I step off of the airship, and down at my scroll again. I've tried explaining everything over text, but I'm just making it worse. My last text to Blake reads, "Ok, wait, I'm lacking the mental capacity to describe this to you over text. Are you in your dorm? Doesn't matter if anyone else is there." A moment later, my scroll dings. I check it with my sweaty ass palms.
Blake's Text: "I am. You better be able to explain yourself when you get here."
Understandable. I just send a thumbs up, and hurry along. Listen, I know that I've done nothing wrong. I mean, the place was a little sketch, but that's about it. She'll understand once I explain myself, but like, I've done a horrible job of that. Like, I made it sound like Lukas almost got murdered when describing the fucking bowling alley. If someone could tell me where my ability to properly explain a situation went to, I'd pay them handsomely, because right now I'd fucking love to know what's wrong with me. As I pass by the second year dormitory, I see Velvet Scarlatina. She waves at me, and I wave back. That's the start and end of that interaction.
Once I reach the first year dorms, I make my way up the stairs, and to team RWBY's dorm. I knock on the door, and wait. I can hear footsteps, and the door swings open, revealing Blake in a black shirt and shorts. She doesn't look happy, understandably so. Like I said, I royally fucked up describing what happened. "May I come in?" I ask.
She nods, and lets me into the room. I look at her, and take a long breath of air, knowing I'm about to yap my damn ass off.
"So, let me try to describe this properly, right? We were bowling, just chilling, when this guy walks in. Big, all the armor, that guy. I hear him talking to the owner, and the guy seems chill enough, despite apparently being a criminal kingpin or whatever the fuck, right? So, he comes over and starts bowling in the lane over, and eventually we start talking. He tells me about this fighting ring ran by a friend of his, and how it's all legal and stuff. Lukas and I decide to go check it out, and then Levi brought Yang over. That's when I texted you. We weren't in any danger, and the lady running the place, Nerga, had a bunch of papers about safety and such. I promise that none of us got hurt, or anything, and-"
Blake holds out her hand. "Ok, ok, I get it. You made it sound very different over text, you know."
"Yeah, and I wanted to throw myself off a cliff for how badly I screwed it up." I say.
"Ok, don't say that, first of all. Second of all, just… If it was as safe as you're claiming it is, then I guess there isn't any issue." Blake says.
I nod, and then ask her something, "So you're not mad at me?"
"What? No, I'm not mad. I was worried, there's a difference. For as smart as you are, you really can't pick up on that kind of stuff."
"Those have legitimately no relation, Blake." I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." she says, smiling a bit. "You should probably go shower." she adds.
"I was nervous, the bowling alley was hot, and I'm still in my armor, so yes, I got a bit sweaty, so yes, I will go shower, thank you. I'd hug you, but… yeah." I say.
"Have fun with that." she says, waving a bit.
"Will do." I say, before walking off. I hear the door close behind me. Alright, I'm not going to get slapped or anything. Dope. Actually, I don't think she's ever actually hit me outside of sparring, so why was I worried about that? Oh, whatever.
First, I head to my room, and get out of my armor. I set it up on its stand, and let out a sigh of relief. It's comfy, yeah, but Gods, it gets warm. Yeah, yeah, ironic, Fire McFuckface doesn't like being that hot, but whatever. I'm a walking list of contradictions, you should be used to that by now. I head into the shower, and get myself nice and cleaned up. Once done scrubbing myself clean, I throw on some fresh clothes, and lay down on the sofa. Once settled, I grab my controller, and look for a game to play…
…
A few days pass without much to note, honestly. I don't really hang out with anyone, just keeping to myself. Of course I check in, and eat with the others, but that's more or less it. Jade's back from the forest, and that comes into play very soon. You see, it's Tuesday morning, and I'm half asleep on my sofa watching a thousandth video essay of the night, and haven't even noticed the sun's out yet. I hear a knocking on the door, and get up to answer it. I swing it open, and Jade's revealed, which causes me to look up in order to meet her gaze.
"Good morning, Friend Doge!" she happily exclaims. "You look awful! Is something wrong?" she says and asks in the exact same tone.
"I… wow, uh, good morning, Jade. I'm alright, thanks. Is something up?"
She nods, and holds out two items. A box of matches, and a can of gasoline. "We have experimenting to do! Come!" she exclaims before trotting down the hallway. Ok, uh? What? I take a second to grab my jacket and brush my hair, then throw on some socks and shoes before chasing after her. She finally stops outside, at one of the training areas.
"So, what's this about, again?" I ask.
"Do you remember when I proposed a way for you to regenerate aura through fire? Like how I can from plants?" she asks.
"Oh yeah! I was supposed to test that last week, but then it fucking rained nonstop." I say. "Is that what this is about?"
"Yup!"
"Ok, well, I know I can dismiss a fire that I'm controlling, but I don't know how absorbing it would work. I mean, fire is just a massive culmination of energy, so theoretically it should be possible… I just don't know if I could pull it off."
"That's almost the spirit. Quit being so negative." Jade says, starting to pour gasoline on the ground. "We're going to use a match to start the fire, so that way we know that it isn't just because of traces of your aura being within it. Also, this is from personal experience, I can't absorb aura if my aura is full, so dispel a bit of yours in one way or another."
"Alright, yeah. Let me just…" I trail off before walking a good bit away. Once clear, and in a separate part of the training area, I do that thing where I send out raw energy using myself as the center point. Flames shoot off in a sphere around me, and soon fade out. I then walk back over to Jade. "Ok, that's probably close to ten percent of my aura. Would that be enough?"
Jade nods, and takes a few steps back from the puddle of gasoline. She then lights a match, and throws it into the puddle.
Fwoosh!
The puddle bursts into flames, and the fumes around it burn too. I cover my face with my arm out of instinct, and turn to Jade. "Alright, here's hoping that this actually works!"
Jade takes my scroll to track my aura as I hold out my hand to the fire. The very first thing I do is grab control over it. I move it a little, just to be sure that I have it under my grasp, and then start trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. The first thing I try just causes the fires to start dying out, which is not intended. I scowl, and start pulling them towards me, but now I'm just surrounded by fire. Sure, I might look cool now or whatever, but that isn't the goal. I push the flames across the ground back to where they were, and keep trying. "Jade, this is fucking stupid." I say after another failed attempt.
"Quit being so negative. Keep trying." she says. I just sigh, and carry on. After another few minutes of this, I force the fire to extinguish, and turn to Jade.
"Ok, this isn't working. Like, at all." I say. Based on what my scroll's saying, my aura is at around eighty-six percent from the initial burst, and my attempts to absorb the fire.
Jade thinks for a second, and then an idea enters her head. "Ok, maybe we need to start smaller? Try this…" Jade then strikes a match, and holds it out. I nap control of it, and start trying to pull it into my… soul, I guess? It's a weird feeling, but it works, and the flame goes through the air, and into my outstretched hand. "See? You did it!" Jade says happily.
"Ok, well, that must have been so minuscule that it didn't show up on the scroll, or, I just pulled it over and put it out." I say, looking at my scroll. Still at eighty-six. Jade nods, and pours some gas on the ground again, but not as much as initially. A fresh match tumbles into the puddle…
Fwoosh.
I hold out my hand, just as before, and try to grasp it and draw it into my very being. Nothing happens at first, and the fire burns without a care in the world, but suddenly, it starts to move towards me. Not in the way it had before, mind you, but actually moving in a direct line to me through the air. It should be noted that I'm about ten or so feet away from the fire as this happens. It flows into my hand, and my body feels hot. As the fire continues to be pulled into my palm, I hear Jade giggling with excitement off to the side. Once everything is clear, I turn to her.
"Results?" I ask.
"Take a look for yourself!" she exclaims, before showing me my scroll. Ninety-seven percent. Hot damn, I really can regenerate aura through my environment. Well, as long as it's on fire, that is. That's honestly a game changer in a lot of ways. If I'm fighting an opponent in a flammable environment, and I start a fire, I can have practically unlimited aura! In theory, of course.
"Children!? What are you doing!?" come from behind us, whenever Jade starts pouring more gasoline on the ground. It's Professor Goodwitch, and I honestly don't think there's a way to explain this without showing her.
"Testing something?" I say, unsure of myself. I mean, think about it, this looks terrible. We're covering the damn training area in gasoline, and my semblance isn't exactly a secret to anyone.
"Testing what?" she asks, marching over to us.
"I had a theory that Doge could absorb fires to regenerate his aura? H-he can!" Jade nervously says, and holds out my scroll, as if that proves anything.
"Is that so?" Prof. Goodwitch asks. I nod.
"Let me offload some energy real quick…" I say, walking twenty feet away. I hold my right hand to the sky, and just start shooting a beam of fire directly up.
I listen as Jade calls out, "Ninety-five! Ninety-two! Eighty-eight!" This is taking too long. I hold out my other left, and put it next to my right, now concentrating the energy through both hands. "Eighty-one! Seventy-five!" I then stop. That should be enough. I walk back over to the puddle as Jade tosses a match…
FWOOSH!
This inferno is definitely larger than even the initial one. Goodwitch watches with an interested expression as I hold out my hand and start drawing in the fire. Her eyes go between me and my scroll, which shows my aura going up and up. There reaches a point where I'm back at a hundred percent, but I keep absorbing the flames for another couple seconds. Once the flames are all gone, my hand continues to burn. Odd.
"Hey, uh, I can't turn it off." I say.
"Your aura must have more energy than it's current capacity, and is burning off the excess, literally." Goodwitch says.
"Makes sense." I say. I then form a fireball, and just let it float into the air like a balloon. As embers start to fall, I extinguish it. That action must have been enough, as my hand is no longer on fire. "So, uh, Jade… What are you going to do with the rest of the gas?"
"I didn't think that far ahead. I'll figure something out!" she says.
"Jade, how about you let me dispose of it? Safely?" Goodwitch offers.
"Ok. That works." Jade says. "Well, I'm off to train. See you later!"
"Uh, bye Jade." I say.
"Stay safe you two." Goodwitch says.
I nod. "I'm just going to go back to my room…" I trail off before walking away. Truly an experience, I'll say. So, I guess I'll add that little tidbit to my arsenal of fun things I can do. Straight up reset myself if there's enough fire in the general vicinity. Hell yeah. For whatever reason, I'm curious as to what Levi and Lukas are up to, and they're hanging out in the DAIS dorm, so I make my way over to the first year dorms. Once again ascending the stairs to the correct floor, and walking down the hallway. As I pass Team RWBY's dorm, I can faintly… no, I'm lying. It's not faint at all. I can hear music blaring, and Yang attempting to sing something. All of a sudden, Weiss walks out, and lets out an exasperated sigh.
"Hi?" I ask.
"No." she says.
"Understandable, have a better day." I say before continuing down the hall. Once I reach my team's room, I unlock the door and step inside. Lukas is playing a video game, and Levi's reading a comic book.
"…right? That's something you could do?" Lukas asks.
"I mean, probably. Might take a little time to get the stuff, though, so you're going to have to wait." Levi replies, before looking up at me. "Oh, hey, Doge."
"Hey. What the hell is going on in RWBY's dorm?" I ask before sitting down on the couch.
"Yang's been singing Ed Sheeran songs for the past couple hours. I think Weiss is about to snap." Levi says.
"I honestly don't know why she loves that ginger idiot so much…" I say.
"Which one?" Lukas asks.
Levi seems confused, and I reply, "Both." After a moment, I continue, "I kind of want to go to the library. Either read a book or take a nap…"
Lukas blinks and looks at me. "You just got here?"
"Yeah. However, I feel the need to do something else now. Like reading." I say.
"Right… You have fun with that." Lukas says, before continuing with his game.
"See you later, I guess?" says Levi.
I nod, and reply as I leave the room. "Yup. See you later." I make my way down the hallway again, and down the stairs after passing Weiss once again. She looks a little less angry, so that's something. I lean against the wall while walking down flight after flight of stairs out of pure laziness, and eventually I'm back in the courtyard. After running my eyes due to the midday sun being bright, I walk over to the library. I walk in, and find myself a seat on the second floor, by myself. With my seat secured, I look for a book to read, and find a random fantasy novel. Something to just entertain me for a little bit, you know?
The only real sounds in the library are the air conditioner, the occasional click of a mouse from someone on a computer, the pages of my book turning, and two people downstairs whispering to one another. There's a slight chill to the air, and the smell of books is very apparent, and pleasant due to the familiarity of it. Lazily turning page after page, I yawn, and rub my eyes. The words on the pages eventually start blending together, and I keep realizing that I've "read" a whole page without reading anything, and having to start again. If I'm being honest, I know I'm probably about to fall asleep, and that's fine. A nap sounds really nice right now. I close the book, not even noticing that I didn't mark my page, and lay down on it, using the large novel as a pillow. My eyes flutter shut, and my breathing slows down as I finally give in to exhaustion…
…
I pick my head up, and groggily rub my eyes. It takes a second for me to remember where I am, especially considering it's now incredibly dark. No light comes from the windows, and it's pitch black. Must have slept for a while, considering my brain's also bitching about how hungry I am. Using the chair I'm sitting in, I crack my back, and then stand up. I bring my book back to where I found it, and leave the library.
The quiet night's atmosphere is further accentuated by the gentle breeze that's blowing across the campus grounds. My footsteps are more or less the only other sound, I really live for these kinds of moments, where it's just me, the night, and my thoughts. Well, this can occasionally be a bad thing, but this isn't one of those times.
As I walk across the grounds towards my room, several thoughts run through my head, consisting of the events that have transpired thus far. I mean, emotional rollercoaster isn't the fucking half of it. Granted… it's not a bad thing. It's been mostly good things, actually. There's the morons I call my friends, and I myself bunched along with them. The dark haired dork with the cat ears who managed to fall for me of all fucking people. Not to mention the professors, taking me in as family. It could be worse, it could always be worse.
My right hand twists the knob, as my left pushes open the door. The halls are empty, as expected. You don't really see many of the staff up past twelve. At least not in the corridors of this building, anyways. I make my way up the stairs, and eventually my floor, but I carry on. Up another flight, and to the roof. The breeze is stronger up here, and I welcome it. Soon enough, my legs are dangling over the ledge, and I'm partially leaning on my left arm, eyes scanning across the campus. It's so peaceful. I couldn't say it enough times, but it truly is blissful. Solace, even. A calm break from the chaos of day to day life at Beacon. I wouldn't trade any of it for the world, trust me, but the little moments like these make the moments like fighting for your life in a forest much more bearable.
Looking across the campus, I see a figure on a roof. They're incredibly hard to make out, but it definitely looks like a person. Whoever it is, they might be having a moment just like this, thinking about similar things. Isn't that funny? Everyone's got their own little world, story, narrative, whatever, and I'll never get the full picture of it. Never. On that same note, no one will ever get the full picture of my life. That's so strange to think about, isn't it? No matter how much I may be in that person's life, I'll never be a main character in any story but my own. Same for them, they're the center of it all for themselves, but no one else. It's kind of cool, really. I find myself thinking about that for a while, before the reminder that I'm hungry hits me again. Blake bought me some chocolate chip cookies the other day, after I gave her a bunch of teabags. Probably going to snack on those, and just have a big breakfast in the morning, or whatever.
I swing my feet back over the ledge, and stand up. I look over at the figure one more time, before heading back down, and to my room. A quick shower, and some devouring of cookies later, I go to bed, and get a long night's rest. I oughta get my sleep schedule fixed for when break ends in a few days, huh? Ah, who am I kidding, it's just going to bite me in the ass on Monday, won't it?
Hey guys, didn't forget about you, I promise. As stated in last chapter's note, this is a bit of a shorter one. Still above my bottom line for word count, but still.
I'm not going to hold you for too long, considering the usual rant of mine is going to be in the after chapter note, so, in the meantime, please do enjoy this little bit of a break for the idiots you've maybe started to know and love. (Or maybe you're wishing on their downfall? How scandalous, you monster. That's hypocritical, I'm sorry. Carry on.)
Alright, so, you know the drill, don'tcha? One to two weeks, but I'm going to level with you, probably two. Another thing is, summer's over, and school's starting up for me at the same time is it is for these guys. Also, minor thing, in Chapter Nine, my dumbass put the wrong amount of days until the break ended. This has been fixed.
Now, what does that mean for the story? Well, I'm going to have a little less free time, yes, but do you know what I'll have more of? Inspiration! Chapters may end up being two weeks apart more often, but that's about it. I'm not abandoning this project until I'm happy with the ending, and trust me, the story's just getting started.
Oh! Right! This actually does conclude "part one" of the story, or whatever. You've met my characters, you know a little bit of their relationships, and you know about some of my new rules for the world. Now, incase you didn't guess, we're going to kick off Chapter Twelve with the start of volume two, and go from there. Hope you are ready for an actual plot to show its face, because that's what's going to happen.
In the meantime, though, I once again can't thank you enough for following this story this far. If you're a first time reader, maybe consider sticking around and seeing where this goes, yeah? I don't intend on disappointing you, I promise. With that being said, see you guys soon!