Amber dreamed of fire. She hadn't dreamed of the accident in a long time, but whenever she did, it scared her. The ash in the air, the smell of the flames, the pain in her side. The dream cut short before it could go farther in. She awoke to the sound of a loud bang, as if someone set off a grenade. She groaned to herself and opened her eyes. The light blinded her for a second before her eyes adjusted. She sat up and took in the room, looking for the source of the loud noise.
Nick stood near the door, he held his forearm out and his fist clenched. Smoke drifted lazily from it. He looked tired, the area around his eyes were darker and baggy. He had changed out of his leather jacket and jeans into a black suit with golden buttons and a red tie.
Indigo rolled herself out of bed and landed on the floor with a thump. Navy growled and sat up.
"Everyone up." Nick said and then yawned, his voice sounded tired. Amber pulled herself out of bed.
"Was the explosion necessary?" Indigo grumbled as she got up, her sheets were still wrapped around her in a tangled mess.
"It got all of you up didn't it?" Nick responded. "School uniforms should be on everyones desks in a bag. Wear them please unless you want to get yelled at along with me by all the teachers." His voice only came across as half joking, so she couldn't tell if he was or not.
Amber climbed out of bed and neatly made it, before stretching lightly, Indigo just grunted and walked over to her desk, grabbing a red bag off it and marching into the bathroom without even bothering to untangle the blankets around her. Nick smirked lightly at the scene.
"Do not wake me in such fashion again." Navy remarked as he finished making his own bed.
"Opening the curtain didn't work and everyone needs to be at class. Which is another one of the things I have to deal with." Nick sighed. "Besides, after today we get the weekend off and it's just free study time for then. So sleep all you want then, I don't really care."
"Um, Nick did you get any sleep last night? You look tired." Amber spoke up, slightly unease by his more direct tone then usual.
"I clocked out late, I was looking over some extra things." He responded.
Navy grabbed his bag off his desk and grabbed the knob of the bathroom. He grumbled something angrily when it didn't turn.
"Hey Nick, what time do classes start?" Amber asked.
"9 o'clock." She glanced at the clock above the door, it read seven thirty.
"Then why'd you wake us up an hour and a half early?" She asked. He shrugged.
"I figured it'll be easier to start getting things unpacked before classes along with a few other things that need doing for the first day." He responded.
"What other things?" Navy asked, he leaned on the wall next to the bathroom door.
"Like making sure everyone has their schedules. The code to the for the dorm room on your scrolls. Seeing how long it takes everyone to get ready for class so I can make sure everyone gets up on time. Just to name a few." He responded. "Still want to be the leader?" He added drily. Navy grunted but didn't respond to his comment.
Indigo finally walked out of the bathroom, wearing her uniform. It mainly consisted of a red tartan skirt, paired with a white blouse and black blazer like Nicks. She pushed the little red bow around slightly; she looked uncomfortable.
"Do we really have to wear these things during class?" She mumbled.
"Only if you want to be there and not get us in trouble," Nick responded jokingly.
After Navy and Amber had changed into their uniforms, Nick handed out what he said, a schedule, the code for the dorm lock and locations. Afterwards, he sat down at his desk and began doing something on his scroll. The rest of us began unpacking, though nobody seemed to get far before eventually Nick pocketed his scroll.
"Alright, time to go." He said. Amber put down her bag on her bed. She was only halfway done, but could finish later. The others followed suit behind Nick as they began to walk out the dorm. She had to resist a slight smirk as Navy almost hit his head on the way out. The team didn't make it down the hallway very far before the door next to theirs opened.
"Then she said-, oh hey!" Coco said, "You guy's are in the same hall? Nice." Nick shrugged.
"Guess we're neighbors." He said. The rest of team CFVY walked out, Yatsuhashi looked about as comfortable as Indigo and Navy, as he kept adjusting his tie.
"You betcha we are! Also I love these uniforms; they just look so nice." Coco responded. As the two leaders talked, the team walked through the hallways out of the dorm.
Classes flew by, except for their first class with Professor Port which mainly consisted of him telling a most likely trumped-up war story. Nick looked like he was about to fall asleep at any moment while Amber tried to take good notes of what she could.
Finally, the main classes ended, and it was time for gym. The school gym, being near the lockers was nicely convenient. Unlike most, she didn't have a designated huntsman uniform. Today she decided on a pair of jeans and orange tank top. She was last into the gym. Indigo was lifting weights and a small group of muscle heads were watching in slight awe by the amount she was lifting. She couldn't see Navy, and Nick was sitting on a bench, back in his jacket. He was sipping from an energy drink lazily and going through his scroll. She sighed and walked up to him.
"Not much of a workout person?" She asked as she approached him, he closed his scroll and pocketed it.
"Not in the mood." He responded.
"You haven't seemed to be in the mood for much today." She sat down next to him. "Actually you've just been completely out of it today."
"Oh, yeah sorry. I've just been thinking."
"About what? Whatever you keep looking at on your scroll?" He smiled lightly.
"Kind of, just figuring some minor stuff out." She sighed, whatever was on his mind, he didn't want to talk about it. She could understand that.
"Well, whatever it is, I hope you figure it out before Navy starts walking all over you." He chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'm just tired, had a long night getting everything together." She nodded and stood.
"Well, get some rest then tonight. Like you said, we don't have classes tomorrow so I doubt there should be much on your plate." He just nodded in response.
Days passed since their conversation, and eventually two weeks had passed. Nick grew more distant, they only really saw him anymore during classes. He kept going out during the weekends all day and coming back not wanting to talk. Everyone was growing tired of their absent leader, who was only there when he was required too.
Amber walked into the gym, she wore the same thing as last time, she was starting to get used to wearing it. To her surprise, Navy and Indigo were talking on the bench and didn't look like they were about to start a brawl, again. She walked up to them, Indigo looked up and nodded in greeting.
"What's going on?" Amber asked immediately. Indigo pointed her thumb over her shoulder towards the other end of the gym. Nick leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, he looked even more tired then usual. "Oh," Indigo nodded.
"This isn't like him, at all. Plus he's been at it for weeks now. There's something wrong." She said. Navy grunted.
"I grow tired of this," he said and stood from the bench.
"Wait, Navy I told you to let me handle it." Indigo protested as he began walking towards him. He ignored her. She quickly stood up and began to follow him. Amber felt uneasy about this, but decided to see if she could help in some way. They were right, there was something wrong with him and he wasn't speaking to them. She put a hand on Indigos shoulder before she could chase after him.
"Let's just see where this goes. It's not like just talking to him normally will help." She said. Indigo sighed.
"Fine."
The two trailed behind Navy a little. He didn't say a word as he approached. Nick opened his eyes and glanced at Navy.
"What?" He asked. Navy didn't respond. He grabbed Nick, and them him on the ground behind him.
"You have failed." Navy grunted.
"Navy stop! What the hell is-," Indigo began to say as she ran towards them. Nick cut her off as he stood up, his expression unphased. He held out his arm and stopped her from going farther.
"It's okay." Nick said with an unusual calmness, "If Navy has something to say, let him. It's all he ever does anyway." Navy huffed in response.
"You have failed your team. As a leader and a member of it." Navy growled.
"Really? In what way?" Amber felt the temperature of the air in the room raise. She realized it wasn't just her. Indigo had took a few steps back from Nick, sweat had began to form on her forehead.
"You are constantly absent. You come back every night late. You disappear during the weekends. The only time you are present is during class when you are required. You have done nothing or made any attempt to lead or contribute. It is a disgrace." Navy growled. "You should not have been entrusted with leading a team, if you are not capable of being a part of it. You have done no work for us since day one."
Nick said nothing for a minute; he just stared at Navy. The silence blanketed the air like lead. Amber felt herself instinctively backing away from the two. Indigo had also backed away from the two, her face wouldn't betray any emotion.
"I haven't worked you say... Actually it's quite the opposite." Nick finally spoke, his tone quiet. "I have done nothing but work for both myself and this team. I work and work to the point I barely sleep, and you have the nerve to say that to me... I'm not even surprised, you don't respect anyone who doesn't seem tough like you anyway do you? You just think of us all as inferior to you and that you should be in charge."
"All you have done so far has proven me correct."
"Then why aren't you? I don't see you doing anything more then standing here and complaining."
What happened next was almost a blur to Amber. Navy tried to punch him. Nick had dodged it easily and shoved his palm out, then an explosion rippled out from his hands, it singed his clothes and slammed him against the wall. The concrete wall cracked from the force of it. Before Navy could react, Nick had grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the middle of the gym. Navy stood up and wiped some blood from his mouth, and smirked. The smell of smoke filled Ambers nose. She felt her heart almost skip a beat. The few other students inside the gym had stopped their workouts to watch.
Navy reached over to one of the benches and grabbed a water bottle from it. He unscrewed the lid and turned it over, dumping it out. Instead of falling to the floor, the water floated and circled around him in a ring. He tossed the empty water bottle aside. Other water bottles began to shake in the gym until they exploded, the water and other drinks shot from the ruptured bottles and floated towards Navy, until liquid circled around him in multiple rings.
"Let's put your fire out." Navy growled through his smirk, and thrust his hands forward from his fighting position. The liquids seemed to freeze as it sailed towards Nick in a ball of ice the size of his chest. His expression didn't change. He waved his hand in front of him, and a fiery explosion ripped the air in front of him. Ice shards flew everywhere and smoke covered him. Amber felt sheer terror suddenly rise though her chest. She couldn't move away, as much as she wanted too turn and run.
The smoke began to clear. Nick stood at the center of it, flames licked and danced across his entire body. His eyes glowed pure orange, and his hair stood slightly as flames curled through it. He scowled. Amber felt herself being shoved away. She realized Indigo was practically dragging her to the edge of the room away from them.
The air itself felt like it was starting to burn. A shockwave shot out from Nick, the gyms matted floors burned under his feet. Amber barely registered that he even moved, one moment he was standing there like an inferno, the next, he was in front of Navy. He slammed his fist into Navy's gut. Another small shockwave shimmered the smokey air as he went flying back into and behind a bench press. The press bent and crumbled from the impact and tumbled back a few feet behind where Navy landed. He was on his hands and knees, blood trickled from his mouth and he clenched his stomach with one hand. He was breathing heavily.
Nick was suddenly standing over him. A small trail flames on the floor burned in his wake. He glared down at Navy. Navy threw another punch though it was much slower. Nick grabbed his fist; Navy groaned in pain as he tried to pull his hand out of Nicks flaming grasp. Nick let go, burn marks covered Navy's fist.
"Nick stop, that's enough!" Indigo yelled next to her, Amber could only watch in horror as the incident unfolded.
She heard a scream, only to realize it had come from herself. Fear had overwhelmed her. The memories of that night were flooding through her head again. She felt her semblance activating. The world became cloudy and blurred around her as she felt herself flying out of the gym. As she found herself on the main campus again. She forced herself to calm down. The world cleared as she felt her body returning to her. She panted as she supported herself on her legs.
The memories of that night stopped, she was okay. The memory of the burning pain in her side, and her aching muscles faded. Students on campus gave her strange looks. She didn't care, she composed herself and began to walk back to the dorms. That was enough for now.
Indigo regretted letting Navy say or do anything. She knew it would only make things worse, but she didn't imagine Nick would lose his temper this bad. It hasn't happened like this in years. He just always kept it boiling below the surface. After Amber left in a panic, Nick said something quietly that she couldn't hear. The flames on his body died as he fell to his knees. The doors to the gym opened again. This time, the headmaster walked in. Professor Goodwitch behind him.
Goodwitch waved the wand through the air. The damage to the room seemed to undo itself. In no time, the gym was back to how it originally was. The headmaster cleared his throat.
"If everyone would please return to their dorms for now, I would like to have a talk with Mr. Veras and Mr. Marine in private." He said.
Indigo took the hint. She made her way out of the gym. When she got back to the dorm, Amber laid on her bed, and quietly stared up at the ceiling. She was clearly shaken up by something. Indigo thought for a moment before deciding against trying to talk to the quiet girl. Instead, she headed for the shower.
As she finished getting dressed, she winced at the idea of putting her tail away from view again. It was sore and stiff from being coiled up around her waist for two weeks straight. The only break being when she slept and when she changed in private. She sighed and forced herself to wrap it around her waist again. She couldn't keep doing this for four years, and she knew it. She just hoped the team wouldn't hate her for it.
She stepped out of the bathroom. Nothing had changed. She put her armor away. Shortly after, the door opened. Nick and Navy trailed in. They wouldn't look at each other, Navy's hand was wrapped in a bandage and his workout clothes had a hole burned through them. There was a slight burn mark on his chest but it was already healing. Nick's hands were wrapped as well, though he picked lightly at them.
She walked towards them but said nothing. She let her angered expression do the talking. She slapped both of them. She had to reach up to Navy and made sure to hit him a little harder.
"What the hell is wrong with both of you?!" She exclaimed. Amber had sat up from her bed, and looked nervously at Nick.
Navy glared at her.
"I did what I felt necessary." Navy commented before he walked past her. He leaned against the wall near his bed and shot a glance at Nick.
"Nick," he sighed,
"I know I know," he closed the door behind him. "Listen up because I'm only going to say this once." He paused for a minute. "I'm sorry, I haven't been paying attention to my team as much as I should be." Indigo scoffed.
"You're in charge. That means more then doing paperwork, Nick. It means you have to know your team." She said. He nodded.
"I know, so I'll be doing that from now on. Weather you guys like it or not," he glanced at Navy briefly. "We're all stuck together. So the least we should do is try and get to know each other."
Amber coughed nervously.
"Nick?"
"Yeah?"
"You said earlier that you've been working to the point you've been losing sleep. What kind of work are you even doing?" She asked. Nick shrugged and leaned against the wall by the door.
"Lien doesn't just grow on trees you know."
"Wait, what? Nick, you got a job?" Indigo interjected. He shrugged.
"Well yeah. We spent most of the money we were given just getting here alone. I have to be able to pay for my... project somehow. Besides, it pays pretty well for a part time job."
Indigo facepalmed slightly. He was right, though. Sooner or later they were going to run out of lien between the two of them.
"And you didn't tell me this why?" She asked, annoyed.
"Didn't think it was that important." He responded.
"What do you do then?" Amber interjected.
"Night shift for a dust store."
Indigo understood why that would pay well. Night was a sketchy time to be open for business in any of the kingdoms. Especially working at a place that sells something as valuable as dust.
"Alright, fine, but what about this project you said you're working on?" She asked. He merely smirked.
"You'll see when it's done." Was all he said. She rolled her eyes. She walked away from him and headed towards her desk. She looked over to Navy.
"You're being strangely quiet. What did Ozpin even tell you guy's anyway?"
Navy began unraveling the bandage on his hand. The burns on it were healed.
"He just said that the sparring room was open and was a better place for that."
Indigo shrugged. At least he wasn't picking everyone for a fight for now.
Authors Note: So this was a weird chapter for me to write using the different points of view like this. Though now that Team NANI has been assembled, it's going to be more like this as I want to be able to cover more of what's going on better. Sorry if it was confusing at first, I thought I would just explain that.
