"Hello sister~"
Weiss sighed irritably as she stopped her current attempt at training her Semblance to address the current annoyance. "Whitley…"
"Father's wanted your attention for something, I'm assuming it's for your upcoming nuptials and he wants you to look perfect for your groom to be." Whitley continued to say as he knew how she felt about the whole thing and desired to rub in her dismay as much as he could.
Weiss growled in frustrated annoyance; Since Jacques had betrothed her to the heir to the Arc Branch of Demon Hunters, she had been under constant watch to ensure that she didn't have any more "childish tantrums" and Whitley was all too willing to be his second pair of eyes. "Shouldn't you be hovering around Father and praising him every time that he blows his nose? Because I'm certain that would be more productive than trying to snoop on me." She remarked in a rather frosty tone before resting Myrtenaster with the point down.
"I'm already well on my way to being a model child for him; No distractions, no bad influences for friends and my grades are all perfect...It's a lot more than what you've offered to Father as of late." Whitley sniped back at her with a wry smirk. "Though I am rather curious as to why you've suddenly lost your mind as of late; Lashing out at the party, going to Beacon instead of Atlas AND you've ignored him at every turn…It's a far cry from the responsible big sister that I used to know."
"I didn't lose my mind…I just happened to realise that what I want and what Father wants are two completely different things." Weiss curtly said as she glared at him; "I have nothing to prove to him anymore and I certainly don't need to for you." She continued before resting a hand on her hip; "Besides, it's none of your business to know about my personal life when you've seen to it that I don't get one anymore."
"Oh, I think it is." Whitley mentioned cryptically as he stepped into her room and shut the door behind him. "Because what on earth would Father say when he realises that those "rumours" about you getting rather close with a Demon are actually true? That would be a very, VERY bad start for being around your fiance." He sneered as he decided to play his hand to her.
Weiss felt her blood run cold, he was bluffing…Wasn't he? "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything of the sort!" She rebuked him and clenched her fist.
Whitley chuckled condescendingly like he had caught Weiss doing something embarrassing instead of threatening her. "Please, dear sister…You should know that lying is unbecoming…and people talk in this house." He tutted then looked to her; "I managed to overhear Mother during one of her…Delightful talks with Winter while she visited and they both seemed to be elated that you have found someone, though I have to ask: What would Father say if he should find out?"
"Then it would mean that he can call off this charade of a betrothal and leave me alone to go find someone for you." Weiss said bluntly, trying to put up a brave front in the face of this veiled threat.
"Oh, Weiss…Even you cannot be that naive, it'd be foolish not to do as Father asks." Whitley reminded her as he decided to push it further; "You know that our father is traditional when it comes to these matters…The fact that you supposedly have someone you deem to be worthy is immaterial." He continued to talk while Weiss kept feeling the urge to throttle him grow.
"I don't know what you think you're trying to do by telling me any of this, but Father should have some better things to be concerned about rather than my social life." Weiss argued back as she tried to keep calm but her tone still managed to rise.
"Then maybe I should address it to Father; I'm fairly certain that if you refuse to marry the candidate that he picks for you, that won't change a thing…" Whitley said with that same level of calm and manipulative tone that Weiss often heard her father use when he wanted her to do something. "But once I tell him that the boy you so adore is the one who was part of the reason why he can no longer profit from exporting Dust, part of why you haven't been obeying him or my favourite part: That he is the Demon which your "fiance" is tasked to hunt down…It wouldn't be a surprise if Father wasn't the first one to point that out to the Arcs or even drawing up a noose of his own for that mongrel. Rather fitting for him, don't you think?"
Weiss couldn't even believe that her own little brother was talking like this; Her father's influence on him was shocking but the fact that this outright disdain struck an uncomfortable nerve for her, she knew that her first words about Jae hadn't been the nicest and while she did change her thinking; Being back in Atlas showed her what she would have become if she hadn't changed her thinking or if she had never left Atlas. "I think I'm beginning to understand…"
"Hm…And what exactly do you plan on accomplishing while stuck in this room until your wedding day?" Whitley smirked as he decided to keep twisting the knife. "What could possess you to think that you have any wiggle room at all in this?"
"I'm going to make sure that my answer to that is one that you, father and anyone else who ask that cannot be ignored." Weiss said as she stood up and stared him down like a hawk watching a rodent scuttle around. "Oh…And Whitley? I think if you so much as touch a single hair on his head, I'm going to wear your guts like Mother's pashmina."
The sudden change in intensity threw Whitley for a loop and almost made him drop his calm visage, however he stood strong despite the fact that Weiss was not shouting like he thought she would at the threats he made. "Ex…cuse you?"
"I'm sorry, did I not speak loudly enough for you?" Weiss continued as she decided to make it clear that this was a line she was obstinately refusing to let him cross. "I said, if you hurt him, Yang or any of my friends, I will make sure that you will physically experience a living Hell beyond anything you could possibly imagine. A tailor made torment that will make you regret every action, every bad thought and every ill intent towards me, one that will be paid back in full." She continued in her not quite as veiled threat towards her little brother.
"I…You…"
Weiss continued to focus a stare so cold and threatening that it could make Winter look like a warm and gentle person. "I may be stuck in this house with you, but if you do ANYTHING to threaten any of the people I care about…I don't care if you are my brother or if Father holds you in a higher esteem than me: You touch them…And I'll personally, painstakingly remove any reason to call you a boy." She said with a tranquil yet equally warning tone as she nudged Whitley to the door of her room.
The fact that the room felt frozen under Weiss's ever growing ire and directed at him without her even raising her voice, it made Whitley's face change from a smug, superior sense of entitlement into a barely held together sense of confidence. "Y-you should hear how ridiculous you sound right now!" Whitley blustered as felt his body shake with the newfound feeling of actual fear of Weiss made him waver. "Th-that bluff of your's won't change a thing, you wouldn't actually have the nerve to do anything like that in your own home." He said to offset the cold shiver but rather unconvincingly yelped when he saw the tip of Myrtenaster thrust forward toward him but then saw that same door creak open behind him with her gravity Glyph.
"I don't recall stuttering." She remarked before quickly shutting the door and locking it.
"You can say anything you want, sister…But that doesn't change the fact that you will stay stuck in there." Whitley said from behind the door before finally walking off, simply thinking that this was Weiss's idea of being a stubborn child.
After hearing the footsteps away from her door and allowing that air of tension to die down; Weiss gazed down at her weapon and then to her reflection in the mirror, in the past she would look to it and see only a lonely girl that watched the world from a silver pane, now she could see her team alongside her in her memories. Whether it was good times like the Dance or if it was frustrating such as trying to get Ruby to study, it was times like that where she felt more at home than her own. "I promise, I'll find a way back to you all…"
"So…That's the long and sho-What, really? No questions from anyone?" Qrow asked as he took a swig from his flask and looked to the bewildered four sat opposite of him; After their encounter with Tyrian, Ren and Ruby both decided that it was best to camp for the night so that they could keep an eye on monitoring Qrow following the wound he took from the Scorpion Faunus.
"Of course we have questions, it's just a lot to accept." Ren pointed out as he was still trying to come to grips with everything that the Scythe Master had laid on them.
Qrow was so transparent with them that he may as well have been glass; With Ruby having Silver Eyes and what that entailed, the Grimm being lead by the group Cinder worked for and on top of that: The Gods and the Relics that they left behind when they disappeared.
"Yeah, can't really blame you…But you also can't really afford to keep going to Haven without knowing the full story." Qrow pointed out as he then noticed that Jae was unusually quiet. "What about you, kid? This fill in any gaps for you?"
Ruby could feel the uncomfortable tension even without Jae remaining silent; "So…These Maidens…They can all use Magic and every time that they die, they just transition to someone else?"
"Whoever's in their thoughts last…It's an important distinction." Qrow corrected her as he looked to the fire. "In all honesty, it was something that we had hoped to keep quiet for a little longer but you saw that quickly got out of hand."
"And when were you going to tell us that this was what you tried to do to Pyrrha…" Jae spoke up; His face looking thunderstruck and the fact that he had now put together the words that Qrow said and the recent mood changes in Pyrrha before Beacon had fallen. "The night that the Tower fell…I saw what you guys and Ozpin planned and you just…"
Qrow sighed as he took a drink; Granted he had expected this reaction from them and even moreso from Jae but he also knew that they were all kept in the dark for a reason. "Look…It was complicated enough to talk about it together but we also didn't really have much of a choice when we knew what was at stake."
"So you just dropped all of this on Pyrrha and hoped that she would say yes…" Jae growled as he stood up, the look of irritation was quickly breaking into one of anger; "Because that's not how you get a protector, that's how you get someone scared enough to be forced into going along with anything you say."
"Jae, hold on a-" Ruby intervened to try and keep things even tempered but Qrow held up his hand to let her know it was okay.
"We didn't force anything on her…" Qrow explained as he drank from his flask; "We told her about everything just like we did with you, we gave her a choice and she chose…You should know that because you were there for that decision."
Jae's face lost some of it's anger as he realised it and it left him conflicted; He wanted to yell at Qrow, to curse him out for pushing Pyrrha into this, for putting both her and him into what was ultimately a loaded decision. The only thing that stopped him from doing this was that the grief and the guilt left behind by his own inability to help anything sucked all of the wind out of his sails, leaving only one option for Jae to follow: He walked away from the campfire and the group to clear his mind.
"So…If you knew that we were heading for Haven and you were on your way there too…Why not just tell us?" Ruby asked as she tried to probe more out of her uncle, noticing that the feelings of wanting to help Jae were mutual when she saw Nora restraining herself and Ren gently holding onto Nora's wrist for solidarity.
"Or come along with us? It would've made travel a lot easier." Ren added as he found the words to ask since he was trying to choose everything carefully.
"That and it would've helped stop us from having rocks thrown at us." Nora added with a petty snip towards Qrow.
"Nora…"
"No, I'm not gonna just let this guy talk his way out of it, Ruby's uncle or not." Nora reaffirmed herself as she glared at Qrow; "You know how people look at Jae after the broadcast, how we've had to walk on eggshells around people and conduct business separately because of what happened!"
"I know…But me being around wouldn't have helped anyone, if anything…It would have made everything worse." Qrow said with a more serious tone; "Besides, I've had my own reasons for traveling like I had been."
"What exactly was it that stopped you? If you knew about Tyrian, the Maidens AND about what could be happening, coming with us would've been a lot easier." Ruby repeated as she was determined to make sure that everyone was on the same page but equally to find out why Qrow was being like this.
"Because he was using you as bait." Jae said bitterly from the outcrop as he chimed in; "He only showed up when Tyrian was drawn out and when we were too out of our league to think straight." He pointed out as he looked to Qrow; "All we want are answers; The world's potentially at war, the bad guys are probably ahead of us and Haven's next on the list so can you PLEASE just tell us what is going on!"
"Can you just sit down…You're giving me a headache and that scratch is not helping things…" Qrow finally relented as he drank from his flask. "Anyway…It's probably better that everyone remains on the same page so before I continue…You fill them in on exactly how far you've come, kid?"
Jae was feeling a myriad of emotions swirling in his stomach but the fact that everyone now knew that he was involved in whatever Qrow was talking about and that he had yet to tell them about his side regarding the Sword. "No…I haven't…It's probably better that we wait until we get somewhere actually safe before I-"
"Jae…Just tell us." Nora stopped him because this went far beyond the feelings of survivor's guilt and the necessity to keep a level head; While Ren was able to respect Jae's privacy…Maybe a little too much, Nora had noticed plenty of times that there was something eating at Jae and she felt that if she or anyone pushed it, it'd end in a way no one would want.
Jae sighed as he stared into the fire for the right words to begin with before starting to explain; "When I went to go see Ozpin during the Vytal Tournament, he told me that there was something that I could do to help us for some unknown enemy…One that I now know is Salem and her group."
The others nodded along with equal parts concern and a small level of relief that Jae was giving them some insight into what he was dealing with.
"Ozpin showed me that he had a sword that belonged to the Demon King Sparda and hoped that I could somehow wield it…In the same way that Pyrrha was to become the next Fall Maiden." Jae explained before then lifting up his shirt on one side to reveal the scar that he took from Cinder when she stabbed him. "As you can guess, it went about as well as you'd expect…Now I don't know what's changed about me and what stayed the same." He said honestly.
Ren was wideyed at the sight of the jagged wound on Jae's body; The biggest surprise was that this particular injury was permanently marked on him, unlike the other times that he saw Jae getting hurt or injured with no visible effects.
Nora was feeling her concerns validate one by one as she quickly noticed that the way Jae acted during their fight with Tyrian, his recent outings into the forest at night and how his body seemed to warp sometimes in small ways was linked to what had happened back at Beacon.
Ruby's hands gently covered her mouth as she had flashbacks to Yang and Blake lying on the floor with their bodies wounded, though that did leave one question in mind. "Is that…Is that why your aura looks so different now?" She asked as she knew that asking about anything physical wouldn't help much. "And why you changed into whatever that was when Qrow showed up?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it…His Aura was a weird grey colour before." Ren pointed out as he could remember some vague parts during the manic attacks from Tyrian. "But this time it's purple…And it looks off, like an artificial colour."
Qrow nodded; "We can speculate as much as we want but only Ozpin really knows the truth about these particular changes…I didn't find out about the kid or the sword until I got to Beacon for the Tournament…But I also have a reason why I didn't go with you."
"Let me guess…It's complicated." Jae grumbled with a less than pleased look as he expected another deflection from Qrow at this point. "I've showed my hand in this, the least you can do is give us that much."
"I…" Qrow sighed as he then decided to really explain so that he could offset some of the mistrust. "My Semblance is a bane for other people; While I can make it work for enemies, it's a problem for making time around allies and family." He explained as he then poked at the fire with a stick; "My Semblance isn't something I can control: It literally turns every situation around me into the worst possible luck…It can make an enemy's swing miss but it'll also make someone who's fighting alongside me get hit by a rebound or a misfire."
"A literal bad luck charm…" Jae remarked dryly as he then felt a sudden sting in his body, while he was able to shrug it off; He knew that something was going to happen so he did the only thing he could think of. "You can fill everyone else in on why Ozpin kept the sword in Beacon…Something tells me that we're not alone." He remarked as he headed for the trees and vanished into the dark.
The others started getting up but Qrow waved them back down again; "Let him be, this whole things given you four a lot to think about...And him especially." He said but noticed that the three of them had concern written all over their faces and he couldn't really fault them. "For now, you guys get some rest, I'll make sure Mr. Grump gets sleep too."
"Uncle Qrow…Is there anything else that we need to know?" Ruby asked him as she felt like even with everything that Qrow told them and what Jae said about his situation, it all felt like something was still not answered.
The haunting caw of a bird nestling in a tree stopped Qrow from answering her and made him realise that he couldn't trust that what was said was between them. "Not tonight…"
Jae was wandering through the brush and doing his best to gain some distance from the group; His body was starting to ache and it felt like every pump of blood through his body was scraping at him with the feeling of sandpaper, he finally collapsed to his knees while he grabbed onto a nearby branch to stop himself from fully hitting the floor when he saw a familiar face in front of him.
"You certainly are a sight for sore eyes." Raven snarked while leaning against a tree as she stared down the struggling Jae, "Though I'm guessing that you're not in the mood for reunions."
"Go…Away…" Jae groaned as he tried to get up. "I thought I made it clear that I don't want anything to do with you."
"You did…But you're forgetting one important thing: I'm a bandit." Raven said and gave off her swaggering pose that he had seen Yang unconsciously do multiple times before. "If I just gave up on claiming what I want just because I get told to back off…I'd be a bad bandit AND an idiot."
"What do you want?" Jae asked as he readjusted himself to sit and rest his back against a tree. "Because I am really not in the mood for this."
"I can tell…" Raven remarked as she noticed the pained look on his face, though she wasn't exactly the most empathetic person to meet. "You look like shit."
"Funny, because I feel like it…So again: How did you even know I was here anyway?" Jae asked, both curious as to how Raven knew where to find him and also a little concerned that if she was here, there was a chance that the others would get jumped.
"Mistral's my territory to run around in...Plus I've got eyes and ears everywhere." Raven partly admitted; "That and the fight you had in the forest wasn't exactly subtle, so kudos to whatever you did." She halfheartedly complimented him as she decided to keep her distance for the time being.
"Bite me…"
"Oh, I thought you weren't interested in that kind of arrangement~" Raven said with a teasing smirk as she sat opposite of him; "Though in all honesty; After seeing that fight you went through with one of Salems lieutenants and coming out like you have, I can safely say that you are making a very compelling investment for the tribe…So my offer still stands for you to join me."
Jae grimaced as a fresh wave of pain radiated from his chest and down his arm. "I thought I told you, I'm not interested…In the tribe OR you!" He argued back as he dug his fingers into the dirt to try blocking out the urge to groan out in pain.
"Pity…Because for someone who is now the Number One suspect in the Fall of Beacon, the first real indicator that you are potentially one of the first powerful Demons to re-emerge into Remnant since Sparda and his descendants…" Raven explained and noticed the guilt showing on Jae's face, "AND the fact that you can't even save a single person in a backwater village without getting slapped or spat on….I would say that you're better off burning bridges and siding with me…Siding with the Strong."
"I already told you; I'm not abandoning the others and I'm NOT abandoning the goal that I've been striving to do for years." Jae argued back as he then began coughing into his hand, one that had already started to scale over and form a claw.
"Really? The goal that was beaten into you by a piece of shit father? The same goal that made your own mother run away from you?" Raven pointed out as she held her hand out to him; "Come along with me; I'll heal up your wounds, give you a place where you can be respected AND I'll even hold up my promise to help you track her down…You can trust me to know that I can do that much."
"Leave…Me…ALONE!" Jae growled through grit teeth as he waved his hand angrily, though his only rebuttal was a sigh of annoyance and to see that Raven was gone when he looked up. "If I'm going to be seeing her follow us…This could be a lo-" He mumbled to himself before he collapsed to the ground in a coughing fit before vomiting up a puddle of purple and red, his body convulsing in a combination of pain from the fight and from the poison.
It didn't take long for the Grimm to appear in the dark of the woods; Beowolves, Ursa and even the likes of a Beringel started to show for what they perceived as a wounded animal.
However the "prey" that was hunched over in a fetal position finally raised itself up to stare them down; Something that looked human but slowly losing what made it that way, Jae's face had cracked even more to the point that he looked like a porcelain doll that had taken a hammer to the face, his whole left cheek looked like it had broken away up to under the eye and showed a dark hollow space inside, though on closer inspection: It looked like dozens of black scales moving inside of that hole.
An inquisitive Beowolf decided to try being the first to attack but by the time it's mouth opened to clamp down on Jae's throat; It had collapsed to the floor in a smoking heap with it's mask completely peeled from it's face, any passerby would've mistaken it for a large black wolf that collapsed on the ground.
The other Grimm watched with a mix of curiosity and a growing sense of caution as the hunched creature that they had cornered, the cracked and growling man-beast was holding onto the Beowolf's cleanly ripped off mask in it's clawed hand.
This creature roared back at them with an unholy screech of fury as his mouth dripped with purple bile and the mask in it's grip splintered like fragile china, the forest rang out with the sounds of roars and impacts followed by the chilling lull of silence.