RWBY: FaLSE Tale

Chapter 31: A Tale Long Pasted

Chapter 31: A Tale Long Pasted

Slowly descending in the sky, Silva gently lands on the roof of the derailed train and walks ahead to the front. Snow fully surrounds them, leaving the four passenger cars half buried, while getting the subte blessing of shrouding from the snowfall with the tall pines around. The train lets out light creaks under each of his steps, shifting lightly in the snow covered landscape, being at least a foot in depth. As he gets to the front, he finds the team thrown around, though one figure is missing from being halfway under the blanket.

Qrow, getting up and brushing off his vest, asked: “Everyone alright?!”

Weiss pushes herself up, wincing as her left shoulder troubles her, “... I’m fine”

Blake digs herself out, “Yeah…” Near her, Yang helps Ruby out from the snow.

“Still alive!” A cheerful woman yells from the train, the team looks at the train, seeing Siva up above. However, below him, a short and venerated woman that uses a cane a head under her height. She walks out the train doors, “That sure was a close one, huh?” She is a brown woman of very short stature, having a set of metal goggles imbued to her flesh.

Silva silently does a headcount and jokingly asks, “Who forgot to tell me we replaced Spein with an old woman!?” He chuckles and whispers, “Oh- where the fuck did you go?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere in the wilderness… Flat snow is bothered by a long trail that hosts in its walls a buried figure. A hand holds on tightly to a sheathed blade, three of the fingers being made of a black metal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Great! This is just- great!” Yang yells and grunts, pulling her motorcycle out from the snow. “We’re stranded. We’ve lost a third of our party. Our resident monster is missing. And we’ve gained- a defensive old lady!”

“My name is Maria Calavera!” The old lady loudly boasts, ushering Oscar off from aiding her. “And I am not defenseless. I’m just a little hard of hearing, and- blind, without my eyes.” She taps the side of her squinting goggles, opening the eyes, “That is in desperate need of repair.”

Silva, sitting over the doorway of the train, perks his head up, “Maria Calavera… why does that sound familiar..?” He spoke to himself.

“We should find Spein-El.” Ruby attempts to shrug off Yang’s complaints, “Silva, do you know where he could be!?”

Silva salutes and looks around, to the left, to the right, forward. Then shrugs, “Why would I?” He motions down to them, “He was with you last I saw.”

Yang groans, “What’s with you? I thought he was your brother, shouldn’t you be worried?”

Silva leans back on his palms, “Hell nah, he’s probably happily hunting away from yall, damn snow-back nega.” From deeper in the forest, a loud thundering roar stirs birds from their roosting in trees. Silva jumps up to his feet, drawing his Anne from his hip, “God, save us from this relic. Amen.”

Yang yells, “And that’s another thing, that Relic!”

Qrow takes off his collapsed weapon, thrusting it forward to unfold the blade. He tells her, “Yang, calm down, we can’t handle more grimm.”

Blake questions him, “Well it doesn’t really matter? Apparently we’ve been attracting grimm before we left Haven!”

From the treeline, a tree falls over, crashing down towards the group. Jumping onto the log, El lets out a booming roar and crosses over the tree, a plume of black smoke escapes the cut of the neck. The collar hides the cut, slightly higher than the division of souls. In his left hand, he carries his crucible and athenor by the throat of the scabbard, he marches in long strides.