Ashes of light 3

The sound of a still desert enforced the air around them. Silence shifted as all eyes turned to Yang. They studied her with one unified thought: "Why is she here?" She looked angry. No, enraged is the right word. Even from 5 meters away, the heat she emanated was monstrously offensive. She looks at Jaune, then to Cinder, and finally Cinder's eye. Yang's rage slowed and shrank in size, like the force of a tornado being compressed and compacted into a marble. After suppressing her anger she finally spoke.

"Jaune. I'm confused and I have a lot of energy I need to get rid of. You have 12 seconds to explain why the hell you aren't fighting and why THE FUCK you are cradling that bitch's face in your hands?!" Yang spits out in fury.

Jaune was stuck. The thought of how his teammates would feel about this situation never crossed his mind. He was so enthralled with his power he had to test its limits as soon as possible, not caring about what repercussions he may face. He then quickly gathers himself and sputters out "Yang, I know this looks bad but, I couldn't stop myself. She's agreed to cease the vault raid for helping her." He then cups Cinder's chin in his right hand and stares provokingly into her eyes. Jaune had a sense that she would understand where he was going with this.

She winces internally, straightens her back and speaks with her usual authority. "Jaune here is correct. I have decided to stop my personal assault on the vault. However, those two may have other plans."

Yang looks in the direction of her mother and her lackey, Vernal, and grits her teeth.

"So let me get this straight, mom. Instead of staying out of the fight, like you wanted me to do, you chose to side with the enemy. I guess you could add being a blatant hypocrite to your list of shining qualities."

Raven rolls her eyes. "Yang, I tried to warn you and be nice about this. But since you decided to continue with your little adventures, you've gone ended up in the big girl league. Turn back before you get your ass handed to you."

Letting anger blind her senses, Yang then jets toward her mother, ready to deal a staggering blow. However, Vernal close the distance between the two faster than expected and struck Yang in the stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs. Yang steps back and catches her breath and grows in strength, due to her semblance. She glares at Vernal and utters "If you want a challenge, you got it."

Raven then yells out from a distance "Be careful, Vernal. Not only is she strong, she's also my daughter. So be sure not to hold back!"

After Yang calmed herself and Vernal tightened her gauntlets, the two began to circle their fighting ground, sizing each other up and looking for a slight twinge that could be a fatal opening. Yang decided to strike first with a right straight, only to be countered by Vernal blocking with her gauntlet equipped forearm. After knocking Yang back, Vernal realized that Raven's daughter packed a bit more of a punch than she thought.

Raven looks at everyone in the distance and thought to herself "I'm gonna keep myself busy."

She then cuts a portal to exit the chamber, but didn't notice her usual crimson portal had a faint gold tint to it. After stepping through the portal, Raven appears next to Jaune and Cinder and assesses the severity of the situation. She grabs Jaune by the collar and looks him dead in the eye and threateningly asks "What games do you think you are playing at, boy?!"

Jaune relaxes his demeanor and gently responds with maintained eye contact, "I don't know, Raven. I promise you."

Raven shifted her position, folded her arms over her chest and gritted. She then spoke in a mutter, barely audible so Jaune could still hear "It seems that your semblance is more than it seems."

Jaune, as if in shock, became entranced in a past thought. He recalled as a child practicing with a stick to mimic sword moves on his family estate. He slowed his practice when noticed his visiting cousin, Ayven, holding something close to him in the grove.

Jaune put down his stick and slowly approached Ayven so he wouldn't scare the damaged creature. He hesitantly asked "What are you doing with that bird, dude?" Ayven looked up with eyes of remorse and said "I've been using my semblance to block the pain for it. I can block pain for others but not myself. I just wish I could heal this bird entirely." Jaune smiled with a big grin and said "At least you have a semblance and you're using it for good. I'm sure this little guy appreciates it. It hasn't left your hands yet, so I'm sure it likes you." Ayven sighed "If only I could fix its wing…"

Jaune came back to the grove every day to check on the progress of the bird's recovery and eventually obtained the courage to hold the bird. The bird immediately took a liking to him, nestling itself in Jaune's palms. The two cousins continued this for a couple days and talked about the differences in each other's families and similarities between the two boys themselves. Both boys spoke about their battle-hungry lineage and the huge name that they have to live under.

One of Ayven's biggest fears was not being useful with his semblance to help on the battlefield. Jaune picked his spirits up by teaching him sword techniques so he could still defend himself on the battlefield of the future. The young bird stayed as audience to them and slowly recovered over these days. It seemed like things were going decent rate and life would be alright. Then Ayven stopped coming to the grove.

He became deathly ill overnight. The house medics say that his respiratory system had slowly begun to deteriorate and his breathing would become harder to maintain. Jaune wasn't made aware of the illness until the day of the funeral. The funeral was to be held in the family mausoleum near the grove. On the day of the funeral, Jaune shed no tears. He was in a state of still grief. He understood that his only family friend was gone, but his lived his life well.

Jaune was lost, swimming in his thoughts before vigil started. That is, until he felt a familiar weight on his shoulder. The very bird he and Ayven spent time nursing was now here on his shoulder. The two sat vigil together as the dawn approached. Every time Jaune almost nodded off, the bird lightly pecked him to keep him awake. When dawn crept over the horizon, the bird nuzzled itself against Jaune's cheek one last time before flying off into the distance. He understood the message the bird left on him: don't let the past stop you from flying forward.

Having internalized the lesson, Jaune was overcome with peace and joy, contrast to his family. He then began to train ever harder, so he could be the best huntsman. He did it not only for Ayven, but also himself.

After fading back to reality, Jaune realized he always had his semblance he just didn't use it because he didn't know about it. He had power in him all this time…