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"And stationary?"

"Weekly stationary intake requests total precisely four thousand, eight hundred and forty five Lien." Goodwitch answered, standing on the balcony with Ozpin leaning against the railing in front of her, watching the sunrise as he often did while she made her weekly budgetary report. "Student stationary has seen something of an uptick, unfortunately, with Vale's new regulations regarding high yield ordinance. The additional writing required is… Cumbersome."

"But reasonable enough." Ozpin countered, "Given… Recent events."

"What happens in Vacuo, and its deserts at that, should not-"

"We are a global world, Headmistress." Ozpin cut her off, taking a quick sip of his morning coffee before going on frankly in that authoritative way of his. "What happens in Vacuo affects us here, and vice versa. We would be fools not to react to the White Fang's tactics. I've faced more than enough similar groups, both just and… Less so, in my time. I know this all from experience."

"I see…"

"Forgive the brusqueness." He offered almost immediately, sighing and drumming his fingers on his mug. Before she could respond, he asked, "What is next?"

"Dust ammunition and power supplies will be incoming with a few other miscellaneous orders placed by the students in… Two hours and some." She went on, flipping to the next page in her folder. A recent development of Ozpin's - swapping to hard folders for a lot of their initial record keeping, then archiving it into digital later. Supposedly, it bought them security, though she wasn't entirely sure what he was so wary of recently. "Four Bullheads for transport, totalling… One point three million Lien or so. I have manifests inbound to my Scroll for landing checks."

"I'm assuming you already have assistants for that?"

"Three first years in detention, and Port, yes." She nodded, still trying to puzzle out why the man had volunteered for it. Normally, he despised the paperwork entailed, and he had to be coerced into it on rotation with the rest of the staff. Smiling, she asked, "Why? Did you wish to volunteer?"

"Oh dear Gods no, I-I, uh, that is... Hmph." He cleared his throat, shaking his head and saying more smoothly, and professionally, "No, not today, Headmistress. I believe I will… Go over other matters instead. I leave this to your trustworthy judgement."

"Indeed." She shook her head, moving on to the next item, "As to the total of Lien spent on damaged security and training drones-"

"Five hundred thousand or so." Ozpin nodded, rolling a shoulder in a familiar, if old, way. Still, in spite of the concern that brought, Glynda couldn't help the unhappy hiss that slipped through her teeth at the number - a quarter or more higher than was standard for their heavier training weeks, with the upper-years. Sheepishly, Ozpin muttered, "I ah, I may have… Been responsible for some of those so I looked into it myself."

"I see…" She muttered, staring into the man's back. "You understand each of those is rather expensive, yes?"

"I do."

"And our contract only stipulates replacing those destroyed by Grimm and students, of which you are neither…"

"I… Forgot that bit."

"Oz…" She sighed, already dreading the headache parsing all that out would inevitably cause as she walked through the training with-

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm taking it from your refectory budget."

"You witch…"

"Oh, and quite a good one at that." She smiled, shaking her head and sighing as she added the notes to her paperwork - she'd need to move a few other things around to pay for the extra lost units, but… "In the end, it is better that you be ready to fight, if needs be, I suppose."

"Right…" He nodded, "That… Was my thinking, too, yes."

"And since we know you're in top form," she smiled just a bit wider, "I'm certain you can handle a press event next week, to recoup some of our losses."

"You know I dislike those…" He sighed, turning back to watching the distant city more intently once more. Sighing, he took a long drink from his mug and turned, pacing into the office and over to his desk, where a pot was still steaming for him to refill his mug from. "What kind of press events, exactly, are you looking at?"

"The first is a diplomatic one, to establish an academic embassy in Menagerie and pursue fundraising for it." That actually gave the ancient man pause, while he processed her words, smiled, realised he had and that Glynda had seen it so he definitely couldn't get out of it now or use it to complain about anything else. When he flicked her a look, she blinked slowly, flipping a page lazily, and he sighed as she went on, "The next is with the SDC. Part of our… Earlier deals, if you catch my meaning, for Dust importing for Beacon itself."

"And Jacques wants…?"

"To build a new library." She answered, "For 'cultural studies'. With his name on it."

"Gee, I do so wonder what cultures will be included there…"

"I know." Goodwitch sighed, "But… We need the Lien, Ozpin."

"I know, I know…" The man nodded, taking his seat and asking warily, as if she'd hurl a Grimm at him, "I don't suppose that's all?"

"The Council wants to meet with you, publicly, to…" She sighed, " Be seen unified after the recent election and it's, as they put it, 'difficulties'."

"One way to put it, I suppose…" He sighed, shaking his head and giving her a quiet look to ask if there was anything else. When she shook her head he nodded and asked, quietly, "And… What of our young missing team? Any word, as of yet?"

"The… Legal dispute with Mistral regarding where it disappeared, and water rights, has caused some issues regarding searching but… With those mostly settled now, thanks to Ironwood's intercession, it is progressing." She answered with a thin smile. Even now, it seemed a ridiculous debate, where the lines on a map of the ocean lay when young adults' lives hung in the balance. "He has to clear each island of Grimm and hazards, however, which is slowing things as he follows their route. Regardless, he will have reached the region where the last, garbled signal came from the Argonaut. They can't be far, but there are a number of islands there, from earlier surveys, and en route to it."

"Ever politics bothers me…" Ozpin sighed, "Still, someone as skilled as Miss Nikos will not merely drown. And Miss Rose could escape on her own, in the worst case."

"I doubt she would…"

"You may not be wrong to think that." Ozpin chuckled, "Regardless, I believe they will be found. Intact and relatively unbothered."

"I hope for the same." She nodded, closing her folder and sighing, "If that is all you need, I am done with the budgetary matters."

"You are dismissed," Ozpin nodded, "so long as you do not need anything of me in turn."

"Only for you to stop destroying our drones…"

Ozpin just groaned and rolled his eyes dramatically, muttering, "You do hold grudges…"

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From her budgetary meeting to combat class, Goodwitch was busy until she had a short break to eat in her usual spot at the corner of the cafeteria, half an hour into Oobleck's history lecture and Peach's upper course chemistry classes. With the rest of the upper years out on missions, that let her have the cafeteria mostly to herself. At least, aside from one or two upper year teams, or injured members, scattered across the huge space. But, tucked into a corner, she relaxed with an E-Book on her scroll, flicking with one hand while she ate a ham sandwich with the other.

It was… Nice.

Just her, her sandwich and her novels, however trashy some might have called them, was a perfect way to prepare for the next leg of the day.

That next leg came half an hour into her hour lunch when her Scroll chimed with an automated message from one of the menial drones that helped with freight at the docks, 'Cargo inspection arrived - signature required.'

Shoving the last third of her sandwich in her mouth in a less than dignified manner, she stood and headed for the door, dropping her tray off on one of the bins beside it as she went.

The landing bay was the same one that they used to ferry students to and fro, and when they first came, from Vale. Although unlike then, now it was filled by five long airships with ovular pot-bellies, raised pilots cabins with glass noses she could see their seats through, and four turbine-engines. Each pot-belly opened on the sides at the middle, with long ramps she watched drones already being directed up and down by the ship crews, using their own units to start unloading large metal and wooden crates while they waited for her to arrive and order Beacon's twenty waiting units to join.

All of this was perfectly normal, being overseen by Port who waited at the end of the path to the docks.

Less normal was the young, uniformed student waiting with him…

"Miss Valkyrie." She spoke in greeting as she reached them. They both turned to her, looking just a bit more… Subdued for some reason than she was used to from either of them. Eyes narrowed, she asked, "What brings you here? From my understanding, you tend to spend free periods in your quarters or… Making munitions."

"I'm… All full up on grenades?"

"Somehow, I doubt you could ever be 'full up' on explosives, Miss Valkyrie-"

"Fair."

"-but that doesn't answer my actual question." Goodwitch went on, already weary of the young woman's near constant antics. After Taurus' little attack, she understood what Ozpin saw in her, of course, but… Well, that didn't help the headache any. Ignoring it, she repeated, "What, exactly, brings you here, Miss Valkyrie?"

"I plead the Fifth…?"

"Miss Valkyrie, please." She sighed, turning to take the tablet one of the drones offered her and signing on the digital line so the rest could get to work. "I am not a cop, and this is not a jail for you to be interrogated in."

"Legally or spiritually?"

"To which part, precisely?"

"Uh…" Valkyrie blinked, "Yes?"

Port snorted and Goodwitch shot him a look that was sharp enough he at least had the good sense to clear his throat and mutter, "Miss Valkyrie is, ah, here for a special delivery she ordered. For her team, you see."

"And this was… Approved?"

"Yep!" Valkyrie chirped, patting the little manila folder out from under her arm and waving it at her with a smirk. "All dotted and signed, just like the school wants!"

"You," she blinked, "did paperwork."

"I helped." Port offered with a thin grin and something… Mischievous in his eyes. Slowly, he reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder and said, "You always did want me to learn how to fill our all your forms properly, didn't you?"

"...What have you done?"

"Well… Paperwork." He answered smugly, as two Beacon drones came over carrying something very large, suspiciously square and marked out with a familiar anagram on a clear plastic topper covering the huge mattress that had her round on Port with a demanding scowl. He chuckled and backed away, hands raised in surrender, "Now, now… We did the paperwork!"

"Why on Remnant do you have a…" She blinked, turning to watch the bed pass by, "What size even is that?"

"Triple king!" She rounded on Valkyrie and she squeaked, backing up a step before she held the folder up with a hand and raised her chin. "I did the paperwork!"

"That thing will take up so much space- Where is your team supposed to sleep?" Valkyrie only smirked and Goodwitch shook her head, turning to Port with another scandalous look. "Port you did not approve a bed for them all to-"

"Who are we to get in the way of young love, dear Glynda?" The man cut her off, backing up and tugging at the collar of his shirt nervously. "And besides they're almost all women! What's the big deal?"

"And one of them is not…"

"If young Mister Lie makes any kind of mistake you're worried about," Port chuckled, "I'll marry an Ursa."

"Port…"

"Listen, they're all adults and have earned a bit of respect and trust." Port argued quietly, "This isn't Miss Rose's team, where we have a child on hand. These are grown young people who have already made serious decisions."

"Like letting a known terrorist stab one of them?" Goodwitch pursed her lips, "Yes. Quite a reassuring decision."

"She-"

"Doesn't regret a Gods damned thing about any of it, because it worked, and the people I care about made it out." Valkyrie cut the older Huntsman off, stepping forward a bit to meet Goodwitch's eyes with a… Familiar bit of fire that gave Goodwitch pause. "I knew what I was doing then and I know now. I just… Want everyone to be happy, and alright, you know?"

"And you think surprising everyone with them not having their own beds will do that…?"

"In fairness," Port rumbled, "I insisted she keep two. They'll find the space, I'm sure."

"You did, now…?"

"Yeah, because despite what everyone says… I'm not an idiot. Okay?" Valkyrie pursed her lips until Goodwitch rounded on her and snatched the folder.

Checking over the paperwork, and making a point of reading through the section that detailed the new room arrangement with two spare beds around the corner against the back wall, she found herself… Well, not quite trapped, per se, as she could easily push back against this. She was the Headmistress, after all, and held final say over quartering for the students as well as alterations, whether Valkyrie had technically followed enough rules to feel confident about it or not. But, even so…

She could see that firm, familiar fire in the young explosive's experts' eyes.

So, eventually, she just sighed and grunted, "Miss Valkyrie, we will discuss this later-"

"You can't give me detention, I did the paperwork!"

"I know." She sighed, as much as she hated it. Whether she agreed or not, she'd gotten a furniture request form, filled out a reason - though she doubted 'trauma comfort time beds are fun for the whole team' would really count - and given it to a head of staff to get approved. Shaking her head, she said, "I meant you… Courting someone who will shortly be a person of diplomatic interest. There are things you should know. Things to… Prepare for."

"Ah…" She blinked, "So no detention?"

"Go deal with your bed." She grunted, waving the woman away and handing back the folder.

"So…" Port murmured when Valkyrie had left, "No-"

"You're on cafeteria duty for a month."

"...Fair enough."

"And no cookie stealing."

"You're a witch!" He scoffed, "A foul creature of the night!"

She just rolled her eyes and checked her Scroll when it pinged, eyes widening before she turned and grunted, "Handle the rest, Port, I need to go speak to the Headmaster about important matters."

"How imp-"

"I'll take a week off your cafeteria time," she grunted, storming away and calling back, "just don't break anything! And keep track of where it all goes! I'll handle the final organisation later!"

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Glynda Goodwitch had seen more than a lot, and lived through a lot that would leave most people scoffing in disbelief. Wizards, magic men shifting into birds, ancient witches, young witches… She'd run the gambit on 'things no one would believe' a long time ago, and kept running right into the next. But now, as the sun set and Ironwood's Iron Hand drifted overhead, a Bullhead descending from its belly, she added another impossible thing as a Faunus - and a White Fang veteran, no less - looked positively glad to see an Atlesian warship overhead. It was only borrowed happiness, sure, but…

Belladonna still smiled as the Bullhead landed and her blonde teammate shot forward, scooping her sister up in her arms and almost crying as the exhausted team disembarked, with hair still wet from no doubt sorely needed showers aboard the Iron Hand.

"So…" Goodwitch heard Nora say as the two of them sauntered forward and she threw an arm around her. "I'm thinking pizza."

"Why…?"

"To celebrate." She and Lie both said at the same time, snickering at the Faunus' unamused groan. Still, the woman didn't hesitate to lean into the larger, broader leader's hug as she went on, "And I can make Ren make us cookies!"

"I feel like I should get a say in that…?" The man muttered darkly, though he smiled when Goodwitch turned to give him a look, one brow raised.

Just his sense of humor, she supposed…

"Did I hear cookies?!" A muted voice squawked as Rose dematerialised in her sister's arms and shot over to Nora's side, bouncing in the ill-fitting military uniform they'd all been given to ride back in, rather than the dirty swimwear they'd had. "Come on, I haven't had anything unhealthy in days!"

"You know, normally eating just healthy stuff is a good thing…"

"Oh, shush, Yang." Rose rolled her eyes, waving her taller sister off as she bounced away.

"Miss Goodwitch…" She hummed and turned as Miss Nikos, trailing behind the others, gave her a look. "We, uh, made it back. No one was hurt, but… I know there's stuff to do, after things like this. Correct?"

"You are, yes." Goodwitch nodded as she turned to look after the others, and watched them all head inside with smiles and weary sounding laughs. Technicality had its demands, of course, but…

She just sighed and turned to follow them, flicking Miss Nikos a look as she trailed behind, fussing at the baggy Atlesian uniform she'd also been given. Quietly, she said, "We can handle the paperwork and debrief tomorrow. You should all rest for now."

"That," the Mistralian sighed, "would be appreciated."

"I know." She smiled, "Also, you should know that your friends over there have one big bed to share."

"Why…?"

She just shrugged and opened her Scroll, typing out a quick message to Ozpin to reassure him all was well. And remind him to thank James when he had a moment. Which served as a good excuse to pretend not to hear the question she didn't want to answer. Because how could she say 'I want to get back at Valkyrie by annoying them all' without sounding…

Well, immature?

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