Hello everyone! I would like y'all to know that my writing schedule is getting much better now. So, I should be able to update more often! Thank you all for being patient!

For all those reading, all of my RWBY stories were thought of and created BEFORE the premiere of Volume 2 unless stated otherwise. This does not mean I will not incorporate some of Volume 2 into these stories, but most of the details concerning Volume 2 will not be added in unless they are plot relevant. That is all.

Enjoy.


Blake awoke the next morning to Cardin and Pyrrha arguing. Velvet was crouched on the floor, holding her ears with tears streaming down her cheeks as Pyrrha's eyes glaring into Cardin's, the pair spitting insults at each other. Yawning, Blake moved into a crouching position, jumping down right next to Velvet. Stretching her arms and legs, the cat-Faunus moved over to her rabbit-eared companion and sat next to her.

"What's going on?" she asked lowly, knowing Velvet's Faunus hearing would still pick up the whisper.

"Cardin pulled me from my bed by my ears in order to wake me up this morning." the lighter brunette whimpered. Blake nodded. That explains why he's still alive. She was probably in too much pain to kick his ass, the bastard.

Sighing, Blake pulled Velvet into her embrace and getnly stroked her ears, Starting at the base, she massaged all the way to the tips, feeling her friend relax against her. As she did this, Blake glanced up to the arguing pair and cocked her head. Pyrrha and Cardin were clad in nothing but their pajamas, Pyrrha in red and gold while Cardin sported brown and blue. It was oddly funny since Pyrrha was nearly the same height as Cardin, so he couldn't intimidate her as easily.

Amber eyes surveyed the athletic form appreciatively, a soft purr rumbling up from her chest unintentionally. An angry Pyrrha was a sight to behold, for certain. Those bright green eyes getting brighter the angrier she became, her back straight, chest prominent as she faced her opponent, the way her lips are set into a partial pout, just waiting for me to-.

Gasping, Blake quickly came out of that train of thought, standing with Velvet. Seeing that the fight was going on for too long and they still needed to be ready for classes, Blake cleared her throat softly and shouted, "Enough!"

Pyrrha and Cardin both stopped, turning to her with equally furious eyes. "What did you just say?" their blue-eyed leader growled lowly.

Keeping Velvet protected behind her, Blake stepped up, crossing her arms. "I said enough." she repeated. "We have classes to be ready for and this argument can be finished at a later time. For now, know that I'm not following a leader that can't treat every member of his team equally. Don't pull her ears to get her off the bed."

"Why shouldn't I?" Cardin scoffed, not impressed by her attitude. Blake reached up quickly and yanked his ears so that he was at her level.

"For every time you yank her ears," she hissed, amber eyes glaring into blue. "I'm going to yank yours. Now come on, before we're late."

"I'm leader!' Cardin shook his head. "I give the orders."

"And I have no reason to follow you as my leader." Blake spat back, getting her supplies and clothing ready. "So I make my own rules until I think you're worthy of being followed."

Cardin stared at her incredulously, but Blake paid him no attention, beginning to brush her hair as her mind took inventory of the injuries she had received the day prior and which ones were still sore. Slowly, the others began to get ready for their day as well, Velvet and Pyrrha heading for the shower while Cardin simply suited himself with glaring a hole into Blake's head. Blake paid him no attention and made sure to get the knots from her wild mane.

"What's up with the bow, Belladonna?" Cardin asked quietly. "Shouldn't you take it off when combing your hair?"

"What I do is none of your business." Blake retorted sharply, still fuming from the ear incident.

"It is if I'm going to be your team leader." Cardin sighed.

"You mean if I choose to allow you to be my team leader." the darker brunette corrected calmly.

"Look! I don't know who you think you are-!"

"And I don't care what you think!" Blake hissed, eyes flashing green as she whirled around and glared at Cardin. "What I care about is your attitude toward us as your team and how we feel about you. We don't trust you and we can't follow a leader we don't trust. So why don't you either prove that you're more than just an asshole or at least show a little respect and leave me alone!"

Cardin was stumped by the outburst and Blake turned, continuing with her hair. I have definitely gone into heat early. she groaned to herself. This is going to make being in the same room with anyone that much harder. At least I haven't let out my pheromones yet. That would be disastrous.

Pyrrha and Velvet walked back into the room after their showers and found Cardin sulking on his bed, glaring at the wall. Standing, Blake sped from the room, heading for the showers. Her two female teammates watched her go before turning to Cardin.

"What happened?" Velvet asked slowly.

"She snapped at me when I asked about her bow." Cardin replied. "Said something about you girls not trusting me and then had the nerve to demand respect. All I did was ask a simple question."

The two women glanced at each other in confusion. They weren't sure whether to side with Blake or show Cardin some sympathy. If what he said was true and Blake actually had snapped at him for a simple question, then that would mean that she was in the wrong this time. However, considering their lack of faith in most of what Cardin says, the pair weren't so quick to believe that he was completely innocent either.

Sighing, Velvet decided to offer a solution. "Maybe she's just moody from being woken up so abruptly." she said haltingly, expecting a scathing comment at any moment. "Or perhaps it's… her time of the month."

Cardin turned angry blue eyes on her for a moment before scoffing and standing. "I'm going to go shower."

"Isn't Blake in the showers?" Velvet asked, Pyrrha combing her hair as she listened to the conversation.

"Yeah. So?"

"Wouldn't it be better to respect her privacy?" Cardin rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I have to shower too. Belladonna should have gone with the rest of the girls if she was that self-conscious about herself." Turning, Cardin headed from the room and down the hall in the direction of the bathrooms.

Velvet's ears drooped and she sighed, turning away. A shout from the bathroom caught her ears and she sighed. "I think it actually is her time of the month." she murmured to her companion. "I've never seen her this moody before."

"I've never met another cat-Faunus." Pyrrha admitted. "So, perhaps the moodiness comes from the cat part of her heritage?"

"Don't know." Velvet shrugged. "But it would be best if we don't do anything to make her upset. I've seen angry cats and I've seen angry cat-Faunus. The cat-Faunus are more frightening because they're as big as you are."

"Duly noted." Pyrrha nodded, just as Blake walked into the room. Tossing her dirty clothing into her hamper, the dark brunette moved to her dresser and began combing through her hair, face set in a grumpy frown. Cardin reappeared moments later, a long scratch marring his cheek.

"What happened to your face?" Pyrrha gasped, moving to grab the first aid.

"Me going to take a shower was not okay with Belladonna." Cardin spat, holding up his hand. "My aura will heal it, Nikos. For now, we should probably be on our way to class. Don't want to be late, eh, Flower?"

Blake ignored the snark and stood, shaking her head. Her hair fell in waves behind her shoulders and she turned to her teammates. "Pyrrha, Velvet, Birdie, are you ready to go?"

Cardin grit his teeth together and led his team out. Blake remained quiet, reading a book as she made her way through the halls to their first class, which happened to be the class they all shared their first year as well. They settled into their seats, Velvet above Cardin in the third row, Cardin in the second row and Blake and Pyrrha side-by-side in the second row across from Cardin.

Dr. Oobleck sped into the room just as the bell rang and immediately began the lesson right where they picked up last class. Pyrrha shot frequent glances to her partner as Blake seemed to calm from that morning's aggression. I wonder if that really is how all cat-Faunus are when they're in heat.

Pyrrha felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks at the thought of a lusty Blake looking for a mate, but quickly shook that thought away. I wonder if Jaune will still want to do our training matches on the roof. the redhead wondered to herself. I've obviously got pent up energy if I'm thinking of Blake that way.

The day moved on with no more incidents involving Blake's anger. She seemed to have calmed quite a bit and Velvet and Pyrrha figured it was just a bit of pent-up frustration from the day before. Blake herself was beginning to think the same thing as her last class ended and she made her way to the training pitch.

Blake could still feel the aches and pains from the day before and knew that she needed to do something about her strength if she was going to last through training for six months. But if I work on strength, will it cancel out my speed ability? she wondered, walking toward the training pitch.

Spotting a blur of white across the pitch, her ears perked up. Weiss moved gracefully as she sparred against Jaune, who wasn't quick enough to keep up with her glyphs. She'll have to spar with him soon. Blake sighed. She's probably as bad off as me and Ruby. The only one of us who can hold her own in a spar is Yang.

Shaking the loneliness from her head at the thought of her old team, Blake set down her school things and released Gambol Shroud, taking deep breaths. Ninjas concentrate on their breathing, Blake. she told herself. Just concentrate on your breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

A pair of running footsteps alerted her to the threat and without breaking her breathing pattern, Blake lifted into the air, letting her cat ears guide her to her enemy. The whooshing of his weapon made her twist midair, avoiding it by inches. Landing on her feet, Blake kept her eyes closed.

Keep breathing. she told herself. When you're calm, you fight better.

The footsteps were back and they stopped a foot or two away from her, his weapon swinging through the air. Blake rolled to the side, pulling Gambol Shroud from her back. Bringing it up, she grit her teeth against the force of the next blow, feeling it rock her arms. Pushing against the mace, Blake leaped to the side and moved forward, ramming the flat of the sheath against her adversary's ribcage and sending him flying a few feet. Finally, she opened her eyes.

And came face-to-face with Pyrrha.

"That was impressive." the redhead giggled. "I would say that was better than yesterday."

"I fight better when I'm calm." Blake told her in a serene tone. "I was far from calm yesterday and my emotions dictated my actions, thereby securing my own defeat."

"Wise words." Velvet nodded, checking behind her. "Here he comes again."

"I hear him." Blake agreed. "Be ready Pyrrha." The redhead nodded and just as Cardin swung, Blake leaped into the air while Pyrrha held up her shield. Cardin's mace bounced from Akuou's surface, sending him reeling backward.

Standing straight, he watched Blake land beside Pyrrha and grinned. "Good job. Nice combination defense. Today, we'll be working on hand-to-hand combat. I trust you know the basics and if not, Pyrrha can teach those." Both Blake and Velvet turned to Pyrrha.

"We've been at the school for three years." Blake stated. "However, I haven't taken a combat class yet."

"Same here." Velvet stated. "I'm not set to take one until next semester."

"Alright then." Pyrrha nodded. "Cardin, would you help me teach them?"

"I guess." he sighed, shaking his head. "My team isn't even battle ready. If we had another tournament like first year, we'd lose hands down." Both Blake and Velvet bristled at his words, but said nothing.

"Alright, first things first. Stance." Cardin and Pyrrha both got into one, spreading their legs to shoulder length and lowered themselves slightly, holding their weapons in a firm grip. Blake and Velvet slowly did the same, Blake gripping Gambol Shroud while Velvet held her arms to out in front of her and parted the same distance as her legs.

"Good." Cardin nodded. "Alright, let's get you into the practice of using those stances. Try blocking our attacks. This will help you get a feel for getting back into the stance whenever you see an attack coming."

For the next two hours, Blake and Velvet had to defend themselves against countless attacks from their more hand-to-hand experienced members. They began getting the hang of it after the first half an hour, but Cardin and Pyrrha wanted to be certain they could be in the stance for long periods of time.

Finally, Cardin called time. Velvet fell to her knees, gasping for breath as Blake began massaging her sore muscles, her chest heaving as sweat drenched her entire form. "Not bad." Cardin snickered. "You learned even faster than my old team. Pretty impressive." He nodded to Pyrrha and stepped forward. "Tomorrow is going to be a stamina day, so head to the dorms after your final class and get changed into something comfortable before coming out here."

Just then, the dinner bell rang and Both Faunus perked up. "I'm famished." Velvet breathed, ears standing at attention as she and Blake both got ready to race to the cafeteria. "Race ya there."

"You're on." Blake agreed. Before either of their partners could react, the pair had taken off, using the obstacles in front of them as their own parkour course, swinging through trees and leaping benches. Students in the way were easily jumped over or slid under, their bodies used as leverage on some accounts. Cardin's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Are you serious?" he demanded incredulously. "We haven't even gotten to obstacle courses and they're already making up their own."

"Blake's very good with speed and acrobatics." Pyrrha told him. "And Velvet seems to be the same, added by her Faunus traits. Quite frankly, I think I'll join them next time."

"Why?" Cardin sniffed as Pyrrha got into a runner's position.

"Because believe it or not, Cardin, battle isn't all about strength." With that, the redhead burst forth, following her other teammates. Cardin smirked after her and shook his head. Bringing up the rear, Cardin made it to the cafeteria just as Velvet and Blake were sitting together at an empty table, beginning to eat. Pyrrha was nearing the end of the line, already paying for her food.

Grabbing a tray and sitting with his teammates, Cardin eyed the two brunette females curiously. "Why didn't you say you could do parkour?" he asked, no malice in his voice for once.

"You didn't ask." Blake replied, swallowing her tuna sandwich and reaching for her turkey. "I didn't think it would come up."

"Mind demonstrating again?" their leader inquired.

At this, Blake grew a mischievous glint in her eye. Velvet giggled and took two globes from her pocket, putting them together as the bowed girl stood atop the table. The two gloves began creating music that began booming around the cafeteria. Blake put her hands together momentarily before opening her eyes. Taking off, she grabbed up members from other teams that Cardin recognized as Faunus and began leading them in a parkour marathon.

Leaping over and onto tables, the other Faunus joined Blake as she flipped through the air. The group used the tables, the bars sticking from the walls, other students and even each other to fulfill their sudden adrenaline rush. Coming together near the middle of the cafeteria, the group did numerous flips and stunts to build a pyramid. Glancing over, Cardin, Pyrrha and Velvet found Blake running along the walls, using her speed and clones to boost her from one wall to another before she spun through the air and crashed into the pyramid.

Instead of the Faunus falling as everyone had expected, they all seemed to be expecting that and before Blake made contact, they flipped off to other areas, providing a clear space for Blake to land on her hands and flip into her seat just as the music ended, all of the participants going back to their meals.

Pyrrha and Cardin (and every other human for that matter) stared at the Faunus in the room in complete shock. Cardin's mouth opened and closed for a few moments before he coughed, "What…?"

"Faunus have excess energy in their bodies, which is why I chose them." Blake explained through a mouthful of tuna. "The Faunus on campus get together regularly to make videos of them doing these stunts and after a while, they asked me to join too. That was part of our last video."

Cardin chewed at his food, effectively stumped. His eyes kept trailing to the Faunus around the room, but he daren't speak his mind just yet. Blake and Velvet wolfed through their dinners, hungry from the exercises they had been put through. Pyrrha and Cardin found themselves pretty hungry as well and followed suit. Once finished, the team headed in the direction of their dorm room, wanting to settle down for the night.

Blake was the first out of the room, speeding to the bathrooms while the others were still getting their items ready. Pyrrha and Velvet shared a look, but shrugged while Cardin continued searching for his deodorant, which he had laid on his bed that morning and now couldn't find.

Blake was back within fifteen minutes and her two female teammates departed once she returned. Cardin had finally found his deodorant from where it had fallen halfway down the back of the bed where he couldn't see it. He was just straightening up when he heard his name.

"Cardin?" Cardin turned to see Blake standing behind him. The darker brunette took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Look. I've decided that, even though I'm not ready to trust you, you have proven yourself to be at least somewhat competent as a leader. So, I will follow you." The signature smirk was just making its way onto Cardin's lips before a startled frown stopped it. Blake's eyes narrowed as she pressed Gambol Shroud's katana blade into his neck. "But any more slip ups and I'll drop it all over again until you prove yourself worthy. And next time, it'll take more than just effective sparring lessons to make me change my mind."

Sheathing her blade, Blake climbed up to her bed and lit her candelabra. Taking out one of her countless books, the dark brunette proceeded to lose herself in the story and block out the rest of the world. Cardin watched her warily and huffed when he perceived no threat. Idiot. he sneered. I'll prove myself to be an effective leader soon enough. Then she'll have no choice but to come to me for help and guidance.

At that moment, Velvet and Pyrrha returned to the room and Blake sped out. Cardin's eyes followed Velvet as she climbed to her bed and they narrowed on the long brown ears atop her head. And I'll prove to Belladonna that an animal is still an animal, no matter how human it might think it is.


And there you go. I know it looks like I'm giving Cardin character development too early, but don't worry. It's just one of those shocks you have one day and then you go back to being yourself. No character development for Cardin until much later, so don't fret your pretty little heads.

Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fanfiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile.

So drop me a review, will ya? I slaved over this chapter, keep that in mind.