More weeks passed. And Kad was getting bored,

Lost in a sea of essays and readings, seriously on the verge of sticking a knife in a power socket to make something interesting happen. Bored. Combat classes were a breeze, the only challenge in seeing how long he could give somebody an impression they were actually accomplishing something.

He had heard of more robberies in the city, Cinder's allies doing their part for the cause. And Kad still here sitting on his hands, waiting. Why he was thinking more about his lot in life right now he didn't know. He knew what he was supposed to be doing here, and he had accepted it without question.

Without question, at the time.

It was a beautiful day bright and sunny but he couldn't seem to enjoy it, stuck inside moving from class to class. None of his team seemed to notice his mood at the moment. Lunch was painfully uneventful today, though that was nothing new. People came, they ate, they talked, and then they left, day in day out.

He and his team were sitting close to the entrance of the cafeteria. As Kad could only fit on the ends of these tables, his legs sticking out at an awkward angle right in the aisles. He marveled at the table's ability to not tip up into the air from his weight. He and Jaxon sat on the inner side, Co'Balt and Alicia sat on the other with their backs against the wall.

Alicia was dead to the world at the moment. Sleeping and resting her chin on her right hand while leaning slightly against Co'Balt to her right. Who either didn't know or didn't care. Kad knew the two got along well enough but in no way were they romantically interested in each other.

There was some distance between their team and the rest of the students on this row of tables. So they only had their own company. But that was enough for them.

It had been a slow week and the biggest thing coming up was a trip in to forever fall. To collect sap of all things. Kad was trying to be excited about that but was failing. Co'Balt and Jaxon meanwhile were trying to figure out why Professor Peach would need so much of the stuff.

"Do you think Peach makes drugs out of it?" Co'Balt asked,

"Drugs? Are you serious?" Jaxon shook his head. "It's probably just for research, the professors do a lot of that here."

"But why are we all collecting so much of it. Don't you think...?"

The conversation just went downhill from there. Kad tuned them out and flipped through his history textbook some more.

A few things always bugged him about these books.

Any other student or person on this planet probably wouldn't be bothered by it.

Falling from the sky, the mountains fast approaching...

He knew this time those were his own memories of what seemed like just a dream now.

All of the dusty old books generally could be summed up in. Humanity appeared, the Grimm rose up, the first wars with them and between kingdoms happened. Dust, the Faunus, more Grimm. Peace, civil unrest, six kingdoms down to the four now. Then the Great War.

It seemed like the earliest histories were only of the end and aftermath of the first war with the Grimm. There was no real speculation on humanity's beginning. Just myths and fairy tales. Born from Dust wasn't good enough for him. He wanted to know why there wasn't anything from before the first wars. He'd settle even for any sort of speculation. Kad wondered if that knowledge was never written down, lost in the wars?

Did such a time even exist?

His wandering thoughts were suddenly cut off by a now familiar sound. Down the cafeteria, the rabbit Faunus Velvet Scarlatina screaming as Cardin Winchester pulled on her ears.

Again.

Kad didn't look up, knowing it was not his problem right now.

Jaxon however felt differently. His own lion ears twitched in the direction of this latest incident. This behavior was starting to get on his nerves. He knew they were all here to learn how to defend all of the people of the world, both Human and Faunus. There was no room for bigotry at Beacon.

He started to stand up, intent on going to go confront Cardin,

Without even looking Kad reached over and pushed him firmly back onto the bench. His massive right hand didn't budge on his partner's left shoulder when Jaxon turned in outrage to look at his leader.

Kad brought his face down close to Jaxon's. Orange eyes steady and unwavering,

"Not. Our. Problem."

He accentuated each word, trying to drill their meaning into Jaxon's stubborn head.

"She…" Jaxon tried to argue

"She is a huntress in training." Kad countered, "She can probably handle herself. If she needs help her team will help. It's her problem if she can't stand up for herself or if her team is too selfish to help. We will all get into trouble if you go up there and kick his ass. No matter how just you think you are."

"I can take him."

"And his team? You'll get swarmed and then I'm gonna have to go break their legs."

"Don't you care? I thought you were different from the other humans…"

"It's not my job to fight other people's personal battles. You can pick someone up of the ground as much as you like. But if they refuse to stay standing what's it to you? She must have some fire in her veins if she made it to Beacon. Give it a few more days and this will probably sort itself out."

Co'Balt slapped Alicia's arm and woke her up, they were going to have a full blown crisis on their hands in about two seconds. Jaxon dug his nails into the table scratching the wood.

Kad tightened his grip, pressure building to pain in Jaxon's shoulder.

"Stay. Put." The giant said again.

"You… don't… get it…" Jaxon growled in between pained hisses of air.

"I don't care. Bring it up with Goodwitch if it bothers you that much. She'll sort it out. You stay out of it."

Jaxon lowered his head in submission. More out of knowing he couldn't over power his leader rather than any of his logic working. And when he looked across the table to his other two teammates he only receive two semi frightened looks for support.

Kad let him go, then stood up. "Come on, back to the library. Port's test is in an hour."

Alicia and Co'Balt were too stunned to even speak, all three had the same thought run through their heads.

"What was up with Kad?"

"Stupid sap."

Kad didn't know who the teachers thought they were dealing with here, it was almost insulting.

Choosing to stay close to team RWBY and JNPR, the latter suspiciously minus their leader Jaune. APRC collected their jars in no time at all, with still a few more hours to go till four o'clock when they were supposed to rejoin the Professor Goodwitch.

Their teacher had said the forest was full of Grimm, but Kad hadn't seen as much as a footprint from anything. While his team sat underneath some trees close to their friends and peers to just enjoy the day. Kad started to wander off hoping one of the creatures would come out and face him.

The others didn't care. They knew he could handle himself, Jaxon didn't particularly want anything to do with his leader at the moment, while Alicia and Co'Balt agreed neither of them knew what to say to Kad.

Thicker brush blocked his way. The giant easily snapped the branches continuing onward. Moving deeper and deeper into the red trees.

Dead branches and moss covered rocks crunched beneath his boots. He wondered how long had it been since people had walked this path, or had they ever?

This part of the forest even felt different from the other parts.

A rush of sensation crawling down his spine. It was in the air, Kad could smell it. Just like all the other times he had wandered off the beaten path in the wild places of the world.

The smell of monsters.

He wasn't afraid, only mildly cautious.

And still bored, if he didn't have a real fight soon he was going to snap the next time a teacher told him to go to page he didn't give a fuck. Not more practice, no more mock combat. That wasn't what he had been built for. A part of him noted the way that thought formed in his head, but he had always known he was different.

Meant for more.

Kad was growing accustomed to carrying his new blade around with him. Secure in the soft leather harness he had crafted himself only a few days ago when this trip had been announced. The hilt of the red sword bumped into a few branches, sticking out over his right shoulder as the canopy closed over his head. But he could still see the massive tree in the distance, which was what he was aiming for.

But Kad stopped well short of his target.

He had found something much more interesting.