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Chapter 10: Forever Fall

It was the Thursday of Team FADE's sixth week at Halo Academy of New Vale. Classes had ended for the day leaving the first year students to work on their assignments or find other ways to occupy their free time; many first year students taking to complaining about the way some of their teachers, Nora Ren and Dove Bronzewing specifically had been almost impossibly demanding over the last two weeks. Others excited about the following day, more specifically that lessons were cancelled and the reasoning behind it. The door to Team FADE's door burst open revealing eagle and Sentinel, both the blonde Huntress and her mechanical companion carrying what appeared to be several packed lunches

"Eagle, in the nicest way possible….what the fuck?" Felix sighed from his position on the top bunk where he was eyeing an assignment from Professor Peach with an expression that implied it had grievously offended him

"We have a field trip tomorrow" Eagle beamed, her enthusiasm unhindered by her team-mates inability to reciprocate it "I thought I'd make sure we didn't go hungry while we're out….They didn't have a lot of snacks but I made sandwiches" Eagle's words came out in their usual energetic rambling way

"Thanks for that, it was nice of you" Diamond smiled from her position next to Arctus on his bunk where they were sharing a textbook and a pair of earphones; Arctus for his part was managing to keep his attention firmly on the task at hand despite the fact Diamond had already changed for the night, clad in a drastically oversized T-shirt that left her toned legs on display. Returning her attention to the textbook while leaning against her partner she skimmed through several paragraphs discussing the tactics employed in the retaking of Vale after it was overrun by Grimm; the assignment had been made more difficult by Professor Ren telling his students that they were forbidden from asking Professor Bronzewing about the subject. With an annoyed huff Diamond rose from the bed and stretched in a way that left Arctus utterly unable to concentrate on anything other than his partner, before climbing onto her own bunk

"Okay dudes, you three can do what you want but I'm calling it a night" her team mates bid her goodnight as she fished her own earphones out of her pillowcase where she left them and began playing the same album she and Arctus had been listening to on her Scroll.

"I'm gonna finish up this paragraph and call it a night as well" Arctus added, stifling a yawn as he jotted down a few notes. Eventually giving up and pulling his Scroll out to snap a quick photo of Eagle and Felix on their respective bunks, sending the picture of the studying blondes to Athena-Jade with the caption 'Field-trip tomorrow and nobody's smiling. Never grow up' He knew it was passed his sisters' bed time, he also knew that she used her own Faunus senses to simply stay up and play in the dark. Moments later he was rewarded with a reply from his sisters' Scroll

'That's so sad. where's the really pretty girl that Mum thinks is your girlfriend? The one in all your pictures' Arctus managed to choke on thin air while reading the message, feeling his face redden with embarrassment. A creaking above him alerted him to Diamond leaning over to see what the noise was about

"Oh my Oum" she mouthed out as she read the message from her position above Arctus "Seriously oh my Oum…." she trailed off and shook her head, hands covering her mouth

"I mean…..at least she thinks you're pretty, right?" Arctus tried to sound hopeful

"Dude; I'm gonna go to sleep and wake up in a world where this didn't happen" with that Diamond rolled back onto her bunk leaving Arctus to stare at Felix and Eagle whose faces were hidden behind textbooks and though they hadn't seen the offending message they'd managed to surmise enough to be struggling to disguise their laughter.

"I'll be back in a bit" Arctus grumbled as he rose from his bunk and made his way out of the dorm, slouching as he meandered through the corridors until he found somewhere he wouldn't be interrupted and bringing up his mothers' contact details. After a few rings the call was answered

"Hey" the low, gravelly voice that greeted him was not his mother but still brought a faint smile to his face

"Hey Dad, not working?"

"Don't even get me started" Gangrel Slate grunted "I'm still chasing after those two groups that hit the military shipment. No leads, nothing….Even the Oum-damned White Fang weren't this good at keeping a low profile….Anyway what's up, not that me and your Mum don't appreciate you calling but we were asleep"

"Sorry" Arctus winced, knowing just how little time his parents actually got to spend together due to their lines of work "Just that I only ever get chance to talk to Athena, just wanted to see how you're doing without her spin on it" he waited a few moments while his father processed things, his voice having an unmistakably amused edge to it when he next spoke

"Right, so I assume she's up passed her bedtime again-"

"A good brother never tells" Arctus answered instantly

"Of course not" Gangrel chuckled "So what's she said that's got you calling your Mum?" and there it was, now he was going to have to discuss his relationship or lack thereof with Diamond to his father

"I was just mentioning the field trip that Professor Bronzewing is taking first years on tomorrow, apparently Mum thinks I'm dating my partner?" his voice seemed to shrink and words blur together as he ended the sentence

"Right….and you just had to call to confirm or deny that?" Gangrel made no effort to hide the teasing note in his voice and Arctus was almost sure he could hear his mother giggling in the background

"It's not like that" Arctus sighed "We're just friends"

"And you sound positively thrilled with that" his father snorted before his tone turned serious "Wait….Professor Bronzewing? As in Dove Bronzewing is leading your field trip?"

"Uh yeah, why?" some unintelligible muttering between his parents could be heard before another voice spoke

"Hello sweetie" Weiss's voice greeted him "Your Father is having a hard time being objective about things, we both knew Professor Bronzewing and his team while we were students…..Suffice to say they were not pleasant or accepting individuals"

"What, you mean they were racists?" Arctus asked as he picked up her meaning

"Indeed" Arctus rarely heard his mothers' tone as icy as it currently was "I don't want to colour your opinions of your teachers and I certainly don't want you to cause problems in their lessons unless they do something egregious. Just be careful on this field trip tomorrow, if something happens you may have to rely on your team first and foremost rather than any member of Team CRDL" Arctus couldn't suppress a confident smirk at that

"It's a good thing Team FADE are all Bad-ass then"

"Language!"

"Sorry Mum"

The students milled about in a loose group after alighting from the pair of Bull-Heads that they had arrived on, Professor Bronzewing occupying the first alongside Teams AQUA and PSTL, Professor Nora had elected to join the Grimm studies teacher and had been aboard the second transport with Teams FADE and NEON. Professor Bronzewing surveyed the sixteen trainee Hunters with his customary squint which had only intensified over the years, a facial injury acquired after the war leaving his right eye almost unable to open. The angular dull bronze armour which reflected very little of the late morning light currently shining on it was of a more heavy duty variety than the suit he'd worn as a student though his black scarf and customary combed over sand coloured hair remained in place. Something that stood out was the left shoulder of his armour which while the same colour as the rest seemed to be of a completely different design, rounded with three spikes protruding from it; those that knew him well recognised it as a tribute to one of the many fallen Hunters whose statues lined the entrance to the academy, Russell Thrush.

"Students" His voice was quiet, but he didn't need to shout his stern glare was enough to demand the attention of those under his tutelage "We aren't here to sightsee. You're here to harvest the sap that the trees within the forest produce for Deputy Headmistress Peach and her ongoing research project"

"What she couldn't come and get it herself?" a teenage voice demanded

"Probably" Nora snorted from her position next to Dove "But then you'd be in lesson right now. Filling your jars should take you just over half the time allotted to you, factoring in for possible Grimm encounters….'cos let's be honest we're bringing you out here to give you a little real world experience before your first official mission; you should have a couple of hours before we head back. Then you can sightsee, now get to it!" with that the students, who were not technically her students at that moment in time set off, disappearing into the perpetually autumnal foliage of forever fall

"I would complain about you taking over" Dove murmured "But honestly this isn't a job for one teacher"

"It would be if the teacher was capable" Nora growled out. It seemed that there was no amount of time that could pass that would lesson her animosity for Team CRDL "I remember our first year, you're a coward, a racist and a bully Bronzewing, always have been. Only reason your friend Winchester is still alive is because Jaune and Pyrrha saved his ass"

"And now they're gone….just like Russ. It's a shame, really it is" Dove could hear Nora's knuckles cracking beside him and almost taste the ozone in the air as her Aura began to flare into life "I've spent the best part of my adult life trying to make amends for who I was as a teenager. We'll never be friends Nora but don't for one second think I'd let anything happen to my students"

"Good" Nora forced out through clenched teeth "Because Jaune's and Pyrrha's family are both in that class. If anything happens to them I'll break more than your legs"

"I wouldn't have it any other way"

Felix had instructed team FADE to split up, arguing that they would probably find more usable trees if they searched in separate parts of the forest, at least that was the reason he gave his team-mates before taking Arctus and heading deeper into the tress

"So I can't help but notice the amount of sap collecting that isn't happening right now" Arctus pointed out conversationally upon catching sight of the bleak expression on his cousins face and the way his tail swished in agitation

"Yeah yeah, just keep walking" Felix grumbled as he trudged through the fallen leaves, cracking his knuckles nervously and Arctus could tell there was something seriously wrong

"Okay seriously, what's up?" Felix remained silent, pushing on a little more until they reached a clearing, a gap in the crimson leaves with a single moss covered boulder in its' centre; the clearing sat almost at the edge of a small cliff and overlooked train tracks that looked as though they hadn't seen any use or maintenance in several years

"Fuck it, this is as good a place as any" Felix muttered seemingly to himself before to turning to Arctus and gesturing to the boulder "Sit down man" the Bear Faunus shrugged and did as he was bid

"Alright, not gonna lie you're weirding me out a little here"

"Look" Felix gave a slow sigh, seemingly steeling himself before continuing "I wanted to tell you something in private because it's important-"

"Dude are you thinking of dropping out? I mean I know you're sitting at just over fifty fifty in sparring matches but-"

"Okay seriously" Felix snapped as he held a hand up to silence his cousin, mildly affronted at the suggestion that he was considering quitting his training "Firstly shut up. Secondly no I'm not dropping out. Thirdly since when do you say dude?….you've picked it up from Diamond haven't you?"

"I mean I might have but-"

"Oh for fuck sake I'm gay!" the Lion Faunus stood silently for a few moments, watching nervously as his cousin processed his admission. Inwardly Felix admitted that though it wasn't exactly how he had planned this conversation happening it was still a relief to tell him

"You're what?"

"I'm gay….I like men, I know you're sheltered up there on that frozen mountain you live on but-"

"Yeah fuck you too" Arctus snorted "Okay so two questions, first off that's why you didn't do anything about Amethyst throwing herself at you?"

"That and the fact she's fifteen….I'm concerned by how easily everyone seems to overlook that" Arctus shrugged and held his hands out in an expression that seemed to say 'fair point' before continuing

"And secondly, is that really what you had us hike out into the middle of nowhere like little red scything-hood to tell me?" Felix was left momentarily silenced before finally responding in the way that came easiest to him

"Fuck off man" Arctus merely rolled his eyes

"Seriously Felix, I think you're more sheltered than me living on Patch in some ways. I mean I know you've got two Mums and Aunt Ruby and Penny are married but my Aunt Winter who, let's be serious, is one of the most powerful people on Remnant is pansexual. I've had conversations about this kinda stuff since being a kid….I'm honestly a little pissed off that you thought this would change anything" there was a hurt expression that flashed across Arctus's expression for a brief moment before vanishing to be replaced by his customary toothy grin

"Patch is kinda backwards I'll give you that" Felix gave a frustrated sound halfway between a sigh and a growl "They say it's accepting and to an extent it's true. It doesn't matter who you are, if you're from Patch then people from Patch will defend you against any accusations from anybody out of town; doesn't mean they won't chat shit about you behind your back the second they're in a room fall of locals though"

"The joys of backstabbing ass-holes, trust me I'm familiar with those" Arctus lamented, his smile turning bitter

"Yeah I learned pretty young that not everybody appreciates the work that Blake does, plenty of people on Patch have got opinions about a foreign Faunus moving to the island and changing the way things are run, they don't mind teaching those opinions to their kids either. I'm always up for a fight but honestly I'm just tired of it all man, I don't need another reason to stand out and be different"

"Wait" Arctus looked disbelieving for a moment "You, Felix Xiao Long who's only five nine because they can't stack bad-ass any higher….got bullied?" Felix laughed, the tension vanishing almost immediately; things felt normal and he was happier for it than he could put into words

"Bullied? Are you nuts? A few people said some things and regretted it, do you know who I am?" Arctus merely snorted

"Yeah….Corvid's baby brother. It's not you they're scared of" Felix opened his mouth, closed it again as struggled to think of a comeback before simply shrugging

"Y'know what I'll let you have that one, let's get this assignment done and go find the others"

"So are you and Arctus dating?" Eagle's innocent but seemingly random question caused Diamond to cough and spray the soda she was drinking everywhere. Eagle, seemingly prepared for every eventuality on a field trip handed over a napkin before continuing as though the interruption hadn't happened "Because you two are almost always together, like every weekend. I'm only asking because if you wanted the dorm to yourselves I could take Felix for a few sparring matches-"
"Okay randomly" Diamond interrupted wearing a mildly scandalised expression "Have you ever heard of a Bechdel test?"

"No" Eagle admitted slowly, unsure if there was a punchline she was missing

"Didn't think so" Diamond muttered to herself before turning her attention back to her team-mate "And no, I'm not dating Arctus he's my partner and we're good friends"

"That's cool, I mean I never had many close friends in my home town it must be nice having someone you're super close to that quickly" the blonde rambled before pausing, a nervous look finding its' way to her eyes for a second "But you know he has a crush on you right? I mean everyone can see the way he looks at you" Diamond groaned and slouched over on the tree stump she was sat on, watching Sentinel for a moment before answering. The droid was actually doing most of the grunt work of the assignment, all Diamond and Eagle had needed to do was gash the trees enough for sap to leak out

"Yeah I know he does" she admitted "I just want some time by myself for a while….kinda broke up with my ex at the start of the summer"

"Oh, messy breakup?" Eagle enquired, eager to help despite her total inexperience. Diamond merely shrugged with a slight grin

"Not really, he was the year above me in Sanctum so he was at Haven last year. We never saw much of each other and he got a little clingy when I said I'd been accepted at Halo Academy so I let him go….my Dad hated him anyway" she finished with a soft chuckle she brushed her silvery hair aside before deciding to turn the conversation away from herself "But if we're talking about adorable crushes, when are you going to talk to some of the girls that you're clearly head over heels for?" Eagle mumbled something unintelligible and the six foot tall Huntress seemed to shrink in on herself, pulling her hood over her head to hide her face before repeating herself in order to be heard

"I can't, I don't know what to say….I'll just trip over my feet or something"

"You'll be fine" Diamond assured her "I mean I know the girls on Team AQUA are dating each other….what about Iris from Team CLIR, you turn red whenever she's in the room?"

"Oh my Oum I would literally implode" Eagle squeaked, drawing a genuine laugh from the Huntress beside her "Besides I don't even know if she likes girls"

"Wow….with our luck and inability to function Felix is our last best hope" Diamond thought out loud "That's a mildly scary thought" Eagle couldn't bring herself to disagree.

Helios Nikos and Nyanza Angora prowled through the discoloured woodland of Forever Falls, the golden armoured Hunters' relief at being back on solid ground and better yet in as close to wilderness as he would find in this Kingdom was almost enough that he could ignore his partners' musings. Almost

"I'm just saying, you know they're fucking right now right?" Nyanza was referring to the missing members of Team NEON who had elected to follow Team FADE's lead and split up. Helios was more than aware of the fact that the pair had 'Hooked up' as Olivine had phrased it

"There are some things I honestly don't need to think about" the pale feline cocked his head to the side while twirling one of his tonfa, seemingly considering a reply

"Fair….I mean she's so small and dorky, who'd have thought she was that kinky" Nyanza attempted to mimic Olivine's voice "Choke me harder-"

"Nyanza nobody will ever find your body" Helios silenced him, vibrant green eye visibly twitching "Let me have today….please, it's like being home"

"Oh, sorry man. I didn't realise it meant that much to you" Helios gave him an unusually soft glance, wistful. The usually stoic and somewhat irate Mistrali looked at peace

"The Nikos clan control a swathe of the space between Mistral's cities a few days travel from the capital and the south coast. We keep travellers that pass through our territory safe and occasionally sell our services to the Kingdom to track down other tribes that have attacked settlements….The only things missing are my hounds Milo and Akuo and the sound of my younger sister pestering me, though I suppose I have you for that" Nyanza was left dumbfounded for a moment before his usual attitude reasserted itself

"Did you just attempt to make a joke?….wait, sister? Sweet Oum there's more of you?" a genuine smile split Helios's face, Nyanza saw it and felt it looked out of place, as if the smile had gotten lost on its' way to a more suitable destination

"Syneffo Nikos" Helios beamed with more than a touch of proud "Thirteen years old and she already has thirty Grimm kills to her name, from a single battle" Nyanza's impressed low whistle was cut short as he heard something, judging by his body language he assumed Helios had failed to notice the sound. A slight smirk turning the corners of the felines' lips upwards as it seemed Helios's absurd training regimen still didn't match Faunus senses, even if his partners' reflexes were far above what he expected from humans.

"Heely"

"Don't call me that"

"Heely, shut up. I hear something" with that he stopped twirling his tonfa, shifting the Pharaoh Mafdet to their pistol modes as Helios drew Olympus Enforcer in its' sword and shield form and the pair stalked towards the source of the disturbance, an unspoken agreement to investigate passing between them. As they drew nearer Nyanza raised a hand to halt his partner and strained his ears, the sound becoming more distinct as he did so. Voices, moreover voices he recognised. Listening for a few moments longer he realised two things; firstly that the speakers were Felix Xiao Long and Arctus Slate and secondly that the conversation was something not intended for his ears.

"Come on" without waiting Nyanza made his way towards the pair, all notions of stealth forgotten as he stepped into the clearing where half of Team FADE was working on their assignment

"Don't look so guilty" he grinned as the pair jumped up "Okay fuck it, full disclosure I heard….enough" Felix's expression darken

"Enough?"

"Yeah enough"

"And?" the tension was written on the Lion Faunus's face for all to see. His old friend simply shrugged

"I already knew to be honest"

"You what? How?" Felix demanded

"Seriously how many times have you lent me your Scroll when I forgot to charge mine? Close all the apps next time. I just thought you'd tell me when you wanted to" Felix seemed to slump, the instinctive urge to fight leaving him in the form of a single long sigh

"So we're good?" he gave Nyanza a hopeful look, the pale feline merely nodded in response before Helios decided to make his presence known

"What are we talking about" Felix's natural bravado returned in an instant

"I came out the closet. I'm gay, problem?" Helios merely chuckled

"Hardly. My people have one motto 'Live free or die in the pursuit' almost everyone in my tribe has experimented with their sexuality at some point. What makes you happy is nobodies' business but your own"

"That's pretty cool" Arctus's murmured admittance reminding the others that he was still there until the sound of rustling and clicking began to make itself known

"Although" Helios growled "You may have made a mistake making your announcement and stand here….you were nervous weren't you"

"Fucking terrified, why?" Felix growled out as he drew Hack and Slash, then realisation hit him "Oh. Oh shit" then the first of the swarm of countless Deathstalkers that his trepidation had attracted came scuttling into the clearing.

Eagle panted as she sprinted through the forest as fast as her Aura fuelled muscles could carry her. Silently thankful that Sentinel's weight in shield form was offset by stabilisers and extra components hidden within her own armour. Ahead of her Diamond could be seen leaping between trees to save the time it would take to navigate between them on the ground. The girls had received a text message from Felix comprised of a single word 'Help' and used the tracking system in their Scrolls to locate their team-mates.

"Sounds like we're heading the right way" she called to her team-mate as the sounds of combat reached their ears, hissing and screeching Grimm, steel clanging against armoured carapaces, countless gunshots and impossibly yet somehow unsurprisingly; bickering. Eagle and Diamond burst to a clearing that had seemingly been forcibly enlarged if the uprooted trees in the vicinity were any indication to find Felix, Arctus, Nyanza and Helios weaving between scores of Deathstalkers

"Xiao Long!" Helios barked as his Semblance rooted an arachnid monstrosity to the ground "Finish it!"

"And steal a kill from you, wouldn't dream of it" Felix cackled while shearing off the pincers of the Grimm he was currently battling with Hack and Slash, their chainsaw blades screaming as they tore through the obsidian substance

"Did you just-"

"Yes he did" Arctus sighed as he charged the still pinned Deathstalker, an over-handed slash carving it apart. Nyanza was occupying himself by diving from Grimm to Grimm, deftly avoiding claws and stingers while threading bullets through eye sockets and between armoured joints the way only somebody with a Semblance of good fortune could

"A little heads up next time!" Felix called to Arctus as he shifted his swords to their machine pistol forms and emptied a magazine point blank into a Grimm's face "I'm not that short for Oum's sake!"

"Have a complex about it later dude!" Diamond called down, announcing her presence from the tree she'd taken a sniping position in before punctuating her comment with an armour piercing round through the skull of one of the still numerous swarm.

"You might wanna get clear!" Eagle bellowed as she took a knee and planted her shield in the ground, allowing Sentinel to unfold. As the droids' shoulder mounted weapon primed and took aim she drew her sword in anticipation of the coming attack. The heavy weapon began firing and within seconds the air was filled with the smog of dying Grimm from which several Deathstalkers burst forth in an attempt to tear Sentinel apart. The first met its' end as Eagle's sword was buried between its' eyes. The stinger of the next was left dangling limp before it could be brought to bare by a shot from Nyanza moments before Helios landed on its' back, his manipulation of Gravity causing the monster to shatter

"Xiao Long, why are you holding back?" he demanded furiously

"What?"

"Do the thing!" Nyanza cackled maniacally "Y'know, the thing….where you're on fire"

"Balrog" the Lion Faunus nodded in understanding, handing instinctively moving towards the ammunition pouch that contained his only remaining Nano-bot rounds before deciding against it "Who's got fire Dust?"

"Here" Helios paused his onslaught against the Deathstalkers, having made his way beside Eagle. He hurled a roughly hewn crystal of the deepest shades of red larger than his own hand

"Arctus cover me, I need to focus" the moment his cousin was in position, Gefroren-Erbe it's plasma gun mode leaving burning holes in any Grimm to draw close Felix crushed the crystal between his palms and activated his Semblance. Flames that would have consumed the trees around them flickered and faded as they were absorbed, within moments Felix's breathing became a series of laboured snarls as his flesh began to char and blacken, eyes, hair and fur glowing with golden flames while a web of lava formed between the cracks in his now stony exterior. Eagle found herself distracted by a mist forming around her ankles that was not the result of exterminated Deathstalkers

"Sorry we took so long, we grabbed the Professors and damn that's still cool" Ether gasped out as his form solidified, Ghost Reverie in its' blade form at the ready though he paused seemingly in awe as Felix shrugged off several attacks from one of the largest Grimm before casually ripping one of its' pincers free and burying it in its' skull

"TAKE COVER!" Olivine announced her arrival as she aimed and fired Buster Bravo, the multiple guns rending almost a dozen Grimm asunder in a single salvo, though at the expense of a great deal of their surroundings

"DIAMOND!" Arctus dropped his weapon and rushed forwards to catch his partner as she fell, cradling her as he set her down and throwing a shield Glyph over his shoulder

"Okay big guy, that was sweet but really dumb" she chided him as she aimed and snapped off a trio of shots at the Deathstalker currently assaulting his shield Glyph. A primal roar and a crash alerted them to Felix grabbing the Grimm by its' tail and hurling it through a tree that had managed to remain standing until that point, pained gasps for breath informed them that he had reached the limit of his stamina

"Felix is-"

BOOM!
The sound that cut Eagle off was a shock wave of such force that it hurled every student in the clearing several feet away from its' epicentre. Arctus made to shield Diamond with his body as much as possible until his team-mate spoke again, her voice its' usual chirpy tone

"Hey Aunt Nora, glad you showed up, I mean we totally had that under control but-"

"Y'know" Diamond chuckled as she pulled herself to her feet, helping Arctus up as she did so "Now I can hear Eagle and Nora talking to each other, I can see where she got the whole rambling thing from" the Professor picked Gefroren-Erbe from the ground and hurled it over to the Bear Faunus as she collapsed her own weapon and helped Felix to his feet.

"Okay let's see. Felix only break out the super weapon if you know it'll be enough, it's not worth the risk to yourself. Helios you have ranged weapons for a reason, there's no shame in ended a fight from a distance. Eagle you don't need to be right next to a gun emplacement to defend it, you're too stationary, Arctus you dropped the ball and your weapon and Olivine, never fire a weapon that big without properly lining up a shot" Teams FADE and NEON were left wearing utterly dejected expressions for a brief moment before Nora broke down, laughing with manic glee "But other than that keep it up! That was cool, there was only a few Ursas here when I was a student….you're doing fine, better than fine to be honest, you're doing great" with that she turned and left, Diamond watching the way she skipped as she walked and nudging Arctus as she realised it was yet another mannerism that Eagle had, mostly likely, subconsciously adopted.

"Okay" Felix groaned out "Anyone feel like helping me collect that sap….my arms feel like I just towed a train"

"Ether, Olivine. Since you showed up late you can help out" Nyanza laughed before pausing and regarding his team-mates for a moment, eyes bulging and then narrowing as he looked at Ether "Your belt is still unbuckled"

Authors Notes:

This story now has over 10K views, what the fuck lol.
This one was kind of a filler chapter and a fight scene at the end because we haven't had a Grimm purge for a few chapters.
Next chapter will feature more plot.
Also I'll say this here, as a straight person I want any of my LGBT readers to tell me if you think I mishandled the scene with Felix coming out in any way.

Now let's summarise:
Time-skip of about a month, because they're not doing epic stuff every day.
Eagle is the friend that makes everyone a packed lunch….everyone needs an Eagle Arc.
If you read Downward Spiral then you know Ren forbidding the students from asking Dove Bronzewing about the retaking of Vale is actually a reference, it was where Russell Thrush died.
Arctus Slate: The cool big brother.
Athena-Jade Slate: Hell child of a little sister that can and will embarrass you in front of everyone you like.
The two groups that hit the military shipment in Atlas, pretty sure you can all figure out who the first one was. As for the second group, well to quote Bane "Now is not the time for fear, that comes later".
"My team are Bad-Ass" followed by "Sorry Mum" because it doesn't matter how tough they are, the children of Weiss Schnee will not speak like reprobates in front of her.
Deputy Headmistress Peach, and she's still never been seen.
Nora and Dove, character development because as much as I love Nora I honestly think she would hold a grudge. Especially in this timeline where Jaune and Pyrrha are gone.
Yes the clearing Felix and Arctus's conversation took place in was the clearing from the Black Trailer.
The coming out scene, once again it's my first time writing something like this and I have no first hand experience to draw from so I did what I could and I hope it works.
"I'm concerned by how easily everyone seems to overlook that" if you want to take that as my critique of certain segments of the fandom, I won't stop you.
I imagine Arctus has actually a lot of conversations about social issues, considering his position as the son of the head of R&D at/Former heir to the SDC and one of Winter Schnee's most trusted officers who is a) Probably one of the three most influential Faunus on Remnant & b) an ex White Fang officer. I don't think Weiss or Gangrel would allow him to be ignorant enough to become bigoted in any way.
Patch is, in my mind basically an insular community. It's not that bigotry doesn't exist there, it's just that the bigots will give you a 'pass' if you have the right surname, I'm sure most of my readers can relate to that in some way.
Felix isn't completely made of 'Fight me'
Also, brief note the Xiao Long kids call both Blake and Yang 'Mum' if they need to specify which they use first names.
"Have you ever heard of a Bechdel test?" another instance of Diamond -Almost- breaking the fourth wall.
I may have Diamond's ex show up in Second year just for dramas' sake.
Eagle you useless lesbian.
Nyanza needs an irritant label tattooing on his forehead, he's one of those people that are so much more fun as other peoples' friend.
Also yeah Olivine and Ether hooked up off-screen. Because they're background characters and I don't have story arcs planned for them it's an easy way to explain where they are when not on screen. Also the ship-name "Gunmetal" is too good to pass up on.
Helios isn't a total hard-ass, only ninety percent. The other ten percent is homesick.
Syneffo or 'Cloud' Nikos, as in the cloud that blocks out the Sun. Yes I'm doing that level of foreshadowing….Also, she 'Red trailered' a pack of Beowolves by age thirteen. She's a Grimm killing prodigy.
Nyanza may be a walking shit-post but he's still accepting of pretty much anything that gets thrown his way.
Helios has the right idea, side-note how long before Felix gets' the Nikos tribe motto 'Live free or die in the pursuit' tattooed on himself somewhere.
Yeah, going into Grimm infested woods to say something you're nervous about is pretty dumb when you think about it.
"And steal a kill from you, wouldn't dream of it" yes Felix is that petty.
A note on Nyanza: Helios said he can't fight, that's actually true. notice in his fight scenes he never gets up close. His Semblance is good luck, as soon as his luck runs out he's fucked.
Roughly hewn, bad quality Dust crystal….who else uses those.
Yes Arctus dropped his weapon and run to catch Diamond, even though her Semblance makes it pretty much impossible for her to actually fall….utterly hopeless I tell ya.
Yeah, Nora just wiped out all the remaining Grimm with one area of effect attack.
Eagle is 100% a mini Nora, we'll be seeing at least one of her other family members before the end of this Arc. Downward Spiral readers will know who it is when I say 'They can't stay out of trouble'.
Nora as a teacher is….an experience.
That ending.

Thank you to JollyTheImmortal, FleetOfWarships, Ferrous, ShadowAlex2000 and Svette117 for their reviews on the last chapter.
A 'Noticing Ren-Pai' T-shirt is an amazing idea and something Yang would 100% give Nora as a wedding present.
Would it be strange if I told you I have never built a blanket fort.
Do not get me started on my opinions of RT and their handling of LGBT characters, my salt is endless.
We can expect to see all of Team GRA_ I actually have plans for Rover and Artemis to be important to the Year 3 storyline.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.