Nearly an hour of battle now and Team RWBY wasn't lagging.

"Down and out!"

Blake and Weiss immediately crouched, shot forward, and using sheath and sword respectively, took out the lower halves of a series of Grimm. Yang dove and picked her baby sister up with ease, throwing Ruby nearly twenty feet into the air. She spread her cloak, letting the surface area slow her fall, and used that time to let out a massive string of shots. Each bullet wormed its way around her team and into the head or heart of a Grimm—perfect, deadly accuracy.

Ruby landed beside Weiss, back-to-back and ready for more.

"This is amazing," she said, grinning and planting her feet.

"This is endless," Weiss groused. She was just as steady as Ruby, though both girls were beginning to breathe heavier, their limbs weighted down from endless swings. "Where's Oobleck?"

Zwei's bark and an explosion came from down the hill, reassuring the girls that their huntsman chaperone was still taking care of that other pack, single handedly no less. Ozpin had been more than pleased with the results of their last mission—"Perhaps we should bend more rules in the future, hmm?"-for though it had been chaotic, sure, Team RWBY, Ooblekc, and Zwie had successfully thwarted a full-scale invasion, an attack that no one had seen coming, and one that would have cost countless civilian lives if not for their efforts. Keeping the Grimm at bay until reinforcements arrive is no simple task and one that, for Ozpin at least, was indicative of their skill level. Diminishing some of the Grimm that hounded the boarders of their school was a comparatively easy assignment.

They just hadn't expected quite this many. Team CFVY didn't exaggerate.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Weiss accused. She huffed when Ruby companionably bumped her hip.

"Yep!"

"Well enjoy it faster, would you? I'd prefer not to miss dinner."

Fair enough. Ruby's stomach gave a sympathetic growl. She took quick stock of her team—Yang facing off against two Ursa, Blake dispatching a Beowulf, turning to help—and then stepped back onto the glyph Weiss had summoned for her.

"I'll pick off the ones you miss," she said, raising Myrtenaster.

Ruby grinned. "Settle in then."

"Hey!"

She didn't give Weiss the chance to craft a witty retort. Ruby crouched and pushed off the glyph, using the extra burst of speed to throw herself head first into her semblance. The difficulty was always maintaining visibility and precise movement while keeping to this velocity, figuring out how to get her mind to keep up with the speed of her body. Ruby could admit that she'd nowhere near mastered it yet, and she'd meant to speak to Oobleck about it, but for now she'd just have to be a little sloppy.

So Ruby kept Crescent Rose in a stable arch away from her body, letting it fall where it wanted, Grimm heads, torsos, and legs flying in all directions—then turning back for a second pass if the first didn't do the job.

It was over in a matter of seconds, forty at the most, leaving Ruby exhilarated and just this side of exhausted. She caught a glimpse of Yang and Blake running towards them before she landed back beside Weiss.

"How was that?" she asked, forcing the words out between deep breaths. "Woo!" Ruby hung her head briefly between her knees.

Rose petals. She'd always loved the byproduct of her semblance. It admittedly wasn't the greatest for stealth, but arching high through the air, weapon in hand and trailing petals in her wake... it was just so much more romantic, you know?

So Ruby smiled down at the scatterings by her feet. Spring was in full bloom and the petals stood out vibrantly against the grass—blood-red, stark against green.

Except… it took Ruby a moment to realize there really was blood mixed in.

She looked up, numb, and found Weiss clutching at her size. It looked like there were rose petals there too, blooming against the white of her dress.

"I'm fine! Why are you being such a pest?"

"It's because she looooooves you."

"Shut up, Yang."

Yang retaliated by swooping down to poke at the bandage on Weiss side, causing her to give an exaggerated yelp. The two started swatting at one another, giving Blake time to sidle up to Ruby.

"She really is fine," she whispered, placing a hand briefly against the younger girl's back. "It's just a scratch. Besides, it's Weiss' fault for getting distracted."

"You all are awful at this comforting thing," Weiss yelled, pointing an accusatory finger Blake's way. Blake just shrugged, smiling slightly and plopping down on her bed.

Ruby swallowed hard. She had to admit that Weiss looked okay. They'd been in the infirmary all of ten minutes before a nurse popped in, used a fraction of her semblance to stitch up the wound, wrapped it, and sent the four of them on their way. Oobleck even said it would be a minor mention in his report— "Why, if no one got injured after that long a battle it would have been extraordinary, extraordinary, girls! Happens to the best of us. Just be mindful of your surroundings Ms. Schnee, hope you feel better soon, gotta run!"—Indeed, before he'd disappeared Ruby had noticed a similar cut along Oobleck's forearm, courtesy of an Ursa's claw. Blake had twisted her ankle ("You sure you don't want a piggyback ride?" "... yes, Yang."), Yang had a jagged cut along her cheek ("I think that's from a tree branch actually." "You and Juane should swap stories." "Hey!"), Zwei needed a hot bath to treat the pads of his paws ("Ruff!"), and even Ruby felt the consequences of battle in her lower back—she'd probably managed to pull something. It was like Oobleck said, coming out of that with minor cuts and bruises was fantastic. A clean run would have been extraordinary.

So why couldn't she get the image of Weiss' blood out of her mind?

"Hello, Remanent to Ruby." Ruby blinked when Weiss leaned forward to smack her head. "There you are. Jeez, I swear you take this 'leader' stuff a little too seriously sometimes. Don't let it go to your head." Weiss paused, suddenly very interested in the dark outside their window. "And... I suppose I could have been a little more alert. Though it's hardly my fault that Boarbatusk was so tiny. It came out of nowhere!"

Yang snickered. "'Tiny' isn't the best defense, Weiss."

"Though you do seem to have trouble with them..." Blake added.

"Maybe we should tell Professor Port about this."

They were the first words Ruby had spoken since her flurry of apologies out on the field and Weiss' glare, though intense, also had a layer of relief to it. The unwelcome tension among them broke.

"Don't you dare," Weiss huffed, smiling ever so slightly. Then she gasped. "Crap! We missed dinner!"

"Language," Yang teased, wagging a finger. "Let's sneak down to the kitchens. Betcha there's great leftovers this time of night."

"Are we even allowed to do that?" But Blake stood, stretching and helping Weiss to her feet.

Ruby shrugged. "Out of all the rules we could break, I think this is the one Ozpin would mind the least. I'll grab the others. Nora will freak if we get pancakes without her."

So Ruby slipped out of their room, closing the door on the argument starting up about whether they should really eat breakfast for dinner. She paused before knocking on JNPR's door though. She froze really.

Yeah, it was just a scratch and sure, maybe Ruby did let responsibility go to her head sometimes... but she was still their leader. It was her job to protect them.

Just a scratch.

As far as Ruby was concerned, that was one scratch too many.

"You guys go on ahead," Ruby said. "I want to ask a quick question."

"Anything I can answer?" Weiss offered. Four days since their assignment and though Weiss' side was completely healed—had been since Monday—Ruby's anxiety hadn't lessened. They'd all noticed it, and they'd all been offering her support in their own little ways: Yang with almost motherly pep talks, Blake gifting Ruby with books she could lose herself in, and Weiss making herself available for homework help. Ruby appreciated their efforts, she really did, but this wasn't something she could fix by ignoring it.

Not that a part of her wasn't tempted to try.

"Nah," she said, waving them off. Ruby plastered on a bright smile. "I'll catch up with you at lunch."

"You'd better."

Yang herded Weiss out of the classroom, Blake nodding as she brought up the rear. Ruby waited until their voices disappeared down the hall before taking in a deep breath, standing, and making her way down the steps.

Theory was one thing, but little knowledge at Beacon was worthwhile without practical application. With that in mind, Aura Studies 101 had moved from a small seminar classroom to a massive arena space, perfect for mock battles and violent demonstrations. Normally Ruby loved it—the size, the freedom, her voice echoing high against the walls—but now the room felt paradoxically claustrophobic and Ruby cursed because this walk was taking way too long.

She finally got down to the flat stage, stopping by the desk set off to the side.

"Yes, Ms. Rose?" Professor Goodwitch asked.

Ruby swallowed, shuffling in place. She opened her mouth a couple of times but nothing came out. It got to the point where Glynda actually looked up from her work and, yeah, she didn't look pleased.

"Yes?"

"I want you to teach me," Ruby blurted then smacked her forehead because that hadn't come out right at all. Glynda seemed to agree. The briefest smile flit across her face, missed entirely by Ruby, before she settled on a cool stare, one eyebrow raised.

"I was under the impression that I already did that," she said. "Unless you have a complaint against my teaching style...?"

"No!" Ruby waved both hands frantically. "No, I mean, I love the class, of course I do, Aura is great and I mean sure, maybe we could do more cool fighting stuff instead of dry theory stuff, but I get why that's important, I really do, and you're great too, I swear—"

"Ms. Rose."

"... right." Ruby blinked. "What was I saying?"

With a sigh Glynda rose, gathering up papers, books, and pens in one swoop of her riding crop. They piled into a bag which she slung over her shoulder.

She cast Ruby an appraising look. "Ozpin was right," she announced. "You'll be far more forthcoming in an informal environment. Perhaps with something nutritious, considering that I doubt you'll consume anything substantial later tonight."

"... what?" Ruby said.

Glynda lightly nudged her as she passed. "Come to my office and we can discuss whatever's upsetting you over lunch."

"Oh. Great!"

Sort of great.

Glynda was still pretty intimidating, but she did know how to put together a nice meal. There was a plate of tea sandwiches between them, a large bowl of fruit, iced tea, and a plat of cookies just for Ruby, to be eaten after the rest. Glynda's office was warm and far more heavily furnished than the Headmaster's. Ruby thought that this would be a nice room for a nap, or maybe to curl up with a favorite book. Neither of which she could do right now, of course. Which was kind of a pity.

Ruby nibbled absently at the chicken salad and kicked her legs, stubbornly avoiding her teacher's gaze.

"Ms. Rose."

"Mmm."

"Ruby."

She looked up, smiling sheepishly. Glynda just folded her arms. When no words were forthcoming she pressed two fingers briefly to the bridge of her nose. "Perhaps you should start at the beginning?"

The beginning? Yeah... yeah she could do that.

So after a false start ("Not thatfar back"), Ruby spilled it all to Glynda: the meeting with Professor Ozpin about conducting another mission, the slightly better reaction this time to seeing Oobleck out by their ship, jumping into a whole herd of Grimm, splitting off from their teacher, holding their own for an hour, the fights adding up, Weiss joking about dinner, Weiss' glyph, Weiss' blood—

Ruby stopped, snapping her mouth shut. She snatched up a cookie and bit into it viciously.

Glynda didn't answer immediately. To Ruby's surprise she also picked up a cookie and examined it closely. She didn't eat it though, just observed.

"You're young," she finally said. "I wouldn't have let you into Beacon at your age, Ms. Rose... but I also can't deny that you've more than held your own here. You've also proven yourself to be a capable leader. I can't believe that you're still buying in to the naïve notion that you can completely protect your team from harm."

Slowly, Ruby shook her head. It wasn't that.

"And from what I understand, it was Ms. Schnee's own lack of concentration that lead to her injury. I understand how jarring it can be to see a teammate injured, but you must keep in mind that you are all part of a whole. Ms. Schnee, Belladonna, and Xiao Long, are all capable fighters and you are not solely responsible for their welfare. That's simply impossible to—"

"You did it."

Normally Ruby would have frozen at the knowledge that she'd interrupted Ms. Goodwich, but she was a little busy staring down at her hands, gripping tight at the edge of her skirt. Glynda was quiet across from her.

"You did that when we first met," Ruby continued, barely above a whisper. "You fought Torchwick and that ladyandkept me safe. You moved so fast when you arrived I didn't even see you, and then you got me out of the way of those blasts before I even knew there were blasts to get out of the way from." Ruby took a deep breath and looked up. "I need to be able to do that too. Fight and keep everyone safe."

"... You realize that I have years of experience, to say nothing of training you haven't even touched on yet?" When Ruby's stubborn expression remained, Glynda leaned forward. "However… I would never deny a huntress's willingness to improve herself and the fact that you noticed my assistance at all is an excellent sign."

Ruby blinked. "It is? I mean, it's kinda hard to miss someone saving your life, isn't it? Twice, actually. Did I ever thank you for that? I don't think I thanked you for that."

"You'd be surprised," Glynda said, sidestepping the question. She set down her plate and moved to stand behind her desk. "Too often huntsmen and huntresses allow the fear—or even the thrill—of battle to otherwise cloud their perception. Without consciously working against it, your vision will narrow down to only the Grimm in front of you. You will think of and notice nothing else. I suspect that's what happened during your mission, yes?"

More like her vision had become nothing but a black blur of Grimm due to her semblance. Ruby got what Glynda meant though. Yang, Blake, Weiss... they all just disappeared for a time.

Ruby nodded.

"The skill you need to develop then is one of attention. Speed is certainly a factor, the ability to react to what you perceive, but far harder than that is learning how to notice what's around you and maintaining that level of awareness, even while your life is on the line. A sort of battle multitasking."

"... okay," Ruby said.

Glynda spread her arms. "What do you see, Ms. Rose?"

Ruby grinned. "Are you gonna tell me you see lives that could have been saved? Ah... um, never mind, that's Dr. Oobleck—never mind. Uh… I see books, paper... um, knick-knacks, oh! You have a collapsible spear!"

"Very good." Glynda's tone brought her back on track. "The point is you notice things, quite obviously, but you need to notice details too." She pointed sharply. "This isn't just 'a book,' it's Semblance Semantics by Gen Futhers. It has a red cover and appears rather worn. Similarly, that spear you're so interested in is an antique. Beyond the fact that it rests on a stand, you may note the crack along the handle and the rust surrounding the tip. The usefulness of such details is in your analysis of them. If I were to attack you right now, when you are without your weapon and in a vulnerable position, but you were to notice all that about the spear, you'd determine that it is not the best object to defend yourself with."

"… It's probably gonna break with one hit," Ruby murmured.

"Exactly. On the other hand, this letter opener looks particularly sharp and is well within your reach. That seems a far better option, despite the fact that it is not a weapon in the traditional sense. Now, apply the same sort of analysis to your teammates. Don't just notice that Ms. Schnee is there, learn to notice her body language, expressions, minute reactions that will tell you what she needs at any given moment. Read her as you would the potential weapons in this room." Glynda tapped a finger against her lips. "Of course, you then need to apply that to every person you fight beside. This is why familiarity cannot be underestimated, the intuition that comes with knowing someone intimately."

"But you didn't know me," Ruby pointed out.

"Yes. Which is why the rest comes down to practice."

With a sharp gesture Glynda sent the room into motion: the food slipped out of Ruby's grasp and the plates slotted themselves among the books, the desk pushed itself up against the door—effectively blocking her escape—and the chair she'd been sitting in gently tipped forward, depositing Ruby on her feet before sliding up against the wall. While all this was happening Glynda had taken about six sheets of paper from the desk and poured ink onto all of them. Instead of sinking through though, the ink sat patiently atop the paper as Glynda floated the sheets up into the air. They surrounded Ruby in a circle and then the ink began to shift, into a smiley face, a 3, a pinecone, a ship… Ruby didn't get through them all, distracted by Glynda stepping in front of her, riding crop raised like a sword.

"Wait, wait, you're actually going to fight me?" Ruby cried.

"It will be good for you to practice in an enclosed space. You've been spoiled with open fighting grounds and that scythe of yours."

"Oh," Ruby said faintly. She didn't feel very spoiled.

But the mention of Crescent Rose reminded her of its absence and she tensed, eyeing the letter opener that was now way across the room. Ruby completely lost her footing though when Glynda chuckled. Actually chuckled.

"Good," she said, "But you won't need that. All I want you to do is pay attention." Glynda pointed to the floating papers, which Ruby now realized were changing their image every few seconds.

"Okay," she said, relaxing a bit.

"I also want you to dodge," and Ruby just barely managed to twist as a bolt of energy came hurtling her way.

Professor Port was having an all around jolly day. Morning classes had been thrilling as always (though he had to be sure he didn't give away allhis best stories. Not yet anyway), he'd grabbed an early lunch with Bart, shared drinks with Ozpin, and finished a lovely lecture about Ursai just moments before... the only downside was that young Ms. Rose had been missing from class today.

A student playing hooky? Ha! Hardly a rarity! But Ms. Rose had a particular talent for finding trouble and apparently her team hadn't seen her since Glynda's class some hours before. Thus, Port was duty bound—as a teacher and as a huntsman!—to check up on their youngest pupil.

Which was what had now brought him here.

Port stopped outside Glynda's office, hoping she might have some insight about their wayward student. He raised his hand to knock, when—

A shout of power, a high-pitched shriek of alarm, something shattering, another thing cracking, the sizzling of two semblances fighting for control, and within this the oddest of conversations—

"Blue! Table! Dog!"

"Dogs. How many?"

"Uh—four!"

"Wrong!"

Port slowly lowered his hand. His mustache twitched.

"Ms. Rose is a talented huntress in training," he announced, seemingly to himself. "I'm sure she's fine."

Huntsman or no, Port felt absolutely no shame as he turned and fled.

Ruby lay on the floor of Glynda's office, panting like a hard worn mutt Her teacher stood over her with arms on her hips, her clothes and hair completely immaculate—though those were the only things that were. The rest of the room was a mess of paper, scorch marks, and variously destroyed objects. Ruby watched in awe as things started piecing themselves back together and groaned that Ms. Goodwitch had the energy to fix the room. The whole room!

When she was done Glynda raised her eyebrows, almost teasingly. "What are the papers doing now, Ms. Rose?"

"Spinning."

"Mm."

It was true enough. Ruby didn't need to crane her neck and see because everything was spinning, her body worn in a way it hadn't been since... well, since Uncle Crow used to train her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd used her semblance so much, certainly not in so small a space, the confinement forcing her to duck and turn and change direction more often than she'd like. To say nothing of those stupid papers.

What's on your right? Your left? Behind you? What color? How big? How many? Now guard it. Seize it. Get it out of harm's way. Can you leave it for a moment? Is it worth crossing the room? Nope, sorry, the pencil I'm controlling just stabbed it from behind—your pretty paper is dead.

Ruby groaned at the memory. She'd gotten a little mad then, Ms. Goodwitch's taunt hitting too close to home... the white paper a little too much like Weiss when Ruby was pumped up on adrenaline. She'd attacked Ms. Goodwitch then, employing the hand-to-hand Uncle Crow had taught her, but everything felt small and unwieldy without her scythe. Ms. Goodwitch had blocked her with ease and after that she'd added offense to it all: answer her questions, guard the papers, control your semblance, and look for openings to attack. She'd only managed to land one hit during the whole... how long had she been here?

Ruby hadn't realized she'd said that last bit out loud.

"Almost four hours now," Glynda said, pulling a pretty pocket watch from the folds of her skirt. "Ah... and you've missed Peter's class. I'm sorry about that. I'll be sure to speak with him about your absence."

"... I think I heard him at one point."

Glynda titled her head. "Really?"

"Or, you know, hallucination. Could be that too." With a whine Ruby heaved herself into a sitting position, looking up at her teacher. "That was fun."

"You did well," she praised and offered Ruby a hand. When she was sure she wouldn't topple over, Glynda retrieved the miraculously untouched sandwiches... and the plate of cookies. "Here, take these with you. I fear you missed lunch as well. You'll need the calories after your appetite returns. No dilly dallying now. Back to your room, eat what you can, and go straight to bed. No, I don't care what time it is. Have your team wake you for dinner. You need rest after that." Glynda's voice softened. "I don't normally work my students that hard."

Ruby nodded dazedly. A part of her sort of questioned that—she wasn't hard in class?—but the rest of her was too tired to care. The plates drooped heavily in her hands and Ruby's feet felt like lead as she turned towards the door.

"Can we do that again?" she asked faintly.

"Yes. Later."

"Okay. Thanks, Ms. Goodwitch."

"You're very welcome. Ah, and Ms. Rose?" A warm hand settled on Ruby's back gently guiding her through the door.

"Asking for my autograph? That has always been thanks enough."

Thursday morning, Ms. Goodwitch's Aura class, and Ruby was still beyond exhausted. She barely moved when Nora nudged her sharply in the back, leaning down from her seat.

"I still can't believe you went off and had awesome training without us," she whispered fiercely.

Beside Ruby, Weiss nodded. "You should have brought us with you," she hissed. "We're your team."

Yang chuckled. "Not me. I don't want the extra work. More power to ya though, sis."

"I think you're Ms. Goodwitch's favorite now," Blake said. "Maybe you'll get extra credit."

"Or harder tests," Ren countered.

Pyrrah smiled. "Either way, you should be proud, Ruby."

"You're nuts."

With Jaune's two cents thrown in, Ruby groaned, briefly resting her head against the desk. Only for a moment through, because Ms. Goodwitch was finishing her lecture and moving on to the practical demonstration.

"Like this," she said and Ruby did her best to perk up. Glynda raised her riding crop and five red balls floated over from the back of the room. "My semblance is particularly suited for delicate work," the balls began spinning in intricate patterns before her, slowly picking up speed, "but all of you must strive to gain as much control over your own abilities as possible. Learning, for example, how to hit someone in order to knock them out, rather than kill." Yang straightened as Glynda's gaze landed on her. "Or how to embrace creativity." Blake nodded. "... or even control speed."

Ruby gulped.

"The importance of practice cannot be understated. Even a little bit of work each day can make an enormous differ—oh!"

One of the red balls, now moving at an extraordinary speed, suddenly shot off course. Ruby didn't see it. She'd ducked her head after getting called out, desperately pretending to scribble down notes. Her eyes were fixed entirely on her paper. All Ruby knew was that one moment her hand held her pencil, the next her fingers were wrapped around something soft. The class gasped.

Ruby looked up and found the wayward ball an inch from Weiss' face, her hand keeping it from making contact. Ruby blinked at the sudden, peripheral memories: Weiss' expression a second past, a gust of wind as something rushed by, the barely-there blur of red. Ruby gapped at the red splash that was not covering the white of Weiss' dress.

"Very good, Ms. Rose."

Ruby's head whipped back. Ms. Goodwitch raised her hand to call the balls back to her. She wasn't smiling, but she did have a rather distinctive look in her eye. "And my apologies, Ms. Schnee. The lapse just goes to show that there is no such thing as perfection. You can never practice enough."

"Lapse my ass," Yang muttered, looking at Ruby in appreciation. "I take it back. I'm tagging along next time."

"Same," Blake said.

"Same," Weiss echoed. "... and thanks."

"Welcome," Ruby whispered back. She sat up as straight as she could, listening to JNRP whisper similar promises to join her during the next, impromptu training session. Ruby didn't think Ms. Goodwitch would mind.

She caught her eye then. That look was still there. Ms. Goodwitch knew that she knew, and Ruby thought she looked pretty happy about it too.

Glynda clapped her hands sharply, regaining their attention.

"So, shall we get started?"