I don't own anything.

"… So, that's what happened." I said, taking a big gulp of my water. I'd just finished explaining what had gone down in Ms. Goodwitch's office while the rest of team BASN was arrayed around me in our dorm. It was strange to think that me getting in trouble with the teachers was what finally brought our team together.

"Well, I can't say I disagree with Goodwitch." My white-haired teammate chimed in, much to both of my other teammates chagrin. And wasn't that strange, Pyrrha, I had expected, but even after Blake handing me her notes earlier, I still didn't know what to expect from her. Weiss simply held her hands up at the sudden glares she got. "Hey, I think he did a good thing, but it was still against the rules." She tried to defend herself.

When neither Blake nor Pyrrha seemed to let up, I stepped in. "She's right, you know." And suddenly, all three of them were giving me strange looks. "I don't regret it, but I probably shouldn't have punched him, though. He was wrong to bully that girl, and I'm glad I stepped in, but I went a bit far." I explained, and that at least, seemed to mollify them a little. "It was fun though." I joked, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

Judging by the giggles I got, it worked. And it seemed that I wasn't the only one to indulge in a little schadenfreude, as Pyrrha chimed in through her own giggles. "Did you see his face when you hit him. He looked like he'd looked outside, and the sky was green or something." And that only set them off harder, filling the dorm with laughter.

It felt good. Even if I still wasn't sure how to feel around Weiss, what with her trying to have me removed as team leader. Or Blake, who I had even deeper issues with. But in that moment, we were able to put that all aside for a moment, and for the first time since the start of term, team BASN felt like an actual team.

Our issues with one another weren't magically fixed, not by a long shot, but even if it was only for the one night, I would relish in the camaraderie we shared then.

But all good things must come to an end, and after a couple of hours of talking, laughing and making fun of Cardin, the girls got ready for bed. Unlike the last couple of nights, though, Pyrrha did not stay up late. Instead, she cocooned herself in her blankets and wished me a good night before nodding off.

I waited a little while longer, until all of my teammates were breathing softly and deep into their slumber before I set off, on my way to retrieve Crocea Mors from my locker. As I slipped out of the dorm, I never noticed how my partner's emerald eyes snapped open the moment the door clicked shut.

What I did notice, however, was the prickling feeling on the back of my neck, as if someone was watching me. It was the same feeling I'd had when I snuck out of the house and Jade had followed me to see where I was going. Back then, I had simply written the feeling off as nerves, not knowing what it meant, but Jade had explained it to me during our nightly jaunts through the forest.

Apparently, aura helped detect when someone or something had you in their sights. It worked on people, but also on Grimm, and was in invaluable tool in a Huntsman's toolkit. In the field, it reduced the chances of a Grimm being able to ambush Huntsmen to nearly nothing. Like most things, though, it wasn't perfect.

If, for example, a squirrel was watching you from a tree as you walked through a forest, you would get the same feeling as you would from a Beowolf hiding in the underbrush, waiting for you to come closer. Misinterpreting where the feeling was coming from was often just as dangerous as disregarding it in the first place, since it gave a false sense of security if you thought you knew what was causing it and miss the actual threat.

It wasn't an accident, either. The source of the feeling had to be paying active attention to you for it to register. If it pinged off anything and everything that saw you, you'd never catch a Huntsman dead in a crowd, ever. I couldn't see anyone or anything around me, though.

Maybe they were invisible? Or maybe they had some way to perceive me without having to be in my line of sight?

'Or maybe there's nothing there and you're just being paranoid.'

Even as the little voice in the back of my mind told me I was probably just being paranoid, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. So, instead of going to the locker rooms, I led them on a merry little chase through the school. But, when after half an hour of aimlessly wandering through the halls, the feeling not once waning, I'd had enough.

I entered the very next room I passed that wasn't locked, simply choosing the first door that didn't have an electronic keypad next to it. Luckily, there was no regular lock either, and I simply pushed my way into the unknown room as if that had been the plan all along. Hopefully, whoever or whatever the hell was following me around like some kind of lost puppy would fuck off if I stayed here long enough.

The room was dark, though, and I didn't fancy sitting around waiting with nothing to do. So, I felt around next to the door to locate the light switch, quickly finding it to the right of the doorframe before I flipped it, flooding the room in bright, white light. Looking around, I couldn't help but gasp a little at what I found.

It was a music room. All around, there were instruments strewed about. From a large wooden piano and a more modern keyboard next to it, to a classical cello to various wind instruments, and lastly, an acoustic guitar.

Logically, it made sense for there to be something like this somewhere in the school. After all, there were plenty of school clubs and extracurricular activities that you could take part in. They weren't the most popular things, many students simply preferring to do their own thing, but it was still there. Most of those activities had nothing to do with combat either, as they were supposed to be a way for students to relax and get away from the stressful and physically demanding parts of Huntsman life.

And even if not that many students took part in it, the school spared little expense in funding such clubs. The kingdoms needed Huntsmen, and if spending a little of the academy's budget on instruments or art supplies or things of that nature meant preventing even a fraction of the burnout cases a place like Beacon had to deal with, it was worth it in the long run.

Looking at the selection of guitars that were stood up on stands on the far end of the room, I couldn't help but compare it to the one I had at home. It had been a while since I'd played, I honestly couldn't even remember the last time I had properly practiced with it. It had always been something I did with dad, something we could bond over that had nothing to do with Huntsman life.

With 7 sisters in the house, spending quality time alone with dad had been a tall ask. So, when I'd discovered that dad played the guitar as a pastime, I had jumped at the chance to learn from him. Not because it was something I had been particularly interested in at the time, but because it was something I could do together with my dad.

I was so lost in the memories of sitting down together, clumsily running our way through the cords and laughing ourselves hoarse as we badly sang along to the melodies we played, that I didn't even notice that I had picked up one of the guitars. A plain, brown model with an amp option that I left unplugged. Even if the room was pretty far from the dorms, it was the middle of the night. No need to tempt fate.

I quietly strummed the snares one by one, checking if it was tuned properly. A little ritual dad and I had always repeated before we got started. "No use in making it sound even worse than it has to be." The older man had always said, teasing and giving actual advice in equal measure.

I struggled for a moment to think of a song, it must have been at least a month or two since I'd last played. I don't think I'd picked up the guitar once since I figured out I could level up. And when I carefully started strumming, it showed. Since my Dexterity score had gone up by a whopping 50% since I had last played, it was actually easier to properly hold the chords and strum the correct strings without messing up. The real difficulty came in remembering just what chords I was supposed to play. Throughout the first song, I often had to pause for a moment or two to figure out what exactly I was doing wrong.

After the first song, though, it became a lot more fluid. The muscle-memory kicked in and I finished the second song without much issue. For the third, I picked one of my all-time favorites. It was an older song, one of the first ones that dad had ever taught me to play, and one that I could probably play in my sleep now.

"There is a house in Vacuo

They call the Rising Sun

And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy

And Gods, I know I'm one"

While I played the song well, my singing voice had never been good. Sapphire would always say that it was like a cat making love to a chainsaw, and while I knew that it wasn't quite that bad, it still wasn't good. The thing was, though, that I couldn't bring myself to care. While I had always wanted to be a Huntsman, I loved music, and I loved singing as well. Even if I was horrible at it.

And so, I spent the night in the music room, simply sitting and enjoying the memories of home as I sat and played and sang. Whoever was watching me could get a show out of it, I couldn't bring myself to care. Even if I had only planned on sitting here to wait them out, I was having way too much fun to actually put the guitar down and head for the forest.

And so, as I strummed the snares and sang my heart out, I never noticed the wide green eyes that watched and listened along through the keyhole of the music room's door.

"Yes, students, Forever Fall is a beautiful place. But we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to gather samples from the trees here in the forest. Each of you is to gather one jar of red sap, however, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm. Stay near your teammates and stay vigilant. We will rendezvous here at 4 O'clock, do not be late." Ms. Goodwitch explained, walking along the winding path the Bullhead had landed on.

Forever Fall was just as I remembered it. Lush, green grass covered in bright red leaves which held their color year-round. I didn't fully understand the science behind it, but we'd had a lecture about it from Professor Peach recently, and I got the jist of it. Apparently, the trees did not rely on photosynthesis as their main source of food. Instead, the red leaves had some sort of compound that reacted with carbon dioxide in the air while taking some vital resources from nearby plants like grass and bushes through their roots.

They were a strange type of hemiparasite that both produced its own food, in the form of sap which we would be getting samples of today, but also taking from other plants like a parasite. If you ignored all the big sciency words, it was actually pretty interesting. Especially since the sap was quite valuable as well. Not in the quantities we would be taking here, but more on a large scale, and mostly because researchers still hadn't found a way to replicate it in a lab.

Sure, there were substitutes for the sweet syrup made out of the purple sap we would be harvesting here today, but it wasn't quite the same. And even with all of the scientific advancement Remnant had been seeing in the last couple of decades, they still weren't able to perfectly replicate the delicate balance of chemical compounds present in the real thing.

Taking a look around, I couldn't help but smile at the people around me. The whole debacle in the cafeteria may have netted me a detention, but it had also brought the team closer together. That wasn't to say that our issues were all fixed now, but we actually kind of got along now. It didn't mean that Weiss wouldn't throw barbs at me if I did something stupid, or that I would trust Blake with my back here in the forest, but we actually talked now.

Next to me was my partner, her signature red hair done up in a ponytail, though it was a bit messier than I was used to. It didn't look bad at all, mind, but there were definitely a couple of strands sticking out that she'd missed. If that was all, I probably wouldn't have noticed, but it wasn't. Pyrrha looked like death had warmed over. Her skin was a sickly pale white and what little makeup she was used to wearing was not enough to cover the dark rings under her eyes.

Even Weiss had expressed her concern that morning before we left, but Pyrrha had waved it off. She said she just hadn't slept well. I'd thought that she was lying because she just wanted to go on the field trip, but the massive smile on her face was so bright and genuine that I dismissed it. No one feeling sick could smile like that. Despite that, though, I couldn't help but ask again.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

She looked surprised but gave me a bright smile as she answered. "Yes, I'm feeling great! Just a little tired is all." Her smile was infectious, and I grinned back at her.

"Alright, let's get some of this sap then!"

"Yes! Syrup! Hey Ren, you think this'll go well on pancakes?" Nora chimed in as we walked among the trees, looking for a good spot to start tapping them. She walked with us, the rest of team VLYR following along. I was glad they were there too, as much as we'd progressed yesterday, none of my own team members were too talkative. Unless Weiss was complaining about something, then she wouldn't shut up. So having the much more energetic members of our sister team along for the ride really helped fill in the silences.

Eventually, we found ourselves a nice little clearing surrounded by tall, thick examples of the trees Forever Fall was so famous for. The clearing was a rough circle, completely void of trees in the center, only having a patch of vibrant green grass and some of the fallen red leaves coating it.

"I'll just leave the jars in the middle, that way we don't lose any or knock them over or anything." I said, setting down the box I'd been carrying for both of our teams.

"Thanks Vomit Boy!" Yang teased, walking past me to snatch one of the jars and a metal tap to get started. I couldn't help the twitch in my eye as my fellow blond still called me by that stupid nickname.

'I swear, a guy vomits once on the flight to Beacon.' I thought, completely ignoring the fact that it hadn't been just one time, as the hangover combined with motion sickness had left me retching for most of the flight.

With a sigh, I grabbed my own tap and jar before getting to work. Getting the tap into the tree wasn't too hard. The trees in Forever Fall were pretty soft, and I was rather strong, even for a Huntsman. I didn't even need to use a mallet, instead just ramming the metal tube through the bark in one smooth motion.

After a couple of moments, the sap began trickling out. Slowly at first, but it sped up the longer I sat there until my jar was filled by a steady trickle. As I moved the jar out from under the tap, though, some of the sap trickled onto my hand. It was annoying, since there wasn't really a place for me to wash my hands around here, and it would probably leave my hands sticky for the rest of the trip.

As I made my way over to the middle of the clearing to put my jar into the box, though, my hand felt a little tingly. Looking down at it, the parts where the sap had touched my skin were getting a little red, visible even through the purple sap that covered it. As I stared at it, I could feel some pressure building up in my head.

"ACHOO!"

"Bless you!" Ruby shouted from the other end of the clearing, at the same time, her sister chimed in.

"You okay over there Vomit Boy?"

Sniffling, I brought my hand up to wipe my nose, but decided against it. "I fink I might be allergic to fe sap." I bit out, a little annoyed that I didn't only have to deal with motion sickness on the flight, but now I had allergies to worry about as well.

"I fink I heard water over fere, I'll justh go rinse fis off." I told them, waving off their concerns as I walked over towards the sound of running water. If I remembered correctly, there was a small stream somewhere around here, and it should be just down the hill judging from the sound.

I resisted the urge to scratch at the sap-covered parts of my hand, it would only get the sap under my nails and make things worse. Instead, I just hurried a little more and quickly found myself at the water.

It was beautiful, just like the rest of the forest. While the red leaves and black wood clashed beautifully with the lush green grass underfoot, the stream cut through that with its clear blue waters and the small gray stones that were plainly visible beneath the current.

I didn't waste any time, and simply got down onto my knees, sticking my hands in the water, shivering at the temperature. Sure, it was still only late September, but this was northern Vale. It wasn't nearly as bad as Atlas, and even Ansel had harsher winters, being further up to the north, but it was still cold in the fall, the water doubly so.

As I thoroughly rinsed the offending sap off, the thick purple liquid slowly dissolving into the stream, it left behind angry red welts that would surely itch for a while. I'd almost gotten it all off when a sudden shout from behind me made me flinch.

"JAUNE WATCH OUT!"

I barely managed to turn halfway towards the source of the voice, only to come face to face with what they'd been warning me about in the first place. Glass shattered, sap splattered and I spluttered as a jar of tree sap made contact with my face, taking a small chunk of aura with it.

'Just what I needed, can this day get any worse?'

A growl was my only answer, and as I turned towards the source. A wall of black and white covered my vision, white name tags floating above the group of ursine monsters.

Ursa Major
Level 38

Ursa Major

Level 41

Ursa Minor

Level 29

Ursa Major

Level 39

"Oh for fucks thake!"

A/N: Hello again! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I tried to add a little camaraderie between team BASN, even if it is at Cardin's expense. Beyond that, I added a little more insight into Jaune's home life before Beacon, and gave him back a valuable hobby. We can't have him burning out, can we now.

As for the detention thing, I'll address it here since there's like 5 people who asked the same question. Jaune's detention is longer. This is because punching someone in the face is a larger offense that pulling someone's ears (no matter how racist and wrong this is) or giving someone a shove. Goodwitch knows this, and it's not like she's happy about it, but rules are rules, and she has to follow those too. As it is, this is something that does happen in real life as well. Some kid punched me in the stomach once years ago, I smacked him in the mouth right as a teacher turned the corner. I got a three hour detention and he got a note sent to his parents, mostly because he was visibly injured and in pain and I wasn't. It's stupid, but that's the way it goes.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think. If you have any questions or feedback, don't hesitate to leave a review.

And as always, have a good one!

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