Fate's Wild Card (Early Access)

Pryce cannot ignore something like that, it would be dumb and potentially dangerous, he knows better than that from his childhood.

So his face twists into a frown as he stops walking completely, turning to look over his shoulder in that direction. His long ears swivel forward, making an effort to catch whatever sound made him pause.

Of course his new partner notices this sudden change of attitude and turns around. "What's wrong?"

Pryce's ears twitch and swivel as he hears the same noise again but a little louder this time, confirming his suspicion that it's not just random. So he points in the opposite direction from where they were heading.

"I keep hearing something strange from over there," he says, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "Definitely not natural."

Pyrrha's expression immediately shifts to concern, her hand instinctively moving to adjust her shield. "Grimm?"

However, he just shrugs as he doesn't really know what Grimm sounds like out in the wild, but his street instincts are telling him that whatever's making that noise isn't something they want to ignore. "I'm not sure, but I feel like we should check it out first. Could be nothing, could be trouble heading our way. Or maybe somebody else is in trouble."

Pyrrha presses her lips into a thin line as she looks down at her shield, probably weighing her options. And not like he can blame her since he is asking her to go into potential danger without her primary weapon, so she will have a big handicap. But he has a strong feeling that they shouldn’t ignore it either.

Thankfully, she gives him a nod. "Alright, if you think it's important then we should investigate. I can still fight quite well with just my shield if it comes to that."

"Show off." 

The redhead lets out a chuckle. "Well, you could always lend me your weapon if you want to make it fair."

Pryce snorts, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm not quite that generous yet. Besides, I’m going to need every advantage out here."

She just rolls her eyes, showing a smile.

So with their mind made, Pryce takes the lead as he focuses everything on his hearing, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound and avoid being caught off guard. His rabbit ears swivel independently, filtering through the ambient forest noise—birds chirping, leaves rustling, —to track whatever made that distinctive noise.

Behind him, Pyrrha moves with surprising silence for someone wearing full armor, she must have learnt more things than just fighting then. Or maybe her armor was made with that in mind.

And after some time walking in the same direction and crossing foliage, that particular noise comes back again—louder this time and much clearer. His ears perk up as he catches not just that hard thudding sound, but what's definitely a voice accompanying it. 

Panicked?

A person. Definitely a person.

"Did you hear it again?" The redhead asks.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure it's from a person." he says, looking over his shoulder. "Sounds like they might be in some kind of trouble."

Not 100% sure about that but still a good chance that being the case.

Pyrrha nods, her expression growing more determined. "Then we need to help them. That's what Huntsmen do."

"Right," Pryce agrees, though his motivations are probably less noble and more practical—another person means better odds if they run into something dangerous, and it's always good to have people owe you favors.

They keep walking until they hear a low, guttural growling that makes both of them stop in their tracks as that one hundred percent didn't come from a human or faunus. The sound is primal, threatening, and unexpectedly, it sends an instinctive chill down his spine.

And before he can say something, Pyrrha quickly moves forward to take over the lead, her shield coming up instinctively as her entire demeanor shifts from friendly partner to the trained fighter she'd talked about. Her expression becomes focused and deadly serious, green eyes narrowing as she scans ahead.

They share a look and Pryce takes a deep breath, gripping his weapon’s handle tighter before he gives her a nod. With that silent gesture, they charge forward together through the thick underbrush.

The view gets clearer as they burst into a small clearing, and Pryce immediately sees the situation. 

Three Beowolves—black, wolf-like creatures with bone-white masks and glowing red eyes—are clawing and scratching at a large tree, their sharp claws leaving deep gouges in the bark. High up on a thick branch, the nervous blonde girl from earlier dangles her legs helplessly, her makeshift armor now covered in soot and blackened spots across her body and face.

She looks like she's been through an explosion. Her hair is singed, and there are scorch marks on her armor that suggest whatever landing strategy hadn't gone according to plan.

"Thank the gods!!" the blonde calls down with a high pitch. "I-I don't think this branch is gonna hold!"

"Hang on!" The veteran fighter shouts as she throws herself into the pack without hesitation.

Her bronze shield connects with the face of the nearest Grimm with a sickening crunch, the surface practically crushing its skull in a single devastating swing. The impact sends the creature flying backward into a tree with enough force to make the entire trunk shake and rain leaves down on them. The other two Grimm immediately turn their attention to the newcomer, snarling and circling her with predatory intelligence.

Pryce watches in amazement as Pyrrha flows between, easily avoiding every swing and bite before using her shield as both protection and weapon with flawless execution. She blocks a swipe from one while simultaneously slamming the sharp edge of her shield into another's neck, the rim slicing clean through and severing its head completely. The body collapses as black mist starts to rise from the corpse which soon starts dissolving.

Damn, he didn't expect her to be this strong. Tournament fighter his ass—this girl is a one-woman army.

However, he snaps back to reality as he notices movement in the corner of his vision. A fourth Beowolf prowls toward him from the treeline, which for some reason seems larger than the others, baring its fangs and fixing those glowing red eyes directly on him.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Pryce quickly moves to reload his gunblade, his fingers working on muscle memory as he slams a fresh cartridge into the cylinder. The weapon clicks satisfyingly as it locks into place.

And uses one piece of advice to keep distance.

He raises the gunblade and takes three quick shots at the oncoming threat. The first shot goes wide, splintering bark from a tree behind the creature. Thankfully, the second and third shots hit center mass, striking the Beowolf in the chest and making it stagger backward with pained howls.

That small success gives Pryce a sudden surge of confidence—confidence he immediately cashes in as with a roar he charges forward, holding his blade with both hands in the stance Qrow had drilled into him during their brief training session. He manages to connect with a diagonal slash across the monster's extended arm.

The blade cuts deep, enhanced by his aura, severing the limb completely. He watches with a mixture of relief and surprise as the severed arm falls to the forest floor, dissolving into black particles. But that slight pause to admire his handiwork turns out to be a mistake as the Grimm only gets angrier, as it lunges at him.

"Shit!"

It tries to get a bite on his head, those massive fangs barely missing his rabbit ears as he throws himself backward, falling on his ass. It was so close that he could feel the displaced air, and the stench of its breath—like rotting meat and sulfur—making him gag a little.

However, he still has a few shots left and takes the chance. As the monster overextends in its attack, he drives the tip of his gunblade upward under its chin and pulls the trigger without hesitation.

The point-blank shot works perfectly. The Beowolf's head explodes in a spray of dark matter and dissolving particles, leaving a headless body that collapses to the ground and immediately begins dissipating into black mist.

'Did I do that?' Pryce blinks and stares down at his hands, weapon still smoking slightly from the shot.

He actually killed a Grimm. His first real fight against monsters, and he won. 

And it feels completely different from winning a street fight or bar brawl, not like he had words to describe he just knew it felt very different.

"Hey, Pryce!"

His thoughts are interrupted by his partner calling his name.

He turns to see Pyrrha waving at him from across the clearing, no enemies in sight except for the dissipating black mist that marks where the other grimm used to be. She'd finished off the entire pack while he was dealing with just one, and she doesn't even look winded.

"Nice work!" she calls out with a genuine smile, seeming genuinely impressed rather than condescending about his performance.

"You too!" he calls back, as he gets back to his feet.

"T-Thank you, guys!" the troubled blonde yells, waving one hand while desperately gripping the branch with the other. "I thought I was going to be food for sure!"

Pryce and his partner look up and see that the girl is still struggling to get herself back up onto the branch properly, her legs dangling more as she tries to find a better foothold on the bark. However, her boots keep slipping.

So they walk closer to the tree and crane their necks to get a better look at her unlucky situation. The branch she's hanging from looks to be thick enough to support her weight, but the way it's creaking ominously suggests that won’t be the case in a while.

Pryce finds himself a little curious since he remembers how nervous and clumsy that girl had been before she was launched off the cliff. Now she's covered in soot and looking like she survived a war zone, her armor blackened and her hair singed at the ends.

However, Pyrrha is the one who voices the question. "What happened to you?"

The girl groans and tries to use her feet to push herself up against the trunk before answering. "I-I got caught in a big explosion during my landing! One minute I was falling and screa-... the next minute BOOM! Everything went white and hot and I couldn't see anything!"

Pyrrha immediately glances at him with a questioning eyebrow raised.

He quickly shakes his head. "That wasn't me. Mine was smaller and more controlled, and I would have noticed her if she'd been anywhere near me during the fall." 

Which is true—that klutz would have been his partner instead of Pyrrha if their trajectories had been that close.

The blonde yelps as her foot slips against the bark, nearly losing her grip entirely. "No, no! I was about to hit the ground really hard when I saw this pink grenade fly past me and it exploded right in front of me!" She's stuttering now, the words tumbling out between her efforts to maintain her hold. "It sent me flying sideways and I crashed into this tree! I've been holding on for dear life ever since!"

The duo say "Ooh" in realization at the same time.

Somebody else had tried to help her in their own weird way, just like Pyrrha had tried to help him. But instead of throwing a spear, they'd thrown a grenade, which was arguably even more dangerous and stupid in retrospect.

"So someone saved you with an explosion?" Pryce asks, trying to wrap his head around the logic. "That's... creative."

"I-I guess?" the blonde calls down with doubt in her voice. "I-I mean, I didn't die, so it worked? But now I'm stuck up here and my arms are getting really tired!"

Then they hear a loud crack that makes Pryce's ears perk up straight, and the girl starts panicking above them.

"Oh no, oh no, oh NO!" she shouts as the branch visibly sags, and she desperately swings her legs trying to find a new foothold. "This is not how I wanted to die! This is definitely not heroic!"

Pyrrha quickly moves to position herself directly under the struggling girl and extends her arms upward. "I'll catch you! Just let go and drop down! I promise I won't let you get hurt!"

"Are you CRAZY?! I'm not letting go! What if you miss?!" The blonde just screams back, her voice cracking with terror. "What if I fall on you and hurt you too?! What if—"

Pryce just rolls his eyes and huffs, crossing his arms. "You're going to fall anyway when that branch breaks. At least now you won't snap your neck."

"Pryce!" Pyrrha sends him a sharp glare.

"What? I'm being practical," he defends, but seeing her disapproving expression, he sighs and moves to her side, also extending his arms. "Fine. Two people to catch you. Better odds."

"NOT GONNA DO IT!" the stubborn girl shouts, tightening her grip on the branch. "There has to be another way! Maybe you could climb up and help me down slowly, or find a rope, or—"

Another loud crack interrupts her desperate brainstorming, and this time a piece of bark actually falls down and hits Pryce on the head.

"Yeah, that branch is definitely going to give out," he says, rubbing his head. "Any minute now..."

"Don't say that!" the blonde wails. "You're making it worse!"

"Look, we need to get you down safely," Pyrrha calls up, trying a more gentle approach. "What's your name? I'm Pyrrha, and this is Pryce."

"J-Jeanne!" the blonde shouts back, her voice cracking.. "Jeanne Arc! S-Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!"

Pryce raises an eyebrow at that introduction.

"Okay, Jeanne," Pyrrha says patiently, "I know this is scary, but if I try to climb up there to help you, we could both get hurt if it breaks while I'm on it. It's much safer if you just trust us to catch you."

"But what if you miss? W-What if I'm too heavy? What if I fall and take you down with me and we all get hurt and—" Jeanne tries to protest, her voice getting higher with every word.

However, before she can finish her sentence, they hear a tremendous crash as a tree comes tumbling down somewhere nearby, followed by an explosion that makes the ground shake beneath their feet. They all turn to see an orange-haired girl in a pink and white combat skirt come flying into the clearing, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"YEEEEEHAAAAW! This is the BEST day EVER!" she shouts as she rides on the back of an Ursa that's struggling and flailing wildly, trying to buck her off. "Come on, Mr. Grimmy! Let's dance!"

Pink explosions go off around them as the girl tosses grenades with reckless abandon, each detonation visibly damaging the monster and leaving scorch marks.

"Boom! Boom! BOOM!" she cheers with each explosion. "Oh, you didn't like that one? How about THIS one!"

The Ursa finally collapses from continuous damage, sending the girl tumbling off its back in a graceless dismount. Causing her to end up on her butt, rubbing her head and turning to look at the dissolving monster.

"Awww, it's broken already," she says with a pout. "And we were having so much fun! Why do they always have to dissolve? Can't we keep just one as a pet?"

The Grimm finishes dissolving into that black mist.

Before any of them can even process what just happened, the loud newcomer springs back to her feet with incredible energy and rushes up to them, sticking her face uncomfortably close to Pryce's. 

"Ooh, ooh! Are you my partner? You have really nice ears! Can I touch them? Do they twitch? I bet they twitch!" she says rapidly without taking a breath.

"Hello?" Pryce manages to say, taken aback by her rather… strong attitude.

"Nope, nope, not my partner," she says after a moment, shaking her head vigorously. "Wrong eye color! I'm looking for someone with different eyes. Maybe green? Or pink? Actually, I don't really know what color I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it!"

She moves to do the same inspection with Pyrrha, getting equally close to her face and letting out a thoughtful hum.

"Um, hi?" Pyrrha responds with an awkward smile, clearly not sure how to handle this energetic stranger who likes staring.

"Ooh, you're really pretty! And shiny! I like shiny things! But nope, not you either," the girl declares after studying Pyrrha's face for a moment. "Plus, you're standing next to him, and you two have that whole 'together-together’ vibe going on!"

Then another loud crack echoes from above, and Jeanne screams even louder than before. "IT'S BREAKING! IT'S ACTUALLY BREAKING!"

The orange-haired girl looks up at the source of the screaming and her face twists into a grin, her entire face lighting up. "There you are!" she shouts enthusiastically, bouncing on her toes. "I've been looking everywhere after shooting my grenades! Well, not everywhere, but I rode Mr. Grimmy to find you! Did you see? It was AWESOME!"

Almost on cue, the branch finally gives way with a resounding snap that echoes through the forest, and Jeanne falls with it, screaming and flailing her arms as she plummets toward the ground along with chunks of bark and leaves.

And it takes exactly one second for Pryce to realize that she's falling directly on top of him, not toward the ginger-head who's supposed to catch her or his partner.

"Damn—"

The clumsy girl collides with him in what could generously be called the world's worst rescue attempt, taking him down with her in a tangle of limbs and makeshift armor. Everything goes black for a second as the impact might have rattled his brain, his aura absorbing most of the damage but not preventing the sharp pain that shoots through his chest and ribs where her armor plates dig into him.

However, he becomes aware of something rather warm and soft pressed against his face, and then he opens his eyes to find himself staring into panicked blue eyes..

He blinks a few times, and then realizes that somehow they ended up with their lips pressed together from the fall. Without breaking any teeth or splitting lips, somehow.

How?

Jeanne's face is turning redder by the second, and Pryce can practically feel the heat radiating from her cheeks.

Seriously, how did they end up kissing?