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Chapter 16: One Week Later

It was Saturday, one week to the day since the first years at the Halo Academy of New Vale had left for their first missions, shadowing qualified Hunters.

Team FADE being the first team to return after successfully completing said mission had enjoyed a relatively quiet week free of classes, with more of their classmates returning as the week went. Although perhaps enjoy was not the correct word, between the visits to the Xiao Long and Arc households to spend a little time with family, sitting in on lectures and training sessions intended for older students and doing what training they could the four young Hunters had been mentally licking their wounds; each of them still wondering how they could have acted differently during the skirmish that had followed their mission. A skirmish that had seen their adversaries escaping and left Arctus still limping as his broken leg was rapidly healed by his Aura.

"Morning" Team FADE still groggy at this hour on a weekend collectively turned their attention to Nyanza Angora, the pale feline Faunus making himself comfortable at their table. As they grunted and mumbled out their replies they were joined by a clearly irritated Helios Nikos who positioned himself behind and to the left of his partner and grabbed him firmly by the back of the neck

"Understand that there is nowhere you can hide from me and that you will be receiving the most thorough educational beating of your life today" Felix who had had the dubious honour of being on the receiving end of Helios's temper before winced

"What did he do this time?"

"Thanks for the support" Nyanza grumbled only to be roundly ignored.

"His inability to take anything seriously and refusal to rely on anything other than his Semblance is going to get someone killed. That's not my opinion, it's the opinion of the Hunter we were shadowing. Team NEON did not perform as well as Team FADE apparently did" Helios seemed equal part furious at his partner and grateful for someone rant to

"That guy was an ass-hole" Nyanza shrugged

"You were using your Scroll in the middle of a mission!" There were a few moments of tense silence, Team FADE collectively staring in disbelief at Nyanza

"Dude you are such a dumb-ass" Diamond hissed. Arctus merely shook his head in awe at the pure stupidity he was hearing

"That was really, really stupid. Sorry" Eagle mumbled with an apologetic shrug.

"Nyanza, please tell me that when I text you to see how your mission was going you didn't stop fighting to reply?" Felix breathed out, desperate to retain any scraps of respect for his old friend that he could. Nyanza refused to meet his eyes

"No, he's managed to find a way to sink beneath even your low expectations of him" Helios sneered "This cretin decided to type his reply while using his Semblance to fire blindly into the pack of Grimm Ether was already engaging. If it wasn't for Ether's own Semblance Nyanza would've shot him in the back" amidst another round of disbelieving mutters Felix simply stared at the feline, as the Lion Faunus eventually made to speak his fellow native of Patch rose from his seat; suddenly furious

"Nah fuck this! I don't have to sit here and take this shit, I use my Semblance 'cos it works!" He glowered at his companions before jabbing a finger into Helios's chest "I don't care who you are back home but I don't have to take your shit. And I definitely don't have to take yours Felix, you got to be a team leader and forgot who your friends are. You used to be cool!" with that he turned and stalked off leaving a cafeteria filled with onlookers stunned into silence behind him. After a few tense moments the buzz of chatter began to fill the hall once again, Team FADE painfully aware of who was being discussed.

"If your friend ever touches me again I'll kill him" Helios growled

"Calm down, it's not worth more trouble" Diamond warned him. He ran his hand through his spiky crimson hair and took several deep breaths before speaking

"Would you mind if I join you? Ether and Olivine haven't had any privacy while we've been away, no doubt they'll be preoccupied for the foreseeable future….I honestly don't really have any other friends here" the bluntness of the admission stopped Team FADE in their tracks for a moment, Eagle was the first to recover, knowing all too well what being friendless felt like

"Of course you can sit here" she gestured enthusiastically at Nyanza's now empty seat. As Helios gratefully took it Felix was distracted by his Scroll vibrating in his pocket, unsure of who it could be he withdrew the device and was surprised to see a message listed as being from Halo Academy Admin, his brow furrowed in confusion as he read the message

"What's up?" Diamond asked, turning his attention back to the table Felix saw that Helios was also looking at something on his Scroll, he had apparently figured out how they worked at some point since initiation

"Just a message from the staff, apparently I've got a meeting with someone called Vasilias in about half an hour. Doesn't say what it is, would've like a little bit more notice to be honest" Felix answered with shrug

"I have a meeting with him as well, though mine is this afternoon" Helios added

"Probably just some paperwork then if it's team leaders" Felix sighed "Well, it's not like I had any plans for today"

"We were heading out, we can wait up for you if you want?" Arctus offered, his cousin shook his head conveying that it was fine.

"I'll catch up with you all later" with that Team FADE left and went about their various businesses.

Eagle had returned to Team FADE's dorm and was currently reading a book she'd borrowed from Felix. It had been a little surprising to learn that her partner had a small collection of novels in his possession but a welcome one, Eagle had left the majority of her own bookshelf at home. Felix had gone to look for the office in which his meeting was taking place, Eagle merely shook her head in disbelief that he still hadn't learned his way around the campus yet. Arctus and Diamond were out in the city together and as adorable as the pair were to watch she hadn't wanted to intrude. That had left her in a somewhat awkward silence with Helios, who had eventually sighed and stated that he was going to track down his partner; an endeavour that had Eagle known him better she would have told him was ill-advised.

"This is filth" Eagle murmured to herself, cheeks colouring slightly as she reached a particularly graphic scene only to be distracted by Sentinel, the droid bleeping happily to get her attention as it carried a tray of snacks over. Eagle grinned to herself, Sentinel really was the coolest thing she'd ever even thought of.

"Come here buddy" as Sentinel trundled closer Eagle put the book down and took the tray the machine was carrying before depositing a pillow on his head and proceeding to use him as a leg rest. Sentinel continued to bleep and chirp excitedly, seemingly happy to be of any use at all and Eagle was glad for that as the bunks provided were just a little too small to be comfortable for anyone six feet or taller. As she made herself comfortable she was distracted once again from her book by her Scroll vibrating beside her. Crimson eyes widened as she saw the identity of the person making a video call and answered hurriedly

"AUNT HELL!" She squealed

"Hey kid, how's it going" Hellebores Arc, or Aunt Hell to Eagle and the other Arc children greeted her. At twenty-nine years old she was the youngest of the late Jaune Arc's siblings and was in Eagle's mind tied with Flax Scarlatina and Lie and Nora Ren for the position of coolest Aunt or Uncle she had. Her dirty blonde hair was worn in a spiky undercut and a pair of goggles with dark tinted lenses resting on her forehead, intended to be used in conjunction with her weapon as Hellebores Arc was one of the few members of her family to eschew the traditional sword and shield combo for something, in the self professed pyromaniac's own words 'A hell of a lot more fun'

"It's going good, I'm just relaxing since I'm not in class today" Eagle couldn't get the smile off of her face, she didn't get to see Aunt Hell nearly enough

"Where's your team? Are you getting on with them okay, I know most of the kids at home were ass-hats to you but I was hoping Halo would be different"

"It is" Eagle quickly assured her, not wanting to think about the lack of friends she'd had before her arrival at the academy "It's so different. My Team are awesome, Felix my partner and team leader is in a meeting right now but he'll be back soon. Arctus and Diamond went out together, even if they're not together together, they're still always together….I'm rambling aren't I?"
"Yes you are, but it's cute" her aunt chuckled "Speaking of cute, any cute girls caught your eye?" Eagle felt her face begin to heat up as she mumbled her reply

"I'm not dating anyone Aunt Hell"

"But that's not what I asked, I asked if anyone's caught your eye" Eagle knew she was blushing scarlet when she answered, her voice a barely audible squeak

"So, so many. Every girl here is super pretty and they're all cool and ugh" she flopped face down onto the bed with a groan, the sound of Aunt Hell's laughter coming from the Scroll

"I feel your pain kid, it hit me like a wall at Haven" the older Huntress sighed as her laughter subsided, Aunt Hell had been part of one of the last classes of Vale Hunters to get their education outside of the Kingdom before Halo Academy's opening "So as much fun as it is to catch up the news about your first mission is doing the rounds in the family, I just wanted to make sure you're okay, I heard one of you needed a medic and Flax is still whimpering at the amount of repairs his favourite toy needs"

"I'm fine….my whole team are okay, Arctus's leg has healed. Honestly we're just annoyed about the way things ended up, we don't even know where to look for those people that robbed the truck"

"Look for those people…." Hellebores trailed off, Eagle couldn't help another groan as she saw her aunt's face form a mischievous smirk "Is little Eagle thinking of getting herself into some trouble? It's about damned time!"

"Not trouble" Eagle grumbled as she fidgeted awkwardly "But they can't just get away with robbing people and the Hunters haven't been able to find them"

"I understand, I really do….Honestly anyone who isn't as determined to do the right thing as you shouldn't even be training to be a Hunter, they're not cut out for it" Eagle's chest puffed up with pride even as she looked away from the screen of her Scroll, hiding her face as she managed to blush brighter still under the compliment. Hellebores continued

"Still these guys clearly aren't amateurs so I know you're probably sick of hearing this but be very careful"

"You're not gonna tell me not to do it?" Eagle asked, somewhat surprised

"Pfft, I'd hope you'd ignore me if I did" her aunt countered "But anyway, I was talking to Flax after I heard. I was gonna chew him out but apparently Dad already gave him a piece of his mind, when he told me he how these guys operated it honestly reminded me of the Nomad Tribes on Anima, but it can't be them"

"Why not?" Eagle asked

"Occasionally a member of the tribes might join one of the academies but they never move their operations off of Anima, besides there aren't any Faunus in the tribes"

"That's not much to go on" Eagle sighed

"I know" her aunt admitted "My team and I at Haven tolerated each other at best, I haven't really been back to Mistral since I graduated so I don't know what's going on there. It's a long shot but it might be worth asking any Mistrali students if they've heard anything about street gangs copying raider tactics"

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks….and thanks for believing in me"

"Oh please I've known you were gonna be something special since you were twelve and told me you wanted to make your shield a tank. Anyway sorry it's only a brief call but I've got work to to, I'm actually in Vaccuo right now. Go get 'em Eagle, the scumbags and the pretty girls, get 'em all" Eagle gave yet another wordless groan of embarrassment as the call ended, laying sprawled on her bunk replaying the conversation in her mind, realising that Diamond was the obvious person to ask and subsequently realising that if her team-mate had made the connection she would have spoken up. She lamented that fact for a while until a thought hit her. She actually did know another Mistrali.

"Come in" the voice called from behind the door Felix knocked on, allowing him entry to what he assumed was an office. Stepping inside revealed that he had been at least partially correct; it was an office though not exactly of the kind he'd been expecting. In addition to the usual desk and chairs there was a black leather couch clearly intended to be laid on rather than sat pushed into one corner of the room and the opposite wall was a bookshelf that a quick glance told Felix was full of books pertaining to psychology and psychiatry. Behind the desk a broad bladed glaive was mounted on the wall between a framed diploma and a framed photograph of what appeared to be two men on their wedding day. One, Felix realised, was the Hunter that Team CLIR had recently operated alongside; Scarlet David-Vasilias. The other was the sole occupant of the office. Tanned despite the time of year and wearing what appeared to be an unreasonably expensive suit offset by electric blue undercut hair

"Felix Xiao Long?" the man asked

"Yeah that's me, I got a message from admin saying I'm supposed to be here?" the man gave him a smile that displayed impressively bright teeth

"Indeed, take a seat" Felix sat down without hesitation and the man continued "My name is Neptune David-Vasilias, you can call me Nep, everyone does. I'm Halo Academy's student counsellor, it's customary for me to have a meeting with each team leader after their first mission to assess how things went and see if there are any issues that need to be addressed"

"Then maybe I should have taken the couch" Felix noted with a snort, suddenly wary for reasons he couldn't quite explain "Don't tell me you're gonna do the ink blot test? What about asking me about my mother? Go on I've got plenty of jokes lined up for that"

"Ah an avoidant personality and an Oedipus complex-"

"What the fuck!" Felix spat, only to receive an amused smirk from Neptune

"I have plenty of jokes lined up as well, they break the ice sometimes. That being said there's no need to get defensive, this is a standard procedure and everything you tell me is strictly confidential. From the reports your team and Mister Scarlatina filed with Professor Goodwitch it seems that Team FADE performed admirably"

"I take it that you didn't finish reading those reports?" Felix chuckled bitterly, Neptune raised an eyebrow

"You're referring to the fact you assisted civilians after the completion of your mission and no doubt saved lives?"

"I'm referring to the fact I got my face kicked in, Arctus got his leg broken, Eagle would've been a pincushion without her armour and our Hunter's Bull-head got downed. We were completely unprepared"

"Yes, yes you were" Neptune answered bluntly, the frankness causing Felix to regard him silently until he explained "You were unprepared because that wasn't the mission you were tasked with, you were unprepared because you're a team of first year students who took matters into their own hands immediately after completing a mission that was in its' own right, more high risk than you should have been given. Team FADE performed admirably and no-one could reasonably have asked more from you" Felix slouched forward in the seat, elbows resting on the desk

"Still feels like we failed. We didn't catch 'em" it came out as a disappointed sigh

"The police will eventually, or another Hunter" Neptune assured him "But honestly that is neither here nor there, what matters right now is how you and your team are faring after your first official engagement; I have been made aware of your unsanctioned trip in the exclusion zone"

"So I'm already marked down as a nut-job"

"In this line of work sanity is relative" Neptune shrugged "Many trainee Hunters have attempted to enter a hostile environment against orders, my own team among them. We won't discuss that unless you want to. Since your mission how have Team FADE been acting? Any difficulty sleeping, nightmares, changes in behaviour? I am including you in that question" Felix thought to himself for a moment, quickly deciding that telling the counsellor about their intent to track down the group that they'd faced off against would probably be a bad idea, he did not want Team FADE to have a reputation for recklessness and be subject to extra scrutiny. He also gave the question some honest consideration before answering

"Honestly the only thing I can think of is that Diamond and Arctus have been a little different around each other"

"How so?" Neptune asked as he took down notes

"That's kinda between them" Neptune looked up and regarded Felix with a raised eyebrow before understanding and giving a knowing look "Ah I see" he murmured as he scribbled out the note he'd jotted down.

"We just wanna get back to training, we wanna be ready next time" Neptune returned to taking notes

"You seem to have a very strong urge to prove yourself Felix, I've noticed that it makes for very driven team leaders but you need to make sure that it doesn't lead to needlessly reckless choices or pushing yourself to the point where you're no longer able to function effectively" Felix froze, was Neptune onto him? When the older man said nothing the Lion Faunus merely shrugged

"You've probably had this conversation with my sister and you probably know who my parents are, hell you know who my Auntie is. If it looks like I'm trying to make a point it's because I am, I've got a fair bit to live up to" And that was more honest than Felix had been intending. Neptune made more notes and Felix sorely wished he could tell what was being written, eventually he spoke again.

"This was only intended to be a brief meeting, though I do have some paperwork I'd like your team to complete and return as soon as possible. I'm satisfied that you're handling the pressures of being a Huntsman and a leader though should you ever feel that's changed or you have any other issues at the academy my door is always open….And off the record Felix, but I met your parents before the war, my old partner lives on Patch now as a matter of fact. I know Blake and Yang must be proud of their children"

"Thank you" with that Felix took the paperwork that Neptune had indicated to and made to leave the office, a little disgruntled at the ease with which the man had seemingly managed to home in on his fears of not living up to his Mothers' hopes for him. Forcing the thought to the back of his mind he made his way aimlessly along the corridor until a vibration in his pocket alerted him to a text message, pulling out his Scroll he saw it was from Corvid

'Hey Fluffy. Could I purr-suede you to come into the city tonight? First round is on Lux….I call it a life of Lux-ury"Thinking about the offer for a moment Felix eventually decided that he wanted some time alone to think about things and typed out his reply

'Not tonight Sis, maybe next weekend if we're not swamped with assignments' pocketing his Scroll he decided on a destination, there were still flights from the anti-gravity platform that housed the academy and a drive would help clear his head.

Arctus and Diamond were currently in one of the towering complexes that formed the centre of New Vale, light drizzle pattering against the exterior and one of the monorails that formed the cities public transport network hanging suspended between two of the complexes in the distance. They were currently sat near the periphery of a food court that took up an entire floor of the complex and housed vendors from all corners of Remnant. Diamond had simply stated she had a craving for some Mistrali food and had dared Arctus to try it, enjoying a cheap laugh at his expense when he was unprepared for just how spicy it was.

Something had changed between them. That was an undeniable fact, proven by the fact that as Diamond casually threw her empty wrappers into a nearby trash-can she gently grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, interlocking her fingers with his as she leaned into him.

"You sure you're okay like this?" she asked softly clearly referring to the fact she was leaning against his left side, his left leg still not entirely healed. He could walk unaided though any additional pressure on the limb was painful and he most likely wouldn't be sparring for another week at least

"Yeah I'm good" he assured her. Arctus was in fact better than good, Diamond seemingly wanting to cuddle up to him was, in his mind absolutely perfect. In the days following their return to the academy this had become something of a pattern, they were almost always together just as they had been before but now with the addition of Diamond casually taking his hand or pulling his arm around her, stating that it was colder than she was used to in Vale. Arctus's only real issue was that he had no idea what was going on, which he freely admitted to himself he was probably less bothered about than he should have been. He wasn't sure if this meant that they'd somehow started dating without him noticing and frankly he didn't want to ask for fear of accidentally ruining a good thing.

"What do you think happened to that guy?" Diamond whispered, getting his attention and indicating to a man who was, for reasons neither of them could comprehend wearing shorts despite the weather outside; revealing that he had three cybernetic limbs.

"Either ex-Hunter or ex-military, either way he definitely had a run in with a Grimm he was not prepared for" Arctus guessed with a fair amount of certainty "Shouldn't make a thing out of it though, one of Felix's Mum's lost her right arm from the elbow down in the war, my Dad lost the whole left arm"

"Oh I wasn't being a dick about it" Diamond insisted "I mean I met Felix's parents remember, they're sweet. And come on my Dad's got two prosthetic legs, I would never"

"I didn't know, you've never mentioned it….they an old war wound as well?" Arctus asked, noticing even from the current angle which left much of her face obscured that Diamond's expression was one of discomfort, he was about to apologise when she sighed and answered

"I don't really talk about the things my parents did in the war, they weren't Hunters but they were involved in the fighting. Thing is though they started out on the wrong side….Dad was a hired gun like his old man before he was a pilot. Hell in some places in Mistral getting 'Marcus Blacked' is still slang for murder" Arctus instinctively tightened his grip around Diamond reassuringly before giving her a revelation of his own.

"My Dad was in the White Fang, knew Adam Taurus personally"

"What?" Diamond turned to face him

"Seriously, they were in care together for a few years. Dad's military records say that he was a deep cover operative, that was kinda true for a while but he was actually part of the Fang when he was our age. My parents both told me a few years ago because they didn't want there to be any secrets in our house"

"And now he's important enough in the Atlesian Military for them to doctor his records and he's married to one of the joint heads of the SDC….Dude, Professor Ren should make us do assignments on stuff like this; just to highlight how nuts the war actually was"

"That would actually be really cool" Arctus mused "I mean I might actually end up having a full conversation with my Dad for a change"

"You don't get on?"

"It's not that, he's just always at work. I get that he can't help it, but still…." Arctus trailed off with a sigh

"Same" Diamond admitted, returning to her previous position of leaning against the Bear Faunus as she did so "Mum's charities always need her to take care of something and Dad tends to take several cross-Kingdom flights at a time so I sometimes don't see him for a week or so….I really wish we had a bigger apartment, I could have gone my whole life without hearing my parents bed creaking when he gets home" Arctus burst out laughing at this point

"Oh my Oum" he managed to get out "It's disgusting right?"

"You live in a mansion" Diamond reminded him, expression scandalised "I can't avoid it like you"

"I have Faunus hearing" he pointed out, his voice becoming one of faux horror "The things I've heard…." the two of them broke down into fits of giggles as they leant against each other. Arctus trailing off as he took in his partners' appearance Diamond wasn't wearing her usual combat gear, rather a simple black hoodie and grey sweatpants, her silvery hair protruding from beneath a woolly hat and his opinion the word beautiful didn't do her justice. He wanted desperately to lean down and kiss her but found that it took a different kind of nerve that facing off against the creatures of Grimm, a kind he couldn't quite muster up.

"So on the subject of things I never want to think about again" Diamond snorted as her own laughter trailed off "The guy that put a sword through your leg and his friends….I know we've got no leads right now but what are we actually planning on doing when we do find 'em?" Arctus paused, realising that they indeed hadn't thought that far ahead; Team FADE had been so taken with the idea of tracking down the thieves that they'd given no consideration to what would follow. He shrugged in response

"In the famous words of Kurt Cocaine, 'load up on guns and bring a friend'"

"Dude" Diamond turned to face him once more, wearing an expression of utter horror "Dude, you don't do that. You leave Kurt Cocaine out of this"

"Oh come on!" Arctus gestured wildly "That was cool, let me have my cool one-liner" Diamond merely slunk off of the bench and turned to face him

"Dude, you make no sense. How can you be so cool and still be such a dork" she shook her head in disbelief as she gave an exaggerated sigh "Come on big guy, let's go" Arctus followed her wearing an admittedly goofy smile that he was to pleased with himself to care about, which only widened when Diamond took his hand again.

Felix had been driving the Killer Bee around the outskirts of the city with no particular destination in mind when Arctus had text him to let him know that he and Diamond were heading back to the Academy. He'd opted to message them back telling them to wait where they were and he'd pick them up, they could all get the last airship together. There were Bull-Heads almost all night but the Lion Faunus had no intention of leaving his car in a random parking lot until he could return to collect it. They'd made a point to stop off at a take-out that they all knew Eagle was fond of despite having eaten themselves, in truth Felix felt he was failing as a partner with how little time they spent together in comparison to Arctus and Diamond.

Following their return to the campus Felix had made his way to the gym, the training regimen he put himself through had been described by Arctus as brutal, his team-mates had declined to join him which resulted in the current state of affairs; Felix delivering a series of devastating combos on a training mannequin and failing to notice the arrival of Helios Nikos

"You drop your left slightly just before you jab with your right, a Grimm wouldn't notice but a person might" Felix used the motion of a spinning heel kick to the side of the dummy's head to turn and face the newcomer. Helios wasn't wearing his armour, instead he was clad in a form fitting tank top and a pair of sweatpants. Forcing himself not to stare at his classmates tanned, tattooed, scarred and ridiculously toned physique he gave a slight nod of acknowledgement

"Thanks, I need someone I can get constructive criticism from. Corvid's style's too different for us to give each other pointers" Helios nodded in understanding

"I'm guessing she turns people's own momentum against them and uses her small size to get inside their guard?"

"Exactly" Felix was admittedly impressed, it seemed Helios had accurately figured out his sister's style based on what little he'd seen of her and the brief interactions they'd had.

"So" the Lion Faunus sighed "Speaking of constructive criticism, has Nyanza actually taken any of what's been said today on board?"

"I wouldn't know, he's been avoiding me" Helios laughed bitterly "Even after I had Olivine message him and promise him that I'd calmed down and wasn't going to bludgeon him with whatever was available"

"I'm not sure he believes you" Felix laughed, secretly suspecting that Nyanza had been using his Semblance to allow he and Helios to miss each other by mere moments

"I'm not sure I believe myself" Helios countered with a snort "I just….I just need him to appreciate how serious this is, I don't push Team NEON to train harder for no reason. I've lived outside of the Kingdoms my whole life, I've seen the kind of Grimm that live beyond the walls and Beowolves and sparring matches aren't enough to prepare anyone"

"I get it man" the Lion Faunus sighed "Trust me if I didn't get it before the mission I get it now"

"I don't dislike him either" the redhead continued, huffing in both frustration and relief at finally having someone to vent to who understood "As easy as that would be. Despite his laziness, recklessness, immaturity, con-artistry and general debauchery, the irritant has grown on me" Felix couldn't help but smile at that, it was a relatable story

"Yeah, sounds about right. I remember what he was like before he figured out how to use his Semblance"

"Merciful Oum how did he manage to survive on his own without it?"

"He didn't" Felix admitted "He used to get bullied….a lot. Actually, now I think about it that might explain why he relies on his Semblance so much now-"

"It's what sets him apart" Helios surmised "And he gets defensive the moment it's questioned because he sees it as a personal attack. Damn it"

"He'll calm down" Felix assured him "I'll try and talk to him if you want? I mean as useful as his Semblance is he can't fight without it at all and we're not at Signal any more, I can't win his fights for him all the time and he can't just expect you to"

"No" Helios shook his head "It's my responsibility. I was raised to be a leader, I suppose I should prove I'm capable….But thank you. I'll keep what you've told me in mind and approach the subject differently"

"Cool, let me know how it goes. We'll have to train together sometime" the Lion Faunus suggested as he made to leave, Helios calling after him

"Nyanza was wrong about you Fluffy, he said you used to be cool….I know I'm hardly an expert on the subject, but for what it's worth; you're cool right now" Felix was halfway down the corridor before that Helios had once again called him by his nickname.

Diamond rolled over wearing an annoyed expression as thoughts ran through her mind at incomprehensible speed, denying her of sleep despite the fact late night was rapidly blurring into early morning. The other occupants of the room had gone to bed hours ago, not long after Felix having returned to the dorm after a gym session and been thoroughly thrashed at a video game of his choosing by Eagle. If the sounds of their breathing, slow and regular was anything to go by then they were all sleeping soundly.

Diamond found herself thinking about the ivory haired Bear Faunus in the bunk below her, specifically whatever it was that was happening between them.
Did she consider Arctus a friend? The answer came without hesitation, he was her best friend.
Did she care about him? Another easy answer, there was no point even attempting to deny how worried she'd been when he was injured; her footprints were still clearly visible in the medical facilities where her Semblance had seen her pacing on the ceiling while her partner lay unconscious, stopping only when the canine and feline Faunus he'd called his Aunt and Uncle arrived.

Did she want to be more than friends? Now that was where things became a lot less certain. She'd arrived in New Vale with no intentions of anything romantic, quite the opposite; she wanted some space and time to figure out who she was as a person after being in a relationship for so long. Yet the fact remained that she was the one initiating physical contact between them more often than not as of late and as much as she tried to justify it to herself Diamond couldn't find a reason outside of 'I just like it when he hugs me'

Which led to another question, would things progressing between them be a bad thing? Diamond had no answer to this. She had no intention of doing something that could potentially ruin a great friendship or affect the team dynamic negatively. At the same time while Arctus had made no direct indications she knew how he felt about her. 'And honestly' she admitted to herself 'He is kinda cute'. It was true, Diamond like tall men and Arctus at six foot three certainly qualified. He was in shape, muscular without being overly so like Felix or Helios, he was 'huggable' with a pair of shoulders that she couldn't help noticing. Diamond wasn't even sure when she'd started to think his unusually sharp teeth were cute

"Oh no" Diamond mouthed out silently to herself as the realisation that she'd somehow developed a slight crush on her partner "Oh fuck no" with that she buried her face in her pillow and let loose a slew of curses at the situation.

Authors Notes:

Okay, so after a few weeks I'm back. Sorry about the lack of updates on this story the RWBY Rare Pair week one-shots coincided with the end of the Vol.1 arc of this story so I devoted a couple weeks to getting those done.
That's also why this chapter was more character based, I needed an exercise in writing these characters again. That being said Vol.2 of canon was a food fight so I'll stand by my creative choices.
Also my update 'schedule' (Yes I use that word loosely) is still gonna be out of whack for a couple weeks due to:

A) I need to plan out a few more chapters. Vol.1-3 are going to be the first year and I know what I have planned for Vol.3 it's just a matter of getting there.
B) My work schedule. I commute two and a half hours every day and I'm working six or seven days a week this month just to help out because we are swamped.

THIS STORY IS NOW AT 20K HITS ON

Now let's summarise:
Things like sitting in on older students lessons….would that be a thing at Huntsman academies? they're styled more like universities with lecture halls rather than classrooms so it makes sense. I wish we'd seen more of the actual training that went on at Beacon to be honest.
Yeah I imagine Helios would be pissed off in the extreme if his team didn't perform well on their first outing, he's been trained to succeed his Mum as the head of the clan his whole life. He's almost like a less racist Vol.1 Weiss in some respects.
Which actually makes the comparison between Nyanza and Jaune kinda hilarious, Nyanza is the anti Jaune. Jaune knew he wasn't good enough and wanted to be better. Nyanza knows his Semblance will almost by definition let him scrape by and is content to rely on that.
Okay so Ether Arashi and Olivine DeGrasse are just placeholder characters for Team NEON and I had them hook up so that I've got a handy excuse for why they're not around when I don't need them. Plot Convenience sex is the way forwards.
Yes Felix reads, he's Blake's kid as much as Yangs….and yes "This is filth" it was exactly what you thought it was.
Aunt Hell, was briefly mentioned a couple chapters back and once in The Downward Spiral. She would have been fifteen when Eagle was sent to live with her grandparents, so she didn't leave for Haven until Eagle was five. They're close, more like sisters than Aunt and niece. Also I'll probably have Hellebores have been the first person Eagle came out to.
Neptune dropped out of Haven and studied psychology after realising that there was no help for Hunters with PTSD or other traumas caused by the job.
Seriously Beacon just sends these kids into battle against monsters that are literally drawn towards negative emotions and has no system in place to ensure that none of them snap under pressure, how are there not more dead students?
"In this line of work sane is relative" that's probably the easiest explanation for why things are the way they are regarding mental health for Hunters, they're all assumed to be crazy anyway so as long as they can still fight no one really notices.
The monorail is being mentioned in passing for a reason, I have a cool scene in mind for it involving Arctus and Diamond in Vol.3….readers of the Downward Spiral know that I play the long game.
Yes Arctus is hopeless, yes it's adorable even for me while I'm writing it.
Arctus and Diamond bonding over their parents, which is hilarious to me considering I can imagine Merc and Weiss getting drunk and bonding over THEIR parents.
If you're screaming "JUST KISS!" at the screen….good.
Kurt Cocaine, yes I did that. No I'm not sorry.
Felix and Helios bonding over insecurities about their abilities as team leaders living up expectations, yes I'm aware that some of you reading this love the "Battle Cat" pairing.
Eagle paces on the ceiling when agitated, enjoy the mental image.
Friends to lovers trope? Is it cliché? Hell yes, do you all love it? Also hell yes.
Okay so Felix has oversized and pointy canine teeth, but all of Arctus's teeth are sharp, so you people who like characters with sharp teeth I see you (Nods in the general direction of Tumblr)
"Oh no, oh fuck no" upon realising you've caught feelings is probably the most relatable thing I will ever write.

Thank you to FluffyFirefly, ShadowWolf, FleetOfWarships, Ferrous, ThePrimeWolf, ShadowAlex2000 and MariamTheLibrarian22 for their reviews on the last chapter.
No I didn't kill Jaune snow, I had his arm bitten off. I never specified that was a corpse.
What if I told you you'd learn to love Raffia Dirge?
Flirting with the enemy is a tactic as old as warfare.
I actually have an idea for what Phobos will be using as his personal steed, it's a not a dragon or anything gigantic, but it's cool….especially for my readers who like Dinosaur Grimm.
Yeah we'll be seeing more of Qrow, it's just a matter of how much.
Is it a rare pair if the writer ships it? ;-)
I'm glad people like the way the antagonists operate, we'll be seeing more of them.

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