Luna and Astra had become almost inseparable over the past few days. Nothing overly sickeningly sweet, of course. It wasn't as if they were Rowan and Birch, who'd feed each other food while making gross cooing noises like a mother did to her infant child. No, the way Luna and Astra were around each other now was just overwhelmingly sweet and also very awkward. Upon a compliment from one- which happened often- the other would become a stuttering, squealing mess. The most intimate they'd ever gotten so far was hand-holding, but they did so frequently and would only let go if they were too far away from each other- which they rarely were- or if they needed both hands for something.

Was Lily happy for them? Absolutely. Were they extremely adorable together? Absolutely.

Were they still mildly annoying in a way that could only be tolerated in relatively small doses? Absolutely.

She wasn't that annoyed, of course, or even really seriously annoyed. She knew they'd tone it down after a while once they passed the awkward stage of a new relationship and became more comfortable and casual around each other. But, for the time being, it still felt awkward for her to be around them while they giggled every time they looked at each other while sitting at the same library table.

Of course, today being the last day of Beacon's first semester, Lily found herself wondering how they'd cope with not being able to see each other every day for a couple of weeks. The poor girls would be miserable, especially with Astra living in the city and Luna on Patch.

"Alright, well," Lily stood up. "I'm gonna leave you two to your gushing." She said teasingly.

Beside her, Cobalt stood up too. "Yep, count me in." He gave a half-apologetic look to Astra and Luna. "You two are very cute and all, but we single people need some time to chill."

Luna and Astra exchanged a look, before bursting into giggles, seemingly not minding the chance to spend to alone together- well, as alone as they could be in the middle of the library.

Shaking her head at them affectionally, Lily headed away alongside Cobalt, searching for a quieter spot to hang out.

Beside her, Cobalt stopped, and Lily followed his gaze to see Storm sitting alone in the corner, still intently studying, this time reading a fictional book set during the faunus civil rights movement.

"Do you want to go and talk to them?" Lily asked Cobalt, seeing the hesitation in his eyes.

Cobalt looked unsure. "I don't know," he admitted. "I'd like to, but I want to be careful."

Lily nudged him gently. "Hey, it'll be fine. I think they're learning really well. It could be good to just have a casual chat with them."

Cobalt nodded. "Yeah, okay. It should be good to clear to air a bit more before the holidays."

As they strolled up to the table, Storm looked up and greeted them with a shy wave. "Hey guys. Did you uh…need something?"

"Do you mind if we sit here?" Cobalt asked. He glanced back to where Luna and Astra were sitting, still chuckling together. "Those two are being…overwhelmingly cute."

Storm gave a soft laugh. "Right. Yeah, go ahead. I'll probably keep reading if that's okay."

As she sat, Lily decided to indulge them, having read the book before. "Are you enjoying it?"

Storm nodded. "It's a good read. Really sad though. I know this one's about a fictional character, but…all this stuff really happened, right?"

Cobalt nodded solemnly. "And some of it still is happening."

"Gods, I feel awful about not knowing all of this before." Storm sighed. "Did you know this book is banned in Atlas?"

Lily wasn't surprised. "Where'd you find that out?"

"Professor Amitola told me when she recommended it," Storm explained. "Apparently, they ban a lot of books up there that have faunus issues at the forefront. It's ridiculous."

"Yeah," Lily sighed. "Astra told us about that. Apparently, they try pretty hard up there to change or completely erase the telling of history."

"To be fair, I think Vale's probably done it too," Cobalt pointed out. "Considering who was in charge of it for a few hundred years. Probably not in the same way, but stuff definitely would've been hidden."

Lily shrugged. "True."

Her scroll buzzed, distracting her from the conversation. Checking it, she saw a news update with the headline 'The Ghost suspected to be cause behind burning of small police station.'

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, this'll be fun." She muttered.

"Hm?" Cobalt glanced at her inquisitively.

Lily showed him the article.

"That's clickbait if I've ever seen it," Cobalt scoffed. "What's the article say?"

Lily read it out.

"A small police station just outside of Vale was set alight last night, with severe damage having been done to the building's exterior before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. Eyewitnesses report having seen a shadowed figure lurking around the area before the place was started, leading authorities to believe that the felon known as 'The Ghost' was behind the incident. No officers were in the building at the time, but it will cost several thousand lien to rebuild what was lost. The police have stated that they're doing their best to apprehend the criminal. With the first term of beacon Academy ending soon, they have also warned students going on break to stay safe while the Ghost remains free."

Cobalt shook his head, looking disgusted. "This is pathetic. I can't believe they're still going after this person so intently."

Across the table, Storm looked confused. "Uh…should they not be? Isn't the Ghost, like…a bad person?"

Lily saw Cobalt tense and jumped in.

"That's how the media's twisting things," She explained. "But nothing this person is doing is as horrific as they're saying."

Storm blinked at her. "Didn't they kill people though?"

"Two people," Cobalt chipped in. "But most sources have conveniently left out two very important factors. The first is that the wounds were not likely meant to be fatal, according to medical reports. The second is that one victim had been attacking a young faunus unprovoked, and the other had been sexually harassing a teenage girl."

Storm wrinkled their nose. "That's gross. And the police haven't mentioned it?"

Lily shook her head, narrowing her eyes. "The police have no interest in telling the whole truth. They just want to lock people up and ruin people's lives for the sake of laws that shouldn't even exist."

"Right…" Storm was nodding, slowly. "I think I get it. A lot of what I've read has mentioned that the police were often at the forefront of the prejudice faunus were subject to. I guess it makes sense that, even today, they're…not the greatest."

"They're really not," Lily confirmed. "Anything they can do, huntsman can do better."

"And anything they do is more often than not done out of a bias towards marginalized groups," Cobalt added. "They're in it for the power they hold over others."

Storm nodded again, looking more certain this time. "Right. I understand now."

Cobalt smiled softly. "I'm glad you do. You're leaning fast."

Storm blushed. "I'll let Yarrow know about this too. He's always open to listen when I tell him about this stuff." They leaned forward. "So, the Ghost, then…are they some kind of vigilante?"

"Seems like it," Lily replied. "It would probably be better if they were doing this stuff outside of the shadows, with a huntsman license, but it's undoubtable that they're helping people. They've only attacked people who've been harming others. As for the theft," She shrugged. "Honestly, they're either giving what they're taking to people in need, or they need it to survive themselves. They've never even stolen from local businesses."

Storm looked satisfied. "Well, in that case, I hope they're never caught."

As the afternoon passed by, Lily and Cobalt returned to their teammates, with not long remaining before the school day ended and they'd each be heading home. Lily found her heart aching as they gathered by the gates and began to say their goodbyes.

Astra wrapped Luna in a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you so much. We're being torn apart so soon…" Pulling away from the hug, she glanced awkwardly at Lily and Cobalt. "Oh, and you guys too!" She opened her arms to them. "Is a hug okay?"

"Of course." Cobalt gave her a quick hug and Lily followed, pleased that Astra had learned so well to ask for physical contact, and pleased that she herself was becoming more comfortable with it.

She found herself trying not to cry as she looked fondly at each of her friends. They'd all come to mean so much to her, even over just a few months. It would be hard not to wake up and see them every morning.

"I'm really going to miss you all," She admitted. "You've done so much for me…I don't think I can thank you enough."

Cobalt grinned at her. "Aw hey, you'll see us again soon enough. Maybe we'll even bump into each other in the city before school comes back."

"And you're welcome to visit if you like," Luna added. "All of you."

Still holding Luna's hand, Astra beamed. "Right back atcha." She looked briefly sheepish. "But maybe when my mother's not home. She can be a bit much."

Lily chuckled. "Noted."

After a few more moments, the announcement rang out that the term was officially over. As transports began to arrive to pick students up, Lily said her final goodbyes to her friends and began her walk back home. Pulling her suitcase behind her, she thought of how unenthusiastic she'd been on her way there at the start of the semester. She almost wished she could o back in time and assure herself that she'd been worried for nothing and that she was about to meet some of the most amazing people she'd ever known.

The term hadn't started well for her, she knew that. And some things had certainly gone wrong. But for anything bag that had happened, there'd been several more good things. She was satisfied and lighthearted as she walked. She'd miss her friends deeply, but she had their contacts in her scroll and she knew they'd be happy to talk to her any time. And even if she wouldn't see the others, she at least knew she'd get to see Luna during the upcoming meeting.

She didn't know what the holidays would bring, or the school term after that. But she was looking forward to finding out. She was well on her way to setting things right.