Episode Christy: Chapter 1: Homecoming

Chapter 1 of Christy's story.

Do Not Fear 

The Slow March of Life,

Rather Fear What May Happen

If You Try 

To Speed it Up

 

 

 

 

            

Two Years After the Atlesian Revolution

Beacon Academy

Late Spring

Final Day of Classes

 

 

            Christy moved through the holographic map she was showcasing to her class going over different stealth tactics.  Most of the class was staring at the clock as Christy continued on with her lecture.

            “Simply being out of sight isn’t enough like they suggest in the video games” she said zooming the hologram in on a model character hiding behind a wall.  “You have to be attentive of your own sounds.  Your breathing, your footsteps, even being sick or having bad allergies could end up jeopardizing the mission if you aren’t careful.  Each and every one of you have taken great strides in this regard.  Over 90% of you passed easily and the remaining 10% while having some room for improvement still passed.” The students clapped a bit as Christy sent everyone their final grades for the semester.  “As for the reason I’m still going over elements from our first day is because you can never go wrong with covering the basics from time to time.  So as such….” suddenly the bell rang cutting Christy off while the students started pouring out.  She sighed and deactivated the projector.

            Don’t forget,” she yelled over the sounds of the exiting class, “if you are planning on taking my 4000-level class next fall, you can do some extra credit work over the summer.”  Nobody seemed to care however as they filed their way to their next class.  It was still near the middle of the day, but due to scheduling, Christy was now done with classes for the school year.  All she had left to do was tend to her duties in the medical ward in case some of the final Combat Classes got out of hand.  But most teachers kept things low-energy on the final day.  So she took her time as she finished packing her materials and started heading down the hallway.  As soon as she reached the medical ward, she set her things down and pulled out her laptop and started typing away at the lesson plans she had in store for next year.  As she continued to type, the shadows continued to move, the day grew shorter, and things seemed drabber than ever.  But Christy didn’t flinch.  She just kept typing away as if in a trance.  Only to be snapped out of that trance by a knock at the door.

            “Come in” she spoke up as she resumed typing.  The door opened and Professor Ozpin walked in with a file in his hand.

            “Good to see you Ms. Curtiss” Ozpin said as he took a seat opposite of where Christy was working.  “No rest for you it seems?”

            “Review is coming up next year” Christy said as she continued to type away.  “I want to make sure I’m in a good position to secure tenure going forward.”

            “Tenure?  You’ve only been teaching full time for a few years now.”

            “Yes, but it’s an important goal to try and attain.  And every review is a step closer to achieving that goal. Maybe even sooner than normal regulations suggest.”

            “I won’t deny the ability you’ve shown to this point, but tenure is usually reserved for those who have achieved at least ten full years of teaching at one Academy.”

            “I just want to make sure my future is secure.  That I can safely say this place is where I’ll be until retirement.”

            “Your enthusiasm is admirable, but not even Professor Oobleck with all of his energy could attain tenure before ten years had passed.  You have done well as our Stealh Tactics teacher.  I’d say it would be a very safe bet that you will have job security well before tenure even comes up in discussion.

            “Maybe.  But I’ve read reports on other teachers who didn’t make it that far.  Or didn’t have the drive to secure tenure or….”

            “Ok, I’m changing the subject.  What are you doing for the summer other than lesson plans?”

            “Actually, that’s about it.  I’ll just keep chipping away at lesson plans, maybe run through some simulations to test myself, maybe….”

            “You will not be doing that.”

            “Excuse me?”

            “You need to take a vacation young lady.”

            “It’s summer break.  From what I can tell, you aren’t the boss of me during the summer.”

            “No, but I am your boss now and next fall and based on your drive for a long while yet.  And as your boss, you are required to take two week’s vacation without your laptop or any form of lesson plans before school resumes.”

            “I beg your pardon?”

            “You are going to take two weeks off sometime during the course of the next few months.  I don’t care if you take them all at once, all at the end, or sparce them out throughout the entirety of the break, but you will take a break.”

            “And if I don’t?”  You aren’t exactly going to be watching my every move Professor.”

            “Maybe not, but I have a few magic spells I can cast to ensure you are resting and not working.”

            “That….is an extreme invasion of privacy professor…….” Ozpin chuckled and raised his hands defensively.

            “Sorry, bad joke.  But I can visit your apartment every day to check in on you.”

            “Don’t you have more important things to take care of?”

            “Perhaps, but I’m immortal.  What’s a few months compared to the millennia I will live beyond that?  Also, I think there may be an easier solution for the both of us.”

            “And what might that be?”

 

 

 

 

Three Weeks Later

Southeast of Vale

The Town of Karejji

 

 

 

            Christy took a deep sigh as she watched the countryside roll by outside the window of the service bus.  Professor Ozpin insisted she go back to visit her family in Karejii for a few weeks.  He stated it was due to the fact that it was so remote it was good to have a liaison from Beacon to go down and check in every once in a while.  He also confiscated her work laptop so that she couldn’t keep working on the lesson plans she had already started working on.  He also insisted she take the bus instead of an airship to appreciate the land a bit more, even though it made the trip over thirteen hours long.  Christy poured over the written notes she had made along the way.  While Ozpin may have confiscated her technology, she still had plenty of ways to keep herself busy during the drive.  Finally, the countryside turned into farmland, and then turned into a small modern village.  Karejii, a bustling town southeast of Vale that was known for producing some of Remnant’s brightest minds in terms of agriculture and non-Dust resource mining.  Alongside that, one of the few research institutes not under the thumb of Atlas stands in this town as well.  A five story circular building that is almost an acre in size with a beautiful grass field in the middle of the circle that employees could use to get some fresh air.  Although unless viewing from the sky, it would be easy to miss as the institute was hidden by the foliage of trees just south of the town itself.  Most of the townsfolk only lived in this region due to these unique opportunities instead of in the Kingdoms.  As such, not many Huntsmen or Huntresses set up a home here or passed through very often.  To help ensure the safety of the village, despite the many natural barriers that would keep Grimm at bay such as the mighty river that ran alongside the town’s western front and the flat plains to the east making it easy to spot Grimm from miles away, there was a small defensive wall built near the entrance just by the farm fields, and they were constantly patrolled by armed townsfolk and the one or two Huntsmen who were passing through and offered their services in exchange for room and board for the night.  The townsfolk were normally selected at random through a drawing held by the city council and weapons were provided through donation by the Atlas military, Beacon Academy, and the Schnee Dust Company.  Normally nothing more than simple pistols and rifles and the occasional sword and spear.  Some called for the local council to order Atlesian Knights from Atlas, but they were always struck down by the council citing the cost.  The bus passed through the main gate and into the town, then came to a stop near the central square.  Christy started to get off and was greeted by a giant bear hug no more than two steps off the bus.

            “Hey sister!” a gleeful voice filled Christy’s ears.

            “Good to see you Nathaniel” Christy said returning the hug.  Nathaniel stepped away from his sister and showcased a big smile.  He wore a t-shirt with the logo of the research institute their father worked at with a pair of tan cargo shorts.  The two of them then started walking back home.

            “I’m so glad you could visit!” Nathaniel said with a pep in his step.  “We haven’t seen you in a long time!”

            “Sorry, didn’t mean to seem like I was ignoring you or anything.”

            “You’re busy at Beacon.  We know.  And given some of the stories you’ve told us, I’m surprised you have the time to visit at all.”

            “So where’s the rest of the family at?  Given how long I’ve been away I’m kind of surprised that everybody didn’t just tackle me like you did.”

            “Dad’s still stuck at work, and mom and sis got selected this month so they are out on patrol.  So I was the only one able to properly welcome you.  But I figured since you’ll be here for two weeks there’ll be plenty of opportunities for you to see them.”

            “Maybe.  Ozpin may be forcing me to be away from Beacon, but I still plan on getting work done while I’m here.”

            “Really?”

            “Review is next year, and I can’t afford to trip up after having done so well for so long.”  Nathaniel sighed as Christy began pouring through her notes.

            “You should at least get some sleep” he said as he pulled out the keys to open the door to their house as they approached it.  I’m sure that drive was a long one.”

            “I’m fine” Christy said as she reviewed one of her scrawled notes.  “I just need to make sure I don’t trip up now.”  Nathaniel sighed again, and opened the door.  Christy stepped inside and was immediately met by being almost tackled again.  But this time by the family’s two dogs, Chipsie and Cleo.

            “Oh yeah,” Nathaniel said as he entered as well, “Mom decided since these two are getting up there in age, they would be better off staying here than going out on patrol.”

            “Well this is a nice little surprise” Christy said as she scratched the heads of the dogs while making sure she didn’t lose the notes she was going over.  “How long before mom and dad get back do you think?”

            “Not sure.  Patrols have been going later and later due to increased Grimm activity, and Dad’s been stuck doing overtime for the past few weeks.”

            “Well then, I think I’m going to get a quick nap.  I’ll be upstairs if you…..” suddenly a sharp pain shot through Christy’s back causing her to almost fall over.  She grabbed her back in pain and grabbed the nearby railing of the stairs to keep herself upright.

            “Are you okay?” Nathaniel asked worryingly rushing over to his sister.

            “I’m fine” Christy said as she poured a small bit of healing aura into her back.  “I think between you and the dogs tackling me my back was caught a bit off guard.”

            “Well, take care of yourself.  Hate to have you get hurt during your vacation.”

            “I appreciate it Nathaniel.  Thank you.”  With that, Christy made her way up to her old room and collapsed on her bed.  She took a deep sigh as she rubbed her back a little bit more, then closed her eyes.

 

 

 

Two Months after the Battle of Vytal

Beacon Academy

Medical Ward

 

 

 

            The doctor motioned for Christy to step down from the x-ray machine and guided her back to the seat across from his desk.

            “So what is it doctor?” Christy asked as she sat down.  “Did I pull a muscle or something?  Even then it seems strange my Semblance or Aura wouldn’t help with healing it.”

            “No, it’s actually far worse than I initially thought.”

            “What?”

            “There’s a small crack in your spine.”

            “A crack?  Are you serious?  I’m pretty sure I would feel something like that if there were a crack in my spine.  I admit, I had to use a cane for a short while after the battle due to Hibernis breaking my back and jumping right into another battle afterwards, but I thought my Semblance finally healed that up.”

            “I had assumed so as well, but it would seem that this small piece is still not fully healed.  That would explain your back flare-ups in recent weeks that you told me about.  And even then, you are pretty lucky.  You should be barely able to stand with the amount of pain you should be feeling.”

            “Well, is there anything you can do?”

            “The crack is in a particularly delicate part of the spine.  There is an operation available, but it is incredibly risky.  There’s a good chance that you could end up paralyzed if this goes wrong.”

            “So what do you recommend?”

            “As of right now, I say we study it.  You’ll be studying here at Beacon for a few more years, so we can observe your progress and see what happens.  Perhaps your Semblance is attempting to heal the crack as we speak, it’s just taking a bit longer than other injuries you have sustained.  If it isn’t a massive hinderance, I say you can just keep moving forward.”

 

 

 

Present Day

Early Evening

 

 

 

            Christy continued to just lie there in the bed, not sure what to do.  She wanted to keep working on the notes she had started working on during the bus ride down, but as soon as she collapsed in that bed, she could not muster any energy whatsoever.  She just kept staring at the ceiling, just lost in the blank thoughts in her head.  Finally, a knock at her door snapped her back to reality and she sat up to see Nathaniel standing there with a small paper bag.

            “Hey sis,” he said with a small smile.  “So dad just texted and said he’s going to be late again, and patrol still haven’t finished their current sweep, so I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”

            “Sure.  What’s that?”

            “I’m getting dinner made and….”

            “I could’ve helped with dinner Nathaniel, why didn’t you ask me?”

            “You seemed so relaxed I decided not to bother you.  But it isn’t done, and I need to stay here and make sure everything is ready.  But I did manage to make something quick for dad.  Would you be fine with running it to the institute to give to him?  I messaged him and he’ll be expecting you at the usual spot.”

            “Sure” Christy said getting herself out of bed.  “I could use some exercise.  She then pulled together some of her equipment, including her axes.

            “It’s just a food run sis, you don’t need to take your weapons.”

            “Better safe than sorry.  Remember when you and I used to play in those woods and some Grimm birds started pecking at us?”

            “Fair enough.  Be safe.”  Christy smiled in response and stepped out carrying the food for her father.  As she looked up, the sun was still well in the sky as the solstice was not that far off, but several gray clouds were rolling along the horizon.

            “This place could use some rain” Christy said as she started walking towards the forest that bordered the institute.  “I just hope I get back before it hits.”

Author's Note

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