Jaune wasn't able to empathize with Velvet's situation, considering he's seen his fair share of far more horrifying situations. Yet, he could tell she was suffering and it'd be best not to comment in order to keep up appearances. In the end, she'd only be a part of one of the shenanigans he'd planned to get into during his time at Beacon. He wasn't emotionless nor a monster, just a man with a real purpose. He hungrily bit his lip as his dreams got closer and closer to becoming a reality.
By the time he dragged Velvet out of the cafeteria, she had begun to cry. He brought her to his dorm for some privacy and led her to his bed. She sat down and brought her knees to her face, no longer bound by appearances. It was beautiful in a way, watching her pour her heart out like this. Beneath the meek exterior was a capable and talented warrior enduring emotional and physical harassment.
Jaune didn't condone racism, but he'd be a hypocrite if he didn't admit it had its uses when it came to cracking open people. All it took to make someone break off from their guarded, automatic responses was one remark. He had no issues with the faunus personally, but he did despise the extremists known as the White Fang. They only wished to bring chaos and destruction to humanity. Unlike them, he had a real goal for everyone. His perspective will finally come to light, snapping the real monsters out of their entitled views.
Jaune sat down next to her and stroked her head before resting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in. She sniffled and hiccuped a bit, trying her best to wipe her tears. He offered to call her teammates on her scroll, which she complied with. She handed him her scroll and told her the passcode. She explained she wasn't in the mood to explain herself to her friends. Jaune scrolled through her contact list and took note of some of the numbers. His eyes rested on the name he was looking for.
"Hey Bun, what's u-" Coco Adel blinked when she realized she was looking at a complete stranger. "Okay pal, either you're a friend or a freak with Bun's scroll. I highly advise you tell me which one you are if you value your well-being."
Good looks with a delightful sense of fashion. Casual, but very protective of her shy friend. Her words weren't empty and held some weight. He had the feeling this girl could hunt him down within minutes if she really wanted to. Considering the circumstances with Velvet's current state and how hostile Coco it, it'd be best to take it slow on this one.
"I'm a friend," he said softly. "I'm with Velvet in my dorm. First year. Could you come pick her up? There was an issue in the cafeteria, and Velvet here could use some support right now. You're her friend, right?"
Jaune adjusted the scroll so that Coco could see Velvet. Coco's breathing hitched and Jaune could tell just how angry and concerned she was from audio cues alone. Velvet gave a half-hearted smile and lightly waved, offering some assurance that she was holding up just fine. It didn't convince Coco though.
"Hang on Bun, I'll be right there with the guys." Coco directed her attention to him. "I'll be right there. Keep an eye on her."
Coco hung up. Velvet sniffled and dried her tears by wiping her face with her sleeves. "I appreciate this, Jaune. You're really sweet…"
Another small, awkward smile adorned her. The sight would've any typical man melt, and they'd try to earn something from a girl like her. The situation they found themselves in reminded him when he first met Ashlynn. She'd offer him comfort along with a chance to achieve liberation. Yet, Jaune had something different in mind for the rabbit girl. He wasn't trying to make her fall for him, after all. At least, not to reignite the feelings he once had.
"I prefer to be addressed as the decent human being. I'm sure anyone like me would go out of their way to help you. I mean, who wouldn't want the attention of a lovely bunny lady?"
As much as he wanted to see her response to that, the door began to open. He didn't think Coco would show up so quickly, considering he forgot to tell her his room number, but to his surprise, it was someone else at the door.
"Jaune...?" Pyrrha said slowly. She eyed her attention over to the crying girl next to him. "I'm sorry! I-I'll come back later."
And with that, his favorite redhead fled. He noticed how Velvet's expression changed a bit.
"You're friends with Pyrrha Nikos?"
"Yeah. She's got legs I personally give a twelve out of ten."
Velvet's head snapped towards him as her cheeks flushed. Despite how much she cried, she couldn't help but fail to stifle her laughter. Here's where it began...
"Yang!" Blake called out. The raven-haired girl hustled over to her teammate. Yang was still wearing the same outfit from before, but it was a bit tattered. When Blake approached her, she noticed how her hair was a bit of a mess and there were small bags under her eyes. "I..." Blake bit her tongue. "Where have you been?"
It appeared as though the previously bombastic girl had an excuse prepared, but she lacked the energy and motivation to even say it. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Soon after, a few tears leaked as she gave a weak smile with an even weaker laugh.
"Friend was in town... I wanted to catch up and-"
"I can tell when someone is lying to me, despite how I barely know you, Yang. Even an untrained eye can tell," Blake cut in. Yang flinched, but Blake softened her gaze. "But if I may be so bold, I'd like to think of myself as an acquaintance at the very least. A friend even, considering how Weiss and I saved you and your sister. Not to mention how we're teammates now. We're going to be together for the next four years. I'd rather not see you making obvious excuses when it's not even been a week here and you've already missed class."
She had too, but Yang didn't need to know about that right now. Besides, she doubted she missed anything important.
Blake was stuck within her own mind pondering the whole situation with her team. She initially thought it'd be nice to find some solace in isolation, but she soon grew tired of reading alone. She meant what she said; her teammates mattered to her, especially since they would be combating against the forces outside the walls of Vale. All sorts of monsters...
Yang visibly shifted when Blake mentioned the whole ordeal during initiation. It was clearly a touchy subject, anything pertaining to her sister apparently has that effect on her, but Blake was worried.
"Quite forward of you Blakey." Yang forced a grin. "I've gotta say, it's flattering you've taken such an interest in me."
"You were out all night and didn't offer us an explanation. I understand you have your own agenda, but you could've at least messaged us you were going to be out. Where were you?"
Yang didn't drop her smile, but she was a bit rattled by the looks of it.
She avoided the question. "Just out. Nothing special."
Blake sighed. "If it's about what Jaune said, don't let it get to you, alright? Mistakes happen and that's fine. He needs to understand how to phrase his words." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why am I getting so worked up? I trust you weren't doing anything insane like robbing some place, but let us know if you're ever going to do something like that again, alright? I don't need to know the details if you're private, but understand we have obligations."
She wanted to offer whatever she could. There were plenty of recruits back in her days in the White Fang. It wasn't black and white, there were all sorts of problems unique to any individual. If Yang didn't want to talk for now, that's fine. It'd only be an issue if it lasted for too long. Blake would need Yang to open up at her own pace. She almost laughed, thinking of the usually energetic girl like that. Blake wasn't perfect with these sort of issues, but between her and Adam, it wasn't hard to choose between the two of them for advice back then.
Her team was a complete mess. The idea of stirring by her lonesome did seem appealing at first, but an unhealthy dynamic between her team wasn't exactly peachy. She could always ignore them, let them figure things out on their own. However, she wanted a fresh start, and she doubted a dysfunctional team with no signs of reconciliation would help with that. She cursed to herself for rambling again.
"What if I told you I do have other obligations?" Yang offered.
Blake's attention was caught. She might get somewhere with this. "Like what? A job?"
"Something like that..." Yang held her arm. "I'd worry about the other two though, Blake. It's not that I don't appreciate the concern, it's just that I think they're a more pressing concern."
The other two? Jaune and Weiss probably. Her luck being on the same team with Weiss Schnee wasn't spectacular, but having Jaune Arc as well made her feel like an actual black cat - a bad luck charm of sorts. She was initially worried she would have arguments with Weiss, considering her heritage and past affiliations with the White Fang. It'd be problematic if she were to learn of either, but Weiss was already occupied with Jaune. Something was up with him, and she could tell he knew far more than he let on.
"Yang!" a familiar voice called out. A blur of red and rose petals sped past her and clung onto Yang like a parasite, careful not to touch Yang's arms. Blake wasn't sure how Ruby had managed that considering her injuries.
"She'd quite the bundle of energy, wouldn't you say?"
"Pyrrha?"
"In the flesh. Hello Blake," she beamed. The red-haired girl gave a relaxed smile and gave a light wave.
Perhaps she could ask some new questions now that Yang's occupied.
"Hello," Blake greeted. "You remember how I asked about your opinion on Jaune?"
"Yes, I recall you wanted to know a bit about him since he wasn't exactly talkative with you. Now that I think about it, he did approach me after I stared at him for too long. I'd advise having him approach you if you wish to get to know him, but he has so much going through his mind. I'm sure he'll talk to you under his own volition given time. I mean, he is your leader after all." She brought a hand up to her lips and laughed. "He's quite a schemer."
"You mentioned how the two of you got along." She wasn't sure where to start, but she had a few things to open with. "However, he seems to be rather hostile towards Weiss, as you may recall."
"Oh, yes..." Pyrrha's cheeks flushed. "Let's just say, he didn't exactly make a good first impression on her."
Jaune spoke to her first? She suspected his disdain towards Weiss was because he cared for faunus. She deduced that much because of how the Schnees were regarding faunus, and the most a typical person would do was send a few glares whenever they spotted one. Did she dare ask Pyrrha about how he approached Weiss...?
"What did he say?"
"Quite a bit. But he was childish and purposely pushed her buttons to spark her temper. She wanted to talk to me, and Jaune picked up I needed an out."
Pyrrha was uncomfortable then? So Jaune managed to diffuse the situation by escalating it into something else entirely. For him to actually go out of his way and help someone out of a jam was odd, much like the case of the rabbit girl, but he did get the chance to poke fun at Weiss in return.
"What did he say exactly?" If she was right, he may have poked fun at her family name, or tore into it like he did with Yang.
"He pretended Weiss had sexual feelings for me and supported her supposed sexuality."
Blake blinked. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting that...
"That's the thing," Blake winced. "I think there's more to this. Jaune probably holds a personal grudge against Weiss. And I don't mean anything light, he bluntly said himself that he does not like her. I'm worried about how this may affect the team, and it's already taken a bit of a toll on Yang." Honestly, she could use all the help she could get.
Pyrrha dropped her smile and had a quick look at the blonde, revitalized with energy as she tried to pry off her little sister clinging onto her happily.
"Do you think this has to do with Weiss' family?" Blake nodded. "Well, I've noticed how Jaune has grown a bit close with this girl, and as you know, Jaune doesn't exactly speak to just anyone without teasing them." Pyrrha's face scrunched up into an odd expression. Jealousy? "This girl was with Jaune in your dorm, and he was comforting her."
"Jaune showing empathy..."
Pyrrha chuckled. "I don't think he's that bad... Although it appears to be a different story with you guys."
"What's so special about this girl?"
"Well, this girl happens to be a faunus."
"Is she a rabbit one?"
Pyrrha nodded. Blake remembered how Jaune helped that girl from someone harrassing her. Did a similar incident happen again? The more Blake pondered about it, the more convinced she was that Jaune himself, or someone he knew was harmed by the Schnee family in some way. So how was she going to solve this issue? It's not like Jaune would try to explain himself to Weiss... If anything, he'd plot numerous ways to make her crack.
So... would he open up to someone who can empathize with him?
Blake's bow twitched.
