The sun was shining, the sand was hot, and there was blood seeping into the sand around Sahra. Not his, of course, it never was. It was spreading from some poor bastard laying not three feet from him. Burns covered the man all over, his clothes melted onto his flesh, the acrid smell filling Sahra's nose. There was a chunk missing in his side, organs visible as they spilled out onto the sand.

Sahra barely spared him a glance as he sprinted for the least damaged building in sight. Everything was on fire, even the ground, and the heat was a physical force actively acting against his ability to breathe. Thankfully the structure ahead seemed like it had escaped most of the blaze, somehow, and still had three walls and maybe a quarter of it's roof. Sufficient cover.

Safely(or as safely as one could get in such circumstances) ensconced within the building, Sahra took a moment to reload his revolvers and rifle, fumbling for a moment with the rounds as he pulled them off his bandolier. He was breathing hard and fast, now, and it wasn't just the running.

The godsdamned kumiho was attacking Buhriz and there wasn't a damn thing he could do.

He knew it was over for the town when he heard the screech. He had been at the Desert Flower when it happened. The owner and he had shared a look, just for a moment, and then the ground shook as the giant fox began its rampage.

Sahra had exited the building immediately after that, looking up and around to see if he couldn't spot the bastard. A plume of smoke was rising from a few hundred feet away, but no visual on the grimm. It looked like neither it nor its little helpers had made it this far into the town, and for that Sahra was thankful.

The gunslinger knew full well that there wasn't a thing he could do to it. He was geared for people, for smaller grimm out in the wastes, not city-killers. The fox had shrugged off far more from far better and still turned around to slaughter them with impunity, so Sahra was under no illusions as to his ability to harm it.

That left one option: run.

He was more than happy to do that, though, and turned in the opposite direction of the plume of smoke. His supplies weren't in the best spot at the moment, but there was no way he was going to stop and top off with the kumiho raging. The uncertainty of making it to the next town alive was far better than the certainty of being torn apart by the tender mercies of the fox.

Deek had taken off as soon as he left the inn, and was now circling ahead, scouting a clear path for Sahra. He took off in the direction of his partner, sprinting as fast as he could with his rifle in his hands. Sahra kept his breathing controlled as he did so, periodically checking over his shoulder. The earth-shaking impacts and sounds of destruction had yet to cease, and it sounded like they were getting farther away.

Then a roar sounded from behind him and he whirled, unloading into a charging prowler. The thing stumbled under the first impact, tripping and falling as the second and third passed through the skull. Sahra wasted no time in turning again and reloading as he ran.

Deek was veering left in the sky, so Sahra turned down a side street. Smoke was beginning to fill his lungs through his bandanna and he could only trust his aura to do the necessary work. Smoke inhalation was not pleasant, but his aura should at least prevent the worst of it from affecting him.

Sahra turned right, back onto another main street. The town limits were closer now, and barring any other grimm encounters he would be able to make it out safely.

Then a smoking body flew past him and slammed into the ground with a wet crunch-slap. Sahra didn't stop running. From what he could hear the kumiho was closer now and he could not afford to slow or stop.

The ground shook again and Sahra stumbled momentarily, glancing over his shoulder, and holy shit the fox is right fucking there what when how fuck fuck aura up

Then everything was pain and Sahra couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't move. Slowly, oh so slowly, he began to realize the kumiho had probably hit him. There was a weight on his back like nothing he had ever felt before, and as he tried to push up and get his knee under him, the heat actually increased.

For a moment he could actually feel the heat, and then his brain couldn't handle it anymore and all he could feel was white hot pain all over as everything went blank

Then it was over and his ears were ringing and his vision was black. His vision slowly returned and Sahra gasped a deep, shuddering breath that wasn't as deep or shuddering as his brain would've liked. Thank the gods aura prioritized vital areas or his eyes would likely have been boiled solid, to say nothing of his lungs or throat.

But there was still a weight on his back, one that had to be lifted, and godsdamnit he was absolutely not going to die out here, not to some overgrown fox. So he tensed, pushed, and strained harder than he ever had. Inch by agonizing inch the weight lifted. Inch by inch it raised, every second a struggle, every inch a fight harder than any he'd ever had. The adrenaline was really going and Sahra had never been more thankful in his life. The burns would undoubtedly have crippled him had he not had a combination of aura healing and adrenaline flowing.

His knee was under him and Sahra slowly stood, breath short and muscles tight. He cast the rubble off of himself and it crashed to the ground. He took a step forward-

Only to fall to his hands and knees a second later as the pain from the burns hit him. It was like he was back in the fire, nerves screaming. His vision swam and he blinked a few times. Using part of the fallen wall to lever himself upwards, Sahra looked down into himself.

His clothes were patchy and burned in some places, in others they were melted to his skin. What skin was exposed was red and bubbling in some places. Sahra's head spun, his breaths coming faster and faster.

No. I refuse. I will NOT die here.

Direction found once more Sahra quickly checked his gear, doing his best to ignore the pain in every movement. His revolvers were still holstered and his rifle was sticking out of some masonry over there, so he yanked it out, ignoring the pain in his arm and palms as he did so. His hat was gone, and he had no idea where Deek was. The kumiho seemed to have lost interest in him, though, maybe assuming he was dead, so now was the time to go-

Oh fuck it's right there you sick bastard just let me go

One tail poised to spear him through, the kumiho stared him down. Sahra stood, frozen in the eldritch glare, waiting for the inevitable, waiting for the tail to come down and go straight through him.

The tail moved.

Sahra started in bed, knife in hand. Breathing deeply he collected himself. A momentary glance around the room showed nothing out of place, nor any awake teammates to ask questions, so Sahra elected to stare at the ceiling instead.

This was Beacon, not Vacuo. The kumiho wasn't even in Vacuo anymore, the damned thing had left for Mistral a year or so back. There was no way it could be anywhere near Vale-he was safe here, and with his semblance he could easily escape once more. Safe.

Swinging out of bed Sahra snatched his scroll from the nightstand. 5:42 in the morning. Early, but not unusual for him, nor too early given how they passed out last night almost immediately after setting up the room. He decided that any more sleep was likely not going to happen no matter what he tried. Instead he went to shower and maybe care for his guns.

Showers were a luxury that he didn't often get out wandering the wastes simply by the nature of his movements. Maybe once every week or so he would stop by a town and buy a room just to shower, usually right after he had completed a job. Those tended to get him more dirty than he normally was, and they were also spaced out to about once every week or so.

While the hotel Crow had dropped him off at was maybe not the best, it was certainly better than most in Vacuo. Not many tended to visit out there, and low demand meant low supply. Vale, though, was a different story. They had all sorts of little amenities there. Sahra hadn't hesitated in nabbing the little soap bottles they had provided. He had his own, of course, but he had paid for that room and damnit he was going to get his money's worth.

Now came the important question of what exactly he was going to wear. He would admit that his current attire was likely not fit for continued use, given the events of initiation and before he had arrived in Vale. Neither was his other stuff, though, as he had been planning to clean it in the time after he had returned to Panj. Unfortunately Crow had thrown a bit of a wrench in those plans.

Sahra didn't really see an alternative to just continuing to wear what he had on. Until he could clean his other clothes there weren't really any other options. Resigning himself to the uncomfortable experience ahead, Sahra showered, enjoying the sensation of the cold water. The burns the kumiho had left lingered sometimes, and he had taken to cold showers as a way of alleviating the pain. They were one of his few pleasures.

But it was over as quickly as it had begun, just as always. All things in moderation, he reminded himself. Wouldn't do to let his desires run wild. Indulgence would lessen the reward, and tempering them would make them that much sweeter later.

Exiting the bathroom Sahra glanced towards his team(strange thought, that). They were all still asleep, but both Nora and Pyrrha had shifted. Ren was almost like a corpse in his stillness. Sahra figured that made sense: from the little that he'd seen keeping up with Nora was no joke.

It was probably about six, so Sahra decided to take a walk and check in with Deek. Exiting the dorm he made left for the hall's exit. Upon leaving that he whistled once, scanning the sky for his friend. Sure enough, Deek landed on his shoulder not half a minute later.

"Find something tasty while I was away?" he asked the eagle.

Deek clicked once in response.

"That's good," Sahra said with a half smile. "Now, I'm not sure if you're gonna be let in classes, so you might just be on your own for a while here."

Deek shook himself.

"Yeah, I know, but can you honestly see yourself sittin' there?"

Deek looked away.

"Thought not. Anyways, I'm probably gonna head to the gardens or somethin'. Got a bit of time before class," Sahra said.

Deek settled in for the walk, preening as Sahra made his way to the garden. It wasn't a long walk. The flower he had made was still there in all it's discolored glory, and he wasn't about to try his hand at another one. This one was already too much.

It was alive, though, and he supposed he had to keep it that way. His responsibility, after all. Focusing a bit, Sahra placed his palms on the ground. He could feel the flower, feel the way it thrummed with life. There was energy flowing through it, through him, through the whole of the gardens. A little of that energy pulled from his aura and pushed into the little flower and it gained just a little vibrancy, a little more life.

Standing back up Sahra gazed across the assorted flowers before turning back the way he had come. Maybe the long route this time, as he still had just under an hour before the rest of his team woke.

Even now it was strange to think about the idea that he had a team. People to work with, to watch his back, people he had to look out for-he had never had that when wandering besides Deek. This was wholly different, though. It wasn't that he was averse to the idea of working with others, just that he was unused to it. Honestly, he had no idea how this was going to go. He'd be damned if he wasn't going to at least try, though. Making it this far was something of an achievement, so they at least deserved that much. Unless, of course, they turned out to be huge assholes, which they hadn't so far.

Pyrrha seemed nice, perhaps a little naive, thoughtful, too. He was curious how his skills compared to hers, given the differences between how they learned them. Ren was quiet and not much else, although Sahra hadn't had much time to observe yet. He seemed to care for Nora, though. Nora, on the other hand, was something else. So many half baked ideas so quickly, it was a wonder her head hadn't exploded yet. She seemed nice as well, though.

Sahra had heard that most other places weren't nearly as tolerant of faunus as Vacuo, but he had yet to experience anything like that. His eyes mostly fell in the 'other people's problem' philosophy, in that it wasn't his problem until someone else decided to make it so, and then the only problem they would have after that was a new hole in their skull.

It was a great philosophy, one that had served him exceptionally well in the wastes. People out there mostly followed the same rule, so he hadn't had many complaints when he enacted the policy. Besides, those kinds of idiots were few and far between in Vacuo. If you could hack it in the desert among everything that wanted you dead, you were as good as native. What did it matter if you had an extra set of ears or a tail?

Here in Vale, though, Sahra wasn't sure that sort of thing was going to fly. In fact he rather expected it to crash rather spectacularly if tried. Hence a modification: if someone wanted to make their problem his, he would impress upon them exactly why that was a bad idea in a lasting manner. It certainly took more effort than the draw-aim-fire he could accomplish in an instant, but it was a good alternative when that was unavailable.

He fully expected to make at least some waves with his burns, though. Even out in Vacuo where kumiho survivors were common(well, not exactly common, but there were more of them there than anywhere else) the few people that had seen them had been surprised. Sahra supposed the reaction was warranted, though. Damn things covered almost his whole body. His aura had protected him from the worst of it, just barely, preventing his flesh from melting and his lungs from suffering internal scarring(thank the gods).

Deek tapped his head, ruffling his feathers and taking off. Sahra cursed at him in response.

His scroll rang just then. Pulling it from his pocket Sahra noted the name-Ozpin-and pressed the icon opposite the red x.

"Yo," was his lead.

"Hello, Mr. Naid. I'm sure you have questions about your situation, as well as your feathered friend's. Crow does not tend to be the best at explanations, so I felt it best to leave much of the talking to myself. Would you please come to my office so that we may discuss arrangements for your eagle?"

"Sure," Sahra agreed.

"I will send directions presently," Ozpin said, hanging up.

Sure enough a message from the man popped up just after the call ended. Big tower...yeah, I don't think I need much else. This felt a bit like the metaphorical other shoe dropping. The headmaster(thank the gods he finally had a name for the man) wanted to speak with him, and there was no way it was simply about Deek and any questions he may have had concerning his personal situation. Nothing was ever that simple, especially when considering his semblance.

It was best to prepare for the inevitable recruitment pitch or whatever the man was going to throw at him beforehand, just so he could get out of there faster. Way back when, on one of his first jobs, the Tongues had tried to recruit him when a lieutenant saw Sahra dismantle his guys with his semblance. Sahra had been dumbfounded by the offer, surprised at the idiot's gall. It didn't stop him from putting a .450 marlin in between the moron's eyes, though. It did provide a great source of entertainment when he got back to town, though.

Big tower...yep, there it was. Enter lobby, call elevator, wait for an amount of time Sahra was sure was abnormal-although he had never been in one so he couldn't say for sure, but wasn't the point of an elevator to make things faster? Get in elevator, wait some more, stare at the door blankly. Door's open now, walk in, sit down.

"So what'd ya want to talk about?"

Ozpin quirked a brow. "I would like to discuss the living situation of your eagle. As I am sure you already know Beacon is not exactly equipped to care for him, but we are willing to make allowances in cases such as these. Your bond with your friend is a remarkable thing, and if I am correct, his aura is unlocked. Concerning class, I regret to inform you that he will be required to stay outside."

The man's information was complete, Sahra would give him that, but the attempt at tying him down with a debt of gratitude was so pitifully transparent. Deek didn't even need such 'allowances', either, he could survive just as well on his own. "I appreciate the offer, really, but there's no need for that. Deek'll be just fine as he is. No need to worry about him coming in, either, he knows better."

Ozpin nodded once in response. "Correct me if I am wrong, Mr. Naid, but as I understand it you never attended a primary combat school, or indeed any school."

"Sure didn't."

"Then I would like you to know that at Beacon we strive to accommodate and support our students as best as possible. For you, this means that there will be additional remedial classes necessary to fill the holes in your education. Professors Oobleck, Port, and Peach will be overseeing these classes concerning their own subjects. Math, language, and literature will be provided in an online format. Now, I know that this sounds like a great deal of work, but the faculty are aware of your situation and will make allowances accordingly, should you ask. I have full faith in your ability, Mr. Naid."

The prospect of more work than normal was not thrilling in any way, but necessary. He understood that, but still disliked it. His course was set, however, and it wasn't like he could just take the next bullhead back to Vacuo. "Alright, sounds good."

Ozpin inclined his head slightly. "Well. Should you have any pertinent questions, feel free to contact me or Glynda to ask. Remember, we are happy to accommodate you here."

Happy to accommodate...given your semblance. Betcha if someone else tried to waltz in here with a pet, or gods forbid having never attended a primary combat school, they'd be turned away immediately. Sahra had known what he was getting into when he stepped onto that bullhead, though. Power like his never went unnoticed, and when you had the power to stop one of the deadliest grimm in history, a whole lotta heads would turn your way when you used it. Here at least he had some choice in what he did. Atlas, the Fang, the Tongues...they all wanted him for his power. Here was no different in motive, not really, but at least at Beacon he might be able to make something of himself rather than an aimless drifter. Here he could be something other than a weapon.

"Right...well, thanks for the offer. Suppose I'd better be on my way now. Check in with the team, see if they're up yet."

"You're welcome, Mr. Naid. Before you go to class, though, I would suggest changing into the school uniform. I know it's the first day, but the rules must be observed. Have an excellent day."

Sahra tossed a small salute, only a little mocking, and got back in the elevator. The thing was there early, he noted. Ozpin must have called it before he got up. Surprisingly not a whole lot of poking or prodding into his past or what he could do, but Sahra assumed the headmaster mostly already knew. The bounty hunting and all that wasn't exactly hidden.

Now it was time to get back to the dorm. The conversation had been blessedly short, so that left him with maybe another half hour when he got back to Null's room, given the ambling pace he was taking. So much time before classes and he had absolutely nothing to do.

Arriving back at the dorm Sahra was unsurprised to find that they were all still asleep. Pyrrha's alarm wouldn't go off for another half hour. Still ample time to properly prepare for the day, and Sahra found himself wishing he could've been waking with them instead of before. So little to do so far but wait and wander. At least he could practice his semblance, make it faster, stronger, better back in Vacuo when he was far out in the desert by himself. It was a bit too visible for Beacon, though.

Ozzy had mentioned a uniform and Sahra didn't much like the idea. He'd gladly wear it in the moment, as it meant that he wouldn't have to wear his current outfit again, but it was the principle behind it, the homogeneity, the restriction of freedom that rubbed him the wrong way. His clothes had become a part of his identity over the years, the hat, bandanna, and poncho combo becoming well known in the communities he frequented. Every little bit counted and to lose something so fundamental to his image felt wrong.

There was nothing for it, though. Oz had told him to wear it, and his current stuff was dirty anyways. Not many options there. Thus changed he took a look at himself, and found that his preconceptions were justified. Damn thing looked awful. His burns were plainly visible on his hands and head, although that was to be expected. Perhaps if he tied his bandanna around his head...no, he just looked like even more of an idiot. Bald and burned it was, then.

Been a long time since I just walked around with nothing on my face, he realized. The bandanna covered the lower half, and the hat riding low shadowed his eyes. That way the most people ever saw of him was his yellow and black eyes. Not necessarily a bad thing, perhaps, but something he hadn't really realized he was doing.

Pyrrha's alarm went off and his partner rose almost robotically. Sahra exited the bathroom and watched, fascinated, as she moved methodically towards that which he had just left. The door shut and he stood there, head cocked. "Huh."

Clearly not a morning person, but disciplined all the same. Something of a sight to behold. Ren and Nora were coming out of sleep, and while Sahra felt Ren definitely deserved a little more, it was time to get up. Fortunately, as he was not team leader, that was not his responsibility.

Pyrrha exited the bathroom, still oddly out of it. Sahra continued to watch as she made her bed and laid out her uniform, unsure of how she still hadn't seemed to realize he was awake. She seemed like the kind of person to greet everyone in the morning. Ren and Nora were stirring more now, and Ren actually seemed awake.

"Mornin'," Sahra greeted.

"Good morning."

That seemed to break his partner out of her trance. "Good morning, Sahra."

"Mornin' to you too, partner."

"Mrnnn," added Nora.

Sahra looked to Ren, who simply shrugged. "It's best to simply act like you understand and move on. If it's important she'll clarify later."

Sahra nodded in understanding and sat back down onto his bed to fiddle with his scroll while his teammates got ready. Pyrrha had already entered the shower from the sound of it. Ren was stretching and Nora was blinking heavily while grabbing her and Ren's uniforms. Sahra noted that each of his teammates seemed to know about the uniform beforehand, something he had not been aware of. Assigning the blame to Crow(the bastard), much as he had for everything else he hadn't been told, Sahra resolved to punch the man in the face the next time he saw him. Couldn't have explained at least some things? Damn, man, I even asked about Beacon on the flight over…

You know, I wonder if there's a way to check the schedule for class from my scroll. Scrolls were very much new technology to Sahra, but he was picking it up easily enough. He was inexperienced, not an idiot. Tap there, this happens. Icons look like the thing they're designed to do. Mostly self explanatory.

As it turned out there was a way to check the schedule: the calendar. Who could have seen that coming? Sahra did. The app even looked like a little calendar page. Tapping on it brought him to the week's schedule, times and dates and everything. Today was history at 9...dust studies at 12...combat class at 3. Alright. Tomorrow it was grimm studies at 8:30, combat class at 11:30, and basic wilderness survival at 4. Basically, stuff Sahra could and had done in his sleep(except for history/grimm studies, but who really cared about those anyway?).

He wasn't so overconfident as to think that surviving in the desert would be the same as everywhere else, but certain principles carried over, and his experience would give him an edge there. Same for combat class, dust studies, and even grimm studies. All that field experience in slaughtering would definitely count for something in combat class. He'd been reloading and mixing his own dust rounds since forever, so no trouble there. Grimm studies would probably vary based on the grimm covered. Deathstalkers, prowlers, sand crawlers, taijitus, nevermores, etc. were all well within his wheelhouse. Chimeras, nemeans, ursas, boarbatusks, goliaths, and beringels, on the other hand, were something he'd never encountered. The first two on account of their rarity, but the others just plain didn't exist in Vacuo.

Pyrrha had finished in the bathroom and now Ren was heading in there. Nora was staring sort of listlessly at the iron. Pyrrha looked at him and did a small double take.

"That's…a lot of burns."

"Sure is," Sahra said.

"Kumiho?"

"Yep."

Pyrrha knew better than to press further than that, though, as there was only one time he had encountered the kumiho and the whole world knew about it. She changed tracks. "Why were you up so early, Sahra?"

"How do you know I was up so early?" Sahra responded, putting extra emphasis on the 'so'.

"Just a guess."

"Solid guess, then. Woke up about five forty and figured there was no point in tryin' to go back to sleep."

"Is that normal for you?" Pyrrha questioned inquisitively.

"Yeah, pretty much. I wake up when I wake up and there's not a whole lot I can do to change that."

"Really," Pyrrha said, looking thoughtful.

"Hey, did you get some sorta packet or something on Beacon's rules and whatnot before you got here?" Sahra knew it was likely, but it didn't hurt to confirm.

"I did, yes."

Sahra nodded. "Figured as much."

"I assume that means you didn't, then. Something to do with the fact that you didn't have a scroll?"

"Maybe, yeah, but more the guy who brought me here was an ass," Sahra replied. "Dropped me in Vale without a word."

"Would you like to see the information I was sent?" Pyrrha asked while looking for her scroll.

"Nah...rules aren't really my thing. Tools and all that. It's more the principle of the matter, you know?"

"I would highly advise that you read the rules, Sahra. As your leader, I'd rather not have to deal with any broken ones."

Sahra stared at her, deadpan. "Me? A rulebreaker? I'm hurt, Pyrrha, I am."

Pyrrha stared back with an expectant expression. "So you'll read the rules then."

"Why of course, partner, I would never suggest otherwise."

Pyrrha nodded. "Mmhmm. So I'll send them to you, now, and you'll read them, now. Before we go to class and before you have a chance to break any of them."

"Certainly, partner, certainly."

His scroll dinged and he checked his messages. There it was in all its glory: Beacon's rules and expectations. What an exciting read.

Ren was ready and now it was just Nora they were waiting on. Sahra was somewhat surprised at the efficiency here: between Pyrrha and Ren they had maybe spent about twenty minutes since her alarm went off. Actually, he didn't know what he had expected from his team, just that this probably wasn't it. Nora probably wouldn't take all that much time either.

He was right. Nora took all of maybe fifteen minutes to shower and dress and then Null were on their way out the door to breakfast. What a blessing to have an expedient team.

Class was...strange. Hearing an overview of Remnant's history was eye-opening for Sahra. There was so much he didn't know he didn't know about the world, and it was a bit disconcerting. He knew when the Great War was and the general gist of it, but he had never learned the specifics of the matter: the ideological standpoints of the four kingdoms, the beginning of the conflict, and just how many people were killed.

The content was incredibly interesting to Sahra, but the way it was delivered was infuriatingly fast. Stop and think on one statement too long and you risked missing the next five. Considering the professor's words now wouldn't hurt, though, as the class was over(and what a blessing that was).

"Thinking heavy thoughts, Sahra?" came the voice of his partner.

"You don't know what you don't know," he mused in response. "Never had much of a formal education out in Vacuo."

"Really?" Pyrrha asked, sounding surprised.

"Sure didn't. Life out in the sand wastes is tough, and you gotta tough up quick to survive it. Most folks don't even get out of secondary."

"I've often heard that Vacuo doesn't have much in the way of a central government like the other kingdoms," Ren interjected. "Schools must be rather limited."

"You'd be correct. Some of those little communities out there are lucky enough to have one, but elsewhere?" Sahra shook his head. "So yeah, y'could say most of this is pretty new to me. How 'bout you three, then?"

"Nora and I were orphaned at a young age, and as such we traveled a good deal. Our education before primary combat school is unfortunately spotty, but I would like to think that we did the best we could."

"Yeah...it was hard to stay in one place, but once we got in 'n Kuchinashi it was all good," Nora added with a thumbs up and a smile.

"Well...I, uh, I had a fairly normal education for the most part," Pyrrha said. "I graduated from Haven before coming here."

Sahra noted she seemed faintly embarrassed about this and raised an eyebrow at her. "Ah, now don't feel bad 'bout gettin' a normal education, partner. Ain't your fault the world's a shit place."

Pyrrha hummed lightly with a small, amused smile on her face. "No, I suppose not."

"We got a lot of time between classes, don't we?" Sahra said, changing topics.

"I would imagine that it is intended to give students a chance to work on assignments," Ren replied.

"An hour...too little time to get any meaningful work done on the big stuff, too much time to use solely on the small stuff," Nora postulated. "I bet it's some odd form of torture cooked up by the headmaster after a student complained one too many times."

The other three members of NNNL turned to look at her. Even though their faces were completely expressionless, the disbelief was palpable.

"Anyways, Sahra, did you notice the guys staring at you? Team Cardinal, I believe it was," Pyrrha asked.

"Yup. Doesn't matter to me, though, they can stare all they like. We'll be here for the next four years."

"It seemed like they may have a bit of a problem with you being a faunus," she pressed.

"Well, let me share a little philosophy I used back in Vacuo. The problems they choose to have are their own, and should they choose to share those problems with me, I will impress upon them exactly how much I care," Sahra said frankly. "Which is to say not at all."

"Still. I don't like the way they were looking at you."

"And that's fine. I'm just sayin' that should they start to make trouble, that trouble's gonna start to un-make them."

"I'm always down for some good old leg breakin' action," Nora added.

"So...no, we will not be breaking anybody's legs, Nora. Nor will we be starting any fights," Pyrrha said as she turned to Sahra.

"Course not," Sahra placated with his hands raised. "I'm just sayin' that if they throw the first punch I'll be throwin' the last."

"I suppose that's about as much as I can ask for," Pyrrha sighed.

"Lunch, then?" Ren suggested.

Agreement all around and off to lunch it was for Null. The cafeteria wasn't far. Sahra was sort of overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food there was. It was still surprising, even three meals later, that there could be so much food in one place.

Surprise at the amount was no reason not to take some, though, and Null was through the line and seated soon. Nora chatted animatedly to Ren about a dream she had and Pyrrha was listening whilst clearly thinking about something. Sahra had no idea what she was thinking about so intently, but if she wanted to share, she would.

Totally ignoring the multitudinous stares he was getting, Sahra put an ear to Nora's story. Girl may have a future in storytelling, the way she gets going. Maybe I should tell her a few of mine, see if she's got any to swap…

A fun prospect, if not an immediately pressing one. The girl was bound to have some interesting tales given how often she moved around.

"Hey," interjected a playful voice from his left.

Evidently club blondie had felt the need to insert herself into his life. Sahra was unsure why and waited an awkward moment before parroting her opener, tone and all. "Hey."

Credit to her, though, she recovered quickly. "Name's Yang. How 'bout you?"

"Sahra," he said. Being approached by random people was godsdamn annoying, and introductions were doubly so. Hopefully she wasn't dumb enough to come over here just to ask the obvious.

"My kid sister over there was wondering how you came by all those burns, but she's a little too shy to ask." And nevermind. Apparently she was dumb enough to ask. It was mystifying to Sahra just how many people asked the question when there was really only one plausible answer.

"I'm from Vacuo."

She winced and seemed to realize her mistake and Sahra gave her another credit, balancing out the one she'd lost for asking.

"Ah. Sorry 'bout that," she apologized.

"S'fine. Big bastard didn't kill me, but it's a shame my good looks were forever marred," he joked.

"I'm sure," Yang drawled.

"Can't exactly disprove it, though, can ya?" he shot back.

"No, I suppose not," she conceded. "For what it's worth, though, I think you look fine."

"Really, now?"

"Real fine."

Sahra stared at her, deadpan. Holding his gaze for a moment, he put on a small smirk and slowly shook his head.

"What? Too much, too fast?"

"You're funny, you know that?" he replied. "Real funny. Now get, before I stop laughing."

"Alright, alright," Yang said, raising her hands and getting up.

Sahra turned back to his lunch. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Pyrrha looking at him, and was Ren looking too? Nora was still going, but now it was about why Beacon's breakfasts were disappointing and lackluster. Ignoring Pyrrha for the moment he tuned in to Nora's thesis.

"...and it's a travesty that they could even call those failures pancakes. Honestly, Beacon's supposed to be a world-class institution, right? It would make sense for the cooking here to be at least average or above average given the reputation and funding it no doubt receives, but it's not. It's even worse when we begin to consider the simplicity of the process behind making a pancake itself: flour, baking powder, salt, a little sugar, milk, egg, and maybe a little vanilla for the extra flavor. I don't understand how someone could mess up that badly, not even if they forgot the baking powder. And then they have the audacity to offer similar mistakes all around for the other foods. Just about the only thing that's impossible to get wrong is cereal, and thank Dust they managed to unbox that one properly or otherwise I think I might take up fasting because-"

Sahra nodded along. All valid points.

"So Sahra, what was that about?"

Ah, his partner decided to ask.

"She said something stupid and I let her know."

"Odd way of doing it."

"Worked, didn't it?"

"I suppose."

"Class is at twelve, yeah? We should be going."

Pyrrha checked the time. "So we should. Nora, Ren, you guys ready? Class starts in a bit."

"Oh, yeah," Nora affirmed mid diatribe. Ren merely nodded.

"Then we should be going."

The rest of the day was nothing special. Dust studies was an introduction to the basics and what they would cover and combat class, disappointingly, didn't even involve any combat. It was all rules and forms and what was allowed and what wasn't. It was strange how regimented the spars were for a school that aimed to teach huntsmen. Grimm didn't stop if your aura reached red, and to enemy combatants out in the field? That was the biggest target outside of a broken aura.

The other supplementary class was shaping up to be a slog too: he had at least removed a portion of the work by demonstrating his proficiency in mixing dust grains for use in reloading, but there were still a number of subjects he had to cover. From what the Professor had said, he was looking at consistent work for about two months before he was roughly up to speed with the other students. Not for the first time Sahra thanked the gods that he tended to learn fast.

Now it was just relaxing for the rest of the day. There was very little to be done outside of "read this", so that meant it was time to go check in with Deek again. He'd made it a couple times throughout the day already, but not for very long each time. It felt odd to be without his friend's presence after becoming so used to it. Sahra was never truly alone in the sand wastes, something he was immensely grateful for. Deek helped keep him grounded out there and had saved his life more than a few times.

Sahra split from his team after grabbing his leather shoulder pad a quick "'seeya". One short walk to the gardens later and he was at his little creation again. Crouching, he placed his palms on the ground in a now familiar ritual.

In.

Out.

The flower perked up just the smallest bit. Satisfied at the product, Sahra stood and whistled. There was a faint call off in the distance, somewhere from the north, and Sahra sat back to wait. Deek didn't take long to arrive.

When he did Sahra was standing ready for his friend to land. Once Deek was down Sahra tossed him a piece of jerky.

"Hey, Deek. How's Vale so far?"

Deek chuffed pleasantly.

"You like it?"

Another pleased chuff.

"Figures. I...uh, I dunno yet. Feels sorta strange to be here. Never thought I'd end up at an academy for huntsmen."

Deek hopped off Sahra's shoulder and down to the ground. Sahra crouched to meet him and absently stroked his head feathers with a couple fingers. The sun was lower in the sky and the shadows were longer, the flowers awash in warm tones.

"Don't know what exactly my plan was out there, and I dunno what I'll do after all this. Just a couple of half baked ideas about the lesser evil and nothin' better to do 's why I'm here, but damn if I'm not gonna see it out."

A chirp from Deek.

"Doesn't mean those ideas are wrong, of course, just not exactly the most well thought out decision I've made."

A pause.

"Team's pretty nice, though. Figure I'll probably let Ren 'n Nora in on my little secret eventually. Gonna get to know 'em first, though. Didn't have much of a choice with Pyrrha and it's hardly been a day on that one so judgement is reserved. Other than that, life's probably gonna be pretty boring for the next few months with all the extra work and whatnot. Bet you're having the time of your life out there, though. New environments to explore, plentiful prey."

Deek cocked his head at Sahra.

"No, surprisingly, I am not having the time of my life here. What did you expect to change?"

A chuff, more forceful.

"Seriously? Just about the only thing I enjoyed wandering out there was the freedom of it all, and here there's none of that. It's all structured and regimented."

Deek scratched the ground with a talon.

"Yeah, sure, the surroundings change, but what's it matter? Fundamentally people are all the same. Structure here is just a thin veneer of nicety. At least out there you knew everyone was the same."

Deek hopped back onto Sahra's shoulder to tap his head with his beak. It was, truly, just a tap this time.

"Too cynical? Me? I earned my cynicism, thank you very much. Besides, I've only said good things about my team so far."

A heavier tap.

"Alright, alright. Look, how 'bout this: the blonde that trashed that bar approached me at lunch today. She was, uh, not too annoying? I don't hate her, and I might even let her talk to me again."

A lighter tap.

Taking that as an okay sign(because it was) Sahra watched the sun set. Just when the purple started to creep in was his favorite. There were precious few things he truly enjoyed in the world anymore, given the state of it, so he made sure to maximize what was available.

The sun's not so hot here.