Chapter 4: Getting to know you.
Summary: The members of team KLWD get to know each other.
The newly formed team stood in the doorway to their room, looking in upon four beds that had been crammed inside, making the small room seem even smaller. It's not like they hadn't expected this; one of the staff members had informed them that teams would have to squeeze all four members into one room as there was not enough rooms for any other arrangement. The four teens stepped inside, placing their bags down out of the way against a wall, trying to decide how to best make this work. Luckily Kane seemed to have an idea that would work in everyone's favour.
"Will, could you help me move these?" he asked, taking hold of the far end of one of the beds. Will followed his lead, grabbing the end nearest him and the two boys lifted it off the ground. "Ok, now stack it on the one to your left," he managed to grunt out, "Luna, could you make sure this is lined up properly for us?" In this fashion, they managed to stack the first pair of beds, the corners lining up easily. Kane kept politely giving orders, getting Danica to hold his end where it was as he retrieved some things from his bags. He returned with a battery operated drill, a small box of screws, and a roll of duct tape; his teammates all raising their eyebrows as if to ask where he'd gotten the objects. "One of my bags is a small tool box, has some tools and spare parts in case I break my weapons and the weapon shop is closed for some reason." he explained hastily.
Getting to work, he first bound the legs of the top bed to the head and foot boards of the one below, making a temporary connection that he then reinforced by driving screws into the two beds where they connected. Giving his work a good shake, he smiled, satisfied that it would hold. They repeated the process with the last two beds, creating a second set of makeshift bunks.
"There, that should do until we can get some real bunk beds or something." Kane stated, matter of factly.
"Indeed… not that it really matters now, but are you sure this will be strong enough?" William inquired, giving the beds a look of distrust.
"I'm willing to bet that it's sturdier than what our classmates have come up with, if that counts." came his confident reply, the blonde haired teen throwing himself onto one of the bottom bunks. "Girls get the top bunks, so declares your fearless leader," a grin spread across his face as he spoke, he pre-empted their questions by way of saying "you two probably weigh less than Will and I, so it'll put less strain on the connections."
Danica and Luna had to concede his point. He was right, they both weighed less than the boys on their team. After unpacking, it was still relatively early in the evening, hours before curfew would come into effect. Kane decided that it would be best to get proper introductions out of the way now, seeing as they had plenty of time to spare.
"So, I was thinking," he began, getting their attention, "if we're going to be on a team, not to mention living together for the next four years, we should probably get to know each other a little. Just the basic stuff ya know? Full name, where you're from, birthday, anything you want to share about yourselves really."
"Blondie's got a point;" Danica chimed in, "I'd feel a lot more comfortable sharing a room if I knew who was in it with me." their other teammates agreed to the suggestion without much hesitation, sharing in Danica's sentiments.
Their leader volunteered to go first, as it had been his idea.
"My name is Kane Chrysós, I'm 17, my birthday is the twenty-seventh of April, and I'm from a small town on Patch. I have training in various forms of martial arts, but I'm a black belt in Kung Fu: I also know Judo, Aikido, Tai Chi, Boxing & kickboxing, and Taekwondo. My mother, Laena Dusk, was a huntress, though she now works as a teacher and the Weapons-Master at Signal Academy. My father runs a popular restaurant named "Dimitri's" after himself; it serves popular foods from all four kingdoms, specialising in Mistrali dishes." He also explained the nature of his semblance and its limitations, also saying "If any of you spar with me, I will gladly keep myself from using my semblance if you ask me to. I wouldn't want to give myself an advantage while practicing."
Luna took the initiative and began speaking once it was clear that Kane was done.
"My name is Luna Pines, I'm also 17. My birthday is May third, and I'm from Vale. I went to Signal with Kane. My father is Edward Pines and was a huntsman before I was born, he currently teaches at Signal Academy. My mother owns a flower shop in Vale. My father is a Faunus, he passed down deer traits to me, which is why I have a tail. My mother is a human." she paused before continuing, her voice filling with pride, "My semblance allows me to hit a target with any ranged weapon, at any distance. It's only limited by the weapon's capabilities, and I obviously can't fire a weapon I can't lift. It also doesn't affect targets in cover, so I can't hit a target I can't see. There's no projectile control involved, if they move as I fire in a way that I didn't account for, I'll probably miss. My mind is able to process all the variables to find the correct trajectory to hit a target, whether moving or standing still."
Danica and Will seemed genuinely impressed, if dubious; they both looked to Kane for validation of her claim.
"She forgot to mention, if she's using a foreign weapon it can take up to five shots for her to memorize the correct variables and accurately make the necessary calculations. She can't just pick up a random gun and fire it like she's been using it for years." Luna blushes a little, embarrassed that she forgot such a detail. Regardless, their teammates seem impressed by her hidden talent.
William went next, everyone looking at him expectantly.
"William Slate, I'm 17, and my birthday is August seventeenth. I hail from Atlas where My parents own one of Remnants largest military technology company, Slate Industries. I happen to be the heir to the company, much in the way Miss Weiss is heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Speaking of Schnee, our two companies have been in league for many years; we buy dust from them, they buy weapons, armor, and demolition charges from us. We have worked together on multiple contracts for the Atlesian Military. Slate Industries also has branches at the Law Enforcement, and Civilian levels; providing arms and armor for both respectively. My father taught me how to fight, as he was trained as a hunter at the Atlesian Military Academy before assuming the role of CEO when my grandfather retired some years later. My semblance allows me to control gravity to a certain extent; I cannot levitate myself, objects, or other people, but I can make them weightless for a short time. Alternatively, I can drastically increase the gravity applied to an object or person that I maintain physical contact with. My semblance allows me to lift objects many times my size, in exchange for a piece of my aura. I can lift nothing bigger than a large car, and doing so is exhausting, depleting nearly half my aura in the process." He watched them, waiting for a reaction to what he had said, but received nothing more than nods.
"That's why your name was so familiar to me, I've heard it in tabloids and such back home. Never paid them any attention mind you." Kane remarked dryly.
"I guess it's my turn then…" sighed Danica. "My name is Danica Carnelian, but you can call me Dani if it's easier. I'm 16, and my birthday is October nineteenth. I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle in Mistral. He runs an Auto repair shop in the city, and she works as a detective with local law enforcement in the city." She hesitates before continuing, as if the next words were physically painful to speak, "My parents died when I was young, it's… not something I like to speak about; but they were hunters. I decided to become a huntress and follow in their footsteps. I attended Sanctum Academy until I graduated this past summer. My semblance is the ability to make myself intangible for a short period of time by sacrificing a small part of my aura. It affects anything I contact directly that I wish to make intangible; I cannot be harmed or do direct harm to an opponent while using my semblance. I also have the ability to make someone else intangible with me if I grab them before or after activation and will my ability to affect them as well. Doing it too much quickly drains my aura and tires me out."
"Wow, that seems handy; making yourself ethereal during a fight" commented Will. He paused for a moment, "I'm… sorry to hear about your parents." his sympathies were echoed by Kane and Luna.
"Thank you. I accepted their deaths many years ago, the died as they lived; as heroes." She smiled as she spoke, mind straying to happier places and happier times.
They moved away from the painful subject in favor of more pleasant ones. The two locals asked many questions about Mistral and Atlas, neither of them having been lucky enough to travel there; they were curious as to what they were like. Of course, Dani and Will both had questions of their own for Kane, mostly in regards to life on Patch. Will also asked Luna several questions about her bow, curious as to how it worked. Many of his questions were difficult to answer without the weapon being present to show him exactly what she meant; she promised to show him its secrets in the training room sometime, stating that several of the answers he sought were things to be shown, not discussed.
As sleep began to seduce them with thoughts of soft beds and pleasant dreams, The four teens began getting ready for bed. The boys left the room long enough for the girls to change. Danica elected for her red tank-top and a pair of grey sleep pants. She earned a snicker from Luna when she removed the restrictive sports bra she had been wearing all day, exclaiming "Release the Kraken!" as she pulled the offending garment over her head.
Luna was regretting her taste in cute sleepwear, most of what she had packed were loose nightgowns; not exactly ideal when sleeping on the top bunk in a co-ed dorm. The was especially true seeing as she could tell that she would need assistance getting in and out of bed, the bunk just out of her reach. She sighed, that was a bridge she would cross when she got there. She had just finished changing and made an attempt to climb into her bunk, her diminutive stature working against her once more. A chuckle emanated from behind her, and she squeaked in surprise as she felt a pair of strong hand on her waist; looking back over her shoulder it was revealed to be Danica who owned the hands that now helped lift her into the bunk.
"Uh, thanks Dani"
"Not a problem, stretch." Danica grinned at her use of the teasingly ironic nickname for the fun-sized Faunus. "I like that...Stretch, I'll need to remember that."
Danica made her way over to her bunk, Calling out to the boys as she did. "You can come in now boys."
They returned to the room as Dani hopped up into her bunk. Kane and Will began to get changed, pausing when they noticed the redhead watching them from her bed.
"Like something you see Dani?" Kane asked as he tore his shirt off and flexed.
William scoffed, "I highly doubt that, there's not much of you to see. I however," He likewise discarded his shirt and flexed, muscles bulging, "do not have that problem."
Danica looked at between the two magnificent specimens before her, unable to decide which she liked more; the slim but powerful build of the martial artist, or the muscle bound heir. She glanced up and noticed that Luna wasn't watching the wonderful show. That wouldn't stand.
"I don't know boys, I'm having a hard time deciding... What do you think Luna?" she asked with a smirk. The petite Faunus looked like she might pass out as she looked up to see the boys turn around and face her.
"I-I, uh…. I don't, or dear…." she stammered, trying to find words as the blood rushed to her face.
"You neither huh? I guess that settles it, you're both hunks." came Danica teasingly, snickering as Luna attempted to quell the burning in her cheeks.
Kane and William resumed putting on their bed clothes; Kane throwing on a yellow t-shirt and black sweatpants, William deciding on a set of silver silken pajamas, his emblem stitched onto one side of his chest, name monogrammed on the other in graceful cursive. They turned out the lights and settled in, a quiet chorus of "goodnight" filling the room before dreams overtook them, bodies and minds free to rest after the long and tiring day.
Tomorrow would be the first day of regular classes, and they'd all need their rest. Rest that would get increasingly hard to obtain in the coming weeks.
A/N: Thanks for reading, Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions for me, or if you want to give feedback. Your support is appreciated, and I will happily answer your questions.