Luna's hair was never tidy.

It wasn't that she never brushed it; she did. Every morning, as much as she possibly could. But she had a habit of playing with it when she was nervous- running her fingers through it, twisting it around her fingers, pulling it back from her head (when it was out, anyway). And Luna was always, always nervous.

Especially today. She'd barely let go of her hair since waking up.

"You'll be okay," Yang assured her, trying her best to smooth out her daughter's hair. "You won't be as far away from us as you think."

"And you can call any time." Blake added.

Luna tried not to shake; unable to push down her anxiety. The rest of her extended family had all stopped by at the Xiao Long household earlier that morning to see her off, but she was grateful that it was just her parents and sister now. She didn't think she'd be able to handle waiting here for the airship if she'd been surrounded by so many others.

"I know," She sighed. "I'm going to do my best, I promise. I won't let you down."

"Hey." Blake sat down on the nearby bench and gestured for Luna to sit beside her. With another sigh, Luna slumped down onto the cold metal surface.

"There's nothing you could ever do to let us down." Blake told her insistently. "We don't care whether or you beat any records or get good grades or win every sparring match. What matters to us is that you're happy and that you feel safe. Don't forget that."

Luna smiled, slightly comforted. She would miss her mother's gentle assurance, but it was good to know they weren't putting any pressure on her. Not that she didn't feel that pressure anyway.

"Blake's right," Yang added. "And remember that you won't be alone there. You'll have Cobalt, remember? And I'm sure Coco and Jaune will be happy to look out for you when they can."

"Oh, say hi to Jaune for me!" Blaze piped up. She'd been unusually quiet since arriving at the stop; Luna had a feeling her sister was going to miss her more than she was letting on.

"You saw him just the other day." Luna pointed out.

Blaze frowned. "I know but he's been so busy."

Luna huffed gently. "I'll be sure to let him know you miss him."

A gradually loudening whirring noise caught her attention and she looked up to see the Beacon airship transport descending. Her heart lurched.

"Looks like it's time to go." There was a touch of sadness in Yang's voice and Luna was seriously tempted to change her mind right then and there. But the airship landed and she knew it was too late to back out now.

As the airship door opened and a couple of other students from Patch boarded, a familiar face appeared in the doorway and waved over to the family. Luna took one step in the ship's direction before instantly whirling around and wrapping her mothers in a tight hug, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much." She sniffed.

"We'll miss you too, little bee." Blake replied warmly.

Blaze joined in on their hug. "I'll be there with you before you know it." She asserted. "You know, in two years."

Luna finally pulled back and wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Go learn how to beat things up," Yang urged her warmly. "We'll cheer you on from home."

Luna managed a shaky nod. "I'll call tonight." She promised. Her suitcase tight in her hand, she forced herself to turn and head towards the airship.

"Goodbye! have fun!" Blake called after her.

"Don't burn anything down!" Yang added.

Her best- and only- friend Cobalt greeted her with a hug as she boarded. He seemed as calm and collected as ever, his rabbit ears flopped over slightly.

"You nervous?" He asked.

Luna stared out the window at her family as the airship door closed again. "Of course I am." She reached out with her Semblance for Cobalt's emotions; he was a lot more excited than he was letting on but not nearly as anxious as she was. Good for him.

He gave her a friendly nudge as the airship lifted off again. "Ah, come on, we'll be fine. You've got your best buddy with you!"

Luna couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, okay. Just don't go abandoning me, will you?"

"Even if I end up on a separate team," Cobalt promised. "I've got your back."

Luna heaved a relieved sigh and leaned against the wall. "Good." Please let him be my partner. She begged the Gods inwardly. Not that they'd ever been much help in the past. She didn't know what she'd do without Cobalt by her side; he'd been her only friend at Signal, the only person happy to go along with anything, even it just meant sitting quietly in a library without exchanging a word. If he didn't end up her partner, or at least on the same team as her…she didn't know what she'd do.

"Hey, think of it this way," Cobalt pointed out. "This time tomorrow, we'll be official Huntsmen-in-training and it'll only be a matter of time before we're out there helping people and beating Grimm into smoke."

Luna smiled. That, at least, she was looking forward to. Getting out there, letting herself lose, getting caught up in the battle and not having to worry about other people. She was good at fighting; she was at least confident in that much. With luck on her side, she'd made it through the year.

Lily wasn't nervous. Not scared, or worried, or anxious or any other synonym. But she still wasn't looking forward to the journey she was about to embark on. Not in the slightest. And yet, here she was, walking to Beacon Academy, dragging her suitcase behind her with her hood over her head in an attempt to stay unnoticed. Her conversation with her mother from that morning was still fresh in her mind.

"You don't have to do this," Emerald had told her. "Not if it's not what you want."

"I do have to," Lily had insisted. "Whether or not I want to doesn't matter. People are never going to stop treating us like criminals if I don't." The dirty looks, the sneers, the general nasty attitude from society, it would all end if she could do good as a Huntress and prove that she and her mother were good people, worthy of respect.

Emerald had looked tired, that same old look of endless guilt spreading across her face. "You're not responsible for what I've done. I should be the one making things better."

But you won't. Lily had wanted reply, but she'd held herself back. Her mother had spent years beating herself up over past mistakes, but her pride still got in the way of asking anyone for help, certainly not anyone from teams RWBY or JNR considering 'all they'd already done' for her. Personally, Lily thought they'd hadn't done enough. So what if Emerald hadn't sought them out after they'd helped her avoid jail time? They should have known she'd still need help, especially after Lily had been born. But no, nothing.

Instead, Lily had continued to insist that this was something she needed to do. Becoming a Huntress, clearing the family name. She was going to fix everything.

Emerald hadn't fought her on it. She'd pulled her daughter into a tight hug, telling her how proud of her she was and that she was welcome to come home any time. And as much as Lily appreciated it, she wasn't going to let herself cave. Of course she would have liked to stay with her mother. Of course she would've liked to accept the little comfort and security she got instead of throwing herself into an academy filled with people who were sure to hate them both. But this was not a matter of choice.

She could see Beacon clearly now; a vast and tall building of impressive structure. It was hard to image that, just a couple of decades ago, it had been broken down into ruins, crawling with Grimm and the aftermath of a horrific battle. Lily tried not to think of the role her mother had played in that battle.

It was never her fault. She insisted fiercely to herself. Emerald had never been willing to talk about Cinder much, but Lily knew enough to know that she was a master of manipulation with an iron grip on her mother that hadn't broken until Emerald had seen for herself that Cinder had never cared for her. Lily's grip on her suitcase tightened just thinking about it. She almost wished Cinder hadn't been killed in the final battle, so that she could do it herself. Had it not been for her, everything might have turned out okay. They might have had a nice house, maybe even a complete family. Maybe Lily would have even had gained a few friends by now. But the past was the past; it couldn't be changed.

The future though, that she could control. She kept the thought in mind as she approached the academy gates and paused to take the vastness of the school grounds in. Countless people flocked around as airships full of new students landed. It was loud. Busy. Annoying.

But this was where Lily was going to set things right.