Chapter 5: Fresh Start

Summer Rose

"Let's do this, we can do this!"

"Maybe I should do the talking?"

"Nah, I'll be fine! ...Yeah, you do the talking."

Bickering voices from beyond the doorway awoke Summer. She was still in her white nightie, firmly wrapped in a blanket and shielded from the direct touch of the sun, one of the many perks of her top bunk. Still, looking over across the room at Vermilion's bunk, complete with dark velvet curtains like a tiny dorm tent giving it privacy no one else had. A nice setup and Summer was reasonably jealous.

They got the dorm assignment yesterday after team selection, the move took well into the night, but it all came out pretty well. Dawn had demanded a "faunus side" and a "human side" of the room after Vermilion asked for top bunk and Azura claimed bottom. From there it went swimmingly. Sure, Azura had quite a few...questionable possessions. After removing the box of very slippery salamanders and coming to a "no living wild animals" agreement, Azura managed to stuff their labs worth of junk under the bunk, practically turning it into a chest of dark wonders and experiments.

Dawn took up most of the wall space on her side of the room. Summer counted at least three band posters, two games, and one Mountain Glenn flag checkered between Dawn's bunk and Vermillion's, though it seemed like the number and configuration changed every minute. Dawn competed with Summer for most clothes though, thank god each student got a chest of their own.

Vermillion had brought the least with her, a personal bag she never opened had been tossed into her mostly empty trunk. Summer counted no more than four outfits, and honestly considered taking her out shopping, on Schnee's dime, of course. Not every training huntress came from money. The one thing Vermillion did have that blew everyone's collective minds, everyone but Dawn that is, was this old piece of faunus art on a scroll, these thick strokes depicting a woman ornamented with bull twisting horns striking a dragon grimm down with a spear made of lightning. Its style was apparently native faunus, and etched with calligraphy in their native language. They demanded she put it up on the wall, on her side of the bunk, open for all to see.

Summer, lastly, tried her best to be austere. It's the sensible way of course, but little things always managed to drag her down. She put up an old painting of Forever Falls mother had given her; a calendar to assist with organization; a whiteboard, good for studying; clocks, two exactly, after all, who knows when one needs two alarms; a half case of books, mostly texts, but mom pushed a love of fiction on her; plenty of notebooks, binders, pens, two lamps, more clothes than Summer could honestly justify; and, despite her tough personality, a stack of fashion magazines. Sure, it seemed so off from her usual lady knight aesthetic, but what was wrong with a nice dress to go with the suit of armor? Plus, she enjoyed the underwear models, and for primarily totally not gross reasons. Summer enjoyed the fun of cute panties, nothing to judge.

Even if she did hide them at the bottom of her trunk. Keeping appearances was important for a young leader.

Combined, they had really made something nice, made something their own. Their team, this hodgepodge of people called SVLR. Summer didn't know Vermilion that well, but she seemed alright. Together they will learn and grow—

Thud, thud, thud. "Excuse me, SVLR?" One of the muffled voices from before knocked softly against their dorm door.

"Wha?" Dawn was already stirring, her black and gold hair all over the place, ending in wavy curls that were a straightener's nightmare. Summer lept off her trunk, bouncing on the dark wood flooring. Azura had become one with their blankets, forming into a literal human cloth cacoon. Vermilion's tent lit up, so she was at least a little awake.

"I'm coming," Summer mumbled as she shuffled on bare feet. Without a mirror to guide her, the huntress in training tried to comb through her long hair, brush out her bangs, and be more presentable. "Hello?" Summer whispered as she opened her door.

Two people stood in matching Beacon uniforms just beyond the threshold. Twins, judging from their matching build and height, both had soft features with a bit of baby fat that looked kind of cute. Honestly, they looked like her mom in old photos. One's hair was straight black, which went well with her sapphire blue eyes and slightly boyish posture. She grinned with a friendly, if a little sleepy, expression. "Hi," she whispered with a slight hitch.

"Hello, you're Summer Schnee, right?" The other less so. Her voice was slightly shrill and excited obviously, given the rapid tapping of her feet. She had shorter hair with offside bangs preferring her right and a pony tail. Her hair looked kind of like mom's, but with white turning to pink, accenting her lighter gray eyes. She had the dumbest goofy smile, easily the most approachable stranger in Beacon.

"Yes, I'm Summer Schnee." The pink haired student nearly jumped. The hell? "Uh, who are you two?" Summer asked, with a confused reluctance.

"I'm Shu, and this is my twin sister, Rosen," the jittery one answered, pointing quickly between the two of them. "We are like dorm sisters, I mean, like our team, team RUST if you remember us. Well, we are in the dorm to your right!"

"And here I thought I was the one doing the talking," Rosen mumbled, rolling her eyes at her twin sister.

"So," Shu continued, either not noticing or pretending not to notice her sister's shrugs, "I saw you fight the Goliath, it was astounding, the way you just—i"

"Fell on him really hard?" Summer offered, not really near as impressed with herself as others were right now. Far as she saw it, all she did was be the cannon ball to everyone else's cannon, wasn't really glorious.

"Yeah!" Shu didn't mind, seemed impressed by the simplicity really, "Made picking up the totems for Rosen and I pretty simple!" She punctuated with an unnatural laugh. Summer couldn't piece together why, but she was nervous.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Rosen interrupted, "but the real reason we came," the cool headed twin coughed to clear her throat, maybe not totally un-nervous? "Was no one in RUST heard any noise from your room, and well, it's fifteen minutes till class, so, uh, good luck, Summer Schnee."

What?

"Bye Summer, we should really get lunch sometime!" Shu waved goodbye as Rosen literally tugged her away. You could nearly see \ skid marks from her shoes. A cute pair, though Summer was too engrossed in her horror to appreciate it.

"So," Dawn groaned from behind, scratching the leggings of her sleep shorts and blinking at a rate that would dull a sloth. "What did the weirdos want?"

Summer sighed, took in a deep, soothing breath, and screamed, "Everyone, wake up!"

Odyssia Nikos

Odyssia stared herself down in the mirror, last in the bathroom. She prefered the extra time. First day of Beacon had her shaken a lot more than she let on. No one had noticed her twitch of double checking her goods, and no one, thank god, was in here watching her fumble with her makeup. Dark purple color around the corners of her blue eyes, some concealer to wipe away all signs of her still fading acne, some lipstick, a little blush. This wasn't new, normally the affair was so snappy no one noticed the wait, but school, it made her hands jitter. God, putting a little upward flare on with eyeliner nearly cost her a cornia.

"Why are you nervous?" she asked herself, still working on the finishing touches. Vocalizing the anxiety helped, thank you, counselor. "Because it's a fresh start, you only get one." She finished some powder on the cheeks, the last step, and it was looking good, her hair wasn't frizzing, nothing was showing, hell, even her neck looked good. "You have plenty of chances, and you're not fucking this up. You are the best," Odyssia practiced her vocal drills, "You're going to be the best huntress Beacon has ever seen." Overshooting? Maybe, but what other way was there to sail in life but on a star map made of dreams.

"I'm coming in, get decent!" Rogue didn't even knock, the bathroom so small for these dorms, she felt the snap of an ice cold metal doorknob hit her bare back before she even had time to reply.

"I'm not even dressed, get out!" Too late, her brother already shimmied in and went straight for the toilet. A groan and he defiled the dignity of her morning routine. Odyssia had been thrilled to find out each dorm room had its own bathroom, but four people to one, well, that still made things tight. Especially considering the floor space. Sink with a mirror and cabinet, toilet, then a shower, all with not even a half foot between them. It was cramped.

"Sorry, but we don't have any time left," Rogue excused himself, lamely, in Odyssia's opinion. He was mostly dressed in the male uniform, black and gold, though his red hair could use some combing. The dude looked like a flex could rip his whole outfit in two, Odyssia swore he ordered his a size down. Seeing the huntress cover her chest with her hands the sole male of the group laughed. "Calm down, you're my sister, I would be more interested seeing the nips of the family dog." Little comfort.

"Still, it's rude!" Odyssia made sure to elbow in the kidney on her way to her bra. Teach her to try and be extra special careful not to get any makeup on her uniform. "You couldn't have held it in for like ten minutes max? It's not like I'm asking you to die before coming in here," Odyssia added, getting on her skirt and hiking it up an inch or so. She liked the way it showed off her thighs and gave her better hips. Looked great with her stockings, too, ending right above the knees. They even had little blue, bronze, then blue again bars on the outside, just her colors.

He scoffed, shaking his head before zipping himself up. "Given class is in fifteen, no I damn well could not~" His smile was so wry his sister wanted to smack the damn thing off. Smart ass.

"Shit," Odyssia cursed between grinding teeth, "did someone wake up Summer? She always forgets alarms!" Hurrying now, Odyssia started piling on the layers, white inside with the dark jacket top. Rogue was already pushing her aside to get to the mirror, least he washed his hands after.

"Some weird girls from the team next to them are on it, no worries," the young man bubbled as he splashed his face, the undisciplined rubbing making it even harder to hear him. Oh well, weight lifted, Odyssia felt her shoulders slump and ease before she even knew she was stressing. Relaxed, dressed, she felt ready.

"Alright, good," Odyssia declared, running her hands through the length of her hair before pulling it up into a ponytail. "I think I'm ready. Do I look ready? I'm ready." The younger twin sucked in a breath, then let it go, repeat. Hunting was so much easier than this bullshit.

Rogue shot her a look of just befuddled disappointment, "Your thighs might give some poor kid a heart attack, but otherwise you got this, stop freaking out. It's dumb." He sighed, but Odyssia found it weirdly comforting. "I'm more worried about the team, I thought for sure one of us would get lead. What do you think about the others?" Someone was salty.

"Hell no, I don't wanna lead," Odyssia snapped. She wanted to focus on taking care of herself, four others was a little out of her hands at this point in her life.

"So you'd prefer Hera?" Rogue questioned, one eyebrow lifted. Super salty.

"I like them," Odyssia settled on, crossing her arms and slat lining her lips. She wanted to be Summer's partner, not Antimony's, but she wasn't the devil either. A good trapper, and pretty sweet, even if she did talk too much and loaded up her section of the dorm with way too many family photos. "Antimony fits our team construction. She's the opposite of me, heavy in melee and a sniper at range." Then there was Hera. The rabbit faunus defied the stereotype of her breed being meek by a mile. She took things seriously, too seriously, too literally, and too dramatically, and here she was with a team full of class clowns. Yet, Odyssia watched her fight when they battled the griffins harassing SVLR. "Hera's got discipline we don't have, and she works well with you, a brawler with some really versatile guns. I have faith dad shoved us together for a reason," Odyssia decided, "for now." Rogue listened without complaint, mixing together a nasty-ass protein drink. "You need to stop drinking that shit, you already have enough muscle to punch a beowulf to death without aura."

"Oh fuck off, sis, you take your meds, I drink my shakes. Nothing bad's happened so far," Rogue punctuated with a laugh, showing he wasn't serious.

"I need my supplements, you're just mudding up your brain chemistry for nothing."

"Last I checked, my mood's been chill. You're the one that freaked out and cut down the bunk beds just because of a little arguing."

"Hey, everyone wanted top bunk so bad, now everyone has it. No more whinin—i"

There was a loud bang on the door, someone slamming it full force with their fist. "Get out of there, we're going to be late for class! Move it!" Hera's commands were muffled by the door, but by the way she barked them, Odyssia was sure the fourth years got the message pretty clearly.

"Hera, give us a god damned minute!" Rogue shouted back, expression full of indignation and righteous outrage. "God, the nerve of some people, no patience or respect for privacy," he muttered in a gossipy whisper, shaking his head at Odyssia, who in turn just broke down into a cackle.

Summer had caught up to Odyssia on the way to class, her and all of SVLR were still putting on socks, literally hopping along together. Summer combed her hair with her fingers, blessed with natural straightness, and just focused on fixing her knee highs. The bull faunus, Vermilion, was a little more composed. She stepped just a little above walking pace, brushed her hair as she went, and kept on sunglasses. Wasn't that bright, someone just didn't get the chance for eye shadow. Dawn didn't seem to care either way, she hiked up her skirt, ruffled out her hair, and leaned back to embrace the chaos. Azura was a mess, curly black hair locked behind a hood, still rubbing the sleepies out of their eyes, and even the skirt was put on an off angle. All of that was to be expected, anyways.

Hera was not having it, she stomped her way down the hall, refusing to speak. Definitely one of those "we should be early!" kind of people. "So, Grimm Studies! I've been out of the game, do we know anything about who's teaching?" Antimony asked, voice cracking while she tried to break the silence. To her credit, out of all the girls she was the only one wearing her uniform totally regulation.

"I don't know her, but the freshmen say she's apparently a real hard ass," Rouge divulged. The jacket really didn't argue with him, his broad shoulders stretching it to the limit.

"Oh, you have no idea," Dawn laughed as she took strides ahead of the group, adept at grooming on the go.

"Are we going to be in trouble for being late?" Antimony asked, uncomfortably twisting some hairs between her fingers. The hall was widening, the white columns spreading out to make way for the lecture hall. The classroom, auditorium style, came up on their right, number matching the one on their scrolls. All of them aside from Dawn and Vermilion checking twice.

"Nah, she'll be later than us," Dawn replied, reaching the dark oak door before the rest of them. She didn't hesitate to kick it up and unveil their first class for them all. "Just, the professor can come on a little intense. Don't do or say anything stupid and you won't get jumped." She held it open for their twin teams, just as she said, students packed the classroom layers, but no professor. All the students hushed down to whispers, a knee jerk from Signal days. The seats were all assigned, SVLR front row, HROC right behind him. Odyssia got a great view of the back of Vermilion and Dawn's heads.

Odyssia had seen the classrooms a few times since her father had become headmaster, but the finery still impressed her. The natural blacked oak table tops, the great windows above, flooding the place with natural light, and the banners hanging from the sides. It felt anachronistic, immortal even. Strange to think, just twenty years ago the only beings in this classroom were probably nevermore chicks cracking the wood and a beowolf sleeping below the moon.

"So, is the professor even coming?" Hera whined, tapping her finger on the counter, a metronome of irritation, but Odyssia thought it might make a steady click track to play on.

"I'm sure she'll be here. My dad isn't exactly hiring figments of his imagination," Odyssia joked, not hiding her family status. No point really, a cursory glance gave it away. Maybe some might question her validity being here, but her skill with a spear, what Hera had seen, well that silenced naysayers pretty well.

"Your dad's not exactly Ozpin's second coming, you kn—i"

"Yo!" The door nearly broke open, swung, almost put a hole in the wall, and came right back barely missing hitting the opener square in the face. An adult woman walked in, presumably the professor, eyes shadowed in glasses and a baseball cap. Someone was photosensitive today. Her hair was an untamed yellow mess going down passed her butt, which was kindly hidden by a light violet cape. She dressed in a yellow tee and blue jeans with a myriad of patches, almost like she was ready to make a dust station run. Lacking in the uniform professionalism, she wore a tang jacket over a traditional black sports coat, sleeves rolled up on one arm not to get in the way of the honey and onyx colored plates that held in the servos of an artificial arm.

"Aunty?!" Summer whispered and shouted, a confusing mix of both. Holy shit. It was. Yang Xiao Long, the Vengeful Dragon of Vytal, the Phoenix of Mountain Glenn. Mrs. Long was as infamous as she was famous, though the fables, as Summer put it, often were tainted by incidents no one understood. Either way, no one questioned the prowess of this huntress, and judging by the whispers, Odyssia doubted many were questioning her identity any more.

"Sorry I'm late, was busy getting something special for my first class," Professor Long started as she descended to the stage of the theater-like classroom. She hoisted with her a satchel over her shoulder and some sort of metal trunk covered by a trap that shook with her every step. "If anyone isn't here for freshman Grimm Studies, get out," no one moved, "Good!" Mrs. Long took to her stage and dropped the box. Odyssia swore she heard it growl.

"I am here to instruct you on the basics of grimm hunting," the huntress took off her glasses and revealed her lilac eyes that almost hid the red lines in the white, "Identify species, habits, strategies, and real world techniques, but most importantly, I'm here to scare the hell out of you." She didn't need to shout, Mrs. Long proved pretty good at speaking with a completely normal tone several degrees louder than anyone else. "Every time you have encountered grimm, it has been a lie. It was controlled, safe and managed. Adults made sure nothing could ever happen. One day you will leave this place and go out into the world. It will not be preplanned, clean, managed, safe. We will not save your ass, no, you kids are going to be doing that saving. Never let safety theater drain you of your fear," Yang spoke with her hands, specifically her lost arm. Whether this was natural or not, Odyssia did not know, but it felt effective. "Let me tell you, if I do my job right, you'll leave this school in control of it, but terribly afraid, 'cause there is a hell of a lot out there to be scared of." Mrs. Long sighed and with it the entire class did as well. Even Odyssia noticed she was holding her breath, almost laughed at herself. "Welp!" Yang snapped to a crisp tone full of summer weather, "Welcome to my class, any questions?"

Dawn sank deeper into her chair, arms crossed, desperately trying to vanish. Embarrassed? "Professor, did you really break some kid's leg during the final Vytal festival?" one human girl in the back asked. Odyssia did not recognize her or her team.

"Oh yeah." Well damn. "Next question?"

"Did you really, like, die during the reclaiming of Mountain Glenn?"

Yang scoffed, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head no. "If I died how would I be able to answer that? I have no idea how the stupid phoenix thing started." Odyssia did, urban legend had it, Yang Xiao Long had been killed several times before, one time in Mountain Glenn, impaled by a grimm she burst into flames, alive in the ash. "Come on, try to focus on the class? Any questions related to the course?"

No one. "Good!" Professor Long announced with infectious glee, "Now for our introduction, meet Veir." The professor slammed her fist on the top of the concealed cage, metal door popping off and out of its white cloth veil. Everyone had their eyes glued to that box, excited, some scared, some confused. Vermillion thumbed her sword, kept on her belt instead of in her locker. Summer peeled her eyes open so wide you'd think she might be taking a long-exposure photo, Rogue leaned out of his chair, and Dawn, well, someone had to act like they didn't care.

A second, nothing. At two, nothing. Three? At three grimm bone claws shredded the veil and a creeper charged out. A boy screamed, Antimony shouted something about God, and Vermilion reacted. The huntress in training leaped from her chair, onto the wood counter, unsheathed, and split that creeper's face down the center. All before the white threads hit the floor.

A rush of boiling grimm blood smeared the flooring, the room murmured in static, and Dawn cursed, "oh shit." Professor Long just stared at her student, stared so angrily Odyssia was starting to expect some fire to burst through the back of her head. Seemed Dawn got that red eye thing from her mother. Yang Xiao Long was crimson as the tide at dusk.

"Nice vertical slice there, bud. My mom does it better, but solid," the professor punctuated with a venom dripping click, "So, why did you just go and kill my new pet after I spent all night dragging it out of the Emerald Forest? Seems a little rash, don't it?"

"Grimm are too dangerous to be pets, much less left in a classroom!" Vermilion shouted at first, but from the shake in her leg, Odyssia guessed she was starting to gather exactly who the hell she was lecturing.

"Miss," the professor bit the end of her lip, snatching her mouth shut like a box keeping something inside, before opening a moment later, "Lance, I've been breaking grimm skulls with my bare hands since before you were even a fetus bitching in your mama's belly about how the world's too god damn perilous," the Vengeful Dragon was one of many nicknames, and Odyssia was really feeling its meaning with how she walked up to Vermillion's desk, each step shoving the young huntress back into her seat with the power of her presence, "I am not wrong to suggest I am explicitly an expert in exactly how dangerous grimm are?" The black grimm blood had vanished, all could see the pure steel chain and collar on the floor.

"Yes, professor," Vermillion muttered from her seat, head tilted down, her face out of Odyssia's view, "I'm sorry, I just can be too cautious with the grimm."

"Lance, in this classroom, we trust our fellow hunters and don't jump the gun, understood?"

"Yes, professor," she mumbled back. Poor girl.

"I don't think you do, so to get the point across we're going to spend our first class doing laps around the school. Everyone!" The audience groaned collectively, the moment's juiciness vanished at the thought of physical training. Vermillion was mortified, unwilling to look up, just stand and bow. Summer opened her mouth to say something, but gave up it seemed. Even Mrs. Long seemed to feel bad, lip twitching at the sorry sight. Yet, only Dawn bothered to protest.

"Come on, Professor Long, leave the foreign girl alone. She's still learning the ropes of the civilized life," Dawn mumbled, coming off between pretentious and even racist from Odyssia's perspective. Does she have a problem with Vermillion?

"Miss Bella-Long, since you've known me since you've existed, how well do I take getting interrupted?" Professor Long answered, both elated and annoyed at the intrusion guessing from the glare and smile.

Dawn sighed a long breath, smiling wryly at her mother. "Not at all."

"You go girl, but I see your point. Only you two have laps, everyone else gets to sit in class."

The hunters cheered, the thud of people sitting adding a nice percussion to Dawn and Vermillion's combined, "Yes, Professor."

"Aunty, what about the class they're missing!" Summer called out before anyone could leave. God damn it, you do not need to be a hero, Summer, it's just laps! Professor Long laughed, her smile appearing genuine this time, no sarcasm.

"And you, too, Miss Schnee," she added to the convicted list, chastising softly this time with plenty of familial affection, "I'm Professor Long to you here."

The moment was ruined by a thud. Azura Rose's face planted on the desk like a hammer. "Great, now I have to go, too, or I'm the team ass!" Oh, SVLR was already fun

Summer Schnee

The morning heat wasn't at murder levels yet, the sun only just started baking. Still, even with the gentle breeze and the sporadic shade of the flying buttresses, Summer was not a runner. She had a motorcycle, she wore heavy armor, her family owned a fleet of airships, she was an urban child, her inborn supernatural ability was to teleport. Summer was born not to run. This was unnatural.

"Oh my god, please no," Summer huffed, bending over to heave on the sidewalk. Nothing came up. After fifteen laps around the perimeter and nothing to eat, Summer's body just had nothing left to spare. She stumbled and dropped against a column, the cool stone was so cold to the touch, she was in love. God, our next class is dueling.

"Do you need help?" Vermillion asked, her and Dawn ran in place under orders that if either foot stayed on the ground for longer than ten seconds, they would have extra special training all week. Azura simply skipped on by. Lucky, the kid just had to walk.

"No, uh, I'm okay. Uh, I just need, uh, to breathe," Summer huffed as she dragged herself forward. She could feel her long silver strands of hair get heavy with sweat. Rumor had it Professor Nikos let the kids take a shower after dueling. Cold water, the dream, she thought, tying her hair up into a ponytail was a good enough excuse to stop

"Are you dehydrated?" Vermilion took off her sunglasses to look her over. She had such pretty red irises, kind of creepy, like dark blood, but still pretty in its own way.

"No, she's just heavier than us, no slacking, Lance!" Dawn chuckled, jogging on ahead of them with athletic ease.

"I'm not fat!" Summer shouted after her, gripping a hard crafted tummy. She worked so tirelessly to keep her diet in balance, not everyone was born looking like a combat champion. Insolent little... "I'm just a bit more built than you two! Muscle weighs a lot..." Summer mumbled, the last bit ending in a pout.

Dawn apparently heard her and in the distance Summer could hear, "So does ice cream, and cookies, and cake~" That taunt, and the devil's laugh. Summer's cheeks turned pink, hands shaking with embarrassment. Suddenly she felt like she could run again, that demon was still in sight, after all.

"Dawn, I can teleport, don't think I can't catch up to your ass!" Summer may have had a bit of a sweet tooth. It was a stress thing. Couldn't help it. She sighed, shocked to feel a tug on her arm.

"Don't lean against the wall, it'll make getting started harder." Vermilion pulled her back on her own too feet, playing as her support as they started once again. This time at just above a walking pace.

Together, they kept moving, passed the library, through the senior class tower, and even passed their own dorm. Judging from the time, this was probably their last lap, and they took it mostly in silence, a pair, with Dawn ahead, she occasionally looked back from afar, and Azura, wherever the little one was now. The only sound came from birds and the whispered steps against the solid stone blocks of their path. Eventually all silences crumble, and Summer broke first.

"So, Dawn is my cousin, Azura is my sibling, so I kind of know everyone, but you."

"And I know no one, but myself," Vermillion replied, sliding her arms around her chest.

"Not exactly even footing," Summer complained. Every time the pair spoke it was all business. What side of the room was whose, where to place things, what was their course schedule, what grimm to kill. Nothing organic.

"No, not exactly," Vermilion sighed. Had to be harder for her, Summer realized. The rest of the team had friends and family. The faunus had, well, she had her horse, apparently locked up in the Beacon stables. Summer didn't even believe they had stables until she heard that. Rural life had to be weird.

"So, I had a dog Zwei when I was a baby and then my second dog Drei until about two years ago. They were such cute corgis," Summer listed, picking one of many factoids. She had considered getting another dog, but that would be for another time, didn't want to spring it on the roommates just yet. "Now you."

"What?"

"Tell me a fact about you," Summer explained, despite feeling it was pretty self explanatory. "It's team building, from here we can find shared interests and bond as a team." Vermilion Lance, a strange girl from a strange place, Summer was thirsty to know more.

"That makes it sounds a little direct?" Vermilion complained.

"I beat grimm better than I beat around the bush," Summer chuckled, "Now you owe me two facts." Vermilion sucked in a gallon of air, pausing only for a second before deciding on something.

"I am a huntress in training and I can turn my Aura into electron currents." Lame.

"Not only do I know that already, those two are the only things I already know about you."

"Oh, you noticed that, did you?" Summer glared at Vermilion, trying to rip her face off with a hateful stare. Vermilion smiled for once, shying away from Summer. "I'm joking, I'm not good at talking about myself."

"Do it anyways," Summer dismissed, tired of excuses, "What do you like to do?"

"I…I like plays and art?" Vermilion offered. A surprisingly tasty tidbit. Judging from the scroll, the art wasn't surprising. Summer wondered if she was an artist as well? Or an actor.

"Like theater?" Summer clarified. Picturing Vermilion giving a proper monologue in iambic pentameter all dolled up made her smile. Somehow it fit. Vermilion pulled off the traditional feminine and masculine looks so well. The flowing wavy hair and red lipstick, yet her clothes always looked kind of like black suits. She'd look good in a tux, Summer was sure.

"Probably not what you're thinking. My tribe is nomadic, so we don't keep a lot of our own books, they weigh too much, and what we do are texts for the kids still in school. We tell our stories in performances out in the middle of our temporary towns. We don't have theaters, at least not like the ones here, so opulent." Now she was talking, lost in her own explanation, hook line, and sinker.

"Well, we all have a date for the theater then, SVLR team activity," Summer suggested. This walk had taken a turn for the relaxing, Aunty Long was going to kill them both.

"Once I make enough money, perhaps," Vermilion mumbled.

"I'll pay. You have a job?" Summer changed the subject before anyone could complain, a technique she learned after many years of taking the bill from her less well off friends.

"I am a huntress," Vermillion explained with a chuckle. Huntresses rarely got rich, but even less rarely were they unemployed. Still, there was one problem...

"Without a license? That's not exactly legal," Summer chastised. Hunters trained for years before getting cleared. They were separate from government, not free from government.

"I won't be hunting, perse," Summer gave her a look, she got the message, "My employer wants a huntress in training to look tough. It's for a faunus night club, I'm a fancy bouncer. Still against Beacon's rules, but I can't afford it without the pay. I'm not asking you to lie for me, but as our team leader, can you be discreet about it?" Vermilion probably realized she was just digging the hole deeper, but the honesty was prefered.

"If you promise to keep safe," Summer felt the strange moral quandary put before her, first of many probably for a leader. She wondered how her mom would handle that. Trust your team, was one of her first lessons, after all. "And if I get a free question," Vermillion rolled her eyes, but did not say no, prompting Summer further, "Why are you here at Beacon? What made you pick hunting over art or theater?"

"Not fair, it's my turn... I think?" Vermilion complained, again not saying no.

"Yes, but I have the blackmail."

"Alright," Vermillion relinquished. Her shoulders slumped and mouth pulled towards the right, thinking hard like she had never once pondered the question. That made sense in a way, Summer rarely wondered about her fate. "Well, honestly, I picked hunting because the world needs more warriors than actresses. Also, I'm just better at it." She pulled at her sword, the black sheath and red wrapped handle glimmered in the daylight. She seemed proud.

"Yeah, you are pretty good at splitting chained up grimm in half." That pride vanished into a pool of regret and shame. They both laughed, but Vermilion did so cupping her face in her hands. Summer thought she might have heard a muffled 'why' somewhere in there, too.

"Please don't," Vermilion groaned, taking in one deep depressing gulp of air before moving on, "Well then, I suppose I should ask you that as well. Why are you becoming a huntress? And don't tell me it's because you're good at falling on things."

"Duty," Summer replied. As naturally as she took toward being a huntress, what she was going to be was never really a question. She grew up without going hungry, without being denied a single thing she ever wanted, but there was a price to that. She existed for a purpose, becoming someone worth the Schnee legacy. "My mother always taught me that we all have a responsibility to this world, I just—i" The bell caught her off guard, the great clock tower signaled the hour up and everyone was to switch classes, if they had them. They had Professor Nikos... on the other side of campus. "Shit, time for dueling. Let's go!" Summer snatched Vermilion's hand and just went, sprinting as fast as she could, which honestly probably was several degrees slower than her, but the young Schnee could think about that later.

"Wait, you weren't done!"

"We'll finish after class!" Summer blurted out, picking up speed. "Trust me, there is plenty more I want to know!"

*** New summer's Vale finally~ I missed my babies so much and it was fun to write them. Hoping this less actiony chapter was fun! Building characters and relationships!

Writing Adult Yang is fun, writing teacher Yang is funner. After all the stuff she's been through and her reputation ruined, I imagine she would probably try and be pretty iron fisted with her class. At least with her freshmen, got to shake up the incoming class, get them ready cause it's the real stuff. I imagine once you're in her senior level classes she ends up being way more chill. Also, don't worry, Port's still alive and teaching, though less so now. He instructs mostly upper level courses and focuses on his own health.

Lastly, sorry this is so late! Also just some news for those interested in my life and my work. As many of you may have noticed my releases have all slowed to 1-2 a month. I've been leading some projects outside of fanfiction that I can't wait to share with you as well as getting sick all july (it sucks) but that's kind of why. I'm hoping to keep improve though as we go on to maybe 3 a month?

Next is the last Paradise lost of a side request thats done and waiting on cover art soooo see you sooner than last time I think!