Chapter 10- MOONrise
Everything was quiet in the Delsole family apartment, the only sounds being a pencil scratching against paper and the occasional creaking of a wooden chair coming from one of the bedrooms. Oreonna sat at her desk working diligently as she read from her textbook, taking time to jot down a few notes after every paragraph or so. Her long black tail swung contently through the back of her seat and her brow was furrowed in concentration. The cat girl never minded studying as much as most teenagers her age did, there was just something about the quiet contemplation of it all that appealed to the faunus, but today she seemed especially engrossed in her work.
However the blonde behind her on Oreonna's bed felt quite the opposite about the situation and let out a loud frustrated groan as she let her own textbook fall to the floor with a thump. "UUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH, this is so boooooooooring," Yang said with her head hanging off the edge of Oreonna's mattress, her long mane of bright yellow hair cascading onto the floor beneath her, "aren't we done yet?"
The black and white haired faunus was too focused on her work to even turn around to address her friend, "Weren't you the one who begged me to help you study in the first place?" she said with a teasing smile on her face that she knew Yang could easily hear in her voice.
The blonde teenager rolled over onto her front, propping herself up on her elbows, "Well... yeah, but we've been at this for hours! It's the weekend, Oreo! Let's go do something fun, or stupid, or pretty much anything that isn't this," Yang said as she rolled the rest of the way off the bed.
"Yes, it's the weekend, Sunday to be precise," Oreonna turned, her chair creaking as she faced Yang, "as in the day usually followed by Monday, the same Monday as that big test that we're both cramming for right now," the cat faunus gave her "study buddy" an unimpressed look.
Yang pouted over dramatically, "Kit-Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat..." she whined.
Oreonna rolled her eyes at the nick name, "You know I'm not keeping you here against your will, right?" she said, "You can leave any time you want. I just need to finish up this chapter, okay?"
"Yeah, I know I can," Yang said leaning over to inspect what her faunus friend was reading, "but what kind of friend would I be if I left you to rot away here while I was out enjoying the splendors of youth?" The blonde finally saw the title of the section of the book her friend was studying, "Rare and Regionally Exclusive Grimm?" she said in mild surprise, "There's no way that's on the test, Oreo. Hell, we probably won't even be learning stuff like that till we get to Beacon anyway."
"I know, it's just... for extra credit is all..." Oreonna said, her nose back in her text book.
Yang gave Oreonna an incredulous look, "Really? You think you need it? Because I'm pretty sure they don't make a grade higher than A+, Oreo."
The cat faunus sighed, "I know, I just..." Oreonna paused, "You wouldn't understand," she mumbled, immediately regretting her choice of words.
Oreonna looked up at Yang's slightly hurt expression. The blonde nodded, "Okay," she said before taking a seat back on Oreonna's bed and crossing her arms across her chest, "try me."
The cat eared girl sat sideways on her chair, looking downward. She didn't really want to get into this, a part of her wished Yang had just taken her up on her offer to leave, but that wasn't the way Yang operated, she knew this. When Oreonna looked back at the blonde brawler, Yang was just staring at the cat girl with that same sympathetic expression that always made the the faunus instinctively want to spill her guts. Oreonna had no defense against that look, it never failed.
The violinist took a deep breath before speaking, "I saw one of my tuition bills for Signal the other day," she admitted hesitantly, "it was a second notice, I think... my dad was trying to hide it from me." Oreonna felt a lump forming in her throat as she spoke, "He's already working himself to the bone at the bookstore to keep us afloat and now Signals costing him even more." It's true, even in a world that craved more and more huntsmen every day, any combat school in any kingdom was incredibly expensive to attend. It wasn't enough just to be skilled in combat these days, tuition and training weren't cheap and the cost could be suffocating to any family, let alone one being held together by a single parent. "I just... I just don't want to waste everything he's sacrificed for me," Oreonna continued as Yang listened patiently, "I can't let it go to waste... I just can't. So I need to push myself harder, not just for me, but for him too," Oreonna cast her gaze down again in shame, her tail hanging low.
After a beat of silence, Yang stood up, "Okay, get up. I'm hugging you now," Yang said/demanded.
Oreonna let out a hoarse laugh before standing, sure enough she soon felt the tall blondes strong arms wrap around her, "Oreonna Delsole, you are one of the smartest people I've ever known and someday you're going to make one hell of a bad ass huntress," Yang said, rubbing Oreonna's back. She pulled away with her hands resting on the short faunus' shoulders, looking deeply into her friends magenta eyes, "And I know your dad would say the same, anyone could tell with one look at the guy just how proud he is of you. You're not wasting anything, no one pushes themselves as hard as you do, but you also need to know when to take a break. Otherwise you'll end up burning yourself out, understand?" Oreonna smiled up at Yang, she really was way too good at this whole "being there for people" thing, Oreonna had to guess that Yang's experience as an older sister had something to do with that. The blonde stepped around Oreonna, "Luckily," she said, slapping Oreonna lightly on her back as she passed her, "I'm an expert in the field of break-taking." Yang leaned against the rooms door frame. "What do you say we meet up with Ruby and we all go catch a movie? You know, something stupid and actiony so we can just turn our brains off for a few hours."
"Yeah," Oreonna said, a confident smile on her face, "that sounds awesome, actually. Just give me a minute to put my books away."
Yang beamed back at the cat faunus, "Alright! I'll meet you downstairs then," she said turning to leave the room.
Oreonna's smile grew after Yang disappeared from eyesight. She really was lucky to have her as a friend, Oreonna wondered what she'd do without her sometimes. The black and white haired girl went to close her book when the title of the next chapter caught her eye.
"Drakodo- The Dragon of the West."
The text went on, describing the beast as a massive embodiment of lava and destruction. The large lizard like Grimm was said to be native to Vacuo, living in the dark caves beneath the deserts surface, though even there they were rarely ever seen. At night, under the shattered moon, they left heir homes to wreak havoc on humanity. Few eye witness accounts described in detail the path of fire and destruction the Grimm left in it's wake. It's weaknesses included-"
"Kit-Kat! I will drag you away from those damn books if I have to! We both know I could do it!" Oreonna heard Yang yell from downstairs.
The cat girl laughed at her friends empty threat, even though she knew Yang was fully capable of such a feat, because oh my god, she was scary strong. The faunus took one last look at the Grimm's description, she briefly turned to the next page to see a massive illustration of a Drakodo, easily taking up both pages.
Oreonna hummed thoughtfully before closing the book and placing it back in her bag on the desk, "A Drakodo, huh?" she said to herself, "I'd hate to run into one of those someday."
With that, the black and white haired girl hurried out of her room, to join her friend.
"GOD DAMNIT, YANG!" Oreonna shouted as she thrust her dust infused sword at the massive reptilian Grimm again, but similarly to the last several strikes she'd tried, the Drakodo's scales nullified any damage she might have done. However the attack did succeed in getting the monsters attention as it turned it's giant lava dripping maw towards Oreonna.
Before it could attack, Maybelle was there to intercept with another crushing blow from Alexandra Grande to the side of the beasts head, the cow faunus followed up with another heavy strike getting the giant lizard's focus on her. Without wasting a second, Oran was on the back of the Grimm's head and fired off a lightning quick series of punches on it's skull, large concentrated blasts of air firing out of his gauntlets with each hit, but once again, the monster was unperturbed and quickly tried shaking the annoyance off his head. The smooth surface of the Grimm's bone like head left the hyena boy with nothing to hold on to and he was sent flying off the Grimm. On the ground, Nichol darted between the beasts legs, swiping at it's joints with the sharp blade on the end of her dust wand trying to bring it down, but she was having about as much luck as the others.
The Drakodo's hide was just too thick to pierce. Maybelle seemed to be doing the most damage of all four of them, but even that seemed inconsequential to the giant, reptilian Grimm. Things were looking bad for the young group of hunters in training.
"So, not saying that I'm having a crappy time hanging out with you guys or anything," Oran said as he dodged a tail swipe, "but this seems to be going poorly."
"Don't you EVER shut up!" Nichol yelled from across the cave floor as she twirled her spear in her hand, launching three orbs of ice dust at the Drakodo's feet.
"Not if I'm awake, no," Oran replied, watching as the ice hissed against the Drakodo's skin, freezing it's leg in place, and for the first time in what felt like hours, the four students were able to stop and take a breath. But half a second later, the ice started to crack and steam poured off it as the beast pulled itself free, roaring in aggravation as it's markings glowed red.
"May, any ideas?" Oreonna asked. The cow faunus had come up with a unique solution earlier during their confrontation with the Naja, Oreonna really hoped the blonde had something else up her non existent sleeves. Maybelle looked contemplative for a moment before her eyes lit up as an idea started to take form. She grabbed her club by it's handle and gave it a hard twist, the grip of the weapon bent in the middle at a ninety degree angle. May placed her other arm under her club to support it as she grabbed Alexandra Grande by the top part of it's handle. The end of her weapon swung open and Maybelle pressed a hidden trigger on the hilt then-
BANG!
A cannonball shot out of the end of her weapon exploding when it made contact with the Drakodo's face. The Grimm disappeared behind a wall of smoke before a loud thud was heard, presumably the monsters body hitting the ground. Oran, Nichol, and Oreonna stared slack jawed at Maybelle as smoke billowed out of the sides of her weapon. The cow faunus quickly slid her club back on it's holster, and looked to her stunned companions with a panicked expression. "We need to go! That'll probably slow it down, but my weapon can only hold one shot and when that thing gets up, its gonna be pissed," May said before taking off back the way Oreonna and herself had come from.
"Was that your plan?" Oreonna asked as she started running after May.
"Nah, That was just supposed to buy us some time," Maybelle replied, "trust me, my actual plan is waaaaaaaaaay crazier than that."
"I'm good with crazy!" Oran yelled as he suddenly took the lead since he was the fastest of the group., "Crazy and not dead sounds good to me!"
Nichol remained silent as she begrudgingly followed the faunus. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of following these three, but at the very least the two new arrivals seemed to have a better sense of direction than her orange haired "guide" had. So the silver haired girl decided to make peace with the fact that they'd all just happened to be traveling the same direction for now, and once they'd lost the monstrous Grimm pursuing them, she'd happily take her leave from these faunus' company.
Eventually the four of them arrived back at the exit of the Catacombs that Oreonna and Maybelle had discovered earlier. The sunlight shined in tantalizingly above them, but all four of the teens knew they'd never make it up the long staircase circling up around the edges of the caverns walls. A loud roar behind them signalized the Drakodo was back on it's feet and just as Maybelle had predicted, less than happy about it's prey's momentary escape. As the sound of it's huge, lumbering footsteps started approaching, Oran, Oreonna, and Nichol all looked to Maybelle, eager to hear whatever plan she had come up with for dealing with it.
"You two," May said addressing Oran and Nichol, "I need you guys to keep that thing busy. Once it gets here, try and keep it in the center of the cavern."
Oran stood up straight and gave a mock salute with his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth before spinning around rushing off towards the path behind them. Nichol however was not so agreeable and bared her teeth at Maybelle in defiance, "The day I take orders from a-" Another louder, and much closer roar interrupted the silver haired warrior. Her orange eyes went wide for a moment before she scowled in defeat. "Fine.." she said, begrudgingly turning to join Oran at their assigned post.
The first part of her plan was in place, so the cow faunus turned to Oreonna for the next phase, "Oreonna, we're gonna do what we did with that snake thing earlier. Just hold that big guy in place and I'll do the rest!"
The black and white haired faunus looked at May with a doubt filled expression, "May, I... You saw the size of that thing. I've never tried to restrain a Grimm that big before."
It's true, the cat faunus had spent many years honing her skills with Symphonic Discord. Manipulating her supply of dust took immense focus, a level of which very few in the world possessed, but Oreonna had one advantage over most; Music, she'd always had a good ear for music, even as a kid, from the simple rhythms to the complex concerto's, it all just came naturally to her. She was, as many in her life had said; gifted. With that ability, Oreonna was able to learn all kinds of "spells" with dust much quicker than most. Even then though, it still took years of practice and frustration on her part just to learn the basics, more than once she'd been tempted to quit the violin all together, but in the end, the music always called her back. Truth be told, Oreonna still had a lot to learn about the manipulation of dust, a small Grimm or two may be nothing to her at this point, but a Drakodo? Maybelle just didn't understand, what she was asking was beyond anything Oreonna had ever done or even thought about doing before.
"Oreo..." Maybelle placed her hands on the shorter girls shoulders, "you can do this. I know you can."
The cat girl looked up into May's deep, brown eyes and saw unwavering trust. It was strange, maybe even a little ridiculous to Oreonna, that this girl could so completely believe in someone she'd only known for a couple of hours max. But the way she said it, combined with the look in those big chocolate colored eyes made Oreonna even start to believe in herself... just a little anyway.
"I'll... try..." the cat faunus mumbled. That was all she could do, and all anyone could ask of her, she supposed, "but this things a lot bigger than that Naja, May. Are you sure you're gonna be able to take it out?"
Maybelle grinned at her, "Well, I don't plan on going easy on it, that's for sure," The cow faunus looked up towards the exit high above them, her face filled with a fierce determination, "I'm just gonna need a lot more momentum behind my strike this time."
Oreonna followed her gaze upwards. Wait. She wasn't planning on-
"One good jump s'all it'll take. Straight up and then I come crashing down hard on that things scaly head."
"May! That's-"
"Crazy?" Maybelle interrupted, "Yeah, that's what I said earlier, remember? Don't worry, I'll be fine. You just keep that creep still, okay?"
"... Okay," Oreonna replied. If Maybelle was gonna have so much faith in her, the least she could do was offer the cow girl the same. Truthfully, the cat eared girl was more worried about being able to accomplish her own part of this plan. There was a lot riding on her, namely the survival of all parties involved.
No pressure though, right?
The taller faunus offered Oreonna another dazzling smile before running to get into position. The violinist sighed loudly as she tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach and she brought Symphonic Discord up to her chin as she heard the beast drawing near.
While Maybelle and Oreonna were having their little pep talk, Oran and Nichol were waiting at the end of the long tunnel for there guest of honor to arrive. Nichol gripped her dust wand tightly with both hands, her eyes focused on the darkness before her. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the scenario she'd somehow gotten into, and even less so with her current company, faunus always had to complicate things in her life, didn't they? That, plus there was the feeling of general unease when she stopped to think about the odds of their survival in this situation. Her stomach was twisting, and her palms were getting sweaty, it's almost like she was af-
No.
There was no time to focus on whatever those feelings were. She had to stay sharp, attentive, ready to strike. There was no margin for error against a Grimm this size, so she had to block out all distrac-
"So I'm thinking boots."
Oran's interruption shattered Nichols concentration, "What?" she said not so much as a question, but out of irritation. Though she had no idea why she was even engaging this faunus in conversation at this point.
"Just wondering what I'm gonna do with my share of all the leftover leather we'll have once we skin this thing," Oran explained with a wink.
Nichol glared back at him, "Are you completely incapable of taking anything seriously? " she snapped at him, "Unless you have something useful to add to the proceedings, I kindly implore you to shut the hell up. This is not the time for your stupid jokes."
Oran chuckled weakly, "Heh, yeah, I know that," the hyena faunus looked back over his shoulder to the other two members of their temporary (Nichol could not stress that word enough) alliance before looking back at Nichol, his smile slightly weaker now. He almost looked... worried, which was a bit of a shock to the staff wielder.
"Hey, Nicky?" he said softly.
"I told you never to call me that," Nichol responded darkly, but Oran just continued to stare at her, eventually she groaned loudly and said, "What?"
Oran seemed to take a bit of pride in the small victory, "Don't tell Oreo and May... but I'm kinda freaked out of my mind right now," the faunus admitted sheepishly, "This whole "joking" thing I'm doing? Most of the time it's just for fun, but right now? Times like these? It's more of a defense mechanism. Like, somehow focusing on laughs keeps my brain from realizing just how screwed we probably are."
"I... see..." Nichol was caught a little off guard by how open and.. serious Oran was being with her right now. Sharing something so private with someone you not only barely new, but clearly whom had nothing but disdain for everything you stood for was... weird. His openness made the reserved girl very uncomfortable to say the least. By far the worst part though, was just how hard Nichol was trying to keep from relating to the creature standing beside her. Fear was just another useless emotion to her, and she couldn't afford to feel anything like that anymore.
But something about the way Oran was looking at her stirred some memories in Nichol's often closed off mind. For a moment, she thought of herself, looking upwards at a woman with long ash colored hair, wearing bright, shining, silver armor, and a warm, comforting smile on her face. Nichol had been feeling the same emotional cocktail of fear and doubt within her that Oran was in that moment, she'd never forget the advise she'd received from that woman that day.
"... Someone once told me that there was no shame in being afraid, that it's just another emotion associated with being alive, and that's something that separates us from the monsters of the world," Nichol wasn't really sure why she was saying any of this, but she continued, "and that as long as you hold tight to those emotions, you'll always have a reason to keep fighting." The silver haired girl rationalized in her head that if this faunus was this distracted by his own fear it'd just end up getting them both killed, that was the only reason she was bothering to say anything. Of course, that made sense, it was just out of practicality. Nothing more.
Oran's smile regained some of it's strength at Nichols words as it grew with newfound confidence, "Wow... Thanks for the pep-talk, Nicky. Think I needed that."
Nichol closed here eyes in frustration as the insufferable faunus continued to call her THAT name, "I swear if we survive this I will kill you myself."
"Ha! And here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor," Oran chuckled nervously as he turned back to face the cave opening, "you... uh... you are joking, right?"
Nichol chose not to respond, she decided to keep the ever annoying Oran in suspense on that little threat. However she did find herself briefly struggling to hold back a smirk that was sneaking onto her face at the faunus boys nervousness.
Suddenly a blast of fire came shooting out of the darkness, the light briefly illuminating their familiar attacker, but Nichol was ready, extending a hand out in front of her making a force field protecting her -and inadvertently Oran- from the attack. Once the flames had subsided, the robo-armed faunus charged up a large amount of wind dust in his hands before launching it at the Drakodo's glowing markings in the darkness, the Grimm growled at the two threateningly in response. Oran and Nichol looked at each other briefly and the hyena faunus offered a nod of determination before the two rushed off towards their mutual enemy.
Meanwhile, a very lacking in confidence Oreonna was watching and waiting with her violin. A wall of smoke had blocked Oran and Nichol from her vision, but the cat faunus' extra set of ears could easily make out the sounds of a struggle. The Drakodo's loud lumbering movements, a flurry of quick impacts from Oran, the noises of various dust explosions courtesy of Nichol's weapon, and finally there was that annoyingly loud, pounding heartbeat.
Oh. No wait, that was her.
Oreonna took another deep breath, she looked over to Maybelle who was also waiting patiently, crouched and ready for her part in this plan she'd invented. The cow faunus made eye contact and offered a nod of encouragement to Oreonna, well at least someone in this cave was feeling confident in her abilities right now. They were counting on her, all three of them were. Again, no pressure or anything.
I can do this. That was the mantra the violinist had running on repeat through her head right now. Yeah, she could do this. No problem. I mean how hard could it-
Oran suddenly came flying out of the wall of smoke landing on his back and rolling across the floor. Nichol soon followed, but managed to regain her balance mid-air and landed in a crouch.
Then Oreonna saw the beast step out from the cavern, it looked even bigger than she remembered. It's forked tongue darted in and out of it's mouth as it tasted the air around it. The Grimm locked it's eyes onto the human and faunus standing before it, and then it charged.
Oran hopped to his feet and darted to the right while Nichol went left. The Grimm swung it's massive body sideways so that it's tail swiped at Nichol and it could snap it's magma soaked jaws at Oran, luckily they both dodged, the hyena faunus barely managing to leap out of the Drakodo's gaping maw. The orange glands on the Drakodo's neck started to glow and a stream of fire poured out of it's mouth as it tried to roast the two aspiring hunters.
Oreonna was so entranced by this scene before her, she almost forgot her one job. She shook her head to regain her focus and brought her bow to her violins strings. It was the same song she'd used earlier against the Naja, but the cat faunus was pouring every ounce of her heart and soul into the melody this time, nothing less would do the trick here.
Soon four light blue circles appeared beneath the Drakodo's feet. From inside each of them, icy blue chains started slinking out slowly, ensnaring the Grimm's legs. The beast was quick to notice this and immediately began struggling against it's restraints. With it's mobility limited, Oran and Nichol began their distracting assault as Maybelle started jumping up the stairs, the cow faunus skipping entire sections at a time with her long leaps. All the while Oreonna continued to play, beads of sweat starting to build up on her brow as she commanded the chains to start winding around the body of the beast as well. Things were going according to plan,
but a Grimm is most dangerous when it's cornered.
The Drakodo let out an ear shattering roar as it's form started glowing bright orange and veins filled with magma appeared all over it's body. The icy chains that had started covering it began to hiss as the temperature of the room started skyrocketing. Before any of the hunters in training could comprehend what was going on, the Drakodo sent out a massive force of heat from it's body creating a shock wave that sent Nichol and Oran flying into the walls of the cave, their auras shattering at the impact.
Oreonna was luckily far enough away from the epicenter of the blast that she wasn't knocked away, but she did have to stop playing to shield herself from the overwhelming heat. That's when the chains covering the Grimm started to crack.
Oh no.
Oreonna hurriedly started to play again, the chains reasserted themselves, but now the Drakodo knew that the cat girl was the cause of them. It's red eyes locked onto Oreonna and it started pulling against it's restraints even harder, inching towards the violin player, gnashing it's teeth together. Oreonna continued to play faster and faster as panic started swelling inside of her. She was fine. She'd be fine. She just had to stay on track. Not let anything-
The Drakodo let out another ferocious roar straight towards the cat faunus and Oreonna felt her bow slip sightly off course and a sour note came out of her instrument.
CHINK!
One of the chains holding the Grimm back shattered to pieces, and the beast lunged forward as the remaining bonds strained to hold it back.
NONONONONONONONONO!
NO! She could do this!
Oreonna replayed the section, but hit the same wrong note at the same part again causing another chain to snap.
CHINK!
The Drakodo was only a few meters away now.
"OREONNA! MOVE!" someone shouted, the cat girl wasn't sure who it was. She really would love to take their advice, but her legs refused to oblige, seemingly frozen in place as well. So she just kept trying to play the melody, but as stress and pressure continued to build, she found herself making more and more mistakes.
CHINK!
Soon only one chain remained. Oran and Nichol were still on their backs, the orange haired hyena boy was struggling desperately to get to his feet as his silver haired companion looked on with an unreadable expression. Maybelle was several stories above and completely out of reach. The flustered cat girl closed her eyes in one last ditch effort to regain her focus over the sound of the Grimm's claws scratching against the earth as it hungrily reached for Oreonna, but she just couldn't do it.
When Oreonna opened her eyes, all she saw was the Drakodo's wide open jaws and the flames being pushed out of it towards her.
Her magenta eyes went wide at the feeling of intense heat against her face as the fire approached.
Well... Maybe she couldn't do this after all...
Just before the wall of hot death could hit her, something collided with the cat faunus knocking her out of the way. She heard a yell of pain as she rolled across the floor with whatever had hit the cat girl on top of her. Oreonna, after realizing she'd managed to avoid death somehow, looked up to see Maybelle on top of her with a pained expression on her face. The cow faunus rolled off of the black and white haired girl as the Drakodo turned to face the two of them. What Oreonna hadn't seen, was Maybelle leaping from her perch high above the battlefield, pressing her feet up against the wall and using her semblance to send her body soaring through the air to push the cat girl out of harms way. It had worked, but the Grimm had a bead on the now helpless faunus.
"Hey, Ugly!" Oran shouted from across the cavern as he fired a burst of wind right at the Grimm's face, "Come over here and look at how distracting I am!" The monster needed no more incentive than that and changed course towards the hyena faunus and Nichol, who'd finally gotten to her feet, "Okay, I pissed off the giant fire breathing dragon. Probably should have thought of a part two to this plan."
"I hate you," Nichol replied as she prepared for round three of this horrible, horrible day.
Oreonna was watching the two until she heard May gasp in agony, she turned to see why and her stomach immediately twisted into a knot. Maybelle was clutching her left leg, the calf of which was bright red and blistering, she'd been burned. Badly.
May was hurt.
May had been hurt saving her, that part was especially painful to Oreonna.
The blonde noticed her friends staring and gave a dry laugh, "It's not as bad as it looks," the cat faunus knew she was lying. She watched as Maybelle hopped up onto her feet wincing slightly and clearly trying to avoid putting weight on the burnt limb. Her aura had been cut through by the flame like it was nothing, this Grimm was... beastly. "So, ready to try again?" May said, extending a hand towards Oreonna to help her stand up.
But the cat faunus couldn't take her eyes off of the burn the tall blonde had sustained because of her. This was her fault, she'd failed. That was all it took for a host of negative thoughts to begin shooting through Oreonna's head.
Is this how a huntress acts?
You weren't ready for this.
They were counting on you.
Why are you even here?
Failure.
Worthless.
Even your own mother knew that.
Dammit, it always came back to that, didn't it. That one person in Oreonna's life that had disappointed her the most. It wasn't so simple as the pain the cat girl had felt growing up without a mom, watching other kids getting picked up by their parents after school, or seeing other, complete families, playing together in the park. No, Oreonna's mother had hurt her in a much deeper way by abandoning her. Neo, Neopolitan, whatever she called herself, that woman had deemed her daughter"unworthy" of her love. Her mother abandoning Oreonna had been the catalyst for a lifetime of deep rooted self-esteem issues, anxiety, and doubt for the cat girl. Most days she could hide it deep down inside herself, behind fake smiles and faker laughter, but ever since she came to this kingdom, Oreonna had felt all those pent up feelings building inside, and now they were threatening to overtake her.
"Oreo?" May's voice cut through the dark thoughts for a moment. She looked down at the cat faunus with a concerned expression that just made Oreonna feel even worse. Getting the scholarship had been a fluke, you don't deserve to be here, you were just lucky, and now that "luck" was going to get all four of them killed.
So to answer May's earlier question; No. She was not ready to try again, "I... I... I can't..." Oreonna could barely even speak right now, shame and depression were steadily taking over. Sure enough, she could feel the tears already starting.
May looked down at the distressed faunus with a look of sympathy, but not disappointment. She realized she'd pushed too far, she knelt down near Oreonna, the quiet grunt of pain escaping her as she did made the cat girls heart ache even more, "It's okay." Maybelle said in that same understanding, calm voice as always. Even as the sounds of roaring flames and dust explosions sounded off around them, Maybelle was as kind and level headed as ever. "I get it. Just rest here a minute. We'll... we'll think of something else," May limped over to Alexandra Grande and gingerly bent down to pick it up, "when you're ready, come give us a hand, okay?" the cow faunus said smiling sweetly as Oreonna sat there on the ground. Then she turned around and rushed, well, more like hopped, back into battle.
The cat girl kinda wished May had just yelled or something. Anything would have been better her just being so... nice to her. Maybelle was incredible, even though things were looking their absolute worst right now, she still charged headlong into the fray to help others. She'd make an amazing huntress... and she deserved so much better than to die here.
Fear, frustration, humiliation, all of those emotions and more wreaked havoc inside Oreonna's mind. Not a great time for a mental breakdown, but when is really?
She wasn't ready for this.
She hadn't studied hard enough, or trained hard enough.
She...
She wasn't...
She couldn't...
I can't do it!
What's wrong, Oreo?
I've tried to play this song like seventy times now! I... I can't do it! I'm not good enough! I never will be.
Oreo, you're only eight years old, and you're in the advanced class! You'll get there some day. Give it time.
But dad! Everyone else in my music class can do it no problem! But I'm just... I can't! I quit!
Oreo... come here, sweetheart.
Why can't I do it? I try so hard, just as hard as the others, but I still can't play violin as good as them. Is... something wrong with me?
...Hey, can I tell you a secret?
Umm. Okay?
All those other kids who you look up to? They've all felt exactly the same way you do at some point.
Really?
Yup, I promise, but when things got tough, they stuck with it, and never gave up. Then one day, with plenty of practice, they got to that seemingly impossible level that you think exists. You'll get there one day too, but you have to keep trying, no matter what.
But what if I'm not strong enough?
Ha! I'm not worried about that, and you shouldn't be either. You're plenty strong enough, and you'll only get stronger.
How do you know?
Because you're a Delsole...
Oreonna opened her eyes, conviction shining in her magenta irises. She stood herself up and wiped the tears away. The faunus took a deep breath and raised Symphonic Discord to her chin once more.
...And Delsole's are stubborn.
Maybelle leapt at her target again with her giant club ready to strike, but her wound was slowing her down and the beast easily knocked her away with a swing of it's head. The cow faunus hit the ground hard and Alexandra Grande slipped from her grip and rolled far away from her. May propped herself up on her elbows, Oran and Nichol weren't far away, but she could tell they were getting exhausted, and her leg was practically throbbing with pain at this point. Things weren't looking great for them, the Drakodo opened it's mouth and leaned in slowly towards Maybelle, savoring the moment before the kill. May could only sit and watch, her burn protesting against any further movement for the time being. She'd given it her best shot she supposed, her parents had warned her about the dangers of the life she'd chosen, her dad knew more about that than most, but she'd just told them they were worrying too much. Besides, Maybelle didn't want to spend the rest of her life working on some farm in the middle of nowhere, she wanted to make a difference in the world, and when she knew she could, there was never any doubt about what she'd wanted to do with her life. Even now, she could firmly say she had no regrets about following her dreams.
Maybelle could feel the heat radiating off the Grimm's body as it got closer to the prone cow faunus. For some reason, she felt herself drifting back, thinking about the previous night. She'd been sitting in the cafeteria, generally bored out of her mind as Nebula and Gwen were going back and forth about something stupid. Then she'd heard it; That beautiful music, then she saw the girl playing it, sitting there in her PJ's with her eyes closed as she played that violin. This short cat faunus was completely unlike anything Maybelle had ever seen or heard in her life. She'd... actually felt a little shy about approaching the girl, which was a first for the usually outgoing blonde. Even though it had lead to a massive misunderstanding between the two, Maybelle was glad she'd talked to her that night. It's funny, she could almost hear a violin playing right now... wait.
Both Maybelle and the Drakodo's heads shot in the direction the music was coming from. May's face lit up as she saw Oreonna furiously playing her weapon, the song the same as before, but the tempo was much faster. The black and white haired cat faunus was staring intently at the Grimm, her gaze steely and focused.
The overgrown reptile charged at the cat girl instantly, it had learned that the small faunus' music brought pain and was rushing to snuff her out. But Oreonna just smiled as the Grimm failed to notice the several glowing blue circles appearing in it's path. Once it got close enough the icy blue chains shot out ensnaring the beast almost instantly this time. Maybelle needed no other sign to get to work as she grabbed her weapon and began her jumping ascent up the staircases again. Her leg burned in aggravation at all the movement, but the cow faunus used every last drop of adrenaline she had left to ignore the pain and continue.
Oreonna kept playing as the chains continued winding around the Drakodo. The cat faunus knew she only had enough dust left to try this spell one last time, so she had to make it count. The Grimm bucked and pulled at it's restraints, but for every chain it broke, another took it's place. The Drakodo reared back, gathering flames in the back of it's throat as it faced Oreonna, but the violinist just kept playing as she saw a familiar orange blur running up the back of the monster.
"No! Bad, lizard! BAD!" Oran shouted as he jumped up and slammed both his fists down on the Grimm's snout, slamming it's mouth shut. Oreonna played a high note and another chain shot out wrapping around the Drakodo's jaw, holding it closed. The Grimm's eyes went wide as the fire it'd collected had nowhere to go now, the glands on it's neck started to glow and expand until finally-
SPLORCH!
they exploded, sending a wave of hot magma flying out of the new holes in the beasts neck, right towards Oreonna. The cat faunus hadn't planned on that, but then a wave of ice washed over the lava cooling it and stopping it just short of the cat girl. From her position, Oreonna could just make out an exhausted Nichol standing on the other side of the battlefield with her dust wand pointed in the direction of the frozen magma. The faunus definitely hadn't planned on that either, but gave the silver haired warrior a nod of appreciation.
The Grimm's struggles increased as whatever pain it was experiencing seemed to only increase it's aggression. Once again it started gathering heat as it's body lit up and released a large wave or scorching energy. Though it was much less intense this time, the wave still succeeded in weakening the chains holding the beast, but it was too late. The three hunters them had done their parts, all that was left was for Maybelle to do her job. Oreonna stopped playing and looked up, smiling at the blonde speck at the top of the exit to the Catacombs.
Eden Evergreen tapped her boot on the grass as she stood on the edge of the wide opening that made up the exit to the Blighted Catacombs. Professor Neight wasn't far off, choosing instead to wait under a bit of shade created by one of the many trees throughout the gardens of Shade Academy. All around him sat the students that had completed their initiation already, many of them were resting on the ground, having their injuries tended to or just chatting about their exploits in the dark caverns.
Eden cast a glance over at the group of a hundred or so children and gave a small frown. There were... less of them than she was hoping for. The deer faunus did her best not to dwell on the thought. It never got any easier though, sending children down into the depths of the academy with hopes that they'd return ready to begin their career as hunters, but at the same time she was fully aware that many of their bodies would never be found.
Eden let out a frustrated breath through her nose, then she heard the sound of Professor Neight's quiet footsteps approaching from behind, "Madame..." he started, a bit of hesitation in his voice, "don't you think it's about time we closed the tunnel?"
"A few more minutes. I can still sense some stragglers down there," Eden knew that she had to seal up the exit to the Catacombs soon. The Grimm inside would realize the way out was open and then it'd be a matter of time before they'd attempt a "jailbreak". A few had already tried and were immediately eliminated by the staff, but with every passing moment, the risk that a beast of actual consequence would make a break for the surface grew and grew. With a courtyard full of tired, inexperienced students... well, it would not end well, for anyone.
Neight took his usual spot at the headmistresses side, holding a hand up to the front of his face in an effort to shield his eyes from the setting sun over Vacuo. Eden knew he was having the same concerns float through his mind as well. "There's only so much preparatory combat school can do to get them ready for today," he said, "though, I do always find it noble how you wait patiently every year, like a concerned parent, for them to return from this trial," Neight smiled at Eden who couldn't hold back a smile of her own.
"I just love to see their faces when they emerge is all. That look of relief, the joy they show at just being alive... It reminds me of long ago... too long perhaps, when we were completing our own trials to get to where we are today." Eden chuckled lightly at the fond memory, "Better days, I suppose."
"Truly they were," Neight replied, "though perhaps not THAT long ago," He joked.
"Speak for yourself," the two old friends shared a quiet laugh there, out of the earshot of their new students. Eventually, the moment passed and Eden found herself once again staring down at the pit before them in quiet contemplation.
The pale bat faunus placed his hand on her shoulder, "Madame... I think it's time we-"
Suddenly a yellow blur shot up out of the hole. Both hunters were immediately on guard, until they noticed it was Maybelle Daffidys, one of the students undergoing initiation that they had both had their eyes on. Maybelle hovered in the air for a second, bringing her club over head, then with a bloodthirsty howl she plummeted back into the Catacombs.
For a moment the professor and headmistress stood in silence, attempting to process what they'd just seen, "Well," Neight said finally, "a few more minutes couldn't hurt, I suppose."
Oreonna, Nichol and Oran watched in awe as Maybelle dropped from the sky like a golden comet.
Oran, oddly enough, was the one to grasp the impending situation first, "Uhh, maybe we should mo-"
Unfortunately not fast enough, as the plummeting cow faunus slammed into the trapped Drakodo sending out a massive shock wave at the impact. The blast sent all three of the hunters in training flying as rocks and other debris flew off in every direction.
It was several moments later before any of the group began to stir. Oreonna stumbled to her feet, coughing as she slowly used the caves wall as support to help stand. She saw Oran to her left pushing aside a small boulder that had rolled on top of him, as well as Nichol to her right, dusting off her front with her free hand. After making sure Oran was okay, and getting grumpily waved off my Nichol, the cat faunus ran towards the epicenter of the impact to search for the forth member of their group.
Once she passed through the thick clouds of debris that had been kicked up, the cat girls eyes went wide as saucers. The crater was massive, the bright cat faunus didn't have the time or energy to try and calculate just how much force May had struck with, but she could safely assume based on the scene before her, it had been enough.
The Grimm was assuredly dead now, it's entire front half appeared to have been obliterated, and it's back half was quickly dissolving into thick black smoke. Whatever pools of magma or fire it had left behind seemed to have hardened to stone as well. There at the center where the deepest point of the crater was the cat girl saw the face down prone form of-
"MAYBELLE!" Oreonna cried out in alarm. The violinist quickly ran to her friends side, sliding onto her knees as she got close and adding scraped shins to the list of many injuries she'd suffered today. A pained groan from the blonde berserker put Oreonna a bit more at ease. Maybelle rolled over onto her back and blinked almost sleepily at the cat girl hovering over her.
Once her brown eyes had focused, the cow faunus looked around as best she could at the carnage she'd caused, "Huh... maybe... I overdid it?" she asked.
Oreonna laughed loudly, "Yeah, maybe."
"Told you... I jump good," May said as she slowly sat up.
"That you do," the cat faunus smiled as she helped the still dazed cow girl to her feet. Maybelle took a few unsteady steps on her own before stopping to try and collect herself,
then she immediately started to fall over.
"MAY!" Oreonna yelled as she did her best to catch Maybelle, throwing an arm around her to support her weakened friend. The cat faunus was surprised that Maybelle wasn't nearly as heavy as one might have thought, but then she noticed Oran had also grabbed the cow faunus and was helping to support her on the opposite side.
"S-sorry..." May apologized as she tried to regain her balance, "guess that took a lot more out of me than I expected."
"No worries, May," Oran said as he and Oreo threw the tired faunus' arms over their shoulders, "You killed the crap out of our clingy, lava loving friend. The least we can do is walk you across the finish line."
"Well then." Nichol cut in -whom Oreonna had noticed hadn't even bothered to try and help Maybelle, which did not earn the silver haired girl any points in the her book- "you'd best get started then."
Without another word, the stoic spear wielder started up the stairs. Oran looked at the steps, the exit was almost 100 stories up, and now they had to carry easily the heaviest of them all the way up.
"Well... crap."
"Nebula Violette, Gwen Darcy, Dew Gayl, and Octavia Ember," Eden Evergreen recited the names to the packed audience of the auditorium as she introduced the new students to the second through forth years of Shade Academy. "The four of you exhibited incredible courage and diligence in the face of the horrors below in the Blighted Catacombs," the headmistress turned to the four girls with a proud look in her eyes, "from this day forward you shall fight by each others side as team NDGO. Led by, Nebula Violette," The crowd lit up in applause and the group of girls smiled excitedly at each other, Nebula and Gwen exchanging high fives.
Just off stage, Oreonna took a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her stomach, "You ready?" Maybelle said from behind her.
The tall blonde stood next to her and Oran, while Nichol was off in the corner leaning against the wall with an angrier than usual look on her face. Oreonna chose to ignore her though, there was no way she'd let anyone ruin this moment for her, "I've been waiting for this day ever since I was a little girl," the cat faunus was practically beaming up at Maybelle, "I wasn't so sure before, but after everything we went through... Yeah, I think I'm ready."
Professor Evergreen gave their group a nod as the newly formed team NDGO left the stage. It was time.
The four of them ,with Nichol begrudgingly taking up the rear, stepped out and stood before their new headmistress in a line. Eden observed them briefly as the teenagers portraits appeared on the massive screen behind them for all to see.
"And lastly, Oreonna Delsole, Maybelle Daffidys, Nichol Cuillere, and Oran Bellows. The four of you have faced and overcame incredible hardships, through your teamwork and ingenuity you have emerged victorious today, may the lessons you learned in the Blighted Catacombs serve you well. From this day forward you shall fight at each others side as team MOON. Led by, Maybelle Daffidys."
It was official. Oreonna felt her excitement bubble over and she immediately wrapped her arms around Maybelle trapping the cow faunus in a tight hug. For a split second, the cat girl felt a wave of embarrassment at the her uncharacteristically impulsive behavior, mainly on account of the crowd of people still watching and applauding them. However, when she looked up at May and saw her smiling down at her, everything in the world just felt... right. Unfortunately whatever moment might have been happening was spoiled a bit once Oran latched onto Maybelle and Oreonna as well as he laughed excitedly. May started laughing too, and scooped both of them up in her arms and with little effort lifted them over her head.
Eden couldn't help but let a carefree smile spread across her face at the antics of three fourths of team MOON. Though, as she expected, the final member looked less than pleased. Just then, Professor Neight came walking out from backstage with a rather grave expression on his face, he swiftly moved right up next to Eden and whispered to her softly, "The Emerald City is calling."
Miss Evergreen looked at her second in command in disbelief. Why would he be calling her now? It must be important. Regaining her composure, Eden turned back to the microphone, "This concludes our initiation ceremony, all students should now report to their dorms. After all, you have classes tomorrow morning," without another word, the headmistress and her company turned and marched off the stage.
Oreonna was the only member of her team to notice the haste with which the two seemed to leave, but as Maybelle finally returned Oran and her to the floor, she didn't think much of it, the excitement of the day was way too overpowering. It was everything she'd ever dreamed it to be, even if it was in a different kingdom. She wished her dad was here to see her now, Oreonna reached up to the locket around her neck and stroked it gently with her thumb. Well... maybe he was here, in a way, but the cat girl looked forward to telling him all about this as soon as she got the chance.
Oran lightly punching the violinist in her arm pulled the cat girl out of her thoughts, "Ya see, Oreo?" he said, "Told you everything would work out, and hey, I didn't even have to beat up/get beaten up by Maybelle for you!"
"Wait, what?" May asked in confusion.
"Ha ha ha," Oreonna laughed loudly and awkwardly, "Stop talking now, Oran," she said in a threatening tone.
"NOPE!" the hyena faunus replied, "You heard Big Green, you're all stuck with me now. Forever and ever." Oreonna smiled as she looked at her new teammates, she could think of worse fates than being stuck with these guys. "Speaking of stuck together," Oran continued, "Hey, Nicky! You wanna get in on this-" The orange haired faunus turned around just in time to see the stage exit door slamming shut loudly, "Ooooookay, later then."
Oreonna rolled her eyes in exasperation, the silver haired girl seemed intent on ruining this celebration. So maybe things weren't exactly perfect within team MOON yet, but from that day forth, they'd have each other to rely on.
And in the trying times to come, they'd need just that.
Eden Evergreen's office was quiet. At the door stood Professor Neight, to ensure no one entered during this private conversation. The windows had been darkened even though the sun had set over an hour ago. The headmistress sat at her large round desk that resembled a gigantic tree stump, she leaned forward in her large oak chair and placed her head in her hands. The room was dark, the only light coming from a small lamp as well as the holographic display in front of her. On the screen was a man with grey hair and spectacles staring out at her with a sympathetic expression.
"Why am I just hearing about this now, Ozpin?" Eden didn't even look up when she asked the question, her tone was low and harsh.
Ozpin sighed, "I thought we could see to the situation on our own, but it has evolved beyond the control of General Ironwood, Leonardo, and myself. So we decided to bring you up to speed."
"That 'situation', you refer to, involves one of MY former students!" Eden said through clenched teeth.
"I am aware," the grey haired man's voice remained calm, "but what's happened here... it's unlike anything we've ever seen. It has to be handled delicately and discreetly, or we risk losing what's left of her."
Eden sat back in her chair, gripping the arm rests. She thought on her fellow huntsman and headmaster's words and slowly released her grip, as much as she hated admitting it, Ozpin was right, ""Is... is she comfortable as least? Is she in any pain?" The deer faunus asked.
Beacon's headmaster rested his elbows on his desk and his head on his hands and gave a grave look, "We're... doing everything we can. James assures me that the technology he's provided from his engineers in Atlas is state of the art. We will keep her safe until..." Ozpin hesitated and chose his next words carefully, "... until the time comes."
Eden swallowed the lump in her throat and felt it plummet all the way down into her chest, "I see," was all the headmistress could say. Images of a dark haired, brown eyed girl on her first day at Shade Academy rode through her head, "Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help, Ozpin."
"Of course, Eden, take care of yourself."
The screen disappeared as Ozpin ended the transmission. The deer faunus rested a palm against her head. How did this happen? How did things get this bad this fast? "Madame?" Professor Neight made his presence known again as he approached the crestfallen headmistress, "You mustn't blame yourself for this."
"Neight, Amber was one of my most gifted and prized students. I was the one in charge of her training after we found out about her aunts disease," Miss Evergreen looked into her dear friends sullen red eyes and smiled sadly, "there's very little blame to be directed elsewhere, I'm afraid."
The bat faunus placed his white gloved fingertips on Eden's desk. "Something like this has never happened before, Madame. Anonymity has always been the Maidens most powerful ally. No one could have known Amber would be attacked like this."
Eden remained silent as she placed her hands in her lap. Her job was to ensure her students left this school ready to face anything, and Amber? She'd been the brightest pupil the deer faunus had ever had the joy of instructing. So much promise. So much potential. Eden had even been the one to inform Amber about the secret of the Maidens when it became clear that the young girl would be the one to inherit her aunts powers of Fall. The headmistress had expected the seventeen year-old's reaction to be dire. Shock, disbelief, maybe even fear, all seemed to be rational reactions to being informed about the truths of the world, the truth about magic, but Amber was ecstatic, not so much about her favorite aunts illness, but still, eager to receive her powers to help humanity. That had always been her way, Amber was the standard to which Eden believed all huntresses should hold themselves to, and there could be no better candidate for the Fall Maiden in her eyes. Now though? Now Amber's fate had been all but sealed. Half of the Maiden's power had been ripped out of her by some unknown party, and if what Ozpin had said was true, it was only a matter of time until she... passed. Eden was overwhelmed with guilt and regret.
"So, what's the plan?" Neight asked. If he couldn't convince his long time friend not to blame herself, he could at least get her to focus on their next step instead.
"It's out of our hands now," the headmistress replied, "Ozpin will take care of her as best he can until we find out what to do with the power she still-"
"SHH!" Nieght interrupted, his hand out, indicating he wanted Eden to stop talking. The bat faunus faced the closed door to Eden's office with an intense look, he'd heard the footsteps approaching, it was quite late for a visitor. Eden stood from her chair slowly, her face a mask of stone as she rose, whatever this was, she was in no mood for it. The wooden walls of her office creaked as roots spread out from the floor, all of them pointing towards to door the deer faunus was staring at. Neight stuck a hand inside his jacket pocket and when he pulled it out, silver claws were attached to the fingertips of his gloves. The two faunus gave each other a knowing look, Neight nodded at Eden signifying that whoever it was, they were right outside her door now.
"Whoever's there, you might as well come in," Eden said in an impatient tone, the roots around her office pointed there sharp tips at the entrance. The door opened revealing a teenage girl with silver hair done up in braids on each side of her face and orange eyes.
Neight placed his claws back in his pocket discreetly, but Eden kept the weaponized roots at the ready. The bat faunus greeted the new arrival, "Miss Cuillere? To what do we owe the-"
"Place me on a different team," Nichol interrupted as she marched into the office, her fiery eyes locked onto Eden's green ones.
The headmistress said nothing at first, she just seemed to be appraising the girl in front of her, "Neight," Eden finally said.
"Madame?"
"Give us a moment to ourselves, won't you?"
Neight looked a bit surprised but nodded in acceptance before slipping out of the room. Eden retook her seat, "Is there a problem with the teammates I have assigned you?" she asked.
"Yes, I don't want to be on a team with them. Put me on a different one, or switch me with another student, I don't care," Nichol demanded.
"You seemed to have no problem working with them in the Catacombs though. I can't even remember the last time a group of first years took on a Drakodo and lived," Eden said calmly as Nichol fumed at her.
"You don't understand-"
"Oh I think I understand plenty, "Miss Cuillere," Eden's emphasis on Nichols last name made the silver haired girl look uncomfortable, "I've been headmistress at Shade for many years and believe me when I say, I thought I'd seen it all," Eden's continued as Nichol stared at her with a confused look, wondering where the faunus woman was going with this. "Delinquents graduating head of their class, promising hunters dropping out a week before graduation, I've even seen a girl who claimed she could actually speak to Beowolves," Eden smiled at the many memories acquired over the years, "but still, I like to think I'll always be surprised even in the years to come. Every year I have a new crowd of students come here with there own unique stories to be shared." The smile disappeared off the headmistresses face as she leaned towards Nichol, "For example; if a member of the most notoriously violent anti-faunus militia showed up at my door," Nichol's eyes went wide in horror, "wouldn't that be... interesting. Don't you agree, Miss Acier?"
The silver haired girl seemed frozen under the headmistresses gaze, she reached for her weapon that was still on her back from initiation.
"Don't." Eden commanded, raising just a finger in Nichol's direction which caused all the roots she'd prepared to lash out at the teenager. The pointed edges stopped about an inch from the panicked girls neck, causing her grey aura to flicker in reaction and Nichol went still. The deer faunus sighed, "I'm not going to hurt you," Eden said, "but you will answer a question that's been burning in my head ever since I first laid eyes on that forged transcript you tried to slip past me."
Nichol slowly lowered her hand from her spear, her gaze defiant. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
"No good ones I'm afraid," Eden smiled in amusement as the needle like roots moved away from Nichol's throat.
The huntress in training let out a huff at being found out on her first day at Shade, "Then ask them."
Eden narrowed her eyes a bit at the girls poor attitude, "Why are you here?"
Nichol looked at her headmistress with an emotionless expression, "I need to become stronger."
The deer faunus was quiet a moment as she seemed to analyze the blunt answer, she was left unsatisfied, "Why?"
"Revenge," the response was without hesitation or second thought. Nichol's expression became dark as she tightly closed her fists at her side.
Eden closed her eyes in frustration, that's what she'd been afraid of. She couldn't teach this one, this kind of story never ended well. No, the smart thing to do here would be to expel this troublemaker immediately. Every second this girl was here she was putting the entire student body, human and faunus alike, at risk, but the smart choice and the right one rarely ever coincide. Besides, there were still things Eden wanted to know about this girl, and sending her away wouldn't get the antlered faunus any answers.
"Then why Shade?" the headmistress asked, "You could have forged your way into any academy on Remnant. Why chose one with a student body consisting of mostly faunus? The very race Humanities Hand has been trying so hard to eradicate?" Nichol broke eye contact, choosing to look at the floor in front of her instead of the faunus' piercing gaze, "It seems to me that this is the last place I'd expect to find someone like-"
Eden stopped as the light bulb went off in her head. Nichol looked back up, trying so hard to look angry. Miss Evergreen saw past her visage and on to the fear behind those orange eyes. This girl... she wasn't a saboteur, or an assassin, she was running, or hiding from something... or someone.
A defector? The deer faunus still didn't understand completely, the kind of hate the Hand bred into it's members didn't just go away. So it certainly wasn't morality that made Nichol leave, so then what was it? It was something beyond fear that drove this girl away from her people. The young huntress still said nothing as the two waited in silence. Eden had gotten answers, not all of them, but the look on the silver haired girls face said that pushing her any further right now would get them nowhere.
The already emotionally exhausted headmistress took a deep breath, "Your request for team reassignment is denied," she said bluntly. Nichol looked back in frustration, but offered no rebuttal, "That being said, I won't keep you here against your will. You paid for an education, no matter where that money may have come from," she added accusingly, "it is up to you whether or not you choose to waste that." Eden entwined her fingers on her desk, "However, if you do leave you can rest assured that I will see to it that you and your forged transcript never see the inside of another academy in any kingdom you run to. Are we clear?" Nichol's earlier glare returned, aimed squarely at the headmistress who was basically blackmailing her. Eden smiled back wryly, "I thought so. It is my humble recommendation that you take the time to actually get to know your new teammates before you decide they aren't worth your time." Eden's tone took on a softer note, "What I saw down in those Blighted Catacombs, the four of you can do great things. But only if you're willing to look past your preconceived notions about my kind." Nichol remained stone faced at Eden's words, but the deer faunus wasn't naive enough to assume she'd be able to smooth out years of discrimination with mere words alone. "I beseech you," the headmistress pleaded, "don't waste this chance you've been given."
The young huntress in training looked conflicted for a moment, her balled up fists relaxing slightly. She closed her eyes and took a breath, her angry look returning to her face when she reopened her orange eyes, "So, are we done here?" she asked.
Eden furrowed her brow at Nichol, "Yes, for now."
Nichol turned to leave, opening the door slightly but stopped at the exit. The silver haired girl looked back over her shoulder and spoke, "Are you going to tell anyone?"
Eden waited a beat before answering, "No, I don't suspect the other students and staff would be as forgiving as I am, and that would not provide a productive learning experience for anyone," the headmistress stood to her full height, antlers giving her pose a sense of intimidation, "but know this, Miss Cuillere; If you harm any of your fellow hunters in training during your time at Shade, you'll find that my forgiveness is not infinite, and there will be severe consequence. When I say that, know I'm not simply referring to expulsion."
Nichol didn't offer any reply, she just disappeared out of Eden's office, the door swinging shut behind her. The deer faunus slumped back into her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Madame?" Professor Neight said re-entering the room and taking his usual position at Eden's side.
The headmistress of Shade Academy was exhausted, but still managed a slight smile, "I suppose you heard all of that?"
"My word! What a preposterous accusation my dear Miss Evergreen!" Neight said in an over-dramatic fashion, bringing his hand to his heart as if he'd been struck there, "Me? Eavesdropping? The very thought!" the bat faunus added with a sly smile, "But.. in all seriousness, how do you wish to proceed?"
Eden let out a long, deep breath from her nose, "One day at a time, old friend. It's certainly going to be an... interesting year."
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A/N- Aaaaaaand there it is, the end of the "Shade" arc of this story. I've already got another chapter ready to edit and stuff, hopefully it'll get done in a reasonable amount of time, for reference this one was supposed to be done as a Christmas present... woof.
Aaaaaanyway, I'd like to get a little sappy for a moment if I could and say that I was incredibly nervous about posting this on this site. This is the first story I've ever written (and posted) online and I want you all to know I value every review, follow and fav you've all given me. but you do know that such behavior is only going to make me want to post more? Right?
I'd like to keep this going, and if you all want to be patient with me and stick around, I can't see why I shouldn't. Thanks again for reading! Hope to have more for you all soon!
Next Chapter- The "Sterling" arc begins. Our team has been assembled, but will they be able to act as one?
:P