I see y'all like this story, glad to hear!
This chapter's longer than usual, but it was that or have it be pointlessly short.
As always, enjoy!
Once they'd settled down in Amelia's dorm she'd started from the beginning, and Velvet noticed that she was rather happy about it, but all that changed in an instant when she got to graduation from Signal. The Faunus took on a shy and very minimalistic approach to describing her family, hardly mentioning any funny stories about them, and completely avoiding saying any names other than 'sister' or 'father', almost as if she'd partially detached herself from her old life.
"My mother and I were out on a small day-long vacation when they came...they took us completely by surprise, they knew where all the early-warning devices I'd set were. We were swimming...I had all my weapons back at home save for my knife. They grabbed the nearest person, stuck a gun to her head threatening to kill her if all the Faunus didn't come with them. We got loaded up in the back of a freight ship like livestock...there was hardly enough room to sit down, much less sleep."
She chokes up for a second and takes a deep breath to calm herself before continuing.
"When they finally opened the door they had us line up in the snow outside a small building. Most of us were still in our swimsuits, some of us were still wet even...then they herded us one by one into this building, and they tagged us. They got our names, what type of Faunus we were, and sent us into a heated amphitheater. We were told how to mine dust, given picks, and sent down the mineshaft after they'd given us some clothes that sort of fit. It wasn't bad at first, the tunnels we worked in were heated, but the more we worked the harder it got to breathe. When we came out that night we were told all our belongings had been collected, and if we worked for a year we would be free to go...then we were given a little food and sent to a couple of bunkhouses. That went on for four months until..."
She chokes up again, her breath shaky as she breathes slowly, trying to compose herself.
"Until I ran away. I jumped onto a dust carrier bound for Vale, and that's how I ended up here. I had someone send a letter for me, letting my father know that I was alright and that I needed my equipment and some clothes. When I got it I could finally head into the forest to sleep, instead of sleeping in the city where people tried to steal my stuff."
She lays back, spreading her arms as she flops down on the bed.
"That's my life. I can give you some time to process it all if you want."
Velvet sits and thinks for a minute before turning to face her.
"Have you tried contacting your family? We can go use the CCT."
Amelia stares at the ceiling for a minute before sitting up and grabbing her plate carrier.
"Let's go. I can't wait to go to Vacuo to see them."
She throws her plate carrier on and grabs Snakebite as she heads for the door.
Velvet jumps up and pulls her coat on as she follows Amelia out the door, a new look of determination on Amelia's face tells her she's not going to take no for an answer if they're not allowed in the CCT.
Velvet's assumption is correct, and when they reach the CCT the guards move to stop them, but freeze when they see Amelia's determination, combined with her white-knuckled grip on Snakebite.
"I haven't talked to my family in almost two and a half years. Move." She snarls, and the guards quickly move out of the way, permitting them to enter the elevator.
When they reach the top Amelia ignores the other people in the room and follows Velvet to a private booth, where she can talk in private.
Velvet explains to her how to use the panel and steps away.
Amelia quickly taps in the code for the Shade academy CCT, and after a couple seconds it connects, displaying a guard
{Hello, how can I help you?}
"Hello, could you connect me to the Ellis residence? South side, plot twelve."
{Of course, one moment.}
The screen displays the Shade academy emblem for a minute before it changes to display a black-haired man dressed in a tan shirt and shorts.
He stares in shock at the screen, his hazel eyes blinking several times.
"Hi...Hi dad..."
Her voice makes him flinch, snapping him out of his daze.
{A...Amy...? I-is that really you?}
"Yeah dad...it's me...I'm sorry for not contacting you again sooner..."
{Never mind that! Where have you been young lady?! You had me worried sick!}
She flattens her ears and shrinks back a little.
"Sorry...it's...it's a long story...I'll be in Vacuo in a few days and I can explain it then. I just wanted to check in on you guys and make sure you're still living in the same place. How are you?"
{Well, Cassie is going to Shade, she's been slapped on team BRNZ as a fifth member. May Zedong is in that team, you remember her?}
"Of course I remember her, she's the one who taught me to shoot!"
{Oh yeah, how could I forget?}
Amelia snorts and gives a teasing smile.
"Don't go senile on me yet old man."
{Haha, very funny. But anyways, we've been searching high and low for you all over, where are you?}
"I'm at Beacon right now. You remember Ozpin? I came here a couple days ago and he helped me out. I'm a student here now."
{And before that? Where were you?}
Amelia looks sheepish, and tries to skirt around the question by not directly answering it.
"Oh you know...I moved around a bit...did some jobs killing Grimm..."
{Amelia Ellis. Answer the question.}
"I...I was homeless on the streets...that's why I didn't contact you..."
{And why didn't you go to Oz earlier? You know he would have helped you.}
"Because...look, I'll tell you when I come to Vacuo. It's not the kind of thing I want to talk about if we're not face-to-face."
{...Alright. There'd better be a good reason or you're in deep shit. Understand?}
"Yes sir. And there is a good reason, but again, I'll save it for when we meet."
{Okay. I've got to head to work. Talk to you soon. I love you.}
"Love you too. Bye dad."
The call ends, and Amelia steps out of the booth, where Velvet is waiting.
"So how'd it go?"
Amelia smiles and starts crying, tears of joy roll down her face and drip off her chin as relief washes over her.
"They're alive!"
The day after Amelia contacted her family she psyches herself up for her competition against Ruby. She wakes up early and heads to breakfast, where she heaps on the food again and devours it all in minutes before heading to the arena, where Ruby told her to wait.
While she's waiting she plays with her semblance a little, making fog battles between Grimm and soldiers in the arena while she watches from the stands.
Finally a half hour later Ruby walks in, stopping in the doorway as she watches the battle between a dozen Beowolves and four heavily-armed soldiers in fascination.
One of the smoky men kicks the fight off, firing a large three-barreled chain gun from the hip as the smoky Grimm scatter, one of them dissolving in a puff of smoke when the burst from the weapon connects with it.
The three other men form a four-point diamond and drop to one knee, firing their weapons at the Grimm as the beasts rush them. The Grimm fall one by one, none of them even getting close to the armor-plated ghost soldiers. As they fall though, more rise out of the fog on the floor and join the fight, through sheer numbers the Grimm begin to overwhelm the troopers, getting close enough that they are forced into close quarters knife-and-fist engagements. The smallest of the four rolls out of the way as a Boarbatusk rolls through the group, knocking the largest of them onto his stomach from a grazing blow. The smallest fires his rifle at the boarbatusk before he has to roll again as a Beowolf swipes at him. The largest trooper pushes himself up and looks around for his smoky weapon, which he finds nearby. He stumbles over to it as the rest of the team stab, punch, and bludgeon the smoky Grimm with their rifles.
When he reaches it he grabs the large gun by the barrels and swings it like a club, smacking the boarbatusk that had come around again.
The beast flies up into the air, flying over the stands before smacking into the wall and disappearing. The man puts the large weapon on his shoulder and salutes like he just hit a home run before he's forced back into the fight by an Ursa.
As the fight between the two ghostly army's drags on Amelia doesn't notice the crowd that gathers to watch the fight, hundreds of students silently shuffle in and watch as the soldiers eliminate the Grimm for another ten minutes.
When the battle ends the four soldiers stand untouched and victorious. They all lower their weapons and relax before walking to each other, exchanging high-fives and fist bumps. Once they're done celebrating they dissolve and melt into the fog on the floor.
The crowd bursts into cheering and applause while some of them whistle with their fingers, causing Amelia to look up towards the top of the stands, now aware of the hundreds of students that had watched the entire display.
She quickly gets up and turns to the crowd before giving a small bow, causing the crowd to cheer even louder.
"Please tell me you recorded that." Ruby nudges Yang, who holds up her scroll.
"Every single second.
Ruby grins and walks down to Amelia, who's talking to a few people that had been in the crowd, and had come down to give her words of praise.
Amelia wears a huge grin, a little bit of wispy fog hangs around her, inches off her skin as she finishes talking to the three people and walks up to Ruby.
"You want to go first? I figured since you were a student before I was you should set the bar."
Ruby pulls the folded up Crescent Rose from behind her back and holds it at her side.
"Sure, I'll go first. I hope you're ready."
Amelia chuckles and pats Ruby on the shoulder before sitting down. Ruby jumps into the arena and unfolds Crescent Rose to its rifle form, nodding to Amelia once she lands. Amelia tabs on her scroll a few times, and a countdown timer appears above the arena. Finally a buzzer sounds the start of Ruby's time, and the caped girl gets a decent time, killing all thirty pop-up Grimm targets in a hair under one minute and fifteen seconds.
Amelia grins and jumps into the arena, landing next to Ruby before handing the scroll to her.
"Prepare to be amazed." Amelia chuckles as she pulls a magazine out of a pouch on her vest and smacks it into Snakebite.
Ruby waits for the nod from Amelia, and hits the start button on the scroll, starting the countdown timer.
Amelia pulls the charging handle back on her rifle and lets it slam forward, locking a round into the chamber as she widens her stance.
Just as the countdown reaches one Ruby remembers something that Amelia had said to her the previous day.
'A designated marksman rifle is a balance of accuracy, range, and engagement speed.'
Then Ruby realizes what kind of competition this is.
It relies on accuracy, and engagement speed, and while Ruby may have accuracy in her court, Amelia has both.
The buzzer goes off, and Amelia snaps her rifle up, dropping the first two targets that pop up with a double-tap to the chest each.
Ruby watches in a daze as Amelia completely shatters her time, getting a time of forty-seven seconds flat.
When the last target drops Amelia drops her second magazine out and clears the chamber, catching the round midair before turning to a gawking Ruby.
"So, what was that about me losing?"
Ruby stares in awe for a moment before slumping her shoulders.
"Alright, you win, I'll drop the plans off at your dorm after lunch today."
"Hey, cheer up, you still did pretty well. It's hard to get good times with a bolt action."
Amelia ruffles Ruby's hair as Yang walks over.
"Since you did so well we'll trade, alright? I'll get the plans drawn up as soon as I can."
Ruby's eyes light up and she perks up, the disappointment of losing replaced by enthusiasm.
"Really?"
"Yep, I'll even give you the barrel conversion plans once I get them."
"AWESOME!"
Yang hugs Ruby from behind her before letting go and walking around to face both of them from the side.
"You did your best sis, but you kinda got ahead of yourself this time!"
Amelia flinches, her smile disappears for a few seconds before she gives a nervous laugh and fakes a smile.
"Well! I've got to go pack for my trip! I'll talk to you guys in a bit!"
She jogs off quickly, leaving Yang and Ruby standing in the arena together.
When she reaches her dorm she quickly steps inside and practically slams the door behind her before she throws Snakebite on the bed and pulls out a military-style duffel bag, which she sets upright beside her dresser. She packs enough clothes for four days and then sets about cleaning Snakebite, which she then puts inside the bag along with her vest and backpack.
She grabs another change of clothes and heads into the bathroom to shower.
When she's getting ready to shower she steps up to the mirror and looks close at her right temple when she sees a small line.
"When did that happen...?"
She uses her fingertips and traces the scar from the corner of her eye up past her hairline before she loses it in her hair.
"Huh...oh well." She shrugs as she steps away from the mirror and into the bathtub.
She enjoys the shower for a half hour before she gets out and dries herself off, using a hairdryer Coco had bought her to dry her long hair.
"Wow, this thing works amazingly well."
The new hairdryer has her hair dry in minutes, much to her relief after she's done.
She's just slipping a tan shirt on when there's a knock at the door.
"One moment!"
She hastily pulls her cargo pants on and opens the door to find Weiss holding an envelope.
"Here you are, there's a private plane at the airport, hand the gate guard this and he'll let you on."
Amelia takes the envelope and leaves the door open as she walks over to her bed, where her hat, holster, and pistol are.
She puts the holster in its usual spot on her right thigh and jams her pistol in it before putting her hat on over her hair.
Finally she grabs her duffel and scroll before walking back to the door.
"Thank you again Weiss."
Weiss points to the small desk next to the door.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Amelia looks over to find her money pouch and knife sitting on the desk.
"Oh yeah! Thanks...that would've sucked."
She puts her knife scabbard on her belt and the money pouch in her pocket before stepping out the door and closing it behind her.
"Wow, you're sure in a hurry." Weiss states plainly.
"Well, if you hadn't seen Winter for several years you'd be anxious to see her again too, wouldn't you?"
Weiss thinks about that for a minute before she places a hand on her hip.
"Of course! But it hasn't been that long for you...has it?"
Amelia locks her door and nods.
"Walk with me."
She starts walking down the hall, and Weiss walks alongside her.
"Because I was at Signal right before...y'know. I hadn't spent any significant amount out time with my sister for several months, so it's been more like two and a half years since I've spent more than maybe twenty minutes with her."
Weiss gives a slow understanding nod.
"So...if I may ask...how old are you?"
Amelia deadpans as they walk, trying to think.
"Ehhhhh...what month is it?"
"November."
"Then I'm twenty."
"Wow...you look more like you're maybe seventeen."
"Thank you."
"You are very much welcome."
An awkward silence descends upon them as they walk, Weiss starts texting someone on her scroll as they walk, and soon they reach the landing pads.
Amelia's ears twitch and pivot forward as they exit, in front of them stands the entirety of CFVY, and RWBY.
"What, did you really think you could slip out without saying goodbye?" Coco asks, putting her hands on her hips.
"Err...no? I really was just focused on seeing my family I forgot about you guys...sorry..."
She walks up to the two groups, where she's repeatedly slapped on the back and hugged before everyone escorts her to the bullhead that's waiting to take her to the airport. She climbs in and grabs a loop hanging from the ceiling as she waves goodbye to everyone.
Once the bullhead takes off the side door closes, shutting off her view of her friends as she flies off.
Everything is uneventful as she walks to her gate and gives the guard the letter, which he quickly reads before handing it back and allowing her to board. She stows her bag on the seat next to her before the private jet starts to taxi, and once it's airborne she pulls her rifle and vest out, donning them before she closes the bag back up and puts it between her knees.
The flight is smooth and short, and she's surprised when the plane touches down at the airport. She looks out a nearby window to see Shade academy in the distance, hundreds of small mud huts stretch out over the dry landscape.
As soon as the plane stops she jumps up and shoulders her bag, tightly securing all of her weapons to herself before she steps off.
The flight attendant opens the hatch, and a blast of hot air hits Amelia in the face, welcoming her back home.
She's the first one off the plane, and her pace remains quick as she leaves the airport and gets a ride to the south district. The palm trees in the south residential district get larger as she gets closer, and she gets even more anxious the closer she gets.
Finally the man drops her off at the entrance to the residential district, and she gives him a healthy tip before she takes off running, Snakebite in her hands.
She remembers this path, all these houses, every last palm tree as she jogs down the street, the occasional person giving her a welcome nod as she runs past.
Finally she slows to a halt in front of a two-story house, staring at it for a minute before she quickly slings Snakebite on her shoulder.
She slowly walks forward, as if she didn't want the dream to end if it is one, and pauses at the door before grabbing the handle and pushing the door open slowly, as if in a daze. The door squeaks a little on its hinges as it opens and she walks in, it creaks and closes behind her when she lets go. She gently puts her bag and rifle down by the door as she looks around, all the memories of her childhood coming back to her. She stands on the place-mat in a daze, desperately trying to kick her disbelief out of her mind.
She hears a padded pair of feet from the kitchen, and a woman comes around the corner, halting as soon as she sees Amelia.
They stare in surprise at each other for at least thirty seconds before there's more thumping of padded feet, followed by a voice that makes Amelia flinch.
"Is someone he-"
Her dad halts when he sees Amelia, and they too stare for several seconds, their eyes wide as saucers before they both simultaneously rush forward and hug each other tightly, as if afraid the other may dissolve into thin air.
"I missed you so much...don't you ever disappear like that ever again." Her dad quietly scolds her as he sobs.
"I missed you too... it won't happen ever again." She sobs back, her nose being assaulted by the all-too-familiar scent of her dad as she buries her face in his shoulder.
"W-where...where's your mother?" He asks fearfully as he pulls out of the embrace, putting his hands on her shoulders.
Amelia closes her eyes, a small, yet incredibly emotional smile developing on her face as the tears continue to flow.
"She's...she's with me," She pauses when she pulls her necklace out of her shirt. "Always."
The yellow ear tag falls against her chest with no sound as it swings on the metal necklace.
He crushes her in another hug, and she welcomes the pressure, it seems to fill the hole in her chest.
"Honey I'm so sorry..." he starts, but she stops him by putting her fingers up to his lips.
"Don't be. There was nothing you could have done. It wasn't in any of our control. Some sick bastard took her from us, and when I get my hands on him he's gonna pay."
He just nods as they hold each other, remaining in the embrace for several minutes.
Finally he breaks from the hug and motions for the brown haired woman to come over.
"Dawn, this is Amelia, my oldest daughter. Amy, this is Dawn, your step-mother."
"Pleased to meet you, I'm sorry to hear about your mother." They gently shake hands and exchange greetings before they all sit down in the living room.
"So what happened?" Her father asks as he pours water into three glasses.
"The Schnee Dust Company decided we fit the bill for conscription into their mining operations in Atlas." Amelia growls, more than a little hostility towards the SDC in her voice.
"You...did you escape..?" He asks quietly, leaning forward in his chair.
"Yes I did, I only served four months. Then I snuck aboard a ship and ended up in Vale."
"Then you know they'll be after you right?"
Amelia nods and pats her holster on her leg.
"If they want me, they can come and get me."
He nods solemnly and sips at his glass.
"Plus, thanks to uncle Oz I'm considered a student at Beacon, so they couldn't lay a finger on me if the wanted to."
Dawn grins but doesn't say anything.
"Speaking of being a student, you need to go visit your sister."
Amelia nods in response to her father.
"That's my next stop, do you have May's number? I'm going to need a guide."
He pulls out his scroll and looks through his contacts briefly before handing it to her.
She copies the number into her scroll and hands his back.
"Do you think you can have her wait at the landing pads? Don't tell her who it is, I want it to be a surprise."
He smiles and dials the number, leaning back in his chair as it rings.
{Hello?}
"Hello May, it's Cassie's dad. Do you think you could meet someone at the landing pads in half an hour? It's a possible new student.
{Uhh, sure? I was going to make some more Dust ammunition, but it can wait.}
"They're really good with Dust mixing, so they could help you once they're done with their business. You'll know who it is when you see them."
{Oh, alright! I'll be there!}
"Thank you May, b'bye now."
{*click*}
Amelia chuckles and stands up, grabbing her rifle and slinging it across her back as she slowly walks to the door.
"I'll come back home once I'm done at Shade, I hope you don't mind if I stay a few days."
"How could I mind? You're my daughter!"
She blows a kiss to him and heads out the door, letting it swing shut behind her.
She wastes no time getting to the shuttles, and happily pays for a visitors pass before boarding fifteen minutes early.
The shuttle arrives at the landing pads ten minutes before May is supposed to meet her, so she finds a tucked away corner in the building and waits in the shadows.
While she's waiting she replaces her baseball cap with a coyote tan shemagh from her backpack, wrapping it so it covers her entire head and face.
She doesn't have to wait long, and May walks out of the large doors with her typical beanie on her head, despite the temperatures being well within the triple digits. She watches from her spot as May walks over to a pillar and leans against it, watching the landing pads with her arms crossed.
As quietly as possible Amelia casually walks from her hiding spot and approaches her from the side that her hair covers before rounding the pillar and leaning against it next to her old friend.
"Hey there sharpshooter, looking for someone?"
May's head snaps up at her voice and looks over, her eyes wide as saucers.
Amelia stands up straight and pulls the shemagh down around her neck, revealing her face.
"Miss me?"
May jumps at her and slams into her, wrapping her up in a hug, but otherwise remains silent.
"I thought so. Glad to see you, it's been a while."
May pulls back from the hug and scowls at her, putting her hands on her hips.
"Where the hell have you been!? Your sister's been a soulless wreck ever since you disappeared!"
Amelia leans forward and points to the bald spot on her ear.
"Four months in the Schnee Dust mines, and the rest spent homeless in Vale."
May's scowl disappears, replaced by shock.
"Oh...I'm sorry..."
Amelia puts a finger up to May's lips, silencing her.
"Don't be. I'm honestly getting tired of hearing that. Instead I want you to call Cassie to your dorm, tell her it's a team meeting, but don't mention me."
May nods and pulls out her scroll before furiously typing on it.
She sends the message and a few seconds later she gets a response.
"She's already there."
"Awesome, lead the way, you know Shade better than I do."
Amelia re-wraps her shemagh around her head as they walk through the halls, and she gets a few questioning looks, but she ignores them.
They're walking past the library when a guy with dark red hair waves to May and walks over.
"Yo May! What's up? Who's this?"
"Oh! Hey Nolan! I'm just being a guide right now, showing an old friend around."
Nolan looks Amelia up and down, eyeing her weapons and equipment.
"An old friend huh? What's her name? Where's she from?"
May looks to Amelia, silently asking if she can answer, but Amelia answers instead.
"I'm from the south district. If you want to find out who I am, then follow us, because you'll find out soon."
Nolan eyes her cautiously before shrugging and giving May an 'after you' gesture.
May leads them down several corridors before they reach the dorm, but when she tries to push the door open it doesn't budge.
"What? I unlocked it..."
Amelia tries it, and recognizes the feeling. She leans into May's ear and whispers as quietly as possible.
"It's barricaded from the other side. How much is a door?"
May scowls at her and tries again, to no avail.
"A door is fifty Lien."
Amelia grabs her pouch of money and pulls out fifty Lien, handing it to her before she unslings her rifle.
She motions for May and Nolan to move aside and stands in front of the door across the hall. She braces one foot against the wall as she lowers herself into a sprinter's position, Snakebite in her hands.
She takes one deep breath before springing forward and slamming her right shoulder into the door, using her aura to amplify the force exerted.
The chair holding the door closed is reduced to splinters, along with the hinges and part of the doorframe, and the door falls inwards, landing in the middle of the room.
Cassie springs up from her bed in alarm, she reaches for a large weapon in the corner, but Amelia throws her knife, and it impales itself in the wall in between her hand and the gun.
"Who the hell are you?!" Cassie yells, reaching for her rifle again
Amelia pulls her shemagh down around her neck and slings her rifle.
"Who the hell does it look like!? Quit reaching for your fucking rifle and welcome me like a proper person!"
Cassie freezes, her hazel eyes widen as she stares at her sister.
"Geez, I leave you alone for two years and this is how you greet me? Where the hell are your manners?" Amelia puts her hands on her hips and glares at Cassie, who's still staring in awe.
Finally Cassie runs at Amelia and slams into her, hugging the taller girl around the waist.
Cassie is shorter than Amelia, with the same hair color and a stockier build, but instead of having just the gray wolf ears she also has a gray wolf tail.
That same tail remains tucked between her legs as she sobs into her sister's shirt over her plate carrier. Amelia holds her tightly and scratches behind her ears, which are flattened against her head.
"Where were you!? I thought you were dead!"
"Hush, I know, I'm sorry. I couldn't control it. It's a long story, I'll tell you with the rest of the family."
Cassie nods into her shoulder and sniffles, squeezing her harder.
Amelia puts her chin in between Cassie's ears and rubs her back, trying to calm her down as quickly as possible. It takes a few minutes, but she finally gets her to let go and sit down.
"Sorry about the door guys, but after two years I wasn't going to take no for an answer."
Nolan laughs and picks the door up off the floor, putting it back in its relative place should it be open.
"It's alright, I understand." May sits down on her bed and looks at the two sisters.
Cassie is leaning against Amelia, her tail flailing behind her broadcasts her happiness like a neon sign as Amelia hugs her from one side.
"So where have you been? You didn't normally sweat before you disappeared." May asks as Amelia wipes beads of sweat off her forehead.
"Well, I spent four involuntary months in Atlas courtesy of the SDC, and then I jumped ship to Vale, where I'd been living on the streets until just recently. I talked to the headmaster at Beacon and got enrolled, he helped me out since we're technically family."
May nods and looks Amelia over, noting a scar along her collarbone that is half hidden by her shirt.
"You been getting in fights? That's a pretty big scar you've got."
Amelia shakes her head.
"Nope. That is what the Schnee Dust Company calls crowd control."
May deadpans, her mouth hanging open slightly.
"I can show you if you want, I've gotten better with my semblance."
She gulps and shakes her head.
"No, not right now. Later perhaps."
Amelia smiles at her, she knows that May is trying to keep her mentally present instead of putting her through hard times, she always was really thoughtful about how she did things.
"Alright, well, are you guys off for the week?"
"Uhhh...let me check, I think so." May pulls out her scroll and pulls up a calendar. "Yup, all week, classes on Sunday though."
Amelia sighs in relief and stands up.
"Well, come on then, let's go get your Dust rounds loaded, I've gotta get some air, it's like a damn sauna in here."
While she's talking she walks over and pulls her knife out of the wall, wiping it off on her pant leg before putting it back in its scabbard
May jumps up and grabs her rifle, a bullpup sniper rifle.
"What, did you finally dump that peashooter you had?"
"No, I've still got it. I've been using it to teach people."
Cassie also stands up, she grabs a very bulky plate carrier off her bed and swings it on, quickly clipping the side straps into place before covering them over with the side flaps containing bulletproof ceramic plates.
"Oum's sake Cassie! Could you have picked a heavier setup!?"
Cassie grins as she grabs her rifle and slings it over one shoulder. Amelia only now notices the large double-barreled rocket launcher on the floor at the foot of the bed. Cassie picks up the launcher with one hand and puts it on her back, where a magnetic clamp holds it in place.
Cassie then grabs a second pair of launcher tubes and puts them vertically on the left side of her back before putting on a baseball cap identical to Amelia's.
"I'm going with you."
Amelia gawks at the walking arsenal before her before throwing an arm over Cassie's shoulder and leading her out of the room behind May.
"Aaaaand just a few grains of earth dust…alright, mix that all together. Carefully." Amelia's face is covered by her shemagh while she's working with Dust, to avoid accidentally sneezing and detonating the extremely volatile mixture that she uses for propellant in her ammunition.
May has a bandanna covering her face while she gently mixes the Dust.
"Alright, that's good enough. Now measure out enough to fill half the cartridge."
May does as instructed while across the room Cassie finishes packing a pair of rocket warheads with Dust-infused plastic explosives.
Once the propellant charges are poured into the rifle cartridges May puts in her projectiles and seals the cartridges, handling them more crudely once the casings are sealed. The entire process only takes an hour, and they briefly return to May's dorm so she can grab a change of clothes.
It's the late evening when they finally leave Shade academy, and the temperatures have finally dropped below the triple digits in accordance with the setting sun.
"Let's head home first, then we can wander around when it's cooler."
There's a collective agreement and they weave through the various alleys to get to the house just as the sun disappears over the horizon, and Amelia pushes open the door with a smile.
"We're home~!"
"Welcome home! We're in the kitchen!" Her dad yells back, and the three of them walk into the kitchen, where they're eating dinner.
"Oh! Welcome home Cassie! Hello May! We're just eating dinner, care to join us?" Dawn motions to the three empty chairs at the table.
"Don't mind if we do!" Cassie grabs a plate and heaps it high with food.
May politely accepts and sits down with a plate, choosing to be more conservative with how much food she takes.
Amelia grabs a plate and sits down next to her father, being more generous than May, but not as greedy as Cassie.
"So…..we're all here…you going to tell us the full story?" Cassie asks, nervously shifting in her seat.
Amelia sighs and takes a drink of water before answering. "I suppose…."