"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."
Blair, for the first time since he began attending the great school of Beacon, didn't have a novel in his hand and was actually paying undivided attention in his History class.
He jotted down some notes, namely important pieces and wars that stood out to him. Specific battles that he'll personally do research on as soon as he could.
Namely, Fort Castle. A battle he could recall hearing alot about while growing up.
Pyrrha at beside him, her eyes not focused on the energetic teacher but the sleeping Jaune. She let out a sigh, worried about her leader.
Not getting a good night's rest in what seemed to be forever.
Jaune laid his head on his crossed arms, beat tired and napping away. Cardin stood behind him, crumbling pieces of paper and dropping onto the floor. He peered over his desk, catching the blonde tips of Jaune's hair.
"This is prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as The Faunus War!" Professor Bartholomew spoke out, taking a sip of his drink and moving to the other side of the room in not even a blink.
He stood in front of the sleep Jaune, before taking another sip and appearing before Velvet. He studied her, wondering if any of her ancestors had participated in this rebellion. She jumped in her seat, never meeting someone with such speed. With such energy.
"Faunus...Rights..." Blair mumbled off, before the next bit caused him to roll his eyes. "Revolution..." He leaned back in his seat, lightly pulling on his scarf. He shut his eyes for a brief moment, remembering the day Belle made this for him.
The days she spent knitting this piece for him when he requested it. He smiled softly to himself, almost feeling the warmth of her love in the fabric.
It was an enchanting Christmas.
"Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" Professor Bartholomew asked, looking over the class. Velvet hesitated for a moment, before slowly raising her hand. Blair noticed her hand raised, recognizing her from the girl who was being bullied by Cardin.
He made a note to make sure to stay out of proximity of Cardin. He was trouble.
"Poor girl..." Blair sighed out, crossing his arms. He looked out the corner of his eyes, seeing Cardin still crumbling papers out of sheer boredom. He narrowed his eyes, wanting to subject him to some discrimination.
Regardless of not knowing the girl, bullying her was still a problem in Blair's book.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" Bartholomew explained, before going on a rant about the history of discriminatory violence throughout history. Namely against Faunus once again.
"Pitiful, ain't it?" Blair asked, leaning in towards Pyrrha in a hush. Pyrrha leaned in towards Blair, listening to his words. "That we are told and taught about these atrocities, yet not a single thing about making a strive for the betterment of everyone. Kinda like just telling us it happened and not caring."
"Explain." Pyrrha asked, a tad bit confused. She squinted her eyes, wondering what he was leading on about. Blair got himself comfortable as he rested his forearms on the desktop.
"We are told about all these wars, battles, atrocities." Blair said, letting out a heavy sigh. "Yet, not a single word about trying to change the status quo. How to better ourselves." Blair let out a heavy groan to follow, sickened to know this was actually true.
"The way things have been going, with the White Fang, it'll only continue to advance the violence. Humans aren't going to be pushed into change." Pyrrha explained. She couldn't help but think of Cardin and his pack of goonies when the thought of not changing escaped her lips.
"The more we change things, the more things tend to stay the same way." Blair stated, before returning to a straight posture. He stared at the maps, the red pins marking battlements and blue important instances in the Revolution's history. "The circumstances always change. But War? War never changes. Just bigger guns and less meaningful problems."
"And I don't suppose you would know a thing about how to stop it then?" Pyrrha asked, turning to him. She wanted to know what his angle was, what exactly he wanted to do. How he would actually stop this Faunus/Human war.
"I know, and you know as well, that the violence will only lead to more violence. The only true solution...is to just stop. To talk it out." Blair explained, his hand running over his scarf. "To stop the mindless bloodshed and work out peace on our own terms." Pyrrha nodded to herself, agreeing with him. She heard the passion in his voice, the fire that roared when he discussed this.
"Right..."
"So I says to her, 'I don't hit a girl!'" Yin started, his hands out and spread out. He chuckled, before getting into a boxing stance. "Then boom!" He fakes a jab, then tapped his right cheek. "Right in the face! Like! Ow! Nearly cracked my teeth!"
"So then what happened?" Winter asked, crossing his arms and leaning against his pillow. He held his history book in his hand, lazily flipping pages. He skimmed over the Faunus Revolution, not wanting to know much about it. Not wanting to read too much into past events.
"Then I threw her around a bit." Yin stated nonchalantly, smirking a bit and kicking his feet up onto the desk. He stared into the ceiling, losing his smile a bit after realizing one bit of information. "She never did call me..."
"Agh!" Ruben groaned, pulling his hand back and shaking it out. He rubbed the inside of his palm, whispering curses to himself. The inside of his palm was rubbed bloody, the calluses on his hands thick and blistering.
"This-" He grabbed the stuck barrel, tugging on it roughly. Yet the metal wouldn't bend. "Won't! Come off!"
"Where's Blair?" Winter asked Yin, his eyes fixated on the door. It's been a good fifteen or so minutes. He should have been home. "He's suppose to be out of class by now."
"No idea!" Yin answered, standing onto his bed. Bouncing a bit before and jumping over to Winter's. "But! I'm sure he's fine! He's a capable one, that Blair."
"No!" Ruben shouted, his hands pressed against his temple.
"Oh God! I-I-I!" He looked frantically over his weapon, one of the blades now completely busted, a lever was missing, a barrel was sticking out of place, and he was still finding bits of feather lodged in the heat vents.
He slammed his head against the table, groaning. "Four years. I maintained this weapon for four years...and now it's broken."
"Just...make a new one?" Winter shrugged, looking over at Ruben's scythe. As an intimidating weapon it was, it was more trouble than it was worth.
Ruben turned to Winter, raising a brow. He turned to his weapon, letting out a breath.
"I just...Can't build a new one." He ran his fingers over the remaining blade, staring at his reflection. The bags under his eyes. Straining in his eyes. "They're my own. I made with my own two hands. Spent days working out the designs, and spent hours perfecting it..." He turned back to Winter.
"I'll fix them. I just..." He looks over his schematics. "I just need to take it all apart, and make the remaining Scythe. Walking around with one while I fix up the other in my spare time. Yeah...that's what I'll do." Ruben immediately got to work, grabbing a screwdriver and a hammer.
"There we go." Winter said, before hearing the door knob begin turn. Blair entered with a sidestep, letting the door shut by itself. Yin smiled, opening his mouth to speak. Blair raised his hand, letting out a low breath.
"Fine." Blair answered, as he moved towards his bed. Yin lost his smile for a moment. Then he opened his mouth once more. "It was good. Cardin didn't. And no. No one asked about you."
"Darn!" Yin whined, jumping onto his bed with his lips pursed and his arms crossed. "Not a good day so far."
"So, how was class for you?" Winter asked, turning to Blair. Blair looked over at Winter, dropping his books onto his mattress with a loud thud.
"Fine. Talked about the Faunus Revolution." He said, picking up one of his history books. Velvet still fresh in his mind. "Poor Bunny girl. One of the only Faunus in class..."
"Velvet." Ruben mumbled, as he loosened a screw. He held out his hand, the screw landing in the middle of his palm. He felt his lips curl to a smile as he said her name. "Her name is Velvet."
"Faunus Revolution. Such a turn in history." Winter said with a roll of his eyes, before standing to his feet. He cracked his back as he stretched out his loose arms. "Well, I better get ready for the rest my classes."
"Have fun." Ruben waved him off, focusing on his weapon. He began loosening the other remaining screws. "Be sure to take notes."
"Will do." Winter nodded, walking towards the door. He grabbed his satchel and threw it around his shoulder, turning to the team. "See you all later."
"Count on it, amigo!" Yin said, saluting him off. Winter smiled, opening the door and heading out to his next class.
"Oh God." Winter ran his fingers through his hair, looking over the magnitude of books in the school's library. He grabbed several on the study of Grimm, two on the study of Faunus, and lastly one on the origin on Dust.
Hands down, the most peaceful building in the school was Beacon's Library. Granted, not when Nora and Yin are having an out of control parkour duel over the shelves and railings .
He shoved the books into his bag, before walking towards the librarian to wish her a good night.
As he walked down the aisle, he noticed her asleep at her desk, her head resting on her crossed arms. He smiled, choosing to return to his room and not disturb her.
He quietly made his way to his building, his fingers tapping on the strap of his bag. He looked up at the night sky, admiring the somehow warm glow of the moon, how it blanketed the school in a ominous glow. He hurried his pace, wanting to get a good night's rest.
He jogged up to the door and opened it, jogging up the stairs to his room. He saw Pyrrha walking down the hall, her lips curved into a very rare frown, and tears building up in her eyes.
Winter couldn't help but wonder what she was doing so late into the night. He straightened the strap on his shoulder, clearing his voice.
"Hey," He said, moving towards her. She looked up at him, faking a smile.
"Hello, Winter." She said, straightening her posture and letting out a sigh. Her powerful shoulders straight and her arms at her sides. "Surprised to see you up so late. I thought you'd be a student who enjoyed sleeping after a hard day's work."
"Well," He opened his bag and showed her several of his books. "Classes tend to keep me up well past my bedtime." He finished with a warm smile. She nodded, turning to her door. She reached for the knob, her finger tips grazing the brass before she turned back to Winter.
"Winter?" She asked, seeing him nod and lean in close to her. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "If someone is being...difficult. How have you found to be a reasonable way to try to help them in their circumstance?"
"You're asking the wrong person, for starters." He said with a coy smile, remembering when he and Ruben would butt heads with every word. He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head.
"The best way, I suppose, is to just try to understand where they are coming from. To relate to them and see what you can both agree on." He looked over Pyrrha, hesitantly raising his hand. "Are you alright?"
"Absolutely." Pyrrha lied, her hands closing into fists. "I am fine. I worry for a friend...that's all."
"It's just," Winter opened his mouth to speak once more, before shutting it. He turned to his door, not wanting to drill her for information. He tapped his thumb against the tip of his index, before turning to Pyrrha once more.
"If you ever need anything," He pointed his thumb to his room. "I'm just across the hall. Ok?"
"Ok." She whispered, nodding to herself. She opened her door and entered, looking at Winter until the door was shut. Winter felt his heart race the moment she met his eyes with her green orbs.
Her vibrant eyes. He let out a small chuckle, before turning in for the night for some well deserved rest.