A Semblance of Emotion 030

“There is a shipment of Dust arriving in five days,” Weiss informed them a few days later, her expression tight. She’d spent much of her free time lately at the CCT, in constant calls with the Schnee Dust Company. As heiress, she had full access to things like logistical reports, shipping manifests and geological surveys mapping possible locations of future mines among other things, but it was much more different to gain knowledge of such things without alerting her father.

Why she didn’t want her father knowing that she was digging around in information she had a right to, Jaune didn’t know but he had a good enough idea to guess.

She’d built a strong enough rapport over the years with people within the company to shield her inquiries but doing it this way had taken time, and had caused no small amount of stress in the white haired girl.

“It’s already in transit, and it will arrive by ship,” she continued. They were all seated in the library, in various stages of homework completion. With the end of term approaching, they were being hammered from all angles and exam season was about to begin. While Jaune felt that they all had decent grades, Weiss wanted to push for the top – and so, their study sessions were born. “Blake – what do you think? Is this the sort of bold target they would go after next?”

Blake nodded shortly. “If it were a train, they would make a move on the cargo before it arrived in the city. Disconnecting a few cars isn’t so difficult and much safer than attempting a heist in the city. They would face some resistance but nothing they couldn’t handle. A ship is much more difficult,” she frowned. “While they could try to board while still at sea, that would require more manpower and equipment. Those ships are outfitted to cross Grimm infested waters and would put up heavy resistance – and not to mention how difficult it would be to get the cargo off the ship in the first place. They would require airships or boats large enough to carry shipping containers, or at least big enough to carry that amount of Dust.”

Everyone knew that aquatic Grimm were some of the most terrifying, powerful Grimm in existence. Many of them grew to massive proportions and trade vessels crossing the sea practically kept their own personal army on board in the event of an attack. They were just as much an attack vessel as a cargo ship, mounted with powerful Dust cannons to fight off the terrors of the deep.

Weiss nodded. “So if they do go after it, it’ll be at the docks. That is the only place where it will be all in one place, on land, with… paltry protection. Once it gets moved, it’ll be split up – targeting it then would just be inefficient.”

“So,” Nora looked at all of them. “What do we do?”

That decision was taken out of their hands. Midway through the week, they were informed about their final credit assignment for Survival and Navigation for the semester.

“You will be spending a week in the wilderness, in a location of our choosing,” Professor Peach told them, a few of their classmates groaning. “The point of the assignment is simple. You and your partner will be required to travel from your starting point to a designated endpoint, where you will meet with a proctor to end the exam. If you are late, you fail. If you die, you fail. Easy, right?” she asked cheerily, as if she just hadn’t mentioned the possibility of death. Her sun hat tilted precariously atop her head but didn’t fall. “Everything I have shown you in this class should have adequately prepared you for such an endeavor. Some missions will take you deep into untouched land where Grimm rule, and every step must be carefully considered and planned. There will be no one to help you if things go wrong, so if you believe you and your partner aren’t ready, inform me at once.”

No one said a word.

“You leave tomorrow,” she said in response to their silence. That caused a bit of a commotion, catching them off guard and she only smiled in reply. It was such short notice. “The life of a Huntsman is unpredictable. Please report to the landing pads at six tomorrow morning. You will be supplied with any necessary equipment to complete your task, but you can also bring whatever you deem important. Within reason, of course.”

Weiss was unimpressed – for a couple of reasons.

“I’ve never been away from civilization for such a long period of time,” she confessed after class, her expression pinched. “These classes and initiation are the extent of my experience. I… am lacking in this field, I fear.”

Lucky for her, Blake more than made up the gap with her own experience in the matter.

“It’s okay,” Blake tried to cheer her up. “You’re strong and a fast learner. We’ll go over some things tonight, if you want?”

Weiss nodded gratefully. “I would very much appreciate that, thank you,” she then sighed. “We’ve another problem, though. The shipment will arrive while we are gone.”

There was really only one course of action they could take.

Inform the Headmaster and hope for the best. In some ways, this was the better option. Jaune had already been toying with the idea of informing him, but he’d been waiting until Weiss returned with knowledge of a potential target.

Blake sighed. “I – we should go together, Weiss.”

The heiress nodded. “Yes, of course. Nora, Jaune – we will join you at dinner.”

Since Survival and Navigation was their last class for the day, they went straight to the Headmaster. As he watched them go, Jaune felt glad that they’d been able to sort out their differences before this exam. Imagining them out in the wilds together for a week when things still festered between them… well, that would have been a disaster.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve slept in a tree,” Nora mused quietly.

There was a hint of melancholy in her voice, and something else.

Even now, he didn’t know much of Nora’s past – or Ren’s, for they were linked. He’d caught a few things over the last couple of months but nothing concrete. All he knew is that they’d been together for a long time, and something had brought them together. They weren’t family by blood but by circumstance. What that circumstance was?

He didn’t know.

Her eyes were far away. Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to meet his eyes.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

Jaune smiled. “I’ll be with you.”

Her smile was instant, that far away look fading as she beamed. “I know. Did you think I’d let you get away? We’re stuck together, Jaune-Jaune. You’ve ruined me for everyone else.”

Jaune grimaced and she laughed, overjoyed by his reaction.

He informed his boss that he would be taking another absence. A quick explanation was all it took, for which he appreciated. They’d known that his schooling would sometimes take precedence, and whenever he was around he did the work of several men due to his aura enhanced strength. It more than made up for the days he was absent.

He made sure to pack his bag that night. While they were being provided with equipment, things like clothing and any personal tools were on them. Jaune didn’t have any idea where they were being sent. It could be hot, cold, wet, snowing – they were getting closer to winter, so depending on the region, it might already be in full swing – so he made sure to pack warm clothes, and something that would keep him dry.

He also included the knife he made in class. It was about time it got field tested.

They all woke up bright and early, much to Weiss’ chagrin. It was still dark outside, though a hint of fiery orange tinted the horizon. The sun was coming. They let her shower first in a bid to wake her up, and when they were all washed and ready, they made their way as a team down to the landing pads. A few other teams were already waiting, though they looked half-dead, sleepy eyes blinking blearily.

A group of men were going over several Bullheads, top to bottom, checking them over and ticking off a list on their clipboards. Dust Cells were being loaded into each ship, slotted into the engine and sealed with a snapping hiss, while ammunition was loaded into the mounted machine-gun bays. Supplies were also being loaded inside, backpacks, camping gear and more.

“I should have stopped for coffee,” Weiss said miserably as she tried to fight off a yawn. She was unsuccessful. That set off a chain reaction.

“Weiss,” Nora complained as her mouth stretched involuntarily, a yawn escaping her lips. “You can’t just let one rip without warning.”

Ice blue eyes narrowed. “I don’t like the way you phrased that.”

Blake clamped her jaw shut but it was pointless. She yawned anyway, her lips trembling as she tried to keep her mouth shut unsuccessfully.

Jaune remained unaffected.

Nora eyed him up and down. “Inhuman.”

Blake agreed. “Monster.”

“Just because I didn’t yawn?”

“Unnatural,” they said together.

Blake met his eyes, and they crinkled as she smiled. He smiled back, and though he saw her cheeks pinken a little, she didn’t look away this time.

Team RPRY joined them soon after.

“Did we really have to leave so early?” Yang complained loudly, hands locked behind her head. “I feel like I barely got any sleep.”

“Nervous?” Blake asked.

Yang shook her head. “Excited. It’s about time they’re letting us loose,” she then clucked her tongue. “Not having a shower is going to be rough, though.”

Weiss made a sound of agreement.

Ruby was chipper, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Excited?” Jaune asked and she nodded happily.

“I put together some new ammunition for Crescent Rose. I’ve been wanting to test it out on some Grimm, it’s going to be so cool,” she said with a dreamy expression. Ruby was the only person he knew that got romantic about bullets and Grimm. “They’re gonna go boom and waaaah.”

“I don’t think Grimm make that second sound,” Pyrrha chimed in, amused. Like Jaune and Ruby, she was completely unfazed by the early hour.

“Well they will after I hit them with these bad boys,” she patted the rounds displayed on her belt fondly.

“How are they different?” Jaune asked, curious.

Ruby grinned. “I mixed some of the Dust types around, things you don’t usually see together – like this one is Ice and Gravity, and this other one is Fire and Earth. I also – ah, hehe – put a lot more Dust in than is recommended.”

“Ruby,” Weiss sighed, overhearing their conversation. “If you aren’t careful, you’ll blow yourself up.”

“Who said I wasn’t careful?” Ruby pouted. “I’ve been reading all those Dust for Dummy books you gave me, even though I already know what I’m doing – I’ll be fine.”

“Fire and Earth together form Lava Dust,” Weiss said coolly. “There is a reason it isn’t typically used in ammunition. If you’ve gotten the measurements wrong and it detonates early, it’ll melt right through Crescent Rose. An expensive mistake.”

Ruby’s face twitched.

“It’ll be fiiine – I think.”

“You’ve tested them on their own already, haven’t you?” Ren asked.

Ruby’s silence told them everything they needed to know.

“Good luck,” Weiss told Yang with no emotion, completely deadpan.

Yang laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m used to this. If it blows up in her face, I’ll let you all know.”

“It isn’t going to blow up in my face,” Ruby muttered mulishly.

When Professor Peach arrived, it was time. They were divided into different groups. Nora and Jaune ended up on an airship with Pyrrha and Ren, Gray Wood and Melissa Stone, and a few others. Their chairs were all labeled with their names, and each chair had their supplies for the mission strapped down and ready for them. Gray took one look at Nora and grimaced. He still hadn’t completely gotten over getting nailed between the legs by Magnhild at the beginning of the year.

Melissa nodded at him and Jaune returned it in kind. While he didn’t really know them that way, he did recall that they’d helped when he’d been stung by the Rapier Wasps.

It wasn’t long until they were airborne. They didn’t have any windows, and so Jaune couldn’t tell which direction they were flying in. All he could do was settle in for the ride.

One of the other duos was let out first, and as the bay doors lowered, he made out a sea of trees stretching to the horizon. When they stopped next, they were on the coast somewhere; a beach with black sand greeted them, waves crashing violently upon the shore. One by one, their number dwindled until it was just Ren and Pyrrha remaining apart from them.

When the bay doors opened next, the intercom crackled to life.

“Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos,” it announced.

They unstrapped themselves and grabbed their supplies.

“Renny,” Nora suddenly said, and a look passed between them. Ren nodded, face tight.

“Stay safe,” he said in return, and Nora nodded.

Jaune shared a look with Pyrrha.

“See you in a week,” Jaune offered.

Pyrrha nodded, determined. “See you in a week.”

They watched them leap out of the airship. The trees here were different than the ones from earlier; the forest was denser, and the trees taller. Then the doors shut and they were on the move once again.

“Lucky last,” Nora said. Her voice was different, lacking humor. Not just humor. It was lacking much of anything at all.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

Jaune didn’t press, and he’d already said it before but, “I’m here.”

“I know.”

When it was their turn to jump from the bullhead, the first thing Jaune noticed were the towering trees. There was the forest canopy, lush and thick like a blanket of green leaves, and then there was the second canopy high above, courtesy of these behemoths. They were huge, bigger than the massive redwoods back home and for a moment, Jaune just stared at them in surprise.

He also spotted a mountain range in the distance, the peaks already capped with snow before he grabbed his personal bag and the supply bag they’d been given.

“Good luck,” they heard from the intercom before they were falling, a rush of air rushing up to meet them as they plummeted through the canopies and to the ground. Jaune hit the ground hard, his legs absorbing the impact while Nora kicked off the truck of a tree and touched down lightly.

The airship’s engines roared as they pulled away, and they saw the shadow pass over them before it began its journey back to Vale. They were now completely alone.

The ground was damp, covered in a carpet of dead leaves and moss. From the smell of the air, it had rained recently but from what he’d seen moments before they dropped, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky that remained. It had well and truly moved on. It was neither hot nor cold, mild, comfortable.

“Let’s check our things first,” Jaune suggested and Nora nodded, crouching down to help him unpack.

There was a small tent, large enough for two people to lay down in, as well as a pair of sleeping bags. A Dust powered camping stove, along with two pots of differing sizes. Two full water bottles, as well as purifying tablets – though those were limited. Rations; beef jerky, canned goods, crackers. Things that would last in the field for a while. Two knives, one for each of them, though Jaune had brought along his own. Some string and rope, and eating utensils; two forks, two spoons.

And a map.

Jaune carefully unfolded it. Their position was already marked with a red circle, showing them exactly where the airship had dropped them off. Their goal was the red X and when Jaune traced how far away it was, he whistled.

“This is quite the hike. They aren’t messing around.”

Even for someone with aura, it was going to take them a better part of their week to get there if they moved during the day and slept at night, and that was with things going as planned.

Out in the wilderness, it didn’t take much at all for trouble to arise. Grimm were their main concern but not their only one. The weather could impede them just as badly.

He looked for potential landmarks or points of interest. There was a river, perhaps a day’s walk from where they were. It continued on in the direction they were going, and opened up into a considerable lake. After that, the ground appeared to slope upwards.

Their position in relation to Vale was south-west, as if heading towards Vacuo. They were nowhere near the deserts, of course – but this is the way you would come if you were attempting to travel there by foot.

It was also some of the most isolated land on Remnant. These forests hadn’t been regularly walked by man in a very long time, since the time of the Great War. Much of the land reclaimed by the Grimm during and after the conflict was here, and old villages scattered across the map in the dozens.

All long abandoned.

They’d well and truly been thrown in the deep end.

“Which way are we heading, boss?” Nora asked.

Jaune pulled out his scroll and checked. They had one bar if they were lucky, probably from a far off relay tower but that wasn’t his concern. The compass app was.

“West, until we hit the river. From there, we can follow it until the lake,” he drew his finger across the map and Nora followed it attentively. “After that, we go south-west through here – if this is right, the forest thins and things become rocky,” the green faded to brown, which usually meant that. “I think it will be better going straight over rather than around. There is an old village near where we finish, we’ll pass by it.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Nora helped him repack their supply pack and then offered to carry it.

“You sure?”

She nodded. “You can carry my bag and yours.”

She shouldered the supply pack and Jaune gathered their personal bags, linking them together and swinging them onto his back.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Ready,” she replied before stepping forward, and he joined her, scroll held out in front of them to show them the way.

They walked in silence for some time. Those massive, towering trees looked even bigger from the ground. Their trunks were so wide that fifteen men forming a chain would be barely enough to hug the base, and that was a rough estimate. It might take way more.

This part of their journey was flat land, though they had to step over the occasional downed tree. Insects buzzed around them but their aura kept them away, the forest filled with the sounds of life. Jaune spotted the tracks of animals, many of which he didn’t recognize but some he did.

“Wild boar,” he pointed out the small, oblong indents in the moist dirt. Two blunt toes, rounded in overall shape.

There were also signs of Grimm.

Massive tracks that could only belong to an Ursa. A weird, winding trail that was serpentine in appearance but way too large for it to be a regular snake by several magnitudes; King Taijitu, or something similar.

Some trunks had been clawed viciously but that was probably just bears, marking their territory. Grimm tended to leave nature alone, for the most part. It was man made objects that they were driven to destroy. Bark had been shredded and torn away, and from the amount of damage, it was probably a grizzly bear.

They’d had some of those, back home. They stayed well away from the village but Jaune had encountered them on his trips with his mentor, and they’d even killed one when it tried to attack them and any attempts to intimidate it failed.

They hadn’t wasted the meat but Jaune wasn’t a fan. One of the old crones had turned it into a stew.

They walked for several hours, the silence persisting. He knew something was bothering his partner but he wasn’t sure what, not exactly. Something about being out here, in the forest – but she hadn’t acted this way in the Emerald Forest, or in Forever Fall.

Those two occasions had been mere excursions. A day here, a day there – a matter of hours, really. They were out here for a week, and she didn’t like it.

Their first sign of danger came with the sudden quieting of the forest. The sounds of life faded, like a switch was flicked, and Nora paused as she noticed at the same time he did.

Nora carefully slipped the backpack from her back and set it down as Jaune did the same with the bags he was carrying. She then unfurled Magnhild while Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors.

“See anything?” he asked quietly, peering into the surrounding forest.

She shook her head, moving so they were back to back.

It was disturbingly quiet, not even a breeze to rustle the branches of the trees. Jaune strained, listening intently.

“There,” Nora suddenly spoke, and Jaune turned his head to see what she’d spotted.

A dark shroud like black mist, curling from within a thorny bush. At first, it appeared completely formless until he caught sight of white bone, almost like exposed ribs. A white mask soon followed, a series of glowing red fissures carved through it, meeting in the middle where a single yellow eye sat.

Nora inhaled sharply. “Geist,” she said, voice tight. “Don’t let it—”

The tree to their left exploded with a loud, rippling crack, shards of wood flying in all directions as a monstrous bulk of stone charged through it effortlessly, as if the tree were made of paper mache. Jaune moved without thinking, shoving Nora aside as he dodged, a boulder the size of a small minivan crashing down with thunderous force. The tree toppled, falling to the ground with a shuddering boom, its surrounding brothers shaking as branches were snapped and the ground shook.

“Two of them,” Jaune roared, sighting the white mask and black void set within the main stone formation making up its body. Geist were capable of possessing objects and this one had decided to inhabit several large boulders of varying sizes, creating a makeshift body. “Move!”

Jaune activated his semblance and blurred, shield deployed on his arm. He slammed into the massive construct, rocking it back before turning to see where the other Geist had gone. He caught a slip of black disappearing into some bushes.

“Nora,” he called, and he felt her at his back. He turned on instinct and propped his shield, catching her mid-leap. Her boots slammed into the face of his shield and with a grunt, he launched her high into the sky.

The rock construct swiped at her but missed, the displaced air ruffling Jaune’s hair before she came down with a brutal strike, the head of her mace pulverizing one of the boulders near its shoulder, shattering one of its arms.

Jaune moved as it tried to squash him with a stomp, darting beneath its bulk and slashing at the inside of its leg. Stone cleaved away, and with no other option, it attempted to sit on him, throwing its weight down. A burst of speed carried him to safety, vaulting up onto the downed tree. Nora moved in for another strike but the body rotated violently, its remaining arm held outright. It was like a blender, and she was forced to retreat as several trees were shattered in a whirlwind of stone.

“Up,” he called, and Jaune caught a flash of a smile, Nora recalling her own call during their training session before placing her trust in him. They both leapt, aura carrying them above the danger zone. Once more using his shield as a springboard, Jaune braced himself as Nora kicked off him with a shout, Magnhild flashing. She struck the top of its body, pulling the trigger.

The area was rocked by a powerful explosion, the main body crumbling under the force. The spinning boulders flew off in all directions like scattered marbles, no longer under the control of the Geist as it fled, darting through the trees.

It would have escaped if not for Jaune, his amplified speed turning him into a yellow streak as he stabbed it through the eye, pinning it to a tree, his sword buried almost to the hilt. It flailed with a horrible shriek before its misty body lost its form, and faded into nothingness while the mask cracked and turned to dust.

“Where did the other one go?” Nora asked, tense, war hammer held at the ready. Her eyes scanned their surroundings.

“It fled,” Jaune wrenched his blade from the tree with little effort. “It might come back.”

They waited in tense silence, anticipating an attack.

“It wouldn’t just leave, would it?” Nora finally asked, frowning.

“I don’t know enough about them to know for sure,” Jaune replied. Grimm typically didn’t retreat. They fought to the end, driven by their mindless desire to destroy. Only those most ancient and powerful had learned any sort of self-preservation, gained through experience. “Do you think—”

“Watch out,” Nora screamed, and Jaune dove to the ground as something shifted in the corner of his eye. The massive tree that had been felled flew through the air like a javelin, crashing into the ground and carving through the underbrush like a runaway train.

“Jaune,” Nora dashed to his side. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he quickly assured her. He hadn’t been hit. “It threw a tree at us.”

It was another construct of stone, though not entirely. The main body was a boulder covered in dirt and soil, lifted straight out of the earth, as were its legs, but the arms were made up of branches and vines, and solid pieces of old oak. It was larger than the first one, looming above them threateningly.

“I think it’s mad,” Nora smirked, much like her usual self. The heat of battle had thrown off whatever had her down, and Jaune saw that usual luster for life burning in her gaze. “Jaune-Jaune, I think we should kill it.”

As if her words triggered it, it moved. Jaune moved as one of its armed lashed out, quick as a whip. It slammed into the spot he previously occupied, Crocea Mors swinging around in a powerful overhead strike. Channeling his aura, he sliced clean through vine and wood, reducing its reach by half.

“Going low,” Nora called before dashing in, sliding beneath a swipe before striking its legs. She hit it hard, yet it only cracked, not giving way. She backtracked as it tried to stomp on her, missing her by a hair before Jaune followed up, taking the leg from the opposite direction, cleaving through rock.

It tumbled to the left without support but caught itself on its damaged arm stump, swinging around with a sweeping kick. Nora was clipped as she attempted to dodge, aura flaring as she was flung away, and Jaune was forced to tank the blow on his shield. Even with his amplified strength, he was sent hurtling through the air, crashing into the truck of a tree and almost going through it.

Jaune gasped as the wind was blasted from his lungs, sliding to the ground in a heap. The pain was secondary, gulping desperately for air before rolling away as the Grimm tried to take advantage. It tried to bodyslam him, hurling its mass into the tree and snapping it like a twig.

“Nora,” he called, wheezing.

“I’m okay,” she hollered back, a hand appearing from within a bush and waving. “You?”

“I’ve been better,” he managed.

Nora crawled out of her spot. “This guy is annoying.”

“You can say that again.”

She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers. “I think it’s time I hit it hard enough so all the Grimm in this forest feel it.”

Jaune liked the sound of that.

Grabbing her hand, he focused. Nora giggled as she was amplified, power pouring into her in waves. Her aura appeared, shrouding her body in pink. That slight bit of bloodlust she gained whenever she was in battle, that manic need to smash something was multiplied, and her expression showed it.

“I wish I felt like this all the time,” she said, brimming with energy. “Let’s do it!”

The Geist was attempting to repair its lost leg, gathering more objects to inhabit. Nora crouched, hammer held behind her as she readied herself.

“Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—rike~!” she screamed, exploding from her position in a streak of pink and white, the ground sinking beneath her feet. The Grimm attempted to defend itself, holding up an arm but she blasted right through it, wood splintering as Magnhild howled. It slammed into the Grimm’s face, the mask shattering from the sheer force of the blow. A shockwave blasted out from the impact zone, followed by the sound of stone sundering before shards pelted the forest behind it like a rain of bullets, tearing through bark and wood. The rest of its body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

It was done.

Nora landed and did a little twirl, the shaft of her hammer balanced along her shoulders behind her neck.

“How was that?” she asked cutely, winking. She was panting from the effort of her swing, and no doubt the high of his semblance.

Jaune laughed.

“Ten out of ten,” he said, giving her a thumbs up.

This was much more like the partner he knew and loved.