A/N: Sorry I haven't posted in years. I was busy. I'm baaaack.

Chapter 71: Velvet

"Less talking, more training!" Professor Goodwitch barked.

Velvet felt her head spin, and, in the split second that it took to look up at Professor Goodwitch after the announcement, she was whacked to the ground with a shield.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha cried.

"It's fine," Velvet whimpered, wincing as she stood up. Even sleep-deprived, Pyrrha Nikos knew her way around a fight. They had been talking about the caste system, and the issues it presented for people. Pyrrha had seemed a little tired when they were paired up to be partners, and, when Velvet asked, she admitted that she had stayed up late studying for Oobleck's exam. At the time, Velvet had taken Pyrrha's sleep deprivation to be a mercy. Fighting a fully-awake Pyrrha Nikos was not a fate she wished on even her worst enemy.

It didn't help that Velvet was trying to save up the best weapons on Anesiadora for a real fight, rather than sparring. It felt awkward using the weapons of the girls that fought in training matches next to her, so she resorted to Reese's hoverboard, a weapon that she had plenty of pictures of and that she doubted she'd use in a real fight. Even with Velvet's photographic memory, she was wibbly and wobbly on that board.

When they started again, Velvet pulled out a hard-light-dust weapon identical to Yatsuhashi Daichi's greatsword. He had let her take pictures of it in the garden the day of the beach date, and it was easier to wield than the hoverboard. When Pyrrha sent her javelin, Velvet ducked, deflecting it with the javelin. Pyrrha swiftly caught it, and came at her with the Xiphos. Panicked, Velvet kicked off from the ground, flying into the air. She had a split second to position herself before slamming into the floor, using Yatsuhashi's weapon to ripple the ground. Pyrrha was ready, however. She was knocked back, but quickly got back up on her feet, and, with another throw of her shield, Velvet was on the ground again.

"I'm sorry!"

Velvet grimaced. She would feel those bruises in the morning…

After Huntress training, the girls were supposed to go to the Women's Room to cool down, de-stress, and (nine times out of ten) fight over Prince Jaune. On this particular Monday afternoon, however, Professor Goodwitch called all of the contestants over after training for an announcement.

"Good work today everyone," she declared, "I'm seeing real progress and hard work from each of you, and I expect this to continue as training ramps up in the next few weeks."

Velvet swallowed. "Ramps up?"

"I know many of you are looking forward to resting in the Women's Room, taking a long nap, or studying for Oobleck's history exam tomorrow morning, but there is another option on how to spend your evening tonight if you so choose. While your safety is our top priority, and it has always been against the rules of the Selection to leave the palace, I have been informed by one of her majesty's top advisors," Professor Goodwitch's voice filled with disdain at that description, "that one of the dates this week will require formal wear. Many of you packed with this sort of thing in mind, but it's been brought to my attention," her eyes lingered on Ruby and Yang, "that some of you have not."

Velvet bit her lip. It wasn't that she hadn't packed with formal events in mind, it was more that she'd never had any formal clothes to pack to begin with. Coco had offered to design her dresses many times, but Velvet had always turned her down, pointing out that it would be out of place for a Faunus, a Seven, to look that fancy. She didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

"Because of this, the Selection Producers have decided to allow you to visit the small shopping center in downtown Tenebris today if you so choose."

There was excited whispering from the crowd of girls.

"A shopping trip?" Penny exclaimed, grinning.

"Anything to get us out of this castle!" Nora agreed.

"Do any of these stores have weapons?"

Professor Goodwitch gave Ruby a stern look before continuing. "For your safety, you will need to check out with General Cordovin at the front gate of the castle. You must each be accompanied by one liscenced Huntsmen or Huntress. And you must all be back by 10pm."

Velvet caught Coco staring at her over the rims of her sunglasses. Coco grinned. "We're doing this," she mouthed, and Velvet smiled.

"FINALLY!" Coco cried once they were dismissed. "I have been needing a shopping spree since we landed. I'm almost completely devoid of inspiration out here. Ballgowns aren't exactly trending, and I haven't come out with a new design in weeks!"

"It will be nice to leave the castle," Velvet agreed as they ascended the staircase, headed for the door. "I like all the girls, and I really like Jaune, but it's starting to feel like a prison in here," Velvet bit her lip. Vale had it's problems, but it had nothing on Beacon Castle. If she had a dollar for every time someone thought she was servant…

"I completely agree," sighed Coco. "Getting out and having a girls' day in town is exactly what the doctor ordered."

"Not a girls' day out exactly," Velvet admitted. Coco raised an eyebrow. "We have to take Huntsmen with us, remember?"

"Pssh," Coco rolled her eyes. They rounded the corner to the front door of the castle. "That's a dumb rule. I'm not going to follow it. Besides, who's going to stop us?"

"Stop right there, infidels!"

Coco and Velvet stopped in their tracks.

Velvet looked down at a short, old woman with grey, spiky hair and jumped back.

"I think she is," Velvet whispered.

Coco's eyes narrowed behind her sunglasses. "We got permission to leave the castle from Professor Goodwitch. We have a formal, and we need clothes."

"If you had listened properly to Professor Goodwitch, you would've heard the rules for leaving the castle," General Cordovin said with a scoff. "Selection contestants are not to leave Beacon Castle except under exceptional circumstances-"

"This is an exceptional circumstance!" Coco insisted.

General Cordovin glared at her. "In the case of an exceptional circumstance," she continued loudly, crossing her arms behind her back and pacing, "Selection contestants must be accompanied by a licensed Huntsman or Huntress at a One-to-One ratio to ensure their own safety." Cordovin stopped pacing to face the two girls. "No guard, no shopping. Those are the rules."

Coco growled.

A few minutes later, they were walking down the halls of the Huntsmen and Huntress dormitories.

"I don't get it," Velvet whispered as they passed a room with a shirtless Sun WuKong. "Wouldn't it be even more suspicious if we went into town with a Huntsman than if we went alone? Isn't Prince Jaune worried about…" she trailed off, a shirtless Neptune running past her, yelling at Sun to give him his clothes back.

Coco snorted. "I think they're more worried of us getting kidnapped or killed than of us falling for one of these goons. Speaking of which," she rounded the corner and raised her arm to knock on the door in front of them.

Dinner? said a voice inside Velvet's mind.

"Not quite," Coco answered out loud.

Fox Alistair opened the door, looking bewildered. "Coco, Velvet," he cocked an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," answered Velvet, at the same time that Coco replied, "No."

Fox tilted his head, smirking.

"We need someone to escort us into town," Coco explained. "General Cordovin doesn't trust us to take care of ourselves. To leave, we have to be accompanied by a qualified, licensed Huntsman or Huntress."

Fox snorted. "And you thought of me?"

"As if," Coco said with a smirk. "Yatsuhashi?"

Yatsu stood from the bed he'd been sitting on behind Fox, picking up his greatsword. Velvet beamed. "I'd be happy to help."

"Well, now I just feel unwanted. That hurts my feelings," said Fox, feigning distress.

"Fine," Coco rolled her eyes. "I guess you can come too,"

With Fox and Yatsuhashi at their side, General Cordovin let them through. The second the sun's rays hit her skin, Velvet smiled. It felt good to get out of those dark training rooms.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why are we going into town?" Fox asked as they walked along the purple crystal path away from the palace and into the forest of Forever Fall.

"I need inspiration," proclaimed Coco.

Translation? Fox asked in Velvet's head.

She smiled. Coco's a dress designer. We need formal wear for a group date this week.

"Oh, yeah," Fox said out loud, "how is the Selection going? Spill the tea, Velvet,"

Velvet sent a confused look to Coco. Usually, she was the one in the spotlight. "It's going well," she admitted.

"Is the prince dreamy?" Fox continued.

Coco snorted, but Velvet found herself speechless. "You've probably seen more of him than I have," she stammered. "Do you think he's dreamy?"

"Oh, absolutely," said Fox with a grin. Velvet couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "But Yatsu gets enough of my fangirling over Prince Jaune." Yatsuhashi nodded silently behind Fox, and Velvet giggled. "I asked you."

She bit her lip for a long moment, letting her mind wander to his kind eyes, and his gentle smile, and the way her stomach had filled with butterflies when they'd touched hands at the gardens the very first week. "Yeah," Velvet blushed, "yeah, he's pretty dreamy."

Coco shot Yatsuhashi and Fox a grin, and Velvet had the sneaking suspicion that the three were communicating via Fox's semblance.

"You can't stop there," exclaimed Fox. "Details, Velvet!"

Velvet laughed. For a second, she thought about shrugging it off and deflecting the question to Coco. After all, could she really trust Fox and Yatsuhashi with these feelings? Could she even trust herself? She inhaled sharply, deciding to take the chance.

"Well, on the very first date, we went to the Botanical Gardens. We talked about flowers, and butterflies, and he had all these corny pickup lines." Fox hooted with laughter. "But it was really sweet!" Velvet continued, and Coco punched Fox in the shoulder to silence him. "We went to the beach for the second date, and we walked around, picking up seashells and talking." She bit her lip. "I'd been to the beach before with Coco lots of times, but this was… different. It felt… magical, almost. Even though I've only had group dates with him, he always tries to make me feel special. For someone who's never really felt that way before, it's nice."

Silence greeted her at the end of those details, and, for a second, Velvet thought she had gone too far, had shared too much. Panic rose in her chest. Finally, Coco spoke.

"I never knew you felt that way," she said quietly.

"You asked me last week if I liked Prince Jaune!"

"No, not the liking Prince Jaune part," Coco explained. "The never feeling special part."

Velvet blinked. "Oh." Fox and Yatsuhashi exchanged looks. Acutely aware of how awkward this must be for them, Velvet continued. "I didn't mean that in a friend way, I meant in a…" Velvet trailed off. How had she meant it? "You're my best friend, Coco. I wouldn't trade that for the world. It's not that you haven't made me feel special. It's that I haven't been special. I've always been a Seven, and a Faunus. I've always been invisible. And I like it that way," Velvet insisted. "As a Faunus, you're either invisible or harassed, and I definitely don't prefer the latter. But… with Jaune, somehow I forget that I'm a Seven and that I'm a Faunus, and I can just be me, and be with him, and…" Velvet shook her head. "Does this make any sense?"

"Nope," shrugged Fox.

"Not really," snapped Coco.

"Yes."

Yatsuhashi's voice was quiet, but it still made Velvet jump. He'd been so silent on the walk that she'd almost forgotten that he was with them. Instantly, she felt bad for that. Maybe Yatsu, like her, knew what it was like to be invisible.

"Love makes you feel seen," he explained, noticing Coco and Fox's confused looks. "Love makes you feel heard. Love makes you feel like you matter, even when you never before believed that you did."

Velvet nodded, mesmerized by Yatsuhashi's sentiment. How had he managed to put her emotions so easily into words like that? "Exactly," she breathed. "That's exactly it."

Coco's jaw dropped. "Hold the scroll. Are you in love with him?"

Velvet's lips struggled to form the word that she knew was the logical answer. "It's only been two weeks," was what she said instead, "but… I think I am falling for him."

Again, there was silence, until Fox broke it with a low whistle. "Velvet, when I said I wanted the tea, I meant a teacup. Not the entire steaming pot."

She smiled. "Sorry…"

They arrived at the Town of Tenebris after a little under an hour of walking. Coco and Fox dominated the conversation after Velvet had been grilled, and she lapsed into silence as they walked, her mind wandering to Prince Jaune, and Yatsuhashi, and the meaning of love, and invisibility.

As the forest gave way to a large clearing, Fox clapped his hands together. "Welcome to the Town of Tenebris, exceptionally underwhelming in every possible way."

Velvet's eyes widened. It hardly looked underwhelming, with cobblestone streets and quaint, two-story cafes and boutiques, it looked like a dreamtown. There weren't many citizens on the streets as they walked by, but the few that were gawked avidly at her and Coco.

"So this is what it feels like to be famous?" Fox said, puffing his chest out as he passed a group of well-dressed Twos. "Everyone thinks I'm cool. I like it."

Coco rolled her eyes. "Let's get some coffee before we start our shopping spree," she suggested, pointing to a cafe at the end of the block with a large, neon sign advertising 'From Pumpkin Spice Lattes to Caffeine Shots'.

"Ooh, yes," Velvet gushed.

"I could use some caffeine," Yatsuhashi agreed.

Fox shrugged. "So long as you're paying..."

When the four of them entered, the girl at the counter's jaw dropped. "You're from the Selection!" she gasped. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Lady Coco Adel, right?"

Coco smirked. "The one and only,"

The girl squealed. "This is so exciting! Everything's on the house. What can I get you?"

"The most-caffeinated espresso you carry," Coco said. Fox snorted, and Velvet wondered just what subliminal thoughts Coco had been thinking. The girl at the counter turned to the rest of the group.

"Green tea, please," said Yatsuhasi politely.

She turned to Fox.

"My turn?" he grinned. "This is on the house, right?" The girl nodded, still in awe at her company. "Awesome. Yes. I would like an espresso, two bacon sandwiches, and a thermos full of straight caffeine."

Coco gave him a strong look.

"Oh! And your number."

The girl giggled, and Fox, looking rather smug with himself, turned to Velvet.

"Oh, yes, can I have a small latte, and…" her eyes scanned the menu, perking up when she found what she was looking for, "and a slice of carrot cake please."

The girl behind the counter nodded. "Are you with them?"

Velvet blinked.

"Yes," snapped Coco. "Yes, she's another contestant."

"Oh," the girl behind the counter winced.

Out of the corner of her eye, Velvet saw Coco's hand rest on her purse, Fox's fingers fly to his pockets, and Yatsuhashi's arm reach for his longsword.

No. She thought firmly, hoping Fox would send the message to the other two. Put the weapons down. This happens all the time. I don't mind. It could be worse.

And it has been… she thought, cringing when she realized that Fox could probably hear that too.

"My bad," shrugged the girl behind the counter, and Velvet felt her shoulders relax as her friends slowly pulled their hands away from their weapons. She placed their orders into her computer. "It should be just a minute."

With their drinks and sandwiches in hand, the four of them left the coffee shop.

Fox downed his coffee in two slurps. "I almost forgot. Here," he handed Coco a piece of paper with the barista's number on it. She promptly crumpled it up and threw it in a nearby bin.

"I don't date bigots," Coco snapped.

Velvet winced. "That might limit your dating pool in Remnant…"

Fortunately, Coco's bad mood dissipated the instant they found a designer boutique.

"Excellent," Coco clasped her hands together. "This is what I'm talking about," she turned to the three of her friends. "Take notes, ladies and gentlemen. This is a fashionista at work."

Fox cocked an eyebrow and Yatsuhashi looked concerned, but Velvet smiled. This was the environment where Coco really shone. Yatsu held the door as the four walked in, and Coco walked right up to the stylist at the front desk.

"Hi," she said, pulling her purse onto the table. "My name is Coco Adel, I'm a stylist, and I am starved for inspiration. I've literally been living under a rock for the past two weeks. What's hot right now?"

While Coco and the stylist jabbered away, Velvet sifted through the clearance rack. Coco had always designed her clothes for big, important occasions, but this was such short notice, and it wouldn't hurt to have a backup. She pulled out a long, purple dress, examining it closely.

"It's a good color,"

Velvet turned, smiling, but her face fell when she saw who had spoken. "Why do you feel the need to do that?"

"What?" Fox laughed. "For all I know, it could be. Orange, right?"

"Purple," Velvet corrected.

"Close enough."

Velvet rolled her eyes, smiling. She turned over her shoulder. "Yatsu," she called. Yatsuhashi looked up from the Remnant Fashionista magazine he'd been skimming. "Do you think this would fit in at the palace?"

Yatsu cocked his head, and opened his mouth to answer. Whatever he had to say, however, was cut off by a loud slam as someone walked into the store.

Velvet's eyes widened, and she jumped behind the clearance rack, her heart pounding.

Since arriving at the palace, there had been one team of Huntsmen that had refused to leave her alone. Team CRDL, led by Cardin, had made her a target from day one of Princess lessons, when she and Cardin had been matched to dance. He had been upset that he was the first one who'd been 'forced to dance with that Faunus,' and he hadn't let up since. Every time he passed Velvet alone in the hall, he would trip her, or yank on her ear, or call her a freak. It was worse when he was with his friends. They laughed and encouraged him, and it was all Velvet could do to make a run for it before things got too out of hand. She hadn't told Coco about it, partially because she feared for Cardin's life if Coco ever found out, but also because she felt bad that Coco always had to step in to fight her battles. But now they were here. All four of them were in the store. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

All good, Velvet? Fox's voice asked in her head.

No, she thought, I'm hiding.

"You're not doing a very good job of it," he mused, "your ears are-"

"Hold on a second," Cardin laughed.

Velvet could hear his footsteps draw closer to her hiding place. "No, no, no, no,"

"I wasn't aware this store sold furs,"

A hand grasped onto Velvet's ear and pulled up. Velvet yelped in pain. She stood up to reveal her hiding spot and caught a glimpse of Cardin's smirk. Then, she saw his smirk fade as he was lifted slowly from the ground by Yatsuhashi.

"I'm going to give you three seconds to apologize," Yatsuhashi growled.

"Apologize?" Cardin snorted, putting on a brave front in front of his friends, "to that freak? Make me."

Yatsuhashi didn't need to be told twice. With a BOOM that shook the entire store, he slammed Cardin into the tile floor. Velvet yelped, Coco whipped around from the front desk, and Fox's hand went for his weapon.

Yatsu hadn't thrown Cardin down hard enough to break his aura, and, within seconds, the Huntsman was on his feet. "What the hell?" he demanded. He pulled out his mace, and his team followed suit. "You want to fight?"

Velvet felt her heart leap into her throat, but Fox stepped between them, Sharp Retribution in his hands and smirk on his face. "Challenge accepted."

Their weapons clashed with a resounding clang, and then the fight was underway. Fox slashed at Cardin, Russel, and Sky, while Yatsuhashi picked up Dove and threw him to the other end of the store, where he hit the wall and crumpled to the floor.

For several seconds, Velvet watched, petrified, until her mind caught up with her eyes, and she pulled out Anesiadora, with the click of a camera, she was armed with Pyrrha Nikos's Xiphos. She jumped to Fox's aid, her hard-light Dust blade parrying Cardin's mace. Russel was circling Yatsuhashi now, while Yatsuhashi swung his massive sword through the air.

"Duck, Velvet," yelled Coco from the other end of the store, and Velvet somersaulted out of range seconds before the bullets from Gianduja pelleted the store. Yatsuhashi held up his sword as a shield, and Fox dove out of the way just in time, but Cardin, Russel, and Sky were not as lucky. They were blasted back, the wind knocked out of them but their auras still unbroken.

Coco!

Velvet heard Fox's shout in her head before she saw him move. He sprinted to the back of the store, where Dove had snuck up behind Coco, a knife raised in the air. With one, fierce kick, Fox knocked the knife from his hands. Coco turned, shocked, and Fox shot her a wink.

Without a weapon, Dove raced back to the front of the store, where his team stood, egos bruised and faces stunned. "Let's get out of here!" Cardin yelled, and he and his friends made a run for it. She could hear him yell from down the street, "you'll pay for that one, Freak!" but Velvet pushed her fear aside. She turned to her friends, a 'thank you' on her lips, but Yatsuhashi shook his head.

"If they bother you again, let me know."

"I'll kick their asses," Fox agreed.

"We'll kick their asses," Coco cut in. Velvet smiled. Coco turned to Fox. "Thanks for taking out that loser behind me, by the way."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Fox shrugged, "I've got good reflexes."

"Really good reflexes." Coco looked from him to Yatsuhashi and back again, dumbfounded. "Where did you say you were from again?"