Son of the Branwen

Chapter 22: Mountain Glenn

The moon shined brightly over the broken buildings and empty streets of Mountain Glenn. Hawk kept his eyes closed as he listened to the distant howls of Grimm and the crackling of the fire next to him. He couldn't fall asleep because of the high tension from Yang, Weiss, and Blake. It was obvious during the supper, and became more obvious as Yang sighed and sat up on her mat.

Yang: "Blake, are you awake?"

Blake: "Yeah."

Yang: "Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?"

Blake: "Maybe he was just curious."

Yang: "You think?"

Blake: "No."

Yang: "Weiss, are you awake?"

Weiss sat up with a small scowl.

Weiss: "Of course I'm awake! You two are talking. And I think he... When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a... moral gray area."

Blake: "That's putting it lightly."

Weiss: "Which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it."

Hawk sighed and sat up, the girls looking over at him. Hawk gave a small smile and motioned for them to continue while he poked at the fire.

Blake: "All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone. I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I- how can I undo so many years of hate?"

Hawk had looked up at her at the mention of Adam, and he could tell she was trying to keep her voice neutral when she talked about him.

Yang: "I'm sure you'd figure it out. You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake."

Blake: "But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my Semblance! I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!"

Hawk: "Blake, running away doesn't mean you're backing down. Giving up completely does. When you ran away from your team, you still let me and Sun join you so we could fight the Fang. And when you ran from Adam. You joined an academy to fight for something better. You're not a coward. Don't ever think you are."

Blake gave a smile, holding her arms as she glanced to Yang.

Weiss: "Hawk? What did you tell Doctor Oobleck?"

Hawk closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, before looking into the flames again.

Hawk: "I told him what my goal is with becoming a Huntsman. I told him that I was getting tired of the world trying to cover up the tragedies that happened in the past. I want to make sure that no child will ever be left for dead in a dead village."

A brief silence came over the group, and Weiss leaned over and took Hawk's hand into hers.

Weiss: "That is very noble Hawk."