Roses & Thorns – Volume 1 – Chapter 3

-Avoidance Strategy-

In the aftermath of Iris' fruit attack on Cardin Winchester, Yang was left holding her sides in an attempt to calm down. She had laughed so hard for a solid minute that it felt like her gut was trying to tear itself apart every time she breathed, but even that couldn't stop the occasional chuckle as she thought back to the boy's face, dripping with bits of apple and stunned in pure disbelief. By the time she managed to settled down, the only other person who still bore a smile on their face because of the incident was Nora. Even her own sister was staring at her with wide silver eyes. "Are you gonna be okay, Yang?"

Flashing a dazzling grin at the youngest member of RWBY, she gave a vigorous nod. "Of course!" Her statement was unfortunately premature, as the effort of responding so enthusiastically caused her to double over and clutch at her stomach. Oblivious to her moaning, the bubbly orange-haired girl of team JNPR continued on with her dramatic retelling of events that had transpired literally moments ago, even when Ren tried to correct her on certain embellishments.

"You saw it, didn't you?!" Surprised by the suddenly much louder voice, Ruby jerked her head up from comforting her sister to stare at Nora, who was in turn looking directly at a young man who had just sat down. "I mean the apple was all-" Blowing a raspberry with pursed lips and squashing her hands together, the excitable hammer wielder seemed to notice that she was yelling at a stranger a moment later.

"I did see it, though I am not sure I would have advised of it. Not that Iris would listen, she has never been one to stand by while someone insults Faunus." Ruby recognized him as one of the Pinion twins, bearing much of the same features as the chakram wielder she had dueled yesterday, but with some startling differences. Shiny black hair was cut short atop his head, sporting a basic style that complimented the wavy cowlick present in the front. Where her dueling opponent's eyes had been a bright red, his were a dusky yellow color. granting him a surprisingly regal visage. To his credit, he did not falter before the sugar rush that was Nora Valkyrie, extending a steady hand across the table. From where she sat, it looked like he regretted the action, as the offer was taken up immediately and shaken vigorously. "I'm Nyx, Nyx Pinion."

"I'm Nora, and this is Ren." The girl beckoned toward the quiet boy at her side, whose eyes filtered up to regard Nyx before he gave a slight bow in greeting. "Aaand over here is.. Huh, where'd Pyrrha and Jaune go?" Nora was left swinging about wildly to see if the missing teammates were still in the cafeteria, her search coming up empty and bringing a dismissive shrug with it.

Leaning behind her groaning sister, Ruby caught the newcomer's attention as she smile. "I'm Ruby Rose. This is my sister, Yang." Another moan signaled the blonde's greeting, and a gloved hand rose from the table to give a weak wave. "And the one totally ignoring you because she is so engrossed in her book is Blake." Affixing a disapproving stare on the black-haired girl, she took a small amount of joy from the way that using her teammate's name startled her.

"Huh?" Golden eyes snapped up and glanced around, clearly having not been paying attention.

"Blake." Those orbs settled on her, wide with the questioning look upon the other's face. "This is Nyx Pinion. He's on CAIN with Iris and Amber."

"Oh." Whirling back to look at the boy sitting next to her, Blake closed the book that she had been staring at for the past few minutes. "Um, hi." A smile and a nod was her only answer, and the lingering silence was made awkward by the way she stared. It was not that he wasn't particularly interesting to her, but what he had said earlier had left her off-kilter, enough so that she felt the need to retreat and regroup. "Excuse me."

Watching as her teammate moved to leave the cafeteria, Ruby tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. She gently patted the shoulder of her sister, abandoning her tray to take off after the raven-haired girl, curious what had caused the sudden shift from Blake's usually calm attitude to looking upset.

"Huh?" Yang turned to see her third and final teammate departing from lunch with a good half hour left before their next class. She was not allowed a long while to consider their reasons, however, as another sat down in the space between her and Nyx. Bright red eyes snapped over to regard her, matched well with a brilliant smile. It should have been a welcome sight, a smile from a pretty girl, but there was something off about this one.

"Hello." It clicked the moment that Amber spoke to her, each syllable pronounced slowly and in a steady tone, causing Yang to raise an eyebrow in response. It looked as though the girl was looking through her, not at her as a regular person would have.

"Amber, this is Yang. She's on team RWBY." It was Nyx that introduced her, shocking her back into the present where she waved happily to the redhead, who responded with a gentle nod.

"I hope there are no hard feelings for yesterday."

"Heh, I wouldn't worry about it." Yang grinned at the girl and her brother, speaking earnestly. "I mean, it wouldn't make sense for us to be mad at your team because of what one person did, and even her and Weiss are.." Tilting her head, she tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. "I think things might be okay between them. At least, Weiss seems to have forgiven her."

"I hope so. Claire carries too much pain with her already." The dreamy way that Amber spoke was a bit unsettling, given that the strange girl was no longer looking in her direction. Blissful calm was replaced by concern on her face, appearing to phase out of the conversation long enough that Yang glanced to Nyx for an explanation. All she received was an apologetic smile and a shrug, as if he could not truly explain his sister's behavior, and she abandoned the attempt to understand the girl, instead moving to switch the conversation to a new topic.

"Okay.. So you guys went to Impetus Academy, too?"

"We did, though I would not say we were friends with Claire and Iris before we came to Beacon." Nyx spoke to her over his sister, who had leaned forward to begin consuming her lunch, the previous conversation all but forgotten for her. "I knew of them, of course. They were the top of the class.. Rivals for most of our schooling. At least, the parts of it that Claire was actually there."

"She was gone often?"

"No, but she started years after most kids do, and was placed into our class year since she was our age. I don't know where she trained before but she has always been skilled as long as I have known her." Mulling over his words with a bite of her sandwich, Yang gave her undivided attention to the boy, indicating that she wanted to know more. "And then she was kicked out a year before graduation. It was a bit of a shock to see her here, after all that had happened."

Swallowing hard, she wondered for a second if they were treading on a topic of conversation that should be had with the actual subject of the gossip, but she pushed down her concerns and asked the question that was burning in her thoughts. "What'd she do?"

"As you may know, Impetus is a bit of an.. 'old money' Academy. It's where heirs to Valean fortunes are sent to train, people like my sister and I." She watched as Nyx bit his lip, struggling with the same issue that she had moments before. After a brief pause, he spoke slowly and carefully, trying not to give away too much of the obviously personal information. "Claire didn't exactly fit in with that crowd to begin with.. She was admitted into the school by an anonymous benefactor. And it isn't like it is here, where Faunus are generally accepted. There are a lot of old attitudes that prevail at Impetus."

"So she was expelled for being a Faunus?" Her food now lay forgotten, and Yang spoke incredulously, disbelief teeming within her at the thought of such discrimination being allowed.

"No! That wasn't the reason at all." Quickly backtracking, Nyx stammered for a moment before continuing. "There was an altercation with one of the other students that ended rather badly, and she was expelled after that."

"Oh." Blinking a few times, she took a moment to comprehend what she had been told. After what the wolf-girl had done to Weiss yesterday, it wasn't hard to believe that there was a pattern of that sort of thing. Even still, a single hit to another student after their aura was broken was a serious matter, and Claire hadn't been expelled from Beacon. Left to her imagination, she couldn't help but think that what had happened at Impetus was much more gruesome than Nyx led on.

Iris slid around a corner with a mocking laugh, dodging yet another thrown book with such ease that it was borderline insanity that they were still trying. The sound of thundering footsteps followed her, and it was her keen hearing that warned her of a similar sound coming from ahead. She was in the hallway before the atrium, nearly to the point where she could lose them when they finally wised up and boxed her in. Two slender boys came into view in front of her, one with a wild mohawk, and the other with long dark hair. Skidding to a stop, she glanced back, only to find her exit blocked off by Cardin and the fourth member of CRDL.

"Nowhere to go now, mutt." The use of the slur angered her, causing an instinctual reaction of a growl to rise up in her throat. Balling up her fists, she cursed her luck at having left Siren Melody in her dorm room, as she whirled about continually to keep an eye on both ends of the closing hallway. "Listen to the animal, boys. Can't fight her nature."

As they closed within several feet of her, Iris let out a dark chuckle. "You're right, I am an animal." Facing the two who had come from the atrium, she cast a menacing look over her left shoulder at Cardin Winchester. "So, of course, you cornered me." Baring her teeth in a grin, she feinted forward with a punch that made the first two boys flinch before launching herself backwards. The boy next to the leader of CRDL, the one with mousy blond hair, was caught in the face by a heel as she executed a back handspring. Pushing off of the floor, she flipped through the air and landed outside of the trap, clear to run.

But she chose not to, instead facing the bullies with a fire in her eyes. Cardin was not dissuaded by her display of ferocity, launching himself at her and leading with a clumsy punch. Raising her left hand, she took the majority of the force from the blow by slapping her wrist against the side of his fist. The sole of her right shoe struck the ground before kicking forward, having been wound back in preparation. The attack swept up between the boy's legs and connected with his groin, pitching him forward as she backed away.

Not done with him yet, Iris took a step back before jumping into the air and spinning. Her leading foot planted on the ground in the same moment she completed her spin, and her left leg snapped out in another kick, this one aimed for the side of Winchester's head. It flew true, striking with enough force that the large boy was sent into the nearby wall. Righting herself, she saw that the rest of team CRDL had recovered and was advancing.

Her hesitation lasted only a second, as she ran toward the opposite side of the hallway that she had kicked Cardin. Planting a foot upon the surface of the wall, she pushed off and spun, soaring over the desperate grabs and punches of her opponents from below and landing gracefully into a roll on the other side. She dug a heel into the carpet as soon as she came up, her muscles coiling in preparation before she shot forward in a full sprint. Yells of protest and surprise followed as she flew out into the atrium, hardly slowing as she weaved through the milling crowd of students that were heading for the cafeteria. Her tail caught the face of a particularly short boy, slapping him across the cheek with a whip-like motion, and a quick apology was all that she afforded him as she spun to continue on, her keen ears catching the sound of her pursuers as they crashed into the throng.

Passing the staircase that led up to the second level, she ran instead straight for the huge glass windows that covered the side of the building. Breaking free from the rest of the crowd, she pulled on her inner reserves to sustain her top speed until she was a few feet from the wall. Her momentum swung into upward motion as she jumped at the glass, landing with enough weight that she was able to turn and jump towards the staircase before gravity started working against her.

Hooking her fingers over the lip of the edge, she scrambled over the side and onto the middle section of the staircase. Turning and leaning over the side, she let out a shaky laugh that was broken up by her panting. Below her, Cardin joined the rest of his team in looking up, to which she responded with a teasing laugh. "Sorry boys, maybe next time!" As she pushed off of the railing, she turned to continue up the stairs and slip away before class started. Scoffing, she mumbled out her next word under her breath. "Assholes."

Weiss kept a brisk pace as she moved through the nearly empty halls of Beacon. As it was lunch, most students were either in the cafeteria or out in the courtyard, but not her. The lack of the Briar girl at their morning classes had concerned her, and amid thoughts of wondering if it was to avoid her, she decided it best for her to investigate. She found herself in the dorms before long, skipping the door to her own room and moving to the last one on the left. In bright golden letters it marked those that it belong to: Team CAIN.

The door was already ajar, and easily pushed in as she called out. "Hello?" There was no answer, leading her to continue into the room cautiously, expecting to find a layout more similar to JNPR's dorm that her own. The beds had been stacked on top of each other, forming two bunks that were on opposite ends of the room. Between them was a large bookcase, pushed close enough to the window that it almost blocked out the light from outside entirely, and Weiss could see the way it had sunk into the carpet under the weight of the many volumes it held. Despite her lengthy observation, what truly arrested her gaze was the young woman who was rhythmically pushing off of the ground with a grunt.

But what caused her cheeks to flush red was the fact that the faunus was also shirtless, her modesty covered only by a black sports bra and a brown pair of shorts. Tanned skin was pulled taut over knotted muscles as each push up caused another growl, a low guttural sound that was more associated with the animal that Claire shared a likeness with. Covering her smaller human set of ears was a pair of wireless headphones, the white and black of her emblem showing easily on the brown housing. Weiss could heard the thundering beat that came from them, loud enough to drown out the world so that the other girl could focus on her workout.

It was her examination of the wild mane of red and brown streaked hair that drew her eyes to an oddity she had not noticed at first. Ragged tears criss-crossed the skin of the faunus girl's back, the stark white of the scars clashing with her darker skin tone in a way that made them readily apparent. There were dozens of them, some deeper than the others, and all of them traveling in chaotic directions. Already having intruded on a private moment, Weiss could not help but feel that it had become something more intimate, as if she was seeing something that the other would not allow under normal circumstances. Clearing her throat weakly, she licked her lips in anticipation to speak, only to find that her previous noise caused the wolfish ears atop the other student's head to twitch and alert the girl to her presence.

Claire turned with a noise of surprise, scrambling up from the ground and ignoring the burning within her limbs as she pulled the headphones down about her neck. Clicking off the rock music, she saw the way the smaller girl stared at her, the way that pale blue eyes were slightly widened with shock and curiosity. "What do you want, Schnee?" Practically barking at the other, she was caught between trying to calm her racing pulse from the sudden appearance of another, and the rising anger in her chest at that person being the last one she wanted to see.

"I.. Uh, I was just.." It was a strange sight to see the silver-haired girl speechless, much less embarrassed and blushing. There was a shake of a head that jostled the side ponytail the heiress wore, and when Weiss' eyes opened again, she was once again focused. "Would you please put on a shirt?"

"Now you're above staring?" She was not able to see the way her rib effected the other, having already turned away to find the t-shirt she had discarded before her workout. Snatching the tattered black garment she usually wore from a nearby bedside, Claire tugged it on over her head as quickly as she could, all too eager to be more clothed under the other girl's studious gaze. Without turning back, she set her headphones on a shelf of the bookcase, speaking in a more even tone. "What?"

"Are you.." There was a sudden tone that hung over the entire room, and Claire knew all too well where it originated from, knew what the heiress had seen before announcing herself. The one thing that she hadn't wanted the Schnee girl to see, ever. "Alright?"

"They're scars, not open wounds." She took the time to glance over her shoulder as she moved to her bed, the bottom bunk in the furthest corner from the door. "Why do you even care?"

"Should I not care for the well being of another student?" Weiss hadn't missed a beat, answering with a practiced voice full of confidence. She stepped into the center of the room, watching carefully as the faunus pulled on the knee high combat boots she had been kicked with yesterday, still keenly aware of the fading patches of bruised skin across her chest and back. Despite the violent way she had been introduced to them, she couldn't help but be impressed by the obvious sturdiness of the footwear. Black leather was reinforced with steel plates at the toe and the heel, shining with silver luster. There was a distinct familiarity that the girl displayed with them, easily lacing up the front of the boots in only seconds.

"A Schnee is concerned about a mutt like me?" Leaning forward, Claire let a wrist rest on her right knee, adopting a lopsided and mocking grin over her lips. Her voice kept its same huskiness, but she spoke each word as if it had been dipped in dry sarcasm. "Look at me, moving up in the world."

Scoffing at her, the slender girl before her cocked a hip and affixed her with a sharp gaze. "Don't be rude. The fact you are a Faunus has nothing to do with my opinion of you."

The speed at which Claire stood from the bed caught Weiss off guard, her pulse spiking with a healthy dose of fear as the taller girl took a large stride to stand face to face with her, inches away in the blink of an eye. If the wolf-girl's eyes were interesting when the light caught them, then they were magnificent in such proximity. Rich chocolate color was flecked with a deep sanguine hue, and the intensity of the orbs was only matched by the ferocity of their owner's stare. After a long moment, one that she could have sworn her heart had not beat for, the other finally replied. "It has everything to do with your opinion of me. You don't see me, you see an animal to be pitied for its existence. Something to be fixed, corrected. I know your type."

Never one to be backed into a corner, she stood tall despite the fact the girl easily had more than half a foot on her, and matched the glare with one of her own. "You don't know me." In a misstep that should have been drilled out of her years ago by the stern teachings of her father, Weiss did not stop there, instead letting her expression soften a minute degree. "You don't know what I think of you. I've seen mutts, I've seen animals that need to be put down. That isn't you."

Fury was all that she saw before her, in the wild eyes that lay under thick eyebrows, and in the way the other flexed and released her fists again and again. So close to one another, the musky scent of sweat filled her nostrils as she held to the contest of wills they fought. "You can't fix me." The words surprised her, breaking the concentration that she had clung to. Involuntarily, she took a step back from the taller girl. "Whatever this game is that you are playing, wanting me to train with you? I want no part of it."

Claire watched as pale blue eyes narrowed, showing a mix of curiosity and skepticism. "I'm not playing a game." The tiny heiress before her had not cowered in the face of her blunt honesty and boiling rage, and it was that iron determination that caused her to believe the other's words. "I want to understand you, I want to know why you are so angry with me. You singled me out in that room, you wanted to fight me." It was her turn to be drove back as Weiss stepped forward, glaring up at her. "You wanted to hurt me. I want to know why, you're smart enough that there has to be a why, doesn't there?"

The sudden reversal reminded her far too much of the conversation they had held last night, and Claire found herself scoffing and backing away, dismissing it all with a wave of her hand. Silence was all she would give the Schnee girl, no longer certain if she was unable or unwilling to truly explain herself. As she turned around and folded her arms, she heard a noise of exasperation followed by a mumbled word. "Unbelievable." Silence reigned between them for several more seconds before Weiss spoke up again, her voice somehow even more demanding now. "Go get in the shower."

Whirling back to face the heiress, the wolf-girl held an expression that was one caught between utter confusion and sudden indignation. "Excuse me?"

"I will not let you miss classes on account of avoiding me, and so I will make sure you go to History by waiting to go with you." It was disconcerting to Weiss, the way a furrowed brow was replaced so quickly with one raised in mirth. Speaking quickly and silently cursing the amused expression that dawned upon the faunus' face, she turned to point toward the dorm room's bathroom. "And you stink, so take a shower." Deciding that it was settled, Weiss turned back and smiled as sweetly as she could, ignoring the grumble that came from Claire as the taller girl pushed past her.

"Blake!" Calling out down the long, empty hallway, Ruby jogged in order to catch the raven-haired girl. It seemed that her teammate was otherwise occupied, giving no answer to her call and prompting her to shout out again. "Hey, Blake!"

Turning suddenly with surprise evident in her wide, golden eyes, the other girl stared at her as she slowed to a stop a few feet away. "Ruby." As if she was distracted by something, Blake made a feeble attempt to allay any concern for her by appearing nonchalant. "What's up?"

The shorter girl gave a light shrug, taking a few uneasy steps to bridge the gap between them as she spoke softly. "I dunno, you seemed kind of upset by what Cardin did back there. I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it." A hand rose to brush red highlighted bangs to clear them from covering silver eyes, and a bright smile dawned on Ruby's lips. "I mean, I feel like I kinda owe you at least that for last night. Which I kinda forgot to thank you for, so this is me, saying thanks.."

Listening to the excitable girl ramble on as she did almost put Blake at ease, tugging at the corners of her lips and daring her to grin at the goofy, fumbling and yet sincere way that the other had with approaching the subject. But the cloud of guilt that had descended upon her day did not allow her to, and she only made a soft noise that could have been a chuckle if she hadn't suppressed it. "You don't owe me, so don't worry about it. We're.. Teammates. It's what we do."

Ruby noted the lack of any sort of convincing tone in the other's words, but knew that it stemmed from what was distracting the girl. She kept up a soft grin, hoping to break the shell that had been erected between them. "Well we're friends too, yeah? Friends help each other when they are upset."

"I'm not-" The moment the words left Blake's mouth, she saw the way the other looked at her, an amused smile that told her that any attempt to deflect concern would not be believed. A long moment passed while she stared into the silver eyes, as she weighed her options. On one hand, she was certain that whatever she said to Ruby would remain between them. Unfortunately, on the other, she wasn't quite ready to trust the girl with her most important secret. Giving a heavy sigh, she switched the book she was holding to her other hand and tucked it against her arm, beckoning for the other to follow. "Fine, come on."

Holding back the urge to celebrate her victory, Ruby fell in step with the older girl, following her down the long sloping hallway that led to the academic classrooms. Usually one uncomfortable with silence, she endured the quiet without so much as a whisper of resistance, letting the other open up without any prying being done. As they passed one of the columns that lay between the various lecture halls, Blake stopped and turned around to face her, leaning against the nearby wall. "It's what Iris did, in the cafeteria."

"That's what's bothering you? That she threw an apple at Cardin?" Snorting out a quiet laugh at remembering the event, Ruby shook her head. "I thought you didn't like him."

"Not that she threw it at him, but.. She didn't even think about it." Blake, clutching the book she had been reading to her chest as she folded her arms, locked eyes with the other girl. "She saw Velvet being bullied and did what she thought was right. I guess I feel a little guilty that I just stood by and watched what was happening, that I was more worried about attracting Cardin's attention that helping her."

"Oh. Yeah, I get that." Tilting her head as she watched her teammate, Blake saw how Ruby considered her point of view, and how the shorter girl's expression fell into a small frown. "It must be hard to be a Faunus. Still, there wasn't a lot of time for us to do anything, Iris just kind of.. Attacked. Heh, she doesn't waste a lot of time with anything, does she?" Coughing awkwardly as she saw the way the golden eyes glanced away, Ruby stood a bit straighter and steered the conversation back to a more serious tone, wanting her friend to know that she was taking this to heart. "W-What I mean is, you don't need to feel bad because you didn't react to it. No one else in the room did because they didn't want to get Cardin on their case after he was done with Velvet.." Raising a hand to scratch at the side of her head in a nervous habit, she shuffled her feet upon realization of what she was saying. "Uh, not that that's right, I guess it's just how it is."

"You're right." Blake surprised herself with her answer, a sort of resignation that this was simply the world they lived in. It was that depressing line of thought that eventually brought on a new wave of conviction, and she spoke more confidently than before. "I want to make the world a better place."

The smile returned to silver eyes, and a broad grin was drawn across the smaller girl's face. "That's why we're here, isn't it?" The words mirrored those that had been spoken between them the first night they had met, inside the ballroom with all the other first years, when they had been nothing but strangers. "To make it better. So.. If you feel like you didn't this time, do better next time."

Blinking as she studied her teammate, Blake found herself sharing that warm smile, glad of the other's companionship. "That simple, huh?"

"Yup." Popping her lips with the last sound of the word, Ruby let out an airy laugh. "Well, maybe not. But if Cardin comes after you, I've got your back!"

"Nothing like a tiny ball of fury with a deadly scythe to back down a bully, I guess."

Wrinkling her nose at the sarcasm, Ruby playfully punched the taller girl in the shoulder, an action that caused them both to devolve into fits of giggling as a result of their teasing. After a few moments, they managed to tone it down to the occasional chuckle, grinning like fools at one another. "You know Blake, I think it's really cool that you care so much about the Faunus."

"What do you mean?" Feeling her eyebrows raise in surprise, Blake tilted her head somewhat, too comfortable with the other girl to realize what information Ruby was missing.

"Well, a lot of people think that things like what happened with Velvet don't happen because they don't see it." It dawned on her then, that the younger girl was speaking to her as if she was a human. It was impressive that Ruby noticed the disconnect between what the public wanted to think and what reality was, but the fact that there was that lingering secret soured the conversation for Blake. She felt like a fake in that moment, hiding who she was from someone who most likely wouldn't care. "You want to change it. I wish there were more people like you."

Becoming aware of the ambient conversations around them, Ruby saw that people were beginning to file into the various classrooms. Glancing about before looking back at Blake, she saw the pensive expression on the other's face, and moved to knock the other from her thoughts once again. "C'mon, we've got to get to history." Reaching down, she took the raven-haired girl's hand in her own, and pulled her along.

They did not get far before they ran into the subject of their conversation, finding the rabbit-eared girl standing outside of Professor Oobleck's classroom and talking to one of the other students. "Velvet!" At the sound of Ruby calling her name, the girl glanced in their direction before bidding goodbye to the girl in the beret she was talking to, turning to give them her full attention. "Blake here was just wondering if you were alright."

"I.. Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks though." Brown eyes flicked past Ruby to the girl that she had dragged over, and then to their clasped hands. Letting go on reflex, she saw the way the girl gave them a skeptical look, followed by a ghost of a smile that flickered over the faunus' lips before disappearing under the expression of worry. "Have you guys seen that girl that helped me? I hope she wasn't hurt because of Cardin."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Blake was the one that answered, a light tone of mirth added to her voice as she spoke. "Iris probably charmed him into a kiss after letting him chase her."

Velvet let out a soft laugh, a gentle and welcome sound for the two teammates as they watched the faunus girl's face light up. "Oh, that's evil.."

"Does kinda seem like her style, though." Ruby mused over the mental image for a second before shuddering as Cardin entered her mind, drawing a curious glance from the girl she whose hand she had been holding. Shrugging sheepishly, she was about to open her mouth and explain herself when an alert rang out over the intercom, announcing that lunch was over and classes were beginning again. Donning a bright grin, she gestured toward the classroom door with a flourish. "After you."

"Don't you own any other clothes?" Claire rolled her eyes as the Schnee girl continued to pester her, only able to take solace in the fact that they were close to the lecture hall as a dainty hand pulled at the ragged tan cloth that covered her left arm. "This jacket is a soft breeze from falling apart completely!"

"It's sentimental." Taking what enjoyment she could in the way her curt answer caused the smaller girl to have a slight conniption, she turned to face the other, walking backwards through the classroom door. Flashing a cocky smile that bared her fangs, she held her hands out wide to let the heiress take the sight in. "And I like the way I look."

"Yeah, 'torn up and homeless' certainly works on you." Pale blue eyes narrowed as the insult was thrown, and Claire took it to heart, literally. Placing both hands across her chest like she was wounded, she continued backing away until she was near her seat, in the back row of the classroom. Weiss scoffed at her behavior and walked past to the second row, where the rest of team RWBY was watching them with varying stages of denial written into their features.

Falling back into her chair, Claire threw her legs up on the desk in front of her and offered a grunt of greeting to her two teammates that were already there. Amber and Nyx glanced at her, with the former waving cheerfully and saying hello in the odd way that she did. Despite the strangeness of one Pinion twin and the uptight attitude of another, she really did enjoy having them on the team. If nothing else, they were damned effective in battle. But more than that, they knew when to question, and when to not. It was certainly better than..

A form slammed into the chair next to her, nearly tipping over before catching itself at the last second. Panting heavily, Iris shot her a dazzling grin as the bell that signaled class had started chimed through the halls. Raising an eyebrow and folding her arms, she was about to ask what was going on with the other faunus when her ears caught the sound of running. Only a few feet behind her teammate came the leader of team CRDL, his dark blue eyes settling upon the fox the moment he entered the room.

She could sympathize with the way he was shaking with rage, until his glare turned to her, and she saw that his mind was wagering his odds against both of them. Breathing out a throaty and threatening growl, she matched the scowl with one of her own. "Mister Winchester, please find your seat and we can begin!" The eccentric teacher's voice snapped him out of their staring contest, and he reluctantly moved to sit with his team, shooting them both venomous looks every couple of seconds.

Swiveling her chair back to regard Iris, Claire frowned at the feigned innocence upon the other's face. "What did you do? Weiss said-"

"'Weiss said'? As in Weiss Schnee?" Deflecting the question with one of her own, Iris grinned devilishly as she scooted her chair closer to the leader of CAIN. "Are the heiress and the angry mutt a thing now?"

As always, her attempts to prod the wolf-girl were met with humor. "Why? Are you jealous, Vex?"

Scooting back to her original position, Iris scoffed. "Not likely, Briar." On the bottom row, she saw the rabbit-eared faunus she had helped in the cafeteria staring up at her. Offering a playful wink, she watched confusion cross the girl's face before the gaze slid away, and she was left alone with only the irritated wolf at her side to occupy her attention. "Besides, I don't think you guys would work. It'd be like a snobby bitch and a purebred bitch combining into something.. Well, horrifying, really."

When she looked over at Claire, she found the other faunus smiling and suppressing a laugh at her joke. The sight of the wolf-girl in a lighter mood than usual allowed her the chance to ask the questions she hadn't been able to last night. "Seriously though, are you guys good? Do I need to worry about walking in and finding you both dead and my bed destroyed? 'Cause I like my bed, Claire. You know it takes me forever to find a good mattress."

Smirking at the other for a moment, Claire took a long time to think out the answer. After a few seconds of silence, she gave a shrug. "I guess we are." Regarding the fox-girl with a raised eyebrow, she continued cautiously, still unsure of where their relationship stood. For years at Impetus, they had been rivals that trailed on one another's heels. Eventually, that connection had blossomed into friendship, and later, something more. But the last scroll message she had received from Iris after being expelled had made it abundantly clear where they had stood then. Now, it was strange to have that friend back as if nothing had happened. "She asked me to train with her."

Violet eyes widened and snapped over to her, and a shaky laugh escaped from pale lips. "Ballsy girl, I'll give Schnee that.. You should."

"I should?"

"Yeah, it'll give you a chance to take your anger out on her for days to come." Swiping the bangs from her eyes, Iris leaned back in the chair and took a moment to look at the Pinion twins, both of whom were engrossed in the lecture and taking detailed notes. "Just remember not to hurt her, because a Huntress and a Hunter vouching for you can only take you so far."

Sighing heavily, Claire folded her arms again and hunkered down for the long class, her eyes drifting down the rows until they found the back of the Schnee girl's head. "I know." Shaking her head to clear it, she focused upon the Professor, who was busy running from one end of the classroom to the other as quickly as she could blink. His rambling way of talking was hard to grasp at first, but when she picked up that he was covering the Faunus Rights War, her ears perked up and she began to take an interest.

Author's Note: A more reasonable time to get a chapter up, I think! I'm trying to average 6-7k words each chapter and keep it consistent(which any of my followers will know has always been a struggle), so there will probably be some delay between updates as I format and rewrite sections in order to achieve that. Also, I took the time to break out the old rusty drawing skills and draw up a dossier for Claire. You can find the link to it on my profile, if you're curious to see what her emblems look like. Anywho, leave a review with your thoughts, or the helpful hint that Glynda has green eyes(special thanks to Boarbatusk328 for that one!). I do love to hear from my readers, you guys rock! There will be more action next time, promise! - Fox