Kali searched Willow's face for any sign of deception, and saw only sheer innocence and honesty to match her words. The girl's large, cerulean eyes seemed to be full of worry, and her stance betrayed a distinct nervousness despite her formal posture. Kali imagined a laser searing through the back of her own skull from where she thought Adam's eye might be, up in the stands, and shook her head to banish the sensation.

"…we'll see how you hold up. I won't go nuts," the faunus said in a whisper.

"Forearms, ladies," Professor Goodwitch commanded as she moved to a place between the girls. Kali and Willow held their right arms out, and the professor worked to secure a black wristband around each of them. Upon doing so, green bars appeared on each of the two monitors of the free-standing device at center stage. Professor Goodwitch wheeled the stand out of the way before beginning to type on an attached keyboard. The label 'KALI' appeared on the left monitor above the long green bar, before 'WILLOW' began to spell itself out above the one on the right.

"Students, pay careful attention. These wristbands are each linked to one specific monitor, as a pair. The bands themselves utilize technology to measure the aura levels of the wearer, and calculate remaining aura based on a percentage of the initial detected value. As the wearer takes damage, the corresponding bar on the display of the monitor will decrease proportionally, and change from green, to yellow, to flashing red. A red aura means that a fight is over. No exceptions," Professor Goodwitch stated emphatically. "Attacking a student with a red aura will result in immediate ejection from the class, and multiple detentions. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch," the class replied. With one final nod, the older woman raised her riding crop between Kali and Willow. Kali drew her gold-plated lugers from their holsters and flourished them with a series of spins, before aiming them directly at Willow. Several noises of approval rang from the crowd, and Willow responded with a formal bow in Kali's direction. After she finished, she raised her rapier and inclined the point slightly toward Kali at a diagonal.

"The first student to exhaust their aura into the red has lost the match, be it through taking hits or overuse of semblance. Should such an event occur, an alarm will sound. Good luck to both of you," Professor Goodwitch reassured. "Ready… set… begin."

Immediately after the signal, Kali fired off two bullets at Willow's chest. The Schnee heiress flicked her sword straight up in anticipation of the move and braced two fingers against the flat of the blade as an intricate, rotating, black circular glyph the size of her body formed in midair just before her. The pair of bullets impacted the arcane circle and visibly slowed to a crawl before dropping harmlessly at Willow's feet with a pair of faint clinks. It seemed as though no one in the room dared to breathe for a moment as the girls stared each other down in total silence.

"…oh, you're going to be such a pain in the ass," Kali grumbled as her cat ears flattened. She spared a glance at the aura monitor, and found that Willow's bar had already depleted by around ten percent. The sight caused Kali to smirk. "But not for long."

Willow took a deep breath as she dispelled her glyph and let out a spirited cry before rushing forward with her rapier out. Kali was caught by surprise and barely dodged out of the way of the advancing thrust in time. Willow took another step forward and went for another thrust, only for Kali to spin and bat the blade away with a hard blow. The faunus had flipped her guns to hold them by the barrels, and held the grips away from herself like a pair of short hammers. Willow made a noise of contempt as she whirled her blade while backpedaling and readied herself into a formal stance one again. Kali grinned wickedly as she watched the motion, and slipped her hands down to her sides to holster her pistols.

"So formal," she commented in a singsong voice.

"I've spent many days and nights training with the best. I pride myself on it," Willow countered.

"You won't, after this," Kali replied. Before Willow could reply, the faunus rushed forward as a pair of ethereal arms sprouted from her back. She balled all four hands into tight fists and used her semblance to throw a haymaker for Willow's side, while simultaneously thrusting a palm out for the heiress' face. Willow managed to flick her rapier downward to push away the blue fist, but took the facial hit head on and was sent reeling as a bright white veil of energy pulsed around her entire head.

Willow scoffed as she rubbed at her nose, feeling a dull ache from the impact. She rose once again into a formal stance, before letting out a tense breath as Kali began to circle her. With a quick shiver, Willow dropped her stance into something more relaxed, and angled her blade downward in a loose grip. Kali responded with a light laugh, and threw another hard punch. Willow leaped backward as a glyph appeared behind her in midair, and she landed atop it in a crouch.

"Well now. That was a quick change," Kali commented as she cracked the knuckles of her ghostly arms.

"Committing to a strategy that isn't working is folly," Willow commented as she rose. "As is underestimating your opponent."

"Then don't do it, next time," Kali mocked as she folded both sets of her arms.

"Kali!"

The faunus whipped her head toward the voice coming from the crowd that she thought she recognized as Roman. From the corner of her eye, Kali caught sight of a glyph that had been summoned behind her, and she turned a moment too late to get out of the way of the fireball that screamed through the air and into her side. Kali tumbled along the ground in a sideways roll, and righted herself just in time to catch Willow's descending blade between her summoned hands.

"Cute. But now, you've proven yourself capable, Schnee. No more training wheels."

Willow opened her mouth at just the right moment to catch Kali's skull with her teeth as the faunus rocketed from her kneeling position into a powerful headbutt. A glowing blue arm grabbed for Willow's rapier while she was off balance and wrenched the blade out of her grip, while the other struck the center of her chest and sent her reeling. Kali drew one of her pistols and fired a dust-infused round of flaming slag after her opponent as the girl bounced upon her rear along the ground, and the hit wreathed the girl's aura in a brief cloak of flames. A piercing siren rang out within the amphitheater, and Professor Goodwitch's voice soon followed.

"The match goes to Kali!"

A round of applause and a few whistles of approval came from the crowd as Kali smirked and spun her luger back into its holster. Her glittering arms dissipated into nothingness as she stepped forward and kneeled down to offer the coughing girl on the floor her hand.

"…not bad, for a first attempt. You need to chill out on the stances, though. They don't mean shit in a real fight."

Willow coughed once again into her hand, before using the other to accept Kali's help. She allowed herself to be pulled into a standing position, and folded her arms across her chest as she looked down with an embarrassed expression.

"…thank you. I'll… keep that in mind."

Kali broke the grip and offered a nonchalant wave, before turning as the sound of high heels on wood drew closer. Professor Goodwitch offered her open palms, and nodded to the girls.

"Quite a decent show, for the first match of the year. I encourage you both to focus on your awareness of the entire battlefield while fighting, and continue working hard. Your wristbands, please."

Willow slipped her bracelet off immediately, and the right side of the monitor went dark. Kali took a moment to glance at her screen, and found that she still possessed more than half of her own aura. With a smug look, she slipped the device off her wrist and handed it over to the instructor.

"Thanks for the opportunity, Professor." Kali turned and opened her mouth to offer the same to her opponent, only to find that both Willow and her rapier had already disappeared.

"…so insanely awesome, especially when you smashed your palm into her face! And like, I know you're a cat faunus, but you move like a cat, the way you twist and how gracefully you rolled into that blade catch and the way y-"

Qrow kept his chin in his hand as he regarded Summer's animated recounting of Kali's duel from across the rounded table. He lightly mixed his mashed potatoes with his fork and watched disinterestedly as gravy sloshed and swirled to fill in the new gaps. Before long, he heard Bartholomew clear his throat from his left side, and Qrow looked over with a bored expression.

"…what's troubling you, if I might ask?"

Qrow let out a deflated sigh, and sat up straighter as Summer finally paused to take a breath.

"Have none of you noticed that Willow is sitting alone?" Qrow said quite loudly, while pointing his gravy-coated fork clear across the room. Far on the other side of the dining hall, close to the corner, Willow Schnee sat at a table the same size as the one STRQ and OKRA had chosen to occupy. The surface was clear except for her tray and a book, and the two tables next to hers were devoid of students.

"Good," Adam sneered. "She should consider herself lucky she's still able to sit at all."

"Adam," Kali said with a hint of trepidation in her voice as Summer resigned herself to eating while looking away from the impending argument. "Believe me, I had some… feelings about seeing her on that stage, too, but we can't just jump straight to violence and hate. She's our age. What can she really do to stop her family fr-"

"More than she's doing here," Adam interrupted with a look of indignation. "She has no business being in this place, and while she's here, I'm in danger. What don't you get? I'm technically an escaped convict, and her parents are the reason."

"Still in the dark, here," Roman pointed out as he leveled a chicken drumstick toward Adam. "Would you mind sharing, and catching us all up to speed now that you've thrown that out there so casually?"

"Qrow?" Raven questioned as her brother stood up with his tray.

"Don't act so surprised. This isn't right," Qrow replied with a stern look downward at his sister. Raven paused, and the two had a silent conversation with their eyes as the rest of their team looked on.

"This is not the sort of thing you and I need to get involved with. We're not here to participate in arguments like this. You know that," Raven said carefully.

Qrow considered the warning for all of a second, before he shook his head in disappointment.

"Yeah, well… it's something I do have to get involved with, for reasons other than why we're here. I'll catch up with you all later," he finished with a wave of his hand before returning it to the side of his tray.

Qrow turned and began to walk across the dining room floor with purpose. He passed by several other teams talking and laughing in a lively manner, and furrowed his brows as he tried to ignore the jubilant atmosphere all around himself. After nearly a full minute of walking, he made his way up to Willow's table and sat down next to her. The heiress looked up from the open notebook next to her salad bowl, and quickly closed it as she blinked several times and tried to figure out where in the room Qrow had come from.

"…good evening. I… think you may have the wrong table," Willow tried as she slipped an embossed silver fountain pen and her journal back into a clutch purse sitting below the table.

"I don't. Qrow Branwen," the boy insisted as he offered a hand. Willow eyed it curiously, before encompassing it within a gentle shake.

"Willow Schnee. Really, though, shouldn't you be with your team?"

"Shouldn't you be with yours?" Qrow asked as he dropped his hand and returned it to the tabletop. Willow frowned softly, and tucked a lock of silvery hair behind her ear as she eyed her half-finished salad.

"I… don't have one," Willow admitted in a small voice.

Qrow raised a brow, and leaned back into his chair. "They're treating you that badly, huh? You know, it's not your fault th-"

"No, I… literally do not have a team," Willow clarified as she shifted slightly in her seat to fully face Qrow. "I arrived too late to the academy to be placed, and even if that wasn't the case, I wasn't sent here to become a huntress. I'm just supposed to be watching."

"Well, you did a hell of a lot more than watch during Free Sparring. I'm willing to listen, if you want to explain what's going on. No one should be sitting alone in a room full of people enjoying themselves," Qrow said as he slid his fork into his potatoes.

"Not even a Schnee?" Willow asked before she took a sip of water and averted her eyes from her companion.

"I'm not big on bloodlines, and you seem alright to me so far. So… what's going on? And why do you have a weapon if you're just here 'to watch'?" Qrow asked before finally beginning to eat his food.

Willow let out a labored sigh, and returned her glass to the tabletop as she folded her hands in her lap. "I was set to attend a non-combat academy in Atlas while holding down an internship in the family business, when sometime in August, there was a rather… violent attack on some workers at a family-owned dust mine. Several people were killed, and one of them was a… a friend of mine. A house attendant, you might say, who made occasional rounds to the mines to visit friends of his own. Given that he had direct access to the Schnee manor, and his keys weren't found upon his body, my parents were too scared to let me remain at home. In short, I was sent here, to the last place anyone would expect to find me, for my own protection," Willow finished.

Qrow suddenly found that he was no longer hungry, and softly set his fork down on his tray. He sat in silence as he tried to parse the information and determine what part of her tale deserved priority, until Willow made the decision for him.

"I'm… sorry, if that was a bit of an overshare. I likely should have just told you that I wanted to get away, or…"

"No!" Qrow interjected. "No, it's… I'm glad you told me. So, you were totally displaced, unexpectedly, and after a tragedy? I can't believe Professor Ozpin couldn't find a way to work you into a team, after something like that. You really shouldn't be dealing with this alone."

"It wasn't like that," Willow replied as she began to pick at her salad. "My parents escorted me here personally, and the three of us had a long discussion with the headmaster about how I was not to be placed on a team, or subjected to any of the more dangerous requirements of the academy. My parents just want me to learn from the academic classes, and eventually go on to inherit the company, but… I have had a decent amount of combat training, both for self-defense and for sport."

"And you just so happened to bring that highly sophisticated weapon along with you by accident? Or did you plan that?" Qrow inquired with a knowing smirk. He was taken slightly aback as Willow returned the expression, and lifted the weapon from its position leaning against her chair to lay it upon the table. The rapier was almost as much a piece of artwork as a weapon, done up with elaborate engravings and embossed details along the curved and bladed guards.

"Myrtenaster. A sword gifted to my mother by an Atlesian general, which has sat within a vault, unused, up until now. When my parents explained to me where I was to go, and what I'd be doing, I made the decision to do it my way, by participating in the full curriculum of a huntress in training. I spoke with Professor Ozpin about the possibility, and he said he would support me, behind my parents' backs. I just… pray that it doesn't end up costing him," Willow said as she ran her hand along the flat of the blade.

"Clever," Qrow commented. "And Ozpin seems to know what he's doing. I bet he's got contingencies in place, for when your mom notices her sword is gone."

Willow carefully brought her fork to her mouth, and took a practiced bite of salad before chewing slowly and swallowing.

"Let's hope so. Still, even if that part goes well, I'm without a team, and among… far more faunus than I've ever personally seen in one place. If looks could kill…"

Qrow pulled his lips into a tight line as he considered his words. "There are some that won't react well to you, but others might be outright friendly. If I were you, I'd just give them all a chance as you meet them. I've already met several who a-"

"Hi!"

Willow and Qrow both jumped as a third tray hit the table on the heiress' other side, and Kali unceremoniously flopped into the accompanying seat. A veritable tower of food rattled unsteadily from atop the tray, and Willow first eyed the stack and then Kali nervously as the faunus girl picked up a chicken wing and savagely bit into it. Without missing a beat, Kali spoke through a mouthful of food as she pointed the exposed bones of her wing at Willow.

"So. Good fight. Gotta work on being less formal and stilted, though. Be like water, and all that shit."

"I… right, I suppose it's something I should consider. You seem to be a very experienced fighter, Miss Moonglove," Willow tried with a forced smile.

"Yeah, you could say that. You held your own pretty good, for a first attempt," Kali complimented as she sucked the remaining meat off the bones and chewed on the end of the joint. Willow looked on in horror, until Qrow cleared his throat.

"She's not wrong. Sure, you're no huntress, yet, but the basics were there. Now, it's just a matter of practice and commitment."

Willow once again gripped her glass, and took a quick drink to try to fight back her blush. "You two flatter me. Really, I just… wanted to volunteer to prove to our first year class that I'm unafraid to enter the fray, despite my upbringing. That being said, I fear that it may have backfired and tarnished my image even more than my family name already does, after that display."

"Hey, you got a good hit in," Kali reminded. "And if other students act all shitty to you, fuck 'em. The only thing you owe anyone here is being pleasant until they piss you off."

"And… what do I do when they do… 'piss me off', as you put it?" Willow asked hesitantly.

"Kick their asses or walk away and hang out with people worth your time. Don't overcomplicate things that don't need to be complicated," Kali stated simply. Qrow finally managed to return to his food, and then nodded along with Kali's statements.

"While you don't have to be as brash as Kali, it's good advice… to a point. Even if being here isn't what you planned, and you're at a distinct disadvantage without a team, there are ways to make the best of it. Like I said- you shouldn't be facing down the prospect of becoming a huntress in training alone. I'm willing to help out where and when I can," Qrow offered.

Kali let out a small belch, to which Willow wrinkled her nose and let her shoulders sag a bit. "Yeah, me too. Might be a little hard sometimes, though. One of the people on my team is kinda… he hates you. No sense in being vague about it."

"…lovely," Willow replied with an air of sarcasm. "Regardless, it's… very much appreciated that you two would approach me. Perhaps we can speak again soon?"

"Gimme your number," Kali said plainly as she took out her scroll. "We can text about boys and dumb shit or whatever."

Willow's face fell as she reached below the table and brought her purse up to the surface, before unlatching it.

"Please… don't send me messages about 'boys', Kali. I'm an heiress. I'll be lucky if I even get to choose the man I eventually marry, and disregarding that, it's inappropriate."

"Kali's entire existence is inappropriate, so it's something you'll just have to get used to. But, it's not a bad idea. Would make it easier to contact you, and arrange times to meet up," Qrow said as he took out his own scroll. He watched as Willow retrieved her pen and wrote out her scroll number in looping, sophisticated script upon a napkin.

"There. Have at it, I suppose. I have an appointment with the headmaster to keep, so I must apologize for leaving, but… I'm leaving," Willow stated as she closed her purse once again, and hoisted Myrtenaster from the table. She slipped the rapier into a loop upon her belt, before taking up her dining tray in her free hand and offering the other students a muted smile. "Thank you for your kindness, this evening."

"Not a problem, Willow," Qrow replied as he snapped his scroll closed after adding the number to his contacts. "I'll do what I can to help the rest of STRQ keep an open mind, and I'll be seeing you."

"And I'll… we'll hang out, sometime. I can at least promise that," Kali said with a smile. Willow returned the gesture before offering a nod, and beginning to make her way to the entrance of the dining hall. After taking a mere two steps into the hall, she felt a vibration within her purse, and paused to fish her scroll out of the velvet interior. She flipped the device open and raised it to eye level, to find a text message from an unfamiliar number.

Qrow's super cute, isn't he? I think he's into you. Try grabbing his ass or something, next time you meet up.

Willow allowed herself a small blush before rolling her eyes and putting the scroll away without sending a response. Back at the table, Qrow stared at Kali's mischievous grin over the top of her scroll, and let out a ragged sigh.

"…whatever you're sending her, stop it. Be good."

"Never."

Taiyang, Summer, and Roman all sat silently with expressions of varying levels of discomfort as Adam finished his tale. Taiyang in particular looked almost nauseous, while Summer seemed to have sunken into a deep state of sadness. Roman, in contrast to the members of STRQ, looked absolutely disgusted.

"…alright, yeah, you know what? I've never liked the Schnee family to begin with, but Willow's now on my shit list. All of that is unforgivable, and whoever you hurt on the way out had it coming. Zero sympathy from me."

Bartholomew nodded in a sagely manner at the statement. He sat with his arms folded and a pensive look upon his face, his meal long since forgotten. "In truth, I learned about this through Professor Ozpin, before hearing it from you, Adam. All the same, such crimes against an entire race are unforgivable, and I can't in good conscience associate with Willow Schnee, regardless of her lack of personal involvement. I find it rather upsetting that Kali went over there, on principle alone."

"You find it upsetting?" Roman repeated with a sneer. "I'm pissed. She should know better than that, especially considering she's a faunus!"

"Thank you," Adam spat as he cast his eye over to the offending table, where Willow had just stood to make her way to the doors. "I don't want her in our dorm, or anywhere near it. If Kali thinks she's making a new friend, then she's losing one, as well. I won't stand for this."

Raven kept her eyes closed throughout the conversation, and softly shook her head at Adam's words.

"…I didn't want to get involved in this. It's none of my business, and Adam, even if you're a friend… it's not my place to tell you how you should feel. That being said, I can tell you that family is something that no one gets to choose. I know what you must be feeling right now, but this… this act of sitting here and stewing in hate isn't going to do anything productive, for anyone. The healthiest thing you can do is to let it go, and take encounters with her as they come. She's personally done nothing to you, thus far, and I'm honestly disappointed that you all would jump to this sort of behavior so quickly. She may be just as much a victim in this as you, Adam. There's no way of knowing yet."

Adam froze in disbelief as he listened to Raven. Slowly, his face twisted into a scowl, and he clenched his hands into fists as he tried to stare her down. Raven opened her eyes and returned the glare, unblinking.

"…no. Even if she has no part in this, look at her. Look at what the enslavement of people like me has gotten her. Look at how she benefits from the suffering of faunus. Think about how you would feel if Kali was in chains where I was, if you can't find it within yourself to try to understand where I'm coming from. She has everything, Raven! I only have clothing because of Roman!"

"…I can't," Taiyang interrupted as he stood from the table, and put his hands up by his shoulders in a gesture of surrender. His face twisted into something resembling pain, and he shook his head. "I can't do this, right now. I'm sorry, I'll catch up with you all later. I don't feel good."

Summer looked up with a start as Taiyang backed away and began a hasty walk toward the doors. After he disappeared from view, she slumped down into her chair, and let her head rest against the back of it.

"…I'm sorry, Adam. I don't know what to say, or what to do for you. I'll try to help…"

"If you don't know what to say, then don't say anything," Adam growled as he let his eye shift from the doorway back to Raven.

"I have just as much of a right to step in as any of you," Raven pointed out. "Do you not see the irony in judging someone you know only by assumption? I do feel horrible for you, Adam, and I'm not taking sides- but that goes both ways. You still have my support, but until I have a reason to withdraw it, so does she."

"That's such bullshit!" Roman replied. "This is one of those things where you can't adopt the middle ground, and especially not while Adam's sitting right here."

"Might I make a suggestion?" Bartholomew offered, his voice ever calm. The remaining teens at the table all turned to look at him, and he cleared his throat. "This is quickly becoming… highly emotional, and partially irrational. Everyone here is making good points, but this is not a problem that can be solved overnight. I, for one, think the only way that this could even begin to be resolved is by speaking to Willow herself, as a group, and keeping things respectful until the conversation reaches a point where such a thing is no longer possible. Might we table this discussion, for now, and let tensions ease for a night? Perhaps we can invite Willow to join us tomorrow, to talk?"

All eyes automatically turned to Adam, and the faunus boy took the deepest breath he could manage, before beginning to speak in a calm voice.

"…not tomorrow. I need time, if that's the way this is going to go. I can't just put this out of my mind, like some of you apparently can. I'm going to bed."

Adam stood and brought his tray with him as he moved toward the garbage cans beside the doors. Roman was the next to stand, and he left the table to follow Adam without a word. Bartholomew brought a hand up to his forehead, and made a frustrated noise.

"Raven… thank you for helping to ground me. Issues such as these cause me to lose sight of the bigger picture, on occasion. Injustice against the faunus is something that strikes a chord with me."

"My family isn't something I'm proud of, and Qrow feels the same way multiplied by a thousandfold. I'm not just letting a hateful circle jerk go on against a girl I don't even know. Regardless… Summer, are you okay?" Raven asked as she softened her voice.

Summer pulled herself up in her chair to sit properly, and nodded her head with a miserable expression.

"I'll be fine. I guess I just need to suck it up, and participate. A leader can't back down and be indecisive."

"On issues as serious as this, indecision is healthier than making a snap judgment, actually. You're doing just fine, Summer," Bartholomew reassured. "Take your time, and figure out how you feel before offering your opinion. The others will likely put more stock in it than you realize."

"Thanks," Summer replied with a smile. "Right now, I just feel… bad. All around bad."

"I'd be concerned if you didn't," Raven added. "I have such a headache right now. I need some fresh air, and time alone. Maybe you two should let Qrow and Kali know what's going on?"

"Consider it done," Bartholomew replied as he stood, while picking up the remains of his food. "I'll handle it."

Summer stood as well, and picked up her tray. "If you've got it under control, then I'm going to the library, to just hang out for a bit. I'll see you back at the dorm, Raven?"

"You will," the girl agreed as she finally rose, and gathered her trash. She hesitated, before picking up Taiyang's tray as well, and slipping it beneath her own. "Let's all take some time to calm down. I have… somewhere to be."

Raven offered a small dip of her head, before walking to the trashcans. She set the trays atop one of the bins, and headed out the door of the dining hall and into the hallway with hurried steps.

Author's Note:

Come on, you didn't think they'd actually go a full day without something exploding, did you?

-RD