In Memorial of the Fallen: a RWBY RP [IC Thread]

[Cybraxia]

Lilith and Jack
Beacon Campus

---

Lilith bit her tongue. Best to keep quiet than to get a pay dock. Not that it would have done much, but it would sting in her wallet. She followed Ozpin with Jack, not really paying attention. Jack however was earnestly paying attention. He had always been fascinated by Beacon. Upon noticing the ice, however, he looked to Lilith, who nodded in agreement. They mentally readied themselves...

Only to find that it was a fight between students. Lilith slumped her shoulders, a bit saddened. She was itching for an adrenaline rush, something to get the blood pumping. Then she heard it. The magic words. "A fight in the amphitheater, eh? I don't suppose visitors could do that, could they?"

Jack smirked. Lilith's thrill seeking would never get old. "Can't wait to beat up on students eh?" he teased.

"Hey, I gotta get something outta this trip too, don't I?" Lilith retorted.

[North Arkana]

Initially surprised, Prim turned around with a cheerful grin on her face. "Oh, no problem." she replied, giggling a little while she held her umbrella in one hand. "Mistakes happen to everyone." she added, her sweet tone remaining the same. "Do you need any help? I'm new here, so the both of us could help each other out."

Shiroi's eyes seemed to burn with a hatred that embodied a thousand suns, as she positioned herself between Charlotte's bed and Theriam. "If you attempt to lay a hand on my Charlotte, I'll kill you." she replied, prepared for a punch or him going for his weapon. She had fought Reina and Charlotte, she was sure she could deal with someone who could not control their emotions. "She won't be telling you anything, because if you go anywhere near her, you'll die." she started giggling before breaking out into maniacal laughing.

Theriam smiled devilishly.

"Oh, okay then. Interesting way of putting it." Inside his mind, Jugo started to stop.
It was Theriam's own mind doing this.

"I'll... Die, you say? Your Charlotte?" His eye started to burn, quite literally.

Raising his head to look at her, his eyes could only tell anyone one thing.
That right now, he was in no mood for anyone's crazy banter.
So he put his arms in the air and shrugged.

"You seem to think I have trouble controlling my emotions." He chuckled to himself as his hand came close to the gun in his jacket.
"But I'll tell you one thing." Smiling, he got closer, taunting Shiroi with a calm attitude, yet the smile could never match it.
For it seemed so odd, so out of place, nobody could describe it.

It was as if just saying it was insane wasn't exact.
No, it was worse than insane.
It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive.
As if insanity itself quivered before him.
No, it meant nothing to him, he was way beyond salt, or madness.
Right now, one could only describe the smile as if an eldritch monstrosity rose up from the depths of the abyss, someone, some... Thing, that humanity was not meant to see, not meant to ever witness in their lifetime.

That smile, one that looked so out of place, that not even the demons of the abyss could describe it, shrouded in shadow, yet just noticeable enough to be seen.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie." He recited, like a chant, but with seemingly no rythm, no sync, no nothing, as if he hadn't said anything in the first place.

There he was, the King.
Someone that seemed to not even exist, like a phantom, passing through people's lives without a sound, leaving only sorrow and misery.
Living in the light yet shrouded by shadow, his presence changed to something just equally as frightening.

"And with strange aeons even death may die." He chanted back, answering to himself as if it was a distant memory, as if it was someone, something, else.

But with no one to see what he was, they could only try to fathom his existence, as feeble as it seemed, as terrifying as it felt.

It was just a colour out of space — a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; walking ever so closer to Shiroi, as if nothing existed.

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind." He chanted last, before stopping, raising his weapon in front of him, seemingly ready to shoot, yet his grip was loose.
None could see it, but it remained.
Either way, the aftermath of the battle would not be in anyone's favor.

Reina de Mazelle

She had originally left Vic behind so she could find Erde and figure out... Well... Something. She wasn't really sure what she was going to do when she found Erde. Possibly something stupid, but now that was a bit of a non-issue. For instead she found herself observing the confrontation between Shiroi and Theriam, after having seen what could only be called magical sparkly bulls*** somehow remove the gravest threat to Ms. Noble's life. Now she had to deal with a seriously unhinged yandere girl, and an irritating bastard of a student with an overblown sense of power and importance. God. And here she was actually about to forget why she ended hating being a teacher. At least there were some students around who were actually interesting, like that Xiao Long girl. Damn, she had a nice body. But that's besides the point.
Priorities would normally dictate that she take care of the one who had stabbed Charlotte first, but let's be fair, there are few places safer than within the arms of a seriously possessive yandere. Okay maybe not, but you get the idea. So that left the annoying one, who was apparently attempting to channel all the teenage angst and "no one gets me!" in the world at the moment. Yeah, she'd pound in his face first.

If there was one thing Reina loved about the hallways of Beacon, it was the high vaulted ceilings. It made it so easy to launch oneself into the air to get a good flying punch into someone's face. And that's what she did. Still maintaining her cover by silencing the waves of her sound, and negating the wavelengths of the light which would make her visible, Reina de Mazelle, ex-White Fang assassin/terrorist/enforcer/thief, traitor, murderer, and current assistant teacher of combat at Beacon Academy, with a major case of divided loyalties, launched herself into the air by creating a counteracting wave to the one created when her feet first make contact with the ground. If one was paying attention, they would have noticed the floor seeming grow cracks from the strain for no apparent reason. And from there it was a simple ballistic arc, from to launch to impact with her target, where there, her fist would make contact, and she would then use the impact shock wave to create a resonance wavelength capable of tearing flesh and shattering bon within the target. It would probably be messy, it would probably be bloody, it might even be fatal. But that didn't matter really. Because it was going to be satisfying as hell.

[Serah]

Theriam smiled devilishly.

"Oh, okay then. Interesting way of putting it." Inside his mind, Jugo started to stop.
It was Theriam's own mind doing this.

"I'll... Die, you say? Your Charlotte?" His eye started to burn, quite literally.

Raising his head to look at her, his eyes could only tell anyone one thing.
That right now, he was in no mood for anyone's crazy banter.
So he put his arms in the air and shrugged.

"You seem to think I have trouble controlling my emotions." He chuckled to himself as his hand came close to the gun in his jacket.
"But I'll tell you one thing." Smiling, he got closer, taunting Shiroi with a calm attitude, yet the smile could never match it.
For it seemed so odd, so out of place, nobody could describe it.

It was as if just saying it was insane wasn't exact.
No, it was worse than insane.
It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive.
As if insanity itself quivered before him.
No, it meant nothing to him, he was way beyond salt, or madness.
Right now, one could only describe the smile as if an eldritch monstrosity rose up from the depths of the abyss, someone, some... Thing, that humanity was not meant to see, not meant to ever witness in their lifetime.

That smile, one that looked so out of place, that not even the demons of the abyss could describe it, shrouded in shadow, yet just noticeable enough to be seen.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie." He recited, like a chant, but with seemingly no rythm, no sync, no nothing, as if he hadn't said anything in the first place.

There he was, the King.
Someone that seemed to not even exist, like a phantom, passing through people's lives without a sound, leaving only sorrow and misery.
Living in the light yet shrouded by shadow, his presence changed to something just equally as frightening.

"And with strange aeons even death may die." He chanted back, answering to himself as if it was a distant memory, as if it was someone, something, else.

But with no one to see what he was, they could only try to fathom his existence, as feeble as it seemed, as terrifying as it felt.

It was just a colour out of space — a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; walking ever so closer to Shiroi, as if nothing existed.

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind." He chanted last, before stopping, raising his weapon in front of him, seemingly ready to shoot, yet his grip was loose.
None could see it, but it remained.
Either way, the aftermath of the battle would not be in anyone's favor.

Reina de Mazelle

She had originally left Vic behind so she could find Erde and figure out... Well... Something. She wasn't really sure what she was going to do when she found Erde. Possibly something stupid, but now that was a bit of a non-issue. For instead she found herself observing the confrontation between Shiroi and Theriam, after having seen what could only be called magical sparkly bulls*** somehow remove the gravest threat to Ms. Noble's life. Now she had to deal with a seriously unhinged yandere girl, and an irritating bastard of a student with an overblown sense of power and importance. God. And here she was actually about to forget why she ended hating being a teacher. At least there were some students around who were actually interesting, like that Xiao Long girl. Damn, she had a nice body. But that's besides the point.
Priorities would normally dictate that she take care of the one who had stabbed Charlotte first, but let's be fair, there are few places safer than within the arms of a seriously possessive yandere. Okay maybe not, but you get the idea. So that left the annoying one, who was apparently attempting to channel all the teenage angst and "no one gets me!" in the world at the moment. Yeah, she'd pound in his face first.

If there was one thing Reina loved about the hallways of Beacon, it was the high vaulted ceilings. It made it so easy to launch oneself into the air to get a good flying punch into someone's face. And that's what she did. Still maintaining her cover by silencing the waves of her sound, and negating the wavelengths of the light which would make her visible, Reina de Mazelle, ex-White Fang assassin/terrorist/enforcer/thief, traitor, murderer, and current assistant teacher of combat at Beacon Academy, with a major case of divided loyalties, launched herself into the air by creating a counteracting wave to the one created when her feet first make contact with the ground. If one was paying attention, they would have noticed the floor seeming grow cracks from the strain for no apparent reason. And from there it was a simple ballistic arc, from to launch to impact with her target, where there, her fist would make contact, and she would then use the impact shock wave to create a resonance wavelength capable of tearing flesh and shattering bon within the target. It would probably be messy, it would probably be bloody, it might even be fatal. But that didn't matter really. Because it was going to be satisfying as hell.

Theriam couldn't even see it coming,he was brought down on the ground, with no way to avoid it, a punch, simple, yet efficient, that made his face collide with the ground at such a speed that even the ground shattered on impact.

However, as much as he was definitely not in any combat shape, he was well awake to see the aftermath.

"Wooooooo.... Putain... La terre est proche du sol..." He moaned out, rolling over, feeling his non modified bones shattered upon the impact, however, they didn't seem to be making any progress towards anything vital, like arteries or veins or organs for that matter.

When he noticed Reina, he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh... Well, I never thought I'd say that, but I'm glad to see you here Reina.
Looks like I'll even have to learn some form of respect towards you after all.
Congrats on putting me out of combat, but one thing." He looked at her with the only working eye he had, with the other holding out from the nerve and held back in with Theriam's modified arms.
But there was one thing that could be read, it was hope.

"I couldn't protect her, so please, please get her to the infirmary and away from this bitch.
If you do that, I'll even learn my place for all I care, just don't let her die...
She's everything to me." As he said those words, a green haze could be seen being emitted b his red eye, one that meant fear, powerlessness.

Right now, there was nothing he could do, besides trying to crawl/roll away.

[The Grey Wolf]

"I couldn't protect her, so please, please get her to the infirmary and away from this bitch.
If you do that, I'll even learn my place for all I care, just don't let her die...

"You bloody moron..." Shiroi growled, and for a moment it looked as though she were about to attack her opponent. Instead, she simply stood there, remaining in a passive-aggressive stance that could change very quickly depending on whether she felt threatened. "I have been trying to get her to the infirmary, while you and your friend held me up and even attacked me. If you wanted her to get to the infirmary, you could have done something other than attack the person who's trying to get her there." she eyed Reina with her regular glassy, emotionless expression, concealing the wariness she truly felt.

I should have taken my knives with me, she thought to herself. By now, they were possibly burnt up in the fire, beyond use to her. Not that she was eager to fight Reina, her first priority was making sure Charlotte stayed with her and her alone. But it was always good to have some protection, and her whip was possibly out of use permanently. I'm going to have to try and make a new one.

"Reina," Shiroi stated out of the blue, her tone surprisingly respectful. "I know you and you know me. At the moment, we share a common desire: to keep Charlotte alive. Take me to the infirmary so I can put her there, and if you want to fight, we'll do that later." she took a seat next to Charlotte on the bed and held her hand against her forehead to check if her temperature was fine.

[The Grey Wolf]

Initially surprised, Prim turned around with a cheerful grin on her face. "Oh, no problem." she replied, giggling a little while she held her umbrella in one hand. "Mistakes happen to everyone." she added, her sweet tone remaining the same. "Do you need any help? I'm new here, so the both of us could help each other out."

"W-w-w-w-well... I-I...."

Prim's politeness only served to make Jolana still more embarrassed by her mistake. She was normally far, far more careful than this! It was one thing to have a debilitating stutter, it was another thing entirely to have a debilitating stutter and be a klutz.

She sighed. Screw it. She was going for sign language. Hopefully she wouldn't fuck that up too.

[Do you know where I can find Professor Lewiston?]

"Oh, I don't know where he is, sweetie." Prim replied, still smiling and now her inquisitive eyes were taking an interest in Jolana. "You don't have to be afraid around me, I don't mind how you talk." all of a sudden, her hand swiftly darted to a piece of the stuttering girl's hair, feeling it. "My, you have such wonderful hair." she stated, before embarrassingly pulling her hand away. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

[North Arkana]

Theriam couldn't even see it coming,he was brought down on the ground, with no way to avoid it, a punch, simple, yet efficient, that made his face collide with the ground at such a speed that even the ground shattered on impact.

However, as much as he was definitely not in any combat shape, he was well awake to see the aftermath.

"Wooooooo.... Putain... La terre est proche du sol..." He moaned out, rolling over, feeling his non modified bones shattered upon the impact, however, they didn't seem to be making any progress towards anything vital, like arteries or veins or organs for that matter.

When he noticed Reina, he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh... Well, I never thought I'd say that, but I'm glad to see you here Reina.
Looks like I'll even have to learn some form of respect towards you after all.
Congrats on putting me out of combat, but one thing." He looked at her with the only working eye he had, with the other holding out from the nerve and held back in with Theriam's modified arms.
But there was one thing that could be read, it was hope.

"I couldn't protect her, so please, please get her to the infirmary and away from this bitch.
If you do that, I'll even learn my place for all I care, just don't let her die...
She's everything to me." As he said those words, a green haze could be seen being emitted b his red eye, one that meant fear, powerlessness.

Right now, there was nothing he could do, besides trying to crawl/roll away.

Reina stalked over, and proceeded to begin grinding the heel of her boot into the back of Theriam's head, making sure to twist enough that his face was being moved against the floor as well.

"The crazy girl has it right y'know. She was trying to get Charlotte to the infirmary, and you were just slowing her down. I can deal with her later. Crazy is something I can deal with, y'know? But stupid? Nah, stupid just makes me angry. Stupid makes me want to break things. And as much as you're broken already, I'd love to keep going. But I can't, because as stupid as you are, you're still a student. So I hope this taught you something."

She lifts her heel off and gives Theriam a swift kick in the side before walking away with a satisfied smirk. Now to deal with the crazy one.

"I couldn't protect her, so please, please get her to the infirmary and away from this bitch.
If you do that, I'll even learn my place for all I care, just don't let her die...

"You bloody moron..." Shiroi growled, and for a moment it looked as though she were about to attack her opponent. Instead, she simply stood there, remaining in a passive-aggressive stance that could change very quickly depending on whether she felt threatened. "I have been trying to get her to the infirmary, while you and your friend held me up and even attacked me. If you wanted her to get to the infirmary, you could have done something other than attack the person who's trying to get her there." she eyed Reina with her regular glassy, emotionless expression, concealing the wariness she truly felt.

I should have taken my knives with me, she thought to herself. By now, they were possibly burnt up in the fire, beyond use to her. Not that she was eager to fight Reina, her first priority was making sure Charlotte stayed with her and her alone. But it was always good to have some protection, and her whip was possibly out of use permanently. I'm going to have to try and make a new one.

"Reina," Shiroi stated out of the blue, her tone surprisingly respectful. "I know you and you know me. At the moment, we share a common desire: to keep Charlotte alive. Take me to the infirmary so I can put her there, and if you want to fight, we'll do that later." she took a seat next to Charlotte on the bed and held her hand against her forehead to check if her temperature was fine.

"Oh, don't worry, Shi-ro-i-chan~," Reina says with a grin. "I'll take you to the infirmary, and you can even keep your crazy little hands all over Charlotte until we get there. Then we can have a nice talk about keeping our hands and knives to ourselves. Won't that be lovely, hm~?"

Yes. Crazy was something Reina could deal with.

[Serah]

Theriam couldn't even see it coming,he was brought down on the ground, with no way to avoid it, a punch, simple, yet efficient, that made his face collide with the ground at such a speed that even the ground shattered on impact.

However, as much as he was definitely not in any combat shape, he was well awake to see the aftermath.

"Wooooooo.... Putain... La terre est proche du sol..." He moaned out, rolling over, feeling his non modified bones shattered upon the impact, however, they didn't seem to be making any progress towards anything vital, like arteries or veins or organs for that matter.

When he noticed Reina, he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh... Well, I never thought I'd say that, but I'm glad to see you here Reina.
Looks like I'll even have to learn some form of respect towards you after all.
Congrats on putting me out of combat, but one thing." He looked at her with the only working eye he had, with the other holding out from the nerve and held back in with Theriam's modified arms.
But there was one thing that could be read, it was hope.

"I couldn't protect her, so please, please get her to the infirmary and away from this bitch.
If you do that, I'll even learn my place for all I care, just don't let her die...
She's everything to me." As he said those words, a green haze could be seen being emitted b his red eye, one that meant fear, powerlessness.

Right now, there was nothing he could do, besides trying to crawl/roll away.

Reina stalked over, and proceeded to begin grinding the heel of her boot into the back of Theriam's head, making sure to twist enough that his face was being moved against the floor as well.

"The crazy girl has it right y'know. She was trying to get Charlotte to the infirmary, and you were just slowing her down. I can deal with her later. Crazy is something I can deal with, y'know? But stupid? Nah, stupid just makes me angry. Stupid makes me want to break things. And as much as you're broken already, I'd love to keep going. But I can't, because as stupid as you are, you're still a student. So I hope this taught you something."

She lifts her heel off and gives Theriam a swift kick in the side before walking away with a satisfied smirk. Now to deal with the crazy one.

"You bloody moron..." Shiroi growled, and for a moment it looked as though she were about to attack her opponent. Instead, she simply stood there, remaining in a passive-aggressive stance that could change very quickly depending on whether she felt threatened. "I have been trying to get her to the infirmary, while you and your friend held me up and even attacked me. If you wanted her to get to the infirmary, you could have done something other than attack the person who's trying to get her there." she eyed Reina with her regular glassy, emotionless expression, concealing the wariness she truly felt.

I should have taken my knives with me, she thought to herself. By now, they were possibly burnt up in the fire, beyond use to her. Not that she was eager to fight Reina, her first priority was making sure Charlotte stayed with her and her alone. But it was always good to have some protection, and her whip was possibly out of use permanently. I'm going to have to try and make a new one.

"Reina," Shiroi stated out of the blue, her tone surprisingly respectful. "I know you and you know me. At the moment, we share a common desire: to keep Charlotte alive. Take me to the infirmary so I can put her there, and if you want to fight, we'll do that later." she took a seat next to Charlotte on the bed and held her hand against her forehead to check if her temperature was fine.

"Oh, don't worry, Shi-ro-i-chan~," Reina says with a grin. "I'll take you to the infirmary, and you can even keep your crazy little hands all over Charlotte until we get there. Then we can have a nice talk about keeping our hands and knives to ourselves. Won't that be lovely, hm~?"

Yes. Crazy was something Reina could deal with.

Theriam sighed, not even reacting to the pain.

"Well, nope, looks like I won't need to.
Or maybe it's more like you don't even fucking deserve it." He spat at them, managing to stand barely upright.

'I'll kill them both.
Someday, sometime, I'll kill them both.' He thought, his eye changing to red, limping towards the infirmary.
'Putain de salopes. Conasses, c'est tout ce qu'elles sont.
Des conasses.'

Oooooh, how lovely.
Rage, as if we hadn't seen that before.
If only Rust could work on living people, it'd be fine, killing them slowly.
Painfully.

'It's not like it will until a huge while.
And until then, I need to devise some way to either wound them so they can't do anything anymore, or kill them straight up.
In the most painful way possible.'

Been a while since you've had so much bloodlust against anyone.
Not like I mind, I feed on that.

'That you do.'

---

On their side, Aria and Heamet were having a grand old time in the bath, relaxing and talking about various things.
Including things such as romantic interest in between the two.

"You know what? I like you too.
Let's give this a shot and see where it goes.
If it fails, we'll still be there for each other anyway." Heamet suddenly said, accepting Aria's feelings for him.

"However..." As he stepped out of the bath, putting his clothes back on behind a barrier, knowing full well the pervert association could take advantage of it, he spoke calmly, very as a matter of factly.

"That's only if you can lay a hand on me.
I prefer women that can kick my ass." He smiled as he looked back, with glass like shards hovering around his hands.
"So how about it?
Do you want to try your hand at it?
I'm sure Mr. Narrator up there is not going to mind either way, I'm ending up with you, I know it.
In the end, I can only lose.
But that's fine, I'm used to playing with cards like these." Shrugging, he turned around with an odd smile, that seemingly didn't fit him.

It was somewhat... Resigned.

Aria simply smirked, stepped out of the shower and dressed herself back, she looked at him and spoke.

"Kept me waiting huh?" Generating the same eagle like head in front of her, she put her hand in her pocket while her free one's palm was pointed at Heamet.

"Well it's not like you couldn't wait anymore.
I just like having my presents in good condition, even when they're poisoned." As he said this, a sudden burst of energy came for him.

The ground beneath him shattered as he took the blow within his own hands, holding a rather sizeable ball of energy shot by Aria, at first, it was a beam, and as it came closer to him, it became more of a ball.
"Feisty aren't we?" As the dust settled, not even a single bit of his clothes were torn out, he stood there, smiling as always.

"That's good." He spoke, breaking the energy ball by crushing it.
"Even I can't lose to this."

[Aidannadia]

Erde did not look up from her paper when she heard the "bird's" chirp at her. The newspaper told the tale of a recent spike in crime across Vale. One could only guess what or who exactly caused this. The editor believed in the White Fang's involvement, but simple minds often look for simple conclusions.

A date? In the courtyard- at this time of night? How scadndalous. You better hope no one... tagged along on your little misadventure.

Togami chuckles halted. "Something dangerous might happen, and well..." The student gulped. "I wouldn't want them caught in the crossfire."

Erde nodded, putting the paper down in the bin to to her right. A memory flashed for the woman; a reminder of a young friend with a similar problem.

Well, I don't want to keep you waiting-

Erde began to stand, but instantly, Togami swung his axe towards the villain's face. Dust was kicked up in the wake up the strike, but as the scene cleared, a single sword glinted mere inches from Erde's nose, holding back the weapon with ease despite her assailant's best efforts to cleave through her face. The boy clicked a trigger on the hilt, and flew across the courtyard just in time to dodge a slice from Erde's sword.

The faunus's smile curled at the edges as swords began to appear from seemingly nowhere and flying straight towards the boy as he was just catching his breath; Panels of nebulous aural energy appeared in the path of the missiles as they soared across the courtyard. As each attack struck Togami's constructs, both shattered into splinters of their former selves. The difference was that while the aural shards faded quickly into void, the splinters of each sword's blade flew at Togami. He was able to duck and roll out of the way of a large assault of the pins, but a few lodged themselves in his leg calf, eliciting a shout of pain from the student.

For a moment, the fighting stopped as the heir lied doubled over from exhaustion. Heels clicked their way over to the slumped for of the teenager, and a hand effortlessly reached down his cheek, rubbed just under his chin, and lifted his face up to meet Erde's as she spoke.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Looks like this little chick isn't ready to leave the nest. It really is a shame that you've fallen to such small wounds.

Erde's heel dug into the cuts on the back of his leg, forcing Togami to grit his teeth to avoid crying out once more. Erde simply smile and let his head hang towards the ground.

Well, don't worry, little chickie-poo. Mother bird knows when you're ready to leave the nest; Sometimes you just need a little... push.

With that, reality began to twist- meld together and apart in a spiral and yet remain stationary all at once. This world of hidden magic and grim horror let way to shifting sands beneath the sun. Togami managed to stand up in defiance, widening his stance for round two of the battle. Erde's eyebrow rose to attention.

Looks like this chick is ready to prove he's ready for the cockfights. Let's kick this up, shall we?

With a snap of her finger, the various swords that lay hidden beneath the granules of grit and dirt levitated and became fixed on the pray. Each blade glinted in the sunlight as they spun around the boy like a tiger waiting for just the right opportunity to strike-

There. One shot out from the line, straight for the boy from the front, but it was deflected with a swift swing of his ax and found itself lodged in the sand below. Two more flew in: One from above and another from the front, but Togami was able to contort his body to avoid the damage completely, but just as a foot landed firmly on the sands below, another shot out at his thigh. A screen meet the tip of the blade, but instead of the screen's shards dissipating like last time, Togami's construct held firm and and blocked each shard that broke off from the impact.

Erde's grin remained, but the slightest twitch of frustrated surprise was shown on her face as she sent three more towards her combatant with similar results. Togami was able to take a breath in the time it took for Erde to quash her surprise, but soon the blades began to fire more rapidly and with an even more random patterns with up to eight flying towards him at a time, but again the shields moved to protect him until it did not seem anymore that the shields were a conscious part of his action, but instead a normal manifestation of his reflexes. His constructs took on a mind of their own, and a violet stream of aura circled around his crown in a halo fashion and a large, disembodied fist swung at Erde, knocking her to the ground forcefully. She wiped blood from his lip, and frowned.

The amount of blades that flew at this moment were insurmountable, and soon, individual screens simply would not do. A large dome of aura encapsulated Togami in its protective embrace, but it slowly wore away under the constant barrage of weapons flying at the coat until Togami was reduced to a fetal position within a tight pellet of aura. Slowly, the weapons that flew over slowed, and the ball of energy began to descend to the ground and disappear, along with it the protective lining of Togami's personal aura, and Erde's dimension gave way to the courtyard once more. All was still, but in the moment passing, Togami stood to fight once more, completely drained of Aura.

I must say, I didn't expect you to get this far, but you're still lacking the power and a lot of skill to actually go toe to toe with me. Teachable moment; Try not to use so much of your semblance. It really cuts down on your mobility and damage potential. All you really did was delay the inevitable.

Erde's hand went to her hip as she waited for a response.

Togami's eyes went into focus once more. He opened his mouth, and sound just began to curdle from his throat when a boom rang throughout Beacon.

[Faal Lot Himdah]

Sirina Zezili

Sirina was fast asleep when Octavia said she was going out. When she woke up, she didn't know the time all she knew was her scroll was going crazy. Being blind, her scroll was designed to relay the information by sound waves from her cane. She sat there and listened.

How much money? How? Where? Um... she thought to herself as she laid down again, I wonder where Ning and Togami are... Then she heard it, a loud boom. Jumping up, she looked around, alone.

"Where are you..." She mumbled.

Ning Kohkahycumest

Ning was in town when he got the message. More specifically he was meditating in a park, looking down at his scroll, his eyes widened.

"What?" He said to himself, "Oh, don't tell me Togami did something... Where else would this money have come from?"

[Stormwrath]

Beacon Academy

Ozpin smiled and replied, "They can't, it's against school policy. Well, unsanctioned fights are indeed against school policy, but that certainly hasn't stopped students from starting brawls. In fact there were a lot of students who were sent to my office because of fights-in fact I remember there was one between a certain melancholic student and a more optimistic one a month ago, as well as a fight between Professor Orcson and another student—like I mentioned earlier. Of course, said fight was one-sided since Orcson is indeed a rough and experienced fighter."

Perhaps the old man knew too much about his fellow instructors, even more so about certain Huntsmen and Huntresses, but that would be something for another time.

Ozpin watched as the two girls began heading back to the school—to await their fate, you could say. He bent his legs and let his fingers brush the frosted grass. It was cold, a bit icy, and certainly a bit frozen. Straightening himself back up, the headmaster turned to Jackson and Leif, who were about to leave when he stopped them. "Anything that I may have missed?" he quipped.

Jackson glanced at Leif for a fraction of a second. "Well, there's the fight, if you missed much of that."

Ozpin didn't seem to be pleased with the boy's answer. Jackson added, "Yuki and Avena began a fight in the library for no reason, a mysterious lady, maybe a Huntress—I didn't know who or what she was—came and whispered something that made her faint, and then Yuki was brought to the infirmary, she woke up feeling really distressed, and then had this fight at the cliffs. I had no part in th—"

"I didn't say you were," interrupted Ozpin. "From the look on Miss Marin's face, it looked like she could need some help psychologically. Her Aura is being influenced by her emotions, which I ascertain are quite unstable. Yuki will need all the moral support she can get, but take care in doing that. That will be my only advice for you both in this matter."

Jackson tilted his head upward and sighed. "Okay, we'll do that. Come on, Leif," he cocked his head and began to head back to the school as well, a few minutes before classes were left.

Ozpin walked towards the cliffs, taking in the view of the Emerald Forest in the distance. A cool breeze blew, the first one that had ever blown on this day. Disturbed was the foliage of the oak tree, and so was his gray hair. "Shall we continue, you two?"

[Taigawa]

Kayla and Morila
Beacon Academy

Nothing. They hadn't done anything of note since the trip the get the trophy from the Temple in the forest below. Indeed it was because of their indecisiveness that their team, TAMK had disbanded. Kayla of course had something she could go back to and be happy about since her family was pretty prominant in Vale. Morila sat on a bed in the dorms, considering what the future would hold for her. Expulsion was the first thing on her mind, not the grimm she had joined the Academy to fight. Kayla seemed aloof from it all, which disturbed the faunus more. Having nothing to do however, she opened a photo album to stare at old family pictures. Whatever fate had in store for her today she would accept without question.

[Cybraxia]

Lilith scowled, and kicked the dust. "Damn, I was hoping to see how good these students are." She had been really hoping she'd be able to fight. She'd been bored out of her mind for the past few days, and not being able to have ANY fun wasn't helping. And she couldn't sneak out either. It was like Jack had eyes in the back of his head. Or something. Jack patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to fight someone soon enough." He said to her, hoping to calm her down. She nodded at that. With that, Jack looked to Ozpin. "Yes, I believe we're ready to continue."

[Icrum]

Vale

While most people would take the airships to go to the kingdom proper, some prefer to take their time. In this case, this was Aiden. He continued to drive his car, going down the road that wound around the cliffs. This road led to a highway, which served to collect all kinds of vehicles from the smaller roads that fed to it, like a mighty river of automobiles collecting cars from its paved tributaries. This highway went on for a couple more miles, leading to the magnificent pearl of a city that stood apart from the dangerous world—the city of Vale.

Vale was an incredibly lively place, a picturesque bustling city that attracted all kinds of people from within and without—a haven for mankind from the monsters outside of its walls. Not only that, it was surrounded by a prominent mountain range that served as a geographical barrier against the Grimm. The walls protecting the city were quite thick, very high, and certainly well-guarded, with the finest of Vale's soldiers watching day and night. Every few hundred meters or so were towers where they were garrisoned. The car slowed down and stopped at a checkpoint, and a guard came by to check. Aiden was cleared to pass, and the car began to accelerate again.

If one were to make a comparison with any city on Earth, it would perhaps be likened to Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, or even Vienna. It was incredibly beautiful and vibrant, where one could find all sorts of interesting places to visit, such as coffee shops, bookstores, parks, and iconic buildings that flanked every street. People roamed to and fro without much concern. A cosmopolitan atmosphere was abound, with all sorts of cultures melded together in a harmonious fashion. To the locals, "life is here." Here was life left unmolested, left to thrive and flourish.

Downtown was close by, and Aiden and Blake were greeted by narrower streets, some of which were paved with carved stones. It was certainly a more avant-garde part of the city, where the traditional street lights, traffic signs, and pedestrian walkways were replaced with holograms. They resembled the ones that were back at Beacon Academy, only they displayed the emblem of the kingdom in place of the school's. People in this side of town were described to be hipsters showing off the latest Scrolls or holding Stardust Coffee cups in their hand—not that they were any different from the rest of the population.

"So," Blake asked Aiden, "Where are you going to take me first?" Sensible question, yes, for someone thinking dinner was too early in the day for. It was a quarter to five in the afternoon, and the sun was still bright in the sky.

Aiden thought about this question while waiting at a red light. He did have reservations at 7:00 PM, so he had some time. He thought about the different locations in Vale he could take Blake to, and still have time to go to dinner. The light turned green and Aiden accelerated the car, whilst still thinking about the places he could take Blake. He eventually realized that he could take her to the central park.

"Well, we can go to the park while we wait for the proper time to go to dinner. I here it's beautiful this time at night." Aiden said, smiling at Blake. She simply smiled and nodded to Aiden, agreeing with his choice of destination. Aiden turned his head back to the road, still smiling, and screaming in his heart.

She didn't say anything! What did I do wrong? Is it because I didn't ask, just said? Is it because she maybe is only doing this to pity me? IS IT BECAUSE I'M A STRAIGHT WHITE CIS HUMAN?! Aiden thought in fear as he drove to the park.

"So, read any good books lately?" Aiden asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Well, I'm reading this one romance novel. It's called Ninjas of Love, and so far it's pretty good." Blake said, looking at Aiden smiling before asking, "What about you?"

"Well, I was reading this book about a hunter who served a greedy king. This hunter chose to serve this king when he was just a humble lord, but when the king became to greedy with ruling, the hunter leaves him. If I recall correctly, I just left off when the hunter said "Mea est ultio, et sanguis non avaritia" as he killed the greedy king. The book is called The Tale of Sir Alonne if you're interested in reading it." Aiden said, not realizing he just spoiled an important arc in the story. But Blake didn't mind, as she already read that book. The two pulled up to the park and Aiden stopped the car. He got out and walked to Blake's door, opened it, and held her hand to help her out.

"Is there anything you want to do while we're here?" Aiden asked Blake, walking her to the park.

[Stormwrath]

Beacon Academy

"Very well then," Ozpin began to walk back to the campus proper. There were still a few more locations for Ozpin to stroll around with Jack and Lilith in tow, so might as well not waste the opportunity.


Vale

Oh Dust, Blake began to look away and blush, realizing what she had just told Aiden. Ninjas of Love wasn't exactly a book to be proud of reading, as it pertained to her fixation to yaoi. This was one of those things that no one knew, not even her trusted teammates, and she was supposed to keep it that way. "Darn it Blake," she muttered to herself.

Taking Aiden's hand, Blake stepped out of the car. She did want to hang around the park a little while, since it was cool and breezy here. "We could stroll by the pond and watch the ducks, that kind of thing."

Vale Central Park is one of the main tourist spots in Vale, and one of the few large greenspaces in the city. It was a good place to visit at this time of day, as the summer heat wasn't so punishing anymore. Arriving at the gate, one could see the main pedestrian avenue leading to the pond, where hundreds of people had strolled through today. A couple of children were scampering in front of a middle-aged couple, some young adults were playing around with a frisbee, and an old man with a wooden cane and a baseball cap was resting on a bench—not to mention that a horse-drawn carriage had passed them by. The pond was enormous, and there were some visitors riding little boats and watching the ducks swim by. There were also people having picnics by the pond, or flying colorful kites.

Aiden and Blake turned left and began to walk by the pond, admiring the glistening of the water and the flock of birds that flew through the sky. It was nice to be out here in a place this serene and peaceful, away from the usual hustle and bustle of the city, or perhaps that of Beacon. It was quiet, maybe too quiet. Aiden hadn't opened his mouth to anything yet, and he seemed to be a little unsure about how this was going. Perhaps she should open up a conversation. "So," Blake asked Aiden, "How did you meet Fabi and the others? You guys seemed close even before initiation."

Meanwhile, out of sight behind a nearby bush, a pair of binoculars were sticking out, with magnified silver eyes. Ruby was observing Blake with Aiden, with an annoyed Weiss right next to her. "You just had to drag me here, didn't you? This is such a waste of—"

"There they are!" she muttered, gripping the binoculars firmly.

"Give me that," Weiss swiped them from her and placed them in front of her eyes. She watched as Blake began opening her mouth and saying something inaudible.

"Right? Right?" Ruby whispered. Hold on, the lack of a certain blonde female was evident. "Oh wait, where's Yang?"

[Shyluz]

It was a deer and a cat. Of the Cheshire variety, one could say. The cat, who had scuffs and dust all over her Beacon uniform smirked, clutching the katana--Usagi--in one hand and the other silently held onto the sheath--Chimamire--as she stood off against the deer. The deer's chin was down, her eyes veiled in shadow as her boots clacked against the concrete flood, an aura of immense bloodlust making the air thick. She held no weapon, only a glowing red marble, which she silently inserted into her mouth. An audible crack echoed through the room as the deer's canines smashed the tough pill into shards, spilling the stimulants and dust inside.

She felt as if there was a fire in her blood.

There's a fire in my blood.

The room was silent for a few moments as flame sprouted from the deer's pupils and wreathed her fists.

"Now Olive," said the cat, slamming a new magazine into the sheath with a shattering clacked and slamming the bolt into place, "can't we talk about this?" She finished with a grin as the two girls charged, both equally fast as the dust in the room swirled around them.

"I'll take that as a 'no,' then." The cat murmured, the blade a whir in the air as the bare hands of the deer blocked each blade with a blast of flame wrapping around the blade as the deer slapped it with her palm. Another slash, another parry. Until finally, the deer hit the critical place at the critical time with the critical momentum.

The dust steel that formed Usagi's center blade section was shattered, the red shards of steel becoming deadly flechettes as they shot away from impact, scratching both girl's faces as the cat was caught in a moment of dismay, of shock. The deer took this opportunity, and slammed a fist into her chin from below, lifting her off the ground and into the air. As gravity pulled the cat down, the deer did not hesitate, delivering an almost cruel roundhouse kick to the cat's side, and slamming her into the concrete wall, which cracked under the pressure.

The spectators of the "mock" fight applauded before returning to whatever business they had been going about before. Cheshire slid to the ground, panting when she hit the cold floor. Olive walked over to the defeated Huntress-in-Training. "No," she said coldly, leaving the arena as the stimulants burned off, and the flames died down, fading into nothingness. "Not today."

[Nachfolgia]

Avena made her way back to her dorm from the cliffs. The fight with Yuki went somewhat how she wanted it to. For the first time ever, she exchanged words with her opponent instead of blows. Avena wanted to help the girl im the best way she knew how and it paid off. Yuki was om her way to get some professional help.

Avena didn't want the same thing to happen to Yuki that happened to her childhood friend, even though she didn't know what was specifically wrong with her. In her home village, Avena grew up with another girl by the name of Iris. The two girls were nigh inseparable, trainin together to be huntresses. Life was good, up until Iris' parents were killed by Grimm.

Following their death, Iris went into a pit of depression that effected her relationship with Avena. Avena was too young and stupid to understand her best friend's pain and it was her biggest regret. One day, Avena found Iris standing on the edge of the cliffs outside the village. She asked her what was going, but Iris answered with only one sentence.

" No matter how hard life is, never lose your smile." Those were the words Iris spoke before jumping from the cliff. That day was burned into Avena's forever and those words were what forged her fun living demeanor that's so prevalent today. Since Iris' death, Avena vowed to never let that happen to her friends again.

Avena opened the door to her dorm and walked in. Looking around, she quickly realized that none of her teammates were there. She closed the door and went over to her bed. Avena laid down and put an arm over her eyes to relax. She gave a faint smile as she reminisced about Iris, laughing a little at the memories. " I did good Iris...I did good." Avena said as a tear ran down her cheek.

A few minutes later and Avena was drifting off to sleep. She had a taxing day, both physically and emotionally, and was exhausted. She wanted to take a nap before heading to dinner with her team. Just as she was on the brink of sleep, Avena sprang up from her bed. " Shit!!! I forgot I threw Grimsbane off the cliff!!" Avena yelled as she ran out of the room.

[Icrum]

Vale

Oh Dust, Blake began to look away and blush, realizing what she had just told Aiden. Ninjas of Love wasn't exactly a book to be proud of reading, as it pertained to her fixation to yaoi. This was one of those things that no one knew, not even her trusted teammates, and she was supposed to keep it that way. "Darn it Blake," she muttered to herself.

Taking Aiden's hand, Blake stepped out of the car. She did want to hang around the park a little while, since it was cool and breezy here. "We could stroll by the pond and watch the ducks, that kind of thing."

Vale Central Park is one of the main tourist spots in Vale, and one of the few large greenspaces in the city. It was a good place to visit at this time of day, as the summer heat wasn't so punishing anymore. Arriving at the gate, one could see the main pedestrian avenue leading to the pond, where hundreds of people had strolled through today. A couple of children were scampering in front of a middle-aged couple, some young adults were playing around with a frisbee, and an old man with a wooden cane and a baseball cap was resting on a bench—not to mention that a horse-drawn carriage had passed them by. The pond was enormous, and there were some visitors riding little boats and watching the ducks swim by. There were also people having picnics by the pond, or flying colorful kites.

Aiden and Blake turned left and began to walk by the pond, admiring the glistening of the water and the flock of birds that flew through the sky. It was nice to be out here in a place this serene and peaceful, away from the usual hustle and bustle of the city, or perhaps that of Beacon. It was quiet, maybe too quiet. Aiden hadn't opened his mouth to anything yet, and he seemed to be a little unsure about how this was going. Perhaps she should open up a conversation. "So," Blake asked Aiden, "How did you meet Fabi and the others? You guys seemed close even before initiation."

Aiden stood at the edge of the pond, staring into the clear water. He thought about the question for a second. He knew Fabi from a forum site called ChatThings, a site with multiple boards to discuss just about anything. There they met when they argued about the effectiveness of a scythe in fighting (Which Aiden was not to into scythes being weapons, as he claimed it required a tremendous amount of skill to get the same effect a sword could do in half the skill), and they soon began chatting more until they were pretty close friends. With Eardwulf, he met him in Atlas actually when Eardwulf first came to his parent's store asking for any dust for sale. Since Aiden was the only one there, he talked to Eardwulf. He soon learned of Eardwulf's history, and he offered assistance, which Eardwulf took gratefully. Eardwulf then stayed with Aiden's family until Aiden went to Beacon, which Eardwulf was also accepted into. Taro though, Aiden only recently met Taro at Beacon, and he was kind of wary of Taro. Taro never visibly ate, was more skilled at fighting than just about everyone he saw, and spoke very little. Aiden tried to garnish some info, but all he got was a copious amount of silence. But Aiden trusted Taro enough to not be afraid of him. Aiden kept staring into the pond, mesmerized on how little he knew about one of his teammates. He was there leader, and he felt like he was failing them. He looked up at Blake after about a minute and relied the info he recalled from his memories. Keeping out the Taro part. In fact, he forgot to mention Taro, but he hoped Blake wouldn't notice. After talking to each other about their teammates, music, books, and class; the two fell back into silence. Aiden stared into Blake's eyes. He saw beauty in her eyes, but he felt that something was also there. He just couldn't tell, but Blake was hiding something in her eyes. Maybe it was the slight gloss to them usually showed that someone was sad. Or maybe it was her small smile when Aiden explained his affluent past to her with eyes that looked like they were sad and happy. He even thought it may be that she was hiding something about her in them, but he dismissed that as 'craziness' and 'deluded' thoughts. Either way, he knew that there was something locked in her gorgeous amber eyes, and he wanted to know what it was. He smiled sincerely after pushing these thoughts from his head.

I don't care what her story is, I love her, and I'd do anything for her if she needed it. Aiden vowed to himself. He smiled to her as he took her hand and led her back to the car, as they had to get to the restaurant soon or they'd be late. He got into the car after assisting Blake into the car and started the car up. He pulled out of the parking lot, and merged into the street. They drove for about five minutes, Aiden enjoying Blake's company, and soon they reached the restaurant. The restaurant was had a nice ambient environment to it. To someone from Earth, they'd say it was very Japanese based, with Samurai armor and some dinig rooms blocked by paper doors. Aiden helped Blake out of the car and the two walked through the front door. There they were greeted by a Hostess who looked no older than 26, and she greeted them.

"Hello, welcome to the Watanabe Castle. Do you have a reservation sir?" The hostess asked. Aiden pulled out an I.D. and showed it to her.

"Yes ma'am. My name is Young, Aiden. I had the Emperor's Feat Hall reservation for 7:30. With the Shogun premium added on." Aiden said, smiling to himself. The Feast Hall reservation was a huge gamble, as he had reserved that the day he first talked to Blake, and he was happy the gamble that Blake would say yes payed off. It gave them the top floor, which had a glass wall so one could see the city of Vale. And the Shogun premium (Another gamble) gave them half-off on all orders, and allowed them to get preferential treatment when it came to getting there food. While other people had a list, Aiden's premium shot his and Blake's orders to the front to be done before anyone else that wasn't being prepared at that moment.

"Ah yes, Mr. Young. Special day today huh? I'll take you to your dining hall if you would please follow me." The hostess said. She led the two into a room, about 24 feet by 30 feet and had a long low table made of beautifully polished lacquer wood, with legs made of polished granite. Blake sat down while the hostess informed Aiden that she'll go get the waiter. Aiden thanked her and sat across from Blake, short way. She looked at one of the menus that was already there for the two and knew exactly what she wanted the second she saw it. The Fish platter. Aiden looked through and settled on Beef Noodles garnished with a spicy green paste. After about a minute, the waiter arrived at the two's room. Aiden gave the man the order, and gave him a nice extra tip up front.

"So Blake, any of your teammates trying to stalk you now? Are they trying to follow you to tease you about our date, because I know my teammates are." Aiden said. In an instant Aiden heard Fabi yell 'SHIT!' and two pair of feet run away from the other side of the paper wall, and an employee yelling at Fabi and Eardwulf. Aiden chuckled with Blake about Fabi being found out. Aiden explained he saw the two sitting at the park bench, and he saw the two immediately got up the second Aiden and Blake stepped into the car. The two laughed and giggled at the thought that they were being stalked by their teams, but Blake assured Aiden that her team wasn't stalking them. Or so she thought. After the incident the waiter brought the two their food. Aiden smiled at Blake and the two began eating and talking to each other casually.

[Stormwrath]

Since we're taking too long to finish this, consider this post as a time skip of sorts.

Beacon Tower

Night had fallen on the campus of Beacon Academy, and the moon was shining bright in the sky. The hallways, the classrooms, and even the courtyard were empty, with only a few security guards shining lights somewhere. So far, there were no intruders of any sort. The students were all in their dormitories, some of them getting ready for bed, and others staying up a little bit longer. The tower still illuminated with those same green orbs that shined from its top, a symbol of mankind's hope against the forces of darkness all around them. It was literally a beacon.

While the rest of Vale was entering the more serene hours of the evening, someone was still up there, keeping watch from that old lighthouse. Ozpin was alone in his office, working out some stuff on his computer. The coffee that he always had with him had kept him up this far into the night—he may have had more of it than usual. Noticing that the lift had arrived on his level, he moved his gaze from the holoscreen and spoke, "Come in."

The doors opened, and revealed a certain woman in a white dress and a purple cape. Glynda Goodwitch, who was Ozpin's aide, looked a bit concerned over her older contemporary. "Professor Ozpin," she asked, "still going to work all night?"

"You could say that," he typed away on his computer. "Just some last-minute requirements to straighten out."

"Ah," she nodded. Glynda took a few glances all around the office, her eyes gazing at the complicated machinery of gears and cogs at the ceiling once, then fixing her gaze at more of them installed on the wall. She could see that there was something keeping Ozpin up all night more than usual, and it may not be the coffee he always had. "This isn't about the rumors of recent White Fang activity, is it?"

His hands stopped. Sighing he replied, "You know I don't believe in rumors."

"And you don't reject them either," she quipped.

He chuckled, "True."

Ozpin was in no way worried about the White Fang itself, rather he was worried about the supposed agents that were working with them from the shadows. He and Qrow suspected that many of them were linked to the mysterious woman, the one that had placed one of the Maidens in critical condition, and that they might be planning some kind of master plan of sorts to advance their nefarious agenda. Of course, he can't be sure of a thing just yet, not until Qrow and the other Hunters had gathered more information for him, or if something bad has happened in Vale or in Beacon. Such was the responsibility entrusted by mankind to people like this old professor. "What has been gathered so far about the identity of their backers?" Ozpin asked.

"So far it is unknown," Glynda reported. "But these backers seem to have access to large amounts of Lien, much of which was earned through revenue generated by contraband Dust. They seem to have a web of connections to certain black market dealers and shady organizations that give them access to information like military technology and bank CCT addresses, but it is unknown if they have aligned themselves with the White Fang, and there is still much to—"

Ozpin raised his hand. "I think you should stop there for now, Glynda, you need sleep more than I do."

"And what about you?" she asked.

"I'll have the night be the one singing a lullaby," he smiled. Turning around to face the glass window he exhaled, "You know, I find heights to be a comfort that brings me peace. Yes, it can get lonely here sometimes, but it's away from all of the noise and the chaos, from the burdens and cares of the world. The view makes them look small and insignificant, and therefore able to be surmounted."

"That's a nice thought, Ozpin. Goodnight." She walked back to the elevator and went back down, leaving Ozpin alone in his office once again. He stared at the moon and saw a shooting star zip past by it.


Team JACL's Dorm Room

Saturday night was usually a lively and vibrant night for the team. This was where they were all free to do whatever seemed fun at the moment, often with hilariously unexpected results. (Thanks, Avena!) Though tonight may be one of the more boring days. Yes, there were lots of snacks involved, and they were planning to stay up all night, but by now they had already watched Jackson's entire movie library. What the hell were they going to do now, get some sleep?

For now, Avena was in the bathroom, Jackson was on his bed reading through another comic book, Carmina sat at the study desk, and Leif lay down, placing his arms behind his nape and staring blankly at the ceiling. The wooden ceiling fan spun round and round, and it was making him a bit dizzy.

"I asked this once, I'll ask it again," Carmina kept staring at the cartoonishly excessive amount of snack bags, soda cans, energy drinks, and other sorts of junk food piled all over the study. "What are we gonna do with these?" she shook a bag of pork rinds.

Jackson shrugged and flipped another page. "I don't know. It's getting pretty late."

Just as Leif was about to open his mouth to say something, Jackson's ears twitched. "And no, we are not doing that."

"But…" Leif muttered. "I didn't say anything yet."

"Are we going to do a game?" she turned around and went back to her bed to ruffle through her things. "Thought we should."

"Yeah, but what game? I'm not doing Remnant: The Game again, that game's overdone." Jackson put down his comic book and watched Carmina pull out boxes from beneath her bed. Under there were games like Risk and Cards Against Humanity.

"Or maybe it's because you suck at tabletop," Carmina looked up and smirked. "I mean, who the fuck uses cards in defense mode a lot? You keep on holing your forces behind your walls, ignoring that there are aerial units."

"Hey," he retorted, "at least it's better than using up all of your attack cards and then watching everything fall apart when they get decimated by Grimm."

Carmina folded her arms and blushed. "I-I was caught off-guard, okay? I didn't know Heamet had some Grimm cards on his deck."

[Nachfolgia]

It was going to be a boring night for Team JACL. Mostly thanks to Avena's crazy antics, the dorms were on locked down. Ozpin and the professors didn't appreciate the sniper's pet baby Nevermore that she secretedly hid in her room. From all the shit that Avena has pulled, she was never threatened with expulsion. For whatever reason, Ozpin somewhat tolerated her shenanigans.

Avena was in the bathroom changing while the rest on the team was chilling Iin the room. Stripping out of usual ratty combat gear, Avena got into her sleep attire. She put on her booty shorts with chibi grimm on it before donning a short black tank top that showed her midriff. Her sleep wear showed off all the scars on her arms, abdomen, and legs. Most people would try to hide that amount of damage, but Avena didn't. She wore her scars with pride.

Avena turned towards the bath room mirror and untied her pony tail, shaking her hair to get it unclumped. She then proceeded to check herself out in the mirror, admiring her well toned body. " My anaconda don't want none, unless ya got GUNS , hon." Avena said as she flexed her muscles. She did this for a few moments before walked out of the bathroom.

As Avena walked out of the batnroom, she caught the last bit of her teammate's conversation, about not knowing Heamet had Grimm attack cards. " Don't forget about my Faunus Commandos and their SWEET stealth ability." Avena said as she winked at Carmina before plopping down on her bed. " So...have we decided on what game to play? I can't wait to do something fun for once. "

[Occupied Deutschland]

Side Courtyard
Umber slowly curved her right arm in front of her chest. Her fingers were spread slightly and her whole concentration focused on attempting to make the movement look fluid. As if she were trying to move the arm through water without causing a ripple. She struggled with it. Every instinct screamed at her to move into the positions with the same jerking, thrusting motions she’d use with her knives. Every muscle in her body screamed to let loose, to provide the movements with the power and strength they would need to be even passably effective in combat.

But that wasn’t what it was about.

Umber circled her hands around one another and slowly began to raise one leg for the next movement. She took a long breath as she arched her back and brought her left arm above her head. Let it out as she stepped forward. Tried not to grind her teeth at the frustrating slowness of the exercise. The frustration was part of it.

It probably didn’t help that it was almost dark. Umber hated the nighttime. All of the sounds and bustle of daytime life were muted by some natural force that encouraged birds to sleep and encouraged people to quiet. It was even worse at school, where too much noise after-hours could get one in trouble. It was dreadfully tempting to accompany the end of every movement she made with a shout just to break that dreadfully aggravating quiet.

Not that she could shout.

Umber’s hand stabbed into place and every muscle tensed as something very close to a growl erupted from behind her nose. She shook herself minutely and forced the arm to relax from its rigid posture. The effort made her fingers shake, but she went through with it anyways. It was worth the effort.

Umber forced herself to pause her movements for a long moment and took another relaxing breath. At least the fountain made a little bit of noise. Umber would have preferred the roar of whitewater or the crashing of waves over the piddly little splashing noises it made, but it was all she had. She would take what she could.

With a mental shake of her head, Umber continued the movements. She leaned forward this time and pivoted on her rear foot, trying to move in rhythm with the light wind coming from the north. It was an impossible task, trying to move as freely as the wind. But it was the attempt that mattered.

[Serah]

Inside of Team HEAT's dorm room.

"Anybody know where Ether went?" Heamet asked with his smile not fading, although his voice left a small trembling sigh of anxiety.

Looking upon his incomplete team, the captain didn't know what to do.
One was his girlfriend, and the other was his brother, although seriously modified, it was still him.

"I don't." Theriam responded blankly, although it was clear he, himself was worrying more than the others, he had known Ether for the longest, and the fact that Leonard also went off somewhere didn't help in the slightest.
At least, Heamet, Aria and Charlotte were still there.

Ether's blueprints were still organized, as they always were, none of them was out, most of his things were still there, and only three feathers remained.
It was known that Ether had feathers in his hair, and quite often, he lost some every once in a while while sleeping.
However, he would only lose one or two at most, then they'd be disposed of.
This time, there were three, and they had been neatly put.

"... It can't be a coincidence.
Why else would he have left three feathers?" Aria continued.

"Do you really think he would leave and not say anything?" A grey haze covered Theriam's eye.

"I don't see why he would leave in the first place.
Do you guys know anything?" Aria continued.

"Not really. I just know he liked Mentari.
Maybe she rejected him or something, that may be it, though I doubt it, since she seems like to like him a bunch.
I'm not saying that she is hit by it all that much, but she is certainly aware that he left.
Although... We can never be certain of anything anymore these days." The red eye spoke, although it seemed gradually sadder.

---

"... I'm going to go and take a breather." With that, he left, the haze still covering his eye, he went up to team CMCL's dorm and knocked.

He didn't speak that loud, nor too quiet, just enough so that he could be heard.
"Charlotte? Do you want to hang out a bit?"

---

After Theriam left, Aria looked at Heamet, the man had a forlorn face, his smile had started to disappear.

"... Aria?" He asked, looking at her straight in the eyes.

"Yes?"

"Do you... Think I'm a good leader?" A surprisingly sad tone laced his words.

Aria couldn't answer immediately.
After all, it was true that Theriam came up with most of the actual strategies, Heamet had simply followed.

"Can't respond? Well... I guess that's fine too.
You've never seen me lead. I can't expect to know something you've never even witnessed." He shrugged with a blank look.

Aria hugged the man, and buried her face within his blazer.
"It never meant anything to me, it's fine."

At first, Heamet was a bit shocked, but came to appreciate the moment and returned the hug.
"... I guess you're right." The smile returned as Aria put one of Ether's feathers in Heamet's hair.

Camouflaged by the man's hair color, it still stood out a bit, as it looked silkier.
As Aria stopped the hug, she smiled brightly and did the same.
"Now Ether will always be with us, no matter what we do or what happens."

[Charlia]

"... I'm going to go and take a breather." With that, he left, the haze still covering his eye, he went up to team CMCL's dorm and knocked.

He didn't speak that loud, nor too quiet, just enough so that he could be heard.
"Charlotte? Do you want to hang out a bit?"

Hmm? Is that... Oh, it's Theriam. A rare, genuine smile crossed Charlotte's face, and she closed her book, almost bouncing to her feet. She didn't show this level of happiness often, except around Theriam and occasionally her teammates.

Oh, that reminds me, she thought, I still need to have that talk with them. If I put it off for much longer, I might lose my nerve. Right now wasn't the time to be worrying about her social skills--or lack of them, anyway. She was going to enjoy herself.

Opening the door, she allowed her smile to grow wider, her eyes sparkling. "Theriam!" she said happily, making sure to still stay quiet. The last thing she needed was to have to deal with any unwanted attention. "I'd like that. What should we do?"

[Serah]

"... I'm going to go and take a breather." With that, he left, the haze still covering his eye, he went up to team CMCL's dorm and knocked.

He didn't speak that loud, nor too quiet, just enough so that he could be heard.
"Charlotte? Do you want to hang out a bit?"

Hmm? Is that... Oh, it's Theriam. A rare, genuine smile crossed Charlotte's face, and she closed her book, almost bouncing to her feet. She didn't show this level of happiness often, except around Theriam and occasionally her teammates.

Oh, that reminds me, she thought, I still need to have that talk with them. If I put it off for much longer, I might lose my nerve. Right now wasn't the time to be worrying about her social skills--or lack of them, anyway. She was going to enjoy herself.

Opening the door, she allowed her smile to grow wider, her eyes sparkling. "Theriam!" she said happily, making sure to still stay quiet. The last thing she needed was to have to deal with any unwanted attention. "I'd like that. What should we do?"

Theriam allowed a smile to spread on his face as well.
Seeing Charlotte happy was always a thing that brought him warmth and comfort.
Of course, that happiness was fragile, but he didn't think about it.

"Hey Charlotte.
To be honest, I was just looking for some company, I'm going to go take a walk.
Want to tag along?" He extended his hand to her lightly, not too fast, nor too slow, as if it was calculated.
Of course, it wasn't, something like that could only be natural.

The grey haze that plagued his eye for the last few minutes had disappeared, replaced by a blue one.

"If you want to do something else, it's fine too of course."

[Charlia]

Hmm? Is that... Oh, it's Theriam. A rare, genuine smile crossed Charlotte's face, and she closed her book, almost bouncing to her feet. She didn't show this level of happiness often, except around Theriam and occasionally her teammates.

Oh, that reminds me, she thought, I still need to have that talk with them. If I put it off for much longer, I might lose my nerve. Right now wasn't the time to be worrying about her social skills--or lack of them, anyway. She was going to enjoy herself.

Opening the door, she allowed her smile to grow wider, her eyes sparkling. "Theriam!" she said happily, making sure to still stay quiet. The last thing she needed was to have to deal with any unwanted attention. "I'd like that. What should we do?"

Theriam allowed a smile to spread on his face as well.
Seeing Charlotte happy was always a thing that brought him warmth and comfort.
Of course, that happiness was fragile, but he didn't think about it.

"Hey Charlotte.
To be honest, I was just looking for some company, I'm going to go take a walk.
Want to tag along?" He extended his hand to her lightly, not too fast, nor too slow, as if it was calculated.
Of course, it wasn't, something like that could only be natural.

The grey haze that plagued his eye for the last few minutes had disappeared, replaced by a blue one.

"If you want to do something else, it's fine too of course."

"Of course, I'd be happy to come with you," she said promptly. "We just have to be careful, of course... not to draw any attention from the powers that be."

Months. It's been months. And I still worry. It's not as if any of the authorities here would actually hurt me. Except maybe Reina. And I don't even know what's up with her lately... her and Shiroi... those two are kind of creepy.

[Serah]

Theriam allowed a smile to spread on his face as well.
Seeing Charlotte happy was always a thing that brought him warmth and comfort.
Of course, that happiness was fragile, but he didn't think about it.

"Hey Charlotte.
To be honest, I was just looking for some company, I'm going to go take a walk.
Want to tag along?" He extended his hand to her lightly, not too fast, nor too slow, as if it was calculated.
Of course, it wasn't, something like that could only be natural.

The grey haze that plagued his eye for the last few minutes had disappeared, replaced by a blue one.

"If you want to do something else, it's fine too of course."