Chapter Four ; Natural
Jaune Arc did not feel like a Hunter as he sat on his bed after yet another shower. Staring at his hands, shaking.
It was a bit surreal really.
He was actually going to be a hunter after everything that had happened. Despite how monumentally he had screwed up by just coming to Beacon alone. But there he sat, stewing in his own thoughts while in Atlas of all places. And he was partnered with Cardin Winchester of all people. Someone he thought that he'd never, in a million years, get along with. But he wasn't going to be the one to complain.
So he instead kicked off his boots and threw his socks into a small plastic hamper. After that he shimmied out of his hoodie and pants, also throwing them into the hamper, just to kick back into his bed and let out a heavy sigh. Tension seemed to leave his body in that moment. Like he could finally relax.
Relax…
It was a bit of an odd thing, because Jaune couldn't say that he had fully relaxed since before he left for Beacon. Truth be told, he was constantly on edge. Constantly trying to catch up. Constantly looking over his shoulders. Constantly worrying. It was stressful in a way that couldn't quite be put into words. But he felt constantly tense, on edge, and worrisome. He felt horrible.
Jaune settled into his plush bed and warm bed as he prepared to pass out. His muscles ached and his eyes stung. But he was interrupted by the familiar chirping of his scroll. And with a small groan of mild frustration the boy retrieved his scroll from the small bedside table to his right.
The light from the scroll burned his eyes as he flicked it on. And it seemed that Ciel had sent him a message. A thought that earned more than a little confusion on Jaune's end… Maybe it was that he just wasn't used to getting messages. He didn't have many friends at home, and if his 'friends' at Beacon needed him they'd just find him. Ren and Nora weren't very technologically adept and Pyrrha was either there or busy with something important.
Ciel Soleil: Jaune, meet me at the training arenas tomorrow morning at 6:00 sharp.
Jaune frowned, classes started at eight nine every weekday morning. So he normally woke up at seven to shower and handle his morning rituals. But meeting Ciel at six in the morning would mean that he would probably have to wake up at five to be ready for the day. And judging by that Jaune surmised that they would probably train for two and a half to three hours. Leaving them with thirty minutes to an hour to get ready for the day.
Jaune Arc: Got it.
Ciel Soleil: Good night then Jaune.
Jaune couldn't help but smile to himself, thinking that perhaps things weren't so bad.
Jaune Arc: Goodnight Ciel, sleep well.
Jaune flicked off of the messaging app and onto the clock app, where he set an alarm for five o'clock on the dot. Hopefully it would be enough to wake him from the heavy sleep that was sure to follow his laying down. And with that Jaune turned his scroll off and kicked off his boots, letting them fall a few feet away from the bed. Leaving Jaune to roll over onto his bed, pulling up his blankets… Sleep did not come easily though. He was left there, shaking slightly beneath the covers- staring at the wall of his dorm.
It took time, lots of time, but eventually Jaune was able to lull himself to almost sleep while thinking of happy times. Playing with his sisters, hanging onto his fathers every word as the older man told stories of his heroism, his mother's smile, how easy he had it in life.
The happiness of those memories was marred by something. A deep, biting bitterness that pervaded it all. Jaune knew he had it easy, which was becoming more and more infuriating by the hour. He felt so useless. But that didn't stop sleepiness from creeping into his thoughts. Everything got slower as the boy began to shut his eyes.
Jaune was exhausted. He had fought twice, got his aura fully depleted, was tested rigorously, and he was made the leader of a fledgling team. A pretty big day by all accounts. So he was incredibly glad when the warm embrace of his bed welcomed him into the land of dreams.
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Jaune awoke to the blaring of his scroll's alarm, which he silenced with a groan of exhaustion… He was still tired despite sleeping for something close to eight hours… It was brutal, especially for a slacker. But regardless of that fact Jaune shambled up and over to the lightswitch, which he switched on. Illuminating the spartan room, allowing the boy to grab his bag and begin to rifle through it for a moment as he selected his sparring clothes.
They weren't much; just a pair of low cut socks, jeans, and a white tshirt. Jaune then shimmied out of his clothing and redressed himself in the sparring clothes. Next went to grab Corcea Mors but found that it wasn't there… It was in his locker near the training arenas. Which left Jaune feeling a little dim for forgetting such a thing. But he continued on regardless, stopping in the bathroom adjoining his room to brush his hair and teeth then put on a generous amount of deodorant.
After that was done the boy slipped out of his dorm room into the dimly lit common room where he was confronted with a rather shocking sight.
Ciel stood in the common room already awake. But she wasn't dressed in her rather formal looking usual attire. Instead the girl had adopted a pair of baggy workout shorts, a too long black shirt, and a pair of azul house slippers.
The moment she saw a completely dressed and ready Jaune Ciel jumped and let out a small squeak in surprise.
"Oh- Heavens- Jaune you're already awake." Ciel said, slightly dumbfounded, earning a small chuckle from Jaune.
"Yeah, you said to meet you at six. So I decided to get up a bit earlier to grab breakfast and whatnot." Jaune said, smiling broadly.
"I see… Allow me a moment to dress myself," Ciel said, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks as she turned and fled to her dorm room.
Jaune was left alone in the common room smiling like an idiot for a few moments before Ciel arrived once again. She was now dressed in her normal attire and seemed a shade more put together than the blushing girl from earlier.
"Let's get some breakfast before we begin, you are certainly going to need it." She said.
Jaune nodded and motioned to the door, "Let's get going then."
The two then departed in relative silence, slipping through the quiet halls of the academy with ease. No teachers or students could be seen in the desolate halls as the duo walked to the cafeteria… Well- Ciel walked while Jaune followed like a lost puppy. Looking around the halls in amazement as they passed a plethora of dorms and other such rooms.
But as they exited the dorm halls and entered the main access hallway a few other students could be seen. But they were all in various states of sleepwalking or bare wakefulness. None of them were dressed and ready to go like Ciel and Jaune.
"Wow, never really saw folks up this early at Beacon- and the classes started earlier too." Jaune observed.
Ciel paused for a moment before speaking, "Atlas is also a military school, some of the students here are not enrolled in the Hunter program but instead the military or police programs. Which each have classes that start at seven, warranting a need for getting up earlier than one would really want… That is also why our lights out is at nine, instead of ten or eleven at other academies."
"Well damn…" Jaune said, not really having the words to continue the conversation knocking around in his sleep wanting brain.
To that Ciel chuckled, "It seems that you are not quite accustomed to getting up so early. Are you Jaune?" She said, giving him a small push on the arm.
Jaune replied with a chuckle of his own, "Yeah, never really saw the point of it even when I was at home… And in Beacon too I guess… But say, what do they usually serve for breakfast here?"
Ciel's delicate smile grew a tad lighter, "Its a breakfast bar really. You have to make your own but the stuff is there for pancakes, waffles, eggs, and there's also sausage and bacon… Plus cereal if that's your thing."
"Do they have pumpkin-" The words died in Jaune's mouth as he was struck with the image of Pyrrha, "Nevermind… Waffles and bacon sounds nice."
"Oh- Okay…" Ciel said, more than a little puzzle at the half request.
The two continued on despite the sudden air of awkwardness that had enveloped them. Leaving Jaune to feel like an idiot and a buzzkill… But Ciel looked as if she was trying to not ask questions about his aversion to the cereal. So with a sigh, and after a whole minute of silence, Jaune began to speak once again.
"I- You are familiar with Pyrrha Nikos, right?" Jaune began, feeling a pit begin to form in his stomach.
Ciel nodded, "I am, yes. Three time champion of a Mistrali tournament, a born and bred fighter… I take it that you know her on a more personal level, no?"
Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat, "Yeah… I was part of team JPNR… Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren… I was their leader and yeah… When Cardin sold me out they disavowed me- among other things… And I know it sounds a little silly, but the thought of that cereal is just another nail in the coffin." The boy let out a hollow laugh as a pained grin spread across his face, "That's my story, not very impressive, I know. And I know that I'm not an ideal leader, but I really am trying to be a good leader for you all, so give me a chance?"
There was a pause as Ciel stopped and turned to Jaune, a steely look was cut across her perfectly symmetrical face. The boy could only look down at her with a worried expression spread across his face.
"Jaune. Listen to me now, and listen to me well," She began, "This is not Beacon and I am not one of your prior teammates. As far as I am concerned you are the leader we appointed. And while I haven't seen your abilities firsthand, I did inquire as to your abilities to Cardin who was quite honest. You are a shoddy, ill prepared fighter,"
The words stung, but Ciel continued on despite that.
"But you are a calm and adaptable leader, more than fit to lead our team. Which Is more than I expected from anyone else. So keep your chin up," She punctuated that by pushing Jaune's chin up with a single, lithe finger, "I'll make you into a Hunter- It will just take time, blood, sweat, and probably some tears. Do you understand me?"
Jaune had stopped only a few seconds before, right after Ciel did… And he was simply taken aback by the girl's words. She was honest, and that was the most important thing… And she sounded hopeful.
The boy could only chuckle slightly to himself as he fought back tears. Meanwhile Ciel got back to walking, leaving Jaune to follow her- still like a lost puppy all the way to the cafeteria. A massive hall with dozens of small tables and chairs strewn about, as well as several students scattered about all enjoying their meals. The scent of hot food was incredibly enticing to the ravenous Jaune.
The duo quickly took to the breakfast bar, where Jaune piled his plate high with all manner of things. Utilizing the waffle iron and the pancake maker, as well as getting two whole bowls of offbrand wheat cereal and a tall glass of orange juice. To that Ciel scoffed and shook her head as a small smile spread across her face once again.
"Do they just not feed the students at Beacon?" She inquired, pouring herself a glass of apple juice.
"We missed breakfast and lunch yesterday. I'm tryin'a make up for it and then some." Jaune informed her, "But where should we sit? Are there like- assigned tables or is it a 'whatever works' sort of deal here?"
Ciel rolled her eyes, "Sit wherever you want, I'll find you in a moment… There's something I need to handle," She said before skirting off to the side.
Jaune finally left the breakfast bar with his plate piled high with goodies and a nice, cold drink in hand. He found a small table near the corner of the great hall that was the cafeteria and sat down. The boy then immediately got down to chowing down, happy as a clam at high tide with his food and the warm atmosphere of the cafeteria.
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I'm back :3
Sorry for the short update, just trying to get back in the swing of things. And it still kinda amazes me how many people have read this too lol