Never Easy

Why does a combat school even *need** mathematics based classes?* Sunset wondered, not for the first time, as she sat in the back row, bored out of her mind. The subject material couldn't have held her interest if it wanted to, which was unlikely to happen being an inanimate collection of numbers.

Just one more class and I'm out of here. She reminded herself as the droning voice of the teacher threatened to put her to sleep. From where she sat she could see several of her classmates were well ahead of her in that regard. Like every other time, the teacher caught one of them, and began his usual long winded speech about 'specializing in combat does not mean neglecting academics', and 'smarter warriors are more effective', blah, blah, blah...

Say what you mean old man, you don't expect most of us to cut it on the field. Sunset thought to herself as she watched the redundant speech being delivered to a student who clearly wasn't even listening. This has nothing to do with combat, and even if it did, I've memorized spell matrices more complex than this.

“It's days like this that make me question why I chose to come here...” Sunset grumbled under her breath.

Yang just grinned at her from two seats down and whispered, “It'll be over soon enough.”

For one rare moment, Sunset smiled. There was something about sitting up here, watching her namesake sink below the waves of the harbour. For a brief time, as the last rays of light cast reds and golds across the buildings of the city between her and the water, She wasn't on the roof of a watch tower, in a land where she didn't belong; She was back home on her balcony, in Canterlot. She could just picture the forest beneath her as the carefully maintained trees and shrubs that decorated the family estate.

“There you are, about time I found you.” A voice behind Sunset commented as a familiar figure crested the peak of the roof. Sitting down next to her, Yang looked over flashing her signature smile. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

Sunset sighed, she should have known her quiet moment wouldn't last. She didn't even bother coming up with a lie this time. “This city is nice and all, but it's not home. Sometimes I need to get away from it.”

“You're always in such a bad mood...”

“I already told you why that is, Yang.” Sunset grumbled, annoyed.

“Yeah, that you're the only Faunus in any of our classes, probably our whole grade.” Yang stated rolling her eyes. Knowing that the answer wasn't the whole story. “But it's more than that. I get the feeling you're angry at someone, did something happen?”

Sunset had to think for a moment, she couldn't exactly tell Yang the whole story. Even if Yang did believe her, which was unlikely, it kind of contradicted the whole 'exchange student from Menagerie' thing. Still it wasn't hard to change a few details.

“I was sent here because my mentor thought I wasn't ready...” Sunset grumbled, reworking a few of the details. “It was plain as day what she was training me for. She's ancient, and we both wear sun emblems for a reason. But every time I tried to reach for the obvious goal of my training, she would hold me back. I never understood why, I still don't understand why.”

The sun had dipped below the horizon by this point, and it was starting to get dark, turning the red leaved forest below into more of a dull grey-black. Sunset paid it no mind continued on regardless. There was something, calming, about finally getting to talk to someone about this, even if it wasn't the whole tale. “Now I'm stuck here, alone, with abilities that don't work, and any hope I have of getting back what was rightfully mine or seeing the mountains back home again gets further away every day.”

Both girls were quiet for a while before the tolling of a clock tower in the distance brought Yang's attention to the time. Her attention shifting back to their current situation, yang commented “Everyone knows it's a bad idea to be out past the city wall after dark. Come on we need to go.” sounding a fair bit less confident than was normal for her.

Everyone knows... Sunset repeated in her mind, as she stood and turned to follow Yang. I did it again. I screwed up... but what could be out here that would rattle Yang? Thoughts drifted through her mind as the two quickly made it to the bottom of the tower. Reaching the ground, another problem presented itself. The trees blocked out what little light the moon and stars provided. Sunset could still see, but if past experience was anything to go by, Yang would be completely blind in these conditions.

“Oh man... Which way...” the voice came from her left, something was off about Yang's speech now that they were at ground level. She seemed nervous, a definite rarity for her. Turning, Sunset grabbed Yang's shoulder. She was about to say something reassuring when she picked up a faint growl and other familiar sounds. Had she not already been on edge she likely would have missed them.

Sounds like paws against leaves, back are flat, front are dragging, heavier than us... Probably a manticore or something similar. Easy enough, they don't pursue unless hunting and it wouldn't have growled if that was the case. Just need to stun it and get out of range. She had to think quickly, from her friend's reaction she heard it as well, or at least the growl. “Yang, do you trust me?”

“I... What?” yang responded, slightly delayed.

Why did she hesitate?

“I can see just fine, but I don't know what's out here, and you're the better fighter. We need to work together.” Sunset explained. Much like the incident in the gym, Yang had that look on her face, as if questioning what was wrong with her friend; still the idea of not being blind seemed to get her back to normal. So that's what was bothering you. You don't like not being able to fight back.

“I... yeah. I trust you. Heh, bet you we'll be the youngest in the school to nail a beowolf.” Yang said, dropping into a fighting stance. There was still a trace of uncertainty in her voice, but Yang wasn't the type to let that stop her.

Sunset on the other hand only caught the word 'wolf' her body locking up as her mind immediately threw out the plan she had been working on. Wolves chase if you run...

...and always fight in packs...

oh crap.

A quartet of howls from all around them brought Sunset's attention back to the present. She considered trying to guide Yang out of the woods, but the chances of being able to do that and avoid their pursuers were negligible. Like it or not they were committed now. We're going to die here... she grumbled to herself mentally, trying to keep her imagination from drawing up random images of the unseen foe, forcing herself to remain calm. Yang on the other hand seemed to be grinning even wider.

“Right side, Duck.” Sunset called as the first beowolf breached the bushes around them, leaping at yang only to sail over her and get an uppercut to the gut for it's trouble. The path leading to the tower wasn't exactly wide, so she couldn't give much warning. Already her heart was racing and every instinct she had was screaming to run.

“Hah! Eat it, Fuzzy!” Yang called feeling her strike connect. Yang's timing was off, the strike doing far less damage than it could have, and the lack of weapons meant she was dealing bruises at best, but still not bad given her limited vision. Tipped off balance it landed face first and skidded to a halt. Flipping onto it's back from the drag against the ground.

Oh dear Celestia, she's actually enjoying this isn't she? Sunset's flight instinct was getting harder to fight now, but she couldn't leave Yang behind... These thing's claws are as big as my head, and Yang can't land good hits by sound alone... This is hopeless... The thoughts ran through her head in a fraction of a second as a flicker of movement caught her eye, this time coming for her. “Back right, Low!” she shouted as she jumped to the side to avoid it's pounce. The beowolf landed behind her, where Yang had just jumped from only to have the blonde land boots first on it's neck by sheer luck.

Yang's taunt to the other creatures was lost to her as she spotted another one already charging. Not getting up from her prone position, Sunset instead shifted her weight to her hands and swung both feet around into a double kick to the face. The blow sent the creature careening off course and dropped her onto her hands and knees. The move was a lot more awkward in this body, but Tartarus, did it feel worlds more natural than the way the instructors had been trying to teach her to fight.

“That sounded painful.” Yang joked, hearing the yelp from the one Sunset had just struck. Looking her way, Sunset didn’t have time to answer. Seeing one creature getting back up, another already in mid leap. By the time she called a warning it would be too late to dodge, so instead she just acted. Tackling Yang to the ground as claws raked against her back.

“Sunset!” Yang yelled, alarmed, thrown off both by the strike and by the unmistakable sound  of cloth tearing as her friend cried out in pain.

“I'm sorry...” Sunset whimpered. She tried to get up, but her shoulders wouldn't work corectly, any attempt to move them just sent what felt like bolts of fire through her back. Yang pushed her off, propping her against the base of the watch tower, standing protectively over her. We're going to die here... it's my fault... More howls nearby, too distant to be the three remaining here, but too close to escape from. As if that was even an option.

“We can still do this; Just tell me where they are.”

The wolves charged again, but before an answer could be given, shots rang out, each followed by yowls and yelps. A pair of humanoid blurs bursting into view, bringing light with them.

“Qrow, get them back to the wall. I'll take it from here.” The one in the lead ordered, voice as sharp as the blade in her hand. Sunset couldn't see anything beneath the stranger's white, rose clasped cloak, but Yang certainly seemed to recognize her. The other figure Sunset recognized as one of their professors, though the massive black scythe he had was something entirely new to her.

Between the pain and the now fading adrenaline, the rest was a blur.

As the nightmare faded, and lingering howls disappeared from Sunset's ears, her slowly waking mind noticed a few things off. The sun was too bright. That didn't make sense, her window faced the wrong way for a sunrise. Her bed felt different, her pyjamas felt different, and everything hurt. Squeezing her eyes shut, sunset tried not to move too much, groaning in discomfort.

“Hey, you're awake...” A relieved voice said, nearby, somewhere. Probably Yang by the sound of it. Sunset turned her head in the direction of the voice and opened her eyes just slightly, enough to confirm it really was her.

“What are you...” She began, before cutting herself off. Her vision drifting from Yang to focus on something else. Next to yang, on the chair was her usual outfit and a familiar black jacket, now with three red stained gouges running through the fabric right between the shoulder blades, the sight of which brought back memories of the night before. The way events had actually gone, not the endless nightmarish chase her sleeping mind had made of them. “...doing in... my... Oh. Not a nightmare.”

“Nope.” Yang agreed, one hand behind her head, and glancing anywhere in, what sunset now realized was the inside of the school's infirmary, but not at sunset. Pink tinged bandages were visible around a portion of her right arm. “You heal fast, but the doctor said you'll be in here at least a week.”

It dawned on Sunset that this kind of mess was probably why the school had an infirmary this large, given it's proximity to the wall. It felt more like part of a hospital than part of a school.

“Yang I-...” She began, hesitating, and getting cut off before she could get very far.

“I'm sorry.”

“For what?” Sunset asked, confused. If anyone should be apologizing she should, as much as she despised the idea of even thinking that. “You did most of the work, all I managed to do was get both of us hurt.”

“You might have out run them if you hadn't been stuck spotting for me...”

“No, more likely I would have gotten jumped... and killed. I was serous when I said I didn't know what was out there...” Sunset answered, barely above a whisper. The weight of what had happened finally beginning to process. I thought it was like the everfree, but those things... And the wall's size is overkill if it's just for keeping those out. What else is out there?...Do I even want to know?

“Guess you lived a sheltered life, up in the mountains huh.” Yang commented, though her tone and expression seemed off, like she expected something from the answer.

“...well... yeah...”

“Except there are no mountains anywhere near Menagerie's capitol.” Yang stated flatly, her eyes flickering red for a moment, as she glared at Sunset. “And did you come here or did your mentor send you here? If you're going to lie to me at least get your stories straight.”

“Yang, I...” It wasn't her words or her tone that bothered Sunset though, nor being caught in her lie. It was the hurt expression Yang wore. The rational part of her mind was trying to tell her that she needed Yang as an ally now, more than ever, the other part, was still recovering from being terrified of giant wolf things. “...Alright... You probably won't believe me though...”