Nothing much to say this time, let's get right to it!
She had gotten the message in the early hours of the morning. It wasn't anything new, the sender was known for his spontaneity and cryptic ways. She looked at her scroll to check if it were the right time before jumping and shifting forms while she took to the skies. She knew it was the right time, she was even early, it was the contents she desired.
I have a favor of you to ask, report to my office at eleven if you would.
Raven sighed. Leave it to Ozpin to have her coming all the way to Beacon for a favor. She didn't like it, she'd stopped being one of his agents for a reason. You didn't lose your husband to these cloak and dagger missions and just continue doing them with no problem. Raven didn't want to leave Yang alone. Or Summer, or even Ruby.
So she'd told Ozpin that she wouldn't help when Tai had died. Yet here she was.
Summer had expressed her concern early on when Ozpin had approached Yang. After their daughters had left for Beacon, Summer had told her that Ozpin was likely making moves again if he wanted Raven back in the mix.
That made things even more complicated.
That meant that she was making moves. And that spelled bad things for Remnant and its people. Things that she refused to let happen to her family.
Which is why she was here, begrudgingly still, and flying around Beacon tower. She landed on a windowsill and tapped her beak on the glass twice.
The window opened and she hopped in, transforming back and landing in front of the headmaster. He gave her an amused look.
"You know you could use the elevator, correct?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"More elevator accidents happen in a year than shark attacks," she shit back. Ozpin grimaced and threw a look back at the elevator to his office.
"Yes, thank you for that particular thought to start my day," he said flatly. She smirked and shrugged. At least none of them had her brother's semblance.
"Let's not dawdle here, what do you want?" she asked, getting down to business. She'd always been like that, Ozpin noted, never one to dance around any subject. Raven was as straightforward as they came.
"Right then," he asked her here after all.
"I would like your assistance in keeping tabs in Vale. With criminal activity randomly picking up lately, it would be good to know who's causing trouble," he told her. She eyed him warily.
"You believe it's her?" she asked. He sighed slightly.
"I have nothing but speculation. It could very well be a new ring of organized crime sprouting up, in which case it still wouldn't due to have such characters running amok in the kingdom," he explained. Raven hummed.
That was fair enough in its own way. She'd seen the news recently. Someone was stealing dust. The question was; who was it for? And if it weren't for anyone, then why were they cutting the public off from dust?
Regardless of who it was and why they were doing it, it had bad news written all over it. Summer taught at Signal back on patch, and while Raven had stopped working in the shadows for Ozpin, she'd continued doing odd jobs as a huntress all these years.
It would be wrong of her to just ignore the issues going on around the city, especially now that she was here. Perhaps Ozpin knew this and was preying on her warrior sense. It didn't matter to her.
"Why do you need me to do it?" she asked.
"You can do it more efficiently than any other, and you have the ability to get out of any situation in a way that nobody else does," he said bluntly. She smirked at that. At least he was done pussyfooting around now.
"And the police?" Wouldn't they be much better for this sort of thing? While she wanted the crimes to stop, she didn't have any authority to be tearing through the city at the slightest sign of a threat.
"The police are stretched thin as is. Yet another cause for concern. Whoever is organizing this— and it is indeed being organized— is making sure that the police are preoccupied around the city."
Raven hummed. That made the likelihood of it being Salem's doing all the more reasonable. That also meant the police wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop any of it.
"What would be my first task other than 'stop crime'? I can't just go around and kick the crap out of every seedy looking bastard without drawing attention to myself," she mused. Ozpin already looked like he had a plan though.
"It would appear many of the large-scale crimes are being headed by one Roman Torchwick. He may be a good place to start but he's notoriously elusive," Ozpin told her.
She'd heard of him. Seen his mugshots too. Wasn't too bad looking, but certainly had the look of someone who had no issues committing crime as a profession.
"I suppose I can look into it," she said after a pause. She didn't want to go back into the shadows for Ozpin. Really didn't want to. But if Vale was in danger, then Beacon was in danger. And with Beacon came Yang and Ruby.
She couldn't let that happen.
"Your help is much appreciated," he thanked, "if you have any questions now would be the time to ask them."
Raven thought. She knew the old man answered in riddles oftentimes, but something had been bothering her. Something big, and while it was easy to overlook, she was very perceptive.
"My daughter told me about the night you met her," she said suddenly. Ozpin nodded for her to continue.
"She said that Torchwick guy got away because he had help from some strange woman. Said it was almost like she was controlling fire," she continued.
"Is she the maiden?"
Ozpin held her gaze for a moment, almost appearing to look through her. It was like he was... Searching for an answer for her. That had her even more worried.
"Ozpin," she demanded, "have we finally found the next fall maiden?"
He sighed. He should've expected this from Raven. She didn't like taking chances and certainly didn't like going into things blind.
"It would appear, based on Glynda's recollection, that the woman Ms Xiao Long and two of her teammates saw that night is likely the maiden," he said. Raven hissed.
So Salem had a maiden on her side now. That was very bad. And her daughter had faced her. She could've died easily that night.
"You said we didn't know where the maiden was. You said you had a plan for finding her. What happened to all of that?" she spat.
He weathered her anger well. He'd experienced it many times already. Raven wasn't one to put her issues away just to spare someone's feelings, and certainly had no problem telling others what she thought of them.
"I did have a plan. It just didn't happen fast enough. The queen just so happened to find her first," he said calmly.
She glared but said no more. That always seemed to be the case with Ozpin. Never in time. She took a breath but held her gaze.
"Keep my daughter and niece out of this war, Ozpin," she growled.
"Unfortunately," he slowly turned to stare out the window, "I fear neither they or any of the other students will get that choice."
The office remained silent. Even as Raven turned and began to leave she fumed. Ozpin continued to stare out the window and across the academy.
"I'll do your damn job. You still owe me answers though old man," she claimed as the window opened and she leapt out. A bird flew across the school and towards the city seconds later.
He sighed and stared down into his mug. How simple things could be. He had the ability to save them all and keep everyone safe. But to do so would take much sacrifice, and he didn't know if he could force others to do that.
No. He knew the cost. He knew the choices he and others had made already. He knew what had to be done.
And he'd be the one to do it.
"A field trip?"
Whitley rolled his eyes at the blonde brawler's words.
"A monitored woodland excursion," he restated. The team was quiet in their room for a moment. They sat around, classes done for the day as they all enjoyed the downtime.
"So a field trip," Yang said again. Whitley grasped at his hair.
"Call it what you will, you doofus! The point is, we will be going out into the wilds of the Forever Fall for an assignment next week and we should be prepared," he said. She blew a raspberry at him.
"Chill, Ice Prince," he bristled at the name, "we'll be plenty prepared for the Forever Fall trip."
"I agree," Adam said, "but it's better to be overly prepared than underprepared."
Whitley humphed at the man's words while Yang rolled her eyes. Adam seemed like he took pleasure in playing devil's advocate. He was like that with most things. Even goddamn food sometimes! 'Don't you think it's a bad idea to be eating cookies this early in the morning Ruby?', and then Adam would chime in with 'It is a bad idea, but one's happiness is as important as one's health'. He was like the team dad!
What a jackass!
Team YSTR had been quite busy lately. They'd taken to practicing their team moves and realized something about each other very quickly: saying you were going to throw someone twenty feet into the air was a lot easier than actually throwing them. Yang was still apologizing to Adam occasionally after she'd lost her footing and launched him face first through a bench.
It'd been an interesting weekend, to say the least.
For now they'd put the team moves on hold. They had other classes to attend to and still needed to work out the finer details of their moves before they tried them again. They'd yet to get a single one down perfectly and they didn't want to go too fast and disappoint themselves.
It only stung a little bit when they watched Team PAVL pull off not one, but two team moves perfectly. Ren and Nora quickly showed everyone just how perfectly they worked together when they performed what could only be described as a dance of death. They'd also been surprised when Jaune stepped up and he and Nora merged laser and aura shot together.
The result had been beautiful and destructive, tearing a hole through the bleachers, the wall, and a small fountain in the gardens. It'd also gotten their team suspended from the training rooms for a month. Ren claimed it was totally worth it. Pyrrha claimed it totally was not.
"What is it we're doing again on this field tri— er, I mean, woodland excursion?" Ruby asked. Whitley smirked. At least Ruby was humoring him. She had quickly become everyone on the team's favorite, Yang notwithstanding as she was already her favorite.
Adam liked her because she was strong. Also because she rarely tried to make awkward small talk or bother him during his, as Yang called it, 'broody time'. Whitley appreciated her quiet nature as well, though also respected her as an older sister. He couldn't help but think that Weiss would like Ruby, though that was just a hunch.
"Aren't we filling jars with syrup?" Yang asked. Whitley rolled his eyes.
"Sap. You don't get syrup directly from the tree," he chided. Yang shrugged.
"So it's just raw syrup," she argued. He huffed, but before he could continue Adam threw his arm between them.
"Children, behave," he said with a small glint in his eyes. They'd all quickly learned that Adam wasn't big on smiling but if you looked closer you could see a lot of his feelings in his eyes.
"Who are you calling a child!" the partners scoffed. He raised an eyebrow.
"Need I remind you that while every other student in our year is older than both of you, I myself am older than all of them?" he questioned. Both flushed a little, but then Yang looked curious.
"How old are you exactly?" she asked.
"Twenty one in a few months," he answered without pause.
"Well, I suppose the saying goes 'better late than never'," Ruby commented. They all agreed with that.
"So does that mean you could get us booze and cigarettes?" Yang asked.
Adam slowly turned his eyes to his partner. Ruby's glare could be called many things in that moment. Murderous, bone-chilling, promising a swift end should he say anything other than absolutely not. He turned back to Yang who was looking at him expectantly.
"As a responsible adult I would never buy narcotics for underage citizens," he said robotically, feeling Ruby's nod of approval.
"Ugh," Yang groaned, "you're laaaaame. You'll raid a mining camp but won't buy beer for a fifteen year old?"
"Unlike raiding a camp or robbing a train, I'm A, aware what's going to happen next, and B, less likely to be suffocated in my sleep," he cast a glance towards Ruby as he said the second part. She didn't look apologetic in the least. She also didn't correct him.
He started cleaning Wilt as a way to avoid eye contact with her. She could be more terrifying than any Grimm when she wanted to be.
"I for one respect his decision not to indulge you," Whitley claimed.
"That's cuz you're a nerd," Yang deadpanned. He squawked at that.
"I am a well educated student! One who abides by the laws of the kingdoms!" he stated.
"The legal drinking age in Vacuo is twelve," Adam said, not even looking up from his sword. Whitley tsked and didn't budge.
"You can get a gun license at ten in Vacuo! They don't count!" he grunted. Adam snickered at that. He had a point, that kingdom was the untamed asscrack of Remnant.
"Yang," Ruby finally spoke, having had enough of her sister's prodding, "stop heckling Adam. If I caught you with any drugs, I'll handle punishing you. And I'll do it the same way Raven did."
Yang instinctively protected her head and ass. Those were Raven's core spots for proving a point. She'd grab the closest, non weapon object, and turn it into a weapon. If her mom didn't whack her upside the head, she'd aim lower to prove that running away was also a bad idea.
The worst time was when she'd used a rake after Yang threw a ball of leaves in her hair as a joke. She still had nightmares every time the wind blew and the tines jingled. She shivered at the thought.
"Whitley! Tell me all about this woodland exclusion!" she said quickly.
"Excursion," he corrected.
"Whatever! Anything but the rake!" she pleaded.
"The what?" he asked, thoroughly confused. Ruby just giggled quietly and went back to her business. That threat never failed to make Yang drop a subject.
She wondered what Raven and her mom were up to now that their daughters were out of the house.
Summer stared blankly at the scroll, very little emotion playing across her face. She really hoped the single thing she'd just been told was wrong.
"You're kidding."
"Summer, why would I joke about this?" Raven asked on the other end of the call.
"Because I really don't want Salem having the fall maiden to be real! Not to mention that I'm at the school right now!" Summer hissed. Raven sighed.
"Sorry Sum, but it's real. Worse yet, Beacon looks like it's gonna be in the middle of all of it," Raven told the woman. Summer groaned and dragged her hands down her face.
"I knew that Ozpin wanted you to see him for more than a parent teacher meeting!" Summer claimed. Raven just shook her head in exasperation.
"Oz wants me to lurk around the city. See what I can find. I'll let you know if you should worry about the girls or not," Raven promised.
"I'm already worried!" Summer shouted. Thank God they lived in the middle of the woods. She didn't have to worry about waking up any neighbors.
"More worried then," Raven sighed. Summer was more overprotective than she was!
"Please be careful Ray. This isn't the kind of job you can just breeze through," Summer asked. She really didn't want to explain to Yang that a magical girl capable of controlling the weather had killed her mom.
"I will be. I haven't even started searching yet. I still have to figure out where to start," Raven told her, attempting to ease the woman. Summer had a bigger heart than most people. It made her both an incredible hunter and mother, and an incredibly difficult person to deal with in tense situations.
Summer was anything but at ease though. This wasn't just any ordinary problem that could be solved by waving excessive force or an army at. This was Salem. And strength didn't mean a lot when Salem was involved.
And what was this about the fall maiden? Ozpin had been searching for her for years but they'd never been able to find her! They didn't even have the benefit of knowing who it was, which made searching for her next to impossible. Any girl or woman young enough could be the maiden, narrowing the search down to about thirty percent of the world's population.
Easy, right?
"It doesn't feel right Sum," Raven said suddenly. That had her attention. Raven was always a skeptical person, it was part of her charm one could say, but she was never unjustified in her hunches. When she thought something was awry, it was likely there was something wrong.
"You think there's more going on?" Summer asked. She could hear Raven groan and huff on the other end.
"I can't say for sure. Only that something doesn't feel right. You know Ozpin and his games. He won't tell anyone anything if he doesn't think it's important," Raven said curtly.
Summer hummed. Raven wasn't wrong there. Ozpin liked to talk in riddles and keep everything as close to his heart as possible. He made sure his plans were a surprise to everyone, even people on his side. The issue was that sometimes that got people hurt and when that happened it shook his allies faith in him.
"I'll try and get more out of Oz. He must know something else. If I do this job for him he may give me more answers," Raven explained. Summer sighed but nodded.
"I'll help if you need it," she offered. She knew Raven would never admit she needed help, but she was smart enough to know what fights were out of her league.
Raven grumbled but agreed. Life or death situation or not, she still didn't like asking for help. She would handle things fine on her own, she was sure.
"I'll keep you posted. Later," she said.
"Stay safe!" Summer chimed, rolling her eyes when she heard Raven groan before hanging up. That woman. So headstrong.
Summer only hoped that Raven wouldn't give Ozpin even more to worry about. Raven wasn't known for holding back, and the last thing they needed was property damage on top of possible maleficent forces in the shadows.
At any rate, it was back to work now. She opened the door and walked back out into the hallway.
"Ms Rose? What were you doing in the janitors closet?" a passing student asked. Summer blushed a little and looked around. There were a few students that had seen her come out of the broom closet.
"Goddamnit Ray," she muttered.
"Oof!"
"I think we should take a short break."
"Yeah... I think you're right."
"Pyrrha," Jaune fell down and sat next to her, passing her a water bottle, "you shouldn't beat yourself up."
"I'm not!" she huffed, sitting up straight. He sent her a raised eyebrow and she wilted a little, "... Not a lot..."
He chuckled and took a long drink from his own bottle. They'd been training just like Pyrrha had asked. They'd found the training rooms to work most of the time, but they could also easily get crowded. Right now they were training in a small clearing in the gardens near their dorm. It was afternoon and the sun was setting.
"It takes a lot of will to ask someone else for help, Pyrrha. I think that speaks strongly of your character," he praised. She didn't feel a lot better, but she at least stopped slouching.
"I feel like I'm getting better but it just doesn't feel like enough," she sighed. He slowly reached a hand out and tentatively pat her shoulder.
"Not all change is immediate. Most change is gradual. Getting slightly better now will be what helps you get much better later on," he said wisely. She looked pensive still.
But what if her time for that great amount of change had already passed? What if she had already had the chance to be great but she'd taken the wrong path and fate was playing her for a fool?
Could she really be a great hunter now?
She looked at Jaune who had his eyes closed and was taking in the last of the light from the sunset. Such an indomitable warrior who'd shown on multiple occasions that he was practically destined to be a hero.
She thought about all her other friends too. Nora and Ren who had fought their way through the world. Even though they could've settled down in some random village and gotten work even without being licensed hunters, they chose to become hunters to save people everywhere.
Her mind drifted to Team YSTR even. Yang and Whitley, at such young ages, had made it into Beacon and were among the top of the class. Adam had shown such conviction for equality and enough strength to carry it out. Ruby was kind to a fault and a vicious fighter, and anyone could see that she was destined for great things.
So what was she? A fool with a dream? No, she knew what she was. Perhaps it was time to accept it. She owed it to her partner beside her who had so generously taken his time to train her.
"Jaune," she said abruptly, getting his attention, "can I... Can I admit something?"
"Admit?" he asked.
"Yes..." she nodded.
This is a bad idea, she said internally, I shouldn't be telling anyone this. What if he hates me?
"I..." she should back out now while she could! This wasn't some childish secret like someone dancing in your underwear when you're alone, this was like being friends with a notorious criminal and not telling the authorities!
"Pyrrha you can tell me anything. I won't get mad, promise," Jaune smiled gently.
Would he be so sure after she told him though? People always say they won't get mad but don't realize how incredibly easy it is to get mad!
"I..." she took a deep breath.
Do or die.
"I don't belong here, Jaune," she said finally.
"Pyrrha, I know you're feeling down about how much you're improving but you really are doing better—" she shook her head rapidly, unable to meet his eyes.
"That's not what I mean!" she said louder than she'd wanted. Jaune winced a little and she berated herself for her outburst.
"Then... What do you mean?" he asked.
"I... Wasn't good enough to get into Beacon. At all. So I found a way to... To forge my transcripts and cheat my way here," she bit out.
She couldn't look at him right now. Was it shame? Definitely, but more overbearing than that was the thought that his face would show how disappointed he was in her.
He'd agreed to train her and he'd been such a good friend to her and what was she? A liability? Here he was trying to help her and she was a fraud. She hunched in on herself as she waited for his reply.
"Is... That all?" he asked.
"Huh?" so surprised was she that she jolted up from her slouching and turned to him.
He looked... Not one hundred percent neutral, but nowhere near as angry as she'd thought he'd be. He looked a little frustrated but that was the extent of it.
"What do you mean? I cheated to get here!" she reiterated. He raised an eyebrow.
"I heard you the first time. Honestly, you could've gotten really hurt if I never got to you," he chastised. She blinked.
"You don't hate me? At all?" she asked.
"Well I can't say I'm not a little disappointed," she flinched at his admittance, "but if anything, I'm more worried."
"Wha— worried?" she gawked. Worried for her? About what!?
"Yeah, I mean in this field of work that could get you killed! But now that you say that it makes a lot more sense. Not to be rude but you uh..." he scanned her up and down making her squirm a little, "You're not exactly the most... Adept at combat."
That was all he had to say? That he was worried about her because she wasn't a great fighter?
"But... I lied to everyone! To you!" she said. His mouth flattened as he stared at her.
"Yes, and shame on you for lying," he said like a parent, "but you've proven to have the morals and mind of a huntsman. If all you need is the skills then at least you're in a school that teaches you how to perfect that stuff."
She didn't get it. Maybe it was because she didn't have a lot of friends, but shouldn't he have been a lot more... Anything? His response was so placid that it was almost unsettling! So she said the only thing that came to mind at that moment.
"Jaune," she grabbed his arms and turned him (with more effort than she was willing to admit) to look him in the eyes, "you're scaring me."
"I'm... Sorry?" he apologized confusedly.
"Shoot! I meant— you're not scaring me it's just that I— I mean, I really expected a different reaction and this is just so far from that so I'm—" she was silenced when Jaune grabbed her forearm and squeezed gently.
"Pyr," he said, "deep breaths."
She blinked and took a few breaths. It... Worked surprisingly well, actually. She realized that she was still holding his biceps and her face flushed, letting go quickly.
"Better?" he asked. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak lest she begin another wave of verbal barfing.
"Good, now," he stood, looking down on her where she sat, "I think we have... A lot more work to do than I thought."
She gaped at him. He... Still wanted to train her? Even after she told him she was a fake!?
"Whahuh?" she said eloquently. He snorted.
"Well if you're that far behind then I need to whip you into shape way faster," he said, a small smirk on his face.
"But... But... I'm not..." she was at a loss for words.
"Of course, that means I'll have to be twice as hard on you and amp up your training regime a whole lot," he prattled on, not noticing her face, nor her mounting dread at what he was implying.
Harder training regime? What was it they'd been doing all these past training sessions!? He had already been wiping the floor with her every time! She thought he was already going hard on her!
"Pyr? You okay?" Jaune asked as he watched the girl silently weep and fall over on her side. Pyrrha didn't register his concern.
She was too busy thinking about how this had horribly backfired on her in the least expected way possible. Why couldn't he have just hated her instead!?
Would Ren and Nora react the same way? She didn't think she'd survive if they did.
Maybe she should've kept lying?
"Hey guys, Pyrrha is crying in the grass again," Yang commented as she watched the mentioned girl and Jaune from their window. They were high enough up and far enough away that it didn't really feel like eavesdropping. She couldn't make out what they were saying so what was the harm.
"Leave her be, she's doing her best," Ruby said, turning the page in her comic book and not turning her way.
"Best seems like a very generous way of putting it," Whitley commented, writing something on a piece of ornate parchment.
"Well," Adam started from his bed, reading something off his scroll, "not everyone can just already be a phenomenal fighter in their first year."
Nobody commented that Adam was older than them and that it was pretty ironic hearing that from him seeing as he likely had been training longer than any of them.
"I didn't mean anything by it," Yang said, throwing her hands up, "I'm just observing."
"Well observe quieter, I'm trying to write a letter here," Whitley chastised. Yang immediately lost interest watching the partners train, missing the part where Jaune accidently sent Pyrrha flying into a birdbath, shattering the garden ornament.
"Oooh, who are you writing to?" she snooped, peeking her head over his shoulder. He sent her a small glare that she ignored.
"Is 'none of your business' an option?" he asked.
"Not in the least!" the team leader said cheerily. He groaned.
"If you must know, it is to my sister, Weiss," he said curtly, returning to writing a moment later.
"You've kinda mentioned her once or twice," Yang said, now fully leaning on the boy, pushing her boobs into the side of his head. Far from embarrassed or even excited at his situation, Whitley glared into her cleavage.
"Please remove your breasts from my facial area," he hissed.
"Oh come on, you love it," she teased. She yelped and leaned away quickly when he stabbed at her girls with his pen. Talk about prickly!
"Are you quite done?" he asked unamused. She rolled her eyes.
"Gah! Fine. But I still wanna hear about your sister," she said, plopping down on the side of her bed. He sighed and sent the letter a long look before realizing he likely wouldn't get anymore done.
"I suppose I haven't talked about her very much," he said. Yang watched on, waiting for him to continue. Ruby was also watching, interested in the girl that had a hand in raising Whitley. Adam hardly turned from his scroll.
"My sister is quite the rebellious spirit, and she taught me how to fight. She did music for a time but her true passion was in combat. She's enrolled in Atlas Academy and will be here for the Vytal Tournament," he said professionally. Yang blew a raspberry and he glared at her.
"That's great and all, but like, I didn't ask for a doggy say."
"I think you mean dossier, sis."
"Whatever Ruby, the point is I want to know about your sister, not like a biography," Yang groaned. Whitley grimaced and shuffled a little.
"Right. Erm..." he was quiet as he thought about what to say. The sisters both shot each other a confused look.
"Weiss and I were... I suppose the closest thing to family that we had in our home," he said quietly. Ruby noted that Adam was looking over now as well.
"Our older sister, Winter, was set to be the heiress of the company from a young age by our mother. Neither of them spent very much time with us as a result," he told them.
"So you two were like best friends?" Yang clarified.
"We were the only friends each other had," he corrected.
"Sounds... Lonely," Ruby said, sending the boy a sympathetic look.
"Perhaps, but Weiss and I were happy with each other. She was all the family I needed in that desolate mansion," he smiled fondly as he thought of her.
"She sounds nice," Yang chirped. He snickered.
"I wouldn't exactly say she's the most... Patient of people, but she's kind at heart. Just don't mention her height and you'll likely get along fine," he told them.
"Is she freakishly tall?" Yang asked. A pillow smacked her face a moment later.
"Forgive the fool," Ruby apologized. He sighed but didn't do any more than that.
"Weiss is anything but tall. She's shorter than I am, a fact that she staunchly refuses to acknowledge. She's roughly Yang's height," he clarified.
"Short people are angrier because they're closer to Hell," Adam said without remorse.
"Hey!" Yang shouted, "You're such a dad-ass!"
"You mock because you love," Adam shot back.
"Spare me the thought of the Bull being the team dad," Whitley tsked. Adam smirked.
"I don't like your tone son," Adam warned.
"Please, relieve me of the thought of you being my father," Whitley begged. Yang's eyes lit up. Ruby saw this and recognized the look. She paled, mouthing 'no' to her little sister.
It was too late.
"I guess we may as well start calling you Dadam, eh?" she asked.
They all stared at the younger girl. Whitley in pure disgust, Ruby in resigned horror, and Adam in the same expression Raven made whenever she made a pun.
"Ooooh, I am so disappointed in you child," Adam groaned.
They all had a laugh at last and went back to doing their own stuff. Yang turned and watched the two partners sparring more. When had that birdbath broken?
And was that a pair of... Rabbit ears she saw shuffling around in the bushes? She narrowed her eyes and turned back to her team.
"Hey Dadam," three sets of groans, "come over here for a sec, I think you oughta see this."
Velvet couldn't believe what she just heard! That first year cheated her way into Beacon? And her partner didn't even seem to care!
She had been in the gardens, tending to some of the flowers— er, taking a nap in the shade, when she overheard the two training. She hated to admit it, but that Jaune guy was skilled. She'd seen him in action when he and that bull had fought. Truth be told, as much of a bitch as she was to them, those two kind of scared her.
But this? This could be used to her advantage! She had to struggle her way here! Her whole life was spent with all the ridicule of being a faunus! She remembered how it felt to be afraid of others picking in her, so she started learning how to fight to prevent it from happening ever again! Every scrape, bruise, and cut reminded her that she had to fight to be respected in this world.
She knew what it was like to be scared and hurt. She had tasted the bitterness of shame and humiliation. On a completely unrelated note, she had yet to taste the mysterious and otherworldly looking dragon fruit, though Yatsu had told her she wasn't missing out on a lot.
That was a shame. Why'd the coolest looking and named fruits have to taste the weirdest? She was getting off topic.
She'd been poked and prodded for years as a kid, and even when she started training to be a hunter she had been beaten and harassed. Long gone was the shy Velvet that didn't want to fight. Now she was always ready to fight because if nobody else would stand up for her, she would stand up for herself. Even after meeting her team who had become like a second family, she remained ready to throw down at all times.
Yet here was this total fraud, with an amazing and powerful partner! And he had no problem with her being a fake!
Velvet thought to herself. What could she do with this? Sure she could get the girl kicked out but what would that do? Her partner was the real annoyance to her, so how could she get this to work against him? And what did she want from him anyways? Money? That'd be pretty cool, and he totally had to be loaded if he was as famous as everyone said.
She looked out of the bush at the two as they trained. Well, it was more like him teaching the girl to dodge while he warped the air with his punches. Somewhere along their training he'd taken his shirt off and his body was glistening in the golden sunset.
She growled quietly. Him and the bull both had the same problem. They were definitely annoying to her, and both seemed to oppose her at every turn, but they were both just... so...
Boyishly charming! It wasn't fair! Hot people had no right being so frustrating!
Coco would probably suggest blackmailing a date out of him, but that wasn't really Velvet's style. Sure she was a right bitch, but she wasn't gonna harass someone into a date with her. That was just uncomfortable for everyone.
Still didn't mean she couldn't get him to let her cop a feel of those abs. He was sculpted like marble.
She didn't notice when someone had suddenly stood behind the bush she was hiding in. What she did notice was when a hand grabbed her collar from behind and hoisted her out from the back of the bush and into the air.
She was reminded of that time she'd been picked up and thrown into the fountain by Coco as a prank. Now she could laugh about it, but at the time she'd been ready to tear the girls head off.
She was turned and came face to face with a set of dazzling blue eyes.
"Oh. It's the bull," she said flatly. Adam raised an eyebrow.
"I suppose I should call you the bunny?" he asked unamused.
"Rabbit!" she hissed, trying to swipe at his face. Unfortunately his arms were long and he held her out of reach. She settled for clawing at his right arm as it held her but he didn't seem fazed.
"Have some dignity..." he muttered, his left hand cupping his face. He looked... Genuinely embarrassed at her actions.
"Man, and I thought you had a temper," a more feminine and younger voice said from behind him. Velvet watched as Yang strolled out from behind the man and waved happily at her.
"Oh great. It's the kid," she spat. Yang chose to ignore her and looked the girl in the eyes, her smile still in place.
"So whatcha doing stalking my friends?" she asked.
"I wasn't stalking anyone! I was... I dropped something in the bush and I was looking for it!"
The two teammates stared at her unnervingly. She began to sweat a little. Adam's gaze was intense and unyielding, as though he'd seen war itself and spat in its face.
Stop ogling Velvet, remember where you are!
"What'd you drop?" Yang asked, still looking happy.
"Er," shit, "I dropped my... Scroll."
"In the bush?" Adam asked.
"Yes."
"What was your scroll doing near the bushes where Pyrrha and Jaune were training?" Yang asked.
"Um..."
"Were you taking photos of them for..." Adam looked at Yang from the corner of his eye before wrapping his left arm around her head, drawing a squawk from the blonde.
"... Inappropriate purposes?" he asked. She blushed red. Yang swatted his arm away.
"I know what jerking off is dad!" she huffed, fixing her hair.
"Not sure there's much to jerk for girls but..." he received a slug to the arm that he ignored, but it made him stop talking.
"I wasn't taking pictures of them to... To... T-touch myself to..." she mumbled, a small part of that same shy girl peeking through. This time it was purely from the suggestion that she was a raging pervert that took pictures of unaware students while she hid in bushes.
"Then why was your scroll in a bush?" Adam asked.
Right. She had forgotten that's where this particular branch of the interrogation had stemmed from.
"Were you spying on our friends?" Yang asked bluntly.
Velvet's silence and the way she had suddenly found their eyes unobservable said everything.
"Right," Yang stated, smile finally dropping a little and looking much more exasperated, "we're gonna need you to stop doing that."
"And what are you gonna do about it if I don't?" Velvet asked.
Yang snapped her fingers. Velvet looked around and waited. After thirty seconds of nothing happening Yang coughed and snapped her fingers again. After more nothing happening, she coughed louder before snapping a third time.
"You should get that cough checked out," Adam suggested. She elbowed him in the kidney and snapped again. His face lit up, and it was the first time either girl saw him look sheepish in any way, though he still managed to look angry while doing so.
"Oh. My apologies."
Then he started shaking Velvet around by her collar.
"Gah! Stop shaking me!" she growled. He did not, and she was starting to get a headache from the way her head was lolling about. Not only that, but she was starting to feel a little nauseous.
"Are you gonna stop stalking our friends?" Yang asked, her smile gone and replaced with a questioning look.
"Y-yes! Please stop shaking me!" the girl pleaded.
"Okay! You can stop now," Yang said, happy once again. Adam shrugged and stopped, dropping the girl unceremoniously on the ground.
To her credit, Velvet was up again quickly. She wobbled and staggered a little, and she looked a tad green around the gills as she held her head with her hand. She focused her eyes back in the two before her.
"You two don't even get it!" she finally managed after gathering herself, "That girl doesn't belong here!"
"Hey! I'll have you know my sister said that Pyrrha's doing her best!" Yang said with confidence. Adam's hand met his face shortly after.
"No you dumbass! She's a fraud! Your so-called friend cheated her way here!" Velvet hissed. Haha! That would surely change their minds!
"Well... I mean I could've told you that," Adam said, unimpressed.
"Yeah I mean it's not, like, surprising. No offense to Pyrrha but she's not the best at... Well, like most things hunter related," Yang followed up.
"What!? You just accept it like that!?" Velvet ground out.
"Pretty much."
"Yup!"
Unbelievable. Did the fact that she didn't work nearly as hard to get to where they were mean anything to these two!? She had lied! Why were they okay with that!?
"You look lost," Adam said unhelpfully.
Of course she looked lost! Why wasn't anyone as upset about this as her!?
"If you're wondering why we're not mad at Pyrrha it's because she's too nice," Yang said.
And how the hell could they keep reading her like that!?
"You know you're saying all of this out loud, right?" Adam told her.
"Shit, I gotta work on that," Velvet mumbled. Yang stepped forward towards her.
"Listen here Velv, you mind if I call you Velv?"
"I absolutely do."
"Cool. Velv, Pyrrha might not be the most skilled fighter, or the most socially adept, or even the most intelligent of people, and sometimes she trips and falls on her ass when she thinks nobody is looking, and don't even get me started on her addiction to chocolate—"
"Is there a rest stop between here and the fucking point?"
"Oh. Right. Anyways, the point I'm making is that Pyrrha isn't the best of the best, but she's got spirit and a genuine want to help others. If you ask me, that's half of being a hunter already!" Yang said.
Velvet stared at the brawler. Was she really trying to 'power of friendship' this conversation away? Who cared if the redhead was a good person! She had lied her way into Beacon where everyone else— especially me!— had to break their backs to get in!
"You lot confuse me," Velvet grumbled.
"What's there to be confused about? It seems like you've just got a lot of pent up rage that you need to let out," Yang said with all the tact of a bullet train.
"What!? Wha— you don't know me!" Velvet stomped.
"No, but he does," Yang thumbed towards Adam.
"I... Suppose I've seen this once or twice," he said as he scanned her. Blake came to mind and he had to remind himself that he'd have to deal with her eventually. Perhaps Velvet would be good practice for that conversation, just minus the part where they were dating and also terrorists together.
Yeah, that'd be a full day affair for sure.
"Oh, so just because you're a faunus too you think you know everything about me?" Velvet stalked forward and stabbed a finger into his chest.
"No. I know about you because you're angry, lashing out at the world, struggling with accepting the differences between yourself and others, and a faunus," he clarified.
She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. She... She wasn't doing all of that was she? Her team never seemed to mind when she got particularly moody, but then, her team also had no problem tossing each other around to settle their arguments. It was a surprisingly efficient way to settle grudges without any bad blood.
"You're not a therapist," she said instead. Smooth Velvet. Real smooth.
"Not in the least. It doesn't mean you can't vent though. At least then you're not pissing off half the student body," Adam shot back.
Damn, was it really that many people? She knew she had a teensy little mean streak, but we're that many people talking about it? Shit, maybe she did need a therapist.
"So what," she pouted instead.
"Velvet? Do you just... Need someone to talk to? Can't you do that with your team?" Yang asked.
"I can't burden them with that! Besides, we're not the most... Open team," she mumbled the last part.
Team CVFY was a great team and they all got along fine. But none of them were the 'open up and talk about it' type most of the time. For big things they were fine. But none of them liked expressing themselves a whole lot other than Coco.
Velvet remembered a time when they hadn't all been too rude. She had been the most snarky at first, and while it grated on her team for a while, it was apparently contagious. Coco said there was nothing wrong showing everyone how badass you were. Yatsu said that her anger was justified, if not slightly overbearing. Fox just told them that he did whatever the team did unless he thought it was really bad for them.
Velvet swore. Was she the reason her team was so prickly? She stared at Adam, who just waited for her to say more.
"Grrah! You're annoying!" she prodded him in the chest again.
"I suppose I picked it up from my team," he claimed, earning an affronted 'hey' from Yang.
Vent her problems? To this guy she knew nothing about other than 'strong, moody-looking faunus'? Just the two of them? Talking? About her?
Oh. Well, when she really thought about it, she was closer to his age than any of the other first years.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked with no hesitation.
"I... That would be a very complicated no," he answered.
"But it's still a no," she said. Yang's eyes darted between them, hands covering her mouth as she watched.
"It is still a no, you are correct. Thank you for reminding me," he said, a wince crossing his face.
"Fine. If you want me to vent so bad, you can do it on a date," she said, finally pushing herself away from him.
"Huh?" he asked, his body going slightly limp.
"Nice," Yang slapped his open hand in what she assumed was him going for a low-five.
Velvet didn't like the idea of blackmailing someone into a date with her. But this was different. He had offered his time. Coco always said that the best time to strike was when they made an offer. Granted, Coco said that for girls and also had a much better record than Velvet when it came to how many people she'd managed to go out with, but it didn't mean she couldn't make it work either!
"Besides," she said, taking his scroll from his pocket and putting her number in, "you owe me for standing me up when we were supposed to fight."
"I—" Adam didn't get to continue due to Yang slapping a hand over his mouth. His glare made her shiver a little but the blonde weathered it and pressed on.
"He'd love to!" she said. Adam's growl could be felt through her hand just as much as it could be heard.
"I know he would," Velvet said with confidence she'd fought for over the years, "I'll leave your... Friends alone. Call me."
She sauntered past them, but not before bumping his hip with hers. Then, thinking about it, she channeled her inner Coco, blushing as she did and running away once she finished.
Adam's eyes widened as he felt the palm on his ass. The sound of Velvet running away directly after meant that the exchange was just as embarrassing for her as it was for him.
"Look at that Adam! You changed a bully with nothing but raw testosterone! And all you have to do is go on a date with her!" Yang congratulated, patting him on the back and finally removing her hand from his mouth.
"Yang," he said quietly. Too quietly. Yang took a step back. He took a step towards her.
"H-heh, Adam? No hard feelings right?" she asked.
"No Yang," he looked up and she yelped and paled. She'd never seen Adam smile fully before, and she was sure this wasn't really a happy smile, but nonetheless, the full teeth grim he wore was more terrifying than any horror she'd witnessed.
"Exclusively hard feelings," he breathed out.
She gulped. Then she bolted.
"Ruby?" Whitley asked for the girl. He was ready to sleep but they hadn't seen Yang or Adam since the two had stepped out for 'recon purposes' as their leader put it. Right now he stood by the window as he stretched.
"Yes, Whitley?" Ruby asked. The two of them made for unlikely friends, and Whitley appreciated her politeness just as she appreciated him not pressing her for conversation.
"Is that your sister?" he asked. Ruby stepped over delicately. She stared out the window where he pointed.
It was becoming dark, but there were still vestiges of sunlight here and there. A head of bouncy blonde hair could be seen sprinting through the courtyard while what looked to be the glowing red call of the abyss chased after her with all the grace of a bull in a—
Ah. That made sense once she thought about the saying.
"I'm sure she and Adam are just playing," Ruby said, yawning and walking towards her bed.
"HELP ME!" Yang cried into the empty courtyard.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Whitley agreed as he too swept himself under his covers.
The two exchanged good nights and relaxed themselves. Meanwhile the screams— er, the wind screamed outside in what sounded like a beautiful melody of revenge.
They awoke and found Yang unconscious outside, stuck in a bush with her body bent in such a way that her foot was in her mouth.
Adam told them she must've sleepwalked her way there and that the poetic nature of her position was purely coincidental. Nobody refuted him.
This chapter is a little all over the place but that's because i couldn't dedicate a chapter to any one of these moments without it being too short.
Velvet's redemption comes in a different way than Cardin's... Well, let's be honest, calling Cardin's thing a redemption is insulting. This Velvet will be seeing more time though, rest assured. Her team will show up more eventually as well.
And what's Raven doing? And what's Ozpin up to? OoooOOOoooh! So many things to learn!
Also I realized that I am slowly becoming a master of crackshipping. Why do you people support me so? I am but a fool with an untamed mind!
Anyways.
Thank you so very much for reading! Follow if you want to keep updated, I try to go for weekly if I can, and please review!
Have a wonderful time!
Omake: Broom closet Blues
"So Summer," a co-worker and fellow teacher at signal got her attention, "I heard an interesting rumor."
"Oh?" Summer wasn't one to gossip too much, but she was so friendly by nature so she didn't mind the conversation. It was amazing that Ruby turned out as shy as she was in all honesty.
"Some of my students said they saw you come out of a broom closet?" she asked.
Summer hissed. She would murder Raven the next time she came home.
"Ah, that. It was really nothing," Summer laughed, not at all actually finding it funny.
"Ah yes, my students were talking about the same thing!" another teacher chimed in.
Great. Now the whole damn school knew! Well, it wasn't like it was particularly harmful.
"So what were you doing in there Summer? You weren't doing anything... Naughty, were you?"
Nevermind. This could immediately become a minefield. One that could very well lose her job as a teacher forever.
"No I was not!" she shrieked. Seriously, what compelled anyone to think that way!?
"Well, it's just that the students said they heard you talking to someone in there and that you were making a lot of noises."
Raven. Was. Dead.
"It was nothing, really!" Summer begged that they dropped this soon.
"You know Summer, if you were having a secret liaison with some new amorous lover, nobody would blame you for it."
She wasn't. The last liaison she had was with Qrow and that turned out fantastic. Nothing like leaving your daughter to really say 'I love you'!
"So who's the lucky man?"
"N-no! It was just Raven!" That was a mistake judging by the looks on the other teachers faces.
"Oh my! I didn't know that Raven was like that! I didn't know that you were like that!"
Huh?
"Like... What?" she braved.
"Well you know," the teachers looked amongst each other before turning to her again, "gay!"
She was not. She had experimented once in her Beacon days but she and Raven had promised to keep that a secret from everyone.
"It's okay Summer, there's nothing wrong with it! Some of us already thought it anyways so really you just ended the betting pool!"
Betting pool?
I hate my life. Somewhere, in some magical different universe, I am dead and at peace.
