"Can't believe there's a bar." one of her classmates mutters as they receive their drinks, "And that we're allowed to drink."
"After our first day? I think we need more than a few drinks." another stressed-out student groans as they chug down a pint of beer, "Hell of a training exercise. I don't remember our initiations in Atlas being that tough."
"I still remember what it's like getting shot…" one of them shouts and almost spills their drink, "I was blown up by a missile ! It felt so real!"
"You should try getting crushed under its tracks." Winter grumbles as she accepts her drink, a ginger beer. Although they were given permission to drink from the bar located on Steel Wing Airfield's premises, as long as they didn't come to class drunk or hungover, she wasn't one to risk it.
The bar they were in had an old Vacuon design reminiscent of the Wild Frontier films with cowboys and boards that creak when you step on them. It was a curious design choice, one they chalked up to someone being a fan of the films.
"Yeah, you and that Taurus guy. Speaking of which, where is he?" Tortuga, a 2nd Year Atlas student, asks glancing around to find him not with them at the bar, "Did we not invite him?
"We did, he declined." Winter grumbles as she takes a sip from her drink, "Out of all the people, I get stuck with the brute? What were they thinking putting us on the same team?!"
"Better question, what's his deal?" another asked, "Like, is he a student? He looks Mistralian, maybe he's from Haven Academy or something?"
Before anyone could respond the door creaks open as a group of men wearing flight suits and holding helmets in their arms walk in looking exhausted but chatting lively with each other. One of the pilots notices them and cracks a smile, walking over.
"Well what do we have here?" he leans against the bar to get a good look at them, "Fresh meat, huh? Name's Cedric, callsign's Pearl, and I'm one of the Watchdogs around here. You must be the Atlas students we've been hearing about."
"It's nice to meet you, sir." Winter greets before wondering, "Watchdogs?"
"We're NEST Inc.'s AC security force." he says with a proud smirk, "Raven's our boss. I hear he's running you guys through the wringer?"
"Yeah." Tortuga nods as he takes a sip from his drink, "We just did a simulation a while back, trying to climb a wall."
"Hah! The Wall?" Cedric laughs, "He did the same with us on our first day. Taught us how to move an AC, shoot a gun, and then throw us at the Wall to see what sticks. And none of us did. Never got past the Juggernaut."
"Only three of us got there." Winter sighs, "One got blown up the moment the doors opened, I died just a while later before Taurus did the same."
"Taurus? Adam Taurus?" Cedric looks surprised at hearing the name before chuckling and turning to his comrades, "Hear that, guys? The kid's finally taking a shot at his license."
There was healthy laughter coming from the other Watchdogs and some salutes with glasses in their hands,
"The kid? You know him?" Winter mutters confused before Cedric clarifies,
"Everyone here knows who he is, the kid grew up here." Cedric says, "Every day he's learning everything could about ACs barring actually flying one, boss lady's rules apparently, not that I blame her. The first time I ever laid eyes on the kid, he was stealing an AC."
"He what?!" all the Atlas students including Winter shout with their eyes widened, causing the pilot to stumble back from the volume,
"He tried to steal an AC? How? Why?" Winter asks as Cedric shrugs,
"Not sure about that, all I know is what I saw." Cedric says as he waves to the bartender for a drink, "It was my first week, I was one of the lucky few to get my hands on the prototype ACs. I was doing my rounds when all of a sudden I heard alarms and saw another prototype making an unscheduled flight. Standard procedures were to shoot to disable but then the boss herself calls to tell me to stand down."
All the Atlas students lean closer to hear this story as he continued with a shot glass in hand, "And so I did, wondering why the hell she was letting someone steal one of her very expensive and valuable prototypes before she said it was being taken care of. I wanted to ask what the hell she was talking about when I picked up another AC on the radar…the Raven himself."
He says with a dramatic pause to get his audience's attention, "I saw the guy fly down at full speed, grabbing the stolen AC by the head and smashing it into the ground, grinding it against the tarmac before he lets it get up. And then he says this…"
Cedric coughs before doing his best Raven impression, sounding gruff and raspy, "You're in my skies, kid…Get out now…or I pull you out myself…"
He chuckles at the memory, "Oh, and what happened next was absolutely brilliant . The kid had the bright idea to activate his AC's pulse blade but he didn't even have augments or even how to fight in an AC! Heck, I'm surprised he even knew where the seatbelts on the thing were. And then, to no one's surprise, Raven turned that AC to scrap in less than five seconds ."
He holds out five fingers and shakes them for emphasis, "Five seconds later there was nothing left of that AC but it's core. After that, I saw the Raven eject from his AC, climb on top of that wreck, pull its emergency release and grab this twelve-year-old by his collar. His comms were still on then, so I heard this over an open channel."
He clears his throat again for another impression, "You're too short for this ride…Get older…we'll talk then…"
"He tried to steal an AC when he was twelve ?" Winter asks in disbelief, "And tried to fight Instructor Raven?! Is he insane- No, he absolutely is. No doubt about that. How was he not arrested?"
"I was just as confused as you are, but then I heard from the Raven that the kid's the boss' ward." Cedric shrugs, "Found him somewhere during her business trip to Mistral, didn't clarify much on that. Next, I saw him, he had his ass chewed out by both the boss man and boss lady, and they made him apologize for causing so much trouble. But since then we all saw the kid everywhere around the airfield, watching us sortie, learning from the engineers and helping whenever he could. For all his attitude, the kid's a gods damned prodigy when it comes to ACs, I'd wager only the bosses know more than he does."
"Yeah, he once fixed a problem I didn't even know I had with mine." one of the Watchdogs threw in before laughing, "We better watch out guys! We might be taking orders from him one day!"
The Watchdogs laugh at that comment, but it is lighthearted without any malice, it just leaves her with more questions on who exactly Adam Taurus is.
"Alright, listen up…" Ravan taps his cane on the floor to get their attention and silence them, "Exercise briefing…The task of the day…Grimm elimination."
He pulls out a remote from his jacket and clicks on it, a projector in the room shines behind him and displays a gigantic Blind Worm,
"Mission will be a simulation…designed by yours truly…Scenario as follows, settlement in Vacuo harassed by Grimm…two mercenaries sent to eliminate Grimm…" Raven explains, "Anyone knows…what we're looking at?"
Winter quickly raises her hand and Raven gestures at her to continue as he clicks the projector remote that flicks to the next slide, highlighting various armor plates on the Grimm
"Sir, that is a Blind Worm, also known by its scientific name, the Grimmis Caecus . It is a form of Grimm native to Vacuo and a constant threat to nomadic tribes that wander the desert. Atlas Armed Forces classify a singular base variant as a Level 3 Threat." Winter speaks from memory, "They average at thirty meters long with older variants capable of growing larger."
"Correct." he nods with approval as Winter beamed with pride, "Target is an Alpha Blind Worm…Sixty meters long and ten meters wide…armor thick enough to resist linear rifle shots…capable of spawning lesser forms if left to its own devices…only weak spot is the head area…Be warned…jaws strong enough that AC plating is like butter…"
Adam raises his hand for a question and Raven nods for him to ask it, "So I would guess we get to bring out the big guns for this? Class C at least? Maybe B?"
Adam asks sounding hopeful only for his hopes to be deflated,
"Incorrect…you'll be handling this with Class-D and below equipment…" Raven says, "That's the minimum you need…work with the tools you have…work with the partner you have…kill the Grimm…That is all…"
He turns off the projector and looks at a Scroll, "First up…Adam Taurus…Winter Schnee…Fifteen minutes to prep your loadout…Move out."
"Class-D equipment…will that be enough?" Winter mutters worriedly as she scrolls through the tablet provided to her for assembling her AC in the simulation. Although she knew the basics of constructing an AC, she had yet to practice with most of the weapons on the list.
"If Raven says that's all we need, it's all we need." Adam says firmly as he scrolls through and quickly taps his tablet as if he already knew what he needed, "Tough armor plates so we shouldn't waste time. Go for its head and mouth, maybe throw some explosives down its throats."
He selects a pair of rocket launchers for his arms while putting sets of grenade launchers on both his shoulders. To carry all the equipment and ammunition he also selected a Tetrapod unit for his legs.
Winter on the other hand selected a quick and agile build with slim Reverse-Jointed legs. Her left arm had a pulse blade embedded in it while the right arm wielded a linear rifle, a Lightning Dust-powered railgun with Dust-tipped ammunition. For her shoulder armaments, she decided to add a single missile launcher on her left, as adding more would overburden her AC.
"You plan to use that pulse blade on its mouth or something?" Adam asks with disapproval evident on his face, "It's gonna chew you to scrap if you try. Heck with the armor you have, or rather armor you don't have, I think a light graze will cripple you."
"Is that concern I hear?" Winter asks sarcastically as she slots the tablet into her simulation pod, uploading the data as she gets in and plugs a cable into the back of her neck before putting on a visored helmet that would display her AC's readings, "You forget that we won't have the Worm to solely focus on. Its Alpha variant is unique as being one of the few species of Grimm able to spawn others without becoming an Ancient."
"Glad you're volunteering for clean-up duty." Adam snarks as he climbs into his own pod and plugs himself in, "I'll take the Worm head-on then. Too bad there won't be any for you to handle, cause I'll take it down before you can blink."
"Says the one using the heaviest AC out of all of us." Winter shot back as the doors to the pod closed but not before she had the last word, "I'll be chipping away at its head before you get halfway close. By the time you arrive, I'd probably have done half the work myself."
Adam grits his teeth at this but decides to focus on the task at hand, sliding on his helmet as a message is displayed in front of his eyes,
SIMULATION STARTS=
They both feel a familiar jolt of entering a simulation, and as soon as they get their bearings they pick up a signature on their radar.
"Commence mission…Engage…" Raven orders as Adam immediately blasts ahead with Winter reacting a bit slower, trailing behind him.
"This isn't a race, Taurus." Winter rebukes as her AC leaps across the sand of the desert, conserving her EN while Adam blasts ahead at full speed using his Assault Boost.
"Just stay out of my way, Schnee. I'll take the Worm myself. You can handle the rest if I leave any."
Winter grits her teeth and then feels the ground shake through her AC as the radar beeps rapidly warning that something is approaching underground,
"Get clear!" she shouts as she leaps to the side with a burst of her thrusters, just as Adam engages his AC's hover mode to stay off the ground and bursts to the side to avoid the maws of the Alpha Blind Worm launching straight up and nearly chomping on him.
"Gah!" Adam yelps in surprise before turning his AC around to face the simulated Grimm, " Finally!"
He fires a barrage of rockets and grenades at its mouth but it quickly dives down before it can strike its mouth, hitting its armor plates instead and only scorching them slightly.
"Be careful! With that type of Grimm, it's recommended at least two teams of Huntsmen take one on." Winter shouts as she starts thinking, "We need to-!"
"I keep telling you, I'll handle this!" Adam roars as the ground shakes once more and Winter realizes it is targeting her now, leaping into the air just as the Blind Worm bursts out of the sand from below. Before she could turn her weapons on it, rockets zip past her and strike its exposed maw causing it to shriek and flail around.
"Hey! You could've hit me!" Winter shouts at him in anger,
"But I didn't! It's a simulation anyways, now move aside unless you want me to really hit you!" Adam shouts as he blasts past Winter without warning; she glares at him before following, firing her linear rifle into the stunned Blind Worm's mouth as Adam reloads and fires another volley.
However, it recovers in time to move its head, causing her linear rifle's shot to deflect off its bone carapace and the explosives to detonate harmlessly over its carapace, burying itself again.
"Damn it! It's on the run now!" Adam growls as he begins giving chase, "So much for quick and easy."
The two ACs launched at full speed to catch up with it,
"We need a plan, Taurus." Winter insists, "I'm the fastest out of all of us, I'll get ahead and drive it back straight to you. Then you do what you want."
"As if I need help from a Schnee!" Adam shot back with surprising venom in his voice. Before she could answer, they heard a voice come from their Instructor,
"Schnee…Taurus…why don't you start a sewing club together…sew those mouths shut?" he grumbles before their radars beep again, "If you're focusing… you'd notice it's deploying reinforcements…"
"Shit, he's right!" Adam mutters as he spots the Blind Worm fly out of the dunes and high-pressure black goo erupts from the joints of its armored carapace, splattering the sands with puddles of black goop, "Spawning pools. Schnee! You volunteered to take care of them right? Well get to it!"
"Don't think you can order me around." Winter grumbles but moves to engage the spawning Young Blind Worms. While they were barely ten meters in length and had no trace of bone carapace, they were still numerous so she struck while they were still in their birthing stage, raining a hail of missiles upon them once she locked into each individual pool.
As she does this, the Alpha Blind Worm turns to face them once more, now confident with numbers on its side. Adam gladly charges headfirst, dashing to the side to avoid it smashing into him as it dug into the sand, waiting patiently while hovering, tracking it through the radar ready to fire when its head burst out again.
Then he found his chance, blasting below himself with a full barrage, staggering it from the sheer concussive force, shaking and flailing before falling onto the ground, stunned and kicking up mounds of sand from its fall.
"I got it!" Adam cheered as he dived down to take it head-on, but then it started moving revealing it had been performing a feint, diving back down and whipping its tail behind, slapping Adam and his AC out of the air, back into the ground.
"AP at 50%!" his onboard computer alerts as Adam recovers from the impact and his AC reboots itself. He turns to glance at the Blind Worm now charging directly at him. Adam braces himself for the impact only for rifle fire and missiles shooting from behind him to go down the open throat of the Blind Worm, forcing it to dive back into the ground for safety as Adam's AC recovers and looks back at Winter.
"You could've hit me," he grumbles only somewhat annoyed as Winter skids to a stop next to him as Adam initiates his repair protocol, a package of microbots is released as they swarm the insides of his AC fixing everything they can.
"But I didn't. It's a simulation anyways." Winter shot back as they watched the Blind Worm recover from a mile away, "Listen, I don't know what your problem is with me, but it doesn't matter now. If we want to get through this, we can't do it by ourselves! So do you want to pass or not?!"
Adam growls looking between her and the Blind Worm, before surprising her by pointing his rocket launcher at her. She froze in surprise at this but then he fires, just missing her and striking at a Young Blind Worm that snuck up behind her.
"If you can't even watch your own back…Fine! I'll get a better score if I come out of this with my wingman intact!" Adam declares reluctantly, before getting interrupted by the Blind Worm screeching as it releases more spawning pools, "I got a plan but I need it to stay in one spot! But the damn thing keeps recovering quickly."
"If you can bring it down like you did just now, I'll pin it down!" Winter says as her linear rifle reloads, "Meanwhile I'll make sure we don't get swarmed."
She charges ahead, charging her linear rifle before finding the right angle and killing three in a single shot while firing her missiles and slaughtering dozens more before wiping out the rest with sweeps from her pulse blade.
Even Adam had to admit, for someone on her second day piloting an AC, she was good. But he'll show her she wasn't the only one that can make an AC dance. The Blind Worm was still circling and waiting for its opportunity, so he decided to give it some bait.
He fires his explosives precisely into the small swarm of Young Blind Worms, careful not to hit his wingman as he provides fire from above before reloading. Then he fakes an engine error, making his thrusters flicker on and off as he descends away from his partner.
Seeing easy prey, the Blind Worm moves to take him, diving down into the dunes before springing up again and again. Adam braces for his opportunity but then finds the Blind Worm tunnelling beneath and away from him.
Adam was confused about where it was going before it sprang straight up a couple meters from him and then slammed back down, swinging its armored body like a flail hoping to sweep him up and crush him.
Adam curses under his breath before restarting his engine and barely managing to burst out of the way in time, providing him the right angle at the Blind Worm's maw.
"Gotcha." he grins before unloading at nearly point blank, the shockwave blasting his AC back as well as he calls out, "Whatever your plan is, Schnee, do it NOW!"
Winter cuts a Young Blind Worm in half with her pulse blade before rushing over to where Adam is, ejecting her rifle's magazine and loading it with Ice Dust-tipped rounds and charging it. As she does this, she takes a deep breath and focuses on her Aura, hoping her guess will prove her right.
True enough, her Semblance began exhibiting itself inside the simulation and a white Glyph appeared in front of the linear rifle's barrel, before she took aim and fired an amplified Ice Dust-tipped magnetically accelerated round at the Blind Worm's neck.
It hits the mark, and the Ice Dust amplified with her Semblance expands until it covers half its neck with a small glacier, before she fires another charged shot that pins its head down with another glacier.
It squirms while entrapped, flailing desperately as the ice starts cracking about to free itself, but Adam gives it no chance. To everyone's surprise, he charges right into the open and roaring mouth of the Alpha Blind Worm, going as fast as his AC would allow and diving down its throat.
Winter watches, too exhausted from exerting her Semblance that much and piloting the AC, as a greenish-blue light erupts from inside its mouth and a moment later it stops squirming and the voice of a surprised Raven taps into the comms,
"...Target destroyed…Mission accomplished…"
SIMULATION ENDED=
Winter gasps as she feels the jolt of being booted out of the simulation, the doors open as she unplugs herself and stumbles out, finding Adam in a similar state as he pulls off his helmet,
"What on Remnant did you just do?" Winter asks as she pants.
"Assault Armor. Modified Pulse Armor that turns it into an explosive pulse of energy instead of a barrier. You were supposed to learn that next week, but fortunately, I had a head start." he smiles cockily and proud of himself, hesitating before continuing, "...Nice shot."
"Was that a compliment I just heard?" Winter smirks despite being exhausted. Before Adam could retort, they heard the cane of Raven tapping on the floor and both stood to attention despite how tired they felt, "Sir!"
"Took ya long enough…" he rasps as he gazes at them with his singular eye, "Mission accomplished…four minutes and twenty seconds…Not bad…could be better…too much argument…Grade C."
Both of them sigh in disappointment at this but Raven continues,
"Chin up…only your second day…You got a long way to go…" Raven mutters before stepping away, "Get out of your flight uniforms…The second team's next…so clear the room."
"Performance…adequate…" Raven says as he looks over the results on his Scroll he displays the rankings on the board behind him, with his exhausted students watching, "...Footage has been sent to your Scrolls…review them…learn from them…Awaiting a report by next week."
Everyone groans at that and he smirks behind his bandages, "Don't be like that…Valuable learning experience…you'll be seeing more paperwork in the future…Everyone's dismissed…except for Adam…have a word with you…Winter can move to the next class…Shouldn't take long."
Winter looks between her partner and instructor concerned before nodding, following the trail of students out of the class leaving the two to talk with one another. Once they were alone they stared at each other before Raven started talking,
"So…how's it going, kid?" Raven asks as Adam sighs,
"Honestly? Could be better." Adam grumbles, "You had to set me up with the Schnee of all people. What were you expecting? Hugs and kisses?"
"You want to be a pilot…Sometimes we work with those we hate…" Raven says, "...Why do you hate her?"
"You really have to ask?" Adam grumbles as Raven shakes his head,
"No…not why you hate the SDC…why do you hate Winter?" Raven insists and Adam growls,
"Because she got to where she is because of suffering from people like me." Adam mutters bitterly, "You know all that, so why did you put me on the same team as her?"
Raven sighs, "Adam…You're one of the brightest kids I know…but have you not learned one thing from today's lesson?"
"That diving into a Blind Worm's throat is disgusting as hell?" Adam shrugs as he cringes at the memory before Raven whacks him in the head with his cane, "Ow!"
"Still stuck with eyes forward…" he grumbles, "And how were you able to take it down…?"
"...The Schnee girl." he grumbles annoyed, "I admit, couldn't have done it without her…Well I could, it'll just take way longer. I admit she's good with an AC so she won't drag me down with her, but it's probably because of her fancy training her family's blood money bought for her."
Raven chuckles behind his bandages, "You'd think that…and you're wrong…Ran away and emancipated when she was fourteen…Father took away her heritage…cut her off from funds…Worked part-time at docks of Atlas, learning to pilot MTs by night…by day she studied in Combat School…graduated top of her class with distinction despite that."
Adam pauses at that, behind his bandana his eyes widening slightly upon hearing that, and before he can say something Raven continues,
"First half of today's lesson…As a pilot you work with who you can…not who you want…sometimes you may hate the one you work with…but ask yourself this…Is the mission worth satisfying a grudge?" he asks, tapping his cane lightly on Adam's chest before gesturing at his bandana around his eyes, "Second half…You don't know anything…unless you try to learn…don't blind yourself just because you think you know everything…"
Adam listens in silence as Raven sighs, before putting a hand on his shoulder, "...You're a good kid…you got talent…skill…the both of you do…Knew someone like you once…pilot…a good one, despite what he thought of himself…but held back by bitterness…full of hate…You could fly higher than he could….maybe higher than I…you just need to stop holding yourself back…Got it?"
For a second his eye glazed over like he was somewhere else in his mind, but before Adam could grow concerned he snapped out of it,
"Sorry…just an old man in the past…Go on, don't want you to be too late for your next class…Ayre will kill me." he chuckles lightly before coughing into a fist.
"...And if you forget to take your meds as well, old man," Adam says looking at him worried as he shrugs it off,
"I'm fine…reconstructive surgery just didn't fix everything." he waves off Adam, "Go on, hotshot…I'll be fine…Just remember what I said, alright?"
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Adam mutters as he leaves the classroom.
Adam grunts as he yanks out a broken component from the head of the LOADER AC he used during his first day of training. He still had to patch it back up as punishment for his 'reckless use of thrusters' as Raven said, and judging by the damage it took from the fall it was gonna take a few days by himself.
He gives the chip a quick inspection before tossing it to his side, recognising it to be unsalvageable. He had better luck replacing it with a new part instead. Sliding on a welding mask he slides in a fresh component into the AC's disassembled head and joins it together with a soldering iron.
As he does this, he hears footsteps and looks away from his work out of curiosity. There shouldn't be anyone else in the hangar besides him this late into the night, and he looks surprised to find Winter Schnee looking around.
"You lost, Schnee?" he asks looking down from the scaffolding that he was standing on, taking off the welding mask to get a better look.
"Well, I was looking for…" Winter looks up at him only to trail off as her face paled to his confusion until he realizes he wasn't wearing his bandana that covered his eyes. He never does when working on his AC.
He silently reaches for the rolled-up bandana next to him and wraps it around his eyes.
"...I suppose I get why you act the way you do," Winter says softly as Adam feels like reacting with sarcasm only for Raven's words to echo in his head as he sighs,
"You came to talk, then get up here. It's a pain having to yell at you from up here," he grumbles as Winter pauses before nodding, climbing up the scaffolding and continuing to look over the LOADER's head for damage,
"So…what are you working on?" Winter asks as an icebreaker as Adam grunts,
"The AC landed face first during our little race yesterday. Some components were damaged like the camera, sensors, microchips, processor and whatnot." Adam mutters as he reaches for a wrench and slides his arm into the head of the AC, twisting back a few loose nuts, "Why are you here?"
"I was planning to work on my own repairs as well, and I heard you were there too, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone." Winter shrugs before wondering, "Can I ask…"
"My eye? What about it?" Adam mutters as he focuses on his repairs, "You wanna ask how I got it? Mount Shroudchill, but you probably never even heard of it."
He grumbles letting a bit of venom slip into his tone,
"I do. The SDC mine in Mistral was destroyed by an unknown force but without a single SDC casualty. All they had were the words of a terrified Sentinel Pilot muttering about how a 'ghost' spared him." Winter says, surprising Adam, "I remember my father publicly decrying the treatment of the state of the Faunus found in the mine, assuring he will do all he can to make sure whoever was in charge faced justice. But then behind closed doors in our manor, the only tear he shed was for the profits lost."
She says sounding equally as bitter as Adam lets out a dry chuckle,
"As expected of the infamous Jacques Schnee." he says before resuming his work, "You can probably guess what happened."
"...There were accusations towards NEST Inc. for being responsible for the attack, but there was not a single bit of evidence that points towards them." Winter recalls, "But I suppose those accusations were true then?"
"Who else would have the power to do all that? The White Fang?" Adam snorts dismissively, "They're just scavengers now under what's-her-name? Khan or whatever. Striking at the SDC with salvaged and modified MTs. I was rescued by a NEST Inc. mercenary, she saved me and gave me a home here."
"And yet you tried to steal an AC?" Winter asks confused as Adam chuckles fondly at the memory,
"Heh, heard that from one of the Watchdogs, eh?" he says with a smile, "Did they tell you I lasted five seconds against Raven? His average time taking down another AC is thirty seconds! I got 1/6th of that time. Not bad for a kid who didn't know what he was doing don't you think?"
"But why did you do that in the first place?" Winter asks, still not understanding, and Adam pauses before sighing.
"Why so curious, Schnee?" Adam asks looking back at her, "Looking to understand the poor abused Faunus ex-slave? I don't need pity, so tell me why you're really here."
"I wanted to understand my partner." Winter says as she pulls something from behind her, "And like I said, I was hoping to talk so we could come to an understanding. But if you insist you don't want my 'pity', I suppose I'll leave and take this with me."
He looks at the bottle of beer and soda she brought, tempted before sighing and giving in, "Fine, I guess I can take a little pity."
Winter sits down and tosses one of the bottles which he catches and flicks open the cap using a finger coated in Aura, "So why did I try to steal an AC? I was a kid who lost his mother in the SDC mines one week ago, standing in front of a machine that only a couple other people have access to across Remnant. A weapon, irrational anger and a clear target in mind, what do you suppose I did?"
"...You would have all the reason to." Winter admits as she drinks from her non-alcoholic beverage, "I saw pictures of what the conditions were like…I can't imagine what it must've been like to be there."
"It was cramped, dark and stank like nothing you'd ever smell before." Adam mutters as he takes another sip, "Where was I…yeah, I stole it while it was preparing for flight but then Raven stopped me. Took me down faster than I could react. Neither he nor the boss wanted me to kill myself by going after the SDC."
"Is that why you want to be a pilot so badly?" Winter asks, "To repay NEST Inc. for taking you in? Or get revenge on the SDC?"
"Surprisingly? None of that." Adam admits, "I wanted to become a pilot…because I wanted to be the next Raven."
"The next Raven?" Winter looks at him in shock and surprise,
"Don't look at me like that." he mutters looking somewhat embarrassed, "I want to live my life free, and I can only do that if I'm strong. So if I'm strong I can choose my destiny, choose my fate, choose my life. Raven is the strongest man I have ever known, so the only way I can truly live freely is if I become the next Raven. It's nothing complex, but it's what I want."
They both sit in silence as they drink from their respective bottles before Adam turns to Winter, "So what about you? I already spilled my guts to you, might as well even things out. A little birdie told me that you ran away from home to be a pilot. Why does a girl with everything abandon it all?"
Winter pauses in thought, "I tell everyone that it was to serve my country…but that's not the exact truth. I do love my kingdom and want to see its people safe, but I have another reason for wanting to be a pilot…Do you know what his calling, Raven, means?"
"Of course I do." Adam scoffs, "He said that in an interview about near the beginning of NEST Inc. I still have the words on my 1st Edition poster plastered on my walls."
"Lucky, I only got the 2nd." Winter chuckles before continuing, "Someone who chooses what they fight for, and takes to the skies in flight. The name Raven is a symbol of resolve, independence and free will…When I heard that, I felt something resonate in me. I knew at that moment I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to be free from the shackles the Schnee name puts on me, I didn't want to be associated with a name corrupted and tainted by my father's horrid actions. I wanted to forge my own path in this world, judged only by my own actions and not the name I was born with."
"...Is it weird if I say it's comforting to hear that not even Jacque Schnee's family likes him?" Adam asks with a small laugh as he takes another sip, "So you want your own freedom as well, by fighting and earning your place in the world…I can respect that at least."
"So we're both more alike than I thought." Winter says as she swirls her bottle of soda, "We both want to become pilots because of Raven."
"So what now?" Adam asks with a shrug, "We suppose to hug it out?"
"I'd rather simply agree to a ceasefire." Winter says, "You dislike me, and I fully understand it. Honestly, I dislike you to an extent as well, you're brutish, reckless, crude, charging headfirst and thinking it can be solved with overwhelming firepower."
"And you're a bossy, snobbish girl who thinks she knows better." Adam shot back as Winter concedes to that with a shrug,
"Touche." she admits, "What I'm saying is that we don't have to like each other, but our performance today could have been much better. We could have easily gotten the top score if we worked with each other from the beginning instead of arguing! We're holding ourselves back."
"Yeah, it's obvious we're the best pilots out of everyone." Adam agreed, before wondering if he was agreeing with the Schnee partially because the alcohol was getting to him?
"So what I'm saying is this, we don't let any of our personal grievances bother us for the rest of our studies, for the sake of professionalism. All that matters here and now is becoming pilots, everything else becomes secondary." Winter explains, "We graduate the top of our class, the best out of everyone, and then we go our separate ways. Me with the Vanguard, and you with NEST to be the next Raven. Do we have an accord, partner?"
She holds out her bottle and after thinking on this for a moment, Adam clinks her bottle with his,
"Yes, we do. Partner."