A/N This chapter contains a description of the beginning of an attempted sexual assault. It's not graphic and it gets stopped almost immediately, but just fyi.

Also, I have some family stuff next week, so the next update will be in two weeks. I will still be somewhat active and responding to comments.

XXX

"I have nothing to wear", I announced.

Fox snorted. Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, his eyes fixed studiously on his book. Velvet glanced at my bed in confusion: a discarded pile of clothes lay uselessly over the sheets.

"No, Velvet", I answered her unspoken question. "None of these will do. I have to go shopping again."

Yatsu closed his book and got up. "My respected leader", he started, pointing at the wall behind me. "This is your wardrobe. It's taking up three quarters of the wall and contains twice as many clothes as the rest of our wardrobes combined. And these are all the clothes you have been throwing on your bed throughout the course of this morning. Together, they compose a wonderful selection of luscious fabrics and elegant designs. Among these fine choices, surely there is an option stylish enough for the dance."

The Beacon dance traditionally took place every year around spring. It was sometimes pushed earlier or later if it made sense to unite it with another event: it would be part of the Vytal festival the following year. But it was usually a standalone event, meant to celebrate the coming of spring.

"You don't understand, Yatsu", I said. "This is a tragedy."

"Coco, it's just a school dance", Fox said. "Just wear one of your nice tuxedos or something."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have anyone to impress, you're just going with Velvet."

"Hey", Velvet said.

"You know what I mean. You both don't want to talk to people, so you decided that hanging out with each other was the best option. And Yatsu doesn't have a date anymore, not to mention he's probably planning to leave early to spend the night with a book."

"That is… accurate", Yatsu admitted.

Fox snorted, lightly punching him on his arm. "Lucky escape from that girl from your fan club."

"I don't have a fan club", Yatsu protested. "There's nothing lucky about it, either. She was injured."

One of the girls of Yatsu's fan club – a second-year – had asked him out to the dance right after the date had been set. He'd had no interest in the dance itself and had told us he was considering skipping it altogether, or making a brief appearance with us and leaving early. But when the girl had asked him, he had been too polite and too taken aback to refuse. In the end it hadn't mattered: the girl had been injured in a recent mission, thankfully not too seriously, but badly enough that she needed to skip the dance to recover.

"It's okay", Velvet told him, smiling. "You can hang out with us by the punch bowl table."

I sighed. My team consisted of a selective misanthropist, a socially anxious nerd, and a monk. "The punch bowl table, I swear. This is exactly what I'm talking about. None of you understands my pain and suffering."

"Don't be so dramatic", Fox said lazily. "Who are you trying to impress, anyway? You've been avoiding your fan club these past few weeks. No flirting, nothing. As your partner, I'm concerned. Are you okay? Do you even have an actual date yet?"

"Yes, I do", I said defensively. Sometimes I wished Fox wasn't quite so observant.

"Who?"

Well, might as well rip the band-aid off. "Rhiannon."

Fox whistled.

"Rhiannon Price?" he asked. "Vice president of the student council, top of the third-years in combat, leader of team RAVN? That Rhiannon?"

Yatsuhashi frowned. "I think I remember her. She gave a speech after initiation, didn't she? That tall blond girl?"

"Yes, that's her." She'd climbed the podium like a goddess from a fairytale: a golden waterfall falling on her back in waves, her husky, commanding voice ringing melodically across the hall. Everyone had lost their shit over her that day. Except Yatsuhashi, apparently.

Fox smiled widely and gave me a thumbs up. "Nice. Want us to give you the dorm for the night?"

"What? I'm not giving up the dorm", Yatsu protested. "Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"It's okay. After she asked me, she said that if things go well, we can use her room."

Fox's grin became wider. "Aw", he teased. "Look at you, not being in charge."

I loved Fox like a brother. But one of these days I was going to throttle him.

"There's nothing to be in charge of yet", I said.

"Do you like her?" Yatsu asked.

"Of course I like her. I mean, have you seen her? How could I not like her?"

"Yes, but do you like her more than any other of your hit-and-runs?"

I glared at him. "Okay. First of all, it doesn't qualify as a hit-and-run if you make it clear from the start that you're not looking for commitment. Secondly…" I hesitated. "Yeah. I do. There's something about her, you know? She's assertive. Justifiably confident. The kind of woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. Usually, my dates hang from my lips. They think everything I do is great. They expect me to make the first move, to decide where to go and what to do. They rely on me to always be the smooth one, the tough one."

"I thought you enjoyed that role", Fox said.

"I do. But there is something intriguing about a woman who can kick my ass. Don't get me wrong, the role of the protector has its own charm. It makes me feel… tenderness. I do like taking the initiative and being in charge. And – okay, fine, I also like admiration. Sue me. But…" I fell silent. We were past Rhiannon now: this was something larger. Something personal about me, something I hadn't talked about to anyone before. Something that showed a degree of vulnerability: an attribute I'd never felt quite comfortable displaying.

But this was my team. My friends.

"No one can be tough and cool all the time", I admitted. "And on a personal level, it would get boring to make all the decisions for both myself and my life partner. So… if I ever settle down, it will be with a woman who can stand up to me. Give me a run for my money."

"Damn", Fox said. "You've thought about this."

"Coco, if you want to keep digging through clothes, I won't say anything else about it", Yatsuhashi promised. "You can even use my bed."

"And if you'd like a wingman, I'm available", Fox offered. "When you meet with Rhiannon, I can pass by and chat you up. Nothing embarrassing. Trust me, I know exactly what to say."

I smiled. "Thanks, guys. You're the best."

Velvet was very quiet, ears drooping a little. This was uncharacteristic: after we'd worked past her initial timidity, it had turned out she could be quite talkative among people she felt comfortable with.

It suddenly occurred to me that she'd always been fervently supportive of my decisions as a leader, as well as unwaveringly admiring of everything I did in general. Fox and Yatsuhashi challenged and questioned me occasionally, but Velvet never did. I'd written it off as just her looking up to me, in the same way a little kid might look up to their cool confident sibling.

I hoped it was nothing more than that. Velvet was a sweet kid and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. And I really didn't need this kind of drama in the team.

I shook my head, chasing away the thought. If Fox could actually read my mind at that moment, he'd probably tell me to get over myself, and that was usually a good indication that I needed to do so. Velvet had never given me any real indication of any kind of crush, and there was no point making up problems where they didn't exist.

XXX

"I was looking forward to this", Rhiannon said. Her voice was a caress to my ears, its deep, crystalline musicality alive with a tone of invitation. Her fingers traced my arm lightly as I twirled her around on the dance floor, my hand below her naked shoulder blade. Her perfume, delicate but intoxicating, assaulted my nostrils: jasmine and sandalwood, subtly underlined by the natural aroma of her body. It was so close to mine that I could see the thinnest stream of sweat glistening across her neck. We'd been dancing for what felt like hours, and her stream was matched by rivers on my own skin: rivers borne out of a mix of exertion and desire.

Wait. She was expecting an answer, wasn't she? Focus, Adel. Come on, this isn't your first rodeo.

Except it felt like it was.

"Me too", I said.

She smiled teasingly, her green eyes twinkling with challenge. "You seem a little flustered."

"Do I?"

"Mm-hm. Where are your thoughts traveling, I wonder."

"Entirely focused on the most important thing", I said.

"And that is?"

I released her momentarily to cup her face, giving her a meaningful look. Then, with a swift motion, I started sweeping her across the dance floor, leading her through a series of spins and turns. She responded gracefully and archly, reacting to every signal with the confident poise of an experienced dancer. As the music slowed down, we settled back to a calmer rhythm and I answered her question. "Being a good lead for my dancing partner, of course."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why, miss Adel. I have to say, I find your behavior to be quite… raunchy. Hardly an appropriate demeanor for an aspiring Huntress, I should think."

"Are you saying I'm inappropriate?", I asked, a grin playing at my lips. Her playfulness had put me back on track, making it easy to respond in kind. "Not saying you're wrong, I just thought you'd like it."

"Oh, cheeky. Usually, I expect freshmen to treat me with more respect."

"Hm." I led her through another spin. "Maybe you should do something about it."

"Oh, I intend to." She leaned forward as the music came to a slow halt, and she reached up, her fingers firmly on my collarbone, her teeth softly digging in my earlobe. "We're going up to my room after the dance", she murmured. "I'm taking you in my bed. And there, I'll show you exactly what I plan to do about it. Maybe I can teach you a few things about being a good lead."

She released her hold and stepped back, smirking. I stepped back too, taking deep breaths, trying to will my heart rate back into a normal pace.

"Let's take a break for a bit", she said. "I'm thirsty."

"Me too", was my automatic response.

She looked at me with a mix of amusement and reproach. "I mean, I need a drink."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh… yes. That is also what I meant."

She shook her head, still smirking. "Behave yourself", she warned, before motioning me to follow her as she made her way to the punch bowl table. It seemed a little unfair for her to be complaining when she'd been whispering seductive nonsense in my ear just a few moments earlier, but I kept my mouth shut and followed her. It seemed to be the most logical course of action.

On the way, we passed by Yatsuhashi, and I excused myself to talk to him. I'd been watching him throughout the evening, moving in and out of the dance floor with several different partners. He was actually a pretty good dancer, but his social battery wasn't the most durable. He looked like he could use a break.

"Excuse me", I said, breaking past the crowd of his admirers. But this only resulted in them turning their attention on me.

"Coco! We were just talking about your last mission. Yatsuhashi told us all about it. How do you guys handle all these tough assignments?"

"Hey Coco, I just wanted to say your team match yesterday in Glynda's class was awesome. Huge fan of your style."

"Coco, I've been browsing through the latest edition of Wonder Style and I was really hoping you could give me your opinion on some of these spring trends – "

"Excuse me!" I repeated more firmly, brushing past them. "Let me borrow my teammate for a moment. We need to discuss, uh… important team strategy stuff."

Yatsuhashi allowed himself to be dragged away with an expression of relief. Behind me, I heard someone say "Wow, they're really dedicated to their training, huh."

"Thanks", Yatsu said sheepishly when we were a reasonable distance away. "I appreciate the… interference."

"No problem." I smiled at him, pointing at his suit. "Looking sharp."

"How interesting that you should say that", he responded, a little dryly. "I have my team leader to thank for the look. She insisted on selecting my outfit for me, can you believe it?"

"You're welcome", I said unrepentantly. "You were seriously considering showing up in your school uniform. I had to save you from yourself."

"Whatever. Where's your date?"

"Getting drinks. Want to join us? Not for the whole night, mind you; I'll need you to butt out after a while. But you can join us for now, if you need a break from…" I glanced towards his sea of admirers, still standing at the spot we'd left. "Dancing", I concluded.

He hesitated. "No… I'm fine for now. I promised the next few dances to some people, I can't take it back now. But I think I'll head back after that."

I nodded. "Perhaps Fox or I will come around in about half an hour, and we'll really, really need to talk to you."

"Yeah, that would be quite helpful. Thanks."

"No worries." I gave him a thumbs up and left in search of Rhiannon. I found her, as I'd expected, by the punch bowl table. She was talking with Fox and Velvet – well, mostly Fox.

"Hey", I said, approaching. "So what are we drinking?"

"Kiddie stuff", Rhiannon said with an air of superiority. "Hardly any alcohol in this thing."

Velvet quietly took a sip from her glass. I didn't think she'd said a word all night, apart from some mumbled nice-to-meet-you's to some other teams that had started conversations with us at the beginning of the evening. After getting to know her better, it was somewhat weird seeing how much more reserved she acted around other people.

"Still, some people don't seem to be able to handle it", Fox observed. He accompanied his words with a dicreeet motion of the head for my benefit.

Following it, I saw four guys nearby in what seemed to be a state of mild intoxication. One of them was stumbling his way into something that was probably intended to be a dance figure. His nearest friend was unsuccessfully trying to climb on him, with the other two laughing like idiots and providing encouragement through exclamations like "that's sick, bro". One of them turned around and fluttered his eyelashes at Velvet. She lowered her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, seemingly trying to shrink into non-existence.

"What, them? These guys can't handle anything", Rhiannon said. "Jobbers. Barely made it into second-year."

"You know them?"

"Superficially. They were in a kind of remedial combat mini-course I was TA'ing for last year. It was intended for first-year students who were at the brink of passing the exam."

An exaggerated smooching sound made me turn around again. The guy who'd batted his eyelashes at Velvet before was now blowing kisses at her. His friends were laughing and wolf-whistling, slapping him encouragingly in the back and making come-hither hand gestures at her. Her face was a fierce red and her eyes fixed at the floor as she tried to hide between me and Fox.

I glared at the guys. "Do you mind?"

Fox turned around very slowly and gave them his creepiest smile. It was really less of a smile and more of a promise of baring teeth if they kept it up.

They quieted down.

"Don't mind those idiots", I told Velvet. Fox squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"Yeah, don't worry about them, sweetie", Rhiannon added. "Just stick around us and you'll be fine." I raised an eyebrow, thinking her tone a tad condescending. But she probably meant well.

"So, uh, what were you guys talking about?"

"You", Fox informed me.

"I've been singing your praises this whole time" he added in my head. "I am an awesome teammate and you totally owe me."

"Fox was telling me about the tactics you use in the battlefield", Rhiannon said. "You seem to have a good head for that kind of thing."

"Thanks", I told her. She nodded and refilled her glass.

"Really?" I sent Fox. "Battle tactics?"

"She's a team leader too, isn't she? I thought you could bond over that sort of thing. Besides, what did you want me to tell her? It's not like we stay in the dorm when you have girls over, or follow you into hotels to third-wheel you. So I can't exactly describe your performance in-"

"Fox."

"Sorry", he said, not sounding sorry at all. "I'll let you handle your own affairs, o glorious expert of mating rituals."

"Thank you." I realized we'd left Velvet and Rhiannon looking awkwardly at each other. I made some comment on the decorations. The conversation resumed.

I was keeping an eye on Yatsuhashi, and after some time I sent Fox to rescue him. Fox pretty much jumped at the chance to leave: he had been doing a lot more talking out loud than he normally preferred, and it was starting to tire him. I kept my eyes on him until Rhiannon talked to me again, diverting my attention to her. The next moment, I heard Fox's voice in my head. It made me jump a little. We were usually at a closer distance when he did that.

"Yatsu and I are going for curry", he informed me.

"Seriously? You had dinner just before the dance."

"That was almost two hours ago. I don't see your point."

Yatsuhashi joined the conversation. "The company of peers nourishes the soul, but the hungry body needs its humble earthly sustenance. Ancient Mistrali proverb."

"You just made this up", I said.

"I admit nothing and refuse to elaborate."

"Whatever", Fox said. "We're heading out. Velvet, you wanna join us?"

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry. I'll just finish my drink and then go back to the dorm."

"Alright, peace out."

I watched them leave.

"They're gone?" Rhiannon asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah, they're heading out."

"Huh, Fox didn't say anything." She walked closer to me. "But it's fine by me. Your teammates are nice, but I wouldn't mind having to all to myself for a while." She cast a pointed look at Velvet's direction.

"I… should get going", Velvet said hastily.

I frowned. "There's no rush. Finish your drink."

"Really, it's fine. I'm tired anyway." A nervous jerk of her hand made her spill some of her drink. It landed on my vest, a red spot over cream beige satin. "Oh! Coco, I am so, so sorry…"

"It's okay", I said pacifyingly. I really liked that vest, was my private lamentation. But there was no point making Velvet feel worse about it.

"I can replace it", Velvet said, distressed. "Or pay for cleaning, if that's possible."

"Don't worry about it", I told her with a warm smile. "Let me just go to the bathroom for a moment. I might be able to salvage it. If not, I can walk you to the dorm and change there before coming back."

"You don't have to walk me…"

"It's fine", I said. Perhaps it was overprotective of me, but I had a bad feeling about that second-year team. I knew Velvet could handle herself in a fight, but she was also very non-confrontational. "Just wait for me here, okay?" I turned to Rhiannon. "Excuse me, I'll be back in a minute."

She nodded. I gave Velvet a final reassuring smile before heading to the bathroom.

I locked myself in one of the stalls and searched through my purse until I found what I was looking for: a stack of cotton pads and a special cleaning mixture specifically manufactured for such emergencies. I didn't hold out much hope, but it was worth a try. I took off my vest so I could handle both sides and started gently rubbing off the stain.

"And then the blind guy, Fox, said they had to leave", a voice said outside the stall. I heard the clacking of heels on marble; multiple pairs. "Such a bummer. Things were going so well with Yatsuhashi, too. I mean I know he danced with other people, but I totally felt a special connection when he was holding me."

"Oh my gosh, he is so dreamy", a second voice agreed. "I wouldn't mind getting slammed by him onto a hard surface, if you know what I mean."

"Easy there, have you seen the guy fight?" a third person piped up. "I wouldn't want any slamming unless it was very toned down. Anyway, I'd prefer Fox myself."

"Really?"

"He's cute, I don't know."

"Yeah, I guess. And he's a sick fighter too, with all these cool aura strikes. I still prefer Yatsuhashi, though."

"Ladies, ladies", a fourth voice intervened. "Here's my counterpoint: Coco Adel."

There were universal sounds of agreement, mostly in the form of "ooh", "aah" and "totally".

"Sex on legs", one of the girls commented.

"Ugh, but don't remind me", another one said. "We had a fling a few weeks ago. She casually gave me the best night ever, and then the next day she'd gone off into the metaphorical sunshine like a lone cowboy."

Had I? I scratched my the back of my head, trying to place the voice. It wasn't ringing any bells at the moment.

"At least she told you it was a fling", one of her friends pointed out. "As far as I've heard, I don't think she's ever misleading about her intentions."

"No, I guess."

"And she came with Rhiannon Price, so maybe she'll get a dose of her own medicine."

"Yeah, I think I saw them by the punch bowl table. They were standing there with that weird teammate of hers."

"The rabbit girl?"

"Yeah, you know, the one who never volunteers for solo matches in combat class."

"I wonder if her team resents having to carry her all the time."

I suppressed a sigh. Velvet was utilizing the true extent of her power in our missions, but was still very reluctant to do so in demonstration matches against our peers. She was holding herself back, she had never used Anesidora in class and she was only taking part in team matches, where her individual contributions could more easily be overlooked or attributed to someone else – especially after the poor first impression she'd made at initiation.

"Anyway, enough about team protect-the-bun", one of the girls said. "Let's head back, I wanna dance."

The sound of footsteps faded away.

I looked at my vest. The stain was now a faint shade of pink. This was as good was it was going to get, I supposed.

I made my way out of the bathroom and headed back to the table, only to find Rhiannon standing there alone.

"Where's Velvet?" I asked.

"I convinced her to leave. She said herself she was tired."

I raised an eyebrow. "You heard me asking her to wait for me, right?" I looked around for the second-year team. They were nowhere to be seen.

There was a hint of irritation in Rhiannon's voice when she answered. "Really, Coco, she can find her own way back. One team leader to another, you're coddling her too much."

I frowned. "Is that so?"

"I didn't want to say anything, but yes. I mean, I get it, if someone in your team is so much weaker than the others, I guess you'd feel responsible for them. I do feel sorry for you, getting saddled with that. But you can't hold her hand all the time."

My voice was ice. "Actually, she's a valuable member of the team and carries her weight just as well as the rest of us."

"Come on, Coco", she scoffed. "You don't have to play the benevolent leader with me, save it for the professors. People can see your demonstration matches, they can see how the rest of you act around her. People have eyes."

"And mouths, it seems. Perhaps 'people' should remember that Velvet earned her spot in this academy just like the rest of us."

"Sure", Rhiannon said dismissively. "If you consider getting admitted to make the school appear more progressive as 'earning her spot'."

The idolized image I had of her in my mind shattered into a million pieces.

"What?" I asked, very quietly.

"Oh, spare me your moral outrage. I'm not saying there aren't faunus who really earned their spots. I'm not condoning discrimination against them. I'm just saying, some are getting into the academies on easy mode. They don't really belong here, and it shows."

I stepped back.

"I am going to find my teammate", I said with studied coldness. "I'm sure you can find your own way back. Or not. Honestly, I no longer give a damn."

XXX

"Please, leave me alone."

I'd followed the most logical route Velvet would take to get back to our dorm, figuring I'd find her somewhere along it if she had been delayed for some reason. And sure enough, that was her voice coming out of one of the rooms in the otherwise empty corridor. It was normally reserved for seminars, but nobody really bothered to lock it when it was not in use.

I sped up.

"I wonder if she has a tail?"

"Don't be such a dumbass. They only have one animal part. Don't you see the giant ears?"

"Please, just let me go –"

"Come on, cutie, don't be like that. We won't hurt you, we just want to have a little fun. Is it true what they say about rabbit girls?"

"No", Velvet said automatically.

A snicker. "I didn't even tell you what I meant."

He didn't get the opportunity to elaborate before I barged in. Velvet was in a corner of her room, surrounded by the second years. When I came in, she shot me a pleading look. She seemed scared out of her mind, but otherwise unharmed.

"Evening", I said, my tone deadly calm. "Mind releasing my teammate?"

Their apparent leader – the guy closest to Velvet – laughed and took a few unsteady steps towards me, hands up in mock surrender. "Easy now", he said. "We weren't doing anything."

"Velvet", I said sharply. She looked at me uncertainly and took a shaky step towards me. The three remaining guys blocked her way, and she drew back immediately.

I'd seen this girl take down real monsters and spar with Fox, Yatsuhashi and me on an equal footing. Now she wasn't even trying to fight back.

I took off my purse and held it in my hand. "This is your last warning. Scram."

Their guffaws echoed across the room. "Ooh, we're so s- scared", the leader said; I wasn't sure if he was mocking a stammer or if he was drunk enough to be slurring his words. "One f- first year student against all of us. What are you gonna d-"

He was interrupted by my fist slamming on his nose. His friends charged in to help him, and it soon became apparent that Rhiannon's dismissal of them as "jobbers" had not been entirely unfair. Their intoxicated state helped a little: they weren't too drunk to know what they were doing, but there was enough unsteadiness in their movements to give me an edge.

Still, there were four of them and they had made it into their second year, even if they'd needed extra help to manage it. So when they all came at me at once, Velvet's interference was extremely welcome and well-timed. She slammed the leader in the back of the head and sent him crashing on the ground face first; then, she goaded the second guy into chasing her, getting out of his way at the last moment so he whiplashed onto his two remaining teammates. I took advantage of their disoriented state to land some hits on them, but stopped after it was clear they weren't putting up a fight anymore. Velvet scrambled past them and came to stand next to me. I felt my heart ache a little. She hadn't fought for herself, but apparently my involvement had changed the equation.

The leader gave her an incredulous look before standing up and turning to me, his expression furious.

"You have no right to attack us like that!" he protested. I almost laughed. "We didn't even touch your stupid pet. Who do you think you are, huh?" He reached into his jacket, searching for something. "I'm going to show you that just because your mommy runs a big gun company doesn't mean you own the school –"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was on his back, Gianduja's barrel pressed against his face.

"Maybe not", I granted. "But… it did give me a head start in weapon design."

"You don't have the right to use a weapon like that outside classes", one of them ventured.

"Your friend was very obviously reaching for his", I said. "And you all started this whole thing, so you're not in a position to be lecturing anyone about rules."

Silence.

"Here's what's going to happen", I said, very calmly. "You are going to stay away from my teammate. If you come near her again, my reaction will make this encounter seem painless in comparison. If you complain to Glynda about me 'attacking' you, I will happily let her know I stopped you from assaulting my teammate, and Velvet will support me. And if, by some miracle, the academy entertains your nonsense to the slightest degree, it will come to a lawsuit, which I will win." I lowered myself to the leader's level and smiled sweetly at him. "Do you understand me, you pathetic waste of your mother's labor pains?"

I didn't get up until he nodded. I stepped back, transformed Gianduja back into a purse, and waited. The leader got up as hastily as his shaken legs would let him and scurried out of the room, followed by his teammates.

I held Velvet wordlessly as she threw herself at me and buried her face into my neck.

XXX

"You could get in trouble", Velvet said, distressed.

I looked up from the kitchen counter to stare at her in disbelief. "Seriously? That's what you're concerned with?"

We were back to our dorm. Fox and Yatsu hadn't returned yet. I wasn't sure how to talk to Velvet about what had just happened, but I did know that feeding her something sweet usually made her feel better. So I was making hot chocolate. I couldn't compete with Yatsu when it came to cooking, but hot chocolate I could make.

"I don't want you to get in trouble for me", she said.

"I won't. Didn't you see how they ran off? They won't be stupid enough to complain."

She didn't look convinced. "People like that always turn things around", she said. "They won't say what actually happened, they'll spin it so it makes them look like victims."

"Well, if they do that, I'll just say what actually happened. We're not in the wrong here, Vel. There's no reason to be afraid."

There was a long pause before she answered. "It's not that simple."

I handed her a steaming cup. Privately, I had already decided to file a report about what had happened. It wasn't just about Velvet – the behavior was serious enough that someone in authority should know about it. I didn't expect anything to happen, since I'd stopped things on time, but at least it should be on a record.

"Don't worry about it", I told Velvet. "Honestly, getting in trouble about something like that is the least of my concerns. You're my teammate. If someone messes with you, I put a stop to it."

"You can't always do that", she said.

"Of course I can."

"No", she said, in a more steely tone than I expected. "Coco, these things can escalate in really bad ways. I'm grateful that you interfered this time, but you shouldn't do it for every little thing."

I frowned. "But –"

"Promise me."

I was silent for a while. "I cannot promise I won't step in if you're in real danger", I finally said. "But if it's something minor, I promise I'll consult with you first before interfering."

She visibly relaxed. "Thank you."

I couldn't understand why she was so worried about the consequences of standing up for herself. But ultimately, it didn't matter. I'd promised I'd consult with her, not that I'd abide by her wishes. I would take them into account, of course, but I wouldn't put them before her well-being.

"But we're still using violence against threats we encounter in missions, right?" I joked, seeking to lighten the mood.

She smiled back. "Of course. That's different. We're doing it to protect people."

Do you think of yourself as worth protecting? I wondered. But I didn't ask her out loud, because I wasn't sure I wanted to hear her answer.