STRQ (A RWBY fanfiction) [Book 1]

Chapter 8

We walked in complete darkness for a few minutes.

"It's so dark," Qrow said. "Where are all the Grimm anyway?"

"Be quiet. You're going to draw attention to yourself," I snapped.

The area was slowly becoming brighter. As soon as it got bright enough to see, I noticed that there was several packs of Ursa. Nevermores were circling ahead of us as well.

"Okay... how the hell are we supposed to kill this many Grimm? They're everywhere!" Tai exclaimed.

"Just stay calm and remember your training. Don't forget to watch your back. And most importantly... work together," I said. "Tai, I want you and Raven to take care of those Ursa packs. Me and Qrow will handle the Nevermores. After that, we'll patrol the rest of the area."

Qrow was by my side in seconds with his scythe.

"Ready to get started, partner?" Qrow asked.

"Let's do it."

Tai and Raven ran to the packs of Ursa while me and Qrow distracted the Nevermores. Qrow was almost as quick as I was when it came to fighting. He finished off about half of the Nevermores with a series of slices with his scythe. While I took care of the rest with a few slashes and stabs.

"Nice work," Qrow said to me, smiling.

"Thanks. You weren't so bad yourself."

I looked over to where Tai and Raven were. They were just finishing up the last few Ursa.

"That should do it," Tai said.

We regrouped a few moments later.

"I'm surprised this was so easy. I thought we would have a rougher time," Qrow said.

"Yeah... it seems almost too easy," Raven replied, her eyes narrowing, looking suspicious.

"There's no need to get all suspicious, Raven. We beat those Grimm because we worked together. Teamwork makes things easier," I said.

"You've got a point... I guess."

We spent the rest of the day patrolling the area, but didn't find much else.

"It doesn't look like anything else is here. That's disappointing," Tai mumbled.

"So... do we go back to Beacon now?" Qrow asked.

"It's getting quite late. Maybe we should camp out here tonight. We'll need to find things for a fire," I said.

"I'll go," Raven suggested. "I used to do this all the time back when I lived with my tribe."

"Oh. Thanks for doing that, Raven."

She nodded. "No problem. I'll be back."

Raven returned a little while later with a pile of wood in her arms. She set the pile in the middle of where we were all sitting and brought out a small lighter from one of her pockets. After she lit the fire, she took a seat next to me.

"Do we start telling creepy ghost stories now?" Qrow asked.

"Why do you want to be a huntsman, Tai?" I asked.

Tai looked a bit caught off guard. "What?"

"You heard me. Why did you decide to become a huntsman?"

Tai looked up at the sky. "That's hard to answer... but I guess the main reason is for thrill of it all. My life has always been kinda boring up until now. What about you?"

I looked at my feet. "Well... my parents were huntsmen. They always taught me that I should help people. So I thought I would follow in their footsteps."

"That's very noble of you," Tai said.

"I always wanted to be a hero and help people, just like in the books," I told him. "My mom read a lot of stories to me when I was small. I love books."

"Do you have a favorite story?" Qrow asked me.

I was thoughtful for a moment.
"Well... I really like the one about the four maidens."

"That's the one about the wizard who gave Summer, Fall, Spring and Winter their powers right?" Tai asked.

"Yep," I replied.

"Heh... your name is Summer. Maybe you'll be a maiden one day," Qrow said jokingly.

I laughed. "I doubt it. It's just a fairy tale. It's not like it's real or anything."

"Summer... did Qrow ever tell you how my semblance works?" Raven asked.

I shook my head. "No. How does it work?"

"I can bond with certain people. When I do, I'm able to create a portal that leads me to them. I've bonded with three people so far. I have one for Qrow of course. One for Tai. And I have one for you."

"Oh... that's amazing!" I exclaimed.

"So whenever you're in trouble or anything, just contact me. I'll come to you."

"It's nice to know I can count you."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling a bit tired. I'm going to call it a night," Tai said, laying down.

I yawned. "That's sounds like a good idea. See you guys in the morning."

The next morning, we got up early and contacted the school to pick us up. It was around noon when we arrived back. Ozpin was waiting for us outside our dorms.

"Welcome back," he greeted us.

"Thank you, Professor," I said.

"That mission you gave us was easier than I anticipated," Raven admitted.

Ozpin nodded. "I am aware. Which is why I waited to meet with you all in my office for... a discussion."

I looked at my teammates nervously. "Um... why exactly?"

Ozpin didn't answer.

"Please, follow me," he said, waking towards the elevator.

The four of us were hesitant for a moment before following him slowly. My heart was pounding inside my chest. What could he possibly want to discuss?