Vesta had a hard time truly believing that she would ever get used to life in the future to the point where time would just pass by without her noticing, and yet it had.
That was, at least in part, because most of her time was spent waiting: waiting for her staff, waiting for those books on swordsmanship that she had requested from her father (who said he would be happy to provide them but he would need time to find the right ones), and waiting for the magical day when she would wake up and suddenly find that everything about modern Remnant made sense. The last thing hadn't happened yet, but she found the other two came towards the end of the first month, March.
Jaune, too, had spent the month waiting. Although he was mostly waiting on the day when the stupid fluttering in his chest that happened anytime he looked at Vesta would stop. He chided himself for being stupid, because he still maintained he just wasn't good enough. Not to say that was all Jaune focused on, he trained on his own and tried his best to improve, although he had yet to win a single sparring match, and more and more he was known as the 'worst student at Beacon'. It was shameful to him, especially because it brought down everyone around him by association.
It was Friday afternoon after classes when, finally, Vesta got news on what she was waiting for.
She was sitting at lunch, her hair was down (she hadn't worn a ponytail since she let her hair down previously) and she was wearing her usual 'Witch getup' as Yang called it while she idly listened to Nora telling some story or another and watched something amusing unfold a few tables down. Namely, Cardin Winchester, who had previously been rather vocal about not liking Faunus, apologized while bowing his head in shame to some bunny girl. Velvet was her name, Vesta thought. Standing in the background with her arms crossed was Pyrrha, glaring a glare that could burn a hole through Cardin's head. Apparently she had been a rather firm leader when it came to making her team grow out of their more troublesome tendencies.
Team ORNJ was sitting across from Team RWBY, and apparently at least a few of them were paying attention to what Vesta was watching with a small smirk on her face and looked back. Yang chuckled, "Hell of a thing! Who knew all it took was someone who could kick his ass to put Cardin in his place? Man, it's like night and day from when we first saw him."
Jaune chuckled, "Yeah… He's a lot nicer than he used to be, that's for sure." There were plenty more things he could say about Cardin, but Jaune preferred to not dwell. Sure, the guy was a jerk at first, but he'd gotten better! He even offered to train with him outside of class, although Jaune politely turned him down, to which Cardin had just shrugged and said the offer was open whenever. Apparently the logic was that the two of them were mostly on the same skill level, so they could benefit from learning and improving together.
Vesta didn't know about that, of course she didn't. Jaune had a feeling that if he mentioned it, she would have made him take the offer. Yet, the knight was sure that if given enough time he could reach the heights he so desperately sought after all on his own. Although, more and more he was beginning to worry that Vesta knew something was up. If she learned the truth, would she get him kicked out? He really didn't belong at Beacon, he knew that, so if she did, he knew that it would be deserved.
…Although she was not his greatest threat, no, it was the professors. His consistently awful scores, far below even what the worst trainee should be, were going to raise questions. Then, it would only be a matter of time. He was on borrowed time and he knew it, but he still tried to hide it, smiling and joking with the others during dinner.
He didn't know that Vesta was well aware of the fact that something was up, she had been for awhile. It was just a matter of getting him to come clean about it. She had just finished eating some of her pasta (having still not eaten any food like hamburgers or pizza, things that Yang swore she needed to eat eventually) when her scroll buzzed from inside her satchel.
She still had absolutely no idea how most of what was on a scroll worked, she didn't know what the CCTnet was supposed to be, nor did she know what a 'meme' was; Jaune insisted they were great, Vesta still wasn't entirely sure. The text was from her father, telling her that her weapon and the books she'd ordered were finished and that she was free to come collect at any time she wanted.
Which was, naturally, going to be right that moment. She got up from the table and said, "I need to go pick up some things." She looked to her team, "I'll see you three back at the dorm." Curiosity was abound, but everyone just agreed to see her later.
Vesta started to leave, and no sooner than she left did the conversation move forward. Jaune focused on eating his burger while listening to everyone talk, Ruby was saying something having had a dream about a green robot, Nora was imagining that it had death lasers, the usual. Then, Jaune felt like someone was watching him. So he looked up and, sure enough, Yang was grinning while watching him. He didn't like that, not one bit, "Uhm… Need something, Yang?"
Yang hummed, "Oh, y'know. I was just wondering when you're gonna fess up." Jaune's blood ran cold and his eyes widened. Did she know?! The transcripts, the faking, all of that?!
Jaune sighed and deflated, "Is it that obvious…?" He asked, already imagining the disappointed look in Vesta's face that was bound to cut deeper than any knife. The look of sadness on Nora and the small frown of disappointment on Ren's face. He looked down at his plate and closed his eyes.
Only for his bubble to be popped when Yang laughed, "Yeah! You're like… super into Vesta! You have been from day one! Love at first puke!" She cackled, "When are you gonna tell her about it?! She has no idea, I promise, I can tell! Girls know these things. Unless it's happening to them."
Jaune's eyes shot open as his face heated up and he looked at Yang. He tried his best to mask his sheer relief, that's what all this was about?! Yet, still, he thought that as if it was simple that he liked Vesta. It wasn't exactly because of what he was afraid of, and even if she by some miracle didn't think he was a disgrace and a mockery of knighthood, then he still wasn't worth it. He wasn't smart, or fast, or charismatic, or even good looking… In his mind, he had nothing going for him. So why would anyone want anything to do with him that way?
That flood of emotions and negative thoughts made his lips twitch downward into a frown, "I'm not into her." He lied and looked away, clearing his throat and putting on his brightest, goofiest smile, "Anyway! I'm gonna go train, I'll see you guys later!" Before anyone could protest, he got up and walked off.
Everyone watched him leave, and then everyone looked at Yang, who awkwardly shrugged. She had been looking for some easy teasing material, the kind of thing Jaune had consistently provided the past month. How was she supposed to know he wasn't in the mood?
The group did eventually move on to other topics, although the absence of two of their clique was certainly felt. Moreso Jaune than Vesta, partly because he talked more than she did, and partly because his upbeat attitude was usually something that kept the conversation going.
Although, as Jaune walked out towards the dorms, he stopped and looked up at the tower. Vesta was up there, he wondered what she was talking about with her foster father. He would admit that he was still worried about her, because in spite of everyone's best efforts, Vesta still clung to her super formal speech and her old-timey slang, the only difference was that now she wore different clothes sometimes and once in a blue moon used a modern day insult. There were glimpses, cracks in her armor if you would, of what she was like when she let her guard down. When she laughed, he saw it the most when she laughed.
He sighed and looked forward again before walking on.
Vesta, in the meantime, made her way up to her father's office. He was waiting there with a smile on his face, "Ah, Vesta. Come in, come in." He gestured for her to step forward, on his desk was her staff, collapsed and at first glance looking normal. Next to it were several books stacked on top of each other, the top one had a picture of a sword on it and read 'Swordsmanship for Beginners'.
Vesta smiled, "Hello, father." She came to a stop in front of his desk and reached out, taking her staff in its collapsed cylindrical form, "So… what'd you change?" Ozpin nodded for her to extend it, and so she did. It extended, and then she noticed another button on the side of the staff. She clicked it, and…
…The bottom of the staff opened and out popped a bright blue blade about the length of a short sword before two steel 'wings' appeared on either side towards the area where the staff and the blade meet. She remembered it was called a 'partisan', good for stabbing and slashing in equal parts. The blade also had glowing azure runes carved into it, although Vesta couldn't tell what they meant.
Ozpin explained, "Staff-sword fighting is not the easiest fighting style to learn, but the rewards for it are superlative. If you dedicate yourself, it will prove useful for staying out of arm's reach. I have included some books on it within the pile, along with the ones you asked for. I also emailed you several instructional videos, which I recommend you watch. Once you figure out how." He smirked, "Finally, I have had some new copies of your huntress attire made, they've been woven with dust so that you have something to fall back on when you feel using a spell might be… superfluous. However, should you choose to use a spell, you will find your blade is just as conducive to spellcasting as the crystal on the other side."
Vesta looked it over and nodded a few times before smiling softly, "I see, thank you father." She pressed the button on her staff again that caused the blade to fold on itself before it disappeared into the staff. Then, she pressed the other button that allowed it to become smaller. She clipped it to her side, noting that it was a bit heavier now, although she expected that, then she looked at the books and sighed, "Pardon, Father, may I ask your advice?"
Oz smiled, "You don't need to ask, Vesta. You're my daughter, I'm here to give you advice." He had a feeling that he knew what this was about, just like how he knew what Vesta had wanted those books for before she even told him explicitly.
Vesta smiled, "Thank you." Then, she looked up at him, "Jaune is… doing extremely poorly. I'm worried about him, moreso because he's so bloody secretive! I see him every day, and yet I know no more about him now than I did at the start of the year! He's so… skittish!" Vesta sighed in frustration and frowned, "I'm at a loss. Outside of a few instances, he avoids me, he talks a lot without saying anything…" She clenched her fists, "What do I do? I need to get through to him, he needs to get better, or else his life might be at risk!"
Ozpin's smile only grew as he folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward, "I think that you should just talk to him. You must put your foot down and assert yourself, ask him what's wrong and don't take 'nothing' for an answer. He might just need a shoulder to cry on, or a friend to confide in. After all, we all have our secrets… I am sure Mr. Arc has his own."
Vesta felt like there was something her father wasn't telling her, but she wasn't going to question it. After all, if there was something about Jaune that he knew and she didn't, that meant that he just wanted her to go and find out on her own. He nodded, "I'll go talk to him now." He smiled, "I'll see you soon."
They bid their farewells and then Vesta left, heading back to her dorm to look for Jaune.
When she got there, she found Ren and Nora, but not her partner. Nora was doing some push-ups while Ren sat on her back and read a book casually. Vesta blinked at what she saw, but decided not to ask, after all, it did help strength training, or so she heard. Ren didn't even look up from his book as he spoke, "If you're looking for Jaune, he's taken himself up to the roof."
She was going to question how Ren knew that was what she wanted to know, but then again Ren knew a lot more than he let on, so she let it slide. She just said, "Thank you." Then turned and immediately left, heading up to the roof.
It had taken her a solid week to get used to elevators, but she was glad to have them now. It took a few moments to get to the top floor, and only a minute more to climb the steps that led to the rooftop access.
She heard him before she saw him.
The sound of his sword cutting through the air, the grunts of exertion and little swears he muttered, cursing himself for screwing something up. When she opened the door, she saw him sloppily training himself, only reinforcing his bad habits in her mind. He didn't notice her at first, not until she stepped onto the roof completely and shut the door behind her. He started and dropped his sword, whirling to face Vesta before he sighed in relief, "Oh, it's just you… What's up?" He made an effort to smile, but it looked strained.
"I think you are what is 'up', Jaune Arc." She took her staff and extended it out as she walked closer to him, she could see how nervous he was and how weighed down he seemed to be, and she knew that it had to end. "We need to talk."
Jaune collapsed his shield and picked up his sword, sheathing the blade in the shield before attaching it to his side. He sighed and turned away, looking out over the campus, "Do we?" His voice was soft and quiet, "I'm fine."
Vesta shook her head even if he couldn't see, her tone betrayed her concern, "No, you're not." She walked closer, until she was just a few feet behind him, "Jaune, I know you're keeping something from us, from me. I'm your partner, if there's something you're struggling with, it is my duty to help you. That… and I want to help you."
Jaune took a deep breath, he wasn't very socially smart but he knew where this was going. He exhaled shakily, his voice sounded as downtrodden as he felt, "You… You shouldn't want to help me." He looked down, "Not you, not anyone. You all deserve better than me, and I… I don't deserve you." In more ways than one, he felt.
Her eyes widened briefly before she closed them and looked away for a second, "Jaune Arc, I have been trying and trying to get to know you. Yet every time I have asked you a question, it's been clear to me that you're hiding something. You're not telling me the truth." She opened them again and looked at him, "I want the truth, Jaune, I deserve that much. And don't talk like you don't deserve me, or the others! You've been a great friend, just… so very distant. And you… I want to help you! Whatever it is… I can help."
She couldn't see how Jaune widened his eyes, "H-Huh?" He muttered just loud enough for her to hear before he closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
Vesta took that as her prompt to continue, putting a voice to thoughts she had been harboring for awhile, as worried a voice as it was, "I know you're struggling both academically and physically, but I'm fully prepared to help you! We can train, we can read and study together more often… You name it, and I will do it, if it would help."
Jaune shakily sighed, "Y-You think I need help?" He knew she did, he knew everyone did. He couldn't stand the looks of pity. The only person who never looked at him that way was Vesta, but he knew she was probably feeling exactly the same way as everyone. This just seemed to prove it.
Vesta frowned, her staff planted on the ground she sighed, a hint of frustration in her voice, "Everyone needs help from time to time, Jaune. You got here just the same as any of the other students, through hard work and dedication. You are capable of much, much more. I can tell you are."
Jaune stared at the lights of Beacon Tower for a few seconds before he responded in a soft voice, "You're wrong. I don't…" He took a deep breath before admitting what he had always known, "I don't belong here."
Vesta furrowed her brow, "Did I not just tell you that you do? Jaune, I will say it again-"
Jaune finally turned back to her, his eyes filled with anger as he raised his voice, "No, I don't!" Vesta's raised eyebrows of surprise were enough for him to continue, "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon, alright?" He turned away again, the last thing he wanted to see was the disappointed look on her face when it finally appeared. His voice raised in volume, "I didn't actually get trained by my dad, I didn't pass any of the tests, I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" His fists clenched tighter, "I'm here in place of someone else, I know I am. Someone who deserved a spot here wasn't accepted… because I was. Because I used fake transcripts."
The revelation hit Vesta like a truck as her eyes widened, if he could see the look of shock she gave with her mouth slightly agape, he would know just how much it took her off guard, "B-Beg pardon? Might I ask why?"
Jaune's voice gained a hint of sadness and longing, his volume still stayed high, "'Cause I've always wanted to be a Huntsman! My father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all warriors! Heroes! Fighters, renowned across the world! If you go back far enough, the Arc family were nobles! Knights! They always… We always… have helped people. I wanted to do that. I just… My father never believed in me, I was never given a chance by anyone… and I know why. Because I'm not good enough."
Vesta stepped slightly closer, she kept her voice soft and gentle, "Then let me help you. I already offered. So accept."
Jaune felt his anger building, all of the pitied looks and insults he'd heard bubbled up as he angrily turned around, his eyes burning with rage, as he yelled, "I don't want help! Ever since the day you saved me, I've been a damsel in distress, relying on everyone else to get by! Well, I'm done with that! I promised my father that I would live long enough to become a hero, and I will. That's all I want to be. A hero." He sighed and looked down, "Just… Leave me alone, okay? I can do this myself."
He expected her to leave, he expected to hear a disappointed sigh before the sound of her walking away filled his ears. In his mind, that was what was undeniably going to happen. Imagine his shock, then, when instead he heard Vesta raise and bring down her staff's end to bang it against the ground, while her voice filled with the most rage, indignation, and defiance that he had ever heard from her.
"Hell no!"
His eyes widened and he raised his head. He saw the anger burning in her eyes and from the scowl on her lips, "Jaune Arc! Do not dismiss me as if I am some conjurer of cheap tricks! I am not some frail maiden easily cowed by the impotent rage of a petulant boy who fancies himself some lone wolf!" She points directly at herself, "I wasn't supposed to be here either! I appeared on that ship and got into Beacon without even existing according to the nation of Vale! Do you not think that I am standing here in the place of someone else?!"
Jaune was about to protest when a strong gust of wind caused him to stumble forward, he almost lost his balance but Vesta never moved, glaring at him, "Do not presume to interrupt me! A damsel in distress, is that what you think you are if you accept help?! Dost thou think thine father had no one training them?! Or your grandfather?! Dost thou think that the brave knights that you hail from did not receive training?! Of course they did! No man starts a knight, they must begin a squire!"
She gritted her teeth as the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. Vesta placed her hand over her heart as she stepped forward, when he tried to look away, she moved her staff and placed the crystal of her staff against his chin, firmly moving him to look at her before she pulled the staff back. Then, she continued her voice lowered in volume, "Do you think that I did not have help training?" Jaune slowly shook his head, so she hissed, "Look me in the eyes and tell me if you see a damsel in distress."
Jaune rapidly shook his head, he felt the rage that had burned in his heart become thoroughly doused as his face fell. Then, her voice returned to a normal speaking volume while simultaneously softening in tone, the saddest and most passionate she'd ever sounded, "When I told you we would go to the ends of Remnant together, I meant it. You're my partner, Jaune." Her voice was laced with sadness and worry, "Your stupidity is going to kill you! Or it could get one of us killed."
Another abnormal gust of wind had the power to bring Jaune down on one knee as his eyes remained wide and filled with tears, she maintained eye contact with him, "But that doesn't mean I think you're worthless. You have the makings of a hero. A knight! Brave and true, kind and loving, chivalrous and just a little bit stupid." In spite of himself, Jaune felt his face begin to heat up, Vesta felt her own face warming too, "I have lost much and more in my life, Jaune Arc. I will not allow you to make me lose more by getting yourself killed."
The wall that was his resolve had been getting cracked more and more this whole time. Now, the dam had burst and he felt his determination, or in Vesta's mind, stubbornness, fade away into nothing. He lowered his head to look at the ground. She said, "You are going to train with me." He nodded. "You are going to read all of the books I tell you to, and watch all of the videos I can find." He nodded again. "Now…" Her voice softened, "You are going to stand up, smile at me, and then bake me some of those cookies you promised."
In spite of himself, he blew air out of his nose in amusement and stood up before smiling softly at her, shyly rubbing the back of his neck, "S-Sorry… You're right. I was… I was being stupid." He sighed, "I didn't want to be a burden."
Vesta took her staff in two hands and placed the metal horizontally on his back before pushing him forward with it, "The only burden I am experiencing right now is the burden of not having 'peanut butter cookies' as you called them."
Jaune laughed softly, his face was still red, and his heart was beating out of his chest. Hearing Vesta say those kind words… It elated him in more ways than she could possibly know. He might have just gotten the talking to of a lifetime, but right then?
He was king of the clouds.
The next few weeks were spent with a new habit taking up the free time of the two partners. One day they would both read and watch the instructional materials they had given (with Jaune needing to show Vesta how to watch a video), and then the next they would train together, trying to reenact the strikes and motions they had learned about the day before.
Jaune did still feel somewhat stupid that he immediately jumped to assuming that Vesta was patronizing him when she well could have done the same to him with how much he had been trying to help her. Yet, Vesta never brought it up, so he assumed she didn't see it as a big deal.
What was a big deal however, was that Team RWBY had challenged Team ORNJ to a sparring match at the end of April. Jaune wasn't entirely sure he was ready for something like that, but Nora had all but accepted for all four of them, so they were more or less obligated to go unless they wanted to deal with a sad Ruby. Nobody wanted a sad Ruby.
There were special training rooms that were larger than the auditorium where Goodnotawitch held her class, designed for team on team sparring. The two groups met each other in their hunter gear in one such place, a large arena inside a building where both teams had the capability to go all out, so long as they didn't blow up the building.
They also had an audience in the form of some students who were interested in seeing the two teams fight, like Team PWDR, along with Ozpin and Glynda. Needless to say, both teams felt pressure to perform.
Vesta felt that it was a bit unfair how limited her abilities were in a place like this, but she supposed it wasn't exactly built with her capabilities in mind. The two teams found themselves standing across from each other with a good few feet between them. Vesta had assumed the stance that she had been learning to fight with her staff-partisan, the staff held in a reverse grip with her hand's grip near the partisan blade while the rest of the staff was pressed against the back of her shoulder.
Jaune, in the meantime, had strengthened his grip and learned how to properly maintain his stance while fighting. There was plenty he and Vesta both still didn't know, but Vesta felt that, in Jaune's case, the growth was exponential. He was a prodigy, that much couldn't be denied. Nora held Magnhild in its hammer form with a grin on her face, while Ren stoically held Stormflower in his hands.
Team RWBY similarly had their weapons drawn, and upon the sound of a buzzer going off, the battle began.
Ruby initiated by entering into her semblance and racing forward, she immediately targeted Vesta and exited her semblance while still charging forward in order to allow momentum to carry her the rest of the way. While in the air, she fired several shots at the other team leader from her scythe.
It was all Vesta could do to throw up a quick shield that caught all of the bullets so they would drop harmless to the ground. However, to avoid draining herself she knew she had to drop it before Ruby made contact with it. Being more focused on not draining herself than avoiding getting hit resulted in Ruby closing the rest of the distance and delivering a drop kick right to Vesta's chest, sending her back a few feet in the process.
Yang was next into the fray, using her gauntlets to launch herself forward before she raised her fists in order to connect with Nora, who responded by bringing her hammer around and connecting it with Yang's fist. The subsequent explosion sent them both flying backward before they found their footing and raced forward again, both girls wearing large grins on their faces.
Ren engaged with Blake, both agile fighters circling each other before Blake used her semblance to allow her to close the distance between the two. Gambol Shroud's kamas clashed with Stormflower's sickles at speeds that Jaune honestly felt were blinding. Several shots of Ren's pistols rang out as he added firepower to their melee brawl, however Blake's usage of her semblance made landing a shot difficult as she constantly flanked him and delivered blows of her own.
Jaune stared down Weiss, who was on the other side of the arena. Her face was calm and collected while he tried to keep control of his emotions, instead allowing his mind to run through a few different possibilities. He was forming an idea, but he needed time. So, when Weiss readied her rapier, he raised his shield, held his sword pointing towards her, and then raced forward.
He let out a battle-cry as he crossed the distance, when he was able to reach her he raised his sword. However, he never got close enough to bring it down as a purple-colored glyph appeared in his path. He ran right into it and it repulsed him back, causing him to skid across the ground. Then, yet another glyph appeared above Weiss that began to fire several icicle projectiles towards Jaune, whose only recourse was to raise his shield and block them as they came. He was forced to take several steps back in the process.
Team ORNJ gathered as Yang managed one good punch that knocked Nora back, causing her to skid to a stop near Jaune. Ren disengaged, jumping backward and backpedaling while keeping his pistols raised. Vesta managed to finally repulse Ruby with a powerful gust of wind that caused her to fly back to her team's side, then Vesta made her way over to her team, breathing heavily.
Jaune's eyes scanned the enemy team while his voice hushed and he looked at the others around him, luckily it seemed like Team RWBY was also taking this time to assess the situation. So, he spoke, "Guys, I know they're tough, but I've got a plan, listen!" Nobody seemed ready to ignore him as he continued, his voice hardened with what he knew was fake confidence, but he wanted to appear strong for the others, "Vesta, your powers are meant for long-ranged, so you should fight Weiss, I can't get close enough to her. Nora, use your grenade launcher to keep Blake on the defensive, if you let her get close she can just avoid your hammer. Ren, your pistol and blades are much less impactful than a hammer, you should fight Yang, she can't get her semblance going if your hits are too weak to trigger it."
Vesta was surprised and yet oh so happy to hear Jaune coming up with a tactical solution, she had been struggling with Ruby too much to think of anything herself. She smiled, "What will you be doing, Jaune?"
Jaune raised his shield and glared at the other team, even if his gaze still held some of his uncertainty, "I'm going to try and hold out against Ruby for as long as I can. When I say 'now', Vesta, you need to zap Nora with all the electricity you can muster. Then, Nora, you need to hit Yang with everything you've got. If you hit her hard enough, her aura will be too low for her to make a comeback. Once she's out, I'll probably need one of you to take Ruby off of me, uhm… I'm not sure how, but it's what I've got!"
It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was the beginning of something great, Vesta could tell. Listening to him sounded like listening to the tacticians that once spoke to her mother and father about battle-plans against other kingdoms. To that end, she allowed her smile to broaden, "How do they say it these days? Yes, sir."
Jaune hoped nobody saw how his face reddened at that comment. Nora cackled, "Yep! Let's do it!" Ren just silently nodded.
Jaune took a deep breath, he wasn't even the team leader and he knew he should have been deferring to Vesta's judgment, but now it looked like all three of them were looking to him for guidance. So, as Team RWBY finished their team talk, he pointed his sword forward, "Let's go!" He meant for that to be some heroic battle-cry, but he sounded far too shaky for it to sound heroic. Luckily, the others didn't seem to care.
At that battlecry, Ruby led her own team's battlecry, "Banzai!" She yelled before racing forward in her semblance again. She looked like she was heading for Vesta, so Jaune ran forward and positioned himself between the two girls, raising his shield. Vesta used the distraction to take flight, the wind carrying her away as Jaune blocked Ruby's strikes.
Yang was surprised when, as she raced forward to try and engage with Nora again, she instead got shot by Ren's pistol. The small stings were annoying to her, but not immediately damaging. She changed her target and raced towards the boy, and as she swung at him she found herself hitting air as he ducked and struck at her side. It was a light jab, to Yang's annoyance she found that it wasn't significant enough to add to her semblance. She growled as she continued trying to strike at the boy, with him ducking and dodging from each of her strikes while occasionally striking or shooting at her as he went.
Blake—in stark opposition to her partner—was put on the defensive as she found herself needing to backflip away from a series of explosions from Nora's grenade launcher. Nora continued cackling like a mad woman as she kept firing at her opponent. She only stopped so she could try to avoid an oncoming burst of pistol fire coming from Blake, who raced towards Nora while laying down suppressing fire. She wanted to get close enough to force Nora into melee, but clearly the orange haired viking had other plans as she began to run backwards while firing her grenade launcher at Blake, beginning a prolonged game of cat and mouse.
Vesta remained hovering high in the air as she entered into something of a glaring contest with Weiss. That was before pointed the blade of her staff towards the white haired merchant's daughter and began firing several fireballs at her. Weiss acted quickly as she used her glyphs to move as if she was ice skating across the ground. She managed to avoid the fireballs as they crashed and exploded behind her while returning fire with bolts of lightning that shot from yet more glyphs that she created in the air.
In response, Vesta dodged and weaved through the bolts, only to be surprised as she saw Weiss flying through the air towards her! Weiss, who had launched herself with the help of a gravity-infused glyph, readied her rapier to stab outward at the other girl. However, Vesta reacted by twirling her staff before thrusting outward with the partisan blade. The longer reach on the staff meant that it met Weiss before her rapier met Vesta. Were it not for her aura, Weiss would have gotten pierced right through the heart. Instead, the force of the blow caused her to gasp in pain before she began to plummet towards the ground.
However, if Vesta thought that the merchant's daughter was out of tricks, she'd be wrong. A glyph appeared behind Vesta, infused with wind dust it emitted a powerful blade of wind that threw the girl off and sent her rocketing towards the ground as well! They both managed to land on their feet across from one another and began to walk in a circle, never taking their eyes off the other. Weiss hummed, "I will give you this, Ozpin, you are rather skilled."
Vesta shuddered, "Don't call me that, merchant's daughter, it makes me feel like my father."
Weiss, in spite of herself, giggled ever so slightly, "I will call you Vesta if you drop this 'merchant's daughter' nonsense." She brought her rapier up, pointing it towards the other girl while keeping it close to her own body, "Do we have a deal?"
Vesta sighed, she was just calling it like she saw it! Yet still, she didn't want to hear anyone else call her 'Ozpin' ever again, "Fine."
Before either could move to attack, Jaune, who had been desperately blocking Ruby's quick strikes and doing everything in his power to get the occasional jab out at the girl, saw an opportunity. Nora had managed to connect one of her grenades to Blake, which sent the other girl flying back and gave her an opening. He yelled, "Vesta, now! Uh- Stormcrown!"
Vesta was unsure about that name for the combo, but she knew what it meant. So, she twirled her staff while grinning at Weiss before summoning a bolt of lightning from the crystal as she pointed it out. Weiss prepared to dodge, thinking it was coming for her. Yet instead, it sailed past and connected with Nora, who jittered and laughed. Empowered, the hammer-wielder grinned as she raced towards Yang, who was so focused on Ren that she didn't notice the other girl until it was too late. The lightning infused hammer strike slammed into the brawler with a great amount of force, aided by the recoil from an explosion the girl had created while striking Yang.
Yang was sent flying away extremely quickly and crashed into a wall hard enough to leave a dent in it. When Yang fell out of the hole, she winced while trying to get up, only to fall on her knee again. Her aura critically low and her body wracked with pain, she didn't have the ability to act, instead she was out of the fight.
Ruby knew something was up, and she knew what she needed to do. She recalled how Vesta got tired after a certain number of attacks, so she broke off from Jaune and used her semblance to race towards Vesta, in spite of Jaune yelling, "Ah- Hey! Get back here!"
Vesta's eyes widened as she saw Ruby racing towards her. She knew she only had two more spells she could use before being out of the game for the day, so she used her control of the wind to fly out of the way of Ruby's oncoming form. Vesta flew to Jaune's side and panted, "Nora and Ren are taking care of Blake, we have to deal with these two, together." She huffed, "I've got two more spells. We need to make them count."
Jaune nodded and once again positioned himself in front of his partner, "I'll try and get into Ruby's guard," he took in a shaky breath of air, feeling somewhat exhausted himself, "but you need to keep Weiss off of me."
Vesta nodded in agreement, "I'll do my best."
The two prepared as Ruby once again began racing towards them, they fully expected Jaune to block her again. Except, instead, a glyph appeared underneath him as he exclaimed, "Huh?!" before it shot him into the air and he screamed, "Oh COME ON!"
Vesta was blindsided by this in more ways than one as Ruby crashed into her and sent her flying back, only for yet another glyph to catch the princess, repulsing her right back towards Ruby, who started shooting several more rounds at her. Vesta reacted as quickly as she could, as she continued to barrel towards Ruby she formed a green shield much like her father's around her, creating a veritable wrecking ball that smashed into the other team leader and sent her flying backward.
By then, Jaune had landed on his back with a grunt of pain, his plentiful aura was almost entirely expended, knocking him out of the game as he laid there and groaned. Vesta swore under her breath, knowing she was not much better off. Serendipity gave her a bit of a hand as Ruby crashed into Weiss and sent the merchant's daugh- rather, sent the other girl sprawling on the ground.
That was also when Vesta noticed that Ren had taken one too many hits from Blake and was sent to the ground, just in time for the other agile fighter to get hit with yet another grenade, knocking her out of the fight as well! Nora raced to Vesta's side, both girls looked as exhausted as they felt. Weiss scrambled to her feet while Ruby brought herself back to her partner's side after she was able to stop herself in the air using Crescent Rose's recoil.
The four took a few tentative steps closer to each other before picking up speed and beginning to run forward. Nora grinned tiredly as she connected Magnhild with Crescent Rose, the two girls began to exchange strikes, neither of them particularly able to get into the other's guard.
Vesta found herself dodging several more icicles as they were rained down on her by Weiss, who skated around to keep herself mobile. Vesta growled and knew that eventually, flight or not, she was going to slip up, and one good hit was all Weiss needed to take her out at this point. So, while still dodging icicles, Vesta collapsed the blade part of her staff, twirled it while channeling magic, and then skid to a stop before slamming the blunt end of it onto the ground while holding it with both hands. She muttered the name of the spell she cast as a last ditch effort to pull a win.
"Sleep."
The results were immediate and superlative, although not in the way Vesta had hoped. She had only wanted the spell to affect Weiss and Ruby, instead the spell reached its invisible power out to everyone around her, including Nora and the spectators sitting closest to the arena, namely Team PWDR. The result was all of them falling asleep and falling on the ground, while Vesta felt a wave of exhaustion hit her from the usage of her final spell, causing her to fall forward and groan out, "Doxy." under her breath to no one in particular.
In spite of how the fight ended, the students who were awake clapped their hands and cheered. Ozpin and Glynda, too, politely clapped, with Glynda muttering, "She's coming along well enough, for having only picked up the sword-staff a month ago."
Ozpin nodded, "Not quite at the level to win a tournament, but she's coming along."
The two watched as Jaune staggered to his feet, sheathed his weapons, and tiredly waved to everyone before he staggered over to Vesta and knelt down next to her. The two professors couldn't hear what they said to each other, but the end result was Vesta rolling over to lay on her back before Jaune slipped his arms under her legs and back. He picked her up bridal style and began to carry her out while the others staggered up and began their own way out, with the spell ending after the victims were shaken awake.
Glynda, in the meantime, was smirking while watching Jaune and Vesta, "Hmmm. You may need to speak with Mr. Arc at some point in the future, his feelings towards your daughter have been obvious since day one, everyone knows. Except her."
Ozpin smiled, "Oh I am well aware. I will talk with him at some point in the future, once I am able to discern if Vesta reciprocates. She has always been hard to read, yet for all her social graces she could never tell if someone was interested in her until they said it directly."
Glynda giggled, "Reminds me of a certain someone."
Ozpin crossed his arms and hummed, maintaining his usual cool demeanor while a smile tugged at his lips.
"...The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."
Team RWBY had invited Team ORNJ to go with them to see the docks the day after their sparring match, and they all seemed on board with it. Jaune thought it was a good way to unwind after beating each other up so much, while Vesta was doing her best to hide how eager she was to see what else she could learn about the city. Nobody really picked up on it, but Jaune could tell from the smile tugging at her lips when she was given the offer that she was interested.
So it was that when the afternoon rolled around the two teams headed down to the city together and began walking towards the docks. Vesta was (at Yang's behest) wearing a casual outfit. Yet, in defiance of Yang, she didn't wear the accursed hot pants outfit. Instead, she wore an outfit with an azure blue sweater, a black knee-length pleated skirt, black stockings, and brown flat-heel boots that didn't cover anything other than her feet.
While they were all walking, Vesta had to ask, "So… what exactly is this 'Vytal Festival' that Weiss has been talking about?" Weiss had been raving about this strange festival all day, and it only grew in fervor the closer they got to the docks.
So, it was only fitting that Weiss explained, "It's a festival that happens every two years and rotates which nation is in charge of it. We are fortunate enough to have joined Beacon the year when it is our academy's job to welcome visiting students. It offers us a great opportunity to take in the culture of others! That's why we're heading to the docks, so that we might give the early arriving guests that are expected today a warm welcome."
Blake spoke up in a neutral tone, "She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Weiss sputtered and tried to deny the accusation, but her reaction was all the evidence the others needed. Everyone snickered about it in one way or another as they continued on their path.
The two teams walked past a dust store that appeared to have suffered a robbery, the detectives that were there were speculating that it had to be the White Fang who had done it. This prompted Weiss to change the topic from the festival to the aforementioned group, one that Vesta had only heard mentioned in passing before, "Ugh! What an awful bunch of degenerates! I swear, the White Fang is nothing but a bunch of psychopaths!"
That triggered Blake to respond, "What's your problem? They're a collection of misguided faunus, not psychopaths!" There was a certain passion in her voice that Vesta, nor anyone else really, had ever heard before.
Weiss scoffed, "Misguided? They want to exterminate or enslave all of humanity! How is that not psychopathic?"
Blake gritted her teeth, "So they're very misguided! That still doesn't explain why they would try to rob a dust store in the middle of downtown Vale. It doesn't make any sense."
Ruby was in agreement, mentioning how she thought it might be a criminal named Roman Torchwick. Jaune knew who he was from the news articles and broadcasts, although Vesta only sort of understood what it was all about. He was clearly some kind of ne'er-do-well. Weiss, in the meantime, scoffed, "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." She crossed her arms and looked away, "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."
Vesta frowned, "Temper thyself, Weiss. You're starting to sound like one who holds the tenant 'Faunus belong in cages' in thy manifesto." Before Weiss could respond, a blonde Faunus boy with a monkey tail and an open shirt that scandalously exposed his abs ran past, winking at Blake as he went. Weiss pointed in his direction and declared a chase, and so everyone followed behind as she chased after him.
Vesta could hardly handle the scandal of that boy's outfit, but she was doing her best to adapt. One couldn't expect ancient sensibilities that were taught and reinforced over one's whole life to go away in a couple months, after all! Jaune wasn't going to mention how he saw her face redden at the sight of the boy, and he wasn't going to mention how he felt jealous, why couldn't she blush at him like that? He coped by blaming it on her ancient sensibilities. That, and he coped by telling himself that he needed to hit the gym more often.
If the Faunus boy knew he was being chased, he certainly didn't seem to care. Laughing and jumping agility around, onto buildings and lampposts as we went. He rounded a corner, and the two teams did the same. Only for there to be one giant pile-up of eight students created as a result, all started because Ruby crashed into a girl and knocked her over.
While everyone was grumbling and trying to get up, Ruby found herself face to face with the smiling visage of an orange haired girl, "Sal-u-tations!" the girl exuberantly greeted while Ruby scrambled up, her face burning red.
"A-Ah! I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean…" Ruby took a deep breath before holding out her hand for the other girl, "Are you okay?"
The other girl just sort of… stared at her hand, "I am wonderful, thank you for asking!"
Jaune cleared his throat, "Uhm… do you want to get up?" He asked, making an attempt to hide his form behind Vesta, who was watching the strange girl with her arms crossed under her chest, eyebrow raised.
The girl thought for a moment before jumping to her feet, "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Everyone went around sharing their names, although Yang also questioned if the girl had hurt her head before she got jabbed in the side by Blake and corrected herself by just saying her own name. When all of the names were shared, Penny responded without missing a beat, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Everyone shared a look before Ruby cleared her throat, "Uhm! Anyway! Uhh, see you around, friend!" Then, she began to walk past the girl along with everyone else…
Only for the girl to race forward and end up in front of Ruby again, "What did you just call me?" Ruby tried to stammer out a response before Penny asked, "You called me your friend! Am I really your friend?" Ruby looked back at everyone else, with everyone, including Ren and Vesta, shaking their heads. Then, Ruby looked back, "Uhm… yes?" That resulted in everyone comically falling over before they stood back up and murmured amongst themselves.
Penny gasped, "Oh this is wonderful! We can try on dresses, paint our nails, and talk about cute boys!"
Ruby squeaked out a response, "Girls?" She suggested, looking away. This was something of a surprise to the others, Yang in particular, having never really received any indication of what Ruby's interests were until this point.
Well, now that Yang thought about it, there was that one day with Vesta… Penny, in the meantime, gasped, "Girls are cute too! We can talk about them all you want!" She seemed overjoyed either way.
Weiss interjected into the conversation, "That's all well and good, but are you here for the tournament?" Penny saluted and said something about being 'combat ready' while Weiss asked, "Then, do you know anything about the filthy monkey-tailed… rapscallion we were chasing after?" When Penny asked 'who?' Weiss growled, "The filthy Faunus on the boat!"
Vesta was going to say something, but Blake beat her to it, "Why do you keep saying that?! Stop calling him a degenerate! Stop calling him filthy! He's a person!"
…That triggered an argument that started and continued even as both teams made their way towards Beacon. Weiss was adamant that the White Fang and, by extension through her twisted logic, the money-tailed Faunus and most other Faunus, were dangerous threats. Blake, of course, opposed her on that. The two teams shared in the awkwardness by continuing to hang out together as afternoon gave way to night.
Vesta had wanted to intervene, but she ultimately decided that it would just inflame things more if she did. Besides, Blake and Weiss were on Team RWBY, while they were her friends (tentatively, in Weiss' case), she didn't think she knew them well enough to intervene. Jaune, too, felt that it was just… awkward as hell.
They were all sitting together in Team ORNJ's dorm, since apparently it was the bigger one of the two teams (Team RWBY didn't even have a balcony!) and thus could at least somewhat comfortably accommodate eight teenagers sitting around together.
Vesta was sitting on her bed next to Yang, while Jaune and Ruby sat across from them. In an effort to ignore the still-raging argument, Yang teased Ruby with a smirk on her face, "I didn't know you were into girls, when did that happen?"
Ruby's face burned a bright red as she glanced at Vesta before looking away, "None of your business! I just… woke up one day and thought 'huh, girls!' you know?" Yang's thoughts were confirmed by her denial, although Ruby had also seemed flustered in the face of Penny, so she figured it wasn't anything towards Vesta in particular.
In the meantime, Jaune decided to join in on the conversation by patting Ruby's back, "Hey, don't worry! I wake up and think 'huh, girls!' all the time! My older sister Saphron did that too one day, when she met her future wife Terra."
Yang smirked and shrugged, "Eh, I can go either way. Anyway, that Penny girl sure seemed into you, Ruby. Think you're gonna…?"
Ruby squeaked and shook her head, "N-No! She's cute, I'll admit it! B-But… I just met her!" In a desperate attempt to change the topic, Ruby looked at Vesta, "Hey Vesta, maybe tomorrow we can all go dust shopping? Your spells will need a dust refill, right?"
Vesta furrowed her brow and frowned, growing frustrated as dust was brought up yet again, "There it is with the dust refills comment again! Why do you all think I need dust for my magic? I don't! I've told you before and I'll tell you again that I'm a Witch!"
Nora, who was sitting with Ren on her bed, spoke up, "Come on, Vesta! The Headmaster told us about your life. You grew up in a village on the outskirts of Vale before it was burned down and you lost your sisters, Oz was your foster father and you were trained to be a Dust Mage, that's how you can do all the crazy elemental stuff! All this princess stuff…" Nora took a deep breath as her voice grew unusually considerate and soft, "It's okay to have a coping mechanism, but at some point you need to face reality, right? Ren and I pulled through losing our home, we know you can too, and you can act like your true self, instead of hiding behind the princess thing."
Vesta's eyes widened and she could hardly believe her own ears at what she had just heard. "He said… what?" Her voice was soft and barely above a whisper, it was hard for anyone other than Ruby to hear it because of the still raging argument between Weiss and Blake. They could all see how the shock in her eyes was replaced with anger, "That lying dorbel! That gobermouch!" She gritted her teeth, "He told you I was from some country village?! Said that I lost my sisters in, what, a fire? A Grimm attack?! He disrespects their memory!"
It was Yang's turn to speak up, "Vesta!" She raised her voice, but it still held a pleading tone, "We understand that you're hurting, but there's no need to act like this! You lost people, it's okay to hurt!" She swallowed a lump in her throat, her voice breaking up, "Ruby and I lost Ruby's mom when we were young, and I never even met mine! That doesn't mean that you need to hide behind all of these… these lies! You're a great friend, but there's no need to pretend like you're some ancient princess!"
Vesta stood up, "On and on, you foolish-" she took a deep breath, "-no, it's not your fault. It's Father's. I will set this straight! So he told you that I am a Dust Mage, did he? Claimed that everything I do is from dust? What about the lightning bolt? Did he say that was my semblance?" The silence was telling as she gritted her teeth, "I see! Then clearly, I will need to do something that no amount of dust manipulation could manage! Something that will show you that I am the one telling you the truth, and how tis Father who is attempting to assert this foolish contrivance from behind his emerald curtain!"
Vesta took her staff from its place sitting collapsed on her night stand, and extended it outward. The others had no idea what she was going to do, but Yang crossed her arms, "Fine! Prove it! Do something that shows you've got magic! Something that doesn't exist!"
Vesta's staff glowed blue as it began to hum with power, she took hold of the staff with both her hands and closed her eyes. The argument between Weiss and Blake was reaching a crescendo, and as Vesta pointed the crystal at Jaune, his eyes widened. If it weren't for the reassuring smile on her face, he would have been worried about what she planned. Instead, he relaxed and smiled back. He didn't believe anything would happen, nor did he expect when suddenly he was covered in a puff of blue smoke.
As the smoke dissipated, Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Ren gasped in shock at what they saw. Jaune blinked in confusion as he looked at his hands, "Uhm, what happened?" Now, for some reason, his hearing was sharper, which made the argument between Blake and Weiss that much louder. Without even thinking, he whimpered at the loud noises before he reached his hands up and felt… dog ears?! They were the ears of a Golden Retriever, floppy and resting on his head, and he felt an extra appendage resting on the bed, attached to the small of his back that had made part of his shirt and hoodie hike up to give it space, a tail! "Wha-Huh-How-"
Blake, when she noticed what happened, gasped in shock. Weiss' eyes widened in shock, and maybe as some way to get control of her shock, she crossed her arms and looked away, "Well! I hope he doesn't go and join that band of liars, thieves, and murderers!"
Blake stammered as she looked at Jaune, "I…I don't even know if he is… If you could call…" Then she looked at Weiss and clenched her fists, "If he did join the White Fang, it would only be because he was tired of getting pushed around and walked on, just like the rest of us!" The last word she said did not go without notice as she gasped, "I… I…"
Blake ran out of the room, bursting through the door and continuing down the hall while Yang tried to call after her, "Blake, wait-" but she was already gone. Ruby ran out of the door, calling after Blake while also chasing after her.
Vesta's eyes were wide, she hadn't intended for her spell to fuel that argument, she was just so angry that she cast the first spell she thought would reveal the truth to the others. Jaune whimpered again as he stared at the door worriedly, and Vesta swallowed a lump in her throat. Earlier, she felt that she had no reason to intervene in another team's arguments. Now? "Jaune, Ren, Nora… Get your gear." The others stared at her for a moment before they nodded and started to do so.
Yang looked at her, "Hey, it's not your fault… I… kind of didn't expect you to actually be magic."
Vesta nodded, "...I was perhaps a bit blinded by anger." She shook her head, "That matters not right now. Right now…"
"We need to find your teammate."