Violet woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. After watching over Jaune, she had zipped over to Atlas again and confirmed that both her parents were home, checking her father's meeting board for the schedule there. The entire day was open, as he said it would be when she left. Her father had wanted to be available at any time of the day so that Violet could call to catch up with them after her first week at Beacon.
Talking to her family again… 'I'll admit, I am a little homesick.'
Her teammates were already awake ahead of her. Blake must have been the first, she was already showered and clothed, minus her bow, sitting up in her bed to catch up on the reading she had missed last night. The shower was running, and Ruby was sitting at one of the desks, still in her pajamas.
"Good morning," Violet said heartily, standing up from her bed to stretch out. She raised her arms up towards the ceiling and bent backwards, getting a satisfying series of 'pops'.
They each repeated the words back to her in their own way. Blake, without looking up from her book and with no emotion in it, and Ruby, mumbled while half asleep at her desk, head laid down across her arms.
"Where's the spirit, ladies? Today's going to be a good day!" Violet cheered, pulling open her dresser and going through her outfits. Really, she only had one left, since she'd only packed to last the week. 'I still need to go shopping today, too.'
"Ah, yes. A day all to myself with my books. It will be a lovely day," Blake replied back evenly, still not looking up.
"Sure, alone, aside from when we head over to the CCT, that is."
"What are we going to the tower for?" Ruby muttered, eyes cracking open to look at her questioningly.
"My my, Ruby. I thought you would have been more excited to get exactly what you wanted," Violet scoffed lightly.
Her head rose from the desk at that, confused, "What I wanted?"
"To meet my parents, of course. You asked if you could last night, remember?"
Ruby's eyes went wide and she jumped up, "Really? Oh, this is gonna be so cool!"
"Wooh," Blake said from up in her bed, but she had at least taken her eyes off her book.
"Ah, come on, Blake. Tell ya what, after we talk to my parents, I need to go shopping anyway. Why don't we stop by a bookstore on the way, and I'll get you whatever you want?"
Blake's eyes lit up before she could hide them. She coughed once, "Yeah I'd love to meet your family."
"Blake gets a present?" Ruby looked up at Violet, eyes wide and hopeful.
Violet tried to think of something worth getting for Ruby. An entire box full of cookies? Comic books? A new game? As she was pondering it, her eyes fell on something in the room, and she smiled, "How about I let you fire off Zenith?"
Ruby's face broke out in an enthusiastic smile, until the doubt crept on to her face to replace it, "Isn't it bad to try and shoot your gun, though?"
"Not if I'm there with you to make it work properly," Violet laughed.
Ruby pumped her fist into the air excitedly, letting out a more genuine "Wooh!" than Blake's could ever hope to be. She hurriedly started getting dressed as Yang stepped out of the bathroom, half dressed, "What are we cheering about in here?"
"We're going to meet Violet's parents, and then she's going to let me shoot her gun!" Ruby gave a rapid fire response as she pulled a shirt down over her head.
Yang's eyes narrowed, "Isn't that, like, super dangerous?"
Ruby spoke again before Violet could, "Not if Violet's there, silly," sounding as if she hadn't just asked the same question a minute ago.
"You in, Yang? I'm sure my parents would like to at least see my entire team," Violet asked.
"Sure. We have the whole weekend to ourselves, anyway. Maybe we'll give our dad a call, too. He's a teacher, so he shouldn't be working on the weekend either," Yang replied with a shrug of her shoulders, heading back into the bathroom to fix up her hair.
'Finally meeting Tai? Sign me up,' Violet smiled, as she finished dressing herself.
They stopped by the cafeteria to eat breakfast before heading for the tower. It was a nice enough day out. Hot, if not for the breeze that rolled across the plateau, cooling the temperature down to a more bearable level. The four girls made their way through the mildly busy campus to the awaiting tower, which loomed over the rest of Beacon, its top lit with a greenish light that gave the school its namesake.
"The tower is so huuuuuuuge!" Ruby admired joyously, eyes staring up at the massive spire.
"You think that's big? You should see my-" Violet was cut off by a smack to the back of the head by Yang.
"See what?" Ruby asked, too busy looking wide eyed at the tower to notice the little exchange.
Violet rubbed her head and shot Yang a glance, "Eh, the tower in Atlas, I mean. You should see the tower in Atlas. It's bigger. It's where General Ironwood get's his name-" Violet managed to dodge the fist leveled at her face but cut herself off just the same with a smirk at Yang.
They headed in through the front door, past the guards that gave them one glance before letting them go by. They stepped inside, walking through the opening area that included guards and students alike, and into the elevator.
"Please present identification,' a feminine recording chimed.
Violet held her Scroll up in front of the sensor, the computer decoding the information there before it chimed, "Welcome to the CCT, Violet Regalia. Where would you like to go?"
"To the communications room, please."
The elevator shifted beneath them, rising at a steady pace up the length of the massive tower. They wouldn't reach the top. The top was Ozpin's office. The elevator stopped somewhere around the middle, doors opening to reveal a room set with dozens of terminals.
Violet led them to the far corner to give them a little privacy. There were other students in here already, looking as if they were talking to their own family or friends back home. Violet took a seat, and the rest of her team stood right behind her. She connected her Scroll to the terminal, it's signal getting boosted, and the screen lit up as the call home went through.
Thirty seconds passed with no response before the screen flickered, an image finally coming into focus on it, "Hello? Violet? Can you hear me, sweetheart?" Her father's voice came through, crystal clear as his face appeared on the screen. It looked like the same had happened on his end, as his eyes lit up. Violet's mother cracked her hips against the man as she stepped into frame, knocking him to the side playfully.
"It's good to see you again, dear. How-" Her mother's voice cut off as her eyes widened.
"Mom, dad. This is my team," Violet pointed them out in turn. Ruby and Yang, "They're sisters", and last but not least, "This is Blake." They each gave a little wave as their names were mentioned.
"Well, it is certainly nice to meet you, girls," Her mother said emphatically, "Look dear, our daughter's team." She made it sound as if he was just being shy even though she was the one that had knocked him away with more force than was necessary.
"Indeed. It is nice to meet you all. How is everyone faring in school?"
"Ha! Among the first years, we only have one team that has any chance against us, and that's mostly because they have Pyrrha Nikos on their team. Yeah, that Pyrrha Nikos," Violet clarified when the two shared a look.
"Vi fought her in class, she got wrecked," Yang laughed, likely still holding a grudge from Violet's comments to Ruby earlier.
"Yang! She did really good!" Ruby chastised, nodding excitedly at the two adults, "She lasted longer than anyone else did, even longer than Yang!" The older sister narrowed her eyes at Ruby, scathing but with the smile still on her lips.
"How are things back home?" Violet interjected, talking over the brewing argument between the two girls.
"Oh, same old, same old," Her father hummed with a sigh, "A little bit quieter, since we don't have you test firing your weapon to deal with anymore."
"Hey!"
"You fired that thing indoors!?" Blake interrupted, staring wide eyed at Violet.
"N-no! I fired it off the balcony at targets I set up in the garden!"
Blake rolled her eyes, "Because that's so much better. I'm sorry for the property damage she must have caused, Mr. and Mrs. Regalia."
"I only broke one statue," Violet mumbled dejectedly.
"Reduced it to a fine powder, you mean," Her mother quipped, giving her a smile.
Violet raised her hand up to cup her mouth as she turned away from the screen, hiding what she said from her parents, "It was reaaallly ugly. I had to look at it from my bedroom window every morning. It was a total eyesore!"
Ruby suppressed her giggles, while Blake was apparently in deep thought trying to think of anything outside their window that Violet might get trigger happy over.
The adult's attention was pulled away from the screen for a moment, as their voices became muffled. With a startled gasp, they were joined by a familiar fox eared faunus that slipped between the two of them to stare into the screen in excitement.
"Henna!" Violet laughed, eyes drawn back to the screen. Blake leaned forward to look at the sudden addition. Henna was grinning broadly from ear to ear. 'If her faunus trait had been a tail, it would be smacking my parents back and forth right now.'
"Little Miss!" Violet winced at the name drop, feeling the grin break out on Yang's face, "Are you getting enough sleep? What are you having for breakfast? Are you drinking enough water?"
"Yes. Food. And yes. In that order," Violet replied quickly, trying to slow down the barrage of questions before she could give Yang any more ammunition to taunt her with later. Henna's eyes beamed happily until a cough by Violet's father reminded her that her employers were right there.
"Oh, uhhh, I'll leave you to it then!" Henna said cheerily and extricated herself from between the two.
"I miss you, Henna!" Violet called out as she left. Henna's head returned into frame, long enough to give Violet a wink before disappearing again.
"How's Peri doing, by the way?" Violet said into the silence that followed.
"Ready to graduate next month. He'll be coming with us to Vale to visit you once your first semester ends."
Violet perked up with a smile. It would be nice to see him after so long.
"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Her mother asked.
"We need to make another call, and then I need to go buy some things in Vale."
Her father's pocket vibrated, and he pulled out his Scroll, looking at the caller ID before giving an apologetic look towards Vi, "Sorry, gotta take this." Her father listened to what the caller had to say, face darkening, "What do you mean, we lost contact with Brunswick!?"
Violet's mother shot the man a frown then sighed, giving Violet a sad look, "Well, it was nice talking to you while we could, dear. Give us another call next weekend if you can."
"Yes, mom. Love ya!" Violet laughed.
"Love you too, dear," She swatted her hand against the man's forearm, and he turned away from the call long enough to give a quick, "Love you!" before the video feed buzzed away, call ending.
"Well, they were nice," Ruby said simply.
"Little Miss~" Yang sang out in a falsetto, "Are you having fun destroying statues in the garden~?"
Violet stepped back away from the console and gestured for Ruby to step forward quickly, "I'm sure your family doesn't have any embarrassing stories to share. Maybe I'll ask him for some pictures of you as a kid. You were just so adorable when you were young. I don't know what went wrong."
The mockery didn't get the reaction that Violet wanted. Yang was too caught up in thinking over her own insults to pay attention to what she had to say.
"Hey, dad!" Ruby's voice announced the call going through, distracting them.
"Ruby! Yang!" Tai shouted in surprise, raising his Scroll closer to his face as he stared at them, "I wasn't expecting a call! Did something happen?"
"What, your daughters can't just call because they miss their old man?" Yang replied with a snarky smile, "Yee of little faith!"
"No, I'm glad you did. So, who are these two?" Tai changed the subject to the other two girls sharing a cubicle with his daughters.
"This is Blake, another member of team Vibrant, and this is," Yang's eyes glowed, "Our fearless leader, Little Miss~!"
"Yang! This is Violet, dad. She is our leader," Ruby broke in, trying to differentiate between what was fact and fiction.
Tai's face was unreadable as he brought the Scroll even closer to his face, one large eye all they could see on their side, "Is that, the Violet?"
"Ew, dad, gross!" Ruby yelled, averting her gaze from the giant close up eye on the screen.
"Yeah, that's her. Even if she keeps denying how it happened," Yang huffed with a glower at Violet.
Violet just shrugged under the scrutiny, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Xiao Long."
"Thank you, Violet. I've wanted to say that for a long time. If it hadn't been for you, both my daughters would have been taken from me," Tai's face grew dark, a deep-seated depression settling in.
Violet felt guilty. 'I could have stopped them if I tried… Hell, if I wasn't there at all then Qrow would have been.' "I don't need your thanks, sir. I'm glad they could be here, too. They're precious members of my team now," Violet looked at Blake as she finished, "All three of them."
Tai nodded his understanding, "Sorry to cut this short, girls, but I have a ton of papers to grade. Thanks for calling, and make sure you remember to again!"
"Bye dad!"
"See ya, pops!"
With a satisfied nod from Tai, the screen went blank and the girls were left to themselves again.
"So, Blake. Wanna make it four for four?" Violet teased.
Blake's bow twitched as her face paled, "That's not a call I want to make right now."
"Why not? I'm sure they would be proud of you making it into Beacon," Violet chastised. She knew they would forgive Blake. Hell, they really didn't seem all that upset with her in the first place.
"I… didn't leave on the best terms," Blake said with a tremble.
Violet gave her a considering look, then turned to Yang and Ruby, "Hey guys, you go ahead. We'll meet you down there."
The two sisters looked between Blake and Violet uncertainly, but took their leader's suggestion after a few seconds and headed for the elevator. Violet waited until the doors had closed and they were left mostly alone, still a good distance from the other students in the comm's room, before drawing Blake even further towards the corner of the room.
"Did Ghira not want you to be a huntress?" Violet asked the question that she knew was wrong, if only to get the conversation rolling, and surprise Blake into hopefully sharing more than she would realize.
Blake's eyes flared in fear, hand reaching up for Gambol Shroud, which was still tucked away back in the dorm. She took a step back from Violet, other hand up to ward her away, "How do you know that name!?" she whispered vehemently.
Violet held her hands up in a placating gesture, looking around the room to remind Blake of where they were, "Blake. It's me. The history buff, remember? Did you think I wouldn't know that the creator of the White Fang and current Chieftain of Menagerie was a cat faunus with the last name Belladonna? Honestly, Professor Oobleck probably connected the dots on the first day. Headmaster Ozpin, too."
Blake's eyes darted around the room, panic setting in. 'She wants to run,' Violet thought worriedly. Blake tensed as Violet stepped forward, then froze in shock as Violet pulled her into a tight hug.
"Blake, calm down. If they were going to do anything about it, they would have already. They want you to go to Beacon and become a huntress. Ozpin is probably hoping you'll help the faunus and the White Fang for the better once you graduate. You have nothing to worry about. No matter what happens, your team will always stick by your side. You're our friend, Blake. We don't care about your past," Violet whispered it all affectionately into Blake's ear, hoping against hope that the girl would hear the sincerity in her voice.
To her surprise, Blake's struggling stopped. Her shoulders slumped, and two hesitant hands drifted up Violet's back to hug her in return. It was weak, but it was better than the alternative. Violet stayed as she was, putting all of her love for the girl into the hug, not wanting to be the first to pull away.
After a minute, Blake slowly withdrew from the embrace, a choked laugh betraying the conflicting emotions she felt, "How did I get so lucky?"
"Maybe you're one of the main characters in a story. Good stuff tends to happen to them to balance out all the bad," Violet replied with a smile.
"Then I'm past due for a lot of good," Blake laughed again. It was clearer this time, happier.
"Well, why don't we start with some now? You should call your parents, Blake. I'm sure they miss you. What parent wouldn't?"
Blake looked at the console hesitantly, "You really think…?"
"Yes."
Blake nodded and sat down in front of the console with some trepidation. She gave a meaningful look at Violet, who realized what she wanted and walked over behind her, offering Blake her support with just her presence.
Blake pulled out her Scroll and connected it to the console. Her finger hovered over her contact list, and with one final deep breath, she pressed 'Dad'. It took a few seconds, and Violet could already see Blake beginning to tense, but then a voice could be heard over the line, and Ghira Belladonna came into full view, "Yes, who is- KALI GET IN HERE!"
Ghira's face broke out in the happiest smile Violet had seen in a long time, as he shifted the front camera to show the woman that had just arrived, "What is- BLAKE!"
They both stared in utter joy as their daughter's bow twitched, faltering beneath the reactions that she hadn't expected in the slightest.
"We've missed you so much, Blake. When are you coming home?" Kali asked.
Blake was speechless, her eyes saucers as she stared at her parents. Violet reached up a hand and gripped her shoulder tightly, drawing Blake out of her stupor.
"I… I missed you guys, too. I'm not coming home for awhile, mom. I'm a student at Beacon now," Blake struggled out, eyes flicking between the two faces to see their reactions to the news.
"That's wonderful darling! I hope that means you finally-" Kali cut off as she finally realized Violet was there with Blake.
"Left the White Fang?" Violet finished quietly, so as not to be overheard.
Kali's smile returned and she nodded, turning her eyes back to Blake.
Blake nodded as well, "I did, mom. They were getting… too violent. I didn't recognize it as the same White Fang anymore. I'm… sorry, for the things I said to you guys."
Ghira and Kali exchanged confused glances before Ghira spoke up, "We were never mad at you, Blake. We were just worried about what you were getting yourself into. We will always love you."
Fresh tears streamed down Blake's cheeks as she nodded her acceptance, unable to speak.
"Now who is this lovely young lady?" Kali asked, turning her eyes back to Violet and giving Blake time to recover.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna. I'm Violet, Blake's team leader. I convinced her to make this little call," Violet replied with a smile.
"Thank you, Violet," Kali said sincerely.
Violet shrugged, "No child deserves to feel like they aren't loved," she nudged Blake playfully, "even if it is all in their head."
Kali looked at Blake in dismay, "Oh sweetheart, you thought we…?"
"I was being stupid. I know that now," Blake struggled to get the words out, "I love you guys."
Ghira and Kali started asking Blake questions from there. What her time at Beacon was like, about her teammates, what classes she was enjoying the most. Violet shot a text to Yang, telling them it would be awhile and that they should just go ahead without them. Violet could hear the annoyance through Yang's text message, but she agreed, telling her that they were going to get some sweets and to message her when they were done.
Violet was brought back into the conversation at a few points, but the happy parents kept the majority of their attention on their daughter. It was an hour later before the three of them finally agreed to end the call. Blake promises profusely that she would call again when she got the chance. They all said one final "I love you", Violet waved in the background, and the screen went dark.
Blake let out a long, pent up sigh. She stood, swaying a little, and Violet spared a hand to help her steady herself, "Thank you, Violet."
"Hey, what are team leaders for? I'm supposed to look out for you kids," Violet joked, giving Blake a little shove towards the elevator, "Yang and Ruby went to go get food while you were talking, but that was over an hour ago. I'm sure they're very impatiently waiting somewhere for us to regroup with them." Violet spared a glance to Blake as they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, "How about I tell them to meet us at Tukson's Book Trade. Somebody deserves what they're owed. Wouldn't you agree?"
Violet was surprised as Blake gave a bubbly laugh and threw her arms around Violet in a deep, long hug. She didn't struggle or protest. She just returned the hug with just as much warmth as before.
It turned out, Violet didn't need to send a message to Yang. As the elevator doors opened, she was there. Her foot was angrily tapping away at the floor while Ruby sat off to the side, but her foot froze as the scene was revealed to her.
"What, you guys ditched us to make out~?" Yang asked with a coy smile, anger instantly forgotten.
Blake ripped herself away from Violet and glared at Yang, "Way to ruin the moment, Yang. We were having a heart to heart."
"You were probably touching more than just each other's hearts, if you catch my drift," Yang replied smugly, "Oooh~, Little Miss~"
Violet desperately wished she had Zenith with her. The two stepped out of the elevator, Blake red faced from embarrassment, Violet trying to close the distance so she could wrap her fingers around Yang's throat and stop the taunting forever.
"We're never going to live this down," Violet finally sighed when she realized that choking the life out of Yang wasn't in her plans. 'I wouldn't want to upset Ruby like that. You're safe for now, you blonde bimbo.'
"Let's go," Violet said tightly, stepping past Yang to head towards the door. Ruby and Blake followed, along with Yang, still popping off very suggestive sounds as they walked.
"Hey, Ruby. You want to watch some 18+ videos when we get home?" Violet asked after the fifth time Yang moaned from behind her.
"Like a horror movie?" Ruby asked innocently, "Will it make me scared?"
"Oh, it'll make you feel something, alright."
"Don't… you… dare…" Yang's eyes flashed red, and her hair started to burn.
"It's just a last resort, Yang. Like a deadman's switch. It will only go off once I've been forced to use it~" Violet replied, sparring Ruby a glance to see the utter confusion on the young girl's face.
"Yang? What are you guys talking about?"
"Just adult stuff, Ruby. You don't need to know about it."
"Like kissing?"
"Like kissing."
They arrived at Tukson's Book Trade after another ten minutes of blissful silence. 'Home to every book under the sun,' Violet read to herself, seeing the slogan printed on one of the windows. 'What the hell is Third Crusade, anyway?'
They all stepped inside, and Blake breathed deeply. This place smelled intensely of paper, and Blake wasted no time pouring through the shelves with a delighted grin. As they had entered, the doorbell jingled. Soon after, Tukson walked out of the back, looking at his new patrons.
"There's some comics near the front there, Ruby, if you want to pick something out. Take it as my apology for making you guys wait so long."
Ruby happily accepted, pulling out several comics one after the other to give them a look.
Violet gave Yang an inquisitive look, as if to say, 'Peace. Do you want anything?' Yang just shrugged, apparently understanding, and started rummaging through the books herself.
Violet started idly walking along the shelves. She didn't really want anything, except to pass the time and let Blake enjoy the moment while it lasted. 'Not fighting deadly Grimm or deranged psychopaths. Just picking out some free books, courtesy of your very own team leader.'
As she waited, her curiosity got the better of her, though. Tukson was still standing back behind the counter, keeping an eye on the group every now and then, but otherwise content to let them shop in peace. Violet edged up to the counter, getting his attention but making sure her teammates weren't in earshot, not even Blake.
"Do you have Third Crusade?" Violet whispered in a miniscule voice, drawing as close as she dared to Tukson without arousing suspicion.
Tukson tensed, his eyes going wide for a moment before he eyed Violet up and down. His eyes kept flicking back up to hers, then down to her body, trying to pass on some message that she didn't understand. 'What the hell is Third Crusade?' Violet tried to put together the facts about Tukson. The book either didn't exist, or Tukson just didn't have it. Tukson was a part of the White Fang, but at this point, hadn't defected yet. 'If I was a secret organization trying to recruit people…That's it! It's a code!'
Violet gave Tukson a flat look and glanced back over her shoulder towards her teammates, hoping to convey the lie. 'I can't show you my faunus parts while they're here.' She then tapped the upper half of her forearm, hoping he would interpret it as her having scales up there or something. Tukson gave her a tight nod, seeming to understand, and pulled out a small business card. It had only an address and a date on it, along with three black slashes, like claw marks.
Violet pocketed the slip of paper and turned away, pretending as if nothing had passed between them. Tukson seemed ready enough to do the same, and leaned back against the counter, back turned, pointedly not looking at any of them while he composed himself.
Violet walked over to Blake, "So, what'd you find?" The girl in question had an armful of books, and was looking at them each in despair, "I said you could get whatever you want, Blake. Sky's the limit, here."
Blake looked at her in hesitation, likely not wanting to take advantage of her teammates wealth, but with a comforting smile from Violet, relaxed and brought the armful of books to the counter. Ruby followed suit, carrying her own armload of comics, and Yang shrugged, bringing up the one book she had. They set them all down. Violet nodded when Tukson asked if it would all be one transaction.
They left the shop a few minutes later, and after a short walk Violet dropped them off at the bullheads, waving them goodbye with an excuse that she needed some alone time, and didn't want to have to drag them around with her while she shopped for herself. Blake was surprisingly hesitant, despite the hoard she had just acquired. Violet got her to leave all the same.
She was going shopping, but first, she had somewhere to go scope out.