Knightshade
Suave. Cool. Chill.
If there were any three words that could describe Neptune Vasilias, it'd be that very trifecta of adjectives highlighting his charm, appeal and composure. Well... those words, and Charm, Appeal and Composure.
To him, they were the foundation of his personality, the Trinity of his being, and if they were all in balance then so was he. But right now, he felt his persona being knocked off balance as the latter of the three was beginning to crumble.
"Wha! W-Who would check out the Official Strategy Guide for the new Super Smash Bros game so soon!?"
Narrowing his eyes at the empty spot in the library shelf, the only possible culprit came to mind, "Jaune... trying to one-up me and Sun so soon, eh?"
Quickly regaining his composure, the blue-haired fashionista popped his immaculate collar and spun on his heel to give the library a quick once-over. No Jaune. So he did the smoothest thing that came naturally to him - idly snatching the day's newspaper from another shelf at the edge of the aisle, he walked forward and nimbly spun to avoid the librarian who was currently carrying too many books to see him before lowering himself in the same motion onto a nearby seat at a table, all while gingerly taking a ridiculously expensive cup of brand-name coffee - and catching the name scribbled onto it - out of the hand of the girl he was now sitting next to with a wink.
"Thank you, Susan."
Not even getting mad at him, Susan and her two friends sitting with her merely sighed in longing at the handsome young man as he took a sip and snapped the newspaper open to provide cover for his little stakeout. Not that it would take long.
Because if it was one thing the Haven visitor could count on, it was his uncanny sense of timin-
"Bingo. Target at twelve o'clock."
"Mhm? Well you can set your sights on me anytime, stud~"
"Susan... I'm kinda doing something important at the moment."
Rolling his eyes as the three girls sighed again in unison, Neptune focused on the knight who had just entered the library...
With Blake?
"Whoawaitwhoa... what?" he now mumbled under his breath as they both did indeed seem to be entering together.
They were still quite a distance away... Neptune figured that it must be some sort of coincidence. Maybe they had just happened to enter the library at the same time? He watched closely, peeking over the top edge of the newspaper as the pair seemed to continue walking together towards a table- wait. Jaune looked like he was parting ways with Blake at the corner of a large table, who seemed to have her head buried in a book as she continued forward without even noticing that they were separating.
"Heh," he chuckled in realization, "I guess it really was a coincid-oh."
His words stopped cold in his mouth as Jaune suddenly realized that the ravenette was no longer walking beside him, to which the blonde quickly turned to find her and gently reached out to grab her by the arm over the corner of the table they were diverging by. And if that weren't enough, Neptune's jaw dropped even a little lower as the catgirl turned her head up with slight surprise and looked over to him with a smile... a smile!
Neptune could still vividly remember the unmistakeable hissing that had come from that same girl when Sun had tried to give her a surprise hug a few days before! The two guys had been satisfied with her explanation at the time - Blake saying that she really didn't like to be touched and that surprise contact would put her on edge - but as he watched the girl slowly backtrack and rejoin the knight contentedly, burying her head once more in the book she was reading as he led her to a table at which they now sat together, the blue-haired boy knew this strange event warranted at least a little more investigation.
"Besides, what's a badge good for if I can't do some detective work?" he mumbled to himself as he stood up, taking the newspaper and leaving the coffee cup behind over which the three girls at his table all but clawed at each other to get a hold of first.
Of course, Neptune wasn't trying to discredit the knight's conversation skills or anything - after all, Jaune had practically psyched him back into talking with Weiss at the dance, something the blue-haired student was very grateful for as the result had been their trading of scroll numbers and nearly constant conversation ever since - but in reality, it was more for Sun's sake than anything else.
The blonde faunus had definitely been interested in Blake from day one, as Neptune had come to learn from him, and it looked like Sun had made really great headway when Blake had finally accepted his invitation to the dance. It really was no doubt that the catgirl had enjoyed herself, even going so far as to dancing a song or two with the guy after her first dance with Yang... but to Sun's - and by extension, Neptune's - dismay, the two Faunus had barely interacted after the dance, a stark contrast to him and Weiss.
So as he drew closer to the table and to the admittedly odd pair sitting side by side with their backs to him, Neptune couldn't help but ask himself - Could Jaune actually be the reason that Blake had never really followed through with Sun after the dance?
'Can't be,' the Haven visitor reasoned internally, 'The day after the dance when the southeast district went to the crapper, Blake didn't even bat an eyelash at the guy - aside from her, exposed, situation... she even looked happy to see us!'
After getting close enough, but still just out of earshot, he watched Blake and Jaune over the top of his fairly large newspaper as he leaned on the edge of a nearby aisle behind their table. Jaune seemed to be talking very passionately about something, Blake not even turning to face him as she kept her sights glued to the book. Weird. Heck, even though he was practically turned in his seat to talk to her, she wouldn't even nod in acknowledgment - at one point idly turning the page of her book while he was talking right at her!
'Man, the guy just won't take a hint,' Neptune mused, noting the seemingly obvious conclusion that Blake was practically ignoring him entirely as she simply read her book, 'I mean, it took Sun weeks to have a single conversation with her that kept her attention for more than two minutes... And that was at the dance!'
And despite it all, it was apparent that Blake really was grateful for all Sun had done for her up until then... but at this point, it was also pretty plain to see that things between her and Sun - and clearly anyone else, for that matter - just wasn't going any further than 'Just Friends'. And with a week having passed since the dance, classes starting again the next day, Blake still didn't seem to have any reason to be particularly comfortable with any one person's company.
But if that were the case, why was she currently putting herself through listening to the incessant yapping from Jaune Arc, of all people? What could those two possibly be finding a reason for to even be within a football-field's distance from each other? And what in Monty's blessed Remnant could they even be talking about right now!?
And as he took a few more steps closer to hear what Jaune was saying, his questions were answered - to which his jaw dropped, leaving his mouth in an O of shock - as Blake made the first movement acknowledging Jaune's presence in showing him what she was reading, pointing out something in what he could now see was none other than The Official Strategy Guide for the New Super Smash Bros.
"Guess you're right. Samus really did get nerfed in the new Smash Bros game."
Neptune blinked at the sight, unable to process what he was seeing, 'What the flying Boarbatusk is happening right now.'
"Exactly! And that's why I was saying it this whole time!" Jaune retorted animatedly, his same expression present as it had been before, "I've had to change my whole lineup in order to keep up with Neptune and Sun now!"
"Sounds like excuses to me," the ravenette remarked snidely with a smirk, nudging the blonde who merely scoffed in response, "Who do you mainly use now?"
And with that, he turned a few pages for her, pointing at the green-themed swordsman in the book and continuing with his previous ardor, "Link. Hands down. A kid in over his head who finds a sword that helps him finish the quest he started... kinda fits my story more than I realized, once you think about it... D'you find anyone you'd like to try?"
Neptune listened on in disbelief as the catgirl hummed for a moment in thought, pursing her lips to the side as she always would while turning a few pages of the book before finding the desired section and and lifting it for her companion to see, "Here. This... Sheik and Zelda character... has a few similarities to myself that I can't help but relate to. One form relies on stealth and agility, while the other resorts to powerful energy attacks from within. I can't help but feel that I'd be more attuned to either move set."
"Yeah," Jaune added pensively, taking the book in his hands and re-reading the section closely, "Too bad you can't switch between the forms anymore, but I think you'd play a pretty decent Zelda. Heh, I can already imagine the guys reacting to your new Smash Bros skills - our Link and Zelda against their Falco and Donkey Kong!"
The blue-haired student quietly scoffed, both in disbelief that Blake had ever taken an interest in such an unexpected game and at the possibility of her beating him and Sun with that character too! But video games aside, he had to admit that the real cause of his concern was just how easily Jaune had taken to chatting with a girl he himself had previously thought was nigh-unapproachable. No stuttering, no mumbling... Neptune thought Jaune had previously only been capable of such an easy-going conversation with Pyrrha, but apparently that was no longer the case.
However, as Sun's friend and eternal partner in the broforce, Neptune saw an opportunity to make himself known and took it in an attempt to see where the monkey-faunus' chances still lay with the catgirl. Besides, he felt icky having eavesdropped for so long.
"Don't Link and Zelda get together in the end?"
Startled by the sudden voice from behind, Jaune jumped in his seat, turning his head quickly to the source of the voice as did Blake. Though she seemed rather calm, Jaune began to blush as he stuttered a rebuttal.
"B-But that's only implied in some of the more recent games! It's more fanon than anything!"
"Still," Neptune replied smugly, his interruptions always smooth enough to simply insert himself into a conversation, "I'd say a few brows might be raised if you two play Smash Bros with a pairing."
He mentioned it while glancing at Blake to see what reaction she'd give to such an insinuation, but to his chagrin it was anything but promising.
"And?"
And? Judging by her perfectly flat expression aside from a raised brow, the Haven student realized that without even an objection to such a possibility as Jaune was sputtering forth, Blake really did seem quite comfortable with the knight.
Neptune now had his answer. In the span of about a week after the breach in Vale, Blake and Jaune had actually managed to strike up a decent enough friendship. How exactly it had been done was beyond him... but he just hoped that Sun still stood a chance.
"Meh. Just a thought," Neptune shrugged it off coolly before turning his attention to the blonde Arc, "So what you two been up to?"
With a quick nervous chuckle, Jaune ran a hand through his hair while casting the ravenette a furtive questioning glance, to which she shrugged in their silent conversation as if giving him permission to be completely candid with the new party in it.
Neptune had to give credit to their ability to speak without speaking as Jaune answered, "Well with Blake's new semblance and all, we've pretty much been training all week, going out to the forest to hunt Grimm and coming to the library afterwards to study up on different books that can help us."
"Oh yeah, Weiss told me about that," the blue-haired visitor continued, "Blake's like a video game character now. That's cool."
"I'm sure she has," Blake now spoke up with just a touch of suggestion in her voice, "I see her on her scroll quite a bit more often these days..."
Neptune chuckled knowingly, now definitely aware that she had caught on to his attempt to tease them as he folded up the newspaper in one hand and playfully pointed at them both to keep her from turning the tables on him, "Hey now, leeet's not change the subject - we're still talking about you two here! So I bet after all this time chilling out, you two've already come up with some kind of gaming team name, am I right?"
"Uh... that's not a thing," the ravenette replied stoically before quirking a brow and shooting Jaune a questioning glare, "Is it?"
"Sure it is!" Neptune quipped in reply, "Team Razer, FNatic, Team Lads, Team Gents..."
Jaune raised a hand to Neptune indicating his valid points before replying, "What he said... though I'm not so sure about those last two..."
Thinking it over for a second with her gaze to the floor, Blake finally shrugged as she raised her idle amber-eyed gaze to the knight, "Well... I don't see why not. It'd certainly make naming our parties easier... especially compared with some of the other names you've come up with lately..."
"What! Gurren Lagann was a perfectly decent party name last time!" Jaune complained, throwing his hands up in the air in his emotional riposte.
"How about Laughing Coffin?" she retorted flatly.
"Killing Grimm and having plenty of laughs as we did it. Totally acceptable!"
"...And Team Rocket?"
"..."
Neptune snorted, holding back a chortle as Jaune facepalmed in defeat, "Alright... I guess we can use a decent duo name... How about Lunar Eclipse?"
The ravenette paused for a moment, looking up in thought as she tapped a finger to her chin before making a decision.
"Doesn't really make sense..."
"How about Dark Knight?" Neptune offered with a shrug, now having given up on finding any cracks in their evidently solid relationship.
"Closer," Blake mentioned with a small smile, "I think you're onto something with that one..."
The three students remained silent for another pensive moment, each racking their brains for decent ideas before Jaune snapped his fingers in realization, "I got it! Knightshade!"
"Knightshade?" Neptune echoed with a raised brow.
"Yeah, Knightshade! Like, Belladonna is a flower also known as a nightshade, right?"
A nod from the catgirl.
"...and Knight sounds exactly like Night, right? So... Knightshade!"
Jaune was kept from continuing by an upheld hand from the ravenette who had her eyes shut in thought and who now couldn't hold back a light chuckle any longer, "That... is so dorky..."
The knight's jaw slackened in evident disappointment until Blake opened her eyes with a wide smile to finish her thought, "...But it just might stick."
"Heh, it's catchy, I like it!" Neptune decided coolly before turning to the bright-eyed girl, "But I still have no idea how you put up with alllll that so easily!"
Pointing at the knight in indication, Neptune laughed as Jaune retorted in mock-offense, "Hey!"
But still, Blake crossed her arms at the young knight she was sitting next to, her smile having simmered down into a teasing smirk as she concluded, "Well, his antics certainly have a way of growing on you."
And with that, Neptune finally understood.
It was pretty obvious that in the broadest sense of the word, Jaune was a good guy. Sure, he had his quirks and social misgivings, but given the chance, Jaune was the kind of guy who could bring out the best in a person. Neptune recalled having experienced it himself at the balcony during the school dance, having been all but reprimanded and regeared by the guy to turn back around and give Weiss the treatment she deserved.
And after it all, Neptune could only be grateful for what the Arc had done - thanks to his advice, he'd been able to get to know the seemingly icy heiress whom he'd honestly already grown fond of by that time. And now that he thought about it, even Weiss had seemed to ease up on the guy in the past few days, berating him less than she might've at first. Sure, she had her reasons, but Neptune had learned about them and could relate to those same reasons as Blake herself now even admitted to one of them.
So all in all - as the suave, cool and chill guy that he was - the Havenite could respect that bond.
"So... you guys gonna return that strategy guide?" the blue-haired student now asked, glancing at the book long-forgotten on the library table, "Or are you two gonna continue daydreaming about your delusions of beating the unbeatable duo that is SEA MONKEY?"
The three students traded intense glares for a long moment before Neptune and Jaune busted out in laughter, eventually quieted only by the shushing of distant students in their studying areas as Blake merely shook her head with a small smile.
"Well, I suppose we can check it in now," she began thoughtfully as she picked up the book, to which Jaune grabbed the other end before she could give it to Neptune.
"Don't forget to observe it... don't wanna waste a good chance to grind, y'know!"
"Heh, you guys are even on a gaming-term basis and everything," the Havenite mentioned with a chuckle before raising a brow at the ravenette, "But what does observe mean?"
Blake's eyes widened a bit upon realizing the ambiguity of her term usage with anyone who wasn't Jaune, cocking her head to the side before explicating further, "Hmm, the easiest way to explain it is as a base skill in an RPG game - just a way to gather info on a desired target at a whim. It's one of many that I've obtained, some passive and some active."
"Ah, I see," Neptune replied, "Active as in for fighting?"
"Correct. It applies to most dynamic actions in combat, really. Between my aura and fighting methods, I've leveled most of them up with Jaune in the past week to the point of being able to one hit kill most low level Grimm regardless of Gambol's weapon form."
"Nice!" the blue-haired visitor replied, both to the fact of the feat and to her continued accurate usage of gaming terms.
"Yeah, the only problem now is that the whole RPG rule applies to her leveling system too," Jaune added factually, "Once you reach level ten or so, leveling up gets a lot tougher. Same goes for individual skills. So, we're either gonna have to find a way to kill a lot more low-level Grimm in a lot shorter time, or find ourselves some stronger Grimm."
Blake nodded as she now turned her sights to the book in her hands, "Or both... anyway, time to get this out of the way. Observe."
PING!
[Observe's level has risen by 1.]
"Hmm, it's about time," Blake noted aloud as she closed out the following window about the strategy guide itself, "It took almost two days to level up Observe this time."
"You finally got it to level up again?" Jaune asked excitedly.
"Yep," she replied with a warm smile, "Got it to level nine now... I think?"
Neptune nodded, impressed but maintaining his cool demeanor as he asked, "Sounds nice, does it work on people too?"
"Sure. Observe."
Name: Neptune Vasilias
Class: The Crackshot
Level: Lv15 (Nxt lvl: 98.6%)
Rank: C (Att: C | Def: D | Sem: C)
Race: Human
Title: The Dude
Attributes: Suave, Cool, Chill
...
HP: 900/900
AP: 700/700
...
STR: 28
VIT: 39
DEX: 26
INT: 17
WIS: 9
LUK: 11
...
Status: Status Effect [On Point (intermediate)]
Background: A calm, collected, and respectful individual with a carefree personality. Maintains a positive impression with people he meets and often hangs out with his friend Sun Wukong, who describes him as being cool. Prone to flirting with girls and fashion-conscious, he also has an intellectual side. However, his tendency to protect his reputation can sometimes make him inconsiderate of the feelings of others.
Is also terrible at keeping secrets.
Emotions: Curiosity. Wonder. Mellow.
"Well that's interesting..."
"What happened?" Jaune asked, realizing that there was more to the catgirl's expression as he noticed her furrow her brows.
"There's more information given once Observe reaches level nine. Much more."
Neptune quirked a brow as he questioned, "Like what?"
"Your general stats," Blake began matter-of-factly, "Like how strong, tough, agile, smart, wise and lucky you are. Then the things we know, like how you always seem to be on point and have an intellectual side..."
"Oh, that's nifty I guess," the Havenite shrugged before the catgirl continued.
"But then it gets into the things people may not know, like the trouble you tend to get yourself into while trying to protect your reputation..."
At that, Neptune narrowed his eyes at Jaune, who merely raised his hands placatingly and vehemently shook his head in his innocence, "Is that so?"
"Yes," she added quickly, wanting to diffuse the growing tension as quickly as possible, "Just like I know that your emotional state went from curious, wonderment and mellow a moment ago to suspicious, confused, and in denial..."
"Anyone could see that right now."
"...And, that you're terrible at keeping secrets."
At that, Neptune broke his surprisingly frigid glare at Jaune to glance at the ravenette in surprise, knowing that his partner would never reveal that kind of information to anyone, even if it were to his own subject of affection.
"Well then, now I just got the feeling like I'm having my palm read or something..."
"It's... how my semblance works," Blake offered softly, hoping that her aura's naturally accurate readings would spare the knight whatever ill will the Haven student might be harboring. Thankfully, Neptune's expression softened as he cast a slightly downcast expression at the blonde.
"I guess it is... sorry, dude. Didn't mean to assume."
"No worries," the blonde replied with relief evident in his own voice, "It took me a while to believe it at first, too... but she's able to do some truly amazing things! I mean, she always has, which is why she's here and all, but you know what I mean..."
Catching the light blush on Blake's face as the knight spoke, Neptune merely shook his head with a small chuckle before holding up a hand to stop the knight and spare his companion, "Yeah, I know what you mean... and whatever it is, it sure sounds like a heck of a gift to have just come about by chance, y'know? So... take care of it... and take care of her, Jaune. It's clear to see you know her potential better than anyone else."
As Jaune and Blake turned to each other and traded a warm smile at Neptune's words, the Havenite himself smirked inside, knowing that he'd now made things even between himself and his new friend. He knew Sun enough to know that the monkey-faunus wouldn't just give up so easily and knew that with some luck Blake could still have a change of heart, but he owed Jaune a solid after the dance and had finally repaid it in full in accordance with his own code of honor - the universal Bro Code.
Now satisfied with his work in the library, Neptune reached in between the two students, unceremoniously breaking their short-lived moment as he picked up the strategy guide and gave them a quick salute, "Well, I guess I should be going. Weiss said she was gonna do something real quick and meet up with me for lunch later, so it looks like I'll kill some time with this bad boy over at the ole abode upstairs before lunch. Laters!"
Watching the stylish student walk away, Jaune rubbed his arms with a shiver, noting the light goosebumps on the exposed skin under Blake's intruder outfit that she'd taken to wearing all the time now as well before speaking up.
"Heck, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Weiss must've passed by near the library not too long ago!"
With a light chuckle, Blake turned back to face Jaune with a nod of agreement before the two fell into a short awkward silence with nothing left to do.
After all, it was a Sunday - students usually might go on their own to roam the campus or go to town that day, and Jaune had no previous engagement with any of his teammates... so, why not a friendly lunch with the girl he had already spent all morning with?
"So... uh," the knight began slowly, his face seemingly rehearsing different expressions as he thought of the right way to phrase his next sentence, "I'm gonna head over to the cafeteria to... get some lunch, you're welcome to join."
It had been some advice from his eldest sister, Joan, that had come to mind for some reason at that very moment. Advice about inviting women to a meal, to be exact - avoid questions, as direct requests could make a woman feel uncomfortable, and be sure not to sound demanding. Also knowing that a kitten would rarely do what one asked just because it was asked to, Jaune figured this method was worth a shot.
He couldn't ignore the surprising sensation of hope fluttering from within as her smile went from inquisitive to... something else... her eyes breaking contact with his as she finally chose to glance up in thought before letting out a little sigh.
"That's... actually very tempting, Jaune," she began slowly, her small smile still present as if showing gratitude for the offer yet faltering somewhat at the corners, "But I had planned on going around the campus to test out the extent of my newly leveled Observe skill right after this. Maybe... maybe another time."
"Oh... uh, okay," he replied, feeling the heat quickly rising to his cheeks as the awareness of the polite rejection sunk in. The two students now stood from their seats at the same time, the action causing them to close the space between each other to a mere couple inches before they each quickly scooted back with nervous chuckles.
Giving him a small wave, the momentary reddening in her cheeks now having simmered down to a soft pink, Blake broke the silence cracking a hint of a smile at the knight, "Till tomorrow, then. Take care."
"Yeah," he replied weakly as they both began to part ways, "Take care."
No sooner had they each parted ways and Blake turned the corner of the nearest aisle when Jaune's self-berating began.
'Idiot! Gahhhhh, idiot! Just had to go making it sound all awkward by asking her out to lunch like that! What was I even thinking!? I've already spent all morning hunting and chilling out with her, way to botch my last day with her before school starts again by sounding desperate or something! Uuugh...'
Shivering again as he exited the library in deep thought, he failed to sense the presence behind him as he continued, 'Why is this even such a big deal? Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID-'
"-Gahhh!"
Before he could even realize, he had been all but yanked off his feet and thrown into a nearby empty classroom. It was large, several concentric rows of wooden desks surrounding a sizable and nearly amphitheater-like area from which the teacher could deliver booming lectures.
Port's classroom.
Turning towards the sound of the classroom door shutting with the lock engaging as well, he could do little more but gape at the form of the elegant young heiress who now strode into the middle of the room, daintily brushing off the frills of her sleeves without a care in the world.
"W-Weiss?"
"Upupup! Not a word!" she quipped hastily, her hand lifted and already gesturing at him to shut his mouth before her usually stern expression softened a bit, "At least not until after I explain..."
His shocked gaze slowly melted into one of curiosity as the girl simply shook her head at him with a sharp sigh, turning to Port's desk and walking over before pulling out a few thick books from behind it.
Setting them on top of the desk with loud thuds, she wordlessly beckoned him over with a finger to which he complied in his increasing intrigue with her silent actions. He continued watching as she took the top book, flipped through a few pages, and handed him the opened volume pointing at a small paragraph in question.
"Does any of that look familiar to you?"
Jaune read the paragraph. And read it again.
He understood exactly what it was he was looking at the first time, having noticed the title that read The Schnee Encyclopedia of Chants and Incantations the moment she'd picked it up, but he just simply couldn't bring himself to answer her because his brain was furiously trying to rationalize the complete change in her tone of voice.
It was soft, smooth... dare he say warm? It was as if they had known each other for a long time - well, they technically already had known each other for a while - but you know, as if the heiress had known him and could actually tolerate him! It... it was so strange, yet so alluring... he almost hated to give the reply he was about to have to give...
"No. Not even a little bit," he finally stated, bracing himself for the put-downs that were surely to come... but didn't.
No derisive scoff. No demeaning scowl... Had he just entered into the Twilight Zone!?
"Hmm," she hummed simply, gently taking the book from him and flipping through a few few more pages before handing it back like before, "How about that?"
Reading through it, he even tried reading some of it out loud to at least acknowledge the effort she must've been putting herself through to not tear him apart at his ignorance of such surely commonplace knowledge, "Reducto... Expelliarmus... Avada Kedavra? No, sorry... never heard of any of it."
"I see," she once again stated calmly, a hand to her chin in thought as she watched the book in Jaune's hands and tapped the toe of her boot on the floor repeatedly before walking over to the desk and picking up the next book of the pile. Jaune watched her flipping through the pages until she finally raised a brow and paused mid-movement with a hint of the usual sternness in her voice - but just a hint as she spoke up without turning up to look at him, "Jaune. You're staring."
He was about to sputter forth a response to her keen observation when she slammed the book shut, which seemed to snuff out the words in his throat entirely, and then took a deep breath with eyes closed before turning to him with a not-so-icy blue-eyed gaze, "I told you I'd explain, didn't I?"
"R-Right," was all he could eke out in a mix of fear, confusion, and a touch of concern as she nodded and took a step or two towards him, leaving the book behind on the table.
"Very well. I suppose I should get to that lest you suffer some sort of nervous breakdown," she paused with a wince, seemingly chastising herself mentally for the back-handed comment before continuing, "I'd like to begin by pointing out how invigorating it is when someone actually lends a genuine ear of sympathy to your inner qualms. If you need it and haven't done so, I highly recommend it... you'll be amazed at what it accomplishes for your nerves."
Jaune blinked before he managed another response, "R-Right."
"Furthermore, I should probably add an apology to my explanation," she continued with a softened air of professionalism, her hands held behind her back as she barely managed to maintain eye contact with the stupefied knight, "You see, when I came to this academy... when I came to this academy, Perfection was my ultimate goal. My only goal. It governed my demeanor, my principles, and mostly my attitude. All those who fell short of said lofty standard were reviled in my eyes... and I must confess that after becoming aware of how much your actual ability differed from your family's reputation, you were among those I reviled the most, Jaune Arc."
"R-Right..."
"A-And I apologize for that!" she added quickly again, eyes widening a bit as she realized she had let another back-handed comment slip, "But I've realized something in the last few days - reflecting on the accomplishments we've made, the things we've learned and the people we've met - that Perfection in its superficial form is an impossible ideal which'll always end in frustration... but its deeper meaning... of being complete, that's the fuller sense of the word I've come to realize is worth striving for after all these months at Beacon..."
Jaune thought it over, definitely agreeing with the thought as he drawled in reply, "Right..."
"Could you please say something else," Weiss quipped with a deadpan, a raised brow at the startled knight, "This isn't exactly easy to say."
"Okay..." he managed with an involuntary gulp, "Then why are you telling me all this?"
Weiss paused in thought, her hands now reappearing at her sides and idly straightening out her combat skirt as her gaze remained on the floor before being refocused on the knight himself, "Because Neptune told me what you did for me at the dance. Knowing that without your involvement I would never have reached these aforementioned conclusions with his aid, I wanted to ensure that you knew your actions were... appreciated... and this is my way of expressing my gratitude..."
Jaune was only until now beginning to shake off the conditioned physical response of fear in his system, finally regaining mastery of coherency as he remarked, "Well you didn't have to... I mean, I'm grateful that you told me all this, but just a simple thank you would've been more than enough, Weiss..."
"No, that's not exactly what I meant," the heiress continued, catching the knight off-guard with the small smirk now growing on her face, "Me telling you all of this wasn't my show of gratitude... this is."
SSSHHHIIINNNGGG!
In the blink of an eye, Jaune saw himself not only three feet to the left where he had been a moment ago, but also with Crocea Mors drawn as Weiss now stood lightly panting where he was previously situated with Myrtenaster drawn in mid-lunge.
"Hmm, quite impressive," she stated matter-of-factly as she straightened out from her yellow glyph-augmented attack and turned to face the flabbergasted knight without too much adulation in her voice, "That maneuver was meant to open a gash in your right arm the size of a cantaloupe, yet you dodged it faster than even I could discern. Your survival reflexes have improved immensely."
He glanced at the door, which he now realized was not only locked but frozen shut, and back at the heiress with a fish-like gaping motion, "W-What are you trying to do, kill me!?"
"Sort of," she replied bluntly, "It seems my initial plan of having you recall your family incantations was at a loss - however, I'm not without my secondary devices. Being that your primary semblance manifested at the onset of a hopeless scenario..."
The elegant heiress wiped a bang that had fallen in front of her face neatly to the side, adopting a flawlessly straight posture as she placed said hand on her hip before executing a few effortless but masterful swishes in front of her with Myrtenaster and pointing the sword level with Jaune's neck, "Jaune Arc, this is to inform you that I, Weiss Schnee, have full intention to cause you physical bodily harm. This is my gesture of gratitude - that I aid you in your discovery of every nuance pertaining to your Paladin Semblance! En garde!"
SHING-CLASH!
And with a combination of his training with the Mistrali, his applied experience with the catgirl, and the inexplicable boost of something... else... Jaune countered a lightning-fast advance and downward slash from the heiress' rapier, locking blade against blade as the girl pushed down with what he could swear was killing intent merely inches from his face.
"You first lesson, Arc," she began with evident strain against the counter-force he was exerting, "Your aura - and therefore semblance - are working in conjunction with your weapon, which I'm now positive has a secondary Dust-powered mecha-shifting function to deliver powerful Dust attacks in tandem with every strike. Use it!"
SHING-SHING! CLASH CLANG CLASH! CRASSSH!
Quickly blocking and countering another swift series of slashes and lunges, Jaune was barely able to riposte a particularly powerful up-swipe of the rapier that sent shards of ice dust flying into the desks and ceiling of the classroom along the arc of its attack.
"I don't know how to do that! A-Are you crazy!?"
Having seemingly snapped back into more of the Weiss he previously knew, Jaune balked as the heiress barked back, "The enemy will not pause for you to ask questions nor grant you reprieve just so you can consult with your arsenal for available abilities! Act, and let instinct do the rest!"
Stepping back as he saw a sizable light blue glyph surrounding the tip of her weapon, Jaune watched her charge what was surely a fatal ice attack before glancing at his sword and shutting his eyes tightly.
He had been fighting droves of Grimm alongside Blake all week, not to mention the odds he'd faced at the pavilion, so running was no longer his desire - nor an option. As he focused on the sound of Weiss' charge reaching its critical point, he took a deep breath and let instinct take over - just like he had done at Mountain Glenn.
"Vermiculus Vulnus!"
SHINNNG-SHOOOM!
And with impressive speed, the knight countered the subsequent ice blast with an upward slash of a now red-runed Crocea Mors, neutralizing the frigid attack in midair in a plume of hissing steam as the two opposing forces met.
Watching as the red glow along the entire blade stayed strong throughout the counter-strike, Weiss smirked as she confirmed that her theory was indeed correct and smoothly approached the dumbfounded blonde with a self-satisfied expression.
"Outstanding," she began informatively, regarding the detailed inscriptions along the length of Crocea Mors with Jaune, "The fire runes are even more tightly wound than on Myrtenaster, a rapier forged with generations' worth of secret Schnee family methods..."
"So you tried to turn me into a living popsicle just so you could check if my sword works like it's supposed to?" he asked flatly.
"Just for the record, this is me trying to be nicer to you," the heiress remarked shortly, unable to hold back a mischievous smirk as she continued, "So I did hold back a little."
"Great! Then I take it we're done here."
Weiss scoffed, but more out of disbelief than of derision as she stepped back with rapier in hand, wearing her icily professional expression once more, "We most certainly are not! Your counter, though potent, was a terrible waste of energy! You'll need more than brute force to defeat craftier opponents!"
Jaune sighed in reply, resigning himself to the lesson being forced upon him, "And I'm guessing you're going to enlighten me whether I like it or not..."
"Correct. Instinct told you that ice was the best way to counter fire. Though that may be the case in nature, quite the opposite is true with Dust. For maximum efficiency, a Dust attack is best countered by a riposte using the same element."
The knight furrowed his brows as he processed the information, "So... fight fire with fire?"
"Precisely," the snowy-haired girl concurred with a small smile, readying her blade one more, "Shall we continue?"
Knowing full well that the question was anything but, Jaune casually nodded with a small sigh, dropping into combat stance, "Meh, sur-"
SSHHHH-KOW!
"Wah!"
Barely evading the tendril of electricity from the tip of Weiss' rapier that quite literally blew up the desk behind him, Jaune's expression settled into a grimace of concentration as he prepared to face the following attacks head on.
sss-KOW!-tzzt KOW!-tzzt KRAKAKOW!-tzzzzz...
Weiss' eyes widened when she realized Jaune was no longer evading her yellow-glyph electric attacks but countering them instead, defensively positioning his red-runed blade just at the right spot with every electric attack to absorb the bolt into the fiery red glow of Crocea Mors. Moreover, he had already begun to glow white with aura, doubtlessly endowing him with literal lightning-like reflexes to counter several more of her attacks before she finally launched a steady fork of lightning to see if he'd hold.
And hold he did.
Grunting under the sheer power coming from Myrtenaster's attack, Jaune held his blade firm against the relentless energy until Weiss' yellow dust ran out, to which he took a deep breath and readied his counter-attack as the red runes on his blade now turned yellow as well.
"Fulgur Sectis!"
ZzzZZZzzRAK-POW!
Despite her disbelief at the rapid speed of the blade's change in elemental properties, Weiss conjured the quickest defense she could muster without Yellow Dust - an ice shield that quickly caved and exploded under the subsequent energy blast, throwing her back several feet to the teacher's drawing board behind the desk.
"Weiss!" Jaune shouted in concern from his position, putting aside his growing excitement with the newly-discovered features of his weapon as he ran over to her smoking form on the floor, "Are you-"
His words were cut short when Weiss quickly held out a hand for him to be quiet, his concern for her wellbeing turning into concern for his wellbeing as she slowly stood, propping herself on Port's desk to stand straight, all while bearing a mightily expectant grin.
"Now that's more like it," she declared, Jaune's body immediately tensing as he watched her suddenly sheathe Myrtenaster and take off her jacket before throwing it across the teacher's desk, "Armor off. Now."
"B-But-"
"Do it..." she countered menacingly, to which he quickly removed his chest plate and pauldrons and threw them at the foot of the same desk.
"W-W-What are you doing?" he could only ask, a light crack in his voice as she quickly closed the space between them at a brisk pace. But instead of stopping, she merely pushed right by him with a pensive smirk to put several feet of space between them before she turned and unsheathed her deadly rapier.
She now stood, her deceptively frail pale shoulders bare with the mere lacy straps that kept her top in place as she now spoke up with a challenging smile at the knight, "Proposing a duel. Not just some meager spar - official fencing rules of the Schnee Estate - first blood drawn from the torso wins!"
"Are you serious!" Jaume cried out incredulously, already considering the girl's present punishment plenty.
"I wouldn't challenge you if I didn't think you could possibly beat me, Arc!" she exclaimed with repressed excitement, "And to be honest, this may be the most fun I've had in ages - so don't spoil it for me now by holding back!"
Momentarily stunned in shock at the words that had just escaped the heiress' lips, Jaune slowly turned to glance at his sword and collapsed shield that hung at his sides before turning up to face her with a growing smirk.
It was honestly surreal. Through the days of intensive hunting with the ravenette, Jaune knew he had accelerated the development of his skills as a swordsman thanks to her party system... but to have it already reached such a level with the aid of his unlocked semblance to be deemed worthy to duel a Schnee? Call it a mix of his resilience as a person and his equally indomitable aural will, but if Jaune had been so willing to face hordes of Grimm to further unlock his potential... what was gonna stop him from facing Weiss now?
"Challenge accepted!" he replied resolutely with shield now in hand and weapons readied, to which the heiress locked her rapier in light blue and announced the beginning of the duel with relish.
"Allez!"
"Frigidum Scutum!"
In the second it took for Weiss to summon a hail of dagger-like ice shards from her glyph, Jaune put up a large ice shield much like the heiress had done from his now blue-runed blade which was quickly battered by the subsequent hail fall.
Ka-Ka-Ka-CRASH!
Crumbling from the sheer number of icy impacts, Jaune fell back as a few more shards hit his upheld shield before being beset by the heiress herself in a flurry of rapier-strikes and slashes. With no hope of being able to match the rapier-wielder's skill blade to blade, Jaune defensively used his sword and shield in tandem to the best of his ability against her repertoire of lunges and feints before thinking up an alternative offense.
Noting his shield itself beginning to sprout red runes, Weiss paused her attack to lock her weapon into the red using the last of her Red dust to defend against his next attack.
"Mico Crepitus!"
The moment Myrtenaster made contact with the shield, the runes ignited in a flash of flame sending Weiss and Jaune flying in opposite directions in the resulting heat wave that threatened to spontaneously combust anything made from wood that was too close to the source. Weiss and Jaune each sat up at the same time, Jaune situated near the student desks while the heiress had fallen at the foot of Port's desk once more.
Jaune made an attempt to stand, but his hand slipped as it was propped on his red-runed shield that now gave way and skidded across the ground as Jaune fell back... but not before accidentally firing a lone ice dust dagger from the tip of his still blue-runed blade into the mahogany wood right by Weiss' head.
His head quickly shot back up to face the wide-eyed girl who stared at the icy projectile in shock, "Umm... accident?"
But turning to face him with an icy scowl, the snowy-haired heiress stood up with a grunt, "Hmph. I'll ensure those two words are engraved as the epitaph on your gravestone."
"...meep..."
Jaune gulped as he saw her ready her blade, dozens of dark blue glyphs surrounding him in a large dome as the heiress began glowing blue herself. Steeling himself to defend, he let his instincts speed up his reflexes considerably as he began to glow white with aura, his sword's runes turning yellow once more just as the girl dashed through the air to the first of the blue glyphs.
"Ensis Infinitas!"
shingshingshingshingshingshingshingshing...
Weiss dashed from glyph to glyph through the air, each gravity glyph acting as its own trampoline to launch her rapier-tip first at the knight who impressively enough managed to deflect most of her attacks with rapid twirls and parries from Crocea Mors before her dark blue glyphs were finally exhausted. Most of her attacks...
"At least you're not untouchable," she sighed in frustration as she realized that the small multitude of nicks and cuts that Jaune's aura quickly healed were only on his arms and legs, "But it seems rather unfortunate that it's come to this..."
"Come to what?" Jaune asked quizzically before he noticed her entire sword beginning to glow white.
The white runes on Myrtenaster reminded him of the runes he'd seen on Crocea Mors in Mountain Glenn, and he immediately knew that she was readying a final strike which even he'd surely be unable to withstand without injury. Quickly dashing towards his shield across the floor as the heiress began glowing white as well, he made a last-ditch effort to counter as the runes on Crocea Mors now turned a jade green with Weiss' execution of her attack.
"Novacula Ventus!"
The entire room lighting up in white as several concentrated beams of pure Dust shot out of Myrtenaster to converge on the knight, Jaune managed a single motion with his blade before bracing himself behind his shield for impact.
BABOOOOOM!
The next thing Jaune knew, he opened his eyes to find his back against the cold wall all the way at the far end of the classroom, his jaw slackening at the trail of destruction he'd left when Weiss' attack had sent him flying through every row of desks to his current position. Quickly glancing down at his shield by his side, glowing white with the absorption of energy before finally dimming down into its normal form, he noticed his own aura's glow dimming down with its protective purpose fulfilled before noting the equally slack-jawed heiress staring at him from all the way down by Port's desk.
"How... are you even still conscious," she finally huffed, the excellent acoustics in the room projecting her voice all the way to Jaune who slowly stood behind the last row of desks, "Do you have any idea the kinds of monsters I've completely obliterated with that attack!?"
He casually shrugged, brushing himself off before bending down to pick up the shield and collapsing it to hook it to his side as a sheath, "One thing's for sure - I can definitely say I don't have any fight left in me after something like that. That attack really packed a punch!"
Weiss sighed once more in frustration, covered in a light sheen of sweat after Jaune's heat attack and now without her tiara after her final attack as her hair now fell freely against her glossy back and shoulders, checking her rapier to see that it was now empty.
"Well, that was the last of my Dust, too," she confessed before sheathing her weapon and beginning to turn towards Port's desk to grab her jacket, "I suppose we can call it a stalemat-ah."
Wincing at a strange papercut-like pain at her side, Weiss paused mid-motion as her hand instinctively went down to her waist at the location of the discomfort.
"You okay?" the knight now asked as he approached her, his eyes suddenly widening along with hers when she brought her hand back up to see that it was lightly stained in blood.
"H-How?" she mumbled as she checked her side right on time to see her aura finishing healing a small cut that had gone through her top, "You were several feet away from me..."
Jaune glanced at his sword as the green runes finally faded, leaving it in its normal form before he sheathed it and supplied the girl with her answer, "Jade Dust... I think I managed to nick you with an air slice just before you landed your attack on me."
The two students traded an uncertain glance for a moment before Weiss finally shook her head with a light chuckle and muttered more to herself than anything, "How 'bout that..."
"Wait. Does that mean I...?" Jaune began in realization, quirking a brow in disbelief.
"Yes, Jaune. It does," she hedged in reluctant defeat with a small smile as she wiped away a bang that had fallen in front of her face and remained anchored there with the cooling perspiration on her forehead, "Though I'd normally threaten you not to breathe a word of this to anyone under penalty of a swift death, I'm afraid I may no longer be able to follow through with such an enforcement in your case."
The knight chuckled in reply, "No need. You have my word."
She nodded slowly, breaking eye contact with the knight as she weighed her options with a slight pout before idly shrugging and turning to pick up her jacket.
"Very well," she began after picking up her belongings and turning back to the knight, "I suppose that'll just have to do... you of all people know that we have a reputation to protect due to our family names."
"Heh, no wonder you and Neptune get along so well..."
"Hmph!" she protested, narrowing her eyes playfully at the sarcastic blonde, "Don't be a pest!"
He held his hands up placatingly with a smile of mock-innocence, the heiress unable to hold back a short chuckle at his antics before glancing at the books on the desk, "Feel free to take those for yourself, maybe there's something you may find of use in another book... but first..."
Weiss then surprised Jaune as she straightened out and offered him her hand rigidly, her face adopting a stoic regal expression as she announced, "A gesture for a new start between a changed girl and clearly a changing boy."
Raising a brow with slight amusement at her sudden serious action, he countered, "Is the handshake really necessary?"
"Yes," she replied with a deadpan.
"You sure like your symbolism and stuff..."
"Obviously," she quipped as he took her hand in their firm handshake, "My semblance involves the creation of glyphs, for crying out loud!"
"True true. Then I wonder what it means that I have to talk all the time before changing my semblance's attack forms..."
Weiss shook her head amusedly as the two let go of their new gesture of friendship, "Seriously Jaune, you really are a dunce... But since I'm currently doing my utmost to apply Neptune's advice of seeing others in a positive light, then I guess I'll just say you're a dunce... but in a good way."
"Fair enough," Jaune replied, turning with a smile to the stack of books on the desk and going over them one by one. The chants and incantation book, four books going over the basic handling of the main four types of Dust - Fire, Ice, Lightning and Wind - and a book about combination attacks between Huntsmen. Eyeing them more closely, an idea came to mind and he turned to the heiress inquisitively who had just broken the icy lock on the classroom door with a flick of her rapier, "Hey Weiss... you got any more of these?"
"Of course," she replied calmly as she set herself to redoing her side ponytail and setting it in place with her tiara, "The Schnee Online Bookstore is one of the largest Dust and Aura oriented libraries in all of Remnant."
Jaune hummed in thought, the ravenette's ability going through his mind as the two had realized during the previous week that the library held no more skill books for her to use, "Good, cuz I think once I'm done with them, Blake could probably integrate them into her aura too."
"Ah yes, her new semblance," Weiss recalled pensively, "But I must warn you, they're terribly expensive..."
"Heh... I don't think funds will be a problem in Blake's case..."
Dozens of mobs and boss drops were to thank for that.
"Welllll," she now continued, looking up in thought as she put on her jacket, "I suppose I can give her my login credentials so she receives a substantial discount from her purchases... after all, I do owe her the most for having put up with me all these months - it's the least I could do."
"Alright, done deal! ...So, what do we do about the classroom we just wrecked?"
"Leave it. Ignore it. Pretend nothing ever happened."
At that, the knight couldn't help a fully-blown grin at the heiress' words. It sure did seem that Neptune's personality was already rubbing off on her. And with that, he finally understood the subtle irony as to why the two had been able to click so easily... the irony that the only remedy to her previously frigid personality turned out to be the coolest person he knew. And as she opened the door for him to go through, he nodded in gratitude and left the room chuckling at how much the Havenite's mellow personality had benefitted that girl in a way that he knew he never could.
As a matter of fact, he couldn't help realizing that after the dance, he had completely set his once arduous infatuation with her to the side so the blue-haired student could have a shot... and he no longer had any qualms about it whatsoever.
"Hmm, I guess it really did turn out for the best in the end," he mumbled to himself contentedly after the two had parted ways, "I guess my turn will come with time... Like Mom always says, 'One good turn deserves another'!"
He paused in his stroll, for some strange reason feeling a chill in his spine as if there had just been a tremor in the universe before shaking off the feeling.
"Ah well," the knight concluded, thoughts of the amber-eyed catgirl now running through his mind inexplicably, "I just hope Blake's okay..."
She wasn't.
In all honesty, she hadn't been since the moment that she and Jaune had parted ways. She had already gathered that her Observe skill had improved, giving her more information on a target than previously possible... but she hadn't needed to try observing other objects to know that - if anything, the one she needed to analyze was Jaune, maybe now she'd finally have a way to figure out what was wrong with him!
But as she strolled through the outer edges of campus which usually at this point of day would be filled with students taking advantage of the weekend to relax, Blake's cat ears flattened underneath her bow as the reality of her true motivations sunk in like the literal sensation of solitude around her.
She had run away. Again.
'Old habits die hard, I guess,' she sighed in thought, a small frown on her features as she resolved herself in her decision, 'I must make it up to him somehow...'
The thought of simply going to the cafeteria and joining him for lunch had crossed her mind several times already, but she feared that returning so soon may look too suspicious - or at the very least, knowing Jaune, that she had decided to return only out of pity. And after hours spent talking about how they felt in their teams, she knew that he still felt prone to thinking that even Pyrrha only helped him sometimes out of pity, something the catgirl could clearly tell wasn't the case.
And she didn't want their friendship to rest on a foundation of misunderstanding... no, it mattered too much for her to be careless about it.
Wait... what?
She paused, stopping in her tracks at the unexpected addition at the end of her train of thought. Was it true? Her brows furrowed as she concentrated on the concept.
It didn't take long to realize that she had gotten used to Jaune's company, sure. But the more she thought about it, the more peculiar she realized such a thing was. For starters, she had fallen way behind on her reading schedule that she practically followed religiously due to the fact that her books only made appearances by her side during the afternoons when she was alone in her dorm or wandering about with her team. Her mornings had now begun to be spent solely leveling up and hanging out with Jaune.
Then she realized how much her priorities had begun to change since the breach in general. Of course, Roman was behind bars and the White Fang had remained quiet without reports of a single robbery in the area, providing peace that enabled the usually wound up catgirl to finally loosen up a bit... but there was no denying that the many new things she had begun to try - from berry-covered waffles to the previously unthinkable act of actually picking up a video game controller - had been influenced by the affable blonde knight. So, Jaune again.
The final nail in the coffin came when a crisp breeze caused a chill to course through her body, Blake crossing her arms in front of herself to block out the cold and suddenly realizing that being alone didn't bring as soothing a sensation as it once had. Not unless she was hanging out with Jaune. That was something she had never expected... of course, she had never expected to get along so well with the knight in the first place.
'But why? Why would I be feeling this way at all?'
Just when the solution to this puzzle seemed at the cusp of reaching light, one tiny little detail galvanized the ravenette's entire body in alarm.
"Wait. Where is everybody?"
Looking around the wide courtyard at the front of Beacon which was usually one of the busiest places on campus at this time of day and week, she audibly chastised herself upon realizing that there was indeed not a soul in sight. How could she have been so self-absorbed not to realize that there wasn't a single person around? Not to mention the eerie silence that permeated the air itself... the unnatural silence...
"Inventory."
[Inventory]
Equipment
|...| O |...|
|Blazer | /X\ |Blouse|
| Dress Shoes | /\ |Uniform Skirt|
Weapons
|Gambol's Sheath| |Gambol's Blade|
|Schnee Dust Ammo Clips x12| |Standard Ammo Clips x60|
Items
|Recovery Potion x45| |Unknown Item x1|
|Green Dust Crystal x39| |Fifty Shades of Grey x1|
Pulling out both halves of her weapon and a few clips of ammo to be safe, forgoing the checking of the Unknown Item that she had been meaning to do all week but hadn't yet gotten the chance, Blake held Gambol Shroud at the ready as she began to check her surroundings.
"What on Remnant could be causin-"
But before she could finish the thought, a beam of light caught her eye, a reflection from something that caused her to turn up and falter at the sight of a foreign pale green orb of light over one of the far-side courtyard columns in the distance. Despite her best efforts, her attempts to discern the identity of the form within the orb were fruitless as she realized that the orb itself was comprised of something - no, several somethings - that were rotating quickly around the form that she could only guess was the user.
"This is getting a bit too strange for my taste," Blake mumbled lowly before focusing on the unidentified user, "Observe."
BEEP!
[Target out of range.]
'Of course,' she now hedged at herself mentally with a facepalm before happening to glance up.
Catching sight of a second figure on another pillar facing away from her and towards the strange orb of what she quickly deduced must've been made of significant amounts of a pale green aura, Blake studied the much closer figure.
A man in a black suit... and if the silver hair weren't a dead giveaway, the cane he now produced certainly was. But with his back to her and at least thirty feet in the air, there was only one way for the ever-analytical catgirl to know for sure.
And willing herself to see the most common effect of her semblance, her question was promptly answered when her target's info finally appeared over his head.
|The Headmaster|
LV? Ozpin
A/N: Knightshade. That's right, folks... preach it to the four winds along with me - Knightshade!
Now, don't get me wrong, I always did like Lunar Eclipse and Dark Knight, but the more I read amazing fiction that paired the two, the more I realized that the pairing needed a more fitting name. I dunno, something that caught the essence of both characters more fully, something that could make even the JaunexBlake haters smile, something more... sexy! So now that I came up with the name, I'm gonna stick with it! Of course, I won't ask anyone to change their usage of the pairing name, but if you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it... then I hope you consider it ;)
Also, references. I try and tone it down sometimes, I really do. But I can't help it - fanfiction by definition is a tribute to a fandom one likes, so it only seems fitting that little tributes are made to the other fandoms and works of fanfiction I'm in love with out there too :D I know it's lame, but references are like British humor - you either get it or you don't! I just hope you guys like it :)
That being said, don't forget to Fave, Follow and Review to show your continued support!
I was gonna try to post this chapter the day this fic turned one month of age - you know, for symbolism and stuff - but yeah, that didn't happen. My timing sucks like that. But in just one month there were about 200 reviews, 400 likes, 18.5k views and 465 followers... honestly, I'm still surprised people are even reading this, but know that I deeply appreciate all the support you've given!
So on a final note: as you can surely tell, The Gamer Girl won in the poll. By a landslide. As in, by more than the other three options combined. Three times over. So, if you're wondering about my little thank you note, now you know why ;) Anyway, I'll be working on this story for the next two weeks, which means one to two more chapters before I move on to Chronicle! So until next time, take care...
And Happy Reading!
