Hello people! It is the Maelstrom, and I'm back with a new chapter of Team SLFR. After thorough editing and too much college work, I finally managed to finish the chapter. Jeez, how long has it been since I posted an update?
…
Oh right, 3 months ago. Yeah, I have to apologize for the wait, but I wanted to make sure that I knew what direction the chapter would go, not to mention that the editing process is important for this.
Well, I'll try not to make that too common in my account, but I will say that I might not be as quick to post stories.
Anyway, this chapter will introduce another OC I made for this story. I feel confident I did great, and I hope that you will enjoy his appearance!
Enough of that though, let's get into the adventure!
CHAPTER 2: Beacon and The Tricky Stallion
(BEACON ACADEMY AIR-HANGAR, 12:00 P.M.)
The airship had arrived and landed at Beacon Academy, and the students wasted no time quickly leaving the airship in a mixture of impatience and excitement.
Beacon Academy was just a few minutes away, and soon everybody would step into the halls of Beacon Academy.
All the students walked out of the airship with many mixed feelings, some felt excited, some felt proud, many felt like spilling their guts out…
...and only two were in a game of Cat-and-Mouse.
"HEY, YOU BLOND FUCK! Get your ass back here!"
"No way! You're just going to beat me up!"
"I'm not going to beat you up! I'm just going to kick your ass to the moon and back for what you did!"
"THAT'S NOT MUCH BETTER AT ALL!"
Yeah, like that.
"Whoa!"
"W-what was that for!?"
"Watch where you're going!"
The white wolf Faunus was just sprinting through the crowd of people in a quick fury, bumping and nearly crashing into many students until they just made way for him in shock. Sable didn't really care about it at the moment, he was dead set on getting payback.
Afterall, Sable was beyond just angry; he was royally furious.
A while ago, he had invited himself into the conversation with Ruby and Yang her sister. Everything seemed to be rather civil until someone wasn't able to hold their lunch in the airship. Said someone accidentally, and sadly for Sable, spilled a good amount on his white leather jacket.
That cost like 200,000 Lien, but that wasn't the point anyway.
Right now, Sable was chasing the blonde who ran far away out of fear. The only reason this entire chase is happening is because of a mistake the blonde didn't mean to do and didn't even have control of. The blonde was more worried though about trying to escape Sable before he lost his footing and nearly tumbled to the ground.
The blonde looked back to check if his pursuer was close, but he soon cursed doing so when he got caught by the collar and lifted off the ground. Face-to-face with the furious and towering Faunus, he was sweating bullets in apprehension.
"Man, I told you I'm sorry! What's your problem?!" The Blonde Knight babbled, his hands covering his face.
"What the fuck do you think is my problem?! " Sable yelled in the Blond's face, with a scowl so furious, that he appeared to be an aggravated canine to any observer. "If you were really that sick, then why the hell didn't you go to the bathroom before!?"
"Because if I moved anymore it would have just gotten worse, not to mention the bathroom was too far, to begin with! Now could you please let me go!?" The knight pleaded pathetically.
"Not before I send you to the nurse's office in bruises, you bastard!" Sable reared for a punch aimed square at the puke boy's face before he felt two arms putting him into a Full Nelson holding him back.
"Whoa, there Big boy! I think he gets the idea!" That voice was Yang who was trying to hold him back. She didn't think she would have this much trouble holding him back as Sable squirmed and struggled to break free. He was practically flailing to get out of her failing grip, and she was shocked by the amount of strength he had. 'Damn! How is he this strong!?'
"Let. Me. GO!" Sable finally broke free of Yang's grip, nearly stumbling to the ground and looking up to see that Puke Boy had escaped.
"Jeez, Fido!" Yang chided in a tone that wasn't clear whether it was teasing or actual help, but she apparently snuck a nickname for him. "What were you thinking running off and trying to beat someone black-and-blue?"
Sable grit his teeth frustration and turned towards Yang with a narrow glare "What? You think it's my fault!? Who the hell just hurls their food on someone. That's just asking for an ass-kicking!" Sable points to his jacket collar where the puke landed. "And now my jacket looks and smells like something from the garbage bin thanks to that bastard!
"Oh don't be so dramatic! I'm sure it's not that hard to just wash that later." Yang pointed out before she figured out something unpleasant. "Wait a minute, don't tell me that's your only change of clothes?" Yang cringed, taking a step back from Sable.
"W-what!? Hell no!" Sable was offended at Yang's remark and lifted his right hand. "What kind of question is that! What do you think was in this...suitcase?" Sable looked to his right hand to realize that he didn't have his suitcase… and that means he must have left it somewhere when he got 'distracted'. Sable panicked, but he knew the only place he left his suitcase was already flying away in the distance. He paled at the sight and in defeat, he yelled out with frustration.
"Oooooh," Even Yang cringed a bit and was feeling some pity for Sable missing his suitcase. "Guess you'll have to deal with that smell for the rest of the day, Fido." She knew it wasn't the right moment to joke like that, yet she couldn't help but try to lighten up the mood. Even if that didn't make the situation any better for Sable, it was worth a shot.
'This blows…' Sable pinched the bridge of his nose at the fact that he let his anger about the puke on his jacket get to him that he forgot his freaking luggage.
"Sable! Yang!" A voice called out, both Yang and Sable recognized it was Ruby from the port. She was carrying a big slim military suitcase that may have been left on the Airship. Sable noticed this and probably figured it was someone else's suitcase and she was being too nice until he noticed an engraving of the sun and moon, a half-and-half deal on it. Not many students had such an ornamental engraving in its center, and Sable felt his frustration subsiding for a bit.
"...that's my suitcase," Sable said as he put his hand on his face, sighing in relief. He was glad that Ruby was kind enough to help with that big suitcase, and he also was grinning that it was Ruby lugging around that big suitcase that may be almost as big as her, but only short about half afoot.
She was starting to look more like the fairy tale right now.
Ruby managed to arrive and hunched over in exhaustion before giving them both an annoyed gaze. "So could one of you two hotheads tell me why you left me behind, and why you forgot your baggage?" Ruby questioned holding the suitcase in front of Sable, who took it with no hesitation and didn't bother to answer that question, though the corners of his mouth curved into a grin.
"Well, my lovely sister. I'm sorry if you got left behind but I had to hold him back from dealing a nasty bite!" Yang said shooting a glare at Sable. "By the way, threatening to put someone in the hospital isn't going to help you make friends. I wouldn't be surprised if he ran away next time he saw you!"
"Okay, you know damn well what he just did. Don't try to act like you don't!" Sable shot a look back.
"Oh come now, it was just a little bit of puke. You said it yourself you have your change of clothes!"
"Well, I can't just take this jacket off in the middle of the day! It's not exactly healthy for me if my complexion didn't give it away!"
"Okay you're right about that, but still! You need to control that temper. you don't want to get kicked out of here on your first day right?" Yang pointed out, and Sable flinched. "We're going to Beacon Academy, and that means we're going to meet other people. Smart people, excited people, annoying people. We may not know each other all that well, me and Ruby included, but it never hurts to at least make a good impression right?"
Sable opened his mouth to retort, but he merely took a deep breath in shame and shook his head.
As much as it pained him to admit, he did it again. He's always had a bit of a temper, that much he knew.
Still, it made sense what Yang said. He was given a chance to be in Beacon Academy by Professor Ozpin, and the old man made it very clear to try to make an effort of meeting new people, and the first thing he does is picking fights with the first guy who pissed him off.
Blowing up was way too easy for him to do at times.
"You're right. I'm sorry I just…" This was never easy. "I just really don't like it when people mess with this jacket." Sable tugged at the sleeve, an apologetic expression was on his face. "It was given to me by someone very important. I-I'm sorry, guys." Sable said with a calm tone and hanging his head down. He was pretty apologetic to Yang and Ruby's surprise, considering how pissed and slightly rude he can be.
"H-hey, no harm no foul right?" Yang reassured him with a pat on his shoulder. "Just be sure to keep that temper in check. Can't have you yapping at every student now can we?"
Sable gave an awkward chuckle before sighing. "Ya know what, I'm just gonna...go for a walk."
Ruby tilted her head in confusion. "Are you sure you don't wanna walk to Beacon with us?"
"Hey, don't get me wrong, so far you two have been fine, but after that incident with… you-know-what, I think I just need to go and clear my head. You know, just chill?" Sable explained, in a tone that felt like he wanted to be alone, yet he gave her a small smile.
Ruby wanted to tell him to walk with them, but she decided it might be best for him to cool off. She didn't know him too well, but Ruby could understand Sable's initial frustration and the burst of anger, because it reminded a bit of her sister, if she was more prone to saying swear words and much more aggressive. She sympathized with the fact that he valued the white jacket he wore because it was from someone important to him, just like her red cape and how it's the one thing that was a gift from her mother. Ruby nodded hesitantly because Sable seemed very stressed, and it might be better if they meet later, but Ruby really hoped they would.
Yang seeing all this nodded her head in understanding. "Well, after getting puked on I think getting some fresh air might be necessary. See ya later!" Yang said as she smirked and gave him a thumbs-up, and Sable chuckled as he started walking off the other direction with his suitcase in hand.
"Same to you too! See you later!" Sable said as he smirked, before splitting from the sisters and walking ahead of them.
"Hope to see you at Beacon Academy!~" Ruby cheerfully waved him off, having a smile plastered on her face, and with rosy cheeks, though Ruby wasn't aware of this herself.
Yang was very intrigued and happy how it slightly turned out, and when she turned to Ruby and saw her rosy cheeks, her joy only grew and wrapped her arms around Ruby for a hug.
"Aw, look at you! You went and made a new friend!" Yang congratulated Ruby whose face turned red before smiling back at her sister and giggling nervously.
"I guess I did, didn't I?" Ruby meekly admitted feeling slightly embarrassed, and even somewhat proud of this small accomplishment. Yang was actually right though. Going to Beacon Academy was going to be nerve-wracking for her, and she thought she could get by with only her sister. Yet, she actually managed to get on the good side of a stranger who she only knew because of that run-in against Roman Torchwick, and it seemed that the pale Faunus appreciated the company as well.
With that in mind, Ruby and Yang left to get a closer look at Beacon Academy, a school that would be their home in the days to come.
(BEACON ACADEMY, COURTYARD. 12:30 P.M.)
A relaxed sigh came out of Sable as he was just enjoying the solitary walk to the courtyard towards Beacon, and this would seem unusual to many people who met him — not that he has met many other people — but he truly appreciated some peace and quiet. He was away from all the noise, and he had only his thoughts and a small breeze to brush through his pale complexion, much to his liking.
He strolled by the grassy area near the courtyard for a bit, before resting his head on a big pine tree with a generous shade, shielding him from the burning heat of the sun and keeping his skin and complexion perfectly pale.
'Now this is what I needed.' Sable hummed as his face was very relaxed, and a small smile on his face expressed how pleased he was. He was relieved that his jacket wasn't stained by that mess at the airship, and overall he felt at ease. As he looked up at the Academy, with towers so high you could mistake it for a castle, Sable took a deep breath as he was thinking of what happened prior to his leisurely stroll.
Well, a lot has happened since that night, and I do mean a lot.
Sable was in that Dust-store window-shopping just 4 days ago, then some goon interrupts him and tries to mug him before his face was planted a footprint. Shortly after that, he had to fight off other goons along and deal with a mafia-looking boss, before he got away after having to dodge some fireworks by that mysterious amber-eyed lady. He got interrogated alongside Ruby, and greeted shortly by Professor Ozpin, who gave both him and Ruby the opportunity to go to Beacon Academy! That much information is bound to exhaust anyone for a bit, and you would want a stroll too.
Aside from that, he was feeling plenty of emotions from the last few days and moments that happened earlier in the airship. They ranged from spunk to shock, disbelief, empathy, and regrettably...residual burning anger when his white jacket got and reeked of half-digested food.
Now he never denied or lied about the short-fuse he has, but he still doesn't like how easy it was for him to almost start a fight because of the incident. In fact, he was slightly thankful that Yang was there to "keep a leash on him,'' as he figured she would make the joke if she could. It would be an obvious and lame joke, what with having wolf-like ears, but Sable just thought she was the kind of person who goes with the flow, at least that's the vibe he got.
'Ruby Rose…' Sable half-lidded his eyes in amusement and scratched his head.
Ever since that night with the mobster- wannabe, being 'arrested' by the witch Huntress, and meeting Beacon Academy's headmaster, Ozpin; he was glad to see he got accepted into the academy, and until recently he was just slightly impressed a Signal Academy student was able to handle goons on her own. Now apparently she made it into Beacon, skipping two years ahead, and on the same day, where the future students would take the initiation exam?
Yeah. Sable was still trying to wrap his damn head around how Ozpin accepted her into the school that quickly. She still had two years of combat school, and she may have shown talent, but she doesn't seem to be the kind of person who thinks about strategy. She would actually be really great at acrobatics if anything.
However, Sable didn't criticize her much considering the 'homeschooling' he went through. If they witnessed those years of vigorous, muscle-tearing training; many would argue that maybe he was too experienced. Ruby, on the other hand, wasn't average but surprisingly talented with good instincts on her. She just happened to get the lucky ticket and skipped two whole years of school because of talent.
Sable knew at first that despite talent she was still a 15-year old missing some experience, but he couldn't deny that her dream of becoming a Huntsman was admirable. She needed to tone down that fangirl side of her a bit, and she kept pointing out Sable's 'swearing' much to his annoyance, but he figured it's something to expect from her.
Sable closed his eyes and chuckled to himself, standing up and getting ready to continue on his way. 'Well, I can think of worse people I could meet.'
After that coincidental thought, a puff of multi-colored smoke appears in front of him completely catching him off guard. Sable covered his mouth, and he could see a fumbling shadow positioning itself in the middle of the cloud of smoke, mumbling something about 'showtime'.
'And I'm about to meet one of those worse people…' Sable groaned in exasperation and frustration before he scowled behind his sun goggles.. '...fantastic' The smoke finally cleared and he was right, there was someone in the middle of all that smoke, but he half-lidded his eyes at what he saw.
A boy. A very short boy. That isn't to say Sable thought he was looking at some random kid, just that compared to most of the guys in the airship, this kid was shorter than anybody in the airship.
He was probably even shorter than Ruby by like an inch and that's saying something.
This boy had wavy hair that reached just above the ears with a very dark shade of Mauve, and he wore a laid out checkered pattern of purple and black in his attire that definitely stands out for being just a simple suit. He flicked his horsetail eagerly, signaling his Faunus heritage.
"Why, Hellooo there!" The horse Faunus spread his arms wide in a pose that looked like he was mimicking the 'imperial generals', with his navy-colored flowing imperial cape.
...
"...okay?" Sable raised an eyebrow and gave him an unamused gaze. "Who the hell are you?"
"Why I'm glad you asked, my old wolf chum!" The short Faunus boy cheered as he extended his hand and held Sable's hand for a shake. "I'm going to be a fellow student here at Beacon Academy with ya!"
Sable tilted his head as he looked at this boy with an unamused expression."Yeah, I can see that; but if you don't mind I gotta be… somewhere else." He walked around the horse Faunus and started heading off his original path, but the purple-haired boy hurriedly jogged to stand in front of Sable once again.
"Oh come on, don't be like that!" The mystery boy pleaded as he wagged his finger at Sable, and it was slightly annoying. "Can't a fellow make a flashy entrance to his classmates without being brushed off like that?"
"Can't a fellow just have his peace without somebody interrupting their flow like that?" Sable retorted with a glare and a dismissive growl. "Now again, don't bother me." Sable dismissed checker-suit and walked around him one more time faster than previously, and the horse Faunus jogged even faster in front of Sable, who was pissed off by the persistence of this below-average boy. "What did I just say!?" Sable exclaimed in frustration.
"Come. ON~" The petite horse-tailed pest, whined and begged. "I just wanted to introduce myself, pal! Is that so hard to ask? I mean I understand if you are in a hurry, but if someone wants to introduce themselves it's just common courtesy to introduce yourself." The boy insisted with a mischievous smile, as he offers one more handshake.
Sable looked at the horse boy for a moment, and he was leaning towards just walking off again but he got the vibe from this short kid that he was persistent. If that smile was a sign of anything, he was insisting on actually being tag buddies with the albino Faunus. Sable really didn't feel like he had time for an introduction like that, but as it seemed the horse boy in front of him wouldn't stop following him until he introduced himself.
'What a nuisance…' Sable groaned, and it showed as he furrowed his brow. He wanted to get out of the sun quickly, he didn't want to get stuck with sunburn, but now he has to do the one thing he was honestly hoping not to do.
Meeting annoying, pestering, and hyperactive people.
Sable sighed in defeat and merely extended his hand for a proper handshake. "My name is Sable Fenrisulven." He said with an unexcited tone as his hand was greeted with a contrasting excited handshake from the mischievous colt, who was beaming with a wide smile.
"Now that's more like it!"
'I hope he doesn't do that thing…' Sable thought, he wasn't a fan of these kinds of meetings.
The boy then took a step back and introduced himself with a pose. "Hi! I'm Lilac Sleipnir, and my favorite things of all time are soda, carrot cake, and anything that resembles a shade of Purple!
Sable blinked a couple of times. '...well that was interesting.' This 'introduction' was definitely weird. Scratch that, this was very off-putting and he doesn't really like how snappy and hard to follow this Lilac is.
In fact, this meeting was going way faster than he would like, and he was about to take a step away—
"We may not know each other all that well, me and Ruby included, but it never hurts to at least make a good impression right?"
—but those words echoed in his mind and he inwardly groaned, but he didn't walk away.
Sable wasn't particularly interested in being close buds with Lilac, who had already been way to cheery, excited, and stubborn to introduce himself. The theatrical act didn't help with Lilac's childish demeanor, but Sable felt it would go against the advice that Yang gave him. As much as it annoyed the albino Faunus, he had to at least try to be polite.
'An acquaintance, that's what he is just an acquaintance'
Sable was not comfortable with this, but he rolled his eyes and strained an awkward chuckle. "So… it's nice to meet you...I guess."
"Oh no, it was my pleasure!" Lilac flashed a bright smile and put his hands on the back of his head walking with the white wolf Faunus. "So, what were you doing before?"
"Nothing really interesting, and I'm sure you don't need to know. Let's just say I'm gonna need a new change of clothes later." Sable explained and crossed his arms in thought. 'Though I wouldn't need to if the guy had just brought a paper bag!'
"Because vomit boy hurled all over the floor and your good clothes?" Lilac summarized, and Sable stared at Lilac with a frown. "Looks like I was right! I was wondering where the smell was coming from." Lilac covered his nose with his hands, chuckling all the while.
"Ha Ha, very funny. Seriously, I don't want to talk about—" He paused for a second, and he widened his eyes in realization. "Oh shit! I just realized...I have no fucking idea where we're going!"
"No need to worry! The academy doesn't seem to be a convoluted complex anyway, so we should be able to figure out where to go, and you're in luck!" Lilac then grabbed Sable's wrist and surprised him with how easily he was able to drag him through the floor, comically at that. "Because I know exactly where to go!
"...wait, hey let go! Dude, I can walk there myself and how the hell do you have that much strength!?" Sable barked out in confusion and shock.
"Well, the best lesson you can learn right now: Never underestimate someone with excellent upper body strength!" Lilac simply explained like that makes any sense.
"...okay first off; You're way too short for that, and two; LET ME GO, YOU EGGPLANT-HEADED CHILD!"
"Not until we get to our destination!" Lilac responded. "Besides I think it's almost about time."
Sable raised an eyebrow. "Time? Time for what?"
"In three...two… and…"
BOOOOMMMM!
"There it is!" Lilac cheered in triumph.
"What the hell?" Sable widened his eyes, but soon half-lidded his eyes at the sight.
Looking to their sides, the Faunus pair could see a small explosion in the center of the courtyard, were standing in the middle of all that smoke and covered in soot are two girls, Sable recognizes one of them as Ruby, while there's another one wearing a fancy white dress, and with hair, that unlike his own albinistic white hair, was more akin to a snowflake given form of hair.
"Wait, what the hell happened?" Sable questioned at the sight that laid in front of them.
Lilac glanced at the sight of the explosion, and casually brushed it off like it was nothing. "Just a fireworks show, nothing to worry about!"
Sable glared at Lilac for a moment and then realized something he should have asked before.
"Wait a minute, why were you counting down before that happened… and how did you even know that would happen in the first place?"
"Oh, why that's a good question…" Lilac gave a shameless smile. "You don't need to know!"
"I'm pretty sure I do!" Sable replied but Lilac ignored that while dragging him away and humming to the tune of Hall of The Mountain King.
Without a care in the world, and so casually at that. Sable didn't know whether to say if Lilac was annoying, childish, weird or all of the above...or if he was just hallucinating and this horse boy was a figment of his imagination.
Sadly, it was real and Sable was a little anxious as to what Lilac was doing anyway, because Sable never met someone so hyper, over the top, and pretty enthusiastic about their tricks.
'Wait, isn't Ruby kind of like that? No. At least she can tone it down, this kid is just balls-off-the-wall crazy!' Sable mentally processed all this with an irritated expression, before just not even giving a damn.
With a blank expression, he sighed. "...I guess I'm stuck with you." Sable muttered under his breath reluctantly.
"Yep!" Lilac replied quickly with no hesitation, and Sable only sighed. He had to deal with the many surprises today, an early admission student, an unfortunate incident that was certainly not pleasant for the smell of his white jacket, and now he was getting dragged around by 5'1 short boy who had freaky gorilla strength to the direction of the main hall, or at least that's what Sable assumed.
And it's just the middle of the goddamn day...but he could agree with one thing.
'...at least I'm not bored.'
(BEACON ACADEMY, Garden Area. 12:45 P.M.)
Now, many people say the first day of school is usually an opportunity to make friends and get to know the school.
What many people never go through on the first day, is being ditched, get into an 'explosive' argument, greet new people only for them to have gone or ignored you, and being left on the ground to wallow in their own misfortune.
That was Ruby Rose's first half of the day, and needless to say, she wasn't excited to be in Beacon after that little misunderstanding.
Luckily, earlier another fellow student offered a hand to Ruby, and she was slightly comforted until she realized that the student was the one who threw up on the ship. That didn't really stop them from socializing as they were walking by the walkway alongside a lake, inside Beacon Academy before the Main Hall.
The area was more abundant in nature, and the gardening of daffodils, and lilac's certainly painted a pretty picture compared to the rest of the school. Ruby looked over the gardening, and much to her confusion there weren't many roses, though she realized it'd be funny if there were.
On the way, she introduced himself to the student, and he introduced himself as Jaune Arc. He was a tall young man with fair skin and dark-blue eyes. His hair is short and blond, messily layered on his head. He is quite toned, having strong muscles in his arms, shoulders and upper chest, and Ruby notices the plates of armor that cover the hoodie he wears. He could make a good knight, though he was more kindhearted and suited better as a knight-in-training.
"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" The blonde student justified, recounting the events that happened.
"Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby laughed as she apologized for the name.
"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?" Jaune retorted with a nickname of his own for Ruby.
"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby pouted as she justified her own accident, which admittedly was an accident.
A very unfortunate accident, that wasn't really her fault or anyone's fault for that matter.
The young blonde shrugged his shoulders in agreement. "Well, so was the motion-sickness! It's not like I was trying to make a mess because I wanted to!" He took a deep breath of relief and anxiety as he remembered what had happened earlier with the pale white Faunus. "I was so close to getting a bruise on my pretty little face."
Ruby smiled awkwardly, knowing what he was referring to and the chase that happened as a result. "Y-yeah, I'm sure you were. Well, look on the bright side! You're still here safe, sound, without any sort of black-eye!" She listed off as she tried comforting Jaune, who responded with an awkward chuckle.
Before he could say anything though, Jaune noticed out of the corner of his eye two people heading towards them. It seemed to look like someone was dragging something with them. He narrowed his eyes to get a better look, then his eyes widened in surprise. "W-wait… Am I seeing this right?" He pointed his finger at the two people in disbelief.
Ruby looked towards where the blond-headed boy was pointing, and she was also left at a loss for words. She saw a maroon-haired, horse-tailed Faunus with a peaked hat, cape, and a checkered suit dragging a wolf-eared albino Faunus with sunglasses and a white leather jacket who she recognized was Sable.
"Why Hellllooooo there~!" The colorful Faunus marched with pep and offered a handshake with the hand that held Sable's wrist and dropped him to the ground. Ruby was slack-jawed with surprise and awe considering how short the boy in front of them was, if dragging in Sable who was taller than all of them, wasn't impressive already.
It was like seeing an Ant pick up a leaf 3 time's its own size, and they both wondered what the Horse Faunus in front of them did to get that strong.
Ruby was still in a state of temporary shock, but Jaune was the first to recover from his awe and greet the horse boy in front of them. "Oh, uh, hello?"
"Hi there!~ My name is Lilac Sleipnir, and my pal Sable saw you guys in the distance and we just wanted to greet our fellow classmates!" The horse boy quickly introduced himself with a sense of theatricality while gesturing a hand to the white-haired Faunus who got back up from the ground, wiping the dust off his white jacket, white hair, and white dog ears.
"Did you really have to drop me like that?" Sable glared at Lilac who just stared at him back.
"Of course I had to! It was necessary to leave a good impression."
"That wasn't a good impression!" Sable exclaimed in anger, before groaning in defeat and crossing his arms. "Ya know what, fine. Just forget it." He isn't getting anywhere trying to explain to this hyper horse about what is a normal way to introduce themselves, and he just doesn't care to argue.
Ruby was relieved to see Sable, a familiar face; she really needed one right now with the explosive incident with that princess. She turned to the one who introduced himself, and her eyes widened when she noticed that Lilac was just about as tall as her. He was only like an inch shorter than Ruby, but she didn't think that he could be younger than her. Much as she knew, she was the only one who was admitted into Beacon Academy early.
"W-well, nice to meet you too Lilac!" Ruby greeted with a beaming smile as she continued, "My name is Ruby, and he's—
"So, what is this I hear about indigestion?" Lilac shamelessly interjected with no hesitation, Ruby seemed taken aback by the question while Jaune was equally embarrassed.
"Uh… I-I was just saying that motion sickness is a very c-common occurrence?" Jaune answered that odd question.
"Yeah it sure is, and ya looked like you needed a remedy for that!" Lilac reached inside his coat and actually took out a soda can and offered it to Jaune with a wide smile. "Would you like one?"
This was rather sudden, and Jaune was surprised with the kindness Lilac's given him. Compared to the hostility and threat of a beatdown from earlier, this kindness was eccentric at best, and freaky at worst. Though Jaune was tempted to take the offer, he politely declined, "Eh, no thanks. I'm not exactly in the best shape for it..."
Lilac wasn't fazed, in fact, he seemed like he was hoping for that answer as he already brought out a straw from his pocket. "Guess this one's mine then!" He proceeded to drink from it with a pleased and rested expression. Jaune couldn't help but sigh in relief.
At least he was much nicer than someone who tried to punch his face.
"So. You're the one who messed up my jacket?"
Jaune jerked his head towards the voice, the towering figure leaned towards Jaune with a sharp tone to his voice. This pale pretty boy was taller than him by 5 inches and he had a really stern and unreadable expression. The shades couldn't show the heart-piercing death glare, but it was enough for a bead of sweat to roll down Jaune's forehead, and the coward in him reared its head as he stammered with his hands to defend himself. "W-wait, wait wait wait wait, can't we just talk about this? I'm not much of a fighter, I'm more of a—!
"I'm sorry."
"...huh?" Jaune blinked owlishly as he tilted his head in confusion. "Come again?"
"Look, I realize that you really didn't mean to lose your lunch back at the airship. You did mess up my jacket, but I still got aggravated and I could have left you without a tooth if I did beat you up…"
Sable paused, directing his gaze to the floor. It was hard, not to mention slightly embarrassing, but he needed to make up for what happened as he continued his apology. He looked at Jaune in the face, taking a deep breath before saying what needed to be said.
"I lost my cool, and that's why I just wanted to say it right now. I'm sorry, please don't take it personally."
To say that he was stunned was an understatement.
When Jaune got chased down by Sable earlier, he wasn't thinking of talking to him rather than just avoid him at all costs. His punk-like exterior and attitude made sure of that. His intimidating look along with the sunglasses that made him look like a bad-cop from those old-school movies seemed to make him out to be the 'unapologetic jerk'.
Yet it's happening, Jaune is being apologized to by the one who not a while ago was about to cave his poor face into the pavement.
All things considered, he wasn't complaining.
"N-no need to apologize! It was my mistake anyway." Jaune accepted the apology, and with the tension from before all gone, he offered his hand. "Let's start over, The name's Jaune Arc."
Sable eyed the offer, with a pause. He thought about the perfect way of how to respond to this. His expression softened, and with a small smile, he accepted the handshake. "Sable Fenrisulven."
Ruby was stunned about what she witnessed, but she soon relaxed her expression and sighed in relief. Not that she expected a fight to break out in the first place, but when Sable had reacted earlier in explosive anger she was slightly tense and intimidated. But seeing how Sable apologized to Jaune as soon as he saw him again made her feel much calmer and without worries.
"I'm glad they made up. They seem to be getting along." Ruby said before turning to Lilac with a smile. "Anyway, have you met him before Lilac?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, I have! I would say we are pretty good pals." Lilac answered with a wide grin, though it was a half-truth. They only met recently, but Lilac found it exciting to meet new people. Then he looked intently at Sable and Jaune, almost in anticipation. "But I don't think he's done yet.".
Ruby just raised an eyebrow in confusion before turning her sights back to Jaune and Sable. "I don't know what you mean, they seem to be getting along!"
"Wow, you got a strong grip," Jaune stated astonished at the tight handshake Sable was giving him, but he had a gut feeling something else was going on and asked with a nervous smile, "I guess we're cool now right?"
Ruby didn't want to show, but she had a bad feeling near her stomach area that she tried to shake off. "Nothing bad's happening, it looks like they became friends."
Sable stared at Jaune before giving him a toothy grin full of spunk. "We are cool, I just need to make sure we're even."
Jaune blinked in confusion, "...what?" and without realizing it, Sable's straight punch collided directly with his face knocking him down to the floor.
"POW! Right in the kisser" Lilac raised a fist into the air as he whooped from the sidelines. He mischievously grinned still drinking from his soda in amusement, turning to Ruby. "What did I tell ya? He wasn't done yet."
"...I spoke too soon" Ruby blanched in shock, and wasn't excited compared to Lilac.
Jaune himself was visibly groaning from the pain as he rubbed the bruise on his cheek, "Ooooh that hurts! That hurt so bad…" Jaune wasn't really in a good position right now, and while he thought he might have had it coming, a small part of him had to think that what Sable did was pretty excessive.
For what it is worth though, Sable didn't have anything against the blond knight. Sable was always one to get even with people, though the old man would call it rather vengeful, and childish. When it came to the boy's age he always gave them one good punch, and right now all that mattered was that he got even.
"Hey hey hey hey hey!" Ruby hurried over to Jaune helping him off the ground. "Oh geez, Jaune are you okay?"
Jaune wasn't okay, "Y-yep, just...feeling p-peachy…" Ruby helping him up and adorably pouting in disapproval of Sable was certainly okay.
"Geez, did you really have to be that rough with him?" Ruby turned to Sable pouting and puffing her cheeks, and he found it adorably amusing. "I thought you were going to try to be more polite from now on?"
'She would make a good chipmunk.'
"Ruby, all you need to know is that I'm the kind of guy who plays to get even. In return for him messing up my jacket, he gets a punch to the face instead of a beatdown. That settles it." That sentence sounded really familiar for our silver-eyed grade skipper, and she almost found it jaw-dropping how similar he was.
"You sound just like my sister..." Ruby muttered, rubbing her head before remembering what she wanted to ask. "Hey, do you know where we're going?"
"Y-yeah that is a good question, I was just following your lead. I have no idea where we are either" Jaune recovered from that punch fairly quickly to Ruby's surprise, and pitched in on the conversation."Do you guys think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court?"
Sable nodded and sighed in agreement, looking up with a dreamy expression. "I am starving, I could go for some steak."
"Maybe they have cookies? They were so delicious last time." Ruby mumbled in delight.
"Carrot cake's gotta be on the menu. That's like, my absolute soul food!" Lilac chirped in glee.
"Yeah...wait, no, we got off track. Where do we go, or actually does anybody even know where to go now?"
"I do!" Lilac chimed and pulled from his pockets a brochure of Beacon Academy with an included map of where to go, earning looks of awe and relief from Ruby, Jaune, and Sable. "If I'm reading this map right we need to go to the main hall of Beacon, which should be— oh over there!" Pointing his finger towards the direction of their original path. "Haha! This never gets old!" Lilac cheered as he jumped up and down from joy.
"Wait, they had brochures?" Jaune tilted his head when he asked the horse-Faunus, taking a look at the brochure Lilac held. "Where the heck did you get that anyway?"
"Back at the airship! One of the crewmembers was handing these out for free, so I just helped myself to one!" Lilac explained with pep and jumped rather suddenly on Sable's broad shoulders with a bright expression. In an ironic fashion, the cheerful kid was the cowboy on his stallion "Off we go my loyal steed!"
"H-hey what the hell!? Get off me!" Sable shook Lilac off to the ground, who went crashing down to the floor."I'm not giving piggy-back rides here! If you really wanna go then you can do it on your own two feet!"
"Phooey! You really are no fun…" Lilac's expression drooped to a childish frown, before getting up and running to their destination. "Let's just go! I'm excited to see the school on the inside!"
"For once we can agree on something…" Sable muttered and turned to Ruby and Jaune. "So you guys just gonna stay there, or are you coming with us?"
"Y-yeah, let's go! H-Hey Lilac, wait up!" Ruby called out before heading towards Lilac, leaving Sable and Jaune behind in the dust.
.
..
…
"S-so…" Jaune whistled a tune as he saw Ruby head off, trying to figure out what to say to the tall, disinterested, intimidating Faunus that stood next to him. If he could, he'd just talk this out and put it all behind them, but after that punch, he took he wasn't sure that Sable was going to comply.
'He already apologized though, so why am I hesitating so much?' Jaune swallowed a lump in his throat and decided to ask him a question plain and simple.
Nothing too serious, just to break the tension between them.
"Hey, do you know anyone who might be interested in a tall, blonde and nice guy like me?"
Jaune knew it was a stupid question to ask, but there had to be at least something to break the ice.
Jaune tried to save face with an unconvincing grin, hoping Sable wouldn't punch him in the face for that. He braced himself for it regardless.
"...no," Sable said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walked away to catch up to Ruby and Lilac. Jaune hunched over, sighing in relief and embarrassment, with a little hint of his self-confidence going down, over what he said before deciding to follow a good 10 steps away. Though now he wasn't sure about Sable, or more accurately he didn't know what to expect now.
One moment Sable hounds him down like a rabid dog, and the next time they meet he apologizes, then socks him so hard that his apology seems less sincere. But he seemed relaxed when Ruby came into the picture, and that Lilac seemed to just prod at him rather than outright annoy him. Jaune tried to think about what he thought of the white-haired wolf, but he only arrived at one answer.
"Don't want to piss him off again..." Jaune never was too quick to judge people, he never saw any reason to.
Though at this point, it would be best to keep a distance from him.
So, how was that? Sable and Lilac are off to a weird start, and we got to explore a bit of Sable's and Jaune's interactions between each other. Sable's short temper is an issue he has been dealing with for a while now, but he has not much problem in admitting his mistakes.
Lilac's character was mostly to be an influence of many 'trickster' like characters, you know the ones who cause mischief within the group and actually enjoy the shenanigans that happen with the group. I certainly hope you guys enjoyed him as much as I enjoyed writing him!
Now here's the important news: I've been getting into so much Black Clover recently, me and Travis Moon end up discussing this series enough\ to the point where we made our OC's for the story already. That's gonna be the next story and chapter I'm gonna be writing, so I look forward to it!
With that said I, Maelstrom, hope to see you on the horizon!
