loyalty

/ˈlɔɪəlti/

noun

noun:loyalty

the quality of being loyal.

"his extremeloyalty tothe Crown"

a strong feeling of support or allegiance.

plural noun:loyalties


Breakfast came and went, Oscar keeping relatively quiet throughout the meal while the others laughed and joked, he was happy to simply sit and listen.

Now they were sitting in the living room, going over training regimens to improve their skills and adapt their fighting styles to work together more cohesively.

Qrow had offered to spar with each of them, helping to find what areas they would all need to improve on the most, which Jaune, Ren and Oscar himself happily accepted.

Nora also agreed, though not without making a snarky comment about feeling bad beating up an old man, Qrow just laughed at her remake and promised not to go easy on her.

Ruby stated that she was already aware of her shortcomings in combat and proposed that Qrow simply begin training her in hand-to-hand combat, considering that was her greatest weakness and the thing likely to get her killed should she ever lose her hold on Crescent Rose.

Qrow agreed, stating that he'd already been aware of this shortcoming in her skills- odd as it was considering the fighting styles the rest of her family used.

"Alright, I still need to speak with Leo again about putting together a team to help dream with my sister and the tribe, along with putting together a list of people I know that could help us if Leo still refuses… but once I get back, we can jump right into sparing."

"I suggest you kids spend the day training together, seeing if you can spot any of your own shortcomings before I get to beat them out of ya" Qrow told the group as he stood to leave.

at the mention of Leonardo Oscar finally decided to speak up, "on the subject of Professor Lionheart, I think we should keep my presence here just between us for now, you mentioned that he was acting strangely and going against Uncle Ozpin's direct orders… if that's the case I would prefer we simply play things close to the chest. Just until we have more information."

Qrow nodded, "yeah, probably for the best. You don't know who you want to trust yet, makes sense that we keep your identity on a need to know basis for now."

"I don't understand? Isn't Professor Lionheart one of the people Professor Ozpin trusted?" Ruby asked, uncertainty in her tone.

Oscar sighed, "he's meant to be, but like I said: from what Qrow told me, he's acting off. Going against the plan put in place for when Uncle Oz died… and after everything that's happened, I'm not sure who I can truly trust."

"Sounds lonely… not being able to trust anyone" Ruby responded; her expression turning sad.

Oscar glanced away and down at his hands clutching the fabric of his coat tightly into fists, "It is… but it's the life I chose. I have a duty to this world and its people, and it's just easier to keep most people at arm's length."

And it was his choice. He had made the decision to lie and keep secrets from the people he cared for, he'd chosen to take away the memories of the person he trusted most.

Keeping everyone he loved at a distance was what was the safest thing for them... And for him.

"I trust Qrow, I know that. And I have a feeling that I will be able to trust you, Ruby. But for now, I'm not entirely sure who else I'm ready to put my faith in."

As he spoke, Jaune stood up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I know we don't really know each other yet, but you've shared a lot with us already, things you didn't need to share, I hope you will come to trust all of us in your own time. Because we want to help you with this fight."

"Take your time to figure things out, Oscar. But know that your not in this alone. We're here to help in any way we can." Ren and Nora nodded in agreement at their leaders words.

Jaune hadn't needed to say anything, Oscar knew how loyal these four would be to him. like Qrow, he trusted all of them with his life…

"Thank you."


Hey guy. I'm really sorry about the hiatus...the last month and a bit have been pretty stressful for me and I've just not been in the right frame of mind to get any writing done.

But, I think I'm back. New 2-3 chapters are gonna be training and a wee bit more exposition.but we are close to some big plot stuff. (Yang Weiss should be making their way into the story shortly)

Anyway! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!~