Chapter Three: A Big Surprise:

January 3rd1463 of the Vytali Calendar:

Peter Hamlin felt good about himself. He had been a little surprised at just how quickly he had settled back into Beacon but it appeared that the school had become more familiar with him than he had initially suspected. It didn't feel like home but it was, in its own way, comfortable and the return to the routines that he had established in the previous semester were welcome.

Of course it was currently a Wednesday, his partner's least favourite day of the week and so, as a small favour to her, he had decided to take up one of the few chores their team had to endure; checking the dorm's mail. He had made it to the end of the corridor when he heard the sound of feet jogging down the hallway behind him and a familiar voice calling out.

'Peter,' Tom Underhill shouted as he raced to catch up with the taller boy. 'Wait for me.'

'Good morning, Tom,' Peter greeted, giving a curt wave as the TEAL team leader slowed down to approach him. 'How are you?'

'I'm fine thanks,' Tom said in response. 'Yourself?'

'Oh, I'm fine as well, thank you,' Peter said. 'I'm just going to check the mail to see if we've received anything today.'

'Me too,' Tom chirped. 'Mind if I join you?'

'Not at all,' Peter replied, smiling at Tom. He then set off down the stairs that would lead to the ground floor and reception desk, Tom following beside him.

'So how are you settling in?' Tom asked as they descended down the stairs to the ground floor.

'Well enough,' Peter said in response after a moment's thought. 'It was easier than I thought it would be after spending time back in Atlas. How about you?'

'Oh, I've settled in fine,' Tom replied. 'It feels good to be back.'

'Indeed,' Peter agreed, smiling.

They quickly reached the ground floor and exited the stairwell onto the main reception hall. Along the walls of the hallway were large lockers, each almost as tall as a person, that were dedicated to each individual dorm room – holding an entire team's mail together. Like the dorm rooms themselves, the even numbered lockers were on one side of the hall and the odd numbered ones on the other.

Peter walked over to the locker with his room's number, Tom going to the other side to take a look at his own locker. Peter checked the inventory sign, each locker having an electronic scanner that detected each physical letter that was placed inside it. Packages that needed to be placed inside had to also be scanned before the locker doors opened and so were recorded as well. The scanner indicated that there were two letters and a single package waiting inside.

Typing in the key code, Peter opened the door and reached in to take the two letters from a smaller separate locker inside and then picked up a small, cardboard package. Shutting the door, he then took a brief look to see who the mail was for.

The first letter was addressed to Aurora and had a rather florid envelope that suggested it was something personal. The second letter and the package, however, were much more utilitarian in appearance and addressed to Greta. Both were also stamped with the seals of a Valesian government welfare department and the Magnus Children's Home.

'Did you get anything?' Tom asked pleasantly as he turned away from his team's locker, a single letter in his hand.

'Yes,' Peter answered. 'Two letters and a package for Greta.'

They both set back up, both of them chatting still about what their plans for the week were. Peter didn't normally talk to Tom, the other boy normally being more settled in Greta's sphere of friends with Lach Boucanier but he was on decent terms with Team TEAL's leader. He found the short boy very pleasant and friendly and easy to spend time with. When they made it back to their dorms, they split ways and Peter stepped back into his room.

'Any mail,' Rapture asked as she saw Peter enter through the door.

'There was a letter for Aurora and these for Greta,' he held up Greta's letter and package as he walked over and handed Aurora the letter addressed to her.

'I think I know what it is,' Greta said in a somewhat resigned tone as she reached out and accepted the mail that Peter handed out to her.

'Oh?' Peter asked as he went over to his bed and sat down on it. He watched as Greta opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

Peter watched as Greta opened up her letter and began to read over it. 'To Greta Hexenpfahl,' she recited, 'We of the Valesian Royal Bureau of Welfare and Child Support would like to inform you that you have reached the age of eighteen and have thus been recognised as a legal adult and fully privileged citizen of the Kingdom of Vale.'

'It's your birthday?' Rapture asked.

'Yeah,' Greta said offhandedly before returning to the letter, a frown still on her face. 'As of today you have been evicted from the Magnus Children's Home and have been rescinded from the Child Support Welfare Program. Your personal identification and social security numbers are enclosed within this letter and directions to update your personal ID can be found below. Congratulations and have a nice day.' With that she sighed and put the letter down, picking up the package and beginning to tear it open.

'That… that was abrupt,' Aurora commented, a disquieted frown on her face.

'I skipped most of it,' Greta said in response as she tore through the packaging.

'Alright,' Peter said, looking a little uneasy himself. A moment later he replaced it with a more controlled smile. 'It seems congratulations are in order, oh, and happy birthday.'

'Thanks, Peter,' Greta replied with a quick smile. She kept it on for a second longer before it straightened out again as she finally opened the package and pulled out what was inside.

'What's that?' Aurora asked.

'Government mandated birthday present,' Greta answered as she took a closer look. 'The program the Children's Home was on was obligated to give a present every year to the children. It's usually something generic.'

'So what did you get?' Rapture inquired, leaning getting up from her bed and walking over to get a better look.

'A movie data-card,' Greta replied. 'The Huntsman: Wildlands,' she read as she looked over the title, her small smile growing a little again. 'I didn't see this one. Cool.'

'Uh, excuse me,' Peter interrupted, speaking in a practised, delicate tone. 'I don't mean to sound rude but I would just like to ask; why didn't you tell us it was your birthday today?'

'Well...' Greta paused as she got a tired expression on her face. 'It's kinda, because I knew this was coming. It's not exactly fun to get an eviction notice on my birthday,' she then grimaced, 'not that I'm really gonna miss Magnus that much.'

'But we could have arranged something to help with that,' Aurora pointed out.

'Well, yeah,' Greta agreed after a moment's thought. 'I've kind of been…' Greta paused and frowned, giving a sigh. 'I guess I was just trying to think about how to take all of this,' she pointed at the letter at her side. 'My last few birthdays weren't really anything special so I was focusing on getting this eviction over with. Sorry.'

'Don't apologise,' Rapture said, getting up from her bed and walking over to Peter. She had a determined look on her face and Peter nodded as the faunus girl approached.

'We'll put something together,' Peter declared. He had easily picked up what Rapture had been trying to indicate top him and had thought about the exact same thing. 'You stay here and me and the girls will go and get you everything you need for today. Right, girls?'

'Yeah,' Rapture and Aurora said emphatically.

'Oh, uh, thanks, guys,' Greta said. Peter noticed her blush a little; presumably from his declaration and the agreement from the other girls.

'Just stay here and relax,' Peter said, trying to keep his tone confident. He realised he was now making this up as he was going, his plan having not really been prepared much further beyond where he was right at the current moment. 'We won't take too long.'

He nodded to both Aurora and Rapture who said their goodbyes and made their own promises to Greta who accepted them and said her own goodbye. Peter, meanwhile, gave Greta another reassuring smile and then opened the door and walked out into the corridor.

'Alright,' Peter sighed, stepping away from the door and letting a quick frown appear on his face before getting rid of it again. 'We need a plan.'

'I thought you had a plan,' Rapture said.

'I do,' Peter responded. 'Just very little to work with. I've never had anything to do with planning a birthday before; except buying presents for my cousins, sometimes.'

'Who's birthday are we talking about?' a familiar voice suddenly interrupted.

Peter span on his heel to find Tom standing in the partially ajar doorway of team TEAL's slightly ajar doorway. A quick, if somewhat tentative, extension of his Aura indicated that the rest of the team were standing close by, their stances suggesting they too were trying to listen in. As the images became more clear, Peter felt one of them throw their arms up in frustration and step back, a groan with a hint of Adelheid's voice telling him just who that particular figure was.

Peter sighed and rubbed his eyes a little to work out the frustration. It was slightly theatrical and he didn't really feel anywhere near as annoyed as he was presenting himself. By this point he just felt it somewhat appropriate and it did help calm himself down and give him the time to get his bearings.

'It's Greta's birthday today,' he finally announced.

'What?' Tom snapped, the same question echoed by the rest of his team and the door opening to reveal them all. 'Why didn't she tell us?'

'Because this birthday came with a notice from the Valesian government telling her she's no longer being supported by them,' Peter answered. 'She was apparently a little too focused on that and neglected to mention any of this to us. We were just as surprised as you are when she explained this.'

'Yer gettin' her stuff though, right?' Lach piped up from behind Tom.

'Well, yes,' Peter replied. 'We were just about to head into Vale to get her some presents, maybe a cake and whatever else might be appropriate for her birthday.'

'We want in,' Lach declared. Tom nodded emphatically and voiced his own agreement whilst Elizabeth and Adelheid shared a look, the former shrugging even as she shared the same questioning look as the latter.

Peter looked at Rapture and then Aurora, barely wasting a split second and yet receiving a nod and a shrug respectively. 'Alright then,' he said. 'We would be happy for the help, in fact.'

'Greta,' Tom said he and Lach turning around to get their things. Elizabeth and Adelheid were stunned for a moment by the boys backing into them but quickly went to get their things as well. In a few seconds Team TEAL had joined the three members of Team GRAP in the hallway.

'Now,' Peter began, getting everyone's attention. 'We will need to pick presents for Greta and find a bakery, or wherever we can conveniently get a cake for her and make a plan for how we will present this all for her.'

'Sounds good,' Tom said in response before pausing and frowning. 'Does anyone know what she likes? I'm afraid I can't really think of anything.'

'She likes comics,' Rapture immediately replied. 'Sort of. I've seen her borrow them from the library.'

'She did say she liked that comic-book movie she received,' Peter added.

With that the seven of them began exchanging ideas and suggestions. Tom ended up taking charge of the conversation before they had eve made it halfway to Beacon's skydocks, showing a strong enthusiasm for the entire exchange. By the time they had found a bullhead transport down to Vale, a basic plan had been made.


'Right,' Tom began, confidence and authority flowing through him as he addressed the group, 'let's begin.'

The entirety of his team as well as the three members of Team GRAP who had unintentionally told him about Greta's birthday all stood in front of him, looks of varying degrees of investment and purpose on their faces. They had yet to actually leave the airport that the bullhead had transported them to and, if their quick checks on the interlink indicated anything, they wouldn't actually be exiting the building just yet. All of the shops that they had chosen to get presents and other items from would need a decently lengthy maglev trip deeper into the megacity and so they would have to go to the station built into the airport.

'Right,' Peter agreed, having taken it upon himself to be the organisational voice of GRAP. 'Adelheid and myself will go to this bakery,' he indicated his scroll which had the name and address of the place he had decided to get a cake from, 'and get the cake for this party. We'll meet you back at the Mall once we're done.'

'We won't have the time for a custom cake, it seems,' Adelheid sighed, having volunteered to go with her fellow Atlesian when he suggested divisions, accepting his request for help in picking a cake. 'Shame, really.'

'It's the problem with short notice,' Peter commented, sighing in turn and giving a small shake of his head. The entire thing should have looked slightly theatrical but to Tom the other boy appeared completely natural and genuine as he did it. Tom blinked for a moment before getting his bearings again.

'Okay, we'll be getting presents then,' Tom declared. 'The rest of us will be heading over to the East Central Mall right now. 'Uh,' he checked his pockets for a moment, 'who has the list.'

'Oh, right, sorry,' Rapture piped up, holding up a her scroll. 'Right here. I took it all down.'

'Great,' Tom beamed. They had been putting together a list on the trip over but he had neglected to actually see if anyone was taking down their suggestions. Already confident, he relaxed even further knowing that everything was in order. 'Let's go then.'

With everything ready the group set off for the maglev station. It was an auxiliary facility built directly into the airport's main structure and buying tickets for it was easy. The passenger maglev train was a sleek, silvery, bullet-shaped machine with several ovular carriages attached to it and an identical engine attached to the back. Inside, the carriages were clean, sterilised and expansive. However, they were also busy and the group found they were unlucky enough to be squashed together in the space they had been able to afford, much to everyone's annoyance. Tom did manage to chat with Rapture but in the confined space, with tensions beginning to rise due to the poor conditions, they kept their conversation quiet in order not to irritate the others.

When they stepped off at the main hub in East Vale's main city centre, Peter and Adelheid went off on their own whilst the rest of the group headed off to the mall. Once they got inside Rapture went off to a bookstore with Elizabeth, the red-headed girl having volunteered to pay for Rapture's chosen gift as long as it got her out of the bulk of the decision making.

Now Tom, Lach and Aurora were standing in a shop labelled H.E.P: Home Entertainment Palace, a part of a store chain that apparently specialised in movies, games and consoles. It had exactly what they were looking for but unfortunately no-one knew their way around and the store's catalogue was massive.

Tom was now wandering down an aisle in the film section, Lach at his side, trying to find something he thought would make a good present. The group were mostly buying presents that were supposed to be from several of them at once. He was technically paying for a gift from himself and Lach at the moment, not that he minded.

'So do you know what kinda movie ta get Greta,' Lach asked. 'I don't really know comics.'

Tom hummed for a moment as he thought over his response and then replied honestly. 'Not really. We don't exactly stay up to date with things like comics or movies out in Esshire. My uncle Ron was always more of a book reader anyway.'

'So I, uh, I guess ya don't know what's popular then?' Lach continued.

'We could check,' Tom replied, perking up as he got out his scroll and put in a general question about popular movies. Several websites offering lists, with reviews and brief commentaries came up and Tom picked the first on the list.

'What was that big one that had all those videos spread over the interlink?' Lach asked as Tom flicked through the website. 'They were all talkin' about how its on digicard now.'

'You mean Realm Wars?' Aurora suddenly piped up, startling the two boys. She was on the aisle across from them, the shoulder high shelves separating them all.

'Yeah that's the one,' Lach replied, his face lighting up with recognition. 'That one's popular isn't it.'

'I'll see what the site says,' Tom said in response, returning to his scroll. He wasn't really disputing the issue with the others and rather liked the suggestion but did want to be sure. This was technically the first gift he was getting Greta and even if it was a little generic he wanted to get her something good.

'I haven't exactly seen it myself,' Aurora clarified. 'However, I have heard that it received a good critical reception. It was supposed to be the highlight of last year's summer season and is supposed to be a shoe-in for the upcoming award season, especially for effects and most commentators believe the story will at least get an honorary mention.' Tom noticed the dark-skinned girl's voice became more animated as she went on.

"If she hasn't seen it then she's done a lot of reading on it," Tom thought idly, casting a quick glance over at Aurora, her face brightening as she continued to relay the reported positives of the film and putting everything together. "She's probably seen it. She definitely likes it."

'Well if you think it's that good I don't see why we shouldn't go for it,' Lach said, giving Aurora a sly smirk. He had picked up on the exact same thing. Aurora quickly shut her mouth at Lach's words and blushed a little.

'No reason to drag this out then,' Tom declared. 'Let's go get that film. Where is it?'

'The new features aisle over by the cash register,' Aurora immediately replied and then caught herself. She blushed a little again. 'I uh, saw it when I was looking for my own present for Greta.'

'Great,' Tom said, sparing the girl. With that he set off in the direction Aurora pointed out, the others in tow. Their job was almost done. Then they could meet back up with the others and get ready to return.


'So you had no idea that today was your partner's birthday?' Adelheid asked. Though she had not raised the question before and he had answered to the group as a whole, Peter had expected it to come up from Schnee heiress at some point.

'I'm afraid not,' Peter admitted, sighing. 'I do remember her mentioning it vaguely before the holiday but she never said exactly when and the Solstice got in the way.'

'You don't need to make excuses to me,' Adelheid interrupted. 'I'm not judging you for this. I'm just a little surprised. My leader made it his personal mission to find out and then keep a track of events like this and remind everyone so that we could celebrate as a team.'

'Greta… for as much as she likes to plan, doesn't seem to schedule in personal events,' Peter explained. He then shrugged his shoulders. 'I think she's socially awkward.'

'She seems the type,' Adelheid agreed, nodding her head.

'Then again,' Peter continued, 'she looked a little defensive about today. She even said her last few birthdays haven't been anything special.' Peter frowned as he thought back to his partner's face. She had a worn a careful smile but Peter had been around enough social players to recognise a poor attempt at hiding disappointment. 'I get the feeling she was trying to avoid this.'

'Well I can understand that if the highlight of the day is an announcement from the government telling you that they're no longer going to support you,' Adelheid mused.

'The Valesian welfare system is confusing,' Peter agreed. 'It makes you wonder why they even keep it up if they're going to arbitrarily revoke it from them.'

'It must cost them a fortune,' Adelheid said, sniffing in distaste. 'My mother complains about business taxation as it is. I can't imagine how she would react to welfare costs on top of that.'

Peter was about to add his own thoughts when he was interrupted by a new voice.

'Can I help you two?' a shop clerk asked them. Peter and Adelheid turned to see that they were now standing in front of a counter, a cash register in front of them and the clerk, a young man in a clean, white baker's uniform, waiting politely and expectantly.

'Ah, yes,' Peter said in response, putting a winning smile on his face. He and Adelheid had been standing in a queue in their chosen bakery for several minutes, their conversation a means of passing the time as they waited to receive assistance and, possibly, some consultation.

The bakery was a rather large and popular business in one of the various shopping complex in Central East Vale's primary retail district. Peter had chosen it due to a combination of positive online reviews, the establishment's rather diverse menu – featured on their website – and its location being close to the mall the others were buying the presents from.

The building itself was, like many modern businesses, white and sparklingly clean, Atlesian influences in its construction showing through. Most of the store was taken up by a large public space with various tables, covered by glass containers, that exhibited showcase versions of some of their products. Cakes of many varieties were on display, most of them being rather intricate, designer and custom forms as well as other baked goods that were on offer on their menu. This space was surrounded on three sides by a single continuous counter that had locked access doors on two sides. The counter was more silvery in colour and, with the exception of the doors, was a single solid shape, the edges of the seamless countertop smoothed off so that they curved gently. Doors in the wall opposite the entrance likely led further into the building where the ovens and other productive sections of the bakery were situated.

'We were looking for some help in picking a birthday cake for a friend,' Peter explained to the clerk.

'Would you like a custom cake or a pre-prepared one from our selection?' the clerk asked, a professionally, friendly smile on his face.

Peter looked at Adelheid for a moment, silently sending her a similar question. Budgeting wasn't much of an issue, despite the costly year they had both experienced thus far but they were under a time constraint. Likely thinking the exact same thing, Adelheid gave Peter a small frown and shook her head a little. It was a small gesture but Peter picked up her agreement with him immediately.

'I think we will be looking for a pre-prepared item, thank you,' Peter replied to the clerk, giving his own well practised smile.

'Alright then,' the clerk said in response, pulling out a large scroll and opening it up. A copy of the menu was projected by the scroll's display function. 'We have a wide variety of birthday theme cakes. What is the person's age.'

'Eighteen,' Peter answered. 'And I think we will be looking for something a little simple, and probably not something with her age necessarily displayed on it.'

'Alright then,' the clerk said, typing onto the scroll scene and then returning it to the pair as it shifted and limited the selection of cakes.

'What does Greta like?' Adelheid asked as she skimmed over the menu.

'As far as sweets are concerned,' Peter mused, 'she seems to like gingerbread.' He then perked up a little and looked at the clerk who was standing patiently. 'Do you offer ginger cakes or anything similar?'

'Yes we do, sir,' the clerk replied, still smiling politely. He pulled the scroll back, tapped it again and then returned it to Peter and Adelheid.

Peter looked over the menu, checking close to a dozen cakes until he found one that looked acceptable and tapped the image, enlarging it. It was a decently large one with two equally sized layers and a slightly smaller layer on top of it. Orange icing covered it all and a small text box of details stated that it had jam holding the layers together and green icing disks placed on top of the two layers, a ring on the smaller layer and a wider ring of them on the lower one.

'What do you think?' Peter asked Adelheid who shrugged.

'I suppose it's acceptable,' she said, giving a small, compliant smile.

'We will take number seventeen then,' Peter said to the clerk, smiling once again.

'Alright then, sir,' the clerk replied. 'I'll just go and collect one for you. Would you like it boxed and wrapped here?'

'Yes, thank you,' Peter said in response, nodding as well.

The clerk left and went into the back as Peter and Adelheid stepped to the side, allowing another member of staff to take the previous clerk's space behind the counter and serve another customer. Keeping his smile on his face but toning it down a little, Peter turned to regard Adelheid. She was standing poised and alert, making the attentive, somewhat militant stance look oddly graceful as she then put her hands behind her back and cocked her hip slightly.

Peter tried not to stare at her, or at least not make it obvious but he was fascinated at how Adelheid bore herself. At the moment, despite dropping her arms and leaning back a little so that she was resting her upper back on the counter, Adelheid looked practically perfect – like a sculpture – the haughty frown on her face and the silvery white colour of her outfit adding to the effect.

Taking his eyes off her again, Peter took in a deep breath. He had been pondering something for some time regarding Adelheid Schnee and now, as they waited, he could see a new opportunity.

For a moment Peter thought back to the fact that he had been spending as much time as he could with her. Ever since she first sought him out to build teams back during their initiation into the school, he had been interested in Adelheid, seeing a sense of kinship with the Schnee heiress. As members of the Atlesian elite, both of whom had decided to complete their schooling in Vale, they had connected over their similar experiences and developed a friendship, albeit one that was dictated somewhat by the formalities of their social class. Despite that, Peter thought he had been honest with Adelheid, even if his honesty had been coated in a thin layer of thoroughly ingrained manners, taught behaviour protocols and social habits he had picked up over many years. Now, however, he decided to try something; something that had been in the back of his mind for some time but he had never seriously considered.

'I just wanted to say thank you,' Peter began after a short pause to collect his thoughts and prepare himself.

'For what?' Adelheid asked, frowning.

'For helping me,' Peter answered. Adelheid gave him a questioning look that was carefully stoic and calculating. Peter knew the look, she was searching for a motive. In response he smiled, keeping his cool. "I've made a start," he thought. "I might as well stay the course, as it were."

'I haven't really done anything,' Adelheid replied, her tone even and steady.

'Oh, but you have,' Peter said confidently. 'I went into this mission,' he suppressed a chuckle at the mild overstatement he had chosen, 'with next to no idea of what I was going to do. Every bit of help is useful and you've been an invaluable assistant.'

'An assistant?' Adelheid drawled, looking a little more relaxed but keeping her frown on her face.

'A partner then?' Peter supplied, giving a more relaxed and genuine look to the girl. 'Either way, I'm glad that you volunteered to come with me.'

'I suppose a partner does sound better,' Adelheid sighed, her frown turning into a small smile. 'You're welcome, as well; since it means so much to you.'

'I've actually been making to ask you something,' Peter then said, turning to look at the Schnee heiress.

'Oh?' Adelheid asked, now giving a genuinely quizzical look.

'I was wondering, with the trip to Vacuo and the Vytal Festival coming up, would you be willing to go to the pre-festival dance with me?' Peter asked, looking at Adelheid intently to try to gauge her expression.

'You want to go to the dance with me?' Adelheid said, her face and tone still questioning.

'Yes,' Peter clarified, still thinking over what to say and then putting his left hand to his chest. 'It would be my pleasure and my honour.' He spoke with as much genuineness as possible, letting his face drop into an expression of honesty. It was almost alien to put so much effort into being relaxed and informal.

Adelheid paused for a moment, her eyes quickly darting up and down Peter's face. She then gave a small smile and a slight blush, her gaze flickering away in a surprisingly demure fashion. 'Alright then. I'd be happy to go with you.'

Peter let his smile widen but he was fighting to hold back a much stronger grin. 'Thank you,' he responded, also fighting to keep his tone even. He still let a lot of genuine gratitude and pleasure show in his voice as his mind processed the fact that he had succeeded.

'You're welcome,' Adelheid preened. In an instant her more familiar demeanour returned but she was still smiling and the blush was still decorating her cheeks.

They were both about to continue when the clerk returned with a sealed box. Peter thanked the man, paid for the cake and then turned to leave, Adelheid in tow. Despite making the trip for Greta's sake, Peter felt incredibly good about himself. It had been a little spur of the moment but he had managed to achieve one of his goals for the upcoming Vytal Festival. After the harrowing experience of his first semester, he began to hope that the rest of his freshman year would turn out well.


The trip back to Beacon had been quick and, thankfully uneventful, the group collecting themselves in the mall, gifts, snacks and other items bought and readied for the party. There had also been no delays on their return flight and now they waited for the bullhead to land and let them back onto the campus.

Tom felt good about the upcoming evening. Though the range of gifts they had bought was small and not particularly diverse they had, at least, made well educated guesses and the cake that Peter and Adelheid had picked up looked fantastic. The two had in fact exuded an air of satisfaction when they had returned to the group and been smiling all of the way, even if they were small, subtle smiles. Feeling the good mood in turn, Tom had let himself feel optimistic about Greta's birthday. Despite the last minute preparations they had got together enough stuff for a decent celebration and would help their friend have a great birthday – possibly one of her best if the speculation from the group was anything to go by.

As they stepped off of the bullhead and onto the skydocks Peter turned to address the group. He was still smiling and wearing a look of confidence.

'Alright everyone,' he announced, 'this has been a huge success. I'd just like to say thank you to all of you for helping me out.'

'Don't ya thank us,' Lach drawled, giving a dismissive wave but smiling whilst doing so. 'This one's for Greta.'

The others voiced their own agreements, or accepted Peter's thanks and then the group set off back to the dormitories. Tom looked at his scroll; the clock told him it was still the afternoon though it was getting close to the evening. The group made conversation as they walked, planning out the party they were about to throw and debating over who got to give Greta their presents first.

'I'm going to give Jedd a call,' Peter then said as they entered the dorm building.

'What?' Tom asked. He had been walking he closest to Peter but the Atlesian boy had been talking to Adelheid until this point.

'I think it's worth inviting Team JETT as well,' Peter mused. 'I know the room will probably be rather full with them there as well but they did help us last semester and, well they do say, the more the merrier.'

'I guess,' Tom drawled. He wasn't entirely sure what would happen with the second years joining them, not knowing them that well. Eventually he let the principle of celebrating with as many people as possible win through and nodded in agreement.

Peter took out his scroll and began making a call, sounding surprisingly jovial as he extended his invitation to Jedd and his team. A good atmosphere had descended on the group and Tom couldn't help but smile as he looked at the rest of the group, seeing a sense of easy readiness over everyone, even if some were a little less enthusiastic than others.

"This is gonna go great," Tom thought to himself, smiling wider still.


Greta lolled back on her bed, barely paying attention to the movie that was playing on her room's scroll projector. Her government mandated present was lying still in the clear plastic wrapping on the desk nearby, Greta having decided to leave it be and wait to see if her friends wanted to watch as a group later. Completely disinterested in what was on the holographic screen, Greta let out a tired sigh and wondered what she could do to alleviate her boredom.

She was about to pull a book from one of the shelves and give reading a go when she heard a brief knock at the door, followed by the sound of door unlocking and opening. Greta paused the film and sat up in her bed, a look of interest and slight anticipation on her face. Whilst she hadn't been looking forward to her birthday and somewhat surprised by her team's offer to throw her a celebration of some kind, the fact that her friends wanted to do something for her birthday – after she had some time to stew in her thoughts and actually mull it over – had left her a little excited over what they would bring.

The door opened and familiarly mussed and curly brown hair poked in, followed by the face of Tom Underhill. Greta blinked as he peered into the room, locked eyes with her and smiled.

'Surprise!' he shouted, his voice almost instantly drowned out by several others all loudly saying the same thing.

'Happy Birthday!' a large group – composed of Team GRAP, Team TEAL and, to Greta's slight surprise, Team JETT – walked into the room, friendly smiles on most of their faces and packages in the arms of several people.

Greta couldn't say anything. Instead she let the small smile she had been hesitant to allow, grow on her face, slight incredulity in the open mouth expression she gave as what was before her sank in. everyone squeezed their way through the door, giving greetings or short waves that Greta returned almost automatically. She eventually realised she what kind of expression she was making and shut her mouth.

'Um… uh, thanks, guys,' Greta finally stammered out as the group looked her way expectantly.

'Come on, come on,' Lach said, stepping forward and offering a bag. 'Don't just stand there. Come over here and 'ave a look.'

'Uh, right,' Greta said, grinning again as she took the bag. Rapture and Tom offered their own packages whilst Peter held up a box wrapped in a bow.

'We brought drinks,' Jedd Nechten rumbled, holding up a bag. 'I couldn't get strong stuff on short notice though.'

Greta gave her thanks, both to Lach whose bag she had accepted and Jedd for bringing something. She opened the bag to see a digicard box. Pulling it she blinked and then smiled as she recognised the title on the cover. The box read "Realm Wars: The Oncoming Storm," a large number of armed figures crowded around what looked like a hole in the sky. It was a movie she had heard of but never seen and was apparently popular.

'Th… thanks, guys,' she said as she looked up at the expectant and somewhat cautious expression on the faces of Tom, Lach and Aurora, the latter averting her eyes for a second. 'It's great. I've heard about this one.'

'This is, uh, from the rest of us,' Rapture said a little abashedly as she handed over another bag.

'Thanks,' Greta said as she placed the digicard by her side and took the proffered bag. It was wider than the previous one and had "Wilson's Books," printed on the side. Opening it up she pulled out several Huntsman comic books, the last few recent editions.

'We kinda saw the stuff you'd taken out of the library,' Rapture said, her voice relaxed and confident again. 'Lizzie helped pay for it as well.'

'What did you call me?' Elizabeth snarled from the middle of the group, glaring at Rapture.

'That's what Lach and Tom call you,' Rapture answered with a confused expression, inching away from the volatile redhead as Elizabeth seemed to almost visibly steam.

'Thanks guys,' Greta interrupted, her face lighting up as she flicked through a couple of pages. 'I really like this.'

'Alright,' Peter then piped up, stepping to the front of the group. 'Here's our gift to you from all of us.'

He placed a large pristine, white box held together by wire-cloth that had been tied around the box and folded into a bow at the top. He placed it on her lap, the other bag holding her new Huntsman comics now lying on top of the first at her side.

'Be careful,' Peter warned Greta as he let go of the box and let it lie in her lap.

'Thanks, Peter,' Greta said as she steadied the box and then began to untie the bow.

After removing the string she pulled the lid off the box and found the side panels could fold outwards. Breaking the sealant holding everything together, she let the sides fall out to reveal a large cake. Her eyes widened again as she looked at the magnificent baked product in front of her. It was double layered, the slightly smaller one crowning the cake covered in green disks of hardened icing and coloured orange. At one point when she was younger, Greta had spent a large amount of the meagre savings she had scraped together to get a similar cake. After joining Signal, however, between her educational expenses and the fact that her orphanage couldn't afford large birthday celebrations, she had never been able to have anything as big since then.

'Wow, I' she stammered for a moment before recovering slightly. 'Tha… thanks, guys. This, this is really… I… thanks.'

'It's nothing,' Lach said, waving dismissively.

'Yeah,' Rapture agreed. 'It's the least we could do. Right guys?'

A chorus of agreement followed, the entire group giving congratulations and well-wishes. Greta saw several of the group peeling off to take seats, most of them picking spots on the beds in the room as the few chairs were quickly stolen by whoever had made a move first.

Greta was still stunned. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this. Between impersonal caretakers in the Children's Home, an orphanage population that had changed so regularly while she had remained stuck in the institution and Signal classmates who lived in completely different parts of the megacity, Greta's life had been isolated for so long now. For a moment, she clenched her fists, hiding them under the panels of the box so that her friend's couldn't see and held back tears.

'Alright,' Peter then said from his seat in one of the desk chairs he had managed to grab. 'So, Greta, now that we have everything ready, what would you like to do now?'


The birthday party was small and rather low-key but Greta didn't care. She had decided to watch some of the movies she had gotten, starting with the Huntsman film. Despite it being a reminder of the government message that she was now cut off on her own, she had wanted to see it since it first got into theatres. Halfway into it, someone had made a mocking quip and the group began to settle into a pattern of making running commentary and laughing at their own jokes, until they were ordered to stop. It seemed Adelheid and Thaba didn't like it when people talked during a movie.

When that movie was over they had decided to cut the cake and, thankfully, it had gone well. There had been some arguments over whether anyone had got larger slices than everyone else. Greta received the largest slice on Peter's orders, the Atlesian boy stating it was a matter of principle; as well as her cake to enjoy.

Jedd had broken out his drinks at that point, passing them out to everyone. Greta wasn't exactly a stranger to alcohol and didn't feel anything from the fruity beverages that Team JETT had handed to her, at least as far as she noticed.

Now another movie was on, something Rapture had provided that featured some kind of shape-shifting Gheist-like Grimm monster eating people and possessing their bodies. The room wasn't really paying attention, evidenced by the fact that no-one complained whenever quips or comments were made at the over the top gore on screen. Greta leaned back on her bed and lazily kept her eyes on the screen, taking in the action but not really processing it. Looking around the room, she took in the group who had set up and attended her impromptu birthday celebration, her friends.

'Where's Peter?' she mumbled, noticing that one of the group was missing.

'What was that?' Rapture mumbled, turning from the holographic screen to look at Greta.

'Where's Peter?' Greta repeated, pointing in the general direction of the others to emphasise her point.

'I think I saw him go out a few minutes ago,' Rapture answered.

'Right' Greta said in response. She then levered herself into a sitting position and got off the bed. 'I'll be back.'

A chorus of affirmatives, several of them disinterested, answered Greta as she picked her away around everyone and then walked out of the door, shutting it behind her and taking a breath. She didn't realise that the dorm room had gotten so hot until the cooler air outside hit her.

The corridor was empty and Greta took the time, solitude and cool temperature to lean against the door and take a breath. After collecting her thoughts, Greta then looked around. Peter wasn't anywhere nearby and so Greta set off down the corridor to find him. She wandered onto the next floor, heading for the door that led to the third floor's balcony. It was only a guess but she was sure that if Peter wanted to go out and wasn't in the hallway then he would probably be spending his time on the balcony instead.

Finding the door and opening it, Greta peered out onto the balcony and found Peter leaning on the wall by the door. As far as she could tell he wasn't looking at anything in particular though there was a bottle of whatever Jedd had brought to the party in his hand.

'Peter?' Greta said as she pushed the door open wider and stepped onto the balcony.

'Hello, Greta,' Peter responded, turning to her and giving a smile. 'Why are you here?'

'I was gonna ask you that,' Greta said, an eyebrow rising.

'Well, I was just getting some air,' Peter answered with a shrug. 'Also the heat was getting unbearable.'

'Maybe you shouldn't wear all of that then,' Greta said, chuckling and giving an indicating wave to Peter's outfit. Then what she said caught up to her and flushed a little. She looked at Peter to see if he had caught what she had just said but saw him smile at her. Greta relaxed for a moment but then Peter's smile switched to an amused smirk. Greta cringed and Peter started to chuckle.

'Shut up,' Greta snapped half-heartedly.

'Sorry, sorry,' Peter said, putting his hands up.

'Yeah, well...' Greta trailed off as she tried to think of what she wanted to say next.

'Yes?' Peter prompted.

'I just wanted to say thank you,' Greta spat out, feeling nervous. 'For today.'

'Well, you're very welcome but it wasn't just me,' Peter began only to be cut off.

'Well, I know that,' Greta continued, her stomach in knots. 'It's just, well… you did insist on this and you were the one who told everyone to do this so I wanted to… say this to you first. Uh, thanks.'

Peter stood in front of her for a moment, his eyes seeming to roam over her as if he was trying to figure out what he was being told. It lasted only a second before he replaced it with his usual charming smile and put his hand on her shoulder.

'It was my pleasure,' Peter said reassuringly.

Greta then, without thinking, shot forward and wrapped her arms around Peter, her head nestling into his shoulder as she hugged him. Both of them were stunned for a moment, Greta's insides somersaulting as her thoughts caught up with her and she realised what she had just done.

"Oh gods, oh gods, why?" Greta screeched in her head.

She felt Peter shift but instead of pushing her or moving away he put his own arms around her in a rather weak but friendly hug as well. Greta flushed but didn't feel that embarrassed or scared this time. Instead an odd sense of relief and triumph took over instead and she didn't bother fighting the smile that spread across her face.

'Thanks,' Greta mumbled, not really knowing what exactly she was thanking him for this time.

'You're welcome,' Peter said once again, his tone confident. 'I didn't realise it meant this much to you.'

'It… it, uh...' Greta's words trailed off as she forgot what she wanted to say. She instead stayed in place and tried to burrow a little bit further into the nook she had placed her head.

After a few seconds of standing in place, Peter finally spoke up. 'I think we should head back to the party; don't you?'

Greta wanted to say no but felt Peter moving and realised that he was probably going to let go. Sighing quietly she loosened her grip and stepped back out of Peter's arms, trying to hide the feeling of disappointment that washed through her. She then nodded her affirmative to Peter's question and turned to walk back into the dormitory building, her partner behind her.

Greta felt giddy again as she and Peter walked down the corridor back to their room but there was one thought that was still rattling in her head. "Why did I do that? Did I… oh no. Really?" A thought hit her. "Do I… do I like Peter?"

The butterflies didn't return but an intense nervousness hit her almost immediately after the thought did. "Is… is that right? What do I do? Do I ask him out? Would it be weird? What about the team? What happens if partners date? We live in the same room together. What if..." Her thoughts were a chaotic maelstrom and she cringed, a part of her glad that she was in front of Peter and not showing him that she was panicking right now.

As she walked down the stairs to their floor of the dormitory, Greta tried to calm down, failing for the most part but at least putting a stoic expression back on her face. As they made their back into the room, nothing having changed despite Greta feeling like the day had, once again been turned on its head, Greta threw herself on her bed, pushed the back of her head into her pillow, stared at the movie on the hologram projector and tried to forget the unsettling feelings she was having.

The semester hadn't even started properly and everything was already going wrong. "Why?" Greta thought, annoyed at herself, the gods, the universe and whatever else she could blame for what she was feeling. "Why?" she repeated in her head again. "I didn't ask for this."