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Chapter 61: Troubled

Arctus's head pounded and his eyes burned while bone deep exhaustion and countless dull throbbing aches fought for his attention yet the Bear Faunus understood and accepted that sleep was not an option that was available to him. Following the brief skirmish with the White Fang he had been taken into police custody, the sound of sirens drawing close and armoured boots on asphalt had reached his hears only moments after Cinnabar had abandoned him to his fate; indeed he had still been struggling to rise to his feet and suck in a painful lungful of air when he had received a bellowed order to lay face down on the ground with his hands behind his head. From there he had been taken to a police station for several hours and sat through several rounds of questioning that Arctus knew to be illegal as he had yet to be informed of his rights or offered any legal counsel; his desire to see the White Fang brought to justice and help his Kingdom soon found itself at odds with the reflexive impulse to say nothing until he had a lawyer present, something drilled into him by both of his parents as a precaution that they hoped he'd never need. The inquisition had ended when the officers responsible had learned that not only was Arctus's identification genuine, he was indeed the heir to the Schnee Dust Company, but General Winter Schnee had been made aware of the situation and would be arriving to personally escort her nephew to Atlas Academy. He had currently been at the Academy for an indeterminate amount of time writing a formal statement under the watchful eye of his Aunt who had at least been thoughtful enough to have a steady supply of strong coffee on hand as she attended to her duties as head of the Atlesian armed forces, not least of which had been contacting the specialist branch to whom the matter of routing the New White Fang had fallen; which led to the door to office flying open several hours later revealing Gangrel slate in full uniform, a sense of urgency clinging to him as if he ordered his ship be brought to the academy at full speed at the news his son had once again found himself in danger

"Hey dad" Arctus yawned, casting his pen aside and rubbing his bleary eyes

"Hey kid" Gangrel grunted in return, as his father stepped into the office Arctus noticed that stood behind him was Donner, the Specialist with the electric blue Mohawk who served aboard the Gespenst; she gave Arctus a nod and wink of recognition before turning to face away from the door and stand guard as it closed. Arctus assumed that Chiffon, Gangrel's first mate was currently commanding the Gespenst in his stead; he also realised with a start that while the sky outside was slow to lighten it was actually far later in the morning than he had realised, the bell to signal the start of the first lesson of the day was only minutes away.

"What happened?" Gangrel demanded as he dragged a spare seat to Winters' desk

"Seriously? I just wrote a report, you wanna read it?" Arctus quipped before Winter could give a more satisfactory answer

"White Fang or Faunus militants posing as them-"

"Not a distinction worth making" Gangrel interrupted "The Fang's an idea 'Peace through violence' if they call themselves the White Fang then they effectively are even if they're outside of the main command structure"

"Fair" Winter conceded before continuing "White Fang insurgents tailed Arctus for an indeterminate amount of time during his visit to the capital, there was an ambush prepared. While Arctus was unarmed there was fortunately another student in the vicinity, no hostiles were captured due to their unwillingness to engage at close quarters, no civilians were injured though it is prudent to note that they were more than willing to open fire with members of the public present" Winter's tone had slowly become more businesslike and expressionless as she continued as if to shield her self from processing the emotional weight of the situation

"I don't like this" Gangrel murmured, clearly deep in thought "This isn't like the attack at the docks last year or the bodies we've found….this was right out in the open"

"You think they could have just seen a chance and taken it?" Arctus offered, on some level he understood that a resurgent White Fang would have their sights on his entire family; Gangrel shook his head

"To a degree maybe, but this on top of the bombing….something's changed. They wouldn't change tactics and escalate for no reason

"I need results Gangrel" Winter pointed out gently "Atlas needs results….We've captured nobody, we have no leads"

"We have our plan, I'm still confident it'll work. If anything it's more likely to get results if they're more willing to act in the open"

"You mean using Team GORE as bait?" Arctus interjected, his father and Aunt both seeming to realise that while Arctus was now intimately involved in the situation they should perhaps not be discussing military operation in front of an eighteen year old student. Gangrel's brow furrowed and he paused for a moment evidently expecting his words to elicit a negative reaction

"Kid I want you to stay on campus outside of missions"

"Dad come on, they got the drop on me I'll just take my sword with me-"

"Neon had full power armour and over twenty years of experience" the older Faunus's words halted any objection Arctus had, the sight of the way Neon Katt's broken body had been displayed was something he would never forget, no matter how much he might want to

"Fine" he ground out

"I'll grant you some leeway at the tournament" Winter offered, shrugging as she felt Gangrel's fierce amber eyes on her "The Vytal Tournament is going to be a high priority target with or without Arctus being there, he may as well enjoy himself" Gangrel nodded in agreement before turning to his son

"I'm sorry about this kid, I just don't want anything to happen to you….the thought of these sick fucks getting their hands on you, it honestly terrifies me" the admission left a heavy tension in the room which was promptly broken a few moments later when Gangrel's ears perked up and a knowing smile came to his face, his superior hearing picking up something Winter was unable to hear and Arctus was simply too tired to notice

"You might want to open the window" he noted conversationally, Arctus slowly rose to his feet and traipsed across the office and did as instructed and stuck his head out into the freezing yet fresh air, in his tiredness he needed a few moments to comprehend the sight that greeted

"Hey big guy" Diamond grinned sheepishly, using her Semblance to scale the outer wall of the academy as if it were merely a flat road before her "We waited up for you last night, you didn't answer your Scroll. Felix checked your location and realised you were back on campus"

"So are you gonna invite her in or what?" Gangrel snorted, finding some much needed levity in the situation. Arctus withdrew back into the office and allowed Diamond to clamber through the window into Winter's office while the Headmistress and General herself looked utterly livid at the intrusion, Gangrel gently wrapped his cybernetic arm around his sister in laws' shoulders and turned her away from the teens

"Come on, let 'em have a moment" Arctus couldn't help the flush of colour to his face at the teasing in his fathers' tone and the Winter looked as though she may lose any semblance of restraint at being escorted out of her own office by a man who was officially her employee she acquiesced, stepping outside and leaving Arctus and Diamond in peace

"What happened?" the silver haired sniper asked immediately, faltering as she saw the exhaustion written plainly across her partners' face "Wanna talk about it?"

"Later" Arctus sighed as he pulled her close and simply held her, the weariness and throbbing pain in his back and shoulders, bruised where bullets had clattered against his Aura seemed to lesson just a little as she kissed his cheek and nuzzled into his neck

"You need to stop having brushes with death big guy, it's like your creepy ex at this point" Arctus marvelled at how easily Diamond had managed to surmise at least the general nature of what had happened while giving her a reassuring squeeze, she may have been joking but the concern in her voice was unmistakable

"Speaking of a creepy ex, yours is still an ass-hole" he grumbled

"Oum damn it dude what now?" Diamond groaned into his neck and for a moment their concerns felt just a little smaller and simpler.

Doctor Ozymandias Eldritch was unsure of exactly how the events currently unfolding had occurred, leaving him with the feeling of merely being present in a situation that was happening around him without having any influence over it; a state of affairs that he'd thought himself above since the moment he first harnessed the powers of the Wizard and had since grown vastly unaccustomed to.

"Honestly" Antonia Arc huffed, her irritable tone at odds with the soft smile on her face as she led him along corridors of Poly-Techs' headquarters that he rarely travelled "I thought we'd established an understanding Oz, I'm the one who works for days on end and you're the one who reminds me to eat and sleep….you were practically asleep standing up"

"In my defence, Project Snare is of the highest priority" Oz countered half-heartedly

"And now it's as ready as it's ever going to be for a real world test….naturally General Schnee will want it to be collected, she'll want to verify our results herself" Ozymandias nodded along with Antonia's words, work on the containment unit intended for use on a sentient Grimm had indeed progressed greatly; his continuous subtle use of the Wizards' powers to tinker and adjust minute details almost every time Antonia turned away had led to the exhausted state for which he was currently being reprimanded; he may have had great power but beneath it he was still limited by his own humanity, a condition Celeste would no doubt have a snide comment about if asked.

"I can't help noticing that this not the way to the staff canteen" Ozymandias noted conversationally while he adjusted his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes

"Don't be coy" Antonia snorted "You know what's in this direction" Ozymandias made an educated guess which was proven to be correct only moments later as Antonia led him to an elevator and once inside entered a code which would allow access to the uppermost floor of the facility, where her own penthouse apartment was situated.

"Toni?" Ozymandias asked, she turned to face him and slipped off her lab coat revealing a simple shirt and pants beneath; she leaned forward and gently kissed his lips before giving him a tired smile

"We've been on several….Oum it feels juvenile to call them dates" she sighed "We're both adults Oz, if I want to make someone I care about a late breakfast and offer them somewhere to sleep then I will" hearing this something stirred in him, a primitive part of his psyche that he considered a lesser part of himself; a hindrance to his world shaping goals.

"Thank you" he murmured before planting a soft kiss on her lips, his hesitance being understood as the behaviour of a shy somewhat awkward man rather than genuine uncertainty. Eventually the elevator stopped, it's doors opening into a hallway where Antonia hung her lab-coat on a nearby rack and removed her shoes, Ozymandias followed suit before being led into her home.

"This is a lovely home" he kept his tone polite as he took in the spacious living area whose decoration toed the line between tastefully minimalist and Spartan, of the few decorations that Antonia had the majority seemed to be photographs of Eagle that he knew she had not been present to take herself, with a few others photographs showing the Arc siblings at various stages in their lives; those with the late Jaune Arc present seemed be devoid of even a single speck of dust as if Antonia regularly handled them.

"It's just an empty apartment above work" the blonde woman sighed before distracting herself with the tablet she kept on her person at all times

"Just seeing when I need to set an alarm for….ah" she stopped short

"Problem?"

"You can help yourself to breakfast if you want and get some sleep. I'm going to have to get a shower and a coffee then leave, I have a meeting with Whitley Schnee; we're supplying assets to a site the SDC are developing outside of the cities"

"A robotic workforce….I can't imagine the locals will take kindly"

"Neither can I, which is mostly likely why he wishes to negotiate prices for some of our defence models….It seems General Schnee doesn't give her baby brother military equipment under the table" Ozymandias needed a moment to process the information he'd just received, until that moment came he needed to continue to appear to be a caring and considerate partner

"Are you sure you're going to be able to manage?"

"I'll be okay, the shower will wake me up" Antonia assured him "Make yourself at home" she added before making her way towards the bathroom; by the time the sound of running water began to emanate from within Ozymandias had decided on a plan of action and produced a Scroll from his a hidden pocket, an older model that had been bought from a teen who had no doubt stolen it in the lower reaches of the city; this was the Scroll he used for any dealings that could be deemed suspicious, criminal or treasonous by lesser people who failed to understand his vision, with it he sent a text message that would find it's way to Celeste Lupus through a network of proxies

'I have an opportunity that we need to discuss, schedule an appointment' almost the moment he sent the message he heard the bathroom door open behind him and struggled to swiftly replace the Scroll without either being seen doing so or looking suspicious; he turned to face Antonia and whatever he intended to say fizzled on his tongue. Antonia Arc was stood in the doorway clad in a towel which clung to her figure and gave a more than adequate idea of what lay beneath, she fixed Ozymandias with a gaze which was both playful and determined as she placed a hand on her hip while making a come hither gesture with the other

"I decided on a better way for both of us to wake up, care to join me?" it wasn't a hard decision to make, Ozymandias more primal, feeble human side demanded his attention once more and the Wizard simply reasoned that he was taking so much from Antonia without her knowledge, why not indulge himself in what she offered freely. With a crooked smile he followed Antonia into the bathroom, her towel falling away before the door had closed behind them.

Cinnabar took in breaths of freezing air that felt like icy daggers in his lungs with every step forwards and relished the feeling; the academies' gym had been too crowded for his taste after classes had ended tonight, his usual desire to not only better himself but to better those around him and be seen doing so had been replaced by a rare need for solitude which had led to his current state of jogging the considerable lengths of the battlements which adorned Atlas's perimeter, occasionally taking in the sight of the truly gargantuan weapons arrays mounted on each of its' towers when he paused to catch his breath. He'd missed two classes that afternoon but they had not been any electives or core subjects he was especially concerned about and under normal circumstances would have welcomed the break from a classroom environment, however being informed that he was legally required to give a statement on the events that had transpired the night before had dulled his enthusiasm; especially when General Schnee had instructed him to go into detail when explaining his decision to leave another potentially injured Hunter behind and fall back without checking for injured civilians or waiting for the authorities to arrive, adding that she would be sure to enquire if that was the standard practice that Haven Academy taught its' students. He had hated the judgement in her voice, it had taken every ounce of self control he had not to challenge the Headmistress to a tournament style sparring match so that she could join everyone else who had thought they were entitled to an opinion of him. Tightening his laces he made to continue jogging only to come to a halt as he reached the next stairwell leading to the Academies' interior, standing in the open doorway and highlighted by the lights behind her was a figure he would know anywhere; Diamond closed the door behind her and gave him a harsh glare as she stalked closer clad in a warm and comfortable looking grey sweatsuit with the hood pulled up covering her easily identifiable silvery locks.

"Hey Dee-Dee" Cinnabar sidled closer, forcing his voice into his usual cocky, almost sneering tone

"Bracken told me you'd be up here. We need to talk" her voice was tense and apprehensive, as if bracing herself for a fight

"Why the long face?" he leaned against the wall, brushing away the negligible amount of snow that was yet to melt into his clothing as he purposefully ignored her tone "You and what's his name have a fight"

"You know exactly what this is about!" Diamond snapped, startling him with her vehemence "What the hell is wrong with you Sin? You don't have to like Arctus but you don't just leave a Hunter behind-"

"Oh for Oum's sake is everyone gonna keep giving me attitude for that, really?" he demanded incredulously "I got out the car and dealt with the problem for him. I don't owe him shit!" his temper rising as it did every time his thoughts turned to the Bear Faunus he saw with his arm wrapped around Diamond's waist on a daily basis, Diamond herself brushed a few strands of hair away from her face as she continued to glower at him; after taking a few moments to chose her next words she simply sighed

"I'm not gonna keep playing this fucking game with you Sin, what is you actually want?" her tone was angry yet exhausted and for a second Cinnabar was unsure of how to reply; he'd spent so much effort on trying to get a rise out of her that he hadn't thought abut what would happen when he eventually did, he eventually decided on unembellished honesty

"You….I want you"

"Are you serious right now?"

"YES!" he exclaimed frantically "Dee we were together for years, it feels like it's just 'supposed' to be me and you y'know….who else have I got-"

"Don't try and bring your home life into this" Diamond cut him off with a dismissive wave "I'm sorry about you and your dad I really am, but don't hold that up as an excuse for being ass-hole….You're better than this Sin, what happened?" he felt his stomach drop, his eyes began to sting and a lump formed in his throat which he quickly fought to ignore, choosing to channel his pain into something more manageable, anger was easy, he understood it well

"So what then, you just left Mistral with some excuse about branching out and then jumped on the first available-" his head snapped to the side and the impact of Diamond's slap echoed in the night air, followed by more furious words"

"I left Mistral because I wanted to see the world, if I didn't do it now I might never have gotten a better chance. I left you because you couldn't accept that and took it as a personal insult, not everything is about you Sin….and if we're being honest with each I do feel kinda sorry for you; you've turned into everything you used to a hate, a bully and a coward"

"WELL WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO DEE?" He bellowed, tears that he'd been struggling to hold back finally falling as his voice cracked "I TRIED TO BE THIS GOOD PERSON THAT YOU THINK I CAN BE AND IT WASN'T ENOUGH, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!" Diamond stepped closer and for a fleeting moment Cinnabar thought she was going to hold him close as she had done countless times before, instead she gently squeezed his shoulder

"Same as you always do Sin, pick yourself up and keep going" he noticed that she wiped her own eyes before she continued and fought the almost overwhelming urge to brush her tears away himself "And this is gonna be hard for you to hear but I need you to listen; I don't love you any more Sin and trying to bully Arctus isn't going to change that. What we had was great while it lasted but it's over, just please don't ruin the good memories"

"He really makes you happy?" Cinnabar croaked out, unsure if really wanted to hear the answer

"Yeah" Diamond nodded, the "Yeah he really does dude" the expression on her face seemed to drive it home for him in a way nothing else had; Diamond was gone, he had lost and for once he would just have to accept that there was nothing he could do to change the way things were, instead he merely wiped his eyes and tried to compose himself

"Then go be happy" making his way passed her he added "Tell Arctus he only needs to worry about me if we see each other in the tournament"

A middle aged and scruffily dressed drunkard collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap as his nose was flattened and the bone of his eye sockets fractured with sickeningly wet and dull crunches; a chorus of rowdy and equally drunken cheers erupted a moment later; Onyx Ursabane's only acknowledgement of the crowd was a brief smirk before finishing his pint of bitter ale and returning to the card table he had previously been seated at

"Leave his chips, he can join in again when he wakes up" Onyx growled at the dealer which prompted a round of inebriated laughter from the other players, many of whom had made side bets on what would become of the unconscious man currently being dragged behind the bar the moment he had dared to accuse the towering Puma Faunus of cheating, bringing race into the argument had only sealed his fate. Both Onyx and Raffia were in this particular dive bar which seemed to cater exclusively to those with rough a demeanour and flexible morals at Carcharodon's behest, their leader wanted them to continue their task of looking for any information that would bring them closer to the Scavenger Guild, preferably the individuals managing the organisation rather than the muscle they hired to retrieve and transport their wares; a task that Raffia seemed to be silently reminding Onyx to get on in with as he skulked around the periphery of the noisy and crowded bar while keeping his focus on Onyx's table.

"So blackjack again?" the dealer, a middle aged man with a pinched and heavily lined face asked, Onyx joined the grunted affirmations and waited for his cards to be dealt while silently sizing up his fellow gamblers, while many of their clothes were tattered and worn yet in contrast with their weaponry, the quality, variety and sheer amount of extra ammunition and additional equipment each of them carried and various articles of jewellery and other trinkets they had the impression of having visited the bar immediately after finishing a particularly trying job rather than simply being poor; as the players looked at the hands they'd been dealt Onyx took careful notice of who was more free with their Lien and the tattoos that were on display, hoping to identify a potential lead

"Not sure where you're all getting this kind of money from" onyx grumbled as he folded, the stakes becoming unaffordable "I'm definitely wasting my time at Atlas though"

"No sense wasting an opportunity if it's there, there's always work for a certified Hunter" one of the older individuals at the table noted, Onyx's attempt to appear as nothing more than a poor student lamenting his finances working

"There's always work for anyone with a good head on their shoulders, especially when they're the size he is" another gambler countered, nodding in the Puma Faunus's general direction before downing his drink in one

"Know anybody that's hiring?" Onyx asked, deciding it might pay to be brazen "I've heard the name Scavenger Guild thrown around but I don't know who to talk to-"

"You're fishing" the noted idly as the game of blackjack got underway between those who had the funds to participate "Have been since you got here, your little friend you came in with is still hanging around by the jukebox right?" Onyx halted for a moment, surprised at having been uncovered so easily and briefly annoyed at himself for underestimating his target; however he and Raffia had been equally underestimated as Raffia had already sensed the shift in atmosphere around the table and slunk closer with his hands tightening around his swords without being detected.

"Just looking for someone who can point us in the right direction, tell me who I need to sign up with" Onyx assured the dealer while surreptitiously gesturing to Raffia, indicating that the man would be more useful without a hole in his lungs right now

"I can point you in the right direction" one of the other men at the table grunted out, looking up from the card game that had been progressing without Onyx "It's gonna cost you something though" Onyx let out a low growl, realising he simply did not have the Lien it would likely cost to buy information; not since he'd decided to purchase something special for Hellion. With a sinking feeling in his chest he realised that there was one thing of value he carried with him and reached over his shoulder to grasp Jotun Fang. Before he could hand over the weapon he'd crafted with his own two hands alongside his father, the last real connection he had to the man, Raffia stepped forwards and deposited the swords that had once belonged to Specialist Kafsi Asteri on the table

"You made your weapon Onyx, this is a useful tool but I'm not attached to it" there was a tense silence around the table before the man positing himself as an information broker of sorts gave a nervous, drunken titter which soon devolved into full blown laughter

"Fucking hell lads, calm down I'm not gonna take your weapons off you for Oum's sake" he finished his drink and straightened out "Nah nah, I've just got a job with the Scavenger Guild that's gonna be more hassle than it's worth. So here's the deal, you two deal with the job and I'll point you in the direction of one of their purchasers; you tell them to send payment to Brick Mulligan"

"What's the job" Onyx asked as Raffia sheathed his blades which had, despite Brick's assurance that he wouldn't be taking them, drawn the interest of many at the card table.

"Someone stole some military dog-tags that were recovered from Menagerie, Scavenger Guild wants their property back. From what I understand the guy who stole them is a Hunter who operates out of Freiheit, y'know 'The other Capital'….whole job leaves a bit of a taste in my mouth considering that they were his old mans' tags, he shouldn't have had to buy 'em back" the hired muscle shrugged and let out a loud belch "Ah well, Lien is Lien though"

"We have a deal" Onyx nodded, Raffia silently agreeing despite the disgusted look on his face "I'm not sure when we'll find our way out to Freiheit but give me your contact details and I'll let you know when we have the tags"

"Good lad" Brick hastily scrawled his number on a nearby coaster and threw it to Onyx who caught it and rose from the table

"Now since you've cleaned out everything except my fare home I'm calling it a night" the Puma Faunus started towards the exit, Raffia falling into step beside him

"I hate these people" he breathed out, anger radiating from him in waves that were almost tangible "Weak, cowardly, backstabbing, no respect for fair conquest. No wonder Atlas produces so many of the people who've wronged us….I can't wait to be free of this place"

"Calm yourself" Onyx soothed gently "We have the information we came for, Car will know what to do next" Raffia still seethed but said nothing. The duo were almost at the door when a drunken voice, words slurred by a broken nose an inebriation bellowed behind him

"OI YOU FUCKING FUR-COAT, I WANT MY LIEN YOU CHEATING FLEABAG BASTARD!" Onyx merely sighed and rolled his shoulders, popping his knuckles as he turned to face the man who had finally regained consciousness

"Raffia wait outside, this won't take long"

Classes had ended for the day Felix's team-mates were busy, Eagle wanted to hone her Semblance to the point it became a reliable tool in her arsenal, Arctus was asleep as he had come to class with Diamond and explained his absence the night before leaving him struggling to keep his eyes open by the end of the day, Diamond had said enigmatically that she had something she needed to take care of. Felix was honestly fine with this arrangement as he was far from at a loose end, he was currently in Team NEON's dormitory alongside Helios, Nyanza and Yuki a member of Team GRAY whose leader hailed from Patch and was an old school friend of both Faunus. Ether and Olivine were elsewhere, most likely on a date of some sort and Nyanza was currently gaming against his guest while Felix and Helios watched absently; the Lion Faunus making himself comfortable leaning against the redheads' muscular chest while pointedly ignoring the occasional well meaning taunts from Nyanza who seemed to be taking well to the idea of his best friend and partner dating, the idea of becoming a third wheel in their relationship not crossing his mind.

"Where are Grease and the others anyway?" Nyanza asked absently as he kept the majority of his attention focused on the screen where the implausible vehicle his cartoonish avatar was piloting avoided a blue shell fired by Yuki; the Faunus was still unsure of Yuki's gender despite them being in the same lessons for weeks at this point and so simply avoided using pronouns wherever possible.

"Helping with planning for the dance" Yuki answered with a sigh "As soon as Grease heard there was gonna be a bar for the night he wanted to get involved and try and swipe some bottles"

"You can take the boy out of patch…." Nyanza chuckled, trailing off as a thought occurred to him "Are they getting paid for helping out?"

"Barely minimum wage" Yuki informed him, shrugging as he added "Free drinks on the night though; they're probably still looking for some last minute help if you want to get involved"

"Lien is Lien and we're at the Academy either way, may as well make some money-" he made an irritable sound as Yuki's avatar on the screen took the lead before half-turning and addressing Helios and Felix "Hey love birds, either of you two want in on this?"

"Might do" Felix gave a non-committal shrug

"I was just thinking Fluffy, you and Arctus could help set up on the night and meet Heely and Diamond there….have a whole moment when you see each other or something" the bushy tailed feline gave a shrug of his own while Felix's face morphed into a wide smile at the idea, his prominent canine teeth on display

"That's actually really cute, I like that idea I might see if Arctus is up for it. Heely you wanna meet at the dance?"

"It does sound nice" Helios admitted as he gave his partner a piercing stare "Nyanza do you have some kind of wager on this?"

"Sweet Oum is that what kind of person you think I am?"

"Yes!" came the unanimous reply, promptly followed by a round of laughter

"Hey Nyanza you asked anyone to the dance?" Felix asked

"Nah" he shrugged, refusing to meet his old friends' eyes

"There's someone he wanted to but he won't" Helios chuckled

"Come on man don't put my business out there like that!" Nyanza exclaimed

"Fine….I still think you sell yourself short though" the redhead noted simply; Felix listened to the exchange and decided not to pry any further, Nyanza would tell him if and when he felt like it. After nuzzling into Helios a little longer he caught sight of the time and frowned slightly

"In fact I'll ask him now, I should probably go and wake him up….besides I left that Grimm studies assignment long enough as it is"

"I'll see you tomorrow" Helios tightened his grip around the Lion Faunus for a moment and gently nuzzled into his neck, the scent of Felix's hair products lingering in his nostrils afterwards; Felix responded by turning and gently pressing his lips against Helios's, his tail swishing lazily in satisfaction as he almost swaggered out of the room leaving a shell-shocked Helios in his wake

"Look at these two dorks" Nyanza cackled as he nudged Yuki. Helios paid them no mind, utterly stunned by what had just happened; he and Felix had never used the word dating to describe what was happening between them but at this point it would be dishonest to call it anything else yet that brief kiss had actually been their first and Felix had done it so casually he hadn't even seemed to realise. Helios's thoughts were then intruded on by something soft colliding with the side of his head, which turned out to be a pair of socks

"Remnant to Heely, you still with us man?" Nyanza laughed

"I'm fine" the redhead grumbled "Just got a little distracted" this answer only served to amuse his partner even further and Helios returned to his own thoughts, worry inevitably seeping in as he realised that he was dating someone now and that could easily become a committed relationship; something that Helios would never deny wanting, but knew would be all but impossible with his duties as the first son of the Nikosi Tribe.

Put simply Helios realised he may have gotten in far too deep and wasn't sure what to do.

Authors Notes:

Okay so that's another Chapter out of the way, this one is more of a filler Chapter but don't worry; next Chapter is the dance.
Also, it came out after I posted Chapter 60 but I've seen the Adam Character Short; the Vol.6 hype train is most definitely real; also it shows the differences between canon Adam and Adam the way I portrayed him in The Downward Spiral (Bearing in mind that I planned and started that story Pre-Vol.4)
To quote the esteemed Miss Valkyrie "This is happening!"

Anyway let's summarise:
Atlas is always going to be scummy to it's own citizens no matter how much progress they claim has been made.
Gangrel who grew up breaking the law and Weiss who grew up in high society definitely raised a child who knows to keep his mouth shut when questioned.
Come on let's be honest living in Atlas and hearing you just accidentally harassed a Schnee is pretty much a career ending fuck up.
It's an interesting idea that with Adam Taurus passing into something of an urban legend and a symbol that the White Fang could slowly become less of a unified cause and more of an ideology, that would probably happened if Celeste hadn't taken charge and brought everyone under her banner.
Gang makes a point, the more willing the White Fang are to attack in broad daylight the more likely it is that they can be led into an ambush with some convincing bait.
So Arctus isn't going to be exploring much of Atlas for a while.
Did you seriously think Diamond wouldn't have her dumb-ass's back at the earliest possible opportunity.
Project Snare: the containment unit Oz has been working on for Winter….but actually for himself, is ready for testing. Brace yourselves.
At this point writing Toni and Oz together feels like twisting a knife, but I'm not gonna stop.
Also yes, the Jaune feels were intentional.
So the SDC are opening a new plant in one the settlements outside of the Hives, Poly-Tech are providing resources and the White Fang will see it as an opportunity.
As socially inept as she is sometimes Antonia is a woman who went to help Qrow Branwen install a new bat-cave and ended up staying the night; she knows what she wants and she goes for it.
Winter was definitely having none of Cinnabar's shit.
Cinnabar is that type of ass-hole, the "I do what I want regardless of anyone else's feelings or well-being and if you don't like then fight me" kind.
I feel like this conversation needed to happen between Cinnabar and Diamond without Arctus present.
So yeah the whole Cinnabar sub plot is being shelved, I was planning on doing a scene like this at the dance but I've got other things for that; honestly Cinnabar was only ever meant to be a tournament fodder character with a little bit of background but I feel like I could have used him better.
Damn Onyx has a hard head.
I know poker would have been more fitting but I don't play Poker lol.
Raffia is honestly probably down to kill someone right now, he's the only member of Team GORE who hasn't made any real progress or effort with integrating themselves with the other students.
But hey, at least he stopped Onyx from giving away his axe.
So Team GORE/The Shadow Cadre are going to have to take a trip out into the wilderness.
I know I haven't given real descriptions for Team GRAY yet, I'll do it when they appear in the tournament; it's what they exist for.
I may let slip who Nyanza was hoping to ask to the dance; also you know he's right about letting Battle-cat and Diamond Dust have a "Whole moment" it'll be cute as hell.
So yeah, Battle-cat is canon; Felix and Helios are dating and they kissed, happy now?
Also angst, 'cos y'all love that shit.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, Funlander, iSassenach, FleetOfWarships and ShadowAlex2000 for their reviews on the last chapter.
Winter didn't lock down the academy but Arctus was put under protection.
The White Fang don't have a salute but they do have Celeste's slogan "The Fang will draw blood"
Subtle? I wasn't trying to be lol.
The Adam character short won't affect this story as it exists within the same timeline as The Downward Spiral which was planned and started before Vol.4, I may take ideas and characters from later volumes if I can find a use for them but I won't force my writing to comply with what RT has done after I've started.

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