Welcome back everyone to another chapter of 'The Darkling Thrush'!

As usual I'd like to thank those who left a review. Thank you Baoh joestar, jin0uga, Ussop and noone297. As always I enjoy your comments, they make writing this story worth it.

Also, I found out this story got added to a community. That's cool right? That has never happened during my time in FF. That's great right? Although I don't know how to feel about the community this was added to. It's the 'RWBY No Yuri No Yaoi' community. I don't know how I feel about that. But okay. Alright. That happened.

Well enough of my blabbing, on with the show.

XXVI

Downtime: Part 1

It had been four days since Team CRDL returned home to Beacon. In that time the likes of Tam RWBY had foiled a most sinister plot involving criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick and his White Fang affiliates at Mountain Glenn. The twenty four seven news cycle was just bursting with positivity about the matter. Analysts predict a decline in recent gangland activity here in Vale. No more organized acts of violence. Just the occasional mugger or looter, but nothing sinister to be named.

Because of the coverage regarding the Glenn, there was less eyes looking the way Team CRDL had come. No one's talking about the foiled White Fang-Grimm acquisition. And why would they? Because it wasn't foiled. In reality Team CRDL's efforts had proven how inattentive the Huntsmen have been. No doubt several hundred Grimm had been swiped right under their noses by the radical White Fang to do god knows what.

In a world where doubt and negativity attracts beasts and demons, why would anyone want to report on such a disaster? Sure there could be the free agent or independent paper who deals in ideals, believing everything must be known, the public has a right. And then that's when the Atlesian military comes to kick down your doors, point a gun at your head and ask politely to look the other way.

But that was alright, no harm no foul. Let the knights in silver, mass produced armor walk among the people and police, that was fine by Russel. No one was talking about the homestead that burnt down that very Tuesday. No one was asking how or why, only a small town left in the dark stuck around to mourn the lost. Three people were buried this very week.

And that brings Russel to the present, waiting outside another team's dorm room. Team DNCE, as the young Thrush had been informed, had shipped out on a mission that very Tuesday. As the only other Oakwood local attending Beacon, Russel carried with him the burden of knowledge, which would be passed to another, a sister in arms you could say. But Marie-Anne was anything but sisterly.

Boots off the airship just an hour earlier, no doubt from a crummy first mission, Russel could see the discontent in Marie-Anne's green eyes as she stepped out the elevator down the hall. He could see that very irritation growing at the sight of him. It was well deserved, Russel acknowledged, he'd done some terrible things to her, ruined possibly one of the greatest moments of her life a little ways back. But he wasn't sorry about it.

She'd dyed her hair, since last he'd seen her. Now out of the bottle red, a poor choice in Russel's opinion. The dirt and grime from the forest floor stuck to it like a glow light. Her cross expression was an all too familiar one as she stopped just outside her dorm. She'd have entered the room without saying a word to Russel, that's how it would've gone. But Russel was mindful of such an outcome. So that's why he was leaning on the door.

"You mind moving?" Marie-Anne asked lowly, doing her best not to cause a scene. It was understandable, she just got back from a mission and it obviously didn't go well. The last person she wanted to see was Russel.

"You and I gotta talk." Russel uttered, meeting her angered gaze with a neutral one of his own. He wasn't there to kick up another storm. This wasn't business nor was it pleasure. Russel's presence here today was about human decency, nothing more, nothing less.

There was that familiar fierceness in her eyes. She may have gotten back at Russel on the night of the dance, but that would never make up for the years she'd known him. She could've kicked him in the balls right then and there, force him out the way. She toyed with that idea for a little bit, Russel could tell. He could practically hear the gears turning in that head of hers.

"I'm not here to fight." Russel said, quickly raising his hands in defense. Aside from not wanting to fight, there was no real way for him to prevent Marie-Anne from causing harm on his person, so an olive branch of sorts was his only way of walking away without swollen balls. "Just to talk."

"When is it ever that simple with you?" Marie-Anne spoke bitterly.

"Ruddy, Burgundy and Marlowe are dead." Russel broke the news to her calmly.

Marie-Anne just stared at Russel, looking offended that he could stoop so low, thinking that the young Thrush was making this all up just to mess with her. But the longer she stared at Russel, the more she looked into his eyes, the more she studied his features. There wasn't a curl of the lips, no shit eating grin, no enjoyment was had when he delivered the news. And then the gravity behind Russel's words was fully realized. She was at a loss of words.

Seeing as she wasn't going to be interrupting him anytime soon, Russel continued with the rest of his piece. "Your family misses you, you know?" Russel said as he kicked off the door and side stepped passed Marie-Anne. "You should call more. Right now might just be the best time for that."

"Yeah, yeah." Marie-Anne muttered as her gaze fell downward at the floor. The pride of Oakwood was dead. People she knew just as well as Russel, people whom she'd loved possibly even more were gone.

Russel lingered for a moment. He'd said what he'd come to say, now he should be going, let Marie-Anne mourn, let her do something he couldn't. But there was a part of Russel that felt like he should stay. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her still standing there, lost in her mind. It was a prick of empathy, nothing more. So he shrugged it off and then carried on his way. He had other things to do before tonight.

Up ahead stepping out of the elevator, Russel could see another familiar face stepping off and onto the floor. He raised a hand and called out to the approaching peer. "Oi, Danny." Russel called out lazily, flagging down the approaching Team DNCE leader.

"Ho, Russel." The leader of Team DNCE, Danny Matchstick raised a hand in acknowledgment.

"It's Saturday, you gonna make it tonight?" Russel said as he and Danny stopped in the middle of the hall. "Sky's setting up for it as we speak."

"Need to get the room in order for the festivities." Danny chuckled to himself, finding such a thing so amusing. Danny looked as worse for wear as Marie-Anne if not even more. But there was always something about the guy, maybe his personality, which made him so approachable. His reply was thought out, not spontaneous. "But yes, I'll make it tonight. Wouldn't miss it for the world." He said, almost confirming that of all the crap he and his team had been rooted in this past week, the Matchstick boy had something to look forward to.

"Alright, see you there." Russel said his goodbyes with a wav e of the hand. Danny did the same and then they went off in their separate ways.

Russel continued on his way, not sparing look back. He hopped into the elevator and caught a ride down to the bottom floor. Before he knew it the doors were opening and he was stepping out, allowing a number of other students to jump inside and head on up.

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon. With all the missions going on and the upcoming Vtyal Festival just a month away, class had been suspended in favor of preparing the students for the obstacles they would surely face. To those students who'd already participated in missions like CRDL, RWBY and JNPR, they were left to vegetate out here in Beacon.

That gave them all chances to catch up on the more mundane things life had to offer. As soon as they arrived back at Beacon, Dove had locked himself in the dorm room for a three day tv show binge. Aside from preparing for the tonight's main event, Sky had lost himself in his more personal studies. He last time he and Russel had spoken, Sky had mentioned something about needing to talk to Headmaster Ozpin, something about irregularities in world history and all that jazz. It sounded interesting but Sky had lost the young Thrush in all that technical jargon.

But when it came to their leader and Russel's partner Cardin, it appeared the man was always switched on. Aside from the awkwardness of another event that occurred last Sunday, the Winchester boy hadn't had the time to sit down for a breather. Russel had picked up on Cardin making several trips into Vale, making several private phone calls back home and was always seeming to be dodging inquiries. For the most part it all seemed family oriented, so Russel let it be.

Caught up in all his thoughts, the young Thrush hadn't paid attention to where he'd been walking all this time. He must've zoned out on himself, which wasn't something new to the young man, but usually only happened when he'd been bored to death by something. But maybe that's what was going on, maybe he was being bored to death. After all there wasn't anything really going on here at Beacon.

A casual glance to his side, Russel could see the likes of Team RWBY and JNPR leaving the dining room. He could see Ruby was a ball of energy, totally ecstatic over their victory over the White Fang. Yang was looking on after her sister, not ashamed for her public behavior, but rather prideful in their actions. But their appeared to be something going on beneath the surface. Russel couldn't put his finger on it, but it seemed like there the bombshell had something on her mind, as if she'd seen something recently that utterly haunted her.

Weiss, the heiress was droning on about proper behavior and handling of one's person. Unlike Yang, Weiss was ashamed by her partner's actions. Blake remained silent, just walking beside her teammates. The cat girl caught Russel's eye for a moment and met his watchful eyes with a silent gaze. She looked away soon enough, after realizing her mistake of making eye contact. They still hadn't set the record straight last semester, and that was a long overdue conversation.

Jaune and Pyrrha were conversing with one another more privately. Russel couldn't help but overhear Jaune wishing to continue with their practice sessions for this evening. Pyrrha just looked on to her crush and leader with wide green eyes and nodded along, she'd help him sure and maybe something else might come out of it, the invincible girl could only hope. And all the while Nora was talking Ren's ear off. Poor guy.

And so then Russel kept walking, it was impolite to stare after all. The heroes of Vale went off in one direction and Russel in the other. The young Thrush soon found himself in the local blacksmith shop, where students and teacher alike would come to work on their weapons. The other day Russel had left his weapons on a work bench, letting it sit there for him to return and continue his work.

He arrived at the workbench, found everything just as he'd left it and then got back to work. And that would be where Russel would spend the rest of his day, working on his weapons until later tonight when everyone got together as usual, just like they did every Saturday night.

Somewhere in the city of Vale, behind some back alley on the side of a busy street, a familiar burnt orange haired young man stood with his back against a brick wall. Of all the places to be on a Saturday, this by far had to be the foulest of them all, Cardin thought to himself. But the Winchester boy was here now on business, not pleasure, so he put up with it and kept watch out for his contact.

Out of the shadows of the alley sauntered out a man who could only be described as raggedy. His pants were hanging loose around his ankles, his hoodie looked unwashed for what must've been months judging by that pizza stain, if that even was a pizza stain. The man's name was Kevin, he deals in all things illegal.

Cardin had only met the man once before, the night he and the rest of his team had gone out on a bonding exercise. Course, none of them ha the proper identification to get themselves into a bar. So Russel of all people turned them down this very alley and Kevin here hooked them up with everything they needed. It was safe to say Kevin unsettled Cardin. The man enjoyed his job far too much, and least of all he could shower a bit more regularly. After all, before this meeting, Cardin had done some digging into the man's past, turns out he owns a two floor home just outside of Vale. He just dressed and acted like this for kicks.

"Mr. Winchester, a pleasure to have you coming to my alley." Kevin said as he joined Cardin against the brick wall.

"You get what I asked for?" Cardin said, quickly getting to the chase.

"Depends if you brought the negotiated fee." Kevin smiled ear to ear. And his smile grew even more as Cardin dug into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. "I like you Huntsmen types. I never have to fuss around and threaten to break your knees with my pig iron." Levin said happily as he pulled up his shirt ever so slightly, giving Cardin a good look at the handgun stuffed in his drawers. "You all are men and women of your word. Always honoring contracts. I love you people."

"Only if you honor the contract yourself." Cardin narrowed his eyes, not liking the display of force.

"its cool man, it's alright to doubt a dreg such as myself." Kevin said before digging into his hoodie and removing an envelope. "It just means the customer leaves happier when I deliver."

The exchange went smoothly, with Cardin and Kevin handing over the sum of money and folder quietly and without a hitch. They then took several paces away from one another. Cardin opened the folder and glanced inside. He skimmed the material and gave a satisfied nod as Kevin finished counting his money.

"Happy hunting, Mr. Winchester." Kevin waved before the man slinked back into the shadows of the alley.

Their business concluded, Cardin tossed the folder into a bag he'd brought and then departed the alley, walking out into the busy streets in an attempt to hail down a cab to take him back to Beacon.

Later that night, when the sun had fallen and the air was nice and cool, Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl left her room in the company of that lovable goofball leader of hers. They'd take to the roof of the dorm and take up arms in an effort to enhance Jaune's lackluster skills. Maybe one day she'd make a warrior out of him, maybe one day he'd outclass her and he'd be he'd one teaching her. A girl could dream.

But down below in Team CRDL's room more than a dozen students found themselves all gathered around a television screen. At the feet of the screen rested a hat with money flooding out of it and on the screen showed from a hidden camera on the roof Pyrrha and Jaune practicing.

Every Saturday night, whenever Jaune and Pyrrha would take to the roof and practice, these men and women would gather, each one placing a five lien note in the hat, each one betting on when Pyrrha would confess her feelings for that blonde idiot.

"Pass me the popcorn?" Coco asked Sky from where she sat in the small room. The blue haired halberd using member of CRDL obliged the CFVY Team Leader's request and passed along a bowl to the fashionista. "Thanks."

When news of their sessions had spread, more and more students especially on the current floor had started taking bets on when something would happen between the Knight and Spartan. It got to a point when they all just decided to make a night of it, every week they all would meet at the CRDL dorm room. The sessions attracted the likes of Coco who enjoyed a good soap opera and Yang who just who couldn't get enough of seeing Pyrrha fail miserably at attracting the blonde Knight.

"So this is what you all do on your Saturdays?" Emerald looked over to Yang for an explanation. When she'd been invited to the gathering, Emerald had assumed it would be a great opportunity to further Cinder's goals, but now that she was here, the thief couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by the experience. "What's the point of it all?"

And then just before Yang could offer a reply, up above Jaune let out a girlish scream. All eyes were on the screen, some of them grinning wide at the sight of Jaune now laying on top of Pyrrha. The Arc had seemingly tripped and fallen, taking the Invincible Girl along with him. The risqué position the two JNPR members had earned a number of 'ooos' from the assembled students.

Everyone went dead silent the moment Pyrrha attempted to lean upward and steal a kiss from the boy sitting on top of her. As they all recalled, if she confessed today, then the money pile would be going Yang's way. "Come on, Pyyr. Momma needs a brand new bike." Yang said eagerly.

But nothing came of the whole affair as Jaune quickly jumped off the Spartan. He tried to play it off coolly, like it didn't even happen. This ultimately led to not only Pyrrha's but also the room full of people's disappointment.

"I take it back." Emerald said aloud, having found the amusement out of the whole display. "This is awesome."

The dorm room door then opened, causing all to turn away from the screen to see who'd just entered. Russel practically jumped through hoops just to find himself a place to sit. He'd lost track of time down at the blacksmith, usually he was here when things began, because, well, it was his dorm.

"Hey, what I miss?" Russel asked as he took a seat beside Mercury, who'd decided to tag along with Emerald to this little shindig.

"That Jaune guy practically mounted Pyrrha." Mercury muttered as he nibbled on a chocolate malt ball. He then held up the box of the sweets he had in hand to Russel, offering the boy one.

"Oh thanks." Russel said before grabbing one out the box. "Cheers." He said before tossing it in his mouth.

The crowd fell silent as they continued to watch the screen. The audio was provided from the open window. The pair of Jaune and Pyrrha continued to spar. Time passed with their session looking to be winding down. All hope of their betting ending tonight seemed to have been dashed. There would always be tomorrow they supposed. So they all began to help with tidying up the room before they all inevitable have to one by one leave the room as to not catch the attention of Jaune and Pyrrha as they made their way down from the roof.

But just then, the conversation above began to become more intimate. It was an honest heart to heart between a trusted confidant and friend. So all the students in room were dead silent as Jaune expressed his gratitude for having Pyrrha as his partner.

"You're always there for me, I'm lucky to have you." Jaune spoke from the heart. "We tell each other everything, that's what I like about you Pyrrha. You're honest with me and I couldn't be more thankful to have you."

And then Yang bean dancing in her seat. "This is her moment!" The blonde squealed. Thankfully as they'd found out on the day when Blake kidnapped Russel and tortured him, they'd all found out the rooms were soundproof, so Yang was absolutely ecstatic.

After a long awkward silence, Pyrrha began to shift uncomfortably and turned to face Jaune. "You've put your faith in me and that means the world. I can't tell you what it means to have someone like you in my life. Jaune, I have something to tell you."

"Oh my Monty." Coco said in awe.

"This is it…" Danny murmured in anticipation.

"God dammit! Tomorrow was going to be my day!" Dove shouted angrily.

"I got drunk on the night of The Dance and slept with Cardin." She blurted out.

And then then everyone in the room fell silent. They all just looked to one another as if they had misheard the Invincible Girl. Maybe the close space shared between them all was causing their blood to boil and they all needed some air. Or perhaps they'd eaten some bad snacks and were hallucinating. Because there was no way in hell that she said what they think she said.

On the television screen, Jaune just stared in surprise, in a creepy unmoving manner. He too was experiencing the same sort of interference that everyone was feeling. There was no conceivable way that his partner Pyrrha had bumped uglies with his arch nemesis.

And then the door opened once again and all those present turned to look at the doorway. There stood Cardin with a look of disinterest on his face. He was never one for these sorts of get togethers. Usually they were long gone by the time he returned. But then the Winchester boy noticed that all eyes were fixed on him. He raised a brow at all the silent expressions that screamed 'How could you'.

And so he just shrugged. "What?"

And then they rioted. Ha ha!

So, for this arc, we're finally getting round to dealing with the fallout of Cardin and Pyrrha's one night stand, the Blake-Russel incident, and something going on with Cardin that has been mentioned before but only in passing.

I always liked the idea that everyone on that floor of the dorm would have like a betting pool going around to see how long until Pyrrha and Jaune finally become an item, or at least how long until Pyrrha does something about it. They'd all just show up and camp out in someone's dorm to find out if something would happen.The beginning of the chapter also sort of further closes the door on any Oakwood interaction for the forseeable future. The only remaining tie to that place was Marie-Anne, and I'm not just going to senselessly kill a character, at least not until we get to like...later. Fun fact. I spent an hour coming up with fifty OCs the other day who I could violently murder at any point in this story. That'll come in handy eventually.

Next chapter will be out sometime next week. 'Til then! Later days!