Miles away from Mantle

She gripped the reins tightly as she flew over the surrounding forest, the wind rushing past her as her pegasus soared at incredible speeds. Her other hand held a lance, a steel and silver work of art with intricate markings covering from the base to the point of the weapon. Her platinum blonde hair blew with the wind as her olive green eyes remained focused on the town's outline in the distance.

"Arslan! Do we have enough men to protect Mantle?!" A male voice called from behind her.

The tanned girl whipped her head to face him, "We don't, but we'll do everything to protect the sacred town, Bolin."

The black-haired man let out a groan as he flew next to his fellow pegasus knight, "I'm not sure we have enough manpower to defend the people from these beasts."

"Sacrifices are needed if we are to keep Mantle from falling into their hands." Arslan replied.

"Yes ma'am."

"Captain! We have a problem!" Another rider flew next to them, he had black hair with pink tips and his skin was tanned. Unlike the other two knights, he wielded a sword rather than a lance.

"Report Nadir."

"A couple of Beastfallen scouts managed to escape us, they're approaching the town as we speak." He stated.

"Where are they at!" The female knight barked.

"Reese is tailing them as we speak." Nadir replied, unfazed by the sudden outburst.

"Alright, we're pursuing the scouts. Don't let a single one get away!" The platinum blonde ordered, "Glory to the gods!"

"Glory to the gods!" The two knights chanted as they followed the pegasus captain.

Outskirts of Mantle

"No." Ruby replied as she gripped the handle of her sword.

"Please?" Yang asked in a lighter tone, "Can I just hold it for a moment?"

"No, this sword means a lot to me. I'm not going to let you hold it."

"Come on! Just a minute, I promise I won't break it or anything." Yang whined.

"You touch it and I'll shorten your portions when I cook." The hooded elf warned, effectively shutting up the dwarf.

"You were right Blake," The white-haired girl whispered to her beastfallen companion, "I'm liking her a lot better than Yang."

The ebony-haired girl said nothing as she rolled her eyes, before refocusing on the map in her hand.

The four companions got through Wind Pass just as the snow began to fall, soon afterwards it took them two days to reach Mantle. The trip had been relatively peaceful, Yang found ideal campsites and provided a blessing to protect everyone from the weather, Ruby did all the cooking and hunted game while Weiss and Blake gathered firewood and water.

"Fine, but can I at least see your bow?" Yang questioned after a few minutes.

The elven girl sighed as she handed her bow to the dwarf, who was beaming with excitement. Ruby's bow wasn't as elegantly crafted as her sword but it was still quite a sight, the bow was made out of wood- the color was brown and faded into black as it extended towards the tips. The wood was engraved with many curves and a symbol of a leaf towards the grip of the bow.

Yang tested the bow by pulling back on the string and letting it go, satisfied with its strength she handed the weapon back.

"Where did you get your weapons from? They're all brilliant works of art!"

"The sword belonged to my father, the bow was made by an elven blacksmith. I forgot their name but he had a shop near the western border."

"Dang, I was hoping that I could get a weapon or something similar to your sword. Who made it for your father?"

"I don't know, I never had the chance to ask him." Ruby said with a crestfallen look.

"Oh." The dwarf picked up on the her statement and dropped the conversation.

After a couple of minutes, the four found themselves in a large opening- the grass was mostly covered with a thin blanket of snow and the puddles of water had a thin layer of ice on top. The green-clad elf crouched near one of the puddles and pulled out her water pouch, humming a quiet tune as she filled up her pouch with cold water.

The mage and the dwarf began to start discussing about the rest of the trek towards Mantle while Blake stayed under a dead tree, away from the other three while reading the map. Satisfied, Ruby capped her pouch and tucked it in one of her many bags underneath her cloak. Just as she stood up, she heard footsteps crunch underneath the snow in front of her.

When she turned towards the source, she felt her left shoulder burn as she was suddenly jerked backwards. Ruby let out a shout as she clutched at her shoulder, feeling the dagger that embedded itself into her skin. Three figures emerged from the forest across from the four, all dressed in black cloaks at they ran at them. Blood ran down her arm as it stained her green cloak, the elven girl immediately drew her sword at the attackers and took a defensive stance.

Weiss and Yang were already making their way towards the wounded girl, the dwarf held her axe while the mage pulled out her tome, a white light emitted from the book while she threw on her hood. The white-haired girl raised her book, a yellow glyph formed before her before she raised her right hand. The glyph was a large triangle with a circle inside of it, with many symbols and foreign letters along the circle's outline.

"Välk!" Weiss casted a single lightning bolt, catching one of the assailants in its path. Sparks flew off his armor while he let out a yelp, before he fell forward onto the snow. He groaned as he crashed against the ground.

Ruby brought her sword upwards, intercepting an incoming dagger in the air before she charged forward with Yang closely trailing behind. The crimsonette ran past the closest attacker, towards the dagger thrower who was hiding in the tree line. The blonde dwarf shield bashed the hooded man as he turned around to face the elf, the force was strong enough to send him flat on his belly.

Before the hooded man can recover, Yang brought the flat side of her axe down onto his head- knocking him out with the impact. Ruby closed the distance between her and the last attacker, in desperation the assailant tossed a dagger at her face while charging straight at her with another dagger. The elf quickly dodged the projectile then parried his attack with her sword.

The impact made the hooded man stumble backwards, Ruby seized the opportunity and took a step forward- driving her sword into his chest. Blood sprayed from his throat as the crimsonette pressed her boot against his corpse, wrenching her blade from his carcass. Droplets of red splattered against the snow, blemishing the white ground as Ruby wiped the blood off on his body, before she sheathed her sword.

Blake made her way across the opening while Yang just stared at the crimsonette in shock.

"What. Are. You. Doing?!" Weiss shouted as she made her way towards the elf.

"What?" Ruby asked, unfazed by her yelling.

"There wasn't a need to kill him!"

"Why not? They were trying to kill us." The elf said as she took a step back from the angry girl.

The mage grabbed her by the collar as she pulled her closer.

"We don't stoop down to their level!" The white-haired girl stated, pausing after every word, "There was no need to take his life!"

"And what? Let them kill us when we turn our backs to them? They were clearly out for blood!" Ruby said as she gestured towards her wounded shoulder.

"What if they were guards? What if they had a family?"

"He attacked us first!" The crimsonette defended.

"That doesn't give you an excuse to kill! What if he thought you were an intruder and decided-"

The elf tuned out her argument as Weiss began to shake her, Ruby was about to argue back until she heard something faint in the distance. It was hard to distinguish with Weiss shaking her and her yelling but it sounded like-

'Flapping' The elven girl eyes widened as she heard someone else's voice from above.

"Äikest Välk!"

Ruby shoved the mage back as a flash of lightning struck in between them, unlike Weiss' earlier spell- it was a bright purple rather than yellow. The white-haired girl landed on her back while the crimsonette slid on her right, the ground before them evaporated the snow and charred the grass they laid undernath.

"You missed, Cap!" A feminine voice shouted as several figures emerged above the forest. All of them were riding pegasus, however two of them were wielding lances while the other two had swords.

"That doesn't change anything. Bolin, Nadir, take care of the two on our right. Reese, go for the archer- I'll take care of the mage." The leader of the four ordered, as she brandished her lance.

Yes ma'am!" The all said as they engaged.

"Reese" dove at Ruby, who ducked as the blade sailed over her head. The elf drew her bow but winced in pain from her shoulder as she tired to notch an arrow.

'Faex' She internally cursed as her shot missed the pegasus rider. The green-haired girl noticed and became more aggressive, leaving the hooded girl no time to raise her bow.

Yang couldn't get a decent strike at the swordsman as her swings were slower than his attacks. Her axe only made contact with the air every time the rider made a pass, while she shield took the brunt of his slashes. Blake was in the worst position out of the four, her retractable blades couldn't even reach the lancer nor the mount as she constantly dodged his polearm.

The mage and the leader of the pegasus riders stared at each other from a distance. The white-haired girl couldn't make out her face as her helmet covered everything but the mouth, but she sure that the other person had a smug grin on her face. While the leader did wield a lance, Weiss spotted a tome attached to her belt- was she the one who casted the lightning spell? If so-

"Lõke!" A red glyph appeared before the mage, instead of a triangle it was a square with a circle in the center. Her tome glowed until a fireball launched from the glyph, sailing towards the pegasus rider. The lancer didn't bother to dodge the attack as it struck both the knight and the mount, engulfing them in flames. Once the fire dissipated, the two were unharmed as the leader of the riders planted her lance in the ground and pulled out her tome.

"Kõhtu!" A green glyph appeared, shaped as diamond while the wind began to pick up as Weiss saw the whirlwind approach her.

"Kaitsta!" The white-haired girl casted a ward to take the brunt of the spell, however the force was strong enough to blow her back a couple of feet. Her hood was blown back from the attack, while she staggered to rise from the ground.

"You beasts are resilient as ever." The lancer muttered as she prepared another spell. Weiss was about to do the same until something caught her attention. A flying object sailed towards the pegasus captain, making a loud clang as it struck against her chest.

The mage realized that it was a cooking pot that belonged to their resident elf as Ruby lunged at the knight with her sword. The pot knocked the tome out of her hand and the crimsonette's strike spooked the mount, causing it to instinctively dodge away. The leader tried to reach for her planted lance but was too slow to retrieve her weapon. Ruby stood in between her and her weapon.

Weiss was about to utter a thank you until she noticed Ruby's wound, more blood seeped through the cloak as the elf was struggling to keep herself upright. The elven girl had her hood thrown back as her right hand was over her wound, but her gaze did tear away from the unarmed knight. Wait, wasn't she dealing with one of the knights herself?

"Ruby, where's the one you that went after you?" The mage said urgently.

"She crashed into one of the ponds, I'm not sure if she's dead or not but it'll give me some time to help you."

"Speak for yourself! If you don't treat your wound, then-"

"Weiss! You're already at a disadvantage going against her, pegasus gives their rider resistance against magic." Ruby stated, "You wouldn't be able to lay a scratch on her."

"But-" Before the mage could continued the pegasus neighed as it approached them in a cautious pace.

"Weiss? Weiss Schnee?" The pegasus knight questioned as she raised the visor to her helmet. Recognition gleamed in her green eyes as she came closer.

"Wait... Arslan?" The white-haired girl said with uncertainty. Weiss lowered her tome but Ruby stood in between them with her sword in a defensive stance.

"Stop right where you are." The elf warned as she pointed the tip of her blade towards knight.

"Ruby, at ease." Weiss ordered, "She's one of my friends from the academy in Atlas."

"In case you didn't suffer a concussion from her attack, they're trying to kill us."

Realization dawned on Arslan's face before she turned towards her knights, "Nadir! Bolin! Stand down!"

Both the pegasus knights looked at her in confusion as they broke away from their fights, landing a few paces away from Blake and Yang.

"My liege?" Nadir asked as his gaze darted between the dwarf and the captain, "What's wrong?"

The platinum blonde flashed several hand signals to them, immediately Bolin and Nadir sheathed their weapons as they raised their visors.

"They're friends of yours?" The black-haired man asked.

The tanned girl nodded as she turned towards the Nadir, "Find Reese, make sure she's alright."

"Affirmative, ma'am." He said before he took off.

Arslan turned back to face the crimsonette, dismounting her pegasus while remaining a safe distance away from the elf, "My apologies, we were chasing a group of scouts and mistook them for you."

Weiss shot a pleading look to Ruby, who responded by rolling her eyes and sheathing her sword.

"I'm going to fetch my pot, if she stabs you- it's not my fault." The elven girl said as she cupped her wound and left the two by themselves.

"She's... an odd one." Arslan commented as she watched the crimsonette leave.

"She is, but she's helpful in more ways than one." Weiss followed up as she placed her tome in her pouch.

"It's great to see you again Weiss, I see you're doing great in these past years." The knight said as took off her helmet.

"And to you as well, when did you become a pegasus knight?" The mage asked.

"I joined the knights two years ago, but I didn't imagine that I'll meet you out here."

"Me too, although we could've met under better conditions."

"Likewise..." Arslan paused as she rubbed her arm, "...how are you holding up?"

"Huh?" Weiss asked.

"I mean, your quest. How's your progress on it?"

"Oh, right. Our last clue gave us directions towards Mantle. Specifically the church."

"The church?" The platinum blonde brow rose, "I heard that place has been closed down for hundreds of years."

"Then that sounds like the next clue is probably there." Weiss declared, "Would you like to accompany us?"

"It would be a pleasure to fight alongside you again, just like old times."

"Just like old times." The mage whispered as she instinctively raised her hand towards her chest.

Arslan noticed this and both her brows furrowed, "You haven't told your friends about your heritage yet?"

"Only one, but the other two..." The white-haired girl let her sentence trail off as she glanced towards the blonde dwarf, who was talking to Blake.

"I see, although you should probably tell them sooner than later. Otherwise it's going to be a mess when it does come up."

"Have you told your friends about yours?"

"I have, although Reese wouldn't speak to me for a day. Eventually they came to terms with it as time went on."

The white-haired girl responded with a nod, "I'll take your words to heart."

"You better, gods know what would happen to you if you don't listen to me." Arslan jested.

"Hey! That was only one time!" Weiss defended.

"Yeah, one time too many. Honestly I still feel bad for that student who took the hit from your spell."

"We are not discussing that right now." The mage huffed before a small smile formed on her face, "Thank you, for tagging along."

"It's not a problem, I'll write a report to my Order when we arrive in Mantle."

"Alright, in the meantime I'll search for an inn for us to stay in."

"That sounds-"

"Hey Weiss!" Yang interrupted as she slowly made her way through the snow towards them, "What are we going to do with these guys?"

"We can take it from here." Bolin said as he began to tie up the unconscious men who were still lying in the snow.

"Who are these guys anyway?" The dwarf asked.

"Beastfallen scouts, one of their tribes settled near the border as of late so we've been assigned to deal with any stragglers or scouts that come our way." He replied before checking around, "Wasn't there more of them?"

"Ah, Ruby killed one of them."

"Shame, could've questioned him for more information but what's done is done."

"Oi, Bolin! Could you help me out here?" Nadir called as he was carrying the unconscious green-haired girl over his shoulder.

"A little busy here-" The black-haired man turned towards the crimsonette, "Could you help him? You were the one responsible for-"

Ruby interrupted him with a groan, followed by a huff, "Fine, but don't blame me if I drop her."

Weiss ignored her remark while Yang shook her head. The two quickly gathered their belongings as Arslan and Bolin each placed a scout on their mounts. A few minutes later a loud thud was heard, followed by shouting.

"How did you drop her?!" Ruby yelled.

Still alive, just buried beneath many updates for the rest of my stories. Thanks for taking your time to read this!