"Okay, I'm ready! What do we need to do first?" Deacon asked, as we stood outside.
Qrow had left hours ago and Deacon was
pestering me to train him.
"Well, you can't start any training unless you have your aura activated. You'll get hurt pretty badly if you went up against me now."
Deacon playfully stuck out his tongue. "You wanna bet? I'm really strong."
I smiled at him. "I am too. I once fought a huge Grimm dragon once."
His eyes lit up. "You did? That's so awesome! How'd you do that?"
"It wasn't easy to do. I had to wear the dragon down first before I could do any real damage to it. Now, enough about me. Let's get started on training. Do you remember how to activate your aura? I can show you if you need me to," I suggested.
Deacon shook his head. "I want to see if I can do it on my own first."
"Okay. That's fine too," I said, stepping back a bit.
I watched as he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. After a minute of his eyes being closed, he opened them again.
"Did I do it?" he asked.
"Well, you're definitely on the right track. You didn't activate your aura, but you did start concentrating, which it the first step."
He sighed sadly. "I guess I just can't do it, then."
I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Of course you can, Deke. At least try again one more time. I'll help you, if you want me to."
Deacon nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Think of aura as a sort of shield for you. If used efficiently, it protects you against any physical trauma. However, you only have a limited amount of aura before you run out. If that happens, you could get very hurt if an opponent attacks you again. Does that make sense?" I asked him.
"I think so," he said. "But how do I use my aura?"
"Like I said before, concentrating is a good start. You have to clear your head a bit first. Then you need to start thinking about your aura and protecting yourself. During this mental state, our bodies sense this and it activates our aura almost instantly," I explained.
Deacon stared at me. "Oh. That actually sounds kinda cool. Can I try again?"
I nodded. "Okay. Give it another shot."
He closed his eyes again. After a few minutes, I saw a flash of purple cover his entire body.
"Excellent job. You did it that time," I praised him.
Deacon smiled. "Thank you. Can I use my semblance now?"
"Shouldn't you get used to how your aura works first? You still need to learn how to deactivate it."
Deacon groaned. "Really? Can't it just stop working whenever a fight is over?"
I laughed and said, "No. I'm afraid aura doesn't work that way. But don't worry, it doesn't take much. All you need to do is relax a bit. When your body is relaxed, it feels no danger from immediate threats, so it deactivates your aura. Want to try it?"
"I could try it. I don't think it'll work, but I'll try anyway."
His eyes closed for a few seconds. Then there was a faint glow of purple over Deacon's body before it faded quickly.
"Nicely done! You got it on your first try, too. I'm impressed," I said.
He opened his eyes again. "Wait. That's it? That was so easy!"
I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"You'll get used to activating and deactivating your aura. It just takes some time to get the hand of it. It took me several months at Signal just to learn how to use my aura properly. So I'd say you're making some great progress."
Deacon was about to respond, when I heard the faint sound metal scrapping and clanking against each other. Then I heard a faint voice cry out.
I recognized that voice.
I didn't expect Qrow to be back yet, but that was his voice. I could recognize it almost instantly. And he sounded like he was in trouble.
I quickly ran into the house, Deacon was following close behind.
"Summer? What's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm getting my sword and checking something out. I think Qrow might be in trouble."
"I can help," he insisted. "I have my aura activated now. And Uncle Qrow taught me some fighting punches."
I shook my head. "No. I want you to stay here where it's safe."
Deacon stomped his hoof down in protest.
"But I want to help! I can fight too!"
"I know you can, dear. And I would take you with me in a heartbeat. But I can't risk you getting hurt... or worse. Do you understand? It's my job to keep you safe. I'll be back. Stay here and under no circumstances leave this house, okay?"
He nodded, his eyes filling up with tears.
"Please be safe," he begged.
I hugged him tightly. "I always am. You stay safe too. I'll be back as soon as I can."
With that, I took my sword and used my semblance until I got to the source of all the noise.
I saw a man in his early to mid forties holding Qrow by his neck.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" I yelled.
They both turned to me. I've never seen Qrow so frightened.
"Summer, it's not safe here. You need to run!" Qrow begged.
I stopped a few feet away from them.
"Let go of him," I snapped at the man.
He instantly let Qrow go, but just as fast, he pulled out a knife and jammed it deep into Qrow's stomach.
"NO!" I screamed.
Qrow cried out in agony as he held his bleeding abdomen.
"Summer Rose," the man said.
"What do you want?" I snapped at him.
He pointed his bloodied blade at me.
"I am known as Black Venom. Some may know me as the most powerful assassin on Remnent. But you shall know me as the one who will be taking your life tonight."
"Bring it on," I said.