(A/N: Planning to go 5 for 5 this week. In other words I want to post once a day for the whole week. More on my exact reasoning at the end of the chapter for those curious, just remember, that's a plan not a promise.)
XOXO
"This is rigged."
"Come on little lady, don't go saying that. You've still got three tries so just give it your all and I'm sure you'll win."
I hummed a small tune to myself, picking off a piece of the multicolored ball of fluff in my hands and popping it into mouth. Ah, cotton candy. Like video games, it was another thing in common with my old life. And much like my old life I couldn't say I really liked it. The rough texture always felt weird in my hands and the smell was iffy at times depending on the brand but the way the sugary taste melted into my tongue kind of redeemed it.
It was good carnival food but definitely not something I'd want all that often. Chocolate was way better.
Taking a step back, Winter pulled back an arm, stepped forward, and chucked the small baseball styled ball she held. She missed her target, the ball flying wide and falling into the ball pit built around the game. She took another breath, tracking the moving targets before throwing another and missing yet again.
"This is definitely rigged." She complained, last ball nervously held in her hands.
"Tally." Summer tapped my shoulder, looking down at me with a raised eyebrow. I sighed. "Hey Winter, Tally here said he'll throw the last one for you."
Winter turned away from the stand they were all gathered in front of, looking at me. "Really? But I think this guy is cheating."
"Doesn't matter. This little guy right here is going to be a partner in crime when he becomes a huntsman. He's got this in the bag."
Before I could step up and take the ball, a hand landed on my shoulder. "I'll hold your food." Raven said. She'd finally reached the end of her rope with Yang, having pawned her to Tai so she could walk around hands free.
I'd yet to see her buy any snacks for herself though.
"Don't eat my stuff." I said. She stared down at me and I could've sworn, despite my Sharingan not being active, I saw the corner of her lips twitching. I'd be lucky if half my snacks were left. Holding back another sigh, I handed up my cotton candy and all the other snacks I'd been collecting before stepping forward and taking the ball Winter held up.
This stand, like all the others that filled the bustling repurposed field beside the distant arena, acted as a form of in between match entertainment. Several moving bullseye targets set up and running along the rails of a cheap looking set up with faded artwork around it. There were lone targets and others clumped together, the latter just begging to be hit in order to get as many of the plushies and dolls lined up in the back of the stand.
Nothing I wanted.
"A little huntsman in training? I'm sure you've got this." The balding man on the other side of the counter beside it said, amused condescension behind the words.
I guess it wouldn't hurt to get us both something though.
"I get a prize for every target I hit, right?"
"That's how it works kid, but you do know you only have one-"
I shifted forward, chucking the ball before the man could blink. I hit two of the clumped up targets, the ball bouncing back and ricocheting off the counter between us, another two targets hit before the ball fell into the pit with the others. All before the man could press any of the hidden buttons he had that effected the targets speed either subtly slowing or speeding them up.
"That's four." I said. Enough to get Yang, Weiss, Winter, and I guess myself one of the prizes.
"That's my boy." Tai said, Yang cheering alongside him.
"Huh, you really are a little huntsman in the making." The owner of the stand said with a chuckle after shaking off his surprise. "Four prizes coming right up." The small identical brown dolls grabbed off the back shelf, he placed them across the counter in front of me. I picked two up by the arms, dangling them in front of my face.
Maybe I could use mine to create my opportunity.
"How'd you do that?" Winter eagerly questioned as I turned around, face practically thrown into mine. "I couldn't hit them at all."
"Just got to practice." I said. I'd taken Raven's advice to heart, making sure I could replicate everything I could do with my Sharingan beyond just aura manipulation. I'd never be as good as I am with it, but it could only prove beneficial to go out of my way to do all that extra training. "You and Weiss can have the other two."
I slipped around her, tossing the extra bear up to Tai.
"Come on, that was your chance to be friendly not mysterious." Summer chided me as she kneeled down to my level. Right, we had very different priorities. She might've been right about Winter being more mature than others our age, not truly giving me any trouble while we've been stuck together, but I still had no interest in doing much talking with a kid. A single look with my Sharingan and I could tell her aura wasn't unlocked so there was no chance of coaxing her semblance out of her.
Summer ruffled my hair, grinning despite my apparent failure. "But good job getting something for everyone. You always make me so proud."
I hummed, smiling slightly. That smile fell the moment I looked at Raven and her emptied hands, her face as serious as ever.
"Really?" I questioned
"Should've eaten it all while you had the chance."
"Come on, Raven. That's childish." Summer said, turning her chiding on Raven.
Raven raised a brow. "Don't act like you didn't have any."
"Whaaaaa, pfft, don't listen to this lady. She's talking crazy. I would never betray you like that." Summer, very unconvincingly, tried to reassured me of her loyalty. The crumbs around her mouth didn't help her case at all.
I shook my head.
Why am I even surprised? The greedy ass woman I called mother was probably plotting on my food from the very beginning.
XOXO
With the Vytal Festival being a Remnant wide day of celebration and a several day event there were all sorts of amenities set up throughout the city that wouldn't normally be present. Among all of them, rest areas were pretty common, all with the things I expected. Vending machines, sitting areas, nearby bathrooms.
The one we were at was pretty far from the actual tournament and with the next round soon to start there weren't too many people around. Being closer to the actual city area, a nearby building had been repurposed into bathrooms, Summer, Raven, Yang, Winter, and Tai all within them.
Qrow and I sat at one of the curved metal tables, Willow and Weiss at another table.
It'd become pretty clear that while she was friends with Summer, that didn't quite go for everyone else. Polite conversation and small talk cropped up here and there but nothing like the conversations she had with Summer.
I was little curious about the story there, only hearing mentions about a mission in Atlas, but this wasn't the time to worry about it. Now was the time to shoot my shot or miss out on this chance for the next decade at least.
Dropping myself off my seat, teddy bear in hand, I headed over to them.
"Miss Willow?"
She turned to me, smiling as she shifted Weiss around in her arms. "Just Willow is fine. Did you need something?"
"I wanted to see if you wanted to trade for this?" I said, raising the small bear between us.
"Hmmm, I'm not sure I have anything you'd want."
"Well-" I lowered my voice while tilting my head. "-I might be wrong but you are a Schnee, right?"
Willow's smile was joined by a thin brow rising up. "And why would you ask that?"
"I read about them in some of the books my dad keeps in his office. They're all supposed to have white hair, blue eyes, and are from Atlas. That's where Summer met you, right?" I asked. I had to go the vague route and avoid any specifics to be sure things went smoothly. It helped that all that was actually true, the hereditary nature of their semblance landing them at least a mention in many books on aura.
"My, Summer wasn't lying about how smart you are." Willow said after a glance around. "Maybe I am but I'm still not sure there's anything I can give you for that."
"The books also say you guys are all special and share the same semblance." I said. Holding the doll up to her I kept pushing. "Can I see it if I give you this?"
Innocent enough, right? A child known for keeping his nose in books and spending far more time training than doing something like playing around with toys giving up some doll he won for the chance to see a semblance talked about in textbooks? The perfect cover that wouldn't raise any questions.
Willow, after another look around, took the offered doll, smile now filled with amusement. "How can I say no to that?" She said while adjusting Weiss into a one handed hold, the other held out for me.
A tingle danced behind my eyes, her light blue aura, a near perfect match for the dormant aura in both her daughters, now visible to me. It traveled down her arm, a white spinning sigil forming over her palm. As its clock like spin slowed it gained a lighter blue tint.
A chibified beowolf rose out of the sigil with a muted howl, sharing the same coloring of the sigil it rose from.
"Awesome." I muttered. Glynda's telekinesis and now this?
"I'm glad you think so." Willow said, her smile a bit wider. She raised her hand closer to me and the beowolf jumped, landing on my shoulder. Light as a feather and cold enough for goosebumps to spread across my skin, it harmlessly seated itself there. It released another high pitched howl before dissipating into flakes of the light energy. She'd made what Weiss struggled towards in the show look effortless. "I assume you won't go around telling anyone who you think I am?"
"Yes ma'am." I said, grinning as I turned away.
I couldn't wait to get home and try it out for myself, the rest of the Vytal festival be damned.
XOXO
(A/N: Talon really does veer more on the cautious side. Like the binoculars thing and coming up with a whole plan just to ask Willow about her semblance. Either way, he did manage to get eyes on her semblance early on in life which should only be beneficial.
Anyways I want to become a better writer. I know some of you will say that doesn't mean rushing out chapters and I should take my time to maintain quality and while I appreciate that, truly I do, my ideal writer is one who can put out quality content efficiently. I still can't get over the fact anyone would give me money for something I'm doing, big thanks to everyone on patreon, but based off that I can confidently say efficiency is my weakness rather than quality. And naturally, if I don't challenge myself I can't become better at this.
So, while I won't promise anything and force myself to publish subpar stuff if I can't manage it, I at least wanted to share my mindset going forward. In the ideal world I'm good enough to write two stories side by side like I initially planned when I started posting here. I think we can all agree that we'd prefer an efficient and quality writer over a quality writer we can never be sure is going to update. I already got a ton of stories in the library of my reading account that I'm just staring at wishing for an update.
Wish me luck.
For those who want to read ahead:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
See you all in the next one which should hopefully be out tomorrow.)