Chapter 11:

Hector made his way through Beacon at a brisk pace. Usually he tempered his steps to reduce the noise but he was too troubled to mind the sound he was making. Every fall of his metal boots clanged loudly, echoing through the halls. His thoughts were racing.

Jaune Arc was a fraud.

Cardin had told him everything he had heard above his dorm room The ideas that came with this revelation didn't make Hector feel any better. Beacon was among the top huntsman academies on Remnant. The screening process was known to break the wills of all but the strongest up and coming hunters of grimm. There was no way they would accept any but the best. So how did a liar manage to sneak their way in? They would either need to be an incredible liar, which Mr. Arc was certainly not, or someone needed to turn a blind eye…

Hector shook the thought from his head. It would do no good to speculate and accuse before he even heard from the man. He finally reached Ozpin's tower and headed up the elevator. As the doors opened he stepped into the massive office and saw that Goodwitch and Ozpin were waiting for him at his desk. They seemed annoyed, or at least Goodwitch did, which was normal considering he had called them there in the dead of night.

They perked up as Hector marched towards them. Ozpin raised a single eyebrow as he sipped his coffee. "Judge Hector, what seems to be the problem?"

Hector stopped in front of them and crossed his arms. An action that caused Goodwitch to tense up, Ozpin remained calmly impassive but his eyes seemed to harden. Hector took a deep breath, this would be difficult.

"You have a liar among your students, one of them snuck into Beacon."

They both just started at him for a few moments before Goodwitch scoffed. "Impossible, we screen our students multiple times. Even if they somehow managed to get past the process they would surely flunk out of the initiation exam if they were any less than Beacon material."

Ozpin remained silent. This only worsened the fear that Hector felt as he watched the man slowly put his coffee mug down and steeple his fingers. "How, may I ask, did you come to such a conclusion about Mr. Arc?"

"Does it matter?"

"I should say it does."

"I say it doesn't," Hector said firmly. He wasn't about to rat out Cardin now. He hated this, he didn't want to believe the worst, but things were not looking good. What came next wouldn't be any easier. "The footage of Mr. Arc from the initiation, I need to see it."

Goodwitch began to shift uncomfortably while Ozpin continued remain stony faced and impassive. "I am afraid that no such footage-"

"Enough," Hector said in a frosted tone that caused Ozpin to sit up a little straighter and Goodwitch to reach for her riding crop. "This is not a game. If Jaune Arc does not belong at Beacon then he is in constant danger. Those under his leadership are in constant danger. I will not have their lives be put at risk under my watch. No matter if it is from grimm or their teacher's negligence."

The statement caused Goodwitch to bristle with anger. "Are you implying that we are risking our students lives?"

"That depends on whether or not you let an untrained boy attend a monster hunting academy. The initiation footage tapes, now."

He stared the two down, practically daring them to deny him. If it came to an arrest he wasn't sure he'd be able to take them. He had the advantage over their aura based abilities but they had decades of experience on him. It seemed like an eternity before Ozpin finally sighed and brought up the screen on the window behind him.

Hector felt relief flood his body, but it didn't last. As the footage began to play what he was seeing was almost unreal. "This boy…is a complete amateur." His semblance had to be luck, it had to be. There was no way he could have survived as long as he did if it wasn't. But that made no sense since…

"His aura wasn't even unlocked?" Hector spoke the question in horrified awe. "What were you thinking? What in the world possessed you to think that this was a good idea?"

Goodwitch had the good sense not to say anything. Judging from the way she paled watching the footage it seemed that Ozpin hadn't shared Jaune's skill level with her either. He had the nerve to remain impassive even as his crimes played on.

"The Arc's-" he didn't even get to finish his sentence before Hector's hands slammed down on his desk.

"Do not bring his family into this. Look at that footage and tell me whatever blood he carries in his veins would have stopped his neck from snapping from that fall. Tell me that his grand lineage would have stopped a grimm from tearing him apart the second he touched down on the forest floor. Go on, tell me." Ozpin remained silent and Hector shook his head. "This ends, now."

He turned to go deal with the situation. He was halfway across the room before Ozpin called out to him. "Wait."

Hector wanted to keep walking, he really did. But his feet still stopped and he stood there waiting. He hoped that he would hear something to fix this mess.

"Judge, when I accepted Ms. Belladonna, Ms. Schnee, Ms. Valkyrie and Mr. Ren I did so because I trusted your judgement. Now I need you to trust mine."

Hector was disappointed in the answer. "The boy could have died within his first hour here Ozpin. You launched a regular child a hundred feet into the air."

"Professor Goodwitch could have caught him if it had come to it."

Hector turned and looked at a surprised looking Goodwitch. "Could you have done it from that distance?"

Her confusion turned to steel determination. "Yes, I could have."

"But his aura, you sent him out there without it."

"I am telling you Judge Hector, I would not have let Mr. Arc come to any serious harm. The worst that could have happened is that he would fail and go home. But he passed, and continues to show all the promise that I saw in him to begin with."

Hector stared at him, he was almost speechless. "This is a boy, Ozpin. He is student under your care, who trusts you, whose family trusts you. He is not some experiment for you to tamper with at your leisure."

"Nor do I think of him as such, but what you saw in your candidates, I see in him."

"My candidates were trained warriors. This boy swings his sword like he's never held it before."

"Judge Hector," Ozpin said the name carefully, like it was some fragile thing. "You asked me to believe in your judgement. To believe you when all logic screamed that it would not end well. Now, I have to ask you to do the same."

Ozpin was asking for blind faith. He was right though. He had asked a lot of the man on faith alone. But there was one thing he needed to know. He turned to Goodwitch. "Is he right? Is Jaune Arc worthy?"

She looked at him startled before becoming pensive. Hector needed to know her opinion. There was no one who cared more about these students than Glynda Goodwitch. If any one of them was in danger then she would put an end it, immediately. "No," she said to Hector's dismay, "but I believe he can be."

That wasn't good enough. Hector need to feel more assured he wasn't becoming an accomplice to fraud. Ozpin was a man respected. An absolute pillar to the people of Remnant, whose word alone could sway the decisions of entire kingdoms. He should have been one of the few people Hector should have taken at their word. But he couldn't. This was too important.

But compromise was a virtue, not a weakness. Trust had to begin somewhere. "I will…defer to your judgement." The others seemed to instantly lose some of their tension. They assumed he had simply given up. "But only with a few conditions."

The night waned on and the Beacon courtyards were lit by a full moon. Hector sat on bench overlooking the area. The statute dedicated to the end of the Great War shined in the moonlight. A Huntsman, a huntress, and an armored judge all facing down the hordes of grimm, together. Hector felt a pang of sadness at the sight, he wondered if things could ever be like that again. He heard the sound of gravel being crunched underfoot and didn't even turn to acknowledge the new arrival.

"That statue, it has a lot of history." The bench creaked as the newcomer took a seat. Hector continued. "The three on that mountain, their names have been erased by erosion, and lost to history. Only a select few even care to try and find out who they were. But you do know someone related to one of them, the huntsman there is wielding your leaders sword after all."

"Why have you called me here, Judge?" Pyrrha asked. She wore her full combat uniform. Not a good sign.

"To talk," Hector noticed the way she shifted as if about to leave, "about Jaune." That got her to stop."

Her eyes narrowed. "What about him?"

"He seems to have faked his way into the academy."

She moved fast, almost faster than he could react. She reached out and he could hear the sound of her weapons flying through the air. She must have stashed them somewhere nearby, and was now calling them with her semblance. He pulled out his blade just in time to block a blow from her blade.

"Nikos, stop this!"

"I will not let you hurt him!" With a roar she bashed Hector's blade aside with her shield and went on the offensive. She fought like a demon, pirouetting and spinning with no wasted movement. The moonlight danced off the shine of her armor and her red hair slashed through the night air trailing behind her like flame.

"I do not mean either of you harm," Hector managed to speak out in between blows. She wasn't giving him any time to think about anything more than blocking the next strike. She was being fueled by pure emotion at this point. Otherwise she would have seen the futility of the fight.

"Liar, I know what you Judges are like. About what you do to people who-who-," she roared and doubled her assault. Hector didn't even attempt to bring out the sable energy. He could tell where this was going.

"I just want to help him, I need to help him. I need to help you all."

"Like how the Judges help huntsman every day? Like how the Judges helped Weiss?" That one stung, Hector still felt guilt whenever he saw the scar that marked Weiss' face. "Like they helped Patty?" Patty?

Hector ducked as she jabbed her spear where his head had been moments earlier. He felt sluggish, like something was causing the joints in his armor to slow. Rollo had done a top tier job fixing his armor up, it must have been her. She had the edge in skill, speed, and power. The only reason he was still lasting was because of his armor. He needed to keep going, he needed to understand.

'Who is Patty?"

"She was my friend!" Pyrrha screamed as she tossed her shield and it slammed into Hector's chest like a cannonball. It sent him flying back and rolling onto the floor. He stood as Pyrrha continued her assault. "She," Hector felt her spear slam across his helmet, "was," across his chest, "my," along his arms, "best," her shield toppled him over, "friend!"

She stood over him, spear poised over his chest. He looked up to see that she was crying. The tears poured down her face but the anger remained in her eyes. "She was my best friend and your order killed her. And I could do nothing to stop you." The spear lowered, scraping the top of his armor. "But I'm stronger than I was, I can stop you now. You won't take any more of my friends."

"Enough," Hector swiped her feet from under her. She yelped in surprise and back flipped back only for Hector to kick her in the small of her back. She was sent to the floor, she rolled to stand and reached for her weapons but Hector was already in motion.

With a deep breath he focused his energy and blew. Pyrrha stumbled and her weapons fell to the ground. Hector continued until she was forced to the ground. She was still angry, but she seemed to finally run out of energy.

She eyed his blade, probably expecting him to use it while she was vulnerable. Her eyes widened in surprise as he tossed it aside. It clattered to the ground. Hector knew he probably should have treated it better, but he was just so tired of fighting. It seemed like he was good for lately was battle, he needed to change that. So he walked over and took a seat on the ground next to Pyrrha.

She eyed him warily, panting as they just sat next to each other for a few minutes. He was the first to break the silence. "I am sorry."

Pyrrha looked at him confused. "What?"

"For your loss, I am sorry."

Pyrrha just snorted disdainfully. "You do not even know what I am angry about." She gave out a somber sigh. "This means I attacked you for no reason, which is just wonderful." She said sarcastically.

"I do not plan on arresting you." It was not like she caused any real damage except to the courtyard grass. We all have moments where our emotions get the better of us."

"This does not make us friends," she said angrily, "and I have not forgiven you or your Order. I do not think I ever will."

"You lost someone because of a Sable Judge, I understand."

"No, you do not." Pyrrha let out a shaky breath. "You wear their armor, and wield their weapons. Your word is law, anyone who breaks it…" Hector saw her hand clench into a tight fist. She released it and brought her knees in close. Her head was tucked down and hidden.

For the first time since meeting her Hector saw her as Pyrrha Nikos, huntress in training, not the invincible girl. She was still just a child. He supposed they both were, if they were brawling out in courtyards like this. He decided to try speaking again.

"You want to protect your partner, I promise you I mean neither of you any harm."

"He broke the law. Does that not mean you have to deal with him?" She said spitefully.

Hector hesitated. "No, not if he passes some conditions I have set for him."

Pyrrha shifted, clearly interested. "Conditions, what conditions?"

"He will need to pass a test, I he does then he can stay."

"What if he fails?"

"He is expelled, nothing more I swear to you."

She took a few moments to answer. "You called me out here to tell me this? Why?"

"You need to prepare him. You are the only one who can."

She suddenly looked downcast. "I have tried to help him. He insists that he does not need any help."

"Then insist harder that the does. This test will not be easy. I plan on pushing him to his limits. Without any preparation he will fail."

"When will this test be?"

"Within the next few weeks, I will need to prepare as well."

Pyrrha stood up and brushed herself off before retrieving her weapons. "He will be ready, we all will."

She looked like she was preparing to leave. But Hector needed to know something. "Why him, what makes him so special?"

Pyrrha paused for a moment, before softly smiling. "He trusts me, and he's honest. He treats me like he would anyone else, and more. I would not want to follow anyone else."

"Is that all?"

"It is enough." With that she left and Hector realized that he was at the base of the Great War Statue. As the dawn broke, the sun cast a light on the weathered, gray stone. Looking up at the former heroes he could only feel a pang of sadness. Three heroes, their names lost to time. For those who knew their history, the names of all three were there among the hundreds of men and women who had fallen during the Great War. Eternal testaments to remember what happened to those who followed an Arc.

Hector headed out and decided to spend some time in the library. He needed to process the last few hours some more. He made his way to the building and after greeting the librarian he chose to head to the libraries second floor. To his surprise, after he turned a corner to his favorite spot someone was already there.

"Ms. Schnee?" The girl was snoring lightly, her head down on top of a book. Hector would have to have a talk with the librarian about making sure students slept in their beds, not on the tables. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder and shook it carefully.

She woke up with a tart. "Whuzzat, I'm awake!" She rubbed the sleep form her eyes before yawning. She looked around confused before her eyes widened at the site of Hector beside her. "J-judge Hector, what are you doing here?"

"I came to enjoy the library. I see that you did as well."

Her cheeks colored as she realized how disheveled she must have looked. "I must have fallen asleep while studying."

Hector sat across from her, looking over the books she had been reading. "Professor Port appears to be pushing you all hard. He has told me about your efforts in particular."

She perked up at the words. "Really, he has?"

"Yes, he told me about your difficulties with your team."

She suddenly looked downcast, the same vague look of shame he had been seeing had returned. "He did?"

"Yes, I admire your actions." She looked up, clearly confused. "You chose to be the best huntress you could be, the best teammate you were capable of being. I know how difficult that can be." He knew judges who had difficulty with that concept.

"But I am still not the best," she muttered. "You put your faith in me, and my best is only being a teammate, being support for someone else."

Realization suddenly came flooding through Hector. "I said that you would be a great huntress, and you are fulfilling my expectations brilliantly, Ms. Schnee."

"But…back on the airship-"

He held up a hand to stop her. "We saved lives that day, there is nothing to be ashamed of or regret. You still have the same amount of potential that I saw the first time we met, but I am glad that you have the humility and constraint to temper yourself."

Her sadness melted away, and she gave him a small, warm smile. "Thank you, Judge Hector."

"I am sure your family has said as much, I am sure."

She suddenly gave him a mischievous grin. "My sister has, my father on the other hand didn't take my acceptance into beacon too well."

"I can imagine." Hector couldn't help but feel a bit of smug satisfaction at the way Jacques Schnee must have reacted to the news of his daughter's success. Hopefully it hadn't affected Ciaran's position in Atlas. "You had best get to class, it will be starting soon."

Weiss stood up with a start, thanking Hector before running off. He was happy to have another mystery solved. The day went by quickly after that. He was still a bit shaky on the whole Arc situation but he decided he would an end to it if things got too out of hand, faith in Ozpin or not. Jaune would be allowed to attend school normally until he faced Hector's test, after that he would see where to go from there.

He was chewed out particularly hard by the Supreme Court during his latest report. Apparently deciding to trust Ozpin was the exact opposite of his purpose there. But receding his decision to test Arc would imply that a Judge could make a mistake and that was to be avoided whenever possible. So they begrudgingly accepted things with a promise of harsher reprimands if he kept screwing up like this.

Hector knew he would need to speak to Team CDNL soon. Cardin had brought him the information on Jaune, but his animosity towards team JNPR was surely the reason for the help. He was worried that the rivalry between the teams would come to a head soon. He would test Jaune first before dealing with them. Afterword he would explain his reasoning much more clearly. For now he was content have Canary give her brother his thanks and have her keep his team under control.

His thoughts returned to his friends. Canary and Rollo had been invaluable during his time at Beacon. He doubted he could have done nearly as well as he had without their friendship and support. He found himself heading to the Beacon armory. Upon entering he was greeted by the screech of metal and roar of flames. He found Rollo in the back among the forges. He wore a welders apron and helmet, h spotted Hector and waved.

"Hector, what brings you to my neck of the…forge," he finished lamely.

"I came to see if you needed any help."

"Uh huh, somethings on your mind then," Rollo said as he started hammering some weapons.

Hector was surprised at the man's perceptiveness. "How did you know?"

"Canary is the same way, comes around when she needs to talk but doesn't want to say it. She's adorable when I call her out on it whenever it happens. So what's up?" Hector explained what had happened. He told Rollo about Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ozpin. When he had finished Rollo gave a loud whistle. "Dang, seems like a a lot of people to worry about."

"I am not worried about them, I am worried for them. I came here to protect everyone I could, but it seems as though that may be much more difficult than I had imagined. Teachers and students alike here play a dangerous game, I will need to be as alert as ever if I am to make sure that they do not become in over their heads."

"You can't protect everyone, Hector."

"I can try, and keep trying until I have aided everyone that I can."

Rollo just chuckled and tossed Hector a bent, beat up shield. "Hammer that out for me, will you?"

Hector did so, and was happy to help a friend. It took his mind off of his troubles and when they had finished he felt satisfied in having made small difference. Although, as the two finally made their way back to the apartment living room he had decidedly had enough of surprises for the day. His mood wasn't helped when Canary gave the two men a strange look as they sat at the table.

"You got a call from Atlas today," Canary said. "From a Specialist Schnee, she wanted to talk about something urgent."

Winter had called? "Did she tell you what she wanted to speak about?"

Canary shrugged. "She said that you two had discussed something about a Judge and Atlas partnership, she wanted to discuss it further. She said that they were sending over a representative to talk things over with you."

"Really, when?"

The doorbell rang and the group exchanged confused looks before Hector stood and walked over to answer it. He opened the door to find a middle aged man standing there. He was short, thin, with greying red hair and pale skin that had plenty of wrinkles Hector could tell were from smiling. He wore a bright white lab coat over his grey clothes and had a pair of glasses that magnified his bright green eyes.

"Hello, may I help you?" Hector asked as the man seemed to size him up.

"Yes, yes you can," the man said as he extended a hand. "I am the atlas representative they sent to speak with you. My name is Geppeto."

"It is a pleasure Geppeto," Hector said as he shook the hand, but he couldn't help but feel confused. "Pardon my saying, but you do not seem like a diplomat."

The man just laughed. "Oh heavens no, I wouldn't even be out here if not for the fact that they insisted that my daughter be involved in this little collusion."

"Daughter you say, is she here?"

"Oh, how rude of me, Judge Hector," the man turned revealing a young girl behind him. "This is my daughter, Penny."

The young girl gave him a wide smile. "Salutations, it is a pleasure to meet you new partner!"

It's been awhile, but this part of the story will be coming to a close within the next 2-3 chapters. Forever fall is still playing a part and the Blake incident is coming too. In prototypes for this story the whole point was for Hector and Pyrrha were rivals and the focus of the story. Hector is actually named for the Hector in myth who was an enemy and rival to Achilles. Pyrrha is based off Achilles, while Hector and Patty would have been based off of Hector and Patroclus respectively. The story developed and while the connections ahve been changed some ideas from that form for the story stuck around.

Penny's inclusion was a long time coming, and I have been planning her introduction since Hector talked to Winter back in Atlas. Being based off of Pinocchio I found it fitting that her dad be named Geppeto. Also, thinking about it, Beacon may be on par with Hogwarts in terms of child endangerment. I would have liked having some sort of acknowledgement that Ozpin knew what he was doing when it came to Jaune. Nora and Ren's reactions would probably have been nice to see with Pyhrra behind him as support. But no, the fall came before we could explore the full teams reaction to his lies.

Sable Chibi: Calling Home

"Council, my council, council, council, supreme council, council, my council, supreme council, hey, hey, council, my lords, council, council, hey, hey, my council, council, my lieges, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, council, hello, supreme, supreme council, look at me, Council, my council, council, council, supreme council, council, my council, supreme council, hey, hey, council, my lords, council, council, hey, hey, my council, council, my lieges, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, council, hello, supreme, supreme council, Council, my council, council, council, supreme council, council, my council, supreme council, hey, hey, council, my lords, council, council, hey, hey, my council, council, my lieges, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, council, hello, supreme, supreme council, Council, my council, council, council, supreme council, council, my council, supreme council, hey, hey, council, my lords, council, council, hey, hey, my council, council, my lieges, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, council, hello, supreme, supreme council."

Hector finally took a breath and his audience finally had the chance to speak. "Hector, we let you speak because we wanted to know how long you would continue speaking."

"You have been going on for three hours! What do you want?"

Hector cleared his throat. "I just wanted to inform you all that it is the anniversary of my joining ceremony. As such I have sent you a gift."

"You sent us a gift for your own anniversary?"

"Of course, to show my appreciation for all your hard work."

"That…is kind of you. When is it set to arrive?"

Hector scratched at his helmet. "What time is it over there?"

"Around noon, I believe."

"It should be airdropping in soon."

"Airdropping?"

The council chambers suddenly rocked with an impact and the video was cut off. Hector frowned disappointed as he tapped the monitor. "My council, are you still there?"

"Hey Judge Hector, what's up?" Hector turned to see team JNPR and RWBY walk into the room.

"Oh nothing, the video to the supreme council cut off before I could there reaction to the gifts Nora and I made for them."

"The teams looked at the giggling bomber, worried. Jaune scratched his head, confused. "What did you two make?"

"Muffins," they answered simultaneously.

"Muffins," Ren looked at his friend worried, "Nora, we do not have any flour."

"Silly Ren, I know that." She suddenly gave the group an unhinged looking smile. "That's why I decided to use dust instead!" She pulled out a wicker basket, unveiling another batch of glowing, crackling muffins. "I made extra, anyone want one?"

Everyone present could only watch in abject horror as she popped one of the bomb muffins into her mouth and hack up some smoke with a smile. Hector grabbed one and shrugged at the groups horrified looks. "What, we worked hard on these."

Tales from the Sable Library: The Legend of Korra

Officer Kuro swung drove down the Republic City streets, swerving to make his way as fast as he could. A large fight had just been reported and he was on his way to respond. His moped was spluttering and he was scared that it would give out at any moment. But that was the risk you took when buying from Cabbage Corp. Cheaper than Sato industries tech, but more than likely to fall apart or explode. Chief Beifong had offered him the ability to use a squad car but a one seater suite him just fine.

He turned the corner only to almost be slammed into by some kind of giant dog. It was being ridden by a girl and seemed to be barreling down a thankfully empty street. He turned on his sirens and followed in pursuit. Kuro managed to pull up alongside the dog and shouted up at the girl.

"Ma'am, I need you to pull over your giant canine, please."

The girl looked down at him, her expression a mixture of anger and fear. "Why, so you can try to arrest me too?"

"No, so you do not hurt anyone. You are breaking the speed limit."

She suddenly looked a bit guilty and looked around before stopping the dog. Kuro slowed down the moped and got off. He walked over to the girl and gave her a small wave. "Hello, I am Officer Kuro of the Republic City Police. Do you realize how fast you were going, ma'am?"

"It was only because those other police were trying to arrest me!"

"Really," she didn't seem the criminal type. She just seemed loud, and a bit brash. "What were they trying to arrest you for?"

She went on to tell him the story of how she had stopped a robbery from taking place and the responding officers attempts to arrest her along with the other criminals. Her heart seemed to be in the right place, but the law was the law. "Ms.-"

"Korra."

"Ms. Korra, you did a good thing helping those people." He said as he patted her shoulder. She visibly relaxed, her shoulders losing tension and she smiled. "But vigilantism is still illegal."

"But-"

"No buts," he chastised. "You are new here. You did not know the rules, but the rules are still there, and they are there for a reason."

"So I'm getting punished for helping people?"

"No, you are being punished for putting yourself and others in danger. What if you had gotten hurt?"

She just huffed as she crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. "I could have taken them. I'm actually pretty tough."

"No doubt," Kuro said as he gave a sidelong look at then massive hound. "But what if someone else had gotten hurt?"

She suddenly looked less sure of herself. "I fought to protect people, not get them hurt."

"Are you trained to protect people?"

"I'm trained to fight."

"Not the same thing," he should know. It looked like she was about to argue, which was the opposite of what he wanted. "Look, how about we walk over to the station together. You can explain your side of the story and we can clear this whole mess up. Would you like that?"

She suddenly looked skeptical at the offer. Like she was expecting a trap, Kuro felt a pang of sadness. She was definitely new to the city. Hopefully she hadn't soured to the idea of living there. It really was a nice place to live. Together all three of them made their way through the city streets on foot. Kuro listened patiently as Korra told her story of coming off the boat and heading into the city. By the time they had reached the station she had fully caught him up.

"It sounds like quite the day, Korra."

"Tell me about it," she said before stopping before the steps. She eyed the building warily. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"What about Naga?"

"She will be fine. If it will make you feel any better I can watch her while you go inside."

"Really," she said with skeptical look. "Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"Yes, now off you go." He said with a shooing motion. "We will be out here waiting."

"Alright, thanks Officer."

Kuro watched as she walked inside and turned to the whining polar bear dog. "She will be fine, you will see." He patted the dog gently on the neck and she responded by licking him. Drool covered his entire torso and he could only hum in disapproval.

One hour turned into two and Kuro was starting to think they might be out there longer than he had hoped. Other officers were giving him strange looks as he stood next to the massive dog and he was wondering whether or not he should go inside to check on Korra. He wasn't willing to leave Naga alone for too long though. The dog started to look a little hungry so he decided to bring her the stations kennels. It was where they kept all the ostrich horses and mongoose dragons. He got Naga some meat and as they returned to the front steps he was surprised to see Korra waiting for him. She perked up at the sight of her pet and rushed to greet them.

"Hey, there you two are. I was starting to get worried." She laughed as Naga licked her, causing the girls hair to stick up wildly. "C'mon girl, I wasn't gone too long."

"Longer than I would have thought," Kuro said. "What happened in there?"

Korra suddenly looked sheepish. "Um, well I had a little trouble with the chief-"

"Korra, there you are." A voice called out. "Please, try not to wander off."

Kuro was surprised at who it was. "Councilman Tenzin."

The councilman gave him a brief nod. "Officer, thank you for taking care of Korra's pet. Korra, let us get going."

The councilman turned and began to walk off. Korra and Kuro exchanged goodbye waves and Naga licked him again before following her master. Kuro decided to head inside and dry himself. He wondered what Korra had to do with councilman Tenzin. She could be a new potential air acolyte but she didn't seem the type.

He was called into the chief's office later on and stood at attention while she went through some documents. "Officer Kuru, I need you on the security team over at the pro-bending arena."

"I was scheduled for patrol this week."

Chief Beifong frowned at the backtalk. "And I am saying you're working security. There is talk of some kind of underground anti-bending movement. We need to make sure that no incidents happen to escalate things."

He didn't like it, but an order was an order. "Alright ma'am, I'll be there."

It wasn't ideal, but he would do it. The arena had been pretty quiet lately aside from a few brawls. Kuro it might be nice to deal with a quiet job for a few days, It wasn tlike anything too wild could happen.