"Do I really have to be the one to keep going?" Emerald questioned, dirt crunched beneath her feet as she crossed her arms and shifted about.
"You're more of an unknown compared to us. That makes you an unnecessary risk." I explained through a short stretch. "And you've had Qrow with you. I doubt any assassin will get close to a huntsman if they don't have to. If that does happen, he'll have your back."
The left side of her face scrunched up, Emerald reluctantly nodded, heading towards the edge of the small clearing we were in, Mistral a short walk away. Qrow pushed off the tree he'd been leaning against, a short wave given before he followed after her.
This had been our routine for the past week and a half. Grab a job from the city, head out, rest in whatever distant settlement we ended up at, then return and repeat without any pause, something Emerald wasn't used to at all. Between cutting down on sleep and a lack of access to something as basic as a shower, her growing frustration was making her a bit more irritable than usual.
A low yawn drew my attention.
Quick to shake it off and narrow her eyes, Cinder, sitting on a gathering of stones in the isolated clearing, stared at the sword she'd stabbed into the dirt before her. She was still stubbornly testing out the uncertain suggestion I gave despite no results whatsoever.
I couldn't say I was surprised. The idea of being able to keep up a constant awareness of those around her naturally appealed plenty to someone like her. Enough for her to forgo plenty.
"You should make sure to get some rest the next time we stop." I suggested, a yawn of my own triggered as I stepped up beside her. "You're only making it harder to try new things with your aura and semblance by going without sleep."
Cinder glanced my way. "I don't see you getting any."
Unless we were lucky enough to end up camping out in a place with a single entry point, something Qrow could easily keep watch over, then I was always on watch duty, real sleep reduced to a luxury. Still, while aura allowed all of us to forgo it for far longer than ordinary people without the worst side effects setting in, it was still a need we couldn't sidestep.
"Naturally." I said through another stretch. "If an assassin does come after me, the two of you are only involved because you happen to know me. The least I could is put in some extra hours to make you don't get hurt or worse."
Her narrowed eyes eased up, still weighed down by lack of sleep but curious rather than guarded. "And you're serious about it? Killing this assassin?"
"Find it hard to believe?"
"It doesn't seem like it's the way you like to handle things."
"Its not." I admitted. "But choosing between mine and the lives of people I know or a stranger, especially one that'll be out to kill me, has always been an easy choice for me."
Too easy sometimes. Far too easy.
Cinder held eye contact for a few moments before humming and reaching forward. Returning the blade to its sheath but remaining on guard, the both of us waited on Emerald and Qrow to return with a new job.
XOXO
Grimm roamed the surrounding darkness, awaiting any unfortunate enough to cross their path. Animals, be they prey or predator, small or big, rushed about, skittering their way back into their own hideaways or just running away, all instinctively knowing to avoid the dark creatures. Passing winds shook the trees, weak branches snapped and leaves blown away.
Camp set up with the sharp incline of a mountain at our backs, Emerald was sound asleep in her cloth tent. Cinder, still stubborn about remaining on guard, had recently nodded off herself, arms loosely crossed and head tilted downwards, liable to tip off the laid out log she sat on at any moment.
Few would be bold enough to travel around now, the moon's rays far from reliable light in the wilds and any other source of it liable to attract Grimm. None of those bold few should have any reason to head this way specifically, we always going out of our way to choose campsites a good distance from any well traveled paths or landmarks.
None of that changed the fact that there was a single person slowly making their way towards us.
I stood from the stump I was on, looking up.
Qrow, one leg dangling off the thick branch he sat on, glanced towards me, silently dropping to the ground after my nod.
"Cinder." I called. Face already contorted as if in pain, she didn't react to the call, the grip she had on her arms strengthening. I stepped around the lamp we'd long since turned off and tapped her shoulder.
Her eyes snapped open, a hand shooting towards my wrist. Whatever was running through her head had already thrown her straight into flight or fight. Better not to worsen it. My dark sleeve began to heat up as her hand wrapped around it, the searing burn quick to sink through to my skin.
"Cinder." I repeated, her amber eyes leaping up to me. The moment recognition replaced the panicked desperation in them, she snatched her hand away, the rising burn slow to fade. "Wake up Emerald and watch each other's backs."
She stood up without question, both swords readied by the time she reached Emerald's tent while I headed over to Qrow.
"W-Wait." Emerald, scrambling out of her tent with both revolvers drawn rushed towards us. "Is it the assassin?"
"Maybe." I said. "I'll have to see them to be sure."
"Shouldn't we all go together? If it is him, we can help."
I turned around fully, Emerald looking up at me expectantly.
"Trust me, if this is the assassin I don't plan on giving him a chance to fight me. We'll be back before you know it."
"But-"
I reached over and patted her shoulder. "Follow Cinder's lead until then." I said giving them both a nod before taking off, Qrow beside me, sticking close in the dark.
The presence my telekinesis picked up wasn't too far and beginning to slow down. Only a single person with no readily identifiable weapon on them. That only made them stand out more. Even if by some chance a random person was wandering in our direction, they'd at least have a firearm on them this far from any settlement.
"You good, kid?" Qrow asked, looking towards my wrist. I raised it, adjusting the burnt cloth, parts having been eaten away to reveal my skin. Cinder's heat had only just begun to set in, a light burn left behind.
"Nothing aura won't take care." I said, dropping it back down. The pain wasn't worth much attention either, far from the worst thing I've had to deal with.
We dropped into silence the rest of the way, I guiding our path so rather than meeting the presence straight on we'd be approaching from the side. Between that, the darkness and all the trees we should be well out of sight.
It was only glimpses, the shifting leaves and bushes constantly hiding him from view, but even with all that and a good distance still between us, I spotted the lone presence my telekinesis had sniffed out in crystal clear detail.
Gray-whitening hair. Skin marked by a handful of scars. And basic enough clothes that didn't exactly scream fighter or assassin. My Sharingan saw through that easily, the subtle but unusual rises in certain areas revealing another layer of dark sturdy clothing hidden beneath it. The boots especially stood out, normal looking enough but a bulkiness to their steps that not even steel toes had.
The resemblance to Mercury was plain to see. He might fight just like him too if those boots were his weapons.
As we drew close enough for Qrow to catch sight of the man, both of us lowering ourselves to watch him, he kneeled down.
He was following the same path we'd taken to get to our camp, no doubt tracking the marks we left behind. Rather than proceeding any further, he began to examine surrounding trees and brushes before retreating a little and doing the same to another area.
Planning to set up a trap? Familiarize himself with the area he might be fighting in?
He suddenly jumped up, hiding himself amongst the dense greenery of one of the bigger trees around. He went deathly still the moment he settled in, gaze never leaving the direction we were camped in.
He was lying in wait. Whether it was to attack the moment we passed through back on our way to the main trail or to begin watching us, he'd deduced that we hadn't gone far quickly. Had he secured some information on where we were headed beforehand or was he that confident in his own experience?
Whatever the answers were, they didn't matter.
"You sure about this?" I whispered, an eye kept on the man's hiding place.
"Better we risk my semblance than yours." Qrow whispered back, hand grabbing the handle of his weapon. "If it turns out this guy really can interfere with people's semblances, you'll get something powerful under your belt and I'll be getting rid of something that's more trouble than it's worth."
That semblance he was talking about getting rid of had probably saved his life at one point or another. It was an expression of his self or at least that's what people said. It could always evolve into something far more useful than it was now.
I could say any and all of that, but it wouldn't have been anything he hasn't gotten from Dad, Summer, or even Mom.
Besides, I knew what it was like to want nothing to do with a semblance. I'd opted out of Mom's for years, unwilling to deal with everything that came with it.
He didn't have that luxury.
To Qrow, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get rid of something he loathed.
"Be careful." I warned, glancing his way as I recalled all my aura, it changing to match the invasive mint green of Emerald's. I sent it out, the energy traveling to both Qrow and the man hidden in the distant tree. "If it looks like you're being too reckless, I'm stepping in and ending it."
Qrow chuckled lowly as he stood up fully, weapon drawn. "Love you too, kid."
XOXO
Powerstone Goal: 700
(A/N: I'm kind of surprised nobody brought up the fact that Talon is traveling with Qrow who wants absolutely nothing to do with his semblance last chapter. Its literally the perfect set of circumstances to copy Marcus' semblance. Assuming they manage to force him to use it of course. Qrow's semblance isn't exactly the most obvious thing in the world. We'll have to wait and see how it works out. Well, you all do. I'm be keeping my mouth shut.
As always, here's the link for those who want to read ahead for anything I'm writing:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
Hope all of your weeks are going well.)