Bartholomew meandered through the open serving area with purposeful steps, taking great care not to run into the other bustling students around the area. He had elected to pick up a simple sandwich and side of fries, despite the impressive selection of foods on display around the room. After stopping to allow another student to pass with a nod, he made his way into the queue for the soda machine and grabbed a tall paper cup from a waiting rack on his left.

"Barty! I feel like I haven't seen you in so long!"

Bartholomew blinked as he turned to see Roman carrying his own tray and sporting a massive, playful grin. He had grabbed three slices of pizza, a basket of fries, a small dish of ice cream, and held two cups off to the side of the tray in his spare fingers.

"…Roman, we have periods one, two, four, and six together, out of seven total classes, and we've been apart for barely over an hour. On a side note, that is… quite a bit of food," Bartholomew finished in a rather impressed tone.

Roman replied by lifting a slice of pizza and taking a bite out of it, before resting the food back onto his plate. "I know, isn't it great? I've had pizza like… twice, before. Everything back home is hors d'oeuvres or some kind of fancy-schmancy small, decorative bullshit crackers with gross stuff on top. Or steaks the size of an eyeball. Now, though? Here? I can eat like the king of a trash heap. Oh, also, I ran into Adam in the hall just now, and he has detention."

"He what?" Bartholomew asked as he blinked in surprise. He made his way to the soda machine and filled his cup with ice, before pushing the button for plain water. "What happened? He didn't get into a fight or anything, did he?"

"Nah, he… hold up," Roman replied through a mouthful of fries. He swallowed hard, and then cracked his neck. "He's got Weapon Crafting and Upkeep period three, and apparently he didn't do so hot. I mean, look at his sword, right? The professor's holding him for an extra help session, or some shit. Sounds miserable to me."

"Sounds like she actually gives a damn, if you ask me. He could certainly use the help," Bartholomew offered before taking a sip of his water. Roman filled his cups with two different sodas, and followed his leader as he began to walk. Bartholomew led the way out into the main dining hall, and paused as he looked over the seating arrangements. Four long, communal tables took up the half of the room nearest to the serving area, while smaller, circular ones dotted the space between them and the doors. A massive wall of windows gave a full view of the nearby training fields and allowed warm, illuminating sunlight to spill through into the room.

Roman broke the silence by nodding toward one of the smaller tables, and began to make his way toward it. "C'mon. Kali and her new girlfriend ran to the bathroom after last period. I told her to meet us at one of those, and for this Raven chick to bring her team."

"Well, at least you're showing initiative," Bartholomew replied as he moved to follow. "We really should have exchanged numbers, to make this easier. Let's do so over lunch. Is she with the same girl she brought to Plant Sciences?"

"That's the one," Roman confirmed as they sat down at the chosen table. "Not gonna lie, she could get it, too."

"…'get it'?" Bartholomew asked as he selected a seat and picked up a fry.

"You know. I'd give it to her," Roman explained with a vulgar thrust of his hips before sitting next to his friend. Bartholomew merely rolled his eyes, and then trained them on the doors to the cafeteria as Raven entered with Kali in tow. Raven had her scroll up to the side of her face, and looked incredibly annoyed as Kali walked several steps behind her with a frown.

"Well, there they are, but it looks like something's amiss. I hope it's nothing serious," Bartholomew finished as Kali caught sight of the boys and hurried to approach.

"Hey, sorry we're a little late. Girls and bathrooms, you know how it is. Raven's brother's in detention, apparently. I don't know what happened," Kali explained as she leaned in between the boys and propped an elbow on Roman's shoulder.

Roman merely chuckled, and offered her a fry. Kali snatched it out of his fingers with her teeth. "Funny you should say so. So is Adam."

"What? Oh, come on, not on day one…" Kali groaned as her ears wilted. "We're not even halfway through classes. Was it Weapon Crafting and Upkeep?"

"That's the one," Bartholomew said with a nod. "Seems like we'll need to tread lightly. We all have that class sixth period, just before free sparring."

"So does Raven," Kali pointed out as the dark-haired girl approached, her scroll tucked away. Kali turned to face her new friend, and gave her a worried look. "Sounds like you're with all of us, later tonight. Is everything okay?"

Raven huffed, and used a hand to brush some intruding hair out of her eyes. "It should be, it's just… inconvenient, and Qrow's had it rough lately as it is. Sorry, I'm Raven Branwen. I saw you two in Plant Sciences, right?" she asked as she offered Bartholomew a hand. He accepted it, and nodded.

"Correct. Bartholomew Oobleck. This is Roman Torchwick, and our last member, Adam Taurus, is in detention with your brother, apparently. We're Team OKRA."

"Adam got hit, too? We've met, briefly. I'm from Team STRQ," Raven replied as she took Roman's hand. She froze momentarily as the lanky boy kissed the back of it, and shot her a wink. "…ew. No."

"Glad to see my charms are working," Roman joked. "Grab some grub, and come sit with us. Where's your S and the T?"

Raven folded her arms, and let out a heavy sigh. "Summer and Tai just had Grimm Studies, apparently. They should be here soon."

"As did I," Bartholomew added before taking a sip of water. "Brunette with some sort of oversized wizard's staff, and a blonde boy with a trident?"

Raven narrowed her eyes. "That's them, yes. Do I even want to know why they stood out to you?"

Bartholomew smirked. "The girl said something about seeing a… 'cool-looking beetle' as they passed a window in the hall, and dragged the poor boy outside to chase it. I expect they'll be slightly delayed."

A cathartic smack echoed throughout the small area as Raven brought her palm up to her forehead. "A beetle. Seriously? I quit. Let's ditch them all and form a new team, with whatever our names make."

"Team TOMB. All last names, and puts me in charge," Roman said with a smirk.

"…no," Raven said once again as she shot him a venomous look. "Come on, Kali. Let's go get some food. We'll be right back."

Kali snickered at Roman's suggestion, and then moved to follow her friend as the boys stayed behind. Roman watched Raven walk into the serving area with a little too much focus, and Bartholomew set down his sandwich with a disappointed frown.

"…Roman. Before the girls return… is that really all you think about, when they're around? Can you not afford them some respect and dignity, instead of practically drooling over them?"

Roman stabbed his spoon into his ice cream with a bit more force than necessary, and gave Bartholomew an annoyed glare. "You must really think I'm an asshole, huh? I have my reasons, and it's not like I'm touching them, is it? Can't a guy appreciate a short skirt in peace? Raven's even got it hiked up a bit. She's begging to be noticed. "

"Quite honestly… I think your priorities with people need some rearranging, is all. I'd be interested to hear your reasons," Bartholomew offered as Roman whipped his fringe out of his face.

"Really? Then listen up, because I don't like repeating myself. My family has a mansion in Atlas- the upper half of Atlas, obviously. Dad got rich selling some shitty, abstract art that no one actually cares about, and Mom left ages ago and isn't interested in us. Dad's an asshole, and he's worried that the money and influence is going to run dry one day, so he wants me to shack up with some loaded bitch to make sure we're not strapped for cash in the future. He's been grooming me to try to court someone from another rich family since I was too young to locate my dick, let alone use it. I don't care, though. They're all stuck-up, frigid, annoying little rule-following brats with sticks up their asses, and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of being told to act like a gentleman and pretend like I care about polo and tea parties and stocks."

Bartholomew listened carefully as his friend ranted, and offered a curt nod. "So, this is just another form of rebellion, on your part."

"You call it rebellion, I call it freedom," Roman replied as he took a spoonful of ice cream. "If you're really that bent out of shape about it, then I don't know what to tell you. An ass is an ass, and I've got eyes. They're a perfect pair."

Bartholomew began to say something, only to close his mouth as Raven and Kali made their way up to the table. Raven's tray had only a salad and water, while Kali's was stacked with even more food than Roman's. The faunus flopped into her chair with a dramatic sigh, and looped an arm around Raven's shoulder as the other girl sat and pulled her seat in. Raven gave her a tired glance, and then rolled her eyes and chose to focus on her salad as Kali brought her free hand up to idly play with one of her earrings.

"So, how was your morning, boys? I mean, we all had period two together, but what about one and three?"

"History was fascinating, as history is," Bartholomew began as Roman gave him a look as though he'd grown an extra head. "Grimm studies was alright, I suppose, though biology and combat are by far my least favorite subjects."

"Yeah, no, dude's crazy," Roman clarified. "I practically fell asleep in first period, but my third was nuts, as you two already know. I had Legends of Remnant."

Kali's ears perked up at the words, and she leaned slightly over the table toward Roman. "It was so cool! Professor Ozpin knows how to tell a story."

"He certainly does," Raven agreed between bites of salad. "I'll admit, I was skeptical that it was just going to be some infantile read-aloud or some other waste of time, but… I can't help but feel like there's a point to what he's telling us. A bigger picture."

Bartholomew furrowed his brows, and took his schedule from the bag resting beside his seat. "Professor Ozpin is teaching the course? I thought he'd be far too busy to deal with instruction."

"I think we all did," Kali offered as she stole another fry from Roman.

"Hey! You've got a pile of your own!"

"They don't taste as good! Crime is the best seasoning!" she retorted, as Roman took two fries from her pile and a desperate scramble began between the two. Raven rolled her eyes, and turned away from the pair to face Bartholomew.

"Despite their behavior, they're right. It was quite a shock to see the headmaster in a classroom, but… I think it may just be part of his style. It looks like he's trying to shake things up in a big way."

Bartholomew gave Kali an unimpressed look as she continued to wrestle with their teammate, before turning his gaze to Raven instead. "It does seem that way, yes. I do wonder what, if anything, he'll have to say about our teammates being given a detention on the first day."

Raven speared a few more leaves of lettuce on her fork, and frowned. "I don't think he'll be too harsh, if he even notices. I'm more worried about how Qrow is going to take it…"


Adam lingered outside of the door to Professor Calavera's lab, holding a tray with a single wrapped sandwich upon it. He remained off to the side and out of view of the window inlaid within the door, as he silently collected his thoughts and tried to figure out what to say. The chance to plan was interrupted quite quickly as Qrow approached with a tray of his own, and offered Adam a surprised look.

"So she got you, too? What happened?" Qrow asked as he stopped walking to stand before Adam.

"…she took one look at my katana and told me to put it away and observe other students. She seemed furious, and didn't really talk to me again until the end of class. Said I should come for extra help… and probably for dinner, too," Adam said in a dejected tone. "I should have seen this coming."

"At least you've got an excuse, of some sort. I left class and pissed her off," Qrow said nonchalantly. "Hopefully her fire stays directed at me, and you get off easy. C'mon, let's not keep her waiting."

Adam nodded, and pushed his way through the door and into the lab. Professor Calavera was sat behind her desk as usual, still wearing her welding goggles, dark gloves, and a brown, stained apron.

"Smart of you two to show up… though I must admit, this may not work out. Mr. Taurus and I need to have a private conversation, so Mr. Branwen… you are going to be completing your assignment in the hallway," Professor Calavera instructed as she stood.

Qrow grumbled to himself and turned, only for Adam to interrupt.

"Wait, I… Qrow's a close friend. I trust him, and I don't mind if he hears about… what happened."

Professor Calavera made a contemplative noise, and then nodded her head toward Qrow. "In that case, Mr. Branwen, lock the door. Get started on your diagramming, and call me if you need assistance… though I don't see why you would. Even a child can draw their own weapon."

Qrow nodded and took position at a table, before pulling out his sword and resting it atop the workspace. He shuffled through his bag to produce his notebook, and turned to a blank page before simply staring at the blade as he listened in on Adam's conversation.

"Professor Calavera, I… don't know where to begin. I don't think this sword can be improved. I was planning to replace it with another after our team completed a few hunts, b-"

"Stop," the professor commanded as she put out a hand. "I don't need an explanation for that. What I need to know is why your blade is what it is, and why it's stained. I want honesty, young man. Professor Ozpin sent along a warning to treat you with kid gloves, but that isn't good enough for me. If you want help in this lab, and something more than the instruction I give to everyone else, you'll earn it. That starts here and now, with trust."

Adam paused, and placed his battered katana upon the table before him. "What… sort of help beyond the usual are you willing to give me, when you feel that I've 'earned' it? I'm just another faunus from a dust mine, who happens to h-"

"That's more than enough out of you," Professor Calavera warned. "Who you were does not determine who you are. The only interest I have in your past, or standing as a faunus, is to know your motivation. I will help you become the kind of huntsman you want to be, if you let me know exactly who and what that entails. Start at the beginning, and keep in mind- the more you trust me, the more I'll return the favor. I don't operate by the same rules or mindset as the other professors here. I care about people. Not grades."

Adam hesitated, and looked over at Qrow. The other boy was clearly listening as he focused more on his food than work. With one last sigh, Adam started in on his story.

"I… grew up in and around a dust mine, in Lower Atlas. It's all I knew, until a few weeks ago. My parents were apparently miners, even though we never met, and I became a miner by default. The only humans I ever interacted with were SDC employees, and all of them looked at me the same way. Some of them beat me, spit at me, and worse… but that isn't unusual, down in the mines. None of it matters, anyway."

Adam stopped once again, and gave the professor an uncertain look.

"…are you saying you've put all of that behind you?" Professor Calavera asked. "It sounds to me like your past is a good motivator, though for what, you would have to decide for yourself. No one else can make that decision."

"No, I… haven't. I don't think I ever can. It doesn't matter because I can't change it. There's no point in thinking about it, when it's already done. I don't need it for motivation. I don't need it in my mind, so it doesn't matter. It's that simple," Adam finished, nearly spitting the last few words. Professor Calavera frowned, and put her hand atop Adam's, which had balled into a fist upon the table.

"That's a dangerous attitude to have, Mr. Taurus. By that logic, by tonight, this conversation won't matter, either. You know that isn't true. You will have to make peace with these things, because the longer you let them idle in your mind and the more you try to ignore them, the more they will consume you. That's how memories work. Pleasant, unpleasant, it doesn't matter. Poets get lost in unrequited love and spend their entire lives scribbling noughts until their deaths. Tyrants get lost in past injustices, and force what they see in their minds upon the world. You don't need to confide everything in me, specifically, and I'm probably not even qualified to help you through the process of acceptance. But… it has to happen. If you refuse to make meaning from your past, someone else will do it for you, and you might not like their interpretation," Professor Calavera finished. She lifted her hand and spared a look at Qrow, who seemed incredibly upset as he simply stared down at his sandwich.

Adam shifted as the sensation of pins and needles crept up his arms. He shook his head slowly, and did everything in his power to avoid the professor's eyes.

"Even if that's true… it's not something I want to deal with right now. Right now, you deserve to have your question answered. I just hope the answer doesn't get me expelled, or worse."

Professor Calavera chuckled, and both boys looked up at her in surprise at the noise.

"I tell every class that this is my sanctuary on day one for a reason, you know. What you tell me stays with me. If you're worried that I'm going to march you to the headmaster's office over whatever it is you did to get out of that mine, then you're mistaken. Professor Ozpin seems like a good man… but as far as I'm concerned, he's barely out of school, himself, and I don't trust just anyone with affairs this serious. Start eating, before you run out of time and pass out in the hallway, and then get on with it."

Adam did as he was told and unwrapped his sandwich, before taking a bite. He chewed slowly to buy himself some time as he collected his thoughts, and then began to speak in a cautious tone.

"On August 18th, there was a collapse in shaft 3C. It wasn't the first, not even close, but something about this one was… different. Our assigned digging areas were changed around that morning, and… things just seemed suspicious. Something about the whole event didn't feel right to me, and I confronted the overseer of my digging squad about it. He… hit me over it, and I… snapped. I managed to overpower him, and made a run for it. That sword is one I grabbed from a table, on my way out of the offices. It got damaged in the escape, when I had to fight off some people who tried to stop me. That's… all."

Professor Calavera drew in a deep breath, and shook her head. "You left out more details than you gave, and damage like this doesn't come from fighting off a few men. I'm not an idiot, but neither are you. The question now is what you're going to do moving forward, and why you think I should invest the time and effort to help you get there."

Adam furrowed his brows as he considered the point, and then brought his eye up to meet the professor's goggles.

"As far as I'm concerned, my life began here. Before Beacon, I was just a tool. The only thing I care about is moving forward, now… and helping my team. I don't have an answer for you beyond that. Maybe they'll be the ones to help me figure this out."

"And why, exactly, does your team mean something to you when you've been together for all of an evening?" Professor Calavera questioned.

"Because for once, having them, I don't feel so alone anymore," Adam explained. Qrow felt the corner of his mouth tug into a frown, though he chose to remain silent.

"Then focus upon what you need to get you through Beacon, for now. I want you to consider what sort of weapon you wish you had, instead of what you have at the moment. Once you have an idea, sketch it out, and let me see it. Speaking of," Professor Calavera began as she moved to approach Qrow's workstation. The boy swallowed hard, and turned his eyes away from the empty pages of his notebook.

"Sorry, Professor. I'm drawing a blank, on everything. This isn't really my weapon, and I'm… still bitter about what happened to it," Qrow confessed as he dared to look up at Professor Calavera. Her face was expressionless, and she remained unmoving from across the table.

"…well, go on. Don't start a sob story and leave me hanging. At least your classmate gave me something."

Qrow sighed, and nodded. "I'll keep it quick, so we can work on a solution. I added some dangerous mods to my weapon in my time at Hearth, got it taken away from me, and the professor responsible never returned it at the end of last year. I picked this thing up as a stand-in, while I tried to figure out what to do."

"Hearth," Professor Calavera repeated. "Your Weapon Crafting and Maintenance instructor took your weapon away?"

"That's right," Qrow confirmed with a nod.

"In that case, I'll just call Professor Mulberry right now and have him ship it over to Beacon. We're old friends."

All color drained from Qrow's face as Professor Calavera took out her scroll and flipped it open. Qrow nearly dived across the table as he put a hand out in a panicked motion, and fell just short of the scroll.

"No, don't!"

Professor Calavera paused with her thumb hovering over a button, as Adam looked across the room, confused. Qrow's breathing quickened as he straightened himself up over the table, and began to feel nauseous. The professor's mouth twisted into a knowing smirk as she flipped her scroll closed, and leaned in to put her face mere inches from Qrow's.

"I can smell a lie from a mile away, young man. Next time, don't try to bullshit me. Now, tell me where your weapon really is."


"So there she is, standing naked in the middle of the living room while her boyfriend is trying to cover himself with a doily as I walk in with our parents. Mom drops the gallon of milk again and it bursts all over the wooden floor, and the noise causes my sister's boyfriend to jump and drop the doily by mistake. My dad started yelling, and I said, 'now that's a katana!' Both of us ended up getting grounded for two weeks."

Bartholomew snickered softly as Roman began to wheeze, and even Raven had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter. Kali stood triumphantly as she finished recounting the tale with enthusiastic hand motions, and then took a small bow before returning to her seat.

"See? I told you my family is messed up."

Bartholomew put his hands up as his face turned slightly red. "Alright, Kali, you win. By quite a large margin, I might add. It sounds like your home life was a near endless comedy of errors."

"And my Beacon life is probably going to be no different, so watch out," Kali warned as she tactically stole Roman's last fry while he was distracted with coughing. He waved a hand as he finally regained his composure, and drank deeply from one of his soda cups.

"I mean, I've been caught doing some pretty embarrassing things, but to drop the doily in front of your dad? I feel bad for the boyfriend. Is he still around?" Roman asked.

"Nope. Sis dumped him like a month later. It was ugly," Kali replied with a smirk. Suddenly, Raven sat up a bit straighter, and nodded toward the doors to the cafeteria.

"Here come Summer and Tai. No more doily-related stories out of you. Tai's way too innocent, and he'd probably burst into flame upon hearing anything lewd."

"What about Summer?" Roman asked as Raven waved to the pair. Summer returned the gesture with her usual grin, and began speeding toward the serving area with Taiyang in tow.

Raven shook her head, her dark hair bouncing lightly. "I get the feeling she could probably beat Kali's stories."

"Challenge absolutely accepted," Kali countered with a wicked smile. "Later, though. It'd be nice to make a good first impression, so we can trick the rest of your team into hanging out with us more."

Bartholomew scoffed, and leaned back in his chair as he regained his composure. "You make it sound like we're awful people."

Roman raised his hand, and earned a quiet smirk from Raven. "Guilty as charged."

"Ditto," Kali agreed. "Still, let's just act normal. Or as normal as we can be."

Summer and Taiyang emerged into the dining hall, each carrying a slice of pizza and basket of fries upon their trays. The pair jogged toward the chosen table, and Summer arrived first with a small wave and tired smile.

"Hi there! Summer Rose, leader of Team STRQ. Nice to meet you three."

Taiyang stopped at her side, his face glistening slightly with cold sweat "Yeah… what she said… except I'm Taiyang Xiao Long. Can we finally sit down?"

Summer merely giggled as she took a seat, and Team OKRA went about introducing themselves. With introductions made and hands shaken, Taiyang quite nearly fell into one of the open seats, next to Roman. The move was met with a raised brow, and Roman poked at one of Taiyang's arms.

"What's got you so sweaty, when Summer looks fine?"

Taiyang shot Summer an annoyed look, and the girl burst into another fit of giggles.

"Because I climbed a tree to chase a beetle for her, since our leader apparently collects bugs. Which, by the way, is incredibly gross and unnatural."

"The only thing gross and unnatural at this table is the hair on your chin," Summer shot back. "I couldn't climb it without flashing every student in the courtyard, so it fell to you to catch it for me!"

"…well? Did you?" Raven asked as she finished the last of her salad.

"…it got away…" Taiyang admitted as he rubbed at the scraggly fuzz on his chin. "Why does everyone have to go after my chin?" he added in a small, dejected voice.

"I could catch it for you, but it seems like a total waste," Kali boasted as she flicked an ear. "Why collect perfectly good bugs when you could just eat 'em? There are some pretty good beetles out there."

Roman stared at Kali, mouth agape. "What happened to let's be normal?"

"We never stood a chance, honestly," Bartholomew stated plainly as he eyed up his schedule. "It looks like our next period is Team Tactics and Synergy. Apparently, students are placed into that class by… teams. Makes sense, I suppose."

Summer nearly choked on the pizza she was practically inhaling as she waved a frantic hand. Raven gave her a condescending pat on the back, and pushed her cup of soda closer.

"Swallow, then talk. Hard to master, but essential."

"…otherwise you might bite the boy by mistake," Kali added helpfully. Summer offered a high five across the table as she greedily drank, and Kali accepted it as Raven turned a bit pink.

"Nice. Also, we have that, too!" Summer practically screamed, drawing more than a little attention to their table.

"Would you calm down?" Taiyang hissed as he shrank slightly in his seat. "We don't need to be known as the loud table on day one."

"And why not? Just means we're having a good time," Roman said as he pulled out his own schedule, and looked it over.

Bartholomew folded the paper in his hands, and neatly creased it before setting the schedule in his lap. "Quite honestly, my friend, I would suggest that you give up fighting that battle now, and embrace the team you're given. You all seem like good people, and something tells me that today's volume level may be our lowest setting."

"Aw, thanks!" Summer said through a mouthful of pizza. "Can I wear your glasses?"

Raven wiped a hand down her face, looking mortified. "Summer. You nearly just choked to death, and why on Remnant would you want his glasses? You can see just fine!"

"They look all wizardy and cool! It would go with my staff!" she explained before turning her attention back to Bartholomew. "You just said to embrace the chaos, so put your money with your mouth is."

Bartholomew removed his glasses and blinked several times, before handing them toward Summer. They made it only halfway across the table before Raven snatched them out of his hand and brought them down below the table as she gave Summer a glare.

"Finish your pizza first. We have ten minutes, Summer, and I'd like to go and meet Qrow and Adam on the way to our next class. We're all going to the same place, and I want to make sure they're okay."

Summer let out a small whine, and began to sulk as she took another bite of pizza. "You're so mean, sometimes."

"She has a point, though," Taiyang offered as he finished his own food and swirled his drink around. "We need to hurry up, and Qrow could probably use some friendly faces. He didn't look good during Calavera's class."

"It kinda sounds like nobody does," Kali pointed out thoughtfully as she rested her chin in a hand, her elbow upon the table. "Let's be careful, when we finally get… that is both revolting and incredibly impressive."

Summer opened her mouth wide in Raven's direction, showing nothing within it. "Done."

Roman whistled, and nodded his approval. "That was like half a slice in two seconds. My kind of girl."

Summer gave him a wink, and took the reluctantly offered glasses from Raven's hand. She slipped them onto her face, and then recoiled slightly in her chair.

"Wow, you're so blind."

Bartholomew chuckled, and brought his hand up to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose reflexively, only to find nothing there. "Yes, I'm well aware. You all look like black, red, and white blobs right now in those uniforms."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Roman asked as he began to bend and extend his digits in a disorienting pattern.

"Hm. I believe… this many?" Bartholomew guessed, while holding up only his middle finger with a smirk. The entire table but Roman laughed, and Kali ruffled his usually immaculate hair.

"Damn. Barty's got sass," she remarked as Summer offered his glasses back to him. The boy slipped them onto his face, and gave Kali a subtle smirk before he clapped his hands together and stood, holding his schedule. Roman balked and batted Kali's hand away, before frantically working to rearrange his fringe.

"Right. Shall we set out, and retrieve our teammates?"

Raven was the next to stand, and she gestured for the rest of her team to rise. "Let's go. I want to make sure my brother didn't manage to get into even more trouble without me."


Author's Note:

Huge thanks to Squeefox on Twitter for the updated covers of this story and What You Stole. She does incredible work, quickly and at great prices. Definitely check her out if you need a commission, RWBY-related or otherwise. She has also done the official designs for Cinnamon from What You Stole, and the OCs that will be appearing in this story, later on. Next update Monday.

-RD