Radiant Rebirth (Hollow Knight x RWBY)

[Naron]

Dream no more, sweet prince. Primal Light hath fallen. She fled Hallownest's broken bones into a realm beset by the void, reborn into mortal flesh. From there she aspires to former glory like a moth to flame. The roses will blossom, fates of young heroes intertwined. Remnant beware the Radiance and those that follow in her wake.

 

[Naron]

I write these lines while wondering if my life may be forfeit. Maybe I could keep on living like I always have, but curiousity drives me; the pervasive need to know has grown beyond comprehension, consuming me like a bottomless chasm. This journal is meant to help order my thoughts before I meet her, so that I can remember how it all began.

I have no memories of Lumina's birth; I was only two at the time, but everyone I asked tells me the same thing: it was a strange day for Shiroyuri. Her parents were an ordinary couple, perfectly lovely and perfectly human. Lumina, however, was not. She was born with stubby, white gossamer wings that bore a faint fuzz; I now know it is that of a silk moth. Her hair ended up the same colour, the very concept of ivory.

Now I know how it sounds. Clear case, her mom must have had a guy on the side. Except there were no moth faunus in town. I don't think I ever even saw one beside her. No one else I asked did, either. But when the child of two humans comes out a faunus, you don't think much about it. Her dad was devastated, drank himself to death within the month. I can only assume, but maybe the fact his wife died in childbirth just finished him off. If there was another guy, she took that to the grave.

The other thing everyone agrees on is that a completely healthy woman was unlikely to die giving birth. Except Lumina was born with an active aura; the nurse swears she shone faintly gold, like the first beam of light at dawn.

Lumina once told me the only reason she survived is Granny Bluebell. With her old man touring the bars, no one else cared enough to look after her. I guess the old fox felt for a fellow faunus, not like I can ask her; she died five years ago. Peacefully, in her sleep. Come to think of it, Lumina has not smiled since then. She had a soft spot for the old lady.

The first concious memory I have of her is also my first memory period. It was a sudden Grimm attack. Mainly Beowulves, some Ursas, a Boarbatusk or two. There were no hunters in town that day, so the militia had to hold the line; Shiroyuri was too young to have any shelters dug, so us kids were all running. Lumina was with us, three years old at the time. I was five and kind of leading the lot.

I will never forget rounding that corner. A giant wolf waited right behind, its tenebrous body bulging with muscle. A dirty bone plate covered its head and sickly, yellow eyes glared out malevolent intent. I locked up then, face to face with death. The adult with us pushed me back and was ripped to shreds; when I fell on my ass, the shock shook me awake and I crawled back while the beast was busy.

And there was Lumina, standing frozen at the sight of her first Grimm. I still recall vividly how it suddenly stiffened, focussing exlusively on her. The beast outright ignored the cloud of fear all of us must have felt.

I will never forget the Grimm. And I will never forget her face that day. Lumina was not afraid. She was angry. No. Not angry, angry is not nearly enough a word to describe it. Irate? Furious? Fuming? Apoplectic? None of these do it justice, that grimace of sheer anger. Her aura flared visibly, wings fluttering.

Anyone I asked later tells me that the Grimm screamed, shocking everyone but me and her into fainting. I understand why they attribute this bloodcurdling, inhuman screech to the abyssal spawn. But they are wrong.

It was not the Grimm.

Lumina screamed that day, her voice a physical force that paralysed my entire body. A scream so bridled with hatred that even the soulless beast was taken aback. It died before the surprise wore off; Lumina manifested her Semblance then, projecting light. It became a thin beam that punched a hole through its head.

It feels like every single Grimm in the village converged on us from then on; the moment she spotted them, a band of light connected Lumina and a given beast before it died. None was spared, none even made it near her.

I once asked her why she hates them so much. Her response makes some sense, but tells me nothing: "No mind to think, no will to break, no voice to cry suffering."

She never elaborated and I stopped asking long ago.

Her place in the village changed since then; she already was a bit of a pariah among the older children because of her wings, but now they were actively scared of her. Those her age and younger were just mesmerised by the light she produced. The adults, well, I think they liked that she made herself useful? Grimm attacks became more common, but Lumina always killed most of whatever force came.

That is not to say she became a celebrity; I don't think she ever cared, either. Her active aura and clear ability to kill with absolute ruthlessness made no one risk bullying her, but that was about it. She never had friends and never wanted them. She is not pretty despite her active life. Emaciated, more like. She never asked for payment or any recompense for killing Grimm; I offer her some of my food whenever I can spare it, wondering how she is still alive. Every day she rises with the sun and stands perfectly still for an hour to soak up its light. Then she does chores around the shack she lives in, eats what food she has, and begins to wander about town aimlessly. Sometimes other girls or some of the boys try to get her to hang out, but she just has no interest in anything we like. Back then I thought she looked down on us, but by now I know she simply does not care.

Sometimes she is heard talking to herself in alien tongues; not Valean or Atlesean, but something so utterly foreign they wonder if she made it up. Pitch and tones vary from time to time, but every single eldritch speech I heard sends shivers down my spine.

Everyone else ignores her eccentricities because she is useful or because she scares them. But I do not. I can not. I must know what makes her the way she is. For fourteen years she has lived in this village; she does not seem to care about us, but she still stays. Her wings work, she could just fly away and never look back. Why does she not? Who is she, and why? What secrets hide in this light that is exactly like sunlight?

Dawn breaks in an hour. I will meet her then and finally ask about it all.

---

The next entry is written in shaky letters, turning more and more illegible. Droplets of blood and tears smear some of the ink. It reads as follows:

She told me. Showed me. I saw heard felt smelled. I saw it. I saw it. I saw it. The first spark of light. The song from the beginning of time. Titans of flame spread wings, they are her eggs. A million million million eggs across time and space, waiting to hatch. But she was first, was ever, is forever.

Dawn will break!

I have seen the face of god Andsheis a MOTH!

 

[Naron]

Vernal snapped the small booklet shut. She took a deep breath, trying to settle her fluttering nerves. Of course the ravings of a madman deserved little regard, but she could not quite bring herself to shake it off. The body in the corner may contribute.

Vernal was no stranger to death. She saw it aplenty over the years; both among her tribe and the towns they swept clean after they fell. But Shiroyuri felt subtly different. Then there was that young man, almost a boy really. He lay nestled in that corner, arms wrapped around his legs. The only one who died of natural causes, dehydration most likely. It was not a pretty sight.

Shaking her head, Vernal's gaze swept the room for anything valuable. A few Lien notes wandered into her sack, as did a few bits and bobs. Nothing groundbreaking, but even tiny amounts added up in the end.

Just as she was about to leave, her eyes fell on that journal again. She picked it up almost inadvertently, against her better judgement. Vernal absently rubbed the black ink dragon cresting her left arm before slinging the sack over her shoulder and leaving the tiny home. Snow crunched under her boots.

Where she could usually push away whatever weirdness she found in dead folks' homes, this one stayed in mind. Even though the final entry read like a complete nutjob, something about those words upset Vernal.

It took a few minutes of stalking the desolate streets before realisation came; the unlucky bastards on penal duty were busy stacking up corpses already pilfered. Upon seeing the frozen bodies, Vernal realised what felt so off: every single corpse sported a bloody hole in its head. No other injuries, no signs of battle. If anything, their expressions were of fear.

The city was fine when their scouts checked two weeks prior. A windfall for the Branwen tribe, certainly, but an eerie one.

Raven was thankfully not far. She oversaw proceedings on the marketplace, where just about all of the bodies were found. Like a mob, suddenly felled. Vernal smoothed out her features and approached the tribe's leader. Their strongest member, the woman who elevated them from a creeping death to new vitality. A head taller than most women and clad in black with some traces of red, Raven Branwen struck an imposing figure. No one would expect her to be in her fourties, even the wrinkles in her face were rare. They spoke of exhaustion more than age, at least to those who saw them.

"Got something for ya."

Raven's head turned to behold Vernal. Her expression was hidden as always when out of camp. A mask so reminiscent of Grimm boneplates covered her entire head; primarily white, with sharp red lines. Each segment an eye-covering mask taken from White Fang operatives Raven herself slew. The animals would forever remember not to mess with their tribe.

Vernal handed her leader the journal. She could not see Raven's expression, but the way she flipped it open seemed impatient. Then Raven stilled, head moving up ever so slightly. Vernal gave her a few minutes to go through what meagre amount of information there was; if the boss lady decided it was rubbish, she could just claim she brought it for a laugh.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Raven absorbed its contents with rapt attention. It slapped shut with a muted thud once she was done.

"Nonsense?" she murmured to herself. "Or perhaps a clue?"

Vernal was familiar with that particular habit. She let the older woman muse for a minute before speaking up: "What do you think? Kinda weird, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Even without seeing her face, Vernal knew Raven was scowling at that booklet. "Most of it is sensible if odd. The last bit makes me wonder, though." A soft sigh followed, shared with only Vernal; it remained a source of pride that their leader trusted her and her alone with these tiny signs of weariness. "And yet a city that should be flourishing is dead. Not by Grimm, either. This has to mean something."

"I was thinking the same thing. Was there a moth faunus among the dead?"

Raven swiftly called over one of the poor sods who had to stack corpses to ask him that question; his answer was a quick no. There were hardly any faunus at all. The guard teams found no one sneaking around the city,either.

With no real answers, the women shrugged it off and went back to work. They had to finish stripping everything of value out of the town before Mistral sent a response team. Glancing at the bodies again, Vernal quickly looked away. She found distraction in cursing their luck; with all these people obviously killed by humans, they would blame the tribe again.

"Great, Hunters at the gates in a week or two."

"We will manage," Raven assured her mirthlessly.

Vernal could only snort in response; of course they would. They always had.

She would put the incident out of her mind by the time they left Shiroyuri. Raven would keep the journal, however.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometres distant, a waif sat on a large rock. Her gossamer wings glittered in the afternoon sun, slowly folding and unfolding. She stared at her thin, almost bony hands, trying to understand what went wrong. Her patchwork blouse and skirt could not deter the cold winter air, but aura protected her perfectly. So why did she feel cold?

Lumina took a deep breath. White fog flew from her mouth, glittering in the sunlight. She tried to understand while thinking back to the past hours.

Someone friendly came up and asked about her. Not an unprecedented occurence, but he did not let Lumina brush him off. He was polite about it, too. The inconsistencies of her existence were noticed and inquired about. So Lumina indulged him; she felt he may actually believe her, unlike anyone else she ever tried to be candid with.

So she showed him what he wished to know. Then he began giggling, fell to his knees before her while muttering something incoherent, and staggered away. Days later she was accosted by a mob while sunbathing. Something about having hurt the poor man. The entire village was there, just about. Almost frothing at the mouth in anger, riled up and screaming at her. People she always knew she was not alike, but who she still lived around for many years.

Everything after that was a wrath-filled blur.

Lumina silently stared at her fingers. They weakly closed into a fist.

They were all dead now. Her anger always bubbled with their veiled insults, but today it boiled over for this final injustice. So she vented it in the only way she knew, in a gleaming display of divine punishment. Only after calming down did she realise what she did.

Lumina fled Shiroyuri the same day while cursing her own foolishness; she no longer had a place to obtain food or shelter from. That was truly the most damning of it all. That hollow feeling permeating her mind, it surely came from her stomach quietly aching in demand of sustenance.

Indulging her body's base desires, she plucked an apple from the tiny pack she dared make before fleeing Shiroyuri. A growling Beowulf emerged from the nearby woodland as she rummaged; the moment it made itself known, a band of light connected its forehead with Lumina's fingertip. The beast died while she tore into her meal.

For some reason Lumina wished to return, but she did not indulge in that desire; she knew there was nothing there anymore. Humans were herd animals, so she as the only survivor would have to face questions and persecution. Yet her pilfered supplies would not last long, either.

Her mood worsened as she pondered her circumstances and how to proceed. Aura helped preserve her teeth thus far, which now ground the apple's soft flesh to mush in her agitation.

Lumina often entertained the thought of just taking what she needed instead of paying with Lien. Unfortunately, she was too weak to risk damage to her human body. Without any money on her and few supplies, she thanked the books she took to reading. That and occasional excursions into the wilderness taught her how to forage and boil water on her own. As aggravating as it may be to dig in the dirt, she would do it to preserve herself.

Nonetheless, having to conform to human mannerisms angered Lumina. Every day was a reminder of how far she fell. Once a goddess, well and truly; now trapped in mortal flesh for the actions of that dastardly Wyrm!

Lumina bit through the apple's core and ate that, too. She was full after some additional jerky and a drag of water. Considering her eating habits, that gave her enough resources to subsist on for another day or two.

Alas, she finally had to accept waiting would not suffice. Lumina spent over a decade simply surviving in the hopes of her powers growing with time. It was far too little and she remained trapped in this shape.

Yet her only alternative may just be worse; Lumina still remembered her beloved moths, who betrayed her. The mere reminder saw her teeth clenched. Anger radiated from her in almost palpable waves. Incoherent rage blinded Lumina for one long moment before she forced it down.

Now was not the time, she needed to think.

Ignoring people was no longer a viable path. She disregarded them and their way of life long enough. Lumina had to integrate and find a way to cement herself in their memories. A bitter pill to swallow, but needs must. If only her birthplace still existed, that may make it easier to transition. Then again, wiping the slate clean may be more favourable?

Her musings were interrupted by a hellish howl.

Lumina looked up, as did many others; that roar echoed for miles, sending animals and people alike into rapid retreat. Only the Branwen Tribe remained at work, though Raven herself now reinforced the guards.

Meanwhile, Lumina remained where she was. Seated under a pair of trees at the foot of a hill, she watched a horned head crest that same hill. Yellowish red eyes gleamed as they beheld prey; the beast climbed further, revealing something resembling a rider on a horse. Only it was a single being comprised of solid darkness. Bony ribs were the only colour beyond horse and rider's eyes, as well as the bone plates on their heads. An assortment of spears and other weapons stuck to the horseman's back, shifting as the Grimm moved.

The Nuckelavee stood no less than six metres tall. Even Lumina heard of it in her ignorance; the nightmare of Anima, a beast that plagued Mistral for generations.

The horse reared up, ready to charge.

Before it could take a single step down the hill, a beam of light connected Lumina and the rider. Its eyes crossed in wonder as the flash passed. The horseman fell back with a sizable hole in its head. Yet against Lumina's expectations, the horse was undeterred. Its hooves threw up snow as it charged anyway.

A second beam pierced its head several steps later.

The Nuckelavee collapsed without a sound beyond the rumble of its tumble down the hill. It tore up the ground with its sheer mass and came to lie right before Lumina.

While the elder Grimm's body began to dissolve into black mist, she nonchalantly fished in her small pack. It did not take long to find the aged map she sought for. Anger intermittently calmed by violence, Lumina went back to considering her next move.

Out of all the places to go, she felt most drawn to the capital. The city of Mistral was far bigger than any other in the kingdom. As much as it galled her to admit, she needed more practice interacting with humans. She could just leave the country of Mistral for greener pastures, but knew too little to even begin picking a destination. Touring nearby villages did not appeal, either. So the capital it was.

Orienting herself by the native sun's position, Lumina spread her faintly glittering wings. She clutched her little pack tight and became light; a gleaming band connected where she just stood and a spot a kilometre above. There it curved before racing northward.

The entire display was visible for but a moment. Lumina reformed in front of Mistral city's walls within less than a second. As her wings folded behind her back, the moth beheld a pair of stunned guards. Neither quite knew how to react to her sudden appearance.

"Lemme guess," the man drawled after a moment, "Haven?"

Lumina shook her head. She was not planning to become a Huntress at this time. "Not Haven. I am merely traveling."

"Aren't you a little young to travel alone, missy?" the other interjected. They looked Lumina up and down, half a sneer aborted at the sorry sight of her clothes. The girl stood a full head shorter than someone already of only average height. They grimaced. "On second thought, forget it. Any controlled substances you carry? Weapons?"

"Neither."

The man wordlessly waved Lumina through the gate. She strode past them and into town; only when he was certain the waif left hearing range did he turn to his companion. "You ever see a Semblance like that before?"

They shrugged in response while he frowned. "Brother's both, that kid is days from starving. Shouldn't we-"

"Leave it. We're guards. We don't do anything until she starts pickpocketing. Check the station this evening if you're that worried. Won't take long."

He rolled his eyes, but did not argue the point.

Lumina herself was busy exploring the city. She paid little mind to the guarded looks thrown her way by passersby; Mistral's architecture had her mesmerised. Grand pagodas reached dozens of stories high. A giant structure had been hewn into the mountain itself to provide more space. Thick walls guarded the entire city, manned by safety teams and cannons of all sizes. Brutal and efficient, but still elegant in essence. She could not help but acknowledge the beauty in human creations.

The everpresent sneers thrown her way, she was nonplussed by. Buildings Lumina understood, but the reason to call her ten differents flavours of "dirty animal" eluded her. Maybe she would have taken offense, but the opinions of fools mattered little to her. More pertinent though, humans protected their own; attacking one would soon have the city up in arms. She just learned that lesson.

With that gruesome reminder, she simply let the slurs wash over her; not like they were anything new. People were surprisingly uncreative. She just made certain to stay clear of places with "No Faunus Allowed" signs; Lumina was no faunus, but her wings apparently said otherwise. Idiots, the lot of them.

Sometimes people approached her.

A smartly dressed man offered her a place to stay and a nondescript job to work. Even Lumina was not oblivious enough to accept that. She knew full well what humans could do to their own. By the way he sneered when she turned him down, she was right. A few rude words hit her retreating back to no effect.

Then she had to stop several children from trying to grab her wings. Not one of them so much as asked permission. Several fled under her stare, others were rooted in place until their parents dragged them away. Sometimes with a parting insult Lumina's way. All she gave those was a simple response: "Blaming your failure to keep your spawn under control on me will not make them behave better."

She was already moving on by the time anyone registered her scathing words. Any shouts following her went ignored. Angry muttering from those around her, she likewise paid little mind to. The one time a large man grabbed her bony shoulder and started to berate her, she stared into his eyes. A gaze with the weight of eons, even a fool could feel. He stopped in surprise, then sputtered in an attempt to regain his bearings. Lumina already shrugged him off and moved on by the time he did.

She wandered past several temples, too; some large, some small. Each one dedicated to gods or saints with almost painful familiarity. Lumina knew none of their names; she never met any 'Brother Gods', who were the main divine figures on Remnant. Andersen the Benevolent was often featured as well, though deemed a saint instead of a god. All this achieved was to remind her of her own brother and his absence. Lumina frowned and moved on. At least the people in this district left her mostly alone.

Then again, the many scowls made clear she would find no shelter even if she were to inquire.

Lumina's impression of Mistral was positive despite it all. She did not care much for the waste of flesh inhabiting it, but the atmosphere captured her interest. It not only was but felt bigger than Shiroyuri by several orders of magnitude. Tens of thousands of people lived here and it showed.

Some time into her aimless wandering, a red-faced woman accosted her. She simply appeared in Lumina's path, carrying the scent of alcohol. "Go back to Menagerie," she demanded with surprising coherence. "It's where animals like you belong!"

Apparently pleased with herself for some reason, the woman's grin soon faltered. Lumina did not take offence. If anything, her curiousity had been roused by that pitiful attempt at intimidation.

"Menagerie?" She inquired. "I never heard of such a place." The name itself was telling, though. Chances were humans picked it as some sort of indignity.

Unfortunately, the human she spoke to simply snorted and toddled away. Lumina's brow arched in faint annoyance before she was distracted by a gnarly hand landing on her shoulder. Turning her head, she found an aged man with patches of grey fur on his cheeks. He smiled gently, tugging on her.

"Good job staying so calm," he praised as if being unaffected by the moods of vermin was a great achievement. Lumina remembered the previous encounters, though. He could tell she tensed up and let go of her, raising his hands placatively. "Ah, my bad. Makes sense you'd be wary." His gaze wandered over Lumina's bony frame, eliciting a clear wince. "Little late, but how 'bout I treat ya to some lunch? Us faunus ought to stick together, eh?"

Lumina was not worried about being hurt. She knew she could kill just about anyone who made such overtures. At the same time, this was the first person to actually seem at ease around her. Not to mention her stomach ached quietly once again. So she nodded.

He led her down the street to a small diner; well visible from the street and somewhat populated, too. The owner was a faunus as well, much like most of the customers. Quite a few greeted the elder cheerfully and soon enough, Lumina was gnawing on some chicken and white rice. A bowl of miso soup was added to her meal.

She ate slowly to savour the tastes, brow scrunched while considering what to do with this. A golden opportunity to meet some people. But what did humans and faunus talk about?

Lumina ultimately decided to sate her curiousity first: "Do you know about Menagerie?"

He had been watching her indulgently before, but the question drew a soft huff. "Hah, good one. Hard not to know when you're in the big city. Menagerie's our own kingdom, kinda. Just a few years old, but the entire continent is ours. The other four gave it to us as a concession. You know which four I mean?"

"Obviously. Mistral, Vale, Vacuo, and Atlas." Lumina rolled her eyes at that while he chuckled.

"Aye, smart lass ye are." He leaned back and sipped from his tea. A note of fondness crept into his voice: "Menagerie's different. I've been there a few times to visit my nephew. Mostly faunus, none of the racism. They're building something kinder there, you know?"

"And yet it is named 'Menagerie'?"

"Fair. Used to be some sort of penal colony, I hear. They're keeping the name and owning it. Make the idiots choke on their little slights, is the idea."

This, Lumina could appreciate. She was well acquainted with spite. His explanations only made her more curious about this place, though; it certainly sounded better than Mistral. Then again, if it was and actually existed... "Why do you still live here, then?"

He blinked at that. "Hm? Ah. I'm a little old to emigrate. Mistral got loads better of late, too. This is where my ancestors were born and died, so I figure I should stay. Everyone else here's much the same, lass." He motioned for the small crowd Lumina had been eyeing. "But this time next year, a bunch of the younger ones won't be around anymore. 'specially once they start having kids. Some go to Vale or Vacuo, but most to Menagerie these days."

"I see."

Taking a final bite of her food, Lumina slowly pushed back the plate. It was still half filled. "It definitely sounds like a place I would like to visit." If only to see if it was truly what people said. "Where exactly do I find Menagerie?"

"Heh. How about ya eat some more, lass? It's my treat, no problem."

"I would, but I am full."

"Ah." He winced again and changed the subject as if burned. "Arright. Menagerie's across the ocean, almost straight south from here. Bit of a long journey, though." At that point he hesitated for a long moment. "Are you... sure ya got enough money to make the trip?"

Lumina's wings unfolded halfway in response. She tilted her head at him. "I do not need money. I will fly there." Her words were clearly not as convincing as she thought, but Lumina saw no need to elaborate. "Where exactly is it located? Near the coast, I imagine?"

"Yeah, Kuo Kuana's the only town so far. Sits right at the coast, with some small offshoot villages around. But are you sure about this? The ocean's far bigger than most youngsters imagine. You'd be flying for days."

"I will be fine," Lumina said. Whether her absolute confidence convinced him, she could not tell. Deep down she did not care, either. "Thank you for your help."

Despite her demeanour, he still managed an easygoing smile. "'twas my pleasure. You sure you will be fine?"

"Naturally."

Lumina rose and bowed faintly, a gesture of thanks and respect in these lands. It was the first time in years she did, to a man who deserved a modicum of respect. "Goodbye."

He watched her stride away, hoping she might reconsider. Such an undertaking was madness in his eyes. But just as Lumina walked out the door and he expected the crowd to swallow her... there was light. He winced, rubbing his eyes. When he looked back, Lumina was gone without a trace. Only a glowing line remained on his retinas

"I'll be," he muttered. "What an odd lass."

He flagged down the waitress to pay for the girl's meal and his tea, quietly hoping the poor thing made it across the ocean.

 

[pingas plight]

Is Lumina perhaps...

Lightsworn?

I will never forget the Grimm. And I will never forget her face that day. Lumina was not afraid. She was angry. No. Not angry, angry is not nearly enough a word to describe it. Irate? Furious? Fuming? Apoplectic? None of these do it justice, that grimace of sheer anger. Her aura flared visibly, wings fluttering.

Click to shrink...

Wrathful.

Wrathful seems pretty accurate for a deity of the flaming, radioactive ball in the sky that gives us all cancer yet is the source of our life.

a beam of light connected Lumina and the rider.

Click to shrink...

I only just now realized that this is basically the fucking Dodon Ray lmao. I love it.

 

[Naron]

Is Lumina perhaps...

Lightsworn?

Click to shrink...

She mills four in End Phase

 

[pingas plight]

She mills four in End Phase

Click to shrink...

If she doesn't meet a Wulf and/or Felis expy I'm rioting, since you clearly knew my reference.

 

[Naron]

If she doesn't meet a Wulf and/or Felis expy I'm rioting, since you clearly knew my reference.

Click to shrink...

I know enough YGO to have seen some of the Lightsworn archetype, and I admit to appropriating Lumina's name from there because it just fit with her as a character. That does not mean I will reference it any further in the story though. Maybe if it fits in, but I doubt it will.

 

[Naron]

Sailors across the sea beheld an odd phenomenon that day in January. For but one moment, a criss-crossing line of light ran across the horizon. Some completely missed what their compatriots spied for having blinked.

Lumina... may have gotten a little lost. She found the ocean just fine, but spying the continent of Menagerie required some darting back and forth. Another landmass appeared on the horizon after a few changes in direction. Her momentary annoyance faded away in favour of content, however; flying was her favourite activity by virtue of approaching her natural state of being. Pure, radiant light raced across the world.

Menagerie was not covered in a light blanket of snow like Anima. If anything, most of the continent appeared to be a desert; perhaps she could see this as an approximation of Vacuo's climate?

Either way, Lumina raced along the coast until she found signs of greenery; the occasional black specks were ignored on her journey. She scanned the coast for signs of civilisation, though it did not take long to spot Kuo Kuana.

Lumina descended onto the golden beach near the docks as a courtesy. Her skirt fluttered in the breeze, the scent of salt heavy in her nostrils. She was never to the sea before; it felt odd, but not unpleasant. Warmer, too. Her strained aura could finally relax, no longer having to ward off the cold.

Eyes were on her the moment she wandered into town. Lumina ignored them as usual, long since familiar with the sensation.

What took her attention was the abundance of faunus. There were a total of two others in Shiroyuri. Mistral showed her maybe a dozen in one place. Here the docks alone were already packed with them. A variety of traits from differently shaped feet to manifold types of horns were on display. She even spied several others with wings, though none insectoid. All leather or feathers.

She barely made it past the docks before someone spoke to her. A middle-aged man in work overalls, hair slick with sweat. "Heya, little lady!" he began jovially. "What's your name?"

The fact someone actually thought to ask that question surprised her enough to answer: "I am Lumina."

She said no more and the silence soon grew awkward for one of them. Confronted with a mildly curious moth, the man chuckled to play over it. "Ooookay, I see. And where are you from, Lumina? I don't think I've seen you around these parts before."

"I just arrived."

"How so? There were no ships the last two weeks."

This time Lumina tilted her head ever so slightly. Her wings flicked out again for emphasis. "I flew," she answered.

Her matter-of-fact tone gave him pause. Others listening in to their conversation began to reveal their eavesdropping, too; Lumina spied their expressions change. Though they were unfamiliar to her; having only ever met scorn or disinterest, the signs of concern and pity in humans or faunus were unknown to Lumina.

Some quiet discussion happened nearby, then a woman with scaled shoulders ran off for somewhere. Lumina suspected guards being called, but saw no reason to worry. She could not help but feel a little uneasy, though; if that man in Mistral was wrong about Menagerie being better, then she was back at square one.

A small crowd formed around her now; curiousity she could understand, at least. Nobody tried to touch her, nobody raised their voice. Nobody seemed angry, either. Questions were asked that she never had to answer before when everyone knew her. Where were her parents? Long dead. Where was she from? Mistral. How old was she? Fourteen.

"What?" a shocked voice interrupted the well-meaning interrogation there. More than one person was gaping at Lumina, whose head tilted again. She almost had to crane her neck to look up at them from this close. Just about everyone stood a head taller than her, if not more.

Before she knew it, a man built like a bear lifted her up. Lumina flickered out of his grasp, reappearing nearby with a faint scowl. He paused with an embarassed grin. "Whoops, er, sorry about that. Got carried away a bit." He rubbed the back of his head and motioned for a nearby set of tables. "But seriously, come along. Let's get some food into you."

Lumina only just ate half an hour ago, but a number of hands gently nudged her in the same direction. She sighed and let the crowd move her along. Some mutterings about her being tiny reached Lumina's ears, but she paid them no mind. The locals sat her down and crowded around protectively while the giant left. He returned minutes later with a plate of fruit, some of which Lumina never saw before. A waitress peeked around him, only to cover her mouth in shock at the sight of Lumina.

She looked down at herself, realising for the first time how much she stood out. Just about everyone here was tanned by the bright sunlight. Meanwhile, her skin remained naturally pale. Her clothes were worn down with use and age; theirs were patched up in places as well, but nowhere near as frazzled.

"Come now," a woman urged her gently, "eat. It's okay."

"I am not hungry."

Somehow, her refusal did not lift their moods. If anything it did the opposite. Another person gave her shoulder a soft pat. "You should do it anyway, it's good for you. Please? For us?"

While someone else smacked their side, Lumina considered; she was seeking a new place to stay. Spurning the locals did not seem a good way to make them amenable to her. And as much as she hated it, she needed people to accept her. If the flesh was unwilling, then she would simply overcome it.

So Lumina began to eat slowly. Juicy and sweet berries were chewed, plums tasted. A plethora of fruit remained, each one some sort of sweet. Some were a little sour, but Lumina hardly cared. She focussed on fighting down more of it. Her stomach lurched, but she willed it under control.

The second time it happened, she convulsed notably; helping hands steadied Lumina, who shook them off. As she made to grab another berry however, a clawed hand grabbed her wrist. "It's fine," an elderly man reassured her. "You can leave the rest if you're full."

He seemed to know something she did not, but Lumina was just glad to be excused. This crowd of concerned people remained confusing, though. She surreptively glanced around, but nobody made any motions toward her. Some were whispering with each other.

Then the group split apart, making way for a middle-aged woman; she wore a black robe with a second, white layer. The scaly woman who left earlier led this one. She was overtaken when the newcomer's amber eyes found Lumina. A pair of feline ears folded back to her skull, hiding between the equally black hair.

This woman approached slowly before drawing out a chair. "Hello there, sweetie," she greeted softly. Lumina watched her with curiousity, wondering where this was going now. With no answer forthcoming, the other woman tried a smile. "I'm Kali, and you are?"

"Lumina?" she answered, her response less certain than intended. This entire situation confused her a great deal. Were outsiders this interesting to the people here? Was it that she stood out like a sore thumb?

"Is there a problem?"

Kali shook her head. "Not at all," she denied. "We are happy to have you. I'm just curious how you made it here and why you came to us."

In the expectant silence that followed, Lumina wondered how to respond. She could just regurgitate her previous responses; alas, she reminded herself with annoyance, positive relations. If Kali noticed her frown, she did not say. The still present crowd around them shifted awkwardly, though. Lumina decided to be honest here and put her cards on the table.

"I heard that Menagerie is a better place to live for faunus than Mistral," she talked over the renewed whispers. "So I came to see for myself." Her wings spread again, glittering in the morning sun. "As to how: I flew."

Kali's lips had curled upward at first, but the final notion wiped her smile away. "All the way from Mistral?" she inquired. Her gaze critically trailed down Lumina's frame. "I hope you realise how dangerous that was?"

"Probably didn't have money for the ship," someone added from the side. Lumina paid them no mind, trying to understand what the issue was. When she did, she had to roll her eyes.

"It was no great journey for me. A matter of a second to cross the ocean." Then again, she had to reorient herself a few times. "Maybe two seconds."

The expression Kali displayed now was familiar: doubt. Lumina was not in the habit of justifying herself, though. She would not start now.

Regardless, the other woman did not dwell on the subject. "So if I understood you correctly, you want to live here?" She was correct, so Lumina nodded and Kali's smile returned. "That is perfectly fine. Welcome to Menagerie, Lumina." A smattering of greetings followed from the crowd. "You are a little younger than most of our immigrants, but it will be fine."

Lumina herself just sat dumbfounded. None of this was how she imagined her visit to an unfamiliar realm to go. But at the same time, why look a gift horse in the mouth? Considering how others went along with Kali, she seemed to have the authority for such decisions.

After a moment of struggle, Lumina inclined her head. "Thank you kindly."

Even as she said it, she felt like a beggar. The mere notion made her skin crawl, but Lumina forced herself through word and deed regardless. Being polite did not equal weakness, although it sometimes felt similar.

Kali's response was a simple nod, graceful in accepting gratitude. Perhaps practiced as well. "With that out of the way, do you want to stay with my husband and I until your living situation is sorted out? We have the space to accomodate you just fine," she added upon seeing Lumina's incredulity. "It would be our pleasure to host you."

She had been about to refuse, but Kali made a salient point: Lumina had no home anymore. Whether she actually picked up on it or simply reasoned it made sense in a new place, the moth could not tell. She was still grateful for the offer, if a tiny bit leery. Were there strings attached to it? The generally encouraging mood told her no. It may all be a front to lure in the unknowing, but Lumina felt confident in her ability to break free.

Hence why she ultimately nodded. "Again, thank you. I carry no money to pay you with, though."

"Don't you worry about that," Kali answered at once, as if she expected that particular notion already. "I wouldn't charge you for this." Her feline ears slowly perked up again. Kali's head swivelled and she rose a moment later. "Let's not waste any more time then. Come, come! I will show you around."

Once Lumina stood as well, the crowd began to disperse. Several wished her good luck or repeated their welcomes. One teen girl gave her a jovial clap on the shoulder. Then Kali demanded Lumina's full attention again by offering a hand. Looking between the proffered limb and its owner, Lumina slowly reached out to take it.

Instead of shaking however, Kali gently tugged her forward. They began to walk like this, hand in hand.

Kali's hand was calloused and warm. Her grip remained firm. Likewise, Lumina's grasp matched hers. Her own callouses were just as noticeable, if not more. But where Lumina could feel flesh, Kali felt bone almost under her fingertips. The moth was alienated by unfamiliar sensations; the cat cried on the inside.

After a short while of quiet walking, Kali's full attention returned to Lumina. She began to explain the districts of Kuo Kuana; the docks leading into a tightly packed marketplace, from which three distinct living quarters sprawled out. Wood and stone palisades guarded the city on all sides but the ocean, a familiar sight. They did not venture near the edge of town, though.

"I was meaning to ask," she began when Kali left a pause. "Why is Kuo Kuana packed so tight? Menagerie has a great deal of space, no?"

The other woman agreed readily. "It has, but there are only so many of us. Expansion requires people. Add to it that the wildlife is a lot more dangerous than elsewhere and we are at an impasse. The occasional powerful Grimm does not help. We keep as low a profile as possible for now until there is enough manpower to make a proper push. There are several villages along the coastline, too. It takes time to build them, you know?"

"I see."

It made sense. The way Kali told it, Menagerie only existed for a few decades. The people here were happy to stay among themselves and live their lives. A few decades were nothing to one whose lifespan measured in eons, yet the last ten years felt incredibly slow; even she had to admit that. Did Lumina's perception of time change?

"And there is Ghira," Kali interrupted her musings. Still hand in hand, the other woman led her toward a group of three; two workers of some sort chatting amicably with a veritable giant. A warm chuckle rumbled from his throat over some sort of joke made; as they saw them approach, the other two men waved and took their leave. Kali kept approaching the one that remained, who turned to meet them.

The man who tried to manhandle her earlier was big. A comparison to a bear still felt apt. Yet compared to this specimen, even he would be short and skinny. This Ghira loomed over Kali and outright towered over Lumina. His purple coat was open at the front, revealing a broad chest to the world. Black hair framed his entire face, from the short crop crowning his head to his full beard.

Lumina felt truly small for the first time in her human life, though the expression was dispelled in a heartbeat. Ghira's serene expression broke into a bright smile and he leaned down to kiss Kali. "Why, hello!" he greeted jovially before going on a knee. Lumina was still not quite at eye level with him. "I already heard a bit about you, young lady. Welcome to Kuo Kuana!"

Into the stunned silence, Kali giggled. "This is Ghira Belladonna, the chieftain. Also my husband. Ghira, meet Lumina."

"Hello?" Lumina tried, still flummoxed by the turn of events. And perhaps a tiny bit worried that Ghira may snap her in half on accident. Even used to aura protecting her at all times, the difference in size and bulk was too large not to be concerned. The man himself did not care about her skittish demeanour, he simply offered a hand to shake. Lumina's vanished between his fingers.

"A pleasure to meet you, young lady. Again, welcome. I see Kali is showing you around?"

"That I am," the other woman responded impishly. "You do your rounds while I finish up with Lumina now. We can have a proper conversation later."

"Of course, dear." Rising once more, Ghira smiled down at Lumina and ruffled her matted hair. "You be good now."

She allowed the treatment, if with a small frown; it did not seem like he turned his nose up at her, but the action still grated. Ghira waved and strolled away whileKali chuckled upon seeing her expression.

"Please don't blame him. Ghira always loved children, no matter their age." That said, her hand snaked back into Lumina's. "Are you ready to keep going? There is still a little more to see."

Once she nodded, Kali tugged her along again. Lumina was swiftly introduced to some of the particulars of Kuo Kuana; a handful of notable vendors, several public institutions such as the fire department and police station, and the barracks.

"We don't have any hunters on permanent payroll right now," Kali explained to her along the way. "I manage the town militia instead, which is good enough unless we have a major wave of Grimm incoming. Scout teams are out to find them far enough ahead of time to hire hunters. Otherwise, well, the palisades served us well over the years. There is no need to worry about any attacks."

Her attempted reassurance completely missed Lumina, who was not concerned to begin with. Kali's words did garner her attention, though.

"You did not strike me as a military commander."

Too soft, she did not say. Appearances could be deceiving, as she herself was living proof of. Kali squeezed her hand in response.

"I learned to assume the position. Ghira was always the type to step up. As his wife and confidante, I can't be seen slacking off. Knowing him, he'd do it himself on top of everything else. But really, I'm mostly doing logistics; training and combat are handled by others who are better at it." She paused, glanced around surrepticiously, and leaned in. "Don't let anyone know, but we have a lot of talent in our kill teams. Several of them qualified for the academies, one even for Beacon."

Lumina's brow rose in response. She heard of the Hunter Academies; only the best were accepted there, to be trained into Huntsmen and Huntresses. Particularly Beacon, located in Vale, only accepted the best of the best. Meaning... "In a few years time, Kuo Kuana will have hunters on the roster."

Kali's smile grew into a smirk. "Atta girl. Exactly. My and Ghira's generation is tired of the constant struggle, but there is fire in the new blood."

Lumina nodded. The general air of content suddenly offered a completely different impression; stagnation, perhaps? She could not quite tell.

She put the matter aside when Kali tugged her along. Their next stop was also their last: a sprawling mansion rather than a house, guarded by about two dozen men and women. Kali received faint nods as she passed while the looks Lumina got were inscrutable. Sizing up a potential threat, disregarding any danger due to Kali's presence. Lumina ignored them entirely. She much preferred to study the open space inside; the floor was made of lacquered wood.

The women left their shoes at the door, then Kali stopped her charge to look her over with a critical eye. "When was the last time you took a bath?"

"Three days, just about?"

"I thought so. We will take care of that first, then. I can see about finding you some proper clothes in the meantime."

Lumina glanced down at her worn blouse and skirt. They may be patchwork by now, but they were also familiar. Her hands involuntarily clutched the frayed hem of her skirt, only for Kali to open them gently. Holding both, the taller woman coaxed: "Don't worry. It will be okay. Come, this way."

Soon enough Lumina was left alone in a spacious bathroom. She disrobed almost mechanically and left her clothes in an empty hamper. Kali's treatment should feel patronising, but if anything it reminded her of Granny Bluebell. Melancholy kept her going along with the other woman's desires. Was it so bad to follow along if the other side had good intentions?

After some searching, she found herself a stool and sponge. There were no buckets, but she could live with that. So Lumina began the process of cleaning herself meticulously; as in everything she did, perfection was expected. She began with washing out her hair over the tub, careful not to splash any water onto her wings. Aura would protect them from harm, but wet wings still felt awful.

Once she was about halfway down her body, someone knocked on the door. "How are you doing?" Kali's muffled voice sounded. Lumina glanced that way and kept working.

"Come in, this is silly."

A moment of silence followed, then the handle turned. "Very well," Kali began, only to pause at the sight of her. "What are you doing? Using a sponge isn't really... ah. Your wings."

"Yes," Lumina agreed without so much as looking Kali's way. "My wings. As much as I appreciate a shower or a bathtub, I can not use either." Technically she could, but the sensation was just too alienating. She never needed to so much as rinse herself before becoming human.

After standing in the door for a moment longer, Kali sighed and walked inside. She placed a bundle of cloth down and grabbed a second sponge.

"Here, let me help you."

She still kept her distance until Lumina allowed it, though. The second sponge running along the base of her wings was pleasant; she always had trouble reaching there.

Kali struck up conversation again as they worked: "I found a few things that should fit you. They might be a little loose for now, but I can have something better made in a few days. Or make it myself, if I have the time," she mused almost idly. Then she paused, both speaking and wiping Lumina's back. "Actually, it needs to be custom anyway. Your wings won't fit under any cloth, will they?"

Lumina did not bother answering. Once she was done cleaning up, Kali quickly took a knife to the grey t-shirt she procured. Much like Lumina's old blouse, the back was removed except for a strip of collar to keep it stable. A temporary solution, but an effective one. The baggy shorts offered to her fit better, though they required a belt to stay on.

Clean and dressed, Lumina suddenly found herself bereft of anything to do. She never had time for much beside her chores and most of that was spent wandering. Walking kept Lumina busy and gave her time to think. Kali refused to let her do any work or leave the house, so she spent most of the afternoon simply... sitting around. The lack of motion agitated Lumina. She was not dead yet, but had to act as if she were.

"What of school?" Kali asked at some point. She was not particularly happy with the answer she got.

"They had one, but told me no. So I taught myself to read." Either way, Lumina preferred not to waste so much time learning what she already knew. Human mathmatics and sciences were woefully behind her knowledge as well. They taught nothing of the soul beyond aura. History, she could just as well learn from a book. "Come to think of it, I guess I like to read?"

Lumina felt uncertain even saying it; books were always a means to an end, but she could bear being stationary while engrossed in one. At least her addendum definitely appeased Kali; she produced several well-read novels for Lumina to pass time with. Those were okay.

Dinner was an odd affair, too; Ghira and Kali took their meals together. Not only that, but they invited all the guards off-duty to join them. Lumina sat between the Belladonnas as well. The men and women around her made merry while she studied her plate; it held a smaller portion than what everyone else got. The food itself was of the same quality, though; a well-cooked piece of meat, together with rice and a number of vegetables.

A large hand gently rubbed her back. Ghira smiled down at her. "It is alright if you can't eat it all. You need to get used to larger portions first. Please just eat as much as you can, yes?"

So not an affront of some sort. Lumina did not know enough of human biology to verify his words, but so far she saw no reason for such a silly lie. She slowly nodded and picked up her tableware. No chopsticks, but fork and knife.

Lumina ate slow and methodical. Sometimes a question came her way, answered either in few words or silence. The guards did not seem offended, though; had she paid more attention, she may have noticed the clear pity they regarded her with.

Once her belly was as full as she dared make it, Ghira sighed.

"Now then. I hate to do this so soon, but it is something we need to cover eventually. You're a big girl, aren't you, Lumina?" He tried for a jovial smile, but it wilted under her flat stare. "Well, rest assured you can stay either way. But we don't have the resources to provide for anyone indefinitely. Everyone needs to chip in in one way or another. It's how we managed to get where we are today."

He gave a pause to gauge her reaction, but Lumina simply nodded; she never expected otherwise. If anything, having to work to earn her keep just made this all feel more believable. Seeing no negative reaction, Ghira ventured on: "That said, what do you think you are good at?"

Lumina mulled it over for a moment. She was passable at most domestic tasks by necessity. But this was probably not what they looked for. "I know how to forage and can eviscerate just about any game common to Anima," she began. "Otherwise, I can kill the creatures of Grimm."

The table had quieted for the most part when they began talking. Now this silence took a far more baffled note. Everyone heard Lumina's words and no one believed them. Ghira's smile was frozen on his face while Kali frowned.

"You had to fight Grimm?" she ventured cautiously.

What none of them expected was for Lumina's taciturn expression to devolve into a snarl. It raced over her face and was gone in a heartbeat, but enough people saw. "I did not have to," she clarified with forced calm. "I wanted to." Just thinking of them reminded her of the forever damned Vessel that killed her. Her good mood evaporated like so much water over open flame. A faint golden sheen became visible around her, revealing active aura to the entire room.

Alas, something about her answer must have been wrong. She was not allowed to join the defenders in killing the creatures of Grimm. If anything, Kali insisted she stay as far away from the palisades as possible. No one paid any mind to the beasts' numbers slowly increasing.

Instead they tried to teach her domestic tasks first. Ghira put some time aside to teach her proper cooking. Lumina was already decent at that, but appreciated his guidance. Kali's attempt to interest her in sewing bore less fruit; she kept pricking herself with the needles, only aura preventing manifold injuries. "It galls me to be incompetent," Lumina admitted after an afternoon mostly wasted, "but this does not seem like something I will ever enjoy."

Kali hesitantly aborted their sessions, though she tried a few others. Some were pleasant, others failed as much as sewing did.

Everyone soon got used to Lumina's unusual schedule as the days passed; she always rose with the sun, being found outside soaking up its light. Any attempt to convince her of sleeping longer were shut down, so Kali got her will by enforcing bedtimes to match.

After a week of feeding her as much as she could take, the Belladonnas sat Lumina down on a bench outside of their house. She appreciated the bright light streaming down at them if nothing else. Ghira sat opposite to her, head propped up on one hand.

"So. How did you like your first week here? Is there anything that bothers you?"

Lumina's brow creased as she considered the question. "Kuo Kuana is different," she finally settled on. "Warmer. The people are different, too." Whether this was better, she could not quite tell yet. It felt a little overbearing to have someone hovering over her most of the time. That irritated Lumina, but her usual outlet was out of reach unless she wanted to affront her hosts. "I think I prefer Menagerie over Mistral, if nothing else."

Ghira nodded thoughtfully, though he kept his silence. Kali did as well, allowing Lumina to venture on: "But I do want to kill some Grimm."

A few words were all it took to wipe away their smiles. Kali sighed while her husband frowned. It was Ghira who answered in the end: "About that. How long was your aura active for?"

"Ever since I was born."

He blinked, but took the unconventional news in stride. "I see. And you know how to fight them?" Lumina nodded, prompting a furtive glance to Kali. "Then perhaps we should at least give her a chance to convince us?"

"I don't like it," Kali retorted without any heat. She met Lumina's resolute gaze momentarily, then looked away. "But yes. I will walk you there in an hour or two."

Suddenly, her day seemed much brighter. Lumina went through a set of small chores until Kali fetched her. She was a little more animated, almost giddy, which privately worried her host.

A surprise waited atop the palisades, though. Two other women, or perhaps older teenagers. A wiry, freckled brunette in black, tight-fitting jacket and shorts, as well as a redhead wearing primarily green. She too favoured shorts, though her blouse's hem fluttered in the breeze. The brunette bore no notable traits, but the other one's red hair was partly hidden by a pair of canine ears.

The wolf faunus perked up upon seeing Kali. "Ah, about time!" she cheered, bounding over to high-five the older woman. Then she turned to Lumina. "That her? Damn, you're tiny! And thin," she added after a moment, leaning down to study her. "Are you sure you're up for combat?"

Lumina's brows furrowed, but she refrained from answering. The brunette's skin changed to a light pink before she whacked the wolf's shoulder. Kali sighed in exasperation, but got no chance to speak. The redhead straightened up with a winning grin, pointing a thumb at her chest. "Ah well, we'll see about that soon enough. I'm Selina, this is Ilia. Nice to meet'cha!"

"Lumina. A pleasure." She left a clear pause after her name, though it went cheerfully ignored. "I assume you two are among the combat teams?"

"Right you are!" Selina brandished a thick metal spear for emphasis, then whirled around and threw it. The weapon barrelled groundward like an arrow, piercing a Beowulf's arm. The beast was nailed to the ground, growling pitifully. "And there ya go. Kali said we've gotta see how good you are, so let's start-" A band of light connected Lumina's pointed finger with the Beowulf's head, killing it instantly. "-slow. Huh."

Lumina paid her audience no mind anymore. Her attention lay solely on the pack following their fallen kin. Light flashed and they died. She did the same to the Lancer that followed; though airborne in resemblance of a giant hornet, it had no time to close the distance.

With no more creatures in sight, she turned back to the others. Kali's wide eyes and Ilia's flabbergasted expression pleased her greatly.

Meanwhile, Selina raised a hand as if to argue. Her mouth opened, only to shut again. She shrugged it off and showed a thumbs up. "Alright, cool. That works, too. How'd ya do it?"

"My Semblance allows me to emit and manipulate light."

"Nice!"

It was more than that, but Lumina decided not to correct Selina. Going by how Kali pinched the bridge of her nose, she was displeased. "I believe I understand a little better now," she grudgingly admitted. "Let it be known I am still not happy sending you to fight Grimm, but I have little grounds to deny you if that is what you want."

She left a pause, clearly wishing Lumina to relent and say no. The moth dashed her hopes with a simple nod.

"Don't worry too much," Selina chimed in with a laugh. She carefully wrapped an arm around Lumina's bony shoulder on one side and Ilia on the other. "Ilia and I'll keep an eye on her. She'll be fine."

The other girl dragged her feet somewhat, but nodded. Selina's touch was strangely warm, though Lumina bore with it mainly to not offend. She could see where this was going; constraints on her freedom were already anticipated in exchange for living in Kuo Kuana. She could bear with this much.

"As long as you do not slow me down, I can accept that."

Kali heaved a heavy sigh. Ilia frowned, but Selina only laughed and let go with a wink. "Don't you worry. I'll keep them away from you, Ilia stabs 'em in the back, and you shoot as many as you can before we get our hands on 'em. It'll be fun!"

"I don't know about that," Ilia muttered. She immediately wilted when Lumina's gaze swivelled to her. "You're not a teamplayer."

"I am not," Lumina agreed. Ilia blinked in surprise for some reason while she mulled it over. "I do not need you to guard me. But I understand why this arrangement is preferred." She did not, at least not really. Why waste an opportunity to interact with people, though? "So I will not make trouble for you."

For some reason Ilia's skin tinged pink again as she looked away. Her frown lessened, though. This time it was for Selina to roll her eyes. "With that out of the way," she cut into the silence, "happy to work with ya, Lumina." They shook hands, then the other girl turned back to Kali. "Oh, and I'll be back for dinner starting next week. Ol' Razor has mercy on me."

"A month of unpaid work may have been overzealous," Kali agreed with a faint frown. "But you did kill his dog."

"Oi, how often do I have to say it was an accident?" Selina pouted now, arms crossed. "Stupid thing came at me first! I just didn't wanna kill it!"

"But you apparently did," Lumina deadpanned from the side. Her future minder grumbled and climbed down the palisade to fetch her spear. Lumina glanced to the women she was left with. "I take it the work was demanded as recompense?"

"Not really," Kali answered with a sigh. "She offered it on her own to apologise. Selina is a good girl like that, don't let her rough behaviour tell you otherwise."

Lumina could not care less about that, but she nodded anyway.

From that point neither Kali nor Ghira had much grounds to forbid her from joining the kill teams. He put his foot down on only allocating two hours a day to patrols, however.

Lumina learned to know the plains and sparse forests alongside Selina and Ilia; they took some time to teach her about local flora and fauna, which she appreciated. Ilia held an in-depth knowledge of just about every plant and its edibility. It took her a few days to overcome her reserved nature, though she bantered quite a bit with Selina.

They had a lot of time for banter, too. No beast made it even close as long as Lumina was with them. Selina fully agreed that the tiny girl did not need any form of protection. Ilia felt somewhat envious over seeing such effortless, almost graceful efficiency.

Unaware of and uncaring for their feelings, Lumina went on. She was too busy with her own situation anyway; her hosts insisted on three full meals a day and Ghira snuck her sweets at least once every day, too. Their solicitous behaviour alienated her a great deal. Yet they never asked anything outrageous; for all intents and purposes, they simply were that kind.

Two weeks after her arrival, Lumina's bony frame slowly began to fill out. Lying in bed that night, covered by a warm blanket and with a book by her bedside, she felt content. This was not so bad.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Unexpectedly good. I thought for a moment that the Radiant Moth lived in the same village as Nora and Ren, but Google says the opposite. The Grimm Horse seems to have destroyed that village a long time ago. In any case, it is curious what will happen to the Radiant Moth next.

 

[Naron]

Waking with awful abdominal cramps was not a pleasant experience.

Lumina immediately hated that fact, the world, and human biology. Whatever fortune spared her of the ovulation cycle thus far seemed to have run out. The pain-laced annoyance was so great she almost forgot to lift her blanket off. The heavy cloth would pull at her wings if left in place. And as if to add insult to injury, the sky was overcast that morning. Then again, somehow Lumina doubted that embracing the sunlight would give her any solace.

Kali had the gall to giggle when she saw the bloodstains.

"I do feel for you, my dear," she soothed Lumina with a fond smile. "This will be a constant companion throughout your life."

Meanwhile, the moth seriously considered how to remove her uterus; its only purpose was to breed offspring anyway, a notion she disregarded eons ago after all of hers came out stillborn. Old pain flared in her chest as she glanced to the bright spot in the clouds. Remnant's sun, too, was one of hers. Only now she was the child being warmed by its rays.

Days of annoying cramps aside, Lumina had begun to eat more; her stomach finally accepted larger amounts of food without rebelling. Her hosts' attempts of convincing her to relax were ignored, however; the flesh may be weak, but she refused to let it rule her schedule. If anything, Lumina ended up killing even more creatures of Grimm. They were always a convenient target to vent her countless frustrations on.

"Is it just me or are there a lot more of them recently?" Ilia asked softly. She and Selina watched Lumina dismantle a small group of Griphons; their wings were clipped to make them crash. None ever rose thanks to the moth's follow-up. Ilia shuddered a little. "I'm pretty sure their numbers increased since Lumina joined us."

"Yeah, kinda." Selina stood at attention in case one did slip through, but by this point it was just a precaution. They all knew none would. "Bit odd, but it happens from time to time. Did someone die recently?"

"A few of the elders, but everyone made their peace with that."

"Heh, maybe Lumina's red rage draws 'em in."

"Selina!"

She was not even far off, though Lumina knew better than to say that. Her constant, simmering anger drew the beasts in like a beacon. More than one broken person had been exiled from her birthplace to prevent a horde, so she held her tongue.

Then the wolf girl threw an arm around Lumina's shoulder. Her sidehugs had grown familiar by now. "Don't let it get to you, you're a tough cookie. I'd say it gets better, but it really doesn't. Just be careful about acrobatics an' stuff when you're on your period, okay?"

She remained jovial, but a note of concern swung through Selina's entire spiel. Lumina sighed.

"There is no need to worry. Alas, my allotted time is about over. Do you want to keep going?" She often left the other two to continue their patrol outside of Kuo Kuana. The team's duty was to sweep the area for errant Grimm and deal with them; preferably before they came close to the walls or roads.

"Nah, let's turn in early. We've done a ton the last few weeks."

Selina's arm wrapped around Lumina's shoulders again. The other took Ilia in a similar fashion. Selina led them both back to Kuo Kuana that way. "Gotta get shortie used to period stuff. Y'know, lotsa greasy food and all the good stuff. Kali got you some bindings, right?"

"Yes. Hence why my clothes are not visibly red." If sarcasm were a liquid, Selina would have slipped on how much of it dripped from that sentence. As it were, she simply laughed it off.

Their march back to town was quiet for a time, though Ilia threw Lumina a few sympathetic looks. When the moth met her gaze to demand she speak her mind, the chameleon girl already piped up: "I'm starting to realise you aren't particularly happy."

Selina squeezed her shoulder, but she ignored it. "And I don't mean because your life was bad before. Mine was too, but I don't think I was ever... well, like this. I don't think I've ever seen you smile."

"You can be happy without smiling," Lumina retorted. There was little heat to it, though. "But you are correct. I have many, many reasons to be annoyed. That my own body decides to torture me is only the last in a long list."

"And are we on that list?"

"...no. Not even at your most agitating."

Lumina was merely being honest; she completely missed the implications in that question. It would take a while to realise that Ilia became less tense around her after this particular exchange. Selina's smile had grown a fraction as well.

The trio made it about two blocks into town before a gaggle of children intercepted them. Demands for playtime were denied by Selina, only to be reinforced with puppy dog eyes. One of the girls could do them literally, being a wolf faunus like her. Although Lumina was barred from joining by this point. Her Semblance had been deemed cheating in games of tag, which was fair; due to her current state, neither Selina nor Ilia allowed her any additional exertion. Patronising it may be, but she understood they did it because they cared for her wellbeing.

So Lumina watched the rest enjoy themselves instead; several of the more quiet children gathered around her. Insectoid traits were far less common than mammals, so her wings drew attention. Questions about them and her life before Menagerie were frequent. Some just liked to read by her side, though. Some watched the games with Lumina, too; Selina dominated tag for obvious reasons while Ilia with her colour-changing skin could run circles around everyone in Hide and Seek.

At some point Lumina decided to try entertaining the small group around her. She formed her light into a small sphere and had it amble around, casting away the shadows. The more adventurous children tried to catch it, only for the sphere to fly away. Lumina's expression was unreadable, though she took some pleasure out of the display.

As more and more joined in the attempts to catch the orb, her thoughts began to stray. She absently made a new one when a boy caught the first on Selina's shoulders; it was barely solid and popped easily.

Kali and Ghira freely offered her shelter. She killed creatures of Grimm in exchange, yes, but that did not feel quite right as compensation. Lumina refused to accept this as an equivalent exchange; killing these things was what she did anyway. She wanted to give them something more to reward their kindness. A gift, freely given. Something to support their ambitions in a more tangible manner. But what could she give to assist in growing Menagerie from an offshoot into a proper kingdom? She could not build cities for them. She could not transform the desolate wasteland into a lush garden. She knew too little to rule and had no pedigree regardless; the faunus revered a creator god. Male, capable of transformation from a humanoid into a dragon. That was all she ever wished to learn of the subject, too quickly reminded of the Wyrm she abhorred.

It took a while for Lumina to realise what she could give them. Without worldly possessions of note, that left knowledge. Remnanti people could work with their essence, SOUL, or their souls as they called it, just fine. Yet they barely scratched the surface of a field the scholars of Hallownest spent centuries expanding. Their own hubris created abominations, but their knowledge remained. Lumina may not recall all of it, but she remembered enough.

She needed to consider what to give her hosts carefully, though; any knowledge would propagate in time. Abominations may yet rise again and abominable acts would take place. Even if Lumina herself did not care much, the recipients of her gift did. So it had to be something impressive yet not too overwhelming and most of all safe. A new discipline of science to set Remnant on a path of discovery.

It took until the next Sunday before she brought it up. Her benefactors insisted on the seventh day of each week being a day of rest. A tradition of some sort. Lumina took this to her advantage and spoke up over lunch.

"I was meaning to tell you something," she began. Four gazes lay on her immediately; Ghira, Kali, Ilia, and Selina were the only people in the room. "I feel that my current contributions are not enough to convey my gratitude."

Several people spoke up at once, trying to reassure her. Lumina's eyes narrowed. "Let me finish. Please." Her order softened into a request and they fell silent. "I have nothing physical to give, but I hold knowledge that may be useful to you. To Menagerie as a whole."

"Like what?" Selina asked into the silence. "I mean, no offense, but where'd you learn something big like that?"

"Maybe some sort of secret research lab?" Ilia theorised with a light frown. "That would explain a lot, actually."

Lumina simply shrugged. "Does it matter?" Her aura began to gleam and warp; visible tendrils of gold reached out and pushed at the table. "The first one is something you may already be aware of, but the soul is more malleable than one expects. Aura especially so, being its offshoot. You can create a variety of techniques with practice." She saw them nod along; Lumina suspected they merely meant to indulge her, though. "Examples I am familiar with are shockwaves, projectile attacks, and short-ranged teleportation."

"Wait, teleportation?" Ilia leaned forward, as did Selina. The Belladonnas were just as surprised.

Lumina nodded. "I can not teach that as my movement is facilitated by my Semblance, but I know it is possible. Regardless, the main requirement of any such technique is focus. It demands to feel one's soul and shape its power." The moth girl raised her hand, producing a gleaming white orb. A flick of her wrist sent it flying around the room. "Being a part of yourself, it remains under your control as long as you can focus. Lose your focus and...." The sphere popped like a soap bubble.

"Intriguing," Ghira murmured. His own aura flickered; the women followed suit in trying to replicate the feat, but none managed. His attention returned to the satisfied Lumina after a minute. "How exactly do we go about this practice?"

Lumina spent a little while explaining the theory; meditation to sharpen one's focus, imagining the shape and separating a piece of one's aura. Her own single-minded determination and age made this simple, but they took some time. Ghira managed an orb of his own after an hour or so; Ilia did the same soon after. Kali and Selina failed, but two out of four was still promising.

"Practice is all it takes for this particular matter," Lumina ended their impromptu session. "The other knowledge I wish to impart is less familiar and perhaps far more valuable. More complex as well." Seeing that she had their undivided attention, Lumina continued: "Charmwork, the art of binding the properties of one's soul to an object."

She let the silence linger here. It was clear something about her words worried the group. Kali and Ghira exchanged looks, but it was Selina who spoke up: "Err, just to be clear here. This isn't some kind of self-mutilation, right?"

"It can be if you are sloppy." Lumina saw their wariness grow and rolled her eyes. "I imagine you appreciate honesty over empty reassurances. Charmwork requires precision most of all. The general applications are harmless, but we all know that not everyone is satisfied with just that much. One can process a person into a Charm, but a resisting soul often lowers its potency. Some are simply imprints of a greater being's final thoughts."

At first there had been dark yet understanding looks. Once Lumina paused again to sip her water, she saw incomprehension and confusion take over. Aware that she was about to lose her audience, she went on: "The power of a Charm aligns with the donor of the essence."

"I'm confused," Ilia admitted. "What makes these things useful? And anyway, how do you know this stuff?"

"It is quite fantastical," Ghira agreed.

Lumina arched a single brow in response. She wordlessly produced a metal plate organised for this exact demonstration. About twice the width of her thumb and perfectly plain.

"Watch."

Then she focussed on nothing but that plate. Her aura followed her will and began to flow; a rivulet of gold slowly entered the receptive metal. A tiny shard of essence was threaded through the plate, simple in pattern. A circle, no more and no less. With it came Lumina's intent for the effect to develop. The thread tightened by itself. Where blank steel merely reflected her light before, it soon began to shine on its own.

Once the entire seam was done, she blinked and remembered her surroundings.

Four intrigued faunus were watching the plaque in her hand; it was no longer blank. Two gleaming dots sat in its center, surrounded by black that turned to ivory toward the rim. The lower half became almost fuzzy to the touch, its top ran out in three silvery spikes; they reminded Lumina of a crown, as they should. Her crown.

She stared at it, too. This was a reminder of who she was and ever would be. The crowned light. The Radiance.

After a moment of solemnity, Lumina offered the Charm to Selina. Her companion sat closest. "I name it Radiant Light." Uncreative, but they would never know. "It will light your path, regardless how dark."

"Gee, thanks. Not like we all got darkvision here."

Despite her irreverence, Selina was clearly captivated by the Charm. Her astonishment related to how Lumina changed this plate's properties with aura alone. The moment she wondered how it worked, she knew. Selina gingerly slid the warm metal into her blouse, where it attached itself to her skin. She somehow knew a single thought would loosen it whenever she wanted.

Then she directed a miniscule burst of aura into the Charm and there was light. It bathed the whole group as if the sun snuck inside the house, even from beneath her clothes. All shadows were banished within ten metres of Selina. Yet somehow the pure sunlight did not hurt their eyes. None of them even needed to squint. All four stared in awe at the radiant display.

Silence reigned. Lumina allowed herself a smug smile, well aware how stumped they all were.

Once another poke with Selina's aura turned the Charm off, Ilia hesitantly spoke: "So it's like a flashlight?"

"Kinda?" Selina responded, shrugging lightly. "I mean, a flashlight that doesn't hurt your eyes, never runs out, and is super easy to carry. Right?"

"In effect, yes," Lumina grumbled. She was not entirely happy with her creation being compared to something so mundane. Then again, artificial creation of light was a notable achievement as well. "I went for something simple."

"Aww, no shooting lasers like you do?"

"Maybe later. A Charm like that requires far more time and effort to create." Not to mention more of her essence, which Lumina had to use sparingly; there was precious little left.

Kali chimed into the conversation at that point: "And you say that anyone can learn how to create such Charms?" Although Lumina nodded, the other woman slowly rubbed her eyes. "I saw it myself, but it is still hard to believe. Almost like magic."

Lumina barely refrained from snorting. 'Magic' was an excuse lesser beings used to speak of matters they could not comprehend. But she held her tongue and left it at that; the Belladonnas were certainly intrigued with her work. So much so that Ghira took time out of his schedule to help her write a primer on SOUL manipulation and Charmwork.

"If this works as you think it will," he told her with a kind smile, "then you just gave Menagerie a unique and valuable trade good. Completely unrelated to Dust, too. We can finally work on expanding further with the money this will earn us."

"That is why I told you," Lumina answered absently. She missed Ghira's bewildered look due to her focus on the primer.

At the end of that week, on Friday morning, a tired Kali presented them with a very basic Charm. It bore black fuzz and two triangles at the top, as well as leering amber orbs much like her own. Kali held it proudly nonetheless. "Here we are. A proof of concept more than anything, but it should work."

It was offered to Selina, who placed the black Charm next to Lumina's white one. Which was when the moth remembered another constraint.

"Do be careful how many Charms you wear at once," she cautioned. "I forgot to mention that there is a limit, dependant on the individual. The stronger your own essence, the more or stronger Charms you can bear."

"Okay? But these two are fine, right?"

"They are both basic, so yes."

"How can I tell how much is too much?" Ilia inquired next; her gaze nervously flickered between everyone.

Lumina needed to think back to the scholars she once observed. It felt like eons ago, even though the timespan covered a mere few centuries. "You can tell if a new Charm is too much. It will not let itself be attached unless you force it. Your own essence will reject it instinctively."

Her words immediately calmed them down, though they were clearly still intrigued.

"Out of curiousity," Kali ventured, " what happens if you do force more Charms than you can bear?"

"Fractures." Lumina had to pause, trying to think of how she could phrase it best. "Your essence will get strained, making it lose potency. Your body follows suit and becomes frail. Or, in other words, your aura depletes faster. Wounds are easier struck and take longer to heal." She decided to stop there, preferring not to mention the experiments that were all but molten into pure SOUL energy. So she changed the subject.

"Anyway, Selina? What does that Charm do, exactly?"

"Bumps up my aura." The redhead examined herself, but there was no visible effect. Her mint green aura flickered, its colour the same as ever. "I don't really feel it, but I know that's what it does."

Ghira chuckled at that, hugging his wife to his broad chest with one hand. "Well, you certainly got what scientists we have interested. They are already scrambling to investigate your notes and put hypotheses together." He looked all too pleased, as did Kali.

"About that," a new voice chimed in. Heads turned to a man stood before the veranda, smiling pleasantly. Lumina never met him before, but she took note of his garb; a dark tunic covered his broad chest, from which a white robe flowed to the ground. Equally white, pristine sleeves were visible from his elbows down. Though as tanned as everyone else around Lumina, he appeared like some sort of monk; the expression was only heightened by a hood in muted red casting his face in shadow.

Ghira's smile slipped somewhat, turning from warm to polite. "Ah," he greeted, "Mr. Albain. Do join us. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

He stepped around the fence, revealing a fox's tail protruding from his robe. Lumina studied him much like he studied her; Selina growled, but Ilia pulled her away. The new arrival sketched a bow toward Lumina.

"Well, I followed the many rumours surrounding our newest sister. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear. I am Corsac Albain, representative of Menagerie's White Fang."

His polite tone irked Lumina, if just for how familiar he assumed they were. "I am not your or anyone's sister," she retorted calmly. Corsac's expression barely even twitched, so at least he knew how to control himself. "But yes, a pleasure. I am Lumina."

"My apologies. I did not mean to presume. The White Fang has always prided itself on the strong bonds it fosters, is all; we are not mere comrades, but brothers and sisters all to confront that which plagues all faunuskind."

"I see." She did not need to ask what he was talking about. Even Lumina knew of the White Fang. Going by Ghira's miniature frown, he did not like that speech. Lumina could guess why. "I take it you came to recruit me?"

Kali interjected before Corsac could so much as open his mouth: "Be reasonable, please. She is fourteen, has been with us for just a month." Her firm tone still belied a pleading note. Corsac's expression smoothed over immediately, though this time Lumina gave him no chance to respond. She threw a sour look at the other woman.

"I can speak for myself."

Kali flinched back and Lumina felt a pang of guilt, but it was swept away by her annoyance with the situation. When she turned back to Corsac, his pleasant smile returned.

"Of course you can, Lumina. And you are correct in a sense. I have not come so much to induct you, but merely extend an invitation. Of course I would appreciate if you were to join our cause, but demanding that of you is unacceptable. Those of us who fight for a brighter tomorrow ought to put their lives on the line out of their own volition." He inclined his head to her, almost demure. "But if you were willing to join my brother and I for tea one day, so that we may get to know who it is that joined our community here, I would greatly appreciate it."

Selina growled in the background while Lumina mulled it over. She could tell her hosts were not fond of Corsac Albain. At the same time, she had no real reason to dislike him; Lumina's opinion on the White Fang was nonexistent.

"Very well," she said in the end. "Forward a time that is amenable to you and I shall consider it."

Corsac's smile widened a fraction as he bowed his head again. "Wonderful. Are you free this Sunday, perhaps around noon?"

Meaning, he already planned ahead. Regardless, Lumina was curious. "I am."

"Perfect. I am certain sister Ilia can lead you to the place at that time." He grinned at the reserved girl, who nodded back. Then his gaze fluttered to the Belladonnas. "Now I believe I should make myself scarce."

"Hold."

Lumina's demand gave the entire group pause. She had her own curiousity to indulge. "A question, if you would. Why is the White Fang on Menagerie in the first place? There is nothing here for you to fight for."

"Ah. A common misconception." Corsac's indulgent smile was annoying, but accepted. If only because he offered an explanation: "It is true that the faunus of Menagerie are free of suppression, but they are not safe. The local White Fang chapter concerns itself mainly with the protection of our fledgling kingdom's holdings. You will find that many members of the town militia and patrol teams are our brothers and sisters."

Her gaze flickered to Ilia, whose expression displayed a wild mixture of emotions. Then Lumina nodded.

"I see. Thank you for your time."

"It was no trouble. Until Sunday, then."

"Goodbye."

He offered a friendly wave and began to stroll away. If he was aware of Lumina's gaze burning into his back, he did not show it.

The target of her attention only changed when Ghira's hand landed on her shoulder. "Be careful," the chieftain urged. "They mean well, but their second purpose here is to recruit for the other chapters all across Remnant."

"There is nothing bad about that," Ilia chimed in petulantly.

That was, until Selina gave her a shove. "'Course not," she heckled. "Until we get to the part where they'll tell her to start lasering people." The sardonic quip reminded Lumina of a not so distant past. She did not care about a handful of mortal lives, she really did not. But destroying them for no proper reason was a waste.

"And what if it's to protect others? Did you ever consider that?!" Illia pushed Selina back; she pressed on while the wolf rotated to face her fully. "You know as well as I do how cruel humans are!"

"So that's why you told 'em about her, eh?"

"What?! I didn't! You'd need to be blind and deaf not to notice!"

Did her arrival really make such waves? Lumina glanced from the growing argument to her hosts, who each wore resigned expressions. Ghira in particular seemed almost pained; Kali rubbed his arm soothingly. That left it to Lumina to stop her companions from tearing into each other. "Enough," she declared, but her naturally quiet voice went ignored. Scowling, she threw an orb of light at each of their heads. "Enough, I said."

"You stay out of this!" Selina snapped back, only to reel when a beam of light exploded in her face. Shrieking, she covered her eyes. Ilia stared in shock, then wilted away from Lumina's unamused stare. Her skin had become almost as pale as the moth's.

"Will you stop?"

She nodded slowly, almost fearfully. It was enough for Lumina who stepped over to Selina. "And you stop that. The frequencies I used will leave no permanent harm."

The wolf girl kept rubbing her eyes, growling. "I didn't ask to be fucking flashbanged, bitch!"

That insult should have rolled off Lumina like a wave, as they always did. Yet somehow, from Selina, it hurt the tiniest bit. Enough to draw guilt, from which annoyance and then anger sprouted. At the same time, Lumina was at a loss for words. Her mouth opened and closed without any noise, brows drawn into a tight line. When Selina's vision finally returned, she found an irate moth standing right in front of her.

Then firm hands grasped each of them by the shoulder. "And that is enough of you two," Kali announced. Her tone brooked no argument. "Selina, Ilia, you both know better than to pick that particular fight. Lumina, I understand you wanted to help stop those two from fighting, but you went too far."

Her admonishment was delivered with a sharp, uncompromising edge. Selina's and Ilia's heads lowered in shame while Lumina reeled. She did no permanent harm, did not even inflict much pain. Yet somehow, she was in the wrong?

It galled her greatly. But at the same time, what would happen if she dug in her heels? Would they send her away regardless? Was a petty squabble worth risking an acceptable place to live?

She averted her gaze with a scowl, though it seemed to satisfy Kali. "Good," she said with a nod. Her stern expression softened, as did her voice. "Now apologise to each other, then we can have some cake."

Selina and Ilia wordlessly bumped fists, then the redhead turned to Lumina; the moth was still annoyed, burning with indignation really, but forced herself to say it first: "My apologies."

Much to her surprise, a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her waist. Selina pulled her into a tight embrace, Lumina's head flush against her chest. "It's cool," she murmured. "I got a bit carried away there, shouldn't have called you a bitch. Just don't do that again, yeah?"

Despite her desire to remain indignant, she relaxed into Selina's warmth. "Alright."

"Cool. Now about that cake?"

Her flippant response melted Lumina's annoyance. Her lips curled the slightest bit upward as she was ushered inside.

Nonetheless, the White Fang intrigued her; while she was not planning to join for any reason, Lumina inquired for more information from her hosts as they ate. As it turned out, Ghira himself once founded the group to improve the lot of faunuskind; he earned her respect anew for stepping up against all hardships. Yet he was clearly not happy.

He heaved a sigh once Lumina brought that up.

"This is... not at all what I imagined all these years ago. I always knew things may get rough, but I never wanted violence. Not like this."

"Those who have privileges will not surrender them without a fight," Lumina mused. She then added to that statement before Selina could cut in: "But as we see at the moment, the status quo remains."

"You say that like the Fang achieves nothing," Ilia quipped from her seat between Kali and Selina. "That's just not true."

Ghira nodded slowly. "No more open pogroms, brutality against civilian faunus has dwindled even in Mistral. I can not deny Sienna achieved good things. I just worry because she builds these achievements on fear. If she stirs the pot too fast, everything may yet collapse around us."

Ilia had no response to that. Lumina understood his meaning, too; she well remembered the extremes fear could drive a being to.

Selina sighed, refilling cups and plates in the quiet. "Don't worry too much, old man. Things will get better in the end as long as we believe in it."

"If only Blake came home."

The Belladonnas twitched; Selina was taken aback by the sudden comment and Lumina had to tilt her head in confusion. Ilia froze as soon as the words left her mouth. She hung her head in shame for some reason. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."

Selina flicked her forehead and immediately changed the subject. Lumina had half a mind to ask who this 'Blake' was, but she stopped herself. Unlike before, Kali and Ghira seemed actually pained by the matter. So she waited for her patrol that day to bring it up with the other girls.

To a backdrop of dying beasts, Selina scowled at no one in particular. "She's Ghira's and Kali's daughter, not that she deserves it."

Ilia swatted a black, hand-sized bird out of the air before snapping back: "She's out there fighting the good fight!"

"And? And?!" Selina threw her spear at the nearest enemy; Lumina picked a different target and let the hunched-over form of a Creep get nailed to a tree. Selina turned to Ilia with a thunderous expression. "That doesn't excuse pulling this shit on them! She hasn't called in years, Ilia. No letter, no nothing!" She rubbed her forehead and stomped off to reclaim her weapon; Lumina saw her pull it back with Gravity Dust before, but she preferred to conserve that where possible.

Selina was calm again once she returned to them. The readhead explained further for Lumina: "The only reason we even know she's alive is that Sienna didn't send her condolences yet. That's the woman who took over the Fang after Ghira stepped down."

"I can understand being agitated," Lumina responded. An absent ray of light cleaned up the final creatures of Grimm around. "But you seem more irate than I would expect. Why is that?"

As they moved on, Selina shrugged. "I love those two. We're all orphans here." Ilia's head sunk, but she did not contradict the statement. Selina went on without paying attention to her friend: "Those two all but adopted me, same as you. Same as any kid that needs a parent. They treat me like their own child. And then there's Blake, who can't be assed to appreciate how good she has it. But no, not only does she run away after Ghira left, she up and calls him a coward for calling it quits."

Lumina inclined her head. She started to understand Selina's argument; though she never met Blake herself, these actions did not speak of a daughter who gave one whit on her parents.

Meanwhile, Ilia was more morose than angry. "It's been years. I'm sure she misses them, too. It's hard to reach out after so long, isn't it?"

"She still should."

The other girls kept exchanging half-hearted arguments for a time; Lumina soon realised they went through countless variations of this discussion before and left it be. The schism among the White Fang apparently parted more than just the group itself.

Meanwhile, Lumina herself thought of the two people who did so well by her. She got clothed, housed, and fed; even paid for hunting beasts, something she did without payment all her life. Kali embraced each of them with something akin to real joy when they returned. Nobody had ever been happy to have Lumina, excepting the old lady who long since turned to dust.

She could understand why Selina was so angry with Blake.

Moreover, these thoughts kept running through her head for a while. Lumina began to wonder why she even cared. They were all mortal, a single heartbeat in the cosmos' long life. Merely the chemicals in her human body made her happy to be around them.

Then again, why should she fight these impulses? There was nothing shameful in indulging.

Lumina lay awake for a long time that night. Her eyes stared all but through the ceiling as she ruminated on family. Kali and Ghira seemed willing to welcome her like kin. Selina was just as friendly, even Ilia became more pleasant. Her chat with Corsac and his brother Fenec revealed both of them as overall friendly individuals.

She had family, though. She never thought she would miss him as much as she did in that moment.

Lumina's body fell slack as her mind cast out into the ether. Every fibre of it began to gleam in radiant light, miraculously unseen by the nightlife in Kuo Kuana. Her essence permeated the room like snowflakes of solid light.

"Grimm?" She asked the cosmos, but no response came. "Can you hear me?"

When no voice answered even then, she began to repeat his name in every tongue she knew. Reproducing the bugs' clicking noises was difficult with fleshy lips, but she managed. Yet regardless how often Lumina called, Grimm held his silence. In the end her light extinguished itself with a shuddering sigh. A lone tear rolled down Lumina's cheek.

Unbeknownst to her, the call was heard. Far distant, in the ruins of an underground kingdom, crimson eyes snapped open. When his name repeated, carried upon a solar wind, it was answered with a grating chuckle. The sound failed to pass back and neither did the words that followed: "Oh sister dear. Of course you would not go quietly into the night."

As Nightmare's flames gathered to travel for where fleeting Dream yet lived, the black void took notice of His deparature. It shifted slowly and skittered along, for the void's heart knew Nightmare King Grimm. Alas, not even He noticed the crawling dark following in his wake.

To Remnant they went.

 

[pingas plight]

destroying them for no proper reason was a waste.

Click to shrink...

Ah, yes, the Degurechaff Principle.

only to reel when a beam of light exploded in her face.

Click to shrink...

THINK FAST CHUCKLENUTS!

To Remnant they went.

Click to shrink...

Oh this'll be GOOD.

 

[Naron]

Sanus, the continent housing Vale and Vacuo, lay far distant from Menagerie. Just off its coast sat a small island, sparsely yet continuously populated. A cliff overlooking the open sea lay covered in snow on this very island. It made even the morning twilight look brighter.

Only a single set of deep footprints disturbed the serenity, belonging to heavy boots. Their owner stood atop the cliff yet did not gaze out to sea; her eyes settled on a stone tablet in front of her.

"February's halfway over, you know?" She told the marker with a melancholic smile. "Yang's going to graduate Signal soon, then she's off to Beacon. I mean, we don't know it for sure yet but she's top of her class. No way she's not getting in. She's really looking forward to it, too. But just between us, I think she just wants to show off to boys where Dad can't see."

She had leaned in to stage-whisper, giggling over her own quip. Once calm again she returned to swaying back and forth in place. "It will be a little lonely without her nearby, I guess. But I'll manage. I got Dad and Uncle Qrow at Signal after all! Even if, er, Qrow is out on missions half the time. You know how he is."

An ocean breeze took hold of the teen's crimson cape and black hair; both billowed out behind her, revealing red streaks throughout the dark strands. Although tights, an equally dark corset, and a multi-layered skirt that did not reach her knees were too little for Winter, she was unaffected by the cold; aura kept her warm and well protected. Frequent puffs of mist were the only interruptions during her babbling to the marker.

A simple message adorned its polished if weathered front: 'Summer Rose - Thus Kindly I Scatter'.

She slowed down and ultimately fell silent after a few minutes spent talking. Her expression lost its joy for a solemn moment, then she slowly stepped back.

"Well, I better get going. Bye, Mom."

The sun crested the horizon just as she waved to the gravestone. Gleaming rays made the white blanket around Ruby Rose glitter and she had to shield her eyes. Then a flake of light plinked against her nose, giving her pause; immaterial though it was, its touch sent a jolt through her entire being. Ruby missed the way her silver eyes began to glow momentarily over wondering what happened.

"Weird. Anyway, bye!"

Ruby waved again before turning her back to the grave and walking away. Snow crunched under her boots, cloak trailing along. A block of polished, red metal gleamed beneath the cape. She grabbed for it with practiced motions mere minutes later because her melancholy had drawn Grimm.

Ruby studied the handful of Beowulves, of which only a single one even sported proper bone plates. The rest had only their mottled, pitch black fur to offer aside from their gleaming eyes. They growled on the approach, undeterred by the unfurling scythe in Ruby's hand; its tip split open the frozen ground, the weapon as long as her wielder was tall. She sized up her opponents for a moment before grinning.

Then Ruby was gone, dispersed into rose petals. They raced toward the confused monsters and reformed behind the last in the pack. Her scythe's blade wound around its throat, slicing through on momentum alone. Ruby rotated her body and let the massive weapon carry her forward, right into the next monster. It was cut in half before the pack even finished turning around.

A gunshot disturbed a swarm of birds nearby, echoing loud in the forest; the third Beowulf died with a hole in its chest. The final pair lunged, only for Ruby to step aside. Both monsters bowled into each other while she swung her weapon in a wide arc, catching both halfway to the ground.

Coming to a stop, Ruby cracked a grin; her prey dispersed into black mist already and no more were coming. She pumped her fist with a quiet "Yes!", then hugged the scythe to her chest. "Good work, baby. You're finally perfect. I can't wait to show you off properly!"

Folding her scythe, Crescent Rose, back into its compact form, Ruby shook out her arms and legs. The fight was unexpected but it helped her loosen up a bit. Then a quick motion unfolded her Scroll and revealed its touch display; Ruby found that she made good time. Walking home would take an hour or so, getting into town more like ninety minutes.

The notion turned her grin outright malicious. It was time to screw her father's plans over once again.

Ruby dispersed into rose petals within moments. Her conciousness entered a state of separation, each petal her yet none truly. A crimson storm raced through the woods, leaving behind traces of red on the undisturbed snow. They accelerated each other, urging ever forward; Ruby had no mouth but if she did, she would whoop in exhilaration.

Five minutes was all it took her to reach town. Her entire being throbbed from the exertion, her aura was low, but she was happy. Ruby consistently managed to reach this far for a year now; she even had enough aura left for emergencies.

Though technically known as the city of Patch, few locals called it that. The isle as a whole bore the same name, so its ownly township was simply known as the town. They could have moved here years ago, be closer to Signal Academy and the market. But Taiyang Xiao-Long decided that a daily trek to and from their little cottage would be good on everyone's stamina. Ruby still suspected her father wanted to keep his two daughters from roaming. Rather, she all but knew because her uncle laughed at Taiyang when her own semblance manifested as super speed; then again when Yang bought a bike.

It was calm this early; most townsfolk preferred to stay inside, which Ruby understood wholeheartedly. She rather be at home, too. But the market was lively anyway, which she could appreciate as well; the young woman quickly bought herself breakfast, buttered buns with ham, then a sausage, and finally a pack of cookies for dessert. The middle-aged man at that particular stall already had her favourite chocolate chip cookies out when he saw her coming.

Ruby returned his jovial wave while he called out: "Long time no see. All of two days, eh? The usual?"

"Yep and thanks!" She already had the exact total ready; this transaction was always the smoothest. "I was kinda busy yesterday. Business still good?"

"Aye. Which reminds me, here ya go." He pushed another package over the counter. "A little extra for my favourite customer. Gotta support an up-and-coming Huntress, no?" He chuckled while Ruby beamed at him, hugging the cookies to her chest.

"Wow! Thanks a bunch!"

"Don't mention it, really." After saying so, he snapped his fingers. "Oh, right. Did you see it already? Someone put up a bunch of tents a bit out of town. There were some weird lights last night, but nobody's gone out to check yet."

Ruby had to shake her head, curiousity piqued. "I didn't. Which way is it?" He pointed in the direction and she smiled at him. "Thanks, I'll go check it out for you. Bye!"

The place was simple enough to find, really; magnificent, crimson tents were raised a few hundred metres from town. They were completely undefended, though; Ruby spotted no turrets, automated or manned. No guards either. Nothing. In fact, there was nobody outside at all except a pair of horses.

Ruby had never seen horses in person before. They were native to Sanus and Anima, but few found their way to Patch or the city of Vale. Each equine stood tall enough to look over Ruby's head! She marvelled at them with bright eyes, cooing. They were sleek and elegant, crimson fur groomed to perfection. It almost shone in the sun.

Once her urge to pet made Ruby slink forward, she realised they were watching her. Neither horse made much of a motion, their pitch black eyes looking straight at Ruby. She blinked at them, realising for the first time this was not normal. A little creepy, even; they were so still, not neighing or pawing the ground with their equally black hooves. Had Ruby not spied their chests move or seen their heads turn to acknowledge her earlier, she would think them statues.

Thinking better of petting them, she slowly crept around the square while always facing the horses. They gave no reaction to her frankly suspicious behaviour beyond idle curiousity. The sheer oddness of these horses spurred on her vibrant imagination and curiousity; just who put these tents here?

She poked her head into one of the smaller tents after a few more metres. There she found a bulbous woman toddling around the room, dressed in fine silk that did nothing to hide her bulk. Ruby stared for a moment, only to freeze when the other woman turned around. Everything on her face's right side was hidden by a bug-like mask that matched the grin of her actual mouth. The one visible eye studying Ruby was as black as those of the horses.

"Why, who do we have there? Hello, dearie. How curious you look, so full of youth and vitality."

Her voice was a vibrant chirp that calmed Ruby some. She barely took one step into the room when the other woman gave her pause: "This new body is not so bad, no, no." She toddled closer, unaware or uncaring of her guest's alienation. Ruby had no words when the other leaned in to take a deep breath; then she recoiled, eye opening wide in surprise. If anything, her grin grew wider.

"Oh, oh my! What a smell you have on you, dearie! Just a trace of light and dreams. Could you be Her? No, no. Too small, far too small. And yet." She sniffed again, making Ruby retreat.

"Erm, I kinda guess I got the wrong tent? Gotta go bye!"

She fled the weirdo as fast as she could, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. The woman herself chuckled, melodically trilling after her: "Do come back sometime, dearie!"

Ruby heard her but emphatically would not do that anytime soon. Yet once she put the small plaza between herself and the weirdo, curiousity won out again. She could have left, but she felt a burning need to figure this place out. And she forgot to ask that woman about it. Walking back in there would be far too embarassing now.

That was when a hot breath washed over her head, reminding her she hid behind the horses. Ruby leapt back with a squeak, prompting a snort from the equine that startled her before she began to pout.

"It's not funny!"

The other horse snorted as well.

"Stop laughing at me!"

Before she could continue arguing with the amused animals, an accordion began to play within the main tent. So she stuck her tongue out at the horses and turned away to check it out.

Her first impression was, again, red. Just like the outside, the inside was entirely crimson. An entry room clad in what may be velvet bore no decorations or objects, only a hulking, well-groomed man in dark clothes. He played the accordion with precision, well-defined muscles moving with every motion.

Having Taiyang for a father, Ruby felt no fear beyond her usual anxiety. She simply approached with a shy smile. There was not even a need to get his attention because he addressed her once Ruby got close.

"Visitor," he greeted in an almost monotone. "Speak with master."

A nod was given to the open pathway by his right, leading into a tunnel and some large room further away. Ruby looked this way. "O-Oh. Um, sure." Then, chancing a glance at him, she piped up again: "But can I ask you something first?"

The accordion music stopped. He studied her more carefully, revealing that his eyes were also pitch black from pupil to sclera. Except Ruby could see a tiny spark of crimson burn withinfrom this close. She fidgeted a bit under his discerning look but did not shy away until he nodded.

"...mrm. Ask."

With permission received, the questions blubbered out of her at a rapid pace: "What's this place? Where did you come from? And, uh, who are you? And who is the creepy lady in the other tent?"

He silently stared for just long enough to make Ruby feel mighty awkward. Only then did he rumble a response: "Master will tell. From Hallownest. Brumm. Divine."

"Errr...." She had no idea what to make of his response at first. After trying to backtrack what order she asked her questions in, Ruby went with what she thought she understood: "So your name is Brumm?"

"Yes."

"And she, uh, the woman out there is called Divine?"

"Yes. Presumptuous, but she chose."

Ruby smiled, put at ease by his commentary. "I mean, it's not so bad. I met at least two girls called Angel, that's the same thing isn't it?"

The giant considered this for a bit, a rumble in his throat. "Mrm. Teasing Master." He motioned for the path into the tent again; the hint was clear.

"Alright, I'll go now. Thanks, Brumm!" She made to move on but stopped after two steps and turned back with a grin. "Oh right, my name's Ruby! Nice to meet you!" Then she moved on, missing the faint smile on Brumm's face. He returned to playing the accordion with a bit more energy than before.

The tunnel passed by rather quick; it was merely a few dozen metres before Ruby entered a huge room. The auditorium was separated, set higher than the empty space she stood in. She heard of a circus before but felt there should be more animals than two horses. There were no attractions, no nothing.

At the same time, the owner clearly expected some sort of performance and an audience. Yet no matter how much Ruby turned her head and craned her neck, she found nothing. Brumm said to meet the 'master', but there was no one here. Did he play a prank on her? Was he that master in disguise?

Her worries were put to rest by a burst of crimson flame. Ruby made a choked noise in surprise, eyes snapping back to the room's center. Within the fire appeared an enormous figure, easily over two metres tall. Seeing his carapace made her immediately darted back to the entrance; this being was clearly not human. He almost looked like a Grimm. Wrapped in a grey cloak, unearthly red light shone from within his empty eye sockets and mouth. The mask he wore was of a pristine white.

Then the thing offered a sweeping bow toward where Ruby hid. His deep, scratchy drawl echoed off the fabric walls: "Step forward, little one. Curiousity has drawn you to us, yes?"

He straightened back up, looking right at her. Ruby hesitated and weighed her options; she could run from the creepy bug man, but if he was some sort of Grimm? Then she needed to put him down. On top of that, this was the first one she ever met who could speak. Therefore and against her better judgement, she snuck back into the room. He inclined his head once she neared.

"Be welcome then. I am Grimm, master of this troupe."

Ruby's hand immediately came to rest on Crescent Rose on her back. She barely held back from the natural response to the primal menace. This thing could talk and made no motion to attack. It was probably a trick, but maybe she could learn something?

"So you're a Grimm?"

Much to her surprise, this question gave the something pause for the first time since he appeared.

"Pardon?"

"Err...." Ruby was confused, too. She slowly motioned for beyond the tent. "Like, you know, a Grimm Grimm? Darkness monsters that want to kill all humans? Those Grimm?"

The flames in his eyesockets flickered, eerily reminiscent of a befuddled blink. Then he huffed and shook his head. "A misunderstanding, I assure you. I and these... creatures have nothing in common." His words were not that reassuring. He left a short pause to glance at the wall as if he could see through it. "Although now that I look beyond, they do appear familiar. I believe my caretaker was of similar make."

"Your caretaker?" Ruby could not even imagine creatures of Grimm caring for anyone. Either way, Grimm chuckled in response.

"Quite. But no matter, it is of the past. You are here now, are you not? The first to approach and oh so curious." He took a step closer, looming over her. Ruby ached to draw her weapon, but she stood her ground while being examined.

Something about this did not add up; everyone knew Grimm could not speak, so this being may actually be something different. If he knew the immediate danger he was in, he did not acknowledge it.

"Full of youthful vitality, I see. Hm." Grimm leaned even closer, eyes level with Ruby's. She could feel the warmth of the flame, ever more secure this person was not what she first thought. He had a feeling of power to him, something none of the creatures of Grimm ever had. And somehow he appeared more curious than anything else. Ruby tried to study him in turn, but his features were too alien to distinguish. Rigid.

He spoke again before she made any progress: "You have silver eyes."

This was not what she expected. Ruby squirmed a bit under his antediluvian gaze. "Uh... yes? I know it's pretty rare, I don't know anyone else who has them, but is there anything special about it?"

"You do not know?" Grimm appeared genuinely surprised. "I heard whispers that the eyes are a mirror of the soul. And your soul is permeated with light." His words confused Ruby, who always saw herself as just a normal girl. Grimm seemed to disagree, nodding to himself. "Yes, I see it clearly now. So bright like a miniature sun. But uncontrolled, unknown, untempered. In fact, not like my dear sister's light at all. More like... oh, how interesting."

"Uh, what? I don't get it."

He chuckled. "That is quite alright. You are yet young, no? Wisdom comes with age, you will understand in time."

This time Ruby pouted; she already got the 'you will get it when you're older' card from her father and uncle, she did not also need it from a giant bug man.

Grimm never stopped studying her, though. "You yet lack the frame of reference to understand, even were I to explain. Do you wish to learn?"

"Yeah?" Ruby did not even hesitate. Her curiousity burned. "I mean, it would be nice... wait." But once what rational thoughts a fifteen-year-old could have caught up, she realised she knew stories like these. Grimm absolutely wanted something in turn. "What's the catch?"

Her question prompted a thoughtful hum. "A catch? No such thing, my dear. Although there is a matter I need assistance with."

Ruby's grin turned victorious in the ensuing pause. "Aha! So there is a catch."

"I would not call it that."

"But it is!"

Grimm sighed, clearly exasperated; he reminded her of Uncle Qrow in that moment, making Ruby giggle. He thankfully took no offense and simply move things along: "Well, the choice to assist with the ritual is yours. I have much time to waste regardless, so I can speak of your light."

"Wait, a ritual? Like magic? What's it about?" Her attention was immediately captivated by that particular factoid. She did not even question that the bug man knew magic, too excited by the prospect. Magic did not sound too far-fetched at the moment.

Grimm's eyes gleamed brighter in response.

"Indeed. The Grimm Troupe performs for the fallen, gathering the sparks of their flame so that it may forever burn. No torch was lit here on Remnant but we arrived regardless and find countless embers. Another is needed to help my little one gather the flame, protect him from harm until the ritual concludes." He grew more excited with each sentence, voice carrying as he exclaimed: "A journey, adventure, camraderie! Struggle and perseverance against impossible odds! What say you, Ruby Rose?"

Ruby jumped over suddenly being addressed, but his pitch definitely caught her interest. She knew this was a bad idea yet could not resist the allure.

"Sure, I'll help. What do I need to do?"

Grimm managed to display eagerness even without a proper mouth, turning around to fiddle with something in his coat. Soft whispers and a quiet coo followed. When Grimm turned back to her, he carried a baby in his arms. A bug baby with black carapace and wide, equally black eyes. Once offered to her, Ruby skittishly received the tiny thing; it perfectly fit in the crook of her elbow, nestling against her warmth with another coo.

Ruby never hated bugs like Yang did and this one was positively adorable. She cooed back and rocked him back and forth with a silly smile.

A soft chuckle reminded her of the other person in the room after a minute. Ruby's cheeks flared with heat as she snapped to attention, standing perfectly still. Grimm did not address what just happened.

"This is Grimmchild. It is him who needs to feed on the flames our kin gather. He knows where to find them. Your duty as the caretaker is to protect the child, subdue our kin, and feed their flame to him. Slay them without regard or hesitation, Ruby Rose."

"Wait. You, er, want me to kill your family?"

Her hesitation gave Grimm pause in turn. He studied her momentarily, then shrugged. "They do not come to real harm. It is their chosen role in the ritual."

"O-Okay. Find fire bugs, kill fire bugs, feed fire to baby. Got it." Ruby looked down at Grimmchild in her arms, then back up at Grimm himself. "Alright. And that's all?"

"That is all." The troupe master bowed at the waist, which Ruby returned a little awkwardly. "I will see you in due time, Ruby." That was a clear dismissal, so she said goodbye and took her leave. Ruby waved at Brumm on the way out, who grunted in response. The accordion never ceased its song.

Once outside, Ruby slowly began to realise what just happened. She held onto an adorable, flying baby bug that looked just a bit too much like a Grimm. Carrying him into town may cause a panic. But more importantly, how would she explain any of this to her dad?

While Ruby fretted, a woman stumbled along a dirt path on Sanus proper. Surrounded by the crimson woods of Forever Fall she went, gaze distant. She favoured her left leg, limping as the right ankle was sprained. Blood covered her, though none her own. Soft curses rolled from her lips once in a while. She cursed the White Fang for being fanatics and Adam Taurus in particular. This did not go as planned. At all.

Cinder Fall did not understand where things went wrong. She had everything lined up, just like the Queen demanded. Adam was supposed to fall in line after a display of power, not strike at her out of spite! Her chosen source of disposable muscle was not cowed but eradicated in anger over being denied. She had nothing to show for her efforts; worse than that, her painstakingly assembled team was destroyed. Emerald and Mercury, carefully chosen and cultivated, died in the fight. Thirty-to-one odds were too much even with Cinder's magic. They were worn down.

Again, Adam killed both before she managed to defeat him. Cinder burned down the entire camp in her anger; retaliation was sweet but ultimately left her without supplies to pillage. Now she had to stalk through the forest, hoping to make it to civilisation before her meagre provisions ran out.

A bear-like Ursa was drawn in by the cocktail of anger, woe, and depression brewing in her heart. The beast stopped some ways away from Cinder, tilting its head. The unnamed Grimm in her arm wiggled and it backed off. Cinder herself hissed at the Ursa as she passed, not that it understood or cared. At least the beasts were not a problem for her.

Her mind was awhirl with plans that had to be discarded. She needed to reassemble the board if she wanted to make the schedule, but she would. No matter how, she would.

 

[Naron]

Ruby moved on home after reassuring the people in town that the new arrivals were safe if odd. It had been about an hour since she reached town, that and a proper breakfast with sweets helped her aura recover far enough to make the run in one go.

But she had Grimmchild now; the oddly warm bug was nestled under her cape to hide from casual inspection. He was surprisingly intelligent for a baby, too. Ruby coaxed him out once she was certain nobody could see for a closer examination. His carapace felt unexpectedly soft under her fingers, halfway between skin and chitin.

Holding him up to eye level, Ruby squinted. "Hm. I know I can take people along with my Semblance, but you're so young. Do you think you can take it?"

Grimmchild tilted his head, then snorted crimson smoke at her. Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she deadpanned at herself. "I should've expected that. Baby."

Unfortunately, this did not solve the conundrum. Yang threw up the one time she agreed to help Ruby test carrying someone else. Uncle Qrow took it better, but he still had some choice words about the trip; not the physical one at that. Ruby did not understand what had them in such a tizzy, but she saw the pattern.

Grimmchild uttered a coo before she could decide what to do. He leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers, then a foreign expression slid into her mind; a feeling of safety and assurance. She stared owlishly at the bug who met her gaze with honest curiousity.

"Ooookay. So you think you can, but should I really... okay, fine. But say something if it's too much, okay? Or make noise. Something."

Another coo was the only response.

Uncertain but willing to trust him, Ruby began to focus; her aura enveloped them both moments later and a storm of petals raced across the dirt road. They were not their usual red but proper crimson and some flickered with sparks of flame. Ruby failed to notice, too busy exhilarating in the thrill. She ignored Grimm, the creatures, on her way home this once. The island's forest and meadows flew by at a rapid pace.

Soon enough a sturdy wooden house appeared in the distance. Not terribly large but more than enough for three. Occasionally four, even. A small shed leaned against it, technically communal but mainly Ruby's domain.

Her aura broke a few dozen metres from the door, where she reformed and skipped a few steps forward before finding her balance and coming to stand awkwardly. Now all but rooted in place, Ruby glanced between her home and Grimmchild in her arms. He hid back under her cloak without prompting while she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

An excited bark greeted her the moment she opened the door. Ruby caught the corgi before he could jump around her legs, cuddling him with a squeal.

"Hey, Zwei! I'm back!"

The black-and-white dog celebrated as if she was gone for years instead of hours. Her voice prompted another response from the kitchen, too: "Hey, sport! Guess who's back too!"

That was her father, Taiyang. Ruby was about to greet him back when the words registered. She beamed and set Zwei down before racing into the living room, where another man sat on the couch. He was halfway up when Ruby went airborne.

"Uncle Qrow!"

She slammed into his broad chest without regard and firm arms closed around her in a gentle embrace, followed by a dark chuckle.

"Heya, squirt."

Qrow smelled faintly of alcohol as he often did, but his grey suit was neatly done for once. Ruby deigned not to point out the faint stubble or how his unruly black hair needed a comb. Then again, a confused coo distracted both before she could really launch into anything to greet her returning uncle after a month-long absence. Qrow's attention shifted at once, eyes widening.

"The fuck is that?"

Zwei growled at the flying form of Grimmchild, dislodged by Ruby's sudden movement. The girl herself looked back with a surprised noise; she quickly slipped out of Qrow's arms and snatched Grimmchild out of the air. Her protective embrace confused man and dog alike.

As the silence began to stretch, Ruby put on a sheepish smile. "Um, I can explain?"

A beat.

Qrow's hand slowly rose to his jacket. It slipped into a pocket, producing a flask. Only after taking a sip did he answer: "Yeah, you better. What freaky kinda Grimm is that, why's it in here, and why're you holding it?"

"What's that about a Grimm?" Taiyang interjected while leaning into the room. His brows rose upon spotting the creature in Ruby's hands. He fully walked in then, drying his hands on a towel. Tan and blond, he was almost a perfect opposite to Qrow's dark and grouchy demeanour.

"Okay, I can see it now."

Ruby fidgeted awkwardly and began to ramble: "Uh, I mean, he's not a Grimm? I don't think?" Grimmchild mewled in rebuke, to which she made a face at him. "I mean not that kind of Grimm, stop sabotaging me!" He trilled in response, exasperating her. "Yeah yeah, just laugh at me. Ugh."

After shaking her head, she became aware of her flabbergasted uncle and father. Ruby sighed, still clutching Grimmchild to her chest. "Look, it's hard to explain. I mean, I met this guy just outside of town and it sounds really, really weird but he's not, uh, human? Like, not faunus either. Super weird. And he says I have some kind of magic, and that he'll tell me about it, but he needs help too, so I kinda... you know?"

She hesitantly motioned with Grimmchild by way of explanation, flustered and halfway hoping they did not understand.

Qrow stared silently for a long moment, then he took another pull from his flask. Taiyang snatched it from his hand and emptied the thing himself. Ruby would have been mighty grateful if the ground had opened to swallow her just about now. Maybe she could crawl away and hide from this heavy silence?

Zwei stared up at Grimmchild warily; the little bug stared back with great curiosity.

After some more silent staring, Qrow finally spoke up. "Okay, I'll say it: what the fuck?"

That... was a fair assessment. Ruby fidgeted nonetheless. "Yeah, it's kinda hard to explain. He wants me to gather some kind of flame from... uh. Where do I need to go?"

She asked Grimmchild, whose head turned her way. Then he pointed it toward a wall. Their lack of response caused the baby to wiggle out of Ruby's arms; he fluttered around the room on gossamer wings and landed on a map of Vale on the table. The residents and their pet observed cautiously how he pressed tiny paws onto the map; sparks flew before forming into a dozen softly glowing markers, each one crimson and in the shape of a flame.

The entire family walked over to look at the map, Ruby sandwiched by the men.

Eight markers were spread across the valean plains, one in the city of Vale, and the final three sat at the edge pointing outward, to Anima. Grimmchild cooed and hopped back into Ruby's arms. She studied her father and uncle studying the map.

"Anything interesting in these spots?" Tai finally asked his brother-in-law. Qrow shrugged.

"Beats me," he answered before glancing to Ruby. "Any idea what this flame stuff's supposed to be?"

"Uh, he said something about bits of people. Like, soul stuff or spirits, I think?" She could not remember exactly what Grimm said. At least Grimmchild cooed in agreement, so she could not be that far off. The little bug fluttered down to Zwei when the corgi barked, allowing to be sniffed.

It was at this point that Ruby realised someone was missing. "Where's Yang? Still in Vale?"

Her father nodded. "Yeah. Probably won't be back before next week." He was not happy and Qrow grimaced as well. Ruby knew why; as much as Yang tried to hide it, she was looking for her mother again.

Well aware that her half-sister's absent mom was a sore subject for the entire family bar her, Ruby quickly pointed back at the map. "Soooo, can I go?"

A double "No" was the response she got, delivered so fast she needed a moment to realise. Ruby crossed her arms, pouting up at the men.

"Why not?!"

"Well gee," Qrow drawled in response, "maybe 'cause we got no idea what this shit is about? I'm gonna go have a word with that 'guy' and then we'll see how to get rid of that thing." His dismissive tone had Ruby clutch Grimmchild protectively. She stared at her uncle in shock and disbelief, making his harsh front collapse on itself.

That was where Taiyang chimed in, more measured than Qrow. He gently took her by the shoulders.

"Ruby, listen. We have no idea what we're dealing with. These things could be incredibly dangerous and we're not letting you just run head-first into danger." He had a point, not that she liked it.

"I mean, he did say I have to fight some guys that went out to gather up the fire."

"See? Not to mention, how can we even prove this magic is actually a thing?"

This time Ruby threw her father a flat look. "You mean beside the eight feet tall bug man and his baby bug child who can do fire stuff?" She pointed back at the map for emphasis, where Grimmchild's marks still glittered.

"...fair enough."

Ruby knew that concession was not permission to go. She doubted they would agree either way with how vehement they both were. Not that this stopped her from wracking her brain to figure out how to make them relent; Ruby may have inherited most physical traits from her mother, but she could dig in her heels like any Xiao-Long.

"How about Uncle Qrow comes along?" she finally suggested. "Is that safe enough to at least check it out?"

It may not be the best idea, but that definitely gave them pause. Her father and uncle exchanged looks, then Qrow grimaced. They knew she might just sneak out anyway, hence why Qrow sighed and pushed both hands into his pockets. "Alright, fine. But we're only checking it out, got it?" Ruby's beaming nod did not deter him. "You're still on break, right? Good, we're going tomorrow. Better hope you're up to snuff, squirt."

"Right back at you, old man!"

"Hey!"

She cackled and fled his mock indignation, cloak fluttering after her.

The rest of the day was calm, though she sometimes caught one of the two checking in on her and Grimmchild. Specifically Grimmchild, who curled up on her pillow while she read. Or on a shelf in the shed while Ruby worked. The day passed in a blur and soon enough she took the ferry to Vale by her uncle's side. With them were Grimmchild, safely hidden, and an excitedly panting Zwei.

"First stop is the plains," she muttered while looking over the map. Grimmchild's markings were as vibrant as the previous day. "South of Mt. Glenn."

"Bit of a trek, that." Even though he said it, Qrow quickly found them a cargo train to ride on. They hopped off an hour later, surrounded by grassland and the occasional woods or lake.

He mostly kept quiet, as did Ruby; she was too busy marvelling at the mostly untouched nature. A small number of Grimm were easily dispatched between the two of them, though she stumbled more than usual.

They reached their goal after another half hour of walking, right after cresting a hill. Just a few metres below its tip sat a lit brazier, the flame a familiar crimson. It was surrounded by flakes of muted light but nothing else revealed itself; not even another ruin.

They studied the thing for a moment, but nothing happened. Ruby glanced to Qrow, who looked back expectantly.

"Now what?" he asked, only for a soft coo to draw their gazes to Grimmchild. He made jerky motions with his head, pointing forward to the brazier.

"You want me to touch it?"

A trill was all the confirmation she needed, so Ruby stepped forward and made to grab the brazier. However, a masked buglet appeared from nowhere just before she could. Its colour was a muted red, closer to pink, and it was half as tall as Ruby. It also snatched the brazier away with a trill that almost sounded like laughter.

"Hey!" she shouted after it, indignant. "Give it back!"

The buglet waved the brazier mockingly before swinging it downward. A crimson fireball loosened and flew her way, but Ruby hopped out of its path. Grass burned away where she just stood.

Grimmchild screeched and Zwei growled. The buglet giggled, ascending skyward. Then a loud boom sounded as Qrow shot it with his weapon's rifle mode. Ruby followed up with a round from Crescent Rose, hammering a glittering hole into their enemy.

It laughed even as it fell. Ruby's rifle still transformed into its sniper form when Qrow advanced; his greatsword cleaved through the buglet, who dispersed into crimson sparks. They glittered in the light and Ruby found herself appreciating them, even though she squirmed at the thought of having killed the buglet.

Those thoughts were forgotten when its fading body unleashed a rivulet of crimson flame. The brazier dropped empty while Grimmchild absorbed the fire; its light faded swiftly, leaving only the four of them.

When nothing else happened, Qrow slowly lowered his guard. "Okay," he offered slowly, "so we're doing that a few more times and that's it?"

Ruby shrugged. "Looks like it? But the last three are in Anima."

"Fuck it, I've got time and questions now." He left a pause there before throwing a smirk at Ruby. "You up for running over the ocean yet?"

"Nope." She popped the P. "Never." And stuck out her tongue at Qrow, who snorted.

"Heh, figures. Then we better figure out a way to get there."

Ruby nodded and glanced to Grimmchild. "Any chance you can do Grimm's teleport thingy to get us there?"

He shook his head and Ruby deflated somewhat.

"Wait," Qrow interjected, brows furrowed. "What Grimm?"

It took a moment to explain how the man Ruby met was named such, after which he facepalmed. "Let's just keep going."

The other flames went much like the first, though Ruby did spot a herd of wild horses along the way. they were nothing like the pair she saw with the Grimm Troupe. Shy and wary of the humans passing nearby. Ruby quickly used her Semblance again to leave them be; Qrow was not happy about the fast-paced travel, but in his words: "It beats camping."

They got everything in the plains and the one from Vale by evening; that last brazier was thankfully hidden in a deserted back alley; Ruby carefully kept Grimmchild under her cloak while in town. They did not run into Yang, either.

"That went pretty well," Ruby chirped as they watched Patch approach. "Good haul, all in a day's work."

Her uncle nodded, clearly deep in thought. She was soon shooed to bed while Qrow talked to Taiyang. Ruby fell asleep in minutes after the day she had, Grimmchild curled up by her side.

Whatever her father and uncle decided, it seemed to have been in Ruby's favour; after an early breakfast the next morning, she and Qrow headed out for a cargo ship heading to Anima. "Pretty simple once you're licensed," her uncle explained along the way. "You get basically anywhere for free 'cause you double as an escort. Bit short notice but they were pretty happy anyway."

Ruby marvelled at how easily this worked; no one so much as batted an eye when they boarded. Zwei had to stay home this time, but Grimmchild remained nestled under her cloak.

Transit took a few hours, interrupted by the occasional gale or a few airborne Grimm; nothing dangerous but each little annoyance weighed on Qrow for some reason. Ruby caught him glaring at the electronics for most of the trip, especially while they were atop the sea.

They touched down in Shion village without issues despite it all. Instead of following their freshly enchanted map of Anima however, Qrow dragged Ruby into the nearest tavern for a late lunch.

Some people raised their mugs in greeting the moment they entered, others called out. Ruby shrank away a bit, but Qrow had it handled; he nodded at people and offered a word or two where it fit. He then leaned over to talk to the neighbouring table while they waited for their food; a group of elderly men happily told him the newest gossip. Grimm sightings, a row of petty thefts, and bandits in the area.

That last one had Ruby interject. "Bandits, you say? What do you know about them?"

Scenes of gloriously taking down criminals played before her eyes, but her expression must have given them away; one of the other patrons chuckled and destroyed the short-lived dream: "I admire your enthusiasm, lassie. But you shouldn't even think about it. Branwen tribe's not your usual bandit fare, they're tough as nails. Tougher than the White Fang, lemme tell you."

"But they're still bandits, right? So someone's gotta... wait, 'Branwen' tribe?"

Completely dumbfounded, she glanced to her uncle. The man she spoke to answered her question indulgently, completely unaware what actually confused her: "Ayup, the one. You're not from here, are ya?"

"Nah," Qrow drawled. "She isn't, we just arrived for a job. I'll explain it to her later. Sorry 'bout that."

"Oh, it was nothing. But that reminds me-"

And so the string of news continued. Ruby did not hear much of it, too focussed on that little nugget she got. Qrow pretended to listen as they ate their meal; once they were done eating, he somewhat politely cut them off and thanked them for the information.

Ruby barely held it in when they were back on the road, but even then she could not help but tease her uncle first: "I never thought you could be polite."

"Always pays to be, even if it's hard." He said no more, clearly grouchy. Both hands in his pockets, Qrow stalked ahead toward Shion's walls; they were far weaker than those of Vale. Patch only had small palisades because the Grimm population was always kept in check, but this was mainland Anima.

Ruby decided to broach the subject once they were outside of town. She did not know what was going on, but she doubted anyone should overhear.

"Uncle Qrow? Why are they called Branwen tribe? I mean, that's your name, right?"

At first he did not respond. They left Shion behind and Ruby let the silence fester; just like she thought, he ultimately gave in with a sigh. "Figures you'd find out one of these days. Ironic how Yang still hasn't." He paused to take a drag from his flask. "Those bandits are where I was born. Bit of a misnomer, anyway. 'Bandits'."

"So... they aren't bad people?"

He huffed. "Oh, they are. But they don't rob or kill... most of the time. I heard it became basically never since Raven took charge. She's pretty strict about that part unless someone royally pisses her off." Another pull was taken; Qrow peered into his now empty flask before pocketing it. "Thing is, what they do is loot villages after the Grimm rolled over them. Strength is key with them."

"It's kinda hard to imagine you going to Beacon then," Ruby admitted. Her mind caught up to what she heard after a few seconds and she frowned. "Wait. Raven? As in, Yang's-"

"And people started to blame their failing villages on us fourty years or so ago," another voice cut her off. Both whirled around and Ruby quickly spotted the woman lounging in a nearby tree. She peered down at the pair, voice sharp. Ruby felt mighty small under her attentive gaze.

"Said we drew the Grimm to them so we can cut a profit. Perhaps they should blame the petty squabbles of their chosen settlers, or corporate greed that sees them exploited. But no. They rather blamed a group that decided to thrive on their own merit, far away from any kingdom. As more hunters came to stamp us out, the previous leadership chose their strongest youths to train at Remnant's most prestigious academy. If they wish to fight us, then we will shatter their champions until we are left alone."

Silence reigned for a long moment. Raven Branwen's words cut like a knife and Ruby felt a little queasy at the prospect she outlined. Also intimidated, surprised, and overall lost.

Meanwhile, Qrow grimaced. "Yeah, that. And yes, that Raven. What are you doing here anyway?"

The last line addressed his twin sister, who hopped from the branch she settled on. Landing gracefully, the notably tall woman prowled forward like a lioness. Even though her hair was black like Qrow's, the comparison remained the same. A short glance already told her how much Yang got from her mother; both were tall and curvy, moving with supreme confidence. But where her big sister often bore a cocky smirk, Raven's lips were drawn into a thin line.

"The Nuckelavee appeared near our previous location, so I took us away from there."

"...yeah, makes sense."

"Um...." Ruby had no idea what a Nuckelavee was, but she felt decidedly worried about the energy between these two. Raven intimidated her with her mere presence. She also had no idea what to say and only realised after already making noise. "...hi?"

All attention was on her again; Raven's piercing glare had Ruby hide behind her uncle, which clearly did not impress the older woman. "Why did you bring her here?" she demanded of her twin. "Are you playing at something, little brother?" If she did not sound so severe, the title may almost be teasing.

"None of your damn business," Qrow snapped back, scowling. He turned away and began to stomp off. "Which way, Ruby?"

"Err, I, I mean." She shuffled awkwardly, looking between the siblings. "Shouldn't you, I dunno, catch up or something?"

Qrow stopped to glare back, Raven was indifferent. The silence dragged on for uncomfortable seconds before salvation appeared: a number of bear-like Ursa, some Beowulves, and even two Griphons. The latter faintly resembled the horses Ruby recently met, barring their beaks and wings. And the pitch black fur, of course.

Brother and sister put their differences aside the moment their cries became audible in the distance; Qrow drew his greatsword, Raven's oversized sheethe began to rotate; once it settled, she drew out a sabre with solid Fire Dust blade. Crescent Rose finished unfolding at the same time, earning a nod from Raven.

What followed was a slaughter. Ruby took a few good shots before the Grimm got in reach of Qrow's weaker rifle. A Griffon lost its wing, one younger Ursa its head. Then they were upon the trio; Grimm could not think or feel, meaning they never had the chance to regret their choice of target. Qrow and Raven almost danced between them, overwhelming power and grace in equal measure. Where one left an opening, the other closed it instantly. Ruby almost got hit when she paused to watch for a moment; it was hard to believe those two were estranged for over a decade.

Ruby herself took care of a few stragglers while the other two finished demolishing the larger Grimm. She was half tempted to ask if this twin telepathy thing actually existed, but bit down on it when Raven's gaze turned her way again. The woman stood to a backdrop of black mist.

"Qrow trained you well," she noted.

A hesitant "Thank you?" was all Ruby could muster. She had no idea if this was actual praise.

"Don't get complacent."

Her piece said, Raven made to leave. The moment she turned her back on them, Ruby had an epiphany: not only would Yang kill her if she did not at least try to reach out, siblings acting this cold with each other was simply wrong. In a moment of insanity, she called out: "Wait!"

When Raven stopped to stare her down again, Ruby shrank back. Her heart beat rapidly, the adrenaline of battle not yet flushed from her system. With courage she did not know she had, Ruby squared her shoulders. She had no idea how to go about this, so she may as well ask the first thing that came to mind: "Do you want to come too? We're doing magic stuff!"

Qrow groaned in the background, but neither paid him any mind. Raven's expression softened into something curt but not actively intimidating. "Magic, you say?"

Ruby could not believe that actually worked. She quickly kept talking: "Yup! I kinda-sorta adopted an alien magic bug and we're feeding him with stuff!" Grimmchild's head popped out from her cloak in response and he cooed a greeting at the nonplussed woman. Raven stared at him for a long moment.

Qrow snorted into the silence. His own grimace had mostly faded, features smoothed out. "Yeah, that's how I felt the last two days," he provided conversationally.

"...is Ozpin behind this?"

"If he is, he hides it damn well."

"Ozpin?" Ruby could not help but ask. "Like, Beacon's headmaster Ozpin?" When neither twin answered, she looked down at Grimmchild. "Do you know him?" He shook his head in response, prompting a disappointed "Aww".

In the meantime, Raven glanced between the three of them. She cocked her hips and was about to speak, only to be interrupted by a loud crack from behind.

Just as Ruby turned, she came face to face with a tree falling her way; the mundane threat was easily dodged by turning to rose petals. Upon reconsolidating into herself, Ruby saw her uncle scowl at nothing. Raven had taken a step toward where a metre thick log now lay; upon seeing her unharmed, the bandit queen gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"Alright, I want to know what this is about. Lead the way."

So Ruby let Grimmchild point them... and cringed upon realising she technically never introduced herself; the other woman did not seem to care. Ruby also tried to hold some conversation along the way and Raven was even willing to talk a bit about life in Mistral. Administrating a group of over a hundred souls took quite a bit of work, especially free spirits like her tribe. She did not entertain anything in regard to Yang, though.

Once they found the brazier and made short work of the buglet, Ruby hopped up and down while Grimmchild absorbed the flame. "Isn't this exciting? Real magic!" Unfortunately, neither twin shared her excitement. Raven waved off her joy, at which Ruby sighed. "Ugh, you act like you already saw a buncha cool magic."

Seeing Qrow stiffen, she paused to rewind what she just said. Ruby's eyes narrowed. "You did, didn't you?" she accused warily. "There's magic on Remnant, right?"

"No."

"Yes."

The twins stared at each other while Ruby stood at the sidelines. She and Grimmchild glanced between them, the girl with surprised excitement. Not that either of them were acknowledged for the moment.

"Now isn't the time," Qrow growled at his sister, who scowled right back.

"You even adopted his favourite excuse to lie. Why do you let yourself be chained like a dog, Qrow? He doesn't care for his pawns, you know that."

"That's not how this is and you know it!"

If his rising volume had any effect, Raven did not show. "Tell that to Summer," she spat back with actual venom. That name was all it took to send a little shock through Ruby's system.

"What do you mean?" she interrupted their argument. "What's Mom have to do with all this?"

Qrow growled, but his sister began to smirk. Turning Ruby's way, she answered her question: "Nobody told you? Summer went on some secret assignment, courtesy of old Ozpin. She went on her own and you know the rest." Just like Raven said, Ruby knew. Old pain flared in her chest while the older woman continued: "I imagine he never told Qrow anything, even after I let him know that."

"He did, actually."

The interruption had Ruby and Raven look to him; Qrow's expression was tight, voice softer than before. "He told me what he knew and I went to check, but the trail went cold by then."

"Okay," Ruby began a moment later. She was still a little hurt, mightily confused, and needed time to come to terms with all of this. She wanted to ask Raven more about her mother, but now was not the time; they got sidetracked from the actual subject. "Anyway, about magic? Is Professor Ozpin involved in magic? Does he have some? Do you have some? How can I tell?"

The twins exchanged a long look. In the end Qrow heaved a sigh. "Just remember to keep this a secret," he told Ruby. "Most people don't know for a reason."

His smirking twin transformed into a bird just then. Qrow followed right after, a raven and crow fluttering around each other. Ruby watched them fly with distinct disappointment; that was not magic, that was lame!

Once both siblings turned back to normal, she crossed her arms. "Boo! That was like nothing! I've caught you turning into a crow years ago!" Ignoring the shocked "Wait, what?", she went on: "I always thought that's your Semblance. How is it magic?"

Qrow was too dumbfounded to respond. Meanwhile, Raven huffed without any humour. Ruby faintly wondered how she managed to make everything sound so derisive.

The older woman made to speak but stopped herself upon spotting her brother's conflicted expression. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, she shrugged it off and explained: "The bird transformation was bestowed on us by Ozpin. He has a few more tricks than that, but he won't tell anyone. That aside, there is easy proof of magic existing."

She motioned for an approaching Grimm, which Ruby shot wordlessly. "These things are not natural. Technically speaking, auras and Semblances can be called a type of magic too."

"Wait, really? So magic is weird soul stuff?"

"...yes. Weird soul stuff, let us call it that." The implied rebuke had Ruby cringe, but Raven did not actually berate her. "That aside, where else do you need to go?"

Ruby checked the map and pointed, after which Raven showed her a trick; she flew there as a bird, then opened a portal to Qrow. Ruby beamed as they passed through the crimson vortex; that was far more impressive than turning into a bird. "This is so useful!" she gushed and Raven seemed mollified by her enthusiasm.

Like this the three of them gathered the final two flames. A quick meal in the field was all the breaks they took. In the end Ruby could not help but reflect; she spent a day out hunting with her uncle and... aunt? Raven loosened up a bit as the hours passed. But what did Ruby tell Yang? Not saying that she met the mother her big sister searched so long was out of the question.

When the twins stiffly said their goodbyes, clearly keeping it civil for her sake, Ruby decided to make another attempt. She approached Raven cautiously.

"Just to make super sure, you, uh, you're not going to come talk to Yang, right?"

The resulting stare, Ruby weathered despite still feeling intimidated. Yet she could not quite meet Raven's eyes, either. A few seconds passed, then the older woman turned away. "No. Yang still needs temperance before I will see her."

"Huh? How so?"

"Being associated with me will create a great many enemies for her, not to mention foolish opportunists who will attempt to get at me through her. I will not spend my life protecting her. So either she grows stronger still to wear being my daughter proudly, or gets that temper of hers under control to keep the secret."

Ruby was reeling. She never realised this could be an issue. It made too much sense even though she felt it was wrong. By the way Qrow snorted however, he did not buy it. "That what you tell yourself? Really? Yang's plenty strong and smarter than you give her credit for."

"And when Salem comes for her because of me?"

Only silence answered. Qrow's jaw worked soundlessly, which intrigued Ruby. She never heard of such a person before. "Who is Salem?"

With her uncle unable to respond, Raven answered instead: "It's is best not to know for now. That knowledge is a burden you aren't ready for. Grow stronger and find me on your own means, then I will tell you."

"Okay." Not perfect, but better than 'I tell you when you're older'. "How strong?"

"Strong enough to be a Huntress."

Raven let that sink in for a moment, then raised one hand. She was still not looking at them, but a portal opened by her side. "I will send you back to Tai."

Qrow walked through without hesitation.

"And Ruby?"

The words stopped her right before the gate. Raven was still not looking at her. "Summer would be proud of you."

Ruby's eyes widened, but she was pushed through before she could say anything. She stumbled into her living room right in front of her uncle and confused father. The portal dissipated mere moments later.

Into the renewed, doubly awkward silence, Ruby ventured: "Soooo... she wasn't so bad?"

Qrow just sighed and went off in search of alcohol. His flask was long empty. Soon enough his voice sounded from the kitchen: "Is Yang home yet?" When Taiyang denied that, a disembodied "Good" was the only answer. Then Qrow stuck his head out the door; he was so serious that Ruby straightened up unconciously. "Not a word to your sister. Knowing her, she'd run off to Mistral the moment you tell her."

"Ugh... I hate how I can see that. But I'm bad at lying to her."

"Just don't bring it up," Taiyang advised with a grimace. "She won't either."

Nobody was exactly happy with the state of affairs, but there was little else they could do.

The next day both men escorted her back into town and past to the Grimm Troupe's camp; their tents were just the same as before. Ruby went straight for the main one, trying not to think of Divine; that woman remained extraordinarily creepy. She did wave at Brumm, though. The hulking musician grunted in response, which prompted curiousity from her father and uncle. Neither had a chance to start interrogating him lest they lose Ruby, though.

Meanwhile, Grimmchild left the confines of her cloak and dashed ahead capriciously. He flew loops and stopped to rub his face against the tent's cloth. Ruby paused to try touching it after seeing that and the velvety texture surprised her a bit. Qrow did the same behind her and whistled.

"Damn, this is some fine stuff. Sturdy, soft, and warm to the touch. Any idea what it's made of?"

"Maybe they worked Fire Dust into the fabric?" Taiyang offered, but Qrow made a sweeping motion.

"For the entire thing?"

They kept arguing, though their eyes were never far from Ruby's back. She skipped ahead wholly unconcerned until they entered the auditorium. Once again nobody awaited them, but she remembered Grimm's little trick; he arrived in an explosion of crimson flame and with a sweeping bow just like last time. Taiyang and Qrow shut up to study him warily while Ruby bowed back; he stood heads taller than even them.

"Ah, you have returned, young Ruby. And with two more no less. Your father and uncle, I understand?" While Ruby nodded, Grimmchild fluttered around his father's head with excited coos. Grimm looked him over once he landed on a thin, almost skeletal hand. "And the little one is growing quite nicely."

Qrow stepped forward then, interrupting Grimm's musings: "Yeah, about that. Care to explain your whole deal a little more? What kinda ritual is this supposed to be?"

Now Grimm studied him, absently stroking the child's head. The silence stretched uncomfortably as he seemed to look straight through the seasoned Huntsman.

"It is a ritual of succession," he finally began. "To raise the Grimm Troupe's next master. It is a ritual of grandeur, to appease the furious fallen. It is a ritual of growth, for child and caretaker both. This ritual is many things, dear Qrow. Dangerous for you and yours, it is not. At least not in the physical sense." A dark, goosebumps-inducing chuckle followed. "I do pick caretakers of strong will, but my judgement of their ability to cope is not perfect."

Qrow scowled but Tai interrupted before he could tear into Grimm. "How about we take a step back, I was meaning to ask something else."

"Indeed. But first of all, introductions." There was actually some reprimand to his tone, prompting raised brows. He bowed again, though less deep this time. "I am Grimm, master of this troupe. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you, Qrow Branwen, Taiyang Xiao-Long. I greatly appreciate the assistance rendered to my chosen caretaker, Ruby Rose."

The formality did not calm Qrow, who scowled; only Taiyang bowed back a little awkwardly, though his brother-in-law twitched forward when he slapped his shoulder. Tai was clearly not keen on a fight. "The pleasure is ours. And of course we'd help family."

"Family, hmm." Grimm inclined his head. "It is. Now, your question?"

"Where do you come from? Something, er, someone like you has never been seen on Remnant before."

Grimm nodded at that. Crimson flared in his eyes, interest clear in his voice. "Ah, Remnant is what you call this world? An aptly chosen name, considering how much was lost. Alas, this is a question I can not answer, for I have no true beginning. I lasted eons and beheld an untold number of realms. From each I took a piece along with me, remaking myself in its image. For today I dwell on Remnant. Yesterday it was Hallownest, and who knows where I shall go tomorrow?"

Silence followed his announcement. Even Ruby was surprised by how ancient Grimm described himself to be. She was tempted to ask more about the other realms but Qrow spoke up first: "Okay. But why's the other guy human and you aren't?" He pointed back to where they could still hear the accordion play.

"Ah, Brumm? He is as everchanging as I am. Alas, our arrival on Remnant did not begin as the ritual otherwise does. The conversion was not total. And as it was I who decided to reach out to Remnant, it is also I whose form failed to adjust in time. Forcing them to suffer for my whims does not a good troupe master make."

Qrow stared hard at Grimm, brows twitching. "That... makes no sense."

"But does it have to?"

"Yes?"

"How unfortunate." It was clear Grimm did not actually care. "I can give you no more than I did." Instead of indulging their curiousity further, he clapped his thin hands. They clacked quite loudly. "Now we should continue the ritual. Qrow, Taiyang, please enter the stands."

"Wait a sec, how do you know our-"

Before Qrow could finish his question, both of them vanished in a puff of smoke. They reappeared on the stands a moment later; Taiyang was intrigued, Qrow annoyed. Meanwhile, Grimm turned back to Ruby. "The next part is for you and you alone. Draw out my essence so that the child may absorb it."

She straightened up once it became clear staying back was no longer possible. His words confused her a bit, though. "Um, how do I do that?"

"You already know how. Fear not, failure is of no consequence to the ritual. Merely try again."

Ruby did have a suspicion what he meant and did not like it. Grimm embraced Grimmchild, who crawled under his cloak; the larger bug began to glow crimson, his eyes smoldering like coals. An expectant silence swept the room as all three humans waited for what came next. Grimm raised a single hand and filled the auditorium with a resounding snap. Crimson and purple apparitions took every free spot, their white masks hiding all expressions and faces. They chitter-chattered excitedly with each other. Qrow and Tai stood out like sore thumbs but were accepted with grace.

Grimm himself offered another sweeping bow to Ruby, who bowed back. Then he vanished in a puff of flame, reappearing behind her. Ruby took his claws to the back before she realised where he went, stumbling forward with a cry. By the time she turned around, he was already gone.

"No fair," she shouted at the room, "that's my trick!"

Laughter rang from the stands in response. Even Grimm himself chuckled, directing her attention to the other side of the stadium. A series of crimson fireballs flew her way in the form of bats. They arced when Ruby weaved around, one flew by close enough to let its heat be felt. While Grimm vanished, she unfolded Crescent Rose with a huff... and some satisfaction when the crowd oohed and aahed over her weapon.

Grimm reappeared right in front of her a moment later. Ruby squeaked and leapt back, evading his swipe. Crimson lines followed each clawed finger. He leapt after her and vanished, replacing himself with a number of normal fireballs. One caught her straight in the chest but Ruby dispersed into petals before Grimm reappeared. His next volley of flaming bats charred a few petals, but the majority reappeared behind him. Ruby swung Crescent Rose with all her might, leaving a deep scratch in Grimm's carapace.

They locked eyes for a moment, the young reaper's momentum gone. Then so was Grimm. Ruby put her back to the wall and spotted his reappearance immediately. Again she vanished in response, making his attacks all but useless. But this time Grimm vanished before her swing connected.

It took a few repeats of this to realise he was playing cat and mouse with her. Whenever one appeared, the other vanished. The crowd cheered in the background. Sometimes she thought she heard her father's voice, but Ruby was too focussed to listen. Her aura dropped continuously without any progress. She grit her teeth and stepped out of his next swing normally, upon which Grimm followed up with another. Ruby swung right back, hitting him square in the face while her aura shattered. She was thrown back, legs weak.

The crowd broke into roaring applause.

Their first fight was over.

As she realised no more attacks would come, Ruby slowly collapsed her scythe. She was panting, heart beating all the way up to her chest.

Once the noise subsided and their audience vanished as suddenly as it appeared, Grimm inclined his head at her. "A good start," he judged. "You are a delight to dance with, young Ruby. Take some time to recover, then we shall try again."

He bowed once more and vanished, but only after Ruby returned the gesture. She sank to the ground then, sighing.

"Man, why was this so hard? The bugglies were like, poof, gone!"

A snort alerted her to Qrow and Taiyang returning to her side. Her father hoisted her back up while Qrow explained: "You had a good thing going for a bit. He caught you unaware at the beginning and that cost you a lot. Then you got stupid at the end."

"Ugh, I know! It's just so, so stupid! He could do the vanishing trick a lot faster and kept playing chicken with me!"

Both men chuckled. As they often did, her father comforted her while Qrow tore her down. "Sounds about right. The way I see it, he wants you to see the pattern in his attacks and react accordingly. If you don't play ball and do your own thing, he reacts to you instead. If you fail at either, you get beat up."

"You weren't so bad though," Tai added gently. "There were some good maneuvers there. I doubt he gets many people who can use his own technique against him. If you watch how he does it some more, you may be able to learn a few things for your own use. Like just now, we saw how you can dodge just about anything with the right timing. Just like Qrow said, you've got to figure out the pattern to his movements."

Ruby nodded slowly, thoughtful. This all made sense.

"You're surprisingly okay with the fighting," she ventured carefully.

Qrow shrugged in response while Taiyang sighed. "Not much we can do," her uncle drawled. "You're as bullheaded as the rest of us, we all know you ain't stopping. We already made it this far. 'sides, he did stop the moment your aura broke, so he's not an actual asshole about it. Might as well not waste time trying to stop you."

Ruby giggled about that and leapt up to hug Qrow. "Heh, I knew you'd see it my way one day!"

He snorted at that. "Yeah, yeah. Let's grab some food and kill an hour or two. You better not waste the whole day on this."

"No promises!"

Ruby did, indeed, waste the whole day on this. Her second fight with Grimm went better than the first, though. No longer caught unaware, she evaded the first strike and hit her opponent instead. From there she tried to take the initiative, only to have it taken from her two swings later. she slowly began to see the pattern to each of Grimm's attacks, but sometimes a new one slipped her up again. A storm of flying fireballs, she answered once again by dispersing. Her petals danced but this time too many were hit and her aura took the final blow.

She came out of it not happy but hopeful; Ruby was learning. This time Grimm stayed around to converse some more, too; he told her of the light in her eyes and how it resembled one he knew well. Yet it was not the same, so he told her to meditate on her spirit. In time she would be able to harness it. Ruby stuck out her tongue at that; meditation was her least favourite thing to do. She was so bad at sitting still.

"Alas," Grimm provided sagely in the face of her disappointment, "the road to improvement is paved with tasks one finds distasteful."

Her father and uncle shared a mutual grin while Ruby pouted. She completely missed the worry hidden underneath.

Her third attempt went further than the second. Ruby began to move in accord with Grimm's motions. She learned to gauge the reach of his swings and exploit the opening he left right after. But she still took too many hits and had to submit. Somehow, the many cheers helped invigorate her despite the disappointment. Their crowd still enjoyed the show.

"I can not tell the exact nature of your light," Grimm admitted during the following pause. "But simply looking into your eyes, I find it radiates a gentle hum even while dormant. Whether your personality was formed around its nature or you molded the light to fit your personality, I can not say."

"Wait, you mean that stuff changed who I am?"

"Not quite. You were always you, never anyone else. It is possible that this power made you develop differently. But does it matter? Ruby Rose is Ruby Rose, regardless her leanings."

He leaned closer while Ruby tried to work through this new conundrum; she did not like the idea of not being her own person. Only a chitinous hand cupping her chin cut off these thoughts. "Although perhaps it is also this light that makes you such an exemplary warrior. You do not surrender or retreat. You learn exceptionally fast and adapt your own abilities to match. Few caretakers were skilled enough to lead the dance, if even just a short time."

That... sounded a lot better than the other stuff. Ruby could not quite believe it, though. She averted her gaze shily. "I'm not that good. Qrow spent years hammering the scythe into me."

"Still learned it years faster than I did," her uncle quipped. "And I had old Ozpin to tutor me personally. That man knows how to use every weapon under the sun." Then he threw her a lopsided grin, hands folded behind his head. "And on top of that, last year's competition says you're the third best sniper in Vale. First and second place are both seasoned Hunters. That tell you something?"

"Stop it! I'm not some super prodigy!"

Grimm interrupted before she could continue her denials: "It does not do to refuse that which you are. Understanding yourself is an important step on the road to enlightenment. You are indeed gifted in the art of battle, Ruby. However, as you seem to realise yourself, the gift itself is not a mark of pride. It means nothing if not harnessed. What sets you apart is tenacity, a willingness to learn. Even though our first dance saw you soundly defeated, you did not give up on a task that seemed insurmountable."

"You sound like you got experience with that," Tai quipped. "Care to share?"

Grimm's eyes dimmed at that. All jovialty vacated the room as he stared down the three humans. While both Huntsmen squirmed under his attention, Ruby was mostly curious.

"I beheld the impossible a scant few years back. A tiny sprite challenged a true goddess, armed with but the relics of fallen Hallownest. I watched from afar how She was called to battle in her own domain, summarily defeated, and swallowed by the void. A primal being was slain before my eyes."

Ruby could only stare, trying to comprehend what she just learned. She had a million questions at the tip of her tongue, but something in Grimm's solemn tone struck her as odd. A tinge of sadness. "Did you know her?" she ultimately asked.

"Of course I know my older sister."

Oh.

"I'm so sorry!" Ruby followed up immediately. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

Taiyang chimed in there, supporting her. "Yeah. I don't know about gods, but I'm sorry for your loss." Qrow nodded along as well.

For some reason their reactions seemed to amuse Grimm. His chuckle reverberated through the room. "While tragic, She and I have always taken some distance to each other. We each live our own lives. Not to mention that my sister is nothing if not tenacious. Her spite is legendary. I imagine I will see her again sooner or later."

He seemed to laugh at something that was left untold. Ruby almost asked if the light he knew that was almost like hers belonged to this sister, but decided not to. Instead she changed the subject. Questions about other realms Grimm saw were indulged kindly and hours passed.

By the time her Scroll announced full aura, Ruby was giddy to try again. Tales of alien worlds hyped her up to leave the best impression she could. Thus she committed a blunder. Forgetting to bow first, she immediately shot Grimm in the face.

The audience gasped, he shrieked in anger... and lunged. Dozens of slashes rained down on Ruby before she even realised her mistake, breaking her aura in an instant.

She was left lying on the ground, uncertain what just happened. The crowd fell silent as it vanished, but Grimm did not reappear. She was not injured, though Tai and Qrow quickly checked her over anyway.

"Welp," Qrow quipped. "Guess that's why you don't piss off a showman. He's sandbagging hard."

Ruby's mood took a nosedive after that. She knew she messed up, but no amount of apologising to the empty room brought Grimm to show himself. For a time she thought he did not want her around anymore at all, but then Grimmchild cuddled against her. He reappeared each time the fight ended. That had to mean something, right?

Uncertain, Ruby dashed back to Brumm. The accordion squeaked to a stop when she appeared right in his face, babbling about what happened. He did not get a word in edgewise until Qrow followed to pluck her off him. But Brumm had listened.

"Hrm," he made. "Master upset. Give time. Will return."

That helped calm her greatly. Grouchy people she could deal with. Ruby thanked Brumm profusely, who grunted and went back to playing. Then Qrow and Taiyang took her back to town for an early dinner.

And indeed, Grimm revealed himself once they returned for a final attempt. He did not speak until Ruby spoke, though: "I'm really sorry about earlier. I wasn't thinking. It won't happen again."

A tense second passed, then Grimm inclined his head. "Very well. You are forgiven." His voice was still a bit curt, but he offered his customary, sweeping bow again. "Now, shall we try once more?"

Ruby bowed back and Grimmchild fluttered to his father. It was all the response they needed. The pair bowed again afterward, then the dance began anew. She still took hits on occasion but Grimm's motions remained somewhat constant. Aim and reach varied, but there were always four flaming bats. Always five fireballs after an upswing. There was always a moment of pause after his swipes.

Ruby's aura hit the red again as their dance continued. Her Scroll's screeching alarm, the crackling flames, and shouts from all around turned into white noise while she focussed solely on Grimm. His arm was taken off by Crescent Rose on the next pass, though a bat clipped her waist. She leaned under his next swing by millimetres, scythe already halfway around his waist.

A shot rang out and the weakened carapace broke under her recoiling blade. Grimm was neatly cleaved in two, then exploded into flame.

Ruby stood there as the crowd cheered, uncaring for the victor. She panted and stared dumbly, trying to comprehend that she won. Grimmchild appeared from the fires, cooing at her. His now crimson carapace emitted an almost sweltering heat; four wings adorned his back instead of two, fluttering with a faint hum.

"I did it," Ruby murmured as she held the baby.

Then Grimm returned, completely restored like the previous times. He apparently cared naught for being rent asunder. Rather, he gave another bow. "That you did. Now, for the penultimate act of this ritual. Once more I ask you to gather Remnant's flame and feed it to the little one."

Her slowly emerging jubilance was cut off by that. Ruby stared up at him. "Wait, again?"

"Yes. Once more, so that he may grow and prosper."

Ruby sighed. Of course she had to do it again. "Alright," she agreed. Her dad raised no quitter.

The man himself was by her side moments later, hugging her tightly. Ruby squeaked and swatted at him to let go; Grimm merely watched their celebration with curiousity, though. It felt a little less embarassing when he did not laugh. Neither did Qrow.

"Good job, kiddo," he simply said once Taiyang let go.

After they said goodbye to Grimm, the men escorted her outside. Only once the cool night air hit her did Ruby realise how tired she was. Even with breaks, four big battles left her yearning for bed. Well, three big battles and a beatdown for being a dum-dum.

The sun already crested low on the horizon as they walked. Ruby yawned, looking between her father and uncle. "Do we have time to look for more flames?"

"Depends where they are. I'm free a bit longer."

"Let's worry about that tomorrow," Tai mediated. He had a point, too. This could wait for after she had a good night's sleep. And a small mountain of cookies.

 

[Ardyn]

Gotta admit, I normally don't like when stories shift focus like this.
But Ruby learning from Grimm is unexpectedly wholesome entertainment.

 

[Naron]

Gotta admit, I normally don't like when stories shift focus like this.

Click to shrink...

That is fair; I found it somewhat necessary because there is not really anything interesting happening on Lumina's end for a while. Hence why I use that in-between timespan to set up other plot threads for later.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Whoop whoop, new Naron fic! I should be able to try this over the weekend, nice.

 

[Naron]

No light reached deep beneath the sea yet a pool of pure darkness bubbled, still distinct from the natural absence of light surrounding it. Unaffected by the water pressing down yet never mixing with it, the liquid black rumbled and burbled.

Then it contracted for the first time since its conception. Water rushed in to lick the bare, dry rock now offered. Primordial ooze from which countless thousands of monsters were since born now compressed into a single, tiny figure. Pitch black all over, their body wavered before gaining full coherence.

Then it twitched.

Round eyes even darker than black traced their surroundings.

Schools of fish swam by, mostly ignoring them; something made of too many teeth and spikes attempted to bite the creature, but their arm elongated into a whip-like shape that cleanly bisected the assailant. A cloud of blood spread, unseen and attracting other predators.

The being known as Ghost waited for more attacks but none came as the current dragged them away. They began to float that way, paddling as they learned to do.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Ghost noticed the world becoming brighter. First specks of light pierced the ocean's depths. They ignored the fish examining them, attention solely on the brightness below. They reoriented themselves to not swim upside down and moved upward.

Ghost hit a semi-translucent wall just below the surface. Everything above was blurred, but the light still passed through. They pushed their stubby arms against it, but the structure did not give. Ghost's head tilted ever so slightly before they reared back. A single swipe blew away at least ten centimetres of ice, followed by a geyser.

Ghost emerged onto the surface dry, all water rolling off their body because it found no purchase on the smooth void matter. They began to walk toward a frozen tundra spreading from the nearby shore. Hardy trees somehow lived in these parts and thick-furred critters scurried around in search of food. Ghost poked a few, all of which darted away; the rest ignored them and was ignored in turn.

Soon enough Ghost found kin, or something akin to kin. They knew they had many siblings yet these were different. They took unknown forms though their masks were familiar as a concept. Ghost approached one of the unfamiliar void beings and poked it, but received no response. The potential sibling ignored all the other critters, too. It ambled around aimlessly, emanating a sense of anticipation.

Ghost began to wander away, but a loud bang silenced the song of life. Ghost looked down at the hole through their chest area. Another bang sounded and steel punched a hole through Ghost's head.

All their not-quite siblings became agitated, turning almost as one toward the noise. As they ran to attack, Ghost focussed; the SOUL they gathered earlier gleamed white momentarily, then filled the holes in their body. Whatever weapon struck them was unfamiliar.

They followed to where all the other void beings went, only to find them swiftly dying. Two others fended off their assault, fleshy and without any carapace. They almost gleamed in the bleak countryside, sharing words that meant nothing to Ghost.

"Hah, told you it'd be easy! Just some nice search 'n destroy!"

"Don't get sloppy or we're toast!"

"Hah, as- gah!"

The first one's noise cut off abruptly when Ghost's arm whipped them in the face. They went flying with a scream. Gunshots sounded in response, but Ghost weaved around the bullets; their body contorted into a dark wave to flow aside. Their arm slammed home again and again, whittling down the flaring fields of SOUL energy that protected these beings. Each strike drew away some more of it.

Then the first one's protection visibly shattered. The other one tried to grab her as she stumbled, dooming them both. Ghost saw weakness and capitalised with a lump of void matter, pitch black but with gleaming white eyes. The Shade Soul ravaged their mark, tearing her into tiny shreds and red liquids; her companion's aura broke as well. That one could scarcely comprehend the shower of gore before another whiplike smack opened his head.

All the other beings of void had been slain somewhere along the way. Only Ghost remained in the sudden silence, viscous red slowly sliding off their body. Looking around for further threats but finding none, their attention turned fully to the dead. Ghost quickly grabbed every piece of gear off their bodies; the wet rags they wore were discarded but most else vanished in the folds of Ghost's body.

They stopped to study a number of cartridges filled with unfamiliar, coloured powder. It did not react to prodding or being emptied out. Only when Ghost fed some of the obtained SOUL into a cartridge did it explode. After healing up, they put the remainder away as well. Then they returned to wandering with no sense of direction.

Days and nights passed, but Ghost simply kept walking. They did not encounter any of the fleshy creatures during that time. Their not-siblings continued to dismiss their presence, too. Soon enough the plains began to lead uphill and grew into mountains, from where Ghost found caves to explore. The darkness inside did not matter to them, so they proceeded; through small tunnels Ghost wandered, squeezing past crevices and cracks until they reached a mine.

Ghost knew mines; they recognised the orderly tunnels, the pickaxes and lorries. The fleshy creatures worked here, wearing heavy shells of some sort. None of them bothered Ghost who walked past them in the shadows. This went well for a time until a particularly huge specimen barred Ghost's path.

"I dunno what yer doing here kid, but this place ain't a playground," he said with his arms crossed. Ghost did not comprehend those words; the lack of threatening motions had them simply stare up at that being, whose eyes narrowed. "Got nothing to say for yerself?" No response. "Whatever. Get out."

He pointed down a specific tunnel. Ghost followed the motion, looked back at them, and started walking.

"Can't believe they dress up like Grimm. Kids these days."

Ignorant of the muttered commentary, Ghost walked on. They soon exited the mine and entered into a settlement; it was vast and a second city flew overhead. Simply wandering the streets, Ghost learned that flesh people lived here, just like bugs lived in Hallownest. Humans kept gasping when Ghost walked past.

Unlike Hallownest however, Ghost soon learned they could not simply enter every open building. Some were guarded or expected to be left alone. So Ghost went on whenever they found such a place.

As the sun began to set, they found an open door in a place that appeared like the closed off areas. With no one stopping Ghost on the approach, they poked their head inside. A human with fuzzy tail lay on a table, unconcious; meanwhile, another with darker skin skittered around them on metal legs.

Ghost watched a procedure they did not understand; by the end the human on the table had a leg of steel where there was a simple stump before. Then another human carried the sleeping person away in their arms.

That was when the dark-skinned human noticed Ghost peering in. At first he gasped and stared, but after a few seconds he bared his teeth. "Hello there, little man. You are out quite late. Why don't you come in and warm up? Penny can walk you home later."

Ghost did not react. Their head only turned when another voice sounded; it belonged to the human who carried the sleeping human away.

"Who is it, father?"

"Oh, a lost child." Seeing Ghost still standing in the door, he beckoned them. "Come now, don't be shy." The gesture itself was familiar, so Ghost stepped inside. "I am Pietro Polendina, this is my daughter Penny." He motioned for the other person, who walked somewhat stiffly. Her hair was a light shade of red, closer to orange; big, green eyes focussed solely on Ghost, who stopped in front of the pair. She saluted stiffly but with enthusiasm.

"Sa-lu-tations!"

Ghost did not know the gesture, they merely stared. Pietro hummed into the resulting silence. "I do not think I have seen you before. What is your name? Where are you from?" No response. Ghost tilted their head. "Hm. I can't help find your parents if you don't speak with me. How about you take off that costume?"

He began to fidget when Ghost continued to do nothing. Meanwhile Penny stared right back. "Father," she ultimately said, "the probability of this child being unable to speak is high."

For some reason Pietro sighed in response. "Penny. You should not say it like this. Just say you think he can not speak."

"Understood! I think I am getting better at this!" Though cheerful, her face remained placid. After saying this, Penny turned back to Ghost while pointing at them. "Can you speak?"

This was a question they knew. They knew the answer and learned the correct gesture, too. So they shook their head twice.

"Ah, that explains it. Good catch, dear."

After saying so, Pietro offered Ghost a piece of paper and a pen to converse with them. They studied the writing implement and sat down to use it. Much to Pietro's disappointment however, no words appeared. Ghost merely drew a nail, a familiar symbol. Then they drew a scribble of themselves wielding the nail, at which point a noise from the human interrupted them.

"I see, so you came for a weapon?" The question made it clear this person was a smith. Ghost knew smiths. "Hm, but you are mighty young. Then again, Mantle is getting more dangerous these days. Say, do you have family?" Ghost stared, not comprehending the question. Pietro drew the correct conclusion and sighed, hanging his head. "My apologies, I figured but had to make sure. Do you have a place to stay?" Again, only a stare answered. The smith rubbed his eyes. "...Penny, would you mind terribly much if we sheltered this child?"

"Not at all! I can make a bed for him! Oh, is this what being a big sister is like?"

Pietro chuckled about her enthusiasm, then turned back to Ghost. "Well, how about it? Do you want to stay with us?"

The void vessel did not know what this question meant. They knew that tone of voice generally expected an answer, however. So they simply nodded, only to learn it meant being giving shelter.

Penny swiftly prepared something faintly like a bench. Ghost sank slightly into the soft fabric, unlike the steel they were used to. They did not mind either way, sitting down while the other two readied themselves for bed. They did not respond to Penny wishing them a good night.

Once it grew quiet, Ghost rose to poke around; the barely audible tap-tap of their feet was all the noise they produced. They found mechanical contraptions, none of which they recognised. In another room Pietro snored softly in another bed. Ghost left him alone after a minute.

Penny's room was different still. The redhead slept standing up, with several cords connecting to her spine. Clamps of steel surrounded her depowered body and some pokes revealed that she hid similar metal under her skin. Humans were different from bugs, wearing their shells inside. Ghost stared at Penny a while longer. Then they focussed their Essence into a gleaming blade. It shone brightly but garnered no reaction. Hitting Penny had no effect, either. She did not think in this state; neither did she dream.

Once there was nothing left to explore, Ghost returned to their bed and sat down.

The next day Pietro set out to draw a blueprint for the nail Ghost wanted. They learned about mecha-shift, but Pietro took the motionless staring as a no when asked about wanting it. Once the male human was busy toiling in his workshop, Ghost went to find the metal human. Penny read in the living room, not acknowledging Ghost when they sat down beside her.

After some time she glanced at the motionless being. "I was meaning to ask," she began, pointing at Ghost's head. "What is with this costume? Wouldn't that get you attacked if you aren't careful?"

When no response came, Penny's head tilted sideways. She slowly reached out. Ghost allowed her touch, having seen no aggression from her thus far. The gynoid felt around their head with varying levels of force yet never found the cloth she sought. No zipper, no fabric. Her smile dipped as she traced the oddly smooth skin again. Penny slowly pulled up the shade cloak, only to find more formed void beneath.

"You are not human, are you?" she asked, bright green eyes staring into Ghost's black ones. "This is not a costume." Ghost simply stared back. "You are a Grimm."

Grimm, Ghost knew. They shook their head, having since learned to deny being someone else. Penny stared back this time, flummoxed. "You're not?" No response. "But then, what are you?"

She had decidedly mixed feelings about this matter. Of course she told her father, but neither of them thought the little guy dangerous. If anything she felt a familiar emotion at new strength: curiousity all but burned in her circuits. She wanted to know just what it was that wandered into their home. How did he even get into Mantle to begin with?

A week passed and her self-imposed quest made little progress. He only reacted to specific questions and only ever with yes or no responses. His body was malleable like water that took solid form... without freezing. Penny did not understand how this was scientifically possible.

Then came the day her father completed the weapon their guest asked for. A blunt sword with sharpened tip, almost like a miniature spear. He also made a mask like the one on the drawing, fully plastic to be lighter. The recipient studied both objects, then stared at Pietro.

Her father beckoned kindly. "Come now, take them."

He stared a moment longer and began to pull stuff out of his cloak. Father and daughter could not help but watch as the impossible happened before their eyes. First a mecha-shift spear, then a wallet, two pots, and even a disassembled tent. How it all fit into wherever he put it, Penny could not fathom.

"What are you... oh." Her father understood when the things were put on the table. "So you mean to trade?"

Their guest nodded. Once the gesture was returned, he picked up the equipment. That weapon went into the cloak and vanished, the mask on his head. The unmarked grey made him even more like a Grimm, though black eyes stared out of the holes instead of yellow or red. Penny's thoughts were racing while her father examined the goods given in exchange. He frowned at the spear in particular. "That is a hunter grade weapon. Not one of mine, but I know quality work when I see it."

Meanwhile, she examined the wallet. It contained an ID, quickly revealing that this belonged to a missing student from Atlas Academy. Penny's assumptions were turned on their head, but any questions she asked were answered with that same, empty stare.

At some point even she got annoyed. "Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

Alas, he did not react. Simply looked at her.

"What do you think of this?" Her father asked some time later. Two hours passed since their find, but facing him instead made Penny's turbulent feelings quiet down. Only a hollow confusion remained.

"I don't understand," she admitted. "He says he is no Grimm, but he is absolutely not human or faunus. He can not speak, it seems like he does not even understand most things we say. I am more than a little worried he killed this student, too."

Though her observations puzzled him, he ultimately decided on a course of action: "Let's give it some more time to observe him. Not a word to James yet, okay?"

Penny nodded, visibly surprised. Her father chuckled. "We both know he will do something hasty if we tell him now. We don't know for certain our little friend hurt anyone, he might have just scavenged. Maybe he just picked these things up after they lost it in a skirmish." Then Pietro Polendina paused, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Although this reminds me, we do not have any name to call him by."

He walked in just then after exploring Mantle again. Penny followed him on his excursions once, but could not make rhyme or reason of his route. It seemed completely arbitrary just like his choices on whom to interact with. Now she approached with a concrete goal.

"Do you have a name?"

Thankfully he actually reacted; unfortunately, it was a slow tilt of the head. Penny tried again, pointing at him and speaking slowly: "You. Name?"

He nodded.

"Great! What is it?" This time she received another look. "Oh. Of course, you can not speak."

Her father hummed before calling up a list of names on his computer terminal. Ghost's attention turned to the screen and Pietro motioned for it. "Just point at the one that's yours."

They needed to teach him how to scroll first, but then he went right to it. Penny was hopeful for all of a few seconds, only to be struck again by how eerie the situation became. Their mysterious guest did not move a single muscle beside his stubby hand; he blankly stared at the screen. The list reached its end after five minutes of scrolling. He kept trying to go further down, then looked back to them.

"Well," Pietro mused with a sigh, "it looks like this is a secret for another time. You appeared like a ghost and are as mysterious as one."

Much to their surprise, he tilted his head and nodded. The gesture confused her father, but Penny managed to draw the connection with a recording of his last words: "Wait, is your name Ghost?"

She received another nod and beamed. A calloused hand ruffled Penny's hair while her father chuckled. "Alright then, looks like we got lucky. Good work, dear. But we still need to observe him further. And you need to prepare for Beacon."

This gave her pause, though. "Wait, Beacon? I thought I was signed up for Atlas Academy?"

"Ah, yes. I forgot to mention, James changed the plan. He wants you at Beacon. Calls it a test run." Pietro made a face, though Penny took it in stride; she understood the need to blend in with humans, even though she was none. "That aside, the Schnee heiress will attend Beacon too. James dropped some hints that he wants you to keep an eye on her."

"I see." Some static buzzed through Penny's auditive systems. She noticed a glitch in her chest as well, making it feel heavier. "Do I really have to go so far away? I'd rather stay with you."

He hugged her then, gently rubbing circles along Penny's back. Even though she barely felt it, the gesture still managed to soothe her. "It can't be helped," Pietro murmured, then held her at arm's length. "But I know you will do me proud no matter where you are. We need to do some upgrades first, though. Can't expect them to install a charging station for you, now can we?"

He chuckled at his own joke and Penny joined in after a moment. Ghost watched their interaction without comprehension.

 

[Eieo]

Huh, I wonder how many more students is ghost gonna kill.

 

[Naron]

It was a normal evening at the Xiao-Long home. Well, mostly normal; the family's youngest child was absent once again, which those present clearly felt. A considerably agitated Yang Xiao-Long glared at her father over the dinner table. Blonde like Taiyang and with the same lilac eyes, she moodily poked her potatoes.

The tension continued to grow until it snapped.

"Okay, that's enough. Where is she?"

"I told you, the faculty agreed on giving Ruby an independent study project to skip a grade."

Yang ground her teeth at that. "Independent study my ass! It's been two weeks and I haven't seen hide or hair from her! And every time I ask over the phone she pretends the connection dies and hangs up! I've had enough!" She slammed the table so hard her fist smashed through the hardwood. Dishes went flying as wisps of flame flickered around her golden mane, lilac eyes turning red. "Tell me what's going on! Why do you keep secrets from me?!"

Long familiarity with his daughter's temper helped Taiyang stay calm. He waited for Yang to finish, well aware this would be a tightrope to walk. Just as he opened his mouth however, the front door slammed open.

Yang heard it too, the two staring at each other silently; the sound of heavy boots hitting the wall broke their quiet standoff.

Yang was around the broken table in a heartbeat, Tai hot on her heels; they intercepted Ruby before she could do more than close the door. Yang gasped at her sister's sorry sight, once again lilac eyes growing wide. Even their father arched a brow.

Ruby's clothes were torn in places and she was dusty all over. A spot of tender, pink skin on her cheek still healed from whatever ordeal she faced. Her hair was cropped short, but Taiyang spotted a few charred tips. What was more, one particular tear in her corset had been stained red and revealed a scar underneath. And then there was a large, painfully familiar raven settled on the girl's shoulder.

"Brothers both, Ruby!" Yang dashed forward to hold her baby sister, horrified by what she saw. "What happened?"

All she got was a garbled response; Ruby slipped beneath her and shuffled into the house.

"Hey!"

Yang tried to grab Ruby's arm, only for rose petals to flutter out of her grasp. The bird cawed and took wing, somehow maneuvering inside the house; Tai could not help but follow her flight with a flare of pain in his chest.

Meanwhile, Ruby reappeared a few metres further. "Murgh. I want a shower. Talkies later. Hey, Zwei."

She gave the excited corgi a quick pat before leaving the two of them alone. Yang stared after her vanishing sister until she was gone and rubbed her eyes. Then she looked to her father with suspicion and crossed arms.

"I'm waiting."

Tai shrugged, still examining the bird. She stared back at him, only to avert her gaze and fly out the open window. The flutter of wings caught Yang's attention, too. "And where did she get that raven?"

"I wonder about that, too."

Yang missed the undertone in her father's voice due to her general distress. Taiyang meanwhile busied himself in the kitchen instead of answering her question; another plate of potatoes, steak, and veggies was swiftly prepared for his returning daughter, who plopped down on a chair twenty minutes after her arrival.

Ruby was still damp and clad in her pyjamas, completely ignoring the hole in the table. She swiftly inhaled her meal, followed by a pair of chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Then she sighed deeply and sunk back in her seat. "Thanks. I needed that."

Her father and sister had watched the whole thing with a mixture of incredulity and worry. Once it was clear Ruby would not run off again, Yang leaned forward. "Alright, now spill. Where were you?"

"...err, Vacuo?"

"What? Why?"

Ruby groaned. A desperate look was thrown at Taiyang, who rolled his eyes back at her.

"Ugh. Can we do the short version and you don't ask any questions? I spent two weeks hunting these stupid thingies across the desert. I need to patch my clothes and get the sand out of Crescent Rose and I need new Dust." She counted all the tasks on her fingers, visibly deflating with each one. In the end she sighed and slumped forward.

Yang's eyes had narrowed in the menatime. "So while I'm out in town for a few days," she summarised unimpressed, "you run off to Vacuo for some reason. To hunt these 'thingies'. On your own." Her disapproval was clear to all, though Ruby was too tired to be affected. She simply raised a finger.

"Not true! I had Qrow." The finger lowered. "For, uh, two days or so. Then he got a call and ran off to do some super secret thing." She ducked her head while Yang palmed her face. Tai merely sighed, well aware of his brother-in-law's antics.

"Not the point," Yang said. "Stop dancing around it and tell me. And what's with the bullshit about skipping a grade?"

"Ugh. Okay, look. I met an alien magic bug man and agreed to help him do a ritual. And for that I'm tracking down fire bugs to feed his alien magic bug baby. And the fire bugs are all over the world, so I've got to go get them, then fight them. Happy?"

Silence followed her explanation. Ruby was well aware how it sounded, but still; Tai and Qrow took it well enough.

Meanwhile, Yang displayed incredulity and even a mite of disappointed anger. "Pull the other one," she drawled.

Ruby crossed her arms in response; she was not quite pouting, but almost. "Grimmchild," she called and his name was all it took to rouse the tired buglet from her room. He buzzed inside with a soft coo, prompting Yang to leap from her chair with a shriek. Before she could do much of anything however, he landed on Ruby's shoulder. What was more, her sister cradled the thing against her chest.

"There," Ruby muttered. "Alien magic bug baby. And he's a good boy, so don't be mean to him." Grimmchild cooed in agreement, flicking a handful of crimson sparks at the flummoxed and agitated blonde.

The renewed silence was broken when Ruby made to stand. "And now I'm going to sleep. In my own bed. Praise be the Brothers." She shuffled away, bereft of most of her energy. Grimmchild followed, as did Zwei.

Yang stared between her father and the affront to everything she knew to be true. All she could get out was a confused "What?"

Taiyang shrugged again. He did that often of late. "Why did you think I'd come up with something silly like extracurriculars? Would you have believed that without Grimmchild here to confirm it? I'm not going to talk to the big one without Ruby either."

"Why? Is he dangerous?"

"Not really, I don't think. But he's skilled and powerful. And honestly, he creeps me out. I have no idea how Ruby can be so calm around him."

Yang sighed in lieu of an answer. It ultimately did not matter, either; her little sister was back home and mostly fine, the little burn on her cheek healed off over night thanks to aura.

Ruby wanted to spend the following day fixing up clothes and weapon as announced. Meanwhile, Yang wanted to spend the end of her break with Ruby. So she went ahead with a compromise and helped patch up her sister's corset. Ruby kept muttering about this or that she saw in Vacuo, which made Yang the tiniest bit envious.

Once everything at home was done, only the acquisition of new Dust remained. Yang decided to stop Ruby there and turned it into a shopping trip. Or in her words: "You need to let your hair down a bit! And get a haircut, really. What did you do, put your combat knife to it?"

The cautious "Maybe" she got back only assured Yang in her decisions. Ruby was not happy, but she allowed it. This was nice after scouring the desert for far larger bugs who hit harder and took more damage before dying. She still did not like crowds much but bore it for her sister's sake. Yang thankfully did not try to make her talk to people.

So it was that after a long day, Ruby finally got to visit her favourite shop: From Dust Till Dawn. It even worked out for the sisters, seeing that the owner offered discounts after sunset.

She was so engrossed in the selection that she only noticed a later arrival when he spoke up behind the browsing pair: "Oh my. I spy, with my little eye, a pair of prospective huntresses. Heya, blondie!"

Yang immediately froze up before groaning. "Oh no, not that guy!"

Ruby turned around to see who it may be, but was left befuddled. Behind them stood a man, easily more than a head taller than herself. Dressed in an immaculate, primarily white suit. Bright orange hair curled out from beneath a black bowler hat, hiding one eye from view. The other lay on the two girls while his lips were curled into what either would describe as a shit-eating grin. He was also flanked by a dozen broad-shouldered men in black suits and sunglasses. At night. Ruby had to give them that it looked stylish, though.

She warily piped up after a moment of confused staring: "Uh, are you robbing this place?"

"What, me?" He made a scandalised expression and pressed a hand to his chest. "Psh, no. Of course not, little Red. I'm just an honest businessman, promise."

"...I do know you're Roman Torchwick."

Bantering back felt not so bad with him for some reason. Maybe it was that she knew she could take him in a fight after the past ordeals, but her usual anxiety was simply missing. Or maybe it was Roman himself, who tipped his hat at them. Yang scowled at the gesture, which reminded Ruby of what was said earlier.

"Wait, how do you two know each other?"

Roman chuckled in response. "Oh, I saved your friend from making the worst mistake of her life a few weeks back. Girl really doesn't know how to negotiate. Or how to talk to people to get what she wants. But that's neither here nor there, now is it?" He smirked at the two and sauntered past them, to the counter with the elderly shopkeeper. "I'll have your entire stock."

Where the wizened man was frightened before, his jaw dropped in pure shock now. Much the same happened to Yang and Ruby.

"Wait," the older girl said. "All of it? Everything?"

"Yep. I've got some Dust-heavy plans to work on." So saying, Roman drew a credit card with the same familiarity and grace Ruby brandished her scythe with. Then, seeing Ruby's crestfallen expression, he snapped his fingers. "Ah, right. Can't have that. What were you looking for, girls?"

The question prompted confused stares to which he rolled his eyes. "Come on, I don't have all night. Dust, you wanted some, right? Which types?"

Though still befuddled, Ruby slowly began ticking off her fingers: "Um, mainly Fire Dust, and some Wind, Lightning, and Ice. Oh, and I need Gravity Dust, too."

"Alright. And you, blondie?"

"That's not my name and you know it. Ugh. Just some Fire and Gravity."

"Mhm. Gravity's a favourite, I hear. Fun to use for your fancy acrobatics and mobility. Shopkeep!" The other man was already busy carrying crates around, helped by the suits. He perked up at being addressed while Roman put on a roguish smile. "Put some of it extra. Five kilos of Fire, one Wind, Lightning, and Ice. And three kilos of Gravity. All on me." His lips curled up further over the gobsmacked expressions on the girls' faces. "Gotta do my part to support our protectors, no?"

They watched the suits and shopkeep work in silence, at least for the most part. Ruby had no idea what to make of this; a known crimeboss just bought her enough Dust to last for at least a full year if used sparingly. In the end she fell back on her manners.

"Er, thank you."

"Not a problem, little Red. Like I said, just doing my part."

"My name's not 'little Red', though."

"I know. Ruby, isn't it?"

This time both her and Yang's gaze raced back to him. Roman smirked. "I've been in this business long enough to do my homework, ladies. I know the graduating classes of every academy in Vale and every promising talent in the lower years. That goes double for children of seasoned hunters. On that note, tell your uncle I said hi."

"You know Uncle Qrow?" she could not help but ask. Roman shrugged.

"We met. You will find that I know a lot of people. And if either of you are in need of a man with connections, feel free to come find me." He put on that roguish smirk again and winked at them; Yang scowled but averted her eyes much like Ruby. Was that what her sister meant when she talked about bad boys?

"Anyway, looks like everything's done. A pleasure talking to you both." So saying, Roman herded them outside; the shopkeep hung up a 'Closed' sign while Roman and his underlings trooped off, each carrying suitcases and crates full of Dust. Yang and Ruby were left staring after them, their own gifted purchase in hand.

Ruby chanced a look to her exasperated sister. "You know, maybe he isn't so bad? For a criminal, I mean."

"...let's just go home."

"Kay."

The next morning was Yang's time to head out for Beacon. Ruby hugged her sister goodbye and told her to kick some butts. Yang just laughed before promising that she would.

Afterward it was only Ruby and Taiyang at home. Then her father had to get going as well; Signal Academy's faculty came together to discuss plans for the coming semester. He ruffled Ruby's hair on the way out.

"Don't worry, classes start tomorrow. You won't have much time to mope."

"That's not it at all," Ruby groaned. She had enough stuff to do, like finally sitting down to read a new book or making new bullets. "But I can't even go watch Beacon's Initiation. It sucks."

"You always knew they don't let people watch," Tai quipped. Then he kissed her forehead and started jogging off. "I'll be back around five, don't burn down the house!"

Zwei barked and followed after him.

"As if!" Ruby shouted. "And stop bringing up the toaster!" Only laughter answered and soon Taiyang Xiao-Long was a speck in the distance. Ruby could catch up to him if she wanted, but for now she was content pouting at empty air. She was seven, kids were allowed to do stupid things. She even put out the fire herself.

"Not like Yang never set stuff on fire," Ruby muttered. Then she turned back while shaking her head. Grimmchild trilled, buzzing around to cheer her up.

Grimm expected her, Ruby knew. Pattern recognition also told her there was a fight coming, so she spent some time on those bullets. Dust was carefully measured and injected in each casing before being meticulously sealed. She may be slower than a machine but Ruby took pride in her detailwork. Several hundred casings were filled when she stopped around noon.

She made ready to head out after washing her hands and cooking a meal of potatoes and beef; Ruby grabbed two apples as well. Grimmchild devoured his whole while she bit into hers. The juicy flesh parted easily, nice, tart, and sweet after the savoury food she had before. Only the crunches and Grimmchild's buzzing sounded for a minute; Ruby strolled leisurely until her treat was gone. The stem went flying all the way into the nearby forest.

Grinning cheerfully, she snatched Grimmchild and began to run. The countryside flew by in minutes and soon she arrived, skipping town entirely this time. It took walking halfway into the Grimm Troupe's compound before Ruby realised her aura felt different; far less strained. She blinked and checked her Scroll's aura-meter, where she found a surprise: about half of it was still in the tank unlike a few weeks ago.

Ruby heard that exertion helped aura grow, but that trip to Vacuo must have done more than she expected.

Amazed but undeterred, she kept on going. The two horses were in the same spot they stood before, studying her and bowing their heads to Grimmchild. Ruby bowed back, then hesitantly scratched one behind the ear. It whinnied in delight, dragging its feet. The other soon pressed against her hand in demand of the same, so Ruby spent some time indulging both creatures. She could not help but squeal a little, though nobody was there to hear.

Just as she left the equines and made to enter the main tent however, Ruby's gaze fell on another one. The one she avoided like the plague before. So far everyone in this troupe had been friendly, she told herself. Yes, this one in particular creeped her out more than Grimm himself, but that was just silly.

Firming up and changing track, Ruby entered the side tent. Once again the corpulent woman turned her way with a toothy smile.

"Ah, you return at last! I heard of your exploits, little flower. Impressive indeed, and to be chosen as caretaker for young Grimm."

Grimmchild fluttered in front of her face curiously, then landed on her hand. Ruby fidgeted. "Yeah, uh. Your name's Divine, right?"

"It is, dearie. Hm." The lady trundled closer, almost invading Ruby's personal space. Then she took a deep breath, weirding her visitor out again. She did not seem to care, grinning victoriously instead.

"Hah, your scent changed. Not particularly much, not yet, but I can tell. The light in you still remains, though."

Though poised to run, Ruby forced herself to bear the weirdness. She still had questions. "Yeah, that's kinda what I wanted to talk about. I mean, how do you smell these things?" She only realised how rude this sounded afterward, but Divine merely chuckled.

"Oh, dearie. I found so, so many interesting things ever since I joined Grimm's merry troupe so long ago. Sights, scents, tastes, textures, and so much more. What is the overlapping of my senses in our unending performance, really? I can see your words yet unspoken, complaining I make no sense." Ruby's mouth fell open. "Your next words will be 'Am I really that obvious?'."

"Am I really that- what?"

Divine giggled about her befuddlement. "I can smell your anxiety like the streak of crimson in your hair," she explained, brushing a single strand off of Ruby's shoulder. Then she stuck it into her mouth. "I can taste your youth, vitality, light, and sorrow. Yes, the memory of your mother clings to you still, does it not?" Ruby was too stunned to answer, or react to the finger gently tracing her jawline. Divine's mouth curled downward in a frown. "And I can feel your pain. My apologies for tugging at a wound that will never quite heal. I do get carried away."

A muttered "'s okay" was all Ruby could give in response. Divine had been correct in all points and the hollow ache still pulsed at the reminder of her mother's absence.

In turn Divine favoured her with a more gentle smile. "Regardless. How about a gift, as recompense for my lack of tact?"

"Um."

Ruby was confused now. She wanted to decline, but Divine began to chitter, somehow. Her body started jiggling, then she turned and bent over with audible exertion. Gagging noises followed before a small metal plaque was offered to her. Crimson like Grimm's flame, but also wet with saliva. Ruby's expression warred between curiousity and disgust while Divine nonchalantly wiped the thing off on her gown.

"Don't be shy now. Take it, for good luck."

Despite her better judgement, Ruby took it. She felt a touch lighter the moment her fingers touched the warm metal. Her aura did a little jig all across her body, rippling in visible red. She glanced down, then at Divine. "Is this a magic thingie?"

Her question prompted more chuckling. "Yes, yes. Charms do not exist here, now do they? A wonderful present just for you, dearie. Wear it over your heart and it shall let your soul's potential shine brighter."

That did sound interesting, at least. And this thing did something. Ruby fumbled around for a bit, unwilling to take her corset off here. Unfortunately attaching the Charm to its outside yielded nothing. Holding it in her hand was stupid, too. So she sucked it up and unlaced her clothes in the end. Divine helped before she could so much as realise she was undressing in front of a stranger; Ruby grew frantic for a moment but was distracted upon pressing the Charm to her chest; it attached itself and warmth flooded her system again. She knew exactly what to do now.

Grasping for her Semblance, Ruby Rose dissolved into rose petals. Her awareness remained in full, far sharper than ever before. She made her petals dance around Divine and Grimmchild, both of which joined her improvised motions into dance. Individual clusters split off and recombined until reforming into Ruby a minute later. She barely felt any drain and stared dumbly at her Scroll, which confirmed that. It never felt like this before.

"Did, did this thing just make my Semblance evolve?"

"Nonsense, dearie. Few Charms can alter yourself forever, I do not have that kind of power. This one merely gives you a little push to greater heights. It gave you nothing you did not already have the potential for."

Ruby was touched nonetheless. A smile slowly wormed its way onto her lips. She thanked the masked woman, who brushed it off and helped lace up her corset again, then ushered her out to see Grimm.

Although the child waved cheerfully, Divine's smile faltered once she was out of sight. What lay ahead may well break that delightfully bright spirit. Yet the master always chose carefully; with a little luck, Ruby Rose would remain at least somewhat the person she was now.

Ruby herself remained unaware of these thoughts. Brumm grunted in response to her greeting, the accordion's tunes accompanying the girl deeper inside. Grimm did not appear this time, even when Ruby called for him.

It took a few minutes of waiting and wondering before Grimmchild cooed for her attention; he fluttered to an opened flap behind the stands. Ruby followed curiously and found something akin to a bedroom.

That was where she found Grimm as well, his carapace cracked and withered in places. He hung from the ceiling, wrapped in his cloak. Ruby stared at the peculiar sight for a moment, a little worried for his decrepit state. Nothing happened, even when she slowly shook his shoulder; the hard carapace felt weird under her fingers, but that did not deter her.

"Uh, Grimm? C'mon, I did the thing. What now?"

Flakes of crimson light began to surround them, but he did not wake. Then Grimmchild landed on Ruby's hand, staring into her eyes as if searching for something. More flakes emerged and surrounded the two; she did not know what question he tried to ask her, but he seemed to find an answer regardless. Grimmchild began to glow ever brighter until suddenly, the light exploded and all turned white.

"Whoa!"

Her shout went unanswered. When her eyes adjusted, Ruby found herself in a much darker tent; night must have fallen. Grimm and Grimmchild were gone. Only one path led ahead, illuminated by familiar braziers. Circles of flickering, scarlet light faded in and out.

Fascination won out over worry; Ruby had come to trust Grimmchild, so she followed the path to see what happened. It soon opened back into the auditorium; the presence of an audience already told her what would happen soon. They awaited her quietly, yet all remained still even when Ruby stepped into the ring.

"Has... has anyone seen Grimm? Or Grimmchild?"

Some snickers sounded, making Ruby decidedly feel like a clown; her anxiety kicked in in full force and she rather be swallowed by the ground.

Before she could wilt away from the crowd however, crimson light shone upon her. Ruby looked up, only to behold a dark mass at the ceiling. Not quite round, specked with that same light. It pulsated once, a sound that reverberated through Ruby's entire being. It seemed to be right above and infinitely far away at the same time, more real than anything she ever saw.

She knew what this was, had known it since she was a little girl. No human lived without at least one nightmare in their lives; this was its origin, the Nightmare Heart. Without knowing how she knew, Ruby became aware she stood before a god. Parts of it overlapped, appearing greater than the space they occupied. Shades of scarlet she never imagined played across its veins.

Ruby was so mesmerised she barely noticed the growing tear within this being infinitely her greater. She slowly became aware of the expectant muttering all around; the light grew brighter, focussing solely on her like a scarlet spotlight.

Then the heart burst open in an avalanche of flame, revealing Grimm himself. His eyesockets were alight as he rocketed to the ground; an earthquake went off on impact but no cracks appeared. He was vibrant and larger than life, not the mere shell she faced before.

Rising in one fluid motion, he bowed toward Ruby to thunderous applause. She was perplexed but followed the motion instinctively.

"O-Oh. Okay!"

They both knew what would happen next. Yet Ruby was not prepared for Grimm to vanish and reappear in an instant. His flaming claws slammed into her waist and she flew with a squeak. Ruby turned to rose petals, only to be caught in an explosion of fire. Once forced to rematerialise, the Nightmare King kept pressing her; he was fast, ferocious, and merciless.

The moment Ruby's aura crackled she suddenly lost all feeling. Being thrown back she saw her own, headless body drop to the ground before impact with a wall cut off all vision.

She woke with a shriek, hands clawing at her intact throat. Panting, soaked in sweat, Ruby stared at Grimm's slumbering form with wide eyes. Grimmchild chirped comfortingly and nuzzled against her cheek. Ruby pet him absently.

"A dream?"

She received no answer beyond the little one buzzing away. He fluttered from her to Grimm and back, beckoning her. Ruby hesitated, shuddering at the memory of being beheaded. It felt so real. Yet it was not. Taking a deep breath, she reassured herself that it was okay. She did not really die.

"Okay," Ruby muttered. "Let's do this."

She did not, in fact, 'do this'. Death after gruesome death followed her first attempt, each one finding her awake in that same tent once more. She slowly began to understand his motions, but still did not last for long. Ruby had to go home after hours spent challenging Grimm and failing every single time. Yet the fire lit in her soul burned bright; she returned early the next day to try again, all but forgetting about classes.

Brushing off her many and varied deaths, Ruby simply kept going. She became a little better with every failure, her dance with Grimm growing longer if no less brutal. She barely spoke to her father and uncle, all thoughts on the all but impossible challenge before her. When they asked why she skipped classes, she cited helping Grimm; in truth Ruby completely forgot.

"We can't keep making excuses for you," Taiyang told her after the first week. But by that point Ruby was determined to see it through. Grimm entrusted this task to her after all.

He trusted her, much like Divine and Brumm; the veritable giant began to give her encouraging pats on the shoulder when she arrvied every day. Every day Ruby ran into town and back; her aura reserves grew under the constant strain. The nightmare was real enough to improve her body and soul.

"Just you wait," she swore to the sleeping figure. "I will do it. Sooner or later!"

Then Ruby dove back into the dream.

 

[Naron]

"Selina Uaine, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie recovered the white rook pieces. You will henceforward be known as Team Sunlight."

The screen above the four arrayed four letters, forming SNNL. Three red-headed women, one in green, one in bronze, and one in pink, as well as a lithe man favouring green as well. Only Nora and Selina smiled while the other teams around them applauded dutifully

Then Headmaster Ozpin's voice sounded once more over the speakers, ever even though with a hint of satisfaction: "Led by... Selina Uaine."

The faunus girl pumped her fist. "Alright!" she shouted and high-fived Nora. Ren and Pyrrha offered simple nods, polite applause sounded again and the four hopped off the stage. However, all three of Selina's teammates hesitated when they saw her expression morph into a nasty scowl; her gaze followed the the last team to be announced as they passed them, four girls that could not be more different.

"And lastly," Ozpin continued, "Weiss Schnee, Penny Polendina, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long. The four of you recovered the white queen pieces. Henceforward, you shall be known as Team Spiceberry." The letters SPBY formed up on the screen above them. "Led by... Weiss Schnee!"

Weiss herself was a petite and pale woman; snow white hair crowned her head, bound into a purposefully asymmetric sidetail. The only disruption of her immaculate appearance was the thin scar running over her forehead, ending right above the eye. Weiss smiled serenely until Yang clapped her shoulder, the force of which sent her stumbling forward. Penny swayed cheerfully by their side in her green and black combat dress, hands clasped in delight. Lastly, her top and shorts monochrome and bearing raven hair to match, stood Blake Belladonna. She frowned much like Weiss did.

Selina chuckled to herself then. Her team noted the sudden swing in her behaviour, but only Pyrrha commented: "Surprisingly cheerful, considering you do not seem to like Weiss."

The quip earned a snort and Selina threw her partner an amused look. "Girl, I don't give a shit about Weiss."

"Really?" the other redhead retorted with a smidgen of curiousity. "I thought you were upset due to her... affiliations, during initiation."

"Nah, had nothing to do with her."

Meanwhile Nora nodded sagely. "Huh. I getcha, Pyr. Most faunus we've met don't really like the Schnees. Like, at all."

Selina heaved a sigh at that. Spiceberry scampered off the stage under renewed applause while she talked to her team: "You ever been to Menagerie?" All three shook their heads. "Figures. I'll explain later, let's grab dinner and a shower."

In a bid to beat everyone else to the communal showers, SNNL went there first and to the cafeteria second. Most everyone else had already gathered to eat by the time they arrived; this meant only a small line still waited for food, meaning they barely had to wait.

Once it was their turn however, Selina had to heave another sigh; she stared down at the plate of meats she was given with a thoughtful look. Her teammates all got a more balanced meal.

Pyrrha arched a brow while Ren watched on stoically. Nora voiced their confusion: "Hey, uh, why's yours different?"

"Eh, whatever. Go ahead and find us a table, I'll go take care of something."

"Like what?"

Selina did not respond to Nora's final question and strolled away. Her target was another table with a team of four, though one neither of them knew; upperclassmen, most likely. Two men, one a veritable giant and the other small in comparison. Two women, both brunette; one in designer clothes, the other with clearly visible rabbit ears. SNNL kept watching as they wandered over to SPBY's table and their sister team's gazes followed soon after.

They all watched Selina quickly chat up the hare faunus, who fidgeted minutely under her attention. Whatever the redhead said, it quickly relaxed the older woman. She shook her head at Selina, who grinned and put down her own tray. The hare stared for a moment, nodding along to whatever was said. Then her overabundance of greens was exchanged for Selina's meat.

"What am I looking at?" Yang asked at that point.

It was Blake who answered, scowling: "Racism at work. They see the ears and immediately think hare and wolf, so they give them too many greens and meat respectively."

A cheerful Selina strolled up to them, though her good mood clearly took a hit when she saw the other team. Taking the final chair opposite Weiss, she still forced a halfway earnest smile. "Heya, girls. Congrats on getting leader."

"Why, thank you." Weiss, though surprised about the lack of hostility from a faunus, kept her polite smile in place. "My congratulations to you as well. Although, if you would forgive me for saying so, I did expect it to be Pyrrha."

Selina waved her off at that. "Nah, I get it. I kinda did, too. Guess the powers that be saw something we didn't, eh?" Her quip earned chuckles from Nora and Yang. Weiss inclined her head as if to agree.

"...why are you just taking it?"

For the first time and much to her dislike, Selina finally acknowledged Blake. She truly wanted to punch her in the face a few times but knew that now was not the time. The fact Blake may have turned over a new leaf stayed her hand, but she still only had a flat "What?" for the other faunus at the table.

Then again, Blake hid her cat ears under a black bow. She did not even manage to stop them from flicking when she motioned for Selina's tray. "Why do you just take it? You can lodge a complaint or something. This is not right!" Her indignation easily outdid Selina's own.

The wolf stared for a long moment, long enough that Blake became uncomfortable.

"So first off," Selina began slowly, "this is none of your business. But I'll tell you anyway: these guys made an honest mistake. They're trying to be considerate and overshoot. I'm not gonna spit in their face by complaining to the manager, what kind of bitch do you think I am? I'll wait if they notice on their own if I keep trading with Velvet over there and if they don't, I'll mention it in passing and see what happens." Her barely calm tirade over, Selina threw an arm out to indicate the rest of Beacon. "What next, you want me to stab the first person to insult me in the hallway?"

Blake, who had been about to retort, recoiled. "What? No!"

Selina simply shook her head and got to eating. The others were watching the exchange silently, most some manner of disturbed. Weiss was the first who dared to speak: "Well, you certainly seem passionate about this matter."

"Meh, you'll get used to it. I'm a born Mistrali, this got nothing on the shit I had to keep up with as a kid."

The commentary made Nora perk up. "Oh, neat. So we're all from the same place!"

"In a way," Ren amended for her. "We have not been to Anima in years and you mentioned you're from Menagerie."

"Yup. Nice place. I'll take you there during break, you'll love it."

"Fine with me. You in, Pyr?"

"I will... consider it."

Weiss studied Selina while this exchange took place; she continued to do so afterward while the faunus woman ate quietly. It took a minute until she rolled her eyes and met Weiss's gaze. "If you want to say something, say it. I'm not gonna bite. Unless you want me to." She winked cheekily, to which the heiress' expression tightened.

"Your crude insinuations aside, I was merely taking notice of your, how should I say, surprising lack of hostility. As you may imagine, I rarely interact with faunus to begin with." She spoke carefully, half expecting some sort of eruption in response. Against her expectations, Selina simply nodded understandingly.

"And most of the ones you do see are the White Fang assholes, I getcha."

"That is... not exactly how I would phrase it, but yes."

Blake had been stewing in the background for a while. With Penny listening to the conversation her partner was involved in, it fell to Yang to deal with that. Her nudging yielded nothing, though; the black-haired girl simply finished her sandwich and stood to saunter away. Her chair scraped enough to draw the others' attention.

Yang followed her partner's retreating form with a low whistle. "Damn, she knows how to make an exit."

Weiss glanced in the same direction and rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Penny turned to Yang curiously. "How do you mean? She just walked away."

"Yang means that Blake's got a nice ass," Selina quipped. "Can't deny that one."

"Oh, I see. How is this relevant?"

A beat. The other students looked between each other, then Selina stage-whispered to Weiss: "How is she more sheltered than you?"

Instead of taking offense, the heiress shrugged helplessly. Yang giggled to herself.

As the meal came to a close, Selina waved her team along and Weiss to her. The heiress was wary but followed the motion out of curiousity after their amicable conversation earlier. Selina threw her a grin. "Just wanted to say, from leader to leader, if you ever wanna hang out and compare notes, hit me up."

Weiss nodded, wary of such open friendliness but also intrigued. She thanked Selina for the offer and turned to join her team. Meanwhile, Selina allowed herself a grin and waved at Velvet and her team on the way out. The rest of Sunlight joined her at the door. "That went pretty well," she mused.

"What did?" Nora inquired.

"The path to a better tomorrow, duh."

"Ohhhh!" The other redhead left a short pause, frowning. "I don't get it."

Selina winked at her in response. "Big Daddy won't be in charge of Schnee Dust forever. And when Weiss takes over, she'll know not all faunus are assholes and terrorists."

"Or perhaps having an in with the heiress would offer alternate benefits?" Though Pyrrha was perfectly polite in her phrasing, the small sting in it was notable to all of them. Selina flipped her off.

"Fuck off, it's not like that."

She spent the trek to their dorm room brooding; fortunately, SPBY would be living right opposite to them. Selina opened the door for her team and leaned against it the moment it closed behind her.

"And while we're at it, tough girl: if you got a problem with me, say it to my face."

Taken aback by the sudden hostility, Pyrrha needed a moment to return to her polite self. "Nothing of the sort," she deflected. "What would give you the impression?"

"I dunno, maybe the constant sniping?" Selina received no retort to that and rolled her eyes. "So what is it? That I'm leader and not you? That I'm a faunus? C'mon, tell me now if it's that."

"And what will you do if it is? Challenge me?"

"Pff. If you wanna throw down, I'll talk about it with Goodwitch."

The other pair had watched their back-and-forth with some apprehension. Ren stepped forward at this point to use the tense pause. His quiet voice cut through the silence: "Perhaps we should all calm down." He threw a sharp look to Nora, who sheepishly stopped herself from chanting 'fight, fight, fight' as he knew she would.

Unfortunately, the other two redheads on his team were less inclined. Pyrrha's gaze narrowed ever so slightly, arms folded. "While you do have a point, I imagine it will be necessary to clear the air sooner or later." She then took a step forward, trying to stare Selina down; her partner was not impressed, if partly because they were roughly the same height. Pyrrha did not let that stop her. "I have no issue with your leadership. I will follow your orders. But neither do I want your friendship, nor will I go out of my way to accomodate you."

Despite everything, Selina snorted at that. The noise confused Pyrrha greatly, as did the jovial clap to her shoulder. "Heh, we'll see about that. Four years is a long time." The faunus walked past her, talking to the room at large more than her: "But fine with me. Just stop being a bitch about stuff and we're golden. I'm the only bitch in this team."

Selina flicked one of her wolf ears for emphasis, to a surprised blink from Pyrrha and Ren. Nora cheered, to which Selina sketched a joking bow before turning back to Pyrrha. "And I'm still gonna talk to Goodwitch about that match. We're drawing up an exercise plan tomorrow, ladies. And Ren."

He nodded mildly, as did the other two. The reminder of having a boy in the room gave Selina some food for thought, too. "Actually, you cool with changing in front of each other? I don't really care."

"Nope, don't care," Nora chirped. Ren nodded along.

"Me neither. Nora and I are quite used to it by now."

The final member of their team hesitated upon feeling three pairs of eyes on her. Her ears reddened, safely hidden under her scarlet mane even as Pyrrha averted her gaze. "I shall simply frequent the bathroom," she murmured.

"Cool. And if you're gonna fuck, please hang a sock on the door." Selina's comment had Nora and Ren sputter. "Or keep it somewhere else if possible. I'll do the same." This, Pyrrha left entirely uncommented. Selina congratulated herself on a joke well done and carried on. "Now, next on the agenda...." Only to be interrupted by a yawn. "Okay, one last thing. Semblances. I didn't see yours in the field, so you keep them secret ooooor?"

Nora immediately responded to her prompting, once again beaming: "Nah, mine's pretty obvious. I can absorb lightning and get super strong!"

"Hey, neat."

"And Ren can mute peoples emotions. Great for calming down and to hide from Grimm!"

"Double neat! I love you two already!"

All three looked to Pyrrha, who slowly shook her head. "I would rather not." She half expected complaints or prying, but Selina simply shrugged it off.

"Sure, fine. Tell us when you're ready. Just remember I can't plan for your stuff if I don't know it."

"I will keep that in mind."

About as soon as Pyrrha finished her deflection, Nora invaded Selina's personal space; she hung off her leader's shoulder and poked her side cheerfully. "Okay, now spill your own. What's it do? I bet it's something cool, like, like... like throwing fire! Or blowing stuff up on a touch! C'mon, tell us, tell us!"

Her enthusiasm was contagious; Selina chuckled and imitated a buzzer. "Meeep, wrong and wrong. You're never gonna guess mine. It's nowhere near as awesome as yours."

Nora cheerfully threw out more ideas, slowly becoming more absurd with each one. Ren offered a handful of more grounded guesses and even Pyrrha had an idea she added, having been caught up in Nora's curiousity. They were all wrong.

By the end Nora pouted up at the other redhead. "Oh, tell us already!"

Her despondent tone earned a grin. "Fine," Selina said, "Lemme just, ah." As if a switch had been flipped, her expression distorted into a grimace. "Ugh, Brothers, this is awful." After muttering to herself for a moment, she turned back to Nora; the other woman still hung off her shoulder. "Yep, you absolutely fuck. And please brush your teeth after giving head."

Pyrrha was flabbergasted at the sudden turn of events; meanwhile Nora visibly blushed, recoiling from Selina in shock. "W-What? How?!"

Ren averted his gaze, the only sign of his own embarassment. Now free of Nora, Selina approached him next with an arched brow. After a moment she huffed. "At least you return the favour, good on you. No idea when or how, but whatever."

"What is this, can you read minds or something?" Nora stared dumbly at her leader, all but confirming the 'allegations'. She received no answer.

Pyrrha stood near the window, worried and somewhat frightened of being exposed as well. Selina approached her slowly, almost skulking like the predator she knew she was. The faunus woman's nose scrunched for some reason; she stared into Pyrrha's eyes for a long moment. Battle-hardened she may be, but she was not prepared for such candid conversations. Her cheeks grew consistently hotter in expectatation of some lewd remark.

"Your perfume isn't so bad."

It took her a moment to comprehend the words. Pyrrha sighed in relief, grateful to be spared embarassment. She needed a moment longer for the clues to fit together. Her eyes widened. "Your sense of smell?" she inquired just to be certain. "That is your Semblance?

"Ayup. Super smell." Selina tapped her nose with a grin; Ren simply nodded and Nora was too busy covering her mouth to comment. Their leader grimaced again. "And let me tell you, it sucks to use anywhere people are. I can learn things about them I never wanted to know."

"It does not seem particularly useful for combat, either."

"But you can dig up aaaaaallll the dirt!" Nora grinned at them, waving her arms. Then realisation set in and she quickly covered her mouth again. Pyrrha did not quite know how to react to the reminder that her two teammates were an item of some sort. Selina just laughed at the display.

"C'mon, we're going to share a room the next four years. Welcome to your new normal. Also, promise I won't use this unless I gotta. Now let's get ready for bed."

Her team took the order with grace and began to change; true to her earlier words, Pyrrha felt too awkward undressing in front of them. While she vanished into the bathroom and Nora dashed along to brush her teeth, Ren approached Selina.

"I was meaning to say, you are surprisingly friendly with Pyrrha despite her behaviour."

Selina shrugged off her top as she mulled over his implied question. Ren politely looked elsewhere while she slipped out of her bra and into a loose, white shirt. "You're not wrong," she admitted then. "Thing is, that's how you get rid of the racism. Being a spiteful bitch won't get Pyrrha around. I wanna deck her, sure, but I can just as well kill her with kindness. It's not easy sometimes, but there's nothing more satisfying than making her change her mind."

He nodded slowly and left her to her own devices.

A calm if long night followed, thanks to Nora and Ren snoring. The two girls with them needed a while to grow used to the noise. Thankfully they had a rest day assigned to figure themselves out. The team began setting up the training plan.

Once Selina opened the door however, she found herself thigh to face with something odd. Black eyes stared up her from within a white plastic mask; the sight made her hackles rise and she unconciously retreated back from the thing. Their gear was in the lockers and not at hand.

"The fuck are you?"

"Is it some weird infiltrator Grimm?" Nora speculated from the back. "Did it come to kill Pyrrha?!"

Meanwhile, the thing kept staring at Selina. It just stood in the doorway; were it bigger, Selina may have seen it as menacing. As it were she was just reminded of creepy children in movies.

Neither of them moved for a full minute, until a commotion sounded from the opposite room. The door opened to reveal Penny, still clad in a green nightgown. "There you are!" she called and swept the creepy thing into her arms; it did not resist, nor did it react to her scolding: "You can not just wander, it is dangerous!" Meanwhile, the creature hung in her arms, still staring at Selina.

The wolf slowly spoke up after digesting that odd scene: "So... the creepy thingo is yours? What is it?"

Penny hesitated at that. Her gaze wandered between her sister team and the potential Grimm in her arms. By this time her own teammates were peeking out of their room, too. "Well," she began, "Ghost is, well, Ghost." The name had that masked head rise, turning 180 degrees to look up at Penny. She hugged him a little tighter. "I never figured out what he is, except not Grimm."

"Okay," Yang interjected from behind, still clad in shirt and shorts. "And why's he here?"

Weiss stepped out of the door next, clad in a modest, white nightgown similar to Penny's. She pinched the bridge of her nose, staring at Ghost and then her partner. "This is why your luggage was rattling on occasion, is it not?"

"Nooo? Hic"

The byplay drew a chuckle from Selina; if the others thought all was good then she would believe them. She approached to study Ghost up close, intrigued by how smooth his skin looked. "Whatever. Heya, little fella. What's up?"

Once she leaned close enough, Ghost poked her in the chest. Then his stubby arm ran over it, making her retreat. "Hey!" She covered herself more in surprise than embarassment, though her ears grew hot as well.

Penny took a step back as well, mortified. "Oh, I am so sorry! He normally does not do that. At all."

"Very convincing there," Yang quipped.

In that moment a ninth person arrived on the scene. "And what, exactly, am I looking at?" she asked; her calm if tense voice alerted them all to her presence; Glynda Goodwitch, Beacon's deputy headmistress and main combat instructor. Her white blouse and black pencil skirt were perfectly ironed, blonde hair done in a firm bun. She received no response at first, though her hand hovered over the riding crop on her skirt's belt at the sight of Ghost.

Seeing that all students stared at her like deer in headlights, she allowed herself an almost imperceptible sigh. "Ms. Polendina, Ms. Schnee, please make yourselves presentable. Afterward I would like to know why you saw fit to bring a living Grimm into the academy."

"B-But Ghost is no Grimm!" Penny shook her head rapidly, holding him up as if evidence. "He even says so himself!"

"Is that so?"

Seven out of eight students realised the nuanced demand to back down. Penny failed to do so and nodded eagerly. She put Ghost onto the ground and smiled at him. "You're no Grimm, right?" Ghost nodded, prompting Penny to beam at Goodwitch instead. "See? Not a Grimm."

Suffice it to say, the older woman was not impressed. Her attention never quite left Ghost, who used the renewed freedom to approach Selina again. He stared up and she stared down, now realising that his gaze still lay on her chest; specifically the right breast. It took her a moment longer to realise.

"Wait a sec." She turned around and reached under her shirt, ignoring a disapproving sound from the deputy. Selina had to fiddle for a moment before she managed to detach Lumina's Charm. She held it out to Ghost with an attempt at a smile. "Did you want this?"

Ghost reached out immediately, only for a scream to sound. It was not physical, shrieking straight through their minds. A blinding flash followed, burning half of Ghost's arm away.

He stared at the steaming, slowly reforming stump while everyone else stopped futilely covering their ears and eyes.

Selina stared at the Charm in confusion until Goodwitch spoke to her: "And what, pray tell, is this, Ms. Uaine?"

"...something a friend gave me. And it never did that before."

"What does it normally do?" Pyrrha inquired right after. Selina wordlessly palmed the Charm and focussed; bright light illuminated the area, driving all shadows away. The only darkness remaining was Ghost, stark black against the gold.

He kept staring up at her even when she cut off the light and shrugged at the others. "That's all it does. And what are you doing?" Her question went to Ghost and received no answer; he held a shimmering blade of some sort, not long enough to be more than a dagger. Selina tensed up, only for Penny to answer.

"Worry not, Selina! I do not know what this is, but it is not dangerous at all! I saw him poke a few people with that before, but it did nothing harmful. Or, well, anything at all."

Selina stared at her fellow redhead, whose beaming smile barely convinced her to simply hold still. The gleaming edge slapped against her aura to no effect; it fizzled out on impact, creating a mint green flare. Checking her Scroll, aura was still full. Nothing else happened. Ghost stared at her a moment longer, tilted his head, and turned to walk away. Penny quickly snatched him up.

After getting dressed, a lecture from Goodwitch, and a promise from Penny not to leave her 'pet' Grimm unsupervised, the eight of them went to breakfast. Only then did Selina realise she forgot to ask about sparring. She only got the chance to bring it up after their teams separated.

Later that day marked the first time Pyrrha handed her ass to her in the arena; it would not be the last.

 

[Reymen]

Oh, bow Ghost know Radiance is in the realm as well.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Always awkward to insert mute protagonists into other worlds. A good opportunity for comedy, but overall dealing with a noncommunitive person is a bit of a test for the author. Interrupting it, rather than letting things get tense, worked out here.

I wonder if Ghost "asked" to go with Penny, or if Penny snuck him along. Additionally, this means that Yang is the "token normal" for team Spiceberry! Criminal terrorist, internationally famous singer, and an android? Yang is really going to miss Ruby.

This means she should have some amusing jokes planned for when Penny gets introduced to Ruby at least!

Questions, questions... what happened to Jaune?
Is the Fall maiden canon in this fic?
I wonder, given Cinder's failure, will catalyst will result in Ghost and Neo meeting?
And most importantly... when on when will Ren and Nora take the next step in their relationship, home base?

 

[Naron]

Questions, questions... what happened to Jaune?
Is the Fall maiden canon in this fic?
I wonder, given Cinder's failure, will catalyst will result in Ghost and Neo meeting?
And most importantly... when on when will Ren and Nora take the next step in their relationship, home base?

Click to shrink...

I will keep quiet on Jaune; the Fall Maiden exists, though. Again no comment on Ghost and Neo... and I am not sure I understand the last one.

 

[NightmareWarden]

I will keep quiet on Jaune; the Fall Maiden exists, though. Again no comment on Ghost and Neo... and I am not sure I understand the last one.

Click to shrink...

If two characters from different halves of a crossover have something defining in common (in this case, muteness), the laws of fanfiction decree that they must meet!

I'm not actually "super keen" on it, but it is an "impossible opportunity" limited to crossovers.

I'm going to be amused if Jaune wound up saving Oscar from one of those flame-bosses. There are too many possibilities to really speculate.

 

[Naron]

"I was wondering, Selina."

Much to Weiss's consternation and relief, the faunus woman turned her way immediately. A week had passed yet despite them always sitting together for breakfast, it still felt a little eerie to be so close to somene who should by all accounts detest her. Weiss had no idea why they got along quite well and even had the occasional conversation. Teams Spiceberry and Sunlight gravitated together for some reason none of them could quite tell.

Either way, Selina was amenable. "Shoot."

In spite of her fellow leader's friendly demeanour, Weiss could not help but hesitate. "Well," she began slowly in an attempt to sound measured. " I gathered from previous conversations that you are not particularly... happy, with the White Fang." Conversation around the table ceased, though Weiss paid the others little mind. "Could you elaborate on your stance toward them? And, well, how common it is among faunus?"

"Ugh, heavy questions in the morning." Selina frowned, then glanced back down at her pudding. "Gimme a sec."

It followed a reminder of her lower class origins because she simply shoveled the whole thing down her gullet in record speed. Weiss wrinkled her nose but smoothed out her expression before Selina could notice. The other woman heaved a content sigh and returned to the matter at hand: "Alright, here's the deal: the White Fang has the right goal and a very wrong idea how to get there."

Weiss said nothing in an attempt to make Selina elaborate. Which Blake then ruined by chiming in: "What's that supposed to mean?"

The note of aggression did not slip past Weiss and she had to wonder again what it was with these two. They seemed to row near constantly and unlike with literally everyone else, Selina did not take it in stride; if anything, she scowled back.

"I'm in ol' Ghira's camp on that one," the wolf shot back. The comment made Blake flinch for whatever reason. If Selina noticed, she did not bring it up. "Now how'd he say it? 'Violence for violence only perpetuates the cycle we want to break'."

"Quite," Weiss could not help but agree. It was a sensible position in her opinion. "May I ask who this Ghira is?"

Just like that Selina's attention returned to Weiss. The heiress was once again surprised by how quickly her mood shifted back to conversational. "Ghira's the guy who founded the Fang way back when. He made it big by hard work and grit, in Mistral of all places."

Weiss's brow arched; although she knew the White Fang originated in Mistral, she never looked up any details. Selina nodded sagely, having caught her reaction. "You and I didn't really see much of it, but they used to be, er, not violent assholes. Heck, I was a junior member for years."

Now this had Weiss's brows meet her hairline. She tensed up instinctively, then felt silly when no attack came. Heads turned from the surrounding tables as well, conversation ceased. Selina paid no one any mind and kept going: "But the thing is, Ghira got lobbied out by the violent assholes. That was, five? Five-ish? Years ago? Roughly." She wiggled her hand for emphasis. "He saw how the wind blew and left, and a whole bunch of people left with him. Most of 'em live on Menagerie now."

"I see."

It was all she could say in response, Weiss really needed to read up on the subject. Meeting Selina ignited her curiousity. "And you left also?" A nod. "What kind of work did you do as a junior member?"

"Oh, you know. The usual stuff, drawing posters, writing letters to politicians, baking for fundraisers. Joining the smaller protests that we didn't expect would get mobbed by police or counter-protests. Toward the end they had me look after the younger kids and started teaching me how to use my spear for guard duty." Selina shrugged at her. "Stuff that a child can do without getting hurt."

Yang chimed in here, more curious than sensible: "And your parents agreed to all this?"

When Selina just stared back at her for a long moment, Weiss knew this was the completely wrong question to ask. The silence soon turned uncomfortable and made even Yang squirm. Then Selina shrugged again. "Got none, same as most of the kids we had along at the time. The Fang organised all the orphans they could find. Most were faunus, some humans.

"Shit, sorry."

"It's fine, I'm over it."

True to her words, Selina seemed ambivalent at most. The fact eased Weiss's nerves a bit. Meanwhile Penny's expression had fallen. "How sad," she said. "I can not imagine life without my father."

Though unintended, her forlorn rumination reminded Weiss of her own family; she very much could and did live without them now.

Meanwhile, Selina, shrugged. "Hey, cherish them while they're there as long as they're good people. Ghira and his wife looked after the lot of us whenever they had time to spare." She paused before turning back to Weiss. "That answer your question?"

"To an extent, yes. Thank you."

"Anything else you wanna know?"

Weiss did have additional questions, but some of them felt quite invasive and were better left for another time. While she still mulled it over, Blake chimed in again: "If the Fang is doing it wrong, then what do you propose to do it better?"

Though the aggression remained subtle, Weiss had to wonder. Blake seemed to care about faunus rights a great deal, but why did she seem so protective of the White Fang? She could not say anything conclusive just yet, but that went on the list of subjects to investigate. Thankfully Selina did not drive conflict any further. She simply threw up her hands.

"How should I know? I'm bad with big picture stuff, 's why I'm going to be a Huntress and not a politician. All I know is killing security guards and stealing Dust ain't it."

"Or assassinating my family," Weiss could not help but quip. A hint of bitterness stole itself into her voice, though no one seemed to notice.

"Or that, yeah. Is that why you're here? To protect yourself from the assholes?"

The sudden turnabout was a bit of a surprise; Weiss did not feel well sharing something this personal, but at the same time Selina was quite open. She could tell her at least one reason and simply not mention the rest: "To an extent. Among other things, the Schnees were renowned for their martial prowess before my grandfather founded the SDC. I wish to carry on with this family tradition as well."

"Makes sense. Good luck on that, I don't see it get much better anytime soon."

Though she appreciated the well wishes, Selina's comment made her think of her father once again. Weiss barely managed to suppress a sigh. "Neither do I."

From there they went through classes as before. History, Grimm Studies, Dust Handling, Combat; Weiss made sure to take notes even from Professor Port's droning stories of his own exploits. It took a few days to realise that these tales were a treasure trove of information if one could only dig it out. A small number of classmates tried the same, though Selina was not among them; she still listened with rapt attention, though. Then came Combat class, where the wolf faunus was paired off with Blake. The following beatdown was ferocious and gave Weiss newfound respect for her fellow team leader.

Selina's aura also went close to the halfway mark, but she consistently harried Blake across the room; her control of the fight never swayed, which made sense when a trained vanguard met an assassin type in a controlled environment.

What was more, everyone could tell there was some sort of tension to the pair. She heard some jokes about it being the romantic sort but did not ascribe to that.

The situation finally blew up at the end of that same day. Far faster than anticipated, not to mention far more public.

They were in the common room with a number of other teams when Blake blew her fuse after another snippy comment. "What's your problem?!" she shouted at Selina. "I have done nothing to you and you keep acting like I'm the worst person in the world!"

Several dozen people watched the fireworks. Weiss and Yang rose to step in, worried despite knowing this was coming. They were too slow to stop Selina from grabbing Blake's collar. Both women stared at each other from up close, furious.

Then the wolf let go with a laugh. "You don't know?" she taunted. "Seriously? Not the teensiest, tiniest idea why I may hate you in particular, Blake?"

"No! I've done nothing to you! What's wrong with you?"

"No, Blake. What's wrong with YOU?!" The sudden shout had Blake flinch back. So did Weiss, even though she stood a little distant. Her teammate fell flat on her rear after being shoved by Selina; the otherwise so reasonable faunus was irate. When Nora tried to pull her back, she received an elbow to the face. Selina stepped forward and reached out.

"You wanna know what you did? Well, let's start with that!"

Selina tore the bow off Blake's head on the final word. She yelped in pain and clasped her feline ears, only to realise that they were on full display for all to see. Weiss had meant to interfere but the sight stopped her cold. How did she not notice Blake was a faunus? Yang was equally dumbstruck, but that made little comfort right now.

Meanwhile, Selina threw the black ribbon away. "Talk about Faunus deserving respect while hiding these like you're ashamed of 'em," she spat. "That's the first bit. But hey, you do you. That's not it." Selina leaned down toward Blake, who stared up with wide eyes. A single finger poked the newly revealed faunus' chest with every word: "Call. Your. Parents."

Silence reigned. The entire room watched, breath held in anticipation. All Blake managed to utter was a single, confused "What?" which several others echoed. Selina snarled, poking her chest harder.

"Call your parents", she repeated. "It's been five years. Five fucking years, Blake. No call, no letter, no nothing. I still catch Kali staring at the phone hoping today's the day, sometimes. You're an ungrateful bitch of a daughter and by the Brothers, go fuck yourself!"

Selina turned and marched away on those words. Blake stared after her, completely flabbergasted and more than a little afraid.

Weiss did not know what to do; none of this made sense, she did not expect it at all. All she could do was watch as a woman she thought she got to know a bit became aware of the room. All eyes were on her.

Blake shrunk away, scrambled to her feet, and fled.

The silence lasted a short while longer, then the various groups began to discuss what they just saw. Weiss helplessly stood with the rest of SPBY and SNNL, all of which were close to the epicenter.

Nora spoke up hesitantly: "Shouldn't someone, I dunno, go after them?"

"I'll take Blake," Yang volunteered and trooped off. She was surprisingly serious unlike her usual, carefree attitude.

Nora and Ren then glanced to Pyrrha, who had remained perfectly at ease in her seat. With no input from her, the third redhead of Sunlight made to follow her leader. Ren joined her and so did Weiss; she felt out of place going after Selina, but she wanted to remain in this room even less. Moreover, she did worry; that was a bit of a surprise to realise and Weiss put it out of her mind for now.

Someone else joined them on the way out. Weiss glanced to the hare faunus momentarily who shied away from her gaze but made no motion to split off. Though on edge with yet another faunus so close, Weiss decided to just be polite. "I do not believe we met before," she began. "You are in second year, I believe?"

"Y-Yes, that's me. Hi. I'm Velvet."

"Weiss. A pleasure." She almost added her last name again, which she slowly began to realise people did not really do in Vale. She could not tell whether her upperclasswoman was afraid of her as a person or just generally anxious. "I imagine you wish to check on Selina as well?"

"Yeah. She's a good person. I didn't think she could blow up like that."

Weiss wetted her lips. Though Velvet herself appeared uncertain how to approach the heiress, she had a similar issue. As the last week showed, the general demeanour of a socialite used to Atlesean high society simply did not fit well into a valean hunter academy. Despite her internal fretting she offered the other woman a nod. "She always seemed quite reasonable when we spoke. Only Blake ever got that kind of reaction out of her."

Nora chimed into their halting conversation, thankfully preventing an awkward silence: "Where do you think she went?"

"This way are the forges, the workshops, and the gym," Ren told his partner, eyes only halfway focussed as he recalled the floorplan. "Let's start with the gym."

"Sounds good!"

They quietly followed Nora's lead, though all four students were familiar with Beacon's indoor gym. Hunters could not skip out on physical exercise, a truth even Weiss was aware of. She had worked out a decent amount for the past years to get in shape for Beacon, though that was still a light load compared to most everyone else.

Selina was exactly where Ren suspected her, grumpily bench pressing heavy weights; the load sat close to four hundred kilos, Selina's personal maximum. Nora dashed forward about as soon as the fact registered with Weiss.

"Damn, girl! Calm down! This is dangerous without a spotter!"

Selina let the bar slam back into its holder and flipped off her fellow redhead. "Go away," she ground out, though they could all tell the faunus girl needed that break.

"Is that any way to treat your teammates after how concerned they were for you?" Weiss chimed in despite her hesitation to draw Selina's ire. She implicitely included herself in that group, though thankfully no one seemed to catch on. Selina simply glowered at her and went back to lifting; Nora began spotting her.

The ensuing silence was only interrupted by the occasional grunts and clacks whenever Selina put down the weight. With Weiss worried for her standing with Selina and Ren lost in thought, Velvet was the next to take heart.

"Sooo, that was pretty intense back there," she tried but shrank back somewhat under the renewed glare that comment earned her. She did not flee as Weiss half expected her to, though.

The younger girl took the opening this presented, having had enough time to find some conclusions: "It may be mere conjecture, but I assume Blake's father is this Ghira you are so fond of?"

"Yep. Girl's got no idea how good she has it. Ghira and Kali are, like, the best people in the world. And she keeps hurting them."

Velvet hummed in agreement. "I did hear that the Belladonnas are kind people, yes."

Something about that statement gave Weiss pause. She warily glanced to the hare faunus, who seemed nonplussed by the sudden attention. Weiss just had to ask: "Hold on, please. You mean to tell me that Blake applied to Beacon under her actual name? While hiding her, erm, heritage?"

She was glad that neither faunus took offense; Velvet merely shrugged and Selina barked a mirthless laugh.

"Probably got it from her folks. Not a dishonest bone on either, so it figures she sucks at lying too." She put down the weight again and rested for a moment, wordlessly accepting the water bottle Ren handed her. Then another glance went over the quartet that followed her. "You guys, I appreciate that you came to check but I'll be fine. Just lemme work it out of my system for a bit and I'll be good as new."

Seeing the dismissal for what it was, Weiss took her leave there. Ren and Velvet followed, though Nora remained to continue her spotting duties. Weiss still felt a little odd being around faunus, but it turned out not all of them wanted her head on a platter; she even managed a short conversation with Velvet about second year classes and what to expect of end-of-year exams. Not the most riveting subject but certainly a safe one to start with.

Who would have thought? Weiss Schnee, getting used to the presence of faunus.

Alas, the next morning saw only seven of them sit down for breakfast. Saturday had dawned and with it the weekend.

"Never found her," Yang muttered when Nora asked about Blake. Weiss had noted how sour her teammate was when she returned after nightfall and decided to give her time to cool down. "Figured she'd come back after a few hours but she's not around. Her Scroll's off, too."

Selina only had a dismissive snort for that. "And good riddance," she commented. The glare from Yang went ignored much like Weiss's more curt look. While she finally understood Selina's issues with Blake, she also found them somewhat childish.

By noon the three members of Spiceberry began to worry. Blake was still nowhere to be found. Weiss frankly had no idea what to do with this. Her pride would not allow to just let her stay away or even leave the team; anxiety over her father's reaction to such a major mishap under her tenure as team leader only added to the mix. And then there was this small, creeping sense of worry for Blake's wellbeing.

She only had two options: inform the faculty, which would be admitting she could not solve this on her own, or put in the work herself. Hence why Weiss gathered Yang and Penny before going to the only people she felt she could ask for help.

"Regardless of anything else," she explained to SNNL, "Blake is a part of this team. Allowing her to simply run off is not acceptable." Though she made her case with the usual grace and logic, Weiss could not help but deflate. She hated having to request assistance from anyone. "Although, admittedly, I do not know how to find her."

Nora and Ren had listened with rapt attention; Selina kept her eyes closed without much reaction while Pyrrha seemed mostly aloof to the situation. Into the silence left by Weiss's admission, Penny raised her hand thoughtfully. "We could inform the police? This sounds like a missing person's case."

"Possible," Weiss agreed. "But such a case would take some time to resolve."

"We could go out and look for her," Yang suggested next. "But Vale is pretty big."

Ren then added onto her own realisation: "And we do not know if she is still in town." Though Yang winced, he did not quite notice. His thoughts were elsewhere. "...although." With that one word Ren's gaze wandered to Selina. Nora and Weiss followed, then the rest.

It took Sunlight's leader a full ten seconds to notice the expectant silence. Her eyes opened to find six other students looking at her. "What?" she asked at first, but realisation struck before Ren could explain his thought process. A flat "No" was her only answer.

"But you could find her, right?" Nora grinned as if she won the lottery. Selina scowled.

"Maybe, but I won't."

"Sel, please. She's my partner, we can't just let her run away!"

Though Yang's pleading softened the glower some, it did not seem like Selina was willing to give in. Weiss nibbled on her lip, then decided to use what she learned. "I concur. You need not do it for Blake's sake. Though I imagine her parents would be... disappointed, if you refused to help in this?" Much as she expected, Selina winced as if slapped. A dishonest strategy perhaps, but this was important to Weiss.

Unlike what she expected, Selina hopped to her feet and lumbered her way. Weiss stood warily, only to feel very small when almost two hundred pounds of irate wolf loomed over her. She could see the brown of Selina's eyes from this close but refused to avert her gaze. Weiss stood her ground.

Selina growled, but no attack came. "Fine," she spat, "but you owe me for this. Big time."

Her demand drew a frown from Weiss in turn, though she knew a bargain when she saw it. "Very well," she agreed. "What do you want?"

"No idea, I'll get back to you when I don't have to give myself a migraine for stupid people."

"I see." The businesswoman in her wanted to refuse this and demand a clear request. But this was important enough to disregard it. Moreover, Weiss trusted Selina not to abuse this favour. "I would not accept such an open-ended agreement normally, but... alright. And thank you."

"Meh. Someone go get me something Blake's worn."

"What? Why?" Yang was almost as befuddled as Weiss, who could finally breathe again because Selina left her personal space. Her heart fluttered as anxiety and suppressed fear crashed over her like a wave. And yet here she was, safe and sound. Weiss had trouble believing it.

Penny produced Blake's ribbon in the meantime. Selina accepted the offering and led the other six students back to the common room. Ghost followed right behind, ignored by everyone else. After figuring out which exit Blake took, Selina waved them all back. Much to SP_Y's confusion, she took a deep sniff of the ribbon and grimaced.

"I hate you all," she muttered. "So much." A few steps this way and that, then she pointed toward Vale. "That way."

No Bullheads flew in the evenings, meaning Blake trekked down the cliff on her own. Even Selina could barely follow the trail despite the absence of rain or other obstructions; everyone else climbed after her. The silver lining, Weiss reassured herself, was that this gave her some exercise. Ren spent the time filling her, Penny, and Yang in on Selina's Semblance. It certainly put into perspective why she grumbled so much.

Close to the mountain's foot, the redhead glanced Weiss's way with disdain. "I really don't get why you'd want her back."

"Is that not self-evident?"

"...right. You really haven't put together she's White Fang?"

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks. A flood of worry followed Selina's question. She had suspicions, but to have it just pointed out like this came as a shock. "Pardon?" Her teammates were equally surprised, she absently noted. "Perhaps you should have led with such a piece of information?"

"Eh." Selina made a dismissive motion. "I figured I'd give her a chance in case she actually left, but at this point I doubt it. That's why she hasn't been home in ages. Remember what I told you guys about how Ghira left?" Weiss nodded, as did her team. "Well, Blake didn't. No, she took it a step further and called him a coward, all but ran off. Just like this here." It was clear by her sour tone what Selina thought of that.

Penny hummed in thought. "So she is a member of the 'violent assholes', as you put it?"

"Yeeep. Last I heard she made second-in-command under Adam Taurus. He may be a moderate but he's still in that group too." And they all knew that name; Adam Taurus was a famous and powerful face of the White Fang. Leader of the Fang in Vale and a prized swordsman.

The following silence lasted for a long time. Weiss's expression turned stormy as she wrestled with this new situation. Did she want Blake back after all? But no, this was not in question. If Blake dropped out of Beacon entirely on her own accord, that was one matter. Weiss would not condone simply running off like this. She refused to let this reflect back on her. Not to mention that Yang grew increasingly worried as they entered Vale proper.

After a dozen streets and two more sniffs of the ribbon, it was surprisingly Pyrrha who spoke up: "If I may, I was wondering. Why is the White Fang named that way? The imagery is rather aggressive, for a group originally meant to be peaceful."

Selina was rubbing her temples at this point, but she indulged the other redhead's request anyway. "Yeah, kinda. I asked Ghira about it a few years ago, too. The important part is the colour. That we're ready to stand up, 'bear our fangs', but never use them."

"I see."

Weiss understood as well. This offered an interesting piece of insight she never even questioned before. Alas, worry for Blake slowly swept that away. Selina led them into the nicer parts of Vale; blocks made of singular houses with large gardens and other properties became increasingly more common. Subtle glances to their companions revealed that Nora and Ren began shifting awkwardly. Weiss had noticed before, but their clothes were well-worn; they must not be used to treading in such a neighbourhood. In opposition to them, Weiss and Pyrrha grew more at ease in familiar circumstances.

"You sure you got the right track?" Yang questioned when it was clear they would not swerve back into the backstreets, only to receive a nasty look.

"Do you want to try finding her by scent? No? Then shut up."

Yang threw her hands up in a placating gesture. "Geez, just saying! Calm down!"

"I'll calm down when my head stops killing me tomorrow or so. This way."

They changed direction at a cross-section. Weiss wisely kept her mouth shut, increasingly grateful that Selina was willing to hurt herself for their sake. She could not help but appreciate her own Semblance ever more, regardless the trouble some of its aspects gave her.

Her thoughts were cut off when they stopped in front of a particular house. The property was fenced off, two men in dark suits standing at the front gate. While everyone drank in the sight, Weiss glanced at Selina.

"You are certain this is the right place?"

The other woman nodded, though her glare had not abated any. Her voice remained mostly calm despite the display of aggression: "Yeah. There were like two other scents going the same way. Funny the people she knows. Your turn now, I'm done." She kept rubbing her temples while Nora gently clasped her shoulder.

With SNNL hanging back, Weiss cloaked herself in regal composure and strode forward. Yang followed only a half-step behind while Penny trailed after them. Weiss knew the suits were looking at them behind their sunglasses and did not let it bother her.

Once she approached close enough, one of the men nodded at them. "Can I help you, ladies?"

Weiss made to speak, but Yang tapped her shoulder. The request was clear enough, even though it drew a faint frown. Nonetheless, she let the blonde take over. Yang addressed the suit: "Maybe. We're looking for a friend of ours. A woman about this tall; long, black hair."

"And cat ears," Penny added from behind.

"...yeah, that too."

The suits exchanged looks, however that worked with sunglasses on. The one who held his silence so far piped up, voice almost a drawl. "Slender?"

Yang shook her head. "No, curvy."

"What kind of question is that?" Weiss could not help but comment.

"Just checking. One moment." So saying, the suit stepped away to talk into a radio.

A thoughtful Pyrrha joined the three during that lull in conversation. "We will escort Selina back to Beacon," she explained. "Please message one of us once this matter is resolved."

"Of course," Weiss answered with a nod. Pyrrha returned the gesture and retreated again. At the same time Weiss took notice how the remaining suit straightened up. She had to wonder if name-dropping Beacon was done on purpose.

The first suit returned moments later and pushed open the gate. "Boss says you can go in, just behave." Weiss thanked him and moved on, only for a startled question to stop her: "Hold on, what's that thing?"

Looking back, they were pointing at their small follower. Penny smiled. "Oh, of course. Come here, Ghost." He walked up once beckoned, only for Penny to pick him up. "He is completely harmless, I promise! Hic" The suit stared at her for a long moment. Whether he failed to notice the concerning lie or did not care, he waved Penny through.

Another suit opened the door for the three women, who were greeted by the sound of a violin. Yang chuckled at that. "Wow, I thought the music was just a movie thing." She nudged Weiss, who barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

"This is Ms. Neopolitan," the woman at the door explained helpfully. "She often practices over noon."

So they had a name to the owner or their daughter, although Yang did not seem to recognise it. Either way, Weiss felt proper etiquette had to be observed. "Do relay my compliments. She plays quite well." It was not a lie, either.

"Of course, miss."

Almost as soon as the door closed behind them, a playful voice sounded from their left: "Now now, what do we have here? A gaggle of schoolgirls?"

Yang groaned halfway through, burying her head in her hands with a desperate "Why?!"; Weiss and Penny were studying the man leaning in a doorway; his state of dress was impeccable, the suit well tailoured, and his confident smirk only mildly annoying. Then he decided to mime finger guns at Yang.

"Heya, blondie. Short time no see. How's your friend doing? Ruby, was it?"

Completely ignorant of the implication that these two knew each other, Penny began to muse: "How odd, the only Ruby you mentioned is your sister. Do you know any other Rubies?"

"Oh, sister? You two don't look alike at all." His quip prompted a heavy sigh, to which he huffed. Admittedly, Weiss could see the humour in driving her teammate to despair. She was also confused and had no time to figure out why this bothered Yang so much; the man looked them over. "But enough of that, who else do we have. Weiss Schnee, pretty obvious... and a ginger I don't know, holding what I really hope is not a Grimm."

"Oh, I am Penny. Nice to meet you, sir. And no, Ghost is not a Grimm."

He squinted for just a moment, then strolled forward casually. Weiss took notice of his smooth motion and the fact he seemed perfectly at ease. A hand was offered to her, which she shook with a polite smile. "A pleasure to meet you, mister....?"

"Torchwick. Roman Torchwick, at your service."

"I am afraid I am not familiar with your work, Mr. Torchwick."

"Oh, I wouldn't expect you to. Atlas is far and I rarely cut deals with the SDC."

Yang had listened to their introductions with a stormy face. At this point she chimed in: "Didn't you buy a ton of Dust just last week?"

He threw the blonde another smirk in response. "Well, yes. But I buy locally and for good reason."

Weiss nodded at that. "Supporting local businesses is perfectly understandable, of course. You are a businessman then?"

Roman winked at her while Yang groaned. "No, Weiss." She spoke slowly as if talking to a toddler. If not for what came next, Weiss would have been indignant: "He's a crime boss. Like, the crime boss in Vale. How haven't you heard of him?"

While the atleseans still stared at her in confusion, Roman piped up snidely: "Oh calm down already. It's not like I kick puppies for fun. Or kitties, for that matter." The emphasis had Yang on edge and finally confirmed that they had the right place. Roman caught their change in demeanour instantly. "Now considering there's three of you, I guess the stray I picked up yesterday is your teammate?"

Weiss nodded, now more reluctant. Torchwick returned the gesture and motioned them forward. "Good. Come on."

They were led into a tastefully furnished sitting room, currently occupied by but one faunus. Not the one they came to find, though; it was a mostly plain man with glasses and a stubby, brown and white tail. He glanced sideways at the sound of their entry, only to jump to his feet at the sight of Weiss.

"What the hell?! What's a Schnee doing here?"

Weiss bristled, but Roman pre-empted her with a roll of his eyes. "Can it, Acorn? She's here to pick up her wayward teammate, obviously. At least now I get why kitty ran off to begin with."

"Excuse me?"

Acorn glowered. "That explains a whole lot," he agreed and drew a knife. Penny pushed in front of Weiss in an instant. "Now-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a gasp. A kitchen knife ran along his throat, belonging to a diminutive yet well-proportioned woman. Her hair split into pink and brown almost in the middle of her head. The suit she wore was second in quality only to Roman's and in her other hand she held a violin bow. Only now did Weiss realise the music stopped.

The sudden, foreboding silence was broken by Roman; his voice had lost the jovial note, revealing a far more dangerous man underneath: "Think very carefully what you were about to do, buddy. I told you lot before, all of Vale is my turf. If you want to operate here, you do it under my rules. And one of them has always been that you don't start shit in my house."

Be it the threats or the knife, Acorn shook with obvious fear. He nodded quickly, almost cutting himself. "I-I'm sorry."

"Good. I did you the favour you asked, we'll see where the girl goes from here. Now get out."

He left without a word. The woman Weiss suspected to be Neopolitan stalked after him. Three befuddled and faintly intimidated gazes followed.

Yang was the first to find her voice again. "Ooookay. That just happened."

"I am confused," Penny added. "If Mr. Torchwick is a criminal, why does he live in this house instead of being arrested?" Though a non-sequitur, this was an interesting question.

Roman just threw them another wink. "Why, I'm glad you asked! Atlesean just like little miss Schnee, I assume?" Penny nodded while Weiss bristled, though he paid her no mind. "Well, you see it is quite simple: a nice mixture of corruption and organised crime. There's no evidence connecting me to any of the bad stuff, I pay fines for the stuff they do get me for, and quite a few officers are willing to look the other way with some... encouragement. Being a known philantropist helps, too."

"But you just admitted all of this to hunters in training. We do have the legal authority to arrest you!"

"In Atlas, maybe. Vale's a bit tighter on who gets to play police. And in case that wasn't clear enough: it's not you. Now let's get back to your stray."

Roman hesitated there, which gave Weiss the chance to get her expression under control. She did not quite like how he talked down to them, but he was undeniably the person in charge right now.

His own frown cleared in the meantime. "Actually, one more thing. You already know she's Fang?" Three nods were given. "Good. The reason she's here, and that Acorn was, is that something went down recently. Nobody knows how or why, but Vale's White Fang chapter was wiped out."

This came as a surprise. Yang summarised for the team while Weiss was still struck speechless: "Wait, what? When?"

"Few weeks back," Roman answered, somewhat flippant but also wary. "Acorn's one of their agents in town, I heard it from him last week. A handful of the hundred guys made it out, everyone else is dead. The bull is gone, too. And you're here of all places because Acorn called me last night for a favour. Girl had a breakdown when he broke the news and no place for her to stay."

"And you lent aid why exactly?" Weiss could not help but inquire. Torchwick did not strike her as a charity worker. "I hardly believe you did it out of the goodness of your heart."

"Nope, I don't give a damn. But I did owe Acorn a favour and I always repay those."

That was fair enough in her opinion. Somehow, although she did judge his choice of path to walk, Weiss could not detest this man. He held an odd sort of honour to himself.

Just then Neopolitan stalked back in, sizing up the women and Ghost. Upon seeing no further hostility, she carried on into the next room; Penny's cheerful wave received an absent response, though. Neither her nor Weiss noticed that Ghost had been freed and walked away to explore. Roman shook his head with a grin. "Yeah, makes sense she's in a mood. Now let's get your kitten. I'll throw in lunch for the lot of you, can't say I'm a bad host."

They headed up after a quick stop at the kitchen to tell his cook about four more; Roman stayed behind, shooing them without a care in the world. For a moment Weiss wondered why he could be so blasé about it. Then she noticed the security cameras.

Entering the indicated room, they found Blake wrapped in a blanket. She silently stared out of the window from red-rimmed eyes, completely unresponsive. Her hair was disheveled, feline ears lying flat on her head.

The sight gave Weiss pause; she had meant to chew out their wayward teammate, but this tugged at her heartstrings. Her resolve crumbled and she could not bring herself to be firm. In fact she stood there helplessly and out of her depth; looking to her team earned a gentle shoulder clap from Yang, who thankfully took the lead. The blonde joined Blake on the bed, who belatedly gazed at Yang when the mattress sunk under her weight. Blake's head rotated upon recognising her partner, all but snapping to where Weiss and Penny were standing near the door.

"Wha-" "Shh."

Yang hugged her partner tight; Blake barely even squirmed, flabbergasted by their presence. Yang shushed her gently. "No talkie, okay? You had an awful night. Take as long as you need." Be it the words or what few shreds of composure Blake had crumbling, she melted into the embrace. Weiss's remaining anger drained away and was replaced with envy. She could not remember if anyone ever held her like this. It took a little while until she managed to shake off the notion; not only was it inappropriate at this time, she also did not need anything like this. It just made her weak.

After a few minutes of this, Weiss decided to busy herself by gathering Blake's discarded clothes. She needed that long to realise the other woman wore only her undergarments under the blanket she wrapped around herself. The rustle of her placing the pile on the bed drew Blake's attention. Their eyes met, but she averted her gaze.

"Weiss, I-" "No."

As much as she wanted to lash out, she was better than this. Weiss forced herself calm and nodded toward Yang. "As she said. We will speak later. As I understand, you and the deceased were close." Her words made Blake cringe, then nod. Weiss could not quite manage a smile, but the edge was equally absent from her voice: "Take your time."

"I hope she does not need too long," Penny commented. "I think lunch will be ready soon."

It took all three staring at her to realise her social ineptitude. "Did I say something weird?"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and said nothing. Yang sighed ever so quietly before squeezing Blake once more. "...whatever. Yeah, let's get some food into you and then go back."

"You, you want me back? But-" "Shh."

Yang stared back sternly. "No talkie. Now get dressed, we'll be right outside." She let go and rose as she said it; Weiss ushered Penny outside ahead of the blonde. Meanwhile, Blake nodded dumbly and began dressing herself.

Once it was just the three of them, Penny spoke up thoughtfully: "You are quite adept at handling her. Do you have prior experience with counseling?"

The question drew a wince from Yang, but she caught herself well enough. "Not really. But I have a little sister and no mom, so someone had to comfort her when she got upset."

Weiss nodded slowly while thinking of Winter. Her own sister was more distant than Yang seemed to be from Ruby. At the same time the atlesean wondered just what kind of person Ruby Rose may be.

"Is she okay?" Penny asked next, to which Yang threw her a smirk.

"Yeah. Ruby's cut from sterner stuff, not that you'd ever think it from how cute she is."

That was when Blake stepped out, clothes rumpled and hair unkempt. She was not exactly presentable, but it would do. Neither of them quite acknowledged the other as they shuffled down to lunch with Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan, or Neo. Conversation revealed several interesting factoids, too: for one, much to Penny's confusion, their hosts were neither father and daughter nor husband and wife. Admittedly, Weiss had not known the concept of platonic life partners before either.

In addition, Blake did remember meeting Selina in the past now; she apparently needed all these reminders with how many orphans there had been. Conversation grew more reserved after that.

By the end Weiss thanked Roman for the hospitality. She could not help but be impressed by the spread and his perfect manners. Her thanks were waved off, though. "A pleasure having you. I may be a criminal, but I do support our hunters where I can." He offered his hand to shake again and Weiss followed without thinking. When a slip of paper brushed against her palm, she snatched it in an instant. Roman winked and saw them out without any further comment.

Weiss waited three blocks before opening her hand and checking the folded note. The outside read 'to Ozpin', so she quickly made it vanish into her pocket.

"What was that?" Yang inquired curiously. Weiss shrugged, opting for nonchalance.

"Something to think of later."

Penny's head tilted slowly: "Did he give you his number?"

"What? No!"

The teasing started from there. Weiss did not appreciate that it was at her expense, but she grousingly accepted her fate this once. If only because even Blake managed to crack a small smile.

 

[Zoom]

The fact that this, doesn't get more traction within the community feels somewhat criminal.

I can't wait for the next chapter.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Oh, of course Adam's death would throw things off even harder than Ruby's changes. It must be hard to write Beacon content without Ruby.

I don't think I fully understand the picture you are painting of Roman and Neo's relationship, but it seems neat. Definitely better than the two of them dating. Roman is a lot more relaxed than he was in canon, no Cunder breathing down his neck; I can see how her threats would make his life hard. Ghost might be the first domino leading to Roman's downfall though; that little guy certainly doesn't care about criminals dying… and Acorn might have some aggressive feelings to work out right now.

I want to say it feels weird how much of a wet fart Pyrrha is in this fic. However it is possible that it is building toward something; contrasting the canon Fall Maiden storyline with her choices in this fic could the interesting. Depends how much we get to see from the inside of her head.

You are doing a great job writing Weiss. You picked a good point in the timeline for it too, as demonstrated with the first few paragraphs. I think most of us can relate to Weiss's envy when Yang was caring for Blake.

 

[Hylas_Daemonem]

Absolutely love this fic. I think it's the only successfully interesting HK crossover I've ever read! Perhaps because The Radience has a voice to cry suffering. The Ghost doesn't have much character, nor means of expression, but is fun to see around. And Grim is, of course, the absolute best.

 

[Naron]

I really appreciate the praise a lot, everyone. Thank you.

It must be hard to write Beacon content without Ruby.

Click to shrink...

Not particularly. Her not being there made it much easier to shake things up as I wanted them. As for Pyrrha, I may misunderstand what you mean by 'wet fart', but she always struck me as a doormat outside of the arena. Or a silk-hiding-steel type if we want to be favourable, which would fit with her being from the Remnant equivalent of Asia. In retrospect, I think this is close to how I went at writing her.

 

[NightmareWarden]

I really appreciate the praise a lot, everyone. Thank you.

Not particularly. Her not being there made it much easier to shake things up as I wanted them. As for Pyrrha, I may misunderstand what you mean by 'wet fart', but she always struck me as a doormat outside of the arena. Or a silk-hiding-steel type if we want to be favourable, which would fit with her being from the Remnant equivalent of Asia. In retrospect, I think this is close to how I went at writing her.

Click to shrink...

I got the impression that Pyrrha was still acting coldly towards Selina. Like. She was not throwing a tantrum or doing anything improper? But she is still putting zero effort into bonding with Selina, perhaps due to racism, but a bit of her… incompetence at being a normal, self-aware teenager (eith zero experience at making friends) making things worse too.