Ozpin gave his speech to the students about their guest teachers, Marcelle smiling as she stood where she was told to wait for him to introduce her and their other special guests. He went ahead and introduced everyone else first, saving her for last. She sighed a little as he began her introduction. "Many of you may know her as the Huntress of One Hundred weapons… others may know her as the leader of a team that has won the Vytal Festival Tournament." He turned to where she was standing, offering a hand. She smiled a little, walking out, hiding her smile behind her scarf. She pulled it down a little and the students stared. She was used to that by now… she looked young enough to be a newly graduated student.

"Good morning." She stated, the students all beginning to clamor, spreading whispers of her youth and her skill. "Now I know many of you may have doubts about me, whether it be due to my stature or my looks… so… those of you who wish to try and prove something are welcome to challenge me. But be warned, I don't go easy on kids." She smiled, the snarky ones in the crowd looking like they thought she'd be an easy opponent to beat. "And because I don't go easy on kids, as requested by your headmaster, the total score of the challenger or challengers' team must be 500+ points just this semester." She added, the entire group shocked. 500 points in one semester, there were only 5 people from Beacon with that score… Pyrrah being the only 1st year.

"Also, you must make an official request to fight against Merci." Ozpin added. "She has other duties to attend to as well."

"Ah, yes my apologies for not mentioning that." She replied to Ozpin. "I'll be waiting, kids." She waved a hand before leaving stage left, Ozpin almost smiling before turning back to the students and continuing his speech. Every guest had issued a challenge of sorts, but Merci's struck out to the most students. The celadon haired woman went to sit on the side with her three fellow guest teachers.

"Well well, Miss Merci's quite a show stopper." The oldest one smiled, his dark brown hair streaked with grey. He wore a casual suit with his weapons holstered on his arms. This old man with that "cool old grandpa" personality, who's name is Everest Almandine.

"She's young, of course she's got to be. No one would believe how strong she is unless they've watched her in a fight… in person." The next was a woman with yellow-streaked amber hair, her smile shining. Her outfit was white and her posture was prim. This woman, by the name of Sunny, was less of a huntress and more of an idol, but all the same she was well known for her charisma. A teacher from another school, though Marcelle couldn't remember which one. But she did remember Sunny attempting to recruit her to teach at her school when she was fighting in her last Vytal Festival tournament.

"Don't you have better things to do than challenge kids, Merci?" the third voice made Merci turn, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Don't you have better things to do than act like a jerk, Quil?" Her former classmate from Beacon, her former rival… he always called her by her huntress alias, never her real name. He did it to get a rise out of her, though he always seemed to be irritated by her as well. But to make it worse, she shortened his name to Quil to get back at him for calling her by her alias.

"Ah the infamous rivalry, continued." Everest laughed, Sunny sighing at them both. But before it escalated, a hand found Marcelle's shoulder.

"Marcelle. A word."

"Of course, Professor Ozpin." She turned away from Quil and the others, sighing a little as she walked away with Ozpin. "I didn't mean to…"

"You aren't being scolded." He told her as they walked. "But I do request that you refrain from arguing with Mister Quilin and focus on your own work." He added, Marcelle sighing as they stopped.

"I… yeah." She mumbled, looking put out. "I don't like arguing with him, if he just wouldn't initiate…"

"Now, now." He pet her head, letting her calm down and continued to walk with her back to his office. "I trust that you can hold your temper? I'd rather not step in if I can help it." He added, Marcelle laughing a little at him. It was true, though. Ozpin stepped in on plenty of potential fights back when Marcelle was a student, especially with Quilin and his team versus Marcelle's group.

"Yes, sir." She replied, pouting.

Flashback: Beacon Academy, Marcelle's 1st year

After assembling teams for the year, classes had begun and the cliques formed. Marcelle, Alder, Noir, and Argris stayed mostly to themselves. But this made them a bit of a target. "Well well if it isn't Merci the huntress." Marcelle stopped, turning to glance over her shoulder. This voice only meant trouble. Quilin Road was a member of team QUIL, its leader in fact. But he always picked fights with them… always. Mostly because he knew her from when she was still hunting Grimm on her own. Thankfully it had been just a month before beacon so she didn't have to explain away her age.

"What do you want?" she asked, her team all glaring at the others. Ulises, Quilin's partner, always poked fun at Alder for being a pacifist… calling him a scardey cat or whatever name he'd come up with. Ire was constantly telling Noir to speak up and trying to get a rise from the boy. And then there was Lex. Lex was just a crude kid, and it got on Argris' nerves. But Team MANA held their cool… except Marcelle.

"You hunted Grimm before this, why are you even here? What, lose your edge?" he laughed, Marcelle glaring at him. "That's all she's good for anyway, hunting Grimm."

"Marcelle, easy." Alder whispered, the girl's fist already clenched.

"I should just take all your points in sparring, then we can see who's lost their edge." She retorted, Alder still worried even though she mentioned a "sanctioned" fight in sparring class.

"Pff, please, you couldn't take me." Quilin smirked, Marcelle wanting to school him in a fight even more now. But before the fight could escalate or anything could get more intense, a voice called out.

"My my. What a crowd. What's going on?" Ozpin walked over, carrying his coffee cup in hand.

"Children. Back to your classrooms. Class will be starting soon." Glynda stated, narrowing her eyes at the students who had gathered to watch the confrontation. As they dispersed, Glynda shooed Team QUIL and Team MANA, minus their leader. Marcelle stood with Ozpin as Glynda walked away.

"I didn't think you were the type to pick fights, Marcelle."

"… I didn't mean to." She replied. "He was provoking me because I was hunting Grimm before…"

"And he will likely continue." Ozpin stated. "Would you like me to talk to him?"

"… No… I'll just beat him up in sparring… that's fine, isn't it?" she asked. Ozpin smiled a little, sipping from his coffee. "Is it not?"

"No, that's all fine and good." He replied. "But if you're going to do that… perhaps you would consider showing your talent more… seriously?" he asked. "I know you're holding back in many of your classes specifically because you're trying not to show your age…"

"… I cannot stand out too much, sir…" she replied in a whisper. "… But I can stand out enough to take someone who insists on causing trouble down a few pegs."

"Alright." He smiled. "Don't forget your homework."

"I won't, sir." She smiled a little. "Have a good afternoon, Professor."

"You as well, Marcelle." He replied, letting her walk off to class, noting Alder and the other two of her team waiting at the corner for her. Glynda walked back over as Ozpin watched her go, tapping his shoulder with her riding crop. "Yes?"

"You're babying her."

"I'm simply doing as her grandmother requested and checking on her." He replied, glancing over his shoulder at the blonde teacher. She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Does it seem as though I am doing more than that?"

"Well considering the semester only just started and you've already checked in on her about 10 times." She sighed, Ozpin blinking. Had it been that many times already? He thought back on it, realizing it had been that many times. "Ozpin, it's almost like you're playing favorites." She added. Ozpin nodded and looked into his coffee cup.

"… I'll try not to do that." He replied. But by now Glynda knew he'd continue to make sure she was alright and continue to watch over her more closely than the others. Marcelle had told Ozpin, Glynda, and Qrow about her real age when Qrow came to deliver a message to them. It was hard to believe but they were all trustworthy enough to the girl. But finding out had been quite a shock, since Glynda was younger by a year or two. Ozpin took it in stride though, since he too was older than he seemed. Glynda just went off to class, hoping that Ozpin could keep his distance.

: Flashback End

Ozpin had escorted Marcelle all the way back to his office, the scent of a strong coffee filling the air as she walked out of the elevator. "Oh…?" she sniffed the air and smiled. "Is that the blend that Noda sent you from his visit to Mistral?"

"It is. Your family has a real taste for good blends." He added, offering her a chair before pouring her a cup. They sat in relative silence for a while, just enjoying the coffee before Ozpin spoke again. "I do hope you aren't tired of always drinking coffee with me."

"Tired of coffee? Ozpin, please. I could never be tired of coffee. Nor could I tire so easily of sharing with you." She added, sipping her drink. That made him smile. "Besides, it gets me away from all the noise out there." She smiled up at him.

"Well, I'm glad." He nodded, sipping from his cup. It was so strange, but Marcelle was the only person aside from Oobleck that would share coffee with him. Glynda always said she preferred tea, and Port always talked, as did Oobleck. Marcelle would just sit in silence with him. It was nice. After a little longer, Marcelle stood up and went to the window to stare out at the school.

"Ozpin… can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Are you worried that Salem will attempt to infiltrate the school?" she turned to him, noting the minor surprise in his eyes. "There shouldn't have been a reason to call Quil unless you were worried… his semblance would make sense in that scenario, though."

"… Yes, I did call Mister Quilin because of his semblance." He replied. "However it is not Salem I am worried about."

"Then who?" she asked.

"… Her name is unknown, but she has been seen both in Vale by Glynda and one of our students, Ruby Rose… as well as in the school grounds, again by Miss Rose." He replied. "She fights with glass… and with a bow and arrow… Miss Rose described her as having blackish-grey hair and glowing eyes, as well as ingrained dust in her clothes."

"… Ingrained dust, huh…? That's old school stuff, not too many people have the patience to do that anymore." She replied, pondering something. "Bow and arrow, huh…?" she sighed. "I don't like the sounds of that."

"Do you perhaps know of her?" he walked over to her as she put her mug down on his desk.

"… I met a woman once… though it was more a confrontation than anything…" she put a hand on her shoulder, sighing. "I remember her taunting me… saying that I was so blind to the truth..." she gripped her shoulder harder. "She shot me with her weapon and it screwed up my shoulder pretty badly…" she looked up at him, noting the look of concern on his face. "And I remember her saying… the old man in the tower will tell you. I figured she was referring to your secret about Salem."

"They're definitely working with her, then." He went to sit in his chair, looking bothered.

"What bothers me is that she didn't try and kill me… even Hazel I don't think was really trying to kill me…" she added. Ozpin turned to her, noting the confused expression she had on her face. "Thinking back… and I mean really going over it all… That woman should have aimed for my left shoulder, closer to my heart… but she went for the right one. And when Hazel attacked me, he missed my vitals completely… he didn't seem the type to miss unless it's on purpose." She added. That worried Ozpin a great deal. Those two were NOT the type to mess around, from what he'd seen. Given the opportunity, they didn't seem to hesitate to make the decision to take lives.

"In any case, you should try and focus on the festival. Take your mind off it for a while." He added, Marcelle still staring at him. But even after agreeing, Marcelle had a bad feeling. She stared at her scroll for a long time that evening, hesitating to send the message she'd re-written about 20 times. But after hours of debating, she pressed send, putting her scroll aside and laying back in bed. She hoped her intuition wasn't right.

((Chapter 2~ More because I want to get to the fluff than anything so I'm speeding along the intro chapters.

Soon... soon I shall post the fluff.

-Winter Cheshire))