AN: Glad to see y'all still like this story idea. Wanted to toss in that the considered pairings for Jaune are Velvet, Coco, and Neo (who I hadn't considered till I saw some reviews suggesting it and the idea amused me). I also entertained the idea of Jaune and Whitley each dating a Malachite twin but not sure about that thought.

With the Power of an Avalanche

Chapter 3

-Whitley-

Yawning, and mentally cursing Jet Lag for daring to exist, Whitley trudged into the kitchen. "Morning." The voice of his new roommate he'd forgotten about from exhaustion made Whitley blink awake, processing Jaune's presence.

"Good morning." Whitley nodded, trying to save at least some degree of face. He could tell by reading Jaune's body language that he didn't buy it but wasn't commenting.

"There's some coffee on the counter for you." Jaune shrugged as continued moving about, "I did some grocery shopping while you were passed out. Whoever stocked your kitchen doesn't understand what a good cup of coffee is and clearly thinks spices are the enemy of mankind." Unable to keep back the snort at that statement, Whitley took the cop Jaune gestured at, a single sip spreading warmth through his body.

"This is good." Whitley slumped into a chair, clutching the cup with both hands as he observed Jaune stacking books and movie cases, moving pillows and chairs, and other odd actions. "What on earth are you even doing?"

"I've been too wired to sleep since you talked about unlocking my aura." Jaune admitted sheepishly, "So I'm doing something I started as a kid to help unwind." After placing what was apparently the last item on the floor, Jaune got out a single old golf putter and a golf ball.

"…What?" Whitley blinked in bafflement as Jaune tapped the ball, the little white orb bouncing from obstacle to obstacle, curving around a hoodie on the floor before ending up in a thermos.

"One of my grandparents liked golfing." Jaune explained after a brief fist pump at the 'hole in one', "When they died, we got their clubs but nobody else in the family really cared to use them. So, my sisters and I would make little obstacle courses to hit the balls through."

"Huh." Whitely blinked, having not seen any type of Golf but the high-class variety his father liked to do. Going back to sip at his coffee he barely had a moment to be sad that the cup was empty before Jaune brought a pot back over.

"You know, the coffee alone makes me glad I brought you along." Whitley quipped as Jaune snorted.

"Thanks, I'm a man of many talents that my father finds embarrassing to acknowledge." Jaune expression pinched at the mention of his father.

"How is making coffee embarrassing?" Whitley was almost afraid to hear the answer. Talking with Jaune was clueing him in to how different their fathers were, even if they both sounded like bastards.

"My father doesn't like me doing anything he doesn't think of as 'manly'." Jaune snorted "Which includes cooking. He refuses to do anything with food besides cook it or use a barbeque. And Mom could burn water. So, when the locally bakery closed a couple weeks before one of my sister's birthdays one year, I started teaching myself how to cook and bake to make her birthday cake and dinner. She was appreciative, but my father just grumbled that the kitchen was a place for girls, not men."

"He sounds quite insecure in his own masculinity." Whitley scoffed, finishing his second cup of coffee and feeling much less like a zombie now. "Anyway, I promised you I'd unlock your aura. Let's get that done so you can start getting used to it then." Gesturing his potential partner over, Whitley took a deep breath and prepared his own Aura.

Placing his hands on the correct points, Whitely began the ritual "For it is through determination that we achieve our ambitions. Through hard work we become a pillar of resolution, rising above those who lack the will to achieve their dreams. Infinite in potential and unaccepting of failure, I release your soul and by our convictions, stand by thee." As he spoke the last word, Whitley was nearly knocked to his knees by the unexpected surge of raw aura. He'd worked his own reserves like a muscle to increase his aura capacity, but Jaune's natural levels were absurd.

"This…is aura?" Jaune's voice was a reverent awe as the blond looked at his own hands as they shone with brilliant white light.

"Yep." Whitely gave a tired grin as he slapped Jaune on the back, wincing at the aura shield stinging to hit, "I've got some things to look through." And get his own aura levels back "You work on getting a feel for your aura. We'll work on finding your semblance later."

"Y-yeah." Jaune nodded, still too busy marveling to protest. Whitley meanwhile felt like he needed another coffee. Unlocking that much aura had been exhausting.

-Jaune-

Hands in his pockets, Jaune followed a still yawning Whitley as they strolled through Vale. After a few hours, and a few more cups of coffee, Whitley had explained more about the basics of aura, why awakening Jaune's was so draining, and even tried to coach him on finding his semblance.

'Aura was our very souls.' Whitley had lectured 'And our semblances are extensions of that. Some are passive, those being far more difficult to deduce. But for intentionally activated semblances, those were easier.' Whitely had demonstrated his own broken semblance to Jaune with some of the aura he still had as a proof of concept. With those 'Glyphs', something Whitley had to teach himself as his mother was too drunk to and his sisters never bothered to help him, it was almost like magic. Sadly, apart from that basic explanation, the most Whitley had been able to suggest for finding his semblance was trying to reach out or 'push' with his aura. While he understood what he meant, sort of, it was still far from helpful.

"Any places stand out yet?" Jaune decided to distract himself from his current 'dilemma' by checking on Whitley's search.

"I've seen a lot of places that could be strategic for one business or another." Whitley sighed, bags dark under his eyes, "But I'm still undecided on just what sort of business to open."

"And you have the money to open one?" Jaune raised an eyebrow as they walked. Whitley had explained his family owned the SDC but that didn't mean Whitley had the kind of Lien needed for this.

"My father knew only one of his kids could inherit the SDC." Whitley shook his head, keeping his opinions to himself about his family while out in public "So he set up some accounts for the others. Should those not be named the heir wish to start up a business of their own they'd have the funds to do so. So long as it doesn't exceed the Lien amount set aside at least."

"At least that's not a concern." Jaune ran a hand back through his hair, "Wanna grab some lunch? We can spitball ideas while we eat if you'd like."

"That sounds-" his tired albino friend started to talk before a hand shot out of the nearby alley and drug Whitley in.

"WHITLEY!" Jaune was already running after them. Whitley was by far the better fighter of the two, in that he actually knew how to fight right now, but he was also exhausted from the jet lag and unlocking Jaune's Aura. Rounding a corner in the alley, he saw Whitley exhausted but struggling against the arm of his captor who'd even grabbed Whitley's pistol and held it to his friend's head. The man was wearing a dark black suit with red shades and even had a red sword at his hip.

"-your fucking fault I had to join those idiots!" the captor was snarling at Whitley, "You and that fucking company!" the pistol was pushed further against his friend's temple "So you're going to give me your life or you're going to make me rich." The man gave a sadistic grin, "Either way, I win."

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Jaune felt his blood boiling. Whitley was his friend, his first friend outside his sisters. He hoped they were friends at least. Whitley was the first person to have believed in him, to have helped him. He'd unlocked Jaune's aura, kept his secret, gave him a chance. But right now, Jaune felt useless, and he refused to stay that way!

As he ran at the thug who was just noticing him catching up, Jaune poured everything he could from his aura.

He needed to be stronger.

He needed to be faster.

He needed to be there- CLANG!

As he ran, hand outstretched, a shining silver lance appeared in his hand, the manifested weapon reaching the unexpected thug rapidly as he staggered, gun knocked upwards as it fired into the air.

Jaune's new spear, that he had no idea where it came from, shattered into motes of light even as Whitely grabbed his gun back from the fallen thug.

As he heard cop sirens blaring from the discharge of a firearm, heading their way, Jaune felt a sudden surge of exhaustion. That spear, had…had that been his semblance?

AN: Alright, next chapter has the boys arrive at Beacon and will give a more thorough explanation of what Jaune's semblance is. I'm curious if anyone will recognize it from this little glimpse. What else happened in the few weeks will get filled in as it's needed but it's not something that strictly has to be shown scene by scene. Gotta say, I'm really liking writing Whitley, much more than I thought I would.