How To Make Friends and Influence People
"What the?! Put me down!" Yang shrieked, her feet six inches off the ground courtesy of Glynda Goodwitch's Semblance.
"Miss Xiao Long, I will remind you that Academy regulations specifically forbid combat with other students outside of sanctioned combat training, especially for those already on academic probation," Glynda replied, her tone severe and clipped at already having to deal with a student's temper this early in the year.
"Aww, c'mon, teach', I'll gladly sanction the crap out of 'er," Nora said through a predatory grin, somehow managing to project menace whilst wearing a pink Pepper Petra onesie complete with floppy bunny ears. "Never got to find out who actually won the Vale Interscholastic Tournament since somebody went and got themselves disqualified for beating the crap out of Jaune here after they'd already won!" Nora added, visibly seething.
"My hair!" Yang yelled, her apoplexy drastically reducing her vocabulary.
"I told you that was an accident!" Jaune shouted back, his emotions in turmoil. Having Yang Xiao Long at Beacon complicated things. He was already wanting a rematch with her, both for the legitimate loss as well as the beatdown he'd suffered after she'd realized what his last swing had done.
Having Nora yet again trying to uphold his honor also wasn't helping.
"That's enough out of everyone," Glynda Goodwitch snapped. "I sat on your review board, Miss Xiao Long, and Mister Arc's actions in that duel were completely above board."
"You don't get it, he cut my hair!" she pleaded, on the verge of tears.
"And what, exactly, don't I get?" Miss Goodwitch asked, twirling Yang around to face her with a twitch of her riding crop.
Yang looked Glynda over for a moment, even in her rage able to tell that the imposingly tall woman was skeptical but willing to listen.
"I…my mother used to brush my hair every night before bed. I keep…kept it long for her," Yang corrected.
"That's still no excuse for…"
"Yang? What's going on?" Ruby asked cautiously. "Oh, hi, Miss Goodwitch. Did you get in trouble again, Yang?" she asked, sounding only slightly peeved.
Glynda's gaze flicked to one of her other potential irritants for the upcoming session, and she was again reminded just how much Ruby looked like her mother. She sighed in frustration, taking a moment to compose her response to get through to a clearly stubborn girl.
"While I can certainly understand your desire to carry on your mother's legacy, you cannot do it through something so cosmetic. Every time we step onto the battlefield, we assume risk. The chance that things might not go the way we want, that we might get hurt, disfigured, or even die. Any combat school worth considering for admission to the Academies knows that the best way to learn is to train like we fight. I know for a fact that the faculties of Pharos and Signal both operate on that philosophy, laid down by Ozymandias the second when he founded the Academy system following the Great War."
"And your point?" Yang grumbled.
"My point is that if you don't want your hair cut short, you don't wear it long while aspiring to a profession that risks that very thing on a daily basis. You certainly don't throw a tantrum if it happens. You want to honor Summer Rose? Start by acting like her. Your mother wouldn't have beaten another student within an inch of his life, for starters."
The four students paused for a moment, Nora staring daggers at Yang's back while Jaune stood ready to defend himself. The two sisters looked to the floor, lost in thought.
"What would Mom have done?" Ruby asked quietly.
"Probably rope them into whatever mischief she had planned," Glynda muttered loud enough to be heard, before she stopped, her eyes going wide as she stared into the distance.
"Sounds like my kinda gal," Nora said from behind the sisters, and all four of them would swear to their dying day that they saw Glynda Goodwitch blush for just a moment.
"In any case, I want you at the furthest corner of the room for the night," she instructed Yang before unceremoniously dropping her to the floor, a brief stumble taken before Yang regained her footing. Glynda then raised her voice, speaking past the four of them to address the larger crowd whose attention was focused on them "And any unsanctioned fights amongst initiates will be met with consequences, up to and including expulsion. Do I make myself crystal clear?" she demanded sharply, getting a generally affirmative murmur. "Save that energy for the Grimm tomorrow, you're going to need it," she added with finality, before walking back towards her post at a small desk by the entrance, where she had been answering questions from the few students brave enough to approach her intimidating presence.
"Yang?" Ruby asked, breaking her older sister from a trance, it seemed. Yang's eyes were back to their typical lilac at least, Miss Goodwitch's lesson having borne fruit it seemed. "Oh hey, Jaune!" she chirped, a brief smile cut short by the other two girls fixing her in place with gazes that bordered on downright murderous.
A brief moment passed awkwardly before the realization hit them.
"You know him/her!?" Jaune, Yang and Nora blurted simultaneously, aghast at Ruby's betrayal.
Ruby was frozen in place for several seconds, an overloaded mind outpacing a racing heart before she snapped out of it.
"Umm, yeah? This is my sister, Yang Xiao Long," she said, trying to be her best, sociable self.
"We've met," Jaune said coolly.
"Yang, this is Jaune Arc, um, well, I guess you knew that already too," she began to ramble before she remembered what Yang didn't know yet. "He's the new friend I was telling you about. And this is his wife, Nora," she added, not wanting her to feel left out.
"What?" Jaune and Nora both said, dumbfounded.
Ruby's silver eyes darted about nervously, sure she had screwed up even more, somehow, but damn if she didn't understand how.
"We're not married, Ruby," Jaune clarified for her, racking his brain trying to figure out why she'd drawn the conclusion in the first place.
"What do you mean?"
"Jaune's my brother," Nora replied curtly, still unhappy with something.
"But you can't be brother and sister, you don't look anything alike!" Ruby insisted. "Unless your dad was…you know…" she trailed off suggestively.
"Are you suggesting my father was a cheater?" Nora asked angrily.
"No!" Ruby quickly blurted out, now drowning in a sea of social awkwardness. "It's just weird to have siblings in the same school year," she added, getting pointed stares from both Jaune and Nora in her and Yang's direction. "Well, yeah, but I'm here two years early," she said frantically, immediately regretting it when she noticed several other students glance in her direction with startled or appreciative glances. "Unless it's some weird birthday thing where one of you barely missed being a year ahead of the other."
"Same birthday," Jaune said, now clearly seeing where the disconnect was for Ruby. "You gonna help her out?" Jaune asked Yang, who had already adopted much the same air of bemusement that he had.
"Sink or swim, Rubes," she said with a smirk, clearly enjoying the show.
"How?" she beseeched them all.
"Isn't it obvious?" Jaune prompted her, getting a slack-jawed stare in return.
"I was adopted by the most wonderful, loving family I could ever have hoped for, especially Jaune here," Nora beamed, crushing the breath from his lungs with a low hug that encircled his gut.
"Wait, so you're not actually married?" Ruby said, a relieved smile brightening her expression immensely. "That's great!" she chirped happily, before she realized what she'd said.
"What's so great about it?" Nora asked, her bright turquoise eyes narrowed in accusation.
"I mean, you're his sister, which is awesome!" she gushed, before Nora's flat gaze increased her panic tenfold. "Because…because…umm…I'm not the only one who has a sister at Beacon with me!" she finally settled on.
"Riiiiiight," Nora said skeptically.
Yang raised an eyebrow in suspicion, both at the tension and what Ruby's nonverbals were telling her.
"C'mon, sis, let's get our gear moved. Getting major Professor Buzzkill vibes over there," Yang muttered, reminding both sisters of their previous Deputy Headmistress at Signal, Rosemary Clark.
"Umm, see you guys tomorrow!" Ruby added hopefully, following her sister to go move their bedding.
Jaune waved back with a wan smile, regretting that his new friend came with that kind of baggage.
"We should probably move too, Nora," Jaune said quietly, more to distance themselves from the center of attention than anything else.
The long drag of their sleeping mats and shared duffel bag across the ballroom thankfully straightened Jaune's bedding out at last, and laying their bag against the wall allowed them a little more elevation for the thin pillows they had been provided. Jaune was propped up against this, seated with his Scroll open, Nora watching a classic Pumpkin Pete episode beside him.
"Whatcha doin?" she asked, not taking her eyes from her screen.
"Messaging Dad. Told him his warnings didn't do Goodwitch justice."
"Ain't that the truth," Nora groused. "You tell him about the bitch?" she asked testily.
"No," Jaune said flatly.
"Oh, really?"
"There's nothing he can do about it, and damn little that we can either. Let's just worry about initiation tomorrow. Hell, maybe she'll fail and this'll all be a moot point," he added, not exactly hopeful, but certainly not minding if he'd suddenly developed prophetic talents either.
"As much as I want to kick her ass, I can't deny that she's good," Nora reminded him.
"I guess. She did beat me after all," Jaune said with a smirk.
"Pssh, like that's hard," Nora said dismissively.
Jaune turned to face her, his face set in a flat-eyed frown.
"Sorry?" Nora offered meekly, unable to withstand his disdain.
Jaune's expression softened a bit, and he let out a soft sigh, wishing he hadn't pushed back quite so hard. Luckily, he knew just how to lift his sister's spirits.
Closing his Scroll, Jaune slid down a bit as he turned to face Nora, who spared him a guilty, sidelong glance as she tried to return to her video. Jaune's eyes flitted to her screen, recognizing her favorite episode instantly. While he'd always been partial to (and debated extensively with Nora) Send In the Clones, Nora always put Stupor Heroes at the top of her list.
"You'll never stop me, Bunny Brigade!" Jaune echoed in perfect time to the action, flopping his hand onto Nora's abdomen. "The world will bow before the Terrorantula!" Jaune continued, his fingertips drumming lightly to mirror Terry Tarantula's agitated gait as he monologued on like any good supervillain would.
"That's it. Terry's lost it," muttered Jaune, his voice and other hand now in character as Pumpkin Pete, his first two fingers straight as Pete's ears always were, no matter how dire or sad the situation.
"Should ve… tell him?" 'Petra' asked, Nora's hand joining in the fun now, movements forceful and quick like the energetic Atlesian bunny.
Jaune curled his middle finger, mimicking the half-lop ear of Pete's Vacuan uncle, Palm Tree Paulie. "Shore is fun ta watch, at least," Jaune said, voice dropping into a low drawl.
"His dedication to the role is admirable," Nora added, her voice and other hand now playing the role of Pomegranate Ping, her attempt at a soft, lilting Mistrali accent something she'd never quite been able to master.
Throughout all of this, Terry the Tarantula Grimm continued his monologue, now somehow on the subject of international conspiracies to devalue the Lien by going off the gold standard.
"He's never been one for half measures," 'Pete' agreed, the audio from Nora's Scroll now barely audible after slipping from her lap onto the floor beside them.
"Can ve just kick his butt already?" 'Petra' grumbled irritably.
"That would save time," 'Ping' concurred sagely.
"I kin use my theme song!" 'Paulie' blurted excitedly.
"Ugh, no, Uncle Paulie."
"Yo're givin' away my secret identity," 'Paulie' whisper-hissed.
"Fine, no music…Sandstorm," 'Petra' grumbled.
"Nobody ain't got no 'ppreciation for the arts," 'Paulie' complained.
"I. hate. techno," Petra growled.
"And when I rule this world, broccoli will be outlawed by Imperial decree!" 'Terry' cackled, finally getting in a word edgewise.
"Ya know, I'm almost with him on that," 'Pete' muttered.
"Yes, but ve cannot allow him to vin!"
"Broccoli is very healthy, and wonderful in stir fry," 'Ping' chipped in.
"All right, fine, let's get him, Bunny Brigade!"
With that, three hands with various ersatz bunny ears attacked the fourth, the brawl quickly going off script and devolving into a full-on tickle fight. This lasted several seconds before Jaune, Arc Family tickle champion for four years running, got shrieking laughter from Nora interspersed with cries for help and/or mercy.
Their play was interrupted when a book was slammed shut with the sound of a gunshot, Jaune and Nora freezing in place before looking guiltily towards the sound. A pale, black haired girl in a yukata leveled a peeved stare at them from five feet away. Golden eyes silently judged them for their immaturity, the black bow on her head tilted forward like a pair of equally annoyed cat ears.
"Sorry," they both said, feeling like they'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar again.
"Can you two please be quiet," she said in a cool, flat voice, far more a demand than a question. "And I don't think indulging yourselves in front of the other students is a good idea either," their neighbor added, cutting her gaze downwards for a moment.
The two siblings blinked, pondering the statement for a moment before Jaune realized where they were.
Specifically, his hands.
In his quest to drive his sister crazy with laughter, and her squirming to avoid it, his left hand had slipped forward from her rib cage (her second most ticklish spot) and cupped her left breast, while his right hand was smashed between her thighs (the inside of which was her most ticklish spot) as she tried to keep his fingers from wiggling even more to cause her to pass out from hypoxia.
"Sorry," he muttered, pulling his hands and arms back to respectable locations; under her neck and around her midriff, muzzling Pepper Petra in the process.
Nora spent several moments catching her breath, her vision clearing enough to see their neighbor still regarding them with half-lidded eyes and a faintly contemptuous scowl. Before a thought could form in her head, she realized where she was, her lips curling into a blissful smile as she burrowed back into Jaune's embrace, folding her hands over the one covering her abdomen and squeezing back as much as she could.
"Aww, don't be jealous, kitty cat," Nora said easily, the both of them taken aback at the immediate look of shock on the girl's face, golden eyes going wide as she gasped softly.
"W-why did you call me that?" she stammered nervously.
"The bow looks like cute little kitty ears," Nora explained easily.
"Oh. Right," she replied, visibly relaxing before Nora pushed the 'inappropriate' button again.
"Are you a kitty cat?" she asked with boundless curiosity of a child she technically wasn't anymore.
Not that anyone could convince her otherwise.
"Because that'd be totally cool if you were, ya know?"
"What I am," the young lady began, irritation in her voice building to a biting remark before she stopped herself, "is tired. We should get some sleep," she added, setting her book aside, laying down completely, and turning her back to the Arcs.
"She's right, Nora," Jaune said softly, moving to roll back to the center of his sleeping mat before he was stopped by the iron grip on his right hand.
"This is comfy," Nora said, giving off a purring hum of contentment.
"My arm's gonna fall asleep," Jaune protested quietly.
"And I want a good night's sleep," Nora countered, well aware of just how far she could push him.
"All right, but can we get adjusted a little bit? I'm slipping between the cushions here."
"Okay," Nora said through a smile.
A few tugs and twists later, Jaune had one arm under Nora's pillow and another wrapped protectively around her midsection, gently ruffling her hair with every breath he took.
"Good night, Nora," he said, giving her a gentle squeeze.
"G'night, Jaune," she replied through a yawn.
Breakfast beckoned, and the Arc siblings had risen early, their nervous excitement not allowing them to even attempt to sleep in. Their onesies were stowed in their shared luggage, Nora and Jaune back in their combat gear, sans armor, as they walked away from the breakfast line with their trays. Jaune had ordered a simple omelet with toast and jam on the side, whereas Nora had gone all out, three plates with a large Valerian waffle on each.
"Did you have to get three plates?" Jaune asked, worried more for Nora potentially weighing herself down for initiation than anything.
"I didn't want my toppings mixing. You have no respect for proper waffle etiquette," she huffed.
"There's no such thing, Nora,"
"Just because you don't know it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, you uncultured swine," she said, lifting her nose as she looked away from her embarrassment of a brother.
Jaune simply rolled his eyes, knowing when and when not to try and rein Nora in from her verbal fancies. Instead, he set his tray down on a table with only one other occupant, most of the rest of the initiates having multiple friends from their respective combat schools to catch up with after their summer break.
"Morning, neighbor," Jaune began cheerfully. "Sorry about last night," he added with a goofy grin.
Getting nothing save a flat stare over the edge of her book, Jaune decided to press the conversation.
Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, he remembered.
"I'm Jaune, and this is Nora."
The pause was in danger of getting awkward when the raven-haired girl finally deigned to speak.
"So I gathered."
"What's your name?" Nora broke in eagerly, trying to help her brother out while still deciding which of her waffles to dig into first.
Amber eyes regarded her for a moment before a bookmark was placed in the book and it was set on the table.
"I'm Blake," she said simply, picking up the remaining half of her bagel with lox and cream cheese and taking a bite, clearly a woman of few words.
Jaune's eyes darted around for a moment, seeing that Blake had obviously chosen this table for the isolation it provided. His mind at ease for what he was about to do, he leaned forward and dropped the volume of his voice.
"You don't have to hide what you are, you know."
Blake stopped mid-chew, but recovered quickly enough. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said drily.
"I have eight sisters, Blake, and none of them would have worn anything in their hair when they went to sleep like you did with that bow."
"It's special to me," she muttered, averting her eyes.
"Well, obviously, since you're covering your ears with it," he countered.
Blake froze, her eyes wide in panic.
"You don't have to worry about us, Blake," Jaune said with as much warmth as he could muster. "Our Opa Carl is in his seventies and would still tan our hides for mistreating you just because you're a Faunus. He's more than capable of doing it, too."
"Can confirm!" Nora piped up cheerfully before taking a massive bite of the fried chicken breast on top of her savory waffle and chewing enthusiastically.
Blake's eyes were darting all over the place, assessing potential threats and exits, even as the more rational part of her brain was trying to beat her emotions back into submission. Wasn't this the dream, after all? Not the militancy of Sienna Khan, or the twisted, hateful rhetoric of Adam Taurus, but true equality and brotherhood with humanity. This was going to be a hard learning process, she reminded herself, and she closed her eyes to take a deep breath before releasing it.
"What makes you think I'm…one of them?" she whispered, unwilling to even use the F word for fear of drawing attention..
"Well, your bow tends to move with your emotional state. I thought it was just me seeing things at first, what with Nora putting that cat image in my head," he said.
"Guilty!" Nora chimed in before moving on to her first dessert waffle, with fresh berries and whipped cream.
"But what sealed it was when I got up to use the bathroom around one and saw you reading."
"I couldn't sleep," Blake said coolly.
"In near pitch black darkness without a light," Jaune completed his thought. "Our family's lived in the Faunus quarter of Orleans my entire life. Opa Carl and Grammy Eloise own a bakery there, passed down from his parents," he added, opening his Scroll to show her a picture.
A Faunus family stood together, looking into the camera with smiles warmly subdued. Clothes were clearly worn, but well-cared for, a working class family on display. The patriarch of the family was a large, broad shouldered wolf-eared Faunus with golden eyes and black hair, wearing a well-kept beard. A starched white apron covered a striped blue shirt, sleeves rolled up, showing he was ready for work. The mother was a good head shorter than her husband, lop rabbit ears almost covering her other ears, straw blonde hair done up into a bun to go with the apron she also wore over her flower patterned blouse. Kind eyes as blue as the ocean went with a warm, motherly smile. The four children standing in front of them all matched, save the eldest. A blonde girl of ten, her Faunus trait unseen, was flanked by two younger boys who clearly took after their father, raven-haired and wolf eared. The entire family wore a smile but for the youngest, an infant in pink swaddling held in her sister's arms, with adorable triangular ears and fine black hair on her head, golden eyes inquisitive and alert.
"Mom never knew her biological father, but Opa Carl adopted her when they got married," Jaune said with a hint of nostalgia. "There's our mom, and both our grandparents. Uncle Conrad, Corbin, and Aunt Calista is the tiny one."
"That almost looks like one of my baby pictures," Blake mumbled before the realization hit her. "You have to know that not all humans are like you two," she said quietly.
"We know, Blake," Jaune replied with a hint of melancholy.
"I'm…new to Vale. I've…heard things," she said, letting Jaune and Nora draw the conclusion she hoped they would.
"We're not going to out you, if that's what you're worried about," Jaune said, getting a nod and a grunt of agreement from Nora as she struggled to wolf down her third waffle, the last one drowning in chocolate hazelnut spread and bananas. "I just want you to know that you don't have to hide."
"Not from us, anyway," Nora added helpfully.
"I just want to get through my four years with a minimum of problems. If I can keep…that hidden, so much the better."
"Honestly, I'd give it a week before your team figures it out, and that's only if they're utter morons," Nora said nonchalantly before emitting a soft belch as her food settled.
"Still, we promise to keep your secret. An Arc never goes back on their word," Jaune said with conviction.
"I…" Blake trailed off, her second biggest concern having immediately shown itself and turning out to not be the utter disaster she'd feared. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I need to get going," she added, standing up and taking her tray over to the scullery window.
Jaune watched her go for a moment, hoping they'd found a friend.
"Eat up, Jaune," Nora prompted him, having long since wolfed down her own breakfast already, her finger smearing through what was left of the hazelnut spread and jamming it into her mouth.
Jaune hummed softly before digging into his omelet, letting his mind zone out a little as Nora began to regale him with another brilliant idea for a waffle-themed restaurant that she wanted to use as a base of operations for their Huntsman career.
Jaune squinted slightly, turning the bolt carrier of Aurora over in his hand to make sure everything was in place, unbroken, and properly lubricated. Satisfied, he slid the carrier back into place, closing up the action and setting the rifle back into his locker for the moment. Crocea Mors was next, the ring of steel leaving scabbard barely audible as his deep blue eyes traced over the length of the heirloom blade for flaws. Again satisfied, he sheathed his sword, dropping it into place at his hip, the weight borne easily by the baldric that looped over his right shoulder.
You can fight without armor, but you can't defend yourself without a weapon, came to his mind, wise words from Calvin Meadows, their combat instructor at Pharos Combat School. Jaune chuckled softly at that, the memory of Nora's rather vehement disagreement and near victory over professor Meadows already something of a legend in the annals of Pharos history.
That in mind, Jaune sat on the bench and set to buckling on the demigreaves that protected the front of his shins and ankles.
"Gimme a hand?" Nora asked from behind him.
"Just a sec," he replied, snapping the last buckle in place and cinching down the adjustment tabs for a snug fit. Turning around, he found Nora mostly suited up, but for her bustier, which was open at the sides, Nora grunting with the effort of trying to get the thing closed.
"You really need to get this refitted, Nora," he chided her gently, loosening the adjusters as far as they would go before he barely managed to get the clasps closed.
"It's fine," she growled, not happy either, it seemed.
"Okay, ready?" he asked, firmly grasping the adjustment tabs as Nora nodded before she hopped twice, allowing him to cinch the two halves together enough to not leave gaps in his sister's armor.
"Seriously, this piece doesn't fit you anymore," Jaune said, his exasperation beginning to show.
"You're blowing it out of proportion," she muttered, trying to catch her breath. "Oh, hello, girls," she added, looking down at her cleavage, which was nearly spilling out of the top of her armor.
"Seriously, I'm trying to help you. You went up a cup size six months ago, Nora, remember?"
"Oh, you were looking, were you? Pervert," she teased, but Jaune was having none of it.
"I had to go bra shopping with you because Mom was on call in the ER," he said flatly.
"I know, Jaune," Nora replied, her stance softening. "Composite is just so expensive," she lamented. "I want to make sure I'm done growing, and then I promise I'll get a new top, okay?"
"This weekend. I'll convince our team leader to make it an order if I have to," he said insistently, putting his best Dad face on.
"Fiiiine," Nora groaned, rolling her eyes.
"You've got full Dust reloads, right?"
"You really think I'm gonna do without?" Nora said, gently patting the pouch on her left hip that held her Dust cartridges.
"Just checking," Jaune said, straightening up and pulling an identical pouch out of his locker, clicking it into place with a quick disconnect fitting on his belt. This was followed by a pair of ammunition carriers for his rifle and a long combat knife on a belt sheath in the small of his back. It was a well-worn piece of kit, but it didn't have the sentimental value that Nora's did.
Jaune slipped his head into his cuirass, the composite plates dropping into place over his shoulders and shutting, his fingers working one side of the closures while an unprompted Nora worked on the other, their teamwork in getting dressed well-practiced over the years. His pauldrons were secured next, followed by him donning his gauntlets, Nora opting instead for fingerless tactical gloves with small composite plates over the back of her hand.
He flexed his fingers a bit, Nora cracking her knuckles with a mischievous grin beside him before he retrieved his rifle, slinging it over his back and turning to face her again. Jaune started as he saw Nora actually looking down at him, until he realized she'd hopped up to stand on the bench. With the slightest blush, Nora leaned forward to briefly smooch him on the lips.
"For luck," she explained simply, hopping back to the floor and grabbing Schattenfeuer from her locker, the chains around her forearms jingling with every movement.
"Luck is for people short on skill and training, Nora."
"Yeah, but we're both. Two of the best graduates from Pharos this year, and we've got each other."
"This is true," Jaune conceded. "Let's go recruit the rest of our team, shall we?" Jaune said optimistically, taking three steps towards the center of the locker room before he stopped, realizing Nora wasn't following him. "What's wrong, Nora?"
"Just…promise me that no matter what happens, we stick together, okay?" she requested, a recurring fear of hers.
"Always," he reassured her for nowhere near the first time in their lives. He opened his arms and she was in them in a flash, a soft rattling heard as her chains ground against his armor in a fierce bear hug. Jaune returned the embrace, allowing his own anxiety to bleed out as he drew strength from their unbreakable bond. "We've got this, and each other."
"Well, duhhhh," Nora deflected cockily, wriggling out of his grasp.
Jaune could only chuckle at the upside of her oftimes mercurial mood; the fact that she could cheer herself up with a word. He walked alongside her, ruffling her hair playfully with a smile on his face.
The rest of the student body had paid them no heed, being deeply involved in their own preparations. Thus, they were able to converse idly until they rounded the end of a row of lockers, two girls discussing the merits of a possible partnership apparently. The short one with the white hair seemed to be, well, scheming, if Jaune had to put a word to it, Nora's own single-minded focus when she had a plan very similar-looking.
"Hello, ladies," Jaune opened, startling the schemer, though her crimson-haired companion seemed actually relieved for the interruption. "We've still got two spots open on Team Arc, if you're interested," he opened with, hoping Dad would approve of his confidence. "I'm Jaune, this is Nora," he added, getting a mumbled 'hi' from his sister.
"Ohhh, no you don't," the pale girl fired back, fixing Jaune with an icy glare. "You two were the laughing stock of the entire ballroom last night. You really think someone like Pyrrha Nikos, four time defending Mistral regional champion, would want to associate with two people who can't take the most important day of their lives seriously?"
"I thought it was rather cute, actually," Pyrrha gently corrected her, utterly failing to stop the white-garbed student from continuing.
"And there's absolutely no way I'm allowing her to be saddled with a subpar partner. She deserves better," she huffed, even if the rest of the group knew exactly what she meant.
"Why's that up to you?" Jaune asked, his patience running thin.
"Do you know who I am?" she demanded angrily, getting a look of confusion from Jaune that lasted a moment before Nora's exhilarated gasp was heard.
"Ohmygosh! Jaune! What are you thinking?!" she began, the pale girl starting to smile wickedly at the benefits of her fame. "We have to help her!"
"What?" the three of them muttered.
"Excuse me! Can I have everyone's attention please?!" Nora shouted, waiting several moments to gather as many of the initiates as possible before she continued. "We have a lost little girl here who DOES! NOT! KNOW! HER! NAME!" Nora shouted with all the gravity due such a serious situation. "Does anyone know where this little girl's parents are?" she asked sincerely, several nearby students breaking into chuckles, gigglesnorts or open laughter, especially the ones in earshot of the girl's earlier harangue.
Even Pyrrha, paragon of pleasant public presence, had her gloved hand over her lips to stifle her giggling.
Pale complexion replaced by the bright red of a tomato, she tried and failed several times to utter coherent words before she screamed in frustration, slamming her locker shut and stomping away, her angry heel clicks echoing between the steel lockers and tile floor.
"That was awful," Pyrrha said at last, still smiling regardless.
"She was awful," Nora countered, the facade dropped to show her irritation.
"I don't think it was that bad," Jaune said, trying to not get them both the reputation as 'those people'.
"Ohhhh no you don't," Nora said, glaring at Jaune. "You are not getting involved with that stuck up little princess," she growled.
"Heiress, actually," Pyrrha gently corrected. "That was…"
"Weiss Schnee, we know," Nora said matter-of-factly.
"Mom's a huge fan," Jaune explained succinctly.
"Then why…?" Pyrrha asked, unable to quite put her questions as precisely as she wanted.
"Because she was being a huge bitch," Nora grumbled.
Pyrrha gasped softly at the rough language, while Jaune gave her a flat glare.
"Well she was," Nora muttered. "Anyway, I do have a question for you, Pyrrha, a favor, if you will," Nora continued, Jaune groaning inwardly when he recognized what he called her scheming voice.
"I'll see what I can do," Pyrrha began, already dreading where the conversation was going.
"You think you can get us cereal discounts?"
"I…what?"
"Our sisters love Pumpkin Pete's marshmallow flakes. I'm more of a waffle gal myself, but the rest of them just love that crap."
"And you're insulting the product she's representing?" Jaune whisper-hissed.
"In fairness, it's not very nutritious," Pyrrha conceded.
"Please, I've eaten more nutritious cardboard," she countered.
"Your…sisters," Pyrrha said, taken aback by the strange request.
"All seven of them," Jaune clarified. "Though, Saph did just move to Argus, so she's not at home any more."
"I…I went to combat school in Argus, actually," Pyrrha said with a slight smile, dipping her toes into the prospective friendship pool for the first of what she hoped was many times during her tenure at Beacon. "If she needs any help settling in or getting around town, please let me know."
"Wow," Jaune said, Nora's crazy request actually bearing useful fruit for once. "Thanks, Pyrrha. If you, ummm, want something from home, like food or stuff, I'll see if Saphron can help you out," he counter-offered.
"My parents still live there, but thank you for offering," she said. This wasn't going according to plan, nor as well as she'd dreamed, but damn if it wasn't going well.
"But yeah, I don't think Weiss being on Team Arc would work out, Nora. Pyrrha seems nice enough though. And those weapons look pretty classy, too," Jaune added.
Nora looked between Jaune and Pyrrha for several moments, especially noting the warm smile she was giving Jaune. Turquoise eyes roamed over Pyrrha's form, assessing everything about her. She wanted to hate the girl, truly, but she radiated such a wholesome, non-threatening energy that Nora just couldn't bring herself to do so.
"Yeah, I guess we could use a splash of color," she begrudgingly conceded.
The genuine smile that Pyrrha gave her threatened to melt Nora into a puddle of cinnamon-bun-flavored goo, it was so sweet.
"Well, I'll keep your palette in mind, if it comes to that, Nora," Pyrrha said with a playful smirk.
Jaune chuckled softly, the feat of quickly learning to wrangle Nora something that would stick with him.
"All initiates, please report to the cliffside training pavilion on the east side of the academy grounds. Initiation begins in fifteen minutes," came Glynda Goodwitch's voice over the public address system.
Jaune watched both girls for a moment, and as expected, Nora's grin grew ferocious at the prospect of killing Grimm.
Pyrrha…
Pyrrha changed before his eyes like a light switch had been flipped.
Gone was the slightly shy, polite girl who smiled a lot, instead replaced by a sharp-eyed goddess of the battlefield the likes of which would frighten him if he didn't know she was on his side.
"Ladies," he began, interlacing his gantleted fingers before pushing his palms out to crack his knuckles. "It's showtime," he finished, smiling at the fact that their moment had arrived. Nora's grin grew a little more manic, and Pyrrha gave him a simple, confident nod.
This truly was the day they'd been waiting for.
