Chapter Five
She could have sworn this was all a dream. But after a hard pinch of her cheek, no, it wasn't.
For the first time in her life's history, everyone—including her—was actually in some sort of unity as each and every students' eyes were glued to the clock at the front of the classroom. Nobody was paying attention to her. They were doing nothing but waiting for that one big hand to finally rest on the number twelve and make official of their last day in civilian school.
Things were tense. Things were quiet.
Well, almost quiet, anyway, because the rambling teacher up front was still stubbornly trying to pretend the atmosphere wasn't heavy with anticipation. She was still trying to finish the congratulatory speech she had for the class, and for one moment, Lune could have sworn she heard mentions of pancakes. Pancakes that unsuccessfully snagged her classmates' attention (but it certainly got hers; she actually felt disappointed that no plate of pancakes appeared in front of her desk) and simply made the teacher more awkward as her newest attempt failed.
Tick, tock, tick…
God. Time really did fly like an Atlesian aircraft when she'd become distracted with training and civilian schooling. For one moment, Lune had been nothing but a chubby five-year-old determined to endure five years of school, finding positives from the negatives (sort of?), and in general just trying to channel her inner Amelie so she could regard all the brats around her with understanding... and not murder them in their sleep for being discriminatory lumps of turd.
And for another… well. Lune was now a slim, physically healthy ten-year-old who was actually looking forward to leaving this dump for good so she could get enrolled at Signal Academy.
Five years. She'd just spent five years on Remnant readying for that day.
Now that she could put this whole thing behind her, she could totally see herself becoming a warrior more clearly. She'd made peace with becoming a future Huntress, she guessed. Wouldn't want all those training she had over the years to result to nothing. She felt like she was at peak condition, and despite her constant complaints of her body aching from the strenuous exercises—which she also complained of, she appreciated the perks that came with turning herself into a living weapon. There was just something that badass about it.
She had no fantasies of being completely bully-free there, of course. Every place had its own basket of bad apples. But when she had to think about it, like really think about it, what was not to like at being enrolled in a combat school? Sure, she was pretty much going to end up dedicating the rest of her life to fighting the Grimm, forever risking her personal safety to uphold the peace of this world, maybe end up as someone of great renown so she could do something about the Faunus discrimination and, selfish as it sounded, tremendously increase her survivability here. Especially when she knew what was to come.
But… come on. Combat school. Combat school! As an Earth girl turned Remnant, this was a wholly different kind of lifestyle compared to her previous one. It was exciting.
After all, how often did one experience getting graded for her ability to kick some butt in the most over-the-top way possible? It certainly beat being graded on how well she could answer a mathematical problem.
(Though, she wasn't about to deny that her old world was safer and stabler. The slightest tip in whatever balance Remnant had could send all four kingdoms divided against each other. Which will happen, now that she thought about it.)
Tick, tock, tick.
Lune glanced up at the clock again, giving her teacher a brief respite from her half-interested stare. Five more minutes. She tore a page from her notebook and scribbled a note, passing it to Aqua beside her. Normally, she wouldn't even consider doing this, but other than the fact that she felt too giddy to care about his reaction, the boy was surprisingly more diplomatic in paper.
You ready for the next step?
After reading the message, the look the blue-haired kid gave her was a peculiar one, lacking of his usual scorn and smirk. It made her happy expression crack in places. Made her stomach twist in discomfort. In fact… dare she say it, but the boy looked more deflated than excited.
That was not an Aqua thing at all.
He should have been over the moon because he wasn't going to see her face ever again. He should be relieved that no "lesser being" was going to rival him anymore. But… he wasn't.
"You okay?" She decided to ask in a soft voice, tilting her head at him.
Lune didn't know why the hell she was even concerned, but she felt the feeling tug at her on the inside, insisting on her acknowledging its existence.
It didn't make sense; Aqua had been a total jerk to her for the past five years. He didn't physically beat her, only once when Lune retaliated against him for the first time, but he'd gotten her in trouble so often she'd lost count. He'd said mean things to her, things that would have sent a normal girl crying all day and refusing to come to class for days. Heck, she would have had self-esteem problems if she wasn't clinging onto Amelie's mindset the way a drowning man would a rock. But she felt what she felt.
The surprise on Aqua's face definitely implied he was wondering the same thing.
"Hey, if I bother you for not paying attention during our lessons, you end up bothering me by being all mopey like that," Lune said, taking that as her reasoning and calling it a day. "You've been quiet today."
"Uh…"
Then again, she thought as Aqua struggled to find the right words to say. There were days when he and I were almost civil to each other. Civil enough to make me wonder if he really is as bad as he's making himself out to be.
She remembered being forced into a pairing with Aqua for an exercise once. Two years ago, kind of, and it had been one helluva day. It was during… science class, right, and the advanced question they had to answer needed to be looked up on the books they owned. No one was allowed to work on it alone because today's lesson also involved collaboration, and the teacher had said that the pair that made the best answer would be rewarded with an exemption on the next quiz. Turning the atmosphere competitive tended to make the students actually learn something at the end of the day.
And learn they did. While the two had initially tried to solve it with as little communication as possible, they eventually realized that they were heading nowhere and, whatever animosity they had towards each other, it needed to stop. Just for today.
They formed a truce, basically. There were handshakes and everything. It was all thanks to their kinda-sorta mutual interest in the reward; Aqua wanted that quiz exemption and Lune thought it was too bothersome to stay awake doing a quiz she could ace without effort (thank you, Amelie). She could even recall how her reason had prompted a nasty glare from the dark-eyed kid, once voiced, and in the end the boy said nothing and moved on to discussing the question. And Lune had to admit, the snark-to-snark combat they had after their debate on an answer they've found had been pretty fun. Fun enough to make her wonder if they would've been good friends if she wasn't a Faunus.
Anyway, after that, the teacher had announced at the end of the class that she and Aqua had the best answer and was rewarded appropriately. They had even high-fived.
"I'm not mopey," Aqua finally answered, sending Lune's thoughts back to the present. His tone of voice was unconvincing, and his expression equally so.
"You so are," Lune said.
"Just—" But before Aqua could even finish his sentence, the clock finally struck two in the afternoon and the electronic bell began ringing in the hallways. It oddly reminded Lune of doorbells.
Cheers then erupted from all the students who heard it, and before Lune could even move, her classmates had already stood up and eagerly made their way out of the classroom with happy goodbyes said to the flustered teacher. It took at least five minutes before the room finally grew quiet again; Lune and Aqua were the ones left behind, still seated on their chairs and staring at each other.
"Well, I don't know about you kids, b-but I think I'll go on ahead now." The teacher said, picking up her bag and a small stack of papers. She'd also unknowingly broken their eye contact. "If you feel like cleaning the room for the last time, though… please, do so. Otherwise, the janitor will be here shortly. S-see you both on graduation day!"
And that was that. Lune didn't know what to make of the genuinely sweet smile flashed her—and Aqua's—way as the adult left the room, too. She wasn't exactly the first person anyone would even smile at…
Wow. That sounded a bit depressing.
She shook her head at the glass door that slid shut before turning her head back to Aqua. "You were saying?"
Nope, no immediate response. He packed his belongings, careful to put them all neatly in his bag, and after sighing, that was when he finally looked at her.
"You actually care?"
Lune shrugged. "Believe me, I'm pretty darned surprised myself. You're not exactly my favorite person either, but I know for a fact you're not a complete jerk."
"Right. I guess… after that science activity, you're not so bad yourself," Aqua slowly allowed. He almost looked like he regretted saying that. Almost. "For a Faunus. Doesn't mean I'm about to start liking you, or hell, apologize for picking on you, but… there we go."
"Fine by me." Lune said, slumping back on her chair and crossing her arms. "Let's call this a truce. Once we're out of here, this didn't happen. So come on, out with it."
Aqua looked at her strangely before shrugging like he didn't care. It was totally obvious how he was trying not to make it seem like nothing was that wrong.
"I'm moving."
Lune blinked. But before the sudden rush of questions could overwhelm her, she discreetly pinched her arm, felt the pang, and composed herself. She also might have fixed her uniform a bit.
"Oh." She finally said. "Where?"
"Mistral." Aqua answered. Clearly, the scowl on his face meant he wasn't on board with the decision his parents made for him. Wait, but if he was moving away, and he'd said in the past that he was aiming to become a Huntsman— "Mom wants us to go back there. Not because that's actually where I'm born, but I've got a cousin there who… lost her parents recently." At Lune's shocked but questioning expression, he added, "Grimm attack. She's the only survivor. She's still pretty young, so Mom wants to take her in before she ends up in an orphanage. A family friend's looking after her for now."
That was… whoa.
"God, Aqua, I mean it when I say I'm sorry to hear that." Lune quietly said, all traces of whatever lack of seriousness she previously had going down the drain. "It's put a dent on your plans on being a Huntsman, huh? It's for a good reason, but you still didn't want to move."
"Nope. Beacon Academy's, like, my dream Huntsman academy. Haven Academy isn't said to be all that bad, but I've also been in Vale all my life. I like it here, okay? And I've got my mind set on this. But… I guess we all can't have nice things." Aqua said. His tone of voice was a bitter one. He stared at the ceiling, sighing. "Besides, like you said, it's for a good reason anyway. I'm just being a brat."
"Au contraire, you're just understandably upset. It happens when a plan gets run over by a truck." Lune countered. She was all too familiar with the feeling. "What's your dad say about this whole thing? I mean, you haven't mentioned him at all… just something I've noticed all these years."
…Crap. Wrong question.
For one moment, Aqua didn't know what to say to her. If there were any adjectives to describe the look in his face, it wasn't coming to her at the moment. Maybe there might not even be a suitable one found in a dictionary. Lune could at least be perceptive enough to know what that reaction meant, but… that couldn't be the reason. Right? Because that was just making her insides do an uncomfortable twist.
"If he's still around, he'll probably ask Mom's friend to take the kid to here rather than us going to her. And by around, I meant alive." Aqua said. The casualness in his tone sounded far too fake to actually hide what he really felt about it.
I asked the wrong question. Lune suddenly felt even worse, especially after Aqua flashed her an empty smirk and stood up.
"You know what, I'm going to stop there before I forget we had a truce. See you someday. Or never."
"Wait." Lune quickly said, shooting up from her seat. She got a hold of the boy's shoulder before he could take a couple steps forward. While Aqua immediately shrugged away from her touch, he didn't make an exit just yet. "I'm not even sure where to begin after that boatload of information, and okay, now I legit feel bad bringing it up. Sorry. But at least stay to hear this: Think positive. We've got at least seven years to change things. So don't think just yet that you're going to be stuck in Mistral forever." Lune told him, pausing to breathe.
She offered him a smile and continued where she'd left off. "So, if Beacon's really where you want to do your Huntsman training—and if you really want to come back here—you'll find a way to accomplish that. You're smart. I know you can do it." Then she smirked. It was a half-hearted one, but it should get the desired effect. "Besides, you're not about to let a Faunus become better than you, are you?"
Surprise. That was the best way she could describe the kid right now. He blinked once, twice, and somehow, he calmed down just a bit. His posture visibly relaxed.
"You're really weird, you know that?" Aqua told her. "Here I thought you'd be happy I won't be around anymore. But… whatever. I'll think on it."
The smile he gave her could almost be considered friendly. Almost, because he approached her and gave one of her rabbit ears a tug before he turned away again.
"I'll let that slide." Lune said, gingerly rubbing the now-aching appendage.
"Great. That's for old times' sake."
Then he left. Just like that.
All Lune could do as she stared at his retreating back was bid the boy a wordless goodbye. For now. As she later packed her own things, arranged the chairs (and received yet another smile from the janitor that came in to clean; what was up with today?), and left the classroom, she wondered if—when—she was ever going to see the kid again.
Her graduation day had come and gone, and to be honest, it wasn't really something Lune thought to be extremely memorable. Probably because it was a been-there-done-that kind of scenario, or probably because her mind kept coming back to the thought of her first day at Signal coming closer and closer. And to be fair about the former, the graduation did go on as she'd envisioned it: there were speeches, there were special awards she predictably didn't receive (but she did get recognized for her "academic excellence" once), and at the end of the day, she had a nice-looking certificate that she could stick to a wall in her room.
And then there was dinner in a decent restaurant that also catered to the Faunus.
Like she'd said: predictable.
After that, the days and weeks once again sped by her in a blur, pretty much, with her alternating her free time between training and socializing. There wasn't really much to do in Patch other than that, not when all the excitement and other various activities were in the city of Vale itself. Not that she was saying things were boring in this cozy, peaceful island, but a part of her did miss the city life and the kind of unpredictability it brought alongside it. And, okay, she might have been alive in Remnant for ten years now, but she still had the occasional moment when she just… missed being Amelie.
No way was she going down a nostalgia trip this time, though. Because right now she was busy doing… busy doing…
What was she doing at the moment again?
Lune shook her head and let her mind return to the present. Oh, right. She was currently inside her room, standing in front of the calendar with a marker on her left hand. She'd been counting down the days before her first day at Signal came, crossing out each day that passed and, whoa, she was actually one week away from the big, big day. How did she not notice that first?
The thought sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach, and the familiar, nervous feeling of spending day one in different environment came back in full force. She always managed to put a lid on it whenever she was around people, but considering how she was alone right now… Yeah, she suddenly couldn't stay still and she kept shifting her weight from one foot to another.
Anyway. There were still a few things she needed to get accomplished before she started attending Signal, and the very reminder had Lune glancing at her dog-eared notebook on her study desk in interest. She'd refined her idea of her combat outfit over the years, in turn actually improving her drawing skills to the point that they were almost good, so other than the need to get the clothes commissioned in Vale (or just, you know, get some combat-appropriate clothes in general... for now), she also needed a new set of pens and another notebook. And maybe another bag, considering how old her current one was.
Her thoughts suddenly shifting to money, Lune moved towards her backpack by the foot of her bed, shoved her hand inside it and pulled out a thin, black wallet. As she counted the amount of Lien she had saved over the years, thanks to her annual birthday money, she still couldn't help but be in a bit of awe at how the currency here came in the form of plastic cards with magnetic reader strips on the back and a single notation on the front. No paper bills.
Back to the money topic, though, Lune figured she had more than enough cash to get what she needed, and all she needed to do now was get someone to accompany her to Vale.
And I know just the person. Well, the person other than the other person I have in mind.
Placing the wallet on top of her bed, Lune then moved on to grabbing the scroll lying on the bedside drawer. The sleek, black thing was her tenth birthday gift, actually, something her dad got her after doing a few Huntsman missions out in the field. "You might as well have something to use in case of emergencies, kiddo, now that you're going to be spending more time in Signal than at home," He'd said.
She pulled the semi-transparent tablet open, opened the contacts list with a few touch commands, and dialed Yang's number.
Ring… ring… oh, there we go.
"Oh, hey, Lune, what's up?" Yang said from the other side. Judging from the weird, though musical background noise, Lune must've called while either Yang or Ruby was playing a video game.
"The sky, usually." She answered, a wry smile in place. That resulted to an amused snort from the other side. Lune plopped down on the mattress. "Right now, though, nothing much. I was just thinking… how do you feel about heading to Vale later in the afternoon? With a chaperon, obviously."
"Vale? What are you going to do there?"
"Eh, nothing too serious. Just getting some school supplies and maybe a new set of clothes for Signal." Lune said. She would have shrugged, but she realized the action was pretty pointless since she was the only one in the room. She blushed slightly at the realization. "I mean, yeah, we have our regular uniforms, but we need something decent for our future combat practices, right? I might as well be prepared. You probably have no problems on that department since your clothes are all good for combat, but mine are… most likely to tear faster than you can say, 'Kill the Grimm!'"
"You're not Lune if you're actually unprepared for something, alright," Yang answered cheerfully after a brief laugh. "Aaaaand, as much as I'd love to do some shopping with you, I can't today."
"Training, or keeping Ruby company?"
"A bit of both, actually. Dad's out on an errand, Uncle Qrow's probably out somewhere having a drink—I think I found one of his bottles in the kitchen again, and no, I'm not touching it!—and I'm pretty much home alone with Ruby right now. Sorry, Lune, but we've been told to stay put today." Yang explained.
Lune had to admit, she did feel a bit disappointed. She didn't get the opportunity to really feel the emotion, though, not when Ruby suddenly cut in.
"We'll totally come with you next time, though! Oh, and hi to you too, Lune!" Ruby said, her voice loud over the speaker. Lune heard a faint Hey! in the background. "But if it's not too much… maybe you can get me one of those Weapons magazines in the stores there? Because I heard the new issue's out and I have to get it soon!"
Lune easily imagined Yang snatching back the scroll as she heard her voice next. "Sorry about that. You know Ruby, being a dork with weapons since forever. It's really cute—and deny all you want, Ruby, but it is!" Yang had directed that particular line towards her sister. Fortunately, the next one was to Lune's. "But if you don't mind, doing that would actually be pretty great. I'll pay you back when you come visit!"
The white-haired girl did a silent count of her money and decided that a little dent in her savings at the cost of a happy Ruby wouldn't be such a bad idea. The magazine wasn't really that expensive… and she did want a copy for herself, too, since she needed to get some ideas for her future weapon. "No need to pay me back. I'll get it as a gift. Let's call it… a thank-you-for-being-friends-with-me present."
"Whoa, really? Aww, then you're sweet, you know that? I swear I'll make it up to you soon."
"No need, but greatly appreciated. There better be carrots involved." Another amused snort came from the other end, knowing that Lune was joking. "Anyway, I'll just go get Mom to shop with me there."
"Tell her we said hi!"
Lune grinned at that one. "Thou message shall be relayed. Or something. See you soon."
After a chorus of "See you soon!" from the sisters, she ended the call. She lowered the scroll and stared up at her star-filled ceiling. She might sighed just a fair bit, too.
Now then… it was time to see if Mom was up for a trip to the city.
One boat trip and much walking later, Lune wasn't quite sure if she should feel sorry for her mom or for the shopkeeper. Here they were, in one of the many shops scattered all across Vale's commercial district, and both mother and daughter had just been denied service by a particularly snobby woman whose nose crinkled at the sight of them. Meanie.
River wasn't having any of it.
"Really? Really?" Mom thundered, and Lune kind of wished she'd just entered the shop by herself and left without a single quarrel. Assholes will be assholes, but her mother just wasn't about to lie down and accept that. "All we're here for is to buy a bunch of pens my little girl needs for next week and a magazine she's getting for her friend, and you have the audacity to kick us out when we could have contributed to your store's profits? Just because we're a bunch of Faunus?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am"—clearly, the woman wasn't, but she was being slowly worn down by the force known as River Beryl—"but we simply don't serve the Faunus as a store policy. We've got a history of being broken into by your kind, so forgive me if we're not so willing to cater to you and your daughter."
Translation: because a Faunus broke into our store and stole a buncha stuff, we've decided that all Faunus are a risk and should therefore kick every single one of them out. Also, I'm spouting a load of crap that I think sounds professional but in reality I just don't like you guys.
"Oh, sure, let's pretend what you just said isn't a load of bull," Mom shot back, and her glare was especially menacing. "Let's also pretend that this store isn't new and I'm someone who hasn't been in Vale for a good fraction of my life. So yes, you totally didn't just make that up. And you know what? Sometimes I end up thinking it's people like you who should've been stuffed in Menagerie. You and the rest of the assholes who own the same friggin' mindset."
Menagerie, Lune remembered from her history lesson, used to be a territory where Faunus were previously confined by the humans, back when the Faunus Rights Revolution wasn't a thing. To be fair, maybe it would be a good idea if all the Faunus-hating humans resided there... or not. Nobody would want to come to that piece of land then.
In any case, that actually made the shopkeeper speechless. From where Lune was listening, she was pretty sure the woman's BS had just been thrown out of the window by her mom.
"How dare you—"
"I pay my bills, give bits and pieces back to the city, and live by Vale's rules and regulations. My husband is a Huntsman—and despite the crap you humans throw at us, he does his job anyway and help keep you ungrateful, ignorant, bigoted people safe from the Grimm. In fact, how dare you assume that my daughter and I are felons when we've been nothing but decent to you bastards." Mom cut her off, a finger pointed at the shopkeeper's chest.
And then another argument erupted between the two adults. Lune suddenly found the knickknacks in the nearest shelf interesting, knowing that she was going to need herself distracted while this small storm blew over. Honestly, it was all a matter of time before the woman behind the counter gave in. Nobody won against River Beryl when she got the ball rolling.
From her periphery, she noticed the other civilians—whom were visible in the glass panel at the side of the shop—had taken a look at the commotion, wisely decided against entering the shop, and walked forward as if nothing happened. Lune kinda wished she was one of those people.
So, where was she? Right. Pens. She glanced at the selection at another shelf, but she made sure to snag two Weapons Magazine copies before she went on to grab her variously-colored pens. Then, noticing that for all the poor customer service here, the notebooks were actually decent in quality, Lune decided to grab one, too.
As the girl finally returned to the bickering adults, she found that, yay, the whole thing was nearly over. The shopkeeper, finally realizing that she was losing potential customers due to the fight, raised a hand to stop the next tirade that came from River's mouth.
"Alright, alright! God, I get it. Just promise me you two will leave—and not come back—after you get what you needed. Thanks to you, there goes our profits." The last part was more of a mutter, but both mother and daughter had no trouble hearing that.
Mom paused, took a deep breath, and let go of whatever edge she'd been carrying after the horrible treatment. She crossed her arms. "Good. Wonderful. Fantastic. See? Things would've been quick and easy if you just shut your mouth and let the two of us conclude our business." Lune looked up at her mom's face and found victory written all over her features. Mom: one, rude shopkeeper: zero. "And yeah, I actually noticed that. I was waiting for you to do so, too. Kinda slow, aren'tcha?"
The shopkeeper could only purse her lips as River gestured for Lune to come forward and pay for her purchases. The Lien given were scanned and concluded genuine, and soon enough, a paper bag filled with her new stuff was grudgingly handed back. Lune, admittedly, started feeling mischievous during that moment. The opportunity was just begging not to be wasted.
So she lowered her paper bag, flashed the shopkeeper a sweet, angelic smile, and said, "Thank you for the business."
There was no mistaking the fact that Lune's green eyes reflected the way she was enjoying the irony her statement implied. The shopkeeper glared at her a bit, but Lune pretended not to have noticed and trailed behind her mother as the woman stepped out of the store first.
Outside, when both mother and daughter had walked several blocks away from the place, they high-fived each other. Then, finding an ice cream place nearby, a cozy little structure sitting nice and comfy between two, taller buildings, Lune and her mom opted for a small break from their stroll. Yes, even though technically, nobody was actually tired and they both just thought, hey, it's an ice cream place, so screw it, we're having ice cream.
Each had a bowl filled with the sugary goodness several minutes later, seated across each other by the window.
"Okay, so. While I so want to revel in our earlier victory… I have to ask, are you doing okay, kid? You didn't have to see that if I could help it, but that lady was just so rude." Mom said, making Lune look up from her own bowl.
Lune swallowed the spoonful of ice cream she'd just shoved into her mouth. "Yeah, I'm okay. But she is rude, so it's not like she didn't deserve it. I wouldn't have caused a fuss like you did, but then that probably wouldn't get what I wanted."
"Sometimes, you just needed to do a bit of pushing. I don't regret doing that one bit. Anyway, is there still something on your list that needs to get a huge check mark on? We've still got time for one last trip to any shop of our choosing."
"Just some clothes for Signal. For combat practices, I mean," Lune answered. She decided against getting her actual combat outfit, not when she was still growing, so some other kinds of clothes would probably do just fine. She pulled out her old notebook, flipped it open to a specific page, and slid it to her mom. "I actually have something in mind for what I want to wear someday, and I know it's too early to have that, but maybe you might want to know now?"
Mom didn't immediately answer at once. She scanned over the drawing with keen eyes, and Lune might have blushed a bit from the way the woman's stare grew intense. And as the seconds ticked by, Lune suddenly found herself growing juuust a bit more uncomfortable.
Finally, and mercifully, her mom looked up. And the smile on her face was just as faraway as the one Lune saw four years ago. "Y'know kiddo, that actually brings me back to when I was younger."
"What do you mean?" Lune asked, blinking at her.
"I actually did that, too. And I know I don't look like it, but I did get a slice of the whole combat academy experience. I remember getting as excited as you did when my first day at a different combat school came closer and closer." Mom said, her features softening as she recalled some particularly fond memories. At Lune's questioning glance, she snorted and shook her head. "I'm not fooling you, sweetie. In fact, you could almost say I was good at it. Like, really good. But just as you've noticed… no, I didn't become a Huntress. But I do know all there is to know about being one. Or becoming one."
"Um… why? I mean, why didn't you become a Huntress?"
"For reasons I don't think I still want to recall. Sorry kid, but that particular skeleton's not coming out of the closet just yet. So it's… kind of complicated. I just thought you needed to know that the whole Huntress biz is going to be one helluva experience. Because I got into that ride, too, and I just wished I managed to complete it." Mom sighed.
And then she shook her head, like the melancholy memories would go away from one simple action. "What I mean to say is, yeah, it's not safe. And yeah, I've seen my fair share of deaths from those who thought they could handle the task. But! It's also exciting, and you'll end up learning a lot of things from the training. And I'm not just talking about knowing where to hit an opponent best or whether this weapon's good to be used with Dust or not. You'll make friends. Forge bonds, basically, and you might just find that some things just aren't what they seem to be, too. Each experience is unique for every person."
"Ahh, I see… and you're basically giving me a pep talk about the path before me and stuff like that? Because you've been there?"
"Preeetty much. But I am serious about what I've just said." Mom said. The smile on her face was a sweet one this time. "I just want to say that… well, dangerous path or not, I'm proud of you. Proud for what, I don't know either, but I just am. I guess it's a Mom thing."
"Embarrassed as I suddenly feel, Mom, I'm glad to hear that," Lune awkwardly said, feeling like she was suddenly placed on top of a cloud. Praises were one of her weak spots. She scratched at her cheek with a finger and gave a small, almost nervous chuckle. "I'll just have to try my best to be really good at fighting so I can protect not just myself, but people like you, right?"
"Hey, I'm no slouch at combat, myself, but I get the sentiment," Mom said. She actually stuck her tongue out at her, just like the way Lune would several years ago. "So yeah, that's pretty much it. We've got one week to go, sweetie. And when that day comes, I wish you the best."
After that particularly memorable moment happened (and after Lune finally had a set of clothes that could survive through lots of movement and bending), her first day at Signal had come far too quickly for her liking.
It was, like, being stuffed in a time machine and sent forward, not back. It was almost jarring, and the only time when Lune felt the time finally slow to a stop was when she was standing before the familiar sight of Signal Academy.
The day was nice and cloudless, the wind blowing by nice and crisp and rustling the trees nearby, and all Lune could think was that, hopefully, her first day at Signal came and went just as pleasantly as the weather.
"You ready for this?" Yang asked beside her. The two friends had opted on making their first step into Signal as students together.
Lune remembered Ruby being deflated at finding out that the kid wasn't to enroll at Signal until two more years, but with reassurances from both older girls that they'll keep her updated on whatever happened in the campus, the red-haired girl brightened up. Then again, they did also promise her that they'll tell her all about the kinds of weapons they find on the campus.
And besides, Lune thought then. Ruby's going to forget being upset about this when she ends up getting to Beacon two years earlier.
Her thoughts became a jumbled mess after she felt her arm being suddenly punched, a slight pain spiking from the affected area. Lune raised an eyebrow at the offending blonde.
"You kinda spaced out there," was Yang's explanation.
"Oh." Lune flashed her a sheepish smile. She rubbed at the now-sore arm. "Just so you know, yeah, you do punch hard. It's like being hit with a brick."
"That's not my best punch, though."
"I doubt I'd want to be on the receiving end of that one. Anyway..." She stared up at the majestic castle-lookalike. She inhaled and let loose a breath. "Yeah, I'm ready for this. No pressure. No pressure."
That earned another friendly punch. At the same spot, no less. "Aw, I know you'll do just fine. Stop it with the nervousness. So come on, chin up. Here's to seven years of combat training!" Yang held her fist up despite the frown sent her way.
"Fine." Seeing this, Lune smiled again and bumped hers against Yang's. "Here's to surviving seven years of combat training."
A/N: Prooooobably not my best chapter, but with thesis distracting me again, among other things, I'm just glad I managed to complete this soon enough. That's not the last time you're all seeing Aqua, by the way. If that wasn't obvious. River is incredibly fun to write, though. It's like, shit, man, you don't cross River whenever possible. That's how I picture her, anyway.
Oh, and I seriously have no idea that I'd actually get this amount of feedback. It's amazing... I mean, OC stories on RWBY tend to make anyone want to avoid clicking it. Doubly so when it's an insert. So to have people actually liking it... you guys have no idea how happy it's making me. I wish I could reply to each and every review, but yeaaaah, time constraints. DX
Anyway, feel free to do the usual, guys! I don't have to mention it again, lol.