Pyrrha stood in stunned silence, similar to the rest of team Siren.

'Maidens… Magic… and a murderess on the loose...' her eyes were locked on to the towering stalagmite of ice that Violet had created, it's amethyst color washing the rest of the room in a brilliant purple from the stadium lights reflecting off it. Even with the proof right before her eyes, it was hard to believe.

"So, this girl, Amber…" Weiss stepped forward with a frown on her face, eyes flickering between Goodwitch and Violet, "You said she's in a coma? Is she safe?"

"For the moment…" Miss Goodwitch replied, "Amber is being kept in an undisclosed location for the time being. No one has access to her aside from myself and the Headmaster. You needn't worry about her being found."

Weiss nodded numbly, looking to the towering spire of ice. Her eyes shifted back to Violet, "Why do you need us?"

Violet sighed, rubbing a hand across the back of her neck and glancing to her own team before replying, "I uh… was trying to take care of it with just myself and Qrow. I wanted to keep my team out of it, and asking for your help initially helped with the cover story," the rest of team Vibrant glared, and Violet raised her hands, "I'm sorry for using you like that. I do want your help now, though. Torchwick has likely gone to ground along with whoever he's associating with. We'll need all the help we can get to track them down."

"What changed your mind?" Ren asked from his place on the side, a quizzical frown on his face. His eyes cleared for a moment, and whipped over to Violet's own, "That explosion in the warehouse district wouldn't happen to have been caused by you as well, was it?"

"It… No, not quite. Qrow and I were scoping out where we believed Torchwick to be, along with the half-maiden. It ended up being a trap, one that he narrowly escaped from. They lured him into the building and detonated it with some of the dust they've been stealing."

"So if there's an explosion, we should always assume you're involved somehow~" Nora stated playfully, smirking for good measure, "Got it~"

"Hey!" Violet crossed her arms in a huff, looking to the side, "It's not like I make a habit of it or anything. These things just happen."

"Oh~?" Nora raised an eyebrow and looked over to Pyrrha, "Apparently these things 'just happen', Pyrrha. How many explosions have you been involved in this week?"

"N-none, of course," Pyrrha gave an apologetic smile to Violet for not being able to help against Nora's teasing, before a thought came to mind. She narrowed her eyes at Violet, lightly accusatory, "You could have been winning our spars this entire time!"

Violet shook her head, "I never would, for two reasons. For one, I need to keep the fact that I'm a maiden a secret," her eyes swept across team Siren, "Amber wasn't the first maiden to be attacked for her powers, and she certainly won't be the last. If word got out, then my life would be in danger…"

As she said it, Pyrrha noticed her eyes somberly shifting ever so slightly towards her team. Pyrrha silently understood the look, knowing the type of person that Violet was. She was far more worried about her team's well being than her own, and didn't want them to be targeted because of her.

'Why else would she not include them in the first place?'

Violet firmed once more, glancing back to Pyrrha with a grin, "Two, that wouldn't exactly be exciting, would it? I understand your predicament better than you'd think, Pyrrha."

The others on team Vibrant frowned, wondering exactly what predicament it was that Violet had mentioned. She had only shared the truth with her own team and Violet so far, and chose to ignore the questioning looks sent her way. Pyrrha didn't like to let people know she was essentially taking it easy on them at all times. It could be demoralizing, knowing that the 'close' fight you'd had in the past had only been so because Pyrrha allowed it.

Weiss shook her head, "This is a lot to take in. Do you have any plans for what we'll be doing?"

Violet glanced to Miss Goodwitch, then shrugged, "Not yet. Qrow is going to do a bit of searching and get back to us. In the meantime, you all need to train to work as a team. That's the entire point of the team tactics classes. Getting you all ready."

"So our weekend is still free?" Nora asked hopefully, clasping her hands together to give Miss Goodwitch a pair of wide eyes.

Miss Goodwitch sighed, "Yes. As I said, you'll begin training next week when the new semester begins. Until then, feel free to take some time and decide whether or not this is what you really want to do," her eyes scanned across the entire group, locking one by one with each in turn, "There is no shame in backing down. You are only freshmen, after all."

Weiss shared a worried frown with the rest of her team, mirrored by Pyrrha herself. Nora scoffed and stepped between the two to pat them on the back with a bit more force than was necessary.

"We might be in our first year, but we're the top eight students in that year! There's nothing we can't handle!"

Ren nodded his agreement, "We are all quite capable. From the sounds of it, Amber was alone when she was attacked. With all of us together…?" he smiled lightly, "We'll be fine."

'I hope that's the truth,' Pyrrha thought worriedly, taking in the expression on both Violet and Miss Goodwitch's face. Each appeared bothered by how quickly team Siren had agreed to go along with the mission. 'Overconfidence can end in defeat. No matter what Nora says, everyone will need to be careful. We can't afford to be sloppy against opponents like these.'

Weiss layed one arm across her chest to support her other elbow, opposite hand moving up to her chin, "You know… If we can set up a shipment of SDC dust as bait, we might be able to leave a tracker inside to find where they're keeping what they've stolen. I could use my connections within the SDC to make it happen."

"That's… not a bad idea," Violet replied, "Though there's no guarantee that the half-maiden would be there, it could at least give us a lead…" she pulled out her scroll and began typing a message, "I'm letting Qrow know to see what he thinks. It certainly beats aimlessly exploring the warehouse district night after night."

"Good idea, Weiss!" Ruby piped up, flashing a grin, "I'd expect nothing less from the leader of Vibrant's rival team!"

Weiss waved away the praise with a light tinge of red on her cheeks, "Anyone could have thought of it. Don't be ridiculous."

Blake, who had been quiet the entire time thus far, finally raised her eyes from the floor, "I could give the addresses of various White Fang hideouts as well. We had quite a few safehouses scattered across Vale when I was still part of the organization," her eyes flickered to Weiss and she coughed, turning to the side, "I was… fairly high up, so I have a lot of information about how their branch functions…"

Miss Goodwitch spoke up, "Any information you could provide would be an undeniable asset to our cause."

Blake nodded timidly, "I can message you the addresses later. Aside from that… Their leader is Adam Taurus. He's a bull faunus with red hair, and a matching katana. If you come across him," her eyes grew serious, sweeping across the others, "Do. Not. Fight. Him. Adam is one of the most deadly faunus I've ever met, and I have no doubt that he'd have a good chance at killing any one of us, especially alone," she glanced to the spire of ice that had begun to melt, then back to Violet. Her voice dipped to a quieter tone, "You might be able to take him by yourself, Vi, but please... don't try if you can help it… If… If he…"

As Blake's gaze fell back towards the floor, Violet crossed the distance to place a hand gently against the underside of her chin and lifted her eyes back to her face, "Don't worry about it, Blake. I already promised you all that I wouldn't go off on my own. I don't break my promises. If I see Adam, I'll do my best to stay safe and get help. Don't forget the promise you made either, alright?"

Blake smiled sadly and nodded her assent, seeming to take Violet at her word.

"I'm glad you trust us, Violet," Pyrrha chipped in, realizing the implications of what it truly meant to be a maiden. Aside from Ren and Violet herself, six girls made up the rest of their two teams. The thought would never have crossed her mind to betray Violet for power, not in a million years. Knowing that Violet understood that helped to ease her fears, somewhat. Having someone you could trust, that trusted you in turn, had a tendency to do that.

"How could I not?" Violet grinned sheepishly.

Miss Goodwitch drew their attention with a mild cough, lowering her hand once more when they turned to face her, "I believe that is enough for tonight. Go and get your rest. Enjoy your weekend… I expect you all to be at your best on Monday."

Violet gave a grinning salute as the spire of ice crashed to the floor in pieces and dissolved in only a few seconds, leaving no evidence of her maiden powers being used. The rest of them excused themselves, heading back up through the arena's stands to the door. The large steel bar retracted back into the wall before they reached it, allowing the eight of them to exit back out into the hallway and begin the trip back to their dorms. They shuffled along slowly, for the most part. The only one that appeared to have any energy was Nora, who skipped along gleefully.

'This is just all so much to take in…' Pyrrha remained quiet like the rest as they walked, her attention thoroughly devoted to her own thoughts. She subconsciously shook her head ruefully, 'To think I was taking it easy on Violet this whole time.'

"So, we still on for going to the movies tomorrow?" Yang spoke up after a few minutes.

Team Siren shared a glance and nodded one by one. Weiss chose to take it upon herself to speak for them, smiling hesitantly, "Miss Goodwitch did tell us to enjoy our weekend. It might be the last time we have a lot of free time on our hands for awhile. I'd rather enjoy it as best I can."

"And what better way than to spend it together?" Nora tacked on, playfully bumping into Ren mid skip.

"What's playing in the theater right now?" Ruby asked the rest.

Yang pulled out her scroll and navigated to a site that detailed what was currently playing, "Huntsman II: Whispers of the Grimm?"

"Does it have to be an action movie?" Blake asked, her ears twitching on top of her head, "The explosions tend to uh… hurt."

"Hmmmm…" Yang flicked her thumb down the list to view their other options, "How about a romantic comedy?"

Blake shrugged, "Fine by me."

The rest agreed, with Nora sidling up next to Yang to check out the movie's description and send furtive glances in Ren's direction. Pyrrha held back an exasperated sigh, 'If I ever start falling for a guy, I hope I don't dance around my feelings for him like Nora does with Ren… They've wasted so much time already.' Pyrrha had been watching Nora struggling with her desires since she'd known her, and Ren's emotional obliviousness hardly helped.

"That settles it then," Yang slipped her scroll away and smiled to the rest as they made the final approach to their dorms, "The showtime is at seven thirty. See you all there!"

Pyrrha gave a polite nod and opened up Siren's dorm, holding it open to let everyone else file in once they'd said their goodnights. After Goodwitch's class had lasted so long, and their lengthy conversation, Pyrrha was ready to sleep on it all. With everyone inside and the door shut, she immediately headed over to her dresser and began changing into her sleepwear.

Nora leapt onto her own bed with a bounce, spinning midair to crash land on her back, "I can't believe they've been keeping something so cool from us! I'd love to have powers like Violet's!"

"I don't envy the dangers that come with them," Ren chimed in thoughtfully, sitting down on his own bed and averting his gaze from where Pyrrha stood, "Do you think Violet is worried for her own wellbeing?"

"More for her team," Pyrrha answered easily, pulling a t-shirt down over herself, "Violet is definitely more concerned for them than anyone coming after her."

"That makes sense, in a way," Weiss replied, sighing as she began fixing her hair before bed, "It was still very irresponsible of her to leave them all behind and try to take Torchwick on with only Ruby's uncle as backup. Things could have ended much worse than they did."

"I wonder how he escaped?" Ren spoke his question absentmindedly. No one in the room could really be expected to know the answer, and neither Violet or Miss Goodwitch had been particularly forthcoming.

"I suppose we could ask him. I wouldn't mind meeting Ruby's uncle before he ends up leading us out on missions," Pyrrha tacked on, "From the sounds of it, he's a rather accomplished huntsman."

Weiss yawned, beginning to change as well, "We can take solace in that, at the very least. Even if he did almost get himself blown up."

Nora's eyes brightened, "He's a regular action hero!"

Ren shook his head, "Don't tell Yang that. Her obsession with Spruce Willis will only get worse."

Weiss scoffed, "As if she could fangirl any harder."

Ren nodded his assent. After a few more minutes spent preparing for bed, everyone slipped beneath the covers. Pyrrha raised a hand and turned off the light from her place in bed, blanketing the room in darkness. She closed her own eyes and lay on her back, mind refusing to relax after learning so much in such a short amount of time.

It seemed she wasn't the only one, as the sound of Weiss fussing in bed could be heard from Pyrrha's left. After rolling over for the fourth time, the heiress huffed and reached over to her bedside table to turn on her lamp.

Pyrrha could see the worry on her face, likely reflected in her own. Weiss' eyes scanned across the three of them as she sat up in bed, fretting with the edge of her blanket, "Are you… Are you all sure you want to do this? I want to help team Vibrant, but… I don't want to feel like I'm making such an important decision for everyone else," she chuckled sadly, "I can see now why Violet would want to leave her team out of it... If any of you get hurt on my watch…"

"This is what we're here for, Weiss!" Nora cheered from her place in bed, "Our lives were always going to be dangerous! So what if it's happening a bit sooner than we expected?"

"Even as hunters in training, it is our duty to do what we can to help," Ren answered calmly.

"Pyrrha…?"

Pyrrha sighed, sitting up slightly as well to regard her leader with a weak smile, "You don't have to worry about us, Weiss. None of us will think any less of you for having cold feet. I'd likely feel the same in your position. The only thing we can do is try our best, and hope it all works out in the end."

Weiss returned her smile with the same lack of energy, eyes drifting off to stare at her hands that clenched her bed sheets tightly, "We'll all do our best…" her eyes firmed, turning back up to stare at her team with a fierceness not normally shown by the heiress, "I'll do my best, and make sure we all get through this together. You can count on me."

Pyrrha's smile became far more genuine, the certainty behind Weiss' words invigorating her own determination, "We've got this."

"Yeah!" Nora cheered once more, "Team Siren won't let Vibrant outshine them! That ginger bozo is giving all gingers a bad name! Let's take 'em down!"

Weiss and Pyrrha laughed, feeding off of Nora's energy. With a firm nod of her own, Weiss once again turned off her light, washing the room in darkness. Silence returned to the room as the four of them were all reassured, knowing that if all else failed, they would have each other's backs.

The sound of a loud thump across the room woke Weiss with a start, her head popping up, eyes blinking blearily. She rubbed two fingers against the corners of her eyes with a quiet groan and took a second look. Nora came into focus, slowly beginning to stand and rubbing a hand on the side of her forehead.

"Sorry," Nora mumbled with a yawn, taking a moment to twist the blanket from around her body and lay it back on the bed in a heap, "Dreamt I was wrestling an ursa. Things got pretty rough there for a minute."

Weiss checked the time on her scroll and sat up, stretching her arms above her head, "That's fine, Nora. I'm glad you woke me, actually. Students from the other kingdoms are supposed to be arriving today. I wanted to head down to the docks early and get a look at the-" Weiss coughed, "Greet, the new students that we'll be sharing classes with."

Nora clenched her fists in a fierce expression, "While we're at it we can figure out their weaknesses! Good plan, Weiss!"

Weiss blushed, turning away slightly, "O-of course not! I'd never think of something so nefarious!"

Nora smirked, "Well then, good thing you've got me, huh?" she shook Ren roughly, waking him up with a surprised grumble, "Wakey wakey Renny!"

Pyrrha began to stir as well, the sounds of her teammate excitedly speaking nearby getting the better of her. Weiss quickly pulled herself free of her own blankets and swept into the bathroom to get ready ahead of the others. Nora had a tendency to leave the countertop a mess, making it difficult to find any of her fashion products, and Ren was, well… a boy. 'He can handle letting a lady go first.'

Weiss made sure to work fast, if still with a level of honed perfection. After living with her teammates at Beacon for so long, she'd become used to the faster pace required to get everyone in and out before classes began. There was no such thing as 'fashionably late', as far as she was concerned. You were just late.

Weiss stepped out a handful of minutes later and made way for Pyrrha, who gave her a sleepy nod and hid a yawn behind her hand in passing.

"Weiss! Finally!" Nora said with a huff of frustration, arms crossed and glaring at Ren's back as he got ready. She held a pair of matching shirts in her hands, one small and one large, "Help me talk some sense into Renny!"

Ren sighed, turning back around to regard Nora, then shift his focus over to Weiss, "Tell Nora she's being ridiculous."

"Am not!"

"Alright, alright," Weiss held her hands up in an attempt to appear calming, closing the distance to stand next to Nora and glance down at the shirts she held, "What's this about, exactly?"

"These!" Nora held up the shirts so that Weiss could see them more clearly. The larger of the two was green. On the shoulder was a small patch with a lightning bolt striking through the middle of Ren's emblem. The smaller was pink with Nora's emblem on the shoulder, a flower growing out of the top, "Ren won't wear the shirt I made him!"

Weiss felt her cheeks heating slightly, realizing the implications, and the argument the two of them were having. She had done her best to ignore all of Nora's attempts at 'romance' with their teammate, and as far as she could tell, Ren had done the same.

"You know… you can't force Ren to wear something if he doesn't want to…"

"Gah, you're no help!" Nora threw her hands up and stalked to the door, throwing it open and slamming it shut. She could be heard pounding on Vibrant's door moments later before finally being let in.

Weiss dipped down to pick up the shirts that she'd dropped and laid them out on Nora's bed, eyeing them both. On closer inspection, the emblems themselves had been painstakingly stitched on, using the single toned shirts as a base. Weiss ran a finger over the threading, knowing the effort that would have gone into making something like this, especially for the hyperactive Mistralian.

Weiss sighed, "These are really nice, Ren…"

Ren paused in the middle of adjusting the cuffs on his combat outfit, shoulders slumping, "I know…"

"Then why don't you wear them? I'm sure Nora would really appreciate it."

"It's… complicated. Nora will get over it. She always does."

Not for the first time, Weiss wished for Violet's unnatural ability to cut straight through to what was bothering someone. She'd managed it on the first day of class, steering Weiss in the right direction with only a few words. The heiress had never had a knack for cheering up others, though.

"I'm sure you know Nora much better than I do. She may give up on this idea soon enough, but we both know she'll be back with another in a couple of days, at most," Weiss gulped, steeling herself for what she wanted to say next. It was her duty as team leader to smooth over any arguments, no matter how personal they might be. Even so, her cheeks heated further.

"You're always so withdrawn that it's hard to tell, but… You know she likes you, right…?"

"We've been together for years now. How could we not be friends?"

"That isn't what I meant, Ren."

Ren turned around to regard Weiss, a somber expression in his eyes, "I just… can't. Not yet. There's a reason I chose to become a huntsman, and until then… I can't afford to be distracted. If Nora and I…" he shook his head, "Then I might lose sight of what I've been working towards for so long."

Weiss could tell from the way Ren had phrased it that he didn't want to talk about exactly what his reasons were, but Weiss forged on regardless, "You're going to deny yourself happiness? That's no way to live, Ren. I don't know what it is you're trying to accomplish, and maybe I'd change my mind if you told me, but from where I'm standing… You shouldn't wait for love. Whatever you and Nora have? That's special. Every day that you push her away is a day that you'll regret once you finally take that next step."

Ren's gaze fell to the floor, Weiss' words seeming to have some effect on him. He sighed quietly, closing his eyes for a moment as he did, "Maybe you're right…"

The door to the hall suddenly slammed open, Nora charging back in with a sleepy looking Violet on her heels. The leader of team Vibrant rubbed her eyes and gave a weak wave to the two standing in shock, apparently as confused as the two of them to what Nora had planned.

Nora raised a shaking finger at Ren, "That's the one, Violet! Freeze his legs so he can't run!"

Violet frowned, looking between the three of them, "Yeah, I'm not doing that..." and turned around to head back into her dorm with a tired yawn.

"What!? Traitor!" Nora exclaimed, rushing back out after her.

The door closed quietly in their wake.

The door to the bathroom opened quickly, followed by a half dressed Pyrrha flanked by all the metal objects from the bathroom and hefting her toothbrush threateningly. She scanned the room with a pair of wide eyes, "What's happening!?"

Weiss placed her palm against her face and shook her head while Ren averted his eyes, blushing heavily, "Nothing at all, Pyrrha. Finish getting ready so we can go, alright?"

Pyrrha's cheeks reddened, realizing there was no threat and the state of undress she was in before squeaking. She slammed the bathroom door closed behind herself in a rush, all the objects that had been floating in the air instead falling to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Erase that from your mind," Weiss threatened.

"I'm trying. I really am."

"Try harder."

Pyrrha very actively avoided looking in Ren's general direction for the next few hours. Every time she did, she could feel the heat once more rising to her cheeks. Partially due to the morning's events, she'd chosen a very modest outfit for Weiss' little outing, going with a thick red sweater and black capris.

To her surprise, Ren had foregone his usual clothes as well and was instead wearing matching shirts with Nora, each sporting a patch on the side that corresponded with the other person's emblem in a noticeable way. Nora giddily held his arm against her chest despite his protests. After the first dozen attempts to free himself, and the way Nora had crushed his arm while refusing to let go, he'd given up.

They stepped out of the small cafe where they'd gone for breakfast and walked the few blocks to the pier. Weiss had told them of the rumors she'd heard, and decorations for the upcoming festival were already beginning to line the streets. Pyrrha's eyes caught on to a large banner strung up nearby, 'Welcome to Vale' written in large bold letters for all to see.

"Oh, I can't wait! This festival is sure to be amazing!" Weiss fauned excitedly, eyes taking in the banner as well.

Nora grinned and hugged Ren's arm more tightly, "You're telling me! First we get to party, then we get to kick butt!? What more could you ask for?"

"Mobility in both arms?" Ren chimed in lightly.

"Quiet, you~" Nora's grin widened further, a happy hum escaping her lips.

Thankfully, Pyrrha seemed to have finally gotten over her earlier embarrassment and no longer felt like clamming up whenever Ren spoke, "Are you sure they were supposed to arrive today, Weiss? I don't wish to offend your sources, but if our first semester just ended, then so would theirs. I don't believe a ship can make it all the way from… anywhere really, to Vale in less than a day."

Weiss frowned, "Are you sure their schedules are the same? I thought they might have ended a week earlier or so…"

"I went to school in Argus. Trust me when I say our year's terms matched up with Beacon's."

A downcast expression passed across Weiss' face, and her eyes lowered to the ground, "Oh… that's too bad."

"M-maybe I'm wrong, though?" Pyrrha rubbed a hand across the back of her head, sorry that she'd been the one to dash her leader's hopes, "We should go, just in case!"

"We have come this far already," Ren agreed.

"To the docks!" Nora cheered.

The entire group ushered Weiss along, who's hopes managed to raise slightly by the time they made it to the docks. The stench of fish wafted off the ocean, waves crashing against the shore in a mesmerizing lull that reminded Pyrrha of home. A ship had only recently pulled into harbor, the deck hands still busy securing ropes and beginning to bring cargo to the deck to unload.

Pyrrha put a hand on Weiss' shoulder when there were no students to be seen, offering the other girl some small comfort, "Well, even if it wasn't today, it shouldn't be long-"

Pyrrha was interrupted by the loud bang of one of the ship's doors opening, a blond boy in a white vest and blue capris sprinting out of the opening to jump onto the railing while evading the deckhands that followed. Pyrrha could barely make out the blond tail that protruded from his backside, swaying playfully as he jumped to crouch on the ship's railing.

"Thanks for the ride, guys!" the blond laughed and lept from the railing to run across the docks, them climbed easily up onto one of the many light poles that lined the dock's edge. Pyrrha winced when he flipped upside down to support himself by his tail, but calmed when it didn't appear to hurt him in anyway.

"You no good stowaway!" one of the deck hands yelled out, shaking a fist after the monkey faunus.

"Hey!" the blond smirked, "A 'no good stowaway' would have been caught! I'm a great stowaway!"

"You don't suppose he's a student, do you?" Weiss asked hopefully, peering out to stare at the blond.

Pyrrha shrugged weakly, "He might be…? He's certainly athletic enough."

"Let's ask him!" Nora moved up to lean over the railing, cupping one hand to her mouth to shout clearly, "Hey! Are you a student!?"

"Who, me!?" the blond shouted back, crossing his arms and staring back at the four of them, "Who wants to know!?"

"Me, silly!"

The faunus suddenly let go with his tail, dropping to the dock with a roll before springing back to his feet. He sauntered across the docks with a smirk and headed up the stairs to close the distance to them, "Name's Sun!" his eyes scanned across them, finally settling on Pyrrha. His eyes went wide, "You're Pyrrha Nikos!"

"Y-yes," Pyrrha replied timidly, uncertain of whether or not she should hold her hand out, 'I swear, I never wanted fame! All I wanted was to fight strong people!'

"That's cool!" his eyes flickered to Weiss and he took an involuntary step back, "O-oh, and you are…?"

"Weiss Schnee, but I suppose you gathered my last name at least, by that reaction?" she sighed and held a hand out, "Pleasure to meet you, Sun. Please don't think poorly of me because of my name."

"Um, wow," Sun accepted the handshake and rubbed the back of his head with his other hand, "That was not what I was expecting."

"I-I'm just full of surprises…!" Weiss tried to mimic Nora's energy and failed horribly. She let Sun's hand fall free after a few seconds and gestured to the two Mistralians, "This is Ren and Nora."

Sun tilted his head slightly looking at the two of them, then nodded once, "Mistralians, right? Me too!" he shrugged, "For my first school term, anyway. I am a student."

Pyrrha couldn't help but notice the way Weiss' eyes were tracking Sun's tail as it lazily whipped in the air behind him, and nudged her to get her back on track, "I thought the school terms were in synch? Didn't the first semester end yesterday for you as well?"

Sun put a hand to his chin in thought, "Huh, guess it did. I ditched about a week ago when I heard about the Vytal Festival! I couldn't wait to come see!"

Weiss frowned in disapproval, "You skipped classes? Won't your team miss you?"

Sun waved a hand in dismissal, "They're fine! Team Sun is the most self-sufficient bunch you'll ever meet!"

"Wait. You're the leader, too!?" Weiss balked, eyes going wide.

"Of course! Who else would be put in charge of a bunch of misfits like them?" Sun continued to grin, missing Weiss' reaction entirely, his eyes lifted up to look around, finally taking in some of the decorations that had begun going up around the moderately busy street. He gave a quick nod of his head, "See you at Beacon! I've got a town to explore!"

Pyrrha watched Weiss raise a hand as Sun turned away, placing his hands behind his head and swiveling every which way while he walked to take in the sights. Her hand fell back down to her side in defeat, shaking her head in muted exasperation.

"Can't win 'em all, Weiss!" Nora comforted, patting their leader on the back.

Weiss stood up straighter and sighed, "I guess that'll be the only one for now. He was… interesting, I suppose."

"You could say that again," Nora agreed.

Ren slowly began extricating his arm while Nora seemed to be distracted, only for her remaining hand to clench more tightly on his forearm, burying it against her chest. Nora gave him a smirk and brought her other hand back to the task of not letting go.

Pyrrha blushed at the display and turned to look around the busy street. Her eyes caught on to another ginger girl in the distance. The girl walked up to some passersby on the sidewalk and looked like she was introducing herself. After a handful of seconds worth of conversation, the other person shook his head, walking away from the girl. She lowered hers, then perked back up as another person approached to speak to them as well. Once again, that person shook their head and walked away.

"Well, this was a bust. Should we head back to Beacon? I want to get a little studying in before we go to the movies later."

"Uh, yeah. One second," Pyrrha replied offhandedly, making her way over to the other girl. With each person that rejected her, she became more and more distraught, shoulders slumping even further.

The ginger girl's head perked up when Pyrrha approached, green eyes raising to her own and a slight smile tugging at her lips, "Salutations! My name is Penny!"

"Hello, Penny!" Pyrrha replied kindly, returning the smile with one of her own, "Are you okay? You look like you're in trouble."

"Oh, it's nothing really," Penny spoke earnestly, "I was hoping someone could help me get to Beacon!"

Pyrrha looked the girl up and down, taking in the odd attire that she wore, complete with glowing green lines on her leggings and skirt, "You're a student?"

"Indeed!" Penny spoke excitedly, now smiling more brightly, "And you're Pyrrha Nikos! You're attending Beacon, are you not?"

"Eh, heh. Yeah, I am," Pyrrha glanced over her shoulder to where the rest of her team stood waiting, watching after her with curious expressions, "My team and I were about to head back. Would you like to accompany us?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Penny answered, looking over Pyrrha's shoulder to the rest of her team, "I can't wait to make some more friends!"

'...She's odd… but I can't say I don't sympathize…' Pyrrha held a hand out to shake Penny's, "Glad to have you!"

Pyrrha led the awkward girl over to the rest of her team and introduced her as well as she could. Weiss brightened when she heard that Penny was a student from Atlas. With a few pleasantries exchanged, the group set off back for Beacon, throwing questions to Penny.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny raised a hand and saluted after being asked what her weapons were.

"So you're a hand to hand fighter?" Weiss asked curiously, looking her up and down, "Excuse me for saying it, but you don't look built for it."

"I was built very well," Penny replied happily, then skipped a step as they walked, "I mean… uh…"

Pyrrha giggled and clapped her on the shoulder, "You mean you're well built, right?" with her hand against her, Pyrrha could feel how firm the girl's body was, "You might give Yang a run for her money."

"Yang?" Penny asked, appearing glad for Pyrrha's assistance.

"She's the third strongest in our year," Weiss replied with a dismissive wave, "and a member of the only team from Beacon that stands a chance against us in the tournament. As long as we have Pyrrha, our victory is assured."

"Pyrrha Nikos is a strong competitor," Penny agreed with a nod.

"We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves," Pyrrha cautioned, "Violet almost beat me yesterday. There's no telling how adept she might become with her semblance by the time the tournament rolls around."

Nora scoffed, "Puh-lease, Pyrrha. We all know you've been taking it easy in class, and she does too, right? I don't think Violet's ever been fighting with the assumption that she might win, especially if you go all out."

"We all know what she's capable of, though…" Ren spoke up with a glance at Penny, careful not to reveal too much.

"You mean that she's a maiden?" Penny replied easily, glancing over the group and not seeming to notice their surprised reactions.

Pyrrha sent furtive glances around them and sighed in relief, seeing that no one had been close enough nearby to overhear the Atlesian girl. Weiss grabbed Penny's hand and pulled her into an alleyway along with the rest of team Siren, each nervously eyeing the street around themselves.

Penny's face fell in confusion, eyes staring down at the hand holding on to hers, "Did I say something wrong?"

"How do you know about Violet!?" Weiss hissed out quietly, staring closely at Penny.

"General Ironwood told me… He also said that team Siren were among those that knew the truth as well. Was he wrong?" Penny asked the last question worriedly, "I hope I haven't messed up already…"

"We already knew…" Ren confirmed quietly, "It's supposed to be a secret, though. How did… General Ironwood...? Find out?" he tested the name in his mouth, unfamiliar with whoever it might be.

Weiss scoffed, "James Ironwood is the General of the Atlesian military, and also has a seat on the Atlas council. My sister works for him…" she eyed Penny closely, "From the sounds of it, so do you?"

"Um… kind of. General Ironwood is part of Headmaster Ozpin's inner circle. They're friends!"

"So how do you come into play? I hope the General isn't spouting off secrets to every student he comes across!" Nora muttered angrily, narrowing her eyes at Penny. Her hold on Ren's arm was long forgotten.

"Oh, I'm uh, just a student!" Penny hiccuped, then covered her mouth in embarrassment, "Honest!" she hiccuped again.

"Who else knows?" Weiss asked tightly.

Penny raised her hands to begin listing off names and ticking off a finger with each, "Team Vibrant, team Siren, Headmaster Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, Qrow Branwen, Raven Branwen, Winter Schnee, General Ironwood, and me!" one pinky remained raised, "Those are all the ones I know about, anyway. The General didn't tell me about anyone else."

"My sister knows as well…?" Weiss put a hand to her chin in thought, then glanced back up, "Hold on. Who's 'Raven Branwen'? From the sounds of it, she's related to Ruby's uncle…" her face paled, "Is that Yang's mom!?"

"Ummm… I see this information is new to you. Perhaps... I shouldn't have…" Penny's voice fell, her index fingers poking together uncertainly, looking between the ground and the rest of them with quick glances.

"No. It's better that you did," Weiss replied firmly, grabbing hold of Penny's hand once more, "Come on. Let's get you to Beacon. I want to hear everything."

The rest nodded firmly, beginning to lead Penny to the bullheads that would take them back up to Beacon. Whoever this girl was…

She had a lot of explaining to do.

Whoops! You definitely messed up already, Penny!

So, Qrow told Ozpin about Raven's little appearance on the cliff. Ozpin told Ironwood before his eventual arrival in Vale, and Ironwood told Penny who she could trust with the truth. Looks like he might have needed to be a bit more specific about which truths. In his defense, though, he'd hardly be expected to know the indepth family dynamics of the Xiao Long / Branwen family.

As far as we know, Penny had no clue about the maidens at this point in canon. What ripple of fate might have reached all the way to her, changing canon events in such a way? Violet will certainly be feeling the consequences of her actions in very unexpected places.

Either fortunately, or unfortunately for Penny, they may be getting the answers they seek very soon. Or an earful of hiccups, if our adorable little robot can hold out against the combined coercion of Siren and Vibrant.

Thanks for reading,

- Sybaen

Going to work super early again so I'm just going to upload now (late Sunday).