5. Huntresses

5. Huntresses

As far as Yang was concerned, the big hulking beowolf wasn't an opponent: it was a punching bag. A convenient outlet to blow off steam.

And, oh boy. After the past thirty minutes? Yang had a lot of steam to blow off.

Ember Celica cradled her fists and forearms, a heavy reassuring weight. Much as she'd been ready to fight Grimm without a weapon, having one assuaged background doubts. She could win with the handicap, but she'd rather not have to try. It was life or death out here, after all.

Oddly, she felt more naked now that she had something covering her body, however trivially. Kinda like socks. Everyone knew being naked with socks was like being double-naked. Having gloves—or, mech-shift metal gauntlets, in her case—followed the same logic.

Yang led the charge. Bare feet padded against stone as she flew head-first toward the sleeping beowolf. Her plan was simple: get there before it woke, and smash the stupid thing's skull in.

Simple plans were good plans.

Unfortunately, Grimm weren't dumb animals. They were barely real at all, monsters of nightmares clad in shadow flesh. They didn't operate on the same physical laws other animals did. Hearing Yang streak forward, both eyes shot open, revealing smoldering red sockets. Awake in an instant. No biological need to orient. It shot to its feet and turned.

Not fast enough, though.

A gauntleted fist crashed into the monster's snout. Yang wrapped the full extent of her aura around herself, and empowered by Ember Celica's metal plating and Dust-infused strength, her fist met bone with a crack. The impact reverberated through her frame, making her own teeth rattle.

That was the sign of a good punch.

Yang grinned, landed, and turned to face the Grimm, which had reeled back from the blow, shaking its skull in pain.

Then she started to burn off steam.

The fight lasted about a minute. Yang wouldn't know; she lost track of time. Punch. Kick. Somersault. Barely dodge a snarling, gnashing mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. The usual.

Not that it was actually the usual. Yang had only been in a few fights with Grimm, and only under the supervision of experienced huntsmen. This was her first real fight—as in, no safety net. But that only made it more exciting.

Ruby stole the finishing blow, which, if it'd been anyone other than her little sis, she would've been annoyed by. And at least it was stylish. That scythe of hers was a real monster.

Not the only weapon of hers that was a real monster.

Yang. Yang, don't make puns about your little sister's cock. Not even in your head.

The beowolf hit the floor, leaking shadows—its version of blood—from too many places. The creatures didn't have anything resembling biology inside them, but enough wounds would mean fatigue then death. Was one of the more reliable ways to kill the nasty buggers, since even a decapitation was no guarantee. No brain or spine to cut. Though, strikes in those places did seem to do more damage. Grimm were weird.

Ruby padded over to Yang, grinning at her performance, and turned to watch the Grimm evaporate. Yang couldn't help but return her own smile. The girl's attitude was infectious. If Ruby smiled, Yang smiled. Simple as that.

She placed a gauntleted hand on Ruby's head. Ruby slouched forward, gave her The Eye, then resigned herself to letting it happen. She was more interested in watching the Grimm die, anyway, than protesting the sisterly sign of affection.

When the last of the shadows had dissipated, both of them scrutinized the floor beneath it.

"Aw. No Dust."

Indeed, Yang saw that the floor was barren. Grimm had a chance to drop shards of one of the four primary Dust types, but they didn't appear every time, only semi-frequently.

"Good thing it didn't," Yang grunted with amusement. "Where would we put it?"

This Grimm didn't drop any Dust either. Nor did the next one, or the next one—which Yang was pretty sure meant something weird was going on. Ruby had gotten a skill that said slain enemies would have a chance to drop 'special Dust.' Was that affecting regular Dust drops? Or was something else going on?

With how this Rift had started, it could be anything. She didn't particularly want to carry around a bunch of Dust crystals anyway. They were worth good money, but Yang was more worried about getting out of the Rift in one piece.

She enjoyed the opportunity to flex her muscles, get a good workout in. Ember Celica integrated into her style with shocking speed. Which was fair; Yang had always preferred hand to hand combat, and her gauntlets just made her hit harder. There was a shotgun functionality inside each gauntlet as well, but she was saving those for important moments, as much as she itched to test them. Next Rift, she'd come in with a proper supply of ammunition.

Eventually, even she started to run out of steam to blow off. As weird as the Rift had started, it seemed they had entered 'the regular part.' Fight after fight passed, with both of them growing more familiar with their weapons—but starting to wear out. The Rift had opened in the evening, after Yang and Ruby had already been sparring; and their training routines weren't lax either. They hadn't come into this dark, Grimm-infested cave fresh and ready to exert themselves all day.

In short, Yang was getting tired, and so was Ruby. Hungry too. Thankfully there'd been several pockets of water, so that basic need was taken care of. Food might show up. Rifts could generate anything. Even if it didn't, worst-case scenario, they could go a full day without eating—especially as huntresses with aura to rely on. Wouldn't be fun though.

"There'll be a safe room soon enough," Yang said, wiping her forehead clear of sweat as she watched yet another Grimm evaporate into tendrils of black smoke. What number had this one been? Twenty-five? Twenty-six?

"It's going long," Ruby said, rolling a sore shoulder. That huge scythe of hers was unwieldy, and Ruby had never been the strongest combatant to begin with, not by raw power. Her talents lay elsewhere. The girl moved like the wind. Even before [Petal Form] had showed up and turned that phrase literal. "I thought first-timer Rifts were supposed to be short on average."

"At least it's being weird in the normal way." She would take an oddly long first-timer Rift over the craziness of the first half hour. Nothing like that had shown up since then. "Let's keep pushing. I can feel it, the safe room is close."

Funny enough, Yang was right.

Safe rooms were places for huntresses to rest without risk of being bothered. They only spawned in large Rifts, the ones that took more than a day to clear. Some of these huge complexes could last as long as several weeks, though those were absurdly rare, even for higher-evolution huntresses.

They took a variety of shapes, but were always easy to recognize, standing out from the rest of the surroundings, so huntresses wouldn't miss them. Why did Rifts work that way? No clue. She was pretty sure she remembered something about 'memory resonances,' 'soul echoing,' and all kinds of crazy theories, but Ruby was the one who paid attention in class, not Yang.

This one showed up as a metal door embedded straight into a cavern wall. A simple handle was on it. Hopefully a lock on the inside too, though she doubted any wandering Grimm would be turning a handle to sneak in, even if there wasn't.

"There it is," Yang crowed. "Did I call it, or did I call it?"

Swinging the door open, her enthusiasm faded.

She stared blankly at the interior.

"Um," Ruby said. "It's really small."

Captain Obvious had once again come to the rescue. The 'safe room' was more of a 'safe closet.' Tall enough to walk inside, but depth wise? Few feet. Long enough to lay down in, sure, but...

"Oh," Ruby said, realizing the implication several seconds after Yang, who had understood immediately. "Wait, how are we gonna sleep, if it's so small?"

Yang stared down at the tiny space.

"Very tightly," she said dryly.

Seriously. What was with this Rift and shoving them into itty bitty spaces?

Sleeping all squeezed in with her naked little sister was definitely not going to cause any problems. Especially with that thing between her legs. And how much Ruby moved around when asleep. Touchy girl. Honestly, Yang was also cuddly when knocked out.

No siree. They'd be getting through this night totally without issue.

Big Sister Guarantee.