Chapter 2
Hey guys, I've been sick lately so chapters might be coming out a little slow. Anyway ill shut up now, enjoy chapter 2!
-2 weeks later, Beacon training grounds-
Alear, Ruby, and Blake sat in the stands, observing the sparring match before them. The ice queen was fighting the blonde berserker.
Weiss raised her rapier and dashed forward. Yang simply took the hit, her semblance allowing her to take such risks. The damage only made her stronger. Yang grabbed Weiss' arm, before she could recover from striking, and unloaded one of her gauntlets into the heiress's stomach. The resulting blast sent Weiss spiraling upwards. Her aura had taken most of the hit, but she was still left winded.
Weiss regained her balance mid-air, and starting summoning glyphs. One appeared behind the white warrior, while multiple more materialized around Yang. Weiss launched herself off the glyph behind her and bounced between the many glyphs surrounding Yang, striking her several times in the process.
Yang was knocked to her knees. Weiss leaped back, and then stabbed forward with her rapier. Yang's head sprung up, her eyes a deep red. Her hair seemed to burn a brilliant gold. She yelled and slammed the ground beneath her with a fiery fist. The sheer force behind her blow sent the heiress flying backwards while Yang chased after her, determined to be the winner of the fight. Weiss's aura was dangerously close to being in the red. Yang's was barely in the yellow.
Weiss stopped herself with a glyph and threw up an ice wall in a last-ditch effort to stop Yang. The brawler ran full sprint at the wall and smashed through it with her gauntlets, fueled by her berserker rage. Weiss no longer had the strength to resist and was crushed by one last strike to the head. She collapsed onto the floor, exhausted. Her aura now dipped into the red. The match was over, Yang had won.
Alear looked to Ruby. "She's probably fine, but go check out Yang's injuries. I'm going to make sure Weiss is okay."
Ruby saluted. "Aye aye, captain!"
Alear sighed. "What did I tell you about calling me that?" Ruby smiled and ran off to join her sister. Blake was chuckling to herself.
"What are you laughing at, kitty cat?" asked the wolf Faunus.
Blake's amber eyes twinkled with amusement. "Ruby really seems to have taken a liking to you, puppy dog," she retorted.
"She probably just wants to see my weapon."
"You still haven't showed her?" Blake asked, slightly surprised.
Alear shrugged. "I just completed the maintenance and repairs recently. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an heiress to check on." He walked away with a bow.
Alear approached the heiress slowly, unsure of how he should react to the Schnee heiress. He hated her family, mostly her father, but he didn't think that mattered now. She didn't seem so bad anyway. He extended his hand to help Weiss up.
She looked up at him cautiously, unaccustomed to kindness from others.
"Are you going to stare at me all day?" Alear asked jokingly. "Or let me help you?"
Weiss hesitantly accepted his hand, half expecting him to recede his offer of help.
Alear inspected her injuries. Her aura wasn't enough to heal them all quickly, especially not the last blow to her head. "Dang, she really packs a punch doesn't she?" He smiled as she scowled at him. "Here, hold still. I can help with that." She looked away with a frown on her face. She clearly didn't like being tended to. She preferred to stand on her own. "Oh relax, Ice Queen. It will only take a second." Alear placed his hand over the heiress's face, hovering just above it without touching, and began pouring his aura into her. His body was immersed in green as he began healing Weiss's injuries.
She recoiled at first. The strange, new feeling caught her off guard. But she quickly relaxed as she realized what he was doing felt good.
Alear's forehead grew beads of sweat as he concentrated. This continued for about a minute, with the rest of team RWBY watching in fascination. Finally it was done and Alear pulled back, the light of his aura fading from around him. He plopped down on the ground; his breathing was a little heavier than usual.
Weiss looked a little disappointed when the feeling faded. "What did you just do?"
He shrugged in response. "Just a little something I learn a few years back. I poured my aura into your body to boost your own aura's recovery speed."
Weiss look impressed. "That's amazing; I never knew that was possible."
Alear chuckled at her. "Never thought I'd be getting a compliment from a Schnee."
This statement caused Weiss great confusion. "What do you mean?"
Alear froze, realizing what he had said. "Ah shit, I forgot that she doesn't about my past, or me being a Faunus. This could turn ugly real quick if she found out I used to be in the White Fang. I need to say something, and fast."
"Um…I just never thought I would receive praise from someone from such a respected family." Blake overheard me from the stands and was struggling not to burst out laughing. Alear glared daggers at his feline friend.
Weiss could tell he was hiding something, but decided not to press the issue. "Well then. Thank you for your assistance."
Blake came over to him while Weiss walked away, taking Ruby with her. It was only natural to assume Yang had left with them. Blake's face showed she was still struggling with the urge to giggle.
"Not a word," warned Alear.
"Oh yeah?" Blake replied. "Or what, puppy?"
Alear pulled Blake down to the ground with him, and pinned her to the ground. Blake fought free and the two proceeded to wrestle like they used to during their childhood.
They had known each other since they were twelve; the White Fang having recruited Alear after liberating a Faunus labor camp run by the Schnee family.
-Several years ago, a few months after Alear's recruitment-
Alear walked, exhausted, through the midday sun. The White Fang had commandeered an abandoned warehouse, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. A forest surrounded it. He and Adam had just finished one of their schedule training sessions, and the bull Faunus wasn't one to take it easy on him. Alear's arms were covered with bruises.
"Can't he learn to hold back?" Alear complained to himself. "Just a little would be nice."
"Oh don't be such a baby." The voice startled him. He whipped around, his wolf ears twitching, as a girl about his age stepped out from behind a tree. She had shoulder length black hair with little cat ears protruding from her head. She wore a lavender shirt and black pants, with a black scarf wrapped around her neck. Alear thought her amber eyes were beautiful.
He blushed as she approached him. He quickly shook it off. "Who are you? And why were you hiding?"
She raised her eyebrow in curiosity. "Hiding? I was napping and you so rudely interrupted it."
"You were taking…a cat nap?" He giggled at his horrible pun while the girl groaned.
"Is that how act around someone you just met? Bad puns make for horrible first impressions. The name is Blake by the way."
He grinned at her as they sat under the tree she emerged from. "My name's Alear. No offense, but why are you talking to me? Most of the kids try to avoid me if possible."
Blake's cat ears twitched. "Well I'm not most kids, and they're probably avoiding you because of your heritage. People, even Faunus it seems, tend to not like those that are different. Considering you're the last of your kind, that would make stick out."
"Heh, and here I thought it was because I'm a former slave. Figures it'd be my ears." He wiggled his ears as he said this.
She did her best to hide a budding smile. "I actually like them."
Alear couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of their situation. "Aren't cats supposed to not like dogs?"
"Maybe, but I'm not one for stereotypes." She yawned, making a sound Alear found adorable.
"Guess I'm not either," said Alear, stretching. He stared at her cat ears and found he could no longer resist the urge. He was about to make a bold move.
He reached out and started to scratch behind her ears. She immediately started purring. "Aha! I knew that would work." She glared at him lazily, not able to resist the feeling. She had laid her head on his lap at this point. The wind blew gently against them.
Alear started to pet her ears, causing more purring from the cat Faunus. "I think we're going to be great friends," he declared.
"I hate you," she muttered between purrs. Alear couldn't contain his laughter at her comment. The two youths spent the rest of the day relaxing under that tree, enjoying their new-found companionship.
-Back to the present-
The two Faunus had tired themselves out. Blake now lay on top of him; she had been victorious this time. They were both panting heavily.
"You've gotten rusty, Puppy Dog," Blake said through sharp breathes. "That was hardly a challenge."
"Says the Kitty Cat who's panting like she's in heat," Alear chuckled. Blake blushed.
Yang suddenly appeared. "My, my. That sure was an interesting "sparring" match."
Blake and Alear scrambled off each other in a hurry. "I-It's not what it looks like Yang," Blake stuttered out, embarrassment causing her face to grow even redder.
"I can't wait to tell Nora about this!" Yang exclaimed as she ran off to tell the others. Blake chased after her, yelling at the brawler the entire way.
Alear smiled as they ran off. "I'm glad she was able to find such good friends here. The White Fang wasn't exactly the best place to have good relationships," Alear thought, thinking of Neo. Adam's betrayal pissed him off sure, but Neo's left a stinging wound on his heart. They had been close, dating in fact, and then she just cast him away like he was worthless. Needless to say, they were no longer together. The more he thought about it, the less it seemed like she actually cared about him. "She was probably just ordered to get close to me." Alear sighed and made his way back to his room. He could hear laughter as he passed team RWBY's room, but decided not to intrude.
He entered his room, keeping the light off, and walked over to the table he had set up in the middle of the room. His now finished weapon lay there. He had finished it the day before but decided not to tell anyone, save Blake.
His weapon was a lightweight, compact, high impact sniper rifle made of a midnight green colored metal. It could be extended and pulled apart to transform into a double-edged long sword, which he held in his right hand, and a curved, single-edged short sword, which he held inverted in his left hand to parry and deflect enemy attacks. The blades of these two swords were made of the same metal as the sniper. They both had black hilts and cross-guards with Alear's symbol etched in green on the hilts. His symbol consisted of two lightning bolts, both arcing in opposite directions of each other, with the top half of a diamond shape at the top of the arc and a bottom half of a diamond shape at the bottom of the arc. A horizontal line rested in the middle of the arcs.
His weapon was currently in its swords form, both sheathed. The scabbard for both of the swords also had his symbol on them. Alear opened his closet and donned his combat/casual attire. This consisted of two tone, black and green pants, black combat boots, and a long-sleeved, v-neck, black shirt. The sleeves he rolled up to his elbows. The chest of the shirt was covered in metal armor colored a dark green similar to his weapon. His shoulders and arms, down to his elbows, were also armored. He also wore black, fingerless gloves and a black and green jacket over his shirt. He rolled his pant legs over the tops of his boots.
He usually carried his weapon in sniper form, folding it up so it fit on his lower back, but this time he decided to carry the two swords on his belt.
Suddenly the light turned on. Jaune of team JNPR stood there gawking. "Oh, uh sorry. I didn't think you'd be in the dark.
Alear grinned slyly at him. "It's alright dude, no worries. What did you need?" He rested his hand on the hilt of his long sword.
Jaune looked slightly intimidated by Alear's appearance. "Um…Ruby and the others found someone wandering around the halls earlier. She said this person was looking for you."
Alear's eyes narrowed.
Jaune rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well uh, my team and Ruby's team are in their room with the stranger now if you want to head over."
Alear relaxed his eyes and nodded. "Lead the way."
They entered the now cramped dorm, and Alear's vision immediately honed in on the stranger. She sat in the middle of the room with everyone in front of her in a half-circle. She had multi-colored hair, half blue and half pink. Her eyes were like her half, one pink and one blue. She wore a dark blue petticoat jacket with pink leggings underneath. White boots covered her feet. Alear recognized her immediately.
His face grew dark as he slowly drew the short sword from its scabbard. Blake heard the sound of metal being drawn and looked to the wolf Faunus. "Alear, don't," she said calmly. He struggled with the decision for a moment, and then sheathed his weapon before anyone else noticed.
Upon hearing his name, everyone turned to Alear, including the new girl. She smiled at him, her eyes switching colors. It was one of her favorite tricks, much like Neo.
Alear crossed his arms and stared the new girl down with a blank face. "Why is she here Blake?"
"According to what she's told us, she came here to find you. Ozpin agreed to admit her to Beacon on the condition that you be her handler," Blake explained.
"He does know she's White Fang doesn't he?" Alear stated.
Weiss scowled and sighed. "Another one? Great."
"Yes, but he's overlooked that. She claims to have left them for good, and to be honest I think she's being sincere." Blake's amber eyes peered into Alear's jade eyes as she said this.
"I can speak for myself you know," said the new girl, finally chiming in.
Alear was growing impatient. "Nix, look at me." She complied. "Answer me truthfully." She nodded. "Did you have anything to do with the betrayal?"
Nix turned her head curiously. "You think little old me had something to do with that?" She smiled mysteriously.
"Just answer the question."
Her smile faded. "No, I didn't. Very few people outside of Adam and my sister knew about it. Adam told everyone that you had collaborated with the enemy and therefore had to be put down," Nix explained in a serious tone. "No one argued, but I knew something wasn't right. So I left soon after. My sister wouldn't tell me anything. She just grew this blank expression every time I brought it up."
Everyone in the room observed the conversation in silence, but Weiss couldn't take the confusion it was causing. "Okay hold on!" she exclaimed. "Somebody explain what those two are talking about. What betrayal? How do you know this girl? And how did you know she was with the White Fang?"
Blake and Alear exchanged worried looks.
Unfortunately Nix spoke up before either of the two could say something. "That's simple, he used to be a member."