𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 87

Two nights spent trying to dream of Salem yielded nothing but dreams of Cinder. Ozpin had grown increasingly paranoid about that, keeping Jaune up late into the evening with stories about her to try and make him focus. It was only after the second night that Qrow, mostly recovered from his injuries, suggested that the reason it was failing might be because Salem had taken herself out of range.

The fact that his dream had before been capable of reaching out from Beacon to Vale meant that she was even further – or that the first time he'd done so, she'd been closer to Beacon. Vale was a big city and there were a lot of places she could be hiding.

"I cannot see Salem coming this far for Mr Arc and Miss Fall and leaving without either," Ozpin said. "It just isn't like her."

"Then maybe she hasn't left permanently," Qrow said. "Maybe she's left to do something."

Ozpin leaned back, his face going pale for a moment before he recovered himself. "Perhaps," he said. "We had better increase security toward the forest. The only thing she would find of use outside the city is Grimm.

That was normally a saying. "You won't find anything out there but Grimm" meant that it was pointless to go out because you wouldn't find anything of use to you. The only problem was that the Grimm were very useful to Salem, so the saying took on another meaning entirely.

"Want me to do a fly over and take a look?" asked Qrow.

"Yes. Keep me abreast. And Mr Arc..."

"Private conversation," Jaune said, tiredly. "I get it."

"Thank you. There's no need to cause panic among the students."

"That said..." Qrow cleared his throat. "It might be worth having a plan if the worst does occur. We know she's after him, so what is he meant to do? Flee? His Semblance won't be much use in an actual assault. Not like any of the attackers are going to fall asleep."

"What did I just say about not causing panic? Mr Arc..." Ozpin turned to him. "In the event of an assault on Beacon, the best thing you and your team can do is get you out of Beacon. Miss Fall with you. Do not stay to fight as your presence will only encourage our enemy to stay and fight as well. Remove yourself from Beacon and, with any luck, they shall remove themselves as well."

Run away. Jaune scowled. It was the kind of answer his dad would have given him when he didn't want to teach him to fight. Anger surged within him as it had back then as well, mixing with pride in a demanding urge to tell Ozpin he hadn't trained this hard for nothing, and that he could defend himself against the Grimm.

"You are not fleeing," Ozpin said, noticing his expression. "You would be luring the enemy away. Do not think of this as saving your own skin when it is your skin she wants. You will be saving lives by leading her away from Beacon."

Swallowing his anger, Jaune nodded. It was different. Salem would give chase. In that sense, running away was like luring Grimm away from his family back home. It would be a courageous act of self-sacrifice. Now, he just worried about bringing his team along with him. They'd almost be safer if he abandoned them here in Beacon to fight the Grimm, because Grimm were what they trained to kill every day, and immortal witches were not.

"Where should I go? Is there somewhere safe?"

"Anywhere I might give you would be at risk of being known or discovered by her. I have no safehouse. You should stay on the move. Loop around Vale, keep yourself safe, then slip back in once any threat is over. Salem cannot keep up a sustained siege on Beacon."

"But what if she destroys Beacon...?"

"Schools can be rebuilt."

Jaune couldn't say he liked that answer.