Chapter 9
Orion
It was a sad spectacle watching his friends, at least he thought so, be dragged away, most of which could destroy him in a fight. All by a grey haired old man who looked as if he had never even fought. In only a few minutes the entire party was onboard, those injured and otherwise. He stepped away, and walked a few steps, paused. 'God damn conscious.' he thought before turning around to run back to his house.
Nix
Orion was a fool for running off, 'but at least he didn't get caught' she thought as she was shoved into her seat by the the red haired girl. She looked dejected as she sat near the front of the ship, cradling her smashed shield. The white haired one was carried by and laid near Pyrrha, as she was called. Scalic was shoved into a seat a few slots down by the girl in black. Cynthia was put in a seat across from him. The rest of the injured were brought on board. The boy in the tailcoat walked by with a bit of hobble, and Cynthia looked a bit guilty. The same face worn by Scalic as a Yellow haired girl was carried past. The last passenger boarded, the grey haired old man. He stood in the back observing the scene though small spectacles sitting on the point of his nose.
He walked down the aisle and stood in front of Nix. "If I remember" He said… and held out a cigar.
"You do," she said, "Ozpin," and slipped it in her mouth. The end lit up and began to gently smoke.
"Last time I saw you you were in a casket." Ozpin said
"Mmmm," she hummed, "I think you mean in the wilderness."
"Well, we couldn't find you or your body." he replied as he snatched the cigar out of her mouth and tossed it out of the window. Nix opened her mouth to protest, but saw Goodwitch leaving the cockpit and quickly shut it. She saw Goodwitch's nose twitch like a hound dog's before she knelt down to tend to the wounded. Ozpin turned back towards her, "Don't think I forgot about you," he muttered, "you were top of your year after all."
He turned away and walked off toward Scalic. Scalic looked as if he were excited and scared at the same time, and didn't know which he should be. They exchanged a few words and Scalic's face dropped, and his hair turned blue, of the deepest variety. She turned away to look at the rest of the people present. Goodwitch was hunched over a Yellow haired girl who looked in a bad way, the one with the red cape, Ruby she thought she heard, was cradling her weapon. The boy in the green tailcoat looked rather unhappy, and the one with orange hair was pouting at who knows what. The one dressed in black had her hand over her eyes and was wearing a grimace. The blond haired boy, had his hair up in static, and was cradling his shoulder. Occasionally a spark would arc to the walls.
She knew that vale was a good distance off and briefly considered jumping out of the open sides of the bullhead. However, she dismissed the thought knowing that she wouldn't make it far.
As she gazed out of the window the wind pulled at her hair and the Beacon clock tower rose from the horizon towards the sky. In only a few minutes the ship touched down. Nix remained seated as those wounded were raced off to the infirmary. Everyone who passed gave them scathing looks, 'as if we did something wrong' she thought before she was marched off. They were lead down the long walk to Beacon, the sun setting behind them. The noise of the city echoed up towards their party, a noise she missed. The three of them were put into an elevator. The floor lurched and upward they went, they looked at each other solemly, exchanging inexpressible words. The ding shattered the silence, and the doors whired open.
Ozpin stood behind his desk looking out over the school. "Welcome," he said quite plainly, "Scalic, Nix, Cynthia." and turned around looking at them over his spectacles. They stood their shuffling their feet while he studied them.
"You done quite a bit of damage… Weiss won't like the look of her new scar, Pyrrha won't stop clutching her shield, Ruby is still buffing out scratches on her weapon, You burnt Yang and her hair, Blake cannot see, Ren has no feeling in his right testicle, and Jaune cannot go near electrical appliances…" Ozpin finished the list and looked up.
"Actually, that last one wasn't us," Said Nix
" I noticed," Stated Ozpin, "So, where has your friend gone?"
"Oh, stop the questioning," Snapped Nix, "We are here to be punished! So give it to us already!"
"Mmmm, You three kicked my top students into next week," He paused, " I don't think i have reported this 'crime' yet. So, instead of putting you in jail, or otherwise, I think I will instate you all as advanced combat teachers." Their jaws had dropped, "Also I recommend you close those before a bug flies in. Also I believe I owe you, Nix and Scalic, some money."
"Hang on what?" Blutered out Scalic, "First you hire us on as teachers, then pay us? What happened to getting punished?"
"Well, you all showed remarkable talent in that fight, and such talent cannot go to waste. Also because you all killed many grimm in you time away. I can't let that detail slipp. Can I?" Again they stood slack jawed.
"So, let us see," Ozpin said matter of factly, " Scalic, for killing a S class grimm 15, 000 Lien." Scalic almost fainted.
"Nix, for general service to the kingdom, 12,000 Lien" Nix was staggered and quietly thought 'What kind of service? Must have been those grimm…'
Ozpin approached the startled band, and dropped a key in Nix's, and Scalic's hands.
"You know what those are for," He said simply, "Now, go enjoy some dinner and a hot shower." he dismissed them all. As soon as the doors closed to the elevator he heaved a sigh. "I never thought I would see them again," He muttered
Nix
She saw, or rather smelled the mess hall. Intoxicating aromas wafted from it open windows. She was glad that it wasn't a standard meal time, less awkward looks to deal with. Less muttering...
She pushed open the door and saw a table laden with food. It looked delicious, especially for someone who hadn't had a proper meal in years. There was a golden brown chicken, sizzling and popping. A variety of fruits and veggies, including her favorite, fire fruit. She straddled the bench and tore off a wing. She held it to her nose inhaling. The rich smell poured in, but nothing else. She tore into the leg, flavor exploded in her mouth and it mingled with her taste buds. It was bliss. All around that table similar reactions were had each humming in pleasure, eye closed enjoying every last bite.
Cynthia studied a fire fruit carefully, looking at its curve and the point it ended in. Finally she bit into it. Steam erupted from her mouth as she gasped for air, and grabbed for a cup.
"It's name is fire fruit for a reason," she said after many minutes of panic.
Once they were fat and happy they sat and talked, drifting from this to that, at ease. Nix sat, a cigar in her mouth, enjoying the fire in her lungs. Then Scalic passed to the next subject, Nix looked agitated by his comment, so before he could say another word she latched onto his nipples and began to twist. Scalic howled in pain trying to pry off her fingers. Cynthia, well, she just laughed.
Not much to say other than Enjoy!
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