(The Story So Far: After a rough start to the year, culminating in a nearly deadly duel between Haiiden and Cecilia, and after some choice words from Zed to her, Team HAVC has come to an accord. After Vaughn related the story of his and his sister's upbringing, Cecilia's hatred for him, and the full effect that Haiiden's leaving Beacon Academy had left on his team became apparent. However, the return of some old faces may raise new problems for the team.)
Byeli hummed to herself happily, just as she did every morning, and was gleefully dressing herself for the day along with her team, CNBR. Behind her was Nadira, who was the first to get up, and was finishing tightening the black and brown cloth that was wrapped around her forearms and her calves. Occasionally sliding a throwing knife into the slits to hide them until she needed them, then slid four dirks into the sheaths that were connected to a sash that was tightened over her chest. She then quietly combed back her ecru-colored hair, and as she was about to turn she noticed that Byeli was already looking at her with wide eyes and a big smile.
"Wow, Nadira! You certainly are pretty!" Byeli said, covering her mouth as she gasped in surprise and giggled to herself. Nadira was taken aback by the compliment and didn't know what to say. She turned red in embarrassment, not only by Byeli's words but also by her speechlessness.
"Awww she's turning red!" Byeli said with a squeal and jumped in place. Nadira quickly reached behind her and pulled her hood forward to cover herself. The hood still allowed her to see, as it only created a shadow that covered the top portion of her face, allowing one to see only her mouth. Byeli began to put on her boots, as she was still barefoot while she had become interested in Nadira's ablutions and subsequent dressing. The only other time she ever took off her hood was when she went to bed, even with her sharing a dorm with her teammates. Byeli covered her mouth and hopped excitedly at this while Celise was watching from the corner.
After Nadira had put the hood back on, Byeli stomped her foot on the floor in frustration and returned to put her boots on. Celise was behind them both, staring into a mirror as she fixed her hair with a comb. Just as it had become nice and straight, she then combed her hand through her hair to sculpt it and mess it up a little, which gave observers the impression that she was someone who cared about how she looked, but not the opinions of others. She then pulled up her pants and tightened the cord around her waist, the leggings just covering her ankles while still exposing her feet. She turned to face her team but tripped over a box containing shoes that Zed had bought her in a futile attempt to get her to wear something on her perpetually bare feet.
"Everything else looks great, but when you look down-" When she first met Zed, she remembered that he immediately expressed his concern about her lack of footwear. She thought it amusing, especially since it seemed that Zed was about to tear the hair from his head.
"Does it strike a nerve, big boy?" she asked him with a patronizing tone, gently patting her hand against his cheek with a grin.
She looked down at the shoes with a smile and shook her head to bring her back to reality. She slowly approached Byeli from behind and put her hand on her head. The fox Faunus jumped with a squeak, and her tail bushed, as the sudden contact had startled her. Celise chuckled to herself and began to gently pet her between the ears.
"Calm down, 'Warrior Princess.'"
"Please, Celise," Byeli responded with a sigh and pulled her head away from Celise's hand. Getting down on her knees, she pulled out two steel rods from under her bed and placed them behind her waist in the shape of an "X".
"Besides, that's a name more befitting of Pyrrha."
"True, but she already has a nickname: 'The Invincible Girl," Celise said while putting a finger to her chin as if to mock someone in thought. Byeli shook her head and rolled her eyes, while Nadira stared from the corner of the room, and only responded with a shrug. They were all just about to leave the dorm together after Byeli had finished getting ready but then they realized they had forgotten something. Celise slumped her shoulders and leaned her head back while letting out an annoyed sigh before turning back to walk over to Raine's bed. She stared down at him as he continued to sleep peacefully through their conversation then looked back to Byeli and Nadira with a smirk.
"Oh. Celise, please be nice," Byeli asked while she tensed up in anticipation, covering her mouth with both hands as she watched Celise kick Raine's bed. The force of the kick flipped the bed over, which landed on top of Raine with a thud, and an audible groan emanated from underneath it as he was woke up with a headache. There were signs of movement before the bed suddenly was lifted, and Celise had to stand back as it landed in front of her. Raine appeared as he removed the covers from his body, still wearing his boots, as he was too lazy to take them off before bed. His body was awake, but his mind was still asleep, which could be seen from the appearance of his glazed eyes. As he began to rouse from his slumber, he looked from side to side to see his team staring back at him. Byeli let out a sigh of relief, Nadira just gave her usual blank stare, careful not to show any emotion, while Celise continued to look at him with a big smirk on her face.
"I. Am. Up," he said with a hint of grogginess in his voice and was trying to regain his footing as he swayed from side to side.
"We can wait for you to get ready," Byeli said to him, not wanting him to go out looking like a mess, as usual. She eyed him from head to toe as she took in every detail of his filthy, slovenly appearance.
"We're already late for breakfast, Byeli. I want to eat before going to class," Celise pouted.
"She's right," Raine replied and moved past his team to walk out the door and into the hallway. Byeli watched in horror as he walked away without even bothering to freshen himself up first. This morning, as he headed to breakfast, he looked exactly like what everyone thought he looked like, someone who had just rolled out of bed.
"At least his hair is spiking in different directions today," Nadira said, seemingly out of nowhere. Celise took this a joke even though she probably didn't mean it as such. Byeli continued to stare, trying to hold back a giggle which began to creep out slowly until she busted out into laughter. Realizing that despite Nadira being serious, it was true nonetheless, and to them it made it much funnier. As they stepped out of the room, they noticed that Raine hadn't gone that far and had been waiting for them. He was looking past his team and his gaze was trained on to something else that was behind them.
"See?" They heard as someone jumped on Byeli and put her arms around her, lifting her up into a big bear hug. Byeli let out a loud squeak as she was lifted up in the air, and Celise turned around to face the familiar voice of her friend from Signal Academy.
"I told you she was the cutest thing you have ever seen!" said Yang as she continued to hold Byeli in her arms, keeping her grip firm despite her squirming. Beside Yang was her younger sister Ruby, leader of Team RWBY.
"Hello, Yang," Celise said with a stern look, her hands on her hips as she stood tall before Yang. She tilted her head to the side with a brow raised while she stared down at her. Yang looked on from the corner of her eyes, with Byeli then falling to the floor with a thud as Yang let go of her. Yang turned to face Celise, and looked up at her as they both tried to stare each other down. The atmosphere was tense, with Byeli looking on with a worried expression, while Ruby scratched the back of her head as she watched. Before long, the two couldn't continue to hold the charade, as grins began to creep on their faces, and the pair burst out into laughter, and broke eye contact for a few moments before looking back to one another then bumping their fists together.
"Damn, girl, I've been trying to look for you since the school year started!" Yang exclaimed while Ruby slowly approached her sister.
"I'm glad I finally found you," she punched Celise on the shoulder, then looked down on to the floor and frowned upon noticing that Celise was still barefoot.
"Some things never change."
"Oh well. At least some things did," Celise said as she looked down and finally noticing the young girl hiding behind Yang. Her face registered shock as she recognized that it was Ruby, and froze in place.
"Celise!" Ruby called out as she jumped into Celise's arms, which caught her off guard and she was just barely able to catch her.
"Ruby! What are you doing here?" Celise asked as she set her back down on the floor, looking down at her friend's younger sister while holding her cheeks and scanning her face while moving her head from side to side to make sure that she wasn't mistaken.
"They made an exception and let me into Beacon two years early!" Ruby answered with a squeal as she couldn't contain her excitement. Ruby had few friends back at Signal Academy, but Celise was one of the only friends that she shared with her sister. Team CNBR looked back at Ruby as they examined her as well. Byeli looked on with a smile and nodded her head, amazed that such a young girl was given the opportunity to join the Academy, while Nadira nodded her approval as well; no one could tell what her thoughts were other than from that since no one could see her face.
"The first time I met you was two years ago, and you were only starting over at Signal!" Celise said with a proud smile as she ruffled the hair on Ruby's head. Raine, on the other hand, began to pout as he looked back at his team, as well as Yang and Ruby.
"Come on guys. I want to eat before it's time for class," he said with a stomp of his foot, the sudden movement of the man made his hair cover one eye, which he fixed immediately. The rest of Team CNBR followed Raine, while Celise silently stared at Ruby and smiled at her softly. She looked back up at Yang as she put an arm around her, and placed a hand on her shoulder; her free hand she set on top of Ruby's head.
"Come on, 'little-sister,'" said Celise as she pulled Ruby close and walked together with Yang to the dining hall.
"Eek!" Weiss shrieked upon seeing Byeli as she sat in front of her in the dining hall. Everyone else had already gotten their meals while Raine, despite wanting to eat so badly, took longer than anyone else to retrieve his. Weiss was unable to sit quietly as she was fidgeting with excitement while looking at Byeli, who, for her part, was pulling her ears back and lowered in her seat to not attract attention.
"Oh my gosh! First, we got Pyrrha, and now we have the 'Warrior Princess!'" Weiss said while covering her mouth and stopped fidgeting, but was instead hopping in her seat.
"Yeah. You should have seen how badly she was freaking out when she met HER." Yang said with a grin as she leaned over the table to join the conversation.
"I don't freak out!" Weiss responded angrily while fixing her posture and finally forced herself to sit quietly. "I am instead, merely expressing my admiration," she said while raising her head before looking back to Byeli, and smiled again as the excitement was reignited. Byeli looked from side to side as she became the center of attention, and lowered her head when she was compared to Pyrrha.
"Well I understand why she would react in such a way with Pyrrha, as she is famous for far more impressive reasons than I am," Byeli said as she tried to make herself look smaller. "Anyways, 'Warrior Princess' was just a stage name."
"I watched all of your pageants!" Weiss continued as she ignored what Byeli was saying while Celise and Yang rolled their eyes at the mention of pageants.
"Pageants? You mean those shows where girls only strut around and look pretty?" Ruby asked with a raised brow while looking to Byeli. Thinking it was weird that people became famous for such small, and in her opinion, stupid, things. At that moment Raine dropped five plates of food on to the table with a loud clatter.
"Don't tell me you don't know?" Weiss jumped out of her seat and slammed her palms down on the table while leaning forward so that she was face to face with Ruby. "Her shows are said to be the most spectacular and breathtaking! She always went with a Huntress theme, representing the struggles of humanity and how we all fought for survival!"
"Mistral is also well known for its art and competitions," Blake joined in as she leaned in to look down the table. "Even most of the fashion and graphic designers from Mistral are coming to help with the Vytal Festival. Though it's difficult, if you want to be famous, then look no further than Mistral."
"Ah," Ruby responded and looked upward at the ceiling as she processed this information. "So why are you here?"
"Well... it wasn't just an act. I was actually trained for combat, and during my shows, they would bring in Grimm for me to fight, thanks to Professor Port," Byeli shrugged as she spoke while looking down as she played with her food.
"Eek! While Pyrrha is the epitome of what it is to be an amazing fighter, Byeli, however, represented what we are fighting for by mixing grace, art, and style in her fighting! It was awesome!" Weiss remarked as she burst out in excitement, once again catching herself as she lost composure and sat back down quietly and cleared her throat.
"That is cool and stuff," Yang rolled her eyes while responded over Weiss' excitement, raising a brow as she put a hand on to her cheek and looked at Byeli. "But that still doesn't answer the question as to why you're here."
"I have to agree. You could have continued to show support for the Huntsmen and Huntresses by representing us. Why come here?" Blake joined in, which made Byeli feel smaller and smaller as everyone began to press her with these questions. Celise noticed her discomfort, at which point she stood up and sat beside her teammate to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Well, see, I had a bit of an 'accident,'" She said quietly, which made everyone lean in to hear her but also out of curiosity. Except for Ruby, who instead had a shocked look on her face.
"'Accident?' You mean you couldn't hold it in?" Ruby whispered.
"Not that kind of accident, you dolt!" Weiss yelled out, offended that she would imply something like that about someone she considered a role model.
Blake crossed her arms and stared at Byeli in disbelief. "Revealing that you were a Faunus is considered an accident?"
"Well not in that sense!" Byeli said as she tried frantically to explain what she meant.
"Yeah, I saw that show! I don't see what the problem was, however," said Weiss as she crossed her arms and sat down with a hint of arrogance. Byeli smiled at her words but didn't notice the body language which leads her to misunderstand what Weiss meant.
"You were actually normal. Not like those animals," Weiss concluded, upon hearing that Byeli's eyes widened and her smile immediately vanished. Blake tightened her fists at the disparaging remark that was made about the Faunus. Byeli continued to stare in disbelief at Weiss and her eyes began to water. Weiss noticed, and turned to everyone to see that they all were expressing awkwardness, as well as disappointment, in her words.
"What? It's true."
"It is because of that kind of thinking, Miss Schnee, that I had my awards stripped from me," Byeli said with her eyes narrowed angrily at Weiss, wiping her eyes as they itched from the tears that began to well up, but she fought them back.
"Although I did enjoy doing those shows, the one thing I loathed was the fact that I had to hide my Faunus lineage. My parents always told me that people would hate me, that I had to constantly hide it in order to do well in the world, because people were ignorant. But they also told me that I should always be proud of who and what I am," she said as she continued to stare at Weiss coldly, forcing her to look away out of intimidation. Celise then nudged her friend, impressed that she had a tough girl attitude underneath the cute looks. The nudge forced Byeli to break eye contact with Weiss, as the sudden contact had startled her, and the warmth of her friend caused her to calm down. After thinking to herself for a bit she giggled at her friend's support, and nudged her in return.
"I also saw how humans also took pride in who they were, thinking that it was because of humans that Huntsmen existed, and forgetting that there was also Faunus among the many heroes who had fought against the tyrants eighty years ago, saved our art from the bonfires, and preserved our freedom. The difference, however, was that humans didn't have to hide who they were like I did. So during my last show, I decided to reveal who I really was. Needless to say, people did not enjoy learning the truth."
Blake looked on with sympathy, remembering how Byeli had had to hide her true identity as a Faunus, and the fact that she had to hide who she really was as well.
"So Blake, when I say that I had an accident, I mean something else entirely: that my being here was not my intended result. You see, when I revealed what I was, there were some people who did notice and were impressed. That was when Ozpin approached me and offered me a chance to join Beacon, saying that my skills were rusty but they could be refined," Byeli then looked back to Weiss, who slowly began to make eye contact. When it was finally made, Byeli smiled softly at her.
"Now I am here. The Huntsmen were always admired and respected, so I accepted Ozpin's offer, that I might demonstrate that Faunus are not just 'animals,'" Weiss winced when she used the word "animals", thinking that she threw the word like a rock, just to spite her. However, as she continued to look at Byeli, she noticed that she still held her smile, and didn't carry any malice in her face when she spoke.
Without warning, the bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast, and giving the students time to head for their morning classes. Raine then began to pout and raise his hands in the air as he had only just finished his third plate and was still hungry. Everyone at the table got up, with Weiss slowly rising, as she felt a modicum of shame. Yang and Ruby stood up together. While Yang bumped fists with Celise, Ruby instead leaned in and hugged her tightly.
"I am so glad to see you again Celise! I missed you." Ruby said quietly.
"It hasn't been that long since our last year together at Signal," she replied as she tried to feign a tough attitude in front of her team. When they went out of sight, she looked back down on to Ruby and embraced her.
"But I missed you too, Ruby."
0-RWBY-0
Nadira split off from her team as she had forgotten her books back in their dorm. As she walked down the hall, she was cursing to herself that she could have been so stupid as to have left them behind. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when she noticed Zed was looking around at the end of the hall. Zed was nervously looking around himself, seemingly scouting where he had seen Blake the week before. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were flashing between green and fiery orange as he continued to look around, seething through his teeth while also talking to himself in an attempt to calm down. She approached him slowly and tapped him on the shoulder. He immediately spun around and brandished his karambit, with Nadira also pulling out her dirks in response.
"Damn it Nadira! Don't do that!" He exclaimed angrily as he put away his karambit, exhaling in relief after realizing that it was just her.
"You alright, Zed?" she asked him in a monotone voice.
"I'm fine, thanks." He replied as he began to fix his hair and his eyes then stayed green. After he was done with his hair, he moved past Nadira and began to walk down the hall to his next class.
"Where is your team?" she asked.
"Haiiden and Vaughn went to their first class, and Cecilia was called to the Headmaster's office," he replied but without turning around to face her as he continued to walk down the hall.
"So what are you doing here?" She asked with a quirked brow, no longer able to hold the monotonous voice, as curiosity got the better of her, and she forgot to hide her comportment.
"None of your business," he said before turning the corner and disappearing from sight. The coldness in his voice left Nadira speechless and confused, since Zed never acted this way to people he considered his friends, and certainly not to women.
0-RWBY-0
Cecilia stopped just in front of Ozpin's office and knocked on the door. It opened briefly, giving her just enough time to enter before it closed shut, with the help of Glynda's magic. She remembered the last time she was in this room, and that she had requested a duel for leadership of Team HAVC. She hesitated as she thought to herself as she began to feel shame but also wondered to herself as to why she was feeling this way. She had agreed to forgive Haiiden, of course, but she never felt regret for any of the actions she had ever taken. Feeling that she had made her choices with clarity of mind and of her own free will, that she would take responsibility, and yet she still felt guilty. She tightened her hands in to fists, but then began to think back as to what she saw back on the stage. Her memories of the orphanage, as well as Colonel Sceryei was forced before her eyes and yet, there were also images that were not her own. She thought to herself for a bit before remembering where she was, and proceeded to walk to Ozpin's desk, stopping just in front of it. He kept silent for a few moments as he studied Cecilia's expression, as well as her body language. Sitting with his hands under his chin, he continued to look at her with an inscrutable expression.
"Still not happy, I see?" He said finally, breaking the silence.
The sudden comment took Cecilia off guard, causing her to jump in place and look back between Ozpin and Glynda, as she thought as to what to say.
"I am fine, sir, and thank you for your concern." She replied with an insincere smile.
"Hopefully the outcome of the duel has finally put the matter to rest as to whether or not Haiiden should lead you, and the rest of HAVC," he responded, not moving from the position that he was in, and continued to stare down Cecilia.
"I was actually quite surprised. I had hoped that fighting newbies would dull his skills, but he still proved more than formidable." Cecilia tilted her head as she spoke, this time no longer faking her smile as she thought of Colonel Sceryei and how she thought Haiiden was in some ways similar.
"Good. I hope this will end all hostilities. Students have begun to comment that they have been able to sleep for the first time since the start of the school without being awoken by your arguing," Ozpin said before chuckling to himself and finally breaking eye contact. He allowed himself some time to calm down before looking back up to Cecilia.
"Yet I feel there are other reasons as to why you chose to forgive him," he stated inquisitively and a concerned expression. Cecilia, for her part, responded with a similar look on her face. Then her mind drifted back to the images she had seen once again.
"How is your hand?" he asked. She looked down at her hand and winced to herself, remembering the moment when she touched Haiiden, when her memories were forced out of her, as well as her mind invaded by images that she didn't recognize. Ozpin nodded as he began to piece the clues together then stood up and walked over to Cecilia, stopping face-to-face in front of her.
"Cecilia, what did you see?" He asked her as her face expressed shock and horror at the situation.
"And start from the beginning," Glynda added as Cecilia swallowed nervously, and hesitantly began to recount the images that she had seen.
"There was a fireplace, and even though it felt like a dream, it made me feel nice and warm…"
0-RWBY-0
"Hello, sleepyhead," Haiiden heard as he remembered the familiar and melodic voice from his recurring dreams. He watched as the hand from this mysterious person reached his head and began to pet him. His hair was gently ruffled as the hand softly glided on top of him and gave him a warm feeling inside. It was a feeling that reignited the flames in his soul, a feeling that he never wanted to let go of again. He looked up at the figure and noticed that it still had the same light that obscured its face, but at that moment it slowly began to fade. As the light slowly disappeared, Haiiden seemed to have lost as his breath as it revealed the features of a woman that he recognized. Her white hair that extended past her shoulders, and her fair skin was as white as smiled at him, then pulled her hand away from him; instead, she set it on her lap next to a book that she had been reading. He couldn't help but sit in silence; awestruck at the woman before him, wanting to say something, yet he was unable to.
"Feeling better?" Haiiden thought to himself, confused as to what she was asking. He was then surprised to see his knees bandaged as he looked down.
"When did I get these?" Haiiden tried to ask but the question instead echoed in his mind. Again and again, he kept trying to speak, but no words came out of his mouth.
"Psh. It wasn't that bad!" he couldn't help but freeze as he heard a voice that he did not recognize at first. The only thing he knew was that it sounded like the voice belonged to a child.
"Oh, of course. I always forget how strong my big boy is," the woman then smiled at him again and Haiiden continued to look on with confusion which slowly began to disappear as he regained clarity. Slowly piecing together the clues about the woman, the fireplace, and the voice of a young child. Realizing that he was instead looking through the eyes of his younger self.
"But then that would mean-"
"Yeah! Huntsmen are strong! We don't cry!" his younger self interrupted again, standing up and jumping in place with the familiar excitement that he once felt.
The woman giggled to herself as she watched the boy pick up a wooden sword and began to swing it at imaginary Grimm.
"My, my, you will turn in to a fine Huntsman one day, Haiiden."
"I know I will! You always fought so hard, but then it will be my turn to fight for you!" The younger Haiiden said with his fists tightened and his face expressed determination. The older Haiiden watched on through the boy's eyes and remembered again the familiar feeling, the same determination that he felt when he came back to Beacon.
"I want to be just like you!" the boy declared, and if Haiiden could have smiled, he would have. His younger self then turned away and continued to swing his wooden sword, hearing it swish as it sliced through the air, but Haiiden then noticed that he was no longer looking through the eyes of the boy. Instead, it seemed like he was standing in front of the woman and just within reach of her. He noticed her shocked expression when the boy declared that he wanted to be like her.
"I don't remember this, or was it just that I didn't notice?" Haiiden asked himself as he felt the flames in his soul slowly die when the woman's expression changed to a more somber one. Haiiden then gritted his teeth as he felt something block his throat and his eyes burned while he tried to breathe in deeply to calm himself, but ended up failing.
"What is wrong? Why do you look like that? Why do you look so-?"
"Disappointed."
That word continued to echo in his mind and he began to hear the voices of Professor Port as well as his friend, Vaughn repeating the word in his mind. Then hearing more and more voices that he failed to recognize as they all melded together and in unison began to repeat that same dreadful word.
Disappointed.
Waking suddenly from his nightmare, Haiiden found himself staring up at the ceiling of his team's dorm. Breathing heavily, he then lifted up his left arm; he had removed the gauntlet for the night and instead wore a black leather glove that covered the entirety of his arm. He stared at it for what seemed like minutes as his mind was blank, and he could no longer make out the time. He reflected on his dream as he stared for a few moments more before flexing his hand and curling it into a fist. The leather of his glove writhed against itself as his fingers contracted; he gritted his teeth while he thought. He seethed angrily as he remembered his failings before he began to calm himself, while he repeated the goal that he had set out for himself since joining Beacon.
"Never forget."