It was combat training class and a match was currently going on, between the plucky, but inexperienced Jaune going up against Cardin Winchester, a much taller and more muscular boy who actually knew how to handle his weapon: a large mace with a Fire Dust Crystal inside it, The Executioner. And both boys were panting in exhaustion, leaning on their weapons for support.
Now, normally, Cardin would be able to handle Jaune with ease. However, he was a bit off-balance, favoring his left foot, due to an injury on his right foot that made it difficult to put weight on it without significant pain. So moving or winding up big, powerful swings with such a heavy weapon was quite difficult with one foot, causing Cardin to flinch and stumble off-balance whenever he tried to plant this foot for a step or to brace for a powerful swing. And this allowed Jaune to get a few hits in before Cardin retaliated. He likely shouldn't have been competing at all- and Glynda even tried convincing him of this- but the bigger boy was too proud and arrogant, believing he could beat ANYONE while still injured, let alone a weakling like Jaune.
But how did Cardin GET this injury? Well...
Wisteria was walking through the halls of the school on her way to one of her classes. And as she walked, her tail was held low, suspended only a few inches off the ground. One would think this would leave said tail in danger of being stepped on, but most people were smart enough to look at the girl whose body was mostly covered in spikes or sharp points and give her the proper space so as not to step on her tail.
Cardin Winchester was not most people...
Wisteria snarled in pain when she suddenly felt pain and pressure on her tail, turning around to see Cardin with his right foot planted on the head of her tail, keeping it pinned to the ground. "You're standing on my tail." She growled, her spikes protruding and arm blades moving out to the side, clearly a warning for him to move his foot.
But Cardin simply scoffed at this threat display. "Not my fault. Animals are supposed to watch out when people are coming so they don't get stepped on. Not my fault if they don't move or have their dumb tails in the way. It's their fault for being dumb animals." He taunted, grinding his foot on her tail a bit more.
Wisteria's growl only deepened at this as she started to leak Hellfire from her mouth. "And people are supposed to watch where they're walking so they don't step on something that might hurt their feet." She told him, wriggling her tail until she could turn it so the spear head Cardin's foot was on was now stood vertical.
Cardin growled at this defiance. "Oh, you'll see who's about to get hurt!" He snapped, lifting his foot to stomp down on her tail as hard as he possibly could. However, Wisteria then opened her tail into its trident formation, the topmost point sticking up at a 45 degree angle, matching perfectly with the angle Cardin's foot was coming down on.
Throughout the hallway, a sickening squish was heard, followed immediately by a girlish yelp.
Then, on the outside of the school, a giant, girlish scream of pain could be heard all throughout the school grounds.
Wisteria couldn't help but smirk from her seat, her arms crossed proudly. "That'll teach him to step on a Faunus' tail. Especially one that ends in a literal spear." She declared.
"To be fair, I kind of doubt there are many of those." Onyxia told her.
He looks at Cardin, who laughs at his opponent's tiredness, and Jaune gathers his strength to charge forward and swing his blade at Cardin, only for him to jump out of the way. Jaune looks back, surprised, as The Executioner sends Jaune's shield - and himself - flying back. Now only armed with his sword, Jaune continued to try and attack, but is blocked by the mace's hilt. Their weapons locked, Cardin forces himself up, towering over a struggling Jaune.
And so, Cardin gave a light swing of his mace Jaune actually managed to block, managing to push Cardin back because of Cardin's weak stance, allowing him to rush in and deliver a downward swing with his sword. Cardin blocked, but it made him put his full weight on both feet, causing him to buckle on his wounded foot, bringing him down to that knee, holding back Jaune's sword. The bigger boy growled in anger at this, glaring up at Jaune. "Don't think you're some kind of hotshot! You're still going down!" He declared.
"Over my dead-!" Jaune began, but was cut short as Cardin turned his mace to the side and pushed Jaune's sword away, leaving him open for the mace head to be thrust into his gut, making Jaune drop his sword and fall to the ground in pain. Cardin got to his feet and raised his mace, about to slam it down on a worried Jaune just when the buzzer rang and the lights came back on. "Cardin, that's enough!" Glynda told him, causing the bigger boy to relent and walk away as she came onto the stage, tapping her tablet.
"Jaune was already defeated and he was about to attack again. Like he was trying to finish him." Silver pointed out judgingly.
"Yeah, something about that guy doesn't sit right with me. And not just the fact he treats people- especially Faunus- like scum." Cerule agreed.
Glynda then began to type on her tablet as she lectured the students. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." She informed the class while Jaune still layed on the floor in defeat, Pyrrha looking on sadly. Glynda turns her head to look at the losing warrior. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now, would we?" She lectured Jaune as he pulled out a smaller tablet with his low, blinking stats and that of his entire team.
Speak for yourself..." Cardin said, resting his weapon on his shoulder as he walked off.
"Oh, I can think of a wolf willing to gobble YOU up, bird boy." Cerule growled a bit.
"That... sounds wrong out of context." Yang told the wolf girl.
Glynda then addressed the seated and standing students. "Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" She reminded them, the non-Monster students showing great levels of excitement: Yang was punching the air in anticipation Weiss was shaking her fists with an excited smile and Ruby, shaking her entire body with enthusiastic energy while squealing softly.
"Good thing Ozpin explained it for us already. How excited they all are, we'd look insane if we didn't know about it." Onyxia said.
"Yeah. But they're excited for a good reason. A whole event about beating each other senseless? This world is paradise." Cerule said eagerly, her tail wagging at the idea of facing off against worthy challengers.
The bell rang and students started leaving while Pyrrha continued to frown sadly. Jaune, still sitting on the floor, hung his head in shame. Thankfully, he wasn't left to stew in his sadness, as a clawed hand was held out to him. The boy looked up to see Silver offering him a hand. "Every defeat is a learning opportunity, Jaune. Don't think of it as a failure. Instead, think of it as a chance to grow and become stronger than you were today. Meanwhile, Cardin will no doubt see this as a victory and believe he has no need to improve. He'll become complacent and fall behind. You'll catch up and eclipse him very soon." The former Elder Dragon told him.
Jaune was surprised at this, but got a warm reassuring feeling from the dragon-like girl. "Thanks, Silver. I needed that." He said, taking her hand and allowing her to pull him to his feet.
Pyrrha smiled at this as well, before walking up to the two. "Jaune, Silver, we ought to get going. Don't want to miss lunch." She said, Jaune nodding and going on ahead. Pyrrha then looked to Silver. "Thank you. I've been worried about Jaune for a while now, with struggles in classes and Cardin being... Cardin. I was afraid he may go to a dark place. But I believe you pulled him off that path." She said gratefully.
Silver nodded at this. "He has potential to be a fine knight. He just needs to get out of his own head. I'm sure he'll get there soon enough. He just needs a push in the right direction. So, just be ready to give him that push." She said, Pyrrha now nodding and the two girls following their friends to lunch.
The students were now in the cafeteria, where Nora regaled her peers with a truly unbelievable story. "So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." The energetic girl began.
"It was day." Ren corrected.
"We were surrounded by Ursai..." Nora continued the story for Blake- although she was paying no attention, simply lost in her book- Cerule, Wisteria and Yang, who were all hanging on her every word, Yang with her hands cupping her face, Wisteria gripping the table excitedly and Cerule's tail wagging wildly.
"They were Beowolves." Ren contradicted once again, holding a cup of coffee.
"Dozens of them!" She screamed this as she stood at the table of Teams RWBY, ICCC and JNPR, where Weiss was ignoring Nora and filing her nails and Ruby, Silver, Onyxia and Pyrrha were listening politely and Jaune half-paying attention while also eating his dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets.
"Two of 'em." Ren interrupted once more.
"Ren, stop interrupting, I love this story!" Cerule barked.
"But... It's clearly fake, if Ren, who was there, is correcting it." Onyxia told her.
"I can dream now, let me!" Cerule snapped.
"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora explained proudly, sitting with her arms crossed.
"Don't... Grimm dissolve when they're killed? There should be no skin TO MAKE into rugs." Silver questioned.
Ren sighed. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." He explained.
"Sounds like a great night's sleep." Wisteria said.
Meanwhile, Ruby looked to Jaune, remembering how depressed he seemed after the match, but not witnessing Silver's encouraging words for him. "Jaune? Are you okay?" She asked.
Jaune had been absent-mindedly nibbling the spikes off a stegosaurus nuggie, before snapping out of it and turning back towards the youngest Beacon student. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?" He asked.
"It's just that you seemed a little... not okay..." She told him.
The others stopped their distractions and stare at him. "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Sure, I was a little upset after losing to Cardin- and him saying he didn't care if I was eaten, but Silver gave me some encouraging words and I'm better now. Really. Thanks again, Silver." Jaune said, giving the Malzeno girl a thumb's up, said dragon girl awkwardly returning it.
But then, his attention was focused on the members of Team CRDL, standing around Velvet Scarlatina, a Faunus with rabbit ears, Cardin laughing at her and Sky Lark, who held up his hands to his head in a mock interpretation of her unusual features. "Tch. I'd like to see them mocking my horns. They'd get a REAL close look at them." Wisteria declared, visualizing herself goring the bullies in the eyes with her ornate horns.
Pyrrha sighed at this, before looking to her disturbed leader. "Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" She told him.
"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah... He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!" Jaune denied.
"He's a bully." Ruby said in annoyance.
Jaune scoffed at this. "Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me." He challenged.
"When he knocked down your books in the hallway." Onyxia said.
"The time he made your shield activate and got you trapped in the doorway of a classroom." Silver added.
"And- oh, yeah! When he stuffed you into one of those rocket lockers and sent you flying." Cerule finished.
The others were totally focused on him now. "I didn't land far from the school!" Jaune attempted to laugh it off.
"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha offered.
"Ooooh!" Nora exclaimed, gets up from the table excitedly. "We'll break his legs!" She presented her diabolical plan with a not-entirely-sane grin.
"I think you're my favorite person ever." Wisteria told the hyper girl. But then she thought a minute. "Well... maybe second favorite." She said, her eyes drifting over to Weiss.
"Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone." Jaune told them.
They all looked over as the laughing grew louder, mixed in with cries of pain from the rabbit girl when one of her ears was tugged on by Cardin. "Ow! That hurts!" Velvet exclaimed. "Please, stop..." She pleaded with a grimace.
"I told you it was real!" Cardin chuckled, looking to his cronies.
"What a freak!" Russel Thrush laughed with his teammates.
Cardin stood up and tugged more on the girl's ears, his back to the group of friends, all of whom were MORE than done with his shit. Especially the monster girls. "Alright, that's it." Wisteria snarled, flicking her tail towards Cardin. And a little something extra.
Cardin continued to laugh and pull on Velvet's ears, before suddenly feeling a warm sensation, as well as a smoky smell. "Hey, is something burning, or is it just me?" He asked, letting go of Velvet's ear and sniffing.
His teammates then exclaimed in horror. "Cardin, your ass is on fire!" Sky exclaimed.
"Huh?!" The team leader asked, looking over his shoulder to see the seat of his pants enveloped in purple flames. This caused the bully to understandably freak out and run all around the cafeteria as if he were trying to OUTRUN the fire ON HIS BODY, before getting back to his team, jumping and dropping down onto his butt, before pulling himself forward to scoot along the floor and drag his butt across it like a dog, finally putting out the fire. But, of course, these ridiculous acts caused the entire cafeteria to burst out in laughter.
Cardin glared around at all of those who laughed at them, before thinking back to the fire itself. Purple fire. There was only one place he knew where purple fire came from. "You!" He snapped, glaring at Wisteria, getting up and storming up to her. "So, you think it's funny to mess with me?!" He demanded, grabbing her by the lapels and pulling her up to his face as he glared at her. Teams RWBY and JNPR stood up and looked ready to fight for their friend, but team ICCC, especially Wisteria herself, could not be less bothered.
"Cardin! That's enough! Let her go!" Glynda snapped as she made her way towards the commotion.
Cardin gasped at this, looking at the vice-headmistress, then back to Wisteria, then back to Glynda. "But, Ms. Goodwitch, look what she did to me!" Cardin exclaimed, turning so Glynda could see the burnt hole in his pants.
Glynda closed her eyes and turned her head at this. "The only thing I saw was a hole in your pants, likely caused by a fire. There could be plenty of reasons FOR said fire. Perhaps you were careless with your placement of a Fire Dust crystal and sat on it when you sat down for lunch? Or maybe you have some matches or a lighter I should know about. All I can tell was that there WAS a fire on your pants. Not where it came from." The combat instructor told him.
She had dealt with the antics of Cardin and his team for weeks now, hearing many complaints from students, or seeing the tail end of one of the team's pranks. And while she was more than willing to put a stop to it, Ozpin was far too lenient with the boys. Or really, students in general. He claimed that either the pranks were minor and not hurting anyone, or that they simply couldn't take random complaints from other students without any proof. [1]
It really says a lot when a student he used to be a LITERAL man-eating monster is less problematic than the group of pranksters and bullies. So, she secretly reveled in being able to dismiss the boys' claimed.
"But it was purple fire! She's the only one we know who makes purple fire!" Dove Bronzewing exclaimed.
Glynda looked at the rest of the bully's team, then to the rest of the cafeteria. "And did anyone ELSE see these purple flames?" She asked. Not a single hand was raised throughout the cafeteria. "Hm... Then perhaps you boys were only seeing things in the panic of your leader being set on fire. I see no evidence pointing to Wisteria being the cause of the fire and you boys are likely only trying to corroborate the story your leader wants." She told the bird-named boys. She then looked back to Cardin. "Now, I'll tell you one more time. Release her." She ordered.
Cardin looked at her in shock, before growling and looking back at Wisteria. "You're lucky she was here to save you." He told her.
"No, you're lucky she was here to save YOU." Wisteria told him with a smirk. Suddenly, Cardin felt a small, but sharp poke in his stomach, looking down to see her tail pressed up against his belly, opened up in its trident formation. So, with just the tiniest thrust, she could've impaled him in three different places. "You know, you should look into getting armor big enough to cover your whole torso. All your intestines are in your belly. And getting those damaged is just as bad as having a vital organ damaged." She informed him.
Cardin let her go and backed off, growling once again. "I can't believe they even let animals like you go here. So much for this being the best school in Remnant." He snapped, before storming off.
"Well done, Wisteria. You handled that quite well." Silver praised her teammate.
"Eh. Punk was talking WAY too big a game and acting like a big shot. SOMEONE had to take him down a peg." Wisteria explained.
"But that was STILL rather reckless. You could've gotten in a lot of trouble. Try not to get yourself expelled." Weiss told her. The two shared a decently long look for a moment, before Weiss realized how this looked. Mostly because of the looks from her peers from her peripheral. "Y-you're one of the few people I can stand, compared to all these other fools!" She quickly excused.
Wisteria chuckled at this. "Well, since you asked so nicely, in that voice I like so much, I'll at least try." She said.
But despite the boy not doing any damage, the others weren't happy of his treatment of their friend. "Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha said in disgust.
"He's not the only one..." Blake said, glaring daggers after Cardin.
"It must be hard to be a Faunus." Yang said sadly, leaning her head on her hand. "I hope no one treats you like that." She said to Onyxia.
The former Fanged Beast smirked at this. "If they did, it'd be the last time." She said, slamming her fists together.
Yang laughed at this. "I swear, I'd think you were a clone of me or something!" She said, before pausing. "... A Faunus clone... Who's way taller... And has rock armor all over... Okay, nothing like a clone, but almost the same personality!" She said.
This got a chuckle out of most of the group, Jaune smiling a bit more, before getting up to take his finished tray up the tray return. But, he didn't realize that Cardin was watching him with a sinister grin.
A uniformed, sleeping Jaune with his head resting in his hands while a constantly-zooming and fast-talking Professor Bartholomew Oobleck is in the middle of his hyperactive lecture, educating Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Pyrrha Nikos, Velvet Scarlatina, and a leaned-back Cardin Winchester directly behind Jaune.
The next class had begun, Silver sighing and trying to prepare herself to keep up with the high-speed lecture of Doctor Oobleck. She sat just to the left of Jaune, Cardin leaned back in his seat behind them, his feet on the table. Pyrrha and Blake were on the other side of the room, Weiss sat behind her teammate and Wisteria just to her right. Meanwhile, Cerule was sat to the right of Blake and Velvet was in front of Blake, Onyxia to her left.
"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution-more popularly known as the Faunus War-" Oobleck began as he zoomed up to the front of the class and the map covered in papers behind his desk. "-humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." He explained, pointing at the map of said-area with his stick, then zooming off to the side for a sip of his coffee before appearing in front of the desk. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" The doctor reminded his students as he zoomed around the classroom more, sipping his coffee again before continuing to zoom and talk. "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" He questioned.
"Jeez, that's a hell of a question to just come out and ask like that." Wisteria said in shock. But regardless, she raised her hand, remembering the few times Cardin's treated her like an animal. Some of the silhouetted students raised their hands as well. And after a moment, Velvet also did the same.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" Oobleck declared, taking another sip of his coffee. "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" The doctor questioned, at which point, a hand was raised. "Yes?" He called upon the person.
"The battle at Fort Castle!" Weiss answered.
"Precisely!" The teacher confirmed. "And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Oobleck asked.
Unseen by the professor, Cardin flicks a paper football at Jaune's head. But rather than hitting Jaune, it hit the back of Silver's wing, the former Elder Dragon raising it instead of her hand to answer the question. "I believe I know the answer, sir." The leader of Team ICCC piped up.
"Ah, yes! Miss Imperia! Excellent! What is the answer?" Oobleck asked.
"The answer is night vision, Doctor Oobleck. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." Silver answered.
"Yes! That is correct! Well, done, Miss Imperia! Just as I'd expect from such a promising student of our fine academy." The doctor praised.
Cardin scoffed at this. "Yeah, right. I bet it's just easier to train an animal than a soldier. You Faunus are all a bunch of glorified attack dogs." He said harshly. "Still, better a dog than a waste of space like Jaune." He taunted the blonde boy, who had woken up at Silver speaking next to him.
"Well, Mr. Winchester. If that's how you feel, you can stay and see me after class." Oobleck told him.
"What?! Or that's bull-" The bully began.
"I'd recommend stopping right there unless you want detention on top of staying after class." The teacher warned. Cardin huffed at this, but sat down. "Excellent choice. Now! Moving on!" Oobleck declared, zooming away.
The lesson came to an end and everyone got up to leave. As Jaune got up and started to walk by Cardin to leave, the bully got up from his seat and stepped out into the aisle, barging his shoulder into Jaune, knocking him down. He then swept his foot forward in an attempt to trip up Silver as well as she also made her way to the exit, but she simply hopped over his foot and flew forward. She then used her tail to grab Jaune's hood, picking him up and setting him back on his feet as she landed beside him, ruining all of Cardin's fun. She then looked back at him with a smirk as he could only seethe at being upstaged AGAIN.
Jaune sighed, half thankfully for being back on his feet, but half defeated that he needed Silver to come to his rescue AGAIN. "Thanks Silver." He sighed.
"Happy to help." She assured him.
Pyrrha gave a small smile at this, but also glared back at Cardin for tripping Jaune in the first place. "You know, I really will break his legs." She told her team leader.
"I think that might get you expelled." Silver explained. And she knew this, because Glynda had threatened Wisteria with expulsion if she broke the legs of another anti-Faunus jerk during Summer break.
"It would be worth it." Pyrrha assured her. Jaune sighed, when suddenly, Pyrrha looked like she was struck by inspiration. "I have an idea! Here, come with me!" She said and grabbed her confused leader by the arm and dragged him along as she turned down the corridor.
"Well, color me intrigued." Silver said, following along.
A short while later, Pyrrha lead the Jaune onto a rooftop of one of the buildings, with a clear view of the glowing green orbs in the central tower of Beacon. Meanwhile, Silver leaned against the wall of the window the two exited to the roof on.
But Jaune, seeing as they were up some place incredibly high, SERIOUSLY misread the situation. "Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." He said as he looked over the edge of the roof, to the confusion of Pyrrha. And even Silver tilted her head in confusion and peered out the window. "I can always be a farmer or something..." He said.
Finally, realization struck both girls, Silver almost about to leap out and grab the boy, but Pyrrha thankfully reacted first. "N-n-no!" The Mistral champion exclaimed in horror, dashing forward and pulling Jaune away from the edge. "That's not why I brought you up here!" She assured him. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so... I want to help you!" She explained.
Silver couldn't help but smile at this. It was good Pyrrha wanted to help her team leader. She knew everyone needed help sometimes. She knew it first-hand from when she and her teammates wound up in this world. They would've been doomed if Ozpin hadn't taken them in. And they would've been clueless about human society if it weren't for Glynda and the other teachers. And even before they even wound up in this world, she likely would've succumbed to the influence of the Qurio if not for a brave Huntress in knight-like armor with a sword and shield and another huntress with pink hair in Shagaru Magala armor, wielding a bow. [2]
"Wh-what?" Jaune asked.
"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!" Pyrrha explained.
"Well, too late for that." Silver said silently to herself.
"You think I need help?" Jaune asked Pyrrha.
"N-no! No, that's not what I meant." The Mistral champion assured him.
"But you just said it." Jaune pointed out sadly.
"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" Pyrrha reassured him.
Jaune sighed and turned away from her. "You're wrong. I-I don't belong here." He told her, lowering both his head and voice.
"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" The Spartan girl consoled him one final time.
"No, I don't!" Jaune snapped, now angry, turning back to face her. Seeing how bewildered Pyrrha looked, he sighed and decided to reveal the truth. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..." He admitted, turning his back to her so he didn't have to face her.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Pyrrha asked in shock and confusion.
"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Jaune confessed, his voice going higher and higher as he did, before he finally looked at her again. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied!" He explained.
Hearing all of this was surprising to Silver, but it also made sense, considering Jaune's noticeable lack of ability compared to his peers. But more importantly, she could see and hear the turmoil both Jaune and Pyrrha were going through. And so, she decided to step in.
"Well, if that's the case, you MUST actually belong here." Silver said, making herself known and stepping out onto the roof with them.
"Silver!" They both exclaimed in shock.
"Y-you heard all that?!" Jaune asked in horror. "Please, Silver, you can't-" He began to plead, but Silver raised a hand to stop him.
"Relax. I won't tell on you." She assured him. "Because I don't believe it would matter. You'd be staying regardless." She added.
"W-what?" Jaune asked.
"Professor Ozpin is a smart man. He picks up on things that most people would easily miss. It's very difficult to hide things from him. So it's more than likely he's seen your transcripts. And yet, you're still here. That must mean that he sees the potential for greatness in you." The former Elder Dragon explained.
"Y-you really think so?" Jaune asked.
"I'm almost positive. But, that doesn't change the fact you're leagues below where all your allies are at this point in time. You CAN be great, but you need to catch up to the rest of us first. And, honestly, I don't see that happening without help." Silver told him.
Jaune quickly grew frustrated at this. "I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" He insisted.
"Jaune, I-" Pyrrha began.
"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't either of you understand? If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?" He questioned.
However, Silver put a hand on his shoulder at this. "Jaune, NO ONE does this on their own. Nobody is BORN an incredible fighter. We all need someone to teach what to do, to show us how to become strong and stand on our own merit. Even most animals have to learn from their parents on how to do the things they need to in order to survive." She said, thinking back to the monsters of her world and how even most of them became the successful creatures they did by watching and learning from their parents. Herself included. "There's no shame in needing help. The only shame comes from when you fail because you DO try to do everything on your own." She told him.
Both of them were shocked at what she told them. "Those were... incredible words, Silver. I was very moved." Pyrrha said.
"Yeah. I guess... it makes sense when you say it like that." Jaune admitted.
Silver smiled and nodded at this. "But you don't HAVE to do everything on your own. Pyrrha can help you and is a world-class champion. That would already be enough, but I'm willing to help you as well. You've seen how I fight, the movements of my wings could very easily be applied to your own combat strategy." Silver said, referring to the way she folds her wings up into swords or uses them as shields. Both things Jaune could make use of with relative ease.
Jaune looked at both of them, before he sighed. "After all that, I don't think I really CAN say no now. You're both right, I need to get better somehow. And if this is how to do it, then so be it. I'll take the help, from both of you." He finally accepted.
Pyrrha smiled at this. "That's wonderful, Jaune! We'll both do our best to make you one of the most skilled fighters in Beacon!" She assured him.
"I won't make it easy on you, but if you can manage to stick with it, I promise it will be worth while." Silver told him.
"Awesome. Looking forward to it!" Jaune said, finally brightening up and sounding eager. "Oh- and Silver? Thanks. I guess I just needed to get out of my own head. And you helped with that." He said gratefully.
Silver nodded once again. "You're quite welcome, Jaune. Like I said, Ozpin must believe you have potentially. And I KNOW I believe you have potential. I look forward to helping you reach it." She said.
"Well, then. If we're going to train, we should gather our weapons." Pyrrha said.
"Mine are already with me." Silver said, raising her tail and claws while spreading her wings. "So, I'll wait for you here." She said.
"Alright, then. We'll be back as quick as we can." Pyrrha said.
"Yeah. I'm actually getting excited for this now. Let's go, Pyrrha!" Jaune said, running off ahead.
Pyrrha smiled at this, before turning to Silver. "Thank you. I haven't seen him this lively for a while now. You brought a spark back to him." She said gratefully.
"Like I said, I see potential in him and I'd be happy to help him reach it. He deserves to strive forward and accomplish his goals, especially compared to someone like Cardin." She said. She then looked at Pyrrha. "I see a potential in you, too. Between you and him. A potential to become mates." She added.
Pyrrha blushed redder than her hair at this. "W-what do you mean!? We ARE already mates! As in FRIENDS! Compatriots! Pals! Amigos..." She said quickly, although became meeker and less convincing with each one.
Silver giggled at this, but shook her head. "No, there's something more than that here. I can smell it." She said.
"Cerule said the same thing when we first met... Albeit in a much more vulgar way." Pyrrha admitted.
"I'm sure Jaune feels it, too. He's just not keenly aware of it yet. But maybe through this training, he'll realize it as the two of you become closer." Silver suggested.
Pyrrha smiled at this. "Maybe, we'll just have to see, I suppose." She said. "W-well, I should go get my weapon, as well." She said quickly, hurrying after Jaune.
Silver smiled once again at this. "It really is amazing watching these children grow. I'm actually kind of excited to HELP Jaune grow into the warrior I'm sure he can become. He may even be able to rival some of the elite hunters of my world." She admitted to herself. "After a VERY long time of training, of course..."
[1] Sorry if I seem like I'm making Ozpin uncaring to his students, or overly negligent, but A... He was overly negligent. He didn't realize spies had snuck in right under his nose And took no action to increase security after several serious events. Yes, Ironwood overreacted to pretty much everything, but at least he DID react! Even RWBY Chibi makes fun of Ozpin's lack of action! And B: he was fine with the food fight that pretty much DESTROYED the cafeteria. So, unless someone got SERIOUSLY hurt, I really don't see him doing anything.
[2] Firstly, yes, this is implying Silver is the same Primordial Malzeno hunted at the very end of Sunbreak. Secondly, the pink-haired huntress with a bow is a little reference to my brother Sai Blade's playthrough on YouTube, where he plays as a female huntress with a bow, Cyra.
