[Carmim Clover]

❝ AURA: 100% WORDS: 1063 | TWC: 1063 Each beat of the drum tells a story, About a little girl, Who swore she'd save the world. She was nervous. She was nervous. About facing a Grimm. It was honestly refreshing. Haven had changed her in a lot of ways, and one of those ways was hardening her into the kind of warrior she had wanted to become. It had also taken many things from her. She was hardly the same bright and cheery little girl she was when she'd started at the Academy, just a few years ago. She was stronger. She was a protector of the people. And she hadn't felt nervous in the face of a Grimm in quite some time. Her Semblance was powerful. Her Aura could withstand a bite from a Sea Feilong, without flexing. She was strong enough to throw Grimm three times her size, and with her Semblance training and practice, she was much more mobile than she once was. Grimm hadn't scared her in a while. And while she wasn't excited that this one was, it was oddly comforting. She sometimes felt like she was going to completely lose herself to her work- like she was just going through the motions, on a Sisyphean task with no real end in sight. And that wasn't wrong, either. The war on the creatures of Grimm was one that wouldn't end. But at least it was a task with a sense of progression. She couldn't kill every Grimm in the world, everywhere, but she could find the biggest and nastiest ones and take those out. There were a lot of villages, but she could conceivably defend some of them. And when a Beringel was sighted near one of them, she would go and destroy it. She was just glad she didn't have to do it alone. Hell, she wouldn't have known about it if it weren't for sheer happenstance. None other than Bianca Sabbato, spotting her as she was leaving a settlement she'd helped with a little bandit problem. Turned out Bianca was sent to help the very same settlement, but by chance, Carmim had gotten to it first. Except the bandits weren't the only thing Bianca'd been sent to deal with... It was probably the first time she'd seen one of her classmates, except for maybe Argent, in about six or seven months. Bianca looked good- just as professional and put-together as ever. Like a real Huntress, even though she was apparently still finishing up her studies. Carmim... didn't look as good. Life on the road did that to anyone. Her clothes weren't dirty, but they weren't pristine and wrinkle-free. There were patches and stitch-lines from her less-than-stellar tailoring, when she got in over her head, and her Aura broke up against a couple of Nevermores here, a Deathstalker, there. Likewise, her hair was relatively clean, but unkempt and messy, and while her face was clean, and she managed to bathe at least somewhat regularly, she still looked like she'd been roughing it outdoors for the past year or so. Her drum still bore the scars from the Dust Ward Killer's attack- a tiny hole in the skin, and scratches and dents along the wooden body. The harness had clearly been snapped and tied together again. Reminders to be more careful; each gouge and crack told a story.The bags under her eyes told a story too. Grimm don't sleep. So neither could she. She honestly wasn't sure if anybody had ever gone looking to see where she'd been either. With her busted Scroll, she'd lost contact with just about everyone, outside of things like this; bumping into her on the road. In this case, it was a very fortunate meeting for both of them. A voice crackled over the speakerphone on Bianca's Scroll, a vaguely familiar, lazy Menagerian drawl. "...and if you see fallen trees in a line, and broken-up earth- you can probably feel that with your Semblance, maybe- you know you're in the right spot. Call me if you got any other questions, and uh. Buona fortuna. Don't die, heh." Click. Carmim didn't know Nina super-well, but she'd called up Bianca with the tip about the Beringel nearby, and helpfully provided some directions to its last known location. So they at least knew where they were going. It was somewhere in the nearby forest. And it had already torn through two settlements that happened to be in its warpath. If there were any survivors, they sure as hell hadn't stuck around. Ghost towns, both of them. "So... How have you been? Since ah... You know." It was surprisingly hard coming up with words to say, even though she was craving a bit of small talk as they made their way towards their prey. It wasn't that she felt awkward around Bianca, specifically. But she hadn't seen anyone she knew in a while. Isolation was strange. And bringing up what was probably as sore a spot for Bianca as it was for her was probably not the best way to spark a nice chat either. She wasn't sure how close she'd been to anyone that had died or been injured in the attack, but in the end, that didn't really matter much. She was there. She no doubt remembered the carnage as well as Carmim did. And she no doubt harbored as much pain and anger towards the so-called "revolutionaries" as she did. It was still hard coming to terms with everything that had happened. She missed Aegle. And Granado. That was why she was out here, hunting Beringels, and bandits, and terrorists. Anyone who hurt people. She'd seen too much suffering. She didn't want anyone else to have to face that pain. And she was sure Bianca felt the same. If anything, the past year had led her to understand what being a Huntress truly meant. There were many reasons to devote a life to hunting the Grimm. But in the end, they all boiled down the same, at least the ones who were set firm on their path, and not just in it for money or glory. Money and glory wasn't worth dying for- those Huntsmen retired early, if they didn't get themselves killed along the way. A true Huntress did what she did because it was something nobody else was prepared to do. She and Bianca were heading to slay a Beringel, because nobody else could do it. But it needed to be done.

LAIKA OF GS!

[Bianca Sabbato]

How the fuck was I going to deal with a Beringuel?

That was the million lien question.

For once, trying to destroy it on my own seemed dumb. There was no way I was fighting that overpowered gorilla head-on without some heavy-hitting reinforcements. If I tried to do that, two things would happen. First, I would die. Second, I could not beat it, so it would be a worthless sacrifice that fixed nothing.

I made a couple calls to the headmaster (who sounded like he was about to have a heart attack until I reassured him that I was not planning to fight the Grimm) to the council. And some huntsman circles to see what I could get.

Huntsman Deraine was busy on the other side of the continent, containing a Grimm infestation that had gotten out of hand. Argent and his mentors were likewise dealing with some similar shit. Kishka and the rest of the golden wings were also occupied at the moment.

I got into contact with a huntsman who was willing to provide assistance. But he would be available at the earliest in about two weeks... So that was two weeks the Grimm had to roam free and keep destroying settlements. And that wouldn’t do.

I arrived in town riding a trusty brown mare. I wanted to go for a fast one first. Before a call with Nina assured me Beringuels could move faster than horses, so it was pretty much the same. I wasn’t outrunning that thing.

That was the reason why I had a backpack loaded with some simple electronic goodies. Mostly cameras, but also a neat tracking device that cost me a pretty lien to get. And I was on my way to get some explosive materials. I doubted that this small town would have finished bombs available for sale. But I knew at least how to make a pipe bomb.

Attract the Beringuel to a secluded location with explosions, monitor the beast with a set of cameras, and implant a tracking device on it from afar with my semblance once I got the chance... That was the game plan. From then on, I could keep an eye on his movements, organize evacuations if the Grimm came close to a town, and have it pinned for when the promised reinforcements finally arrived.

It would be dangerous and nerve-wracking. Since I needed to control my emotions for entire weeks to avoid drawing the monster towards me... I could see why no one had volunteered to play ring around the Rosie with the Grimm.

But, hey. It looked like someone crazy enough to do so had finally appeared. And I wasn’t talking only about me. Since the Non-descript winter holiday arrived early that year in the form of a wild Carmim Clover arriving out of nowhere.

I was wondering who had been the huntress who took care of the bandits threatening that town. To find out it was a familiar face was a happy coincidence. My eyes grew wide as soon as I realized it was her... I even would have suspected she was dead if not for Argent crossing paths with her every now and then and confirming her survival.

After some greetings were exchanged, we quickly decided to join forces in dealing with this Beringuel. At least I knew I was glad to have Carmim in my side for this. With her in tow, there was no need to play the waiting game around the Grimm. I trusted her semblance would be enough to kill that damn thing if we bought her a couple good shots.

Needless to say, I was suddenly feeling way more confident about this mission. Leaving the horse, we headed in the direction the Grimm was last seen.

-Will leave you my tail on my testament if I do. See ya around- I replied just as Nina cut the line. Chances were we wouldn’t get much reception inside the forest anyway... But that meant I could use the time to catch up with Clover.

She looked... Not great, very rough around the edges. It was not like she was in full-hobo mode, but it was clear the Vacuoan girl had seen better days. More than in her clothing, this was clear in the heavy bags under her eyes. Which were a tad bit worrying, to be honest, considering the kind of job Carmim did.

Not that I could blame her for losing sleep. Especially after everything Carmim has been through. Few had lost so many things during the assault on Ground district as Carmim. I didn’t know what it was like having a sibling, so I couldn’t begin to imagine what it felt like to lose one, but you didn’t need to be a genius to assume it wasn’t pretty.

I had been lucky, in a way. Who was I really close with? Kish, Ber, Chloro, maybe Argent by extension... Not many more, just faces that come and go every now and then. Couldn’t say I lost anyone important to me that day... I was more upset with myself for not being able to save more people, to be honest.

But as powerful as a semblance you can have, as determined as you may be. Saving will always be more complicated than destroying, so there is precious little you can do when you have an entire class of trainees decides to charge to their deaths.

But that seemed to be a constant.

Fucking idiots, them, and the ones who made them march to the slaughterhouse. Talk about doing the job of the terrorist for them. I wonder if the one who ordered the attack would later give himself a medal for his dashing decision and brave action or whatever...

Shaking my head, I didn’t want to linger in those feelings. Took me to dark places where I didn’t wanna be. Luckily, Carmim’s question pulled me out of my funk a little. I pondered an answer for a couple seconds.

-Same old, I guess... Figuring out what to do. Things are different now, but you gotta adapt, you know?- I said, with a half-smile and a shrug I was sure Carmim could read right through. Another way to say it was shitty because everything, in general, was shitty nowadays.

-What about you? Have not seen you around in... Ages really, more than a year at this point. Don’t you swing by the city every now and then?-

I asked away, curious about the life of our favorite sand midget. And eager to send a message of her wellbeing to the peeps back at the capital. I was sure at least Valeska would be glad to know of Carmim.

-I think last time I heard of you, it wasn’t you at all-

Chuckling, I took out my scroll and showed Carmim the archived conversation with a certain CARMIM CLOVER during the whole Argus Limited ordeal. -Guess I took my sweet time, but I finally arrived to help with the Beringuel, huh?-

A little lightheartedness felt nice every now and then. Considering what we were about to face, we probably needed all the relief we could find before things could go south... But as long as I could protect Carmim, I was sure she could finish the job.

I couldn’t really afford to keep failing now. Nor was I willing to allow it.

---

1230 / 1230 Words

[Carmim Clover]

❝ WORDS: 611 | TWC: 1674 Each beat of the drum tells a story, About a little girl, Who swore she'd save the world. She nodded at Bianca's words, contemplating them, a bit plaintively. Simple truths; didn't need much elaboration. Adapting was the only way forward from things like that, after all. Anything less meant wallowing in the past until you were consumed by misery. She might have been a hair's width from that line, but she hadn't yet managed to cross it. That was enough for her. "It has been hard..." It was a straightforward answer. Maybe a little more direct and truthful than she'd intended, actually, but she didn't really have the energy to spare for sugarcoating, and knowing Bianca, the lizard faunus probably wouldn't have appreciated the attempt, even if she were capable of it right then. Still, she followed it with a soft smile, a bit sad, but brimming with tired perseverance. "...But I have managed. No, I have not been to the city for a long time. I have been too busy out here for that." She glanced out to the wilderness all around them. It was where she'd spent all her time- any downtime from fighting bandits and Grimm was time trapped alone with her own thoughts, and that was too painful to bear most days. So she didn't spare any time for visits to the city, or any other luxuries. She just tried her best not to think about the old saying about a candle burning brighter and hotter than any other... She perked up a bit at Bianca's next remark, tilting her head to the side. "Not me...?" The lizard girl's mirthful laughing wasn't helping to clear up the confusion at all, until she pulled out her Scroll to show the redhead the strange messages. "What! This is not even a good impression of me! Besides, I have not had my Scroll in..." She trailed off, thinking back on hard memories. Holly, then Jackie, had been her Scroll repair buddies. The first had died; the second, she hadn't seen since the incident. She wasn't sure if she'd been involved or not, but in the end, it hardly mattered, as far as her Scroll was concerned; she never dropped by the city anyways, so there'd be no chance of getting it fixed there. She kept telling herself she didn't need the distraction anyways. Not that there was any truth to that tired excuse; she was lonely out in the middle of nowhere. Just having Bianca around at all was almost surreal after so long on her own. ...She felt like she was dragging the conversation down. She didn't want to be all depressing, especially not with what they were headed to do in mind. So instead, she forced herself to laugh at the Beringel comment, and left the Scroll remark behind her, like the rest of the past she was running from. "Hehe. You sure did. Pretty far from Argus, though. The fake me definitely is no good with directions." She lingered on that note for a few moments, with a plastic smile plastered on her face, trying desperately to think of somewhere else for the conversation to go. It was hard to do when asking Bianca about their friends was as depressing as it was; too many of them were dead. And the ones that weren't, weren't much luckier. "I hope you have still been playing your violin. Is the Music Club still going well?" Hopefully it was. She wasn't even sure if Bianca was still keeping it going after all that time, actually. But as far as she was aware, Bianca was still a student, even though Carmim was sure she was the better Huntress between the two of them.

LAIKA OF GS!

[Bianca Sabbato]

I returned Carmim’s tired smile with one of my own, a little shaky as well, but that was the best we had, apparently.

I gave her a friendly shoulder punch as we walked through the forest. Words seemed a little cheap, but I didn’t know Carmim well enough to be much more touchy than that. So I figured out she would get it that way.

I hummed in agreement when Carmim mentioned spending time here out in the wilderness. The woods, forest, and plains were as far as one could see. Not a sight that I was unfamiliar with, but most likely not nearly as used to it as the small Vacuoan girl was, by her own admission. It was calm, silent, but most of all, lonely.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t avoid frowning at the implications. Too busy, huh? Well, looking at the heavy bags under her eyes and the state of her weapon. I was not surprised.

Shaking my head a bit, I wasn’t sure what to make of things. I often had the unsavory habit of getting my nose into things that were none of my business... I recognized this, which didn’t mean I could stop myself from doing it most of the time.

Still, I tried to let go. Carmim likely knew what she was doing to herself. So I tried to drop my “wanting to fix everything” attitude and just go with the flow... And I managed to keep it like that for about five minutes. Until she mentioned not having her scroll of all things.

-Huh? What do you mean you don’t have a scroll?- I asked out, arching an eyebrow and turning my head towards her in bewilderment.

-You need to fix that shit, Carm. Every huntsman has a scroll. How do you manage to find work then? Mouth to mouth?- I was genuinely wondering how Carmim functions out there on her own when completely cut out from any interaction. And some things that I hadn’t noticed till now started to make much more sense in retrospect.

-Hell, I have even been looking for help with this Beringuel. I came alone because I couldn’t find anyone free or willing. If you had a scroll, you could have let me know, and we could have arranged this beforehand-

I made an effort to sound more amazed than chastizing. The least I wanted to do was to piss on the girl who would help me take down one of the most dangerous creatures roaming the continent. But damn, things could have been way simpler if she had kept a functioning scroll with her.

-I mean...- I began, talking with a much softer voice. -What happens when you need help with something? How do you contact other people?- I pushed a bit, figuring out what the answer would be. But I kinda wanted to just let that one out for Carmim, so no real need for her to answer.

Eventually, we came around the topic of the music club... And once again, I didn’t have anything positive to say about it, as sad as it was.

-Nah... I had to close the club down- I said with a shrug. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it. -Not a lot of musically inclined people anyway. And the few musicians were not interested in clubs and stuff. Bunch of tryhards-

Honestly, who had time to spend trying to look cool while in a huntsman academy? We are all cool enough already! It was enough that we had the life expectancy of a large dog. No need to waste that time being shy and shit.

I mean... There was Granado. But I was NOT going to be mentioning him around Carmim like that. Not unless she specifically wanted to talk about him.

-So I was basically just playing alone like an idiot. That’s why I decided to close it since that was... A little sad, to be honest- I chuckled a bit. I recalled the last week of the club’s existence. I didn’t even have anyone coming to check the thing out. So I decided enough was enough... It had been a sad thing. But a necessary one.

-Better to spend that time training, I guess. I have been feeling a little disappointed in my progress lately. So it makes sense, right?- After... What happened in Ground District, our hope of having the new batch of trainees replace the losses from the fall had been all but snuffed away. So the ones left had to pick up the slack from that.

And since I was a stubborn motherfucker who refused to die. I had to put in the effort as well.

Not to mention the particular kind of pressure I had to perform well, to show everyone that letting me do this was not a mistake. I needed to be better than ever, to silence every doubt in my mind... I still felt so far away from it, but I could only try my hardest and wish for the best.

But back to music... Yeah. That was something I had been leaving aside for the time being. Probably more than what I was comfortable with.

-Not that I don’t miss playing more often... If I had known you would be here, I would have brought it so we could play something together. Maybe for the next time?-

I asked with a sigh. I could probably afford to take that old thing with me during missions. I still mostly did escort, so I had some free time during shifts every now and then.

---

938 / 2168 Words

[Carmim Clover]

❝ WORDS: 1133 | TWC: 2807 Each beat of the drum tells a story, About a little girl, Who swore she'd save the world. Carmim shrugged in reply, as Bianca responded pretty strongly to her talk about her broken Scroll. A half-hearted shrug, not quite defeated, but not quite as defiant as it could have been. A shrug that was resigned to her fate. It was a telling shrug- a shrug that spoke volumes of her mental state, whether she wanted to verbalize those feelings or not. She hadn't really cared about herself in a while. Months. It was a miracle she'd made it this far, in a world that should have, by all rights, swallowed her whole towards the start of her journey. A little bit of her wanted to be swallowed up. It hadn't been that way, when she first enrolled at Haven. But now, after everything she'd been through, she couldn't deny that she was one of a long spiritual lineage of Huntsmen and Huntresses with a deathwish. Just strong enough to stay alive. But lacking all the willpower to truly live. It had been hard. She was managing. "It broke a long time ago. I have not had the time to go back to the city to have it fixed." Simple, matter of fact. Not mentioning that the only people she knew of with the brains for fixing Scrolls were either dead, or up and disappeared. Maybe for Bianca, having a Scroll was just a fact of life, and something to be expected of any Huntress. But Carmim hadn't had a Scroll until she started at Haven. And coming from a one-radio town, it just hadn't seemed like a priority to her. But there was also a part of her that had given up. Accepted being alone. Some part of her felt like she deserved it. She couldn't exactly express why, or what she'd done to deserve such a horrible thing. But she didn't feel like she should be around anyone. Felt like nobody would want her around, after everything. It was silly. "There is enough work out here." It went without saying, why. The Council didn't care about these people, these villages. The Council didn't even care about the people in the capital; the Ground District, the Kozaks, the trainees who fought for their charmed lives. She didn't have to look very far to find trouble, this far out from Mistral City. "I walk from village to village. They all need help." She was quiet as Bianca continued, though. It hadn't occurred to her that people may actually want to contact her. Even if it was just to help fight Grimm, like they were planning on doing. She couldn't deny that it would have been easier on Bianca if she'd been able to get in touch with her. Wasn't like anyone would just know where she was, without her telling them. Would be easier that way. She continued staring down and ahead as they walked to the spot where the Beringel was last seen. Bianca's tone shifted and the questions came a little gentler, but that only made them sting a little more. She felt selfish and awful. It was as illogical as feeling unworthy of human contact, though- she wasn't some terrible person for not getting her Scroll repaired. And she really had been busy. Maybe a bit recklessly so; she was running on vapors most days. But only because she was trying to fill a vast hole in the world, with handfuls of sand. Her answer came quietly, with a weight like shackles hanging from her shoulders. "I..." 'Would not want to be a bother.' 'Do not contact people. Or need help.' 'Am fine on my own. I would not want to drag anybody else to their doom.' 'Like Granado.' 'Like Class Blue.' 'Like Aegle.' She left those words unspoken. Instead, simply frowned and gladly changed the conversation to a lighter topic. That didn't turn out to be much lighter, as Bianca explained the Music Club's condition. "Oh. I am sorry to hear that." She struggled to find something to say in response to Bianca confessing that she'd all but quit the violin. It was disheartening to hear. She wanted to tell her that keeping up with something she loved was good for her soul, and arguably as important as training was. But she couldn't say that in good faith. Not with those bags under her eyes, and the pain in her chest. Her life was exhausting. And her soul was being spent every day. Wake up; eat, if there was food. Walk to the next village. Solve their problems, whatever ones she could solve. Wasn't always Grimm and bandits. She helped farmers with their harvests. Helped build and repair homes, stores, and walls. She did what she could, for whoever she could. She wasn't naïve enough to ignore the lesser plights of people with nothing else. Out in the wilderness, starvation or pneumonia from a leaky roof were just as deadly as any Beringel. And yet, she still refused to pause, even for a day, to tend to herself and her own needs. Every minute she wasn't actively helping people, she was letting someone die. Again. She couldn't be the cause of any more death. Not again. Not anymore. She smiled, a little sadly. "Next time. For sure." She liked the thought of playing music with Bianca. She let a long silence pass, unless the lizard faunus wished to break it sooner. Then mused aloud, wondering about their quarry as they drew ever closer. "So this Beringel... Have you ever fought one before?" She glanced inquisitively towards her partner. Considering Bianca was actively seeking it out, it didn't seem unreasonable that this wasn't her first time. But all the same, even if it was, that didn't change much. Carmim had yet to face one either. She knew of them, and their infamous feats of strength and raw power. And hoped that she might even be able to match it. She wasn't sure if she could, admittedly, not on her own. It wouldn't have stopped her from going after it, the moment she heard about it being nearby, though. Death was hardly a deterrent for her anymore. More like an old friend she expected to run into eventually. She was too young to be thinking those thoughts, but considering her line of work, it wasn't like there was anybody in a position to tell her that with a straight face. It was a hard life. A cruel, merciless, unforgiving, thankless, existence. She'd chosen it for herself. Just as Bianca had. And with that life, came certain expectations. She wasn't afraid to die. But she also knew that she wouldn't; not yet. She had villages full of people to protect. Bianca needed her to live, so she could fight this monster. She wasn't going to die. She was going to fight.

LAIKA OF GS!

[Bianca Sabbato]

I noticed how lackadaisically Carmim reacted to my questions about the scroll. And it only served to increase my uneasiness with the whole situation.

A scroll was a tool like any other. But one of the utmost importance for any huntsman living out there in the wilderness. And in a profession like ours, we needed all the tools we could get to fight the Grimm and bandits.

Purposedly stripping yourself of the tools for your work was irresponsible towards yourself. And also towards your job. I mean... You were supposed to preserve your life and wellbeing so you could help more people, right?

-Everybody needs help...- I responded with a tired sigh. Pushing a little more, I wanted to test Carmim’s limits a bit. I wanted to see if she wanted to elaborate a bit further, but I decided not to force the issue as much.

-It’s the same everywhere you go. Everyone seems to be just barely holding on- I quickly amended, wanting to make it look like I was talking about helping villages and the like.

Truth be told... Carmim was right about something. There was entirely too much work to be done for so few hands. Things would be so much easier if we could be saved for special occasions like strong Grimm or situations like the train attack.

A part of me begrudgingly agreed with some Kozak views on that. People could absolutely take a more active role in protecting their own homeland... But they didn’t need to form a fucking terrorist group to do that. No one would fault them if they decided to start a town militia and train on their own.

-The Council, the Kozaks... Everything is the same... They really don’t give a fuck about people, right? And people are barely any better- I spoke out loud without thinking much about it. I didn’t know how well received the particular topic would be, so I would drop it if Carmim showed signs of being upset about it.

I stole a glance towards Carmim at her inconclusive response. It was clear that she wanted to say something... I would irk her about it later, once this whole thing was done. And that shit about her scroll was something else I would not ignore. Curse me all you want, Carmim. But I would be taking that issue into my own hands once we deal with this Grimm.

Moving to lighter topics. At least I was happy to see Carmim had not given up on the idea of playing her drum for fun, so I could only encourage her further.

-I look forward to it... Friend- I spoke, having a little trouble getting the last word out... Yeah, my relationship with that particular word was a muddy one, even if I said so myself.

I could probably count with my hands how many times I had actually used it in the last few years, and I would have fingers left... To be honest, the word made me feel a bit uncomfortable. And I knew I was stupid for feeling that way... It’s just...

Let’s just say I was used to having people abandoning me. So I was cautious with my relationships, overly cautious even. I guess that was what cost me Berwyn. The girl probably got tired of waiting for an indecisive lizard...

But I remembered that Carmim called me friend once, so I wanted to return the favor. Or at least not to deny it to her face. And I was actually looking forward to fulfilling that promise, so it was not a lie.

But soon, we arrived at the last known location of the Grimm. And I had to respond with a negative to Carmim’s question.

-Does fighting them in my imagination counts? If not, then I have not- I mentioned. Taking out one of the two plain metal spears from my back. I knew damn well that one of them would not be enough, and I expected to leave the fight with none of them left. But it was better than being unarmed.

-I know about as much as anyone. Beringuels are super strong, super durable, much faster than what people give them credit for. I don’t think I can take one down by myself, but your semblance should do the trick-

They were also really skilled. Like, you could run away from an Ursa or circle around it, poking it until it crumbled to dust. You could not do that with a Beringuel least you want to eat a punch sandwich to the face.

-I think a Beringuel was what retired Shadecloak. So you are staying out of range and blasting it whenever I get you an opening. I will be going close range-

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. It was a practiced ritual. I was conditioned to accept that my life would be at risk in some jobs. And that one day, I might not come back from a fight.

The Grimms were a bit different, but the circumstances were mostly the same. I was more skilled, but they were stronger than your average gang of the Ground District.

Still, you need to be a special kind of motherfucker to not be scared of a Beringuel. A type of person I certainly wasn’t. I just merely ignore those feelings and try to get the job done.

-Unless you have some other plans?- I asked Carmim as I scanned the surroundings for clues or something like that. She had more experience fighting Grimm than me, so I didn’t mind following her lead.

---

938 / 3106 Words

[Carmim Clover]

❝ AURA: 100% WORDS: 824 | TWC: 3631 Each beat of the drum tells a story, About a little girl, Who swore she'd save the world. Carmim nodded somberly at Bianca's diagnosis of the problems facing Mistral. It was a bit of a relief to hear someone else expressing the same thoughts she often felt, as she roamed from place to place. Each one worse for wear, struggling. Sometimes she came close to giving up on people. But that was never the answer. No matter how easy it might be to do so. "No, they do not. Only the people they need. The rest are left to suffer." She didn't elaborate further- there was no need. Any Huntress in Mistral could find a dozen examples of people left to the wolves when they were of no more use to the Council. People considered disposable. The ones who slipped through the cracks. The Rochdale and Kerch refugees, left with nowhere to go. People like Qiu'li, and Solomon, and Holly. Ferric. Raul. The ones who may not have turned out so bad if they had been helped sooner. If there had been people to fix them. People like Aegle, who struggled for every breath of air, only to be pushed further and further backwards. The Kozaks weren't any better- all the lives they claimed, for some big lofty ideals. Sure, they helped people. But only the people who bent the knee for their leader. Only the ones they could use to overthrow the Council. And then what? One evil leader was as bad as another. She didn't want to dwell on those thoughts for too much longer, though. So she was glad when the conversation shifted. A soft smile spread over her face as Bianca called her "friend." It didn't come easily; not as easily as it used to. But it was a smile, a genuine one. She even surprised herself, which only caused it to widen a bit further. The smile dimmed as they reached their destination, though. She eyed Bianca's metal spears curiously. She still hadn't replaced her weapon? Not that it mattered much- Bianca was as capable with a long tree branch as she was with any spear. Skill was skill, and the faunus had it in spades. Carmim envied her for that, a bit. She had spent her years at Haven fighting to control her Semblance; there hadn't been much time at all to develop her skill in hand-to-hand combat. She was strong, much stronger than most of her peers, but she lacked the finesse and martial prowess to truly leverage that strength. Bianca's assessment was accurate, though- something Carmim would have fiercely disagreed with a year ago. Her Semblance was powerful. A force of destruction that made up for her lack of any real experience fighting with her fists or any weapons. It wouldn't be an easy fight, not at all. But she was more than capable of helping her friend put down the monstrous Grimm. Her stomach fluttered with anticipation. Strong, durable, and fast. And smart. She remembered fighting the Alpha Beowolf in the midterm exams, with Heidi and Nasrin. That was a long time ago, but the memory was burned into her mind. Terror. Even with two other trainees, they had only narrowly made it out of that situation alive and mostly unharmed. Then there were the Sabyrs... In Rochdale. She still wore the scars from that. Then there was the grimmified Qiu'li... She'd faced Grimm before, and they were all powerful. Never a threat to be dismissed. Always an opponent to treat with respect and a sensible measure of wariness. She expected no less from the Beringel. And she would be a fool to think otherwise. Just as she'd be a liar if she said she wasn't nervous and afraid. Perhaps for the first time in a long time, actually. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of the forest. A little pang touched her chest as once again she smelled forest instead of desert sands. But she had been in Mistral long enough that the ache for home was felt for only a brief second. The forest was calming too, though. Nature was kinder to her than the city had ever been. And it was something she could count on to steady her nerves before this battle. Her fingers grazed the goatskin of her drumhead. Every little crack and dent. The small hole from her fight with what Qiu'li had become. Battered and worn. She hoped it would serve her well in this fight too. She cracked her back, stretching out and limbering up as much as she could, while listening to the sounds of the woods. It was quiet. Unnaturally quiet. No birds chirping; no frogs or insects chattering. The wind was hushed. It was almost time. She shook her head. "No, I was going to suggest the same thing. It is a good plan." Far off in the distance, the sound of crackling wood drew nearer. She gulped and her muscles tensed. There was no turning back now.

LAIKA OF GS!

[Bianca Sabbato]

I pretended I didn’t see Carm smiling as well... It was nice. Carmim was nice. And that was pretty much all there was to it. A nice interaction. Probably no need for me to start second-guessing myself on that one. If she wanted to be a friend... At least I could try my best towards it.

But all good things come to an end. And this was a foretold one. Our prey was close, so it was time to hunt it.

-Get ready... I’ll draw it towards me...- I whispered towards Carmim as I stepped forward into the silent wood, hearing the crushing sounds as they drew nearer. -Good luck- I muttered, not only to the redhead girl but also to myself... I would probably need it.

I relaxed my body. I needed to be on the top of my game to survive. No fucking around, no wasted movements or second thoughts. I just had to fight as I knew. Everything else didn’t matter, I had a mission to accomplish, and I was going to do it no matter what.

I whistled once, and the noises stopped. I whistled again, and a low growl could be heard in the distance. After the third time, it was a flat-out roar. I knew it was coming, but I couldn’t see it. From the front? From the side...?

Not quite.

I could feel, more than see, as the monster landed beside me. The impact literally felt like being hit by a train. Every fiber of my body rattled and trembled as the tremendous strength swung me back into the air. Fated to fly for who knows how long or how far. If not for my clearance of mind to stab my spear at the ground to anchor myself.

The rest of the forest wasn’t so lucky. Trees fell down and were swept away with tremendous force. Along with bushes, rocks, branches, and even small animals, whom I could see flying to their doom as a shockwave of destruction emerged from the Grimm’s body. Even I had to grip the shaft of the spear real tight to avoid meeting the same fate.

Still, the air pressure kept me stuck there like a flag fluttering in the wind for a couple of seconds. Until the impact subsided and I could plant my feet on the ground again. Not a second before I was back on the fight, I went into the offensive.

That thing was dangerous. So I needed it doing right what I needed if I wanted to have a chance of killing it... And I knew this meant to have its attention focused on me and me alone.

I was not the damage dealer of the duo. of this, I was sure. Carmim was sturdy, yes. But her semblance was our true ace in the hole for defeating the Beringel. I was the least valuable of the pair in that situation, so I needed to treat myself as such.

That was my job. Simply put, to make the best I could of my abilities. If that meant killing the monster, so be it. If it meant being a punching bag for a giant gorilla... Then I had to accept it. I knew very well that the likelihood of me dying in this profession was as high as it could be. And I brought it all on myself as well, so if someone had to be the bait, I was glad it was me.

Jumping on top of a fallen tree. I whistled at the beast to get his attention, watching as the Grimm beat his chest in preparation for an attack. I saw it hunker down and took a deep breath, spear held horizontally behind my back.

The ape jumped straight towards me, and I jumped back as he smashed the fallen tree into a million pieces. Backstepping till I was at the foot of another one, I baited the Grimm to come and get me, it threw a straight punch at blinding speed, but I managed to sidestep it by an inch. The Beringel tripped on the log and fell to the ground.

A chance. I molded my earth into drills emerging from the ground. The attack penetrated the thick hide of the monster. But not nearly long enough to cause any considerable damage. The Grimm jumped back to escape my attack with almost natural ease...

So they were actually as skilled as they said... I took another breath and decided to approach... I saw an attack coming and had to dip low, almost touching the ground with my chin as the Beringel grabbed the tree and swung it at me like a club. I felt it graze my hair as it passed over me.

I thanked my faunus heritage for the low center of gravity as I got upright again. That weapon needed to go. I commanded a spinning blade of soil to come from behind him, to slice a single finger of his hand, which prompted him to miss the club after a wide swing.

The Grimm... Didn’t seem overly affected at all. Just snaring at me and launching a barrage of punches, kicks, and rolls in my direction. I told myself to remain calm as I dodged the attacks in search of an opening. I needed the beast stunned or away from me, at least for a second, so Carmim could act.

Sooner or later, it would find a hole in my defense. So I needed to get things done fast... As it went low to try and bite my guts out, I saw my chance and delivered an ax kick to his face. Cracking some teeth if his and buying me enough time to retreat on top of another tree.

I wanted to be on the same level as the Beringel’s face as the beast charged towards me.

I inhaled as it came closer. Gripping my spear hard, I focused on delivering as perfect a hit as I could. Muscles tense from the tip of my toes to the top of my body. The Beringel lurched, and my spear finally stabbed forward.

Right inside his mouth. Bullseye. Before it even had a chance to react. A small dust grenade lodged itself under his tongue and exploded, dripping electrified water from his mouth and leaving it stunned for a second.

I didn’t even bother retrieving the spear. I just left it stuck inside the creature’s mouth as I unceremoniously threw myself to the ground behind me, ass towards the sky and hands held over my head.

There was something I feared more than any blow from a Beringel, something I knew for sure would come.

-Now!- I yelled as loud as I could. Waiting for Carmim to take her shot before the Grimm could recover and rip the weapon from his mouth.

I mean... If she didn’t, the Beringel would have a very vulnerable target waiting on the ground for him to squash. So I really was putting all of my chips into the Crimson Huntress. But I trusted that she wouldn’t let that happen. It was all I could do, after all.

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44 Aura left on Bianca.

70 HP left on Beringel (-5 next turn)

[Carmim Clover]

❝ AURA: 89% WORDS: 777 | TWC: 4408 Each beat of the drum tells a story, About a little girl, Who swore she'd save the world. The redhead nodded as Bianca wished her luck. She wasn't about to argue that Bianca would need it more- they were both going to need as much as they could get. She just hoped she could bring it down before Bianca's Aura gave out. She shook her head. No, there wasn't hope. She had to. As soon as Bianca began her route towards the beast, Carmim began her trek in the opposite direction, keeping a cautious eye out for any lesser Grimm that might have come along to scavenge or spectate. She made it a pretty good ways back before the rumbling and crunching of branches stopped. She swiveled on her heel, just in time to brace against a tree- the beast slammed down right next to Bianca with force enough to send a shockwave all the way out to her. Trees were uprooted, and torn apart in its wake. She raised an arm to shield her eyes from the flurry of dust, branches, and rocks flying past her. When she lowered it, she felt her heart sink just a bit at the sight of the monster they were fighting. It was massive. Not in the same way that a Nevermore or Sea Feilong was, though- those Grimm were bigger, but the Beringel was just solid. And still much bigger than either her or Bianca- its arms alone were person-sized, at least, made up of pure muscle and power. And with a mouth huge enough to fit her whole head in it... She just hoped it wouldn't get too close to her. Maybe the most stressful part of this encounter, though, was knowing that she couldn't really do very much without a clear shot. And despite its monstrous size, the Beringel was fast. Too fast to risk taking a shot at just yet- hitting Bianca instead would be a fatal mistake for both of them. A mistake she couldn't afford to make, on the best of days, let alone in a situation this fraught. So she could only watch anxiously as the spearwoman narrowly dodged a hamfisted swing from one of those meaty fists. and again as she just barely ducked beneath a tree trunk hurtling after her. It was painful to watch, but she had to keep in mind that Bianca was skilled, far more skilled than just about any other Huntress she knew. Still, it wasn't a comfortable experience, seeing all of those close calls. Each attack, alone, could snuff out her life like a candle in the rain, and it was a testament to Bianca's training that she was able to move away from them in time. She was already lifting her drum up as Bianca prepared her big move, though- focused as she was, she could see the telltale signs in motion. The spear connected, and the Beringel's mouth foamed with the grenade's activation. Bianca went down, and Carmim's leg lurched back, bracing hard against the ground. She closed an eye, breathing in and out sharply. And at the moment she heard Bianca's voice, before she could even register the word she shouted, her hand came down, and her feet lifted up, hammering the Beringel with a concentrated blast of her Semblance- as cacophonous and deafening as ever, but notably a narrower, more precise, shot. The Beringel wasn't nearly fast enough to dodge the blow, so instead threw its arm up to block it. That may have worked well against any other attack, but in concentrating her blast so much, its piercing power was heightened. And the Beringel, tough as it was, wasn't indestructible. The blast ripped a hole through its arm and left a meaty dent in its chest, shoving it back about a dozen meters. It wasn't enough to kill it, not by a lot, but she'd taken a heavy chunk out of the Grimm, wounding it pretty severely. And as an added bonus, the force of her blast sent her hurtling back, into the still-standing treeline behind her. Her feet slammed into the trunk of a thick and sturdy oak, which creaked at the impact, but held strong in the ground. She dropped to the ground, landing with a thud, and angling her drum back up for another attack, the moment the opportunity presented itself. Luckily for her, she'd launched herself back to the limits of her range, and what she hoped would be outside the big monkey's reach. Unfortunately, that left Bianca dealing with it alone still. And from the looks of things, she'd succeeded in pissing it off, at least as much as she'd succeeded at hurting it. Just needed to land another hit like that one...

LAIKA OF GS!

Carmim: 100 - 1% (F-ranked Regular Earthquake) - 10% (Aura Burn) = 89%
Beringel: 70 - 44% (A-ranked Direct Semblance) = 26% (-5% Next Turn)

[Bianca Sabbato]

It was pretty much impossible to miss when Carmim used her semblance. Shit sounded like a dozen bombs going out in your head at once, and I was pretty sure it must feel like that as well.

I didn’t need to get up. The residual air pressure from Carmim’s attack was enough to literally lift me up my feet, letting me land softly into the ground after floating for half a second... Damn, Carmim. You are one scary bitch when you want to...

On the corner of my eye, I could see the Beringel recovering as best as he could from a blow that would have taken me out in one fell swoop. One of his arms looked ruined, and a large gash on his chest assured me that the monster wouldn’t survive another blow like that.

But that blow had to meet the mark. And the Grimm was pissed as fuck. I doubted he would be happy with staying still and waiting for the next attack... Which meant it was my turn again. Pushing a feeling of dread aside, I stood in front of the Beringel.

I loudly clapped my hand to get his attention, his movements were a bit sluggish, a bit slower than before, but he still had more than enough muscle mass to spare. So I couldn’t fool around with him, or else I would end up dead.

I gave one quick look back, and I couldn’t see Carmim around. But I trusted she would be waiting for her chance to strike... I couldn’t linger on these thoughts for long since the Beringel was already on me in a matter of seconds.

I did my best to keep him at bay with my remaining spear, blocking or parrying what attacks seemed reasonable. And getting the hell away of his heavier blows. Attacking him was out of the question as the monkey was on a rampage. I could barely stick to dodging and defending to even begin thinking about dishing some damage myself.

Even then, he managed to land a hit on me, batting my arm away with a backhanded strike that sent my spear flying behind me. That strike left my whole arm feeling numb, but I focused on ignoring the pain and trying to palliate the effects with my aura.

The Grimm was running on fumes. If there’s something akin to that on Grimm terminology. That attack from Carmim had really made a number on him. So he was trying to take me down as quickly as possible to at least cause as much damage as possible before dying like his kin liked to do.

The monkey jumped towards me, and I saw my chance to escape. Rolling aside, I let him drift away on a suddenly much softer ground I prepared for him. Roaring, the Beringel attempted to reach me, but I was counting on that.

Time to buy Carmim a great shot... And if this didn’t work... Time to pray for Carmim to save my ass.

Before the monster could reach me, a large pillar erupted from the ground, directly under me. Lifting me up thirty, forty, fifty meters into the air. The Grimm jumped but fell short halfway through, digging his fingers into the dirt instead.

And he began climbing like monkeys do, closing the distance at an incredible speed and hellbent on tearing me limb by limb... But he was simply not fast enough... I let my control over the dirt on the pillar fade away except in the small platform I was occupying.

Needless to say, soft earth and gravel cannot naturally form structures fifty meters tall. Least of all, while supporting the weight of a 3x3 mass of bone and muscle. Hence, the pillar began to collapse upon itself with the monkey still on it. And unless the Beringel was about to sprout wings, he was going to be falling in an instant.

Holding tight onto my floating platform, I whistled as loud as I could to signal Carmim to take the shot. That monkey may not have wings, but he was about to be flying very soon if I knew the sand goblin...

Good fucking riddance to him. Just one horrible monster less to terrorize the world... If only every job could be like that.

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