The Grimm Huntress

Wyverns & Wires

"How do you do this all the time?"

"A healthy balance between negative and positive emotions or just block out emotions completely. Now focus."

"You sound like my sister."

"Please never say that again."

"I still don't even know what you two are doing."

Weiss and Eclipse had cast glyphs on the table and were summoning, one more successful than the other, while Blake watched. They had finished their drinks by then and were just hanging out at the fairgrounds.

"I'm trying to summon a Beowulf." Weiss said through gritted teeth. "At least one as big as Eclipse's figurines."

"It's hard in the beginning which is why a Beowulf is the perfect place to start." Eclipse grinned.

Shadows rose from the glyph and started circling each other until they formed an actual shape, a tiny Grimm. It gave a squeaky roar and latched onto Eclipse's finger.

"Oh look, it's just as touch starved as I am." The noirette snickered.

"Huh, so do your grimm usually share a sort trait you have?" Blake asked, used to her friend's humor by now.

"Eh, usually the tiny ones are clingy but I wouldn't say I'm like that."

"Oh definitely not." Weiss said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "It's not like you cling onto me each chance you get and you totally don't have your arm around me at this very moment."

Eclipse blinked. She didn't even notice she had her arm around the small girl.

"Okay, point taken. The more normal sized ones, the ones that are the same size as in the wild I mean, are usually just able to communicate with humans better." She continued as she played with the baby Wyvern she had created. "Most people don't notice the difference but take Cerberus for example he knows how to retrieve things and how to get people's attention."

"Where did you run into a Wyvern before?" Weiss asked, ultimately giving up on summoning a Beowulf.

"Hm?" the noirettes hummed.

"You told me before that you can only summon Grimm that you've fought before so where were you that you fought a Wyvern? They're supposed to be very rare."

"Well they are. I'm still not sure how I found one and I'm lucky to be alive but I found one far out in the desolate parts of Vale. I kept myself alive long enough for my small bit of luck and Semblance to kick in and it calmed down so even though I almost died to one, Wyverns are my favorite Grimm." Eclipse explained, fondly watching the Wyvern that had been on her finger crawl around her arm.

Weiss and Blake nodded but couldn't help but wonder how something that almost killed her could be her favorite. They hadn't been paying attention to the fight on the screen until they heard the horrified gasps of the people around them. They looked up and saw what was so shocking. So horrifying.

There layed Penny her arms cut off along with her torso but the shocking part was she wasn't bleeding because Penny wasn't exactly human. She was human in heart and in mind but not in body.

Penny Polendina was a robot.

Penny Polendina was dead.

"Oh my gosh." Weiss covered her mouth in shock.

"What happen-"

"This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both.