As the hours passed by the number of students present in the foundry had dipped down drastically, those still rpesent in the process of finishing up their work and packing up for the day. Once the foundry officially closed its doors for the day they could start the forging process, as for what exactly they intended to make they'd decided on a necklace as the catalyst for the enchantments, given its ease of concealment and low cost of resources behind its construction.
He'd consider a pair of bracers or perhaps grieves at first, it reduced the chance of the enchanted item being knocked free in combat or lost by the wearer as well as offering a small boost in physical protection to that area of the wielder's body. However, given Miss Rose and her teammates had opted out of wearing any form of armor for the majority of their combat careers, the four of them suddenly adopting some form of alternate protection to their aura may draw undue attention.
It boggled the mind as to why professional warriors would place the style of their clothing above the practical protection of armor to the point the concept was almost foreign to them. Many of his students barring a select few like Miss Nikos and Mr. Winchester -though even that seemed to be more of a stylistic choice on their part-, chose to rely solely on their auras to protect them in battle, without giving any thought as to what might happen to them when it breaks.
He wouldn't deny aura was a powerful tool, as powerful if not better than most of the alternation spells he had at his disposal, yet the trade-off seemed far more damning than the rewards. The Magicka used to fuel a mage's spell remained separate from their body's physical reserves, allowing any battlemage or Nightblade worth their salt to continue the fight even after their magical abilities had been exhausted.
But with aura, if someone were to be struck with enough force or take one too many blows, it could fail leaving its user in a weakened state if not completely unconscious. The perfect position for their opponent to exact a killing blow, something that could have been averted or made more difficult with the proper protection allowing time for others to come to their aid.
For instance, even without the enchantments placed upon it, his own armor was a mixture of hardened leather, padding and chainmail, it was lightweight and flexible granting him a great deal of protection and costing him little in terms of mobility, a perfect combination for someone like Miss Belladonna or Miss Rose, whose style of combat revolved heavily around speed and mobility.
Hmm, given what the future may hold it might be worth discussing with the four of them about getting themselves more properly equipped. Though he'd taken to wearing his nightingale armor more these days after Mora had reared his ugly head, the armor he'd purchased back before the start of the first semester had served him well throughout most of the school year and stood as a testament to Ron's skill with a forge. Should the girls agree to his suggestion perhaps Ron would be interested in fulfilling a few custom orders, he knew the price would be well worth it.
"God my wrist is killing me." Serana muttered. Rolling her hand to relieve some of the tension she glanced back down back at the small pile of forms in front of her, then back to the file to her right containing the details for a set of PPE workwear that the academy had on-site. Nodding along as she read over the various specifications listed alongside each piece of equipment, the level of skin coverage it offered and the maximum temperature threshold the suit could endure before beginning to break down.
Serana huffed "You'd think with all the advancements these people have made, they'd find a way to do away with all the bloody paperwork" Satisfied with what she was seeing she scribbled down the serial numbers for the necessary gear, the timeframe that the suits would be in their possession as well as her personal details in the relevant boxes. It was a tedious but ultimately necessary part of the academy's infrastructure as well as an additional security measure should any of the students decide to develop some sticky fingers, but by Lord Molag she hated it. "That's the last of the forms for the safety equipment done."
She'd already filled out three of them covering the academy's liability and they accepted full responsibility for any incidents that might occur while they were operating the forges. Looking back on it now the amount of paperwork involved was somewhat worrying, although given the sheer size of the machinery involved and the temperatures at play, she could see why such precautions were in place. "Make sure you double-check everything" Mikael regarded her seriously. "If we get this wrong we'll have to fill them out all over again."
"Right" Serna groaned turning her attention back to her papers. Shifting the small pile back over in front of her she began reading back through them one after another checking to make sure she'd signed in the right places and that the numbers she'd put in matched what was in the equipment forms.
But as frustrating as all this was, having the proper protection was a must given the dangers that came with operating such machinery; especially when a stray spark could lead to one of them being reduced to a smouldering pile of ash in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, she was almost done with the last of the forms on her end. Once she turned them in the equipment would be released to them and they'd be set for when it came time to step into the forge.
But comparing the beast of machinery that lay across the room from them to one of the forges stoked by one of the many humble blacksmiths that dotted Skyrim was like comparing apples to oranges. While they might share the same roots and a great deal of similarities neither could be any more different than the other, in terms of both metal production and its operation.
Understanding the latter was a task she'd handed off to Mikael for him to work through after he arrived and she -if somewhat smugly- accepted his thanks in return for pushing him to take some much-needed rest after the sorry state she found him in that morning.
Heh, it was good to be right every now and then, especially when it wasn't just on one front but two as well.
It was more than a little obvious the two of them had a thing for each other I mean just looking at how they interacted with one another the subtle looks they sent the other way when they thought no one else was looking, or the way they'd both spoken about the other around her. One would think they were already in the middle of a loving relationship and yet they'd held themselves back from each other for so long.
Not that the two of them didn't have valid reasons to want to hold off on any relationships, I mean just looking at Mikael she wouldn't be remiss in saying there was a lot to unpack there, though the same could be said in Ambers case as well, Ozpin and this whole little brotherhood of his was evidence enough of that.
And yet despite it all, they'd been able to push past that fear and come together... in more ways than one if that effeminate scent she'd picked up coming off of him when he first walked into the room was any indication. All the grease and oil in the air, not to mention the soap and shampoo he'd seemed to have scrubbed himself with following their little roll in the sheets might have helped mask it, but once she'd focused and been able to separate Amber's scent from all the other sources there was no mistaking it.
It was a surprise, a verry unexpected but pleasant one, especially after their little chat regarding his and Amber's separation for the time being, though she supposed that may have been what finally pushed them over the edge. Well, whatever the reason behind it was she was happy the two of them had finally been honest with each other. "Makes you wish you were somewhere else, huh?"
"It'll all be worth it in the end." Mikael replied his tone remained even despite his next words "Just think of the look on their faces once they realize they'll have to thank us for saving their asses." She couldn't help but chuckle at that, considering the amount of attitude and open paranoia they'd had to put up with during their time here she couldn't say she wouldn't mind seeing Goodwitch lose that holier-than-thou attitude of hers, especially after how she'd threatened her brother.
Still, she knew they needed to work together moving forward, especially with the Elder Scrolls still out there and her comrades nowhere in sight. If worse came to worst and there was no sign of the others they could reach out to Ozpin and explain the situation to him. All things considered, she didn't expect the conversation to go any worse than what they'd already been through, at least the ball was in their court this time around and the conversation wouldn't need to happen until they were on course to return to Nirn... or after they'd been forced to use the scroll in their possession to repel a Daedric Lord.
Considering all the sudden twists and turns Mikael had to contend with during his time here she wasn't ruling either option out just yet. Sighing through her nose Serana reached down to her belt retrieving her silver flask. She leaned back in her chair and unscrewed the cap, sparing a glance across the table to check on Mikael's own progress she found him already six pages into the operation manual, eyes moving across the pages like a snake one hand turning them while the other jotted down a small series of notes on a blank piece of paper to the side.
Turning her own eyes back down at her own work she quickly snatched up her pen and dotted down her signature on the bottom left-hand corner of the page before taking a swig her face twisting into a grimace at the bitter acidic taste that washed over her tongue.
As much as she might have wished otherwise she'd been coming to rely on her elixirs more throughout her days at the academy, with the majority of her time spent aiding Mikael with these projects or with Mirana in the classroom, she'd had little time to indulge in some of her usual feeding habits.
A fact only made worse by those accursed cameras scattered across campus not to mention the increase in students walking the halls thanks to that festival Mikael had mentioned to her while they'd been putting together those rune stones. The students she could handle easily enough, a quick spell there or a little hypnosis here and she could make them forget whatever they saw, or at least alter their memories enough so that it wouldn't be too damning.
But none of that would be of any use if the entire scene could be recorded and reviewed at any given moment. That alone made carrying around actual blood let alone feeding off her stock outside of the privacy of her own room more of a liability than anything.
Though now that she'd been forced to contend with it day by day, she couldn't help but think it might be worth mixing in a few juniper berries or even a little honey into the next batch if only to make it a little more palatable. Smacking her lips lightly a part of her regretted not asking Bartholemew if he'd be willing to share another batch of his coffee when she'd made her way back down here, not only had it been one of the best things she'd ever tasted but it would have been nice to have something even half decent to wash this down with after she was done.
Shrugging she downed the last of the elixir in one go and returned the empty flask back to its spot on her hip. "How many of those have you gone through?"
She looked up to find Mikael eyeing her from across the table a look of concern in his eyes, she smiled softly in return "Admittedly, a few over the last few days." Serana shrugged "I don't get a lot of opportunities outside of my own room to feed so I've had to relegate myself to this." She held up the flask in question "While going about my day."
"Is that healthy for you?" As he understood it her substitute had been designed to act as a form of emergency rations, so that in the event the supply of blood she carried on hand had dwindled, or the situation at hand did not permit her to feed as she normally would, she would not suffer with any abject effects that could stem from denying herself blood.
While he wasn't about to question his sister's understanding of her own creation, this must have been the longest period of time she'd been forced to really on that substance as her main form of sustenance. With that in mind, he could be forgiven for wondering if there was a chance of any adverse effects she might not be aware of. "I know I have no right to question you on anything regarding alchemicals...Goodness knows you're the better of the two of us around an alchemy table, but you have to admit you've never used it at this volume before."
Serana looked down at her flask in silent consideration, she'd admit he may have had a valid point there. Her initial tests on the alchemical cocktail had been focused on short-term consumption, with only five phials allowing her to go without blood for around one and a half to around two weeks at the most. Enough time for her to be able to navigate her way out of whatever environment that forced her into such a situation where blood was not a viable option. "I don't really have a lot of other options at the moment, our situation isn't exactly the most ideal all things considered."
They were both essentially prisoners and yet not a prisoner at the same time, something neither she nor her allies had accounted for before making the trip here. She could roam the academy and by extension the city below if she so desired, but in neither would she go unseen, without taking additional steps, but even then she risked something catching her disappearance in the act.
While Human eyes could be deceived and if not their minds altered to suit her needs, in this land, there were just as many if not more mechanical eyes watching the halls of her current dwelling, meaning she could expect to come to rely more on her substitute then actual blood depending how long their stay at the academy would be.
How easy it would be if she could just smash one of the damn things and have a private spot to indulge herself as she saw fit, but no, doing that would draw unnecessary attention, even more so if she switched locations every so often the staff would get suspicious and may even start actively investigating the cause.
As for Mikael's worries, there had been cases in the past she'd observed from both the members of her own father's court and out in the field of Vampires who overindulged in blood and fell into a state not all that dissimilar to drunkenness or delirium. "Though you may have a point there, brother" Serana conceded While she herself had never experienced such a thing with the level of alchemical concentration inside a single phial and given the change in plans she could expect her rate of consumption to increase over time putting her within the threshold of a similar incident.
'Not to mention the fact it isn't a natural substance but alchemical in nature, I could end up developing a reliance on it and suffering something similar to withdrawals if I switch back to actual blood all at once.' She pondered tapping her nail against the table as she ran through a few calculations inside her head. 'I'll need more data before I can be sure of anything, but dropping the concentration in the next batch should reduce the chances of that happening in the meantime.'
Turning her gaze back down to the papers in front of her she tried shifting the conversation back to the matter at hand. "I'm just about finished here." Rising to her feet Serana gathered the papers into a neat pile before gesturing with her pen to the manual in front of him. "How much longer do you think you're going to be with that?"
"Another hour, maybe two at the most." Mikael gestured to the remaining pages of the manual for emphasis. He had the important aspects of the operating process such as the start-up sequence, metal loading and heat regulation memorized at this point. Right now, he was going through the emergency protocols. Not only was it his first time operating such a piece of machinery but given Serana... disposition, towards fire, he needed to know the best course of action down to the letter should something go awry.
As for the actual casting process itself, they weren't looking to make anything fancifully or whatnot, simplicity and practicality were their aims, the simpler the design the easier it would be to inscribe the runes and graft the magic to the item in question while also reducing the risk of it being damaged given the frequency that Miss Rose and her team found themselves engaging in combat both inside and outside the academy grounds this last semester.
"Great, I'll go grab the suits." Serana replied, tucking the documents under her arm, pulling open the office door she took a moment to brace herself before stepping out into the foundry. Almost immediately she was bombarded by the various sounds and smells that occupied the room, now, while she'd had more than enough experience around some of the more potent alchemical materials over the years to build up an immunity to the latter.
However, barring a few dives into one of the many Dwemer ruins across Skyrim, she could safely say she'd never been around equipment like this in her life and as such found herself woefully unprepared to contend with the former. Her ears buzzed courtesy of the fans above and the whir of a mechanical drill a student across the other side of the room was using to disassemble what looked to be a handheld version of one of those guns the school had mounted to their aircraft.
"Nngh" Serana winced rubbing at her right ear with her free hand as she crossed to the other side of the foundry towards the Quartermaster's office. Quickening her pace she arrived at the steel-plated security door, grasping the handle she made to open it only for the door to refuse to budge, she gave another pull and then a push on the off chance she had it the wrong way yet it still refused to move.
She glanced around the door for any button mechanism that she could use to open the thing, her sight landed on a set of four laminated placards fixed to the wall on the right of the door. The first two were almost ineligible, the writing turned dull and faded over the years, the two beneath them, however, were eligible enough for her to make out the days and times at which the facility would be available to take supply orders throughout the day, as well as a list of individuals who were quote on quote banned from the premises, a few names at which she recognized from her own class roster.
Drawing her scroll she compared the times and found that, yes, it was still the appropriate day and she still had around three hours until the facilities would be unavailable. Shaking her head dismissively Serana pocketed the device she tried the door both ways once more before letting out a long breath through her nose 'Great' she thought to herself, taking a step back and preparing to leave and maybe try her luck later, it'd be a pain, but she didn't think an extra day would be too much of a wait for the old man.
However just as she was turning away, a flash of what looked to be movement passed through her peripheral vision, the source of which being the paneled window resting above the handle and running up the remaining expanse of the door made her pause. Leaning in Serana peered through the tempered glass and into the room on the other side, the lights were on meaning someone had to be in there and soon enough her eyes settled on the ageing quartermaster himself his one good eye staring back at her from his place sitting in the corner behind the counter across the other side of the room.
The ageing man raised a bushy eyebrow towards her questioningly, an awkward laugh left her, goodness knows how she must have looked right now, straightening herself up she gestured down to the door in front of her helplessly. The man huffed out a breath glancing down to a button resting on the desk beside him and then back to her, it didn't take long for her to realize the door likely operated with the aid of one of those electronic locks, a revelation that made her feel more than a little self-conscious of her apparent ignorance towards the more technological aspects of this world.
A feeling that quickly switched to one of indignation when he, instead of telling her they were closed, or just pushing said button and allowing her entry, turned his attention back down to the newspaper in front of him, and flipped over to the next page to keep reading.
Serana blanched at the man's response 'Okay, rude.' She thought to herself. Narrowing her eyes, she gently rapped her knuckles against the window drawing the man's attention once more, his eyes now on her she held up the finished paperwork in clear view of him. He looked from the paperwork then to her, then after a few moments of silence between them his shoulders fell, rolling his eyes he raised a wrinkled hand into view pointing towards her then off to the side of the door.
"What?" Serana asked aloud.
The man gave an overexaggerated roll of the eyes before repeating the motion once more, following his direction she glanced down to where he was pointing noticing a small metallic box fixed to the wall to the left side of the door.
Stepping back to examine the box she immediately took notice of a single button resting at the center above what looked to be a speaker, a small slip of tape pasted over the casing reading 'Buzz For Entry'. "...Oh" A bashful look passed over her.
Clearing her throat, she reached out and pushed the button, though instead of the door opening, as she expected, a low buzz sounded from beyond the door drawing her attention back towards the room beyond. From there she watched, wordlessly as the Quartermaster reached over and pushed the button on his desk, there was a mechanical sound from the door before it slowly swung open.
Her eyebrow twitched, pupils, narrowing into slits, the sudden urge to kick the reinforced door off its hinges and leap across the room to bite out this insufferable man's heart for making her look like a fool rising within her, to the point she almost didn't care if anyone saw her do it. If his attitude towards her today was his default way of dealing with people, she doubted anyone would argue with her giving the storehouse walls a fresh coating of red.
Instead of that however, Serana let out a breath and walked forward crossing the room at a brisk pace, her expression was one of calm yet the way her free hand had tightened into fists, razor-like nails threatening to draw blood, betrayed her true feelings. She said nothing as she laid the paperwork on the desk between them.
The man glanced down at the papers for a moment before gesturing off to the side once more towards a small red and grey contraption bolted to the edge of his desk a small slip of paper protruding from the bottom. A black box rested atop a pole behind in, its face displaying the number 'twenty-six' to her, beside the two was a small sign propped up on the desk, written across it in a fanciful style was 'Please take a number and await your turn.'
Serana stared at the small contraption for a moment before stepping back and taking a long look off to the side towards the makeshift waiting area made up in the far corner of the room, then back over her shoulder towards the doorway behind her, as she expected there was not a soul in sight. Turning back to regard the man she fixed him with a look of disbelief "You're serious." She said throwing her hand out towards the room for emphasis.
The man remained steadfast however despite how ridiculous the situation may have been and pointed once more to the machine his eyes narrowing at her almost daring her to challenge him on this. Her head lolled forward with a long agonizing sigh leaving the immortal, collecting her papers off the desk Serana stepped off to the side she plucked one of the numbered slips of paper, holding it up so he knew for a fact she had one, before lazing her way towards the back wall.
'You've dealt with people like him before.' Serana reminded herself 'And you can do it again' Leaning her head back against the pale surface she glanced down at her number 'thirty-three' She glanced up from the slip of paper and towards the black screen once more, the number having flicked up to 'twenty-seven', well that wasn't too terribly long at least.
Tucking the documents under one arm she drew her scroll and flicked it open, swiping through the display she tapped on a familiar application, a colorful landscape filled her view depicting a cartoonish depiction of a Beowolf facing off against an equally cartoonish version of a scowling bird. She'd been curious about these so-called Video Games after nabbing the scroll from that green-haired boy during her first lecture. At first, she hadn't seen the appeal, viewing them as more of a worthless distraction meant to eat up your time, rather than actual entertainment.
That was until that evening when her curiosity got the better of her and she'd lost herself in the delightful world of Sweet Breaker conquering one level after another well into the early hours of the morning, much to her embarrassment. Still, it had been an enjoyable experience, enough so that she'd decided to download a few more of them, along with a few dozen books she'd found while browsing the online world.
Others of her kind might consider such things childish or unbecoming of one of their stature, but in her humble opinion, there was nothing wrong with a little mindless fun every now and then, especially when it helped her destress and take her mind off things.
So, for now she was content to let herself be taken by the world of Ravenous Aviens and their quest to halt the creatures of Grimm from stealing their eggs and destroying their island home. She giggled softly at the sight of a Toucan with an oversized beak somehow Boomeranging its way through a small hoard of Grimm clinging to the branches of a treehouse to great effect, its talons and enlarged beak making quick work of the Nightmarish hoard.
Her prior frustration was forgotten as she finished off the last of the Grimm and a victorious cry signaled the end of the level her overall score popping up at the center of the screen. 'Three stars, nice.' Serana thought to herself tapping the flashing green triangle in the bottom corner of the screen and carried onto the next level.
Every so often Serana would glance over her scroll to check the display and then compare it to her ticket. 'Two more to go.' The whole situation was ridiculous in her opinion, but she wasn't about to lower herself any further by causing a scene.
Another buzz ran through the room signaling someone was requesting entry, the quartermaster glanced towards the door and for a second she thought she saw a ghost of a smile pass over his feature before being replaced by that resting grimace of his. Activating the button once more the door began to open a figure slipping through the gap in the door.
If it wasn't the pair of rabbit ears protruding from atop her head that clued her into their identity then it was the distant accent she bore when speaking "Good afternoon Mr. Witterbane" Velvet nodded to the ageing quartermaster as she went.
Serana watched Velvet make her way over to the waiting area near the back of the room a small, stylized box in hand and judging by the smell of metal and grease emanating from the small pack over her shoulder, a set of tools as well. Serana gave a light hum watching as the girl took a seat with her back facing her at one of the tables and set the box down in front of her.
Sliding open a small panel on the side she could hear the hum of a fan and the subtle ticking of gears, Velvet reached into her bag, retrieving a set of screwdrivers and tweezer before beginning to fiddle with the boxes innards, her hands moving with a level of skill and care one might attribute to a surgeon.
Shrugging Serana turned her gaze back towards the front desk, watching as the screen updated once more a solid thirty-three appearing on its surface. Collapsing her scroll and tucking it back into one of the pouches on her belt Serana retrieved her number slip from the one next to it. Kicking off the wall she made her way back over to the desk setting it and the documents on the desk in front of him.
The Quartermaster retrieved her number and examined it intently for a moment, then crumpled it into a small ball and tossed it over his shoulder. "Humph" He reached out, retrieving the papers without issue. Leaning forward onto the desk as he read through the document his free hand came into view.
Serana was for a moment taken aback by the sight of a serrated hook in place of where his hand had once been, she'd seen a few cases of amputation back at Fort Dawnguard. Injuries such as that -while minuscule if the limb could be recovered and reattached - could often spell the end of a Vampire Hunters career, or at the least force them to retire from fieldwork and take on some of the less glamorous but equally important work around the castle.
Most accepted the job with grace and even gratitude at not being cast aside now that they were no longer fit for fieldwork, the Dawnguard needed just as many men and women behind the scenes to maintain their organization's infrastructure as they did killing creatures of the night. There was gold that needed to be managed, supplies to be processed and distributed to a few of their newly founded sects popping up in the surrounding provinces, the training of new recruits, not to mention the information network Isran had spent the better part of the last five years building.
Yet despite all that there was always one of those self-entitled bastards that somehow made their way into their ranks every now and then, who took their reassignment the wrong way and acted in a shall we say less than professional manner towards their fellow members. Which usually ended with Isran stripping them of their title and rank and throwing them out on their asses. They were there to stop Vampire uprisings and not cater to some arrogant prat, who'd paid the price for being in over their head.
Realizing she'd been staring Serana tore her eyes away from the injury out of respect for the man's loss, though going by how he didn't seem to react she could assume he'd been too focused on the paperwork to notice her staring. A tense moment followed where the Quartermaster paused and examined a certain part of the document for an extended period of time, leaning onto the desk she drilled the tip of her boot against the floor anxiously, wondering if she'd missed something or signatured somewhere incorrectly before he just shrugged and flipped over to the next page.
Propping her head up on her hand she watched on as the Quartermaster carried out an almost painfully slow examination of the first page. After around fifteen minutes the Quartermaster glanced up from his work at her, his head tilted to the side with a curious grunt, picking up the papers he stepped back towards the door behind him pushing it open with his foot he waved off to the side with his hook towards the waiting area, before disappearing inside.
'Could have done that from the start.' Serana thought to herself, shaking her head dismissively she turned and made her way over to the waiting area and sat down at the bench resting against the far wall, the position gave her a clear view of the front desk for when the Quartermaster returned.
Drawing her scroll she glanced down at the time and grimaced, she'd been here for almost an hour just trying to get through the door and then waiting around for the old coot to be willing to take a look at the paperwork.
And that wasn't even considering how long it was going to take him to go through the whole thing and then bring her the equipment they were asking for. God, she hated how slow bureaucracy could be, more often than not it was an overly complicated and annoying beast that rarely saw anything close to quick and decisive decision-making until it was either convenient for those in charge or absolutely necessary to do so.
Bringing her scroll up she tapped at the message icon and began typing up a quick update for Mikael, with the way things had been going on her end she had a feeling he'd be done with the manual long before she was finished on her end. Pressing send she waited a few moments for him to reply before closing the application and swiping through the display to one of the folders that housed some of the books she'd downloaded.
She'd been taken aback at first by the sheer number and variety of genres at her fingertips, with books both common and critically acclaimed dating as far back as a century available for her pleasure.
The people of Remnant had achieved a great many things, in both science and academics that without the threat of the Grimm, would have made them the masters of this world. But the greatest of achievements in her opinion had to be the creation of the CCT system. With it, the world was more connected than ever before, no longer were they forced to rely on couriers or their own two feet to carry word across the continents, to speak with loved ones or to learn about their world and its history.
So long as it stood, nothing be it historical fact, the groundbreaking works of science and medicine or the simple works of fiction she had adored since she'd been a young girl spending her days lost among the shelves of the castle library, would never be lost to the annuls of time or the ambitions of men looking to rewrite the history of the world for their own means.
It left her wondering if they might be able to employ such a thing back on Nirn.
Given the history of war and destruction their land had endured at the hands of both the mortal races and the Daedra, much of the knowledge they possessed be that of the physical sciences, agriculture or even magic itself had become lost to time. She herself had helped to revive some lost alchemical methodologies that had gone extinct as a result of the chaos at the end of the Merethic era, and all because Florentius had commented on the quality of her potions one afternoon while she'd been prepping for a mission.
It made her wonder just how much knowledge could not only be saved but made available for future generations to learn from, improve upon, and add to with their own discoveries and creations. It wasn't as though they lacked the means to create such a thing either, while Nirn may not possess the same level of technology as Remnant their advancements in other areas such as magic more than made up for it.
Even in her time crystal balls had been used by the influential and wealthy not only for long-range communication but in both commerce and industry, however adapting that into something similar let alone on the same level as the CCT here on Remnant would take a great deal of gold, a study of the CCT network, its inner-workings in correspondence with their own communication technology, and most importantly, the knowledge and experience to put it into practice when the time came.
The amount of advancement necessary to create something like this would take years of study and experimentation just to prove the concept to the rest of the magical community before they could even get started and for that, she'd need a more than capable team of mages and researchers to aid her. 'Hmm...Tolfdir and Florentius would probably be the easiest to convince, and if I played my cards right, I might even be able to get Neloth on board.
Goodness knows he isn't one to pass up a challenge nor the chance to boost his own reputation or that Great House of his.' She mused to herself.
It was an ambitious idea even by her family's standards and that was saying something.
Her father could be considered the definition of ambition considering everything he'd managed to achieve in his lifetime, for better or worse... Though more often than naught it tended to be the latter. To have gained the amount of wealth her family had enjoyed for millennia let alone a kingdom so vast and powerful all but required its ruler to possess a level of not only ruthlessness but cunning, of which her father had more than plenty.
She couldn't remember a time when he wasn't in the midst of another one of his plots or schemes to further along his own agenda. At the height of their family's power, no man was beyond his reach, no land outside his influence, no enemy he would not crush at the first opportunity. The only thing he had ever truly feared was death itself, fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, depending on where you were standing he had discovered a way to circumvent such a thing.
All it took was the blood of a thousand innocent souls, sacrificed in the name of one of the greatest evils Nirn had ever known. Followed swiftly by one of the most degrading and ultimately scarring rituals where she, her mother and nearly two dozen of the female members of her father's court had been... ravaged by said evil and his fears were gone.
Serana grimaced a shudder passing through her body as the memories of that night flooded back to her in vivid detail. The feeling of that monster's hands across her flesh, the terror she felt as her innocence was torn from her, the sounds of not only her ragged screams as she was violated but the pleas of his soon-to-be victims. The verry same women who had chided and belittled her for her hesitation in 'Accepting such a great Honor' as being part of her father's ritual, now wept in terror calling out to the verry gods they'd forsaken when they entered that room, begging them for forgiveness and deliverance from a nightmare of their own choosing.
She heard his voice, that deep baritone sound reverberating through her mind. 'You dare invoke their names in my presence! There is only one god here, a fact you shall all learn soon enough!.' He had all but roared, his rage making him pause in his assault upon her to look over them.
At that moment some form of clarity had returned to her, however much she might have wished it hadn't and that she had either blacked out completely or succumbed to her injuries like many of the others and yet somehow her body had been able to endure the horror inflicted upon her. She remembered staring up at his monstrous form, those burning ethereal blue eyes staring down at them all in a mix of lust and cruel satisfaction, drinking in their fear and despair as though it were the finest of wines, and then as if sensing her gaze upon him, he turned to her his eyes burning into her verry soul.
Smirking he leaned down towards her, even now she could feel his breath wash over her skin a chill running down the length of her spine. 'You are mine now' he had whispered to her and not a moment later returned to his... Revelry. Throughout the ordeal she could do nothing but lay there for what had to be hours, her strength long since gone, her voice hoarse until finally he'd had his fill of her and discarded her used and worn body in favor of another, but not before leaving behind one final gift.
A single drop of his blood atop her forehead, just as he had done with all the others in his wake.
It was this that sealed her father's pact with Molag Bal.
It would not be long after that her heart beat its last, her body finally succumbing to her injuries and yet she did not truly die, instead, her body was torn down, twisted and remade in his own image, her soul cursed to forever carry its mark upon it. Hours later she awoke on that same cold floor forever changed, she did not draw breath, her heart lay still in her chest, yet despite it all an unnatural strength had filled her, one mirrored by a near-endless hunger.
Barring herself and her mother only around ten others had survived -if you could even call it that- the ritual and gained the power they'd been promised.
No longer did they walk as mortals but as Daughters of Coldharbour, pure-blooded vampires.
Just then something bumped against her boot, it was a small almost unnoticeable action yet still enough to pull her back to reality. Serana's eyes opened a shuddering breath leaving her, the horrors of that night still fresh in her mind she instinctively grasped her dagger, but stopped herself from drawing upon recognizing her surroundings.
Letting out a breath Serana glanced down at the floor shifting her foot to the side the item in question rolled into view, a small screwdriver no longer than her index finger with a transparent red handle. Quirking a brow, she reached down and picked it up, glancing out the corner of her eye towards the only other occupant in the room, she found Velvet staring at her wide-eyed, hand stretched out towards the floor beside her in a futile attempt to retrieve her missing tool.
Serana quirked a brow at the girl's shocked and dare she say fearful expression... ahh, she was sure she'd read somewhere in that handbook Glynda had given her that students were only permitted to work on projects in designated sections of the foundry floor of which this certainly wasn't, worse still, she, just so happened to be a member of Staff.
'And you just so happened to get caught red-handed, bad luck girl.' Bold of her to do it in front of a member of staff too, though considering her current expression she was starting to lean towards the idea that she hadn't noticed her when she came in. Although that in of itself was a little hard to believe considering the ears... though that might explain a few other things.
Rising from the bench Serana made her way over to the girl who was glancing between her and the box resting in front of her nervously. Serana shook her head in mirth, honestly, she was acting like she was going to bite her head off. Crossing her arms over her chest she held up the screwdriver in front of her, quirking a brow she asked in an even tone " Lose something? "
The nervous look on the rabbit Faunus' face was replaced by a flash of confusion before that too was overshadowed by realization. The rabbit Faunus reached up towards her human ears removing a pair of red earplugs, before repeating the process with her rabbit ones. Stuffing them away in her blazer pocket Velvet kept her gaze low as she reached out to accept the screwdriver while silently preparing herself for what came next. "Thank you" she muttered casting a forlorn look towards her Anesidora, fearing this might be the last time she saw it for some time.
A huntsman's weapon was a complex piece of equipment designed and built by the wielder, they ranged in complexity it a simple sword she'd seen Jaune wild during combat class to something on the level of Ruby's combat scythe, but their purpose remained the same.
To kill whatever they were aimed at, be it man or beast.
The academies went to great lengths to ensure their weapons could not only be maintained but that it was done with the respect and due diligence expected when handling such a dangerous piece of equipment.
As such, the rules about weapons being kept in dorms, their maintenance and student conduct in the foundry were some of the most heavily enforced across the academy. They were there to keep people safe in the event something went wrong, and the punishment for breaking them could range from a hefty fine; to having your weapon confiscated and confined to your locker while outside of combat class or sanctioned spars.
She prayed it wouldn't be the latter, she'd spent almost her entire first semester fitting and testing the new hard-light emitter her dad had sent her. All it needed were a few more tweaks and calibrations and she would be ready for the upcoming mission assignments... The Missions! No, no, no, ohhhh god~ Coco was going to kill her if she cost them the chance to take part in missions this year because of this.
"Interesting." Serana hummed, snapping Velvet back to reality lifting her head she watched as the older woman leaned in beside her examining Anesidora curiously.
Resting her palms on the table Serana tilted her head to the side to peer through the open panel examining the inner workings more closely. Describing what she saw as complex would be putting it lightly, most of it looked like just a mess of wires, motors, and gears, though upon closer observation there appeared to be some sense to it all.
From what she could see pieces of what they called circuit boards were hooked up by said wires to what looked to be the device's power source. Above it attached to the far walls was a container emitting a dull blue light, a series of what looked to be pipes ran parallel to that feeding into what looked to be some kind of telescopic funnel suspended along the center of the device that connected to a valve tipped with a lens of all things.
The whole thing reminded her of that 'projector' she and Mikael had dug out of a Dwemer ruin in High Rock a few years back. While it seemed identical to the ones they'd found set up in a few lecture halls they'd passed through on some of the lower floors, the Construct it had been attached to had used it to fire this concentrated orb of Magicka at them. Either way, whatever it was had managed to blow a human-sized hole in a wall and throw her a good ten feet across the room.
They'd passed the thing off to a few researchers at the college for study, however looking back on the artefact now and comparing it to what she was seeing she couldn't help but draw comparisons between the two. "The emitter you have there." Serana gestured towards the funnel careful not to actually stick her hand inside the thing. "I take it that produces some kind of dust-based projectile or shield you use in combat." She inquired.
Velvet glanced between her and her weapon once more, surprised by the older woman's words, wasn't she meant to be in trouble? "A-actually, it's a little more complicated than that... Miss Volkihar." She didn't know why she was talking and possibly digging herself into a bigger hole, but somehow it was better than sitting there awkwardly while the teacher stared at her. "I-I'm able to use hard l-light dust to recreate wep-wepons from an image or blueprint I've t-ta-k-ken pictures of or downloaded onto my s-scroll." Her face flushed at how she'd sounded though Serana didn't seem to have noticed, instead focusing her attention back on the box itself.
"So, it's not a weapon on its own, but a miniature armory instead" Serana surmised "I can see that being useful out in the field." Having something like that quite literally strapped to your hip could help turn the tide of any battle, though there were a few obvious drawbacks. "How do you account for the different weapon types?" Anyone could pick up a sword or battleaxe and swing it around but without proper training that tended to make them more of a threat to themselves than anyone else.
Cupping her chin in thought she glanced down at the rabbit Faunus once more, while her frame was certainly athletic much like the majority of the students she'd encountered it was nowhere near the kind someone would develop by putting themselves through hours of gruelling training with dozens of weapons of varying sizes and weights.
"Semblance?" She guessed after a moment, receiving a slow nod in response. "Interesting." Honestly, it sounded a little cheap in her opinion considering how long it took her to become proficient with a blade and then the bow later in life, though it wasn't as though Velvet here had picked it, so she wouldn't judge.
Rising back up to her full height Serana offered a nod to the Faunus "I'll leave you to your work." she turned and began making her way back to her bench.
Velvet's ears raised up in surprise "I... I'm not in trouble?" Serana paused and Velvet immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, she hadn't meant to say that out loud nor sound as relieved as she did.
Serana glanced back at her over her shoulder raising a slender brow towards the rabbit Faunus "Would you like to be in trouble?" Serana watched the girl go still her ears fell forward mouth opening and closing much like a fish. Shaking her head lightly she stepped back fixing the girl with an amused look "The answer you're looking for is no, you aren't in trouble."
Her shoulders sagged a look of relief passing over her "Still, I... I shouldn't be working on this in here it's not safe if something goes wrong." Velvet replied hastily moving to pack away her tools. 'Not to mention Mr. Witterbane could get in just as much trouble as me for letting her work in here... Oh god, he could lose his job over this!' She didn't want that, not after he'd gone out of his way to help her.
Biting her lip, Velvet started going over her options.
There weren't a lot of other places where she'd be able to work in peace, not without risking a repeat of now and she doubted she'd be getting a free pass if she was caught again. She could try and work out there with Coco, but she doubted she'd be able to focus too long before her ears started to hurt.
The earplugs the school handed out to Faunus weren't bad, they blocked out a lot of the lower-level noise but anything over 100 decibels like some of the grinders and drill mechanism could still get through. "I could try to see if I can get permission to work here after hours?" But that would be asking for a great deal of faith from the teachers, not to mention it would be murder on her sleep schedule.
Serana's ear twitched 'Well we can't have that.' The last thing she or Mikael needed was some student wandering around the foundry at night while they were working. Not that she imagined Ozpin or Glynda would give her permission seeing as they knew what she and Mikael got up to in here after hours, but the other teachers who weren't exactly in the know about what was going on just yet... she wasn't going to leave that up to chance.
Turning on her heels Serana slipped past the rabbit Faunus taking a seat in the chair to Velvet's right. "I'd argue it's worse for you being out there than in here." She said gesturing towards the two fluffy appendages attached to the teenager's head before gesturing back to her own ears "Though that's the curse of enhanced senses I suppose. It's amazing when you can hear a pin drop from across the academy." She said trying to lead the conversation elsewhere. "But when you're stuck in a loud confined space, and it feels like my ears are bleeding."
Velvet chuckled lightly "I know right." Settling back into her seat, she glanced towards Serana as though checking to see if she might stop her before moving back to keep working on Anesidora. "It gets worse depending on whether or not we have Miss Goodwitch at the end of the day..." Velvet trailed off pausing in her work she glanced back towards Serana, the older woman's words just now beginning to register. "Wait, what did mean when you said your ears?"
Serana arched a brow at the girl's question "I mean my ears started ringing like hell when I was walking through there earlier." she said jabbing her thumb back towards the door.
Okay, now she was confused.
Like most Faunus, she could pick out another of her people among a crowd of Humans, even with those whose features were subtle enough to pass as one of them. It was like this sixth sense, an almost instinctual feeling that let her know when she was looking at another of her kind.
Yet when she looked at Miss Volkihar there was none of that familiarity, that sense she was speaking to another Faunus. She wasn't entirely sure how to put it into words, but the more she looked at her the more she couldn't help but feel this sense of foreboding that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Velvet took a quick sniff of the air just to be sure, her scent was... weird, she could make out traces of both humans and Faunus on her but barring the slightest hint of lavender and gooseberry there was nothing else that distinguished her from either two, if anything it was as if she had no scent what so every.
Velvet worked her mouth a few times before glancing down at Serana's hands, more importantly, her near perfectly manicured nails then up towards her face. A Faunus' most obvious features tended to be their eyes or ears. While the latter were nothing special, her eyes held this predatory glint to them that sent a small shiver up her spine, and now that she was looking a little closer she could make out what seemed to be a set of fangs peeking out from between her lips.
'She really is a Faunus' Velvet realized, coughing into her fist she glanced away an embarrassed flush spreading across her face "Oh god, I... I'm sorry, your traits are that subtle, I honestly thought you were human."
'I'm not, nor am I a Faunus for that matter.' Serana thought to herself, not that the girl would have believed her if she had just come out and admitted the truth, to begin with. If anything, the girl would probably think she was having some fun with her or playing into a few of those stereotypes she'd read surrounded Faunus with certain traits. No rational person would ever conclude that she wasn't exactly among the living, not on Remnant at least.
No, in this world, she was for all intent and purposes a walking myth, a legend that had stepped off the pages and into an already dark reality.
Fortunately, the unique circumstances that surrounded a vast majority of this world population granted her not only a convenient but also a believable excuse for her more unnatural features, should they ever be brought into question and this girl may verry well help cement that. "You wouldn't be the first to make that assumption." Serana waved off "Most people don't even think twice about it, even more so when Mikael and I are out for a meal or drink together."
Velvet gasped, scandalized. "W-wait you and Professor Salmon are dating?" She wasn't as deep into the gossip and rumor mill as Coco but something like this would blow so many of the whispers floating around beacons out of the water.
She could already imagine the reaction among her fellow students if word of this got out, the shock and disappointment along with a fair bit of outrage at the number of bets people would be losing out on if the news ever came out. "Oh wow... uh congratulations I, well, people were saying he was with someone, but I just thou-"
"He and I?" Serana interrupted an incredulous look passing over her features, she shook her head vehemently silencing the rabbit Faunus before she could say any more "Oh goodness, no."
Mikael was someone who had gone above and beyond for her, who helped her navigate her way through perhaps one of the worst periods of her life and as such earned himself a special place in her heart along the way. But in no way shape or form did those feelings translate into anything romantic, he was the brother she'd never had growing up, yet found in the strange of circumstances. "He's my brother."
"Oh" Velvet ducked her head off to the side a small dusting of pink settled on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped the gun like that." Gods, how could she get so ahead of herself? Just because two people spent time together didn't mean they were a couple. It was just like what happened with her and Yatsu during their first year, only this time she was the one who'd been making assumptions.
"It's fine" Serana reached across the table patting the girl's hand reassuringly "Like I said, you're not the first to get that idea." It wasn't as though many people were vocal about it or anything, but she'd whether her fair share of congratulatory nods here, a knowing wink there and even a few jealous looks aimed towards both Mikael's and herself. "Young man and woman travelling together, both seemingly close to one another and around marrying age, annoying as it might be people like to make assumptions."
Velvet looked down at her lap fiddling with one of her screwdrivers "Still it's so embarrassing." It had taken weeks for her and her team to finally put all that nonsense to bed, but even now there were still people who whispered about them, most were pretty tame and easy to overlook but every now and then like Cardin who went on about how Yatsu was to 'bag a bunny' and how they wondered how the others seemed to be able to sleep so well, because of course things between them must get 'freaky' at night. "Some people need to just mind their own business." she hissed out under her breath.
Serana's eyes narrowed, she knew that look all too well, it was one that spoke of confusion, anger, and self-doubt. She'd seen it on the faces of plenty of young ladies throughout her lifetime who for reasons beyond their control had found themselves a point of ridicule, and mockery at the hands of those they believed to be their peers.
'Some things never really change do they?' She thought to herself bitterly, the younger generation, while at times appearing the most innocent could also be the cruelest for no apparent reason. Taking on a far softer tone she asked "...Something you'd like to talk about?" Velvet glanced at her out of the corner of her eye before sighing.
"It's fine really, what we were talking about just brought up some bad memories from last year, stupid people saying stupid things, that I'm more annoyed at myself for letting get to me than anything." Velvet sighed to herself swapping out her screwdriver for a mini-wrench and tightening the bolts on one of the internals.
"Is any of that still going on?" Seran prodded once more
"No" Velvet replied a little firmer this time. "Professor Salmon stepped in and helped settle an incident at the start of the year with some first years, and since then no one's tried anything" She smiled softly recalling the professor's words to her after he'd stepped in back at the start of the first semester with Cardin."He gave me some pretty good advice afterwards as well, it helped put things into perspective."
Since that morning she'd tried to take his advice to heart and have a little more confidence, not only in herself but her abilities, her standing in the academy and her heritage as a Faunus. After all, she was training to be a huntress, a protector of the world, a destroyer of Grimm, and a source of hope and inspiration to those who may one day follow in her footsteps.
And what kind of huntress would she be, what kind of message would she be giving to those who came after her if she let herself be dragged down because someone made her the butt of their racist joke or that she folded because of some petty insult thrown her way? Not a good one and most definitely not the kind she wanted to be.
Serana chuckled "That sounds like Mikael." One glance at him and you'd think him cold and indifferent to the people around him, especially with that hood of his adding to the intimidation factor; but get to know him a little and you might be one of the few individuals to see a softer side of the legendary Dragon of the North.
"I just wish my friends would stop going on and on about it." After the professor's intervention and news of her being bullied had made it back to her team, Coco had not only made it her personal mission to hunt down her old tormentors and give each of them a piece of her mind but also tease her constantly about how she'd apparently fallen for their newest combat instructor.
"Ahh, miss fancy headwear and sunglasses." Serana adopted a whimsical expression. "I'm familiar with her."
She recalled the young lady in question from one of the lectures Miranda had deigned to actually show up to earlier in the week, announcing her return with a pop quiz, much to the horror of those present. "I'll admit her ability to multitask is impressive. She somehow managed to not only score high enough on that test to pass but answer questions on her assigned readings, all while staring at my Ass."
Velvet snorted, her leader had always been headstrong, sometimes too much so for her own good, though if her reaction was anything to go by at least Miss Volkihar didn't seem to be taking her leader's actions all too seriously. "I'm not even going to try and defend that, Coco is just..."
"Bold" She'd caught the girl staring more than once during that lecture, and while most young people would have been embarrassed or put off by being discovered, the Adel girl had just smiled and winked back at her.
She liked the confidence, but she preferred her partners to be both of age and a little more experienced. "You don't have to worry about me being offended or anything, just let her know, I make a point of not engaging in relationships with my students."
"Of course." Velvet breathed a small sigh of relief before adding" And thank you, again."
Serana was just about to reply when noticed the door behind the front desk open, the quartermaster emerging from within, a large duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "Done." The old man muttered to himself, slapping the papers and bag down on the desk in front of him, before reaching for his prosthetic.
The vampire watched on, a little dumbfounded at the sight of him unscrewing the hook from his prosthetic and replacing it with what looked to be a small wooden gavel he'd had hidden... somewhere on his body, the faces of the hammer marked with a bright red 'Denied' and green 'Approved' respectively.
Sniffing, he blew off a thin layer of dust from both faces before rotating the hammer with his free hand, he raised it high like a judge passing a sentence and slammed the gavel down upon the front page plastering a bright 'Approved' across it. Slapping the folder closed he removed his gavel and stuffed it and the papers themselves into the filing cabinet under his desk.
"Well...looks like this is me." Serana rose from her seat pausing just as she passed by the rabbit Faunus, she glanced towards the front desk and then the door and a small grimace marred her features. " You wouldn't happen to have any spare earplugs would you?" Serana asked looking back over her shoulder at the rabbit Faunus "I can pay you back." She offered.
Velvet nodded reaching down to the bag at her feet she dug through for a few short moments before retrieving a small plastic case of disposable gel earplugs. "It's no problem, I keep some of those gel ones in my bag just in case." She said holding the case out towards Serana, who cocked a brow at the small pink lumps slotted side by side with one another.
She nodded back to the girl picking two of the gel plugs from the case, rolling them between her fingers curiously.
They were a lot more malleable than the wax kind she was used to 'Firmer too' She noted pressing down on the gel ball with her thumb, the ones she was used to would have crumbled while these ones managed to hold their shape, well, that would save her from having to buy a whole crate of replacements for the long hall. " Thank you for the plugs, and for the conversation." Speaking of which, her gaze shifted back to the girl's weapon "I hope you have that thing ready by the time the festival comes around, I'm looking forward to seeing what the two of you are capable of."
Velvet felt a sense of pride rise in her chest at her words "You won't be disappointed." she said.
The Quartermaster eyed the head of house Volkihar, his good eye darting between her and Velvet while she approached, a hint of concern for the young Faunus flashing in his eyes. His gaze then snapped back to her fully his eye narrowing in what she could only assume to be silent warning. Serana paid it no mind, instead focusing her attention on the bag he'd placed between them, unzipping the bag she reached in retrieving one of the sets of protective gloves they'd asked for, she ran her fingers over the material searching for any signs of damage or wear that might have put herself or Mikael in harm's way.
An act that earned her another harsh glare from the ageing man, a look that was wiped from his face with her next words "She's a nice girl" Serana noted. Plucking one of the protective masks from inside she rapped her knuckles gently against the metal plate, before holding it up to her own face to check the level of visibility they'd have once they strapped them on.
Nodding in satisfaction she returned it back to the bag beside the other equipment before adding. "It's good of you to let her work here, I doubt she'd get as much work done as she is out there with all the distractions." She complimented, the Quartermaster stared back at her intently for a moment before huffing out a breath and reaching under the desk with his good hand once more retrieving a clipboard and pen before holding it out to her.
After taking a moment to scan its contents Serana sighed in exasperation, another liability form ensuring the suits would be returned within the allotted time and having suffered no damage beyond the expected threshold realtign to their activities. Taking up the pen she signed the form and with little to no effort hoisted the bag of heavy equipment up onto her shoulder before turning to take her leave.
Arriving at the door she glanced down at the familiar silver box located to its left and paused, digging into her pocket with her free hand she retrieved the earplugs Velvet had given her and quickly pressed them into her ears. Moments later the door swung open, and Serana stepped out onto the Foundry, though unlike before the noise that had once assaulted her sense was muted to a far more acceptable level as she crossed back over to the offices on the other side of the floor.
'Think you again Miss Scarlatina.' Serana thought to herself as she pushed open the door back into the office, she'd have to pick up a few of these herself once she was finally able to make her way down into the city.
Mikael glanced up at her from above his notes "Is that everything?" He asked rising from his seat as Serana set the large duffle bag on the table between them.
"That's everything." She confirmed plucking one of her brother's notes on the emergency shut-off for the forge off the desk while Mikael began unpacking the suits. "I already checked everything over, no damage or wear that might cause some accident once we put them on." Mikael nodded back to her silently, laying out the complete protective suit on the table between them he began comparing it to the specifications outlined in the manual.
"We'll need to run through a few suit-up drills before we get started." The last thing either of them wanted was to miss a step while strapping on the protective equipment and leave a part of their bodies exposed once they began working. "Other than that, it's just a matter of waiting until the students clear out, then we can begin."
"Well, let's get this over with."
/
Ruby hummed to herself as she moved about their dorm collecting the leftover trash from their afternoon tea, the afternoon sun peeking through the gaps in the blinds bathing the room in streaks of bright orange light.
Overall, she could say the whole thing had gone pretty well despite the bird getting loose in their room. They'd spent most of the afternoon talking about themselves and their lives back home, their likes or hobbies they liked to participate in outside of their classes, how their team training was going and what they thought their chances were in the upcoming Vytal festival.
If she were being honest Winter had looked a little disappointed when Weiss mentioned their team were still on the fence about whether they should compete in this year's tournament or not.
Thankfully the older Schnee hadn't asked for their reason why and immediately changed the subject to some stories about when she and Weiss were growing up at Schnee manor ranging from their day-to-day lives, the events they were invited to, and even one about Weiss's apparent crush on their family's cake butler when she was seven, much to her partner's horror and her teams amusement.
Honestly, it sounded pretty amazing having it be someone's job to bring you as much cake and sweets as you wanted growing up, she'd have probably abused that to her heart's content. She didn't get why Weiss got so defensive about the whole thing, especially considering some of the stories she and the others had shared afterwards to make her feel better.
Like how Yang had singed the barber's eyebrows and moustache off during her first haircut right after unlocking her semblance, or how Blake had collapsed a line of bookshelves back at her house after climbing to the top to get one of her favorite books. Or when she'd eaten not one, not two, but three entire bowls of raw cookie dough that had been meant for the school bake sale back on patch and ended up laid out in bed for a week.
Then before they even realized it, it was already late in the afternoon and Winter needed to leave, they were all a little disappointed but no one more so than Weiss, who had asked to see her sister off at the air docks, as if she had to ask?
She'd practically shoved the white-haired girl out the door after Winter herself before the rest of her team started getting to work and cleaning up their dorm.
Blake and Yang were busy putting back the table and chairs they'd borrowed from the common area, while she got to work vacuuming and cleaning up their leftovers, speaking of which. Pausing by the food platters Ruby hastily went about piling up around a dozen of the remaining cakes and biscuits onto one of the side plates, before the trays joined the rest of the trash.
After giving the desk one last once over to ensure she hadn't missed anything she set the bag down by the door and moved towards the closet pulling out the vacuum Yang had grabbed from the supply closet earlier. Looking out over the room she hummed softly, the floor wasn't as bad as earlier, but they might want to give it a run-over once or twice just to make sure they got everything, the last thing they wanted was to attract ants or something.
*Tap!*, *Tap!*... *Tap!*, *Tap!*
"Hmph" Ruby glanced up at the sound peering around the dorm curiously, silence fell over the room as she listened for the noise once more, yet there was only silence. "Huh?" Scratching the side of her head bewilderedly she shrugged to herself before dragging the vacuum towards the nearest socket.
*Tap!*, *Tap!*, *Tap!*
'There it is again' The young huntress thought to herself as the tapping repeated itself once more.
*Tap!*... *Tap!*
Her gaze snapped towards the window where just on the other side of the blinds she could make out what looked to be movement on the other side, followed swiftly by another series of taps. 'Is it next door?' Ruby thought to herself, glancing back over her shoulder towards the front door, the red cloaked girl just as quickly dismissed the idea as it came.
If they'd been too loud or they wanted to ask about something it probably would have been easier just to go to the front door "Or shout and bang on the wall." She muttered recalling one or two nights her team had gotten a little loud and their neighbors had let them know about it.
They were too high up for it to be some trash or something caught in the wind, maybe someone in the courtyard below was trying to get their attention. "Hmm." Whatever it was she was going to find out.
Clambering on top of the double bed to her right the red-capped girl walked across on her knees towards the window, slipping her hand past the curtain she snagged the string controlling the direction of the blinds. Taking it in hand she waited a few seconds until the next series of taps came and then pulled down on the cord.
The blinds zipped open revealing the sight of the setting afternoon sun and the greater courtyard below, leaning up to the glass Ruby peered down into the courtyard below in search of the culprit, yet saw no one signaling her or looking up at their dorm.
Then it happened again, three more taps only this time they were far clearer and came from just below her.
Tilting her head down to the source Ruby found a pair of beady violate eyes staring up at her, their owner, an all too familiar crow, tilted its head to the side and then tapped its beak against the glass window once more.
With that, the avian took a step back and settled at the edge of the ledge looking up at her almost expectantly.
"It's you." Ruby whispered checking back over her shoulder towards the door in the event her teammates arrived back, before bending down to the crow's perspective. "You caused a lot of trouble earlier; you're lucky Weiss isn't here right now." She whispered to the avian, which only gave a low coo in response before gently tapping its beak against the window and turning its head off to the side peering past the young huntress in training and further into the room.
Tilting her head to the side curiously, Ruby followed the bird's gaze back over her shoulder in the direction of the desk where the dirty dishes lay, more importantly though, the plate of leftovers she planned on saving for later.
Realization dawning on her, Ruby looked back to the bird and smiled "Still hungry huh?" she asked.
Chittering the crow tapped its beak against the glass, then looked back up to her as though asking permission causing Ruby to giggle. "Okay" she replied "You wait right there."
Hopping off the bed she strolled back over to the plate of leftover cakes and biscuits. After taking a moment to examine her collection, she grabbed one of the saucers and hastily made her way back towards the window where she greeted the avian with a smile holding up two plain sweet-meal biscuits for it to see.
Snapping the biscuits up into smaller chunks she gently sprinkled the remains into a neat pile on the saucers, unlocking the window she pulled the left side open the window just enough for her to slip the saucer and her arm through less they had a repeat of what happened earlier that afternoon.
Setting the saucer down on the ledge outside, she nudged the small feast towards the little guy. "Here you go, Mr. Birdie." The crow examined the meal offered its way, then looked back up towards the silver-eyed girl seemingly in disbelief. This drew a small laugh from the teen who leaned in once more and whispered "I gotta get back to work now, but you enjoy that."
Closing the window, she turned back into the room only to pause. Ruby turned, pointing back towards the crow adding "Make sure you're gone before Weiss gets back" Even if their resident Ice Queen's mood had improved drastically since Winter had shown up, she was pretty sure her partner wouldn't be all too glad to see the little guy again.
The Crow let out what could only be described as a sigh, and settled down on the window sill watching on silently as the girl returned to her work, the device she'd pulled from the closet roared to life and she began humming a low tune as she moved about the room once more.
He'd hoped the girl might have allowed him in so he could resume inspecting the room more clearly. After the Faunus girl had departed he'd only had time to check the food and drink for poison before the Schnee siblings had made themselves known and he found himself under assault by the younger of the two.
That was not all too surprising given the event they had planned and the threat his current form posed to such a gathering.
Still, he'd prefer to give the room a full sweep before turning his attention to the girl in question along with that team of hers. He'd overheard her tail of seeking out an old friend who just so happened to be tied to his charge. Convenient, not too suspiciously so, but given she and the young woman in question had a shared background, which made the chameleon girl someone to keep a close eye on in the event her presence brought unnecessary risk to his charge.
He and his brother among the living had been tasked with keeping watch over the girl, he would not see their work threatened by a group of angry fools interfering in affairs they did not understand.
A/N: You know it's hard to believe it has been nearly seven years since I started writing this story, it's been a long road up until this point and looking at the timeline I jotted out for this story we've still barely just begun. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of Shadows Rising if you like my work feel free to follow, Fav, or leave a review if you're feeling up to it, any constructive criticism is always welcome and helps me improve my writing and the story.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year