- - -
Weiss walked out to the stables. It was a familiar path to her by now, something she couldn't have imagined months ago. Going down to see a man working hard. Talking to this man. Even... Being friends with this man.
Said man was hard at work, holding one of Orleans' legs up under his armpit. He scraped away at her hoof with a knife, shaving away curls of keratin. Orleans was nickering softly, then snorted.
"There there, just stay calm girl," Jaune said gently, "Easy, easy..."
Orleans resumed nickering quietly. Jaune then looked up and smiled at Weiss.
"Howdy, Weiss!"
"Hello Jaune," Weiss greeted him warmly. "Am I bothering you?"
"No, just getting some work done," Jaune said. He reached down and picked up a horseshoe. He pressed it to Orlean's hoof, then grabbed a hammer. He pulled some nails out of his shirt pocket, and began hammering them into the keratin. Orleans nickered a bit, as Weiss watched in fascination.
"It doesn't hurt her, does it?"
Orleans snorted, shooting Weiss what could almost be considered a scowl. Jaune chuckled.
"No," Jaune said with a smile, "her hooves are like big fingernails. And her Aura protects her, too."
"Then why the horseshoes?" Weiss asked, walking a bit closer as she tilted her head.
"Same reason we wear shoes, even with Aura," Jaune said, finishing pounding the nails in. He patted Orleans' hoof, and let her go. Orleans trotted off around the paddock, as though showing off. She probably was, the vain primadonna.
"There we go," Jaune said with a smile and nod, "Better, right?"
Orleans whinnied happily, and went off to drink from the water trough. Jaune looked to Weiss with a smile.
"So, what brings you out here Weiss?" He asked.
"I was assigned an extra history project and I was hoping you could help me?" Weiss asked. Jaune blinked.
"Well... If I can, I will. I ain't too sure how much help I'll be, Weiss."
"Well... It's about the nomadic tribes of Vale," Weiss said, "You've met a few, haven't you?"
Jaune frowned thoughtfully, then nodded.
"I have. Some dealings, good and bad," he admitted, "Wouldn't the CCTnet be better for that though?"
"I think a personal touch would be a lot better," Weiss said, "Besides... You tell Ruby plenty of stories."
"I just..." Jaune colored, "I uh... I think Nora's a better storyteller myself."
Weiss smiled warmly. She leaned against the fence.
"Please?" She asked. Jaune shrugged and looked out at the valley beyond.
"Well... They live like most folks, I expect. They move around a lot between fortresses when the weather changes, or go from settlement to settlement following herds of bison, deer and the like."
"Why do they want to live like that?" Weiss asked curiously. "Why not just settle down?"
Jaune shrugged. He rested his hand on the fence, and rested his other hand on his gunbelt.
"Cause their fathers and their fathers before their fathers did it. Plenty of their people are more settled, or civilized. Plenty more don't trust the kingdoms to protect them. Ain't too different from the settlers on the frontier, I suspect: They wanna make their own way."
"Are they dangerous? Like in the old movies?" Weiss pressed. Jaune shrugged.
"They can be. Most, you treat fairly with 'em, they'll treat you fair back. Plenty took to the Church of the Broken Table and are as devout as the Archpriest down in the Holy City." He shrugged. "Some are bandits, preying on anyone weaker than them. They stick to their warrior ways, think that attacking defenseless settlers or travelers makes 'em strong." He snorted. "Never saw no bandit pick a fight with someone stronger than them. Always after easy pickings."
"You hate bandits?" Weiss asked quietly. Jaune sucked in a breath through his nostrils, and let it out as a snort like his horse.
"I try not to, Weiss," Jaune stated firmly, "I really try. It ain't easy."
Weiss held her hands together.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Jaune shook his head.
"Ain't nothing to be sorry for... You wanted something specific? I dealt a lot with the Rhiannon Tribe. Joseph, King is their leader."
"You mean King Joseph," Weiss corrected. Jaune shook his head.
"No, they always place 'King' after," he said, "Quirk of the language, I believe. He's a crazy old coot, but he deals fairly. Tries to keep his braves from going the bandit route. It never goes well when they do that. Many tribes have been wiped out for trying to relive their glory days."
"All of them?" Weiss gasped. Jaune slowly nodded.
"If they don't surrender? Yes."
"It seems cruel," Weiss murmured. Jaune sucked in a breath.
"It is. Least they get a quick death by the Rangers. They don't extend the same courtesy to their victims," he gritted out, "Or their captives."
Weiss stared at him. She wet her lips. She didn't know why, but...
"You've... Fought them?"
"Once? They attacked us," Jaune said grimly, "Fought them off. Two other times, Mister Duke helped out some Rangers in their assaults on Bandit camps. They were called the Cruálach. They raided settlements. Took everyone who couldn't fight as captives."
Weiss covered her mouth. Jaune kept going, his eyes locked onto the mountain range.
"We tracked them down to their camp. Old ruins from before the Moonbreak, I was told. A great city, whose name is lost to history. The Crualach kept their camp in one of the ancient buildings, like an old coliseum."
He paused, his eyes hardening.
"The captive men? They skinned them alive. Hung their bones as trophies, their skin as banners. The women and children...?" He slowly shook his head. "They were..."
He couldn't continue. He looked down at the ground, his fists clenched tightly. Weiss clutched her hands together, unsure of how to help him. Extending physical comfort wasn't something she was familiar with.
"God... How could such people live around Grimm?"
Jaune snorted.
"They keep moving, like I said. They hide. They use their killing skills on Grimm..." He shook his head, his eyes distant.
"Grimm are monsters... But they ain't cruel or sadistic. They just do what their instincts or whatever tell them to do. Humans and Faunus? Well... Sometimes I wonder if we used monster too hastily for the Grimm..."
Weiss frowned.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I-I didn't mean to..."
Jaune shook his head, his face stony.
"The world's a cruel place, Weiss. But it's also a wonderful one. Besides, I reckon everyone's got pain in their past."
Weiss sucked in a breath. She debated internally, between her instinct and her feelings. She then took a deep breath.
"I... My father wouldn't let me attend Beacon unless I fought an Armored Geist and defeated it," she said. "He watched... Shouting at me to give up. To just accept his orders, his rules. I got this scar," she touched her eye scar, "From it. I managed to defeat it, with next to no Aura left... And he just snorted. Didn't say a thing."
She shook her head.
"I'm sorry. That's nothing compared to-"
"Everyone's got pain in their past," Jaune stated firmly, "It ain't a contest. We're all different." He slowly shook his head back.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Weiss. I know it ain't easy."
"No," Weiss said with a smile, "But I'm... I'm glad I got this scar. It means I got to be here. And meet all of my friends."
Jaune smiled warmly back.
"Well... That's how I feel too, Weiss."
They were staring into eachother's eyes. Weiss again licked her lips.
"Tell me," she began, "Um... How do the men and women of the Rhiannon Tribe express affection for eachother?"
STUPID! Her brain shouted at her. It was getting to be too much, too fast. She was at war with herself.
Jaune chuckled.
"Well... A brave goes and kills a deer. He then brings it to her with flowers and presents it to her. He then says 'I will provide for you, and your table will never be empty as long as we are together.'"
Weiss laughed.
"Really?"
Jaune shrugged.
"Well! It seems to work for them. Of course, now the brave has to keep that up. Can be awful hard on a man if his wife has expensive tastes."
"I-I imagine you wouldn't have any trouble with that," Weiss stuttered. Jaune's cheeks turned red.
"Uh, well... ACK!"
Orleans then grabbed Jaune by the poncho and yanked him up. She then tossed her water trough up into the air, drenching Weiss with water.
"ACK! HEY!" Weiss cried.
"ORLEANS! WHAT IN TARNATION?!" Jaune demanded.
Orleans then stomped on her hooves and neighed angrily. Jaune scowled at her.
"What the hell do you mean your horseshoes are crooked?! You complain about this now?"
Orleans squealed angrily. Jaune groaned and looked back at Weiss.
"Sorry Weiss, I gotta handle this," he sighed. "I'm sorry about the water-"
Weiss scowled.
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Weiss stated icily, glaring at Orleans, "I'll go and change."
"Yes ma'am," Jaune said, a bit pale. She softened her expression for him.
"Thank you Jaune. See you later," she said with a nod. She swore Orleans shot her a smug look as she departed.
"I'm beginning to see why Pyrrha is so aggravated by that horse," she muttered.
- - -
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