Author's Note

So sorry for the long as hell wait, guys. I didn't intend for that. But some thing popped up and honestly, I got real lazy. But hey, here we are now.

Here's a note from my editor, Soren.

"At this point we switch to Qrow's writing, as we decided we wanted to get things moving along much more rapidly than I had originally planned. I had a bit more written out, but neither he nor I liked just how long it was taking to get anywhere as I had focused more on the surviving in the forest part. Therefor, Qrow has rewritten the last portion of this chapter with aims to move the story forward, faster."

Yup, next chapter, we'll be back to my writing.

Also, I don't want to beg, but my monetary situation is going downhill fast and I'm not making enough to cover the cost of food, medicine, and bills. I'm NOT holding this story behind a paywall. But if anyone wishes to help,here's a link to my Ko-Fi.

See you soon!
-Qrow

From Shadows: Part Two

Arc Three: From Shadows
Part Two

The first thought that entered Blake’s mind as she woke up, was that she really missed Beacon’s dorms. Sure, her teammates could be loud and maybe a little overbearing, but at least she always had a soft bed to lay on. The ground of the forest was nowhere near a comfy mattress, no matter how many leaves she piled on. Blake stood and popped her joints with a grunt.

A quick glance told her that the fire had gone out at some point during the night, and a growl of her stomach told her that she needed food. Hooking the wooden plates that made up the bulk of her clothing-slash-armor onto her current vine and leaf wrappings, Blake set forth towards the river to freshen up and properly wake herself.

Soon enough Blake stood at the bank of the river once more and followed it upstream this time, hoping to find a freshwater pool that didn’t have fish contaminating it. Looking across the bank, Blake found exactly what she was looking for in what appeared to be a mostly unattached hot spring; it’s steam rising up and lazing over the rest of the river for a short ways before evaporating.

Blake allowed herself a small smile at the sight of the hotspring. This may be a less than ideal situation she had found herself in, but hey, at least not everything was horrible.

Blake spent quite a bit of time in the hotspring, moreso relaxing than washing herself. After a rough night of sleeping on the ground, her body greatly appreciated the warm water. Her muscles relaxed she felt most of the tension leave her. However, the entire time, she couldn’t help but think.

She really wanted her friends back.

Blake thought about her friends and what they would do if, by some chance at some place, they were together at some hotspring just like this one. Ruby would probably be excitedly splashing the others. Weiss would decry her partner’s actions as childish but would enjoy it nonetheless and Yang... She would probably spend her time trying to get Blake to open up more. That was just the kind of person she was.

Was...

After approximately half an hour of relaxing, judging on the eerily clockwork-like moving sun, Blake decided she’d had enough and pulled herself up and out of the water.

Following the bank for the pleasure of a stroll, now dry and fully dressed, Blake watched both the river and the shorelines for signs of hostiles until the river seemed to dip in towards a clearing with little yellow plants. Curious, Blake approached them and got a closer look. “Goldenrod?” Blake said to herself, lightly touched the plant before giving it a sniff.

Blake made no secret of her book addiction. And mixed in with her fantasy or action novels, there were a few botany books. From what she remembered, she could use this for some sort of tea, if she really wanted to. “Didn’t goldenrod only grow in…” Blake got back down on her knees and began to claw away a layer of dirt before she hit something else. “Clay. Oh!” Blake smiled. Seems her luck wasn’t running out just yet.

After a couple of hours of labor intensive work, Blake stood before a large pile of sticks, branches and large leaves that she’d combine to form a clay hut in which she could retreat from weather or enemies.

Digging out four holes in the ground with a large stone, Blake staked the largest of the branches as support posts before burying them once again, ensuring stability.

Using vines as lashings like before, Blake set to constructing the frame of her new abode before moving to the leaves to bind them all into a makeshift basket pack in which to carry raw clay.

“Hmph. Not bad.” Blake sighed heavily, examining the first portion of her work with a small, satisfied smile.

Turning from her project, Blake approached the Goldenrod field a ways away and began digging up the flowers and set them aside in the event she’d need them before taking her digging stone to start bringing up layers upon layers of clay.

Eight hours and a half hour stop for lunch later, and Blake’s new clay home stood half built; though it did have it’s clay tiles finished which was a blessing in of itself given that a light rain had started up.

“Damn.” Blake muttered, tossing a nearby rabbit a bit of leaves to chew on. “Really got a lot done though…” Blake looked her hands over and tried to pry some of the dried clay off her skin though she knew she’d end up taking another bath in the nearby river anyways. And knowing her luck, the river would be freezing.

After a bit of internal debate which was won out by the fact that her skin felt like it would crack open because of the clay, Blake trudged off to the river and, after disrobing, sucked in a deep breath, and took the plunge.

“Damn!” Blake shrieked as her head breached the water. “That is freezing!” Shivering to the bone, she made quick work of bathing herself and climbed out of the water as soon as possible.

Neglecting to clothe herself, she simply carried her makeshift garments under her arm until she reached her campfire and huddled close to it, savoring the warmth of the flame.

As she stared ahead, her arms wrapped around her midsection and crouched to the ground, shivering and wet, her golden eyes gazed into the dancing fire. She could almost make a scene out of the waving heat. Blake remembered Cinder’s pleased look, right before the world melted away, with her along with it.

Blake decided to look away, and shivered again.

Just then, the snap of a breaking twig sounded. Blake’s cat ears swiveled to point at the source, and when another snap followed, the rest of her body did so as well. What she saw made her step back and her cat ears lay flat against her head. A hulking mass of wood, made to form the shape of a giant wolf. The wooden wolf let out a slow growl that made the hairs on the back of Blake’s neck stand straight. A Timberwolf, larger than the ones she had encountered earlier. An alpha.

“Another wooden Grimm?” Blake backpedaled a couple steps, eyes locked on the creature, as she slowly readied the blade of Gambol Shroud, gripping the hilt tightly. The monster let out a slow growl and began to inch ever closer. That’s when she decided to turn and run.

The Timberwolf let out a loud roar, and as Blake ran she could hear his heavy steps following.

Blake took off for the river, away from her makeshift home. If she could get across the river, she could take this thing down without destroying her only shelter. Keeping her eyes forwards, Blake slid to stop, her heels digging into the ground, and frantically looked around for any spots she could cross from.

Just then, Blake felt something collide with her from behind, slamming into her with such force that it propelled her forwards. As she tumbled through the air, the breath knocked out of her lungs, she caught a glimpse of the beast skidding to a halt in the space it ran into her.

Her instincts kicked in, and Blake twisted as she landed, managing to land on her feet. Smiling to herself, she quickly turned back to the monster. “Come on! Come get me!” At her words, the wolf’s gaze seemed to sharpen into a glare - the glowing green eyes leaving a ghostly trail behind them. The wolf let out a roar and bounded towards her, slashing waves nearly as tall as Blake as it rushed her.

It was then that Blake realized the flaw in her plan: she now had a giant wooden Grimm barreling towards her. “Oh.” Blake said to herself. “Right.”

As the wolf reached her, it jumped into the air and slammed its paw down as it landed - Blake avoided being skewered by diving forwards, under the wolf, as a shadow took the hit for her. Keeping stride, the faunus girl passed by the rear legs as the Timberwolf looked down past it’s belly at the escaping girl before it scowled, turned and roared its displeasure before giving chase.

Blake barely got out from under the wolf before it turned and managed to latch its jaws around her leg - her aura being the only thing protecting her from the sharp teeth. She let out a cry as the wolf dragged her into the air and shook her around. Blake screamed and struggled for Gambol Shroud, but found nothing. She cursed to herself as the wolf released her, sending her flying yet again.

She landed hard, face-down in the sand of the river, and slid until water splashed against her face. Groaning, Blake stood and took a quick glance for her weapon, and found it lying in the sand just a few feet away. She probably dropped it when she dodged the wolf’s claw. Blake pulled herself to her feet, and allowed another shadow to take a swipe from the wolf’s claws.

Breathing heavily, Blake broke into a sprint, one hand reaching for Gambol Shroud. The leg the wolf had bit was limping slightly, but she pushed on. Risking a glance behind her, Blake was just in time to see the Timberwolf’s wooden paw as it crashed against her face. She yelled as she tumbled forward, and her vision went white with pain as her skull cracked against a decently sized rock as she slid to a halt.

“Dammit...” She croaked. Her vision swam as she shakily propped herself up on one elbow. She turned to glare at the monster. “Would you just give up already?!” Blake grunted, bringing herself to her hands and knees. The wolf stepped closer, its jaws slowly opening and it drew nearer. Blake closed her eyes and lowered her head.

The wolf lunged, and closed its jaws around Blake’s neck.

The forest went silent, save for the growls of the wolf, as what seemed to be its prey vanished in a puff of black smoke. The wolf growled with frustration and looked around for the girl, to find her running as fast as she could towards her weapon.

Blake skidded to a halt, one hand wrapped around the hilt of Gambol Shroud, as she turned, collapsed the weapon into its pistol form, and aimed the sights at the wolf. Without hesitation, Blake pulled the trigger rapid fire.

The wolf roared as the bullets embedded into its head. Blake couldn’t tell if the thing could feel pain, but it was certainly angry. The beast lowered its head and charged with a mighty roar. Blake fired off more shots before the beast slammed into her. A shadow vanished from where Blake stood as she jumped into the air. Using another shadow, Blake propelled herself onto the back of the wolf.

“Gotcha!” She said to herself and she took Gambol Shroud and unfolded the blade. With wild abandon Blake began slashing at the neck of the monster, causing splinters of wood to fly about as she struck. The wolf howled, and Blake could hardly register what was about to happen before it suddenly rolled over. Suddenly crushed between the ground and hulking mass of branches, Blake let out a yelp of pain as the wood dug into her body, barely held back by her Aura.

The Timberwolf righted itself and slammed a paw into Blake before she could rise, knocking her back slightly. She groaned and tried to stand, only to be knocked back down by another swipe of a paw. Blake could feel the wolf’s claws scraping against her skin. The pain burned, and her body was beginning to scream at her - her Aura was beginning to run out. Usually it lasted longer, but maybe something went wrong - maybe returning from the dead messed something up.

Regardless, she needed to end this. Now.

A shadow took the next paw swipe, allowing Blake to push herself to her feet. The Timberwolf let out a loud growl as Blake stood, and raised a wooden paw as it lunged toward her. Gambol Shroud clutched tightly in hand, Blake put one foot forward and thrusted with a yell. The blade sunk into the front of the beast’s head with a loud crack and crunch as the wood split apart.

Blake then twisted the sword and yanked to the side. As it exploded out of the right side of its face, Blake then pointed the barrel of Gambol Shroud as the wolf, and held down the trigger. Bullets poured into the creature, and it let out a pitiful whimper as the wood that made up its head slowly splintered away. Blake ceased fire and raised a foot, kicking the wolf where its snout used to be. The Timberwolf stumbled backwards, and with a final whimper, fell apart into lifeless twigs.

Silence. Blake stood, holding her weapon tightly and breathing heavily, purple sparks dancing around her body. Her Aura was gone. She stared at the bundle of sticks as her chest rose and fell, still trying to comprehend it all. What the hell was that thing? In all her life, she’d never heard of Grimm made from wood. Unless it was being possessed by a Geist Grimm, but in that case the Grimm itself should have emerged from the remains of the vessel after it was destroyed.

Blake decided that was a question for another day. One glance at the sky told her that it was getting late, and after that debacle, she needed to rest. She took a step forward...

And found herself on her knees, the air suddenly gone from her lungs and a deep pressure in her side. Blake gasped, and brought a hand to her side, only for her hand to run into something. She looked down... and saw one of the Timberwolf’s claws embedded in her side.

“Well...” Blake said, as she raised her head and gazed to the water of the river, her eyes unfocused. “That sucks.” The faunus slumped to the side, her body hitting the ground with a dull thud.

She blinked slowly, feeling the blood beginning to seep under her. The world began fading away, the edges of her vision slowly giving way to black. Just before it all disappeared, Blake could have sworn she heard a voice.

“Oh my goodness!”

Arc Three: From Shadows

Part Two End