A/N: Alright, next chapter is online, and I hope you all enjoy it! So far, going back to writing every day has proven far less difficult than I remember it, so it's full speed ahead!
"You have got to be FUCKING kiddin' me."
Perci, alongside her new teammates of team JPLL, started in disbelief at the small room designated for all four of them to sleep in together. Decorations were modest, one long red windowsill covered the only entrance for light into the room, and four beds laid on the ground, two at each end, giving each of them a proper place to sleep. However, there was not much in the space department, meaning Perci would either have to let someone go over her bed every time they needed to move, or she'd have to do that herself, BOTH of which seemed like a horrible idea to her. "This is all we get? A small fucking room with no good view and barely any space to walk in? Good god, the slammer had better room structure then this…"
"Regardless, this is the room Beacon could afford to designate for us." Leila sighed at yet another use of the Lord's name in vain, inspecting the room herself, with no real issue popping to her right away, as long as she didn't have to share the same end of the room with her so called 'teammate.' "I think it's quite the blessing to be given such an accommodation, to be honest."
"It is satisfactory." Hue didn't waste much time, giving the room a quick glance before deeming it appropriate, walking next to one of the beds on the far end and playing her briefcase in front of it. Leila and Perci looked at one another, and realizing they could not settle this with words, resigned to simply pick the opposite side, Leila acting quickly enough to claim the space next to Hue.
"...Shit." A low-key grumble escaped Perci's lips, turning her head around to see who she was going to be sleeping with, Jin giving her a wide-eyed look, her expression remaining rather complacent and friendly all the same. "I call for bed rearrangement. Who's up for bunk beds?!" She raised her voice, trying to get Jin on board, and watching the giant faunus cheer and clap in joy, smirked internally. "Welp team leader seems to be on board guess that's what we're gonna do-" She tried concluding the conversation as quickly as she could before Leila clearing her throat stopped her.
"This is not how Beacon issued us this room. Altering it in any way would pose several health hazards to whatever team that inhabits this room next, and I will not abide by this, at all."
"I agree." Hue chimed in, much for Perci's dismay. There goes calling her tolerable… "Structurally speaking these floors were not designed to handle the pressure of two beds on top of one another, and while in theory they could, one could break through the wood without excessive force. On top of it…" Hue looked towards Jin "Someone of Jin's height, and weight could potentially cause irreversible damage to the building, causing us to be responsible for the repairs."
"Bullshit I'm cleaning up her messes!" Perci groaned loudly. "You break it you pay for it."
"And that is not teams work, Perci," Leila returned her angry gaze with a vindictive glare. "We are a team. And teams function and work together." She stood her ground, and with Jin clearly not having any real opinions in this, Perci was forced to concede her proposal, grunting to herself and throwing her briefcase on the far off bed. Out of having Jin walk over her bed all the time or the other way around she'd take the latter any day.
"Bah, wanna take that team shit by me one more time and see how that works out for ya? Here's lesson number one about the world, Nun: it's everyone for THEMSELVES" Her voice was resounding and resolute, the kind only a person absolutely sure of themselves would use.
"That how would you define people like Ozpin? Did he not arrange for your parole? Pray tell, why would he do that?" Leila did her best to keep herself from snapping at Perci, despite the constant disrespect to everything she believed in. Perci sneered at her in response.
"Fuck if I know, who even KNOWS what's going on through his head. He probably had some super secret agenda bullshit motives like a fucking breeding program for huntresses or some other dumb-shit reason to have me here. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he actually have some secret society too."
"Regardless, it is not our place to question his motivations, or his activities during his free time," Leila interjected. "If I were in your position I would be thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to repent for your previous sins. Not many get a second chance like this." After finishing, she couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow as Perci started to snicker in front of her. "And what's so funny, huh?"
"Just imaginin' you doing HALF the shit I've done." Perci's cackles raised to a low key laughter. "Man, you won't handle a DAY…" Her laughing only managed to rile Leila up, but before she could object to those ridiculous claims properly, Jin suddenly stepped in, getting closer to the two.
"Huuugs!" She cheered, spreading her arms wide, grabbing both Perci and Leila in tow and pulling them as one into one of her bone-crushing embraces. "Mama told me hugs make everything better!" She called, in some natural need to help her new friends and calm them down.
"Hnnnng!" Perci felt herself being chocked by this display of the brute's sheer force, trying to struggle her way out of it, though without any extra aura it proved far more difficult than she anticipated. "P-Piss off you bitch! L-Let me go!" On the other end, Leila gasped just as much, attempting to escape the friendly, though extremely tight hug. "Right, you asked for it!" Perci shouted, pressing a palm against a section of Jin's skin, and activating her semblance, she unleashed herself on the dust infused's aura, attempting to drain her dry and free herself.
What followed was something Perci could honestly not anticipate, as even from the bit she drained she felt the brute's aura, golden and large, hit her psyche like a truck with a wave of ease and comfort, whisking away her earlier feelings against her will. While draining people left her vulnerable to their emotional turmoil, sometimes even slipping herself into said emotions, Jin's aura did not only feel weird to her, it felt outright… calm. Far too calm, compared to anything Perci had ever drained before, almost unnervingly so.
"...Perci?" Leila snapped her finger against Perci's face, snapping her out of the small trance Jin's aura put her into. She looked around, seeing Jin curled up on the floor, with herself and Leila having full reign over their bodies again.
"W-What the fuck just..." She muttered, still a bit dizzy, Looking around one more time to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Jin left us alone after you stopped screaming at her..." Leila came to explain, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is... Everything alright? You seemed a bit off."
"What? Yeah, sure, fuck off." Perci tried rebounding, though traces of Jin's aura still resonated within her, taking a bit more time to ease up fully. She climbed to her bed, laying with her face against the wall, taking a short nap, and leaving both Leila and Hue perplexed.
"What do you think was that? I mean I could only assume it had something to do with Perci's semblance but..." Leila asked her teammate, the faunus waving her head.
"Knowledge about the nature of the dust infused, from the brief research I conducted into the matter, yielded only expunged and redacted results. I could not tell you any more than you and I know now."
At this point, all Leila could do was sigh. With Perci asleep and not shouting profanities slash desecrating her god, she could finally have a moment's rest, kneeling in front of her bed and taking a short prayer to the Lord, asking for the guidance and support he rained upon her every day. As she did, Hue, busy scribbling in her book, finally put it down, seemingly having something to say.
"You... Seem to pray a lot." She mentioned it, and once Leila finished her prayer, she looked up at Hue, smiling gently and elegantly.
"Indeed, that is part of a nun's way of life." It wasn't too hard, and Leila had a sense Hue was going somewhere with this, but regardless, she kept it going at her pace.
"Is there anything in your religion about the moon of Remnant? Any form of legends, or tales, or verses?" Hue asked, and Leila closed her eyes, trying to recall the Scriptures she memorized as a young acolyte in the church. She took several minutes, finally remembering something that might interest her friend, and opened them, looking at Hue with silver orbs.
"Hmm... There was one verse, an old one, in our Scriptures. After the Lord had birthed the children of man and the Faunus with them, he crafted them a guardian in their own image. A silent sphere in the sky, to protect them in the night as the sun did in the day, banishing the grimm away from their homes to keep them safe."
"I see... Interesting. And what do you think about it? Is it true?" As Hue spoke to her, she was already writing away, filling her small tome with note after note, including the small extract of Leila's Scriptures, as told by her.
"Of course. The Lord is the maker and Sheppard of humankind and the Faunus. We are all born under his wing, given our divine purpose, and set into the world, to live our lives. It is my humble duty to be his angel-to-be and servant." She replied in one breath, no stutters or pauses, as if the phrase was already ingrained in her mind, rehearsed and repeated many times before this one.
While most of the time Hue would not bother to listen to such faceless dribble, the tale about the moon did catch her interest. She knew, from experience, that legends usually include a hint of truth to them, this one most likely being no exception, taking her time to record it all and save it for future analysis. "Hmm... I see. Thank you for your input." Hue nodded to her, closing down her book and putting it on a shelf by her side of the bed. Leila bowed back, giving her a polite smile.
"it is a pleasure. If you have any more questions about the Lord or the faith, please, do no hesitate to ask me. I will do my best to answer them for you." She offered, Hue nodding her head politely. If things go her way, she would never have to bring up the subject every again, and she preferred it like that. She was a faunus of facts, not legends and myths with no base in history.
From there, Leila and Hue set about to unpack their belongings, trading small talk here and there while Leila put her spare robes in the dorm's closet, and Hue placed several pieces of equipment on the night stand. After a short while, Perci finally woke up, still groggy but seemingly back to her usual self. Subsequently, set out to throw her pajamas into the closet without any proper order or rhythm, simply claiming one of the shelves in there as her own personal dump, something that Leila had to stop herself from trying to forcefully fix. After that, Perci pulled out a custom made hanger, putting it next to the spare robes.
"Just puttin' it out there, that hanger is for my suit. Anyone who uses it for anything else isn't gonna like what I'll do to them. Got it?" She semi-threatened, both Leila and Hue nodding in understanding, though none of them seemed to feel extremely intimidated by her hollow words.
Once all of them finally finished arranging their stuff in the dorm, Jin yawned, waking up, and raising to sitting on the floor. She looked at her friends, smiling, and humming a weak tune to herself, her body waving about to each note. Perci couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, approaching Jin again, sitting on the floor before her and staring at her directly. Jin, in response, raised her face to look at Perci's, grinning like usual.
"Hi!" She said, Perci windrowing the response for a bit, thinking about what to say.
"So... Can you, uh, explain to me what the hell you are anyway?"
"Perci..." Leila groaned a bit. "That's not polite asking someone something like that."
"Oh come on, it's not like she cares. I mean look at her." Perci snapped her fingers, and Jin, just like a cat, turned her head to the source of the noise, following Perci's fingers for a bit as she moved her hand about. "See? She's like a fucking cat. This is actually hilarious when I think about it." She cackled, Leila waving her head.
"Still... Oh, never mind. It's not like you'll actually listen to what I have to say." She sighed, getting up, and in an attempt to clear her head, walked outside of the dorm for a stroll, leaving the other three inside.
"So anyway... Jin, right?" Perci turned to Hue to affirm this, who nodded positively. "mind explainin' to me what the fuck are you anyway? Some freak of nature or somethin'?"
"Mama told me I was born like this! She said I was special, but I think I'm me!" Jin's reply only left Perci more baffled than before. At the very least, she had the general concept in mind for Jin's origin, though how that came to pass was just as bullshit to her as the other crap she's seen in this school so far. From Ozpin and his super duper mysterious shenanigans to Glynda, who she swore at this point had an ACTUAL ruler up her ass, to the other students, all of them having their own unique and pretty personalities.
"I... see. And what the fuck does THAT mean eh? You got some mental fuck-ups or some shit?" Perci questioned her again, Jin looking at her without answering, bits of awe gleaming in her eyes. Seeing this, Perci smirked, crossing her arms and getting up. "Well, at least she knows who's the alpha bitch around here." Her smirk was accompanied with a cackle, one that Hue couldn't help but roll her eyes at.
A Perci was busy basking in being the best bitch in the dorm, the door opened up, Leila, Ash, and Melody walking in shortly after.
"...and here we are... Team JPLL's humble abode." She continued a sentence from what seemed to be an earlier conversation.
"Seems neat," Ash concluded, eyeing the inhabitants, before giving Jin a smile. "Hey, Jin."
"Hi!" Jin cheered, still sitting on the floor.
"Is she uh..." Melody couldn't help but question her current position, Perci going up to Jin and trying to get her up to the bed.
"Come on Jin... Maybe it's time you got off the floor, eh?" Suddenly, in Melody's presence, Perci seemed to change. Her foul tone was reduced greatly, and her demeanor seemed a lot more nicely. It almost seemed like she was making a conscious effort, already setting several red flags in Leila's mind. Even from her brief time knowing the delinquent, she could point out how selfish she was. Jin gradually followed her, getting up as Perci pulled her arm, and let the suit wearing girl lead her to the bed, where the softness and the comfort quickly caught her, making Jin fall asleep right away, curling into a ball of fluff and hair as she did. "So, anyway..." Perci gave a sharp turn in place, facing Melody and giving her a suave look. "How's your day so far, Love?"
"I-It's Melody, thank you very much." Melody turned her head, trying to sound defiant, though soon enough she found herself hiding partially behind Ash.
"Ah, come now... I don't bite." Perci tried to ease up the mood. "Well, usually." She gave Melody a slightly seductive look, raising her eyebrows as she did, Melody finally having enough of her antics and turning to the door.
"I-I'll... see you later, Ash. You two, Leila." She closed the door behind her, walking out, Perci sighing as her facade dropped, and her usual rotten self came out, rearing her ugly head like nothing changed. All Ash could do is give Perci a cold, if not stern glare.
"...What? Somethin' in my teeth?" She asked, picking her teeth with her tongue, as Ash walked in closer, her lips curling down in slight disgust.
"Alright... Let's make this perfectly clear, missy." She cracked her neck. "I've seen your type before."
"I could say the same goody two shoes. Do you REALLY think you're the first to confront me like that?" Perci looked up at her, eyes sinister under her hat, and her smirk ever present. Ash rolled her eyes.
"Anyway... I'm gonna go now and see how Melody is doing. And if she tells you to back off next time and you don't? Then the two of us are gonna have an issue. Capeesh?" Her voice was cold and vindictive, and Perci could only sneer at her in return.
"Oh, I don't think YOU got it right, bitch. I'm gonna do WHATEVER I want, WHENEVER I want it. Capeesh?" She asked through gritting teeth, tension building up between the two until Leila decided to step in, to try and calm the spirits before Jin would try one of her hugs again.
"Alright... I think enough is enough. Ash, tell Copper and Undine I send them my regards, yes?" Ash nodded, turning in place and walking out. After the door was closed a second time, and she made sure Ash couldn't hear her, she turned to Perci again, she was sitting on her bed again, as if nothing happened.
"...Well?" Leila asked her, expecting some sort of response from the girl. "Got anything to say for yourself?"
"About?..." Perci couldn't help but smirk as Leila's face grow another nice shade of red, from anger.
"Don't play coy! Everything you see Melody you turn all... Nice, and pleasant. And..." She turned her head to the side, finding it hard to actually bring it to words. "I don't trust me. What is your plan here?"
"My plan?... Simple." Perci's smirk grew wider and wider as she uttered the simple, yet borderline evil sounding plan of hers. "She looks hot, so I want her. And here's the thing, Nun..." She got up, staring Leila dead in the eyes. "I'm the kind of gal who gets what she wants."
"Oh you insufferable!-" Leila came to shout at her, stopping at the very last second, calming herself down, though her rage was still very evident in her eyes. "...No. I won't throw a tantrum. It is unbecoming of me."
"You can do whatever the FUCK you want, Nun." Perci laughed. "That muse is as good as mine!" She turned to the door, having had enough of everyone's shit for the next hundred years or so. "It's only a matter of time..." She opened it up, slipping past it, and closing the door behind her, leaving Leila to her own devices.
Outside, Perci went out for a stroll of her own. She exited the student dormitories, heading to the cliff, and with the time she had for the day, stared out into the horizon. She wanted it so badly, to just go away from Beacon and return to her old life... But the barely audible beeping noise that came from the tracker bracelet on her leg was a constant reminder that at the end of the day, she couldn't. She was trapped here, under glorified house arrest, until Ozpin deemed her worthy to go out into the world again. She thought about trying to break it, but she was warned in advance against any attempering to the temper with the device, as it would cause an alarm to go off and alert Beacon's staff of her attempt to escape.
"Something on your mind, lass?" She heard a burly sounding man approach her from behind, and turned around, to see a chubby looking man with a large, poufy mustache and large eyebrows walking towards her, wearing mostly brown. "Wait... You are Ms. Valiére, correct? The young lady Ozpin said is on parole."
"Eh, just some bullshit that I'll have to deal with sooner or later... And either way with this fucking thing on my leg it's basically a more open-ended prison." She shrugged, pulling out a cigar out of her pocket and realizing she forgot the lighter when she left. "Got a light?"
"I Do... But kids your age shouldn't be smoking, even if this cigar does look rather... High quality." he mumbled. "You've got so much to live for! So many great tales of heroism and epics you could tell to your children!"
"Meh, don't worry about that sort of crap... I'm pretty sure at this point I'm barren, even if I DID want children. Which I don't. I mean seriously, they can be such a bother..." She waved her head, adamant in her request for a lighter or a match.
The man sighed. "Hmm... Tell you what." He pulled out a lighter. "Do you know who I am?"
"No... Should I?" She gave him a glazed look, barely interested in him.
"Well, I am Peter Port, one of the teachers in Beacon." He introduced himself, giving her a small bow. "Now, I will lend you my lighter, for now. In return, I want you to do your best in your studies in Beacon, and give it the best you've got. Sounds good?" he asked her, Perci grinning in response and taking the lighter.
"Alright... You got yourself a deal, old man." She lit her cigar, puffing on it, and staring at the sunset. Of course, she had no intention of actually doing any of this, but regardless, if he was enough of an idiot to actually BELIEVE her, he deserved anything that was coming to him.
"Excellent! Then I hope to see you in my Grimm study classes soon. Ms. Valiére." Port beamed, turning and walking off, having duties to attend to, while Perci was left there, to ponder about the upcoming school year and all that it will bring with it.
Over at team ACMM's dorm, where things were already in check, neatly organized and prepared for the school life they all chose, Ash was sitting next to Melody on her bed, hand over her shoulder. Undine was sitting on her other end, concerned for her just as much, Copper herself seemingly looking at Melody from a certain distance.
"Hey... You alright? You don't have to worry about that jerk, okay? If she does anything like that, again, just tell me and I'll take care of her." Ash tried to sound reassuring, having plenty of experience dealing with strong arms and bullies in her childhood hobby of helping her father with cases, and while none of them involved Huntsman or crazy magic-esque powers, the human mind was still the same all around. "Seriously, though. How do you even feel about her?"
"Well... I'm... Not sure." Melody admitted, looking at the rest of them, blushing a healthy hue of pink. "I mean... She's really mean, and selfish, and I'd never date her... But you can't help but notice her, if it makes any sense. She just got presence, and I guess the muscles don't hurt her figure." She started to mumble a bit, but before long she shook her head. "B-But it's not like I'm interested in her or anything!" She kept waving her head about, Ash giving her a quiet sigh.
"Mel... Look. I know, it sounds tempting and mysterious, and so on. But trust me, she's the WRONG crowd to be with. I'm pretty sure she'd make up pretty much anything to get you to go out with her or something of the sort."
"Yeah..." Undine nodded. "Perci seriously smells rotten to me. If I were you, I'd just steer clear from her."
"One would presume her psychological profile to be that of the truth fabricating type indeed." Copper opened her mouth. "I could only advise caution when interacting with her."
"I..." Melody looked at her friends, appreciating the concern in their eyes, and finally nodding in agreement. "...Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be letting her get to me like that."
"That's my songbird." Ash Ruffled her hair, and Melody made a small gasp in surprise, jumping in place and inching away from her slightly.
"C-Come on... Don't do that..." Melody's blush intensified, drawing a laugh out of Undine, and a quiet chuckle out of Ash, though Copper seemed to keep it to herself at the moment, face remaining vacant.
"Well anyway..." I think it's about time we headed out to lunch. Who's up for grub?" Ash got up, stepping towards the door, and keeping it open for the rest of her new team to walk through, as Undine, Melody, and Copper all walked out, heading to the cafeteria with her. Honestly, she didn't know what it would be like, or what is even expected of her as a leader, but if there was one thing that was clear to her, it was this:
These were her friends. And she'd protect them at all costs.
A/N: And this is a wrap for today! Don't forget to review, follow and favorite, and I'll see you all on the next chapter of JPLL!