Roses & Thorns – Volume 1 – Chapter 5

-Stormy Eyes-

Straightening her jacket by pulling on the sides of it, Claire tried to make herself at least appear to have prepared for the class with Professor Ozpin. Training with Weiss had gone on longer than she had thought it would, the heiress showing more determination than she would have given her credit for. A small bell dinged to signal the elevator opening, she strode through the empty entrance room to the door that led to the Headmaster's office. It was then that she felt the large stains of sweat that were causing her undershirt to cling to skin, the remnants of her exertion under the sun only minutes ago.

Standing just a few inches from the door and staring down at the darker patch of her gray t-shirt, she was sorely unprepared for the portal sliding open and revealing the Professor waiting for her, taking a sip from the mug that never seemed to stray from his hand. "Ms. Briar. You're late." With no further discussion, he turned away from her and walked into his office.

"Yeah, I, uh.. I'm sorry, I was-" Instinctively flinching as her fingers curled into their respective palms, Claire found herself standing in the doorway as she tried to find a reasonable way to explain where she had been. Fighting the same girl that had been involved in the incident leading to her taking this class in the first place was not a great way to start the sessions she would be attending with the Headmaster.

"Training with Ms. Schnee. I know." The man's calm and reserved way of speaking managed to pull her from the pit of awkward explaining, bringing her eyes back to him as he took a seat in the chair across the desk from her. "Please, come and take a seat. And do not worry about not changing before you came. I am a Huntsman, after all. One does get used to it, and it is more important that you are here at all."

Leveling his spectacles at her, Claire took the first uneasy step into the impressive office. She had failed to study it her first time here, having been more concerned with studying the floor under a massive curtain of regret. This time, however, she was free to glance up as she continued into the room, turning on the balls of her feet in order to absorb the scene above her. Enormous gears turned in harmony, resembling the recurring theme of the Professor; Clocks. She marveled at the way each cog locked with one another for a short time before separating again, with some of the smaller wheels moving along the outside edge of the entire ensemble.

The ceiling itself was glass, presenting a solid yet transparent screen against the amount of noise that must have been generated from the grinding gears. "Are you a fan of engineering?" Ozpin's voice brought her back to reality, drawing her attention away from the study. "Or just curious how it works?"

With a slight smile on her lips, Claire gave a last glance upwards before answering. "I know how it works. Or.. I guess, I know that it makes sense." A noncommittal shrug bounced along her shoulders for a moment as she finished her examination and strode toward the offered seat on the opposite side of the desk. "The subject interested me, but I never really had the patience to study it. Maybe in another life." Her small attempt at humor was met with a narrowing of eyes that caused her to scratch the back of her ears awkwardly, sliding into the chair in silence.

"Your transcripts from Impetus beg to differ." She donned a rather unamused expression and raised an eyebrow, causing the man before her to run a hand through his gray hair with a wry smile. "Oh yes, I reached out to your old school after our last talk, I even spoke to some of your teachers. Despite some choice words about you, all of them commented that you were a diligent student, although possessing an unorthodox way of completing assignments."

Scoffing, she ran an uneasy hand over the surface of her left gauntlet, averting her eyes from the unblinking gaze for a few moments. Inevitably, she felt herself compelled to ask the question staining the air around them. "What else?"

"I was forwarded the video of your incident with the Mantis boy, and though what I saw corroborated what you told me.." Ozpin took a long moment to think over his words, watching the young girl across the desk from him fidget in her seat. Wolfish ears twitched every couple of seconds, and dark brown eyes stared at everything but him. As hard as it was to image this teenager being the same as the one he had witnessed in the recording from Impetus, he knew that below a veneer of control the Faunus held an immeasurable amount of rage. "Did you know that you paralyzed him?"

A flash of an glance was all he received before the girl's gaze returned to the floor. "I.. I had heard."

That caught his attention. To the best of his knowledge, Claire had been out of contact with anyone from Impetus since her expulsion. "How?"

This time, her eyes met his with a fury behind them, the previous meekness burned away in an instant. It was fascinating to see guilt replaced so quickly with anger, and he knew he had just touched upon the surface of the boiling pool within the girl. "A few of his friends found me, down in the slums." A fist slammed into the wood of the table, and teeth bared to create a furious visage. When she spoke next, each word was layered with an excess of emphasis in the husky tone, indicating that she would not be elaborating. "And made sure that I knew."

"Stop." The command was so simple, uttered so confidently in a supremely calm tone, that it jarred Claire from the beginning stages of a rising anger. "Look at what you are doing." Her eyes flicked down to the closed fist she had bashed into the table, and it was only now that she felt the ache seeping into the bones that had taken the brunt of the impact. Flexing her fingers in an effort to calm the pain, she rubbed along the knuckles with her other hand and looked back to the Professor, her mouth already opening. "Don't apologize. If anything, it is I who should say sorry. I goaded you into that, to know what it took to bring out that side of you, and to talk you down."

Feeling a bit like a source of amusement for the older Huntsman, she slid back down into her seat, thumb and forefinger still rubbing away at her hand. Surprise faded into a glare that she centered on the man, whose own fingers were busy adjusting the glasses upon the bridge of a thin nose. "So you already knew?"

"I was told much about you when I was contacted by our mutual friend, but no.. I suspected, however, that your time after Impetus was one of great hardship." Both of Ozpin's hands came together as he leaned forward over the table, holding the scowl from the girl with a neutral expression of his own. "I believe I can help you, Claire. But you need to be willing to work through the issues of your past." As her lips began to part, he held up a hand to indicate he was not finished. "I do not wish to undermine the progress you have made so far, in fact, I should commend you. You have already taken the first steps, I merely wish to guide you and ensure that this endeavor does not end poorly."

"By no means do I seek to make light of what has happened before your time at my school. I know little of it, but I can see the pain you carry within you." The Professor collected his cane from where it leaned against the table and rose to his feet, leaning upon the instrument as he moved toward the window. He did not look back as the girl followed his movements, finding her standing by his side as he gazed out down into Vale. "But more than that, I see a brilliant student, and a Huntress who will excel if she takes the correct path. Otherwise, I would not have allowed you into my school."

Turning to face the young Faunus, he placed his free hand upon her shoulder softly, carefully noting the way the muscles beneath the tan jacket tensed at the contact. "And I promise you, all that is said up here will remain between us. You will face no judgment for past actions, nor will any of your secrets be divulged from me."

Glancing at the hand upon her arm, Claire dared not raise her eyes to meet the man's gaze, instead turning to stare out over the expanse of the kingdom below them. From Beacon, she felt as if she could see everything. The sea was out to the West, shimmering in the afternoon sun. She could make out the massive freighters that were unloading cargo onto the docks, and from here, the divides between the districts of Vale were much more apparent. The residential area, the commercial strips, even the slums were easily identified.

In that moment, fear was the emotion that rushed through her veins. The red haze of anger had become so commonplace that to be rid of it was an insurmountable obstacle in her mind, but beneath that chill that came with being afraid, was a small piece of hope. A part of her that dared to believe that she could live a life free from the bounds that tied her to the pain of the past. As she turned to face the man next to her, she dug fingernails into the palm of each hand, and her gaze rose up to match the Professor's. "Where are we even supposed to start?"

A smile ghosted across Ozpin's lips as he turned back around and guided the young girl back toward his desk. "I suppose we shall start from the beginning. Come, sit." Releasing Claire, their paths diverged as she continued around the furniture, and they resumed their original positions in the chairs. "Tell me, where were you born?"

Ruby lowered herself into a sitting position on bottom bed of the bunk that Blake and Yang shared, her heart still aching from the apparent rejection of her teammate's affections. Each beat of the organ provided another dull tear through her chest, one that she was unfortunately familiar with. Removing the support from her arms, she let herself fall back into the bed with a groan, her thoughts running over the interactions with the other girl in an effort to find what she had done wrong.

The back of her head impacted the edge of a notebook, bringing a squeak of pain as she turned to see what had caused the collision. Picking up the offending tome, she studied the cover with curious gaze. Blake had etched each of Team RWBY's emblems into the tough material of the front, and the sight of it brought a small smile to Ruby's lips as she studied them. Turning the book over, what awaited her was a half-finished sketch of herself.

But it looked so foreign, the expression on her face. It could be called concentration, but it seemed more like anger. There was a distinct lack of a smile on both lips or in eyes, and the downward tilt of a head told her that it was the moment that Blake had entered the room, before she had noticed her teammate's presence. Ruby knew that much of the exuberant happiness she portrayed was faked, but to see that the other girl had noticed, and had cared enough to immediately draw it? The thought almost made her grin, even tainted as it was by what had followed. "Ruby?"

The soft, monotone voice drew her away from the notebook, as she tossed it to the side in surprise. "I wasn't- I, um.." Clearing her throat, she regarding the shorter girl standing before her with a manufactured smile. "Amber. Hi, do you need something?"

"I was studying in my room when I felt.." Crimson colored eyes scanned the room in the unnerving manner that the Pinion girl had, as if what she saw was not based in reality. There was a long paused of this, before those pools of liquid fire found Ruby again, and the calm voice came again. "You are in pain?"

"I'm okay." There was no skeptical look thrown her way, despite the poor lie that had just escaped her lips. No expression of disbelief was necessary, because she could feel that the other girl knew the truth despite what was told. "You said.. You 'felt' that I was in pain?"

"My semblance has many uses." Meandering into the room, the redhead did not hold her gaze, instead studying the surroundings as she spoke. "But it is a byproduct that has effected my life the most. I feel what others feel.. Most times it is a negative emotion." Turning to center a gaze upon her once again the short girl cocked her head to the side. "You do a poor job at hiding your emotions. I can feel them in your aura.. It is very distracting."

"I'm.. Sorry?" It was a strange thing to apologize for, not being proficient enough to hide her emotions in a way that she didn't even know they could be seen. She had never even heard of such an ability, much less thought that it could exist. "Wait, you feel everything, from everybody?" A nod answered her query, and it suddenly became quite clear why the girl had always seemed off in some way. Amber's reality was much different from the one she herself knew, enough so that it was impossible to imagine what such a viewpoint might be, except that it would be horrible. "Oh wow, I am sorry."

A shrug came from the unfortunate girl, who donned a cheerful smile. "It's hard to feel bad about being different when it's all you know. I like to think our lives are what we make of them.." Moving closer, the redhead stepped carefully across the notebook that had fallen when she had startled Ruby, her voice never losing that calm and dreamy tone. "In my case, I can help people. So I do."

Mulling over the words, she watched the red eyes finally find her for a fleeting moment, before they began to look straight through her once again. "That's a good attitude to have, I think. But you don't need to worry about me, Amber, it's just.. Uh, Team stuff." Giving a brilliant smile, she tried to put her worries behind her. "I'm sure it'll work out."

A soft touch against her shoulder was all that the strange girl offered in goodbye, as Amber turned to leave the room. Once she was gone, Ruby bent to collect the book in which she had found the sketch of herself, closing it gently and setting it aside on the bed. Biting at the edge of her lip, she decided that the visit from the member of the other Team had been a good thing. At the very least, she felt a little better. Tapping a finger against the folded form of Crescent Rose at her belt, she headed for the door, knowing that there was not much else to do in the short time before the next class.

Blake didn't slow as she fled from the dorm room, her breath coming in ragged, panicked gasps. Each new intake of air mirrored the tearing sensation originating from her heart, as her mind tortured her by replaying the scene with Ruby without end. It was apparently still the study period, given that the nearly empty halls allowed her to move without fear of running someone down. Nevertheless, when she rounded the corner that would lead to the library, she had little warning before slamming into a flash of golden hair and hard muscle.

Crying out in surprise, she would have gone down in a heap if it wasn't for the strong arms that kept her upright. Pain flared through her chest, and she thought for a second she had impacted a wall instead of a person. "Whoa Blakey! Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Dread replaced confusion as she regained her footing and stared directly into eyes the color of lilacs. As her partner spun her around and draped an arm about her shoulders with a laugh, Blake couldn't help but wonder if she had personally wronged the universe in some way for this. "Class is in this direction!"

Now firmly trapped against the brawler, she was thankful that Yang could not see the warm blush that had taken over her cheeks. "I was- There's-" Tossing a glance back the way that she had originally been heading, she then looked at her partner. "Where are you coming from?"

"Me? I was walking around the gardens with Iris earlier!" Yang injected an insincere amount of joy into her voice as she spoke, not quite willing to reveal just how down the previous conversation had gotten her. She knew that life for a Faunus was more difficult than it was for her, but she hadn't known that it was that bad. Losing some of that cheerfulness, she continued speaking to fill the silence. "Poor girl. Anyway, what's new with you?"

"Me? Well, I.. I-" Blake struggled to articulate even a single thought, with the only words coming to mind being a babbling incoherence of admitting that she had just been flirting with her partner's little sister, and had left the girl stewing in a mess of a confusion. It hit her then that no matter what embarrassment or shame she felt for her retreat from the room, Ruby must have been absolutely crushed by her departure, not knowing the why or perhaps misinterpreting why she had done it. The realization made her stop, with the brawler's arm slipping from her shoulders and bringing the brawler back around to face her. "Yang, I.. Please don't be mad?"

A single eyebrow raised in confusion, and the blonde standing before her gave a huge shrug. "Why would I be mad? Wait! You didn't accidentally destroy something of Weiss', did you?" Yang's face contorted into a mischievous smirk, and her eyes darted about conspiratorially. "If you did, I can help you hide it!"

"No, it's not that.." Sighing, she tried to shake off the nervousness that was threatening to overwhelm her, but it still clung to every fiber of her being as she struggled to meet the gaze that came from purple eyes. It occurred to her that there were better places to admit this than in the middle of the school atrium, but she resolved to simply get it over with. "I was in the dorm room with Ruby, and we were talking and.." Slowing herself in order to prevent a rambling explanation that would further complicate things, Blake was interrupted by the arrival of another of their teammates.

"Claire is unreasonable!" Weiss stormed up to both of them, shaking their focus away from the conversation at hand and to what her problem was. Blake felt her eyes widen at the fact the heiress looked downright unkempt, and the girl's pale skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "First, she failed to tell me that we were doing endurance training, not actual sparring! Then, she has the gall to be mad at me when I said that her style was barbaric!"

Yang snickered quietly during the tirade, elbowing her partner to receive an amused sideways glance. Once their teammate was done, she spoke up with a broad grin. "Did you specifically say it was barbaric, or did you actually tell her that in a nice way?"

Pale blue eyes blinked before Weiss opened her mouth again. "I know that I can be.. difficult when voicing my opinions, but she was-"

"She's an angry person by default, Weiss." Blake spoke more calmly than the other two, glad that her own confession had been put off for the time being. "But I don't think she would have a problem with any opinions you held. Unless.. You didn't insult her based on her being a Faunus, did you?"

Pink spread across the heiress' cheeks, and the girl stammered for a few moments before the admission came. "It almost slipped out, but I didn't say it.. She stomped off after that."

"Weiss! You can't just attack someone based upon their race." Anger replaced Blake's even tone, and drew surprised expressions from the other two girls. She knew that as a Schnee, her teammate most likely held less than stellar opinions of the Faunus, but the revelation that the heiress would voice those thoughts summoned up a familiar indignation within her. "Despite what she did, Claire has been trying to mend things with you! No wonder she stomped off, if you were being a bi-"

Before she could finish the curse word, the holographic displays that lined the atrium walls lit up with a news bulletin. Displayed a newswoman with white hair and bright yellow eyes, the sound echoed through the large room. "I'm Lisa Lavender with Vale News Network. Breaking news from downtown Vale, there has been another attack on a popular storefront selling dust in the commercial district. Believed to have been perpetrated by the violent Faunus Rights fringe group called the White Fang, this attack resulted in several casualties."

A scoff from Weiss drew Blake's gaze for a moment, glaring at the other girl before resuming focus on the broadcast. "In light of the escalating conflict, the Vale Police Department has issued a statement that they will be calling in several experts from Beacon Academy to assist in the investigations. Citizens are advised to use caution when outdoors, and not to leave their houses alone, as the criminals remain at large." There were a few cuts to spray painted symbols of the White Fang on the sides of buildings, before the display flickered away to shots of relief workers clearing away the rubble of a village. "In other news, Grimm attacks have increased in the-"

"Casualties?" There was a quiet disbelief in Yang's voice, as the blonde reached up and ran a hand through her thick hair.

"It's not surprising." Both gazes turned to Weiss as she spoke, forcing her to explain herself further. She continued on in an even tone, believing wholeheartedly that she was merely stating the facts. "The White Fang has always employed fear and violence into their tactics. They are little more than thugs, glorified psychopathic terrorists who cling to a message of equality in order to gain sympathy for their actions."

"You're wrong. The White Fang weren't always like this." It was Blake who disagreed with her, the taller girl scowling down at her. "They are far from psychopaths, they are just misguided!"

Matching the glare with one of her own, Weiss stepped up to stand face to face with the other girl. "They-" Before she could launch a rebuttal to what her teammate had said, the bell signaling the end of study hall rang through the building.

Yang, all too happy to break up the brewing fight, slid between the two girls with a bright smile. "Well.. Looks like we should go to class, yeah?" She was unsuccessful in ending the prolonged eye contact of the glares, but she did manage to turn them both in the direction of Grimm Biology.

Sitting with one hand propping up her head, Ruby had arrived early to the class, with the intention of studying the notes Weiss had forced her to take in preparation for their first quiz. Unfortunately, she was lost in nothing short of a daydream, nuzzling her cheek against a palm as she remembered the feeling that had flooded through her limbs when Blake had touched her. She hadn't noticed that she wasn't alone until a hand was softly laid across the back of her neck, bringing her to an alert state instantly as playful violet eyes appeared next to her.

"Hey there, Red. Dozing off already?" Iris Vex slid down in the seat next to her, the only other occupant of the room they now shared. Ruby's distracted mind made the observation that the girl sat on the seat sideways, so the long fox tail wouldn't be trapped by the back of the chair. The simple elegance of it all, combined with her current mental state, caused her to chuckle at the realization. "Don't know how you are going to make it through one of Port's famous speeches.. Then again, I don't think you've made it through a single one so far."

A devilish grin was sent her way as the girl swiveled in the chair, the purple tip of the tail swaying to counter balance the movement. "Hey! I.. Well, I almost made it through one, I think." Ruby giggled as she thought back, her memory replaying a dozen different scenarios where she nodded off in the middle of the Professor's overly extravagant retelling of Grimm kills. "How do you manage to make it through them?"

"Me? I make him flirt with girls around the class." The fox-girl swung a complete circle with the chair, stopping the momentum with nothing but her tail and giving a satisfied noise at the end of it. Kicking against the floor with the toe of one of her shoes, Iris sent herself in the opposite direction next, coming out of the spin face to face with the younger student. "Never anything serious, just enough to gauge what his type is. With how he responds to your sister, I'd say he has a thing for blondes. Hmm, maybe I should have him flirt with Goodwitch?"

Tapping a finger against her lips, she watched as red-streaked hair shook in a gesture of pure disbelief. "What if you get caught?"

"What if? No reason to worry about what might happen, Ruby. Because it probably won't." Leaning forward, she scooted the chair closer to the younger girl. "So, Amber told me you weren't doing so hot. And Nyx tells me that he saw Blake running from your dorm earlier. Care to share?"

Wary of the sudden change in distance, Ruby leaned back from the Faunus girl, shaking her head once again. "I-It's nothing. She just had somewhere to be, I guess." Despite her best efforts, her thoughts turned back to the moment in the room where Blake had let slip a small note of her affection. Even if the aftermath had hurt, that singular connection between them had felt amazing to her.

Unbeknownst to the girl, the remembrance treated Iris to the sight of a deep blush. "No way.." Silver eyes snapped over to her, wide with caution as she leaned back from the scythe-wielder. "I knew she kept looking your way, but to think that she actually.. And you?" Shock turned into a wide, playful grin, as Iris gave a laugh. The light, crystal clear sound was amplified by the acoustics of the relatively quiet room. "Aren't you a little young to be interested in your teammates, Red?"

"I'm not- She's just-" Flustered and caught off guard by the accusation, Ruby struggled to respond, looking a way and feeling the heat on her cheeks dial up to full burn as she clasped her hands together nervously. As if by a side thought, she registered the remark on her age, and that brought her back around. "I can't help it if my heart decides to get all fluttery around her.. And I've already had my first kiss, thank you very much!"

The fox ears atop her tormentor's head twitched in delight as the owner of them squealed. "Gods you are cute!" Narrowing her eyes in confusion, Ruby requested an explanation by expression alone, a message that the Faunus was all too eager to reply to. "Sorry, you are just so innocent compared to.. Well, me." One violet orb winked in her direction, and the girl leaned back on the chair with a renewed laugh. "It's just so cute that you like the closed off loner."

"You said.. You saw her looking at me? Do you usually notice things like that?" Ruby worded her question carefully, not wanting to appear judgmental when the Faunus could provide her with some valuable insight to why Blake had ran off.

"Of course!" Iris was all too happy to explain, coming back down from her high and reaching up to scratch at the base of one furry ear. "I have to watch people, have to learn what they like. My semblance is useful, but it's downright unfair if I have that edge over an opponent, you know? Like with your sister." She enjoyed it far too much as the younger girl gave an awkward cough and looked away. "I saw the way she was watching me, so I chose her to fight. I could have gotten a free hit while she was standing there gawking at me, but.. I wanted her to like me."

"Doesn't that ever get-" Ruby's question was broken up by the door opening, revealing the first of the students to begin filtering in. As if on cue, the bell rang to signal the end of the study period, and she gave a heavy sigh.

"Don't worry, Ruby." Iris stood, towering above her now that she was the only one sitting. "We'll talk later, I'll give you some tips on how to deal with Blake. Just.. Uh, put in a good word for me with your sister, will you? Our last conversation got a bit heavy, and I think I might have scared her off a bit." The black fur of the Faunus girl's ears drooped as she spoke, and she felt a sort of kinship with the girl, comforted by the fact she wasn't the only one whose relationships were off kilter.

"Will do. Thanks Iris!" Feeling a bit better about the entire situation, Ruby turned back to the face the front as the other girl let her be. Folding her arms and leaning against the desk on them, she resolved to patiently wait until the rest of her Team arrived, and talk things over with Blake.

Yang wanted to bash her head against the wall by the time they reached the classroom. Or bash both of her teammate's heads. It was hard to tell which it was after stewing in annoyance for so long. Blake and Weiss had hurled arguments back and forth about the White Fang the entire way there, even rehashing a couple points to add something to them. For her, it was agony, and she was all too happy to turn into the lecture hall and frantically search for her sister. She spotted the familiar red-and-black streaked hair in the middle row, but stopped when she realized that Iris was watching her from the side.

Sitting in the top row of seats, the Faunus girl had a playful expression on her face, a vast difference from the serious conversation that they had engaged in earlier. Flashing a smile in the girl's direction, Yang received a dazzling smirk in return, along with a wink that caused her mental focus to melt for a second. Blinking herself out of the temporary daze, she stumbled down to the chair waiting for her next to Ruby, whining as she took the seat. "Make them stop."

Pools of argent color turned to regard her before she directed them toward their bickering teammates. As if they had heard her plea, the argument stopped. Or rather, one part of it did. Blake was staring down in their direction, the girl's pale skin darkening into a deep red blush across her cheeks. Without warning, Yang's sister turned back around, leaving her to glance between the two with a raised eyebrow. She recalled that her partner had wanted to tell her something about Ruby, but the news report on the Dust store robbery had taken the spotlight.

It seemed that Weiss had missed the reason for the argument ending, as the heiress gave an exasperated noise and moved to join them, her departure shaking Blake from the spell long enough that she could follow. Taking the seat furthest from Ruby, she avoided the younger girl's gaze, folding her arms and keeping them close to her chest as she waited for the class to begin. Despite her outward stoicism, her thoughts raced to find a solution to the current predicament.

The argument with the Schnee heiress was the perfect example of why she should have ran from that dorm. A relationship with someone who did not even know what she was, let alone who she was, was completely out of the question. But still, a nagging voice in the back of her head, the hopeless romantic that enjoyed the various literature that line her personal bookshelf in their room, stated that Ruby would not care. With a heavy sigh, she settled down to endure the torturous that this lesson was sure to be.

Along the top row, Iris watched the members of Team RWBY with a knowing grin, her front teeth grazing across her lower lip as it did when she was deep in thought. "Stop that." The command broke her concentration, drawing her gaze upwards to the other Faunus that was sitting down next to her. Claire looked better than she had that morning, the wild mane of hair somewhat tamed and definitely washed, and a color to her cheek that suggested she had at least gotten some measure of sleep. "I know that look, you're scheming. So stop."

"But I-"

"No." A smirk that turned her way let Iris know that the other girl was messing with her. "So what is the next great plan?"

Leaning forward and bringing herself closer to the wolf-girl in order to conspire in whispers, Iris pointed down to the members of Team RWBY. "Well, I just learned that little Red has the hots for Blake, who apparently has it so bad for Ruby that she ran out of their room in a panic. And I know I want Blondie, which leaves you Weiss. So it all works out really." Blinking as she straightened up and glanced to their other two teammates, she gave a shrug. "Well, there's still Nyx and Amber, but I don't think they are physically capable of being with someone."

Claire looked past her to two Pinion twins with a chuckle, then the dark eyes found her again. "Nyx is dating one of the girls from Impetus that didn't make it into Beacon. Something.. Ochre? I forget. But I think you're right about Amber." Leaning in closer, the fierce features of the wolf-girl narrowed into a more threatening expression. "And Weiss Schnee is straight, like I told you. Stop trying to make that happen."

Dismissing the order with a wave of her hand, Iris turned to face the front with a smug look plastered across her face. "I was just trying to help you out, Claire."

"Yeah, I know. It's what I'm afraid of." The leader of Team CAIN leaned back and put her feet up on the table like before, the heels of steel armor clanging as she did so. "Good for Ruby. She seems like a nice kid, Blake though.. Something smells off about her, can't place it though."

Claire mused over the thoughts, not noticing that the brunette beside her had affixed her with an intensely curious gaze. She was busy glaring at the back of the Schnee girl's head, still annoyed of how their first training session had gone. Despite the way it had ended, she had to admit that some progress had been made with the heiress, and even more with herself during her talk with Ozpin. They had only managed to cover the basics; her birthplace, her sister, becoming an orphan. But the Professor had never pushed for more information, he had only let her divulge what she wanted. Still, it had been the easy things, the difficult parts would come later.

Stuck in the replay of her time with the Headmaster, Claire did not realize that the teacher had entered the room, at least until she realized that it was not the right teacher. Professor Port had been replaced with a woman not much older than most of the students in the room, one that wore an outfit that caught the attention of nearly all the males, and even some of the females. It consisted of black leather pants that hugged to long, toned legs, accentuating the wide hips of the woman. Her torso was covered by a vest of similar material, hugging to the chest and revealing a muscled abdomen. One arm was covered by a long sleeve of cloth, but the other lay bare.

When the newcomer reached the center of the room, she turned to regard the students. Black hair was styled into a pixie cut, short in the front and longer in the back while remaining distinctly feminine, framing a pretty face with bangs. Beneath the strands stood out two eyes the color of a looming storm cloud, studying them all quickly before she spoke. "Greetings, class. My name is Memphis Slate, and I will be filling in for Professor Port as he is away on business." There was a chorus of whispers throughout the room that were silenced immediately as she raised a hand. "No, I am not a teacher, I am just a Huntress that happened to be resupplying and offered to pitch in. Luckily for me, we aren't staying in the classroom."

The full fledged Huntress before them bared her teeth in a vicious grin. "Professor Peach has informed me that there is a need for the red sap that comes from the trees in Forever Fall, so I get to take the lot of you out into the closest thing you're going to get to the Grimm-infested wilderness until your second semester." Moving through the aisles as quickly as she had appeared, Slate wasted no time. "Up and at 'em, kids, the bullheads will be leaving at fifteen-hundred hours. You all need to be armed and ready by then, class dismissed!"

Glancing over to her partner, Claire saw that Iris shared the same enthusiasm as her for getting out of the classroom and into the possibility of a fight. Even if there were a legion of Grimm waiting for them, it was well worth it to get away from another of Port's lectures on why the Professor was the greatest Hunter than ever lived. "Well now I'm glad Schnee decided to drag me out of the dorms today."

Author's Note: Sorry it took a bit to get this chapter out. I was drawing, coming up with dossiers, and jotting down ideas for a Cyberpunk AU fic(which is still a maybe). Aside from that, I kept rewriting the beginning to this chapter.. I dunno what it was, but I could not come up with a decent start. But I think I like it now. Anyway! I updated parts of chapter 1 and 2 to include more in depth descriptions of Amber and Nyx, and generally just better writing. There are links in my profile to both my DeviantArt, where you can find Claire and Iris' emblems, and to the dossiers on the /r/RWBYOC subreddit about all the members of Team CAIN. Highly recommend you check those out, and as always, drop a review with your thoughts. Until next time! -Fox

Shoutout to 60Grim06: Thanks for leaving a review! I want you to know that despite your simple encouragement, it truly made a shitty day at work much better. You rock!