Sorry about the slow updates! I just like procrastinating and combining that with falling in and out of love with RWBY lately doesn't make for an amazing drive to write. Still haven't watched any of volume 8 and at this point I think I can't be arsed to try any time soon.


Adam knew that he wasn't always the most knowledgeable when it came to social occasions and the like. He was better suited for the field or for the urban environments, so he was comfortable saying he didn't always understand things like ballroom etiquette.

That being said, he wasn't entirely lost when it came to social norms for big occasions, and the dance being held in Beacon for the Vytal Festival fit under the banner of 'big dressy event'. He knew that he'd be expected to attend as a student of Beacon, but also as a friend and teammate.

And also, he noted silently, because he may have dug a hole by saying he'd promised to go with Ruby to avoid Velvet and Neon.

With all that in mind, it didn't make the scene before him any easier to watch.

"Gah! Stupid... Unconventional... Stilts!" Ruby toppled over in their room, face on the carpet and hood falling over her face. Adam had the decency not to stare at her rear as it stuck up. Ruby didn't even care, pounding the floor with a fist and growling.

"Get up. Try again," Whitley stood in front of her, a critical eye being cast on the older girl. She hissed, literally hissed at him, standing up. She was hunched over and her hands were held before her, a clear sign she wanted to strangle the boy.

If she could manage to stand up and walk forward for more than thirty seconds.

"Gah! OH FOR BROTHER'S SAKE!" Ruby let out a wail of frustration.

With the dance coming up, team YSTR had taken to preparing themselves. Whitley had told Adam that he would be taking him shopping for a tux, and when Adam made to argue, the boy stated, verbatim, 'I shall not be caught dead with my teammate looking like a two dollar whore.'

Adam had words for why he was the one on the team that would give off whorey vibes.

Yang was taking to the situation fairly well, and had even seemed excited at the prospect of being able to dress up and show off. Whitley too was smitten with the event, though if it were genuine excitement or an infatuation with these sorts of formal events, they couldn't tell. That just left Ruby.

Poor, sweet Ruby.

She didn't seem to mind the idea of dressing up. After all, the girl practically wore a battle-gown for her normal attire. What she did seem to mind was that she'd have to wear heels, or as she referred to them, 'the stilts of the devil'.

She had found a pair she didn't mind looking at, but when it came to actually wearing and functioning in them?

"Stand up. Back straight. Come now, don't you want to strangle me? You have to walk forward to do that," Whitley wasn't even watching her, instead looking at his nails.

"Why must you bully me like this Whitley?" she wept as she stood shakily.

Adam swore that Whitley had a sadistic smirk for just a second, but when he blinked the boy's face was as unamused as always.

"Ruby, Yang had no problem walking in heels. I don't even think Yang fully understands what the word poise means and yet she has it down," he shook his head.

"Uh," Yang blinked, "poise is like... When a bunch of cowboys form a gang?"

"Posse," Whitley ground out, "That's a posse. They aren't nearly the same."

"Are you sure?" Yang held a finger to her chin.

"So help me God I will strangle you with your own dress," Whitley glared. Yang held her hands up and backed off. Better to let him take out his frustration on her sister and her high heels. Speaking of which...

"Oof!"

"Up. Again. And I'm not saying this to be rude, Ruby, I'm saying it because if Yang of all people can do it then so can you. Your M.O. is your own, regardless of how little it works here," Whitley didn't even have his eyes open as he spoke.

"M.O. means...?" Yang had an eyebrow raised.

"Modus operandi," Whitley sighed.

Ruby turned over to lay on her back, staring up at Adam and pointing at him coldly.

"You. You did this to me. Look at them. Talking about Moduses and Operandis like I'm not laying right here," she swore.

"Ruby, Whitley would have made you wear heels regardless of if we went to the dance together or not," Adam pointed out, "Also I don't think those things have a plural form like that."

"Listen," she groused, "I need an outlet. You're convenient. Shut up and accept my rage."

"Hard to accept it while you're on the floor," he mumbled.

"What was that!?"

"Nothing!"

"Adam Taurus, I will destroy you. Do not test me."

It was hard to take her threat seriously when she struggled to move or stay upright. There was also something to be said about how quickly she became upset while she wore heels. If he had to put it into numbers, she got frustrated about four times as fast as normal.

"Whitley, how do you know how to walk in heels?" Yang asked, hanging upside-down off the side of her bed.

"That information is irrelevant."

"It feels a little relevant," Adam chimed in.

"I will not disclose that information and that is final," Whitley huffed. Another tumble, another string of almost curses from Ruby.

"I'm going to burn every shoe store to the ground..." she growled. Whitley sighed, uncrossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

"Let's take a break for now. Perhaps being able to stand on your own for a bit will give you more confidence for the next time you wear them," Whitley waved, sitting on his bed and grabbing the book he kept on the dresser.

"FINALLY!" Ruby threw the heels on her bed and stood, stretching out and kicking her legs.

"Wow sis," Yang smirked, "I never knew that your biggest weakness would be a pair of stilettos."

"For the last time; THEY. ARE. PUMPS!" Whitley shouted over his book.

They all rolled their eyes. The boy had drilled them all on the difference of every article of clothing they had picked up.

It's not a vest, it's a waistcoat!

It's not a collar, it's a cutaway!

The boy had issues. They didn't have the heart to tell him it didn't matter that much.

"I bet PAVL isn't having these issues," Ruby kicked the floor, happy she could kick without falling.

What issues could they even have? They were almost perfect!


"Hey, uh, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, standing rigidly straight as the redhead brushed her hair.

"Yes Jaune?" she turned to look at him.

"Uh," he blinked, not at all looking like the imposing and devastating warrior that he was, "do... Do you have any plans for the dance?"

"I do not," she said, smiling patiently, if not a little embarrassed.

"Oh, that's good," he blinked, "Er, not that that's good! That's not what I meant! I just... Uh, well what I mean is... Oh man this was way better in my head—"

Ren jumped up from behind the champion, holding himself up and looking at Pyrrha over his shoulder.

"Jaune wants to know if you wanna go to the dance with him," Ren said sharply, having watched the man fumble his way through the proposal.

"Yeah," Jaune coughed into his hand, "That."

Pyrrha blushed a little, but her smile remained, giving the boy a little reinforcement for his confidence.

"That sounds lovely Jaune," she beamed brightly. He smiled back, rubbing his head awkwardly.

"My job here is done!" Ren said proudly, "And I have absolutely no other work to do!"

Behind him, Nora looked personally affronted, and made a motion that said she was about to strangle the boy before she took a deep breath and calmed down. All in due time, she repeated to herself.

"If only I had someone to go with..." Ren sighed dramatically.

Neither Pyrrha or Jaune turned an eye when Nora collapsed face first onto her bed. The energetic ninja didn't even seem to notice the girls struggle.

"Uh, Ren—" Jaune placed a hand over Pyrrha's mouth, slowly shaking his head.

This was one of those things where they would be better off figuring it out together, without external help. Regardless of how easy it would be to lock the two in a closet and let them 'figure things out'. Likely with more lips and hands, and less words.

The two shivered thinking about how the room would look after those two finally confessed to each other. They'd have to bunk with YSTR or book a hotel room until they 'worked' everything out.

"Speaking of dances," Pyrrha spoke up, "how did shopping with Ren go?"

Jaune blinked, and then stared at the girl for a spell. Pyrrha sighed. The blink-and-stare always meant property damage.

"How much this time?"

"An amount that I shouldn't say out loud," Jaune dipped his head slightly.

Because when didn't he have to pay someone else for damages when Ren was around? It was honestly more impressive that the ninja got away with just that much in reparations.

"What can I say?" Ren shrugged, unconcerned, "God is real and he hates me. I gotta do whatever I can get in the devil's good graces!"

"Some people believe God is a woman," Nora said from her face down disappointment pillow.

"Man, woman, God's gender has no bearing on they're feelings towards me," Ren stated proudly.

More proudly than anyone should.

"Leaving aside that particular thought," Pyrrha cut Ren off before he could keep going, "did anyone else think that Yang's mom was a little strange?"

"Strange how?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha shrugged.

"I can't really say, it just felt like she was... Evaluating us."

Nora hummed, finally turning over and staring up at the ceiling. She had noticed Raven glaring among them, but at the time it didn't seem like anything to worry about.

"Maybe I was imagining it," Pyrrha shook her head.

Or maybe she was only looking at me like that, Pyrrha thought to herself. She had sworn the woman had been staring at her longer than the others, aside from her own family but then, her face had held a warmth when she was looking at Ruby and Yang as opposed to the rest of them.

"Maybe she sensed how strong our leader was!" Ren injected himself into her thoughts.

"You are improving at quite the impressive pace," Nora chimed in.

"It doesn't always feel that way," Pyrrrha sighed, falling back onto her bed.

"Perhaps it doesn't," Jaune shrugged, making her frown a little, but he quickly continued before she could bemoan herself further, "but that's often how you can tell you're really improving."

"I don't think I follow," the redhead shot him an inquisitive look.

"I think I understand!" Ren had his hand raised like an enthusiastic student, "It's like when you do the same job for soooo long that you don't even realize how good you're getting at it because it just feels like your normal-shmormal everyday schedule!"

Jaune blinked, did a run through of that explanation in his head, tilted one way, tilted the other, then sighed and shrugged, nodding in agreement.

"I guess that's a decent way of explaining it," he smiled confusedly, "It may seem like you're plateauing, but the reality is that you've gone from barely being able to stand a chance in a fight, to knowing how to swing your sword and use your shield. It may seem like you've stopped improving, but what's really happening is you're growing used to your own movements without even realizing it."

Was she really? It always felt like she was still just fumbling her way through and behind everyone else. Sure she could finally put up some form of a fight against other students and even Grimm, but when it came to her team and team YSTR, she was still below their average. Was she really growing into her own? After all, her training with Jaune still always seemed to go the same way, no matter how hard she pushed herself.

A knuckle tapping her temple had her flinching and breaking her train of thought.

"Enough with that look," Jaune scolded her, and she flushed, "I know what you're thinking and you shouldn't. Just because the rest of us are still better doesn't mean you aren't good too. I don't mean to sound vain, but you can't try and figure out how much you're improving by comparing yourself to my standard."

She blushed again. Jaune, for as oblivious as he could be to people's outward feelings, he was strangely perceptive when it came to what people were thinking.

"Jaune is right," Nora intoned, "You are getting better. Do not spit on your own improvement with insecurities."

She sighed. Her team was adamant in stopping her when it came to putting herself down. She smiled regardless. Having people care about you enough to tell you when you're being unfair to yourself was a hassle at times, but it never failed to take her mind off the thoughts.

"Besides," Ren shrugged exaggeratedly, "who cares what Yang's mom thinks about you?"


"I think you should care deeply about that girl," Cinder stated, staring at Raven.

"It seems unnecessary," the mother sighed, laying her head on her fist, her arm propped up on the arm of the chair, "she seemed... Weak."

"Precisely," Cinder leaned forward, "why is she there?"

"Maybe she's just runt of the litter? Not every huntsman trainee can be a champion or whatever," Raven drawled.

"At the illustrious Beacon Academy?" Cinder raised an eyebrow. Raven grunted.

"Fair point."

"As I said," Cinder smirked, "something to look into."

"Okay, so suppose she is as untrained as she looks," Raven sat up straight, "why the hell would Ozpin let her in?"

"Perhaps she obtained some convincing forgeries," Cinder shrugged. Raven shook her head though, making her frown.

"No, Oz is smarter than that. He let my deadbeat brother and I in, knowing full well we were from a tribe of bandits," Raven explained. Cinder hummed, crossing and uncrossing her legs.

"I see," she mumbled, "then perhaps she has something he wants? Is she from a powerful family of some kind?"

"Not that I can tell. Last name wasn't anything I've heard of before and she definitely isn't one of those secretly wealthy types," Raven checked off. Mercury chose that moment to enter the conversation.

"Maybe she slept with someone to get in?" he suggested.

"Not a chance," Raven looked disgusted by the insinuation that any of the teachers at Beacon would sleep with their students.

Then Port came to mind and she had to remind herself that Ruby would keep Yang safe.

"She looked far too interested in the champion boy," Raven added as an afterthought.

"So she's not a prodigy, she's not a criminal, she's not rich, and she's not a slut," Emerald listed off, also joining the discussion, "so what does that leave?"

"A pawn."

Raven glared at Cinder. Cinder, however, had her eye closed in thought, tapping her foot and finger as she ran through something in her head. Evidently the gears were turning fast for the younger woman.

"Think, if you would, what we know about Ozpin right now," Cinder spoke back up.

"According to you he's got half of the maiden's powers, a feat that I still do not fully understand," Raven ground out.

"And we put that vessel he used in a coma," Mercury said casually, propping his legs up on the table.

"So it stands to reason," Cinder finally opened her eye again, "that he may be looking for something to put that power in before it returns to me."

"You think he's using that weak girl as a takeout container for magical powers?" Raven glared. Cinder chuckled.

"More or less. He needs someone he can keep close and who would believe everything he says. Someone naive who wants to be stronger and would jump at the chance to gain it immediately," Cinder mused.

"Like a girl who doesn't belong among hunters," Emerald finished. Cinder nodded, smiling and glancing at Raven.

"A mere speculation currently," the older woman sighed, "but I can keep an eye out."

"Oh?" Cinder seemed intrigued, "why the sudden interest in helping us so easily?"

"Because regardless of what you freaks are doing, I already know how to find you. I have no idea what Ozpin is doing. That's not comforting to think about," Raven growled.

"A fair enough reason," Cinder shrugged, "you don't have to love me. Your cooperation will lead you to what you're looking for."

"Your cryptic spiel makes me want to break your neck," Raven said blankly.

"Harsh," Mercury chimed. Cinder smacked him and turned back towards Raven.

"You're distrust is valid—"

"Massive understatement."

"—and your interruptions are unappreciated—"

"I don't give a shit."

"—BUT I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE, WOMAN!" Cinder snapped. Raven grinned scathingly at her.

Truly Cinder didn't know how to feel when Raven had shown up on her windowsill that afternoon, letting herself in and occupying her favorite chair. When the woman said she was willing to cooperate on another endeavor, Cinder had initially felt some amount of suspicion but wouldn't let an opportunity pass her by.

"So what's next then?" Raven asked, "The Vytal Tournament is fast approaching, and any window you may have to get around Beacon succinctly will disappear once the festival is over."

"I'm aware. While I can't say I am pressed for time, Ozpin's new vessel may not have long for the world. He's being pressured into action, and I can only assume that General Ironwood's presence is making that decision more tedious than before," Cinder hummed.

"You have no idea," Raven groaned, "Jimmy's never been the most genteel of people but he's really pushing for Ozpin to take more action. If I didn't know any better I'd say they were just having their normal dick measuring contest, but if Ozpin really does have some half maiden hidden in Beacon..."

"Then Ozpin is most certainly feeling the heat. He needs a new vessel for the maiden's powers," Cinder finished. Raven grunted, glaring down at the table.

"So what's your next move," Raven demanded.

"Do you want the honest answer?" Cinder tilted her head. Raven groaned and dragged a hand down her face.

"Don't give me that 'I don't know' line. I hate when people do that shit," Raven glared. Cinder laughed behind her hand but shook her head.

"Oh I know very well, actually. It's more a question of if you'll be able to bring yourself to do it than anything else," Cinder looked off to the side.

"I'm not murdering Ozpin. At least, not until he gives me a solid enough reason to," Raven crossed her arms. Cinder rolled her eye.

"No, Ozpin's life will be mine. I need something else from you," Raven nodded for her to go on, "You are to observe this girl, for one. She may be nothing, but her presence is simply too strange to ignore."

"Fine," Raven huffed. This certainly surprised Cinder, who recalled before that Raven didn't want to do anything if it involved a student.

"I'm sensing more," Raven rolled her hand in a circle, "out with it."

"My oh my, so demanding," Cinder smirked. Raven just looked unamused.

"Very well then. There's another matter I need you to look into. This, unfortunately, has much less to do with Ozpin," Cinder explained.

"Why bother then? Can't you handle it?" Raven spat.

"We're trying," it was Mercury who answered her, "but it's proving a little more annoying than we expected."

"And whatever could that be?" Raven drawled.

"The White Fang has essentially defected from us. That said, we have no idea what they're plans are but they will most definitely make our ultimate goal much harder to reach," Cinder sighed.

"And here we thought they wouldn't be a problem," Emerald complained.

"What were your plans for them?" Raven questioned.

"They would cause problems around Vale so that we could steal the powers back undetected while Ozpin was busy," Cinder didn't see the need to hide the information considering it wouldn't work anymore.

The crux of that plan relied on whether or not Ozpin felt they were a big enough problem to see personally. That went out the window once they started stealing Atlas military property. Now they had Beacon and the world's strongest military on their asses.

"So where are we looking then?" Raven didn't think they'd be dumb enough to stay within the city but she couldn't say for sure if the White Fang was what she'd call 'tactically adept'.

"Mountain Glenn," Cinder stated.

"What a lovely place," Raven sighed, "why?"

"Because they're going to be running a train full of explosives into the city, bringing Grimm in through the tunnels," Cinder said calmly.

Raven was up in an instant.

"You've got a lot to explain now if you think that was a good idea," Raven hissed.

"A good idea? No. An idea that would work? Definitely," Cinder didn't seem as smug as she usually would be at explaining a plan, "Unfortunately those buffoons are much more bloodthirsty than I had wanted. Last we spoke, they had changed the plan slightly."

"How slightly?" Raven growled.

"They'll be joining the Grimm in their efforts to destroy the city. They've turned my decent plan into a free-for-all murder fest," Cinder pouted, actually pouted at the idea of her plan being minced like that.

Raven looked disgusted by all of that.

"Okay," Raven pinched the bridge of her nose, "for one, I can't believe you're so terrible. Two, I can't keep an eye out on the girl if I'm off in Mountain Glenn taking apart terrorists."

"Which is where the plan within a plan comes into effect!" Cinder said, looking eager to explain it.

Raven turned to glare at Mercury and Emerald. Both shrugged, slightly apologetic with looks on their faces that screamed 'this is just how things are with her'. Raven didn't appreciate that.

"We'll be sure to... Cause enough of a mess around the area so that Ozpin will want it looked into. Knowing the way he does things, he'll send a team of students with a professional to deal with it," Cinder lectured.

"And you want me to be that professional, and that girl and her team to be the students who join me?" Raven deadpanned.

"You're learning how I think!" Cinder practically gushed. The woman had a few screws loose, and clearly saw a lot of value in scheming. It was a little more than off-putting.

"Fine," Raven stood, ready to take her leave, "I'll be off then. Uphold your end and I'll keep an eye on the girl and stop those lunatics."

"Succeed and I'll see if I can give you any more answers you desire," Cinder agreed.

With that, Raven left, feeling no more content with her decisions after leaving the building as the last time she'd made a deal with the woman. She was doing this for Yang and Ruby. Summer would've done the same.

"Goddamnit Oz," Raven prepared to take flight, "what's going on in that head of yours?"


Formal events.

Some see these occasions as chances to show off their best sides. To tell the world 'I am stunning! Witness me!' with clothes and the best partner.

"Ruby, so help me God if you step on my foot one more time I'm throwing you through the window," Adam gritted out, doing nothing to hide the inferno of his glare.

"Next time," stomp, "You won't include me," stomp, "In your getaway plans!"

STOMP.

Whitley ignored the 'couple' as they began to brawl, drawing many eyes (some that he noted looked aroused at their fight. He made a mental note to avoid those people in combat class) and continued forward.

Adam and Ruby looked lovely... Or rather, they had looked lovely for about an hour until Adam finally got fed up with Ruby digging her heels into his toes. Their outfits matched, making them look like two vampire goths had stumbled into a school dance. To say they stole the eyes of most of the hall was an understatement. Whitley watched other couples gawk together at the two.

Ruby, in her elegant and long strapless dress, black and red since she refused to have it any other way, looked every bit the beauty she normally looked, but now in heels she stood taller than ever. A deep crimson shawl was draped across her shoulders and her hair had been tied up for once into a high bun. It had been a fight to get the young woman to leave her hood in their room.

Adam was dressed in a black tuxedo with a red dress shirt underneath, and somehow they (Yang) had managed to coerce (complain for a while) to let them do something with his horns. He had relented when Yang had promised not to do anything to the horns themselves, and so she had settled on jewelry, which Adam had called "excessively extravagant" and Yang had called "totally hot-to-trot" to which Adam had asked if that was a racist comment and Yang had promptly left the room. Adorning his horns were a pair of silver rings with a small yet shiny chain running from one ring to the other, connecting the two. Dangling from the chain was an ironic charm of the Taurus symbol, even though Adam had told Yang he was a Leo.

Together the two were a sight to behold. Even more so now that they were fist fighting. Whitley sighed, opting to scan the room rather than pay his barbaric teammates any attention. He was so caught up ignoring the two, that he didn't realize he had a visitor come up from behind him.

"Well don't you look handsome?" he scoffed, blushing slightly but getting himself under control quickly. He turned, meeting his sister's eyes and smirking at the sight.

"Old habits die hard, hm sister?" he laughed lightly, Weiss doing the same. Both of them were dressed in white, looking like the very definition of Atlesian high society. Weiss in an all white dress that flowed just past her knees, and him in a white tux, light blue vest resting under it.

"Well I suppose we can hardly help what we look good in, can we?" she remarked. He huffed a laugh and regarded the room again.

"Where's the wrecking ball?" he asked.

"Penny is around," she sighed, not even requiring him to specify who that was, "she is likely looking for Ren."

"HEY PENNY I BET I CAN DANCE HARDER THAN YOU!"

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"

The two sighed, and sent a silent prayer to Nora, who most assuredly was in the middle of that mess. Truly Whitley's heart went out to the girl. It had to be hard falling in love with someone who was incapable of even reading the word subtle, let alone understand it. Nora needed to be more forward if she wanted to get anywhere with the ninja.

"And what of your partner?" Weiss asked, "I already passed the lovely couple on my way to you."

A shout of 'no biting!' from Ruby was a good sign of how those two were doing. It also brought to question why nobody had broken them up yet, but one look at the clearly inebriated Glynda Goodwitch making advances on a very confused General Ironwood shot down any hopes of the fight stopping any time soon.

"Yang is—"

"Right here!" Yang jumped between the two, hands on her hips.

Yang had worn a light yellow dress, about the same length as Weiss's but with a noticeable frill along the hem. She also had the red bandana tied around her arm still, a testament to how much she cared for the piece from her late father.

"I thought you said you were going to look for someone to, and I quote 'dance until we're close enough for me to beat them'? What happened to that?" Whitley asked. Yang simply shrugged.

"Guess nobody thought they could handle me!" she smirked.

Or they don't want to chance having to handle Ruby when she sees them dancing with you, Whitley mused internally.

"And what's dragged everyone over here?" another familiar voice chimed in. They greeted Flynt and a dejected looking Neon as the two walked over.

Flynt, as one would expect, cleaned up nicely. His overall outfit hadn't changed that much but he certainly had made it sharper with the addition of a dark grey blazer draped on his shoulders, forgoing actually wearing the thing and just letting it hang off his person. Ren had explained earlier that not wearing jackets correctly added to one's power level. Nobody had any words for that particular comment.

Neon looked the most different out of all of them, seeing as the girl was hardly the type to dress up. Her hair had been let loose, flowing down and wrapping around her shoulders. The dress she wore was one shouldered, almost looking like a cocktail dress. It was a sequined baby blue piece and she even shockingly wore a pair of heels that matched in color. Her makeup was done well, her normal eyeliner more pronounced than usual. She left the art on her arm out in the open for the world to see and didn't cover the small heart shaped mark on her face. Her tail came out of a small heart shaped cut in the back of the dress, the bottom tip of the heart stopping just at her tailbone.

Yang let out a whistle. Regardless of her annoyance with the girl, she dressed up nicely. She supposed that the girl was from Atlas. It made sense that when it came time for a formal occasion, the girl would be able to dress to impress. And she still managed to look sexy. Annoying or not, a hot person was a hot person.

"I'm impressed," Whitley wasn't even looking at the faunus as he spoke, "I thought for sure you'd be over there to help Adam fight his date."

"Oh believe me," Neon reached under her dress, making the present boys look away and Weiss to slap her face, until the faunus pulled out a knife.

"Wait, where were you—" Yang and Weiss both placed a hand on Whitley's shoulders, shaking their heads and looking somewhat embarrassed.

Neon flew into the brawl with a battle cry, ending any chance for further conversation with the girl.

"STOP GRABBING MY ASS!"

Flynt groaned, rubbing his temples as Weiss rubbed his back. That was his best friend. The one fighting and sexually harassing at the same time. Truly a skillset unique to her. Who was insane enough to try replicating it?

"Welp," Yang shrugged, walking over to the fight, "someone had to do something eventually. Guess it'll be me." Whitley smirked at the girl as she departed.

"Thank you Yang. I'm glad to see that you're maturing so mu—"

"TAKE YOUR BETS PEOPLE! WHO'S THE MAN GOING HOME WITH TODAY!? THE LADY IN RED? OR THE ONE WITH THE HAND ON HIS ASS!?" Yang called. Several people slapped money into her hands, the girl counting each note meticulously.

"Well look at it this way brother," Weiss placated, "at least she's business savvy."

Whitley groaned.

Off across the hall, away from the fighting, a very socially awkward redhead binked as yet another girl finished talking to her date. At this point though, Jaune looked like he had spoken to every girl on this side of the room except for her. She watched as he plastered that awkward smile on his face again, his eye twitching slightly as another girl spotted him and walked his way. It wasn't his fault, he was too nice to turn people away.

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. A strange and foreign feeling bubbled up within her and she felt it was her distinct duty as his friend and leader to help the champion. So she did the first thing that came to mind.

"Jaune, look at me for a moment, will you?" she said politely. He turned, clearly ashamed he'd been unable to give her his attention.

"Listen Pyr, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how many—"

He was silenced as she dragged him into a kiss, his eyes widening and his apology effectively cut off. He closed his eyes after a second, relaxing and leaning into the kiss. When they broke away, they were both bright faced.

"U-uh..." he said smoothly, thanking his brain for the eloquent response.

"W-well," she still managed to smile so radiantly at him that he couldn't help but blush harder somehow, "n-now nobody is b-bothering us!"

He blinked, embarrassment forgotten for a moment as he looked around. Indeed, it was like someone had snapped and all the girls that had been looking at him the whole time had somehow vanished or had their backs completely turned to them.

"O-oh..." he said, perhaps a little disappointed that it was just a way to get people to leave them alone, but no less happy that she was thinking for him.

"Y-yeah..." she looked away from him, rubbing her arm and digging her toe into the ground.

There was a beat between them.

"W-wanna do that again?" he asked.

She was on him in an instant. Everyone around them looked away in embarrassment. It was probably better to let them have their moment.

"Damn! I lost fifty on that!" Coco could be heard slapping money into Velvet's hand from anywhere in the room.

All in all, it was a magical night for everyone.

Ozpin watched it all with a vague look of disinterest. Sure a smile played on his face, seeing so many gathered and at peace was a phenomenal thing for any teacher. But within he was thinking. After all, there was a lot to think about!

He stared amongst the occupants of the room. So many colorful souls and unique abilities. Young Miss Rose and her wonderful eyes, or Lie Ren and his ability to negate negativity and induce positivity. Taurus and his inordinate skill and drive. Jaune Arc, his already impressive skills in combat now known to be coupled with a miracle worker like semblance.

And he couldn't forget his own circle as well. Raven, always able to be on the scene, feeding him information. Glynda and her unique skillet that few, possible none, could match. Summer Rose, while retired technically still had her eyes as well, and with time would hopefully pass such secrets on to her daughter. And James...

Well, no need to dwell on that. The man was made for his job, and few could carry it out the way the good general did.

As he watched all these souls dance and enjoy just a moment, nay, a miniscule spec in the grand scheme of time. The smile remained on his face, gentle and happy.

But the spark that danced through his eyes was anything but.

Yes...

A magical night indeed.


A chapter that just didn't want to be written. Nothing happens during the dance because there's no Cinder and company in Beacon. If that's the case, there's hardly a reason to dwell too much on what would otherwise be a filler chapter if I fleshed it out more.

And I'm not too big a fan of filler if that's not the point of the story.

Anyways, I'm using this chapter to set up for what will be a really big divergence from the canon storyline in the show. I won't say how, but know that I plan on taking things a little faster from this point on.

I'll try to update sooner than last time, I won't promise though since I've got a lot on my plate.

Please follow for more and drop a review. I read them all and really appreciate the feedback.

At any rate, let me know what you thought and follow if you want to stay updated with my inconsistency.

Stay healthy out there and have a wonderful time!


Omake: I went to bed with who!?

Adam woke up the morning after the dance, dizzy and unable to remember much after a certain point last night. He remembered someone saying they spiked the punch, then said someone being rumored to be Ren, which meant it was far too late to try and fix the problem, so he may as well have gone all out.

He groaned and shifted. He felt warm. And... Soft? That wasn't right. He turned, trying to figure out what the feeling was.

He was met with a shuffle under the blankets and a mass of long hair.

Oh no.

He'd done it hadn't he? He wasn't normally the type to lose himself to relaxation or vices, but it seemed he'd done so. But who was this?

The long hair and slender body said they were female, but he couldn't see her face. He couldn't move either for risk of waking her and making this situation a lot worse.

It clearly wasn't Ruby, and it wasn't Neon either. He remembered the latter getting drunk very quickly and doing her best to get a glimpse under the former's dress, much to Ruby's absolute embarrassment. Especially when Neon had actually succeeded and exclaimed, as loud as she could— which was incredibly loud— 'THEY'RE PINK WITH COOKIE PRINTS EVERYONE'. At that point Ruby had passed out.

Was it some other girl he knew? Velvet would've had ears, so that was a no. Coco was gay. Yang was definitely too young for him. Pyrrha went to bed with Jaune, no doubt about that. Nora went home with Ren.

Wait... Didn't she?

"Mmmeh, five more minutes sweet cheeks," the girl mumbled.

No.

"Oh god," he paled drastically.

"Mmph, nooooo... come baaaaack!" she reached.

Except 'she' was no she.

She was a he.

"Ren."

"Hmmmmm?"

"Ren. Wake up."

"Nora be quiet... Daddy wants to feel that ass again!" Ren shuffled. Adam grit his teeth.

"Get your hand off my ass or I'll remove it permanently."

"Mmm— huh? Wha-what? Who's..." Ren slowly opened his eyes, turning and staring the older man face to face.

Both remained silent.

"I'll take this to the grave if you do," the ninja claimed, more serious than Adam had ever seen him.

"Deal."

"That's a relief!" Ren eased up.

A beat.

"Hand. Ass. Off."

"Fiiiine," Ren released him.

"But if you're here," Adam started, "Who went with Nora?"

"That's... A great question. And another question to ask; where the hell is my emergency knife? I told Nora only to take it if she needed to defend herself!"


Nora was red.

So too, was Penny.

But neither more so than Weiss.

"Ladies," Weiss said rigidly.

"I won't say anything," Nora promised. Penny nodded too.

"And that's wonderful," Weiss said, voice on the verge of breaking, "but why, pray tell, are we all naked too?"

None of them answered. They couldn't remember how even if they wanted to.

"And why is there a knife between my legs!?" Weiss screeched. Nora sighed deeply, forlornly, and above all else, similar to everytime the name that left her mouth was accompanied with.

"Goddamnit Ren."