Blake was trying to be polite with Jaune.
"This is my room." Jaune said, gesturing to the various items thrown around his room. Mostly dirty clothes and random papers.
"Your room is dirty." Blake said, trying not to step on anything or trip over a pile of clothes.
"It's not dirty," Jaune protested, pausing before looking around the room. Cheeks puffing out a bit as he did so. He turned back to Blake. "It's just unorganized." Blake wasn't convinced and from the sound of it, neither was Jaune. After more than a few awkward moments of silence, Jaune spoke again.
"So, do you play any video games?" Jaune said, pointing to the consoles sitting on the TV stand in his room. "Super Fighter Guy 4 is my favorite. It's pretty fun as long as Saphron doesn't start button mashing." Button mashing? Fighting Person 5? Whatever. Blake didn't really care.
"Do you have any books?" Video Games never really interested Blake, but she'd always loved reading a good book, like the kind her father would bring home after a long trip. "Like The Kitten's Collar?"
"The Kitten's Collar?" Jaune said, "I don't really have any real books in here. Just comics. We could read X-Ray and Vav together if you want." Jaune grabbed a comic from his dresser. Holding up the brightly colored cover in front of Blake's face. "Looks cool, right?"
"I guess." Blake said with very little enthusiasm. Now, Jaune didn't seem like was the best at figuring out people's emotions and stuff like that, but he would have to be pretty dense to not figure out Blake wasn't having a good time.
"Why don't we go to the library and get you a real book?" He asked.
"Isn't it a bit late to go to the library?" Blake asked, now a bit confused herself. It was getting close to sundown and Blake didn't even know where any public libraries were in Domremy. Let alone how to get back to the Arc house after she found a book. "Are any of the libraries still open, and won't I need a library card?"
"Why would you need a library card? And you can pretty much go to our library whenever you want as long as you don't wake anyone up." Jaune said. An all-night public library. They have those in Vale? Why did nobody ever tell her! But why would you have to worry about waking people up? Were people sleeping in the library?
Humans are weird.
"Come on," Jaune said, grabbing Blake by the hand and leading her out of his room. "It's just down the hall here."
"Just down the hall?" Blake asked, being led through the Arc household. Which she'd only seen a small part of, but it already seemed so much bigger than her house in Menagerie. Though she guessed that it was just her old house now.
Jaune pulled Blake through a set of doors and into a large room. "Here it is, the library." Jaune said, letting go of Blake's hand. It was more than just a library. Each wall was lined with bookshelves that reached all the way to the tall ceiling above. It was like nothing Blake had ever seen before. Her father's den had books, but this was something else. "So, what do you think?"
"Wow." Was all Blake could manage. It was just amazing. She walked over to one of the shelves and looked through it trying to find any books she'd read before. "You have a lot of books." She could probably spend the rest of her life here if she could.
"They're mostly my mom's books." Jaune said as Blake continued to look through the titles. Finding grand fantasies, collections of old fairy tales, and more than a few bad romance novels sitting on the fine oak shelves. "And books that she'd get my sisters and me whenever dad had to leave for a mission."
"Is your mom on a trip? I haven't seen her yet." Blake asked, turning back to Jaune. Blake always used to love reading with her dad, even if they weren't reading the same thing, but her mom didn't really like to sit down and read that much. Maybe Jaune liked to read with his mom too, but judging by the frown on his face that wasn't the case.
"My mom… passed away a few years ago." Jaune said, shifting awkwardly on his feet. "After Kelly was born."
"Oh." Was all Blake could manage. She knew what it was like to lose a parent, it was the whole reason she was even here after all. Part of her wanted to apologize for his loss, but if he was anything like her, he was tired of people being sorry for his loss, and he would appreciate a distraction right about now. "What kind of books do you like, Jaune?"
Jaune perked up at the question. "I like stories where cool heroes do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, and come together to beat evil." Jaune said, his previous melancholy being replaced by blind enthusiasm. "I wanna be a hero like that when I grow up. I'm going to be a huntsman!"
"A huntsman?" Blake said, Jaune nodding in response. She had heard stories about huntsmen before. How they protected people from Grimm. How her mom's sister was a huntress before she died and how Summer Rose was one of the best huntresses ever. She'd helped Blake's dad many times before Blake was born apparently, but that was a long time ago. "There aren't many huntsmen on Menagerie."
"You don't? Are there not a lot of Grimm down there or something?" Jaune asked, and Blake shook her head. He really couldn't be more wrong. Grimm attacks on settlements in Menagerie were very common. At least she thought there were, with how many times her dad had to go off to see the reconstruction of a town. The truth was most huntsmen were human. "Do you have any heroes then?"
"We have the White Fang," Blake said with pride. "They stop bad people from hurting faunus and help them when nobody else will."
"Wow, that sounds cool." Jaune said, "Have you ever seen them do anything cool?"
"Well, I held up a sign at a protest once when my dad was in charge."
"You held up a sign?" Jaune said, raising an eyebrow slightly. "That doesn't really sound very cool."
"It was a very important sign!" Blake said, "And protesting is a fundamental right of the people and doing it is very cool."
"Okay?" Jaune said, "What did the sign say?"
Blake paused for a long moment. "I don't remember," She finally admitted. "But it said something very important."
"If you say so." Jaune said, with another awkward pause filling the room before Jaune spoke again. "Do you want to read a book with me?"
It didn't really seem like Blake and Jaune would really like the same books, but it would be nice to have someone to read with again. "Sure, if you can find any really good books." Blake said.
Jaune nodded and went over to one the shelves. Looking for a moment before pulling one out. "How about The Sword in The Stone?" Jaune said, and Blake nodded. The two sat on one of the couches together and started reading together.
It wasn't a very long-looking book, but it would be a good start. Maybe they would end up reading a lot of books together.
That sounded nice to Blake.
Kali sat in an old leather chair and stared at an old picture that hung in Nick's office.
It was of Blanche and Summer's old teams. STRQ and whatever Blanche's was called, it seemed that Kali had forgotten after all these years. It must have been from their first year, seeing as Summer still had her long hair in the picture, and Nick was nowhere to be seen. They only started dating in their second year if Kali remembered correctly.
Kali wondered how he could even look at that picture most days. She knew exactly how hard it was to keep yourself going after losing someone that had been with you for so many years. Maybe time had simply dulled the pain for him.
Kali was drawn from her thoughts as Nick came through the door, holding two cups with steam coming from their tops. "Here's your tea, Kali." He said, handing her a cup, which she took with a thankful nod and a polite smile. He sat down behind his desk as Kali mixed in some sugar. "So, how are you holding up with everything?" Ah, that same old question.
"About as well as anyone could expect me to, I guess." Kali said, before taking a sip of tea as Nick nodded in response. "I just couldn't stay in Menagerie. Too many memories." Kali paused. "Thank you again for letting us stay here."
"No need to thank me. My doors are always open to an old friend. You have my word on that." Nick said, with an almost determined look in his deep blue eyes. "Besides, we aren't exactly wanting more empty space in this old manor. The four of us barely use half the rooms."
"Well, hopefully Blake will enjoy her time around the girls and Jaune." Kali said. Blake had mostly been silent during their meal together a few hours ago. And what little she did say was mostly single word answers to their questions. Kali was happy to see Jaune taking an interest in her though. He'd even dragged her off to show her around when they finished dinner. He was such a little gentleman. "Blake usually isn't the most social. So hopefully she can come out of her shell a little bit."
Nick nodded. "I'm glad to see Jaune getting along with her. He wasn't exactly happy to hear that another girl would be staying here." They both shared a laugh. "They do seem to be getting along though. It should be good for them both. Jaune's never been great at making friends."
"Well, I guess they'll both grow a little," Kali said, taking another sip of tea. "So, have you seen anyone else from the old days lately?"
Nick shook his head. "Not in person, no. Though I did receive a call from Taiyang not long ago."
"How is he doing? He sent me some flowers, but I haven't had the chance to call him in ages. You know how bad it is getting a signal from Menagerie to any of the kingdoms."
"Well, he started training his daughter, Yang, a few months ago." Nick said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Isn't it a little early?" Kali said, "I know Summer started her training really late, but doesn't it usually start at age ten?" If Kali remembered correctly, Yang was only a few months younger than Blake, so she still had to be nine.
"That's correct, traditionally at least. But apparently Tai promised her they would start early." Nick sighed, "The girl probably has a bit too much of her mother in her, or he doesn't want a repeat of what happened with Summer." Well, who exactly would want their daughter to disappear without a trace, but from Nick's tone of voice Kali thought a slight change of topic was needed.
"Did Tai happen to mention anything about Summer's daughter, Ruby?" Kali asked. She hadn't had the chance to visit Patch since Blake was very little. Years before Summer's disappearance and she hadn't seen Ruby since she was a few months old.
Kali could remember clearly how much Summer adored little Ruby, and having to drag Qrow into the maternity ward, with Tai's help, so he could see her. She was the spitting image of her mother, though her having multiple faunus traits was more than a bit surprising.
"Well, from the sounds of it, she's already a lot like her mother." Nick said with a chuckle. "Tai said he's found her tinkering with stuff in Summer's old workshop a few times."
"Like mother like daughter I guess." Kali chuckled to herself. Summer was always more mechanically inclined, even from a young age she was always taking apart old electronics and machinery to see how they worked. She'd even gained a little bit of reputation for fixing just about anything before they both left their little village. "Hopefully Tai doesn't come home to something expensive being dismantled."
"I'm guessing that's something Summer did when you were children."
"Oh, you haven't heard the story of the missing generator yet?" Kali said, Nick shook his head. "Well let's just say, Summer had to do a lot of extra chores after dad found the heap of scrap that used to be our backup generator." Which, considering how many blackouts happened back in those days, was a fairly small punishment for as much as it put everyone in danger.
Nick was about to respond when there was a knock at the door and Garnet popped her head in. "Dad, I put Kelly down for the night." Garnet said, "We're also going to need to go grocery shopping this weekend too. Oh, and Kelly is probably going to need a new jacket before too long."
"She outgrew that one already?" Nick said, and Garnet nodded in response. "Alright. Thank you, Garnet." Garnet nodded again before leaving. Nick turned back to Kali. "We'll also probably need to get you and Blake some cold weather clothing. Since I doubt you brought much from Menagerie."
"No, we didn't really bring anything for winter months." Kali said. Moving out of Menagerie was a bit of a last-minute decision, so she really didn't have much time to prepare for things like that. And while it could get somewhat chilly during the nights, they never really needed the heavy winter clothing you did in Vale. "But I couldn't ask you to spend any more Lien on us then you already have."
"Nonsense. What's the point of having wealth if you can't share it with those you care for." Nick said, standing from his chair. "For now, Blake can wear some of the girl's old clothes and you can borrow some of Blanche's. I'll lay a few jackets out for you to pick from."
"If you insist," Kali said. "But don't expect me to pick out anything too expensive."
It was always good to have friends that would help you no matter what.
One of the most important parts of mastering any skill is to dedicate time to mastering the basics of that skill.
This was as true for huntsman training as it was for any other skill. This was a lesson that was drilled into Tai's head by his father when he started training. If he had his way back then, he would have learned the basics on a surface level and moved right onto the next thing that interested him. But that's not how you do things if you want to live to see some gray hair in this line of work.
So, with Yang being as much like Tai as she was, and if she was anything like her mother then when all was said and done, Yang would be better than he ever was. Which is why Tai knew he had to be strict with her training, and Yang wasn't the biggest fan.
Getting up early on the weekends for training, while Ruby got to sleep in, sucked. Being sore after working out with her dad sucked, even if she didn't even do a quarter of what he did. Which, Yang was surprised she even still got sore with her aura unlocked. She just couldn't wait to get to do all the cool stuff she saw her dad and uncle Qrow do when they sparred. She hated the waiting.
But the thing she hated the most about training was working on her stance. Making it 'perfect' as her dad said.
Keeping her feet shoulder width apart was a piece of cake. Keeping her front foot, the left one since she was right-handed, and shoulder forward and pointing towards her imaginary opponent was simple as could be. Keeping her back foot at roughly forty-five degrees was a little difficult to do without a protractor, but she managed. And if you asked her, she had her stance down pretty good.
But Taiyang didn't want her stance to be just pretty good. He wanted her to be able to snap into it like it was second nature. You never know when you're going to be ambushed in the field. So, how do you train it to be second nature? By being in your stance often and holding it for long periods of time.
Yang was about twenty minutes into this drill. She stood in the middle of the training area a minute or two walk from the house. Her arms and legs were sore and starting to get shaky as she kept her stance. Thankfully it was a fairly cool day as the red and yellow fall leaves fell around her.
She had to admit, it was a lot easier to do this than when she started training with her dad a few months ago. And it did give her a little time to think, which was nice. But she would be lying if she said that she was happy that she was going to have to do this almost every day for the next three years. Hopefully it would pay off once she was twelve and could start at Signal.
But there was one part of her training that annoyed Yang more than anything else. Though really, the problem had little to do with the training itself. But it had once again reared her little doggy eared head.
Yang scrunched her nose as her younger sister, Ruby, used a blade of grass to tickle her nose. She did her best not to move as Ruby giggled to herself before moving on to try to tickle Yang's arm. Yang fought the urge to move out of her stance as Ruby did what little siblings loved to do so much, annoying the heck out of the eldest.
Yang glanced down at the watch as the last seconds of her training ticked down. Just two more minutes then she could take her much deserved revenge on her little sister. Justice would be swift. Justice would be exact. Justice would be sweet. Justice would involve a lot of counter tickling.
Unless her dad stopped Yang first.
Speaking of her dad, where the heck was he? He'd gone off to get some post training snacks and drinks a few minutes ago, trusting Yang to actually keep doing her training while he left, and he was probably about ready to return any second now. Though Yang wouldn't mind him taking just a bit longer so she could get at least a little bit of revenge on Ruby right now instead of having to wait for another opportunity.
Ruby moved around to Yang's other side, tickling her cheek now. Since Yang was wearing training clothes better for the cold weather, a long sleeve shirt and track pants, instead of her normal t-shirt and shorts she had a little bit more protection from the tickles. And no, this wasn't the first time Ruby had done this. Don't let the cookies and puppy dog eyes fool you, Ruby would be a mischievous little menace when she wanted to be.
Just a few more seconds.
Ruby's mischievous little smile turned to a look of horror as the beep beep beep signaling that Yang's training was done, and that she was free to move, rang out.
"Ruby!" Yang screamed as she lunged for her younger sister, missing her and nearly falling into the dirt. Ruby was about to run off with her tail literally tucked between her legs before she was suddenly picked up. But not by her father, as Yang expected, but by someone that stunk of cheap alcohol and cheaper cologne. "Uncle Qrow?"
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby echoed as hugged onto Qrow's right side. Him holding her up with one arm, and her tail threatening to wag right off her body as it was moving so fast as Ruby started her barrage of questions. "What are you doing here? How long are you going to stay? Did you do anything cool on your last mission?"
"Slow down pipsqueak." Qrow said, as he tussled Ruby's hair with his free hand. "I couldn't help but notice you were buggin' Yang while she was training." Ruby's smile faded and her tail went limp again.
"Yeah, she was!" Yang said, crossing her arms and doing her best to glare at Ruby. Looking a little too much like her mother. "How am I supposed to stand still if you're tickling me all the time!"
"I'm sorry," Ruby said, "I just thought it would be funny."
"Well, it wasn't!" Yang said, stomping her foot.
"You see Ruby, you made one big mistake." Qrow said, Ruby tilting her head a little to the side. "When you want to bug your sister, make sure you aren't close enough for her to do anything back to you. Trust me, I've made that mistake more than a few times." Ruby giggled as Yang fumed.
"You're supposed to tell her to stop!" Yang said, "Not tell her to do it more!"
"Do what more?" Tai said, holding a few bottles of water and some snacks. Before he noticed Qrow holding Ruby. "You aren't being a bad influence, right Qrow?" Tai sat what he was holding down on their picnic table before grabbing Ruby from Qrow.
"Just teaching them a few things about getting along with your sibling." Qrow said, sitting down at the table as Yang went up to her father. "Isn't that right, Firecracker?"
"Uncle Qrow told Ruby to annoy me when I'm training!" Yang said.
"No," Ruby said, coming to his defense, "He said that I should do it far away so you don't do something back to me." Well, she tried at least.
Tai put Ruby back down on the ground before kneeling down in front of her. Ruby had always been a bit short for her age, just like her mother. She got the dog ears from her too, the tail being a nice little surprise. Apparently faunus could have multiple traits, and it was more likely to happen when they had a kid with a human.
"Ruby Rose," Tai said, having got his fatherly 'get ready for a life lesson' tone down years ago. "You can play pranks on Yang any other time. But she needs to concentrate while training. It's very important for her to do as well as she can in her training so that she can be a strong huntress later. You got that?"
"Yes, dad." Ruby said, pressing her index fingers together and not looking Tai in the eyes. "I'm sorry Yang."
"It's fine." Yang said, "Just don't do it again."
"I'm sure she won't." Tai said, patting Ruby on the shoulder. "Now, let's eat while Qrow tells us what he's been up to." Ruby perked up a little bit. She loved hearing Uncle Qrow's stories. "And not short skirt talk this time, Qrow."
Qrow chuckled to himself as Ruby sat down beside him. He started into an only somewhat exaggerated story as the kids dug into their snacks.
He was going to miss the girls when he left.
If Jaune had learned anything from his sisters, it's that waking someone up who wasn't a morning person was a dangerous business.
Having basically been assigned to waking Saphron up in the morning, Garnet was usually busy in the morning if she hadn't already left for her apprenticeship and his dad was almost as bad as Saphron was, he'd faced his sister's sleep deprived wrath many times over the last year or so. Though he thought Saph was running out of sandals to throw at him, so that was a win.
It wasn't exactly a surprise when he was asked to get Blake up too. So, he made his way over to Blake's temporary room and knocked on the open door. That was the polite thing to do after all, and he didn't want his new friend to think he was a weirdo who just barged into people's rooms unannounced. When he didn't get a response from the pitch black room, he let himself in. Turning on the light as he did so, as Blake had set up the old black out curtains beforehand to block out the sun in the morning, calling them 'the best'.
Surprisingly, he didn't find Blake. Not on her bed at least. Just a pile of blankets, it almost looked like someone had piled every spare blanket they had in the house on the bed. "Blake?" Jaune said, trying to figure out if Blake was kidnapped last night or not. "Are you in here? It's time to get up."
Just then, the pile of blankets started moving, startling Jaune and making him take a few steps back. That was until one black cat ear popped out from the top, then another, and then suddenly Blake's whole head popped out. "Get up? How can I get up?" Blake said, sounding like Jaune had just asked her to start flying. "It's absolutely freezing out there!"
"Freezing?" Jaune said. Sure, it was a bit chilly that morning. It was hard to keep a house as large and old as the Arc Manor well heated after all. It was built before the Great War. But it wasn't that cold. Just jacket weather really. "What do you mean it's freezing? It's actually kind of warm for this point in the fall. And if you think it's cold now, just wait until the winter."
"It's going to get colder?" Blake said, not happy with that information in the slightest. "I don't think I want to live here anymore." Blake was about to retreat back into her blanket pile when Kali walked in carrying what looked to be one of Saphron's old school uniform.
"Blake honey, you need to get up." Kali said, putting the uniform down on a dresser. "We have to get you ready for your first day at Lily Grove."
"Lily Grove?" Blake said, "What's that?"
"Lily Grove Academy is the school I go to." Jaune said, smiling a bit to Blake, though he still had to get his own uniform on. "It'll be nice having someone to walk to and from school with again. It kind of sucked going alone."
"Your sisters don't go with you?" Kali asked.
"No, Saphron graduated last year. Now she goes to Poppy Hill." Jaune said, as Blake attempted to free herself from her self-made prison of blankets. "And Garnet decided to learn from a doctor instead."
"What do you plan on doing once you graduate, Jaune?" Kali said, asking the same question every adult asks every child.
"I want to go to Pharos." Jaune said, "It's a combat school where they teach you how to become a huntsman."
"So, you plan on following the family legacy." Kali said, and that's exactly what Jaune planned on doing. Who wouldn't want to be a hero like his dad, granddad, great grandad, and tons of other Arcs were? "I'm sure Nick was glad to hear that." Jaune deflated, if only that were true.
"Not really," Jaune said, "I'm going to go get dressed now." Jaune left Blake's room before Kali had a chance to ask what he meant. It didn't really matter what she would have said. It probably would've been just the same things his dad said.
It was too dangerous.
Nicholas had too many dead friends to count.
Did Jaune want to end up dead fighting someone else's fight?
Did he want to leave a grieving family behind?
Did he want to end up like his mother?
No, he didn't. But why should Jaune just get to sit around and just live life while others have to die for him? Why shouldn't he help if he could? Why shouldn't he be a hero? It was an argument he'd had with his dad too many times, and it looked like that dream was getting further and further away with each passing day.
Jaune sighed deeply as he stepped out of his room in his uniform. A white button up shirt with Lily Grove's emblem stitched onto the breast pocket. With a navy-blue tie that matched his slacks. He wore his black jacket today. And what Jaune could swear were the most uncomfortable pair of leather shoes that he ever wore.
Blake wore much the same thing, except the girl's uniform had a skirt instead of pants with knee high socks underneath. And a bow instead of a tie. Though Saphron's old uniform was maybe a size or two too big for Blake. And Saphron's bright orange jacket didn't exactly go with the rest of the outfit.
And Jaune hated the fact that he knew that.
"My my, don't you look handsome, Jaune." Kali said, as she followed the pair to the door.
"Thanks," Jaune said, a little embarrassed. "I know where the school is, you don't need to walk with us."
"I'm sure you do, but I have a meeting with the principal. So, I figured I would walk with you both today." Kali said, and Blake groaned. "So, lead the way, Jaune."
It looked like Jaune was going to be the tour guide for today.
Qrow watched as the girls went off for another day at school with Zwei following them as they walked towards town, Qrow knew Zwei'd eventually make his way back to Tai.
He guessed that was one of the better things about living on Patch. Not a lot of grimm here, and the ones that do spawn on the island are usually dealt with by the Signal staff or the island's militia before they're too much of a problem. In most other places, walking alone through the woods, even if Tai's cabin was basically right out of town, would be a deathtrap for most.
"So, how long's the mission going to be?" Tai said, standing next to Qrow and leaning on the porch guardrail. They stood there, watching the girls until they were out of sight. "You don't usually show up unannounced unless you have a long mission coming up." Since when was he so observant?
"It's not a mission." Qrow said, pulling out his flask from his pocket. "Since you've got your act together now, I figure it's too dangerous for me to be around the girls much anymore."
"Qrow," Tai said as Qrow took a swig, sounding a bit too much like a disappointed father for a man talking to someone his own age.
"Don't try to talk me out of it, Tai. We both know it's for the best."
"I won't. You know I've never been great at convincing you to do or not do anything." Tai said, and here it comes. "That was always Summer's job, and I think you know exactly what she would say if she was here." And there it was. Leave it to Tai to bring out the emotional manipulation straight away. Though, Qrow did know exactly what she would say.
"She'd say I was being a dumbass, that my family needed me, and she'd probably chain me to the floor if that's what it took for me to stay." Qrow said, "If she was here, I'd listen." If she was there a lot of things would be different. But she wasn't.
"Ruby's here." Tai said, "Do you think she wants you to just disappear again? You remember what happened last time." He did, and she didn't. Things would be different if she did, but that was just another mistake to add to the pile.
"I'm not going to be gone forever." Qrow finally said after a long pause. "Just until Ruby is old enough to start at Signal." By that time, she would have a few years of aura training under her belt. At that point she should be strong enough to handle whatever his semblance ended up throwing at them. Until then, it just wasn't worth the risk.
Tai let out a long sigh, hopefully accepting that he couldn't talk Qrow out of leaving. "How long are you staying then? And you're going to give the girls a proper goodbye this time." But that wouldn't stop him from getting Qrow to stay longer than he planned.
"Few days at the most."
"Well, you know, Ruby's birthday is coming up in a few weeks. When was the last time you were here for her birthday?" Tai said. Qrow had to pause for a moment as he thought over that question. It had been years, though he couldn't tell how many. It would have been when Summer was alive. "I know it's been a while. Why don't you stay for this one?"
Well, it was just a few weeks. That's nothing compared to the amount of time he'd spent away from her over the years. Or the time he was going to spend away from her. "Fine," He said, "I'll stay until after her birthday. But I'm gone in November."
"Good," Tai said, before going to the front door. "You're the one who's telling her this time though."
"I'll come up with a good excuse for her." Qrow said, before taking another swig. "Make her think I'm on some big adventure or something." Qrow stared at the path leading away from what should have been their home instead of just Tai and the girls' home. What a life that would have been.
"And make sure to visit Summer this time. Sober if you can manage it." Tai said before going back into the house.
Talking to Summer without anything to dull the pain. Tai might as well ask him to put the moon back together.
Kali sat in the admittedly smaller than she expected office of Lily Grove's principal.
She was starting to get flashbacks of her own time in school. She wasn't afraid to admit that she was a bit of a wild child way back then. And still was after she had graduated from high school. And when she'd spent a few years in the lower ranks of the White Fang when the organization was still finding its feet. Really, she didn't calm down until around the time Blake was born.
Kali was more than glad Blake took more after Ghira than Kali. She chuckled to herself; oh, the headaches Kali would have if Blake were more like her. Though, with Blake's teen years coming up, maybe she shouldn't assume those headaches aren't coming.
"I apologize for the wait, Mrs. Belladonna." The principal said, walking in and shutting the door behind her. She was a short red headed woman who looked to be in her early thirties. Kali could have mistaken her for Glynda if she was blonde. Or if Roman snuck some red hair dye in Glynda's shampoo. "I'd like to discuss your decision to enroll your daughter into our school." The principal sat down in her chair.
"Well, my friend Nicholas Arc highly recommended this school. And considering he's sent all his school age children here; I'd consider that a glowing recommendation." Kali said, as the principal nodded along. "Not to mention that Lily Grove is one of the highest rated schools in the Eastern Province."
"We do strive for excellence, but that was not what I was referring to."
"Oh?" It wasn't hard to guess what the principal was referring to, but Kali was going to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"The fact is, not only is Blake a faunus in a majority human school." The principal paused, carefully considering her next sentence. "But she is also the daughter of a well-known, and I believe it's fair to say, controversial political figure. I believe you can see where some tension may arise between her and her fellow students."
Kali bit her tongue. "Do you believe that I should have enrolled her in a faunus only school instead?" The fact that such schools still existed was a clear sign that there was still work to be done, and Kali would not be sending Blake to one. She'd rather tutor Blake herself than do that.
The principal shook her head. "No, I and the rest of the staff here at Lily Grove believe that all students who are willing to put in the work to be successful should get the highest quality education possible. Regardless of their heritage." She said, "Though, unfortunately, that's not an opinion that is shared amongst all our students and their families."
"Our staff will, of course, do all that they can to stop any form of harassment she may receive, but I believe we both know how difficult that can be at times. We can really only hope that it improves with time."
"That's the best you can hope for sometimes." Kali said. It was certainly a lot better than what they'd get in Atlas and parts of Mistral. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
"No, I believe that's everything from my end. Unless you have any questions, we can end this meeting now."
Kali was about to ask about the school's library, she had to get Blake her books after all, when the door opened and a man stuck his head in. "Sorry to interrupt ma'am, but a few students got into a small scuffle in the hallway." A fight? Kali didn't expect anything like that to happen in a school like this one.
"Send them in," The principal said with a sigh, the man who Kali guessed was a teacher went back into the hallway. "I apologize, but it looks like I'll have to end it here. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Belladonna."
Kali and the principal exchanged a few pleasantries before Kali got up to leave. Before the door opened again, Jaune and Blake were led through by the same teacher as before. "Here are two of the students involved. The other is sitting in the office."
Jaune's uniform was a mess, and his hair was disheveled. It looked like he just walked through a storm, but what was more concerning was his cut lip and what looked like the start of a black eye. Though he didn't seem too concerned about himself as he kept a hand on Blake's shoulder.
Blake looked mostly unharmed with her uniform being maybe a little ruffled at worst. She nervously eyed everyone in the room before running over to Kali. "What happened to you two?" Kali said, as Blake hugged her mother's legs. "Classes haven't even started yet."
"I got punched in the face by Randy White." Jaune said, rather nonchalantly. "Is Blake going to get in trouble? Because she didn't do anything, I swear!"
Kali sighed, it was starting to look like she was going to be spending a lot of time in this office.
Author's Notes:
I've made a bit of a change to my upload schedule, in that I'm actually going to have one. Arc-Noire chapters will be released every fourth week, with the next chapter going up on June 10th.
Thanks for reading. Comments and feedback are always appreciated.
This chapter was beta'd by the wonderful Mdk1.