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Chapter 48: High-School Drama

Carcharodon braced himself for the next onslaught, a clearly telegraphed downward slash as his opponent charged; the Shark Faunus raised his arms and prepared to use the blades of the Red Waves to block and redirect the attack, at the last moment his adversary came to an abrupt halt and pivoted to the side as he brought his axe around in a wide arcing slash aimed at Carcharodon's ribs. Knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge or effectively block the Shark Faunus brought his left arm downwards, his own weapon grinding against the blade of the axe as he dropped to one knee to force Jotun downwards and halt the momentum behind the attack before looking up into Onyx's laughing face and launching his counter attack, his right arm moved under the shaft of the axe and outwards forcing the weapon away and giving Carcharodon enough room to weave around it and launch himself back to his feet, delivering a knee strike to Onyx's side as he did so only to be flung back as the Puma Faunus's shoulder ploughed into his chest. The two of them circled each other, Onyx twirling Jotun Fang in one hand with an ease few people could manage; the pair had elected to train in the outdoor colosseum together once the last lesson of the day had ended, knowing that it was less likely to be occupied by their fellow students late on a Friday afternoon and decided that a sparring match against each other with none of the arbitrary restraints imposed on them by teachers' would be a good warm up. Suddenly Onyx paused and raised a palm to halt Carcharodon, giving a barely perceptible nod at something behind the Shark Faunus; instantly weary he turned and scanned the bleachers around them and soon spotted what had drawn his partners' suspicions, Team SNST, the first year students that Carcharodon had given a valuable lesson in the form of a beating a week prior were watching them, something that Team GORE had noticed them doing on several occasions during the week

"They keep following you around" Onyx grunted in amusement as he slung his axe over his shoulder "Should we tell them you don't swing anyone's way or shall we assume that they want revenge?"

"Mistrali Hunters maybe" Carcharodon snorted "These….they don't have the heart"

"Doesn't take heart to stab someone in the back" Onyx noted, Carcharodon privately agreed but remained silent and focused his attention on the member of Team SNST who had left the group and begun approaching them with clear apprehension. Their more acute Faunus vision had identified the newcomer as Shine, the teams' leader long before he drew close. The first year had light brown skin and was shorter than either of them, reaching just below six feet if Carcharodon had to guess and had a slim but athletic build that could easily be mistaken for scrawny at a casual glance; his outfit was a mismatch of different styles that was clearly intentional, a grey pullover hoodie and sweatpants and high-top trainers which Carcharodon assumed meant he was native to the poor areas of the inner city, having seen several groups of youths similarly dressed while in New Vale, over these he wore a tactical vest and armour plating around his knees and forearms that while nothing close to the standard of that worn by Atlesian military would definitely still absorb a considerable impact, his hands were covered by fingerless leather gloves fastened with heavy buckles and a harness over his chest with supported several pouches which were likely filled with Dust crystals and additional ammunition for the collapsed weapon slung over his back, his hair was a golden yellow though that was evidently not its' natural colour and was braided into neat cornrows while a pair of bulky goggles with heavily tinted lenses and a series of gears indicating that something about their function could be adjusted rested on his forehead.

"Hey man can we talk?" Shine held his hands up to show that they were empty and he was not looking for a confrontation, Carcharodon nodded silently to Onyx who stepped away to give them some privacy; or at least the appearance of it as the Puma Faunus would be able to hear every word spoken between them and react accordingly

"Speak" Carcharodon rasped out, his tone disinterested

"I've been thinking about last week in the gym, y'know when you uh….schooled my whole team; to be honest we've all been thinking-"

"If you don't speak your mind soon the next beating will be solely for my entertainment" Carcharodon warned, quickly growing tired of the conversation

"We want to train with you" Shine answered hurriedly "You were right about what you said and your whole team act like you've seen some shit. We were kinda hoping you'd teach us a little?"

"You say we" the Shark Faunus sighed glancing over Shine's shoulder to the rest of the first year team who were still in the bleachers "Yet you're the only one here asking"

"Yeah well" Shine fidgeted a little uncomfortable "The others….look they're a little scared of you"

"Then they're weaklings who should rethink being here" Carcharodon rasped without pause

"Come on man, you broke Teal's leg in a sparring match" Shine protested "They wanna get better at this, they really do but-"

"You're hoping to compete in the Vytal Tournament?" Carcharodon asked

"Yeah. Qualifiers are coming up but hopefully we can learn enough to have a chance" Shine nodded clearly hopeful

"You train for the tournament on your own time" Carcharodon rasped out "I won't be wasting my time teaching you to play fight. Go back to your team and tell them if they have the heart for it to meet me hear at noon tomorrow….understand that what I teach you will be of more use when you're inevitably sent out beyond the Kingdom's walls and you will suffer for that knowledge" Shine nodded awkwardly in understanding until Carcharodon despite being completely hairless made it clear that if he had an eyebrow it would have raised it questioningly

"Yeah man uh, good talking to you. We'll see you here tomorrow" with that he turned and left at a pace that made it clear that he was just as frightened of the Shark Faunus as his team-mates were. Footsteps from behind him alerted Carcharodon to Onyx returning

"So we're teaching now?" the taller Faunus asked with a bemused snort "I suppose somebody should show them which end of a weapon is which"

"Agreed" Carcharodon rasped out before retrieving the sleeveless robe he'd discarded before the sparring match and pulling the hood low over his face before murmuring "Teaching Hunters and answering to the Kingdoms, if Mizu could see me now she'd kill me herself" Onyx clamped a hand down on his shoulder

"You're too hard on yourself Car. You do your sister proud, you do all of us proud….there's nobody else we would rather follow" the Puma Faunus shrugged "And who knows, maybe they'll learn to appreciate our way of life"

"If anyone could convince them it's you" Carcharodon replied with a chuckle "Go, find a bar and terrorise the locals. I'll train alone" Onyx raised an eyebrow, silently asking if he was sure and received a nod of confirmation in return; seeing this he slung his axe over his back and made his way from the arena leaving Carcharodon to his thoughts, of which there were many.

Felix drove the Killer-Bee out of the vehicle hold of the airship that carried him back to Halo Academy with music blaring at an admittedly obnoxious volume, a somewhat smug grin on the Lion Faunus's face as he he saw the way heads turned when his car passed on the short drive to the ramp leading to the academies' parking lot located beneath the campus itself. It was currently late afternoon, rapidly fading into evening as the sun began to set and Felix was returning to the academy after taking Eagle to her home town of New Hope, a small farming village just beyond the defensive walls of the Kingdom where her Grandparents still lived; with the qualifiers for the Vytal Tournament rapidly approaching and the successful competitors leaving for Atlas soon after she had wanted to spend some time with family, a sentiment that Felix shared as he was considering heading back to Patch the next morning and picking Eagle on the way back on Sunday. In the meantime however he was left at something of a loose end with no plans for his Friday evening, Arctus and Diamond may have still been around but he didn't want to intrude or feel like the third wheel; as he retrieved Hack and Slash from the back seat and sheathed them across his back he considered calling Nyanza and seeing what Team NEON were doing, which would most likely see him in the city within a few hours in whatever rave his fellow Faunus decided to grace with his presence. He was still turning the idea over in his mind as he climbed the stairs leading out of the parking lot and onto the pathway leading to the campus himself, on one hand it would allow him to spend some time with Helios and the other he was still unsure if that was a good thing given that it could easily lead to him making a fool of himself. His train of thought came grinding to a halt as he caught sight of a towering figure strolling around the side of the main building, there were few students six and a half feet tall and Felix could only think of one who carried an axe.

"What?" Felix spat as he locked eyes with the Puma Faunus who merely snorted in response and walked away, the whole of Team FADE had been made aware of the truth of the Shadow Cadre's renaming as Team GORE and while he wouldn't begrudge Eagle her apparent friendship with Hellion and could admit that Onyx's antics in class were occasionally entertaining he preferred to keep them at a distance. Glowering after Onyx as he stepped inside the campus closing the main doors behind him Felix drew his Scroll, still taking a moment to decide who he was going to contact before finally settling on a text message to Corvid

'I'm out front. Wanna hang out?' he barely had to wait for a minute before his Scroll buzzed with her reply

'Gimme two minutes' pocketing his Scroll the Lion Faunus situated himself on one of the many benches scattered nearby and waited, true to her word only a few minutes later Corvid came into view, soaring through the air with the Omega Wing wrapped around her in its' combat mode

"Hey bro" she greeted him nonchalantly as the battle suit collapsed back into its' aerial drone form, allowing her to sit next to him

"You're a show off you know that right?"

"Oh so that wasn't your speakers the whole campus could hear a few minutes ago?" she countered with a laugh "So what's up Fluffy?"

"Not much" Felix shrugged "Was wondering if you wanted head back to Patch tomorrow, spend a weekend at home before we head out to Atlas?"

"I like the way you think, bring Eagle it'll be fun"

"She's already gone home for the weekend, I'm picking her up Sunday" Felix informed her, the two of them sat in peaceful silence for a few moments before Corvid gently nudged his shoulder

"Come on what's bothering you?"

"Nothing much" Felix breathed out taking a moment to prepare himself "But I kinda wanna ask for your advice about something"

"Sure, go for it" Felix was reassured by the smile she gave him but still needed a moment to force the words out

"Look….I think I've got a thing for Helios, like I kinda-what?" the final word was exclaimed indignantly as Corvid doubled over, cackling hysterically

"Oh you think?" she almost screeched with laughter "Oh my Oum you are literally the last person to know Fluffy, I mean that's been obvious for what….almost a year now!"

"Come on, I'm not that bad" Felix insisted, arms folding across his chest in a display that his parents would almost certainly have described as sulking. Corvid simply carried on laughing

"Oh you were. I don't know how to put this without CRUSHing your ego but you may as well have put 'Helios is hot' on a big NEON sign"

"Alright alright" he grumbled "So are you gonna help me out here or what? I just don't wanna make an idiot of myself" Corvid simply ruffled his messy blonde curls and pulled him into a brief one armed hug

"Look as sweet as it is that you came to me for dating advice I'm probably not the best person for you to get it from….I'm better at casual stuff, maybe talk to our Mums?"

"Have you lost your mind? I won't hear the end of it"

"You think you're gonna avoid getting teased by telling me?" Corvid gave him a grin with was somewhere between gleeful and sadistic and Felix momentarily regretted telling her anything but instead simply smirked and chuckled

"Whatever Sis"

"Okay seriously though" Corvid finally settled down "Just act normal, if a chance to a make a move comes up then go for it….in fact, before the Vytal Festival starts there's always a big dance for the students; it's actually where our Mum's first date was. Try asking him if we wants to go to it with you, it'll be sweet"

"You think he'd say yes?" the nervous waver in his voice betraying just how concerned he was, Corvid fought the urge to squeal and tease her younger brother some more despite how adorable she thought his crush was

"I can't see why not" she shrugged "You're good looking, a bit of a bad-ass, you're already friends….you've got a muscle car"

"And every day I learn things about you I'm not sure I wanted to know" Felix snorted only to receive another nudge to the shoulder

"Yeah yeah, you got anything planned for tonight?"

"Nah?"

"Well get changed and we'll head into the city and hit a few clubs….Rusty still hasn't stopped laughing at your dancing and apparently you've got a date to practice for" Felix simply rolled his eyes and rose from the bench, suddenly immensely grateful for his sister.

"It's a shame Felix didn't stay" Eagle's grandmother, Ivory Arc noted as she handed over a paper plate which held a burger fresh off of the grill and a side of salad; because in the Arc household there were no exceptions to eating your vegetables "I like that boy, he's good for you"

"Neither of us are straight, it's not gonna happen" Eagle reminded her with a bemused sigh

"Oh I didn't mean like that, it's just good to see you with friends that'll go out of their way for you and get you to come out of your shell….Don't worry I wouldn't change anything about any of my girls, I love you all just the way you are" the two of them ate in peaceful silence for a while, listening to the radio that had been moved outside while Craven Arc cooked; having insisted on getting the most of the last of the summer warmth and firing up the barbecue, pointing out that it would be the last good weather Eagle experienced for a while. Other members of the Arc family had decided to visit and were also occupying the expansive back yard. Eagle watched her Aunts Daisy and Victoria trade blows in a light sparring match while Daisy's daughter and Eagle's cousin Honey watched in silent awe, golden furred rabbit ears stood upright. In a nearby deck chair Flax was dozing, his own Faunus attributes drooping over his face

"They're good" Ivory noted, seeing where Eagle's attention was directed "But so are you, you'll qualify and you'll do fine in the tournament"

"Thanks" Eagle beamed, she was honestly far less concerned about the upcoming qualifiers as she had expected to be; Felix's confidence having permeated the entirety of Team FADE but her grandmother's words were still good to hear

"Of course you will, us Arcs have always-" Craven trailed off as a new figure stepped out of the house, nobody in the back yard having heard her car pull up outside. Eagle saw blonde hair styled into an undercut and short spikes, skin reddened due constant proximity to extreme heat and a cocky swagger and shot out of her seat and pulled the newcomer into a hug

"Aunt Hell!" she squealed "I've missed you, I thought you were in Mistral with Aunt Citrus? How did it go?"

"Hey Aunt Hellebores" Eagle felt something nudge her legs as her younger cousin tried to join in the hug and promptly made room

"Hey kids" Hellebores Arc ruffled the hair of both of her nieces "Yeah I got a mission done with Citrus, wrapped it up pretty quick so I thought paid Buttercup and Xiangya a visit-"

"How are they doing?" Daisy interjected upon hearing her twin sister's name

"She's good, Jinse lost his first tooth and Titania is getting big as well. I'm looking at a mission right on the border with Vaccuo, should be able to get Poppy in on it"

"Good to see you Hellebores" Craven smiled as he piled food onto a plate for her "I do wish you'd put roots down somewhere though, you and Poppy both"

"You worry too much Dad….besides mortgages are not cheap"

"Aint that the Oum honest truth" Flax muttered, revealing that he was not quite asleep yet and earning himself a round of soft chuckles. As Hellebores made herself comfortable conversation naturally drifted towards missions and how the Arc sisters whose visits were less frequent were doing, Eagle listened with just as much rapt attention to her Aunt Hell's stories as Honey Scarlatina did while at the same time looking for a chance to speak to her alone as there were certain questions that she felt most comfortable asking Hellebores. Eventually an opportunity presented itself when Honey and Flax began playing catch

"Hey Aunt Hell can we talk for a minute?" Eagle asked, her nerves creeping into her hushed tone which the older blonde immediately picked up on

"Yeah sure" Hellebores wrapped an arm around Eagle's shoulder and gently pulled her away from the yard and towards the house before giving her a concerned glance "What's up? I know you and your Mum have been having problems but-"

"It's not that" Eagle assured her, a deep blush slowly creeping across her face as she looked away "It's about a girl"

"Oh" her tone made it clear that she understood perfectly "Has little Eagle got a crush on someone"

"I'm taller than you" Eagle muttered while blushing deeper still "I just wanted to ask you for advice"

"Well my advice is always go for it, nothing ventured nothing gained" Hellebores shrugged

"It's not that simple" Eagle sighed, privately deciding just how much to tell her "She's a transfer student I've been tutoring with some subjects she struggles with and she keeps trying to flirt with me….the thing is, well she's been in trouble with the law before already"

"So you like bad girls?" Hellebores nudged her teasingly "You're worried about how the family are gonna react?"

"Yeah" Eagle admitted without going into detail as to just how warranted those concerns were

"Relax, doesn't matter who the first person you bring home is they're gonna get the exact same inquisition. Besides there's no guarantee anything is gonna get that far and there's no sense inventing situations to get worried about"

"So you think-"

"So I think" Hellebores interrupted "That it's cute and it's great that you're helping people out but your studies come first. Keep your grades up, worry about the tournament and then worry about flirting with cute girls. You better introduce me as well" she punctuated her words with a sly wink

"You think you'll be able to come to the Vytal Tournament?" Eagle asked hopefully

"Tickets cost a fortune" Hellebores pointed out "But Citrus has a jet pack so…." she trailed off and Eagle doubled over laughing at the mental image

"What conspiracy are you two cooking up?" Craven called over to them, a phrase that had been heard often when Hellebores still lived in the Arc family home before she had attended Haven Academy and when she returned during the summers

"Nothing much, just giving her some advice" Hellebores answered before turning to Eagle "I'm gonna get some food before Flax cleans us out, want another plate?" Eagle nodded silently in response while her mind was preoccupied with the advice she'd received and the possibilities it presented.

Team NEON's Dormitory had been organised in a way that had unintentionally mirrored that of Team FADE; beds having converted into impromptu bunks, one of which used as additional closet space as Olivine and Ether had long since started sharing a bed, and a weapon stand in one corner holding the teams' equipment. Currently Helios's shield was absent from said stand despite the fact its' owner was currently in the shower

"He's gonna nuts if he sees you doing that" Olivine noted as she glanced up from the latest issue of a technology subscription she was subscribed to. Nyanza merely grinned and continued to spin the shield on the tip of a single finger, a feat that was almost certainly accomplished with the use of his Semblance, the sound distracted Ether from the battered looking notepad he was writing chords and lyrics to share with the rest of his and his sisters' band in

"No seriously, that's not testing your luck that's just stupid. You know how he gets about his stuff" Nyanza smirked to himself as he remembered an incident early in their first year when he had used the same shield he was currently spinning to carry several trays of food from the canteen, the redhead treated his armour and weapons with excessive care and attention and his reaction to sight had been negative in the extreme.

"It'll be fine" Nyanza assured them with an exaggerated sigh "But actually, would you two mind heading out for a while? I've kinda got something I wanna talk to him about in private" Ether simply turned to Olivine

"Wanna see what the band are doing?"

"Sure why not" a few moments later the partners and long term couple were closing the door behind them as they left leaving the feline Faunus alone to wait for his own partner, eventually the bathroom door opened revealing Helios wearing only a pair of sweatpants and still towelling himself off

"For Oum' sake" Nyanza muttered under his breath, he considered himself in shape, definitely more so than he had been upon first arriving at Halo Academy though the slight chubbiness of his cheeks persisted but the fact remained he would most likely never have a physique like Helios's. Catching sight of the Faunus spinning his shield on his finger Helios discreetly activated his Semblance

"Mother fucker!" Nyanza spat as his wrist was bent back under the increased gravity acting on the shield

"I'm sure your mother is a lovely woman" Helios answered with a nonchalant shrug, by now having built up something of an immunity to his partners' particular quirks

"Don't even go there" Nyanza warned him as he sat up, still massaging his wrist "I swear your sexual frustration is coming out as pent up aggression, which brings me to something else I wanna talk to you about"

"If this is you asking me to come with you to another rave then-"

"It's about Felix" Nyanza's words stopped Helios dead in his track, seeing that the redhead was seemingly reluctant to have the conversation needled at the Faunus's temper and he hopped off of the bed as he continued "I've seen the way you look at him and everyone's seen the way he looks at you Heely so what is it? Are you interested or not because I don't appreciate people trying jerk my friends around while they make their mind up"

"You really need to calm down" Helios warned him, his voice stern but holding no anger. Nyanza's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists before taking a slow deep breath

"Alright man yeah, I'm sorry" he flopped down on his bunk once more, still somewhat irritable "Just promise me you're not dicking him around"

"Nyanza have you even known me to be a liar?" Helios seemed mildly annoyed by the implications as he took a seat on Ether's bunk directly opposite

"Fair point….but look you know me and Fluffy go way back right?"

"I know he used to fight your battles before you learned to defend yourself" Helios nodded

"Exactly" Nyanza sighed "See you've never been to my place before, but you know some of the really poor places in the city right?"

"Yes-"

"Well I'm from Patch's equivalent to that" the Feline made a point of not looking at his partner he didn't want anyone's pity "My folks moved from Vale to Patch when it was expanding with all the refugees after the war 'cos they thought there'd be more work and it didn't quite play out. They're both hard workers but I grew up with my Mum working minimum wage jobs and my Dad getting laid off every few months because as much as Fluffy's mum has done for us the Faunus guy is always first to lose his job when the company needs to cut costs; so we never had any money to move into a nicer part of the island; it kinda felt like our luck was always running out which is funny as fuck when I think about it now" he gave a laugh which failed to hide his bitterness

"I'm not going to pretend I know what growing up like that was like" Helios told him "I think it's a failing of the Kingdoms, in my tribe everyone has a role, everyone is cared for and everyone knows that they're valued"

"Must be nice" Nyanza shrugged "Thing is I was a fat kid who couldn't fight or run fast growing up in a place like that, my parents didn't exactly have a lot of cash lying around to replace the lunch money I was getting robbed for every day; so I learned to crack jokes and bullshit my way out of it, nobody wants to pick on the funny guy that everyone likes y'know. Then I decided to learn to fight back and somehow managed to get into Signal and talking my way out of it wasn't an option any more….Felix stopped me from getting jumped on the way home on the first week there and we've been friends since"

"Well if it's any consolation you've grown into capable fighter since then" Helios assured him, pausing a moment to brace himself before continuing "And since we're sharing, yes I would like to be a lot more than friends with Felix. At first I didn't want to like him but you know yourself that it's hard not to, he's just fun to be around, honestly I admire how easily he leads Team FADE he's got a natural gift for it that I don't think I'll ever have and that smile where his teeth are-"

"Okay no, we're not doing this" Nyanza laughed, casually throwing a pillow at his partner "But seriously though, what's stopping you from making a move?"

"With my position within my people I have certain expectations placed on me-"

"What like an arranged marriage?" Nyanza raised an eyebrow

"No" Helios shook his head "The Nikosi actually don't have marriage the way you'd think of it, there are just people who spend their whole lives together. The fact remains though…." as he trailed off Nyanza sat up

"So do you want me to talk to him?"

"No, this is something I need to handle myself"

"Okay fine….just promise me you will actually talk to him though" Nyanza's tone was unusually sincere

"Again Nyanza, I have never been a liar" Helios assured him, he Faunus rolled his eyes in response

"Okay cool, just do me one more favour….Put a shirt on man, I look like a fucking marshmallow next to you".

Carcharodon entered Team GORE's dormitory, having continued training outside until long after the sun had set. The sight that greeted him upon his entry was Hellion sat cross legged on the gigantic shared bed formed by pushing their individual bunks together, her wings spread wide and held rigidly still; at first Carcharodon thought that she was meditating and considered joining her as he often did but a second glance revealed the jade green eyes moving as she scanned the pages of a book which lay open across her lap.

"Where are Onyx and Raffia? I have work for us tomorrow" the Shark Faunus asked, taking the fact that she was not in fact in a trance like state as an invitation to speak

"Onyx came back from training with you a while ago but left soon after, most likely some girl wants to see exactly what his 'toe-beans' feel like" the Dragonfly Faunus snorted "Raffia went to get food and hasn't come back….should we look for him?"

"If trouble had found him we'd be able to hear it from here" Carcharodon noted "He's going to make himself ill if keeps eating the way he has been" Hellion nodded in agreement, all of them had over indulged upon arriving at the academy and realising that the food wasn't rationed but the Axolotl Faunus in particular seemed determined to eat everything he could as if the food would be snatched away otherwise

"And Onyx?" Hellion asked

"He's a whore. I expect nothing else" Carcharodon chuckled before watching Hellion turn the page of the book she was reading and realising it was not one of their textbooks "Weren't you reading when I left?"

"I'm a slow reader, what of it?" Hellion defended as she had indeed been slogging through the fantasy novel that seemed like something Eagle would have enjoyed for hours

"Let's not pretend you're even remotely interested in whatever is in that book" Carcharodon huffed, Hellion made to disagree and answer the story had captured her attention even she did find herself siding with the villains but he simply continued "You're doing this for the girl….be careful Hellion"

"Are you going to be giving Onyx the same warnings?" she shot back stroking Marauder as the bird of prey hopped from his perch to sit beside her as if sensing her agitation

"It was her mother we kidnapped" Carcharodon countered "Besides Onyx can be relied on to have his fun without getting attached"

"You forget that I'm the 'Queen of a thousand ports'" Hellion reminded him with a smirk though the title she'd jokingly been given by the rest of the Shadow Cadre felt empty to her her now

"And how many of the girls in those ports did you learn to read in a different language for? You're desperate to impress her" Carcharodon saw her wings vibrating fast enough to be a blur of motion and realised that she was angry a moment before she leapt from the bed, Marauder squawking in protest

"So what of it Car!" she demanded furiously "She's attractive. Is this because she isn't of the tribes? Need I remind you where we come from?"

"We come from the Frost River Tribe. Our fathers were too weak to raise us, they have no claim to us" Carcharodon all but snarled "Live free or die Hellion I have no intention of trying to stop you but I have to think about the future of our people. The Council of Elders are dead, the captains of the fleet are dead, everyone we have ever looked to for guidance is dead. We're all that's left and I'm worried that you're losing your way" his tone dropped to a concerned whisper, the fear creeping into every syllable enough to halt Hellion's retort.

"How could I lose my way with you as my captain?" she murmured after a moment, giving his shoulder an affectionate punch

"Just be careful Hellion" he reiterated "I need the Shadow Cadre beside me when the time comes in Atlas, not a Hunter. If you start acting like them eventually you'll start thinking like them and then our people really will be gone" Hellion saw that he looked tired, not from the training but the bone deep weariness of shouldering the weight of the world for too long and instinctively grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at her

"Whatever happens we will stand with you when the time comes" Carcharodon gave her a weak smile

"That's all I needed to hear, enjoy you book"

Authors Notes:

Okay another character development chapter but I promise you there's going to be some action next chapter as we move into the final third of Vol.4 and make our way to Atlas for Vol.5 and Vol.6 of the story.
Also I'm starting a new job within the next week or two (Waiting for a start date) and I'm going to be working twelve hour shifts on Friday and Saturday so expect things to be a little weird for a couple of weeks before I settle into a new routine and possibly/probably a new upload schedule.
I won't be uploading anything on the 29th of May so I'll take this opportunity to point out this story is a year old now and thank everyone that's stuck with me this far (Especially those people who've been hear since The Downward Spiral) at my current pace I think there's another two years worth of story; I have literally already been planting seeds for third and fourth year plot lines.
Finally I'd like to give a shout out to BooDawg who gave this story its' 300th review on FF Net.

Now, let's summarise:
Carcharodon and Onyx probably have the most intense sparring matches.
"A valuable lesson in the form of a beating" is pretty much Carcharodon summed up.
"Should we tell them you don't swing anyone's way" I mentioned it in notes before but here it is 'on screen' Car is Ace.
I gave Shine an actual description this time, I'm imagining his aesthetic as a deliberate mismatch of early 2000s hip-hop, minimalist utilitarian armour and Steampunk accessories.
I love the idea of Carcharodon getting his first real socialisation outside of the tribe by being and unwilling Senpai to a bunch of first years.
It might sound like he's being a dick but Carcharodon is just honest and refuses to sugar coat anything for the sake of peoples' feelings; in his mind it's either get good or get killed.
We all love Fluffy dearly but he is too hard headed to just be friends with Team GORE after last year.
Also yeah Arctus has told Team FADE what Gangrel told him, so they know why they're at Halo.
Corvid is low-key committed to making Eagle feel part of the family.
Felix in true Felix fashion went to his big Sis for advice and in true older sibling fashion she teased, the circle of life continues.
Yeah there's a dance coming in Vol.5 you're welcome.
It's been barbecue weather for the last couple weeks over here and I've got food on the brain, judge me.
The Arcs love Felix. It's canon.
Aunt Hell, Eagle's go to Aunt on all things gay.
A couple other Arcs mentioned including some of Eagle's younger cousins.
I mean "Bad girl" doesn't quite cover "Yeah I think one of the people who kidnapped my Mum last year is cute" but the devil's in the detail.
Nyanza will always be a living shit-post.
Also surprisingly or perhaps not so much he has his own insecurities under all that mouth.
Well look at how much progress Helios and Nyanza have made since they were first partnered together, Helios would have kicked his ass for that outburst.
A little backstory for Nyanza, it makes him seem more real and not just a smart mouthed son of a bitch to act as a foil for Helios; I think it fits that all that talk is a defence mechanism.
There you go, you wanted Battle Cat mutual pining, are you happy now?
Helios is the heir to his people as much as the Anima tribes have a "Live free or die" approach it'd be stupid to assume that he doesn't have certain expectations to live up to.
We'll just assume Car forgot that he told Onyx to go out.
Toe-beans, the girls love 'em.
The titbit about the Shadow Cadre/Team GORE overeating was actually inspired by a review on the last chapter.
Protective Car, he's a lot of things but he means well.
Combine what Hellion said with Helios's comment about the expectations placed on him and the fact that its' been mentioned before that Pyrrha was raised outside of the Nikos tribe and you start to see that the Anima tribes are very insular in some respects.
"How could I lose my way with you as my captain?" is a play on something Car said to Hellion in Vol.2 "How can I lose my way when I have the best scout on Anima".
Carcharodon's main motivations are revenge against everyone who double crossed his people and preserving what's left of the Frost River tribe which includes the culture and way of life, it's interesting to see how that plays out as I write it.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, ShadowAlex2000, FleetOfWarships, TigerRose, LoneDragon, BooDawg and FluffyFirefly for their reviews on the last chapter.
Rhodium was there to just to remind everyone that he exists, we'll see him a couple times over the course of second year but he's on the shelf plot wise until third year.
Go Junior indeed, because even the Mob have some standards and loyalty.
Oh yeah she's a total edge lord, remember that Adam died when Celeste was a child; realistically she only knows what he was portrayed as and the stories that White Fang grunts told about him and I imagine that Adam likes to see himself as something like Magneto in the X-Men and promote that image; that's what she's moulded herself after. Also remember how Adam died in The Downward Spiral.
I'm glad I fooled at least one person with the smut fake out.
We could have met the high leader earlier but remember that the "Other group" that turned out to be the New White Fang have been mentioned since Vol.1 and we saw their handiwork earlier on this volume, also we're only six chapters into second year; Celeste is going to be around until at least Vol.6.
I'll come out and say right now that the Cult of Taurus are not students at Atlas, we've already met one problem who'll be attending Atlas.
The 'Wilt problem' will be addressed.
I'm glad you like the callbacks to The Downward Spiral and the battle of Eisenstadt Siebte….'cos we're going back there.

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