Disclaimer:

I still don't own RWBY.

Story:

I looked around for a few minutes, but each time I saw an open seat somebody was already in route. And closer than me too, so poaching their chair wasn't an option. Ozpin's speech was set to start soon, and looking around I was the only student still lacking a chair.

Oh well. It wasn't the end of the world or anything. Standing in the back, leaning against the wall, and glaring at Ozpin was a pretty good plan as far as I was concerned. I let out a sigh as I walked towards the back, despite my satisfaction with my plan. I really hoped I didn't offend Ruby. I liked the girl in spite of myself. She was oddly non-threatening for a hunter in training, reminding me more of a small, fuzzy, woodland creature than a trained killer, and the dichotomy amused me with no end in sight. Nothing to be done for it now though.

Before I finished my route a voice cut through the din, "Excuse me, do you not have a seat? This one is free." I turned toward the voice, trying to shuck out of my less than pleasant thoughts on the Ruby situation. I took in the sight of a girl with long red hair kept in a pony tail. She had bright green eyes, pale skin (though less so than Ruby's) was only a little shorter than me, and built like one of the famous Mistralian statues: tall, muscular, strong, but still having plenty of feminine softness to her frame. She wore a complicated ensemble of red, gold and brown, and while I'm sure that every piece had a name I didn't know them. The gold headdress that crowned her head had small chains looping around her ears before reconnecting with the tiara though, and that drew my attention. I wondered if the crystals it bore were dust or emeralds. I could always ask later I suppose. She moved outwards from the second seat in the row, gesturing towards the inner one she had just vacated with a welcoming smile.

"Thanks," I began before the awkward grateful smile on my face slid off of it. I saw some ass hat with a green Mohawk wearing not entirely clean leathers sitting across the empty seat she had just left. He was starting to bend at the waist, trying to look up her skirt. So that's why she got up, to put me in between her and the ass hat.

I don't have much practice smiling, but I have a good sneer that I used with absolutely depressing frequency. It was a face that said, 'Please, give me an excuse; I will enjoy beating you into a mushy red pulp'. My voice came out cold as a river in winter when I continued speaking. "Hey, slime ball, that's not her face."

He stopped bending and looked at me then, a belligerent set to his features before his eyes met mine. He was a little on the small side, and in comparison to me he was downright tiny. I'm a couple inches over six feet and well over two hundred pounds of exercise freak. Running cross country marathons in a hundred pound suit of metal with a pack full of supplies on my back for the last seven years, and more recently climbing up and down a cliff face to fight Grimm in fore-mentioned hundred pound armor, has given me a pretty intimidating physique. He didn't quite panic, but he sure as hell stopped trying to catch a peek. I grunted at him, still presenting thoroughly hostile body language, and said, "Don't you have some friends, over there?" I gestured with my chin in a random direction, and he glared at me sullenly for a moment before speaking up himself, "Yeah. Didn't see 'im there. Thanks. See you around, Pyrrha."

The redhead, Pyrrha I assume, took a few more steps out, giving him a wide berth, before shooting me a apologetic smile while he walked away. "Thank you, and I am sorry for dragging you into my problems, but I wasn't sure how to handle his attention without resorting to violence."

"It was nothing." Then I wiggled my eyebrows at her. "Try screaming 'pervert' next time. Half the people in the crowd would've descended on the creep."

She giggled, "I will have to try that next time then." She made a gesture at the now vacant seats, "You do need a chair though, do you not?"

I nodded, back to rusty smiles again as I settled in. "Yes, and thanks again for the seat. Name's Jaune."

Pyrrha went to respond, but Ozpin took his place on his stage and began his speech. If you can call it that. "I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of others. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose... direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Ozpin is absolute balls at speeches, so I couldn't have stopped my sarcasm if I'd tried. Not that I would have mind you, because I kind of hate the guy. "Wow," I began, my voice dripping enough sarcasm to drown in, "that was the most fantastic speech I've ever heard. I am so glad I have this man to guide me through my wayward youth."

I was surprised when I heard Pyrrha add to the small lake of snark I'd left on the floor. "Truly, I have never felt so inspired in my life."

I shot her a grin, bright and honest. "I think we'll get along just fine."

She reddened a bit at that for some reason. "I- did not mean to let that slip out."

I looked up at the ceiling, giving her time to compose herself while I spoke. "Most people consider a sense of humor a plus you know. It's not something anyone should be embarrassed of." After a minute or so I turned back to her, smiling warmly.

She returned my smile, though hers was certainly much better than mine. "I think we'll get along as well, Jaune."
"Hey, I don't think I got your name earlier. I couldn't quite catch it over Ozpin's blathering."

Her smile that seemed so bright a moment ago dimmed. Did she actually like Ozpin or something? I had difficulty processing the thought.

"I am Pyrrha Nikos." She looked at me searchingly, but I guess she didn't see whatever adverse reaction she had been expecting. Maybe she had a dark and troubled past, or her parents were infamous? She looked relieved to see my puzzled mug.

I brushed away my confusion. "A pleasure to meet you Pyrrha."

After that she gave me a smile. It was brighter, more cheerful, more real than the ones I'd seen from her so far. It made me feel like I'd just done something amazing, though I had no idea what. I must be better at with words than I believed, or, more likely, I was getting a truly massive case of beginner's luck. Either way, I'd take it. "The pleasure is mine Jaune."

I've always enjoyed making others happy, and though I wasn't sure what I'd done in this case, I was still on cloud nine when Pyrrha spoke again. "So Jaune, where are you from? I don't recognize your accent."

"I'm out from middle of nowhere Menagerie myself. How about you?"

"Mistral City." She looked at my quiet fulfillment, and her smile intensified. I for the first time noticed goosebumps on her arms. "I'm guessing it's a little cooler down here than it is up in Mistral, huh?"

Her smile turned into rueful chuckle. "Indeed. I have been finding myself wishing I had taken note of the temperature difference when I packed my clothing. I have been finding myself underdressed. But you mentioned Menagerie? Are you a faunus then? If you are worried, then be assured I do not judge others based on such petty differences."

I decided I liked this girl. She had a good head on her shoulders, which was well complemented by her dry wit. "No, I'm human. I've met plenty of faunus back home though."

She looked at me queerly. "Jaune, what did you say your last name was?"

"I didn't say it, but it's Ebner. Jaune Ebner, at your service." I swept into a courtly bow, or would have if we weren't still seated. So I stood up instead. "Say, why don't I give you a short tour of campus? I've been here a couple of weeks already, so I can at least show you how to get around."

"That sounds grand."

We went outside and I started pointing out the basics. Cafeteria, classrooms, dorms, library, gym and so on while she wore a complicated expression.

"Jaune."

I stopped, halfway through pointing out a sequestered quad I'd stumbled upon yesterday that made a good lunch spot. "Pyrrha?"

"Has anybody ever called you the Grey Knight, the Somber Swordsman, or the Thousand Arms Master?"

I blinked, nonplussed. "Yes. Why?"

"I have heard of a child hunter operating out of Menagerie, wielding weapons made of aura. If I recall correctly his name was Jaune Ebner."

I shrugged. "That is my job, semblance, and name respectively."

"There have been several articles about him, that is to say you, lately Jaune. Though there are very few pictures, and what photos they have are of you wearing your armor."

"I'm not a big fan of the monikers to be honest. And reporters have a tendency to ask awfully intrusive questions, so I don't tend to hang around them." I grimaced. Seriously, Somber Swordsman? Lame. Misleading too; not only was I much better as an archer than as a swordsman, I was also more sarcastic than somber. Grey Knight made me sound like I was an ancient geezer instead of a strapping young man of seventeen, and while I'm pretty damn good with quite a few weapons I'd hardly say I'd mastered any of them, let alone a thousand of them. It's hard to practice when your only partners will happily kill you if you mess up after all. The names people give me, I swear...

Her body language changed then and I found her manner disconcerting. It's been a long time since somebody has looked at me with sympathy. I shook it off pretty quickly though. Or I did once she started smiling again at least. "Jaune, have you put any thought into who you wanted to form a team with?"

No, I hadn't, but you don't get far in life if you just go around admitting you don't think. I adopted a thinking pose: head facing the sky and the index finger of my right hand tapping my chin. "I don't really know anybody at Beacon, but I did meet a girl today. A redhead named Pyrrha- she made a pretty good first impression; seems friendly, funny, and smart too. I don't know her well, but I think I'd like to. How about you?"

Pyrrha's smile became more genuinely cheerful after that. "Hmm, well, I don't know anybody at Beacon either, but I did meet a boy today. A blonde named Jaune- he made a pretty good first impression; amiable, jocular, and intelligent too. I don't know him well, but I think that I would like to."

I looked at her and rose a single eyebrow. "Imitation", I drawled, " is the most irritating form of flattery."

She rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. "I'm sorry! It is just that it was worth copying."

She let a peal of melodic laughter then, and I found it difficult to keep up my pretense of irritation; her joy was contagious. I let out an earthy chuckle in compliment. "Well, I'm not sure how teams are decided, but if it's up to us we'll partner up. How about it?"

She gave me another smile then; and it was remarkably similar to the one Ruby gave me just a few hours ago. My heart did the same odd lurch and blood rushed to my face once more when I saw the tender expression. Were these smiles something I was going to have to get used to? "That sounds lovely Jaune."

I was still trying to rally when I was saved by the bell, or rather my scroll's ringtone. Imperial March's menacing tones heralded my dread enemy's call: Ozpin. Even though it was him, I was grateful for the distraction. Pyrrha lobbed a query at me. "Imperial March? Are you fond of classical music?"

"Yeah. And, I'm sorry Pyrrha, but it's the headmaster. I've got to take this one."

"That is quite alright Jaune, and I apologize for the distraction. It must be an important matter if he is calling you himself."
I tapped a button and Ozpin appeared on my screen with his ever present mug of coffee. He spoke First, "Jaune."

"Ozpin."

"I'm merely giving you a notice; you will be expected to sleep in the common area along with the rest of the applicants instead of your room tonight."

I looked at him with wary suspicion. "Why?"

He smirked at me. "Tradition."

I met his words, my face a cool, blank mask. I think I'm going to have to slip something into his coffee at some point. I replied tersely. "Fine."

"Then have a nice night Jaune." He hung up before I could reply. I rubbed my temples for a few seconds. Ozpin is a walking talking headache.

"You don't get along with the headmaster?"

I grunted. "He didn't make a good first impression."

"How so?" She looked at me curiously.

"He broke into my house and proceeded to beat on me like I was cheap drum set." I delivered it in a monotone I could be proud of. It took me long enough to get rid of all the childish petulance.

"Wait, what? Really?" She looked shocked. Well. There's one more student disillusioned with headmaster jackass at least. And it was interesting to see Pyrrha lose her composure. Silver linings, Jaune.

My face became sour. "Yeah. I think it was my entrance exam. The jerk. Enough about that though. I need to head back to my room and pick up a few things." I blinked then, because that was not proper manners. Beacon's campus is pretty big, and it is her first day so she might get lost after all. "Once I escort you back to the hall of course."

She bobbed her head, pony tail stirring in the breeze. "Thank you Jaune."

I waved her thanks away. "It's nothing."

We'd been walking for a couple hours, but the trip back took much less time beings it was a straight path unencumbered with my tour guide-esque explanations and route. On the way, we held a pleasant conversation about music. As it turns out Pyrrha is a massive music nerd, and while I had a good grip on the scene from twenty years back, I've been rather busy (and isolated) in Menagerie so the vast majority of current events have passed by without receiving my notice. I didn't have to feign interest while she spoke of new composers and artists. It took something around a third of an hour to get back, but to me it felt much shorter. "I'll catch you later Pyrrha. Tomorrow, if not tonight. Sweet dreams."

"Good night to you as well, Jaune."

I waved her a farewell over my shoulder while I made my way back to the dorms. I took care of my hygiene, and shucked out of my t-shirt and jeans, slipped on a simple pair of flannel pants, and grabbed a hooded sweatshirt before making my way back. Once I was there I picked up a bedroll, slung it over the same shoulder the sweatshirt was on, then started looking for an uncrowded area to lay down, while keeping an eye open for Pyrrha, and ignoring the glances in my direction with lofty dignity. Who says I can't multitask?

I haven't suffered a serious injury in a while, but sans shirt I still had a few impressive scars showing. Impressive in 'how did you even survive that?' sort of way. They are long stripes of scar tissue running across the front of my torso, and even now that my aura had reduced them to plain white lines, it was still obvious that I've had some very, very close calls. But if they thought a few scars meant I was easy pickings they'd be in for a good old fashioned ass-kicking. They'd learn that there's a bloody good reason that I have scars instead of a grave, and they'd do it the first time I fought. I'd make sure of it.

"Hey, aren't you that guy?" Somebody called out to me. I turned and saw Ruby's sister (and wow they look nothing alike) standing behind me in a t-shirt and shorts combo. Up close I noticed her eye color; a light violet.

"I'm the guy actually. That guy is over there." Face bland, voice dry, I hooked a thumb over my shoulder before I continued on. "And you're Ruby's sister, right?"

"The one, the only, Yang Xiao Long." She flexed her arms as she introduced herself.

I preformed a bow so needlessly elaborate it was more than nearly a mockery, deliberately at odds with her own introduction. "Jaune Ebner, at thy service milady."

She let out an unladylike snort and rolled her eyes at me. "Rubes sure knows how to pick them."

I placed a hand over my heart. "You wound me."

She snorted again. "Well come on sir knight. A damsel in distress awaits."

I ambled next to her, presumably towards Ruby. "So, Yang. I've a question for you."

"Shoot."

"You have the nicest hair I've ever seen, but doesn't it take a lot of upkeep?"

She snapped her fingers. "Well first I..."

I tried to keep up. I really did, but the jargon of cosmetics and hair care products and procedures crushed me. I felt a sudden fear of this woman before me, a fear that she could wield this alien subject matter at me. In between phrases like 'hair root pump' and 'full bloom thermal protection' I managed to get the time frame in dribs and drabs. Something along the lines of an hour a day, separated by her sleep cycle. It seemed like a lot of unnecessary work to me, but if she didn't think it was worth it she wouldn't do it, so whatever she liked I guess. And it was beautiful. Hmm, that's a thought. I wonder if she felt similarly about her hair as I did about music.

Ruby came into sight, and her cheeks turning pink as she laid eyes on me, whilst Yang was finishing up her terror inducing explanation. "Hey Jaune, Yang." I gave Ruby a somewhat shaky smile in return before Yang slapped me on the back as and said, "Jauney boy here definitely has a good hair of eyes Ruby!"

Ruby cradled her head in her hands and groaned, still blushing, but I was forced to snigger at her terrible, terrible joke. I couldn't help it. It was so bad it somehow went around the joke scale, coming out the other side to become funny again. I looked at her incredulously as I did though, because I mean, really? A good hair of eyes? And because I did I saw her dumbfounded expression. "You laughed at my joke?"

Ruby echoed her, "You laughed at her joke?"

"It was a terrible joke." I said.

"But you laughed at it, right? I'm not just hearing things?" Yang spoke, still amazed.

I spoke with amusement still plastered over my face. "Yeah. I never claimed I have a good sense of humor."

Ruby looked at me like I had grown a second head, but Yang shot a sunny grin at me, "Let's get this slumber party started then!"

Ruby looked at Yang reproachfully. "It's kind of awkward with guys around, don't you think?"

"Pfft," Yang looked around, "Afraid you'll get cooties Rubes? Don't you like the scenery?" She proceeded to leer at me cheerfully, giving me a blatant once over. "Nice abs by the way."

I gave her a thumbs up. "Thanks. I got tired of carrying a washboard around."

Yang let out a belly laugh while Ruby's blush returned. Once Yang had finished she said, "See Ruby? Jaune's great. Plus one friend." Friend? I goggled at Ruby and Yang, and lost track of their conversation. The concept was foreign to me. Nobody had ever called me friend, unless the 'you're in the wrong neighborhood friend' sort of thing counts. In which case I have loads of friends, and maybe I should have let them keep a couple of their teeth in light of our friendship.

"Remnant to Jaune, come in Jaune." I shook my head, reverie disrupted by Yang's voice.

"Oh sorry about that. I must be more tired than I thought. What's up?"

Ruby spoke up, "Do enemies count as negative friends?"

"Naw. They count as free training partners." Ruby responded by chucking a dog shaped pillow at my head, which I casually dodged with a smug smirk on my face. Ruby's eyes widened as it sailed past me and shouted, "Look out!"

I looked over my shoulder to see a raven haired woman with bright yellow eyes dressed in traditional Menagerie nightwear along with a black bow. She also had a book in her lap; oh yeah, and a truly spectacularly annoyed facial expression. She held Ruby's pillow between two fingers, like I may have held a used diaper. "Is this yours?"

Ruby squeaked out a ,"Yes!", before hissing at me "Why did you dodge?"

I kept my eyes on the offended newcomer, because hey, you never know how someone will respond to flying dog shaped pillows, as I answered Ruby flippantly. "Because you threw it at me?" I raised my voice to the woman with no name, "Sorry about that. My friend here's a bit of klutz."

She answered in a grudging tone, "Don't worry about it."

Yang walked over to her, dragging Ruby behind her. I followed them a few steps behind. "Hey there! My name's Yang Xiao Long, this is my kid sister Ruby Rose", Ruby interrupted her with a cry of "I am not a kid!" Yang ignored her with what I can only assume is practiced ease and continued without even an instant's pause "and this is my newest friend Jaune Ebner. We... like your bow! It goes well with your pajamas. And we're sorry about the pillow." There was the word again. Friend. It made me feel... strange. Warm.

Her eyes focused in on me with predator like intensity, completely disregarding the pair of sisters next to me. "Jaune Ebner. From Menagerie, by your accent. The preeminent human of Menagerie, made famous by becoming a hunter at age ten, and for taking missions without thought for payment, or his own safety."

"You're that Jaune Ebner?" Yang lifted her eyebrows, seemingly impressed.

Before I could respond Ruby looked at me with wide eyes and said, "That was you? That's so cool! Why didn't you say so? And can I have an autograph?"

Off balance once again, I finally got a word in edgewise. "Yes. And I didn't see how it mattered? And I, uh, guess so?"

The mysterious woman, who I made a mental note to contact should I ever decide I needed to write a biography, continued on once I finished speaking. "Also known for assisting and hindering others without regard for their race, instead only paying attention what actions they take, making him a controversial figure in both pro-faunus and pro-human circles."

I sighed, "Please tell me you're not going to lecture me about how an extra patch of hair somehow magically makes someone less- or more- of a person. I am heartily sick of that conversation."

She slipped a bookmark into her novel before closing it and giving me a small smile. "No, I'm not. It's very commendable of you to do what you've done. I'm simply surprised to see you at Beacon."

I blew out a long relieved breath. I'd had that conversation many times, and it's repetitiveness only added to how unpleasant it was. "I'm surprised to be here. Still Ozpin promised to send hunters to Menagerie if I attended his school, so here I am. Still, you have me at a disadvantage, miss...?"

She blushed. "Blake Belladonna. My apologies for the lack of an introduction."

"We'll call it even if you forget about the pillow."

"Done." She smiled again, tiny and pleased.

Ruby chimed in, "So, um, what... book are you reading?"

"It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control of his body."

Hey, that sounded familiar. "Is it The Strange Tale of the Doctor and The Mortician?" I asked.

"Yes actually. It's a classic. Have you read it before Jaune?" Blake asked me in return.

"Yes. It's very well written. Have you finished reading it?"

Blake looked at me approvingly. "Yes, I have. Are you a fan as well?"

"I hate it on a visceral level actually." I grimaced.

My … friends? Spirits, that's going to take some getting used to. My friends looked at me with varying levels of confusion. Blake spoke up, "I thought you said it was well written."

"It is. But the moral of the story seems to be 'Everybody has a dark side', which I agree with, but it also implies we have no control over those impulses, and the only way to keep from hurting others is by dying. Which I disagree with. Vehemently. We are each responsible for our actions, and we are very much in control of our selves. Even when all the options suck, the choice remains ours to make." I was scowling by the end of my tirade. The main character's suicide had merely been a way to avoid taking responsibility for his actions in my eyes.

Blake's look turned pensive. "I never thought of it that way."

I nodded sagely, "I blame it on all the philosophical texts I've read."

"You read a lot of books then Jaune?", she asked me.

"Hey, everybody needs a hobby or two, right?"

My fellow blonde cut in, smirking at me. "That's true. But reading books is for nerds. Nerd."

I made a hand gesture as if I was sweeping her words away and fired back with mock heat. "Feh. Exactly what I'd expect from an illiterate philistine."

Ruby looked confused. "Philistine?"

Blake spoke, voice dry as mine normally was. "He accused your sister of being an uneducated, art hating barbarian, more or less."

"Oh. I get it. Because she doesn't read like you two."

Yang and I looked at Ruby with pained faces. Finally Yang said, "Hunters are supposed to kill Grimm Rubes. Not banter."

She looked at us sheepishly. "Sorry."

I rolled my eyes at her and saw a flash of red out of the corner of my eye. I rotated my head, on the off chance I'd found Pyrrha again, and what do you know? I'd managed to spot her. Hmm, she was a significantly shorter out of her shoes, though she was still the tallest girl in eyesight by a fair margin. She must wear heels of some kind.

"Hey Pyrrha."

"Jaune?" She asked, walking over towards me and shivering. "What are you doing on the girls side of the ballroom?"

Why must everybody fixate on rules? Sticking it to the man has been my plan A for the better part of a decade, and look how well I turned out! ...Okay, maybe people should pay attention to regulations and what not. "Hanging out with the cool kids." I pointed over to the what was evidently the men's side of the room at a group of guys posing, also sans shirt. "Is it any wonder why? Besides it's not against the rules if I don't get caught. "

Yang looked at them, and then back to me, leering once more. "Mm-mm. You could join in. You blow those guys out of the water."

I delivered my words deadpan. "I would, but I forgot my giant, flashing, neon sign that reads 'I am a massive tool'. I'd just feel silly without it." That earned a an unladylike snort from Yang and Pyrrha (Pyrrha blushing soon afterwords), a chuckle from Blake, and a giggle from Ruby.

I did a quick round of introductions. "Pyrrha, meet Ruby, Yang, and Blake. Ruby, Yang, Blake, meet Pyrrha." Oddly enough I saw a flash of recognition in the eyes of the latter four as they looked at Pyrrha, though they didn't comment.

Yang grinned at Pyrrha, and spoke first. "Nice to meet'ch ya Pyrrha. My friend's friends are my friends too." Was that a tongue twister?

Ruby was next, "It's nice to meet you!" Such an excitable girl. She really did remind me of a puppy.

Pyrrha spoke then, her hair out of it's tail and spilling over her shoulder in what looked like cascade of fire as she nodded at the others, with a polite smile adorning her face. " Any friend of Jaune's is a friend of mine as well."

Blake was last, and spoke soberly with a small nod. Less was more with Blake it seemed. "A pleasure Pyrrha."

They all... considered me their friend? I was honestly touched. Probably in the head, I'll admit, but touched all the same. I vaguely wondered how lucky I must have been to meet such kind people. Maybe I should introduce myself as Jaune, professional huntsman, twice orphaned, and four times lottery winner from now on? Blood was rushing to my face, and I probably had a sappy smile on as well, but I couldn't help it. I felt all warm and light, inside. As if some huge weight had been lifted off of me, one that I had carried so long I forgot it was there.

"I did not expect to see you again so soon Jaune." Pyrrha said to me.

I shook my head, bringing myself back to reality. "Well, I was looking for you."

"Why is that?" she asked, shivering again.

"I just couldn't get enough of your radiant presence. I also didn't want you to freeze to death." I dropped my bedroll on the ground before tossing the sweatshirt towards her. It was a plain black number with my personal symbol on the breast in white, a stylized bow with an equally stylized sword resting across it's limbs in place of an arrow. "Catch."

Pyrrha's face reddened once again, matching her hair, and she began stammering, "J-Jaune I can't wear your clothing!" Pyrrha had a shy smile on her face despite her declaration. She looked awfully pleased for somebody who was trying to sound scandalized.

"I don't see the problem. It's clean and warm. You're cold, and I'm not. So you put it on, becoming warm and comfy, and then I can stop worrying about you. Capeesh?"

She blushed so hard that her cheeks were now surpassing her hair's shade of red, but she also smiled more as she bashfully looked down her crossed legs at the ground. She meekly replied "O-okay Jaune. I-if it will make you happy..." She put it on over the loose red pajamas she wore, and it was very large on her. Hmm. Flustered Pyrrha is pretty cute. I'm not sure what was so embarrassing about borrowing a sweatshirt though.

I nodded, satisfied. "It will, once you've defrosted."

"Where's mine Lover Boy?" Lover Boy? What the hell? I looked at Yang, who was now grinning and elbowing me in the ribs, while Ruby was reddening like Pyrrha, and Blake just looked on, quietly amused. Um. I suddenly feared for my sanity. What if Yang started yelling hair-care terminology at me? I'm not sure why she wanted a sweatshirt though; the blonde didn't look cold.

I spoke with a calm I didn't feel,"I hadn't met you yet so I didn't bring you one, but I can make one real quick. Ruby, Blake, did either of you want one too? And while I'm at it, did you want an extra blanket or something Pyrrha?" My aura began twisting, and I focused in on it. To keep something permanent I had to do things just right. And letting your friend's clothing disappear when they could potentially be preserving their modesty seemed kind of Ozpin-ish to me, so I'd make it permanent.

Yang looked at me curiously. "You can make clothing?"

"It's my semblance."

"Your semblance is tailoring?"

It was Ruby's turn to shoot me a question then. "I thought you could just make weapons?"

"My semblance is the manipulation and creation of matter in general. I can make just about anything I want. I call it Forge." That was technically accurate.

The girls all looked at me, but Yang spoke up first again. Must be her habit or something. "Right. We're BFFs now. Anyone that can make clothes with their mind is pretty awesome in my book."

"Sounds great." Whatever a BFF was.

"That's an amazingly adaptable semblance Jaune." That was from Blake, sounding impressed.

I preened a bit under her words, but kept focused on my semblance. "Thanks."

"That," Pyrrha began, and then paused for a moment before continuing. "must be very useful in any number of situations."

"Yep."

"You're taking more time than you did with all those weapons."

I responded dreamily, my mind still sculpting what was to be. "I make clothing less, and if I forge something incorrectly it will eventually fade. I figure having a shirt randomly disappear would be something you ladies don't want." I wouldn't normally have told anybody that, and it was probably foolish of me to tell these people I'd just met, but I... I wanted to trust them. These people who called me friend. The very first ones that ever had.

Blake put in her two lien, "It must take a lot of focus to do that."

I snorted at her. "It does."

They took the hint and stayed quiet until I finished. It took me a few minutes. It was a plain black, with a yellow flaming heart on the breast. It seemed like it was Yang's symbol, so I figured she might appreciate it. I handed it to her, and unlike the one I gave Pyrrha it fit pretty well, though it was still a little large as it was supposed to be sleepwear. I looked at Pyrrha, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry about the fit. I can make you another if you like."

"No! I mean, I rather like this one, if you don't mind." The redhead smiled at me warmly. This girl was so kind.

I smiled back at her, and then at Yang. "Keep them then. They're gifts." I turned to Ruby and Blake then. "And I'll make you two something later. Whatever you like."

Blake rewarded me with another small smile. "Thank you Jaune. I may take you up on that."

"Can it be weapon parts?" Whatever doubts I had about her status as a weapon fanatic faded away to nothing after that last sentence.

"Ruby!" Yang scolded.

"Hey! He said whatever I wanted."

I shook my head at their antics. "Sure. I can do that."

Ruby beamed at me. "Thanks."

"It's nothing."

A pleasant, companionable silence descended. I took advantage of the lull to grab my bedroll.

Then Ruby yawned. It traveled around our little group, jumping from person to person. Pyrrha spoke up, still blushing, still smiling. "Perhaps we should turn in. We need to be at our peak tomorrow."

"Indeed." The monosyllable was from Blake, naturally.

"Goodnight then, ladies." They all answered me with some variation of 'Sleep well Jaune' or 'See you tomorrow Jaune' as I walked back to the men's side of the room.

It didn't take long to find a quiet corner, next to a somewhat effeminate dark haired man who was already asleep. Was that a pink streak in his hair? Well whatever. Time to sleep. I drifted off quickly after I laid down, and, perhaps due to the warmth I still felt in my chest, I had pleasant dreams. For once.

Notes:

Writer's block a worst.

As always, a thank you to my reviewers. Reading your reviews helps me come up with words to type.

Parings still pretty much undecided, but I've nailed the teams down.

Pyrrha and Jaune have made assumptions this chapter. Kudos to anybody that guesses what they are. Bonus Kudos if you figure out which are wrong.

For those of you wondering what Jaune's symbol looks like in this fic, I encourage you to look up the Outsider's mark from Dishonored. It's not exactly the same, but it's close. I'd draw it myself and post a link, but I am pathetically bad at drawing. I can't even do stick figures right.

For those of you wondering what a Menagerie accent is like, for the purpose of this fic Velvet speaks with one.

I'm going to try to expand on the backstories and personalities of some characters in this fic. I enjoyed RWBY but the short episode length made it difficult to flesh out characters as a book or a show with longer episodes might have. I will almost certainly get some things wrong doing this, so my apologies in advance if/when I get something wrong.

I'm also thinking of making some character sheets in the style of servants from Fate series. They'd give a little scope of what characters' talents and weaknesses are, though they of course wouldn't be an absolute who would take who in a fight sort of thing. I'd post them as a different story for those who would be afraid of it spoiling anything. I'll probably work on them when I've got writer's block.

As for chapter length, the general response seemed to be "I want to read as much of this as I can" without much care for the actual chapter length, so I'll just end chapters where they feel natural and begin working on the next one.

Rating changed to M as I realized it may well get borderline later on.

Feel free to drop me a line guys. Criticism helps me grow better, and all reviews help me stay motivated.