Hello people! It is I, The Maelstrom back with another chapter! I tried to not drag this one out for too long while also giving a generous amount of scenes to give you guys the content you deserve. Either way, I hope everybodies doing fine.

I know that I got college kicking my ass, but hey I'm not going to complain.

Either way, this is going to be a mixture of POV's for the other characters without me skipping a lot of Jaune's character development. I hope this intrigues you guys.

By the way, I'm going to go add Disclaimers to all my previous chapters for safety and for courtesy's sake.

I need to thank my beta reader THE-VO1D for a job well done proofreading this chapter!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of Roosterteeth's products, only the OCs I have created and the ideas I want to implement. Please support the official release! :)


Chapter 8: Fraternizing Between Teams Part 1


Awful.

Awful.

The one word that could describe Jaune's past week was not apt enough to explain. It broke him to be roped along like a pup on a leash. Like a lackey used and passed off, only called on at the behest of his jailer's command.

And all because I could not keep my mouth shut.

That is right. The instant Jaune spilled everything to Pyrrha, unsuspecting that someone else may have been listening, everything had gone wrong. Telling Pyrrha that he didn't deserve to be at Beacon, that he was weak and not supposed to be in Beacon.

Telling her that he cheated his transcripts to get in. Telling her to leave him alone to wallow in his loathing and Cardin overhearing the damn thing.

Being careless enough to be blackmailed by Cardin to do everything he asked unless he preferred to be ratted out of Beacon like a failure.

His thoughts swirled in his head as he slovenly shuffled his feet back to his dorm, nighttime peaking forward and the fractured moon shining outside the hall's windows. It is just another cruel reminder of that mistake. It was short past 9:00 P.M., most of his evening having spent hours at the library reading material upon the material for his essay, and Cardin's.

Jaune walked past Team SLFR's dorm, rife with Sable's yelling accompanied by Lilac's giggling noises, which seemed familiar for every night.

At least, he assumed that is what happens inside. He had not been talking to any of his friends ever since Cardin roped him in.

Team RWBY. Jaune could not speak a word to them.

Team SLFR. Even if he wanted to speak with them, Sable never makes it easy.

As for his team, Ren and Nora kept wondering where he is, and Pyrrha's understandably not on amicable terms with him.

Now, I'm seriously regretting snapping at her like that.

His footsteps led him to his team's dormitory, stopping short in front of it with a sense of trepidation and guilt. The sleek black wood grooved into simple but eloquent patterns, and the brass knob merely needed a key to unlock and give passage.

Jaune lifted his hand, grasped the knob, and twisted it to stop midway as he heard familiar voices. His teammates.

"So~ where's Jaune? Haven't seen him in like for-e-e-ever!"

"You haven't seen him all day, Nora. And he's probably just coming home late."

"He's been doing that quite often..."

Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha seem to be having a conversation about him, but it was her almost bitter voice that made Jaune freeze. Guess he shouldn't be so surprised.

"Like, I know he comes late, but why is he late?" The creaking rhythm of Nora bouncing on her bed amused Jaune.

"He's become rather scarce since he started fraternizing with Cardin," Ren noted with a calm voice to be expected from his teammate. He's quite possibly the most levelheaded guy Jaune ever met.

"That's weird… Doesn't Jaune know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our rest!" Nora's personality lacked her usual carelessness, opting for slight impatience.

Right, the Forever Fall expedition. Team JNPR, RWBY, SLFR, and CRDL had been selected for the trip to the forest since everybody signed up for it. Glynda informed them that it was vital for them to get experience in the field that didn't relate to fighting Huntsman.

Most of them didn't object, but Sable himself had been grumbling when he found out it wasn't a combat mission. Even though they were supposed to bring their weapons for safety, the trip isn't for killing Grimm.

"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing…" Pyrrha's bitter words hurt to hear, Jaune's grip on the doorknob loosening before letting it fall into his side. She is not wrong, and that broke him inside.

Because Jaune Arc has no idea what to do with himself, regardless, he feels as if everything is going downhill. Looking down at his hands, he felt disappointed in himself.

A failure? He already was one.

Now, I'm just absolute trash.

"Hey, Jaune!" Jaune swerved around in a jump, startled by the voice that cut through his thoughts.

Ruby Rose stood there with her hands behind her back, wearing a sleeveless shirt with a teddy bear emblazoned in the center. Her pants were a colorful expression of white with pink circles adorning the pattern. Her face looked small, and her tilted head certainly made her look like a younger girl than any of them.

"Long time no see! Locked yourself out again?" She asked with a tilt of her head, smiling sweetly.

"O-oh, uh, ye–No, no! Everything's all, hunky-dory!" Jaune fumbled with his words, chuckling almost insincerely that even he cringed. He raised his Scroll as hesitant proof that he could get in if he wanted. "Hehehehe…"

"Is that so? Then where have you been, Jaune?" Ruby looked at him with a bit of concern that he would have mistaken her for an angel, though he figured she was just lovely to everybody like that. To Weiss, Pyrrha, even Sable for some odd reason. "You know, your team misses you."

"Yeah, I know that, but…" He started but couldn't finish his thought. What more excuses did he have? What more did he need to say to lie to everybody? Letting out a sullen sigh, he hung his head in shame. "I... messed up. I did something that I really shouldn't have, and now Cardin's got me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me anymore."

Jaune's sharp breath flowed through his body, though no comfort, but shame filled him like a cup as he leaned his back on the door and dragged himself down to the floor. "I'm starting to think coming to Beacon was a bad idea."

Correction. Coming to Beacon with fake transcripts was a mistake. A stupid mistake he would have to bear for his time here. He felt like such a fraud that he was sure Sable would be furious with him for such a wrong move.

"I'm a failure…"

"Hmmm…" Ruby frowned in thought, before snapping up with a smile and a simple response to that. "Nope!"

Jaune looked up, confused, and surprised by such a simple and child-like response. "Nope…?"

"Nope! You know you are a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." Ruby's simple smile, coupled nicely with her simple explanation, which dumbfounded Jaune on many levels.

"W-wait, but what if I'm a failure at being a leader?"

"Hmmm...Nope!" Ruby giggled, almost as if she were teasing Jaune.

"You're not the easiest person to talk to about this stuff, you know?" It's been a while since he laughed genuinely, and Jaune welcomed it. He needed that more than anything.

"Nope!" Ruby joined him on the floor as she leaned against the wall. "Look, Jaune. I don't know what's going on with you, but I do want to tell you something I think can help you."

"And what's that?"

"Well...maybe you were a failure when you're a kid…" Oh. That is not helpful. Jaune groaned and sinks lower to the ground. "...and you might've even been a failure the first day we met!" He moans and drops even lower still. "But there's a thing about that...you can't be a failure now."

"Uh, why…?" Jaune raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether she was joking with him or trying to console him.

"Because it's not just about you anymore. You have got a team now, Jaune. We both do! And if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us." Ruby stood up and placed her hands on her hips as she continues to speak with a pearl of newfound wisdom that Jaune did not know she had. Or rather, where she learned it. "We got to put our teammates first and ourselves second...because without them we wouldn't be where we are now!

Put them first, and put me second… Somehow, with how shallow those words sounded, they struck a chord within Jaune. And so, he smiled and stood up on his own two feet.

"That's great advice," Jaune admitted, before folding his arms. "How did you come up with that?

"Hehe! I may or may not have learned it from somebody in our circle of friends." Ruby unabashedly admitted, rubbing her head with a sheepish grin.

"So... who was it?" He asked curiously, thinking it could be Ren or Frey who she might've asked. "Was it Frey? He does mutter a lot, but he's also the type to be a tutor…"

"Eh...not exactly!" Ruby giggled, though she seemed to be a bit hesitant in her voice.

"...what do you mean... not exactly?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Well, he is in our class...and he's a leader as well..." Ruby giggled nervously, slowly speaking her words as she tried to fake the news as Jaune's gears started to turn and turn.

In our class? Who else could that be?

A blaring horn erupted the conversation to a halt as it startled both Jaune and Ruby with a yelp. They both craned their heads to the door where SLFR resided in...and followed by a considerable amount of shouting and profanity.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I SAY ABOUT THAT AIRHORN, LILAC!?" That roaring, almost juvenile voice sent Jaune an uncomfortable cringe. "Gah! My ears are ringing now!"

"Aw, come on! I spent the past week going through detention with you guys, and I never even got to use my lovely Betsy even once! Let me have my fun!" Lilac's muffled whining left through the door, leaving Jaune confused.

"...wait, who's Betsy?" Jaune muttered out loud, leaving even Ruby somewhat bewildered with widened silver eyes.

"Okay...don't call it that… and you're not the only one who went through detention, dude!" That casual tone, coupled with a bit of annoyance, was a flag signaling Ragnar.

"I don't know why you're calling me out, you're the one who started this in the first place!"

"That's because his face was pissing me off! Besides, you know damn well what he called me back there!"

"We were all there, but it doesn't warrant you flying off the handle and starting a fight during lunch hour." The scolding yet the dignified tone was Frey, who sounded less than chatty.

"Hey, don't act like you didn't enjoy pounding those bastards to a pulp!"

"I refuse to confirm or deny that statement." Jaune snorted at the shameless rebuttal.

"Doesn't change the fact that I know you were having too much fun acting cool!"

"I have no idea what you mean, lad!" That high-pitched shout caught Jaune off guard. Was that Frey just now?

"Yes, you do, four-eyes!" Ragnar continued to shout through the door.

"Why are we shouting, buddies!?" Lilac phoned.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

How loud do they need to shout!? Jaune sweated at the startling yet obnoxious screaming. Looking at Ruby even, she was slightly nervous from all the noise.

"Now, my ears are ringing!"

"That's it! I'm going for a walk!" Sable's frustrated voice practically oozed hostility.

"W-wait, it's almost our curfew! Where are you going?" Frey stammered as Jaune heard the stomping footsteps of Sable, who pushed open the door with fury. He wore a sleeveless grey shirt, along with some black pants.

"Anywhere I don't have to deal with all this noise!" He slammed the door, once more startling a jumpy Jaune and a restless Ruby. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tch, damn midget! Always playing with that damn toy!"

Jaune gulped audibly, an awkward chuckle escaping his lips. Always the short-tempered Sable, huh? He leaned to Ruby, whispering, "His teams really a rowdy bunch, huh?"

"Y-y-yeah…and here I thought I had it bad." Ruby herself nervously giggled, though maybe a bit too loud for her own good.

Sable's ears twitched as he snapped his head in the direction where they were. His eyes crimson and looking tired on top of grumpy. Not a good time for Jaune to stick around, he thought. But he was not moving.

Ruby let out a small yelp at the sudden move, though she awkwardly waved at Sable with a sheepish smile. "U-um, hello there, Sable…"

Huh?

Sable's crimson glare toned down to a relaxed but still tense gaze as he looked at her for a moment before saying. "Oh, uh, hi."

Not much was said, and even after that, Jaune didn't really greet Sable. Like, who would? The guy's taller than anybody in the first-year student body. He looks freaky with his pale complexion, and on top of that, his intimidating appearance doesn't make it easy for Jaune to warm up to.

Or maybe it's only him? Like, nobody seems to call out on Sable's attitude, but they seem to be getting along or at least used to him. Jaune, to his chagrin, hasn't bothered to interact with him too much outside of school.

Getting punched in the gut the first time you meet him doesn't make you eager to get to know the jerk.

"So…Jaune." After a moment of awkward silence, Ruby decided to break the ice after clearing her throat.

"Yeah, Ruby?" Jaune was beyond confused right now, the way Sable looked at him with a half-lidded expression. It was unnerving and slightly penetrating.

"You asked me who was helping me before, but I didn't want to say it since…you know." Ruby fiddled with her fingers innocently, giggling nervously when she gestured to Sable. "You and Sable don't really get along."

what?

"Ruby, it's not that we don't get along," Sable walked over to them, easily towering them both. Ruby barely reached his shoulders, and Jaune was only a head shorter than him. "I just really don't like his wimpy attitude."

What?

"Sable, I wouldn't really call Jaune wimpy." Ruby slightly pouted. "I'd say he's more…jumpy?"

"So…" Jaune put both hands to his face, groaning in dread. "I should've known…"

"That you're pretty much a doormat? Yeah, most of us know that already." Sable shrugged.

"NOT THAT!" Jaune exclaimed, looking at Sable with a mix of dread, annoyance, and frustration. "I should've known earlier what Ruby meant!"

"Hehehe…um, oops?" Ruby sheepishly laughed but looked to the side in slight embarrassment. "I-I mean, I would've told you and… well…"

"Okay, you lost me. What are you two talking about?" Sable arched an eyebrow at the two, folding his bare arms together. Jaune noticed how developed they were, for someone so tall and lean, which only made him seem more intimidating than he already was.

"Nothing! Not important, uh-huh, no siree bob!" Jaune spoke out quickly and nervously. "This has nothing to do with you, so if you just don't mind me…"

"Wait, Jaune." Sable's stern and piercing tone immediately made Jaune freeze at the moment. "Be straight with me here…what's going on?"

Jaune sighed, though he looked like he didn't need to tell him. "It's not like you would understand."

"Jaune…" Ruby spoke with a bit of concern.

Could you blame him? He only knew Sable because they are in the same class and in the same group of friends. It's not like he can tell him what's going on like with Ruby. He's a bit of a jerk, continually making jabs at him when he can, and for the life of him, Jaune didn't understand why.

"Tch…" Sable clicked his teeth while rubbing the back of his head, turning around, and walking out of the dormitory. "Fine, if you're not going to tell me, then I shouldn't be wasting my time right now."

Jaune clenched his jaw. Truth be told, Sable really knew how to get under his skin.

However, Sable stopped walking with his back turned. "But let me give you at least one piece of advice, Jaune."

"H-huh?' Jaune looked up, staring at Sable with confusion.

"Whatever's going on with you and Cardin, I can smell that he's using you for his own personal gain. And I can say that you are not doing anything to stand up for yourself. You're wimpy, spineless, and it's a miracle that you even became a leader in the first place. But that's not the problem. You're the only one who can get yourself out of your shitty situation. If you don't climb up from the hole you dug yourself in, then you're never going to get out."

Jaune looked befuddled, though the cryptic advice felt as if…he was giving advice? Sable. Lone wolf Sable, is giving him advice?

"U-um, I… I'll think about it…" Jaune raised a shaky thumb up, unsure how to respond to the sudden advice.

"I hope you do. Not much is working up there anyways." Sable sneaks in one last jab as he gave Jaune a small two-finger salute and began walking off to somewhere else.

And there he goes again. Taking jabs at my intelligence. Jaune let down his hand before an annoyed frown creased his features.

"So…" Ruby put her hands behind her and looked at Jaune with a grin. "I guess that's a good way to give advice…"

"If you can even call it that…" Jaune deadpanned, though he did consider what Sable could have meant by those words. "A-anyway, it's getting pretty late. You should probably get back to your team."

"You sure? You feel better now, Jaune?"

"Honestly, not by that much. But…" Jaune gave the 15-year old classmate a shaky, yet slightly more confident smile that he could muster. "At least I know where the right direction is."

"That's great!" Ruby smiled back, pleased with herself, and glad for Jaune. She gave a small wave to him and walked back to her dormitory door. "G'night, Jaune."

Jaune gave her a wave back before she closed the door, leaving him to his own thoughts to which he felt slightly more upbeat. Somehow, he felt a bit more confident in himself. Ruby gave him a much-needed pep-talk, and Sable gave him advice, albeit a very round-about way of doing so.

That's just how Sable is, Jaune thought. Yet a small part of him wanted to believe that Sable probably meant the advice he gave. Even if it was followed by a slight insult.

Yeah. You know what? Why doesn't he take it as advice?

Regardless, the confidence he felt helped him to muster up the courage to face his team again.

He'd probably need to explain what happened to him, give an apology to Pyrrha genuinely. Maybe then things can go back to normal, right? R-right?

A vibration shook him out of his thoughts, and instinctively y he reached out to his pocket where he put his Scroll in. He brought it out and opened the message that had been sent to him…

Cardin: Hey, Bud! SO, thanks for doing that essay for me again, but I'm just going to need a teensy-tiny favor from you and go get me some rapier wasps for tomorrow's trips. Trust me, it's going to be for a good prank, and I need you to get it for me. Don't mess this up! See ya!

Fuck.

Now this…is going to be a bad day.


Contrary to popular belief, Sable wasn't much for the outdoors. Living with the old man made him accustomed to living in a wooden cabin and training every single day. However, getting muddied from the effort, Sable still hated the idea of going anywhere in broad daylight that wasn't civilization.

At least in Vale, he could prepare himself for the much-needed errands and supply runs every weekend with his team. It's a hassle, putting on his sunscreen and covering himself neck-to-toe with heavy clothing and wearing his sun-goggles. Not like he can cover up his condition, so he rarely ever complains about it as a rule.

But when dealing with the outdoors like forests, open terrain, Sable had a sense of unease that made walking through the woods nerve-wracking. They reminded him of unfortunate times, times where he was the most vulnerable. Nothing good comes from being vulnerable. Ever.

"I'm so…bored."

Oh, brother…

"I'm. So. Bored."

Not again…

"I'm. So. BORED!"

"We get it, Lilac. You're bored." The two familiar voices woke up Sable from his mini nap, having buried his head in his arms while sleeping on the table he and his team were seated in. The humming of the Airship didn't allow for a good nap, but it did allow him to tune out the monotonous sounds.

"Are we there yet?" Lilac drawled out impatiently, becoming annoying when he started asking 5 minutes in.

"We're not there yet, dude. Chill with the questions." Ragnar deadpanned at his teammate, clearly just as bothered by the constant questions by Lilac. "Hmmm? Oh, Sable."

Sable mumbled tiredly, stretching his arms and yawning all the while. Adjusting his goggles to rub his eyes, he put them back on as he looked to his right and noticed Ragnar looking at him with a grin. Not a wide one, but an exhausted grin.

He also wore his combat outfit, revealing his bare prosthetic arms. While they were painted and nearly indistinguishable from an average arm, the only difference was the circular disks in the palm of his hand.

Looking around him, he remembered where they were. It's Saturday, and they were in the Bullhead made for students. While not as expansive on the inside compared to the one that brought every student on initiation day, it's big enough to carry four teams on expeditions or field trips.

Ah shit.

The field trip. To Forever Fall.

"Crap…are we already there?" Sable asked through his self-imposed nap.

"Almost there, actually. 10 minutes if I'm correct." Frey checked his shirt pocket to look for a pocket watch, the same ornately patterned and golden one from before. "9 minutes and 44 seconds now. 43 seconds. 42 seconds. 41—"

"GAAAHHH Why is this so boring!?" Lilac moaned out in annoyance, which infuriated Ragnar as he ground his teeth. Sable himself grimaced from the sudden noise.

"Just shut up, you can wait for 10 more minutes, you sugar-hopped pony." Sable scoffed with snark, leaning back in his seat and his hands in his pockets. "Besides, we won't need to do much once we get there."

"That is true if Professor Glynda's information is correct. We're going to Forever Falls to gain some sample from its Greywood maple trees." Frey summarized while cupping his chin, though an eager expression was present. "I have heard that they have many applications in day-to-day life. Body lotion, botanic research, and possibly even sunscreen if the components are extracted."

The rest of SLFR looked at Frey with slight amazement. Sable has to admit, the Atlesian Specs knows his stuff. Maybe he should really consider asking Frey to tutor him.

Maybe. Sable hasn't joined any group study sessions.

"Great, we're a bunch of errand boys?" Ragnar groaned as he put a hand to his face. "That's hella lame!"

"Though if I remember correctly, we are supposed to be close to another student, purely because there's the likelihood of a Grimm attack."

Immediately Ragnar perked up with a wide battle-hungry grin. "Now, that's wild!"

"Oh, so that gets your attention?" Frey gave him an exasperated expression, sighing. "You truly are incorrigible."

"Aw, you know you love me!" Ragnar boasted with a wide grin, shrugging all the while.

Sable rolled his eyes at the boastful nature of his teammate. Nearly a month has passed, and since then, he'd been stuck with his team—a very dysfunctional team, by the way. For the most part, they tried to get along with each other.

A couple of things he learned about Lilac, aside from the obvious pranking tendencies, that he apparently likes history and any food that happens to contain carrots in the name. That's the obvious, but just the other day, he had caught Lilac trying to support and soothe another Faunus student. Apparently, they were being picked on by other people other than Cardin.

The kindness, patience he showed was rare to see, especially from someone who's always a wacky, nonsensical man-child. Though Sable had a new understanding of Lilac after that. At least on some levels, they agreed on that area.

Frey, on the other hand, was slightly more guarded about where he came from. While he did make it clear that he was Atlesian, Frey never bothered to go into any more details other than he lived in Atlas. When Lilac prodded him for questions, a stern but somewhat intimidating tone was all it took to get the message across that he didn't want to talk about it.

Although they were going to have to talk about it eventually.

Lilac finally perked up with a glint of excitement and childish wonder in his eyes. Crap, not this again. "Ya know, funny idea."

"Oh, no, no." Sable cut him off while waving his hands in disagreement. "Please don't."

"Don't what?" Frey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was wondering... "

"Don't you finish that sentence." Sable leaned in and glared at Lilac.

Lilac paused before looking at Sable dead in the eye, a mischievous grin spreading his lips. "If we should…"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Sable pointed at Lilac, daring him to finish that sentence.

"Spend some time with the other teams?" Sable was about to groan, but instead, he looked at Lilac with a bit of relief. Mixed with confusion.

Huh…

"Lilac, I think that's the first time you have suggested an idea that didn't involve your tomfoolery," Frey smirked in satisfaction. However, he was proud of his teammate.

"Hey, I don't always come up with brilliant pranks on the spot!" Lilac 'pouted with his bottom lip, though immediately chuckled as he gave his team a knowing and determined look. "Sometimes I want to just get to know people! Gods know you three need to hang out with the other teams!"

"We already see them in class…and lunch, I don't think it's necessary to know them that deeply." Sable shrugged it off with disinterest.

"That doesn't count as 'getting to know each other,' Big Bad Wolf!" Lilac gave a deadpanned wry grin in response.

"The fuck'd you call me?" Sable immediately threw a growl at Lilac. These guys still knew how to come up with the stupidest nicknames. Makes him sound like some thug!

"I called you the Big Bad Wolf! It's like, a nickname for ya, my buddy o'pal!" Lilac giggled in mischief, covering his mouth to hide the fact.

I'd instead you never called me that again, you midget! Was what he wanted to say.

"Tch, whatever!" Sable scoffed as he stuffed his pockets and leaned back in his seat.

The rest of the trip from the Bullhead to Forever Falls didn't take longer than Lilac complained it was. Soon after the Bullhead docked in an open clearing, one-by-one teams RWBY, JNPR, SLFR, and CRDL walked out of the Bullhead to witness the Forever Falls.

It's so…calm. Incredibly quiet too. The Greywood maple trees were as the name intended, a grey, almost ashy wood that contrasted beautifully with the complex mixture of red leaves. Coupled with the falling amber leaves, it formed a beautiful sight that even he had to admit it looked pleasant enough to take a nap.

And this place is supposed to be riddled with Grimm?

Professor Goodwitch leads the four teams more in-depth into the woods, and regardless of how long they had gone deeper, they never found any Grimm. Not even a trace of Grimm tracks for whatever reason. This disappointed Sable, as he was hoping to get some action rather than being forced to spend time collecting sap.

"As I'm sure you all remember, we're here on this field trip to retrieve tree sap samples for Professor Peach." Glynda turned around to face the students, many in their respective teams but nonetheless close to each other. "I want you all in your best behavior even while out on the field. Forever Falls is still Grimm-infested territory after all."

And yet we're not supposed to fight them? Sable furrowed his brow as he listened to her words, sighing in slight frustration. He forced himself to go outdoors like this, had to apply a lot of sunscreen for this trip. Went through the trouble of putting on and zipping up his combat outfit, all just to pick up some tree sap.

The thought annoyed him, but not as much as when he glanced to the right and noticed Jaune carrying what looked like a carton box…of what exactly he didn't know. Jaune accidentally bumped into Cardin, prompting the asshat to glare at Jaune, who tried whistling without any shame.

Still being a coward. It's infuriating, to say the least. Not that he particularly cared what Jaune thought of him, but he was expecting the blonde to stand up for himself against CRDL.

I wouldn't have taken shit from them. What kind of dirt did Cardin get on Jaune? He thought, there's no way that Jaune would willingly work with Cardin just because he was his bully. Or everybody's bully really.

Still, though, he turned his attention back to Glynda, who held in her hand a gallon jar, possibly if the size was any indication. "Each of you will be expected to fill one jar's worth of red sap for each student. However, be wary of any Grimm that may lurk within the forests. If you decide it is necessary, teams can work together to complete the tasks, though this is not mandatory. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock, so be sure to take the time you need to collect the sap."

Good, then we can get this over with. Sable shrugged, though he wasn't interested in completing the four jars worth of each member of his team.

Lilac, being the loud one of the whole bunches, decided to form a salute. "Understood Professor Goodwitch! Taste-testing the red sap will be a breeze, ma'am!"

"Lilac, we're not here to indulge in sweets…" Frey pinched the bridge of his nose, though he gave a stiff bow to Professor Goodwitch. "But it is true…it shall be done!"

The professor arched an eyebrow before returning to her neutral expression and walked off towards an area where she might be able to keep an eye on all of them. It is her job as a professor.

With that, every team nodded to themselves and decided to get to work. Unfortunately, Sable noticed Jaune getting dragged off by Cardin to a different spot separate from the rest of the team. A sigh couldn't be helped; he just kept disappointing him more and more.

He then looked around where he was and noticed that Lilac had run off to where Team RWBY was, along with Frey as well.

Great…so his plan is already in the works? Sable shook his head with a frown. Of course, he split up with Frey to force Sable to go find the other team on his own. Well, too bad. CRDL's not on that list.

Wait a minute, where's—

"Yo, Fido!" Sable's wolf ears perked up at the crass but energetic tone of Ragnar, who came up behind him with two empty jars wrapped around his arms. He didn't seem bothered by the weight. "Sup with that scrunched up face. You feeling a bit under the weather?"

Oh, great.

"Well, I'd rather not be under the sun." Sable looked to the side with a disinterested expression. "Earlier this morning, it was cloudy, and now there's not a cloud in sight! Like can it just make up its mind?"

"Huh, must be pretty tough being the way you are."

"Oh, looks like you finally got it through that numbskull of yours," Sable remarked with a sarcastic grin.

"The hell did you say!?" Ragnar growled with an 'imposing' grin, though all that did was cause Sable to yawn in boredom.

"Oh, oh, oh! Ren! I found a good chunk of wood here!"

"Nora, could you bring that jar over to me?"

"Gotcha, Pyrrha!"

Sable and Ragnar stopped in their tracks and realized they saw Ren working at filling a jar's worth of sap from one of the local trees. He looked focused and calm, methodically inserting the sharp end of the spout into the wood, making sure the sap flowed out like water.

Nora, surprising them both, held about three jars in her arms as she bounced around with ecstatic glee and whimsy, before dropping one jar next to Pyrrha, who looked distracted, so to speak. However, you wouldn't notice from her thin expression.

"Huh, looks like we found those three," Sable remarked while scratching his chin. "Hey!"

"Yo!" Ragnar gave a thumbs-up as he walked over to a tree of his won and decided to get to work. "So, how's the tapping going?"

"Ah, Ragnar. Sable." Ren calmly acknowledged them with a nod.

Pyrrha looked surprised to see Sable in particular, but she tried to put on her best smile. "O-oh, hello there! I assume you're here to help."

"Kind of, the midget just ditched us both because he wants us to…" Sable groaned before putting 'air quotes' "Spend sometimes with other teams.

"Ah, I see…" Pyrrha chuckled, amused but slightly uncertain. Sable isn't exactly the most sociable of people.

"You're just grumpy because you didn't have a good nap." Ragnar nudged an elbow to which Sable shoved it aside. "Okay, okay, I'll stop."

"Hm? AH! There's the slugger!" Nora, who had been eating some of the sap, jumped in excitement at seeing Ragnar. She zipped around until she stopped right in front of him, with a bright grin. "So, I got to say you were so amazing during that cafeteria brawl!"

"Hehehe! Well, of course, I ended up handling those chicken bastards with my bare fists!" Ragnar boasted as he puffed his chest in pride.

"Don't you mean your prosthetic fists?" Nora snickered at her little joke.

"Yeah, Yeah, I know…" Ragnar nodded with his own sly grin before twisting into a taunting one. As he did so, he dropped one jar without realizing it. "Make that joke again, and I'll send you flying to kingdom come."

"Oh, I DARE you!" Nora challenged him with her own taunt as they both butted foreheads before she disconnected and pointed at him with a determined glint in her eyes. "The one who gets the most jars filled up has to pay the winner pancakes for a month!"

"What!? That's not a good prize at all!"

"Of course, it is! It's pancakes! Sweet, fluffy pancakes!"

"Look, Sparky, I don't even like pancakes."

"You don't WHAT!?"

With that, Ragnar and Nora began to argue as they both got to work. Mostly because they kept competing against each other while arguing what their prize should be.

Sable just sighed and shook his head, though he snorted a bit at sight. Regardless, he had one jar left at his feet, so he picked it up and figured he'd get to work. He went to the tree that was next to Pyrrha's and screwed in the tapper, then put the jar under it to let it flow out.

"So…" Sable turned his head to Pyrrha, who turned to him with an expectant expression. "What's going on between you guys and Jaune?"

Pyrrha widened her eyes, and they turned sad but frustrated. She sighed, reluctant to talk. "Why do you want to know?"

"If I'm honest, only because I want to know why exactly he's been more pathetic then he usually is." Sable bluntly remarked with a shrug, as he usually is.

"What I want to know is why you're so harsh on him." Pyrrha slightly narrowed his eyes, though Sable didn't sense any hostility. "I heard from him about what happened on the first day, but I don't think there's any reason to be constantly insulting him."

"The same way I don't understand why you're going soft on him." Sable gave back a snark as he closed his eyes. "The guy looks like he's untrained, unfocused, and, more importantly, has absolutely no spine."

Pyrrha stayed silent, looking at Sable evenly.

"Jaune seems to have gotten into some trouble with Cardin; he won't do anything to stand up for himself." Sable continued to ramble on. "And at least to my knowledge, I figured you'd be the soft one and talk to him about it."

"That's…complicated," Pyrrha admitted as she winced. "He and I got into an argument, it escalated and…well, you know how well it went."

"Hmm." Sable hummed, checking his jar and noticing that it had been filled to a quarter. The tapping was slow, but it was making progress. Slow, dragging progress… "Still, why not talk to him?"

"Like I said, it's not so easy to just talk it out," Pyrrha admitted as her expression soured a bit. "At least, not with him shutting himself out from the rest of his team."

"Hmph…I guess I see where Jaune's coming from." He admitted that talking to his teammates might not have been the first thing on his mind. He wasn't so much of a talker but being in a team where communication is necessary forced him to get used to it. He still didn't like it, but for the most part, he could handle it. "It's pretty embarrassing to admit when you're wrong, especially when you're so…"

Pyrrha gave him a narrowed glance, and Sable paused as he gave her a smirk. "So…underdeveloped?"

Pyrrha sighed, though a rueful smirk appeared briefly. "You could say that. Though I wouldn't say that to his face."

"Well, I would. Someone's got to tell Jaune straight if he's going to learn."

Pyrrha arched an eyebrow, seemingly more intrigued. "Is that why you're so harsh on him? Because you think he can be better?"

"Because the wimp needs to be a better leader." He gave a dumb smirk, though it felt more challenging, if anything. "Well…who am I to talk? I'm not exactly the most charismatic person you've ever met."

Of course. Sable isn't a good leader himself, but at least he's trying to be one. His team is helping him with that. Same with Ruby, and she's the one having the most challenging time. Despite that, she's been trying to get along with Weiss. While Sable doesn't particularly care for the Ice Queen, he was nonetheless glad to see Ruby getting along.

Jaune, however, didn't seem to be better than what he was in the initiation. Good strategist? Maybe, but he still doesn't have the reflexes and drives to become a huntsman without backing down. That sort of weakness will be exploited by those waiting to knock him down.

But being weak is not an excuse to give up.

"I wouldn't put myself down if I were you." He was confused by the statement even more by what Pyrrha's expression had changed. Neutral, but with a polite smile. "I'd agree with you being crass and rather…blunt."

Sable rolled his eyes with a scoff.

"But I wouldn't say you're harsh just because you don't like him. He needs a lot of work, and I like to think that you hate seeing him so down like that. Maybe you're just a big ol' softie."

"Why does everybody keep saying that!?' Sable exclaimed with a slight tint of red in his pale face. That same shit again? Who keeps spreading that rumor?!

Pyrrha giggled a bit, amused but not mocking him. "Because you care about everybody becoming the best they can be? Isn't that right?"

Sable widened his eyes, though he looked to the side. That's fucking embarrassing. "Tch, you can say that if you want…but, let's just get back to work."

Pyrrha silently nodded but ended the conversation saying these few words. "You're not that bad, Sable. Give yourself that much credit."

He remained silent. Processing her words as he got back to work, drowning out the arguing from Ragnar and Nora. He smiled to himself, barely noticeable but there, nonetheless.

Not that bad, huh?


Blake Belladonna knew she was rather introverted. Compared to everybody else, she was more reserved despite hanging out with her team or group of friends. Still, she always kept a book or piece of literature with her. Just in case she needed to focus on something else.

Right now, she hadn't brought her books because of the field trip. While Glynda didn't state it as such, it may as well be a field mission with purpose of collecting samples rather than fighting Grimm. Which was okay with her, just so long as they did what they were told and completed it. She would have dealt without a book for today.

"So…where exactly do you come from?"

"Far, far away from here."

"Okay, okay, what kind of things do you like to do?"

"I like…reading, and…I suppose other stuff too."

"Okay, okay, so why are you so quiet all the time?"

If only he didn't ask so many questions.

Blake slightly furrowed her brow but regained her composure as she walked along the forest with a jar in hand. Lilac paced around her as they walked, while balancing a jar on top of his head. It made her wonder how he's able to do that effectively. Maybe another party trick he learned?

Doesn't matter…he's way too curious, isn't he? If she were more willing to, she'd think he was the cat in between them. With the expression and all.

"Because I like silence?" Blake sighed as she answered that question.

"That's…kind of boring." He said with no shame, though he kept his arms out as he balanced the jar on his head with a smile. "But hey to each their own am I right?"

"I suppose…" Blake shrugged, though she found a good heart Greywood tree to begin. Larger than most of the other trees, it's trunk and roots were tangling the earth around them making walking slightly more difficult, but certainly more convenient to fill their jars. "Here it is."

"Finally, we found a good one!" Lilac exclaimed as he bounced the jar into his hands and dashed towards the tree. He immediately brought out his tapper and decided to jam that thing straight into it. "This big hunk of wood's got enough sap for the both of us! I think we can share from this can't we?"

Blake sighed but nodded as she did the same as Lilac. However, compared to how easily lilac jammed it in, she had a bit more difficulty inserting the tap deep into the trunk. However, slowly the red sap began to flow out slowly like viscous syrup.

Lilac hummed happily as he grinned widely and walked away from his jar. Blake saw him then spread his legs on the floor and reached out to them in an odd fashion. He kept counting 1, 2, 3, 4 for every stretch.

Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him weirdly. "You're stretching right now?"

"What? It's important to remain flexible right? Besides, my legs are the best part about me!" Lilac giggled as his horse tail flicked left and right in a dog-like manner. Almost reminded Blake of what she's not fond of but reminded herself that Lilac's just…hyperactive as always. "I mean, did you see how Cardin reacted when I—

"Lilac." Blake turned to Lilac with a narrow gaze, causing the hyper-active Horse Faunus to stop in his tracks and look at her with open eyes. "You don't need to go into detail."

"Meh, I gotcha!" Lila finished stretching as he stood up and swayed his arms. Despite that he went back to his jar and noticed that it was already half-full. "Whoa, that was fast."

Blake simply nodded. The sap was flowing faster than usual, but this merely meant they got the job done faster. Not much of a problem, compared to everything else she had to deal with. Although, ever since the cafeteria brawl from a while ago she grew a bit of a respect for SLFR.

They're team consisted of three people who she swore would be dysfunctional, one being a wolf Faunus, the other being a hot-headed male version of Yang, and the other being…well, a known prankster. She hesitated to include Frey, though she was aware of his lineage as an Atlesian. More specifically his position as heir to the Sapphire Metalworks Mining Co.

And yet, all four of them managed to astonish her when they started a fight with CRDL over Faunus discrimination. The reason why is because nobody had been so forward in how they felt about discrimination to Cardin before, and when the brawl went off she knew they were going to be in detention…but she had given her respect to them in some way.

But Lilac was still an enigma. The few moments she glanced upwards from her book, glaring at what Cardin had done, she had noticed a brief but uncharacteristic scowl on Lilac's face before he stood up and joined in.

He may be childish…but he does know how to kick. Her lips curled upward subtly but went down quick enough as she looked to Lilac.

His tail kept waving back and forth as he hummed a tune, looking carefree. Though she couldn't help but wonder a specific question.

"It's odd how you can be so carefree in everything you do, and yet you had enough guts to mess with Cardin." Blake brought up the fight with an even tone, to which Lilac snickered under his breath.

"Well, someone's got to stay positive when your team consists of an up-tight specs, a temperamental Faunus and a…brilliant, but rather hot-headed dude." Lilac admitted as he used his pinky to pick his right ear. "Can't stay mad or serious forever."

"You sound a lot like Ruby right now." Blake remarked, though she wasn't too bothered by it. Her jar was entirely filled by now, so she took out the tapper from the wood, and proceeded to seal it up.

"Well, then Red Riding Hood gets it!" Lilac laughed out loud as he did the same, before looking at Blake with an innocent look. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?" Blake responded, still focusing on her—

"Why are you hiding your ears?"

W-what…did he say? Blake widened her eyes, frozen and stiff as she looked to Lilac with shocked amber eyes.

"E-excuse me...?"

Lilac tilted his head as he looked at her with a neutral expression. "I said why are you hiding your ears with that bow?"

Blake immediately got defensive as she stood up, though she reluctantly sighed and narrowed her eyes. "How…did you know?"

"I'll admit, it's a good disguise…but you really should consider the twitching." Lilac pointed to her black bow, which lo and behold was twitching. She didn't realize that.

It was working so far, and I barely had noticed I was doing that! Blake pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She had messed up, and now Lilac just busted her plan.

"Hey, hey, why are you so worried?" Lilac gave her a small confused frown, though he cupped his chin. "I mean, while I don't particularly agree or know why you're doing it, I know you have a reason for doing that right?"

Blake widened her eyes and looked at Lilac with a bit more astonishment before looking downwards in slight shame. "You're not wrong…I don't want people to find out that I'm Faunus."

"But why? I mean, I get there's discrimination and all," Lilac scratched his head. "But I don't think that's a good reason to hide who you are. You shouldn't be ashamed of it."

"You don't understand, it's not that I'm ashamed." Blake spoke with a bit more emotion. Though every time she did, she felt like the walls were breaking. "Not everybody is willing to be as understanding as Frey, Sable, or even Ruby and Yang. You know who I'm talking about."

Lilac arched an eyebrow before realization hit him. "Oh…this is about Weiss isn't it?"

"What am I supposed to say to the heiress of the SDC? That her teammate is a Faunus? That the kind of person she isn't fond of is a Faunus in hiding?" Blake paced around as she started letting it out. "You know what I mean, I mean you'd understand why I wouldn't reveal to anybody about who I am."

"Actually, no I don't." Blake widened her eyes, looking at Lilac incredulously. "Because there's still one thing I don't get…I understand you don't want to be seen as a Faunus to avoid discrimination. But why not tell your teammates? More importantly, why not trust your friends?"

"I-I…" Blake rubbed her arm, though she looked to the side slightly ashamed.

"Blake, be honest with me here." Lilac seemed calm, but his eyes were open and piercing despite looking innocent. However, she thought that he might figure it out. Figure out who she really is. "Did you…do anything you would regret as a person?"

...

Silence followed with nothing else but swaying leaves of the Forever Falls. Blake already was nervous when he asked about her heritage, but now he was staring at her intently with the avgeu suspicion that he could smell a lie. Regardless, a cold sweat broke through her forehead. However, she didn't want to admit it.

What would he think? What would her friends think? More importantly, what would happen if they knew what she did before?

She couldn't tell him. Blake knows he can tell she'd be lying…but she didn't want to tell him. She's ashamed to admit it but…she doesn't know if she can trust Lilac to keep a secret.

"There's nothing I've done…that I would be ashamed of…" Blake responded nervously, staring back at Lilac's mauve eyes. His eyes flickered for a moment, narrowing before his expression relaxed as he sighed.

"You know what? You don't need to tell me now."

Huh? She tilted her head in surprise, more confused than anything…but she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Lilac merely flashed a bright grin, folding his hands behind his head. "I understand it's pretty difficult to tell the truth to some people, especially when you don't know them for too long."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I won't tell anybody about you're secret, okay?" Lilac sealed his jar-full of sap before holding it in his arm against his body. "When you're ready to tell your team and your friends, you should do it when you can. At your own pace of course."

Tell them when she can…huh? Blake looked down but simply nodded in agreement, she kept her bow on but felt grateful for Lilac understanding her situation. She picked up her jar and said simply and calmly. "We should get going, see if the other's need help."

"Aye-Aye!" Lilac gave a mock salute with his free hand, and walked alongside Blake, before giving one last glance and a calm smile. "Blake, just…be sure to tell them as soon as you can."

Blake looked to Lilac, and nodded hesitantly…but truth be told, she didn't know whether she should. The fear of being rejected by his friends was always looming in her head, and to suddenly say that to her friends was out of the question for now.

But…maybe…

Maybe, she'll be ready eventually.


Exhausting. Unbelievably Exhausting. Jaune thought as he finally brought with him the last jar of red sap after seven runs of getting the jars all by himself. The process was time-consuming and excruciating. CRDL didn't even bother helping him with gaining the sap, since all they did was just sit around a couple of trees and rocks to relax while poor Jaune continued to work his ass off.

It didn't help that he was holding all the jars by himself and walked to the middle of the clearing before tripping and everything tumbling on top of him. He groaned out in slight delirium and exhaustion.

Why am I suddenly the pack-mule…?

"Hey, great work, Jauney boy!" For a moment, Jaune thought that was Lilac…until he heard footsteps and saw Cardin wearing his usual combat outfit of an armored chest plate, shoulder pads, and even greaves. Great, his tormenter was here. "Did ya get everything we needed?"

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff…" Jaune mumbled out with slight cross-eyes…he really was having a reaction to this sap.

"Yeah, yeah, super great." Cardin brushed it off as he walked up to Jaune and lifted him up to his feet by his collar. "Okay, so I know you're probably wondering by now, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect seven jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?"

"That is one of many questions I asked myself today, yes." Others consisted of why he even bothered working with the jerk, why is he following along with him, and more importantly…why is he such an ass about this.

Whoa…I'm starting to sound like Sable.

Cardin flashed a rather darker version of a scheming grin. "Well, come with me and you'll find out exactly what we are doing."

To that Jaune could only moan in worry as he audibly gulped saliva down his throat. The tension and the uneasy feeling he had in his skin made him want to crawl up in the nearest tree hole and die. But still he trudged his feet along to follow Cardin and his members.

As they walked higher upon a hill, Jaune began recollecting and pondering about his situation. First it was asking to write entire essay's for Cardin, then he asked him to collect Rapier wasps in the middle of the night, and finally he had Jaune fill al the jars for him including two extra jars. But for what…?

Honestly, he didn't exactly know what to do right now. And he was seriously considering that Ruby's words may have been just another pipedream. Him, a leader? What a joke…

Soon enough, the group managed to find themselves perched and laying down on a hilltop over seeing the rest of the students. There was Lilac who kept balancing a jar of full red sap on his head while Yang watched and Ruby clapped. Then there was Nora who had snuck behind Ren and managed to gulp down an entire jar of red sap with nary an embarrassed smile.

Then, leaving him owl-eyed in shock, he saw Sable and Pyrrha just working together on their sap collection while making sure that they were properly sealed. They seemed to be amicably conversing with one another, about what though he couldn't hear.

But regardless, something's off with their position and the scenario.

"U-uh, Cardin…what are we here for?" jaune asked nervously, looking over at Cardin. His sharp but somewhat hate-filled glare terrified Jaune, and it didn't entail anything good.

"Pay-back…" He growled out as he pointed at Pyrrha and Sable, with a hateful scorn. "There they are. The red-haired know it all and that pale mutt. First, she thinks she's all that, and that asshole starts picking fights for a stupid reason."

You were harassing another student, you jerk! Is what he wanted to say, but Jaune zipped his mouth shut in fear of any retaliation.

"Alright fellas…" Cardin put down a buzzing box that shook with tiny little insects flying inside it. "So, I got Jaune here to get us a box of Rapier Wasps…and according to the essay that you wrote for me these buggers have a sweet-tooth bigger than that mule."

It's a horse… Jaune kept his silence, though now the situation dawned on him. He wouldn't go that far just to get revenge…would he?

"Now, this my pal…is why we got two jars of sap." Cardin picked up one jar and gave it to Jaune with a taunting smirk. "And you're going to do another favor for us."

"W-wait, are you seriously telling me to—"

"Hit Pyrrha with the sap, yes!" He demanded as he leaned his face in, giving Jaune a stern but intimidating scowl. "If you don't, then I'll just have a chat with Professor Goodwitch…and it's bye-bye for you!"

Ah right…he still has him by the hook because of that.

Jaune never made it into Beacon legitimately, he had faked his transcripts and luckily passed initiation only because everybody managed to work with him being a complete amateur…and now here he was being told to throw sap at Pyrrha.

He looked down at the red sap, and then back at the rest of the team who kept grinning, expecting him to commit the act out of their own amusement. It made his stomach turn, but regardless…he lifted his arm and reared it to launch the jar at Pyrrha.

The same Pyrrha who had been patient with him this entire time, the same Pyrrha who didn't judge him even after finding out the truth. He tried to stop his shaking hand, as he hesitated to even commit the act towards Pyrrha. This is…awful.

Jaune's really going to subject Pyrrha to this humiliation?

You're the only one who can get yourself out of your shitty situation. If you don't climb up from the hole you dug yourself in, then you're never going to get out.

His hands stopped shaking…and took a sharp breath through his nose…before dropping his hand to his sides.

"Huh? What?" Cardin growled in annoyance. "Going cold-turkey on us, Jauney boy?"

The words echoed within his mind, and something inside of him…felt braver and more daring than ever. Somehow, the words uttered by the wolf Faunus that he knew seemed to rile him up with a new fire inside…before saying,

"No."

"The hell was that?" Cardin tilted his head with a glare.

"I said…" That's it, he wasn't going to let himself get…pushed around. Even if he would get beat up for this…it's worth it, compared to humiliating Pyrrha. "NO!"

Jaune flipped around and chucked the jar of sap at Cardin's face. The sap splattered all over the tall Cardin's face, and chest plate leaving him with a pungent sweet odor. The release felt certainly satisfying on top of liberating, Jaune had a dumb but confident grin on his face for a brief moment.

That is until Cardin started laughing darkly with malice. "Oh…now you've done it, you bastard."

Jaune shrunk, grinning nervously…and the other members grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him out to another area…

Yep…I'm dead!


Another cliffhanger from me! I know, I know I might suck! But either way, I decided to take this time to develop Sable, Jaune and lake along with Lilac a bit as I wrote this chapter. I tried balancing out the spotlight for the characters without detracting from the overall message of the story.

Regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I hope to be able to deliver another chapter this same month after some school work.

Oh yeah, I forget...I have college at the moment. And let's just say I haven't been focusing too much on writing with homework and all that.

Welp, that's about it from me! It is I the Maelstrom, and I hope to see you on the horizon!