Having A Blast
At least he's been quiet since I Yang'ked it out. Gods, poor taste or not, I'm using that one if we make it through this.

As Jaune grunted at being jostled and bled down her back from a mangled arm, Yang was more than a little upset. She'd been hoping to run into Vicky's cute... friend? Sibling? Hopefully not her boyfriend, it'd be a shame to find out a stud like that was off the market already. Anyway, not only was she stuck with her little sister's friend as a partner instead and almost guaranteed to have Ruby giving her jealous looks for the next month, but the guy'd been sabotaged by Pyyrha Nikos of all people screwing up his landing strategy!

She'd heard that prickly little princess ask about attacking other candidates, but had been launched before the rest of them received an answer. Which apparently the Headmaster had given them the go-ahead, since Nikos didn't waste a second before attacking when they were all launched right after her. The fact that a world famous tournament champion considered him enough of a threat to eliminate him so early would normally be a sign that she'd lucked out in terms of partners. Or it would be if she hadn't knocked out his Aura with the hit and pinned him to a tree by a bicep. Honestly, it was a miracle he'd even survived in the first place... not that it helped their chances of passing.

How am I supposed to get through Grimm infested territory, find the temple, grab a relic, and scale a cliff all while literally carrying my teammate?! I might be strong, but that's insane!

Stopping when the coast was clear, she set him down as gently as possible and tried to do some first aid. Yang didn't know much more than household remedies for fixing Ruby's scrapes and bruises when they were younger, so tying a couple strips of Jaune's hoodie around his upper arm was about the best she could do. The fabric turned sticky with blood way too fast.

Grimacing, but trying to hide it with a smile, the blonde brawler gave him a mock punch in his good arm and joked, "Damn Jaune, you sure know how to pick 'em, eh?"

"Never listening to Dad's advice again." Was roughly what she thought he said... it was hard to tell with how out of it he seemed.

"Well whatever, up you go." She said, lifting him back up with one arm just in time for a beowulf to enter the clearing. Not giving it a chance to call for backup, Ember Cecilia blasted it in the throat and took off running. "We're gonna get you out of here and everything'll be A-Okay, just you-"

A sudden explosion from the side knocked her off her feet and she barely had the presence of mind to tuck Juane into her lap and curl up before her back hit a tree with a crunch. Dropping from the deformed oak, she shifted her passenger to one arm and readied her free gauntlet at the dust cloud. When it cleared though, she dropped it in shock.

Three Ursa minor, or what was left of them, lay scattered around a clearing that hadn't been there moments before... along with the two people she least expected to see. "Great, it was just the trollop."

"What did you just call me?" Yang asked, feeling pretty sure she'd just been insulted somehow.

"Are you al-alright?" The confessed twelve year old bodyguard asked in genuine concern, guiding the pink haired girl closer. Rather than wait for an answer, the girl made an odd hand sign and the veins around her eyes bulged unnaturally before shrieking, "Louise, his arm! Quick, we have to do something before he bleeds to death!"

--------------------------

Giving Hinata an unimpressed glare at the command, Louise watched the blood-soaked and now extremely alarmed Yang set the boy down. While her young friend talked with the other girl about the boy's injuries, she inspected him cooly.

It was the same boy who'd proven himself rather inept at several points already. Unable to properly equip himself, not socially capable if that morning's experience in the locker room was an indication, not martially inclined to make up for it judging by how slim and undefined his now exposed arms appeared, unable to even phrase a simple question. The fact that she'd interrupted his question was irrelevant, since he should have been quicker and not stumbled over his words like an idiot. He didn't even have any ability with magicka as far as Louise could tell which, compared to the rest of those participating in the trial other than those she'd brought, made him unique... and not in a good way.

All in all, a completely useless person.

Status: Healthy.
Magicka: (11375/12000)

Choose:

[] Leave them be and hurry on to the objective, it isn't as if anyone other than Hinata and Vicky know you can heal him and this is a competition. You can't waste time helping others.


[] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.

[] Let Hinata do what she can and stay with the duo, but you're not wasting magicka on him. If nothing else, they can be a distraction for any enemies you encounter.


[] Write in.
 
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[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
 
[X] Leave them be and hurry on to the objective, it isn't as if anyone other than Hinata and Vicky know you can heal him and this is a competition. You can't waste time helping others.

Is she still having trouble over Londinium? I thought she had grown past such selfish weakness.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
 
[] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
this will free up Yang from carrying Jaune, and stop Hinata from worrying. Win/win all around.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy.

The cost to win Hinata's affection and trust is minimal amount of magicka and time spent. Besides, it'll also show them how useful Louise is to others despite disliking them, Noblesse Oblige and all that, which should make people more likely to put up with her attitude. No one pisses off the white mage after all.
 
Huh, I could've gone a lifetime without imagining Yang x hunk zombie, and it would've been a lifetime less complete for it.
I thought Jaune's scream was from him finding the scorpion grimm with Pyrhha. I guess things have butterflied since our arrival? It has been like a month, I wonder what else has changed.

[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.

Heh, Nam flash backs...

Are we going to claim semblance? or just give up getting Louise to keep secrets. The only reason she could lie in Worm-verse was because everyone else did it for her.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.

The best way to make Louise grow and become a better person is to continuously traumatize, heal, and re-traumatize her right?

There's really no reason to let him die. And I'd rather not see the fallout if we make allies in beacon and then get found out that we could of healed him instead of letting him bleed out on Yang.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
-[X] Besides, watching him fumble for his very life in a monster infested forest could be amusing if nothing else.

And slowly, but surely, Louise's transition into becoming Cynric 2.0 advances.:p
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
 
[X] Leave them be and hurry on to the objective, it isn't as if anyone other than Hinata and Vicky know you can heal him and this is a competition. You can't waste time helping others.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy.
probably wouldn't do us well with Hinata if we straight up leave him to die. Her trust seems to be more to Louise than Cynric, and refusing to heal what may essentially be an ally could have serious effects.
or in other words:
[jk] Hinata will remember that
 
[X] It isn't as if he'd be the first or the youngest child you'd let die, but you can heal the oaf rather easily if it'll make Hinata happy. Rotting faces of children, blood running between shaking fingers, fires raging in the streets of Londinium.
 
Poking Trauma. Again.
Yes, the dying blonde boy was probably not worth the effort it would take to heal him.

So why are my hands glowing? Louise asked herself as she knelt down in the dark mud of his wound's weeping in the dirt. It wasn't as if she cared at all about some random teen aged wastrel. She'd left plenty of them to their fates before, even personally ended their pitiful peasant lives to fuel her teacher's spell-work in Londinium.

Knitting the boy's flesh back together with her magic, the pinkette looked up in alarm at a scream, but neither of the other girls seemed to have heard it. Yang was saying something and looked relieved, but Louise couldn't hear her words. Blood was on her hands even though she hadn't touched the wound. Maggots slowly started to eat their way out of his skin.

Shaking her head at the obvious hallucination, she swallowed past the lump in her throat and kept working.

She'd dealt with such before and she wouldn't let herself be distracted by something that wasn't real. Normally these moments of weakness came just before going to sleep, in her dreams, or upon awakening. It was something she avoided dwelling on. She didn't feel guilty for doing what had to be done. She didn't and that wasn't why she was healing him.

Looking to Hinata's worried face, she decided it had to be because she wanted to make her friend happy. There was nothing wrong with that.

"Umm... You can stop now." Yang's words finally reached her ears and she blinked away an odd wetness at her eyes. "Are you... do you need a minute?"

What?

"I think that would be a good idea." Hinata answered for her while she tried to puzzle out what she'd been asked.

Nodding awkwardly, the blond harlot scooped up the now healthy boy and took him to the edge of the clearing. He was still unconscious and covered in blood, but she'd finished healing him. More than that actually, since he looked a fair bit more muscular than before and Louise was certain that it wasn't just that the blood loss had deflated him. Had something gone wrong with the spell?

She didn't feel anything on her end other than a lack of far more magicka than she'd intended. It probably wasn't too important anyway, but now she had just one more example of how she'd messed up at something. Getting distracted while spell casting was always dangerous, she lucky she hadn't turned him into a tumorous mass or blown him up like when she'd first tried Restoration magic on herself... but there was something about that boy.

Shaking it off, she accepted Hinata's hand and was pulled to her feet. She could worry about it later after the trial was over.

"We should move onward." Louise said, casting Clairvoyance and setting off.

Nodding, the Yang made sure her burden was properly adjusted and looked at her scroll. "Yeah, we're probably running late."

The four of them had jogged through the forest for a few minutes when Yang sped up beside her and said softly, "Thanks for saving my partner, I'm not sure I could have gotten him back to Beacon fast enough on my own." When the pinkette chose not to reply, the blonde took that as permission to prattle on, "Y'know, I guess Vicky was right about you."

"About what?" Louise snapped, not liking the thought of her friend talking about her behind her back.

Chuckling, Yang smiled. "Nothing bad, she just wanted me to give you a chance... There's a real heart of gold underneath that prickly shell of yours, huh?"

Growling, Louise ran faster to get away from the irritating girl.

---------------------------------

When it soon became clear that the ruins were further away than expected, the group slowed to a walk so as not to wear themselves out. Not much more was said beyond Hinata's occasional overview on the unconscious boy's health and the identification of targets as Grimm crossed their path. Jaune was apparently his name, as Louise had learned when they'd been forced to take shifts

The sun was beginning it's descent by the time they exited the forest to see a worn, lichen covered set of ruins. Stone towers rose from the black abyss of a canyon that stood between them and the cliff where they'd need to take their relic. What looked like it had once been a bridge across the gap was shattered not far from their side and what remained was littered with giant black feathers.

At least the bird responsible was dead, as evidenced by the headless and slowly evaporation corpse that was pinned to the ground by a collapsed tower.

In the open air plaza she guessed would house the relics, she spied far more empty pedestals than not. Assuming the small objects on the pedestals were the indeed the relics, there were few remaining. Not that they looked like particularly valuable relics to her, but she supposed the faculty probably hadn't wanted to risk real artifacts of value on a mere school test.

"So... think there's a trick to this or something?" Yang asked absently while Hinata watched for threats.

A gold horse head, a pair of black and Gold crowns, a black castle tower, and what might have been a golden spear... to a drunken fool who couldn't see how lopsided they were. Small, uninspired designs though they might be, she still had to pick one quickly since two boys were coming from further down the cliff-side.

Status: Healthy.
Magicka: (8000/12000)

Choose 1:

[] One of the Crowns.
-[] Give the other to Yang.
-[] Tell Yang pick a different one.​

[] Spear.

[] Steed.

[] Tower.

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A/N:
By repeatedly poking at her mental trauma Louise has gained the trait Red Handed: She's now subject to RNG to compulsively heal any wounds she sees for twice the magicka required, reducing social friction with witnesses/those effected at the cost of wounded pride. Oh... and she's made progress toward learning to intentionally unlock Aura. 1/100, further progress can be made through dangerous trial and error, researching Aura, receiving instruction on the process.
 
Well, Cyrnic definately needs an unlocked Aura. Having a Semblance is too much potential to waste in ignoring it.

Guess Louise has another medium term assignment for her.
 
[X] One of the Crowns.
-[X] Black
-[X] Tell Yang pick a different one.

A Crown is simply most fitting for nobility, and black for practicality and ruthlessness.

Edit: Added the part that mattered.
 
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