The Armored Warrior

Chapter 17- Perspective

The black lake had slowly started to dry up, a black smoke with ash emitting from it rising into the air. I sat there, staring into it; hoping to see any sign of (Y/N). Minutes turned into hours, and nothing, i walked around where the lake once was, in the center all that remained was a small puddle, i continued walking until i saw something in the distance. I had found his axe and bracelet, that was all that remained. 'Ozpin is not going to like this, neither are his friends. Damnit, why couldn't i do anything?' Neo thought, placing her hand on her face. She stomped on the ground and proceeded to walk to where their gear was.

Neo had arrived at the Inn, walking with her face hung low.

"Hey there Neo! Where's your friend?" Azarus had asked, it took him a moment to realize that she carried two bags. His expression quickly faded, and went back to work as Neo climbed the stairs back up into their room. She sat on her bed, staring blankly at the empty one beside her. She wasn't taking this very well, she had liked him the moment they met. He was nice and fun to be around; a good friend, a good student. Now that student is gone, she failed both his father, Ozpin, and (Y/N). She decided to fall asleep before contacting Ozpin. Night quickly drew near, with a storm rolling in slowly. It didn't help that she couldn't sleep, she just laid there staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't guilt, sadness or any kind of emotion that kept her awake.

No

Something else did. The better question is what? She didn't feel like her life was in danger, it felt like a cold presence hung nearby. She shrugged it off, for now. The night seemed to drag on forever, before finally it was morning. She quickly contacted Ozpin and reported in what had happened. Ozpin was not pleased.

"Damnit...Come back to Beacon and we'll further this conversation....I need time to think and figure out our next move, i will also inform his friends of what has happened. Once again, make your way back here." Ozpin said. Neo simply responded with a nod.

"One last thing Neo. Don't blame yourself, it is not your fault." With that final word, he ended the call. She packed her things and started her long journey back to Beacon. Neo had started to set up camp and would soon be fast asleep underneath the stars. A fire was going, keeping her warm and the night wasn't to cold; but she couldn't shake the feeling that she's being watched. She wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon, her eyes constantly scanning the forest all around her, umbrella close by in case a grimm decided to make her its next meal. She looked behind her and scanned, looking for anything that maybe there. When she turned back around, all she saw standing above her gear; was a black shadowy mist, with two red eyes searching through her bag. She wanted to lunge at it and kill it quickly; its a grimm, it needs to die.

By why did she hesitate? Curiosity? No something else. She studied this grimm, it didn't have much of a body but where its body should be was a cloud of smoke; emitting ash. It was looking for something, did it know that she was staring at it? Or is it just that strong that it doesn't care? Maybe it just doesn't care at all. It finally stopped searching and pulled (Y/N)'s bracelet out, she reached out for it but it reacted and pulled away like a child would. She reached for her umbrella, but the grimm looked at her, and slightly shook its head.

This took Neo back, a grimm just literally told her no. She stopped and just stared at it, it floated there, studying the bracelet. Should she try communicating with it? If its knowledgeable enough to basically say no, it could understand her. While she was thinking, the grimm put the bracelet on and activated the armour. It surrounded its body, it raised its hands a looked at itself, as if inspecting the armour. It stopped and looked at Neo, and she looked back. It raised its hand and gave a thumbs up. It looked back down at her gear, and spotted something else. (Y/N)'s axe. It grabbed it and inspected it as well. Once it was finished, it laid it against the tree and looked at Neo, before turning and walking away.