While Nora was taking care of Vesta, Jaune made his way over to where the others were. A bevy of cop cars had arrived on scene, and in short order they began arresting terrorists and piling them into prisoner vans. Yang in particular was chatting up a storm to one of the cops, he had dark blue hair that reached his upper back, fair skin, blue eyes, and wore a standard uniform.
When Jaune reached them, Yang grinned, "Hey, Pup! Check it!" She gestured to the cop, "This is Ven! He's my friend from Signal."
Ven nodded and smiled, "A pleasure." It wasn't rare for people who graduated from Signal to go into roles other than huntsmen. People with aura, and people who knew how to use aura, were extremely valuable and in high demand for police forces and militaries in each nation.
Still, Jaune had a question, "Nice to meet you, uhm… why'd you decide to become a cop instead of a huntsman?" He stammered, "U-Uhm, not that I mean any offense, I was just-"
Ven chuckled a good natured chuckle, "Don't worry about it. I felt a call to help people in a different way. There's a lot I can do with aura as a cop, and it was better than spending four years attending Beacon." He smirked, "I could still beat Yang any day of the week, though."
Yang laughed, "Hah! Keep talkin', Ven! We're gonna need to spar for old times sake later! See if you've been getting lazy now that you're working the streets. Maybe eating too many donuts?"
Ven scoffed, "I'll take you up on that when I'm off the beat, Little Sun." Yang's wide eyes at the nickname made Jaune wonder what sort of meaning that had, yet a moment later she was grinning. Albeit, a bit more shyly, which was a shock to Jaune.
Yang crossed her arms, "Nickname callbacks, Ven? Should I call you Little Moon?" Ven just laughed and excused himself as he had to get back to work on rounding up terrorists.
With that done, attention turned to Blake, who was returning from being questioned by another cop. She nervously spoke, "Guys I-"
Ruby crossed her arms, "Nope!"
Blake looked bewildered but before she could say anything, Weiss spoke up, "We've been looking for you for twelve hours. That was twelve hours that I had to think about things." She placed her hand on her hip, "I've decided that I don't care." Blake was surprised and moved to speak but Weiss interrupted her, "Ah-bahp-bahp! You're not one of them anymore. The only thing I want is for you to promise that next time this comes up, you'll come to us. Your teammates, and…" she regarded Team ORNJ, "...your sister team. Not some…" She caught herself, "Someone else."
Blake looked at everyone. She saw Ruby and Yang grinning at her, and Weiss wearing a small smile. She also saw Nora carrying an unconscious Vesta over while also wearing a smile on her face, Blake felt awful that Vesta had pushed herself so hard in the name of helping her, and a smiling Jaune and Ren. Jaune's tail was wagging, and Blake let out a shaky sigh as she wiped a tear away, "I promise."
Ruby cheered and punched her fist in the air, "Team RWBY is back together!" She grinned and looked at Team ORNJ, "Together we are… Uhhh… Ruby Orange? Orange Ruby?" She shrugged, "We'll figure it out!" Ruby looked around, noting that Penny had vanished. Yet, she remembered Penny mentioning that she wasn't supposed to be out late at night, so she just wrote it off as her needing to hurry back to wherever she was staying.
Weiss smirked, "We are still our own teams, even if we do work well together. That being said… It would clearly be Ruby Orange." Ruby cheered right up until Weiss added, "And Ruby Orange has a lot of studying and homework to do tomorrow, let's get back."
Everyone aside from Weiss groaned while her smirk never faded.
Vesta blinked her eyes open slowly and found that she was back in the dorm. Groggily, she moved to sit up with a yawn. She was still in her Witch-In-Training outfit, and she saw her staff collapsed and resting on her nightstand, next to her satchel. The lights were on, which meant that for once she was likely the last person to wake up.
…That fight had taken more out of her than she expected it would, but she also hadn't been expecting Torchwick to have backup. The woman she fought, Neo, was incredibly skilled and seemed to know every attack she was going to make before she even made it. That meant that Vesta needed to improve, if she even went against that woman again, she needed to be ready.
Her mind was taken off of that as she smelled… food. Something being cooked, although she wasn't sure what. She heard talking in the kitchen, her team and Team RWBY were together, that was good. The first person to emerge was Jaune, "Vesta! You're awake!" He grinned, his tail wagging a mile a minute as he hurried over to her and wrapped her in a hug, "You were out all night, I was starting to get a bit worried…"
Vesta's eyes widened at the hug, her face dusted up red. Yet, she returned it by wrapping her arms around him and speaking softly, "I'm quite alright, as you can see. I appreciate your concern nonetheless." Jaune let go and grinned shyly, Vesta was still getting used to seeing his canines. She knew she would have to change him back eventually, but for now he seemed okay with it, "What is everyone doing?"
Jaune rubbed the back of his head, maintaining his grin, "Well, given what happened yesterday Professor Ozpin gave us an extra day off, even though we already found Blake. Weiss still plans to have us do all the homework we missed together but," he looked in the direction of the kitchen, "we asked, why not make a party out of it? So Ren's making pizzas. He had to get the ingredients from the cafeteria, but other than that? It's all him."
Vesta felt a smile tugging her lips upward, and she didn't even bother to keep it down. Instead, she moved to sit on the edge of her bed, "Well, that sounds lovely. I've never had a pizza before… Now's as good a time as any." She stretched, squeezed her eyes closed, and let out a soft moan of relief before relaxing and opening her eyes again, "I will just need to take a shower first."
When she looked at Jaune, she saw his face turn beet red as he stared at her before clearing his throat and looking away, "Uhm, yeah. It's only eleven so we've got the whole day. Maybe we could all hit the town together?" He smiled awkwardly, "You know, find something fun to do to pass the time."
Vesta wasn't sure why he was blushing like that, but she nodded regardless, "That sounds fine to me. I'll wear something casual." She stood up and went over to her closet, opening it and looking through the several outfits she had. She noticed there was a dress that wasn't there before, an azure sundress with noodle straps, scandalously exposing her shoulders. It wasn't low-cut, thankfully, so it wasn't that scandalous. It stopped above her knees from what she could tell.
She hummed and picked it out along with a pair of shorts and a change of underwear, "Who brought me this? It's rather lovely."
Jaune hummed, "Weiss heard you wanted to try one, so she bought it for you as a… I think she called it a 'peace offering'." Vesta was surprised, it really wasn't necessary for her to have offered an olive branch like that, she considered them friends now, but maybe she was in the mood of penance after the whole Blake debacle.
She smiled, "That was thoughtful of her. I will have to thank her later." Then, Vesta headed for the bathroom. A little while later, she reemerged wearing her dress and smiled, "This is much more my style of 'modern' than anything Yang has suggested." She noted out loud.
Yang spoke up from where she was in the kitchen, "Rude! My style is the best!" Vesta smirked before heading into the kitchen. Sure enough, everyone was hanging around, Ren was just pulling out two pizzas from the oven. Yang was sitting at the dinner table with the rest of her team. She whistled when she saw Vesta, "Wow! Maybe you were right. That looks really good on you."
Weiss smiled, "Indeed. I knew it was the right choice to provide you with something to wear that isn't one of Yang's… outfits." Yang let out a 'Hey!' which just made Weiss' smile grow, "Well, we have plenty of food to eat while we catch up on yesterday's homework. I believe we have a three page essay on the history of dust to write."
So, the two teams spent the next couple hours catching up on their studying and doing the not-insignificant amount of homework they still had. The pizza didn't stand a chance against eight hungry teenagers, and Vesta found she rather enjoyed it. Certainly more than she expected to, it was something she decided she was definitely going to try out other types of in the future.
When they were all finished, it had been about three hours. Still early enough to go out, and so Yang suggested that they hit an arcade, they were a bit old school but they had several times of games that could be placed. Things that would no doubt be new to Vesta. Then, Weiss suggested they go to the city park to relax afterward. Everyone was on board with that, so the itinerary was set.
Jaune was excited to show Vesta what the arcade was like. He doubted she would be as into video games as he was, but still! He would gladly tell her anything she wanted to know. Yang joked that maybe Vesta would be the best one out of any of them, clearly not believing it would happen, and Vesta herself agreed that she would probably not be good.
The arcade itself wasn't as outdated as one might think. It had a lot of arcade-cabinet versions of more modern games, including several games that Jaune personally loved to play. It also had things like claw machines, racing simulators, and even some flight simulators!
Needless to say, it was a very popular place. It already had more than a few patrons, so the arrival of the two teams was just adding to the packed feeling of the place. The first thing Vesta was shown was something easy, a claw machine. It was fairly simple for her to figure it out, although after three failed attempts to get the Beowolf plushie she silently used magic to cause the plushie to fall down. When she took hold of it and looked at Jaune and Yang, who both squinted at her, she just smiled innocently, "My, that was a stroke of luck, was it not?"
Yang snorted while Jaune rolled his eyes playfully. Vesta held on to it while she was shown a few other games. She wasn't particularly interested in the simulators, but Jaune suggested, "Hey, wanna try one of these?" He gestured to the arcade games, most of which were old school games.
Vesta nodded, "Very well." All three of them went over to the game, the first one they played was 'Super Felipe', a game about a man jumping on mushroom-like things and a few other random creatures, all to free the princess. Vesta thought it was amusing, "Perhaps weaker princesses need rescuing. I would not get myself in such a situation." She smirked before starting to play.
She wasn't that big a fan of that game, she liked it but it wasn't particularly exciting to her. So, Vesta asked Jaune, "Are all games of similar nature, or are there variations?" She hoped there was variation, otherwise video games wouldn't have quite lived up to their hype in her mind.
Jaune nodded eagerly, "There's loads of variation! All of the games here are kind of retro, that means 'old', but I've got some modern ones you can try when we get back to the dorm! I still need to get enough money for a Holo-TV…" At Vesta's confused face, he elaborated, "Oh, well, you know those 'moving picture' screens you've been seeing?" She nodded and he smiled, "Well, Holo-TVs are like those, but instead they're more like… giant projectors," at her still confused face he couldn't help but smile a bit more, "I'll just… show it to you when I can get one."
That was when Weiss entered the picture, "Hm! A Holo-TV?" She crossed her arms, "Perhaps I could do something about that. They aren't so expensive, and Team RWBY already has one."
Jaune blinked a few times and stammered, "U-Uhm, Weiss you don't have to. They are kind of expensive…" He knew what she had just said, but they were expensive!
Weiss shook her head, "No no, you'd be doing me a favor. It means I can spend more of my father's money." She smirked, "We'll grab one before we head back. If you still feel bad, well… you both just owe me one." She turned and left.
Vesta blinked a few times, "What did I do?" She wondered, "I owe her… one?" That prompted an explanation of the phrase to Vesta, and when she understood she nodded, "Ah, I see. It's a favor. Why can't people just say that?" She huffed, "So confusing."
Jaune laughed and they moved on to trying some other games, although Vesta didn't seem too particularly enamored with 'retro games' as Jaune called them. He knew why, because there was no nostalgic appeal, and playing games at an Arcade was very different from playing them at home.
The visit to the park that came afterward was fairly relaxing. Although Vesta was still confused by 'metal horses' as she called them. She knew they were called cars, but given that she had never ridden in one she was still unsure about how they operated. Vesta figured that if they were anything like Yang's bike then she would prefer to just fly or walk to wherever she needed to go.
The park was perhaps the most familiar place to the girl, it was nothing more than a microcosm of the wilderness that could be found outside of the city walls. That month on the island had made her entirely used to nature, living among it 24/7 did that to people, even if it hadn't been for that long in the grand scheme.
Were it not for the Grimm, she might have liked to try camping. She knew it was possible, but she also knew that the only places where there were guaranteed to be no Grimm were patrolled by huntsmen. There was no exploration there, the place was already well tread.
Jaune, in the meantime, continued to be surprised at how in-tune with nature Vesta was. Sure, he knew that… whatever happened to her before, if it wasn't what Ozpin said it was, still probably involved being out in nature, but when he thought of someone who was an 'outdoorsy' type, a genuine princess was not who came to mind. Yet, there she was, sitting by the pond and resting against a tree. He watched from a distance as she held her hand out for a bluejay, and he had to admit he was amazed when it actually flew into her hand. She regarded it with a smile and allowed it to look around before it decided to take off again.
The flowers on her hat were glowing a small rainbow of warm oranges and yellows, Jaune assumed that meant she was happy. She had told him what the flowers did, but didn't elaborate on how she got them, Jaune just filed that away as 'magical stuff' and decided that if she wanted to tell him eventually she would.
He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard Nora's voice suddenly right behind him, "He-llo!" Jaune yelped and turned towards her in surprise, eyes wide while Nora laughed, "Jaune! You're so easy! Even with those ears! Are you planning to keep those?"
Jaune was grateful for the distraction, he cleared his throat and tried to banish the blush of embarrassment on his face, "Uhh, I don't think so. It's cool, but it kind of… affects me, and people look at me weirdly, even Faunus."
Nora nodded and hummed in understanding before crossing her arms and tilting her head slightly, "How does it affect you exactly?" Jaune explained how he found himself being much more physically affectionate than he used to be, giving hugs and the like, and that other than that it altered some of his normal behaviors, amplifying them in various ways. Nora nodded along, "Yeaahh I can see why you wouldn't want that. Lucky for you Vesta can just fix it!" She gasped as she remembered something, "Wait! I was going to ask, why are you staring at her?" She grinned, arms still crossed, "This isn't the first time you've watched her like that."
Jaune's face burned red as he furrowed his brow, "Wha- Like when?!" He knew he had a habit of just kind of staring at her, it wasn't deliberate! She was interesting, and seeing her do things was… well, interesting!
Nora's grin grew wicked, "You mean like all those times you were very interested in watching her train?"
Jaune rose to his own defense as he crossed his arms, "She's our leader! Watching her improve is inspiring, and I look to her for guidance!" That was true, but it wasn't the whole truth.
Of course, Nora knew that, "Guidance, eh? What kind of guidance are you finding watching the way she's walkin'? How about when she's turned away from you and you're very interested in her a-"
Jaune waved his hands in front of him, "No no no! I wasn't looking at her… you know. I was just looking around, watching her form improve!" Nora's grin held as she squinted her eyes at him. He crossed his arms and turned away with a huff, "I hate you, you're a bad person." He didn't mean that, of course.
Nora knew that as well, she laughed, "Uh-huh! Don't worry, I'm not innocent! Girls look at guys all the time. Front and back." Jaune turned towards her and raised an eyebrow, she nodded several times, "Yep! Guys think girls don't do things like that, but believe me they do." She leaned forward and whispered, "I look at Ren like that all the time."
Jaune's eyes widened, "Ren?" She nodded, "Huh, well… I guess I feel better then. It still doesn't feel completely right. Are you and Ren actually together? Everyone knows how into him you are, just like… uhm…" Nora smirked at him and he nodded, "Like they know about me."
Nora's smirk faded as she crossed her arms, "Nope. I don't think he's even noticed! He's always been really quiet, but I started making it really obvious and he still hasn't said anything! I would ask him, but if he doesn't feel that way then it might make things weird between us!"
Where had Jaune heard that before? Oh wait! She was a kindred spirit! A comrade in arms against crushes that are either very dense or very uninterested! Jaune smiled, "You and I aren't so different, Nora."
She nodded in agreement, "Yup! Know what that means, Jaune-Jaune?"
Jaune scratched his cheek, "Uhhh, we should date to get back at them? That's how it goes in the movies. I don't really see you that way though."
Nora smiled, "You're getting the general idea, but nah, that's the nuclear option. We need to work together! Try and figure out what the other person feels! It'll take awhile, you can't just ask them, but guys talk to guys and girls talk to girls you know?" She shrugged, "And even if the semester is going to end in a few weeks, it's not like I've got anywhere to go."
Jaune scratched the back of his wrist, "I was thinking about going back to Domremy to see my family. I haven't talked to them much since… Well, you know." The truth about his transcripts were common knowledge amongst his team at this point, but he still wasn't going to say it out loud. He sighed, "I don't know, though. I want to be with you guys! And what if they hate me?"
Vesta's voice spoke up from behind Jaune, "Who might hate you?"
That caused Jaune to yelp and whirl around again. Sure enough, Vesta was standing just a few feet away with her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised. Jaune stammered, "Uh-Ah, well, uhm… m-m-my parents." He deflated, "You know, because of the whole, well… everything. I was thinking about visiting them but-"
Vesta interrupted him, clasping her hands together in front of her while keeping them below her waist. Her voice was even, "That sounds lovely. It would be the perfect way for us to show how well you've improved." She spoke as if it was obvious.
Jaune wasn't so sure about that, he squeaked out, "Us?" It was one thing to have to confront his parents, but having his parents and his sisters (the ones who still lived at home at least) meeting Vesta? That sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen! She would think he's weird!
Vesta nodded, "Indeed, you, me, Nora, and Ren. Neither of them have anywhere to go. Surely, we can make a vacation out of it. I haven't been anywhere other than Vale in the months that I have been here. I would like to see some of the world."
Jaune was about to protest but then Nora cheered, "Yeah! That's a great idea! Jaune-Jaune's family won't be able to say he's no good when we're there backing him up!"
He thought more about it for a minute, on one hand his family seeing his team was embarrassing. On the other hand, it was far less embarrassing then them just meeting Vesta. In that same hand, having them around might show his dad that he really had made it and wasn't just making things up! He sighed and managed a smile, "Yeah. That sounds like… fun."
Vesta's smile broadened, "Very good. I look forward to seeing your family." Then, she left, walking towards the path to talk with the others as if she hadn't just turned this whole affair into a team vacation. Jaune watched her leave for a few moments before Nora jabbed him and grinned, causing him to sigh.
The rest of the day was unremarkable, when everyone got back to their dorms Jaune wanted to get his mind off of his eventual visit to Domremy. Of course, that distraction came in the form of the Holo-TV Weiss bought. Jaune had trouble comprehending having so much money that you could just make a purchase like that, but he was glad that she did. It meant that he would be able to play his games on the big screen! All that had to be done was placing the small device on his nightstand, and then bam! Their scrolls could be used as controllers, so there was no worry there.
So Jaune and Vesta were sitting on the ground between Nora and Ren's beds (the two of them having gone to do… something, Jaune wasn't sure) and holding their scrolls. Jaune explained as the game booted up, "So, this is Immortal Fight 5, it's a fighting game where the objective is to beat your opponent. There's a story mode and all of that but it's most fun when two friends are beating each other up!"
Vesta hummed, she had seen some older games like that at the arcade but this one looked far more advanced and graphically pleasing, "I see. So you like being beaten up? Is that what makes this engaging?" She was genuinely curious, was it about the violence or about the competition?
Jaune sputtered, "U-Uhm, no. I'm not into that." He chuckled, "It's about competition, you know? I'm sure you'll get it once I show you." So, he began showing her how to play, guiding her through the practice mode as a few different characters. It was only after she got the hang of it that he said, "I think you're good to go. Now, how about we play?" He smiled.
Vesta nodded and so it began, and Jaune was admittedly surprised to see how competent she was. Vesta seemed to get very drawn into the game, way more than he had ever anticipated her to, hearing her laugh joyfully as she watched her character rip his character's guts out was… enlightening to say the least. After a few rounds, the two of them seemed to be evenly matched, and so Jaune had an idea, "Say… What if we have a little friendly competition? If I win, you have to do something I say, and if you win, I have to do something you say. Best out of five."
Vesta hummed, "Well, it is in the spirit of the game." She smirked, "Although don't expect to win, Jaune Arc. If I win, I will take possession of your hoodie." Jaune put a hand on his chest, he wasn't wearing his armor at that moment so the Pumpkin Pete bunny was on full display, "It's Pumpkin Pete related, so I wish for it." She smiled.
Jaune squinted, "Alright! Then, if I win, you have to…" He thought for a few moments. Ask her to pretend to be his girlfriend so his sisters didn't think he was lame? Nah, too cliche. Wear something scandalous over the break? Nope, that felt weird. Then, it hit him, "Oh! You turned me into a Faunus, and even though you're going to change me back, you still did. How about, if I win, after we get back from vacation you have to give yourself Faunus traits like you did me! Ears, tail, the works! Hmm, and it has to be…" He thought for a few moments, assessing Vesta's personality. Haughty and distant yet kind and warm, prim and proper yet strangely gremlin-like at times. It hit him, "Ah! You have to be a cat Faunus of some kind! Then you have to stay that way for a month!"
Vesta gained a determined look in her eyes, "Very well, Jaune, you're on. Let's see who can best who." Jaune wasn't going to admit how seeing her like this made his heart beat faster, nope. Neither was Vesta going to admit that, more than just because it was Pumpkin Pete related, she wanted his hoodie because it looked warm, comfortable, and reminded her of him. Nope, she wasn't going to admit that.
Instead the two of them began a clash fit for royalty, Jaune would win one, Vesta would win one, and they continued to trade off until the final round. Jaune still couldn't get over how good she was, although her competitive spirit was exactly what he expected it to be. That is, burning hotter than the sun in the middle of July.
Down to the wire, they somehow, only the gods know how, managed to knock each other out at the same time. A slow-motion camera might have found the real winner, but a draw was good enough for Vesta as she smirked, "Well. I suppose it's only fair that we both partake in our terms, don't you think?" She looked at him expectantly, or more specifically, his hoodie.
Jaune huffed, it was a good thing he had a second one, gained from equally as many box tops, in his closet. He removed his hoodie, careful to not let his shirt ride up, and then held it out for her while saying in a mock formal tone, "Your prize."
Vesta accepted it graciously, "My appreciation, Squire." Jaune gasped at the nickname while Vesta raised the hoodie to cover her lower face so her smile would be hidden. Jaune never understood why she felt the need to hide her emotions so much, but seeing the joyous look in her eyes more than made up for not seeing her smile.
He kept up the impression that he was offended, "Squire? I'm not a full-fledged knight?" He placed his hand on his chest, "I'm from a once-noble house and everything! Why can't I be a knight?"
Vesta hummed and lowered the hoodie from her face, her smile was small and she explained, "You haven't been knighted. Knights are meant to be given their title by royalty, until then you are but a squire. Before you ask, I won't knight you, not yet." Her smile turned more into a smirk, "You need to prove yourself first."
Jaune was up to that challenge, even if he wasn't sure he could make it. So, he crossed his arms, "How do I prove myself?" He asked with a smile.
Vesta hummed, "It's not something you set a goal for. It's just something where I will know. I will see proof that you're a hero, and thus I will knight you." Her voice gained a teasing quality, "Surely, that won't be too difficult for you."
Jaune shook his head, "It's what I came here to be! There's no way I'll back down from that challenge." His smile grew, dorky as it was, "Then I guess I'll be the only real knight left in the world, huh? Because there's no royalty left to make them anymore, other than you."
Vesta nodded and looked back towards the screen, "I am the last, and thus you will be the last. Or maybe…" She gained a contemplative look on her face, "Perhaps we will simply be the first of a new generation, not a last ride but a gallant beginning."
Before Jaune could ask how exactly she was going to make that the case, the door opened and Nora and Ren returned. So, it was back to business as usual, with Nora seeming awfully smug about Vesta having Jaune's hoodie now, although he couldn't tell why. It was just a hoodie, so what was the big deal?
With the biggest issues of the semester behind them, the remaining weeks were really nothing special. Jaune had started trying to work out in one of the many on-campus gyms, although he would be lying if he said he was fully committed to it. He had no idea how people like Yang could go there every day, he could barely motivate himself to go once a week!
Although, it wasn't like he didn't get plenty of strength training in other ways. Combat Training provided ample opportunities for improvement, and he took to it like a fish out of water. He even took Cardin up on his offer and began to spar with him whenever possible. Apparently, he usually trained with Pyrrha and the rest of his team, which wasn't surprising. It did give Jaune the idea to have more 'group training', and it was something he brought to Vesta.
She liked the idea, and so group sparring and team-exercises were added to the routine of Team ORNJ.
However, eventually the day Jaune had dreaded finally arrived. The four of them boarded a train that would take them to Domremy. Jaune had sent a text to Sarcelle (one of his sisters, just a year younger than him) to let her know they were planning to visit. She said once she could she would 'notify the parental-units', which was a relief. It would have been awkward to call them directly. Better to save that conversation for face to face. At least Vesta had changed him back to normal, trying to explain magic was an entirely different topic.
Vesta had asked her father if he would be willing to fund their trip, and of course he was. She knew he still felt bad about the whole 'slandering her good name' thing, so it was likely another attempt to try and make it up to her. He even got them hotel rooms in a fairly nice place in Domremy, which was good because Jaune wasn't sure if there would be space for his team to stay.
Hell, he wasn't sure if he was going to be allowed to stay. If it didn't work out, then it was just going to be a vacation spent avoiding the Arc house while finding other things to occupy their time in his hometown before they went back to Beacon. That would be awkward, so Jaune was hoping that everything went smoothly.
Domremy itself was exactly as he described it, and Vesta took it in with interest. Well, she had taken in everything with interest, everything from the train to the station itself, but after getting used to the train she spent her time wondering about Domremy. It was a fairly sized town—of course nowhere near Vale's size—but it was, as Jaune said, the second largest town in the kingdom. The buildings were, in Jaune's words, 'old-style' because the town had existed continuously since before the Great War. Once upon a time, the Arc family owned the city, but now they were just another family.
Granted, they were 'just another family' that had inherited the Arc estate, which didn't just include the three-story and by most standards large home, it also included a great deal of farmland surrounding the city. Although most of it was leased out for one thing or another, the family did maintain a ranch on the outskirts of town.
The hotel they were staying at was nice, Ozpin hadn't spared any expense in getting them a comfortable place to stay for the weeks they would be visiting. Although they didn't stay for very long after arriving, instead they put their luggage in their rooms, which consisted of one room with two beds for Ren and Jaune, and another similar one for Nora and Vesta, then they left towards the Arc estate.
Nora and Ren were absolutely floored when they finally saw the home, although Vesta simply regarded it as if it were any other home on the street. Jaune was grateful for that, his family might have been well off, but they were just a normal bunch of people. He felt he himself was proof enough of that.
Before they even got to the door, it was pulled open with force before a blonde blur raced towards Jaune. He barely had time to prepare before being knocked over and a girl whose voice was tinged with an accent best described as 'country' exclaimed,"Jaune! It's been AGES! Where have you been?!"
Vesta snickered as Jaune groaned out, "Nice to see you too, Verte." The girl popped up and pulled Jaune with her. Verte had blonde hair that was cut short and her bangs were swept up, her skin was fair, if tanned, showing that she spent a lot of her time outdoors. She wore denim overalls over a green T-shirt and a pair of dark green boots. She also had a Labrador tail behind her, which would have been surprising if Jaune hadn't told the others that his mom was a Faunus, so it was entirely up in the air if one of them was born with Faunus features or without them.
Verte grinned and it was then that Vesta noticed she had a missing tooth, overall she looked very 'country' in Vesta's mind, albeit a different kind of country than she was used to seeing five thousand years ago. Verte in the meantime stepped back, still grinning, "Nice to see ya dragged your butt back here finally, Jaune! And you brought your friends!" She waved to the other three, "Howdy! I'm Verte Arc." Before anyone could introduce themselves she held up her hair, "Wait wait! I don't want ya'll ta have to do this twice, so let's round up the others!"
Vesta had no idea what to make of the girl's way of speaking, nor did she know why the girl spoke like that, but she decided it was better not to ask. Instead, everyone followed Verte into the home, the door leading to an entry hall, and overall it looked very… Quaint, for such a large exterior. Like any other house, albeit Jaune said that a lot of the 'fancy' stuff was kept in storage these days.
Verte called out, "Oi! Guess who came back to the barn?!" There was noise from up the stairs that were in the room against the back wall, as well as from the living room.
A man's voice called back, "Finally here, is he?" Even if it wasn't the voice of the only other Arc male, and there were other guys, seeing the way that Jaune tensed up would tell anyone that saw that it was his father. Vesta was just grateful that they were all wearing their huntsman gear, it made them look at least somewhat professional. Not that she needed help in that department.
There were two other voices that spoke almost in unison, "Jaune?!"
Then, an older woman's voice came from the same place that the man's did, "Finally, my baby boy!"
Finally, a voice came from upstairs, this one sounded a bit weak, slightly higher pitched than the others but not enough to mark them as a child, "So, my calculation was correct…"
The Arc family, at least the ones who still lived at home, converged. Mr. Arc was Jaune's height and they looked fairly similar, albeit the elder Arc had a rough beard and dashes of gray through his hair, he was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans. Mrs. Arc had long blonde hair and wore a red shirt and a matching knee-length skirt. There were two identical twins, both wore charcoal colored vests with blue shirts underneath, matching slacks and dress shoes too, Vesta thought they looked the most proper out of everyone so far.
The final sister was… slightly concerning, but not through any fault of her own.
She came down the stairs and Vesta noted that her skin was pale, far paler than any of the other Arcs, and her eyes had bags under them, although they were mostly hidden under her thick circular glasses that obscured her eyes. Her blonde hair was incredibly messy and unkempt, even though it was only kept as long as her neck. She looked tired, and the way she walked so slowly and deliberately down the steps while holding onto the railing seemed to indicate to her that she was not physically well. Although Vesta couldn't tell what it was yet.
The gathered Arcs gave their greetings to Jaune, who hugged each of his sisters (gently, for the one who was sickly). Mr Arc just watched him with a careful gaze, his arms crossed. Jaune introduced his sisters, pointing to the twins, "This is Triste and Azur, they're dustologists." Then he gestured to the sick girl, "This is Sarcelle, she's a computer genius, also something of a robotics engineer." Then he gestured to his parents, "And… this is my Mom and Dad!"
Mrs. Arc had a warm smile on her face, "So glad to meet you three! Thank you so much for keeping my Jaune safe." Although her words didn't exactly feel right, in Vesta's mind.
Mr. Arc nodded, "So, you're my boy's team? Hm. I hope he hasn't weighed you down, boy could barely lift Crocea Mors with his noodle arms before he left." His voice was firm and even, he didn't sound angry, but he certainly didn't sound happy.
Vesta, for her part, frowned slightly and spoke with a tone that equaled Mr. Arc in authoritativeness, "Jaune is an invaluable member of the team who has not weighed us down once. Also, he has no trouble wielding his weapons." To Jaune's surprise, she placed a hand on his upper-arm and squeezed it, "While he is no Adonis, his muscles are bound to become, what is the saying… 'cut like stone.'"
Jaune's face practically caught fire while the Arc parents seemed surprised and in slight disbelief of what Vesta claimed. Then, she cleared her throat and let go of Jaune's arm, "My name is Vesta Ozpin, it's a pleasure." She curtsied, "Jaune has spoken highly of all of you."
Nora took that as her turn to introduce herself as she grinned and placed her hands on her hips, "I'm Nora Valkyrie! Jaune-Jaune's the best, just ask Ren! Tell em, Ren!"
Ren cleared his throat, "My name is Lie Ren, call me Ren. Yes, Jaune is a good friend." He was certainly not having the best time around all of these people, but he'd make it through all the same, even if he was going to need several hours of isolated meditation to make up for this trip.
Sarcelle coughed into her hand a few times, it took her a few moments to collect herself before she spoke, "It's very nice to meet you. However, I need to get back to my room… Feel free to come visit later, if you want." She headed upstairs, and nobody could really blame her.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Arc smiled, "Come, come! I was just about to make dinner. You can tell us all about Beacon while we sit at the dining table." Everyone followed her into the dining room. It had a nicely sized dining table, which was expected considering how large the family was.
They began talking about their time at Beacon, with Vesta and the others leaving out Jaune's 'greatest hits' of his lack of skill. Instead, Vesta made it a point to emphasize how far he'd come in such a short time, and how he had dedicated himself fully to the profession, far more than many of the students she would argue.
It was clear that Mr. Arc and Mrs. Arc still weren't fully convinced, of course having known Jaune as he was for so long, it probably defied their expectations to hear that he was coming so far in such little time. They talked about the docks and mentioned their role in breaking up that attack, which did get some attention, but it was watered down due to just how many of them were there by the end of it, two teams could do just about anything even if a link was weak.
It was clear that the conversation was going to continue for a while, especially since his mom was still making dinner. Vesta was leading the charge of talking up Jaune, backed up by Ren and Nora, yet he knew that his dad wouldn't be fully convinced by just talk alone. He was a man of action, more than anything, and he wouldn't be satisfied until he could see tangible proof that Jaune had improved, and Mrs. Arc, well… She acted supporting, but there was this undertone to everything she said that Vesta found patronizing, and it clearly bothered Jaune. Yet, bringing it up outright would have been poor form, so Vesta didn't.
Jaune wished he could just go talk to Sarcelle, but alas, he was trapped by the rest of his family. He knew it was going to be a long dinner…
Domremy CCTS station
While not the most advanced or large CCTS tower, the DCCTS was still, in Operator Schwartz's opinion, a technological marvel.
Then again, his colleagues would say similar praise about a lot of things. History books, archival records, you name it, and Schwartz's colleagues probably had something to say about it. He just liked learning new things, getting new information! Technology and the written word were the best way to do that.
That was why he had taken the job he had working at the Domremy CCTS station. He was the only operator for the whole station, and that gave him plenty of free reign to look into whatever he wanted between his duties. Most days he could go the whole day without having anything happen that would take him out of his info-gathering.
That day was not one of those days.
He was sitting at the computer when he began getting several readings from the terminal. As he turned his full attention to it, he squinted. Reports from farmers and militia patrols some ways out from Domremy…
"This isn't good-"
"Reporting several Gri- By the Brothers!"
"Red Rider, are you seeing this?"
"...not since 30…"
Not to mention the report from a Bullhead he received…
"Contact, due north of Charter. Several hundred."
Scwartz squinted and furrowed his brow, that wasn't good… He typed into the terminal and started a call with one of the town scouts. Then, he asked, "Blue Rider, do you have any idea what's going on?"
Blue Rider, who seemed to be sitting on a tree, shook their head, "Nope. I've heard the comms though. I'll check it out, we don't know if they're just overreacting. No need to start a panic and then lose our jobs because it was a false alarm."
Schwartz had to agree, "Alright, Blue Rider, report back when you've got confirmation."
The call ended and Schwartz leaned back into his chair and sighed, "Shit…"
"...Maybe it's time to move to Atlas…"
The Arc House
Jaune was straight up not having a good time.
The conversation about his prowess had died off when it was clear neither side was budging, and to lighten the mood Mrs. Arc had brought out the feared childhood pictures.
His mom was absolutely loving it, regaling his team with stories about his eighth grade talent show performance, his tenth grade 'Noodle Debacle', and many, many more. Vesta and Nora were seemingly having the time of their lives learning this information while even Ren seemed moderately amused.
He was only saved by dinner finishing, by then the story had moved on to one Nora was sharing about her and Ren's early adventures together. When he saw his opening, he stood up from his chair and talked quickly, "Okay well dinner was great hey Vesta wanna go see Sarcelle yeah you do come on!"
He took Vesta by the hand before she could react and dragged her with him, in spite of her asking with a confused tone, "Jaune, what is the meaning of this?" She had never seen him act like that, especially to the point where he was willing to just drag her away. It was amusing and confusing in equal parts.
Jaune didn't respond until they were on the stairs, "I needed to get out of there before Mom broke into another one of her stories. I think she was leading up to my many, MANY failed attempts at getting a date."
Vesta had never heard of these attempts, so she was curious, "You've attempted to get 'dates' several times before and failed each time?" She didn't know what to think about Jaune having tried to court so many girls. She knew dating standards were incredibly different in the modern day, given that it was called 'dating', not courting, and that it was a very relaxed thing. In her time, it was rare to see anyone court more than one person before settling down for the rest of their life. Not that they had a choice, as most marriages were arranged, even the commonfolk arranged marriages all the time.
Just another strange change from her time to then…
Vesta realized that she had almost missed Jaune's whole explanation by the time she finally managed to stop being lost in her own mind, "-And then there was this one time I accidentally pushed the girl I wanted to ask out into the well. She broke her arm! So, yeah, I used to ask girls out all the time and it was super embarrassing. My dad told me to just be confident and I stuck to that for a long time but it never worked."
Vesta hummed, "I see." The two of them reached the top of the stairs while she asked, "So, why did you stop doing that if that is supposed to be the method of courting these days?"
Jaune laughed, "That's the thing. It's really not. At least, it's not courting that would have gotten me a girlfriend that would want to stay with me for very long… Eventually I realized that what I was doing was stupid and decided to, I dunno… just sort of bear with it? I'm not exactly good with girls, so I try not to assume anything. Even if I really like them."
Vesta hummed, "I see. I was never really taught about courting, at least not in-depth. Mother and Father both seemed averse to telling me anything other than that I should only try to court people of high blood. And I was expected to court them myself, given my status as a royal, but I came to the conclusion that I had plenty of time and thus, didn't need to rush into anything."
Jaune supposed that made sense. Vesta didn't seem the type to concern herself too much with dating, ever since he met her she'd seem totally driven by her own goals. As for what those goals were, he only had a general idea. There were some oddities in her behavior, but nothing that his expert opinion would chalk up to flirting or showing interest.
They both reached the door to his sister's room and knocked. Jaune asked, "Sarcelle? You awake? It's me and Vesta, I just wanted her to get to properly meet you."
Her voice came from the other side, "I am." At the reply Jaune opened the door and they both stepped inside. Her room was clean, if a bit cluttered due to all of the half-finished projects she kept in different places. Vesta had no idea what any of them were supposed to be, all she knew was that they were strange contraptions made of metal she didn't recognize.
Sarcelle was sitting at her computer in a high-end computer chair that was a few sizes too big for the fairly diminutive (at 5'2'') and thin girl. She turned her chair towards Jaune and Vesta and managed a smile, "So did Mom finish putting your hand in the cogs?" Jaune deflated and nodded, causing her to chuckle and smirk, "Great." Then, her smirk turned into a smile, "I haven't seen you since those transcripts got you accepted. How're you?"
Vesta looked at Jaune, who rubbed the back of his head after closing the door behind them, "Yeah, remember the transcripts, Vesta? Well… Sarcelle was the one who forged them. She made everything look perfect, at least, as close to perfect as she could." Sure, Ozpin had (allegedly) known about it from the start, but it fooled everyone else!
Vesta smiled, "I suppose I should thank you for giving me my partner. Twould have been a very different experience were he not present."
Sarcelle looked a bit proud of herself as she fixed her glasses and puffed out her chest a bit, "Glad to meet someone who can recognize my genius. Jaune is the only other one." She grabbed something off her desk before tossing it gently into the air.
It was some sort of pure white pod, and it took flight in the air seemingly with no support as it left her hand. Its camera-lens eye looking around before locking onto Jaune. A robotic voice spoke from it, "Pod 0 reporting. Appearances identify: Jaune Arc and Vesta Ozpin."
Vesta and Jaune both looked shocked while Sarcelle giggled for a brief second before saying, "Pod 0, return to rest mode." The Pod obeyed and flew back to her table before bringing itself down onto the surface and deactivating, sitting in place with its camera lens eye closed. Then, Sarcelle explained, "I've been working on the Pod Project for awhile, I based some of the designs off of a few Atlesian schematics I, uh-" she cleared her throat, "-borrowed. That was mostly just the camera eye and the gravity-dust assisted flight. The artificial intelligence is my design."
She might as well have been speaking a different language to Vesta, while Jaune at least seemed to understand the basics of what she was saying. Jaune smiled, "How much of this was helped by your semblance?" As Vesta looked at him in shock, Jaune nodded, "Sarcelle has… always been struggling with a few different immune-system related problems that make her basically always sick. Dad unlocked her aura so she could actually start leaving the house again, but it doesn't stop the sicknesses completely."
Sarcelle nodded, "I would have unlocked Jaune's aura but if I had there was a good chance I could have ended up in the hospital…" She frowned, seemingly disappointed in herself, "I take it you found someone to unlock your aura?"
Jaune nodded and Vesta raised her hand slightly, "Twas me, albeit after he almost plummeted to his death. He's lucky I caught him." Jaune deflated while Vesta giggled, "He has seen great improvement over the past months, even our combat professor is impressed at his rate of growth."
Sarcelle smiled, "I'm happy to hear that. I've always wanted to be a huntress, but…" She sighed, "Life isn't fair." She looked sad for a moment before gaining a look of resolve, "That's why I am working on designing myself some sort of exo-suit, or new robotic replacements for my appendages and insides! It may take me my whole life, but if humans can transcend their weak forms, they will surely defeat the Grimm!"
Jaune grinned, "I know you'll figure it out eventually, Sarcy. If anyone could figure that stuff out, it'd be you. Well, you and Pietro Polendina…"
Sarcelle nodded, "Ah, were I able to speak to the man…" She looked off into the distance, "He is my inspiration! I bet if anyone could figure out how to make humans transcend their weak flesh, it would be him!"
Vesta furrowed her brow, "I… don't understand any of this. Who is Pietro Polendina and what are you intending to replace flesh with?"
Sarcelle looked utterly scandalized, "Y-You. Don't. Know?!" She looked at her desk before grabbing a book and holding it up to Vesta, "This is the big book on robotics and engineering, the foremost work on those fields and many more in the whole world! It was written by Pietro Polendina, the greatest inventor of our time."
That led Vesta to ask another question, "Very good, but… what is robotics?" Jaune sighed and realized that they were in this for the long haul, so he walked to Sarcelle's bed and sat there. Sarcelle's scandalized gasp resulted in her launching into a very detailed explanation on the concepts of robotics and engineering. Vesta tried her best to follow along, she really did, but she very quickly lost the ability to fully comprehend anything the other girl was saying.
Yet, the explanations were not to be brief. Oh no, this was going to last another three hours and there was no escaping. Vesta saw how enthusiastic and happy Sarcelle was talking about this topic, so she wasn't going to interrupt her for anything. It wasn't until Sarcelle had finally finished her long explanation that they were finally freed from that topic and were free to change to something else. This time, Sarcelle had a question, "So, Vesta, what do you think of Jaune?"
Jaune looked surprised while Vesta just hummed, "He is a very gallant person and a dependable friend. We have had our rough spots, but ultimately I would say that I wouldn't have anyone else as my partner." She smiled and failed to notice Jaune's reddening face, "He has shown me much and more as well. Like the delicacy known as 'Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes' and 'Video Games'. He also allowed me to take possession of one of his prized hoodies, which I am grateful for, even if it was won in a bet."
Sarcelle looked happy, yet the last line was a surprise, "He did?" Vesta nodded and she asked, "Are you two dating or something?"
Jaune sputtered and tried to protest while Vesta did her best to contain the reddening of her cheeks, "Nay. He hath not tried to court me, nor has the subject ever been broached." She shrugged and tried to leave out that she had thought about it, and she had maybe played out some fantasies in her head of him asking her out, or her asking him out. That was easy, but she couldn't help glancing at him a couple times before she cleared her throat, "I must be off, it is getting late and is nearly time to turn in for the night." She smiled and curtsied, "I look forward to seeing you again later, Sarcelle."
Before anything else could be said, she was out of the room. Sarcelle squinted at the door as Vesta closed it behind her. It wasn't until Sarcelle heard Vesta's footsteps disappearing into the distance that she looked at Jaune, "I'm not exactly great with people, but I think she might be into you."
Jaune sputtered all over again and tried to fight back the crimson on his face, "Wh-What makes you say that? She's just really nice! She's that nice to all of her friends!" It was true!
Yet, Sarcy wasn't buying it, "Hmm. Yet she obtained your hoodie? According to the books I have read and the research I have conducted, such an act is performed most often when one party is interested in another. As it allows the recipient to feel as if they were being wrapped in a hug with their interest. Warmth, softness, and the familiar smell, that is the allure. So I read."
Jaune scoffed and waved his hand, "That's in your books though! Those sappy romances play everything up! There's no way it's like that in the real world. I'm sure she just wanted something warm and comfortable to wear." He dismissed it completely, after all, any time he had taken something as a sign in the past, it completely blew up in his face.
His sister snorted, "Life imitates art, Jaune. Think about it, try to pay attention to her. That's what the people in the books tell the p-protagonist" She coughed into her hand a few times, "Okay… I need to lay down…" She suddenly sounded very weak, "Sorry…"
Jaune shook his head and stood up off her bed, "No, it's okay! I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright Sarcy?" They shared a smile before he waved and left her room, sighing. If there were some way he could help her get out into the world, he would, but it just wasn't something he could do.
Maybe Vesta could, but he had a feeling that something to fix someone else's immune system would probably take a lot out of her. That wasn't something she needed on her plate, nor was it a sacrifice Sarcelle would accept. Besides, magic was supposed to be a secret.
No matter how much Jaune felt that it could help the world…
Everyone made their way back to the hotel and got ready for bed. In Vesta's opinion, the hotel bed was incredibly comfortable. Nowhere near the bed she had at Everday, but that was to be expected. It would lull her to sleep all the same, that was all that mattered.
It wasn't until the following morning that Team ORNJ would awaken, but they would not be waking up naturally. Instead, sirens began to wail loudly into the morning air. Everyone was awakened, with Vesta almost throwing herself out of bed as she grabbed her scroll, which was vibrating heavily, off the nightstand.
On it, she received a notification, and it made her eyes widen with shock. Vesta heard Nora waking up, and so she told her, "Nora! We must dress and arm ourselves immediately! There's a Grimm incursion headed straight for the city…."
"...There are at least a thousand of them, by the report's estimate."