[Word Count: 11388 words]

Lautrec POV

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With a huff, Lautrec sat down near the shore of Patch, watching the waves crash against the sandy beach. He lay his sword next to him, a smoky fog being swept with the wind.

[Quest Completed; Glistening Sea!]

[Objective: Slay the Tri-Horned Creep]

[Bonus Objective: Slay the pack (7/7) of the Tri-Horned Creep]

[Rewards: 4k XP, Tri-Horned Grimm Mask]

[Level up!]

"What a day." His arms reached up, a low groan exiting his lips as his muscles stretched and strained. "Finally, only took a whole week." Lautrec allowed himself to fall backwards, laying down fully on the sand. "Level fifty-five."

He'd been on Patch for a long time now, or long to him at least, and Lautrec could easily admit that he fell into a rhythm here. To be honest, who wouldn't? He had good friends, proper teachers, and a nice and easy life here on Patch. But with this last quest, he'd actually gotten to a high enough level to feel pretty confident in himself.

Over the course of the last month and a few days, he'd been grinding a LOT. Everyday he wasn't working for Mrs. Brigid, he was out in the Patch Woodlands to kill more Grimm and gather more experience.

Luckily for him, [The Game] saw fit to create a quest for him every time he went out. Though he was getting diminishing returns recently. This last quest was a perfect example as a matter of fact.

He was clearing out so much Grimm, that he had to start running further and further from the Main town. So even though this amount of Grimm was pretty terrible and it wasn't even a Named, he had to do it because he had no other choice!

Nevertheless, he was getting sidetracked. A month and three days of nothing but pure training. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his stat sheet.

Name: Lautrec Griscern

Title: Hunter-in-Training, The Fool

Level: 55

Aura: 1125/1125

Mana: 4350/4350

Money: 5801 Lien

VIT: 46

STR: 85

DEX: 46

AGI: 53

CHA: 47

INT: 44

WIS: 54

LCK: 500(MAX)

Wild Points: 110

Perk Points: 2

"Good spread, right?" Turning the status screen, Lautrec showed the evaporating body of the Creep he had killed moments ago. Predictably, the remains were silent. The boy rolled his eyes. "Okay, dude, ignore the cool guy talking to you."

Pulling the screen back to him, he took a more analytical look at the stats in front of him. His original idea had been to just physically train his body to raise his vitality, strength, agility, and dexterity. But as it turned out, it was pretty tough to do that. In fact, the only stat he had that experienced the most growth was his Intelligence stat. And that mostly had been because of his studying with Yang.

"And speaking of-!" Methodically, he pulled his scroll out. Lautrec stood up from his sitting position and held the scroll in front of him before turning on its selfie camera. Smiling with the ocean in the background, he took the photo. "And send!"

He had been sending Yang and Ruby photo's of all his stops around Patch, places that were usually marked off as dangerous or unsafe for the average Signal student. And he could only understand that as Lautrec also came to understand that most Signal students weren't as skilled at Yang or Ruby.

He'd have the pleasure to spar some, after all. Some of Yangs' friends had come over once when she was helping him with Aura, and instantly bit on asking him all sorts of questions. One thing led to another, and he was made to beat the girl-boy duo that had come over. It was eye opening, in the way that he was able to manage them relatively well despite his lack of true technical mastery over his sword, which was still at around level twenty-eight out of eighty.

And speaking on Aura, he'd made HEADWAY. It was something he learned fast, like a fish to water. Yang suspected that his low aura reserves lessened the amount of control he had needed to actually use it properly. He had easily crossed the twenty-five threshold required to complete the bonus part of his quest. So, basically, free hundred card of lien.

And today? He'd get to Mana Manifestation twenty and then, well, he wasn't sure. Don't get him wrong, he knew what he had to do, he just wasn't sure if he wanted to try and do what [The Game] wanted him to. Another lesson he had learned over the course of this month, was a lesson in the different levels of power. Let's put it on a scale. As he is right now, he was slightly below the average freshman at Beacon, which was fine, he still had nearly a year to catch up before he applied. Tai used to be the fourth strongest hunter in Vale, falling short of that title by way of Qrow Branwen, Ozpin, and then Summer Rose who was first.

Now, if Tai was holding back to be on his level, Lautrec was confident he was capable of beating him in a point fight. But with his monstrous strength, speed, precision, Aura Manifestation, and Aura reserves on top of being at his peak? Lautrec knew that he wouldn't last any longer than an ant would a human.

It just simply wasn't possible. Now, the reason he went on this tangent was to say, Cinder was able to kill Ozpin. Admittedly, it was an old and likely inactive Ozpin, but still.

Ozpin, with all his magic and skill, couldn't beat Cinder. And just like skill for skill Lautrec felt he was better than Tai, skill for skill Pyrrha was better than Cinder. But when it came down to Aura, Magic, pure physicality, and style?

They were both completely outclassed, and she was the supposed 'Invincible Girl', the one who could fight up the years in Beacon or whole teams by herself without so much as an issue. Pyrrha was probably as strong as a fully-fledged huntress during her freshman year, for the Gods' sake!

The reason he wanted to stay on Patch was selfish. He knew that. He didn't want to die, not a second time. And with only two months until Amber is attacked, if he didn't start hunting to find her soon Lautrec knew the choice would be taken from him anyway.

'The sounds of waves on a beach never sounded so damning.' His smile faltered and Lautrec allowed his head to fall. "Choices choices."

It was an admittedly miserable sight, so Lautrec made sure not to stay like that for long. Who knew what Grimm was watching him wallow in self-pity.

Picking up his sword, Lautrec took one more look to the sea before him, before turning on his heel and walking back towards Patch proper. Again, it wasn't overstating to say that he had practically eradicated most Grimm within ten miles of Patch proper. Which was unfortunate, because all he had to keep him entertained were his own treacherous thoughts.

Picking up his pace to a jog, and then a run, Lautrec pushed himself to passively move Aura through his body. Another thing he had learned form Yang was how to actually manifest his aura to boost himself, rather than just a shield. And the results spoke for themselves. He was maintaining a steady fifty or so miles an hour run, so while he was no Ruby Rose or Weiss Schnee, he was pretty fast!

And if he tried to incorporate his mana as well?

Each step landed at a decline in spite of the path ahead being straight. Lautrec, despite his previous doom and gloom, couldn't help smiling again at his success. He was able to create small platforms under his feet, platforms that allowed him to push forward without wasting energy on pushing up at all.

It was true, that Mana was beginning to make sense to him, and it began to take less and less concentration. And now, he could do it easily with only just a bit of thought.

After a few minutes of running he slowed to a stop, his scroll buzzing in his pocket. Lautrec pulled out his scroll, seeing that Yang was calling. He answered, only slightly out of breath. "Yellow?"

"Lautrec, that picture was sick! Where'd you even go to take it, dude?"

Looking up to the sky and leaning on a tree, Lautrec thought for a second as he remembered which way the sun set. "Uh... the northeast coast. Like a few miles out from the ports that go to Vale."

"Dang!" She dragged out the word, looking at him through the scroll with surprise. "You were that far out, L?"

"How far out?" Lautrec could faintly hear the voice of Ruby in the background. Yang turned on her camera, waving to him before pointing it at Ruby so she could do the same. "Hi Lautrec!"

"Hi Ruby!" He pulled his phone farther in front of him and waved back. "I was like ten or so miles out, I was hunting a small pack of Creeps cause they had this one mutated looking one with three horns!"

"Woah..." Ruby mouthed, awestruck either by the distance or the thought of a cool looking tri-horned Creep. Yang pulled the camera back to herself, smiling. "So where are you now? I'm guessing you're not at the beach anymore given the trees I'm seeing."

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" Lautrec spun around his camera, pointing it towards the Eastern Gate that led into Patch. "I'm gonna go to my apartment, shower, and then probably head over there to hang out. I have a whole lot of nothing to do today."

Yang looked toward Ruby, nodding. "Fine by us! we're nearly home now, so we'll get some games prepped or some snacks." She looked back to the phone. "Say, in like an hour or so?"

He let out a hum of approval. "Works for me. Though I might stop to get some extra stuff from Tomas' or something."

Ruby gasped. "If you do! Can you get me a concha and some of those little tacos?" She filled the screen with her face, smiling ear to ear and looking directly at him.

Lautrec laughed, but nodded again. "Duh, Ruby. I got you." Passing through the towns entrance, he nodded to the Gate Watcher. "Okay, I'll see you guys later, bye!"

"Get me some too!"

"Okay okay, I will, Yang. Bye bye!" He offered the two of them a wave before ending the call. As he put away the scroll, Lautrec sighed to himself. "Looks like Mana Manifestation twenty will have to wait." What a shame that was, huh?

And no, he wasn't stalling. Promise.

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Time skip - 1.5 Hours

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All in all, it took a little over an hour to reach his apartment, shower, change into different clothes, pack a spare outfit, and stop by Tomas' Bakery. In his possession was three brown bags, one filled with Conchas, one with miscellaneous pan dulce and cookies, and the third having the small fajita tacos that he manged to get Yang and Ruby hooked on.

When he reached their door, he knocked, and instead of Yang or Ruby answering, Qrow did. Lautrec waved slightly. "Hey, sir. How are you?"

The man leaned away, popping his back and standing upright. "I'm doing fine, kid, thanks for asking. You brought food for the girls?" Qrow asked, spying the contents of his bags.

"Heh, yeah. I stopped by Tomas' for some sweets and some tacos." Pushing the taco bag forward, Lautrec held it in front of himself. "Want one?"

Qrow looked at him for a second, before licking his lips and nodding. "Well, if you're offering." He reached into the bag, pulling one of the aluminum covered tacos, tearing open its wrapping. "I haven't had one of these in forever, ya know?"

"And that's a shame, sir. They're damn good."

Taking a bite, Qrow opened the door wider and stepped to the side, gesturing for Lautrec to enter. "That they are." He swallowed the small amount he had bitten into. "Come in, my nieces are waiting."

"Are you joining us?" Lautrec asked with a tilt of his head.

"Ha! Nope!" The older man laughed, pulling Lautrec into a sort of half hug and releasing him as the boy came in. "I think Yang would die if I did."

Qrow looked away, back to the outside. "And besides, I'm gonna be off soon, got an mission to get done and I've been slacking for about two days now."

Lautrec cringed, his steps pausing as he heard Qrow speaking. "Ah? Where to, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Vale, gotta investigate something out in the outback." Qrow closed the door, turning back to Lautrec. "Probably going to leave tonight, if anything."

Lautrec nodded robotically, his smile feeling somewhat plastic. "That's a shame, you're a fun spar."

Qrow chuckled lightly. "Heh. Thanks. Now hurry up, they're in the upstairs living room." The older man gave him a pat on the back pushing him forward.

Lautrec moved forward with a nod, walking away toward the stairs and up to the corridor. His mind slightly frayed, his thoughts finding themselves drifting back to Amber and Cinder. 'Is this you, Game? Telling me to get a move on?'

The boy had hoped that, maybe, The Game would give him a decisive answer. That a small blue screen would pop up, reassuring him that he was ready to go, and that in the two months he had he would gain enough power to fight Cinder and her quartet.

But none came, and Lautrec's jaw clenched as he walked down the eerily silent hallway. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind before reaching his destination.

"Hello!" Lautrec walked in, the two girls inside spinning to look at him. The two smiled, and waved.

"Hi, Lautrec! You got the goodies?" Ruby was the first to approach him, eagerly standing in front of him with her hands pulled down as she looked up at him with anticipation.

"Yep! Got conchas, got muffins, got cookies, and a bunch of other random pan dulce." He held out the two bags, to which Ruby snatched away the one with conchas.

"Thank you, Lautrec! You're the best!" She wrapped around arms around his waist, hugging the boy before pulling away to inspect her treats. Yang stood up, and walked up to him as well, hugging his side.

"I hope you got me something too, Lautrec." Her eyes looked up to meet his, and he smiled gingerly.

"Is my presence not gift enough, Yang?"

She rolled her eyes, slapping his chest lightly and smiled faintly. "Hardly. You gotta give me something, mister, or else you're out of here."

The blonde girl in front of him summoned her most playful glare she could, looking at him through her bangs. "Well?"

With a sigh, he looked into his bag, pulling out a Oatmeal Rasin cookie, and pushed it to her lips. "Is this satisfactory, Yang? Or do you need more?"

She opened her mouth, biting on the cookie and held it in her teeth before walking back to the couch and taking a seat next to Ruby. She turned to him, and pat the cushion next to her.

"Good. Now what movie are we watching!" Lautrec asked, quickly sitting down.

Ruby shrugged. "We hadn't picked yet, I voted to wait until you got here to pick a movie."

"I was thinking something related to Christmas. Like, maybe 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' or 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'." Yang added on, turning her to face him while leaning her back on Ruby's shoulder.

"Ooo.." Lautrec grew intrigued at that. To be fair to him, he hadn't taken any time to look into any holidays or movies really. He had just assumed they'd all be different or just variants of the ones on Earth. Like how the Arachnid-Boy movies were essentially just The Amazing Spider-Man. "Sounds great, Yang! I haven't watched those in forever. Wanna binge them?"

Ruby nodded, busy stuffing her face with the sweet bread, and Yang smiled at his acceptance. "Then it is settled! We'll watch 'The Nightmare before Christmas' first, and then 'The Grinch'." She stood up, wiping some crumbs from her cheek and reaching over to grab the remote from the coffee table.

"Oh should we grab blankets? It's gonna get cold later." Ruby spoke, holding out her scroll and showing the predicted forecasts for temperature.

"Oof, smart, Rubes! Tell you what, you and Lautrec go grab all that you can find and I'll get the movies up." Yang shooed the two out, and Ruby led Lautrec down the steps and to a closet.

"Okay, okay. You're carrying them." Ruby opened the door, revealing at least ten different blankets. She picked one up, and handed it to Lautrec. Then another and placed it on top of the first. And then four more. Lautrec wasn't straining to carry them, of course, but he couldn't see with the large mound of fluff in his arms.

"Yep... that seems like enough." Ruby whistled at however many blankets she stacked on him.

"Are you sure? You don't want another thirty or so?" The boy asked, his voice somewhat muffled.

"Hmm." She held her chin and leaned over, looking around the blankets to look at Lautrec. "What say you, Griscern Lautrec?"

Only half of his face was visible, his rogue-ish eyes peaking from behind the blankets. "I believe this may be enough. Shall we return to Yang?"

She hummed, and nodded. "Yes, I believe we shall! Follow me, mule!" Ruby moved back in front of him. "Beep, beep!"

Lautrec followed the beeps Ruby made, letting her guide him back up the stairs.

"You know what'd be funny?" Ruby asked, still in front of him.

"What?"

"We get there, and you just throw all the blankets at Yang."

A playful smile on Lautrec's face was hidden by the tower of blankets. "I'm on it, chief."

Ruby giggled, and began to beep again. And as they made their way to the living room, the two of them readied themselves.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Incoming!" Ruby shouted as they passed into the Living room. Yang, who was sitting on the couch looked up in confusion.

"Huh?" She asked, just before three blankets slammed against her. The force of such was enough to stumble her off of the couch and onto the floor.

"Ha ha ha! Behold, my machinations of unparalleled evil! I, Ruby Ro-!" She, too, was interrupted by the spare three blankets being sent at her from behind. The three blankets hit her back, and pushed her forward with enough force for her to stagger several feet.

Ruby turned, playfully glaring at Lautrec. "Ugh! My own teammate. Betrayal!" The young girl wobbled forward and rolled over the couch, claiming the seat Yang had been in just moments ago.

"What the hell, Lautrec!" Yang sat up from the floor, looking at the offending boy with a glare. "I lost my seat cause of you!" The girl pushed herself up, grabbing the blankets and sitting next to Ruby with a huff.

"In my defense!" Lautrec took a seat next to Yang, giving her consolidating pats on the shoulder. "It was all Ruby's idea and I was manipulated into following."

She looked at him, a judging lookin in her eyes and her lips tight. "Manipulated by a thirteen year old girl?"

"Hey!" Ruby spoke up. "I'm almost fourteen!"

"She's almost fourteen, Yang." Lautrec shook her shoulder, nodding his head with a somber smile. "What was I to do?"

"Ugh, you're the worst." Despite her words and rolling of her eyes, Lautrec could see the formation of a faint smile on her lips before she looked away.

Lautrec leaned back in the couch, smiling at his minor victory. "So, you gonna start the movie?"

Yang shushed him, before clicking play on it.

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Time skip - 4 hours

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It wasn't even that late, only around ten o'clock but the darkness of the room, the TV, and the warm blankets contrasting with the cold night made the perfect storm for Yang and Ruby to slowly drift asleep. Lautrec was likely only awake because he had to manually set a time for him to sleep.

But the boy wasn't feeling like going to sleep, fearful perhaps of his dreams taunting him for not wanting to move on.

"Though, It's not like staying awake is helping that." He mumbled to himself. If anything, being awake may have been fucking with him more. His hands pressed to his face as he sighed. "Fuck, man."

He stood up from the couch, taking a second to remove the blankets from his body, embracing the cold of the room. Lautrec's eyes looked over to Yang and Ruby, laying on top of one another and snoring lightly. For some reason, the innocent sight only served to further his guilty conscience.

His jaw clenched, and he quickly walked out of the room, turning in the corridor, quietly stepping down the stairs, and carefully opening the door to the front of the house.

Lautrec stepped out, his frustration with himself mounting as he paced outside of the home. He summoned the quest, the one causing him so much strife.

[Saving the Seasons; Amber Autumn]

Objective: Save Amber from Cinder and three her accomplices.

Bonus Objective: Kill at least one of them while also keeping Amber above 20% Aura.

Rewards: 50K exp, 10k Liens, 20 Wild Points, [Air Affinity].

Bonus Rewards: 150k exp, 30k Lien, 10 Wild Points, Legendary Muramasa, Shabriri Woe Talisman.

Time limit: 2 Months, 1 Day]

The quest had changed, that was the first thing he took note of. Maybe because his opponents were now stronger, maybe because [The Game] was trying to incentivize him to do it. It could be both, for all he knew.

It had been over a month since [The Game] last gave him a hint or actual help.

Lautrec's glare burned into the blue screen, and yet the screen didn't falter. The lack of reaction only annoyed him more.

"How? How do you expect me to dive head first again?" His words were whispered, and yet they carried the malice of a man who had already nearly paid the ultimate price for trusting [The Game]. "Do you seriously think I'm willing to kill myself for your amusement?"

The world was still, the moon seemed to be judging him again, it's divine glow beaming down onto his figure with the concentration of a stage light. Lautrec wouldn't let it go, not until [The Game] gave him an answer.

He waited, and waited, unflinching as the cold bit into his uncovered arms. And yet the winds nor the broken moon had an answer for him.

Lautrec sighed, falling into a sitting position on the chilled dirt. He stared up at the Moon, past the Moon, and to the stars.

"Why? Why do I feel so guilty, even knowing that I'm outmatched, outgunned, and completely out of my depth? Why do I feel such a burning hate for my inaction?" The stars held no answer, their glimmering lights dancing across the sky as he watched them intently.

Lautrec sat there for awhile, allowing himself to drown in his self-pity. He figured it was all he could do at the moment. The cool wind was soothing in a way, the faint stinging caused by it reminded him that he was still here, that he wasn't yet gone from this world.

That things were peaceful, despite what was to come. That Beacon hadn't yet fallen. That Yang still had both arms. That Ruby wasn't forced to mature well beyond her years.

A shooting star blinked across the sky, leaving a small trail. And Lautrec had only one wish to ask of it. And in his mind, it clicked. The reason why his guilt was so immense.

"I know what's to come." Beacon would fall. Yang would lose her will to live after losing her arm to Adam. Ruby's mind would splinter, her childlike wonder would be snuffed out under the weight of the responsibility she would carry after The Fall.

"The Grimm don't get tired! You have to train yourself the same way." He couldn't help but remember the resolve Ruby had that day, it was seemingly random, out of nowhere. "That's why you're here, right? To train?" And how she looked at him, smiling as she offered to train him to be better.

Lautrec let out a shaky breath as he came to a realization within himself. The boy knew he wasn't ready, he knew the risks of diving head first into danger, he knew that the world was soon going to change.

His gaze hardened as he looked up at the cosmos, a silent promise that he wouldn't forget why he was fighting from here on out. "I can't let canon come to pass."

Two months. Two months to become strong enough to stand on equal footing with at least two attackers at once in Emerald and Mercury or a mystery opponent.

Two months to find out where Amber is, to track her down, and to save her. "Two months to reshape Remnant singlehandly... no pressure, Lautrec."

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

The boy chuckled dryly, but rolled backwards against the grass, placing his hands to the floor on either side of his head and pushing up. The push tossed him upwards and backwards, to which he landed on his feet.

"Two months." He needed a lot more quests. More rewarding quests and, preferably, more Wild Points and Perk Points.

Resolved to fight again, Lautrec walked back inside the Taiyang Residence. Up the stairs, down the corridor, and back into the living room. Both Ruby and Yang were still there, sleeping soundly and with precious smiles.

The image ingrained itself in his mind, another reminder. This was the future he was fighting for. 'No way am I going to let them lose those smiles. I will bear both of your burdens without the two of you even knowing it.'

A silent vow made and a promise forged in the stars, Lautrec Griscern would save this world. He wasn't from it, nor did he truly understand the powers that run it, but he would make sure that Salem didn't destroy it.

Lautrec took a seat on the other side of the couch, content to wrap himself in a burrito of blankets and curl up to sleep.

His eyes closed, and an automatic timer was set for nine hours.

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Time skip -- 9 hours

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Lautrec awoke easily, and was the first up out of the three. Though, if his nose was correct, he likely wasn't the first awake in the house hold. Lautrec rolled off fo the couch, falling onto the floor into a sprawl. The swaddle of blankets he had incased himself in peeled off, allowing him to stand up and stretch.

Looking back, he saw that Yang and Ruby were still sleeping, huddling into each other as they slept on the couch. Another reason to not lose focus, to not stall.

He made a decision, and walked downstairs quickly. Lautrec entered the kitchen, smiling faintly at Tai. "Hey, sir. You made breakfast?"

The man turned his head away from his stove, the eggs in the pan scrambling as he stirred the eggs blindly for a few moments. "Yep. Figured that I had the time to prep something simple for the start of the weekend."

"Oh? And give me a tour, what do we gots, Tai?" Lautrec pretended to hold out a microphone, smiling to the older man.

"Well, I'm currently making scrambled eggs, and I have some lightly crusted toast with a very light spreading of butter." Tai reached over the counter, grabbing a plain bowl that had at least eight pieces of toast. "And for that added pizazz on top, I made some seared ham."

"Looks great, sir! Um, do you mind if I get two plates and bring them to the girls? I was thinking of like a breakfast in bed type thing." Lautrec asked, leaning on the counter.

"Hm, yeah, that's fine. I still have to get Zwei his breakfast ready, so it'd be nice if you could get them their food." Tai nodded as he thought, before beginning to plate three plates of food. Carving out a fourth of the eggs from the pan, placing two pieces of toast on the side, and then three thick slices of ham on their plates on the remaining third of the plates. And for a final touch, he placed the forks prongs under the ham.

"Okay, carry this up to the girls, please." Lautrec nodded, grabbing two of the full plates. "I'll come back for mine, sir."

The boy walked back to the upstairs, carefully holding the food as he walked into the room. Looking to the duo once more, he smiled before moving closer and squatting down. "Hey, wake up. Your dad made breakfast. Yang, Ruby, wake up." He whisper-yelled, dragging out his words for as long as he could. The bleary eyed girls awoke slowly, groaning and yawning in protest.

"Shhhh~... five more minutes." Ruby mumbled, though she had already began to wipe at her eyes and stretch her legs. She groaned. "Yang~! Get off!"

The girl was currently sleeping on her sisters legs, sprawled everywhere along the couch. "Mmm... one second..." Yang, much like Ruby, mumbled and whispered her response

"No 'one second'!" Ruby pushed at Yang, threatening to shove her off of the couch. And at the threat, Yang sat up.

"I brought you sleepy heads breakfast. Eggs, toast, and ham." Lautrec waved the plates around, allowing the scent to waft in the air. Though it was unnecessary as the twos eyes locked on their respective plates. "Heh... here, I'll be back with my plate, okay?"

"Gotcha, Lautrec. Thanks for bringing us food!" Yang smiled widely at the gesture, gingerly taking a plate from his hands.

"Yeah, you're the best!" Ruby proclaimed, taking the other plate of food and digging into it with a gusto unmatched. "Hurry up, I wa8nna eat together!"

Lautrec rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Kay, Ruby, be right back." He patted their knees as he stood up and moved away. He moved quickly, from the room to reach the kitchen.

On his way, he saw Tai watching TV with Zwei on his chest, the two seemingly enjoying a day off. Lautrec called out to them. "They really appreciated the food, sir, sent me to thank the chef."

"Ha, well, I appreciate it a lot. Tell them I said I thank them for their thanks." The man said, looking up to Lautrec while still petting Zwei.

"Gotcha, I'm on it chief." Lautrec grabbed his plate and waved to Tai as he climbed the stairs and reentered the living room, joining his friends to eat.

"I'm back!" He said, plopping down onto the floor and setting his plate on the coffee table.

"Hi back!" Yang responded behind the piece of ham she was eating. Ruby groaned in annoyance, leaning away from Yang.

"Ugh, lame. Didn't laugh, wasn't funny."

Yang swallowed the piece of ham she had been eating and smiled, looking toward Ruby. "You just don't have a sense of humor."

"I think you just have a bad sense of humor." The younger girl shot back with a roll of her eyes. Lautrec took the time to eat while they bantered.

"Lautrec, tell her!" She leaned over, bumping her head against his shoulder.

"Hm?" The boy hummed behind his food, not willing to speak while chewing.

"I think that's confirmation that I am right!" Ruby puffed put her chest.

"So was not! He didn't even say anything, that felt like a questioning hum and not a confirmation hum in either direction."

Ruby stuck out her tongue. "Bleeeggh! You're mad!"

Yang turned her nose up to Ruby, putting down her fork and crossing her arms over her chest. "Hmph. I disagree, and we won't know until he's done chewing." She pointed her thumb at Lautrec, who was struggling to chew faster.

He coughed lightly, taking in his food and having to down a sip of water before he could speak again. "I actually like silly things like that. Small jokes like those are funny to me."

"Ugh." Ruby rolled her eyes, slumping somewhat in her seat. "I'm surrounded by enemies."

The three ate in relative silence after that, happy enough to eat and not talk. Though Lautrec himself was trying to figure out how to easily say he was heading to Vale and was likely not going to be visiting for a few months. He'd obviously leave out that they were the reason he felt the desire to get stronger, that felt entirely too personal to share with them, but he did want to let them know he wanted to stay friends even across the sea.

It was one of those issues that really couldn't be resolved and would be a constant test rather than one bump in the road. Because while he did want to be friends, he'd also have to spend a lot of time training. Hell, the reason he was such good friends with the two of them was because he was training with them everyday for hours a day. Working on weapons with Ruby, then going on a small run, before heading on a small run, then going to the gym with Yang where the two of them pushed each other immensely in everything. Then more cardio with Ruby on treadmills, then they'd head to their home to take a quick rinse and he'd do the same at his apartment before going to their home to join them and spar for another few hours until it was dark and then they'd call it a day.

It was exhaustive and tiring every day, but that was the schedule while they had school off, and the schedule when they were at school was relatively the same, just without hard a sparring. And then add the one-on-one aura training with Yang as well? It was just a very tight schedule that forced them to grow closer.

But here he was, about to tell them he was off to new places so soon. He had to hope that they'd grow stronger without him. But, somehow, he doubted it would happen. While he was here, they skyrocketed in skill. All the sparring sharpened their senses much faster than what they would achieve with the other students at Signal.

Glancing over at Yang, he used [Observe].

Yang Xiao-Long

The Young Dragon, The Prodigy

Level 39

Aura: 4350/4350

Nearly fifteen percent more aura than she had before in a month, not to mention a whole seven more levels.

He looked over to Ruby, doing the same.

Ruby Rose

The Lone Flower, The Prodigy

Age: 13 [Fourteen soon though]

Level: 36

Aura: 3300/3300

A ten percent increase in aura on the dot, which was worse than Yang, but it was still growth by ten whole fucking percent of the aura she had cultivated over ten years. And then her level also grew less than Yangs, but six more levels wasn't anything to scoff at either.

And, technically, the two of them had grown more than he did from the first hunt they all had. He ended that hunt as level fifty one, they ended it as levels thirty-two and thirty. But, to be fair to him, he was killing Grimm by the dozen daily and just couldn't find strong enough ones on Patch to give him enough experience nowadays.

Shaking his head, he decided to just bite the bullet. "Guys, I have something to tell the both of you."

"Yeah?" Yang looked to him, taking a drink from a water bottle.

Ruby's eyes snapped up as she dug into her last piece of toast. "Hm?"

"Well, I'm sure the two of you remember how I said I didn't plan on staying on Patch for long, right?" Yang visibly cringed, biting her lip as she looked toward Ruby, who seemed to look surprised by the information.

"Huh?" The younger girl looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I, uh, am gonna be going to Vale for a while, just joining on proper hunts and stuff like that, you know? To prepare for Beacon more." He said, noting how Yang shook her head and sighed.

Ruby frowned, a pout forming on her face as she looked at him. But she didn't get much more upset visibly than that other than crossing her arms.

Yang spoke, also crossing her arms. "You said two months, by the way. Not one." The older girl slouched, also upset at his soon departure. "But, if you do plan on leaving so soon. We should spend today hanging out! It's a Saturday, we have all day to spend together."

Lautrec sighed his relief, glad they took it so well. Admittedly, he had expected much MUCH worse. Maybe because he thought some form of anime logic would take hold and Ruby would be upset at him or something, though, luckily, it hadn't. "Okay, so. What is there to do? Is there like an arcade or like something else to do?"

"Hm... good question." Yang put a hand to her chin, slouching slightly as she thought. "Bleh, this was too abrupt, I can't think of anything!"

"Ooo! I got something!" Ruby, having been mimicking Yangs posture, had also been thinking. "You can take us to the beach that you found!" She jumped up, her stance wide and leaning forward while pointing one hand at him. "It's the only way I'm forgiving you for leaving so suddenly."

Yang, looked at her, confused. "Uh, Ruby? That's far out, you know?"

"Exactly! It'll be so cool going all the way out there! And the water, I've never been to an actual coast that wasn't just the Vale Ports!" Ruby beamed at the idea, and the joy and happiness in her voice made any small resistance to the idea crumble.

"I think your dad will need to know first. He knows that I'm good, but I don't know if he knows I'm good enough to be a guide that far out." Lautrec said, his tone more cautionary than against her idea.

Ruby nodded, and at once walked out of the living room. "Dad! I have a question!"

The remaining two teens sat, looking at each other. Though it was clear that Yang was somewhat disappointed in him. "She's upset, you know?"

"I figured."

"You said you were gonna stay for two months." Her arms crossed over her chest, staring at him with a flat glare.

"I said at most two months." Lautrec defended weakly, unable to meet her eyes fully without looking away.

She couldn't keep up the anger, though, and instead scooted closer and hugged him with one arm. "She's never been as close to someone as she was with you. And it sucks to know you're leaving. For what it's worth, I hope dad does let you take us."

Lautrec reciprocated her hug, his arm coming to wrap around her lower back. "I apologize, I really, truly do. I really did struggle over going at all." He sighed before continuing. "But when I saw the two of you yesterday, it reminded me why I wanted to get stronger in the first place. I want to be able to fight for you, to fight to stay with the two of you. That's why I'm going to Vale. Because I care too much about you, so much that I'm willing to throw it all away in the hopes that it will give you a better life." And to protect Remnant, of course. But it was much more motivating now that there were stakes, people he knew and cared for, on the line.

"Oh my Gods..." Yang leaned more into him, resting her forehead against his chest. "Ruby was so right." She groaned out against him.

"Right about what?" Lautrec looked down and asked.

She looked up at him, raising her her head ever so slightly to peer through her bangs. "You really do have a bad case of main character syndrome."

Lautrec cringed at that, the heat of embarrassment making itself known across his cheeks. "She said that?" Lautrec turned his head away.

"Yep." Finally, Yang removed her arm from around him, and gently pushed against his chest. "And I can't say I disagree."

Slowly, she stood up, glancing away from him. Yang reached down, and patted his head. "I can't say I think we need the protection, but I do appreciate the thought, Lautrec. Its... nice." She spoke honestly, before pulling her hand away and walking around him. "I'm going to go get changed, okay? If Ruby is the one doing the begging, Dad is one hundred percent going to fold. I'd say you need to get ready as well."

He nodded, standing up once more and reaching down next to the couch to grab his bag, which was empty but was an easy story for using his inventory. But before Yang walked out, she stopped by the doorway.

"Lautrec." He turned to her voice, seeing her looking over her shoulder. "That was really sweet of you to say. It's nice to know you hold us in such high esteem." Her lilac eyes met his, a faint smile on her lips.

"I hoped it was obvious, but it was really nice to say it for once." He smiled as he looked at her.

She glanced away. "I hope you can say that to Ruby later... It'd mean a lot to her as well, you know." Yang didn't stay after that, quickly walking away.

Lautrec chuckled to himself. To be honest, he was embarrassed with his own words and how passionate they sounded as well, so he didn't mind Yang feeling the same. Maybe he should've tried to word it differently, maybe less Main-charactery.

'But such is life and the world still spins and yadda yadda and this too shall pass and things of that nature.' He thought, shaking his head to clear his mind. Lautrec had bigger fish to fry now. Especially considering he was taking them to the beach.

[Quest Created: The Beach Episode pt. 1]

[Objective: have fun!]

[Rewards: +15K XP for completing the Tutorial Area, +REP with Taiyang Family, +1 Perk Point.]

'Free gains? I will take that!' The boy, seeing that nobody was entering the room, undressed himself and summoned up some better clothes for the hike. A thin and stretchy shirt that hugged his chest and waist nicely, and some grey shorts with flowers. Lautrec was quickly done, the inventory making it trivial to get dressed and undressed within a few moments.

And just in time too, because Ruby had just walked in. "Lautrec, I hope you're... Oh, you are. Cool. Well, we're going!" The girl in question was also already dressed, having put on baggier sweatpants a slim arachnid-boy t-shirt.

"Right now?"

She nodded excitedly, her smile outshining the sun. "Right now! Dad said we'd have to go early to avoid it being dark when we came back, now lets go!"

Lautrec rolled his eyes at her antics, but nonetheless walked towards her to leave. "Okay, okay, going. Seriously, this seems way too spontaneous. Like, do we even have food prepared?" His question illicited a shake of Ruby's head, confirming that no, they didn't have any food or drink.

"You will be buying us some before we leave, right?" The younger girl stared up at him pleadingly, pulling her hands behind her back as she performed her signature puppy eyes. "Right, Lautrec?"

The boy laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her out of his way. "Yes, I will. Seriously, the puppy eyes are needed for that, Ruby. I could buy you a buffet if you really wanted one."

Ruby jumped up, giddy with her successful persuasion. "Heh! Too easy!"

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Time skip- 1.5 hours

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Surprisingly, it only took the group of teens an hour and a half to get to the beach he had been to the day before. There were no Grimm to bother them, no out of the blue obstacles that made it difficult.

Just the walk, which wasn't even a walk because Ruby wanted to run there to see the coast. It took everything he and Yang had to convince the girl that she shouldn't run off ahead with use of her semblance. And even then Ruby was still trying to get them to speed up their pace.

It was an interesting thing, though, the three of them trekking through the wilderness, the autumn leaves falling with grace in the chilled wind. It all felt very electric as they approached the end destination. Yang and Lautrec walked side by side while Ruby jumped around in the forestry, absolutely elated to be out and about.

"I mean, seriously! We never go to the coast, isn't it just the best that we are now? Especially now because this is the last time we'll see you? This is so awesome!" Bouncing off the trees was Ruby's voice, unable to contain the excitement bubbling within her. She spun around, facing the other two teens on the adventure.

"If I had known, I might've waited to incite you two before I chased my hunt here. Let me tell you, Ruby, nothing beats resting on a beach after a long and tiring trial of Hunting." Lautrec spoke with an easy confidence, ducking under low hanging branches and avoiding stepping over unruly roots of the wild trees. "And it isn't the last time you'll see me. I'll still be a single scroll call away, and I would love to here how the two of you are doing in Signal while I'm off to Vale."

Ruby seemed to calm slightly at his words, but still was practically vibrating as she walked.

"And we'll be expecting calls daily and pictures of any adventures, Lautrec! I want you to go to Forever Fall, the Emerald Forest, Jericho Landing, The Great Divide, and every land mark!" Yang proclaimed, looking at him with a sly sink as she named off places. Though Lautrec only recognized a few of them, he nodded along with a smile.

"For sure. Easy peasy. Think I'll be able to get them all in two months?" He asked, holding out his fist.

She laughed, but nodded. "Absolutely!" Her fist came up and bumped his. The two's moment was interrupted as Ruby gasped.

"Guys! We're here!" Ruby bounded ahead, escaping the tree line, and the two lagging teens sped up to catch her. All three soon emerged.

Lautrec and Yang closed in on Ruby, who was staring at the ocean with wide and gleaming eyes. He undid his backpack, dropping it onto the sand and pulled out three towels for them to rest on, the thick cloth perfect for the sandy beach.

"Wow... this is sick!" Yang yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth and screaming. "Lautrec! Take a picture of me and Rubes by the ocean!" The girl in question quickly ran to the shore, Ruby running along side her easily.

"Okay, smile!" He pulled out his scroll, zooming in on the two girls. Ruby and Yang hugged, smiling widely. Lautrec took the photo, and then took five more just in case they didn't like the first one. "Got it! Come see it, girls!"

They went to each other, Lautrec turned his scroll for them to see. "Pretty good, eh? I'll send them to the groupchat and yall can show all your friends at Signal for the awesome bragging rights."

"It looks amazing!" Ruby took his scroll, admiring the picture. "Ah! Isn't this so cool! I'm gonna get in the water!" The younger girl announced, already sitting on one of the towels that Lautrec had placed and taking off of socks and shoes.

Though Lautrec had been told by Tai that water was pretty dangerous, even off the shore of a peaceful island like Patch. Coupled with the pretty cold weather it was just better to keep your aura up at all times. "Remember Ruby, don't drop your aura, you'll be popsicle in a snap if you don't"

She nodded along. "Yeah yeah yeah, yadda yadda!" Pulling off her shirt, Ruby wore a red one-piece swim suit. "Alright, let's go!"

Yang shook her head. "Nope! It's way too cold to get in for me." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Rubes."

"Though I think Lautrec might." He looked at the blonde with an incredulous look and Yanbg smiled playfully back. "What? You should! This is your last day with your best friends, shouldn't your at least try and make it special for Ruby?"

The boy struggled to find a way out of getting out of the water, and when he turned to Ruby to try and excuse himself, his breath hitched as he saw the hopeful expression planted on her face.

"Will you!?" She shouted at him, her grin still practically splitting her face.

"...." He bit the inside of his cheek and glanced away, unable to avoid her question. "...sure."

He reached down, and pulled off his shirt and began walking to Ruby, who literally jumped for joy. "Let's go! We don't have all day!" Despite her much smaller frame, her aura enhanced strength allowed her to pretty much drag him toward the water.

"We literally do! It's barely nine!" Nevertheless she pulled him into the water, and he followed with a smile, ignoring the initial sting of cold water that covered him the further she dragged him.

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POV Change - Yang Xiao Long

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

She watched from the towel, how the two of them played in the water. Or better to say she had been watching them for over an hour, and she could confidently say that coming here was totally worth it. After just observing them, Yang eventually did glance away, closing her eyes and peeling off her own shirt and quickly undoing her shorts. A tan would probably do her some good anyway, ever since the end of summer her skin was getting pale.

Yang smirked. She had worn a bikini, though she didn't tell either of them as she knew it would only get her dragged into the water.

'Heh... I'm so smart. Absolute masterclass from Miss Xiao-Long!'

The teen groaned as the sun hit her skin, closing her eyes and allowing herself to fully lean back into the beach. It was a very very nice feeling, given how she was still tired from being woken up so early.

The waves crashing on the sand, the sun, the cool breeze, she felt totally comfortable.

It allowed her to collect her thoughts, the distant laughing of Ruby and Lautrec, mixed with everything else was something to behold, seriously, if she wasn't keenly aware how far they were into grimmland, she'd have been asleep an hour ago.

'Props to Lautrec for finding it...' Ah, man of the month. The boy had been a hell of a find. Only a year her senior and incredibly good at everything. His Swordplay, his CQC, his skill was better than anyone's in Signal, even those who were the same age as him. Even if he wasn't the fastest, strongest, or smartest out of the three of them, somehow the Magic Boy was leagues above both her and Ruby.

"And to think it was all because of a whim." One fateful day of doing to the gym, even though she had told Ruby that they were probably not going to go that day, her sister convinced her to go anyway. And when she had saw saw him just barely checking in, Lautrec did catch her eye easily.

'Not in a romantic way!' She corrected in her head, swallowing a lump in her throat at the thought. Just that the guy was six feet and three inches tall or so and was built very nicely in spite of the fact she had never seen him at the only real gym in Patch.

Yang shook her head as she justified her thoughts. 'Ugh, stupid teenage hormones, making everything weird.' Not to mention her friends. The one time they decided to come over, they walked right into Yang and Lautrec meditating and talking to each other with whispered words. What a terrible scene to see, she'd imagine it was. And the rumors spread like wildfire, that THE Yang Xiao-Long had a secret boyfriend.

Just the thought made her sigh. Of course, she didn't get upset at Lautrec for it, but she made sure that her punches hit a little bit harder when she sparred the two that had screwed her over so much. She couldn't even begin to imagine how mortified Lautrec would be if he found out.

But that was a little over a week ago, things had changed. And honestly, it was for the better in the end. Less guys pestering her about dates and all, her friends stopped teasing her about not having a boyfriend, and the whole... slut rumors stopped. 'I mean, seriously, men will see a girl with a big chest and call her a whore, what is up with that?'

'Now, though?' She opened her eyes and propped herself up on her elbows as she watched Ruby and Lautrec splash each other with water, play fighting and wrestling, she knew that everything had worked out perfectly.

He really was perfect in her eyes. I mean, great with Ruby, amazing sparring partner both with a sword and hand-to-hand, some of the best kickboxing she'd ever seen, tall, fun to talk to, and he spoiled both her and Ruby rotten. What wasn't to like?

'And a girl can appreciate a good physique too.' Her eyes trailed his body for the split second that Ruby wasn't on top of him, the water coating his muscles and making the contour of them glisten. He looked like a proper fighter. Not too bulky, but muscly enough to easily tell he was strong. As someone with a heavy boxing style, she appreciated a man who respected his art enough to have a physique made for it as well.

Her eyes eventually made it up to his hair, groaning. 'He should dye it. Like black or something. His eyes don't fit that damnable hair!'

Now that she thought of it, maybe that's what she should give him as a goodbye gift. Some proper black hair dye. She closed her eyes again and laid back. And that way she stayed for another thirty minutes, listening to the world around her as she slowly baked in the rising sun.

A singular pair of wet footsteps approached her. "You dick. I thought you didn't wear anything for water." Lautrec's voice sounded out, followed by a plopping down of his weight onto a towel next to her.

"I didn't feel like telling you." Her lips turned upward into a smirk. One eye cracked open, unashamed to let her gaze trail his body for a second before veering up to his face. "And besides, you two seemed to be having a world of fun without me."

"Maybe it would've been more fun with you. Just saying. I felt like I'm missing out on my daily dose of Yang." He said, shaking his head to try and get the excess water out of it.

Yang smiled brightly, turning onto her side so she could look at him better. "You missed me that much? Well too bad. It was too cold earlier, and it's too cold now. You can get plenty of Yang later, preferably not in a cold, wet, and windy environment."

He rolled his eyes in response. "Whatever, not sure I want any of what you're willing to give."

"Why not~? Am I not good enough for you?" She asked in a whiny tone, and Lautrec quickly glanced away toward Ruby. This is what she meant, teasing him quickly became one of her favorite pass times. Though it was pretty new, and it only ever happened when they were alone. It was way too embarrassing to say in front of other people, even if they could tell she was joking.

"Ugh, shut up." Lautrec kept his gaze away from her, though she could easily spot the faint blush on his cheeks.

Luckily for Lautrec, he had a convenient out. "Lautrec!" Ruby called his name as she too came out of the water. "Wanna bury me in sand?"

"Sure Ruby, get me after though!" He stood up quickly, and moved to Ruby.

Yang, still smirking, let herself roll onto her stomach. She needed to tan evenly, after all. 'What's score... like one hundred for me and zero for him? Hah, he needs to step it up.'

Yangs eyes closed once more, going back to just simply enjoying the white noise of the ocean and the unintelligible speaking of her sister and Lautrec.

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POV Change - Ruby Rose

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Spending time with Lautrec was nice. She knew that since forever! Especially after their hours at the beach, I mean, come on! It was awesome!

Even now, he was still talking to her, still smiling at her, still being next to her it was so cool! Don't get her twisted up, she had other friends as well, but none of them were like Lautrec!

He was like Yang, but a man. Her best friend, her brother in smithing and in hunting. Which was why it was so bitter that he was leaving. No matter how she tried to spin it in her head, she couldn't understand why he would leave Patch. He had them, they had him. She had him.

What was the point in leaving? Her poor mind spent hours agonizing over it, especially when it was just the two of them playing carelessly in the ocean. Every word, every smile, every touch she wondered why, if these were genuine, why? Why leave?

Even now, as she was sitting on her couch in clean pajamas and a warm blanket over her, her eyes lingered on the door to the restroom, where Lautrec was currently showering.

'He's like a boulder' Ruby thought to herself. 'He just goes. Rolling down a mountain, only stopping sometimes and them going back to rolling.'

Her eyes glanced toward Yang, who was watching stupid videos on her scroll.

'Yang... did Lautrec tell you why he was leaving?' Her mind whispered, knowing that she could probably ask and be told the answer. But she couldn't form the words. She didn't want to hear it from Yang.

So, instead, she waited. Waited for another fifteen minutes for the water in the restroom to turn off, and then another ten for the ruffling of clothes from behind the door to stop, and then another five for Lautrec to actually come out. And when he did, she stood up and walked toward him.

"Lautrec, before you go... I wanna show you something." She hurried out her words, grabbing the attention of both him and most likely Yang behind her.

The man in front of her still hand the towel in his hands, along with the dirty clothes in another. "Oh, okay, Rubes. Give me a second, though, I need to put these up."

"No no no! Right now." Before she lost her nerve to even ask in the first place. She stared him down, willing to wait for him to crack and accept. Begrudgingly, he nodded.

"Right..." He opened the door behind him again and dropped his clothes there. "Alright, lead the way, Ruby." He extended his hand to gesture for her to go, but she grabbed onto it quickly before he retracted it.

"Come on!" She dragged him away, pulling Lautrec toward the front door and into the tree line that surrounded her home. Ruby herself was walking on autopilot, only trying to create distance from the house so that there was no chance Yang would hear her ask.

"Ruby! Where are we going? This seems really random!" Though he could've forced his had back, but she appreciated that he didn't. It made her feel like he trusted her implicitly, and made her feel more resolved to ask.

"You'll see when we get there, just give it a second, okay?" She said right back, weaving in-between trees.

'Guh! Where am I going!? Ugh, stupid idea, stupid stupid idea!' Her mind was working overtime, trying to think about where she was going and how she was going to ask him the question. But soon, she stopped moving, seeing a tree with a small drawing etched into it.

"O-oh! We're h-here!" The younger girl let go of his hand and turned before presenting the tree.

Lautrec tilted his head, another one of his quirks that Ruby found so endearing. "Uh..? Ruby? What is it?"

She smiled nervously, clamping her hands together as she cleared her throat. "It's, uh, the tree I hit when I first discovered my semblance. You know... when I burst into petals and go really fast? I couldn't control it when I first used it, and I slammed straight into this tree."

Poor Lautrec, he didn't know how to react, but nevertheless tried to appreciate her fun fact. "That's really cool, Ruby. How'd you manage to weave through the initial trees? This one is a good deal into the forest."

Ruby looked intently at him, before sighing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you all the way here. I just... I had a question, you know? A question that I really wanted to ask you."

He nodded again, leaning against the tree. "Shoot. I'm all ears, Ruby."

'It is always so easy with you, Lautrec.' That was another thing she was going to miss. No one else would've been fine with her dragging them across and into a forest the second they had gotten out of a shower. No one would be able to just say 'okay' like that, not like Lautrec.

"It's just..." She paused and looked away, biting her lip. "Why are you leaving? Is... is something wrong?"

She didn't dare look up, in fear of what she may yet see. Would he be annoyed that she asked such a silly question? Frustrated that she basically forced him to follow her just for her to be so childlike? In her mind, she was already planning a thousand different apologies.

But, she seemed to have forgot that the man standing in front of her wasn't anyone else, he was Lautrec. Her best friend, her closest confidant. He chuckled, but didn't mock her at all, instead, he hugged her and she wrapped her arms around his wide torso tightly.

"Ruby, nothings wrong, I promise you that. You have been perfect friends to me since the day we met." His hand rubbed circles into her back and the tears in her eyes slowly grew scarce. "I'm not leaving you, never. I'm only going to Vale for a little bit, and then I'll be back."

Lautrec spoke such soothing words to her, enough to make Ruby like him even more. The younger girl buried her face into his chest, muffling her breath and drying her eyes. "I do care for you, Ruby. In the short time we've known each other, I truly do believe you're the sister I never had. But I need to go to Vale, not because I don't want to be here but because I want to be able to stay by your side forever. I want us to be able to be best friends forever and ever. And in order to do that, in order to keep you safe and protect you from whatever lies in wait for us, I need to get stronger. I hope you can forgive me for leaving now, and I hope you'll let me come back into your life when I inevitably return."

She sniffled lightly against his chest, her mind unable to decided whether or not to cry or to be happy. So, like Arachnid-Boy always said...

Ruby did both.

And Lautrec held her tightly, even allowed her to curl up against him as she pulled them both down to the grass.

"Thank you, Lautrec." Her voice came out hoarse, her tears staining his shirt freely. He hummed, still rubbing her back and guiding her through her tears.

"Of course, Ruby, of course."

By the time the two had arrived back to her home, Lautrec had to actually say his farewells, giving Yang and her tight hugs, petting Zwei, and shaking her fathers hand before heading off.

Ruby wouldn't forget his proclamation. Not for decades to come.

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Time skip - 7 Hours

POV Change - Lautrec Griscern

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The day had been a long one. Not because it was difficult, but because from morning to now evening, Lautrec had used majority of his day just spending time with and hanging out with his two dearest friends, Yang and Ruby in case you forgot.

Lautrec was leaning over the edge of the small transport boat, looking down into the dark depths of the ocean. It was quiet, the only noise being the boats own motor running and the waves crashing against its hull.

It really did feel like a shift had happened. As the boat got closer and closer to the Vale Port, a sudden burst of blue screens popped into Lautrec's face.

[Quest Completed: The Beach Episode pt. 1]

[Rewards: +15K XP, +Massive REP increase with Ruby Rose, +Massive REP increase with Yang Xiao-Long, +Large REP increase with Taiyang Xiao-Long, +1 Perk Point]

[MAX REP with Ruby Rose has rewarded you the Perk: Adrenaline Burst]

[Adrenaline Burst]

[Description: Whenever you are hit with an attack that SHOULD incapacitate you (Snapped bone, slashed neck, collapsed lung, pierced heart, etc...), you will have a 15 second grace period where your CURRENT injuries do not harm you. After the 15 seconds, you will then feel the full repercussions of your injuries. Cooldown: 12 Hours]

[MAX REP with Yang Xiao-Long has rewarded you with the Perk: The Reason]

[The Reason]

[Description: When you're in a losing situation, when all hope is lost, that is when you are weakest. Much like when Yang, aged five through eleven, felt she had no reason to continue, she found a reason. This perk will grant you a small boost of health, followed by a regeneration effect that will last for 30 seconds.]

Lautrec whistled after reading both perks. They were very situational, both being activated on near death essentially. But he appreciated them either way. He waved a hand and the screens disappeared.

He had to admit, the idea of Vale had been tormenting him, even now. But he could see the city now, maybe only ten minutes from docking. And, perhaps he was getting ahead of himself, but it really did just look like a city. Like New York in how compact it was, but with that architecture very similar to Patch's.

When the boat had finally stopped and was docked, Lautrec moved away from its railing, and began to walk to where the dock and boat met

'It is time. Time to face the music.' He thought without neither smile nor frown, but with mild indifference and a slightly tired look in his eye.

It was late, around eleven P.M. in Vale. And it was because of that, that Lautrec already had an idea on how to be proactive in finding Amber.

Junior's Club, here he comes.

[End] ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stat sheet

Name: Lautrec Griscern

Title: Hunter-in-Training, The Fool

Level: 55

Aura: 1125/1125

Mana: 4350/4350

Money: 5801 Lien

VIT: 46

STR: 85

DEX: 46

AGI: 53

CHA: 47 [+9.4%]

INT: 44 [+4.4%]

WIS: 54

LCK: 500(MAX)

Wild Points: 110

Perk Points: 2

Important abilities:

[Mana Manifestation]

[Level: 20/100]

[+20% more effective in using and controlling Mana!]

[Aura Manifestation]

[Level: 25/100]

[+25% more effective in using and controlling Mana!]

Perks:

[Adrenaline Burst]

15 seconds of invulnerability, but can still take damage that will appear after. Occurs after an incapacitating hit.

[The Reason]

Small health boost and health regen for 30 seconds after taking a near fatal blow.