So before this story begins there is something that I have to say.
This story has a pairing in it, and I won't spoil it, but the pairing is one that I completely despised. I hated this pairing with a passion, I thought it was stupid, that it wouldn't work, that it would just be a disaster waiting to happen. Until I read one story on here that I fell in love with. The story's characters were so well written that it sold me on the pairing.
That being said if you have not read Bunny and the Bully by Enuncia ( s/11093071/1/Bunny-And-The-Bully) Go read it. It is amazing, give them all the faves and reviews because the story is amazing.
With that being said this is the final chapter of Orion's story. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
XXX
Orion walked into the airship with CVFY and CRDL with only a backwards glance back toward his team and his girlfriend. The ship took off within moments and Orion couldn't help but scan over the people on deck. He was familiar with Coco and her team, they'd done a couple missions with WOLF in the past, and he knew how deadly they all were. But even he noticed the general unease of the veteran team. Coco kept her eyes on the younger team, her reflective lenses hiding all emotions besides her thinly veiled unhappiness with their current situation. Fox shared her discomfort but chose to join Yatsuhashi in mediation. Velvet seemed to be the only one who's nervousness didn't stem from CRDL but from what he could tell, from Cardin. Orion took one look over at Russell who was nervous, but he didn't pay the elder team any mind. He instead focused his worry over to the rest of his team, Dove, Sky, and-.
"Cardin?!" Orion asked. Cardin slowly lifted his head to him as he stormed over. "What is wrong with you?"
The other people just watched the scene in confusion.
"W-what?" he asked, sleepily.
"Give me your scroll!" he said angrily.
"I'm fine, damn it, j-just let me sleep," Cardin tried to stand up but he fell back down when Orion pushed him.
"I can see Aura, you idiot. Give me your scroll."
Cardin panted for a few more moments before fishing through his pocket and slapping the device into his hand. As Orion handed the scroll to Coco, Cardin suddenly got a defeated look and didn't look up.
"What am I to do with this?" she asked.
"Look at his aura levels, I'm telling the pilot to turn around."
"N-no!" Cardin said, this time finding the will to stand. "I can do this! I told Goodwitch I could do it, so I'm gonna do it!" Cardin could barely stand and his speech was slurred.
"Bullshit, you aren't!" Coco finally said throwing the scroll back to him. She was standing up now and pushed him back down, the other members of CRDL rushed to separate the two and aid Cardin. "Your aura levels are only two percent above redlining?! And you think you're going to go a hunt?!" Cardin stood up again and looked her in the eye, a feat which was clearly draining to him.
"Yes. I. Am," he said slowly, making sure to carefully say each word directly to her.
"You're going to get yourself or your team killed! And I'm not letting you put my team in danger!"
"Coco!" Velvet said suddenly. She had Dove and Sky lower Cardin back to his seat as she did the same with Coco. "If he says he can do it, we should trust him."
"Okay first off, NO!" she said emphatically. "Secondly, why are you defending him, Bun? After all he's done?"
"That's in the past, Coco, and we're not doing this for ourselves. If he says he can do it, we should trust him."
"I don't trust him with a piece of string, let alone my team! The fact that he's still conscious is a miracle."
Orion walked back in and settled the matter for good as he pushed everyone back into their seats. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
XXX
"So what're they even doin'?" Stele asked as she lazily chewed her pancakes.
"They're goin' after a Nevermore nest. Shouldn't be gone fer more than a week."
"Pfft, that's a rookie assignment, we did tougher shite in our first year!"
"It ain't really 'bout the difficulty, more 'bout makin' sure Orion can be in the field more. If he can stay on the field then he can graduate."
"Well that's good, how did you convince Goodwitch of that?" Leah asked.
Wyatt said nothing but just continued to eat.
"So where're t'e underlin's? Haven't seen 'em at all today," she said.
"They went out for the day, I think it was Jaune's birthday or something."
"Shame, oh well. I bet Orion's 'bout as bored as us."
XXX
Orion cracked his eyes open and was slightly disappointed when he didn't see light. But then he remembered why.
"Fuck," he muttered. "Who's not dead, sound off?"
"I think I landed on a rock," Coco muttered.
"I've got Fox and Dove," Yatsuhashi said.
"The pilot is okay, and I'm still here," Russell said.
"Hey, Yatsu, where's Bun?" Coco said as they looked over the wreckage.
"I don't know, I can't find her."
"Shit, I can't find Cardin either!"
"Alright, regroup, make sure there're no wounded."
"What happened?! Last thing I remember is we were arguing, Orion was shouting and then the fucking airship exploded?!" Sky asked angrily.
"The Nevermores attacked, they flew into the damn turbines. The whole nest just commit suicide!"
"SHIT!" Coco said, even in his state Orion could see her fear. "She was thrown out! Vel was thrown out! Oh God! S-she's gone!"
"Where?" Orion asked.
"I don't know, but she was near the engine, so was Cardin. Great! She's stuck with a half dead, idiot, second year!" she screamed out near tears.
"Where did they go?"
"I don't know," Coco said. She was freaking out.
"Coco, listen to me, take a deep breath," Yatsu was trying to help her but she was breathing harder now. "Velvet can take care of herself, she's strong."
XXX
Velvet woke up with a stinging pain, and the sounds of growling surrounding her. She looked around and saw a trio of investigating Beowolves, sniffing around at their fallen airship. Velvet reached for her backpack but something stopped her. The source of the stinging pain, a blade from the turbine had fallen and her entire left side had been pinned beneath the metal. Fear took over Velvet and she struggled, unfortunately getting their attentions. Velvet reached for anything to help but she couldn't do anything. One lone Beowolf slowly stalked over toward her, enjoying the sight of their trapped prey. Velvet didn't close her eyes even as the fear overtook her, she watched as its mouth stretched wide. Its mouth suddenly was filled by a flanged mace and it went flying back. The other two turned violently as they saw their friend fly by and charged Cardin but he quickly gave the same treatment to them.
"Cardin!" she shouted. He turned and she saw the whole left side of his face was bloody. She tried to push the turbine blade up but it didn't want to budge. Cardin walked over, actually more like trudged, and put on hand on the underside of the blade and literally threw it off of her. It flew away from the scene and actually killed another stray Beowolf. "Are you okay?"
"I should," he said as he panted. "Be askin' you," he panted again. "That."
"Come on, we need to-." Velvet tried to stand but couldn't get up. She fought tears as the circulation rushed back into her arms and legs. She could feel her leg was broken, and without her aura to help her heal she would be out of commission. She looked down at her broken leg and felt nauseous as she saw the blood. Velvet felt Cardin pick her up and carry her toward a mountain.
"There's, caves in that, mountain." He braced himself on a tree for a few moments and then began to walk. "Watch my back."
"Okay." Velvet didn't like seeing him struggle but she was useless without her aura and they both needed to rest. Velvet kept her sharp eyes peeled as the forest moved around them. But their path was luckily clear.
"How do you know about this place, Cardin?"
"Old text book, had map, visited. Good hiding place."
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah."
The cave was up a bit, but he got them there. He set her down quite gently and then immediately broke through the roof of the cave to seal them off. Velvet grabbed some fire dust from her bag and started a small fire with the dead leaves in the cave.
"C-Cardin?" she asked. Cardin didn't answer but slowly slid down the wall across from her. She finally looked into his eyes and saw just how bad he really looked. "T-thank you, for help-."
"I'm so sorry," he said softly. Velvet couldn't help but feel shocked at the sudden admission. Cardin didn't look up at her, he just stared at the fire.
"F-for what?"
"Everything."
Velvet let out a small laugh despite herself. "That's not very specific."
"It is."
"Why?"
"Do you know why I'm like this?" he tried to lift his arm for emphasis but he failed.
"N-no, why?"
"I haven't slept in two months."
Velvet's eyes widened in shock as Cardin finally looked up at her. She remembered fearing his eyes, because they were always pointed at her. Ready to be a bully, or to be mocking, but they were different now. "W-why not?"
"I realized I was wrong."
"About what?"
"Everything." Velvet strained to understand. "Velvet, I'm sorry."
"Well, that's good, but why are you-?"
"Because if I don't say it now, then I'll never say it and I know that. Right now there's no pride. There's nothing holding me back now. So there, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for bein' me! I'm sorry that the only reason you're in this shit storm is because I couldn't let go of my fucking pride enough to admit that I've been staying up for two months straight because I'm so damn scared of being a leader. That I'm worried about everything I do like it's a mistake because I wasted my first year of Beacon being a complete and total-!"
"Cardin!" Velvet said loud enough to break through his rant. He couldn't look up again and she suspected it was to hide tears of anger. "I forgive you, it's all in the past now. Right now we should just rest and wait for our team." Cardin nodded and leaned against the wall. "They're probably looking for us right now."
XXX
"Shouldn't we be looking for Velvet?!" Coco shouted as she mowed down another line of Beowolves. Orion kept his aim strong as he shot down the distant ones. The Grimm gave a dark red glow and their shapes were constantly outlined. So far he proved he could still kill them, so that was good at least.
"I'm sure they'll understand!" he shouted back.
Coco didn't really want to admit it, but the rest of team CRDL was doing really well, Sky was a beast with his halberd, Dove was fast with his sword and Russell's daggers never stayed still. Sky and Yatsu worked side by side and never blinked as they narrowly swung past each other. Russell and Fox were just blurs as Beowolves fell in random spots and Dove kept up with Orion as he killed long range or up close. It was almost an hour before the area calmed down enough for the others to regroup; they tried to recover their energy as the planned. But Coco was just too anxious, she was pacing frantically.
"Coco, please, we need to calm ourselves," Yatsuhashi said.
"How can I calm down, Yatsu?! She's basically stuck by herself!"
"She can take care of her self," Fox said.
"But she'll have to take care of Cardin too!"
"Hey you aren't saying that about cloth-face over here!" Sky said angrily, pointing to Orion. "If he can take care of himself, then trust that Cardin can too."
"Please Cardin, couldn't stop me from pushing him around!" Coco argued. "What the hell makes you think he'd fare against any Grimm?!"
Russell suddenly got between the two and kept them apart. "Look, I don't know what's going with Cardin, but I know that he can fight. Especially after what we saw last year."
"What happened last year?" Orion asked.
"We were investigating a suspected Ursa den, and when we got there it was actually just a cave full of angry Ursas."
"So?"
"So I watched Cardin pick two Ursas up by the head and throw them around like rag dolls for five minutes. Cardin's strong and even with what's going on with him, I know he can take care of himself."
"Even so, there is the issue of where they are. I don't think they would have stayed where they landed," Yatsuhashi said.
"Cardin and Velvet were closest to the turbines that exploded, so if we can find the rest of the turbines, we can find where they landed," Orion looked up in the sky and focused but saw nothing. The bandages on his face were starting to irritate him. "How far are we from the wreckage?"
"I'm not sure, can you see anything Orion?"
A light bulb went off in Orion's head. "No, but I can smell them." He dug around through his pack and pulled out one of his sap chews. He took a deep breath and sure enough he could pick up a trail. "I honestly can't believe that worked!"
Orion walked over to a spot and knelt down where the scent was strongest, soon after he was able to follow the trail. They spent a half hour hiking behind Orion and soon came to a small clearing where they saw the majority of the turbine pieces.
"Do you guys see anything outright?" he asked.
"No, not yet."
"Well they were here, I can smell Velvet."
"How do you know it's Velvet?" Russell asked.
"I doubt anyone else in the group uses carrot-scented shampoo," he said with a smirk.
Coco couldn't help but chuckle. "I can't believe she actually uses that, I bought her that as a dumb joke."
"Don't underestimate Velvet," Yatsu said. "She still has that small rabbit pillow I bought her for her birthday our first year."
"She seems nice," Russell said.
"Yes she is despite you morons," Coco said harshly.
CRDL sighed but didn't say anything.
"What no quick wit, no derogatory comments, no Faunus bashing?!" she asked again.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe we realized what we did was wrong?" Dove finally asked. "Did it ever occur to you that we are growing up and that we feel bad about what we did? We were first years! I'm sure you did dumb shit your first year!"
"My dumb shit involved me getting in trouble for smoking, not for terrorizing other kids!"
"Look, it's in the past," Russell said. He held them apart and looked over each of them. "We've all done things we regret, but Velvet was right. We're not doing this for ourselves."
"Oh boy," Orion said. Both teams whipped their heads around and saw Orion kneeling near a large chasm in the ground. "There's a lot of blood here, and it's Faunus blood."
Coco ran over chanting 'shit' as she knelt beside it. "Is she okay?"
"Coco, lay down right here on your back." Coco nodded and laid back unsure of what Orion was talking about. "Okay well it looks like it was femoral blood, so her leg is probably broken."
"How can you tell?"
"The positioning in the dirt, and the position of the blood. I'm not sure where they are though."
"Okay well we know where they were, now where we can guess-."
"No we can't, Russell! She's wounded! We make the wrong guess they're fucked!" Coco argued.
"But we can't just sit here," he said back.
Orion tried to hear or smell anything but he was so damn distracted. He tried to get them to stop but he couldn't get them to listen. He tried to rub his eyes but the bandages over his face just irritated him more. He finally ripped them off and he saw something. He saw the light blue wisps of her aura and the darker blue of Cardin's, traces of where they were, where Velvet was laying wounded, and where Cardin stood aiding her. He saw where they were and where they went.
"I know where they are," he said to himself as he started running. Luckily Yatsuhashi heard him and followed him as he ran. "I know where they are!"
XXX
It had been silent for a few hours as they watched the fire. Velvet had been recovering slowly but surely. Her leg was still broken but at least it wasn't bleeding anymore. Cardin wasn't so lucky, he couldn't get his aura any higher and the head wound he received hadn't stopped bleeding. It matted and clotted his hair, darkening it a nasty color. Velvet had tried to bandage it with the things in her pack but was unsuccessful, so she just covered it with a cloth bandage and some tape. It wasn't pretty but it kept pressure on it and stopped the blood from going on his face. Velvet kept the fire going by burning more fire dust but even with the fire Cardin started to shiver.
"Cardin, are you alright?"
Cardin gave a small smirk and a light chuckle.
"Sorry, you're right, stupid question."
"I'm fine," he said in a pant. "I'm feelin', better." His words were still slurred but he spoke with a small smile. Velvet suddenly stood and limped over. "What're-?"
"You're cold, and I can't do much else," she said.
"I said I'm-."
"No," she said sternly. "You need heat to keep you warm, and until we can get that wound treated properly you need this."
Cardin didn't say anything but nodded.
Velvet gave another small chuckle. "You're a bit of pushover aren't ya?"
"Don't tell, my team," he said with a smile.
"I make no promises."
She pressed her body up against him as she stared at the fire. With no light from the outside it was hard to tell how long they'd been there. Cardin's breathing was slow and it was all Velvet could do to help keep him awake.
"Don't fall asleep, Cardin," she told him.
"I haven't, slept in, two months, I can last, another, few hours," he said in a smile, still in uneasy breaths. He laughed a bit more as he leaned his head back.
"You have a nice laugh, I don't think I've ever really heard it."
"You mean, when it wasn't, aimed at you?" he asked, losing his smile.
"Cardin, I already forgave you."
"I'm, still feeling-."
"Well then stop it," she said. He nodded and lowered his head again. "You really are a pushover."
Cardin smiled again, but he didn't open his eyes.
"Hey, look at me."
"I can't," he admitted, shaking his head.
"Why not?" she asked curiously.
"Cause I'm, a hypocrite, and I-."
"Wait, you're a what?" she asked with her eyebrow raised. "What in the world makes you a hypocrite?"
Cardin looked up at her, resting his head back on the cave wall. Velvet actually blushed when she saw how he looked at her. He was looking at her but his eyes were softer now, softer than they'd ever been and they were looking into hers. "Cause, I think, you're gorgeous."
That didn't help her blush. She stammered for a few moments trying to think of something to say. "R-really?"
Cardin nodded. "I never, hated you, es-pecially, a-after,-." Cardin's breathing staggered for a few moments and he began to wheeze.
"Cardin?" she asked. Cardin was trying so desperately to breathe but he was failing, he couldn't breathe. "Cardin?!"
He slumped over on the ground, and she tried CPR. She practically pounded on his chest after getting his breastplate off. She pinched his nose and dove in trying to get him to breathe again. "Come on!" she shouted to herself, going back to pushing his chest. He was still trying but with no luck. "Don't you dare!" She pushed harder and harder against his chest and then went in again; she pulled back when she felt him go limp. She looked in horror but actually sighed with relief. He began breathing slowly but he was unconscious. "Damn it!" she muttered.
And then the pounding started. Loud, thunderous pounding that was moving the rocks they'd used to hide.
"No, no, no!" she tried splashing some water from her canteen on his face but it did nothing. She panted trying to shift him but with no avail. The pounding grew louder as she sat him up. "Cardin?!" she called out but with no success. "What would Coco do?!" she asked desperately.
She slapped him. Hard.
He jerked around for a bit but came too, panting and gasping. "What the-?!" he asked.
"I can't believe that worked," she muttered.
Cardin looked around until he heard the pounding; he quickly shambled up and tried to grab his mace. Velvet reached for her backpack and stood with him. The rocks shifted and dim light began seeping through the cracks in the rocks.
"…vet? Cardin? Are you in there?" they heard someone ask.
They stood for a few moments trying to register the new voice. A few more rocks shifted and they saw a hand reach through.
"If you're in there grab my hand!" someone said. Velvet limped forward and grabbed the hand. "Holy shit! They're in here!" the voice jerked the hand back and more and more rocks began to fall away, revealing Orion and Yatsuhashi pulling the rocks away.
"Coco! We found them!"
XXX
"Well technically the mission was a success, we killed the Nevermore nest," Orion said. He stood in front of the remaining members of the two teams. Velvet was in the infirmary getting her cast adjusted and Cardin immediately went to the ICU and they had him under 24/7 observation.
"No, the Nevermores flew into your ships turbines. That was them committing suicide. And two out of the eight people under your care were hospitalized," Professor Goodwitch corrected.
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Since when were they under my care?!" Orion asked. "The only reason I went on that damn mission was because you're looking for an excuse to expel me!"
"I already have plenty of reasons to do that, Mr. Artis," Goodwitch said in her icy tone. The others felt the chill go through the room but Orion ignored it. "But due to some," she sighed. "Creative arguments made in your case, we needed a reason to keep you in the school. And as your team's hunter and tracker, you were sent on that mission to assist as well as to test your ability to continue doing so."
"So then the mission was a success, I rest my case," Orion said.
"Your bravado only worsens my attitude towards you Mr. Artis, and I was not very happy to begin with finding out that you lied to me when we met."
Orion said nothing, his blank eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"As for you lot, you are free to go until I call you back. I'd suggest you go to your teammates."
They didn't need to be told twice, as they practically sprinted towards the elevator. Orion looked Ms. Goodwitch over.
"I had high hopes for you when you came here Mr. Artis."
"When did those end, I wonder?" he asked sarcastically.
"Humor won't aid you here," she said coldly.
"Why don't you just tell me the damn truth?! You've been looking for an excuse to expel me since I got here! You picked me up in the woods so I wouldn't kill myself, but now you're regretting it!"
Goodwitch narrowed her eyes and walked toward her desk. She rifled around a few of the drawers for a few moments before producing a picture.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Well it sounds like a picture, but I guess you're referring to what's on the picture?"
"This is Team ASGD, my team when I attended Beacon."
"So?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Ullr and Sif were on my team with me."
Orion grew very quiet. "Thena told me they-."
"They were teammates before they were married."
Orion held the picture, and desperately wished he could see them.
"I knew exactly who you were when you entered Signal, and then Beacon."
"So you took me in out of pity?"
"I invited you to the academies because you showed me your skill that night in the forest. I wanted you in the academies because I trusted your father with my life for years before his death and because I believed you would flourish here."
Orion nodded and handed the picture back. "Why would Thena tell me they met else where?"
"I'm not sure about that. I never met Thena. But I do know this: you proved to me you could continue to track, now prove to me you can be what he thought you could be."
They sat for a while in silence.
"What were my parents like?"
"Funnily enough, your father was very similar to Mr. James."
"Really?"
"He was a slow spoken man, and it was hard to tell what he was really thinking sometimes. He was dedicated to the people he loved and your mother was top on his list. Your mother was also much like Ms. Whiti," she said.
"So I got my parents as teammates?"
"Yes, surprisingly," she said. "I know your father would be proud of you."
XXX
"I'm proud of you, Bun! You survived and protected Cardin all in one go!" Coco said boisterously. She had her leg up in her cast, already drawn on by Fox and Coco.
"Coco, don't talk like that!" Velvet said seriously.
"What, why? He-."
"Cardin saved my life, three times over!"
Coco was honestly shocked. "That flaccid, little half-dead second year saved you?"
"Yes, and don't call him names!" she said.
She was serious, she was actually defending him. "Why are you defending him?!"
"Coco, whether you want to admit it or not, they're all growing up, they're all coming into themselves. Not what they thought they had to be, all of them especially Cardin." She pointed to her leg. "I was pinned by a turbine blade, and three Beowolves were on top of me. Cardin killed them all, got the blade off me with one hand, picked me up and carried me to the cave."
Coco was teetering, she was angry at Cardin for hurting her in the first place, angry at the mission for putting her in danger, angry at Orion for even being on that mission and fucking it up, and finally she was humiliated that she was wrong.
"I'm alive because of Cardin."
And that was the final push. Coco stormed out of her room, followed by Fox. Velvet sighed and nodded towards Yatsuhashi, who stayed beside her.
"I'm sorry about her behavior, Velvet, she is just confused."
"I know, I'm not mad," she said. "I'm not mad at anyone really; I'm just relieved we're all okay."
"As am I."
"So how's your quest to ask out Nora going?" she asked as she leaned back.
Yatsuhashi gave a slow laugh and leaned forward, adding his own drawings to the cast. "Slowly, but surely. I doubt I can rush through this."
XXX
Coco was practically running down the hall, red faced with frustration and tears. Fox chased after her trying to catch her.
"Coco!" he called out but she didn't listen.
"Fox, just go back to Velvet!" she called back.
"Coco, come on, just let it go!"
"No!"
"Coco!"
"Just leave me alone!" she said angrily. She turned the corner and saw something she didn't expect. Cardin was lying asleep in his hospital bed surrounded by his team, but no one said anything. They sat beside him both trying to rest, and to anxious to rest. Coco didn't say anything either but she was still seething, trying not to snap. Russell noticed her first and stood up, moving away from the others to talk to her.
"If all this is going to be is you ranting and raving at us, you might as well just leave now," he said. "We don't need that right now."
"Really?! You don't want to hear sharp pointy words thrown at you?! What a fucking surprise!" she said angrily.
Russell tried to keep his calm but he was clearly on edge as well. "Look we can argue that later, but I'm sure Velvet needs you. You should go back to your teammate."
"Well I actually wanted to visit the idiot that put her there in the first place! But he's passed out so I guess I'll settle for you idiots instead!"
"Don't blame Cardin for this! It was an accident, and from what Goodwitch said it sounds like Velvet owes Cardin her life!"
Coco snapped and went to hit him away but Fox caught her just in time. "Do you even know what you fucktards did to her?!" she shouted struggling against Fox. "Do you know how often she came crying to our room?! How many times she just wanted to hide away because she was so scared of being tortured by Cardin, and you want to say that she owes him her life?! How can you say that?! You don't know what you assholes put her through!"
"Yes we do, because she told us!" Russell finally shouted. Both Fox and Coco stared in disbelief. "She came up to our room one day and asked to talk to Cardin, so Cardin leaves with a smirk. They're gone for an hour and he comes back pale as a ghost and doesn't tell us anything. So we chase her down for an explanation and she tells us exactly what she told him. She told us what we put her through, every damn minute of it down to the fact that she considered suicide!" he said. The room was still tense. "She told us how scared she was, she didn't hold back." Russell looked back to Dove and Sky who were still next to Cardin. "But she also told us she forgave us."
Coco couldn't say anything she was lost in her own shock.
"She told us that she talked with people and had decided that it wasn't worth holding on to. She forgave us. So we walk back in sharing the same expression that Cardin was and we see that she gave him a razorblade."
The whole room was quiet again as Russell looked back over to Cardin, Dove, and Sky. "We apologized to Velvet, and she forgave us."
Fox was trying to help with Coco, but he was shocked himself.
"I know you mean well for your team, and for your partner, but for right now just stay with your team. I think it'll be better for us."
XXX
"I think it's better this way," Wyatt said.
"That's what you think, but shouldn't it be you doing this? Since you're, I don't know, a leader?" Orion asked.
"Being that he is the leader," Glynda started, drawing their attentions back to her. "He made this decision, and I stand by it."
"Okay, that makes sense I guess."
"As part of your punishment you'll be acting as a probation officer to Cardin, and being a mentor to him as well for the remainder of the year," Glynda told him, reading from her clipboard. "You will be making decisions for the team and leading them in missions until Cardin is fit to take leadership back. Until then you will act as a temporary leader."
"Nothing about this seems like a good idea," Orion said under his breath, rubbing his eyes in confusion and frustration. "Again, why isn't Wyatt doing this?"
"Cause I got my own stuff ta deal with, ya get ta do this on yer own fer now."
"Great," he muttered. "Cause this'll be a fan-frickin-tastic experience."
Wyatt left and soon once again he was left alone with Glynda.
"Mr. James and the headmaster both trust you with this, Orion."
"I can't even trust myself," he said simply. "You trust me with second years?"
"We trusted you with first years last year and it went well."
"Wyatt was shot three times, Fang was shot once, Weiss nearly stabbed Earl to death, and Yang beat a man half to death cause he shot Wyatt the third time. It wasn't the best mission we've done."
"Regardless," she said with a hint of a smirk. "You look just like your father, even without the gold in your eyes. You look just like him, except for the beard."
"Yeah well, give me some time I only just started growing it out, and the doctor said if I get the eye surgery I'll get the gold back."
"I look forward to it."
"Do you know why my parents were killed?" Orion asked.
Glynda sighed and nodded. "I knew and I couldn't do anything to stop it, when I found out I wanted so desperately to find you but I couldn't find anything. It took digging until I found a 12 year old running back into the woods."
Orion nodded and they were silent again.
"You should go check on your new team and give them the news."
XXX
Coco sat beside Velvet as she dozed, her ears twitching as she experienced new sounds in her dream. Coco couldn't leave her side again, not after what happened.
"I'm so sorry, Bun," she said softly. She tried to wipe her tears away but they were too numerous. Yatsuhashi and Fox had already left but after what Russell had told them she couldn't leave her again. "I'm so sorry."
"For what?" she asked. Coco ripped her head up and Velvet rubbed her eyes sleepily. Coco tried to clean herself up to no avail.
"Bun, why didn't you talk to me?" she asked, reduced to tears again.
"About what?"
"You told CRDL all that shit you went through, and you gave that moron a razorblade, w-why cou-ldn't y-you t-ta-lk to me?" she asked as she broke down again. She held Velvet tightly in her bed and cried on her shoulder, too scared to think about what else could have happened. "I w-was so sc-ared Bun!"
"It's all in the past now, Coco," she said happily.
"It's not for me!" she said. "I love you!" Velvet felt Coco hug her tighter as she admitted it. "I k-knew you weren't into girls, but it didn't st-op me from loving you. I saw what those assholes put you through."
Velvet didn't say anything she just held Coco tighter than ever. The smallest hint of a smile grew on her face as she did. "We can move on."
XXX
"Well we're glad you moved on," Yatsuhashi said as CFVY was relaxing in their room. "Besides, Lacy seems like a nice young woman."
Their third year was coming to a close and their team was a strong as ever. Coco and Velvet repaired their relationship, now they were amazingly close. They'd even mended their relationship with team CRDL, actually mentoring the younger team into a good team. CFVY was themselves just happy that Velvet healed completely, once her aura took over she was out in a day. And it only made her stronger. Cardin was let out a few weeks after and soon Orion began leading them, he even jokingly changed the team name to ORDL, but that got shot down. Cardin didn't do much in public but he was constantly up with Orion late into the night as they studied and Orion taught him things.
And after all that Coco did find someone, after Orion let the secret slip that Lacy had a thing for Coco. Two ball busting fashionistas dating? The whole school took notice and no one said anything.
"That's because you don't know what she can do with those ribbons," Coco said with a nasty smirk. Fox and Yatsuhashi rolled their eyes as Velvet pulled her ears down over her eyes to hide her blush.
"Yeah, you're back to normal alright," Fox said. Velvet shook her head and returned to her journal. "Speaking of, how's the whole Nora thing goin', Yatsu?" Fox asked as he threw another knife at the target. His grouping was tight and accurate even for how lazily he was doing it.
"We've talked some but I don't think she's looking for a relationship at this moment," Yatsuhashi admitted as he worked on his coat. It was torn in a mission and it needed repairs. Luckily he knew how to sew.
"Well have you asked?" Coco asked.
"Not yet," he told her.
"Well you might as well ask. You never know."
A knock on the door interrupted them, and a quick count showed that they were all there. Fox answered the door and was a bit surprised at what he saw. Cardin and Orion stood at the door.
"Can we come in?" Orion asked. Fox couldn't help but notice the smirk on his face; he looked back at Coco who nodded. The two entered the room and everyone could see the look of unease on Cardin's face. "Velvet, would you mind leaving the room for a few minutes?"
Velvet raised her eyebrow but Orion kept his calm smile as she left.
"What's this about?" Coco asked.
"Cardin has some things he'd like to say," he said.
Cardin took a deep breath and took the seat that Yatsuhashi offered him.
"First things first I guess, I owe all of you an apology. Velvet did tell me all that we put her through our first year and though we apologized to her, I didn't apologize to you. You couldn't have gone through any easier of a time with how we treated her. So I am sorry."
The other team nodded and forgave him.
"The second thing is," Cardin took a deep breath and moved his gaze to the floor.
"Come on, you've got this," Orion said.
"Velvet and I have been talking recently and-." Cardin shook his head and gathered his bearings. "And I would like your permission to date her," he forced out.
Coco's eyes nearly bulged out of her head and her jaw immediately dropped. Fox's shock was also visible in that he choked on his own spit, Yatsuhashi nodded slowly trying to understand what he had just heard.
"First off, WHAT?!" Coco asked. "What did you just ask me?"
"I want your permission to date her," he said. It was much easier to ask that time. "Orion and I agreed that this was the right thing to do."
"What if we say no?" Fox asked.
"Then I wait to ask her until after she graduates, or if she asks me."
"Secondly, WHY?!" Coco asked.
Cardin looked her in the eye and told her. "Because I'm in love with her."
Again the three showed visible shock.
"I understand this is," Cardin fought with the words. "Not the best way to do this, but when has that ever been my concern?"
Fox choked back a chuckle.
"But I'm serious about this, and I'd hoped that the fact that I'm doing this would prove that I am."
Orion watched the conversation happen before him. Coco's horrified face never really changing, neither Fox's. Only Yatsuhashi seemed to take the news with care. After Cardin made his case the room sat quiet for a few minutes.
"You guys talk this out," he said. "I'm going to my dorm. Coco, don't kill him."
"I make no promises."
Orion made his way to his dorm room, passing Velvet along the way and giving her thumbs up. She knew what the meeting was about and was honestly just as excited as Cardin. He didn't go straight to his dorm, he meandered around a bit. He had that freedom after the surgery on his eyes worked.
He could see pretty well now, not perfectly, he still relied on his semblance for a lot. But the doctors said as he got used to it he could possibly train himself to track again like he used to. It was about as good as he was going to get and the doctor managed to color his eyes, his gold eyes were back. He'd missed that part the most. Plus he grew out his beard. It looked pretty good, even though Stele didn't like it at first she grew to like it as well. Almost a half hour later he stood in his dorm getting ready for the party Stele was having. He gathered his things just as his scroll vibrated with an incoming message from Cardin. It was just a picture of two hands intertwined with fingers and he knew damn well what it was.
"Good job, kid."
XXX
"I can't believe that actually happened!" Yang said as she sipped her drink. The others were joining in their shock.
"I can't believe Velvet said yes," Blake said.
"Really? Cause I been shippin' that fer months!" Stele replied.
"Do you do that with everyone you meet?" Pyrrha asked with a smirk.
"Pretty much yeah!" Stele pounded back her 6th glass of whiskey and stared back at her. "Just like ye an' blondie, but ye beat me to it an' made it official!"
Pyrrha blushed a bit as Stele called them out but Jaune held her hand and smiled back. "Well we didn't mean to spoil your fun," Pyrrha said, hiding behind her hand to conceal her overwhelming blush. A habit she'd picked up.
"Ah ye didn't, sides I'm sorta curious now who wears the pants in bed?" Stele bounced her eyebrows up and down. Pyrrha and Jaune both rolled their eyes. "I tried askin' Yang 'bout her an' Wyatt, but she won't tell me anythin'."
"I told you the truth, we don't do power plays, mostly because I'm too busy with 'holy shit, he's good!' that I don't need anything else," Yang told her.
"I am both humbled and amazed," Wyatt said happily.
"Can we please not talk about Yang's sex life?" Ruby asked, hiding increasingly red face behind her soda. "She's still my sister!"
"Fair enough, Rubes, no more," Yang said, tousling her hair teasingly.
"Aww come on it's in good fun!" Stele said.
"Still it's not fair, we'll leave it be," Wyatt said.
"Yes, and despite her being my teammate I really don't need to hear any of it!" Weiss pouted, sipping her long island ice tea. "I'm just glad I don't have to deal with it in the room anymore."
Yang stuck her tongue out playfully and the room shared a laugh.
"Ye know, I guess that's fair, Ice Queen. I'll change the subject." Stele poured herself another shot and looked up at her.
"Thank you, maybe we can talk about-."
"So, Weiss how long 'ave ye an' Ruby been shaggin'?" Stele pounded her whiskey back as she asked it.
Yang spit out her drink violently as Weiss turned the exact shade of red as Ruby's cloak in a mere moment. Everyone in the room stared at Weiss as Stele just grew the biggest shit-eating grin she'd ever seen.
"WHAT?!" Yang asked, her eyes threatening to go red at any moment.
"Uh, I-uh-!" Weiss tried to explain but she couldn't form words. Ruby was about to dive under the table to hide away.
"Well if'n it makes ye feel any better Yang, Ruby's clearly in charge!" Stele said as she laughed.
Ruby actually dove under the table, hiding inside her cloak from the others, and Weiss actually asked one of a thousand questions.
"HOW?!" she asked.
"Dinnae underestimate me!"
Weiss was trying to speak but they were all interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Think we might be too loud," Wyatt said. "I'll go, while Weiss tries to restart her brain."
"Rubes are you okay?" Yang asked, still unsure of what had happened.
"I'm not coming out until all of you leave!"
"It's okay Ruby, you can come out we're not upset," Blake said, trying to ease the situation.
"We are really confused, though!" Yang said looking dead at Weiss who still was trying to think.
"Nuh-uh!"
"Although that explains why she wanted to borrow my book," Blake said quietly.
"Oh, lookin' for reference hun?"
"Wait how do you know?!" Blake asked, growing red again.
"Hey I read, besides Takeda's good with those ropes!" she said bouncing her eyes up and down.
It got really quiet when Wyatt came back in the room, and all he could do was look at Orion. "It's fer you," he said quietly.
"Is that the good news or the bad news?" Orion asked as he dragged his hands over his eyes.
"It's Leo."
Orion's breath failed and the entire room was very quiet. Wyatt didn't say anything but stood by the door, waiting for Orion to move. Orion finally did stand up and started to leave. But Stele joined him.
"Just stay in here."
"Nay, Imma go wit' ya."
Orion nodded and opened the door, it was a bit darker outside so he used his semblance to outline her face and it was just as he remembered. She stood a bit taller than Orion but that could have been her boots. She dressed like a huntress, armed to the teeth, a long combat skirt slit up the thigh to allow more room. Her dirty blonde hair was thigh length and kept in a simple pony tail just like she used to. Her round face lit up by the lioness eyes she sported. Leo was a lion faunus and had the nickname for a reason. Those eyes were the first that attracted Orion when they dated, and they were the first things he missed. But those warm eyes were gone and replaced with the cold eyes staring his way, and soon to Stele's way. Orion wanted to keep his gaze on her but was slightly distracted by the sleepy mumbles of the infant she carried in her arms. A little girl with bright blonde tufts of hair, in her arms.
"That answers one question but raises so many others."
Stele tried to keep her breathing calm but she was scared as well. She held on to Orion's arm, which clearly disgusted Leo.
"Really?" Leo asked.
"What?" he asked.
She cast her finger at Stele. "First me then my friend, huh? You really can't keep it in your pants can you?"
"She's not the shock here," Orion said, motioning towards the baby, still fussing in Leo's arms. "She is."
"Yes, Orion, do you need me to explain the birds and bees again?" she asked, disdain clear in her voice.
"Your dad told me you had a miscarriage, what the hell happened there?"
"Why did you believe him?" she asked, sneering again. "You know he hates you."
"I didn't think he'd lie about that!"
"He lied about me dying," she said matter-of-factly.
Orion conceded the argument, Stele was practically hiding behind Orion.
"So what, I left and you just hopped into bed with my best friend?"
"Don't you dare!" Orion said harshly. "I tried to help after it happened, you threw your hissy fit and ran off."
"A hissy fit?" she asked in a growl. "You ruined my life!"
"I wanted to help you! I tried to take responsibility for what happened, I didn't want you to go it alone."
"I didn't want your help!"
"Then why are you here?!" Orion could hear Stele holding in tears behind him. "Why show up now? Didn't you tell me you wanted nothing to do with me?"
Leo held the child out toward him. "You wanted it so badly, take it."
Orion couldn't believe what he was hearing. The baby started to cry as she reached out, trying to hold on to the warmth of her mother. He quickly took her in his arms and held her close as the crying subsided. "W-why?"
"Because I don't want it, I'm taking classes and I don't want it messing up my career again. Besides, it's not like you have anything going on in your life."
"Leo!" Stele said finally, she was still in tears but emerged from behind Orion. "How can ye leave her?" she asked. "She's yer daughter!"
"No, that's his kid, I didn't want it. The only reason I'm even here is because I don't trust my father enough to raise it."
"I told you I'd raise her! I said I'd leave Beacon, I made the mistake but I was trying to help!"
"You didn't help you just made things worse!"
"You ran away!"
Stele forced the two apart. "Yer both wrong!" she said forcefully. "Both o' ye made yer mistakes, but can't ye focus on what's important here?! The two o' ye have a little girl! So ye either kiss an' make up or ye both go yer separate ways!"
Leo turned to leave without any hesitation making her way down the narrow halls of the academy.
"Leo!" Orion called out. Leo just stopped, she didn't even turn around.
"I'm not staying Orion; I have my own life now. And I don't want you there."
"I'm not telling you to stay," he told her. She slowly turned to him holding the little girl tenderly; she slept so soundly in his arms. Even as the argument raged, she slept soundly in Orion's arms. "I'm telling you something I should have told you a long time ago."
"Are you really going to tell me you love me?" she asked, her sneer pulling again. "To try and guilt me into forsaking my career again?"
"I forget you," he told her, cutting her argument short.
Leo's face softened for a moment as she comprehended what he said.
"I'm not going to make you stay, this all started because I held on too tightly. But I want you to consider for a moment what you're giving up. And if you can honestly do it, then I won't stop you. But if you leave then I'm not holding on anymore."
Leo turned again and left. Stele and Orion both watched her go, it was hard but it was the right thing to do. Orion leaned against the wall and sat down letting the baby sleep more in his hands.
"Sorry I had to put you through that," he muttered, watching the little girl sleep.
"Ye didn't, I wanted ta help ye," she said.
"You succeeded."
They sat for a few more moments until the child started to wake up. They both looked down at her, smiling.
"Did you sleep well, Thena?"
"Really?" Stele asked with a smile.
"The bright blonde hair gave it away." he said softly. Thena looked around and squealed happily as she pointed to Stele. Orion handed her off and she laughed as she played with Stele's long red hair, and soon grabbed to hold her antlers and smiled. "Well she likes you."
"Good, cause I'm here ta stay."
XXX
And Orion's story is done. Next up is Lea'han'khalad'ashanta'khadal, and I can honestly say this one is a whole lot fluffier than the others, so enjoy it! Thanks again for reading and I'll see you next time.
