AN: Be advised, I don't own RWBY or any of the associated characters, plot, setting, or other tidbits associated with it, that all belongs to Roosterteeth, not me. So please don't sue me, I'm but a lowly and poor college student with too much time on my hands.
History Lesson
It was clear and sunny Thursday at Beacon Academy. The sky was a striking blue, the breeze was cool to the skin, the sunshine warming, and nearly all the staff and students were enjoying the day… nearly being the key word.
"C'mon Pyrrha, I've copied as much of Oobleck's notes as I can, but he talks so FAST! Please just let me look at your notes."
The red haired Amazon sighed with frustration as Jaune continued to plead and beg for her notes. The two partners were walking back to their dorm after their last class for the day when Jaune had spied Pyrrha's nearly complete notes and had started to bug her for them. While the Amazoness had more than just a little soft spot for the blonde knight, she drew the line at this.
"No Jaune," Said Pyrrha as they came to a stop outside their dorm room. Turning to the despondent knight with her arms crossed, Pyrrha sighed and gave Jaune a look. "Just read the history book like I did and take notes."
"But I DID read it." Whined the blonde.
"Really?" Asked Pyrrha in a deadpan tone that made the knight fidget.
"Well, sorta…" Admitted Jaune with a slight frown. A glare from Pyrrha made him relent in a despondent sigh. "Okay so I only made it five pages before falling asleep, but that's why I NEED your notes."
Letting out an aggravated sigh, the red head turned to the door and spoke in a slightly disappointed tone. "Jaune, I can't be there for you to lean on always, sometimes you have to stand on your own." The words stung Jaune and quickly shut him up, making a stagnant silence reign between the two teens. "Besides," started Pyrrha in an attempt to cover the awkward silence, "I have to complete that Advanced Tactics project before tomorrow."
Jaune brightened for a moment as Pyrrha began to step through the door. "Oh, I've had that done since Monday, what if I help you with that for the no-" But before he could finish the door slammed shut and Jaune was left in the hallway with the door as his answer.
Sighing and pulling the thick history book out of his bag, the knight gave it a sour scowl before sighing and walking back towards the entrance to the dorms. "If I have to read this monster I might as well find a comfortable place to do it." Grumbled the knight as he marched away to somewhere quiet.
"What kind of grades are these? Cs, Ds, why am I paying for you to go entertain this silly idea if you don't show me results?!" Cardin winced slightly as his father on the other end of the video call continued his verbal assault. The older man looked a great deal like Cardin, the strong jaw and blue eyes were almost like a reflection on the vid screen, if not for the more pointed chin and the gray and black hair… and the yelling.
The young man was quiet as he took his verbal beating. It was nothing new really, the Winchester name was a prestigious one and all Paul Winchester ever really cared about was status and power. This was usually obtained through subtle methods like politics and his position as mayor of Vale, which made Cardin's more direct measures and brute strength a great letdown to the older man.
Leaning back in his seat, the older man sighed and rubbed his weary face with the palms of his hands. "Lord Oum above… This is worse than that time I let your mother get you into that pathetic habit of a past time." Grumbled the senior Winchester with scorn. Cardin didn't usually rise to his father's ill remarks, but his mother was a sore spot.
Scowling with anger, Cardin fought down his tongue and managed to simmer the explosion down to a hiss. "Well at least she remembered me." Ceasing the ministrations on his face, the older Winchester sat up slowly and glowered at his insolent son, a mixture of shock, rage, and caution in his blue eyes.
Cardin glared back with as much strength as he could. Normally the youngest Winchester just took the bullying on the head from his father and just thought of that as the natural order of things, but ever since Jaune had stood up to him in Forever fall Cardin had been foul tempered and frustrated from the verbal beatings he got from his father, and now finally the younger man had snapped.
"I have more important things to do than argue with an insolent child." Drawled the older Winchester slowly and carefully as he looked to his watch and sighed in frustration. "I have a press conference in five minutes about the latest White Fang attack." Cardin's father practically spat the last three words as he glowered at his son. "It seems like the animal freaks can't leave us normal people alone. I will talk to you later." Standing up, the man shot Cardin a glare that said this wasn't over and ended the call.
Cardin continued to glower at the scroll for a few more minutes, his grip tightening until he could hear the device creak with strain before finally sighing in defeat and looking up the sky over the gardens of Beacon academy.
Burying the rebellious and angry thoughts, Cardin put his scroll away and looked around the little plaza, surrounded on all sides by hedges except for two small entrances on Cardin's right and left it was the perfect hiding spot for Cardin to indulge in his favorite pastime. In the center of the clearing was a large oak tree with plenty of birds chirping happily in it.
Ensuring the area was clear of people who would rat on him, Cardin pulled out a small leather pouch and a small well-worn journal and pencil. Double-checking the privacy of his actions, Cardin opened the pouch and scooped out a handful of birdseed and scattered it onto the cobblestone and grass before of his bench. Within seconds, a small flock of birds had descended on the seed. Robins, Blue Jays, Wrens, and a few Grosbeaks hopped and chirped in delight as they snacked on the delicious seeds.
Smiling in delight at the birds, Cardin opened the journal and began to write.
October 23rd,
Today I've seen 3 Robins, 4 Blue Jays, 7 Wrens, and single Grosbeak. I haven't seen a Cardinal so far though, I thought I saw one on the 19th but that might of just been a Robin in the right lighting. I miss Bishop and mom, but I'm glad I went to Beacon if only to get away from dad and Fred.
Looking up from his writing, Cardin watched as two Wrens fought over some seed, frowning a little Cardin took more seed and gave it a gentle throw to spread it out.
Dad called today and yelled at me some more… but today I yelled back when he spoke badly about mom and even though his glare promised problems, it felt right. It felt right to stand up to him and his bullying… I wonder if that's why Jaune stood up to the guys and me?
Pausing for a moment to check on the seed Cardin gawked at what he saw, sitting on the lip of the bag was a mahogany red Cardinal pecking away at the seed in the bag. Smiling in joy, the large boy kept his eye on the bird as he scooped some seed off the ground and into his hands. Holding his hands in his lap for a few moments, the Cardinal finally noticed the seed in Cardin's hands and hopped onto the hunter's hands and positioned for a moment before happily pecking at the seed in his hands.
Smiling and chuckling a little, the large boy let out a whisper that sounded gentler than someone his size and build could manage. "Wow, you're just like Bishop." The Cardinal continued to peck away, oblivious to the human's words. Chuckling a little more, the large boy watched the bird's head bob to and fro before returning to eating. "Yeah, Bishop always preferred to eat rather than talk too." The duo continued in a silence for a few moments longer before Cardin ran out of seed in his hands and the Cardinal looked up to him as if to ask, that's all?
Smiling at the small bird, Cardin moved his hand and scooped the last of the seed out and scattered it around him before looking to the bird. "That's all for today, but I'll be back with more tomorrow." Picking the small journal up, Cardin was about to continue writing when suddenly music started blaring above his head.
This will be the day we've waited for, This will be the day we ope-
Standing and spinning on the spot, Cardin reached up to the top of the hedge and grabbed the offender's jacket before yanking as hard as he could, throwing the offender over his shoulder and onto the lawn behind him. Spinning around, Cardin locked eyes with the boy who had been so much of a thorn in his side. Lying on the ground before him was Jaune Arc, a textbook in one hand and his scroll in the other. "Uuuhhh Ruby, I'm uh… I'm gonna have to call you back." Stuttered Jaune as he stared at Cardin in terror.
Jaune stared in quiet awe as he peaked over the hedge at the sight before him. This was Cardin, Cardin Winchester, the bully who had launched him in his locker launcher, blackmailed him, activated his shielth in the doorway, launched him in a locker launcher, picked on Velvet, and launched him out a locker launcher. Surely this wasn't Cardin… Right?
Dropping back into the cover of the hedge, Jaune looked to the textbook that had brought him out here to the gardens. It was usually quiet and deserted here so Jaune had thought that it'd be the perfect place to study, oh how wrong he was. Picking up the textbook, Jaune paused for a moment as he stared at the entrance. He could make an escape easily and never have to deal with this again… but the thought of Cardin being more than just some two-bit bully had Jaune confused for some reason. Maybe it was just a fluke? Though that argument with his dad sounded pretty real.
Fighting down the urge to make for the exit, Jaune slowly began to shimmy up to peak over the hedge. Looking over the edge of it, Jaune saw Cardin feeding a red bird in his hand before gently putting it down and spreading the seed. Definitely not something the ruthless and petty bully Cardin would do. 'Maybe this is the 'pathetic habit' his dad mentioned' Jaune weighed the thought around in his head for a few seconds as he watched Cardin pick up a small book and move to write in it when disaster struck.
Jaune felt the little electronic device in his hand rumble for a half a second before the music started. This will be the day we've waited for, This will be the day we ope- yanking his scroll back to silence it, Jaune began to duck and press the answer button in attempt to mute the singing from the traitorous device, but before he could duck far enough down a hand from above grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him up and over the hedge and into the grass of the other side of the hedge.
"Jaaaaauuuuuunnnnnneeee," Whined Ruby Rose's voice from the small electronic device, "I need your help on that Advanced Tactics assignment, I can't think up a wi-" Sensing the growing mute hatred from Cardin, Jaune wisely interrupted the young prodigy before Cardin decided to kill him.
"Uuuhhh Ruby, I'm uh… I'm gonna have to call you back." Stuttered Jaune as he tried not to panic. Hanging up before Ruby could respond the two teens sat in silence for a few seconds. As Cardin's hateful glare intensified a thousand fold, Jaune would swear that a dark shadow had developed over Cardin's forehead and a vein in his neck was about to explode.
Before Jaune could even utter a word in his defense Cardin was on him like a rabid dog and both of Cardin's hands had Jaune pinned by the neck to the oak tree in the middle of the clearing as Cardin looked into his eyes with a strange look of frustration and anger.
Before Jaune could blubber out pleas of terror Cardin put slight pressure on Jaune's throat and growled. "All right Arc if you want to walk out of here with all your bones intact and safe, you are going to do two things." Ceasing his struggling Jaune looked to the bigger boy in front of him. "First, you will NEVER speak of what you saw or heard here ever again, and if you do I will bury you alive."
Jaune was nodding with vigor before Cardin had even finished his threat. Pausing for a moment Cardin looked away and was silent for a few seconds as Jaune hung against the tree, the feeling in his legs slowly fading. Finally after what felt like an eternity Cardin looked to Jaune and spoke. "Secondly, answer me this… Why did you stand up to me in the Forever Fall?"
Jaune raised an eyebrow at the question as he stared at Cardin. The larger boy had a flat look on his face, but his eyes showed some frustration, like when you can't solve a math problem. "...What?" Jaune's tone was flat even though the blond knight was curious. However the tone angered Cardin and the larger boy growled in frustration.
"WHY? Why would you not only disobey me, but also then stay behind and stand up to me when I had superior numbers, skill, and weaponry?" Cardin was practically fuming by now and his grip had increased slightly as his anger had. Jaune was beginning to see black spots behind his eyes as the pressure slowly increased.
"Okay, okay," Wheezed Jaune as he raised his hands in a placating manner and tried to keep his light-headedness under control. "Can I answer this question on the ground? I can't feel my legs anymore." Jaune asked in a half joking manner as his legs had indeed gone numb by now. Cardin sighed heavily and let go of Jaune, sending the blond knight plummeting and within an instant the blond knight was on the ground, gasping for air with his back to the tree.
"Now you're on the ground so answer my question." Growled Cardin as he stood above the blond knight with an air of anticipation. Taking a few moments to collect his thoughts and control his breathing, Jaune answered the larger boy in a raspy voice.
"I wasn't the only one who you threatened." Internally Jaune laughed at how basic sounding it was when he said it out loud, but externally Jaune just sat against the tree and looked at Cardin with a flat stare. The larger boy was quiet for a few seconds, apparently deep in thought before he spoke again.
"What?" Asked the larger boy as his face scrunched up in confusion. Sighing Jaune patted the ground next to him, inviting his former tormentor to sit. Cardin paused for a moment before sighing and sitting with the blond knight as the other boy started to explain his reasoning.
"Well when it was just me you were threatening I didn't have the courage to face either you or Ozpin for sneaking into Beacon." Explained Jaune as Cardin sat in silence and let Jaune's words soak in. "But when you threatened my friends, it wasn't just about me anymore. It wasn't just about me lying and being to ashamed to face it anymore, it was about how my friends and team deserved a leader who would stand up for them, so I did."
The two boys sat in silence as Cardin contemplated what Jaune had said. It made sense in theory that Jaune had had enough of Cardin's bullying and manipulation, but at the same time it didn't make sense. "Well, even if you had had enough of it all when I tried to pit you against your friends, why did you stand up to me?" Asked Cardin as he stared out into the blue sky, confusion evident in his voice.
"You could have run, hell you even could have called your team up to help you, but instead you turned to me and stood up against my team and me by yourself. Those are impossible odds and you know it, so what was the point if you were just going to get your ass beat? " Finished Cardin as he looked to Jaune, the blond knight sat in silence, and for a few moments the only thing that could be heard was the chirping of birds.
"I was tired of being afraid." The sentence came out as a whisper but it had the effect of a shout. The larger boy of the two looked at the smaller with a look that asked for more. "I was tired of having to fear failure, disappointment, and being unworthy. You were just a conduit for those fears and by standing up to you I stood up to them. " Jaune' s voice had slowly built in volume as he answered and finally as he finished his reply he looked over to the Cardin with a knowing look. "Aren't you too?"
Cardin growled and looked away from the smaller knight as he thought about it himself. The horrible thing was that Jaune was right; Cardin was tired of being pushed around by his father and his brother, he was tired of being treated with disappointment and disdain from his father, and he was definitely tired of having his father talk down about his mother and his own habits. But there was only one way Jaune could know that.
"So how much of the call did you hear?" Sighed Cardin as he leaned against the tree and glanced at the blonde knight.
Jaune just shrugged, "Enough to know your dad's an asshole." Jaune glanced over at the other boy and his face softened a bit as he spoke, "you know you don't have to take that kind of abuse from him."
Cardin laughed a mirthless laugh for a few seconds before glancing back at the blond knight. "Yeah I do, it's just the pecking order. Besides he pays for me to attend Beacon and some of us didn't get into Beacon on forged transcripts with several scholarships." Jaune winced noticeably at that and Cardin couldn't help but feel a little good about one-upping the knight.
Recovering quickly, Jaune looked out the clear sky and shrugged. "Maybe, but trust me when I say Beacon is always giving away scholarships, and if your grades are a little better you can nab a few and fund an entire semester." Cardin glanced down at the grass for a few minutes as he considered what Jaune had said. In theory Jaune's theory was just get better grades to get scholarships so he could support himself. Though how to get grades up would be the question… Sky and Lark were talking about forming a study group to do better.
"In the end of things, you are who you are and no one else can define you." Started Jaune as Cardin stewed in his thoughts. "The difference between the impossible and the possible is a person's determination and flexibility." The duo sat in silence after Jaune's quite for a few seconds before Cardin snorted and chuckled.
"Oum, you sound like my mom." Chuckled Cardin as he stared up at the Cardinal from before sitting on a branch while Jaune face palmed. "She would always tell me that I didn't have to do what my dad or brother told me, that I was my own person. In the end, she was the one who inspired me to become a hunter, and I guess I've been doing a pretty shitty job of it so far if my grades are right." Silence reined between the two once again as Jaune sat there awkwardly while Cardin was lost deep in thought. After a few minutes Cardin sighed and looked off into the sky. "All right, you're free to leave."
Jaune looked to Cardin with curiosity for a few seconds before standing up and brushing the grass off his uniform. The blond knight had a feeling that he'd just witnessed a big change in the larger boy, but somehow doubted that Cardin would really want to talk about it. Making for his book and scroll, Jaune stopped for a moment before turning and looking to Cardin. "Hey quick question, who is Bishop?"
Cardin smiled a bit before replying, "He's a Cardinal who lives in my back yard, my mother and I feed him so much that he'll just come and land in our hands if we have seed for him to eat… He was kind of my best friend growing up." Cardin looked away from the blond knight, embarrassment at his confession evident.
Jaune smiled as he kneeled down and picked his stuff up off the ground. For a moment, the knight pondered saying something to the warrior sitting beneath the tree, but figured that what Cardin needed was some space and time to think. Turning away from the thoughtful warrior, Jaune made for the exit and was out of Cardin's sight within a few seconds.
As Jaune made for the dorm's to see if he could help Ruby, he looked at the monster of a textbook in his hand and sighed, he hadn't even gotten past page five before the whole thing with Cardin had happened. 'Oh well, I got a history lesson of a different kind toady.' Thought Jaune as he entered the dorm hall.
AN: Righto chaps and chappetes, this is my first piece that I've written for the Internet and… well I personally doubt its decency. So with that in mind, I would appreciate constructive criticism. Now you don't have to pull any punches if it really truly was that bad or just plain meh, but if you just flame and call it a piece of shit without sufficient reason or cause, I'm just going to ignore you and move on.
So, I wrote this piece because, in my humble opinion, the RWBY community has an utter hate for Cardin, which to be frank I can completely understand given his actions in Volume 1. But considering that Volume 2 is coming out soon and I'd really truly like for Cardin to be more than just a shitty two-bit bully with no redeeming qualities what so ever, I thought 'gee, why not write something to give him some more character'. Admittedly it's clichéd beyond belief but you know what, I never claimed to be clever or original.