Nathaniel Arc had just closed the furnace for the sword. It would take a while before he could really temper the blade. He stood up and walked out of the blacksmith shop and down to his house. He could barely see the blonde locks of his son Jaune from this side of the house but he could definitely hear the boy.

"Please tell me he's not beating some poor animal with that stick."

Nathaniel saw his dreamer son exclaim "Look at my sword dad! I'm going to be a hero!" Jaune looked up to see his father. "Just like you."

Didn't I just tell him to knock that off!

Jaune's shaky hands felt the sting as the fragile tree branch flew from his hands. A slap knocked him hard and echoed across the wood clearing. The young teen grunted when he landed on all fours and slowly looked up to his father. "This ends now Jaune. If you want to grow up so fast, then you will find a job that you can actually do. I no longer want to hear about this being a hero business. Huntsmen are hardly heroes."

Jaune felt hot drops hit his hands and only vaguely felt his father look at him before the old man sighed and walked away.

It was only after he heard his father go inside that Jaune rolled on his back and looked at the sky through watery eyes. His breath was painful and his hands ached from the rug burns when the branch he had used as a sword was ripped from his hands. He must have fallen asleep because when he heard a voice the sun was suddenly halfway down.

"Are you just going to lay there like a bum?"

Jaune looked up to see his sister hover over him with a smile. The boy closed his eyes and wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve. "Go away April."

April huffed as she put her hands on her hips. "Dad said you wanted to be a huntsman. That's a new one. What will it be next week?" she said with a smile. "A dancer? An explorer? You really should just focus on studying and just choose something. No more just declaring you will be something and give up after a day or two."

Jaune looked at his sister with a pout. He sniffed as she gave him a patient smile and helped him up. "What started this anyway? Dad looked pissed."

Jaune looked away and refused to talk. April helped her youngest sibling up and grabbed a bucket of water from the well. Over ten minutes passed while he had his hands cleaned and bandaged. Jaune flexed his hands a few times before really looking at his older sister. "Thank you April."

April smiled through her long blonde braids. "Just looking out for you Jaune. You still didn't explain how you got the idea to be a huntsman. None of us have ever thought to do anything like that. And no one in the family has ever fought grim."

Jaune mumbled something.

"What was that?"

Jaune exhaled. "Dad has."

That gave her pause. "How did you find out?"

"You knew?" Jaune gave her a glare. April nodded but kept her mouth closed. She shrugged before she nudged him to continue.

"I found a picture of his team while working with mom to clean the attic. He had a armor and pictures of people and everything." Jaune felt himself smile as remembered being so excited when he found out. He wanted to hear stories and ask who these people were in the picture. Jaune never expected the glare that ran across his fathers face. Nor the look he saw his father gave the picture. Jaune knew he should have left the picture in the chest where it belonged after his father put it away. But the giddiness Jaune felt when he thought his dad was a hero stuck in his mind. Like a superhero at night and blacksmith by day. That ended quickly when his fathers' voice scared him. When his father took the stick away and hit him.

"Just let dad cool off Jaune. He doesn't like talking about what he did before marrying mom. I only know because of the sword he has in his room." Jaune looked at his sister in surprise. But she sadly shook her head. That brought down any joy at the news. "He was never happy as a huntsman Jaune. He hated it." April sighed before she patted his back. "Are you ok?"

Jaune shook slightly. He had never been hit by his father before. Sure he had been threatened by his mom. But he never felt the sting he had on his cheek. "I'm ok. I think I am just surprised."

April laughed. "You always were the baby of the family. You never did get hit for misbehaving did you?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Then you never saw daddy when he was super-angry-daddy. I got plenty of licks for sneaking out to meet my boyfriend." April giggled thinking about it. "Totally worth it by the way. Dad's just worried."

"Ok.. and ew?" The reaction from her brother made April laugh. It slowly unstressed him. He gave her an awkward smile before looking down. "I just thought he would be proud that I would want to fight grim."

The two sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes. April stretched. "Think you are ready to come in?"

Jaune shook his head. "I'll go inside in a bit. I think I just want to be alone." His sister gave him a skeptical look but hugged him before she stood and walked inside.

Jaune could hear some voices along with the laughter of his other sisters. His stomach grumbled and he knew he missed dinner. When the night was full of stars, Jaune laid down and stared at the sky. The moon lit the ground and he shivered as the cool air hit his arms. Jaune had long stopped crying and the ache of his hands and cheeks dulled into a warm throb. The house door opened and closed with a loud clack. Jaune tensed as he heard his fathers' boots walk up to him. The thirteen-year-old closed his eyes and pulled his legs in and wrapped his arms around them.

The older man exhaled before he sat down next to the boy. Jaune felt his father's body heat next to him but did his best not to do anything to gain the man's attention. He almost thought it would work and he would go away. "Jaune. I'm sorry."

Jaune stayed still, unwilling to look at his father. The silence stretched for a while before he heard his father, "You surprised me with that picture. Here, look."

Jaune slowly opened his eyes and saw the picture he had found that morning. "That is Raz, Oscar, Bianca. And that one is me when I was very young. We were called team robin." Jaune nodded silently. "And I loved them very much. You dug up a lot of bad memories with this picture Jaune. But you didn't deserve to be hit."

Jaune finally looked up. He barely noticed his fathers red eyes. His father rubbed them before he added. "This was one of the last times we were together alive." Jaune gave a silent 'oh' sound.

"It didn't happen all at once either. First, it was Bianca. Another mission Raz. Oscar decided he was done with being a huntsman and I agreed. But like with most frontier villages, his was attacked by grim. He died while defending his home."

Jaune felt an arm wrap around him. "If only I had trained harder, or if I had talent or skill, I could have saved them. It ate at me for years."

Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. "Why did you become a huntsman?"

The man's face soured as he looked at his son. He poked his son's forehead with a finger. "I wanted to be a hero. Someone who can save people." Jaune realized at that moment that this was hard for his father to talk about. He sat up straighter.

"The Arc family had always been soldiers Jaune. Going all the way back to your great-grandfather. With the advent of huntsmen that specialized in customizable dust weapons that synergized with aura, soldiers were passed by like my father. Nowadays, if you wanted to defend Vale against grim, it only takes four huntsman instead of the squads of normal soldiers. But it came with a sacrifice."

Jaune waited as his father let his mind wander. The young teen began to feel drowsy before he heard his father speak again. "The huntsmen now have aura as their primary defense. But that makes it nearly impossible for them to relate with normal civilians."

Jaune pulled away and looked at his father. "Why?"

The man just smiled and picked up a stick from the ground. His hand glowed for a second and then he threw the branch. The branch spun towards the tree a ways away. The thing was no bigger than the one that Jaune has used as a fake sword. It sailed through the air almost lazily before the tree shook with a heavy thud. The branches waved from the impact and the bark of the trunk that touched the branch imploded.

Jaune heard a few screams inside at the same time he heard his dad laugh. Cautiously he saw his mom peak out of the door and sighed at her husband. "Sorry love. Just making a point. Ignore it."

Jaune's mother shook her head. "Jaune. There is still a plate of food for you on the table." Both father and son watched as she walked in and closed the door behind her. Jaune felt his father lean into his ear to whisper, "Your mother is an incredible woman Jaune. She married a huntsman even after knowing that I could do that to a tree without trying. That I could easily do the same on accident to her and our children."

Jaune wanted to defend him, "But you would never hurt mom."

His father gave a bitter laugh as he leaned back to look at the stars. "Now I don't. It took me a long time to learn how to suppress my enhanced strength. I never needed to among other huntsmen. But with a civilian? Well, try explaining that to her mother or her family when she had bruises on her body from me just touching her. It took them a long time to realize that I was not beating her." Jaune shivered at the information.

"Aura is an amazing ability but it has its drawbacks. If you had your aura unlocked I would have to separate you from your sisters, from everyone. And when you lived on your own, you would need to make sure you are in a place where there would be no civilians around unless you were confident in fighting grim. Huntsmen attract grim with their aura alone."

Jaune shook his head again. He had not realized how little he knew of his dad. He had just always accepted that he was there. Now that they were talking, Jaune had no idea who his father was before he was born.

"When someone has their aura unlocked, they have only one option as a profession. Grim sense them. Aura is a projection of emotions Jaune. Grim pick up on it much faster than they could on civilians. Your great-grandfather was a hero without aura. Your grandfather was a soldier with no aura but he saw the value of it. And your uncle and I were expected to train and join their ranks. That lasted until your grandfather realized instead of being soldiers in the military, we wanted to be Huntsman."

Jaune felt his father shift to get more comfortable. "Your grandfather said to give it up. He said that my brother and I did not have the talent to use aura."

Jaune scrunched his face. "How can you have talent for aura? How would you even know?"

Jaune's father laughed as he patted his son's head. "That's what I thought. Bianca always said aura is the ability to use your soul. How could you know that someone was bad at something unless you tried? But as annoying as it was to me, your grandfather was right, I was never good at it. While everyone around me became strong and capable I felt myself falling further behind. I had planned to retire early, and those thoughts would come often, but my team always somehow convinced me to keep going. Their encouragement made me stay."

Jaune nodded and leaned into his father's arm. "When I finally retired, I wondered… If I had only retired sooner would they be alive? I haven't thought about being a huntsman in over twenty years Jaune. There was a reason for me turning away from that way of life."

"D-do you think I have talent in it?" Jaune asked hopefully.

His father shook his head in amusement. Clearly, the boy did not learn that afternoon lesson well enough. "Jaune." The man's voice was exasperated a hint of a smile in his voice. "You have no talent. I've proudly watched all eight of you grow. If you had the talent for aura you would have unlocked it on your own before you were ten. If you had enough usable aura to be a huntsman we would have seen it years ago." The man looked at his son before adding, "Remember when I said I hurt your mother? That is part of it too. Most hunters never had that problem. If you suddenly unlock your aura, you can say goodbye to being able to interact with normal people. Even your sisters…."

Jaune looked down and his shoulders slumped. Nathaniel sighed and patted his son's head. "Please don't say you want to be a huntsman again. There is no worse feeling than the one you feel when you are a burden to the ones you love. And I would never wish that on you."

Jaune allowed his head to be kissed before his father rose and walked back inside. He did not know how long he sat outside. When he finally came back inside, his sister Nuit waved while reading a book. She was the only other person awake. Everyone else had long fallen asleep. Jaune quietly walked to his room.

"Dinner's on the table Jaune."

Jaune sighed. He just wanted tonight to end. "I'm not hungry Newt."

Nuit closed her book. "You're going to eat Jaune." She jumped off her chair and like a good older sister, she took his hand and guided him to the kitchen table. They both sat down and Jaune rolled his eyes. Nuit didn't bring her book with her. That meant she wanted to talk.

"What is it Newt?"

Nuit giggled at the nickname. "You know I don't get mad at you for calling me that anymore." Jaune gave a weak smile. "See? That's better. So what got you all revved up about looking at the future these past few weeks anyway?"

Jaune gave his plate a frown before he took another bite of the cold potatoes. "I wanted to be independent. So when I can, I can go see my friends when I want." Jaune said with a grin. He let it fall off when Nuit did not buy the whole explanation. Jaune pouted into his plate. "Marrone's family moved last week."

Nuit grunted. "I heard. Quite a few families volunteered to move out."

Jaune scowled. "Marrone's family could have stayed if so many people were leaving." He stabbed his fork into his piece of meat and gravy. Around a mouth full of food he grumbled, "It's not like there is a lot of people that live in Anvil."

Nuit sighed and patted her baby brothers' shoulder. "It's just not about people moving out for the sake of leaving town. Anvil is overpopulated. You know the huntsmen had been looking for volunteer families to move off the plateau. Too many people bring grim. Even with how all the settlements are spread out."

"Most of our family moved out too. Aren't they enough?" Jaune grounded out.

"Jaune, you know Amber and Cerus had families, and neither one wanted to raise kids that could run into grim in the front yard. I am relieved they moved to Patch and Vale."

"Did either of them send any letters lately?"

Nuit shook her head. "But! We can write one to them tomorrow. Does that sound like something to do tomorrow or what?"

Jaune smiled at his sister. ''Thanks Nuit." Jaune looked at his plate and didn't realize he ate almost all of it in the few spare minutes. "He didn't even say goodbye." Jaune dropped his fork on his plate and leaned back in his chair.

Nuit laughed. "I think you can blame his parents for that more than him."

Jaune stood up and washed his plate. It was completely dark out with only the moon to illuminate the house. "Thanks for making me eat Nuit. And the talk."

Nuit Stood up from her chair and wrapped her arms around her baby brother. "Any time Jaune." She moved one of her hands while she hugged him to lightly slap the top of his head. "That's for still calling me Newt."

Jaune laughed into her shoulder.

-o-

Jaune was unsure why he was here. The wooden door was heavy when he gave it a push. The old musty smell of dry wood and leather hit his nose when he walked in. Anvil Village had one building as a way house for huntsmen in every settlement. There were always four huntsmen that were assigned for patrols for protection from a grim attack and this house allowed them and other huntsmen who passed by a place to safely rest.

Jaune thought a lot about coming here in the last few weeks. His father said that aura was important for a huntsman. He also said Jaune had no talent for it. But it was the regret in his fathers' voice that stuck with him. Jaune took a long two weeks to come to that realization. It wasn't even his own discovery. It was something April had told him. April wasn't wrong when she said he would probably have tried in earnest for a few days before he gave up and tried to look for something else to do with his life. Which was why he could not explain why he was here.

"Can I help you kid?"

Jaune looked at himself. He was very thin for a thirteen-year-old. All long limbs and big feet. However, he had not been called a kid in a long while. "I was just curious about aura and was hoping you had some time to answer some questions, sir," Jaune said as politely as he knew how.

The man scratched his beard. He looked to his partner who raised a hand and shoulder. The couldn't hurt gesture made the man snort and roll his eyes. "Take a seat kid. How did you even hear about aura?"

Jaune looked at the two and gave a quick, "My father was a huntsman before he retired. I told him I wanted to be one when I found out he used to be one but…"

The two men laughed. "He didn't sound keen on the idea?"

Jaune nodded. He squirmed in his seat at their second round of laughter.

"The names Alex Ver by the way. The man behind me is Lucas Gris. How old are you kid?"

"The name's Jaune, sorry sir. And I am thirteen."

Lucas whistled. "That's late if you were thinking of being a huntsman Jaune. Semblance are usually unlocked around your age. If you don't even have aura you can say goodbye to even thinking about being a huntsman."

Jaune resisted the pain in his chest. He exhaled before he asked, "Why is aura so important?"

"Aura does a lot of things." Alex looked behind him and waved at the bag of rice behind him. He lifted it up easily with one hand and weighed it for a moment before looking at Jaune. "Here, catch."

The bag flew in the air. Juane reached out to catch it in time before it hit the ground. After a split second of holding it firmly, it took him to the ground with a heavy thud. Juane rolled it off him and stood up to give the two an annoyed glare. "That's dangerous! That's really heavy."

"Fifty pounds. That's about the weight of a small beowolf's arm. Not putting any weight for an attack behind it mind you, just its resting weight. Those beasts can weigh nearly nine hundred before we start looking at anything bigger than a full grown adult. You think I lifted that up with just muscle?"

Alex stood up and lifted the bag with ease with one hand and tossed it to Lucas who caught and rest it on the table. "We use aura for strength, recovery, speed, and it gets personalized as you get more experience in the field. You think that was heavy. Imagine a grim with speed and strength behind that sack of rice. That's what we are fighting kid. If you don't have aura, you will get killed even if you were able to defend your self."

Jaune nodded while he stood still. He exhaled and shook his head. "I guess that explains a lot. Thank you."

"You have no aura unlocked?"

Jaune stopped and shook his head. "My father said our family has no talent for it."

Lucas waved the boy over. Jaune reluctantly came up to the redhead. "Let me look at you kid."

At a closer look, the man Lucas had aged wrinkles across his cheeks and eyes. It was a weathered face. Alex looked at him and made him turn his head left and right. After he was done, he shook his head. Jaune resisted the urge to release the cry that was building in his chest.

"Sorry kid. The spirit is willing, but it is not mature. If you were able to unlock your aura now, it would do a lot of damage to you. Maybe in a few years you could unlock it. But by then its way too late to be trained to be a huntsman."

Jaune looked down while hearing the comment. "I see. Thank you sirs for your time." He started walking out the door when Alex asked, "Was it just because your father was a huntsman that got you interested?"

Jaune turned back and quickly shook his head. "I liked the idea of protecting everyone."

The two huntsman exchanged looks before Lucas gave a sympathetic, "There are other jobs that can fulfill that need kid. There's the patrol, bodyguards, you could even go to Vale and be part of the police force there when you get older. It's not just grim people need protecting from. And they don't need aura to do that kind of job." Jaune gave the man a look while he considered the options. "Just saying. Good luck kid."

Jaune smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you sirs."

The two waved him off as he let the door creak shut behind him. He looked to the sun and started walking back home. What do I do then?

Jaune tried to rationalize why he was so hung up on being a huntsman, but his dad's voice brought him back to reality. They are no heroes.

A part of him definitely wanted to be a hero, but the tone his dad said those words haunted him. Jaune absently walked across the street and up the path to his house. The village was lucky. It was established over eighty years ago. The high plateau was over twenty miles wide and as flat as an anvil it was named after. The whole plateau was called Anvil. It was large enough for several settlements and the forest that divided them. Grim would normally scale the steep mountain path while exploring. But the center where his family lived was the safest.

Jaune found his dad quickly and ask with a slight hitch to his voice. "Um, dad? How do I train to become a policeman?"

Nathaniel Arc was both surprised and confused about his son's request. It seemed that his little Jaune really did want to consider doing some kind of job-related to protection. The boy gave him optimistic look with bright blue eyes. Nathaniel sighed before saying. "You really think you want to do this?"

Jaune nodded confidently. It lasted for a total of five seconds before the weight of his fathers' steady look made him wilt. "Is that ok?"

Nathaniel nodded while he thought about it. "I'll tell you what Jaune. If you can stick with a training routine for two weeks and show me you are committed I'll introduce you to the patrolmen here in Anvil. It is a dangerous job. There are no dust weapons, no glory, it is a lot of work and it will hurt. Make no mistakes Jaune. I will hurt you. Do you still want to do this?"

Jaune's nodded eagerly.

Nathaniel sighed as he waved his son over. "I'll train you then. Two weeks Jaune. If you give up or start to waiver I will stop training you."

"Ok dad." Jaune grinned. Jaune felt the energy vibrate in him at the victory.

Nathaniel shook his head at the wide grin his son gave him. The man knew that he had to remedy that look right away. If he allowed his son to keep that smile, the boy would likely not take this seriously. "The first thing we need to do is fix that look."

Jaune did not realize he lost his smile as his eyes rolled in his skull from the blow. When he looked at his father again he looked hurt and confused. Another blow slapped across his head as he glared at his father. Nathaniel knocked him around another time. Jaune resisted the urge to swear. He glared at his father one more time but tried to dodge the incoming slap again. He backed up. The slap had made a large red imprint on his cheek and he was not eager to get another. The caution he took while waiting for his fathers next hit made Nathaniel nod.

"There. That's what I am looking for. That's what I should always see in training."

Jaune didn't smile and didn't like the hits he took to learn the lesson. His wary gaze waited for his fathers' instructions.

-o-

Jaune groaned as he knelt down from the unexpected blow to his abdomen. He rolled on his back and panted while thinking, what just happened? To his right he heard a laugh. "Get up Arc. You wanted this."

"I'm pretty sure I didn't ask for a knee to the gut." He spat out a hoarse cough as he slowly got up.

"Give the kid a break Koben he's just now getting some speed to keep up." Jaune looked over to Andrew. The dirty blonde with the short beard hmm'ed to himself. Jaune wanted to know how he knew what was going on when he was staring at something on the table.

Koben grunted while he tightened the knot that kept his black long hair behind him. "Get some water kid. We'll hit the patrol in a bit after a round in the village. Then we will head out to the branches."

Andrew used a scroll to call someone before he marked something else on the map. Jaune realized it was the grim sightings map. Whatever he heard over the scroll was satisfactory since he nodded and waved to Koben and Juane as he went about his business. Andrew would take the eastern half of the settlements while Juane followed Koben on the western half. Traditionally, the two would go as a pair and visit all of the outlining settlements of Anvil every single day. Jaune swallowed thickly while knowing he was the reason they had to split the work in half.

Jaune got off the barren ground and went to the stall to splash water on his head and chest. He quickly dried himself off before getting his jersey and placed it over his head. Between half-closed eyes and the water that ran down his cheeks and nose, he smiled at himself. The day's training went better than he expected. Andrew said he was getting better and had a good head on his shoulders in a pinch. Lucas observed the training one day and said he might help out if the kid shows that much aptitude for fighting. Juane thanked him while he inwardly grimaced. Three months of training with the patrol allowed Jaune to fully understand why it was so important to have aura outside of the borders and what dust does for hunters. In Anvil, he was sheltered from some of the harder parts of Vale. But now that he was forced to make those trips with the patrol to the outskirt settlements, he truly began to see why aura was necessary for huntsmen, but not for the patrol.

Jaune waved to Koben and their escort. It turned out to be Alex this time, the one that suggested he looked at alternatives to huntsmen training. "Good afternoon Alex. Thank you for the escort."

Alex smiled. "Good to see you are doing well kid. Nice shiner."

Jaune felt the throbbing heat against his cheek and grimaced at the pain when he gave a smile by reflex. His optimism filtered into his voice. "The training is getting better. I can last a few minutes now."

Alex smiled at him and Koben. "Looks like you are both ready. Let's go. We got to make this in thirty minutes." Alex, Koben, and Jaune started at a brisk jog. This was the hardest part of the job for Jaune when he first started. The stamina needed to get to places in a timely manner and still be fit enough to do their job there.

Daylight was just coming over the mountain range. The sun rose a good fist-size from the horizon. That made it mid-morning when they arrived at the village for their patrol. Jaune waved at the few huntsmen who sat on the pasture borders when they ran past. It was rare to get a smile out of them but it was always a cheer to see one that waved back.

This village was just an extension of Anvil. But the patrol had been calling it The Houses for decades. The Houses were a group of homes to house the workers for the farmland and livestock. The houses ranged from dark brown to vibrant red. The one they were going to was the mayor's house. It was a single level white house in the center of town. The building was a wide expanse with brick and mortar walls several feet thick. It was the fall back point for the houses in case of a grim invasion that the huntsmen could not ward off. At the moment, the gates were wide open with a single lookout on the top wall waving them in.

Jaune followed Koben inside while Alex waited outside patiently sitting in the shade of the wide stoop.

"Good morning gentlemen. Nothing to report today. I would ask you send this message to The Grainery. They had asked for hands and we could provide them if we can get additional huntsmen for the escort."

"Yes sir. We will relay the message. Was there anything else before we move along?"

The mayor shook his head and waved them off. Jaune gave a bow to the man before he followed Koben out the door. That was another thing that surprised Jaune. While the patrol was basically the law enforcement out here in the frontier, they fulfilled quite a few roles. Messengers, organizers, law enforcement and directors to civilians in states of emergency. It was a lot of responsibility for just two men. Well, two men and a trainee. When Jaune had first made a comment about it, Koben gave the young man a tight smile.

"It is based on the need. We don't get many visitors to these areas that can lead to additional crime. Most things are from neighbors who tend to let competition get out of hand. And while Andrew and I can handle a huntsman if they get rowdy, we are not the ones that respond to those kinds of problems in Anvil. The huntsmen regulate themselves. Worry about learning how to handle civilians before you can think of what it takes to handle a huntsman."

Jaune did a double take. His voice cracked as he asked, "Y-you can do that?"

Andrew laughed, "Of course. We have had to learn. All it takes is for a huntsmen mind to be in a bad place, and there goes the settlement."

Jaune wondered at that until he heard a story days later how one huntsman was removed from his position in Central because he got too drunk and damaged some property. It got worse when a friend had tried to calm him down and the struggle damaged parts of a bar. His fathers' mantra of 'they are not heroes' rang in his head as he thought of the huntsman who left the town in disgrace.

-o-

When Jaune was told they would finally see the port today, he knew in his mind it wouldn't be something you would have along the water. The plateau was too high for a naval ship. But he did not realize there were bigger parts of Anvil than just the main settlement Central.

"The Port" was an airship dock for merchants that had cargo too large to be escorted up the mountainous path to Anvil. It was also the furthest point of the circle route Jaune had taken for the last month. The length of time it took to reach each check-in station shortened over the months. Finally, all three of patrolmen traveled together. The first time since Jaune started seven months ago. Jaune had in equal turns cringed at the sacrifice Andrew and Koben took for him as well as cheered for his own progress.

Jaune let his body slow as Andrew, Koben, and Lucas stopped. He looked around at the… the settlement was a poor term for the compound that stood in front of him. He had to look up to see the massive metal walls that supported the defense. Koben laughed at his slacked jaw as an airship flew low above them. Jaune looked around while he let his body recover from the sprint.

Koben the all-knowing-trainer had been pushing him hard to go faster and still keep a good amount of stamina in reserve. Jaune looked enviously at Koben and Andrew. Neither one even looked winded by the run from The Grainery. The group walked in and Andrew slapped Jaunes' shoulder hard as he found the man he was looking for. The man was tall with short well kept brown hair and wearing a military blue uniform.

"This is Jaune. He is learning to be a patrolman. Jaune, this is Avery, head security from Vale Aviation Security. He's responsible for the ships that come to and from the port. If you need to know anything about the port you can always ask him."

Jaune nodded while he noticed the annoyed look Avery gave Andrew. Jaune smarted himself up by standing straight and extending his had. "Thank you sir. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'll be sure to schedule an appointment if I do have any questions. You must be busy here."

Avery rolled his eyes over Jaunes shoulder to Koben and Andrew. He looked to Jaune and shook the teen's hand. "Hopefully the next time we speak it will be for something just as mundane as your introduction rather than an investigation. It was nice meeting you Jaune. Excuse me Patrolmen,"

Avery walked away as he called out for someone on one of the catwalks.

"Look Jaune, you made a friend. He is usually more surly. Good job introducing your self too. If you hadn't been so nice he could have been difficult to work with down the road."

Jaune grumbled out in a near whine just as his voice betrayed him with a squeak, "You didn't think to tell me this earlier?" Behind the group, their huntsman escort started laughing. "Laugh now Lucas, I will get you back eventually."

"Sorry kid. Your voice is comedic gold. Going to miss it when it doesn't pitch anymore." Jaune turned away and glared at the air in front of him.

"Let's go boys. We are heading back to Central. That was the full route Jaune. Think you can keep this pace?"

Jaune nodded. "It was not as bad as I thought it would be. I am happy that you all didn't make me do this amount of running when we first started."

"We are not that dumb. We would never get anything done if we tried. Let's go. It should take an hour to get back to Anvil proper at your pace."

Jaune snarled at the comment. But it was true. Jaune had gotten much faster at running from place to place. He was by far the fastest kid he knew. But Jaune understood he was still the slowest of the three. It took him months to even reach this pace. He was eager to get as fast as the other two patrolmen as soon as possible.

The gates shut behind them with a loud metallic screech. Jaune looked back at the gates before he noticed that the others had started to jog. He knew they were doing it on purpose to get him moving. Sure enough, as soon as he caught up, the pace picked up faster. Jaune wanted to say it was a little too fast. He could feel himself wearing down quickly if this was the pace for the whole hour. After a few minutes, the pace slowed slightly for which he was grateful. Jaune let his mind wander as the pace remained steady.

-o-

Weeks flew into months until Jaune realized it had been almost a year with the patrol. He had long stopped going to school and was forced to read independently at home. While his mother was happy to hear he chose a career path it did not allow him to slack on learning about the world outside of Anvil. At least Nuit was happy for a reading partner.

Jaune forced to refocus at the command: "Left, down, withdraw!" Jaune raised his left fist to punch, lowered his right to block before he kicked back to give himself some room.

"Good job Jaune. Looks like you got it. Now let's see how well you can pull that off in combat." Jaune laughed as he raised his left to block the incoming heavy fist. He twisted and punched with his left. Jaune looked at Andrew and realized he was about to push in if he tried to retreat.

Jaune repressed a smile when, instead of using his leg to kick back away from his trainer, he raised it slightly higher to kick out Andrew's leg that broke his stance and punched a hard one right to Andrew's left cheek.

Laughter exploded behind Jaune just as Andrew went down to the ground. "You sneaky shit." Andrew laughed as he sat up and rubbed his face. Koben laughed harder from the gate.

"Well, its time to head out again. This time there is no safety net Jaune."

Jaune's smile faded before he nodded. A bead of sweat rolled off his forehead. Jaune quietly grabbed his pack and made sure his shoes were tied tight. Jaune appreciated that all three of them were going this time for his first true run.

"Let's go kid. Remember, never stop running. Keep energy in reserve to make sure you can push it. I guarantee you, now that a huntsman is no longer following us, you will see grim."

Jaune nodded. His throat dry.

"Let's go!"

Jaune couldn't help but think how crazy it sounded to him when he first started the patrol. Hunters rarely worked with the patrol in Anvil. It had confused him first why the patrol only trained in hand to hand combat and never wore armor. At first, it made sense. They had said at most they would only resolve civilian conflicts. After running alongside them for the very first time, he had asked how they protected themselves from grim when they went to and from different parts of Anvil. While the whole area was relatively safe, there was a reason why there were so many huntsmen around to protect the settlements. He blinked and staggered when he was told the truth. Andrew's solemn smile forever stitched in his mind when he gave Jaune the answer.

We don't.

Juane took off in a run alongside Koben and Andrew. Against the grim, they would see between settlements the thin blue cloth jersey offered no protection. The patrol had only one defense against the grim.

Speed.

Jaune allowed the landscape to pass him by at a steady pace. It was a little faster than what he was used to, but they had warned him that it would be. The same thirty five minute jog when he first started was only supposed to take nine. Jaune made it in fifteen. The teen exhaled as they slowed at the entrance to The Houses. Andrew waved at the pair of guards before he went ahead.

Koben turned to find a flush teenager who made a valiant attempt not to bend over in gasps. Jaune's mentor laughed. "Drink a few slow sips of water Jaune. The first run is always the hardest." Jaune nodded while he closed his eyes and resisting the urge to lean over to help breathe. Koben looked over at Andrew who waved at the pair as he walked out. "Looks like it was a quick one, sorry Jaune. Let's keep moving. Next trip is the shortest at least."

Jaune nodded as he put his canteen away. He followed Koben as he let his body move as it was trained to. The miles flew by in a blur. Then they reached The Grainery. The next four stops: The Halls, The Port, Central, and The Market all were equal parts exhilarating and exhausting without a huntsman with them. The patrol through the settlements was normal. More normal than he expected it to be if he was honest with himself. But the lack of a huntsman by his side really nailed home how dangerous the job actually was. Andrew told him people do die from the grim. Huntsmen were too expensive for a town to hire as police, patrol, and any other form of job the patrol fulfilled.

Jaune exhaled as he fully recovered his breath. But if you wanted to protect anyone without aura, this was the only option. Jaune heard Koben call for them. It forced him to snap back his attention. Jaune quickly sprinted to catch up before the three ran to their final stop before going home.

"Sorry Jaune looks like we have to go back to The Houses. One of the maids passed away. Looks like natural causes."

Jaune looked up, "Do we usually investigate deaths like this?"

Andrew answered for Koben. "Any time someone passes away we need to go and report it for the records. It also allows us to get a firsthand account of how the body was found in case something comes up later that is serious." The teen felt the hairs stand at attention the whole way back.

-o-

Jaune was thankful that he did not go see the body. Koben graciously volunteered to go on his own. Jaune followed Andrew like a good shadow and wrote down the notes in the appropriate sheets of paper.

The woman was just over fifty. Not old for by any standard, but she was a former soldier in Vales' Army who had been injured by a sword to the lung right next to her heart. The wound never fully healed and her heart finally gave out from the thirty-year-old injury. Jaune reviewed the form. He nodded now that everything was in order. He presented it to Andrew who gave it his approval before Jaune tucked them back in his folder in his single over the shoulder bag. He made sure it was secured before he waved at Andrew to let him know he was ready.

This was only the eighth investigation Jaune had participated in. Most issues were requests. Most incidents occurred at night at bars' or domestic issues. He thankfully was not expected to help with those yet. That would require him being able to run to settlements on his own.

Koben joined them a few minutes later. "We'll have our review meeting when we get back. That's it for the day. Let's head home."

Jaune sighed in agreement. The Houses was the closest point to Central Anvil. The run would barely be fifteen minutes.

Seven minutes away from Anvil, Andrew called out, "Incoming!"

Jaune exhaled as he suddenly burst into a sprint. If Jaune was honest with himself he was praying that he wouldn't hear that call today. He almost got it too. Jaune moved his head away from a branch that he ran past. His heart hammered in his ears. Behind him, he heard the squeals that signaled it was a boarbatusk, a warthog like grim. The blonde teen repressed a near whine. Of course, it had to be one of the fastest types of grim for my first time. The boarbatusk squealed again. Jaune filed the sound away for later. The noise was deeper than the ones he had seen Alex and Lucas kill.

Jaune stopped thinking about it for now. He knew the rules. He was not expected to slow down now that he started to sprint. Andrew ran ahead and Koben slowed slightly to be behind their trainee. "We're taking the shortcut!" Jaune wheezed out a grunt at Andrew's command. The ravine was a steep crack that marked part of the valley below them. Jaune had been reluctant to jump it for months effectively adding fifteen minutes to their run. He had only felt confident jumping it in the last month.

Jaunes' lungs burned as he used every technique he learned to keep his breath steady and to not let panic set in. He constantly looked around yards ahead of him through the foliage in case he was able to spot something he would need to avoid. Jaune jumped high and long. The tips of his shoes were just barely within his vision as he jumped over a massive fallen tree he had expected to see. It was a fifty-foot long trunk that he used as a marker. It was a sign he was close to the central settlement. His stamina wasn't infinite but he felt he had enough for a little more of a push. His legs began to numb and throb. The squeal was suddenly louder. Jaune ignored the panic as his legs begged him to slow. Tree branches and leaves roared in his ears as he passed by. Jaune was sure he heard a deep squeal and something snapping and cracking behind him. A single branch ripped across his cheek as he ran a little too close. Jaune ignored the wet sensation on his face.

The ravine should be coming up. Jaune thought to himself in a detached voice.

Jaune stomped hard on a tree trunk to help him ascend. He kicked and pushed with his left hand and leg to clear the ravine that had followed. His legs tucked underneath him as he spread his arms out to balance himself in the air. It was the first time he never noticed the valley below or what could happen if he missed the jump. He could no longer hear the pants of his friends nor his own breath. Just the sounds of the grim and the wind that flooded out the noise that seemed to echo off the walls of the ravine.

Jaune landed right after Andrew and did not allow himself to slow until he was at the gates. The squeals of the grim and the ravine that separated them were left far behind. Jaune slid to a stop at the check-in station at the gate. Andrew and Koben both took three quick steps to slow themselves. Jaune was annoyed how they seemed so calm and NOT sweating and panting. The teen allowed himself to just bend over to keep gasping for air. After what seemed like ages but in reality was only a few minutes they were safe.

Jaune opened one eye and felt the sting of sweat hit it. "That one sounded a lot bigger than the ones I remember."

Andrew and Koben shared a serious glance. They noticed it too. Andrew answered, "It was probably the one we had reports about. But it was closer to central than I thought it should be. Good job on the run Jaune. Good thing you were so slow, we never would have noticed it if we were going at a full pace." Jaune didn't have the energy to scowl at the teasing tone. He just waved the man off. Andrew looked to Koben. "Go ahead and head back to the office. I'll speak to Lucas to update the location."

"When we get back Jaune, I want you to run two more laps to cool your body down. Then come inside. We can eat our lunch while I go over some of the things you missed while you were catching your breath." Juane reddened at his lack of attention. He was beginning to zone out from the exhaustion. His idea of skipping lunch to get through the day faster was also beginning to backfire on him as well. All Jaune could do was think about food. He was hungry after the exhilarating feeling at being chased by a grim. His stomach protested as he just walked the final lap. Now that he began to recover his energy he noticed no one was around. He grinned widely to himself.

"That was the coolest thing ever. I totally outran a grim." He stretched his arms over his body he walked inside.

-o-

That night Jaune stumbled into the house and dropped his weight unceremoniously on the couch. He grunted at the impact. Which caused a giggle from another room. He recognized the laugh. "Hi Nuit. Don't suppose mom made dinner yet?" The question was accompanied by a grumble by his stomach.

"It was ready an hour ago. You are late." Jaune grunted but felt unwilling to move to the dining room.

"Finally did the full route today. Stayed late to go over complaints about a couple of new workers at the port." He shared while not thinking about the incident with the woman who passed away.

Nuit was always curious at what he did when he gave up going to school. Nuit was only a year older than her baby brother. But she felt as concerned as the other girls about him. "You have been doing this for a while now. You think you will go the distance with it?"

Jaune laughed at the pain in his legs. "I hope so or this really was a stupid idea." Jaune felt his body protest with a groan as he sat up and got off the couch.

After dinner Jaune stood silently in the shower. The hot water allowed his muscles to finally relax. He was safe at home. But that grim was still out there.

The huntsmen will take care of it. But that first sound of the cracking wood before we ran... The wood had to have been thick for that kind of sound. Jaune did not even try to look for the grim. He just ran. And listened. The rhythmic clopping of its hooves seemed like it was right on its tail. But he knew that was wasn't right too. Andrew and Koben were with him in a line while he was in the center. It was a gesture he greatly appreciated that they would protect him like that.

When did it feel like it was the boarbatusk was right on my heels then? He definitely felt it. It was like a roaring sound that shook the leaves…

Jaune looked up and turned off the shower. He was still wet but didn't bother trying to dry himself off. He simply put on his pants and shoes and was almost out the door.

"Jaune? Hey- where are you going dressed like that?" His mother started to ask annoyed before she really looked at her son.

Jaune stopped and stared at her before he said, "Get dad. Tell him to lock up and keep everyone inside. He should get his sword and stay at the house. I don't know when I'll be back." Jaune's mother tried to stop him one more time but he was already out the door and running at full sprint.

Jaune actually never figured out how fast he ran compared to the other patrolmen but the despair he felt cut his trip to central by minutes. His teeth chattered and his shoulders were cold but drying in the wind. I should have realized it sooner. Jaune cursed himself for not grabbing a shirt. He spotted the guards who readied weapons at seeing someone coming to the gates quickly. They relaxed when they recognized him.

Jaune slowed and yelled out, "Open the gates and close them when I get in. It's urgent!"

The guards didn't question the command. Even if he is a trainee, he is a patrolman. Jaune never thanked anyone before for the authority but he wanted to thank Koben and Andrew up and down as the guards obeyed. When he got to the patrolmen office he nearly ran into the closed door and closed his eyes. "I don't know where either of them live."

Jaune turned and sprinted down the empty streets. It was well into the late evening when he banged on the huntsman's door. There were a few bouts of laughter that instantly stopped as a huntsman Jaune had never seen before opened the door. He looked alarmed when he saw the blonde shirtless teen.

"Whats wrong kid?"

"Is Lucas here?" Jaune said around several slow breathes.

"Lucas!" The man shouted over his shoulder.

The redhead looked up and walked over quickly. "What's wrong Jaune?"

"Sorry, I would have reported this to Andrew or Koben but I don't know where they live. But Andrew reported to you about the boarbatusk we ran into right?" Lucas brought him in and nodded. He waved at someone and they threw a towel at him. He quickly put it around the teens shivering shoulders.

"Go on son." Several huntsmen started circling around him as he took a seat.

"We knew it was a large boarbatusk that started to chase us. But after reviewing it all I realized there was another big one there as well." The group quieted as others started to realize the kid was saying something important. "We cleared a torn down tree we used as a marker before we made the ravine shortcut. But the boarbatusk kept following us. I heard no breaking of wood or weighted thud I should have expected if it tried to plow through or jump over. There was one we disturbed on the other side of the tree we jumped over."

Lucas waved over another huntsman, "Update the report. If they are both the same size we'll make the hunting party larger. Thanks for letting us know Jaune. It helped we found this out before the morning search-and-destroy." He patted the teen's shoulder for the job well done. He almost missed the quiet hitched voice.

"There must have been more in the ravine."

Lucas gripped the boy's shoulder. "Say that again Jaune?"

Jaune looked up with his breath fully recovered. "I think there were more in the ravine." He said in a stronger voice. "When we jumped over, the sounds of the grim should have been drowned out by the wind. We were jumping into the wind. It's why the jump to central is so much harder than the jump to the houses. But I could still hear the boarbatusk but it sounded like it had a different pitch."

Behind him, Jaune heard, "Gods if they are in the ravine, they could be taking the long way around to get to the plateau."

"Team Sparrow, Team Gold, do the reconnaissance. Gold look to see how many mouths of the ravine open to the plateau. Sparrow, look for the jumping point and see if Jill can see anything below. Team Cerulean, inform the guards and light the signals to the other settlements to keep alert tonight. Alex!"

"I'm here. What do you want me to do?" Jaune looked at Alex, the only other huntsman he knew.

"I want you to speak to Koben and Andrew separately. Don't let them know what Jaune observed. We need clear independent accounts. Have them come here as you interview them. Fill them in on what Jaune observed only after you interviewed them."

"Got it."

The room was quickly emptied leaving Juane alone with Lucas. Jaune looked down on the floor. "I should have noticed sooner…"

"You are certain about what you heard, aren't you?" The man passed the teen a glass of water.

Jaune looked up surprised. "I am-. I am… I just didn't think about it. I was just really happy about the first run."

Lucas smiled happily to let the kid stay distracted. "So today was the day? I wasn't sure and never asked Alex if he went with you all. But of course he didn't if you three had to run. If you are right about this, we will owe you a great thanks for informing us."

"But I could still be wrong…" Jaune bit his lip. He had not even thought he could be wrong. There was such a dead certainty in his memories about it all.

"If you are wrong, the worst we would do was make fun of you for a week. No harm done. It would be just as if we ran a drill for emergencies. We actually do them more often than you think. This time we have the benefit of it being while we were fully awake and alert." Lucas gave the teen a wink. Jaune smiled and nodded his thanks for cheering him up. Lucas stood with a grunt and stretched.

"We'll find out soon Jaune. Get some rest. You may need it tonight."

Jaune grunted an agreement before he took a sip of water. His body was slightly shivering. But the fireplace was slowly warming his body.

The door opened some time later. Koben was the first to enter. Andrew followed and looked to Jaune before tossing his trainee the blue worn jersey. "Get that on. Good job on noticing the details."

Jaune felt a bit of something in his chest. He was not sure if it was a good or bad thing. "So you heard it too?" Jaune felt desperate to know if he was right or wrong. He did not want to be right. But he would feel very bad for wasting everyone's time if he was wrong.

"I did Jaune." Jaune looked over to Koben when he spoke. "I didn't even think about the wind. It was so routine to jump that ravine I did not even notice the sounds as we jumped over."

The four stood by while they waited for any of the huntsmen to report. Alex walked in and whispered something to Lucas. "Patrolmen. We may have to go help out the other huntsmen as well. If we do. This settlement will only have the volunteer militia as its guards."

Andrew gave a grunt. "I figured that might be the case this late at night. There is no way to coordinate with the other huntsmen from the other settlements. Do what you think you need to do Lucas."

Several more minutes passed before there was a beep from Lucas. He pulled out a scroll. "Report Sparrow."

The scroll static barely made the connection usable. But around the static Jaune heard, "We didn't even need a visual. We could hear them as we approached the ravine. We spotted just over thirty boarbatusks so far and they are still coming. We can't say for sure how many have been going on and for how long though if it's been steady since this afternoon we looking at a few hundred. They are headed south along the central side of the ravine. It closes off for us up here at that point but there must be a cave somewhere that they are funneling into."

"Good work. Fall back to Central. I will have Gold meet you at the entrance to form a hunting party. If they are this active at night we can't afford to wait till tomorrow morning. I'll be out there shortly.' Lucas closed the scroll and grabbed a slender spear from the wall. He looked at the patrol. 'I'll need you all to secure the settlements. This looks like its a migration and we are right in the middle of it."

"Just informing the port is enough for them. I'll organize the civilians in The Halls and the Market." Koben volunteered.

"That leaves me The Grainery and The Houses." Andrew rolled his eyes at being volunteered the path with the two large grim.

"You be careful Andrew." Koben said harshly.

"I'll be fine. I'm far faster than you are. Which was why I was going to volunteer to do those anyway. Who knows, if I can get a few huntsmen in on it. Maybe the big ones will come to us and we can kill them too." he said already thinking about the large grim they ran from earlier.

Jaune stood up and looked at them both. "What should I do?"

All three of them gave the teen a serious look. Koben answered for them. "You are taking responsibility of the largest settlement. That's here in Central. Inform the guards to evacuate the civilians and fall back to the central base. Make sure everyone is accounted for before you shut those gates. There is an active scroll in the building in the main office. Keep it on you."

Jaune looked wide-eyed in a panic. "I don't even know how those work."

Lucas laughed as he walked out. "That's what you're panicking about? You'll be fine. Get going Patrolmen. We will do our best to find the migration and clear them out."

Jaune followed his mentors out and ran to the main gates. The guards already knew something was going on by the amount of activity. When they spotted his jersey he slowed to meet them halfway. "Guardsmen sound the alarm. We are pulling all civilians to central base. All huntsmen have their assignments. It's just us now."

The flurry of activity happened at once. The alarm blared like a horn throughout the settlement. Jaune let the guardsmen do their job while he ran to the houses and started pointing at guards. "You have authorization to enter houses to make sure all civilians are cleared. Once cleared, mark each house and move on." Jaune recited from memory.

The guards saluted as they started to fan out and escort and direct civilians to the center of town. Jaune looked over to the civilians in a loud voice that nearly cracked, "We will explain what is going on as soon as we get everyone safe and accounted for. Please spread that along to the other families."

Several people who had been ready to ask questions nodded after looking at the jersey. As houses were marked with a yellow cross, the search zone for civilians began to shrink. Jaune quickly found the man he was looking for. Sergeant Milo was a man just entering his thirties with crew cut hair. His black uniform was absent this late at night. Jaune patted sergeant Milo's shoulder, "I need to get a scroll to keep in touch with the huntsmen and my team. I'll be back shortly."

"Very well." The sergeant shouted a few orders while Jaune ran off to the central building. In hindsight, he should have grabbed the scroll sooner.

-o-

Nathaniel stood on the porch. The lights were out in the house and his wife stood near the window anxiously trying to keep calm and read. His four girls that still had not moved out of the house were blissfully unaware what their brother told their mother.

Jaune's father closed his eyes and let his senses spread. There were no grim around. His sword sat at side. The weight was a strange sensation after so long. He has only wielded a hammer in the last two decades. Nathaniel opened his eyes as he heard the signal. "That's what I was waiting for."

Several miles away at the central wall, the blare of the emergency horn started. Nathaniel turned to his wife. "Allison, get the girls. Tell them to grab a blanket and pillow. We'll go to the forge together. It will be the best place to mask our presence."

The girls quickly came down the stairs. Once everyone was together, Nathaniel placed a hand on his hilt and walked out with the girls. He sensed no grim but he did not let himself relax. The family moved around to the back where the brick and metal shack. Nathaniel made sure the furnace was started and fanned it.

"It's really hot here dad."

Nathaniel turned to Amber. "That's the idea. Grim have a hard time picking out details in the heat. If any come by, they should not be able to see us here."

Nuit sleepily asked, "Where is Jaune?"

All of the sisters became awake at the realization that their brother was missing. Nathaniel sighed. "He's doing his job. Go to sleep girls. I'll be watching over you." He kissed each girl and hugged his wife. The girls took some time to try and sleep. It came to them eventually thanks to the heat of the room.

Nathaniel Arc gave a thankful smile to his family before he stepped to the door. He let his hand rest on his pommel and watched field in front of him. And waited.

-o-

The mass of people were slowly guided into the three-level building. Jaune has been in the base before and knew there were other lower levels. That was where the civilians were being guided to.

The building was surrounded by four grand walls as a defensive perimeter. It was by far the thickest walls anywhere in Anvil. A few guards were already stationed along the wall as lookouts. Jaune wished these kinds of walls were around all the settlements. But that was never an affordable option. The best anyone could muster were just the wooden walls from tree trunks that were more than enough to protect the settlement from people and maybe deter a single grim that ran against it. But not the numbers of grim they had reported. Jaune stopped at the entrance where civilians were entering and waved at a guardsman.

"Any problems so far?"

Jaune noticed the guard was about to say something unflattering before he caught himself and spotted the jersey Jaune wore. "Nothing sir. A few disgruntled adults and crying children. But everyone seems to have taken it in stride."

"The sweeping teams are almost done clearing the houses. I'll be right back out." The teen stepped inside around several families.

Jaune was now very glad the jersey stuck out like a sore thumb. Civilians gave him room as he walked about and straight to the main office. He found the scroll on the desk and opened it. He's seen Alex use one a few times but never thought much of it until now. He found out how to open it. But he did not see any tell-tale signs someone had tried to reach him yet. Maybe it was just too soon. He closed and tucked it in his pocket before he moved back outside.

The air had cooled considerably. He looked around the nearest guard. "Any word from the sergeant?"

"Yes sir. They completed the search and the guards are escorting the last of the civilians inside. He is with a few men to do one final sweep."

Jaune thanked the man before he stepped outside and started to sprint to the civilian houses. The run back took no time now that most of the families were now inside. Several guards were at a few doors of some houses before they walked to meet the rest of the group.

"Is that the last of them?" Jaune asked while he looked at the block. The neighborhood looked dead with no lights.

"That was all of them. We are moving to the compound now."

"Get inside. I'll order the main perimeter to fall back as well. Meet me in the head office." Jaune ordered. "I'll address the civilians myself."

Jaune saw the men off before he turned to the main gates. His legs carried him across the settlement in mere moments. The men waved at him from the wall. Jaune looked up to them, "Have you seen any signals from the other settlements?"

The man on top shouted back, "Nothing to be alarmed by. Two have already fallen back to their shelters."

"Signal the settlements that we are falling back now too." Louder to the few guards standing along the wall, "All guards are ordered to fall back and reinforce central base. Pass it down the perimeter. No one should be on these walls when the gates close."

The guards instantly passed the message along before they slid down the wall.

"Sir?"

Jaune looked up to the man that spoke to him. The guard was easily a foot taller than him. "Yes guardsmen?"

"Was everyone accounted for?"

Jaune remembered that the guards were just a volunteer militia. Being a guard wasn't anyone's dedicated job. "As far as I know. The sergeant personally led the evacuation. When you get inside you are welcome to go find your family." Jaune resisted the urge to think of his own family. His father was a huntsman. They should be fine. Their house was far from any of the settlements and had its own defensive walls as a result of it.

Jaune stopped the last guard, "How long ago did the huntsmen take off?"

The last guard looked at his watch. "Maybe three hours ago."

Jaune exhaled. He still had not heard anything from the scroll. He followed the man to the compound and went straight to the office.

"Sergeant." Jaune greeted.

"Patrolman. The intercom is up running and waiting for you."

"Thank you sir."

The older man nodded respectfully. "Thank you."

Jaune reluctantly picked up the microphone. He exhaled. Please don't crack voice.

"Good evening, my name is Jaune Arc, Patrolman for Anvil. Earlier this evening several large boarbatusks were spotted between The Houses and Central. Further investigation discovered a migration of boarbatusk traveling below the plateau and moving during the night." Jaune paused as he felt the buzz from his pocket. He opened it and saw Alex face look at him. He quickly closed the announcement, "Without knowing for sure if they found a way onto the plateau emergency procedures were enacted to ensure the safety of Anvil. All huntsmen were dispatched to lead any discovered migration away from the settlements to be safely eliminated. Sergeant Milo will ask for volunteers to keep a rotating watch for the night. Please stand by."

Jaune closed the line. Milo took it, "Thank you Jaune. I can take it from here. See what they need."

Jaune smiled thanks before walking out and looked at the scroll. "What's going on?"

Alex smiled through the static in the connection. "Nice speech. But we did find the boarbatusk migration. The two large ones you found? They were digging tunnels. That's how those two got up here. The little ones weren't able to climb the same way as the larger ones so they are digging out the holes to make it easier for them to go up now. We cut them off and are still fighting them. But we are relaying the update to all settlements. How are you holding up?"

Jaune exhaled. "I am so glad I didn't have to look at anyone when I said all that."

"You did good Jaune. Your job is done. Keep the scroll, we'll be in touch." The line went dead and Jaune felt the exhaustion set in.

He walked out and joined the guards on the wall. The air was dead quiet with the walls cutting off most of the noise behind him. A few people spoke in hushed tones. A few bits of laughter exchanged between some of the men to keep themselves optimistic. Jaune smiled at them as he walked by.

Jaune sat on a chair and leaned back. His eyes scanned the town wall a half mile away. Out loud to the nearest guard he said, "I feel like I'm about to fall asleep. Wake me up when the next rotation happens will ya?"

The man looked at him surprised. He laughed out when he realized Juane was serious, "How the hell can you sleep up here? But I will. Get some sleep."

Jaune smiled as he let himself doze.

-o-

Jaune awoke and looked around. The same guard was still next to him. Jaune stood up and stretched absently wiping his face of the slight trail of drool from his mouth. Really hope no one saw that.

Jaune looked around trying to find out exactly why he woke up. "Anything happen while I was asleep?"

The man shook his head. "You been asleep for about an hour or so. But it's been dead quiet. I think everyone inside finally fell asleep too."

Jaune nodded while he looked to the settlement walls. He looked to his side and looked at the others who had stood watch. They were all quiet and speaking in whispers. He knew his job was officially done when the whole of the populace filed into the base. But he felt he should still be up here. He opened the scroll but no one had left any messages. Are they still fighting this late?

Either there were more grim than they expected or the night was actually playing a bigger factor than he thought. He put the scroll away and watched the line of the outer walls. They were still up and there would have been noise if they had been pushed through…

Jaune put his hand to his face.

"Alert the line and have flares prepared to deploy," Jaune ordered the man. The guard looked at him surprised. "Trust me. You can all laugh at me tomorrow morning if I'm wrong. Don't have them light just yet. Get a double row of guards up first with guns." Jaune saw the man get ready to call the order to someone below him. He grabbed the mans arm to interrupt him. "And do it quietly."

There was shuffling around him but he just looked into the darkened town. He could not hear anything from the emptied streets. Eventually Sergeant Milo stood next to him. "You think you saw something."

Jaune shook his head and exhaled. "Something that Alex said bothered me now that I thought about it. The huntsmen should have finished ages ago. Or made contact."

Milo frowned. "You think?" he gestured they may have died.

Jaune shook his head. "No, but what if they had problems rounding them all up? The two big ones we saw were smart enough to tunnel up here from the base. The other boarbatusks probably just followed their lead. Who's to say they didn't tunnel everywhere? But the big ones? They were spotted up here near Central. It wouldn't take long for them to reach any settlements. They decided to come up here for a purpose. And they feed off emotions. So why haven't we heard about them at all since we started the evacuation when civilian distress would be at its highest? Surely one of the settlements would have signaled that they found something and it had been taken care of. And why have they not come to us? We have the largest mass of emotions in Anvil."

Jaune and Milo waited until everyone was lined up along the walls. Jaune raised his fist for the flares. "I really hope I'm wrong. But what if the two large ones didn't just dig up to the plateau but were digging around our walls?"

Jaune lowered his hand. The fzz of dust flares lit the sky in bright white and yellow light. Jaune looked below him to the left and right before he exhaled. Below him and far near the corner sat two massive boarbatusks carefully digging against the wall. They had already dug up deep into the earth. They looked up and roared a deep ear-piercing squeal before they both started digging, no longer worried about stealth. "Take aim and fire at will. We can't let them get burrowed too far into the ground or the walls will be breached!"

Among the fire, Jaune opened his scroll and tried to contact Alex but received nothing but static. He swallowed the lump in his throat before he looked to Milo. "How do we send a message to the other settlements?"

"I have someone waiting on standby on the top floor." Milo turned and waved at the highest floor. A signal light turned and prepared itself to send a sequence to the other settlements.

"Have them point the light in that direction." Jaune pointed to the forest just south-west of them. "The ravine ends near there and the huntsmen are likely fighting out in the open. Maybe one of them can peel away to help us."

Jaune put a foot on the edge of the wall and looked down. It was a twenty-foot drop. But it wasn't as bad as some of the jumps he made while running.

Milo looked where he was going. "What are you doing!" He asked in alarm.

"Get that signal out. I can draw them away for a bit but I can't outrun them forever. Your gunmen's guns aren't strong enough to pierce that armor. Better one person dies than over a thousand." Jaune jumped and landed a good distance away from the grim.

"That crazy son of a bitch." Milo turned and waved several times in sequence and pointed in the direction Jaune spoke of first. They needed a huntsman now.

Now that Jaune saw them clearly, he instantly regretted jumping down. He had vastly underestimated how large they were. Both boarbatusks turned and snorted heated puffs of breath as they pulled out of their tunnels. Each grim was larger than a two horse-drawn carriage. The snout of one of them was as high as his shoulder. The thick white armor didn't just cover their face but covered parts of their back and tail. Thick tusks curled in two wide circles that widened to pointed ends. They both stopped digging and ignored the pings for the gunfire to look at him and squeal a terrifying screech.

Jaune felt he did what any sensible human being would do. He screamed like a little girl and ran. The two boarbatusks started to chase after with loud clopping steps behind him.

-o-

In the open field, several huntsmen were looking at the ground before they landed their pikes deep into the earth. Most of the grim had been killed but there were still quite a few who were still tunneling and had yet to reach the surface.

"Get ready to make another rotation. You guys need a br-" Alex looked up. Several hunters paused to see the sequence of flashing lights. "Oh no. That's Central."

Lucas dug up another grim and killed it before its tunnel collapsed, "Gold team swap out with Green. Green, they are signaling two grim. It might be the ones we were expecting to see tomorrow."

"Got it, let's go ladies!" The man shouted over his shoulder before his team started running towards the settlement.

-o-

Jaune panted as he jumped over a cart. The cart exploded in wooden blades that hit his back. He ignored the pain. Again like last time, he didn't look back. So long as he heard the two sets of clops he was fine. He saw the street was going to go into an abrupt 'T' intersection and nearly ran up the wall as he made his sharp turn. One of the boarbutusk skid and rammed into the building and crumpled the wall. It shook its head and followed its partner after him.

"Ug this is going to get expensive." Jaune remembered there was another 'T' Intersection down the road. He passed it but not before he noticed the wall was a large glass window looking into a restaurant. "Sorry Phil but I need your restaurant." Jaune slowed as he realized he was out running the boarbutusk pair. When they began to match his pace, he led them again through a large circle back to the intersection. Jaune glanced at the street and sped up. The boarbatusk blindly increased their speed.

Jaune whimpered out. "Please forgive me!" Jaune used a window sill just before he entered the intersection and jumped.

Jaune grabbed the roof and crawled up just before the building shook and an ear-piercing squeal of rage echoed in the building. "I'm up here!" Jaune started stomping on the roof and the roof shook. Jaune gasped as one of the Boarbatusk jumped out of the building while the other one hit the last support beam. Jaune felt the roof flex and he jumped off to the next building. The roof collapsed in a cloud of dirt.

Jaune rolled off his back and surveyed the damage. "I really liked that place." He murmured to himself. The rubble shook and the boarbatusk rose on unsteady feet. Jaune looked at the other one. It snorted and shook its head while it paced back and forth. Jaune shook his finger while he caught his breath. "You… You knew…"

Jaune let that fact wash over him while he tried to think what to do next. Both boarbatusks snorted at him while he stood on the roof. The smart one squealed and the pair started running.

"No, no, nonono! You are not going back to central base." Jaune jumped down and threw a piece of a chair at the two. It didn't even reach them as they ran but the clatter got their attention. "I am right here!" He snarled.

The two boarbatusk turned and started running after him. Jaune turned and ran but quickly noticed a problem. The clops were out of sync. He looked over his shoulder and realized the smart one was running at the same pace, but the other one was slower now. "Ok. Now what do I do?"

Jaune wracked his brain while he thought about the guards at the wall. Their weapons were barely effective on smaller grim. The armor on these guys was to thick. "Think think think, what can I use to slow these guys down?"

Jaune ran through town. The slower one squealed and parted from the smart one. Jaune only noticed from the sudden absence of any clops. Jaune turned in time to see that the smart one slowed to a stop before it turned. "Shit. I moved to far away from the base!" Jaune turned and chased after the smart one. He quickly caught up and ran along the smart Boarbatusk. "I'm right here asshole."

The grim ignored him. It only increased its speed to the central base walls. Jaune swore and slowed. He looked around. "How am I going to get them to come after me again?"

Jaune ran back to the Huntsman shelter and barged in. He ran through the counter walls and found an empty weapons wrack with only a single lonely plain spear with a barbed tip. He grabbed it and a bag of dust canisters he hoped still had dust in them.

The teen cleared the shelter and ran in an all-out sprint. Several powerful steps onto carts and window ledges got him on a roof. Jaune sprinted and leapt across streets. I just need to make it in time.

Jaune jumped off a chimney and threw his legs forward to clear a house roof in a single jump before he pushed off again to speed himself further.

-o-

Milo stood on the roof with the communication team. Spotlights were lifted from the building and pushed out to illuminate the wall and the field around them. "Is this all we got?"

Someone behind him manning the signal lights answered, "Yeah. Unfortunately, there are no bigger weapons. The Port is readying an airship to bring in some artillery but they are waiting for clearance from Vale."

Milo scowled but nodded. The squeals made him flinch. The two boarbatusk walked out from the empty streets each nearly as tall as the surrounding buildings. "Jaune…"

Milo looked over the wall. "Get ready to concentrate fire. The one on the left first. We need t-"

Milo did not get a chance to finish. The two boarbatusk charged and rolled into two identical balls. The resulting crash against the walls made the men scream in alarm. "Get an evac ship here now! We're abandoning Central." The signal turned quickly to The Port and started flashing the code.

Milo swallowed as the defensive barrier shook again from another hit. He could hear the crack of mortar gave under the pressure of the attack. The walls stood but it wouldn't be long.

-o-

Jaune watched as the walls began to give and swallowed the lump in his throat. He gave the detonator one last pull to secure it to the spear. "Here's hoping this works."

Jaune jumped down from the roof and held the spear tight in his hands. Jaune prayed for himself before he started to run. The teen could feel himself hitting that wall of fatigue from the night but if he could just run faster.

Jaune, not for the first time, thought this would be it. Which is why he didn't conserve any energy. He kept his breath tight and quiet and ran straight at the boarbatusk that was getting ready to attack the wall again. Jaune in a moment realized he may not have enough weight to puncture through the thick hide. He swerved slightly to a wall and took two steps and grunted as he lifted himself into the air to give as much weight to the spear as possible.

Jaune looked at the plated armor and knew there was only one place that would be free and meaty enough to get some damage done. The grim only noticed seconds before Jaune thrust the spear as hard as he could into the hind quarter of the grim. He hoped it was the smart one, but he was unsure which one it was. The grim bucked and kicked immediately pulling his spear from his arms and nearly taking his arm with it. Jaune never realized how heavy the grim was. But his arm made him understand as it snapped and popped like a twig. Jaune bit out a loud cry in pain. Realizing it was useless to hang on, he let himself be thrown from the beast just as the crystal wrapped spear tip snapped and exploded. Jaune felt his body accelerate from the explosion. A wave of heat hit the front of his body. The teen just saw white and was deaf until everything hurt. Once he heard himself moan in pain he knew he was alive. That was enough to get him to focus.

Jaune shook himself and nearly toppled over when he tried to use his arm to get up. The teen gasped in pain and shock. He quickly looked at the grim as it squealed in pain. Its leg had a good chunk missing as it hobbled on its three remaining legs. The second boarbatusk turned and snarled as it charged him. Jaune started to run but knew he didn't have the strength to outrun it. "Just make it to the alley." Jaune screamed at his body as it hobbled weakly to the passage.

Jaune nearly keeled over as he limped into the alley. The boarbatusk closed the gap in seconds. Jaune smiled as it ran into the alley after him. The loud crunch of glass resounded beneath the grim's feet. Ice dust crystals ignited from the pressure in an explosion around the grim in jagged uncontrolled icicles.

Jaune kept moving. His vision blurred as the pain and fatigue caught up with him. Overhead he could hear airships arrive. Jaune lost focus unsure what that meant. He turned back and saw the Boarbatusk break off the ice by ramming against the alley walls. It shook its head free and looked at the ground. Crystallized ice dust littered the floor. The grim tilted its head at the noise overhead. A large long snort exhaled from the boarbatusk. The beast stared at Jaune for a long moment as if committing him to memory. It snorted at the patrolman one last time then backed away. "So that's the smart one…"

Jaune felt himself lose consciousness.

-o-

Gordon and his team jumped and cleared the perimeter wall and saw the airships. "Faster! Those are evac ships!"

Green Team stopped and surveyed the damage at central base. A massive boarbatusk had collapsed the wall but was hobbling on three legs. "Linda, talk to a guard confirm we have two. We'll finish this one off."

The youngest one of the group broke away. "Guardsmen retreat. We'll hold it here." Linda stopped one guard. "Was this the only one?"

"No, there was a second one. The patrolman got its attention and they ran over there before there was an explosion."

Linda saw the caved in alley. "Thank you." The nineteen-year-old hopped and skipped a few steps to clear the street and down the alley. The girl looked around before she noticed it was covered in fine ice. She nearly stepped on it before she caught the light glinting off the floor. "Crystals. Smart."

Linda followed the trail until she saw a kid. The kid. "Shit, Kid!" The huntress jumped over the littered path and checked Jaune's pulse. One, two, three, She sighed in relief. "Good to see your still alive kiddo. Not sure what I can do with that arm though."

Jaune slowly felt his body move and he murmured, "oww." He slowly looked up and noticed the tanned woman with deep red hair.

Linda laughed. "If you can say ow instead of moan you're ok."

Jaune didn't bother to open his eyes again. "Did you get them both?"

"My team is taking care of tripod at the wall. We haven't seen the other one."

"Find the other one." Jaune managed to crack open an eyelid. "He's smart. Too smart." Jaune's tired eye gave her a steady focused look.

Linda let the smile fade but nodded. "We'll find it. I won't let it escape."

Jaune felt his eyes roll back and he loss consciousness again. Linda stood and turned to leave the boy. He would live. She looked over her shoulder one last resisted the urge to smile as he laid there sleeping.

Linda rejoined her group. The boarbatusk had slowed considerably. "One more crack and we can pierce it!" Gordon called. Riley slammed his ax against the white bone mask and it finally cracked with a loud metallic like screech. Gordon and Naomi charged with their own weapons and the lance and the sword slipped through the crack. The boarbatusk death cry shook the earth before it slumped and began to fade into smoke.

The group noticed Linda had already come back but she was busy talking to a guard. "He's hurt but don't let anyone in that is not familiar with dust. The kid set the whole alleyway as a trap." Gordon raised an eyebrow at the tidbit of information.

Linda looked at the three. "The kid told me we got a smart one. We need to find it."

The celebrations were instantly cut off. Gordon looked at his team. "Linda, perimeter. Check the wall for escape paths. The rest fan out. Follow the main streets and look for signs of it veering off to a side street."

-o-

Slow panted breathes echoed the streets. The boarbatusk had started to back away at the sound of airship engines. It slowly made its way to the burrowed tunnel at the wall to escape. Sunrise had started to change the sky orange and it allowed the boarbatusk ample places to walk in the shadows. It paused when it heard its fellow grim's death cry. It waited a few moments its ears perked and shifted left and right but the grim heard nothing else. It snorted as it resumed its walk.

The boarbatusk looked at the path it had taken. There was no trail other than scent of the dirt it had been burrowing through. It waited several moments before it decided to get on its knees and break into a door of a shop. It pushed aside the tables and shelves that resulted in a loud crash. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that it survived. It used it's hooves to puncture the wooden floor and started digging at the earth. It felt it was time to hide.

-o-

"I've found the entrance the two made boss! They dug right under the perimeter wall. But the earth hasn't been disturbed recently. And I didn't find another burrow. It's still in the town." Gordon thanked Linda.

"Flare a signal when you see it. Don't engage alone." Gordon started walking down the center lane listening for any kind of sign of the grim.

-o-

Jaune heard several voices of alarm before the air around him flew into a frenzy as an air current ran over his body. He was too tired to try and distinguish them. A bright flash of light blinded him as each eyelid was raised to look at his eyeball. Must be help.

"One, two, three, lift!" Jaune felt several hands lift his body. He slowly squinted but could not see anything beyond the sunlight. Huh, I made it till morning. He coughed out the dry phelm and grunted, "Did we get it?"

A man's voice laughed. "Good to see you alive Jaune. The huntsmen are searching now. It hasn't left the town. Let's get you moving." Jaune felt his body jostled as he was set down on some kind of bed. Jaune opened his eyes and realized who it was.

"How were the other settlements?" Jaune hissed and flinched as his right limp and broken arm was moved on top of his body.

"They were safe. A few grim sniffed around the walls but it was nothing the guardsmen couldn't handle." Andrew answered for himself and Koben. The pair exchanged looks with the medical team before Jaune was lifted by pulley into the ship above them.

Koben ruffled Jaune's hair as the teen rose into the air. "You did good. Get some rest."

Jaune sighed as he fell back asleep.

-o-

Alex looked at the collapsed entrance. The door was splintered open by the forced entry that took out half the wall. The huntsman exhaled. By the time he got to Central half of it was ravaged by the two boarbatusks. "I was relieved there had been no casualties in the night."

Central had been on his mind since the initial light signal. The inability to follow Gold team gnawed at him until he was satisfied that the huntsmen had thinned the heard of the boarbatusks that had dug to the surface of the plateau. "Gold team. You have the south of the building, Green, north, Sparrow east. We'll flush it out. No chances. We take our time to weaken it then kill."

The teams nodded as they spread out. Alex and Lucas entered the tools shop and heard the panting of the boarbatusk. Alex raised his fist covered gauntlets while Lucas was behind him with his rifle.

The grim was already ten feet into the earth at the start of a tunnel. Alex let his fist glow red before he twisted a punch at the grim. A twister of fire spun towards the Grim. The beast roared in pain as it kicked itself out of the building. It tried and failed to snap its maw at Alex's fist. When it was free of the building it stopped short and looked around the buildings and streets. The Huntsmen carefully surrounded it.

The boarbatusk snarled before it exhaled a scream. The huntsmen were forced to cover their ears as the world around them warped from the sound alone. Jill fell to her knees on the roof. Linda was on the street and she cried in pain, her delicate faunas ears hearing every decibel from directly in front of the monster. The grim took advantage and charged the smallest huntsman. Linda raised her weapon unable to hear but she could still see it. The grims' maw opened and crunched against metal as it bit the faunus' weapon. It then turned its head again intent on gorging the girl.

The rest of Linda's team collapsed and slammed the boarbatusks head into the ground where it tore through the side of another building. The grim kicked its legs before it looked around and attempted to ram another huntsmen that was on the ground. When they dodged, the grim let its' tusk sink into the building before it to pulled the wall out to give itself cover. Walls of Ice flash froze the debris in place. Riley used the opportunity and raised his ax and swung hard with his aura sharpening the edge of the blade.

CRACK

The boarbatusk roared in pain and panic. The grim flipped its body around and kicked the huntsmen off before it smacked the undamaged portion of the wall with its tusks. The wall crumbled with a billow of dust. The grim used the collapsed wall as a ramp to run up to the roof where it jumped down and make its escape on a different street.

Team sparrow waited for the grim to come to them before the team slammed a lance and hammer from above. Their weapons nearly glanced off the face mask before they both found purchase. The other two members landed on the beasts back and shot rounds of dust that exploded inside the mask.

The Grim squealed again as the mask broke off. The sound of tearing leather ripped with the mask. It bled and snarled before it found a path to the road. The boarbatusk curled into a ball for added protection and rolled through the street. A wall of ice sprouted in front of it.

The dust created wall was reinforced with another wall of ice by another team member. Heedless of the obstacle the boarbatusk rammed into the ice. A brief moment flashed where the grim may have been able to break free. But that was quickly ended when Jill used a blast of aura and dust to dive on the spinning grim cutting deep into its side.

Alex looked at the grim. His gauntlets changed and extended into two long blades that glowed his own blue aura. Next to him Lucas' rifle changed with the sound of metal gears as it's shape moved into a pike with a long staff. He too channeled aura into his weapon. The pair dove onto the grim at once. Flesh tore as the two weapons stabbed the grims' hind legs.

"Linda, stay back." The girl nodded now that she had no weapon.

Gordon moved his hand down. At the signal, Gold Team took the opportunity to dive and pierce between the plates in its back. Each member found footing on the Boarbatusk' back.

The grim tried to kick the huntsmen off but it was already weakening. The huntsmen would not be shaken off its back. "On three. One, two, three PUSH!" The teams began to push their weapons deeper into the grim. The grim smashed his body against the buildings nearby before it fell to its knees in exhaustion. The teams continued to count to three and push their weapons into the body several times.

The boarbatusk slowly wavered before it looked at a window at the reflection of the huntsmen that stood perched on its back. It inhaled before emitted screeched that shattered the window and the walls around them shook. Several huntsmen nearly lost their grip as it gave one last attempt to escape. When everyone stayed firm on the beasts back, the Grim fell to the ground and snarled.

Alex held his arms firmly against the grim. He looked up and asked, "Gordon would you like the honors?"

Gordon's weapon changed back to an ax. "My pleasure." He placed his foot and pushed down on the grim's tusk to keep it down and swung his ax into the armor free portion of the Grim's head. The boarbatusks' angry eyes never left Gordon's as the ax fell. One final ear piercing scream passed before the grim's body began to collapse in on itself.

The teams looked around but felt no other threats. Finally, they relaxed but remained alert.

"We had no clue." Jill swallowed while thinking what could have happened.

"We were lucky it went through the front door when it hid. If it had tried to go through a wall or an alley, we would probably still be searching." The group put away their weapons as they all caught their breath. To his left Gordon noticed Linda sigh at her destroyed saber.

Alex looked over at the evacuation ships. They had long since left but there was still one ship above central base in case they had to evacuate as well. "And it might have gotten away. It was digging its escape tunnel fast."

"Linda. You found the kid, was he ok?"

She lamented the loss of her weapon before she looked back up. "He is safe where I found him. He laid a good trap. If it were anything other than that boarbatusk, he would have had them." She smiled at the idea. It was something she filed away for later.

"It's too bad about your sword. But look, a trophy for the huntsmen house."

Linda looked at the broken off half mask. It was nearly as tall as she was. Its empty sockets for its row of eyes made her shudder. She looked at Riley. "Maybe not."

-o-

Jaune exhaled a cough but still remained in bed oblivious to the world. Bandages crisscrossed his black and blue chest as it slowly rose and fell. Nathaniel sat patiently at his side. After an hour of restlessness, he took a cue from one of his many daughters and read to pass the time.

Nathaniel looked up and saw his wife walk in. She made her way to the hospital bed and took her son's hand in hers. "He will be fine Allison. He's just exhausted."

Allison shook her head and she looked at the cast on her son's arm. "His arm would beg to differ."

Nathaniel smiled but stood to join her. "He's proven he is strong enough. Or not." Nathaniel sighed while he looked at his son. He could already feel it. As reluctant as he was to acknowledge it. His son's aura was beginning to awaken. It was too early to tell if it would unlock on its own or when. But it was an eventuality he knew he needed to prepare his son for. He did not voice these thoughts to his wife however. She was already worried enough about his current profession.

Allison blissfully ignorant of her husbands' thoughts slapped him lightly on the shoulder before she leaned in and sighed against his lips.

"Ew?" Jaune said lazily catching his mother lean in to kiss his father.

"Hello sweetie."

Jaune grunted. "Hi mom," His sigh of relief was evident to both his parents. He looked around at them before he murmured, "It hurts to breathe."

"It's good to see you whole Jaune. I'll get a nurse." Allison squeezed her son's hand before she walked out.

"How are you feeling son?"

Jaune kept his eyes closed. It hurt to look around. His eyes felt dry. Or just still exhausted. "Sleepy. Is everyone alright?" he opened them to look at his father. His eyes were red from the lack of sleep.

"Of course everyone is fine. We moved the family to the blacksmith furnace and just raised the heat. While it was uncomfortable, your sisters were able to sleep the night away undisturbed with the furnace heat masking them. We did not see a single grim last night."

Jaune sighed in relief. "How long was I asleep?"

"Just enough to say it's not enough sleep for an all-nighter. You had visitors already."

Jaune smiled, "How are Koben and Andrew?"

Nathaniel shared the smile. "They were faring far better than you are. But that's not who I meant. Some girl came by. Had a few years on you. Whispered something to you while you were sleeping and kissed your cheek. She was a cute one, redhead, had puppy ears. Anyone I should know?" Jaune's father raised an eyebrow.

Jaune looked at his father confused. "What?"

A knock came at the door. "Come in. He's awake."

Jaune spotted a few familiar faces. Koben, Andrew, Lucas, and Alex all walked in. "How are you feeling Jaune?"

"Good." He said with some effort. He tried to make himself more alert but it only managed to make his squeak out, "Trying to figure out who mystery girl was."

The group looked to Nathaniel. "Some girl came in and kissed him. A few years older, red hair, dog ears." Nathaniel shrugged at the description.

Alex and Lucas shared a laugh. "That would be Linda. She's the one that found him in the alley."

Jaune tried to keep his eyes open but made the connection with the only word that really stuck, "Tripod?" The group snorted at the reaction. "Shut up…" Jaune attempted to keep his eyes open but was beginning to fail. "I'm sleepy. I know who that is now." Jaune felt satisfied with the mystery solved and let himself back to sleep.

When Andrew noted he was fully asleep, he said quietly to Nathaniel. "When you were going to send your only son to us, we weren't sure what to expect. Almost a year later and still don't know how he functions at times."

Koben smiled along with his partner. "But we are thankful that we have him."

Nathaniel sighed. "But.." He wasn't stupid. He felt it too. And he looked back and forth between the huntsmen and the patrolmen.

"He's good Nathaniel. Really good."

"Just say what you want guys. Don't give me a cock stroke." Nathaniel grounded out.

"He should be a huntsman." This came from Andrew. The patrolman knew it would be best coming from him. The two go back a ways and Andrew was well aware of Nathaniels' lack of love for huntsmen.

"You really think so? With aura locked. With only speed as his only ally?" Nathaniel scowled. He exhaled before he raised his voice. His son slept peacefully next to him.

Alex stood on the other side of Jaune's bed and looked at his battered body. "You know it will unlock on its own soon if we don't do it for him. Nathan, he managed to hold off two old grim on his own. One was an intelligent one. You know how dangerous those are. We took no chances when we killed it. Three teams. Jaune had no luxury. I am not even sure how he did it." He paused before he added. "But the damage in the town gives us an idea. The delay tactics. The critical thinking. The deductive reasoning to even think and look for them. It's all there. He didn't have the ability to sense the unease grim brings. It was all his mind."

Lucas exhaled thinking back to the previous night when he saw the emergency call. "None of us caught on to what was going on. We still don't know if it was a coincidence that the heard of boarbatusks followed the intelligent grim mindlessly, or if the intelligent actually lured them here so he could sneak in. We may never know. But your son noticed the danger before we did. And no one died. That's the key thing. No one died. A lot of civilians could have died if your son was not there. And no one would have been able to stop it."

Nathaniel sighed but scratched his head. "I have a lot to think about. But you made your point." The group took what they could get. "Is- is my son still a patrolman?"

Koben smiled. "He is until he feels he wants to move on. We are happy to have him."

-o-

Jaune rotated his shoulder while he scowled at the cast. It would take nearly a month and a half for the bones to heal. Both bones in the forearm snapped. He kept his arm in a sling against his chest. And apparently, he was stuck at home with this restless feeling in his chest.

Andrew and Koben both said not to come back until his arm was fully healed. They promptly kicked him out of the office while they started their patrol. Now he was back home where he sat on the porch for the past hour.

"Jaune, what are you doing?"

"Being bored."

Nathaniel looked at his son. "Get up. We got all day and I got a few things I could use that free arm for." Nathaniel dragged his son to the smithy. "Stand like that. Feet apart. Shoulders like this." Jaune felt his body getting moved around like a doll before his father was satisfied. He turned away from his son to go to his workbench. "I got an order to make and you can be my model." Nathaniel looked at his sword before he caressed the sheath… It had been a long time since he drew that blade.

Jaune laughed. "Your what? So this is what happens when you get injured. What has my life become?" His gaze followed his fathers' as the older man took out his sword and sheath. The sheath expanded to a shield. "That's your sword?" Jaune's interested perked.

"Yes, this is Crocea Mors. I have a special order for something similar. But an exact copy would be no good now. This is a soldiers' weapon. Not a huntsman's. Put the shield up like this. Just below eye level. Hold it like that. If your arm gets tired you can move it to stretch your arm. But always move it back to this position."

Jaune looked at his dad strangely. "How long am I doing this?"

Nathaniel back was turned as he flamed the heating element. "A few days. It shouldn't take longer than a week. Then we'll have you hold the sword so I can see what its reach looks like. The order is for that Linda girl. And she is a lot taller than you. So you'll be pointing that sword out straight so I can get a good measure."

Nathaniel carefully watched his son as he played with the shield. "How does it feel?" Jaune looked up at his father in confusion. His father smiled as he stoked the fire. "If you had unlocked your aura early, that likely would have been your weapon."

Jaune raised an eyebrow and gave the shield a cursory look. "It's just a shield." The total lack of enthusiasm that came from the teen made both father and son laugh.

"You know, I don't even think about it anymore? I'm happy where I am."

"Even after all that's happened?"

Jaune laughed. "With surviving the biggest possible grim I will probably ever see? Yeah. I am happy where I am."

"I was in town today, they said you are a hero." He challenged.

Jaune laughed at that. "You wouldn't think so." Jaune raised his arm again. The shield was getting heavy. "I don't know if you meant it this way, but I think I realized you can't be a hero when you want to be there to help."

Nathaniel looked at the sagging shield arm and poked at the shield with his molten red metal pick. "Hey! That's hot! You have got to have a better way to do this…"

"I do, but you said you were bored."

Authors note:

I randomly had this idea for the past month and started jotting this down to get into writing again. Didn't think this would balloon from what I thought would be a quick 4k one shot to… this? It feels way larger than a one-shot should. But I didn't like the idea of breaking it up.

I love RWBY but never got into the fandom side of it. I always liked the idea of a Jaune story. I am really happy how this one turned out.