Chapter 2: Dirty Socks and Breakfast
Cole awoke the next morning before anyone else on the team. It was still dark out, but Cole pulled on his clothes and crept out of the room silently. Once outside, he broke into a slow jog. He jogged through the gardens for a while, then began to run. The early morning air was cold on his skin, but running kept him warm enough. Sweat began to bead on his brow, and after running twice around the academy he slowed to a stop in front of the dorm. He opened the door, narrowly ducking a rolled-up pair of dirty socks that were careening towards his head.
"Dirty clothes go in the hamper, Rust!" Amber practically screamed at Rust, who was standing in front of the door.
"Who are you, my mother? Don't tell me how to keep my space!"
"It's our space, muscle-head. And don't ever forget that," Cole replied harshly, picking up the socks and tossing them expertly into the hamper. Rust groaned in disgust, sitting on his bed. The hamper was placed under the window that occupied the middle of the room. Two beds occupied each half of the room, with Rust and Napier on the right of the window. Napier's bed was situated closest to the wall, mirrored by Cole's bed on the reverse wall. Three dressers lined the walls, while Napier's few belongings managed to fit in a small basket under her bed. Rust's sheets were already messy, and the bed clearly hadn't been made since he'd woken up. A set of dumbbells occupied the space between his bed and the laundry hamper.
"We should head to class," Amber said. "It's 8:45 and we don't want to be late on the first day."
"Monsters! Deeeeemons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the Creatures of Grimm have many names," a rotund professor with a grandiose silvery mustache began his lecture. Rust had made a point of sitting as far away from the rest of his team as possible. And "as far away as possible" just so happened to be on the opposite side of the room.
But I merely refer to them as prey," the professor continued, chuckling aloud at his own joke . The class fell into an awkward silence.
"And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy," he continued after a moment. "Now as I was saying; Vale, and the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses!" He shot a flirtatious wink at a blonde girl in the first row. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"
"Ay-yep!" A dark-haired boy in the second row exclaimed, but quickly fell silent when the entire class began staring at him.
"That is what you are training to become. But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man. Me! When I was a boy..." the professor began rambling on for the better part of an hour, talking incessantly about his life before he became a professor at Beacon. Even Cole had a hard time staying awake, and took to looking around. Amber had already passed out and was drooling on her papers. Rust, on the other side of the room, was fiddling with his pencil and looking quite uncomfortable sitting still for so long. Napier seemed to be the only person in the entire class who was paying attention to Professor Port's lecture, her ears pointed forward as she hung on every word.
"The moral of this story? A true huntsman must be honorable. A true huntsman must be dependable. A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise. So, who among you believes they are the embodiment of these traits?"
" I do, sir!" a silver-haired girl in the front row exclaimed, snapping Amber awake.
"What? Huh?" she asked, half-asleep.
"Well then, let's find out! Step forward, and face your opponent," the professor said, gesturing to a steel cage beside him.
"Was that there at the beginning of class?" Amber asked, still groggy from her nap.
"It's odd how none of us noticed that until he pointed it out," Napier observed. The beast inside the cage thrashed against the metal, and the silver-haired girl quickly changed into her combat clothes. She quickly fell into a defensive stance as her teammates cheered.
"Go Weiss!"
"Fight well!"
"Yeah! Represent team RWBY!"
" Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" the white-haired girl snapped harshly. Professor Port swung his blunderbuss/axe, breaking the lock and freeing a very disgruntled Boarbatusk. The beast roared out of the crate and snarled at Weiss, glaring through squinty red eyes. It charged, and she dove to the side after landing a strike to its armored side. The creature turned and charged again, but she blocked its attack. Her sword got caught between the monster's tusks, and the two grappled for a moment before the Boarbatusk tossed her sword to the side.
"Aha! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Professor Port asked nobody in particular from the sidelines. The monster knocked Weiss on her back and charged, but she rolled out of the way and dove for her sword.
"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor under there-" Ruby advised.
"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Weiss hissed, and the Boarbatusk turned to face her. It leaped up and landed on its tusks, using the momentum to perform its devastating spin charge. Weiss blocked the charge by summoning a glyph, then bounced up and plunged her sword into the beast's stomach. The Boarbatusk whimpered weakly, then collapsed and stopped struggling.
"Bravo. Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training. I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant. Class dismissed."
The students packed up their belongings and prepared to head out. Rust and Weiss were the first to leave the classroom.
Nobody in team ARCN saw Rust outside of class that day. Even at lunch, he made a point of sitting on the other side of the cafeteria while the rest of the teams sat together.
"Let's sit here," a girl with violet hair and an orange scarf said, gesturing to the table team ARCN had seated themselves at.
"You guys don't mind, do you?" a dark-haired boy in a cowboy hat asked.
"No, go right ahead," Amber said, pulling out a chair invitingly. The four took up spots around the table after clearing a chair away so the girl in the wheelchair had room.
"I'm Chris," the taller boy introduced himself. His hair was snow white and his eyes were a deep red, situated behind a pair of white glasses. His hair was combed to one side and his right hand appeared to be made of segmented steel.
"Penelope," said the girl in the wheelchair. Her hair was a deep blue, like the ocean under the moon. Her eyes were brown, and a ribbon sat nestled in her hair.
"My name is Amelia." She had an air of superiority about her, as though she looked down on everyone else. Her eyes were a mist blue and her hair flowed past her shoulders like an amethyst waterfall. Barely visible on both of her cheeks was a faint violet tattoo, a triangle starting from her ears and ending just under her eyes.
"I'm Night," the boy with the cowboy hat said, finishing the introductions. His midnight black hair was cut short, save for two long braids that came down over his ears and past his shoulders on each side. The three members of ARCN in present company introduced themselves and Rust, who was still moping on the other side of the cafeteria.
"What's your teammate doing way over there?" Penelope asked cautiously.
"Well, Rust hasn't exactly been the most agreeable of teammates," Amber replied, looking down.
"You should try talking to him. Let him know he's welcome on your team," Chris said, adjusting his glasses.
"Are you sure that'll make him stop moping?" Amber asked.
"Of course he's sure. It worked for us," Amelia said haughtily.
"You guys had problems?" Cole asked dubiously.
"Why, certainly. Just this morning, I had to reassure Chris that I was absolutely fine with him holding position of team leader," Amelia replied with a laugh. "You wouldn't believe how insecure this boy is."
"Well, I guess it can't hurt..." Amber trailed off, her gaze landing on Rust.
Nobody saw Rust for the rest of the day. Even at night, Rust entered the dorm long after everyone was asleep and was the first to wake up. At breakfast, he'd seated himself even further away from the group. He'd seated himself with Cardin Winchester and his team, and the five seemed to be getting along. However Rust quickly separated himself from the group when they began picking on a nearby Faunus girl. Cole let out a growl of disgust as team CRDL shrugged off Rust's leave and resumed tormenting the innocent bunny girl. Even Napier was disgruntled by the blatant Faunus abuse.
Professor Port's lecture was just as boring as yesterday's, and even Cole succumbed to sleep. The three members of team ARCN and all of team CYAN were snoring peacefully away when they were rudely awakened by the bell. Cole extorted the homework assignment for the night from a passing student, and the two teams made their way to their next class.
"Dr. Oobleck?" Cole wondered aloud.
"He's a history teacher, so I doubt he's much of a doctor," Chris replied.
"That's hardly a nice thing to say," Amber said.
"Well excuse me," Chris said sarcastically. "I just think the only people who deserve the title of doctor are ones who actually save lives."
Amber did not have a response.
History class was very eventful. Dr. Oobleck was constantly sipping from his mug of coffee that was probably empty halfway through the class and zipping around the room in a pale green blur. Almost every time he stopped moving, he had a question for somebody to answer. At the end of the class, he took a brief moment to answer any questions the students presented him. Only Chris rose his hand.
"Yes Mr. Lucien, what is your question?"
"Why exactly do they call you doctor?" Chris asked smugly.
"Because unlike some of us, I've earned the right to be called the smartest person in this room," Dr. Oobleck replied almost immediately. This earned a dumbfounded expression from the albino boy, and Dr. Oobleck continued with a smirk.
"Remember to read pages 324 to 336. Class dismissed."
The two teams made their way out of the classroom. Chris still hadn't recovered from Dr. Oobleck's snappy retort, and wore his dumbfounded expression well into lunch.
"Chris, if you don't shut your mouth you're going to swallow a fly. And I'm not going to deliver CPR to your filthy mouth," Amelia said. Chris closed his mouth and glared at her, and proceeded to spend the rest of the day pouting. Rust was still separated from the rest of the team, instead sitting alone at an empty table far away. Nobody particularly minded his absence, with the exception of Napier. Cole periodically caught her staring forlornly in his direction, for reasons he couldn't fathom. Amber and Amelia had become fast friends, sharing various haircare and makeup techniques and swapping notes on the various cute boys around Beacon. Neither Night or Napier said much, but the two of them seemed to understand each other without speaking. They gave off very subtle visual cues, somehow forming a kind of sign language that even Cole couldn't analyze and comprehend. He dismissed it, and turned his gaze to Penelope. She was seated beside Chris, constantly pawing at his right arm as though she wanted to dismantle it and see how it worked. Her wheelchair was very technical, equipped with several pouches and slots for various weapons. The teams ate their meal, quite enjoying each other's company.
When classes ended for the day, Team ARCN made their way to their dorm. Cole and Amber crawled into bed at lights out, when Rust still hadn't come back. Napier sat on her bed and waited until her wolf ears heard nothing but the soft breathing of her sleeping teammates. She then stood up and left the room silently. Once the door was closed, she slipped on her shoes and made her way to the academy gardens. She listened intently, closing her eyes. The sound of twigs breaking and fists hitting wood reached her ears, and she made her way to the source of the noise. It was Rust, wearing a pair of black sweat pants and no shirt. He was practicing some kind of martial art that Napier didn't recognize. She watched him in silence for a while, then cleared her throat to catch his attention. He glanced up at her, then strode over to where the rest of his clothes were laying. He picked up a towel and a bottle of water and took a swig.
"What do you want?" he asked, wiping the sweat off his face with the towel.
"Your team misses you," Napier replied.
"My team? Or you?" he retorted snidely. Napier didn't reply, so he went on.
"It's pretty fucking clear they don't want me. So why make them suffer?"
"They're already suffering. Without you, they're going to keep suffering. And so are you. We need you, Rust," Napier said.
"I'm not suffering at all. I'm having a great time on my own, and I'll keep having that great time. Why do you care, anyways?" Rust asked, draping the towel over his shoulders.
"Because you're my teammate," she said.
"Not anymore. So go back to your team and go sleep up for tomorrow," Rust said. "You'll be better off without me slowing you down."
"Rust, I-" Napier started, but stopped herself. She looked down at the pavement, her ears falling slightly. "I'll see you around then..."
"Yeah, see you," Rust said, looking away. For some reason, it hurt him to see her so crestfallen. He turned around and glanced back to her, then resumed his practicing. Napier padded off back to the dorm, tears welling up in her warm grey eyes.
The next morning, Rust's portion of the room was devoid of life as usual. The three teammates thought nothing of it, and started to get ready for class. Cole brought a book with him this time, planning to read it to keep himself awake while Professor Port lectured away. Anything was better than sleeping in class again. The team took their usual seats, Rust seated as far away as possible as usual. About ten minutes into the lecture, the door opened and Professor Goodwitch stepped in. She said a few quiet words to Professor Port, and he pointed to Rust. She ascended the stairs and whispered something to him. A look of dread came over his face, and he packed up his things before heading out with the blond professor. Professor Port continued his speech, his voice much more solemn than before.
"What just happened?" Amber asked.
At lunch, Rust was nowhere to be seen. Napier looked all around the cafeteria, but she couldn't spot the familiar head of brown hair. The rest of the party seated at the table didn't seem to either notice or care, all of them watching intently as Chris showed off his mechanical arm. Napier had a feeling that something was very wrong.
That night, when the team entered their dorm, Napier's suspicions were confirmed. Rust's portion of the room was stripped clean, all of his gear like it h never been there. The bed had fresh sheets, and had clearly been made recently. Where his dresser had once been was now a spot of compressed carpet. Napier looked to her teammates in alarm.
"We have to speak to Professor Ozpin," she said decisively.
The three teammates raced down the hallway, led by Amber. The group approached Professor Ozpin's office door and Cole knocked. Professor Ozpin opened the door, sipping his coffee.
"Mr. Anderson, Ms. Kerrigan, Ms. Dubois. What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Where's Rust?" Amber asked quickly.
"Oh, yes. Your teammate. Unfortunately, Mr. Ryder is no longer welcome at Beacon Academy."
