Hello! I am back! By the gods this chapter took me way longer than it needed too, I was stuck on this one piece of dialogue for like a week I swear. Anyway shout out to Csad21 for their amazing review, thank you for your support. Now a few things bout the timeline just in case anyone is confused and I haven't done a good enough job establishing ages, Adam, Cinder and other kids their age are 8, Jaune and STRQ are 25ish, Clover is two-ish years younger than them, and Ironwood is 30. This chapter was a joy to write, mostly cause there's a small cat-eared guest in the middle of it :3.
Looking around the room one would be hesitant to describe it as anything other than pleasant, especially to Jaune's eyes, considering the fact that he's only just now gotten used to having novelties like air conditioning and cushions that weren't slightly covered in sand. It was a nice room, with a warm brown color palette that extended to the wooden-looking walls and soft tan carpet, with darker brown couches which upon laid sky blue throw pillows. The designer of the room had tried their best to make it look nice, that Jaune knew. However, the lack of windows and the thick metal door that served as the only exit, one that had no doorknob to open from the inside told Jaune that he was, in fact, in a holding cell. He was surprised, if only for the fact that had taken Atlas two whole days to finally bring him in. If he was lucky they'd be done with him before school let out, so he could finish doing laundry and get started on dinner.
A small beep came from the door, and with the hiss of hydraulics, it opened slowly. The person who stepped through was pretty unremarkable all things considered, probably made more so by the fact that Atlas uniforms were meant to make individuals look monotonous and well… uniform. Regardless, Jaune was quick to assess the soldier before him, or maybe they were an officer, he had never learned what meant what when it came to their badges and outfits to signify what their rank was, and even if Jaune had learned it would have been so long ago that he would have hardly been able to remember that knowledge. They were of average height, definitely not a specialist, and Jaune didn't sense any aura from them so they weren't a hunter either, their tan skin contrasted as the only source of color against the white and almost pitch-black blues of their clothing. They had gone without the hat which held a streak of red, that or Ironwood had yet to implement it into their uniform.
Either way, Jaune was mindful of his manners, he didn't want to spook someone who would definitely have a say in how their superiors treated his case. Brown eyes met blue and Jaune gave a small smile, trying his best to be disarming. It was kind of funny, in Jaune's opinion, how he fit the room more than the Atlas soldier in front of him, with his brown jacket and jeans seeming more at home with the purposely homely holding cell than the stark white fabric Atlas required its men and women to wear.
Finally, the Atlesian broke the silence, "Could you tell me what you were doing two days ago at 21:00?"
Jaune chuckled inwardly, he didn't know what he expected, but this bluntness might have meant that this would all be over soon. "I was at a party, my apartment building holds one every two months. To celebrate our accomplishments and stay in touch with friends,"
The Atlesian continued to stare down their nose at Jaune, maintaining a standing position while Jaune sat on a couch, "You also had an altercation with a student from Atlas Academy, am I correct?"
A nod was all Jaune gave to confirm.
"What exactly was the reason behind the altercation?" the soldier asked.
Jaune took note of the language being used, the repeated use of the word altercation definitely meant that they didn't want to acknowledge that they were completely at fault once they reviewed the footage. Or they could already be watching at this very moment to make sure he didn't get up to any funny business. "One of the students started harassing another one of the party-goers, I stepped in and asked them to stop and apologize. That seemed to have set them off and they tried to strike me,"
"Are you aware of the identities of who the student confronted?"
He frowned at the use of the word confronted, it was clear they didn't want to make their students look bad, or themselves by association. "They were a faunus couple with a baby, good people,"
A beep sounded from above, similar to the one that had been followed by the door, but much louder this time. Static came after, before introducing a set of voices.
A familiar voice spoke before being cut off, "Gustone you can't interfere!"
"They were members of the White Fang! This is going to go nowhere! I'm coming down there myself," hissed another more nasal voice, a round of static and a beep signaled that the voices were done talking.
It only took a minute or so for the door to open once again, this time letting in a weathered old man who had been clearly shrunken by time, however this still somehow left him as tall as Jaune and the man next to him, the one and only James Ironwood.
The old man looked at the interrogator, "You! Get out of here I'll take it from here,". The order was followed accordingly, leaving Jaune alone with the other two men, even without looking at the old man's demeanor and knowing who Ironwood was, Jaune could sense that the two men had full auras. Ironwood's felt like a suit of armor, solid and cold, while the other man's aura was more akin to a dimming fire, red and sputtering, but not quite ready to be put out.
"You think you're tough don'tcha?" growled the man, before plopping down on the other couch opposite to the one Jaune was sitting on, a small wheeze escaped the old man's lungs but it was so miniscule that if Jaune hadn't been a hunter he wouldn't have noticed it.
"Gustone." warned Ironwood, with a deadly tone and furious face, concealed physically yes, but Jaune could see how his aura seemed to prickle into points all aimed at Gustone, "I apologize for my deputy headmaster Mr. Arc, he's overzealous in his endeavor to protect Atlas Academy's reputation,"
"The Arc name has fallen far, ey?" Gustone spoke darkly, "Back in my day the Arcs would have never let themselves be associated with the likes of Vacuo. If that's your actual name of course, I don't doubt you simply stole the name and put it on your transcript,"
"I'm an Arc by blood yes. My parents were estranged from the main branch of the family after a disagreement on values, they were considered too draconian. So they went to Vacuo and… well they tried their best to prove themselves equal to the other Arcs, but I'm the last of the line for a reason," Jaune lied, bowing his head slightly as if this was something he's said before, his story was a well-rehearsed one after all. It wasn't unknown for people to disappear from Vale to Vacuo, or more specifically, exiled to Vacuo. It didn't happen much in the present day, but considering it had been a likely story even when Jaune had been a teenager, to the point of it being a trope in shows and comics... So it was his story, a very convincing one that only came to be because Jaune forgot to lie originally on his papers back in Vacuo. Blessed be the fact that Vacuo was notorious for having no paper trail to follow, and being the perfect destination for anyone who didn't want to be found.
Gustone huffed, apparently convinced, "Arc or not you aren't from Atlas, so you better have a good excuse for putting a black mark on the record of one of our most talented students,"
"Mr. Arc could not have forced the student to attack him," Ironwood sighed, "The fact that I even allowed you to go through with this interrogation is a mistake,"
"The child has a broken hand, who knows the ramifications of that injury? It is our job to make sure that justice is dispensed for such an injury,"
"The law would disagree with you, whatever Mr. Arc did to break his hand is clearly self-defense," responded Ironwood.
Jaune spoke up, genuinely surprised about the student's broken hand, "I believe that the student broke his hand when he hit my face,"
This got both Ironwood and Gustone to pause, before Gustone rolled his eyes, "Please, the student is in their final year. There's no way they have so little control over their aura as to strike someone without it,"
"I've been told I have a lot of aura," said Jaune.
Before Gustone could continue Ironwood used this as a chance to end the situation, "You see, Mr. Arc was in no way at fault. And I'll be talking about your behavior to the council,"
The other man sneered, "Save your threats for someone who cares, but I'll remember this."
Ironwood responded with a deadly glare, "Go and do your actual job, I'll handle the rest from here,"
Gustone got up with a huff, sulking over to the door and having it open somehow. Jaune could only guess that there was someone on the other side of the cameras manning the door, that or the deputy headmaster had a button somewhere to open the door.
"The last generation is slow to let go of their grip on Atlas," frowned Ironwood, more to himself than to Jaune "you can be assured that the student will be punished accordingly,"
"I don't doubt that," assured the Arc, "Am I good to go then?"
"Yes, you may recover your weapon at the front desk. If we are lucky, the next time we see each other it will be under much better circumstances,"
/-/
"So much for being lucky," mused James Ironwood under his breath.
It had been a few weeks since he had last seen Jaune Arc. However, it turns out that Gustone had hired a private investigator to tail the man, and had discovered something that could potentially incriminate Mr. Arc. Ironwood gave a grim smile, because thanks to Mr. Arc's existence, he had finally had an excuse to demote Gustone from his position as deputy headmaster without offending the rest of the council. And if Ironwood was lucky, and whatever Gustone's investigator had found was irrelevant, he could finally be expelled from his position as chief combat instructor of Atlas. Ozpin had been incredibly lucky, as his ascension to headmaster of Beacon had been followed by him promptly hiring, replacing, and promoting a variety of teachers as he saw fit. A few remained of course, the ones he could trust wholeheartedly, but Ironwood was incapable of doing the same due to Atas' internal politics. Ironwood desperately wanted to follow suit, and would definitely do so given the chance, he just needed to bide his time.
Whether or not the time was now, Ironwood had to see. He had a set of photos in his lap as he was driven to an apartment complex both owned by hunters, specifically meant for hunters in Atlas, and where Mr. Arc and his children resided. The pictures were a variety of snapshots of Jaune Arc's shirtless back taken at a pool, with a tattoo of a crown across his back. Only one was not a photo of Mr. Arc shirtless, as there was a single photo of him talking to four faunus adults sitting on a table eating sandwiches, with what appeared to be four children and a baby all climbing over the blonde man. It was clear that the atmosphere was incredibly familiar and comfortable, which contrasted harshly against the information Ironwood has on a gang from Vacuo called The Crown. The gang itself wasn't anything special, it was thought to be tied to an expelled huntsman student named Jax Asturias, however, this hadn't been confirmed yet and Ironwood couldn't personally care less.
The real reason Ironwood himself was coming to talk to Mr. Arc was simple. One, he would be personally making sure that Gustone didn't try to plant any evidence with his own agents, and two, Gustone's accusation would be the final nail in his coffin so that Ironwood could "gently ask the man to retire". Normally this would be below Ironwood and Clover, whom the general had decided would tag along simply to make it seem that he was taking this seriously, but the final "request" of Atlas Academy's combat instructor needed a certain level of theatrics. That or Ironwood would actually have to arrest Mr. Arc and investigate him further for his connection to a Vacuo gang. Either way, Ironwood didn't lose.
"I talked to the guy at the party," Clover said, breaking the silence, "He doesn't seem like the sort to belong to a gang,"
"We're in agreement," stated Ironwood, "But it's best to be thorough with these things, we can't risk the chance of someone who's a part of the foster system to secretly be a spy for a dangerous gang,"
Clover chuckled, "Yeah that'd look real bad on us. If we're lucky, and by we I mean you, this means the academy can get some new blood as its combat instructor. I mean I can't say the classes I had with old Gustone were much fun, and they would have outright sucked if I was a faunus,"
Ironwood didn't respond to that, his specialist already knew he agreed with him, but Ironwood could never be too careful. Instead, the two just waited as their driver finally signaled that they had arrived at their destination.
Both men got out of the car and looked up at the apartment building, being five stories tall was the only distinguishing factor from the rest of the Atlas architecture. That and the fact that the keen eye would be able to notice weapons on a few balconies, most likely belonging to a fresh team who had just gotten back from a mission and had decided to party hard enough to forget their weapons outside. Nevertheless, the two moved forward, nodding to the woman manning the front desk before getting on an elevator to potentially arrest a single father of two.
They found the door number easily enough, and could hear a variety of sounds from within the residence. Ironwood knocked cleanly and loudly, ensuring he was heard. After a few seconds, the door was swung open by Mr. Arc, who was talking loudly on his scroll and mixing a bowl at the same time.
"Yes there's a difference between garlic and onions, just read the labels," Mr. Arc said into his scroll, it being pinned precariously between his shoulder and head, before turning to Ironwood and handing him the bowl and whisk, "Here mix this,". The blonde man then rushed towards where Ironwood assumed was the kitchen, hopping over a variety of toys scattered across the ground. Ironwood was shocked at the chaos which was unfolding in the apartment, a song was coming from somewhere inside, almost drowning out the sounds of children playing somewhere and the sounds of cooking from where Mr. Arc now was.
The music was not, however, loud enough to block out the now-hidden Mr. Arc loudly saying, "Adam! Please come pick up your toys from the living room, we have guests over!". Soon enough a red-headed faunus child scampered down the hall with a wide grin on his face, carrying a large plastic hamper that scooped up the toys Mr. Arc had jumped over before retreating quickly back from where he came, completely ignoring the general and the specialist at the door. Then the smell of cooking hit Ironwood and he swore that his stomach seemed to growl on command, Clover's stomach agreeing with his own. With the bowl handed to him, Ironwood walked further into the home to get Mr. Arc's attention. Of course, this seemed to be a lot harder than what he had first thought. Mr. Arc seemed to be doing a one-man interpretation of a kitchen during rush hour, seeing as he was jumping between a large pot, a cutting board, and checking his stove.
"Of course, you should get flowers, people love flowers. I love flowers, you love flowers, everyone loves flowers," said Mr. Arc into his scroll, cutting some vegetables into cubes as he waited for the other person on the call to respond, "Yes it'd be a good idea to get a vase if she doesn't have one, get a good one too since it'll be shared between your whole team,".
"Mr. Arc," barked Ironwood, hoping to get the man's attention.
The blond man turned, pointed a finger at Clover, and ordered, "Come here and peel these potatoes,". It was said with such authority and confidence that the specialist did as he was told immediately, quickly going to stand next to Mr. Arc and being given a potato peeler as a reward. Dumping the diced vegetables into the pot, Mr. Arc then went to grab a large pan from his cupboard and put it on the countertop opposite where Clover was peeling potatoes.
"Once you're done with the brownie mix you can pour it into the pan. Make sure that there aren't any clumps please" Mr. Arc said as he turned to look at Ironwood for half a second before going back to talking to whoever was on the phone with him.
Ironwood did as he was told, looking down and properly whisking the mix to the best of his abilities. Once he was done the general poured it into the pan, the wonderful smell of chocolate bringing back childhood memories, a simpler time.
"You're pressing down too hard. See how much you're leaving behind on the peels? Less is more when you're peeling potatoes, literally!" chuckled the Arc as he stirred the large pot, before blanching and talking into his scroll, "No I'm talking to someone else, you just focus and call me back if you need help with anything else regarding your date,". With that, the call was ended, and James Ironwood tried to finally get Mr. Arc's attention, but once again failed to do so. The man had opened his fridge door and gotten out even more food, before walking over to the side of the counter Ironwood was on and plopping down said food.
"Does this smell fresh?" asked the Arc, shoving a clump of herbs into the face of the headmaster of Atlas Academy, "If they smell sour they're bad,"
"No they smell okay," Ironwood answered with a bewildered expression on his face, "Mr. Arc-"
"Thank you, I just needed to check," interrupted the other man, "Open the chicken for me will you? The oven is at the right temperature so we can put in the brownies,". Then the Arc proceeded to do just that, before guiding Ironwood and Clover through how to properly season chicken and leaving it in a bowl to marinate in the fridge. Eventually, everything in the kitchen calmed down, the potatoes, herbs, and chicken all ending up cooking slowly in the soup while James and his specialist helped clean up the kitchen. Ironwood paused, so taken by the rhythm established by the man he was supposed to be questioning that he had completely forgotten about why he was there. Now was the time!
"Dad!" A pair of voices shrieked from the other side of the apartment, followed by another voice that screamed, "I discovered my semblance!". A series of tiny footsteps could be heard as they ran down the hall into the kitchen, the red-headed boy from before being trailed by a girl with black hair and golden eyes and a young gray-haired faunus boy with a tail wagging so fast Ironwood was impressed he flying into the air.
"Uncle Jaune check this out!" the faunus boy yelled excitedly, In sync the red-headed boy leaned back and began to fall. But before his father could jump to catch him the grey-haired boy loudly spoke and pointed a finger, "Stay!".
With that the falling child froze in place, his momentum cut off completely and utterly. Only his facial expressions seemed untouched, depicting clear excitement.
"Oh that's wonderful!" congratulated Mr. Arc, putting one hand to his chest subconsciously in relief that nothing bad had happened, "How did you figure it out?"
"Adam fell down the bed and Marrow saved him," stated the girl with a smug face and eyes twinkling with mischief, clearly proud of her friend.
The child who Ironwood could only assume was Adam unfroze, landing on his rear with a small thud, "No Cinder kicked me off the bed and Marrow saved me, but it was still cool as heck!"
"Don't make this about yourself," retorted Cinder with a clearly well-rehearsed face of innocence, "It's about Marrow getting his semblance, and before us of all people too,".
"Yeah, I thought you two would have gotten them first," laughed Marrow, his tail finally slowing its wag just a bit, before turning to the two other adults "Also hi! Who are you two? Are you guys helping with the food? You guys didn't mess with the recipe, did you? Uncle Jaune's recipes can't be beat, so it's best if you two don't mess with them,"
"All I do is make food with love," Mr. Arc said, bowing deeply in a dramatic manner and getting giggles from his tiny audience, "Now scamper off before I make you three set the table, I'll be talking to our guests in the living room if you need me,".
The "threat" of a chore was more than enough motivation to send the trio back to the room from where they came, their conversation centered around the discovery of their friend's semblance and all the shenanigans they could get up to with it.
And just when the general was sure that he would finally be able to be able to do his job, the universe once again decided to spite him, this time with a set of knocks at the door.
"I'll get that, you two just make yourself at home and sit down in the living room," spoke Mr. Arc, going to see who was at the door.
James Ironwood just sighed, confused, somewhat deflated, and definitely hungry. Clover just laughed, nearly folding himself in half holding his stomach at the sight of his commander's face. Said commander promptly choosing to ignore such a reaction, going over and sitting down on a recliner next to the living room couch. Ironwood realized that he had placed the folder that held all the information Atlas knew about Jaune Arc on the top of the couch, feeling extremely lucky that nothing had happened to it during all of the commotion.
"We have the same music taste," noted Clover as he sat on the couch, referencing the station Mr. Arc had playing in the background, the songs carrying an energy that fit both men very well, at least in Ironwood's opinion. And while normally the general would chastise Clover's lax and laid-back sitting position, he simply couldn't bring himself to care due to the frankly ridiculous circumstances. Before Ironwood could continue to think about what had happened in the past thirty minutes or so, Mr. Arc entered his field of view once more, this time followed by two adult faunus. His first thought was to analyze and assess the capabilities of both faunus, Ironwood couldn't tell if either had aura but the male faunus' height and build were menacing nonetheless, made less so by the small baby strapped to his broad chest which was cooing and grabbing the air with curious hands. The man's partner however gave him some pause, the glint in her amber eyes sending a minute shiver down his spine, and Ironwood knew well enough to not underestimate someone due to their size if they potentially had aura.
"Kali, Ghira, let me introduce you two to James Ironwood and Clover Ebi," states Mr. Arc, "They were just helping me with dinner,"
Ironwood and Clover both stood up to greet the two faunus, whom James now recognized as the leaders of the White Fang, it seemed Mr. Arc kept some very interesting company indeed. Nevertheless, Ironwood went to shake both of their hands, and was glad that there seemed to be no underlying spite between the two faunus and him as he did so. Before he could introduce himself, going to give his standard spiel about who he was in a more in-depth introduction than what Mr. Arc gave him, Mrs. Belladonna beat him to the punch.
"The great general of Atlas," the amber eyes faunus said as she shook his hand, her eyes keeping that mischievous twinkle in their eyes, "You'll have to tell me Jaune's recipes, he's very stingy with them,"
"I already told you, let me take Blake off of your hands for the day so you and Ghira can have a day for yourself and I'll gladly give you my cookbook," responded Mr. Arc in a playful manner, clearly an inside joke between them.
Mrs. Belladonna's large husband looked away pointedly, as his wife glared at him, before clearing his voice and trying his best to hide a light blush on his face, "Maybe when she's older, I'm not mentally prepared to go an entire day without Blake," .
His wife made an exasperated face in an overly dramatic way, "My own husband, preventing me from using our daughter as a bargaining chip. What has the world come to!", she threw her hands up in mock fury before promptly sitting down on the couch. Mrs. Belladonna extended her hands to her husband to clearly indicate that she wished for her husband to deposit their daughter in her arms. With a small huff, the large faunus man did so, gently extracting the small baby on his chest and handing her over to his wife.
"Is Blake here?!" a voice cried from the other room, followed by the collective scampering of feet as the trio of children emerged from the room they were playing in.
Mrs. Belladonna was clearly ready for them, scooting over so the couch had plenty of room for the three kids to smash into in their excitement. The excitement was shared by the baby, as she let out a loud shriek followed by giggling at the sight of the three older kids.
"Blake!" yelled Marrow, joining the small babe in her giggling and making a variety of silly faces to grab Blake's attention.
Adam was quick to jostle Marrow out of the way so he could get Blake's attention, proudly lowering his head before declaring, "Look at my horns Blake! Don't you wanna touch 'em?". The small baby cooed and gently grasped the small curved horns on the boy's head, before yanking on them harshly with a giggle and getting a yelp out of Adam, sending the boy tumbling backward off the couch.
Next up was Cinder, the girl simply extending her arms. Wriggling out of her mother's arms, Blake crawled over to Cinder, crawling over Marrow, and babbling as she made her way over to sit herself on CInder's legs, and letting Cinder smile smugly at the two boys as she won the strange competition for the baby's favor.
It was an adorable sight, seeing the cat faunus infant wiggle and get comfortable in the lap of the older girl, slapping her chubby palms against Cinder's legs with a satisfied face. Apart from the two boys who were basically seething with jealousy, all the adults let out a collective sigh of appreciation at what just happened, with only Ghira and Ironwood deciding that they needed to protect their dignity and collected themselves quickly. A small nod between the two men establishing a bond of solidarity, they must be strong and not act like fools.
Clearly, the other three adults did not care or catch this understanding, as Kali and Jaune both took out their scrolls to capture the moment while cooing over them, while Clover simply clutched his chest at the sickeningly sweet sight and acted like he was going to fall over.
"Looks like Blake has a favorite," huffed Mrs. Belladonna, making no effort to try to hide her large smile, "Replaced so easily I see, I'll remember that for the future,".
Normally Ironwood would be positive that a baby of that age couldn't understand language, but the way the young Belladonna stuck out her tongue and blinked twice made it almost seem like she was taunting her own mother.
Clover and Mr. Arc both laughed at the act, while Mrs. Belladonna's look of fake offense turned to one of actual shock at her daughter's sass. Ironwood cleared his throat to hide his own chuckle, with the strain on Mr. Belladonna's face making it clear he was holding back a roar of a laugh.
"Dinner will be done in half an hour," declared Mr. Arc, leaning over the couch to get comfortable, "And I've got the funniest story to tell, so a while ago this fresh out of Atlas huntress came up to me asking me to bake cookies so she can ask out one of her teammates. I baked them, obviously, but it turns out she ended up saying that she made the cookies. So to prove her new culinary talents to her would-be girlfriend, she decided to offer to make dinner. But… she has no idea how to make dinner, so she's scrambling to learn how to cook,"
"And obviously you're helping her learn," rumbled Ghira, joining to sit down next to his wife before throwing a watchful glance at the children.
"Guilty as charged," answered Mr. Arc, a bashful look on his face.
Kali gasped, "So you can teach a teenager your recipes but you can't teach me!"
"In my defense, she's buying my groceries for the next week and a half" states Jaune, raising his hands up to make himself look less guilty.
This got the Belladonna's to chuckle, both of them going, "Does she know how much she's going to owe you?"
"I'll only make her pay half of it, don't want to give her a heart attack," laughed Mr. Arc.
This gets Clover's attention, and out of sheer curiosity he asks, "How much do you usually spend on food? It can't be that much, considering you're a family of three,"
"A family of three and half the hunters here who don't want to cook on their days back from missions," says Mrs. Belladonna, her smile growing ever larger on her face as Blake began to crawl out of Cinder's lap and back into hers.
Jaune huffed at Kali's comment, "I enjoy cooking for others and everyone always pays me back in the end, not that they need to of course, but I learned my lesson trying to reject hospitality once before,"
"Dad made someone cry!" blurted out Adam, a strangely proud look on his face, "They tried to pay him back and he said no and then they ended up crying!"
The child's father sighed, "It's actually how I met the girl that I'm teaching how to cook, they had just gotten back a few days before and were feeling horrible about something that went wrong. The team tried to pay me back and I said no, and it was enough to break the emotional dam and all of them started crying,"
Cinder and Adam nodded, while Marrow looked somewhat shocked at the revelation. The adults all grimaced, they had all seen and felt the pressures of being hunters, and there had always been stories about the things stress could cause.
"Atlas offers counseling sessions," Ironwood said, breaking the slight silence, "The program might be underfunded at the moment but I can assure you that I'll be working to change that,".
"A noble effort," said Mr. Belladonna, "Heaven knows hunters need all the help they can get, they've certainly earned it,"
The conversation changed to more light topics, the adults beginning to needle and tease the General of Atlas about the rumors surrounding him and a certain deputy headmistress of Beacon.
"Our relationship is solely platonic, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Glynda," rejected Ironwood, almost miraculously managing to keep the red from his face at the thought, "Neither of us have ever had the time to engage in romance,"
"I feel that," Mr. Arc said, a morose smile on his face.
Clover, in a rather cocky manner, proclaimed, "Couldn't be me, I've excellent at the whole work-life balance thing,"
Everyone rolled their eyes at that. Even the small baby Blake, mostly in imitation of everyone else, but nevertheless she rolled her eyes.
Before Clover could defend his statement Ironwood interrupted, "Ignore my specialist, I've seen firsthand how focused he gets when he's on the job. The only reason he's ever had a partner is that he overcompensates by being a notorious flirt,"
"I'm getting better," whined Clover, embarrassed at the fact that he was called out by his own superior officer, his face burning redder and redder as those his age chuckled.
A loud grumble echoed in the room, everyone was shocked at the noise, and were even more surprised to learn that it had come from the faunus baby's stomach.
"Just in time," said Jaune as everyone recovered from the shock of Blake's stomach imitating a Grimm, "I'll get the kids to set the table so we can eat."
"We wouldn't want to impose," Ironwood stated, getting up from his seat and ignoring the pleading look from Clover, "We'll be on our way,"
Mr. Arc, taking one look at Clover, waved a hand in dismissal, "Please, you've come all this way and you helped me with dinner, I insist you eat with us. There's more than enough,"
Ironwood, feeling Clover's intense glare on the back of his head, sighed in defeat, "If you'll have us then,"
Dinner was a rambunctious affair, as Clover slowly became the star of the spotlight with his stories as a huntsman, captivating the smaller children with his showmanship and flair. The food was frankly, in Ironwood's opinion, some of the best he's ever had. It had been a long while since the general had eaten with others, too often taking his dinner in his office as he plowed through all the paperwork he could before going to sleep late at night, it was a refreshing change of pace. The Arc children and their friend were remarkably well-behaved, regardless of their seemingly unending energy and appetite, Mr. Arc seemed to know how exactly to motivate and redirect said energy into a more productive manner. He asked each child plenty of questions that weren't simple trivial matters about how their day went and such, but rather he knew their interests and could ensure that they wanted to interact with everyone else in a positive way.
Mr. Arc's tactics even seemed to work on Clover, as the specialist opened up about his personal life to share about his day. It was adorable in a weird way, to see the younger man brighten up at the small bits of praise the Arc patriarch gave Clover as the specialist talked about how he maintained his weapon and any cool tricks he could do with the fishing rod. At the realization that Clover's weapon was a fishing rod, the trio of kids were incredibly shocked, and asked a variety of questions about it.
Clover was more than happy to answer said questions, until Adam asked, "Why didn't you pick something cooler? Like a sword?"
"Well it means a lot to me since I made it when I was younger," defended Clover, "It's got great versatility and lets me maneuver around the battlefield,"
"You should use a whip instead," said Cinder, "It can do the same thing and look cool at the same time,"
Marrow lit up at the idea, "Yeah! You should change it to a sword-whip!"
"But it's named after the bird! The kingfisher, because they're omens of good fortune! And it wouldn't make sense if a weapon named King-Fisher wasn't related to fishing," Clover shot back, more invested in an argument against three kids than any adult should rightfully be invested in.
Before said kids could open their mouths to retort, Mr. Arc stepped in, "Children, don't bully Clover over his choice of weapon. Any hunter can do well with any weapon, but they'll do their best if they're using a weapon they love,"
"Thank you!" said an exasperated Clover, throwing his hands in the air before sticking out his tongue at Cinder, Adam, and Marrow.
"Don't antagonize the children," reprimanded Ironwood with the smallest of smiles, even his own iron will not being strong enough to stop him from finding the scene humorous. He sighed internally as his agent exchanged glares with kids not even half his age, but decided that it wasn't the worst thing to let Clover mess around.
"My weapon would be way cooler," grumbled Adam, his face bunched up in a determined look.
"I'm sure it will be," said his father, "But you have almost five years to figure out what you want your weapon to be, and even then it isn't always set in stone. My weapon isn't the weapon I had when I started out slaying Grimm after all,"
"Really?" asked Kali, spoon-feeding her baby orange mush as she questioned the Arc, "I always thought huntsmen stuck to their one weapon, or do you mean you just got the same design replaced after you lost the first one?"
"My first weapon was… well it was Crocea Mors, the legendary Arc weapon. Not the one the actual Arc family has in their possession, but the same blueprint and all that. After it got destroyed, I took the chance and had a friend design a new weapon that fit me more," said the Arc with a strange tone of voice, his face contorting into an expression of reminiscence.
"Dad has a chainsaw-sword!" Adam Arc declared proudly, as if it was the coolest thing ever, and considering the child's age it might as well be the coolest thing ever to him.
Mr. Arc chuckled at his child's vigor, "It's a sword and shield, but I can combine the sword and shield to activate the inner mechanisms and transform it into a large battle-chainsaw,"
The other adults were stunned, Mr. Belladonna speaking out, "And you said this weapon fit you better than the original?"
"Yeah that doesn't seem to fit you very well whatsoever," affirmed Clover with a sage nod.
"I was in a very… intense mindset, when I got it made," said Jaune Arc, a shy look on his face.
Kali understood immediately, "It was an edgy faze wasn't it,"
The sigh that left Mr. Arc's lips was more than enough to confirm it for everyone else. However, the two other huntsmen were more than aware of the temptation to make "cool" weapons that gripped their younger selves.
"Mr. Arc is probably one of the few hunters to go through with such a route when it comes to their weapons, but the thought of using a similarly severe weapon undoubtedly goes through every huntsman-to-be," confirmed Ironwood, nodding to Jaune in assurance.
Clover laughed, "Younger me almost made a harpoon-gatling gun. But I decided that it would be too much of a hassle to repair and clean so I went for Kingfisher's design instead,"
"A weapon's upkeep is something young hunters need to think deeply about when they settle on their weapon of choice," Ironwood stated in a wise tone, "The fewer moving parts the less likely something is to go wrong. Which makes it incredibly interesting that you choose a chainsaw as an alternative mode to your weapon, living in Vacuo it must have been hellish to maintain such complex machinery,"
Jaune shrugged with a fond smile, "The friend that designed it took that into account, it's incredibly efficient and durable. I wanted something that could roar, the more the things we're fighting focus on me the better,"
"Why is that?" asked Kali as she finished feeding Blake the last spoonful of baby food, "I thought the last thing you wanted in a fight is for something to focus on you,"
"I've got a freakish amount of aura, and since it's not easy to use my semblance on the offensive I found a niche with being a tank," reasoned Mr. Arc, "But the alternative form was actually something I had made to mitigate that, to give me an extra punch when I needed it,"
They finished their dinner shortly afterward, the Arc children and their friend scurrying back to the room they had come from originally. This left the adults alone to talk, not counting the small babe in Ghira Belladonna's arms of course. But eventually, Ironwood and Clover had to excuse themselves and leave. Their host insisted that he lead them out, and the general was too tired to argue.
So Clover, Ironwood, and Jaune all walked down towards the elevator, before Jaune broke the silence, "You two wanted to ask me a few things right? I assume the folder you've been carrying around all evening has something to do with it?"
This made James realize that he was about to leave without even completing his original goal. Stopping in his tracks he turned to look at the man, "You're correct, I had originally meant to ask you about a few accusations about your past. Namely, any affiliation with a Vacuo-based gang called "The Crown". There's no need to worry about it though, as the only evidence is a tattoo you have, the one on your back,"
Jaune grimaced, "I had an accident that left my back scarred, after it healed I chose the first tattoo I could get to hide it. The crown was a popular design at the time, before being coopted by the gang. No one takes them seriously, but something about them scares me, call it a gut instinct,"
"That couldn't have been safe," blurted out Clover, "Tattooing your back just after it had healed,"
The blonde laughed, "You aren't wrong, but I was eager to forget about the whole ordeal. The worst that happened was that I felt a bit ill afterward, but I'm happy with the results,"
Ironwood nodded, "Thank you for your cooperation, and even more thanks for the meal,"
"It was nothing," responded Mr. Arc, "Feel free to drop by anytime, the kids loved Clover,"
The specialist made a face and sulked, "Loved to bully me you mean,"
"All in good fun," said Ironwood, patting Clover on the back, "Have a wonderful night Mr. Arc,"
"You too,"
With that the men separated. And once Clover and Ironwood got back to their vehicle and Clover apologized to the driver for taking so long, Ironwood said nine words that made his specialist laugh.
"Seems Atlas will be hiring a new teacher soon,"
/-/
Janice Amin laughed as she opened the door and Jaune carried Marrow inside, the sleepy pup happily drooling on his "uncle's" shoulder.
"You're a lifesaver Arc," said Janice as Jaune put Marrow down on the couch, "The hospital has been killing me with shifts lately,"
"Just returning the favor," responded Jaune, "You do the same with my kids, and they're twice the trouble,"
Janice laughed, "They're sweethearts, and Marrow will definitely miss them over the winter break,"
"I've got some business in Vale, you know how it is," said the Arc, "Plus it'll be fun to escape the cold for a week, Atlas winters are no joke,"
"Good luck with the trip,"
"Hopefully we won't need it,".
Next chapter is going to be based in Vale, and from Cinder's POV, since I haven't given her enough love cause I've been introducing so many other characters. I also continue to use Jaune's POV sparingly, since I don't want y'all to know everything he's planning atm :3
I'm trying to think of other things to say lol, its a school night and I'm ahead of hw so posting this now cause I have no concept of patience lmao. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Leave comments! I love them, feel free to tell me your thoughts on the characterizations and plot, I'm always eager to learn how to write better. My dialogue is probs the thing I think I need to work on the most IMO. Also should I start a ? I need moola to fund my mtg/warhammer addiction lol. I'll try to have the next chapter out before Halloween lol, ima be a cowboy!