The immediate reaction to their new leader's appointment was celebration. Jaune patted Vesta's back carefully so as to not knock the still-exhausted girl over. Nora in the meantime grinned and shouted a victory screech before everyone stepped off the stage. As they were directed towards their dorm, they all still heard the murmurs.
"Who's that girl?"
"The one the blonde vomited on. I feel bad for her…"
"Hmph! I bet you she only got Team Leader because she's the Headmaster's daughter!"
"Yeah, that's favoritism for you."
"Where did she even come from anyway?"
Were Vesta not so tired, she would have spoken up about the baseless rumors and accusations that were spreading about who she was and why she got the Team Leader role. However, even she could admit that she wasn't entirely sure why Ozpin gave her the leadership role, because ultimately she had no idea how to lead a small team. Her tactics during the battle were basically just 'hit the thing until I can blow it up' which she didn't think was a particularly good method. It worked for mindless beasts, not so much for anything smarter than your average Grimm.
Ultimately, however, she decided not to question it too much. Instead, the newly christened Team ORNJ made their way to the dorm they were given, the one directly across from Team RWBY's apparently. That was convenient, given that that team was the only one that had people that Vesta knew, other than the one she was in obviously.
Jaune, in the meantime, couldn't believe how well everything had gone. First, he got partnered up with a literal Witch and then their new team killed a Deathstalker! Granted, it was mostly the other three who did the work in Jaune's mind, all he had done was block stuff with his shield and drop his sword. Of course, that whole thing with Ozpin was… surprising, to say the least, it was clear that Vesta was not an orphan, then, but the details of her life and sudden appearance were still a mystery to the knight.
When they eventually got to the dorm, they entered to find it was rather spacious. Extra-large twin sized beds, two on one wall and two on the other, with a balcony! Jaune had to try and contain how excited he was about these accommodations, and after a fight like that he sure was ready to lay down and play on his scroll.
He was not as ready to call it a night as Vesta, however, who proceeded to immediately faceplant into the bed. Within a few moments, she was out cold. That prompted Nora to giggle and Ren to smirk while Jaune noted that the girl's hat just sort of tumbled off to the side. It was then that he noticed something and muttered to the others, "See how frayed her hair is? When's the last time she brushed it?" His words carried nothing but concern.
Nora hummed and rubbed her chin, "That's why I keep my hair short, less maintenance. Looks like Vesta is in desperate need of a brush!"
Ren nodded, "She's free to borrow mine, once she wakes up." He noted neutrally, and Jaune found himself not at all surprised that Ren had a brush, his hair looked like it needed it to be certain.
Then, the three's scrolls buzzed and each of them took theirs out and read the text they had been sent. They were surprised to see it was from the school, and even more surprised to see what the message was.
"Please proceed to the Headmaster's office as soon as you can. It is a matter of critical importance. You are not in trouble."
The fact that they weren't in trouble already was certainly a relief, and curiosity drove the three to leave the room, shutting off the light as they went so Vesta could rest easier. Jaune, Nora, and Ren were surprised to see Team RWBY also stepping out of their dorm. Jaune asked, "Hey guys, something up?"
Ruby nodded, furrowing her brow as she pulled out her scroll and looked at it, "We got a text that said we were needed at the Headmaster's office."
Ren hummed, "Curious, so did we. We should get going, we don't want to keep the Headmaster waiting." This just made everything even more confusing, but Ren was right, and so the two teams minus one made their way towards the tower together. Jaune was starting to piece together an idea in his head as to what it might be relating to, but there was no way to be certain until they got there.
Nora had some crazy conspiracy theories about how they were going to be inducted into a secret society or that they were going to become superheroes along with some other… extremely unlikely things. They didn't have to wonder very long though, as once they got to Beacon Tower they were directed to the elevator by Glynda Goodwitch.
It was a very awkward and tight fit, Jaune was pushed up against a wall with everyone staking a claim on what small piece of territory in the nation of elevator they could. When the door opened all of them almost spilled out on top of each other, luckily it didn't come to that and they all managed to file out towards Ozpin, who was sitting at his desk watching his students with an amused smile on his face.
Ozpin spoke with a friendly tone, "Come in, come in. I apologize for delaying your well-deserved rest, but as the text said this is a very important matter." When everyone had come to a stop, he began explaining, "This matter involves Vesta, my… foster daughter, whom I had raised as my own for many, many years. We were separated for the better part of six years, and in that time, a lot has happened to her."
Nora gasped, "Oooh, that explains why you two look nothing alike! Well, what happened to her?" The others were just as curious as Nora was, and it showed on their faces.
Ozpin's face grew grim, "You see, while I was away on business, the village she had been living in with her three sisters was attacked by Grimm and burned to the ground. I thought her dead for those years, but now that she's back, I believe she may have developed something of a… coping mechanism."
Jaune scratched his chin, "What about all that stuff with magic and being a Witch?" He had no reason to believe Ozpin was lying, why would the man mean to slander his own daughter's good word?
Ozpin kept his grim and serious face, "You see, Vesta is trained in an ancient art relating to dust weaving. She is what you might call a Dust Mage. People often called her a Witch in jest when she was much younger and learning this art, but rest assured that all she has done is naught more than extremely complicated dust manipulation. I believe that part of her coping mechanism was leaning into these jokes from when she was young, and that she has developed what you might call… delusions of grandeur. She has fallen into playing a character as a way of coping."
Silence fell across the room, everyone tried to process the information they were given. Jaune still thought that her being a Dust Mage was super cool! Even if it wasn't 'magic' per-say, it still took a lot of skill!
It was Yang, ultimately, who broke the silence. She placed one hand on her hip and grinned with a glint of amusement in her eye, "So… She's a Chuunibyou?" Everyone looked at Yang and she shrugged, "What? Ruby was one too for a while. You should have seen how she would insist that she was the descendent of the King of Vale."
Jaune tilted his head, "Then… What was with those storm clouds? And when she was flying in order to save me?" At the mention of the last part, everyone raised their eyebrows at Jaune and he nodded while shrugging his shoulders, "It's what happened!"
Ozpin had an answer for that, "Her semblance is Weather Manipulation. It was how she summoned that lightning bolt from the sky, you see. It's a very powerful semblance. That and clever use of wind dust is how she flies as well, although the way she manipulates dust and weather is very exhausting, hence why she collapsed. As I said, she is very skilled."
Ruby, who pointedly ignored Yang mentioning her dark and tragic backstory, tilted her head, "So… why tell us?" She didn't see how it was that big of a deal, especially not enough to call them all to the Headmaster's office when they could be getting ready for bed.
Ozpin smiled, "I felt it was important to clear up any misconceptions before they fermented any further. Also, so that all of you might do me a favor. Try and help her acclimate to life in… society, as it were. Teach her how things work, as the village I raised her in was very remote, it didn't have very many accommodations at all."
Weiss said nothing but simply kept her gaze as neutral as she could. Of course, everyone knew she had no intention of helping Vesta. Yang, however, grinned, "Absolutely! We'll set her straight, before you know it she'll be just a regular girl like me! I'll take charge of this case, don't worry!"
Ozpin tried to hide that he was just a bit worried about Yang influencing his daughter, but he couldn't let that show, so he just nodded, "Very good. You are all dismissed. Get some rest, your first day of classes is tomorrow, after all." He smiled, "And maybe go down the elevator a few at a time, this time."
The group had no idea how they hadn't thought of that, collectively they all facepalmed before turning and leaving, bidding the Headmaster goodbye for now. Meanwhile, Ozpin grimaced as they left for an entirely different reason, albeit still related to Vesta. Her sudden appearance had caused a massive headache for him in terms of wrestling with the Valean bureaucratic machine. He was going to have to call on favors he'd been saving for years, bribe a few people, and maybe offer scholarships to some children. All so he could make it appear that Vesta was a Valean citizen, always had been, and was a huntress-in-training who was apprenticed for several years instead of being brought up in a primary school.
Migraines, thy name is Ozpin…
When the rest of Team ORNJ got back to their dorm, they were surprised to see Vesta sleeping on the ground. Yet, Nora and Ren didn't seem bothered by it. Jaune moved to try and pick her up to lay her back in her bed, but Ren held his hand up, "Don't. If she really was lost all on her own for so long, then she's probably used to sleeping on the ground. It will take time for her to adjust to a bed."
Jaune looked worriedly at the sleeping girl, who seemed to have rolled off the bed in her sleep and was thus wrapped up in a burrito of blankets. He sighed and nodded before going about taking off his armor so he could take a shower and change into his night clothes.
The next day was certainly going to be busy.
The next day was, in fact, busy.
Vesta was the first to wake, blissfully unaware of how she had been slandered and defamed the day prior. Instead she just got up and immediately realized that she had no idea what lessons she was supposed to be going to. However, seeing that the others were still sleeping, she figured that it wasn't time for class yet and set about looking through the kitchen for something to eat.
The devices inside the kitchen were, frankly, terrifying to her. She had no idea what the big block of metal was doing there nor did she know what trickery the tall rectangle was performing in order to keep everything inside chilled to the touch. There was a white substance in a jug, which, when she uncapped it and smelled it, she deduced to be milk. She put it back and then rummaged through the cabinets before finding something that looked to contain food.
It was called "Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes" and had a picture of the girl she recognized as Pyrrha Nikos at the front, with what looked to be a bowl with the food and milk in it behind her. Vesta thus followed the box's generous instructions by finding a bowl, pouring in the cereal, and then pouring in the milk. However, she overestimated how much the bowl could hold, resulting in some of it spilling on the counter. She vowed to clean it up after she ate, and was about to start doing so before she remembered that she wanted to finally brush her hair. To help make sure she didn't forget, she—for the first time in a whole month—let her hair down. At this point, it was incredibly frayed and knotted, with strands sticking up in haphazard places. She had also used magic to make her hair 'fluffier' than it was before while on the island, just because she was bored.
With that done, she tried the cereal and blinked at the burst of pure sugar that she felt. Vesta, however, didn't dislike it, instead she liked it, she liked it a lot. Since she was incredibly hungry, she began to eat it quickly.
This was the scene Jaune walked into, having woken up and gotten out of bed while she was exploring the kitchen, he was wearing a blue pajama shirt, matching pants, and a sleeping cap on his head. The last thing he expected to see when he entered the kitchen was Vesta, the girl who called herself a princess and always acted so formal and polite, scarfing down Pumpkin Pete's like a god damn gremlin.
Vesta stared at him, wide-eyed like a deer in the headlights, before she swallowed the food that was in her mouth and then said, "This didn't happen. Forget you saw anything." She tried to make it sound like a threat.
Jaune just began snickering, he covered his mouth and looked away, "No no, it's not bad!" He was having a hard time holding back laughter, "It's just funny seeing you do this. I didn't expect-"
Vesta hissed, "I am still proper! I was just… very hungry." She squinted at Jaune after he continued to snicker and hold back laughter, "Dost thou intend to eat? Or are you going to keep staring?"
Jaune got control of himself and said, "Uhm… Ren's going to let you use his brush for your hair." That was a surprise to Vesta, she didn't expect the others to want to help her with her hair.
Yet still, she couldn't say that it was a bad feeling, knowing that they cared, "Ah… I will have to thank him. I haven't brushed my hair manually in a while… But fixing it with magic while it's in this poor of a condition would take more energy from me than I wish for my hair."
The blonde knight didn't think before he spoke, "I can brush it for you!" When his mind caught up to his mouth he stammered, "I-I mean, i-i-if you want, I-I don't wanna seem creepy… A-Actually just forget-"
Vesta personally wasn't sure exactly what he was stammering about. Was it not common for people to brush each other's hair in the future? That was strange, so she interrupted him, "I would appreciate that, Jaune." She smiled, "It has always been easier to have someone else do it." Jaune's face heated up before he nodded quickly several times and then left the kitchen.
Vesta wasn't sure what that was about in the slightest. Maybe he was worried he'd mess up her hair? If he did then she could just fix it with magic, so it wasn't a big deal in her mind. Instead she just finished eating and then cleaned up the mess she had made. Before she let Jaune have at her hair, however, she needed to take a bath.
…Which meant navigating the strange modern amenities in the other rooms. Naturally, that meant asking Jaune what she was supposed to wash with. So, she headed into the main room, where Jaune was sitting down looking at his 'scroll' as Yang called them, and asked, "Jaune, pray tell me where I might wash myself."
Jaune looked up in surprise momentarily, "Wha-" Then he remembered what Oz had said and so he just laughed softly under his breath before muttering, "Oh yeah, right, right…" He raised his voice slightly, but not too much as to not wake up Ren and Nora, "You don't know about showers or anything like that, do you?"
Vesta's confused expression was enough of an answer for him as he stood up. One might have expected him to be as jumpy about this as he was about brushing her hair, but he was just showing her what a shower was, so there wasn't anything to be worried about. He gestured for her to follow and she did so, once they were in the bathroom he explained, "Uhm… Right." He then went through an explanation on how exactly the shower worked along with where she could put her clothes. It didn't take that long thankfully and Vesta understood it fairly quickly.
After that, Vesta went to grab the uniform she had been given for her classes, apparently it was something she was mandated to wear, but she didn't particularly care too much. Instead, she cared that it was a fresh set of clothes she could change into, so that she might be able to give her primary outfit a good wash. Why not just use magic for that? Well, the answer was simple, because channeling her magic through her clothes took more effort than one might think, so she didn't want to tire herself out. That, and she was feeling lazy after the events of the day before.
Luckily the uniform also came with a change of underwear, she was going to have to find more of that as well…
The experience of taking a 'shower' as Jaune called it was… interesting, to say the least. Five thousand years had certainly done a lot for the advancement of hygiene and how easy it was to get clean. Although the sheer amount of time she'd gone without a proper wash and only freshening herself up with magic probably had something to do with how her feet stung against the floor of the bath-tub when the hot water reached them. It wasn't painful, just… unique.
Jaune had also told her that she was free to use his shampoo and conditioner. She had no idea what either of them did exactly, he just told her they made hair smell nice. Back in Everday, she would only really have soap and magic on hand to clean herself. This was a vast change, to say the least. Although she wouldn't know whether it was an improvement or not until after the fact.
At least being in the shower gave her time to think, when she wasn't trying to soothe the stinging in her eyes that came from accidentally getting shampoo in them. Much had happened in the past day, soon to be two. She still wasn't sure exactly what to make of this 'modern' world, it seemed that the everyday lives of people were far beyond what even she had growing up in Everday, but she still felt… alien. Like she wasn't supposed to be there.
Of course, that was because she wasn't. She was born five thousand years earlier. She was supposed to have lived there, gotten married there, had a family and a life there, at least that's what Salem had expected of her. Then, Salem expected her to die, she and Father both thought that she was crushed under that chandelier. That she had died with her kingdom.
Maybe… maybe she should have-
No!
Vesta shook her head and tried to purge her mind of the dark thoughts, although they lingered at the corners of her consciousness still, not fully abating. She reminded herself that she was alive, that she should be, and that Everday wasn't dead. It lived in her, and as long as she was alive, the kingdom, too, was alive. Maybe one day, she could find a way to bring it back to the physical world, rather than it just being alive in her heart.
That, however, was far into the future.
She finished her shower and dried off with a snap of her fingers, although her hair remained slightly damp. Vesta got dressed in the 'uniform' that she had been given and inspected herself in the mirror. The outfit itself was interesting. A pair of black shorts and matching stockings that covered her legs completely went on under a red plaid skirt that (scandalously) stopped well above her knees, instead ending at her thighs. This was followed by a white shirt with a red ribbon tied at the collar, and a brown jacket with a tan vest. She also used magic to clean her teeth and give her breath a nice minty smell. She had been told about modern day dental hygiene, and while she did want to try doing that as well, she didn't have a toothbrush. Sharing something like that was not something she wanted to do, not at all.
Her hair was still messy, but that wasn't on her to fix. She wanted to see how well Jaune knew his way around a brush, so she left the bathroom and scanned the main room. At this point, Nora and Ren were awake, with Ren having disappeared into the kitchen while Nora greeted her with a grin, "Good morning!"
Nora was holding her own uniform in a bundle in her arms, so Vesta stepped away from the bathroom and smiled, "Good morning, Nora." She greeted Nora warmly, who headed into the bathroom and shut the door behind her after their greetings. It didn't take long to hear the shower going, so Vesta turned her attention to the final member of her team.
She was admittedly surprised to see what she did.
The blonde knight was just finishing up making a bed, but not his own. His own bed was still a mess; no, he was making her bed, having picked up her sheets off the ground and neatly put them back on the bed, tucking in the end under the mattress and making it look as good as it had before she fell off of it. Vesta watched him as he finished smoothing out the blankets before she cleared her throat, causing him to start before he whirled around to look at her, a nervous look in his eyes paired with an equally nervous smile, "O-Oh! Hey Vesta! How was the shower?"
Vesta raised an eyebrow, "Well enough, I must admit that it took some adjusting to…" She tilted her head, "Why are you fixing my bed? That is my responsibility, is it not?" She wasn't going to admit that she had no idea how to make a bed, she had people that did that for her back at Everday! Nor was she going to admit that it felt nice, knowing that he was doing something so thoughtful for her without even being prompted.
Jaune rubbed the back of his head nervously, Vesta realized that must have been a habit of his. The man himself knew it was, he just didn't even really notice when he did it! "A-Ah, technically I guess it is? B-But you know, I'm used to fixing my younger sisters' beds for them, so I guess I figured I'd just do it for you and Nora! Since… Ren already fixed his."
Vesta hummed before nodding and giving him a smile, "How kind." She headed to her bed and sat down on it, "Well, it's time to see how you brush hair, Jaune." She smirked, "Don't worry about messing it up, I could just use magic to fix it if you do."
Jaune internally breathed a sigh of relief that his quick excuse was bought off-handedly. Really, it was a matter of habit for him to fix beds, but he also wanted to do it as just a nice gesture to Vesta. Between everything he heard about her and how she behaved, he would be lying if he said he didn't feel bad for her. He didn't think of it as pity, he just thought he was being nice. He looked to where Ren had left his brush, just a green hair brush, and took it, "Right."
This was the part that he was most nervous about. Vesta was sitting there while he knelt on the bed behind her and hesitated for a second. Then, he experimentally ran his free hand's fingers through her hair, and there was a lot of it. He thought it smelled nice, too, but that was because it was his shampoo. Although, he had to admit, the smell of strawberry fit her better than it fit him. He began gently brushing her hair, and yet the silence between them felt awkward, at least to him, "So…"
Vesta personally would have been completely fine with silence, but she wasn't going to say no to some conversation as well. Jaune was a very skittish boy, she noticed, it seemed like he was scared of his own shadow, and that behavior was reflected in how shaky and uneasy his voice was. He reminded her of… a golden retriever. Eager to help and very excitable, it didn't even take that long for her to deduce that.
So, she threw the metaphorical dog a bone, speaking in a soft tone, "Tell me about your life, Jaune Arc." She smiled ever so slightly, "With how much you saw yesterday, I think you know more than enough about me. Yet, I know next to nothing about you." It was a genuine curiosity, she held that same curiosity for her whole team. She was going to need to have that curiosity, she felt, if she was to become a good Team Leader.
Jaune, in the meantime, was surprised to hear the question. Not many people wanted to know about his life story, and really there wasn't much to tell. Well… other than how he got to Beacon, but he wasn't going to tell her, or anyone, about that. Not yet. He mulled over the question, "W-Well…" He cursed himself for stammering, but he'd never exactly been this close to a girl before. He reminded himself that he was just doing her a favor, brushing her hair, and that she was incredibly far out of his league, even if she's apparently got her own quirks, "I'm from Domremy, it's decently sized, got walls and everything, but it's nowhere near as big as Vale…"
There were a few moments of silence while Jaune carefully worked out a particularly tough tangled knot, eventually though, he got it, "Ah! There. S-Sorry, anyway, I grew up right in the middle of a pack of seven sisters."
That shocked Vesta, luckily she kept her composure, but still. What in heaven's name was with his parents?! They were like rabbits! How did they even look after that many kids? That was way too many kids! "S-Seven…?" She muttered just loud enough for him to hear.
Jaune chuckled meekly, "Y-Yeah, seven. It was… chaos. They'd make me do a lot of stuff with them, like brush their hair, or… be a test dummy for their hairstyle and dress ideas." He sighed at the memories before internally freaking out and hoping that Vesta didn't feel it on her neck or anything like that, then she might think he was being creepy! "Honestly, I hated it a lot of the time growing up, but now I wouldn't change it for anything."
Vesta had in fact felt his breath on her neck, it felt… strange. Not unpleasant, but strange. Goosebumps, that's what she had, against her best efforts. It made her shudder ever so slightly, and there was this strange sensation in her stomach. Butterflies? No, perhaps it was the cereal. Yet, she pushed it off, ultimately anyone would feel that way in a situation like this. She hummed, a soft affirmation that she was listening. Jaune continued, "I uh… went to regular civilian schools and trained with my dad, that's how I know how to use my sword and shield…" That wasn't it at all, he learned everything he knew from watching TV shows, his dad didn't want him becoming a huntsman.
If it were up to his dad, Jaune would be working with him at his farm and the most fighting Jaune would have ever seen would be while serving the local militia. Sure, he would still be defending the innocent from Grimm, but he would have been nothing compared to a Huntsman!
He still wasn't anything compared to a Huntsman, but he knew he'd get there, if he just kept training…
Vesta, meanwhile, wanted to call hogwash, "Did he? Then why was your aura not unlocked? He also never ironed out that poor grip on your sword…" She didn't mean these things as an insult, rather it was just a statement of fact.
Jaune laughed nervously, "Ahaha… W-Well, I just… wasn't a very good student, you know?" He hadn't exactly anticipated her calling him out like that, although she seemed to buy his excuse, the active word being 'seemed to', "G-Good enough to get into Beacon, at least!"
Vesta hummed, "Indeed," although she worried for his performance in sparring matches, "You clearly still need work. Perhaps some instructional books might do you well?" She phrased it like a question, but it wasn't one she expected him to answer. Rather, she answered it herself, "I think they would."
The tone in her voice didn't really leave room for Jaune to protest. It was a tone that reminded him of his mother, or his older sisters. He knew what it meant, that going against her wasn't a good idea. Yet, in spite of the tone reminding him of his family, it didn't stop the butterflies in his stomach from taking flight yet again, "U-Uhm, yeah, you're right." He personally thought that he didn't need books, he just needed time! Yet, he could just agree with her for now, it wasn't like she was going to make him read any books, right? He had many questions about Vesta, and this just added another one on top of the others.
Why was she so scary?
Finally, he finished, her hair was as straight as he could get it. So, he stood up and stepped away, "All done." He watched as she reached over to where her satchel laid, on the nightstand next to her bed, and from it she produced a hand-mirror that looked, in Jaune's mind, beautifully made and expensive. He silently waited while she looked over herself.
Vesta, in the meantime, was pleasantly surprised. Her hair was a lot thicker than it used to be so of course it wasn't going to look exactly as it did back at Everday, but it looked nice, in her mind! Maybe she would need to ask Yang for pointers on how to fix her hair, but for now this would do, "Very good work, Jaune. You certainly know what you're doing."
Then the two of them heard a whistle as Nora boisterously proclaimed, "Yeah he does! Your hair is looking nice!" Jaune quickly turned around to look at her in surprise while Vesta's eyes momentarily widened before going back to normal as she turned to look at the other girl.
Nora was wearing her uniform now, and judging from the sound of the shower going, Ren was taking his turn, "Awh, helping our team leader brush her hair, Jauney?" She grinned, "That's so sweet! If only Ren would let me help him with his!"
In spite of the fact that he was in the shower, the other three could hear his voice, "Not going to happen, Nora! My hair is a sacred temple!" The unexpected line from the normally quiet boy caused Jaune to start to laugh while Vesta covered her mouth to suppress her giggles.
Ren emerged ready for the day after that, and then Jaune went in and took his turn. By the time they were all ready, they were shocked to see they only had two minutes before class started. So, they burst out of their room and sprinted towards class, following Team RWBY, which seemed to be having a late morning as well.
Vesta felt the classes were interesting, she found that the others didn't like Professor Port's class or his stories, but she actually found them rather interesting! It seemed the correct thing to do was take notes, so she did. Several pages of the journal she had been given by Ren were filled with Port's stories, written ver-batim of course.
Towards the end, Weiss had to fight a Boarbatusk. She was annoyed by Ruby cheering her on and eventually yelled at her to stop talking before she took out said Grimm. Ruby clearly looked hurt, but Vesta figured she would figure it out eventually. She did feel bad for Ruby, being stuck with the merchant's daughter was perhaps the worst fate she could imagine for the girl, relating to school at least.
The other classes were interesting in their own way. Doctor Oobleck talked way too fast, Professor Peach was nice and fairly normal, as was Professor Kyros. Those three taught History, Botany and Survival, and Dustology respectively. Lunch was in the middle of it all, and that was spent mostly listening to Nora spin her own stories, contrary to her earlier exploits Vesta maintained proper decorum.
The final class of the day was combat training, where students sparred and then were given pointers by Glynda Goodnotawitch. Vesta would have loved to use it as a chance to test some of her spells on live opponents in a safe environment, but Ozpin had requested her staff so that he could improve it and make it viable as a weapon in and of itself, so that she didn't have to rely on her spells. Not that she couldn't use her spells without her staff, but it took more effort to cast using her bare hands. Besides, Glynda specifically said to Vesta that she wouldn't be picking her until her weapon was ready.
That didn't help the rumors, Vesta heard them, people whispering about favoritism again and again. It was growing tiring and already somewhat wearing on her, was it just favoritism? There was no way for her to know without asking her father, and she knew he wouldn't give a straight answer right away. It was better to just ignore it, she figured.
Instead she focused on how Jaune lost handily to Cardin Winchester, who was grinning and taunting her teammate the whole time. Jaune didn't stand a chance, truly, and she knew that. Although, she could admit that she took some solace in watching Cardin get a stern talking to by Pyrrha about politeness and dueling etiquette, which he listened to while looking like a dog who was caught with a torn up newspaper.
Still, Jaune's—for lack of a better word—incompetence, was something Vesta took note of. He would be killed easily in a real combat scenario, and that was something nobody wanted. She vowed to get those books and to help educate him, and she would have started doing that immediately after combat class was done, were it not for what happened after class had let out.
Namely, Yang approached her and threw an arm around her while she was walking with her team towards the mess hall. The taller girl grinned at Vesta, "Say, Vesta! Vestie! I have some good news for you! You've been chosen by the Yang to go with her down to Vale for a night on the town!"
She pulled Vesta—who had furrowed her brows—closer, and continued talking while she stopped walking and gestured towards the sky with her free hand. "Think about it! I'll take you to buy clothes, some other stuff, and then we can tie it allll up with dinner at my favorite cafe! All with my own Lien! Ruby's coming, too, so you know it's gonna be a good night!"
Vesta furrowed her brow, "Just us three? Can I not bring anyone else?" She wasn't going to turn her down, after all she did want to see what the city of Vale was like. That, and she needed extra clothes, among other things.
Yang hummed, "Mmmmhhh, Nora can come!" That prompted Nora to cheer and clap her hands, "Anyway! Let's get going, right now!" She began to pull Vesta away while Nora skipped close behind. Vesta sighed and didn't even protest this time, she was used to being kidnapped at this point.
Mercifully, the ride down to Vale was short. Vesta would have just flown down on her own, but Yang insisted that she try riding a Bullhead, "You might have your hocus pocus but you shouldn't expend all your dust!" she had said, which confused Vesta. She didn't use dust to fly, nor at all really… She could, she knew how, but magic did everything dust could and more. Yet, when she pointed out that she used magic and not dust, Yang just laughed and said, "Right, right!" As if she didn't believe her.
Then they all got down to Vale and Vesta was almost overwhelmed by how many people she saw. All the noises and sights and smells were unlike anything back in her home city. They never had the strange metal horses that people rode around the streets, and that was just the most glaring difference.
And then Yang led her to a strange two-wheeled yellow and black… thing. Ruby gasped as she saw her sister heading towards it, "Yang! Are you going to take her on Bumblebee?"
Yang laughed and said, "Yup!" with a popping P, "You're gonna love this, Vesta. Okay, maybe you will, maybe you won't. You won't know until you try!" Then she looked back at Nora and Ruby, "Ruby, you can keep up with your semblance, right? You should bring Nora with you!" Ruby just saluted her sister while Nora looked excited.
Vesta was decidedly not excited, "Y-Yang? What is this metal horse? What are you—" She didn't have time to finish her thought as Yang put this strange helmet on her head and guided her to sit on the bike before she herself got on.
Yang laughed as she put her keys in the ignition and her bike roared to life, "Don't worry, Vestie! It's totally safe! Now, Ruby! I'll race ya to Diogenes' Closet! Whoever loses has to buy dinner!"
Ruby gasped and squinted her eyes, "Oh it's on!"
Yang donned her helmet and sunglasses, "Yeah, Xiao-lo-on-g." She laughed as Ruby groaned at her terrible pun.
Meanwhile, Vesta was too busy trying to figure out what was happening to groan, "Yang are you sure-"
Yang once again cut her off, "Put your hands on my hips and hold on tight!" She laughed and then revved her bike before it took off, racing down the street while Vesta protested loudly, until her scream could be heard far down the road.
Ruby took Nora and joined the race, the wind generated by her semblance knocking over civilians while she rapidly apologized to everyone who fell due to her speed. Yet, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. Nora, too, was cheering during all of this.
In the meantime, Vesta had gotten control of her voice but her eyes were still wide and she was holding onto Yang's hips for dear life, "Yang! Can't you slow down?!" She asked, knowing the other girl would not slow down as she weaved between metal horses on the streets while cackling like a maniac. It felt like they were going to crash! Yet, they didn't, instead Vesta was left with a pounding heart and racing adrenaline as they continued down the road.
Yang was fast, but Ruby's semblance defied natural law, and after several minutes of pulse-pounding racing, Ruby claimed victory. She cut off her semblance in front of the store while Yang came to a stop in the parking lot. She kicked down the kick-stand and laughed as she got off the bike and took her helmet off, shaking out her hair, "Aah, I let you win, Ruby!"
The other girl rolled her eyes while Vesta stumbled off her seat. She took off her helmet, eyes still wide, as she looked around. Her chest was heaving with the effort of every breath, and she looked as if she was in fight or flight mode, but at the end of it all she said, 'Th-That… was actually somewhat… enjoyable!" She grinned.
Yang laughed, "A girl after my own heart! Maybe one day you'll have your own bike! You can name it… Red Hare! Or Kirin! Something cool!" All four girls headed into the store, the lettering reading 'Diogenes' Closet' with the 'o' in 'Diogenes' replaced with a barrel. Yang asked if she and Vesta could leave their helmets with the cashier, and of course they were fine with it, so they did so.
The store itself was a chain, it had cheaper options along with some slightly high-end choices in terms of clothing. The really cheap things like gloves were kept in barrels with a price tag hanging off it. Vesta was immediately drawn to looking at the dresses, while Yang tutted, "Tsk, tsk! Vestie, my girl, you gotta get with the times!" She turned the girl away from the dress aisle and took her somewhere else, "That Witch getup is cute for your huntress gear, but you gotta mix it up! I'm gonna get you a few different outfits, and we'll see which ones you like!"
Vesta was going to protest that she saw plenty of girls on the streets wearing dresses, but then she remembered that she saw just as many, if not more, wearing other types of clothes. So, she decided that for the sake of 'adjusting to the modern day' she would go along with what Yang wanted.
Yang grabbed an alarmingly large number of clothes, muttering to herself about what would look 'cute' or 'hot' as she went. Vesta was unfamiliar with what 'hot' meant in this context, but she had a feeling that it was going to bode poorly for her ancient sensibilities.
Once Yang had gathered up what she deemed to be a decent number of clothes, she directed Vesta towards the changing rooms, shoved the clothes into her hands, and then all but pushed her into the room, "I want you to come out after putting on an outfit so I can judge it!"
Nora and Ruby, too, finished their own browsing and went over to sit on the bench Yang was on. Once the Board of Fashion gathered, Ruby asked, "Yang, did you give her a bunch of embarrassing stuff? You better not!" She huffed, "We shouldn't be making her uncomfortable."
Vesta replied from inside the changing room, "Oh worry not, Ruby, nearly everything I have experienced since I got here has been uncomfortable! I can handle a bit more discomfort if it means looking… 'normal.'" A minute later Vesta's voice betrayed how uncertain she was, "Uhm… Yang, are you certain this is what people wear? It appears very… scandalous."
Yang had a grin on her face this whole time, and now it went ear to ear as she took out her scroll and entered it into camera mode, "Yup! Every outfit in that collection is modern!" All three girls heard Vesta sigh before she stepped out of the changing room.
It was amazing what clothes could do to the impression that someone gave, and with one change of clothes Vesta went from looking like a somewhat-unapproachable princess to… Well, a normal girl. She wore a loose gray top that had sleeves that went down to her elbows and hung off her left shoulder and exposed her midriff. Underneath it was a thin-strap black tank top, one could see the straps and a piece of the top. On her left hand was a black fingerless glove, and her pants were something that Vesta felt didn't deserve the word.
They were 'hot pants' as Yang called them, brown and scandalously short with a brown belt keeping them up. They had light-gray fur on either pants leg, although Vesta doubted they would be useful at keeping her warm. The outfit finished off with a pair of brown flat-heeled boots that stopped before her knees. Vesta, for once, looked incredibly flustered and nervous as she inspected herself, "Th-This looks-"
Yang interrupted her, "Hot!" She snapped several pictures, "Work it, baby! Turn around!" Vesta hesitantly did so as Yang snapped more pictures, "Sheesh! Damn, you've got some serious back!" Vesta had no idea what that meant as she turned back around to place her hands on her hips and judge Yang.
Yang grinned and lowered her scroll, "What do you girls think?" She asked, looking between the two. Nora grinned and gave two thumbs up, looking like she agreed with Yang's assessment.
Ruby, meanwhile, had her mouth slightly ajar while her eyes were wide, her face covered in a blush. Yang nudged her and Ruby gasped before she shook herself out of it, "R-Really good!" She grinned, "I think that one's a keeper!"
At all the encouragement, Vesta couldn't really say no, could she? Besides, as… terrifyingly scandalous as it was, it did look nice. So, she just nodded before turning around and heading back inside.
Meanwhile, Yang was sending a text message to someone.
Jaune was enjoying his 'guys afternoon' playing video games with Ren on their scrolls when suddenly he got a text, "Hold up, Ren. I've got a text from Yang." Ren nodded and lowered his scroll while Jaune switched to the text app he had. Though Teams RWBY and ORNJ hadn't known each other long, Yang had insisted that they should all have each other's scroll numbers just so they could always reach each other.
Although now he was starting to think that Yang wanted his number just so she could torment him. Because once he saw the texts she sent, his eyes widened. Several pictures of Vesta wearing an outfit that looked so scandalous and so normal made him feel… weird. Good weird, but still weird. His face heated up even more as he saw that she had also sent pictures of Vesta turned away, showing off her generous… back. Yeah, he would go with that.
His wide-eyes and red face must have tipped Ren off that something was going on, since the other boy got up and sat next to Jaune on his bed. When he saw the pictures, the normally stoic boy's eyes widened and his fate heated up, "A-Ah." He managed out, "She is… rather appealing." The boy then stood up and walked back to his bed to sit down.
Jaune swallowed a lump in his throat and quickly switched off his texting app, "Uh-Er-Uhm… Yeah! Appealing!" He switched back to the game, "Anyway let's get back to the game!" He said a bit too quickly for it to be natural.
Ren just went with it, he knew that it was best to move on from this topic.
Several different outfits later, Yang had deemed operation 'get Vesta some new threads' a total success. Would Ozpin be happy with the outfits Yang picked out? Some, sure, but not all of them, not by a long shot. She insisted that Vesta wear the first outfit she tried on after it was paid for. So it was that Yang carried several shopping bags full of clothes out into the parking lot and then nodded to a cafe down the street, "We don't even gotta ride again for this one, that's my favorite cafe right there!"
The cafe was a small hole-in-the-wall mom and pop shop called "The Tekk & Toast Cafe". It was a mixture of a cafe and a bakery, judging by the wonderful smell that Vesta caught a whiff of. It reminded her of the sun cakes she enjoyed so much back at Everday, she wondered if maybe they had something similar?
Vesta noted that on their way there that some people looked at her, men and women would see her and stare for a few seconds before looking away. It was… strange, and she had no idea why they were doing it. Nobody stared at her like that before! Not even at Everday!
Yang noticed too, she snickered but said nothing. After all, there was no need to make the girl uncomfortable. At least, no more than she already was! When they reached the cafe, they found it was rather busy. Still, there was a booth by the windows that they were able to take for themselves. Vesta sat closest to the wall on one side, while Yang sat next to her. Nora sat across from Vesta while Ruby sat across from her sister.
Soon, they were greeted by a waiter, a catboy faunus with brown hair, a blue and yellow jacket with purple around the wrists and a massive golden zipper that looked like a soda can top, finished off with loose purple pants and running shoes. The man regarded them with a neutral expression while he dryly remarked, "Welcome to the Tekk and Toast cafe, the bombest cafe in Vale."
Yang grinned as the guy gave them all menus and asked them what drinks they wanted. Ruby asked for some strawberry milk, Nora and Yang got some Dr. Spicey, and Vesta ordered some tea, although Yang asked to also get her some Dr. Spicey.
When they had their drinks, Yang nodded to the fizzy soda in a tall glass that she had gotten for Vesta, "Try it! See how you like it." Vesta furrowed her brow before trying it, to her surprise, she rather enjoyed it, so she began to drink it rather eagerly. Yang grinned and looked around, "Okay, this is the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to act like a regular city-girl. I'm gonna teach you how to insult people!"
Nora laughed, "That's perfect!" She grinned, "I don't know if Vesta can manage that." Meanwhile, Ruby looked skeptical, but she knew that when Yang was set on something like this, it was very hard to get her to change course. "Okay, you gotta learn to use modern words, no cox-combs! Alright?" Vesta doubted she could change that, nor did she really want to, but she just shrugged noncommittally.
Yang proceeded to give a list of different swear-words and insults that Vesta could use. She also told her what each of them means so that she didn't use them incorrectly. Ruby felt like this was not at all what Ozpin wanted when he asked them to help Vesta acclimate to life in society, but she'd come too far to back down now!
Once her lessons were done, Yang declared, "Right! Now, you need to put those skills to use!" She scanned the cafe before spotting a guy wearing a red flannel, workout shorts, and a worn out pair of shoes, "There! First target, fire! Just keep it down, we don't want to get kicked out!"
Vesta felt this was way too mean spirited for her liking, but she supposed that if it would get Yang to stop bothering her about it… "Hmph, what kind of sweater is that? Yonder stranger has never heard of good fashion! He looks… uhm… fucking stupid!"
Yang gave that one a five out of ten, so Vesta looked for another target. Her eyes landed on a black haired woman talking to a man with bright red hair, they sounded like they were discussing therapy, "Hmph, that man is the one who needs therapy with a haircut like that. It's as red as a rotten cherry! It looks like the hair above a horse's… ehm… arse?" She looked at Yang, who shook her head, "Uhm… It looks like shit!" Then she followed up, "And that woman needs to get the hair out of her eyes! It looks like she's wearing a mop on her head!"
Yang shrugged at how that ended and gave it a four. Vesta looked for one more target and saw a blue haired woman burst into the cafe, walked up to the waiter, and began to tell him off about something. It sounded like she knew him, and she was ranting about her 'range', whatever that meant. She focused on the waiter, "And he… uhm… looks like a real dick?" She looked at Yang, who grinned, Vesta continued, "A-And he's got terrible fashion sense! It's so poor, he's a right pauper!"
Yang laughed, "Alright, that's enough. We can work on the rest later. Once our waiter is done getting his ear chewed off we'll order, eat, and then go shopping for whatever else you're missing."
Vesta felt like she needed to wash out her mouth with soap after that. She felt so mean! She didn't like it one bit, not at all. She vowed that she would never insult anyone like that again unless they deserved it. After all, she wasn't Weiss! Not that Weiss swore, she just seemed to not like people.
Their food was good, Yang had made Vesta try some pasta, which she enjoyed, although Yang promised to take her somewhere with a lot more good options some other time. Vesta might not have agreed with everything Yang had her do, but she could at least appreciate that the girl was going out of her way to help. So were Nora and Ruby, although they seemed mostly along for the ride while Yang led the charge.
Vesta bought a lot of things that Yang said she needed, although apparently she got a text saying that Ozpin had a scroll for Vesta to use, so she didn't need to buy that. Yang was glad for that, scrolls could get expensive! All four girls were carrying loads of bags by the time they got back on the bullhead and rode back up to Beacon. It was dark, as well, and Vesta for the first time saw how the city lit up.
It left her breathless as she saw how Vale looked from the sky at night. A cacophony of colors that shimmered and banished the dark. It was—in her mind—amazing. Almost as amazing as how Beacon looked at night, because it too was covered in lights, on buildings and coming from what Vesta learned were 'street lamps' that lined the cobblestone paths.
She could have stayed admiring the lights for hours, but she had to get back to her dorm to put all of her new things away. So the four girls made their way back there, with Yang and Ruby bidding the other two goodnight before going back into their dorm. Nora threw open the door to the dorm and declared, "We're baaacckk!"
Inside, Jaune and Ren were both sitting around. The former was reading a comic book while laying on his bed and the latter was reading a regular book, although Vesta couldn't see the title. Ren nodded to them, "Welcome back." He greeted them with an even tone, "Did you get everything you needed, Vesta?"
Vesta nodded, "Indeed." She responded as she put the bags on her bed just so she could figure out where everything needed to go. She crossed her arms and hummed, before she began to move the clothes into her closet. It used to be empty, but it filled almost to bursting now, "It was… an interesting experience."
Jaune stole glances at her, wondering why she had to be wearing that outfit? It was scary! Intimidating! Not something he expected her to wear at all! And a bunch of other things. He took a deep breath before looking back at his comic and chiding himself for thinking about his Team Leader like that. She deserved better!
Nora placed her hands on her hips, "She's got lots of cool outfits now! This one included! What do you guys think?" She gestured to it while Vesta furrowed her brow and turned to glare at the other girl. Vesta didn't detect any teasing in Nora's tone, so maybe it was just a genuine question.
Ren easily responded, "Perhaps not what I would expect her to wear, given her demeanor, but it is a good outfit." He never even looked up from his book.
Jaune cleared his throat and buried his nose in his comic, "I-I-I agree with Ren. It's nice!" He hid his blushing face while Vesta just shrugged and turned back to her closet, picking out her new dark blue night gown before disappearing into the bathroom to change.
When she returned, she went to the balcony and opened the doors to it, letting the cool air waft in. Their dorm faced the city, so she could get a good look at the lights from there. She walked onto the balcony and leaned on it, finding herself smiling at the sight. She sincerely hoped she never got tired of it.
She thought back on the day she had had. It was…interesting, to say the very least. Between learning about Jaune's family, classes, and then going out into town, she could definitely call it productive, "You know, you three." She called back to her team, "I won't lie to you, I have doubts about my capabilities to lead. I never expected myself to be a fighter on the ground as I am now, let alone responsible for the lives of others. Though we have only met a day ago, I don't wish to do you a disservice." As confident as she was in her ability to be a princess, she was not at all sure about Team Leader, "So… if you ever have any qualms, do not hesitate to voice them. I will not take offense."
Jaune had to wonder where all of this was coming from. Maybe it was just things that Vesta had been thinking about all day? It was incredibly hard to read her, to tell what she was thinking, which made it doubly difficult for him given that he had trouble reading the mood of a normal person!
Still, he shared a look with the other three before they all stood up and walked over to join her on the balcony. Nora and Ren leaned on either side of her while he leaned on the right side's railings and said, "Hey, I mean… to be fair to you, you were great back there with the Deathstalker. Better than I would have done…"
Nora snorted, "Psshhh, I know I'd have sucked! I'm not a leader, I'm good at being strong and hitting stuff! I don't wanna mess up my flow like that, and besides, I'd probably just use my Team Leader powers to make Ren cook me a bunch of pancakes."
Ren chuckled and smirked a very faint smirk while glancing at Nora, "I would have been the head of the mutiny to depose you, Nora." He looked at Vesta, "You know I don't say a lot, I prefer action over words. When it mattered, you acted, and while I can strategize with Nora… I'm not exactly the person that should be turned to for anyone else."
Jaune was in agreement, "Yeah, so… You were really the best choice, and even if you don't know how to lead very well right now, that's why we're here at Beacon, isn't it?" He smiled meekly, even though Vesta couldn't see it, given that she was looking out at the city, "And it's not like you need to shoulder everything by yourself… Teams are supposed to last for years, possibly even after graduation, right? So… We'll be there to help you when you need it, too."
Vesta saw Nora and Ren nod in agreement and she wished she could fully explain why they should rightfully want nothing to do with her end-goals. Fighting Salem, healing a broken world, and then who knows what else… "Thank you, all of you. I hope I won't disappoint. I'll hold you to your promise, though." She smiled, "Clothes shopping to combat, Grimm and ner-do-wells, even any rocky patches we have trying to learn to be a team… There's a limitless number of things we will have to deal with. Only God knows what lies on our path."
Nora furrowed her brow, "Which one? Light or dark?"
Vesta snickered, "Pick one, I certainly don't have the answer." Though she hadn't known them long, and though there was much and more she was going to need to learn about them, she could still call all three of them comrades and friends already. That was a great comfort to her, "I feel like I should have some sort of rallying cry for us to demonstrate our bonds, but I simply don't know what to say…"
Nora hummed and rubbed her chin, "Hmmm. All for one and one for all?"
Vesta was surprised that that saying had survived five thousand years, but she supposed some things just never died. "Very well…" She took a deep breath and turned back towards the dorm, Nora and Ren did the same while Vesta stuck out her hand, the others placed theirs on top of it. She began, "All for one…" They finished in a chorus.
"And one for all!"