Cerise:
I sighed, leaning back against the bark of the tree. The soft, green petals of the branches swayed in the wind, my gaze slowly tracing its way up to the lighthouse of Beacon. It's dust glowed with light, sleep and regret hanging heavy on my eyelids. My inadequacy had nearly caused my team to die, and that was unacceptable. I shouldn't have let them split up, and I certainly should not have messed up that bad in controlling my Semblance. If I had better control, I could have protected Free and Ava, allowing them to join in the fight. Luckily, they were fine. Not even a scratch, thanks to Aura.
"I didn't know I signed up for a babysitting service."
The words resonated with me. Was I really that much of a child? Yes, I know I can be mindless. Even so, I thought I could stay calm and level headed when a serious situation happened. What changed? I kept calm in my duels, and I did in my training with my mothers.
The dead snakes head flew up, hitting her directly and thrusting her to the side.
I shook my head, slapping my cheeks to wake me up. I'm being stupid, worrying for my team that much.
You had a harder time controlling it after a certain someone got hurt, not as much for the other members of your team.
I shook my head violently to empty my head. No, I was being dumb. I cared for every member of my team.
Isn't that your flaw? Taking on that army wouldn't have been nearly as hard if you didn't have distractions.
"Fucking stop." I said, placing my hands on my face. I always got like this when I messed up. Analyzed myself so completely that I lose my sense of self, lost in the numbers and statistics. Yes, I probably would have fared better without my team. That doesn't make it better. I still couldn't have survived on my own.
Other things. Focus on something else.
My thoughts turned to the upcoming Parent day. The schools were buzzing with activity, and I haven't seen my parents in several days. Both Ruby and Weiss were off preparing, running around the campus in a daze. Ruby in particular seemed affected, always in a cartoonish trance like state when I saw her, caused by her lack of sleep.
"Cerise!" Shouted a feminine voice. Turning, I noticed the blonde braid of Ava as she ran over, a smile on her face. I flashed a smile of my own, waving at her gently. She calmly walked over, taking a second to look at the large fountain in the center of the pathway. Water elegantly spilled out of it, pouring into its basin.
"What's up?" I asked, meeting her green gaze.
"The other members of the team and I were thinking of headed downtown, want to come?"
"Uh…"
To be honest, I sort of want to be alone. Even so, I can't find myself able to deny…
"Sure…"
"Great!" She said with a smile, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. A shock shot up my spine, turning my face a deep red.
"We have to hurry though, I told them to run ahead."
"Ava…" I said, scratching the back of my neck. She turned around to face me, a look of curiosity perched upon her face. I nervously looked at our joined hands, but she tilted her head.
"What?"
Seriously?! Free told me she was thick, but come on! Throw me a lifeline here!
"Nothing." I said with a sigh, causing her to return to her rambles.
"Anyways, what happened in the fight? I missed it, being knocked out and all. Did Auburn really shoot a laser?! I heard Epsilon was there, which is hilarious. Free has the biggest crush on him, so she's steamed that she was knocked out and missed it. Was Auburn there? I've been wanting to meet him since Kana first mentioned him."
"Uh…" I muttered, trying to keep track of all the questions. "Well, they came and killed everything, and sorry about not being there to protect you-"
"What are you going on about?" She asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. "Why would you need to protect me? I'm attending Beacon for a reason."
"Eh, nothing, nothing. Auburn really did shoot a laser, Epsilon was there, and okay… Didn't know Free was capable of love. Anyways, yes, Auburn was there. See my 'he shot a laser' comment." I explained, causing her to giggle slightly.
"Well, I hope he comes to Parent Day. He sounds fun."
What about me?
"There they are." I said, pointing to them. Ava let go of my hand and waved them over. Free gave me a wink, flashing her gaze over to the girl besides me.
"Hey, guys!" Free said, placing her hands on her hips. "I thought you left without us." She placed emphasis on the latter part of the sentence as she glared at me, as if I was supposed to identify that she had given me an opportunity. I closed my eyes, causing Free to chuckle. "Anyways, where to?"
"I was thinking this great café called Going Coco. They have the best coffee." Ava said, giving a large smile. Press smiled, looking around the group. Her hand brushed through her brown hair, weaving through a small strand of cream colored hair.
"M-My mother, Coco, founded that shop. She's currently away on a huntress' mission, but it's a good shop." She explained, walking forward. We followed after her, considering she probably knew the way far better than any of us.
"Really? What about your other parent, Velvet, right?" I asked. Press nodded.
"She's probably working there right now. She usually stays home to take care of my other siblings, but I think she's taking over for Coco currently."
"You have more siblings?" Ava asked, tilting her head. "How many? I have seven aunts, so it's not too ridiculous."
"W-Well, a lot. Let's just leave it at that." She said with a slight smile. "I will say that I'm a chimera, though. People always think t-that's cool."
"A…Chimera?" Free asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. "What the hell is that?"
"In this context," I explained. "She's referring to a biological chimera. A single organism composed of two distinct different genetic codes. She likely was a part of twins or something, and absorbed the other embryo." Press nodded.
"My mother originally had a large litter planted into her, being a rabbit Faunus and all. I absorbed the other two children that she was pregnant with."
"Triplets?" Ava said, scoffing. "That must hurt."
"Bunny Faunus are good at giving birth to large litters." She explained.
"Isn't that racist?" Free asked.
"Uh… I don't think so. Is it racist to point out that you have brown hair?"
"No."
"Then I don't t-think so." She said, shrugging.
I'm pretty sure that the bunny thing is racist. Even if its not, why aren't you reacting now? You got all huffy puffy about the nickname 'bunny girl', for Monty's sake.
"If Bunny Faunus generally have large litters, why is Icarus the only sibling in her age range?" I asked.
"O-Oh, Icarus. She was an oddball." She said, causing me to nod. "Still is. She hides her ears under her Barrette."
"Artificial conception is weird." I said, turning to a shop.
Not as much as it may seem. Why two women can have a male child, even with science, the answer is simple. The body of hunterkind runs on 'z' genes. Have two 'z's (ZZ) and you are a girl. Have only one (Z), and you are a male."
"Is this it?"
"Yes." She said quietly. I walked in, holding the door open for my team as my eyes scanned the shop. The smell of fresh coffee lingered through the air, my gaze soon settling on the middle aged woman. She looked rather young, all things considered. She should be a year older than my mothers, but she looked even more youthful than Ruby, which was saying a lot.
"W-Welcome to Going Coco, oh, Espresso! It's so nice to see you again!" She said, giving a smile. "Is this your team?"
"Yes, mother. This is Cerise Rose," She said, pointing at me. I smiled awkwardly as she moved to Free, "This is Free Winchester, and this is Avalon Arc. We're team CAFE, pronounced café."
"That's cute. My team name was CFVY, pronounced coffee. I suppose my daughter's keeping up the tradition with her caffeine related team name." She said with a smile. "How are you liking it at Beacon?"
"I-It's good." She said, walking up to the counter and placing her hands on the counter.
"What would you like?" Velvet asked, brushing back her long light brown hair. Her stance was more proud than I remember my mother's describing. I imagine Coco must have really brought her out of her shell.
"I'll take a small vanilla coffee with cinnamon and a sugar, please." Press said, taking a seat.
"Alright. What about you, miss?" She asked, looking at Free.
"Uh… Coffee." She said, causing Velvet to giggle slightly.
"What would you like in your Coffee?"
"Make it large and black, please." She said, taking a seat by Press. The Faunus girl leaned in, whispering into Free's ear. A smirk crossed her face as Ava walked up to the counter.
"May I have a frozen mocha cappuccino, please?" She asked.
"Of course! You're so pretty, by the way. I love your hair." Velvet said, causing her to blush slightly.
"Well, thanks. It takes quite a bit in the morning."
Damn, I should have complimented her on her hair.
"And for you, sir?" She asked, smiling. I walked over to the counter, sighing as I tapped the granite slightly.
"I've never really had coffee, actually. Just a few sips, and I never liked how bitter it was."
"What?!" Ava shouted, interrupting my thought. "You're on a team named after coffee, and you've never had it? Unacceptable." She said, walking up and leaning against me to look at the menu. I felt my face grow hot as she scanned my face.
"What would you like… You definitely don't like bitter." She said, narrowing her eyes in silence for upwards of a minute. "You're a milk guy, huh?"
"Yeah, chocolate milk is my favorite. How did you know?" I asked.
"I remembered that little tidbit you mentioned about lowering your gravity to grow taller, and how your bones were weak for awhile. I wagered you needed some milk to strengthen them back up."
"Uh…" I said, surprised "You have quite the memory, don't you?"
"I suppose." She said with a smile, returning her gaze to Velvet. "He'll have a tall mocha, with three creams and one sugar." She said, Velvet turning and getting to work. Ava went and grabbed a seat, my eyes peeking at the cash register. While my team wasn't looking, I slipped out some lien from my pocket and handed it to Velvet, paying for the team.
"Quite the gentleman, aren't you?" She said with a giggle, preparing Free and Press' coffees.
That's a first.
Press and Free grabbed their steaming cups, Espresso gently blowing into her java and returning to her seat. Free leaned back in her chair, out of Ava's view. With a smirk, she pointed to herself and Press, pointing to the door. With a wink, she mouthed the words 'opportunity for both of us.'
With a sigh, I turned back to Velvet.
"S-So you attend Beacon with my daughter?" She asked, placing a cup under the machine and spraying the liquid into the paper.
"Yeah."
"An all girl team? What is Ozpin thinking?" She said with a sigh. "I remember Oz junior. We called him Ozzy. He was way older than us, a new graduate. Though he may seem like it, he differs from his father greatly. He took over Beacon when Ozpin senior died in the final battle."
"That's when he died? I'm so sorry." I said.
"It's not your fault." She said with a smile. "He joined us on the front lines when we pushed into the White Fang and defeated the last resistant sector, forcing them to sign a treaty. Ozpin sacrificed himself to take down Adam." She explained, taking three creams and pouring into the cup. Carefully, she stirred it around. "We never caught that Neo, but she's presumed dead. Considering that she never rejoined with her son, Rass."
"Were you there, at the final battle?"
"I was also on the front lines of The Battle of the Fray. We defended team RWBY against the troops as they took on Cinder, eventually taking her down. I still remember that woman's final moments."
"Do you mind me asking?"
"No. She had been impaled by Weiss' rapier, which had been picked up by Ruby after she had taken a hit. She turned to Yang and said 'By the light of the moon, you will regret this. My death, along with everyone else's, is a needed sacrifice."
"That's creepy." I said, raising my eyebrows.
"I-It certainly is."
"Well, thank you." I said, taking Ava's coffee in my left and my own in my right. "It's been a pleasure meeting you."
"Ditto." She said with a smile, walking away into the back of the shop.
"What do you mean, 'you have to go?'" Ava asked, looking up to the standing Free.
"I told you. Ozpin is demanding mandatory weapon and semblance check ups to make sure everyone stays safe when sparring. Press and I are at the top of his list."
"Really? We just got our coffee…"
"Sorry, I'll make it up to you. Cerise will keep you company." She said, taking Press and walking out the door. I winced at the bluntness of the comment, thinking that Ava would catch onto their game. Surprisingly, and unfortunately, she didn't.
"Oh, okay. I'll see you guys back in the dorms, then." She said, causing me to sigh as I took a seat, looking at my coffee. A smile crossed her lips as she poked me. I flinched, causing her to giggle slightly. "Try it!"
"Uh…" I said, eyeballing the brown liquid.
"Come on, don't be so afraid."
Afraid.
Afraid?
She's right…
Closing my eyes, I raised the cup to my lip and took a sip. The unique flavor, almost that of chocolate, flooded my lips. It wasn't sweet, and it wasn't bitter. The taste made me smile slightly as I lowered the cup.
"Okay, that's good." I said, causing her to chuckle.
"Told you."
"Okay, okay. I'll trust your judgment from now on." I said, raising my hands in an act of peace. She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her own cup.
"What? No, don't trust me. I'm bad at judgment-y things."
"You're not that bad. I just wish you'd alert me to your plans. I nearly had a heart attack when you leapt off that skyscraper."
"Haha yeah…" She said, scratching at her chin and breaking eye contact. "I remember that. Even so, you can't claim to be much better, riding Nevermores like they are your pony."
"I prefer the term 'valiant steed.'"
"I prefer the term 'insanity', personally." She said, causing a small grin to grow on my face. Finishing the last of my coffee, I looked around the store.
"Want to go somewhere?"
"Where?"
"Does it matter?" I asked, causing her to tilt her head.
"…Yes?"
That was supposed to be cool. Jaune taught me that one personally…
"Uh… Let's go get some dust. I'm running low on ammunition."
We can find something else on the way.
"Oh, good. I'm running low myself." She said, rising. We left the building, walking on the sidewalk as my gaze scanned the buildings of Vale.
"GAHHH! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Shouted a voice from behind me. I flinched as I turned around, met with the gaze of a man on a barrel. The sight only lasted a second before Ava leapt out of the way, leaving me alone. The barrel ran over me and thrust me into the concrete, flattening me like a pancake. The barrel rammed into the concrete wall behind me, sending the rider flying. He let out a curse as he rolled besides me, flopping down lifelessly.
"What in Monty's name…?" I choked, rising with a wince.
"Whoa, did you see that? I was riding a barrel! Who can say they have rode a barrel before!" He cheered, my face meeting my palms as I noticed who crashed into me.
"Auburn…"
"That's my name. Don't waste its magic." He said, brushing the dirt off his legs. He stuck out his hand, allowing me to get up with a slight grunt.
"Why where you riding a barrel down main street?" Ava asked, after noticing the safety.
"Huh? Me? Oh, it involved space pirates, cyborg dinosaurs, and just a tad bit of flying pigs" He said, giving a smirk.
…What?
"…What?" Ava said, mirroring my thoughts.
"Anyways, you're the niblets we had to save, aren't you?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips after he brushed away his black hair.
"Uh, yeah, we are. Thanks again for that."
"No need to thank me," He said, flexing his bicep "I do more than that for a warm up every day."
I fought the temptation to grab the bridge of my nose, instead only rubbing my chin.
"So what are you doing now?" He asked. "Oh, are you two on a date?! That's adorable."
We both stiffened, our faces turning red.
"No, we aren't like that!" She shouted. Auburn chuckled, leaning in.
"Yet."
"Onyx would say something in this situation." I said, sighing. "Something along the lines of 'Au-burn in hell'"
"Wo-ho-ho! We got a cocky one right here, and I'm not just saying that 'cause you're a guy." He said with a chuckle.
"Uh…" I muttered, causing him to chuckle slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that rude? I'm an asshole, but I try to keep it classy. A classhole, if you will."
"I'll be honest. You're scaring me." I said, taking a step back. "Okay, that's better."
"Look kid, let me tell you a little something about fear." He said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Fear is like a pretty woman with a bitchy attitude. She's so hot though, that you just convince yourself to like her. Then she stabs you, because she's a crazy bitch. Get what I'm saying?"
"Uh, no. No I do not."
"Long story short is, don't get with the pretty woman, unless its Blondie here-"
"Hey!"
"Because she'll end up stabbing you. Fear's the same way. It's easy to get wrapped up in it, but its just going to cause problems."
"Wow," I said, sighing. "That actually made sense."
"I told you," He said, pointing at himself with his thumb "Classhole."
…
Onyx:
"Are you pumped for the Parent Day or what?!" Jupiter said with a smile. "Think of how fun its going to be."
I gave a shrug as I peered over to Kana, who seemed to be staring straight forward down the street. She hadn't really come back since the mission on Mountain Glenn, and she had hardly explained why. Only that she hallucinated, something about a evil suit of armor. I tried to avoid the topic that Press did summon a familiar that took the shape of the armor, mostly because she only seemed stable by telling herself it was fake. I didn't know why the armor scared her so much, but it did.
"My mothers are scary, so I'm not so sure."
"Scary?" Jupiter chuckled, elbowing Baron. "Isn't your mom Yang? I get maybe Blake, but what's so scary about her? She seemed pretty nice, based on the war stories."
"You've got it reversed. Blake is the easy one, Yang is the one you should be fearful of." I explained, but she only laughed.
"I'll believe it when I see it." She said, stopping at a store. "Anyways, Kana and I have to do some female shopping, so we'll see you guys around." She said, tapping Kana's shoulder. The small girl shuddered in surprise, looking up. Realization dawned on her face as she nodded, following Jupiter inside.
I sighed, turning to Baron.
"So..." I said awkwardly. "What should we do now?" Baron only shrugged, taking out a banana and peeling it open.
What's with you and bananas, anyways? Where do you even get them?"
"The market, where else?" He said, furrowing his brow.
"Uh, nothing. Just forget it." I said with a sigh. Walking forward, I turned the corner. Something hard hit me, causing me to stumble back.
"Ow! Did I seriously just walk into a wall?" I said, grabbing my nose and looking up. The chest of my brother, Epsilon, met my gaze.
"Oh, its you." He said with a smile, rubbing his hands in my hair. The man was at least two inches taller than me, which was no small feat. I was large and tall, earning the nickname 'Ox'. Epsilon was conceived in Yang while I was conceived in Blake, so that's why he wasn't a Faunus. Even so, he still was muscular.
"Hey, Epsilon. What are you doing?" I asked.
"Uh... nothing. What about you?" He said, a suspicious tone hanging from his lip.
"Nothing. Epsilon, what are you doing."
"I told you man, nothing!" He said, crossing his arms.
"I know when you are lying. What's going on." I said, causing Baron to tilt his head.
"Epsilon... where do I know that name..."
"I... I'm meeting a girl, okay? Happy?" He said, acting embarrassed. "Her name is-"
"Really? You actually got a girl that could bear your ego?"
"So what if I did?"
"Oh, I remember it now." Baron said, looking at me. "He's lying about the girl."
"What?" I asked, causing Baron to nod.
"I may or may not have been lying to you, too." Baron said with a sigh "I suppose you're the best person to tell, considering you were in it. Epsilon and I here-"
"Shut it!"
"Relax, okay, I know what I'm doing." He said.
"Don't!"
"We are in the Black Fang."
…
Kana:
"This is so cute!" Jupiter said, holding up a shirt. I smiled, nodding in agreement as she placed it down, grabbing another out.
"This would look so great on you!" She said, holding up the dress. It was far more revealing than I usually wore, but I just nodded weakly. After seeing my reaction, her arm dropped along with her smile. "Okay, I get you're off your game, but come on. Not even dresses can cheer you up?"
"Not when I'm buying." I said with a sigh. She waved the notion away, adjusting the goggles on her forehead and grabbing another dress.
"You should be happy for such an occasion!" She said, grabbing another dress. Holding it against my body, she grimaced as placed it back. "You'll get to see your parents again. That will be fun, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose. I have missed them quite a bit." I admitted.
"See? Maybe that's it. You're feeling homesick subconsciously or something like that. Hell if I know, I'm not a psychologist."
"What about you? Are you excited to see your dad?" I asked, causing her to freeze. With her back to me, she slowly placed the dress away and stood tall, clearing her throat.
"No, no I'm not."
"Why?" I asked, tilting my head.
"My Dad's an asshole, that's why." She said bitterly, placing the dress away. "I got into Beacon specifically to avoid him. Otherwise, I wouldn't care about things like grades and such."
"Jupiter..." I started, looking down solemnly.
"It's nothing, okay? He's just an asshole. I'll find something to do for that time." She spat, tearing through the clothing and grabbing a shirt.
"Why would you say that about your father?" I asked, trying to be gentle.
"Why? Oh, that's rich. You don't know the things he's done. He had me with a woman, and then ran off with me. I never met my mother. He stole a child, isn't that fucking great? Oh, and he doesn't have the balls to talk about the incident either. I was more than ecstatic when that letter from Beacon came in through the mail."
I have a feeling its not that simple...
I turned my head slightly, someone gently filing through the shirts. Tilting my gaze up, I noticed that it wasn't a girl, but rather a guy. He hard orange hair, along with minty green eyes. His hair was cut short and combed perfectly, a small green bowtie on his dress shirt. Jupiter noticed my gaze, tilting her head when she saw him.
"Uh, you know this is the girl's section, right?"
"Hmm?" He said, tilting up his head. "Oh, I know." He said, returning to the clothing. I glanced at Jupiter and gave a shrug, causing her to grow angry.
"Hey, didn't you hear me? This is the women's section. I'm not sure I feel comfortable with a pervert like you checking out this part of the store." She said angrily, causing him to raise his head slightly.
"Yes, I did register your voice. Pardon me, but I will continue my search."
"Wa-what?" She said, scoffing in confusion and disgust. "Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Rusty." He said, looking up at Jupiter.
"Uh, Rusty?" She said. "That's an odd name."
"What is yours?" He asked.
"Excuse me?"
"What is your name?"
"Uh..." She muttered awkwardly, glancing at me. Giving her a shrug, she turned back to the odd boy. "Jupiter."
"Well then, Jupiter," He said, glancing at her and giving a smile.
"Salutations."
