Ruby darted along the corridors at breakneck speed, zipping around and sometimes over the few students making their way through the halls, earning her a few startled cries of shock and protest. Yes, she knew the rules about no Semblance use outside of combat class, but she just couldn't care at this point, she was too annoyed and embarrassed to care.
Huffing out a breath, Ruby emerged from the miniature hurricane of Rose petals at the end of the corridor, dusting herself off she tucked the game box back under her arm and continued on her way muttering to herself as she went.
"So, what if I lost a couple of games against her back home, I won this one, even if by a technicality!" She kicked at the floor in frustration " Even if we hadn't been forced to end it early a blind man could see I had that one in the bag, but nooooooo~" Ruby groaned waving her free hand above her head as she went. "Yang just had to have the last word, like always." Ugh, why did big sisters have to be so dumb all the time? You know...maybe her friends back at Signal were right about getting older meaning your brain started to rot from the inside out.
Sighing softly, she forced down her frustration and picked up the pace, the dorm building wasn't far a few more long corridors and a couple of turns and she could spend the rest of the afternoon forgetting about this over tea, cake and maybe some embarrassing stories about Weiss's she could use to lord over he-
"Gah!"
"Ugh!"
So lost in thought was she that she hadn't noticed someone coming around the corner ahead of her and like the idiot she was walked face-first into said individual, a resounding 'clunk' echoing through the hallway as their foreheads struck one another. Her butt hit the floor and her game box clattered to the ground alongside her, her hands instinctively shooting up to her face, a pained hiss shooting past her teeth as her fingers traced the lump already beginning to form on her forehead.
An equally pained groan came from just across from her. "Ow" Ruby shook her head pushing past her daze and turned her attention to the dark brown-haired girl on their knees across from her was okay. Her 'victim', peered past her fingers towards her, their grey eyes regarding her with both confusion and for a faint moment, scorn.
Ruby shrunk under the girl's gaze turning her head away meekly. "I'm so sorry." She clambered back onto her feet. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." she said moving to check on the other girl, the last thing she needed today was to be responsible for someone's broken nose. "Are you okay?" The girl was silent for a few moments grey eyes studying her carefully, as though she hadn't expected such a response.
After a moment she sighed pulling back her hand and revealing her dark spotted face to the younger girl, Ruby winced at the welt beginning to form on the old girl's forehead "It's fine" Brushing a few loose strands of brown hair out of her face as she stood up "... I wasn't exactly paying attention either." she relented.
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked "I think we might have some ice packs in the common area." She stepped past the older girl and gestured back up the hall from where she'd already come from.
Grey eyes regarded her for a moment, and Ruby could swear they flickered between light blue and pale green though the young leader was quick to dismiss it as a trick of the light. After a moment their owner sighed out a small "thanks". Ruby nodded, and after scooping up her game box the two began making their way down the hall, Ruby offered her most apologetic if awkward smile before adding "I'm Ruby, by the way."
The girl was quiet for a moment a contemplative look passing over her. then with a dismissive shake of the head, she replied "Ilia" She couldn't see anything wrong with giving away that much at least. Dabbing her fingers against her forehead, she winced pulling her hand back she found a few splotches of red staining her fingertips. 'Great' she groused rolling her sleeve up to dab at the wound on her forehead, if the others ever found out she had been taken down in such a way they'd never let her live it down.
There was a shuffling of cloth and she caught something being pushed into her peripheral vision. "Here" Ilia glanced up at the younger girl, her hand held out offering a small tissue "For your forehead" she added.
"Thanks" she replied evenly dabbing at her forehead with the offered item as she diverted some of her Aura to deal with the cut, the headache along with the small horn she could feel herself growing would take a little longer to deal with, however. She wanted to be angry and normally she would have made her ire known, especially to a human, though her cover demanded she keep herself in check and not resort to her usual tactics.
It also helped that the girl in question seemed genuinely sorry about what had happened, going so far as to offer her some form of aid in recompense for her part in all of this. A far cry from the uppity prep-school girls that she'd once called her 'friends' back in Atlas. She frowned slightly at the memory of that school, more importantly, that day in particular.
She had no regrets for what she did that day, those girls had more than earned what was coming to them... She just wished the day she'd finally grown enough of a spine to put those little shits in their place, hadn't been the same day she'd lost everything. Before she could dwell further on the matter the secret Faunus found herself pulled back to reality by the Beacon student walking beside her "So are you new? Or just visiting someone here" Ruby inquired
Ilia quirked a brow at Ruby, who stared back at her in innocent curiosity. "No." She brushed off the younger girl's cluelessness and gave the cover story she and the others had been assigned "I'm a transfer from Haven" Ilia gestured down at said uniform for emphasis. "You know... for the festival." she watched the look of realization flash over Ruby's features, a look that was just as quickly replaced by an embarrassed flush.
"Right, sorry" Ruby replied rubbing the back of her head lightly "I didn't realize it was that late into the month yet, I didn't think the transfers would start showing up for at least another week." Well, there was Sun and that Neptune guy, they'd run into each other a little after the food fight incident at the start of the semester. The last she heard he and Sun were busy setting up their dorm for their other teammates who hadn't arrived yet.
Speaking of which "Wait... exchange students have their own dorms, are you lost?" she asked.
"No" Ilia quickly replied, She tried to come up with a decent excuse that didn't make her sound like a total idiot and eventually settled on the truth, or well the partial truth "Just, looking for an old friend that studies here, we haven't seen each other for a while and... I was hoping I might be able to find her and catch up a little." Not the whole truth for obvious reasons, but certainly not a lie either.
Rounding the corner ahead Ruby glanced up towards the double doors connecting the hall to the ground level of the first-year dorms. "Did you find them?" she asked even if she wasn't the most social person out there, if Ilia's friend were a first-year like her, she might be able to help point her in the right direction, just about everyone in their dorm building knew each other to some degree, so it shouldn't be that hard to find said 'friend' among them.
"...Not yet" Ilia replied, Adam wanted eyes on the traitor and their new 'Allies' position allowed them to bypass Beacon's security and gain access to the academy grounds. Her age, experience and general closeness to their target due to her time spent on Menagerie made her the perfect candidate for the operation, though she had made her reservations known regarding the other three that made up 'Team Granit'.
She shook her head softly in dismissal, Adam's orders had been clear, and so long as their involvement helped them to achieve the White Fang's own goals in Vale they were to be assisted in their own... to a degree.
Pushing open the double doors into the first-year common area Ruby set her game box down on a nearby coffee table and called back to Ilia "I'll be back." Before zipping off once more in a small cloud of rose petals, Ilia brought her arms up to shield herself from the gale-force wind produced by the younger girl's exit.
Dropping her arms Ilia brushed away a few stray rose petals that clung to her blazer, with the girl now out of sight she glanced towards the doors leading out into the courtyard and considered leaving, just being in the same buildings as a couple of Schnee's made her skin crawl, though she would whether it for the moment. While she'd been able to find the dorm easily enough, her quarry had been nowhere in sight, so, with no one around she'd decided to have a poke around inside -courtesy of an unlocked window- to ensure their intel had been correct and going by the few school notes scattered around along with the shall we say... questionable, book collection she'd found, she had confirmation her old friend was indeed attending Beacon.
That was step one out of the way at least, though she still needed to make contact. Hanging around for what could be hours on end, however, would draw the wrong kind of attention which is why she'd been on her way out and at a good time as not even five seconds after slipping out of the student dorm she'd run into not one but two of the Schnee siblings making their way to the juniors dorm.
She kept her head down and her expression blank passing them by without so much as a glance sent her way, for a moment it seemed like she was in the clear that is until she'd turned a corner and walked face first into Blake's team leader, which brought her back to the matter at hand.
As much as she may have wanted to leave it all behind, Blake's knowledge of their operations their tactics, and more than a few of their contacts in Vale made her a liability, she'd proven that already with her interference at the docks, interference that would likely continue if left unchecked.
As such, while her main objective here at Beacon was to aid their allies in carrying out their operations, she'd been assigned a secondary task by Adam. Be it out of some form of sentimentality for what he and Blake had once been, or perhaps his respect for both her contributions to the cause over the years and the efforts made by her parents however fruitless they might have been in the long run, this was not going to be one of the usual kill orders put out on deserters, her task was to monitor her old friend and ensure she stayed out of the way.
She knew Blake however, she knew how stubborn and headstrong she could be, it was one of the reasons she'd become so enraptured by her during their time on Menagerie. Only in this case that stubbornness would only serve as a double-edged sword, Adam's patience wouldn't last long if she kept sticking her nose where it didn't belong, and unless someone was there to stop or distract her she would keep doing so until eventually, someone decided to cut it off.
She didn't want that to happen, and despite the look of indifference Adam put on around them, she had a feeling he didn't either. Despite what Blake had done it was obvious he still cared for her, the fact he'd waited nearly two weeks to report her desertion to the council was evidence of that. As for how she intended to go about accomplishing that however... well, the incident in the hallway a few minutes ago might just have been the 'in' she was looking for.
Taking a seat at one of the sofas beside the coffee table she glanced around the common area of the first-year dormitory for the second time that day, she hoped the transfer dorms were half as nice. After a few months spent bunking in a drafty warehouse, she was looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed again, the only downside being her quote-on-quote Roommates and her having to follow along with them for the sake of the mission... at least two of them weren't half bad to look at.
She sighed to herself, dabbing at her forehead once more, the bleeding had stopped but the welt felt a little more pronounced, just then the miniature hurricane emerged from the side door once again, somehow managing not to knock down a single one of the books from the various shelves or painting along the wall as it passed by.
Ruby emerged from within carrying a set of cold packs and a box of band-aids under her arm.
"Here you go." she said passing one of the cold packs over, her hand then moved for the box of band-aids but paused after noticing the cut had already been dealt with, Ruby shrugged, stuffing the box away into her blazer pocket "So, you said you were here looking for someone?" Ruby asked reaching for her game box and setting her cold pack down on top as she brought it up into her arms. "Who are they, I might be able to help."
Ilia pressed the cold pack to her forehead both as a means to ease the pain and to hide part of her face from view lowering the chance of her giving away anything as they spoke "Her name is Blake Belladonna." replied.
Ruby stumbled and nearly dropped her game, her head snapped to the side towards Ilia "You know Blake?"
"Yeah." Ilia replied allowing some small hints of nervousness to enter her tone to better sell the image. "We've known each other for a couple of years." She paused for a moment hunching her shoulders forward slightly to give off a feeling of discomfort and trepidation" Some... things happened, and we lost contact when I found out she was at Beacon I was hoping I might bump into her here ."
A moment of silence fell between them, Ilia tipped the edge of her cold pack up slightly so she could get a better look at the younger girl's face and gauge her reaction.
Ruby shuffled in place for a moment biting her lip she looked towards the door to the connection hallway that lead back towards the library, then back over her shoulder towards the door to the stairwell. A small part of her mind wanted to say this was fine, that Ilia was just a childhood friend of Blake who had come to visit her.
But with everything she knew about Blake's past before she came to Beacon, and how Ilia looked somewhat uncomfortable and sketchy while talking about 'Things happening' her mind immediately jumped to Ilia, like Blake, being a former member of the White Fang.
"Hmmm" she growled under her breath, they could always wait for Blake and Yang to arrive, and they could confirm it all and she and Ilia could talk this all out. B-But Weiss and Miss Winter were already upstairs waiting for them and if they kept them waiting Weiss might get mad and come back down to see what was taking them so long.
Then Winter would come with her and overhear things that would be really, really, really bad if taken out of context, then her teammate could be arrested for being a White Fang member and Ilia would be arrested as well because apparently they would both be part of some super-secret brotherhood of... Evilness?...Or something like that! Not to mention that they'd somehow be secretly plotting against the kingdom and had some big evil plan to bring down the academy, making it become another huge thing just like it did with Professor Salmon because a lot of adults were stupid like that!
They liked jumping to conclusions, then getting angry at everyone else because they were wrong even when the other people tried to tell them the truth about everything beforehand, only for them to decide they weren't going to believe them or outright didn't listen to what anyone else had to say because they thought they knew better about everything When. They. Didn't!
Not to mention how-
"Are- Are you Okay?" Ilia asked her previous demeanor abandoned at the sight of the young girl's face growing increasingly red, her breathing quickening to the point she was beginning to hyperventilate, she stood up taking a step towards the younger girl.
Pulled from her internal tirade Ruby's attention snapped back towards the secret Faunus nodding her head a few times she then asked "Do you have your scroll on you?" she asked.
The Secret Faunus nodded quickly, fishing a custom black scroll out of her blazer pocket, eyeing the young reaper with some trepidation. Ruby drew her own and before Ilia could react gently bumped hers against Ilia's both scrolls pinged in acknowledgement of the personal numbers being exchanged between one another "Okay listen I'm sorry but now really isn't a good time for this, there's... there's a lot going on right now that has everyone on edge and you being here isn't going to help, n-not that there's anything wrong with you being here its j-just..uh." Ruby glanced back over her shoulder towards the stairwell "Look I'll tell Blake you came by and set up something so you guys can talk, okay, okay, bye." Ruby turned snatching up her board game and once more disappeared into a hurricane of rose petals that shot off towards the stairwell disappearing from sight.
Ilia blinked once, then twice, grey eyes flicking between the spot where Ruby once stood and then to the stairwell. "...Bye" she muttered helplessly, unsure of just... whatever it was that she had just witnessed. After a few moments spent silently processing the scene that had just unfolded before her, Ilia shook off her latent concern, turned and made her way towards the nearest exit.
Whatever it was, if it had that kind of effect on what had seemed to be just another normal girl, it wasn't worth her sanity to find out.
Stepping out into the courtyard, she stuffed one hand into her blazer as she walked the other gliding across her scroll. Tapping at the interface she pulled up her contacts and began swiping through the meagre number of contacts in her library until her eyes came to rest on an icon depicting the same silver-eyed girl she'd be talking to a few moments ago.
Well... it was progress at least, a weird, unusual and if she were honest a little worrying form of progress, but progress, nonetheless. She had what she'd come for, an in with Blake's team and if Ruby's panicked ramblings had been anything to go by, assurance of a one-on-one conversation with the girl in question in the near future.
She'd need to approach the meeting carefully.
While she might have been able to pull one over with her teammate, she doubted she'd see the same result with Blake. They knew each other well, far too well for the same tricks she'd pulled around her teammate to be even the least bit effective, Blake would approach any notable figure from her past, especially one with ties to the White Fang with a healthy level of suspicion. If she let anything slip she was all but certain Blake would pick up on it and wouldn't stop digging until she had the truth.
It was a delicate dance she would be engaging in, where a single misstep could very well lead to her jeopardizing not only their own operations in Vale but those of the woman she'd been assigned to keep watch over shortly after arriving in Vale. She still didn't understand why Adam had aligned himself with that woman, a human no less, the White Fang was more than capable of carrying out their mission without interference from outside individuals.
True, there'd been some short-term benefits that the Vale sect had been reaping thanks to the additional dust and intel on Atlesion troop movements Cinder had been supplying them with, but at just a glance, you could tell neither she nor those under her had no real loyalty to the White Fang or their cause. To that woman they were a resource, a means to an end... not like their own mentality towards them was any better in that regard, but at least both sides could say they knew where the White Fang stood in this agreement.
As for just what Fall hoped to be getting out of all of this, only Adam was privy to that information.
She'd asked him of course, more than once, hoping he'd give her an answer about just what their new 'friends' hoped to achieve by throwing their lot in with them, and maybe even put some of her nerves to rest along the way. His response had been... vague to say the least, siting that they shared common interests as well as enemies before asking that she focus on the mission ahead, and trust in him and his judgment just as she had time and time again over the years.
Of course, she trusted him, it was that Human who was the problem.
There hadn't been a day in the week leading up to their infiltration she didn't see them disappearing together for some private meeting or interacting with one another during their briefings, it was a sharp contrast to their previous arrangement. From the first moment she and her people had arrived Adam had made a point to make it known where they stood with one another, that he was above her and if Cinder wanted their co-operation and aid she would first need to prove herself worthy and follow his orders to the letter.
And yet here they were, diverting resources from their own operation, instead of focusing on what they came to do from the beginning.
She didn't like this, the only thing she could think of as any interest to them at the Academy was Blake and while there was obvious danger there, it was something they could have managed from outside the academy just as well as from inside. Creating a fake team just to get on academy grounds, -she still wasn't quite sure how they'd managed that- seemed like just too much of a risk, and yet she'd been told to suck it up and keep her head down and eyes forward.
She knew there was something Adam hadn't been telling her, something big that she was missing about the Academy. A raid seemed like the most likely conclusion but was also completely out of the question, the Academies didn't discriminate accepting both Humans and Faunus alike within their walls and turning them into their greatest weapons against the creatures of Grimm. An attack on one of them would be a death sentence for the group responsible, win or lose the entire globe would be against them, their own people would be against them, and they'd be hunted down and eradicated until the world knew the 'insane monsters' that tried to destroy the pillars that held up their kingdoms were eradicated.
So, what was it that had that bitch, chomping at the bit, to get their people inside?
Ilia found herself pulled from her thoughts by a sudden buzz from her scroll, she glanced down at the display a small flicker of hope coming alight inside her that it might have been Blake attempting to reach out, though that hope died almost immediately as the face of 'Giovanna Beryl' flashed up across the display. Frowning she considered ignoring the call-in favor of a quiet walk back to their room, though the earful she'd get from her 'leader' when she got back made her dismiss the idea just as quickly as it came.
Swiping to answer she brought her scroll to her ear. "Yeah?"
"Are you finished with those first years yet, I need you back here." 'Gia' inquired sounding more than a little impatient.
"I'm on my way back to the dorm now." She paused for a moment then added "I might need you to make an excuse for me in class a little later in the week." When she and Blake eventually met that conversation was far better suited behind closed doors, not only would classes ensure the staff and student body were more than occupied, but her team as well. One or two students missing could be brushed off for one reason or another but a full team... if the other two shared their leader's stance on their teammate's past, she doubted they'd risk her or Blake's well-being by bringing unwanted attention down on them.
"We can talk about this later." Came Gia's reply, Ilia couldn't help but notice a small hint of worry in her tone. "We've had new orders come in, there's going to be a few changes moving forward."
"What does she -" The call ended before she could ask any further, Ilia glanced down at the display and tried to redial, her call immediately going to voicemail a look of annoyance flashed over her features. Stuffing her scroll back into her blazer pocket, glancing down at her hands she noticed her skin had taken on a slight red hue with her spots shifting to a dark yellow her new appearance mirroring her growing frustration.
Ilia released a long breath through her nose, her skin shifting back to its usual tan, turning her attention back to the path ahead the rooftop of her dorm building peeking over one of the many archways making up the academy's architecture and started picking up the pace. The sooner she got there the sooner she could get through the briefing and focus back on her own objectives... she was beginning to regret accepting this assignment.
/
Yang bounded up the stairs two at a time the chaos they'd heard on the first floor along with her sisters and -now that they were closer- Weiss's yelling spurring them into action. "Get back here you little vermin!" said Schnee yelled, her muffled voice echoing through the stairwell. Pushing open the doorway the duo burst out into the hallway.
"Weiss no it's just a bird!" Ruby shot back her voice sounding strained, another loud clatter and distressed squawking following her words.
The partners shared a confused glance jogging swiftly down the hall, an ethereal sound, the same they'd come to recognize whenever Weiss activated one of her glyphs during training, met their ears. "Will both of you calm down!" Winter's voice cut through the chaos a silence settling over their room.
Arriving at their dorm, they pushed open the door taking in the scene inside, Winter stood just ahead of them her arm extended and fingers curved in an all too familiar gesture towards the ceiling, yet her eyes remained focused on the red and white members of their team standing on the opposite side of the fold-out table they'd brought up.
The partners stood frozen under the elder Schnee's gaze, Weiss with her arms raised and fingers curled grasping up over her partner's heads, while Ruby was pressed firmly against the older girl in an effort to hold her back from the gravity glyph hovering above them, a bird no a crow resting at its center its beady little eyes watching them all as it struggled and thrashed against the glyph holding its small body in place.
"Aww man..." Yang winced at the state of their dorm. Two of the chairs around the table had been upturned and one of the trays of cake they'd gotten from the cafeteria had been knocked off the table its contents scattered across the floor, with some of the cakes and biscuits having been caught between the two partners as they struggled and subsequently crushed underfoot, their jelly and cream fillings smeared into the carpet.
Yang scowled down at the stains, which was going to be a bitch to get out later. "I'll be back" She said stepping back out of the room and making her way towards one of the utility closets further down the hallway.
Nodding emptily Blake stepped into their dorm glancing around at the chaos. "What the heck Happened?" she found herself wondering as she came to stand beside the elder Schnee.
Separating herself from her partner Weiss thrust an accusing finger towards the bird "Someone left the window open and that little... beast! Had its way with our food." she spat back her cheeks flushed in a mix of embarrassment and frustration.
"It's okay Weiss, we can just get more stuff." Ruby replied softly in an effort to calm her partner down "The bird didn't mean it; it just doesn't know any better."
"It will once I get hold of it!" She growled back, Ruby once more stepping between her partner and the bird, hands held up in what she hoped to be a placating gesture, though it looked as though her partner had other ideas.
Right now she didn't care if her sister or team were present to see this, she'd spent the latter half of their morning getting everything ready for Winter and then most of the afternoon fretting over whether the food and tea would be up to her standard, not to mention the state of their room, or even if it was too presumptuous of her to surprise her with such a gathering or if it would be better if she informed her of her intention ahead of time in case something came up.
"Enough" Winter spoke up once more, stepping around the table and towards the bird "Your partner is right, Weiss." It was just an animal looking for its next meal, and the open window and spread her sister had prepared provided it with such an opportunity. While it was an unfortunate turn of events, acting in such a manner as she was now, wouldn't change anything. "It's just an animal, there's no reason to react in such a manner."
'That's not the point.' Weiss thought to herself bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest she looked out over the room, had she perhaps acted out of turn, most defiantly, but she and her team had gone through all that work, all that pressure and she wanted to make the best out of it, tonight was supposed to be her time to introduce her team to her sister, they would talk, get to know one another share a fun story here and there, perhaps she might have even impressed her with their feats at the academy.
Only for that little beast to ruin it all.
"I just... wanted to make the best of it while you visit." Weiss muttered, shifting her attention towards the small mess by her feat, kneeling she picked up the tinfoil tray off the floor, her partner knelt down to join her offering her a small comforting smile as they began gathering up the ruined confection while Blake moved to pick up the chairs that had been knocked over.
Ruby glanced past her partner towards her Faunus teammate, her conversation with Ilia rocketing to the forefront of her mind. A small part of her urged her on to pull her friend aside and tell her everything, while another more prominent voice was quick to remind her that the conversation was better left for later, preferably, when they were all together and didn't have to worry about anyone listening in, and taking stuff out of context... Again.
Winter had paused by the window having overheard her younger sister's words, her stern visage softening for a brief moment.
The Schnee name was one renowned for its wealth, prosperity, and above all else Dust, with the secret behind their families success attributed to the life's work of one man, Nicholas Schnee who throughout decades of trial and tribulation had carried their family name up and out of the dirt to heights never before conceived by the common man, resulting in the creation of one the greatest corporate empires known to mankind.
As such one could be forgiven for believing someone born into such a name, one destined to a life of privilege and renown, could know anything of hardship, of what it was to struggle and yet if one were to look closer it wouldn't take long for them to see the cracks in the 'perfect image' that surrounded their family.
Years of their father's unchecked ambition and abuse of their kingdoms system had reduced her grandfather's company once renowned for its integrity and fair practice to one infamous for its cut-throat business tactics and controversial approach to business management had been the source of many scandals over the last two decades.
As though the shame of what their family name was beginning to represent under his rule wasn't enough, Jacques callousness hadn't just been reserved for the office. Her mother had borne the brunt of his ire for much of their lives, to the point she could easily recall more than a few of the late-night screaming matches that lasted into the early hours of the morning, in vivid detail, why she had chosen to remain with him for so long was beyond her, a blind man could see it was a loveless marriage, any rational person would have sought an end to it all, and yet she didn't.
Perhaps it had been some misguided hope or rather a need on her mother's part, an assurance that the years of life she'd spent with that man hadn't been for nothing, that perhaps something could still be salvaged and that their family wouldn't be broken apart in perhaps the messiest and most publicized divorce in history.
Either way, whatever her mother's reasons were didn't matter in the end. Years of abuse and neglect had whittled away at Willow Schnee and pushed her to the breaking point, the night of her sister's tenth birthday finally pushing her over the edge. Now the once proud and steadfast woman spent her time out in the gardens drowning herself in one bottle of wine after another her days slipping by in a haze of alcohol and regret, all the while her children were left to the whims of that... weasel.
She left for Atlas Academy later that year. To say her father had not taken kindly to her decision would be an understatement, she'd been disowned, cast out into the street with nary but the clothes on her back and the scarce funds she'd managed to syphon from her fathers 'allowance' into her own private account. Not that she'd been too concerned about her lack of personal finances and her father's pettiness at the time.
If that were to be the price of freedom from under his thumb then she would gladly pay it, the academy would handle both her lodgings and her necessities while she honed her skills as a huntress over the four years she was there, skills that had led to her being fast-tracked into the specialist program following her graduation and subsequent enlistment into the military.
Though that wasn't to say she'd escaped unscathed. Just being a part of her sibling's life over those four years had been nothing short of a struggle. She'd been denied entry to the grounds by security more than once when trying to visit during her time off, not to mention her calls home either being blocked in their entirety or diverted directly to her father's personal scroll.
She'd tried to be diplomatic in the early days, yet her father remained determined to keep her locked out of her siblings' lives, he couldn't have her 'corrupting' his remaining two children and turning them against him, not when he was doing a fine enough job of that himself. By the time she finally decided to leave, Weiss had already started to take the first steps down a path she herself had set out on only years before.
As for Whitley, to say they rarely spoke was an understatement, during the scarce few times she'd been able to visit the manor outside of her role in the Atlesian military he had made a considerable effort to avoid contact with her. From what she knew of her brother he'd taken to mirroring their father extensively, she prayed that was just a ploy on his part, a means of avoiding Jaques ire by pandering to his already over-inflated ego.
Perhaps if she'd pushed back against her father disowning her, if she'd fought him more during her time at the academy she could have been more involved in Whitley and Weiss's lives. Maybe if she had she could have helped guide him onto a better path, she could have protected both of them from their father's influence perhaps even repaired the rift that had begun forming between all three of them.
The general's proposal would anchor her to Vale and by extension Beacon Academy, and while she would never consider shirking her duties in favor of personal matters... she might also have the time to correct some past failings of hers.
"...We will " She spoke up, deactivating her glyph and taking the avian in hand, it struggled against her for a moment, she kept a firm but delicate grip around its small body, so as not to harm it. "Believe me, I appreciate all the effort you and your team went through to make me feel welcome." The gesture alone was worth far more than the event itself.
Reaching out through the window she released her grip on the raven's body. The avian spread its wings and took flight, arching up and disappearing into the canopy of a nearby tree overlooking the window. "Weiss" She spoke up after sliding the Window closed ensuring they wouldn't suffer any more uninvited guests for the rest of the evening. "If you'd prefer, I could take a walk around the grounds while you get everything in order, and we can continue once I get back." Winter said.
"That..." Weiss trailed off, today couldn't have gone any worse in her opinion, yet Winter was still willing to indulge her, she nodded slowly glancing at her sister over her shoulder "That... would be appreciated, thank you, sister." Nodding silently Winter made her way back across the room and out into the hall passing Yang, a dustpan and broom in one hand, a bottle of carpet cleaner and a rag in the other as she went.
"Whoa hang on a second" The blond called out to her, narrowing her eyes at the elder Schnee, Yang's voice took on a slight edge. " I get things went a bit sideways back there but don't tell me you're leaving already?" She asked a look of surprise and if winter was reading her right, disdain flashing in her eyes.
"I'm merely stepping out for the moment." Winter replied. While she didn't approve of the tone she was using, she wasn't blind to how the situation must have looked from an outside perspective nor would she fault the girl for being concerned for her teammate's well-being, however misdirected that attitude may be. "Though you can be assured, I will be returning shortly."
Yang nodded along with her words, eyes narrowing ever so slightly "Yah better." She said her tone almost challenging "Weiss has been hyping us up about meeting you all day" Her lips twitched up into a smirk "So I wanna hear a few stories from the Great Winter Schnee herself before the days over." With that Yang stepped back through the doorway door closing behind her.
Winter hummed, cocky, headstrong, insufferable, and loyal, while she may have lacked the same smugness a certain drunk wore like a badge of honor, there was no doubting it 'She is definitely Qrow's niece.' She only hoped the girl hadn't picked up some of her uncle's more irritable tendencies, or Weiss would have a rather unpleasant four years ahead of her.
Turning she began making her way back down the hallway, pushing open the doorway into the stairwell her mind shifted from that drunkard to what she had seen thus far from the four teenagers. Physically the four seemed to be in perfect health, their emotional and mental state however were still up in the air right now, she hadn't noticed anything too worrying from her sister or her teammates during their interaction, she had been tense and erratic at times, the most worrying being how she'd reacted to the birds presence in their room once they'd arrived.
She was not a trained psychologist, so being able to confirm whether these symptoms had been due to the pressures brought on by her own arrival or signs of latent trauma, was beyond her.
Still, she'd be sure to give her assessment to the general, heat the verry least he'd push for the four of them to undergo an evaluation, not to say they were mentally unsound or a danger to themselves, but the situation they had been put through was far beyond what professional huntsmen twice their age was expected to go through, Miss Rose especially.
Stepping out into the courtyard she glanced up towards her sister's room. The girl was the youngest of the four and had been exposed to an environment that in her own words was not only deeply disturbing but teetered on the edge of insanity. As a soldier and a huntress, it was expected of her to face both the worst of what the Grimm and that of mankind could offer, each of which carried its own set of trials and tribulations.
Despite what the public might think, huntsmen who took up the sword against the Grimm for the sake of their fellow man's continued existence in this world of theirs were not the infallible gods their media and governments might love to advertise them as. They were just as fallible as the next man, perhaps even more so as time went on and that idealism most entered the academy with had been stomped out by the horrors of the world around them.
The lifestyle they lived was not a healthy one, with the standard life expectancy of the average huntsmen being between twenty-five to thirty-five years old. There were verry few active Huntsmen who had either lived into their senior years or passed away peacefully, no, a Huntsmen's duty was to battle the Grimm, to confront death itself day by day and either overcome it through their skill and sheer will or fall to it as so many had before them, that reality was one they all quickly learned, and for some was enough reason to hang up their gear or take their skills elsewhere.
She knew of more than a few of Atlas' best, young men and women whom she had studied beside in the academy who had chosen to retire from this life after only a few years into the fray, the causes varied an injury, the loss of a teammate, a botched mission, the list went on and on. Those who endured the near-endless struggle against their age-old enemies found various means to cope with the stress be that one way or another.
She knew her own kingdom spent a small fortune each year in order to provide their huntsmen with the best physical and mental support they could, though even then there were many either too prideful or ashamed to reach out and accept the help offered leading to them turning to less-than-ideal mean of which to cope.
Qrow was a prime example of such an issue, every time she saw him he was never without his flask, a slight stumble in his step or the burning stench of whisky wafting off of him like smoke from a fire. His skill as a huntsman was well known, his efficiency and effectiveness while on mission without question, and yet like many before him the stress of their career had taken its toll leading him to form bad habits, Habits, she was certain would kill him one day if not the Grimm first.
"Hey, Ice Queen!" Torn from her thoughts Winter's head snapped back up towards the way ahead, eyes resting on the verry man in question as he made his way towards her.
She scowled, straightening up she regarded the drunkard dryly "What are you doing here Qrow? Better yet aren't you supposed to be keeping watch over Salmon and Volkihar." The fool had the audacity to roll his eyes at her, her scowl deepened as he drew that infernal flask of his off his belt and brought it to his lips.
"They're fine." He replied, suppressing a small burp into his fist. He had the cameras for the classrooms and foundry linked to his scroll courtesy of Glynda and last he checked the two had just sat in that back office talking and going over a few of the folders and order forms the academy kept on hand for different materials and dust, although... There'd been this one point where Volkihar got this weird look in her eye, then flashed one of the biggest shit-eating he'd ever seen in his life, and then just as quickly snapped back to normal.
He'd said it before and he'd say it again, there was something up with that chick.
As for why he was out here. "I got word something was going on, a bunch of screaming and what sounded like the start of a fight from over this way." The second he got word he'd pushed his wings to the limit to get over here as quickly as possible, his mind having almost immediately jumped to the worst possible scenario. He'd only relaxed after spotting Winter walking through the courtyard outside the dorms, speaking of which "I'm guessing the fun's over?"
"If you're referring to the previously mentioned situation, then yes, everything has been resolved" Winter replied, how he could describe a disturbance open campus as fun was beyond her. "My sister and her team returned to their dorm to find an animal loose inside, their attempts at removing it were... less than successful." She'd have to remind Weiss to be more mindful in the future, yes, while a wild animal loose in your quarters was certainly a cause for alarm, removing it should have been a simple endeavor, especially for those trained to handle more strenuous situations, as she'd proven. "For a moment I almost thought it was you."
The drunkard gave an amused snort "If it really was me, you wouldn't have caught me." Not to mention if she tried, he would have made her work her ass off for it before giving her the slip. Smirking he took another swig from his flask, earning a grimace from the haired specialist.
"I'm sure" She dismissed glancing back towards the dormitory, an action that did not go unnoticed by her fellow hunter.
Swirling his flask Qrow followed Winter's gaze back to the first-year dorm, he hummed, glancing down at his flask once more he looked as though he was about to take another drink, but hesitated. "You notice anything off when you were up there."
"Off?" Winter found herself asking.
Qrow shook his head lightly from side to side "You know, the kids? They holding up okay?" He reiterated "It didn't look like there was anything up while you were together?"
"They seemed... Anxious, though no more than one could expect given the situation at hand." She replied turning her head back towards the dorm "Their resolve is to be commended given what their team has been through these last few weeks, Miss Rose especially" She added, the Black Reaper nodding along slowly.
"Good to hear" Qrow replied softly, he looked back at his flask once more rolling it in his hand a look of contemplation passing over him, before with a small sigh bringing it to his lips, taking another long draw from its content, a few drops spilling from the edge of his mouth down his chin. Once more Winter found herself grimacing at the sight, yet as unsightly as it was, she couldn't help but feel a small pang of concern for the usually loud-mouthed huntsmen.
"Have you... spoken with your nieces since the incident?" She inquired.
He shook his head bitterly "Let's just say I let my temper get the better of me and some things were said, and accusations made that shouldn't have been made." Screwing on the cap of his flask he returned it to its place on his belt, smothering another burp into his hand he added "Figured I'd give em' some space, yah know, let things cool off." The evidence had been damning and painted an equally skewed picture of the situation, that none of them had considered any other possibilities, even when his nieces pleaded with him otherwise.
At that moment back in the stairwell, he'd shown them when push came to shove their word would always come second to Oz and his own until proof of otherwise was shoved in his face. He definitely wouldn't forget the scathing glare Yang had sent him back in the hallway nor that look of betrayal in Rubys' eyes as they took the ride up to Oz's office anytime soon, and maybe that was a good thing. There was no doubt in his mind he'd hurt them and not in a way that could be healed easily. "If all's quiet here, I should get back before Glynda busts my ass for leaving those two alone." Qrow murmured turning back up towards the way he'd come.
"Qrow" Winter called out to him, her tone lacking any of the scathing edges she usually reserved for the man in question. The report General Ironwood had supplied her with mentioned the Qrow's nieces had defended Salmon vehemently when confronted by the Academies staff, though if she were reading the situation correctly that confrontation had been far more heated and perhaps damaging than what had been described. "If you have anything you'd like passing on..." She offered, allowing the cold and calculating mask of an Atlesian specialist to slip away for a moment.
Qrow stopped a contemplative look passing over him, and for a moment it looked as though the black reaper might agree with her proposal "...No" He replied stuffing his hands into his pockets he glanced back at her over his shoulder "Nice offer but this is something I gotta do myself." He said carrying on back down the path he called back to her "See yah around Ice Queen!"
Winter rolled her eyes at that accursed moniker he loved to call her but nodded back to him all the same before turning to regard the student dorm across the other side of the courtyard. She'd seen enough for now to at least be satisfied the four were of no immediate danger to themselves or others, something she knew the general would be glad to hear. Still, while the four had managed to maintain a healthy outlook towards the situation, evidenced by their team's solidarity, she still held firm in her belief that more could be done for the four, to help reinforce the mindset that this fight they had found themselves in was not there alone.
"Hmmm." Miss Xiao Long had mentioned wanting to hear a few tails of her own past exploits once they had settled in. It wouldn't be too hard to slip the value of maintaining both their physical and mental health into their conversation, she could transform it into a lesson in acknowledging one's own mortality and accepting their weaknesses, as well as acting as a warning of what they may expect to encounter in the future.
There was no doubt in her mind, that things were already in motion behind the scenes that not even General Ironwood had any hope of stopping, and while she couldn't protect her sister nor her friends from what was to come, she may at least be able to prepare them to face it, in one way or another.
/
Disconnecting the call Emerald or rather 'Giovanna' as she would be known moving forward, sat back on her bed and pulled up Cinder's contact details, she waited for a moment before her scroll buzzed and an envelope icon appeared in their message window, seconds later she was scrolling through the allotted files Cinder had sent them as part of the briefing, she tapped on the first one in the set of eight.
Scrolling through the PDF she was greeted by a mix-match of student records and their corresponding class schedules a few of which had been marked as people of interest as well as potential targets once they were further down the road.
She recognized the Fall Maiden easily enough, though the one that stuck out most to her was the Nightingale himself, Mikael Salmon, his file contained a photo taken from one of the academy's own security cameras of the man beneath the hood and cowl.
The first thing she noticed was how young he was.
While she and Mercury were more than capable when it came to a fight Cinder expected no less from those under her, as for Cinder herself from what she'd seen, she was leagues ahead of most professional Huntsmen out there, so for someone to have the skill to be able to cleave their way through all three of them at once without so much as a scratch you'd think to have been facing a veteran well into their career, not someone who looked like they just walked out of one of the academies.
She winced a faint ache passing through her jaw where he'd struck her, a reminder of what he'd done to them that day, of how close the three of them had come to losing their lives had it not been for Cinder's quick action and to not let her underestimate him again.
The bathroom door opened and Mer- 'Ray' stepped back into the room, rubbing at his eye and muttering about how 'contacts were annoying' he flopped back onto his bed arms folding behind a freshly dyed head of fiery red hair, glancing towards her out the corner of his eye he asked "Lizard girl on her way back yet?"
"She'll be here soon." Emerald replied, aimlessly she reached up to pinch a lock of her own hair and pull it into view. She'd been growing it out over the last few weeks since the incident at the docks to the point it now flowed down past her shoulder. The guy had had more than enough time to get a good look at their faces back on the roadside, so she and Merc had been forced to make some 'changes' if they wanted any chance of setting foot into Beacon without immediately being swarmed by security.
Not that she'd minded spending a little extra time with Cinder picking out some new outfits or getting used to her new weapon in time for the transfer students arriving. No, the big issue and greatest hangup about all this was her hair, once as green as her namesake, now dyed a deep silver, yeah, her hair was her most defining feature, so the decisions made sense, but... why did it have to be silver?
She'd have been comfortable with it being blue, she'd have put up with it being something like purple or blond, but silver, it was so far from, well... her, it just felt wrong, which is probably why Cinder had chosen it. The others were still a little close to her original color and with them more than likely to interact with both the Nightingale and The Fall Maiden on a daily basis, anything that might let them draw some parallels between then and now was too great of a risk.
"I don't know about you, but something feels off about all of this." Mercury replied.
Emerald looked at him incredulously "Don't tell me you of all people are starting to have second thoughts?"
He almost laughed 'Yeah, I bet you'd like that.' It wasn't like Cinder would just let him just walk away, loose ends and all that, and he had no plans of becoming one anytime soon, for better or worse he was in this for the long run. "Just saying, things haven't exactly been going our way recently, if anything us being here is a bigger risk than Lizard girl." Shaking his head dismissively Mercury turned his gaze back towards the ceiling above. "Makes you think there's gotta be an easier way of doing all of this."
"It's a sign of Cinder's trust in us to get the job done, despite the risks." Emerald rebutted or in actuality, it was a sign of how much Cinder trusted her to see things through, after all, she was the one who received their newest instruction, she was the one tasked with keeping the others in line and she was the one Cinder trusted to keep an eye on Adams own agents activities inside the academy.
The knowledge that she was such an integral part of Cinder's plans gave her this rush of euphoria, which fed this fire deep inside her, this validation of her efforts, confirmation that she was seen as something more than the street rat she'd been labelled as for almost all of her life, a feeling she hadn't known until coming into Cinders service.
"If there was a better way of doing this, then Cinder would have found it and we'd be doing that instead, this plan is what gives her the best advantage" Which is why they were here at Beacon with three of their targets already in their sights, and none of them the wiser, instead of wasting their time sitting around a warehouse listening to Roman complain all day.
"Yeah, like you'd somehow know anything about that?" Mercury scoffed, she talked about this being about gaining an advantage and putting pieces into place when in reality Cinder only ever let them in on her whole grand scheme as they were happening, with that message on her scroll only proving it. "Quit acting all high and mighty when you're just as in the dark about everything as I am."
Judging by the seething glare sent his way he knew he'd struck a nerve "Just because you're too incompetent to see what she's doing doesn't mean the rest of us are." Yeah, Yeah, they were all the fools while Cinder was the tremendous and cunning mastermind pulling all the strings from behind the scenes... Would it kill her to admit she was just as lost about the boss's plan as he was?
"So, you gonna let me in on the big secret?" He asked.
"How about instead of constantly questioning our orders, you focus on how you're going to get along with others, you know, so that we're actually here long enough to get the job done." Not that she didn't have some of her own... queries about the plan moving forward, not that she'd ever admit it to Mercury's face, the guy's ego was overinflated enough as is "Honestly... out of everyone I thought you'd want to be the first in line for a shot at him, especially after what he did to you."
Mercury kicked up into a sitting position, all remanence of his previous good mode absent "Believe me, first chance I get to put my foot through his skull-"
"You'll wait till you have the go-ahead from Cinder." Emerald fixed the red-haired assassins with a firm look; they just got here and didn't need the whole plan going bust because a certain someone was more interested in seeing their grudge through than doing what they came here to do. "We'll have more than enough time to deal with him and the Maiden once everything is in place, until then I won't have you causing problems for Cinder."
"Fine, I'll be the perfect little boy scout." Mercury sighed planting his hands on the bed behind him to prop himself up, peering past Emerald towards the bed on the far side of the room "What about the mute?" he asked.
Emerald glanced back over her shoulder towards the solitary bed behind her, its owner had left to wander the academy grounds after spending a good half hour testing how high she could jump before the springs in her mattress gave out. She prayed that wasn't the case, the staff had been quick to inform them they'd be charged for any damage their team caused to their accommodations, drawing unnecessary attention and wasting the funds Cinder had provided them on something needless like that, wasn't something she wanted to deal with right now.
Still, she was grateful for the small mercies that came with her presence, her obedience chief among them. "What about her?" Emerald replied with a dismissive shrug, Neo was perhaps the one person she didn't have to keep an eye on constantly. "She's in no position to refuse and she knows what'll happen if she doesn't follow orders." A wicked smile slipped onto emeralds face, so long as they stuck to their roles neither she nor Roman would have anything to fear from them.
Turned her attention back to her scroll and began flicking through the other files in the pack, most were as you would expect. Bios on the academy staff members, schematics for both the academy itself and the CCT tower on sight the latter including an attached file marked with a stylized W as well as patrol routes for campus security and a thorough outline of the CCTV network across the entire academy with the radius of the cameras and their blank spots outlined on a map of the academy in sets of red and blue respectively.
All of which would be crucial in the weeks to come.
Opening up the last file Emerald paused, arching a brow at its contents. The other files all related to their operations in one way or another however this one was different. The PDF displayed a map of the emerald forest with several marked locations scattered around the edge of the academy accompanying the layout were a series of photos taken of said landmarks from inside the emerald forest, near the end there were two photos side by side of the Nightingale himself entering and exiting one of the marked areas, the time stamp in the corner showing it had been almost an hour between both.
She narrowed her eyes at the image, wondering just what he could have been doing in some dusty old ruin for so long, she shook her head lightly forcing those thoughts aside while it might not be as high a priority as the rest of Cinder thought it was something worth looking into then who were they to question her?
Still, it was a lot of ground for them to cover, and while they could always try going the legitimate route and sign on for one of the academy's training exercises in one of the marked areas, which put them on a time crunch. Not to mention there was no guarantee their absence wouldn't go unnoticed by the staff especially considering they weren't even sure about just what they were looking for.
There were too many things that could go wrong with that, they were better off picking one site that she and Mercury could check out in their free time. They'd just need to leave their 'Teammates' behind to vouch for them should anyone ask, she doubted they'd mind all things considered. While it was a little riskier than tagging along with a bigger group, at least they'd be able to take their time and wouldn't have to worry about anyone stumbling across them during their search.
Looks like they'll be taking a hike this weekend.
'To be continued'