Old Dogs, New Tricks (private w/Rosé)

[Silvanus Waldstein]

Silvanus hated being cooped up in his office perusing paperwork all day. It made him feel good to go out and hunt down some Grimm for a change. It reminded him of his younger days in the army, spending time with his brothers-in-arms. He perished the thought before thinking too far ahead, most of them died during the war anyway, and the ones that survived were definitely not around any more. Best to not think of death when you could feel it creeping up on you.

Another Grimm disturbance that was too powerful for the Rangers to handle is what brought him out here. An exceptionally large Beowolf Alpha from what the scouts saw, naming it 'Old White Eye' on account of one of its eyes being a stark white color. Being more than enough for the job, Silvanus elected to go out and slay it himself. Robin, his trusted assistant, would handle things back in Oakhearth in his temporary absence. Silvanus's armor and Fragarach was strategically dirtied, as anything shiny made him a beacon for danger due to the sun peeking through the canopy of trees. Silvanus stopped to check a set of tracks by a tree.

Hmm... That's Old White Eye alright. Certainly a large Grimm to say the least... he mused. Silvanus stopped suddenly as he was about to stand up. Another set of tracks, human or Faunus sized by the look of it.

A bit on the smaller side. A female, perhaps, or a younger male based on their weight alone. Fresh tracks, too... Silvanus continued thinking, wondering if the person was nearby. Silvanus noticed the tracks split off from each other, the person's heading one way and Old White Eye's in another. Making an executive decision, Silvanus followed the person's tracks. It would put his mind at peace to know the state of the person. Besides, he can always backtrack to the Grimm's tracks later.

[Rosé Carmine]

Rosé opened her eyes, slightly surprised to see the tree canopy above her, sunlight peeking through to create sunbeams. She sat up, casting her gaze about the clearing as she tried to recall just how she ended up here. Compared to the serenity of the canopy above the clearing looked like a small tornado had passed through, the undergrowth torn up, branches scattered across the ground, tree trucks with large gashes in their bark. "A fight...?"

Rosé stood as some details returned to her. She recalled flashes of the fight that occurred here and... Rosé frowned as she realised that her blade had gone missing, however a memory returned of a large Grimm with her blade stuck in it's shoulder. A Beowolf if her memory served her right, though there was something different about it. Her gaze turned towards herself, checking the rest of her equipment when she noticed two large holes in the armour plate on her right forearm; another memory flash, this time face-to-face with the Beowolf, her forearm in it's mouth as it bit down. "Ah... the eyes. That's what's different about it." Rosé continued to check the functionality of her arm to ensure no damaged had been done to the prosthetic. Finding her arm to be in working order with no complications, Rosé murmured to herself. "Another victory for not having my original limbs."

Rosé looked around for an indication of where the Grimm had gone, spotting trampled undergrowth and broken branches leading away from the clearing. "Right, you bastard I'm coming for my blade." She set off in pursuit of the Grimm, keeping an eye out for any other threats, what with her now down to only her limbs and pistol for defence.

[Silvanus Waldstein]

Following the person's tracks, Silvanus entered a clearing which had been wrecked by some type of scuffle. A shame to see nature harmed like this, but Silvanus had other priorities to worry about. Large gashes in the tree trunks, snapped twigs and branches, and smashed and torn undergrowth made it evident that something big was here.

Old White Eye, perhaps? But how? It must have taken an alternative route to this clearing... Silvanus thought as the snap of a twig echoed from outside the clearing. It sounded too quiet to be from Old White Eye, perhaps that was the person-!

Silvanus was shocked from the sudden impact as something very large pounced on his back. Instinctively, Silvanus elbowed at the thing on top of his back, knocking it off and sending it flying towards the edge of the clearing. Standing up, Silvanus immediately noticed one white eye, along with a large red blade sticking in its shoulder. Undoubtedly it was Old White Eye, but the blade was a new addition. Raising Fragarach, Silvanus readied himself as he kept an eye on the foul Grimm as it circled the edge of the clearing, keeping its eyes on Silvanus.

Old White Eye seems to act with predatory behavior rather than basic aggression. It acts more intelligently than your typical Beowolf Alpha... mused Silvanus as Old White Eye continued circling him, its deep growl echoing throughout the clearing as it patiently awaited for an opening to attack.

[Rosé Carmine]

Rosé hadn't gotten far when she heard a loud crash coming from the clearing she had just left. She stopped, looking back and hesitating for a moment. The sound of deep growling got Rosé moving, returning to the clearing. As she closed, she could hear small twigs snapping underfoot coming from the clearing, the low menacing growl continuing like an idling chainsaw. Rosé stopped short of the edge of the clearing, taking in the sight of a very tall, old man wearing armour wielding a sword almost as long as he was tall, facing off against an all too familiar Grimm with her blade sticking out of it's shoulder, seeming mostly unfazed by it's presence.

She drew her not oft used revolver almost comically large in construction, it's dull finish still reflecting in the late daylight, levelling it at the Grimm. It was times like this she could appreciate having a ranged option as she sighted the Grimm down the length of the revolver, her finger gently caressing the trigger.

A moment of tense calm, suddenly broken as Rosé discharged her revolver at the Grimm, one loud report announcing her presence to the few gathered. Smoke trailed up into the green canopy above from the end of the revolver's barrel. "You didn't think you'd gotten rid of me that easy did you?" She declared as she brought the hammer back with her thumb, already in motion as she prepared for another shot, moving into the clearing to flank the Grimm with the old man. "And I'll be taking back my sword!"

[Silvanus Waldstein]

The familiar crackle of gunfire reverberated throughout the forest, originating from behind Old White Eye. The bullets came into contact with the Grimm as if they were mere mosquito bites. The mighty beast turned around, roaring loudly at its new quarry before charging her. Silvanus, acting quickly, invoked the creation of roots that strangled Old White Eye's right hind leg. The beast tripped, falling onto its belly. The roots grew along its body and other limbs, effectively restraining it. Old White Eye attempted to wrestle free of the mysterious roots to no avail, practically quivering in fear as it did so. Silvanus looked over at the person who the Grimm nearly charged, giving her Aura a notable surge in defensive ability.

"I can only hold it briefly, take your blade!" Silvanus called out to the woman.

[Rosé Carmine]

Rosé scowled as she noted the effects of her shots on the Grimm. Ineffective. In a blink it had whirled and charged towards her, only to be brought to a stop and held down by... roots? Her attention shifted for a moment to the old man opposite, reasoning that the roots must be his doing when he called out to her that he could only hold the Grimm briefly.

Rosé darted forwards, holstering her revolver as she neared the Grimm. She planted a boot square on the Grimm's snout as she made her way to stand on it's back, reached to her blade and with a hard pull, freed it from the shoulder of the Grimm. In one fluid motion she brought the blade above her head, point down towards the back of the Grimm's neck. Rosé took a heartbeat to steady her aim and then brought the blade down; only to be thrown aside as the Grimm, sensing a killing blow coming, struggled, strained and made true on what the old man had said, freeing itself before Rosé could land her killing blow.

Rosé hit the ground rolling, only noting now that her aura felt saturated as it took the brunt of her fall for her. She continued her roll back up onto her feet, immediately having to back pedal as the Grimm swiped at her with one of it's large paws. Rosé started to swing her blade trying to build up some momentum to create a whirling dance, however the Grimm was clearly not interested in giving Rosé any room to breathe. "I guess- you're up-!" Rosé called out, her speech stilted as she blocked, deflected and dodged incoming attacks.

[Silvanus Waldstein]

Old White Eye was strong, very strong. Silvanus's plants were stronger than your average variety, and yet this powerful Grimm was able to break free of its restraints. The normal fear response Grimm usually display from his plants seemed to be diluted in Old White Eye as well. Yes, it did manifest, but usually your average Grimm would have run off by now. This beast was definitely a force to be reckoned with...

Silvanus hacked away at the hind of Old White Eye, flanking the beast with the red-haired woman. Blades seemed to be a more effective means of damaging it rather than bullets. A look at the fresh wounds dealt by the pair of warriors would reveal an almost armorlike cartilage underneath the skin of its body that seemed capable of stopping bullets from smaller firearms. Fearing for its life, Old White Eye turned around and bit down on Fragarach, slamming it into the ground as it bounded past Silvanus running deep into the forest. Having been knocked to the ground, Silvanus grasped the grip of Fragarach as he used his own sword to pull himself up.

"I suppose that could've ended worse..." Silvanus muttered, groaning as he stood up and pulled Fragarach out of the ground.

Strange, Old White Eye seemed to have a lesser but delayed fear response to plants made from Rhythm of the Wild... Silvanus mused as he looked off in the direction it ran before looking back to the red haired woman. At first he couldn't place it, but he realized that she was eerily familiar.

"You seem familiar, weren't you here approximately a century ago?" Silvanus inquired. He recalled a memory from long ago, serving as a volunteer in the Oakhearth militia. He was saved by a small, crimson-haired woman during a Grimm attack. Could this be her?

[Rosé Carmine]

Suddenly the Grimm turned tail and ran, clearly not liking the match-up it found itself in. Rosé kept her blade at the ready in case it decided to return for another go. She turned her focus to the old man once she was satisfied that the Grimm wasn't immediately coming back. Did she...? No, she was sure the old man was familiar, maybe she had encountered the old man's father or something. "Yeah... like with it running off with my sword again." She didn't always mean to sound so unfriendly, but it just came naturally to her as a way to keep people away from her, to keep herself safe.

Her slight, ever-present scowl deepened when the old man expressed his familiarity with her, a century ago. "A century ago...?" She murmured, taking a closer look at the man. Not just at his face, but his armour and weapon too. The way he stood, held his weapon. "Oh? Perhaps? You do seem familiar to me..." She brought a hand to her chin, the other holding her blade still, as she pondered. "Though I'm not entirely certain why?"

Her attention turned once more to the woods around them, to the Grimm now hiding in it's undergrowth. "I assume this wasn't a chance encounter with you though. You were after that unusual Grimm right?" She reasoned. "I was heading to Oakhearth as I remembered it being out here recently and felt like visiting." Her gaze turned back to the old man once more. "Though I can spare all the time you need to take this Grimm down. It's not like I'm in a rush any way." She gave a half shrug.

Rosé blinked as she half remembered a name. "Wait, your name... Sil-?" She stopped, the foggy memory not giving up the man's full name just yet. It was there on the tip of her tongue, right there. The memory cleared slightly as she continued looking at the man, an name echoing in the foggy memory. "Slivanus, right? Did I ever give you my name when we last met?" A century ago meant, around the time she was running around saving people and not being in the habit of giving her name out. Probably not then...

[Silvanus Waldstein]

"As a matter of fact, I've been the Elder of Oakhearth for the better part of... seventy eight years. And yes, I was after that Grimm. The scouts have taken to calling it Old White Eye. It's been harassing the outskirts of Oakhearth for some time now, but its appearances have been few and far between..." Silvanus replied. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that she was the mysterious crimson-haired woman that saved him during a Grimm attack.

"Yes, Silvanus Waldstein. I don't recall hearing your name when we met a century ago, though it seems the years have been much kinder to you." he responded with a deep chuckle, noticing how she seemed to not age a day since then.

"Anyway, I doubt it would do much good to keep chasing Old White Eye. It seems to have a knack for disappearing into the forest for long periods of time. I'll have my scouts continue patrolling the forest for it in the meantime." he stated with more seriousness as he rested Fragarach on one of his shoulder pauldrons.

"I'd be happy to escort you back to Oakhearth if you'd like." Silvanus offered, figuring it was the least he could do for someone who had saved his life a century ago.

[Rosé Carmine]

"78 years..." Rosé murmured to herself. It suddenly occurred to her that 80 years is a lifetime to many people. Her eye flicked to Silvanus, considering him in a new light as he continued speaking, informing her about the white-eyed Grimm, named Old White Eye by the locals. Apt, she reasoned.

Rosé couldn't keep Silvanus in suspense any longer over her name, he had waited for a hundred years to find out. "Hm. Rosé Carmine." She eyed Silvanus' weathered, scarred and wrinkled skin. "And the years weren't so kind to you..." She always hated being reminded of her agelessness by people around her growing older. "Tch." She clicked her tongue, trying to dispel the dour mood that threatened to overtake her.

"A knack for disappearing...?" Rosé gripped the hilt of her blade, releasing it moments late, quietly glad she had been able to retrieve it from the shoulder of the Grimm. "In that case, I aught to thank you for saving me from going through the effort of having to hunt down... Old White Eye to retrieve my blade." She offered Silvanus a small, rare smile which quickly disappeared from her face.

Rosé considered turning Silvanus' offer down, before realising that she was being obstinate for the sake of being obstinate. She gave a long sigh, letting some of the tension go from her shoulders. "That- I don't exactly know where Oakhearth is, so that would be helpful..." Her voice trailed off, having run out of things to say. She tried casting around for a topic, but she always avoided small talk with people whenever possible. Small talk risked possibly becoming attached to someone, which only ever ended in heartache for her later on down the road. As such, she never really developed the 'skills' for small talk, which left her floundering for a topic.

[Silvanus Waldstein]

"You're welcome." Silvanus replied, the smile from Rosé being genuine, undeniable proof of her thanks.

"Alright then, follow me." Silvanus added, turning around as he began walking back in the direction of Oakhearth. Of course, he knew the area incredibly well, and took to navigating the various twists and turns of the forest like a duck to water. He also took note of various symbols carved into trees, a code of some sort. Although mainly focused on navigation, Silvanus noted the silence between the two of them as they went through the forest, figuring a few questions wouldn't go amiss.

"I get the sense that you've been around for much longer than I have. Thinking back on it, you were already very experienced in dealing with Grimm when you saved me a century ago. Do you recall how long you've been around for?" Silvanus inquired as he inspected one of the peculiar symbols at the base of a tree, just above a patch of moss.

[Rosé Carmine]

Rosé watched as Silvanus navigated the woods with a confidence that spoke of an intimate knowledge gained by spending years, if not decades wandering the woods. She took note of the scratchings that Silvanus sometimes stopped to examine, reasoning that they must some sort of navigation marking. She took a closer look at one of the symbols, trying to decipher it's meaning to little avail. A direction marking... or a warning?

Rosé fixed Silvanus with a stare, a knot formed in her stomach. "How... old?" She looked away up to the sky peaking through the canopy above, a far away look in her eyes. "I don't really know if I'm honest. I lost track at some point..." Her voice was small, barely heard over the rush of the leaves above, but steady as the ground beneath her feet. "If I had to guess though...?" Rosé looked at Silvanus out of the corner of her eye. "About 350 years old, give or take a decade or two." Her voice quieted, flat and emotionless in it's final delivery.

She made her way over to Silvanus, crouching down next to him to take a closer look at the symbols. "How do you read these anyway?" Rosé poked at the moss, revealing more of the symbols to the light of day. "I've seen a lot in my travels around Remnant, but this is a new one for me. I don't recall these being here when I was last here..."

[Silvanus Waldstein]

"Fascinating. You must have lots of knowledge and experience that people lack nowadays." Silvanus replied. Knowing how much people can accomplish in ten years, he's be astounded at what someone could accomplish in three hundred years.

Silvanus's face twisted into one of surprise when Rosé revealed another set of symbols. Never before had he seen any outsider have a keen eye for this sort of thing, Rosé was definitely more than meets the eye. Taking a look at the symbols, Silvanus looked back towards Rosé to explain the meaning.

"This is Ranger Code, a specialized set of symbols developed by the Rangers of Oakhearth. Think of it as a shorthand for conveying information, it's much quicker to decipher a set of symbols than to read a message. It's read from top to bottom, then left to right. The first symbol means 'advance', the second means 'stream', and the third means 'sanctuary'. So all together, the symbols convey something along the lines of 'there is a safe place beyond the stream', which means Oakhearth isn't far." Silvanus explained.

[Rosé Carmine]

"A lot of knowledge huh?" Rosé took a moment to consider if that was true or not. "Well, the science of the known world has advanced considerably since-" Her voice cut off as she mentally steadied herself, the moment of vertigo passing as soon as it appeared. Rosé took a deep breath before continuing to speak, avoiding thinking too hard on the memory that had surfaced. "... since I was born. So I wouldn't say I have much more knowledge than anyone else... though I won't disagree about having lots of experience. Got plenty of that for sure, for what good it does sometimes..." A wry smile touched her lips for a moment.

Rosé turned her attention back to the code as Silvanus explained how to read this particular message. She traced one of her fingers along the symbol for sanctuary as she tried to recall any other code systems used anywhere else on Remnant that was even remotely similar to this one. "I've seen a few different code systems before, though none were ever read like this." Rosé glanced over to Silvanus, taking a moment before speaking once more. "Is this of your own creation?" She turned back to the symbols as her fingers started to trace the others, committing them to memory. "Or are th- were these created before your time?"

Rosé stood, ready to follow Silvanus onwards toward Oakhearth. It was several minutes before Rosé spoke up once more as she came to a stop while crossing the stream with boots in hand. "What did you do during the Great War?" She observed Silvanus, a steely look in her one visible eye as she waited for his answer.

[Silvanus Waldstein]

It seemed that Silvanus's question must have brought up some intense memories for Rosé, ones that Silvanus did not intend to evoke. He had some empathy for the small, immortal woman. After all, he understood the complications that resulted from living longer than everyone else around him.

"Forgive my curiosity, I should know by now how certain memories are best left unthought of. I just haven't met someone who has lived longer than me." Silvanus replied.

Silvanus seemed to smile a bit at the interest in Ranger Code. He may not have been the one who created such a system, but he made his own contributions.

"I cannot take all the credit for the creation of Ranger Code. I have made a few contributions, but if you have to credit someone in particular, thank Ranger Captain Harkin Moss. He based it off of ancient Oakhearthian symbols." he explained.

Captain Moss... I should check up on the man, he has a tendency to overwork himself... Silvanus mused, wondering if he fell asleep at his desk again. Just then, Rosé asked about what he did in the Great War.

"Followed orders for the most part. I was conscripted and stationed in Mistral during the first half of the war. They figured a man of my size was best suited to be on the front lines. They promoted me when I showed promise in tactical thinking and leadership. By the time I was reassigned to Vacuo I had a bit of a reputation, the kind of reputation that got the attention of the Warrior King himself. I spent the last half of the war commanding a relief force..." Silvanus spoke, trailing off towards the end as he recalled that fateful day. That battle. An intense, bloody battle that best remained unthought of...

[Rosé Carmine]

"So it's a fairly recent creation then?" Rosé assumed, based on the way Silvanus talked about this Harkin Moss, that the code can't be much older than a few decades.

Her gaze softened slightly as she listened to an all too familiar retelling of a story she had heard many times. Ordered to fight in a war that they didn't want to be in, having to take lives because someone higher up thought they knew better than anyone. She had avoided taking part in the war, her allegiance too uncertain for many. She had felt, and still felt that the war was a waste of people's time and lives, all just because some people in power couldn't agree to disagree. Man already has enough problems dealing with Grimm without having to add to it themselves.

As she listened to Silvanus speak, she noticed as he trailed over that his eyes gained an all too familiar look. A look that indicated a fall into unpleasant memories so she did the only thing that came to mind. She hefted one of her boots and launched it at Silvanus, aiming to just miss his head. "Catch!" Her voice rang out, chased by the boot sailing through the air.

Rosé finished wading across the stream, making her way over to Silvanus and standing near him. "Sorry about that. I don't think about what I'm asking about. I'd blame it on not interacting with people very often, but that might just sound like an excuse." She retrieved her chucked boot. Oh... and sorry about the boot. Just let me know if I'm being a nuisance or whatever else."