Cobalt had always figured that the excitement of returning to Beacon after time away would lessen as time went on. Stepping onto the schoolgrounds on the first day of his third term though, his theory was looking to be largely incorrect. It was as exciting as ever. Especially given his plans for the day.
"Wow," Luna commented as she hurried to catch up to him. "You are radiating enthusiasm," She nudged him with a smirk. "Something on your mind?"
Cobalt shoved her back. "Hey, focus on your own relationship," He teased. "I've got this handled."
Luna shrugged good-naturedly. "Alright," She replied, "Just let me know if you need any help preparing." She narrowed her eyes playfully. "And don't think I can't tell how nervous you are, too."
Damn. He'd tried so hard to hide that, but there was no getting past Luna's semblance. "I'll be fine," He insisted, "I like him, he likes me; there's no way it could go wrong." Hopefully.
He scanned the courtyard, hoping to see Storm before assembly started so that he could do this as soon as possible. His heart sunk as he didn't spot him among the crowd; either he was inside already, or he hadn't arrived yet.
With his attention elsewhere, he didn't notice the girl heading towards him until she stumbled into him with a surprised grunt.
"Sorry!" The girl exclaimed, stepping back and brushing herself off, not looking at him. "I was looking and the map and uh…didn't really see where I was going."
Cobalt shook his head. "No, it's fine- " he broke off as he got a closer look at the girl, recognizing her in an instant from their days their parents would meet up and leave them to play together. He'd know those feathers anywhere. "Cherry?"
Cherry finally looked up at him. "Huh?" her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh! Cobalt!"
Lily leaned over to look at the girl. "Cherry Altan? Arslan's kid?"
Cherry grinned sheepishly. "That's me."
Cobalt was confused, trying to add things up in his head. "I thought you didn't start at an academy for another year? And- wait, what are you doing at Beacon?" Arslan Altan sat at the Mistral council and she'd lived there with her daughter for Cherry's whole life. And, last Cobalt had known, Cherry had been planning to go to haven; she'd never want to leave her home.
Cherry looked away. "Yeah, I got put ahead a grade. I was attending Haven, but…" She trailed off.
Something clicked in Cobalt's mind. "Oh!" He realized. "You must be the transfer student. We were told about you when we uh " He smirked and exchanged a glance with Luna. "-Lost a couple of students."
A slight grin crossed Cherry's face. "I heard about that. It's nice to know that this school will actually take measures against bullying like that," She sighed. "Unlike some."
Cobalt suddenly got a pretty good idea of why the younger student was no longer at Haven. He glanced at the fathers growing from her shoulders; not much longer than when he'd last seen her, though they should have been even longer by now. He felt a wave of sympathy for her, but didn't say anything about it.
After a moment, Cherry glanced at Luna. "So…who's this?"
Luna jumped slightly. "Oh! I'm Luna." She stretched out her hand.
Cherry nodded as she shook the other girl's hand. "Xiao Long, I'm guessing? It's nice to meet you."
Cobalt smiled slightly. Four years since he'd seen her last, and Cherry hadn't changed, still exceedingly polite to new people; a trait she'd inherited from her mother. Whatever she'd endured at Haven, it was good to see that it hadn't changed her personality.
"Do you want us to take you to the orientation hall?" Luna offered. "Assembly should be starting soon."
Cherry smiled and put away the scroll she'd been holding. "That would be great, thanks," She gave a small chuckle. "I honestly had no idea where I was supposed to go."
"You mother couldn't walk you in?" Cobalt asked as they began walking.
Cherry shook her head. "She had to go right after dropping me off," She replied, a note of disappointment in her tone. "Council stuff and all."
Cobalt felt sorry for her, knowing how it felt to have such a busy parent. Unlike him though, Arslan was all Cherry had; her other parent, who she'd gotten her faunus trait from, had died when she was young. Cherry spent much of her time alone.
Not anymore though, he insisted to himself. If she was going to be Storm and yarrow's new teammate, he'd make sure they kept her company, and he'd be there for her himself as well. Once, he'd been as close with her as he was with Luna, until Arslan had gotten busier with her duties and had stopped visiting Vale. Now though, Cobalt would make sure to look after his old friend.
The orientation hall was cool and dark, and crowded with students by the time the three walked in and waited expectantly for Glynda to begin assembly. Cobalt scanned the crowd, and felt a flash of excitement as he finally spotted Storm, standing with Yarrow on the other side of the room.
"Hey!"
Cobalt jumped at Astra's voice and spun around to face her as she wrapped Luna in a hug, with Lily approaching just behind, giving Cobalt a friendly nod.
Luna chuckled as Astra hung over her shoulders. "Hey, you."
Cherry peered at the two newcomers with curiosity, and Cobalt realized he should probably introduce them. "Oh, Cherry, this is Astra and Lily, the rest of my team. Astra, Lily, this is my old friend, Cherry. She's the Haven transfer."
Lily offered a friendly wave. "It's good to meet you." She spoke quietly, as if she wasn't quite sure how to greet someone for the first time in a friendly way. Considering her start at Beacon, maybe she wasn't used to it.
Astra's eyes glowed. "Ooh, a faunus! Thank goodness," She gazed at Cherry in interest, her tail waving restlessly. "Your feathers are so pretty!"
Cherry looked slightly surprised, as if she wasn't used to hearing the compliment. Cobalt once again felt sorry for her; Haven clearly hadn't been good to her. "Oh, thank you!" She replied. "So, you four are a team then?"
Astra nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Led by this beauty right here." She wrapped her arm around a deeply-blushing Luna.
Before the conversation could continue, microphone feedback rang out across the room, and Cobalt directed his attention to where Glynda and Coco now stood on the podium.
"Attention, all students," Glynda began, "Welcome to your third semester at Beacon Academy. Most of you have done well in your studies so far, I hope you will continue to do so throughout this term. As for those of you who haven't- " her eyes narrowed slightly, "-I hope that this is the semester you begin to pick yourselves up and strive to do better. Last term, two students failed to meet the standards of this school and its rules, and were thusly expelled. From today onward, they will be replaced by Miss Cherry Altan, who has transferred from Haven Academy and will be joining Storm Hunter and Yarrow Cypress as part of the now-renamed team SCY. I hope you all treat her with respect, and help her to fit in here."
Beside Cobalt, Cherry blushed as claps of welcome arose from the crowd, and he gave her an assuring pat on the shoulder.
"This term, first-year students will be undergoing their second official mission," Glynda continued. "So make sure you prepare yourselves well, and keep up your training, both within school hours and outside of them."
Cobalt exchanged a look with Luna, who looked both excited and nervous at the concept of training. She'd still not revealed what plans she had for the team.
After a few more announcements, Glynda finished up, "That should be all for now. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to come to Professor Adel or myself, and we'll see how we can help. You are dismissed."
Cobalt turned to Cherry with a grin. "Well, there you have it! You're now an official student at Beacon Academy."
Hope and nervousness battled in Cherry's dark eyes. "I hope my teammates are nice," She sighed. "The last ones I had…weren't." She looked away.
"Hey, don't worry," Cobalt assured her. "Storm and Yarrow just so happen to be our friends. They're human, but they've been learning a lot about being respectful."
"Hmm." Cherry looked thoughtful.
"I can take you to meet them if you like?" Cobalt offered. It would be the perfect chance to talk to Storm.
Cherry nodded. "I'd appreciate that, thank you."
Cobalt turned quickly to his team. "Can you guys take me stuff to the dorm?" he asked, "I'll meet you there later."
Interested sparked in Astra's eyes. "Ooh, are you gonna as Storm the Thing?"
Cobalt grinned. "We'll see."
As the other three left the room, Cobalt led Cherry through the crowd to where he'd seen Storm and Yarrow. Thankfully, they hadn't left the room yet; Cobalt figured they'd wanted to wait around for their new teammate.
Storm's green gaze lit up when he saw Cobalt. "Hey, Cobalt!" Yarrow offered a shy wave, before stopping and staring at Cherry for a moment.
"Hey," Cobalt greeted cheerfully. "Let me guess, you're waiting for your new teammate?"
Storm nodded. "We were hoping we could find her around here somewhere," He replied, before he blushed. "But we don't really know what we're looking for."
Cobalt smirked. "Well, you're in luck," He gestured to Cherry. "This is Cherry Altan. She happens to be an old friend of mine."
Storm smiled. "Oh! Great!" He gave Cherry a friendly look. "I'm Storm Hunter, and this is Yarrow."
Yarrow's eyes hadn't left Cherry for a second. "I like your feathers." He commented after a moment.
A slight blush crossed Cherry's face as she glanced at him. "Oh. They're not that nice."
Yarrow's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? They're beautiful!" he looked more closely at them. "They're so shiny and smooth, and I love the silver lining they've got. It works really well!"
Cobalt blinked in surprise. He didn't think he'd ever heard so much from Yarrow in one go.
Cherry's blush deepened. "Oh…thanks."
"Well Cherry, welcome to the team," Storm chirped. "Team SCY has a nice ring to it, I think," He grinned. "It'll be a pleasure to have you."
Cherry already seemed far more relaxed than she had been a few moments ago, a smile now on her face. "Thanks," She replied warmly. She gave a short bow. "I look forward to working with you."
Sensing that they were about to leave, Cobalt stepped forward and gave Storm a quick tap on the shoulder. "Before you go, could I talk to you for a second?" He began to prepare himself, shoving down his nerves.
Storm glanced at him. "Oh, sure." He turned to Yarrow. "Could you take Cherry to our dorm and show her around until I get back?"
Yarrow's eyes lit up. "Of course!" Cobalt had never seen the mild-mannered boy so enthusiastic as he turned to Cherry. "If you would uh- follow me, ma'am?"
Cherry chuckled ever-so-slightly. "Of course."
Storm watched them walk away and waited until they were out of earshot before he spoke. Not that he wanted to keep it a secret or anything, but he would have preferred to be as alone as possible to ask this.
"So, um…" Cobalt searched for the right words. It felt as awkward as when Storm had first asked him out, but now the pressure was on him. "I was wondering…now that it's been a while…" he took a deep breath. "Did you want to try dating again? If you're ready?"
Storm stared at him, a blush crossing his face as he seemed to take in the question. "Really? You're not just…messing with me?"
Cobalt chuckled at his adorable shyness. "No, of course not. I mean it. It would uh…really mean a lot to me if you said yes."
Storm blinked. "Oh, um," he seemed to stumble over himself. "Y-yeah! That would be really nice! I'd uh…" he smiled softly. "I'd like that."
Relief and warmth pulsed through Cobalt. "That's great! I guess I'll…see you around then?"
Storm grinned. "Right." He turned to leave, before seeming to think for a moment, and then pulling Cobalt into an unexpected hug.
After getting over his initial surprise, Cobalt relaxed and hugged him back, letting himself melt into the warmth. Storm smelled of vanilla and mint, turned out. It suited him.
Pulling away, Storm left his hands on Cobalt's arms for a moment. "Thank you," he said softly, "For giving me another chance. I'll do everything I can to make sure you don't regret it."
Cobalt smiled, affection coursing through him. "Of course."
As Storm turned and began to head to the dorms, Cobalt stood in place for a moment, watching him as he went. This term was certainly starting out well.
