Breathe Chapter 61: Ancient Things

Besides the slightly uncomfortable beds and a somewhat predictable horror movie, the first night we spent in the forest hadn’t been that bad. Save for the odd interaction Ruby and I had with the Beowolves, nothing strange had happened.

The forest did however give off an odd vibe that almost seemed to be telling us to leave. It was extremely subtle, but both Pyrrha and Winter were able to pick up on it.

Team RWBY were a bit slower to picking up on the change in the air. Spending the night in the Airship seemed to mute any effects it could potentially have on them.

Outside however was a different story. The team seemed more than a little anxious, with Ruby and Blake being the most affected by the eerie atmosphere. Yang on the other hand.

“Hey, Weiss. Don’t you think that this lake kind of resembles the one in that movie,” Yang whispered, drawing Weiss in. “It looks so peaceful and then, all of a sudden, BAM!” She grinned as Weiss jumped. “The killer bursts out of the water and hacks you to death.”

Taking a moment, Weiss recovered with a scoff. “Please. As if we would have anything to worry about. A single Ursa would be tougher to deal with than some crazed serial killer with a machete. The only thing that was actually scary was the abysmal acting. If you ask me, they had it coming. Who just stands around waiting to be murdered?”

“Camp counselors apparently,” Blake interjected quietly. “Specifically the ditzy ones.”

“That’s just part of the fun,” Yang replied. “If everyone was competent, then it’d be a lot more boring. You agree with me, right Ruby?”

“Well, um… It is a bit… Dated, but, yeah,” Ruby nodded. “It was kinda fun.”

“Betrayed by my own sister,” Yang muttered, clutching her chest. “Such a bittersweet sting.”

Watching Yang’s interaction, I chuckled softly. It seemed that even with the invisible pressure weighing on everyone’s shoulders, Yang was still able to brighten the mood.

“So… “ Yang hummed, turning her gaze towards me. “Are we just gonna stand out here all day, because I’m good with that if we are. I wouldn’t mind catching a few rays.”

I’m sure she wouldn’t.

“Maybe another time,” I hummed. “Today, however, we’re going to be stepping your training up a notch. Today, we’re going to be working on your Breathing Styles.”

“YES!” Ruby cheered, pumping her fist. Seeing that we all stopped to stare at her, she rubbed the back of her head, chuckling awkwardly. “Continue.”

Right…

“Anyway… The four of you are going to be learning how to use your Breathing Styles,” I said, trying to regain my train of thought. “While continuing to practice Total Concentration Breathing.” Without that, they’ll run into a stamina issue real fast. “Using a Breathing Style is a lot like sprinting. Without the stamina to back it up, you won’t go very far.”

“But, how do they work?” Weiss muttered a little too loudly. “I mean… My sister told me that she uses Frost Breathing and Yang mentioned that Pyrrha uses Flame. What’s the difference between the two?”

I suppose I should have expected a question like that. Winter asked a similar question when she first learnt her Breathing Style after all. “It has to do with the nature of your soul and the element it resembles.”

Unsheathing my sword, I began to draw up a circular diagram with the various types of Breathing Styles. ‘Flame,’ ‘Water,’ ‘Wind,’ ‘Stone’ and ‘Lightning’ surrounded ‘Sun’. Thinking for a few seconds, I added ‘Frost’ below ‘Water’ and drew a long line out of the circle before scratching ‘Moon’ into the dirt.

“These are the Breathing Styles,” I continued. “Using the correct Breathing Style helps bring that energy out to be used as a weapon… A lot like how Aura is a shield. It’s the Yin to Aura’s Yang. When they come together, something truly powerful emerges.”

“That’s a lot to take in,” Yang hummed, staring at the diagram. “Wait, so… If Pyrrha has Flame Breathing and Winter uses Frost… Which Style do you use?”

“Sun,” Ruby said, glancing at my blade. “Black for Sun, right?”

“Black for Sun, what?” Yang asked, sounding confused.

“That’s right,” I replied, flicking the dirt from my blade before sheathing it. “It’s powerful, but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best..”

Sun Breathing did have its benefits, but that didn’t mean that the others were worthless. In the end, it always came down to how the Breathing Styles were used. A master in using Water Breathing would always beat a beginner in Sun Breathing.

“Then how will we know which Breathing Style suits us?” Blake asked.

“Once we figure out the correct Breathing Pattern for you, I’ll know,” I answered. “If nothing else, my Semblance is extremely useful for learning.”

Well, that, my new Inventory and the Iron Status Effects. Without it, all of this would have been far tougher… If not impossible. I definitely wouldn’t have known to continue practicing Total Concentration Breathing.

“So, how do we begin?” Ruby asked.

Taking a slow breath, I focused my gaze on the four, peering through them. “The first thing you’ll want to do is…”

…Breathe…

Leaning against the Airship, I rested my tired eyes and let out a short sigh. Teaching all four of them at once might have been a bit of a bad idea. I’d spent the last two hours almost ping ponging between each of them before they managed to get the basics down and I was able to call for a break.

Opening my eyes, I found myself staring at Pyrrha’s smiling face as she looked up at me. “Hello there.”

“Pyrrha,” I smiled. “How long have you been there?”

“Only a few moments,” She said, standing up. “Winter and I just came back from a short patrol. There aren’t very many Grimm here. If I couldn’t feel the strange air about this place, I wouldn’t have thought that there was anything wrong with it. How’s teaching been going?”

“A little slower than usual, but I guess that’s to be expected,” I replied. “We’ll start back up after lunch. They’re by the lake’s bank over there.” I gestured towards the team that was currently navigating around the rocky shores of the lake. It seemed like they were trying to get closer to the waterfall.

Humming softly, Pyrrha leaned against the Airship beside me before laying her head on my shoulder, cuddling into my side. “This would be a lot more comfortable if we were sitting somewhere.”

I let out a snort of laughter at that. “Yeah, it would. Let’s go find somewhere to sit then.” Getting up, I got all of two steps before the side door to the Airship opened.

“Ah, Coal. There you are,” Winter said, stepping out. “It seems Pyrrha found you first. Has she told you about our patrol in the forest?”

“Just that there weren’t many Grimm,” I answered, shooting a quick glance towards Pyrrha. “Was there something else?”

Winter shook her head. “Unfortunately not. Save for a handful of Beowolves, there wasn’t anything else. They were behaving strangely though and only attacked once they were provoked… Even then, it seemed like all they wanted to do was get away.”

That sounded a lot like the Beowolves Ruby and I had run into last night. Maybe they were still in the area.

“I placed a few sensors around the woods to monitor anything that could cross its path, but none of them have been set off yet,” Winter continued, holding her Scroll up. “I think our next course of action should be to head deeper into the forest in order to find the source.”

That was a fair point. “Before we do that though, there is actually something that I wanted to talk about first… Concerning your and Pyrrha’s training.”

“Our training?” Pyrrha asked curiously.

“We have been progressing rather slow as of late,” Winter mused. “Although, I can’t tell if it seems that way because I’ve only been sparring with Pyrrha or if we truly have hit a plateau.”

Well, to tell the truth, it was a little bit of both. They were still making progress in their training, but it had slowed down a little. In order to grow stronger, they needed new challenges.

“There is another step in your training. An extremely powerful Breathing Style Technique that I’ve held off until now,” I explained. “A form of Flame Breathing called Purgatory, and one of Water Breathing that might need to be modified, Dead Calm.”

They hadn’t run into anything that would demand such techniques yet, but that didn’t mean that they would never need something a bit more powerful, especially since the Vytal festival was only a few short months away.

Catching an extremely faint scent of Grimm, I looked around, trying to find its source, only for it to disappear as quickly as it came.

…Breathe…

“Man, it feels like I’m starting over again,” Yang complained, laying on a large rock near the lakes shores with her feet propped up. “I mean, I just got the hang of Total Concentration Breathing and now I’m stuck right back at the beginning.”

“Then maybe you should join me instead of wasting time complaining,” Weiss suggested, taking practiced breaths with her weapon drawn.

Peeking an eye in Weiss’ direction, Yang smirked. “Nah. I think I’ll just relax here. Breaks are there for a reason, you know. I don’t want to tire myself out before starting again.”

Sighing from her spot, Blake nodded. “Yang has a point. Besides, how do you know that you’re doing it right? You might be going about it the wrong way and… You know… Learning bad habits... Why are you both looking at me like that?”

Blinking, Weiss turned away first. “Sorry, it’s just… You’re generally more reserved.”

“What Weiss said,” Yang added, a smile coming to her face. “You don’t normally talk unless we say something to you first, it’s actually pretty nice. It’s about time that you came out of your shell.”

Shooting Yang a bland look, Blake just sighed. “Whatever.”

“There’s the Blake we know and love,” Yang grinned. “Wouldn’t you say, Ruby?” She asked, turning towards her sister and team leader who stood a few feet short from the lake’s water, staring out into the distance. “Ruby?”

Staring off blankly, Ruby slowly turned around. “You say something?”

Feeling an immediate sense of concern, Yang was on her feet and at Ruby’s side in a matter of seconds. “Hey, you doing alright there, sis? Something bothering you?”

“Psht, yeah,” Ruby said. “Nothing’s bothering me, why would…” Pausing, she touched her upper lip and brought her hand back to see it coated in a small amount of blood. “Ugh, nose bleed… Hate those.”

“That’s it, you’re coming with me back to the Airship. We’re gonna get you checked out and you’re gonna take it easy.”

“Yang, no. I’m fine,” Ruby whined as she was dragged away. “It’s just a little nose bleed. I used to get those all the time when I was younger. It’s probably got something to do with the altitude.”

“Doesn’t matter, you’re still getting checked out,” Yang hummed.

Watching as the sisters went up the hill and entered the Airship, Weiss shot a quick glance towards Blake. “You know, despite how they can be sometimes, it’s sweet how much they care about one another. It makes me think of my own sister… Do you have any siblings, Blake?”

“No. Why?” Blake asked almost defensively.

“I just thought I’d ask,” Weiss replied. “We’ve been together for a single term now and I still don’t know much about you. Would you mind if I asked you something?”

Sighing, Blake looked towards the Airship a little wistfully. “So long as it’s nothing too personal, yeah, sure.”

“It’s… I get the feeling that you don’t like me very much,” Weiss admitted, locking eyes with Blake. “It’s stupid, I know, but… I just want to know. Did I do anything to offend you in the past? I know I can come off as abrasive and I can be demanding.”

Unable to keep Weiss’ gaze, Blake turned away, her bow twitching erratically. “No, it’s… It’s not something you did.”

“But maybe it is something that I could fix?”

“I’m sorry, Weiss, but… It’s complicated,” Blake sighed. “I really don’t want to get into it now.”

“Oh,” Weiss muttered. “Maybe some other time then… When you feel ready.”

Falling into an uncomfortable silence, the duo sat quietly on the rocky shores, the only sound coming from the waterfall to the side and the slight breeze that blew over the lake.

Shifting uncomfortably, Blake stood up and dusted herself off. “I’m heading back to the Airship. Are you coming or…”

“No, I think I’ll stay here a while longer,” Weiss replied.

Nodding, Blake turned and left. Taking several steps towards the Airship, she stopped dead in her tracks, her bow twitching erratically.

“What did you just say?”

“Say?” Weiss asked, pivoting towards Blake. “I didn’t say anything.”

Eyeing Weiss suspiciously, Blake turned to leave and…

“Coward.”

“What’s your problem?” Blake snapped, turning back around. “Just because I don’t want to talk about my past, that somehow makes me a coward?!”

“Coward? What do you… Are you feeling alright, Blake?” Weiss took a cautious step towards her teammate. “Why are you so angry?”

Blake’s eyes narrowed in anger. “You’re such a little brat. You deny and subvert, never taking responsibility for what you do or what you say… Just like… Just like your father.”

Stepping back as if she’d just been slapped, Weiss’ eyes misted over before her face shifted into an angry scowl. “Now hold on just a minute,” She growled. “If anyone’s at fault here, it’s you. You’re the one acting like a brat! All I’ve ever done was try and be your friend.”

“As if that’s po–“ Freezing, Blake’s attention was drawn to the lake's surface which was beginning to bubble, releasing small pockets of black mist. “…Weiss.”

“Oh, now you’re calm. Right when… Wait, what’s tha–AAAH!” Weiss jumped as a sludge covered hand burst from the water’s surface. Backing away from the lake, she grabbed her rapier, holding it out in front of herself defensively. “What the heck is that thing?!”

Watching with wide eyes as a familiar figure crawled to the surface, she took several steps back, shakily brandishing her weapon.

“No,” Blake muttered softly.

“Blake,” The sludge covered and rotting image of Adam Taurus whispered softly. “You left us, Blake… Left us to die. Do you see what we’ve become because of you?”

“Adam… That’s not true. You… You chose your own path!” Blake yelled, almost stumbling over herself as she took another step back. “You… You’re still alive, I saw the reports!”

“Reports lie… Just like the Schnee family,” The figure hissed. Holding its arm out, it gestured for her to step into the water.”Come with me and together we can fix your mistakes… Starting with her.”

Shaking her head, Blake’s grip on her weapon began to falter. “No…” Tripping over a rock, she was caught by Weiss who pulled her to her feet. “Weiss?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but we need to leave… Now,” Weiss said, locking arms with her.

Blinking, she turned her gaze back to Adam, only to see its form bubble as another figure appeared on top of his… One that looked a lot like an older Weiss.

“Oh, sweetie, don’t play around with that dirty Faunus,” The feminine figure crooned. “Don’t you know that she’s a member of the White Fang.”

Panicked, Blake tried to pull herself free in order to flee, only for Weiss to tighten her grip.

“Don’t listen,” Weiss muttered, tugging Blake along with her as she took a step back. “It’s trying to mess with our heads. That’s not my mother, nor is it that the Faunus you saw.”

Nodding shakily, Blake and Weiss slowly made their way towards the Airship, only turning their back to the lake when the figure slipped beneath the water.

Stopping at the top of the hill, Weiss let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Finally allowing herself to relax. “That was… That was stressful. Are you doing alright, Blake?”

“I think so,” Blake replied, her hands still shaking from the encounter. “What was that thing?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I think it was the Grimm that’s been stalking this area, but I’ve never heard of a Grimm that could do anything like that,” Weiss admitted. “We should tell the others… Oh, by the way, you dropped something when that thing startled you.” Patting down her dress, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a simple black ribbon. “Here you… Go?”

Taking the ribbon, Blake stared down at it for a while, before her eyes widened and her hands went to her head. “Weiss, this isn’t… Don’t tell any–“

“You’re a Faunus,” Weiss realized, starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together. “And that man, the other Faunus, you called him Adam… As in Adam Taurus, a renown member of the White Fang.”

“I can explain… It isn’t like that, not anymore.”

“Not anymore… So you’re saying that you were a member of the White Fang? Is that why you never liked me? Because I’m a Schnee and you’re a…” Weiss trailed off as she looked up at Blake.

Refusing to meet her gaze, Blake took a step back. “I’m… I’m sorry. This was a mistake. I should never have come here. This… This was all one big mistake” Turning, she gave one last glance towards Weiss, before leaving.

“Wait!” Reaching forward, Weiss grabbed Blake’s shoulder, only for it to disperse, leaving her behind. Cursing, she followed after her, heading deep into the woods. “We’re not supposed to be in here, damnit!”

…Breathe…

Of all the things I thought I’d be doing today, searching for Blake and Weiss in the woods wasn’t one of them. The duo had a pretty significant lead, making it difficult to track through scent or hearing. Luckily, such a thing wasn’t necessary.

With Winter’s help, I was able to track their Scrolls, leading me directly to them. The hardest part about all of this was convincing Winter to stay behind with Pyrrha to keep an eye on Ruby and Yang.

Slowing my pace, I checked my Scroll again, making sure that I was heading in the right direction. From the reports about this place, there hadn’t been too many deaths… Nowhere near the level of the Chill town… Although, most of the deaths did occur in the forest.

The Grimm in this location seemed to prefer killing people one at a time, often luring them out into the woods first… Away from anyone that could potentially help them, meaning that so long as Weiss and Blake remained near each other, they shouldn’t be in any real danger.

There was one case of three people being killed back at the construction site, but their wounds resembled that of a Beowolf attack, while the others were hung up in the treetops… Whether they were killed there or simply placed there after death wasn’t exactly known.

Jumping between a pair of trees, I launched myself up a steep hill, landing right on the ledge. The trees were a bit denser here, but the red leaves had seemingly thinned at the top, allowing for more light to pour through.

Looking at my Scroll again, I confirmed that, if I cut through here, I’d catch up to the missing duo.

…
 Ping!

Iron Mind has resisted Fear Reading
Iron Mind has resisted Terror Interruption
Iron Mind has resisted Dread
Iron Mind has resisted Apathy
Iron Mind has resisted Subliminal Control
Iron Mind has resisted Darkness
Iron Mind has resisted False Reality
Iron Mind has resisted Weakness
 …

Okay, what the actual fuck was this thing?! I just got hit with eight potential debuffs which would have severely screwed me over. That was actually a little terrifying. Without Iron Mind, I would have been completely screwed over.

Taking a step forward, I kept my senses open, searching for anything that could be nearby, but nothing appeared. One step became two, two became three and soon I was running through the forest, darting around the trees. Passing through the halfway point, I briefly entered and exited a small circular clearing where nothing seemed to grow.

I was about three quarters of the way through before the density of the trees grew so thick that I had to slow down.

Keeping a tight grip on my blade, I stepped forward, intending on contorting my body around the trees, only to suddenly feel my senses go haywire.

Spinning around, I unsheathed my blade partway, blocking a large gnarled root of a hand that was covered in wood.

Taking a breath, I pressed forward, cutting through the wood, revealing the blackened Grimm flesh below, only for the Grimm to suddenly pull back into the dense foliage where it disappeared.

Trying to look for it, I peered through the trees with the Transparent World and came up with absolutely nothing… Well, not exactly nothing. From the brief exchange, I was able to learn that the Grimm was the type to try and ambush its prey after incapacitating them with a whole host of mental effects.

Deciding to not waste anymore time, I drew my blade and sliced through the trees, carving a path directly through this portion of the forest until I reached a ledge that overlooked the rest of the forest.

Looking down, I caught sight of both Weiss and Blake fighting what appeared to be a Geist that was possessing a mass of rocks and roots. Moving closer in order to get a better look, I landed on a nearby tree branch, just out of sight.

The two of them actually worked pretty well together. Using her Glyphs, Weiss was able to control the battlefield, moving her and Blake out of the way when they were in danger and even limiting the Grimm’s movement to a degree while Blake fully took advantage of her weapon to slingshot herself around.

Propelling herself forward, Weiss passed underneath the Geist’s legs, gracefully slashing through several roots, causing the Grimm to fall over.

…
 Ping!
 Weiss Schnee
 Breathing Style: Snow
 …

Taking advantage of the Grimm’s inability to move, Blake used her ribbon to launch herself forward, towards the Geist’s head.

Readying to cut it down, the Geist swung its arm in an attempt to knock her away, only to hit one of Blake’s clones as she flipped over the arm.

Landing in a low stance not dissimilar to that of a cat, she continued running forward. Reaching the head, she brought her blade up and cut through the Geist’s head, before passing by.

…
 Ping!
 Blake Belladonna
 Breathing Style: Mist
 …

“Glad that’s taken care of,” Weiss said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thanks for the help. I probably would’ve struggled if I’d been on my own.”

“Don’t mention it,” Blake murmured, shifting nervously.

Seeing how Blake was holding herself, Weiss sighed. “Look, we obviously need to have a serious discussion, but can we please do it back at the camp? This is hardly the place to do it.”

Blake nodded slowly. “Sure, just… What’s happening to your rapier?”

“What?” Looking at her weapon, Weiss watched as it slowly began to turn white as it was coated in little flecks of what appeared to be snowflakes. “Yours is doing it too.”

Realizing that Weiss was right, Blake’s weapon turned a turquoise white colour with a pattern resembling that of mist. “Is this why Coal wanted us to remake our weapons with that hard to work with metal?”

“Perhaps… I wonder what it means,” Weiss hummed.

“Oh, that’s simple, it’s just the colour that reflects your Breathing Style, and… Well, soul too,” I announced, quietly dropping down from my spot up in the tree.

“Coal?!” Weiss jumped.

“How long were you up there?” Blake asked, her ears twitching in an annoyed fashion.

“I got here just as the two of you killed that Grimm… Good work in using your Breathing Styles by the way. Snow and Mist… An interesting combination,” I replied. “By the way, we should probably get out of here before the Grimm shows up.”

“Snow and mist…” Weiss murmured. “Oh, we found the Grimm by the way, it’s in the lake.”

In the lake? Well, that might be a problem because the Grimm I fought was on land.

“If that’s the case, then there’s two of them and the one on land is far meaner. The thing tried to rip my head off when I wasn’t looking. We should be fine so long as we’re in a group, but I’d rather not risk spending too much time here,” I hummed, rubbing my chin. “By the way, Blake. I notice that you’re missing your ribbon.”

“Yes, I…”

“She lost it while we were fighting,” Weiss interrupted. “I thought it was strange too, but lots of Faunus hide their traits in order to keep from being discriminated against… Like how Cardin tried to bully that upper year girl.”

Was she trying to rationalize why Blake wore a bow?

“It’s… It’s okay, Weiss. He knows about my past.”

Well, that was something. Weiss was trying to protect Blake despite seemingly knowing about her involvement with the White Fang. She’d grown a lot since I’d first met her.

“Come, let’s get out of these woods,” I hummed, gesturing for them to follow me. “We can use the time to figure out what we’re going to tell everyone about, well…” I gestured towards Blake’s ears. “Speaking of which, I should probably let them know that we’re all safe,” I said, slipping my Scroll into my hand.

Following the route that Weiss and Blake initially took, I shot one final glance back towards the clearing where they’d fought the Geist and spotted a tall humanoid figure wearing scraps of leather strung together with twine standing behind a tree. Several human skulls hanging from its hip.

Shifting further behind the tree, the Grimm disappeared, leaving no trace behind.