Hello, fellow dragon fans! I'm posting this chapter minutes after coming back from seeing "Beauty and the Beast," and holy crap! It is amazing. Like, seriously. Go watch it. It's wonderful. Emma Watson is my wife. LeFou is a freaking delight. I just…go see it!

My recommendation this week is "The Neverending Story." I'm referring to the book and the first movie (only the first, mind you). The book is incredible, and one of the best self-aware looks at imagination and the love of reading that I have ever seen. The first movie is a pretty decent adaptation of the first part of the book, and holds a lot of the original spirit. There are two dragons featured: Falkor the luckdragon, who appears as an oriental dragon in the book and a canine-like creature in the movie, and a nameless evil dragon that only appears in the book. You may already be familiar with the movie, but the book is a true treasure.

Enjoy!

As soon as Ruby left the room, Storm sat up in her divot and barked sharply. She had seen her partner taking her bag. That meant she was leaving for a long time. Why hadn't she taken Storm with her? What was wrong? The wind dragon ran over to the door, scratching at it while continuing to bark.

"Storm, no." Yang hurried over and picked up the dragonet, who thrashed and whimpered in her arms. "I know, girl. Ruby will come back, okay?" She drew Storm close and tried to hold her still. Storm continued to whine, but didn't struggle. "Good girl." Yang placed the hatchling back in her bed and patted her head.

Storm looked up, her head fins drooping. The yellow-haired one was okay. She smelled a little like Ruby. Still, she wasn't Ruby. Storm wanted Ruby back! Curling her tail around her paws, she tilted her head back and started to howl.

Fang opened one eye, letting out a low growl, his tail lashing back and forth. Specter's head frills flicked irritably. Pit sat up with a groan and padded over to Storm's bed, placing his head near her paws and making a soft rumbling noise.

Thankfully, this was enough to quiet her howling. Unfortunately, she instead let out a long, ongoing whine, the tip of her tail twitching.

Weiss looked up from her homework, her ears starting to ring. "I know Ruby needs to create distance, but this is very annoying…"

Blake didn't say anything, wincing at the pitch of Storm's whine. It was all she could do to keep from flattening her cat ears against her head.

Yang sat next to the divot and pet Storm, her familiar scent comforting the dragonet until she had to meet up with Sun. "Man, why can't Fang love me this much?" she wondered as she stood up.

Fang snorted loudly at the sound of his name. When Yang patted his back, he snapped at her, more out of habit than anything. At least she wasn't touching his head. He was somewhat happy with that.

Of course, as soon as the slightly-like-Ruby scent of Yang left the room, Storm started fully crying again.

Weiss closed her book, letting out an irritated sigh. "If I flunk Monday's test because of that dragon…"

Blake rolled her eyes. When she had first heard that Weiss Schnee would be attending Beacon, she had expected a snooty princess who would leave the care of her dragon mostly up to her teammates. After meeting her, she had been glad to find that this wasn't the case. However, the heiress was certainly annoying in several other ways.

Seriously, does she think about anything besides studying and whether or not Specter is about to bite someone? She had never met someone so paranoid about their dragon's behavior. Every time the ice dragon so much as twitched, Weiss would immediately swoop in and take him away from whatever setting he was in.

And her obsession with studying was already becoming legendary among the freshmen.

"Have some sympathy," Blake said aloud in a bored voice. "Storm just has a greater sense of attachment to Ruby. It's common with toddlers as well." She walked over to the divot. "Hey, girl. Come here." She held out her arms.

Storm tossed her head, not stepping forward, but continuing to howl mournfully. Fang, starting to get angry again, snapped in her direction, which only increased her distress. Pit, who was still sitting nearby, hissed a warning at the fire dragon. Specter curled up in a ball, trying to tuck his head under his arm.

Blake was about to go to the fridge to try and get some treats when her Scroll buzzed with a reminder. Damn. "Weiss, I need to go see Dragonmaster Ozpin with Pit. It'll only be a few minutes."

"You can't leave me here! How am I supposed to calm her down?!" Weiss asked, wincing as Storm's howling hit a slightly higher pitch.

"Just try feeding her," Blake said, shrugging helplessly. "I'll ask Ozpin if he has any ideas. I'll try to be quick, okay?" She picked up Pit and hurried out of the room, relieved to give her ears a brief break.

She felt bad leaving Weiss alone with Storm and Fang, but this was part of her deal with Ozpin. Every Saturday, she was to come to his office so that he could examine Pit for any potential abnormalities. So far, he hadn't shown any signs of being anything but a regular earth dragon. If it weren't for Ozpin's insistence that Pit wasn't ordinary, Blake would have started to wonder if she had maybe taken a regular earth egg.

Ozpin was waiting at his desk when she entered the office after a quick knock. He took one look at her and smiled gently. "Stressful day?"

Blake nodded. "Ruby's out with some friends, and her dragon hasn't stopped crying since she left. Do you know how to calm her down?"

Ozpin nodded slowly. "Clinginess in hatchlings isn't uncommon. The dragonet only notices the absence of its partner, and thinks that that absence is permanent. When Ruby returns tonight, Storm will see that is not true. In the meantime, try giving her something that smells like Ruby, such as an article of clothing."

"Okay." Blake handed Pit to Ozpin. "Any changes."

Ozpin examined Pit carefully, then shook his head. "We might not know what the other kind of Dust is until his earth powers start coming through." He patted the dragon gently. "He's very healthy and fit. You've been taking good care of him."

"Thank you." Blake hesitated before asking: "Any news on the White Fang?"

"I shared the information you gave me with the Council, omitting your name, of course. They're still debating what the correct course of action to take is." Ozpin smiled slightly. "I ended up sending someone to the location you told me about, since the Council was taking so long. Sadly, there was nothing there."

"I figured," Blake sighed. "Adam wouldn't have stayed long after I left."

"Yes. He was also very thorough in cleaning up after himself. I'll have my friend investigate the area further, though. If anything changes, I promise to let you know."

"Thank you." Blake stood up. "May I go now? I left Weiss with the other three dragonets."

"Of course." Ozpin gently scratched Pit under his chin before handing him back. "Good luck with Storm."

Blake walked briskly back to the room, but paused at the door, her cat ears twitching as she realized something. Storm wasn't howling anymore. Instead, a quiet, gentle humming could be heard behind the door. She opened it slowly and peeked in as she placed Pit on the ground.

Weiss was sitting on the floor near the dragonet beds, a sleeping Storm curled up in her lap. She was gently stroking the wind dragonet's back, eyes closed as a wordless, unfamiliar melody fell from her lips like an immaterial stream of silver. Her other hand was resting on Specter, who had also left his bed and was lying down against her leg, head in her lap near Storm. Fang was still in his bed, though his head was turned in Weiss's direction and his small ears were definitely perked up.

Pit trotted over and sat down on the floor in front of Weiss, which startled the heiress into opening her eyes and abruptly growing quiet. She looked up at Blake, cheeks flushing. "Sorry. I didn't hear the door."

Blake shook her head. "No, it's fine." She looked at Storm, who thankfully hadn't woken up at the sudden stop in Weiss's humming, then at Pit, who seemed distinctly disappointed. "I think Pit's sad that you stopped," she noted with an amused chuckle.

Weiss smiled hesitantly. "I…used to sing for my father's dragon Glacier. He always seemed to enjoy it. When Storm wouldn't stop crying, I thought it might help." She carefully moved the dragonet from her lap and onto the downy bed. Specter pawed at her leg until she picked him up.

"So, what does your father do with his dragon?" Blake couldn't help but ask. Jacques Schnee wasn't a Rider, after all. "Does he do shows with him?"

"Occasionally," Weiss said. "Though, he never does competitions. Only public appearances." She looked down at Specter, who blinked his black eyes up at her. "He always said he wanted to keep everyone else safe from Glacier."

"You're always worried about Specter lashing out. If ice dragons are so unpredictable, why did the Schnee Dust Company create them?" Blake asked, though she already knew the answer. Vanity. They want to be better than everyone else. Or… she thought, looking at the loving way Weiss was gazing at Specter. At least her father does.

"Since the Company has a monopoly on injecting elemental dragons, creating a new type that is only for Schnees gives us an edge," Weiss explained. "It puts us in a higher position than other families, and makes…"

She glanced to the side. "It makes the children of the Schnee family into more desirable marriage candidates. Father has publicly stated that the spouse of a Schnee will be granted an ice dragon egg on the day of the wedding."

Blake's lip curled with distaste. "Doesn't that make it more likely that someone will just use you to get a special dragon?"

Weiss shrugged, though her eyes held a definite stormy undertone. "If the man is from a good family that would benefit ours with a union, that's what matters."

"You don't actually plan on going through with that, do you?" Blake gasped. Weiss seemed far too willful to allow herself to be married off in such a contrived way. Then again, how much of a choice did she have in the matter? Once she turns eighteen, though, no one can technically force her to do anything.

"Of course not!" Weiss snapped. "It's outdated and idiotic. I won't make the same mistakes my mo- that others have made." She gently stroked Specter. "Father thinks that I'll only be a Rider for a short time, long enough to show the world what ice dragons can do. Then, I'll supposedly retire to be a good wife to whoever he decides to hand the company to." She smirked. "But, seeing as I'll be an adult in a few months, and that I'll have a trained fighting dragon on my side, there really isn't much he can do to enforce that plan, is there?"

Blake found herself smiling in response to the determined fire burning in Weiss's eyes. There's definitely more to her than I thought there was. This might be an interesting four years, she thought. Out loud, she said: "Seems like you have it all figured out. And, with how you've been caring for him, I wouldn't be surprised if Specter grew up to be better than Glacier."

Weiss looked at her dragon's ghost-like eyes, her own smile widening slightly. "I have no doubt that he will."

…

"OW! Owowowow! Saaaaaage!" Neptune called, fighting back tears as he tried to pry open Huo's jaws, which had just clamped down on his arm.

Before Sage could even move to stand up, Nymph had already zipped to her partner's side. She hissed at Huo and smacked his side with her large, flat tail. Huo yelped, which allowed Neptune to pull free.

"Ow… Thanks, girl," Neptune murmured, giving his dragonet a pat on the head. His heart warmed as Nymph let out a concerned chirp and started licking the bite.

Zircon, who was sitting in Sage's lap, whimpered and hid in his shirt. Nimbus was dozing at the end of the bed, letting out a series of sleepy yips.

"Easy, Zircon," Sage murmured. "No claws." He gently pulled his dragonet's claws from his chest, then placed the small paws flat on his skin. "That's it."

Zircon blinked, then started licking the tiny indents his claws had left, his tail flicking guiltily. He didn't like it when he hurt his partner, even on accident. Shivering, he moved away from Sage's chest and curled up in his lap again, trying to keep his claws to himself.

Neptune sighed as he looked at Huo, who was still hissing quietly. "I don't see how Sun can be so cheerful when he's getting mauled half the time."

"He's resilient. He can handle it," Sage said calmly. "I firmly believe that dragonets choose their best possible partners. Whatever happens, we were meant to have the ones we ended up with. That's why Huo ended up with someone as optimistic as Sun, and why Zircon chose someone patient like me."

Neptune stroked Nymph's chin, memories of his disastrous water elemental classes still fresh in his mind. "Are you sure about that? I mean, they are only babies when they choose us, after all. And what about people like Cardin?"

"Perhaps having Mudslide will make him a better person," Sage suggested.

"Or, having Cardin will make Mudslide a worse dragon," Neptune countered.

"You're not usually this pessimistic," Sage noted, his brows furrowing with concern. "Did something happen recently."

Neptune hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I tried doing what Glynda suggested. You know, taking Nymph to the arena after dark."

"And?"

"And I couldn't go in," Neptune growled, staring at the ground. "I put my feet in and froze up, and that caused Nymph to think something was wrong, so she froze up too and wouldn't go in the water." He looked helplessly up at Sage. "She was fine during class, but I made her scared to get in the water. I'm going to ruin my own dragon!"

Sage got up from the bed and walked over to sit on the floor next to Neptune. Zircon leaned over to sniff Nymph, his ears flicking as his sister licked his muzzle. "You won't ruin your dragon, Neptune. She has plenty of time to learn, and so do you. What if you went to the arena with one of us and left Nymph here? We could help you get used to the water so that you won't make Nymph nervous."

"That…could work." Neptune drew Nymph close and stroked her head fins in a way he knew she enjoyed. Her light, gentle purr calmed him down a little. "I just know she deserves better."

"So, become better," Sage said simply. "I know you can."

Neptune finally smiled, leaning into Sage's side. "Thanks, man."

Sage nodded. "Anytime."

They were quiet for a moment. Then, Huo decided that it was time to jump out of his bed and start chewing on one of the dressers.

"Huo, stop that!"

"Jeez. Sun should be calling you Jackass rather than Badass!"

It took the rest of the evening to convince the fire dragon that the dresser was not food. When Sun returned, Huo immediately turned his attention from the dresser to his partner's leg.

"OW! Aw, did you miss me?" Sun asked, grinning even as he winced in pain.

Scarlet came back a little while later, causing Nimbus to jump from the bed and land right on his face.

"Nimbus! Do you want to make yourself even more cross-eyed?" Scarlet asked as he cradled his wind dragonet close to his chest.

The boys continued to talk and goof off for a few more hours before going to bed around midnight. Most of them fell asleep immediately. Neptune, however, lay awake for a good while, staring at Nymph's sleeping form, wondering if he ever would be good enough to be called her partner.

…..

Ren had spent the past hour studying with an ongoing background noise of squeaks, yelps, and scrabbling claws. He looked up occasionally to make sure Freya and Ao Guang weren't breaking anything, then turned back to his notes.

Nora had gone out with Ruby and Scarlet, Jaune had taken Twiggy for a jog around the courtyard, and Pyrrha was running some extra drills at the fire arena with Titan. So, Ren had gladly volunteered to remain in the dorm room.

He smiled to himself as Guang jumped on Freya, pinning her to the ground while she struggled good-naturedly before giving up and letting him win. "You two remind me so much of me and Nora when we were growing up."

Freya sat up and chirped inquisitively. This human didn't talk too much, but she sensed that he was closer to her partner than any other human or Faunus. She liked the sound of his voice. It was very gentle and soothing.

Ao Guang shook his head and barked happily when he saw that his partner was looking at him. Was he impressed with how easily he had taken down his sister? That had to be it! His partner was so proud of him!

Ren chuckled and closed his book. "I suppose you'd like to play."

At the word "play," Guang howled with excitement and started spinning in circles. He started bouncing up and down when he saw his partner picking up the tugging rope. He loved the tugging rope!

Ren held tightly to the thick, reinforced rope toy he had bought a few days ago. Guang loved playing tug-of-war, and was usually tired by the time he was done. This made him a little more manageable overall. I wonder if I can teach him to play fetch, Ren pondered as Guang tugged sharply and let out a low but playful growl.

Freya watched for a moment, then yawned and returned to her bed. She stared at the door sleepily, hoping that Nora would return soon. She liked the other human, of course, but nothing could replace the vibrant energy of her beloved partner.

Except for her brother. Her brother came very close.

I'll be honest: Neptune is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people in this AU. Maybe I'm just thrilled to be making him into more of a character. He's so cute when he's not flirting with Weiss!

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!