The Cobalt Blues

by KibaElunal

After losing his leg in a terrible accident Calyx Delsune decides that he will stop at nothing to enter Beacon Academy in order to become a Huntsman like he's always dreamed. After having received his invitation, he and Team CBLT soon notice that things are amiss at the academy and thus embark on a journey to discover just what forces are behind the vicious creatures of Grimm. (OC)

10. Chapter 10

The Cobalt Blues Ch. 10

Author's Note: Wow this chapter took forever. The writer's block was real here guys, but no worries, I've managed to pull it out of the tailspin. I know where I'm going to take the story now (for the most part) and I'll be updating this one more often. As always, I love hearing feedback.

If you are a local reader and would like to meet me, there is a link in the latest chapter of another story of mine: Magic of a Young Girl's Heart where you can buy tickets to the play that my school is putting on (and the silent auction too). I'll be there and one of the items in the silent auction is going to be an offer for a creative workshop class taught by me. Or if you're not local, feel free to use the other link to buy something for our fundraiser. The school is non-profit, so everything we get comes from donations and fundraisers. Thanks again for all your support, I greatly appreciate it.

I grit my teeth as I stormed out of the medical bay, my fists tightening and loosening, over and over again. "Calyx! Calyx, wait!" Lyn called after me, as the rest of my team filed into the hallway.

"Traiko, is he going to do something brash?" Bakulah asked as she hurried after her sister and I.

"You know I can't tell when you're standing next to me." Traiko replied, a tinge of concern in his voice as I turned sharply towards our room.

Before I could move further though, Lyn rushed in front of me before placing her hand out to hold me back. "Calyx, stop! You need to think this through. I know you're upset about what the Professor said, but it's not worth getting expelled over!"

"I'm not getting expelled." I growled under my breath. "Now move out of my way."

"Not until you tell me what you plan to do." She shot back. "I'm not budging an inch until I'm sure I don't have to worry about you."

"Nothing, okay? I don't plan on doing anything. Now please, just move out of the way. I need to get back to training." I brushed past her and I could still feel her eyes from behind me. I was impressed with myself for being able to refrain from exploding at her. Some part of me knew it wasn't her fault and shouting at her would have just made me feel worse anyway.

"So," she called after me, "is this how it's going to always be?" Damn it. She just couldn't drop it could she? Noting that I'd stopped walking she continued. "Calyx didn't get his way, so he's going to bury himself in training. Doesn't matter that his team needs him or that he has other friends, no. Just so long as he gets strong enough to beat Yang."

Turning back on her, I tried desperately to keep my rage bottled up. "What do you want from me Lyn? If I'm to lead our team, I need to be stronger. What happens if some day we're on a mission and I meet a Grimm stronger than Yang? Then we die. How am I supposed to protect you and the team when I can't even beat a teenager?"

"You're a teenager too!" She argued. "There are going to be people stronger than you! There will always be people stronger than you! That doesn't make you weak or inferior, that makes you a normal person. Why can't you see that?"

"Because I am not a normal person!" I finally shouted. She was shocked by my sudden eruption. "Alright? That seems to be what the entire universe is telling me right now is that I'm not a normal person. I've got one leg, I'm a Faunus, my aura is practically non-existent, and now my semblance has been banned from usage, putting me right back to square one."

"Calyx…"

"What?" I growled, opening the door to the room.

"You've really changed. You know that?" Her voice was a soft whisper, but her words struck me. I paused, unsure of how to respond. She took that as a sign to continue. "What happened to you? You used to be kind and sensitive. You cared so much about the rest of us that you'd stick up for me to fighters twice your size. But now…" She trailed off.

"Finish it." I said.

"What?"

"Finish...your...sentence." I enunciated, my eyes narrowed into a harsh glare.

She took a deep breath before nodding solemnly. "Now it's like you're some kind of a monster."

"Good night Lyn." I replied, slipping into our dorm and closing the door shut behind me. Sitting at my workbench, I ran my hand through my hair, my ears twitching in compliance. Looking down at my scattered tools, I pulled off my prosthetic and my greave. Placing them on my workbench, I began to make adjustments. Lyn was right, I had changed...which I hated, so very much. Was what the professor said true? Was I some sort of rage-fueled monster just waiting to be set free? I didn't want to find out.

As Traiko and Bakulah caught up, they saw Lyn, simply standing outside of the room door, her hand outstretched as if she were contemplating whether or not she should open it. "Lyn? What happened?" Baku asked.

"I...I don't…know."

Traiko's eyes went to the door and brushing the two girls aside, he opened it. "Excuse us ladies." He instructed before shutting the door behind him, leaving the twins outside. My head down, I kept making minute calibrations to the belts in my prosthetic that governed it's movements. "Calyx?"

"What do you want Traiko?" I asked impatiently.

I nearly fell out of my chair when he slammed his fist down hard on my work table, causing my tail to fluff up in alertness. "What the hell is your problem?" He snarled, the first time I'd ever heard him become angry with anyone.

"My problem?" I scoffed, using my arms to lift myself back into the chair, turning it to face him. "I'm not the one who has a problem."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really!" I snapped. "It's the rest of the world that has a problem. All I want, all I've ever wanted, is to become a Hunter. That's it! Is that really so wrong?"

"No, it's not, but…"

"Do you know what she called me Traiko?" I asked. "She called me a monster. Lyn thinks I'm a damned monster." I took my wrench and hurled it angrily as hard as I could towards the wall, and with a heavy thud it fell to the ground. "All because of my stupid semblance. It was bad enough that my aura is so weak. Now I'm not even able to use it. But who cares right? I mean, you all saw what happened when I did. I wouldn't blame you for thinking I was a monster too." Turning back to my work, I began tightening a screw before with a crack it became stripped. "Damn it!" I swept all of it on to the ground, my frustration at high enough levels that I didn't care any more.

I felt the reassuring hand of my teammate on my shoulder. "Hey. You're not a monster okay? I know that. And I'm sure Lyn knows that too. But you didn't get to see what we saw Calyx. It was scary. And I mean really scary, terrifying even. Give it some time, once things calm down it'll be better."

"Alright." I replied, my fists still curled up on the workbench. Traiko reached down, lifting up my prosthetic before laying it gently beside the greave. With a heavy sigh, I removed the stripped screw, pulling open one of my drawers and replacing it with a fresh one.

Later that night, when I could hear the sounds of my dozing teammates, I stood from my bed. The calibrations I'd made allowed my leg to move silently as I slipped out of our room and walked towards the front door of the school. Occasionally, I'd have to duck out of the way of a flashlight from one of the school's security officers, but for the most part it was easy to escape.

Opening the door, I found myself standing in the front courtyard with the light of the full moon bathing the statue just outside. My eyes traveled from first the young woman, to the man, and finally to the Beowulf being crushed beneath the stone they stood upon. A monster, crushed as it should be.

I swept past the statue, taking in a deep lungful of fresh night air, trying to calm myself over the events that had occurred. "Blake!" A high pitched voice called behind me. Before I could even turn towards its source, I was slammed into by a cloud of rose petals that manifested into a familiar looking girl with silver eyes. "Blake, we've all been worried si...you're not Blake."

"No." I groaned. "Please get off of me."

The young girl stood up from me, offering her hand to help me up. "I'm so sorry. I was just looking out my window, and I saw you, or at least your shadow, and you see we have a teammate that's been missing since friday and she wears a big bow on her head and your ears look kind of like a bow and…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I replied, placing my hand over her mouth to stop her rambling. "It's alright, no harm done." Moving my hand from her mouth she frowned.

"Man, I was so sure that I'd found her this time. What are you even doing out here anyway?"

"Just...going for a walk, I guess."

Her eyes stared deep into mine as a big smile came to her face. "Hey wait a moment, I remember you! You're that one guy...the one with the weapon without a name." She grinned at me even bigger. "We haven't seen you around lately. Where have you been? My sister said you two were friends."

Immediately, I reeled back from the girl as the realization struck me. This was Yang's little sister, Ruby. "Erm...yeah, I've been...busy." My words sounded less truthful than they were. "Look, I know you're probably angry with me. You have every right to be. I'm sorry about what happened between your sister and I."

"What do you mean?" She asked puzzled. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Didn't you watch our fight?"

"Heehee, yeah." She snorted. "It was awesome. The way you did that cartwheel thing that knocked my sister down, it was so cool! I tried to do it later, but I ended up on my butt."

"I nearly broke her leg though! I mean, aren't you even the least bit angry that I nearly put your sister out of commission?"

"Pfft, Yang? She's a lot stronger than she looks. Besides," she replied, "you didn't break her leg, so there's not really anything to be upset about right?" I scratched the back of my head. This girl was certainly an odd one. "Did something else happen?"

"Well…" My cheeks turned a bright pink as I pictured the golden haired girl, her purple eyes beckoning me closer as she leaned forward. "She and I nearly kissed." That seemed to surprise Ruby. "I mean, not that it would have meant anything, or at least that's what she said. I mean, the professor made me apologize for what happened in our fight, and she said we should kiss and make up and I wasn't sure what to do. Then Lyn came up and stopped us and then they got in this big argument." Ruby's eyes continued to grow wider as I kept talking. "Look, all you have to know is that we were going to kiss, we didn't, and I haven't spoken to her since so you don't need to worry about me causing trouble alright?"

I tried to move away from her to keep walking before she could yell at me or whatever, but in a rush of wind she was right in front of me, her silver eyes sparkling. "Wow, I've never met one of you before."

"One of...me?" I asked confused.

She giggled. "My sister has a reputation of being something of a flirt. She doesn't usually let me talk to the guys she flirts with though. She finds it too embarrassing."

"Funny, I feel the same way." I muttered. "Listen Ruby, I appreciate the talk but I'm kind of trying to sort through some stuff right now. Sorry." Again I tried to leave, but she just kept trailing behind me.

"What sort of stuff?"

"The personal kind." I replied.

She pondered it for a moment. "Are you secretly a superhero?"

"What? No."

"Did you murder someone?"

"No!"

"Ooh, ooh I know! You're actually a secret government spy that's an alien in disguise, hellbent on finding the person who gunned down your alien parents in the alley way. Now you're not just the hero that Vale wants, but the one it needs."

"You are an abnormally bad guesser." I commented, causing her to stand in front of me, a smirk on her face.

"You didn't deny it." She sang playfully, causing me to let out a groan.

"Ruby, don't you have somewhere else to be? Like sleeping?" She shook her head, the red hood she wore bouncing behind her."You're going to keep following me until I tell you, aren't you?"

"Yep."

I sighed before nodding. "Alright fine, you win." She clapped excitedly as I made my way to the pond in the gardens. The two of us walked along the path as she waited expectantly for me to tell my story. "When your sister and I fought...after she flirted with me and everything happened, I felt sort of empty inside." I explained. "I've always wanted to be a Hunter, you know? Ever since my accident. But I realized that your sister...she's much stronger than me. It hurt to realize, I'd never be able to be a Hunter if I couldn't even beat another student. I knew I had to get stronger, strong enough to beat Yang without having to use some cheap hold to destroy her leg."

"But, you know you did well don't you?"

"I get you're trying to make me feel better Ruby, but lying to me won't help. I know I sucked in that fight. She kicked the crap out of me, and I knew I had to get stronger."

"I'm not lying." She argued testily. "You did fight well. You managed to take a strand of my sister's hair and you left with all your bones intact. That is evidence enough that you did well."

"Anyway," I continued ignoring her comment, "I've been training every day, all day to become a better fighter. But eventually, my body wasn't able to become stronger. I hit my physical limit and I exhausted my strength."

"So then what?"

"My teammates told me about aura."

She covered her mouth to conceal a hidden snicker. "You didn't know about aura?" She asked through her chuckling.

"Shut up." I retorted, though when she placed her hand empathically on mine, the anger faded nearly instantly. With a knowing smile, she nodded for me to continue. "I had my aura awakened by a friend, only to find out that mine is exceptionally weak. It barely has enough strength to cover my entire body, so it just moves around wherever I point it." As if to demonstrate, the violet glow made it's way to my hand, enveloping it beneath hers. "Finding that out, I knew I'd have to look elsewhere. Professor Goodwitch explained Semblances to me, and offered to activate mine with her own so we could know what it was."

"Don't worry, I didn't know what a semblance was until Pyrrha explained them to me. Mine is speed." I looked at the hyperactive young girl, it made complete sense with how she was. That served only to sadden me more, something that Ruby picked up on easily. "Something happened, didn't it?"

I nodded. "Something terrible." Her eyes grew wide as I explained the events that I could remember from the room. The burning of the flames, the horrible rage that overtook me. The feeling of awakening with steel, foam, and scrap all over my hands. All of it.

"That must have been scary."

"Yeah...my team all seem to be incredibly jumpy around me."

"I meant for you." She iterated. "Your personal gift comes out and it's something that could drive you to nightmares. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you."

"Anyway, I was taken to the Nurse, where the professor forbid me from ever using my semblance again. I was upset, because now I have nowhere else to turn to make me stronger. I'll always be weaker than Yang. My teammate Lyn, she came after me. I tried to tell her that I was fine, that I wasn't going to do anything. But she didn't believe me. She told me I'd changed since we'd first met. Now, she said, I'm more like a monster." My fists tightened on my pants as tears began to fall. "A monster! She used to see so much in me. My teammates were the only ones who believed in me and now they're scared of what I may do! I've failed them, and I've failed myself too."

"You're not a monster." She replied. "You're an idiot."

I sniffled as I turned to her. "Sorry?"

"Everyone says that their semblance is related to their personality. In some ways it's true I suppose. My semblance is speed, and I really do enjoy going fast. I know I'm easily excited and impulsive...but that doesn't necessarily mean anything."

"Easy for you to say. Your semblance doesn't make everyone scared of what you'll do." I muttered.

"But Calyx, that is only one side of your semblance. Sure, it shows when you're angry, but think about my sister. Her semblance is the flames that form around her. When she gets hit, she becomes stronger and angrier. But you've met my sister, fought with her too. After the fight did she seem angry to you?"

"...No." I admitted finally.

"That's because my sister has a policy. Her semblance doesn't tell her what to do, she tells it what to do. I think it may be best that you do the same thing. Your semblance may make you angry, but that doesn't mean you always have to be angry." She smiled brightly at me before standing up from the bench we were sitting on and smoothing out her skirt. "Anyway...I should get back to my room. Don't want my team to think I've gone missing."

"Erm, Ruby…" I called after her, causing her to pause and look at me. "Thank you. You may be a little annoying, but I'm glad you were. You've really helped me. I need to be a better leader for my team. And...if you ever need anything from me, anything at all...don't hesitate to ask. I'm glad to have you as a friend."

Her smile brightened even further as she nodded her head. "Got it. Thanks a lot Calyx." She kept walking towards her room leaving me to stare out at the lake as the sun began to rise over Vale, causing the light to shimmer across the water's surface. "Oh, one more thing!" She suddenly spoke behind me causing me to nearly fall out of the bench.

"Gods Ruby, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

She just giggled before continuing. "I have a message for you, from my sister."

"R-really?" I scratched my head. "How did she…?"

"No clue. But she asked me to give it to you if I ever saw you again. She says 'Better watch your back in the tournament. I expect you to meet me in the finals, otherwise I'll have to kick your ass again.' Pardon my language, that was my sister, not me."

I just chuckled lightly before nodding my head. "Thank you again Ruby. If it's not too much trouble, I've got a message for her too. Tell her I said 'I'd never lose to some dumb blonde who is too scared to talk to me herself.' Then give her something from me." Walking closer I wrapped my arms around her giving her a gentle hug. "That's for you too. You guys can share it." I teased causing Ruby to giggle.

"Consider it done. See you later Calyx." She waved to me before vanishing once more in a flash of rose petals. Standing from the bench, I made my way back to my room. There were still some things I had to do.

The door opened slowly, the others still sound asleep. They hadn't even noticed I'd left. I carefully pulled back the sheet to the girls' side of the room, my eyes falling to the dozing Lyn, all wrapped up in blankets to protect her from the school's often frigid air. "Lyn." I whispered quietly to her, my hand gently reaching out and resting on her hand.

Her beautiful copper eyes opened sleepily, but upon seeing me, she jerked her hand back from mine, but I quickly shushed her so that she wouldn't wake the others. "Calyx, what are you doing?" She asked shakily.

"I...I wanted to apologize to you." I explained, my eyes struggling to stay in hers. "I know I haven't been the best leader...or friend. But tonight I realized something. Lyn, you're more important to me than winning any fight. I don't ever want to risk losing you."

She seemed to remain quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry Calyx...I just don't know if I can believe you."

My heart sank, but I quickly resolved myself. "Use your power on me." I insisted. "That way you'll know I'm telling you the truth."

"Calyx…"

"Please." I begged. "Ask me what it is I plan to do. I promise I'll tell you the truth."

I began to feel the warm bubbling that arose in my chest when Lyn's power was taking hold, our eyes never leaving one another's as her lips parted. "What do you plan to do?" She asked.

"To do my best for you. To be everything you could ever want or need in a leader. I'm going to master my aura and my semblance, only so that I can ensure it will never master me. And…" my words trailed off as she looked at me anxiously.

"And?" She pressed.

"And this." I finished, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on her lips. She was surprised at first, and after the briefest of moments I pulled from her, my cheeks burning red. "You've always been here for me Lyn. I'm sorry I ever gave your reason to doubt that I would be here for you."

She smiled bashfully. "I don't doubt that Calyx. Not anymore. I'm sorry for calling you a monster. Please, can you forgive me?"

I nodded. "I was behaving like a monster. But it won't happen anymore." Her hand reached up hesitantly towards the top of my head and before I could react her fingers brushed against my soft fluffy ears, scratching me behind them and causing my entire body to shudder, a soft purr raising in my stomach.

She giggled at my reaction before withdrawing her hand. "I always wondered what it would be like to touch those." She explained, before letting out a soft yawn.

"You can touch them anytime you like." I assured her.

"I'd like that."

"Go back to sleep." I whispered. "We're going to get up for classes soon and I'd hate for you to be half-asleep."

"Yes sir." She teased, nuzzling against my hand before her eyes slowly closed and her breathing receded into slumber once more.

Returning to my bed, I curled up beneath the covers. "Cute." Traiko's voice called softly so that only we could hear.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked him, not even turning over to look at him.

"I heard everything." He answered. "I figured you'd see the light eventually. What did it?"

A soft smile came to my lips. "A remarkable girl."

"Yang?".

"No...her little sister, Ruby." I could hear the silence from Traiko, indicating that he was thinking about whether this was a good thing or a bad one. "Don't worry about me Traiko. You've done enough of that as it is. Starting first thing tomorrow, I'm going to make everything right again."

"So is this whole thing between you and Yang over?" He wondered.

Her message ran through my mind causing me to smile to myself. "No, not by a longshot. But I refuse to let it consume me any longer. Sleep well Traiko, I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Sleep well Calyx." He returned before rolling over to go back to sleep. As my eyes felt heavy and I began to drift off, I thought of all the things I'd do differently.

The next morning, I woke up early. It was Sunday, so we had the day off but I didn't intend on staying idle. "Good morning Team Cobalt." I announced, standing proudly at the door that led into the hall.

"Wha…" Bakulah droned, her eyes opening slightly to regard me before she rolled over to sleep. "Go back to bed you moron." She griped but I wasn't going to have any of that. Placing my fingers to my lips I gave a sharp whistle that caused all of them to cover their ears and wince.

"Was that really necessary?" Lyn asked, her blonde hair in front of her face. "Why are you even waking us up? It's a Sunday. We don't have classes."

"You're right, we don't. But starting today, Sunday will be our physical training day. We'll be completing a run through Forever Fall Forest, as well as performing combat drills where we will practice our techniques and semblances."

The announcement caused Traiko to scratch his head. "But didn't the Professor say…"

"If I am caught on school grounds using my semblance I would be expelled, that is correct." My eyes gleamed mischievously. "But then again, Forever Fall isn't on the school grounds."

"That's a slippery slope Calyx. What if Professor Goodwitch catches us and expels all of us for going along with it?" All three members looked at me expectantly, Traiko's question having unnerved them.

"You have a point." I muttered in thought.

"Good, now can we please go back to bed." Baku whined.

"You can. I'll be doing my training alone."

"No way, I can't let you go to Forever Fall alone." Lyn argued.

"I'm not going to Forever Fall. I'll go into the city, maybe find some sort of physical work I can do. I've heard some of the students talking about a fighting arena. It would be a good place to test my semblance without having to worry."

Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, Lyn stood up walking towards me to give me a hug. As she did she whispered into my ear. "Calyx, remember your promise to me? How is this any different than how it was?"

I bit my lip trying to form a response. "Because this time," I whispered back, "I'm doing it for you. For all of you."

Traiko cleared his throat loudly to get our attention. "Here's a thought. Lyn, why don't you go with Calyx and make sure he doesn't get himself into too much trouble. Baku and I can hold down the fort until you guys get back. Sound good?"

"Wait just a moment!" Baku protested but Lyn just smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.

"That's a wonderful idea Traiko."

"Mine always are." He chuckled.

Lyn turned back to me with her bright copper eyes. "Is that okay with you Calyx? Maybe I'll even join and give you a run for your money." My heart raced at the thought of Lyn cheering me on while I fought with all my strength against another opponent.

"Definitely." I agreed quickly. "Let's get dressed. I'll meet you in the courtyard in 30 minutes."

"Thirty minutes?! That's hardly even time to do my hair." She replied, beginning to rush around the room to grab her things."Can we please just make it forty?"

"Sure." I laughed, "See you down there."

As the two of us left the room Baku shot Traiko a sideways glance that sent shivers down his spine. "I find it interesting Traiko that you seem to always be eager to get those two alone."

The warrior smirked as he laid down in his bed and rolled over to go to sleep. Bakulah hated being ignored, but at the same time she was much too tired to get into it now. Following suit, she also rolled over and when her head hit the pillow she fell fast asleep.

To be continued...