A/N: So, this is being started the day after I posted my last chapter. Knowing myself, it'll be October before I manage to post it.

Acknowledging the decent people who REVIEWED:

grypinh, LeoKingoftheZodiac, I'm glad to hear you enjoy the Troll counter. It shall continue.

Frenchy: Meet Lilla Ostrum.

The rest of you lot: You're awesome, not gonna lie. Not quite George Takei awesome, but up there.

Actually useful: The timeline is being greatly expanded. The Vytal Tournament is in Year Two now, while the continental tournament is in Year One.

Also, an explanation of ranks. Also, these aren't absolute, it's more a reflection of overall abilities. For example, a B-Rank like Ruby or Yang could beat an A-Rank like Glynda at close range.

S-Rank: These Hunters went to 11. They are the people who level mountains, kill thousands of Grimms in short order, wake up on time, and accomplish other impossible feats. Ozpin, Qrow, an insane priest, ex-gladiators, and a couple others. In short, the Garet Jax's, the Revan's, and the Ezio's.

A-Rank: These guys are 9's and 10's, with some exceptional 8's. Generally, they're masters of their weapon and excel at one or two modes of combat. They are the special forces of the Hunters, normally assigned to solo missions or partner work. Glynda, Oobleck (laziness), Pyrrha, Elian (Ghost, keep your mouth shut on this one!), Blanc (borderline S), Lie Ren, Blake, and a couple others.

B-Rank: The average Hunter, so the 6's, 7's, and the low 8's. Not bad by any means, but come on- the organization has a prerequisite amount of badass. Ruby, Yang, most of the cast.

C-Rank: The not-frontline people. 4's and 5's. Weiss (too specialized), Nora (A titch careless), etc.

D-Rank: How the hell did you all get into Beacon? Jaune right now.

-RWBYS-

-Chapter Seven-

-Moving In-

-RWBYS Dorm-

Pain. Mind, body, soul all screamed in agony as the boy stumbled through the torn-apart rubble of his home on unsteady feet. Bloody furrows leaked sanguine tears onto his skin, steaming slightly in the cold air. His clothes were torn by innumerable claw marks, stained brownish red by the boy's dried blood.

"They're gone. All dead. All gone," he muttered to himself as he stepped over a pile of rubble, then fell as a brick shifted and twisted his ankle. He hit the ground and lay there, still except for the minimal rise and fall of his chest.

'I failed them. I was supposed to protect them, and I couldn't! WHY?!' The boy's thoughts swarmed him, trying their best to drown him in self-doubt and utter loathing. Tasting dirt, dust, and blood, he tried to pick himself up only to fall again. 'Why am I... Why am I still alive?! Why me? WHY ME!?' He looked up, his eyes hidden behind his long hair, small traces of its true color visible beneath layers of soot and grime. Those eyes slowly slid shut as he felt the life draining from him, pooling on the ground below like a rich red wine.

Footsteps. Heavy, jarring steps, ones the made the earth shake slightly as they stalked closer. They stopped in front of the boy, and hungry growling filled the air with its low, malevolent bass.

A pair of large, rough hands grabbed him by the shoulders, claws biting into his body as he was lifted up. His body hung limp and unresisting as he slowly raised his eyes to stare dully at the source of the hot, fetid breath now blasting his face.

Glowing red eyes tried to burn out the boy's as white, serrated fangs a full six inches long flashed open and shut just below his chin. The boy knew it, even though he'd only ever heard stories of them before.

Beowulf.

He didn't flinch, or shake, or whimper. All he did was repeat like a broken record. 'Bianca. Argenti. Noel. Dariam. Alexander. Chloe. Dead. All gone. My fault.' Part two was: 'Why am I still here? Why am I alive? Why me and not them? Why wasn't I strong enough to defend them?! WHY!?'

The Beowulf's jaws stretched wide, then slowly began to close around the boy's head.

Still he did nothing.

'Bianca and Argenti told me to run when they died. Why? Why did they tell me to live when it was my fault they died in the first place?'

A spark of life.

'Survive for them. They're not gone so long as I remember them!'

The boy stiffened, then a radiant silver glow began to emanate from his body.

'I refuse to let them die!'

The glow intensified.

"THEY WILL NOT DIE!"

Lacking use of his arms, the boy turned into a murderous MacGyver, lunging forward at the Beowulf's throat. Ignoring the claws ripping further into his flesh, he sank his teeth into the thin fur and ropy muscle guarding the Griimm's trachea and carotid artery. Dark red, almost black, blood squirted from the wound as the Grimm howled in agony, trying to pry the child off.

It couldn't. Blood continued to spray into the air and stain the boy's face as he attacked the thrice larger beast, ripping its throat out and hacking, trying to expel the foul substance.

The Grimm's claws, which had been tearing desperate gouges into the boy's back, stilled. Dead, it crumpled as the glow faded from around the boy. It left only pain as the child collapsed amidst a mingling pool of Grimm and human blood, the rich red indistinguishable from his rapidly closing eyes.

Blanc's eyes flew open as he bolted upright in his bed, his heartrate matching its usual in-combat rate. Sharp red eyes darted about the room for the threat he was sure had just had its jaws around his throat. Seeing none he kicked off his sheets, bracing his elbows on his knees and dully staring at his crossed hands.

"What the Ash was that?" he wondered to himself as he remembered the few parts of his dream he could. It had been an odd thing, with almost two perspectives. He'd been a disembodied observer of the boy's pain, but he'd also been the boy. He'd tasted the massive Beowulf's bklood, felt as its claws ripped through his back like razors blades through paper. His eyes widened as a thought struck him. "Was that... me?"

"Was what you?"

Blanc turned to find the quietest and most unknown of his new teammates looking at him curiously from where she'd just finished swapping into her usual outfit.

"Just a strange dream," he explained with a grin as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, jumping to his feet easily. He yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his bright red eyes. Rising onto the tips of his toes, the swordsman stretched out his thin frame. Settling back down to his heels, he gestured to the door. "So, I remember seeing a kitchen last night. C'mon; I wanna see what all it's got!"

Blake blinked, tilting her head slightly at her hyperactive comrade. "You... cook?"

A dark silver eyebrow twitched as Blanc glared at the quiet girl. "Of course I cook! And I'm pretty good at it!"

Blake blinked, then nodded. "Fine. I was going to go make myself a cup of tea, regardless."

"Alright then! Just gimme a sec, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Blanc grabbed his harness and Argent Ward, then flickered out of existence.

"Why does he do that?" Blake wondered to the still-slumbering team.

-5:30, the Third Dorm on the Hall-

It was cool in the dorm. For most people, it would be a comforting chill to the air that would reinvigorate them after a night's sleep. Of course, most people weren't the seventeen year old girl rousing themselves from their cocoon of blankets. She blinked tiredly and pushed back the covers slightly before her frontal lobe kicked in all the way. The cool air shot along her spine quickly, making her rich indigo eyes widen, then slit shut in displeasure.

"Mmrrph... Too cold... Why's room cold?" she mumbled as she spun around, wrapping her multiple layers of blankets around her body. 'Why is it cold? Are they allergic to warmth or something?' After five minutes of trying (and miserably failing) to regain a comfortable level of ambient heat, the teen gave up and unwound herself from the cats' cradle of fabric. A somewhat ironically fitting description for the deathtrap she inadvertently constructed for herself. Sitting up, she looked round the dark room at her still-sleeping teammates. 'Ostrum? No, she'd try to kill me or something. Not the other guy, I can't even remember his name.' She looked at the third sleeping teenager and a devious grin split her face. 'Perfect.'

-Later, 7:00-

Elian Lyras was used to his routine of waking up at seven, grabbing breakfast, and practicing his guitar. He had no plans of changing it simply because he'd been accepted at Beacon. Of course, that was before he became a team leader. More importantly, it was before his first day on the job, which began with what was, in his mind, a minor cataclysm.

He'd been dreaming about the church he'd grown up in, speaking with his father figure in front of the tall doors. Abruptly, the doors had blown open and a chilly burst of air had rushed in, making him shiver. His father had laughed at him, and said in his familiar (Tarvansi accented) voice, "A storm is coming, child. Be ready for it." He then handed the dream-Elian a thick blanket which was far too warm and heavy. As Elian slipped back towards consciousness, he could have sworn the odd priest had shouted something about 'skipping first and going straight to second.' He wasn't sure, the dreams involving the old priest were sadly accurate: right down to the perversion and cryptic slang.

Elian blinked tiredly as he regained awareness of the waking world. He frowned as he felt much... heavier, than he had when he fell asleep. He looked down towards the warm weight on his torso and almost had an aneurism at the situation he found himself in. His partner, in the loosest sense of the word, was curled up beside him, her chest pressed firmly against his and her head nestled just below his chin, her arms keeping him locked in place. In two words?

Not Good.

Elian glanced at his own arms, which were for some Ash forsaken reason loosely wrapped around the still sleeping woman. He sighed in relief when he found the long sleeves of his shirt still down to his wrists. 'Well, at least they can't see my arms,' he consoled himself as he found the one good thing in the situation. He looked back down at his partner as she shifted, and felt a surge of heat rush into his cheeks with all the subtlety of a rampaging Boarbatusk. "Why me?" he mumbled to the dark room. His teammate's shifting had... adjusted, their position relative to each other. This left Elian with a perfectly unobstructed view of the top of her chest. Which was still pressed snugly against his own. His cheeks turning even more deeply crimson, he averted his eyes from his unconscious teammate. He tried to escape, but the woman's arms made a crocodile's death grip look weak.

'What did I do to deserve this?' the young man wondered petulantly, trying again to liberate himself. He failed, despite the increase in effort. Sighing, he gave his bedmate a long-suffering frown. 'Why is she even here? She has her own bed, and I really doubt she got mixed up... And why is she using me as a giant pillow?' Despite his discomfort with the situation, he didn't think it was worth waking her up to get free, which was rapidly becoming the only way to do so. With a final sigh, he relaxed as much as was possible considering the circumstances and waited for his captor to awaken.

After fifteen minutes, he looked at the ceiling and asked, "Why me?"

7:15

The Huntress stirred for the second time in three hours, but this time she was far warmer. She smiled and pulled her pillow closer. A sharp intake of breath from nearby made her frown, as it wasn't hers. She let her eyes slide open a scosche, then frowned in mild disorientation. 'Wasn't my pillow white? And less... firm?' she wondered sleepily, unwrapping one of her arms from around the object to run a tactile scan. In layman's terms, she ran her hand slowly over the surface her face was resting against. 'Hm... warm. Fabric. Um... Shirt?'

"Um... Sirena? What are you doing?!"

The woman looked up slightly to see her team leader looking at her with wide amber eyes and a massive blush on his face. She looked back at her hand, which was resting comfortably atop the swordsman's abdomen. She looked back up at him, a teasing grin spreading across her face. "Why?" Her lower lip protruded slightly as she pouted up at him, but her eyes were full of mischief. "Wasn't it good for you, too?"

"Huh?! Wh-what?!" Elian panicked, trying to get some distance between himself and his clearly insane teammate.

Sirena's pout switched back to a teasing grin as she reached up to poke Elian in the forehead. "You should see your face right now, Elian! You're so red right now!" She began to giggle furiously, using a fist to keep herself from disturbing the other two Hunters.

Elian gave her a reproachful glare, then sighed. "Yeah, yeah, very funny. Can you please let me go?"

"Maybe; it's still sort of cool out, and you're pretty warm..." Sirena's laughter slipped past her hand as Elian's face reddened even further. She punched him lightly on the shoulder and let him go. "Just kidding, Elian. I suppose it's time to get up, isn't it?" She slid her arm out from under him and went to get out of the bed, then stopped to glare evilly at the male. "I swear, if you looked down my bra or copped a feel I will pin you to the wall and castrate you."

Elian's face morphed into a panicked, somewhat pained expression. "I-I didn't! I mean, you kind of- Er, that is- GAH!" He let his head fall back on his pillow, covering his eyes with an arm as he moaned, "Ashes, kill me now, before I make this even worse."

Sirena's frosty glare lasted a second longer before her tilted eyes slitted near shut in amusement. "Come on; I know you're not that sorta person. After all, you're a nice guy!" With an affectionate pat on the cheek, she nimbly hopped out of her leader's bed and crept over to her suitcase.

Why the Ash is that woman even here? And how is she my partner?" Elian asked as he let out another sigh, closing his eyes and trying to rationalize her behavior. He, by default, failed miserably (come on, no guy knows WHAT women are thinking).

"Hey Boss- you can look. I have clothes on!" Elian sat up and looked at his partner, then squeaked and turned around to stare resolutely at the wall, his ears burning dark red. He heard his evil partner laughing behind him. "Elian, can you turn any redder? I thought you ran out two shades ago!"

"Just... Go swim, or whatever you're planning. I'll get up after you're gone..." the flustered male mumbled tiredly, not wanting to put up with the strange woman any longer.

"Sure thing! Laters!" Sirena cheerily said, before waltzing out the door.

Elian scowled at the wall, then pulled back his left sleeve and looked at the bare forearm. "You would have such a field day with this, old man. You stupid old pervert. Why'd you never tell me how to get out of situations like this?" After a few minutes staring at the wall, he shook his head and got off his bed. "I really need to get up." He did so, pulling his case out from under his bed and opening it. He began to plan out his day as he pulled out a pair of casual jeans and tugged them on. He pulled up his weapon harness and slid his greatsword sheath onto the fasteners. He began to walk towards the door, the paused to look over his two team members that were still asleep. A fond smile made its way to his face despite his attempts to keep it down. He leaned the case against his mattress and went to the duo. Ostrum was sleeping stiff as a board, which he found a bit ridiculous. Lunadant was curled up against the headboard. Elian shook his head, then tugged the younger teen's covers up over him. "Sleep in, Ventus. You'll need it soon."

He picked up his guitar case, grabbed a sweater, and walked quietly out of the dorm.

-The Hall's Common Room-

Blake and Blanc wandered into the kitchen/living room to find several others already there. Lie Ren was seated on the window seat in the Lotus position, his eyes closed and his breathing precisely measured in five second intervals. As always, he was dressed in his combat gear. Pyrrha was on the ground doing pushups, looking strangely domestic in a T-shirt and sweatpants. A bit mad, too, judging by her count (237). Another teenager was sitting on one of the loveseats, a guitar in his hands and strumming random chords.

"So, why're you all awake this early? I thought only crazy people and early cats were up before eight!" Blanc cheerily asked, waving to the meditating teen and the soldier girl as he made a beeline for the kitchen area.

"I'm always up this early. Two-hundred thirty nine... And isn't the expression 'early bird?'" Pyrrha answered without breaking her rhythm.

Blanc shrugged as he opened a cupboard and pulled out three skillets of varying sizes. "To each their own, woman. Where's Barfboy?"

"Hey- his name's Jaune! And he's still asleep."

Blanc raised an eyebrow as he set the skillets on the stove and walked to the fridge. "Wow, defensive much? Hey Ren- I think your teammate here had a crush on your leader!"

The acrobatic fighter cracked one eye open and shrugged. "It's her choice."

Blanc rolled his eyes, scowling playfully. "You are no fun!" He looked in the open fridge, then laughed elightedly. "Jackpot! Remind me to thank the Old Troll for stocking us so well!"

Everyone blinked at the boy's sudden activity as he pulled out eggs, bacon, and about seven thousand other items of food, rapidly moving them to the counter beside the stove.

"Well, at least someone here can cook," the guitar player remarked, beginning another tune. "Oh, and I'm Elian Lyras. I'm Team ELSV's leader. Nice to meet you."

Blanc shot him a two fingered salute. "Blanc Argent, swordsman, wanderer, joker, and chef extraordinaire. Fifth member of Team RWBYS."

Blake sighed at her teammate, then nodded to Elian. "Blake. Same team."

Elian smiled at them both. "Again, nice to meet you both. My team should be down here at some point."

"So we'll meet them too! Sounds like fun!" Pyrrha said, stopping her pushups at '300.' She stood, stretching out her arms. "Hey Blanc, can you sling me some juice?"

"Orange, grapefruit, apple, grape, what?"

"Orange, thanks." Pyrrha blinked and threw up an arm as the strange teenager threw a glass at her, quickly followed by a jug of the requested beverage. "What was that for?!"

"You said 'sling!' I was just doing what you said!" the younger teen protested, smiling mischievously.

"Oh, brother..." Pyrrha muttered as she poured herself a glass. She looked at the others. "Anyone else want some?"

"No thank you," Ren replied, unfolding himself as he heard the distant thuds that only he, so far, knew the meaning of.

"Yes, please. Thanks for asking." Elian's response was soft and polite.

Blake said nothing, simply raising her cup of tea and sitting in one of the armchairs and opening her book.

The soldier tossed the guitarist the jug, then slumped onto the second window seat. "So, what's everyone's plan for the day?"

"No clue- That's my Cap's job. I just stand around and look pretty," Blanc answered instantly, inspecting a vial of olive oil critically. "Is this plain, or extra virgin?"

"I'm guessing we'll set up our dorms for classes tomorrow," Elian said, setting his acoustic back in its case to pour himself a glass of juice.

A loud thud drew everyone's attention as a familiar orange-haired female stumbled into the room and promptly faceplanted. Lie Ren sighed, rolling his eyes skyward as he poured two cups of coffee, adding an unholy four tablespoons of sugar to one and leaving the other black. "Nora... Why do you always do that?" he asked as he offered his partner a hand.

"Too tired to think..." she whined, blinking wearily. She yawned and silently accepted the mug the thin boy offered her. "Thanks, Ren." He nodded, taking a drink of his own, much smaller, mug.

"So, what's everyone want for breakfast?" Blanc asked happily, looking at the others expectantly.

"You're cooking?" Pyrrha asked, looking at Blanc curiously.

"WHY IS EVERYONE SURPRISED THAT I COOK!? DO I LOOK LIKE I CAN'T?" Blanc thundered manically, glaring around the room with an evil glint in his eye.

"Well, you don't seem like a cook, so yeah we're all surprised,, you don't seem patient enough to learn to cook. Of course, Ren can't cook that well either and he's the most patient person I know, so you can't really judge can you?" Nora was clearly getting up to her usual level of energy, taking another swig of her coffee-flavored sugar.

Blanc glared for another second, then deflated as he looked at his feet. "Fair point. I'll just make whatever, then." With that, he began his work.

-7:50-

The group had settled into a comfortable dynamic in the last half-hour. Blanc was cooking, while keeping up a running commentary. Pyrrha and Elian were discussing combat tactics. Lie Ren and Blake were listening to Nora chatter.

And then, the peaceful setting was shattered.

Elian had been sitting with his back to the door, debating the virtues of spears and claymores respectively with the red-haired soldier girl. Then-

"Brrr! It's cold once you're out of the water! Elian, scoot over!"

Elian froze as a terribly familiar person slid over the back of the loveseat he was sitting on, landing next to him and shivering, then buried his face in his hands. "Why me?" he asked the world plaintively, rubbing his amber-brown eyes tiredly.

"Because you're my leader, silly!" the newcomer said, scooting a bit closer to him. "Now, why isn't there a fire going? It's cold!"

"Elian- I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" Blanc cheered, starting to mix together some eggs for omelets.

"She's not- I don't- Why are you saying that?!" Elian stumbled over his words, his head shooting up fast enough to make his long blonde-brown hair fly every which way as he shook his head.

Blanc's grin returned to its usual trickster status, his red eyes twinkling. "He's protesting a lot, isn't he?"

"Oh, give him a break, Blanc! You're no better with Ruby, you know!" Pyrrha scolded with a smile.

"Oh, and you and Jauney-boy are better how?" Blanc shot back with a tinge of pink in his cheeks.

Ignoring the small argument Blanc and Pyrrha were getting into, Elian instead focused on his newly arrived partner. He nervously looked at the woman beside him, then instantly averted his eyes. "Sirena! Will you please put some clothes on?!"

The girl smiled archly at him. "I have clothes on, Elian."

That was true: Sirena was wearing a damp, two piece indigo bikini a few shades darker than her still-damp hair, which complemented her lightly tanned skin magnificently. Sadly for her slightly older leader, it was also very revealing.

Elian's blush might have actually provided enough light to read by in a dark cave. He covered his eyes again, his palms supporting his jaw and rubbing against his short stubble. Nervously, he asked, "Can you at least put on a sweater or something?"

Sirena's eyebrows rose as she glared suspiciously at Elian. To one side, Blake had pulled out a camera and was taking pictures. "Are you saying something, Elian?" Her glare turned frosty and the air temperature actually dropped a few degrees. "Are you implying that I don't look good like this, or that I'm not pretty enough?" She grabbed Elian by the hair and dragged his face around to look at her. "Well, Lyras?"

Blanc chuckled from his place by the stove, grinning at the older swordsman. "Good luck, Ellie-boy. There is NO right answer here." Everyone else in the room watched with interest.

Elian's cheeks somehow turned an even brighter red as Sirena's grip only changed the horizontal angle of his head, not the vertical. In other words, he was now... well... In her threats, about to be castrated. He rapidly jerked his eyes up to her own dark indigo ones, and began to stammer out excuses. "No, I- That's not- I mean I don't- You're not-" Taking a deep breath, he began again.

"I think you look... Er..." Elian fumbled for words, latching onto the first one that sprang to mind. "I think you look lovely, it's just- Well... I have no idea what to say, actually..." He trailed off weakly, smiling awkwardly.

Everyone blinked at Elian, and Blanc flickered over to his non-taken side and clapped him on the shoulder. "I stand corrected: you may have found the right answer!"

Elian sighed again, then pulled off his royal blue sweater and handed it to Sirena. "Just put this on, please? If you're cold, it should help."

It was Sirena's turn to blush slightly as she took the offered garment and slid it on. "Thanks, Elian." Five seconds later, and the girl's mischievous smile returned. "You think I'm 'lovely,' do you?" Her smile turned vaguely predatory.

Elian's eyes turned panicked yet again.

"Uuuwwaahh..."

Everyone who wasn't Elian or Sirena turned at the familiar yawn that came from the door. A short girl stood there, blearily rubbing her eyes. To nobody's surprise, Blanc was the first to say something. "Mornin', Red! Sleep well?" he asked as he poured milk, sugar, and coffee into a spare mug, flickering in next to his captain and offering her the drink.

She took it and drained it in one fell swoop, smiling gratefully at her friend. "Really well actually, thanks for asking, Blanc! How about you?"

"Fine!" Blanc answered cheerily, flickering back to the kitchen before she could hand him the empty mug. "And if anyone is interested..." He pulled open another cabinet and pulled out several plates and sets of silverware. A set of flickers later, and the large table was set for thirteen. "FOOD'S UP!" he yelled loudly, making everyone jerk and glare at him.

Ruby's glare was irritated. "Blanc, not so loud!" Then her silver eyes turned curious. "Wait, you can cook?"

Everyone winced.

Old Troll: 2

New Troll: 3

Third Party Trollings: 1

"This is really good!"

Everyone around the table nodded enthusiastically at Ruby's loud, cheerful proclamation. All thrirteen Hunters on the hall were awake, thanks to Blanc's loud shout earlier, and had grumpily stormed the kitchen. Their plans of murdering whoever woke them up so early rapidly changed once they saw and smelled what the annoyance had woken them for. The large table was piled high with food: bacon, slices of ham, sausages (beef, pork, and chicken), pancakes, toast, fried and scrambled eggs, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, omelets, hash browns, and grits.

And through some miracle, nobody could remember ever having had better. Not even Weiss could find a thing to complain about. The food was inhaled at lightning speed, though mostly by Blanc, Nora, Ruby, and Sirena. Everyone else was mildly repulsed by how much the four could put away and stay so freaking thin.

"So what's the plan for the day, Captain Red?" Blanc asked before taking another bite of sausage.

"Don't call me that! And I think we should set up our dorm!" Ruby said before grabbing yet another cinnamon roll (number thirteen).

"Yeah, we all should, I guess," Elian said as he took another helping of eggs. He chewed slowly and swallowed, nodding to the chef. "Blanc Argent, you are possibly the best cook I've ever met."

Blanc grinned hugely, then looked to one side. "Well, I am pretty good at it. I only know one guy as good, and he's somewhere... not here."

Weiss glanced at him. "And might I hope he's less of a buffoon?"

Blanc's grin was evil. "I bet two hundred Lien that you and that Faunus would be all over each other inside a week. Any takers?" He looked around the table expectantly, then at the room's fourth wall. (A/N: Ghost, you cannot take this bet.)

Weiss looked vaguely ill and took a large drink of grape juice. "No chance in a million years."

Blanc shrugged. " Your loss, Lykaon's the most stuck-up guy I know. You'd love him!"

Elian sighed and looked at the other two members of his team. "How'd you two sleep last night?"

"Well, except for Lunadant squirming for half the night. How you slept through that I do not know," Ostrum said coldly, reaching for a pancake.

The boy in question, the youngest-seeming of the males, flinched then frowned at his partner. "Sorry I kept you up, I didn't mean to!" He turned to his leader. "Thanks for asking, Elian; I slept fine."

Elian smiled at his team. "Not a problem, Ventus. And Lilla? Don't be so harsh to him."

Sirena smiled playfully at her leader. "Why didn't you ask me? Is it because you made sure I slept well yourself?" Elian blushed and looked down at his plate without a word.

"Oh? What's this? Did you already snag a boyfriend, Little Tiger?" Yang asked with an interested grin at the other teenaged girl.

Sirena's grip tightened around her fork until it bent. "Don't... Call... Me... That... Little Happy Dragon..." She muttered angrily, glaring at her friend. "And no, Elian isn't. He's my bed warmer."

Nobody noticed the muscular boy gulping and praying for death.

"Wait, doesn't that mean you two are sleeping together?" Lilla asked curiously, pushing one of her dark purple bangs out of her eyes.

"NO! It's an expression!"

"So's sleeping together, you know," Blanc cheerily informed his two blushing elders. He grinned evilly. "I cooked; you all have to clean the dishes. Cheers!"

Old Troll: 2

New Troll: 4

Third Party Trolling: 1

"So, that was fun!" Blanc crowed as he walked back to the dorm with his team. In a moment of rare tact, he had chipped in to help wash the dishes from breakfast. Yang had pointed out he'd only done so after Ruby had pouted at him and said please, to which he replied with 'Yes, she's far cuter than you.' Which had prompted Yang to try to punch the silver troll.

"Shut up, Argent. I swear you did this to spite me," Weiss hissed angrily, wishing she could run Myrtenaster through the fool.

"Nah, I did it to aggravate everyone. Don't you know me yet, Ice Witch?" he asked sarcastically. He turned to the only person younger than himself. "So, how we gonna decorate things? Because I bet Nora would lend us some explosives!"

"NO!" the four girls yelled at him in tandem, glaring at him with enough venom to melt the armor on an Abrams tank.

"Okay, okay, it was only a suggestion!" Blanc gave up without a fight. He grinned at the group. "I take it I'm sleeping as far away from you all as you can get me?"

"Yes," answered Yang and Weiss as Blake shrugged.

"Not unless you want to!"

Blanc smiled at Ruby. "Thanks, Red."

Yang glared at her sister and the odd boy. "Just not close to my sister, got it, Argent?"

"It's up to the captain, Cheerleader!" Blanc glibly replied, flickering out of the way of a punch that got close to hitting him. He reappeared by the dorm's door. "Wow. Keep it up, Yang; you might hit me by the end of the year!" Despite the rude words, he was truly impressed. Not many people could get close to hitting him at all.

"Oh-Kay, let's decorate!" Ruby said hurriedly, rushing everyone into the room before Yang could activate Ember Celica. An utterly ludicrous grin appeared on her face. "BANZAI!"

"BANZAI!"

"BANZAI!"

"Why me?"

"Because the world hates you. Oh, and by the way? BANZAI!"

[Upbeat montage music plays as Team RWBYS decorates their dorm. This happens to occur exactly as in canon, except Blanc has the wall against the corridor. It is decorated with a drawing board with various devices' blueprints on display, poster for a few bands including 662JRock (331erock), Geoff Vilhelm (Jeff Williams), Scramjet (Jet), Fool Slayer (Foo Fighters), Oven (Skillet),and a few more. Finally, a small stand was set up to store his blade harness and vest on.]

The quintet was gathered around the door, looking at the room in satisfaction. Then they saw the beds, clustered around the center of the room, with Blanc's in the middle of his part of the wall. "This isn't going to work," Weiss decided as she took stock of the four beds.

"It is a bit cramped," agreed Blake.

"Maybe we could ditch some of our stuff?" suggested Yang half-heartedly.

"Or maybe we ditch the beds... and replace them with bunk beds!" Ruby cheered, her eyes bright and eager to begin work.

Ever the killjoy, Weiss immediately said, "Umm... That sounds incredibly dangerous."

"We live with you, we hunt monsters, and you just ate a meal I cooked without checking for poisons. In comparison, bunk beds aren't at all threatening," Blanc sarcastically quipped. "Unless you fall, in which case anything made of ice would shatter!"

"Blanc, that actually makes sense. And, the idea sounds awesome!" Yang admitted, nodding approvingly.

"It does seem efficient," Blake agreed after a minute's careful thought.

"Well, we should put it to a vote!" Weiss protested one last time.

"We just did, Weiss. Four to one, you LOST!" Blanc turned to his other enthusiasts. "So, did you have solid plans in mind, or are you leaving it to the person who knows a bit about building things? Which means me, by the way." he looked at Ruby, then Yang, then Blake and sighed in surrender. "Fine. Get me ropes, wood, nails, screws, brass fittings, and piece of red velvet about six by four. Put it on Ozpin's tab."

The end result of the day's work, which Blanc insisted on doing at a normal speed, was a single normal bunk bed for Blake and Yang which the sixteen year old had managed to put book storage into the posts of. Weiss's bed he left normal. Ruby's bed, he suspended a system of ropes and hung the velvet sheet over like a tent. He'd refused to let the others help him, and only Ruby was willing to put up with his quick temper while working, as well as his occasional bouts of imaginative swearing.

"So where'd you learn to do this stuff?" Ruby asked curiously from her seat on Blanc's bed as he put the finishing touches on the projects. Ruby had taken over his bed an hour prior, reading over some of his blueprints for various tools, weapons, and prank devices.

Blanc paused in using a knife to carve out a decorative vine in one post of Blake's bed. He set down the blade and looked down at his feet. "I... don't know. I know that as much as I know home, or where I learned to cook, or why I can move like I can." He smiled sadly. "I guess I don't know myself."

"Hey, don't say that Blanc! You'll figure it out!" Ruby encouraged him, setting aside the next blueprint and walking over to her friend. "Wait... you really don't know any of that?"

Blanc shook his head, his silver hair hiding his eyes. "Not really. Sometimes I get... dreams... maybe they're memories, but mostly? I can't remember a thing before I was twelve. Maybe that's why my Aura is all screwed up." His smile faded into a frown.

"Come on." Ruby laid a friendly hand on Blanc's shoulder and gently pulled him around to face her. She smiled at him comfortingly until he lost his frown and smiled back. "If you don't know, that just means you can't remember. And we might not be Hunter partners, but you're still the first person I ever fought with in a real fight. So, we're partners, right?"

"Yeah, but does it matter?" Blanc's pessimism seemed undiminished.

"Yes it matters!" Ruby protested, pushing Blanc lightly. "Because if you ever remember something, or you just want to talk, well..." She looked off to one side awkwardly, blushing. "I'm here if you need me, okay?" With an embarrassed huff she turned to go check on the rest of her team.

Blanc looked at her for a moment, then flickered up behind her just as she reached the door. Ruby stiffened as a pair of thin, wiry arms wrapped around her middle and she was pulled back against a firm, horrifyingly familiar chest. Blanc smiled against the back of Ruby's head, whispering quietly, "Thank you Ruby. And if you ever need me... I'll be there before you ever need to ask, okay?"

A/N: And we're done.

Elian Lyras looks like me, but way more fit. Translation: Amber-brown eyes, dark blonde-brown hair with copperish highlights long enough to put all but the front bangs in a ponytail. About 5'10 and 167 pounds. Light tan. Light stubble around the jaw, more concentrated towards the chin and upper lip.

Sirena Wave is my best pal on-site's contribution. She has shoulder-length indigo hair that fades to whitish at the tips. Her eyes are also indigo, but much more on the purple side. She has a tan, and is (according to him) one of the curvier people at Beacon (hence Elian's awkwardness.) She has indigo tiger stripes on her arms.

This is the first time I've majorly diverged from canon, and it is far from the last. Also the first time I've handled this level of group conversation. Please, please review. I'm going to college August 14th, and this probably won't be a high priority UNLESS YOU LAZY SODS REVIEW! Seriously. It literally makes my day to get reviews.

Says a lot about how sad my social life is, huh?