Chapter 6
As the four of them strolled into the classroom, the bell rang, making it plain that they'd only just made it in time. This meant that there were only seats left tucked right at the back, all others having been claimed before their arrival. Dahlia sighed, and shook her head as the teacher turned towards them, disapproval creasing his brow.
"Well, Team WYRD. How nice of you all to finally join us. Please, take your seats." He gestured towards the empty chairs. Once the almost-late students had sat down, he huffed into his moustache, and began his lecture.
"Welcome to Grimm Studies, students. I am Professor Port, and in my class you shall learn how to identify individual Grimm from the tracks they leave, their general behaviours, and most importantly, the inherent weaknesses of each particular type. In short, I am going to help you learn how to view the monstrous creatures, these embodiments of chaos and destruction, these… Grimm, as nothing more than prey."
As opening speeches went, William supposed he'd heard worse. If Port had managed to keep it to that as an upper limit to the nonsense he spewed, he could probably have coped. Unfortunately, the man had already managed to launch into a tangential story that only had a very loose connection to anything that he'd mentioned at the start of the lesson. He listened with half an ear, and quickly reached the conclusion that if Port had managed even half of what he seemed to be claiming, the old man must have been the reincarnation of the last king of Vale, who apparently could lay waste to an entire battlefield alone. He glanced around, and could see that his classmates were all already starting to drift off. He recognised the team immediately in front of them though. They were the idiots who had led the Grimm directly to the temple during initiation, and then left in such a way as to leave him and Rust picking up their pieces.
Team SPRK.
One of whom was turning around, and seemed to be trying to get Dahlia's attention. He wracked his brain, trying to remember which one it was, and then it clicked. This was the one whose only memorable trait was his name: Kevin Darling.
"Psst. Hey there." His whisper drew the attention of not only Dahlia, but everyone else around them. He really should learn that hissing like that tends to not be very subtle.
"What do you want?" Came the very suspicious reply. William smiled. If this guy was going to try and hit on her, Dahlia was not going to take it.
"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I… I saw how you looked when Professor Ozpin said your name. I know what it's like to hate your name, so I just wanted to let you know I'm in your corner, okay?"
William could see his teammate tensing, even past Y'sh, who had sat between them. The swordswoman herself was gripping the hilt of her blade under the desk, and he elbowed her to make sure she realised not to get involved.
"You know…? You know what it's like, do you…? You know what it's like to hate your name because of what the people who share it have done? To you? To the people of Vale? Of Remnant? Do you really have even the faintest idea what it's like?" Dahlia, at least, knew how to speak quietly without drawing attention from the entire class. However, the venom dripping from every word made the hapless Darling pale. His team leader, William recognised him as Simon Winchester, a member of a branch of the family, grabbed Darling by the head and turned him back to face the rambling Professor Port.
"I'm sorry for the idiot." He murmured over his shoulder. "And sorry for leaving the train for you guys to handle. I thought it was better to run and live, than die fighting."
William could see the glint of shame in the other's eyes. He never thought he'd hear a Winchester, of all people, apologising. He knew the reputation of Simon's older brother. The man was barrelling for a seat on the Council, running roughshod over standard political process with no regard for who got flattened in the process. It seemed that this Winchester might have some potential to be a decent person. Might explain why he was here, at Beacon, and not joining his brother in the realm of politics. A decent Winchester, ironically the black sheep of the family. Could be interesting.
Dahlia calmed down, and nodded to the others. She could see William breathing a sigh of relief, Y'sh visibly unclenching, and Rust uncrossed his arms. That last one managed to dial his sheer intimidation factor down to almost zero in one movement. If she'd been on the receiving end of his glare, she might have needed to be excused. She blushed slightly, smiling at the way in which her teammates, who she'd only known for a day or so, were so willing to stand in her corner already. She'd never felt so supported before, and it was almost enough to summon more tears. If she hadn't already embarrassed herself with crying earlier, she might have let herself do so again.
As the lesson continued, and Professor Port somehow reached a point in his story, he asked if any of the class felt that they embodied the traits he'd been attempting to extoll. The entire class looked around, and were astonished to see Dahlia having raised her hand. Even her teammates were stunned, as Professor Port simply nodded, and asked her to retrieve her equipment. William looked at the others, mulling over the fact that Port hadn't actually called her by name. Perhaps Ozpin had already made contact with the staff, and explained that they were, under no circumstances, to call Dahlia by her cognomen.
Dahlia returned to the classroom, dressed in her combat gear, clasping her guitar. Some of the other students started whispering to each other, no doubt making comments about the apparent inadequacy of her weapon. Or maybe they were going on about how she had apparently done nothing more than play music during their initiation. She tuned them out, focussing instead on the cage Professor Port had dug out of… Somewhere. He swung his own battleaxe at the lock on the door, and out burst a Boarbatusk.
As the Grimm charged at her, Dahlia spun her guitar in her grip, reversing her stance and releasing the blades that were hidden within. She dodged to the side, slashing at the Boarbatusk as it swept past her. She landed a solid hit, but the damage was only superficial. She could feel the surprise welling in her classmates, humming within their soul-songs. Even the teacher was showing an impressed undertone. The only ones who weren't were her teammates at the back. She grinned as the Grimm turned back to face her. She knew that this type of Grimm was particularly well armoured on its head and along the back, but their bellies were very vulnerable. Sadly, her axe (which was also, you know, an axe) wasn't the best weapon for piercing. Slashing and crushing, depending on how much force and Dust she was using, certainly. But, that wasn't the only trick she had up her sleeves.
The Boarbatusk charged her again, and she dodged aside, span around and dug her axe's head underneath the stampeding Grimm. She heaved, and launched it towards the ceiling of the classroom. As it reached the apex of its flight, Dahlia nudged a switch by her thumb, and the head of her axe unfolded.
Into a scythe.
Every other person in the room was stunned into silence, and their songs filled with the strident chords of shock and awe. Of Team WYRD, only Y'sh wasn't shocked. She was smirking, after all, they'd told each other about their respective weapon capabilities whilst hiking through the Forest.
The Grimm, having lost all upwards momentum, started to fall towards her, its spin broken. Dahlia's grin only widened, almost appearing to stretch from ear to ear, as she started her next swing. It caught the falling creature right through the midsection, piercing through the outer skin and carrying through, slicing it clean into two pieces.
As her classroom foe disintegrated behind her, she span her scythe around before closing it down, returning it to the customary guitar form she preferred. Professor Port approached her, but before he could congratulate Dahlia, applause erupted from the back of the classroom. It was quickly taken up by the other students, and the poor girl found herself blushing furiously. She could see the faces of her teammates at the back, and Y'sh was beaming with sheer pride. After all, Dahlia was her partner, and she'd just proven every doubter in their class wrong about her capabilities.
Eventually the raucous applause died down, and Dahlia was able to return to her seat, still glowing crimson. Port gave his analysis of her bout, and gave them all an essay to write on the weaknesses of Boarbatusks. The students all groaned. Homework on the first day? Not the best start to their school year.
As their first day wound on, Team WYRD frequently found themselves sat near Team SPRK, and both teams tried to avoid making the shared awkwardness any worse. Which meant that Kevin hadn't had a chance to truly apologise for his own actions. He kept sneaking glances at Dahlia, but shuffled instead of speaking up. William and Rust found it endlessly amusing, particularly since Dahlia was either ignoring his attempts or was simply oblivious to them. Y'sh, on the other hand, had been making sure that she was also within Kevin's sightline every time, just to remind the foolish Darling that Daliah was not alone, and had friends by her side, just in case he decided to dig himself into a deeper hole.
It wasn't until they reached the cafeteria for dinner, that Kevin was able to approach Dahlia without anyone preventing it. He approached her after she'd sat down with her team, and before his team had chosen a table to sit at.
"Umm… Mind if I sit here?" He asked, trying not to mumble at his dinner.
"Are you not sitting with your own team?" Y'sh asked, arching an eyebrow.
"They told me it was my job to pick the table. Simon said we'd be rotating who made that choice each day, and I drew the short straw today because I was an idiot earlier." If he hadn't been holding his tray, it was pretty clear he'd be rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
Team WYRD looked at each other, and they shared a smirk. William gestured with his fork to an empty seat by them, and nodded to the rest of Team SPRK. The other team breathed a collective sigh of relief, and hurried over to join them. Once they'd all sat down, and had a few mouthfuls of their dinners, Kevin cleared his throat and turned towards Dahlia.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. I made an assumption, and shoved my foot in my mouth. I was a complete dumbass, and I was hoping we might be able to start over…? I mean, I know you don't get a second chance at a first impression, but…" He trailed off.
Before Dahlia could reply, Rust leaned over the table, resting his weight on the surface. The assembled students were alarmed to hear just how much the table groaned.
"And what would you be willing to do to gain such forgiveness?" He rumbled. His question left William hiding a grin behind a forkful of food. He could see that Simon had figured out what Rust was going for, judging by his own smirk.
"Whatever you guys determine is appropriate, I guess. My fuckup, my duty to make amends, you know?"
Team WYRD shared a look of surprise at Kevin's words. The boy had a sense of responsibility they hadn't expected, especially given what they'd gotten up to during initiation. Y'sh nodded to Dahlia, making it plain that it was her call to make, and that they'd all stand by her decision.
"Alright then. Let's start over, no hard feelings. I'm Dahlia, nice to meet you." She extended her hand for Kevin to shake, and after blinking a couple of times in bemusement, he took it.
"Kevin Darling. Yes, I've heard all the jokes. My father insisted that I uphold the ancient and noble name of the Darling family, and I've been wishing he hadn't been as good a Huntsman as he was. He has a 'reputation' that he wants me to honour, and I just want to make him shut up and let me change the damned name." He grinned sheepishly, and gestured to his teammates. "These are Simon Winchester, team leader; Peter May, my partner; and Reece Indigo, Simon's partner."
Team WYRD nodded to Team SPRK, as Dahlia returned the introductions.
"Y'sh Maile, my partner. Piss her off, and you'll be recounting your fingers. William Telos, leader. I watched him pin a Beowulf between the eyes from over two hundred yards away. Rust, William's partner. Not as scary as he looks." She grinned. "He's worse."
Her teammates rolled their eyes and chuckled at her words. Team SPRK joined in on the laughter.
"Looking forward to our time together at Beacon."
