"Oh come on V, you're basically guaranteed a place at Atlas Academy. You can afford to take a break for like, five minutes at least, right?"
"Sure I could, if Mum didn't have this notion that we'd both be able to get there, and it's YOUR sorry ass that's causing me to slave away so that YOU can get in as well. And don't call me V, I hate pet names."
The green haired boy rolled his eyes, jumping up onto the table and sitting right next to the pile of paper sprawled around. He jokingly poked the side of the head of the similarly green haired girl's head, causing her to look up at the boy and scowl, before getting back to writing. "What, you expect me to take the time to pronounce Vertiya? That's like an extra two syllables and about half a second that I could be spending do something actually useful."
Vertiya paused from writing, long enough to put a hand over her eyes and sigh heavily. "Look, if you want Dad's weapons that he specifically made for you to go to waste because you can't become a huntsman, then be my guest. I'm sure you can get a job as a cleaner at the Schnee dust company."
The boy sighed too, before actually looking at what was on the paper. "Well, what are you doing anyway? This doesn't look like something work-related."
"That's because it's not. I've been writing to General Ironwood for something like the last few months, because he really doesn't want me to go anywhere else, seeing I've had offers from Beacon, Haven and Shade as well. And considering we were both at Alsius, and I've had four offers and you've had none, I've been trying to persuade Ironwood to let us both get in, and because he wants to get me to go to Atlas so badly, I may be able to squeeze you in as well. Plus, Ironwood and Dad know each other well, so there's a bonus."
"That's another thing. How did you get four offers? Last time I checked, I was pretty much always able to beat you in a one v one," the boy pointed out, grinning and hence causing Vertiya to scowl again.
"Yimesz, being a huntsman or huntress is not just about whether you can fight. There's a thing called having a brain too, something I'm sure you don't understand," Vertiya responded coolly. "Also may I point out every time we fought I didn't actually have a weapon because I hadn't made one until like, what, a couple weeks ago. Plus, you had all that boxing training whilst I was doing your homework for you because you're too lazy to do it yourself. Oh and your semblance is perfect for one v ones anyway, may I add."
"Shh, we don't need to go over details," Yimesz yawned, before remembering what Vertiya just said. "Wait, you finally decided on a weapon? What did you go for?" Yimesz knew Vertiya was struggling to find a weapon that suited her as a person, mainly because she didn't enjoy using standard weapons like swords, axes or the like. Yimesz was a very fast paced, close quarters fighter, and with boxing under his belt, the knuckledusters/revolvers combo he used fitted him perfectly. Vertiya was a little more complex, though.
Nevertheless, on the mention of it, Vertiya let out a rare smile. "You remember back when we were kids, and how I always loved doing card tricks? I figured why not stick to my roots," she explained, and through what seemed to be sleight of hand three cards appeared in between each of her fingers, each one glowing a different colour.
Yimesz paused for a while, taking in exactly what Vertiya's weapon was, before bursting out laughing. "You… intend to fight… with a deck… of cards?" Yimesz asked, in between laughs and breaths. "What good will they do?"
"I don't know, you tell me," Vertiya responded, and with perfect aim she carefully chucked the blue card in her hand at Yimesz's arm, freezing it to the table in solid ice. Yimesz struggled for a bit, before dropping the laugh and looking back at Vertiya, a grimace on his lips differing from the smirk on Vertiya's.
"Very funny. Now get me out of this," he said, his tone less amused than the usual jokey nature of it.
"What, I thought you were under the impression that just a deck of cards wouldn't be able to do much," Vertiya replied innocently, chucking a red card at the ice and creating a small fire that melted it, before the card and the fire vanished. "I was always good at throwing cards anyway, and there's a lot you can do with cards when dust is in the equation."
Yimesz raised his eyebrows at the last point of Vertiya's statement. "Let me point out that it's thanks to me that you have access to so much dust, thanks to my great contacts within the Schnee family, which you pointed out a couple minutes ago."
Vertiya rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "What, you mean that 'relationship' you had with Winter? Please, if you count that as a thing, I might as well go out and say I'm a love guru."
"Well, you can't deny that it hasn't got me to at least be friends with her, and therefore I do get the perks that come with knowing someone born into the largest dust company in Atlas, if not Remnant," Yimesz replied.
"True, I'll give you that," Vertiya said, shrugging. "I guess without the dust, the cards wouldn't work, so I'd still be stuck without a weapon."
"Still, it's a pretty peculiar weapon," Yimesz pointed out, shrugging. "But lemme guess, that's the angle you were intending to go for?"
"More or less. I prefer to confuse my enemies rather than try to beat them in an all-out brawl, so a deck of playing cards isn't going to raise any suspicion until it's too late," Vertiya explained. "Plus, when it comes to Grimm, cards aren't exactly difficult to carry, so I'll be able to keep it on me in case of the worst. And if it can kill Grimm, then there's not a problem there."
"Eh, true," Yimesz responded, as the doorbell rung through the house. "I assume you're not going to get up to get that?"
"Well I don't need to, seeing you're already half way there," Vertiya responded smoothly, grinning a little. Sure enough, Yimesz was already off the table, and on the way to the door. Vertiya got back to writing, and didn't even look up when Yimesz came back.
"Err… Vertiya, you may be needed here," Yimesz said, a tiny tremble to his voice. It wasn't the mild anxiety of Yimesz's tone that got Vertiya's attention, it was merely the fact that Yimesz used her full name.
"Who could possibly need to speak to m- General Ironwood!" Vertiya replied, shock in her tone as she realised who the guest was. Immediately Vertiya was on her feet as a sign of respect, but Ironwood, laughed, waving a hand in the air.
"Please, you're not even at Atlas Academy yet, let alone in the military. At ease," Ironwood said with a small smile, causing Vertiya to relax a little in her pose. "See, as much as I can communicate by letter, I figured coming here in person would make things a whole lot easier. Besides, I needed to speak to your father about an upcoming project we have going, and of course, it made sense to speak to you whilst I was here anyway."
"Oh, about coming to Atlas Academy?" Vertiya asked. "I was actually in the middle of drafting something for it to send to you. Did you want to see it?"
"Don't worry about that, I've already made my decision," Ironwood explained, beckoning towards a sofa, which both Vertiya and Yimesz sat down on, Ironwood taking a seat on a chair opposite it. "Yimesz, I've had a look at your files, and from what I saw, you're a particularly good fighter, but fall short when it comes to academia. Would that be correct?"
Yimesz was about to respond, but Vertiya knew what his sort of response would be, and elbowed him before he could say a word. Turning to look at his twin sister briefly, Yimesz sighed, before turning back to General Ironwood. "Yeah, my concentration span isn't always the greatest. I'm working on it though," Yimesz explained.
"Well, concentration is definitely an aspect of yourself that you will need in order to become a successful huntsman," Ironwood pointed out. "That being said, I don't like missing opportunities where they lie, and although Alsius recommends against it, I decided to give you a shot."
Vertiya felt as stunned as Yimesz looked. It had taken her months of writing to try and persuade Ironwood to even consider letting Yimesz in, and here he was, saying it as though it had been assured all along. "Wait… so you're saying…"
"Yes Vertiya, Yimesz is accepted into Atlas Academy," Ironwood finished for her. "Which means, I hope, that you'll accept your invitation as well?" he added, raising an eyebrow.
Vertiya paused for a moment. Admittedly, Atlas was renowned for its innovative technology, and that would be a huge help for her. She still needed an outfit that would allow for her semblance – at the moment, if she wanted to use her semblance properly… Vertiya didn't like to think about it. Being at Atlas would mean she'd be able to create something to go with it. However, Atlas was renowned for having a heavy military focus, and that was something that really didn't grab Vertiya by the heart. However, she was trying to get Yimesz into a huntsman academy, and she knew full well that he wouldn't get all the way through if she wasn't there as well. "Of course I will," Vertiya replied, smiling.
"Perfect," Ironwood replied, standing up from the chair he was sat in. "Just remember though, even though you have been accepted, does not mean you will manage to progress all the way through Atlas Academy. We run a strict and tightly knit course involving many tests and hard training, as well as education into Grimm and the many enemies you may face as a huntsman or huntress. And not only that: Atlas is known for getting more applicants than we have spaces for teaching. We only have enough resources to allow up to 16 huntsmen or huntresses at Atlas this year, and we already have more than 50 applicants accepted in, so you can imagine we will have to whittle down the number. But, if you can make it through initiations, I have full assurance that you can succeed at Atlas. However, you have to beat the first hurdle before you can complete the race," Ironwood explained to the two twins. "Now, I do need to go speak to your father. But I look forward to seeing you both at Atlas soon," he concluded, before leaving the room.
Vertiya and Yimesz looked at each other, both shocked. Yimesz because he actually got accepted into an academy, and Vertiya for more or less the exact same reason. However, it was Vertiya who broke the silence first. "You know, if we do get through the initiation, whether we're on the same team or not, you are gonna have to do some academic work on your own as well. I can't bail you out of everything," Vertiya told him.
"Yeah, well, we'll get to that when we get there," Yimesz responded, relaxing back into the sofa. "I mean, we can't be doing exams as soon as we get there, can we?"
"True," Vertiya replied, shrugging a little. "Well then, I guess I finally do get a chance to relax, seeing as what I've been doing for the last couple months is finally done. We're going to Atlas."