Deep, dark water churned beneath the wheels of the mostly wooden boat. It was a pretty… novel vehicle, if she had to describe it. Attached to each side of the boat was something kind of like a water wheel, the ones they used at mills, with individual spokes jutting out from each side. The wheels span, the small steam boat slowly moving through the water, steam puffing out from the chimney atop the roof of the Captain’s quarters. The only other passenger on board the old steamer, a girl in a brown cloak, stared down into the water, even her own reflection blotted out by how murky the water was. It had been a similar sight for the last ten minutes. The boat was not exactly the fastest thing on the seas, that was for sure, but it was her only feasible way to the mainland, and the Captain had known her family for years, so she wasn’t even having to pay. The white bearded man turned around, looking to her from inside the small booth that could be described as the- Olive wasn’t aware of what the term was for it. He tipped his fisherman’s hat down with one hand, before nodding, and letting out a grunt.
“Comin’ up near’t mainland soon enough.”
The cloaked girl didn’t even turn the other way, still staring intently into the water, still attempting to see her reflection, a seemingly futile act, the water all around the wheels being thrown about haphazardly, and the rest too thick to make anything out in. Yet, she looked anyway, her mind beginning to wander as she stared into the dark, empty waters.
As the moon shone from above, that same girl, albeit 10 years more youthful, sat just outside the stone steps of the house in which she lived, seated firmly upon the grass of the hill, knees folded up to her chest, one arm wrapped around them to hold them close and in place, the other, her right hand, holding a small, wooden dagger, with a rope tied around the hilt, connecting it to an identical duplicate, which hung loosely down by the side of her knee. A pout on her face, dressed in a dark blue set of fluffy pajamas- The words ‘Hero in the making’ stitched into the fabric in orange wool- she held onto the hilt of the first dagger tightly, her little fist clutching it as she punched her arm forward, the second dagger flicking around wildly in the air on the rope. From inside the house, the back door still ajar, the noise of joyous laughing and celebration could be heard. This only seemed to upset her more, the girl now swinging her fist sideways at an angle, the second dagger flying out, still tied to the rope, and slicing through the air, as if lazily slashing an invisible enemy. The momentum was quickly lost, the dagger now once again limply flopping down, hanging from the rope. Angered, the barefooted girl hopped to her feet, letting out overly dramatic and unnecessary effort grunts as she swung the hilt around, causing the other dagger to flail around in the air like a nunchuk. That was when she heard the sound of the door creaking, turning around to see a familiar face, the well-kept bright pink and white locks making the figure easily identifiable as Napier, another member of her brother’s just recently graduated Team. The girl pouted once again, spinning back around and returning to her ‘training’, now jabbing at the air with the dagger she was actually holding in a swift series of attacks. Napier smirked, sitting down on the stone steps that led out into the back garden of the house, the bottom of her rather dainty and over the top green flower-like dress pressing onto the hard, cold stone as she chuckled.
“You’re really showing all those nighttime insects who’s boss, kid.”
The little girl turned around once again, unable to ignore Napier’s teasing, flicking her fist to launch the second dagger into the air, grabbing onto it’s hilt with her free hand, also wrapping her fist around it, as she clutched the hilts of the two wooden daggers, glaring at the older girl as she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
Napier chuckled even more at the display, getting to her feet and moving over, squatting down to be more close to her height, as she continued cooing in her teasing tone.
“Awwww, adorableeeee-“
She stopped as she noticed the makeshift rope mechanism connecting the two small weapons, leaning forward and tapping the rope with her fingers, intrigued.
“... Interesting. Just like your brother’s weapon, huh?” She laughed. “Although, if I remember correctly, I think his was a bit more big and scary, and less likely to give you a splinter.”
The young Olive pouted again, folding her arms, as if trying to hide the daggers
behind them, the second one kind of falling out and hanging below her arms anyway, still visible as Napier continued questioning her.
“You make those yourself?”
Olive reluctantly nodded in confirmation, her expression seeming to lighten just a bit, happy to claim the attention for crafting the makeshift weapons.
Napier gave her a warm smile, before patting her on the head, the little girl’s messy brown hair ruffling around.
“Well, that’s cute. They’re not… exactly the same, as I said. They’re certainly no Twelve Labours, but it’s a start.”
Little Olive’s mouth curled into an angry frown once again, before Napier leaned back, holding her hands in the air in submission, laughing.
“Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing!”
Olive tilted her head to the side in confusion. Napier pressed a finger to her chin, staring at her for a bit, puzzled, before realising she would have to explain.
“Well, big and scary isn’t everything! You can be… elegant, and accurate, even if you don’t have crazy power. Like me!”
She flicked a thumb back to point towards her face, Olive still pouting and crossing her arms as she turned her face away, seemingly not convinced. Napier sighed, trying to explain further as she took in a deep breath.
“Listen, sometimes, it’s better to have the ability to make sure a job is done right, rather than just make sure it gets done. You get what I mean? Even if you can’t… fell a Nevermore in one hit, or toss a Beringel with your bare hands, orrrr, whatever stupid things they tell stories about him doing these days-“
Napier pursed her lips, rolling her eyes as she tried to get back to what she was talking about.
“If you just keep on training, and learn how to use those little things to your advantage, no-one will ever see it coming. You just gotta make whatever you have count!”
Olive stared up to her, a small smile finally lighting up her little face, hopping into the air and turning back around, shaking her fist around as she let go of the hilt of one dagger, swinging the other around in the air in a circular motion as it became a blur, preparing to return to her fun, before a small, blonde puppy came storming out of the door and bounding down the steps, hopping and barking as it ran over to Olive, leaning forward on its front legs, staring at the yoyo-like weapon as it barked.
The silver-eyed little girl froze in fear, immediately stopping what she was doing as she jumped into the air with surprise, the dagger stopping spinning and hanging back down again as she turned, scooping the two daggers up into her arms and cradling them so the dog could not reach them, as the girl of little words finally spoke, shouting in panic.
“They aren’t yours, Argo!”
The dog proceeded to jump around, pawing at her knees to try and reach them as Napier stood back to her feet, chuckling.
The 17 year old Olive Ulysses had lost track of time, while staring into what seemed to be the dark abyss below- no reflection staring back. Her thoughts were accompanied by the ever-present thrashing of the water churned by the wheel, and so she stayed that way, until she noticed something else… the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up, as she spotted, in the corner of her eye, some ripples in the thick water. If it weren’t for how this place had been before, that wouldn’t have spooked her so much, but it did now. She raised her cloaked head, casting her gaze further out, and once again, she saw it. The ripples, gradually trailing towards her side of the boat. Olive retracted her arms from the metal bar, spinning around to the Captain, but before she had time to speak, her eardrums were jarred by a loud crunching sound.
SNAP
The little paddle steam boat stopped completely in the water, like a sitting duck, as the churning water began to cease, the only sound now being the eerie silence, and the occasional splashes. The Captain stared at the wheel awkwardly, before pressing his arms back to it, attempting to spin it; that was a futile effort, yielding no results, as the sound of wood straining could be heard from the other side of the ship. Olive ran around the back of the booth, brown cloak trailing behind her, as she took up a similar position, now on the left side of the boat, as she craned her neck over the side, a dreadful sight meeting her eyes. A black, scaly, alligator-like creature, long tail thrashing around behind it, it’s head just floating barely above the surface of the water, had its jaws clamped firmly around the bottom of the wheel, holding it in place. A Grimm… and it wasn’t the only one. Olive knew exactly what she had to do. She turned, looking back to the Captain, who grunted out another reply as he span the steering wheel more.
“We’ll get’er moving, don’t worry. Just gotta power through-“
Olive spoke up, interrupting him, no hesitation in her voice, as she flicked her cloak to the side, revealing two daggers strapped to the side of her pants, very similar to the ones she had been using earlier- now larger, thicker, and a bronze colour, the rope now replaced with a metallic chain that fed into the bottom of each dagger.
“No… I’m going to Haven to become a Huntress. This is something I’ll be expected to do.” She finally finished throwing her cloak aside, letting it flutter to the wooden floor, the girl now fully visible as she stood in the early morning sunlight. She had short, messy dark brown hair, barely different from when she was younger, her sleeveless, olive green undershirt now visible, with a brown unbuttoned jacket over it. She then turned around, marching back over to the left side of the ship, not even looking back. “So i’m going to do it.” The Captain simply nodded, knowing full well he couldn’t stop her. In one swift leap, she was atop the metal bar, crouching, her slight frame keeping her in balance, as she stood directly to the left of the wheel. Grabbing one of the daggers from her waist, she held it in her hand, and raised it above her head, swinging it around like a whip, a clinking sound as the chain began to gradually extend out further and further, increasing the distance between the hilts of the dagger she was holding, and the one that had now become a blur, swinging around rapidly above her head in a circle. She finally let go, flicking her wrist down towards the Grimm that had the wheel in its maw, the spinning dagger darting towards it at high speed, only to smack into it with a resounding metal clang, bouncing off, and landing in the water. Olive growled. The white, bone-like area, covered in red markings, that surrounded the top part of it’s head and mouth seemed to be impenetrable, at least for a weapon like hers… the Grimm turned its attention fully to her, it’s fiery, dead, yellow eyes rolling up to lock onto her, as she pulled back sharply on the hilt of her dagger, retracting the chain and pulling the other one from the water back to her hand, splashing water up in the process. By the time she had caught it, the twin daggers reunited, she looked back to the water, her silver-eyes scanning it for any signs of life, only to notice the Grimm was completely gone, leaving only teeth marks in the wheel-
SNAP
That exact same sound once again… this time from the opposite side of the boat. She froze up in silence as it occurred to her what was happening, remembering Herk talking about these things.
“Sobek’s… Crocodile and Alligator Grimm, live in areas just like this. They’re smart, stealthy and mobile in both water and land. As well as hard as hell.”
The one that she spotted on the other side of the boat must have just now started gnawing on the right wheel… coordinated. Like they were taking shifts. They wanted to immobilise their prey completely, and leave the boat as a sitting duck on the water.
“Guess I’ll just have to show them who the Hunter is here…”
Before she could finish that thought, it was interrupted by a colossal splash, and the sound of bone clashing and a monstrous maw crashing shut, as the left Sobek, that had just vanished not so long ago, came leaping out of the water, snout first, spiralling upwards like a spinning tornado, drops of water splashing onto her, the Sobek’s scaly body having been scarily close to her. She flinched, almost falling backwards off the bar, nearly losing her balance, but before she could even blink, the Sobek lost its momentum, crashing back downwards into the water. Eyes wide, Olive hopped back off the bar, landing on both feet on the left side of the boat. So this was their plan… the one she was dealing with would pop in and out of cover to take pot shots at grabbing her and pulling her overboard, while one gnawed on the other side’s wheel and if she went back over to the wheel to protect it, they would just swap over roles, keeping the ordeal going until one wheel broke. Olive smirked. For two overgrown lizards, they weren’t too dumb… she was getting excited. Despite the girl not caring too much about things, when she really got into combat? She could get fired up. Her brain was working overtime to find a way out of this, because she’d be damned if two Grimm ruined her free ride to Mistral. Got it… She just had to not play into their scaly old lizard hands. She swiftly ran back over to the metal bar, and raising her left leg, stomped her foot onto it, causing it to ring out. Once again, the Sobek came bursting out of the water, like a drill rising upwards as it spun, right in front of her current position. That was when she used her other leg, planted firmly against the floor, to boost herself into the air, leaping onto the bar, and throwing the first dagger forwards, her grip held tightly on the second one. However, the Sobek soon quickly fell back into the water, the dagger’s tip merely just missing the tip of its snout as she was met with another empty splash, quickly reeling the dagger back into her hand by yanking back on the other one.
SNAP
“... That can’t be good. Forgot I can’t let those things do any serious damage, otherwise we’re stuck here…”
Inhaling deeply, she proceeded to back-flip off the bar, arcing through the air, and landing crouched atop the roof of what she had been struggling to name earlier, the Bridge. The bridge of the ship. Now her mind was working, it was all beginning to come to her. She turned around, leaping off the bridge’s roof. It almost felt as if time began to slow, as the girl hurtled through the air, her eyes catching onto what was indeed a second Sobek, chewing on the right wheel. Luckily, the chain on Equis & Troy had extended to full length- in a split second, she cast one hand forward, launching one dagger through the air and over the metal bar that protected the side of the ship, a louder, and more hollow clanging sound as the she heard the knife make impact with the Sobek’s ‘skull’. Seemed like another dud… She landed on the floor with a crash, swiftly pulling the dagger back up from over the side of the ship using it’s twin. She held it in her hand, seeing that the thing was now wet. That was when a sudden and loud crashing sound followed it… her eyes panned upwards from the knife, as she looked to the metal bar… the Right Sobeks head poking over the side of the ship, its ominous yellow eyes meeting her own.
She almost momentarily froze up, hearing the clambering of limbs, and with one mighty heave, the Sobek’s body was completely over the side of the ship. It must have leapt onto the side… and climbed over. The scaly Grimm shook itself off like a dog, although in one simple movement, water splashing all over the already stained and worn wooden planks. Olive quickly leaned back into a fighting stance, not much room between herself, the Grimm, and the wall of the Bridge. Sure enough, it quickly jabbed its head forward, mouth widening as it turned its head sideways, Olive rolling to her right, dodging the monster, it’s gaping maw instead clashing fruitlessly into the right wall of the bridge. She pushed herself off the floor with a hand, hopping back to her feet, back on top of her game as she quickly lunged forward, stabbing one of the bronze daggers into the hide of the Sobek, only for it to make another dull slotting sound as it stabbed into it, not piercing the scales. Letting out a grunt of disapproval, she quickly rolled backwards, across the floor and once again hopping back to her feet, back in the clear as the Sobek closed its mouth, slowly manoeuvring itself sideways to face her in the small room it had. It’s clawed feet left the floor, seemingly convinced she had nowhere left to run, as this time it lunged forward, mouth opening wide as she leapt back, still on her toes as she landed on higher ground- the metal bar at the south end of the boat. The Grimm, still leaping, closed its mouth reflexively in time, it's hard, armoured snout ramming into the wood below the metal bar, shaking it. Nearly tumbling off once again, Olive’s body began to lean backwards, the girl acting on instinct, and throwing a dagger with one hand, the chain just extending far enough- before she fell back into the water, she heard the dull, relieving sound of the knife digging into the ledge that was the roof of the Bridge, the girl gripping tightly onto the other end of the chain, the second dagger, not even holding herself upright as she tipped over. Before her feet could leave the bar, she mustered all her upper body strength, pulling herself upright, and leaping from the metal bar, using the chain almost as a makeshift swing, pulling herself upwards and landing with a bang atop the Bridge’s roof. She landed on her knees, reaching down to pluck the dagger she had thrown out from the roof, standing back up straight, beginning to walk across towards the north end of the roof when she heard scrambling behind her, and an equally as loud crash. The Sobek now stood opposite her on the roof as she turned back around, its mouth spreading open wide, unleashing a hideous, putrid stench.
“Mental note to self: Bring a clothes peg to put on your nose next time you fight one of these.”
She smirked, holding a dagger in each hand, squaring her shoulders and getting into a combat stance, staring the monster down, and definitely not backing up. The Grimm once again jabbed forward, Olive repeating her same tactic, rolling to the side of it, only for the Grimm to suddenly turn, throwing its body to the left, swinging its tail around to the right to meet the rolling girl. Considering how little space there was on the square roof, if the Sobek spread itself out like this, there was no way for her to avoid its tail swing on the ground- that is, if she had to stay there. Seeing the blur of its swinging tail out of the corner of her eye, the girl pressed her palm down to the floor mid-roll, focusing as her body became surrounded by a purple energy (similar to the use of Gravity Dust) as she left the floor, her roll continuing as she floated upwards into the air and over the Sobek’s tail. The thing continued its turn around as she hit the floor, doing a complete turn and now facing her, the Sobek on the left of the roof, the huntress on the right. It’s tail curled around, having to impromptu turn leaving it with no room to be spread out in this position. Olive knew this would be her moment, the Grimm’s face and tail both equally exposed. She lowered her grip, holding onto both daggers by the chains, swinging the one in her right hand in an arc, bringing it on a crash course towards the only weak spot visible on the top of the Grimm’s head- it’s eye. However, the tail was in the way, the Sobek flexing it forwards, jabbing it to block the dagger and deflect it back into the air, seemingly aware of what she was planning when- CRACK. That was when the left dagger made impact with the Sobek’s left eye, sinking into the yellow, bleeding pit as Olive smirked, gripping hard onto the chain. Just after she had thrown the right dagger in an arc, she had done the same with the left. Nothing it could do about that. The Grimm’s mouth opened wide, letting out a reptilian screech of what seemed to be pain- but Olive didn’t have time to bask in her victory. Using her grip on the chain, she dashed forward, pulling herself along it, planting a boot to the top of its head, retracting the chain on the right dagger, bringing the hilt to her hand as she swung forward, planting it into the Sobek’s skull. The Sobek once again screeched, the left dagger still embedded in its eye, the stench from its open mouth causing Olive to cough in disgust, reeling back, giving the Grimm time to close its mouth, jabbing it’s snout forward, this time successfully landing a hit, the girl’s purple aura shimmering around her as it’s snout smacked into her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs as she tumbled backwards across the roof, a squishing sound as the left and right dagger followed her, now freed from the gaping hole in the Sobek’s left eye, and the crack atop it’s ‘skull’. The Grimm slowly worked on recovering, ready to go in for one big finishing blow- rearing up on its hind legs, it lifted its head upwards, spreading its mouth wide open as it pushed itself forwards, ready to charge- only for something to happen it did not expect. A loud, dull thud echoed out, as Olive’s foot made contact with the middle of the Sobek’s windpipe, having raised her leg in preparation, kicking it in the neck while it was exposed. It stopped in its tracks, its head swinging even more upwards with the impact, the huntress taking the opportunity to spin around and dash forwards, both arms thrown forwards as the twin knives plunged deep into the fleshy, un-armoured neck of the Grimm, the bronze blades covered with liquid-y, dark substance that quickly dissolved into nought but dust, that same ear-piercing screech sounding out, garbled as its neck was pierced by the blades, the Sobek going limp and collapsing, body crashing onto the side of the roof. Olive withdrew the knives, free as the monster’s throat disintegrated, and pushed the slowly dissolving body over the ledge with a swift kick, crashing heavily to the wooden floor of the boat. She too hopped down, landing on the left side of the boat, just past the Sobek corpse as she strode towards the metal bar on the left side of the boat with confidence.
“One down… one more to go. This thing could have been on the left wheel this whole time… and it’s probably waiting to surprise attack me now. Gotta make this quick…”
As Olive hopped up onto the metal bar once again, something she had expected happened, yet she still couldn’t help herself from reflexively flinching. For the third time repeating that same move, the left Sobek leapt out of the water, spinning upwards, jaw spread wide as it hoped to latch onto a bit of her and drag her down into the water. As it span around mid-air, Olive focused once again, her right hand clasped around a dagger as she prepared to throw- Napier’s words returned to her mind.
“You can be… elegant, and accurate, even if you don’t have crazy power. Like me.”
“NOW!” Olive yelled and seized the moment, throwing her right dagger forwards, as the Sobek reached maximum height, it’s body spun in the perfect position- it’s exposed underbelly facing directly towards her. Slicing through the air effortlessly, the bronze dagger sunk into the underbelly of the Sobek, piercing deep, the creature not even having time to make a pained sound. Soon enough, gravity would bring it back down to the water, knife still in its belly, and unless she let go of the chain, it would bring Olive with it. That was… if gravity worked as it was intended to. Time seeming to freeze around her, splashes of water in the air, chaos all around, Olive closed her eyes momentarily and let out a deep breath-
“Semblance… don’t fail me now.”
That same purple glow formed on the fingertips of Olive’s right hand, the sparks of pure gravitational energy spreading like flickering wildfire along the chain, and across the blade, to make contact with the belly of the Grimm in a split second- and at the very last second, to say that. Olive finally finished her breath, eyes closed- but she did not hear the fateful splash. Her eyes quickly snapped open, as her silver gaze took in the sight. The Sobek Grimm, laid out in mid-air, underbelly facing her, surrounded by a field of purple energy- with her trusty dagger Troy still plunged into its weak spot. She smirked, wasting no time as she did the same motion with her left hand, the Grimm flailing its arms and legs around fruitlessly as it floated in the air, completely confused as the second dagger, Equis, also sunk deep into its chest. It finally opened its mouth, billowing upwards into the air, a screech of pure agony and suffering, as Olive grit her teeth, seeing the purple energy begin to flicker and fade away. She closed her eyes again- and, her teeth grinding hard against each other, she began to pull back on the chains of both daggers with all her might. She felt her muscles strain, balance nearly breaking as her feet began to slip on the wooden floor- but before she felt herself give, the Sobek’s skin did. Her efforts were met with a resounding popping sound, a horrible tearing sound, as the clink of the daggers drawing back on the chains and meeting her balled up fists was heard. She opened her eyes once again, witnessing what she had accomplished- a hole torn wide in the Grimm’s underbelly, and embedded on both her daggers, a blackened thing that could be described as a heart, oozing black pus. The Sobek let out one final scream of pain, as the purple energy finally flickered away, its limp body crashing into the dark water with a thunderous splash, disappearing into the depths as it sunk. Olive panted, her heart beating hard against her chest, adrenaline finally giving out, as a lack of energy began to hit her. She stared down at her daggers, now suspiciously clean, whatever she had pulled out having quickly dissolved away into dust that scattered to the wind. She relaxed her posture, her shoulders untensing, as she turned around, walking over to the left wall of the Bridge, stepping over the black dust that was all that remained of the other Sobek. She rapped her knuckles against the door, which was on the left side of the Bridge, luckily enough. It swung open, Olive poking her head around the corner to see the old man sat in the corner of the room, almost curled up into a ball, letting out a sigh of relief to see her. She simply smiled, letting out another pant for air, before giving a little salute.
“Coast is clear, Cap’n.”
“Comin’ up near’t mainland soon enough.”
The cloaked girl didn’t even turn the other way, still staring intently into the water, still attempting to see her reflection, a seemingly futile act, the water all around the wheels being thrown about haphazardly, and the rest too thick to make anything out in. Yet, she looked anyway, her mind beginning to wander as she stared into the dark, empty waters.
As the moon shone from above, that same girl, albeit 10 years more youthful, sat just outside the stone steps of the house in which she lived, seated firmly upon the grass of the hill, knees folded up to her chest, one arm wrapped around them to hold them close and in place, the other, her right hand, holding a small, wooden dagger, with a rope tied around the hilt, connecting it to an identical duplicate, which hung loosely down by the side of her knee. A pout on her face, dressed in a dark blue set of fluffy pajamas- The words ‘Hero in the making’ stitched into the fabric in orange wool- she held onto the hilt of the first dagger tightly, her little fist clutching it as she punched her arm forward, the second dagger flicking around wildly in the air on the rope. From inside the house, the back door still ajar, the noise of joyous laughing and celebration could be heard. This only seemed to upset her more, the girl now swinging her fist sideways at an angle, the second dagger flying out, still tied to the rope, and slicing through the air, as if lazily slashing an invisible enemy. The momentum was quickly lost, the dagger now once again limply flopping down, hanging from the rope. Angered, the barefooted girl hopped to her feet, letting out overly dramatic and unnecessary effort grunts as she swung the hilt around, causing the other dagger to flail around in the air like a nunchuk. That was when she heard the sound of the door creaking, turning around to see a familiar face, the well-kept bright pink and white locks making the figure easily identifiable as Napier, another member of her brother’s just recently graduated Team. The girl pouted once again, spinning back around and returning to her ‘training’, now jabbing at the air with the dagger she was actually holding in a swift series of attacks. Napier smirked, sitting down on the stone steps that led out into the back garden of the house, the bottom of her rather dainty and over the top green flower-like dress pressing onto the hard, cold stone as she chuckled.
“You’re really showing all those nighttime insects who’s boss, kid.”
The little girl turned around once again, unable to ignore Napier’s teasing, flicking her fist to launch the second dagger into the air, grabbing onto it’s hilt with her free hand, also wrapping her fist around it, as she clutched the hilts of the two wooden daggers, glaring at the older girl as she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
Napier chuckled even more at the display, getting to her feet and moving over, squatting down to be more close to her height, as she continued cooing in her teasing tone.
“Awwww, adorableeeee-“
She stopped as she noticed the makeshift rope mechanism connecting the two small weapons, leaning forward and tapping the rope with her fingers, intrigued.
“... Interesting. Just like your brother’s weapon, huh?” She laughed. “Although, if I remember correctly, I think his was a bit more big and scary, and less likely to give you a splinter.”
The young Olive pouted again, folding her arms, as if trying to hide the daggers
behind them, the second one kind of falling out and hanging below her arms anyway, still visible as Napier continued questioning her.
“You make those yourself?”
Olive reluctantly nodded in confirmation, her expression seeming to lighten just a bit, happy to claim the attention for crafting the makeshift weapons.
Napier gave her a warm smile, before patting her on the head, the little girl’s messy brown hair ruffling around.
“Well, that’s cute. They’re not… exactly the same, as I said. They’re certainly no Twelve Labours, but it’s a start.”
Little Olive’s mouth curled into an angry frown once again, before Napier leaned back, holding her hands in the air in submission, laughing.
“Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing!”
Olive tilted her head to the side in confusion. Napier pressed a finger to her chin, staring at her for a bit, puzzled, before realising she would have to explain.
“Well, big and scary isn’t everything! You can be… elegant, and accurate, even if you don’t have crazy power. Like me!”
She flicked a thumb back to point towards her face, Olive still pouting and crossing her arms as she turned her face away, seemingly not convinced. Napier sighed, trying to explain further as she took in a deep breath.
“Listen, sometimes, it’s better to have the ability to make sure a job is done right, rather than just make sure it gets done. You get what I mean? Even if you can’t… fell a Nevermore in one hit, or toss a Beringel with your bare hands, orrrr, whatever stupid things they tell stories about him doing these days-“
Napier pursed her lips, rolling her eyes as she tried to get back to what she was talking about.
“If you just keep on training, and learn how to use those little things to your advantage, no-one will ever see it coming. You just gotta make whatever you have count!”
Olive stared up to her, a small smile finally lighting up her little face, hopping into the air and turning back around, shaking her fist around as she let go of the hilt of one dagger, swinging the other around in the air in a circular motion as it became a blur, preparing to return to her fun, before a small, blonde puppy came storming out of the door and bounding down the steps, hopping and barking as it ran over to Olive, leaning forward on its front legs, staring at the yoyo-like weapon as it barked.
The silver-eyed little girl froze in fear, immediately stopping what she was doing as she jumped into the air with surprise, the dagger stopping spinning and hanging back down again as she turned, scooping the two daggers up into her arms and cradling them so the dog could not reach them, as the girl of little words finally spoke, shouting in panic.
“They aren’t yours, Argo!”
The dog proceeded to jump around, pawing at her knees to try and reach them as Napier stood back to her feet, chuckling.
The 17 year old Olive Ulysses had lost track of time, while staring into what seemed to be the dark abyss below- no reflection staring back. Her thoughts were accompanied by the ever-present thrashing of the water churned by the wheel, and so she stayed that way, until she noticed something else… the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up, as she spotted, in the corner of her eye, some ripples in the thick water. If it weren’t for how this place had been before, that wouldn’t have spooked her so much, but it did now. She raised her cloaked head, casting her gaze further out, and once again, she saw it. The ripples, gradually trailing towards her side of the boat. Olive retracted her arms from the metal bar, spinning around to the Captain, but before she had time to speak, her eardrums were jarred by a loud crunching sound.
SNAP
The little paddle steam boat stopped completely in the water, like a sitting duck, as the churning water began to cease, the only sound now being the eerie silence, and the occasional splashes. The Captain stared at the wheel awkwardly, before pressing his arms back to it, attempting to spin it; that was a futile effort, yielding no results, as the sound of wood straining could be heard from the other side of the ship. Olive ran around the back of the booth, brown cloak trailing behind her, as she took up a similar position, now on the left side of the boat, as she craned her neck over the side, a dreadful sight meeting her eyes. A black, scaly, alligator-like creature, long tail thrashing around behind it, it’s head just floating barely above the surface of the water, had its jaws clamped firmly around the bottom of the wheel, holding it in place. A Grimm… and it wasn’t the only one. Olive knew exactly what she had to do. She turned, looking back to the Captain, who grunted out another reply as he span the steering wheel more.
“We’ll get’er moving, don’t worry. Just gotta power through-“
Olive spoke up, interrupting him, no hesitation in her voice, as she flicked her cloak to the side, revealing two daggers strapped to the side of her pants, very similar to the ones she had been using earlier- now larger, thicker, and a bronze colour, the rope now replaced with a metallic chain that fed into the bottom of each dagger.
“No… I’m going to Haven to become a Huntress. This is something I’ll be expected to do.” She finally finished throwing her cloak aside, letting it flutter to the wooden floor, the girl now fully visible as she stood in the early morning sunlight. She had short, messy dark brown hair, barely different from when she was younger, her sleeveless, olive green undershirt now visible, with a brown unbuttoned jacket over it. She then turned around, marching back over to the left side of the ship, not even looking back. “So i’m going to do it.” The Captain simply nodded, knowing full well he couldn’t stop her. In one swift leap, she was atop the metal bar, crouching, her slight frame keeping her in balance, as she stood directly to the left of the wheel. Grabbing one of the daggers from her waist, she held it in her hand, and raised it above her head, swinging it around like a whip, a clinking sound as the chain began to gradually extend out further and further, increasing the distance between the hilts of the dagger she was holding, and the one that had now become a blur, swinging around rapidly above her head in a circle. She finally let go, flicking her wrist down towards the Grimm that had the wheel in its maw, the spinning dagger darting towards it at high speed, only to smack into it with a resounding metal clang, bouncing off, and landing in the water. Olive growled. The white, bone-like area, covered in red markings, that surrounded the top part of it’s head and mouth seemed to be impenetrable, at least for a weapon like hers… the Grimm turned its attention fully to her, it’s fiery, dead, yellow eyes rolling up to lock onto her, as she pulled back sharply on the hilt of her dagger, retracting the chain and pulling the other one from the water back to her hand, splashing water up in the process. By the time she had caught it, the twin daggers reunited, she looked back to the water, her silver-eyes scanning it for any signs of life, only to notice the Grimm was completely gone, leaving only teeth marks in the wheel-
SNAP
That exact same sound once again… this time from the opposite side of the boat. She froze up in silence as it occurred to her what was happening, remembering Herk talking about these things.
“Sobek’s… Crocodile and Alligator Grimm, live in areas just like this. They’re smart, stealthy and mobile in both water and land. As well as hard as hell.”
The one that she spotted on the other side of the boat must have just now started gnawing on the right wheel… coordinated. Like they were taking shifts. They wanted to immobilise their prey completely, and leave the boat as a sitting duck on the water.
“Guess I’ll just have to show them who the Hunter is here…”
Before she could finish that thought, it was interrupted by a colossal splash, and the sound of bone clashing and a monstrous maw crashing shut, as the left Sobek, that had just vanished not so long ago, came leaping out of the water, snout first, spiralling upwards like a spinning tornado, drops of water splashing onto her, the Sobek’s scaly body having been scarily close to her. She flinched, almost falling backwards off the bar, nearly losing her balance, but before she could even blink, the Sobek lost its momentum, crashing back downwards into the water. Eyes wide, Olive hopped back off the bar, landing on both feet on the left side of the boat. So this was their plan… the one she was dealing with would pop in and out of cover to take pot shots at grabbing her and pulling her overboard, while one gnawed on the other side’s wheel and if she went back over to the wheel to protect it, they would just swap over roles, keeping the ordeal going until one wheel broke. Olive smirked. For two overgrown lizards, they weren’t too dumb… she was getting excited. Despite the girl not caring too much about things, when she really got into combat? She could get fired up. Her brain was working overtime to find a way out of this, because she’d be damned if two Grimm ruined her free ride to Mistral. Got it… She just had to not play into their scaly old lizard hands. She swiftly ran back over to the metal bar, and raising her left leg, stomped her foot onto it, causing it to ring out. Once again, the Sobek came bursting out of the water, like a drill rising upwards as it spun, right in front of her current position. That was when she used her other leg, planted firmly against the floor, to boost herself into the air, leaping onto the bar, and throwing the first dagger forwards, her grip held tightly on the second one. However, the Sobek soon quickly fell back into the water, the dagger’s tip merely just missing the tip of its snout as she was met with another empty splash, quickly reeling the dagger back into her hand by yanking back on the other one.
SNAP
“... That can’t be good. Forgot I can’t let those things do any serious damage, otherwise we’re stuck here…”
Inhaling deeply, she proceeded to back-flip off the bar, arcing through the air, and landing crouched atop the roof of what she had been struggling to name earlier, the Bridge. The bridge of the ship. Now her mind was working, it was all beginning to come to her. She turned around, leaping off the bridge’s roof. It almost felt as if time began to slow, as the girl hurtled through the air, her eyes catching onto what was indeed a second Sobek, chewing on the right wheel. Luckily, the chain on Equis & Troy had extended to full length- in a split second, she cast one hand forward, launching one dagger through the air and over the metal bar that protected the side of the ship, a louder, and more hollow clanging sound as the she heard the knife make impact with the Sobek’s ‘skull’. Seemed like another dud… She landed on the floor with a crash, swiftly pulling the dagger back up from over the side of the ship using it’s twin. She held it in her hand, seeing that the thing was now wet. That was when a sudden and loud crashing sound followed it… her eyes panned upwards from the knife, as she looked to the metal bar… the Right Sobeks head poking over the side of the ship, its ominous yellow eyes meeting her own.
She almost momentarily froze up, hearing the clambering of limbs, and with one mighty heave, the Sobek’s body was completely over the side of the ship. It must have leapt onto the side… and climbed over. The scaly Grimm shook itself off like a dog, although in one simple movement, water splashing all over the already stained and worn wooden planks. Olive quickly leaned back into a fighting stance, not much room between herself, the Grimm, and the wall of the Bridge. Sure enough, it quickly jabbed its head forward, mouth widening as it turned its head sideways, Olive rolling to her right, dodging the monster, it’s gaping maw instead clashing fruitlessly into the right wall of the bridge. She pushed herself off the floor with a hand, hopping back to her feet, back on top of her game as she quickly lunged forward, stabbing one of the bronze daggers into the hide of the Sobek, only for it to make another dull slotting sound as it stabbed into it, not piercing the scales. Letting out a grunt of disapproval, she quickly rolled backwards, across the floor and once again hopping back to her feet, back in the clear as the Sobek closed its mouth, slowly manoeuvring itself sideways to face her in the small room it had. It’s clawed feet left the floor, seemingly convinced she had nowhere left to run, as this time it lunged forward, mouth opening wide as she leapt back, still on her toes as she landed on higher ground- the metal bar at the south end of the boat. The Grimm, still leaping, closed its mouth reflexively in time, it's hard, armoured snout ramming into the wood below the metal bar, shaking it. Nearly tumbling off once again, Olive’s body began to lean backwards, the girl acting on instinct, and throwing a dagger with one hand, the chain just extending far enough- before she fell back into the water, she heard the dull, relieving sound of the knife digging into the ledge that was the roof of the Bridge, the girl gripping tightly onto the other end of the chain, the second dagger, not even holding herself upright as she tipped over. Before her feet could leave the bar, she mustered all her upper body strength, pulling herself upright, and leaping from the metal bar, using the chain almost as a makeshift swing, pulling herself upwards and landing with a bang atop the Bridge’s roof. She landed on her knees, reaching down to pluck the dagger she had thrown out from the roof, standing back up straight, beginning to walk across towards the north end of the roof when she heard scrambling behind her, and an equally as loud crash. The Sobek now stood opposite her on the roof as she turned back around, its mouth spreading open wide, unleashing a hideous, putrid stench.
“Mental note to self: Bring a clothes peg to put on your nose next time you fight one of these.”
She smirked, holding a dagger in each hand, squaring her shoulders and getting into a combat stance, staring the monster down, and definitely not backing up. The Grimm once again jabbed forward, Olive repeating her same tactic, rolling to the side of it, only for the Grimm to suddenly turn, throwing its body to the left, swinging its tail around to the right to meet the rolling girl. Considering how little space there was on the square roof, if the Sobek spread itself out like this, there was no way for her to avoid its tail swing on the ground- that is, if she had to stay there. Seeing the blur of its swinging tail out of the corner of her eye, the girl pressed her palm down to the floor mid-roll, focusing as her body became surrounded by a purple energy (similar to the use of Gravity Dust) as she left the floor, her roll continuing as she floated upwards into the air and over the Sobek’s tail. The thing continued its turn around as she hit the floor, doing a complete turn and now facing her, the Sobek on the left of the roof, the huntress on the right. It’s tail curled around, having to impromptu turn leaving it with no room to be spread out in this position. Olive knew this would be her moment, the Grimm’s face and tail both equally exposed. She lowered her grip, holding onto both daggers by the chains, swinging the one in her right hand in an arc, bringing it on a crash course towards the only weak spot visible on the top of the Grimm’s head- it’s eye. However, the tail was in the way, the Sobek flexing it forwards, jabbing it to block the dagger and deflect it back into the air, seemingly aware of what she was planning when- CRACK. That was when the left dagger made impact with the Sobek’s left eye, sinking into the yellow, bleeding pit as Olive smirked, gripping hard onto the chain. Just after she had thrown the right dagger in an arc, she had done the same with the left. Nothing it could do about that. The Grimm’s mouth opened wide, letting out a reptilian screech of what seemed to be pain- but Olive didn’t have time to bask in her victory. Using her grip on the chain, she dashed forward, pulling herself along it, planting a boot to the top of its head, retracting the chain on the right dagger, bringing the hilt to her hand as she swung forward, planting it into the Sobek’s skull. The Sobek once again screeched, the left dagger still embedded in its eye, the stench from its open mouth causing Olive to cough in disgust, reeling back, giving the Grimm time to close its mouth, jabbing it’s snout forward, this time successfully landing a hit, the girl’s purple aura shimmering around her as it’s snout smacked into her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs as she tumbled backwards across the roof, a squishing sound as the left and right dagger followed her, now freed from the gaping hole in the Sobek’s left eye, and the crack atop it’s ‘skull’. The Grimm slowly worked on recovering, ready to go in for one big finishing blow- rearing up on its hind legs, it lifted its head upwards, spreading its mouth wide open as it pushed itself forwards, ready to charge- only for something to happen it did not expect. A loud, dull thud echoed out, as Olive’s foot made contact with the middle of the Sobek’s windpipe, having raised her leg in preparation, kicking it in the neck while it was exposed. It stopped in its tracks, its head swinging even more upwards with the impact, the huntress taking the opportunity to spin around and dash forwards, both arms thrown forwards as the twin knives plunged deep into the fleshy, un-armoured neck of the Grimm, the bronze blades covered with liquid-y, dark substance that quickly dissolved into nought but dust, that same ear-piercing screech sounding out, garbled as its neck was pierced by the blades, the Sobek going limp and collapsing, body crashing onto the side of the roof. Olive withdrew the knives, free as the monster’s throat disintegrated, and pushed the slowly dissolving body over the ledge with a swift kick, crashing heavily to the wooden floor of the boat. She too hopped down, landing on the left side of the boat, just past the Sobek corpse as she strode towards the metal bar on the left side of the boat with confidence.
“One down… one more to go. This thing could have been on the left wheel this whole time… and it’s probably waiting to surprise attack me now. Gotta make this quick…”
As Olive hopped up onto the metal bar once again, something she had expected happened, yet she still couldn’t help herself from reflexively flinching. For the third time repeating that same move, the left Sobek leapt out of the water, spinning upwards, jaw spread wide as it hoped to latch onto a bit of her and drag her down into the water. As it span around mid-air, Olive focused once again, her right hand clasped around a dagger as she prepared to throw- Napier’s words returned to her mind.
“You can be… elegant, and accurate, even if you don’t have crazy power. Like me.”
“NOW!” Olive yelled and seized the moment, throwing her right dagger forwards, as the Sobek reached maximum height, it’s body spun in the perfect position- it’s exposed underbelly facing directly towards her. Slicing through the air effortlessly, the bronze dagger sunk into the underbelly of the Sobek, piercing deep, the creature not even having time to make a pained sound. Soon enough, gravity would bring it back down to the water, knife still in its belly, and unless she let go of the chain, it would bring Olive with it. That was… if gravity worked as it was intended to. Time seeming to freeze around her, splashes of water in the air, chaos all around, Olive closed her eyes momentarily and let out a deep breath-
“Semblance… don’t fail me now.”
That same purple glow formed on the fingertips of Olive’s right hand, the sparks of pure gravitational energy spreading like flickering wildfire along the chain, and across the blade, to make contact with the belly of the Grimm in a split second- and at the very last second, to say that. Olive finally finished her breath, eyes closed- but she did not hear the fateful splash. Her eyes quickly snapped open, as her silver gaze took in the sight. The Sobek Grimm, laid out in mid-air, underbelly facing her, surrounded by a field of purple energy- with her trusty dagger Troy still plunged into its weak spot. She smirked, wasting no time as she did the same motion with her left hand, the Grimm flailing its arms and legs around fruitlessly as it floated in the air, completely confused as the second dagger, Equis, also sunk deep into its chest. It finally opened its mouth, billowing upwards into the air, a screech of pure agony and suffering, as Olive grit her teeth, seeing the purple energy begin to flicker and fade away. She closed her eyes again- and, her teeth grinding hard against each other, she began to pull back on the chains of both daggers with all her might. She felt her muscles strain, balance nearly breaking as her feet began to slip on the wooden floor- but before she felt herself give, the Sobek’s skin did. Her efforts were met with a resounding popping sound, a horrible tearing sound, as the clink of the daggers drawing back on the chains and meeting her balled up fists was heard. She opened her eyes once again, witnessing what she had accomplished- a hole torn wide in the Grimm’s underbelly, and embedded on both her daggers, a blackened thing that could be described as a heart, oozing black pus. The Sobek let out one final scream of pain, as the purple energy finally flickered away, its limp body crashing into the dark water with a thunderous splash, disappearing into the depths as it sunk. Olive panted, her heart beating hard against her chest, adrenaline finally giving out, as a lack of energy began to hit her. She stared down at her daggers, now suspiciously clean, whatever she had pulled out having quickly dissolved away into dust that scattered to the wind. She relaxed her posture, her shoulders untensing, as she turned around, walking over to the left wall of the Bridge, stepping over the black dust that was all that remained of the other Sobek. She rapped her knuckles against the door, which was on the left side of the Bridge, luckily enough. It swung open, Olive poking her head around the corner to see the old man sat in the corner of the room, almost curled up into a ball, letting out a sigh of relief to see her. She simply smiled, letting out another pant for air, before giving a little salute.
“Coast is clear, Cap’n.”
