Hello, people! It is I, The Maelstrom, bringing you another chapter that includes bits and pieces of the Jaunedice episodes with my own attempts at introducing the other aspects of Beacon as a school system.

For the most part, we'll be focusing on more slice-of-life elements before we get into the major story beats. After all, Volume 1 has always felt more like a season to show aspects of how Beacon and it's characters work while showing plots and character development.

The past couple of chapters have focused almost entirely on Sable, the Wolf Faunus...and this chapter is going to be focused on the titular Tricky Horse: Lilac Sleipnir!

I sincerely hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I hope you enjoy a bit of Lilac's character overall.

BN: Void here, as usual, to fix chapter's up. Also, Lilac is Best Boi and no one can change my mind.


Chapter 7: The Inner Musings of a Tricky Horse


It's a wonderful day at Beacon Academy, and after the first month of studies everybody has settled into the daily school life. Classes have become the normal daily routine in the morning, then there's lunch hour where brilliant food is cooked every single day.

This is the time for youths to be youth's, and definitely a time for teenagers with hormones to go through this shifting period of their lives. It was early in the morning, 10 minutes before classes started and students poured into the hallways at their own pace with chatter.

Ah, yes...truly, this is another calm day at Beacon Academy.

As if!

"GAH! DAMMIT!" A random unsuspecting student was walking down the hallway, before a zooming blueberry pie slammed itself into his face and left his face stained with purple-bluish syrup. "LILAAAACC!"

"HA HA! Pie to the face! A classic prank!" Running down the hall with a frantic gallop and a mischievous smile, Lilac Sleipnir the Tricky Horse cackled like a maniacal prankster and left the scene of his crime before the student could catch him blue-handed.

Not that it really matters, since everybody knows about Lilac for his infamous pranking streaks that nobody is safe from. Not his teammates, not his friends, and not even unsuspecting student's he doesn't even know.

He hasn't been able to prank his professors though, since one prank to them would have Glynda Goodwitch on his butt and easily give him detention. He has to postpone their pranks.

'But soon enough, I will figure out how to prank even the headmaster!" He continued to laugh like a maniac, before he felt himself getting hooked from the back of his uniform and lifted up by a familiar furry-buddy. Sable, who wore his usual sun-glasses, looked at him like he had done this too many times as they walked through the outdoor hallways.

"Oh, hey there buddy!" Lilac sweated furiously, but regardless, flashing a smile so innocent until his teammate dropped him. Luckily he landed on his feet with a pep in his step, and even better that Lilac looked behind him to have no sight of the student he pranked. "So, how's your day so far?"

"Just bored for about half of all these classes, but otherwise not bothered." Sable shrugged to himself, but gave Lilac a simple raised eyebrow. "You prank someone again…?"

"Well of course I did, who do you think I am?" Lilac put his fists on his hips as he hopped with every step while recounting the prank with an incredibly creepy smile. "It took me a while, but I finally managed to pull it off yet again! Hehehehe!"

"This is like the 8th prank this month, dude...when are you ever gonna tone it down?" Sable shook his head while sighing, though Lilac knew by this point he couldn't be made.

"Never! My pranking crusade won't stop until everyone has been pranked!" Lilac rubbed his hands together in a comically evil gesture which creeped every student around them enough to make them avoid the two.

"Here's hoping Yang doesn't kill ya if you prank her." Sable glanced to the left with another annoyed tone, but regardless a bit of humour sneaked out a snort. "But I'd love to see her reaction."

"Hehehehe!" Lilac giggled in agreement, and so far they just walked along the hallways in silence while Lilac reminisced a bit of how the last month has been entertaining.

First off, his teammates. Overall, they have always been entertaining and varied! Sable's nonchalant, and loner attitude while polarizing is easy to warm up to, even more when you realize that the Big Bad Wolf is a big ol' softie.

Frey, on the other hand, is a lot more different than Sable. Calm, collected, formal as well as a gentleman, his teammate can be rather stuffy and stern at times. Regardless, he's probably the kindest and most strictest person he's met before, and comes with his own set of glasses every single time!

That somehow always ends up getting dirty after a weird event, or even just talking to people in general.

Now, Ragnar...oh, dear Oum Ragnar. Not only is he pretty crude and quick to anger, but he's surprisingly the one who actually laughs the hardest at Lilac's pranks! Not to mention his ultra-casual demeanor and humorous behavior is always a welcome addition to make the school life exciting!

As if that wasn't enough, it's pretty cool to have other teams to hang out and bond with like a bunch of students! Over the course of the month, and ever since the first day RWBY, JNPR, and SLFR have been hanging out in between lunch periods and even after-school hours enough to be considered friends.

Lilac couldn't help but feel happy about this turn of events upon coming to Beacon academy for a month!

Regardless, he knew it was only a matter of time before they arrived at their classroom where Frey had already taken his seat and studied even before class started. On his seat were a small stack of papers, filled with notes and his messenger bags filled with books about today's subject.

Walking up to him Sable whistled sharply to gain his spectacled friends attention. "So, it looks like you've been busy."

"Ah, Sable, Lilac." Frey looked up from his paper with a kind smile to his teammates, before looking back down and writing with his mechanical Atlesian brand pencil. " Don't mind me, just taking some preemptive notes before our class starts today.

"I still don't get how you can actually write that much and not be tired from it all!" Lilac noted with surprise and dread at the thought of doing the same.

"Diligence and attention, my friend...and some sleepless nights." Frey gestured with an index finger, and a courteous, but sheepish smirk. "That said, how does the morning treat you?"

"Treats me very well!"

"Always a bother honestly…" Sable grumbled as he pointed to his sun goggles. "My condition doesn't really make the morning pleasant."

"Ah, right. Because of your albinism." Lilac carelessly mentioned while nudging his elbow in the 6'5" Faunus.

"Lilac." Frey adopted a stern gaze, looking to Lilac. "Have a little more tact would you?"

"Eh, it doesn't offend me or anything." Sable shrugged it off with no care, and Lilac inwardly sighed in relief. "So, have you seen Ragnar anywhere?"

"That's what I meant to ask you. He doesn't seem to be anywhere around here," Frey glanced around the classroom, but Ragnar was nowhere to be found for homeroom.

That is until they heard rapid footsteps coming from the hallways, somebody stomping their way into the classroom and gasping for breath as they put a hand on the door. The same dark-skinned, platinum haired firecracker gasped for breath and had his uniform unbuttoned without the tie.

"Hah...hoo...so, uh...I'm here! I'm here, I'm finally here!" Ragnar heaved between breaths, slowly regaining his breath and strolling into his seat along with his teammates. He flashed them a grin and pointed at them with both finger guns in a 'cool' attempt. "'Sup, my posse!"

"Where have you been?" Lilac asked with a casual smile and his hands behind his back, though his tail flicked eagerly. "We didn't see you this morning, not even in the dorms."

"O-oh! Well, I woke up earlier than you guys this morning so I decided to squeeze in a bit of training time in the training room!" Ragnar explained while combing his hands through his crewcut, and leaning into his chair. "And you have no idea who I just happened to find already punching the bags like they were plastic!"

"Yang?" Lilac asked, though the question was less a question. The answer was quite obvious.

"Yang." Frey nodded in agreement.

"Definitely Yang." Sable snickered to himself.

"Dudes, I was getting to that!" Ragnar comically yelled to his teammates.

"Well, it's not much of a shock anymore, don't you think?" Frey pointed out, cupping his chin in thought. "That lady's a bruiser, so it makes sense she would be training early in the morning."

"Yeah, and apparently she doesn't like anyone touching her hair." Lilac remembered with a shiver, dread creeping up his spine. The last time he tried a prank involving her hair, she caught him in the act and nearly punched him out a window! He could have been hurt! "...She can get pretty violent…"

"Well, that's what happens when you mess with Yang's hair, dude." Ragnar chuckled as he patted the diminutive horse faunus' back. "But man, she really does know how to work it."

Lilac inwardly giggled to himself, and would have teased Ragnar about it if their homeroom teacher, who happened to be Glynda Goodwitch, didn't arrive in time. And the last thing he wanted to do was bring about the righteous stern fury of Glynda. She's strict and has been cracking down on Lilac's pranks for a while, but she hasn't been able to really get Lilac in the act.

She's going to have to be faster than that, after all, he's as fast as a horse!

Regardless, as soon as Glynda arrived, other teams started pouring into the classroom and taking their respective seats.

There was RWBY, their leader waving at them with a beaming smile and bright eyes. Then Weiss gave them a passing glance with seemingly no derision or entitled insult. Blake walked in while reading a book, seemingly too focused on the novel to say hi.

Phooey, she's no fun.

However, Yang on the other hand, waved the same at us before throwing a thumbs-up at Ragnar in particular, who gave one back with his own smooth grin. The entire team looked at him weirdly, to which he noticed and clarified. "What? We both sparred."

A collective 'oh' from his teammates and a nod later, everybody had taken their seats.

Lilac remained awake despite his temptation to fall asleep during this boring class, but he'd rather not frustrate Glynda for that. Sable seemed more bored if anything, leaning his chin on his open palm. Frey looked focused and attentive, while Ragnar seemed to fiddle with his pencil tools.

'Just another day at Beacon Academy…'


Lilac, despite being slightly dimwitted and oftentimes anything but serious, always had dreams and aspirations as a kid. To become a Huntsman, mostly because he wanted to help change the world...but not by being some hero. But instead by being somebody who could make people smile, and all of that is what he trained for.

Part of that training focused on one-on-one sparring between classmates every Friday, and that was the current situation which Lilac found himself in.

Not as the combatant, but the adoring audience.

Lilac thought that since Jaune passed initiation, that at least after a month he'd get better at combat through training. Every Friday was a combat class with Glynda Goodwitch, it was exhilarating on top of being adrenaline-pumping. Every once in a while, she'd pit two students against each other in a sparring match.

The class was being held in the same auditorium from when they first arrived, the expansive room fit enough of the class and even allowed for a good view of the matches that took place. The stage lit up with a spotlight, revealing the two combatants for today's combat class. It allowed for an almost theatrical scene.

Today's sparring match just so happened to be Jaune Arc—the lovable goof who can't seem to do anything right—and Cardin Winchester, a cock-sure crested bully who had a bigger stick up his butt than Sable.

OAs expected, those two never liked each other in the first place. A sentiment that Lilac shared. Then again, nobody likes Cardin or his team CRDL.

Regardless, the fight started off...pretty poorly on Jaune's part. His weapon, a sword and shield combo isn't a bad combination. If anything it's a great choice if used correctly. Defense on top of offense is particularly effective in the hands of an experienced user, but it was plain to see that Jaune had poor form.

So when he gathered his strength and charged at his opponent with an overhead slash, Cardin only jumped out of the way with a derisive sneer.

Cardin's fighting style was simply power, being a bruiser with an edged mace and heavy armor. However what he lacked in skill and strategy he made up for in raw strength. His power was noticeable when he swung his mace, connecting with Jaune's raised shield and sending both it and the blonde flying back.

Barely stumbling back onto his feet, Jaune clutched the handle of his sword. He was breathing heavily for a moment before moving forward and swinging the blade, only to be countered by the mace's hilt.

The bully pressed into the opening, Cardin pushed his body forward and towering over a struggling Jaune.

"This is the part where you lose." The arrogant smirk on Cardin's face spoke of his confident yet cocky attitude.

Jaune visibly pushed his entire weight forward in an attempt to push off Cardin. "Over my dead—!"

His taunt was cut short, as Cardin kneed him ruthlessly in the gut, leaving the blonde knight breathless and clutching his gut in pain. He dropped his sword and fell down to the ground, the sound of groans from the audience could be heard.

"Jauney-boy just can't catch a break, huh?"

Taking advantage of the opening once again, Cardin marched forward, swinging his mace in a showy manner before raising it overhead with the intent to slam it down upon Jaune. The blonde knight closed his eyes and braced for the coming pain, but luckily he was saved by the bell, as the buzzer rang loudly and pierced everybody's ears.

"Cardin, that's enough!" Glynda commanded with a firmness that even Cardin wouldn't dare to disobey. He relented, albeit reluctantly, and lowered his mace before walking away from the stage with a scowl upon his face.

The now-teaching Huntress walked to the center of the stage and the lights lit up once again to reveal the entire auditorium. Lilac noticed the tablet she held in her hand, which sent a projection to the screen overseeing the stage and auditorium.

"Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red." Lilac lifted his head—and it took a lot considering his diminutive size— as he glanced at the projection which showed Cardin's Aura gauge being in the green, while Jaune's was in the red. "In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official representative may call the match."

'Just like Remnant Brawlers!' Lilac rubbed his nose while his lips curled upwards to a grin. Tournament matches are like the fighting-games that Lilac always used to play as a kid, except your health bar and your special bar are the same.

"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Your scroll measures your Aura, so try and keep an eye on it." Glynda glanced at Jaune to her left, who took out a smaller tablet from his back pocket and reviewed the results with a disappointed frown. "Watching your Aura levels will help you in battle. It helps determine when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be eaten by the Grimm, now, would we?"

"Speak for yourself." Lilac couldn't help but agree with Glynda, but Cardin's recent comment, in addition to how he trudged off the stage with a sneering swagger, left Lilac with a frown and an annoying itch.

"Tch, where the hell did he learn that piss-poor stance?" Lilac rolled his eyes at his team leader, who stood next to his left. It was an apt comparison of both the shortest and one of the tallest students in Beacon. He seemed to be pretty critical whenever it came down to these sparring matches. Especially on Jaune's...A-for-effort approach to battle.

"Now, now, Sable. If you wish to criticize the match, how about you do so after class is over?" Frey folded his arms, and pushed his glasses upwards with his index finger, while Sable just turned his head with a scoff.

"Fine, but he's gonna get an earful later."

Frey's totally the reasonable genius of the group, but it's pretty funny when you consider that outside of school he's the gentleman to his compatriots. It's pretty funny to tease him that his glasses get so dirty easily and that he gets so intense about his studies; it's pretty goofy.

Still, that's what makes him an interesting and reliable teammate!

"But man! That cocky chicken isn't even that skilled, and Prince Charming still lost!" Ragnar rolled his right prosthetic arm, which whirred with a mechanical hum. A constant reminder of his lack of an organic arm.

Lilac did feel a bit bad at first, but after a few days he and Ragnar ended up getting along like two peas in a pod. It's refreshing that they both had the same sense of humor, while Ragnar was a bit short-tempered and much more aggressive about it, Lilac opted for witty pranks and clever tricks.

Regardless, they both were compatible partner's in the team.

Glynda turned to the witnessing students, and most of them seemed visibly excited in varied ways. Lilac leaned forward to check his right and saw Yang punching the air in anticipation, Weiss shaking her fists with an excited smile—mental note to tease her about it later—and Ruby, who's entire body shook like a jackhammer while squealing softly.

"Remember class, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who participate will be representing Vale, so you must make sure you train for it!"

The Vytal festival. Now that got everybody's attention. It's essentially a cultural exchange program that brings in exchange students from various Huntsman Academies from around the world into Beacon for festivities and an organized tournament.

Lilac partially came to Beacon Academy to be a part of that festival, where hopefully he could pull off a few shows if he didn't participate in the actual tournament. His teammates would likely want to participate though, and especially the big bad white wolf, Sable.

The tolls of the bell that echoed throughout the school signaled the end of the class, and one by one the crowd of students swarmed their way out of the classroom. Lunch hour had just begun, and that meant everybody met each other in the dining hall!

'YES! Finally, we get something to eat!' Lilac began trotting alongside his team, eager to indulge in some sweet treats. 'Croissants, Muffins, mini-pies, and carrot cake! I can't wait to gobble it all down!'

He internally squealed with a bright smile on his face, before at the corner of his eye he saw Pyrrha, who looked saddened for some reason. Lilac noticed she glanced at Jaune who still sat on the ground, looking rather disappointed.

That wouldn't do.


"So! There we were...in the middle of the night…"

"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai…"

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!"

"Two of them."

Lilac chuckled to himself, knowing the entire story might as well have been a work of fantasy. Regardless, he's such a sucker for dramatic storytelling and Nora Valkyrie had that skill in spades. She was a riot, constantly hyperactive, and a bombshell of positivity that even he would be proud of it.

Lie Ren wasn't bad either. He always exuded an air of calmness and patience; it showed how him and Nora get along perfectly despite being polar opposites.

Still, while the horse Faunus wasn't the only one paying attention, he glanced around the table in curiosity.

The dining hall was expansive, and thrice as long as the auditorium was. Wooden tables lined neatly in rows; while student's from the first year, second year, third-year, and fourth year, were all mixed together in the hall.

Cliques start to form, and soon enough everybody had established a social connection with their fellow classmates.

In short, it's probably the thing that Lilac was hoping for as a kid.

Ruby and Pyrrha both paid attention with polite smiles, Yang cupped her face with her hands with a little less attention, Ragnar listened to Nora's story while chewing a big piece of a large steak he ordered—About 8 ounces of Lilac remembered correctly— Frey, being the gentlemen, nodded along with her story, even reacting in ways that seemed to be engaging to Nora's story while Weiss, in contrast, was filing her nails with a sense of elegance.

Sable...didn't pay attention, as he focused on eating a 10-ounce steak, bigger than Ragnar's, and much quickly by the looks of it. He gobbled it down in a manner that, while entertaining to Lilac, also indicated he doesn't know much about waiting and chewing his food.

It really shouldn't surprise him though, being a Faunus of any kind always meant you had a dietary preference. Since Sable's a wolf Faunus, it would make sense for him to prefer meat and steak of any kind.

Lilac, on the other hand, was more of a vegetarian, as well as a sweets addict. That's why he opted for a simple sliced carrot meal, and even a key lime pie he...may or may have not stolen from the school pantry before lunchtime.

That was for dessert later.

The only reason nobody in his circle of friends bothered to ask why he had pie is because they had gotten used to his antics,

Speaking of said group of friends, there was Blake, who was entranced in her book which she held with one hand and an air of solemn silence.

"But they were no match...and in the end, Rena and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Finally, with a dramatic flair, the orange-haired Nora spread her arms as she finished the story, prompting a few chuckles from her audience and a clap from Lilac.

Ren sighed in defeat. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"I suppose that just means she has an active imagination you could say." Frey pushed his glasses upwards, before looking to Nora with a polite smile and a courtesy clap. "Excellent story, Nora."

"Aw shucks, thanks so much!" Nora rubbed the back of her head with a bright smile, clearly happy with the compliment.

"Don't encourage her." Weiss simply chided Frey without looking away from her filing, which prompted a slightly awkward chuckle from the brown-haired Atlesian.

The ice-cold queen remained witty, and a party-pooper in Lilac's opinion. The past month she'd been a prim and proper heiress; although she seems to have toned down her arrogant attitude, into a slightly more tolerable and somewhat endearing snark.

Amidst the discussion, Lilac landed his eyes on Jaune. The blonde-haired knight picked at his food, which was a simple chicken breast, with mash potatoes and a muffin. His downcast expression hinted at something off, and Lilac was wondering whether to ask about him or the muffin.

What? He can't help it. Muffins are delicious.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha beat him to the punch with a concerned soft tone, which did nothing to lessen her kindness and patience.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Jaune snapped out of his stupor, chuckling nervously, before giving them odd looks. "Why?"

"It's just that you seem a little…" Ruby started with a tilt of her head, just as worried for her friend. "...not okay."

With that, everybody that was present at the table turned their heads to Jaune, including Sable who merely had a small frown for some reason.

"I dunno, he still looks plain as usual," Ragnar commented with his hands behind his back, before getting jabbed in the side by Frey with a fork. "Gah! What'd you do that for!?"

"What he means to say," Frey threw a scolding glare at Ragnar, who merely looked the other way and whistled. The Atlesian shifted his expression to a neutral expression. "Is that you don't look like your usual blusterous...rambunctious self."

"Guys, I'm fine." Jaune tried to brush it off, holding up a thumb with a nervous smile. "Seriously! Look!"

Looking behind Jaune and a few tables away was the rest of Team CRDL surrounding another student who had long brown hair reaching her waist, with bunny ears jutting out of her hair signaling her Faunus heritage.

Cardinal and his lackeys, for whatever reason, seem to be mocking the poor girl. One member with a crew cut mohawk spiked with a toxic green used his fingers to mimic the bunny ears in a mocking fashion. Cardin seemed to be up in her face while she shied away from them in slight fear. The other two members, one with a simple light-brown hair combed to the left and the other with swept-back neck-length grey hair seemed to laugh along with the group of bullies.

Lilac's expression darkened with a frown, and a bubbling bundle of emotions he'd rather not show started to boil. This sort of discrimination is always infuriating, even for the cheery horse Faunus everybody knows as Lilac.

It was worse back in Mistral, but he had a supporting family there. It's much easier to feel accepted when your own family loves you like they should.

But the rabbit girl was all alone, being harassed by ignorant nincompoops that don't understand a single thing.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha reiterated her point and only grew even more concerned.

"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah…" Jaune just waved it off, though it wasn't convincing anybody. "He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"

"He's a bully." Ruby started with a frown.

"Yeah, Jauney-boy. " Lilac pitched into the discussion while donning a sly grin. "Take this from someone who's a pranking connoisseur…"

"More like a dim-witted deviant," Weiss muttered under her own breath.

"You're only saying that because he's funnier than you!"Ragnar laughed at Weiss, who threw her nail filer right at his face. The impact left a sharp pain in his face, though he kept his twitching grin.

"...that whatever Cardin considers a practical joke," Lilac pointed his fork at Jaune with pursed lips, and a thin expression. "is clearly an excuse to make you his personal target practice."

"Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me." Jaune scoffed, though his lying grin wavered.

"When he walked past you and pushed your books down. When he slipped by you and activated your shield, lodging you between the door, and finally tricking you into an open weapon locker, and proceeded to blast you off to Oum-knows where." Surprising everybody, it was Sable who listed off the times Cardin bullied Jaune with rapid-fire succession as he looked at Jaune with half-lidded eyes, and an unamused frown. "Need I say more?"

At that, everybody present had their eyes on Jaune with a mix of emotions, and the blond knight just awkwardly laughed it off again before saying. "I didn't land far from the school!

'Honestly...I kinda feel sorry.' Lilac ruefully grinned. Jaune letting himself be a bully victim is kinda...well, he doesn't want to say pathetic since that's more Sable's alley...but where's the lie?

"Seriously, Jaune. Do you need someone to fight your own battles?" Sable prodded at Jaune with a smirk, though not out of any ill-intent. "Because if you're too much of a wimp to do it yourself, then someone's gonna do it for ya."

Jaune winced at the harsh words, though he couldn't help a nervous chuckle. "I'm not a wimp, I'm just being sensible here and trying not to start unnecessary conflict.

"But still, Sable has a point…"Ruby agreed before throwing a small pout at the albinistic wolf Faunus. "Even if he's being a meanie about it."

Sable merely rolled his eyes, though he relented and went back to his meal. "Well, you can't be too soft on him either."

"Do I need to bring out the chocolate bar again?"

"No, no! Fine, I'll ease off!" Sable raised his hands, clearly agitated at the thought of the chocolate bar, while Ruby huffed in triumph with a small smile.

Those two seem to be getting along nicely, even if it's with such an odd back-and-forth. Lilac still inwardly giggled at the thought of a tiny 15-year-old, hanging out with a tall scary-looking Faunus that's definitely not a people person.

He found it even more hilarious to know that Sable apparently doesn't like chocolate, and in particular hates chocolate bars. So much so, that he recoils at a chocolate bar in disgust. Ruby's been pulling that trick every time Sable starts getting fussy, and every time Sable looks agitated but also reluctant to act up.

'Next time he asks for a drink, I'm giving him a chocolate shake.'

"Jaune, you know that if you ever need help, you can just ask. I'm certain any one of us would be willing to help."Pyrrha offered her leader a gentle smile, which did wonders for anybody present.

"Ooooh!"Nora stands from her seat and presents a maniacal grin that clearly spoke of whatever devious plan she had in her head. "Let's break his legs!"

Lilac chuckled at Nora's spirit here, though he had a better idea."Oh, Oh, or crack his eggs!"

"P-pardon me, but what exactly do you mean?" Frey hesitantly asked, which made it convenient for Lilac to demonstrate his mischievously sinister grin. "U-uh, Lilac...what exactly are you planning?"

"I think he intends to smash the jerk's 'royal jewels.'" Yang finally pitched in, with her right hand covering her mouth to hide a snicker.

Everybody blinked for a conspicuous few moments, processing what exactly Yang meant by royal jewels...before a collective 'oh' was uttered by the group...with Yang, Ragnar, Nora and Lilac laughing amongst themselves.

Half of the males cringed and winced from the mention, while the more composed ones remained unamused. Ruby, too young to exactly understand what it means, simply tilted her head in confusion with an innocent smile.

"You are absolutely incorrigible, do you understand that?" Weiss threw a small glare, before going back to filing her nails with a spare nail filer.

"But for once, I kinda agree with the midget." Sable put his finger and thumb under his chin and nodded with a rather devious smirk himself.

"Guys, nobody's going to smash his...jewels, okay?" Jaune awkwardly tried his best to calm down the hostile atmosphere with the nut-smashing plans. "Besides, it's not like Cardin's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."

"And that's any better….how?" Ragnar tilted his head, furrowing his platinum haired-brow, as well as folding his arms.

"Well...it's not, but I don't think that's any reason to get on his bad side." Jaune laughed it off, though Lilac could notice the sweat on the side of his brow as he said that. "Right…?"

Everybody turned their attention back to the raucous, obnoxious guffawing of the 'four gooses', and Lilac's happy-go-lucky attitude turned to a severe, heavy scowl.

"Ow! That hurts!" Cardin began to tug on the bunny girl's Faunus ears, and judging from her wincing and tears, it's doing its fair share of pain. She stopped resisting, but her grimace left a knot in Lilac's gut which only filled itself with a festering annoyance. "Please, stop…"

"Ha! I told you it was real!" Cardin continued to tug on the ears with even more force and a mocking, almost sadistic sneer.

"What a freak!"

The derisive mockery, on top of physically harassing a Faunus, angered and disgusted many people in the table. Sadly, Lilac knows how common prejudice against Faunus is having been subject to it himself. Though, before he wanted them to just sop on their own and leave her alone...but now the horse Faunus was considering getting involved.

"Tch!" An annoyed click of the teeth, came from Sable who stood up from his seat gripping his gloved fists to a tight vice...and decided to storm off into the direction of CRDL.

"Wait, Sable!"Frey reached a hand to Sable's shoulder, but the white wolf Faunus brushed it off before marching onwards. "Sable, come back here!"

While Frey had also been glaring at the bullying, he chased after Sable behind him while Ragnar himself looked hyped and...shaking?

"Oh...that's it! This fucker's gonna get it now!" Ragnar lifted himself from the table and pounded his fist into his open palm before following after his two teammates with a hyped, and excited grin.

"W-wait, what's going on?"Jaune looked around nervously, his eyes peering to Lilac as he asked the question. "Is Sable gonna…?"

Lilac blinked for a moment, a flash of his previous anger changing to a mischievous, sly snicker underneath his breath.

Everybody in the group actually looked surprised, but not that Sable himself would get involved. They all knew that despite his rough exterior, he gets particularly furious when people pick on others, but for what reason they didn't know.

What they didn't expect was for Lilac to stand up and hold the pie he… borrowed. He understood their confusion, but that didn't matter to him at the moment.

"Wait, where did you get that pie?" Yang asked with a hint of confusion, to which Lilac just flashed a wink and a playful grin.

"Aw, Yang...the better question you should be asking is…" For a brief moment, his smile curved upwards into a sly, almost terrifying grin which showed the mischief he already planned to commit. "Who will I smash this pie into?"

"Lilac...next time you get a pie, just eat it like a normal person next time." Ragnar shook his head, throwing an unamused look.

"Ragnar! Here I thought that after a month of dealing with me, that you'd have figured it out by now." Lilac 'gasped' in the offense, only for him to flash a mischievously sinister grin. "That's just not my style."

"Oh, oh! I'm coming with!" Nora hopped with excitement before Ren pushed her back to her seat with a stern expression. "Aw…"

Blake lifted her gaze up from her book and a brief glint in her eyes, subtle but noticeable, revealed to Lilac that her usual blank state had been changed for shock.

"Guys, come on don't do this! It's not that big of a deal to…" Jaune started off frantically calling out to them, but they didn't stop to look back. Not even a response. The blond knight simply put his head down to the table. "Oh...no…"

Lilac caught up to Ragnar, standing behind him with the pie hidden behind his back. He noticed that Sable walked up to put a firm grip on Cardin's wrist, while Frey seemed to sigh as if exasperated and pinched the bridge of his nose.

As Lilac witnessed Sable put a tight grip and got between Cardin and the bunny girl—the former turning his gaze to the leader of SLFR and forming into a glare, and the latter seemingly confused and tear-stricken—he gave a calm, but intense glower to the bully and his crew.

"Hey, asshole," Sable stated frankly, before forcing Cardin's hand off of the rabbit girl's bunny ears. "The hell's your problem?"

"Tch, look at these guys. A big bad dog's going to protect a defenseless little rabbit!" Cardin turned to his group with a mocking laugh, and they reverbed the sounds. That said, Cardin still glared right back. "Mind your own business, we're just having a bit of fun!"

"Fun? Picking on someone who can't even fight back is fun for you guys?" Sable walked forward, and easily towered over Cardin, over a good head taller than the crested bully, who stepped back but still tried to bluster up as he looked up with his own scowl. "Now, you guys are seriously pissing me off!"

"Sable, that's enough. You've already made your point, now just let it go." Frey stepped in and put a hand on Sable's chest. Although, he glared at a sneering Cardin with his harsh crystal sapphire eyes. "And you. Need I remind you what happened the last time you harassed a fellow classmate?"

At that, Cardin visibly stepped back and reflexively grasped his left wrist.

"Hmph, indignant cowards such as yourselves should leave a lady in peace." Frey pointed a finger at the group, while his glasses shined in a twinkle of gentlemanliness.

Velvet, who had waited to the side of SLFR, blushed profusely and hid her face in her hands.

"Lady? What part about that animal is ladylike?" Cardin scoffed incredulously. "It's not surprising that an animal protects another of their own, but you and that robotic no-arms are the last people I'd expect to support Faunus."

"Whoa, Whoa, WHOA!" Ragnar cut in as he brushed through Frey and Sable before a harsh scowl with a large toothy grin was all up in the CRDL's face. "Wanna say that again!? You wanna repeat that you prick!?"

"Did you not hear me, or are you deaf?" Cardin himself stomped a foot forward, before pointing an accusing finger at the hazel-skinned loudmouth. "I called you a robotic no-arms—"

His sentence was cut short by Ragnar's robotic prosthetic, which slammed a fist straight into the bully's face which pushed him into his teammates behind him. They tried to prop him up, but Cardin's towering weight almost tripped them up.

"Ragnar!" Frey gasped, aghast by Ragnar's blatant assault, but sighed regardless. "...this has got to be a joke…"

"What!? You heard what the chicken said, and I think that deserved a fist to the face!" Ragnar turned to his group while waving his hands frantically to defend his position. "I can't be held liable for 'gangster Ragnar,' that guys a hothead!"

"Ya know, to be fair to the hot-head, I think that asshole deserved it" Sable shrugged it off with a smirk.

"See? Thanks, bud...wait, who're you calling a hot-head!?"

Lilac laughed out loud, amused, and excited already at the thought that his teammate is essentially starting a fight. A fight that would definitely land them in detention, regardless of who was right...but that didn't matter at the moment.

Because when Cardin got back up, holding his bleeding nose and a scowl so furious the rest of the team joined with him, the intensity went from zero to fifty, to a hundred.

"You...you're going to be left without any arms once I'm done with you!" Cardin yelled out as he reared a long and wide straight fist that was easily readable. Ragnar easily swerved his head back and forth to avoid the oncoming punch and retaliated with a kick of his own, which landed on Cardin's gut. However, Cardin managed to grab the leg and threw Ragnar to the empty table on the right.

"Heh, simple...and stupid." While Ragnar slammed on the table, he immediately flipped back on his feet and put himself in a freestyle stance. He gestured his hand towards himself, before brushing his thumb past his nose. "It'll take more than that to knock me out!"

While this happened, the rest of CRDL grew emboldened by their leaders' reckless action and joined in on the fight too.

Russel, the mohawked bully, charged at Sable to slam him down to the ground. He made an impact on the Faunus's body, but he didn't budge. Russel looked up to Sable's crimson eyes, which glinted with slight amusement and fury...and the member of CRDL regretted his decision.

"Heh, I guess I'll give that attack…" Sable then grabbed the sides of Russel, lifting his entire body up into the air with his strength, right before slamming him down on the cold cafeteria floor with a thump that could be heard throughout. "A three out of 10!"

By this point, most of the students, whether out of fear or out of enjoyment, circled around the team-to-team fight that had occurred. Amongst the crowd, Lilac saw JNPR, with Jaune, and Pyrrha looking like they had seen someone get crashed into a truck, Ren looking with the same blank face of his...and Nora shouting at the top of her lungs something about 'Going for the legs.'

'I'm so glad I brought the pie with me!' Lilac's grin widened almost unnaturally, if only because of the awesome fight that started. What more could you want, in a school setting?

Besides, he's been looking for an excuse to knock Cardin and his goons down a peg.

A squeak from the brown-haired bunny prompted Lilac to glance at her with soft eyes and a genuine smile. "You might wanna step back, you might get hurt from what's about to happen."

"O-o-o-okay…" She complied before scurrying off from the ensuing chaos, just enough for Dove, the combed member, to be launched over the table and land right on his back.

As the fight continued, Frey was having a stand-off against Sky Lark, a grey-haired member, who put up his hands in fists and sneered at the Atlesian whose expression remained calm and composed.

"What's the matter, four-eyes? Are you too scared to fight?" Sky mocked Frey with a sneer as he stepped forward and threw a punch towards Frey.

"Heavens, no…" Unfortunately, the fist was caught by Frey's own palm. Sky struggled to move it free before his wrist and arm twisted uncomfortably thanks to Frey's grip strength. While this happened, Frey side-kicked him dead in the chest into the crowd dazed and knocked out.

Frey huffed, adjusted his dirty glasses, and straightened up his tie in a nonchalant manner. "I'm afraid of accidentally injuring you."

Cardin recoiled from another punch from Ragnar, noticing around him that his team was bruised and worse-for-wear while SLFR barely had a scratch on them. It looked to Lilac that the chicken-head didn't expect this fight to be stacked against them.

"Well, well then!" While Lilac stayed on the sidelines, he finally decided to make his appearance as he strode forward with a theatrical swagger. His right hand free and open, his left carrying the key lime pie. "Looks like it's time to make my entrance!"

"Dude, where the hell were you during the fight?!" Ragnar comically shouted at Lilac's right ear, causing the horse Faunus to wince in slight annoyance but maintaining his grin regardless. "All you did was standby flicking your tail like this is a wrestling match!"

"Aw, come on, buddy! I'm just pacing myself for the climactic finale!" Lilac playfully pouted, putting his free hand in his hips and flicking his tail back and forth. "You expect me to just cut in, and steal your shining moments away?"

"Shining moments, my ass." Feeling a clutching grip on his head, his body was raised by Sable's own strong grip as he brought the horse Faunus up to eye-level."This is not the time to be acting like we're in a musical, midget! Are you gonna help out or not?"

"I just said it didn't I?!" Lilac exclaimed, freeing himself from the tight grip and lifting up the pie in his left hand. "I'm about to finish this fight off with my own performance, and it's going to be with a clop!"

"Clop?" Sable's incredulous expression was received with a mischievous grin as Lilac stepped forward into a standoff with a now furious Cardin.

Heaving, Cardin glared at Lilac with the fury of a 1,000 eagles hungry for some raw rabbit. Except the rabbit managed to get away, and now the eagles have to deal with a rather infuriating, and jesting stallion that stuck his nose into others business.

Or that's how Lilac assumed he felt.

"Heh, what are you gonna do, horse-boy?" Cardin mocked with a scowl, grimacing and unable to even sneer. "You're not intimidating like your pals!"

"Oh, I may not be as tall or burly as my buddy o' pals over here," Lilac pointed a thumb behind him to his teammates. Flashing a mischievous grin with a hint of focus in his eyes. "But there is one thing you should know about 'horse-boys' like me…"

"And what's—" He hitched his breath as Lilac threw the key-lime pie at Cardin's face...smashing cream and crust into Cardin's stupid smug face.

"Is that we like to buck!" Taking the opportunity, Lilac sprinted forward before spinning in place. Gaining enough momentum and centripetal force, he snapped his leg into a kick straight into Cardin's...royal jewels.

"OOOOOOHHHHH!" All the males in the audience, including Sable, Ragnar, and Frey, visibly cringed and winced from the sharp kick to the 'nads that left Cardin Winchester wheezing in pain as he held his hands to protect his eggs from further damage. Still, he curled over in pain and onto the ground.

"Ha-ha!" Lilac hooted as he shouted into the crowd. "I told you I would crack his eggs!"

"Yeah-ha!" The same ecstatically electric cheer came from Nora, which caused a chain-reaction of cheers until a roar of cheers and congratulations surfaced.

Lilac smiled to himself. Who wouldn't after taking these bullies down a peg, and what's more while it disrupted lunchtime, the entire crowd seemed to actively support the fact that the school bullies were taken down.

Sable walked next to Lilac, giving him a deadpan face. "W-w-what?"

"That pun was so bad and you should be ashamed of yourself," Sable said plainly and with no hint of humor.

"What on Remnant is going on here?"

SLFR stiffened at that stern, commanding tone. Immediately the cheers stopped, and a different tensity crept in from the altercation from before. Everybody including the teams that fought looked towards the grand door of the dining hall, to see standing an irate and frowning at Glynda Goodwitch.

'Uh...Oh…' Lilac's grin shook and his eyes darted around the area, and now it just settled in on him and his teammates.

While they did manage to prevent a case of discrimination...they started a fight with another team. During lunch hour. During school hours.

Glynda clacked her heels as she made her way to the scene, stopping before Cardin who still groaned in pain as he kneeled on the ground. Her eyes darted from Cardin and his bruised teammates to the ruffled, but overall undamaged SLFR.

"I'll repeat myself, one last time." Her frown deepened to a harshly disciplined scowl. "What. On Remnant. Is going on here?"

By this point, SLFR was sweating bullets at the professor's harsh tone, but Sable was the first to snap out of it and took a shaky step forward.

"L-look, Professor Goodwtich. We were just having lunch when these assholes decided it was funny to pick on a Faunus!" He gestured to CRDL who trudged themselves off the floor and tables in order to make their way to Cardin. "I'm going to say this right now, these guys were harassing a Faunus and we just decided to put a stop to it!"

"And you decided the best form of action was to cause an altercation on school grounds?" Glynda retorted with a harsh tongue, causing Sable to step back in hesitation.

Frey stepped forward, his glasses smudged and dirty, and tried to calmly explain the situation to Glynda before Ragnar or Sable could cause an even bigger problem. "While I must admit we were hasty to act out of violence, it was with the intention to protect a fellow student."

"I see, and where is this student that you protected?" She asked, expecting an answer very soon. Sadly, Lilac did notice that he and his team couldn't answer because he told her to step away from the fight, lest she gets hurt.

A moment of silence passed, and CRDL chuckled mockingly at the group, and Lilac assumed they thought they would get off scot-free just because they were assaulted.

"I-It's t-t-true…!" A meek voice squeaked out, and the bunny-girl from before stepped behind Glynda who turned to her with a soft but still stern expression. "They… they were just trying to h-help me…"

Lilac felt a bit of relief, and some part of him felt proud of the bunny girl vouching for them. The team seemed relieved, and CRDL actually growled out of frustration at their failure.

Regardless, Glynda nodded and put a finger to her chin in thought. She stayed there for a moment, before crossing her arms and directing her frown at Cardin and his teammates.

"You four will be assigned detention after school for the next 5 days, for harassment of your fellow student and discrimination against Faunus." She stated frankly, waving her crop at the goons who grumbled, getting up and glaring at SLFR.

"Yeah, how does that justice taste!?" Ragnar shouted with his own exuberant grin, as he started making mocking gestures to the team. "You guys committed a school crime, and now you're going to pay the price!"

"And as for you four." She unsurprisingly turned her glare to SLFR, which was enough to make them flinch."While I can commend you for your initiative in helping your fellow classmate, I can't condone school brawls regardless of intention. You will also be assigned detention for the next 5 days but at different times separate from CRDL."

"...come again?" Ragnar looked flabbergasted, as his jaw dropped to the floor.

"This is exactly what I feared...though I can't say I'm surprised." Frey immediately placed his palm on his forehead, exasperated and slightly disappointed at the outcome.

"Tch. I guess that's fair…" Sable surprisingly relented, though he still had an annoyed frown.

Lilac remained with a neutral expression, but a subtle pursed-lip went unnoticed by his teammates and the classmates. He wasn't bothered by the fact that he had detention along with his team, but rather at the lack of action to curb the behavior Cardin exhibited towards the bunny girl.

Glynda Goodwitch had to give both teams the same amount of detention, and he understood that they couldn't show favoritism just because one team tried to stop prejudice. Regardless, Beacon doesn't seem to be trying hard enough to weed out the prejudiced ones, and neither did most of Lilac's classmates did anything to stop it.

He glanced at the group of friends, they left behind and saw them surprised, but looking like they had expected this to happen. Lilac could only shake his head at them, to which most of them were confused...all except for one.

Blake Belladonna, the unusually quiet and antisocial lady that not even he could crack, had a look of remorse, and slight sadness to her amber eyes...for what reason he didn't know.


So, after the lunch fight that resulted in both parties getting detention, Lilac noticed that they were allowed to continue with their studies so long as they met up with Professor Glynda for detention after-school.

Both teams voiced their concerns—CRDL grumbled in annoyance—regarding being near each other or let alone in the same room. Glynda assured that both teams would be in opposite rooms where no further antagonization can occur, and both parties could serve out their detention in peace.

Of course, it didn't take too long for word of mouth to spread throughout the school in regards to the fight and how SLFR dominated CRDL in a one-sided fashion.

On one hand, people started following them and looking at them in awe through the hallways because of their boldness to stand up against bullies that harassed everybody and anybody. The meek students—Faunus especially—looked up to the team that stepped up for their fellow classmates.

On the other hand, there are circles that spun the rumor for the team to be a gang of trigger-happy hooligans who would sooner fight and beat anybody that pissed them off. While they weren't painted as bullies, they were thought to be a group of delinquents.

Sable grew even more agitated with the attention, Frey modestly chuckled and accepted the praise with such grace that it made him a chick-magnet, Ragnar actually was invited to a couple of hangouts with people to which he surprisingly declined.

And Lilac reveled in the attention that he was getting from his peers.

Regardless, the "team trio" which consisted of SLFR, JNPR, and RWBY all had their own mixed opinions that fit them pretty well.

Ruby was among the people who cheered for SLFR in the fight, but she soon realized that maybe cheering for a fight might not be the most mature thing to do. Didn't mean she regretted it.

Yang actually fully supported their decision, as she would have started a fight with them herself. Weiss seemed unamused if disapproving of their rash decision. Blake simply said that they did the right thing, but she said nothing beyond that.

Jaune looked a bit relieved, though his bullying problem didn't get better or worse. Pyrrha and Ren were the ones who didn't exactly approve of the fight, but they did approve of SLFR helping out the bunny girl, with a smile and nod from both.

Nora absolutely loved the fisticuffs, and rather than praise them, her ecstatic self instead dramatized the battle with sound effects and all. You could also thank her for telling the tale to the rest of their classmates.

As of right now, Lilac was the only teammate of SLFR who took the class he was in right now. History, regardless of being boring, is an essential part of any good huntsman. His father hammered in those lessons as a kid, and they never left since.

In his classroom, he sat next to Weiss, and directly behind him was Pyrrha and Blake who paid attention during class. On the table right next to his, Jaune leaned his head on one head and dozed off into wonderland, while Cardin put his legs on the table and picked his ear.

Lilac could have mentioned Cardin's bandaged face and bruised nose, but he didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. After all, that might...get him in more mischief than he caused for detention.

Right now, he had to move his eyes back and forth the entire classroom, as the teacher zipped and zoomed all over the place and took the occasional sip from his thermos.

While history teachers were usually stuffy, beardy and most of all strict as all heck, the teacher Lilac had was...caffeinated, so to speak.

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution—more popularly known as the Faunus War—humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie." Said the teacher in question, Professor Bartholomew Oobleck, the caffeinated scholar of Beacon Academy as he used his stick to point at the map of Menagerie.

Unlike Glynda or Port which sported professional and distinct suits and professional wear, Oobleck's appearance could be described as disheveled.

His white shirt partially tucked into his dark-green pants and the collar raised, to reveal a slack yellow tie. What's more, his mismatched brown and black shoes showed he doesn't care much for appearances as he does teaching effectively and hastily.

Finally, he had glasses similar to Frey's but round and opaque, which made it difficult to discern what eye color he had.

However, appearances were the least Lilac has to be worried about. He's more worried about his eyes popping out from having to follow Oobleck zig-zagging back and forth in the classroom.

Just how much coffee does this man need? Like, does he take latte for breakfast, with a side of coffee beans and a helping of coffee bread?

"Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" Oobleck continued to lecture while sipping from his thermostat and zipping back to the front of the class. "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?"

A handful of Faunus student's in the class raised their hands, some more hesitant while others were forthcoming. Looking around the classroom, Lilac noticed the same meek bunny Faunus from before as she slowly raised her hand.

After a moment of thinking, the horse Faunus raised his own hand with a small grin, which confused most of his classmates, including the professor.

Well, with his remarkable personality he thought they would be charmed rather than confused.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful!" Professor Oobleck said, the hint of distaste not escaping Lilac's hearing. "Remember, class it's precisely this sort of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang!"

'The group who decided to prove the world wrong, by proving them right.' Lilac snorted with an amused grin, though the disdain for this group couldn't be expressed in words. Glancing to his left he noticed that Weiss narrowed her eyes at the mention of the terrorist organization.

A grudge? Maybe. Being the heiress of the SDC, whose current head has been known for his use of Faunus slaves for production and his dismissive attitude of the race as a whole; it's quite possible through speculation she might have faced some hate from the White Fang.

'I mean, it's speculation but it's better than assuming…'

While she is by far more refined, and slightly tolerable of her teammates, her attitude seemed to be more racially motivated when it came to Faunus. It didn't rub him the right way. Still, at least the princess here isn't like Cardin...she's just a snarky pampered Schnee who took too much of an influence from her father.

Again, purely speculation on his part.

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the war?" Oobleck asked the entire class, Lilac perking up at the question.

He raised his hand simultaneously as Weiss, and immediately he had a feeling of Deja Vu. While Weiss raised an eyebrow, not expecting Lilac to have an answer to that question; Lilac seemed to take the opportunity to move his hand forward to an awkward high-five.

Weiss simply narrowed her eyes and moved her hand away.

"Why is everybody here such a spoilsport?" Lilac looked down in a playful manner, shifting his face to look tearful.

"Not everybody wants to entertain your hijinks." Weiss dismissively turned her head away. Lilac's teary face switched to a deadpan, before closing his eyes and returning to his normal grin.

"Yes, Weiss?" Oobleck nodded his head to Weiss.

"To answer your question, the turning point took place during the battle at Fort Castle." Weiss confidently answered the question with grace.

"Correct, Correct!" Oobleck commended the princess for her accuracy and historic knowledge. "Now, you Lilac!"

The Horse Faunus had been picking his ear before his tail stood upright at the mention of his name. He looked to the professor with an innocent, though unconvincing, smile. "Yes, Professor Oobleck?~"

"Since you raised your hand second, can you tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Oobleck took another sip from his thermostat before zipping to the front of his desk and awaiting an answer.

There it is! The spotlight shining down on him, and now he gets to reveal the trivia he's been wanting to contribute. Taking this opportunity to stand from his seat, cough into his hand, and flick his tail sideways he began with a confident carefree voice. "That is pretty obvious, Professor! See, clever Faunus, such as myself, have this neat little thing in our biology called 'enhanced senses'."

"Yes, Yes, very good! And if you would be more specific as to what sense specifically allowed the Faunus to take the advantage?"Oobleck asked Lilac for the answer, pleased, and intrigued by Lilac's knowledge, despite his penchant for being the class clown.

"Hehehe, now I could just give you the answer right now...but where's the fun in that? After all…" Lilac pointed a finger at a currently nonchalant Cardin, who seemed annoyed and uncaring of the history. "...we have other students who barely contribute to anything in class!"

Not that he cared whether or not chicken-head knew the right answer. Come on, why would he know anything about Faunus? To Lilac, this was just an excuse to rub salt in the wound to the nincompoop who rightfully earned an egg-cracking.

'Haha! I am so glad I did what I did…'

"Hmmm...interesting point you make there, Mr. Sleipnir!" Oobleck hastily nodded his head with a caffeinated motion, before turning his attention to Cardin. "Very well then! Mr. Winchester, do you know the answer to the question I posed earlier?"

"Me?" Cardin grumbled under his breath.

"Uh, yes. You!" Lilac cut in with a mocking grin, which was returned by a glare from Cardin. "Go on, sport! Give it your best shot!"

"Fine! Whatever!" Cardin yelled it off, though he looked to Oobleck with a relaxed grin. Creepy. "If there's one thing I know, it's that training an animal is a lot easier than training a dignified soldier."

Yikes. The prejudice was tactless...but his head is empty too? Lilac almost felt sympathy for the guy...almost.

Nope, scratch that. Cardin has his pity.

The caffeinated professor shook his head in disappointment and looked very displeased with the answer.

"You're clearly not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha spoke up with her own narrowed eyes at the leader of CRDL.

"What? You got a problem?"

"No, I have the answer!" Pyrrha, confidently stated before giving a glance at Lilac and a smile. "It's night-vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."

"Ding-Ding-Ding! That's absolutely correct, Pyrrha!" Lilac congratulated the red-headed spartan, clapping for her and his tail flicking eagerly, accidentally bumping to Weiss.

"H-hey! Mind controlling your tail?!" She asked, bothered, and clearly not in the mood. Seriously, moody much?

"Oh, well I'm sorry for being born the way I am!" Lilac playfully put his tongue out and blew a raspberry.

"Where did that come from?!"

"Now, now, settle down." Oobleck settled down Lilac and Weiss's argument, before nodding to Blake. "Now, Mrs. Belladonna. How does this piece of information affect the battle?"

"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." The raven-haired Blake answered with a calm tone in her voice. Like a swaying breeze. "His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured."

Not only was Cardin being proven wrong, but he was also being humiliated by three students who knew more than his own answer. Lilac almost tried hiding his snickering at Cardin's growling and scowling face.

"Perhaps if he had paid attention in class," Blake threw a glance at Cardin with satisfying confidence at a jab. "He wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Again, yikes...and damn. Lilac started liking Blake's blunt and educated jab at Cardin, even when Cardin stood up from his seat with curled fists.

"Ah, ah, ah, chicken-head! I don't think you want to get in even more trouble than you already are!" Lilac teased from behind his seat, blowing a raspberry at the now growling bully.

"Look who's talking! You're in detention as well!" Cardin retorted, slamming his fist into his table. "All because you stuck an obnoxious tail where it doesn't belong!"

"Only because my team wanted to stop your harassment, so I think it's only fair." Lilac shrugged it off before crossing his legs and winking at Cardin mockingly. "By the way, are you're pwetty, pwecious eggs all healed up now~?"

"You little—!"

"Mr. Winchester! Please...take your seat." The stern tone from Oobleck was enough to force Cardin to comply. To which, Jaune and Lilac both snorted and chortled at the embarrassment of the chicken head.

"You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Zooming in front of Jaune who slumped his shoulders in response.

Eh, you can't always win them all. Why Jaune had to stay, he assumed that he wasn't doing well academically. Regardless, he only felt a bit sorry for Jaune ever since knowing that Cardin's been bullying him for the longest time.

The class continued as normal with the occasional comment from the student or the other off-putting remark from Cardin, which became less frequent every time. While things were more informative and engaging as opposed to Port's nonsensical and distracting stories; the mauve-haired horse Faunus noticed a few details...regarding Blake's bowtie.

People don't expect the joking prankster to be perceptive, but it's on purpose to mislead his opponents into tripping up. While he loved to make jokes, making people smile is his favorite hobby. It's partially why he jokes around and teases everybody.

However, nothing about Blake garnered any reaction to his pranks, except every time somebody mentioned the bowtie she wore on top of her head.

Quickly changing the subject, ignoring when people asked her about it, and even at times, a stern stare told them to drop it. That sort of behavior made no sense for a human, but the thing is such a bow tie is common for Faunus looking to hide their Faunus traits...which take the form of ears.

'How nobody has brought this up as of now is a really, really dumb miracle…' Lilac inwardly sighed to himself, though he now knew that it's most likely that Blake's a Faunus in hiding. For what reason, he could deduce it could be to avoid prejudice, but then again that couldn't be the only reason?

Curiosity plagued the horse Faunus's mind, though even he knew that he probably shouldn't pry into somebody's business without getting to know them first. Considering Lilac's cherry jubilee, contrasting Blake's somber almost mature personality, it isn't easy for him to even hang out with her because of how disconnected or quiet she can be.

'Perhaps I'll just have to ask her about it later.'


"Welcome to detention."

Compared to most of the classrooms in Beacon Academy, which either had a small combat arena or had regular podiums and student seats; the detention rooms were stuffy, only big enough for about half of what the regular classrooms could.

While there were a couple of students in detention, whether for reasons like tardiness or misconduct, the one clear thing was that detention is handled by all teachers on a scheduled rotation.

First, it's Port, then it's Oobleck, and currently...it's Glynda Goodwitch.

'God's help these poor students.' Lilac nervously smiled when he knew that everybody including his own team was on edge. Team SLFR right now sat next to each other in team order, looking slightly bored as well as stiff.

"During your time here, you won't be able to leave until two hours have passed." The witch spared her glance towards the albinistic wolf Faunus. Sable leaned his head on his open palm while looking away and biting his lip in frustration. Though his teammate knew why it still prompted a bit of a giggle from Lilac.

Speaking of the outstanding purple horse Faunus, Lilac right now used a hand trick, interlacing his fingers so that his middle fingers were on opposite sides, wiggling them with slight glee.

"You will be expected to spend your time silently, or productively continuing your studies." Frey on the other hand, looked almost pale and focused on his own books, while he studied and scribbled with the intensity of a top-grade scholar. The edge and slight annoyance, visible on the spectacled Atlesian's furrowed brows, was enough to leave his teammates slightly uncomfortable.

Ragnar, on the other hand, is the only one who slept and leaned his head on the table. A cracking crop landed right next to his head, snapping him awake before he jumped in his seat.

"And there will be no naps to pass the time." Glynda Goodwitch's frown oozed an aura of discipline, command, and a scary authority. She put her crop away and rested it in her hand, before walking back to behind the metal wooden desk, to which she would be looking over the students.

"How else you choose to spend your time, is your own choice so long as you don't break these rules." Glynda threw one more stern stare to the entire classroom, before taking a ceramic cup of what Lilac assumed was tea.

Lilac raised an eyebrow and raised his hand with a tad more glee than people expected.

"Yes, Mr. Sleipnir?"

"Are we allowed to speak with our teams?" Lilac pulled a sad face, meek and shy, which nobody believed was genuine.

Glynda sighed, before adopting a neutral expression. "Only if you do so quietly."

"Gotcha!" Lilac exclaimed with a thumbs up, a bit too loud than what was expected. He sheepishly grinned, before whispering. "Ooops...sorry…!"

"Ugh…" Glynda groaned, before going back to her tea.

Okay, so he might have overstepped a bit. Lilac went back to his seat, slightly bored and dejected.

With that conversation over, a handful of students started talking amongst themselves quietly, some opting for studies instead. Team SLFR got a lot of looks, considering that they garnered a reputation already.

"Smooth." Sable snarked, with a taunting smirk.

"Oh, buzz off." Lilac retorted with a pout, sighing as he took out a couple of history books from his school bag. "Since I'm practically in a no-prank zone, I guess I'll just have to put myself through torture."

"Perhaps we wouldn't be in detention if a certain student didn't end up assaulting another student," Frey stated frankly, never leaving his eyes from the paper he wrote. "Ragnar."

"Tch, I can't be held accountable for my actions if I see prejudiced chicken-head bullying another student." Ragnar scoffed at Frey, harshly whispering to the spectacled Atlesian. "Besides, you were the one who joined in on the fight too. What makes you any different?"

"I-I-I simply acted in self-defense, when that ruffian assaulted me." Frey faltered in his sentence, straightening up his tie in an act of slight embarrassment. "I wasn't the one who punched Cardin in the face without warning."

"This coming from the guy who I remember twisted Cardin's forearm, with just your hand strength the first time you met." Sable reminded Frey, who gasped and seemed even more embarrassed.

"W-w-well, I-I mean… you know that—" Frey stammered, before sighing and rubbing the back of his head. "I suppose, I did do that...didn't I?"

"Hey, Hey, Hey, it's okay there my smart buddy!" Lilac comforted Frey by gently patting him on the back. "Besides, if it makes you feel any better...I felt the same way about that jerk-face too!"

"Y-yes, it's completely understandable. Thanks, Lilac." Frey gave his teammate a small sheepish smile, and the gentle air to it left Lilac with his own vibrant grin.

Frey's easily discouraged when proven wrong, but he recovers from his faults just as quickly, which makes him easily reliable during team sessions, and team study periods.

'You won't catch me doing that…' He admitted to himself that unless it's pranks, his friends, or even his family; he barely pays attention or does any of the schoolwork. Can't be bothered to do any of it!

Still, he looked at Frey's paper and noticed that it was a comprehensive essay he was writing. He was about to look away until he noticed the words 'White Fang: Revolutionaries or Terrorists?'

"Huh, is this for Oobleck's history class?" Lilac asked, curious as to what Frey's answer was going to be.

"Yes, actually. See, the previous class before detention...he left us with this prompt for an essay. He told us to come up with our own answers, using historical sources of course." Frey confidently adjusted his glasses, smirking out of pride.

Definitely the studious nerd.

"Well, that's neat!" Lilac said with a grin, but then a question popped into his head. "Ya know, I get that you're from a place where...Faunus prejudice is common. But you don't seem to behave like a normal Atlesian?"

"Ah, well despite most of Atlas don't look too favorably on Faunus," Frey nodded with a slight frown, but overall a calm and understanding tone. "I like to consider my family wasn't...influenced by prejudice so much."

For a split second, a wistful smile was plain on Frey's features giving Lilac an inside look of what the spectacled gentleman thinks. Thankfully, he wasn't lying.

Not too much anyway, but he'll let him open up on his own in due time.

"Hmmm, if you don't mind me asking Sable." Frey carefully pressed the question with a serious expression. "What are your thoughts on the White Fang, if you'll allow me to pick your brain."

The team looked to Sable, who merely scoffed and crossed his arms behind his head while annoyed by the question.

"Honestly, I don't even know why you'd need to ask the question." Sable shifted in his seat, a frown on his face at the mention of the topic. Then again, being a Faunus it makes sense. "The White Fang can go suck it for all I care."

"Huh...well that's new." Ragnar hummed to himself, in amusement if anything.

"What's new?" Sable threw a confused frown.

"That you actually give a crap about this whole White Fang business." Ragnar rubbed his nose with a bit of amusement. "Here I thought since you only care about combat class, that you wouldn't give two craps about this racial quagmire!"

"H-hey, it's not like I'm going to support terrorists!" Sable hissed under his breath, his jaw clenching and lightly punching Ragnar in the arm.

To be fair, Lilac didn't find that surprising. He already knew how Sable, despite being antagonistic and quick to anger, hates people being persecuted or even picked on for one reason or another. Lilac figured this guy out ever since his speech in Professor Port's class on the first day.

'He's looking out for the little guy.' Lilac grinned to himself, though it quickly turned into snark. 'By being the Big Bad Wolf that scares all the other bullies!'

"What are you smiling about, midget?" Snapping out of his thoughts, he snapped his head to Sable who stared at him with a sharp glare of his crimson eyes and his towering height did nothing to lessen his already tall build!

"O-oh! Nothing, I swear it was nothing!" The purple-haired Faunus shook his head, and his hands, frantically before looking off to the side and whistling. "It definitely wasn't a nickname or anything…"

"You gave me some nickname... didn't you...!" Sable grit his teeth, while Lilac sweated bullets like this was Vale Falls…

Definitely the Big Bad Wolf! He's scary when he's mad!

"...maybe."

By now, Sable should've at least gripped his head like a game crane and shook him like a ragdoll, but the crushing grip never came. Is he calm?

"Is that so…?" Lilac turned his head to see Sable, who's glare turned to a scowl and fixed straight ahead and away from the horse Faunus. Nooooo, he's not… "Fine then…"

"What you're saying is not pretty convincing. You know that, right?" Ragnar pointed out while resting his chin on his open palm, and a wry grin on his face.

"Shut up."

"Best to let him cool off…" Frey sheepishly chuckled, giving a sympathetic glance to Sable who just huffed and kept staring straight. "Well, I can vouch that Ragnar doesn't appreciate the discrimination of Faunus either."

"Damn straight!"Ragnar crossed his arms and turned his head up while sniffing and spreading a proud grin.

"But I'm quite interested in you, Lilac."

"Hmm?" Lilac looked with an unsuspecting face, trying his best to look innocent. Though the bubble's in his chest didn't stop boiling. "You mean my opinion on the Faunus and Human dispute?"

"Precisely." Frey nodded, looking too eager to get his teammates' opinion on this. Then again, this must be a source of inspiration for his essay. It's almost heartwarming, if only they weren't in detention.

Regardless, the question made Lilac pause for a good second. How should he respond exactly?

By sympathizing with the White Fang members who joined with good intentions? Denouncing the White Fang as just a bunch of terrorists hurting innocent humans? Or should he just say that it's the human's fault for the White Fang's formation?

No.

None of those felt right. That's not what he thought. It might be what typical Faunus believed, but it's not what Lilac Sleipnir believed.

Flashes to his childhood in Mistral rolled in his head and adopting a rather solemn and almost frowning face he spoke. "I think both sides are at fault for this."

As expected, Frey widened his eyes, Ragnar looked surprised, and even Sable looked at him in shock.

"B-both… sides?" Frey stumbled, though he seemed hooked now.

"While Humans haven't been nice to my kind, and I won't ever be one to justify the horrible actions… Faunus who lash out in anger and join the White Fang to hurt innocents are just as bad." Lilac's bitterness showed in his frown, and his horsetail seemed stiff as he recalled memories of his childhood.

"But what makes you think that both sides are to blame for the dispute?" Ragnar brought up, engaged in the conversation but trying to lower his voice. "I thought you'd be a bit more biased in some way."

"Ragnar, I may be a Faunus but even I know that the White Fang doesn't help the Faunus at all in image and action. No, they instead act like animals perpetuate, and enforce the same harmful rhetoric that humans speak out." Lilac's frown lowered to a scowl, harsh that it left his teammates unnerved. "It disgusts me…"

He let it out, and for a brief moment, he looked like he meant it. Of course, he did. He's felt this way for a long time about the Faunus and Human conflict as a child, and it hasn't changed.

Humans may have started the conflict, but both of them and the White Fang keep fueling the fires.

"But enough of this depressing talk, guys!" Lilac's frown quickly reversed itself into a bright smile, plastered almost immediately.

He looked to his flabbergasted partners, with Sable's crimson eyes looking at him with a new understanding, Ragnar slightly shocked, and Frey even more curious...and he's going back to writing his essay.

Neat, he must have been inspired.

"We're here to serve out our sentences, after all!" Lilac cheerfully assured his teammates, before looking to Glynda with a thumbs up. "Right, Professor Goodwitch?"

"Silence, Mr. Sleipnir. You're not in prison..." Glynda promptly shut down the Horse Faunus's cheerful nature, and Lilac drooped back down to his seat.

"Why you gotta ruin my fun…" Lilac grumbled with a pouty face.

Sable and Ragnar snickered to themselves, though they seemed a bit calmer than before. And bored, can't forget that.

Shame, Lilac doesn't like staying in one place for too long…

Oh well, that just means more time for coming up with prank ideas...and time to prepare for the following trip!

Ooooh, he's going to have so much fun!


So there ya have it! You now know a bit more about Lilac and he got a bit more screen time! Though now you also know a bit about his views on the Faunus and Human conflict, which will be expanded on in later chapters and the season 1 finale of course!

Now, for those who want to read my other story 'Classroom of Model Student's', part two is nearly done aside from a bit of scene writing and revision. I can assure you though, it's on it's way to being finished!

Well, with that I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! Please feel free to leave a review, favorite, and follow!

I, the Maelstrom, hope to see you on the horizon!