Destiny No More

Chapter 10

Pyrrha grit her teeth against the pain, much as she had for the last few hours, forcing herself to push onward in spite of how her body demanded that she stop. Their pace was already noticeably slower than what was preferable, Qrow having kept a slow but steady pace since they had begun, but she found herself struggling to not fall behind.

Qrow had been watching her, despite the fact that he was ahead of her, closely since she had woken up. Whatever relationship Amber had with him, there was an irrefutable history.

Unfortunately, she couldn't tell if it was good or bad. For all she knew they had been intimate. Pyrrha felt uneasy at the thought. Not because of Qrow, he seemed nice enough with a few rough edges, but more the prospect that she might be forced to live a life that wasn't her own.

Was Amber a good person, or was she despised? Pyrrha couldn't say, and the idea of her friends coming to hate her because of a checkered past she had nothing to do with hurt her greatly.

Shaking her head, Pyrrha pushed the thoughts aside and focused on moving forward. She would get answers later, talk with the Headmaster and warn him of what was to come.

Her unease remained, despite her best efforts.

"Shit." Qrow had stopped ahead of her, eyes transfixed on something in the distance. It didn't take her long to guess what. A plume of black smoke was easily visible against the clouded sky.

Qrow looked back to her. "Think you could run a bit?"

No, she didn't. Her legs were sore and she felt nauseated just from standing, but that didn't stop her from nodding and forcing herself to run after him. She managed to keep up, just barely, arriving at the source of the smoke in only a few minutes.

Pyrrha felt her stomach churn and she nearly threw up. The road led directly into a set of high walls, and the smoldering remains of a small village.

Qrow withdrew his weapon, sparing a glance at her before stepping into the town. After composing herself as best she could, Pyrrha followed.

The first thing she noticed, other than the obvious destruction, was the silence. The only sound that could be heard was the wind rushing through the nearby trees and their own footsteps.

"Looks pretty recent. I'm going to have a look around, see if I can find any survivors. You stay here and... I don't know, make some noise if any Grimm start to creep around." Despite how much Pyrrha wanted to help, she knew she wasn't in any shape to fight. She nodded and Qrow set off down a side path that seemed to lead into a small marketplace of some kind. Leaving Pyrrha to observe her surroundings.

The village wasn't large by any means, only a few dozen buildings clumped together to fit inside the walls, but it was larger than some she had seen in her travels from Argus to Mistral. The further away form the major cities you got, the smaller and more isolated civilization became.

This town had done well for itself, clearly having sprung up around the road to give it access to travelers and easier supply chains. The walls were strong, solid concrete that would be able to stop or hold back small groups of Grimm with relative ease while those on top could pick them off one by one.

It wouldn't do much for larger hordes, but the mountains she could see in the distance would have kept too many from gathering together at once. It could still have fallen victim to a Grimm incursion, but as far as frontier settlements went, it was well defended.

It was also eerily familiar to her. Pyrrha spotted something behind one of the houses, a bright flower that contrasted the gloomy atmosphere around it. Stepping towards it and away from the road, she spotted what appeared to be a small garden.