Ch 49: First Mission (4)

Ray was jogging alone along the road from Upper Cairn towards Saysalito. Anyone who knew him, however, would have doubted it was really him. Instead of the usual confident, mischievous, or serious expressions that he always had on, Ray's face was instead twisted by an expression that none of his friends would have readily associated him with, fear. Rajeev Rose, the genius huntsman of Vale, looked afraid, and his chaotic aura reflected that. But then that was the point. What's the best way to hunt skittish prey? Lure it into a trap and make sure you cut off all its escape routes before moving in for the kill. But every good trap needed a tempting bait. Enter Rajeev Rose, huntsman and actor extraordinaire who could emulate the fear that wendigos loved to draw them out and who possessed the strength to survive their initial assault.

The settlement guards hadn't been too thrilled with a young huntsman-in-training acting as the bait. But, with Goodwitch's reassurance concerning Ray's abilities and no one else volunteering to serve as the bait or coming up with a better idea, the plan had been agreed upon in the end. Now Ray was making his way from Upper Cairn to the first of four rest stop on the road towards Saysalito, where Glynda and a group of settlement guards were setting up an ambush while making sure to project as appetizing a fear aura as possible to draw in the Grimm that he could already sense were now stalking him through the forest.

[Come into my parlor. Said the spider to the fly.] Ray thought humorously to himself as he entered the clearing surrounding the rest stop and visibly relaxed his shoulders.

Seeing their prey appear to have let down its guard and anticipating the fear that the rest stops guards would experience when they saw one of their young pulled screaming into the shadowy forest by dark grasping claws, an Alpha wendigo, half again as tall as it's brethren, pounced upon their unsuspecting prey as its followers waited within the cover of the tree line hoping to catch their own prey when the humans rushed out of their den to try and save the youngster.

Their anticipation made the shock in the Alpha's eyes all the sweeter for Ray when he suddenly spun around and jammed an Aura spike through the roof of its gaping maw and into its brain. At the same time, guards hiding in the tops of the trees rained Dust enhanced bullets down on the rest of the unsuspecting pack. Within seconds, the over two dozen wendigos that had been haunting the area around Upper Cairn were reduced to nothing but ash, smoke, and bad memories.

"Good work, everyone." Ray called out to the soldiers as they jumped down from the trees where they had been hiding. He then turned to Glynda, who was walking towards him. However, his conversation with her about their plans for tomorrow was interrupted before it could even begin by a soldier that had just climbed down from a tree near where Ray was standing.

"Sir." The veteran soldier respectfully addressed the young huntsman in training without thinking, "How did the Grimm not detect us? They should have been able to sense our Aura's from a mile out or at least smell us when they got closer."

Ray turned to the man and held up two fingers, "Two reasons. One, this area is heavily traveled and is permeated with the stench of people. A couple fresher scents aren't going to draw any attention. Two, no offense, but I'm a lot more appetizing to these Grimm with my excessive Aura levels and the fear I was emulating. So, they were distracted and dismissed your Aura signatures. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." The veteran gave Ray a quick salute and returned to the fort after receiving a nod from Ray.

[So he is aware of how insane the amount of Aura he has is.] Glynda thought to herself sarcastically as she watched the soldier turn and leave.

"So, three more forts and then Saysalito. With any luck, we will be back in Beacon by Thursday." Ray said, turning his attention to Glynda as he stretched his arms above his head and cracked his neck to the side.

Glynda nodded, "Yes, now about our plan for tomorrow. I was thinking…"

######

Wednesday. Things had gone even better than planned. Over these past couple of days, they had successfully killed over 100 wendigos, 6 alpha wendigos, and one alpha that had been on the verge of evolving into a titan wendigo. All without a single death, though a few soldiers would likely be forced to retire due to the injuries they sustained from the fallout produced by Ray and Glynda's battle with the demi-titan. Glynda had even learned how to produce a fake emotional Aura to attract Grimm like Ray had been doing, allowing them to finish a day early by having her make the journey from Saysalito to the fourth fort while Ray made his way there from the third.

Currently, Glynda and Ray were onboard a bullhead on their way back to Beacon Academy. Both were enjoying the peace and quiet with only the drone of the bullhead's engines in the background after several stressful days of using themselves as bait to lure out man-eating monsters and fighting with their lives on the line to kill them. No matter how strong a huntsman was, it didn't change the fact that one wrong move, one bad judgment, could mean the death of them or one of their teammates. It was one of the things Ray secretly loved about the job. The danger that pushed one always to be their best and the intoxicating thrill of dancing on the edge of the reaper scythe. It was a drug as dangerous and addictive as any narcotic. An addiction that had followed him from his past life and he imagined would follow him through his future lives as well.

As they both enjoyed the air of silent camaraderie that came from two people that had completed a difficult task done a good job doing it, the two warriors were also lost in their individual thoughts as they reflected on the mission. Though she had grown to trust and appreciate Ray during this mission, it had also reinforced her impression of how dangerous he was.

[He is strong, brave, cunning, and decisive. He came up with a reliable plan that put the majority of the risk on himself and kept his allies out of danger less than an hour after determining the type of Grimm we were facing and only having observed a small portion of the terrain from the air. Yet, when I proposed altering the plan for me to act as a second bait, he agreed once I showed that I could also fake my emotions sufficiently. So, he prefers to shoulder the burden himself but is willing to share it if someone proves themselves capable. But where is the brashness of youth? For all the carefree attitude he shows around campus, his every step during this mission seems to be both thoroughly thought out and highly adaptive. I would expect such abilities from an experienced top-class huntsman, not from a teenager. Could such abilities really be the result of mere talent and intuition? Or could Ray also be someone like Ozpin? A reincarnate.] Glynda bit her bottom lip at the stray thought. The idea was ridiculous. Anyone else wouldn't even have considered it. But they didn't know what she knew, and it would explain so much. Besides, she could name at least one previous example of someone being reincarnated into a new body. Could she really be sure there wasn't another?

[But if that's true, then just who are you really, Rajeev Rose?] Glynda turned her gaze from the scenery flowing quickly beneath them to look at the handsome young man seated across from her with his eyes closed and couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking at the moment.

As for Ray, his thoughts on the mission were relatively simple, even if the emotions behind them were pretty complex.

[Well, my first official job as Rajeev certainly went better than my first job as Wraith.] Ray couldn't help but think as his thoughts drifted back in time to two years ago when he had first donned the mask of Wraith. That night had led to so many first for him. His first human kill, his first devouring of another's Aura, and his first time in this life. A first time that turned into a whole lot more than just one of the best lays he had ever had.