Chapter 7. Struggles and Respites

(September 21, 2015)

Pearl and Tangerina were spending their time at the forge, preparing their weapons for tomorrow dueling classes. The fox Faunus was polishing her claws, while the squirrel one was testing the mechanisms of her weapon's slingshot mode. They were doing it quietly when they heard someone entering the forge.

As the person was passing by them, Pearl noticed it was a man their age, all clad in black, with long black hair tied in a ponytail. He was strangely wearing wayfarers.

"Who are you?" the white-haired girl asked him. "Those wayfarers are not necessary to be worn here."
The man turned to her surprised, "Can't a man wear glasses?"
"This room is lit with artificial light," Tangerina cut in. "This can't hurt you, can it?"
"Well, it's a personal thing," he replied slightly glaring at them from behind the shades.
"Pearl," the fox Faunus replied.
"I'm Tangerina," the squirrel Faunus added. "And you?"
"Blaise Campione," the man introduced himself. "Is that all or are you going to question other parts of my outfit too?"
"You doesn't smell like a human. Who are you really?" Pearl inquired.

Blaise suddenly started to wriggle, a bit, but for a Faunus that was a noticeable thing.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. Nothing inhuman about me," he said rushing the last bit inching away from the two.
"Now that you mention it, his hair look weird too," Tangerina chipped in.
"Have you been to an oculist lately? Th-There's nothing wrong with them!" the black-clad boy nearly shouted and darted out of the forge.
"He's a Faunus alright," the white-haired girl said. "A canidae, that much I'm certain, but exactly what I can't say."
"Another scaredy cat? We'll just break him out of his shell," the shorter, orange-haired girl happily exclaimed.
"You'll break him," the other girl corrected her. "I have three guys to take care of who doesn't care about the team. We need to work on our co-operation skills if we wanna get any decent grades on that."

Tangerina merely pouted. Pearl made light of it and finished maintaining her claws, the squirrel Faunus finishing shortly after. They returned their weapons to their rocket lockers, turned off the lights, and left the forge.

The mysterious Blaise was on Pearl's mind. Despite hating to admit that, she felt that something would happen between the two of them soon.

Zelony, Nicandra, and Rouge were sitting in their team's room, doing their homework. Only Bruin was missing: since his argument with his team mate, he didn't appear. Zelony and Rouge were filling a table for Grimm Studies, yet Nicandra didn't seem to be interested in such activity.

"You did quite a number on him," Zelony suddenly spoke. "You should find some common ground."
"It's just..." she started and paused, searching for proper words, "I expected something more but Bruin failed to deliver that. I lashed out on him. I let my dreams cloud my judgment." She sighed.
"Instead of telling us that, go and talk with him. Bruin might not be a good leader now, but give him time and he'll get better."
"Professor Goodwitch told me a similar thing," Nicandra replied. "All right, I'm going to look for him." She stood up and left the two.
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Rouge asked. "They doesn't seem to like each other, they'll sooner kill each other than make up."
"It's a thing they should settle between themselves. But if they won't, we'll have four really difficult years ahead of us."

Nicandra first tried to call Bruin on his Scroll, but without success: it was turned off. Such responsible team leader... But she had to let it slide if she hoped to make up with him. She then went to few areas she considered that her team leader could go to: the Amphitheater, the gardens, cafeteria, airship bay, CCT. No success either.

"He could be... But that would be... No, that'd be so unlike of him..."

Then out of nowhere a girl with short orange hair skidded to her, a black-haired boy in white and green running after her. Nicandra was surprised when the other girl stuffed two pancakes into her mouth. Shocked, she swallowed it all at once.

"Cafeteria's or Ren's pancakes are better?" the girl asked her.
"Excuse me?"

The boy then caught up with the girl. Nicandra noticed a strand of magenta in his hair, quite unusual.

"Nora, you can't just approach random people, stuff food in their mouth and ask their taste," he scolded her.
"But it's a matter of grave importance, Ren!" the orange-haired haired girl exclaimed. "I will not stop until you're acknowledged by the whooole Beacon!" she smiled widely.

Nicandra couldn't help it and a little smile also appeared on her face. However she quickly returned to her "no-nonsense" face.

"Have you seen a boy with brown hair tied in a bun? He also wears glasses," she asked them.
"I think I saw someone meeting that description in the library," the boy named Ren stated. Then he looked around and noticed lack of his companion. "I'm sorry but I have to go after her." And just like that he was gone.

With nothing to loose, the blue-haired girl went to the library. Bruin was hopefully there.

Sitting in their team dorm, Maize was fervidly browsing through his Scroll while laying on his bed, occasionally letting out sounds of excitement. Larimar on the other hand was doing homework, actually he was the only one of their team to do much of it; others did some bits and then went to their own devices. From time to time he paused to give a menacing look at Maize but the blond made nothing of it.

After some more time has passed, he finally broke.

"Are you going to waste your time on the Scroll instead of doing something productive?" Larimar snarked.
"But you don't understand!" Maize replied and got on his knees. "These are the new Abacus Star S3 models!" Suddenly his eyes had a strange glimmer to them. "They have better processors, expanded old apps, and have some more. They are light years ahead of Peer products!"
"Stop! You're starting to weird me out," the blue-clad boy interrupted his team mate's argument. "I don't care about the technological wars in Scroll department. Homework should be on your mind right now," he paused for a moment and added, "as well as Thistle's and Pearl's."

The sound of Pearl's name causes Maize to suddenly come to his senses. In silence he went to his desk and started doing his homework. Confused, Larimar tilted his head. He wondered why Maize reacted so weirdly when he mentioned their team leader's name. Moment later he returned to his homework.

Some time later, they hear their team dorm door open and turn their heads to see who was it. First came Thistle, followed by Pearl. Maize quickly averted his eyes, Larimar catching a glimpse of this action. The purple-haired boy sits down on his bed with a big smile on his face and pulled out a notebook from his backpack and started to write something with neat handwriting. Pearl on the other side went with reading the Grimm Studies textbook.

The silence lasted for around twenty minutes when Pearl suddenly paused her lecture and grunted a few times gathering her team's attention.

"Since we're a team, I think we should know about one another a bit," she started. "So I want everyone of us to tell something about themselves." Maize's face was painted with dread, Thistle's with joy, and Larimar's with interest. "And don't consider this talk to be some kind of 'heart to heart' thing. We're just getting acquainted."
"What's the point? I'm planning to go solo after graduating Beacon anyway," Larimar waved her idea off.
"Because team performance is also graded and I'd rather know your strengths and weaknesses before our butts are decimated in some rookie battle." Then she approached the blue-haired boy, "Until we graduate, you will follow my orders, understood? I don't need a show-off in my team."
"Y-You—! H-How dare you—!?"
"I am Pearl Ivar and a fox Faunus, but I presume that you knew that much," now unfazed, the fox Faunus sat at her desk's chair. "I'm from Vacuo. I claw my way to victory and am very... aggressive about it. And I don't take well acting out of your line."
"A pun? Really?" Larimar covered his face with a hand. "This is no civilian school to be having fun of combat."
"A little pun never hurt anyone. Or did it?" she approached him. "Certainly there's nothing about you that would make a good pun."
"Riiight," he replied drawing away from her. "'Larimar Mikulio' is not exactly a source for even a decent pun."
"Well, you do remind me of a peacock actually."
"Do no dare to call me that again!"
"Please, stop," Thistle who was silent suddenly spoke up. "Is it really okay for you two to fight like that?"
"I-If you want to resolve your i-issues why not t-tomorrow during the d-dueling classes?" Maize suggested.
"I could take you on anytime," Larimar shot a glare at their team leader.
"Careful, or you're gonna take those words when I beat you tomorrow," Pearl replied.

Furious, Larimar left the dorm without saying another word. Pearl once again was unmoved; she had an incredible amount of patience for someone who was seeping with fight and authority.

"Let's continue," she said. "What about you, Blondie?"
"I-It's 'Maize'," the blond boy corrected her. "M-Maize Guy. I-I use cards in b-battle which is also my S-Semblance."
"That's an interesting Semblance. Say, where are you from?"
"M-Mistral," he stuttered yet again.
"For Dust's sake!" Pearl suddenly exclaimed. "Stop stuttering like a broken record!"
"S-Sorry!" he quickly apologized. "I-I'm just not a really t-talkative person."
"We'll work on it," she replied, a hint of a wink on the face. "This team will need all the co-operation it needs." Then she turned to the purple-haired boy, "This leaves only you."
The boy lightened up, "I'm Thistle Sophie! I come from Atlas. I use a shotstaff, good weapon to quickly shift between closed and ranged combat."
"And what about your Semblance?" Maize asked.
"I still haven't figured it out."
"And you still decided to become a Hunter despite not knowing it?" Pearl inquired. "Well, mine's a secret for now. You'll see in action tomorrow when I'll be kicking Peacock's butt."

The conversation then quickly turned into a school talk and shortly after that the three started to work on their homework. While Thistle was worried for Larimar, he didn't go looking for him. On the other hand, Maize and Pearl were content with the blue-haired boy's absence since there wasn't any complaining and his superior act.

It was around seven in the evening when Nicandra arrived at the library. She looked around and sure enough she noticed Bruin, but he wasn't alone. Next to him was sitting a character greatly resembling a Grimm and a boy around their age with brown hair. The view of the Grimm-like creature shocked her at first, but quickly came to conclusion that it must be the student's typical attire. It was quite weird in her opinion to wear Grimm, but people came in all varieties and options.

She approached them and was soon noticed by her team leader who had a strange smile on his face. His two companions looked up from their books as well.

Bruin and Nicandra were silent, both trying to come with words. Then the boy next to the Grimm-clad person spoke up:

"Are you Nic?" he asked the blue-haired girl.
"H-How do you know that?" she was surprised that he knew her name. "And it's 'Nincandra', for Dust's sake! It's enough that my partner calls me that absurd abbreviation."
"We heard from Bruin about your earlier outburst," the Grimm-clad boy said.
"You know me and... my team leader," she said the last three words after a short pause. "But I don't know you."
"My apologies. I'm Ace Wolfblade," the Grimm-clad boy introduced himself.
"And I'm his best friend Matthew Erthanos," the other boy pulled Ace into a hug, despite the other's protests.
"I have some matters to discuss with Bruin—"
"Really? He's shaken to the core because of you," Matthew interrupted her, but then noticed a sudden change on Nicandra's face. She was sad, probably ashamed too.
"It's a matter between them," Ace said. "They should resolve it if they wish the best for their team."
"Says who?" Matthew shot a goofy grin at his Grimm-clad friend. "It was you who followed him here."
"And what about you, Matt? You followed me."
"That's because friends stick together, and team mates." Then Matt's suddenly shot from his seat, "We need to socialize with the other two from our team! Be seeing you around!" he said as he dragged his friend out of the library.
"I'd like to talk with you somewhere with less people," Nicandra requested after his two companions disappeared behind the closing doors of the library.
"You're afraid of something?" Bruin who was previously silent spoke up.
"Meet me at the dorm rooftops in thirty minutes," and after a moment of silence added, "please."

She then left leaving Bruin somewhat confused. However, the boy packed up his things and went to the meeting place. He arrived on time, Nicandra already waiting for him, although she was looking towards the horizon.

"What is it about?" he asked her. "You're gonna teach me 'Team Leading 101', is that it?" strangely irony left his lips.
"I overstepped the boundaries of my position. I'm sorry," she said.
"Huh? What?"

Bruin was confused: Nicandra was apologizing? That seemed so unlike her, at least from the little he learned about her. What caused the change?

"Ever since I was little, I was raised with role models thrown at me and forced to be just like them," she explained. "Ten or so years living a life when you're shown how to act took the better of me." Then Nicandra turned her head a bit, exposing her profile to her team's leader. "I suppose I came to expect too much from such a prestigious combat academy like Beacon."
"Then I suppose I should apologize too," Bruin said.
"You don't need. It was me who overreacted and lashed out," now Nicandra turned fully to Bruin, one hand holding the other, loose arm.
"I don't think I'll ever live up to your expectations, at least as they currently are."
"I'll lower them, then," she replied, a faint smile appearing on her face. "But do not be mistaken: I will still have some hope for you improving your performance as the team leader."
"Aww! And here I thought you'd be soft on me!" the brown-haired boy pouted. "Well, sorry for messing up today. I'll try to do my best from now on."
"I already said that you don't need to apologize," Nicandra sighed. Unexpectedly she put a hand on Bruin's shoulder, "I'm sorry too. From now on let's help each other."
"H-Help? In what way?"
"Oh, don't mind that. It was just a thought that slipped my mind."

The two left the rooftops shortly after and went straight to cafeteria as it was supper time. When they arrived Zelony was quite surprised seeing the two talk and not glaring daggers at each other. Or like it would be in Bruin's case, averting his gaze from Nicandra. Rouge nudged him and when he looked at her she just replied with a sly smile. Zelony simply sighed, not knowing what she hid with that expression.

Maybe beginnings aren't that difficult as they're painted to be...

Author's Notes

Finally a new chapter! Well, it's not exactly what I expected to happen. Once again the Team AZRE duo of Ace and Matt strikes again! At least Zweii had a cameo in the previous chapter, but Dezaryl... That one will need some consideration. On the bit brighter note, Blaise from A BLZEing Remnant makes his first formal appearance! But Lapis, Zaria, and Eva are nowhere in sight! Well, that's how it is when you create too many OCs and include other people's OCs at the same time; at least Nora and Ren made a wild appearance! ^o^

Yes, I have no idea what Semblance should I give to Pearl and Thistle. I decided that "card combat" can be considered a Semblance after looking at Superpower Wiki and entries related to card fighting. I'll give you a hint about Larimar's Semblance: life sustenance.

With the tension building between Pearl and Larimar expect quite a battle. I might throw in a surprise or two. Also it will be Friday in the story so I think some weekend activities will appear.

One final thought: how is my writing, how are you feeling about the characters? I'd love to hear some feedback. ;)