Philip groaned. "I told you, I got everything here."

"Yes, I know." Jonathan sighed, one foot keeping the dorm door open. "But it's the Vytal Festival. Everyone is going to the city. Hell, even Gray and Ronald are going!"

Philip squeezed the doorknob. "Shame, I ain't feeling very festive. If you guys wanna go, fine. But leave me here."

"But—"

"It is his choice," Grayson interrupted.

Jonathan sighed again and removed his foot. "Okay, we'll buy you some low tea when we come back."

"Appreciate it!" Philip slammed the door shut.

He slumped against the door and ruffled his hair. This was hardly the time to reconcile and pretend everything was fine. Even though those White Fang idiots might not have recognised him, they would've told the others about what they saw. It wouldn't take Adam two brain cells to realise he was hiding in Beacon. If he went to the city now, it'd be suicidal.

He kept his ear on the door until the footsteps outside disappeared. Carefully, he peeked through the door. No one was around. Despite the circumstances, a bud of excitement spouted inside him. He now had the whole afternoon for himself. The possibilities were endless. But first, he wanted to do something he'd been dying to do.

Philip grabbed his hammer and headed to the courtyard. The warm sun hung perfectly on a cloudless blue sky, complementing the cool breeze nicely. Tiny birds flew high above and tweeted whenever they flapped their wings. The flowers and grass smelled even sweeter and snappier. But the scent was polluted by the many students sitting on the grass. Exchange students, to be precise, came from each Huntsman Academy for the Vytal Festival Tournament. They chatted, laughed and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Philip wandered around for a moment, and his spirit was lifted even higher: an empty bench.

His nose wrinkled. Fur. Someone familiar and somewhere close.

Snap!

He grabbed his mallet and swung around, terrifying the Faunus holding an antique-looking camera. It was that rabbit Faunus girl again. Though she was now wearing a brown jacket and a black top.

"Sorry. I should've asked first, shouldn't I?" Velvet's long ears flopped.

"Yeah, you should." Philip scowled and sheathed his mallet. "What's with the photo?"

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, I just find you really interesting! You're just loud. How you leave any armour and only wear a tank top and shorts is just fascinating. The asymmetry of your harness is both practical and eye-catching. It parallels well with your missing ear!"

"Wow, I've never felt so great about losing an ear." He chuckled bitterly.

"O-Oh, I don't mean—What I want to say is..." She bowed. "I'm sorry! I just wanted to thank you for helping me out back then."

Philip rolled his eyes. She was weird. But at least she seemed genuine. The White Fang would need to be really desperate to send her here.

He waved dismissively. "Whatever. I didn't do much anyway."

She flashed a smile and reached out. "I'm Velvet."

"I know. Jonathan talked about you." He shook her hand. "Philip."

"Is this the guy?"

A tall, stylish woman, flanked by two other men, strutted towards him. Faint pop music seemed to follow her. The badge on her waist showed she was a second year. She adjusted her dark beret and lowered her aviator sunglasses, checking him with her brown eyes. A smirk slowly emerged on her face.

She said, "I can see why Bun Bun wants to see you again."

"Again, I didn't do—"

"I agree," a Faunus with pure white eyes chimed in. His short copper hair matched his orange vest well.

Philip groaned. "Okay, who the hell are you guys?"

Velvet smiled and popped next to them. "Philip, this is my team, Team CFVY. That's Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi."

"Coffee, huh? Sounds nice," he deadpanned. "Listen, I'm not in the mood for a chitchat. Can we not do this now?"

Coco chuckled. "Oh! I like him."

"Too bad I can't say the same." He forced a smile. "Don't you guys have better things to do?"

"We don't. We're waiting for our mentor to take us for the elective," Yatsuhashi answered. A massive, pale green spaulder covered his entire left shoulder.

"Great. Can you wait somewhere else?"

"Kid, there's a fine line between being assertive and disrespectful." Coco poked under his jaw. "Try not to muddle those two."

Velvet pushed them apart. "Oh, look! It's almost time to go. Ha-ha… Bye, Philip! I hope I see you in the Tournament."

Philip sneered and rubbed his achy neck as Velvet dragged her teammates away. If they stayed any longer, his day would be truly ruined. Still, she was probably right about one thing. If Grayson kept pushing them like this, being in the Tournament would be entirely possible.

Philip yawned and sat up from the bench. The warmth had long faded as the sky became orange-red. The sea of people had left. He wiped his groggy eyes and stretched his muscles. Then, there was a collection of scents. His teammates were returning. But not alone.

As the noise of a heated argument became more apparent, Ruby's team came into view first. Weiss and Blake were on the verge of a catfight as Jonathan stepped between them, acting as some kind of a physical barrier. Behind them, Ronald switched his attention between them and the others. But Grayson, Ruby, and Yang remained further behind.

Weiss snapped, "Why are you defending the White Fang so much?! They're nothing but a group of terrorists!"

"I'm sure Blake has her reasons," Jonathan pleaded. "There are still living Faunus who used to be slaves. The White Fang didn't happen in isolation."

Blake crossed her arms. "That's right! The Faunus have been oppressed for generations. They only want equality, free from oppression."

"However, I don't think they're not helping their cause by committing those robberies and raids," Jonathan said.

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!"

"No one's! That's the point?!" Jonathan facepalmed.

Philip snickered and circled them. He didn't need to get himself involved with this nonsense. But the small leader still waved him over.

"Hi, Philip," Ruby said.

"…Jonathan must've mentioned me."

"Yup!" A frown replaced her smile, and she gestured towards Jonathan. "Do you want to help him out?"

He shrugged. "Meh, he's fine. What happened?"

"Well… There was this Dust shop that got robbed in the city. That turned into a discussion about the White Fang. But that stopped when a stowaway Faunus got chased by a bunch of sailors. Weiss asked us to chase after him, but he got away. I then bumped into a girl literally, which became an argument about the Faunus and, by extension, the White Fang. So, here we are!" She stopped flailing her arms.

"…Charming. They've been doing this all the way to here?"

Yang sighed and picked her ear. "Pretty much."

"You want to know why I despise the White Fang?!" Weiss said. "It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

Blake glared back. "Well, maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

The courtyard became heavily still. All eyes were now on Blake. She whimpered about something and sprinted away. When she disappeared from view, Philip finally started breathing. He brushed his hand over his head. If she were only a former White Fang member, this wouldn't be so bad. But It'd be a huge, fucking issue if that wasn't the case. They wouldn't just infiltrate one person into the academy. There was no other option. He had to tell Ozpin. It might even score him some good points.

He turned around and found Grayson staring at him.

"What?" Philip asked.

"It is nothing." Grayson glanced at him again and headed away.

Author's Notes:

I'll admit, I have no idea how to characterise Team CFVY. It's not like they had much screen time and dialogue in the show (I know there's a book, but that's beside the point). If they seem off in here, that's why. Do let me know how I can improve them, though.

See you next week.