It has been two days since the Aragon family took me in. Apart from the crazy people who lead the family, probably a Vacuan thing to call it a family and not a village or tribe, that sounds more accurate. But I'm getting off topic, the rest are pretty normal, if not too normal. Most of them can't fight, aside from the two "official" day guards.
Another thing I found odd was their sleeping schedule, they slept all throughout the noon, only waking as the sun dawned and rested when the soon nearly reached midday. From what Talc told me, it's because the heat becomes too overwhelming for any normal person to simply walk under.
Or in other words, not only would it be dangerous but it also wastes a lot of water and food. Which does make sense, after all the Aragon family is a traveling one. Though Talc did say that settlements closer to the capital either never move or only do it during peak Grimm migrations.
Though that works out perfectly for me, thanks to my Aura training I can handle the climate a little better though I do eventually need to find shade myself. But that still gives a good give or take six hours to train on my own, it's mostly Aura training.
Though I haven't made much progress at all, I still am nowhere near close to making an Aura cloak like Talc's, hell I couldn't even stop my Aura from exploding. But I did learn from it.
Usually when I circulate my Aura and it explodes, it drains a quarter of my Aura but if I circulate it faster, it drains more but it has a bigger boom to it and if I circulate it slower, the Aura drain is proportionally lower.
Where was I going with this again?
Right!
"Listen, it may be all the sand but can you pass that by me one more time?" I ran my hand through my shaggy hair, I'm due a haircut. With a sigh, I looked around the sand igloo as I sat near the middle with my legs crossed. It's the most sturdy building I've seen in the Aragon family, though it also just looks like a sandcastle from the outside.
"What do ya think is?" Talc looked bored, almost sleepy as he repeated himself. Resting his head on his hand as he gave me clear pointed looks as if it's my fault. Which it is, I've already asked him to repeat himself three times but how do I even answer that?
So I went with the truth.
"I don't know, some super energy that makes my body very strong and fast. Oh and it can apparently make that barrier- er, what did you call it again? A cloak? Yeah that, why are you even asking?" I leaned my head back as I continued to think about Aura and what I knew of it, which was admittedly very little.
Surprise surprise, gah. If only I paid more attention…
"Why? Well, how am I supposed ta teach ya Aura? If I don't know how much I can outa reteach ya. After all, Aura is by definition a mystery that humanity can never solve. But they have some interesting theories, one of which is commonly accepted as the most true; Aura is the manifestation of the soul." Talc had a train look in his eyes, his mouth twitched as if he was trying very hard not to smile.
"Yeah, I want to know how important that but I haven't even started middle school yet." I scratched the back of my head as I had the straightest face I could muster. It seemed to work as he did pause.
"You can't count?" he blurted out after a few seconds of just staring too long for comfort. He gave me a wide eyed look with a sour look on his face.
"What? Of course I can count! I'm not five!" I slapped my hands on the sand, I was so close to punching him across his smug face.
"Hey, hey. I can't be too sure with you." the bastard looked me up and down before quirking an eyebrow.
"Well, let me continue. Although it is believed that Aura comes from the soul, there's something people don't get. We control Aura not because it's our soul but through our will. So if yar will is weak, then it doesn't matter how much Aura ya have, yall never have to power to use it's full power." he paused, as if wanting what he said to sink in before leaning closer. "Now, what drives ya?"
"Hold on, hold on. What do you mean our will controls our Aura?"
"Ya don't get it? Yar will moves and shapes who ya are, such shaping the soul. Aura is the soul's expression and we control that expression with our will." He tapped my head sharp enough to cause my neck to strain as I resisted the force. "What drives you?"
"I- I want to be a huntsman." I hesitated, a weird feeling gripped at my chest. It made my breathing laboured even my eyes burned but I pushed through, this is my truth.
"A huntsman? What's a huntsman to you kiddo?" it was the only natural question, but…
I couldn't answer.
"Everyday people die to the Grimm, families are torn apart and children are left orphaned. I want to stop that." Silence, Talc looked at me with an unreadable expression.
"Yar quite ambitious for a kid." Talc eventually said after a long while, leaning back as the silence took hold again.
"Enough of this crap, what do you really want?" I snapped at him, my knuckles turned white as I clenched my hand.
"Well, ya only be strong when ya can answer that question but this is enough for ya then imma have ta teach ya how ta actually use yar Aura. that throwing it around shit wont do." he tapped my heart as he said it which probably meant something, I just didn't know what.
"Now kiddo, what do ya see when you want to use yar Aura."
"Uhh, well. I guess I think of a burning sun inside me, sometimes I think about it as water too er-, flowing water, a river? The water part when I use it, the sun part when I just let it be." My words were very disjointed and made little sense, even to me. But Talc seemed to nod along as if he completely understood which felt bazaar.
"Well, that's at least unique. Most people I've met think of it as opening a door but it might be due to how much Aura is jam packed in ya body. Interesting." I felt a shiver run down my back as Talc's eyes gleamed, no. glowed, it was as if he was seeing through me. It felt very weird.
Clap!
"That's great, I know where to start with ya now!" Talc started, his voice very boisterous as his smile turned wicked. "I'll teach ya how to control yar Aura. then we adapt your body, but only after ya know how to actually control yar Aura, now turn around."
"Uhh, what are you doing? Get away, you crazy bastard." spring up, I tried to get away from the crazed man. I didn't have enough time to activate my Aura, he caught me in no time.
I learned many things that day; Talc's semblance being one of them and that a stronger will could hijack control over your Aura. oh, also practicing Aura is very painful.
"aaaaahhhhhh!"
"Stretch your soul, power ya will!"
This is Vacuo and it was utterly crazy.
***
Time passed, days soon became weeks yet strangely enough you could hardly tell the seasons apart in Vacuo. Talc was quite a harsh teacher, I nearly thought I was going to die of exhaustion though I have barely anything to show for it.
My Aura is faster, yes, but I am no where close to making a cloak like Talc's. Talc did have me do something different today though, I just hope can help me with my Aura.
"Ha…"
"Ha…"
"How do you expect anyone to do this?" I tried to yell between gasps for air but with how dry my throat was and how tired I felt. It could not have been anything higher than a whisper yet Talc heard it all the same.
"Oh, come on now, this is just some basic strength training for ya." Talc chuckled as he ran besides me, although seeing that he was also sweating did make me smile. At least I wasn't suffering alone, but seriously, sprinting around the perimeter of the camp for hours is exhausting.
Stomp!
"Are these things really necessary?" I could actively feel every muscle in my shoulders as I kept them even to the ground with massive mounds of sand sticking to my arms. It looks like I dunked my hands to the elbow into sand and it just hardened around it.
"Well, kiddo. Most kids yar age are stupid, they think that just making themselves strong with Aura is all the strength training they need but they all seem to forget one thing. Aura doesn't make strength, it merely amplifies what's already there; strength, speed, stamina, endurance, hell even healing. All these aspects of you are enhanced when you use Aura on them. So, the stronger you are naturally, the less Aura you have to use to enhance yourself to keep up or you could overpower the naȉve brats." how he said that all in a single breath was beyond me, but it made sense. Turning away from him, I looked back towards, well, the sand.
"To become strong, I have to do what others won't, huh." so this is my path, not that it's been very conventional before, I was off pretending to be a huntsman in remote villages. But I would constantly be on the back foot.
"Ugh!" my body strained as my knee nearly gave out under all the weight resting on it, I grit my teeth and pushed through, even as I trickled Aura to heal and strengthen my leg, I probably tore something in my knee.
"At least ya get what's up. I'm here to make ya actually strong, not prepare ya for some huntsman school. It's out here in the desert where real huntsmen are made. Ya just have to keep yar will alive, and in no time yall be strong enough to fight men." I nearly rolled my eyes if what he was saying didn't sound so damn good. Damn it, I'm a sucker for approval even if it's from a tyrannical teacher like Talc.
Shaking my head free of my thoughts, even as the pain ravaged my body and I do mean ravaged. If I wasn't so proficient in Aura Healing, I would've collapsed hours ago hell had I tried running for as long as I am now even three months ago I would've collapsed in exhaustion but Talc taught me this cool technique which takes up a ridiculous amount of Aura that I dubbed Advanced Aura Healing, it even allows me to refresh the mental exhaustion in my brain.
Neat.
"Go for a few more hours then stretch it out and do whatever ya do in yar day." Talc enhanced his voice with Aura as he slowed his run to a walk before eventually stopping. Huh, I didn't know Aura could do that but I guess it makes sense given what Talc told me, Aura enhances what you focus it into.
"Damn it, I don't want to say it but Talc is pretty smart." I grumbled, this training I'm doing is as much for my body as for my body as for my Aura control. Of course, the body training is obvious to even a child but the Aura training comes from supplying the sand cuffs? With enough Aura that they maintain their shape and you know don't just do as sand does and roll off my arms.
It's so stupid and ingenious, gah!
cough!
I heaved a handful of sand as thankfully my eyes were spared the sand, thank you Aura. honestly, my mouth was so dry I think letting it bleed would just feel so good right now. I'd drink anything at this point…
Almost anything.
Steadying my breath again, I let my head sway softly, seeing if that would bring my vision back into focus, no luck.
"Why does this place have so many tiny hills?" groaning to myself, I could feel my quads burn and wobble violently, I think I could boil some molecrab on legs.
Mmm, mole crabs.
I had a pleasant dream, all the water and molecrab, any man, boy? Could ever ask for, yum.
***
"You know Talc, the kid's only as useful as he is alive." Opal sighed as she eyed Jaune, a little peeved that Talc thought to just drop the sweaty boy on HER carpet. It's one of her only reprieves from all the sand. Now don't get Opal wrong, she doesn't particularly care about the sand, it's just the principle of the matter that can't be ignored, plus it's a really soft carpet.
"Yeah, yeah. Can ya not haggle me about it, I was just testing the boy. He's an odd case after all, it's so strange how his body is jam packed with Aura-" she lost interest in hearing her brother out, he's always been an odd ball.
Always going on and on about Aura as if the stuff was water at noon. A quick mental image and soon the sand shifted and built her a chair, throne, to sit on. It wasn't comfortable, lacking the softness that whatever those cushions were made out of but it'll do for her.
At least now she doesn't have to deal with Talc's incessant Aura lectures, now that he has a student who he can ramble to. Honestly, this might be Talc's one and only great idea.
Such thoughts brought a chuckle out of her, her brother? Good ideas? She could only shake her head at the ridiculous and rather treacherous thought.
Let it be known that she was the smart one of the two and it wasn't even a competition.
"Spare me the details, will you? Is the kid ready? You know, with you spending all your time training him, we haven't been hunting as much, we're running a little too low for comfort on food and with winter approaching, it's only a matter of time before we're forced to hunker down." She inspected her nails, digging out any sand she could find in them. That kid better be worth all this effort…
"Yeah, the kid's pretty smart. I'd say he has quite the talent, I don't think I could've learned the Aura techniques as fast as he did if it wasn't for my semblance. I'll get him tested soon, with his baseline down. I think I can start teaching him some practical stuff" Talc once again starting running his mouth as if he just didn't need to breath, he didn't even answer my damn question. Just kept praising the kid, she let out a sigh as she just dropped the Talc, turning her gaze to their third team member.
Oh, just how long has it been since she left shade? Huh, she couldn't quite remember, food for thought.
"Culate, how much longer until we move again?" Opal grabbed a handful of sand and started playing with it, making it into a warrior and then a Grimm, making them have a small battle which she of course won, she always does.
"2 more day, any more and we risk attracting too many Grimm, tch. Grimm migrations from the north have been on the rise recently. It's been making hunting hard, they keep scaring all the animals." Culate grumbled as he sat hunched over a map, it was a crude map. Obvious in that it was made by Culate himself given the neat handwriting. After all, the only ones who could read and write were those three given their attendance at Shade.
Not that Talc ever used either of these invaluable skills, in Opal's opinion, he was just too dull. Far too focused on the wrong thing, he acted like whose mad scientists that, oh who was it again that told her of that stupid book? Theo? Theo-something.
"After we find a place to settle at, could either of you talk to Shale, that old bat has been forgetting more and more. I don't want a repeat of last time, that was a lot of precious good meat we lost because she left it out in the sun." Culate muttered, though he knew that Talc could hear him, now where Talc would do anything is anyone's guess.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll give him a talking. Anyways, where we headed, Mica?" Talc asked, already feeling exhausted as it is, moving around for too long has tuckered him out. Doesn't help that the kiddo is just so youthful in strength.
"Yes, it's pretty close by and I have had Sard safe guard some trinkets. Plus, we did save them a while back so they might even give us a discount when we barter." A hopeful crossed Culate's rigid face, Talc could understand why, Culate was born and raised in Mica before meeting him and Opla in Shade.
Glancing at Opal, she seemed quite alert.
Not that Talc could blame her, the thought of getting to sleep in a bed, well it was frankly like a dream come true.
***
I blinked rapidly as I felt my face scourge up a bit before a yawn escaped me. Looking out into the barren sand with the ever shifting sand the crimson hues of the sky truly made it quite picturesque, it felt almost like a movie. Wiping my face I turned towards the man who is to blame for my exhaustion.
"Why did you bring me here?" there may or may not have been some bite in my voice but screw off, I was having a very delicious dream over some molecrab burgers that I would rather still be in.
Talc cackled as he looked at me then cackled again before shakily taping the side of his temple as he continued to laugh, why is doing that- oh.
I huffed as I looked away, my exhaustion ebbing off me as I refreshed my brain with my Aura.
"I don't want to talk about it." That seemed to be the final nail in the coffin as he boisterously laughed, given that it was early morning, people were trying to sleep and as always, Talc was not helping.
"Okay kiddo, I needed that. Well, yar quite in luck cuz today I'm going to be needing ya at yar best. Get ready for your test." the vicious man smirked as he started sprinting, I only had a few seconds before realization dawned on me.
Boom!
"Gah! Damn it Talc, what damn test!?" this bastard, where did he ever learn to teach? Did he even know how to teach in the first place?
Huh, it was surprisingly far easier to keep up, even though I knew I was going at frightening speeds even for me. Well, I guess if there's one thing you can rely on Talc for it's anything Aura.
Sigh.
I could almost hear a mini-Talc in my ear, whispering to me that very lesson. "Well, as you've probably gathered, the reason your Aura is exploding when yar trying to make a cloak is because yar concentrating it in the wrong place. After hundreds of years, humanity has come up with a few very reliable methods of expanding your Aura around you." he stopped to tap my heart again. "Yar concentrating yar Aura around and its all rushing out at once because that's how yar directing it. If ya want control, ya need to let it pass though yar core, which is yar heart. Once in there, yar natural heart beat will send it out in its rhythm in a controlled and very natural fashion. Lose the heart and well ya die but ya also lose the ability to make an Aura cloak if ya survive."
"Gah, I nearly forgot just how much he talks, although it's a little strange that he has an accent while no else in the Aragon family seems to, strange." Refocusing, I saw that Talc stopped moving at the peak of a hill. Within a single leap I was next to him, looking down to see some…
Molecrabs.
"Seriously?"
"Yep, ya just need to hunt them all."
"It's that like a lot?" I have him a side eye, for a test this was darn brutal especially if what raven told me was true.
With a huff, I was off. Okay, focus, there's at least more then 50; 13 massive ones that are bigger then even the circus tent, 25 big one that are the sigh of a bullhead, and 14 small ones that seem only a little taller then me. That's…
Manageable right?
Yet as I neared them, my hand clamped around my mouth,
"Hrrk!"
This horrendous stench, what the hell? Do Molecrabs smell like this when they're alive?
Wait a minute.
"Talc that absolute bastard." he made this test because, because gah!
"That lazy bastard."
No matter I'll simply take then down and then-
I felt the ground under me shift.
"One day, just one day where I don't have to deal with so much crap, is that too much?"
The sand around me exploded as a cacophony of screeching resonated through the sand dunes.