Many years ago.
"Giving up?" Andrew looked up to where the voice had come from as he was currently on one knee and using his axe as a prop to hold himself up. The voice had come from his friend Qrow who was standing casually whilst holding his weapon over his shoulder with a cocky smile brazenly displayed across his face. Seeing his face only spurned Andrew to push himself up from his axe and stand tall.
"Not yet, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve." He replied with a similar smile. He gave his aura level a quick check and saw he was not doing well whereas Qrow was hardly breaking a sweat, so he knew he had to do something drastic to win. What annoyed him more was that Qrow wasn't taking this seriously as his weapon was in sword mode so he still had to be careful of him going into scythe mode.
Back on his feet he took a deep breath as Qrow readied his weapon with a flourish and waved him over with his other hand. Andrew took this invitation and charged at him and swung his axe with as much force as he could muster and clashed into Qrow's blade creating an enormous clang, but Andrew wasn't finished yet. With his free hand he fired out a punch straight at Qrow's face which he dodged sending him into a spin releasing him from the clash of weapons and giving him a few feet of distance between them. This was what Andrew thought would happen and was already preparing for this, Qrow was now to his left and suddenly stopped short as though he'd hit a wall mid spin, Andrew's barrier had done its job at stopping Qrow from getting to far and steadying himself for a counter attack.
Andrew swung his axe again but this time in a downward force at the sword, knocking it so that as it was facing down, the force partly pressed it into the floor on impact. Seeing his chance, he raised his axe again and brought it down with similar force as before and knew he was about to disarm Qrow which would lead to his defeat. Or it would have done…
As his axe fell, he missed his target by the smallest margin for his axe, instead of hitting the handle and forcing the sword down like a hammer on a nail, it slid down the blade and embedded itself into the ground. Andrew was in such shock from what happened as he stared at his stupid mistake that he didn't see Qrow's fist baring down on his head. The hit he received slammed him so hard into the floor that the force behind was enough that when he hit the floor he sprang back up instantly. He was so dazed that when the uppercut came and hit him in the chin, he never even knew what it was as he shot up into the air and hovered for a second to then came crashing back down to the floor.
He was now laying on his back, disarmed and with no aura level to truly speak of. He then began rubbing his chin and lifted his head up enough so that his other hand to rub the back of his head.
"I should have seen that coming."
"Well, you didn't." Qrow said as he walked over to where he landed.
"I nearly had you though, just got unlucky that's all." Qrow smiled but it wasn't one that was happy in victory.
"Best three out of five?" Qrow asked as he stood over him which made Andrew laugh.
"I think getting my ass kicked by you twice in one day should be enough." Qrow chuckled and reached out a hand which Andrew gladly took and was pulled to his feet.
"Hay, you got better over the school break. Don't tell me all you did was train when you weren't here?"
"Nah. I decided that I would have some fun instead." Qrow was taken aback by this and stood looking dumbstruck. "What?"
"Nothing just I didn't think you knew how to have fun." Andrew smiled, and half attempted a fake punch but was quite tired from the two fights that were back to back, so it ended at a limp flail. These sparing matches that the pair of them did were a regular thing and as always Andrew could never beet Qrow. Every time he thought he had the upper hand something would happen which would cost him the match, but he didn't care too much, it was all practice for him and he always learned from his defeats. In a way Qrow was as much a teacher as any of the other professors at this school.
"How's Tai doing? Not seen him in a while, don't tell me he's studying." Qrow laughed
"Not so much, he's been a bit busy with other things. I'm sure we'll all meet up soon for a catch up." With it not being too long since coming back from the end of year break he hadn't had much time to speak with many of the other students from Beacon and so really wanted to meet up with them all again.
"I'm glad that he's okay. I was worried that some people wouldn't come back for the second year and I'd lose some of the friends I'd made."
"No need to worry about that Andrew, none of us will be dropping out anytime soon. Your team is doing really well too, and you've come on leaps and bounds since the start of last year. I know you're going to be a great hunter."
"Don't patronise him Qrow, he's still got a long way to go." Andrew and Qrow looked over towards the side of the arena to where the voice was coming from. It was a voice that Andrew knew quite well but not necessarily to person it belonged to, Raven Branwen. From what Andrew had seen of her he knew she was a very capable fighter and, in his opinion, stronger than Qrow but only because she was ruthless in achieving victory. If she fought some of the teachers at Beacon he was sure that she would be able to stand toe to toe with then and in some cases beat them.
"Come on Raven. He's good, really good compared to last year."
"That maybe but he's still weak." Andrew wasn't sure how to feel about Raven, she was the sister of one of his best friends but didn't seem to have any of his ideals or views. She was someone that he really didn't want to have to fight, in a practice duel or real life as she had a vicious streak in her that he couldn't stand against.
"Ignore her Andrew, she's just in a bitchy mood today."
"Shut up Qrow."
"See." Qrow sighed "Any particular reason you're here sis?"
"Just to let you know that we're heading out in the morning so make sure you're ready to go."
"Yeah, yeah." Andrew looked at Qrow in confusion.
"We're not leaving for the tournament till next week? Why are you going earlier?" Raven scoffed
"That's because we're not going to the tournament."
"What? I thought we were all going." Qrow slumped forward
"Well we're not anymore, Professor Ozpin is sending us out on another mission so…"
"That's enough Qrow. He doesn't need to know everything we do." Raven then gave a glare at Andrew. "Suffice to say we won't be attending the tournament. It doesn't matter, we would have won anyway so at least now it will be a surprise who'll win." Andrew broke under her gaze and had to turn away, that look wasn't of someone who could be the sibling of Qrow and he wondered if they were even related.
"I see. Well it won't be as fun without you guys there, but we'll give it our best to win for Beacon."
"Sure you will." Qrow gave him a pat on the shoulder as Raven looked on annoyed.
"If you're done with your little bromance, we've got a mission to prep for." Qrow then walked over to Raven.
"I know, man you can be a real buzz kill."
"See you when I see you I guess." Andrew called out to which Qrow answered
"You bet, win that tournament for us." Andrew smiled but didn't feel confident in replaying to that as the pair of them left the room and went out of sight.
"Shit, now I'm going to disappoint him. Wonder if it's too late to pull out?" Andrew continued to rub the back of his head whilst he gave his armour a once over. It wasn't damaged, but he always felt like checking when he'd gone a few rounds with Qrow, the hits he'd taken made him think that some part of his armour would need fixing. Once he had confirmed what he already knew he too left the arena and went off to the locker room to store his weapon and armour as well as change back into his uniform. After he was ready he then left to find his team, it was a free day for them as they were going to the Vytal festival tournament which was taking place in Atlas this year so were given this last week to prepare for trip and do some final training for the fights.
While he was walking through the school his mind began to wonder back over the last year at Beacon. During the end of year exams, he only came out as an average student on the theory and writing tests but excelled at the practical ones. The overall mark he received put him in a position of above average and compared to his team mates he was the lowest amongst them with Ulysses only being slightly above him due to the fact that he performed the exact opposite to him. This made Andrew wonder if he was in the right place and if he was holding his team back which led to his extra sparing matches with Qrow to try and improve his fighting skills to a level beyond what he could reach.
During the summer months, Andrew didn't have anywhere he could go so was going to stay at Beacon and continue training and studying but once his team found out he had to change his plans. None of them wanted him to spend all that time on his own so he ended up spending time with each of them.
First, he stayed with Ulysses as he was the most excited to have him meet his family and Andrew was surprised when he met them, they were such a happy family even in their situation. Ulysses father was quite ill but still welcomed Andrew into their home, he could see where Ulysses got his inquisitive mind from as even though he was smart, his father was smarter. Andrew spent a lot of time learning from him as they both didn't sleep long and would chat in the early hours of the morning. His mother was a kind person who seemed to fuss over Andrew as if he was another son, it wasn't unwelcome, but he was wondering why she treated him such. Then there was Ulysses sisters who were twins and younger than him but only by two years, all they wanted to do was ask about life at Beacon and what their big brother had gotten up to. They were such a wonderful family that Andrew started to envy Ulysses after the family he had grown up with, but he knew it was a pathetic feeling. The day he left them, he thanked them all for their kindness and hospitality and asked them if he could return for next summer break.
Next, he spent some time with Lauren to which he couldn't understand why as they weren't the best of friends, but he couldn't refuse when she once again pinned him into submission and would only let him go if he agreed to her terms. She lived with the huntsman who had saved her in a small village just outside the city of Vale, this man was a tough old hunter called David Van Finlay who just from his face alone could tell he had seen much in his life. It took a while for him and Andrew to find common ground but after a few days, then ended up by chance to be training in the same place. During this time, David asked him a several questions about his fighting style and for each question he asked Andrew asked one about long career of Grimm hunting. By the time he was about to leave he'd started to like talking with David and was now even more annoyed that he'd have to stay on Lauren's good side so that she would invite him back to see him again.
Finally, he spent some time with Chris and his father, professor Leo Lionheart in Mistral and when Andrew first saw that Leo was in fact a Faunus he was surprised and had a few questions for his friend.
"Oh he's my adoptive father, he's raised me from since I was a baby so I just see him as my real dad." The fact that Chris saw this as no problem made Andrew second guess what was actually going on as from everything he knew previously, professor Lionheart was a person of high standing. But from what he'd seen of Faunus they were not viewed very highly and definitely shouldn't have a position like the one he had outside of Menagerie. From what he learned while staying with them was that he was viewed only slightly above other Faunus by the council as it was professor Ozpin who had placed him in his potion at Haven academy.
All the time he was thinking he'd been walking through the school grounds looking for his team, it would have been easy to call them on his scroll if only he hadn't have forgotten it in his dorm room.
"I've got to remember to pick it up before I leave the room in future. You'd think after a year here I would have remembered by now." As he walked he had a feeling he knew where they would be so going towards the outside sitting area where there were tables and chairs for people to eat at or chat was his best choice. Soon he was there and caught sight of his quarry, his team were indeed sitting at one of the tables but were also with another team that he'd grown attached too over the last year and that was team ACKE. He walked over to them purposefully and called out
"So this is where you've all been hiding." The first to look up was Ulysses who began to wave frantically
"Hello Andrew! How did your sparring match with Qrow go this time? Did you win?" Andrew laughed, and Lauren sighed as she knew what it meant.
"That's a no then I take it." Andrew gave her a quick look
"Damn right. Lost twice actually." Now it was Lauren's turn to laugh
"Good to know! Maybe one day you'll just except he's better than you. He's already better looking so what's so bad about him being better at fighting." Andrew didn't give her a response as he knew she would already have something witty to say right back with, she like to get the last word and he'd learnt not bother trying to compete with her.
"Well at least you know now that when it comes to a fight between us and team STRQ in the tournament, they'll win. To be fair we already knew that but now I think you've finally figured it out." Chris was sounding like an authority on the matter of team STRQ to which Andrew shock his head
"Come on, I'll admit they're good, but I still think we have a chance. Besides I just found out they're not going to the tournament." This cause all people present to shoot glances his way.
"What did you say?!" this time the voice came from someone not of his team, it was Ethan Boartusk from ACKE, he was a massive person with muscles on top of muscles which made him look like a giant compared to his team mates. His mess of brown hair gave people the impression that he's only heard of a comb from legend which was a stark contrast to his smooth clean-shaven face. His voice sounded deep and booming which almost sounded animal like when he got into a fight, he almost became a sort of wild animal when he got going.
"I know I had to double check it too, heard it from Raven just now. Apparently, they've got yet another mission to go on from professor Ozpin." Chris sighed
"Damn, they always get to special treatment from the headmaster."
"Let them! Now the tournament is fair game for all of us! We just got a shot at winning this thing!"
"Indeed! I do have to wonder with Mr Lionheart though, team STRQ have gone on more missions than any other team here at Beacon. Their reputation has given rise to many rumours over the nature of these missions they go on." This time the one who was speaking was the team leader of ACKE, Arthur Cavall and compared to Ethan who was his partner he was a polar opposite. A much lender man but with no hint he wasn't just as strong, he kept himself tidy with his golden hair tied back in a short ponytail. Even though he was wearing his normal uniform, he gave of a regal tone and when he was wearing his battle armour he looked like a king of old.
"Ah I don't care, let them be the favourites. There'll be plenty of jobs for us to do when we graduate." Lauren leaned back in her seat and folded her arms just as Andrew sat down next to Carissa and they shared a brief smile.
"Damn right! Besides this tournament has just been blow wide open! We're going win this year! I can feel it! YEAH!" Ethan's boisterous voice rang out over the group.
"It would be nice. A team from Beacon has not won in some time, I believe it has been over twelve years since then, but all the other schools have strong teams participating as well." Ulysses was sitting next to Ethan, seeing and hearing them together made Andrew smile to contain a laugh. The smallest and largest members of these groups next to each other only served in exaggerating the other one.
"That's precisely why little guy! It's our year and without team STRQ we've got to make sure we win this now!"
"Calm down Ethan, you only make yourself sound like an arrogant jackass like that." Ethan turned towards Kavita.
"Come on Kavita! I'm just saying what we're all thinking! How can I not be hyped up for this!"
"Because it's annoying not only us but team CULA as well." Kavita turned her attention to the members of team CULA. "Sorry for him, one day he's going to calm down but we have no idea when."
"Don't worry about it, I like him." Lauren smiled at Ethan which made him wink back at her.
"Please don't encourage him." Kavita gave a warning that had no threat in it as she wiped her hand over her face. As the rest of the group continued to talk, Carissa asked Andrew
"Are you okay?" Andrew looked at her and after a sigh answered
"Yeah, nothing any different from normal." As he rubbed the back of his head. "One day I'm going to beat him." She laughed in response
"We'll see. From the looks of it though, your mental state is the thing that's getting hurt the most." As she said this she flicked his forehead to punctuate her words.
"Hay! I'm still hurting here." Carissa gave Andrew a look that said that it was his own fault.
"Then stop getting Qrow to beat you up. I know you're claiming that he's helping you train but I can see through you. You're punishing yourself for last year's exam results, I don't know why though. You did well."
"I did just good enough. Being a hunter, just above average doesn't cut it. I've got to be outstanding or I'm just going to drag people down. It's easy for all of you, got great marks."
"Then all you got to do is just train rather than getting beat up every other day. That's not going to improve you." Carissa held his hand under the table and squeezed slightly. "I don't like seeing you getting hurt for no reason than you think you deserve it." Andrew felt the sensation in his hand as it ran up his arm. All of a sudden, he couldn't put forward any other argument for his extra training and gave in with a sigh.
"Dammit. Okay I'll ease up on it but I'm still going to put more training in. Ulysses is already helping me on the theory side, so I thought Qrow could help me with the physical side." Carissa gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and smiled.
"That's fine, as long as you're still in one piece." The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about what awaited them in Atlas as well as the tournament itself, they'd all seen it on the vid screens before although being in the tournament this year would be something else.
One week later and everyone was ready to leave for Atlas as they gathered their things and left for the transport ships that would take them. Going from Vale to Mistral over the summer had prepared Andrew for long journeys so this time he didn't have any problems although it didn't make it any less uncomfortable to sit through on the transport.
When they finally arrived, they were greeted by a unique sight which none of them had seen before, a city covered in snow and to the outsider it may have appeared that the city was built out of the snow itself. When they got to the academy, they were shown around and taken to their temporary accommodation which wasn't to Ulysses liking.
"This place does not seem like a place where students would come to learn."
"Why? What's wrong?" Ulysses sighed
"It looks like a military barracks. This does not give me the right feel; how could you expect to train hunters here? You are more likely going to get soldiers."
"And? Aren't they the same thing in the end?" Ulysses shook his head.
"Honestly Andrew, I thought after talking with my father for so long you would have learnt a thing or two about soldiers." Andrew put his bag down on his bed and then sat down to test its comfort.
"Your day talked for days about so much, you can't expect me to remember everything he said." Ulysses placed his bag down and started to unpack in an ordered and systematic manner.
"My father read a lot about history and in particular about the wars that we humans have inflicted upon each other. He told me that even though soldiers fought them, they did what they were commanded to do. They protected civilians, defended their kingdoms, killed anyone not in their colours and destroyed culture."
"I suppose when you say it like that then they are a little different, but they meant well didn't they? Hunters are just the same."
"They are certainly not. A hunter does what is right no matter the situation, but a soldier will follow orders and that includes the bad ones. Think about it Andrew." So he did and for the first time he realised that there was a fundamental difference. If a hunter was told to destroy a village because it might hide a criminal, then they wouldn't do it but if a soldier was ordered to then…
"Oh." Ulysses smiled.
"That is why this place makes me feel uneasy. If they are training hunters to be like soldiers, then I fear for this kingdom and all the implication that could unfold for the rest of this world."
"Guess it's a good thing we come from Beacon then hay."
"That is correct friend." Ulysses finished his unpacking and turned around with a smile. Suddenly the door opened as Lauren and Chris entered the room with their bags.
"Wow this room looks… bare bones. They're not really selling me on the hospitality thing here."
"That doesn't matter, while we are here we're need to be respectful of our host so no complaining about the room got it." Chris didn't sound like he was joking but still Lauren gave him a lazy salute.
"Yes sir."
"Don't give me that attitude got it. We've got be behave like a team here so no back talking when we're in public." The three of them looked at each other and then back to Chris.
"Someone's touchy. Fine we'll be on our best behaviour." Chris looked at Andrew a little unconvinced, so he added "I promise." After they had all unpacked they thought it would be best to look around the grounds and visit the Vytal Festival to see what it had to offer, none of them had ever been to the festival before so it was an experience for them all.
"There's a lot to take in. Looks like it's going to be fun though." Andrew said with a smile.
"Atlas is frigging cold!" Lauren exclaimed as they took a walk around, not really paying any attention to the stalls.
"We are on top of the world where it is the farthest point from the sun so naturally…."
"I know Ulysses! Trust me I know. It just doesn't do anything to prepare you for it." Ulysses quickly shut up and they all carried on walking.
"Honestly I thought it would be colder." Chris took a look around and started to contemplate his own thought.
"Oh! That is because they do provide external heating in key areas for the populace so that they can go about their business without worrying too much about the temperature. It also helps with certain amenities so that the whole city can function normally, it is really quite fascinating!" Chris came out of his thought with a sigh.
"I see, thought it would be something cooler." He replied which made Lauren laugh and a split second later caused him to realise what he'd said. "I mean more interesting or something."
"You thought it would be interesting? Wow, you're getting boring in your old age."
"I'm only three weeks older than you! You need to start taking things seriously!" Lauren paid him no mind as she carried on with her train of thought
"Hay, it is your birthday next week is it not?" Andrew took a breath of cold air which made him shiver as he replied to Ulysses.
"Yeah… in fact it's the day of our first match." Lauren made a whining noise.
"Ah I forgot and it's not like we can just do something here, we're guests and need to prepare for the tournament! Why did you have to have a birthday at this time of year!?" Andrew snorted
"Sorry but I didn't have control over that."
"What are we going to do then?" asked Ulysses as Chris quickly answered the question
"We'll celebrate it when we get back to Beacon but right now we've got to concentrate on the tournament. Is that okay with you Andrew?" Andrew glanced over to Chris and noticed how much he was trying act like he was in control and behave like a leader, usually he would be open to suggestions but now he was giving out orders. Andrew was fine with the proposal but not with the delivery of it however, but it wasn't the time or place to start an argument.
"Sure, sounds like a plan boss" Andrew knew that his partner was truly in leader mode as he never picked up on the sarcastic tone he was using in his response. They walked a little further into the festival grounds to see what else they could find and as they did so Andrew decided that he needed a word with Chris.
"Ulysses, I think I saw a book stall down there why don't you go check it out. Might have some books on new weapon designs." Ulysses looked in the direction Andrew had pointed and lit up.
"Fascinating, I will go and check it out. Are you coming?"
"Nah, me and books don't go well but I'm sure Lauren won't mind going with you." Lauren smiled
"Sure let's go!" and before Ulysses knew what was going on Lauren had put her arm through his and pulled him away.
"You've got a feisty one there Ulysses. Rather you than me." Andrew said under his breath then turned to Chris. "Now how about we go and get something to eat."
"Guess we can, why didn't you ask Ulysses and Lauren to come along?"
"Because I need to speak to my partner for a while." The tone he gave Chris told him it wasn't up for debate and they walked off over to a nearby food stall. After ordering something to eat they sat down to talk.
"So, what's the problem?" Chris asked
"You."
"What?"
"You heard, you."
"What have I done?"
"You've been acting just a little insufferable since we got picked for the tournament and I wanted to tell you to take it easy."
"Take it easy? I've been making sure we were ready for this."
"By annoying us? Come on you've been acting like a total jackass."
"I've been making sure that none of you lot act like idiots while we're here, especially you. Can't have you making a scene here."
"Why would that matter so much? We're no different than when we were back at Beacon."
"Yeah but Beacon isn't being broadcast to the rest of the world right now." Andrew paused then remembered that not just the tournament was shown on the vids but also there was more news coverage around the event as well. "If you act like… you and the world saw it then it would look bad on Beacon and Vale so I've being keeping all of you reigned in so that you don't create a ruckus."
"Fair enough I can see that, but you are going overboard. There's no need to snap at us."
"Are you really talking to me about attitude problems?"
"Damn right and if I am then you know there's a problem." Chris sighed
"Don't you realise that if the team does anything wrong then I'm the one who'll get the brunt of it. Its kind of what happens to the leader. When it all goes well then it's a team effort but if it goes wrong then it's the leaders fault."
"Crap, you got the short straw when you got the leader position didn't you."
"You got that right. I never wanted to be the leader but here I am." Chris turned to Andrew, "Want the position?" Andrew shook his head harshly
"No thanks. Me bossing Lauren around? That's a disaster waiting to happen." This made Chris laugh
"That's a good point."
"Anyway, I didn't realise you didn't want to be the leader, to be fair you looked like you had been born into it."
"Well its true, I never wanted it. Being the leader is a lot of responsibility which I really couldn't handle but I'm stuck with it. You guys haven't helped, having some smarter than you taking your orders like Ulysses makes me feel stupid. Lauren is just plain crazy and you…"
"Are a bastard."
"Yeah…" Now Andrew was laughing
"You got us to work really well as a team though, so you were better than you thought."
"Only in practice, in a real life or death situation. I don't know if I'll cut it and that scares me." Andrew didn't like seeing Chris like this, he wasn't the leader and partner he'd come to admire although he could understand why he was feeling this way. None of the other members of the team could have even had a chance at being as effective a team leader as him and could have very easily been chosen by Ozpin after the entrance exam.
"Ah don't be like that, doesn't suit you."
"Do you know the reason why I put our team forward for the tournament?" Andrew shook his head. "Because I want to see if we could truly work well as a team in a none teaching environment, so I thought this would be a perfect way to test it. That way if they're any problems then we can iron them out, also it would prove that I could lead us as a real team leader."
"So that's the real reason you're acting so pissy." Chris wasn't amused.
"Yes." Before they could say anymore the food that they ordered was in front of them, so they began to eat. As they did Andrew spoke up
"Chris, you've got nothing to be worried about, least of all be afraid of."
"Excuse me?"
"The team, you're doing great as leader and I know when we get into the arena we'll lay all your fears to rest."
"How can you be so sure of that?"
"Because you got all of us to work together better than a team, we're like a family and in my opinion that makes us way better."
"That's not very professional."
"And when have we cared about being professional? Come on Chris, we've got this." He raised his glass of water to Chris "You ease of on this new leader you're becoming, stop fretting about the team and I swear we're going to be fine. We are your team Chris, we've got this." Chris stopped for a moment and looked at his glass, after several more seconds he grabbed it and raised it to Andrew's
"Deal." And with a clink they both smiled and ate their food. Before they finished though Chris brought up something else that got Andrew worried.
"You brought some formal wear, didn't you? We've got the welcome ball in two days and you can't go in your amour."
"Don't remind me, I got a spare suit from Professor Ozpin. Said I'd need it, but I really can't be bother with it."
"You may not but it'll be expected of you none the less."
"Crap. Anyway did you ask anyone to the ball?" Chris scoffed
"I asked Kavita whenever I saw her and every time she said no. I think I'm wearing her down though."
"Poor girl. I need to ask Carissa still just in case she's realised she can do better though." Now Chris looked concerned.
"I think she might not want to go but I'll let you speak to her about it." Chris wouldn't say anymore so Andrew let it drop as they finished their food and left to re join their team mates. The next day Andrew went to see Carissa and did what he said and asked her to the dance to which she hesitantly said yes on the condition that Andrew not abandon her while they were there. He agreed to this if it meant he could spend the evening with her but did wonder what everyone's problem was.
When the night of the ball came, Andrew prepared himself by washing and making sure he looked the part to impress Carissa while hoping he didn't look like a fool at the same time.
"I look strange like this."
"So like every other day then." Lauren's voice wasn't helping Andrew feel any better as he fumbled with his tie.
"For once can you not be yourself?"
"Hell no! Where would be the fun it that?" she chuckled as Andrew turned around to see Lauren dressed for the evening in a short blue and white dress with matching high heels and her hair like a messy wavy lob.
"Then for this evening leave me alone. I'm really nervous about this and don't want to upset Carissa by having a fight with you."
"You're cute when you're trying to be tough."
"I'm not doing this now, go and find your date and annoy him or something." Lauren laughed
"Ulysses is getting ready, would be rude to be interrupt him like that." Andrew sighed in defeat
"Then make yourself useful and help me with this noose." As he pointed at his tie, she put her hands on her hips but after a few seconds came over and started to sort out his tie. They didn't say anything as being that close to each other was unsettling without some form of argument ensuing. After she was done she took a step back.
"Not bad."
"Thanks."
"Not you, I was complimenting my tie knot." Andrew scoffed
"Why did I fall for that?" Andrew then chuckled at his own stupidity just as Lauren did the same.
"Don't worry you look passable too." As Lauren was about to leave Andrew said
"You don't look too bad yourself."
"I'm flattered but I'm spoken for. I hope you enjoy the evening, after that little problem you asked for help with over the summer I'm sure you won't disappoint Carissa this evening." Andrew turned red
"HAY! I told you never to mention that! EVER!" Lauren started to cackle
"Oh I'm going to have so much fun with this." She said as she left the room. Andrew wished he'd never have to ask her for anything else in his entire life again, the price was too high. Once he was ready he left the room they were using and headed for the ball room.
Walking into the ball room revealed a spectacular sight, it was a large white room with enormous window's showing the starry night sky. The tables and decorations were all very elaborate and Andrew knew that it was overkill on the academy's behalf, all they were doing was showing off the wealth and splendour of Atlas. He walked in and was greeted by an older man who stood so still Andrew wasn't even sure if he was alive or some kind of mannequin until he spoke
"Welcome to the pre-tournament ball sir. Please help yourself to the Buffet and enjoy the dance."
"Sure, thanks erm… what was your name?" The man paused for longer than Andrew felt comfortable with.
"Jives, sir. Now if you please." He gestured with his hand towards the main room and Andrew walked passed.
"Thanks Jives." Andrew said once again and carried on. As he walked through the room mostly filled with Atlas students and teachers, he felt incredibly out of place. It was something that the rich and powerful would have been most at home with but someone like him, he knew if they were aware of where he'd been born and raised that they would have treated him poorly. He moved through the crowd trying to find anyone he knew, just one person so he didn't feel like such an outsider amongst these people.
"Why did I agree to this?" he whispered under his breath and moved on while trying to go unnoticed by anyone he didn't know. Eventually he made his way to the buffet table and it was unbelievable how much food was on display since there weren't that many people actually here. He grabbed a plate and picked out some food he thought he might like which didn't seem to be very much, there were so many different types of food he wasn't sure what half of it even was.
"Hello there." Someone called out from behind him and the sudden startle almost made him drop his plate as he felt he needed to go into an attack stance. God I'm so jumpy.
"Hi."
"Did you say "hi", I think the proper way to greet someone is with hello." The man standing in view of him was a young man who was immaculately well-groomed and dressed. He also had two other man standing beside him who looked smart but not to this guy's level.
"Sorry. Hello." Andrew said back, already looking for an escape.
"That's better. I can tell you're from one of the other academies. Which one? You must be from Shade; your demeanour and appearance say you much be." Andrew really wasn't sure how he should react to this and really wanted to speak to him in his own way, but he needed to keep up Vale's appearance.
"No, I'm from Beacon. I'm guessing you're Atlas students."
"Oh you're from Beacon are you. Just from the way you acted you seemed more like a Shade kind of student. I'd much prefer that you're from Beacon though, the ones from Vacuole are little more than common animals. Now where are my manners, I'm Constantine Domius and yes we're from Atlas academy." He extended his hand and Andrew knew he needed to shake it so as not to look bad.
"Andrew Tinman" he said as he clasped his hand and found it oddly limp, he thought that his grip would crush Constantine's hand completely so retracted it as quickly as he could.
"I take it you are here to participate in the tournament?"
"That's right are you fighting too?"
"Well of course! We are one of the most prestigious teams of the Atlas academy. I am the leader of team COIN and here are two of my other team members, Ingyō Tennō and Napoleon Empereor." Andrew looked at the other two standing behind Constantine thinking that if these were what passed for hunting teams in Atlas then he pitied them. Ingyō was taller and had a thin face with narrow eyes while his chin was trying to support a small and patchy beard that was combed with oil. Napoleon on the other hand was the shortest of the three and was rather thin and had a face that seemed to be constantly looking down at everyone around him.
"Good to meet you too." Andrew said while holding out his hand. Ingyō looked down at the outstretched hand and hesitantly shook it with about as much energy as a dead fish. But when Andrew turned to Napoleon he was welcomed by a derisive snort.
"The commoners do not shake the hands of royalty." Andrew had to stop himself from bursting out into laughter. Who are these clowns?
"Oh come now Napoleon, he's only trying to be civil." Trying? "You must excuse him, he's actually related to the king of Mistral if you go down his family line." The way how Constantine spoke seemed to suggest that Andrew should be grateful or honoured that he'd even met the guy.
"Wow, that's… something." Not hiding his annoyance at these idiots Andrew turned to get some more food as a way to disengage from them but it didn't work.
"Anyway, we've just been walking around this evening trying to find out what other teams have arrived from other kingdoms and also to apologise in advance." Andrew glanced back up at Constantine.
"Apologise?"
"Yes. After all it is quite clear that we are going to be victorious in the tournament, so we are simply saying sorry to everyone who had to travel here for nothing." Are these guys real?!
"Well how about you save your apology for now and wait. Anything can happen in this tournament."
"I highly doubt that; our team is comprised of some of the most powerful people in the world. Each one of us comes from a prestigious background and it clearly shows."
"And you've never seen any other team fight from the other kingdoms. You should do some investigating into them before assume victory."
"I don't think that's really necessary, but I can see you'll cling to your delusions." Constantine then started laughing "It's very entertaining in meeting commoners, they always think they know how the world works." Andrew didn't answer knowing that continuing to talk to them would not get him anywhere, so he grabbed his plate and went to leave.
"Nice speaking with you." He tipped his head and went to leave.
"Indeed, it must have been. Enjoy your evening while you've got access to our level of living." Before Andrew could scoff he heard one of Constantine's team mates say something that caught his attention.
"Oh my gosh! Did they really have to let that in here!?" It was Napoleon who sounded disgusted which drew the rest of his teams and Andrew's attention. When he saw what they were talking about he once again had to control himself as it was Carissa they had seen. She had just entered the room wearing a pure long white dress, her hair giving off a shine in the light of the room and a smile that Andrew knew was polite whilst hiding fear as her tail twitched but even with that he was awestruck by her.
"I suppose the teachers haven't got much of a choice, but I know what you mean Napoleon." Sighed Constantine
"Couldn't they have told it to wait outside with the other animals?"
"Apparently not. Oh well, just ignore it and hopefully it will go away before it spreads its filth."
"Unbelievable. What is this world coming to?" the three members of team COIN started to collect some food when Constantine asked Andrew.
"I'd avoid that if I were you. Faunus are horrid and untrustworthy creatures, you'll be sorry if you get stuck with one." The furry building up inside Andrew's head was only being contained because of what Chris had told him about being representatives from Vale and Beacon. The silence he created gave Constantine the wrong impression. "I know, ugly things aren't they. Must be the first time you've seen one and trust me they don't get any better. Pity though, if she was human she'd be quite the pretty little thing but that tail…" he stopped to shudder, and Andrew's fists clenched hard, so hard he felt his plate he was holding snap in his hand. He had to get away before he did something that wouldn't be acceptable but would feel great.
"Excuse me" This time he gave no small bow and turned away but not before teaching them a lesson. He quickly created a barrier around Constantine's foot and as he went to move, it didn't causing him to stubble forward and then back as he tried to steady himself. This resulted with him knocking Ingyō behind him and then Napoleon at the back and before they knew it all three of them were on the floor covered in the food they had piled onto their plates. Andrew moved away quickly with a mischievous smile as he could hear the three of them shout at each other and blame anyone but themselves for the incident.
When he was clear he found Carissa and couldn't take his eyes of her as she moved to the side of the room, trying to hide herself away. She was frightened and after what Andrew had just heard he couldn't blame her, of course he knew about anti Faunus groups and racists in the world and seeing that they had them here as well only made him even angrier. This is why Chris said it wasn't a good idea.
When he was near Carissa he saw that she was so lost in her own world she hadn't noticed him so wanted to surprise her and try and cheer her up at the same time.
"Excuse me Miss, is this seat taken?" Andrew asked her as he pointed at the seat next to her, she looked up in shock but calmed herself instantly when she saw who it was.
"Erm… no, would you like to sit?" as she realised who it was
"I certainly would." Andrew sat down and continued talking. "I saw you across the room and simply had to meet you, someone as beautiful as you I'd be a fool not to come over and introduce myself."
"What are you doing?" she said with an amused smile
"What? I thought it would be fun pretending it was our first-time meeting."
"You're an idiot." And after a paused she added "but a charming idiot." Before they could continue speaking they were interrupted.
"Hay there pretty lady. Care for a dance?" Another man had interrupted their conversation and caused them both to look up.
"Pardon?" Carissa sat perfectly still as Andrew looked over the newcomer.
"Just wanted to know if you would like to dance. Can't let a pretty thing like you sit on the side lines."
"Erm, no I'm fine. Thanks."
"Come on don't turn me down so quickly, let's just go and…" he stopped abruptly when he saw something. "Oh… you know what never mind, didn't realise you were one of them." And he quickly turned around forcing Andrew to stand up.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The man turned to look at him.
"If you don't know then take a good look friend and you'll see. You can thank me later when you notice." He patted Andrew on the shoulder and using his eyes looked over to Carissa's tail. An evil smile came over Andrew's face.
"I did "friend" and I don't see any problem so why don't you get lost before I throw you out of the window." The man looked confused for a moment and Andrew grabbed his hand a lot harder than he should have done and removed it from his shoulder. The man made a cry of pain, not expecting such a tight grip and backed away when his hand was free.
"Are you one as well, crap. They're everywhere now." The man then walked away holding his hand in his other as Andrew took several deep breaths to contain his anger and once he had calmed himself while he sat back down.
"Damn, if I'd known Atlas was like this then I would have stayed at Beacon." Carissa was sitting looking at her hands that were clasped together in her lap.
"Its just the way things are up here."
"Honestly I wish I was a Faunus." Carissa looked at Andrew.
"No, you don't."
"No, I really do. I've had enough with humans, haven't met many that I like. Just wish they were more accepting of others that way we wouldn't have guys like these."
"Unfortunately, it's not that easy, especially up here in Atlas. Most Faunus work in the dust mines as little more than slaves so it's not surprising for people to turn out like this."
"Doesn't make it right."
"Of course it doesn't but they don't see it that way." Andrew looked over to Carissa as she looked down at the floor and slowly reached out and hold her hand.
"I didn't so maybe one day the rest will see things right too." Carissa let out a small laugh
"I think you're more the exception than the rule Andrew. I wouldn't hold out much hope." Seeing her like this made Andrew's heart break and understand her reasoning for feeling that way. As he looked around the room he saw lots of people start dancing in the centre of the ball room, they all had partners but not one of them was a Faunus. Looking around the room he only just now saw that Carissa was one of only a handful of Faunus, they had every right to be here with the rest of the hunters but had been made to feel like trash by the humans. His eyes soon fell upon Carissa again
"You deserve to be up there dancing too."
"Oh well, I'm with you and that's all that matters to me." She didn't look at him and Andrew knew she was upset, just because she knew how Faunus were treated here didn't mean it hurt any less seeing or experiencing it. Suddenly Andrew stood up and grabbed her to pull her to her feet.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to dance, and so are you."
"What?" before she could argue Andrew guided her to the dance floor and within seconds they were there as Andrew pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm dancing, why?"
"You know why!" Andrew ignored her and started to lead in the dance while she reluctantly followed. "Oh god what are you doing?!"
"I told you dancing. I'm dancing with the most stunning woman in the room and I couldn't be happier, so I wanted to show it." She was startled for a moment causing them to fall out of step in the dance. After this small hiccup they carried on "Carissa, you shouldn't feel as though you need to hide and from these jerks, they don't know you and I'm sure if they got past their ignorance they would wish they could be me so stand out and feel proud. But I promise you that you won't have to stand alone because I'm never going to leave you and I'm never going to let any of them hurt you." She started turning red
"Since when did you know how to dance?"
"Since the summer. Someone helped me, and I never want to be that close to them ever again." That hint alone helped Carissa figure out who it was.
"And I thought you didn't like her. Should I be worried?" Andrew burst out laughing
"Never, compared to you well… there's nothing to compare." She was still worried as she looked around as her tail wasn't moving normally but instead hanging limply down her leg. Andrew started thinking he'd done the wrong thing and was about to stop when she saw a large amount of people start leaving the dance floor. Before long there were more people off the floor than on and just as he was about take Carissa away he heard Lauren shout.
"What's wrong with you people? Isn't this supposed to be a dance!?" she grabbed Ulysses by his arm and pulled him onto the dance floor and into a close hold. Ulysses face was flustered as Andrew could see he had no idea what was going on. Seconds later he heard Ethan shout
"Yeah! Let's dance!" he came onto the dance floor with his date and the three pairs began to dance. Andrew smiled at Carissa
"Phew, this is more like it." As he saw Chris finally get through the crowd followed by Kavita, they both looked puzzled until they recognised the ones on the dance floor. As they did, in unison they sighed and looked at each other for Chris to hold out his hand to her. It took a long time but she finally yielded and took his hand as he led her to the dance floor and positioned himself near to Andrew.
"Why do you always have to make a scene when it comes to dance floors?"
"I'm not doing it on purpose." Chris shook his head
"So much for not drawing attention but…" he looked at Kavita who appeared to be somewhat enjoying herself. "I can't argue with the results." He then pulled away as the four couples took to the dance floor. For the whole number they danced and sure enough increasingly more people joined them including the other Faunus that were present. Suddenly Andrew felt something brush his leg, it was Carissa's tail and now he knew she was feeling more comfortable. While they carried on he also caught sight of the members of team COIN leaving the room with their clothes covered in stains, he couldn't hear what they were shouting about but he didn't care. He was happy that Carissa was happy and that was all that mattered to him.
"Can we go outside please?" she asked, and Andrew stopped
"Sure." They immediately left the dance floor and went to the exit heading away from the ball room until Carissa stopped at a private spot. It was cold, but he didn't feel it, he was nervous which was making him overheat because he had no idea what was going on.
"I can't believe you did that."
"What dance? You said last year you liked dancing, so I figured…"
"Not that." Andrew stopped abruptly for a few seconds
"You looked sad, so I thought if we danced it would cheer you up."
"But dancing in front of all those people… what would they have thought about me, about you, didn't that bother you?
"Why should it? The only person that I cared about at that moment on that dance floor was you. None of those other people mattered one bit to me."
"It's that easy? To think of it like that?" Andrew took a step forward and held her hands in his.
"I've never cared about how people saw me, but I know it's different for you so now I'm going to pretend to understand how you feel. However, what they think about you they'll think about me, we're together in this now."
"I'm sorry but you can't understand how I feel in there, they don't view you as a freak." She looked away and Andrew gently placed his hand on her cheek to bring her back up.
"A freak? Never. You are the most amazing, wonderful woman I know and I hate the fact that you have to hide away just for being that. When you hide you make those evil bastards think they're justified which is just wrong." He looked her straight in her eyes "I don't want to overstep here but I just want you to be happy because I couldn't be more when I'm with you which is why I did that. As I said when I was on the dance floor, I'll always be with you and I'll never let them beat you down."
"I know you mean well but it's not that easy."
"Didn't say it would be but I'm not going to give up because it's hard."
"You're insufferable you know that?" she smiled to show she wasn't being serious.
"Ha! I get that a lot."
"And you're willing to be seen as something different than human by all of those people."
"That's right, you mean that much to me." As she sighed and looked down Andrew shot out. "Because I love you." Oh shit why did you blurt that out?! His brain began thinking of a way to get out of this while not making the situation that much more awkward just as his heart started beating a mile a minute. They had never said thoughts words to each other and for Andrew it was because he didn't feel like he deserved to or it let her have an escape when she found someone else.
With everything going on inside his body, his vision didn't acknowledge what was going on but when her hands held his face, it was the feel of her lips on his that brought him back to reality. When she pulled away she said
"I love you too." These words calmed his heart, made his brain shut up and focus on what was happening right before his eyes. He pulled her close and kissed again and as he did he once again felt Carissa's tail brush his arms that were around her back. Suddenly she stopped and so did her tail
"Oh this stupid thing! Why does it spoil everything!" Andrew laughed
"Spoil what? Did I ever tell you that your tail is amazing."
"Don't cover for it." She smiled back, and they shared another kiss just as the snow began to fall around them.