Jaune Arc stands in front of Preto Hele-Nui, his muscles bulging slightly, his ears a bit sharper, his canines a small bit pointer, and his eyes a tad brighter.
Both werewolves aren't wearing shirts and neither are wearing any shoes.
Jaune clutches Crocea Mors blade in his right hand while the shield is strapped to his left arm raised ahead of him, protecting his side steadily. The boy takes a deep breath and moves, he slashes at his mentor who bends back avoiding the blow.
The man places his palms against the ground using it as a springboard to curl his legs in before striking them out.
The boy absorbs the blow with the shield as he tilts it to the side allowing the man's feet to slide off, he takes a step inside the man's space and slashes down only for the older of the two to twist his body out of the way, crouching in all fours.
Preto smirks, "Good try."
Jaune gives a smile back and rushes forward, the man mimics the action.
The older Omega's grows his claws and unleashes a brage of strikes at the boy who tanks then with the shield before kicking out, the man leaps over the kick as he's airborne the boy slashes at his mid section only for him to flip over the blow and land behind Jaune.
The younger wolf twirls, aiming his blade at the other's neck who ducks under the blade and slash at the saber wielding arm only to be forced to backflip over the shield aimed for their head before tumbling backwards but quickly ends back on his feet.
Jaune rushes forward using his shield as a battering ram, able to tank all of Preto's attacks, in between each bash the man is forced to avoid the blade.
The exchange is quick and the two wolves are forced away from each other.
"You certainly improved."
"I had a good teacher."
"Too bad you can't thank her." Preto says, jokingly.
Jaune rolls his eyes, "You know she isn't who I'm talking about." He runs towards the man who dodges every slash and tanking hits from the shield with expert movement.
The boy moves faster, his arms almost becoming a blur of movement before he suddenly kneels at aims at the other's legs. Preto handsprings away before rushing back in, kicking at Jaune's head who twists under the attack and lunges at him with his sword.
The older werewolf rolls out to the side and calls a time out, "Alright, alright." He stands up, sweeping away his sweat. "Like I said, you clearly improved. Not only your swordsmanship but your shifting as well, you never lost control once but all I'm seeing is Nikos in you. Remember you're not her, don't pretend to be, you are a werewolf; give me some ferocity, some agility, some ingenuity. Something only Jaune Arc can do!"
Jaune nods and brings his guard up.
Preto shifts fully and blurs in motion, he brings his claws down like hammer on top of Jaune's head who raises his shield in defense, he strikes at the man's exposed belly but just before it can land the man uses the shield as a platform and flips away, tossing the boy away.
The younger Omega rights himself mid air and lands, he twists his sword in a reverse grip and gallops at Preto using his knuckles instead of his hands. As he closes in he leaps up, holding the blade in both his palms, bringing it down on the other's head.
The tip embeds into the ground as the man steps away, Jaune vaults over to Preto using the handle as a springboard and brushes the tip of his clawed foot across his chest. Abandoning the blade, the Newborn twists and tries to bash his mentor's face with the back of his shield.
The older of the two rolls back before leaping forward, getting right in the boy's face.
Jaune backflips landing on his palms and springboards his feet into Preto's chest, as he kicks the man away and lands back upright he removes his shield from his arm before throwing it at their face.
it veers off course, Preto's eyes watching it miss by a mile only for them to widen, they snap back towards Jaune who is standing right in front of them, the tip of Crocea Mors blade pointed right at the other's throat.
The man smiles widely, "Yes! YES! That's what I'm talking about!"
Jaune laughs and pulls the sword back, the two hug, "Thanks!" The two separate and he goes to pick up his down shield.
"Gods, that thing can sure take a beating." The older Omega says, walking over, "Do you have any idea what it's made of?"
Shaking his head, he sheaths the blade in the shield and folds the shield into its scabbard form before hanging her on his belt, "Nope. Only Nennius."
Preto shrugs, "Well, I say you're well on your way to surpassing him." 'If you haven't already.'
The boy laughs, "Alright." Turning back around, he walks over to the steps leading onto the patio of Preto's house and sits, his mentor sits with him. "You know Pyrrha is really good, I'm surprised someone my age could move like that, It kinda feels like cheating that I could just–"
The older werewolf holds up his palm up, "It's not cheating Jaune, you're just different, I'm sure there are Semblances out there that can do some of what we do but better, is that cheating?"
Jaune shakes his head.
"Right. And anyway you probably couldn't copy everything, right?"
"No." He admits easily, "Some stuff just didn't transfer over well especially when she got older, like her sprung-"
"Sprung?"
"Spear/Gun."
"Ah!" Preto laughs, "Right, continue."
"Some of her moves just couldn't work without it, not to mention Crocea Mors's shield is diamond shaped while hers is circular, I can't throw it like she can hers, though that would be really fucking cool if I could." He caresses the weapon with little longing unaware the sword/shield combo was listening. "It's the same with how she moves sometimes, she can do this thing where she moves right behind her opponent with, from what I heard, a masterfully display of Aura Control that makes her look like she teleported!"
The man gives an understanding hum, "Well there you go, not cheating."
He nods, "Right, not cheating."
His mentor stands, his smile dimming a little, "Anyway, you want to start your meditation?"
Jaune's own happiness dims and nods, "Yeah, I haven't made much progress though. I swear I can almost feel my bonds but I'm missing a few; one is… Violette, obviously." He swallows thickly with unsaid emotion. "Another is the Alpha and I have been trying to locate and reestablish it but that's no good but I'm missing another."
The man frowns, "Well your relationship with your mom isn't the best, could it be her's?"
"... Maybe?"
"Well, just keep trying and see if there's been any more deaths since the last one."
The boy gives a nod, "Hopefully that man will be the last of them."
Preto says nothing as he stripes naked and transmutes.
Amethyst Cazador sits on the couch in the Arc household. She's wearing a black dress with a black cardigan sweater and black heels. Beside her is her friend, Edward Glass who is wearing a black dress shirt tucked into black jeans.
"I can't believe Jaune isn't here?" Ed mutters, "Do you think he knows?" He looks at the girl, who shakes her head.
"No way, if he knew nothing would stop him from being here, nothing." She says resolutely.
The boy nods, "You're right." He sighs and looks up at the ceiling. "I can't believe Violette's gone, I mean she was alive a couple weeks ago, how could this have happened?"
"I don't know."
Ed sits straight, "It's crazy to think about how someone so full of life could be gone without even a hint of… of something wrong."
"Yeah." Amethyst mummers, she turns to look behind her and sees all the adults sitting at the table, talking with one another, "I wonder how Mr and Mrs Arc are taking it, first Jaune leaving and now this?"
He huffs, "It must be heartbreaking but with Jaune… I don't know?" He looks at his friend with conflict. "You only knew Jaune for a couple years but I grew up with him. Ever since he knew what a Huntsman was, that's all he wanted to be. I remember him coming over crying about how much parents hated him, how they didn't understand him. He begged for them to train him every single day until he turned thirteen, when he passed the cut off age for the Primary Huntsmen Academies, after that was when he started exercising super seriously and coming up with ways to make his dreams a reality without them."
Amethyst looks down, "I wished I could have helped him more." She feels Ed's hand on her own, squeezing it.
"You helped more than you realized." The boy tells her, "You're one of the few people that took him seriously. Jaune used to be a lot more popular when we were younger. I mean he was the child of the famous Huntsmen parents, his older sisters were indispensable to the village but Jaune was obsessed, truly out of his mind obsessed, it freaked the other kids out but even when they started bullying him he never stopped being who he was, who he wanted to be."
The girl tears up, "But I knew his parents weren't training him, I should have offered, should have realized that of course they didn't unlock his Aura or that he even knew what Aura was. I should have helped more."
Her friend smiles softly, "Jaune actually did ask me if he should ask for your help, properly, instead of just borrowing your Scroll or Lien but he knew how much you hated training, you complained about it often enough. This was his dream, his ambition, and after being told by almost everyone he didn't have what it took he wanted to achieve as much as possible by himself." He shakes his head. "Our Jaune, hard headed as they came."
The girl tearfully smiles back.
At the dining table the adults sat around, Saphron Cotta-Arc sat in a long black dress with a bow wrapped around her waist. Her wife, Terra Cotta-Arc, sits beside her, resting a hand on her leg in comfort.
Terra was around Saphron's age with mocha brown skin, short brown hair that rested on the nape of her neck, and red glasses that covered her dark brown almost coal colored eyes. She wore a black button down blouse with the sleeves folded to her elbows, slim black pants that cut off at the calf, and black buckled shoes.
Sitting in the woman's lap is her and Saphron's six month old son, Adrian Cotta-Arc who shares Terra's skin, hair, and eye color.
"Do you remember when Violette used to follow me around all the time? She used to ask a thousand questions about what I was writing, she was so interested. I think the first thing she ever drew was fanart for my novel." Saphron laughs, wiping the tears from her eyes with her forefinger and thumb.
Rouge Arc hums, she wears a slim black dress with a v-neck line and her hair tied in a tight bun resting on top of her head, "She used to beg me to let her shoot my gun." She smiles lightly before sighing. "Little weirdo."
"I think we all asked if we could shoot your gun, Ro." Indi corrects while Igo nods along with a smile of her own.
"Yeah, though I think you only ever let Ja–" Igo clicks her mouth shut and closes her eyes.
Indi wore a sleeveless black dress with a round collar that ended right above her knees while Igo wore a long sleeved black dress with a square neck that was slightly ruffled at the bottom.
Jupiter Arc stands up from her seat, "I'm sorry. I have to go." She walks away from the table and up the stairs.
Just before Noah can follow, Edward's mother stands, "Don't worry, I got her." She follows the other woman up.
Jupiter wore a black blouse tucked into a long gown-like skirt while Edward's mother decided to wear a long-sleeved black dress with a rectangular neck that ended at her shins.
Noah himself wore a standard black suit, gray dress shirt and navy tie.
Igo looks down, "I'm sorry."
Rouge sighs, "It's not your fault, squirt."
Saphron looks down, "I can't believe he's not here." She mutters, disbelief clear in her voice. "Missing his baby sister's funeral, what kind of person does that?"
"He probably doesn't know what happened, sweetie. How could he?" Terra rationalizes.
Verte Arc looks away, "You should have dragged him back, pops. Kicking and screaming, he'd appreciate it if he knew what was happening."
Bleue closes her eyes, "Ve, please."
The older girl grunts but remains silent.
Verte wore a black button down blouse much like her sister-in-law tucked in wide legged pants with a black jacket over her shirt. Bleue on the other hand wore a black form fitting sleeved top with buttons and black midi skirt that ended right above her ankles.
"I'm sorry." Henry Cazador interrupts, "You know where Jaune is?"
Henry, much like Noah, wore a black suit with a black dress shirt and a dark gray tie.
The Arc's father nods absentmindedly, "Yeah, or at least we think we know where he is. There's this old house in the Forest of Orleans, somewhere to the east, a friend of the family used to live there. Jupiter and I think that's where the boy is hiding but I couldn't find it anywhere." He mutters. "I used to take Rouge there all the time but it's like no matter how hard I look in the area I know it should be, I just can't find it."
Henry looks thoughtful, "Huh…"
The hours of the wake slowly pass and eventually the guests leave, Amethyst and her father being among them, "I know where Jaune and the Alpha might be." The man tells her.
"Wha- Really?!" Amethyst can't hold back her surprise.
Henry nods, "East of the Forest of Orleans but it seems to be protected from outsiders, we need to get as close as possible before drawing them out."
The girl looks confused, "Protected?"
"Warded. Very old magic."
Amethyst looks at the man with dubious eyes.
The Slayer rolls his own, "What, are you drawing the line at magic?"
"Well…" Her lips press tightly, "No, I guess not."
"Good." The father nods, "Magic is rare, hardly anyone can do it and it's not very powerful. Lycanthrope is the last embers of a dying candle but they are embers. My guess is that the Alpha used its blood as a conduit for the spell, keeping anyone not of its blood from finding the house unless they lead them."
"Then how are we going to get close?"
"Magic isn't perfect, there's going to be signs if you know how to look; confusion, eyes refusing to focus on a specific spot, an urge to look somewhere else. That will tell us if we're close." Henry loosens his tie, "Now, let's get ready."
Derek Emerald stares at the mug of beer in front of him, sitting on the stool at the bar table. His face is bright red and his breath comes out slow.
"That's your last one." The barkeep tells the teen, "I'm cutting you off."
The boy grunts, "Listen here you–"
"Of course." Derek's friend, Eric Anderson, interrupts. The teen has bright blue hair, limestone complexion, and bright honey colored eyes. He stands a few inches shorter than the other boy with a medium build.
"Yeah." The barkeep mutters and walks over to another customer.
The shorter teen sighs before sipping his own beer, "You need to calm down." He tells his friend. "Or you're going to get kicked out.
"Don't. Tell. Me. What. To. Do." The seventeen year old grits out, "My girlfriend is dead, my father thinks I'm crazy, and its all Jaune fucking Arc's fault."
Eric rolls his eyes, "Right."
Derek slams the mug down, "I know you think I'm fucking crazy! But I'm not! I'M NOT!"
Before the other boy could respond the barkeep shouts, "Alright! Get out!"
Derek stands up and stumbles, "Ma–"
"Come on." Eric grabs the wrist of his friend and drags him out, as the two step out of the bar, the drunkard pulls his hand out the other's grip.
"Stop treating me like a baby!"
"I will when you stop acting like one!" The shorter seventeen year old yells back, "Listen Derek, I get it, Rebecca is dead but you can't be getting drunk every day, you can't be starting fights with every guy who looks at you a little strangely!" He huffs and palms his face. "Do you think Becca would want this for yo–"
Eric is cut off by a punch to the face and lands hashly on his back, he blinks blairly up. Derek lands on their chest and starts raining punches down on his face.
"Shut up, bastard!" The bigger teen screams, "Don't talk about things you don't fucking understand!"
The other boy raises his arms in defense, "Get. Of. You psycho!" He bucks his hips and throws his friend off. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He rushes to his feet and kicks Derek in the stomach causing him to puke his guts out.
Eric continues to kick his friend, over and over again before he runs out of energy and stumbles back.
"Fuck man! I've been with you every step of the way and you decide to deck me! Me!" He barks out, "Have you noticed I'm the only one still fucking here! The only one that actually cares and you pull this crap on me?!"
The bigger boy curls into himself and cries, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He turns his face into the ground.
Eric sighs, "Sometimes I fucking hate you." He stands up and limps over to his friend. Picking him up and flopping their arm around his shoulder before dragging him away from the bar.
"I'm sor..ry.."
"Yeah, yeah."
The glow of the broken moon is the only light that guides the way for the two boys, as they get closer to Derek's home the two are suddenly thrown to the ground.
Eric groans only to scream as he feels something clamp around his thigh. He clenches his eyes close and feels his blood boil. His eyes snap open as he hears Derek shriek, he feels his heart shudder when he catches the rogue Alpha standing above his friend, their maw clasp around his shoulder.
The werewolf moves away and stands in front of them, looking curiously at the two.
The smaller boy feels something crawl out of his throat and a growl escapes his throat, his eyes burning a bright acidic yellow.
The monster grins which grows wider as Derek moves onto his hand and feet, his own growl escaping his throat. They give a silent command to the Newborn Beta's.
The two boys still, the Alpha turns around and runs, the teen wolves follow.