The Other Daughter

Chapter 14

An obnoxious rush of wind came from out of nowhere and swept Yang's long blonde locks into her face. She sputtered, wiping away her hair and searching the space around her for Blake, who was stalking forward a few paces ahead, seemingly oblivious to her teammate's plight. Shockingly, Blake seemed to know where they were supposed to go, but there was no way she possibly could. Perhaps she just had that sort of an air about her - always calm and collected. Still, Yang noted, the girl had hardly said a word their entire trip. They must have trekked through the Emerald Forest for at least fifteen minutes by now, with no sign of any of the relics Ozpin challenged them to retrieve. In all of that time, Blake spoke only to call out the occasional Grimm trying to rip their throats out. These obstacles, while significant, weren't enough of a threat on their own to overpower the two warriors' combined strength. The frightening possibility occurred to Yang that maybe there truly weren't any relics hidden around this forest. What if it was all a wild goose chase set up to cull those who couldn't hack surviving in Grimm-infested territory from the incoming class?

That'd be pretty screwed up.

It was a screwed up idea, sure, but that kind of reckless experimentation was exactly the kind of thing she was all but convinced the Professor was capable of, given his actions so far. Hell, even the whole ploy of inviting Ruby to attend Beacon was just a roundabout way of roping in another silver eyed sheep he could bring to the slaughter.  Yang snarled up at where she believed the cliffside overlooked their location.  She stomped angrily along, leaving a series of flattened leaves in her wake as she traced the path of Blake's much lighter footsteps. She wasn't going to let anything like what happened to Summer Rose happen to Ruby, no matter what.

"Blake," she finally called out.

The raven-haired girl spun around, her catlike eyes stopping on her new teammate.

"How much further?" Yang probed. "I would've thought this forest temple place wouldn't be that hard to find."

Blake shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Yang could hardly believe her ears, and her mouth involuntarily dropped open in surprise. "What?! Seriously?"

Blake nodded. "I was just looking for places that seemed unusual. I know as much about this forest as you."

She spoke with such indifference, as if their lives hadn't been on the line this whole time. Unbelievable!

"Really? I thought you were taking us somewhere specific!"

"I never said that."

Fair, but still. Ugh!

Yang sighed. This was going to be a long day, that much was for sure. Well, no better time than to put her wilderness survival skills to the test and track down this stupid temple. She knelt low to the ground and examined the dirt closely, focusing on her singular task. Blake became little more than background noise to the primary goal of finding their destination. With any luck, she could possibly run into Ruby, as well. Wherever she was out there, Yang hoped she was okay.

*    *    *

A biting cold had set in so deeply, it almost felt one with the landscape, bringing the vibrance and motion life usually graced the lands with to a standstill. Trees stiffened and cracked with every ragged breath spewed by the chilly breeze. Long, sweeping plains saw little movement, as the local fauna elected to stay out of the harsh weather as best they could. Clouds rolled across the sky slowly, bringing with them an all-consuming shade that was so overpowering, Taiyang Xiao Long nearly forgot it was still daytime. He stood by the mailbox outside of his cozy, homely cabin, rifling through the deliveries quickly despite the dangers of freezing himself out here. His snug, baby blue robe may have been old, but it did the job of insulating him from the weather. Tai kicked one of his slippers into the dirt, making sure his foot stayed tucked safely inside, and flipped aside an envelope addressed to "R. Branwen" with a grunt of disinterest. The moment he laid eyes on the next piece of mail, however, he could only smile with a warmth that put the crackling fireplace inside to shame. His chest swelled with tension.