Ch. 2 Little Cub

-Eastern continent of Anima, Kingdom of Mistral, South of the Village of Shion

Inside one of the many forests of the continent, four hooded figures wearing black raincoats which hid their full bodies from the pouring rain were escorting a merchant's truck through a designated route. No details beyond their height and the brief flashes of protective gear and possible weapons could be gained from them.

The merchant on the other hand was a normal looking middle-age man with a bit of a belly, balding brown hair, wearing black framed glasses resting on a slightly large nose, with his own brown raincoat. He was driving an old Atlasian military truck filled with supplies such as food, daily care products, clothing or life goods to bring over to one of the unofficial villages in the area. A place where those unhappy with how the kingdom operated, came together, and formed their own place in the wilds.

This has been his usual business for years now as he travels the continent to sell these kinds of goods to these 'free towns'. Although not the most lucrative business since he needs to hire protection from those creatures of Grimm and bandit tribes, it is almost always guaranteed he will be able to make a profit from what he trades for.

Said protection this time turned out to be a budding group which has been gaining a good reputation recently called Smoke and Mirrors. But due to lack of funds available the merchant could only afford to hire one of its two teams, which happens to be the four people protecting the merchant as he carefully maneuvered his truck through the wilder terrain. The group had gained a solid reputation since it began operating in Mistral a year ago, with an excellent track record, professionalism and trustworthiness. They even have multiple licensed huntsmen in the group and the rest were all skilled enough for the license to not matter anyway.

Not like a thing such as licenses mattered much anywhere other than Argus or the city of Mistral itself in this kingdom. Far too many criminals with fake licenses, possessing the license of someone they've killed or huntsmen who've lost their licenses roamed about for it to truly matter. Only trust mattered for those doing jobs in this corner of Anima and the Smoke and Mirror's company has made sure to maintain that. But it was still a reassuring sign to most people ignorant of that peculiar truth.

It doesn't stop them from not liking walking in the rain for hours however.

"Brothers damn this blasted rain!" The shortest cloaked figure grumbled with a voice which betrayed her youth. "Are we nearly there yet boss?"

The target of the question ended being the tallest of the group, even if there wasn't much of a difference between him and the second tallest.

"We should be Jaz." He casually answered before turning his head towards a third member. "Van you mind scouting ahead? I don't want to stir up anything using my semblance."

"You got it boss~ anything to hurry this up, I'm not a big fan of rain." The third coat wearing figure said in smokey tone of voice from just behind him before she burst forward with great speed.

"Always trying to get a reaction." The figure called 'boss' said with a wry shake of his head as he watched the woman disappear into the rain.

"Why'd she get to go?" Complained the short one nicknamed Jaz.

"Because she is our resident stealth expert, while you are more likely to beat up anyone we encounter on sight and then ask question." The fourth figure said as his upbeat voice teased the small female.

"You damn nerd! Don't think I won't let you experience my fist too!" The young female figure snapped back in anger.

"Haha! You never beat me before, what makes you think you'll succeed now?" The male figure replied with a noticeable smile under his hood as he egg the girl on.

"You two better not start this here. In front of the client. While on a mission. That would not be good at all~ I might even end up having to spar with you two after the mission to help you get all that energy out~" the boss said in a casual voice, but it sent shivers down the spine of the arguing pair.

""Sorry Boss! You don't have ta/that won't be necessary!"" They announced in unison as they tacitly agreed to stop until they were back home before fighting.

"Haha! Aren't they energetic! Good to see young people having fun even in this dreary weather!" The merchant heartily said as he watched everything unfold.

"I am sorry about that sir." The boss apologized since it wasn't a very professional showing.

"No worries. No worries." The employer replied with a wave of his hand. "At least it's better than having nothing to watch and hear besides this rain."

"Thank you for the-" the boss tried to say.

"Boss! This is bad!" The woman who had gone scouting said as she returned, but none of her previous behavior could be found.

"What happened?!" The boss asked sternly.

"The village was attacked by Grimm. Lancers to boot. I spotted around 20 still in the village. Looks like it might have been a few hours since the attack. I didn't notice anyone still alive." She seriously reported.

"Damn. Another group of sorry bastards." Muttered Jaz as she heard the report from the side.

"There might be a survivor if they are still there after the attack. Also we can't leave the lancers be. Too dangerous for anyone who frequents these parts." The male figure said as he added in his bit.

"Liam's right. But we have to do our job as well." The boss said as he looked at his teammates.

"So what's the plan boss?" The taller woman asked with a small smirk at his very him decision.

"Jaz and Van are going with me to clear out the Grimm. Liam, you will be protecting the client. Just get what you can ready in case we can actually find a survivor." The boss ordered as the three figures in front of him nodded.

Without another word the male figure called Liam jumped onto the truck they had been escorting and reached for his weapon magnetically held in its folded mode on his back. Upon activation it unfolded into a 49 inch (124.46 cm) long green and silver repeater he lovingly named [Doctor's Order].

He then began to keep a lookout for any movement within the forest or above it since Lancers were involved.

"I am sorry for this sir, but it looks like this trip won't be very profitable." The boss said to their employer.

*sigh* "Truly unfortunate when these things happen. I wish you luck in your efforts." He somberly replied as the fact that people he knew had once again died tragically.

It wasn't the first time certainly. The merchant has been trading with these types of villages for years, so he knew that they sometimes had fragile existences, but it doesn't make it easier.

"Liam will keep you safe. If anything happens use this flare to signal us and we'll do our best to rush back." The boss informed as he gave the merchant a small gun.

With a nod to signify his understanding, the boss left the merchant to join the two girls waiting for him.

And with only a nod, the trio burst forward at a practiced speed for efficiency and stamina management. No point in rushing somewhere to fight and ending up tired. They want to hopefully save someone, but dying in the process would just be... yeah.

As the three arrived at the edge of the forested area, they saw an image they all knew would await them but hoped it wouldn't be as bad.

In the clearing in front of them stood a village of modest construction, with at most 30 buildings and only one even having a second story. The village was surrounded by a wooden barrier which would have looked reassuring if it wasn't for the fact that the Grimms simply flew over it.

The place looked intact, with no visible destruction from afar, no signs of fire or even corpses. All that told the three observers that this place wasn't just abandoned was that Grimms were there and their employer had corresponded with the village less than a week ago to confirm everything.

"Shit. All I can hear is buzzing. Not even any gunfire." The short Jaz said in distaste as she clicked her tongue.

"What about you boss? Hear anything different?" Van asked with a bit of hope.

"One sec." The boss replied as he reached within his hood for a moment and pulled out red noise cancelling headphones.

As he retracted his hands, his hood fell back to reveal a handsome young man. He had a delicate looking face, pale green eyes and wildred-brown hair, going spiky in the back but splits to two sides to cover his ears. (Imagine a sort of older Yuuki Tenpouin from Code:Breaker)

He then closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his ears to help focus the direction in which he would perceive sound.

The noises he could hear were still immense in number however.

Trees rustling, the sound of rain drops hitting everything they could, a few animals walking about, some more water resistant insects moving, the sound of his companions breathing, their hearts beating, and then the almost deafening amount of buzzing coming from the devastated village in front of them. But the boss focused to hear beyond the obvious, trying to find any hint that a survivor might be there for them to save. He did his best to listen carefully until-

*Ba-Bump* *Ba-Bump*

"There's a heartbeat. Someone's still alive down there." The boss announced as he put back his headphones and hood. "Also, we have 22 Lancers waiting for us."

"What's the plan?" Jaz asked as she bumped her fists together, activating a pair of blood red mechanical gauntlets she called [Rabbit's Claws]. They were incredible tough, had bladed finger tips for when a girl needs to stab something and shotguns in each to add some extra punch.

Jaz really liked it when things had an extra kick. That's why her greaves had a very similar set up, except they were black, the shotguns were in her heels and the steel tips were made for blunt trauma.

"You and Van take the lead while I make sure you don't get swarmed. I didn't hear any other Grimms in the area so you're clear to shoot and use your semblances. Make sure the avoid damaging the house on the far left of the village, our survivor should be in it. Just in case try to keep the fighting away from that general area." The young boss ordered swiftly, getting nods of understanding.

He then reached for his hip and took hold of his sheathed [Fall Echoes]. The boss' weapon was a vibration conductive whip blade while his slightly bulkier than normal sheath served as a semi-automatic assault rifle. This time would be his sheath's turn to shine as he opted to play a support role, mostly due to his fighting style needing more room and causing more collateral damage when fighting multiple enemies than the two girls with him.

Although if things went south, he would react accordingly to protect his people.

Meanwhile Van took out two weapons from her lower back, giving a brief flash of her shapely legs wrapped in her tight black pants.

'She knew exactly what she was doing and had the teasing smile to prove it.' Thought the boss.

Jaz inwardly scoffed at the display.

The two weapons unfolded to reveal a pair of deadly black kamas which doubled as SMG's and had an alternate tonfa option. They were sleek and incredibly deadly when wield by her. She called that nightmare to all creeps [Night's Blessing]. Mostly because she's knocked a lot of pervs around our base to sleep with, partially because of its color scheme and her skill set.

"Let's go. The longer we take the higher the chance those Lancers notice the survivor." The boss announced as he took the lead.

The trio quickly arrived, finally reaching the Grimm.

Now although Lancers would be the Grimm equivalent to wasps, they are far more dangerous. Lancers have a three-segmented black body with three sets of legs. They have a white armored mask and armor along their back. On the back of their abdomen, the armor is in four overlapping plates. They have jagged pincers, antenna, four red transparent wings and a stinger. Said stinger is capable of piercing steel and can act as a harpoon through a membrane Lancers connect to the stingers they fire. They are also twice the size of an average person.

Luckily only warrior drones were present. Dealing with the tougher, smarter and much stronger protective plating of a Queen Lancer would have been more dangerous for the team. Largely due to their immense strength, queens being the size of Atlas Cargo airships and them always having a swarm of warrior drones protecting them.

But without a queen and only 22 drones, the trio was very confident in taking them all out.

The boss jumped on top of the protective wooden wall and began to draw in the first two targets. Using normal rounds he fired on their wings from a distance as his teammates sprinted past him in blurs.

Aggravated, the first two Lancers directly towards the figure still shooting them, completely missing the two approaching them.

The rest of the Grimm took notice of the gunfire and began congregating towards the source.

As the initial two closed in, my own two partners sprang into action as they targeted the weakest point of Lancers: the joint to their abdomen.

It's a huntsman basic lesson. Don't target the armored parts and these two knew it well.

So with completely opposite approaches, the figures of Jaz and Van struck their first targets of the evening.

Van's long legs flashed with yellow lightning for a brief instant before she silently shot upwards her target. Using her Kamas almost like scissors as she used her momentum to neatly sliced the Lancer in half from both sides on the abdomen joint.

Jaz on the other hand decided to use her semblance [Burst] to shoot herself upwards with a battle cry, dug both her clawed hands into the joint and then fired a round from each gauntlet as she ripped the Grimm apart with a savage smile.

While the two were doing that, the boss shot incendiary dust rounds to a few Lancers, badly damaging their wings and forcing them to the ground. Too bad the rain weakened the effect or he could have take a few down with those rounds.

Without waiting for anything, the two girls immediately went towards their next targets.

"The one who kills the least has to do the other's chores for the week?"suggested Van with a sly grin as the two neared a group of 7 Lancers.

"You're on!" Jaz happily replied as she used her semblance to create a shockwave under her feet, increasing her speed immensely through the bursts.

With a jump she dodged the incoming stingers shot at her. Flipping midair to get her positioning right, she performed a double axe on the eyes of the first Lancer using her semblance's shockwave to boost the damage, then fired the shotguns on her heels to finish the giant bug and flip backwards to move away from the dead Grimm using the recoil.

Then with a another use of her [Burst] she launched herself towards her next target, evading the Lancers shooting their stingers at her through small shockwaves or simply deflecting them using her [Rabbit's Claws]. She even decided to grab two of those stingers and stab them into their comrade's neck, which she shot as she did a handstand and then ran along the Lancer's body to use it as a launch platform.

Jaz then shot multiple rounds while facing the two she tied to her last target, causing massive damage as she boosted the velocity of her bullets using her semblance and propelled her towards the next Lancer on her list.

Too bad for this one that she decided to use a little move she created called Moon Launch. A devastating head kick in which she uses her semblance to create concentrated shockwaves at the tip of her steel boot, which was triggered on impact and aided by the usage of her heel shotgun.

The Lancers head just went flying after that one, which is one of the two possible results of that kick hitting. The other being your body goes flying with it's head, hence Moon Launch.

Jaz was about to jump towards her next target, but found only one falling to the ground with Van on its headless body.

Van noticed her teammate's gaze and looked back at her to send her an air kiss before jumping off the rapidly vanishing Lancer corps.

"I'm still ahead by one!" Jaz yelled at her with red tick marks seemingly appearing on top of her head as she too jumped off her dead Lancer.

Not far away, the boss heard his youngest teammate and couldn't help but helpless shake his head as he grounded another Lancer to keep them from overwhelming the two while they competed.

*sigh* "I'm actually hoping Van loses that bet. Jaz is horrible at doing chores and I don't want to deal with the fights that'll start." The young boss lamented as he took aim and fired another few rounds.

"I HEARD THAT YOU BASTARD!!" Jaz angrily shouted to her boss, distracting her just long enough for Van to kill one of the grounded Lancers and tying up the score.

"Just ignore little old me and focus on your competition. Imagine the look of superiority on Van's face if she wins. The smugness would be unbearable~" The boss said, immediately making the girl change her focus to the Lancers with a frustrated click of her tongue.

'I really have to get her to learn how to scout things. Her hearing is only second to mine.' The boss thought as he kept covering the battling girls.

What followed was a beat down of every Lancer in the ruined village. The final score being: Boss-2, Van-9 and Jaz-11. Much to the pleasure and gloating of the last one.

"Ha! Now you have ta do my chores and I don't need ta wash all the mud out from our trip!" Jaz happily said as she continued to wave her victory in Van's face.

"Yes yes, I guess I can give our company's youngest a hand. Not like you can even wash your clothes properly any way. Isn't that why you always wear the same outfits for a few days in a row?" Van shot back as she grew annoyed at her teammate's gloating.

"What d'you say cat slut!?" The now triggered Jaz yelled as she prepared to attack Van.

"Couldn't hear me down there short stuff? I thought your ears were the only good part of you, but I guess not." The taller girl smugly said as she added more fuel to the fire and readied her own weapons.

*Double head chop sound*

""Ow/Ouch!""

"Cut it out. Jaz stop being a sore winner and cool it. Van you lost your bet so deal with it. Don't try to weasel out of it through a fight." The boss said as he scolded the two rivals.

'They would turn on me in an instant if I called them rivals or friends though.' Thought the boss as he looked at the two. 'Good thing a helped Jaz win though.'

"Fine." Grumbled Jaz as she kicked a pebble.

"Whatever you say boss~" Van said as she grabbed his arm playfully.

"Good. Now let's go find our survivor and hope he or she isn't injured." The boss said as he headed towards the building he heard the heartbeat in.

As the trio walked the broken and silent village, they could properly see the aftermath of the Grimm attack.

From the number of buildings they could estimate maybe 60 or so people had once lived here, but only a few corpses were found on their route. Each had some sort of weapon such as rifles or bows, but it was doubtful that any of them had any substantial training or even came close to being huntsmen.

The trio also realized that the group of Lancers they had taken down was probably only leftovers from the attack, the villagers had probably succeeded in taking down a few and the rest had left some time ago, leaving this group to look for survivors who ran into the forest or came back without knowing of the attack.

Fortunately they didn't stumble onto many corpses along the way and reached their target: a single story house made of wooden logs, a slated roof and stone chimney. It wasn't much, but it was fit for a small family.

They entered to find a pretty standard home. To the right was a couch in front of a dying fireplace with a brown fur rug on the floor, an armchair near the back window, a few wall decorations made from wood or simple paintings. The left had the kitchen area with old fashioned equipment not seen in cities anymore, a dark wooden dinning table with three matching chairs, some plates in the water filled sink left half-washed. At the back stood three doors, presumably leading to the bedrooms and bathroom.

"So where's our survivor boss?" Asked Van as she put down her hood.

Beneath that hood was a young woman in her teenage years. She had flawless chocolate skin, full lips, bright golden irises and smooth hip length black hair she preferred to keep in a ponytail with chin lengths bangs framing the sides of her face. Although beautiful, she still had traces of youth, but she already demonstrated her potential as a stunning beauty. (Teenage Yoruichi Shihōin, but has long hair)

Van then used the small covered hole at the back of her coat to let out her completely black cat tail with a satisfied sigh.

(And yes she's a Faunus. I couldn't not do this.)

'I can finally stretch my tail. It was starting to cramp a bit after so long.' She thought with a small smile.

"I think I can hear some light breathing in one of the rooms back there, but I'm not sure which one." Answered Jaz instead as she too brought down her hood.

Out of the hood flowed down a cascade of Snow White hair reaching to her lower back, with a pair of soft looking bunny ears just as white and slightly twitching on top of her head. Her skin looked tanned, but the girl as always said that she doesn't know why since it's usually cloudy or raining and her mom was very light skinned. Her eyes however were a brilliant shade of red with her long eyelashes making them look even more appealing, if they weren't filled with the desire to fight or aggressiveness all the time anyway. And although the girl's looks were close to beautiful and exotic, her face still showed her youthfulness and... energetic personality.

(Time for everyone's favorite Rabbit Hero Mirko to appear in her early teenage years! And again, of course she's a Faunus! How could she not be!)

"Good, let's find our lucky one." The boss said as he too took off his hood to let his hair be free, but this time he was still wearing his headphones.

They didn't hesitate to go the back and each took a room.

Van opened the door on the left and found herself in a quaint little bathroom with an old bronze bathtub, simple sink with a medicine cabinet/mirror above it and a toilet. No places big enough to fit a person however, so she turned around to join the boss who was in the next room over.

Said boss was standing in what could only be a child's room. A small single bed with a few wooden toys laying around. Some children's books on a shelf above a small desk with some pencils and colorful crayons. A picture of a father with his son both wearing matching grey fishing hats and the son holding up a rather large sized fish with a big smile.

He looked in the closet and little chest at the bottom of the bed but found nothing. Turning around the boss saw Van standing in the door and then shook his head to indicate that the survivor wasn't here. The two then headed towards Jaz's pick.

They didn't really have to do much since their youngest member called for them with: "Guys, I have our survivor."

It sounded a bit sad and unsure so the two walked a bit faster.

Coming into the room they found it quite similar to the child's room next door, but scaled up for an adult. The bed was a double, there was dresser, storage chest, open closet with some clothes, a bookshelf in the back filled with books and a nightstand with a lamp and picture frame of a man and a woman looking at each other with warm, happy smiles. But there was no evidence of a woman living here. No toiletries, feminine touches or clothing in the hamper.

But what hooked their attention was the teammate standing in front of the open chest awkwardly and unsure what to do.

"Why are you just standing there?" Asked Van as she approached and put a hand on her rabbit rival's shoulder. "Oh."

The boss arrived beside them with some curiosity, but the look in his eyes saddened as he saw their survivor.

In the chest half full of clothes and souvenirs lay a small child with white hair half filled with black streaks, wearing blue overalls with a black shirt, black boots, the same fishing hat as the picture from what they could now assume was his room but it was too big for his head, a stripped black and white cat tail and a rather large bump on his forehead like the chest was forcibly closed on him.

"What do we do boss? We can't just leave him here now. And I doubt he'll be able to tell us anything." Asked Van with a pitying gaze towards the young boy.

"We'll take him with us for now, have Liam check him over. Van can you go pack his clothes and grab that picture and the one on the nightstand over there?" The boss softly answered as he too looked at the kid who just lost his family with some pity.

"On it." She simply answered and went out.

"Jaz look around the entrance and see if there's a coat or umbrella there. I don't want to walk around with the kid exposed to the rain and getting sick." He then asked towards the rabbit girl who kept glancing at the kid.

"Yeah, sure boss." Jaz answered as she too went out.

Looking at the kid, the boss moved to lift him out of the chest, only to find the child much heavier than he knew a kid this size should be.

'What in the?' He thought as he gave the kid a look over. He even lifted his headphone to try and hear any problems or unusualness in the child, but found nothing.

So with a note to ask Liam to give him a thorough check up either in the truck or back at their current base of operations, he carried the kid out of the room.

The boss met up with Jaz who had found both a small black raincoat and an umbrella.

"What's with the weird looks to the kid boss?" She curiously asked.

"He's a lot heavier than he looks and I'm not sure why." He honestly answered.

"What do you mean heavier? He doesn't even look five yet. How could he be heavy with that small body?" She questioned now giving him a weird look.

"Alright then, you hold him while I put his jacket on." The boss replied as he held out the child for the teenage girl to take.

"Sure, still don't see how- whoa. He is heavy. I'd say between twice and three times what he should be." Jaz exclaimed in disbelief as she looked at the child in her hands with bewilderment.

"How'd you figure?" He asked hearing her weight estimate.

"When you fight as many people as often as me, you get good at estimating someone's weight." She answered with a very Jaz answer. "Maybe he already has a semblance and it makes him heavier somehow?"

"Didn't feel any aura on the kid, so I don't think that's it. Was going to ask Liam for a full check." The boss countered with his own observation.

"Yeah, our resident doc will have ta check this little cub out." Jaz said as she held him out and the boss put the raincoat on.

""Cub?"" Two voices asked in unison.

"Shouldn't he be a cat Faunus, meaning kitten would be more appropriate. I don't see any sort of ferocity in that cuties sleeping face to merit an upgrade." Van then said from behind the boss as she held a large bag full of clothing, the pictures and a few toys just in case.

"Nah, what we got here is a tiger cub. You can tell by the tail and," She began as she took off the fishing hat," the ears."

*whistle* "Now that's a rare sight." Said the boss as he looked at the little Faunus boy with two animal features.

"It's not just that he has both a tail and ears, he's a white tiger Faunus. They're incredibly rare. I actually thought illegal slavers and racists killed them all due to their rarity and natural strength decades ago." Van added as she looked at the boy in Jaz's hands.

"That bad?" The boss asked in surprise.

"I know you and the gang aren't like that boss, but some humans can be a lot worse than any Grimm." The rabbit teen answered grimly as she remembered some unpleasant memories.

"I've got to agree. Atlas may say they don't discriminate, but I've seen more atrocities in their two biggest cities than I have in Kuchinashi." Added the cat Faunus with a small look of disgust at what she had witnessed.

"Then we'll need to be careful with the kid, even with the client. He might be a nice guy and clean, but that doesn't stop a drunk man from babbling." The boss seriously said as the two girls nodded with approval.

Feeling a bit melancholy after only finding one child as the survivor of this village, the now group of four set off towards their client slowly as the boss didn't wish to harm the child by accident from moving too fast or roughly. One never could know how bad a head wound was, even if it looked like mild.

He did send Van ahead to notify their client and Liam about the situation however. No need to keep the two in suspense any longer and giving their group's doctor some advance notice will make things go smoother.

It took them a good 15 minutes of walking before they reached the truck and as soon as they did Liam was coming towards them.

"How's the child? Anything new you noticed on the way here? Did the swelling increase or decrease?" He started to ask as he did his best to overwhelm me with questions in an effort to drop his boss' guard and take the kid.

"Slow down. Let's get him in the back and then you can have a look at him." The boss said calmly as he walked with his group.

He then passed the child to Liam when they neared the truck and headed towards their client.

"My word. Vanta wasn't joking when she said the child was heavier than he should be." Liam said in astonishment, picking up his walking speed slightly as his desire to have a closer look at the child increased.

Jaz decided to go with the good doctor just in case the kid woke up. It would do a lot of good for a Faunus child in an unfamiliar place, near unfamiliar people and probably getting enthusiastically checked up by Liam to have a Faunus closer to his age and unafraid to punch said Liam in the face nearby.

"Sir. Have you ever seen a child with white and black hair, about three years old and living with his father in that village?" The boss asked their client in the hopes of finding out any additional information about the child.

"Hmmm. I'm afraid not." He answered with a shake of his head. "You see, I mainly interacted with only a handful of people in that village well. Most didn't like me for being from the kingdom they fled and I only knew those I did business with like their chief on a personal level."

"Damn. Couldn't even spot anything with the kids name back there either." The boss said with some disappointment.

"I guess all we can do is wait until he awakens. In the meantime, is it alright if we begin our trip back towards Shion? *sigh* I will need to adjust many things and figure out what I can sell quickly." The merchant said with a heavy sigh over the loss of life and reliable trading partners.

"I'll ask Liam if we can move while he does his thing." The boss replied as he headed to the back.

There he found the short lime green haired doctor seriously looking over his young patient while Jaz looked at the both of them with intense focus.

The good doctor is actually the only licensed huntsman in team [SMKE], on top of having a real doctorate in medicine and a license to work as a field medic. He is also the oldest at the age of 27. He has a pointed nose, large green forest eyes, thin lips and a rather lanky body. The man only really missed the glasses to be completely within the nerd stereotype really. The only exception being the fact that he could probably be one of the more dangerous members of the team thanks to his experience and semblance.

"How's the kid?" The boss asked the man.

"The child should be fine. Apart from the large bump on his head, the rest of his body seems in good shape for his age. There's also no sign of head trauma, but he does seem to be experiencing a very strong dream judging by his pupillary activity. I can't tell the reason for his unusual weight at this moment however." Liam answered seriously as he kept his eye on the child's closed eyes.

"Can we move?" The boss then asked.

"Yes. Just let me put some padding under his head to protect him and we can be off." He replied as he began to do just that.

The boss didn't say anything else and just let his two teammates handle the kid. He then told the client they could head back to Shion without any issue and soon after that they were off.

A wasted trip for the merchant and lost trading area, a slightly less boring job than anticipated and saddening sight for the mercenaries, and a child who now lost everything and is receiving a lot in exchange.

-Additional Author notes.

Ok so, the threat level of Grimms is really fucking wonky.

Sometimes you see the goddamn schoolgirls wrecking shit up like nothing and sometimes one Grimm almost kills them.

It's really hard to judge how dangerous a Grimm is and how powerful huntsmen/huntresses really are. I mean Ozpin sends out is third and fourth years so much they are never at the academy, somehow one insane murderer who can disrupt auras was able to hunt down most huntsmen in an entire kingdom basically on his own from what I understood, or with one other guy, and then when have scenes where some Grimms are basically immune to things like gunfire or slashes from weapons, but then someone just starts insta-killing everyone of them. Looking at you Coco.

Kinda annoying when we only get a few examples of select actually professional huntsmen doing their jobs *ahem* Qrow. From what I've been able to watch properly so far anyway.

Now as for the Lancers. They are generally pretty dangerous, but that danger comes from when they are an entire swarm and completely in the sky.

Although they have protective bone platting on the top of their bodies, they were still shown to be fairly vulnerable to gunfire and dust when Weiss took down a bunch by herself as she was shooting them from the back of a flying airship. So it made sense to me that my guys would be able to quickly take less than two dozen with three people, when the wings of the Lancers are impacted by the rain and damaged by the boss and aren't in a swarm with a Queen.

And yes I didn't say the full names of any of the oc's yet on purpose.

Finally, I feel like I should point out that unlike other authors who decide to fill the 15k word requirement by wasting a chapter, I bring you exactly that in two actual chapters. Longest chapters I've ever written too.

Rant/explanation over, thanks for reading.