Tuesday, September 1

POV: Aaron

Aaron silently rode the elevator up to Professor Ozpin's office. He was called up on the second day of classes for a meeting with Beacon's headmaster. Why, he could only guess.

The elevator doors opened, and the Rider stepped into the spacious office. Ozpin sat behind his desk reading something over. He looked up and smiled at his guest. "Aaron, welcome. Please take a seat." The headmaster gestured at the only other chair in the room. Aaron sat down as Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "So, how have your first few classes gone?"

Aaron shrugged. "Fairly well, I'd guess," he said. "I found all my classes before their start time, which is surprising because I'm not used to there being set times at all. I've read over the syllabuses—syllabi?—and overall the combined load is comparable to my studies back home."

"Anything strange happen over the past few days?"

"Only that Ruby disappeared a few times yesterday. She said it was leadership training, but I've seen Jaune and Zach walking around during that same time-frame." Aaron locked eyes with Ozpin. "But we're not here to discuss my schooling, are we?"

Ozpin sighed and set his coffee down. "No, we are not. It's come to my attention that Yang Xiao Long has been walking around campus with a golden dragon on her shoulder. May I ask when and why this has happened?"

Aaron frowned. He didn't like where this was heading. "Halcyon hatched for Yang on Sunday. They bonded shortly after. As for why he's on her shoulder, a new bonded pair should spend most if not all of their first few days together. The hatchlings are safer that way and it helps them grow."

Ozpin nodded. "Are there going to be any other small dragons around Beacon anytime soon?"

The Rider's eye's narrowed slightly. If he lied, he could jeopardize his and Nalia's position at the school. Ruby, Yang, and their dragons could also be in trouble by accessory. Ozpin was trapping him. "There is one more egg under my protection, but I don't want word of that getting out." Beacons headmaster sighed in, What was that, relief? Aaron thought. Why does he care?

Ozpin took another sip of his coffee before speaking again. "You don't trust me, do you?"

Aaron crossed his arms. "The only two people I know who are as generous as you have been, without asking anything in return, adopted me seven years ago."

Beacon's headmaster didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Believe it or not, you are not the first Alagaësian I've met." Aaron blinked in surprise. "He was a strange old man who went by the name-"

"-Tenga." Aaron finished. "He's the one who allowed me and Nalia to come here, though in an indirect way."

Ozpin nodded. "Tenga was here only a few months before you arrived. He kept going on about how he 'answered the question.'" He paused. "He also spoke about the Fall of the Dragon Riders."

"I'm not surprised. I'm sure the Fall is all anybody can think about, and only think. If they spoke out, they were killed."

"Betrayed by fourteen of your own, and those few managed to kill off hundreds of Riders and dragons. Did nobody see the signs?"

"Plenty did. By the time the Elders figured it out, it was too late to do anything other than mount a defense." Aaron shook his head. "If Galbatorix was right about one thing, it's that we were arrogant and overconfident."

Aaron, be careful what you say, Nalia warned. You may have said too much already. The Rider barely acknowledged his dragon.

"Tenga also spoke of the atrocities Galbatorix commissioned," Ozpin continued, "even in his first years as king. The burning of villages, forced conscription, incredibly raised taxes, swearing genocide against the Urgals."

Aaron looked down at his lap and clenched his fists. "And no one has the power to stop him."

"On the last day Tenga was here, he told me another Alagaësian could show up here sometime soon. Specifically, he said a young Rider in need of help." The Rider's eyes shot back up to Ozpin, his mouth hanging slightly open. "I initially discounted it as the ravings of an old man, then you and Nalia arrived in the Emerald Forest a few weeks later."

Aaron stayed silent, trying to comprehend what Ozpin told him. He dug into his memory to remember where he found the scroll that had the transportation spell. It was buried in the wall of the cave where he and Nalia hid for their last night in Alagaësia. He only found it by chance when he lost his footing on the slick floor and knocked a rock off the wall. He…he couldn't have planned all that. We were never followed. Not even the elves knew exactly where we were. How is this possible?

I don't know, Aaron, Nalia responded, a little concerned. If we ever get back to Alagaësia though, we will have to find Tenga and ask him ourselves.

"That is the reason I have allowed you to stay and study at Beacon," Ozpin said. "Your being here validated everything Tenga had to say. You have even repeated many of the things he said." He paused. "I can't turn a blind eye to those who seek to flee a kingdom that oppresses its people in such a way. No one should have to live in fear."

"Amen to that," Aaron said.

"I know you may not fully trust me, and I know that there may not be a way to gain your trust after my experiment the day you met Ruby, but know I will not cast you, or any of the dragons out of Beacon. You are all much safer here than out of the Kingdoms."

Ozpin paused. "That being said, I have to ask for your help on something, and it's not something do with a clean conscious. "

Aaron looked at the headmaster skeptically. "I'm listening."

"I would like you to keep a closer eye on Ruby."

The Rider learned forward in his chair at the mention of one of his students. "Has she done something wrong? Is she in danger?"

"We have no first-year leadership training classes at the times she 'disappeared.' Ruby and her dragon were in the city twice yesterday, and were flying in that direction when you were in the elevator. While they were there, several drivers fell asleep at the wheel and crashed. All of them had Faunus children in the trunk."

Aaron brought a hand up to his face in thought. "I take it all the children were in similar condition to those in the warehouse?" Ozpin nodded. The Rider thought it over. "She's putting herself in danger by messing with a slave ring. I've been on teams that tracked slavers down back in Alagaësia, and they always tried to hit us back after we put a dent in their profits." He spat out the last word.

The Rider sighed. "Ruby is acting out because of what she saw in that warehouse. She's so focused on helping others, she's not seeing the big picture. She can't take them on by herself."

Ozpin nodded. "While she is now capable of much more than other students, and even many professional huntsmen, she is still young and inexperienced. She could very well get in over her head. I've known many people who have gone after the Nevermores, very few of them have ever come back."

Aaron sighed. "I'll talk to her. Hopefully she'll listen to reason."

"That is all I ask," Ozpin said. "Now, that is all I've had for you. You are dismissed."

Aaron stood up and made his way back to the elevator, thoughts and memories swimming in his head. As the elevator doors closed, he slumped against the back wall. Here we go again…

POV: Ruby

Come on, Cerise, we're late already! Ruby urged.

I'm not as fast as Nalia, Cerise huffed. This is the first time we've been late, I'm sure Aaron and Nalia will let it slide once.

Hopefully. Ruby and Cerise were flying back to Beacon from the opposite side of Vale from yet another kidnapping site. Instead of being extremely in their face like Aaron was when he and Ruby rescued Violet, Ruby stayed in the shadows and on the rooftops, focusing on using magic to stop the kidnappers. The plan worked so far, and the Faunus kids were rescued shortly afterward by people on the streets responding to the accident. Ruby always stayed nearby until police or paramedics showed up, just in case something else went wrong.

Cerise angled toward the Dragonhouse and landed soon after. Ruby quickly untied the straps that held her in the saddle. She jumped down from her dragon's back just as the main door opened for Cerise. Inside, Nalia was curled up on the other side of the building with Halcyon napping by her feet. Aaron and Yang stood by their respective dragons. Nalia looked up from the two Riders in front of her and looked at the new arrivals. Nice of you to join us, she called.

"Sorry," Ruby said as she walked over to the other group. "I got held up in leadership training." Nalia snorted, but said nothing more. The main door closed behind Cerise.

Yang turned to her sister and smiled. "Hey Ruby, check out what I can do." She focused her attention on the rock in her hand. "Stenr reisa." The rock slowly floated to a few inches above her hand. Yang's smile broadened. "You aren't the only one who can do that party trick anymore."

"If you do that at a party where anyone but team JNPR or team Gray is there," Aaron said in a no-nonsense tone, "we're going to have to have an unpleasant conversation."

"Relax, I know you don't want magic to become general knowledge. Honestly, it kind of makes sense. You don't want to flaunt a tactical advantage."

"Well that's one way to put it." Aaron turned to Ruby. "Now that you both are here, I can explain some crucial information that I should have explained before." Cerise lay down on the floor and stretched a leg out. Ruby and Yang sat down on it.

"Back on the day the rest of the team was introduced to the eggs, Weiss made a comment about how she didn't think everything needed its own name." Ruby narrowed her eyes in confusion. "The thing is, everything and everyone has its own unique name."

"For example," Aaron stuck out a hand, "Brisingr!" A small flame burst to life in his hand. "Brisingr isn't just the word for fire in the Ancient Language, it is fire. You can control fire anyway you want, and if you have enough experience, you can extinguish fire using only its name." Ruby nodded. She thought she understood, but she didn't quite understand the significance.

"The same can be said for living things. Every animal, every plant, every person has a true name. I'm not talking about names that are used on the streets and you write on homework. No, a true name is exactly who that person is. It contains every aspect of their personality, their hopes, their dreams, their flaws, everything.

"Knowing your own true name can help solidify who you are as person. You can gain confidence in everything you do. Telling another person your true name is an extreme sign of trust. Unfortunately, you are giving that person complete control over yourself." Aaron shuddered. "If that person has evil intentions though, you essentially become their slave." Ruby tensed up at the last word and clenched a fist. Aaron's eyes rested fully on her for a split second, then returned to their previous position.

"My advice, if you ever learn your own true name, keep it to yourself. You are literally putting your life in someone else's hands." He paused. "The most common situation for people to reveal their true names is if they are about to make a marriage proposal. Even though for you two, your partner may not understand a word of it, be careful. He may take advantage of it at some point."

Ruby and Yang sat quiet for several seconds, trying to process what they just heard. "There is some pretty messed up stuff where you're from," Yang said finally. Aaron just nodded.

"So do people still look for their true names, even with all the consequences?" Ruby asked.

"They do," Aaron responded. "Some magicians think the knowledge of who they are will increase their power, and this is true to an extent. Elves don't fear for their safety as much because they typically have the best mental defenses of any race, so many actively search for their true name."

Ruby nodded, then looked back at the floor. We won't be searching for ours any time soon, she said to Cerise.

I'm not sure we'd be able to if we wanted to, Cerise responded. I don't think our knowledge of the Ancient Language is sufficient.

"Do any of you have any further questions on the topic?" Aaron asked. No one spoke up. "Good, now Ruby, how much experience do you have in hand-to-hand combat?"

Both girls looked up at Aaron, but had very different reactions. While Yang snickered, Ruby tried to make herself small on Cerise' leg. "Um, none really," she mumbled.

"Oh come on, Ruby," Yang said as she gave her sister a push. "You can't say none, we've fought a few times."

"Yeah, but they were never fight fights. You always won anyway."

"Well, it looks like your skill is about to change." Yang pushed on Ruby's back forcing her to stand. Ruby looked slightly down at her sister and gave her a mock glare. Yang just gave her a thumbs up.

Ruby sighed, removed Crescent Rose from her belt, and tossed the small red box at her sister. "So what do you want me to do?" she asked Aaron.

Aaron gave a full arm shrug. "Right now, I just want you to hit me." Ruby nodded and got into the fighting position she saw Yang fall into several times before. She threw a wide punch at Aaron's right side and connected. He didn't even flinch. Ruby tried again with her other arm but got the same result.

"Come on, Ruby, you can do better than that," Aaron said.

"Ruby, you're flailing your arms," Yang chipped in. "Keep your arms closer to your body. You can get more of your weight behind your swings that way."

The youngest Rider acknowledged both commenters and set back in her fighting stance. Ruby again threw a punch at Aaron's right side, but it was more focused, and the older Rider took half a step back when the fist landed. Encouraged by her small victory, Ruby threw a follow-up punch with her right hand, only for it to be caught by Aaron's left. "You're getting the strength part," he said, "but you need to be faster. You won't have much time after any kind of attack before your opponent will counter attack."

Yang laughed. "Wow, I never thought someone would say that you need to be faster."

Ruby shot another glare at her sister. "I know where you sleep."

The blonde Rider mock gasped. "Oh no, whatever shall I do?"

"Ruby, focus," Aaron said, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. Ruby turned back and saw Aaron had set into a fighting position. She tensed up slightly. "What, you thought your opponents would let you used them as a punching bag?" The red Rider put her arms up in front of her body and lowered her center of mass. Aaron's face once again took the completely blank look that he always wore when sparring with weapons. This wouldn't be any different from their previous matches.

Aaron moved first by throwing a quick jab at Ruby's left shoulder. She dodged out of the way of that one but stepped into a second. Ruby cried out for a second as Aaron pulled back a few feet.

Like all the other fights, Ruby knew she would have to get the upper hand quickly, or else Aaron would outlast her and beat her. She'd only won a handful of fights since they started, and only in the past week. Ruby charged Aaron, ducked under one punch and jabbed the more experienced fighter in the gut. She fully passed under his arm then elbowed him in the back. Aaron took a few steps forward, then turned back to face Ruby, a small smirk on his face. "Good, you're learning. There's more you can take from our armed fights and apply it to here though."

Ruby smirked back. "I'll keep that in mind." She charged again, this time aiming high for the chest. Aaron redirected Ruby's first punch, then launched one himself. It connected with Ruby's chest, and she went sprawling toward Yang, Cerise, and the now awake Halcyon. "Ow," she finally said after coming to a rest by her sister's feet.

Yang helped Ruby to her feet. "Take a break sis, let me show you how it's done."

Ruby turned her head back Aaron, and he just shrugged. "Don't break him Yang," Ruby said turning back to her sister. "He just got added to the team, and sidelining him now would be rude."

The blonde Rider laughed. "I'll do my best." Yang walked over to where Ruby started her matches against Aaron.

Ruby, meanwhile, sat down on Cerise' leg. You did better than I thought you would, the red dragon told her Rider.

You didn't think I'd be able to touch him, did you? Ruby asked her bond-mate.

Not as much as you did, Cerise admitted. You aren't exactly the world's best fist fighter.

Ruby playfully shoved her dragon's head away. I love you too.

The red dragon hummed and her eyes gleamed. Then get stronger for me. The moment Cerise and Ruby had was killed when Halcyon chirped at his own rider. Ruby didn't even notice the fight started. Aaron was being forced back step by step by the onslaught Yang threw out. Only a few of the punches landed though, but when they did, they spun Aaron around or forced him to the floor. He sprung back up every time though, and he didn't seem to be tiring.

As time drew on, Aaron avoided or deflected more and more of Yang's strikes, and the latter grew visibly frustrated. Each jab and hook of hers gained more power, but lacked focus. Even Ruby could see that. Aaron apparently saw gaps in his opponent's defenses, as he suddenly launched into a counter offensive which forced Yang to start backpedaling. After another few seconds, Aaron delivered a punch to the gut and a vicious right hook to Yang's cheek. The blonde Rider fell to the ground and didn't get up right away. Halcyon shrieked and rushed to her side.

"You're a natural fist fighter, aren't you?" Aaron panted.

"Yeah," Yang growled as she picked herself off the ground. "How did you do that?"

"When you have enough experience, there isn't much of a difference between fighting with a weapon and fighting unarmed. I will say, if you retained your skill throughout the spar, you would have bested me."

Yang stood silent for a few seconds. Ruby could almost see the steam rising out of her sister's ears, but her eyes stayed lilac. "What do you mean by that?" Yang snapped.

"As you got frustrated, your attacks grew wild. Unfocused. That may work against Grimm, but against people, even someone learning the basics could predict where you were going to strike."

Yang blinked a few times then shot a questioning glance at Ruby, who really was learning the basics of fist fighting. The red Rider shrugged. "I could tell your attacks were getting stronger, but like Aaron said, they got wild toward the end."

The blonde turned back to Aaron. "The problem is, that's what I do. I get angry, I get stronger."

Aaron scoffed. "I've known Riders who thought that, it got them more injured than others, and it was never proven."

"She means it though," Ruby chipped in. "It's her Semblance. The angrier she gets, the stronger she gets. Sometimes she get so hot her hair nearly catches fire."

Aaron looked at Ruby, then back at Yang and back again. "Really?" Ruby nodded and Aaron covered his mouth with a hand. "The more things I learn here…" He shook his head and sighed. "What's next? Can Weiss walk through walls?"

"Weiss has glyphs." Upon seeing Aaron's confused reaction, Ruby continued. "It's hard to explain, but her glyphs can give a speed boost, provide solid platforms, oh, and she's working on one that messes with time."

Aaron ran a hand over his hat like he would his hair. "How is any of this possible?"

I'm sure they've thought the same thing more than once since we've shown up, Nalia commented to everyone. Ruby just laughed and nodded.

"Anyway," Aaron said, "would you like to get back at it, Ruby?" The red Rider simply jumped off Cerise' leg and walked to her starting position. Over the next half hour, Aaron and Yang taught the youngest of them how to fight unarmed. Somewhere along the line, Aaron suggested they switch to a more leg-based approach. It turns out, throwing in some kicks came naturally to Ruby. She could keep Aaron at a distance and even got in some good hits. In one of the sparring matches, she activated her Semblance to deliver a blindingly fast and powerful blow. It flung Aaron to the other side of the Dragonhouse. After that, Ruby kept a lid on it, no matter how badly she was losing. Freshly awakened Aura wasn't the strongest thing in the world.

Unfortunately, they all had a biology class to get to which cut the training session short. Their school uniforms were in their rooms on the other side of campus, which cut off even more time. All the dragons stayed in the Dragonhouse, and if the day before was anything to go by, Nalia had a history lesson for Cerise and Halcyon, if the gold hatchling paid attention at all. For some reason, Aaron expected Ruby to be able to pay attention to both what was being said in front of her and what Cerise heard. She understood the reasoning behind it, but it was too much to handle at one time.

Ruby lead the way out of the Dragonhouse and across campus. Shortly after the group left, Aaron walked up next to her. "Ruby, I need to talk to you about something," he said in a low voice.

"What's the problem?" Ruby asked nonchalantly.

Aaron paused before continuing. "Where did you really go those two times yesterday and earlier today?"

Ruby tripped on flat ground, but recovered quickly. "I thought I said I was at leadership training."

Aaron's eyes saddened. "Twice a day? One-on-one training?"

The younger Rider tried to not let her newfound anxiety show. "No, it's group training, and there was a scheduling problem with the professor who teaches it."

The older Rider sighed. "Ruby, I've seen all other first year team leaders during those times. Where were you?"

Ruby looked at the ground, unsure of what to say. I told you we should have told him, Cerise scolded from the Dragonhouse.

Maybe you were right. Ruby sighed. "Okay, me and Cerise were downtown. The Nevermores have been incredibly active the past two days, and…" she closed her eyes tightly and clenched a fist. "I can't let them get away with it, and they haven't. Got to them before the VABER Alerts were released."

Aaron nodded slowly. "Trust me, I know the feeling. I know you feel obligated to do this yourself, to try and help as many people as you can. Normally, I'd say keep at it, but these aren't ordinary criminals."

Ruby stopped in place looked up at Aaron in shock. "Are you asking me to stop? Isn't this what you've been training me for?" She still tried to keep her voice down so people wouldn't stare. It was a sensitive subject after all.

"Absolutely not. I've saying you're going about this wrong. Those criminals are organized. They have plans, and they don't like having their," Aaron contorted his face in disgust, "trade goods messed with. Me and Nalia tried to take down a slave ring by ourselves back in Alagaësia, and it nearly got us, and many other people killed, including those we were trying to save." He sighed. "No, I don't want you to turn the other way, just don't lie to us about this. Any of us will back you up. Don't go alone unless it's absolutely necessary."

Ruby nodded absentmindedly, then continued walking toward her dorm. It was actually one of the better outcomes she hoped for if someone found out. He was right, though. She couldn't keep pretending all the kidnappings were unrelated. If the Nevermores were as dangerous as Aaron made them out to be, she would need all the help she could get.

Please tell me we aren't going out alone again, Cerise pleaded with Ruby.

Not unless we have to.