The Huntsman Of Ash (RWBY X Dark Souls)

Bonfire XIII: Recipe For Grimm

____________________

[DISCLAIMER]
RWBY is property of RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum. Dark Souls is property of Bandai Namco and From Software. All art/videos/music shown are property of their respective artists/companies.

__________________
.
.
.
.
.

_____________________________

Four pairs of boots trudged through the forest's foliage. With how far into the wild they had traveled, the shrieking wind above and beyond the treeline escaped their ears. Team CEDL followed in a singular line. "Asche" held their exposed and isolated rear, while Cardin took the lead in the chance of ambush.

As they snaked through the woods, "Asche" would drop a glowing prism stone, marking their pathway. True, they were confident in their navigation capabilities, but the champion of ash preferred to spare no chance. Thankfully his landmarks went unnoticed by his good compeers, which helped to avoid a lengthy discussion of how prone to becoming lost the ashen one generally was.

Whether it was the winding and ill lit Catacombs of Carthus, the despised Farron Keep, or the cesspool that was the Irithyll Dungeons, the unkindled one had been long accustomed to losing his way. Hours, weeks, years, decades even had been wasted by his poor sense of direction.

Still, it often led him to those oh so coveted, and often hidden,"shinies" from warriors past. In the end, maybe his horrible coordination was a blessing in disguise. Without it, he would have never found those tucked away areas he unintentionally uncovered. 

He became lost in thought, until he eventually collided with an object in his path.  Almost from nowhere, two sets of armor crashed into one another. The rattling and clinking of the separate platting resounded in a deep and dull series of chimes, almost as if several iron pans had been tossed onto a counter simultaneously.

"Asche" stumbled backwards, recovering from his misstep. The boy, Dove, bent over to rub his now bruising foot.

"Ah shi- My foot…." Dove winced, mitigating his voice.

"Is something wrong, Cardin? Why did we sto-" Sky prodded, oblivious to why the four came to a sudden halt.

Immediately, Cardin held a hand in the air, silencing Dove and Sky. "Shut up!" He hissed.

Something was wrong, very wrong. His teammates took a single glance at his troubled face. Without a word, they shared his unspoken sentiment…

It was far too quiet.

He, along with the rest of CEDL, paused. Their ears strained, trying their best to hear even the faint rustling of a mouse. Yet nothing was to be heard. Even a drop of the pen would be thunderous at the current state. Dove wagered that had they been indoors, they might be able.to even hear each other's heartbeats… Aside from "Asche's" long since hollowed chest that is, though Dove was still oblivious to his nature.

Cardin waved a hand in a cutting motion, causing the boy's to draw their weapons as swiftly and silently as they could muster.