A/N: Here we are again! A long, busy chapter after taking some time to let exams kick me in the bum.

Thanks for the support, everyone! I love the reviews from y'all (that includes all you guest reviewers- sorry I can't respond personally to each of those!) so keep them coming! Also- bonus points if you leave the inspiration behind Pyrrha's professor (without looking it up) in the comments.

As usual, let me know what you thought of it :) only a few chapters left till the end of vol. 1!

Laws of Attraction

And just like that, Team JNPR was back in the swing of things. Saturday was a sweet, sweet day for them all- after a lazy brunch, they all ran back to their room, changed into loungewear, and just spent time together. Each set of partners had spent their Friday apart, after all, with Nora and Ren needing to take care of their own personal things while Pyrrha helped Jaune train all day. Nora insisted they spend the rest of their long weekend together after that day apart.

Their room was chilly, but with the pile of blankets Nora managed to magically procure, along with a constant supply of hot cocoa and tea from Ren, and with Pyrrha and Jaune on dishwashing duty, they managed to have an afternoon full of laughter.

Pyrrha's eyes darted from face to face, taking it all in, basking in the glow radiating from them all. This was what she had dreamt of all her life. By the time the dining hall opened for dinner, there was no trace of any mask on her face- all she felt was unbridled joy.

Bouncing to their usual table, tray in hand, Nora asked quizzically, "Wait, where the hecky is Team RWBY?"

Pyrrha traded looks with Jaune, who shrugged. "Haven't seen any of them around today," he explained.

"I didn't see them pass by the kitchen when I was in there," Ren offered.

The redhead sat down next to Jaune, sighing. "I know they went to Vale yesterday, but I haven't seen them since. I hope nothing is wrong," she murmured, concern stirring in her heart for the four girls. "They're always here for dinner before we are!"

Jaune blew a raspberry at her, beaming when she chuckled. "I'm sure it's fine," he reassured. "They're smart! If something was wrong, they'd let us know!"

She smiled, relaxing a little. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Let's eat then!" With that, the four of them dug in, enjoying the hearty meal.

Unfortunately, that little nugget of concern in Pyrrha's mind stayed with her all evening, until it was time for bed. As she lay tucked in under her covers, she groaned, unable to fall asleep. Finally giving up, Pyrrha rolled over onto her side, grabbing her Scroll from the bedtable. Hey Ruby, are you okay? she typed gingerly to the younger girl. We missed you at dinner.

A few moments later, a reply popped up. Yuppp we're all good :D, Ruby said.

Pyrrha frowned as she watched the screen, waiting for another response. Ruby tended to send each sentence separately, and she usually texted entire tangents at a time. To not have a flood of short messages from the girl was… odd.

Let me know if you need something, okay? she finally sent when the younger went silent.

A thumbs up was all she received for her concern. Sighing, Pyrrha rolled onto her back, staring up at the dark ceiling, weariness finally catching up to her. Hopefully this is just a bad feeling, she thought to herself, putting her Scroll away and closing her eyes.

The next day cleared up any and all confusion for the redhead- something was indeed going on with Team RWBY.

"C'mon, where are they?" Nora whined, bouncing impatiently on the spot. "We're gonna be late for our weekly reservation!"

"I'm sure they're just running late," Ren said reasonably, although even he wore an expression of confusion. His eyes darted up nervously to the dark sky, letting out a long breath of steam in the chilly evening air.

"But someone's going to eat all our noodles!" she insisted, putting her hands on her hips angrily, rosy cheeks even pinker than usual due to the cold. "We haven't had a proper noodle session with everyone since… well, forever!"

"That's my fault, huh," Jaune admitted sheepishly. Pyrrha smiled understandingly at him, but with her growling stomach, she couldn't help but agree internally with Nora. Every Sunday was their weekly visit to Vale as a group with Team RWBY, and they always met up at the boarding docks in front of Beacon- where in the world could the other girls be?

Suddenly, Jaune's Scroll beeped, and the blond checked what had just entered his inbox. Reading the new message, his face fell, concern and nervousness evident. "Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked gently, frowning.

"Ruby said that they can't come for dinner tonight- they're… hunting for Blake?"

"Hunting for- wait, what happened to Blake?"

The blond shrugged, typing back a quick reply. "I'm asking what's going on."

Ren straightened up, expression full of resolve. "If they need help, tell them to call us."

Jaune nodded, and the other three huddled around the blond, waiting for the response to come in. Eventually, his Scroll beeped again, and he read aloud, "'Please search Beacon for her. She's been…' she's been missing since Friday?!"

"What?!" Nora cried, immediately sobering up, any hint of complaints gone. "What happened in Vale on Friday?"

Jaune stared at his screen for a few moments before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath. After collecting his thoughts, he straightened up, face calm and determined. "I don't know what's happening," he began, shaky voice betraying his concern, "but let's help them out. Nora, Ren!"

"Yes sir!" Nora saluted, ready to jump into action. "Whaddya need, boss?"

Pyrrha's heart swelled with pride as Jaune began issuing instructions, slowly gaining more and more confidence. "You check the class building, all the lecture halls. If you can check the offices, that would help too."

"Got it!" the orange-haired girl cheered, zipping away before anyone could blink.

Turning to Ren, he said, "Ren, can you comb the school grounds? You're really fast- do a sweep of the area, through the main paths from one end to another, then circle back. Take breaks when you need to."

Without a word, Ren nodded and jogged off towards the Beacon Cliffs to begin his search.

"What do you want me to do?" Pyrrha asked.

"The dining hall," he said firmly. "The hall, the gym, the amphitheatre. Every leisure room if possible, too. I'll check the dorm."

"Sounds good," she agreed, bumping him lightly on the shoulder with her fist. "See you soon, leader."

Jaune blushed a deep red, averting his eyes. "Message me if you find her," he mumbled, heading to the dormitory buildings.

The redhead took in a deep breath in, out- 1, 2-

And the mask was in place, shoulders straight, legs tensed, eyes focused on her targets in the distance at the end of Main Avenue. Pulling out her Scroll, she opened up a call to Ruby as she set off at a brisk pace towards the amphitheatre.

After two attempts, the younger girl finally picked up. "Hey, Pyrrha," the high, sweet voice said tiredly.

"Ruby!" Pyrrha gushed, relief flooding her at the sound of the girl's voice. "What's going on? We're all looking for Blake, but- what happened?"

She heard a heavy sigh on the other end. "Blake and Weiss had a fight- yes, they're still friends, Penny- well I think they are-"

"'Penny'?" Pyrrha asked, confused. She finally reached the amphitheatre, ducking into the giant room, eyes scanning the room methodically. The stands and stage were completely empty, not a trace of movement in sight.

Another sigh on Ruby's end. "Yeah, sorry Pyrrha- there's this girl named Penny here, and she's… interesting," she said the last part in a whisper. "But yeah. We're trying to find Blake. She ran off on Friday and never came home that night, nor yesterday. I'm worried about her."

"Ruby, we'll do our best to look over here, too," Pyrrha assured, choosing to ignore the other faint voice – presumably this 'Penny' – in the background while she began jogging out of the theatre towards the dining hall. "With all of us on the case, it'll work out."

"I sure hope so," the younger girl said forlornly. "I hope it can go back to normal."

Something about her tone was odd. Pyrrha quietly asked, "Is Blake in any danger?"

"I don't know." Silence. Even softer, she added, "I hope not. She might be. Everything is… kind of up in the air right now. Maybe we're the ones in danger."

Pyrrha paused, taking in what the other said. "And why would you be in danger, Ruby?" she asked.

"…Promise you won't tell Blake?"

"Promise," she said without hesitation.

A third sigh, this one sounding so utterly defeated it broke Pyrrha's heart. "Blake… maybe is a bad guy? Or she knows some bad guys? Or used to be one? I don't know anymore." Another pause. "I just want my team back, Pyrrha."

If they're in danger, they won't be able to handle themselves, Pyrrha thought to herself. The girls of Team RWBY were strong, but Pyrrha had yet to see them working smoothly with each other since during initiation. They were normally too scatterbrained, too silly to stay focused in a fight. They'll need protection, especially if there's a chance that it'll only be the three of them. "Where are you? I'll come help."

"No, Pyrrha, we'll be fine!" Ruby insisted.

"Nonsense," the redhead said sternly, slowly pushing open the dining hall's door. There wasn't a soul in sight, since the evening rush had yet to begin. "Tell me where I need to go."

"Pyrrha," she could hear the younger girl's voice rising in desperation, "please. I need to find Blake on my own, talk with her here. If she sees other people, then she might-"

"She might what, Ruby?"

"She might run again!" Ruby cried, and Pyrrha let out a heavy sigh, massaging her temples. "Please. Whatever we found out, she was trying to hide. If she thinks that we've spread the word, she'll never trust us again! So just… If you see her on campus, then let me know, okay?"

Finally, Pyrrha agreed, "Be safe, Ruby. I'm a call away."

"Thanks, Pyrrha," Ruby whispered back. "Oop! I think Jaune is calling me. Time to repeat this conversation," she laughed sheepishly. "Well. I'll go talk to him now."

"Got it," Pyrrha murmured, stepping out of the dining hall and into the crisp evening air. The sun had completely set now, no trace of sunlight peeking over the horizon anymore. Tucking her Scroll away, she leaned on a fence, staring out into the beautifully manicured gardens of Beacon before her.

Will they really be able to handle something big on their own? The sense of unease continued to creep up in her, but what could she do other than wait for RWBY to come home? I guess it's time to continue the search.

Suddenly, her Scroll began beeping once more. On instinct, she opened the connection and asked, "Ruby, have you found her?"

"Is this Miss Nikos?" a kind, elderly, decidedly-not-Ruby-like man's voice rumbled into her ear. "I'm afraid I may have gotten the wrong number, then."

Pyrrha's faced flushed a deep red, stammering, "O-oh, my apologies, I didn't check the caller. Yes, this is Pyrrha Nikos speaking." She sighed internally, trying to swallow her embarrassment, letting her calm mask take over. "How may I help you, sir?"

"Ah, I see. As polite as always, Miss Nikos," the man chuckled heartily.

This laugh… it's somewhat familiar, Pyrrha thought, narrowing her eyes as she searched her memory. "May I ask who this is?"

"What, you don't remember the voice of your old professors now that you're at Beacon?"

Suddenly, the familiarity rang true in her mind, the dots connecting. As he continued to chuckle in her ear, Pyrrha felt a wide smile cross her face, the image of the speaker vivid behind her eyelids. "Professor Tumnus! How are you?" she said, feeling the tension drain from her shoulders.

Tommie Tumnus, one of her former teachers at Sanctum Academy, let out another hearty laugh. "Ah, I see you've figured it out!" he teased. "But why the questions? I just wanted to check up on one of my favourite former students!"

"What is it, sir?" she insisted, wry exasperation in her mind, but her tone stayed genial. The red-faced Faunus had been one of her favourite mentors at Sanctum, the man's umbrella-staff and love for animals combining together to make one of the most memorable Huntsmen she had ever met.

And yet, some unease began to grow in her heart- not about Blake, but about this call. What reason would he have to call her? Other than setting her up with advertisement or interviewing gigs in order to promote Sanctum enrollment, none of her professors had tried to contact her in the past, especially not after she had entered Beacon.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted to confirm something that your mother said to the advisory committee of Sanctum, that's all," the Huntsman stated.

Immediately, her heart grew cold at the mention of her mother. She still hadn't forgiven the woman for what she was doing to her father's memory. "What might that be, sir?"

"Your father may have been a Huntsman, but he was an even more excellent blacksmith. He used that Semblance of his well," he began.

"Yes?" she pressed, keeping her tone professional despite the sinking dread.

"Well, we were told at our board meeting today that she would like to donate the tools in his former shop, but she won't be donating the weapons themselves," he explained, tone quickly shifting from light and friendly to something more business-like. "You see, he always had an array of weapons at his disposal that were quite good quality, and I always would've liked to add some of them to my personal collection-"

"What do you need, sir?" she said bluntly, cutting him off. She could see where this was going, and it was taking every fiber of her being to not spit her words out at him.

She heard the man sigh heavily on the other end. "None of that, Miss Nikos," he reprimanded lightly, much to her disgust. "I was just hoping you could have a word with your mother about potentially giving us those weapons as well. It's such a shame to be bidding them at such a high price instead."

Pyrrha's gut sank entirely, the girl collapsing into a crouch, resting her forehead against the cool metal of the fence she had been leaning on. "You… she's selling my father's weaponry?"

"Yes, for a ridiculous price!" she heard him tut briskly. "Honestly, if I were her, I'd have gotten rid of them years ago after-"

"No. I will not help you, sir," she finally spat, feeling her blood boil. "How dare you insult my father, then ask for his life's work for free?"

"Now, Miss Nikos, don't-"

"Don't call me again. Enjoy your evening, sir." With that, she hung up her Scroll, letting it hang limp in her hands as she calmed her breathing, in, out-

And then, her heart was still. Cold.

She had always liked Tommie Tumnus.

But she loved her father more.

Well. No more advertising for Sanctum, she thought wearily, slowly getting back to her feet. She internally thanked the heavens that the sky was completely dark. The few passersby behind her hadn't noticed her brief but emotional conversation. I still can't believe she's getting rid of his things. And then selling his weapons? But he…

No, she interrupted her own thoughts, slapping herself on her cheeks lightly to snap out of it. "Ruby's counting on me."

So, she shoved the frustration, the discomfort, the unease away and continued searching, heading to the common games rooms and training facilities in the main building.

After checking up on any other rooms where the girl might be hiding, she had to admit- the dark-haired girl was nowhere to be found. Tiredly, the group met back up in their dorm room, exhausted after their sweep of the entire school campus.

"I even checked the CCTS tower!" Nora moaned, running her hands through her hair. "Where in the world did she go?"

Ren sighed, polishing StormFlower absentmindedly as he stared out of the window into the darkness. "Who knows. She is powerful, though- I do not fear about her safety."

"Yeah," Jaune agreed, collapsing backwards on his bed. "I told Ruby to call us when they find her."

"It'll be fine," Pyrrha said quietly, but the doubt was still growing in her heart. And, although she tried her best to ignore it, the conversation with Professor Tumnus just kept coming back to replay in her mind.

Not now. If I can't do anything about his workshop, then I don't want to think about it.

That night, they were all a little distracted, a little tense. They went to bed without dinner, all of them lacking the appetite to run to the dining hall without knowing whether their friends were alright.

And so, it was more surprising than anything when they received a gentle knock on the door half an hour before they had to start heading for class the next morning. Pyrrha was already dressed in her uniform, brushing her ponytail quietly as she watched Jaune stumble around in his onesie. Nora was snoring peacefully still, and Ren was already packing his bags, silent and stoic as he blinked sleep out of his eyes.

Pyrrha was the one who opened the door, a flush of relief and surprise hitting her cheeks when Ruby pushed past her, closing the door behind her. "Keep your voices down," the tiny girl whispered, voice somber.

Immediately, Jaune and Ren paused in their tracks. Pyrrha simply shook Nora awake, the orange-haired girl complaining lightly until she saw Ruby's apprehensive expression.

Before anyone could speak, however, Ruby held up a hand. "Before you say anything, we found Blake last night. She's safe."

Team JNPR traded relieved looks, the tension from the last twelve hours dissipating instantly. "Thank goodness," Pyrrha murmured. "We were worried, you know."

"It's good that everyone is safe," Ren said in agreement.

Yet, Ruby's doubtful expression didn't fade. Jaune finally asked, "So… that's good to know, but… something else is wrong, isn't there, Ruby?"

The girl sighed, sinking to the floor with her back against the bedroom door. "I'm only saying this once and then we're never talking about it again because if she knows I told you then she'll be pretty angry and we promised we wouldn't tell anyone but I'm scared I'm going to let it slip so I'm going to tell you right now to prevent any confusion because that wouldn't be good for anyone later down the line and because you're all my friends and you're all her friends and you wouldn't use this knowledge against her, right?" she let out in one long, strained breath, sliding lower and lower until she was practically lying down.

Pyrrha immediately was by her side, brushing her bangs out of the younger girl's face. "What is it, Ruby? You can trust us."

"Our lips are sealed!" Nora announced, crawling to the end of her bed and watching the brunette anxiously.

Pyrrha helped the girl sit up straight, where she covered her face with her hands. "Blake is a Faunus."

The entire room froze. "I'm sorry, what?" Jaune asked dumbfoundedly.

Ruby hopped to her feet and walked to the open window, leaning against Pyrrha's nightstand heavily. "Blake… is a Faunus," she repeated lowly.

"But how?" Ren asked, stupefied. "She has no Faunus traits."

Ruby pointed to her the top of her head. "It isn't a bow," she said quietly.

Pyrrha sat down on her bed, the realization taking a moment to process. "Wait… ears?"

"Yup," the girl chuckled weakly, sitting on Nora's unmade bed. "They're pretty cute. She's a kitty."

"She does really like tuna," Nora murmured thoughtfully.

"Why would she hide that?" Jaune asked loudly, sitting next to Pyrrha with his blanket clutched around his shoulders. "Who cares if she's a Faunus? She's still our frie-"

"Keep it down!" Ruby shrieked, and immediately Jaune retreated apologetically. "You can't mention this to anyone, okay?"

"You have our word," Ren promised, the others nodding resolutely.

With a sigh, the brunette whispered, "It's 'cause she used to be part of the White Fang."

Pyrrha froze, her blood running cold. The White Fang: a bloodthirsty organization that had originally been comprised of Faunus who demanded equality and fair treatment from Humanity. She still remembered the creation of the White Fang, could still remember the horror that had been the commencement of their shift from peaceful talks to brutality. A formerly peaceful organization had, with some new management, been wreaking havoc by attacking innocents and disrupting mostly-Human governments in order to protest segregation and discrimination. It was a worthy cause for peace, but their newer tactics disgusted Pyrrha.

Ruby saw the look of horror on the redhead's face and immediately backpedaled. "No, she left when they began using violence!" she cried, covering her mouth when she realized how loud her voice was. Bringing it back down to a murmur, she added, "She left because of the violence. She didn't want to hurt people anymore."

"So what does this have to do with this weekend if it's all in the past?" Jaune asked incredulously. Inside, Pyrrha couldn't help but agree with his sentiment- while she didn't know Blake that well, the girl was a good person. She believed the earnest truth that Ruby was giving them, so if Ruby said that Blake wasn't associated with them anymore, then she'd accept it. But why tell JNPR about it?

"Check your Scrolls. The news is everywhere," she said meekly.

Pulling out her Scroll, Pyrrha opened up the first news channel onscreen. The headline read, "Attack on Vale Harbour last night: Is this the work of the White Fang?!"

"You didn't fight the White Fang," Nora whispered in awe.

Ruby, Yang and Weiss had never really faced large-scale combat outside of Beacon's safety net before, as far as she knew. Fighting Grimm was one thing, but fighting the White Fang? I'm impressed. I wouldn't have thought that they'd be able to do that, Pyrrha thought to herself.

The younger girl chuckled, "Yup. That Torchwick creeper I told you guys about was there too."

"Oh, the guy who you fought before you got into Beacon? What would he be doing with the White Fang?" Jaune muttered, hugging his blanket closer to him in thought.

Ruby shrugged, but got to her feet and stretched before heading to the door. "I can't help you with that one," she said. "But this stays a secret, okay? I just wanted to let you guys know in case anything else happens and we need help."

"You know we're here for you," Pyrrha insisted. "Don't take this on alone."

The brunette paused, giving Pyrrha a wide, sweet smile. "Thanks, guys." And with that, she left them behind.

"Who woulda thought?" Nora mumbled, walking to the door with her toothbrush in hand. "I want to see her kitty ears, though…"

"No, Nora," Ren and Pyrrha chided her in unison. Sharing a small chuckle, Ren then added, "By the way, Jaune, you have ten minutes to be ready for breakfast."

The blond yelped in fear, scrambling to his feet. "Don't leave without me!" he cried, stumbling out the door with his toiletries in hand.

With that, everything seemed to flow as usual. Blake rejoined Team RWBY, seemingly worse for wear, but still in one piece. She smiled less, Pyrrha noticed- once in a while, she would simply retreat within herself, eyes glazing over pensively. But with only a few words from Yang and a smile from Ruby and Weiss, she would rejoin the group. Whatever had happened on the docks (since the news hadn't mentioned anything specifically about the Beacon students' involvement) had clearly brought them together.

The rest of November flew by, with nothing else going on. By the time the final, end-of-year progress reports were given back, it seemed like the busyness they had all experienced earlier in the semester was nothing but a far-off dream. Much to everyone's (especially Jaune's) relief, their next set of exams would only be before the Vytal Festival, so they had more than enough time to prepare.

"You're all doing well," Professor Goodwitch commented during their last combat class before the two-week end-of-year holiday period. "Take this opportunity to rest and be refreshed. If you keep this up, many of you could qualify for the combat tournament." Looking at Pyrrha, she smiled proudly, adding, "And some of you may even have a shot at victory."

The redhead smiled confidently back, shoving away her insecurities in her mind. Over the course of the semester, she had proved her mettle over and over again, the fears from her first week nothing but a bad dream. The anxiety had stopped plaguing her so often in her training matches, after all, only creeping back into her mind when she faced thoughts of conflicts with her mother, her father, her friends.

Weiss grinned proudly. She thinks Goodwitch was looking at her, Pyrrha realized with a small chuckle as the white-haired girl began babbling excitedly to her team about the organization of the Vytal Festival. As she rambled on, Pyrrha shared a look with Blake. The bags under the dark-haired girl's eyes had deepened slightly.

Yet, when the Faunus girl smiled back, Pyrrha felt her heart settle. They had survived their first term at Beacon. Looking around, she saw Ruby and Yang teasing Weiss for her excitement good-naturedly, and Nora and Ren whispering about the tournaments food vendors. She felt a bump on her shoulder and glanced over at Jaune, who grinned sweetly at her. "Ready for dinner?"

"And then more training after that?" she teased, feeling her heart swell as Jaune rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Spare me, Pyrrha!" he cried, pretending to plea for mercy. Their training had become a staple part of their day, after all. "C'mon, classes are over! Let me take a break!"

"But the tournament…" she raised an eyebrow, her meaning evident. "We qualify for that as teams, y'know."

"And we can work on qualifying for that together later," he insisted, jumping to his feet. Holding out a hand, he winked, "But first, food?"

She rolled her eyes back, but grabbed his hand anyways, letting him pull her to her feet. Her heart pounded her in chest at the contact as he squeezed her palm reassuringly before letting go. Looking around at the others, she said, "Let's go?"

"Yeah!" Ruby chirped brightly, and with that, everyone stood and began walking together to the dining hall.

A sense of pride filled her chest as she walked, Nora's arm looped through hers, Jaune chattering away in her ear. The one thing she had wanted when she had come to Beacon was a friend. Now, she had seven close ones.

For the first time in forever, she felt truly proud of achieving her victory.