"So, Bossman, what do you think?"
Azure turned the crystal over in his hands, inspecting each facet curiously. Gayle had constructed it in one of her recent Dust projects, something she had a surprising knack for considering she rarely used Dust herself. The team had learned of Gayle's interest in the resource not long after initiation, but they hadn't been included in any of her projects until recently. She needed help testing the new compounds, and her teammates were the first people who popped into her head.
Azure continued twirling the silver shard while students filed into the desks around them. "Depends. What does it do?"
Gayle grinned sheepishly and twirled the end of her braid around a finger. "Ah, wellll…" she began.
"Don't tell me you don't know what it does."
"Finding out is part of the testing process!" Gayle protested. "I can put stuff together, but that doesn't mean I always know what it's gonna do. I have a couple theories, but-"
"Don't you do control tests with your compounds?" a new voice interrupted.
Gayle and Azure looked up to see that their partners had joined the conversation. Rember was the one who had spoken, and for some reason her expression was panicked.
"I try to," Gayle responded, frowning. "But unless I have something or someone to test them on it's kinda tough to do."
Rember's eyes were bright, and it looked like she was starting to hyperventilate.
"Uh, Ber? You okay?"
The fox girl's green stare was locked on the crystal in Azure's hands. Instead of answering she shuddered and took a seat on the far end of the bench, opposite her partner and the Dust he held. The remaining three members of KRME exchanged glances, Jad muttering "Is she alright?" before Azure started the conversation again.
"Okay, so you don't know for sure what this Dust does, but do you have any ideas?"
"Well, this one is either time distortion or-"
Gayle was cut off as Professor Ozpin entered the room, the entire class falling silent.
"Good morning, students," the headmaster greeted. "If I may have your attention for one moment please."
The already silent class perked up. It was rare for Ozpin to appear in one of the classrooms like this, as he usually only spoke during assemblies.
"I'm here to inform you all that Professor Port is away on Huntsman business, and will be absent for an indeterminate period of time," he announced. "However we have the honour of hosting a visiting Huntress from Sanctum Academy who has volunteered to fill in while Professor Port is gone. Please allow me to introduce Professor Malorey, an expert on the creatures of Grimm."
A tall woman with short brown hair and kind brown eyes stepped into the room. She smiled at the class, eyes roving across the students, and her smile widened when her gaze fell upon a certain ochre-haired faunus in the second row.
"Hello, everyone," she said. "I'm Professor Malorey, but please feel free to call me-"
"Miss Bruna!"
The members of KRME jumped as Rember sat up in her seat with a grin, her anxiety from a few minutes ago having melted away.
"Ah, Rember! I wondered if I would see you here," the brunette said with a smile before turning back to the class. "As Miss Autumn so kindly announced, you may call me Miss Bruna. I look forward to learning with you."
Ozpin chuckled. "It seems you have this well in hand, Professor. I'll leave you to it."
There were a few muttered farewells as the headmaster left, but most students' attention was on their substitute. For a moment Bruna Malorey studied her new charges with a curious gaze, taking note of those who fidgeted or looked tired. Her eyes narrowed fractionally when they landed upon Cardin Winchester and his team, as though she suspected them of something, but her gaze moved away from them and eventually came to Rember sitting up eagerly. Bruna winked at the girl before starting her lecture.
"The creatures of Grimm are universally known to be monsters: unfeeling, ruthless, and drawn to negative energy. What is not universally known is that the Grimm have their own culture, one that has both similarities to and differences from our own. Study of the Grimm isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind when they appear, but there is more to be learned about the creatures than how to kill them."
The majority of the class listened with rapt attention. Professor Port's lectures were always full of boastful stories and exaggerations, but this was something completely different.
Bruna looked around the room. "Does anyone have a favorite Grimm species? One they take note of more than the others?"
Rember's hand shot immediately into the air, and Bruna had to stifle a chuckle. Another hand rose, more slowly, and Bruna nodded to the student.
"Yes? What's your name?"
"Azure Knyte."
KRME turned in surprise when their leader spoke. He never spoke up in class unless asked a direct question!
"Very well, Mr. Knyte, what creature of Grimm fascinates you?"
"There are two," Azure replied, "the Nevermore and the King Taijitu."
"And why do you find them interesting?" Bruna pressed.
"Well," Azure shrugged, "the Nevermore has always held my interest because it's avian. Birds have always fascinated me. Most other flying Grimm are another species entirely or some sort of avian hybrid, like Griffins."
"An acute observation," Bruna agreed. "And the King Taijitu?"
"The way the two halves, black and white, are joined in the middle. With two heads it makes sense that they would be fighting each other, but somehow it's able to coordinate all its movements and attacks. I like it's resilience, and how much of a challenge it can be to defeat it."
"Interesting," the professor mused. "Thank you for sharing, Mr. Knyte. Miss Autumn? I suspect I know your answer already, but your classmates may not."
Rember grinned. "Beowolves! I've always found it strange that they live, roam, and hunt in packs when most other Grimm are solitary. I know some others group up, like Goliath herds and flocks of Griffins, but Beowolves actively to seek each other out and work together, even the younger ones."
Bruna returned her student's smile. The girl had clearly kept up with her studies.
"Thank you, Rember," she acknowledged. She turned to the rest of the class. "Miss Autumn brings up an interesting point. Why do Beowolves gather in packs? There are a number of theories about this, the first being…"
The rest of the period passed uneventfully despite Professor Malorey taking a much different approach to teaching than the subject's usual instructor. When the bell signifying the end of class rang, students filed out of the room, chattering about the change of pace and the things they'd learned.
"So Foxy," Jad ventured. "How do you know the sub?"
"Miss Bruna was one of my instructors at Sanctum," Rember replied with a smile. "She oversaw the girls' dorms in our class, and she was always happy to answer questions. If she doesn't know something about a Grimm, it isn't worth knowing."
"She definitely has a different approach from Professor Port when it comes to teaching," Azure acknowledged. "It was nice to have a discussion instead of just sitting there."
"Bruna's great. She always takes the time to make sure you get what she's talking about without making you feel like an idiot for not understanding already."
"She seems really nice," Gayle piped up. "I wonder if-"
Rember, Jad, and Azure all gave their friend a puzzled look as she froze in place, eyes wide.
"Gayle?" Rember asked. "You okay?"
The lizard girl shook her head. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I just, uh, forgot something. I'll see you in class!"
Gayle whirled around and made her way back towards the classroom, her teammates watching her go with frowns.
"So she totally just made that up, right?" Rember muttered.
"Yeah," Jad agreed. "I think something's wrong. It's not like her to keep running off like that."
Gayle was out of sight now, and Azure took the opportunity to look around. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just students crowding the halls on their way to their next class. A few familiar faces stood out, like team CRDL, and Jaune Arc, but no one they didn't know.
"Let's just keep our eyes open if she does this again," Azure suggested.
Unable to do anything else for the time being, Jad and Rember shrugged and the three moved off to their next class.
The sun was low on the horizon, spilling its parting rays through KRME's window. Three figures lay sprawled across various articles of furniture, silently engaged in miscellaneous tasks.
Rember was the first to break the silence. She popped her head up from where it was previously buried in a book, ears swiveling as she did a quick look around the room.
"Yo Azure," she called, tossing a nearby pillow at her napping partner. "Have you seen lil' lizard?"
KRME's leader raised his head, groggy from being woken so abruptly. He peered around their dorm through eyes heavy with sleep. A moment later he sat up with an expression of concern.
"No, I haven't," he said, turning his gaze back to where Rember sat, her brow furrowed in concern.
The corners of his mouth turned down into a small frown. His sense of worry for their youngest team member had been growing by the day as she continued to become more and more withdrawn. It was clear that something was bothering her (even when she acted semi-normal), and Azure was starting to doubt his initial belief that Gayle would come to her teammates if something was wrong. It had been nearly two weeks, and none of them had succeeded in prying anything from the little faunus.
Three minutes later the two teammates rallied their third member. Jad wasn't having it at first, until they said Gayle was missing. Within seconds he was up and ready to bust heads. Five minutes saw them out the door. At ten minutes, they were wandering every corridor in search of their wayward teammate. At thirty, they unanimously agreed that their progress was much too slow together.
Nearly an hour after they had departed their room, KRME was scattered across campus. Rember took an outdoors route, roving the well-worn paths and curated gardens of Beacon Academy. Jad continued to scour the corridors and classrooms, to little success. Azure chose the path less traveled, traversing roof tiles and treetops to search from above.
Tensions rose each moment Gayle remained unfound. Azure did his best to be calm, and pushed forward with a drive and concentration powered by his swelling concern. He reached a particular peak on the school's rooftop where he had a relatively clear view of the entire school, and here he stopped. The boy closed his eyes, and concentrated fiercely. A numbing melancholy began to creep through his thoughts as he surveyed the colours sprawled before him, but he dismissed the nagging despair. So intent was he on his survey of the school, searching for any hint of the missing faunus girl, that it took a moment for him to recognize the detached sense of the emotion as emanating from someone else.
A sharp hue of sorrow drew his attention next, and he quickly realized that he was not alone on the rooftop. Cautiously, he crept to the edge and peered over to a ledge below.
He was greeted by a familiar red braid and twitching green tail, and was flooded with relief.
Found you.
"You know," Azure spoke up from his cover, grinning, "it's dangerous to be up here alone."
Gayle startled upon hearing the unexpected voice, tail thrashing wildly as she looked behind her.
"Huh!? A-Azure? How -w-why are you...?" She stammered in a whirlwind of words, unable to finish her sentences.
The boy in white chuckled. "When people want to be alone, they go to high places. Seriously, you're not the only one who does it."
Gayle sighed and turned her gaze outward to the landscape displayed below them. "I always used to climb trees and stuff with my-with my best friend. Back home."
Azure scaled down the structure to perch next to his teammate. He tried to study her emotions but found he couldn't easily decipher her turmoil; the only clear sentiments were her own confusion and that lingering melancholy. Furrowing his brow, he struggled to determine what might ease the girl's troubled mind, but with no clear hints he was left guessing.
"You missing home?" he asked softly. It was the only idea he had that sounded believable.
"Nah, I'm just...tired, I guess." She shrugged, giving him a small smile that only deepened the weight in her eyes.
They were silent for another moment as Azure pondered how best to respond. He knew she didn't mean tired physically. Gayle was much too health-conscious to allow herself to go without proper sleep. But he knew not to pry too much and risk pushing her further away.
"Alright. Maybe come back to the dorm and get some sleep?" Azure suggested in what he hoped was an encouraging way. "You have been studying pretty hard recently."
He then got up and stretched out a hand. Gayle considered the gesture.
"Yeah, okay."
Gayle gave the grounds one last sweeping glance, before turning away and clasping Azure's hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet.