Chapter 10: Dog Day Afternoon

Pyrrha walked the halls of Beacon, going about her day as she normally did. Of course, the past two days had been anything but normal, not with the big reveal the other day. Victor Roman, the leader of Team Vanguard was Faunus, and his sister was his real sister, Selena Grey Roman. It didn't really change Pyrrha's opinion about Victor, he was still a good leader and strong fighter. In fact, the team seemed to be getting along even better after the fight.

Pyrrha was about to round the corner when a tennis ball bounced off the wall in front of her and rolled to her feet. She raised an eyebrow as she knelt down and picked it up, feeling that is was a little wet. "Is someone playing fetch with a dog?" Pyrrha thought as she examined the ball. She lowered the ball as she heard loud thumps at an accelerated rate, like something big was running… and it was coming towards her. She braced herself for the worst as Victor rounded the corner and skidded to a halt in front of her.

She held up her arms in defense since it seemed like he was about to run her down, but it was pointless since he stopped just before her. He was barely a foot away and looked down on her with a large smile, ears perfectly visible with his new haircut. "I believe you have something of mine." Victor proclaimed as he held out his hand. Pyrrha looked at him with a confused look as she suggested "The ball?"

"Ball. Yes, the ball."

Pyrrha placed the ball in Victor's hand and he replied "Thank you Pyrrha. See you… ar…" Victor started to sniff the air, like some scent caught his attention. Pyrrha exclaimed "Well, have a nice day Victor." She tried to step around him, but he held an arm out to block her path. Victor stepped in front of her and lowered his head, seriously violating her personal space as he brought his face dangerously close to hers.

She felt her face light up as Victor sniffed her, then started to sniff her neck. Pyrrha felt incredibly uncomfortable since Victor was so close to her, but she couldn't help but have Victor's scent float into her nostrils. He smelled of the woods, of earth and rain and nature. She could feel Victor's warm breath on her neck as he let it out long and slow. "What is the perfume you're wearing?" Victor questioned as he stood up, finally leaving Pyrrha's personal space.

"Tropic Sunset, why?" Pyrrha responded.

"It smells nice, and it suits you."

"Um, thank you?"

"You're welcome!"

Victor's large smile remained as Pyrrha couldn't help but smile herself. She looked at Victor and noticed one thing about him that she never noticed before; his eyes weren't brown like she thought, they were gold. "Your eyes." Pyrrha exclaimed accidently. She meant to keep that in her head, but it just kinda… slipped. "What about my eyes?" Victor questioned.

"They, um, they aren't brown. They're gold."

"Yeah, you're one of the first people to see that. Very perceptive of you. Anyway, thanks for the ball!"

Victor tossed the ball into the air and caught it with a smug smile. "Where you headed?" Victor questioned. "Um, cafeteria." Pyrrha answered.

"Fantastic! I'll walk with you!"

Victor side stepped and stood next to Pyrrha, gesturing for her to walk. Pyrrha shook her head with a smile and chuckled "You are a very interesting pers… Faunus." Victor's smile remained as they walked and exclaimed "Yeah, I have a feeling that the switch between being known as a human to Faunus will confuse a few people."

"Well, it is nice for you to be who you are."

"It is. I feel, I don't know, free now. Say, can I borrow your notes for class? I think I missed some stuff last time."

Victor and Pyrrha shared the Combat Tactics class and the two began working together a lot, mainly because Victor needed a tutor since he wasn't doing so well in it. The two would meet after classes and she would help Victor with his work and anything he missed. "You know, you really should pay more attention in class. That way, you won't need me to give you all the notes and help you with your homework." Pyrrha exclaimed. Victor put his arm around Pyrrha and commented "Yeah, but then we wouldn't spend as much time together, and I do enjoy your presence." Pyrrha looked at the arm draped around her with a raised eyebrow, then back at him and questioned "Why Victor, are you making a pass at me?"

Victor must have realized what it seemed like he was doing and immediately took his arm off of Pyrrha, replying "No, I just… I like hanging around with you." Pyrrha chuckled "I was joking Victor." The two entered the cafeteria and joined their friends, well, Pyrrha sat down while Victor walked over to Dev and handed him the ball. Dev stood up and threw the ball as hard as he could down the same hall Vic and Pyrrha walked out of. Victor bolted after the ball with extreme enthusiasm, Pyrrha following Victor out with a raised eyebrow while everyone else went about their business like nothing happened.

"Um, are we not going to talk about Victor's behavior recently?" Pyrrha questioned. Dev exclaimed "We already have, you're just late to the party."

"Pardon?"

Grey spoke up "Victor has been suppressing his base instincts since he set foot on the airship to Beacon. He's just being free to be himself, kinda like an instinct high at the moment."

"So Victor is being more animal than man at the moment."

Grey chuckled a bit in a slightly offended manner and responded "Sure, that's one way to put it." Pyrrha noticed Kris' mouth twitch a bit and Blake lower her book a little. Pyrrha realized what she said and immediately corrected "I mean, that, um, he's acting more, um, oh dear." Grey held up a hand and replied "Relax Pyrrha, I get what you're saying. Yeah, Victor is a little more animal than he usually is. Might have to watch your back."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

Dev chuckled and shook his head while Alexi snorted and Nigel commented "How vulgar." Grey and Nabuya laughed a bit while Kris muttered something under her breath. Yang snorted as Blake wordlessly read from her book and Weiss muttered "Inappropriate." Ruby leaned forward and whispered "Don't worry Pyrrha. I don't get it either." Jaune replied uncomfortably "Um, Grey means that Victor likes you and what do dogs like to do when they like someone?"

"We're wolves, idiot. Not dogs." Grey corrected with a bit of anger. "We don't go around humping people's legs if we like them, there is a season for that." Everyone was quiet for a moment until Grey exclaimed "That was a joke everyone, you can laugh." Upon given permission, everyone chuckled at the joke. Victor returned once again, prompting Dev to question "How long are we going to have to play fetch? People are looking at us like we're crazy." Victor replied "Until I feel as though I have gained the lost time to my true heritage… which is now. You don't have to throw the ball anymore."

"Thank Dust for that."

Victor pocketed the tennis ball and sat down next to Dev and proceeded to eat his lunch like nothing ever happened. Honestly, Victor was enjoying his day so far. He got to wake up and do his usual stretching routine (i.e. rolled around on the ground making groaning sounds), enjoy the morning like he did at home (roll around in the dew covered grass), and Dev agreed to assist Victor with pre-lunch cardio (chasing the ball). The day went about like it usually did as he ate lunch with his friends, the main topic being about him being a Faunus. After his near interrogation, Victor decided to get some alone time and headed for his room.

Victor sat on his bed and took a deep breath as the metal creaked. He replaced his broken wooden frame with a metal frame bed to support his weight. He looked around the room from Nigel's perfectly clean side of the room, Alexi's moderately clean bed to Dev's mess of a bed, although Victor couldn't judge since he was just as messy. The only thing with real care on Dev's side was his guitar, which shined in the light and gave Victor a thought. "Well, I haven't picked up a guitar in a while. Let's see if I still got it." Victor thought as he got up and went to the guitar.

He picked it up and took a seat on his bed, strumming out a few chords that he knew. Victor learned how to play before he came to Beacon, although he was never amazing he knew his way with the guitar. He played for a bit when his scroll went off, seeing it was Pyrrha messaging him. It read: Where are you at? YOU need to study and get your homework done. Victor looked at the time and saw that it was time for his and Pyrrha's study session, so he grabbed his stuff and headed out.

He walked up the stairs and went to his and Pyrrha's study spot. It was just an alcove on the third floor of the school where no one really went. Victor found that spot when he and Pyrrha first started studying together since he liked the view of the forest. He found Pyrrha waiting on him and an annoyed look on her face as he walked up. She looked up and exclaimed "Well, it's about time. Why do you have a guitar?"

Victor looked down and realized that he had the guitar slung around his back, feeling both dumb that he brought it and annoyed since Deveraux was going to complain that someone touched his guitar. "I was playing a bit when you texted me." Victor answered as he set his books down.

"You play?"

"A bit. Care for a listen?"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes and replied "After we study for a bit." Victor set the guitar aside and pulled out his books so the two could study. Pyrrha went over their work and then assisted Victor with homework, and she had to admit that he was getting better. They finished up and the sun was starting to set, bathing the two of them in orange light. "Well, looks like we're done." Victor sighed as he closed his book. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"How about some music? You did offer to play." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Sure."

Victor picked up the guitar and began to strum a bit to get the feel of the guitar once again. After a moment, he began to play. He played a bit and then began to sing,

Break me free, there is no return

It's the start of my rebirth

But as I glow like a firefly

Time creates a vortex ride

He would have moved on to the next part of the song, but Pyrrha picked up the next part of the song.

Let it out, of my sanity

It's the source of my serenity

Victor stopped playing and questioned "You know Amaranthe? I didn't think anyone really knew them." Pyrrha smirked and replied "Yes, I do know them. They did a small concert in Mistral and they were amazing."

"You saw them in concert? Lucky."

Victor simply started to strum out chords and the two talked about random topics for a bit. Pyrrha thought about some of the talk from the morning and asked "Victor, do you… like me?" Victor stopped strumming and replied "Well, yeah. I like you Pyrrha, why do you think I choose to work with you? If I didn't like you, then I wouldn't work with you."

"No, I mean, romantically."

Victor smiled and shook his head with a small chuckle. "Pyrrha, no, I don't." Victor responded. "You're a very sweet girl Pyrrha, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"What? No! No offense, it's just that Grey made a joke that I should watch my back…"

Victor started to laugh "She would do something like that." Pyrrha couldn't help but chuckle as the large Faunus laughed. "So, you aren't looking for a relationship?" Pyrrha questioned.

"No, I'm not. I'm going to share something with you Pyrrha, something only Grey knows and no one else. Before I came to Beacon, I was in a pretty serious relationship of almost two years."

Victor took a deep breath with a sad look and went on "She dumped me literally the day I left for Beacon. She said that she didn't want me to be held back while at Beacon and it would be better if we weren't together." Victor stopped and tried to hold himself together, and he was doing pretty well. "So, no relationship? Even though Kris seems likes you a lot."

"Kris is very nice and pretty, but I'm not really into flirty girls. Since we're on the topic, what about you? Any guys catching your eye?"

Pyrrha blushed and looked out the window, hoping to avoid the question. "Come one Pyrrha. I let you in, let me in a bit." Victor urged. Pyrrha sighed and replied "There isn't anyone who catches my eye, or anyone who will step up and ask me out."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when everyone looks up to you and put you up on a pedestal, no one believes they are good enough to meet me there."

"Well, if it were me, I would look past that fact and look on what is before me. Pyrrha, you're a beautiful woman, a powerful fighter and a loyal friend. Any guy would be lucky to go out with you."

Victor reached out and patted her shoulder, almost like he was comforting her. Pyrrha was about to say something when his scroll went off. Victor answered it and put it to his head, responding "What is it Dev?" Pyrrha could very easily hear from the speaker "DID YOU FUCKING TAKE MY GUITAR!?"

"Yeah, I was just…"

"YOU BRING MY FUCKING GUITAR BACLK HERE OR I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!"

"I'll be there in a bit."

Victor hung up his scroll and laughed "I gotta go. I'll see you around." He gathered his stuff and put Dev's guitar on his back, heading back to his room. Pyrrha sat for a bit and thought about what Victor had said. She went over what Victor had said about her over and over in her head. "You're a beautiful woman, a powerful fighter, and a loyal friend." Victor had said about her. She smiled at it and thought "No one has ever seen past my title, not until Victor. He doesn't see the four time Mistral Champion, he sees… well, me." She bit her lips with a smile since, well, Victor did interest her. He was tall, very well built, sweet and saw her for who she truly was.

She knew that Victor wasn't looking for a relationship, but there was always the future. Pyrrha felt strange, it had been a while since she developed a crush on someone and it kinda excited her. She gathered her books up and headed for the roof so she could work with Jaune on his fighting techniques, although she knew that she wouldn't have her whole heart into it, at least not tonight.

A/N: Sorry it took so long, Chief's a busy guy! Anyway hoped you enjoy!