RWBY Through Worlds (End)

BC67: Twisted (Heroes and Villains)-6

Weiss and Meridian had followed Jasmine into the woods [cue references] a short way, following some tracks from the bandits that you could see, and broken branches and other signs of someone coming through there.

There wasn't a path here, naturally.

"Still, if they escaped so quickly they must have a route," Meridian reasoned. "Some way to retrace their steps."

"Or they're just that good at it," Weiss said.

"I don't know about that, Tiger. A lot of bandits weren't born and raised in the woods. They're rogues from the kingdoms, even Atlas itself. They wouldn't know the first thing about navigating trees--I don't either, but I hear it's murder on your sense of direction. Don't you think they have some way to find their way back quickly?"

"They never hit the same town twice," Jasmine said, rubbing her hand. "If they do have some trail, maybe they wouldn't worry about it being found later because by then they'd be long gone. Then your hubby's point might make more sense."

"I guess..." Weiss said. "So what kind of thing would they use?"

"Some people leave marks on trees," Meridian said. "I have to think. If I were someone new to this, and I didn't want to get caught, what would I do?"

He began looking more closely at the trees and bushes around them.

Jasmine began to also. She seemed less distraught when she could focus on those, though she was so pale Weiss worried she'd faint pretty soon without rest.

Weiss had no clue what to look for but began to peer at the ground and rocks more closely.

"Aha," Meridian said, after what seemed like a long time but was really about 15 minutes, during which the others had been talking to the townspeople, unbeknownst to these three. "I think I might have found something unusual."

Jasmine and Weiss came to where he'd looked at a tree.

On the bark of this tree was carved a large circle with what might have been an M inside it.

"M for Mala, maybe," Jasmine said.

"Did you say Mala is the leader, the one the others saw?" Meridian asked.

"Yes, that's what they call her," Jasmine said. "She's not even that much older than your lieutenant Schnee, I think, from the look of her, but she's corrupt." She then added tightly, "I've known a lot of mean women, but I can't picture any of them ordering this...and taking the girls also. You'd think some common pride would stop them."

"I wish that was the case, but it doesn't stop us men from doing terrible things to each other." Meridian shrugged.

"I can't say I think women are any better, after Salem...and...Victoria, and...well, other people." Weiss meant Cinder,but didn't like to say it. After all, Cinder wasn't that far away, and if she scared Jasmine about it, that could lead to trouble.

"I know.... I just think of my poor father. He always said a man should defend a woman's honor," Jasmine said. "But if we won't even defend each others', how can we ask the men to?"

"She doesn't speak for you all, but she does make Raven's tribe look like saints by comparison," Meridian muttered.

"Oh yeah." Weiss was getting a picture now of how much worse her capture could have been if Raven had fewer standards of behavior. Apparently her claim that Weiss had been lucky it was her and not a different tribe wasn't just idle self praise.

"Are there more of the symbols?" Jasmine asked finally.

"Let's see." Meridian looked around.

He found one about 4 trees away, to their right.