As the man lunged at you from the air, you barely had time to react, drawing both of your weapons just in time. You were prepared, but his lunge was faster than expected. Nothing you couldn't handle. Having two weapons was always better than one. Time to show this guy what you were made of.

You parried his spinning strike with your main saber, deflecting it to the side as you lunged with a stabbing motion toward his exposed chest. However, after his failed spin attack, he used his own momentum to kick your blade away, deflecting it upwards and opening your guard. He was fast and strong.

This was bad. Your guard was open. Still, you had a few tricks up your sleeve, you just had to avoid his sword. Luckily, it was far away from you still after his failed spin. You could still lift your weapons in time to block his next swing, though you had to give ground as you were forced to step back-

Something tackled you from behind. It was the man who had been sleeping next to the altar. The sounds of screaming and fighting had finally woken him and, in his startled state, he bolted upright and ran straight into you, making you stumble forward. This… this damned civilian got in the way!

The caped swordsman completed his spin. He tried an ascending slash this time, concealing his attack behind his own torso. You… couldn't see where it was coming from. You blocked in front of you with as wide an 'area' as your two sabers allowed. Would it weaken your defense? Definitely, but it was either that or gambling on a direct hit to your body.

The slash never came. Instead, the man lunged at you with his back turned toward you. Was it a… reverse tackle? What? Why did he fight so strangely?

You tried to deflect his tackle with your sabers, but they had no real momentum behind them. Your edges touched his body, yes, and his Aura flared briefly, but not enough to count as a clean hit. He opened your guard, and this time his slash did come. You did what instinct told you. You moved your Grimm Arm forward to block the attack and cover your face.

SLASH!

There was no Aura in your arm. Well, maybe just a trace, but not nearly enough to absorb the force of the blow. It sent you flying, streaks of black and reddish blood spattering across the altar as the wound split open across your Grimm appendage, the liquid forming a thick arci n the air. It… didn't hurt as badly as you'd expected, but you couldn't assess the damage yet. You spun in the air, ignoring the pain and trying to avoid slamming into the building behind you. You barely managed it, landing with both feet on the wall and pushing off into a more stable posture.

"…Yuck." The man spoke as he swung his arm to the side, flicking your blood from his blade. The sound of dripping liquid came from your arm. You took a look at it and… well, to put it bluntly, it was almost as if your wrist was barely hanging from the open wound. Was it painful? Yes, but not terribly so. Still, that hand was going to be impossible to use. You grabbed your remaining saber, the less battered one, with your only good arm. Damn. This was a serious wound.

"You're quite resilient for something with such a nasty surprise hidden away. Most humans I know would be screaming and shitting their pants with a wound that bad. I would." He started to slowly walk forward, resting his sword on his shoulder. "Now throw away your weapon, and I'll make sure your end is as painless as possible, you freak."

You looked at your arm. Faint black stitches were slowly appearing like tiny spiderwebs across your mangled wrist. It would regenerate. Good, but it would take time. Now, how to deal with this guy? Maybe… maybe you could talk to him. Surrendering was a no-go. You wouldn't simply gift your life away. But defeat him? How? This was a bad position to be in, and it had all happened so suddenly.

"Attacking Huntresses so randomly is surely bad karma. What do you even want from me? I'm not interested in a fight." Half lies, half truths, all stalling, hoping your arm would heal a little faster.

"Bullshit. As far as I know, you're a freak that needs to be put down. You know what's worse than a mindless beast of destruction? One that isn't mindless. Having the gall to disguise yourself as a dead Huntress? Lowest of the low."

He dashed again, trying to stab you while you were weakened. You rolled out of the way, leaving a trail of black blood as you put some distance between you. The building's front wall lay in ruins, the sheer force of his lunge had driven him back inside as the destroyed wall covered everything in a cloud of dust and rubble.

"I'm not a Grimm!" He thought you were a Grimm wearing a human body as a disguise? That… didn't sound too far-fetched for what an advanced, rare Grimm might do. So he had something of a point. He was wrong, of course, but his logic wasn't baseless. "I'm not a shapeshifter or anything like that! I am the real Shelly! I got turned into this because-"

You couldn't finish your sentence. Your heightened hearing caught something extremely fast approaching. A faint wave of light appeared from the darkened interior of the ruined building, cutting through the lingering cloud of smoke. A ranged slash. Its trajectory was… difficult to read, but the early warning gave you just enough time to dodge.

Another came, and you dodged again with a jump to the side. Another. And another. Multiple Aura slashes tore through the cloud towards you. You couldn't dodge all of them, and you were forced to parry a few. You managed, with difficulty, but when the barrage finally stopped you needed a moment to recover. Your sword arm, the healthy one, felt numb. It shook. Parrying and dodging those cutting, Aura-charged attacks had been brutal, even with your enhanced strength. You could see your saber growing more and more chipped with every deflection.

"Yeah, if I were a shapeshifting, skin-stealing, soul-sucking monster, I'd say that too." The man stepped out of the rubble, his greatsword over one shoulder and your other, half-broken saber in his free hand, turning it over as he inspected it. "Drop the act, alright? A Grimm pulling this kind of stunt makes my skin crawl. Grimm that talk? Ugh, just the thought is enough to make me shiver." He was cocky about it, even fake-yawning. This sharp-tongued bastard was toying with you, all because of one lucky blow.

Then you spotted Cerise behind him, half-hidden in the dust and rubble. She was gripping a plank with both hands. She was breathing hard. She was staring at him with pure rage. She… oh no. She was going to try to sneak attack him. The stupid idiot. She was desperate, she could see that you were losing.

> Try to stop the fight and signal Cerise to stand down. Even on the back foot, you won't let her get hurt. Try to reason with him.
> Don’t let her finish that sneak attack, but don't stop it either. You don't want her to be hurt, but it’s either this or death. A gamble. Strike the moment she distracts him. You've been fighting with one weapon for the past few hours. You're not completely disarmed nor uncapable of fighting.
> As painful as it would be for both of you, maybe using your Semblance is the right call. Draw him away from the fight, up to the rooftops. You're far better in the air, and up there, gravity works in your favor.
> Other (Write in)

>>6407780
>Try to stop the fight and signal Cerise to stand down. Even on the back foot, you won't let her get hurt. Try to reason with him.

>>6407780
> Try to stop the fight and signal Cerise to stand down. Even on the back foot, you won't let her get hurt. Try to reason with him.

>>6407780
> Try to stop the fight and signal Cerise to stand down. Even on the back foot, you won't let her get hurt. Try to reason with him.

"Stop!" You slowly lowered your weapon, not enough to stop pointing at the guy or leave yourself wide open, but surely enough to send a message. Not only to him, but to Cerise.

You saw them both falter for a bit, Cerise especially. She didn't know if this was an order aimed at her or a general thing for both of them. The man lowered his weapon for a bit, but then he started laughing as he kept walking forward through the dissipating cloud of rubble.

"What, getting cold feet already? So you do feel fear." He lowered his weapon to his side, not to rest or yield, but to prepare for another lunging attack.

"I don't want to fight you. Stop." You had to convince him somehow, but your words were cut short as he lunged towards you again, Cerise was left behind in the middle of the battlefield, her body falling due to the sudden surprise of the Huntsman jumping.

He threw another series of attacks with his sword, holding it one-handed as he tried to overwhelm you. You dodged the attacks you could and parried the rest. You'd be able to hold on like this for a while, but not forever. He did outskill you in melee fighting for now, due to various circumstances.

A particular blow from his sword, trying to push you off-balance, was blocked by your saber. Your body skidded across the ground as you kept your posture, leaving a trail of dust that rose in the air as the distance between you two widened again. Your arm felt numb, but the feeling disappeared. If you focused entirely on defense, it would be very hard to break you, even for him.

"You're pretty good, but you can't win a fight if all you do is block, missy." He kept walking forward, resting his sword on his shoulder as you saw Cerise grab a bottle from the ground, ready to throw it at him.

Your auditory sense caught something above you. The dangling of something breaking. You quickly reacted, splitting in half a large plate of wood and metal that fell toward you, the sign of what appeared to be a restaurant or a tavern. The guy lunged again, taking advantage of this sudden slip and turn of events.

Another clash of blades. This time, his strength against yours, as he tried to push your saber away to open your guard while pushing you backward. You held on, barely moving even against his constant push. He was strong, quite strong, but somehow, he was struggling to open your guard.

That's when he took advantage of the fact that your only available arm was locked with his blade. He lunged with a punch, and there was no real way for you to block it.

POW!

Your face reeled to the side as you tasted an acidic tingling inside your mouth. He tried again to push your saber away, but you held on. He growled and pushed again, trying to force you against a wall.

But then, his aura flared for an instant as an empty bottle hit him in the back of the head, breaking into many shards on the ground below you both. He glanced backward, finally noticing Cerise.

You used this moment to push with some footwork and a spin of your torso. He got distracted for a bit and was surprised by your raw strength as he skidded across the ground this time, holding his posture as the distance between you both grew again.

"I said stop! Both of you." You completely lowered your guard, leaving yourself wide open. You'd barely won this contest of strength, but he was mostly undamaged. You glanced at your Grimm arm. The wound was still there, healing. It would take a while to regenerate.

The guy didn't smirk this time, nor did he crack a joke or make a snappy remark. "For something that's supposed to eat people and destroy everything in sight, you're awfully hesitant to fight back."

"She's not a monster!" Cerise screamed as she ran towards you both.

"Stop, Cerise, he's dangerous!" You yelled at the top of your lungs as the man's attention flickered between you both, wary of you trying to distract him. But you had no intention to attack this time.

Cerise stopped for a bit. Her body struggled to move, but she kept walking forward, fighting against your directive almost as if an unseen force was clamping down on her. "I… I must help you! Miss Shelly, please, let me help you!"

"No, stop! That's an order!" Cerise finally subsided after listening to you one last time. She was distressed, badly. She was shaking, and she started scratching her arm, then her neck, then her head with both hands as she reeled back against the feeling of going against her unholy 'programming'. She was suffering, breathing fast and gasping for air as she kept scratching her head violently.

"The hell is going on with her…" The man started to look more confused by the second, but after a while he decided to ignore Cerise, focusing on you again. He lifted his blade forward as his expression showed disgust. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! It wasn't me!" It was the complete truth. "Please, stop this nonsense. She's like this because she feels I'm in danger. Let's stop this fight."

But he didn't lower his weapon. If anything, he kept walking to the side as he circled you, the tip of his sword constantly aimed at your chest. You felt the emotions radiating from him. Fear, disgust, anger.

"You're sick. So you're the one behind all these people being like this, huh? They listen to your orders? You put something in their heads? They were people, and now they're just your puppets?"

How would you explain things to him? Your hand holding your saber shook for a moment as your conviction faltered for an instant, but you recomposed yourself as fast as you could. "No, it wasn't me. Please, stop. I don't want to fight you. Let's talk, I'll tell you what I know."

"Cut the crap! A monster like you doesn't get to talk about mercy or doing the right thing. You're just like her, hungry for control, hungry to destroy. If you really mean what you're saying, then drop your weapon and surrender. Make it easier for me to end this."

Cerise started sobbing while she scratched herself, completely overwhelmed by her feeling of wanting to protect you but being unable to do so due to your previous order. The man lifted his sword once again in a fencing posture, walking forward. He was ready to start fighting you again, and this time something told you he was no longer going to play games. After all, he thought you were a monster, that you were the cause of all this. Why would he show mercy this time?

> Throw your saber to the side and do as he says. He thought you were behind all of this, that you were lying in trying to stop the fight. You weren't lying, and you'd prove it right now. If he were to attack you… well, it would be far harder to defend yourself, but maybe you could do something? You were unsure.
> Try to explain the context of things. How Cerise followed your orders because of the girl who revived you, what happened at the Black Sheep's underground base, why you have a Grimm arm, the reason for undead people being here and there, and most important of all, that you were a Huntress and you could prove it.
> You wouldn't yield. You couldn't, either. Cerise's life, and yours, was in danger. You just had to stall, find an opening, do something to turn the tables. You should fight for real this time. Not only for you, but for her. Tap into the power of who you were, the combat prodigy from Haven, the girl who hadn't lost a fight yet, the girl who always won through sheer skill and willpower.
> Other (Write in)

>>6410360
>Try to explain the context of things. How Cerise followed your orders because of the girl who revived you, what happened at the Black Sheep's underground base, why you have a Grimm arm, the reason for undead people being here and there, and most important of all, that you were a Huntress and you could prove it.

>>6410360
>Try to explain the context of things. How Cerise followed your orders because of the girl who revived you, what happened at the Black Sheep's underground base, why you have a Grimm arm, the reason for undead people being here and there, and most important of all, that you were a Huntress and you could prove it.

>>6410360
>Try to explain the context of things. How Cerise followed your orders because of the girl who revived you, what happened at the Black Sheep's underground base, why you have a Grimm arm, the reason for undead people being here and there, and most important of all, that you were a Huntress and you could prove it.

Gonna need a dice roll. A mix of combat and persuasion. Same rules as always, 3d10, best of three, DC 19, Crit 24

Rolled 2, 5, 8 = 15 (3d10)

>>6412720

Rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>6412720

Rolled 10, 5, 5 = 20 (3d10)

>>6412720

>>6410360

He lacked information about the current state of things. He was misinformed and didn't trust you. Maybe defeating him was going to be quite a hard task in your current state, but stalling him while you tried to talk him down? That sounded more feasible. Surrendering was not something your pride wanted to do, and fighting him all out would put Cerise in danger. This was a good in-between.

"What kind of Huntress would go easy against such a powerful opponent as you?" You would try testing him with confidence. If he was truly fighting you because he thought you were a monster, you just had to plant the idea in his head that you weren't, and what better way to do that than to act human?

"You're not a Huntress, you're a-" He started speaking, but you raised your voice a bit more, trying to project confidence to boost both Cerise's morale and yours.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you're going to keep repeating the same thing. There's nothing I can do to change your mind, but I'll still try nonetheless." You looked down at your mangled arm. Almost healed. Good. Apparently that regeneration worked quite a bit faster when it was healing wounds directly in your Grimm part.

"Ah, so you're finally gonna fight me for real? I was thinking this was too easy." He lunged forward, trying to slash you down with his sword. You parried with your single blade, using the strength of his blow to move backward like a feather in the wind. A bad position when it came to trying to fish for a counterattack, but you weren't looking for one.

"No, I won't do that either. We're not enemies, as much as you want to believe it." You realigned your defense, again in your same duelist pose. You weren't as good at fighting with a single saber, but you could manage.

"We're not friends either." He went again, this time from above as he jumped, spinning in the air and ready to land... not close to you, but far to your left. Using your weak side. Smart.

"We could be, if you'd believe me." You followed him with your blade. After landing, his blade touched the ground, and a bright wave of light approached you, circling around you as he lunged forward again. He was trying to trap you so you couldn't dodge.

His attack was now more precise, less all-in than before. He was trying to force you to move towards the wave of his attack as it approached, his lunge closing the distance faster than his ranged attack was. He'd adapted quickly to your defend-and-run tactic, and this time he wanted to stick close to you. You pushed against the barrage of sword attacks and...

Well, you got cut a few times. In the arm, in the shoulder, barely able to dodge as you tried your best to avoid the wave. You had to endure and avoid hitting it directly. What if... instead of running away…

With another ascending blow from his blade he opened your guard, ready to stab you. Unfortunately for him, you knew he liked this attack in particular. There was no real way for you to avoid it, mostly because you didn't want to. Instead of running away from his stab, you moved closer to him, trying your best to take a glancing blow as you aimed to tackle him.

His blade caught on your left Grimm shoulder, ripping a good chunk of flesh, but luckily for you the pain wasn't there. You weren't even sure if it was adrenaline or something, but something told you it wasn't. As blood sprayed from the open wound in your Grimm shoulder, you managed to enter his guard. He quickly lifted his other arm, ready to intercept yours as your sword approached his chest.

Good thing he was falling for the feint. You had no intention to stab him in the first place.

You let his hand touch yours as he tried to disarm you by twisting your wrist.

Unfortunately for him, you were a bit better in the strength department, but not enough. You had to do something else. His arm was locked with yours, and his sword was in no position to pull back without him disarming himself.

You simply got closer to him, leaning down as the top of your head was sent directly to his jaw.

First clean hit of the fight in your favor. His aura flared for a bit, but the concussive blow of the attack was surely enough to daze him for a moment, enough for you to force your Grimm arm to grab him by the waist with the intention of throwing him away.

Surprisingly, you noticed that by touching him with your arm, his aura flared quite a lot more, like it was being drained. It felt... nice. Fuzzy.

He turned to the side, using footwork to try to put you off-balance. This also worked against you. He had quite the good moves, after all, but you had your secrets too. You followed his footwork with yours, trying to-

BAM!

His own head hit yours as he answered with a headbutt of his, breaking the faint aura around your face. Your aura was... weird. It was fickle, brittle, and low, but it regenerated fast. Not enough to block all blows, but it would dampen them for sure. Your body would get wounded in the long run, yes, but at least you were far tougher than you seemed, and the regeneration was always on. This was an interesting trade-off.

In your momentary daze he flipped you over as he pulled you by the arm while kneeing you in the stomach. Your aura flared again, and your grip on his waist lost a lot of strength. He threw you in the air and, while you were flying and reeling, he threw a barrage of ranged slashes again.

Instincts kicked in and you used your Semblance on yourself, decreasing your weight.

Small trickles of pain coursed through your body. Very, very small ones, closer to small tickles. You parried the first energy wave with your blade, breaking it and being pushed far up into the air thanks to the force of the attack pushing you away.

This granted you a lot more breathing room when it came to parrying the other ones. You blocked and dodged as best you could, but a few hit you in the legs and even your face, though they were so weakened by the distance they'd traveled that at most it felt like discomfort. So, range weakened them. Good to know.

You canceled your Semblance and started to fall to the ground. You faintly lost sight of the guy. He was no longer there in the streets. Was... was he invisible?

Even if he was, you could get a better idea of where he was. You focused on the emotions of people nearby and...

Aha! He was somewhere traveling down into an alleyway, feelings of surprise here and there moving fast. You never managed to catch sight of him, but you faintly heard the sound of wings fluttering. Strange.

Once you landed on a rooftop, you lowered your weight for an instant to make your landing graceful. You pointed your blade at the side of the roof where you were sure he would be. Moments later, he jumped up, landing on the flat area while looking annoyed.

"Now that was a nice exchange right there. You know how to move!" You felt more at ease now that Cerise was away from this guy. You were learning his patterns, little by little. And somehow, you felt more energized. Better. Happier, even. "Wanna go for round two or will you let me explain things?"

He glanced down at your Grimm arm, frustrated enough to not even answer your banter. It was an even exchange, all around. Granted, you were bleeding now from your shoulder after losing that chunk of meat and a bit from your right leg, and the many small cuts that had appeared around your body when you used your Semblance closed right up. Good.

"That's one hell of a gross arm you got there." He lifted his sword arm to point at your Grimm arm. It... was completely healed now. At least when it came to the wrist. Draining him of his aura seemed to increase the speed of your regeneration by quite a lot. That was an interesting development.

"I know. I didn't choose to have it. It's useful but... yeah, a bit on the ugly side." You stabbed the ground at your side with your saber, effectively disarming yourself. There was quite a bit of distance for you to grab it if he dared try something, but you were sending a message.

The man groaned. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me. You seriously expect me to believe you don't wanna fight?"

"Yes. And something tells me you don't want to fight me either." Judging by his posture, tired breathing, recently drained aura, and his emotions, that was a fair assessment.

He didn't move from there. If anything, he was catching trying to calm himself. He was completely uninjured compared to you, but the fight wasn't as one-sided as it was at the start.

"Fine. You wanna talk? Talk. Gives me time to catch my breath so I can finish this later." He groaned again, relaxing yet keeping his posture with his sword held in both hands in front of him. He was still on edge, but this breathing room was enough for you to talk with him.

> Explain what you know about your transformation. The events that transpired after you woke up, the things you were told, what you discovered in the Atlas encampments, the fragmented memories. Say the truth.
> Focus on what happened before your transformation. Your memory was fragmented, so you only had a rough idea, but it was important to tell him what you knew about this city. The White Fang, the Black Sheep family, the underground laboratories, what you found there, etc. Remembering the details would be hard, with your memory still not in a good state, but it was worth a shot.
> You could talk things out here with him, or maybe you could go to a more neutral place instead. The Skillful Tavern was a good one. Tell him you'd meet him there. Surely this would make him feel more at ease, since that place was supposedly neutral ground for both licensed and unlicensed Huntsmen.
> Other (Write in)

>>6414826
>You could talk things out here with him, or maybe you could go to a more neutral place instead. The Skillful Tavern was a good one. Tell him you'd meet him there. Surely this would make him feel more at ease, since that place was supposedly neutral ground for both licensed and unlicensed Huntsmen.

>>6414826
>Explain what you know about your transformation. The events that transpired after you woke up, the things you were told, what you discovered in the Atlas encampments, the fragmented memories. Say the truth.

>>6414826
>You could talk things out here with him, or maybe you could go to a more neutral place instead. The Skillful Tavern was a good one. Tell him you'd meet him there. Surely this would make him feel more at ease, since that place was supposedly neutral ground for both licensed and unlicensed Huntsmen.

>>6414826
>You could talk things out here with him, or maybe you could go to a more neutral place instead. The Skillful Tavern was a good one. Tell him you'd meet him there. Surely this would make him feel more at ease, since that place was supposedly neutral ground for both licensed and unlicensed Huntsmen.

>>6414826

"It would be better if we talked elsewhere. Prying eyes and all that." A small lie to reinforce your argument. "Would you be interested in talking somewhere more... neutral?"

The swordsman's breathing grew calmer as he recovered, and while looking at you from his fighting posture, he seemed confused. He didn't say anything, instead limiting himself to a single "Huh?" while tilting his head to the side.

"Yes. Neutral ground. There's a tavern here in the city where Huntsmen gather, if my memory serves correctly. Much better than talking out here in the open, don't you agree?" You tried to keep things nonchalant, but you kept your good hand close to the pommel and stayed attentive to him. He had ambushed you once, and it would make sense he'd try again.

"You must really think I've got some screws loose if you think I'd ever agree to that." Even if his words said otherwise, you felt that this was working. He wasn't attacking you. That was some progress.

"We all need a few screws loose to become Huntsmen. I genuinely want to resolve this conflict peacefully, have a talk, explain my side. I am not your enemy." You touched the pommel of your saber. "Unless you're a criminal or a rogue Huntsman, of course. In that case... we can go for round two."

The man kept looking at you, confused. He scoffed, glancing to the side and trying to hide a grin. It wasn't because he was happy or mad. If anything, you could barely hear the chuckle slowly rising in his throat. He tried to cover his mouth and look away, but it was obvious he found the situation, and your words, so absurd that he couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh. Oh wow. Really? Either you're the smartest Grimm I've ever run into, or you're..." He kept laughing, barely managing to point his sword in your direction anymore. "This is just... unbelievable."

But you knew it was a feint. You were a combat prodigy, after all. His stance, the posture of his wrists, the way his face never turned fully away and his casual glances in your direction. This was either a test or he was composed enough to keep his guard while letting himself laugh.

You waited for him to finish. You tapped the roof a few times with your shoe as your Grimm arm, now almost fully healed, rested on your hip. If he found all this so ridiculous, maybe it wasn't even worth the effort to ally with him. But if he were to call for reinforcements or something like that... tolerating him was probably a good idea.

"That place is full of Huntsmen. The Skillful Tavern, I mean. Drinks there are rough, but at least they're cheap." He spoke between fading laughs, growing slowly more serious. "What's stopping me from walking in there and telling everyone you're a monster?" At least he was in a lighter mood now.

You found no strong argument to answer with. Not in that instant. All of this depended on him respecting a peace talk, but he had a point. If at any moment during the conversation he were to say that, it would turn into a small-scale war. You were good in combat, sure, but fighting multiple veteran Huntsmen? Well... maybe the place was empty. The city was in ruins, but there was no way to tell.

"You didn't think of that, did ya?" He spoke again, clearly pleased that he'd found a crack in your plan. "You're just making this up as you go, aren't you? No plan, no nothing."

"Well... it's hard to think of a plan when someone ambushes you out of nowhere." You had to concede that much. "I had plans, but you interrupted them. I can tell you more, but I insist. Not here."

His sword lowered a bit, aiming at your legs instead of your chest. He started walking forward slowly, closing the distance. His lighter expression turned serious again.

"Name the four headmasters across all the academies."

Part of you wanted to step back, grab your sword and ready yourself for a fight. But you stood still and let him approach. Was he quizzing you?

"Leonardo Lionheart from Haven. James Ironwood from Atlas, Ozpin from Vale, and… Theodore from-" You were trying to think, but he cut you off.

"What rank is your Huntress license and what does it entail? How many ranks are there?" He kept walking forward, closer and closer.

You reached for the pommel of your saber to step back and gain some distance, but he stopped you with a sharp hush.

"No. Stay right where you are. I'm trying to figure out if you're actually human." He kept walking forward. Damnit. You could turn this into a fight. He was threatening you, but you were talking. Such a delicate position to be in.

"I am a Faunus, thank you very much. And I will not let myself be threatened or interrogated by you. I don't trust that you won't attack me the moment I lower my guard." You took your saber from the ground and walked backward quickly, gaining some distance.

"Unfortunate. In that case I'll just-" This time, you were the one cutting him off.

"There are licenses for students and for those who graduate. Here in Mistral, licenses are graded from A to C, if I recall correctly. The lower the letter, the more dangerous the missions you can take. You can apply for better licenses the more missions you complete." You stayed on guard. If he wanted proof that you weren't a monster, this could work.

"Huh. Maybe you really are a Huntress." His tone shifted slightly, less sharp than before. "What was your license rank?"

"B-rank, I believe. You have your scroll on you, right? Search for my name. I can answer any questions you have." You couldn't fully back that up. Your memory was a mess, but you had to project confidence.

"Already did, Shelly. Graduated with honors from Haven a few years back, solid record in combat matches, led a team, and a few details that don't quite add up." The man stopped walking. Good. The danger of an immediate fight seemed to have passed... maybe.

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, there's nothing here about that disgusting arm of yours. And the fact that you're listed as MIA in some databases and KIA in others? That's not exactly a clean record." He crossed his free arm over his chest, watching you carefully.

"Can I explain my case now, please?" Your patience was wearing thin. He was insufferably stubborn.

"Go ahead. Not saying I'll buy it." He sat down in the middle of the rooftop, watching you carefully.

"I still think we should go to the tavern." Talking on a rooftop was possible, but you also wanted to get down from here. And you wanted to find Cerise along the way. You didn't like leaving her alone.

"If word gets out in there about what you are, things could go south real fast. Just saying." He stood up again, cracking his back and stretching. "But sure, lead the way. And no funny business."

"I could say the same to you. What's your name, by the way?" You walked toward the edge of the roof, ready to jump down.

"Not telling you. Maybe later." He kept his distance, but he was willing to follow as you made your way across the city toward the tavern. "And no funny business? Yeah, can't promise that either."

You were ready to find Cerise on the way. And while you searched for her, you'd talk. Explain what you knew.

> Dice roll time! Same as always, best of three, 3d10, DC 20. No crit this time.

Rolled 4, 3, 10 = 17 (3d10)

>>6419922

Rolled 4, 10, 3 = 17 (3d10)

>>6419922

Rolled 2, 10, 10 = 22 (3d10)

>>6419922

>>6419922

You jumped down from the edge of the roof towards the ground. You used your Semblance to lighten your fall, making it soundless. You felt trickles coming from your skin as you noticed small damp patches of red appear on your pants. Using your Semblance caused your skin to receive tiny cuts, it seemed. Your new physiology healed them quickly enough, but it was good to know that new curious fact about you. A bit too gory for your tastes, but... there wasn't much you could do about it right now.

The man landed besides you a few seconds later, still holding his sword out. He was hesitating between sheathing it and keeping it ready. He didn't fully trust you, and to be completely fair to him, you didn't fully trust him either.

"I want to make a detour." You kept looking at him as you spoke.

"A detour? We just agreed on something and you're already changing it up." He sounded both annoyed and, weirdly, a little amused.

"It's a small one. I want to find my friend first. The girl? Remember?" You wouldn't leave her alone. Luckily, she shouldn't be too far, and even if she was, you could probably track her with your senses.

The man rolled his eyes but didn't answer back. He was tolerating this. "Nothing's stopping you from talking while we go find your little sidekick."

"She's not my sidekick. She's my..." You stopped for an instant. She was technically your sidekick, or minion, but saying that out loud sounded so, so wrong. It wasn't like you had asked her to be like that. She just was. "...friend. Don't be rude to her."

The man snorted softly. He'd noticed your stutter. "Sure. So, let's hear it then. I'm all ears."

If he was going to be this insufferable, it was probably best to start explaining what you remembered, hitting the key details about who you were, your relationship with the city, your transformation. Just enough without giving away too much.

"It all started when I was on this train..."

---

Traveling with the man while you talked wasn't a bad experience. It wasn't a good one either. Talking that much without rest wasn't your strong suit, and it left you mentally tired. But you managed to condense the story well enough.

Finding Cerise wasn't hard, either. She hadn't strayed far from the memorial. When you found her, there wasn't much to say. A lone girl looking up at the sky, hugging your saber as if waiting patiently for your return. That was... equal parts sweet and unsettling.

She joined the group, and the three of you started walking toward the Skillful. The man showed some mild interest in her and began probing into her relationship with you. There wasn't much to hide on that front. She corroborated your story, particularly the part about the strange girl from the lab, how she had revived you, and everything that followed.

What caught his interest the most, however, wasn't the White Fang situation, nor the Black Sheep family drama, strange as that was. He knew this city was crime-ridden and it didn't seem to bother him. The so-called monsters of the city, like the one you had fought alongside Sora, drew his attention briefly but nothing more.

No. What really caught his attention were two things. First, Cerise’s account of how she had been permitted to conduct all those unsettling experiments on you while you were still a student, with Lionheart as a passive accomplice. And second, the strange Grimm creature in the lab, the one you had actually held a conversation with.

He didn't share much about himself. The exchange was mostly him drawing out explanations from you and Cerise. You left out certain details, of course. The conversation with the White Fang leader, the names of your friends, the extent of your role within the organization, etc.

---

"...and you're telling me that even knowing all of this, he never once told you to stop?" The man asked Cerise as the three of you walked toward the tavern, a large two-story wooden building tucked behind a few alleyways near the city square.

Cerise glanced your way. You nodded. He was taking his time with her, and she answered fully each time as long as she had your explicit permission. You considered telling her she could answer freely, but you didn't trust him enough for that yet.

"Correct. At most I received sad glances from Mr. Lionheart, but he never explicitly told me to stop. I was fully prepared to report any interference to my superior in the Black Sheep, Miss Victoria, but I never had to." Cerise's tone was the same as always. Neutral, measured, though not as strained as it had been back at the Atlas camps.

"No outside interference then? No one sticking their nose in from another kingdom?"

"No. Not from Vacuo, and especially not from Atlas. I would not have tolerated that under any circumstances." She paused. "I would've sooner have shot myself in the mouth if that were the case.”

The man laughed, walking with both hands behind his head. "Ha. Can't say I blame you. Trust me, I know the feeling."

Both of them really were bonding over their hatred over Atlas? Well, it was working out so… better not to stop them.

Cerise entered the building first, followed by the man, both still talking to each other. But something caught your attention just before you stepped inside. A faint sound. Something small, metallic, spinning. Like the quiet buzzing of a tiny motor.

You resisted the urge to turn immediately. Sudden movement would spook whatever was there. You focused instead on your hearing, then on your emotional sense.

Your emotional sense picked up nothing, but your hearing pinpointed the source of the buzzing precisely.

You turned your head quickly and caught a glimpse of something peeking out from behind the wall of a three-story building across the way. A small mechanical insect, butterfly-shaped, clearly made of metal. The moment you turned, it ducked back behind the wall. The buzzing stopped, but you knew it was still there.

A mechanical butterfly. You had seen something like this before. It reminded you of a very particular someone.

"Something wrong, Shelly?" The man spoke from the entrance of the tavern, watching you. Then, quieter, more serious: "...or did someone follow us?"

> Ignore the butterfly for now. You were being watched. Fine. You could deal with that after the meeting. The man could still prove useful, and there wasn't much left to discuss before you'd have a better read on him.
> Tell the man about the uninvited guest. It would likely earn you some goodwill with him. You already had a strong suspicion about who owned that piece of machinery, and sharing that probably wouldn't lead to anywhere bad.
> Send both the man and Cerise inside without you. Make a quick excuse and slip away for a moment. You wanted to speak with the butterfly’s owner privately first.
> Other (Write in)

>>6422922
>> Tell the man about the uninvited guest. It would likely earn you some goodwill with him. You already had a strong suspicion about who owned that piece of machinery, and sharing that probably wouldn't lead to anywhere bad.

>>6422922
>Tell the man about the uninvited guest. It would likely earn you some goodwill with him. You already had a strong suspicion about who owned that piece of machinery, and sharing that probably wouldn't lead to anywhere bad.

>>6422922
>Tell the man about the uninvited guest. It would likely earn you some goodwill with him. You already had a strong suspicion about who owned that piece of machinery, and sharing that probably wouldn't lead to anywhere bad.

>>6422922

"Someone did follow us." You kept your gaze on the building overhead, focusing your hearing. Whatever that buzzing sound from earlier was gone, but that wasn't enough for you to take your eyes off the sky. You knew it was still up there.

You heard the man stop and approach you, but you acted first. You jumped, making yourself lighter with your Semblance, easily reaching the altitude where the flying thing hovered. Your landing startled it, and it tried to fly away.

Emphasis on "tried."

You dashed across the rooftop at an absurd speed, lifting one of your free hands and aiming at the flying butterfly, concentrating on its wings and increasing their weight. They snapped instantly, as if a pair of scissors had gone wild on them from a distance. The flat, thin sheets of metal that had been flapping away got scratched and cut with ease, and the whole construction tumbled from the sky.

You were ready to jump down and catch it, but the man was already below on the street, walking backwards and shielding his eyes from the sun as he waited. You simply made your way down calmly, knowing full well he would manage. It would be embarrassing if a Huntsman of his caliber fumbled something that easy.

As you approached him, you saw that he had indeed caught the flailing little robot. It was small, barely larger than a hand. Thin and compact, looking exactly like an oversized butterfly with clipped wings.

"Good eye, Shel." He brought the robot closer to his face. "Wonder who owns this scrappy little thing."

"Vespera." You knew the person, you knew the name. Someone from your past. A Huntress? A rogue agent? The exact details were blurry, but you had a solid enough picture of who she was. "She's someone of influence in this city, or at least she was. A genius inventor of some kind."

"Ally or foe?" He asked, turning the robot over in his hand, inspecting it again and again.

"Foe, if you keep messing with my stuff." A tiny, barely audible electronic voice came from inside the device. That woman's voice. Hearing it again after so long stirred something in your memory. The top of a building, your fight against Bayfor, the Black Sheep family trying to have her eliminated, the details of the mission, separating from Sora.

"Well, here I was thinking you were the shy type. You scientist types always love hiding behind your overpriced toys." The man laughed, tossing the robot up and catching it like a ball.

"Stop that! This unit is already at a critical level of damage. Any more and I'll lose the signal completely!" the voice snapped back, sharp and irritated.

"Right, right. So what are you doing spying on us? Little rude, don't you think, tailing people without an introduction." The man was taking control of the conversation. He seemed used to it.

The device went quiet for a while. An annoying stretch of seconds. Nearly half a minute.

"Ugh. My bad, Shelly. Turns out patience isn't exactly something I've got in abundance." The man said, sounding put out.

"You didn't break it, dipshit, but I almost wish you had. Shelly, who is this guy?" The device asked again, the voice cutting in and out with static.

"Why are you asking me?" You had spoken with Vespera more than once before, but your relationship with her was turbulent at best. She had attacked you once, tried to get you killed indirectly another time, and she had been the target of your mission before disappearing. Then again, in that last one you had been double-crossing the Black Sheep, so the enemy of your enemy was maybe your... acquaintance?

"You know what? Forget who he is. There's only one thing we want to know right now. Yes, we. Shelly, is he trustworthy?"

That was a hard question, especially coming from a former enemy. You had only just met him. You didn't know him. Saying you trusted him would be both stupid and a lie, and yet sometimes lies were necessary. Deep down, you didn't trust him. He had tried to have you killed, after all, and you were fairly sure part of him was still thinking about it.

"We're not exactly buddies." The man answered for you, picking up on your hesitation. Maybe your face gave nothing away, but silence had a way of speaking plenty. "Call us temporary companions. If anything, I'm glad someone's watching out for her. Means she's not a complete liar." An indirect jab. The guy really was a piece of work.

"Shelly, are you in any kind of danger?" The device asked again, the signal breaking up in places.

"No, I'm not." You glanced at the man after saying it, catching the way he raised an eyebrow. An indirect challenge. A reminder that he was no threat to you. Part of you knew that was a stretch, but the words were already out. There was no taking them back, and honestly, your pride wouldn't have let you anyway. "He's right. We're not friends, but we're not enemies either. For now."

"Well, that... changes thin... ...ward." The signal broke again, nearly splitting the sentence in two. "I suppose asking your 'companion' for a little privacy would be too much?"

"Yeah, correct, pipsqueak. Indeed, it would be too much.” The man chuckled, bringing the robot closer to his mouth. "I'm in the middle of something important, and your friend Shel here is tied up in it whether she likes it or not. Not exactly in a position to just hand her over."

...hand her over? Like you were some kind of bargaining chip? What? What?!

"I am not yours to hand over, you jackass. We can settle this properly if you want, for real this time. If I want to speak with her privately, I will." The rage slipped out before you could stop it, but the words felt good leaving your mouth. Who did he think he was, talking as if your choices were his to make?

"Feisty. You sure about that? Didn't go so well for you last time, if I'm remembering right. You enjoy the taste of defeat that much?"

"Not my fault you're a hot-headed jerk who ambushed me while I was with my friend! Someone really needs to teach you some humility."

"Yeah, yeah. All I'm hearing is an immature child throwing a tantrum because things didn't go her way. Respect your elders, kid. You sure you went to Haven? Standards over there must be really slipping."

"Can you two stupid dickheads stop trying to measure who got the longest cock and shut up? You're both supposed to be adults. Unbelievable." The device cut through your argument. You were seething. Fuming. You wanted to headbutt him, stomp on his foot, shove him through a window, and several other things that probably weren't worth the trouble.

The man smirked and winked at you. It took nearly everything you had not sucker punch him right then and there.

After a few seconds of quiet the device spoke again. "Thank you. Now, I'll keep this short. Shelly, your friends miss you. They're here with me right now. Well, the... erm... how do I put this..."

The words cut out for a moment, static drifting in and out.

"...back now. Your 'friend with his brother' is here with me. As for 'Birdy Two,' let's say... well..."

Sora and Taylor.

"She's not there with you?" A cold feeling settled in your chest.

"No, no, it's not like that. She's with us, just not in this room right now. It's complicated, and I'd rather not spell things out with an uninvited guest listening in. No offense."

"None taken, sweetheart." The man muttered beside you.

So Taylor was still alive. Good. Sora too, at least. That was something. But something told you that you needed to know more, and trusting this man with that information was another matter entirely.

> Ask her about their location. You'd go to them. The man would obviously follow, but with Taylor, Sora, and Vespera together you could handle him if he became a problem.
> Convince him to hand over the device. You wanted to hear this privately, without him picking up every word. Have this conversation in private.
> Tell Vespera it was fine for him to hear. You didn't fully trust him, but you knew that if he pushed you far enough, he'd lose a potential ally and gain a real enemy. If he had even a shred of sense beneath that attitude, he'd keep himself in check.
> Other (Write in)

>>6426841
>Ask her about their location. You'd go to them. The man would obviously follow, but with Taylor, Sora, and Vespera together you could handle him if he became a problem.

>>6426841
> Ask her about their location. You'd go to them. The man would obviously follow, but with Taylor, Sora, and Vespera together you could handle him if he became a problem.

>>6426841
>>Ask her about their location. You'd go to them. The man would obviously follow, but with Taylor, Sora, and Vespera together you could handle him if he became a problem.

>>6426841

"Vespera, I'm heading to the headquarters, I think. You're there with them, right? Well, I want to meet you again, though..." You glanced down at your blackened arm. "...I might look a little different. But I promise, it's still me."

"I don't know if that's good news or not, but I'll let the others know. They're pretty excited that you're back. For a moment they thought you were dead, and with good reason. You disappeared for a long time, and we know you're not the type to just vanish on people. Where have you been?"

You had died, technically, but you had told the story so many times by now that repeating it again felt like a chore.

"I'll explain everything once I'm with you all again. I'm on my way." You started walking towards the tavern, intending to pick up Cerise and head to the White Fang headquarters, which were somewhere south. You'd remember the exact warehouse once you could see the streets properly.

"Do you even know where we are right now?" The same faintly annoyed voice came from the butterfly. The Huntsman walked behind you, following in silence. "We moved headquarters. Some unfortunate... stuff happened with the old one."

You slowed your pace. "You're still in the city though, I'd imagine?"

"Yes. We're in the upper district now. Much quieter and more peaceful, but it feels lonely at times. Then again, what part of this city doesn't?"

"I wouldn't know. I just got here." You spoke to the butterfly as you continued toward the tavern.

---

The walk north was uneventful. Not many people wanted to get in the way of two obvious Huntsmen and one of the so-called infected walking alongside them. And what were the infected, exactly? From what you had overheard from passersby, a large number of undead people had appeared outside the city, wandering near its outskirts. Immune to Grimm, non-hostile. Just people moving around with visibly rotting skin and no apparent purpose. That, understandably, unsettled people.

The Huntsman following you had grown quiet. The walk was far more subdued now. He clearly knew by this point that you had ties to the White Fang. Well, it was either that or being a creature of Grimm, and between the two, the former was considerably easier to explain.

Entering the noble district came without incident. If anything, the further you moved through the empty streets and abandoned buildings, the worse things felt. Not dangerous, just… empty. This place had been lively once. Crime-ridden and rough around the edges, sure, but it had people. Now it was teetering on the edge of a ghost town. The noble district especially felt that way.

"This is where we part ways, missy." The man spoke up suddenly, hands in his pockets, shoulders slouched forward. That was... unexpected. You had been bracing yourself to cut him loose, knowing full well he wouldn't last long if it came to a fight with Sora and Taylor in the mix.

"Oh. I thought you wanted to keep an eye on me?" That genuinely caught you off guard. Was this a ruse?

"I do, a little. But babysitting's not really my thing." He shrugged lazily. "I've got my own reasons for being in this city and things I need to look into. You seem... fine enough on your own for now. I've still got a list of questions for you, but they can wait." He yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Stay out of trouble, pipsqueak. And expect me to turn up when you least want me to." He started walking away, back towards the heart of the city, just as you crossed through the gates separating the market district from the noble one.

You watched him go in silence. He stopped, not turning around fully, still slouched. "What, no tearful goodbye? No 'come back safe'? Nothing?"

"No." That was your only answer. Cerise stood quietly beside you, watching the both of you.

"Huh. Cold. Really selling that whole 'not a monster' argument, Shelly." He spoke with sarcasm.

"Keep walking." You turned your back on him.

"Geez. With an attitude like that, no wonder your friends moved. Probably didn't want you showing up on their doorstep."

You spun around, both sabers out in an instant, rage rising sharply in your chest, but he was already gone. Just a faint disturbance in the air where he had been standing. You reached out with your emotional sense and your hearing. Nothing. Only the skittering of rats, the flutter of distant birds, and the wind moving through empty streets. He was fast.

"I kind of liked him." Cerise broke the silence first.

"What?! He's insufferable. You only think that because he hates Atlas as much as you do." You sheathed your blades, the frustration bleeding out of you now that you were alone again, and kept walking. You glanced at the broken butterfly drone tucked beneath your robes. It had gone quiet a while back.

"Incorrect. He dislikes Atlas. I hate Atlas. But yes, I suppose that is the main reason we got along."

"Got along? Cerise, it almost sounds like your emotions are starting to surface again." You said it with a hint of sarcasm, but there was warmth behind it. She was slowly, very slowly, becoming more like a person again.

"My apologies if that bothers you, Miss Shelly. If you prefer, I can be less expressive and keep more to myself." Cerise replied in her usual neutral tone.

"No, it's fine. I like it when you act more like yourself. Like a human would." You meant that genuinely.

"Does that imply you no longer consider me human?"

You kept walking in silence through the misty, still streets of the noble district. What could you say to that? She was human, but not entirely. Was she?

"I suppose I do consider you human." You didn't fully believe it as you said it. It felt off somehow.

"Then you would be wrong, Miss Shelly. I don't consider myself human anymore. Humans eat. Humans sleep. Humans feel." A brief pause. "I don't do most of those things well."

"What do you consider yourself, then?" You glanced over at her. She was looking to the side, taking in the district around her, as though turning something over quietly in her mind.

"I don't know." She answered after a few seconds of quiet. Silence settled over the two of you again. If she didn't consider herself human, then how would you consider yourself?

---

After another few minutes of walking through streets utterly devoid of life, save for the faint, distant impression of someone watching from far away, most likely the Huntsman, you arrived at the address the drone had given you earlier.

The first thing you saw was a courtyard. Abandoned, its wrought iron gates hanging wide open and covered with brown, somewhat humid rust. Patches of overgrown grass pushed up against the spiked metal fencing that lined a row of eye-height stone pillars. Beyond the courtyard stood a large wooden house, three stories at least. It looked empty from the outside, just like every other manor in the district, yet you caught the faintest trace of feeling from within. A few presences, quiet and still, but there.

This emotional sense of yours was proving remarkably useful. It almost felt like cheating. No wonder Grimm were so dangerous, if they possessed something even remotely like it.

> Dice roll time! Same rule as always, best of three, 3d10, DC 22, Crit 26

Rolled 3, 2, 3 = 8 (3d10)

>>6429983

Rolled 6, 8, 7 = 21 (3d10)

>>6429983

Rolled 3, 3, 8 = 14 (3d10)

>>6429983