Scarlet and Cinder walked back into the house silently, neither of them attempting to speak since they left the forest. Scarlet was still processing… well, everything, her parents were murderers and terrorists, she was just starting to process that fact, and then her mother dropped all of that on her. She had a lot of power, the power to change the very weather itself and gods only know what else. But, they had changed, right? She wracked her brain for memories of anything that seemed like them being like who she'd seen in the videos, or like the people her Mother had spoken about, and she came back with nothing. They had never been cruel just for the sake of it, they had never once mistreated her. Hell, they even had friends. Granted, that mostly amounted to Emerald and Mercury along with some other people her Dad knew from work and her Mom knew from teaching archery on the side, but friends regardless. She just didn't see it, maybe they really had changed, but she couldn't just ignore what they'd done, she was still furious with them. Cinder, for her part, knew to let Scarlet process it on her own, she'd speak when she was ready, and she would just have to accept whatever her daughter decided, she just hoped that her little girl would understand. They entered through the back to find Adam testing the new hinge of his front door, watching it move smoothly along its axis and click into place within the frame. He figured it would do, at least until a professional could come in and work on it. He tried to pretend it didn't bother him, after all they weren't in the city, it's not like Patch had a notable crime scene, but years of serving in the White Fang had instilled a instinctual need to know for certain that his environment was truly safe before he laid his head down to rest, an assurance that he wasn't given by a flimsy lock. So, he decided to turn his attention to his family as they walked into the room.

"You guys did this?" Scarlet asked, motioning to the door. She was eager to talk about anything, anything other than what was currently on her mind. The attempt at deflection didn't go unnoticed by Adam, who looked to Cinder, his lover raising her prosthetic limb to tell him to give Scarlet a moment, just a brief moment of normalcy before he demanded answers from her.

"Your dad and Jet mostly, I just kinda held it in place so that they could get it in the right position." Jin said, chuckling sheepishly. He wanted to do more, considering he'd been the one to send Adam through the door, which destroyed it in the first place, but there really wasn't much more he could do without getting in the way, and honestly, Jet just seemed a lot better with tools than he was, so he chose to help wherever he could.

"Aaand Lumi?" Scarlet asked, noting the lack of the girl's mention in Jin's explanation. She looked over to her partner, only to receive a scoff as the blonde rolled her eyes.

"They had it handled. Besides, I don't know the first thing about carpentry, or whatever this is called." Lumi said, defending herself from Scarlet's obviously accusatory question.

"Yeah, guess I shoulda known better than to expect you to do any hard work, didn't wanna ruin your delicate little hands?" The growing smirk on Scarlet's face was only the second most irritating thing about her little teasing comment. No, the part that bothered her most was that it had gotten a chuckle from Jet and Jin. Normally, she'd have felt the urge to snap at Scarlet for such a comment, but for some reason it didn't bother her as much as she'd have thought, maybe it was just the fact that after… well, everything, it just didn't matter in comparison. So instead of shooting back with something scathing, she just scoffed and crossed her arms, both in a heavily exaggerated fashion, before shooting back playfully.

"And to think I was actually going to be nice to you." Lumi? Taking part in banter? Scarlet had to do a double take. Hell, she'd almost pinched herself to check if she was dreaming or not. This was the closest they'd come to actual progress aside from saving each other's lives.

"Hmm, nah, that would be weird." she chuckled, soon joined by Lumi, who, despite her attempts couldn't keep the giggles from turning into a full on laugh, to which Scarlet soon joined in turn. It felt good, she couldn't remember the last time she had a genuine laugh.

From the side Adam smiled, seeing Scarlet laughing like that, and with someone she'd been fighting with no less, was a weight lifted off his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief, he was proud of her, knowing for a fact that he couldn't have been so carefree at her age. That had been his biggest fear throughout this, that he'd ruin her, make her like him… but no, she was better than him. It made this easier, that out of all of his mistakes, it was a relief that he could honestly say the way he raised Scarlet wasn't one of them. He walked up to them, giving them just a moment longer to enjoy the moment before he spoke up.

"Scarlet." The redhead went stiff as she heard her Father speak, but knowing there was no point in putting it off any further, she turned around to face him. She'd expected a lecture or for him to try and give her another lesson, but instead he just… stood there. It took a moment for the bovine girl to realize it, but he was waiting for her to speak, giving her the opportunity to say what was on her mind.

"I'm not ready to forgive you yet." She didn't really know how else to say it, it was all just too fresh, explanation or not, she was still pissed at them. To his credit, her Dad didn't even scowl, instead nodding his head understandingly.

"Okay, I understand." That wasn't what she had expected. Then again, recent events had given her a new perspective of her parents, but she was thankful nonetheless that he wasn't pushing for her to just get over it. He was trying, they both were, so she figured she should try too, right?

"But… look, I just need time okay? All this shit was just dropped on me- Just give me time to digest all this crap." Adam nodded, giving her time was the least he could do for her after everything he'd put her through.

"Take as long as you need Scarlet, we'll always be here for you if you need us." Cinder said, taking her spot at Adam's side. Scarlet nodded, she didn't know when she'd get over these revelations, hell, she didn't know if she ever would, but the fact that they were letting her process it in her own time helped.

"Thanks, I love you guys." Scarlet said. She took a step closer, hesitating for a moment before throwing her arms around them, hugging her parents tightly while she still could.

"We love you too baby." Cinder said, wrapping her human arm tightly around Scarlet. It wasn't a phrase said often in their home, but Scarlet never once questioned the truth of it, because it was always felt. Their small moment didn't last long however, as the sound of an engine outside caught everyone's attention. Filing out onto the lawn, they were greeted with the sight of a bullhead setting down in the clearing, the symbol of Beacon Academy clearly visible on its fuselage as it set down upon the front lawn. The side door opened up moments later to reveal a tall blond knight who Scarlet immediately recognised as Lumi's father. Adam recognised the man as well, sighing in irritation.

"You called your father on us?" he asked, raising his good eyebrow at Lumi, who shook her head.

"We didn't call anyone." Jet said, just as surprised as the rest at the man's sudden appearance. Jaune walked over to the porch, stopping as he saw the students and Lumi standing there together. Taking a moment to compose himself, Jaune looked to the occupants of the house with barely concealed disdain.

"Adam. Cinder." Choosing to ignore the knight's tone, Adam stepped forward, having his own bone to pick with the man.

"Jaune, is there a reason you didn't tell me that my daughter was attacked?" Adam asked in a very pointed manner, less than pleased that he had heard about it from Scarlet coming home on her rampage rather than the Beacon administration, let alone the fact that it had happened at all.

"That's why I'm here, actually," Jaune said with a sigh. He then turned to the students, motioning back towards the vehicle. "All of you, wait in the bullhead."

"But-" Before Lumi could protest further, her father cut her off.

"No 'buts', you're already in big trouble for ditching class and leaving school grounds during class hours." he snapped, leaving no room for discussion. Most of the team left, save for Scarlet, who stayed just a moment longer to give her goodbyes to her Mom and Dad. As soon as they were out of earshot, Juane turned back to Adam and Cinder, the Mistrali woman looking him up and down, trying to remember him. Jaune chose to assume she wasn't trying to be condescending by giving him that look.

"Never took you as the disciplinarian." Adam said, breaking the tense silence, and getting a tired groan from Jaune, who chose to just ignore Cinder for the sake of his own sanity.

"I'm really not… I feel like an ass for having to do that." the blond admitted, glancing back at the bullhead guiltily. He rarely raised his voice with Lumi, never had to outside of very rare instances of her misbehaving, and it hurt to watch her sulk away like a kicked puppy.

"So, Callows?" Adam asked, bringing the conversation back to the girl who'd attacked Scarlet.

"She told you then? Yeah, it was his daughter, Lavender." Adam raised an eyebrow, his interaction with Tyrian was brief and bloody, but it more than gave him an idea of the kind of man he was. Someone like that being a father was as alien a concept as him and Cinder being parents likely was to Jaune.

"Has she been found?"

"No, right now we think she's gone underground, but we're looking for her." Adam nodded, not overly pleased, but he knew there wasn't much he could do at this point, especially with a spotlight being shined on his name recently.

"I see, are we in danger?"

"Maybe, she had her father's journal with her, and the last few sections of his deranged ramblings mention new followers of his 'faith', indicating some kind of infant cult. All we know for sure is that she's connected and she has a vendetta against you. Just keep an eye out and message one of us if you see anything suspicious." Adam sighed, of all things that would come back to haunt him, the last thing he'd had expected was that psychopath having a child… a child he'd made fatherless. He understood her anger, the loss of family was a common motivator for people to join the Fang, and now, just like the Fang, just like him, this girl had been swept up by an organization to be used as a weapon. He would have pitied her if she hadn't made an attempt on Scarlet's life.

"I see, thank you for the warning."

"Thank Ozpin, if it was up to me, you'd both be on your own." With that, Jaune turned around, the message having been delivered. Unbeknownst to them, however, two students had just barely managed to hear the conversation over the sound of the Bullhead's engine. Scarlet looked to Jin, who's confused look told her that he'd heard them as well. Whatever he made of it, she'd have to wait and see once they got back to their dorm.

Lavender's yellow eyes looked over the club, taking in every detail. She remembered it well, the open floor that she, Romeo, JJ, and the twins would all run around on during the day. Now, seeing it in the evening, it was… different to say the least. She could feel the music in her very bones, and the genre, ugh, techno, really? They could have at least played something classical. Not to mention that there were dozens of bodies, if this was the night when it was just getting started, it was easy to imagine hundreds of people grinding together in the mosh pit when it really got going, as well as the neon lights just barely illuminating the space, even with her eyes naturally adjusting to the dark. The atmosphere was nothing like she remembered, but then again, she'd never been around when the club was actually open to patrons. The previously familiar location filled her with a sense of wonder as she was shown a new side of the club that was just as much her home as JJ's and his parents. Romeo sat back for a moment to watch her take in the sight, staring in awe just like he had when he'd first seen the stark contrast in how the club looked when in full swing compared to the emptiness of daytime. Come to think of it, he was around her age, maybe a year younger, when he'd first started hanging around the club at night. He was a little too young, but really, what did Neo expect, she'd raised him to be a liar and a charlatan, obviously he wasn't going to follow her rules either, especially when she was hardly even a mother in the first place. He'd always wondered what Lavender would have thought of it, given that she'd ran away from home a few years before he'd even think about letting her roam around this sort of place at night, and to be honest, even now he still didn't really like the idea despite Lavender being nearly eighteen. She stood out like a sore thumb, not just because of the obvious 'fish out of water' energy she was giving off, but because she literally glowed under the light, her typically dark tail now rendered a bright neon green under the ultraviolet lights. She was attracting stares from some of the still sober patrons, which was bad for a few reasons, namely that he'd already made enough bodies for the day and he really didn't want to add more to that list because of some punk who wanted to get lucky, but more importantly, the point of coming here to begin with was to lay low, the last thing he needed was a Huntsman or Huntress poking around now. Well, there was one Huntress he could manage, but she was probably busy dealing with Lavender's mess.

"C'mon, I don't know about you, but I could use a rest." Romeo said before taking the lead down the steps. Being snapped out of her thoughts, Lavender quickly followed him and stayed close to his side, not wanting to be left behind. Thankfully, he avoided the crowd of dancing drunks, well, she wouldn't call what she saw dancing so much as just people flailing and getting pushed around in the crowd. As they made their way to the back, she was able to relax a bit more, as they were away from the crowd and into the familiar hallways. Eventually, Romeo led her up to the penthouse which would evidently be their home for the time being. She had plenty of thoughts on that, they'd really just be living together again like nothing had ever happened? Sure, they were family, but that didn't erase the past and what she'd been through, he didn't even know her at this point… but at least he still cared about her. Despite her attacking him, he was letting her into his home and looking out for her, just like he always had. Being as tired as she was, she was fine letting the topic sit for the night. Opening the door, she'd expected it to be empty inside, so when she saw a rather large man already there, her instincts took over and she quickly activated her gauntlets, only to wince in pain as her shoulder flared up. While her Aura had reset the bone, she was far from fully healed, but the moment of hesitation allowed her to realize that she recognised the man in front of her, and he immediately recognised her as well.

"Holy shit, Lav?" The man knew her rather well in fact. JJ ignored the weapons, the surprise and elation at seeing the girl apparently overriding any sense of self preservation. When Romeo had told him to meet him in the penthouse with the good stuff, he'd expected that tracking her had gone south, and this was one of the few times that he was glad to be wrong. He walked right up to her and effortlessly picked her up, granted, he was seven feet tall and she was an inch shy of five, so that was no surprise. With her feet dangling in the air she winced, still sore from the fight and fire, and she froze up, going rigid as he looked her up and down, taking in the changes in her appearance, how she'd aged and… slightly grown since she'd left almost three years ago. Flashing her that bright smile she had grown to love when she was younger, he pulled her into a hug that was shockingly gentle for a man of his size. She sighed and melted into him, more than ready to welcome some affection from an old friend after the week she'd had.

"I missed you too, Hei." All too soon the moment ended as he carefully set her down.

"Ah don't call me that, it's JJ with us, remember?" Right, Junior Junior, she chuckled, both at the nickname itself and that he still actually wanted to be called that. Meanwhile, JJ grabbed a bottle on the table along with a few glasses, setting them down and pouring the three of them some sort of brown liquor she didn't recognise the smell of. She hesitated, looking between her brother and friend who were already downing their drinks. It wasn't her first drink, Henna had let her have a taste of wine every now and then to celebrate a successful mission, and this reunion was something to celebrate. Lifting the drink to her lips she took a sip, only to recoil as the taste was more pungent than she had expected, the liquid burning her throat as it went down, causing her to cough. Did they really just drink this crap with no issue?

"Right… it's good to see you again, how are the twins?" She asked, taking a much smaller sip this time to try and adjust to the taste.

"Good, Mav's working with Auntie Mil, and Melo's thinking about going into art school believe it or not." That got Lavender to smile, she'd worried about them since running away. Being members of an organized crime family meant that danger was just a normal part of life, something Neo had instilled in her and Romeo from a young age to be careful about, so it was a relief to hear they were all still alive and not in a maximum security prison like she'd feared.

"Thank the Goddess, I prayed that you'd all be doing well." JJ's eyebrow raised at the term 'Goddess', since as far as he knew, they weren't exactly a religious family. He looked over to Romeo hoping for some insight, only to be met by his friend's lips pursed in an attempt to keep the scowl off his face. The other man just shook his head, indicating to not ask about it.

"Well, hey, now that you're back, we should get everyone together, maybe even have Cheshire and Catherine stop by!" JJ said, honestly just hoping to change the subject away from whatever that had been about. Lavender scowled as he mentioned his lover, Catherine was the la- okay, the second to last person she wanted to see right now. Romeo sighed, as usual it was on him to get things back on track. He loved JJ like a brother, but the man could be rather dense sometimes, especially when he was thinking about a certain cat Faunus.

"As nice as that sounds, we need to lay low for a bit. This is more of a toast, we can really get to celebrating once we're done." Romeo said, setting his glass down, there was still a lot of planning to do. While he'd had no intentions of just sitting along the sidelines longer than he had to, he'd still need Steele to handle things for the time being while he took care of the more personal matters at hand.

"Wait… I thought we were done?" their family friend said, confused, looking between the two of them. As far as he knew, this was the plan, to use the outing of Adam's kid to get Lavender back to Vale, actually helping her with icing a Huntress in training was never even discussed.

"Not until Scarlet is dead." Lavender said, confirming the suspicions that he'd hoped were wrong. Her tone left no room for argument, in her mind she had come all the way to Vale to kill the redhead, and she wasn't going to focus on anything else until she'd made Adam feel the pain of having his life torn apart like he had done to her, no, not just her, Romeo too. Tyrian might not have been his father, but they had been a family before he ruined it all.

"Lav, look, I know what her dad did, but if you kill a Beacon student, they're gonna bring all of us down." JJ pleaded, looking over to Romeo as well. He'd expected this sort of thing from her, but he knew better than to go poking the hornet's nest of Vale's strong Huntsmen presence. Sighing, Romeo glanced over to his sister, who was no less determined than a moment prior.

"He's right, Lavender." To say she wasn't pleased with his response was an understatement, she stomped her foot like a child and glared up into his mismatching eyes as she strode forward.

"What!? No, think about everything we went through! It's all because of her father, she-"

"Isn't the one who killed Dad." Romeo snapped, cutting her off. "She's not even in the game, and believe it or not, I know how shitty it is to have your old man's sins put on your shoulders."

"So, we do nothing? Just forgive and forget?" Lavender seethed as she walked back over to the table. No, that was not happening, even if she had to do it without his help, she was avenging her Father. He just didn't understand that things would be better, that they could move past it, move past Mom, and be the family they were, a bigger family at that.

"No, you're right, there's a debt to be paid. But it's Adam's, not Scarlet's." Romeo said. At a glance, JJ seemed happy enough with the compromise, but he wasn't the one he was hoping to satisfy. In truth, he didn't like getting his hands dirty; he'd rather deal with the current setback, especially considering that with Lavender at his side, it would be very short lived. But if it took settling the little family feud to get her mind looking towards the future… Well, not many people were going to lose sleep over Adam Taurus dying, he was a far more palatable target, and with her need for revenge finally out of her system, Lavender would likely be more willing to listen to reason, and hopefully then he could get that 'Goddess' nonsense out of her head. Lavender just sighed before staring down into her drink, she wanted to argue with him, but she couldn't think of a counter to his point, at least not one he'd listen to. She sighed and nodded, letting the matter rest for now. She'd speak with Henna about this when she got the chance, she would know what to do, she always did. Romeo would see that too once they met, after all, they all shared a Dad in Tyrian, that made her his big sister as well, she just had to be patient and he'd understand it all.

"Okay." Lavender conceded for the moment as she downed her drink, the familiar burn accompanying it.

The return to Beacon was quiet, no one saying a single word on the trip back, though all for different reasons. Lumi was dreading the scolding they were no doubt going to be on the receiving end of in a few minutes, she'd already been reprimanded by her father and now she, along with the rest of her team, were going to be getting a double dose. Jet simply didn't know what to say, as quick-witted as he could be when he wanted to, they were completely and utterly screwed in this case, so there wasn't really any angle to lighten the mood, at least, not one that he could see. Scarlet and Jin, however, were mulling over a different matter, that the scorpion girl was part of a cult. That alone was hard to fathom, like an honest to gods band of weirdos in robes meeting in a dark basement and praying over some rocks, or at least, that was what Scarlet was imagining. The implications were honestly more worrying, Lumi's dad wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't a problem. Were they in danger? Sure, that girl was after her for personal crap, but what kind of group would someone naturally that adept at fighting and that crazy be involved with? And her Mom's power… there's no way that was natural, maybe it was a coincidence, but too much was lining up for that to be the case. Is that why her Dad had killed the scorpion girl's father? It was all hitting her at once, making her head spin as she tried to make sense of it all until she felt a large hand squeezing her own, snapping her out of her spiraling thoughts. Looking over at Jin, the boy gave her a calm and gentle smile, the kind that just put her at ease and made her problems feel so far away. Letting herself relax, Scarlet leaned back into her seat, looking towards her other teammates, Jet was busy looking out the window, stewing over his own thoughts as he usually did, and Lumi was staring at them with an annoyed look, her attention particularly drawn to the space in between them. Scarlet glanced at the hand still on her own, and then to Lumi…

Ooooh, it was like that huh? Scarlet chuckled, taking her hand out from underneath Jin's and using it to fix her hair, shooting Lumi a wink. She would have teased her further, but after today, the least she could do was play nice with her partner. Besides, she didn't really have the time even if she wanted to tease Lumi, she could see the Vale skyline out of the window, and the Bullhead landed soon after. The four of them were led up to the Headmistress's office, where they were met with an irate Glynda, taking only a few minutes of the woman's harsh admonishment for them to shrink in their seats. Scarlet got the worst of it as the blonde stood directly in front of her, stern emerald eyes meeting fearful amber ones.

"Of all the irresponsible and self centered things you could have done, you somehow not only chose the action that put yourself and your entire team in danger, but your family's as well? Your attacker hasn't been found, you know that, right? You could have been killed!" If her goal was to make the redhead feel bad about what she'd done, it was working. The usually fiery girl said nothing as the words sunk in and she imagined that crazy girl finding out where she lived, finding out where her Mom and Dad slept, about Emerald, Mercury, and Lupin just down the road…

"I know… I'm sorry Ma'am…" Scarlet said weakly, looking down at her feet. Lumi watched as Goodwitch laid into Scarlet, and while it was arguably deserved, she knew deep down it wasn't all her fault, she just couldn't let her leader take all of this on her own when she knew she'd played a part in this herself, even if it was much smaller in comparison.

"If I may, Scarlet only left because of my actions. If I hadn't blown up at her to begin with, none of this would have happened in the first place." Despite her efforts to come across as diplomatically as she could, Lumi was met with a sharp glare from the woman, her confidence immediately wavering under the Headmistress's hard gaze, causing her to sit down and hold her breath.

"Oh, not to worry, the three of you are just as much in trouble as Miss Taurus-Fall, especially since two of you have direct lines to staff members who would've been far more capable of de-escalating the situation than any of you."

"We were just worried about her!" Jin was the one to speak up this time, however his outburst was met with a crack from the woman's riding crop against the area of desk directly in front of him as she stared him down, causing the boy to clam up. Seeing that she once again had their attention, Glynda continued as though she'd never been interrupted.

"I believe I have been very lenient with you, I overlooked Miss Arc-Schnee riling up the student body over a controlled situation, I overlooked Miss Taurus-Fall's public lack of control on multiple occasions, and while you boys have been well behaved as far as I'm aware, that just means you should've known better." Lime green eyes watched as her students were taking in what she said. Thankfully, it seemed that they understood that their actions were wrong, or at the very least, understood that such actions were not going to be tolerated going forward, either option being acceptable to her. "I could suspend all of you, have you barred from participating in the Vytal Festival this year… but I don't think that would help you."

She was met with four confused looks from SJJL, Lumi audibly letting out the breath she'd been holding in. Truthfully, she had expected a suspension to be her getting off easy.

"Headmistress Goodwitch?" She didn't answer right away, as, unbeknownst to them, she took some amusement in their reactions. If not for their earlier foolishness requiring her to approach this meeting with a firm hand, she'd be showing pride.

"Last month you two were quite literally out for each other's blood, so, as misguided as your efforts today were, it's undeniably progress. As such I believe that spending the next month together in detention will help you make even more progress. Your punishment starts tomorrow, dismissed." And to the shock of all four members of SJJL, that was that, and soon after they piled into the elevator.

"Well, that could have gone better." Scarlet sighed. While she was upset over the punishment they'd be facing, for the moment, she was just happy to no longer be on the receiving end of the Headmistress's ire.

"It also could have gone much worse" Lumi countered, relief easy to read on her face. Her expectations had been far lower than Scarlet's, who, unlike her, was no stranger to getting in trouble.

"Still, a whole month? Ugh, I've been dealing with this crap since day one." The horned girl complained, earning a side eye from Jet, who was just as used to being dragged into her antics as he was getting dragged into her punishments.

"To be fair, the second time was your fault." Jet pointed out, causing Scarlet to scoff indignantly, he knew damn well it wasn't entirely her fault.

"Oh come on, Alaska literally set me up!"

"Which she wouldn't have been able to do if you didn't overreact, like usual." While the two bickered, Jin watched on curiously.

"Oh so she's always been like this?" The deep voice of the large monkey man asked with an almost childlike innocence.

"More or less." Jet answered without a hint of hesitation.

"Wha- traitor!" As Scarlet whined, Lumi couldn't help but to giggle at the situation, even after everything that went down they were still finding something to bicker about, which helped her nerves, even if it was only slightly. Soon after, the elevator door opened, revealing BGEL. Goose was waiting right by the doors, a worried look on her face, next to her was a much calmer Elizabeth, and behind them Lao sat patiently next to Belka as the girl filed down her nails.

"So… how bad?" Elizabeth asked. While she wasn't as familiar with Glynda, she knew from her half sister that the woman took discipline very seriously, yet they weren't all devastated, so she assumed it wasn't that bad.

"Detention for a month, there goes my perfect record." Lumi lamented as they started to walk back to the dorms. Back home she was never so much as scolded by a teacher, but now that was all for naught, as she'd be spending the next thirty days being punished like some sort of delinquent.

"Well look on the bright side, I'll be there with you guys for the first week." Goose said, sounding rather chipper for someone who was similarly being punished, even if it was to a lesser extent.

"Wait, what? Why?" Jin asked, confused as to what his cousin could have possibly gotten in trouble for, Goose just chuckled nervously, which in response caused Belka to speak up.

"She accidentally dropped a primed Dust vial into the ammo stock." SJJL all stopped in their tracks, dumbfounded and more than a little shocked. Lumi just sighed, with something of that magnitude, she assumed that Grandpa Qrow had walked by, his Semblance always did end up influencing Goose's, or maybe it was the other way around? Either way, she was certain they'd been in close proximity when the incident occurred.

"Oh crap, is everyone okay?" Scarlet asked, getting a nod from her friend, who was just as unfazed by the event as she would be a light breeze.

"Yup, thankfully the shrapnel missed everyone!" There was no response as the others took a small step away from the smiling salt and pepper haired girl.

"Hol' up, is that who I think it is?" Before they could comment on that however, a familiar accented voice called out, grabbing the attention of the group. Scarlet was already irritated by Alaska showing up, as if she didn't have enough on her plate with the detention and what she had learned about parents' history and this mysterious cult, now she had to deal with battling the temptation to break her nose. Turning to face her, she saw the girl wasn't alone, Vera was standing off to the side, just watching for the moment with Aethelflad, who had a wide smirk on her face. Only Loyal actually stood by Alaska.

"Just ignore her." Lumi said, grabbing her partner's arm and trying to pull her away, stopping once she saw that there was a collection of students gathering around them, eager to see what would happen this time after Scarlet's last interaction with Alaska almost ended in a brawl. Now, with both teams present, they were hoping for that spark to actually go off.

"Scarlet, is that you? I heard you ran off. What're you doing back?" Alaska said with mock concern, walking right up to the team, unbothered by the numbers difference at the moment. She shot Lumi a predatory look that made the smaller girl tense up. Chuckling at her reaction, she turned back to Scarlet and asked, "Finishing what you started?"

"Just fuck off, Alaska." Scarlet growled, similarly stepping up, this time being grabbed by Jet. He looked Alaska up and down, a blank look on his face as he finally got a look at the woman who'd been nothing but a headache for the last month. Frankly, he was unimpressed with what he saw.

"Wait, this is the girl? You're letting someone with a dead rat on her head get under your skin?" Scarlet saw what Jet was trying to do, show her that Alaska just wasn't worth getting upset over, and in spite of her anger, the way he completely dismissed her, despite what she'd done, just made his point stronger. It might have also helped that the slightly more childish members of their friend group actually laughed at the comment, Jin was more polite in trying to hide his snicker, gently holding his hand in front of his mouth, while Goose just let herself laugh, repeating 'dead rat' and nudging Belka, who similarly smirked. But, what really proved his point was the flash of anger from the bluenette that briefly made its way to her eyes, a momentary twitch in her otherwise perfect facade. Scarlet aborted the comment she was about to make and started to think, why the hell was she giving this bitch exactly what she wanted? Alaska, however, had the exact opposite response, suddenly reaching out and grabbing Jet by his blazer, pulling him forward so he was right in her face. Jet's eyes widened at the provocation, he hadn't actually expected her to get physical over a stupid little joke like that. He pulled at her wrist, but embarrassingly, her size wasn't just for show, she was indeed stronger than him and seemingly had every intention to prove it, the few inches she had over him suddenly feeling like several miles.

"Ohhh, your little friend sure has a mouth on 'im." Scarlet saw red as she grabbed onto Jet, she could try to keep her head cool against the bully talking shit, but actually putting her hands on her friends, especially Jet? Nuh uh, that was where she drew the line, and if she got her way, she was going to feed the blue haired Vacuoan her own teeth! Thankfully, someone else acted first, easily pulling on Jet and pushing on Alaska hard enough to separate the two in an instant, but moving gently enough so that she didn't fall over, just stumbling back a few feet. Scarlet pulled Jet back into the larger group, giving him a momentary look over to make sure he was fine, and then turned her eyes back to Alaska, hoping she would get an excuse to break some teeth.

"Please leave my friends alone." Jin asked in a calm yet firm voice, placing himself between Alaska and his team. In response to her friend getting pushed, Aethel stepped up in case she needed backup, but Alaska was only excited by this new development.

"Pfft, 'please'. You beggin' me big guy?" Placing her hands on her hips, Alaska started sizing him up. He was big, sure, but so were Grimm, and she wasn't scared of them neither. Loyal, on the other hand, was starting to get worried, not only was Jin a solid foot taller than herself and Aethel, but with BGEL there, this was even less fun than when it was just Scarlet. She started tugging on Alaska's skirt, trying to pull her back.

"C'mon 'Laska, he's being polite, let's just go."

"Oh quit yer frettin', I've taken bigger." Jin frowned, despite his efforts, Alaska was just as determined to start something as she was before, and while he couldn't see her currently, Scarlet looked more than ready to start swinging before he stepped in.

"Okay, that's enough." Thankfully, it didn't come to that as Belka stepped in, arms crossed and scowling directly into the taller woman's eyes.

"Excuse you?" Alaska tilted her head, she recognised this girl, the one who stayed in the back where it was safe and recorded her when froggy got all uppity. So now she wanted to step up, huh? Okay, this could be fun too.

"No, I will not be excused. What on Remnant is your problem? You're supposed to be training to be a Huntress, yet here you are, starting some childish spat with two girls who were attacked yesterday. But, I guess you didn't read the warning flyers, which is unsurprising, I'd be shocked if a hick like you even can read." Just who in the Sand-Hill did this girl think she was? Looking at her like shit on her boot, talking down to her like that, she could snap her prissy ass in half like a toothpick. Or, was it possible she was more willing to throw down now that she wasn't in them fancy clothes her daddy got for her? When the crowd laughed at Belka's comment about her reading ability, her anger hit a whole new level. Being from Vacuo, especially the area she was from, education wasn't exactly a priority, but to use that to make her seem like an idiot? Oh, she was gonna make her regret that. But, to the shock of not just Alaska, but everyone, Belka went red in the face with anger as the crowd laughed, turning on her heel and snapping at them as well. "Don't you snicker at that, like any of you are better. I've heard what you say about Scarlet and the rest of her team when they aren't around, and why? Because of something that happened before she was even born? That's pathetic."

The crowd of students had seemingly gone in a full rotation of how they felt, murmuring and looking away sheepishly. While most seemed to be awkwardly ignoring the fact that she'd just called them out in front of everyone, some were growing indignant, trying to justify their actions and brushing off her words as nonsense, while others still actually seemed to take a step back and reconsider what they'd done, a few even slinking away. Seeing the crowd start to waver, Alaska knew she'd lost control over the situation, and as much as she wanted to give the girl in front of her a shiner, she knew better than to start something with the crowd this divided, so instead, she swallowed her pride for the moment.

"You know what? Yer right." Alaska smirked behind Belka and Jin over at Scarlet, who in turn flipped her off. "You ain't no fun anymore, I thought you had balls."

With her last word in, Alaska turned, walking off with the rest of her team following shortly behind. As they left, the crowd also started to break away, eventually leaving SJJL and BGEL there in the hall, still processing the whole confrontation.

"Well, we're probably the second least popular team in school now." Elizabeth said, crossing her arms as she watched the last of the stragglers disperse.

"And I suppose you have a problem with that?" Belka asked with an accusatory raising of her eyebrow. The tiny girl thought about it for a moment, but just ended up shrugging.

"Screw them, I'm not here to make friends anyway. I'm just surprised that you of all people stood up for Scarlet."

"Well, maybe it's because I know what it's like to be unfairly judged for your heritage." Belka said, ignoring the twin scowls that immediately earned her from her nieces, and turning to Scarlet, an apologetic look appearing on her face. "If anything, I should have spoken up sooner."

Despite her somber and regretful tone, Belka soon found herself getting pulled in closer to Scarlet, her arm roped around her neck as she was pulled into what she assumed was a hug by the smiling redhead.

"No, don't worry about it, that was really cool of you to do that. Thanks man!" Belka had to stop herself from correcting Scarlet that she was in fact not a 'man'. After all, this was one of the few times she was even interacting with someone outside of her team, let alone in a positive light, and she wasn't going to waste it.

"Soooo, since we're the loser teams now, we should all hang out!" Goose said, elated to see her friends getting along and no longer caring about how they'd be seen.

"I don't think we're losers exactly, just unpopular." Lao pointed out, not bothered by the designation being put on them because of its implications, but because it was incorrect. Stepping closer to the group, he shrugged and nodded along. "But if we're all in the same boat, it would be smart to try and stick together."

"Is that a yes?" Jet asked, looking over to Elizabeth as if she'd have a better reading of the blank faced ginger.

"It's the most enthusiasm I've seen him express since we got here, so I'll assume that it's a yes."

In Team SLVR's dorm, Alaska slammed the door, taking a deep breath in, then out. Then, as soon as she remembered that they were alone now, she turned to the nearest wall and punched it as hard as she could, her fist effortlessly caving in the drywall as she snapped.

"That stuck up lil' spoilt bitch thinks she can just talk to me like that? Why? Cuz daddy's some Atlas suit!? I'll wring her scrawny little neck!" The outburst from Alaska caused her team to flinch, while they weren't strangers to her temper, the suddenness of the outburst was a shock. Alaska never bottled up her feelings, good or bad, so being forced to back down and act calm only made her more upset.

"Woah! Alaska, calm down." Vera said softly, trying to get her leader under control, stopping once she saw Alaska's fist clench once more, something Loyal didn't notice as she walked up to the bluenette.

"Y-yeah, it's not a big deal we ca-." That was all the Faunus managed to say before her friend lashed out, unable to contain her anger.

"DON'T TELL ME-" Alaska stopped herself as she saw Loyal wince away from her shout, her tail hiding between her legs as she started to tremble. No- damn it, she hadn't meant to snap at the sweet little thing like that, and her guilt only grew as tears threatened to spill from the small Faunus's eyes. Alaska sighed and reached out, gently petting the top of Loyal's head, trying to soothe her partner. "Sorry, I'm calm, see? I ain't mad at you, just lost my temper, that's all."

Loyal nodded, she knew Alaska got loud when she was mad, but with her feelings still hurt, her bottom lip quivered. She held her arms open, silently asking her friend for a hug, which Alaska granted, gently petting her hair as she buried her face into the taller girl's shoulder. As the mood calmed down a bit, Aethelflad got to thinking, a small yet no less cruel smirk forming on her face.

"Y'know, I think you actually had a point back there." she said, her voice a familiar, playful tone that implicitly let the other girls know she had an idea brewing.

"She did?" Vera asked, a blonde eyebrow raising in confusion. "About what?"

"Big Red's not really fun anymore, especially with her team keeping her on a leash, but that girl, what was her name, Bella?"

"Belka, she's the one who recorded me when the toad got in our business." Alaska pointed out, once again getting upset over the girl who had twice now inserted herself into a situation she wasn't involved in.

"Exactly, her, did you see how red her face was? I don't think we've ever looked at her before today and she was that pissy over it." Alaska chewed on the idea for a moment. It wasn't really her type of game, she liked targets who would fight back and it was obvious that Belka was soft, based on the way she stayed on the side lines and recorded or only spoke up when there were seven other people at her back. Then again, she thought about how the girl spoke to her, outright calling her a 'hick'. Why, because being from that big city in the sky made her better? Oh, that got her blood boiling, if not her, then someone else needed to teach that little tart a lesson. Actually, that was a good idea. If anything, she was doing the girl a favor, this wasn't like home where being top dog meant daddy's wallet was the fattest, if she wanted to stick her nose in other people's business, she had to be ready for it to get broken, and it was better if Alaska taught her that then someone actually dangerous like a criminal. With a nod, Alaska was already sold on Aethel's plan, not that she needed too much convincing, they were usually good plans.

"You know what, you're right, maybe we should give her something to actually be mad about."