Wandering Black

The girls got ready for bed after they had their fill of the soup I made, and it was time for my appointment with Willow. As I opened a portal to the Schnee matriarch, Melanie asked me.

" Where are you going, Silva?"

" Just have an appointment to attend to before I go to sleep. Oh, and I will be going off like this regularly as this is a long-term commitment."

The brash twin eyes me with suspicion but drops the matter, and I soon find myself in Willow's home office. I saw her typing on her home computer, and I took a seat while I waited for her to finish her work. The Schnee matriarch noticed me and gave her greetings.

" Hello, Silva. I will be done soon if you don't mind waiting."

" I am in no rush, but even if you're mentally tired from work, we will be getting your training to make you Huntress fit again."

She gave me a grateful smile, and while I waited, I decided to focus on finishing the Gundam manga I was working on as I finally got my drawing skills up to snuff. I kept some of my work on hand, well on paw in my case, to give me something constructive to do when I had to wait. An hour quickly went by, and the Schnee matriarch slumped against her chair while letting out a weary sigh and comments.

" I will give Jacques this much; he thrived on paperwork."

" Are you ready to get started?"

" Give me a moment to rest, and then we will head to the home gym."

I decided to make some small talk with Willow while she waited.

" How have things been with your family?"

" Better, much better, but it's still a work in progress."

" That's good to hear. How are things working out with you and Robyn?"

The Schnee matriarch had a slight smile as she answered.

" She has been a blessing in handling the political side of the SDC, especially since James is under the assumption that with Jacques gone that the military is due a discount."

I frowned at hearing about Tindick's antics and offered.

" I know a lot of things that Tindick wouldn't want to come to light if he becomes too bothersome."

" Thank you for the offer, but Robyn has him handled. In fact, we have been pushing for James to give up one of his two council seats, as that is too much power for one man to have. Especially considering that fact he is the general of Atlas's military."

" Good; if you need anything, you know how to contact me."

Willow stretched and got up from her chair, then asked me.

" Follow me. I will show you where the gym is at."

A short walk later, the Schnee matriarch led me to a nice home gym that looks on-bar with a professional one, and she told me.

" Let me get changed into something more comfortable."

" Sure, I will check out the equipment to see where we should start."

I poked around and saw some weights powered by Gravity Dust to increase their weight, standard treadmills, and a few other machines that gave me an idea of where to start with Willow. I took off my jacket and then boots and started limbering up with some stretches. I heard the Schnee matriarch call out to me.

" I'm back, Silva."

Willow changed her hair into a loose ponytail with a white sports bra and pale blue-gray leggings that hugged her hips and legs. After examining her for a moment and admiring the view, I got her started.

" Let's start with some stretches."

After that, I put the Schnee matriarch through her paces and focused on her agility and stamina. With over an hour of exercise, Willow collapsed onto the floor, sweating and panting from exhaustion. I wasn't even winded from setting my pace to match the Schnee matriarch and kneeled down to remind her gently.

" Willow, remember to inhale through the nose, then exhale from the mouth, as you should know how important it is to get your breathing under control."

Willow complied as she started to breathe as instructed, and I let her rest. I then told her the harsh truth she needed to hear before we continued with this endeavor.

" Willow, you are severely out of shape, and all the alcohol did not help your situation, so in order to get you back in fighting form, it will take a while. This means you need to keep up the regime we just went through and stick with it for months, at least for a start to reset your foundation. Now with this in mind, are you ready to commit?"

The Schnee matriarch said after catching her breath.

" Yes, Silva, I want to commit. I don't want to be weak as I was when the White Fang attacked my home and threatened my children."

" Good; now, after you have rested some more, we can get another set or half set in before you go to sleep."

***

The road trip has been... eventful, to say the least. Grimm, bandits, and the occasional Aura-awakened wild animal, plus racist p*icks, plagued the girls and me at almost every turn. Miltia and Melanie didn't mind too much in the beginning but eventually decided to return to Vale after a few weeks. Emerald lasted longer and enjoyed star gazing in her free time as she had never seen the stars that clearly before in the cities, but after an incident with a troop of monkeys tearing up most of her books, she had her fill and returned to Vale—leaving only Neopolitan, Argint, and me.

Surprisingly, Neopolitan has been the one enjoying the road trip the most, including all the fights we have gotten into for whatever reason. We stopped at a place I knew of in the show, a settlement known as Shion, and it looked like a nice place since it wasn't destroyed by the now nonexistent Branwen tribe in the non-future. I parked the Drake near the inn here since we were going to rest here for a few days before continuing down south to Menagerie. I looked at the two girls and told them.

"Neo, you can pick our room out while I get some supplies and information."

Neopolitan gave me a mock salute after I gave her some Lein to pay for our rooms, then went off to the inn. I looked at Argint and asked her.

" What do you want to do?"

" I will accompany you, Master Silva."

We got out of the Drake, and I asked around for the general store. Thankfully no one in Shion made a big deal about Argint and me being faunus, so I found the store without too much trouble. As we entered, the cashier greeted us.

" Welcome; looking for anything in particular?"

" Just some supplies and information on the area."

" Oh, anything, in particular, you are looking for?"

I walked up to the counter and asked.

" Know of any good fishing spots?"

" Well, a few miles south of here, there is a good size pond connected to a large stream that is always full of fish."

I asked some more questions, like if any bandits or troublesome Grimm or animals were nearby when I heard a guy call out to me.

" Excuse me. I would like to pay for this."

" Oh, certainly. One moment, please. Excuse me, but I need to help this customer. If you don't mind?"

I shrugged and stepped away from the counter and saw an unexpected face. Jaune " Vomit Boy" Arc was buying some snacks. Isn't it a bit early to see him here since Winter Break hasn't started yet? Not that I was going to make any actual attempts to get in contact with the wanna-be hero but whatever. To troll or not to troll, that is the question. It looks like my time in Shion is going to be more interesting than I thought.