemplate the drunkard's words, as much as she didn't want to admit it there was a fair bit of sense behind that logic, that she couldn't help but mutter. "It would explain how she managed to disappear so quickly." She could still remember the panic on Ozpin's face when the news first broke to them that Spring had fled Haven and into the wilds. Both he and Leonardo had launched a joint operation sending their most trusted operatives to scour the surrounding settlements for any sign of the girl before Salem could take notice, but in the end, her trail had gone cold only a few miles outside the city limits.
At first, they'd assumed she'd had some form of outside help in her escape from the city, but now they had another far worse option to consider when it came to her fate.
Forcing that train of thought to the back of her mind a look of calm determination passed over the blond combat instructor. "If that is the case, then ensuring Team RWBY's safety only becomes more of a priority moving forward." While that may require them to rely more heavily on their allies' expertise regarding arcane matters, there was still more that could be done on their end to ensure those girls were prepared should the worst happen. "I won't see a repeat of the events that transpired that night again."
"Believe me you don't have to tell me twice." The only reason he hadn't been shadowing those two nearly twenty-four-seven the last week had been because Oz put him in charge of keeping an eye on their 'guest' while they tried and, in the end, failed to put everything together. Which, looking back on it now was probably his biggest mistake, had he listened to his gut and confronted them and fish-boy about this whole mess back when Ozpin first showed him that video, they might have been able to avoid a lot of the crap they'd been through over these last few days. 'I won't be making that mistake again.'
Sparing a glance down at her watch Glynda took notice of the time and looked back towards the door behind them, the kaleidoscope of colour that once bathed the window into the workshop had vanished, for how long she couldn't be certain, though she could at least assume the last of the pendants was nearing completion. "This way, the headmaster should be joining us shortly." Once he'd had the chance to assess the pendants in person, they could begin the process of passing them off to team RWBY. Stepping past Qrow and pushing the door open into the workshop, the Black Reaper following close behind her.
There they found the workshop empty baring one sole occupant standing at the opposite end of the balcony leaning onto the workbench in front of him, while his gaze was fixed in their direction, barring a short glance their way he did not acknowledge their presence in the slightest, instead, his eyes continued to roam across the expanse of the balcony, shifting from one set of workbenches to another every so often.
Glynda was about to call out to him but stopped herself upon noticing the look of sheer focus in his eyes, considering the conversation they'd had before stepping out she could assume this must have been one of the tests the two were carrying out for the final section of the enchantments.
Qrow quirked a brow at the younger man's actions, sparing a glance towards the opposite end of the balcony just to make sure there wasn't something he was missing, leaning towards Glynda he asked quietly "You know what going on?"
"I don't recognise it from some of the tests they ran earlier." Glynda admitted lowering her voice so as to not disturb what may verry well be a crucial moment, before gesturing for Qrow to keep to the side wall as they made their way towards the young man.
As they grew closer she caught sight of what must have been the last pendant resting over the front of his chest piece, a theory quickly coming to mind. "This may be part of the mental tests he and Miss Volkihar were conducting, perhaps he's seeing something right now that we aren't able to." Though if that were the case then where was Miss Volkihar, shouldn't she have been assisting him with this? "Speaking of, where is she?" Glynda muttered to herself.
'That's what I want to know.' Qrow thought to himself, The Black Reaper's gaze sweeping across the workshop in search of her a sense of unease filling him due to her absence. If she wasn't here helping with this then where was she and what the hell was she do-
"Third workbench to my left, and seven rows up from my current position." The Nightingale spoke up at last, the two huntsmen sparing each other a small glance before out of curiosity turned their attention towards that section of the balcony Mikael had specified, only to find that the position he had specified was empty.
"Good" An all too familiar voice spoke up, earning a surprised curse from Qrow whose hand twitched back grasping the hilt of Harbinger.
The air near the middle row of the workshop began to ripple and shimmer like the surface of a freshly disturbed lake, with light and matter twisting in on itself as the young woman in question faded into existence. "I was starting to worry for a second there." Serana added passing between the rows of workbenches between her and her brother, the vampire spared the new arrivals a small nod in greeting as she passed.
Releasing his hold on Harbinger Qrow hid his action behind retrieving his already empty flask from his belt, and taking a false swig as she passed, catching sight of a small twinge of distaste making its way onto her features as her eyes passed over him, or more importantly his flask. "Qrow." Glynda admonished him with a roll of her eyes before moving to join the other two around their workstation.
Qrow just shrugged returning his flask to his belt and stuffing his hands into his pockets he made his way over to the others, taking his place on the opposite side of their station, his current position putting the workbench, Mikael and Glynda between him and Serana. "Can we assume from that display that the last of the pendants are fully functional?" Glynda inquired sparring a glance at the various sheets of paper strewn about the workbench in front of them, each bearing an array of what looked to be calculations and notes on each of the pendants and their performance throughout the tests thus far.
"For the most part." Mikael replied scribbling down a few more calculations on the piece of paper in front of him "However we seem to have come across an issue."
"What kind of issue?" Qrow narrowed his eyes, he really hoped he wasn't going to say that they'd wasted all this time on this.
"There's a problem with part of the mental enchantments for each of the pendants." Serana admitted. She'd noticed something was off during the infusing process and then again when it came to the testing phase. "The way we were carrying out the enchanting process wasn't exactly the most ideal way of doing things, there are more reliable methods, but they require specific tools which we don't have on hand at the moment, because of that one of the enchantments are a little weaker than what we were expecting."
If they had more time they could have come up with another solution or even rectified their lack of equipment -it wasn't as though a proper enchanting table would have taken more than a few days to put together-, sadly their hosts had wanted results, and they were forced to deliver.
"How much weaker?" Glynda pressed crossing her arms across her chest as she spoke "Are they still a viable option or has this all been a wasted endeavour?
Serana cupped her chin in thought considering how best to explain "They're not worthless if that's what you're wondering, the physical and magical protection enchantments are performing as intended." Serana then pointed down to the pendants laid out on the workbench in front of them, specifically the middle ring. "As for the Mental ward, it's functional as you saw earlier, but there seems to have been a little glitch."
"Glitch?" Qrow demanded sparing a glance down at the pendent, before turning his full attention towards Mikael. "What do you mean by glitch?"
"The enchantment was meant to reinforce the wearer's mental faculties, increasing their resistance against outside influence or Mora himself should he attempt to force his will upon them as he did with Miss Rose." Mikael explained a frown settling across his features as he stared down at the pendent in his hand ruefully. "However, their abilities to detect and defend against visual and auditory hallucinations are more limited than we hoped." Mikael gestured towards his sister "At a distance an enemy using magic to hide their presence or disguise themselves as a random person or friend of the wearer would go unnoticed."
"How close could someone get before Miss Rose would be able to see through the illusion?" Glynda inquired.
"We initially intended for the distance to be around twenty-five feet." At that distance, Miss Rose and her teammates would have more than enough time to react and either draw their weapons or should combat not be an option time to flee before their enemy got close enough to engage them. "But from what we've gathered so far from our tests, that number has been cut down to around seventeen, before whatever illusion the wearer is seeing starts to come apart." Mikael replied pushing the small stack of notes and calculations they'd made regarding the issue towards the blond deputy, for her to view at her pleasure and later pass onto the headmaster.
"I see." Glynda replied accepting the papers with a small nod.
A contemplative expression passed over her features as she read over the various notes and calculations describing the sibling's work towards creating both the enchantments and the process behind their application to the pendants. After a few minutes of reading, she felt no shame in admitting that most of it went completely over her head, with the first few paragraphs alone discussing concepts and methodologies that bordered both the groundbreaking and fantastical.
Not to mention the calculations made up of symbols both familiar and foreign to her, yet she could tell these weren't just random scribbles or chicken scratch, there was an order to them, each carefully laid out with clear signs of repetition and consistency she'd seen time and time again in various types of material relating to both the study of Aura and application of Dust.
What she was holding in her hands was quite literally a window into the science of what they called sorcery, the secrets behind the application and use of the arcane, something wielded by a select few and viewed as little more than a myth by the rest of their world, but a common practice and a well-studied subject upon another.
After a few more moments of attempting to decipher the pages, Glynda looked up from the pages and asked. "Is there anything that can be done to fix it?"
Serana shook her head in response "The enchantments are already baked in, and we don't have the resources necessary at the moment to just scrap everything and start all over." It was something she and Mikael would be bringing up with the headmaster soon enough, unless they wanted to risk the same mistake on something they couldn't afford to get wrong in the future, it needed to be delt with now rather than later. "For now, we'll have to use them as they are."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Qrow stepped forward shooting a small glare across the other side of the workbench towards Serana "The two of you just said this stuff is faulty, and you still want to hand them off to those girls." Eight feet might not seem like a lot on paper, but in a fight how quickly someone had to react to an oncoming threat -especially the kind that that could hide in plain sight or disguise itself as a friend- could be the difference between life and death.
"While weaker in one regard than expected, the other defensive enchantments manifested at the expected levels we predicted beforehand." Mikael picked up, he could understand the Black Reaper's concerns especially given all he and Miss Rose had told them of Hermaeus Morra, he would even agree with him if it were under any other circumstances, sadly just as Serana had said, they did not have the luxury to pick and choose. "It may not be the ideal defence I had hoped to give you, but it's better if they have this extra layer of protection than nothing at all." It could still verry well be what saved one of those girls' lives if it came to it.
Qrow let out a small sigh in response, okay he'd admit the guy had a point there but that didn't mean he was on board with the idea of handing off half-broken gear to those girls. "And what happens if something goes wrong and this stuff gives out on them?"
"The chances of that happening are incredibly slim." Mikael tried to assure him.
"But still possible." Qrow surmised, causing Mikael to let out a small sigh.
"That's why we will be checking in with team RWBY every three days to make sure something like that doesn't happen." Serana pointed out.
Even if there weren't any defects in the final product, they would have still been performing routine check-ins to make sure all was going well with both the pendants and the girls themselves. "Look I commend you for looking out for not only your niece's well-being but their teammates as well, however I think you might be overlooking the bigger picture at the moment." Valid as his concerns may have been it didn't change the reality of their situation.
This world was wide open to the Daedra, and from what she and Mikael could understand, its only meaningful defence against the endless hoard was the threat of intervention from some distant entity that the Prince of Fate was no doubt already in the process of overcoming, something they had to prepare for even if they may never be ready.
"Are they a little roughshod? Yes. Do they still work effectively despite their limitations? yes. Most importantly will those girls be safer with these than without? Yes." Serana reaffirmed crossing her arms over her chest, silently daring the two hunters to question her and her brother's work further. "Will there be some risk with giving it to them, most definitely, but I guarantee it will be far less of one than the kind they'd face without them."
Qrow regarded the secret Immortal with a flat look.
As much as he didn't appreciate the way she was staring down her nose at him while she talked, -the whole thing reminded him a little too much of a certain Ice Queen when she went off on one of her tangents- but the fact she wasn't using that same condescending tone she'd used back when they'd first met, at least made him believe she was being honest about this.
"I'll hold you to that." Qrow finally replied, pushing off the table he turned on his heels and began making his way back towards the door into the stairwell.
"Where are you going?!" Glynda called after him.
Glancing back over his shoulder as he pulled open the door Qrow called back to them. "To get the kids." He didn't wait for a reply stepping through the doorway and back into the stairwell, the door closing behind him.
With the way things were going, they'd be reaching out to them as soon as Oz had a chance to look over those things himself. He already expected his old friend to give the go-ahead on this so the least he could do was help streamline the process and give those four a little heads-up ahead of time. It'd give him time to explain everything and bring them up to speed on what had been happening before word finally came down for them to start making their way over.
Knowing his nieces they have around a dozen questions each, either about those pendants themselves or where things would be going after this. A few of which he could probably answer himself after the rundown those two just gave him and what he couldn't he'd leave for Serana and Mikael to go over with them, he doubted this was the last of the 'Projects' Fish boy had been talking about back in Oz's office.
And if his semblance didn't decide to suddenly drop another disaster into the picture, while he was at it... he might be able to slip in some time for a word in private with his nieces on top of it all.
/
Blake puffed out a breath, rolling onto her side she stared out from her bunk towards the opposite wall, dull amber orbs scrawling across its surface towards the portrait of Forever Fall Weiss had brought with her to Beacon, why a portrait of all things had been included in her luggage she still didn't know, yet these were the questions- among others -that she'd found herself facing tonig- wait... lifting her head slightly she glanced back over her shoulder towards the window, her brow knitting down into a thin line in response to the dull golden light peaking back at her from behind the curtains.
Sorry, the questions she'd found herself facing this morning... Ohhh God it was morning already.
Slipping her hand beneath her pillow she searched around for a moment before pulling out her scroll. Flicking the screen open 5:45 AM stared back at her... along with a long of notifications from the various News, blog and online message boards she'd subscribed to over these last few weeks, that she'd been trying her hardest to ignore.
Each story was vastly different from the other, yet they all stemmed from a single source, the Whtie Fang, despite recent events taking priority over her hunt for information on her old comrades and their movements within the kingdom, she'd managed to keep up with their attacks through the various news articles online, hoping she might see some sort of pattern or clue that might make it all click together and grant her some insight into just what their plan was.
Since the start of the Second semester, there'd been a sudden decline in Torchwick's string of robberies, his attacks becoming less prevalent with his targets slowly beginning to shift back away from Dust and back to other precious goods and the hard-earned Lien of store owners.
It was an unexpected reprieve for the people of Vale who had been forced to contend with record-high shortages and skyrocketing dust prices to the point even the academy hadn't been spared.
Not everyone who studied at one of the academies had the same resources as someone like Weiss or Pyrrha at their disposal and the equipment huntsmen relied on day by day wasn't cheap, as such the academy provided each of them with a small grant that would cover their daily necessities as well as funding for weapon maintenance, orders for specialised parts, ammunition and of course Dust.
Dust that even she and her friends had started to notice was starting to become more than a little pricy leading up to the end of the first semester, but that had evened out -if only a little- in recent days.
However, in her opinion that wasn't a sign for them to relax anytime soon, if anything the sudden quite worried her more than anything.
The self-proclaimed master thief had been stealing all that dust for months on end and not a single scrap of it had begun to creep its way back into the market through one way or another. That meant every vial, every crystal, every dust-infused bullet Torchwick had made off with went straight into the White Fang's growing stockpile of armaments, at this point, you'd be an idiot to think they weren't getting ready for something big.
However, the what and the where they planned to strike out at was still a mystery, one that had found itself overshadowed by the events of these last few, that is until last night when her leader had pulled her aside shortly after they'd settled into their dorm for the afternoon, and told her about the transfer students from Haven she'd encountered on the way back from the library, a girl who knew her by name and whose description she recognised all too easily.
'But why now of all times?' Blake sighed staring down at the new number that had been added to her list of contacts intently, her face remained set in stone, yet her eyes broadcast her internal conflict for her whole team to see if they had been awake.
The last time she saw her was when she'd been transferred back to Menagerie a little over a year ago following one of their more successful assaults on a dust refinery, they'd gotten word had been abusing their workers. Ilia had been one who'd volunteered to take charge of the team that would ferry the workers and families who had accepted Adam's offer to leave the kingdoms behind and start over again back to Menagerie, the last she saw of her had been on the dock of an abandoned port on the coast of Mistral just before she and the others set off back towards Home.
It had been one of the last truly noble operations she'd participated in as a member of the White Fang before Adam's approach to their operations started to take one drastic turn after another until the titles of 'violent extremists' and 'Merciless Fanatics' so many people had painted them as over the years became more and more of a reality with each passing day.
So, When Ruby had come to her about the mysterious Faunus girl she'd run into in the common area. Talking about how she and the other Faunus apparently knew one another before Beacon, how that same girl had been looking for her the other day, how the description Ruby gave her reminded Blake of an old friend she'd thought left behind with her days in the White Fang.
'...Ilia' Blake thought to herself.
After a long moment she let out a sigh and stuffed her scroll back under her pillow flopping back down into the embrace of her duvet she stared out across the room towards the portrait of Forever Fall, her mind drifting back to her final days spent among Adam and the others camped out under the shower of crimson leaves.
It all felt so insignificant compared to now like she was looking back on something from a lifetime ago.
So, when someone from that old life had just shown up almost literally at their door, she almost didn't believe it at first, but her leader wasn't someone who'd make something like that up as a joke or to get back at them for what happened earlier, which begged the question.
How- no, why was Ilia here?
Why was she looking for her?
Most importantly, was it true what Ruby said, had Ilia left the White Fang?
That very question had swirled around inside her head for the majority of the night like a monsoon her mind conjuring one possible answer after another, some so outlandish she had discarded them without a second thought, while others painted an increasingly dark picture as to just what was going on inside the organisation for someone who had been an advocate of the cause to walk away.
She could still remember the night back on that rooftop where Ilia had laid her past bare to her, the pain, the regret, the anger and the shame in her voice as she described her life back in Atlas, how she'd hidden her traits and herself among a group of tormentors to avoid the chance of being discovered. taking part in the open mockery of other Faunus and their daily plight, just for a chance at fitting in and having a life without having to endure the judgment and mockery of others because of something she'd had no control over.
Then came the day everything changed, the day the mine where her parents had been working had suffered a catastrophic accident that claimed the lives of dozens of workers, Ilia's parents included among them, the girls whom she had considered her friends, snickering at not only their friends' loss but the loss of countless other families.
In an instant, the carefully crafted lie she'd relied on for years came tumbling down around her and she was faced with the reality of her decisions one she had decided in the aftermath she would never make again. On that day she had been spurred to join the fight, to push back against the hate and injustice their people endured day by day, and redeem herself both in her own eyes and the eyes of her parents... even if they may not have always approved of the methods she'd used to achieve it along the way.
Blake muffled a drawn-out sigh into her duvet, what was she supposed to do?
She couldn't just ignore Ilia being here, especially now that she knew she was actively searching for her along with the fact Ruby had promised to set up a meeting between the two of them.
Was she a little miffed her leader had made such a promise without consulting her about who she had run into and if she was ready to confront such a crucial figure from her past first, maybe a little? But considering just who had been less than a floor between the two of them at the time, well she could understand Ruby's desire to get Ilia out of there as fast as possible.
Had she and Yang been a little quicker getting back to their dorms she couldn't say how she might have reacted if they'd just bumped into one another then and there.
Shock.
Doubt.
Fear.
Suspicion.
Each of these emotions had shot through her one after another when Ruby had finally brought the news to her and even after having almost twelve hours to process it all she was still agonizing over the situation.
A hopeful, idealistic, part of her mind tried to reassure her that there was nothing to fear, that what Ruby had told her was true. That much like herself, Ilia had left the White Fang behind, turning her efforts towards the academies embracing the life of a huntress as a means of bringing about the change they had sought to achieve through the White Fang.
Just then, a more bitter and resigned side of her whispered back that it was just a lie, a trick meant to lull her and anyone else she came into contact with into a false sense of security. That Ilia hadn't changed and had been sent by the White Fang, by Adam, to either eliminate her for being a deserter or to monitor the Academy's inhabitants for possible recruitment opportunities.
Considering the variety of students arriving for the Vytal festival, there'd be dozens of Faunus from across the four kingdoms with Huntsmen-level training who'd be coming to either support or compete for their school in the tournament. Who's to say a few of them hadn't experienced the same mistreatment as so many others over the years and had grown discontented with the way of things, it wouldn't be difficult to play on those feelings of doubt and anger and Ilia could find herself with more than a handful of promising recrui-
No, no, stop it!
Blake shook her head frantically trying to banish the train of thought from her mind, she was starting to sound paranoid she hadn't even laid eyes on Ilia let alone spoken to her yet. It was too soon for her to start jumping to conclusions like this, for all she knew her old friend really could have left that life behind, either way... she couldn't know for certain until she spoke to her again.
Rolling onto her back she stared up at the ceiling above a look of silent consideration crossing over her features as she went through the different options at her disposal.
At the very least because of Ruby's actions, she could be the one to choose the time and the place and while she wanted to believe in the innate goodness of Ilia's heart, that didn't mean she wasn't going to take some necessary precautions for both their benefit.
The biggest of which being that if this meeting took place, they would never set foot in Vale.
While there were more than a few places in Vale that were private enough for them, she wasn't about to head out into the bustling metropolis without anything less than the rest of her team as backup.
That thing had managed to steal Ruby right out of her own bed without any of them noticing until hours later, so it wasn't that far out of the realm of possibility that she or Ilia for that matter could just vanish without a trace after settling into the secluded corner of one of Vales many cafe's or dinners, only to emerge soon after, no longer themselves.
A slight chill passed down the cat Faunus's spine.
The city wasn't just a risk, but a death sentence for any of them who dared to venture out there alone, so for both her own and Ilia's sake any meeting they had would need to be held on Beacon grounds. Fortunately, the academy had more than a few secluded rooms away from the usual hustle and bustle where they could speak a little more freely about things... although her team would probably want to be close by or have one of them go with her just in case anything went wrong.
Bringing Weiss along was out of the question for obvious reasons and while her leader's first interaction with Ilia had gone relatively okay, Yang was probably the safer bet of the two of them, if not for how socially aware she could be at times... then for how physically overwhelming she could be in a fight if things ended up going south.
'It'll be a big ask...' Blake thought to herself.
Especially with how tense the relationship between their team and the academy itself had grown over the last few weeks, it felt selfish to ask her team to do this for her and possibly bring more attention to them if they were found out. Regardless of their current standing, it wouldn't look good if it was discovered two students with previous ties to the White Fang, had been holding secret meetings on campus in the weeks leading up to the Vytal festival.
'I'll find a way to make it up to them' Pulling the duvet up to her nose the cat Faunus rolled onto her side looking out over the room towards the slumbering forms of Ruby and Yang.
The former was curled up in a small cocoon of blankets and pillows she seemed to have stolen away from her sister in the night, not that Yang seemed to have noticed sprawled out across her back as she was, head and upper body save for her left arm teetering precariously over the edge of the mattress, her long main of blond hair spilling down past her head and pooling across the floor beneath her, all the while she snored away without a care in the world.
Blake let out a small chuckle, honestly, how Yang was able to sleep so soundly in what looked to be some of the oddest positions she'd seen in her life she would never know.
Letting out a breath through her nose Blake allowed her eyes to slip closed and snuggled into her pillow she had maybe an hour or two before Weiss's alarm would go off and she was determined to at least a few hours of sleep before the others got up to start their day.
Focussing on the sound of her own breathing it wasn't long before she felt the world around her fade out of focus, her breathing growing steadier and even by the second. Yet just as it seemed she would finally slip into the land of dreams she was thrust back into alertness by the sound of two knocks on their dorm door.
"What?..." Blake muttered to herself, pushing herself up on her elbows she peered across the room towards the front door in confusion, when it happened again. Furrowing her brow Blake reached back under her pillow retrieving her scroll once more she glanced down at the time.
'Who the heck's up at 6:00 AM on a Saturday?' She blanched staring down at her scroll with a scowl, her ears perked up at the subtle sound of blankets shifting and a shocked intake of breath from her partner as she slipped out of bed followed swiftly by a resounding thud and a shark crack as Yang's head dented the wooden frame of her nightstand.
Blake let out a small sigh, looks like she wouldn't be the only one with a bone to pick with their... Guest?
Just then there was another series of knocks more aggressive than the last.
Yang let out a long groan in response hooking her arm over the side of the bed she pulled herself back up onto her knees, looking back over her shoulder blazing red eyes glared towards the door through a curtain of blond tresses. "Whoever the hell that is, this better be important." Ruby just groaned in what she could only assume was agreement from her side of the bed, their young leader rolling into the middle of the bed and burying herself even deeper in her little blanket cocoon.
Blake pushed off her duvet and swung her legs over the side of her bunk slipping down onto the floor beside a groggy Weiss, the white-haired girl blinked up at her blearily before slowly propping herself up on her hands peering up over the end of her bunk towards the door curiously "What is thaaawwwwt~" The heiress tried to ask her words swallowed by a yawn she half-heartedly tried to muffle into her hand.
"It's just someone at the door." Blake replied.
"...Now?" Weiss scowled retrieving her own scroll off of the dresser to her right, glancing down at the time her expression grew darker grumbling to herself about the time and the inconsiderateness of other people as Blake padded across the carpet towards the door. Turning the lock, she pulled the door open just enough to peer into the dimly lit hallway on the other side.
As she did a scowl quickly began to spread across her features as she recognised the grizzled red-eyed huntsmen leaning against the doorway on the other side with an even, but somewhat resigned expression, as though he already expected his welcome to be less than warm after what he'd put Ruby and Yang through, to which she would rightly agree.
"Can I help you with something, Mr Branwen?" Blake asked doing her best to keep her tone as even as possible, even as the smell of cheap booze assaulted her senses. 'So, he's been drinking too... wonderful.'
"Morning to you too... Blaze, right?"
"Blake" She corrected.
"Right, good to know." Qrow replied leaning his head to the side to look past the girl in front of him, he caught a glimpse of movement further into the room before asking in a hushed tone. "The others awake in there as well?"
Blake moved in front of him blocking his attempt to look past her and get a better look into the room itself. "They just woke up." Pulling open the door a little further she slipped through the gap into the hallway, forcing Qrow to take a step back. Letting the door click closed behind her Blake fixed the huntsmen with a serious look "Is there something important you came to talk about or is this just the headmaster having you do a check-up on us? If so, I can assure you our team is doing just fine, and you can go." Blake waved her arm back down the hallway dismissively, earning a look of both exasperation as well as what seemed to be approval from the elder huntsmen.
'No wonder you and Yang seem to get on so well.' He thought to himself, despite walking around almost 24/7 looking like she could care less about anyone and anything around her, with that fire in her eyes and that attitude of hers, he was starting to see more similarities between the two of them by the second.
"Hey, I get it, after last time you're not exactly in the most trusting mood, but just hear me out, okay? I'm not here to cause any trouble." Qrow replied trying his best to be diplomatic with a girl who he was pretty sure wanted nothing to do with him right now, not that he could blame her. "I just need you to head back in and wake up the others and get yourselves dressed."
"Why? "Her eyes narrowed in response to his words, a flash of suspicion in her topaz gaze "What's happening?" Blake inquired a hint of demanding slipping into her tone.
Okay, he had her attention that was half the job done at least "Fi-...Mikael's been cooking something up in the foundry over the last few days meant to help the four of you." Qrow waved back at her dismissively when it looked as though she was going to ask about just what exactly. "Don't bother asking me about the details or the how and the what went into making it, I didn't ask and if I did it would probably go over my head anyway."
There was a flash of recollection in the cat Faunus's eyes "Is this about one of those projects, he's supposed to be working on?" She asked, Yang had mentioned the professor was working on more things like the barrier to help them, she didn't expect their team to hear back about one of them so soon however.
'If you could call it that.' Qrow scratched at his cheek "Yeah, things were just about wrapped up when I left." They'd also want to get the handoff over and done with before any of the students started showing up. "Figured I'd get you four down there before the usual morning foot traffic decides to roll through." It was either that or push this whole thing back to tonight when things had quieted down, not that he expected Glynda or those two to let it take that long. "Ozpin should be down there by now, so you can probably expect a call from Glynda asking for you four soon enough."
Blake nodded along with his words, given the circumstances, it made sense the faculty would want this done as soon as possible, less they rouse any unwanted suspicion. "I'll talk to the others we'll just be a few minutes?"
"I'm not going anywhere." The Huntsmen shrugged back at her, leaning back against the wall opposite their doorway.
Nodding back to the older man Blake slipped back towards their dorm flashing her scroll over the electronic lock and slipped back inside her room pushing the door closed behind her. Letting out a breath Blake turned back into the room the light of the morning sun casting an amber glow upon the forms of her teammates, as they flitted and moved about the room.
"You think I have time for a quick shower!?" Yang called out, poking her head out of the bathroom.
"The foundry doesn't open to the rest of the students till around eight, so if you're quick..." Weiss paused for a moment "And I mean Quick! Xiao Long, at least then we might all be able to squeeze one in before we leave."
Yang rolled her eyes in response " Chill Ice Queen I'll be ten minutes, tops." she added disappearing back inside the door closed and the sound of running water was quick to follow.
"I'm guessing you guys overheard everything?"
"Yep" Her young leader called from across the room, pulling a more casual version of the dark red skirt and white blouse she wore as part of her combat attire she reserved for the weekends from their shared wardrobe, Blake moved to join her the young reaper shuffling to the side allowing Blake room to collect her own outfit for the day, while she snagged up a spare pair of her boots.
Tucking her outfit under her arm she sidestepped past her teammate laying her clothes down on the bed beside her sister, glancing towards the front door out the corner of her eye the young girl paused, pursing her lips Ruby appeared back over her shoulder towards Blake and asked "Is... is uncle Qrow still out there?" Silently cringing at the tinge of trepidation that slipped into her tone.
Blake paused in her search, turning her gaze towards the dark purple sweater in her arms, she passed considering her words carefully for a few seconds before asking "Do you want to talk to him?"
Rubys' face scrunched up in frustration.
It had been days since she'd last seen him let alone spoken to him since the incident back at Beacon Tower, a part of her was still angry at him, that afternoon in the stairwell replaying again in her mind, the things he'd said, the way he was acting around them, all riled up and on edge as if he was expecting them to turn on him at any moment.
The memory of him standing there, his hand on harbinger ready to draw it at a moment's notice, against Yang of all people, flashed to the forefront of her mind.
Whoever that person was back there, it wasn't the same Uncle Qrow she'd known growing up, the one who'd babysat her and Yang when they were younger, the one who spoiled them rotten and sat through all the cheesy kid's movies and video game tournaments they forced on him, the one who stood up for her and offered to train her to wield a scythe after dad and just about every other teacher back at Signal had shot her down on the spot.
"I don't know." She replied.
While a part of her knew he was only acting like that because he was scared, scared that something had happened to her and Yang, that didn't change the fact what he'd done had hurt them.
Sure, Yang might have been more open about everything, but she'd been just as angry, just as upset that had Qrow knocked on their door the next day she wasn't sure if she'd have wanted to lay eyes on him let alone speak to him. 'I just don't understand why he couldn't just listen?' He'd asked them to tell him the truth, but at the same time admitted he couldn't bring himself to trust them to tell him the truth, and if it didn't match what he thought was right, it was either a lie or proof that they were being brainwashed. 'Why couldn't he trust us... why couldn't he trust me?'
Dragging her hand down her face, she sat back on the bed, staring blankly at the floor "A part of me feels like I should go do it myself, while another says I shouldn't have to be the one to make the first move" Ruby whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
Setting down her clothes on the dresser to her right Blake looked past her leader towards Weiss, the heiress set down the sun dress she'd been admiring only a few moments ago and turned to face the two of them fully, the look of concern she wore for their young leader mirroring that of her own. "Have you talked about this with Yang at all?"
"...A little." Not that they'd gotten very far, Yang was still sore about what Qrow had said, not that she could blame her, but her anger had at least settled down enough between now and then, that she'd seemed okay with the idea of them reaching out to Qrow again, however, neither of them knew how best to go about it without everything turning into another argument. "I just don't want things to get any worse." Even if she might not be able to just, let everything go and move on as if nothing happened, she didn't want it to ruin everything between them either.
"Are you sure that's alright with you though?" Weiss spoke up from her side of the room. "I'm not going to imply you shouldn't talk with him and try to sort things out, but this feels like something you shouldn't be rushing into, especially if it doesn't feel right." And Uncle or not, after what happened she doubted he could argue against Ruby and Yang wanting a little space before they were ready to start opening back up to him again.
"Believe me I'm still angry about how much of a dumb, stupid, jerk! He was at the time." Ruby growled out slapping her palm onto the mattress, a scowl forming across her features."...But he was only acting like that because he was worried about me and Yang" The young huntress relented, she felt tired and that wasn't just because of how early it was. "I don't want to just push him away because of all that, but I can't act like nothing happened either." Ruby sighed, rubbing at her temples, she needed to do something otherwise, it'd just keep getting harder and harder the longer they waited.
"Is there anything you want us to do?" Blake asked.
Ruby shook her head in response "No, this is something Yang and I have to do on our own."
"Would you like if we went ahead and gave you and Yang some time to talk things over, maybe figure out what you want to say to him?" If Ruby was worried about things between the three of them devolving so quickly, it might be a good idea for the two of them to... prepare themselves ahead of time lest someone says something, and their tempers get the better of them.
Ruby turned her gaze back down to the floor, thinking over her teammate's offer before asking "What about Uncle Qrow?"
Blake and Weiss looked at one another "We'll take care of it."
/
Minutes later the sound of the door to their dorm room opening snapped Qrow back to attention. collapsing his scroll, he tucked it away back into his breast pocket and kicked off the opposite wall just as Weiss and Blake stepped out into the hallway, the door sliding closed behind them with a click the two members of Team RWBY fixed him with an expectant look. "Shall we." The Schnee heiress intoned.
It didn't sound like a request to him, after sparing a glance between the two. "Fine" He trailed off noting the tension in their air as the two of them made a point of putting themselves between him and their dorm.
To anyone passing by it would seem obvious the two were trying to hide something from him -or in this case a pair of somebodies-, it wouldn't be the first time in history a few kids had been caught with contraband in their rooms and sent out some of their teammates to buy time while the others tried ditching the evidence.
But somehow, he had a feeling this wasn't going to be one of those situations.
Qrow fixed the two girls in front of him with a flat look "So... Ruby and Yang?"
"They'll meet us there." Blake smiled thinly "They didn't want to keep you waiting longer than necessary and asked us to go on ahead".
"In any case, we really shouldn't keep the professor waiting." Weiss carried on taking a few steps past the huntsmen she gestured down the hall levelling a pointed look towards Qrow "I'm sure Ruby and Yang will catch up in their own time." Weiss carried on her tone reminding him all too clearly of a certain Ice Queen senior, further solidifying the idea of where the current heiress inherited that attitude of hers from.
As much as he'd rather not leave without the full team with him it didn't look like these two would be budging any time soon Qrow let out a small sigh of resignation "Fine."
Please" Weiss nodded back to him with an innocent expression before gesturing once more down the hall. "After you."
'You're pushing it kid' Rolling his eyes at the Schnee's little display Qrow turned and began making his way back down the hallway Blake and Weiss falling in line on either side behind him. 'Two out of four, you're losing your edge here Qrow.' He thought to himself with a small shake of the head. 'Hell, are you thinking, letting these brats walk all over you?'
There was a time back in his teaching days, that if a couple of little punks decided to try something like this with him he wouldn't have wasted any time inviting them down into the combat ring to settle things, although he doubted Glynda -or his nieces for that matter- would appreciate him handing out some free attitude adjustments to her students.
'Ehh, maybe next time.' Right now, he had more important things to worry about than a couple of kids going a little overboard with trying to look out for their friends besides, this just might have given him the opportunity he'd been looking for.
A/N: It has been a long time, a very long time since I've put out a chapter, I realise that's nothing new considering my own update schedule has been pretty sporadic over the years, though I don't think it's ever taken me this long to pump out a chapter.
Long story short 2024 has been a very busy and chaotic year for me so far, and I only just got back into the swing of things around mid-April.
I landed a new job about a month into the New Year which is a little more demanding on my time, so a lot of my priorities and motivation have shifted away from my hobbies and personal projects while I migrated from my previous lifestyle of a part-time student-worker to a full-time position within one of the largest corporate offices in the UK, right as they're going through a major merger with another company they just bought out.
This resulted in a very chaotic first two and a half months where systems they've been using for years were getting updated, reworked and even replaced by more up-to-date software which in turn resulted in entire departments needing to be re-structured and trained again on said new system and added responsibilities brought on by the merger, or just dissolved as they are now redundant.
On top of it all I recently got roped into doing some jury service, where I am legally obligated to sit in a poorly ventilated and cramped room for up to eight hours a day with around a hundred other people throughout a set amount of weeks under risk of arrest or a substantial fine should I fail to attend and that's just to see if I'm even picked for a court case, which themselves can go on and on for months at a time.
So... yeah, FML.
Moving on, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Shadows Rising feel free to leave a review any constructive criticism you have only helps improve my writing and is always welcome.