Well it's time once more for another installment of between classes. This chapter was much easier to write than the last once I had all the pieces in place, mostly because I was dealing with far fewer reoccurring peripheral characters. I spent a lot of time thinking of Team JASN's extended family structures and had a lot of fun coming up with Nidhogg's parents(you'll see why very soon). So now that that's out of the way, let's get this train rolling.
Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth Productions...if I owned it there'd be atleast one family like the Jotensons in it, probably Nora's.
It had been a long week for Team JASN, especially for Nidhogg in particular. Ever since their training session last Saturday when they heard Professor Ozpin's announcement about the parent's day, the team's powerhouse had been barely able to contain himself at the thought of his parents coming to visit. In fact the only thing keeping Nidhogg from going completely overboard with his downright giddiness was the consideration that neither Jason nor Artemis' parents could make the trip all the way from Mistral and knowing there was little chance Sigurd's family would even consider coming. But that didn't stop him from having a bounce in his step all week and now that the day had finally arrived he couldn't help buzz around the room in excitement. Currently he was trying to fix the picture he'd taken of their team during their first week that hung over his bed and had always seemed to slant to the right while he occasionally giggled like a giddy school girl.
"Take it easy man." Jason said wheeling himself over to his larger teammate. "I get that you're excited, but it's just your parents."
Nidhogg stepped back and checked the centering of the photo before turning to the young Spartan. "I know man, but I'm just like super excited to see them again, it feels like it's been forever you know?" He grinned as he started gathering the assorted dirty clothes scattered around his section of the room and stashing them under his bed, oblivious to his picture slowly tilting back into its original place.
"I don't understand why you're making such a big deal about this whole thing in the first place." Sigurd said while sitting on his bed and carefully polishing Gramm's blade. "You never made this kind of fuss when we were back at Signal."
"That's because we were a lot closer to home." Nidhogg said simply with a small pile of underwear cradled in his arms. "I mean back then if I got homesick I could just sneak off on the weekend, but now it takes like three hours just to get there you know."
"Sp-speaking of Nidhogg's parent's," Artemis piped up while tidying up the team's bookshelf to help get the room ready for their guests. "I've b-been meaning to ask, what are they like?" She asked Sigurd earning a quizzical look from him.
"Well as you can guess from their son," He said motioning towards his partner who was holding up a three day old shirt and sniffing it before doing the same to the one he was wearing as if to discern which one was more suitable to wear. "They're a bit…different."
"Oh c'mon Sig, you know they're cool." Nidhogg said deciding his current shirt was clean enough before haphazardly stuffing the other under the bed. "And don't worry guys, I know your folks couldn't make it, but my folks will be parents enough for all of us." He bragged with a big grin.
"I'm sure that would make your mother happy." Sigurd chuckled making Jason and Artemis wonder.
Before they could do anything else a heavy knock came from the door and Nidhogg nearly jumped like a kid at Christmas. "They're here!" He cried rushing to the door, flinging it open and capturing the people on the other side in crushing hug. "Mom! Dad!"
"I-it's good to see you too son." His father managed to get out obviously struggling under his son's tight embrace. Nidhogg soon released his grip and let the two enter, his parents were definitely not what the others had expected. Standing before them was a tall muscular woman with the same stone colored hair as Nidhogg wearing a simple steel breastplate and shoulder pads over a sleeveless yellow blouse and comfortable looking tan slacks. His father was much shorter than his wife and son with neat black hair and glasses dressed in black suit. They couldn't even see much of a resemblance until he grinned up at his boy proudly. "It's good to see you too Sigurd." He said politely giving the young warrior courteous wave.
"You too sir, how're thing at work?" Sigurd asked showing a niceness his teammates weren't used to.
"Now dear don't go boring the boy with that stuff." Mrs. Jotenson chided before placing a hand on Nidhogg's shoulder. "And honey stop being rude and introduce us to your friends." She said giving him a little shake.
"Right, guys, this is my mom and dad." Nidhogg said as his mother stepped forward and shook hands with Artemis and Jason.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Frigg and this is my husband Tyr." She introduced as Tyr waved pleasantly.
"Same here ma'am, I'm Jason, team leader and this is my partner Artemis." Jason returned making Mrs. Jotenson smile.
"What a nice boy. It's so good to finally meet you two, Nidhogg has told us such nice things about you." She said warmly making Artemis blush and Jason beam.
"Th-thank you Mrs. Jotenson, but Ni-nidhogg hasn't really told us much about you." Artemis managed squeak.
"What? Nidhogg, you aren't embarrassed by us are you?" Mrs. Jotenson asked sounding hurt.
"No mom, of course not!" Nidhogg defended until his dad stepped in and placed a reassuring hand on her arm.
"Now honey, you know that isn't true." He said calmly. "Remember when you were young, I bet you didn't go around telling all your friends at Beacon about your parents."
"I know, you're right dear." Frig said calming down before picking up her husband up and pulling him into hug that looked even more crushing than Nidhogg's. "You always know just what to say."
"I-I know dear." He gasped before she put him down.
"So you went to Beacon too?" Jason asked getting Mrs. Jotenson's attention.
"You bet, part of Team DFDL (Daffodil), toughest group of girl's you'd ever seen." She boasted flexing one her impressively muscular arms.
"S-so is that how you two first met?" Artemis asked earning a cheerful laugh from the couple.
"No, no, I leave the hunting to these two." Tyr said warmly. "I'm just your regular certified public accountant." He smiled not noticing the astonished looks he earned from his son's teammates.
"Ugh, not this story again." Nidhogg groaned as he saw the familiar look in his mother's eyes.
"Hush now Nidhogg, it's rude to interrupt." Mrs. Jotenson said turning back Jason and Artemis with a wistful look in her eyes. "It wasn't long after I became a full-fledged Huntress, I was having some…trouble with my money." She admitted a little guiltily.
"She wasn't used to keeping track of her own finances." Tyr chuckled earning a playful shove from his wife that sent him falling backwards into Nidhogg who thankfully caught him.
"Imagine, I knew how to fight off a full grown Deathstalker, but I didn't know how to manage a check book or set up a savings account." Frigg admitted embarrassedly. "They really should teach you all a class on that."
"So one day she scheduled a consultation with me and imagine my surprise when she came walking in wearing full armor and carrying her hammer." Mr. Jotenson joked.
"It was love at first sight." Mrs. Jotenson gushed blushing like a schoolgirl at the memory. "I just couldn't help myself, I asked him out to dinner as soon as we were done."
"That sounds sudden." Jason commented earning a smile from Mr. Jotenson.
"I'll admit it came as a bit of a shock." He chuckled. "But it's hard to say no to woman like her." He said simply prompting another powerful hug from his wife.
"Oh you old romantic you." She swooned when a knock came from the door.
"Who could that be?" Sigurd mused aloud, a slight tinge of irritation in his voice as he moved to investigate. As soon as he opened the door he was taken off his feet as seafoam colored blur jumped up at him and captured him in a hug.
"Siggy!" Brunnhilde squealed with joy from atop him.
"I'm so sorry Master Sigurd." Heston apologized while bowing profusely and trying to pry the young girl from her brother.
"Wh-what are you two doing here?" Sigurd managed to get out more than a little flustered.
"I came for a visit." Hilde stated proudly brandishing a gap toothed smile.
"Is that my little slugger?" Nidhogg said gaining the 10 year-old's attention.
"Piggy!" Hilde cheered jumping off of Sigurd and scurrying over to Nidhogg as he kneeled down to her level.
"You been practicing what I taught you?" He asked as he held up his palms. Hilde immediately threw a light one-two combination at his hands before he threw a playful swipe at her head which she ducked under and threw a punch at Nidhogg's jaw. The larger boy toppled over comically while laughing proudly. "There it is!" He cried as the young girl jumped on top of him and began to playfully wrestle with the much larger boy.
Sigurd took the opportunity to push himself back to his feet while Nidhogg kept Hilde distracted. "Alright, let's try this again, what are you two doing here?" He asked Heston.
"Right, right, I'm terribly sorry sir. Your father received the school's invitation but his schedule would not permit him to attend and Madam Hiordis said," Heston leaned in to whisper to Sigurd. "She couldn't be bothered with such a thing." He said with an apologetic look. "So your father asked if I would attend and relay back your teacher's evaluations." He explained. "I was elated for the honor sir, but unfortunately Lady Brunnhilde overheard and insisted on accompanying me, my hands were quite tied."
"It's fine Heston, it's good to have you here." Sigurd said with a reassuring smile before turning to his teammates. "I believe introduction are in order." He said as Heston stepped forth and gave them all a courteous bow.
"I am Heston Charles, proud servant to the Sigmund family." He said as Jason wheeled up with an awkward smile.
"Good to meet you, I'm Jason and this is Artemis." He said extending a hand which the old man shook kindly as Artemis stepped up to do the same.
"And this would be my step-sister Brunnhilde." Sigurd continued on gesturing to the girl who was currently swinging back and forth while hanging from Nidhogg's bicep. "Say hello to my teammates Hilde."
Hilde dropped down and scurried over. "Are you Siggy's friends?" She asked looking up at the two with a hopeful smile.
"You bet." Artemis said crouching down and giving her a warm hearted smile.
"Yay!" Hilde cheered wrapping Artemis in a hug that surprised the older girl. "Now we can all go play!"
"No, no, Lady Brunnhilde, we have a busy schedule for the day." Heston tried to explaining making Hilde pout and stick her tongue out at him.
"But I came to play with Siggy!" She whined loudly.
"Now Hilde." Sigurd said leaning down and getting her to let go of Artemis. "Heston only came because I have to meet with all my teachers, if we have time after all that is done and you're good during conferences we can play then." Sigurd said firmly despite the crushed look on Hilde's face.
"Bu-but…" Hilde managed to get out obviously fighting back tears.
"U-um Sigurd?" Artemis interrupted. "I-if you don't mind, since we don't have any conferences, m-maybe Jason and I could look after her for you." She offered nervously.
"Yeah, I'm sure we can find something fun to do around here." Jason said wheeling himself closer to Hilde. "Hey do you like horses?" He asked making the 10 year old perk up.
"You have horsies here?" Hilde gasped.
"Something like that." Jason said with a wink.
"I suppose it would be okay." Sigurd said noting the look of excitement in his little sister's eyes. "Alright Hilde, I'm going to leave you with them, so you better be on your best behavior."
"I promise! I promise!" Hilde said excitedly. "But you better come to play too when you're done." She said fixing Sigurd with firm look.
"Alright." He said giving her a smile. "I promise too."
"Very good young master, but I do believe we should be going if we're going to make our first appointment." Heston said hoping to get the day on track.
"He's right." Mrs. Jotenson spoke up grabbing her son and husband by the arms. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry." She cried dragging the pair out the door.
First Conference: Sergeant Rlee's combat Lectures….
"Nidhogg is a good kid." Rlee started after greeting the Jotensons and shaking feeling back into his hand from Frigg's crushing handshake. "While he may not be the best when it comes to…let's say, book learning, he more than makes up for it in our combat demonstrations. In fact I'm running out of people he can go toe-to-toe with and have been using him to train some of our students in taking on a physically superior opponent." Rlee noticed the big smiles this earned from both the mother and son.
"That's my boy, you make me so proud." Mrs. Jotenson boasted wrapping an arm around Nidhogg and pulling him in close.
"Um, professor…" Mr. Jotenson began.
"It's Sergeant actually." Rlee corrected, grimacing at the thought of teaching full time.
"Sergeant then, what would you recommend to help our son with his, um, book learning problem." Mr. Jotenson continued trying to focus on what could be improved.
"Hmm, well I suppose he could stay after class, Miss Goodwitch could help, or maybe look for a tutor." Rlee said, running through the options in his head. "Maybe his teammate, Shelia has a good head on her shoulders, and he could help her with some more hands on training out of class."
"That sounds like a good idea." Tyr smiled turning to his son. "We should talk to her about that later."
"Sure thing dad." Nidhogg agreed returning his father's smile.
"Now there's just one other thing." Rlee said taking on a serious expression. "I'm sure Goodwitch already has a speech prepared and I know you're eager kid, but do you think you could leave the practice ring in one piece more than once a week." He said making both the father and son cringe. "We just got back our contractor's estimates for the repair costs this month and…the figures were, high."
As the warning set in Mr. Jotenson made a very audible gulp as he loosened his tie. "How high were those figures exactly?"
Second Conference: History of Remnant with Professor Oobleck…..
"Yes, Mr. Sigmund is an exemplary student." Professor Oobleck boasted from behind his desk, sporadically twitching from the effort of staying in one place for so long. "He has shown remarkable aptitude in class and his knowledge of military history is quite impressive." He continued reaching for his coffee cup in a blur and draining its contents in one mighty gulp of purely fluid motion. "In fact I believe he is on par with some of our senior students."
"That is good to hear, I'm sure his parents will be happy to hear it." Heston smiled.
"Indeed, truthfully I was hoping he might consider lending his talents to some of the other students as a tutor." Oobleck admitted making Sigurd tense up a bit. "Of course he would be compensated for his efforts in the form of extra credit and while you may not need it right now, you might find the extra points beneficial in the long run."
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea." Sigurd tried to say as cordially as possible.
"I hope you will give it some thought. I'm sure you'd find helping your fellow students achieve to be a worthy and satisfying pursuit." Oobleck offered pulling a thermos from God-knows-where and refilling his cup.
"Perhaps he has a point Master Sigurd." Heston urged his young employer weakening the boy's resolve if only a little.
Sigurd sighed. "I will need some time to consider it professor."
"That's all I ask." Oobleck smiled before zipping off to the coffee maker. "I'll await your answer. My door is always open." He said already in the process of pouring yet another cup of coffee.
Out on the Grounds….
It took them some time before they found a quiet section of the school away from the bustle of students showing their parents around, but finally Jason and Artemis were able to lead the rambunctious and inquisitive girl to a nice secluded section of the grounds.
"So where are the horsies?" Hilde asked expectantly turning to Jason who only smiled back at her.
"You're looking right at one." He said smiling a little more at Hilde's confusion.
"Where? I don't see any…" Hilde started looking around when she heard the loud mechanical noise of Chiron morphing into shape. When she turned around she could only stare in awe.
"See I told you." Jason grinned as he watched Hilde's expression change from awestruck to pure excitement.
"It's like you're half horsie!" The ten year old almost screamed jumping up and down.
"That's kinda true." Artemis giggled as Hilde began running around Chiron and asking a hundred questions a minute.
"Whoa whoa, slow down there." Jason said trying to calm down Hilde. "Now, do you want a ride?" He asked surprised by the forlorn look that played across the younger girl's face.
"Mommy says I'm too young to start horseback riding." Hilde pouted.
"Well then, I guess it's a good thing ole' Chiron here's just a chair." Jason said winking at Hilde and putting a new hopeful light in her eyes.
"So you mean I can…" Hilde gasped as Jason kneeled Chiron's front two legs down to her level.
"Hop on." He offered while Artemis gave her a reassuring nod. Hilde didn't need much more encouragement as she jumped up onto Jason's lap. "Okay, get ready." Jason warned before raising himself back up to full height and then taking Chiron into a light trot to get Hilde ready. After a brief lap around the courtyard Jason decided she was ready. "Okay, hang on tight, we're gonna go a little faster." Hilde wrapped her arms tightly around his neck before he went into a full gallop eliciting a cheer from his young passenger. Jason couldn't help but grin as he put Chiron through its paces speedily weaving through the narrow walkways and jumping over bushes while Hilde cried for him to go faster. After about ten minutes Jason finally finished their little ride and helped Hilde down.
"That was amazing!" Hilde gushed up at Jason as he switched Chiron back into its original form.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Jason chuckled when Chiron began to beep. "Oh crap, I forgot to fuel up earlier. Artemis can you take care of things while I swing back by the room?"
"Sure, go ahead. I'm sure the two of us manage." Artemis reassured.
"Good, I'll call you on my way back." Jason said as he began heading for the dorm.
"Alright, how a bout we go get ourselves a snack?" Artemis offered as she took Hilde by the hand.
The cafeteria was surprisingly empty with only a few tables occupied mostly by single students seeming to be just killing time. "Okay, you stay here while I go get something for us to eat okay."
"Okay." Hilde smiled.
Artemis made her way to the line when she realized she hadn't asked Hilde what she wanted. She turned back to where Hilde had been only to find the spot devoid of one little girl. "Oh no!" Artemis panicked as she began searching the expansive dining hall. "This isn't good, this really isn't good! Where could he have gone?" Finally she saw a shock of aqua colored hair and sprinted right for it.
"Brunnhilde! There you are. You can't go running off like that." She gasped once she'd caught up to the girl. Then she noticed Hilde was standing at the table with one very perturbed looking Eris and a very amused looking Jackie. Artemis couldn't help but let out an involuntary squeak as Eris fixed her angry stare in her direction.
"So she's with you." Eris said obviously glad she had a new target for her frustration.
"I'm s-so-sorry if she was bo-bothering you!" Artemis stammered out hoping she could get off with a simple apology.
"So who's the kid anyway?" Jackie asked seeming interested in how this all would play out despite the angry look Eris sent her.
"I'm Siggy's sister." Hilde declared proudly. Eris and Jackie were quiet for a moment which only served to make Artemis all the more nervous until they both began laughing. Needless to say it wasn't the reaction she had expected.
"Well that explains her manners." Eris sighed once her laughter had subsided.
Artemis could tell Hilde didn't appreciate the girls' reaction and figured it was time the two of them took their leave before Hilde could aggravate Eris any more than she already had. "C-c'mon Hilde, let's not bother the nice ladies." Artemis said quickly leading Hilde away. Once they were a few tables away Artemis breathed a sigh of release before turning back to the younger girl with a stern expression. "Hilde, you shouldn't run off like and bother other people." She scolded earning sad look from Hilde.
"I'm sorry Artemis." Hilde said staring at the floor dejectedly.
Artemis sighed kneeling down to the younger girl's level while putting a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, apology accepted, but you really shouldn't do things like that, you had me worried sick."
"I know, I promise I won't do it again." Hilde assured holding up her hand like she was taking an oath.
"Good, now how about we go get ourselves some PB&J's while we wait for Jason?" Artemis smiled while Hilde gave her a quizzical look.
"What's that?" She asked surprising the older girl.
"What? You know, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Artemis was met with another blank stare from the ten year old. "Wait, so you're telling me you've never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"
"Mommy says I'm only allowed to eat balanced meals specially made by Mr. Chef." Hilde droned off sadly.
"Well you're with Auntie Artemis today, so I think we can let it slide." Artemis said with a smirk. "So c'mon." She said standing up and offering a hand to Hilde.
"Yay! Auntie Artemis is the best!" She cheered taking her hand and following Artemis to the lunch-line.
Later in one of the training rooms….
Mr. and Mrs. Jotenson watched as Nidhogg obliterated the last of the training bots with a well-placed punch. They were glad when he'd insisted on showing them how much he'd improved since he came here, and the impressively large pile of destroyed training droids made it hard to argue with the results. "That was great honey." Frigg congratulated as she and Tyr made their way down to the training floor.
"Thanks mom." Nidhogg grinned picking up a few stray robot parts and tossing them onto the pile.
"But I still really wish you would have picked a more…suitable weapon." She sighed making Nidhogg scrunch up his face.
"Hey, I put a lot of work into Gnasher and Grinder." Nidhogg defended.
"I know honey, and they're very good weapons. I just wish you'd considered a more practical weapon."
"Like a hammer?" Nidhogg mumbled snidely under his breath.
"And just what's wrong with a hammer? It's a fine respectable weapon young man." Mrs. Jotenson countered back.
"Now Honey." Mr. Jotenson interrupted stepping between the two. "No one is saying hammers aren't a good weapon."
"But real men fight with their fists." Nidhogg finished crossing his arms proudly.
"That's right son." Tyr beamed up at his son while patting the boy on the back.
"Honestly, I should have never let you teach him how to box." Frigg sighed putting her face in her hand.
"You didn't seem to mind it when I hung my amateur featherweight title over the mantle." Tyr said before turning back to Nidhogg. "And son you need to work on your guard. If you're going keep using the Hitman stance you have to pull your left guard in tighter." He instructed moving behind Nidhogg and correcting his combat posture.
"Ah dad stop, this is so embarrassing." Nidhogg all but whined earning a stern look from his father.
"Hey, don't talk back or else I might just have to show you the punch that won me the title." He said throwing a couple of playful jabs at his son to get him to tighten his guard.
"Now honey stop that right now." Frigg pleaded fruitlessly as the father and son laughed and traded light hearted blows.
Later in the halls….
Sigurd gently carried Hilde as she slept peacefully in his arms while he and Heston made their way towards airship docks. He couldn't help but smile at the contented look on the sleeping girls face, she'd had a long and eventful day and he was glad he'd been able spend time with her even if it had been entirely unexpected. "It seems the young Lady enjoyed her visit immensely sir." Heston smiled.
"Yes, thank you for bringing her today Heston." Sigurd said in a hushed tone careful not to rouse Hilde from her sleep. "And thank you for coming as well."
"It was my pleasure sir. I only wish Master Siegfried could have come himself." Heston noticed the smile almost evaporate from Sigurd's face as he said this.
"Heston, I think we both know father wouldn't have come even if he had the time." Sigurd said stopping for a moment with a downcast look in his eyes.
"If I may be frank for moment young master?" Heston asked surprising the young warrior.
"Heston you know you don't have to stand on ceremony with me." Sigurd reassured.
Heston cleared his throat before fixing Sigurd with a serious look. "Master Sigurd despite what you may believe or what Madam Hiordis might say, your father couldn't be prouder of you." He stated firmly. "I've served the Sigmund family since Master Siegfried was no older than you and I remember how much he wanted to become a huntsman just like you do now, but unfortunately he lacked the skill. One of the hardest things he ever had to do was give up on that dream to begin preparing to inherit the title of head of the family while your uncle went on to begin his training as a huntsman." Sigurd was shocked, he never expected Heston to tell him something like this. "And while he may not be good at expressing his emotions, I can assure you I've never seen your father happier than the day he received word you had been formal inducted as a student here at Beacon. Well except for maybe the day Lady Brunnhilde was born of course." Heston chuckled.
Sigurd was in a bit of shock and it took him a few moments before he could speak. "He-heston, I don't know what to say."
"That's fine sir, just remember, you've already made your father very proud." The butler smiled. "Now we should really get going, I don't wish to anger Madam Hiordis by returning late."
"Then I guess we should be on our way." Sigurd chuckled as they started back on their way.
At the docks…..
Nidhogg waved to the departing airship as it pulled away from the docking platform. He'd been happy for the chance to see his parents again and wished he'd been able to tell his mom that he'd based Gnasher and Grinder's design off his mother's hammer and his dad's boxing style. But it seemed that would have to wait till another day. With a contented sigh he turned to see Team RDCP over by the adjacent dock bidding farewell to what he had to assume were their families. That was when a shock of green hair caught his eyes and he noticed a tall very cute girl giving his buddy Dae a hurried goodbye before almost sprinting onto the airship. With his interest piqued he jogged over to the team as they began merrily heading back to the dorms.
"Hey guys." He greeted with his usual grin as he caught up to them. "Hey little dude, who was that cute girl you were talking with?" He asked Dae hoping his friend wouldn't be stingy with the details.
"Absolutely no one you need know big guy." The young inventor replied deflating his hopes.
Well there you have it folks. I know some of you might be disappointed I didn't do Jason and Artemis' parents here, but honestly back when I was coming up with the ideas for everyone's parents for these chapters I just plain ran out of ideas so I figured they just couldn't make the trip(yeah I know that's a cope out, but I'm doing all three of these chapters pretty much back to back so can you blame me).
I had a lot of fun playing around with the Jotensons and fining ways to cram as much of them as I could into this chapter and hope I get the chance to use them again in the future.
Also for those of you wondering about the joke in Francesca's name I mentioned at the end of the last chapter, her name if you say it in reverse order roughly can be translated into Green Fields of France and this makes me laugh waaaaay too much (look it up, it's a song, though I doubt you'll find it as funny).
Well next up we have possibly the most interesting chapter yet, The Parental Adventures of Team SPDN! Hope you're as excited as me.
Until next time, please remember to review.