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Mika~

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Scrublord Yoda

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"Jaune." Mort whispered in his ear, rousing him from his sleep the next morning. Jaune groaned, rolling over and sitting up in his worn bedroll while the sword-spirit explained, "Morning bell will chime in a few minutes. I didn't want it to surprise you again. Might be a bad first impression for everyone else."

It was risky to talk to Mort, some of the students were already awake around the auditorium, but he still murmured a quiet, "Thanks."

"No problem." Mort answered, "Let's get some food and get geared. Today's the big day."

"Hopefully, yeah." And hopefully not the last big day, either. Seeing a wild blonde mane across the room turn to him he smiled and offered a big wave. He caught Blake slipping away behind her, wary eyes flicking over her shoulder, and added a quiet call of, "Good morning."

She blinked, sensitive ears no doubt able to hear him in the mostly quiet room, but only nodded in return before she vanished.

"She's… Shy." Mort said, "I didn't get that vibe from her yesterday, the way she walked up to us."

"Neither did I." He shrugged, turning and kneeling both to clean up his bedroll and stuff, and to hide his mouth so no one saw him talking. "Maybe she's just not a morning person?"

"A black cat named 'Midnight' that doesn't like mornings?" Mort snickered, the sound like metal scraping sending a shiver up his spine that he suppressed with practiced ease. "That's a bit too on the nose, isn't it, Arc?"

"Maybe…"

"Hey, Lover Boy!" He turned to look over his shoulder and frowned, taking in the far too revealing pajamas the brawler liked to wear. Still he waved a hello and the blonde smiled, "So, how'd you sleep?"

"Alright enough, I guess." It wasn't a mattress, but he was more than used to not having mattresses by now. Bundling everything into his pack he hoisted it onto his shoulder and stood, turning to the blonde, "You?"

"Eh, floor or bed, I sleep like the dead." She shrugged, blinking and then grinning ferally, "Oh shit, that rhymed! In this early I'm, uh… Right on time? No, that's not smooth enough, damn."

"Good try. Though." He snorted, "Where's Ruby?"

"Yeah!" Mort added, "Where's the adorable murder goblin?"

"Still sleepin'." Yang shrugged, eyebrows rising as the morning bell chimed loudly across the wide room. "Or… Maybe not, now, actually. She's a bit of a heavy sleeper, sometimes, and super not a morning person. But that bell's louder than my dad's snoring!"

"He snore bad?"

"Oh fuck me, you have no idea!" She winked after a moment, cocking a hip, "That wasn't an offer, by the way. Wouldn't dream o' muscling into my lil sis' territory!"

"Okay so first of all…"

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha, Arc." She laughed, shaking her head and turning to walk with him as he made his way towards the lockers. "Just screwing with you, nothin' serious. And by the way, just lemme know if something really bugs you and I'll back it right off. I'm trying to have fun, not be a bitch, ya know?"

"I understand." He smiled, "And you're pretty vulgar in the mornings, aren't you?"

"Until I get my coffee? Yeah." She shrugged nonchalantly as they meandered through the waking student body, "Dad's the same way. So was Mom, before she… A-Anyway, yeah, sorry if it's annoying you."

"You're fine."

"You can say that again…" He thumped Mort's gem and the sword-spirit grumbled for a short moment before adding, worriedly, "It sounds like something happened to her mother, though. And Ruby mentioned that she was the last Rose. Do you think it's linked?"

"No." He answered Mort first, adding for Yang's sake, and to mask it, "You aren't bothering me, Miss Xiao Long. A bit crass, I'll admit, but I met a lot worse on the frontier."

"Yeah, she mentioned they weren't blood related." Mort murmured, "Damn it. It's gonna bug me, now."

"Just Yang is fine. 'Miss Xiao Long' is my old man whenever Uncle Qrow swings by and he loses at poker." The blonde said as they slipped into the shared, communal locker area. It was a bit awkward, with all the women changing into their gear, but he kept his gaze forward dutifully as they walked and listened to the brawler. "Anyway, whatcha think Initiation will be like?"

"Fighting Grimm." He shrugged unsurely, "And perhaps some kind of… Recovery mission. Like, finding a thing or a person, and getting them home."

"Yeah, maybe." She said as she reached a locker and laid a hand on it, grinning, "Here's me, so scoot your boot unless you want a show. And if ya do, you better be ready to pay."

"As in, in Lien…?"

"Yep!" She blinked and then winked, "For the dentist, though. Not for me."

He rolled his eyes and said his goodbyes, at least for now, to head to his own locker up the way and get changed. The lacing and buckles for his armor were complicated, if not to the extent of plate armor and chain suits. But after so long spent out on the frontier, pulling it on was as natural and easy as breathing. Once he was done he took a moment to use the locker's mirror, pounding a fist into his chest and stomach to check the fit one last time.

"You know they literally fitted you for this set less than twenty four hours ago, Jaune." Mort pointed out, "Literally. It's morning, you bought them in the evening."

"Better safe than sorry." And really, it was king of habitual by now, to check his kit first. "Not about to die because I didn't check a strap."

"Yeah, yeah." Mort sighed, "Guess you not dying is better than you dying and me ending up back in a box."

"Not a box." He smirked, "The box."

"I'm sorry but… Who are you talking to?" He turned to the woman in the locker next to his with a frown, kicking himself for letting himself slip up that way. "I couldn't quite make out who you were talking to, so… I wanted to make sure it wasn't me. I'd hate to be rude and seem to ignore you, after all."

The woman was tall, taller than him, with long crimson hair pinned back so that it hung along her back and down to her hips. Heavy, layered bronze plates covered her chest and forearms, sewn onto what looked like layers of linen for gauntlets and greaves, ending in open-topped sandals. A pleated and thinly plated skirt covered her thighs, a short, gently curved sword hanging from her shield-side hip pinning it down and hanging from a thick, black cloth belt. In her off hand she held a round shield large enough to hide her entire body behind and a full spear, with a silver-edged bronze tip tip.

In her other she held a smooth bronzed helmet, dented and scuffed by innumerable scraps and skirmishes. It covered her cheeks but left her eyes and mouth open, a thin strip jutting out to give space for her nose. Most interesting were the two little horns, barely half his pinky long and just as thin, set above the eyes of the helmet.

"I, uh, wasn't." He answered the Mistralian warrior, for her armor couldn't be mistaken as anything else. Shrugging, he smiled and paid her a small salute, hand over his heart and the other gripping his sword. "Lord Jaune of House Arc at Ansel, my lady. A pleasure to meet you. Miss…?"

"You're… Jesting, right?" Green eyes narrowed suspiciously, the gesture pulling a small scar over a brown taut and showing it well. His eyes flicked to it as he noticed it and she flinched, seeming to force herself to calm and answering more surely, bowing her head deeply. "I am Pyrrha Nikos, of the Warrior Tier, champion of the arena of Argus."

"The arena?" He blinked, "But I thought they sent their warriors to Haven directly."

"They do. At least if they do not simply join the Military Tier out of it, that is the typical case." She nodded, straightening and smiling with a kind of genuine warmth he didn't understand. Why did she seem so much happier all of a sudden? Regardless, she went on, "As the Grand Champion, I was instructed I would be representing Mistral at Beacon this year, on behalf of the Arena."

"Grand champion?" Mort whistled, sounding rather like what he imagined a banshee would if it were real. "Impressive. Can we keep her, too? Promise, it's for different reasons this time."

Not asking about the reasons why he wanted Yang and Ruby was an act of pure, unrestrained willpower.

"That's impressive." Jaune complimented her, smiling and offering her a raised fist in the way he knew Mistralians did. "Good luck out there, then. I'd be honored to have you as a classmate."

"Or perhaps more." Pyrrha murmured, rapping her fist against his and turning to leave. Over her shoulder she said, "I shall see you soon, I hope, Jaune of House Arc."

"Well she was…" Mort trailed off, searching for the word, before giving up with a wear sigh, "Certainly something alright. Eh, Jaune?"

"Mhm." He nodded pensively, turning to follow the throng out to breakfast and murmuring, "Something else indeed."

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After around an hour for them to eat their breakfast a polite announcement chimed out across the cafeteria, directing all the hopeful first years back to the Auditorium. There they found the Headmaster waiting for them, alongside the Headmistress and a pair of professors that he'd seen directing traffic the day before but otherwise didn't know. Heads of departments, maybe? He couldn't be sure, and the Headmaster stepped forward to speak before he could think about it too much.

"I'm happy to see that everyone survived the night." The Headmaster said to a small wave of answering chuckles. Smiling, he looked them over and said, "Today, you are Initiates of the Academy. Tomorrow, none of you will be. You will either be students, destined for greatness in and beyond these hallowed walls. Tired and forlorn and on your way home… Or, for a painful few of you, tragedies. But this is an Academy for the truly great, and to even reach this place you must all be, in some small way, exemplars of that greatness."

"And so," he finished, turning a hand to the exit, "if you will follow my staff and I, we shall see you sorted out properly. And know now that I wish you all the best of luck. May the winds of the Fates fill your wings, and see you guided to the place where you most belong, wherever it might be."

"That's not foreboding at all…" Mort murmured as the hopefuls turned to follow the quartet out of the building and along the path. As they made their way, as colorful procession of armors, weapons, cloaks and sigils as any he was sure, students and staff alike paused to watch them go. Quietly, for their gaze, Mort added, "Never-freakin'-mind. That is foreboding. It's like they're watching a funeral go by or something."

In a way, Jaune was sure that they were.

Some of the students around him talked, and further ahead of him he could see Yang and Ruby talking to each other nervously. Beyond he could see what he was fairly certain was Nikos' back, her long mane of red and long spear both standing out. He felt someone bump into him and turned, looking down at the Schnee as she caught herself and grumbled. She flicked a look to him, smiling apologetically and then seemed to realize who he was, blinked, and turned away sharply.

So, no friend to be found there it seemed…

"Good luck out there, Lord Arc." She murmured suddenly, tugging him out of his thoughts. He hummed and she cleared her throat, explaining, "I-It's customary to wish each other luck before something like this, no?"

"I guess..." He sighed, nodding after a moment and grunting, "Good luck to you, then."

"Thank you." She nodded, and for a long while, that was that. They simply walked in silence, following the rest of their procession along the wide avenue that the others had come up the day before. When they dipped off, though, slipping between a pair of dormitories and headed away from the larger buildings, she finally spoke. "I wished to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"For my… Behavior yesterday." She said quietly, avoiding his eyes very pointedly. "I was tired, and a bit sore from the incident with Lady Rose. And a bit out of sorts as well. Vale is… Well, very different to Atlas."

"I imagine." He growled, "That's how different places tend to be."

"I'm trying to make peace here, Lord Arc." She murmured, paying him a look, finally. Her eyes were hard and narrow but in them he could see a certain… Something that he couldn't quite identify, beyond a tinge of pain. "Or does my name preclude there being peace between us? A Schnee can't befriend an Arc because of… What, exactly? Because of how they were born?"

"No." He sighed, "Because of what you do."

"I haven't done anything-"

"You mistreated Ruby and I just yesterday for not being to your benefit. Excuses aside, I see no reason to forgive that." Jaune cut her off sharply, turning a hard glare on her that had her jaw clicking shut almost audibly. "And besides, you're using the Lien that suffering bought you, are you not?"

"Jaune, you're losing your cool." Mort warned, voice a whisper under the rushing of his blood, "You need to becalm yourself. Calm your emotions or I will have to-"

"I-I could hardly-"

"You could have taken that rapier and earned your own way." He grunted hotly, turning and pointing a finger in her face. She blinked and came to a stop, looking confusedly between it and him while passersby slowed to watch. Most moved on, but he felt the eyes on him. "You could have wandered, earned Lien and a name of your own. Instead, you sat on high, tower of ivory and cutlery of silver, until you come here to demand-"

"Calm your Emotions I said." Mort snarled, sword vibrating on Jaune's hip as they sent mana coursing through them and forced a spell onto him and those around him. Students that had slowed too watch the unfurling argument blinked and turned on and, suddenly, he felt his anger fade. "Good… Now please, don't make me waste more mana on Calm spells?"

"Odd… My head feels..." Weiss murmured, pressing a palm to her head and shaking off the spell's after effects before snapping a look to him, Scowling, and somehow angry despite the spell even when Jaune himself couldn't rouse it, she said, "I am not my father. And I'd be a fool to undercut myself to make a point when I can just save lives, Arc."

With that, she stormed away, pushing through the crowd ahead of him while he sighed and trudged along.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned, the ginger warrior, Nora, smiling warmly at him. She grunted a quiet, almost teasing, "Don't worry, we gotcha back, m'Lord~"

"Nora, be respectful." Ren said with a sigh on his other side, turning a warm look on him and explaining, "Hello, My Lord. We were hoping you'd be willing to consider working with us in the Initiation. We don't know exactly what we'll face, but… Well, frontier kids have to stick together, after all."

"Yeah!" Nora beamed, like a sun on a summer day, throwing an arm around his shoulders in spite of his greater height and pressing her very muscled self into his side. "Whadda ya say? Renny can shoot stuff for us, you can stab stuff, and I can be strong and hit stuff really good. Model team, am I right?"

"Aside from lacking someone to hold ground." He shrugged, "I'm not exactly very durable."

"Perhaps not, but I am very durable." A familiar voice said, the trio turning to see the helmed visage of the Mistralian looming behind them. Bowing her head ever so slightly Pyrrha said, "I saw how your, um, discussion was going and turned back, in case you needed my aid. If you'd allow it, I would be more than happy to hold the line for you all."

"I would be honored to fight beside an Arena veteran." Jaune murmured, pursing his lips and adding, cautiously, "But why would you offer? You don't exactly know me, and don't know Ren or Nora at all."

"No, but, um…" Pyrrha shrugged and smiled, her helmet's front hiding part of it but not all and casting her in a somehow frightening and innocent light. "Well, let us just say that I have certain misgivings about the Schnee. And a certain sympathy for the Faunus. Both of which you have shown. And for the others, I trust you would not comport with those who go against your just beliefs."

"No, I wouldn't." And she nodded at that, as though it ought to have settled the matter. "That's all you need? Me not being a racist?"

"For now." She nodded, flicking a look along her spear to its broad, razor tip and then back to him. Smiling she said, "Other tests will come later. But for the coming Initiation, are we in conjunction or not?"

"Yeah." Jaune said, "We are. Allies, at least for the Initiation. And perhaps more."

At that, Pyrrha chuckled, falling in on Nora's other side and chuckling as the girl turned to her to brag about her Semblance.

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Dealek :

Kind of light Warden, yeah, if you wanna use that to imagine it. And I'm glad you're enjoying the changes~!