I don't own anything.

BREAK

"Got you!" I watched my aura plummet again, dropping down to around the halfway mark. The glowing, humming blade at the end of Sapphire's polearm felt hot, even as white sparks flew where it touched my aura. I lashed out. She leaned back and pushed off me, the butt of her weapon shoving into my chest to make distance.

I rolled with the blow. My back hit the grass, and I saw a hint of white behind Sapphire. I heard the dull clunk of metal meeting plexiglass. I was on my feet in a second, just in time to see Sapphire kicking Weiss away. Her roll was graceful, but there was a wobble in her stance that betrayed her exhaustion.

Sapphire, meanwhile, seemed fresh as a daisy. She had barely been hit, having kept us at bay with superior speed and range, and was more than comfortable enough to give us a moment to gather ourselves. She wasn't just here to stomp us into the ground – no matter how much it may seem like it – she was trying to help us improve.

I pushed off. I felt the soft grass and dirt give way, but I was already gone. Crocea Mors hummed as I pumped aura into the blade and swung. Sapphire dodges, her footwork so smooth it seemed more like a dance than anything. I wasn't a dancer. I pressed forward, knocking aside the halberd's glowing tip as I went, and stabbed.

She slipped away again, I gave chase, and the pattern began anew.

Weiss wasn't idle either. Every time Sapphire took a step, Weiss was there, hounding her. She took hits for it, though. Myrtenaster unsuited for blocking and Sapphire too strong by half for Weiss to simply deflect the blows.

"You will have to do better than this." Sapphire seemed to enjoy talking as she fought, calling out little taunts in that haughty, overly formal way of hers. For all that she was cool and collected, she seemed to enjoy her little barbs a little too much. I knew not to respond, not to take the bait. Weiss, on the other hand, was too similar not to.

"I'll show you!" A glowing, white circle appeared over the grass, shining even on a sunny afternoon. It spun, faster and faster and something seemed to be taking shape overtop of it. Sapphire dashed, more than eager to stop whatever Weiss was trying before it could be completed.

What few glyphs Weiss had used in the last couple of weeks had made her cautious, and rightfully so.

I followed her, sprinting to put myself between her and Weiss. I blocked one blow and deflected the next. Sapphire was strong, but she wasn't strong enough to knock me aside outright.

Then I found the butt of her halberd dig into my side, sending me to the ground again. Sapphire stepped past me, hopping over my hasty slash with little difficulty. She moved towards Weiss, who was still staring intently at the growing, indistinct shape on her glyph. Sweat beaded on her face and her arm shook, whether that was because of exhaustion, anger or the aura expenditure of her semblance, I couldn't tell.

It was all for nothing. Sapphire was in front of her in a moment, swinging down. Weiss leapt to the side, but her concentration was broken, and the glyph fizzled out with a whimper.

I was on my feet and following when Weiss took a blow to the side which sent her sprawling. I rushed forward to he-

"Lunch is ready!" I came to a stop, almost falling as I forced myself to a halt.

"Well, I suppose this spar is over," Sapphire said, the hard-light blade on her weapon faded into motes of light with a flex of her aura before she folded it up. Her weapon, like all the current Arc huntsmen favoured, was simple. A folding polearm which could be augmented with Dust to turn into an axe, a halberd, a spear, or any other weapon you could come up with. Sapphire clipped it to her belt as she went inside.

"Damn it!" Weiss cursed under her breath, but her voice carried in the yard. I frowned. Weiss never cursed, not in public at least.

"You okay?"

"Do I look okay?" She gestured at her combat outfit, the pristine white dress now soiled with greenish brown stains from the grass and dirt. I shook my head. It was odd, the way huntsmen dressed. The outfits were flamboyant, often to the point of impracticality, and it had never sat right with me. They said it was to inspire hope. To make the people recognise you and for them to immediately know that a huntsman was there for them.

I wondered how hopeful they'd be if the huntsman got his coat stuck under a Grimm's claw and died for it.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking a deep breath, "I'm just… frustrated." I nodded, accepting the apology without much fanfare. As fun as it was to poke and prod her, it didn't feel right here.

I stuck a hand out and she took it, standing on unsteady feet for a moment before she found her balance.

"Come on, let's get some food," I said, leading her inside.

The house looked the same as ever, filled with knick knacks and pictures and the occasional toy that mom would yell at us to put away. Rose dashed past me in the hall, running out of her room and nearly bumping into me with a shouted 'Sorry!'

"I'm going to get changed," Weiss said, moving to my room. I watched her go, walking to the bathroom instead. I had planned to do some more training after lunch, so it didn't make much sense to change into a fresh pair of clothes.

I closed the door behind me, walked over to the sink and turned on the tap. I leaned on the sink and let out a sigh. It was odd, being home again. Everything looked the same. The toys, the noise, the pictures and memories, and yet I was so different. It was almost like I was no longer fit in, like I had changes so much that I no longer fit the puzzle.

I shook my head. Don't think like that.

I ran my hands under the faucet, scrubbing at them until the sweat, dirt, and grime was all gone and the water ran clear. My reflection looked back at me in the mirror with longer, messy hair that never seemed to lay just right and little spots of dirt on my skin from the spar. I splashed my face with some water, rinsing off the worst of it before drying off.

Before I left, I took one more look in the mirror, plastered a smile on my face, and walked out.

Weiss met me there, wearing a far more casual red skirt and white blouse. I must have taken longer in the bathroom than I had thought. She passed by me, walking into the bathroom to wash up herself.

I was glad she was here. As much as her staying over was for her benefit, I wondered which one of us was getting the better end of the deal. As much as she was getting a place to stay for the summer, her staying here gave me something to hold on to, and some much-needed breathing room to go along with it.

The dining room looked the same as it always had. Chaotic.

Around the table, Sapphire was trying to herd Indigo, Rose, Lavender, and Violet while mom was carrying a huge bowl through the kitchen door.

"Let me help with that," I said, gently taking the bowl from her as she turned into the room. At first, she didn't seem to want to let go of it, stubbornly holding on. She met my eyes, their shape so similar to those I saw in the mirror and let go.

"Thanks," she said, as I set it down on the table. She sat down, and with that, everyone seemed to settle down. As scary as Sapphire could be, she had nothing on mom when it came to calming us all down. Weiss, when she'd first been around the full family, had asked me if it was her semblance. I couldn't help but smile, it was oddly fitting.

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

I turned to face mom as she scooped some pasta onto Rose's plate. "I dunno," I said, shrugging. "Just feeling good I guess." I grabbed the bowl and filled my own plate, before passing it to Weiss, who sat next to me. On my other side, Indigo had already dug in.

"Hey Jaune?" Violet's voice made me look up.

"Hmm?"

"We're going to the arcade later," Lavender said. "Do you want to come?" Violet finished, twirling her fork in her plate, but not taking a bite. I frowned. I had been planning to do some more training after lunch, and I went to tell them as much.

"I-" I locked eyes with Lavender as I spoke. There was an odd look in her eyes, hopeful, and a little bit lost, as if she wasn't sure how to voice what exactly she wanted. It wasn't a good look on the usually self-assured set of twins. I didn't like it. "Sure," I said, "just let me get changed after lunch and we'll go."

They looked relieved, small smiles spreading across their faces as I agreed, and I couldn't help but swallow as a lump formed in my throat. It… hurt, to think that my own sisters weren't sure how to deal with me anymore, how to ask me to spend time with them.

Weiss bumped my leg with her own, and her raised brow made it clear that she wasn't sure what I was thinking. She knew about my plan to go out and cull some Grimm in the forest, after all, and was well aware that I didn't give up training time easily. "Later," I mouthed the word at her, and she gave me a curt nod before returning to her food.

"This is excellent, Mrs. Arc," Weiss commented in-between bites, eating as primly as she always did. It was a stark contrast to the rest of us Arcs, except for Sapphire, who ate in a similar manner to Weiss, even if she wasn't quite as refined. That wasn't to say that we didn't have table manners, but there was a noticeable difference.

"Thank you dear, but please, call me Juniper."

"Yes ma'am." Weiss' smile was stiff, obviously uncomfortable with the proposition. The topic had come up more than once in the past few weeks, and it probably would a couple more before Weiss and I were due back at Beacon. They dropped the topic for now.

Out of the corner of my eyes I caught Rose sitting straighter, mimicking Weiss' posture. She whispered something to Indigo, who giggled as she took another bite of her food. The whole thing ended quickly when Rose winced, a hand going to rub her leg under the table. Sapphire, sitting on her other side, caught me looking and stared back, her gaze cold.

"So, Weiss, what are you planning this afternoon?" Sapphire asked, eager for a new topic. Weiss, it seemed, felt the same way, eagerly responding between small bites of food.

"I had planned on studying, there are some things I want to touch up on." Her tone was pleasant enough, but there was an undercurrent of frustration in her tone. It wasn't aimed at Sapphire, that much I knew, since the pair actually seemed to get along quite well.

Her semblance, then. I thought.

Weiss, no longer having the funds or support to afford the copious amounts of Dust that formed the basis of her fighting style before, had returned to the basics. She was faster, stronger and her swordplay had improved by leaps and bounds, but without the added effects of Dust enhancing her Glyphs, she lacked the stopping power she'd had before.

It had become clear within our first week in Ansel that she needed something to give her that edge. And that something was summoning, if only she could get it to work. The latest failed attempt during our spar with Sapphire couldn't have helped her mood any. The worst part was that there was little I could do to help.

My semblance was passive, and all the added skills it gave me were instinctual to the point I could use them at a basic level almost immediately upon receiving them. I had no experience in learning how to use a semblance, and I wasn't even sure where to begin.

Her sister's letters seemed a better place, but what little advice she'd been able to give clearly hadn't amounted to much. If only it were that simple.

I was broken from my thoughts as a loud, blaring sound echoed from outside the house. It was a deafening thing, sounding in long, wailing notes. It was a siren, the siren, which could only mean one thing.

"Grimm attack."