Faye felt restless. She had returned to her dorm after lunch, and while she did have a book to read, she did not feel like reading it. She wanted activity, exertion of some sort. She had done nothing while she was sick, so now that she was well, she wanted to do something active.

She decided to go through her unarmed combat forms. Many knew how to fight unarmed, and for Hunters it was especially important. She had learned these forms in her Asylum days, and since then she had had little use for them. But she did need something to do, so she decided that.

She began by assuming her stance. Arms ready to strike, legs wide for apart, body facing ninety degrees away from her supposed opponent. She let her energy flow through her like a river. Then she was ready.

She visualized an opponent, and struck. She and her imaginary opponent dueled. He was good, blocking most of her attacks, but not good enough to land a blow on her. Then duel ended with a knock on the door.

She stopped, and was suddenly aware that she'd been sweating. She asked through the door, "Who is it?"

The person at the door answered, "It's Jayana. Could I come in?"

She quickly considered it and said, "Yes, you can." It was only then that she realized she had worked up a slight sweat from practicing her forms. She hoped Mrs. Sapphire would not noticed.

Mrs. Sapphire opened the door, and stepped into the room. "So this is where Storm's been living for the past few months." She looked around, and said, "Smells better than I thought it would."

Faye considered the smell for a moment, and then said, "It smells like… sweaty socks… and pine needles." That effectively described Azura's unique smell.

"Well, it's better than I thought it would be," she noted. "So, do you know where Storm is?"

She considered that, and said, "I do not know."

Mrs. Sapphire sighed. "I wanted to see how he was doing, but if he's not here…" She was about to go when she turned back and asked, "You're Faye, right?"

She nodded. "That is my name. My middle name that is—I do not use my first name, Mrs. Sapphire."

"I know—I've seen your student file," she said. "And please, we're not in the classroom. Call me Jayana."

Faye nodded. "All right… Jayana." It was a strange sounding name, and felt just as strange coming out of her mouth.

"So, how do you know my son?" Jayana asked as she began inspecting the room.

"I am his partner on the team," Faye answered. "I watch his back and he watches mine." As Jayana opened a drawer on one of the dressers that lined that wall with the hallway door on it, Faye noted, "That is Rusti's, Ma'am. While I doubt Storm would appreciate you spying on him, Rusti would even less."

Jayana nodded and closed the drawer. "Rusti likes red it seems."

"Yes he does. I have only seen him not where it while in uniform and even his hair is red, so…"

Jayana nodded. "I was just born with blue hair, so I understand." She gave a final glance at the place and said, "You four are a rather neat lot. Neater than my team was. Good job."

"Thank you," Faye said politely. She did not seek this strange woman's approval, just to avoid any possible wrath—as was her policy for anyone—but she was being overbearing. It was not her place to judge their room any more than it was Faye's to judge hers. But because she wanted to avoid wrath, she asked, "Is there anything else you want?"

Jayana thought for a moment and said, "Well, there is one thing. He's been a bit evasive about this."

Faye, wanting to both protect Storm's privacy but be helpful enough to avoid any accusing tones, asked, "What is it?"

"Well, is he seeing anyone?"

Faye was surprised. Had she just not come up? It was more than a little demeaning to think Storm had not once brought up the fact that he was in a relationship with her. In any case, she felt like this was a question best left for Storm to answer.

"I am sorry, but you will have to ask him," she said. "He is, after all, your son. If he cannot tell you something, it might be because he did not want you to know it." Listening to herself, that seemed like a good enough explanation for her as well. While she had been forthcoming to her own mother, Storm might have been a little scared to admit it to his. She would still ask him at the next best opportunity.

Jayana sighed. "You're a loyal friend to him, and a good partner. It wouldn't surprise me if it turned out that you were his girlfriend." She glanced at the beds and added, "Though I'd be a little concerned with his… sleeping arrangements." She stepped out the door and said, "Good day."

"Good day, Mrs. Sapphire."

She stopped and said, "Please, it's Jayana." Faye nodded as the blue-haired woman closed the door.

Faye was not entirely sure she liked Storm's mother. She seemed more than a little overbearing, and nosy. She hated books where the mother controlled every second of their children's lives—it was usually the start of third-rate villain.

But this was real life, and Storm did not seem that bad. He just seemed a little… nervous when she was around. She wondered why that was.

Faye felt a little queasy, so she went to the bathroom. While it turned out to be nothing, she was distracting for a moment by her reflection in the mirror.

Her hair was growing longer. It had been some time since the start of the school year, and while she had gotten a haircut before she left for Haven, it had grown out considerably since then. She liked to keep her hair short, but she did not trust most barbers, as she had heard that some barbers would cut things that were not hair on a Faunus's head—accidentally or otherwise. Her friends would probably not have experience enough to cut it either. Really the only one she trusted to do this was her mother, but that option did not seem right.

Perhaps she could just let it grow. She had had long hair before, but cut it when she started going to Asylum. She would find it interesting to have long hair again—she just hoped it would not become a problem. She knew how to braid it, so it would not be too bad.

She wondered how her teammates would react to this. She wondered if they would even notice.

When Storm came back from talking to Crystal about the tournament, he found Faye in their dorm room practicing unarmed combat. He came in as she had just completed a kick to an imaginary enemy. She quickly lowered her leg and tried acting as if she hadn't been doing anything. She seemed embarrassed, though Storm didn't think much of her practicing unarmed forms—it wasn't as if he hadn't done it himself.

"Storm, you are back," Faye said, just a little out of breath. He wondered for a moment how long she had been practicing. "What time is it?"

Storm shrugged. When one was on a loose schedule, one often lost track of time. He decided to be polite and ask, "So, how has your day been?"

She shrugged. "Okay, I suppose. Your mother came by not too long ago. Or maybe it was a while ago—I seem to have lost track of time."

Storm pointed behind her to the digital clock. "That's what clocks are for. That and annoying tired people." Faye smiled slightly—any smile seemed nice on her face. Realizing he should probably ask about it, he said, "So what did my mom want?"

Faye considered it. "Mostly to see you, I think." She hesitated and said, "Also, she asked if you were seeing anyone." Storm felt a pit drop in his stomach as he realized he had never told his mom about him and Faye. "I told her to ask you, but… why did you not tell her… about us?"

Storm shook his head, frustrated. He couldn't believe he hadn't said anything! "I don't know," was all he could say. "I should have told her. I could have told her. I just never…" He looked at Faye. She seemed accepting of this, but a little scared his outburst. "I'm sorry. I just… I never realized I'd never told her."

"I believe you," Faye said. "But can I just ask something?"

Storm was curious as to what she was going to ask. "Sure I guess."

"Does the dance count as a date?" He scanned her face and she was serious.

He considered it, and said, "Yes, I guess it does."

"Then that means one more date and… it would be three dates."

He realized what that meant—kissing. He also realized that he had nothing planned for that. He locked eyes with Faye, and she knew what he'd realize too. "So… this means two things," he said. "One is that we need a plan for this."

Faye nodded. "And the other?"

"Our parents need to know about this eventually."

"Mine already know, so…"

Storm sighed reluctantly. "So all that's left are my incredibly intimidating parents—wonderful."