i split the chapter because it was 11k words and not even done so shut up
thunder thighs: omg yes
lie zen: Well.
check meowt: Should we even apologize anymore?
polarity dancer: Ah, you two are here now!
thunder thighs: OMG
thunder thighs: OMG
thunder thighs: OMG
snow thanks: I regret ever coming to this school.
thunder thighs: these names are the best omg i cant
dont ask me xiao long: finally someone appreciates my talents
lie zen: She fell off the bed. Don't kill my partner, Yang.
dont ask me xiao long: blease dont be so spooky ren
polarity dancer: Ah, Ren, please return help Nora calm down - we still have ten minutes of this weeks drama left.
polarity dancer: Also Jaune is taking notice of the fact that we all just pulled out our scrolls. Shouldn't we add him?
dont ask me xiao long: nah
polarity dancer: Why not?
dont ask me xiao long has renamed the groupchat to: yo we got a blonde disaster to fix
dont ask me xiao long: thats why
lie zen: **blond
dont ask me xiao long: wait what
lie zen: Blond is for me. Blonde is for women.
lie zen: **men
dont ask me xiao long: ren is the only blond in existence confirmed
polarity dancer: I have threatened to steal every scroll in the room until we finish this episode. See you all tomorrow!
dont ask me xiao long: rip
dont ask me xiao long: also weiss says ur wrong ren so guess u gotta fight
Yang was brimming with energy, which she could tell was inspiring dread within Weiss and Blake.
Perfect.
It wasn't like she could help it - it was just how she got whenever she had a plan and was ready to start making progress on it. She had a group chat devoted to fixing Jaune and everyone was, more or less, on the same page. As far as she was concerned they should be blasting forward guns blazing.
Her team, of course, was a downer on that front. They weren't as gung-ho as she was and had multiple times in the past held her back from running headfirst into something. She could admit that it was for the best on a small handful of occasions, but aside from those few, she couldn't come up with any reasons why she shouldn't have charged in guns blazing.
Here...she wasn't so sure. Her instincts were still screaming to run in but she understood the inherent delicacy of dealing with people not as sure in themselves as she was. It was a tragedy, but one Yang had long since resolved to help others through. Still, it was hard to ignore her instincts. She was electrified, nearly vibrating in the anticipation of tackling a problem that seemed like it would be a different kind of challenge than she was used to.
There was a time when Yang may have been put off by such challenges, the prospect of having to face something she didn't understand or didn't know how to tackle effectively. Now, with where her life had taken her, she relished the thought.
That being said, if step one couldn't be "punch jaune until he loves himself" than she'd have to attack the problem differently. Making him more comfortable with her was something she understood, but getting him to be more open with the rest of her team was...well, she didn't need a degree in sociology and relationship counseling to see the tension between him and Weiss.
Bridging the gap between their teams seemed like the logical next step, but she didn't exactly anticipate that asking Blake or Weiss would produce fruitful options on that front. Blake seemed content to just sorta...float along, with most things that happened, and Weiss was still a bit cagey.
Yang knew better than to ask Ruby. Her little sister had moments of unexpectedly brilliant insight from time to time, but those needed to come naturally. Besides, she wasn't the best at figuring out interactions between groups of people, judging by how Ruby still hid, sometimes literally and sometimes verbally, behind Yang in some social situations.
Ask her about how to deal with Blake being floaty? She'd probably have some weird comment that'd make sense when you tilted your head just so and therefore explained a lot, but ask her how to get a group of people to interact more and, through that, fix a blond mess?
She didn't expect a concise answer.
So, it seemed she was on her own. That wasn't exactly new, but it'd be nice sometime to have a partner in crime. A proper one, anyways.
She spaced out from the sparring on stage, turning over the problem in her mind. Cardin was getting his ass beat by Ren, which was delightful in concept but in reality was just Ren being sufficiently faster and more...motivated to hurt than the taller man than Cardin was to Ren. There wasn't anything she could learn from that fight, so it was easy to not focus on it. Lunch was coming up soon, and she'd have a chance to ask-
The thought struck her, coincidentally as Ren's finishing strike raked across Cardin's face. Why stop at lunch to talk to them? The current group chat was just to discuss Jaune, massages, and how they wanted to address his problems.
That didn't mean their couldn't be another.
Yang silently wished she'd practiced her evil laugh more at Signal. Now would be a great time to make Weiss paranoid.
Nora thought herself quite easy to please. She liked funny tv shows, she liked smashing Grimm, she liked Ren and air-trips and pizza and Magnhild but she didn't like-like Ren, she just liked him. She liked having fun, ultimately, and all of those things were really fun! So it was no surprise that she was always happy when Yang plopped her bag down at the table, though it usually wasn't next to Jaune's. Ruby, unable to take the other seat next to Jaune as Pyrrha already had, dumped a couple papers in front of him next to Nora, which made her very happy since she always liked sitting next to Ruby. Weiss and Blake followed suit shortly after, though they were a little slow to come over to the table. Nora didn't really think too much about that, though.
After marking their places with various items or possessions everyone fell into the line for lunch. Dumplings and rice had Ren perking up, which made Nora happy even though she wasn't super fond of Beacon's dumpling recipe, she just liked it when Ren ate some of his favorite foods - she could tell it made him happy.
Once everyone got back, she found herself eating blissfully at the silent table. Earlier in the year she'd wanted to tell stories all the time, but now it didn't feel like she had to anymore. Jaune was picking at his food a little, but he did that so much that Nora had given up trying to figure out what might be causing it this time. Stealing bits of cake from Ruby's plate was way more fun, and if the younger girl snagged a few dumplings than Nora wouldn't complain.
Weiss, as usual, had her nose in her scroll. Nora remembered Ren telling her to put her scroll down when they were eating, many years ago, but it seemed like Weiss didn't know what good table-manners were. Nora figured that someone else could tell her she was wrong, though, since right now she had cake to steal.
Mid-sugary bite, though, Yang sighed and leaned over to look at everyone gathered at their section of the table. After a moment, and a thump from under the table, Weiss rolled her eyes and set her scroll down next to her plate, raising an eyebrow as she looked at her teammate.
Nora spooned some more rice into her mouth, her eyes flicking back and forth. She wondered if they'd fight today. She hoped not, since it usually made Jaune get all droopy and Ren got quiet when that happened.
"Yes, Yang?" Pyrrha finally offered, setting her chopsticks down.
"We should hang out more." Yang said immediately, almost cutting off Pyrrha. The celebrity in question blinked as Weiss' face scrunched up further down the table, which didn't help to quell Nora's thoughts that there still might be a fight.
"Hang...out more?" Jaune questioned slowly, glancing around the table before looking back at the blonde. "Don't we hang out like...a lot?"
Yang rolled her eyes, giving him a light punch on the arm. "Training doesn't count. We never talk, like, about school and life and stuff."
Jaune looked even more confused, and Nora finally decided to save his poor dumb butt and give the only correct response.
"That sounds awesome!" she gushed, "I wanna talk about dreams and tv-shows and boys and-" she was cut off by a familiar hand over her mouth, giggling as Ren gave a gentle sigh.
"Our schedules are quite full, Yang." Weiss cut in, raising an eyebrow. Nora give an experimental lick, but Ren's hand didn't budge an inch. She really hoped that worked one day. "Where do you suggest we get this extra time to 'hang out'?"
Yang sighed again, flapping a hand in the heiress' direction. "Oh, c'mon, you said the same thing when we started training together, and we made time for that!"
Weiss grumbled something about giving up time for other studying, but Blake spoke before she could get anywhere with the thoughts.
"Why, Yang? Why the sudden push for socializing?"
Yang's expression shifted, her eyebrows drawing together and making her forehead all scrunchy-looking. Nora didn't really understand that, but she had learned some time ago that she wasn't the best at faces.
"Oh, c'mon, not you too!" Yang complained, spinning around to pout at her partner.
"To be fair," Pyrrha said, sliding back into the conversation as she addressed the blonde, "It's a fair question - where is this coming from?"
Yang frowned, tapping her fingers on the table for a bit. Silence stretched out, and Nora was about to return to her food, but then Yang's fingers tapped against Weiss' scroll and Pyrrha suddenly blinked and made a little 'o' with her mouth. Blake made a 'hmm' sound and Weiss rolled her eyes, while Ruby and Jaune looked just as confused as she felt. Ren seemed to get it, though, as he was hiding a little smile beneath his hand.
"So...you want us to do what - study? Just...talk?" Pyrrha asked again, trailing off as she glanced around the table. Yang cheered up a little but didn't jump back in immediately, humming as she prodded at her dumplings.
"Maybe, studying sounds nice. I just feel like we should take a few opportunities to just, like, be people around each other and not trainees. And," she paused, turning to Weiss with a big sigh that Nora guessed was sarcastic, "it doesn't have to be all the time. I just want us to be friends, not classmates."
Pyrrha cheered a little at that and Jaune perked up, shooting a little glance at Ruby as she nodded fervently with what her sister was saying.
"We never get to just have fun together - training is fun, but not like fun fun." The younger girl said, sparking a grin from Yang.
"Exactly!" the blonde crowed, "I'm talkin' trips down to Vale, movie nights, vent days, everything!"
"Vent...days?" Weiss asked, pinching her eyebrows together.
"Sure! Where we can talk about stupid people or dumb assignments and stuff like that." Yang explained. Nora wanted to cheer, thinking about all the annoying papers her teachers made her write and how she could finally get some sympathy, since Ren never had any on that subject.
Blake seemed a little less withdrawn now, giving a little hum and causing eyes to turn to her. "That doesn't sound too bad." she pondered, probably imagining also ranting about dumb assignments. Then again, Nora didn't really know what the girl would rant about.
Weiss still had the same expression, but to Nora it seemed as though she'd lose the fight if she tried. Accordingly, Weiss sighed and sluggishly nodded.
"I suppose it doesn't sound completely awful." she said begrudgingly, and Yang grinned. Nora guessed that Yang had realized that she'd win the proverbial fight, if one happened.
"Oh," Yang began again, her grin widening as Weiss turned abruptly to look at the blonde again, tension blooming on her face.
"We should make a group chat."
Blake paled, Weiss' face growing fiery in an instant as Pyrrha coughed and then began to laugh under a hand. Nora was ecstatic, as she wanted desperately to see what more names Yang could come up with.
It seemed, however, that Pyrrha had other ideas. Before Yang could speak again, she interjected. "I can do that," she said, and Nora had to restrain laughter as Weiss visibly sagged, relief washing over her face.
"I bet I can come up with some funny nicknames for all of you, though I don't know if I can be quite as funny as Yang is!" Pyrrha said cheerily, and Yang threw her head back and cackled as Weiss and Blake took on near identical faces of raw betrayal.
"I'll have to come up with a purrfect one for you, Blake," Pyrrha continued, and Blake shuddered as if she'd eaten something gross. Yang laughed harder, and Jaune was unable to hide a smile as Weiss slammed her cup back down on her tray, lifting it and starting to power-walk towards the garbage bin.
"It was ice talking to you, Weiss!" Pyrrha called after her, and even Nora could hear the tiny shriek that came from their heiress. It was the last thing she heard too, as the entire table (sans a silent Blake and smiling Ren) was consumed in giggles or, in Yang's case, a pretty evil sounding laugh.
"This is your fault, Xiao-Long!" Weiss hissed as she passed by, stalking towards the exit. Nora must have been seeing things, though, because she could have sworn Weiss' lips were twitching as she exited.
Ruby set her bag down, slipping into the seat next to Jaune's. In most classes teams sat together, but the one class taught by Ozpin had a fixed seating arrangement and they'd ended up next to each other. She didn't mind, of course - Jaune was funny, and they doodled on each others papers a lot. Weiss would probably say they doodled too much, but Weiss said that Ruby ate too many cookies and that was impossible, so Ruby didn't mind her on that subject.
The heiress in question wasn't too far from them, but she wasn't close enough to whisper anything and Weiss was strict about not using her scroll unless absolutely necessary in class, so Ruby knew it was unlikely that she'd get an angry message if she chatted just a little with her fellow leader.
She'd considered, at first, that Ozpin had sat them together because they were leaders. When she asked him after class one day he'd only told her to go to her next class while he went to a board meeting, but given Ozpin's general mystery she didn't know if she could consider that yes or not. Maybe he was just grouchy.
At the end of the day, though, it didn't really matter.
As if he'd known what she was thinking, Jaune dropped his bag on the desk beside her before dropping into his chair himself. She already had a paper on her desk, ready for the five minutes of competitive doodling that preceded their class. It was practically an obligation at this point - they even had a running point system based on if the other person laughed and if someone was late to class and cut the time short.
Jaune fumbled for his pencil, sighed, then scratched three lines into his side. Ruby pouted, but wasn't very surprised that he was buying a pass for today. She'd felt a little weird too, but it had had been smothered by the excitement following the lunch conversation. Any more opportunities for them all to hang out was something Ruby wanted dearly. Jaune had looked excited too, but now he seemed distracted.
She felt a frown cross her lips, looking up at his face. He was staring at the wall, and she had no idea what he was thinking, but it wasn't very fair of him to pass and not explain why. She ought to dock more points for that!
She sighed, knowing that he would argue it was against the rules, and then they'd be out of time as Ozpin arrived. That still didn't lessen the hurt any - Jaune was usually so happy to chat with her. He'd only passed a few times before, but even then he'd just said he wasn't in the mood to doodle but still talked about dumb papers and dumb teachers and dumb bullies. She didn't like that he wasn't talking to her, but she had no idea how to bridge that gap.
She glanced around, seeing Weiss and Ren near each other, the rest of their teams scattered around the room aimlessly. Her eyes passed Yang, Pyrrha, Blake, and then she had an idea. She didn't know if it had been brought up yet, but there was only one way to find out. And if it'd get Jaune to talk to her, then all the better.
"Um, Jaune?" She asked, startling him out of his thoughts as he turned to look at her curiously.
"Yeah, Ruby?" He asked slowly, a hand lifting up as if to rub the back of his head and falling before it got half way. She'd noticed that a lot lately, and she wondered if someone was telling him to stop doing-
"Ruby?" He asked again, waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked, having not even noticed that she was spacing. She smiled at him, and after a moment he returned the expression somewhat cautiously.
"Can I have a massage today?"
He blinked, exhaling quickly out of his nose. For a moment he started to turn towards the part of the room where Yang was sitting, paused, then shrugged and looked back at her.
"Sure, Ruby. But, uh, I should let the others know that means the slot is taken now."
She nodded, trying to shake the feeling that something was still off. When she failed that, to no one's surprise, she turned back to him.
"Um, Jaune? Is...everything alright?"
He paused, looking at her before giving a little laugh.
"I think so? I dunno, I'm kinda out of it today, huh?"
She giggled as he lifted his hand up and rubbed the back of his head, forgetting to stop the motion this time.
"I, well, you remember what I told you in the hallway, right?"
He blinked for a moment, before raising an eyebrow and cautiously saying, "Uh...'nope'?"
She opened her mouth to correct him before pausing and squinting as his lips twitched. She couldn't help it, and after a moment they both started giggling. When she could control her lips again she replied.
"No, dummy, I meant when I said I think you can be a great leader!"
He blinked before a smile blossomed across his face, but it still felt off. She didn't think she was getting through to him.
"Thanks, Ruby...that means as much to me now as it did then."
She smiled back, but it felt just as weird as his. She didn't think he'd understood her at all.
As Ozpin stood up from his desk, clicking his watch shut, she turned her focus to him. Given that she didn't have eyes in the back of her head, she didn't notice her partners eyes flicking between her and the blond to her left.
If she had, though, she probably would have been confused.
Weiss liked to sit in the front of class. Not because she liked to be in front of other people, but she liked being closer to professors. There was some quality to it that she couldn't really pin a finger on, save for the fact that it appealed to her. Still, in instances like this, it was useful to be farther back. She could watch her leader interact with Jaune and not have either of them notice that she was watching.
Blake would call her a stalker, probably, but Blake watched people way more than she did. Her teammate would just be trying to get a rise out of her. Right now, though, she supposed she was being at least a little stalker-y, given that she had eavesdropped some.
She didn't really know what to make of what she'd heard and seen. Partially because it didn't seem to make much sense in any logical framework she could come up with, though granted she'd long since learned that Ruby didn't really obey the logic of people when it came to interacting with others.
As for the other leader…well. She didn't make a hobby of thinking about Jaune, but at the same time it seemed her brain had decided to dedicate a few minutes to him. She'd tried to ignore it for a bit but finally decided that, like taking off an especially sticky bandaid, she might as well 'rip it off' and let the thoughts run their course. Hopefully to go away on their own.
So there she was, waiting for Ozpin to start speaking, pondering what kind of life the blonde had led before coming to Beacon. What was his family like? He'd said he had seven sisters and had occasionally mentioned his mother, but never his father. He'd brazenly 'attempted' to serenade her more times than she cared to count, but recently had seemed as vulnerable and fragile as a cracked vase.
Which was real? Was he a cracked, fragile bird of a hunter-in-training, desperately trying to pretend to be stronger and braver than he really was? Or was he a brazen, self-absorbed idiot trying to woo her and pretending to be hurt and messed up?
It was, for all intents and purposes, a rhetorical question. She'd decided the day of her footrub that he probably wasn't trying to pull off a long-con. He was quite bad at restraining his emotions from bleeding into his aura, after all. Still, it led to all manner of other questions.
Just as sure she was that he wasn't trying to con her, or anyone else, she knew that it would be unfair in all cases to compare their lives. She could, as far as she was concerned, objectively acknowledge that her life had sucked before coming to Beacon, considering her...parental situation. Probably worse than the average student also attending the school, trying to get their hunter's license. But without knowing a single thing about Jaune, where he'd come from and how he'd come here, she couldn't look down on him.
It was an obvious thought, but one she only recently had realized she needed to have. The temptation to look down on other's experiences because of her own was too strong - she needed to tamp down on that urge.
Still, there were clues, and clues led to ideas. Not assumptions, but guesses. While he likely wasn't a conman disguised as a sadman (and Weiss repressed a sigh at the way her inner voice had sounded like yang when joining the two words) he was most definitely hiding things. Whether one was behind the other and therefore, according to the train of thought, truer, was anyone's guess. Nevertheless, Jaune went from joking with Yang and Ruby to, according to Yang, tearing up because he'd been told that he was trusted. He could bicker with Coco or Ren and then confide in her that he felt disgusted by himself and was certain that he'd be hated for completely standard thoughts and...urges.
Some mental backtracking was needed, she realized, as she didn't want to lock herself in a perspective of Jaune based on elements of personality prevalent in probably everyone who had ever lived. There wasn't really anything unusual about mood swings, be they caused by mental illness or simply a volatile personality, but it was what resulted from them that she needed to focus on.
What kind of life results in tears from being told that you were trusted? What sort of childhood, home life, school life, and more?
...Once more, she knew it was a rhetorical question. She didn't know, and if she guessed, she risked tainting her own perceptions of him with presumptions. That was a habit she'd had to break when it came to interacting with the higher class of society. One single assumption carried to a seemingly logical conclusion could damage two company's relationship because an offended owner was spiteful enough to cut off trade over such a slight.
Jacques had elected to not let her forget that slip-up. She'd never repeated the mistake when it came to interactions in parties and the like, but coming to Beacon was a completely different experience, and it had opened her mind to understanding an entire slew of presumptions she hadn't even realized she'd had.
Ozpin cleared his throat, snapping her out of her somewhat disjointed thoughts. She glanced down at her notebook, a fresh sheet of paper ready for today's lecture. An urge overcame her at the same time, and after a moment she allowed it to take fruition. In the corner of her paper, one of the places that she never wrote in, she sketched a little glyph. Little swords stretched from crossed shields towards the circular rim, and below the disk she quickly scratched in a few words.
She was no psychology expert, which she was very aware of, but "probably lonely childhood" seemed an apt description for the blonde 'disaster' as Yang put it. She could think more on it hopefully never, given that she'd only thought about it at all in the hopes that she would then stop thinking about it.
Ozpin started speaking then, as if he'd known that she'd reached a mental conclusion. Weiss had no time for such unfocused thoughts after that.
Jaune shuffled through his bag, crinkling the fresh sheif of notes from Ozpin's lecture. Class had ended uneventfully and he and Ruby had parted ways for now. It was now time for his least favorite class, which he had dubbed "Too Many Chances to Get Hit by Cardin in Public with Glynda Goodwitch." The name caused laughter from his friends, though it was usually followed by pats on the shoulder and encouraging words from Pyrrha.
He smiled and laughed when appropriate, but the name was fitting for a reason. An unpleasant reason.
Still, they didn't jump straight to sparring matches, so he pulled some new paper out and clicked his pen absentmindedly. He hoped today's combat lecture would be as informative as last class's had been - he still had some blanks to fill in, after all. Pyrrha was an efficient and effective teacher but Glynda had more blanket knowledge that could seep into the cracks that hyper-focused, accelerated combat training couldn't cover.
'Remember, using aura to enhance the durability and strength of your muscles requires focus that you can maintain while keeping a firm, constant presence of mind in the battle at hand. This skill can mean life or death in situations where you need to be stronger or faster. Your mind must train with your body until it can become instinct, and even then you must remain steadfast.'
He absentmindedly drew tornadoes in the margins of his paper, swirling his pen around as her words from yesterday continued to swirl in his skull.
'Complacency has killed more hunters than just Grimm, as far as I am concerned. You must not rely on enhanced senses to cue you in to danger and aura barriers to protect you from that danger when you miss it. You must be present in every battle, your mind must not wander, your grip must be strong. Your natural barriers will weaken if you are not expecting to need them, marginally but it can and has been enough. More people have died because of that tiny difference than you know.'
It had been a sobering class period. Her voice had remained level the entire time, not betraying anything, but he wouldn't be surprised if she'd lost some people she'd known because of that complacency. Or, perhaps, she was merely speaking from the experience that followed being a licensed hunter, not one who lost enough people to become jaded. Who was he to assume, after all?
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to organize his thoughts. His margins were rapidly becoming full of weather patterns and when he ran out of space he'd have nothing to occupy his hands with, aside from clicking his pen and causing people to throw balled-up paper at him to make him shut up.
He wished class would start soon.
It was a rare day indeed when Yang found herself not enjoying her practical training hour, but the lecture today was so much drier than last weeks that she could barely keep her eyes open. She could, but that was only because Glynda had no mercy for people who slept through her hour. Yang'd been brained enough by paperweights the Good Witch of Beacon kept as ammo on her desk, and even if she could block or absorb the damage it still jolted her out of her doze.
That being said, while she could keep her eyes open, barely was the operative word.
"Yang!"
The blonde restrained a yelp, not catching the flinch as her eyes flicked up to an irate Glynda.
"Um, yes Miss Goodwitch?" She asked, desperately trying to figure out what question she'd missed. Her notes were a mess, and she'd get an earful from Weiss about that later.
Glynda smiled, and suddenly notes where the last concern on Yang's mind.
"Thank you for volunteering for today's sparring. Now, who shall you face..."
Glynda trailed off as Yang breathed a relieved sigh. She could handle beating some chumps around - spontaneous questions caused her far more distress than that.
"Jaune, would you like to spar with Yang?"
Yang heard several snickers from around the room, breathing a gentle sigh as Jaune's shoulders sagged. She knew that he knew they'd never go away, but she could only hope that he'd be less hurt by them because of that realization. She couldn't exactly empathize with that anxiety though. Still, Pyrrha always looked a little tense when Jaune got called on in this class, but seeing as Yang wasn't tall, brutish and lacking in manners the celebrity in question seemed a little more relaxed.
Yang blinked as her eyes returned back to her opposing blond, surprised that he also looked relaxed.
"Ah, no, I'm alright. There, um, there isn't much I can learn from that loss, Miss Goodwitch."
Yang choked as laughter erupted around the room, still directed at the blond who'd spoken, but even Yang could feel the difference in its intent. So could Jaune, it seemed, as he gave her a very shaky smile but a smile nonetheless. Her heart lifted - maybe her 'fix the heck out of jaune' plan would go smoother than she hoped.
After a moment he seemed to collect himself, going as far as calling out to her, "Ah, no offense, Yang."
She grinned, giving him a sloppy salute as she called in response, "None taken, blondie."
Glynda rolled her eyes, but there was a quirk to her lips that she didn't try and hide. Yang knew that Glynda was amused by the shenanigans of her students, even if she tried to hide it at times. The teacher was part of Yang's audience, after all, and she had to know her audience to best perform for them.
"Very well, Jaune, though next time you'll have to pick a sparring partner."
There were a few jeers and Pyrrha's shoulders tightened ever so slightly in response. Yang knew she couldn't stand up for him here - it would only spiral the situation downward for everyone. Still, the urge to knock those jeers (and some teeth) back down the throats of the people who'd made them was surprisingly strong.
Jaune blanched for a moment. Then, he buried the emotion and nodded at their teacher, managing a response of "I'll try and think of someone that I can learn from."
Glynda nodded, glancing back around the room. Yang followed her gaze as best she could despite the differences in angle, watching as it passed Weiss, Blake, Cardin, Pyrrha, Ren…
It stopped, then seemed to move backwards, settling on the second celebrity of the list. Yang inhaled, already imagining how it would be to come to blows with Pyrrha Nikos. Hell, she didn't need to imagine it now - she'd imagined this very fight since she first watched her on live tournaments. Pyrrha didn't participate in their inter-team sparring matches to focus all her attention on Jaune, but neither of them could tell Glynda no.
Yang realized she was trembling with excitement. She wanted to fight Pyrrha, her muscles itched to test themselves against the girls practiced mettle.
A beeping interrupted her thoughts. Several people jolted, and after a moment Yang realized it was one of the stock emergency ringtones of scrolls. Meant to stand out and be heard in a variety of conditions. She, and many others, were familiar with the sound - likely due to using it as an emergency alarm for when they were about to be late for class.
What they were decidedly not familiar with was Glynda freezing. The older Huntress turned, after a moment, extending a hand as her scroll, outlined in purple, leapt to it off her desk. She stared at the screen for a moment, face blank and emotionless, before turning just enough to glance at the rest of the room.
"Class dismissed. Bring your project proposals to class next time. Pick a sparring partner, Jaune."
A stunned silence hung in the room for a moment before a handful of students let out small cheers, packing their bags and rushing for the doors. It was a rare day when they got out of class early at Beacon, and rarer still to get out of a Goodwitch class early.
Yang slowly let her arms relax, frowning as Glynda stepped out of the room and began heading towards her office. She'd really wanted that fight.
so this chapter got like really long and at spooky's suggestion i decided to split it up into two shorter chunks and to address the elephant in the room, obviously this chapter is rather a lot later than the previous one
i'm also writing, on average, 10k words each chapter so fuck you- kidding, kidding. Finals happened, then chrimas, and my beta, SpookyNoodle, got pretty busy as well. His input is invaluable and I didn't want to rush him, so I figured it could wait, especially because of the aforementioned 10k word chapters each stuff.
So, uh, if ya got beef with me, pls serve it as hamburgers for the group picnic
Also this is super minor but a few people might notice it so i wanted to address it but yes i do know that 'huntsman/huntress' is the plural and yes im deliberately using 'hunter/hunters' instead and there is sorta a reason for that but its mainly stylistic dont yell at me.
also happy new years and christmas and thanksgiving and all that shit
Cheers,
Stromael
B/N: To be clear, Spooks wasn't busy, he's just a lazy, distracted, narcoleptic sack of shit. If you're mad about progress and slow updates, send your complaints to my inbox. They'll be more justified there, but I'll care just as little.