the story is not dead! Sorry it took so long to update TvT. School's finally out and I am officially a senior going into the next school year! Anyway, here's Adam's introductory chapter. Someone in the reviews (I love reviews they feed moi) said something about Cinder's age being noted as 7 and not 8, good catch, that's just a small retcon to give me a bit more room to play with the timeline. On topic of this timeline, this chapter takes place a few months after the last one if anyone is confused.
Adam Taurus was an angry kid, spiteful and hateful, and distrusting of any adults and any non-faunus kids. If someone wasn't faunus the more likely they were to hurt Adam, to call him names, and look down on him like he was lesser. So Adam was angry, anger worked to keep his stuff his and taught bigger kids to not mess with him again.
Sure it made him tired and definitely got Adam into more scraps than he needed to get into, but all that meant was that he slept better through the cold nights and that other kids moved out of Adam's way at school and during lunch. This didn't mean Adam didn't have friends, faunus kids his age figured out that if they stuck around Adam long enough he'd get angry on their behalf too. So Adam was angry, it made him friends and made him stronger.
Then the golden bastard showed up, a human on top of that, volunteered to walk kids to and from school, then showed up at both the orphanage and Adam's school to talk about what being a hunter was all about. This meant fights and arguments on the walk to school and during lunch stopped for the most part, the golden bastard's presence while he was at school forcing and inspiring the older kids to be on their best behavior. He told jokes to everyone and carried the smaller kids when they didn't want to walk anymore and promised that he'd show off his weapon to them eventually, something that really got kids to act right. And in the span of a week, Adam's anger didn't have much of a reason.
It was still there of course, Adam still snapped at people when they did something he didn't like, hitting them when they did something he really didn't like, and the other adults were still assholes who were as outwardly mean as Adam was sure the golden bastard was on the inside. It would have been better if the golden bastard had been a faunus, it would have meant that Adam didn't have to worry about if his laughs were aimed at him, it would have meant that there wasn't a chance of him thinking Adam and his friends were trash for not being human, and it would have meant Adam didn't have to feel bad about liking him.
But then Adam got in detention. That wasn't new, since Adam and fights over things seven-year-old faunus kids cared about went together like aura and dust. But what was new was that the golden bastard was waiting for him after school. That he had walked home the other kids and instead of going to man the wall or go out culling the stray Grimm outside said walls he had waited for Adam to finish scrapping gum off the bottom of desks.
"Hey, kiddo! Ready to go home?" The hunter said, towering over Adam and practically glowing with his smile and silly wave.
And Adam was angry at how much he liked that, that he almost smiled in return and immediately had to frown harder than he usually did. So all he did was start walking in the direction he needed to go, not knowing why the hunter was here so late. Adam didn't like talking to adults, even if they made silly voices when telling stories or told sillier jokes when it was so cold that even natural-born Atlas kids felt it in their bones. Adam focused on the cold air and the slushy snow under his worn-down boots, instead of listening intently to the sound of the huntsman's steps made as he wondered why he was there.
"How was your day Adam?" The golden bastard asked, warm smile on his face as he asked the same question he always asked the kids whenever he decided to walk them back.
All Adam heard however was his own name, the knowledge that the huntsman knew his name bringing heat to his face and a slight stutter to his step.
"Good," Adam responded, like he knew he should and how the other kids had responded whenever the huntsman walked them back to the orphanage.
"I'm glad to hear that," said the hunter, "What did you do have for lunch?"
"Sandwich."
"What kind?"
"Ham and cheese."
"Is that your favorite kind of sandwich?"
"No. It didn't have tomatoes,"
The huntsman laughed, "Do you like tomatoes?"
Adam wanted to get angry at the huntsman's laugh, and a part of him did, a part of him was always angry, but it wasn't a big enough part to stop the smile and small "yes" in response to the huntsman's question.
"Did you do anything else today?"
"Not really,"
"Well your friends missed you on the way back to school, they said you got into a fight," prodded the huntsman, his steps slowing, which caused Adam's step to slow down as he had instinctively been following the pace set by the huntsman.
"I always get into fights," spat Adam, knowing that he was probably going to get reprimanded for fighting, all the adults were tired of him fighting.
Instead, the huntsman asked, "What happened?"
Adam almost scoffed at the huntsman's concern, "Someone called me a goat."
"Really? From what I heard you only got into a fight after they took your friend's food," said the huntsman, raising a brow as if he knew something Adam didn't.
"That too," Adam growled, cheeks rosier than usual as he tried to hide his face.
"I also heard that you didn't have a sandwich and that you gave it to your friend afterwards," further stated the golden bastard.
"I wasn't that hungry," mumbled Adam, before realizing that they had gone in a different direction than they were supposed to. And before he could yell at the golden bastard for leading him astray they stopped in front of a building that smelt absolutely amazing.
"Well, I hope you're hungry now because I promised my children that I'd get them some yummy bread!" The older man said happily, before pushing the door open to the bakery and shepherding Adam in.
"I thought you only had a daughter?" Adam said questioningly, going off of what Adam had heard the huntsman say before, something which only got a noncommittal hum from the supposed father of one.
Since there wasn't a line, Adam and the huntsman walked right up to the counter to order, the guy selling bread apparently being on a first-name basis with the huntsman.
"What can I get you today Jaune?" Asked a faunus with two feline ears. Said ears were of course held under a hair net, so Adam has a harder time pinpointing what kind of, if he had to guess he'd say lynx due to how they tapered to a pointer tip even as they bent slightly to the side under the hair net.
"Just my usual order of cookies please," Jaune said like he always did, politely and warmly, "also two blueberry muffins for me and my pal here,".
Adam almost wanted to hiss at the fact that he didn't mind having his back patted by the golden bastard, but the promise of muffins meant he was now on his best behavior. The red-headed faunus realized that, the huntsman, Jaune, seemed to do that to people, encouraging them to be on their best behavior and in a pleasant mood.
Being somewhat deep in thought, Adam ignored the transaction at the counter as he waited for Jaune to grab the paper bag that held all the baked goodies. He didn't ignore it in totality, Adam was always aware of his surroundings on some level, an innate talent further honed by his environment.
Taking a deep breath of the warm air inside the bakery, Adam strolled outside once they were ready to leave, throwing the door open just hard enough so that it stayed open for the golden bastard to step through behind him. Then he waited, Adam was curious about where the hunter would take him.
Not far it turned out, as Adam followed the older man just down the street to a bench. If Adam was correct with his mental map of the settlement, the orphanage was a bit to the east. For whatever reason the orphanage was next to the town's wall, which in an ideal situation would keep out the elements and Grimm, but there was a reason that Jaune walked the orphans to and from school. Their wall was an old wall, as things in Atlas tend to be if you're not up on the flying city itself. But before Adam could further think about the state of the orphanage's safety, a wonderful smell of blueberries filled his head.
Looking down his nose, Adam realized that Jaune was waving a very yummy-looking blueberry muffin under his nose. Adam craned his neck away from said muffin in response, before taking it into his hands and ignoring the laugh that came from the blonde human.
"You'd be a good huntsman," said the hunter, breaking the silence between the two of them as Adam took a bite of his muffin.
Adam responded with his mouth full of mushed muffin, "Is it because I'm good at fighting?"
"Swallow your food before you talk," responded Jaune in an almost musical tone of voice, full of humor, "You've got the hero bug, I can see it in your eyes, and in how your friends talk about you. But yes, being able to fight is also part of it. I mean the kid you punched out was two grades above you and didn't get detention because of how one-sided it was, I had a friend who was identical to you in that regard. Always eager to get into fights for the sake of others, no matter how bad it could go for her,"
"Any faunus kid would be a good hunter," stated Adam, "We're tougher and stronger than other kids,"
"You're stronger and tougher than other kids, other faunus kids included. Don't sell yourself short,"
Adam rolled his eyes, before taking another bite of his muffin and sitting in silence on the bench. His butt was getting cold.
Once again breaking the silence the blue-eyed hunter spoke, "The kid you fought, he's the son of the guy that oversees the mine."
"And?" Adam spat back, "He was a dick, so I hit him,"
"You can take care of yourself Adam, but… There's no easy way to say this, the kid's dad wants to hurt you. And the orphanage, as well as the teachers at your schools aren't going to be able to stop him,"
The faunus boy got quiet, an anxious energy filling him, his hands shuddering slightly, and a few trembling breaths escaping from his nose in a fog of condensation. But before he can respond to the new information, the huntsman once again breaks the silence.
"I can help though. I'm part of a program Atlas has, pairs parentless kids with aura up with hunters without anything better to do to raise them right."
This got Adam's attention, "But I don't have aura?"
"Would you like to have it?" Says Jaune, blue eyes shining as if a golden light glowed from behind them.
All Adam can respond with is, "Why?"
"I have an extra room in my home, and I know that even if you don't decide to be a huntsman, I'd be making the world a better place by taking you in. I don't want to make it seem like it's either this or seeing what the mine's overseer has in store for you, I'll try my best to protect you while I'm here as best I can, but I'm not here every day. And I see how you protect others, you throw yourself against the injustice in the world and rage against it, in a way that seven year old shouldn't know how too. It's not fair I think, for you to protect people with no one to protect you,"
A few sniffles escaped Adam as he leaned against Jaune's side, "Do I have to call you dad?"
Jaune laughed, "Not if you don't want to,"
"Then I'd like aura." Stated Adam, with a finality that rang out in the air as less something a child said, and more akin to something woven into the threads of fate.
A chuckle left the huntsman's lips as he moved to stand up and then kneel before Adam, placing a hand on the small boy's shoulder.
"For it is in service that we achieve immortality. Through this we are united to our people, given a second chance to raise all others further above. Infinite in kindness and unbound by fate, I release your soul, and by my shoulder… gift thee strength,"
/-/
Cinder had things the way she wanted. She had her dad, Marrow, Marrow's mom, and a gaggle of people who wanted to be her friend at her beck and call. Some would call her spoiled, the way she had grown used to getting her way. But really it wasn't her fault, her father loved her, Marrow was her friend and always wanted to do what she wanted to do, Marrow's mom loved having a girl around her apartment to do girly things with, and the kids at school thought she was a princess and cared about her opinion for some reason. It wasn't her fault that this then meant that she could get what she wanted out of practically any situation she found herself in, most of the time people just gave her what she wanted without them realizing it.
However now she wanted something she couldn't have, and she was a bit mad about how mad she was.
What she wanted was to not have a brother. That red-headed demon boy had come into her life a week ago and she already disliked him. He even had horns! So it was fair to call him a demon. Cinder didn't hate him because of his horns obviously, at first she liked them, just like she liked Marrow's tail, it made him unique and interesting.
No, no, Cinder didn't like her new brother because now her dad's attention wasn't solely on her, and he had used her own popularity as means to trick everyone at school into thinking he was cool and popular.
So now instead of everyone being her's, she now had to share with a loud-mouthed brat that had somehow placed himself atop the social food chain just as she had, apparently it wasn't even his intention either. Pure talent.
Cinder was seething, but combat school had a way of letting her work out these feelings.
Mainly by beating in the face of anyone she was paired with during sparring time. Graciously, of course, her dad had taught her how to do things and she figured out how to do the things her dad taught her with elegance. The ballet classes she was in helped.
Currently, she was paired with a brown-haired girl that was utterly unremarkable, she seemed to be desperate to prove herself to Cinder, but to be fair Cinder would also want to have herself think she was cool if she wasn't herself.
It would be a short fight Cinder decided, all she'd do was kick the other girl a few times and her aura levels would be below fifty percent. Another short and concise victory, just like all the other times she's sparred at school.
Cinder slightly adjusted the padded headgear to make sure it didn't mess with her hair all that much, using the thick foam gloves to nudge the protective helmet to where she wanted it to go, and waiting for the teacher to start her match. Amber eyes looked into green eyes, and the second the klaxon sounded Cinder closed the distance between the two of them. Not enough to get into striking distance of course, but leaving enough space between her opponent and Cinder to force a reaction, the other girl would either retreat in panic or try to meet her halfway.
If she did the former Cinder would only continue to follow before either pushing her out of the ring and winning that way, or she'd stumble and stop and give Cinder the opportunity to kick her in the side of the head. If she did the latter, Cinder's opponent would find her momentum used against her with a kick to the face.
She ended up doing neither, instead trying to catch Cinder's leg with a paltry grab.
Insulted by the very idea of resistance, Cinder simply stopped her kick and brought it down in a stomp, taking advantage of the other girl's extended guard to jab at her unprotected face. Once. Twice. Thrice.
Cinder couldn't punch very hard, which is why she relied on her kicks to lower the aura of her opponents, but well-aimed punches still made people close their eyes and stagger.
And with that, the match was over, as Cinder had ample time to chamber her leg, and snap it out in a brutal sidekick that sent her opponent tumbling off the map.
She won, untouched, again.
Cinder smiled at her victory, but not before going over to help up the other girl as was expected of her, her smile making the other girl smile as well.
The teacher, who stood to the side of the mat, barked for them to move out of the way and sit on the floor next to the other kids for the next match.
Cinder made a beeline to sit next to Marrow as she took off her headgear and gloves, before realizing that the next match was her brother. Who was wearing the matching bright red gloves and headgear her father had bought him the previous weekend. Cinder was very excited to see her brother suffer defeat in his first match, everyone who wasn't her did.
Her brother squared up against another unremarkable-looking child, this time a boy, it seemed that today the Arc's would be fighting a lot of brown-haired people. His stance was… adequate, as much as Cinder hated to admit it. It seemed he too absorbed the short lessons their dad had imparted upon him on the top of their apartment roof a few days ago. It was mostly things Cinder already knew, but her dad had gone through it to teach Adam how to properly stand in a fight before starting their biweekly yoga session. Cinder's mat was dark red, a much more sophisticated color, compared to the obnoxious bright red her brother seemed to like.
Nevertheless, the fight started off with the prerecorded sound of a klaxon, and Adam's opponent tried her best to imitate Cinder by rushing at Adam. Cinder blinked in appreciation at the mimicry, they did say that imitation was the highest form of flattery after all.
Except Adam decided that his opponent wouldn't do what Cinder had done, as his opponent was thrown to the side mid-step by a vicious right hook. Cinder tried not to be too mad at his skill, she supposed that it would have looked bad on the family name if he had lost too easily, his opponent was getting up so the fight wasn't over just yet.
Except Adam did the same thing again.
Twice.
It was safe to say that the fight was clearly going to go to Adam. The small screen that showed the aura of each fighter, and Adam was still at one hundred, while his opponent was already at sixty.
Cinder scoffed, because of course Adam could hit like a truck, if he didn't have any other redeeming qualities it made sense that he would be able to fight well. She'd still win in a fight between them. Probably.
Adam's opponent seemed to have gotten tired of the state of Adam's aura, and finally managed to get a good hit in. The sound of a fist striking face rang out between the walls of the sparring hall as Adam's opponent had hit him straight in the face.
Then Adam proceeded to simply, ignore that, and once again swing with all his might directly into the overextended face of his opponent. Sending him on his ass for the fourth and final time.
The klaxon rang out once more to signal the next match, followed by the shuffling feet of another pair of students replacing Adam and his opponent. Adam had caught on early that he was supposed to help his opponent up after he won, which only meant Cinder was miffed that he didn't even have the decency to mess up so she could be mad about something sensible.
Adam made his way to the other side of Marrow, who he had become fast friends with.
"That was so cool!" Marrow whispered, to not distract from the next match, "You were just like blam, and then he tried to smack you but you were just like "nah" and hit him again!"
Cinder rolled her eyes at her friend's excitement, she bet Adam was feeling special about having Marrow's attention. But she also had received plenty of praise from him, and still did, Marrow had only gotten accustomed to her norm being victory.
"Aura is stupid, I didn't feel a thing," Adam boasted in a whisper to match Marrow's, then with a laugh said "The other guy did apparently,"
The two boys devolved to a series of giggles between the two of them, before Cinder nudged Marrow's side to alert him of the instructor's attention at the noise. Marrow was a good boy and shut up, signaling for Adam to shut up too. Cinder smiled at the instructor sweetly, as if to say "You don't have a problem with the noise, because we're just a trio of adorable kids".
She doubted it worked, but it was more of a hassle to get on their ass about a bit of chit-chat now that they had stopped talking than it was to simply ignore them.
So Cinder, Marrow, and Adam watched the matches, Cinder making note of any new moves or habits her fellow students demonstrated, and a quick glance over to her brother showed that he was probably trying his best to memorize how they fought as well. She sighed, her brother should really try to be more incompetent, it'd make it easier to not like him.
As the final match concluded Cinder was satisfied to see that she was most definitely still the most skilled fighter, Adam may have had talent and a history of fighting, but she was Cinder Arc. Unstoppable and untouchable.
The end of the day was fast approaching, their schedule for the day had language class be their last class, which Cinder enjoyed. She was good at talking.
That sentiment was not shared, however, by her brother. Adam was staring intently at the small piece of paper on his desk that contained the few sentences of their assignment. Said assignment was to find the mistakes within the sentences and tell the teacher what was wrong, Cinder was already done obviously, the commas had been misplaced and the capitalization was wrong.
This wouldn't do, they couldn't reflect badly on their dad, he'd be… well not mad. Cinder's father never really got angry, an apparent source of unending patience and empathy, but she'd be damned if she made his life harder than it already was. So she tapped one of the legs of Adam's desk to get his attention and pushed her paper to the edge of her desk so he could see the answers he had marked out.
Adam got the message quickly, pencil rushing to copy Cinder's answer.
Satisfied, Cinder sat back, but noted to make sure to help her brother with the homework so he wouldn't struggle again in the future. They were the Arcs, they were in the history books! Sure it was a long time ago, but her dad always said she was destined for greatness, so it'd be up to her to put them back in the history books. Her brother could come along to she supposed. The important part is that her dad would tell her she did a good job at the end of the day.
"Thank you," Adam whispered as the clock slowly approached the time of their release, it came out a bit sharp but Cinder was aware that Adam seemed to be stuck at "perpetually annoyed" for the most part.
"You are welcome," responded Cinder, shuffling her stuff into her bag and making sure she had everything to go home. She looked outside the window and saw that the busses were already here, which was good because it was constantly wet and cold in Atlas and the less she had to stay outside to wait for a school bus the better.
Adam's eyes followed her own, "I call dibs on sitting with Marrow on the bus."
Cinder was almost scandalized by his claim, Marrow had been her friend first, she should have first dibs. But there was a more civil solution to the problem "There is room for three on each seat. We can all sit together."
"But then I'm going to have to listen to your lackeys beg for your attention," Adam whined, throwing his backpack over his shoulder as he and all the other children stood to be released from class.
"You don't have to sit with Marrow then," Cinder stated. Her eyes made it clear that her word was law.
However, Adam seemed to be lawless, "Marrow's the only kid that likes sitting next to me and doesn't ask weird questions, so I'm calling dibs on him,"
"Marrow totally asks weird questions!" Cinder exclaimed, trying to find an angle to shut down Adam's argument.
Adam shrugged, "But they're fun weird questions."
Drat. He had Cinder there.
"Fine. We can sit in the front where my friends can't annoy us." Cinder finally relented, she wasn't going to not sit by Marrow after all.
As if it had been waiting for the two siblings to finish their argument, the bell rang and children flooded out into the hallways.
"This school is too big." Adam grumbled, just loud enough so that Cinder could hear him complain, "Also it has too many people. It's ridiculous,"
"It's one of the only combat schools to prepare someone for Atlas Academy in the city. Of course, it's going to have a lot of people." Cinder said, making her way alongside Adam through the student body to their destination.
Adam huffed at the explanation, "They should go somewhere else, they suck at fighting and are going to be shit hunters."
Cinder exhaled through her nose sharply at Adam's comment, it was funny and also not completely baseless.
"So you do have a sense of humor," teased Adam, shouldering Cinder slightly as they approached the exit.
The Arc girl was surprisingly okay with that level of physical touch from Adam, but was somewhat offended nonetheless, "What is that supposed to mean?!"
"You never laugh at anything," drawled Adam in a dramatic way, pushing the outside door open and going down the wet steps. Cinder was tempted to push him.
"I totally laugh, Marrow makes me laugh all the time," Cinder snapped, no real heat behind her words, and followed her brother down the steps.
"Marrow makes everyone laugh, it's his semblance," remarked Adam.
Speaking of the ray of sunshine turned faunus, Marrow's shock of grey hair emerged from the crowd of students waiting to board the bus or be picked up. With an almost sixth sense for the Arc siblings Marrow's head whipped around, and with a large smile the boy bolted towards them.
He embraced them both in a big hug, dramatically complaining, "I missed you both so muchhhhhhhhhhh. My language class is boring without you two,"
Cinder rolled her eyes but couldn't help the grin creeping up on her face, "We saw each other in combat class Marrow,"
"Exactly!" Marrow proclaimed, drooping over Adam to emphasize his point, "That was so long ago, I could feel myself turning grey."
Adam laughed, "Your hair is already grey,"
"Tomato potato," responded Marrow, still leaning on Adam as he said so.
Cinder was getting a bit cold, feeling the temperature bite through even her puffy dark red winter jacket, "Let's get on the bus, we're all sitting together."
"Sweet!" Declared Marrow, finally getting off of Adam and dragging both siblings into the line to get on the bus.
Claiming the first open spot next to the window she saw, Cinder sat and nodded at the two boys to sit next to her. Marrow sat down and Adam followed.
A voice came from behind her seat, "Hi Cinder!".
She turned to see who it was, somewhat surprised at the realization that it was the girl she had sparred with. Said girl was leaning over the seat and seemed to be haphazardly balancing on the top of it to be able to speak with Cinder.
"Hello," Cinder responded, more than aware of the budding glare she was getting from Adam.
"I have a birthday party coming up, here's an invite!" The brown-haired girl said, handing over a small rose-colored envelope, "It's in two weeks, do you think you can come?"
"I would be glad to do so," said Cinder curtly.
"You don't have to bring a present but if you do I'm a big fan of-"
Cinder cut the girl off, "Tell me all about it at lunch tomorrow, so we have more time to talk,"
The slow start and rattle of the bus caused the girl to almost fall over, adding weight to Cinder's comment and getting her to sit down squarely in her seat.
"How come we didn't get an invite?" Whispered Marrow.
"Do you want an invite?" Said Adam, crossing his arms and getting as comfortable as he could on the grey seat cushion that made up the bus seat.
"Well yeah, Cinder is going to be there,"
Cinder made a noncommittal hum, she was okay with going, but she would make an excuse and not go if she felt like it.
"So if I got an invitation to a birthday party you'd also want to come?" Asked Adam.
Marrow responded without missing a beat, "Yep! You guys are my best friends!"
The amber-eyed girl clicked her tongue, she wasn't sure how she felt about Adam sharing her position of Marrow's best friend. Actually she did know, she thought it was total baloney. But Marrow made friends easy, and Adam was a faunus boy like him so she couldn't blame him she supposed. Marrow made friends, as far as Cinder was concerned that was a law of physics.
Cinder, Adam, and Marrow talked about nothing of note for most of the ride to their stop, until they got to the topic of weapons.
"Swords are the best, all heroes have them, even Da- Jaune," Adam stated.
Smirking, Cinder replied, "Yeah Dad does use a sword, but he told me that we should find a weapon we like and are comfortable with using. It should reflect our sense of self and fighting style" parroted Cinder.
Adam blushed at Cinder catching his verbal slip up, "Well my fighting style would be reflected by a sword."
"I think an axe would also work for you." Marrow said, "Ooh I know! A flaming axe! Since you're so fiery and stuff. Do you two think flaming weapons are good for huntsmen? I think so, you can use your weapon as a torch when you're not cutting down the Grimm,"
"You'd run out of dust fast," answered Cinder, "I also know what I'm going to have Dad get me for my weapon. It's going to be a mecha-shift spear with dust ammunition in its secondary gun form,"
Marrow nodded in appreciation and acceptance, "Fancy. Just like you,"
Adam snapped his fingers, a look of realization on his face, "I'm going to have a chainsaw sword!"
"That is literally the best idea I've ever heard!" Said Marrow with a look of awe on his face, knees bouncing up and down at the idea of a chainsaw sword.
Cinder and Adam spoke in tandem "You say that about a lot of things,".
"I hear a lot of ideas that are the best," defended Marrow.
"What weapon are you going to get then?" Cinder asked Marrow.
The faunus boy stopped to think, pondering the thought deeply before responding, "A boomerang gun!"
The siblings reeled at the answer.
"So does it shoot boomerangs?" Asked Adam.
"Or is it also a boomerang?" Asked Cinder.
Marrow just shrugged.
Before Marrow could be plied further on what a "boomerang gun" was, the bus rolled to a stop and the trio realized that this was where they needed to get off.
Grabbing their backpacks the three children made their way down the aisle of the bus, stepping over scattered bags and pencils, and even a weapon from an older student so they could exit. They exited safely and once again were hit with that crisp and freezing Atlas air. Cinder shivered as they stepped out from the bus alongside other students. Their stop was just a block and a half from their apartment, but standing next to the blue bench and a stop sign was a tall blonde man with a goofy smile who spread his arms at the sight of the three friends.
Cinder rushed forward, internally remarking that Marrow was rubbing off on her as she gave her dad a big hug. A shift in her father's arms around her and a quick glance showed that Adam was also giving their father a quick side hug. Marrow also got a hug, smushing himself between the two siblings to hug his honorary uncle.
"How was y'all's day?" Jaune Arc asked, slowly freeing the three kids from his mighty bear hug. Cinder was aware of the small glances and stares they were getting from the public display of affection but she knew they were just jealous.
"Good, I won in sparring again," said Cinder, beaming up at her father.
"Adam also won his first match!" Marrow spoke excitedly, bobbing up and down with energy.
Adam's ears tinged red, "Aura is stup- silly. Also in a real fight you don't stop for no reason,"
"That's my boy.", The older Arc laughed, "But don't sell yourself short, be proud that you won your first match, it's quite the accomplishment. And good job to you Cinder, amazing as always, keep it up and you'll go two semesters without losing once,"
Cinder nodded, with her talent and her dad's coaching, no one had yet been able to beat her in sparring. It helped that she was just a tad meaner than everyone else, but that just meant the teacher could use her as an example of what to do during a sparring match.
"Uncle Jaune do you think a boomerang gun is a good idea?" Asked Marrow, tail wagging slowly as they began to walk towards the apartment.
Jaune chuckled, "Like a gun that shoots boomerangs? Or a gun that's also a boomerang?".
"That's what we said!" Proclaimed Adam, with Cinder giggling at how her father mimicked them without them knowing.
Marrow finally settled on an answer, "A gun that's also a boomerang."
"Well there are probably weirder weapons around, I assume it'd work as long as you threw it hard enough and had a way to bring it back to your hand," responded Jaune, who was currently holding Cinder's hand, who was holding Marrow's hand, who was holding Adam's hand. It was a good system to make sure no one fell behind or fell on the ice.
"What's your weapon?" Adam asked, "It's a sword and shield, but what's special about it?"
Jaune smiled "It's also a chainsaw,".
Both Marrow and Adam went crazy at that, while Cinder just groaned internally as she realized her two friends would now be permanently obsessed with chainsaw weaponry.
"You have to show it to us!" Demanded Adam, lifting up the one hand that wasn't holding Marrow's in declaration.
Marrow nodded in agreement, "I can't believe you haven't told us that it's also a chainsaw!"
"You never asked," said the older Arc, which prompted a million of other statements and questions from the two boys.
/-/
Jaune was literally the luckiest man alive. Sure he had planned on finding Adam eventually, but the fact that the first job he picks up ended up being at the settlement Adam Taurus lived at was frankly ridiculous. If his life was a story he'd say it was lazy writing to introduce an important character without having to do much work.
All Jaune had wanted to do was make sure he wasn't entirely reliant on the foster program when it came to money and subsequently ended up with another kid in the process. He already loved Adam to bits, and could see what Blake had been talking about whenever she told stories of her earlier days in the White Fang. The kid was spunky and defiant, but it was also incredibly clear that Adam was full of empathy and would rather hurt himself than see others hurt.
Cinder got along with him well enough too, a sort of rivalry budding between his two children. The first few days of Adam living in his new home had been relatively stress-free, as Jaune introduced him to their lifestyle as well to the rest of the people he knew at the apartment complex. The paperwork that was required for Adam to be enrolled in the combat school Cinder and Marrow went to, on top of the foster program paperwork, was an entirely different matter. So many forms. Jaune ended up dreaming about paperwork! It was ridiculous.
Regardless of Jaune's opinion on paperwork and bureaucracy, Adam Taurus was now officially Adam Arc, a known aura user and enrolled in a combat school. Adam was, unsurprisingly, very good at fighting. Jaune had had his hunch about Cinder and Adam being talented proven very fast, more talented than your average hunter. It made sense, both had the potential to do incredible things at a scale most people could never dream of, sure those things had also been terrible, but still. Both children absorbed information like a sponge, and as Jaune looked at the kitchen table and at Cinder helping Marrow and Adam with a homework problem Jaune could almost see the gears turning in their heads.
Cinder was basically a genius, in combat, academically, and socially. She continued to have top marks on all subjects and was always eager to prove herself that she was the best, Jaune may have given her a bit of an ego with his constant praise but that was more of a good thing than a bad thing. She could think faster than her peers, and from what she had told him was perfectly capable of making plans mid fight and at ease, something reflected by his knowledge of the future as well.
Adam was gifted physically, that was undoubtable. You showed the kid how to do something once and he could do it by the third, if not second try. School wouldn't be an issue for long either, with his and Cinder's help Adam would dominate his grades just as well as he dominated the sparring mat. Jaune almost felt bad for the other kids at the combat school… almost.
And while Marrow wasn't technically his son, it was safe to say that Jaune cared deeply about the faunus boy. He wasn't on the level of Adam or Cinder, that was true, but both of his actual children were very rough around certain edges and Marrow helped soften those edges. Both Cinder and Adam connected with the boy, and were fiercely protective of him, Jaune was already aware that he would eventually be called into the school's office because of some bully messing with Marrow. The outcome once either of his children found out about that going on would be explosive to say the least.
So for now Jaune was content, his kids were doing homework with their best friend, and he had muffins in the oven that would be done in a few minutes.
Life was good.
I really liked how this chapter turned out, Cinder's growing into herself and has become comfortable in her own skin, and I think this characterization of her makes sense. Jaune is just like, Mr. Gentle Parenting, so lots of positive reinforcements and going out and doing stuff as a fam. Adam will have more time in the spotlight next chapter, with his POV being longer and cutting back to the first week or so of him being an Arc, going to school and figuring out how to live in a functional family. Now for a bit more of a serious topic, I think the vast majority of the people who review this story are amazing and deserve a blueberry muffin, but as y'all know the internet is going to internet and you have your shitty few apples. There was one particular review that was just outright homophobic so I'll make my stance clear right now, this is RWBY, there will be LGBTQ+ representation in the story. I will hopefully handle it better than Roosterteeth and not string along a lesbian ship for seven seasons to milk my audience, but still. And normally I wouldn't say one of the main ships so early on, or in this little tid bit where I just chit chat for no reason other than to talk, but I think its important for me to ensure that certain people know that they'll probably not like the story because of a ship. Currently I am planning on having Jaune x Qrow be one of the ships. Obviously if as I write the story I find Jaune to have better chemistry with another character I will probably change it, I see Jaune as Bi, since while it's never been said that he doesn't like men that doesn't mean he ain't into them. It's just my interpretation, if you see him as straight that's completely valid and just how fiction works. But I will see you guys next week! Review please! I love y'alls comments and opinions (As long as they aren't hateful ones lmao)