Happy Dragon Tuesday, everyone! This week has a bit of Arkos goodness, along with a little chat between the members of Team RWBY. And some Sun comfort, of course.

This week's dragon spotlight goes to Dragonite! Yep, that's right. The original Dragon-type Pokemon (even though Charizard is also basically a dragon). I remember slaving away on my copy of FireRed until I could finally afford a Dratini at the Game Corner. Then came the intense grinding until I finally got the sixth member of my team. Hats off to you, Dart. You won me a great many battles.

Enjoy!

"That was…tense," Jaune muttered as he and Pyrrha separated from the rest of the group and headed toward the arenas.

"That's putting it mildly," Pyrrha replied, glancing over her shoulder. She, of course, was aware of the feelings of animosity between the Faunus and the Schnee family. She hadn't expected it to be brought to light in such an uncomfortable and sudden way. "I hope this doesn't interfere with our friendship with everyone."

"Weiss didn't seem like she was trying to be mean," Jaune pointed out. "Did you notice that?"

"I did." Pyrrha nodded. "I think the problem here is that she was taught to think a certain way, not that she's actually a bad person."

"Yeah, I'm a pretty good judge of character. She's definitely not bad," Jaune said. "Just the other day, she sang to Twiggy to calm her down when she stubbed her toe. The dragons seem to really like her singing."

"Well, let's see what happens. Hopefully, they'll be able to talk things out." They reached the earth arena. "For now, let's focus on training."

"Yes, ma'am," Jaune replied with a smart salute. "What are your orders today, ma'am?"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Stop sassing your teacher, for one."

Jaune grinned innocently. "Me? Sass you? Perish the thought!"

Pyrrha lightly swatted his shoulder, unable to keep from chuckling. "Anyway, we're going to do some basic sparring today. The dragonets are doing a good job of building up their muscles, but they can always do better. Also, sparring may cause their elemental powers to emerge."

"Yeah, I'm still not sure if Twiggy's started with that already." He looked at his dragon. "Nothing has happened since that weird levitation incident."

"It could have been one of the other dragons."

"Yeah, but can dragons lift other living things like that?" Jaune remembered that Blake had left almost as soon as Twiggy had touched the ground. Had Pit done something, perhaps?

"I'm not sure. For now, let's focus on sparring." Pyrrha gently touched Titan's back. "Titan, battle stance."

Titan moved his legs apart and crouched down, his tail lashing as he looked at Twiggy. He was ready to help his little sister get stronger. She was already getting better. Eventually, she'd be able to easily beat up Mudslide.

Twiggy didn't need any prompting to plant her paws firmly on the ground and growl softly. She liked fighting with her brother. He never hurt her too badly and always stopped when she got scared.

"Titan, begin," Pyrrha said, sitting on one of the stone benches in the arena to watch.

Titan jumped toward Twiggy, who nimbly rolled out of the way, snapping at his heels in the process. The two circled each other before Twiggy attempted to trip Titan with her tail. He yanked on it, pulling her close so that he could pin her down with his front paws.

"Settle," Jaune called, watching as both dragons immediately backed away from each other. He had noticed lately that Titan seemed perfectly willing to obey his commands. Twiggy also listened to Pyrrha just as easily as she listened to him. They were at a point where they had to partner with Ren and Nora for the dragon-switching exercises in order to feel any sort of challenge.

They waited for the dragonets to catch their breaths before ordering them to spar again. As they watched, Pyrrha shifted a little. "So, I noticed that there's a new Red vs. Blue movie coming out," she started.

"Ooh, yeah! I saw the trailers. It looks pretty sweet," Jaune said. "It's gonna be based on some of the episodes in season fourteen. It should be good as long as they don't try to change the material too much."

Pyrrha smiled at his enthusiasm. "Well, since you've been doing so well with Twiggy, why don't we go see it on opening night? My treat. I'm sure Ren and Nora won't mind looking after Titan and Twiggy for a few hours."

Jaune grinned. "Sounds fun! I'll take care of the snacks. I didn't even know you liked Red vs. Blue."

Pyrrha's cheeks flushed. "Well, I've never actually seen it, but I keep hearing about how good it is, so…"

Jaune gasped. "Oh man, I'll have to start you on the series. It's basically required that you see the first five seasons before you see anything else. Reconstruction, Recreation, and Revelation come right after, and are even better! That's when the series' overall tone shifts from straight-up comedy to comedy with plot and feels. I'm a huge fan of the Chorus Trilogy, though opinions are split on that." He paused, realizing how nerdy he probably sounded. "I mean, if you're down for a marathon…"

"I'd like that," Pyrrha immediately replied. "I haven't marathoned a series in a long time."

"I guess dragon-wrangling is busy work." Jaune noticed a slight change in her expression. "Is there a reason you don't like talking about it?"

Pyrrha shrugged, glancing toward Titan and Twiggy, who had stopped sparring and were play scuffling. "Settle," she called before looking back at Jaune. "It was fun at first. Tracking down potential breeding dragons, analyzing them from a distance, and calming them down… It was all quite exciting. When the television stations came to my parents, however…" She shook her head. "It suddenly became all about looking good for the camera and making public appearances. It was a commercial thing rather than a job that I enjoyed."

"Is that why you became a Rider?"

"I always wanted to be a Rider. I was a bit worried, though, especially on the first day. I knew that a lot of people recognized me, and were too intimidated to come talk to me. I thought I'd be more of a celebrity than a student, that being a Rider would also be ruined for me." She glanced at Jaune. "I'm really glad you talked to me back then. It set my mind at ease knowing that there were some people who hadn't seen me on TV. And everyone else started opening up to me because of that."

"So, my lack of knowledge finally helped someone!" Jaune laughed. "That's definitely a first." He grinned when this caused Pyrrha to laugh as well. "You know, if you ever get jumped by photographers, I could always distract them." He struck a pose, making her laugh even harder.

The dragons watched their partners curiously. Twiggy chirped, recognizing this sound as a happy one.

Titan tilted his head, noting that his partner seemed to make these happy noises more often when with his sister's partner. He glanced at Twiggy. They needed to make sure that their partners were together as often as possible.

Twiggy bobbed her head in agreement.

…..

Only a few minutes passed in the Team RWBY dorm before the tension became unbearable for everyone. Weiss put down her bag with a huff. "Could someone please tell me what the problem is?"

Blake's eyes flashed. "How about you telling a Faunus how great it is that he had to get screened like some criminal? Or the fact that you did it literal hours after he got attacked by a trio of bigots and unfairly ticketed by the police?"

"He was given a warning because his dragon bit someone enough to make them bleed," Weiss snapped. "He's lucky he wasn't sued."

"So, you think those bullies are in the right?!"

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying he's lucky he wasn't sued. You know how people can be."

"Yeah. I do," Blake said flatly.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I don't have anything against Faunus, but certain precautions must be taken."

"You basically just said: 'I'm not bigoted, but…'"

"Guys, stop it!" Ruby cut in. "You're scaring the dragons!"

Blake and Weiss glanced toward the divots. Storm was hiding her head in her downy bed, Fang's tail was twitching, Specter was shifting nervously from paw to paw, and Pit's eyes were narrow. The two exchanged guilty looks and tried to calm down.

"Why don't we talk about this calmly?" Ruby continued. "Weiss, why do you think precautions need to be taken against Faunus?"

Weiss sighed and folded her hands. "My family has been targeted by the White Fang ever since it changed leaders. Dust trains have been robbed, company members have been killed…" She took a shuddering breath. "And so was my mother's dragon."

The dorm room was dead silent as Ruby, Blake, and Yang gaped at Weiss.

Blake's mouth opened and closed for a moment. She had never heard anything about this. Wouldn't Adam have mentioned something like that? "How do you know it was them?" she whispered.

Weiss wiped her eyes, still remembering her mother's screams ringing from the barn. "Because they left their mark in her stall. They just came in during the night, killed Snowflake, and burned the White Fang symbol into the door." She shook her head as she thought back to that ugly, smoking brand. "Father replaced most of the Faunus workers. Mother…wasn't the same after that." By that, she meant that her mother was never sober after that day.

Ruby sat down next to Weiss and touched her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Weiss. That must have been horrible."

Yang frowned. "How come it wasn't on the news? Wouldn't Snowflake have been the first ice dragon ever?"

Weiss sighed. "Father didn't want to make a public spectacle of it. He said that was what the White Fang wanted. He bribed all the media outlets to make it seem like she was killed in a flying accident, then quickly swept it under the rug."

Blake clenched her fists, glaring at the ground. No. That's not what they wanted. They wanted to hurt the Schnees. This wasn't a public statement, but a personal threat. She knew how Adam worked. He was smarter than others who would simply focus on publicity and being loud. He knew how to be subtle. He knew how to get a person where it hurt the most.

"That is terrible," Blake said aloud, her voice taking on a gentler tone. "But, it's not a reason to mistrust all Faunus. Yes, there are Faunus in the White Fang, but they're a minority. And many who are in the White Fang are there because they're desperate and see no other solution to the prejudice w- they face." She kept her ears stock-still.

Weiss gave Blake a long look. "I…suppose you're right. I was taught from a young age to be wary of all Faunus, because there was always a chance that they could be with the White Fang. As the heiress to the company, I'd be a valuable hostage to them."

"That's true," Blake sighed, half to herself. She had heard of several half-formed plans to kidnap the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. There were also a few members who liked to talk about various unsavory things they'd like to do to her if they ever caught her. Looking at Weiss now, knowing her as a fellow Rider and teammate, memories of that was almost enough to cause Blake to shudder with revulsion.

"However," Weiss continued after a long pause. "I am training to be a Rider now, and am more than capable of looking after myself. Being afraid of an entire group of people won't do me any good. And I do honestly like Sun, even though he can be a bit crude at times." She looked at the others, her eyes taking on an uncharacteristically uncertain shine. "What…What should I do?"

"Apologize," Ruby replied immediately. "Tell Sun what you told us, and say you're sorry. He'll forgive you."

"I know he will," Yang added. "He's one of the most easygoing people I've ever met."

Weiss nodded. "I'll talk with him tomorrow, then." She looked at Blake. "I really am not trying to be offensive. I hope you know that."

Blake felt herself relax as she heard the sincerity in Weiss's tone. "Yeah. I think I do." Just the same, she decided that it would be a good while before Weiss or anyone else learned who she really was. She looked at Pit, who had not shown any other signs of powers since the incident with Twiggy. I hope I don't end up regretting this whole thing.

….

Sun had been staring at the same page in his textbook for almost a half hour. He didn't realize it until he felt Neptune sitting on the bed next to him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Neptune asked, trying to keep his voice chipper despite the mood hanging over the room.

Sun managed a wry grin. "Nah. They aren't worth that much."

"Of course they are. Some of them might even be worth a nickel."

"Gee, thanks."

Neptune wrapped an arm around his best friend's shoulder. "You upset by what Weiss said? I can talk to her if you want. I don't think she was trying to be a jerk."

Sun raised an eyebrow. "What exactly was she trying to be, then?"

"She wasn't trying to be anything," Sage said, looking up from his textbook. "She was simply ignorant. There's a difference between ignorance and animosity."

"Go to the hospital, Sage. I think you're puking up a dictionary," Sun grumbled.

Neptune watched Sun's face carefully. His friend was obviously angry about Weiss, but there was an underlying sense of sadness that was coming from some other source. "What else is going on?" he asked.

Sun blinked at him, then shook his head. "Nothing gets past you, does it nerd?"

"Intellectual," Neptune instinctively corrected.

"Whatever." Sun looked toward Huo, who was staring into space. "It's Huo. Ever since that fight, he's been really unresponsive."

Neptune frowned. "Yeah, you're right. Isn't it good that he's not biting you, though?"

"It's not that he likes me more, though. At least I don't think it is," Sun explained. "He's just more distant. I feel like I somehow let him down by not fighting those thugs off or standing up for him better."

"Sun, there's nothing you could've done!" Neptune said. "I mean, nothing that wouldn't have gotten you arrested or something."

"I know, just…" Sun ran his fingers through his hair, groaning in agitation. "It just feels like things keep getting worse. I'm sore and tired all over, and now there's this bullshit to deal with. I don't know if I can do it." He hated being so weak. If his team had been made up of anyone but his three closest friends, he wouldn't have said a word.

"Okay, that's it." Scarlet strode over, sat down on Sun's other side, and pulled him into a hug. "Sun, you're doing fine. This is just a way of getting stronger. You're our leader and our friend. We have total faith in you. Right, guys?"

"Totally!" Neptune replied, secretly jealous that he hadn't thought to hug Sun first.

"Absolutely," Sage said, nodding firmly. "And Huo believes in you as well. You'll get past this, and we'll help you."

Sun slumped against Scarlet, deciding to let him bear his weight for a few minutes. He felt Neptune touch his hand and gently squeezed his best friend's fingertips. When he looked toward the divots again, he saw that Huo was looking at him. The dragon's gray eyes were unreadable, as usual.

I keep saying this, but I'm super happy that I can actually delve into the characters here. In canon, we got to hear why Weiss didn't trust the Faunus, but we never saw her go through the process of overcoming her prejudices. My theory is that she has nothing against Faunus on their own, but is more afraid of the White Fang and the uncertainty of being a Schnee when interacting with a Faunus. Also, we get to see the beginning of the dragons shipping their partners. That will absolutely be a thing throughout this fic!

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!