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jace-the-writer-guy · 4 years ago

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M.I.A. Part Two

"My name... is Cameron Roberts. I am a Ghost operative under the orders of Commander Riley Black," Viper, or rather Cameron, said to Auron and Shyla as she sat on one of the two couches in the Karmine family living room. Cameron had taken her gear off and was left in her pants and a sports bra, which revealed her toned and fit body along with a few viking tattoos she had on her forearms, her right hand, and her back, "In... my own world, I was on an operation to take down a private military company called Sentinel that took a company called Skell Tech hostage and forced them to create weapons and drones. After the threat of the T-800 Terminators on Auroa was neutralized with the help of another Ghost and a person from the future that warned us of them, I was ordered to investigate and destroy the portal technology that Skell was being forced to experiment on. I activated the self destruct sequence, and the portal turned on and sucked me into it. The next thing I knew... I was in the forest where you found me."

"That ain't the weirdest thing I've heard for someone from earth showin' up here. You ain't a monster hunter like the others were on their earth." Auron remarked, leaning back in the cushions of the couch.

Cameron blinked a few times. "If this is all real, then... What exactly is this world?"

Auron and Shyla both spent the next hour or so explaining to Cameron about the new world she had found herself in. They explained all the kingdoms and continents to her, along with the faunus race. And Auron had of course told her of the creatures of Grimm and told her about each type of Grimm that had been discovered, including the Beowulves that he saved her from. He also told her that they were at his home in Anima, south of the Kingdom of Mistral.

Safe to say, it was a lot to take in for Cameron and it left her just sitting in silence for several moments. Her arm had been bandaged up on the way to the house. She just didn't know what to say, let alone think. She was just suddenly thrust into a world so foreign and so much more deadly than her own. Even past the constant worry of terrorism or even war of her home, this world called Remnant and it's inhabitants were dealing with far worse with the constant battles against those monsters all over the world in a huge struggle for survival, and the Grimm were unrelenting.

Cameron began to hold her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees. "I know it's a lot to take in, but it's real," Auron said softly to her, "We'll offer our home to ya to stay in until you feel like you're ready to live in this world."

"I... a-appreciate it," Cameron replied shakily, "Where's your bathroom?"

Shyla stood up from the couch, leaving Dusk to lay next to Auron, and put her hand on Cameron's shoulder. "I'll lead you to it. I wouldn't mind taking a look at your guns if you're okay with that."

"Umm... sure." Came Cameron's quiet reply.

Shyla led Cameron through her home and eventually led her to the bathroom, where Cameron quietly closed the door after thanking Shyla. She turned the light on and went to the sink, then she turned the cold water on. She cupped her hands under the stream of water and closed her eyes, and she splashed it in her face, hoping the cold would wake her up from this dream. She opened her eyes after she did that and saw that she was still in the Karmine home. She let out a sigh before she grabbed a rag and soaked it in water, and then she started to wipe her face paint off, along with the dirt and grime that had accumulated on her face and arms. When she finished with that, she dried off with a towel and she looked at herself in the mirror.

This was real.

Cameron could feel her eyes begin to sting with tears as it completely set in for her. She would possibly never be able to return home, and never see her family or friends ever again. Her tears began to stream down her cheeks as she walked out of the bathroom and through the house, and she walked outside past Auron and Shyla. She sat on the top step and rested her arms on her knees, and she buried her face in them and she just began to sob and cry uncontrollably.

She was a trained soldier that was trained to accept the fact that on any given day, she wouldn't be able to make it home. But that was only for if she was killed in battle. Now she was so far from home and she had no way of ever returning. It was hitting her hard to say the least. Auron and Shyla could hear her cries from where they sat, but they both figured that it was best to let her be alone for right now and let out everything that she could. Her cries lasted for several long, heartbreaking minutes before they eventually softened and Cameron calmed herself down as best she could.

She raised her head up and just leaned against the post next to her. She had no more tears left to shed right now. Her eyes still stung, but Cameron didn't care. She pulled her Desert Eagle from its holster on her hip and held it in both her hands for several moments, and she held the top of the slide against her had with the barrel nowhere near pointed at herself. She closed her eyes and started muttering to herself.

"Odin... I've failed my oath to protect my home. I don't know if I can ever return so if you're listening, give my family the strength to make it through whatever news they get about me. But I'll make a new oath right here. I might not be able to protect the people of my home, but I will still give my life to protect the innocent here in this new world and honor you and my ancestors. I may never see my family again... but I won't let that break my spirit. I will keep fighting and I will do my best to protect the innocent of this world."

Cameron holstered her pistol and looked out over the treetops, and she heard the door open behind her. A second or so later, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get you some new clothes an' you can take a good shower," Auron said to her, "We'll get your aura unlocked sometime in the next couple o' days, an' maybe get you somethin' other than a knife. If you run outta ammo, you're gonna need somethin' bigger to protect yourself. Plus we gotta keep an eye out for what your semblance may be."

Cameron turned and looked at him. "My fucking what?"

"Basically a super power," Auron explained to her, "Mine lets me make metal from dirt."

Cameron let out a short breath and shook her head. "Odin give me strength..."

"You'll have to tell me who that is. But for now, come on. We gotta get you some clothes an' some food."

X x X x X

"Hmmm..." Cameron frowned a bit as she held a sword in her hand. After a week of letting the former Ghost operative grow used to being in the world of Remnant, Auron and Shyla took her out into Mistral so she can find out what type of melee weapon she could go with in case she needed it. She had her combat knife of course, but if those Grimm could be bigger than the Beowulves she had encountered, she could definitely use something a bit bigger for if and when she runs out of ammo in the field with whatever work she takes.

"This one doesn't feel that nice in my hand." Cameron finally said and put the sword back on the wall where she got it from.

"Well, we're seeing what you might want for yourself," Shyla told her, "We aren't going to make you pick one of these to use since they aren't made special for one person."

"You've been through a lot the last week an' wakin' up your aura seemed to take a lot out of ya, so I'll be makin' whatever you think you'd want after you figure it out and give me the details." Auron said as he leaned against the wall nearby.

Cameron lowered her hands to her sides and looked back up to the wall where all the weapons were. If she was going to have a melee weapon, she would definitely like a good sword. And if she was going to have a sword, she wanted one that would be something her ancestors would wield into battle. She never thought she would train to fight with a sword but this new world she found herself in was going to test her strength in more ways than one. She began to clench her fists and continued to look over the weapons with a bit more determination, and then she felt her right hand begin to clench around something. When she looked down, her eyes widened as she was now suddenly clutching the ghostly hilt of a sword. The hilt and crossguard looked very familiar to her.

"I-is this..." She watched the blade begin to form and take an ethereal glow. The sword grew to the size of a bastard sword with just enough room on the hilt for both her hands to hold if needed, "Hǫfuð?"

///A ghostly, ethereal version of this sword///

"Ummm... what?" Shyla asked her curiously.

"Where I'm from, the movies that featured this sword called it Hofund, so you can go with that," Cameron replied and held the sword in the air, "Where did this come from? Was it a gift from Odin?"

Auron began to grin. "Seems to me like you already figured out your semblance. Guess you had some pretty strong feelin's about home. What's that sword supposed to be?"

Cameron gulped a bit and let out a slow breath. "Hǫfuð, or Hofund, is the sword used by Heimdallr to guard the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard in Norse mythology, and my heritage traces far back to the vikings that believed in the Norse gods. It took the form of the sword used in some super hero movies back home, and all my tattoos are tributes to my heritage."

She released her grip on the hilt and the sword began to vanish. "And... you said that's my semblance?"

Auron nodded. "Right. No other way to explain it, unless you wanna go with it bein' a gift from your God. Could be both, who knows."

"Well, now we know that you won't have to make her a sword," Shyla said playfully, "Now that that's settled, I think we should go get something to eat. Then we can go back home and talk about the ammo Cameron here uses for her guns."

Cameron felt herself filled with new waves of determination and she nodded. "That sounds good to me. Thank you both for everything over the last week. And please, just call me Cammie from now on."

#oc #cameron 'viper' roberts #auron karmine #shyla karmine #dusk the puggle wuggle #ghost recon breakpoint #rwby oc #ghost recon

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aurmgoldau · 5 years ago

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The Fox and the Cat - pt 1

Li had known Anya for quite some time now.

They met for the first time when Mei brought Li to stay in Beacon. Around last year summer holiday, Li noticed that Anya often dropped by her house, usually meeting with Li’s mother. Li wasn’t really sure what business did Anya have, but today Li thought she finally had an idea about it.

“You work … part-time with Mom?” Li repeated, wasn’t sure she heard it right. “What kind of work?”

“Checking places, gathering some information, meeting people. Nothing big,” Anya replied. She leaned on the ferry ship railing, enjoying the wind. They were on their way from Patch Island to Vale City.

Nothing big.

Li, personally, thought Anya was a good person. Mei, however, had told Li that Anya was prone to dishonesty and trickery, though Mei didn’t directly called her a liar or such. Sometimes, Mei even described Anya’s trick with … a hint of praise. Li wasn’t really sure how to say it. It was positive, that was the least she could be sure of.

Mei also ranted a lot about being teased by her own partner. On the other hand, Li never received such treatment from Anya (it was Mei who sometimes teased Li).

So far, Li still believed that Anya was a good person. That might change. Maybe. Especially after Mom told Li to keep Anya out of trouble before they left Patch Island half an hour ago.

“Mei constantly complains about your height, by the way.” Anya grinned. “I’ve seen you a couple times before, so I’m not really surprised, but that’s a pretty extreme growth spurt.”

“Something … happened,” Li mumbled.

“Something that made you skipped school almost the whole last semester?”

“Yeah. I got myself injured a lot. Fractured or broken bones. I couldn’t practice anything physical.” Li frowned. “I was afraid I can’t get normal again. I don’t want to spend my life breaking a bone or two everyday ….”

“Yeah, that’s gonna be awful. But it’s alright now, right?”

Li nodded. “I outmatched Yang five out of seven sparrings. Usually it’s three out of seven.”

“Oh, that’s awesome!”

***

Their destination today was Vale’s Industrial District.

Li wasn’t familiar with the area, but Anya seemed confident with her knowledge regarding the place.

“What are we going to do there?” Li followed Anya closely.

This specific area they were going to go had sustained a massive damage during an accident known as “The Fall of Beacon” several years ago. The rebuilding process took quite a long time because they need to push back Grimm creatures who invaded Vale. The good news was most area had been freed of Grimms now.

The bad news was some people used the area for shady business.

At least that was what Li heard.

“I’m going to visit a place called ‘Amazon’s Den’,” Anya said. “It’s a bar, to put it simple. But you know you’re not supposed to establish a bar in a place like that.”

Li nodded. Nobody lived there. Who would visit the bar then?

“The police doesn’t do anything?” Li asked.

“I heard they dropped by a few times, but they haven’t arrested anyone. Assuming we have competent cops, it’s either everything is clean or the bar owner is smart enough to cover things up.”

“It’s Hunters’ job, right? Not student like us ….”

“They might have already listed formal Hunters and police and won’t drop their guard when one of them pay a visit. But students? One from Beacon and one from Mistral? Less suspicious.”

“We’re not supposed to go to a bar …. We’re minors.”

“I’m nineteen since last week.”

Li forgot that Anya was older than Mei.

“You’re not going to start a fight there … right?” Li asked again, totally had no clue what people do in a bar. She heard a lot of fights or brawls happened there.

“Of course, I won’t.” Anya looked confused. “Who give you idea about fights in a bar?”

“Yang warned me before we left ….”

“… Wow. Okay. I see. Mrs. Belladonna trusted me more than her partner to bring you to a bar. That’s an honor.”

“Yang said a lot of bar owners afraid of her.”

“She is banned from Mr. Hei Xiong’s place.”

“Oh.”

They stopped in front of a row of low barricades. There were warning signs, but no authorities personnel around.

“One last question about our job if you want, before we go further,” Anya said. “We won’t discuss it along the way. The walls have ears.”

“Why do you think Mom asked me to tag along with you?”

“Good question. I dunno.”

“You don’t know?” Li was a bit disappointed with the answer.

Anya turned around and looked Li in the eyes.

“One thing you can be sure, I will keep you safe. At all cost.”

Li wasn’t the best when it came to character judgement, but she knew determination when she saw or heard it.

“Um … I can’t handle alcohol.” Li tugged her scarf, nervous. “I’m not going drunk by the smell of it, but … my head is a bit ….”

“I heard that from Mei.” Anya nodded. “Don’t worry. Whenever you don’t feel so good, get out of the place, okay?”

“I’m sorry ….”

Li wasn’t sure how could she be useful for this job.

***

The Amazon’s Den was located in an area called “Cars Graveyard”. It was an area surrounded by stacks of old and unusable cars.

Li worried one of those cars would fall down anytime soon.

“I heard these cars were stacked to barricade the area from Grimms, so I think it won’t crumble easily,” Anya said.

“How do you know I’m thinking about that?”

“I worried about the same thing too in my first visit. Everyone worried about that.”

Li grew uneasy, the moment she saw the bar’s building. They were going to investigate anything wrong with a bar in the middle of abandoned area and Li had zero experience with any sort of investigation. Why didn’t Anya tell her a plan, at least? They were going to enter this place and then �� what?

However, since they already arrived, it was too late for Li to ask.

It was around lunch break now and as far as Li knew, people didn’t usually go to a bar during lunchtime. A bar usually packed up in the evening, after work time.

So, finding about six or seven people inside the bar was a bit unexpected for Li. Was she wrong about people didn’t go to a bar during lunchtime?

The next thing stroke odds for Li was the scent in there. Air freshener—lemon scent—dominated the air. As a Faunus, some of Li’s senses were better than humans, one of them was her smelling sense. It wasn’t difficult for her to pick other scents: sweat, iodine liquid (the one to tend scrapes and small cut wounds), and something else Li didn’t recognize except that it was “dusty and white”.

“You okay?” Anya asked.

“Yeah.” Li wheezed. “If there’s alcohol in the air, I can’t smell it at all.”

“Don’t hesitate and just go out if you start to feel dizzy or such, capiche?”

Li nodded.

Anya looked quite confident, despite of the other patrons’ stare toward her. She headed directly to the bar counter and sat down.

“Hi.”

“This is the first time I see you,” the bartender—a tall and muscular woman—said.

“Yeah. A friend told me about this place and since I’ve got nothing to do today, I drop by. Never hurt to try a new place, right?” Anya tapped the chair next to her, signaled Li to sit down.

“Oh, you’re a curious one, aren’t you? Drink?”

“Strawberry Sunrise. She doesn’t drink.” Anya nodded at Li. “Do you mind if she has ice water?”

The bartender smirked. “We also have milk.”

“She’s lactose intolerant.”

“Hmph. No alcohol, no milk, what kind of life do you live?” The bartender shrugged and proceed to prepare the order.

“How did you know I can’t drink milk?” Li whispered.

“Your mom said about it sometime ago.”

“And you remember?” With her grandfather trying really hard to ignore her lactose intolerance in order to make her grow bigger like him (now, Granpa Ghira didn’t have any reason to make a fuss about Li’s height), it felt good to have someone actually remembered about it.

“Uh-huh.” This time, Anya looked baffled. “It’s nothing strange, right?”

“I … Just now it reminds me of Granpa.”

The bartender returned.

“Strawberry Sunrise,” the bartender put a red drink in front of Anya, “and plain, boring, non-alcoholic, ice water.” She put down a glass filled with water and ice cubes in front of Li.

“Take your time,” Anya said to Li without looking. “Don’t chug it down in one gulp.”

Li nodded and sipped her water.

“Are you two Huntresses?” The bartender asked.

“Nah, we still have a long way to become one.” Anya chuckled. “We’re students.”

The bartender squinted her eyes. Her gaze shifted from Anya to Li, back and forth. “I should’ve asked your ID first.”

Anya put her ID card on the table. Li, on the other hand, whimpered.

“You don’t have any, do you?” The bartender shook her head. “Bad kitty.”

“That’s why I asked water for her.” Anya shrugged. She took her ID from the bartender. “Everything’s in order, right? No alcohol for her and I have my ID.”

“Yeah. Cool.” The bartender leaned forward, now looked more curious than suspicious of Anya and Li. “So, a friend told you about this place? A regulars? I might remember his or her name.”

“He probably heard this place from other friends too. Raffles Callworth? Do you know him?”

“Hmm … I think I heard that name before.” The bartender frowned. “But I don’t remember I served anyone with that name.”

“He never visited here, I guess.” Anya took the little umbrella from her glass. “Uncle Raffles is a heavy-drinker, but kinda picky with drinking places. He won’t go to some bar just because it’s a fancy place.”

“Is he your relatives?”

“My mum’s former teammate.”

Li thought she heard the name “Raffles” before. If she wasn’t mistaken, Anya’s mother went to Haven Academy in Mistral, just like Li. So maybe Li overheard the name when she was at school.

“May I ask some questions?” Anya brushed her fingertip on the glass rim.

“Go ahead.”

“Is this bar for women only?”

That was a good question.

Li turned around, looked at the other bar visitors. All of them were women. Li wouldn’t realize it if Anya didn’t ask.

“Nope,” the bartender answered. “We welcome everyone here, but most guests around this time are ladies, yeah.”

“Huntresses?” Li asked. She noticed how most of the visitors were well-built and some of them sported small bruises on their faces.

“Some of them.”

One of the women rose from her chair.

Li quickly averted her gaze and turned around to concentrate to her drink. She had been staring at the woman for too long. Apparently, it caused trouble.

She’s coming. She’s coming. She’s coming. Ochre-had-scolded-me-about-staring-why-I-forgot-about-it-HELP.

The so said woman sat next to Li.

“Whoa, there, Ignitia, what’s the problem—”

“This cat here stared at me like I’m some kind of monkey in a cage.”

Li swallowed. This Ignitia woman reeked of alcohol. Li had to look away, unable to bear the alcohol smell.

And that move was enough to further enrage Ignitia.

“Now listen here!” Ignitia grabbed Li’s shirt, pulled her from chair.

Must-not-start-any-fight-must-not—

But before Ignitia did anything else that would trigger Li’s defensive response, she stopped. Li could see a cane over her shoulder, its tip was on Ignitia’s neck.

“Hands off.” Anya pushed her cane deeper. “Hands off her. Now.”

Though intoxicated, Ignitia knew the tip of Anya’s cane was on her vital point. She grunted and released Li.

“You’re drunk, Ignitia.” The bartender had left her station and approached the angry patron. “C’mon, let’s cool your head a bit ok—”

The next things happened really fast.

Ignitia grabbed Anya’s cane and proceeded to throw Anya to the other side of the room.

Before Anya fully regained her balance, Ignitia lunged at her. Their physical difference made the scene looked like a gorilla preyed on a fox.

“ANYA!”

Both of them crashed on the big barrels aligned on the wall. One of the barrels was broken and …

… revealed a hidden stairway behind it.

The bar broke into jeers and cheers, with the bartender’s shout mixed in it. Li ignored them and went down the stairs.

The stairway led into an underground room. Worried about Anya, Li didn’t pay much attention to her surroundings. Her priority now was to save Anya from any harm.

Anya managed to put some distance between her and Ignitia. She had enough room to maneuver around and buy some time until she found the chance to escape. But for how long? Ignitia might be drunk, but it didn’t mean she lost her power and skill.

Li intervened in time.

She stood between Ignitia and Anya, blocked Ignitia’s punch. Shadow gauntlet covered Li’s right hand. Now that she knew first hand that Ignitia’s strength was no joke, Li would hit Ignitia with her gauntlet if necessary.

Instead of continuing her attack, Ignitia withdrew a few steps back from Li. She didn’t look less angry. It was something Li’s team leader would call “a calm before the storm”.

“Ignitia! Stop right there or I will ban you from the arena! Forever!”

The bartender, accompanied by three of her bar patrons, surrounded Ignitia and forced her to move away from Anya and Li.

“Are you okay?” Li asked Anya. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stared at her ….”

“Er ….” Anya flinched. “Have you ever dislocated your jaw?”

“Your jaw—?!”

“No, no, it’s not dislocated, dislodged or anything. It just feels funny after she punched me there. By the way,” Anya nodded, “we found the bar’s secret.”

Now that Ignitia didn’t attack anymore (she was still there, arguing and shouting at the bartender and her friends), Li had the chance to take a better look at the place.

The first thing took Li’s attention was wooden fences raised around the place. They were low and certainly not for protection for whatever taking place in the middle of the room. The fences looked like more as a “border”. Hay bales were in front of the fences, added extra space between the area and ….

Now it was all clear for Li.

This was an arena. A fighting arena. Its setup was similar to the barehand sparring grounds at Haven Academy’s dormitory yard: wooden fences, hay bales, though the academy used less hay bales.

“I’m quite sure this is illegal. Semi-illegal, maybe.” Anya nodded at a big blackboard on the wall across the room. “Schedule and betting odds. Huh, that Ignitia secured a lot of winning streaks. She’s the champion, I guess.”

Anya paused. It looked like something crossed her mind.

“If you were up against Ignitia, how confident are you for winning?” Anya asked.

“Huh? Against her …?” Li’s cat ears perked.

“Yup.”

“She’s … drunk. It’s not fair to fight against her now.”

“Fairness is relative. Don’t worry about it.” Anya grinned. “So, how’s the chance?”

“She’s strong. Not really fast.” Li took a deep breath. “Good aiming, not much footwork, tends to be in defense and endure some blows and then counter. With as many powers as possible. I’m taller than her, so if she wants to punch my head, her position will be … awkward and less effective.”

“But your abdomen is vulnerable, then?”

“Yes.” Li stretched her arm forward. “I have longer reach to keep her from getting too close. But she might use the chance when I attack and slip through my defense to counter. If I’m careful enough, I can win. The chance is … uhm, I don’t know the number ….”

“High enough?”

“High enough.”

“Mei didn’t exaggerated when she said you analyzed your opponent like a machine.”

“M-machine? Mei said that???”

Anya’s grin grew wider. “That’s a fantastic skill. Thank you very much. Get ready for a bare hand fighting. I have a plan.”

“W-wait!”

If you know Anya well enough, you would know when she is about to make a prank or come up with unexpected plans. It’s her smile or grin. She always reminds me of a sly fox.

Now Li understood what Mei meant when she told her that.

#fanfiction #fanfic #anya lyre #li belladonna #rwby oc #rwby au

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wxnderxng · 4 years ago

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“Gh!” Noticing the feint, Amber managed to raise Caliburn to just barely block the beowulf’s claws. But they didn’t just bounce off the blade or continue its path, the paw wrapped itself around the sword, throwing it out of Amber’s hands. She stepped backwards, but another of the Grimm had gotten behind her, arms outstretched for an attack. These Beowolves weren’t very powerful individually, but they were coordinating like Alphas. Taking advantage of their small stature and speed, the group had managed to catch the knight off guard. One by one the beowolves lunged to strike at Amber, their strikes being deflected by the woman’s gauntlets and aura or the scabbard of Caliburn.

With the creature’s constant advancements, Amber found herself back against the trunk of a large tree. When Amber felt her back against the trunk, she gasped and looked around, watching the Grimm form a tight semi-circle around her. They weren’t just fighting, or hunting, they were cornering her. Amber raised her arms in defense, but she knew that if she started fighting hand to hand with her raised aura, she wouldn’t last long against the group. Her mind was going a mile a minute, trying to figure a way out of this, but the Grimm weren’t giving her much wiggle room. But before they made their move, Amber could hear a faint whistling sound, and one of the Grimm dropped to the ground, soon dissipating, leaving only an arrow. The others looked around to find the source, turning their bodies but not giving up on their tight formation, but they too fell one by one in quick succession, more arrows shooting from the trees.

“What the hell...” Lowering her arms, Amber stepped out from under the tree, kneeling down in front of an arrow and picking it up. It didn’t look very unique upon first inspection, just a standard arrow. But her thoughts were interrupted when someone jumped from the tree above her behind her. Amber jumped and turned around to see a familiar-looking woman with deep purple hair, standing up straight to turn and face her.

“I can’t believe I found you of all people out here. Good thing I came out here for practice.” Chrome chuckled, walking around and picking up the arrows she had let loose earlier and after a quick wipe off, returned them to the quiver at her hip. “Are you okay, Amber?”

“Well well, it seems I’ve got a cute guardian angel.” Placing a hand to her chest, Amber bowed a bit. “Thank you Chrome, I am in your debt. A few scrapes and scuffs, but I’m fine, thanks to you.”

“Aha...” Chrome reached up and fiddled with the bow in her hair, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “N-no, that’s not true... if anything, this makes us even, after you helped me the other day. B-but that’s not why I did this, I-I was just helping someone, that’s all. I um... shall I? A-ah, er... I should get going then...”

“Well, you truly are worthy of your Huntress title, Chrome. I won’t forget this.” Amber stood straight and paused, pondering the faunus’ words. This was the only time she’d seen Chrome, but she definitely wanted to spend some more time with her. “Though I...” She didn’t want to come on too strong. “If you are returning to Asterin, allow me to accompany you once I retrieve my sword.” Motioning to the clearing, Amber started walking to where the blade lay stuck in the grass. “The Grimm in the area have been rather relentless, actively hunting in the area.”

“You’re right, it’s better if we stick together, especially if you’re unarmed.” With a nod, Chrome followed the blonde over to her sword and watched her grip the hilt, pulling it out of the ground. “What happened with those Grimm? They looked so weak, but... they had you cornered. It’s almost like they were...”

“Using tactics like humans? Yes. These Grimm weren’t just working as a pack like animals, they were more like a strike team. I’ve never seen anything like it, not even from older, wiser ones.” With a small grunt, Amber pulled Caliburn from the ground and sheathed it, turning to Chrome. “Though weak individually, they use these methods and have taken down groups of people. They’ve become quite a problem, and no one can figure out the sudden change.”

“Mmh, that does sound quite troublesome.” Chrome walked alongside Amber, her eyes closed in thought for a moment. “I didn’t see anything like that, but i did hear something like that back in the city. All the more reason people should stick together in these times. It’s a good thing we came across each other.”

“Yes! If you were by my side, they would have been no problem! Your archery back there was something else!” Amber stifled a laugh, watching the blush return to Chrome’s cheeks. “I know I said this before, but you did save my life back there, I didn’t think I could get out of there in one piece. Chrome,” Amber stepped in front of the faunus. “you must let me repay you in some way. How about a cup of coffee sometime? It’s a bit late, so... maybe tomorrow? Or perhaps a drink tonight?” Chrome stopped in front of her, her tail twitching as she looked at the ground awkwardly.

“T-that’s...” She paused and fumbled with the bow in her hands. It was cute, the way she got flustered at the offer, she reminded Amber of Violet when she was a bit younger. But after a few seconds, she sighed with a small smile. “A-alright. One drink,” She stepped past Amber and continued walking. “but then we’re even, okay? Tomorrow I have other things to do.”

“One drink.” Amber could barely contain her excitement, clapping her hands together once. “I know the perfect place for this time of the day. Please, allow me.” Amber took the lead as they reached the city. She led Chrome through the city, feeling a little awkward from the sudden silence. Soon to a small building at a corner with an engraving of a sword on the door. “Here we are, the Silver Sword.” Amber opened the door and let Chrome walk in first, taking a seat at an empty table. “So.” Amber watched Chrome lean her bow against the table and take a seat across from her. “First off, what can I get you, Angel?”

“You... you don’t need to call me that, Chrome is fine...” Chrome coughed and looked away, but Amber noticed her tail swinging back and forth too. “I uh... I don’t really drink, so I don’t really care...”

“Oh. well...” Amber hummed for a moment before a few ideas came to mind. “Do you like chocolate, Chrome? Or something sweet?” When the woman nodded, Amber smiled in return. “Then I know the perfect drink for you.” Amber turned in her seat as the waitress walked over to them.

“Good to see you with company, Amber! What can I get or you tonight?” She held up a pad of paper and clicked her pen, ready for their order.

“Hi Rose. Can I get a Seabreeze for myself, and a Mudslide for my friend here?” She turned to Chrome. “You’ll understand the name when you see it, but it’s good, I promise.” With a nod, the waitress wrote down their drinks and left them alone.

“Do you come here often? And quite a few people waved at you on our way here...” Chrome looked back at the waitress Rose, who was talking to the bartender, who in turn looked at the two of them and waved at Amber. Chuckling, Amber waved back and turned to look at Chrome again.

“Yes, though I mostly just stop in for a meal. When I first came here, I helped the owner and his daughter bring in the convoy. it was more by chance, and they were so happy they treated me to a meal. their food was really good, so I came back, ordered a drink with it, and fell in love with that too.” She paused and looked away for a moment, leaning back in her chair with a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, I uh, I suppose I’ve made a bit of a name for myself here in Asterin. I’ve just been helping people whenever I can, and they remember it.” She wasn’t going to bring up the nickname they started to give her. “So what about you Chrome? What brings you to Asterin? Family, work A lover?” She slipped that last bit in casually, just to see if she was single.

“Work.” Chrome simply dodged the rest. “Well, not work per se, I’m investigating something... rather personal, and my research led me here.” When Chrome fell silent, it took Amber a moment to realize that she wasn’t going to elaborate on that. Rose came back to their table a moment later and set the drinks in front of the girls.

“One Seabreeze, and one Mudslide. Enjoy!” With a friendly smile, she stepped away from the table. Amber reached for her drink first, taking a sip with a hum. But Chrome looked at her drink with a raised eyebrow.

“A mudslide. They use Bailey’s, cream, chocolate syrup and a coffee liqueur. If you want something that’s a bit like dessert, then it-” Amber chuckled, watching Chrome slid the drink toward her and take a sip. “The cream makes it a bit heavy, but it also subdues the alcohol, I think.” She smiled and took another sip of her own drink, watching Chrome happily start nursing hers. “I’m glad you like it.”

“You were right.” Chrome licked her lips after pulling away. “Something sweet was very nice. And this is very good!” Chrome smiled, but soon fell flat again, almost like she didn’t know how to continue the conversation. Setting her glass down, Amber decided to ask her something.

“How long have you been here, Chrome? Are you enjoying your stay in Asterin so far?” She leaned back in her chair, shifting her position and crossing her legs. Chrome simply shrugged and fiddled with her glass.

“Only a couple of days. But this is a very nice city, despite being so packed together. It reminds me more of Vale than Mistral, everyone I’ve encountered has been very kind to me, especially you...” She paused to take another sip from her drink, a bit of a big one. “What about you Amber, how long have you been here?”

“Hm, about... a little over a year?” Amber took a sip as she pondered it. “Probably a year and a half. But Asterin is a lot better than the area of Mistral I came from, that’s for sure. But it sounds like you’re finding a place here, that’s good to hear.” She fell silent for a moment, and the duo fell into another awkward silence. Chrome took a final swing from her drink and slid it away, standing up.

“Thank you for the drink, Amber. I actually had a nice time with you. But it’s late, and I should probably get back to my hotel room.” She picked up her bow, but paused before stepping away. “Maybe when I’m done with my work, we can do this again.”

“Yes! I mean, yes.” Amber sat up in her seat, having to stop the excitement in her voice and body language. “And remember, if you need any help, don’t forget the kiosks, I’ll come as soon as I can. Do you need any help getting home?”

“No, you’ve been more than kind. Besides, it’s not far from here, so I’ll be okay. Thank you again, Amber, it’s been a real pleasure to have met you again. I had fun here.” Chrome placed a hand on Ambers shoulder before walking out the bar, her tail swinging happily.

“I had a fun time too, Chrome...” Amber smiled and waved as the faunus left, dropping it as soon as she stepped outside.

“Haah... I had a real fun time with you...” She sighed and slid a bit in her chair, taking a deep breath, before looking back over to Rose, who was walking over with the check. “She’s so cute, Rose! I really wanna see more of her again...”

#(ic banter)#;;two-sided(chrome)#;;white knight(amber)#uhhh this became three times as long as I wanted it to be #ah well

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masterweaverx · 5 years ago

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Yatsuhashi Daichi is the big friendly giant of team CFVY, and the last member to be Dungeoned up for Dragoning by me. Let’s get to it!

On the combat side, Yatsu is pretty simple--he’s big, he’s got a big sword, so he’ll want to swing that big sword for big damage. Also he has a habit of being a human shield and protecting people, so giving him a way to do that is kinda key. The big issue is his semblence--the ability to temporarily and/or permanently wipe out memories, which he can use to make people stumble a bit in combat or... for other purposes. That’s going to be tricky to simulate, but not impossible.

Jumping right into the point array we’re putting 15 points in strength because have you seen the man? Then 14 points in Intelligence, most of the spells we want are on the Wizard list and honestly I don’t think Yatsu’s an idiot anyway. Constitution’s next with 13 points, crucial for HP and spell concentration, followed by Wisdom with 12 point because the man does try to listen to the world around him. Charisma is 10, which is fine, and that leaves Dexterity at 8 since, well, Yatsuhashi can’t really be all that sneaky can he?

Speaking of not being sneaky, Yatsuhashi is big enough that I’m going to say his race is a Goliath. They’re technically still Medium characters, but they get +2 to Strength and +1 to Constitution, as well as proficiency in Athletics and a Powerful Build so they count as one size larger for purposes of encumbrance. Goliaths also get the feature Mountain Born, giving them acclimation to high altitudes and cold weather--isn’t Mistral built into a mountain? And Stone’s Endurance lets them shrug off 1d12 plus their con modifier of damage as a reaction once per rest, which means Yatsu’s got a bit more than aura keeping him safe.

For background we’re going to go with Acolyte, mostly because Yatsuhashi seems to have a deep respect for the world around him that comes with some religious orders. Also he meditates. This gives him proficiency in Insight and Religion, in case he encounters any groups that talk about gods, an extra couple of languages, and the Shelter of the Faithful feature, which lets him get a party discount on healing at certain temples (or hospitals, flavor is everything!).

Since Yatsu’s focused a lot of his life on that big sword of his, we’ll be picking up ten levels of Fighter first. Fighters get proficiency in all weapons, all armors, Strength saving throws, Constitution saving throws, and two skills--I’d pick Animal Handling and Intimidation. First level fighters get to pick a fighting style--Great Weapon Fighting makes the most out of that big sword--and gain Second Wind, letting them regain 1d10+their fighter level HP as a bonus action once per rest. Standard tenth-level fighters also get an Action Surge (take one extra action on a turn once per rest), Extra Attack (do two attacks with a single attack action) and Indomitable (reroll a failed saving throw once per long rest).

Fighters also pick a marital archetype at their third level and I figured Cavalier works pretty well with Yatsu’s protective fighting style. Thing is, there are three different versions of Cavalier on the website I’m using as reference, so I’m going with the one from the Revise Class Options unearthed Arcana. Yatsuhashi still gets a bonus proficiency (I picked Persuasion) and Born To The Saddle (which gives Yatsu the ability to slip on and off a mount easily and stay on without too much trouble). But he also gets Combat Superiority, and at level ten that means he has a total of 5 d10 Superiority Dice he can spend on four maneuvers, which regenerate on a Rest. The Ferocious Charger feature also lets us enhance the Trip Attack maneuver, spending two dice on it to give the target disadvantage on their saving throw.

Control Mount: When Yatsu makes a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to influence a creature that he or an ally is riding, he can expend one superiority die, roll it, and add the number rolled to the check. he can do this before or after rolling the d20, but before applying the results of the check.

Precision Attack: When Yatsu makes a weapon attack against a creature, he can expend one superiority die, roll it, and add it to the attack roll. He can use this ability before or after rolling the d20, but before any of the effects of the attack are applied.

Trip Attack: When Yatsu hits a creature with a weapon attack, he can expend one superiority die to attempt to knock the target down. Roll the die, and add it to the attack's damage roll. If the target is Large or smaller, it must also succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + Yatsu’s proficiency bonus + Yatsu’s Strength modifier) or be knocked prone.

Warding Maneuver: If Yatsu or a creature within 5 feet of him is hit by an attack, he can expend one superiority die as a reaction if he’s wielding a weapon or a shield. Roll the die, and add the number rolled to the target's AC against that attack. If the attack still hits, the target has resistance against the attack's damage.

After ten levels in Fighter come ten levels in Wizard, which mostly give us spells and an Arcane Tradition. That said, we do get Arcane Recovery, which lets us regain a number of spell slots with a total value equal to half our Wizard level per day. At ten levels, that means we can get a second level and third level slot back, or a fifth level slot back, or five first level slots back...

With ten levels of Wizard and Fighter, we get ten Ability Score Improvements total. I’d burn one for the Resilient feat, which gives us +1 intelligence and proficiency in Intelligence saving throws and leaves us eight points to spread among the abilities. Eight points is just enough to bump Yatsu’s Strength and Intelligence up to their maximum of twenty, so now he’s super strong and super smart.

For the Arcane Tradition of choice, I decided to settle on Onomancy, which gives a lot of small abilities that let Yatsuhashi screw with people’s heads while he’s casting spells. He gets the ability to Extract the Name of one creature in sight, which charms them till the end of his next turn, and he can use this ability an amount of times equal to his intelligence modifier per long rest. It also lets him learn the true name of the target, which his Fateful Naming feature uses to cast Bane or Bless on them without expending a spell slot (a number of times per long rest equal to his Intelligence Modifier). And of course he gets proficiency with Calligrapher’s Supplies, which is clearly very important.

Onomancers also get the Resonant Utterance feature, which lets them modify a non-cantrip spell they cast by adding the true name of a target and one Resonant to a wizard spell they cast. They can do this a number of times equal to half their wizard level per long rest, and at ten levels they know four Resonants. And these are the Resonants I picked for Yatsuhashi:

Devastation: If the spell requires the named creature to make a saving throw, that creature has disadvantage on the first save it makes against the spell.

Dissolution: The first time the named creature takes damage from the spell, that creature takes an extra 2d8 force damage. The extra force damage increases by 1d8 when Yatsu reaches 10th level (3d8) in this class.

Nullification: If the named target is affected by any other spells, Yatsu knows what those spells are, and he can attempt to end one of his choice by succeeding on an Intelligence check with a DC equal to 10 + the level of the chosen spell.

Puppetry: The first time the named creature takes damage from the spell, Yatsu can knock the creature prone or move it up to 10 feet, either directly toward him or away from him.

Obviously this is all great for screwing with the enemy, but it relies on Yatsuhashi casting spells. And as a tenth-level wizard with 20 Intelligence, Yatsuhashi knows five cantrips and 24 spells (even if he only has five prepared). Technically he always has Bane and Bless prepared because of his Fateful Naming feature, but for the rest of the spells he can cast on a whim, I went with a lot of ‘screw with ‘em’ spells.

Cantrips:

Booming Blade (Wizard)

Gust (Wizard)

Mind Silver (Wizard)

Thunderclap (Wizard)

True Strike (Wizard) (Concentration)

L1 (Four Slots)

Bane (Fateful Naming) (Concentration) [Prepared Without Cost]

Bless (Fateful Naming) (Concentration) [Prepared Without Cost]

Cause Fear (Wizard) (Concentration) [Prepared]

Charm Person (Wizard) [Prepared]

Ray of Sickness (Wizard) [Prepared]

L2 (Three Slots)

Crown of Madness (Wizard) (Concentration) [Prepared]

Detect Thoughts (Wizard) [Prepared]

Hold Person (Wizard) (Concentration) [Prepared]

Knock (Wizard) [Prepared]

Mental Barrier (Wizard) [Prepared]

Mind Spike (Wizard) [Prepared]

Thought Shield (Wizard) [Prepared]

Ray of Enfeeblement (Wizard) [Prepared]

L3 (Three Slots)

Bestow Curse (Wizard) (Concentration) [Prepared]

Counterspell (Wizard) [Prepared]

Remove Curse (Wizard) [Prepared]

L4 (Three Slots)

Ego Whip (Wizard) (Concentration) [Prepared]

L5 (Two Slots)

Modify Memory (Wizard) (Concentration) [Prepared]

This isn’t all the spells Yatsuhashi can know--he can theoretically know 9 more Wizard spells up to 5th level--but it does seem a decent spread to have prepared for, you know, temporarily wiping the last twelve seconds from somebody’s mind so he has an advantage on hitting them with his sword.

So yeah, there’s my take on Yatsuhashi.

#RWBY #Dungeons & Dragons #D&D 5E #Yatsuhashi Daichi #Character Build

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sullivantwissarcana · 5 years ago

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RWBY Original Character 31

Name: Almas Alkhamu AKA “Alhambra”

Origin and Influences: Almas’ name actually is the Arabic translation for the term “diamond in the rough”, which is used to describe his inspiration of Aladdin in the Disney adaptations of the story; his alias of “Alhambra” is the name of a palace in Spain that means “the red one” in Arabic

Age: 18 (Birthday is November 25th)

Symbol: A four-armed monkey holding a diamond in front of itself

Species: Human

Appearance: 5′6″ with an olive-skinned complexion, short and messy coal black hair, blue eyes, and a toned physique with muscular arms and abs; initially wears only an opened black vest, brown baggy patched-up pants, and doesn’t wear shoes; after a while, he changes to a red coat, a pair of black pants, and a pair of sandals

Personality: Almas is a thief that takes what he needs to survive and only believes he’s in trouble if he gets caught by somebody; while he does what he can to make sure he has a meal, he’s more than willing to give some of his stolen food to others he sees struggling more than him; Almas tends to flirt with girls quite a bit and gets distracted by them, but he’s also a romantic and wishes he could find true love with somebody; when he has to get into combat or make an escape, he’s a tricky and clever opponent that uses his surroundings to his full advantage and quick thinking to trick foes; while he actively tries to avoid dangerous people and trouble, Almas is willing to step in when somebody would get hurt by others and even fight against them if it has to come to that; Almas is sensitive about his family and rarely opens up about them, but he’d share details of his past with anybody he truly trusts

Backstory: Born in Vacuo and raised by his parents, Almas grew up relatively happy in the desert Kingdom. However, his father, Zaram Alkhamu, was known through Remnant’s criminal underworld as a “King of Thieves” and some enemies went after his family in an attempt to seek out a fortune he accumulated over the years. Almas’ parents knew that they had to protect him, so they entrusted an old friend of Zaram’s in order to smuggle their son out of Vacuo. While he was sent away from home and thought his parents wouldn’t return for him, he soon heard something in the same room he was in and found an unusual animal. Inside a cage was a creature called a “Vacuo Spider Monkey”, which had four arms and a prehensile forked tail. Seeing try to reach for some food, Almas gave the monkey what it wanted and soon befriended the primate by giving him the name “Bunaa” (which is Arabic for “brown”). When the smuggler’s boat reached its destination, Almas and Bunaa immediately left for safety and reached the Kingdom of Mistral. For years after that, the two did what they could to survive in the city and continue hoping that they could find more to their lives.

Theme Song: One Jump Ahead from “Aladdin”

Weapon: Almas uses a scimitar with Earth and Wind Dust in the handle and tassel connected to it; this combination of Dust allows Almas to use sand to distract or even hide from enemies before counterattacking; Almas calls his weapon, “Sandstorm”

Semblance: Almas acquired his Semblance some time after making his way to Mistral and uses it to great effect; his Semblance allows him to create spaces that let him rearrange the position of objects or people (similar to Trafalgar Law’s Op-Op Fruit powers from One Piece, but much more limited), substituting things in hand or switching places with anybody that would deal damage to him; Almas is able to make easy escapes by creating chaos in his surroundings with his power, unleash insanely fast counters, and even disarm foes in an instant

Fighting Style: Almas uses a combination of his tricky mind, swordplay, Dust use, and Semblance to create a battle style that can confuse most foes; this style is difficult to beat, but not impossible as he could be taken down by somebody who can read his movements or if he fights in an area that he can barely use to his advantage (like a flat arena ring or an open meadow); Almas is also willing to pull off dirty tricks to make sure he can win, like kicking somebody in the groin or spitting at them

@chuckles-the-jester @bunnyhoplollipop @whovianpegasister @fluffysam1212 @ventus-rogue @unashamed-shipper @jkl930 and anybody else interested in seeing my newest Original Character. I hope you enjoyed seeing his profile. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. I’ll answer anything about my OCs when I have the time.

#Sully speaking #RWBY #Original Character #Sideline: Another Story #Almas Alkhamu

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korora12 · 6 years ago

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Ladybug Week Day 6: Secrets

It had been a year since Team RWBY and their allies had gathered the artifacts, killed Salem, and basically saved the world. And yet they couldn’t tell anyone. Newscasters around the world speculated about why Grimm populations had suddenly begun declining, many assuming it was just the calm before another storm. Blake wanted to tell them the truth, to let everyone know it was over and that no one was in control of the Grimm anymore. But the very idea that someone even could be in charge of the Grimm was the talk of conspiracy theorists.

Sometimes Blake felt like her entire life was nothing but a string of one giant secret after another. From secret missions with the White Fang to hiding her history and heritage while at Beacon, to the war against Salem and the Grimm. Hell, she and Ruby had kept their relationship secret for months after they started dating because they weren’t sure how to tell their teammates. And now Team RWBY shared a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Vale and every day Blake walked past thousands of strangers and couldn’t tell any of them that the world was a better, safer place.

When the weight and stress of everything got to be too much, she’d run away for a little bit and visit family or some of the various friends she’d made that were scattered across the world.

Blake had just returned from one such trip, visiting Sun and Neptune in Mistral, and had found the apartment completely empty upon her return. That was disappointing, but not completely unusual, and it gave her time to unpack in peace before regaling her girlfriend and teammates with her stories.

Everything was back where it belonged and Blake was rifling through the fridge in search of a snack when she heard the front door open. Carton of milk still in hand, she turned around the corner to see Ruby with her cloak removed and bundled up in her arms.

“Hey Ruby, I’m back,” she said.

Ruby jumped about a foot in the air. “Blake! I thought you weren’t getting back until tomorrow morning!”

“Travel plans got moved up to avoid a storm.”

Ruby shifted her bundled cloak so she was holding it behind her back. “You should’ve texted. I would’ve come picked you up.”

Blake shifted to try and get a better look behind her girlfriend. “I wanted to surprise you guys. Where’re Yang and Weiss?”

Ruby slowly inched sidewards, her front to Blake and her back to the wall. “They took a mission in northern Forever Fall, but they’ll be back tonight.”

Blake hummed a neutral response. “And what do you have in your arms?”

Ruby froze. “What, this? My cloak got muddy, so I thought I’d take it off and throw it in the laundry. That’s all!”

The bundle meowed.

Blake raised an eyebrow in response and let the following silence weigh until Ruby finally caved. “Okay, fine,” she said, bringing her cloak around and almost shoving it in Blake’s face. There, completely swathed in red fabric, was the tiniest black and white kitten Blake had ever seen. “I found him in a box by the side of the road. He’s so tiny, and no one was taking him, and it’s supposed to rain tonight, and I couldn’t just leave him there.”

He was cute, Blake couldn’t deny that. And yet… “Ruby, you know we’re not allowed to have pets in this apartment. We can’t keep him.”

“It’s only for a few days, until I can find someone else to take him in.” She lowered the feline just enough so that Blake could see her pouting face. “Please.”

Blake sighed and relented, not able to refuse two adorable faces. “He’ll have to stay in our room. You know how Weiss gets around small animals; if she sees him we’ll end up keeping him forever.”

Ruby practically leapt at her in joy, gently squishing the mewling kitten between them as she hugged her. “Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” And, with a flurry of rose petals, Ruby grabbed the milk from Blake’s hands, a bowl from the cabinets, and disappeared into their shared room.

Blake followed at a more restrained speed. She watched from the doorway as Ruby gently placed the kitten on the ground in front of a bowl of milk and unwrapped him. “Should we give him a name?” Ruby asked.

“If you do, it’ll make it harder to give him up later,” Blake responded, not directly saying no because she already had a pretty good idea how this situation was going to turn out.

After closing the door to keep the new tenant contained, Blake laid down on the bed, turning so she could watch her girlfriend fuss over and pet the tiny kitten.

Thoughts churned gently in her head, returning to where they’d rested earlier. “Do you think we keep too many secrets?”

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked, finally turning her attention away from her new, temporary, and very thirsty pet.

“I feel like I could write a book about all the things I don’t tell people,” Blake said. “Is that any way to live your life?”

“Well,” Ruby said, giving the idea some thought, “while I wouldn’t advocate for Oscar levels of conspiracy, secrets are a part of life. Not everyone needs to know everything about you.” Ruby rose from where she sat and walked over to the bed. Blake rolled over in response so she was looking straight up at her girlfriend. “But you don’t have to keep anything from me. So,” Ruby fell forward, landing on top of, and across, Blake, “tell me everything.”

Blake thought quietly for a moment then said, “Canned anchovies are my least favorite fish.”

“What!” Ruby propped her head up on her arm so she could look her girlfriend in the eyes. “But you said you ate anchovies all the time growing up.”

“Those were fresh anchovies,” Blake said. “They didn’t taste nearly as strong as the stuff they sell in cans.”

“Oh man, guess that means no more anchovy pizzas. My turn!” Ruby hummed in thought. “I don’t really like the Achieve Men. Yang loves them, so I’ve always pretended to, but I actually think their music is really cheesy and pretentious.”

“You’re not wrong,” Blake agreed. “When I was four years old, I used to pretend to be a dog because it annoyed my mom. Then one day we were at a park and I was chasing some birds when someone’s Great Dane tried to start humping me.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “That sounds traumatizing. No wonder you don’t like dogs.” Continuing on, she said, “Sometimes, if I forget to do laundry, or if I just can’t find any of my own, I wear a pair of your underwear without asking.”

Blake blushed at the mental image that brought to mind. “Really?”

Ruby nodded, a blush of her own starting to form.

Blake cleared her throat and forcefully wrested her mind away from such thoughts. “I really enjoyed our date at the aquarium last month, but I never want to go back there. I was constantly hungry the entire time.”

Ruby grinned. “Uncle Qrow used to make me mow the lawn with a garden scythe instead of a lawnmower.”

“I really enjoyed the movie adaptation of Lost Hunter. Yes, it was cheesy, had cheap special effects, and was very unfaithful to the book, but it was fun and I liked that it didn’t take itself too seriously.”

“I gave Whitley Schnee a wedgie last time I was in Atlas, but I used my semblance so no one would see me do it.”

“I wet the bed until I was five.”

Ruby turned and wiggled her way across the bed until she was curled up against Blake’s side. Quietly, sounding ashamed, she muttered, “When I was younger I wished I was an only child. Yang was great, but sometimes she tried too hard to be a mom and it got to be too much. Then this one time, I think I was ten years old, she was pushing me really hard about school and we fought. I yelled at her and ran, all the way to my mom’s grave. I told her everything, and said really nasty things about Yang. Like how I wished she’d died instead of mom.”

Blake pulled Ruby close and lightly kissed her forehead. “We all make mistakes and do things we later regret. Trust me, I’ve the queen of regretting mistakes.” She ran her hand through red locks. “Sometimes I wish I had an older brother. Yang is always worried about you, always trying to keep you safe. And Winter has her own life and problems, but she’s always been really supportive of Weiss. I made a lot of mistakes growing up, and I feel like if I had had someone looking out for me like that, my life might’ve gone a lot better.”

The two girls lay together quietly for a bit, holding each other and enjoying their mutual love and acceptance. Then Blake, not wanting to end on such a serious note, continued in a hushed voice. “I once went to a conspiracy forum online and told them the complete truth about Salem. They ended up laughing me off because my story had a happy ending, which meant it couldn’t be true.”

A mischievous grin lit up Ruby’s face as she leaned in close and whispered in Blake’s ear. “I fantasized about you every night you were gone this last week.”

Blake blushed and sputtered. “R-Ruby!”

Ruby chuckled softly, glad to have gotten a reaction from her ever-serious lover.

Blake turned her head away, letting herself be distracted by the kitten who had begun mewling and trying to climb up the side of the bed. She leaned over the side and picked him up. There was a moment where Blake realized just how small and helpless this creature was, so tiny that his entire torso fit in the palm of her hand. Letting the moment pass, she rolled back over so she was facing Ruby and placed the kitten on the bed between them.

“You want to know something that’s not a secret?” Ruby asked.

“What?” Blake asked.

“I love you,” Ruby said.

Blake smiled and let herself get lost in her love’s beautiful silver eyes. “You want to know something else that’s not a secret?”

“Hm?”

“I love you too.”

#they totally kept the cat #named him secret #ladybugweek #RWBY #my writing #fanfiction #Ruby Rose #Blake Belladonna #ladybug (rwby)#ladybug #completely unedited and unreviewed

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texanredrose · 6 years ago

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Dishonored - Ch 2

Chapter 2: Roots in the Den

The beeping of her alarm roused Winter, despite being in the other room. After finding the report she’d sought, she’d hardly made it back to her quarters before exhaustion took the remainder of her strength.

Two hours before sunrise, she sat up in the chair she’d collapsed into, stretching her arms above her head. The glass she’d filled with burning amber liquid the night before sat next to the report, half empty.

Silently, she reached over and opened it, confirming that she hadn’t suffered some manner of fever dream that strung together fictional events. No, every word she’d read stood out against the faded, crinkled paper, so she closed it and set it aside, eyeing the glass for a moment. Although she wouldn’t usually start the day in such disarray, she also felt like she absolutely needed the bracing bite to fully rouse her.

Ultimately, she pushed it away and went to her bedroom, shutting off her alarm and pulling out a fresh uniform for the day. She would need her wits about her fully if she wished to confront her prisoner.

Winter couldn’t be sure if the answered she sought… would be the ones she wanted to hear.

Before heading to her office, she stopped by the interface in her living room to read the notes sent to her overnight. Among them, she noted the two-two-sixth had rolled out to link up with their squad and a notification that a secured message arrived via the only operable line they kept open during the blackout.

On top of dealing with the contraband issue and her prisoner, she’d need to personally call to Atlas Command and explain herself to one of the Generals.

Sending a message to her staff officers, she informed them that she expected a pot of coffee in her office by the time she arrived.

It would be a long day.

Ruby sat against the wall, humming softly to herself a tune she’d learned sometime when she was young. She couldn’t remember where she’d heard it from but Yang always smiled whenever she started it up and sometimes even joined in, even when things looked dire. Like that time they were both pinned down by Atlesian soldiers- no ammo, steep odds, and no chances of getting any back up. They’d gotten clever that time, and perhaps a bit lucky, but they’d made it out with only a few new scars.

It just… gave her hope, even when she probably shouldn’t have any.

She could tell by the movements of the soldiers outside that it was close to daybreak. Usually, everyone on the base would be awake about an hour before, scuttling to wherever they needed to be in time for the morning call-to-arms, and then in full swing by the time the sun started its climb through the sky.

But there seemed a bit more going on than the previous morning. The guards moved around a little erratically, as if startled by something.

Then the door opened and she supposed that explained everything well enough.

The Colonel walked stiffly, as if she’d been injured or just slept wrong, the tightness in her neck probably from stress. Though, the pinched expression might also be from finding out the nighttime guards weren’t as attentive to their duties as their daytime counterparts. She held a few papers in her hand that looked weathered, old, and recently leafed through.

Ah, she thought, schooling her expression into one of mild curiosity. A clever soldier indeed.

“Summer Rose,” she said, those blue eyes staring down at her, looking for any sign.

Ruby thought it would work to her advantage, so she indulged her. “My mother. I’ve heard a lot of stories about her over the years.”

“Including how she died, I assume.” The Colonel indicated the report. “What’s your version of the tale?”

“Interesting word choice.” She met the woman’s gaze. “You’re already implying that what I’m about to say isn’t the truth.”

“What you’ve been told is likely an embellishment.” She indicated the papers. “Between your version and this, I will find the truth.”

“Do you really think that’s the most important thing I have to offer?” A nonchalant shrug, a bait to hurry up with the interrogation process, but she continued regardless. “Alright, I’ll tell you. Mom and Dad lived in a little cottage on Patch. It’s an island just off the coast of Vale.”

“I know where it is.” Her eyes narrowed. “The population there was small, the economy was geared towards fishing, most people inherited their occupations from their parents- it’s a blip but one I’m familiar with. Atlas Command had the people there relocated a decade ago.”

“You should be a tour guide.” Ruby smirked, noting the brief flicker of annoyance in the woman’s face. “Back then, before the ‘relocation’, it was just the four of us. Mom, Dad, my sister, and me, and the thing about small, tight knight communities is that you can’t really take someone away from it without leaving an impact. Trades are passed down- remove the people who know that trade, and you’ve left the community lacking a basic element. That’s what the relocation order was doing to Patch, trying to tear it apart. First, they took the Faunus, forcing them to move to Menagerie. Mom stood up to the Atlesian soldiers doing it and they killed her for it. So Dad took us and tried to come here, to Mistral. Eventually, the Atlesian military got their way and took a third of the island’s population, then stationed their own soldiers there.”

“Soldiers who didn’t take up the trades vacated by those relocated- or on the run. I suppose that’s where you’re going with this.”

“Well, that, and they continued using resources. Less people fishing but more people eating the fish- it’s not exactly a sustainable model.”

The Colonel hummed. “The infrastructure collapsed on itself, leading to the relocation of Patch’s remaining population. I suppose I could believe that.” Her head tilted. “But it doesn’t explain how your father died yet you survived.”

“My sister did too. We’re kids from an island; we knew how to swim before we could walk.” She couldn’t recall the details herself- just a bit too young- but Yang told her the story when she was old enough. Usually while yelling, because she’d been holding onto the anger for years and needed to let it out, but Ruby could be a bit calmer, even if it hurt. “Dad stayed with the boat, drew the soldiers chasing us away so we could swim to shore.”

“Two children alone in a strange land.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “That was almost twenty years ago. How did you survive?”

Now, she had to get creative. “We were taken in by a village. They raised us for a while, until the Atlesian patrols became stricter. After that, we wandered, until we decided we’d had enough. Atlas took everything from us- Mom, Dad, our home. All we have left is each other.” A pause and she chuckled; even if the this part of the story wasn’t strictly what happened, it did hold a bit of truth in it all the same. “Well, I guess, that’s out now. Once she finds out where you’re holding me… there won’t be any stopping her.”

“I’m not sure if I believe that.” Now the Colonel seemed to be gaining confidence, convinced she’d ferreted out a lie. “Your sister’s dead. Else, she would’ve been here by now.”

“She might not be the poster child for patience, but she knows how to bide her time. I know she’s out there.” Another shrug. “It’s a sister thing; you wouldn’t understand it.”

“I have siblings. A sister and a brother.”

“Younger or older?”

“Younger, both of them.”

“Are you sure they’re safe?”

The Colonel immediately bristled. “You’re in no position to be making threats. And if any of your ilk come anywhere near them, I will personally skin each and every one of you alive.”

“Oh, but how could you use us against our friends and family then?” Ruby shot back, noting the dark cloud that seemed to settle over the woman. “Since we’re playing the game of fact or fiction, I’m curious- did you really use the reanimated corpses of fallen rebels to fight their former friends in Azulen?”

“I don’t use reanimated corpses.” She forced out through gritted teeth, the hand holding the report clenching hard enough to crinkle the papers.

“Forgive me if I’m not convinced.”

And then something happened- something Ruby could hardly explain, even as it unfolded before her very eyes. White light erupted around the woman’s left hand as she held it out, towards a spot between the two of them. A symbol of some sort- like an intricate snowflake- appeared, a mirrored copy three times the size reflecting on the floor. The glyphs began to spin as light filled the center of the larger one, growing bigger and taking shape, until a life sized white Beowolf appeared, with bright blue markings across its muzzle.

The beast regarded her with cool, blue eyes, before turning its head and dropping down to all fours, nuzzling into the Colonel’s hand.

“I can summon any foe I’ve dispatched,” she said, paying the Beowolf little mind, and it seemed rather content with that. “But I don’t desecrate the dead.”

“Well… that’s a first, for an Atlesian.” Ruby watched the creature, having fought more than her fair share of Beowolves, but finding none of the aggressive posture in this one. Usually, Grimm hunted with a single minded purpose- to find the source of negative emotions and elicit even more, that they might feed. Killing came secondary, and usually the result of a young Grimm trying to get more out of its meal and unintentionally destroying the source. The Alphas and older ones, no, they didn’t often kill, unless it could be used against witnesses… sometimes, she thought the Atlesian military took more after the Grimm than anything else. “Having a pet like that trailing you during battle would probably help.”

“Age, training, and discipline have honed my abilities. They call me the ‘Wolf of Azulen’ because I summoned six score of these and saved the unit stationed there from an embarrassing rout.”

“You must have quite the catalogue of dead enemies to pick from, then.” She shifted her gaze. “But I can promise you this; using me against my sister won’t work as any sort of advantage for you. She’ll be able to tell it isn’t me and it’ll just piss her off worse.” A smirk lifted her lips. “Maybe that ‘embarrassing rout’ will come around anyway. You might want to get used to the idea that your name will go down in history as the one who lost Mistral to one seriously ticked off big sis.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” And then, briefly, she could see something akin to fear in the woman’s eyes.

“You’re arrogant, underestimating-”

“No.” A bit of force in the woman’s voice, a crack in the armor. “I wouldn’t ‘use’ you against your sister.”

Ruby couldn’t help but be surprised at that. “An Atlesian not pressing an advantage? That’s unheard of.”

“You shouldn’t make light of what you don’t understand. I’ve made the mistake already and I won’t do it again.” The Colonel turned sharply, leaving the summoned Beowolf behind. “Enjoy your new company.”

As the door slammed closed, she frowned, watching the creature as steadily as it watched her.

While she’d probably managed to achieve her goal in unsettling the woman, now Ruby wondered if, perhaps, there were certain lines not even the Colonel would cross. The plan would work fine under the assumption that the woman could achieve her goals no matter the cost, but if she held some manner of standards, that would throw a wrench into everything.

Which made the impending arrival of the interrogation squad all the more troubling.

Winter sat at her desk, a cup of coffee off to the side and the report she’d carried around that morning tossed into a nearby chair. Although she didn’t particularly like the task before her, she really had no choice in the matter. Reaching over, she hit one of the buttons.

“Sergeant Forecastle.”

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“I’ll utilizing the secured line,” she said, a frown on her lips. “See to it I’m not disturbed.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

With that out of the way, she pulled up the secured line and punched in the proper code.

Now, if her call could go unanswered, that would be splendid, but she didn’t seem to have that sort of luck.

But she did have just enough as a familiar face filled the screen. “Colonel Schnee. It’s been too long.”

“General Ironwood,” she replied, trying to force a smile. “I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“You shouldn’t equate contacting Atlas Command with being reprimanded, Winter.” He favored her with a smile of his own. As her mentor, he’d always held a bit of a soft spot for her, and she could honestly call the man a better role model than her father ever could be. However, he was her superior first and foremost. “Though, we are curious about the current blackout. You’ve yet to file a justification.”

“I wanted to be sure I have something before troubling Command with it, Sir.” Winter shifted slightly in her seat. “Considering the current state of Remnant, throwing about accusations or making unchecked claims seems… reckless, at best.”

“I remember there was a time when you were exactly that sort of reckless.” The General clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them. “I trust you’ve made headway in verifying whatever it is that prompted the blackout? Or are you waiting for the interrogation team to arrive?”

She’d almost forgotten about that. “I’d like them to verify my results, Sir. Their methods might prove… more illuminating.”

“I trust your judgment.” He looked away and sighed. “However, I’m afraid I’ll need something- vague as it may be- to provide the other Generals. As you’ve said, these are turbulent times, and losing contact with one of our most solid strongholds is more than a little concerning. They won’t accept mere assurances.”

Winter nodded, buying herself a moment to make her decision. “I believe I’ve uncovered the methods by which the resistance here in Mistral is growing. Their motivations and the particular events they’re utilizing to gather more support to their cause. I also believe it’s possible to dismantle their rhetoric, but I’ll need more time for that.”

General Ironwood raised a brow, slightly taken aback by her words. “While I’m genuinely intrigued by how you came by that information I’m not sure if it’s a worthwhile investment of your time.”

“Why not?” Her brows furrowed. “If we can stop the resistance from recruiting new members, it simply becomes a matter of routing the remainder.”

“I don’t discredit the logic, Winter; I simply mean that I don’t think it’ll have the effect you’re hoping for.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “As long as Atlas has ruled, there have been groups trying to undermine the security we provide Remnant. The problem is that you can’t combat illogical ideations with logic. Rebels and the like will crop up, no matter how you trample and remove their excuses to do so.”

“Sir, with all due respect, I don’t think that’s an accurate assessment.” Her gaze briefly deviated to the report. “I believe with some adjustments to policy, we could very easily dissuade a large number of people from supporting or joining the forces acting against us.”

“Every policy we have is justified; there’s simply no pleasing everyone.”

“Sir, have you read through the census reports from Mistral over the past five years?” She had, several times, both to try and nail down where the missing children of Taiyang Xiao Long might’ve turned up, and then looking into it further when she began to notice a trend. How she hadn’t seen it before boggled her mind. “The local population of Mistrali is beginning to give way to Atlesians and those of mixed heritage. The vast majority of locals are either joining the resistance or suspected of doing so and being executed.”

“Then it sounds like the problem will take care of itself in another generation or so.”

Winter’s mouth opened but no sound came out as she blinked, turning that sentence over in her head a few times. “Sir… what you’re suggesting is practically genocide.”

“I don’t think that’s an accurate way of looking at it.” He shook his head. “We are just as much part of Remnant as they are; as long as we remain to stand strong, Atlas- and, by consequence, all of Remnant- will continue to march forward, and we’ll drag the territories kicking and screaming with us, no matter how they protest.” A sigh left his lips as he reached up, massaging his temple, just shy of the grey streaks running through otherwise midnight black hair. “I know you’re under a lot of pressure, Winter. Being the commanding officer for a territory is a difficult step in your career, but right now, you need to focus on executing the missions Atlas Command puts before you. Deal with the resistance when they present a problem and put them down, but don’t try to understand them. You’re simply wasting your time.”

For a moment, she just stared at the screen. “Of course, Sir. There… is the matter of a possible traitor on my base.”

His brows furrowed. “That’s a serious claim to make. No Atlesian would dare defy Atlas Command.”

‘And expect to live’ she mentally tacked on, though outwardly she only offered a nod. “I’m not entirely sure where the source of the leak is coming from, but I’ve reason to believe someone is… attempting to undermine our position here, and using our own soldiers to do it. I’m sure the interrogation squad will be able to hunt down the source of this… troublesome flow.”

“Yes, good, see that you put your efforts to solving that immediately. We don’t tolerate spies in our ranks, Colonel.” He sat back. “Finding the leak is a much higher priority than concerning yourself with the cause of the resistance. The interrogation squad will be arriving this afternoon; they’ll be able to assist you in this matter.”

“Yes, Sir. I will lift the blackout and make a full report to Atlas Command as soon as there’s proof of my concerns.”

“Good. Take care, Winter.”

“You as well, Sir.” She ended the call and sat back in her chair, sighing heavily. In the back of her mind, she could feel the connection with her summoned Beowolf- anxious, bored, never a fan of tight spaces. Rose didn’t seem to be provoking it.

However, she needed to provoke her prisoner a bit more.

The only thought Ruby really had during the hours between when the guards reluctantly brought her breakfast and when the Colonel returned was that she hoped beyond hope that Ilia didn’t try returning any time soon. Although the beast didn’t breath or move like a living creature would, it reacted to movement and sound, looking at the guards when they came, following their movements even through the wall, snapping its attention to Ruby whenever she shifted. It could be unnerving, at the least, but she couldn’t tell if it had the capacity to recognize friend from foe.

But then it started… pacing would be the only way to describe it. Restless, moving around the cell in a pattern that seemed to speed up with every pass, and she couldn’t rightly tell what caused it.

Until the Colonel burst into the room, somehow even more stressed than when she’d left. “What’s your plan?”

“Well, I was going to read a book and order a pizza for lunch,” she replied sarcastically, lifting up the chains still binding her wrists. Better to feign ignorance than give away that she had a plan at all. “But I’m tied up at the moment, so-”

“Spare me your smart remarks.” Whatever had gotten under the woman’s skin, it had dug deep, and the summon began gnashing its teeth as a reflection of her frustration. “If your resistance, by some miracle, manages to displace the Atlesian military presence here in Mistral, what then?”

Ah, so she hadn’t been found out yet. A little bit of relief suffused her being but now she stood at a crossroads. In the woman’s eyes, she could see how hard she searched for something, but couldn’t be certain what, or which response might tip the scales in her favor. Every day she sat in the cell she accomplished nothing for her allies and, without her there with the others, she worried what concern over her might encourage Yang to do. She needed to continue hitting the woman’s buttons, even if it meant playing the bloodthirsty rebel.

“What makes you think we’ll ‘displace’ you?” She lifted her chin defiantly. “We’re not interested in your relocation methods.”

“Then you seek blood.” In a flash of steel, the Colonel drew the sword at her side as the Beowolf growled. “There is no reasoning with you.”

“See?” She offered a smirk. “Your own methods seem harsh when they’re turned around on you, aren’t they?”

“The Atlesian military attempted to relocate-”

“Poorly attempted, and when that failed, they turned to executions; don’t split hairs with me about skipping the optional first step to your people’s two step plan.” Ruby rolled her eyes. “This is what I’m talking about. Everything you people do, you’ve already built in a justification by first being unreasonable and refusing to see it. Destroying entire communities because they didn’t suit Atlas’ needs.” Their eyes met, and she could sense that she was getting somewhere, pushing the woman, because the grip on her sword faltered just a bit. However, something told her that she wasn’t getting any closer to her goal, which presented a problem. “There were four kingdoms, now there’s five, but Atlas only sees itself as the rightful holder of that distinction. The rest? Second class citizens, or worse.”

“There’s no other way,” the Colonel said, the tip of her sword lowering until it almost touched the ground as her summon fell silent once more. “That’s how things have been and how they’ll stay. How do you possibly hope to change that?”

She’d have to switch tactics. At this rate, the woman seemed to be daring her to provide a reason to be taken seriously. So, she’d oblige.

“By fighting. Fighting with everything we’ve got, until we’ve pushed Atlas off Mistral’s shores and reclaimed the kingdom for the people born to it.” A sigh left her lips. “Then, the hard part starts.”

“If you’re trying to insult me-”

“For once, no, I’m not.” Ruby looked up at the ceiling. “Right now, we’re united. Everyone who is sick and tired of what Atlas has done to Mistral- we share a common enemy, but when we win, then that goes out the window. As it is, those of us who’ve earn the resistance’s trust will be seen as the leaders, and we might be able to hold onto that power long enough to set up some form of government. Mistral used to run on a system of city-states; we could bring that back.” Perhaps she’d let a bit too much of the truth out but, for some reason, she felt like it might actually be working in her favor. The Colonel listened intently, something she seemed to do whenever searching beneath what Ruby said, so perhaps she could be tricked into believing she’d uncovered something else. “But, if something happens to us- if the heads of the resistance somehow get taken out before we can rout Atlas- then the ones who step up to fill those spots might not hold the same ideals we do.”

When she lowered her gaze, she found blue eyes watching her, but they looked away as she paced the length of the room. “What I’m hearing is that killing you could very well destabilize the resistance now.”

“It might.” She held up a finger. “But there’s also my sister to consider. She might be mad enough to destroy every last Atlesian fortification on the continent but she’s not going to be able to use that anger to keep things stable after the fighting stops and I won’t be there to convince her when enough’s enough.” A short chuckle. “You’re banking on her getting her revenge and stopping but she’s the sort of person to run across the ocean and take the fight to Atlas Command herself, if it means avenging me.”

She only stretched the truth a little. Yang’s temper might be legendary but she could also be calm and level headed when the situation called for it. Yet, she also would be the sort of person to launch a one woman assault on Atlas Command. It was kinda where Ruby got the idea in the first place.

“That would be a suicide mission.” The Colonel seemed absolutely sure of that.

“At that point, she’s lost everything else. What more could she lose? What’s a life when everything that made it worth living’s been stripped away from you?” She nodded at the woman. “You say you’re a big sister. If one of your siblings was killed, what would you do? Hunt down the people responsible, even if it meant sacrificing your life in the process? Or sit here and send a card for the funeral?”

Then, she had the woman’s attention once more, her pacing halting as she threw a heated glare at Ruby. “I would never be that callous. They would have justice.”

“Good! Then, now, you’re getting it. You understand what lengths she’ll go through and how little she’ll care for the outcome.” Her voice took on a teasing lilt. “It’s only a matter of time before she comes here, looking for me.”

“What of the others?”

“What others?”

“Don’t play coy. The Fox, the Cat, the Dragon- there are other leaders. How many of you are there?”

Now, she had a chance. “The Dragon is my sister. The others aren’t in Mistral.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean they aren’t in Mistral?”

“Vacuon rebels engaged Atlesian troops in a full scale battle the day I was captured; a full platoon lost on your side. In Menagerie, the White Fang resurfaced after an extended dormancy period. And, if you haven’t heard from Vale yet, they’ve had a few mishaps at several of their trainyards, disrupting supply lines and putting several of their outposts at risk.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately, I think we’re the only ones who missed our mark. I’m sure Dragon will catch up, once she’s done destroying every building on this base.” She paused, hoping she’d counted the days right. “And, unless I miss my guess, this morning is going to be very eventful for the troops in Vale. Those near Forever Fall- they were doing a training exercise out there this week, right?” A smirk. “Guess there’s no better training than the real thing.”

“Are you implying that every rebel group working against the Atlas military is connected?” The barefaced confusion splayed across her expression- no one had tried connecting the dots? Really? She didn’t know if that spoke to how well they’d covered their tracks or Atlas’ arrogance. “How?”

“Sorry, Colonel.” She closed her eyes and leaned back. “I’m done talking to you.”

That should be more than enough reason for her to be turned over to the interrogation squad. Especially if she’d gotten the timing right.

“You little-” The Beowolf growled and lunged, but she remained calm and didn’t even open her eyes as it landed just in front of her. It didn’t touch her, though, and while she could feel it standing over her, the presence disappeared a moment later as the woman made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat. “Your mind might change once the interrogation squad arrives.”

“If you’re anything to go by, I have nothing to fear,” she replied, satisfied she’d prodded enough. With the return of the threat, she felt certain she’d tipped the scales back into her favor. Now all she had to do was force the woman’s hand. “Bring them in. At the end of the day, you won’t have anything to show for it.”

“We’ll see,” she replied, turning to exit again.

Left alone with the summon, Ruby wondered just how long she’d be left to sweat it out before the Colonel’s frustration rose too high. The pressure had to be pouring on from everything else happening around Remnant; Atlas Command kept too close of tabs on everyone under their thumb to allow for a period of silence to last. Eventually, someone had to break, and it couldn’t be her.

The door opened again, a full squad of Atlesian soldiers with riot shields and armor entering the room, regarding her like a threat while paying the summoned Beowolf no mind.

“On your feet,” one said, his voice gruff and obviously displeased. “Move.”

Well, so much for sweating it out, she thought wryly while complying with the order and mentally preparing herself for the trials ahead.

But twenty minutes later, she found herself in another detention cell just as devoid of anything remarkable as the first, and her cellmate of sorts had followed her during the move.

“What is that woman planning?” She watched the summon but received no answer, though it looked just as anxious as before, pacing the length of her cell mindlessly.

She had half a mind to join it.

Winter marched through the halls, sparing no one a glance as she made for her office. After instructing the guards on duty to move Rose to a new cell and not disclose the new location to anyone not guarding that particular section, she’d started for her desk. Not only did she need to make preparations to stall the interrogation team, she had to find a suitable distraction, and that wouldn’t be easy.

“Ma’am.” Sergeant Major Cirrus’ voice caught her attention, her brisk pace slowed so the man could catch up, accepting the scroll he handed her. “We finished questioning those found with contraband. They identified a few soldiers as the sources they bought the goods from.”

“All Atlesians, which we expected…” she slowed to a stop, reading over the information and drawing the connections- why the names seemed quasi familiar “... but isn’t that odd.”

“Erm… Ma’am?”

She pointed to the right hand side, where the soldiers’ units were displayed. “I find it strange, Sergeant Major, that all of these soldiers are recently returned from night patrols. Is that where they acquired the goods? And did they sell to multiple people to hide who their intended target was?”

“I… suppose that is peculiar.” He remained silent for a moment before lowering his voice. “Ma’am, permission to speak freely.”

“Granted.”

“Are you accusing one of our own of turning against us?”

The same, grave seriousness she heard in General Ironwood’s voice when she brought up the same idea. So, she opted to push a boundary, just to see the reaction. “I notice some of these soldiers aren’t born of Atlas. They have Atlesian blood but they’ve never been to the homeland, Sergeant Major.”

“Ah, that explains it.” He nodded, apparently accepting that conjecture without a second thought. “I can launch a full investigation into them immediately.”

“Investigate all of them,” she replied, handing the scroll back and not giving away the rolling in her stomach. “Let's not tip our hand.”

“Of course, Ma’am.” As he left, she reached back through her memories and opted to check his personnel file.

Because, if she recalled correctly, Sergeant Major Cirrus was born in the Mantle Mountain range, just beyond Atlas’ borders. Just as much a territory as Mistral, even if inducted into the fold earlier.

Winter shoved the thoughts from her mind, heading into her office after shouting to Sergeant Forecastle that she'd be on the secured line. Amid all the thoughts pinging around her head, something lurked and preyed on her mind more than the rest, setting her nerves on edge. Only one thing could assuage it.

When the line connected, she was greeted with her sister’s perplexed expression. “Winter? Or is it Colonel this time?”

Her eye twitched. “There’s no reason to be formal. This is a personal call.”

“It’s not my birthday.” Her eyes darted elsewhere. “And it’s not yours-”

“Weiss, please.” A sigh slipped past her lips as she ran a hand over her face. “How are you doing?”

“Fine, I suppose. My assignment in Menagerie has been… somewhat eventful.” A quirk to her lips. “Knowing General Cotta, you already know what I mean.”

“I do.” Sitting forward, she folded her hands and tried to keep the restless energy at bay. “I just wanted to check on you. See… if everything’s going alright.”

Brows pinching together, her younger sister tilted her head slightly. “Winter, is something wrong? I know the report appears to be troubling but we’ve been vigilant. There’s no White Fang activity; it could’ve very easily been an elaborate prank.”

“You’re sure?” The certainty in Rose’s tone, the barest of hints in those silver eyes… Weiss might be an intelligence officer, but things sometimes slipped through the cracks. “You’ve sent out your scouting parties? Double checked the perimeters? Have you determined how those flags got hung in the first place?”

“Winter, slow down.” They, perhaps, weren’t as close as other siblings, not as tightly knit, but she recognized the thread of unease in Weiss’ voice, could hear it plain as day. “Of course we’re taking the threat seriously. The last thing we want is for another rebel group to disrupt our work.”

She sighed, looking away for a brief moment. “Our work… you refer to the mines.”

“The dust deposits are the reason we’re here.” Weiss recited the official line of Atlas Command- Vale and Vacuo to instill order, Mistral to provide protection, and Menagerie for the vital resources. A reason to continue their work across Remnant. Something to believe in, something good and necessary. “And they are still operating to full capacity.”

Winter pressed her lips into a thin line. “I suppose that’s good.”

“It’s exactly what Atlas Command asks of us.”

“Do you believe it’s right?”

Weiss blinked, apparently taken off guard by the question. “Is what right?”

“Our missions.” She sat forward, interlacing her fingers. “I’m here to protect the people of Mistral, yet my night patrols engage with more and more people every day- more and more ‘suspected’ resistance fighters who don’t survive the encounter. And I’m forced to ask myself: who am I protecting?” A pause. “Do you ever have thoughts like that?”

Her sister remained silent for a moment, and in her eyes a battle waged, before she hid everything behind a mask. “Of course not. It’s not our fault the people we’re attempting to serve and protect revolt against us. If they simply obeyed, you wouldn’t be pushed to such measures.”

“Indeed.” It should’ve assured her, should’ve calmed the storm of her mind just a little, but instead she just heard the same resolute belief she’d already experienced with the General and Sergeant Major. In her heart… she felt a keen sense of disappointment. “It’s that reminder that keeps me true to the course. But diligence alone won’t protect you, Weiss. You’re aware of that?”

“Of course. I plan on leaving no openings that could be exploited.” Weiss smiled, though it looked a touch forced. “I appreciate your concern, Winter, but I assure you. I will not fall victim to some foolish rebel.”

“Good.” She nodded. “If you are in need of reinforcements, remember that I always keep two rapid deployment units on standby along the south coast.”

“I’ll be sure to brief my command on the resources available to us.” She offered a small smile. “Goodbye.” Winter reached forward to disconnect the call but stopped short. “And… I love you. Even when you’re troubled by heavy thoughts.”

A soft smile curled her lips. “I love you, too. You make me very proud, Weiss. Take care.”

Ending the call, she sat back in her chair and sighed heavily, lifting her gaze to the ceiling.

“I’ve already made my decision, haven’t I?” Nothing answered her, of course, save for the sinking in her chest. Yet, she found herself reaching out to dial another number… and frowning when the line connected. “Whitley… where the hell are you?”

He feigned innocence. “What makes you ask?”

“The fact that it’s snowing and the only place you could possibly be at this time of years is up in the mountains, which I distinctly remember you not being stationed near at all.”

“Am I not allowed to take leave?” He pouted- outright pouted- while snowflakes clung to his hair.

“You were just on leave!” She began to massage her temple, frowning at the screen. “I remember having a long talk with General Ironwood and Colonel Gold over how much leave you’ve taken, in fact.”

“Okay, so, maybe this isn’t so much ‘leave’ as… I’m not going back.”

Winter breathed in deep and let it out slowly. “You… what?”

“The military isn’t for me,” he replied, ducking indoors somewhere- given the construction, it looked more like a house or shop than any military building. “You and Weiss are free to walk in Mother’s shadow but I’m rather tired of it all. We still run the mines up here in the mountains, so I thought I’d help Father with overseeing them.”

“So… you just… left.” Reports began flashing through her mind. How many people were hunted down for simply walking down the street too late at night? And her brother just… abandoned his post?

“They’ll hardly miss me.” Whitley shrugged, sitting down somewhere as a window with snow clinging to the pane framed him. “And I’m much happier freezing up in these mountains than I ever was out in those awful forests. Do you have any idea how many forests there are in Vale? The answer is too many.”

She drew a steadying breath. “You’re my brother, so I’m obligated to say I’m pleased that you’re enjoying yourself, but as an officer-”

“Who is not in my command and can’t do anything anyway?” He smiled at her then, smug. “Report me if you wish but it’ll do little good. I’m sure Mother’s already been informed, and if she hasn’t come to collect me herself, what outcome are you expecting?”

Her hands curled into fists. Her brother had a point. “I understand if you’re disinclined to continue your service but why not at least finish out your commitment first?”

“Because I don’t want to,” he replied, expression slowly falling. “I suppose it’s a feeling you can’t understand.”

“Try me.”

“None of you understand it- Mother, Weiss, all of you are good at the whole military thing.” He practically spat the last word, dragging a hand down his face. “I never wanted to join, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter, and now? It doesn’t matter how proficient I am. I could be the best soldier or the worst and my place wouldn’t change one bit.” Then, he gestured behind him. “But here? When I excel, I excel, and I’m rewarded appropriately.”

She had half a mind to accuse him of something so base at greed but the words caught in her throat. Laziness wouldn’t be tolerated at her level, of course, but the chances of Whitley ever reaching her rank ran slim, purely because she’d been born first. Just as she’d never reach General until Mother died or retired. It was one of many laws put into place to mitigate certain risks- no chance of professional jealousy if one’s rank was determined by fate- but she’d met her fair share of incompetent officers. And only Atlesians born in Atlas were considered qualified to reach beyond a certain rank anyway.

A method of control, to keep people in their place… to walk in the shadow of those who came before.

“You’re good at it, then?” She kept her voice even despite the tumultuous thoughts rolling through her mind. “Managing the mines?”

“So far, I’ve increased productivity by a fair margin. Father’s impressed.” He sighed. “I’m not sure if that’s very encouraging though. So far, all I’ve done is walk through the mines. Apparently, having a real Atlesian in the area is required for these lazy workers to actually do their jobs.”

Winter frowned. “Really? You haven’t threatened them in any way?”

“There’s no reason to; they know what awaits them if they fail to meet my expectations.”

That didn’t ease her concerns in the slightest. In fact, it just made some of Rose’s comments echo in the back of her mind. “Are you expectations at least reasonable?”

“Of course; I learned from you and Mother, after all.” That set her stomach rolling. She’d always maintained high standards, just as Mother had, but when they weren’t met… she’d always justified the punishments in her mind. However, what she would ask of soldiers and what she would ask of civilians differed and she didn’t believe for a second her brother understood that difference. “We’re on schedule to have these mines closed by the end of the year and the workforces moved to new prospects.”

Her brows pinched together. Admittedly, she’d never paid Father much mind when he talked about the mining business; dust provided an important asset to the military, yes, but they’d won many battles without it.“You’re going to relocate the workforce? Move entire cities?”

“Of course. We don’t need them here; we need them where the dust is.”

“And they’ve agreed to that?”

“Winter.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “You act as if they have a choice.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line. “I suppose that is rather foolish of me.”

He sat forward, looking genuinely concerned for the first time throughout the conversation. “You’re probably just stressed. It’s not like you’ve taken leave recently. You should look into it; get some time to clear your head.”

“I’ll consider it.” A sigh slipped past her lips; although not exactly the way she’d wanted to find out, she had the answer to the question she’d asked Weiss. “Try not to get into trouble, Whitley.”

A scoff. “Good luck to you, too, Winter.”

As the call ended, she passed a hand over her face and slumped in her chair. Checking in on her siblings… she didn’t do it as often as she should, true, but she’d always justified it with the knowledge that they understood the demands of her position. If they needed anything, they could easily call her- she’d never denied a message from them, no matter the form- and she would move mountains if necessary to help them out.

But they were all products of Atlas, of the military, and under the thumb of Atlas Command. For anyone of lesser status, abandoning one’s post would be grounds for a severe punishment. Yet, she understood rather well that Whitley would face no repercussions. Born of Atlas, for him to face any sort of consequence would first require something a bit more serious than dereliction of duty, especially if Mother waved a hand and had him ‘reassigned’ to some fictional position to cover his absence.

Confronted with this reality alongside the eagerness of Sergeant Major Cirrus to ferret out the non-Atlas born weak link and General Ironwood’s grave interest in a possible traitor, she found it nigh impossible to justify the clear classism. She couldn’t even explain the flippant way Whitley spoke of the mine workers, how they were expected to do as told, and she didn’t doubt they’d be killed for any failure to comply. They were likely working themselves to the bone not out of a previously held lack of effort on their part but simply motivated by the knowledge that Whitley could order any one of them killed for little to no reason and it would never be questioned.

Reaching over to the console, she typed out a message to Mother, informing her of the situation. Not that it would change anything- if it wasn’t swept under the rug already, it would be after this- but because it was what she would be expected to do, as both the eldest sibling and a higher ranking officer. Mother charged her with keeping tabs on Weiss and Whitley decades ago; remaining silent when she full well knew the woman would find out eventually would simply draw more suspicion to her.

And she didn’t need any more, even as she sent the message and dialed another number.

“Colonel Schnee.” A man answered, his expression twisted and face flushed. “I’m afraid I don’t have the time to track down your brother if he’s not answering his scroll.”

“I’ve already spoken with him, Colonel Gold,” she replied, frowning as the sounds of several voices droned on in the background, some panicked. “He’s abandoned his post; he’s up in the mountains overseeing our family mines.”

A small amount of relief washed over the man. “With respect, good. I don’t need his antics on top of everything else right now.”

“Anything I can assist with, Sir?”

“No, we’re already mobilizing a full brigade to go investigate.” That… was a lot of soldiers. “One of our units was training in Forever Fall when we lost contact with them. Their last communication indicated some manner of attack.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It’s probably some fool Valen’s idea of a prank. I’m sure it’s nothing but I don’t tolerate such blatant disregard for training protocol.”

She raised a brow, slightly confused. “Training protocol?”

“We sent an augmentation force with the unit to act as an opposing force- a bit of force on force training is good for morale, you know.” He waved a hand. “But knowing these blasted vermin, they cut the comm lines like an actual enemy would, and there’ll be hell to pay when I find out who had that bright idea.”

In that moment, Winter thought about warning him that it might not be a simple training mishap. That those soldiers might be marching into an ambush. “I’m… sure the culprit will be revealed when a fully armed brigade arrives looking for them.”

“Fully armed?” Colonel Gold scoffed and shook his head. “I’m not wasting time outfitting an entire brigade. They’re rolling out with the bare minimum; I need them there quickly to put an end to this fiasco.” A light chuckle. “Though I would rather like to see the looks on their faces when the brigade arrives.”

“Have you considered it might not be a training accident?”

All mirth fled him at that moment. “Listen here, Schnee. I understand Mistral and Vacuo has its share of rebel scum, but you’re seeing shadows where there are none. We pacified Vale years ago; there’s simply no way the local populace could stage anything close to an attack. Even then, they’re just Valens. We’ll simply burn whatever village they came from to the ground, if it comes to that, which it won’t.”

“My apologies, Sir,” she said. “Perhaps you’re right.”

He nodded. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an augmentation force to reprimand.”

When the screen faded, Winter had to face a harsh truth.

She’d just willingly withheld vital information that could lead to the deaths of several Atlesian soldiers… and as conflicted as she felt about that, she rightly shouldn’t- it should’ve been the most clear cut decision, and she’d made the wrong one.

Yet… she found herself thinking about a little island village destroyed by Atlesian troops. The cost of that ‘pacification’. And the futility of it.

Standing, she walked around her desk, intending to visit Rose, but the moment she opened her office door, she was confronted with an unfamiliar sight.

“Ah, Colonel Schnee. Just who I wanted to see.” A shock of orange hair poked out from beneath a black bowler, green eyes that seemed a touch too friendly, and a white coat in the Atlesian style but lacking any rank identification, instead bearing a mark representing Atlas Command- someone she’d never met but could recognize instantly and her blood ran cold. “You are the one who requested an interrogation squad, right?”

#TRR writes #Winter Rose #TRR commissions

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caspian-skye · 6 years ago

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I wrote a little thing from Alexandra’s point of view. It’s the morning after she joins Twilight Crusade, written in a diary a week later. Is this fluff? I don’t think I’ve ever written fluff, everything I write is angsty as hell with some comedy sprinkled in it.

August 23rd

It’s been a week since I joined Twilight Crusade.

I don’t know why I did it. Scratch that, actually. I joined them because I’m tired of being alone, tired of wondering when I wake up on any given day if it’ll be my last. But still, I agreed to live with, and work with, 8 people I had no idea existed just a few days earlier. Something inside me told me to do it, but I’m not sure what.

I’m getting used to these guys. Azure, Dustyn, Rusty, and Ezelia are all super friendly, but they get weirder in that order. Not a bad weird. They’re honestly fun to be around. Raven isn’t stuck up like I thought, she’s just too shy to talk to me. If I initiate conversation, and if Rusty’s there too, she breaks out of her shell a bit, and she’s actually really nice as well. Greyson is interesting. He’s probably a nice person just like (most of) his friends, but he’s a little scary. I know he was the one who invited me to Twilight Crusade after I scared them all half to death, but he always has that pissed off look on his face, and barely talks unless it’s to Azure or about Twilight Crusade things. I’ve decided to keep away from Ember for now. She scares me, and though I don’t think she dislikes me, she’s been pretty cold and curt all the times I’ve talked to her. How is she such good friends with Raven, of all people?

And of course, that leaves Kita. I can’t let anyone, especially her, find out that I already have a huge crush on her.

The morning after I joined Twilight Crusade, I woke up at the brink of dawn. I took the liberty of checking Raven’s scroll to see the time, and it was just after 6 in the morning. The tent was unbearably hot and stuffy from the 4 people who crammed into it for the night, so I quietly climbed over them to get outside. Six is about the time of day I wake up in late Summer anyway. It’s bright outside, but not searing hot just yet. It’s the perfect time to move and find a town, or someplace with water.

On my way to the camp bathrooms, I noticed Kita was already awake as well. She paid me little notice apart from a side-eyed glance, as she was deep in what looked to be sword training. She slowly performed a series of several strikes, then reset and repeated them faster as I passed.

When I returned, I hadn’t the slightest clue of what to do. I knew Twilight Crusade wasn’t used to a nomadic life in the desert, so they probably wouldn’t be up for a while. I could’ve explored the campgrounds we currently live in, and I considered it for several moments as I sat at the table, twirling a surprisingly flexible twig from one of the campground’s trees in my fingers.

I noticed Kita beginning to approach, but I didn’t dare grant her much more than a quick glance and polite smile. Of course she seemed nice enough when we first met (she called my eyes BEAUTIFUL!), but since, she hadn’t said a single word. She’s always just... there. In the shadows barely beyond where you can see. And when you can see her, she has that blank, intense-as-hell stare.

That’s exactly why my heart skipped a couple of beats when, after a quick stop at the cooler, she took a seat at the table across from me.

“Good morning, Alexandra,” Kita said, bowing her head slightly.

My voice caught in my throat and I forgot how to speak. I think I managed to bid her good morning too.

“Do you feel as if you are settling in well?” Kita inquired.

“Well, kind of...” I admitted. “It’s all just a bit nerve wracking, you know? Like I’m a total outsider, and you guys have known each other for... well, however long you’ve known each other.”

I should take this time to note something. At this point, I was a bit self-conscious about the way I spoke to Kita. She’s so well-spoken. She has a noticeable accent, that even borders on heavy at times (I later found this accent to be from remote Mistral), but she speaks so clearly and calmly that I can always tell what she’s saying. It’s honestly relaxing, hearing her talk to me. Until I have to talk back. That part gets me.

“I understand how you feel,” Kita said. “I have only known them for a handful of moons-- forgive me. Months, I mean.”

“Really?” I asked. “You mentioned the Shrouded Fox yesterday. Were you with them?”

Kita cocked her head, as if considering her reply. “It is complicated,” she began. “I was a member of the tribe, until I was exiled. I joined Greyson after he helped save my people from a prophesied grimm attack which would have brought calamity to my people.”

“Whoa.”

Kita took a sip from the water bottle that sat before her. Her movement brought several things to my attention. First, her muscles. I really, really hope I don’t come across as creepy, but she’s so buff. She’s not built like a bodybuilder or anything, but what mass she does have looks to be entirely rock-hard, toned muscle. Her shoulders are broad, only when compared to her waist. The muscles under her skin rippled with her movement, and for a bit, my train of thought completely derailed.

This is definitely gonna come across as creepy, and I’m sorry. But I’ve seen her abs since this conversation and... wow.

Anyway, the second thing I noticed was her scars. The largest of countless knicks and slashes documented on her skin is on the center of her chest, and it’s about three inches across. It’s perfectly circular, with some strange symbol I’m not even close to recognizing. It looks like a burn. A brand, maybe? God, that must have hurt. The second scar I see is an oblong section of darkened, disfigured skin nearly an inch across on both sides of her forearm. Was that arm shot straight THROUGH?! This girl is a badass!

“I am actually quite curious about this world,” Kita noted. “If it does not bring any unpleasant memories, would you mind sharing a bit about your tribe?”

“Well, Raven actually explained us pretty well yesterday,” I recalled with a nervous laugh. “We of the Inyan were a nomadic tribe, and many of us were dust wielders. We took refuge wherever could support us, and would go into desert towns to sell dust, fabrics, and anything else we could find. All of it was destroyed the night my people were slain. All I could do to support myself, other than hunting for food and finding water, was sell stone sculptures. As you can imagine, they didn’t pay as well as dust and quality fabric.”

Kita cocked her head curiously. “Did you visit villages often?” she asked.

“The Inyan would visit once a week, every week,” I replied. “I visited less than that though. One person takes less feeding than an entire tribe.”

“I cannot imagine what it must have been like, to survive alone for many years,” Kita sympathized. “It was difficult enough to survive my exilation, which lasted nearly a moon. I had far more food and water available than you.”

“It’s not like there were people that would have killed me on sight though, I could go wherever I wanted,” I replied, perhaps a bit too flippantly. “Anyway, if you don’t mind me asking, what was your tribe like?”

“We were completely isolated from society, deep in the mountains of Northern Mistral,” Kita answered. “From a young age, all I knew was war, and worship of the Great Shrouded Fox. We were quite traditional, as well. We had set celebrations for the birth of a child, and ceremonies for those who joined the stars, among many other rituals.”

“You guys were completely isolated?” I questioned curiously.

Kita nodded. “The only times I had ever seen someone not of my tribe, outside of combat, were when outsiders came to investigate us,” she explained. “Raven was one such outsider. I aided her in slaying creatures of grimm. One of my tribemates saw, and I was exiled. Contact with those from the outside is forbidden, as it is thought to be dangerous.”

“Aren’t you even the slightest bit bitter about that? Toward anyone?” I asked.

Kita shook her head gently. “It was purely my choice, and I understood the consequences. Raven had been mistreated by those she called allies, and so I do not fault her either,” she said. “Yet still, it was quite the fall from grace. My family was second most revered, only to the village elder’s bloodline. I was to marry his son when I was of age.”

My blood ran cold. Up until this point I had fooled myself, thinking that I might actually have a chance with this girl. Now, I remembered. She’s straight. Definitely straight.

“Oh, I’m... sorry,” I offered. “I know-- I mean, I can imagine how it would feel to be pulled away from someone you loved.”

Kita cocked her head. “I do not know if I truly loved him,” she admitted. “The Shrouded Fox marries for strength, so our union made sense. I was the strongest unmarried woman of my tribe. Yet he was more than ten years my senior.”

“Do you feel love?” I asked. I covered my mouth, eyes widening as I looked to the ground. What. The. HELL did I just ask? It’s like I asked if she was a robot or something. Which, I mean, she seems like one until you actually talk to her. It’s kind of endearing.

Kita pinched her scarf between thumb and index finger, raising it above her nose to conceal her cheeks.

“Yes. I believe I do.”

#RWBY #RWBY OC #rwby fanfiction #shipping #RIP Alexandra Kita felt love for Greyson not her #How do I do italics on here

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squadrongal · 7 years ago

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RWBY: From One Stranger to Another

(SOMETHING THAT ISN’T ROSE GARDEN RELATED!? WHAAAAT!?!?!? Now its Rosebird instead. But yeah I had a lot of inspiration from the latest episode. Its feelsy and a bit gay so read at your own risk) (Rated A for Angst)

Between the darkened shadows of the night, moonbeams fell through the canopy, leaving specks of light along the forest floor. And among the gentle winds and chirping of crickets, there was the piercing sound of leaves and twigs crunching under boots.

A woman, clad in red and black, holding a sword at her hip, walked along the path leading deeper and deeper into the heart of the forest. Growing up she had always known the forests of Mistral, with its tall trees and thick greenery. But they were wilds, and not a safe place for the faint of heart. Grim crawled freely, and killed as they pleased, while in Patch, the forests were quiet, safer, and dare she say… peaceful. As much as danger seemed to follow her, and as much as she felt the duty to return to it, she admitted liking the occasional silence and white noise of the world.

There was more crunching in the forest. Something running up behind her. She could hear its footsteps, light and quick, too light to be a grim, but not nearly quick enough to be an animal. No, she was being followed… by a person. And just before she could turn around, she heard her…

“RAVEN!”

Raven turned her head, red eyes glaring back at the girl, now panting behind her. She stood below one of the many moonbeams, the paleness of her skin and the white of her cloak making her glow in the dark. Under any other circumstance, Raven may have found her beautiful… but right now, she was blinding… she was torture.

She sneered, “What are you doing here, Summer?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

Raven knew damn well where this conversation was heading, so she turned her head forward, away from Summer, so she wouldn’t have to look her in the eye when she eventually asked…

“Raven, you can’t seriously be leaving… can you?”

Raven’s hand twitched on her hilt.

“I have to.”

“Why?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“Why not?”

Because it was too damn complicated that’s why. The woman contemplated telling Summer her reason, but even then, where would it even begin? When her twin brother ran off to Beacon to become a huntsman? When they both ended up enrolled in Beacon Academy despite Raven’s obvious resentment for the establishment and its staff? When she foolishly grew attached to her silver-eyed partner? When she even more foolishly fell in love with Tai, their team goofball? When she idiotically had a child with him? When she oh so fucking stupidly grew to love and care for these people she promised she would leave behind forever?

No… it would start with him. That man, that scoundrel… that Ozpin. Through his stupid spectacles and behind that greying hair, she knew… she knew the ugly truth about that man… that school… the bloody kingdoms… she never truly liked the huntsmen academies to begin with, being raised by bandits did that to you. But knowing the truth… that they were nothing but pawns… the atrocities that man had committed and planned to commit, and how everybody believed in him, even Qrow…

“You wouldn’t understand.” She answered

Summer clutched her fists before responding.

“You’re right… I don’t understand…” her head whipped upward, staring desperately into Raven’s back “I don’t understand why you would leave your team over a band of killers and thieves!”

Ravens head whipped around.

“How did you-!?” Qrow and Raven being raised by bandits wasn’t a secret between STRQ, but Raven had made a specific (and in her mind, a damn good) attempt at keeping her departure a secret. She’d be in bed next to the father of her child that night, and would be out of their lives by the morn. The only one even remotely close to reading her emotions was…

“Qrow told you, didn’t he?”

Summer straightened “He told me enough.”

Raven cursed under breath.

“Raven,” Summer began “I know this… tribe… raised you. And I understand you may feel… obligated to return to them. But you have a family now! A man who loves you and a daughter! Me and Qrow! We’re all here for each other! And I know raising a child might be scary, but again, we’re here for each other! We can help you through this- “

“THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!”

The forest fell silent. No crickets, no wind, not a single creature moved or even dared to breath as the echo of Raven’s voice faded in the distance.

“This place isn’t right, Summer.” Raven took a step toward her. “That place you call a haven, is a lie! The cause you claim to be fighting for is a sham! That man you trusted to lead us… is a fraud!”

“What are you talking about-?”

“He’s using us Summer! He’s using all of us! And I refuse to be a pawn in his game. Its only a matter of time before everything falls apart and I’m not sticking around to be stuck in it!”

“Raven you’re not making any sense- Tai… and Yang… you’d just… leave them?”

Raven’s emotions where complicated when it came to this matter. She knew she loved Tai, but also had no desire to love or be loved. It was strange how the silly little emotion worked, making you love someone no matter how much you may want otherwise. And then there was Yang, her one and only daughter… a mistake.

They say the connection between a mother and child is unlike any bond in the world, and Raven had always been suspecting of that notion. If a mother’s tie to her child was so strong then why didn’t her and Qrow’s mother stick around? Her point only proven after Yangs birth. She had held the child in her arms, tiny violate eyes opening to her, and had felt like she was holding a stranger rather than her own child. Her team had merely suspected her lack of emotion due to exhaustion. But despite all that, they had connected to her, so she felt obligated to keep them safe.

“Yang deserves to grow up like any normal child would. The life of a bandit wouldn’t be right for her and gods know Tai wouldn’t be up for it. So he’ll stay and take care of her for me”

Summer looked at Raven, utterly perplexed.

“You’d just… leave him? The man who loves you more than anything in the world and you’d leave him to take care of a child all alone!?”

“He won’t be alone” Raven replied, “He’ll have Qrow, and he’ll have you…” the dark woman looked to the ground as if a sudden thought crossed in her mind. “unless…” another step forward “you come with me.”

Summer blinked in confusion. “W-what?”

“You’re special Summer, and Ozpin will no doubt want to make use of you too… he can’t be trusted.” Her red eyes bored into Summer’s silver ones as she held out her hand. “If you come with me you’ll be safe and out of the kingdoms reach, you can protect our tribe… and I can protect you.”

The girl in white took a step back, eyes never leaving her partners. “No.” she stated quietly “I won’t leave Qrow and Tai like that. And you shouldn’t either!”

Raven’s hand dropped, her expression hardening. “So sentimental…” she spoke to the sky “You cared too much for our mess of a team that’s the only reason we kept together…” She looked to her, face softer “That’s what made you special.”

Summer fell silent. She knew enough about Raven to know that she often meant more than what she said. And to hear such genuine words really touched her… to a point where she felt a painful throbbing in her chest as Raven turned her back again.

“So do me a favor and take care of Tai for me, and make sure my brother doesn’t do anything stupid. As for Yang… well she’s your guy’s responsibility now…” Twigs crunched under her boot as she began walking away.

Summer quickly bolted up to her. “Wait!” Grabbing Raven by the shoulder. “You were always so incredibly smart and skilled, when I saw you fight for the first time I knew ‘That’s the type of huntress I wanna be!’ You inspired me so much, you’re the reason I am where I am now! You say STRQ stayed together because of me… but I think you’re wrong! Raven… You’re my best friend! And STRQ sticks together because we’re friends! No… we’re family. So please…” Her grip tightened “don’t leave me… don’t leave your family behind…”

Raven made no response to Summer’s plea. As the crickets and the wind returned, she nudged Summers hand off her shoulder. Walking forward as a large crimson portal opened before her, a large red eye staring into a dark abyss. She brought a ghoulish grim mask to her face, not looking back at Summer Rose.

“From this moment on… we’re strangers. Be sure no one follows me.” And with that she walked into the red eye, disappearing in the blink of it.

“Raven…”

#rwby #raven #brawnwen #qrow #summer #rose #yang #xiao long #tai yang #rosebird #fanfiction #angst #my writings

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3d10fire-damage · 5 years ago

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red sun summary (10/08/2020)

the party stood a bit awkwardly in the throne room, alone aside from the guard that escorted them through the palace. the guard didn’t appear fazed by the lack of dragon in this throne room; it seemed normal to her. then the water started to move, as if being displaced somehow. there was the sound of a large creature from behind the rock in the center of the room, and then the shimmery scales of the King rose from the water. the dragon climbed onto the rock and looked down on the party, taking a second to take in the sight. she then looked to her general and commanded her to leave. “your majesty--” “leave.” the guard then bowed and left.

the King remarked that she had told the party not to be in her sight. zoroe replied that the King’s general had brought them here, and calypso agreed that “your lady said it was your law.” during a bit of disrespectful banter about being in Misitu to do some sight seeing, the party downed their Potions of Poison Resistance. zoroe contended they were doing so because they’re heavy drinkers. “you are self-righteous morons who seek to remove me from my kingdom. you have made a mistake.” the King stepped forward, rising to her full height and extending her wings. she looked like a creature out of one’s worst nightmares. “it’s time i showed you what happens when mice stand up to the cat.” calypso meowed. roll for initiative

khaela and davke moved first, dashing along the stone path while the paladin activated her Vow of Enmity on the King. calypso launched the Javelin of Lightning at the King for some lightning damage, then uses Step of the Wind to run up next to davke (since the vines off the path were difficult terrain). Hex cast Protection from Poison on herself. calypso noticed some movement of the vines, and a Shambling Mound emerged from the water and attacked calypso. Ku-aya moved up to engage with the creature while zoroe, bracing for impact, used the naga ability Weave Sensitivity to add a bonus to her saving throws. she then hit the King with Sacred Flame. cluk cast Shatter on the King and Mistral produced a glass bottle and uncorked it, unleashing a harrowing gale of smoke, wind, and dust. the dust settled and revealed a living whirlwind, awaiting Mistral’s command. Mistral then joined the fight against the Shambling Mound. further up the path to the King’s rock, another Shambling Mound crawled out of the water.

the King leaped from her rock and landed heavily near zoroe, cluk, and phosphorra. she glared down at zoroe, saying “i didn’t appreciate that, little snake.” and attacking her with claws and teeth, landing the bite. phosphorra turned invisible again and backed up against the far wall. khaela apologized to the Shambling Mound in front of her (and maybe also her allies?) and Misty Stepped to be engage with the King, now that she had landed. with a bit of a feral look in her eyes, khaela started going ham on the King (with advantage on her attacks thanks to her vow). davke said bye to khaela and looked back and forth between calypso and the Shambling Mound before attacking the mound. calypso used Flurry of Blows on the mound, using the benefit of her Drunken Master techique to then disengage from the mound to run up to the King. she greeted the King with a “hey there, bitch” and zoroe answered with “hello, calypso.” Hex cast Toll the Dead on the Shambling Mound and the mound failed to hit davke.

Ku-aya landed a couple hits on the mound and zoroe summoned a Guardian of Faith just behind the King, taking the form of a shimmering naga baring the symbol of Hvare Khshaeta. cluk hit the King with Shatter again before flying over to the King’s rock in the middle of the throne room. Mistral failed to hit the Shambling Mound but her whirlwind, Sirocco, dealt some damage to the King in her stead. the second Shambling Mound continued its slow way down toward its closest opponents. the King began beating her wings as if she were going to fly again, creating a powerful gust of wind bearing down on calypso, zoroe, and khaela. the monk nimbly managed to avoid any damage from the attack, and zoroe held her ground thanks to her sturdy snake tail, but khaela fell prone from the force of the wind. the King then took to the sky and khaela managed to hit with an opportunity attack from the ground (King also took damage from zoroe’s Guardian). the King took a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of poisonous gas on the three party members she had just attacked. calypso didn’t quite make the CON save, but the poison resistant potions everyone had taken helped with the damage. calypso stubbornly remarked she had smelled worse things, and zoroe added that she’s smelled worse from diapers. the King hung in the air, leaving her out of reach from the melee fighters.

phosphorra cast Fire Ball on the King, also catching the two Shambling Mounds in the blast. this left the first mound “bloodied” and phosphorra then backed up even further. khaela got back to her feet and assumed a defensive stance while davke kept exchanging blows with the first Shambling Mound. calypso, complaining that the King kept running away, stood next to khaela and took the dodge action as well. Hex and Ku-aya kept up the damage on the mound as zoroe took shelter beneath her Guardian of Faith. she then threw a Fire Ball of her own to the King and the mounds, very nearly killing the first Shambling Mound. cluk, perched on the King’s rock, cast Shatter once more... bloodying the King. Mistral finished off the first mound with a critical hit and the second mound swiped and missed davke.

the King, infuriated, dropped onto the rock behind cluk, looming over the bard. “would you stop doing that?” everyone save for Mistral, Ku-aya, and khaela succumbed to the King’s frightening aura. then the King proceeded to tear right into cluk, scoring a critical hit with her claws and teeth in spite of zoroe’s Warding Flare, leaving cluk on her last dregs of strength. a very scared phosphorra used the last of her sorcery points to distantly cast Sanctuary on cluk before firing off an inaccurate Fire Bolt and moving even further away. khaela moved to fight the remaining Shambling Mound while davke continued to be very proud of everyone, in spite of their (and her own) fear. calypso, reaching into her honed monk mind her stubbornness and grit, shook off the fear, telling the King “you don’t scare me, you scaly brat.” Hex focused her attack on the remaining mound, unable to shake the frightened effect of the King. zoroe called out to the dragon “you liked this, right?!” as she fired a Sacred Flame at her. the King turned around on the rock, nearly taking cluk out with her tail whip, but luckily the attack missed thanks to Sanctuary.

wounded and bleeding, cluk got the hell off the King’s rock and zoroe called her over to the Guardian of Faith. cluk landed next to her, slapping her hand like they were in a relay race as zoroe overcame her fear and fretted over cluk’s wounds. Mistral engaged the second mound and her whirlwind, frightened, moved south and assumed a defensive pose. the Shambling Mound, apparently thinking that calypso was a bit too happy to be moving, attacked the tiefling. the King flew over toward this miniature combat, striking davke down before going to hover over the water. phosphorra, still invisible, launched another Fire Ball at the dragon and the mound, dealing full damage (finally). khaela kneeled down to use Cure Wounds on davke to bring her back to consciousness. calypso greeted the naga with a “mornin’ kid” as davke stood up to keep fighting the mound, shaking off her own fear.

calypso landed three hits on the Shambling Mound, leaving the creature looking pretty bad. Hex’s Toll the Dead finished off the creature. calypso shouted to the King “just you left, you green shit!” the dragon beat her wings and flew to the far northern end of the room, surveying the room full of enemies. cluk looked to zoroe with puppy dog eyes, asking for healing. zoroe assured her they’d be okay, patting down her feathers and healing some of her wounds. Ku-aya and Mistral headed further down the path and took the dodge action while Sirocco made the save on the King’s frightening aura.

the dragon landed on her rock, looking rough, panting and bleeding. she spat that the party were vermin, and calypso hit her with “i know you are but what am i?” “you think to challenge me... this royal bloodline that forged its strength and ruled while you worms crawled in the dirt?” the party nodded back at her, expectant. the King growled that she would show the party the true power of her bloodline, then gave a deafening roar. the vines choking the floor shifted and turned the air toxic until a poisonous tornado formed and spread throughout the throne room. zoroe, cluk, and calypso fell unconscious to the poisonous fumes, Hex was dropped very low, while Mistral, khaela, phosphorra, and Ku-aya were hanging in there (Ku-aya, being a ghost, didn’t take any damage).

then phosphorra cast another Fire Ball on the King, the magical flames overtaking the dragon as she was unable to react in time. the King’s massive body slumped to the rock, falling unevenly before sliding into the water below. in her last moments the King no longer appeared nightmarish, instead looking broken and alone. khaela healed davke again, waking her up. Mistral and the others worked to stabilize their fallen allies. phosphorra immediately healed zoroe so the cleric could assist in healing and waking the others as well. zoroe used Cure Wounds on cluk, then began to send a Healing Word to calypso, only to see that Hex was already taking care of her. once back on her feet, calypso went to retrieve her javelin and to begin extracting one of the King’s teeth. phosphorra said that the group should probably leave soon, though she wasn’t sure what the plan was. Hex replied that they weren’t getting out the same way they came in, prompting zoroe looking to both doors leading out of the throne room, wondering where to go. calypso, covered in blood and vines, carried the dragon tooth over to khaela and offered it to her, as she had drunkenly promised back in Melu. “here's ya dragon fang, fangs.”

Hex suggested the group check for where the King swam in from. zoroe seemed a little nervous about the prospect of swimming out of the palace, not having swam before. Hex and phosphorra both turned to calypso, expecting her to do go swimming and look around for an underwater exit, seeing as she appeared the most fit for swimming. calypso wasn’t entirely convinced, since she had done much swimming herself, having grown up in a desert, so Hex cast Water Breathing on her. she then pushed calypso toward the water, not nearly strongly enough to make her fall, but calypso did a dramatic backwards fall anyway. thanks to a shitty roll, calypso wasted a bit of time searching for an opening in the wall, at one point actually swimming into the wall and hitting her head. eventually though, she found a tunnel that appeared to be a straight shot, large enough for the King to have come through. swimming down the tunnel for a couple minutes, the tunnel’s sides soon opened to an exit. meanwhile, zoroe was fretting at the water’s edge.

even with her darkvision, calypso wasn’t making out many details in this dark underwater space, besides that she appeared to be in a larger body of water now. coming to the surface, she found herself in a small cavern without any torches, water lapping onto a stone beach. stepping onto the beach and taking a look around, calypso spotted a large makeshift bed, presumably for the King, as well as a tunnel leading further in. while the cavern appeared to be natural, the tunnel looked manmade. satisfied with what she had found so far, calypso returned to the party to report what she saw. there was a bit of banter between her and zoroe about healing that ended with zoroe patting her head and healing her a bit more.

out of concern for other options, it was suggested that someone sneaky check the other door to the throne room, to see what was on the other side, so maybe the party could go that way. again calypso was volunteered for this, though she protested a little, wondering what would happen if guards spotted her and came rushing in. zoroe offered some encouragement, suggested calypso would outrun them. this encouragement appeared to work; “I CAN OUTRUN ANYBODY!” calypso quietly approached the door and opened it silently, peering through to see tons of guards waiting, ready to run into the throne room. with that in mind, the plan was to swim out of here. everyone prepared to go swimming, taking off armor and rolling up sleeves. phosphorra asked Hex if she had anymore Water Breathing spells, to which Hex bluntly said no. zoroe was still worried about swimming, even with calypso insisting she’d help her if she was struggling. then zoroe began counting down for everyone to jump in. naturally, calypso jumped in at 2, then everyone else followed.

next time, DRAGON TREASURE. this was also cluk’s player Lily’s last game unfortunately. she was a lot of fun to play dnd with and we will miss our witty beacon bard.

#red sun #dnd #long post

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ruffsficstuffplace · 7 years ago

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And The AWRD Goes To... (Part 2)

Weiss stepped out of the crowds, the hubbub, and the hot and stuffy air inside the Great Hall, sighing and slumping her shoulders as she came down the stairs to the greenery, the spread out crowds, and the cool, fresh air.

She scanned the path leading up there, was disappointed but not surprised to find that Ruby and Akko had already disappeared from where she’d left them earlier. “Probably off at the firing range to check weapons, or looking for Shiny Chariot memorabilia on campus...” she thought as she walked down the path.

“So, there’s about an hour before we’re all supposed to report to the Great Hall for Headmaster Lionheart’s speech; you’re alone and have no idea where the hell Akko is; and Grandpa and Grandma explicitly stated that they don’t want to see you hiding out in either of their offices, unless you’re bleeding, having an episode, or have official, school-based business with them.”

She looked around at the crowds of students milling about, some enjoying the nice day, others also heading into the Great Hall with their luggage, the rest just disembarking from the later airship trips to Haven. “You could go try and make friends again! Hope things go better than earlier, possibly even make some headway with your future teammates if you happen to be having your initiation exam at the same time as them…

“… Or you could do the realistic thing, and hide out somewhere isolated, where no one will bother you or try to strike up a conversation with you.” Weiss paused to consider her two options for a few seconds, before she made a sharp turn off the main path, to the buildings on the fringes of Haven.

Unlike Akko and many of the other students, this wasn’t the first time Weiss had ever stepped foot on the campus. Though she had been under heavy surveillance and the watchful eye of either of her grandparents every single time, there was only so much you could do to keep a young, bored, and anti-social girl from exploring her surroundings, discovering shortcuts, memorizing routes and the lay of the land in her head, until she could get almost everywhere in campus with little difficulty.

Weiss smiled as she found herself in Haven’s zen garden, walking past the wooden lattice fences and arches covered in flowers, crawling vines, and bonsai trees; watching the small woodland creatures, birds, and butterflies going about their days; listening ho the gentle burble of water fountains and the irrigation streams, and of course, the regular, distinctive “doink!” sound of a deer chaser somewhere.

She wasn’t alone there, but she may as well have been with all the people she passed by intent on keeping to themselves, so Weiss just happily strolled through the familiar paths, humming quietly to herself as she made her way to her favourite spot:

The Jennifer Memorial Tree.

Legends abounded about the massive centerpiece of the garden: that its namesake was secretly buried there, after she fell during a massive siege of Grimm and her compatriots had gone through mythical hardships to recover her remains; that the spirits of all the fallen huntsmen and huntresses of Haven eventually returned there to watch over the next generation as they trained; that some sort of incredible, secret relic of unimaginable power was buried within its massive roots, waiting for the day a worthy wielder would appear and claim it.

To Weiss, however, it was just her grandfather Nick’s favourite spot to hang out after class and before going home, where he’d tell his grandchildren and/or interested students stories about his numerous adventures and misadventures all over Remnant, until an airship arrived to take him home. Weiss hummed to herself as she stepped into the protective dome around it, stopped as she realized that someone was already standing before the tree’s spiraling trunk.

It was another girl about her age, wearing a blue shirt with the hood pulled up over her head, a spear slung across her back, its head shaped like a unicorn’s horn.

Weiss awkwardly stopped some distance away from her, her features furrowed. “Oh, great, what do I do…?” she thought to herself. “Should I leave? Should I stay and try to ignore her? I can’t just tell a total stranger to up and leave public property…!”

The hooded girl turned around, Weiss saw her face, felt her mind screeching to a halt as she stared at her. The other girl’s gaze, sharp blue eyes locked with Weiss’ own. “Can I help you…?” she said as she stepped closer.

Weiss stood there, stunned, before started blubbering and struggling for words, until she finally managed to blurt out: “You’re Diana Cavendish!”

“I am her, yes,” Diana replied calmly.

There was silence for a few, awkward moments. Diana’s face remained neutral, but Weiss could feel the ever decreasing patience she had for her, see it in those pale blue eyes.

“I’ll just be taking my leave now...” Diana said as she began to make her way past Weiss.

“Wait!” Weiss blurted.

Diana stopped, looked at her with an expression that said: “This better be important.”

Weiss hesitated for a moment. “Thank you,” she said. “To your family. The Cavendishes. Without their work in medicine, my grandfather Nick would be dead by now.”

For a brief moment, Diana just stared at her in surprise, before her lips curled into a small smile. She was about to say something, before her eyes went wide. “… Wait, you’re Weiss Schnee, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes I am!” Weiss said, beaming, before she frowned. “No longer associated with the Schnee Dust Company, by the way! My grandparents and mother cut ties with the company years ago, and I’ve absolutely no interest in reconnecting them!”

“I know, and I heard,” Diana said. “I’m assuming you’re here in Haven to follow in your grandfather’s footsteps?”

“… Among other reasons, but yes!” Weiss said, nodding. “The man I regret to say is my father dragged the Schnee name into the mud, and I intend to bring it out of it.” She paused. “Ah, if I may ask, what are you doing here in Haven? Sorry, my family has been living out in the mountains for all these years, and we aren’t really privy on most news of Mistral society...”

“Much the same as you, actually,” Diana said, smiling. “House Cavendish has fallen on its own tough times.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you.” Diana said. “You know, now that I think about it, maybe our two legacies can help each other out once more—what would the Cavendish hospitals and laboratories been without Schnee dust powering them, after all…?”

Weiss blinked. “You mean… you want us to be partners? Like in a team…? Together?”

“If fate decides to bind our families together in such a way, yes.” Diana said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind cooperating with yours, whoever they might be.”

Weiss just stared blankly at her. “Oh. That’s… very generous of you, thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” Diana said. “Now if you’ll please excuse me, I had other things I intended to do before the Headmaster’s speech...”

“O-Oh, go on ahead, please don’t let me keep you!” Weiss said as she quickly stepped aside, awkwardly swept her arm towards one of the exits.

Diana smiled at her one more time as she left, before her face was neutral once more, her gaze locked forward as she made her way out of the zen garden.

Weiss watched her go for a few moments, before skipping to the base of the Jennifer Memorial Tree and sitting down at the particular patch of dirt Nick always favoured. “Wait till Grandpa hears about this…!” she thought as she looked up at the vibrant leaves looming above her, a smile on her face, her eyes shining.

Then, little by little, the smile disappeared, the glow in her eyes faded, till she was looking up at the canopy with a look of mute, silent dread.

The Great Hall was abuzz with activity, students flooding almost every bit of space on the floor, some of them even hanging off or sitting on the rafters up in the ceiling. Weiss stood somewhere in the middle of the crowds with Akko by her side, neither Ruby nor Diana in sight. “Ruby said she wanted to be with sister for this,” Akko replied when Weiss asked.

On the stage in the center, Headmaster Lionheart prepared to step up to the microphone, some the professors standing behind him—and to Weiss’ dismay, both of her grandparents were absent, no doubt busy with the preparations for the initiation tests tomorrow.

Lionheart took a deep breath, combed back his iconic gray mane with one hand, before he smiled and stepped up to the microphone. “Students? Students, lend me your ears for a moment, please!” When the casual chatter all around the Great Hall quieted down somewhat, Lionheart just sighed to himself, smiled, and continued. “Thank you. Now, good evening, everyone, and welcome to Haven Academy!

“Many are the walks of life you all came from. Some of you are here from the highest echelons of the city, children of celebrities, nobles, and the most affluent individuals in all of the kingdom. Some of you are from the lower levels, children of the hard workers that make our kingdom great, our farmers, our masons, our hardworking merchants hawking their trades day after day. Others still are from the settlements and the villages all over the hills of Mistral, across the seas from the other kingdoms as far away as Vacuo, or from origins they’d rather not be brought up.

“Many more are the reasons you enrolled here. Some of you are like the original huntsmen and huntresses, here to protect those that cannot protect themselves, slay the Grimm, and keep the peace in our kingdoms. Some of you see it as a means to status and glory, something to brag about to future employers, put in your resumes, or make for interesting conversation at parties. Some of you see it as just another way to earn a living, and start a new life for yourself as you enter adulthood.

“And right now, I can see your pasts and your motivations divide you, so many walls running down along as many lines as you can imagine.

“I will not lie: four years in this academy will not completely break down those barriers, and when you graduate, you may find many more than you ever thought possible wherever you go.

“But it is my and the staff’s sincerest hope that during your time here, you learn that in times of crises, in times of need, in times when all hope seems lost and the end seems to have come for all of us, these divides will cease to matter, that it will not matter if the person you are saving is member of the Council or a simple farmer, if they are also from Mistral or wherever else in Remnant, that the huntsmen and huntresses you are fighting with are human or Faunus, rich or poor, famous or unknown:

“For in the end, we are all the people of Remnant, all wanting to survive, to thrive, to live and be happy.” Lionheart smiled. “I hope to see you all here again in four years time, handing you and your future teams your licenses. Thank you, and good afternoon, students.”

The Great Hall erupted in applause, some of it honest and heartfelt, others distinctly sarcastic, the faces on the students ranging from inspired and proud, to disgusted and cynical.

“Can you believe they’re still spouting that crap year after year…?” Weiss heard someone whisper nearby.

“Yeah—we’re all equals alright, but some of us are more equal than others...”

Lionheart bowed and took his leave, one of the professors stepped up to the mic, a shy and timid looking woman with long blue hair and very plain and simple clothes. “All of you please report back here soon as soon as the sun goes down, 6PM sharp—we don’t want to see or hear about any of you getting up to any sort of trouble after dark, and Professor Schnee asked me to tell you all, and I quote, ‘Don’t even try the “I was just looking for the bathroom” excuse, or any others tall tales! I really have heard them all, kiddos.’

“Try not to stay up too late and get plenty of rest, everyone,” she said. “You’ll want to be well-rested before we send you out into the Celestial Hills for initiation tomorrow. That is all for the announcements, you are all dismissed.”

The crowds started breaking up, some staking their spots as early as now, other still heading out before curfew was enacted.

“You want to go find some of that Shiny Chariot stuff Uncle Nick was talking about?” Akko said, bouncing on her heels and raring to go.

“I’m surprised you didn’t do that while we were separated earlier,” Weiss said.

“I promised I’d only do it with my best friend, right?” Akko said, beaming. “Though, Ruby and I ran into some Shiny Chariot stuff while we were heading to the training grounds to show off our weapons—totally coincidental, along the way stuff, I swear!”

Weiss chuckled, and smiled back. “I believe you. Now come on, let’s go! Time’s a wasting!”

“Yay!” Akko cried, before she all but dragged Weiss out and through the crowds at top speed, like a missile with an unlucky hanger-on.

Hours later, when the whole of Haven was cast in a warm orange light and all the students were staking their claims out in the Great Hall or making the most of their remaining free time, Weiss and Akko trudged back through the entrance, the former exhausted from trying to keep up with her friend, the latter scowling and stewing in disappointment.

“I can’t believe they have so little of Shiny Chariot here!” Akko complained. “She’s one of the best, most amazing huntresses to ever graduate here from Haven, why don’t they even have a statue of her?!”

Still out of breath, and legs aching, Weiss only nodded and patted her friend on the shoulder.

“We should start a petition, you know, get your grandparents to sponsor it, and every single student and staff member here to sign it!” Akko cried. “We’re going to personally shove it right onto Lionheart’s desk, and then we’re going to have a giant statue of Shiny Chariot put up on campus! Made of stone, so it lasts for centuries! And right in the center of the campus, so everyone will see it, wherever it is they’re going!”

“I sincerely wish you the best of luck with such an outlandish endeavour,” a familiar voice said. Weiss and Akko turned to the side, found Diana in a night gown, a rolled-up sleeping bag under her arm. “Merely finding people who even remember Shiny Chariot’s name will prove to be a challenge, let alone ones who still have as much passion for her as you do.”

“It won’t be that difficult!” Akko snapped, scowling. “So what if she’s taken a little break from hunting? She helped a lot of people and inspired so many more! She’s practically a legend, people don’t forget legends that easily!”

Diana’s expression remained neutral. “A piece of unsolicited advice: that seemingly boundless energy of yours might be better spent making a name for yourself, than trying to bring back someone who’s long stepped out of the spotlight—for all you know, this ‘break’ might be an unannounced, permanent retirement...” she muttered as she walked off.

Akko fumed, Weiss sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “Just let her go, Akko, and let’s look for a place to sleep tonight...” Weiss said.

“Hmph. I hope we aren’t in the same batch as her tomorrow...” Akko grumbled as she left with Weiss.

After a few minutes of searching, it was clear they should have called off the hunt for Shiny Chariot memorabilia much earlier: all the good spots in the Great Hall were long taken, old or newly formed cliques and factions had already staked vast swaths of territory for themselves and were quite selective about who they let in, and free spots were looking far and few in-between.

“Excuse me!” they heard a girl call out. Weiss and Akko looked, found an orange-haired girl with massive, clunky glasses waving at them, an empty sleeping bag next to her, and free space enough for two wedged side-by-side nearby. The two of them smiled wasted no time rushing over to her before someone else claimed the offer.

“Yay!” Akko cried as she triumphantly rolled out her sleeping bag, round birds with a star on its belly printed all over it. “Thanks! I thought we were going to have to try and sleep standing up with our backs against each other again!”

The girl with glasses blinked. “Again…?”

“It’s a long story...” Weiss muttered as she unrolled hers, a surplus Mistral military bedroll. “Anyway, I’m Weiss, and this is my friend, Akko. You would be?”

“Lotte,” Lotte replied, smiling.

“Well, thank you, Lotte,” Weiss said as she sat down. “If there’s anything we can do to repay you, just say the word.”

Lotte waved them off. “Oh, don’t even mention it!”

“Not so fast, Lotte: this could be a great opportunity for new test subjects...” a fourth, unnerving voice said.

Weiss turned to the source, found herself scowling. Akko cried and scrambled backwards, nearly crashing into the students behind her. “You!” they both cried.

Lotte frowned as she looked at Akko and Weiss, and at the girl returning to her sleeping bag. “Sucy, you know these two?”

“She poisoned me earlier!” Akko snapped. “I puked my guts out thanks to whatever it was she gave me! Twice!”

“Sucy!” Lotte snapped, glaring at her friend.

Sucy shrugged. “She came out of nowhere and started going off about something a mile a minute, what else was I supposed to do?”

“She was trying to introduce herself and make a friend!” Weiss snapped, Akko nodding beside her.

Sucy’s one visible eye blinked. “Oh. Well, at least, I got some great observations in earlier...”

Lotte sighed. “I apologize for Sucy, she’s, well...” she trailed off, struggled to think of a word, before giving up.

Weiss stood up, looked around, and found the spaces inside the warm, sheltered Great Hall already fast running out; staff were already forcing the cliques to give up space, but she had a feeling they were going to be breaking out tents pretty soon…

She sat back down, and looked Sucy dead in her eye. “No funny stuff in the middle of the night, okay? Even without my weapon, I’m dangerous enough with just my semblance.” Weiss said.

Sucy half-heartedly put her hand on her chest. “Huntress’ honour.”

Weiss looked at her warily, before Akko and her switched places, Weiss now closer to Sucy than her.

It wasn’t exactly how either of them wanted to spend their first night in Haven, but Weiss supposed it was a good start to when they’d inevitably be sleeping in worse accommodations...

#rwby #little witch academia #white rose #dianakko #au #and the AWRD goes to

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setsunatama3 · 5 years ago

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Chapter 17: growth and complications

AN/ sorry guys, I kinda got busy at work (several call-offs while prepping for a big Thanksgiving party) 😅. I haven’t had a day off to really sit down and work on this for the past month in half as its holiday season. Fortunately, I only have one more party to prep for, and that is on Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa (or whatever appropriate religious holiday you celebrate). I may have to slow down for a bit due to all the hours I am currently working. At my place of work. At least until January. So please have patience with me while I get through the holiday season. On another note has anyone out there caught the manga and historical reference I made in the last few chapters. If not, the reference is the use of the dead Tangut dialect. And its relation to the manga by the title of shut hell it is an excellent historical romance fantasy tale. Based on the actual real-world genocide of the Tangut people by the Mongolian horde lead by the (in)famous Genghis Khan. And I also but Voldemort in my fanfic by his real name Tomas Riddle (killed him off right and proper I did) and yeah its cause I got addicted to hp fics (stop looking at me like that I don't have a problem…

No, I don’t have a problem. You have a problem.)

For any updates follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/setsunatama3

Chapter 17: growth and complications

Blake did not know what to think when she had sat down on the center island of the lake before the falls of truth. Honestly, she had felt that naruto was joking when he had told her. The only way for her to grow was to confront her darkness. So as one would expect, she was caught off guard when, after a minute of staring at the hypnotic serenity that was the waterfall, a figure came from its depths. A copy of herself down to the last detail. Only it did not hide its features proudly sporting her cat ears to the world.

Standing up to walk over to confront her darkness. Blake's first thought was to fight. When Naruto's words rang through her head, they were not to fight but confront her darkness. But the real question was, what was her darkness? Why did she hide who she was from everyone else? Wearing a mask that only one person indeed saw through with only a glance. It was simple to fake who she was for so long that it soon became natural. It became her first instinct to hide who she was. Even when she faced discrimination from the masses for being a Faunus. Her first reaction was to swallow her pride and hate. For a mask of indifference. Just going with the flow. When her parents had founded the white Fang to protect the Faunus. It was one of the few times she felt anything other than apathy for the world at large. Then they changed, and her parents gave up on the Fang to hide away their shame in Menagerie. Her father, rather than curbing the violent tendency of the members of the Fang. He stepped down as leader, preferring to be a lowly chieftain of Menagerie. It was sickening to watch and caused her first act of rebellion to do what she had felt was right. By becoming an active member of the new white Fang.

While in the service of the Fang, she met the man who would become her teacher. Her master in the art of the sword. She had served him diligently as his tool willingly. Whatever he desired, blake knew she would provide. That was at first. Until she saw the depths of his rage, the lengths he would go to get his revenge. It frightened her to her core. His willingness to kill the innocent and guilty all in the same stroke. Even though the world that they live in is in shades of gray. For her master, it was either you were on his side, or you died.

It was why she had made a choice, she prepared to leave him. It was the hardest thing blake had ever done. To take the first steps on what she felt was the right path, a path all her own.

So with all her reflection of her past done. Blake knew what she had to do was not fight her darkness but accept it. As she walked forwards towards her double. Dropping her weapons and discarding her bow. She made to embrace her copy as if to tell it it's ok. When she felt the hot steel of the copy's clever in her shoulder. Even then, she did not stop. Not when for rounds from its gun pierced her stomach. The shade screaming at her. "Why, why, won't you fight."

As it backed away in fear using its gambol shroud to perfection, slicing open her throat. Still blake refused to back down with the single-minded determination to express her words. Even if her lifeblood was flowing free.

With blurry vision and losing blood. Collapsing to the floor at the feet of her shade. No longer able to even speak the words she was determined to say. Choking on her own lifeblood. So desperate, she focused on one goal. Even if it were the last thing she would do. She would put her dying will into this one message.

Then she felt it power welling up from her core. Giving her the power that she needed to write her message in her own blood. And in her last moments of clarity blake wrote. "It's ok, but no more hiding…"

The shade could only stare at the message laughing maniacally. Collapsing to the ground in turmoil. As the last vestiges of her will broke, and with it the dam that held back, her tears broke as well. With remorse at what it had just done. Thinking that Blake was here to destroy her. She was Blake to all of her negative emotions. Her apathy, her rage, her wrath, greed, and, most of all, her loathing for herself. Kneeling down to the still form of Blake, her darkness chuckled. "No more hiding, huh, if you're going to do that, then we will do so together." the shade said.

Hugging her still form in her embrace. Accepting what this will mean. Her last parting words of wisdom to her other self where. "Hey blake, if we aren't going to hide anymore. Then you had better go after that, Uzumaki."

When blake next awoke, it was to a sensation she could not describe other than power. As if by accepting a part of herself self, she had awakened a power hidden within her. When calling back to the lessons of her father. "Your Semblance is the manifestation of your soul. Your truest self," Blake remembered her father saying.

So standing up from the patch of earth and undoing her bow for what she believes will be the last time. She stepped into the shallow water. Only for her shadow to extend like a solid platform. With a destination in mind. With a smirk. It appears that calling her semblance shadow clones is wrong now. Pondering what to call this evolution. When it comes to her from an old book, she had read about the yokai of Mistral from when she was young. At that moment blake decided what she would call her Semblance in honor of the yokai she would call it Hyakki Yakō or Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

"Hyakki Yakō," blake murmured allowed. Liking the sound of it. Remarking that she was now indeed a night parade. Not knowing that she had been in that trance for almost two days.

]|[

Weiss had never failed at something she put her mind to. So It was honestly frustrating when she failed to even make the flechettes move like instructed. The explanation was simple. The sealing script use for them enabled for independent flight. To control them was another story altogether, and to top it all off, she had not been able to replicate the proper ratios for the ice transformation. They had found while people with aura had an affinity towards an element or two. Like Weiss and her affinity with both wind and water. They also found that aura users were capable of using all the Elements, and it interfered with the transformation aspect of aura. Making it challenging to use anyone element. Thus the solution naruto and Weiss had worked out was to focus on one element at a time starting with her strongest wind. And through the use of Ninshu to speed the process. Bypassing on the experiences to her so Weiss may get a grasp on nature transformation. Working from there to learn how to do so on her own. It was why, while working on her first step. In the task of training to cut a leaf in halve. She was sitting under a tree in the clearing discarding another failed leaf, only making it partway through.

Taking a slow breath in and out, she grabbed another leaf to cut. Remembering the feelings naruto gave her. The sensation of two air currents grinding against each other as if honing a blade ever sharper. She felt her aura splitting in two. Then the sharpening into an ever fine edge. Building it higher and higher. Inhaling slowly, then exhaling Weiss released the building pressure into the leaf, cutting it in half for the first time in two days. Grinning like a loon, she ran off to find naruto.

]|[

Pyrrha stared blankly at the small tanuki of sand before her playing using its sand to make a castle. For the last two days that this creature had been a companion of sorts. She had thought naruto was joking. When he had come to her with the critter and had told her to learn from it. So for the past two days, she had been observing it, not knowing what to look for. It was honestly something that she thought was a waste of time. Until she felt it in the sand was particles of iron. So small she had almost missed it the finesse used to control all that sand was on a magnitude she had not seen. If she wanted control of her Semblance like the Biju in front of her, it would mean rethinking how she used her Semblance entirely. Starting with the flask of iron dust rather than the quicksilver.

Shukakku took note of Pyrrha's change in training. Rather than starting with the more malleable mercury, she was focusing on replicating his feats with the iron sand. Her control was not what it needed to be, but she was getting there, but with the time constraints of the upcoming mission, she would need help and a lot of it. Following Naruto's directive to aid her, he waddled over to her. He began to pour his chakra into her. Through the use of Ninshu, guiding her to refine her control over the element. It would not be long until she could use the iron sand in battle. But the quicksilver was still a way off. Even with the aid of Ninshu.

]|[

If one could describe the feeling of being one with nature. Yang would have to tell them bullshit because it was indescribable to, but the feelings into words would not do them justice. It was something that had to be felt first hand. But if she had to put it into words. It would be that she felt humbled to be allowed to be nature's avatar. It was why she was working under the steady guidance of Naruto. Focusing all her efforts in finding the balance in her meditation.

"Owwie," Yang shrieked as naruto had smashed what she had begun to call the stick of pain. Into her head once more.

"God, I would have preferred if you gave me spankings. But no, you have to hit me with that goddamn stick every time." Yang pouted. Rubbing the sore lump on her head.

"Sorry, yang, but unless you would like to turn into stone, this is the best way of purging the nature energy." naruto explained. Kneeling down to inspect the wound himself.

Seeing the opportunity, Yang leaned forward and stole a kiss. That Naruto reciprocated before pulling away.

"Ok, I think you're all charged up and better now. So you can get back to work." naruto teased.

Yang huffed, giving her boyfriend her best pout. But naruto did not give in to her attempts at distraction. Forcing her to get back to her meditations without the oil.

Naruto could not help but think just how fast they were all growing thanks to the use of Ninshu to share thoughts and experiences. Exactly how it was intended for people to grow through their bonds.

Going over his memories of his clones, he could see that Ren was taken to the medical training faster than he thought possible. Nora was doing good as well; it was rather frightening to see just what she would do with her affinity to lightning and earth release. The flexibility of aura was truly scary. Generating her own lightning to empower her strikes. Naruto shuddered when an explosion was heard in the distance, followed by a yell of "Nora!"

More explosions where the response to the yell. It was apparent that Nora was abusing her newfound ability to terrorize her partner into getting what she wants. Cacophonous detonations rang out in the distance, along with cackling laughter. Shouts of despair soon followed. It appeared as if Nora was having the time of her life. It was a slightly terrifying thing to hear, yet all the more impressive.

He was so focused on the clones and the memories he had almost missed it the flare of chakra. No, not chakra, he had to correct himself but nature energy. Yang had done it, and so much more, she had undergone a sage transformation. A perfect one on her first try.

Yang's hands had grown claws and red scales up to the elbow. With trails of red script flowing up the rest of her arm to her collarbone and shoulders. Running down her spine and onto her ribs. Her ever-vibrant hair glowed with an ever-present fire. But what had set yangs transformation apart from the imperfect type. Was the markings of a perfect sage over her eyes. When she opened those beautiful eyes, they were red and slit. Yet just as expressive as before.

When Yang gave him a toothy smirk, With her new fangs. Naruto could not help but grin as well when she leapt up and into his arms, giving him a passion-filled kiss. Losing her transformation soon after.

Breaking the kiss, Naruto voiced one thought on his mind. "How?"

Grinning even wider, Yang kissed him once more before answering. "I followed my instincts."

The simple answer only leads to more questions. It would need to be investigated. Before allowing Yang to use this in combat of any kind.

Pondering on what was known so far. Naruto knew a Semblance was the manifestation of one's most genuine self. A reflection of their soul made manifest. It could mean that until one comes to terms with their faults or overcomes some kind of life-changing event. When their Semblance manifests, it could easily be as a distorted weakened form of what it should be. It would mean that in Yang's case, it was always meant to be this way.

Done with his questions, for now, naruto decided the best way to find more. Was to observe the transformation in progress.

Taking a step back from her, Naruto closed his eyes for but a moment allowing for the energy granted to a sage of six paths to flow through himself. Taking his six-paths form without using the cloak. The only difference was in his eyes. Having taken on the rippled pattern with nine tomoe in each eye showing the activation of the Rinne-Sharingan. And the marks of a sage.

Having transformed before Yang, she was a bit stunned when she felt just a portion of the power he held. Knowing she was not by any means, a sensor like what naruto had described. And she could still feel his power restrained as it was. Waiting to be free to destroy the poor souls who crossed him. She was brought back to the present when naruto called out for her.

"Yang, I need you to do what you did before to attain sage mode." naruto said.

"R-right," Yang stuttered. Blushing at the slip-up.sitting down and focusing on her breathing and soon clearing her mind. Slipping into the state of being to enter the honored sage mode.

With his eyes, he could see the transformation guided by her will alone. The shading that marked her as a sage came first. Then he saw it that spark of her very soul he had briefly glimpsed came in full force for only a moment aiding in the transformation. As the script began its trek down her spine and her arms turning into claws. Completing her change in full.

It was breathtaking and amazing all at the same time. It had also shown that Yang had the potential to grow even more.

]|[

As the debilitating migraines increased, Cinder was getting worried. She was having blackouts where she would wake up sore and disheveled with a searing pain in her neck and lower back. Finding bruises around her wrists and legs. Fearing the worst, she had gone to a hospital in secret. The one solace she found was that whatever was happening to her, it was not rape. But the not knowing was driving her up the wall. Making her paranoid causing sleepless nights. Unable to trust anyone. Getting desperate and reaching the end of her rope, she needed answers and soon, not knowing how much longer she would last.

Watching Cinder from the shadows, Mercury scoffed at her. The pawn in this game thinking that she was anything but disposable. In this game between the holy mother and that fool. Idly he could not help but remark how easy it was to manipulate the pathetic girl into doing what the mother wanted. Taking a maiden's power by force. He had to laugh. To do such a thing when you were incompatible in the first place is foolish. But to do so while the maiden in question is still alive is suicidal. Mother had placed him and his father in the perfect position to have one of them join her. The ideal place to keep eyes on the pawn as she danced about to mother's tune. It will be marvelous to see just how Cinder falls. Whether the power she stole rips her apart after her role is done or not is inconsequential. Cinder only needs to last until then. Mercury grinned with malice in his eyes as he watched her pace back and forth. It would be time to deliver the next dose of suppressants soon. They were the only thing keeping the girl sane and whole.

After all, they were months away from completion, and Cinder must last until the plan is done. All he had to do was wait until she slept, then sneak in with the seer and set to work.

When Cinder awoke the next morning with the searing pain returning in full force. And her mobility compromised. Unable to move her legs, it broke the damn of emotions inside her something was wrong, something had happened last night that she could not remember it was unsettling. She knew then and there she needed help but from where? Not knowing who to trust with this side of her. Cinder curled up into a ball and wept for the first time.

Emerald was getting worried, pacing back and forth in her room over what to do. Things had not been working out, and Cinder's condition was getting progressively worse. With mercury acting like he did not care. She had no idea who to trust and little time in which to make a decision. She knew that, at the very least, Mercury could not be entrusted. He obviously has his own agenda. Emerald was quickly coming to the conclusion that she would have to gamble everything on getting Cinder the help she needed. Even if it cost her life.

With her decision made, Emerald stopped pacing and looked to her scroll on its charging dock. Grabbing the phone. Emerald hesitated only for a moment. Biting the inside of her cheek. As she went through her contacts, finding the number of who she was looking for. Dialing the number, she let it ring twice then hung up. All that was left was to wait for a call.

It hadn't taken long for her scroll to ring once more. Answering the call before the first ring even ended.

"How did you get this number?" was the first thing she heard from the mystery man on the other end of the phone.

"R-Roman gave us the number." Emerald answered, knowing that this was her one and only shot at possibly saving Cinder." your K-Kitsune, right?" she questioned.

Naruto let out an aggravated sigh before replying with a very terse "yes."

"You have three minutes talk," Kitsune said in a clipped tone.

"I need your help. There is something wrong with Cinder." emerald pleaded. The desperation was evident in her voice.

Taking this into account, Naruto could undoubtedly think of several things. That could be wrong, the girl. He also remembered what the panther elder had said to him. Letting out another sigh of displeasure. He knew what it meant.

To get insight into whatever force was trying to infiltrate Vale on his watch, he needed Cinder.

"I will be there in twenty minutes. Make sure it is only those you trust with you and Cinder. Be ready to leave with her when I get there." Naruto said. Hanging up soon after

The feeling of Annoyance that he had just hung up was only balanced by the fact Kitsune said he would help them.

]|[

Having just ended the call, Naruto was intrigued at the prospect of just what was really going on in Cinder's camp. Putting a finger to his ANBU tattoo, he sent a few quick pulses of chakra into it, letting Sarada know he was leaving Beacon in code. Making a clone to cover for him. Naruto vanished from Beacon in a flash of yellow.

Appearing in a safe house and putting on his armor and mask as his hair bled red. It only took a moment to gather the sage chakra to enter the honored sage mode. In another moment, he had found the apartment complex cinder's faction was using as a base.

In a burst of speed and honed reflexes, he was traveling across the rooftops of Vale like only a shinobi could. When he reached the building, he paused. Sensing the area around him, many of the people in the crowd below were armed. Likely belonging to Cinder's faction. Sensing that Cinder and emerald were on the top floor penthouse. His approach would be noticed if he scaled the building. It left only a few options, one of which was his favored. Making the ram hand seal thinking (Mujin Meisai). Naruto faded from view as the water vapor in the air bent the light around his form. Utilizing the sensing technique of his clan (Kagura Shingan), Naruto kept track of everyone in the building as he leapt down to the street and made his way to the building.

Once he was at the entrance instead of entering through the front, he leapt to a third-floor balcony picking the lock and letting himself in without tripping the alarm. He pulled out a blank scroll from his vest pouch and a brush writing out the formula for the Hiraishin on the scroll and pressing his hand to the scroll, intoning (Ninpō: Chōjū Giga) the script became a small ink mouse. Scurrying into a vent. All that was left to do was wait until it made it to the top floor.

]|[

Emerald was getting worried that her gamble had not paid off. That possibly Kitsune had chosen not to find them in the twenty minutes he had said. Even so, she had managed to pack a small bag without anyone the wiser. When she walked the short distance to Cinder's room, she had seen mercury leaving her room and a pit of despair formed in her stomach. Worried but not wanting to show it, she entered soon after his leaving. Cinder was unconscious, and her arms and legs had developing bruises on her wrists and ankles. She pushed past her fear, gathering what she could and waited. It was all she could do now.

As the minutes passed by, Emerald began to panic, looking to the clock on the wall. There was only a minute left on the given deadline. Biting her thumb in frustration of the longest minute of her life. She was about to give up hope. Maybe try to solve this on her own when a mouse crawled out of the vent across the room. It looked at her for a moment as she stared back blankly. Until it swelled to twice its size and popped silently into words. Walking over to the odd sight, Emerald could only stare blankly as she read what was left behind. ~Are you and Cinder alone? If so, press on the text once for yes, twice for no...~

It was a relief that Kitsune was here somewhere. And it was evident that he was taking no chances of discovery. All he was waiting for was confirmation that the room was secure. A confirmation that emerald made sure of one last time before pressing her hand to the ink.

It flashed once before an odd mark was formed from the script. Before her eyes, Kitsune appeared in the room in a flash of red light.

Without speaking, he walked over to Cinder. Who was still out of it and looking paler than the last time they had met. He had to grimace.

Emerald was about to speak when Kitsune raised a finger to his mask. Telling her to be silent. Pointing back to the script on the floor. It read,~ There is someone just outside of the door don't say a word.~

Nodding in response, she could only hope that he had a way out of this. She looked at him, oddly make signs with his hands. When wooden copies came out of his back.

Naruto flashed through the hand signs Tiger → Dog → Snake thinking (Moku Bunshin no Jutsu). The two clones he needed fully formed and sentient transformed into exact copies of Emerald and Cinder down to the last detail. Acting on his instructions as he went to pick up the comatose girl and walked over to emerald. He latched onto her with a chakra arm as she grabbed the bags she needed, and they disappeared in a flash as the ink on the floor faded.

]|[

Reappearing in one of many safe houses, Naruto let go of Emerald. Who paled and looked like she was about to be sick. When he spoke to her directly for the first time that night. "If you're going to be sick, the restroom is two doors down on your left," he said.

She took off at a dead sprint rushing to the restroom. Naruto walked over to the couch and set Cinder down. Pulling out a scroll, he opened the medical scroll enlarging it, and began to write the necessary seals.

By the time Emerald had come back to the living room of the house. She was in awe at what she saw. Kitsune was rapidly filling out a scroll the size of a person. She was somewhat surprised when he lifted his mask enough to pull down the second mask he was wearing. Yet Emerald could not see its face as it was masked by a distortion. When he bit into his thumb hard. It made her wince. As the man bleed freely into the scroll.

It seemed to glow briefly. Then the script shifted to form the outline of a person. He stood from the floor and made his way towards Cinder.

It was something Emerald could not abide without knowing just what was going on.

"Ok, I know I asked for your help. But just what are you doing?" Emerald stated. Quirking a brow as she stepped in front of her savior, shielding Cinder from his view.

"The scroll I just filled out is for a full body medical scan. I intend to find out just what is wrong with Cinder. As you asked me to do." Kitsune replied. To ease her suspicions.

Seeing her relax her as the tense atmosphere faded. Kitsune walked past her to Cinder. He began to undo the buttons of her nightgown and pulled it over her head. Removing her underwear as well. Picking up the unresponsive woman, he laid her nude form on the scroll.

Emerald watched as he formed two distinct hand signs and spoke in a dead language that she could not place. And his hands glowed green. As he ran them over Cinder's prone form.

After making the Modified Ox → Tiger hand signs for the (Shōsen Jutsu). Naruto knew right away that something was wrong with the girl before him. What was apparent immediately was that she was drugged heavily so.

So much, in fact, it was a wonder that she was still breathing. Naruto knew what he would have to do. Knowing that he only had a limited time to extract the narcotics from her system. Even if she would not wake any time soon. So he made the hand signs Tiger → Horse → Rabbit → Rat → Dog for the (Chakura no Mesu) without a word said.

With a finger, he made an incision on her chest just above her heart. And with one hand on her chest and the other hovering just above the cut. He pushed hard onto her chest with his chakra. Forcing his chakra throughout her body, gathering the narcotics in her system. Pulling it out rapidly with the other. Once, her system was clear of the drugs muddling her aura. It was plain to see what was wrong with her. Cinder was dying due to the power she contained. Or rather the halve she held. It would need to be addressed, and soon she did not have more than a month left to live at this rate. Sooner the more she used her aura. The two halves were trying to become one, once more. It was ripping her apart from the inside, and this was the result.

He stood up from her prone form with the swirling ball of the drug in hand, pulling out a scroll and unraveling it with one hand. He sealed the narcotics into the scroll for later examination.

He turned to emerald. "follow me to the kitchen. We need to have a discussion. Naruto said. Making a clone to take care of dressing cinder.

Once they entered the kitchen, Naruto set about making tea while emerald waited at the table. When he was done, he set the kettle on the table along with two cups. Pouring out a cup for emerald and himself. He broke the building silence first.

"The power she has is killing her. Whatever that drug I purged from her system was. It was suppressing her aura and thus that power as well." Kitsune said.

Needless to say, that emerald was shocked. The plan to steal a maiden's power failed spectacularly, and they had only managed to get half.

"I sensed that the power is trying to leave her. And it's ripping her apart from the inside out to do so. When she wakes up, we need to have a rather frank discussion with her about what to do next." Kitsune added on. Taking a sip of his tea using a genjutsu to hide his face from view. The pair sat in silence as emerald digested the bitter truth of the situation they found themselves in.

Kitsune left soon after that his only parting words were a warning. "If I were you, I would convince Cinder to give up that power before it kills her. I will be back to discuss things in the morning." with his peace, said Naruto disappeared in a flash of light.

]|[

After leaving Emerald and Cinder Naruto had not made it back to beacon until the afternoon of the next day.upon dispelling his clone, he learned of the events that followed in his absence and was pleased to know that while he was gone blake had confessed to her fellow RWBY teammates. About being a Faunus and their acceptance of it. The girls had elected to go into town to celebrate there growth and progress in their training. His mood, however, was brought back down when he got a text from neo. ~hey foxy, going to rob the latest shipment of dust from SDC at docks Fang is involved see you tonight- neo~

Naruto could not help but curse his luck as he let out a long sigh. Thinking to himself, "man when it rains, it pours."

]|[

-Sixteen hours earlier-

Yang was focusing on mastering the aspects of sage mode without transforming. Naruto had told her since she was no longer in danger of turning into stone. Yang could practice senjutsu on her own now. That if she mastered sage mode without transforming, then she would have better control over how long the power lasted. So far, she was able to hold the form for a single minute.

Naruto had mentioned that her transformation, while it allowed her to gather natural energy on its own, so there was no need to make a summon contract for her. It was just that the form was a power hog. Thus it drained more natural energy than it gathered. Making it an issue about control rather than the amount of power gathered.

She was only broken from her meditation. When she had sensed Blake, Ruby, and Weiss coming her way.

When they entered the clearing, Ruby could definitely say that this was the first time she had ever seen her sister so still. Just like a statue. If she did not know any better, then Ruby would have believed Yang was dead.

When Yang opened her eyes, she gazed at them with slitted pupils of the most vibrant red. They were almost glowing. Weiss definitely would say that it was the most fantastic sight. This was what Naruto was teaching them. In just forty-eight hours, she knew they had all come to some revelation and grown in some way.

"So, what's up?" Yang asked.

"Well, I have something to tell you, girls." Blake began. Reaching up to her bow and pulling at the ribbon. Undoing it to show the most adorable set of cat ears.

"Ok, so you're a Faunus. That's cool." Weiss said casually dismissed the revelation. "I also suppose that you were a former member of the white fang too right." she snarked.

"How did you?" Blake questioned.

"Huh, never thought I was actually right," Weiss said. Stunned that her guess was right.

While this byplay went on, Yang and Ruby just started watching the princess work.

"Well, you have been researching any information about the white Fang you can get your hands on. Also, we live together in a dorm. Do you really think I wouldn't notice those extra ears you have? Several other things are not important. But yes, I figured it out, and I don't care, Blake." Weiss explained.

"B-but you're the heiress of the SDC, and I know just what the white fang has done when targeting your family." Blake started with a tone of derision. "You should at least hate me for joining the white fang."

"Blake, I have had to do a lot of growing up recently. And I have chosen not to let hatred guide me. But rather to seek equality through understanding." Weiss said. Embracing blake in a hug.

Not wanting to be left out, ruby and Yang joined in on the hug.

This was the scene naruto's team and clone walked in on.

"Aw, isn't this adorable." the clone teased

Team RWBY soon separated. With various shades of red on their cheeks.

"Naruto," ruby whined.

"Naruto, don't you want to tell us something, it's why we were looking for team RWBY," Pyrrha suggested. Trying to get things back on track.

"Uhh, right, so since classes are already over today, you can have today off like a light maneuver day." the clone explained.

Ruby lit up with glee. Quickly pulling up her sleeve and removing the weights faster than anyone else. Dashing off soon after disappearing in a haze of rose petals. Where she was heading was anyone's guess.

As they all separated going about their own methods of personal relaxation. The clone noticed that Yang had simply sat back down in the clearing.knowing that this was definitely odd for the blonde bombshell. He sat down next to her. Taking comfort in the silence as she repositioned herself to rest her head on his shoulder.

"This is peaceful, isn't it?" Yang inquired.

"Yea, it is. I wish everyday could be like this." naruto agreed.

"Yang, I would like to take you out on a date this Friday." naruto asked.

All Yang could do is meekly nodded with a blush on her cheeks and a small smile. Mumbling, "it's about time, foxy."

Knowing that the boss would be relieved, the clone replied. "So at six then." the Naruto clone confirmed.

"Yeah, cool, but where are we going?" Yang asked.

"Well, I figured that you would like to go to the latest book signing for the next book Icha Icha: west. Then we can go for a ride and get dinner." naruto idly said.

Yang froze at that moment as what she had just heard settled in. In the next moment, her whole body turned unnaturally, and she hugged the clone. Excited that the next book in the series that the girl loved so much was coming out and having a book signing soon. She was so happy that she accidentally popped the clone in her embrace with her strength.

Coughing as the smoke cleared, Yang let out a meek, "oops." At the lack of boyfriend in the clearing with her. She came to the obvious conclusion that it was a clone.

She was not surprised when another clone soon appeared in the clearing. Scowling at her, the clone let out a sigh. As Yang reiterated, she meekly stated, "oops." while giving him an adorable pout. The clone cursed the boss for making him an exact copy. With all his personality traits. Including a weakness to forward pouty blondes with a penchant for getting into trouble. It was how Ino snuck up on him after her husband sai died on a mission that when south. She hadn't known she was pregnant when Sai had fallen. But nonetheless a shinobi's life is short. And she moved on not long after his death. Despite just wanting to be there as a friend for the blonde. She almost literally forced her way into his life. Determined to live her life the way she wanted after Sai.

Ino told him to shove it and kissed Hinata, his wife. Despite the protests and eventually got what the girl had wanted. Forcing her way into naruto's heart. Naruto had to laugh a bit. At the fond memories of Ino even at six months pregnant. Swollen ankles and all still active and ran circles around everyone driving him crazy. It was honestly refreshing to have met a girl just like his Ino. The clone thought to himself. As he sat back down, hugging her in his embrace. While thinking, man, if I pop like this, what a way to go.

With all things, the time together soon came to an end not more than forty minutes later. When a blushing, Yang hopped out of his embrace. With an excuse of, "I just remembered I have got to go meet up with my team, bye." Yang's retreating form yelled.

Leaving the naruto clone snickering at her apparent panic.

]|[

Yang was panicking in her joy for her first date with naruto. She had not realized that there were so many things that needed to be done in preparation for the date. Running to her room, she threw open her closet, panicking over the fact that while she had feminine clothing. It was not a large selection to pick from due to her tomboyish style. It was time for a shopping spree, and she would need help.

Pulling out her scroll, Yang looked up the one which she hoped would answer her s.o.s.

~Yang: need help urgent~ after Sending a text to Weiss. Yang proceeded to pace back and forth in a fit of nervous energy.

Until Weiss had responded to the text not more than five minutes later with a text of her own.

~Weiss: whats up?~

~Yang: I have a date and nothing to wear. Freaking out fml~

~Weiss: calm down will get the girls will go shopping in Vale in an hour~

~Yang: Kk thanks~

As they continued to text each other. Yang had finally managed to calm down a bit. But still, she couldn't help but have butterflies in her stomach. After all, it was going to be her first date with the man she loved.

It was not long after the string of messages between Yang and Weiss. That Weiss had managed to get the other girls together. And onto an airship headed to downtown Vale. Under the guise of relaxation and therapeutic shopping. Little did they know that this trip would be one of the most interesting of the night.

#the maelstrom of remnant #naruto #rwby #crossover #fanfiction

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knightofbalance-13 · 8 years ago

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On The Road 1: Nice Boat

(On The Road is a series of shorts centered around a What If Sceneraio of Volume 4. Namely: What if Yang had gone after Raven instead of Ruby? And What if Taiyang was the one who was going after Ruby? This series is meant to tide over my fellow Taiyang fans from the inevitable withdrawal of the seasonal gap between Volumes and he likelihood Taiyang won’t be in Volume 5. This series is also based off my fanfic Cowardly Lion for Taiyang’s backstory. You don’t need to read it to like this series but it is recommended.)

To say Taiyang was not well would be an understatement. He was currently on a boat leaving Patch, the place he had built a home with his deceased love Summer, as well as traveling farther and farther away from his eldest daughter who was currently on a seperate boat (her idea, not his) heading toward a tribe of incredibly hostile bandits in the hopes of learning more about her mother, a woman notorious for being unrelentingly cold and hostile. Not just that, due to the tensions between Kingdoms, Taiyang was about two months away from Mistral, the place his youngest daughter, the child he made with Summer, and undoubtedly Qrow his brother in law where, meaning that at any second in his two month trek, two of if not all three of the people he had left in this world could die and he wouldn’t know.

All of these thoughts and so many more, slightly less pleasant thoughts swirled around in his head as he laid down on the somewhat comfortable bed in his personal cabin, trying his best to switch his attention from his darker thoughts to the rhythmic and soothing sound of waves hitting either water or metal. But not only did this only work for a moment or two, his fearful mind kept reminding him of the numerous types of aquatic Grimm that could smash through the hall of the ship and send them all to a watery grave.

Grunting, Taiyang lifted himself off the bed and made his way to the side of the ship, smiling as he looked at the sunset with a somewhat content smile on his face. He remembered sitting at the cliffs back on Patch, many years ago, looking at the sunset with Summer. Watching the great big ball of fire that he was named after set beneath the deep blue sea, the symphony that proudly played before their eyes. The warmth and comfort of Summer next to him as she held his hand, occasionally humming a soothing tone and even falling asleep once or twice after a long day. Those had to be his favorite times as he felt a small bit of pride that such a powerful Huntress would drop her guard around him, that she loved him enough to let her safety be held by him. And he would uphold that trust with everything he had.

‘ANd yet I still failed” the familiar voice of depression whispered in the back of his head, making him frown once more. Just as he did for the past ten years, Taiyang ignored the voice and kept looking at the setting sun. However, his peaceful observation was shattered when the ship shook violently with all the warning of a surprise Grimm attack, sending hi hurtling into the wall behind him. Shrugging off the impact, the Huntsman dashed to the side of the boat again, growling in frustration at himself as he saw familiar dark shapes shifting underneath the azure veil beneath them. He knew the shapes well, from his old seaside missions in Beacon: the long bodies that outsized even a man like him by at least a foot, jagged and worn fins of bleak white on the otherwise ebony body, two on each side with a particularly beat up back and top fin bringing the number to six in total and what stood out the most was the elongated head that stretched into a hammer-like shape with beady, demonic red eyes that glowed with inhuman hunger.

“Sphyras” The brawler swore. He turned around swiftly and barraged through the crowd that had formed to see what caused the sudden shift in the boat. Finally, he made it through the crowd and arrived in his room, which was in slight disarry from the shake. Throwing the superfluous items aside, Taiyang made it to what he wanted: two weapon cases, one small and one medium sized, the small adorned in gold and tan and the other shining with a combination black and sliver. He grabbed the golden case and snapped it open, revealing it's contents: A pair of polished yellow, full-sized gauntlets decorated with brown accents. Unlike his daughter's Ember Celica, Taiyang's Thunder Eiris lacked any way to launch long range attacks, despite the lightning Dust cartridges embedded in the back of the hands. However, built with several layers armored steel, they would survive more blows than most weapons: perfect for someone like him. With practiced ease, he slipped the weapons onto his hands. Taiyang flexed the gauntlets experimentally, ensuring they were working properly. With his main weapons ready, Taiyang proceeded to snap open the other case, displaying another pair of weapons: This time armored boots, one as black as a raven's feathers, accented in a beautiful shade of crimson with the other colored in a stark white with breathtaking silver as it's accents. He was able to put on the boots as well, although with considerable more effort as he was not as use to the boots.

But with his weapons and his fear shelved, Taiyang busted out of his room, dashed through the ship at a lightning pace and leaped at the dark shadows in the water, his boot glowing with an icy blue aura. He landed on the water's surface, the aura caused by the Ice dust in his boots freezing the sea water solid, allowing him to stand right in the middle of the Sphyra swarm. One of the shark-like Grimm leaped out of the water, snarling at him with flesh-rendering teeth bared. Although his fear flared up in him, Taiyang ignored it and rammed his fist into the beast's face, a sickening crack echoing as his punched cracked it's skull. It flew back into the water, it's blood staining the pure blue water. Another leaped from the water from his left then a second later a second from his right. He noticed this and acted quickly, grabbing ahold of the first beast and using it as a shield from the second, causing Grimm to bite Grimm. With a might grunt, the brawler ripped the first Grimm from the second's maw, tearing off a huge chunk of meat from the Grimm and killing it in the process.

As the fading corpse skidded into the water, adding yet another color to the sea, Taiyang faced the other Grimm which had flopped itself into it's belly and glared menacingly at him. The two of them raced at each other, the beast displaying amazing mobility for an aquatic creature on ice. The beast snapped at him, aiming for his legs which he used to slide to the side and launch a barrage of swift punches to the side, skitting it across the ice. This time the Grimm didn't make it back into the water as he used his superior speed to race to it, spreading enough ice along the way to keep it out of water. The Sphyra recovered and managed to get a bite in at his left leg. His Aura shielded him from the bite and he used this as an opportunity, grabbing ahold of it tightly with one arm, lifted it up and unleashed a barrage of lightning-infused punches into the Sphyra. With every other blow his fist sunk into the monster, causing blood to flow from the new holes and each strike causing a shock to reverberate throughout the body. In that instant, the creature had died.

The inhabitants of the crew cheered at the Huntsman, seeing two Grimm already dead. However, Taiyang himself had no time to take this in as one of the Sphyra's busted through the ice he had made and started snapping at him with eager bites. He responded with a quick kick to the face, forcing it out of the water and onto the ice, his kick freezing the face of the fish demon. He raced over for the kill but another Sphyra busted through the ice, blocking his path. Taiyang stopped for only a moment before stomping his foot down on it's face and leaping over it, landing in front of the frozen one he leaned over to punch the monster when yet another one leaped out of the water. Ina split second, Taiyang grabbed hold of the frozen beast's tail and swung it like a bat into the airborn one, changing it's trajectory a sharp ninety degrees to right. Just as that one made it back into the water, several more popped out of the water like jumping beans, the first of which was the Sphyra he injured. The brawler of Team STRQ continued to use his pseudo bat to deflect the oncoming shark demons, using the moment of each swing to move himself about as to dodge some of them and conserve energy.

After deflecting the fifth one, the ice finally shattered alongside the beast's head, leaving it a swiftly evaporating corpse. He growled in frustration, deciding that he had enough of this. The blonde man tossed the weapon aside and dropped into a fighting stance, keeping himself on high alert. Just as a Sphyra leaped out of the water, Taiyang raised his gauntlets and used them to shield himself from the attack. He ripped his gauntlets from the toothy grasp and pummeled the fish with a volley of electric punches, killing the beast quickly. Another leaped at him from behind, trying to ambush him. But he just whipped around and kicked the Grimm with into the ice, proceeding to punch it until it too died. A third one attacked, this time by busting through the ice. But He just grabbed ahold of the shark demon’s head and ripped it out of the ocean. Taiyang slammed it onto the ice and let out a small roar as he swiftly kicked the beast until it had been frozen over then shattered it with one last strike, which caused the icy blue aura around the boots to dissipate.

Taiyang heard the people cheer againj

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