Another chapter without writing advice. If anyone wants some really good Fanfiction to read, since I'm going to be slow now, I recommend two fantastic Legend of Zelda fic writers. Lyxie and CrazyGurlMadness. Both are exemplary with their words. The former just seems to be an exemplary woman in the first place(I haven't had the pleasure of chatting with the latter).

-Phoenyx

The study session had lasted quite a bit longer than she'd assumed either Yang or Jaune could stand. There was a sinking suspicion that it had nothing to do with her presence and everything to do with Weiss and her ability to domineer practically any situation. Poor Ruby. Still, the hooded girl seemed all too happy to sit through two hours of studying and homework in order to spend time with her partner. She chatted happily at the girl while her sister and fellow team leader concentrated on the cards of their game. Weiss, a book held up into her sight, replied with cordial statements and much more even replies than what would be expected of someone who had a tendency to come off a bit… snobbish.

The conversation stopped for a moment while Yang slapped down a card onto the board with a dramatic flourish and laugh, her troops infiltrating the defensive lines other younger sister. Sabotage was the name of their game, and Ruby had no answer. Pyrrha cocked her head to the side and snuck a peek at her partner's cards, having been eliminated earlier in the session herself.

He was most definitely done for.

His single card was one that did nothing but skip to the end of a turn. There was likely merit in removing a player's turn, of course(as she was told, it skips damage), but as behind as he was in the game already she wasn't sure it would do much. Jaune didn't seem too bothered by the coming defeat. If anything, he was waiting for something. He chatted among the group with an easy, if somewhat defeated smile. The way his eyes darted across the board, however, gave away his game. He was taking it somewhat seriously, strategizing in his head as he put himself off as someone doing the opposite. "Well… I guess I can just take you out before I lose…" Ruby sighed at her cards, paying the cost and placing the entirety of her hand on the table. All offensive cards. "Sorry, Jaune."

"Yeah…" The team leader pursed his lips and settled his card onto the field. "Me too."

"End the t- Oh…" Ruby frowned at her failure, then gave her sister a puppy eyed glare.. "That's not cool. And because of you I have no counters to that."

"All's fair in love and war, Rubes." Yang said with a snicker, leaning forwards onto her elbows. Jaune drew his next card and pursed his lips, averting his eyes from the blonde's very obvious forwardness and spinning the glorified cardboard in circle between his fingers. Yang, and whatever triumph she felt, seemed to swell at his expression. She drew her taunting word out; "Well?"
"I do know how much you like winning." Jaune settled the card down, pushing the chair back and standing to his full height. "So I'll just leave this here and let you go back to it."

"Huh? Wait, what's that do?"

"Uuuuh…" Ruby twisted her head on her neck and craned her body over the table. "Apparently… it reuses every card that was played last turn."

"Oh. Then-"

"Oh! Every card that was played since his last turn. So mine and yours" Ruby blinked at Pyrrha, who looked to the card herself. "Well then."

"Wait. That draw is just… Damn it, Jaune!"

"Quiet! This is a library!" Weiss snapped back within a moment of Yang's voice raising. Jaune looked back and gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just lucky, I guess." It was as good as an excuse as any, but there was a twinkle behind his eye that promised some sort of mischief. One that remained even after his sheepishly careful explanation of exactly what order he would play his stolen cards, right until the other players accepted their defeat.

She understood then, once all was done, how clever that was. A quick glance at his previously played cards gave him away. One of his Supply Line cards allowed him to rearrange the top few cards in return for disbanding a defensive placement on the map. While Yang had been too busy salivating over a reduction in his defenses, he had been setting up a play. His solemn expression had made it seem like a last ditch effort that failed. This was warfare straight out of the Art of War book her father had introduced her to; Appear weak when you are strong.

"You're not gonna do this every time, right?" Yang glowered at Jaune, who shrugged. Her expression held long enough to press her forehead into the table. The pieces on the board clattered and fell. "I want a new leader."

"You're stuck with him. Could learn a thing or two." Ruby chirped, blinking down at the stack of cards. Yang's glare shifted to her. Her words came out like the flash of a blade. "You weren't much better off."

"I had a plan to win."

"Take someone with you? How are you supposed to win like that?"

"I never said it was a good plan." Ruby amended with a finger in the air. "But it was a plan."

Yang snorted, gathering up her pieces in front of her. "We'll get them next time, boys."

"It was a good play." Pyrrha replaced a toppled tower into it's rightful place. Jaune shot a playful look towards Blake. "Better than cheating."

Blake didn't look too amused. She flashed a sassy eye at the good leader and flipped a page in her book. "You do what you have to in order to survive."

"You're not going to die if you lose."

"Not on a game, maybe." A shoulder was shrugged. "I don't make a habit of losing anything over petty things like rules and honor."

"So I've seen." It wasn't an intentional insult, but Pyrrha felt a little bit offended on her part. Blake was unfazed, going as far as to quirk her lips up on one side. "Just don't let your morals get you killed one day."

"Careful, Blakey." Yang warned in a loud mock whisper, "Jaune might realize that we actually enjoy his company."

"Of course. My mistake. Jaune, could you kindly leave? I'm trying to read." The black haired girl fell silent. Jaune shifted his weight with a sigh, rolling his eyes. Pyrrha felt for him here, as even she wouldn't have been able to keep up with the wit of the team members of hers. At least not yet. Practice made persistence after all. Yang tilted her head at Jaune, "Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to play another?"

"Uh…" He glanced to his partner, who put up a hand. "Oh, no thank you. One crushing defeat is more than enough for me."

"Aw, come on, Pyrrha. You didn't do too bad."

"I died on turn five."

"The game is twenty turns long…" His argument was fairly weak. She was still out by a fourth. Compacted with her not understanding the rules or her cards, there was no way she would win. And Pyrrha Nikos hated losing… She would have to play practice games, or study some videos. Blake saved her with a clap of closing pages, "I guess I'll play."

"Oh, sure. Pyr, do you mind?"

"Of course." The seat was relinquished for the quieter girl, who twisted her lips at Jaune. "You sure you want me to play? I am a cheater after all."

"Allegedly." Jaune defended, despite being the one who had pointed out Blake's suspiciously lucky draws the previous game in the first place. The dynamic of the conversation was lost on Pyrrha, who puzzled at how someone could be so wishy washy with his words. If she cheated, then she shouldn't play. If there was no proof, then he shouldn't... accuse…

Or were they just joking? Pyrrha blinked. That seems logical.

"Hey, so when does Goodwitch wanna take us to that forest place?" Yang set her shuffled deck onto the table and drew. "You know, with the Grimm, and the fighting."

"Every forest has Grimm." Ruby frowned at Weiss and her curtness. The heiress pursed her lips. "You'll need to be a bit more specific…"

"I was only told that there would be Grimm."

"Forever Fall." Pyrrha provided, "That's our first mission."

"Field trips aren't really missions." Ruby sighed, before piping up. "But there'll be Grimm!"

"What's so good about that?" Jaune looked baffled. "Grimm are usually bad news."

"True… but in this case it's not. I'm tired of swinging Crescent Rose at people. My baby needs real work!" She let out a maniacal laugh and clenched her claws, or as everyone else knew them, fingers, towards the sky. "Blood for the Blood God!"

"Coward." Yang snorted, watching Jaune lean away from the raving hooded girl. His stool went onto two legs. "She's not even a hundred pounds soaking wet."

"Hey, she's scary." The leader played his card and passed his turn while Ruby squawked at her sister. "A-anyway. I've always wanted to go. My Dad used to talk about that forest all the time. It was his favorite place when he went here."

"Cool." Ruby, off of her sister induced bloodthirst, settled her cards in front of her in a haphazard pile. "Our dad loved the training room."

"Uncle Qrow loved the ladies locker room." Yang added. Weiss's face soured, and Pyrrha was sure hers did as well. Weiss spoke for the both of them. "Your uncle was a pervert."

"At least he was honest." Ruby confirmed with the nod and tone that only a niece who unconditionally loved said uncle could. "He's always honest."

"That's not always a good thing." Weiss snapped back. Which was swiftly followed by the two of them bickering like the old ladies outside of the bathhouses in Mistral. Pyrrha did her best to tune them out, choosing instead to lean her arms across Jaune's shoulders and rest her head on her palm so that she could see the game clearly. He didn't glance up, instead just straightening up so that she wouldn't be bent halfway over. "My cards aren't that great." The blonde admitted to her, spreading them out in his fingers. "But they'll do."

"I wouldn't know." Pyrrha tilted her head at the board. "Someone will have to explain this game to me a little bit better."

Jaune's head tilted and he froze for a moment, before he turned to face her. "You didn't know how to play?"

"Not really."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He blinked a few times and went red, "Didn't occur to me that you- well, you were probably busy, being a champion and-" Always, always with her titles. Never her, no, she was just the Champion. Something must have crossed her face, because he took on a panicked expression and flew directly into a textbook recounting of the rules. Halfway through, he stopped to take his turn, explaining each particular move and why he did it - despite giving away what she was sure was crucial information to his opponents.

The game didn't last long. Yang's draw had been precisely what she had built the deck around, and come turn seven all three of the other teens were far from amused. Jaune had leaned back against her arms and crossed his own with a disapproving glare at Yang. Ruby unsurprisingly seemed happy for her sister, while Blake had a look that mixed annoyance with something akin to pride. Evidently satisfied with her victory, very evident judging by the happy grin, Yang leaned back in her chair and placed her hands behind her head. "Anyone else hungry?"

"Little bit." Jaune admitted at the same time that Ruby exclaimed, "Very!"

"Blake?"

"Huh? Oh, I suppose I am a bit peckish."

"That settles it then. Who's up for going to get snacks?" She looked between them and stood. The answer was a chorus of growling stomachs, so Ruby stood with her. "Right then, anyone have any preferences?"

"I'm not sure food is allowed in the Library." Weiss peered at Yang over her book, "In fact, I'm very certain that is one of the many rules."

"Rules that she's going to break anyway." Jaune smiled at Weiss, whose icy glare could have frozen the sun. The heiress mumbled something unbecoming of herself in response to his words, but didn't otherwise comment. With that out of the way, Yang and Ruby departed with the group's complete lack of input on snacks. Jaune watched as they left, eyes on the door for several moments after it closed. Then, snapping back to the present, he turned his head to look at her. "If you want to sit down, I can go over the game with you."

"Sure."

"Jaune?" Blake, characteristically silent as usual, leaned forwards on her elbows and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Can we talk about that thing in the forest, finally? Now that everyone is here?"

"They're not all here, Blake." His eyebrow twitched downwards, a moment of annoyance quickly controlled. "We're trying to have fun, not be worried about something that we've already reported."

"Right. And before we were training. Before that we were too busy with classwork." The raven haired girl drawled the words in a way that was almost lazy, but she didn't hide the frustration in her tone. "And I don't know if this slipped by you, but the only time we've 'reported' that thing-"

"Blighted." He corrected quietly. His eyebrows furrowed, an expression she'd grown used to over the last two weeks; Jaune was thinking. Blake continued unbidden by his correction. "- was after initiation. Two weeks ago. There haven't been announcements, nobody else was told."

"I'm sure the Headmaster isn't just sitting by and… how is it said in Vale, 'twiddling his fingers'?"

"Twiddling his thumbs." Jaune corrected again, his eyes glued firmly on the table.

"Right." Pyrrha would have thanked him if she thought he'd respond at all. "I will admit, however, that it is very strange that we haven't heard anything about it."

"We should investigate." Blake met her eyes, an intense conviction that made Pyrrha avert hers. "If something is out there, we won't get in trouble for it."

"And if something isn't?" Pyrrha gave what she hoped was disapproval. "I'm not going to risk detention, or worse, over restlessness. If something's out there, the Headmaster knows."

"Is that a fact?" Blake's challenge was not without merit, but hot, defiant frustration still welled up in her chest. Pyrrha met Blake's eyes and set her jaw. "It is."

"With what proof?"

"I have trust in the headmaster." The Champion leaned forwards, "You should try it."

"Hm. Well, I suppose Jaune and I will have to see how well placed your trust is."

"Thankfully, That's not up to-" Her words were cut short as their leader returned to the conversation. He stopped their argument flat by placing a calm hand on the table. "Pyrrha… Blake's right, I think."

Both women looked his way, one in bewilderment and the other in surprise. When Pyrrha made to argue, Jaune's look could have put her flat on her back. Another flare of heat came into her chest, defiance, but her words were replaced by slow huff that went unheard under his voice. "The Blighted are dangerous. Someone has to check. We'll go tonight. Blake's volunteered, Pyrrha, are you going to come with us?"

"I'm not hearing this." Weiss cut in from the side, closing her book and standing up to leave. Pyrrha frowned, hoping for an ally from the heiress. When the white haired girl left instead, she looked back to Jaune. He met her eyes. "Tonight. Are you coming?"

Was he serious? At best it would get him in trouble, at worst they could die. Sure, that sword of his would be a bit of a deterrent. As much as it could be considering its wielder. His expectant look didn't help things, he didn't just ask her to come, he wanted her to come.

"No." She stood, hands on the table and her eyes flicking between the two of them. "If you two want to get yourselves hurt or killed, I won't stop you. But I'm not going to do something so… so foolish."

She didn't miss the flicker of betrayal and pain crossing Jaune's face, nearly cringing at her own actions. It wasn't very noble of her to abandon her partner… her friend? No, they weren't friends. How could they be? How couldn't they be? She wasn't even completely sure if it mattered anymore.

Jaune is an idiot. She fumed as she strode towards the library exit, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling worming around in her stomach. He's the leader, and he's an idiot.

So, Pyrrha and Jaune drift further. One small change can make quite a bit of difference.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to review/pm about the story. I ask to keep the reviews relevant to the story.

-Phoenyx