Bang!
He moved, a shift of his weight dropping him out of the tree, bark and leaves torn apart before his boots hit the dirt below.
Bang! Bang!
Flipping aside, two more shots whizzed past, the bark of the tree just behind where he'd landed left splintered, shards of the wood scattering apart, his aura shield protecting him from the few that came his way.
Bushes rustled and dirt crunched from the same direction all three shots came from, the sounds rapidly becoming louder. Then they stopped all together, the air shifting as moonlight reflected off of a raised blade. Stepping aside, he avoided a downward slash, the strike sending the dirt flying.
Keeping a small distance, he shot his leg up, the kick avoided and a swipe of that sword forcing him to backpedal as well.
Dark messy hair. Red eyes. That weapon.
Qrow Branwen: a long time huntsman but evidently far more than that. None, from Spider, their, as of recently, further diminished competitors in Mistral, or any of his contacts beyond the kingdom could provide much information. The academy he attended, clear origin, typical areas of activity: all of that was guarded information like any other when it came to huntsman but compared to something like exact details involving their semblances, it should've fallen into the hands of someone willing to sell it.
Beyond direct contact with the man, no one had any information on Qrow Branwen other than the fact that he was a huntsman.
Rather than pressing an attack, Marcus cautiously held his ground, the huntsman raising his own guard as well.
This Qrow Branwen was in the pocket of someone high up. Someone heavily involved with the government from whatever kingdom he came from. That alone was reason enough to flee. If he'd been found out, then those the man was with would show up too. A direct fight with a huntsman and the masked one that Spider flat out refused to share any information on wasn't worth risking.
It was still dark too, the sun hours away from rising. He'd disengage, try to figure out how he was spotted, and try to stalk the group once more. His first guess was his target's semblance, but he'd need to test things to be sure.
As he began to inch his way towards a tree, the huntsman caught on, mechanical whirling coming from his sizable sword, the blade lowering to reveal a barrel.
Bang!
The tree he dove behind splintered like the other, Marcus taking off in a sprint, speed favored at first. He burst clean through bushes and low branches, following shots dodged. Once those shots slowed then stopped entirely, he switched to silent, albeit slower, run, the forest's darkness working to his advantage and concealing what few marks he left behind him.
He chanced a glance over his shoulder and found-
As he turned his gaze back to what lie ahead, Marcus abruptly dropped himself into a roll, narrowly avoiding a slash.
The huntsman had cut him off, blade pulled from a deep gash in the tree it'd dug into while Marcus threw himself into a backflip, landing ready.
This go around, no time was wasted on a cautious stare down, the huntsman rushing him. Again, kicking up cloud of dirt and rushing off, Marcus chose to disengage. That attempt met the same end, the moment he slowed his run, resulting in him narrowly avoiding another slash from the surrounding darkness.
As he got back to his feet and carefully avoided the huntsman's quick slashes, no room given for a counterattack, he decided running was not an option.
Whatever was at work, be it a semblance or raw experience, the man was having no trouble pursuing him through the dark.
But they were also a good distance from where Marcus was sure his target and his group were camped out. If their plan was to overwhelm him with a combined assault someone else would've joined the fight by now.
Rather than avoiding the next slash, he meant the next low slash with his knee, the blade clanging against the thin metal hidden beneath, before jumping up, other foot shooting out. The huntsman managed to step back, chin just shy of being grazed by the blow, Marcus quickly closing the distance with more kicks, all blocked.
Despite being reckless enough to approach alone, the huntsman was no fool of a fighter. He didn't allow himself to be guided around by attacks and remained completely aware of his surroundings despite the dark, roots, rocks, and trees all avoided as he fended off attacks. And when he did retaliate, he didn't dedicate to anything unless he was sure it would force him back and either give him the advantage or keep things on an even playing field.
This was a huntsman as used to hunting people as he was Grimm. Possibly his worst match up.
But he wasn't perfect.
More dirt kicked up, Marcus prepped another kick, digging it into a nearby tree rather than the huntsman himself. Shards of bark rocketed at the man, Marcus quick to rush from a low angle, sweeping the man's feet from under him while he was busy dealing with the obscuring cloud and bark. He tried to double down on his stance, but his feet gave, Marcus already raising himself higher, foot coming down to where the man's head was going to land.
A dull clang filled the air, the metal beneath his boot pressing hard into the broadside of the huntsman's thrown up sword, only one hand being used to steady it.
The huntsman swung his other arm.
Rustles came from the same direction the arm had been swung from, Marcus leaping back, a combination of kicks and punches deflecting the hail of rocks and branches that fell upon him. None of it could seriously harm him but it was still a distraction, a slash he hadn't been able to prepare for hitting his side and forcing his shoulder to slam into a tree, both blows dulled by his aura shield.
Another swing of the huntsman's arm brought forth another hail.
Telekinesis.
As much as these huntsmen liked to sprout off about semblances being unique to each person and representing some aspects of themselves, most he came up against were similar enough to each other that they could be categorized and their capabilities predicted beforehand. The only other real distinctions that mattered was how much aura the user had and the latent strength of their semblance.
Surprise attacks that he could barely fend off were throw in alongside the gatherings of small projectiles.
Shrouded in mystery as he was, Marcus hadn't been able to figure out why it was that a huntsman had suddenly showed up and spent so much of his time around someone like his target, but this answered his question.
His target, Talon, was said to be able to twist entire structures, collapse caves, and control separate parts of his weapons all at once, so foolishly dependent on the power his semblance offered he built an entire sword around it. This huntsman was different, only pulling out the semblance after realizing pure skill alone wasn't enough.
What were the chances two people from seemingly completely different walks of life had the exact same type of semblance? They must've been family, sharing in a rare genetic semblance.
But this huntsman's was a far weaker version. Weak enough that he knew better than to rely on it completely but not so weak that it wasn't a problem.
Marcus narrowly avoided a slash, this time opting to run once more, two fingers rising from his curled fist. The huntsman followed, shots ringing out.
He'd have to get rid of that semblance then catch him by surprise and finish this fight in one go.
XOXO
"Careful, he's drawing you in for something." Talon's voice filled Qrow's head as he kept a steady chase after the would be assassin they'd been worrying themselves over.
It was an illusion according to him, not some fancy two way communication. He was using Emerald's semblance to force his senses to hear the warnings and advice he was giving out, probably extremely close and moving alongside the fight.
He was messing with his sight too.
Qrow knew it was night, having seen the shattered moon himself before the fight began, but the golden rays coming down from the sun above made it hard to believe. If it weren't for Talon using the illusions to keep things lit up for him, the assassin, far more experienced when it came to fighting in the dark, would've been the one at a massive advantage.
But right now, his fleeing form stood out like a sore thumb.
Qrow hadn't thought much of Emerald's semblance, the girl's ability to use it falling far below its potential. Talon's current use of it emphasized just how frightening of an ability it was. A few waves of his hands at Talon's direction left the assassin blocking things that didn't exist.
This virtually impossible to detect communication. Managing two different illusions at once. Remaining perfectly capable of sticking in range of the fight despite that.
He didn't agree with Talon being out here on his own and putting himself in danger but damn if he didn't understand it. It was easy to compare him to Raven, Talon sometimes saying things that was drenched in her influence, but it was times like this that it was obvious he was Tai's kid too.
Qrow wouldn't have been able to sit around at home knowing everything they did about Salem if he had a semblance like that either. Not with there being people out there who would kill Ruby or Summer just because of their eyes.
"He's focusing aura into his left hand." Talon warned. "It's not for a shield. I think he's about to use his semblance."
Good.
Their semblances were similar in the sense that it gave them clear and easy reasoning to keep away from those important to them. Except his didn't come with anything worth that. If he could finally get rid of it-
"We don't know how his semblance will affect your aura shield so be careful."
XOXO
"Come on, Cinder." Emerald said, guns pointed out towards the nearly pitch black forest ahead of them. "We have to go after him."
"He wanted us to stay here. We don't even know if-"
"That's bullshit. We both heard that gunshot." Emerald glared her way. "I know we're not as strong as Talon but that doesn't mean we can't help him."
Her own eyes on the darkness ahead, that initial shot and those that followed having left behind a dead silence, Cinder grimaced. She wasn't weak but she'd trained enough with Talon to know there was no room to deny what Emerald said.
But that was exactly why they should stay here.
He didn't hesitate to let them hold off hordes of Grimm. If he was going out of his way to make sure they had nothing to do with a fight, then there had to be a reason for it. Maybe it was just to avoid them going against another person and possibly having to kill but she wasn't going to flip that coin and risk her life for no good reason.
"This isn't some stranger we're talking about here, its Talon." Emerald insisted, unwilling to just shut up. "You've known him even longer than me. Do you really not care if something-"
"Grab the lamp." Cinder ordered.
Emerald's glare dropped. "Then we're-"
"Shut up and grab the lamp." Cinder repeated, glaring her way. Emerald quieted but she didn't complain or talk back, putting away one of her revolvers to pick up the dust lamp at the center of their camp. "Keep the light low." Again, Emerald followed the order, turning one of the knobs just enough to create a low glow just strong enough to beat back the immediate darkness.
She wasn't going to go jumping into any fight she couldn't come out of alive but if Talon needed a little help to tip things in his favor, they were more than strong enough to provide it.
XOXO
Powerstone Goal: 700
(A/N: A rare chapter without any POV from our main man Talon but we'll get his perspective on the fight in the next one. Marcus actually seemed like the best place to start from so we get an idea of his initial plans and, well, how much he's getting played right now. Pretty much got some genjutsu action going on right now and its really only the tip of the iceberg of what Talon can do with Emerald's semblance.
Anyways, I'm going to stop running my mouth before I spoil something.
As always, here's the link for those who want to read ahead for anything I'm writing or just throw some additional support my way:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
Hope all of your weeks are going well.)