August felt a bit bad about not being a part of that, but they weren’t attempting to tame one yet, so he didn’t really need to be involved—and he’d probably slow them down anyway.
“The order is important too; if we scare the Otrogon away and something goes wrong with collecting the ring, then we’ll have nothing to put between us and the other monsters,” Kalter said, “That means we take down the Otrogon last after everything else is dealt with.”
“Perhaps it would be best if we were to leave half of the group to harvest bamboo and then send the other half to collect the ring,” Rittan said, “That way, we will have a stockpile ready upon the other group’s return.”
“That sounds fine,” August managed, still trying to ignore Haiko. “I’m going to the ring so I can analyse it—and there’s always a chance we won’t be able to move it or something.”
“I would like to go as well,” Melon reiterated. “For the same reasons.”
“I’m going in case those other experiments show up,” Boko said, “We might need one other person to help carry the thing—any volunteers?”
“I’ll go,” Kalter said before anyone else could speak up. “Haiko and Rittan can collect the bamboo.”
“That sounds perfectly fine to me,” Haiko said, “We will, of course, be running away if anything attempts to eat us—won’t we, Rittan?”
“We may have to,” Rittan said, amused. “Are you certain I won’t be needed to help carry the ring?”
“If it’s too heavy for the three of us to manage, we’ll come and get you two,” Kalter said, unbothered. “Anything comes near either of you while we’re gone, move to the ridge and wait for us there—got it?”
“You’re always worrying, my pet,” Haiko said, “But it as you say, we shall flee to the ridge.”
“Don’t call me that,” Kalter said, aggrieved. “Rittan?”
“I’ll make certain nothing happens on our end,” Rittan said, smiling. “You need not worry about us—why, I haven’t lost a fight in at least a week.”
Kalter made a noise in the back of her throat that was a clear expression of her annoyance at him bringing it up and an acknowledgment of the words—August would have shaken his head at Rittan’s confidence if not for the fact that doing so was outright dangerous, given how trapped he was. Haiko’s genuine attempt to clean his hair was now being undertaken with what might have been every hand she possessed.
“I think that’s pretty much everything then—maybe not?” Boko said, scratching at his chin with one of his many hands. “Kalter, what kind of weapon do you want? I asked for a pair of javelins; there’s one decent bone left for something.”
One of Haiko’s hands came to rest against the side of his neck, fingers curling down to rest on his collarbone—and all of the hard-fought ground he’d regained during what had become a systematic plucking, pulling and tugging at his hair suddenly vanished again.
“Just make three,” Kalter said, “So long as it doesn’t break after one attack, I don’t care.”
“I’ll get started on them as soon as we vote,” August said, eyeing them all from beneath his now incredibly messy fringe. “In case you all forgot about that part.”
“Oh, is it finally time for the votemaster to take the stage once more?” Haiko said, voice bright. “I implore you all to raise your hand if you are in agreement to set out for the adventure we have just discussed—don’t be shy now.”
August watched as everyone brought their hands up and was surprised that even Melon had found the willpower to participate without having to be prompted. He felt Haiko’s render raise a hand up, just out of his line of sight, which left him as the last person. August started to lift up a hand in support—and the very moment he’d committed to the action, the tip of Haiko’s thumb drew down the back of his neck in a long, smooth, and deliberate motion before it was halted by the twine holding the back of his vest together. It sent a startling and completely unexpected shiver down his spine, and he couldn’t quite stop himself from straightening up—It was about time he attempted to make a strategic retreat, or else he’d be at her mercy for the rest of the night.
“Looks like we’ve got tomorrow all figured out,” Boko said, nodding. “We could—heading off?”
August was already halfway to his feet, twisting to put his back to the fire as he rose, and Haiko tilted her head back enough to maintain eye contact, smiling all the while. There was no real way to hide his reaction from her, given how close she was, and the fact that he had even bothered to try probably just made it all the more obvious.
“I want to make sure those weapons are done before I go to bed,” August said, clearing his throat. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
August stepped over Haiko’s extended leg to escape her entirely, making sure to keep his back to the others as he moved, and then made sure to return the mixture of goodnights with as much dignity as he could as he left. Haiko turned to watch him go, the lingering render tilting its head before he crossed the threshold, and she vanished entirely. The only person who had made that much of an effort to touch him before had been Alice, but that had always been in private and out of sight of the others—a prerequisite, considering they’d been doing it behind Alex’s back. What Haiko was doing was just as calculated, but the part of the calculation that dealt with visibility had clearly ignored the public-private divide. He wasn’t stupid; it was very clear to him what Haiko was trying to do, and it was even more clear to him that it was working—a moral failing on his part, perhaps.
In an attempt to push the whole thing out of his mind and in the hopes that it would work itself out without his input, he turned his attention towards the workbench. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, so stepping into the artificial light of the artifact had him squinting a bit—but then it was behind him, and his shadow rose to dominate the bamboo wall behind the bench.
“I am definitely in trouble,” August murmured.
Seeking Direction: Revised Edition is now live; It's a revised RWBY fanfiction following an OC with Direction Manipulation as his Semblance.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review, it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
August felt a bit bad about not being a part of that, but they weren’t attempting to tame one yet, so he didn’t really need to be involved—and he’d probably slow them down anyway.
“The order is important too; if we scare the Otrogon away and something goes wrong with collecting the ring, then we’ll have nothing to put between us and the other monsters,” Kalter said, “That means we take down the Otrogon last after everything else is dealt with.”
“Perhaps it would be best if we were to leave half of the group to harvest bamboo and then send the other half to collect the ring,” Rittan said, “That way, we will have a stockpile ready upon the other group’s return.”
“That sounds fine,” August managed, still trying to ignore Haiko. “I’m going to the ring so I can analyse it—and there’s always a chance we won’t be able to move it or something.”
“I would like to go as well,” Melon reiterated. “For the same reasons.”
“I’m going in case those other experiments show up,” Boko said, “We might need one other person to help carry the thing—any volunteers?”
“I’ll go,” Kalter said before anyone else could speak up. “Haiko and Rittan can collect the bamboo.”
“That sounds perfectly fine to me,” Haiko said, “We will, of course, be running away if anything attempts to eat us—won’t we, Rittan?”
“We may have to,” Rittan said, amused. “Are you certain I won’t be needed to help carry the ring?”
“If it’s too heavy for the three of us to manage, we’ll come and get you two,” Kalter said, unbothered. “Anything comes near either of you while we’re gone, move to the ridge and wait for us there—got it?”
“You’re always worrying, my pet,” Haiko said, “But it as you say, we shall flee to the ridge.”
“Don’t call me that,” Kalter said, aggrieved. “Rittan?”
“I’ll make certain nothing happens on our end,” Rittan said, smiling. “You need not worry about us—why, I haven’t lost a fight in at least a week.”
Kalter made a noise in the back of her throat that was a clear expression of her annoyance at him bringing it up and an acknowledgment of the words—August would have shaken his head at Rittan’s confidence if not for the fact that doing so was outright dangerous, given how trapped he was. Haiko’s genuine attempt to clean his hair was now being undertaken with what might have been every hand she possessed.
“I think that’s pretty much everything then—maybe not?” Boko said, scratching at his chin with one of his many hands. “Kalter, what kind of weapon do you want? I asked for a pair of javelins; there’s one decent bone left for something.”
One of Haiko’s hands came to rest against the side of his neck, fingers curling down to rest on his collarbone—and all of the hard-fought ground he’d regained during what had become a systematic plucking, pulling and tugging at his hair suddenly vanished again.
“Just make three,” Kalter said, “So long as it doesn’t break after one attack, I don’t care.”
“I’ll get started on them as soon as we vote,” August said, eyeing them all from beneath his now incredibly messy fringe. “In case you all forgot about that part.”
“Oh, is it finally time for the votemaster to take the stage once more?” Haiko said, voice bright. “I implore you all to raise your hand if you are in agreement to set out for the adventure we have just discussed—don’t be shy now.”
August watched as everyone brought their hands up and was surprised that even Melon had found the willpower to participate without having to be prompted. He felt Haiko’s render raise a hand up, just out of his line of sight, which left him as the last person. August started to lift up a hand in support—and the very moment he’d committed to the action, the tip of Haiko’s thumb drew down the back of his neck in a long, smooth, and deliberate motion before it was halted by the twine holding the back of his vest together. It sent a startling and completely unexpected shiver down his spine, and he couldn’t quite stop himself from straightening up—It was about time he attempted to make a strategic retreat, or else he’d be at her mercy for the rest of the night.
“Looks like we’ve got tomorrow all figured out,” Boko said, nodding. “We could—heading off?”
August was already halfway to his feet, twisting to put his back to the fire as he rose, and Haiko tilted her head back enough to maintain eye contact, smiling all the while. There was no real way to hide his reaction from her, given how close she was, and the fact that he had even bothered to try probably just made it all the more obvious.
“I want to make sure those weapons are done before I go to bed,” August said, clearing his throat. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
August stepped over Haiko’s extended leg to escape her entirely, making sure to keep his back to the others as he moved, and then made sure to return the mixture of goodnights with as much dignity as he could as he left. Haiko turned to watch him go, the lingering render tilting its head before he crossed the threshold, and she vanished entirely. The only person who had made that much of an effort to touch him before had been Alice, but that had always been in private and out of sight of the others—a prerequisite, considering they’d been doing it behind Alex’s back. What Haiko was doing was just as calculated, but the part of the calculation that dealt with visibility had clearly ignored the public-private divide. He wasn’t stupid; it was very clear to him what Haiko was trying to do, and it was even more clear to him that it was working—a moral failing on his part, perhaps.
In an attempt to push the whole thing out of his mind and in the hopes that it would work itself out without his input, he turned his attention towards the workbench. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, so stepping into the artificial light of the artifact had him squinting a bit—but then it was behind him, and his shadow rose to dominate the bamboo wall behind the bench.
“I am definitely in trouble,” August murmured.
Seeking Direction: Revised Edition is now live; It's a revised RWBY fanfiction following an OC with Direction Manipulation as his Semblance.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review, it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
