Volume 2: Saplings

3041 A.E.- June

"Yeah, well, with all due respect, the Atlesian council can suck on my huge, veiny nut sack," Kali said matter-of-factly as she folded her arms across her chest and sank back into the plushy couch cushions.

Willow held a gloved hand to her forehead and pinched the skin between her thumb and forefinger in silence as her father let out a sigh and shook his head.

"…yes, well, I sincerely doubt that such an argument would be enough to convince them to rethink their established laws regarding faunus labor," Arcturus explained with a frown. "Regardless of the multitude of questions that such an assertion raises."

"…to translate for you from Kali-ese," Willow began, trying to hide her widening smile with her hand, "I believe that she's trying to tell you that we're all a little tired and stressed, on account of recent developments at Beacon and the fact that there are so many obstacles between us and faunus equity in Atlas. The amount of red tape is… incredibly frustrating."

"And to translate back from Atlas-ese, I'm saying everything sucks, every time we're here, it feels like we're making no progress, and your little pastry-things are really good," Kali added as she lifted a crème-filled puff from the tray upon the coffee table and popped it into her mouth. "We'b met like four timesh and gotten nuffing done."

"Welcome to Atlas. This is fairly typical when trying to get anything approved, changed, or accomplished," Arcturus lamented.

Willow simply stared at her faunus friend for a moment as Kali made a show of ripping into the delicacy, before shaking her head and heaving a sigh.

"…you've gotten a little too comfortable here, Kali. Must you be so vulgar?"

"I must, yeah," Kali said as she licked a dab of crème off her fingertip.

"Perhaps she's a bit much, but she does have a certain charm, especially compared to the sorts of people I usually hold meetings with," Arcturus said with a subtle smirk. "Additionally, it is as you said- you're both under quite a bit of duress, lately. Final exams are next week, are they not?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Kali said with a roll of her eyes. "I haven't even started studying, yet."

"You what?" Willow asked as she whipped her head toward Kali and narrowed her eyes. "Kali!"

"Yeah, yeah, it'll be fine," Kali said dismissively as she waved a hand in Willow's direction. "It's Year One- point gun at grimm, not at self, use proper trigger discipline, a bunch of people fought a bunch of other people over dumb shit throughout history, tomatoes are poisonous sometimes, and everything we know about Remnant is a lie. Basic stuff."

"…tomatoes are poisonous…?" Arcturus repeated with a raised brow.

Willow sighed once again and gave her father an apologetic look.

"We've spent quite a bit of time on poisonous plants of the Nightshade family in one of our classes," she explained. "Kali absolutely insists upon referring to all of them as 'tomatoes', no matter how often I've tried to correct her."

"Wil? Honey?" Kali asked as she poked her friend's shoulder. "I do it because you try to correct me."

"…you are the worst," Willow accused as Arcturus stood up, looking rather amused.

"Well… as unproductive as our meeting may feel, there is still some good that can come of today. I have a small token of appreciation for you both, in light of making it through your first year at Beacon," Arcturus began as he meandered through the spacious study and toward his desk. "Willow, your mother and I have been doing some thinking, and we'd like to offer you and your friends an opportunity."

"An opportunity…?" Willow repeated as she watched her father return to the couch, his hand clenched around a small item he had retrieved from the desk.

Willow reached out as her father offered her an unseen item and tilted her head curiously.

"Yes, indeed," Arcturus replied as he opened his hand and dropped a set of keys into Willow's outstretched hand. "Your mother and I won't be able to make it this year, so… it's all yours."

Willow's eyes widened as she looked down at the keyring, and then up at her father.

"Daddy… but… this is…"

"Lemme guess," Kali mused as she leaned in and looked over the glittering keys. "For your chastity belt, so you can finally get laid?"

"Kali!"

Arcturus blinked, before balling a fist and putting it to his mouth before clearing his throat rather loudly.

"I… am going to choose to pretend that I didn't hear that. Those are keys to one of the Schnee family retreats, located upon a private beachfront along the Vacuan coast. It's a beautiful little locale that we were planning to visit this summer, but due to certain business dealings and work that requires my presence in Atlas… we aren't going to be able to make it out there, this year. Rather than simply let the opportunity go to waste, I thought I might offer it to you and your friends."

"You're trusting me to manage the resort?" Willow asked in disbelief. "And you're alright with the notion of me bringing my friends? Truly? Even her?"

"Hey!" Kali exclaimed as she batted Willow's accusatory finger away in the space between them.

"I am," Arcturus answered with a nod as he clasped his hands behind his back. "All of them. Take a few weeks, or even a month, to relax before the new semester. You've made your mother and I very proud, and it sounds to me like you could all use some time to unwind. Meeting Teams STRQ and OKRA has changed you, and I sincerely believe it to be for the better. You've grown."

For a moment, there was nothing but stunned silence bar the sound of a ticking clock somewhere within the office. Quite suddenly, Willow rose from the couch and wrapped her father in a tight embrace, before resting her head against the man's chest.

"Thank you! We'll take wonderful care of the place, I promise!"

"I know you will," Arcturus replied as he gave his daughter a gentle pat atop the head. "And I also know that all of you will behave while you're out on your own in Vacuo, correct?"

Kali suddenly realized that Arcturus was looking at her from over Willow's head, and hastily swallowed the crème puff in her mouth as she pointed a finger to the center of her chest.

"What? You're doubting me? I promise we'll clean up anything we stain!"

"She's kidding," Willow hastily clarified as she pulled back and looked up at her father. "I promise you, we won't stain anything. Or break anything, Or d-"

"Yes, yes," Arcturus interrupted as he shook his head. "You will always be my little girl, Willow, but you're not a little girl, anymore. You've more than proven that this year. Enjoy yourselves as you will, so long as you keep it within the confines of the law. And… it might be in your best interest to head to the lobby and await your transport home, before I realize just how terrible of an idea this is. After all, you do have to get back to Beacon…"

"Of course!" Willow answered before giving her father a final squeeze and stepping back as Kali stood up off the couch. "We'll return next weekend to pack, and then discuss details. Thank you!"

"See you around, Mr. Schnee," Kali said with a salute and a teasing smirk. "It's been real… and yeah, thanks. This summer is going to kick serious ass."

"One can only hope," Arcturus agreed with a soft smile as he waved to the girls.

Willow and Kali returned the wave before hurrying into the hallway, where Kali was the first to talk the moment the door to Arcturus' office closed.

"Have fun 'within the confines of the law', huh? We're still smuggling alcohol with us to get absolutely wasted on the beach, right?"

"…we are smuggling so much alcohol," Willow agreed with a conspiratorial smirk.


Raven watched her friends' faces light up all around Willow's dormitory penthouse as the heiress dangled a set of keys from her fingers with a smile. Despite the jovial mood of nearly everyone else in the room, she couldn't bring herself to join in on the enthusiasm. In contrast, a sinking feeling of dread washed over her as she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable, yet hoping it wouldn't come.

"…well… have fun, you guys. He's never going to let me go."

With a defeated, uncomfortable sigh, Raven opened her eyes and shook her head. The scene had played out exactly as she'd expected, with each member of STRQ and OKRA coming to the same realization at different speeds. Kali's ears flattened first as her mischievous grin disappeared, and then Adam shifted uncomfortably upon the couch next to Raven. One by one, the others caught on to the problem as Roman swiped his beer off the coffee table and took a long chug.

"…maybe he'll ease up?" Summer tried, her voice full of disbelief at her own words. "I mean, you did make it through Year One…"

"Abusive parents aren't like that," Raven replied with a shake of her head. "He won't care."

"And with what little I've seen of him," Kali said hesitantly, "yeah, I… I'm not seeing it. Roman, there has to be a way."

"There hasn't been a way this entire year, has there?" Roman asked rhetorically as he tilted his head and spread his arms. "It's hopeless. I'm sure he's got big plans for me over the summer, full of parties, coercion, threats, and stupidity. Hell, you guys'll be lucky to see me back at Beacon next year. I wouldn't be shocked if you become Team… uh… I got nuthin', if they put Willow with you."

Bartholomew cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses upon his nose in order to draw the attention of his friends.

"…let's not forget that we've accomplished far less likely things this year. This is not insurmountable. Is there a possibility of Arcturus Schnee convincing him of the importance of the trip? Some sort of business-related purpose?"

All eyes turned to Willow as she bit her lip and folded her arms across her chest.

"It… isn't impossible…" Willow mused. "However, it's quite a big risk. Remember what happened last time Roman tried to deceive his father? My father ended up getting involved, and things are still tense between them."

"I got the shit beaten out of me," Roman reminded with a sigh. "Not that that's unusual or anything, but I'd like to save myself a beating or two, if I can. Faking a relationship with Willow is also out the window, now. He'd be way, way too suspicious to even consider the notion again, unless we basically made out on the porch. Just take the loss and enjoy yourselves."

"No," Qrow interrupted. "I don't think we should. We've got connections better than the Schnee family, of the variety that Nero Torchwick can't afford to say 'no' to."

"Wait, we do?" Taiyang asked, only to earn a pair of judgmental looks from the Branwen twins. "You don't mean…?"

"Ozpin owes us a favor," Summer explained. "A lot of favors, if you ask me. We've been doing a lot of 'off the books' work for him, and we haven't said a word about what's really going on."

Adam snorted in amusement.

"You haven't said a word outside of telling all five of us everything, directly against his orders, you mean..."

"That doesn't count!" Summer replied with wild hand gestures. "You guys are family! I'm sure he practically expects us to be telling you guys what we're doing!"

"Maybe he does," Raven considered. "Maybe he doesn't. It's a rather huge risk to confess that we've been going behind his back… and I don't think he would agree that he 'owes us' anything."

"We got him the lamp," Qrow protested. "Something he's been trying to do for multiple lifetimes. If we confront him as a team- Team STRQ, I mean- then maybe we can get him to make a scroll call up to Atlas and come up with a bullshit excuse. Come on, we've got to try. Barty's right- this is nothing compared to the jobs we ran for Jacques, the stuff we're still doing for Oz, getting Kali into Atlas, and taking down those criminals in Vale right near the start of the year."

"Not only that," Taiyang began, "but getting Roman down to Vacuo with us should be 'nothing' in Ozpin's eyes. It should be simple. Barely any effort at all, for a man like him."

Roman shifted uncomfortably upon the couch and slipped an arm around Kali's shoulder as he gave Summer a serious look.

"…I won't stop you… but this seems like a hell of a lot of effort for little old me. It'd be great if I could go with you, but…"

"You will," Summer reassured. "We'll make it happen. Come on, Team STRQ- let's work some magic."


Author's Note:

Beach party arc? BEACH PARTY ARC.

And we're back! Sincere apologies for the delay, so have the start of Volume 2 a day early. Things have gotten complicated between the start of Enough is Never Enough and What You Stole Volume 7 becoming much bigger than anticipated. Those, along with another story idea, a death in the family over the summer, and a lot of uncertainty with other things amid the pandemic, are what led to the massive delay. For the foreseeable future, this story will be updating every other week. Arboretum has always been a slow-burn marathon, and a story that I knew would take years to even get off the ground. Because of that, instead of going on hiatus after Volume 2, I think I'll just keep rolling along into Volume 3 while maintaining a bi-weekly update pace. The other two 'big' stories will be weekly, and when What You Stole reaches the end of Volume 7… we'll see what happens. Hope some people are excited to see this story come back, and for the rampant stupidity (and other, far more serious events…) ahead!

Next update the week of 11/2!

-RD