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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 56: First Impressions

The Prime Promenade was the undisputed holder of the title of 'Largest shopping centre in Remnant' taking up several levels of Atlas's capital hive city of Eisenstadt Prime, located close to the central trunk of massive supports holding up the city within a hollowed mountain and having a total size that made it a veritable metropolis in its' own right; on a Saturday the entirety of the shopping centre was buzzing with activity and a ludicrous amount of bodies that forced Team FADE to find somewhere they could sit down before they could be overwhelmed. It had been one week since their return to Atlas Academy following their mission to the ruins of Eisenstadt Siebte and the four of them had agreed that a little sightseeing was in order, as were new clothes as their current outfits were simply not suited to the harshness of Atlesian winter, prompting them to change as soon as they had made their purchases.

They were currently seated inside a small diner situated on the outskirts of the Prime Promenade finishing their meals and Felix could feel the eyes of some the other patrons on him, he supposed it could have been due to his accent identifying him as an outsider but considering what he knew of the icy Kingdom he had other suspicions which he voiced as he turned to Arctus

"They got a problem with Faunus in here?" his cousin merely shrugged; the Bear Faunus's new outfit being quite similar to the one it replaced; a white jacket clearly intended to evoke an Atlesian Specialists' uniform with countless pouches and pockets and a harness for his weapon, the key difference being that this jacket had sleeves and a faux fur collar. Black pants and boots and gloves which worked armour plating into their exteriors.

"They might have, but not to the extend that they'll say anything….especially not if I'm the one paying" he held up his bank card which bore a Schnee Dust Company logo and Felix shook his head and grinned; race may well be an issue in Atlas but money and prestige ruled supreme and Arctus had been born with plenty of both to spare

"Cool, I just don't wanna hear anything about they don't serve our kind in here" the Lion Faunus leaned back in his chair; his own outfit consisting of a new slightly darker pair of jeans which lacked the tears most of his older pairs had accrued, new more minimalist gunmetal coloured armoured knee pads and a pair of vibrant yellow high-tops which matched the new hoodie he wore, black with sleeves that displayed all the colours of the rainbow and a small rainbow flag decal on the right breast just visible under the weapon harness containing Hack and Slash slung over the hoodie; he had also considered buying a hat to protect his ears from the biting cold but eventually decided that leaving his mane of curly dirty blonde hair unmolested was a higher priority.

"I still can't believe there are people that backwards" Diamond sighed "It's depressing to think about" currently she wore grey sweatpants and a matching hoodie over a black tank top, black sneakers and a bulky and puffy black coat; an outfit clearly intended for warmth and comfort, completed by a small black harness which held Lex Talions; the weapon being moved from its' usual place at Diamond's back to her waist, black woollen but fingerless gloves and a matching hat with a pale mint green bobble which her silvery bangs and ponytail protruded.

"It's not as bad as Dad tells me it used to be" Arctus sighed "But yeah New Vale honestly feels like a breath of fresh air….and I know I've got it better than most as well"

"Hey guys" Eagle spoke up to get their attention "Where are we going after this? I saw a little bit of the capital over the summer and Arctus is from here. Felix, Diamond is there anywhere you wanna see?" at first glance her outfit seemed unchanged, covered as it was by her freshly polished white armour, however a closer inspection revealed that she sported new fur-lined boots and a much thicker and warmer hoodie, the cartoonish emblem of which was hidden by her chest-plate while a black and white striped scarf was wrapped around her neck.

"I mean if we're doing clothes shopping we could always just buy something for that dance that's coming up; Edna Mauve's Boutique isn't far from the way we came, just a few levels up….what?" Arctus trailed off as he saw the stunned looks suggestion was getting

"Dude seriously?" Diamond laughed, playfully nudging him

"Arctus" Eagle leaned forwards, her voice a stage whisper "I've got money but seriously you're the only person here who could just walk in there without an appointment" Felix merely snorted and muttered something suspiciously like 'Rich kids'

"Besides big guy" Diamond noted, her expression turning serious and almost nervous for a moment "We've gotta go soon"

"Oh right, the driver" Arctus nodded, he usually made his own way back to Schnee Manor from the capital but on this occasion Weiss had arranged for an SDC company car to pick he and Diamond up "Alright I'll just pay for the food and we'll get going; catch you two later tonight?"

"Have fun" Eagle beamed as the two of them rose from the table and took their bags, Arctus making his way over to their waiter who would no doubt be receiving a hefty tip. Felix studied his partners' face, distracting himself from the glances he knew he was getting

"You okay?….I know you were set on us meeting your Mum as well"

"It's fine, there'll be other chances" she sighed, the fact that Antonia Arc had been unable to schedule time off work due to a project she was currently occupied with stung a little more than Eagle let on but she comforted herself with the fact that her and her mother were at least on speaking terms again; Felix seemingly took her answer at face value

"Okay so where do you want to go?" he asked, voice raising a little as he continued "I really don't wanna hang around here and get stared at" Eagle noted that a few people visibly turned away and the atmosphere in the diner subtly changed; after thinking to herself for a moment she offered a suggestion

"I mean there's a few museums with old Hunters' weapons in them that I missed over the summer but it'd have to be a quick visit….and I kinda wanna find a bookshop or a comic store"

"Sounds cool" Felix grinned, overlong canine teeth protruding from beneath his lip as he grabbed both his and Eagle's bags "Wait, comic store? If you want I'll ask Corey if she brought any of her collection over with her"

"Thanks but it's not for me, comics are cool but I prefer book" Eagle answered, Felix nodding in understanding as he shared her sentiment "I just thought they might help with teaching Hellion to read"

"Oh okay" Felix shrugged as the two of them left the diner and turned back towards the main bulk of the Prime Promenade, the Lion Faunus catching sigh of the way his partners' heavily freckled cheeks coloured at the mere thought of being alone with the Dragonfly Faunus

"If we've got time we could always look at outfits for the dance?" he offered "I mean I still don't exactly trust her team but you've clearly got a thing for Hellion; ask her to the dance"

"Are you gonna ask Helios?" Eagle asked, cheeks darkening further

"We're not talking about me" Felix countered

"Honestly I wasn't sure if I was gonna go to the dance" Eagle shrugged as they made their way towards the sprawling shopping centre "Hellion is super cool, and really pretty but I've had crushes before….it won't go anywhere, they never do" she gave a resigned sigh and thought the subject over; Felix however had the tenacity of both of his mothers and prepared to spend the rest of the day if needs be explaining why that was nonsense.

It was mid afternoon which meant that in Atlas the winter sun already far passed its' zenith, the steely grey sky rapidly darkening though Hellion Eudialyte saw none of this as she worked, the curtains of Team GORE's dormitory were closed and the room was lit by the overhead light fixture. Nearby Onyx was sharpening the blade of Jotun Fang; his appearance having changed somewhat after their return to the Academy, is tangled and unkept mess of black hair and scraggly beard had been cut and styled into something far more tame and pristine, Hellion noted that the look suited him. The two of them worked in silence, her gossamer wings laid flat against her back in concentration and the sound of the whetstone Onyx never travelled without rhythmically scraping against metal was oddly soothing, allowing her to focus and keep her hands steady as she dipped the wooden rod tipped with many thin and incredibly sharp needles she had crafted earlier in the week into a pot of ink and returned to the task of marking Raffia's face

"Don't breathe so much"

"Not the wisest advice ever given" the Axolotl Faunus hissed between clenched teeth while trying to keep his face as motionless as possible for Hellion while she repaired the tribal markings that had been removed when his flesh was burned away by the acid of the Grimm they'd fought at the conclusion of their last mission.

"How much longer?" asked "Raffia and I have somewhere to be"

"The line-" Hellion was cut off by the sound of someone rapping against the door, the sound woke Marauder who had been roosting on a perch in the corner of the room, the birds' screech of protest causing Hellion to lose concentration and in turn draw a small wince of pain from Raffia

"Open that" Hellion nodded towards the door and Onyx rose to his feet to do so as the Dragonfly Faunus returned her attention to Raffia "The line work is almost finished, it looks….presentable; I can add colour tomorrow" as she added the final few rapidly healing punctures to his skin she heard someone entering the room behind her; their footsteps indicating some trepidation before the their voice gave them away

"Hey, you were late for our lesson in the library so I thought you might be in the canteen, when you weren't there I decided to come and look for you….but it uh, looks like you're busy, if you want I can-"

"She was just finishing and we were just leaving" Onyx assured her, crossing the room in a few strides and entering the bathroom, throwing out a wet flannel to Raffia who wiped stray ink away from his face, the Axolotl Faunus working a crick out of his neck after laying still for so long. The two of them prepared to leave their dormitory, their manner suggesting that the were planning on leaving the campus for a while as Onyx turned and gave Hellion a wink

"Have fun now" her wings buzzed irritably before she turned to Eagle, a moment of awkward silence between them

"So what are you teaching me today?" she asked the freckled blonde, whom she noticed had removed her armour before visiting

"Come, sit down" she added, making herself comfortable on Team GORE's pushed together beds with her legs tucked beneath her; Eagle fidgeted for a moment, seemingly unsure before joining her and reaching into the small plastic bag she carried, producing what appeared to be several thin books with colourful and eye catching overs

"Well I thought since you've got the basics of sentence structure down and you can sound out words you don't know I thought we could start reading together….these are comics, it might be easier to start with these than full sized books, the pictures give things context"

"This" Hellion breathed out as she flipped through a comic with rapt attention, wings stilling as she took in what she was seeing "This is how to tell a story" Eagle giggled softly at the reaction, hands covering her mouth as she did so, she then reached into the bag again

"Oh and I don't know what Marauder eats but I picked up some beef jerky for him so-" no sooner had she removed the packet from the bag than the bird of prey swooped over to her with an inquisitive squawk; showing impressive intelligence as he opened the packaging with a single talon before stealing a strip of meat and flying away, leaving Eagle somewhat dumbfounded

"Letting him taste an animal he can't carry off himself, you're spoiling him little canary" Hellion cooed with a playful smile, jade eyes shining with mischief "Tell me, is bribing each others' pets how you flirt in the Kingdoms?" Eagle's only response to that was to choke and sputter on air for a moment before changing the subject while her cheeks glowed with embarrassment

"Will Carcharodon mind me being in here? I mean, it is kinda all of your bed that we're sitting on" if she found their sleeping arrangement odd she chose to say nothing about it

"He won't be back for hours, he's in the gym" Hellion snorted "The first years seemed to have latched on to him and leadership suits him well, he's teaching them"

"I can't imagine him teaching in a classroom but he really did seem to get the best out of those first years he was helping at Halo" Eagle noted

"Some things can't be taught in a classroom" Hellion shrugged, there were a few moments of silence where Hellion waited for Eagle to begin their lesson but the blonde herself seemed to be struggling with something she wanted to say, finally letting curiosity get the better of her and blurting out

"What were you doing to Raffia's face?" Hellion burst out laughing at the question, realising how it must have looked to an outsider

"Our tribal markings" she gestured to the tattoos on her own pale brown skin which began on her left arm and extended beneath her clothing to her chest and back "They're done the old way, none of the guns your people use"

"Does that hurt?" Eagle's crimson eyes were wide

"A lot" she nodded, brushing her deep violet hair, undercut hair aside "But it's a tradition we won't part with. I may speak with Onyx or Car about some new markings myself, I feel I've earned them….besides its' good to have a reminder of home, Atlas is similar on the surface"

"What was it like?" Eagle asked gently, her interest piqued "Your home, apart from all the raiding and fighting I mean"

"It was beautiful" Hellion said simply, eyes becoming distant for a moment "The Frost river led from the Sea between the cliffs and the Dongjie-De mountains all the way to the Hailong hot springs and the Fire Dust mines beneath them. We may have lived on our ships but there was an artificial island where our elders and the captains of the feet convened….when the whole tribe gathered you could walk for at least a mile in any direction without leaving the decks of our vessels, after a successful raid we'd set off fireworks and celebrate together; the snow was so white that it reflected the lights and the water….not enough fish lived in the river to feed as all but the river glowed as our ships moved through it"

"Glowed?" Eagle raised an eyebrow in confusion, the attention she had been paying momentarily broken.

"There was a word Onyx's father used" Hellion paused for a moment, struggling to dredge the word from her memories "Bioluminescence….it's not a word my people know; we called it the Xing-Shui"

"It sounds amazing" Eagle admitted with a sigh

"It was, one day I plan to return there" she remained quite for a moment, discreetly watching the way Eagle stole glances at her before deciding to lay flat on her stomach and stretching out on the bed, making herself comfortable and patting the space next to her indicating that Eagle should join her

"Are you ready to begin?" she asked, practically able to feel the blondes' heartbeat as she reached over her, ostensibly to grab an extra pillow instead leaving an arm draped over Eagle's back, feeling her tense and defined muscles even through the thick fabric of her hoodie

"Y-yeah, yeah okay" Eagle stammered out, obviously overwhelmed by the sudden closeness. Hellion removed her arm but remained close, their hands occasionally brushed against each other as they turned pages. While Hellion was trying her best to pay attention to Eagle's explanations and the story of the comic was interesting she found herself distracted by a thought that came to her

'The little canary is never going to make the first move….how should I make my intentions clearer without seeming vulgar' as the beginnings of an idea formed in her head a smile formed on her face.

Felix made his way through the pristine hallways of Atlas academy without any real purpose in mind; his team-mates were all preoccupied and Team NEON were yet to return from their mission, making them one of the last teams to arrive do so, a brief conversation over the Scroll with Corvid had informed him that Team CLIR were currently too swamped with assignments to take any time off despite it being the weekend. He was still making his way back from the canteen, as he had still been hungry while considering contacting his fellow native of Patch, Grease Thunderbird and seeing if Team GRAY were doing anything interesting when a familiar gruff voice called out to him

"YOU!" Felix took stock of his surroundings, he was currently quite close to the main entrance which he assumed was the intended destination of Onyx and Raffia as they approached him

"Me" he answered while rolling his shoulders back and mentally preparing himself in case the situation got out of hand; he hadn't spoken to any member of Team GORE since their mission together but after accidentally revealing that he knew details of what had happened to their tribe he was wary of being alone with them.

"I've been looking for you for days, we really should talk sometime!" Onyx greeted him jovially as he drew close, Felix noted that both he and Raffia were also dressed in clothes that appeared far more normal than the usual fur and armoured covered garments they usually wore

"Really now, what would we be talking about?" Felix asked eyeing them suspiciously, while Onyx seemed to be genuinely cheery Raffia was regarding him with narrowed eyes and wide mouthed scowl, though whether it was due to malicious intent, the long standing animosity between them or simply a manifestation of the Axolotl's barely contained anger at most thing was anyone's guess

"That weapon mounted on you car, the same one I spent months working on-"

"Let me guess" Felix interrupted "You want it back? Not gonna happen" Onyx's response was a hearty belly laugh

"I don't need to take your toys, they give tools and materials freely here" the Puma Faunus paused for a moment to consider that fact, seemingly still struggling to believe it "Given enough free time I could build another laser battery by the end of the Vytal Festival….but making it a part of your car was a stroke of genius, how did you stop it from crippling the suspension? Redesigning the intakes must have taken weeks?….We have to work together on something, we could make a weapon that wipe out entire packs of Grimm in seconds" Felix smiled at Onyx's excitable rambling despite himself; it almost reminded him of Eagle or Corvid when the urge to create something took hold of her, an illusion that was shattered when Raffia spoke

"We can already kill Grimm in seconds….Come, we have a flight to catch" his somewhat reedy voice was oddly determined, more focused than Felix remembered hearing him before; Onyx promptly snorted and slapped a meaty paw down on Felix's back

"Come, drink with us!" he must have caught the confused look the Lion Faunus gave him as he merely spread his arms in an almost defensive gesture "It's not such a strange idea surely? The rivalry we had is over, we've fought together and returned victorious; come"

"I've only just got back from the capital" Felix answered, pausing for a moment before adding "Maybe some other time" Onyx looked as though he would try and persuade him a little more until the sound of the main entrance to the Academy opening echoed through the hallway, followed by Raffia's annoyed hiss

"The Nikosi"

"Well if you're heading this way then cool, I'm gonna say hay to Helios" Felix informed them without thinking as he caught sight of gleaming gold armour and spiked crimson hair; he'd barely taken half a dozen paces when Onyx fell into step beside him

"So you and the Nikosi?" his tone was almost conspiratorial and he gave a wink and playful smirk

"What?"

"I mean I see why you would, the boy is of the tribes" the Puma Faunus paused and flexed, the muscles of his arms and chest bulging against his shirt to the point the fabric audibly strained "And the tribes breed real men"

"Ass hole" Felix sighed under his breath, unable to completely remove the smile from his face as he reached Team NEON who were still in the main atrium; Team NEON collectively gave Felix a confused stare as they saw him approaching with half of Team GORE who then proceeded to leave, making their way towards the Bull-Head terminals, the howling of the wind assaulting Felix's ears for the few moments the door was open.

"What was that about?" Nyanza asked with a raised eyebrow

"Team FADE and GORE had a joint mission" Felix explained "The big one seems more or less okay, Raffia's still a prick though. How'd your mission go though?"

"Yeah not bad" Nyanza gave an irritable shrug before stalking off in the direction of the dorms assigned to the transfer students; with a silent gesture Helios sent Ether and Olivine after him

"What was that about?"

"Not my place to say" Helios answered, shaking his head before tiredly rubbing at his eyes and the long raised scar running from the corner of his mouth to behind his left ear; Felix thought the gesture looked adorable and needed to take a moment to focus himself before speaking again

"Alright man, just keep an eye on him for me will ya….What about you, are you okay?"

"Exhausted" Helios yawned "I've spent weeks sleeping in a rattling metal box and dealing with a Huntsman who didn't want to teach us anything"

"Ouch" Felix chuckled "Well I had to spend a week with Team GORE's collective attitudes and nearly demolished my car fighting a Grimm five times my size that had acid breath….wanna trade stories?"

"That-" Helios yawned again despite it only being early evening "Would be fun, is the canteen still open? I've been living on tinned food and rations for weeks, I'll eat whatever they have"

"Yeah it's open man come on" Felix chuckled, catching sigh of the way Helios's muscular shoulders sagged he added "You okay, want me to take that armour off your hands for ya? It looks heavy" for a moment he was worried that he had made a social faux pas and that all of Helios armour was as culturally significant as the bracers that Felix had never seen him without; the moment passed when Helios removed his weapons from his back and began unfastening his golden chest-plate before hoisting it over his head as he walked in the direction of food. Taking the armour from him Felix repositioned it in his hands a few times, struggling to find an easy way to carry it before simply shrugging and hauling it over his head, wearing it but keeping it unfastened

"Oum this ways a ton, no wonder you're jacked" he muttered under his breath, Helios had obviously heard him if the way his neon green eyes widened was any indication. It took Felix a moment to realise why Helios's expression looked off for a moment before he realised that his fellow team leader was blushing. Fighting to keep a wide and his own opinion somewhat goofy smile off of his face Felix allowed Helios to lead the way and silently decided that if he could just not make an idiot of himself for tonight he might just be in with enough of a chance to justify broaching the subject of the upcoming dance.

Arctus and Diamond had met the driver sent to pick them up just outside of the ever bustling Prime Promenade and the unmarked black sedan with heavily tinted windows belonging to the Schnee Dust Company had begun the several hour long journey by road towards Schnee Manor at the height of Upper Atlas leaving Diamond shocked by both how luxurious the more affluent areas of the Kingdom managed to be despite being contained within the same hollow mountain and the disparity between the upper and lower regions of the Kingdom, everything she knew of Lower Atlas painted it as a subterranean dystopia which bore little to no resemblance to the upper middle class districts they passed. The true shock however came when the sedan took an exit which led outside of the confines of the hollow mountains and into the true upper echelons of Atlesian society

"You okay?" Arctus asked, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze as he saw her cherry red eyes widen

"Yeah it's just….dude" her vague statement and gesture at the window struggled to convey just how out of her depth she felt "I grew up in cities, I live in an apartment….I've never even seen a mansion up close before"

"Just remember, the people that live in them are probably dicks" Arctus shrugged, flashing her a toothy grin "Except my family obviously"

"Obviously" Diamond rolled her eyes and returned the smile before looking outside once more, socially conscious as she was she couldn't help but wonder how many affordable apartments each mansion would equate to but there was no denying they were beautiful things, each mansion visible at the end of a gated driveway with a considerable amount of attendant land, the buildings growing more opulent as the car ascended the mountain before eventually reaching the plateau where its' once snow capped peak had been removed and smoothed into a flat surface upon which to build

"We'll be reaching Schnee Manor momentarily" the clipped voice of the driver informed them, speaking for the first time since greeting them

"Whoa" Diamond breathed out as the car made its' way along a long driveway flanked by snow covered hedge-mazes and what at first glance appeared to be a pair of statues, a close inspection caused Diamond to turn and face Arctus with her mouth agape

"Are those giant robots?" she demanded incredulously

"Mantle Sentinels, older than Atlas as a Kingdom" the Bear Faunus confirmed "They're pretty much gutted shells though, Mum says they haven't worked since the Manor was attacked in the war….Dad says they're like scarecrows for the press" as she attempted to process the almost ludicrous sight the car came to a stop in front of the manor itself and Arctus let himself out and extended a hand to Diamond, who was once again reduced to staring blankly as she took in the massive and grandiose form of Schnee Manor, its' almost marble like stone construction and sharp angles looking imposing in the already dark evening with snow falling around them; it took a moment but Diamond managed to find her voice

"So….Felix wasn't lying, it really does have the supervillain vibe; I'm guessing there aren't any volcanoes in Atlas?"

"Such a dork" Atlas chuckled the term having become something of a pet name between them, though it was predominantly Diamond who used it. Still his girlfriends' hand he fished his now rarely used keys from his pocket and quietly opened the door, stepping inside revealing the grand atrium and the stairs and balcony leading to the upper floors. The interior of Schnee Manor had the air of having once been overly extravagant but had since been deliberately scaled back

"Wait for it" Arctus beamed "Wait for it….where's my dog" his face fell into a slight pout, Diamond was distracted by the sight of the most notable decoration in the hallway; an almost life size and ornately framed portrait of a noticeably younger and smaller Arctus carrying a smiling toddler upon his shoulders, obviously a young Athena-Jade, flanking them was their parents both smiling proudly

"Aww this is so cute" she almost squealed, stepping closer to the portrait "Look at your baby face on this" before Arctus could answer a creaking step above them reached their ears, followed by a dull reverberating crack; Gangrel Slate appearing beside them with wisps of black smoke trailing from his body

"Hey Dad" Arctus grinned, only to pulled into a loose one armed hug by his father who then turned to Diamond

"Um, hi Mister Slate" she tried to stave off the sudden nerves and sense of awkwardness but found herself failing; even in a far more casual outfit than his Specialist uniform Gangrel cut an imposing figure with his scarred face, clawed cybernetic limb and massive frame; at six foot eight he stood almost a foot taller than Diamond and a had a more muscular physique than even his noticeably broad shouldered son

"None of that Mister Slate shit, my old man is Mister Slate" Gangrel snorted, giving her a smile that reached his glinting amber eyes "Besides there's no point with formalities now, we've both seen each other soaked in blood" both Diamond and Arctus struggled to sputter out responses to that, Arctus managing to recover first

"Yeah well, at least it wasn't only a Deathstalker" he nodded to the scar running along his fathers' cheek

"What did mess your face up though, take a fall on a mission?" Gangrel asked as he cupped Arctus's cheek and tilted it so that he could get a better look at the still fading bruise around the side of his face

"Nah it….it was nothing, don't worry about it" Gangrel looked concerned for a moment before nodding

"Alright, you wanna talk about it you know you can come to me" he murmured just loud enough for Diamond to hear before shifting his attention back to her "So, Diamond how're you finding Atlas?"

"Cold and bleak" the words escaped her before she could stop herself, thankfully Gangrel gave a deep rumbling laugh and nodded in agreement

"Yeah pretty much, and you can't get a takeaway up here either….come on kid, Weiss is out back with Athena and Scruff; didn't wanna spoil the surprise" with that he led them through the manor, taking the shortest route to the gardens at the rear and Diamond was once again left in stunned silence for a moment at the beauty and sheer scale of Arctus's childhood home; the gardens were expansive with several features that clearly indicated that it was used as a training area and a pond in the distance which was currently serving as an ice skating rink. Their attention was drawn to people far closer who had yet to notice their arrival, Athena-Jade Slate was currently balancing on one of Weiss's Glyphs as she sculpted some form of animal ears onto the top of a snowman's head, creating a snow Faunus, as the girl hopped down Weiss who had yet to turn and face then hoisted a chew toy from the ground and used her Glyph to launch it into the air in a wide arc. The result was instantaneous, an ageing but still energetic and chunky mastiff set off bounding after the chew toy, catching it in slobbering jaws before it could reach the ground

"There he is" Arctus grinned before giving a short whistle and stepping into the garden which got the dogs' attention and a moment later it was bounding towards him, in doing so causing Weiss and Athena-Jade to turn

"Didn't think that through did ya?" Gangrel snorted, before Arctus could answer the air was forced from his lungs as first Scruff the Mastiff and secondly his sister collided with him demanding affection, causing Diamond to want to simultaneously giggle and 'awww'

"Hey squirt, miss me?" Arctus grinned as he lifted Athena off of the ground with one hand while scratching behind Scruff's ears with the other

"Nope" she laughed, sticking her tongue out before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her face in his neck

"Okay that is too cute" Diamond laughed, just as Weiss reached them and reaching up to give Gangrel a peck on the cheek

"That it is, and you must be Diamond"

"Oh, it's Arctus's girlfriend, smoochie, smoochie, smoochie" Athena mimed kissing in an overly dramatic fashion

"Pest" Arctus sighed as he set her down "Hey Mum" he soon found himself pulled into another hug, Weiss wordlessly fussing over his bruised cheek, fully aware of the embarrassment on her sons' face

"How have you been? Obviously I can't ask if you've been looking after yourself, have you been eating right? Sleeping enough? Training for the tournament? Keeping up with your studies?"

"We might actually be a little ahead right now" Diamond chimed in, Weiss giving her an appraising glance as she continued "With us getting back from our mission earlier than planned we've had chance to sit in on some of the older students lessons and meet our new professors"

"And lurk at the back of combat classes and get a look at everyone else's weapon and Semblance" Arctus added

"A good use of time, it pays to be prepared" Weiss gave an approving nod "Glad to see you're a positive influence on Arctus"

"Mum!"

"Actually Arctus is probably the most consistent on our team when it comes to studying and assignments" Diamond answered without missing a beat

"Mum stop making her talk about school" Athena-Jade whined with her hands on her hips "It's boring"

"Boring?" Diamond gave a faux offended gasp "Just over a week ago me and your big brother were fighting a monster dinosaur outside an abandoned city on a field trip; Arctus froze its' mouth shut with his Glyphs so it couldn't spit acid at us" the result was exactly what she'd been going for; eyes that were identical to her brothers' widening in childlike wonder; knowing that Arctus had given her a Scroll intended for Hunters for her last birthday and how entrenched in the Hunter lifestyle her family was it had been a safe bet that the anecdote would get a reaction 'Besides' Diamond thought with a grin 'We are cool'

"AWESOME" Athena cried "Have you seen any other dinosaur Grimm? What about a jellyfish Grimm….or, or what about geese? Geese are nasty there has to be geese Grimm?"

"No we, haven't seen any geese Grimm….yet" Arctus laughed, sensing that Diamond had slightly underestimated how energetic his sister could be "We're gonna be busy practising for the Vytal Tournament; we'll let you know if we see any though"

"YOU'RE GONNA BE ON TV?" the younger Faunus exclaimed "Have you got any super cool team attack? Like a ninja death-kick, or….I don't know something cool?"

"We've got some cool ones" Diamond confirmed with a grin that only served to fuel Athena's excitement; Weiss chose that moment to step in

"Athena maybe you can show Diamond around while she tells you" the words had barely left her mouth before Diamond felt Athena-Jade's hand around her wrist gently tugging her along. Arctus watched her leave before turning to his parents

"So….did I just lose my cool older sibling privileges?"

"I think you might have" Gangrel laughed

"Oh shush" Weiss sighed, nudging her playfully before turning to her son "Look at you, all grown up"

"Oh my Oum, Mum are we really doing this"

"Yes" Weiss answered bluntly "Because I'm your mother and if I want to tell you how proud of you I am I will. You've grown up so much since you started studying at Halo….and your partner, she seems nice, I'm glad you've found someone that makes you happy" hearing that Arctus exhaled slowly, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders; his parents liked the woman he was in love with and his sister seemed to utterly adore her, he couldn't ask for any more than that.

While Qrow Branwen's basement, something he often thought of as a lair to himself served as a fitting base of operations for a shadowy protector with its' countless computer screens and access to almost any database on Remnant, rivalling even Atlas's own intelligence gathering abilities the fact remained that the lighting was just not suitable for reading old and faded text and he didn't have enough space anywhere except for on the floor for the various books, academic papers and occasional newspaper report that forming the mass of reading material he had been working through; as such Qrow found himself in the almost incongruous position of studying the nature of Semblances at his kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee, both the mug and the blend being gifts from former Beacon Professor Bartholomew Oobleck.
Ever since learning that his daughter had thus far been unable to discover her own Semblance Qrow had taken it upon himself to help her find the answer and while he would never be the genius in the field of Auras and their benefits that the late Doctor Geppetto Polendina had been, he was still capable, resourceful and highly motivated; his telling Eagle that he may be able to help her had only served as further encouragement, he may not have been a part of his daughters' childhood but he would at least give her this.

"Oum I think I've got it" he mouthed, voice a hoarse and cracking whisper that highlighted his exhaustion though he paid it no mind; his efforts had paid off and as he double checked his findings, cross-referencing countless heavily abridged and truncated notes with various sources a smile of pure joy crossed his face.

"Only one thing for it now" he murmured to himself knowing that all the research in the world meant little if it failed to produce results, which would require testing with this in mind and the thought of both Eagle's face when she used her Semblance and his own suspicions as to what that Semblance would be motivating him he drew his Scroll from his pocket, forgetting the lateness of the hour as he called Ruby

"Hey Squirt, did I wake you?"

"No it's fine" Ruby answered, though he heard her suppressing a yawn on the other end of the call "I was watching a movie, if you hadn't called me and Penny would have probably ended up sleeping on the sofa"

"Good, do you have any missions coming up?"

"No why, what's up?" Ruby only took a moment to consider possible emergencies despite her own tiredness "Do you have a lead on one of the other Maidens?"

"No nothing like that" Qrow assured her "I just might need you to house sit for me and keep an eye on things in the basement….It looks like I might be heading to Atlas a little sooner than I planned"

It was late evening and Weiss and Gangrel were currently in bed together, Athena-Jade having been put to bed hours ago and Arctus and Diamond both having left to return to Atlas Academy, the current joint head of the SDC pulled her husbands' flesh and blood arm a round herself a little tighter as she made herself comfortable nestled into his massive frame, the mechanical arm was just too cold to do so with. Seeing that he was still awake, if only just she spoke

"So, Diamond seems nice….although I'm a little surprised you didn't mention her parents once" Gangrel grinned sleepily, seeing the joke for what it was and shrugging

"Yeah well we both know I've got nothing positive to say about Merc; no point in upsetting Arctus by telling the first girl he's brought home that her dad's a cunt"

"Will you not use that word" Weiss sighed at the vulgarity, Gangrel had matured immensely from the foul mouthed and angry young man he'd once been but some old habits still died hard

"Sorry babe" he readjusted himself, pulling Weiss a little closer while his hand trailed along her thigh "But yeah she seems nice, they're obviously serious about each other-"

"He's head over heels about her" Weiss made a noise that was decidedly 'un-Weiss-like' Gangrel made to retort but found himself stopping short, cocking his head slightly as a sound reached his ears from down the hallway and though Weiss's hearing was not so sensitive she knew the expression on his face well

"Athena has decided bedtime is optional again hasn't she?" she sighed "She gets her stubbornness from you"

"I feel like you're definitely a contributing factor" Gangrel snorted "And yeah"

"I have no idea what you mean" Weiss feigned a haughty huff as she climbed out of bed "I'll deal with it, Oum knows she's got you wrapped around her little finger anyway" she left the room to the sound of Gangrel's grumbled protests against her playful teasing and padded along the corridor, feet silent against the thick carpeting; the corridor was long enough that it took her a few moments and easily a few dozen paces to reach her daughters' bedroom and as she did so the picked up on a faint snipping sound. Pursing her lips she opened the door and strode into the bedroom

"Athena-Jade Slate what are you…." she trailed off realising that the bedroom itself was empty, however the larger bedrooms in the manor each had an en suite bathroom and Weiss saw that the door leading to Athena's en suite was open and the light was on

"Oh honey do you feel ill?" Weiss asked, voice instantly changing from stern to soft and soothing only to halt again as she heard the snipping sound from a moment ago and suddenly managed to identify it

"Are you playing with scissors….Oh my Oum what have you done to your hair?" Weiss exclaimed, hand covering her mouth in shock at the sight that greeted her. Athena-Jade Slate, the child who bluntly refused to wear her snowy white hair tied back for any reason was currently trying to hold her own her back into a ponytail while cutting at with a pair of scissors that had been taken from the kitchen drawer the results were the work of an obvious amateur,

"Mum….I think I messed it up" she whined with a defeated pout

"What on Remnant are you doing?" Weiss demanded as she took in the shorn strands of hair visible against the floor and sink

"I just wanted to look cool like Diamond" Athena answered as if it were the most sensible thing in the world "But I ruined it"

"We will go and get your hair fixed tomorrow" Weiss sighed as she pinched her nose and made her way across the bathroom to confiscate the scissors "Now will you please go to bed and stay there"

"'Kay" Weiss watched her daughter clamber into her bed while still pouting and pulled several of her stuffed animals closer and then left the bedroom, bidding her goodnight while lost in her own thoughts; she knew it was unfair to blame Arctus and Diamond for this but the fact remained her son would be receiving a strongly worded text message in the morning, although she expected that Arctus would find the hilarious.

Perhaps she'd see the funny side herself in the morning.

Authors Notes:

Firstly welcome to Vol.5, hiatus? Nope never heard of her.

That being said let's summarise shall we:
Atlas's capital has a shopping centre that's basically a small city on its' own, seems like something they'd have.
New outfit updates, as promised.
Race is still an issue in Atlas, but money will always override prejudice.
Felix is a hoodie with rainbow sleeves and bright yellow converse, I imagine he looks pretty damn good.
I love the idea of Diamond just walking around in a Puffa jacket and a bobble hat because of the cold, her gloves are fingerless just because she doesn't want any kind of interference when handling her weapon.
Edna Mauve….yes it's a reference to exactly what you think it is and yes we will see her at some point in the story.
Yeah, Antonia gave Eagle ten grand for her eighteenth birthday remember; Poly-Tech is probably a serious contender to the SDC in terms of money; they just don't have the prestige yet due to being 'New Money'.
Felix will be meeting Antonia next chapter….and someone else.
Corvid Xiao Long is a comic book nerd, it's canon now.
Look at these two blonde hot gay messes.
Onyx is basically looking like a cross between a young Ghira and Drake's "Nothing was the same" album cover at this point.
I'm imagining Team GORE's tattoos being done in the Japanese Tebori style or something similar.
Onyx know what's up, Toe-beans for best wingman 2K18.
Eagle is going to inadvertently turn Hellion into a comic book nerd.
Carcharodon has been back in Atlas a week and already has a gaggle of first years following around; he's gonna be Shark Senpai by the end of the year.
I felt like the Frost River needed a description, it's obviously incredibly important to Team GORE but we haven't seen it and I only recently learned that bioluminescent waves are a thing so I was kind of inspired; it also serves as a nice contrast to the Nikos tribes' encampment.
If you listen closely you can hear the sound of Cyberpet shippers screaming.
I feel like just how angry Raffia is gets overlooked, out of all of Team GORE he's probably in the most fragile mental state and never really more than one bad day from a total meltdown.
Onyx might be a hulking degenerate but he's also the tech guy of his team, of course he wants to talk shop with Felix….I wonder, maybe Corvid and Onyx should hang out some time; we all know he'd need new pants if he saw the Omega Wing in action.
And no Onyx and Raffia are not just going out for no reason, more on that next chapter.
Onyx is MVP of the chapter, reading everyone on their crushes.
I feel like trading war stories is a popular Nikosi pass time.
Felix making moves without even realising….to the sound of another group of screaming shippers losing their collective shit.
Arctus lives in what is basically upper, Upper Atlas; literally on top of everyone else; it's probably a little intimidating for people the first time they see his place.
The Mantle Sentinels are a callback to The Downward Spiral.
"Scarecrows for the press"….Quite possible peak Gangrel right there.
Seriously the best part of having a dog is how happy they are to see you when you get home.
"My old man is Mister Slate"….Note the present tense people, Bjorn is still kicking around; we'll have to see him at some point.
Yeah I fell like no matter how good of a relationship they have I don't feel like Arctus would want to tell his bad that his girlfriends' ex punched him out.
Snow Faunus. That is all.
Younger siblings are pests, I say this as the eldest sibling. I love you, but also you can fuck off.
"How have you been? Obviously I can't ask if you've been looking after yourself, have you been eating right? Sleeping enough? Training for the tournament? Keeping up with your studies?" Weiss has turned into canon Vol.3 Winter.
Diamond had nothing to worry about, she came and made all the right impressions.
Also yes, Geese Grimm would be terrifying.
Okay so that whole scene was originally gonna be more Weiss centric but when I started writing it Athena literally just stole the show.
Yes Qrow was having to read at his kitchen table because his super aesthetic Bat Bird Cave lair is just too dark to read in.
You know you've been working too long when you have to break out the Oobleck juice.
Qrow's heading to Atlas.
Domestic Polar Bear will always be adorable to me.
And yes Athena-Jade is as stubborn as both of her parents.
Yes Arctus's little sister tried to give herself Diamond's haircut.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, ShadowAlex2000, iSassenach, TigerRose, Funlander, BooDawg, Ferrous and FluffyFirefly for their reviews on the last chapter.
Mr. Pancakes is the stuffed Ursas' canon name now (I was actually gonna work in into this chapter but I couldn't find anywhere where it would fit).
I love the idea that everyone loves Onyx.
Being compared to late 80s/early 90s cartoons is a compliment and a half; I was born in 1990, that's what I grew up on.
Yeah the Cult and Celeste herself are gonna be the big Vol.6 bad guys.
Yeah Oz is Gendo Ikari but slimier.
I see a few people seem to annoyed that Cinnabar doesn't have more impressive motivations but realistically we've got the New White Fang and the Wizard to deal with; sometimes a school-yard bully is just a school-yard bully and lets not act like you won't enjoy it he gets what's coming to him.
No Oz doesn't have a Semblance, he's not really a trained fighter anyway.
Basically everyone who was part of the Black Ops unit in Downward Spiral knows about Qrow, as well as the heads of the academies and Winter.
I too would love to see art of Diamond in Arctus's coat.
Take all the time you need dude.
Team GORE Vs the Cult of Taurus is gonna be great….but let's not for a single moment pretend that they're not gonna interact with Team FADE.

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