Author's Note: Welp, here goes another chapter. Personal health keeps getting in the way of my writing. Mostly mental. But here goes!
~Noxmad
The following weeks after the initiation were a combination of dramatic, fun, and frustration. Weiss and Ruby had a falling out and subsequently made up after Weiss lost the position of leadership to her junior. Classes started and where many of the teens who had gone to traditional schools found the teachers hard to follow, Team NPSA found these classes hyper engaging. Well at least, three of them did, as Prompto had a tendency to get distracted.
The frustration however, began building as the boys from Insomnia were beginning to find that information on their homeland was next to impossible to find in any public document or text. To be honest, they were getting tired of finding out about the condition that resulted in uncontrollable sleep cycles and difficulty maintaining uninterrupted sleep. The concentrated effort on their part had not gone unnoticed either. While Teams RWBY and JNPR had only gotten closer since initiation, they could feel the growing distance between themselves and Team NPSA. This then resulted in redoubled efforts from both teams to keep the boys from growing too distant, which in turn only made research into their homeland that much more complicated.
"Ugh," Noctis said with a disappointed sigh. "Another dead end. Who'd think that an entire kingdom could disappear and nobody would notice."
"Well, it might not actually be that simple, Noct," Prompto replied. "If a small town falls, it's business as usual, everybody can see that happening, it happens all the time. A kingdom, or a near kingdom as it may be, is considerably rarer."
"It's also doubly disheartening," Gladiolus added as he held his head, he had given up on his most recent attempt a few minutes prior.
Ignis suddenly approached the table and said, "Very astute observations. Perhaps I have found something to lift your spirits."
"Oh?" Gladiolus asked.
Noctis gestured with his hand and said, "Do tell."
"As Prompto said, small city structures falling is commonplace. Practically old hat. Which means that reporting on them is far easier. They have less effect on the morale of people on a global scale. This is important though. If you don't find information on the Kingdom, then find its subjects," Ignis explained with a confident smile.
"What do you mean?" Prompto asked.
Noctis's eyebrows shot up as he blurted out, "You mean to tell me that Insomnia had townships?"
"Right on the money," Ignis replied. "I found three of them in fact and it only gets stranger from here. First and foremost, as you know, most of the 'dragon-shaped' continent is stained black, but there is a decently sized area on the southern coast, around where our quarry is, that could make for suitable living. Three groups found this to be the case. The Island of Besaid, the City of Cocoon, and the mining town of Niflheim."
"Wow. And they've all fallen?" Prompto asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. However, they all had survivors. And all of them were sent to different countries. The survivors of Besaid were sent to Vacuo. Atlas received the people of Cocoon. And the people from Niflheim were sent to Mistral," Ignis replied.
"None of them came to Vale?" Gladiolus asked.
"Correct," Ignis replied. "And guess which country had Huntsmen who spearheaded these evacuations?"
"Vale," Noctis said.
Ignis nodded. The group fell quiet before Ignis then added, "It gets a tiny bit more complicated. The first evacuation was of the people of Niflheim, less than a year after our country fell. Their evacuation was headed by two people. A huntsman by the name of Qrow Branwen and…" he paused for a moment to look around. "A huntress by the name of Summer Rose. Only Qrow was present for the other evacuations."
"She died evacuating the people?" Gladiolus asked.
Ignis shook his head and said, "You are mistaken. She would return safely in time to mother Ruby Rose. She would be dead by the time the third evacuation occurred several years after the evacuation of Niflheim. Missing on a mission."
"Could she just be missing?" Noctis asked.
"I'm afraid not," Ignis replied. "Everything known about her, there is no doubt in my mind that nothing in this world would keep her from finding a way back to her daughters."
"How did you find out about this?" Prompto asked.
"I may have gone digging around in places I was not allowed. Dossiers, mission archives, and the like," Ignis replied. "For our safety and my continued access, I am going to need to ask you to not inquire further."
"O-ok?" Noctis said. "This isn't going to get us in trouble is it?"
"Not as long as I don't get caught, especially by the wrong people," Ignis replied. "I found these dossiers through an old team file. Would you like to hear the next bit of interesting information I found?"
"Why stop now?" Prompto said, clearly trying to hide his excitement.
Ignis smiled and said, "Both Summer and Qrow were on the same team when they attended Beacon. Team STRQ (Stark). Their two remaining members are known as Raven Branwen and…" The mischievous look on Ignis's face made them realize he wanted them to guess. When it was clear nobody had the faintest idea what he was looking for, he finished. "Taiyang Xiao Long." After a brief moment, and before his friends could react to his big reveal, he suddenly put his finger to his lips and sat down. A moment later, Team RWBY showed up, quite a bit more internally civil than they had been in a long while.
"Hey guys," Yang announced their approach. "Really? Another day at the library? Do we need to 'book' an appointment to see you guys now?"
"A day or two of study might help you, Xiao Long," Gladiolus taunted. This got him a look from the blonde brawler. "Prove me wrong."
"I think Yang was just saying that you guys study a lot," Ruby said before Yang could mouth off. This got a raised eyebrow from Ignis towards Noctis, with an unspoken question. Noctis shrugged.
Prompto stood up, stretched with an overly loud sigh and said, "You know maybe they're right. We don't want to burn ourselves out."
"Very subtle, Prompto," Gladiolus commented.
Ignis stood up in kind and said, "We certainly don't want to overstay our welcome here in the Library either. Mr. Green seems to be a bit at wit's end with us here every day. So Team RWBY, what would you have us do instead of studying?"
"How about a sparring match, Ignis?" Weiss asked. Since the start of combat class, there was not enough time for all students to have a match yet. However, for those lucky enough to go multiple times either by turn or by challenge, only three students had maintained a perfect record. Pyrrha Nikos with three wins, Weiss Schnee with two wins, and Ignis Scripture with two wins. It had become a bit of an interesting topic within the classroom as students inevitably came to wonder who would win in matches between them.
"And end the budding rivalry? Perish the thought," Ignis retorted with a closed eye smile. Weiss smiled back at his witty retort. Ignis was always charismatic and his dry wit was a disarming addition to his formality. For everyone in the room, it was perhaps the most genuine smile that any of them had seen on Weiss's face since they met her.
"Well how about we go and visit town?" Ruby suggested.
The boys looked at each other before Noctis said, "You know, we could always take another look around. Especially with a couple of locals."
Yang looked particularly excited. Ruby seemed relieved. "How about it, ladies? Where do we go?" Prompto asked as he shared a similar level of excitement.
"I know a little club we could go to downtown," Yang suggested casually.
"Wai-" Ruby started.
"Y'know, clubbing?" Yang said to the interested face of the boys at the table.
Weiss crossed her arms and asked, "Clubbing?" Her expression matched the boys at the table.
Blake realized that she was with five people who did not know what clubbing was and she suddenly had a slightly mischievous idea. She had no interest in clubbing herself but watching five people, one of them being Weiss Schnee, experience a club for the first time promised to be mildly entertaining.
"I like this idea," Blake commented.
Ruby's apparent hesitation met conflict for a brief moment. She finally said, "Well if Blake is on board, I guess let's do it."
So Gladiolus and Prompto immediately followed after Yang, Blake followed up behind them keeping her grin to a reasonable level. Ruby dragged her feet slightly as Noctis watched her with a questionable glance. In the back were Ignis and Weiss who seemed to fall in stride with him as they watched their teams walk ahead of them.
"Do you really not want to spar with me, Ignis?" Weiss asked curiously.
Ignis chuckled for a moment and said, "Nothing could be further from the truth, I just find myself not quite in the mood for a spar outside of combat class. Long hours of study can be just as tiring as physical exercise."
Weiss nodded and said, "What have you all been researching so thoroughly? We thought you were avoiding us."
"Avoiding?" Ignis asked idly. He did feel a bit guilty at the remark. It was socially unacceptable for them to make friends and then freeze them out. He would have to bring it up to the others because it was a mark on his pride. "I can assure you that that was not our intention. We've spent our whole lives in Hammerhead, looking at the world outside. Now that we are out here, there's so much to learn."
"I think I can understand that," Weiss commented. "My father never really let me out of the house, with the in-home tutors and other things like that. My only real contact with the world outside was my older sister when she joined the military in Atlas. It was because of her that I wanted to become a Huntress."
"That would be Specialist Winter Schnee, if I recall correctly," Ignis said.
Weiss nodded and asked, "You know about my family?"
"Only makes sense that I learn about who is supplying me and my friends our munitions. There was no ulterior motive, I assure you. After all, your father likely would not want my family involved with yours. You have no need to worry about some kind of long con, arranged marriage scenario," Ignis said jokingly. This earned him a small stifled chuckle from her.
"Speaking of your family," Weiss said. "You carry yourself like a nobleman or aristocrat. If your family is not of the higher class, then I find your demeanor to be very strange."
Ignis shook his head and said, "My family has always carried themselves with dignity above our station. If you believe them, we were once members of the elite. So appearances have always been important to them. Those values were instilled in me, whether I wanted them or not." Weiss nodded in thought and the two of them were quiet. Ignis finally asked, "Miss Schnee, what brought your group to us today?"
"Well…" Weiss said hesitantly.
20 Minutes Ago…
"So…" Weiss started idly. There was currently one person who currently did not annoy Weiss as a conversationalist and that was Ignis Scripture. He was studious, attentive in class and participated in class proving his place as the top or near top student in every subject. He was even one of the few people to have multiple fights in combat class, even more importantly, he was the only male student with a perfect duel record and more than one fight. To say that he had caught her attention would be an understatement. However this was a problem. Since the school year officially started, he had been nearly non-existent in the social sphere. "Has anyone else noticed that those Team NPSA boys have been keeping away from all of us?"
"Maybe they are just not that social?" Blake suggested behind her book.
"Gladiolus, maybe. Ignis, less likely. Noctis, I highly doubt it. Prompto, absolutely zero," Yang retorted.
"You don't think they're avoiding us do you?" Ruby asked with a downtrodden look.
Yang looked at her little sister and saw the very real sadness on her face. Yang decided that some light teasing was just the ticket for her baby sister. "No, Ruby, I don't think your boyfriend is avoiding you."
"Yang," Ruby complained. "He's not my boyfriend."
"Who is Ruby's boyfriend?" Blake asked just catching the tail end of their exchange.
"Noctis Starlight," Yang answered with a breathy tone. "Or wait, sorry, Noct as she calls him."
"Because he asked me to," Ruby complained further.
"But I see you don't deny the boyfriend allegations brought up by Blake," Yang countered.
Blake rolled her eyes and hid an amused smile behind her book, as she gave a halfhearted, "Don't drag me into this, I was just trying to figure out who Ruby's boyfriend was."
"Blake, not you too!"
Weiss's arms suddenly shook up and down, violently as she said, "Would you all get back on topic! How are we going to fix this?"
The room fell a little quiet before Yang said, "We could just go up and talk to them. No schemes." This room fell quiet before it was suddenly evacuated, with Yang half dragging Blake along for the ride.
Ignis laughed at the depiction of the scene. He did find it rather amusing that the two leaders were being grouped together like this. While he would never acknowledge it out loud without some form of provocation, he could freely admit to himself that he understood where the sentiment came from. Ignis had never seen Noctis become such fast friends with someone like that since Prompto. Whether that be due to Miss Rose's adorable nature or similar level of social ineptitude at times, the two of them clicked.
"I must say, that all sounds all entirely too appropriate for your group. A group of polar forces working in opposition to each other and yet creating equilibrium," Ignis mused poetically.
His intonation and vocabulary further caught Weiss's attention. He was not just intelligent, he was an artist with words. The enigma continued.
Ignis felt himself under the observation of Weiss often. Her trained facial expressions and general haughty aura made her a hard read. Especially because he could tell that the disdain she had once held was just a surface level thing. She did feel superior to others because of her training and upbringing, but she seemed to be realizing that her worldview had been just as small as that of the boys from Hammerhead. Completely different worlds, similar levels of ignorance of the world as a greater whole. In a way, her interactions with Ignis suggested a further dismantling of her previous world view. Afterall, if a nobody from a relatively country-bumpkin type of town like Hammerhead could act so much like her, what else did the world outside have to offer?
The two teams found themselves on a ship down to Vale and they followed as Yang led the way. They found themselves downtown and outside of a place called "Junior's Club."
"Welcome to my favorite club in the city!" Yang announced with a big smile. On the front, it had a banner saying 'Grand Re-Opening' and bundles of balloons on either side of the entrance.
"Why is it reopening?" Prompto asked.
Ignis put his fingers to his chin and suggested, "Renovations, perhaps?"
"Yang isn't this the place where you-?" Ruby asked.
"Yup," Yang answered, waving the question away. Gladiolus looked over at Yang and caught on that she was definitely trying to hide something from them. "C'mon, let's go have some fun."
The eight teens all entered the club and immediately felt the thrum of the bass vibrate through them. It was exhilarating and intimidating. Yang swung open the inside doors and with a grandiose prose, announced her presence.
"Guess who's back! Let's start this party off with a Yang!"
The club seemed to turn in her direction. The rest of her teammates and friends moved around her as to separate themselves from the daggers being sent her direction by the eyes of all the suited men. Gladiolus and Noct locked gazes for a moment. These guys were dressed the same way as the goons from their first night in town.
Ruby and Noctis soon found themselves alone to the side of the dancefloor as all the others found their way among the crowd while Yang was being interrogated by the staff. As the two watched both scenes back and forth, Ruby finally broke and decided to talk.
"So Noct, why didn't you go dance?" Ruby asked casually.
"I can dance," Noctis said as his gaze fell on a particularly out of control and out of rhythm Prompto. "I just don't dance like that. I'll have to show you some other time."
Ruby followed his gaze and giggled. "That's good to hear," she joked. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Of course, if you want," Noctis replied as he kept his eyes forward, feeling his face heat up. He's never talked like this with his female peers before.
"U-uh, sure," Ruby said awkwardly. The two of them fell silent.
"And how about you? Do you dance?" Noctis asked.
"I'm not much of a dancey girl," Ruby answered honestly. The look from Noctis made her realize that he was expecting more. "I've always been more focused on being good at the monster fighting stuff. So a lot of the more social skills might have gone untended. And you said you can dance? What kinds do you know?"
"Ballroom, Waltz, and the Tango," Noctis replied. When he saw Ruby's raised eyebrow he added, "My caretakers felt it would be a necessary skill."
"Caretakers?" Ruby asked.
Noctis nodded and replied, "My parents are dead, have been for basically as long as I've been alive. I was raised by the community in Hammerhead."
"Oh," Ruby commented sadly.
"It's fine," Noctis said after a brief moment. "I'm not really upset about it. I can't miss something I never had. But I learned about your mother, so I figured it only made sense that I be open about my upbringing."
Ruby looked at him and was surprised by how unemotional his face remained when it came to talking about his lack of parents. He was not the first person she met with no parents, but many of them still seemed to miss the fact that they were supposed to have parents who loved them and raised them. So either Noctis was lying about not being sad and having run out of tears to cry about it, much like she had about her mother… or he truly felt nothing about his lack of parents. She was not sure which thought made her sadder.
Out on the dancefloor, Weiss was attempting to join in with the others but the lack of uniformity was beginning to grate on her nerves. How anyone was supposed to enjoy the dancefloor if nobody could make proper use of it, was simply beyond her. Before she could express her discontent with it though, she found herself face to face with a suited goon that had just gone flying through the air. She ducked below him as he slid across the dancefloor behind her. Following his trajectory towards the door, she saw Yang with fist extended. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm and when she turned it was Ignis leading her off of the dancefloor.
"This way, Miss Schnee," Ignis said as they made their way to an outer wall and out of the chaos beginning to form in the club.
Weiss looked over at him as he observed the scene before him. What was once a brief respite from the world, was suddenly a combat zone and yet he transitioned between both situations so simply. Weiss looked at the situation before her and then her gaze was drawn up where she saw Blake in the rafters, with Prompto hanging from her weapon above the chaos.
"You alright, Prompto?" Blake called down to him.
Prompto looked up and with a goofy grin said, "I've been better. Just don't let go, yeah?"
"No promises, these guys look like they might be after us by association with Yang," Blake warned. When Prompto looked down to see what she was talking about, a bottle flew up and slammed him in the face. He forgot himself for a moment and he let go of Blake's weapon and fell into the crowd of suited goons below him.
"Prompto!" Blake called out as she yanked her weapon up to her hand.
Gladiolus pushed through the crowd until he found Noctis backing up away from a group of thugs approaching him and Ruby. The shield on his arm snapped open and he charged forward, shield first.
Noctis tightened his grip on his sword as the first man ran forward. Leaning out of the way, Noctis grabbed the man's axe from his hand and slammed the pommel of his sword into the back of the man's neck. He flipped the axe over and threw it at another man, nailing him in the forehead with the back of the weapon. The third man was suddenly launched by a blur of red, a scythe sweeping through the area. The fourth and fifth men were slammed into the wall by Gladiolus's massive frame.
Yang peeked over at the dancefloor and noticed Prompto managing to weasel his way through a large number of the suited goons. It would be almost impressive how elusive he was being if it felt like any of it was truly on purpose. A slide here transitioning into a tumble over there, Yang realized just how useful his diversion was going to be for her. Launching herself forward, Yang landed a drop kick and flipped back off her target. Landing down next to Prompto, she rose up to full height while performing a backhand on one of the men attempting to grapple Prompto.
Ignis and Weiss found themselves cornered as Ignis attempted to appeal to reason. "I have tried to be reasonable with you, so allow me to put it another way. Let us pass without issue and you will leave today unscathed," Ignis said. One man stepped forward and attempted to grab him, when a rapier swung around Ignis's arm and swatted the suited man's hand away with the flat of the blade. "I never said it would be me doing the hurting," Ignis continued with an ominous expression that disappeared behind the glasses on his face. This seemed to get the group to pause a moment before a larger member stepped through the crowd of goons.
"Do you want the big guy or the little ones?" Weiss asked.
"Ladies choice," Ignis replied, slipping his daggers out from behind his back. No further words were needed as Weiss suddenly dashed into the group of smaller men. Ignis simply nodded to the large man before him and stuck a battle ready pose. The man, like many of the employees of the club, wielded a small hatchet. Ignis waited for the man to make the first move. A slight lean was all he needed to dodge the hatchet that came his way. Ignis simply swiped at the man's arm with a dagger as he shifted his whole body over to a new position. Simply testing the waters. A follow-up swing from the man was blocked and Ignis brought the man's arm down over his leg forcing the man to drop his hatchet. Ignis launched his knee up into the man's chest and then hopped up with his leg wrapped up over his arm. His weight pulled the man to the ground. Ignis rolled back onto his feet and looked at the man now holding his arm. "My apologies," Ignis said to the man.
Gladiolus had been so focused on getting to Noctis he found himself being jumped by two of the goons as he was pressed into the wall. Gladiolus pushed his feet off the wall and toppled the two of them. Struggling back to his feet he tossed one of them over his shoulder and caught the other one's fist mid-swing with his forearm. A third man came after him, but he was suddenly tripped by a streak of black, a weapon, wrapped around his ankle. Blake landed down on the man as he tried to get up.
"You ok?" Blake asked.
Gladiolus lashed his food forward and gripped the man's arm and threw him over onto the floor. "Been better," Gladiolus remarked. "Does Yang always make friends this way?"
"From what I can tell, this is how she makes anybody, anything," Blake replied as she deflected another goon and then spun around to kick him into the wall. This got a bellyful laugh from Gladiolus.
"Maybe I should take notes," he joked.
The combat began to come to a close as the number of movable goons dwindled to zero. Both Team Ruby and Team NPSA began making their way towards the exit as the music had been knocked off track.
"I love clubbing," Yang said with a cheeky grin.
"So we came out here to club people," Ignis acknowledged. "Maybe next time we just dance, hmm?"
Another couple days had passed after the night at the club. Ignis had been challenged to another fight in the combat training class. With another victory, he was now among only four to have fought in multiple spars and come out the otherside with his record unscathed. Noctis had now also joined their ranks after being chosen to pick his opponent. Gladiolus had been particularly busy in the gym trying to get as much exercise as he could, realizing that even if just for a few moments, he had allowed those goons to get the drop on him. He should have been able to repel them so easily. Meanwhile, Prompto had found himself trapped in a vicious cycle of his own indecisiveness, The boys had not been to the library since they had been approached by Team RWBY. But Prompto instead got seriously distracted by something else. It had actually originated a few days prior to the intervention. It started in the cafeteria.
On that particular day, Prompto witnessed a familiar sight, one that made his stomach drop. Appetite gone and fist tightly clenched around his fork. Before he moved to Hammerhead, Faunus discrimination and oppression had been commonplace. The lack of it in Hammerhead had been a blessing to him. Vale had always been one of the more accepting regions, but to see it on display so blatantly in the school had been almost too much to bear. A young rabbit faunus girl, having her lunch tray tipped over on herself by Cardin Winchester. A large brutish lad with short brown hair and a wide frame.
Today, Prompto watched as Cardin gripped her by one of ears, and the look of pain on her face was evident. He was being as rough as he could be and it made Prompto wonder. Where was her Team? She was clearly not a first year as she was never present during the initiation, he would have noticed. This meant that she had to be a second year, if that was the case, why was she taking this first year's crap?
"Ow, that hurts," she complained. "Please, stop."
"See, I told ya they were real," Cardin said as he pointedly tightened his grip with a small tug, causing her to grimace.
One of the other members, the one by the name of Russel Thrush, a spindly looking punk with a green mohawk, replied, "What a freak!"
Prompto looked around, saw people watching but nobody doing anything and it finally boiled over. He slammed his hand down on the table, his fork clattering. Prompto did not anger often, he did not like pulling attention to himself. Especially with his emotions. His friends were all very well put together and driven. He was just some kid from the outside world who made some friends and hoped he was worthy of having them.
"Cardin!" Prompto demanded as he stood up. "Let her go." The cafeteria went quiet. Prompto walked over to Cardin trying hard to not stomp his feet. He was all too familiar with what would result from being overly aggressive. He would have to play his cards just right. Which meant no going off on Cardin.
Cardin looked over at the approaching Prompto with a dirty smirk. "I think you are gonna have to make me, Prompto," Cardin challenged as his teammates stood up to intercept Prompto.
"Get out from behind your human shields and maybe I will," Prompto replied.
"Why do you care?" Cardin asked, his grip loosening ever so slightly.
Prompto fought the urge to cross his arms defensively as he replied, "People don't get to choose where they come from. We only get to choose where we're going."
"And what is that supposed to mean, Shrimp?" Cardin asked.
"You're hurting her for something she didn't choose, Cardin. How does her being a faunus concern you in any way?" Prompto asked impatiently. "You know if you spent more time thinking and less time being an ass, you wouldn't need me to explain this to you." Cardin let go of the girl's ear and approached Prompto menacingly. Prompto looked up at him without budging. As the two of them stared each other down, the cafeteria stayed deathly quiet. Until Cardin knocked into Prompto with his shoulder as he walked past. Prompto maintained his footing and did not move until he heard the cafeteria door close and then he let himself deflate.
After a brief moment, the cafeteria returned to normal and Prompto felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked over and was immediately embraced by the girl with the rabbit ears.
"Thank you," she said to him. Now that she was not grimacing in pain, she revealed a charming accent.
Prompto rubbed the back of his head nervously, with an awkward chuckle. "Don't know what came over me," he said.
"Can I sit with you?" she asked.
"Um, sure," Prompto replied, leading her back to his spot at his table. He gave another nervous chuckle looking at his fork, just laying in the middle of the table. Rabbit Ears sat down and if she noticed it, gave no sign of it being any concern to her. Prompto sat down across from her and as he retrieved his fork, observed the girl more thoroughly. She had long brown hair and large eyes with color to match. Not counting her ears, as most Faunus chose not to for their medical needs, she sat just under his height. Even though she was much more comfortable, she could be described as physically closed off as she kept her arms very close to her sides, even when she used them for picking at her food. After she took a couple of bites, she set her utensils down daintily and gave Prompto a smile.
"So," she said, as if she was trying to make sure her words did not leave mouth without thorough scrutiny. "Your name is Prompto Quicksilver, right?"
"You know my name?" Prompto asked. His eyebrows up and his back straightened. "Uh, yeah, I mean my name is Prompto." He paused. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught yours."
She giggled for a moment before she replied, "That is because I haven't offered it, yet. My name is Velvet Scarlatina. And to answer your first question, my teammates and I were rather curious about you and yours. We watched all of your footage from the initiation process. Or at least, I did."
"Oh, why are you guys so interested in us?" Prompto asked.
Velvet picked up her fork and stirred her food around a little bit while she considered her answer again. She seemed very particular about her speech. After a moment, her hand stopped and she said, "Your shared salute. Even hyper-prepared first years like Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos did not have a preplanned salute that was practiced with their team for that ceremony. It means you knew each other from before Beacon, correct?"
"Guilty as charged," Prompto said with a smile. "We've been friends for a number of years now. But I'm sure plenty of friends have been teamed up before. I mean, that Nora and Ren couple seemed pretty friendly and familiar with each other. Ruby and Yang are siblings. Is it really so strange?" Prompto seemed to be suddenly concerned about how it came across.
This got another giggle from Velvet which immediately set Prompto at ease. "A couple of people, no," Velvet replied. "A whole team though, is far more rare." She gave him a friendly smile as she said this. Then after a moment she added, "Did I see correctly in the footage that you partake in photography?"
"Oh, yeah! Wanna see?" Prompto asked with an excited grin. Velvet's face beamed and she nodded excitedly. Prompto reached into his bag and pulled out a photo album. It was entirely full of pictures that they boys had taken during their trip and since they arrived at school.
"Wow, you take a lot of pictures," Velvet said as she flipped her way through the album. "Wait, is that one a picture of you careening towards the Emerald Forest?"
"Good eye. Yeah, I take a lot of selfies whenever I think I can do something with them," Prompto explained. "Are you interested in photography?"
"Oh I love it. I made my weapon based on it," Velvet explained excitedly.
"Oh so we both do a lot of shooting then," Prompto joked.
"And yet, not as much as Coco," Velvet said with a content grin. The two of them were having a lot of fun. After more small talk and eating their respective meals, Velvet seemed to be thinking about something to say.
"You know, it might just be easier if you just asked what's on your mind, you probably won't offend me," Prompto said to her with a friendly gesture for her to go ahead.
"Oh, alright," Velvet said a little flustered. "I was just wondering, why you went out of your way to help me?"
Prompto was surprised by the question. Not just the content of the question but the tone. She spoke like he did something that was more trouble than it was worth. He recovered shortly after and said, "It is like I said to Cardin, none of us can control where we were born. It isn't fair to be attacked and shunned for something you didn't do."
Velvet gained a look of contemplation before she said, "You've experienced it too. Prompto, you are a faunus?"
Prompto's cheeks flared for a brief moment before he finally nodded. He ended the motion with his face pointed towards the table. Velvet seemed confused by the gesture until she saw a small movement from within Prompto's fluffy hair.
"You have ears like I do?" Velvet asked quietly. "I've always wanted to be friends with other faunus." Prompto looked up at her and watched her expression change when she saw how much shame he felt. "What's wrong?"
"I just wish I could change my past decisions," Prompto said with a renewed ashamed expression. A question formed on Velvet's face. Finally, Propto tipped his head forward and with his hands parted his hair. Velvet saw two small weasel ears, one of which seemed stunted in its growth, before she realized that a portion of it was simply missing, it ended in scar tissue. Prompto fixed his hair. "I tried to remove it with a knife after a particularly rough day with some older kids who treated me a lot like Cardin was treating you. I just wanted to erase the evidence that I was a Faunus. It wasn't until I met my friends, my brothers, that I had friends who accepted me."
Velvet seemed to get sad as she placed her hand on his and said, "You were scared. You shouldn't be ashamed for a moment of weakness. You clearly have learned from it."
"Thanks," Prompto said, feeling a little bit better.
"Thank you," Velvet said with a small squeeze on his hand. The two of them finished their meals. "Prompto, if I could ask, would you come with me and tell my team about today?"
"About Cardin?" Prompto asked.
Velvet nodded and said, "He's been a bit persistent and after it happened last time, Coco made me promise I would tell them whenever something like this happened again. Not that they won't believe me, but I think they'll want to meet you once they find out you stepped in, regardless of whether or not I tell them about you."
"So I am saving your team some time, makes sense to me," Prompto replied. The two of them disposed of their trays and made their way out of the of their trays and headed out of the cafeteria. "So if you are not a first year what year is your team, anyway?"
"Team CFVY (Coffee) is a second year team," Velvet answered. "We are among the most active in our grade as we work very well together. Oh speaking of them, I should make sure they are all still together." Velvet took out her scroll and began texting. Prompto could not help but be just a little nosy.
'Hey Coco, are you all still in our room?' Velvet wrote.
'Of course, Fox and Yatsu are disagreeing on what we should work on when we train later. I may or may not be egging them on. ;P,' replied the one named Coco.
'You are so bad,' Velvet wrote. 'Look, I need to talk to you all. So don't leave, alright?'
'Wait, what?' Coco wrote across multiple texts. 'Is this "Asshat" related?'
'It is about Cardin, mostly…' Velvet wrote.
'"Mostly"?'
'Easier to explain when I get there, just try to stay calm, because I am… extremely okay now.' Velvet replied.
'Please tell me you kicked him in the balls,' Coco wrote.
Velvet put her scroll away at this point. Prompto looked away trying to pretend that he was not reading her conversation. The two of them continued on. Soon they sound themselves on the third floor of the student dorms. After a brief moment, they arrived outside a door with a small metal plate with 'Team CFVY' engraved in the front.
"A word of warning," Velvet said as they paused. "My team is very protective of each other, but me especially. They are all forces of personality, so try not to be overwhelmed."
"Um, alrighty," Prompto said with a small gulp.
Velvet smiled at him and said, "They are really good people, I promise."
Prompto nodded and as she reached towards that handle he then said, "Could you keep my ears on the downlow, for the time being?"
"They won't-" she started but then remembered his expression earlier when they were talking about their shared experiences. She simply nodded and watched him become immediately more relaxed. They would talk more about this later. Without interruption she opened the door.
"Velvet!" a female voice declared from within. The door flew the rest of the way open to reveal a young woman who could be summarized in one word. Stylish. From her gradient brown to caramel short hair with an asymmetrical wave, to her pair of dark black, high-heeled leather calf-high boots with golden buckles, and everything between. The rest of her outfit consisted of a long, cocoa-colored shirt with an upturned layered frill collar with a black single strapped waist cincher. She wears tight black leather trousers that have golden lining around the pocket and ribbons attached to the back of a golden zipper seam around her knees. A black golden studded belt is normally hidden by a large cocoa-colored belt with gun cartridges on the left side and a large golden crosshair buckle. A large piece of black fabric is attached to her belt hanging down on her right side. If it were not for the clearly emotional expression on her face, she was ver well put together.
Prompto however was immediately intimidated when he realised that she was the same height as Ignis. Velvet however stepped forward and grabbed Coco's hands and began to try soothing her worries.
"Coco, I am fine. See, I don't even have any food on my uniform this time. Speaking of which, I need to introduce you to part of the reason for that. Coco Adel, this is Prompto Quicksilver of Team NPSA," Velvet said. Coco looked over at him like it was the first time she had seen him there.
She suddenly put on a pair of sunglasses. "This is one of the NPSA boys huh?"
"Team NPSA?" asked a deep male voice in the room. Stepping out from behind a blind corner was the largest person Prompto had ever seen. Nearly two feet taller than himself, Prompto saw the short haired man was of Mistrialian descent. Clad in a short-sleeved robe, which he wore on one shoulder over a black muscle shirt. The robe was fastened at the waist by a leather armored belt with two pouches on it. He also wore brown pants and black-and-green boots. His left arm was covered by a 5-layered shoulder armor which extended up past his shoulder. He screamed battle hardened warrior, just like Gladio. "You're Prompto, right? Velvet, how do you know him?"
"That is what I wanted to talk to you all about, Yatsu," she reiterated as her teammates began to clear the doorway. Velvet walked in and gestured for Prompto to follow. When he stepped through the door he became aware of the final member of the team. He sat on his bed and watched quietly. He had dark skin which brought out the striking white color in his eyes. Brown hair with fringe and a cowlick adorned his head, while he was clad in a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and a high collar, a pair of black jeans, and brown, laced shoes. Prompto noticed that his arms were covered in scars, and he had a vertical scar on his lips.
Velvet suddenly said, "I'll get to that Fox. Oh, speaking of which, Prompto Quicksilver, meet my other two teammates, Yatsuhashi Daichi and Fox Alistair. Guys this is Prompto. I brought him here because at least two of you were going to want to find him after I talked to you about the Cardin situation today."
"So what exactly happened?" Coco asked evenly, but her clenched fist made it clear that she was holding back a fire inside. Prompto could feel the protective nature of their group and it reminded him of when he first met his best friends.
Velvet took a breath, exhaled and then prepared to speak. "So today, I went to get some food after my last class, and when I got there, Cardin and his team were there," she began.
"Were the others involved?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Verbally," Velvet answered.
"So it was physical?" Coco asked, a little less composed.
Velvet kept her expression even and replied, "Yes. Cardin grabbed my ear and used his grip to keep me from leaving while he and his friends mocked me." Prompto could swear that he felt the temperature raise multiple degrees from the pure anger radiating off of Coco. The other two were much better at disguising their emotions. "And then suddenly, Prompto yelled his name and came to my defence."
"You did?" Yatsuhashi asked. Prompto nodded.
Velvet then added, "He didn't just stand up for me, his challenge was basically the reason that Cardin let me go."
"Well you called it," Coco said. "Now that you've told me, I would have absolutely hunted this one down." Prompto suddenly got really stiff backed as he took a quick glance at the window. He was high up, but maybe there was a tree nearby… who was he kidding, he hated heights. Almost as much as he hated enclosed spaces. "Prompto," Coco continued. He squeaked.
"Yes, ma'am?" he asked.
Coco grabbed his hand and shook it. "Thank you," she said. Prompto looked down at the hand shake and saw that in her grasp was what looked like a piece of flair. When their handshake ended, he looked at the badge and saw the words 'It's a beautiful day, now watch some bastard mess it up,' written upon its face. It was rebellious, badass, and something Prompto would absolutely love to wear.
"Far as we're concerned," Yatsuhashi began, "you are as much a member of our family as we are. Thank you."
Prompto was stunned. He looked at Velvet and she shrugged, but never lost the big grin plastered on her face.
