Got Dayum did this take forever to write. That is on me. But here it is, in all of it's horrible-ness. I hope you like it!
It had taken a while for Luka to adjust to Beacon's fluid schedule, but she eventually did. First period was always a question for her— but it wouldn't be if she found the piece of paper with all her times on it.. She knew it was buried somewhere in her team's room, but she was too lazy to get it. But she'd manage without it for now. She had actually come up with a good system for finding her first period: she would go around and ask her teachers what day she had their class. If they said today, great. If not she'd just ask a question about the class. An upside to that was her doing well in her first periods, a downside was that there were only so many questions to ask.
Today was a Valeian day, which meant sitting in a language class. On top of that it was a lecture day...thrilling. Luka was fluent in the language of Vale, it being her second language after Menagerian, and for that, she was put in the normal version of the class with all the native speakers. It was a relatively low maintenance class. She rarely needed to pay attention in a lesson, opting instead to do other work or create team moves. But, as she said before, it was a lecture day. All of her attention was focused on the notes.
Well, almost all of her attention, "...And I said, 'Why don't you go mine some dust, Freak!'" Cardin said slightly louder than he should have. He and his gremlins shared a few chuckles. Team CDNL sat in front of her by a few rows. Just far enough away to not draw any ire, but just close enough to hear them when they got a little loud.
It was annoying at best, and disgusting at worst.
The only saving grace was that the class had an ironclad seating chart. They weren't allowed to move around in order to terrorize the students. That and the fact that the teacher was a Fanus. If she were seeing this from a screen, she'd think it was going to be a movie where the fanus reaches out and changes the racist for the better. But Cardin probably wasn't smart enough to have an epiphany of that size.
However, he was by no means stupid. He was a tactical racist who knew how to pick his fights. Cardin knew who he could bully with impunity, and who would turn him inside out. That was probably why he never tried anything with her, no one would dare draw LYAR's ire, mostly due to the two hulking giants that were Yossif and Rexus, but Anna's death glare could be just as effective as their prodigious and intimidating mass.
Oh but she wished he would, just once. Maybe twice. The pure satisfaction of introducing his smug grin to the floor would be enough for her, and the idea of redemption was almost enough of an excuse in and of itself.
A glance at the board brought Luka out of her thoughts. She didn't remember it being so full a few seconds ago. Her pen quickly threw down notes as her eyes darted between the board and her notebook.
"And then...I took it's wallet! You should've seen that fish freak's face!" Cardin boasted loudly. Luka's pen slowed to a halt as she sighed with annoyance.
"Cardin!" The teacher called, "Would you please refrain from talking in class? You may tell your life story to your friends later." Mr Pius, a grizzly bear fanus from what she could tell, had brown skin, brown hair, serious muscles, and a deep voice. He was the perfect man to scare someone like Cardin, but his looks betrayed him. He was one of the nicest people she had ever met.
Cardin's views prevented him from seeing that, and Luka could see him holding back a grimace as he leaned back in his chair. "Yes, Mr. Pius." He begrudgingly answered.
It was weird that he actually called him Mr. Pius. On the first day of his class he had given everyone permission to call him Mr. P, and almost everyone did.
Maybe Cardin wanted to be a respectful racist.
Luka chuckled a bit at her own joke. Cardin turned to glare at her from the small of his eye. She wanted so badly for him to try something, to give her a reason to lay him out. Just one reason would do, that's all she asked.
But as she said before, Cardin was a tactical racist. He knew when he was outclassed. "Now, as I was saying." Mr. P continued his lecture. Luka would have to get the rest of the notes from someone else. She was too busy thinking up a heroic scenario where she beat Cardin and his cronies and was the best.
Oh brother did she hate them.
Luka enjoyed her second period, but her third was where it was at. Study hall was a silent blast. She had the time to sleep and silence to do it. And Anna also had the class with her, Luka figured that today she could talk to her about Cardin instead of snoozing. It might help to get some anger off of her chest. And that was her plan up until she ran into them.
Actually that really wasn't how it went. It'd be more accurate to say that someone else ran into them.
Luka neared her third period, approaching the corner just before the classroom. As she neared the door, the rushed jingling of a backpack caught her ear. Heavy footfalls. Someone was running, her sensitive hearing could pick up the heavy breathing. Closer, closer. Luka pushed herself up against the wall. Cardin was on the same side of the corner as her, a smirk pulling at his mouth as he, too, heard the commotion.
His goons picked up on it, and they all smiled widely together. Did they know the person? Her question was answered when a backpack wearing wolf fanus wheeled the corner and slammed right into Cardin. The kid in question hit with just enough force to make Cardin stumble back. Cardin used that as more energy for his own attack, "Watch where you're going, dog!" Cardin shoved the kid like an asshole.
Cardin's cronies quickly encircled the fallen student and followed in their leader's footsteps. One gave a rather bog standard freak insult, while another spouted something so long winded and foul that she wasn't entirely sure she understood the meaning. And between those two extremes, everything else was said. At the rate they were going they'd run out of insults and have to move onto compliments in no time. That or make up new and even fouler words.
This was her chance! She could finally lay out Cardin with impunity! Luka became morbidly giddy, all she needed to do was summon the courage to sucker punch this dick. Perhaps she'd even do it literally instead of figuratively. That same thought must've been on others' minds, as more students began to circle the outskirts of the exchange. Maybe she would be the one to rally them? All she had to do was stand up and call for help, Cardin certainly didn't have friends in the crowd that would contest a mob of angry students. Luka's semblance slowly began to activate.
But the group of racists were nothing but observant. They had said their piece to the fanus, and could leave. They sauntered off down the hall and away from the danger zone. The other students also began to disperse, seeing as the moment had passed.
Luka's semblance immediately kicked off and she was left there with an empty feeling in her stomach.
An empty feeling that quickly turned into frustration.
She stormed into the classroom and sat in the very top back, far away from everyone else. She couldn't believe it. That was her one chance, and she had let it slip through her fingers. It was enraging. She sighed angrily and laid her head against the desk.
Someone sat down next to her, "Luka?" Asked Anna softly.
"What?" She spat back without lifting her head.
"What's wrong?" She asked with the tone you would use with a pouting child.
It annoyed Luka to no end. "Nothing."
Luka wasn't a very convincing liar, "Come now Luka, you can tell me." Sometimes Luka forgot Anna was born into a political talking family— Anna was using her special politician speech powers on her right now.
Well, she might as well not try and hide it any longer. "Cardin." She simply said, her voice layered with venom.
"Oh, him." Anna confirmed. Luka looked up at her friend's understanding face. That face then shifted to concern, "Did he do something to you?"
"No," Luka said as she sat up, "I kinda wish that he would. Then I'd have a reason to teach him some manners."
"Hmmmm." Anna hummed as she directed her attention towards the front of the class, "Maybe someone should knock them down a few pegs." She added with a brief laugh as roll call began.
"Yeah, yeah…" Luka let her head drop back onto the desk as she thought. Did Anna also want to teach them some manners? She must, since Luka couldn't fathom anyone actually liking him. Yeah, that was good. Luka now had two out of four teammates on board.
Today is the day that CRDL would have a change of heart…
...in the infirmary.
Luka was the first in the lunchroom, so she got to pick where everyone ate today. That spot was in a corner next to the front of the room.
With a very good sight on CRDL.
"...And so I was sitting there, seething. And then the fun police decided to come up to me and tell me to answer the question on the board. Let me tell you it took all my willpower not to punch her across the room!" Rexus was currently regaling the team with a tale from his second period.
"Ms. Peach isn't that bad." Yossif said as he poked at his food with a fork.
Anna laughed a bit, "Yes, why are you always angry at her?" Rexus made a series of noises that could only be labeled as frustration. Anna smiled with pride and turned to her other teammate. "Are you alright Yossif?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes I'm alright." He continued to poke at his food.
"Are you sure? I'm sure Rexus will trade his sandwich with you if you don't find your food appetising. He has probably eaten worse." Anna added with a smirk.
"Yeah, this one time I ate your attitude!" Rexus joked. A few weeks ago she may have taken offense to that, but now she just realized it was how he communicated.
"Yeah I'm fine, I'm just expecting a call from my dad." Yossif said as he stopped poking his food.
"Your dad?" Anna asked curiously.
"You're nervous because your dad is going to call you? Shouldn't you be looking forward to it?"
"I am… I just haven't talked to him in a while." Yossif said as he pushed the tray away from him.
"Again, shouldn't you be looking forward to it even more because of that?" Anna asked.
"Dude you don't know his dad. Harenae is a mean son of a gun!" Rexus proclaimed.
Yossif hit him in the shoulder a little harder than needed, to which Rexus responded with a low "ow". "My dad is a great person, I just hope he doesn't have any bad news to share." Yossif said while flushed his scroll out of his pocket to check it.
"Well, could you tell us about him while you wait?" Anna asked, "We aren't doing anything else right now, and your father sounds like an interesting man.
Yossif perked up at this, "Sure, I'd lov-." THe P.A. system grabbed every student's attention with a loud tone. A teacher's voice came over it, "Would Rexus Gallant please report to the headmasters office. Thank you."
The entire group and some other students immediately looked at Rexus.
"I swear it wasn't me." Rexus stated as he put his hands up.
"What did you do?" Anna asked.
"I don't know!" Rexus said in a slightly insulted tone.
"Sure." Yossif said, unconvinced.
Rexus placed his half eaten sandwich in front of his friend and stood. "I swear you guys act like I'm an untrustworthy child." The rest of them laid their eyes on him with unamused looks. "By the Brothers Weiss told you that story didn't she?"
"No," Anna said with a smirk, "But you will when you get back." That sentence caused a very frustrated look to come over Rexus. He quickly turned and departed before anyone could trick him into telling more embarrassing stories, all the while laying out a string of Atlesian curses. The whole group shared a small chuckle at this.
Luka was slightly disappointed that Rexus had left before a break in the conversation. She hadn't asked him about her Cardin plan. But it was fine, she could still ask Yossif. She tapped the table with her finger in an attempt to gather the rest of her team's attention. The action was not a success. Yossif's eyes were glued to his scroll, and Anna was watching Rexus go. She cleared her throat.
Still nothing.
"Guys!" She said with a bit of urgency. This got their attention, "I was just thinking abou-." Yossif's scroll went off, making him jump a bit in surprise.
Yossif glanced at it quickly and then stood, "It's my dad." He simply said. Anna and Luka both nodded, one in understanding and the other in disappointment. With that, a second member of LYAR departed.
Oh well, she could just ask them about Cardin later. She probably wouldn't get into any confrontation with Cardin today. And if she did, she still had Anna on board. "Well at least you're on board, Anna."
Her partner in crime raised an eyebrow at Luka, "On board with what, exactly?"
"About teaching Cardin a lesson." Luka said with confidence.
Anna just laughed and fished out a notebook from her bag, "When did I agree to that?"
Luka's confidence faltered, "During third." She said with a quiet voice.
Anna once again laughed, "It was in jest. I'd never risk anything for people like that. I have too much to lose, where they would only lose their pride. And besides, they are a null threat. They'd never raise so much as an eye to us. No one would with Rexus AND Yossif watching our backs." Anna fished a pencil out of her bag and got ready to write something. Before she did, she glanced up at her leader, "If I were you, I'd just ignore them. They aren't worth the dirt under your feet." With that, Luka's so-called "partner in crime" was out.
No…
...She was never in to begin with.
Was Luka the only one who saw a need for justice? So what if they weren't "worth it." She still just couldn't let them get away with it. To do so would make her just as guilty as them.
She laid her head on the cafeteria table and stared at CRDL's table with a scowl. She was so frustrated that she even let out a low growl.
Cardin and his despicable friend were yucking it up about something, no doubt related to fanus misfortune. It made her sick just being in the same room as them.
And she nearly screamed when they grabbed another fanus' ear.
Cardin reached out and roughly pulled on a passerby's ear. She didn't know who it was, and she didn't care.
That was the last straw.
If Luka had to beat them to a pulp by herself, so be it.
Yossif didn't bother to fully open the doors to the cafeteria and instead just slipped through as soon as he was able. With one slightly shaking hand he gently shut the artistically designed doors. He'd describe them in full, but he had things other than architecture on his mind, chief among them being the vibrating scroll in his right hand.
No picture was on the display, so his father had probably chosen to call him from some ancient payphone, but whatever city still used payphones was beyond him. Maybe there was one tucked away in some unmarked ruin. Vacuo was a big place, afterall. He wouldn't be surprised if there was a place so hidden that they still believed in magic.
Magic, now there was a grand delusion if he'd ever seen any. It was such a grand delusion in fact that it sucked some of his attention away from his anxiety. It then kept his attention just long enough for him to walk under one of the many ancient stone arches dotting the campus.
The stone was beautiful. It had been chiseled out so well that not even the years of weather damage could fully destroy the artistry of it. Each ornate mark in the rock came together into a larger picture. It was a carving of two men speaking. Yossif noted that one of the figures looked distinctively fatherly
Guess there was no avoiding it.
Yossif took a final deep breath and held it for a brief moment. He then closed his eyes, exhaled, and put the scroll to his ear. "Hello?" He said with as even and monotone a voice he could muster.
"Kid." Yossif heard his father reply from the otherside of the line. His voice was accompanied by the dull roar of a crowd.
"Dad." Yossif replied. An outsider may see how his father and he communicated as aloof, maybe even outwardly cold. This was false. Yossif and Harenae were very close. When asked about his father, Yossif could confidently state that he and his dad were even best friends. They just showed their feelings a little strangely. His father was a very quiet man. So quiet that you'd probably be able to count the amount of words he spoke in a year on a twelve by twelve multiplication table. With this being the case, the phone was a hard place for both of them. "How… are you?"
Harenae grunted, which was barely audible over the crowd he seemed to be in the middle of.
Crowds, a place which Harenae had expressly told Yossif he hated. It was one of their longer conversations actually. That made it all the stranger that he seemed to be stuck into one at the moment. "Hey, where are you Dad?"
"Dave's." Yossif heard his father say as the sound started to die away.
Dave's bar. A place that not even the owners liked. It was a run down bar that had long run dry. For that reason it was sort of converted into a local spot for mercenaries, bounty hunters, hitmen, and anyone else that earned a living off of a gun. They had visited the place a few times to check the available jobs, but they never stayed long. That was partly because of the crowds the place attracted and partly because of its location. The trek from their little home to the capital was a long one.
Wait a minute…
Dad was in the capital?
Yossif felt a pang of worry rise up from his stomach. "Wait Dad, is everything alright?" The only situation in which Yossif could fathom his father being in the capital was work or an emergency.
"Yes." His father said in a simple and monotone voice.
"Oh." That caught Yossif off guard, "There's nothing wrong?"
"No." Harenae said with a miniscule hint of confusion in his voice. "What did you think was wrong?"
Yossif took a brief moment to dispel the worry he had built up, "Nothing nothing, it's just… Why are you in the capital?"
There was a pause in which the sound of a chair scraping across concrete could be heard. "I came here four days ago to finish a job." The crowd was quiet now. Harenae had probably moved away to some corner of the room. "I've been around since then."
Yossif's eyes narrowed a bit as he thought. "Why did you stay?"
"I wanted to make sure we talked on time. It's hard to make sure your son is still alive when you're in the middle of the desert without a working phone."
Yossif imagined his father's face displaying a small smirk, just as he was. "Thanks Dad."
Both Yossif and Harenae sat in silence for a while. It was an enjoyable quiet, like the ones where you sit back and admire your work on a job, or project, or your first weapon. Yossif was so caught up in the nice moment that he almost missed his father opening a notepad. Some things never changed, eh? "Do you want to hear about the team, Dad?"
His father laughed one of his rare laughs, earning a big and prideful smile from Yossif, "Only if you're leading it, kid."
Yossif also let out an earnest chuckle, "Sadly that didn't happen," His father grunted in acknowledgment, "We are LYAR."
There was the distinct scratching sound of a pen stopping halfway through a word from Harenae's side of the line. "Liar like a dishonest person?" His father asked with no small amount of interest in his voice.
Yossif chuckled again, "I was thinking lyre as in the instrument, but your version does sound cool. I might think of it like that from now on." He made a quick mental note to talk with the rest of his team about this later. They still hadn't given their name much thought.
Harenae gave a slight hum, "That it does. It is strange how it isn't a color though." Yossif's father mused more to himself than his son.
"Well, there isn't an infinite amount of colors to choose from. Maybe they just couldn't link anything together." Yossif offered.
"Doubtful." His father simply replied. Yossif was a little inclined to agree himself. With the team names they had seen over the years, it was strange that they did not cobble the four of their names together to form some strange pigment that no one had ever heard of. "Oh well, at least you're already standing out." Harenae used a bit of sarcasm.
It was a little hard to decipher with his monotone voice, but Yossif caught it. "Thank you for the compliment.
"Mhmm, your teammates?" Harenae asked with interest. The sound of the pen scratching across the notepad was once again heard.
"Oh, lets see," Yossif strung together all of his knowledge of his team and condensed it into a quick summary for his father. "Our leader is Luka Caniem, a fanus from Menagerie. We also have the daughter of the Mistral Trading Company with us, Anna Castellen. And finally, Rexus Gallant.
"Ah yes. I remember Gallant. You two getting along?" Harenae asked
"Yes, he's actually my best friend." Yossif said with an entertained smirk. He then added, "Though If things soured I could take him."
"If it's anything like last time, I'd be more cautious than that." Ah, last time. That seemed to be the ever present thing his father would say when Yossif showed any sense of confidence.
Yossif and Rexus had actually known each other before Beacon, as anyone who witnessed their friendship could clearly see. Though very few are privy to the exact details of their relationship. Their first meeting, and really the start of their friendship, wasn't very friendly at all. It was as enemies on two sides of a firefight.
It was over a box in the desert. Yossif didn't think either side knew exactly what was in it, but whatever it was must've been worth a small fortune. The fight happened in a sort of cave. Yossif and harenae were hired along with a bunch of mercs to pull a little stone box from an ancient tomb. Everything was going smoothly up until they got the thing onto a pallet for transport. That was when a tide of hostile mobsters rushed in. They were all done up in vests and military gear. It was real scary to the poor unarmored and basically unarmed mercs. So scary that most surrendered on the spot. Those who didn't got shot or skewered in short order. All except for Yossif and Harenae. They were fortunate enough to have solid rock cover nearby when the brief struggle started. They held out for a bit, but were forced to retreat when the mobsters FIXED BAYONETS and charged them. Thankfully there was another way out of the tomb that they could get to.
And where was Rexus in all of this?
That psycho led the damn charge with his two knives.
After that they kept bumping into each other more often. Sometimes as adversaries, but mostly as allies. Up until this last one that they did. Not much of a story really. Yossif, Harenae, and a bunch of other muscle were protecting some guy who made the mistake of paying up front. Rexus and his group descended upon them and there was a big sword fight. About the only interesting part was how Yossif forced Rexus to retreat and even shot a piece out of his vest as he ran. Though that was only after he and his group skewered the guy who had already paid everyone.
"Dad, you say it like he almost killed us. We had him on the ropes." Yossif asserted.
"He did almost kill you." Harenae said with a hint of annoyance. "The only thing that saved you was my intervention and his own exhaustion."
"Yeah yeah." Yossif often intentionally forgot that piece of info.
There was another silence after that brief scolding. Yossif was unsure of how to continue, and Harenae was probably letting the thoughts in his son's head sit for a bit. "You two are getting along, though?" Hharenae asked after a while.
"Yeah. No real arguments." A curious thing about Remnant was how the grimm influenced life for the people. Regular civilians could go their whole life without so much as a run in with a grimm. But for Mercenaries they were an omni-present threat just as other mercs were. For that reason fighting between two off job mercs was extremely rare. The stress of work was something everyone wanted to solely keep in work. From that wish a sort of knightly code was born. Every Merc was to respect and help each other when not on a job. Of course it wasn't a written rule, so some don't follow it. Most people do though. Yossif and Rexus were no exception.
He could imagine his father nodding as he digested the information, "And everyone else?"
"I get along with almost everyone at the school," Yossif replied, "My team most of all. We are a motley crew, but they've grown on me."
"Hm," Yossif heard his father scribble something down on the notepad, "You said something about not getting along with everyone?"
"I get along with everyone I talk to just fine, I just don't talk to many people." Yossif dug through his memory for any interesting tidbit concerning the day to day socialization of his team. "Though I can't really say the same about our leader."
"Oh?" Harenae said with interest in his voice.
"Yeah so I told you how she was fanus, right?" Yossif's father grunted in affirmation. "Well there's this other team called CRDL, and they don't like fanus. Actually I don't think they really like anybody." Yossif had a knack for reading someone from a distance. It was something he picked up from his father. With this skill, he would usually know how a person was feeling before they even registered his presence. There was no better example of this than with Luka.
She had never told Yossif outright about her feelings towards CRDL, but it wasn't a hard nut to crack. She was angry at them. She hated them. And all that rage was held back by the threat of suspension.
Yossif had a feeling that threat was shrinking in her mind.
"And has anything come of this?" Harenae asked with a tone usually reserved for generals creating a battle plan.
"No, but something will if she doesn't get a shot at them." Yossif concluded.
"Well then, you must keep an eye on her. It'd be a shame to have to be on a three person team." Yossif imagined his father nodding with a very posh looking expression.
"Yeah, I'll try." Yossif nodded to himself.
There was a distinct tapping noise from the otherside of the line. Harenae was gently hitting a pen against his notepad, a sign of him searching for something to say. "Aside from CRDL, who are the rest of the teams?" He asked.
Yosif took a second to organize the jumble of info that question had created in his mind, "Uhhh lets see… There's RWBY, who we are all pretty good friends with. Then we have JNPR, but they're really RWBY's friends more than ours so we don't spend all that much time around them. And finally there's CFVY, who are our friends more than they are the others' friends."
There was a brief silence. "Anything interesting about the individual team members?" Harenae asked expectantly.
"With the exception of four, not really." Yossif plainly replied.
There was another longer silence. "Don't keep me in the dark, kid."
Yossif chuckled with light amusement, "Starting off with RWBY, their leader, whose name is also Ruby, wields a scythe. It's pretty cool. Though it looks like she had a hard time swinging it. I would guess that the wielder hasn't seen much fight."
"Wait, her name and the team is the same?" Harenae seemed confused. Yossif felt his pain.
"Yep."
"Oh," His father fell silent for a bit while he searched for the right words. "That's dumb." He was ever the wordsmith.
"Oh and Weiss Schnee is on the same team. It's weird to be close to someone you only hear about on the news."
"Ah, I'd bet." There was nothing they could really say about her. While she was a bit stuck up, even being that way in the public domain, she was of rather good character. He'd even go to say she was nice in a strange way.
"Yeah, she's got a rapier I think. You can tell her family put her through some fancy fencing lessons. I wouldn't bet that she has any real combat experience though."
"Hmm, the other two?" His father asked after a second of loud writing.
Yossif shifted the scroll to his left ear in order to give himself a moment to collect his words. "Do you remember that one time we saw the Mistral tournament on TV?" His father grunted in place of a yes. "Do you remember who won that time?"
Yossif heard his father put down his pen and begin to think. "Oh, what was her name?" Harenae asked himself. THere was an almost audible ding when he got it. "You know the Invincible Girl?"
Yossif laughed heartily, "After this year, I'll know a good few celebrities."
Harenae joined in with his own deep laugh, "That you will."
"It is strange though, Pyrrha not going to some weird niche school."
"Perhaps she sought an end to the limelight?"
"Maybe, or maybe she just isn't quite as good as her handlers would have you believe. From what I've seen so far, she's quite average. So much so that even Jaune could somewhat keep up with her."
There was a slight grumble of sorts from his fathers side. It was then immediately followed by, "Jaune?"
"Yeah, Jaune. He's Pyrrha's leader."
"That must mean he's got some prowess, yet you act like he's a incompetent."
There was a small part of Yossif that wanted to be nice about this, afterall Jaune was a friend. But the majority of him could not look past Jaune's own... less than stellar ability. "That's because he is. Both in his leadership and his fighting ability. I'm not even sure if he could hold his own against a pacifist cripple."
There was a silence where Yossif had expected laughter. It took only a few moments, but that particular lack of noise seemed to drag on for a minute or so. "It seems you've become the best fighter to ever walk Remnant since you got there?" Harenae's voice carried with it a certain coldness. It wasn't quite disgust or disappointment, but distance
Yossif hated it, "No." He answered softly. His eyes fell to look at his feet.
"Hmm, but you can beat Rexus, and Weiss, and everyone else. Surely you'd be a better leader than even Ozpin?" Harenae asked with an authority to his voice. It was the same type of tone that Weiss' parents probably used. It was far off like it wasn't being directed at you, yet it cut just as deep as a particularly nasty insult would. Yossif chose to hold his tongue instead of answering. "Perhaps you'd even be able to put this old man away?"
"Dad I didn't mean it like-."
"Quiet." Harenae's voice carried such an icy bite that not even Atlesians could survive it. "I'm not sure where you learned to talk down about others behind their backs, but you will stop. This arrogance will only lead to your embarrassment. And others will suffer because of it. You will suffer because of it." With that Harenae stopped his brief lecture. Like the many times before this, the two shared a silence. Though it wasn't an enjoyable or aimless silence like they had earlier. This was an especially emotional one.
Yossif had noted earlier how his father wasn't very talkative. It was something he himself tried to replicate. The reason being his father's violently efficient lectures. His silence only seemed to increase the amount of power his words held. And this felt like one hell of a sucker punch to Yossif
There was a loud sigh from the other end, "I'm...sorry." Harenae stated. His voice had mostly returned to it's normal monotone self, with a slight hint of sadness.
Yossif quickly rushed to reassure his father, "No no, it's fine."
"I…" Harenae faltered, but he eventually found the right words, "I hate to get cross with you, but sometimes I just don't understand where you get your pride."
"I know." Yossif briefly thought about offering up an excuse, but instead chose to silently reflect. He tried to center his thoughts in a vain attempt at remaining calm.
He was failing.
But his father wouldn't let him wallow in self pity for longt. "Heh, perhaps you are more like me than I realize." Harenae let out a very soft chuckle.
Yossif tried to find something witty and entertaining to say. He scoured his mind for a joke, or pun, or anything remotely light hearted. After failing to find that, he went with what came to him. "I try, dad."
That earned a warm chuckle from his father, "Thanks, kid." Yossif listened as the older man packed away his notepad and pen. "I suppose it's time to go?"
Yossif looked at the time and sighed with disappointment, "Yeah, I guess."
"Should I call in two weeks?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm, well be safe son."
"You too, dad." There was a brief moment in which neither of the two hung up. It was like they were waiting for something from the other. Perhaps they wanted to say something more. Something with a bit more sincerity than "be safe." It would only take an extra second.
Harenae didn't have an extra second. He ended the call without so much as an extra breath, leaving Yossif to sit alone with a feeling of shame in his chest.
Yossif rarely experienced this feeling. He hardly had much to be ashamed of. He had survived living as a gun for hire in Vacuo all these years. He had fought with tooth and nail to eat and drink. He had made money to help his adoptive father after he had helped him. And even now he was becoming a hunter for the sole purpose of making more money in order to let his father retire. His cause was, by all extents, noble.
Yet that was exactly why he felt shame. To fight for such a good cause, and yet be a disappointment to that cause.
That was how Yossif felt to his father. He was a disappointment. Harenae had tried to teach him humility, and Yossif had failed to learn. It was demoralizing. Yossif hated himself for letting his mouth run. He hated himself for making a man of few words use those words to express dis-satisfaction with him. And, above all, he hated himself for letting it happen again.
This sort of pity party was what usually followed after Harenae lectured Yossif on anything. And the reason was rather simple. Harenae was everything to Yossif. He looked up to him. He respected him. He even wanted to be exactly like him. And why wouldn't he? Harenae was a tough as nails ex-hunter who fought for what he believed in, made a living with his own blade and head, and took nothing from nobody. He was the epitome of cool for Yossif. And, to top it off, he was the one who saved Yossif from being an orphan. To feel shame for disappointing such a man, even in a small way, was natural. Maybe it wasn't natural to feel such an extreme shame that Yossif felt, but that was how he felt.
But then a thought formed in Yossif's head. Perhaps Harenae was wrong about him. Maybe he didn't see the whole picture quite as clearly as Yossif did. He was a half a continent away or so. Of course, Harenae was still disappointed at Yossif's perceived arrogance, and that caused Yossif shame. But that was just how it was going to be until he could show Harenae what was going on.
Yossif had never viewed his father's judgement as fallible before. It was a strange new line of thinking for him. So strange, in fact, that he needed to take his mind off of it for now. He needed something else to focus on. Something static.
The stone arch above him would do.
It was old, quite old. From what he had learned it could be centuries old. So old that it once had a pitch black outside before the elements turned it a cold gray. But it's age could never fully cover up the engravings. The surface of the stone was covered in beautiful engravings, some of which were even made complete with metal inlaid into them. Each turn and curve in the carving was made by a skillful hand with a superb tool. There were no mistakes that anyone could pick out. It was by all accounts, the perfect art piece.
And how was this piece enjoyed? Was it sat in a throne room for a king? Was it held as a personal treasure by some collector? Was it buried deep and forgotten as part of some ancient prophecy? No, this arch, and all the other old stones dotting the campus were used for the same purpose. They were all story books. Each and every stone held a carving of an old tale. This one he was under in particular was the story of the Horsemen, the one over there was of the Maidens, and another on the other side of Beacon was of their war. And those three were just a few of what he recognized. There had to be at least a hundred of these things.
All these things were found around Vale, and transported to Beacon at the whim of some of her more egomaniacal headmasters. Since then they've been researched and documented up until the world ran out of paper. But even with all these minds on them, they still leave one mystery. How did stories from the four corners of the world end up on some ancient rocks? According to carbon dating, these engravings predate serious sea travel by at least 200 years or so.
These things were interesting. Interesting enough to make Yossif stay outside. He figured it'd be fine if he spent the rest of lunch out here. He'd eaten already and there was nothing to do. He also didn't really want to tell the girls about his conversation with his father as he couldn't really tell how it went himself. Yossif's head still spun from the new line of thinking. No, he'd stay out here and give himself some isolation. Give himself some time to stop swimming in his own thoughts.
And give Rexus some time to get back from whatever he'd brought upon himself. He'd hate to have to tell his team about things multiple times.
Rexus couldn't help but constantly be amazed at Beacon's facilities. They were certainly a step above what he knew in Atlas.
Of course, Atlas Academy was no slouch on tech. It was certainly much higher in the fancy tech department than this academy, but Beacon held a sort of artistry he had never seen before. The entire superstructure of the school was crafted from what seemed like the dreams of ancient kings. Each buttress, each window, and each wall were all masterfully crafted down to the nail. Not to mention the internals, which seemed to run off of clockwork. Giant gears and cogs constantly ticked towards something. Maybe an unforeseen calamity, a terrible apocalypse known only to the master architect of this facility. Could also be some kind of elaborate microwave timer.
Rexus laughed to himself as the elevator started to climb. Since when did he care about some weird modern art? The point was that Beacon was much nicer than the official Atlas barracks, though it could all be trumped by the Don's familiar hospitalities.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to a clockwork room. He could hear a slight ticking around him, as if he were inside of a giant watch. It had been awhile since he last entered this waiting room. Knowing his luck it probably wouldn't be the last time either. Etter to get acquainted now. Rexus took a slow step out of the elevator, attempting to commit to memory as much as he could.
This room was seemingly designed to be off-putting. The floor and ceiling was made of thick, translucent glass protecting a diverse and complicated amalgam of moving gears. The walls were covered with pictures of past headmasters, their framed portraits pinned to a beautifully patterned green wallpaper. Directly in front of him was a pair of dark wood double doors no doubt leading into the main office. Next to the doors was an ornate desk. No one sat behind it. The room felt both large and small, empty and full. It was a beauty of a room, make no mistake. But it seemed to watch him like a hawk. It felt like the walls themselves bore down on him.
All and all, this place was where bad students got scared straight.
The wooden doors leading into the main office suddenly opened. Rexus, having been enamored by the spooky scary room, was entirely surprised. He jumped back a bit and placed a hand on one of his many concealed knives. And he hated to admit it, but he may have also yelped somewhere in there as well.
Of course, nothing exciting happened, it was just Ms. Goodwitch. Rexus breathed an audible sigh of relief and stood straight up. Of course she'd be here, after all she was the pseudo vice principal. Vice headmaster? Eh, same thing.
"Mr. Gallant. Professor Ozpin is waiting for you." She looked at him up and down as an adept security guard would. A single raised eyebrow alerted Rexus to where he still had his hand.
"Oh, thank you." Rexus quickly removed his hand from the hidden blade and slipped past her. Weird, he thought, was she gonna stay for whatever was going on? He didn't particularly like the thought of her gaze burning through the back of his skull. Thankfully, he heard her walk through the door and shut it.
"You know." Rexus perked up at the headmaster's voice. He sat at a strangely shaped desk with moving internal cogs. As far as Rexus could tell, the gears were purely for show. "When Ironwood told me about you all that time ago, he never mentioned that you break rules." Ozpin said from behind steepled fingers. Rexus tilted his head in an attempt to try and figure out what he did wrong. Ozpin let him stand and think for a bit, using the time to organize a few things. After ten seconds of Rexus wearing a perplexed face, Ozpin chuckled. "The knife on your person." He extended a hand towards Rexus'...everywhere. "Or...knives would be more accurate."
Rexus opened his mouth to speak, but stopped halfway through. After a second he tried again to explain himself. This time he raised a finger up in addition to opening his mouth. Nothing came out for a second time. Eventually he ceded with a low, "Yeah."
"Yes," Ozpin said while leaning back in his chair. His fingers were still steepled dramatically in front of his face, "I believe it is stated rather clearly in the student handbook that no student is allowed to have their weapons on their person while they are on campus. It is why the lockers exist, afterall."
Rexus clenched his teeth with a bit of shame, "I never got around to reading the handbook, sir."
The Headmaster simply gave a knowing smile, "Of course. I believe I am correct in the assumption that many other students also do not read the handbook." The Headmaster turned slightly in his chair and lifted a yellow folder off of his desk, all the while keeping Rexus in view. "But I'll let this slight transgression slide. Your record pins you as a trustworthy kid, though perhaps not the most knife safety oriented." Ozpin opened the file and immediately grimmiced. "Please sit. I'd like to talk to you about something."
Rexus pulled out the chair and briefly thought about trying to give up his knives in order to avoid whatever punishment was coming his way. He instead decided to shut up and not mention it. If Ozpin didn't bring it back up again, why should he?
As soon as Rexus got situated, the Headmaster passed him a small picture from the file. It slid over the table and right into his lap. To Rexus' surprise, it was of him. His left hand in particular. It was the picture the nurse took after he had managed to get a kitchen knife embedded in his palm. "Oh, I remember this! It sucked!" Rexus smiled and laughed with amusement.
"Oh? It looks like it. Though you seem rather chipper for someone looking at an image of their own bloody palm." Ozpin smiled lightly and thumbed through the rest of the file. "Surely it wasn't so bad?"
"No, this was painful. I was crying and everyone else was freaking out. And that doctor who took it out was completely drenched in blood afterwards." Rexus recalled the event with almost childish amounts of glee. "And apparently it was the poor guy's first day. Can you believe that?"
"It seems like you had quite the childhood." Ozpin stated while looking at a few, more "colorful" pictures.
"Yeah, stuff was crazy when I was seven." Rexus brought his hands up to show off the multitude of scars they had. Ozpin raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I'm pretty sure it got worse though. Way worse."
"Hmm." Ozpin handed Rexus another photo. This one was of a large piece of rebar sticking through his left leg.
Rexus whistled, "This one… this is a classic."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "The story behind it must be a grand adventure?"
"Nope, tryna impress a girl." That earned a wide eyed and curious stare from the headmaster. "Yeah I was jumping around a construction site in order to show off my skills to this chick. A few events happened including wet concrete, and the next thing you know I'm two stories down with a piece of metal in my leg. Also lost the shoes to the aforementioned concrete. But on the bright side, did impress that girl." Rexus smiled to himself and thought back to that day. It sucked then, but it sure was sweet now. The girl probably remembered, but would deny any accusations of being impressed by his idiocy. Rexus always got butterflies when he thought about that whole situation. He hoped she did, too.
Ah, are stories not great?" Ozpin said, tearing Rexus from his daydream. He stood and walked towards the glass behind him.
"Yeah, they're pretty cool." Rexus nodded.
"Yes, they shape us. Mold us into what we are. And they will continue to do so as long as they exist." Ozpin stared out across the campus at some unknown thing. "Without them we are nothing. Just like how without yours, that picture would be nothing but obscene visera." Ozpin turned back towards Rexus. "Without stories, we are powerless."
Rexus nodded his head with a bit of uncertainty. "Sure, sir."
"Ah but listen to me ramble." Ozpin sat back behind his desk and motioned for the picture, which Rexus gave him. "I sound like a madman, don't I?" Rexus shrugged, to which Ozpin chuckled. "Rest assured, I am going somewhere with all of this." Ozpin slowly leaned back in his chair and took on a professional teacher's tone. "Have you ever taken a look at the stones dotting Beacon?"
"Yeah, I see those big rocks everyday. What about them?"
"Since year one, every candidate headmaster of this academy has given a presentation on one of those "rocks" to the current headmaster. Though they are not limited to only stones. Anything with a story to tell is fair game. They must research, document, and completely master the subject it represents. If it is a simple column, the headmaster must learn all they can about it's design, make, and exact purpose. If it is a sword, they must understand how to use it, how to create it, and why it was designed. And if it is a story, they must simply understand it."
Rexus nodded, "Seems easy. Did anyone ever not pick a story?"
"All the headmasters before me did. No candidate that has done a story has ever been selected," Ozpin stood and motioned for Rexus to do the same. "No candidate but me." He walked back over to the window overlooking the campus with Rexus in tow. "Do you see that arch near the cafeteria?"
Rexus peered through the thick glass "Oh yeah. Wait a minute...hey it's Yossif!" His teammate was sitting against it while on the phone. "Guess Harenae finally called."
"Do you see anything special about that arch, Rexus? Ozpin asked as he put his hands behind his back.
"Other than that unit sitting under it, no."
"That, Rexus, is my rock. And on it is my favorite story. That of the Maiden's."
Rexus nodded, "Eh, I was always more of a Horsemen guy myself."
"Yes, well you can't really learn about the four Maiden's without at least hearing about the four Horsemen. They are as connected as humans and air." Ozpin looked over at his student. "Rexus I called you in here today so I could talk to someone who knows as much about the Horseman as I do the Maidens. I wish to have a sort of debate with you."
A debate? That surprised Rexus. To him, debates were something old men held by a fire. Seeing as Ozpin was probably only in his late 40's, there were no old men. That and he'd find it had to imagine starting a fire in a mostly non-flammable room. "A debate, sir?"
"Yes." Ozpin walked back to his desk.
"About a bedtime story?" Rexus stayed firmly in place, only moving in order to watch the Headmaster walk.
Ozpin moved his head around a bit, as if weighing the situation. "I'll admit, it is a tad silly when you say it like that. But I believe it will be interesting. A bit of mental stimulation before you finish your classes for the day."
"I...uh… No offense sir, but don't you have something more important to do?" Rexus was wholly unsure of the situation. On one hand, he didn't mind a bit of dumb conversation to alliviate the boredom of this tedious school day. But on the other, he didn't want to make a fool of himself to Ozpin. He kinda wanted to keep the Headmaster thinking he was at least semi competent. Having an intellectual argument may mess that up.
"Sure, I could spend my whole day looking after finances and curricular minutia. I have a mound of reports, field trip permissions, ammunition grants, and medical papers piling up that need to be attended to. But I find that all terribly dull. I figured that a little spice in my day would do me good. I also assumed that you wouldn't mind a little in yours as well." Ozpin extended a hand to the seat across from him in an expectant manner. Rexus still stood in place, wondering just what he'd do. "Of course, you can leave if you'd like. I will not force you to have this conversation." Ozpin used a very specific tone of voice just then. The same type you use when you double dog dare someone. He had issued a challenge to Rexus, and effectively prevented him from leaving the room.
Rexus sighed and walked over to the chair, "Sure, why not. I already finished lunch anyway. I will warn you though, I'm not the best master debater." Rexus offered a bit of humor in order to calm his own nerves. To say he was a fair bit nervous was an understatement. He was about to discuss a story, in an intellectual and academic way, with one of the four headmasters. This was big stuff.
Course it didn't help that he had never been one on one with Ozpin before. Sure he had held long-ish conversations with the man, but never by himself. There was always at least one other person in the room. It also didn't help that Rexus had let others do the talking for most of his life. He had always been the guy to nudge a meeting into happening, often with violence. And then he would be the guy to look tough during the meeting. And sometimes he'd even be the guy to bash some heads in after said meeting. But he had never been the guy that talks. Because of that, even though this conversation would mean next to nothing, Rexus was anxious.
Ozpin laughed, "Do not fret, this isn't graded. Just relax and enjoy a good story telling."
Hey, Vsauce, Michael here. Do you know where the time went? Neither do I. But somewhere within that span of time I have created this! I think I did good. I like where I got it going. I like what I got going. And I especially l like who I got it going with. On that note, I'd like to thank my beta SwagMagusSupreme for being a great help and a generally cool dude. Without you, this story would likely suck horribly.
Anyway, I'm off to write the next chapter. I've learnt from my mistakes and I refuse to say anything that could jinx this. All I got to say is that the people who read this are legends and I love every one of you.
Like always, have a good one!
Stay alive!
And don't Die!
Peace!