KEY
"Normal Speech"
"Sign Language"
'Thought '
- 'Scroll Message'
The briefing had taken a little longer than anticipated, what with the plans needing to be moved around on account of HLQN's inclusion, but they were all done by about 7:55. The plan was very simple and unambitious in its approach; Team CFVY was to remain in at least pairs throughout their day, staying near classes where either RWBY and JNPR or Team HLQN were (preferably the former, as Ozpin strongly suggested, still not overly pleased with HLQN's inclusion) or going with a combat ready Professor. With any luck, and he couldn't believe he was saying this, Neo would attack them sooner rather than later, meaning that CFVY could get a taste at a real mission rather than being on the defensive back at Beacon.
The day of the briefing was full of stress.
Ozpin needed to shoot off early, as Initiation was commencing at 9:30 at the launch pads on the cliffs of the Emerald Forest - a place he knew they were all familiar with. Coco seemed fairly eager to join the man in watching "Newbies getting thrown off a cliff and fighting for their lives" - her words, not his - but the Headmaster simply stated that he was not planning on risking her life by taking her out onto a completely exposed hilltop where there was no cover basically offering her up to Neo on a silver platter.
"I'm sure she'd love to see me splayed out on a silver platter..." she mumbled to herself, earning her an elbow to the ribs from her girlfriend and a subtle raised eyebrow from the Headmaster, who she didn't know heard her comment.
"On top of that, Ms. Adel, you are still slated to be bed rest until later today, by which point the 'Newbies' would have already been 'thrown off the cliff' and most would have found their partners already. Sorry to disappoint." He wasn't, but it was only proper to sound like he was. HLQN couldn't stay around for long either, being only Second Years, their classes started up at the same time as the new First Years' did, so they too needed to shoot off early. They bid their elders adue and headed back to their dorm to get changed for classes, but not before Nylan rushed back in and caught Fox in a Yang-level bear hug. For her size, she was incredibly strong.
"We're going to do this Fox! Just you watch." She retracted to look him in the eyes, a sudden intake of breath coming from her when she momentarily forgot about his whole 'blind again' thing at the start of the briefing and at her poor choice of words. "My bad... I forgot..."
"It's alright. You might take some time adjusting, but you didn't know me to be anything else. My team will probably get used to it quicker because they knew me when I was blind before. Hopefully though, it's not permanent." She smiled a reassuring smile, then rubbed her cheek on his chest quickly.
"Look after yourself, Scars."
"You sure are a far cry from the shy girl Neo introduced to me a year ago" he replied with a slight giggle and a ruffle of her hair. "I will. For myself, and for Neo." In a display of speed that rivalled even Ruby, Nylan was out of the door again. JNPR left soon after as well, with their blond leader apologising to Fox for his comment over text the day prior. Water under the bridge, and all was forgiven and forgotten. That left Teams CFVY and RWBY. The eight of them talked about whatever subjects came to mind, actively trying to avoid the subject of Neo, though efforts were fruitless on multiple occasions. Suddenly, as if an internal alarm went off, the youngest of the eight stood up and started sweating.
"Oh no, no, nononono, no!"
"Rubes? Rubes! What's up? Talk to me." Big sister mode was activated, but alas; Weiss' Trap Card 'Big Block of Ice' was still in play, so its effects were all but negated. She couldn't give her little sister a comfort hug - one of a few people who ever has or would get the privilege of receiving one - and she couldn't let her natural body heat warm her up and make her feel cosy.
"I just remembered that I promised I would go and see my friends back from when I was at Signal before they went off for initiation this morning but I was so caught up in doing this for you guys that it completely slipped my mind even when Ozpin said that he was going to the Emerald Forest just like we did back when we first started and now I feel like a really bad friend and so I think I really need to go and see them before I make things any worse for myself okay bye guys good luck!" A flash of red and an entire room completely covered in rose petals later, and Ruby was gone. The 7ft giant was the first to speak after that transpired.
"I must admit, I am incredibly surprised at how fast Ruby can talk. And that she said that all in one breath."
"Have you seen Rubes, Yatsu? She is like the epitome of hyperactive and awkward. I should know, I've known her all her life, literally when she was ya-" caught in the moment again, the fact the blonde brawler was trapped escaped her mind until conveniently and comically appropriate to remember. "Urgh, Weiss, can you get this thing off of me now. I'm starting to get cold, and that's saying something. Oum only knows what Blakey's feeling like."
"C-c-cant feel m-m-my t-t-toes any-m-m-more" she shivered violently, her natural introverted nature overtaking the outgoing one that shone through every now and again ever since she and Yang became Mates and making her hide her cold through gritted teeth and sheer willpower not to make a sound. This was the first anyone had paid attention to the situation that Blake and Yang were in since it first happened, especially Yang.
"Jeez, Blake, you're turning blue! Y'know what? Screw this!" There was no buffering time between the words hitting everyone's ears and the temperature of the room jumping 20 degrees or so. Eyes now burnt crimson and hair glowed like fire as the ice around Yang melted away and cracked, letting her break herself out of the frozen block a couple of seconds later, sending fragments of it all over the room - some shattering, other bits impacting and falling to the floor to melt in the near future. She wound up a punch and smacked Blake's block with a left hook - even for her non-dominant hand, she made a hefty dent in the ice - then followed that up with a screaming right to the same spot, breaking her girlfriend's frozen prison in two swings. She caught her as she fell, feeling her skin against her own. "Damn it, she's as cold as your heart, Weiss!" she managed, the one and only joke she thought about making with regards to the situation. The Schnee Heiress, much to everyone's surprise, didn't bite back. It was her fault Blake was like this, she deserved at least some punishment for it. "I couldn't even feel her, both our Marks were covering in ice!"
"Yang, get her in here" Coco started, adjusting herself to get out of the bed. "It ought to help."
"Not in these wet clothes it won't." On cue, she started glowing brighter and harder to aid in warming the Faunus up and drying her clothes. Her hair was bordering on white with the glow now, but on her shoulder the Mark still shone the brilliant yellow associated with the brawler. Through it, she sent as many positive and warm thoughts as she could.
Ecstasy. Sunshine. Protection. Love. Cherish.
"N-n-"
"Ah, ah Blake, you just stay there and stay quiet. There we go." Yang lowered the now-warmer and drier Cat Faunus into Coco's bed, the fashionista standing back to let the partners have their space, her head still not 100% so the act of standing caused the blood to vacate her head if only for a second - long enough for her to stumble slightly as she leant backwards. "It's gonna be alright sweetie. I'm here as personal heater if you need." A small smile came to be between two growing rosy cheeks and a thought was sent from the woman to her partner beside her.
Maternal.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. We've discussed." She turned to the remaining five in the room - "Later" - then back to Blake. "Now, you need to rest a little and warm up again."
"Night watch..." she managed to get her thoughts out this time, but rather than them being taken seriously, Yang laughed. Coco and even Yatsuhashi joined in, much to the confusion of the rest.
"Blake, do you know what time it is?" She shook her head, either not knowing about the clock nearby or simply not remembering its existence. "It's 8:24. In the morning. Nightfall is at like 7:45, or there about; we've got practically all day to get you warm and recovered. Then we can think about night watch duties." With a peck on the nose, the blonde muttered something along the lines of "My silly little kitty Cat" before moving her attention to Weiss, the nice Yang being replaced by the no-nonsense, get-shit-done-and-get-it-done-fast Yang. "You four can head out. I need to talk with the Ice Queen here." Complying, CFVY vacated the room despite the fact Coco was meant to be in there for another few hours or so.
Team CFVY were huddled together in the Common Room the next morning, all sipping their own personal cups of coffee. Yatsuhashi's was simple, a black coffee with one sugar. Coco's made up for the normality by being rather extravagant in contrast - a large cappuccino with cream instead of milk and poured in such a way that her emblem adorned the top of the beverage. No one knew how she did it, not even Velvet - not for a lack of trying mind you. Apparently it was "an Adel Family Secret that was to be taken to their graves should they not find a suitable partner, and said partner could only learn it after marriage" as the beret wearer constantly reminded Velvet each time she attempted to get the secret out.
Speaking of; Velvet favoured tea for the first couple of years at Beacon but she and Yatsuhashi found something on one of their trips to Hai-no Hana. In a neighbouring village a few miles North of Yatsuhashi's village was one that served Yuanyang - a drink that combined coffee with Orient's Pearl style milk-tea. It tasted very nice, but what drew Velvet's eyes were the tales as to why the name Yuanyang was given. It referred to the Ducks native to Anima, as they are symbols of conjugal love in their culture, due to the fact the birds usually appear in pairs and the male and female look very different. Velvet couldn't describe hers and Coco's relationship any better, and for it to be brought together in a drink that combined her favourite drink of tea with the rest of the team's preference for coffee was just perfect. She liked the drink, and learned how to make it so she could treat herself to one from time to time, but still at this moment was sipping away quite merrily with a cup of tea in hand.
Fox had... no cup. Nor did he ever have a cup. Instead, he had a spoon and a tub of Neapolitan ice cream and was shovelling it away like nobody was watching. Sadly for him, there were people watching. Sadly for them, he couldn't see them staring, so he didn't care.
"That's not going to help, you know that."
"Yeah, I know. But I miss her Coco. This," he emphasised by holding the tub up in the air, "is what I have to remind me of her, considering I can't see any of the photos we've taken over the past year and a bit anymore." In frustration, he slammed the tub back down along with the spoon in the other hand and groaned, the impact on the table causing a bit of Coco's drink to spill, the emblem on her drink now nothing more than a multi-coloured mess in a cup and partially on the table. "I don't want to lose her too. I've lost too much. I can't live without us..."
"Fox, it's going to be alright" Velvet said, rubbing his shoulder to comfort him. "Remember back when you first died when I told you that we have always fought through all the negativity in our lives and came out stronger on the other side? Well, this time is no different. Only this time, you're fighting for two. Neo's counting on you to be strong, so that she can make it through as well. Come on; be strong. For all our sakes." She pulled him in close for a one-handed hug, his head now resting in the crook of her shoulder. Instinctively, she leaned down and pressed a quick and gentle kiss on his head with a smile, bringing him out of his stuper as well.
"You seem to always know what to say Velvs. Thank you."
"Any time." Fox's Scroll buzzed on the table, much to the confusion of everyone present.
"That's weird, everyone I know who has my number knows that I won't be able to see it, right? Not until I reactivate that text-to-voice-"
"It's from Neo!" The dual haired team leader snatched the phone as quick as she could and opened up the message.
N - '3 files attached. Click here to view'
Her expression changed instantly to one of horror, almost to the point of throwing the phone down in disgust. "What the fu... Neo..."
"Coco, what was on there?" She said nothing, only heavy breaths could be heard. "Coco, what was on my Scroll?"
I know it's technically a day early, but who cares? I'm going to say this anyway:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'SENSELESS'! {insert confetti, party poppers and canned cheering}
As of this chapter, 'Senseless' has been going for exactly 1 Year! That is insane, I did that... holy shit, I did that...
I need a minute... or two... or twelve, I dunno...
1 Year... And in that time, so many people have seen this story - approaching 30,000 views! - and thought it good enough to be part of their favourites, or they're following the story along as I upload each chapter week after week. You guys are such a great supportive network, and I honestly can't thank you enough for what you've done for me!
I hope you've all been enjoying the recent chapters. I know the word count has been dropping a little as of late, but I do aim to pick it back up again once things start to pick up the pace.
As always, feedback - good or bad - is most appreciated
Thanks again for One Year of 'Senseless'
