New Day, New Faces
Please Note: I do recommend reading my story "Crossing the Line" before this one. It isn't essential, but you'll be able to pick it up without it.
"Do You Mind?"
"What?"
"I don't read sleazy magazines when you're in the room". These were the first words spoken by Lennox to his female teammate Ailith when he awoke from his month-long slumber. He woke up naturally, she didn't wake him. If she did, he would've throttled her. It was now nearly the end of the winter break, and the carpets of snow around Beacon had begun to melt. In a week, it would be spring, and lessons would start again in a few days. It was now 8 o'clock, Thursday morning.
The interaction between Ailith and Lennox which just took place was in reference to a book that Ailith was reading: "Ninjas of Love". It had been somewhat controversial when it was first released.
"Where did you get that anyway? I thought they didn't sell them to young adults. And they don't have any of that stuff in the library. I know, 'cos Pan looked for a copy".
"Oh, this isn't mine; I just got it on a loan from Blake, in team RWBY".
"Blake Belladonna? Well, I knew she bookish, but I never would have guessed she was into that", he said jokingly.
"Oh god, please don't tell her I told you!" She exclaimed in a slight panicking sense of desperation.
"Relax, I'd never tell on you. Damn your cuteness", he said teasingly. She turned her head downward toward the book again and cast him a look that said really? She was about to read again, but then they heard the footstep pattern that belonged to Oliver, their team leader. She quickly thrust the book between the end of her bed and the wall and slotted her reading glasses into her top pocket. Oliver appeared in the doorway and promptly spotted that Lennox had awoken.
"Ah! The Kraken Awakes!" he said with a grin, marching over to his own bed and collapsing on top of it.
"Oh, it's lovely to feel appreciated," Lennox replied, "and yes, I slept very well, thank you". He began to sit up, revealing the slight excess weight that he had deliberately put on prior to hibernation.
"Yeah, good for you", Oliver said. He had lost all patience after his 3rd hibernation cycle. This was the 4th that he'd been around to see. "Has anyone seen my wallet? I thought I might go into town later, pick up some lightning Dust". Lightning Dust gave his Katanas a little extra sting in a fight, so he used this dust to sharpen them.
"Top draw", Ailith said, pointing to his bedside cabinet. He slid open the draw and took the brown leather case from inside.
"Thank you" He said to her. Meanwhile, just behind him, Lennox was dressing himself in that Lime green open jacket with a white shirt. Oliver himself was wearing a similar shirt, except that his was an old military-issue drill shirt. It had been his father's, who was shorter than he was growing up and so was a perfect fit for Oliver by the time he was 17. He was also wearing black jeans, blue trainers with a thin green stripe around the back and a belt with extra pockets. His clothing was a little dull compared to Lennox's apparel. He wore that jacket, and light blue jeans, not too different from his own, darkish yellow boots, and an ammo bandolier for his sub-machinegun. Ailith was wearing her regular violet pleated skirt, Cobalt-blue trainers and an azure blue long-sleeved shirt. This shirt had a similarly-coloured hood knitted onto it. Her weapon, a sword able to split into 2, was lying on the floor in its sheath next to her bed.
"Oi, Gorgeous", Lennox said, directed at Ailith, "you know where The Wolverine is?" This question was in reference to Panacea, their other teammate, who had artificial claws from the back of her wrists as weapons, which seemed to be retractable. He had seen a girl in a red dress in a club once with similar weapons, but from what Lennox told him, this nickname derived from a comic book character. Lennox had nicknames for everyone. And that did mean everyone. Ailith sighed.
"The last I heard from her, she went to pick up breakfast at the cafeteria" She explained. Lennox's stomach suddenly emitted a load rumble.
"I've just realised, I'm starvin'!" He exclaimed. Oliver was now at the doorway, half in, half-out of the room. He looked down at Lennox's stomach for a moment, then back up.
"Really? It certainly doesn't look it…" he said with a smirk as he began his half-run out of the room.
"Oi!" Lennox shouted as he began his chase after him. After a moment, they were both running through the corridor.
Ailith smiled a moment, then her face saddened, as she withdrew into her own thoughts.
That was just it. It was always "Oi, Gorgeous" or "Good morning, Ailith" from the boys. Not just in team OPAL, but in their year. It was never "Hey, Ailith, want to do something this weekend?" or "I was going to get a coffee, would you like to come get a drink with me?" What was it about her that repelled the boys? Was it her looks? Did they find her unattractive? Or were they intimidated by her? She always felt so lonely never having a boy ask her out or even approach her. Actually, this was why she was reading books like Ninjas of Love; mostly because she was lonely. Boys such as Oliver, she could understand. He was everything a girl could look for in a guy: he was smart, funny, sharp-witted, athletic, gentlemanly, a smooth talker, and even musical. He was also very fit (she knew, she had once peeked around the door while he was changing. His six-pack was clearly visible). He could have any girl he wanted if he put his mind to it. She'd bet he could even have that Weiss Schnee from team RWBY if he wanted (That snooty, spoilt, pompous girl with a ton of cash, heiress to the Schnee dust company. Most boys would sell their soul for a chance with Weiss). And there was that incident a few weeks ago when he was the knight in shining armour to that Faunus girl. She even knew about that part when she kissed his cheek in the courtyard. See? He could have any girl, even if he'd only known her for a day. He was just spoilt for choice when it came to girls. Why would he choose her? She wasn't anything special. She was just your average, everyday girl who he saw as nothing more than a friend. A single tear began to crawl its way out of her eye and onto her cheek. She wiped it and her medium blue hair out of the way and to the side. She looked to the end of the bed, considering. She decided against more of that book. She could no longer stand fictional stories of romances between perfect lovers. She got herself up and walked over to the mirror on the wardrobe door. At least she had dressed presentably. She picked her purse from the table and slid it into her pocket while making her way out of the room, and closing the door behind her. Maybe a movie will cheer me up, she thought.
The chase had now stopped, inconclusively, when Professor Port had told them not to run in the corridors. They were now on the ground floor, heading in the general direction of the cafeteria. They were still cracking wise about each other, with the occasional knock on the shoulder. When they got there they collected their breakfast on their trays. While walking to their tables, and after a good laugh about Port's weight, Oliver's tone suddenly grew more serious.
"Lennox...Can I ask you a serious question?"
"Sure, mate. What's on your mind?"
"Well, it's like this…" he attempted to explain, "What do you think of…Ailith?" he asked quietly.
"What do I think? Well, I mean, she's brilliant. Never quite seen anyone who could fight like that, or move that fast".
"No, no, not like that…"Oliver stopped him mid-step. "I mean, what do you think? Of her?"
Lennox paused.
"I don't follow". They stood still for a moment. Oliver made a gesture for him to think.
"Oh. OH! What do I think? Like that? Oh, um, wow" he stopped himself. "Well, let's start with the basics. I'll say this…I have never seen one that, y'know, beautiful before"
"Or since" Oliver added to his friend's sentence. He picked up a choc-chip cookie from his tray and took a bite.
"I agree. Lovely voice, too"
"Maybe you'd hear more of it if your conversations didn't start with "Oi! Gorgeous!" " Oliver imitated the snake-man's accent.
"Look, you wanna hear what I've got to say or not?" He asked, slightly irritated, yet slightly amused.
"Absolutely. Just-" Oliver was cut off by a noise from the far side of the cafeteria hall. Oliver adjusted his eyes slightly to see its source. There he saw Velvet, boxed in against the wall by, yes, of course, Cardin and his thugs. Sky Lark was out of the emergency room now, but he now had face scars that the doctor said would never heal completely.
"These goons just never learn, do they?" asked Lennox, pressing his tray into the his friend's chest. Oliver has no choice but to take it from him.
"Just scare him, OK?" Oliver asked. Lennox didn't respond. He just kept approaching CRDL and rolling up his sleeves.
"OI! WINCHESTA! SOD ORF!" was the warning sent to the bully. The bullies barely even had to look that way to recognise that accent. They all turned heel and ran, leaving the Faunus girl quivering in the corner.
"You alright, little lady?" He asked her when he approached her, this time rolling down his sleeves. She looked up at him, relieved. Of course she had heard the stories about the Snake Faunus showing Winchester who's boss on a regular basis, but she never expected him to be so defensive of the Faunus. Or maybe she did. The Faunus do like to take care of their own, after all. What she really didn't expect was for him to be a team member of the boy who had helped her just weeks ago. Oliver continued to approach the two.
"Ah, don't mention it." He finished up his short conversation with her. "Faunus have to stick together. Come on, sit with us" gestured the boy, handing her the tray that he had picked up from the nearest table. He then approached Oliver, who handed him his own tray.
"Here", he asked, "What's up with pretty-boy's face? He get hit by a train or summin?"
Oliver avoided the question, turning to the girl.
"Good Morning, Velvet", he said, nodding slightly as he did it. She nodded back with a slight smile.
"You too, Oliver", She replied. Lennox donned a look of bewilderment and confusion.
"OK, am I missing something here?"
The boy in black and the Rabbit-Eared girl exchanged smiles.
"Alright. Sit down, We'll tell you all about it".
I do intend to write another story, entering Panacea into the story, and maybe developing Oliver-Ailith a bit more. Please review! I would love to hear what you think!
Update: Continue on Chapter 2!