Author's Notes: Hey guys! I actually posted the next chapter within the week! (kind of) This chapter is gonna be much more mellow than the others have been, but don't worry it's gonna get intense soon. Enjoy!

What It Takes

Chapter 8: Reflection

The library was quiet. The rustle of pages was all that could be heard aside from quiet conversations from the other students. Everyone was studying and preparing for upcoming exams, now that school had finally gotten into full swing for each class. The whispers of conversation were mostly questions, checking to see if they were correct in their answer or to help understand a concept.

Celestia sat a table with Aurelia, their books opened on the table, and both were vigorously taking notes. Their history exam was only three days away and they wanted to make sure that they were prepared for it. Celestia was more adamant about this though, being the more studious of the two. Ever since they had known each other, Celestia had always spent most of her time working or studying for school, wanting to do as well as she possibly could. It had always been her dream to become a huntress and protect those who couldn't fight for themselves.

However, right now, Celestia wasn't too focused on her work. Instead she was drawing in her notebook, a usual hobby for her when she was bored. While drawing, she was lost in her own thoughts, thoughts of the past, the future, but mostly she thought about everything that had happened since she arrived at Beacon. For the past month, she had become partners with her best friend, had become part of a team and had met many great friends. They had been introduced to the members of Team Sunrise over the month, considering Basil knew Namra pretty well. Re was very much the goofy guy who always tried to make everyone laugh. Namra was quiet usually, but would participate in conversation every now and then and was friendly about it. Wai was also quiet but not as much as Namra. He was friendly and non-judgmental, which Celestia appreciated due to her Faunus heritage. Sylvia was hot headed and serious most of the time, but when she was around her brother Re, she seemed livelier and less likely to pick a fight. Celestia didn't mind Sylvia, considering she was the leader of Team Sunrise she had to be serious. Plus she was better with Re around, and that's usually when she saw Sylvia anyway. Aurelia, on the other hand, did not like Sylvia at all. She would always act very protective over Celestia whenever Sylvia was around.

Celestia sighed. She must still be upset over the time when Sylvia hit my ears. It was an accident and Aurelia needs to get over I; she can't be so over-protective all the time.

Her thoughts then drifted to her own team's situation. She and Aurelia were always doing fine, even though Celestia would get annoyed when Aurelia was over protective of her. Porphyrios was a pretty good leader all things considered. He may be a bit rough around the edges, but Celestia could see that he cared for his team a great deal. He always made sure they were well performed in combat, sparring with everyone to hone their skills as well as his. He and Aurelia were getting along fine, although sometimes his blunt attitude would get on Aurelia's nerves, and cause a bit of tension that was alleviated quickly. Basil and Porphyrios were getting along better ever since they had gone out for coffee two weeks back. Celestia had no idea what had happened, but it seemed like they had come to an understanding of some kind while she and Aurelia were in one of the stores. The only people who seemed to not be getting along with each other were her and Basil.

Celestia put down her pencil and looked at her rough sketch of a boy with messy hair and a smile on his face. She didn't understand why they were not getting along. Well, that wasn't true, they were getting along fine. It was just awkward. Every time they would talk, there would be a point where Basil looked away and stopped talking to her. She knew that her being a Faunus would always cause people to be uncomfortable, but Basil would talk to Porphyrios just fine and he was a Faunus.

Maybe he just doesn't like me, thought Celestia, looking at the ceiling.

She immediately shook that thought away, No he just still needs time to adjust.

Aurelia had stopped taking notes and looked over at Celestia.

"Working hard I see," Aurelia pointed out.

Celestia rolled her eyes, "Yes, the ceiling is very important to my studies," she said sarcastically.

Aurelia laughed, "So I see," she replied.

Aurelia's eyes wandered over to Celestia's drawing.

"Is he important to your studying as well?" Aurelia asked.

Celestia looked down and saw what Aurelia was looking at. "No he's just from my thoughts," Celestia replied with a sigh.

Aurelia nodded. "Are you still wondering why Basil acts weird around you?"

"Yea I have been," admitted Celestia, "I just don't understand what I did for him to act so awkward around me."

"You haven't done anything wrong," reassured Aurelia in a calming voice, "some people just can't see past the ears."

Celestia heard a hint of anger in Aurelia's voice as she mentioned that last part. Celestia didn't think Basil was discriminatory against Faunus in any way, shape or form; he just didn't seem like the type.

However, Celestia knew Aurelia wouldn't agree with what she thought. So, instead of arguing with her, Celestia changed the topic:

"So, what's everyone else up to," inquired Celestia, "maybe when we're done here we can all hang out together?"

Aurelia thought for a bit, trying to remember what everyone had said when she had asked that morning.

"Well," she began, "Basil and Porph said they were going to spar with Wai and Re, and Namra and Sylvia are out on the town to resupply. So the only two who might be available are Basil and Porph, considering Team Sunrise have a group combat exam tomorrow and will probably be sparring for the rest of the night."

"That's disappointing," Celestia replied, "I was looking forward to a group game night or something tonight."

"Well right now it's 5:30. We'll stop at 6, grab a bite to eat, and then head back to the dorm for a game of cards or something."

Celestia smiled. "That sounds like a good idea."

They continued to study, until the appointed time, and then went to grab dinner. They discussed how they thought the exam was going to go, and wondered if the boys had started studying yet. Aurelia joked about how Porph probably studied while he sparred. Celestia laughed, as she pictured him with a book in one hand and a sickle in the other. Finishing up their food, they decided to go for a quick walk around the courtyard before heading back to the dorm.

They walked outside and felt the cold night air envelope them like lake water. Celestia involuntarily shivered and zipped up her leather jacket for warmth. They didn't walk far before they decided to sit next to one of the fountains before they went back.

"This past month has been crazy hasn't it?" Aurelia commented, "Initiation, team forming, new friends, it's like a dream."

"Yea," agreed Celestia, "It certainly feels longer than a month."

Then she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Aurelia.

"I was just remembering the time when Re made a joke that made Basil spit out his water," clarified Celestia, "and it landed all over Porph."

Now it was Aurelia's turn to laugh.

"Haha, yes!" she said through fits of giggles, "Basil had to apologize up and down for that one!"

The two girls laughed hysterically, remembering all the funny moments, from Basil spitting water, to Sylvia slipping on whipped cream.

"It wasn't even meant for her," stated Aurelia as seriously as she could, "It was meant for Wai, but Re got Sylvia instead!"

"I'll bet she was pissed," giggled Celestia.

"Re told me she was more pissed at his lack of aim than her slipping on it."

The laughter died down, as they finished their stories of things past. There was about a minute of silence when Aurelia asked a question.

"It's amazing isn't it?"

"What?" responded Celestia.

Aurelia looked at Celestia, "We got so lucky. Going into Beacon, I was worried that we would be separated. I didn't think we would end up on the same team and that I wouldn't be able to protect you from bullying."

Aurelia looked up at the sky, "It's just amazing to see how different things turned out. We could've had a horrible time, but instead we got to be on the same team together."

Celestia thought about this for a moment. Sure it was very fortunate that they got on the same team together, but was that really all it was? Luck?

She stared into the fountain. The water reflected her image perfectly, her dark pink hair, her blue eyes, and her pink ears. She reached up and touched them.

Would it really have been that bad if we had been on different teams? Celestia wondered as she scratched her dog ears. I mean Basil seems to be pretty awkward about it, but most of the people we met haven't been bad about it at all.

She put her hand down as she continued to stare at her reflection.

I mean I'm still not sure if I know them enough to trust them, but they're closer to me than most people have been. But would it have been that much different if-

"Celestia?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, as she looked away from the fountain and towards Aurelia, who was standing ready to leave.

"Let's go back and play cards with the boys, sound good?"

Celestia nodded, and they headed back to the school.

All four of them sat in a circle around a board with the map of remnant on it. Porphyrios was reluctant to play at first, but at Basil's urging he conceded.

The game started off well enough, each person made good strategic plays to conquer the kingdoms. Porph was the first out in the first game and Basil self-destructed when going after Aurelia.

"No! I got a two!" cried Basil.

"Haha! That's what you get for trying to attack the kingdom of Mistral!" countered Aurelia.

Despite Aurelia's confidence, Celestia quickly dispatched the rest of Aurelia's forces after a few turns.

"I just couldn't draw well at the end," Aurelia complained, making excuses.

They played a second game in the same positions and surprisingly enough Porphyrios won.

"Porph, you just won," Aurelia stated in shock.

"I did?" asked Porphyrios surprised.

"Yea you're the only person left," stated Celestia, "also I'm assuming that means we can use that nickname for you now?"

"What? You? Uh…fine," agreed Porphyrios begrudgingly

Team Peacock decided to play one more game, but instead they would switch up their positions. It went perfectly fine, until Aurelia gained a lot of power and destroyed Celestia's forces.

"Damn!" Celestia exclaimed, "Guess I just didn't draw enough good Vacuo cards."

Porphyrios was the next to be destroyed, wiping out Mistral. This left Basil as Atlas and Aurelia as Vale. They went at it for a couple turns, Aurelia seeming to have the upper hand with her forces. However, Basil was only waiting for the right opportunity and played his trap card.

"What!?" yelled Aurelia, "How did you do that?"

Basil smirked and then finished up the game in a couple of moves, wining him the game.

"I still don't understand what happened," stated Aurelia in confusion.

"I lead you into a false sense of security," Basil said plainly, "letting some of my troops fall gave you confidence, enough to charge the rest of my forces, leading you straight into my trap."

"Too bad that strategy was just used for a board game," commented Porphyrios.

"Okay, how come Porph can win by not even trying, yet I can't win when I'm giving it my all!"

Everyone laughed at that, even Porphyrios.

After the game they chatted for a bit. Turns out Porphyrios and Basil did study after all, but not while sparring. When Celestia brought up the idea of Porphyrios studying while sparring, he chuckled a bit.

"I'm good Celestia, but I'm not that good," he claimed.

They exchanged good nights after a while and went to their respective beds. Celestia stayed up a bit longer, lying in bed thinking about the past month and what she thought about it. Finally she came to a conclusion.

While I'm not entirely sure if I trust them completely, they are certainly good people. Basil may feel awkward around me, and Porph may be a bit too serious sometimes, but they're certainly trying not to be. So, while this situation may not be ideal for me, it certainly beats the alternative.

She smiled to herself. As of right now, I'm satisfied with this outcome.

She rolled over and faced towards the boys side of the room. And hopefully someday, I will be able to trust those two as much as I trust Aurelia.

And with that she fell asleep, optimistic about the future.