"But, why would I need friends if I have you?"

Winter casually drew his revolver, staring down the dark cage beside the professor. Winter couldn't make out the beast that lied within, only that it had bright red eyes, and was beyond angry.

The growls coming from within sent shivers down. The clacking of what sounded like bone scrapping against the steel bars.

Winter's spine, something he didn't care to admit. He flicked the hammer with his thumb, his tongue rubbing the inside of his cheek. He narrowed his eyes, rolling his shoulders back and calming himself down.

"Go Win-Ter!" Yin shouted, punching the air. He began fist pumping, making whooping noises the whole time.

"Go Frost." Blair mumble, rolling his eyes and letting out a yawn. He flipped the page of his novel, before straightening his scarf and pushing it out of his line of sight.

"Hit it's weak point of massive damage!" Ruben shouted, smirking to himself. Going to see Winter fail at fighting this monster was going to be glorious. Especially since Winter did this solely to get back at him. To try to prove a point.

"Shut it, Kid!" Winter shouted, turning to Ruben. His voice was guttural and rough. Ruben chuckled, leaning back in his seat. Ruben couldn't help but laugh at Winter continuing to call him a 'kid'. Even though this 'kid' was now the leader of his group.

Something he knew didn't please Winter one bit.

Ruben folded his arms behind his head, chuckling softly. He was wishing for a camera to catch this embarrassing sight. Or at the very least, a bag of popcorn to munch on. "I'm going to take care of this beast! Then I'll be taking care of you!"

"Alright!" Professor Port said, happily raising his weapon. The blades of the axe head glistening, before he pivoted his foot and let out a warrior's cry. He slammed his weapon against the lock of the cage, busting it off with little effort.

The gate door slowly began to open, the tension in the air thick.

Winter kept his bead on the cage. The classroom was silent, watching either Winter or the beast within. Port held his weapon, in case things do go south for Mr. Frost.

Before the beast within slammed it's now apparent tusks against the bars, Winter locked his weapon's hammer. The tusked Grimm crawled out of the cage, letting out a soft squeal as it's hooves clacked against the tiled floor.

The four glowing red eyes as red as Ruben's cloak. The red inscriptions on the tusks as dark as blood. The midnight black fur adorning it's hide as deep a shade as Blair's locks. The eyes focused dead set on Winter, before the beast's hooves dug into the floor beneath it.

With a clack of it's hooves, it charged at Winter full forced.

Winter wasted not time before he sent several shots at the beast's skull, each bullet ricochetting off and into a near by wall. Winter groaned, rolling out of the way of the oncoming boar.

The boar zoomed past him, noticing it missed the target almost instantly. The boar turned on a dime, turning to face his opponent. It's cleaved hooves skidding against the ground, producing sparks.

"You weren't expecting that," Professor Port said, his belly shaking with a deep chuckle. He laid his weapon on his shoulder, twirling his mustache with his free hand. "Didn't you?"

"Winter!" Ruben shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. Winter tried to remember his uncle's words.

Aim with my eye, not my- "I'd avoid that charge if I were you!"

Winter drowned out Ruben's words with excessive gunfire, forgetting to aim and just fired away. Deafening white noise all he could hear.

The shots once more bouncing off the beast's tough hide, proving simple rounds were ineffective. The Grimm swung it's tusk up into Winter's side, hooking him and tossing him to the other side of the room.

Winter landed with a hard 'thud', his weapon crashing against the wall behind him. Winter could have sworn the room was beginning to spin, as he felt his insides jumbled and all the blood now in his head.

Winter, with much struggle, got onto his knees. He felt a sudden shocking pain in his ribs, an almost nerve breaking sort of pain. He held his bruised side, withholding a groan of pain. Trying with all his might to not show any weakness. Especially since his 'leader' was watching.

"That looked like it hurt!" Ruben commented, barring his teeth in empathy pain. As much as it was glorious to watch Winter squirm, that throw did make him squeamish.

"Shut UP!" Winter shouted, easing himself back into a standing position before running towards his weapon. Each step sent a jolt of pain up his side, making his pant heavier and harder.

The room got hazy for a brief moment, the lights too blinding, and the clothing too constricting. The boar jumped up into the air, and began spinning in it's spot very fast. Very, very fast.

"He's preparing to use Spin Dash!" Ruben said. Winter made it to his weapon, hooking it with his foot and kicking it up into his hand. Winter turned to the beast, releasing the wheel latch and emptying the spent shells onto the floor. "It'd be good to use that lightening Dust, that'll be handy!"

"Ruben!" Winter shouted, loading a full wheel into his revolver. "Shut it!" Without any warning, the beast zoomed across the room. The area around it swished aside as it sped forward.

Winter sent off several surprised shots, not even taking the time to close his eye or straighten his arm.

The bolts of lightening hit the beast hard, stunning it as it came out of it's roll and crashed into the floor. The beast laid on it's back, oinking in pain. Winter walked over to it, and unloaded the rest of the weapon into the beast's jowls.

Winter knew that one shot to the temple would've been a kill shot at this range, but he need the satisfaction of knowing full well it was nice and dead.

The Grimm soon laid dead on the floor, the right side of it's head a bloody mess. Bits of it scrambled onto Winter's boot.

"Fantastic! We are in the presence of a a great Hunter in training." Professor Port said, turning to the clock. He walked over to his podium, his arms moving behind his back. "That's all the time we have today class. Be sure to cover the assigned readings. And! Stay Vigilant."

Winter breathed out shallow breaths, his mind thinking of Ruben with every pull of the trigger. Imagining that smug look blasted away with each hammer drop.

He narrowed his eyes, angry that this beast wasn't Ruben.

Upset it wasn't Ruben.

Disappointed it wasn't Ruben.

He unlatched the wheels and dropped the spent shells onto the ground, his breathing calm and steady now. He locked his wheel back as the bell rung for class.

"Class Dismissed."

"I think it went well." Ruben said, walking after the agitated Winter. Ruben could feel the waves of suppressed anger coming from Winter, which didn't stop him in the slightest.

In fact, it encouraged him.

Winter looked over his shoulder, his 'leader' hot on his trail. "You did an ok job, I suppose."

"'You suppose?'" Winter repeated, letting out hollow 'ha's as he repeated it to himself. Winter stopped, turning towards Ruben. "'You suppose?' Oh, thank you, Great Leader! Your pleasant words are most appreciated."

"No need to be so dramatic, Princess." Ruben stated, leaning against the wall beside him. Arms crossed and smirk wide. "No need to compliment me on a job well done-"

"You!" Winter pointed at him, his left eye twitching and his hand shaking in pure rage. "Are! No! Leader!" He threw down his hand, barring his teeth.

"You are an idiot! You put yourself before others! Snark at your teammates during a training exercise! Spend all morning fixing that broken piece of junk you call a weapon! You treat the school like a joke! You don't care for the lessons! You treat yourself as if you are better than those who came before you! You-"

"Me!" Ruben pointed to himself, taking a step forward. Stepping off the wall and his smirk now gone.

However, this time Winter didn't step back. He stood his ground just as Ruben has many times before. "Me! Me!" He looked over Winter, sizing him up.

Winter was a bit taller than he was, but Ruben could feel that his years of wrestling with Yin prepared him for really anything Winter could bring. "It's always me, isn't it? Always Ruben's fault. Never Winter's! Nope! Never his fault! Not Missis Prefect Princess of All that is Good and Merry!"

"I am NOT PERFECT!" Winter shouted, a mere step away from pouncing on Ruben. His fists were coiled and his face was going pale. He could see his fist crashing into Ruben's cheek. Breaking him. Destroying him. "I worked. Hard! I studied for hours! Trained for days! Researched everything about my prey! I did my part! To earn my place here! You! Did! Nothing! To earn this!"

Ruben stood there, his eyes going dark and his breathing low. Winter stormed off, Ruben's shoulders dropping and his hand pressing against his forehead. He fell to his side, the wall catching him and easing him onto the floor.

He patted his hand against his forehead, letting out a groan of disgust with every knock.

Pat. Groan. Pat. Groan. Pat. Groan. Pat. Gro-

"Hmmm." A voice piped in, the smell of fresh coffee filling Ruben's senses. He rolled his eyes. "That didn't seem to go very well."

"Your words fall on deaf ears, Ozpin." Ruben said bitterly, his eyes losing emotion and his face losing color. He turned to Ozpin, narrowing his eyes slightly. "We need to talk."

"Professor Port." Winter said, walking up behind his teacher. The evening sunset basked the top of the tower in a golden hue, Winter making his way to the railing. Port closed the book in his hand, looking at the descending sun once more before turning away from it.

"Mister Frost." Port said, coming off the railing and turning to his student. "My bright young pupil. Pleasure show you gave us today. Quite a bout you and that beast had."

"About that." Winter said, turning his eyes to the bench beside the railing. He sat down, his hands resting on his knees. He looked up at Professor Port, the huge mustache making him smile. "I enjoyed your story. The day you caught the Beowolf is a personal favorite of mine. Read it multiple times when I was just a child."

"It's a pleasure knowing I inspire such gifted future Hunters!" He said, smiling underneath his mustache. Winter faked his own smile, before it disappeared with his current thoughts. "Anything on your mind, child?"

"Yeah." Winter admitted, leaning back in his seat. He glanced at the sun, the bright orange hue covering Port in a pleasant shade. Much like a heroic entrance to any Huntsman and Huntress he's ever read about.

"The day...we became students." He stared into the golden sky. "The day I was a part of team RWBY. It's just..." He looked over at Port. Port noticed his tone dropped towards one of disappointment and bitterness. "I felt like...something was-"

"-Off." Ruben shook his hand, walking away. "It's...all off." He turned towards Ozpin, sighing. Ruben felt like crying. He felt like ripping out Winter's tongue and feeding it to him. He turned to the wall, imagining the pain that would transpire if he tried to punch a hole through it. If it was anything like the wood floor, the same results would happen again. "It's not suppose to be this way-"

"Classes can be difficult." Ozpin piped in. Before taking a sip of his drink. "It's always important to study." Ruben rolled his eyes, his hands running through his hair. He tugged at is slightly, breathing slowly as he tried to calm himself down.

"It's not the classes, it's the team." Ruben said, his hands against his chest. "I...I'm not-"

"A leader." Winter said, hunched over and staring into the ground. "This teams need a leader. And Ruben's not it."

"Why's that?" Port asked, sitting beside young Winter. Winter sat up, staring at the skyline.

"I'm suppose to be leader." Winter mumbled, his elbows resting on his knees and his closed fist under his chin. "Not Ruben."

"It wasn't a mistake." Port said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "Ozpin isn't the kind of man-"

"-To make such mistakes." Ozpin said, leaning over Ruben. Ruben sat against the wall, his knees to his chest and his chin resting on his forearms. "I've made many mistakes. More than I'm willing to admit. But you as leader, for RWBY. Is not one of them."

"How?" Ruben asked, turning up to Ozpin. "How-"

"Isn't this a mistake?" Winter asked, standing up and pacing around Port. "I mean, I have to lead a company one day. One of the biggest in the world. To not be able to lead a simple group of four, it seems almost insulting."

"You are a spoiled child." Port commented, leaning over in his spot. "You believe since you are getting something big, everything smaller than that should just be handed to you?"

Winter stood there, his hands on his hips and his eyes darting away from Port.

"I guess not." Winter said, letting out a sigh. "But what about-"

"-Me?" Ruben asked, almost laughing. "I am no leader. I can't even manage a stable relationship with any of them, except Yin-"

"Why's that?" Ozpin asked. Ruben turned to Ozpin, raising a brow. "What makes him different that Blair or Winter?"

"He's..." Ruben raised his hands, trying to think of an answer.

"He knows you. What makes you work. What doesn't. He sees your pain. Your achievements. Your virtues. Your demons." Ozpin rattled off, walking in front of Ruben. "You trust him on your team because you know him. Now, why don't you have a stable relationship with Winter or Blair?"

Ruben sighed, his head in his lap.

"Because..." Ruben started, groaning. "Because-"

"I don't know him that well." Winter said, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the railing. "I don't know what he is really like."

"And you won't give him the opportunity to if you two keep butting heads like this." Port stated, standing up and walking towards Winter. "You both need to not be the best Hunters you can be." He smiled, laying a hand on Winter's shoulder. "You both need to strive to being the best team you can be."

"To become a leader, you are asked to embrace a daunting responsibility." Ozpin said, watching Ruben stand to his feet. "You must be willing to answer the call, not only for yourself, but for your team."

"My team." Ruben repeated, images of Blair, Winter and Yin flashing before him.

"I cannot tell you what you need to do, Ruben." Ozpin said, beginning to walk away. "Only you know what you need to do to make this work."

The cold night covered the school in blanket of bright stars and dark blue skies. Winter walked into the team's room, hearing Yin's snoring and Blair's low breaths. Out of the corner of the room, he saw Ruben passed out at his bench.

Books open and leaning on the body of his disassembled weapon, the curve of a scythe blade keeping the page he was reading open as he laid his head on an empty magazine. Winter walked beside Ruben, tapping his shoulder.

"Rub-"

"I am not asleep!" Ruben said, his eyes shooting open as he grabbed several pencils and began loading them into the magazine as he would ammo. "Lost track of time is all. Studying grimm, decided to multitask. Got tired. Just dozed off." Ruben grumbled, his eyes in a panic.

"Ruben!" Winter said, clapping a hand over Ruben's mouth to shut him up. "It's just me. Calm down."

"Mmmimdurr?" Ruben muffled, raising a brow as he stared into his eyes. Winter let out a soft smile, letting go of Ruben's mouth slowly.

Ruben rubbed his jaw, confused and a bit out of it.

"Listen," Winter started, his hands on his knees as he bent over to lean in close to Ruben. "We...really need to start working together."

"Agreed." Ruben said in a hush, nodding softly. He let go of the magazine in his hand, tossing it aside before wiping the grease and grime off onto his sweats. The black and green clashing with the red. "We need to."

"So," Winter walked over and pulled up a chair, bringing it to sit beside Ruben. "Let's start by getting to know each other."

"Right." Ruben nodded, turning his chair to face Winter. They faced each other, postures straight and eyes locked. "That sounds about right."

"So," Winter straightened his posture. One hand resting on his knee, the other straightening his button up pajama shirt. He stared into Ruben's eyes and let out a sigh. Without much question, he lent out his hand and hoped he wouldn't sound like a dork.

"Hello. My name is Winter Frost. I am seventeen years old and I want to be a Hunter."

Ruben smirked a bit, the delivery was stiff and rushed. As if he didn't want to dwell on himself and focus exclusively on Ruben. Taking Winter's hand, Ruben shook it with a nod.

"My name is Ruben Thorn. I am fifteen. I want to be a Hunter too." Ruben chuckled softly.

Surprisingly, so did Winter. It wasn't a conceded laugh. Not a devious, 'I'm better than you' chuckle. But a legitimate 'We both sound stupid' laugh. Ruben glanced away for a brief moment, before facing Winter once more. His typically cold demeanor now gone.

Those cold, frosted over eyes now warm and welcoming.

The stiff posture of a first class noble now slouched and relaxing.

His lips typically in a scowl now a happy, dumb smile.

"Pleasure to meet you, Frost."

"Pleasure is the same, Mister Ruben."

Even though Winter wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, he was actually enjoying the night so far.