Note: A new chapter on schedule! Hooray! We very nearly missed our deadline, but we had an excellent writing day yesterday. Sometimes with these dialogue-heavy chapters, it either comes to you all at once or it doesn't come at all. We hope you've been enjoying the story. Also, fun news. We have cover art now! If you are on AO3, you can see custom cover art for both LUBYP and LUDITF in the first chapter. Sorry, users. We don't know why, but the website is super buggy when we try to upload photos to it. Anyway, we hope you are hungry, because it's time for dinner. Enjoy.

Pyrrha heard the rumor early Saturday morning: General Ironwood had invited Team RWBY for dinner.

She heard it from Coco. The two of them started chatting after their brief conversation with Team RWBY several weeks earlier. Their exchanges were brief, mostly consisting of Coco ranting about her difficulties in Atlas or Pyrrha asking for advice from her upperclassmen. Pyrrha didn't know how Coco heard the rumor, but the text message alerting her to the event was punctuated with a very simple, "lol". Pyrrha decided to take that as bitterness. Maybe that was just projection.

Saturdays and Sundays were the only days that Pyrrha wasn't distracted by schoolwork. Most people loved the weekends. She couldn't stand them. She needed the distractions. Her schedule had been destroyed ever since coming to Atlas. No cooking. No separate training. Everything was done to Atlas's standards. Those sucked. It sucked. With nothing to do and no time to use, Pyrrha spent a lot of time lying on her bed, staring at her Scroll while reading nothing on it. Trying to seem busy helped calm her thoughts. Not that it did much good. She hadn't had a normal thought ever since that stupid team meeting.

It was somewhere around ten that Pyrrha heard Jaune. "You okay, Pyrrha?"

At some point, Pyrrha told Jaune not to bother checking on her. He had ignored her. She was thankful for that. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" he asked again, curled up beneath his covers for warmth. For such a prestigious academy, one would think their heating system would be better than it was. "You're making that face again."

"I'm not making a face. This is just my face."

"No, it's that face," Jaune insisted. "The one you make when you are annoyed by something."

Perhaps Pyrrha should have been annoyed. Nora and Ren were on the opposite side of the room, playing a virtual board game against each other. Nora's rapid-fire playstyle contrasted terribly with Ren's methodical nature, resulting in a lot of bored groaning and tapping from the redhead as she waited for her partner to make his moves. Nora and Ren had been getting on her nerves a lot recently. Mostly because…

"She's still bothered by Team RWBY's comments about Ozpin," Ren stated bluntly.

Pyrrha scowled, her eyes drifting away from her Scroll to pierce Ren's stoic face. "I am bothered that you seem to believe them."

Nora lay flat on her back, knees bent, her fingers rapping against the floor as she waited for Ren to finish his moves. She sighed, unwilling to dive back into this topic.

"All I've been saying is that it's weird for them to say that if at least some of it wasn't true. If I was going to make up lies about Ozpin, I would make them… I don't know? More fun?"

"I don't care why Team RWBY does what they do," Pyrrha explained. "But I don't like them slandering me."

"Pyrrha, they weren't slandering—"

"And I don't enjoy being lied to," Pyrrha said forcefully. Nora sighed, backing down from her point. There was no reason to continue arguing. Every time she had tried to reason with Pyrrha, she had been blocked out from the start. Pyrrha made up her mind a long time ago. Team RWBY were liars trying to ruin Ozpin's reputation and undermine the Huntsmen Academies. Why they would be interested in doing that—or why Pyrrha was so offended at even the suggestion of that—was something the superior Huntress didn't want to explain. It was best to leave it at that. Team RWBY had a reputation for not getting along with one another. The last thing Team JNPR needed was for that disarray to rub off on them. Besides, Atlas required them to work together. They couldn't survive on their own and they knew that.

A silence lingered back over the room until a knock on the door a quarter past the hour. Since Pyrrha and Jaune were on their beds, and since Ren apparently was writing his thesis on whether to move the black or red piece, Nora rolled up to her feet and jogged toward the door. She could use a healthier conversation—assuming that whoever was behind the door was friendly. When Nora creaked open the door, she was saddened to see that she was wrong. Instead of a friendly face, she was greeted was the cold expression of Ciel Soleil.

"Oh. Hello," Nora said, trying to form a smile.

"Is Pyrrha Nikos here?" Ciel asked sharply, barely able to hide her discontent. Nora opened the door wider, allowing Ciel to notice her target laying on her bed. Pyrrha didn't react much to Ciel's presence, at least not until she opened her mouth again. "You've been invited to join General Ironwood for dinner tonight."

A collective gasp was drawn from Team JNPR, and Pyrrha, surprised, swung her legs off the bed and sat upright. "What?"

"I was clear the first time," Ciel stated. "Six o'clock. His office. Wear something nice."

Ciel took a step back as if to leave, but Pyrrha stopped her. "Wait, wait. I don't have anything nice."

"Then wear your uniform with your formal coat," Ciel suggested. Again, she took a step back, but now Nora stopped her before she could move.

"Whoa, hold it. You have to give us more information than that. Why is he having us for dinner? What's he serving? You know, I have a shellfish allergy, so I can't—"

"You aren't coming."

Ciel's words hit like a shotgun.

"What?" Nora stammered.

"Just her," Ciel said, her eyes locked on Pyrrha. Pyrrha seemed somewhat shaken by the announcement, holding up her palm.

"That's… I'm sorry, that can't be right," she said quickly. "I can't go without my team."

"If Ironwood was inviting your team, I would have told your team to come," Ciel countered.

"Well, I'm not going without my team," Pyrrha answered. "Tell him thank you for the offer, but I refuse."

Ciel's calm expression nearly broke—a shadow of a sneer crossed her lips. "Maybe I wasn't clear. When the General invites you to dinner, you do not reject his invitation. You will be coming to dinner tonight. Six o'clock. His office. Wear something nice."

Without another word, Ciel reached forward and grabbed the door handle. She swung it free from Nora's grasp and shut the door in front of her, ending the conversation short. Pyrrha wanted to chase after her, but she doubted it would do any good. It seemed her future was settled. She was going to dinner with General Ironwood.

Ruby wasn't expected to see Pyrrha Nikos. She didn't know what to expect, in fairness, but seeing Pyrrha made the pit in her stomach double in size. General Ironwood's office, like Ozpin's at Beacon, was located at the height of a tower on the distant end of the campus, allowing him complete oversigof to the entirety of Atlas Academy. The door to the elevator rested at the end of an exaggerated hallway, guarded by four robotic sentries. Their dome heads scanned her and her team as they approached, their machine guns trained on them with every step. Part of Ruby suspected them to just open fire and kill them on the spot. It would probably save Ironwood the headache. Pyrrha was standing by the entrance to the elevator, her uniform's stark color palette displayed by the heavy shadows of the overly lit hallway. Blake muttered distastefully at Pyrrha's appearance, and when Pyrrha noticed them approaching, her mood noticeably soured.

Team RWBY stopped outside the elevator shaft, not saying a word. There was no button to summon the lift at all, yet within a few moments of their arrival, there was a characteristic ding, and the clunky doors slid open to give them room to enter. Pyrrha allowed them to enter first, half considering sprinting back from where she came from before she was trapped. She eventually stepped inside. The door closed behind them. Soon, they began to ascend.

Ruby didn't bother counting the floors of Selphin Tower, but she knew there were a lot of them. As the elevator creaked upward, Ruby's eyes wandered down Pyrrha's back. Did she not have anything nice to wear? Even Ruby had the foresight to pack a blouse and a decent skirt. The RWBY leader cleared her throat.

"Pyrrha, I wanted to say—"

"Don't talk to me."

The response was blunter than Ruby expected, but she tried again anyway.

"No, seriously, I—"

"I don't care. I don't want to care." Pyrrha stared straight ahead, ignoring the bitter gazes from Ruby's teammates. "I don't even want to be here. Just please… don't talk to me."

Ruby released a deep breath, finally looking away. She spoke barely above a whisper. "Sorry we offended you."

The rest of the short elevator ride was in silence. When the lift stopped and the doors finally opened, for a brief moment, it was as if the harsh realities of Atlas had vanished. Ironwood's office was warm—literally. The first thing that Ruby heard was the crackling of a warm fireplace, located on the eastern side of Ironwood's room. A smooth piano track bounced around the room, followed by a decadent slide of a saxophone. Jazz? Light jazz. A surprisingly simply light fixture filled the room with an orange glow. The floors were carpeted. Wait, no, not carpet. Pelts. What animal? Hard to say. There were a few of them. The entire west wall of the office was a bookshelf. Though distant, Ruby could make out a few choice novels. Death of a Kingdom by Richard Elio. What We Owe Our Past by David Deckenfield. A Mouse and a Claw by Elize Kuzon. The Dust Maker: A History by Willow Schnee. On his desk was an open copy of the Knight's Book, a tome of Decum Luna familiar to any military family in Atlas. The back wall of his office, similar to Ozpin's, was a giant window, from which he could gaze out onto his Academy and the great City of Atlas down in the mountain below. Light snowfall was crowding on its rim, visible from the dark only by the grace of the fire.

In the center of the room was a large, circular table. At its head was the General, standing firm behind the chair. There were ten chairs around the dressed set. Four of them were already filled. At its furthest end sat Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil. Next to Ironwood's seat on either side were Professor Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin, both actually dressed for the occasion. They were grinning at her. The pit in Ruby's stomach didn't shrink an inch.

"Glad to see you made it. Right on time," General Ironwood spoke gently. "Please, have a seat." He gestured to the table, and Ruby shuddered. The way the seats were aligned, one of them was going to have to sit next to Ozpin. Being the team leader, Ruby bit the proverbial bullet. She pulled up beside her smug Headmaster and her teammates followed in order, Yang ending up next to an unamused Private Soleil. Pyrrha went the opposite direction around the table, sitting between Penny and Professor Goodwitch, both of them welcoming her gladly. They were the only smiling faces at the table. Neither made anyone on Team RWBY feel better.

The table was already set with plates, drinks, and cutlery. Ruby immediately reached for a glass of water as Ironwood slowly adjusted himself into his chair. Pyrrha's eyes went straight to the tablecloth and did not move an inch. She hunched over. The dinner had begun—and she was already begging for it to be over.

"Well, Team RWBY, Miss Nikos, Private Polendina, Private Soleil… thank you very much for joining us on such short notice."

"Thank you very much for having us, General," Weiss responded. Her team had come to an internal agreement to let her do as much talking as possible, being the only one with experience dealing with Atlasian officials. Blake volunteered to talk as well. Ruby shut that down. For reasons.

"How is everyone feeling?"

Team RWBY gave a short set of responses. Good. Fine. Tired. Fine.

"Miss Polendina, you seem happy as always."

"I'm glad to be in the company of friends, General," Penny answered honestly. Ruby's eyes peered across the table. Penny smiled at her. Of course, she was here. The jury was still out on her motives, but her offer of friendship had stuck out to Ruby for weeks. Apparently, she thought it was taken. Another enigma for Ruby to solve. And then there was Pyrrha. Ruby quickly glanced over at Ozpin to see if she could read him. Did Pyrrha tell him about their meeting yet? Was this all just pretense? She tried to keep her suspicions to herself.

Thinking of Pyrrha himself, General Ironwood glanced at the young Huntress seated close to him.

"Miss Nikos, what about you? How has your day been?"

Pyrrha's eyes stayed glued to the tablecloth. "I've been… all right, General."

Ironwood scowled. "Miss Nikos, I ask that people look at me when they speak to me."

Pyrrha grimaced. She peeled her eyes off the table with the same effort of pulling off a scab. Her fingers tapped rhythmically against her lap. Her face drooped.

"Apologies, General. I just… I don't… um…"

"I'm waiting, Miss Nikos."

Pyrrha briefly closed her eyes, as if hoping that when she opened them, she would be somewhere else. When her wish did not come true, she tried to shore up some internal strength. Her tapping fingers balled into a fist.

"I'm not very good at these types of things," she said tiredly. "And… I wish you let me bring the rest of my team with me… sir."

Ironwood paused momentarily, but surprisingly, he nodded in understanding. "I can understand that. I was a bit of an outcast myself when I was younger. And it's not very often that I invite cadets up to my office. But I figured that this is an unusual year. Beacon and Atlas are together in the same building, and both classes happen to feature some of the most talented Huntresses in a generation. It's rare to see such talented students—and all such talented young women—succeed in such a short period of time. I wanted to get to know you all personally, and maybe get your opinions of our school. Plus, with how hard you have been working, Professor Ozpin and I figured that you could use a rest."

Ironwood was a soft speaker. Ruby barely detected the man that had horribly scolded the rest of their class so recently. He seemed somewhat earnest, unlike his co-workers. Hell, Ruby could practically see the snake-like deception of Ozpin working away behind his glasses. She kept her mouth shut, though. If this was really an opportunity to get on the General's good side, why not take it? Her girlfriend thought much of the same, showcasing her perfectly practiced smile.

"We appreciate your offer," Weiss stated, choosing her words carefully. "It's nice to spend an evening and just… relax."

"Well, I hope you came with an appetite," Ironwood said with a nod. "My chef is cooking us a traditional three course Atlasian dinner. You're quite used to those, Miss Schnee."

"Of course. I had them all the time," Weiss claimed.

"What about you, Miss Belladonna? Have you ever had a traditional Atlas dinner before?"

The second Ironwood acknowledged Blake, Ruby felt the air grow thick. Blake shuffled in her seat, already tense. Don't say something stupid. Don't say something stupid. Don't say something stupid…

"No. Can't say that I have."

Thank God.

Then, like a stick of dynamite. Goodwitch opened her mouth. "Obviously. She grew up far too lower class for that."

Ozpin stifled a laugh. Pyrrha's eyes reverted back to the table. Blake's brow furrowed.

Goddammit…

Ironwood cast Goodwitch a stern glare. He talked like a disappointed father. "Glynda, be polite."

Surprisingly, however, Blake cleared her throat and answered without any malice. "No, she's right. A dinner this nice is something I didn't have the luxury of growing up." To Ruby, it was clear she was biting her tongue, but General Ironwood didn't know Blake well enough to notice.

"I hope you find it satisfying, then," he claimed. "Getting to share Atlasian culture with outsiders is a great pleasure of mine. I can't wait to learn your opinions on our great Kingdom."

Blake smirked. "What a coincidence. I can't wait to share them."

The first course was served within minutes. The elevator bell rang, and out poured seemingly an entire wait staff, men in suits with trays and bottles. They encircled the table like a swarm of vultures, hovering over each of the students before resting a tray in front of each of them. They poured red wine for each of the professors and sparkling water for the students, and then with a synchronicity that matched only the finest military maneuvers, they liftep the tray tops and revealed their first course: a square, meat-looking thing with a light brown sauce and crunchy bits. Ruby took a brief whiff of it. It smelled fancy.

"Seared foie gras with fig and balsamic reduction," Ironwood explained. He grabbed the stem of his wine glass and swirled the red liquid inside, observing it carefully. "Growing fruits and vegetables is difficult in Atlas's climate. Most of the continent is too cold, and whatever viable soil exists is buried under ice. The inner city is too hot, and most of it doesn't get access to proper sunlight. For centuries, Atlasian diets mostly consisted of kale and spinach. One of the first tests of our climate control system was creating safe patches for varied farmland. Its success is one of our Kingdom's proudest accomplishments. Currently, our fig production is one of the highest in the world. Please, enjoy yourselves."

Ruby thanked him for the history lesson, picked up her spoon, and carefully sliced off a spoonful of the fraw graw or whatever. She bit into it and was surprised when it almost instantly melted in her mouth. It was sweet, and savory, with a slight tang in the back of her throat. She wished the portion was larger than her thumb, but it tasted rather good. Weiss was always going on and on about how she missed Atlasian cooking. Was this what she was talking about? She glanced over to Weiss for approval, but Weiss wasn't actually eating anything. She was just staring at Ruby wolfing down a piece of foreign meat with some degree of awe and embarrassment.

"What?" she asked quietly. Weiss just smiled nervously at her.

"Oh, nothing. Just… surprised you would eat that."

Ruby looked back down at her plate. Eat that? What was wrong with that? It wasn't… like… was it gross? Was she eating a gross thing? She didn't know what it was, sure, but it couldn't be that gross. No, it was tasty. Tasty things weren't gross. Right? Oh no, it was totally something gross she just ate—"

"Miss Rose—"

Ruby nearly leaped out of her chair at Ironwood's call. She nervously laughed it off. "Huh? Yes! It's very good. This… this thing is very tasty…"

"Glad to hear it," Ironwood stated. "But I was actually going to ask you about what you thought of our school so far."

"O-Oh! Right. Yes," Ruby said mildly. "Um… it's certainly… difficult."

"Difficult?"

"Yeah," Ruby said. Careful. Be careful. "Our training at Beacon was very different. We had more time to… experiment with various things. It's been hard adjusting to the schedule, especially when there are so many more students here that we have to keep up with."

"Well, for what it's worth, Professor Goodwitch has been telling me that you've been keeping up very well."

He took a sip of his wine, allowing Ruby to take in the shocking positive comment. "She did?"

"Your sniping skills and tactical capabilities are at a very high level for someone of your age," Goodwitch admitted casually. "You react well under pressure. No one is denying that you are a talented Huntress."

"And I was told that you almost dropped out of Beacon last year," Ironwood mentioned. He leaned over his plate and pressed his hands together. "I'm glad to see you decided to stick with it."

Ruby had almost forgotten who she was speaking to. With all the lovely food, the warm fire, the gentle tone of his voice, it was so easy for it to slip her mind. But how could she truly ever forget who General James Ironwood was? The image of him interrogating her mother was seared permanently into her nightmares. He was a jackal in uniform, and at the mention of her previous semester, every terrible manipulation and memory came flooding back to her at once. Yeah, she wanted to say. I almost quit because of what you did to me. Hell, she could have lunged across the table and smacked that stupid, pretend calm off his face.

She must have seemed aggravated because she felt the warm touch of Weiss's hand on her lap. She eased some tension out of her chest and remembered what her goal was. "I'm glad I stuck with it, too. Being a Huntress is… important to me."

"Good. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more from you." There was a familiar air behind the General's words. It was the same that Ozpin gave whenever he lied to her. He had to know… "I'm also very much looking forward to seeing you, Miss Xiao Long."

Yang was seated on the opposite end of the table from the General, and she perked up when he called her out. She wasn't expecting any attention at all. What would Ironwood want with her? Ruby, Blake, and Weiss were easy targets for the Atlasian. They all had obvious weak points. Even though she hated Atlas as much as Ruby, she didn't know why he would care about her.

"You are?"

"Of course," Ironwood stated, finally diving into his appetizer. "Your reports from Beacon were very impressive. I think your Semblance has a great amount of poetry to it, if that makes any sense. It's a shame that your doctor won't clear you for combat training."

Oh. Power. Obviously. They liked how hard she hit things.

"I mean, if it's any consolation, I'm annoyed by that, too." Yang leaned forward and jabbed at her food with her spoon. She also had no idea what it was, and she wasn't really in the mood to ask. If it was bad, she figured, her digestive tract would punish her for it later. So, she took a large bite of it. It wasn't bad at all. Kind of squishy.

"Doctor Noetal is a very talented psychologist," Ozpin claimed. "If she feels that you are not ready for training, then we won't let you train."

"Hey, I get it," Yang said, shaking her head. "I just want to be able to prove myself. Training was something that kept me busy. Laying around has never been my style."

Penny chirped up, her smile seemingly not having faded at all since they last met. "If it is any consolation, Yang, you were very effective when you ripped my arm off."

Yang's eyes went wide, but she managed to swallow down her food without choking on it. "Uh… thanks, Penny. Glad that you're… taking that well… I guess…"

"You're welcome."

"Skirmishes aside, you won't be heading back into proper training until you get a full clearance," said Ozpin. "Your health and safety are our number one priority."

"Hah!"

The short laugh echoed across the table, and everything suddenly became quiet. All attention turned toward Blake, who was doing her very best to hold back whatever was coming to her head. Ruby felt her heart skip a beat. Dammit, Blake, dammit. Ironwood frowned—the most public display of dissatisfaction he was willing to give over a plate of food. He rested his arms flat on the table, unwilling to grant her any excuse.

"Do you have something to say, Miss Belladonna?"

Blake didn't address him with anything more than a dismissive wave. "Oh, no. Sorry. That was in response to something completely unrelated. I was thinking of something else."

Ciel pointed at her from Yang's other side. "Don't lie to the General when he's asking you questions."

Ironwood grunted. "Private, no one is talking to you."

"But I—"

"Quiet."

Ciel leaned back in her seat and folded her arms over her chest. Ironwood leaned forward.

"Miss Belladonna," he said carefully, "I'm well aware of who you are. If you have anything you'd like to say to me, I'd recommend you say it."

Blake rolled her eyes, smiling her way through his questions. "Honestly, General? I think it's pretty obvious what I would have to say. If you want something more thorough, ask Goodwitch. Considering she never leaves me alone…"

"Blake, that's enough," Ruby ordered, but Ironwood shut her down.

"Ignore that. I want to know. What has your experience in Atlas been like?"

The Faunus laughed again. Well, shit. She was out of luck, wasn't she? What was she supposed to do? Blow smoke up his ass? She doubted he would believe that. Tell him everything Goodwitch had done to torment her for weeks? She doubted he would care. Anything in the middle would just cause him to provoke her more. No, she knew what he wanted from her. Assuming Ozpin wasn't stupid, he already told Ironwood that she was a Faunus. If he was like everyone else in Atlas, he viewed her as degenerate. He wanted her to complain about how hard her life was so he could dismiss her as weak. He wanted to make her feel small, to be petty and undeserving of being here. He wanted an excuse to downplay her problems. But she wasn't going to give him that pleasure, however small it might have been. She promised Ruby no more outbursts, that she would be clever. She had no intention of breaking that promise—but that didn't mean she couldn't tug a few threads here and there.

"Honestly? Underwhelming," Blake claimed. She picked up her spoon and twirled it between her fingers. "Everyone here feels like they are holding back. You do, too. I mean, everything sucks, obviously. You drill us until we can't move and have Goodwitch trailing us everywhere we go. It's cold as hell and I don't get enough sleep and most of the food is trash. Huntress training isn't easy. But I know Atlas. I know what you do, and this? This is child's play. Like, I've heard stories of people dying here from how hard you abuse them. You want to push us so much harder than you actually can because you know that all I have to do is pull out my Scroll, send out a few Pages, and suddenly, all of this goodwill you've been building up between Kingdoms explodes. You might have an entire state-run media machine by your side, but I'm still more popular than you. Somehow, people actually like me. That makes it really hard to punish me if I don't give you the results you want. It makes me just a little untouchable. Not actually. Just a little. And I bet that's really annoying for you, you know? I know that for me, it's mostly been a disappointment."

To top it all off, Blake delicately pushed the appetizer away from her, smirking as she did so. "And also? Since you are so proud of your vegetables, you should have offered a vegan option. I try not to eat meat, liver included."

Ironwood's face was dead, motionless as Blake continued smiling at him. Ozpin found the whole thing amusing, finishing off his foie gras as Blake was spinning her story. Goodwitch was also smiling, probably thinking up additional ways to torture her once the dinner was over. Penny and Ciel were clueless as to what she was talking about. Weiss was close to having a heart attack, furious that Blake would decide to push even more buttons at a time like this, not even ten minutes into their meal. Ruby and Yang might have felt the same way, were they not nearly gagging from finding out what they were actually eating.

It was actually Pyrrha who had something to say in response, and she entered the conversation without hesitation. "It's interesting that you want more work, Blake… considering all you do is complain about everything."

Blake shrugged off Pyrrha's commentary. "I complain about things worth complaining about. And I apologize to the host if I upset him, but he asked for my opinion. I don't remember him asking for yours."

Pyrrha sneered but didn't engage further. Blake was notorious for getting a rise out of people. She remembered stories of her shit-stirring abilities from the first few weeks at Beacon. Everything she had seen from her since then had only reinforced that idea. She was willing to leave it alone, but Ironwood must have heard something he liked, because he turned to her next, unshaken by Blake's words.

"What about you, Miss Nikos? What do you think of studying at Atlas Academy."

"Me?"

"Yes," Ironwood said. He remained as relaxed as ever, even though his hands strained as they tightly gripped each other. "You were one of Beacon's top students. I value your opinion just as much as anyone. I've heard that you have been adapting well to the climate. Is that true?"

Pyrrha felt ashamed having to answer that. Having such an intimidating figure staring her down, especially after he had been put in a sour mood by her classmates, was enough to send a shiver down her spine. Telling the truth would have meant complaining about how he had ruined her perfect training schedule, but Blake had already complained, and the last thing she wanted was to be like Blake. She picked a creative answer instead.

"It has… certainly been a learning experience," Pyrrha sighed. She had yet to touch her food. She felt the eyes of Team RWBY on her. Could they not just leave her alone for a minute? "I had briefly considered joining Atlas Academy when I was younger."

"Really? Can I ask why you didn't join?"

"I don't mean to offend."

"I won't be offended."

"I definitely won't be offended," Ozpin joked. Ironwood chuckled. The simple joke was enough to clear Blake's snark from his mind. Ozpin relaxed in his chair. "Please, Miss Nikos. Do you remember why you chose Beacon Academy? You had outstanding offers from every school in Remnant."

Pyrrha shrugged plainly, trying to think back to easier days. "I don't know if I can really explain it. I knew that I always wanted to be a Huntress. I was winning combat tournaments in Mistral since I was ten. When the offers started coming in, at first it was overwhelming. So many people started coming to visit my home, calling me, and asking for interviews. I didn't like all of the attention. I still don't care for it, to be honest. It took me a very long time to decide where I wanted to continue my training. I think I nearly missed my deadlines worrying about it. My… mother was actually the one who convinced me to go to Beacon."

"Is that so?" Ironwood asked.

"I would figure that your mother would have wanted you to be closer to home," Ozpin reasoned.

"I wanted to be closer to home," Pyrrha admitted softly. "Haven Academy was my first choice. It's only a short train ride from Argus. But, my mom believed it would be better for me to go abroad. She thought I could use the experience. To her, Beacon Academy was the most prestigious. Having the smallest class size meant it was easier for me to stand out and not get caught in the shuffle. Less competition."

Ironwood grinned. "So, you wanted to be a big fish in a small pond. See, Ozpin? I told you I wouldn't be offended."

"I didn't care where I went," Pyrrha followed. Her answers just came naturally, one after the other. "I just… I just wanted to be a Huntress. Where I got my training didn't matter at all. That was her choice."

"And why do you want to be a Huntress?"

Pyrrha pursed her lips. "It's the only thing I've ever been good at… it's the only time I ever felt like I belonged anywhere."

"And how important is it to you that you continue your training?"

Pyrrha bowed her head. "Very important."

Ozpin took another spoonful of foie gras, grinning subtly. "And what would you do to someone who tried to take being a Huntress away from you?"

Pyrrha's eyes flickered up. They didn't find Ironwood, or Ozpin; instead, she stared straight ahead at Ruby. Why Ruby? She didn't know. All of them deserved her ire. The silver-eyed child quivered under her watch, and Pyrrha wasn't even thinking when the words just slipped out of her mouth.

"I'd probably kill them."