"Now then, I suppose you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today?"

Lily resisted the urge to shake her head in amusement at Luna's dramatic flair, though a slight smirk did escape her lips. LLAC's leader had been a tad more confident since dating Astra- or perhaps it was just because she was settling into her role better. Either way, it was nice- and kind of funny- to see.

The day before, Luna had texted the team to meet her during Cobalt's lunch break at the CFVY Shop, with no explanation as to why. Lily had suspected she had some news to share, or perhaps something up her sleep. Either way, she was curious.

Astra was clinging to Luna's arm. "I thought we were here to hang out!"

Luna gave her an affectionate smile. "We are," She assured her, "But I also had another important reason."

Lily leaned forward, interested. "And what would that be?"

"We're about to start our third term of the year," Luna started, "But I think we all have to admit that we're not making the progress we could be." From under the table, she pulled out Striking Shadow and slammed it on the table. "That ends today."

Luna blinked at the spear, underwhelmed. "That's your weapon."

"Yes," Luna replied, "But it's got some hidden secrets now, courtesy of my mothers. It'll make things easier for my next topic- " She paused briefly, then grinned, "-Team attacks."

Astra's eyes glowed and she let go of Luna's arms to put her hands to her face. "Really?"

Cobalt tilted his head. "I thought we already had one?"

"One," Luna pointed out. "We're not going to make it as a team with just one team attack." She pulled out a purple notebook that had a great number of neon-coloured tabs sticking out of it from various sides. "I was talking to Blaire Arylide last term," She explained, "And they made me realize that we're going to fight a lot better together if we actually fight together." She laid out the book on the table. "I haven't come up with one for every possible pair, but I've still managed to come up with a few that should work."

Astra peered at the pages. "Your handwriting is so neat!" She marveled, "I, uh…can't read it though."

Luna chuckled, closing the book again. "Don't worry about it," She replied. "I can't really explain them to you if we're not actually training."

Lily smirked teasingly. "So, you brought us out here to tell us about a weapon upgrade and new team moves that you can't even tell us about that?"

A flustered look crossed Luna's face. "Well, uh, you know…I just thought it might be good to tell you guys about in advance…"

Ah, there was the Luna Lily knew. She chuckled lightly. "Hey, don't worry," She assured her. "I'm just messing around," For good measure, she added, "And I'm excited to find out what you've got planned for us."

Luna looked relieved. "Right," She slid the notebook and weapon under the table again. "Well, with that out of the way…how have you guys been?"

Cobalt chuckled. "Our guests have certainly been keeping things interesting."

Lily glanced at him inquisitively. "Guests?"

"Sun, Neptune, and their kids have moved to Vale," Luna explained. "They're staying with Cobalt while they get settled."

An inevitable gasp came from Astra. "You mean Team SSSNN!?"

"Yeah," Cobalt grinned, "All five of them are like uncles to me, and Sun's one to Luna too."

"He's good friends with my mom." Luna added.

Lily wasn't sure why Astra was surprised. It seemed that both teams RWBY and CFVY had connections all over Remnant due to their role in the war. She could only imagine what it must be like to have a family that big, when it had been just her and Emerald for so long. Though, there's Neo…

Then again, she wasn't sure she could handle how busy it must be to have so many people around you all the time; she was barely sure how Luna managed it. Lily was quite content with what she had right now. Though, if Neo wanted to join in, she wouldn't mind at all.

"What about you, Lily?"

Lily jerked out of her thoughts as Cobalt addressed her. "Hm?"

"Anything interesting happen during your holidays so far?"

Lily leaned on the table. "Depends on what you define as 'interesting'."

Astra drummed her fingers on the table, green eyes wide and curious. "Come on, tell us what's going on with Neo and your mom!"

Lily smirked. "You mean their huntsman status or their relationship status?"

Astra grinned widely. "Both."

Lily leaned back in her chair. "Well, first of all, Neo's decided she'd like to become a licensed huntress too," She started. "She and my mother have agreed to be partners."

It had taken a few days of thinking, but Emerald had finally come around on taking up Neo's offer, allowing herself to have a partner once again. Lily knew it was supposed to be the other way around, but she felt proud of her mother all the same. After all this time, it was good to see her moving on from her guilt and grief, and she stood firm in the belief that Neo was the best thing that could have happened to her.

Luna tipped her head slightly. "Can Neo do that? Get her license, I mean?"

"The police and government don't know that she was the Ghost," Lily reminded her, keeping her voice down. "As far as they're aware, Neo's committed even less serious crime than my mother ever did. With RWBY and JNR backing her, it should be simple enough to get her pardoned."

"Does she have a court date?" Cobalt asked.

Lily nodded. "In a couple of weeks. With any luck, she'll be free to take the huntsman license text with my mother after that, and everything should be sorted." Hopefully. Part of Lily worried that maybe the bias some people had against her mother would rear its head, and she'd fail the test for whatever convoluted reason. She pushed the thought away.

Luna smiled warmly. "That's really good to hear," She said softly. "I'm happy things are looking good."

Lily returned the smile, feeling her heart warm. "It's all thanks to you and your family," She replied sincerely, "We couldn't have done it without all of you."

Astra slammed her hands on the table. "Enough about that!" She insisted impatiently. "Give us the relationship status!" She rested her chin on the table and stared up at Lily pleadingly. "I need to know all the details."

Lily chuckled. "Well, nothing much has changed, really," She commented. "Mom's still pining and they're both still flirting relentlessly." Not a day had gone by during the holidays where Lily hadn't seen Neo winking at Emerald, or heard Emerald deliver a cheesy line. It was a strange mix of adorable, annoying, and a little weird.

Astra groaned. "They're taking so long," She complained dramatically. "Surely one of them is going to confess soon?"

"The last person my mother dated was my father," Lily explained pointedly. "I think it's going to be a while before she feels comfortable enough to try that again."

Astra sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

"Besides," Lily added with a teasing grin, "Shouldn't you be focusing on your own relationship, rather than that of two people you've never even met?"

Astra sat up, looking jokingly indignant. "hey, I'll have you know that Luna and I had a wonderful date just the other day."

"She wrote and performed a song for me," Luna sighed dreamily, gazing at Astra with an incredibly sappy look in her lavender eyes, "It was amazing."

Astra grinned and grabbed Luna's arm again. "You're amazing."

As the two absorbed themselves in gushing over each other again, Lily exchanged an amused and slightly exasperated look with Cobalt, though she knew he'd be exactly the same once school started up again and he asked Storm out. Before too long, she'd be the only member of the team not dating anyone, when even her mother was close to starting a romance. She had to remind herself that she was okay with that. Dating sounded nice, of course, but she wasn't going to actively seek it out when she had other things to focus on right now. Maybe in a year or two, when her life was more figured out and stable.

After a few more moments, Cobalt's break ended and Lily was admittedly a bit relieved to head home and get away from Astra and Luna's antics, though she knew she'd only be returning to the same thing of a different kind. Neo and her mother, at least, weren't as sappy about it, though she wondered if that would change once they were actually dating.

Of course, it was up for debate whether Lily would be more embarrassed to be around her mother when she did have a girlfriend, or if it would be a relief for the two women to finally admit their feelings to each other. As much as she'd teased Astra for it, it was admittedly getting slightly frustrating to see her mother pine over someone who definitely liked her back and would absolutely not turn down an invitation to dinner.

Getting home, she opened the door and glanced around. Emerald was reading on the couch, but Neo was nowhere to be seen; probably asleep somewhere, or in the kitchen.

"Welcome back, Emerald greeted her as she walked in. "How was your meeting?"

"It was alright," Lily replied. "Sounds like we're in for a busy term though. Luna's got plans."

Emerald chuckled. "Well, have fun with that."

Lily started for her bedroom, looking forward to flopping down on her bed and sleeping for the rest of the afternoon, but as she got to the lounge doorway, she stopped and turned back to her mother.

"Hey, mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favour and ask Neo out sometime."

Emerald smiled fondly. "Hey, I'm getting there," She replied, "Be patient with me. I'll work up the courage to at some point."

"Good," Lily nodded. "I like seeing you so happy all the time."

Emerald chuckled. "And I like being happy, trust me."

Satisfied, Lily turned back around and whisked into her room, jumping onto her bed with a sigh. Hopefully soon, everything would be sorted out.