Thank you all for the support, here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. Please feel free to leave a comment, it's always nice to hear from you guys.
Beta Reader: BlackJack Hero
Straining to lift the heavy box, the red tipped ravenette walks out to the storefront. Entering the store from the supply room, her ginger friend assists her in carrying the boxes. "I got it Ruby." Says the small ginger girl. "Isn't it about time for your break?"
"I just want to finish getting the tubes restocked. I don't think it's safe for Sir to do it himself." Ruby stating her reason makes both girls turn and look at the aged man.
"Naw, he could totally handle it, no problem." Nora waves off, making the younger girl giggle. "So, have you heard anything about Jaune-Jaune from that bear guy?"
"Who?"
"Junior, duh." answers the bomber as she begins to set up the ladder.
"Um is he a bear faunus?"
"I don't know, you're the one who met him."
"Then why did you call him a bear?" she looks down at her ginger friend inquisitively while making her way to the top of the dust feed tube.
"It's his name silly."
"Really?" asks the reaper confusedly
"Yea" Answers the hammer wielder. "But anyway, did you hear anything?"
"He says I'll have the information today."
"That's great, when?" egging the red girl along "I want start working on getting him to come back."
"Me too, but he didn't say when he would have the information." spilling a bit of the dust coming down the ladder the reaper changes topics. "How are you liking the job so far?"
"It's only been a few hours but working with all this dust is really exciting. You've been at this for a couple of weeks now, how do you like it?"
"I thought I knew about dust before, but after working here-"
"You know nothing, Ruby Rose." Nora says while straightening up the magazine display
"You watch that too?"
"Yea, binged it a few weeks ago. The ending was a bit of a letdown though."
Just as Ruby is about to agree he scroll dings, signaling she has a new message. Picking up the scroll she reads through the message and grabs the attention of her ginger coworker, calling her over. "Junior just sent me a scroll number. I guess it's supposed to be Jaune's. Should I call?"
Looking at the flower themed girl, Nora asks. "Do you think he is mad at us? Do you think he hates us for not helping him? What if he doesn't even want to speak with us?"
"This is Jaune, there is no way he would hate us." hesitating a little, she seeks affirmation "Right?"
"Right" answers the bomber, though it is clear she is not confident in her answer. Both girls continue to stand there is silence until the door opens and the ding rings out signaling the entering of a customer. "Welcome to From Dust till Dawn. From regular power to firepower, we have it all."
"Nora?" a familiar voice calls out. Looking up what greets the reaper and bomber combo is the rest of team RWBY.
"Oh, Hey Yang." answers the ginger with a strained smile.
Noticing the bomber's discomfort, "Nora, since I showed you how to run the inventory why don't you go give it a try?" Ruby directs her towards the rear of the store.
"Sure thing, Ruby" saluting, she wanders off towards the back.
"Hey guys what brings you here?" Ruby questions her team as they approach the counter.
"Just came by the see how my little sister is doing, is that so wrong?" ruffling Ruby's hair and looking around Yang continues. "When did Nora start working here?"
"She just started today. She wants to save some money."
"Really? What for?"
"I don't think she wants other people knowing, it's personal."
"Have there been any problems with the staff or any ruffians?" chimes in the white themed heiress.
"Nope everything has been going pretty great. I'm really learning a lot working here."
"Well, I think that is the only silver lining in this situation, I can't believe the headmaster is punishing you."
"We've talked about this Weiss; this is something I deserve. I shouldn't have gotten involved with Torchwick."
"Weiss is right Rubes this isn't fair; you were only helping out." Yang interjects with her eyes shifting to red. "That fact that you're getting punished is just stupid."
This response just makes the red reaper sigh heavily, "Are you guys here to buy anything or did you just come in to spy on me?"
"Chill Rubes we are just here to shop. And maybe hang out with you on your lunch break."
"I'll have to pass; I've got plans with Nora and the shop owner. He is taking us out for some noodles."
"That's cool, we'll come with."
"Yes, and there is no need for concern on the price since I can pay for everyone meals." Weiss speaks up. "Just let us know the place, and we will wait-"
Cutting off the heiress, "Thanks but no thank you Weiss, it is just supposed to be us and it's to celebrate our new employee." Please just get your stuff and leave. We have only been fighting lately.
"Well as the future head of the company that supplies the dust for this store it won't be any issue, and shouldn't be seen as an intrusion."
"She is trying to turn us away nicely." Blake finally speaks up. "Right Ruby? It must be because Nora isn't comfortable around us right now."
It's not just Nora, I'm not feeling my best around you guys right now. I just can't understand how you can all be like this, acting like you didn't turn your back on someone who was just trying to help.
"What why?" ask the blonde brawler. Only to see Blake raise an eyebrow as if to say really. "She can't still be upset about what we said about that jackass."
"That jackass is mine and her friend." responds Ruby curtly.
"Ruby surely you can see as a leader that it's only right that criminal be locked up, and not just expelled." Weiss protest
"As a leader Weiss, I saw him more then you did and can speak for his character. Now if you are done with your purchase, I am more than happy to check you out."
"Ruby you can't seriously defend him after he got you hurt."
"Yang! Getting hurt comes with the job, and at least he didn't hurt anyone on purpose!" yells the reaper while pointing at her older sister. "Unlike someone else."
"I told you they are bad guys-!"
A slapping sound cuts off the yelling match, and all the girls turn to see Nora standing next to a small old man. In his hands is a large metal scoop that he uses to move some of the larger dust deposits into their packaging. He motions to the three girls who don't work for him and sharply points at the door, signaling for them to leave.
"Are you kicking us out!? How dare you!? I am Weiss Schnee and-" a picture plants itself into the wall next to the heiress's head. Upon inspection it is the older man serving noodles to a young white-haired girl sitting with a large muscular white-haired man in light blue plate armor, both enjoying the bowls in front of them. Weiss stares at the picture for a few seconds before slamming it down and storming out of the store.
Nora speaks up, "The store Owner suggest you leave the premises before he calls Headmaster Ozpin about some overly aggressive student."
Yang growls as she leaves the store, "Ruby we will talk about this later."
Blake follows behind giving the older man a slight bow, "I'm sorry for the trouble we've caused you today." As the girls exit, the older man walks to the door and flips the sign signaling that shop is closed for now. He grabs a light jacket and motions for his to employees to follow him out of the rear entrance.
Nora speaks up while removing the employee apron, "Are you guys gonna be ok?"
Sighing for what feels like the thousandth time since Jaune left, "I really hope so, I just don't know what to do about this whole thing."
"Well, I'm sure you'll manage somehow, at least you guys are speaking with each other."
"What do you mean?"
"Lately the room has felt kinda lonely. Renny is using his semblance more than ever and Pyrrha... Pyrrha is not acting like her normal self or at least the one we knew until now. She keeps putting on this fake smile, like everything is ok, and it's starting to piss me off, like she didn't make a big mistake."
"I'm sorry Nora."
"You don't need to apologize, you're not the one who started all of this, if anything it's Cardin's fault. If he was still around broken legs would only be the start." says the bomber with narrowed eyes.
"Well at least he isn't around anymore, serves him right." Ruby states, closing the door behind her as they leave the shop. The old man walks up and locks the back door.
"What about the front." questions the ginger girl. The old man holds up a small remote and with a quick click, metal shutters cover the front of the shop and a series of quick beeps ring out. "Wow." They begin following the old man and it's not long before they're in front of bustling noodle store that is one of the more popular spots in Vale. As they enter all the employee stop what they are doing and bow.
"Welcome back, Sir!" comes from every single bowing employee in a crisp voice. The old man just nods and walks behind the counter motioning for the two girls to sit at the counter. It didn't take long before two massive bowls of noodle were in front of them. Each one having 4 slices of port, 2 dark eggs that had been cut in half, bean sprouts, sliced radishes, diced spring onions and finally a few white spikey disks with pink swirls in them.
"Come to Mama!" exclaims the bomber with sparkling eyes, as she starts to dig in. Ruby is not far behind starting to practically shovel her own noodles down her throat.
"That was so good." Ruby says letting out a huff of satisfaction. "I'm full for the rest of the day."
"I don't know I think I could go for seconds." responses her fellow short girl, holding her stomach.
"It looks like Sir is busy." Ruby points to where the old man is cooking up a storm of noodles at a speed that could only be semblance related. "What should we do now?" Nora looks at Ruby with a strained smile, signaling she knows what they should do.
Both girls stand up and let the store owner they are going to be outside for a while and to come get them before leaving. He responds with a silent thumbs up over his shoulder. They find a bench in front of a small green area and sit down, while Ruby pulls out her scroll, and clicks over to the newly saved number.
Her thumb hovers over the call icon, another hand reaches out and pushes it down. Looking over at the bomber she sees the same strained smile as earlier. The scroll rings for what feels like hours.
"Ruby?" Jaune questions aloud
"What?" Arslan asks.
"Not a what, a who."
"Ooooo that sounds like a girl's name, is she your girlfriend or maybe you ex?" asks Reese with no reservation.
"No, she's the other team leader that got caught up in the incident."
Cardin glances at his partner before turning back towards the forge and entering, "We'll be inside while you take that." Without turning around, he urges the girls to follow.
It isn't long before the rest of his team enters the forge behind Cardin, with Arslan looking back and seeing Jaune looking sadly at the incoming call. I hope this doesn't affect him too hard. I'm not getting a good feeling from the look on his face. Maybe-
"Jaune." she calls out, "If you don't want to speak with that person maybe it would be better to wait, you know let time and separation handle it."
"No, I don't think it would help. It is something I should've faced them about the night I accepted the headmaster's offer." he smiles at the lioness weakly. "Go ahead, I gotta take this."
"If you are sure." With these parting words Arslan enters the forge.
Walking away from the forge, Jaune answers the scroll call. He stands there silently, expecting words of betrayal and hate to come from the small device. "Jaune?" comes the voice of his first friend, and one of the people he is responsible for hurting.
"Jaune?" repeats Ruby
"Hey Ruby." he answers.
"Jaune, Jaune" follows a second voice, with less energy than he is use to it having.
"Hey Nora. It's good to hear you two. How are your injuries? I hope you guys didn't get any scars from those wasps. Ozpin told me that you are fine but I'm still relieved hearing your voices."
"Jaune we are so sorry. We should've been there to defend you, there is no way we would've let the headmaster expel you." Ruby begins to explain
"Yeah, we know you were defending Pyrrha and stopping Cardin from hurting her. We saw the whole thing and figured out what was really going on." Nora confirms "We heard about your transcripts being fake, and know you weren't trying to hurt anyone."
"You were only doing what you could to get to your dream of being a Huntsman and Hero. We don't think it's right for you to be expelled for wanting to help people, isn't that what were supposed to do?"
"You are such a great leader for our team, even though you aren't trained you're able to tell us what to do and how to get things done. I don't think anyone else could've led us against that deathstalker."
"Yea why would they get rid of the person with the best leadership scores in the first year. You were always great in leadership class, the stuff you were doing in the sim-"
"Guys" Jaune cuts off the back and forth between the two energetic girls. "Thank you. Really thank you. You have no idea how much it means to hear you say all those things about me, but what I did is still illegal."
"Jaune, I did something much worse when I tried to stop the robbery. I hurt people and caused a bunch of damage to a dust shop."
"Ren and I stole money to pay for our combat courses, and our weapons." Nora throws in
Smiling Jaune speaks up again, "What you guys did was different. Ruby you did a good thing plain and simple, and it's what earned you your place in Beacon. Nora, I'm not gonna say what you two did was ok, but you made the best of your situation and only tried everything you could to make your dream reality."
"You don't hate us, right Jaune Jaune?" comes Nora's shaky voice.
Sighing Jaune answers, "No Nora, I don't hate you. You guys didn't do anything and from what you're saying I can guess you told the headmaster and everyone about the incident and how you felt. What did they say?" a marked silence follows his question.
"Yea I should've known, there's no way the truth would've made anyone change their mind."
"It's ok if you just talk with them and-" the reaper almost pleads
"No Ruby, I don't think I want to speak with any of them. I already heard what they had to say, and it's pretty clear to me at the end of the day they never really thought much of me in first place."
"But maybe if you get a chance to explain yourself."
"It doesn't take much to figure out my circumstances or the fact that the headmaster let me into the school. They aren't dumb and the fact that Pyrrha is the one who told everyone my secret only makes things worse. She was my partner and for all the faith she says she had in me; it didn't mean much in the end."
"You're right, she has pretty much convinced herself that she did the right thing. Saying it was for your good, just as much as it was for the teams." Nora said through tears. "Renny has just shut down, using his semblance every time it comes up, Jaune the room feels like a prison where no one can let their feelings out."
"I'm sorry you have to go through that Nora, the best thing I can tell you is to give it time and eventually things should return to normal."
"But it won't be normal without you there, they're even bringing in someone else to replace you."
"Good" comes a curt reply from the blonde "Nora, you guys need a fourth, and since you will be a team, you'll need to work past this. Give your team a chance and I hope it works out for you."
"But Jaune, what about your dream?" the red girl asks
"I haven't given up on being a huntsman, as a matter of fact I'm currently enrolled in Haven Academy. I have a new team and everything, we aren't off to the best of starts but we will get there." Jaune scratches the back of his head. "So don't worry about my dream, it's still going strong."
"Really that's great, maybe we can all be friends again."
Shaking his head, "It's not going to happen Ruby, we can still be friends, you, me, and Nora, but everybody else made it clear where they stand."
"You're right but maybe we can still try." pausing Ruby hesitates for a moment. "Jaune, I don't know what to do." Ruby says depressed. "My team is falling apart, me and Yang are constantly at each other's throats, Weiss's attitude has pretty much reset, and Blake just doesn't speak anymore. I don't know if I can lead my-"
"Nope"
"Wha?"
"Nope"
"But Jaune-"
"Nope"
"Jaune this isn't-"
"Nope, it isn't funny. Like you said before Ruby, you can't fail at being a leader, because it's not just about you."
"I don't know if we can get past this, it feels like betrayal."
"Nope, Ruby being a leader means putting your team before yourself. You told me that, and it's part of the reason I decided to leave. My team didn't think it was best for me to be around. Because you are the leader, you are the one who has to reach out, I've learned that with my new team."
"And make no mistake Ruby, it will be ugly, and messy, feelings will be hurt. Hell, you may not even solve the problem right there and then, but you will need to be the one to bring it back together whether by actions or words.
"Jaune Jaune, what happened to you?" Nora questions
I could think of a few things. "It has been a really rough couple of weeks, and I've learned quite a bit of things. From you guys, Headmaster Lionheart, and my new team. And a two-week trek across anima gives you time to think."
"You have to tell us about that."
Chuckling a little, "Maybe another time. Oh, but since I've got you, Ruby I've some questions. Like how do you know what you're looking for when designing a weapon."
"Are you building a weapon!?" Chirps the red head with a new found energy. "Wait, what happened to Crocea Mors?"
"My family took it back in an attempt to make me come home. Right now, the only hunter grade weapon I have is a bow, but even that belongs to the family of the hunter who used it. As soon as I find the registration, I'm going to return it."
"Sorry to bring it up."
"It's fine, it always felt like that sword belonged to my family more than me. It was just a constant reminder that I wasn't good enough to earn it in the first place."
"Well, when you are looking to build your weapon, it's best to know how you want to fight first. When I built Crescent Rose, I knew I wanted to fight like my uncle."
"I had a little wooden hammer as a good luck charm that Renny gave me." Nora adds in. "It gave me courage during a really hard time, so I knew I wanted to use it beat down me enemies."
"What about the shifting options?" asks the blonde boy
"Ah mine came out of necessity and coolness." the reaper beams. "I needed a way to kill the momentum of my semblance, and a long-range option that took advantage of the length."
"I wanted more fire power." he can almost hear the grin on the girl's face. "I wanted to be able to wipe out the Grimm with overwhelming force. And don't forget to make some improvements every once in a while, I'm considering some after the incident with the wasp."
"Yea same here it made me realize that Crescent Rose is hard to deploy when a small enemy closes in. If they are agile, I can't really hit them with the bullets, and if they are like you, Jaune, they just shrug off the bullet."
"Oh yea, speaking of recoil, is there an alternative to bullets for recoil?"
"Yea there should be." Ruby pauses in thought. "You could use dust, wind or gravity should do it."
"Which one would be better?"
"That depends on how you want to slow down. For gradually slowing down wind dust would be better, and it will let you redirect yourself. If you want a quick stop, gravity problem is the recoil more than doubles."
"If you make something with a large surface, it would probably help with that. Or just greatly reduce the amount of dust. You could alter it to make the release point smaller." Nora speaks up
"A gun already has a small release point but still creates a huge force."
"Ok just release it in a controlled burst..."
As the girls continue to talk about weapons spouting ideas back and forth clearly in a better mood, Jaune smiles. I'm glad they are doing ok. I was really worried about how they were doing. I'm sorry their teams seem to be falling apart but I'm sure they will manage.
Frowning slightly Jaune thoughts continue. I don't think I'll be able to forgive the others. Ruby and Nora didn't really do anything and it looks like they knew the truth from what they saw. Does it make me a bad person if I don't really want to forgive them?
No, I don't think it does. They didn't really give me a chance, so why should I give them one? No, wait I want to be better than that. I don't think we will go back to being close but if they reach out, we can bury the hatchet.
"Remnant to Jaune." Ruby's voice brings him out of his thoughts
"Thanks guys, you really helped me out. I was in the middle of an outing with my team, so I gotta get back to them."
"Can we stay in touch? You know with the occasional scroll call." Nora asks
"Yea I would really like that."
"Great, we gotta get back to work anyway, I see our boss coming."
"Wait you two got jobs?"
"Yep" the pair answers in unison popping the p.
"Seeya Jaune Jaune."
"Bye Jaune, I'm glad you're still going to be a huntsman."
Feeling lighter Jaune puts his scroll away and enters the forge to find his teammates loitering near the door. Cardin looks at him, "You all good man?"
"Yea, it was good hearing from Ruby and Nora."
"Good thing you got that out of the way now, if you had let it sit till we saw them again it probably would've been a lot worse."
"Wait, when would we see them again?" asks the knightly blonde confused.
"They are students at Beacon, correct?" Arslan inquires
"Yea."
"Then we will probably run into them at the Vytal Festival, it's gonna be at Beacon this year." Reese states
"The what now?"
"Man, we talked about this before. Remember the tournament I told you Lionheart fought in?" Jaune nods at Cardin's question. "It's held every two years, and it celebrates the end of the great war. During the festival they have a tournament where the four schools send in representatives to compete"
"Really" says Jaune cupping his chin. "And I'm guessing you guys want to compete?" looking up he sees his team full of determination, even Reese looks raring to go. "Right, dumb question."
"It's ok, you'll be smart one day." Arslan quips, making Cardin and Reese chuckle
"Funny, but if that's the case it has helped me decide something about my weapons." Walking past his team Jaune approaches the forge master, a large man with broad shoulders, thick arms, dressed in a tan shirt. He has long black hair with a receding hairline, and around his neck a striped black and white scarf.
"Hi I was wondering if you use non-ferrous metals here?"
A deep gravelly voice answers, "Sure, but that might be on the expensive side depending on which ones you are looking for."
"What do you recommend for something to take an impact? And cutting? I'm also afraid of it being to light."
"For impact, tungsten carbide. For cutting titanium carbide. For weight it can only be lead." he answers curtly. "Two of those are on the cheap side but the titanium will run you a good chunk of lien." Jaune and the forge master spend the next few minutes talking about the design, function, and even color of the weapons and armor he is requesting.
Turning back to his partner, "Hey Cardin you're up."
As the blonde steps back to let Cardin speak to the forge master Arslan turns to him, "Why did you ask for non-ferrous metals?"
"That's because one of the dominant traits for that type of metal is being nonmagnetic." answers the knightly blonde.
"Ok so..." twirling her hands around, she signals for him to continue.
"That means Pyrrha's semblance won't work on our weapons."
"What does her semblance have to do with this, unless it's magnetism based or something." Jaune just stares at the blonde lioness dumbly for a few moments. "Are you serious!?"
"Well yea, she uses it all the time. Moves peoples weapons away from her, uses buckles to shift someone's weight or positions, speeds up her weapons to hit harder, all kinds of stuff."
"Motherfucker!" Arslan roars as she stomps out of the forge.
"What's her problem?"
"No one really knows what Pyrrha's semblance is, or I guess that was the case." Answers Reese.
"Really? I guess she is kind of subtle about it. So where do you think she went?"
Suddenly a lion's roar is heard from somewhere in the shop, causing the three non-female occupants to look around. Reese pulls out her scroll and taps the screen stopping the roar. "She says to stay here while she runs to Haven to get her weapons. It says she is going to have them reforged rings and all."
"Wouldn't that take up most of a weapon budget for the month?" the blonde questions
"Probably but are you gonna stop her?"
"A good leader knows when to let their teammate make decisions." Jaune states with a straight face.
"Uh huh, sure they do?" chuckling, Reese begins typing a response.
"Does she know that you have a lion roar set for her alert?" Reese stops chuckling and looks up a Jaune who is wearing a smug look. "Didn't think so."
"Hey guys where'd the lion go?" Cardin walks up having placed his order. With a brief explanation and a bit of a wait, they all leave the forge, after Arslan turns in her weapons, trying to decide on their next destination.
"Oh hey Cardin, you owe us some lunch on your tab." the green nymph reminds everybody.
"I don't have any money." the ginger shrugs
"I knew I was forgetting something." Reese quickly pulls out her scroll and taps away. "And done." It is not very long till the boys' scrolls start buzzing. Looking at their scrolls they find a message inviting them to Roll, the lien transferring app. With Reese's encouragement and a few clicks, they receive another message.
"Woah, where did all this come from?" questions the larger boy.
"That is your take from the fight. Only one person bet on you guys winning, the rest went to the house."
"Who bet on us winning?"
"Scarlet David. He is a teammate of Sun and Neptune."
"Doesn't that mean the house took everything?"
"Yeah. So, lunch time, Mr. Winchester!"
"Ok, how bout I do you one better?" Cardin says with a cocky smile. "Do you have anything to cook with back in the room?" both girls shake their heads. "Ok that's fine this is enough money for a decent set and some ingredients. Pasta sound good to yall?"
It isn't long before the team is back in the dorm watching Cardin cook using the ingredients they grabbed in Mistral. He browns both sides of the rabbit cuts they purchased in some oil, removes and set them aside while adding diced onions, carrots, and celery. Letting those cook for a few minutes, the larger boy adds red pepper flakes, garlic and tomato paste.
That cooks for a bit, till he throws in some red wine and boils the mixture to burn off the alcohol. When it is boiling, he adds some chicken stock, chopped tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves for seasoning. Finally, he returns the rabbit to the pan and brings the dish back to a boil before reducing to a simmer and covering. During the rabbit's simmering time the ginger boy makes some garlic and herb butter, along with the pasta from scratch.
Letting the butter become solid in the fridge, Cardin spreads it on the bread they bought and pops that into the oven. Two hours pass and he turns off the heat and removes the thyme and bay leaves. He takes the rabbit out, lets it sit for a bit, and shreds it. The ginger knight adds the meat back to the sauce and puts the pan back on the burner and brings the dish back to a simmer to thicken while throwing in some rosemary.
Stirring ghee into the sauce and seasoning with salt and pepper, the boy boils the water for the pasta while removing the bread from the oven, letting out the heavy but delicious smelling aroma of garlic and butter. With the pasta boiling quickly, he removes it just before it finishes and tosses it in the sauce. Quickly dividing the meal between four bowls, the knightly chef adds grated cheese and a piece of the bread sticking up from the bowl.
"There you go, I can guarantee that it is worth the wait." The ginger chef says smugly.
"Dude this looks amazing!" exclaims Reese while pulling out her scroll and taking pictures. "I'm gonna send this to everybody! Gotta brag about my new teammate!" Arslan's scroll buzzes signaling a message.
"You put it on the message board?" Arslan asks the green-haired girl.
"Where else was I going to brag?" responds the girl while looking at the messages.
"Message board?" ask the blonde knight
"Yea we have an open message board where we can pretty much post whatever we feel like. It was started by some students a few years back." Answers the nymph. "I'll invite you guys you just need to make a name."
Message Board
Mountain&Monkey: Dude that looks awesome, where can I buy?
Cool$Blue: Read the caption man, one of the new guys cooked it.
Fleet0Foot: Bro, you offering that to everyone?
Seasonedbeef: Really which one? Also Mountain&Monkey did you change my name again?
Hidden^Jem: I bet it was the blonde he looks like the type.
Fairy*girl: Nope, it was the big orange one.
Fleet0Foot: Dude, don't ignore my question. You sharing? I'm willing to pay. Hidden^Jem lend me some lien?
Hidden^Jem: Go die
Pirate_Life: Really? The big one? Also stop flirting on message board.
Mountain&Monkey: But yea for real, you sharing? Cause I'll pay too. Cool$Blue Lien?
TheFirey1: That does indeed look delicious. I would not say no to an invitation.
IceCreamey: Is there dessert?
Seasonedbeef: I could eat.
Fairy*girl: This is for team bonding people. I just wanted to show off! ; Þ
Mountain&Monkey: So cruel!
Fleet0Foot: 2x
Cool$Blue: 3x
Seasonedbeef: 4x
Hidden*Jem: Pirate_Life who is flirting?
Fleet0Foot: Guys she is shy, you can't just point it out.
Cool$Blue: Nice, shy ones are good
Seasonedbeef: Don't push it, you might make her run
Hidden*Jem: Who the fluff is shy or flirting!?
IceCreamey: fluff?
Mountain&Monkey: fluff?
Fairy*girl: fluff!
Cool$Blue: fluff (nodding head)
Seasonedbeef: fluff indeed
Pirate_Life: See flirting
Fleet0Foot: Fluff off you guys are embarrassing her
Freedbird has joined the chat
Survivalknight has joined the chat
Mountain&Monkey: Which one of yall made that pasta, and can I have some?
Fairy*Girl: Never! It's all mine!
Fleet0Foot: Help!? She is trying to murder me
TheFirey1: Didn't you ever learn sharing is caring
Freedbird: I made it, and I don't think we have enough
Mountain&Monkey:
Pirate_Life:
Cool$Blue:
Fleet0Foot: No for real help! Also
IceCreamey: , dessert?
Freedbird: Don't bake, but Survivalknight does.
IceCreamey: Ice Cream?
Survivalknight: Yea I can make that
IceCreamey: (Peach)
Cool$Blue: Shouldn't that be a heart?
Pirate_Life: Must be a typo
IceCreamey: Nope 😉 Survivalknight
Mountain&Monkey: 😮
Seasonedbeef: 😮
Cool$Blue: You guys offer classes or what? Also 😮
Survivalknight: Peach flavored shouldn't be a problem
Mountain&Monkey: ...
Seasonedbeef: ...
Cool$Blue: …
Fairy*Girl: ...
Hidden*Jem: you can't be serious
TheFirey1: surely not
Freedbird: Shhhhh no one tell him
21Paragon: It can't be more obvious too...
GLDNL10N: Anyone wanna trade teammates? Anyone?
Fairy*Girl: Seconded 😛
Survivalknight: What are y'all on about?
21Paragon: Don't sweat it mate.
Freedbird: Lmao
21Paragon: Freedbird why you laughing? You probably aren't any better
GLDNL10N: Agreed.
Fairy*Girl: Agreed.
Cool$Blue: OOF!
Mountain&Monkey: x2
Pirate_Life: x3
Seasonedbeef: x4
Freedbird: Btw, who 21Paragon?
Mountain&Monkey: One of the seniors, he's an operator. Usually out on missions or helping the teachers. Pretty busy.
Freedbird: Operator?
Survivalknight: Freedbird he doesn't have a team.
Cool$Blue: And he needs a certain number of recommendations to graduate.
Freedbird: Ah, got it. But anyways, I'm not that bad.
Survivalknight: Weiss Schnee.
Freedbird: …
21Paragon: I feel like there's more to that...wait SDC Weiss Schnee!?
Fairy*Girl: Juicey!
Cool$Blue: x2
Pirate_Life: x3
21Paragon: TheFirey1 Hidden*Jem Fleet0Foot IceCreamey Y'all hungry?
TheFirey1: Where you going?
21Paragon: Spirit's Banquet at the Aburaya Resort
TheFirey1: !
Hidden*Jem: !
Fleet0Foot: !
IceCreamey: Do they have dessert?
21Paragon: The Fluffing best
IceCreamey: (Peach)
Hidden*Jem: ...
21Paragon: Later
IceCreamey: 😉
Fairy*Girl: 😮
GLDNL10N: 😮
Cool$Blue: 😮
TheFirey1: Can you really promise that? I'd hate for you to disappoint.
Hidden*Jem: What should we even wear?
Fleet0Foot: Better Question: Will they even let us in?
21Paragon: I mean...my family owns the resort...so I hope so?
Cool$Blue: Warning shameless flex above
21Paragon: So, you don't wanna come?
Mountain&Monkey: He didn't say that, right Cool$Blue
Cool$Blue: … I'm conflicted
Seasonedbeef: Can I come?
Pirate_Life: Same x2
21Paragon: Sure, and you too Mountain&Monkey but each of you owe me one.
Mountain&Monkey: Deal!
Cool$Blue: Forgive my dumb comment
21Paragon: You can come, but you owe me two
Fairy*Girl: Why does it feel like I'm missing out?
GLDNL10N: We might be.
"Some of those names seem a little off." states the blonde knight as he eats and watches the message board continue to tick by. "Cardin this is really good."
"I know." the ginger lets out between snorts
"I could get used to this." Reese chimes in.
"I admit this is good." Arslan affirms.
"So, we officially start or Haven Academy life tomorrow?" Jaune says to his partner, finishing his plate and taking up one of the spots on the empty couch.
"Oum, why does it feel like it's been forever?" Cardin asks back
"We have been through so much, that it's hard not to feel that way"
"We still have a few more days till our weapons are ready, so no combat class. What do you think the rest of the classes will be like?"
"Just as hard as the Beacon classes, I'm sure."
"We will still be doing the morning workout tomorrow." Arslan throws in
"Really when is the rest day?" Cardin questions
"We have light days but real rest days are every other weekend. Since we have aura, we can push harder when it comes to working out."
"Ok, looking forward to working with you guys." Jaune once again extends his hand to Arslan, and this time she takes it.
"I'm still not sold on you, so show me you can be a great leader." Arslan says while tightening her grip.
"Just watch me." Jaune answers with determination. Taking his hand back he picks up the bags from the trip and walks into his room. Putting his things away the blonde thinks about the Vytal Festival and its tournament. I'll be able to test myself against the best hunters-in-training. I show everyone that I can make my dream a reality. I'll prove that I can be huntsman and earn my place here.
Cardin sits there staring at his old chest plate with the Winchester symbol on. Ok old man, you don't want me? That's fine. I'll become a huntsman without your help, I'll show you I deserve the name Winchester more than anyone. I will earn it!
Standing he grabs the chest plate and crushes I using his semblance. I've already given the redesign to the forge master. The only thing left to do is become a huntsman so famous I can't be ignored. Suddenly he sighs, "I should probably call Viola and Mom at some point, let them know that I'm ok."
The first few days of Haven are an interesting experience for the two transfers from Beacon. They are introduced to the dust studies teacher Mr. Far, a tall, tan man with a love of the colors red and black. It doesn't take long to find out you need to pay attention in class. His semblance lets him summon snakes constructed of aura, that have different affects and colors depending on the dust he uses. Sun gladly takes one for the team to alert them of this.
Next is the history teacher, Mr. Radon a tall man with a broad hairy chest he is not afraid to show off. He spends just as much time on himself as history in his class, funny thing is he also uses a blunderbuss as a weapon. The last teacher Mrs. Poulpe, is a boisterous woman, who is knowledgeable about the Grimm, it's almost like she has dissected them in person, great teacher and puts in a lot of effort for class. If you ever want a break though ask her about her kids, Moray and Paddi, she will go on for a few minutes before getting back on task.
One of the highlights is when Arslan gets called to fight, without the rings she is short on long range options and Sun thinks it is his chance to capitalize. Sun does not have a great time that day, it seems like Arslan is upset about something and he happens to be the unfortunate target of this frustration in Ms. Faunt's class.
It is about half way through the week when the boys and Arslan receive a message to come pick up their newly forged equipment. Arriving at the forge the blonde leader brings the conversation to the armor and weapons, "Do you think he was able to meet all of the specifications?"
"You don't have to worry he is the best in Mistral." Reese speaks on the behalf of the smith. "His forge is responsible for most of the weapons walking around Haven right now. People bring him ideas and designs, and he makes them happen."
"You are correct the little miss." comes the gravelly voice of the forge master. He's standing behind the counter like he is expecting them at any moment. "You the big one you're first, it takes time to fit the straps on full armor." waiving his hand for Cardin to come behind the counter and follow him to the back.
It doesn't take Cardin long to reappear in his new armor. The overall armor has been darkened to a gunmetal grey, and it has burnt orange coloring where the plates intersect. The chest piece now covers all of his upper body, splitting at his waist to protect his upper thighs, the old cardinal is absent. Cardin moves his upper body around to show that it is crafted in a way that doesn't impede him.
His pauldrons are now double layered, with a slight lip to protect his neck, and his rerebraces are lined up to look like part of the shoulder guards. His vambraces and greaves only got an update in color and material so they matched the rest of the armor.
"It's not often I get to make armor, so I might have gone the extra mile. Huntsmen now a days think themselves invincible. This was refreshing. Now for the weapons, I managed to make them just like you requested." upon saying his piece the forge master hands Cardin a large round shield matching the armor in color with a rim of burnt orange that goes about two inches in on the surface. The symbol on the shield is a complete revamp, it is now the side profile of a Cardinal preparing to take flight from a compass, colored in a similar burnt orange to the rim.
Next, he is handed a replica of The Executioner, and begins to takes a few practice swings with it. "Isn't that the same as your old mace?"
"Not really." with a quick click of a hidden switch, a slot at the bottom of the haft open and the ginger slides in an earth dust crystal. Flipping it shut, the fire dust crystal separates from the head, Cardin catches it and the earth dust slots into its place. "That ain't the only new trick either."
The ginger knight brings the mace around to the shield on his right arm, where the shield then splits in two and attaches to the mace. With a quick spin the haft extends to around thigh height on the ginger, leaving him holding a double-sided war axe. "This is Guillotine." he says proudly.
Upon inspection each half of the shield forms a large axe blade. The edge of the blades glow with the color of the crystal at the head of the haft as the ginger spins the weapon briefly, and points the head of the axe towards the wall before pumping part of the handle. A large bolt is then imbedded into wall causing minor cracks to spread from the impact point.
"Damn that thing looks like it could be head an Elder Beringel." Reese crowds the knightly ginger. "Is it heavy? Is that a crossbow?"
"Chill Little Green, you'll know everything it can do eventually."
"Reese." she deadpans and shifts out of her gushing.
"Alright you're next blondie." the gruff man states, and Jaun points at himself. "No, not you the pretty one." He pulls out four chakrams and places them on the counter. "They are lighter now, but to compensate for that, I added a weight function using the gravity dust. That way you should be able throw it harder for a better cutting affect."
"Thank you, forge master." Arslan bows in respect before examining her reforged weapons, spinning and flipping them around.
"Ok your tun now." this time pointing at Jaune, who follows him behind the counter. Soon Jaune comes back, the chest armor now stops around half way down his stomach and consist of three plates layered on top of each other, descending into a point. Instead of the grey that used to line his old armor, it has been replaced with a dark gold that still lets off a shine, and traces the lines where the plates meet.
The pauldrons have been shifted to the top of his shoulders and shortened. They are composed of two small plates that follow the curve of his shoulders, matching the color of the chest plate. He now has vambraces that come to a rounded point just below his elbows, with the left one having extra plating attached to the outside and inside of his arm.
"Though I have to know, why the fur around the collar?" Asks Jaune
"Aesthetics." answers the forge master with a shrug, "If it helps, it's also a hood." He then throws the blonde a pair of gloves, one only had the three fingers in the middle while the other covered all but the pinky. "Those are made to withstand that ridiculous bow string you asked for, that's going to be a few more day, so you know. Had to send that order to Atlas."
Chuckling nervously the blonde knightly archer continues, "Sorry about that. Is there one on there I can use till then?"
"Best I have at the moment." he states while pulling out a white buckler with dark gold trim and the Arc symbol in the middle, handing it over to Jaune. The blonde knight attaches the buckler to his left vambrace, and with a quick flick of the wrist, it slides up to his hand splitting open to reveal a riser handle. After he grips it two bow limbs unfold to form a recurve bow with string attached.
The bow is white in color and only dark gold at the tip of the limbs where the string attaches. The split shield pieces are in place where the riser and limbs meet, almost giving it the look of a beast maw. The blonde spins his wrist and the buckler slides back into place on his vambrace.
"Corse the bow limbs and riser are carbon fiber reinforced with small tungsten rods at the important parts. They are making two of those bow strings, but I don't think you'll be breaking them any time soon." the master of the forge then places a spear, with a silver blade and a dark gold guard where the head and ocean blue shaft meet, on the counter.
"Just like you asked, lead core so it's not to light, then surrounded by tungsten carbide, and the blade is titanium carbide ideal for slicing. The vents in the blade are thin enough that they don't damage the integrity."
Admiring the spear, Jaune investigates the guard to see it is composed of two dark gold lions perched on the Arc symbol, while the handle is wrapped in the same ocean blue as the family heirloom, he used to wield. He spins it briefly before it is shifted down into the form of a short sword, with the spear haft separating to form a sheath.
Jaune puts his new weapon in the sheath, "Thank you, I really appreciate it. The order must have been complex."
"No worse than a hovering board with blades, that splits into two fully functioning twin pistols, and has a dust port that can be used by jamming a crystal into it."
Reese looks away sheepishly, before quickly changing the subject. "It looks like you guys are all set then. Only thing left is to name and register them at Haven. Then you're ready for combat class."