Patterns [RWBY X DEMON SLAYER]

And so it Begins...

"How are you not cold?" Qrow shivered despite his layered clothing. Bell stretched as he shouldered a large bag on his bare shoulders "You just gotta know how to breathe right."

Qrow checked his scroll "A team of huntsmen went missing in the mountains of Atlas. I was told to check it out."

They both trudged through the cold winds as they spoke. "Why can't Atlas deal with this themselves?" Bell asked. "Right now the Atlas military is stretched thin dealing with The White Fang, the group has just recently gotten their footing and are increasing attacks on supply routes. They need people more people on guard. So this job is perfect for an outside hire."

The duo continued walking for what felt like hours, tracking the last know location of the distress signal. They finally came to a stop at an empty clearing "This is it, the signal stopped here. Looks like a dead end to our search, especially with the constant snow. Any tracks would surely be covered in days if not hours." Qrow sighed.

Wordlessly, Bell dropped his swords and crouched down, his arms shooting out to his sides as he closed his eyes. "Uh, Bell? What are you doing?" said teen ignored Qrow.

"Spatial Awareness." he softly spoke.

Utilizing all of his senses he scanned the area like a radar, looking for any movement or odd shapes.

"Come on. Search."

Any disturbances in the air, any vibrations in the ground, he strained all his senses to their limit. His eyes snapped open. Movement. Human-shaped.

"Some distance ahead there's a cave, there are people inside." Bell snatched up his dropped swords. Qrow was stunned "What the hell was that? You don't have aura or a semblance, as much as it pains me." he said that last part quietly. "Breathing. A useful skill my master taught me." Bell beamed with a goofy smile.

"Your nose is bleeding." Qrow pointed at the trail of red that was slowly making its way to the boy's mouth. "I'm fine. Just took longer than I thought." he quickly wiped it off with his arm.

Just as Bell has said they came to a open cave, albeit a mound of snow almost completely covering the entrance. Both of the skilled fighters cleared the snow with ease. They were basked in darkness soon after, Qrow fished a flashlight out of the pack Bell was carrying. The cave wasn't a cave at all, but instead an abandoned mine shaft. The walls were lined with lightbulbs, all shut off. Both moved together with caution.

Gunfire rang through the air, they froze. Both of them broke off into a sprint towards the sound. They raced around corners before coming to an opening a underground cave filled with dust crystals and mining equipment, before Bell could move he was pulled back behind Qrow. "He-!" he was quickly silenced by voices. The veteran huntsman placed his finger over his mouth, signaling silence. With a click the flashlight was turned off.

They ducked behind some boxes and listened. "We were instructed to bring back the strong ones to home. Not selfishly take most of them ourselves." a woman's voice. "How else are we supposed to move up the ranks? I understand the value of these humans to the Queen, but we too can benefit from them, you saw how much his strength increased after he fought just one human. He was praised for it as well!" a man's voice. "But-"

The woman was cut off "But we will still deliver the humans, just not all four. I already took one, you can take the other. None will be the wiser when we bring the other two home."

"The white fang?"

Qrow and Bell crept across the ground floor before they spotted who they were looking for. There were two huntsmen, two men. Both of them dressed in Atlas uniforms, relatively undamaged but unconscious. Quickly they grabbed both of them, Qrow and Bell respectively shook them awake.