Hey, RGQC here with another chapter for ya to enjoy, and I don't have much to say either than that. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Besides that, we should get it going.

As with all my other stories, I do not own RWBY, only my OCs in this story. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.

Another week that fateful day since Jade had met Velvet, and both Faunuses have been getting along well enough that Meg approved him. Though he still didn't understand what she meant, the cat Faunus soon realised that Velvet's mother approved of him as her daughter's friend. And because of that, Jade saw it fitting to introduce Velvet to his parents, and their reactions were something he didn't expect.

They were thankful their son had made a new friend than his childhood friend Blake. They feared his maturity and abnormal behaviour would leave him with few friends. Even more so when Velvet explained that their son had saved her from bullies and made them proud of their kitten. Much to his embarrassment.

During this time, Jade and Velvet also took the time to know more of each other, including the stories told by Velvet of her life outside of Menagerie and Jade explaining his time in Kuo Kuana to the rabbit Faunus. And it became a habit for Velvet to timidly follow Jade around because she was unfamiliar with Kou Kuana and mainly because Jade was her first friend in Menagerie.

Which the cat Faunus didn't mind.

It was during one of these outings that Velvet visited Jade in his home, and he was lying on the couch and staring at the ceiling. It has been getting increasingly restless with the lack of anything to do at the moment. He was bored. Incredibly bored.

"Jade?" The cat Faunus' ears flickered when he heard his friend knocking on his home's door as she called out.

"Huh? Hang on, I'm coming!" Jade leapt off the couch as he ran over and opened the door to see Velvet wearing a simple brown dress that fit her hair nicely. And in her hands were what looked like a deck of cards wrapped tightly in cloth that was definitely not Lien.

"Hey, Vel. Need something to you need help with something?" Jade then asked as Velvet shook her head. While they only knew each other for at least a week or so, Jade had chosen to give her the nickname Vel for short, which she didn't mind at all. Since this is the first time someone has given her a nickname, and best of all, it wasn't in a demeaning term!

"No. I was bored and wanted to hang out." Velvet explained as Jade smiled and stood aside for her to come in. "And I brought some cards, and I think we can play a bit." Velvet then sheepishly admits as the cat Faunus tilts his head in confusion before his ears twitch with intrigue.

"Oh? What kind?" Jade then asked before closing the door as Velvet approached the dining table.

"Well…" she hesitates for a second before replying back. "It's called Go Fish. Have you played it before?" But all she got was Jade shaking his head with a baffled look on his face, and Velvet couldn't help but be confused. How could they not? Board games were common in the kingdoms. Does Menagerie not have them?

"Go Fish? What's that?" Jade asked slowly as he and Velvet sat on the chairs as she explained.

"It's a game in which each of us is to receive seven cards, and we're supposed to collect as many as four cards with the same face," Velvet explained as she took up one of the cards which bore the Kingdom of Mistral's emblem on it as well as the number five on it. "For example, if I were to ask you if you have Atlas cards in your hand. You must give me all of them." Velvet continued while Jade nodded and had a concentrated look on his face.

Velvet then placed the card back into the deck and began sifting it for two cards. "If you don't have any, you must say 'Go fish', and I must draw a card from the deck, and it will be your turn. Also, should any of us draw a card we ask for, we have to show it to each other and get an additional turn." Velvet continued as she took out two cards with a clown's face.

"That… sounds fun?" There was a tone of uncertainty in Jade's voice. "How do you know so much about it?" The cat Faunus then changed the topic and asked.

"Mummy and I usually play this game whenever we're bored or travelling. It's nice to pass the time." Velvet admits with a fond smile of the times she managed to beat her mother in it. "But she's busy today, and I figured it would be fun to play with you. Velvet admits before she begins shuffling the deck and distributing them out.

"That sounds fun!" Jade grinned. "Let's have a game, and we can see if I liked it."

And so, both children had their first game, which escalated from that. Hours passed, and both children were unaware of the passage of time. As it turns out, Jade catches up quickly though it turns out he can get extremely competitive and be a sore loser, especially when he was so close to winning an entire set of cards in one of their games.

The only time both realised it was getting late was when Jade's parents arrived home to see them in their twentieth game, with numerous breaks in between. And it was all that was needed to break the children off their games as Velvet quickly packed up, greeted Jade's parents, and left hurriedly.

Leaving the cat Faunus all alone with his parents, his mother had a smug look on her face, while her father was annoyed because he missed their lessons. Guessing what they're about to say, Jade raises his finger. "I'm sorry I got distracted."

"Yes… we can tell…" Melo muttered dryly before folding his arms and letting out a sigh before Jade got off his chair and walked towards his parents with his head down and ears low and sideways

"Am… Am I in trouble?" Jade softly asked before his mother knelt and pulled her son into a hug.

"I wouldn't say otherwise, dear." Amranth cooed at her adorable kitten. "I find it unexpected to see you so engrossed in something new. And I can be for sure that you wish to pass the time until Blake comes back, am I right?" Jade's mother continued as he slowly nodded his head with shame that he lost himself to his match with Velvet. It was so fun and entertaining in a while that he couldn't help but lose himself over it.

"Well, I bring good news for you, Blake will be back alongside her father this weekend. And perhaps… Can you introduce your new friend to her?" Amranth suggested while her son's ears perked up with excitement in his eyes. "It would indeed be nice for Blake to have another friend, yes?" She then smirked at her dear husband, who visible roll his eyes.

"Blake's coming back? Yes! About time!" Jade began hopping as he cheered loudly before his father took over the conversation.

"Good for you, kid," Melo grunts before kneeling to his son's height. "While I accept your apology for not attending today's training, you would still have to do something for me, kid." He explained as he gently rubbed his son's head.

"What do I need to do for you, Daddy?" Jade cutely asked with his finger scratching his chin.

"Well…" Melo hums." It's the end of the week, and it's time for another test to see where you stand. And this time, you're allowed to choose your weaponry." Melo had to admit he always admired his son's enthusiasm for their training session, which says a lot compared to some of his students who only came because of peer pressure or their parents making them attend his lessons.

And despite his son's relatively young age, he catches up quickly and proves to be more capable than some of his students.

"Sure! And I will give my best as payback for missing today's lesson!" Jade smiled before giving his father a tight hug while Amranth giggled at the scene.

"That's my boy!" Melo laughed with joy at his son's enthusiasm. But the moment was quickly ruined when they heard gurgling noises for the cat Faunus, who broke off red in the face. Yet that just made his parents chuckle at his expense. "Looks like someone's hungry." Melo softly laughed while Amranth walked off to the table.

"Good thing I managed to buy some stir-fried rice with meat and vegetables for dinner," Amranth smirked as Jade sped off to the dining table while Melo's smile became a momentary frown before it dissipated from his face.

"Food!" Jade cried out joyfully as Amranth tried to calm her son down from eating first. Rolling his eyes, Melo went off to join his family. He can worry about it another time.

Melo POV

Today is the day I see how far my son has come. It has been a while since I brought him through a serious test and years since I managed to have my dear wife agree to the plan to take our son under my wing. I'm proud of his progress so far, though…

I'll never admit to anyone, including the woman I fell in love with. Ever since my son was born and I held him in my hands for the first time, I felt uneasy around him. I shouldn't because he is my son and has my blood. But the fact he displayed an uncanny amount of growth and maturity despite still being a toddler scares me.

Yes, many others, including myself, believed that my son was a prodigy in the making.

But in the back of my mind, and with what I was taught in my time in Haven, I learned to read people's facial expressions and eyes. And it was at that moment that I suspected something was off about my son. Yes, I had dealt with children and babies when I was younger, but none bore the same self-awareness as my son did.

Even my friend's daughter, Blake, acts more like how an actual child should behave. Of course, there are moments when Jade acts like a child, which I won't lie. However, I soon realised that those moments were rare, and because of this strangeness, he never made any friends in school. He could never connect with them and, thus, found himself alone with books.

It… why I was ecstatic for my son when he came home with a new friend he'd recently made. It proves that there are people out there he could connect to besides Blake, who he grew up with. I swear, those two were inseparable, and my wife and I could tell how restless my son had gotten in the coming months alone.

That brings me to my next point, and I know how cruel and awful the world is outside of the Kingdoms and Menagerie. I learned it first hand after all… And my son's nativity and innocence of the outside world made me realise one thing. He's not prepared for the cruel thing called reality.

It's part of the reason I chose to retire and raise my son here. I want him to grow up in a safe place and never have to worry about the outside world. But I underestimated his wanderlust of the outside world. It doesn't help that his only friend had exposed the cruelty of the outside world to him. The discrimination and oppression of our people, in addition to the noble goals of the White Fang, which her father organises all over Remnant.

While I admire their goals of achieving our civil rights, their lack of success has already sparked complaints about the continued suffering of our people and the White Fang's lack of progress in achieving civil rights passively. And there is increasing support for a more… violent approach.

Frankly, I could tell a sinking boat when I saw one and with due respect to my dear friend Ghira. Humanity won't change unless there's a reason to change. I know first-hand from the under levels of Mistral. After all, why would they change the status quo of Human-Faunus relations when they benefit from it? There's no need to at the moment. The whole world of Remnant is at peace.

One thing I do know is unless something big happens that goes through their stubbornness, nothing will change.

It's how life is, after all.

But to say that I disagree with my dear friend Ghira that his passive ways are not the path is wrong. Those calling for a more violent option are even more stupid, in my humble opinion. Responding through violent means doesn't solve anything. It encourages and justifies their reasoning for discriminating against Faunuses.

I'm thankful I took the time to read through human psychology. And I find it ironic how similar we Faunuses and humanity are in our minds and ways of thinking.

"Daddy?" My son's voice caught my attention. Ah, it appears I've been leaning against a tree for a while and was left in my thoughts while my students train in pairs. Looking down, I saw my son standing beside me, waiting for my response with his head tilted.

"Ah, you're here. Sorry about that. Daddy's been thinking about something else." I spoke. It wasn't a complete lie, I'd say. But it should be enough to temper his curiosity, hopefully.

"Thinking about what?" My son prodded. Always one not to let things go off that easily, huh, kid?

"About you."

"Oh."

Jade's eyes widened in surprise as I let out a chuckle. "Well, since you're here now, we can get started." I said while my other students closed off and began to pack up. However, a notable number of them chose to linger behind. It has become interesting for them to witness me sparing my son, even more so when my son shows exponential growth in our matches.

I remember the first time I had him try to hit me with a wooden sword. His stance was, in the bluntest of terms, absolute pants. His positioning was bad, the way he swung his sword more like a club than an actual weapon, and the amount of strength he placed within his weapon was all over the place.

Now?

Well… he has improved by a massive margin, and I'm proud of him. As of now, my dear kitten can relatively keep up with me without Aura. Somewhat. And he's a smart boy, you know? Knowing he couldn't beat me fairly due to my semblance and skills, my son chose to play dirty to win. He threw dirt into my eyes and used my size to his advantage. And he even caught me off guard by throwing his sword before climbing up my arm and landing a hit to my face.

While I disapprove of his dirty tactics, I can understand why he does it.

"Come on, kid, let's see what you can do," I said before pointing at the weapon stand near us. "As a reminder from yesterday, you may choose any weapon on it before we start." I continued as my son nodded before running off while I watched as he began choosing what weapon to use.

Glancing away, I saw a rather sizable number of spectators and even a few children. Having spectators watching me spar with my son almost became a regular thing for both of us now. And it was mainly because of my reputation as a retired Huntsman in Kou Kuana.

It became sort of the local talk of the day when news first broke out that I was taking my son under my wing. While most made the logical assumption that I was training my son to become like me, I had to intervene numerous times and explain that, no, he's not becoming a Huntsman. I'm just training him how to defend himself, just in case.

While most accepted my reasoning, others have proven to be more… irritating and believed that I was lying about teaching my son how to defend himself.

Absurd, I must say.

"I'm back!" My son's voice broke me out of thought as my eyes gazed upon him. How interesting… One of my rare weapons on the stand was in his hands. A polearm with double-bladed glaives. And he also has a short sword sheathed on his hip.

"Smart…" I couldn't help but not hide a smile on my face. It appears that my little Jade has learned to bring an emergency weapon whenever he uses any sort of long-reaching weaponry. But why double-bladed glaives? Yes, it is unique in its appearance, and the only reason it exists is because of a miscommunication on my part when I placed an order for glaives.

But I still wonder why my son chose it as his primary weapon…

Sure, I've caught him secretly practising with it behind my back several times. But I don't intervene on his secret training as he seems almost like a natural with it despite how this kind of weapon tends to be incredibly unwieldy to newcomers, even more so when I watched as he swung and performed thrusting attacks with ease.

I do not know how long he has been doing this behind my back, but I could ask my son about it. He's not one to lie about anything, though not talking about it is a different story. One of the most common excuses I got from him was that I didn't ask.

"Wonderful." I grinned, "Let's see how far you've grown since your last test." I said before pulling my sword out and getting into my stance while my son did the same.

"I think you'll be impressed with how I've grown, Daddy." Careful with that ego, kid. Don't let your training get to your head.

Silence overtook both of us as we waited for the other to strike first, with the sounds of spectators waiting in anticipation. Huh. He's not going to hit first, huh? Very well then, kid, if you're not moving, then I will.

With a smirk, I made the first move with a down slash which finally made my son react as he swung his glaive and parried my strike with ease before he spun and thrust the other blade at me. But I saw it coming and brought my sword down to parry it. The kid's not holding back. I can tell from his expression.

Full of determination and concentration to prove how far he's come. Good.

My son then began to twirl his duel-bladed glaive over his head and pushed me to the defensive whenever I was to block or parry his attack. He would immediately swing the other part of the glaive at me. I see it now. He's trying to pressure me and make me panic against his rapid counterattack.

Smart, but that leaves him open if the attack doesn't connect.

Leaning back so his blade would miss me by an inch, I immediately exploited his open side with a stab, and it barely gazed at his shoulder. I heard my son a pained grunt coming out of my son as he rolled back as I closed in the distance. Over the years, I've learned the advantages and disadvantages of different types of weapons.

And for polearms, while having the advantages of range and versatility, especially double-bladed glaives, getting close makes them incredibly unwieldy as they have a longer windup period. It is part of why I always recommend that my students bring an emergency sword whenever they use any long-reaching weapon.

My son must have realised my intentions as I saw his eyes widen for a split second before he drew his wooden sword immediately after rolling back up and could barely parry my attack. "Not bad. Not bad at all." I praised my son's skills as he let out a strained grunt and dashed to the side before performing a spin as he swung his glaive at me.

Bringing my blade up, I managed to block his attack but underestimated the momentum my son put into this swing, making me stumble back from blocking it. I'm no fool. What my son did there was incredibly risky for someone with no Aura to protect his body. It didn't help him when I noticed he was showing signs of exhaustion.

That move must have taken much of his energy to pull off. Having taken back the initiative, my son resumed his barrage of attacks with the occasional dodging and parrying. So far, I'm impressed with his skills, and I couldn't stop a proud smile from appearing on my face. Another attack from the left came as I responded and deflected his attack, and swung in to end this. But it seems that he wasn't done yet.

In a split second, my son rolled forward and could barely dodge my attack, and as I closed in, he drew up his sword and parried my attack again. Seeing how far my son has grown, I couldn't contain it but laughed joyfully as we stepped back to recuperate.

"Amazing display, kid!" I praised my son again as I could see a grin on his face.

"Thanks, Dad."

"But next time, you could have asked me to help you learn how to use it instead of training with it behind my back." I then pointed out, and for a moment, I had the opportunity to witness his face pale upon the realisation that I was aware of his secret nighttime training.

"Uh, yeah. Noted father…" He said sheepishly.

And then there are moments like this when I don't care about my son's abnormal growth and maturity. And it makes me want to help him be the best he can be. Letting out a titter, I closed the distance and did an overhead swing as my son brought his glaive up to block it. Though, I might have placed a bit too much force into it and accidentally snapped it in half.

It is definitely not because I'm slightly upset he didn't come to me to help him train up on his glaive skills. Oh no, not that, I promise.

Fret not. I'll get a replacement for him as soon as we're done here.

But much to my surprise, he recovered rather quickly from his weapon's suddenly split into two thanks to my attack, for within a split second, he took a step back and began to hold the broken halves of his double-bladed glaives like a pair of swords before retaliating with a strike. For a moment, I swore I saw an upset look on his face upon his primary weapon's destruction.

Even then, I could tell that he was running out of steam and with a quick disarming of both his weapons after his attack missed me, I had my sword against his throat as he panted for breath. And even before we could do anything, we heard cheers from those watching us, and I even spotted that rabbit Faunus that my son had made friends with a while back, watching us with awe in her eyes.

"Drat…" I heard my son grumbling out as I pulled my sword away from his throat before I reached down and picked him up before ruffling his hair.

"I'm proud of your progress, son, and I can tell you were pushing yourself to your capability." I offered a comforting smile to my son as he began dusting himself off. "And because of that, I'll allow you off for the weekends."

Despite his exhaustion, I could tell that my son was proud and ecstatic at demonstrating his skills to me and having the weekends off. And with an exhausted hum, he hugged me as I rubbed his ears gently. "I'll be sure to tell your mother what happened today."

"Yeah, that sounds great, Daddy."

Despite everything, I'm proud of my boy.

Jade POV

At the end of my test, I was exhausted, sweaty and desperately needed a shower. Father still beat me, but he's proud of my progress, and so am I. Even more so when my nightly practice session alone with that wooden double-blade glaive I found a month back. Though I'm peeved that he broke it, Father said he would have a new one to make and ready next week.

So that's good.

And the walk back to our home was filled with silence between me and Father. I could tell he had a lot on his mind. What they are, however, I do not know. Nevertheless, this was the first time I went all in against my dad. And…

I felt compelled to give my best.

Not just because I missed his lessons yesterday and was determined to pay it back, but my excitement to see Blake again pushed me forward. I haven't seen her in months and wonder how she is doing without me. And perhaps introduce Velvet to her? I hope she doesn't get jealous of her.

Hang on, why did I think that Blake would be jealous of Velvet?

"Something on your mind, kid?" I heard my father calling out to me as I looked at him.

"Just thinking about Blake…"

I muttered as my father raised his eyebrow at me before a smug smile grew on his face. "Are you worried that she would get jealous of you?"

How did he?!

"Something like that… I… value her friendship as my first friend, and I don't wanna have her mad at me because I made another while she's away…"

"Kid," My father said as he held my shoulder. "It's alright to feel uncertain of your decisions sometimes. But let me tell you something, never let them blind your actions. You helped Velvet because she was bullied, and it so happened that you formed a friendship with her. I'm sure Blake would understand should you explain it to her. And who knows? Perhaps she could become Blake's friend as well."

Father finished off as I blinked at him. He has a point. Perhaps I shouldn't be so uncertain with my actions.

Yeah…

When Blake gets back, I have to introduce her to Velvet. Sure, she's a year older than us, but why should that matter when making friends? No, I don't think so.

"Thanks, Dad…" I smiled as he suddenly picked me up and rested me on his shoulders.

"No problem, son. You can go ahead and get some rest, and I'll wake you up once we reach home." My father said softly as a yawn escaped from my mouth. I must have pushed myself to the limit if I felt this tired. But yes, a nap does sound nice right now.

And we are done! Velvet decided to introduce a new game to Jade and his father's thoughts on his son. Lastly, Blake's return in the next chapter and the official meeting between the two Faunuses.

And a potential hint of what could be Jade's weapon in the future as well! While I have a plan of what it can be, if you wish to throw your ideas in, feel free to. I don't mind!

But other than that, If you enjoy this story and wish to show your support for more in the future, do Follow and Favourite this story. And while you're at it, leave a review about what you think, as that will let me know that you want to see more content from me!

With that, I'll see you all in the next chapter!

RGQC out!