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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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SCWR Short: “Diamond in the Rough”

Series: SCWR Shorts Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language) Takes Place: During Volume 1, between Episodes 3 and 4 Summary: (1,589 words) “After an unforeseen schedule change, Haddy finds himself with an afternoon off. Deciding to use his time wisely, he tries to navigate the confusing halls of Beacon Academy to find a weapons lab to tune up Sleigh... instead, he finds two of his classmates...”

Why must Beacon Academy be set up like a maze? Never in his life did Hadrian think he would ever miss the rigid, overly organized, structured planning of Atlas… but here he was, turning corners in vain as he wandered around like an idiot. All he wanted to do was tinker around with his rifle, but that meant having to find the Weapons Lab, which was hidden away somewhere within the bowels of the Huntsman Academy…

It was a Friday, but his afternoon classes had been canceled after Mrs. Heather and her assistant, Mr. Port, were called away to deal with a minor grimm attack outside the city. Robyn and Ryder were playing videogames in their shared dorm and Monroe claimed she had some errands in Vale that needed attending, leaving just after lunch. So, he was free to finally roam and explore, deciding that the first thing on his list was to try to buff out some of the scratches on Sleigh’s stock.

After finally finding a holographic map that he could download to his scroll, Haddy could navigate to his target… on the fifteenth floor. No wonder he couldn’t find it.

Opting out of the stairs, Hadrian stepped out of the elevator and into the hall. It was the same as every other hallway in Beacon, but the classroom doors were spaced further apart from one another. He peeked into the first open door he saw, finding a large, open training room with a complex, aerial obstacle course; that could be fun to try out later. With a smile, he continued on, reading each nameplate as he passed.

As he came closer, he could hear voices in conversation. Hadrian’s shoulders slumped as he quietly sighed, he’d really hoped that he’d have the Lab to himself. It sounded like only two people. If the Lab was as large as the other rooms on this floor, he could probably just sneak in and take a station in the corner.

“... I’m just saying, Golden Boys makes more sense…” one voice said with a very slight, but deeper drawl.

There was a chuckling scoff as the other voice, much more beautiful and smooth, but definitely also masculine, “That could be for any of us. That could be our whole team’s nickname for all we know. Chatterley’s Knights sounds so much more sophisticated.”

“Did you even read that book?” the deeper voice asked, exasperated, seemingly offended by the mere suggestion.

“Of course not,” the other laughed, “That’s what I have you for…”

There was a brief pause, before the deeper voice flatly said, “You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

“Mmmm… if you lose your train of thought, we can leave.”

By this point, the husky had reached the door to the Lab. It was cracked open, allowing the sound to roam free– and entry if his feet would move– but Hadrian just stood outside dumbly staring at the door with a raised brow. He knew the voices inside, they belonged to one of his quite popular classmates and said classmate’s teammate. However, the tone they were using made him question whether or not they’d welcome him in right now…

The deeper voice purred back, “If that’s your plan… you know so many better ways to make me lose my mind…”

Okay. Nope. He was not doing this today.

Hadrian turned on his heel to walk back to the elevator in embarrassed silence. He hadn’t even taken a step before his scroll went off, the loud cawing of Qrow’s text message alert screaming through the crystal quiet hallway. He froze, tensing up as he refused to turn his head back towards the now silent Lab.

After a long moment, the deeper voice muttered under his breath, “Shit…”

“You can come in,” the, now embarrassed, softer voice said.

With a short grumble of his own, the dark-haired faunus pushed his way in through the open door, sticking his hands as deep into his pockets as he could as soon as he was inside, letting the heavy door close behind him. A few stations into the Lab were two blond boys. Gene Aurum and Lambert Aur of Team GOLD. Lambert was sitting in a roller chair, his katars disassembled on the workbench in front of him. They were out of his reach as Gene was sitting on the table blocking his view.

Lambert was slightly shorter than Ryder, but almost as lanky as Hadrian. He was very well toned with tight, compact muscle built to dance around foes and deal blows rather than avoid them despite his height. He had his arms crossed against his chest with a thin-lipped frown scowling his face with lines. He had shoulder-length, curly, dusty blond hair that he usually kept tied up in a tiny, high ponytail with the rest flowing down.

Gene, on the other hand, was drop-dead gorgeous. He was easily the most popular guy at Beacon because of his stunning beauty and charm, not to mention his fighting capabilities. His blond hair was brighter and a tad longer than Lambert’s, usually held up elegantly with a braid or two thrown in. His skin was tanned and flawless. Average height, a body sculpted from marble, and thighs that Ollie would have KILLED for. He usually wore a small amount of makeup to brighten his already stunning face, highlighting his killer cheekbones, jawline, and beautiful amber eyes.

Had Hadrian not found out about “Diamond in the Rough” before he met Gene, he would have died at the mere sight of him. It did make his heart ache just slightly from time to time when he saw him in class though.

Like, seriously, the man looked like how Haddy imagined a male version of Aphrodite would look.

And that wasn’t even getting into the model of a man’s personality and charm. How could one person be so perfectly beautiful, both on the inside and–

Focus. Bi-panic later.

He must have been lost in his thoughts a LOT longer than he thought because both of the golden boys were staring at him with crossed arms now. Haddy quickly motioned back towards the door and stammered out, “I was just coming to do some work, but I don’t want to interrupt, so I’ll just be going…”

“Wait!” Gene called, reaching out to stop him, “Uh, would you do us a favor and… not mention this to anyone?”

Lambert scoffed, throwing his head back before he flicked it over to Gene and harshly stated, “Oh c’mon. Of course, he’s gonna tell. He just transferred here, he has absolutely no friends or street cred, no life– I mean, seriously, it’s a Friday afternoon and he’s in the Weapons Lab– and now he has the world’s biggest scoop on the most popular dude in school? We’d be lucky if the whole school, Ozpin included, didn’t know before dinner.”

“A. Ow,” Haddy stated, a little dumbfounded by the blond’s bluntness, “B. Rude. C. I’m not a dick, I’m not gonna out anyone. D. What do you mean no life? You’re here too, and you have a freaking boyfriend you could be out on a date with right now–” Which got a short, hardy laugh out of Gene, “– And E. Why does it matter? Everyone already knows?”

Again, Lambert snorted in irritation, “Wow, you really are new here. Dude, no one knows.”

He felt his brow furrow as he turned to Gene. The handsome blond nodded, agreeing with his boyfriend as he hopped down from the table, “I appreciate that you won’t say anything, but, Lamb’s right. Ru and Doron– our teammates– don’t even know.”

Hadrian stared in disbelief for a beat-and-a-half, almost letting his jaw drop, before he quickly snapped back to reality and explained, “You– You guys do know my dorm is right beside yours, right? We share a wall.”

“Yeah?” Gene replied, confused, “What does that have to do with anything?”

Again, the husky just gaped for a minute before he stated the obvious, “Uh, I live with Monroe.”

He watched in slight amusement as all the color drained from both their faces instantly, realizing that Monroe had probably known for a LONG time about their relationship given her semblance. Lambert quickly stammered out, “Cade wouldn’t say anything! Hell, she didn’t say anything to us.”

“Yeah, but, we share a room with Robyn and Ryder too.”

“Oh shit.”

Hadrian smiled softly, adding, “I know I haven’t been here for too long, but I’ve been here long enough to know that Robyn has an extremely hard time not talking, and Ryder isn’t very good at keeping secrets...”

Lambert ran a hand through his hair as he sighed, “We are so screwed…”

“Um,” the husky added, “If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure it’s just our class that knows.”

“That would explain why Pygmy stopped hitting on me in second year…” Gene muttered.

“... And why Doron and Rupert never seem to bother us on a date night…” Lambert added.

With a smile, Hadrian turned back to leave the pair to grapple with the fact that their secret relationship was the worst kept secret in all of Beacon, pausing as he looked back and said, “Oh, and it’s not Golden Boys or Chatterley's Knights, by the way.”

When the blonds looked up, Haddy smirked, “It’s Diamond in the Rough. That’s what we called you guys…”

Without another word, he walked out, catching Lambert’s drawl just before the door closed, “Wait. Who’s the Diamond and who’s the Rough??” followed by Gene’s howling laughter.

7 notes · View notes

daphnesims · 4 years

Text

CC Objects installed (tested) PART 1

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kitchen/title/altara-kitchen/id/1299240/

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/153984788421/4to3-kids-room-stuff (without battle cards, bot wall sticker, painting 1, poster 1)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-bathroom/title/estilo-bathroom/id/1365087/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/onda-large-bath-towels-box/id/1134448/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/kohler-towel-holder/id/1296575/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-ceilinglamps/title/devi-finds-a-bath-room-ceiling-light/id/1184116/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-rugs/title/elias-bathroom-rug/id/1176926/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/onda-large-bath-towels-box/id/1134448/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/aura-toilet-brush/id/1120203/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/aura-square-bathroom-tray-1/id/1120196/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/dussault-toilet-paper-holder/id/1467161/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-adultbedroom/title/hillside-bedroom/id/1406218/

https://over-waxedbanister.tumblr.com/post/180180560460/kacicka777-recolors-converted-to-sims-3-conversion#notes (without the rug)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-buildmode-doors/title/lucia-fery-door/id/1241060/

https://over-waxedbanister.tumblr.com/post/171523060390/slox-d-dining-conversion

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-study/title/minimalist-study/id/1195271/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kitchen/title/college-place-kitchen/id/1305231/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-appliances-largeappliances/title/sonic-refrigerator/id/1326790/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/loft-kitchen-cooker-hood/id/1330878/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kitchen/title/etno-plus-kitchen/id/1237615/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-appliances-largeappliances/title/curium-stove/id/1189142/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-appliances-largeappliances/title/sonic-refrigerator/id/1326790/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/godmorgon-trash-can/id/1278271/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-plumbing-sinks/title/kitchen-alobi-sink/id/1225872/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-ceilinglamps/title/kiwi-living-room-ceiling-lamp/id/1189002/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-diningroom/title/waquoit-dining-room/id/1467182/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-ceilinglamps/title/dome-ceiling-lamp-mesh/id/1009367/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-livingroom/title/robyn-living-room/id/1287233/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-decorative/title/erin-plants/id/1425502/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-decorative/title/color-me-pastel-painting-set-v2/id/1428069/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-buildmode-arches/title/belhooven-maroo-arch-2-x1/id/924522/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-paintingsposters/title/quintara-painting-frames-quadruple/id/1473032/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3/id/1406461/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/celsius-plant/id/1114024/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3/id/1447122/ decorative bowl and paintings

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/round-table-dining--white-oncidium-orchid/id/1059463/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-diningroom/title/pure-dining/id/1332052/

https://aroundthesims3.com/objects/thisnthat_05.shtml Ceiling Lamp | Suspension ATS3-object-ikealamps-alang-ceiling Ikea ALANG-like

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-entertainment-hobbiesskills/title/translation-chess-table/id/1268628/

https://marcussims91.tumblr.com/post/41758273398/gallery-loft-set-click-here-to-download-set (gallery coffee table glass table)

https://www.simsdesign.pl/forum/showthread.php?t=11415 (burke dining ceiling lights)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-bathroom/title/atmosfera-bathroom/id/1109097/

https://marcussims91downloads.tumblr.com/post/78769368894/marcussims91-set-includes-bathroom-andesite (Hektar Pendant Light)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/ArtVitalex/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-decorative/title/janette-bathroom-accessories/id/1486153/

https://marcussims91downloads.tumblr.com/post/78769368894/marcussims91-set-includes-bathroom-andesite (Victory bar chair and bar table)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-comfort-diningchairs/title/hanging-chair-(garden-indoor)/id/1238630/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-garden/title/hawthorne-patio-set/id/1139943/

https://marcussims91.tumblr.com/post/72274737480/wheres-ninja-unicorn-bit-extreme-but (surreal)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/Blackest_digital_artist/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects/title/zinnia-sculpture-vase/id/959242/

https://marcussims91downloads.tumblr.com/post/78769368894/marcussims91-set-includes-bathroom-andesite (Victory pendant light)

https://www.simsdesign.pl/forum/showthread.php?t=11415 (burke vertical paintings)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kidsbedroom/title/pacific-heights-teen-bedroom/id/1342329/ (only shelves, dresser, desk, carpet, stereo, easel)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-study/title/rover-office-decor/id/1403668/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-paintingsposters/title/dess-pastel-abstract-art-i/id/1428076/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3/id/1250103/

https://aroundthesims3.com/objects/room_other_02.shtml Stretchers | Châssis; ATS3-object-artistworkshop-stretchers; Trunk as coffee table | Malle comme table basse; ATS3-object-artistworkshop-trunk

https://marcussims91downloads.tumblr.com/post/78769368894/marcussims91-set-includes-bathroom-andesite (Industrial Pendant Light)

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-adultbedroom/title/calla-bedroom/id/1389642/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/breeze-echeveria/id/1475743/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/another-decor-plant/id/1243469/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/wyndham-diamond-cut-vase-and-dry-plant/id/1468066/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/brassard-plant-flower/id/1436491/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kidsbedroom/title/altara-kids/id/1291252/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-paintingsposters/title/ff7-advent-children-xhaii/id/1120395/

https://aroundthesims3.com/objects/thisnthat_05.shtml Ceiling Lamp | Suspension ATS3-object-ikealamps-365+brasa-ceiling Ikea EKAS-like

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-livingroom/title/ilum-living-room/id/1477081/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/ung999/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/ung999--floor-plant-15/id/1232120/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-electronics-tvs/title/modern-loft-flat-screen-tv/id/1107003/preview/wrap-function/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/id/939476

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/sonic-room-divider/id/1318027/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/ArtVitalex/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kidsbedroom/title/aspen-toddler-bedroom/id/1422190/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-adultbedroom/title/blackwood-bedroom/id/1269703/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/download/itemId/1296579

https://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/ArtVitalex/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-study/title/jenna-office/id/1432333/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/dysprosium-plant/id/1279363/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-ceilinglamps/title/retro-6-ceiling-lamp-mesh/id/1230748/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/sara-office-books/id/1171383/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/sara-office-mixed-books/id/1171400/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3/id/1412335/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-ceilinglamps/title/ceiling-lamp-street-life/id/1191838/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/agave-plant-terrarium/id/1370190/

https://over-waxedbanister.tumblr.com/post/182707032020/conversion-of-simfection-chad-wys-and#notes (only the octopus)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/168502500221/4to3-cats-dogs (without countru courtains, dining chairs, juice barrels and juice barrel plant, crabby claw sign, mouse trap, netobuoys, no poop sign, owl statue, paintings, stackofbooks, tablelamp)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/155800256891/4to3-city-living (without deco banner, sign hanging 1,2,3, sign wall 1,2)

https://over-waxedbanister.tumblr.com/post/181975494385/slox-riges-sitting-area-converted-to-sims-3#notes

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/169825749146/4to3-laundry-day (without Broom and dustpan, country life sculpture, electric rug trio, herbrack, potted plant, wreath, succulents)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/168783807366/4to3-curtain-edits

http://natatanec.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-sims-3-living-room-furniture-simple.html

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/161861506501/4to3-parenthood (without basketball and forest wallpaper)

https://over-waxedbanister.tumblr.com/post/182590772685/ikea-malsj%C3%B6-cabinet-converted-to-sims-3-original#notes

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-livingroom/title/zurich-living-room-tv-units/id/1467181/

https://over-waxedbanister.tumblr.com/post/181810558090/kacicka777-slovak-folklore-set-converted-to-sims-3#notes

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-comfort-sofasloveseats/title/false-creek-living-room-loveseat/id/1412747/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-surfaces-diningtables/title/bilma-dining-table/id/952347/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-comfort-diningchairs/title/erin-dining-chair/id/1416372/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/aurora-media-room-decor-branches/id/1110019/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-sculptures/title/aiden-books-1/id/1156270/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/cleasby-bowls-trio/id/1486144/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-electronics-audio/title/s2s-hi-fi-micro-system/id/924864/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-rugs/title/contemporary-carpet-135/id/1318646/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-floorlamps/title/color-living-floor-lamp/id/1325702/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-comfort-diningchairs/title/pure-dining-dining-chair/id/1332034/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/pillow-small/id/1235439/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-paintingsposters/title/tradewinds-picture/id/923994/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/zone-patio-geometric-vase-v1/id/1432907/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-plants/title/tacitum-vase-2/id/1194262/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kidsbedroom/title/haven-kids-bedroom/id/1283702/

https://over-waxedbanister.tumblr.com/post/184743537115/conversion-of-sloxs-sj-set-original-by-slox-here#notes

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-tablelamps/title/erin-table-lamp/id/1416369/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/fortunella-living-small-bowl/id/928413/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/clean-modern-vase-more-small/id/1338557/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-electronics-audio/title/lindo-lr-music-docking-station/id/1166134/

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-objects-furnishing-lighting-ceilinglamps/title/haden-ceiling-lamp-mesh/id/1167653/

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/145850522241/4to3-dine-out (without candle light, tables with cloth, dining table 1x1 and 1x3, napking holder, painting 4, 6 and 5, spices boxes)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/148195179956/4to3-backyard-stuff (without bird feeder, bird house, bird seed, picnic clutter, lawn deco frog, flower and butterly, wall light)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/133825517261/redownload-exercise-bike

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/120519347556/buttload-of-plants (without plant 2, 4, 6, 26, 29)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/133258093071/ts2-to-ts3-ikea-bookcase

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/132021984966/ts4-to-ts3-perfect-patio

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/122949405251/ts4-to-ts3-bathroom-deco (without 20)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/148792417651/4to3-movie-hangout (without deco dresser, dining chair 1, dining chair 2, side table)

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/126708800916/ts4-to-ts3-cool-kitchen

https://kandiraver-sims.tumblr.com/post/121676000586/ts4-to-ts3-toys-deco

#objects

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debhealy830 · 5 years

Photo

Wine & Mask shenanigans with Liz, Jill, & Robyn #bff #girlfriends #vegas #wineandmasks (at Wyndham Grand Desert) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0kCLCzDnahrtoofjMdNPV9EVQ1In5CJOtIcgo0/?igshid=1l5vhwbqoii8l

#bff #girlfriends #vegas #wineandmasks

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evolocity-blog1 · 7 years

Text

Byron Writers Festival 2017

Byron Writers festival is set for it’s 21st birthday in 2017! This year, on 4-6th August, there will be over 130 writers.

Their work will inspire and educate visors and help you grow as a novice, or experienced writer.

Do you want to be a better storyteller? If so, join Byron Writers Festival in 2017.

Here’s the full 2017 Guest Line-Up:

Nicole Abadee, Deng Thiak Adut, Sarah Armstrong, Melissa Ashley, Hilary Badger, Julia Baird, Tristan Bancks, Paul Barclay, Jimmy Barnes, Kuna Basu, Caroline Baum, Jesse Blackadder, Sarah Blasko, Merlinda Bobis, Lisa Brockwell, Phil Brown, Jennifer Byrne, Edna Carew, Susan Carland, Barrie Cassidy, Alan Close, Roger Cohen, Kate Cole-Adams, Matt Condon, Cosentino, Arielle Cottingham, Bryan Dawe, Tony Doherty, Jennifer Down, Robert Drewe, Jill Eddington, Malcolm Farr, Richard Fidler, Angie Fiedler, Peter FitzSimons, Tim Flannery, Mei Fong, Andrew Ford, Clementine Ford, David Free, Antony Funnell, Nikki Gemmell, David Gillespie, Madeline Gleeson, Morris Gleitzman, Roanna Gonsalves, Kate Grenville, Sophie Hamley, Chris Hanley, Peter Harrison, David George Haskell, Lynda Hawryluk, Ashley Hay, Jerath Head, Jim Hearn, Anita Heiss, Peter Helliar, Lex Hirst, Mark Holden, Rebecca Huntley, Jane Hutcheon, Graeme Innes, Zacharey Jane, Erik Jensen, Barry Jones, Tony Jones, Sarah Kanowski, Delta Kay, Hannah Kent, Andrew Knight, Anneli Knight, Ben Knight, Laura Kroetsch, Eka Kurniawan, Christina Lamb, Steven Lang, Meshel Laurie, Sylvie Le Clezio , Bri Lee, David Leser, Hans Lovejoy, John Lyons, Bec Mac, Kim Mahood, Kenan Malik, David Marr, Pippa Masson, Charles Massy, Ben Mckelvey, Caro Meldrum-Hanna, Miles Merrill, Rosemarie Milsom, Vayu Naidu, Mandy Nolan, Kerry O’Brien, Mick O’Regan, Bruce Pascoe, A.S. Patric, Tex Perkins, Ailsa Piper, Lucas Proudfoot, Alice Pung, Karen Radzyner, Sally Riley, Sally Rippin, Mirandi Riwoe, Michael Robotham, Henry Rosenbloom, Nicholas Rothwell, Richard Roxburgh, Magdalena Roze, Jonathan Safran, Michael Sala, Julianne Schultz, Kim Scott, Jock Serong, Adam Shoemaker, Venkat Raman Singh Shyam, Sebastian Smee, Dava Sobel, Adam Spencer, Tracey Spicer, Adam Suckling, Heather Taylor Johnson, Peter Thompson, Holly Throsby, Laura Tingle, Ian Townsend, Charlie Veron, Sandy Verschoor, Lisa Walker, Wendy Were, Emrys Westacott, Kayla Rae Whitaker, Lisa Wilkinson, Robyn Williams, Geordie Williamson, Susan Wyndham, Josh Yeldham, Lawrie Zion.

When looking for event transport for Byron Writers festival, use Byron’s all Luxury, All European fleet.

With local drivers and all amenities covered, there’s no better transport option than Byron Bay Luxe!

#byronbay #byronwritersfestival #byronbayluxe

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Seven: “Extracurricular”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Violence against Fantasy Monsters, Violence, Death Mentioned, Prominent Themes, Themes of Racism) Summary: (3,583 words) “Finally healed and ready to return to action, Hadrian ends up trapped underground with Ryder after an extra credit mission goes awry. With no where to go but up, the boys will have to work together to escape the cavern crawling with Creeps. However, Haddy’s unsure of what will kill him first... the grimm or his awkward attempts to get to know his quietest teammate.”

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How could one person be so heavy? Hadrian heaved along with Ryder's torso thrown over his upper back, securing him by his scaled arms as his cheek was pressed into Haddy's shoulder. Sweat, iron, oil, and moldy dirt bombarded his nose. He could feel his fellow faunus's feet dragging along the ground, but he really couldn't help that Ryder was a solid six-and-a-half feet tall. His first day without that stupid sling in over a week, and he had to spend it trapped underground in a musty cave caked in a mildewy smell.

His scroll was secured in his teeth with the flashlight pointed forward, feebly trying to illuminate any obstacles; however, it was mostly just making annoying shadows that obscured said obstacles. When he stumbled over yet another loose rock, he let out an echoing growl of irritation. The sound reverberated quietly off the walls of the cave, slowly disappearing into the darkness behind them.

Haddy grumbled as he readjusted Ryder's weight on his back, pushing on into the cave system. As he sighed once again, he thought back to a few hours ago, before all this happened.

"Field trip!" Robyn excitedly shouted as she jumped up into the air with her arms and legs spread. Ryder caught her on her way down and set her back on the ground with a roll of his yellow eyes.

Monroe sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she asked, "Really? On the weekend?" The other students gathered around the student message board all groaned, some of the older fourth years and even bolder thirds even started to walk away.

"Welllllll, not exactly," the redhead drew out, snatching the flyer from off the poster board and reading it over, "It says here that Mrs. Heather is offering extra credit for each picture of a different grimm that you can take with your scroll by the end of the day."

"Sounds like a pain," Monroe said, linking her fingers behind her head as she sighed.

Hadrian, however, walked up behind Robyn and started reading the flyer over her shoulder. After a moment, he smirked, "It's worth it though. Ten points on your choice of attendance, test, or participation per grimm."

When Monroe again didn't look enthused, the husky faunus nonchalantly expanded, "It'd be perfect for three, unnamed students who skipped out on a class covering regional grimm-- in which their valiant leader had to cover for and tutor them-- and they lost precious attendance and participation points in said class, dropping them to B-averages."

The blonde pirate looked over at Haddy with a raised brow and judgmental frown. Ryder, however, chuckled as he walked over and started to look over the flyer as well. After a moment, the trio looked back to their secret leader and dug into her with shit-eating grins. Monroe huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes before also joining them to read the instructions.

She pouted as she glanced over the flyer, "If we want to get our grades back up to A's, we'll each need four grimm; two for attendance and two for participation."

"No problemo," Robyn chirped with a smile, "We can easily grab an Ursa, Beowolf, and Boarbatusk in the Emerald Forest."

Haddy rubbed his chin as he thought, "Yeah, but what about the last one? Sure there are Deathstalkers and King Taijitu out there, but they're pretty rare. How about a Nevermore?"

"Too quick and small," the blonde replied, "Goliath?"

"The closest herd is out by Mount Glenn, too far to get there and back before sundown," Hadrian sighed. When his teammates turned to look at him with surprise in their eyes, he nervously laughed, "I might have done a little research after our Goliath fight."

With a laugh, Robyn jumped up and ruffled Hadrian's hair. As he batted her away and started to smooth out his hair, Ryder spoke up, "What 'bout a Creep?"

The trio looked at him, before weighing their options. Monroe remarked, "They are indigenous to the Forest..."

However, Robyn quickly added, "We'd have to split up though. They're usually found underground."

"Not a problem," Haddy smiled, standing on his tiptoes to wrap an arm around Ryder's scaled shoulders, "Ryder and I can go spelunking while you guys find the easy shots."

He honestly just wanted a chance to bond with his fellow faunus...

Almost immediately, Robyn and Monroe looked at each other. He could have been wrong, but the husky was sure that he'd seen concern in their eyes. However, before he could ask, Ryder nodded, "Sound's good t' me."

Robyn hesitated before she reached a hand up to Ryder's forearm and asked, "You sure, R?" The brutish armadillo only nodded.

"Okay," Monroe decided, clapping her hands together before continuing, "Everyone's got their roles. Just make sure to grab pictures from four different angles so we can each use them for the credit."

As his mind cleared and returned to the present, he was reminded of the girls' behavior at Ryder's mention of going underground. He didn't seem apprehensive or frightened, but then again no one suspected his fear of Beowolves until he was half-dead in a field needing to be rescued. His pale eyes turned back to his friend as he slept.

They'd just entered the narrow of the cave when the Creeps came burrowing out of the walls. He didn't have time to even activate his semblance before the ceiling was caving in. If Ryder hadn't thrown himself over top of him, he'd have surely been crushed. Unfortunately, the scaled faunus hadn't been so lucky. Just as the tremor was dying down, a rock struck him in the back of the head and knocked him unconscious... His aura must have broken or gotten too close to it from the debris without Haddy noticing.

He cursed himself briefly for having to be saved, again, before he sighed. At least that meant that he had people who cared about him. As if on cue, Ryder started to rouse as a soft groan echoed through his chest. Immediately, Hadrian stopped, looking back at his friend as he lowered him to the ground. As he leaned back against the cold, damp cave wall, Ryder rubbed his head.

"Wha' happ'n'd?" The armadillo asked, his faunus eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light.

Haddy sat down indian-style in front of him, propping his elbows up on his knees as he finally took the light from his mouth. He worked his sore jaw for a moment before answering, "The Creeps took out the structural support and caused a cave-in. I think we fell down a level or two."

Ryder sighed and leaned his head back so that it rested against the stone wall as he stared up at the ceiling for a moment. Haddy examined his expression as the same emotionless look stained Ryder's face. After a moment, the armadillo faunus stood up and offered his partner a hand. With a half-frown, the husky joined him.

Without much more, Ryder headed off in the same direction Hadrian had been heading while he was unconscious. Quickly, the husky joined him, shining the light from his scroll ahead in the cave. He watched as Ryder silently examined the cave walls while walking down the claustrophobic corridor. He almost had to lean down so that his head didn't scrape against the jagged ceiling.

Against his better judgment, Haddy swung his arms back and forth awkwardly and slowly drew out, "So... Ryder..."

The scaled faunus glanced back at him, wordlessly signaling that he was paying attention. Hadrian instinctively looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "Uh, 'Roe and Rob seemed... kinda... hesitant about you coming down here..." The husky swallowed hard as Ryder remained quiet.

After a moment, he shrugged and turned back forward, explaining, "Yeah..." Ryder briefly paused before sighing, "My paren's died in'a dust mine when I w's a kid."

Great freaking job, Hadrian.

"Oh," he replied with a squeak in his voice, "I'm, uh, sorry to hear that..."

"I's all good, man. Not'chur fault..." Ryder answered solemnly, continuing to lead them through the cave system.

The pair of boys walked in silence for a few minutes, Hadrian too afraid of bringing up any more awkward topics of conversation and Ryder being his usual, quiet self. However, being left alone with his thoughts brought another question to Haddy's mind. He waited another moment or so before he took a deep breath and tested the waters again.

"You're from Menagerie, right?" He asked. When Ryder nodded in response, the husky quietly remarked, "There, um... aren't any dust mines in Menagerie..."

"Tha's right..." the armadillo replied after a moment, still not turning around to face his friend.

Hadrian was more than willing to let it go, but after a moment Ryder took a deep breath and sighed, "I grew up 'n Menagerie, but I w's born 'n Mantle, like you..."

The husky swallowed the lump in his throat as Ryder came to a stop and leaned back against the cave wall while he crossed his arms.

Haddy halted as well and listened as his quiet friend explained, "My folks weren't 's bad off 's alot'a tha people down 'n Mantle, but'cha know... i's still no Atlas...

"When I w's born, they both start'd workin' f'r tha Schnee Dust Comp'ny. Got trap't in'a cave-in. Coron'r said they prolly died as'a result'a tha residu'l dust 'xplodin'. I don't rememb'r nuthin' 'bout 'em, 'cause I's sent t' live with my uncles 'n Menagerie right aft'r. I w's two."

With a sigh and shrug, Ryder finished, "So, y'know... Cade an' Robby 're less th'n happy when I 'ave ta go und'rgroun'..."

Hadrian listened intently, hanging on every word until he was done. After a minute to collect himself, Haddy asked, "And you're not?"

Again, Ryder only shrugged before replying, "Not really... d'dn't kill me, so I ain't worried."

"That's..." Hadrian started, unable to find the right word.

"Morb'd?" The scaled faunus chuckled. Haddy could only slowly nod in response, so Ryder continued, "Y'know, if ya worry 'bout ev'ry lil' thin' that happ'n'd t' ev'ryone, you'd b' scar'd'a ev'rythin'. Sometime's ya jus' gotta leave tha past 'n tha past or it'll drag ya down in tha pres'nt..."

Something about that struck a chord in Hadrian. Honestly, it reminded him a lot of some of the wisdoms that Tadashi used to tell him and his team in bleak moments. Tall, kind-hearted, stoic, and quiet... he could see the similarities between the two. They could have been great friends in another life. Ironically, they would have had a lot to talk about.

As the boys' short break came to an end, Ryder pushed himself off the wall and motioned for Haddy to follow him. They followed the light from their scrolls through the damp cave system. They were walking on an incline, so it was assumed they were headed back towards the surface. After about another ten minutes of silence, Haddy couldn't take it anymore.

"Why'd you wanna be a Huntsman anyway?" He asked curiously.

They were walking side-by-side at this point, so Hadrian could clearly see the smirk and cocked eyebrow as Ryder smiled, "It w's eith'r th's 'r a dust mine."

The husky laughed, "Oh, so you've got jokes now?"

"Figur'd s'nce I told ya my 'trag'c backstory', I'd light'n up," Ryder replied, still smirking.

Hadrian chuckled as the armadillo elaborated, "I dunno, really. Just seem'd like tha right thin' ta do. I'm strong, an' I'm able t' prot'ct people. So... Huntsm'n Acad'my 't was..." Ryder paused as he looked down at the fluffy-tailed faunus and asked, "What 'bout you?"

"Well..." the husky started, rubbing the back of his neck, "I had this exaggerated idea of what being a Huntsman was as a kid. I thought it was all adventure, glory, and money... and growing up with nothing... well, it just seemed like a dream come true. Honestly though..."

He paused, shaking his head before solemnly repeating, "It really was either this or a dust mine..."

Ryder silently listened as he continued, "Leon-- my brother-- and I crafted our weapons based on designs that our dad left behind before he disappeared doing the job. We didn't use them to fight grimm so much as to hunt and keep our mom fed. We would sell the pelts for more ammunition, but after that we weren't left with much... if any. It wasn't going to work in the long run.

"So, I decided that I was going to apply to Atlas Academy's first-- and only-- Faunus Outreach Program. Leo did too. We were the only two who actually applied through the program. Guess no one else thought they were being serious. We were awarded scholarships and placed on an all-faunus team with the only other faunus in our year; both of whom got in through legitimate-- albeit a little back-handed-- means. Together we were four of the six total faunus enrolled at Atlas Academy.

"If we hadn't signed up, we'd both be at the bottom of a dust mine right now..." Hadrian sighed, finishing his long-winded rant. After a moment he glanced up to see Ryder looking down at him intently, so he quickly added, "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to carry on like that..."

With a half-smile, the scaled faunus raised a hand up to stop him as he replied, "Don't worry... I like ta list'n."

Somehow, that wasn't surprising. After another few quiet minutes of spelunking, the pair came into a wide, open cavern. There were three, rocky columns holding up the ceiling where stalactites hung and dripped water into a shallow puddle in the base of the cave. It was dark, but light flooded into the hollow from an opening collapsed in the roof. The boys could see the beginning of the evening sky between thick tree trunks and the emerald canopy. The only problem was that their escape was about twenty feet up.

"Well... we can get out through there... if we can make it..." Haddy frowned as he rubbed the back of his head.

The faunus had to slide down a small dip to reach the bottom of the cavern. As their feet splashed into the ankle-deep water, a familiar rumbling started to shake the walls. Before they could arm themselves, Creeps began to burrow into the underground room by the tens. Instantly, Ryder and Hadrian fell back-to-back as they pulled out their weapons. The husky nimbly leaned around his partner, sniping the entering grimm, as the armadillo shifted Allegheny into its minigun form and sprayed down any that got close.

They were quickly overwhelmed though, forcing the boys to switch to melee combat. Ryder swung the extended barrel of his gun up, smacking a Creep on the underside of its jaw and sending it flying, as he transferred it back into its warhammer form. Continuing with his momentum from the swing, he whipped around and smashed into three of the grimm that had tried to take him from behind. As he spun around, the dark-skinned faunus swept downward in an over-head arch, crushing one of the Creeps beneath the face of Allegheny.

Beside him, the husky faunus spryly limboed under the handle of the warhammer before he sunk his picks into the head of an approaching subterranean monster that was poised to attack his partner from behind. He twirled around, flinging the body of the grimm into an approaching hoard, sending them staggering back. Quickly, Haddy jumped up, flipping in the air and using Ryder's shoulder for support before falling into a roll to protect the armadillo's back.

As a Creep crept up from behind and charged, Haddy's instincts kicked in. Just as the grimm came into range, the husky whipped around-- putting all his strength into his riposte-- and met its armored maw with the tip of his ice pick. The black skin of the subterranean monster reverberated with shock waves as it shot backwards and turned to goop. He didn't know he had that in him.

The grimm kept coming though, pouring out of the tunnels they had already dug out. After a few minutes, Hadrian stumbled back into Ryder, who was breathing heavily. He could see the golden specks of the dark-skinned faunus's aura starting to falter. Haddy himself was starting to get a little winded. They needed a new strategy.

Ryder seemed to have the same idea as he asked, "Cant'chu use y'ur sembl'nce ta zip 'round an' t'ke these thin's out fr'm b'h'nd?"

"No," he answered, redirecting a jumping attack from another Creep, "The water is going to put up too much resistance. It'll be like trying to run in three-and-a-half feet of snow."

With a huff, Ryder nodded, bringing his hammer down on another pair of approaching grimm. That did give Hadrian an idea though as his eyes drifted down to the water where his feet shifted in the dark, murky liquid. As the cogs turned in his head, the husky leapt into the air to avoid a sweeping tail attack from one of the grimm. When he landed, and planted his pick firmly behind the thick plating of the Creep's armored hide, his plan came together.

"Ryder!" he shouted, gathering his fellow faunus's attention before he explained, "If you can use some dust to freeze the water and trap the grimm that are already in here, I can close up the tunnels. That should give us enough time to climb out of here."

With a smirk, Ryder gave him a thumbs-up as he shifted Allegheny back into its gun form, whacking another Creep on his way. He reached deep into his pocket and pulled out a large dust cartridge, snapping it into the underside of the minigun. Hadrian had just enough time to jump up and sink one of his picks into a column before the armadillo opened fire. Suddenly, hundreds of icy shards were pelting into the water and freezing it solid. The bipedal grimm didn't have time to react as they were stuck in the ice.

Haddy didn't have a lot of time to close off the tunnels before they would be flooded with more Creeps. He checked his dwindling dust supplies with a heavy heart as he pulled several of the cartridges out. There were five tunnels total, so he'd have to exhaust pretty much everything he had. In an instant, he assembled Sleigh into its rifle and pushed in the first magazine of dust.

He shot his remaining two ice containers, his last two earth, and had to get creative with his incendiary shot to collapse the final tunnel. With each discharge, he flicked the guard of his rifle down and reloaded with another set of elemental ammunition. When he was done, he lowered Sleigh and waited to see if his plan had worked. When nothing happened, Hadrian breathed a sigh of relief.

When he turned to look for his partner, he watched as Ryder took the last picture needed for their extra credit. In all honesty, Haddy had completely forgotten about the reason they were even in the cave. The scaled faunus smiled as he awkwardly tried to slide towards his friend on the ice. With a chuckle, Haddy clicked his heels together and allowed a set of thin blades to jut out from the soles of his boots, transforming them into crampons.

Ryder watched with an interested gleam in his eyes as Hadrian hiked over to him and took an arm to help guide him towards their exit. Before they made it to the base of the rocky wall, the armadillo remarked, "Ya got any more Atlas trink'ts ya wanna show me?"

With a devious smirk, Haddy replied, "Not right now."

It didn't take nearly as long to climb out of the cavern as they'd originally thought it would. That didn't stop them from only making by the skin of their teeth though. As soon as Ryder pulled himself through the cave entrance, the shaking started back up and new tunnels were drilled into the cavern. The pair watched as even more Creeps flooded the hollow expanse they'd just been trapped in.

The faunus exchanged a glance before they laughed and shared a celebratory fist bump.

Hadrian started walking back towards Vale when Ryder initiated a conversation for the first time since they'd met, "Uh, Haddy?"

"Yeah?" the husky replied, turning back to see that the scaled faunus hadn't moved yet. He stopped with a confused look on his face.

Ryder sighed as he remarked, "Ya said sumthin' 'bout a scholarsh'p back 'n Atlas?"

Oh, he did not like where this was going. Hadrian rubbed the back of his neck as he quietly answered, "Uh, yeah."

"An' y'ur family not havin' alot'a money," the armadillo continued.

"Yeah..."

"Then... how're ya affordin' all tha expenses of bein' a Huntsm'n-'n-trainin'? Like ammo, dust, an' repairs?"

Haddy turned away as he nervously laughed back, "Well, uh... I'm not?"

Ryder frowned as he closed the distance between them and crossed his scaled arms. Quickly, the husky clarified, "I'm looking for a part-time gig though. I figure there's enough stores in Vale that could be looking for an extra set of hands."

The dark-skinned faunus was quiet for a long time before he rolled his eyes with a half-smile and clapped a strong hand on Hadrian's shoulder. With a chuckle, he said, "I got a buddy who owns a stall in tha market. He us'lly works week'nds. 'E could use tha help."

With a half-hearted smile, Haddy shrugged, "I dunno, man. I'd rather find something without any help."

Ryder laughed as he wrapped his arm around Hadrian's shoulders and the pair started back towards the city, "Tha great thin' 'bout havin' frien's is that they're gonna help no matt'r what..."

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raebaekaedae · 2 years

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Volume One, Episode Four: “Pericles”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Violence against Fantasy Monsters, Death Mentioned?, Prominent Themes) Summary: (3,990 words) “Haddy’s been settling into his routine with the help of his teammates. So, when they don’t show up for class one day, he’s rightfully a bit concerned. After learning the significance of the day’s date, Hadrian sets out to learn more about Team Prosciutto's leader; Pericles.”

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"Mr. Snow."

His head snapped to attention as he whipped around from staring at the door to the instructor. Mrs. Heather placed a hand on her hip as she looked up at him, narrowing her reddish-purple eyes on him. She was very stern and constantly smelled like too much cosmetics, but he always enjoyed her class. Her sunny hair was done up in a loose, thick braid that rested on her shoulder and secured with a red tie.

She continued, "Care to tell us where the rest of your team is today?"

The past few weeks had been easy. Hadrian had been on time for every class, never missed a lecture, and already had top grades. All of this was mostly thanks to his teammates. Ryder kept him on track, Robyn made sure he knew where he was going, and Monroe helped him catch up on missed work from the previous semester... so, when the three of them didn't show up to class this morning, it concerned him.

He swallowed hard as he stood up and answered, "I'm not sure, ma'am. I've messaged them, but haven't gotten a response."

"Mr. Snow," Mrs. Heather sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Please refrain from using your scroll in class."

"Of course, ma'am!" The faunus exclaimed, sticking the new scroll into his pocket with a hasty salute, "Sorry!"

As snickering filled the classroom, the professor again sighed, "This isn't Atlas Academy, Mr. Snow. You don't have to salute the teachers. Please, take your seat."

Hadrian quickly sat down as the giggling and amused murmuring faded out. As Mrs. Heather went back to her lecture on the anatomy of a Deathstalker, he silently pulled his scroll back out and glanced over his team. All of them had been offline since earlier this morning. They'd seemed quiet-- well quieter in Ryder's case-- when the team had gotten ready after waking up, but nothing that gave him cause for alarm. He sighed as he went over the team's private group chat one more time.

HDRN: Guys, Prof. Heather is super pissed. When you get this, shoot me a text.

When no one responded within a minute or two, he slumped back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. He sat there for a moment before his scroll buzzed. He quickly scampered up and looked at the screen.

QROW: Still no word?

Oh. He glanced up and to his side, where Qrow was sitting a row above him, and watched as the gothic teen made an apologetic face.

QROW: Sorry, didn't mean to get your hopes up.

HDRN: It's fine, dude. I'm just worried.

QROW: I asked Tai, and he said he hasn't seen them.

QROW: Did you check their locations?

HDRN: Yeah, they've been offline since breakfast.

QROW: That's not surprising, given the date.

That caught his attention. He looked up to see Qrow, but he was still immersed in his scroll. So, he was quick to reply.

HDRN: And that means...??

This time when he looked up, the crow-haired teen had a look of regret on his face as he nudged his sister and showed her the messages. Hadrian watched in slight confusion as Raven rolled her eyes and tried to push Qrow off of her; but when he wouldn't relent, she quietly groaned and took the scroll from him.

QROW: It's Peri's birthday.

Peri. Short for Pericles. Pericles Vasilikós. Team PRCW's leader. He'd been told his name before he'd arrived at Beacon. He knew that his team had lost their leader over summer break and that he would be his replacement; but, other than that... he didn't know practically anything about him.

HDRN: Oh... Do you know where they might be then?

Qrow snatched his scroll back from Raven and exchanged a glance with Haddy before he replied.

QROW: Not sure. I think he had family here in Vale. They could be visiting. That might be a good place to start.

The rest of the period went by slowly. He had trouble focusing on taking notes, but he needed to if the rest of the team was going to understand the lesson without a tutor. As soon as the bell rang, he was up and out of his seat, ready to go on a one-man search party across all of Vale if he had to... just one problem; he had no idea where to start looking.

A tap on his shoulder broke his focus as he turned around to see Summer standing behind him. She smiled, "I think I can help... Qrow filled me in..." He didn't even feel her approach.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he replied, "Any help is appreciated, thanks!"

"Qrow was misinformed," she started, taking Hadrian's elbow and leading him off to the side of the hall so they didn't block the flow of traffic in the halls, "Peri didn't have any family in the city, but he did have an older friend. A faunus named Rayne Pleia; She's got some kind of bull horns, I think. She works down at the docks. She should be there today."

He was half-tempted to ask her about her sources, but he decided to not look this particular gift horse in the mouth. "Thanks, Summer. I'll start there," he smiled.

With that, he took his leave, quickly changing out of his uniform and grabbing his weapons just in case anything happened to his new team. Within ten minutes, Hadrian was catching an airbus down to Vale. It seemed like the ride took longer than normal, but that was probably just his nerves. When he touched down, he was out on patrol before the landing gear fully settled.

He made his way to the docks in search of this faunus woman who was supposedly friends with Team PRCW's leader. He wandered the harbor for hours, asking anyone he passed if he or she had seen his missing team members or the mystery woman he was in search of. The sun was setting over the gently rippling waves of the port, allowing a beautiful dance of pinks and oranges to grace her waters. He sighed as he sat down on the edge of one of the docks.

"Hey," a voice from behind him called.

Hadrian turned to see a brutish woman with cinnamon skin and short, dark hair leaning up against an old fisherman's hut with her arms crossed. She was wearing thick overalls and a tight undershirt that exposed her burly biceps. She had a judgemental frown on her face as she stared at him... it was only then he noticed the horns curling up from underneath a tied bandana.

He quickly stood up and exclaimed, "Hey! You're--"

"Rayne," she cut in, still frowning, "You've been looking for me." It was definitely a statement, not a question.

When she didn't move to greet or approach him, he nodded in response. "Um, yes ma'am, I'm looking for my teammates. I was told that you might know where they were?"

The woman examined him from afar with a critical eye. After a moment she rolled her eyes and asked, "You Hadrian?"

"Yes ma'am!" He answered with newfound hope.

Rayne rolled her dark eyes again and stated, "Cut it out with the ma'am shit, kid. I'm not that much older than you."

"Of course!" He apologized with a light blush, "Sorry."

The woman rolled her eyes once again as she shifted her weight to stand up straight. She walked to the end of the pier, looming over Hadrian like a statue and blocking his escape if needed. She glared down at him, silently judging whether or not he was worthy. However, he stood firm, proudly standing his ground against the stubborn faunus.

She raised a judgemental eyebrow as she replied, "You don't scare easy, do you, kid?"

"Not when it comes to my teammates, ma'am," he replied boldly.

Rayne narrowed her eyes on him, before shrugging her shoulders and leaning back, "Alright, kid, what do you wanna know?"

He paused to think over his choices. He didn't know how long the leery woman would tolerate him. "I'd like to know... more about Pericles."

That seemed to stump her, it was obviously not a question she had expected. She waited, silently examining, before she replied, "Well, for starters, no one called him 'Pericles'."

Hadrian listened intently as Rayne divulged her secrets, "He was Peri. A noble, kind-hearted kid with only the best of intentions. He was snarky, had a real sassy streak about him; but, you could tell he cared... the stars almost seemed to shine in his eyes... as if he could just blink and bring them down from the night sky, but not because he controlled them... because they respected him...

"He saved my life. I was involved in some... less than legal activities when I was younger. When he and Monroe moved here to go to the Academy, their team caught me stealing from some merchant. Instead of arresting me or punishing me, he offered a solution. He knew the docks were looking for a good set of arms to haul crates, so he put in a good word for me and got me this job.

"He was... a good kid, y'know," she finished with the faintest hints of a smile.

For just a moment, the two stood there silently. No words needed to be spoken. However, after that minute or so had passed, Rayne's thick exterior was back as she asked, "You need to know anything else, or you just wasting my time?"

Hadrian smiled, not because it was polite or what someone expected of him, but truly a genuine smile. Peri. He meant a lot to a lot of people. "Yeah, um, do you know where Monroe, Robyn, and Ryder are?"

She took a deep breath and sighed before she nodded, "Yeah... I got a pretty good idea..."

It took him just under two hours to hike his way out of the city and through the autumnal forest. Every once in a while, he would look down at his scroll to check the directions Rayne had given him but other than that, he was focused on the trail ahead. The sun had long since set and cast shadows in the dark of the woods; his path illuminated by star shine and moonlight.

Grimm roamed Forever Fall Forest throughout the night, hunting for unsuspecting and naïve people to prey on. He hated the idea that his teammates were out in the middle of the woods after dark, but he knew he had to remain calm or else those very grimm would stalk him from their shadows and tear him down. He looked down at his scroll one last time, before reaching up and moving some overgrown brush out of the way.

Before him was a small alcove of trees enclosing a small bush of wildflowers and weeds. Hadrian hesitated and looked around before he called out to the shrub, "Um... guys? You there?"

When he got no reply, the faunus took another step towards the brush, "Monroe? Robyn? Ryder?"

Crickets chirping were the only noise that followed, so he breathed in a deep sigh before stepping over some of the weeds and approaching the bush of budding flowers. He knelt down, feeling quite silly-- as if talking to a bush wasn't absurd enough-- as he reached underneath the shrub and felt around. After a moment, his fingers ran across a latch; which, he flipped.

He stood up, taking the leafy hatch with him. The bush levered up and rested against its hinge as a tunnel opened up from underneath. A wooden ladder made from thick sticks and twine led down into the secret base. Hadrian took one last look around before he stepped inside and started the quick climb down, turning the flashlight from his scroll on as he did.

The ladder itself was shorter than he was; his head was still sticking out of the top of the hole. He awkwardly turned around and got on his hands and knees to begin the crawl into the clubhouse. It wasn't much. There was a tarp with supporting beams overlaid for the ceiling that had soil and fallen leaves atop it to conceal the presence of a base. It was no bigger than his bedroom back home.

There were tree roots coming through some of the packed dirt walls that had pictures tacked to them and pillows were thrown across the floor. He could tell that everyone had their own little corner. One was dug out to be deeper than the rest to accommodate Ryder's size. Another had plenty of flowers and pillows piled high into a make-shift throne. Across from that, there was one pillow sitting alone. In the final corner, there were pillows, but a small indent had been carved out. Inside this shelf, there were knick-knacks and trinkets.

In the middle of the room, there was a small lantern. He crawled over to it and lit the bulb as he further examined the decorations. There was an intertwining web of fishing lines that hung from the rafters that were adorned with flowers and wildlife, as well as little beads and pieces of colorful tile. As he looked around, he was drawn to the pictures first. There were six hung up on the roots.

One was of the entirety of Team Prosciutto. Much like his own team's photo, Ryder had Robyn up on one of his shoulders with a wide grin as she threw her arms into the air. Below them on one side, Monroe had rolled her eyes but was smiling as she had crossed her arms on her chest. She wore her hair pulled back out of her face, unlike how she styled it now. The final figure, who he could only assume was Peri, was laughing as he rested a hand on Ryder's back.

Peri's hair was a wavy, royal purple color that rested shortly on his head. His eyes were closed, but Hadrian could see the happiness in them. He wore similar attire to Monroe, except more pronounced and extravagant with emphasis on armor over presentability. He was armed with a sheathed sword and quiver that rested against his hips on opposite sides.

He looked so... alive.

Hadrian forced himself to turn away from the picture and look to the others. Most of them looked to be taken from Robyn's perspective. The first was of Ryder standing atop a mound of fallen Ursa, spraying a hail of bullets down on approaching grimm from the opposite side of the pile. Peri was a partial ways up, posing for the camera with a 'rock on' hand signal and his tongue sticking out of his mouth, mid-laugh. Monroe yelled at both him and Robyn while fending off one of the beasts.

The next was a sight. Ryder laid back as he bench pressed a few reps out with both Peri and Monroe on the bar. The blonde was beet-red as she was in the process of losing her balance and falling while her counterpart seemed to be cheering on the burly faunus beneath them. You could tell that Robyn was laughing, because of the shakiness of the picture.

After that was a selfie. Peri stood with his back to Robyn and Ryder with an extended arm towards the camera. He was trying not to laugh as he bit into the fist over his mouth to keep himself from waking the red-haired girl. Robyn was sacked out as Ryder gently wrote on her face with a marker. She already had a mustache, monobrow, star over one of her eyes, and a heart beneath the other as well as the word "Babybird" written across her forehead.

Robyn took the next picture. It seemed to be during the construction of this very clubhouse. They had all changed into casual clothes as they cleared away brush for the hole Ryder was digging out. Peri was knee-deep in the dirt with him as he hauled buckets of debris away. Monroe sat in the background, smiling as she worked on creating the hidden roof.

The last photo caught him a bit off guard. It was another selfie, this time from Monroe's perspective. She was smiling as she looked into the camera's lens with a light blush across her cheeks. Peri's cheek was resting against hers as he also grinned at the scroll. It was clear to see that his arm was resting over her shoulders and hers was wrapped around his back to his side.

Hadrian sat back as he looked over all of the photos again and again. He felt like he knew Peri a little bit better after examining the memories memorialized on the walls of his and his team's secret hideaway. However, he realized that was still no closer to finding his teammates than he was before. Maybe they had gone back to the school when night fell.

As he turned around to turn out the lantern and crawl out of the hole, a small glint caught his eye. He blinked as he looked up for the source of the shine. From the corner furthest from him, on the shelf carved especially for it, his eyes spotted a bit of metal. Curious, he inched over to it.

There were plenty of trinkets on the two-layered shelf. A silver medal from the Vytal Festival. An empty dust cartridge labeled, "First Shot at Beacon!!". Key chains from each of the major kingdoms, except for Atlas. A matching pair of tarot cards; the Tower sitting upright. But, what had caught his eye before nearly brought his heart out of his chest.

Sitting proudly at the front of the shrine of Team PRCW's accomplishments, were a trio of metal emblems, each wrong but still cherished. A row of circles encased without a line through them. A windmill with only one beam between the blades. And his own emblem, perfect and resting in the center. A label sat beside them; "First Mission of Team SCWR".

He reached into his pocket, where he found the blonde pirate's incorrect, metal emblem. He pulled it out and looked at it for a long while before he sighed with a hesitant smile and closed eyes. He stretched forward and set it with the others. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a complete set; one that fit together perfectly.

After a moment, he turned back and flipped the lantern off before climbing out of the hideaway. Hadrian pulled the bush back down over its post and latched it closed. He moved to start his trek back to Beacon when his head snapped to attention. He whipped around as the distinct smell of gunpowder and dust drifted through the air. That was when he heard the faint boom of gunfire.

His feet were moving before his mind had time to catch up. Twigs slapped him across the face as he sprinted through the thick brush of the autumnal forest. When things cleared up, he used his semblance to speed himself up. He armed himself and caught his picks on tree trunks as he passed to guide himself in the direction where the scent was thickest.

He broke into a clearing and stopped short as he watched the show in front of him. A Deathstalker rampaged through the forest, easily pulling up trees and tearing up the long grass. One of its claws snapped a log in two like it was made of brittle glass as it whipped around and threw the broken pieces.

Riding atop the scorpion-esche grimm, Robyn had a death grip on the Deathstalker's stinger. She was swinging around wildly as she kept the thing from stabbing anyone and it tried to throw her off. Ryder had one of the stinging arachnid's claws embedded in the ground underneath his hammer as he was pulling back to work on the other. In front of the grimm, Monroe's aura had clearly broken as she took pot-shots at the beast with dust rounds from her revolver, just trying to keep its attention off of her team.

Hadrian could only watch in horror as the beast retaliated. It whirled its free claw around into Ryder's chest, sending him flying as his golden aura shattered. He tumbled off into the long grass and out of view.

"Ryder!" Robyn yelled, still swinging from the Deathstalker's stinger.

She was the next to go. The grimm's tail spun through the air and ripped Robyn's grip apart. The ginger hit a tree as her own red aura fragmented, but held strong. She fell to the ground behind some bushes as the Deathstalker turned its attention back to Monroe. Hadrian watched as she stood frozen in fear. A fear he knew all too well. The grimm attacked, aiming to gore her through with its venomous barb...

And she wasn't moving.

In one fluid motion, Hadrian assembled his rifle and pulled a dust cartridge from his side. He didn't even register which type of elemental ammunition he'd picked until his finger was pressed against the back of the trigger guard. An explosion of icy energy fired out of the barrel and struck the Deathstalker right between its eyes. Frost and ice suddenly encased its head and quickly moved up the rest of its body, finally reaching its stinger only inches away from Monroe's heart.

A tense silence fell over the clearing as seconds passed like hours. After what seemed like ages, one of the grimm's claws broke apart and fell to the ground. It wasn't long after that the rest of the Deathstalker followed suit. As the beast shattered and slowly started to dissipate, Monroe fell to her knees with her shoulder slumped so far he was surprised they weren't on the ground. Both Robyn and Ryder stood up, rubbing their wounds. Hadrian let out a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding in.

He fell back onto his butt as the trio noticed him. They scampered up and quickly ran across the field. Robyn skidded to his side on her knees, putting a hand on his shoulder, while Monroe and Ryder stood in front of him.

The ginger hastily asked, "Hadrian! Are you okay?!"

"ME!?" he replied, half-scared and half-surprised, "You guys were the ones getting tossed around by a Deathstalker in the middle of the woods!"

They all seemed to notice that everyone else was fine at the same moment because the entire team burst into a peal of chuckling laughter. Ryder extended his hands down to help both Robyn and Hadrian up as Monroe shook her head in disbelief, recovering from her initial terror.

Once the laughter had died down, the blonde asked, "What are you even doing out here?"

"I was looking for you three," the husky faunus answered honestly, holstering his weapons. He continued, "You weren't answering your scrolls, and I was a bit worried."

The three looked to one another, before each pulled their scroll out and checked their messages. Monroe pondered, "We must be out of range of the communication tower..."

"Sorry, man," Ryder apologized, rubbing the back of his neck, "D'dn't mean t' startle ya."

Hadrian smiled, "It's all good. I'm just glad I found you all in one piece."

"We decided to take the day off, because--" Robyn started.

He smiled as he held up a hand and cut in, "I know. It's okay. It's cool."

The silent acknowledgment that the three weren't in the wrong was felt between all of them. They stood under the stars for a moment longer before Monroe spoke up, "We should... probably get back to the school."

"Yeah," Ryder remarked, "I's gonna b' Hell tryin' t' catch 'p on cl'sses we miss'd."

"Don't worry, I got you guys covered!" Hadrian smiled.

Robyn punched his arm lightly as she smirked, "Thanks, Hadrian! Knew we could count on you."

"Um, actually, My--" he hesitated, taking a good look at each of them and contemplating his decision, before he finished with a faint smile, "-- my friends call me Haddy."

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

Text

Volume One, Episode Fifteen: “Bond”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Violence against Fantasy Monsters, Violence) Summary: (5,190 words) “In part two of the thrilling finale, an unforeseen bond just might be the edge Hadrian and Blue need to save themselves. With one bleeding out and the other severely injured, it’s going to take a miracle to get out alive...”

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The sound of his desperate scream echoed back at him. He felt the ground beneath himself shake as tiny particles vibrated and bounced near his feet. Suddenly, the air in front of him shifted into waves. Blue was thrown forward onto her stomach with a start as the deafening sound beat into her back. With only his voice, Haddy managed to push the grimm back as they had to dig into the ground with their claws to keep from flying away.

Ollie...?

He had no idea what was happening, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity slip. Haddy continued his scream, taking a few hesitant steps forward before breaking into a full-blown sprint. He felt his aura priming as he charged ahead. His lungs were on fire, his ears bled, but he kept up his sonic attack. He couldn't hear the scratching of claws on dirt as the Beowolves and their Alpha were suddenly thrown from their desperate attempts to stay grounded.

The creatures of grimm were flung back into their cage as they slammed into the wall with a painful crack of concrete. The door could no longer hold as it crashed down, trapping the beasts inside. Haddy was starting to see double, unable to breathe as his voice slowly dimmed and returned to normal. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping in desperate breaths as he tried to regain what little composure he had.

He wasn't sure if his eardrums had ruptured, but for the first time since he and Blue were flung into the arena, it was silent and he was left grappling with the ghost of his past.

She was at his side in an instant, skidding down and placing her good hand on his back. It didn't burn. As his chest rose and fell in jagged motions, he reached behind him and ran a hand down his spine... it was healed; scarred, but healed. That was when he felt a punch to the gut as his aura began to drain away, seeping off of him in waves.

"What was that??" Blue asked in disbelief, well, that answered the question of whether or not his ears were busted, "H-How did you--?"

She was cut off when an irritated yell tore their attention back up to the stands. Many of the patrons who'd paid to see their fight to the death had fled. Haddy witnessed the true extent of his sonic scream as cracks crept up the concrete walls, dislodging the chain fence trapping them, and into the stone bleachers. People who had been sitting within the range of the blast were doubled over, holding their ears as they cried and shouted.

Diana Gae was furious. Her golden eyes flashed with rage as she yelled down, "YOU!" He knew that she was talking to him. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Hadrian used his forearm to wipe some of the sweat from his brow as he shakily stood in defiance. He puffed out his chest as he pointed up at her and declared, "You haven't won! You will never win! So long as I breathe and stand; I will never allow you to take another life!"

She glared down at him with a mix of anger, disgust, and a hint of what looked like concern before she grabbed a remote from one of her goons and jammed her finger into every button. Suddenly, metallic screeching echoed around the pair as all of the remaining cages began to open.

Antagonizing the bad guy... great idea, Hads.

He glanced down at Blue as he extended an arm out to try to block her– futilely since there would be grimm coming from all directions. Her breathing was labored, arm shaking and hanging limply as blood ran down her shoulder and pooled at her feet. Haddy could see her blue eyes trembling, but she just held on tighter to the shield as she pushed her back into his.

The husky loaded his remaining dust shot into his sling as a cacophony of harsh growls and shrieks tore through the arena. Four or five grimm-laden cages remained, and he could already see several of the monsters trying to claw their way out to get to them... they could probably smell how anxious he and Blue were.

A trumpeting screech tore his attention away as a Megoliath gored its metallic cage door and flung it open. Haddy quickly jumped in front of Blue as he flung the fire capsule at the elephantine grimm. It exploded and rained down embers as it struck the masked scale plates of the Megoliath's face. It was momentarily stunned before it shook off the smoke and set its crimson eyes on the students.

Angry steam burst from its trunk as it charged. Haddy had a shitty hatchet and an empty sling, to say that the odds were not in his favor was an understatement. He could already feel the last bits of his aura draining away. However, he took a confident step forward as he took in a deep breath before he let out a gut-wrenching howl in hopes of activating Ollie's semblance once again.

He yelled until his voice was hoarse and a lightheaded embrace threatened to make him pass out; but, nothing happened. He could feel the ground shaking with each pound of the mammoth's feet. He always wondered how something so large and lumbering could move so damn fast. All he could do as it came closer and closer was draw his wooden hatchet and pray to the Brothers for a miracle.

It never slowed down as it raised its tusks up high, its eyes glinting in the setting sun's dying light– wait, the sun?

A force of nature landed with a resounding crater, kicking up dust and debris as he stopped the Megoliath's charge with nothing more than the energy of his entrance. Not even a moment later, a rush of wind came crashing down around them, nearly throwing Blue and Haddy to the ground as chunks of the high ceiling rained down from a hole that had been punched straight through the rock.

Haddy could only watch as the mammoth backpedaled a pace and the dust started to clear, revealing a pair of outstretched wings and fluffy, blue hair.

Fynch half-turned his head back to the pair as he pulled his sword from his crater and forced a small smile, "Sorry for the wait, Snowball... but, I'm here now."

The husky let out a shaky breath as he unsteadily smiled, "F-Fynch!?"

He'd almost forgotten what relief felt like.

The brief reprieve was cut short as several of the other cages were thrown open and the Megoliath shook off its shock. Before the students could even open their mouths to say anything, Fynch had already swung his greatsword around and closed the distance between himself and the elephantine grimm. With one swift swing, he took out the front legs of the Megoliath, causing it to fall to the ground with a shrill shriek. He didn't hesitate as he adjusted the large blade in his hand and whipped it up, severing the grimm's head from its body before it hit the arena floor.

He looked up to see Hadrian already turning himself between an approaching flock of Nevermore and the younger girl. With a smirk, the Hunstman raised an arm towards the pair and activated his semblance with a vacuuming whirlwind of air. The students hardly had any time to react as they were suddenly pulled towards him. He unfurled his wings and jumped into the air, clearing both Haddy and the girl easily as he let loose a flurry of furious slashes and stabs into the grimm.

The husky watched in awe as an explosion of black feathers rained down from the experienced swordsman, harmlessly showering both him and Blue. As Fynch unclipped his sword, allowing it to fall in half into two separate weapons connected with a thick chain, he turned back to Haddy and said, "You'd better get outta here. There's a landing pad on the lower levels..." he paused to swing into a Boarbatusk, before adding, "Don't worry about the other students, they're safe. I'll take care of Gae."

He briefly wondered how Fynch knew the name of their abductor, but given the direness of the entire situation, it wasn't hard to believe that Monroe and the R's had come clean about how they'd been spending their free time. Haddy grabbed Blue's hand, making sure not to hurt her, as he smiled and started to run with her towards the trapdoor that had brought them here in the first place.

The buckled walls of their copper prison had been blown away by his sonic scream along with some of the dirt obscuring the trapdoor. Haddy used his tail to wipe away the rest of the dust and knelt down to examine their escape. It was flush with the floor, hinges hidden on the underside of the floor, but there was a small space between the doors that he might be able to pry open.

Hadrian tried to get a grip with his nails, but couldn't manage to slip his fingers between the slot. He thought about trying to pry it open with the wooden blade of the hatchet, but there was no way that it was going to fit. Blue winced as she pulled her hand free and reached around behind her, taking the training dagger from her tattered belt. She handed it over quickly before she brought her palm up to try to quell the pain radiating from her torn torso.

With a deft swing, the husky easily placed the blade between the doors and pried it open. There was about a twenty-foot drop down into the dark hallway. He spared one last glance back at Fynch, watching him easily slash his way through the hoard of grimm, before he turned his head up to the announcer's box. Unsurprisingly, Diana Gae was nowhere in sight. Haddy nodded to Blue before jumping down into the shadows.

As he landed with bent knees, he felt a burst of pain run up one of his legs. He stood up straight and scanned the area. There wasn't anyone around, thankfully. A moment later, he turned his head back up to the arena and motioned for Blue to follow. The frilly skirt of her dress fluttered as she dropped down. The husky caught her before she hit the ground.

"Hey!"

The pair whipped around just in time to see one of the brutish guards rounding the corner, raising his shotgun. Haddy froze, Blue's arm tightening around his shoulder. The brute kept his gun trained on them, motioning with the barrel for the husky to put the girl down. Hesitantly and slowly, Hadrian lowered the younger student down so that she could stand on her own.

"Hands where I can see 'em," the armored man ordered, "and turn around."

The blue-haired teen glanced up at her elder briefly. Haddy hesitated but forced a smile and nodded as started to slowly raise his hands, open-palmed to his shoulders, and turned around to face away from the brute. Blue followed his lead, doing the same. Once they had their backs to him, he hummed out an approval.

"On your knees," he ordered.

Blue, again, looked to Hadrian for confirmation. He subtly nodded and she lowered herself down onto her knees. However, the husky took a deep breath and stayed put. The man motioned with his gun, even though neither of the students could see.

"I said, on your knees, boy!" the brute nearly shouted.

Haddy didn't say a word, closing his eyes as he focused on listening to the quiet shifts. Angrily, the brute started to stomp forward, hands tightening on his gun as he continued to shout at the husky to follow his demands. However, the dark-haired faunus wasn't paying attention to that. He listened carefully, waiting until the man was directly behind him. The thick smell of sweat getting ever closer.

As soon as the armored brute pushed the cold, metal muzzle into Haddy's exposed back, he reacted. In an instant, his eyes flew open as he whipped around, pushing the barrel of the gun towards the wall just before the explosion of gunpowder and lead tore through his ears. He knew that Blue had fallen back and yelped in surprise, but he couldn't apologize just yet.

Haddy used what little time he had left in his sneak attack to take his other arm and bring his elbow down onto the brute's hands. He shouted in surprise, but that momentary ease was all the husky needed to disarm him and flip the shotgun around in his arms. He aimed the gun at the chest of the armored man and took a good few steps back as the brute stared at him in disbelief.

"I have some questions, and you're gonna answer them, deal?" Hadrian asked, motioning for Blue to get up and stand behind him.

She quickly scampered up and ducked behind his back, holding onto her bleeding wounds. In the back of his mind, Haddy knew that she probably wasn't going to last much longer if she kept losing blood at the rate she was now... the only reason she was still up and moving was pure adrenaline. His first priority was getting her out of here; he'd just have to trust Fynch and the other Huntsmen to gather intel.

As Haddy opened his mouth to ask the quickest way to the landing pad, the brute jumped at him. In that brief moment, only one thought crossed his mind; by the Brothers, I hope that this bastard's armor is bullet-proof.

He pulled the trigger back to the guard and expected the kick of an explosion, but was instead met with the soft click of an empty chamber. The husky hardly had any time to even widen his eyes before he was tackled to the ground, the air from his lungs shooting out of his mouth and the empty gun clattering to the side. Hadrian shouted in surprise just before a fist found itself colliding with his jaw.

Stars exploded across his vision as he threw his arms up to protect his head. He was pinned down with this armored asshole straddling his torso, raising another closed hand to strike him again. Before he got the chance, Blue had grabbed his wrist and was desperately trying to pin it with her good arm. She didn't get the chance as the man threw her back violently into the wall, causing her to yelp.

That was the last thing he was going to take. Hadrian growled as he nearly screamed in anger, flinging his legs up as he wrapped them around the brute's neck. He linked his ankles together and jerked his feet back, hurling the man back with a surprised shout. Haddy just barely had enough time to get to his feet as the brute scrambled up.

The husky raised his fists defensively, protecting his head and neck as he swayed and watched the armored man's movements. Gae's goon threw a mean hook towards Hadrian's jaw, only giving him seconds to react, ducking just as the man's fist flew over his head. The dark-haired faunus tried to retaliate with a kick but was met with a solid mass of muscle that probably bruised his shin more than the man's.

Haddy couldn't pull his leg back before the brute had grabbed his ankle and was flinging him at the wall. His back slammed into the stone, cracking it as he felt several of his ribs creak. The husky crumbled to the floor, gasping as he feebly tried to catch his breath. The man brought his boot back to kick the snot out of him.

The Huntsman-in-training barely had time to raise his arms in an attempt to shield himself as the steel-toed sole slammed into his chest. Suddenly, his aura sparked to life as his nose was flooded with memories of earthy polish. The man screamed in pain as his boot connected with Haddy's torso, grabbing onto his knee as he heard a painful crunch of bone-on-bone snapping.

That's Tadashi's semblance... Riposte. He'd just countered the attack and delivered it back full force without even trying.

He didn't have any more time to think about it as the brute glowered down at him with flames in his eyes. He looked as if he was about to retaliate before there was a meaty slap and the armored man lurched forward. A brief moment passed before his brown eyes rolled up and he fell limply to the floor, only giving Haddy a short window to avoid being crushed beneath his weight.

Hadrian looked up to see Blue using the discarded shotgun like a club, struggling to hold it up before it dropped to the ground and she fell to one knee, gripping onto her injured arm. The husky quickly scampered up to her, gingerly lifting her hand to examine the wound as she winced and whined.

It didn't look good. The tears in her skin were so deep that he could see her shattered collarbone beneath the weeping blood. She wasn't crying, but he could tell by the pained twist on her face that she really wanted to.

"C'mon, kid..." Haddy soothed, lifting her up into his arms so that she could rest her wounds, "Let's get outta here."

They walked in stealthy silence down the halls, every once in a while pausing to take a whiff or listen for enemies.

As Haddy peeked around a corner and tried to decide if he wanted to go left or right, he felt Blue shift. He turned back to her as she whispered through clenched teeth, "H... How did you do that? With your semblance?"

He paused, before he quietly admitted, "Honestly, Blue... I... don't know."

"That was... Echo and Riposte..." she commented softly.

His eyes widened as he looked to her. She weakly smiled, "Ms. Ombre's and Bēju-senpai's semblances..."

"Yeah..." Haddy drew out quietly, "... but, how'd you know that?"

"Because... Team Solitude... you're what inspired me to become a Huntress..." she admitted with a slight tinge of embarrassed blush.

As the husky stared at her without a word, Blue quietly explained, "You probably don't remember, but when you and your brother left Mantle, you inspired a lot of faunus. I used to wait by the post office every Saturday just for the chance to read about how you both were doing. I watched as you both excelled to the top of your class and showed those stuck-up Atlesian elites that us faunus didn't need some 'Outreach Program' to become great Huntsmen and Huntresses...

"And then... you saved my life..."

She paused as she fondly smiled, "I was volunteering at the clinic with your mom when the Ice Fever broke out. I was fine for a while, but... well, I ended up catching it towards the end... Dr. Thompkins says that I wouldn't have survived another night without the cure that you and Solitude got to us... me and so many other people..."

He listened with wide eyes and a slightly slack jaw. After a long moment, he breathlessly replied, "Blue..."

"Y'know..." she continued, "Cliff, my brother, used to say all the time that Huntsmen weren't worth anything. That they'd never protect the little people down in Mantle like they would Atlas... but, you guys managed to inspire even his sour heart... and, honestly, I think that's the greatest thing I could have ever asked for."

For a moment, the beagle looked as if she was going to continue, but instead, she sucked in a sharp breath as she grabbed onto her bleeding shoulder. Haddy sighed with a soft smile, "C'mon... we can talk about it later... after we get that arm looked at..."

As he stood up straighter and peeked around the corner to make sure it was clear again, Blue quietly asked, "Do you... do you even know where we're supposed to go?"

"I'm never lost," he lied with a confident smile, trying to ease her worries.

Hadrian stepped around the corner and started to creep towards the hallway to the left. He got maybe two steps before he felt the air shift. The husky leaned back just as a flash of silver and royal purple sliced into the wall in front of him. A small metal playing card with a crescent emblem blocked his path.

Before he could look back into the dark from where they'd come, another few cards came flying at them. Haddy scrambled back, the blue-haired Atlesian student gripping tightly onto his shoulders as he backpedaled down the opposite hallway, avoiding the onslaught. He could hear the soft patter of footsteps following behind them, but he never saw anyone when he looked back.

The pair ran down the halls, Haddy feeling his semblance kick in as he slid around a corner. He swore he heard a soft curse as he sped up, but he was too busy trying to dodge flying cards. It was a little weird, because they weren't a constant threat, only occasionally coming at him when he tried to duck behind corners.

"Look!" Blue motioned with her head towards the end of the hall.

There was a large door with a sign that read "Landing Bay Two". He nodded to her, before steeling himself and speeding up to throw his shoulder into the door, throwing it open.

He glanced back down the hall and saw a brief flash of color as someone called out, "Wait! Kid! Don't!"

Haddy didn't have time to register whether he was being played or if this splash of color was actually trying to help him because he skidded into the open bay of an airbus garage. There weren't any planes, but there was one with the Beacon emblem landing at the entrance; a wide-open cavern that lead out into the mountains where the sun was setting behind the horizon...

And they weren't alone.

Tens of goons and brutes turned to look at the pair as they came crashing through the door. Everyone stared at one another for a moment, each startled in a different way, before Haddy took off towards the airbus. He heard angry shouts as he activated his semblance with his rapidly draining aura and sped off.

His lungs were killing him as his legs burned, but he pushed on. Haddy didn't dare look back as he focused on getting Blue out of here. Just as he felt himself weakening, he felt one last push. Suddenly, he took in a desperate deep breath as his mind danced in the freshly fallen snow of his memory; fresh caramel gracing his nose with a beautifully pleasant reminder.

"HADDY!"

For a moment, he thought Leo had called out to him, but as he looked up he nearly cried. Cascade was leaning out of the plane, reaching out for him as Robyn helped another injured Huntsman into the cab, Ryder securing Gene with bandages and gauze. They all looked up at him. The blonde's hair was whipping around, but he could see that relieved smile crinkling her nose as she screamed for him.

That was when the ship jerked, its engines roaring. It was getting ready to take off. He watched as Robyn whipped around and yelled something unintelligible at the pilot, to no avail. Haddy could feel himself tiring. They weren't going to make it if he didn't do something drastic.

"Have you worked on a landing strategy?" he asked suddenly, looking down at Blue.

The blue-eyed girl looked up at him between taking ragged, pained breaths and hastily nodded. As he sprinted towards the airship with her in his arms, Hadrian looked back to see the hoard of goons gaining on them.

He turned back to Blue and swallowed hard before nodding, "Okay. I'm going to throw you then."

"But," she replied, with tears forming in the corners of her eyes, "What about you?"

"Don't worry, kiddo," he smiled with a wink, "I'll make it."

She hesitated, still looking up at him with her big, blue eyes before she briefly nodded. Hadrian smiled and looked back towards their escape. They were only about one-hundred feet or so from the airship, but the baddies were gaining ground quicker than he could run while carrying Blue. If he could make sure that she got to the ship, he could use his semblance to speed himself up. He was too exhausted to use it on both of them at once, so this was the only option.

His eyes landed on the dark-skinned faunus as he shouted, his voice cracking, "RyDE-R!"

His scaled friend's head swung to attention. With a deep breath, Haddy yelled, "Blue Bird! Catch!"

That was Hadrian's and Robyn's recently minted special move, so he knew that Ryder would know what to do. Expectantly, the armadillo briefly nodded and hunkered down into a defensive position. The husky faunus looked down at his blue-haired charge. She'd been so strong for so long, but he watched as fat tears rolled down her cheeks. He smiled to her and took her uninjured hand in his. She looked up at him, and with a sniffle, gave her affirmation.

In an instant, Hadrian skidded to a halt, activating his semblance through one of his feet as he used the other to pivot. Using Blue's momentum, he gripped onto her wrist tightly as he swung her around in an arch twice. As she crested the last time, he let her go and sent her flying with a strength he'd never used before towards their escape. She didn't yell or scream, but when she landed in Ryder's arms, he could tell that she was whimpering.

With a brief smile, he took a few ragged breaths and just relaxed for a fraction of a moment. However, as he snapped back to reality, he activated what was left of his semblance and sped off towards his escape. He watched as Ryder handed Blue off to another student– probably Lambert, one of Gene's 'friends'– and kneeled down at the edge of the ship, reaching out for him to jump up and grab hold.

The airship started to ascend as he drew ever closer.

But, he was gonna make it. As his eyes ran across Ryder's hopeful face, he felt a grin creeping onto his face. He caught sight of Cadie and Robyn behind him, holding him steady by his overall straps as he leaned as far out of the ship as he could, with smiles of their own. As he neared the edge of the cliff, he pushed off into the air just as his aura reached its limit and shattered, extending his hand out to reach for his home.

His fingertips reached ever closer to Ryder's as the scaled faunus leaned out even further, threatening to fall out. He was so exhausted, but he didn't really give a damn right now.

A sharp pain momentarily stung the back of Hadrian's neck. In the brief moment he had, he didn't think much of it. However, a surging shock raced through his entire body. He couldn't control himself as a scream pooled in his gut and cut off before it was anything more than a strangled gurgle. His muscles tensed as his chest arched and arms grew stiff. The pain was so immense. As his eyes rolled towards the back of his skull and his vision grew darker, he was forced to watch as his team's happy expressions turned to horror and they screamed out for him.

He hit the pavement of the hangar with a hard thud that he couldn't even feel over the electricity coursing through his nerves. He tumbled twice and skidded to the edge of the cliffside, nearly toppling over before he came to a limp, twitching stop on his side at the end. Suddenly, just as soon as it had appeared, the pain vanished and left him shell-shocked. Hadrian couldn't help but yelp and whine as he took a few shaky breaths and weakly pushed up on one elbow.

As his senses groggily came back to him, Hadrian looked up to see the approaching hoard already upon him. They had surrounded him, blocking all escape except a plummet to the bottom of the ravine below. The brutes parted and revealed the smoking gun that had struck him in the back of the head. The magenta-haired temptress smirked as she holstered the stun gun and looked down at Haddy like a wolf hungry for an injured rabbit.

That was when he saw the translucent wings connected to Gae's back... well, wing would be a better analysis. She was a faunus...?

The airship was already moving off to leave, he could still hear his teammates' screams for him over the roar of the engines. In that brief moment, he decided that he wasn't going to let this bitch of a woman take another friend from them. Before she even had time to order her forces to take him, Hadrian rolled backwards, allowing himself to fall towards the bottom of the craggy basin.

He felt the air rush from his lungs as the wind whipped past him, tearing the remnants of his shirt to shreds. He twisted around, spreading out his arms and legs to try to slow his descent. He had to have faith. His heart pounded against his chest wall as the ground came ever closer to him.

That was when he heard the deafening boom of thunder. He didn't need to look back to know what was happening. He felt the shock wave push him further downward just before Robyn latched onto him, wrapping her arms around his chest and legs around his waist. In an instant, a tornado of wind hurled them back into the sky, only tens of feet above the rocky crags. The pair shot through the air as they hurtled past the hangar. However, that was about as far as they got before the redhead's surge faded away. They crested their ascent and floated for just a moment before returning to their freefall.

Haddy reached around and wrapped an arm under Robyn's shoulders as he extended his hand towards the creamsicle clouds above. A thick, steel line whipped around and latched around his wrist. He only had a moment to grab the base of the wire before it ripped his arm out of its socket, but he managed. Both he and Robyn jerked as the line pulled taut. The airship burst into the sky, escaping Ataxia Arena as Haddy and Robyn were whipped around by the sheer winds.

Slowly, Cadie pulled them in, straining as she reeled in the line. As the pair came close enough, Ryder reached out and grabbed onto them, desperately pulling them into the chassis and into his lap.

The team was suddenly engulfed in a group hug that none of them seemed to initiate, but no one didn't seem to mind. As they sat there, they were jolted as the sobbing, blue-haired student threw herself into Haddy's back.

With a shaky smile, he reached around and ruffled her hair, confidently saying, "See...? Told you I'd... make it back in one piece..."

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Twelve: “Brave Face”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Minor Violence, Excessive Violence Mentioned, Drugged, Death Mentioned, Themes of Self-Blame, Prominent Themes of Depression, Prominent Themes of Grief/Grieving, Prominent Themes of PTSD) Summary: (3,905 words) “It’s time for the Vytal Festival Dance! You know what that means... Teenage Drama! Haddy finds out that he has a fan, Qrow and Summer try to kick him out of the Singles Club, Robyn and Ryder managed to start a dance-off, and it seems like Monroe’s actually have a decent time! How ever will things go wrong??”

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The dance certainly wasn't what he expected. Somehow, on top of their school work, mystery missions from Ozpin-- that Qrow had accidentally spilled the beans on after Haddy found out about his criminal past-- and extracurriculars, Team STRQ managed to plan the entire event. Summer had designed everything around a gothic masquerade with Raven's help. Tai had wanted a smoke machine, so the girls managed to work it in for ambiance.

Haddy was amazed by the beautiful decorations as he walked into the room. Candelabras flickered with dim light on various, black-clothed tables that were set with finger foods and drinks. The walls were lined with black, red, and gold curtains that draped down from the ceiling where a beautiful, candle chandelier hung. Balloons of the same colors bopped around in the mist near the floor as the dance music thumped. There was a black, velvet carpet leading from the door up to a podium where Qrow stood, greeting guests with his onyx, victorian coat and feathered bird mask.

As he approached, the masked host widened his arms and said, "Haddy! Cutting it a little close, aren't you?"

The husky laughed as he stood in front of the podium, "I had to finish my mask."

He wasn't wearing anything too flashy. When he left Mantle, he'd managed to bring some of his clothes, including a dark one-piece suit and bowtie that he wore on special occasions. With the base of his costume down, he crafted a simple, black, Venetian mask with silver, wing-tipped eyes and trim. He spent some extra lien to get a thick, gray ribbon that slightly shimmered for the tie.

Qrow whistled lowly as Haddy did a little spin. The victorian host smiled, "Looks sweet, man!" He paused before he added, "You're the last person to arrive, which means that I can finally get away from this podium!"

As the crow-haired teen stepped out from behind his post, he extended an arm for his best friend to loop his hand into so they could walk together. Haddy laughed as he rested his palm into the crook of Qrow's elbow, and the pair entered the fray of the party.

The center of the room had been cleared for space to dance in the ambiently lit, ankle-deep fog. Dozens of students from all four kingdoms conversed and partied in a sea of suits, dresses, and masks. It was hard to get a read on anyone, but the overall atmosphere was jovial and fun.

The pair took up spots near one of the juice bars. The regal dance music changed to an upbeat pop as Haddy withdrew his hand and poured two drinks for himself and Qrow. When he turned back to return to his dark-haired friend, he was instead met with the small figure of a girl. She was looking up at him, amazed.

Her cerulean hair was styled into a pixie cut. A pair of floppy, dog ears sprouted from her glittery, crown-like mask as she stared up at him with those baby blues. Her dress was a dark shade of that same blue and was strapless. The skirt portion was cut short and frilled out with a sparkling, transparent fabric over top of a gradienting layer, and it was held up with a thin, silver belt that was tied into a looping bow. She had to be a first-year, given her tiny stature.

Haddy took a half-step back, after almost knocking into the younger girl when he turned around. Embarrassed, he chuckled, "Whoops! Sorry! I didn't see you there."

When she didn't do anything but awe at him, he felt a bead of sweat forming on his temple. He awkwardly continued, "Uh... Sorry, again... I'm--"

"Hadrian Snow..." she cut in, almost breathlessly.

He took another half-step back as his tail brushed up to the drink table. He drew out, "Riiiiight... and you are...?"

She replied with starstruck eyes, "Blue, sir... Bella Blue..."

"Sir?" He asked with a raised brow beneath his mask.

When she didn't respond, he slowly nodded as he side-stepped around the table, saying, "Well. It was nice meeting you, Blue..."

Haddy backed up a few paces with the drinks in his hand. Once he was a couple steps away, he nodded to the strange girl before turning on his heel and hurrying back to Qrow. Summer had joined him with a punch of her own and a simple white dress with a red underside, much like her cloak. The pair of dark-haired teens joked as the husky joined them, looking over his shoulder to see the faunus girl in blue gone.

"What took you so long?" Qrow asked with a smile, taking one of the drinks.

The husky rubbed the back of his head, still looking for the girl, as he replied, "There was just this... weird girl. I dunno..."

The crow-haired host raised a brow beneath his feathers and remarked, "Ooh? You looking for a date?"

Haddy deadpanned over to him, causing both him and Summer to laugh. He rolled his eyes as he replied, "Oh ha ha..." he paused, giving the room one last once over before he continued, "You know I couldn't get a date, even if I tried."

Qrow threw his arms over both Summer's and Hadrian's shoulders, almost spilling his drink as he laughed, "Single Solidarity!"

The trio chuckled as the host pulled back and extended his cup out in front of him. Both Summer and Haddy clinked their glasses to his as they celebrated their datelessness. As the night went on, they stuck together, watching the other students dance while they joked around about the absurdities of the entire dance.

There was some shouting, which drew the husky's attention. He easily spotted the hulking figure of Ryder in his deep yellow blazer with dark brown patches on the elbows. He was wearing a jester's mask as he danced like an idiot. Beside him, Haddy caught a glimpse of red, guessing it was Robyn, with her own mask adorned with flowers. The pair had a small circle cheering them on as their laughter danced through the air. He was pretty sure he saw Professor Cray's signature pink locks shouting from the sidelines. Somehow, they'd started a dance-off. The R's laughed at one another, and he was happy that they'd come together.

But that was when Haddy's wandering eyes found themselves on a break in the crowd. His heart skipped a beat as he found himself staring at the back of a girl across the room. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun wrapped up with a braid. Her teal dress was backless, her chest covered up with a high neckline that wrapped around her throat. The skirt of her dress was rippled, cut shorter in the front to show off the pale water texture dancing on the underside of the fabric. In her hand, she held a stick that was connected to a light blue, lace Venetian mask with white rhinestones over the lashes.

As she turned, continuing with her conversation with some random student, the mask lowered, revealing her beautiful brown eyes; so full of joy with a childlike twinkle. The lines of her cheeks turned into the first genuine smile since they'd met... slightly cocked and showing off her dimples... The smell of fresh rain filled his nose...

Monroe...

He jumped when Qrow waved his hand in front of his face, saying, "Remnant to Haddy? Do you read?"

"What?" he exclaimed, hoping that his cheeks just felt hot or that his blush was-- at the very least-- hidden beneath his mask.

Unfortunately, he didn't notice his rapidly wagging tail. Qrow smirked, elbowing him as he goaded, "See something you like?"

Now he knew he was blushing. He reached back and held his tail straight. Qrow and Summer laughed as he tried to form words and couldn't.

Their female companion, all-knowing as ever, smiled, "Y'know, Cadie doesn't have a drink."

"Cade, huh?" Qrow smirked, poking his best friend's ribs.

The husky batted his hands away as the bright blush spread beneath his mask. He scoffed, "She just looks pretty tonight, okay. I've never seen her in anything other than pajamas, her uniform, or her pirate costume!"

Summer smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder as she asked, "It's okay, Haddy."

"You sure that's the only reason?" Qrow smirked.

Haddy pouted at the pair before he sighed, "She just looks so..." he paused, finding the right word as he turned to look at Monroe again, "... happy."

She was wearing similar makeup to her normal attire, with a lighter turquoise lipstick and pearlescent pink blush. The bangs of her hair were pulled to the side and curled to reveal all her features. A beautiful silver necklace with a matching compass rose rested against the front of her chest. She wore dangling earrings of varying lengths of silver chains. He could see Leo's emblem peeking out from inside her ears. She was wearing his comms to keep out the distractions of the party.

When she smiled and laughed again, he felt his heart jump to his throat. He silently wished that he had been the one making the jokes she enjoyed so much. His face suddenly felt like it was on fire as he looked away and forced his drink up to his lips as a distraction. As he turned his gaze away to turn to Qrow and Summer, he found them staring at him with slack jaws and eyes as big as saucers.

"Oh my Gods..." his best friend managed to push out, "You got it bad."

As if his face wasn't red enough already.

Quickly Summer turned around and poured another cup of punch before she pushed it into Hadrian's empty hand. As he was realizing what she was doing, Summer had already turned him around and pushed him out onto the dance floor towards Monroe. He whipped his head around to see both her and Qrow giving him the biggest shit-eating grins and silent encouragement.

He silently cursed them as he turned back towards the blonde. With a confidence-boosting deep breath, he willed his legs to walk forward. There were ten-thousand things rushing through his head, none of them coherent. He was about halfway to her when the music died down and the sound of a mic turning on gathered the attention of the dancing students.

Everyone's eyes turned up to the raised portion of the stage where Headmaster Ozpin was standing in a dim spotlight. He spoke, "Welcome, students from all kingdoms. Today we stand together... united...

"... Mistral... Atlas... Vacuo... Vale..." he continued, "Together we are stronger than any force that would try to force our defeat. This year's Vytal festival, however, will be a few students less than years past. We would like to dedicate this moment to honor those who gave their lives for others..."

A screen behind the professor softly illuminated, displaying the picture of a smiling face on it. Staring down at him was Peri Vasilikós. He was wearing his Beacon uniform and a pearly, white smile on his face. His royal purple hair was waved and pushed back to reveal his silvered eyes, shining with hope and passion.

The pictures of the late leader from Prosciutto's hideaway suddenly came rushing back to him. The one with just him and Monroe most prevalent, their cheeks brushing against one another. What did he think he was doing? Clearly the two were close, and here he was trying to take that away from her. He mentally slapped himself in the face as he pushed down his own heartbreak, surprised that the spur-of-the-moment decision had affected him so much.

"Pericles Vasilikós," Professor Ozpin said in his calm monotone, "Known as Peri to his friends. He is survived by his teammates; Cascade Monroe, Robyn Wyndham, and Ryder Flaxen."

For a brief moment, Haddy thought that would be it. That he wouldn't have to put on a brave facade and face truths that he had been lying to himself about for months. He had already turned his head to start his walk back to Qrow and Summer when he heard Ozpin's voice again.

"Ollie Ombre."

Hadrian felt his blood run cold. He froze, his joints locked and stiff. A cold sweat started rolling over his body as he let out a shaky breath. Against his better judgment, he turned his eyes back to the screen. The drinks hit the floor before he even had time to register that he'd loosened his grip.

A farm girl stared back at him and the smell of fresh hay filled his memory.

She had hair as red as Robyn's that gradually tapered into a pink and was secured in two, braided pigtails that rested on her shoulders and chest. Her nose was upturned at the end and covered in freckles. One of her collie ears was flopped over while the other stood at attention. Her cerulean eyes bore into him.

In a flash, Haddy saw her. She had just barely managed to push Bēju out of the way. She was laying face down in the crimson snow. The stench of blood tore at his nostrils. Her overalls and plaid shirt were torn with thick claw marks, leaving her skin and spine broken into pieces. Her chest heaved out one last, broken exhale before stilling. The rope of her pitchfork weapon was frayed and torn, just like her body; one half still in her grasp.

Ozpin's voice brought him back to the present.

"Tadashi Bēju."

Beside her-- as always-- the tanned skin of Bēju was stark against his platinum blond hair, shaved on the sides and short on top where it was swept back. The distinct mix of shoe polish and earthy smells mixing resurfaced in Hadrian's mind. He didn't smile often, and school picture day was no exception. His dark eyes were narrowed on the crowd as an air of seriousness waved off him. Those black eyes were digging into him.

He was standing over her, one arm already broken, and bleeding from a large gash in his head. He had tears streaming down his cheeks as a scream of rage tore through the howling wind. Suddenly, two of the grimm were on top of him, clawing into his chest. He stabbed into them with his one good katar, but it was futile. His dark eyes glazed slowly as he suffered, neck lolling to the side lifelessly.

He felt like everyone was staring at him, judging him. His chest heaved and cracked as tears threatened to run down his face. Thousands of guilty thoughts he'd done so well to hide beneath lies that he'd begun to believe himself screamed at him so loud he almost didn't hear.

"Leon Onyx."

Leo had always looked so happy. That happiness that he'd craved from Monroe bit at him as his brother's blue eyes stared down at him. He was smiling to hide how just how anxious he was. His hair was shorter than Haddy's and pushed back on his head, secured with a clip. His canine ears were laying flat on his head, a nod to his nervousness about attending the elite school. He had always smelled so happy, like freshly baked caramel on a cold day.

That was when he heard Leo's scream. He'd watched his two best friends die in front of him. Out of desperation, he drew Sled into its picks and charged the Alpha. He jumped at it, angry tears streaking through the hail and wind. It caught him by his face, muffling his screams as it drew its maw to his throat and shook him like a ragdoll... until he was still and silent. When it dropped him as if he were nothing, Haddy couldn't tear his teary eyes away from the horribly bent angle of his brother's bloody and open neck.

"They are survived by their leader, and brother; Hadrian Snow."

He was pushing through the crowd before his mind had any more time to register the Memoriam. He threw students and teachers alike to the side. He didn't care. He had to escape their eyes. There were shouts for him to stop, but he refused. He threw open the doors to the dance and jumped into the chilly night air. He didn't stop, activating his semblance and doing the one thing he was good at; leaving everyone behind.

Hot tears rolled down his face, catching on the brim of his mask before flowing over. He couldn't stop himself as his legs propelled him into the starless night. He hiccuped and sobbed, unable to catch his breath until he came to a skidding halt at the edge of the Academy. He looked over into the somber, moonlit city of Vale.

Before he could stop himself, his knees gave out. He was sitting on his butt, hugging his legs as he just sobbed. He was alone. No matter how hard he tried to stop himself, he couldn't silence his howling cries. The faces of his team glared down at him from the stars, tear-stained and bloody. He wanted nothing more than to give his life for theirs. He wasn't like Peri, he didn't die for his team; they died for him.

"Hadrian?"

For just a moment, he thought they had called down to him. But as he whimpered at the sound of the soft voice behind him, he squeezed his eyes shut and buried his snotty face into his arms.

After a moment, Monroe gently put a hand on his slumped shoulder. She sat down beside him, hanging her legs off the edge of the floating school courtyard. He refused to look up as Robyn rubbed soft circles into his back with her thumb, sitting down on his other side. Even Ryder was gentle with him as a calloused hand came to lightly rest in Hadrian's black hair, tenderly smoothing it.

"If I'm being honest..." the blonde said after a moment, examining the mask in her hand, "I'm... sad. Depressed, really, I think is the better word... I miss Peri more than anything in the world, and I'm scared that I can't be the leader he was. He was everything to me, and I can't even imagine living without him, so now that he's gone... I just don't know what to do with myself..." Gently, she let the mask slip from her grasp, letting it fall away to the streets below.

Haddy sniffled, wiping his eyes on his sleeve as he looked up into her chocolate eyes. She was crying. Her beautiful make-up ran down her cheeks in dyed rivers as she somberly smiled, looking out into the night.

Robyn was next as she loosened her mask, pulling it from her face as she chuckled, "I hide my sadness behind witty one-liners and jokes, because if he were still here, I know he'd be trying to make me feel better by doing the same. He was a great guy like that. Even though he was the one who got killed, he'd be trying to make us feel better..." She clutched her mask tightly before tossing it as far as she could.

"I'm angry," Ryder said solemnly, taking off his own mask, "We all 're hidin' our feelin's b'cause we don' wanna drag tha oth'rs down. I'm angry, 'cause 'e died f'r no reason... 'e died 'cause some bitch want'd 'im to." He sighed, letting the mask fall towards Vale.

They didn't look at him with expectations or prying eyes. Together, they all sat, watching the broken moon rise over the dark sky. Monroe and Haddy continued to quietly cry deep into the night. After a while, he finally wept himself into exhaustion and his tears dried on his cheeks.

As midnight came and went, he tugged the silver ribbon of his mask loose and held it in his hands. He whispered, his voice too hoarse from sobbing to be any louder, "I'm... guilty...

"I tried so hard to be the best I could for them, but it didn't matter. When we came to face a real challenge, I faltered... and they paid the price... even my mom won't talk to me. Leo and I wouldn't have been there if I hadn't pushed so hard for us to become Huntsmen... just to be like a man who abandoned us.

"I wish I could take it all back... I wish I never lied to you guys or myself... I wish I never took that stupid mission... I wish I never pushed them to go the extra two miles... but, they wouldn't want me to say that... we saved so many lives with that cure. I'd like to think they'd be proud of me for carrying on and trying to get my License... but, what do I know..."

Robyn leaned her head over on his shoulder as he finished. She sadly smiled, "Haddy... we knew the whole time."

"You did?" He asked, too exhausted to be bewildered, looking down at her.

She nodded, "Ozpin told us everything, just like he told you about what happened with Peri. We wanted you to be ready before you told us, so we didn't bring it up."

Hadrian wiped his cheeks with his suit sleeve, which was absolutely drenched with tears. After a minute, he sighed, "I feel like I cheated you guys out of the dance..."

"Eh..." the blonde shrugged, "I wasn't having that great of a time anyway."

He knew she was lying, and he thought she knew that he did as well. Haddy smiled and leaned his shoulder into hers, and surprisingly enough, she leaned back. He looked down at the mask he'd so painstakingly crafted for himself, before he tossed it over the edge of the abyss. A gentle breeze took the silver ribbon and guided it out of sight.

They stayed there for a few more moments before Ryder took off his blazer and wrapped it around Robyn, who was shivering in the autumnal air. She smiled up at him through chittering teeth. The blonde chuckled as Haddy nudged the redhead with his knee. Monroe was also shaking, so Haddy pulled off his jacket and extended it out to her. Cade smiled when she took it.

"C'mon," the husky said, motioning for his friends to get up with him, "Let's go back inside."

Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was the noise dampeners Hadrian had given her, maybe it was the sense of peace she had on campus, but Monroe didn't hear the cocking of the gun until it was too late. Her eyes widened as she turned in slow motion, arm half in the husky's jacket as she raised it to block him. He was already standing and turned towards the sound.

The hairs on the back of his tail were raised as a low growl echoed in his chest. He didn't like people pointing guns at him or his friends. In the short instant he had, he charged his aura, readying for a fight as he knelt in front of Robyn and Ryder as a shield. He knew Monroe would sense the danger.

There was an explosion of gunpowder and then there was a dart sticking out of his bicep. He looked down in disbelief. It should have bounced right off his aura, but it sunk deep into his arm. Before he could figure out what happened, the serum plunged into his veins and he felt light. His mind spun around as his knees fell out from beneath him.

Suddenly he was falling as the world around him darkened. He watched as his friends moved further down his vision as he tumbled over the edge of the school and hurtled towards the city of Vale. The only thing left was the smell of Monroe's makeup lingering in his nose and her echoing screams for him.

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Eleven: “Pedigree and Proposal”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Minor Violence, Subtle Themes, Themes of Minor Internalized Acephobia, Prominent Themes, Themes of Racism) Summary: (4,390 words) “As teams from other schools start to arrive, Hadrian becomes unusually distant. With Ryder dealing with conflicting feelings, Robyn unintentionally making things worse, and Monroe trying to keep the peace... there’s only one person who can help the former Atlesian now. But can he get to Haddy before it’s too late?”

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It was well past midnight. With his team already knee-deep in trouble with Headmaster Ozpin, he really shouldn't be sneaking around... but this had been his only shot at being alone for a few hours so he could finish his project. After weeks of studying and re-wording, he'd finally completed it... now all he needed to do was present it... which was much easier said than done.

As he crept down the hall towards his dorm, he could hear the faintest of conversations through the door. He had hoped that they would be asleep, not waiting up on him. As he reached the door, he hesitated and listened.

"I dunno, Rob," that was Haddy's voice, "I'm not really one for fancy pants dances."

There was a long groan from the redhead as she replied, "C'mon, I'm sure you went to, like, a thousand Atlas shindigs while you were up there! It's not rocket science! I just need help picking out a dress!"

His heart skipped a beat as he continued to wait. Haddy sighed, "They both look the same to me. 'Roe! Help me out here..."

"Oh nuh-uh," Robyn sassed, "I asked you."

He could hear the smirk in Cadie's voice as she replied, "Robyn doesn't like my style. She says it's 'retro'."

Haddy chuckled as the blonde pirate snickered. He heard fabric fall against fabric as Robyn whined, "C'mon... this is serious! This is our last Vytal festival! They're only held every two years, and we're graduating next year! This one has to be special! Romantic and steamy! I want someone to see me and think: 'Damn, she's hot!' and then sweep me off my feet!"

His heart sank. The hand-written proposal in his hand felt like it was burning a hole through his skin. He didn't hear the rest of the conversation as he swallowed hard. He stuffed the note deep into his pocket along with his hand. Subconsciously, he fiddled with one of the blond ends of his dreads, before he sighed and pushed the door open.

Robyn was standing at the end of her bed with two dresses in her hands. Haddy was sitting on the floor with his back up against Peri's bed across from her, one knee bent up so his elbow could rest on it. Cadie was in her bed, flicking through her scroll absently until he walked in. Ryder forced a soft smile as he walked towards his bed.

Before he got too far, Robyn had already jumped up with her big, goofy grin as she hustled over to him. She was showing off both dresses as she asked, "R! Perfect timing! Which one of these screams, 'Badass Huntress waiting to be swooned'?"

The armored faunus swallowed hard, but-- against his better judgment-- looked over the dresses.

The first one, held in her right hand, was a full-length gown. Its crimson red torso was adorned with an intricate embroidered pattern, held up on the hanger with clear spaghetti straps. The skirt portion reached the ground and had two layers; the underside was made of opaque, red satin with a top layer made of translucent, glittery fabric that shimmered.

The second was a burgundy dress with an asymmetrical skirt that was longer in the back. It gave off the illusion that she had a long, mermaid's tail. The torso was cut the same way as the other, although its sleeves were thicker and rested on her upper arms instead of shoulders. Its embroidered pattern was different and laced with white instead of red.

Ryder looked back and forth between the dresses before he hesitantly replied, "I, uh, think tha one on y'ur r'ght looks good?"

The redhead examined the dress scrupulously, and after a long moment, she shrugged and merrily exclaimed, "That's the one I was thinking too!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, turning to go back towards his bed. However, before he got more than an inch, Robyn had flung the dresses over her arm as she caught him with her other. Ryder looked down at her with another wave of nervousness.

She smirked up at him as she asked, "So... Who are you going to ask to the dance?"

His head immediately whipped up to Cadie. Robyn's back was to her, so she was making a desperate attempt to urge him on while still trying to get the message across that it wasn't her who spilled the beans. His eyes turned to Haddy, who just shrugged, agreeing with their blonde leader.

Ryder felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his face as he cautiously lied, "No one..."

He watched as both Cade and Hadrian silently facepalmed. Robyn pulled him down slightly as she replied sassily, "Oh no. You're not pulling that on me. You're my best friend, so I know you haven't been sneaking off to do some midnight reading..." she paused just long enough for Ryder's face to begin to feel hot, "C'mon, I wanna see what you've been working on!"

He looked back at Cadie and Haddy again. They had joined forces, standing beside one another and giving him silent cheers and pushes. With one last deep breath, he hesitantly pulled out the proposal he'd written out on a beautiful, pale red letter.

With glee, Robyn took the note and flipped it open to read it aloud, "Aw, Ryder this is beautiful. 'A little birdie told me that you didn't have a date to the dance. That's unacceptable, so I was hoping you'd go out on a limb and jump from the nest with me?'. Oh, the little feather drawing is perfect!"

Ryder felt his face burning as his dark skin bloomed with blush. He was standing rigidly, arms at his sides as he passed a glance behind Robyn again. Both of his teammates were giving him praise and thumbs pointed high. Haddy was making a whistle motion with his fingers in his mouth, but, thankfully, he wasn't making any sound. His face felt like it was on fire.

The redhead reread the note in her head once or twice, before she cocked her head and said, "It doesn't say who you wanted to ask though..."

He swallowed hard as the cogs turned in her head, "Wait... 'little birdie'... 'jump from the nest'... a feather..."

Tension rose for a brief moment, the air so thick it could be served on a platter, before Robyn's eyes lit up and met Ryder's. He felt his heart pounce as the biggest smile crossed her face and she shouted, "You're gonna ask Raven!"

He swore he heard something shatter, possibly inside him. Haddy groaned, dragging his hands down his face as he turned and banged his forehead on the wall a few times. Beside him, Cade burst out into a peal of cackling laughter, grabbing her side as she nearly doubled over.

In an instant, Robyn had whipped around and snapped, "Cadie! He can ask whoever he wants to the dance! Stop laughing at him!"

The pirate wiped a tear from her eye as she giggled, "Robyn! I'm not laughing at him! He's trying to ask--"

"RAVEN!" Ryder shouted, interrupting her. When all eyes turned to him, he clarified, "Yeah... I w's gonna ask... Rav'n."

Robyn turned back to Monroe with a triumphant smirk, completely missing the almost unreadable look of tender sympathy directed at the faunus. As she turned away, Ryder took a deep breath, letting his mask go for just a moment too long, allowing Hadrian and Cascade to see the grief in his eyes. They exchanged a glance before Haddy stepped forward, a hand outstretched as if he was about to say something.

Before he could, Ryder regained his composure and put a hand on Robyn's shoulder with a smile, "Don't'chu all wanna g't one last run 'n tha morning, 'fore ev'ryone shows up?"

The husky's hand lowered slowly as he sighed, but he tried to smile as he replied, "Yep. Everyone up at oh-six-hundred... three miles..."

Ryder smiled back as he turned to grab his pajamas and replied, "Bett'r sleep th'n... G'night."

He had already ducked into the bathroom to change before anyone could object. The redhead went back to her preening like nothing had even happened, putting her chosen dress out on her plushie stuffed bed as the other was tossed to the side. Monroe and Hadrian shared one last, uneasy look before also getting ready for bed.

In the morning, the husky rounded the final bend of the sidewalk as he came to a jogging halt at the end of the pathway encircling the academy and framing the courtyard. He continued to run in place as he waited for the rest of the team to catch up. After a moment, they also came around the edge of the building and eventually made it to the finish line, almost collapsing as Haddy smiled and clicked the timer on his scroll. Deciding against snapping a picture, but only barely.

He looked down, and joked, "C'mon guys, only fourteen minutes twenty-four seconds? We could do better than that."

Monroe flipped him the bird as she leaned over with her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath. Ryder had sweat pouring down his face and sides as he slowly walked in a circle with his hands intertwined behind his head to try to cool off. Robyn completely gave up the facade of trying to appear unwinded as she fell firmly on her butt and panted mercilessly.

After a moment of air, Monroe breathed out, "Fuck off... Snow..."

He laughed as Robyn fanned her face and slowly remarked, "I can't believe... you're not even... slightly... out of breath... What... are you made of!?"

It was nearing seven in the morning. The beautiful, pink sun had risen over the horizon during their workout and hid behind clouds that were painted in the same orange hues as the trees. The crisp air smelled like it had been dusted with dew. Other students from Beacon had begun to congregate in the main courtyard, eagerly awaiting the airbuses that carried teams from the other schools. Some to greet new friends and others to scope out the competition. Even STRQ was sitting under one of the autumnal trees dotted around the court.

He watched for a moment with a smile as Qrow danced through some elaborate story and the others laughed. However, he turned his attention back to his teammates as he reached down and gathered up three waters that he had left in the shade earlier. They were still crisp and cold, condensation rolling down their sides. As he handed out the bottles, the roar of an airbus broke through the witty banter and conversations.

Everyone turned to look as a few of the planes touched down on the landing pads. Haddy could feel everyone getting excited.

Robyn, now re-energized, jumped up and stated, "Alright! Who's first this year? Place your bets people!"

The blonde, still worn out, mumbled, "Mistral..."

"Aw, you're no fun," Robyn pouted, given that everyone knew Monroe had already scoped out the transport before it had even landed.

The faunus boys chuckled as students in Haven Academy uniforms began to file out of the airbuses, stretching and taking in the view of Beacon. As they became more comfortable, students from both schools began to approach and greet one another. SCWR watched from the corner of the final pillar on the open wall, happily enjoying the morning as they relaxed after their workout.

However, the jovial nature didn't last as Hadrian watched an Atlesian airship descend towards the landing pads. He heard Robyn joking around beside him, pointing out that Raven was close by and that Ryder had every opportunity to go talk to her, but he wasn't paying any attention... his eyes scanned the ship as he felt his heart beat in his chest. The doors slowly opened, almost misting with morning fog, revealing the dimly lit interior. He could almost smell the snow and dust.

As he watched the first leg of a student step out, he ripped his head away. He grumbled under his breath as he started making his way back towards the locker rooms. He didn't get too far before Monroe caught his arm and looked at him with a raised brow.

He assuredly smiled as he threw a thumb over his shoulder towards the school, "I'm gonna go hit the showers before people start filing in to register their temporary lockers."

"Aw, you going modest on us, Haddy?" Robyn quipped, taking a break from pestering Ryder to pester him.

The husky pulled his arm free and half-mumbled back, "Yeah, I guess... See you guys later."

He pretended that he didn't see the confused and concerned looks in the girls' eyes before he haphazardly waved behind him and made his way back to the school.

An hour later, he was showered and dressed in the locker room. He knew he shouldn't have left the girls and Ryder to deal with visiting students on their own, but... he had a lot on his mind. As he was pulling Sleigh out of his assigned locker he felt a chill run up his spine. Cigarette smoke stung his nostrils.

He shuddered when he heard the long, drawn-out, "Well, if it isn't Haddy Snow."

He really didn't want to do this right now. With a deep breath, Hadrian continued to rummage around in his locker as he slowly replied, "Vince..."

"Aw, you remember me..." he drew out again, leaning onto the locker next to Haddy's, "Thought you might have forgotten all your friends back in Atlas when you downgraded."

Vince Delgatto was a spoiled rich kid who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and money in his diaper. Heir to one of Atlas's lead fashion developers, practically drowning in lien since he could walk. Ever since Hadrian met him, the guy has had it out for the husky and his team. He didn't think a faunus could do the job of a human without messing up somehow, and he made sure everyone knew it. Little to say, he wasn't a big fan of Team Solitude.

Haddy took another slow breath before he clipped his picks to his belt and closed the locker door, doing his best to ignore the skunk-haired bully as he turned to walk past. Unfortunately, Vince had brought his goons; Rouge and Kaleb. They were blocking his way out of the now cramped aisle of lockers. This wasn't going to end well.

"Look," Hadrian said, turning his head back to Vince, "I'm not gonna cause you guys any trouble. So let me pass."

The domino-haired Atlesian mocked surprise as he took a few steps towards the husky. He had always towered over Hadrian. He sneered, "Hear that, boys? Little Haddy Snow isn't so high and mighty without his team backing him up. What happened? Now that Ollie isn't around, you don't have anyone to do your bidding?"

He bit back an insult as a low growl started in his gut. Haddy refused to stoop to his level, or maybe that was Leo's logic screaming to get his attention in the back of his mind. Without another word, he turned his head and marched straight past Vince's cronies. He did his best to shove them as hard as he could while he pushed through, slamming them both into the rows of lockers they'd tried to block off. He could hear Vince cackling as he continued his long walk to the other end of the locker room. Just when he thought it was over, Haddy heard footsteps following him.

"You can't hide behind Bēju anymore, Snow!" The Atlesian called, "No big, strong men to protect you!"

He was almost there. As his hand ghosted the knob, he heard one final holler, "Can't believe anyone as soft as Leo even made it into Atlas Academy. But with you as a brother? I can see why he was such a loser... Hads."

Hadrian froze. That low growl turned into a snarl in an instant. Without even realizing it, he'd pulled Sleigh, shifting it into its rifle form automatically, and aimed it high at Vince's stupid hair. His eyes trained on the bully as they contracted into pin pricks. His finger was pulling back when someone grabbed his arms and threw them down. He hadn't realized that his blood was pounding in his ears until he turned and saw Qrow talking, but no words could be heard over the thumping.

The gothic teen grabbed him by his jacket sleeves and pulled him through the door towards the dorms. Only once they'd gotten two hallways away, did the red in Hadrian's vision start to fade. Qrow yanked him along until he had the sense to pull himself free and walk alongside his closest friend.

The crow-haired teen looked him up and down twice before he stated, "Dude. What the Hell?"

Comfortable with the distance they'd made from the locker room, Haddy paused and leaned up against the wall with his hands in the small of his back. At some point, Sleigh had been taken from him and flung over his best friend's shoulder. Qrow stopped with him, crossing his arms as he leaned his weight on one leg. After a minute to compose himself, Hadrian drew out a long, irritated sigh.

"He's just an uppity, Atlas dick, Q," he grumbled.

Qrow pouted and said, "That you were going to shoot."

He mumbled something along the lines of deserving it before his friend sighed and asked, "Haddy, what's wrong?"

The husky shook his head and tried to explain, "He's just an ass. They all are. Everyone at Atlas Academy. Well, maybe there were a couple good ones, but not a lot, and they never actually stood up for us. I never cared when it was just me; but, he always brings everyone else into it! Leo, Ollie, Tadashi... I was supposed to make a difference there, y'know. Show racism who's boss and serve my fellow faunus. Instead, I ran here... they only see me as proof that my kind... that I was never cut out for this job..."

Qrow listened. No quips, no jokes. He was silent as Haddy continued to vent for just over half an hour. By the end of it, the husky wasn't sure how he'd held it together and kept the waterworks from flowing. When he was done, his best friend leaned over and gave him a tight hug. Haddy was almost taken aback by it; but after a moment, he reached around and clutched onto Qrow's back, burying his face into the crook of his friend's shoulder. He always smelled faintly of cinnamon and gunpowder.

After a moment, the gothic teen softly spoke, "I'm sorry, man. I really am. I can't imagine how hard everything has been..." he paused before smiling, "But, you're one of the greatest students at this Academy... and you're gonna prove it in the tournament and during your first official mission as Team Security. Who cares what some jackass from Atlas thinks? I think you're pretty damn amazing, and so does everyone else here. I don't think anyone could bounce back from what you have."

He might not believe it all himself, but he was glad someone did.

Haddy sniffled before he squeezed Qrow a little harder and pulled back from the reassuring embrace. He wiped his wetted eyes with his sleeve.

The husky was just about to thank his thoughtful friend when they heard a chuckle behind them, "Well, I would have to agree with Mr. Branwen..."

Both boys jumped as they whipped around, nearly knocking into one another, to see their young Headmaster standing there. He had his cane in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Professor Ozpin!" Qrow managed to choke out as he scrambled to get suited more casually, "What are you doing here?"

The silver-haired professor took a long sip of his coffee, letting the boys calm before he replied, "I'd heard there was an altercation in the locker room involving one of my students and one of our guests from Atlas and came to investigate..."

Haddy swallowed hard before the Headmaster followed with, "I trust the issue has been resolved?"

When the husky didn't initially say anything, Qrow nodded and replied, "Yes sir. Just a weapon's malfunction. Everything is just peachy!"

Ozpin turned to the dark-haired faunus for confirmation, which he hastily gave with a rigorous nod. He examined the pair critically for a moment longer before he faintly smiled.

"Very well then..." the professor said, turning to head back down the hall from which he came.

The boys momentarily breathed a sigh of relief before the Headmaster turned his head back to them and called, "Oh, and Mr. Snow..."

Haddy had already jumped back into a rigid attention as he replied, "Y-Yes sir?"

"Your team has suffered quite enough punishment..." Ozpin smiled, "You can resume your normal extracurriculars down in Vale if you so choose. Enjoy the Festival."

With that final message, the silver-haired mystery known as Professor Ozpin turned and walked around the corner, out of the dorm hall, leaving only the lingering smell of coffee behind. Hadrian let his shoulder slump as Qrow chuckled. The gothic teen lightly punched his arm as he smiled. At least one good thing came out of today.

As the pair started walking back towards their dorms, and his rifle was finally returned to him, Qrow said, "Hey, if you guys are free after the dance, there's this party that's going on downtown for students. Gene said that they'd be partying until dawn."

"Eh..." the husky replied, sticking his hands in his pockets, "We've got our mission that morning. But, I'll see what the R's and 'Roe think though."

As the pair continued to banter, they took the last turn towards their dorm and were met with the hulking figure of Ryder with his arms outstretched against either side of Team STRQ's door. Robyn was pushing against his back, trying to force him through the closed door as they argued. The pair cocked their heads to the side in unison as they watched on.

Finally, Qrow asked, "So... what's going on with them?"

Haddy sighed as he motioned for the gothic teen to follow him, "Man, you don't wanna know..."

Just when they'd just gotten close enough to hear, Robyn had finally gotten enough attention that Tai had opened the door. In an instant, the redhead jumped up so that her body was horizontal to the floor and summoned up a whirlwind powerful enough to break Ryder's hold on the wall. As they were flung into the room, Haddy heard both Tai and Ryder yell as Robyn cackled.

The dark-haired duo quickly ran up to see the scaled faunus sprawled out on top of Tai. Robyn's skirt fluttered as she gently came to a floating drop. Raven and Summer were doing their nails on one of the girls' beds, just staring in disbelief. As everyone gathered the bearings, Haddy facepalmed.

Ryder quickly jumped up, dusting himself off before he picked up the blond by his biceps and did the same. Poor Taiyang was disheveled as he gave a shaky thumbs up. The Stark girls looked from Haddy and Qrow to Robyn to Ryder and Tai.

"Are you guys done?" The raven-haired teen asked as she pulled her painted nails back from Summer.

The armadillo shot Robyn a dirty glare as she smiled on and said, "Well, Ryder just had a question."

"No," he sharply said, "I didn't."

With a pout, Robyn turned to Raven and asked, "Hey, do you have a date to the dance?"

"Robyn!" He snapped.

Before the pair could start to argue again, Raven simply answered, "Yes."

"You do??" Everyone shouted at once, whipping around to the raven-haired girl.

Offended, she stated, "Of course I do! I asked Taiyang to go with me, and he accepted."

Everyone looked to Tai, whose face was a fiery red. With everyone's eyes on the martial artist, Haddy spared a glance towards Summer. He felt bad for her, knowing just how much she'd been hoping to get the blond's invitation. She sheepishly turned away. If things kept up, both she and Ryder would be out of dates to the dance.

Internally, Ryder breathed a sigh of relief until Robyn started up again, "What if someone else asked you?"

"I'd decline," Raven answered, a little annoyed.

"What if--" the redhead started, but was cut off when Ryder nearly shouted.

"Seri'sly, R! Cut 't out!"

Everyone went quiet... because when Ryder Flaxen speaks up, it's important. Haddy could tell that he was ready to run from the room and forget the whole thing, but Ryder stayed. He took a calming breath and sighed.

"Th's 's all just a big misund'rstandin'..." he quietly started, "Robyn. I wasn't gonna ask Rav'n ta tha dance."

The redheaded Huntress-in-training pouted, "Then who were you gonna ask??"

When everyone exchanged a knowing glance, Raven deadpanned and blankly stated, "Really? He was gonna ask you."

Ryder's face lit up with blush as his lips formed into a tight line and his head whipped around to where the dark-haired assassin was sitting, fanning her nails. She clearly did not care for any kind of social graces, nor his pending anxiety. When his eyes finally retreated back to his best friend's, he saw the same redness across her cheeks.

He sighed, taking the letter out of his pocket and handing it to Robyn, who was positively red. She managed to stammer out, "But, you-- I thought-- Ryder--"

"I didn' wanna..." he started, rubbing the back of neck, "ruin... I guess 's tha right word... y'ur night..."

He had turned away from everyone by now, resting his palm against his dreads as he stared at the ground. So, he didn't expect Robyn's soft hand to land gently on his cheek and guide him to look down at her with a heartfelt smile.

"R... you wouldn't be ruining my night by asking me to the dance..." she explained, "My night would be ten thousand times better if you were my date."

Ryder frowned, "But'chu said y'u want'd an... intim'te night an' I-- I--"

"Don't like me-- or anyone for that matter-- that way," the redhead finished for him. When he nodded, she continued, "Ryder, that's okay. I'd rather spend my night doing crappy karaoke and dancing with you than some rando who was just hitting on me to get laid. R, you're so much better than those losers... you're my best friend..."

After a moment, the armadillo buckled and smiled sweetly. He leaned down and gently hugged her as she squeezed him tightly back. Suddenly, cheers and hollers whooped through the room, startling them out of the tender moment. Security and Stark were watching from the sidelines, now suspiciously joined by Monroe and a bowl of popcorn. Little to say, both R's faces burst with beet red blush.

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Ten: “Wyndham”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Minor Violence?, Subtle Themes, Death Mentioned) Summary: (3,228 words) “With the gang stuck up at Beacon, tensions are running a little high. Without an outlet, Robyn’s chaotic energy has her teammates at the ends of their ropes! There’s only one solution, but with more and more things ending up broken... it’ll be a miracle if he gets there in time.”

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Being stuck up at Beacon had its toll on everyone, but Robyn the most. Somehow, she'd managed to convince Professor Cray to accompany her to Forever Fall Forest just so that she could frolic in the fresh air for an hour or two. When they got back, Mr. Cray's pink hair was adorned with a flower crown featuring all the colors of the rainbow, cluing the rest of Robyn's team into his motivations.

She'd been spending most of her days bouncing from place-to-place trying to keep herself occupied. On the days that Haddy didn't have work, she'd drag him down to the library to play board games with Monroe and Ryder or to the training room to get in a workout after class. However, only five days into their punishment, she was literally bouncing off the walls using her semblance.

With teams from the other schools due to arrive any day now, Monroe authorized Ryder to take drastic measures. Robyn had already landed on Haddy's tail during one of her jaunts, broken the ceiling light, and knocked over an entire bookcase. The trio were huddled into Hadrian's bay window bed with Ryder's mattress as a forward shield and the husky's on top.

As another loud crash echoed through the dorm and something large bounced off their makeshift shelter, Monroe had to shout to be heard, "How much longer until our back-up gets here!?"

A strong gust of wind threatened to tear the mattresses out of Ryder's grip as he frantically replied, "'E land'd 'alf an 'our ago! 'E should b' 'ere!"

"We can't hold out much longer!" she exclaimed as a sharp breeze broke through their defenses and tore off her hat.

The crazed cackling of a madwoman rang out through the howling wind as they felt several pelting thuds into their fortress, "COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, COWARDS! NO ONE CAN TAKE ME DOWN! MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I'm gonna make a break for the door!" Haddy said with feigned confidence.

Ryder grabbed his shoulder as he had started to turn, calling, "No! 'S too dang'rous!"

The husky smiled, putting his hand over Ryder's as he said, "If I make it, I'll find some way to send help. And if I don't... tell my story."

Monroe held up a salute with a tear in her eye as she replied, "Godspeed, soldier."

As his black hair was whipped around in his face, he returned the salute. Haddy scooted to the edge of the mattress and waited until the next barrage came to a halt. He ducked and rolled out of the shelter. The room was a disaster. Books were strewn around the floor. Allegheny was sticking out of Ryder's bed foundation, three broken boards shooting out of it. All of Monroe's clothes were crumpled and thrown around, some still floating in the whipping winds. Peri's corner of the room was untouched by the chaos, of course.

That was when he saw the madwoman herself. She was hovering in the air above her bed, arms laxly raised to her sides, conjuring the whirlwinds keeping her aloft. Her entire stuffed animal collection was twisting around her, giving off the illusion that they were holding her towards the sky. Her hair was even messier than normal as a wicked grin crossed her face.

"Hadrian Snow!" she cackled down at him, "You've made a fatal error by entering my domain!"

The husky stood tall, bringing a closed fist up in front of his chest stoically, "Your reign of terror is at an end, Wyndham! We've discovered your weakness!"

"Foolish mortal! I have no weakness!" she laughed maniacally, "Unlike you!"

With their witty banter at an end, Haddy took a sprinting bound towards the door as he activated his semblance. Robyn moved her arm in his direction, throwing a line of plush projectiles towards him. He nimbly dodged the moving barrage, sliding around and cartwheeling to safety. Just as his hand was about to reach the doorknob, he felt one of his legs being pulled out from under him.

Suddenly, he was dangling upside down in a tunnel of wind. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free! Robyn hovered in front of Monroe's and Ryder's makeshift shelter. With a flick of her wrist, the mattresses went flying off in a gust of wind, leaving the pair underneath grabbing onto each other as they watched on helplessly.

"Now, you'll see what happens to those who oppose me!" The redhead cackled, raising her other arm.

A large bundle of stuffed animals the size of a Boarbatusk hovered next to her in its own whirlwind. Haddy's eyes went wide as Robyn smirked and moved her arm towards him, sending the plush pile hurtling towards him!

"Nooooo!" Ryder yelled as he extended an arm towards him. Monroe held him back and a single, dramatic tear ran down her cheek.

The husky squeezed his eyes shut just before the dorm room door flew open. He looked down just in time to see a blur of crimson rush to block the attack and shield him with its body. The stuffed orb was deflected from behind the figure's back by the large face of a broadsword with a pale yellow blade and block at the tip that matched the guard. Haddy's keen nose immediately smelled cream and sugar.

Everyone stilled as the figure stood up straight, his back still towards Robyn and her captives. He was built like a solid wall and nearly as tall as Ryder. From under the crimson hood, Haddy watched as the man smirked. In one swift movement, he unlatched the cape-like cloak, letting it fall from his shoulders with a flourish. A pair of dark tan wings spread from his back as his light blue, curly hair danced in the wind with charm.

He grinned, as the team stared in awe, before he half-turned his head to look back at Robyn, saying, "Did someone call for a Huntsman?"

"FYNCH!" The redhead squealed.

The winged Huntsman smiled a toothy grin as he turned around with wide arms towards his little sister. His sword hit the ground and stood up on its block, teetering slightly before it settled. Robyn immediately released all the whirlwinds, unintentionally dropping Haddy to the floor in a crumpled mess on his head. With a happy laugh, she summoned up her biggest gust yet and flung herself at Fynch. When he caught her in his arms, he hardly even moved.

He smiled sweetly, "Hey, Chickadee."

As the pair of siblings laughed, Monroe grabbed her hat and breathed, "Thank the Brothers..."

"What are you doing here!? I thought you were only coming in for the tournament!" Robyn asked, punching his shoulder as she sat in his arms.

He chuckled and motioned back at Ryder with his head as he answered, "Ryde sent me a text saying that you were being a menace! So I had to come to the rescue!"

"Ow..." Hadrian groaned, still upside on his shoulders.

"Oh my gosh!" The redhead exclaimed, climbing down out of her brother's grasp and rushing to his aid, "I'm so sorry, Haddy!"

As she helped him into a kneeling position, he rubbed his sore neck and couldn't help but stare at the prominent wings on Fynch's back. He turned to her and whispered, "You never told me that your brother was a faunus!"

She laughed as she helped him up. Fynch followed suit with a chuckle of his own, and an explanation, "Me and Pops are the only two faunus in the Wyndham flock." The feathered faunus extended a hand down to his husky counterpart and added, "Fynch Jr. It's a pleasure."

He took his hand and shook it, introducing himself, "Oh, uh, I'm Haddy. Hadrian Snow."

Fynch smiled, "I know. Robs talks about you a lot when she writes and texts."

A light blush danced across Hadrian's cheeks as his tail started to gently wag. He really was making friends. Robyn laughed as she jumped up, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as she hung there and noogied into his hair. By this point, Ryder and Monroe had joined them. Ryde and Fynch clinked their closed fists together before the winged Huntsman wrapped Cadie in a gentle hug.

He smiled somberly as he held her at arm's length by her shoulders, "I'm sorry about everything that happened with Peri, and that I couldn't make it to his funeral. He was an exceptional young man." The trio's gaze fell back to the perfectly made bed for a moment.

However, Fynch nodded before turning back to the group and pulling them all in close, joking, "Now what's this I hear about my little sister getting into fights off campus!"

Robyn scoffed and pushed him off, grinning, "Oh c'mon, you sound just like Momma and Pops..."

Fynch bit his lip as his eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to the side apologetically. He squeezed out, "Ah, so, about that..."

"BABYBIRD!"

Haddy watched as Robyn's face drained of its color and lost all emotion in an instant. Before he could even turn to look or ask who had called out, two more figures had entered the room and were lifting the redhead off the floor in a giant bear hug. Well, it was more accurate to say that one of the newcomers was lifting both of the others off the ground.

She was just as tall as Ryder with just as much muscle, but none of his definition. She looked to be maybe in her late forties or early fifties. Her baby blue hair matched Fynch's in color and fluff, but reached almost halfway down her back. She wore a gray-plaid bandanna over her head, pulling back her bangs, with a large pair of glasses pushed up on her nose. Her charcoal overalls were dusted with dirt and stains. Her eyes were a pale red.

The other man looked just as strong, but he was significantly more stout. His dark scarlet hair was graying and his beautiful mustache was touched with silver. The lines on his face revealed his age. He was wearing a loose-fitting, red plaid button-up with the sleeves rolled up past his burly elbows and a black shirt underneath. His dark blue jeans were also caked with debris and patched up with various types of fabric. A pair of dark wings were happily flapping from his back as he hugged onto Robyn.

Monroe and Ryder exchanged a look before the redhead managed to squeeze one arm out of the hug and start to pat around for release as she said, "Momma! Please! You're gonna strangle me!"

Hesitantly, the older woman let go, allowing Robyn to jump down and take a deep breath. She looked at the pair as she took a half step back and said, "Wh-What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh!" the woman replied with a chirp as she took a few steps forward, placing her hands on Robyn's cheeks and squeezing, "When we heard that Junior was coming to see you, we just had to come along as well!"

The messy-haired girl pushed her mother off as she shot a dirty look back at her brother. Fynch rubbed the back of his neck as he stated, "I didn't know that they'd snuck into the truck until I was already in Vale..."

Before she could object, Robyn's father was already up at her side, smoothing out her dress as he said, "Robyn, dear, what happened to your skirt? And your room?"

As she was pulling back from her dad's caring hands, her mother was taking a look around. Appalled, she added, "I can't believe that you can live in a room like this!"

Robyn sighed, rubbing her forehead before replying, "Mom, please. We were just playing a game and it got a little out of hand."

"Babybird, you're twenty years old," her father stated, putting his hands on his hips as his feathers ruffled, "don't you think you're a little old to be playing games. You're supposed to be studying here."

"Not old enough to get away from 'Babybird' apparently..." she muttered under her breath.

While this was all going on, Fynch had moved in front of the rest of SCWR and was trying to shield them from view with his wings gently outstretched. However, that didn't stop his mother, who was practically beaming when her eyes ran across Monroe and Ryder. She pushed through her son's feeble, and unnoticed, attempts to spare the pair.

"Cascade! Ryder! How have you two been?" she asked, pulling them in for a hug.

The armadillo let out a grunt of recognition as the pirate sputtered, "Hello, Mrs. Wyndham, it's good to see you again."

She dropped the pair as she examined them. Monroe barely had any time to catch her breath before she was being assaulted, "Cadie, dear, have you been getting enough rest, you look absolutely haggard..."

Poor Ryder was next as she pinched his cheek and sweetly added, "You're looking as handsome as ever, honey. How are you and our little Babybird getting along?"

With the implication behind the statement burning in the air, Ryder's face exploded with blush as he opened his mouth to respond. However, Robyn shouted from over her father's fretting, "Mom! I've told you ten thousand times! He's just a friend! Leave the poor guy alone!"

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Wyndham smiled.

The redhead grumbled as her parents started to settle down. It didn't last as long as she would have liked, because her father's keen eye was drawn away from her friends and back to his son... whom Haddy was still somewhat hiding behind. The older bird smiled widely as he moved past Fynch and looked the husky up and down.

"And who might you be, son?" Mr. Wyndham asked.

Hadrian looked to Robyn, who just sighed deeply. He swallowed hard before answering, "I'm, um, Hadrian Snow, sir. Robyn's new teammate. From Solitas. Sir."

There was a long, tense silence as Mr. Wyndham's chipper smile disappeared and he started to glare Haddy down. He had extended his hand for the older faunus to shake, but was left with nothing. He felt as if he was being interviewed for his placement at Atlas Academy all over again.

"Who wants to eat?" Robyn exclaimed suddenly, clapping her hands together with a forced smile.

Her mother squealed, "Oh, that's a wonderful idea, sweetie! Our treat. We can go down to Vale and--"

Monroe started to correct her, "-- Actually ma'am, we're not allowed to--"

"--go down to Vale right now," Robyn cut in, slapping a hand over the blonde's mouth to stop her from talking, "Y'know, because of the festival. We're supposed to stay up here and greet the teams that are arriving!"

Her parents exchanged a glance as a single bead of sweat rolled down the messy-haired girl's face. Eventually, her mother smiled, "That makes sense! We'll go down and pick up some food and bring it back here for you."

With that, Rob grabbed her parents and started pushing them towards the door, explaining, "Okay, you go do that. We're gonna clean up this mess before you get back so we can eat in here. 'Kay? Love you, bye!"

She slammed the door shut just as the pair made it through the entrance. Robyn grabbed the sides of her face as she fell onto her butt and let out a long, loud groan. Haddy didn't move as he looked over to Monroe and Ryder. The blonde was shaking her head while the scaled faunus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

After a moment, Fynch sighed and stepped forward, "Y'know, Chickadee, if you keep lying to them, the hurt is gonna be a whole lot worse when they finally find out..."

Robyn scoffed as she crossed her own arms and pouted, "If I wanted a lecture, I woulda just gone with them."

As the winged Huntsman kneeled down in front of his sister, Haddy leaned over and whispered to Monroe, "So... what's up with Rob and her parents?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose as the siblings half-argued in the background. She explained, "Robyn wasn't raised like the rest of us. She has a big family with a happy set of married parents and a relatively uneventful childhood. By all rights, she wasn't supposed to be a Huntress. She was supposed to be a humble farmer out in the middle of nowhere..."

"When Fynch decid'd ta become a Huntsm'n," Ryder continued, leaning against the foot of his bed, "She want'd ta follow 'n 'is footsteps."

"Her parents had other ideas though..." the blonde added, "They didn't want their 'dainty little girl' to get hurt doing the job. Since she's enrolled, they've come up here to try to talk her out of attending more times than I can count. We almost lost her when we lost... They've always been very..."

"Overbearing," Robyn chipped in from the door.

She sighed, pulling herself up as she dusted her skirt off. With a deep breath, the redhead told her story, "We grew up on a little homestead a few hours outside of Vale. All of us had chores from the day we could walk, but with nowhere to go other than the farm... we didn't mind. We have this old, abandoned windmill just inside our property line...

"One day when we were really young, me and my younger brothers-- Osprey and Heryn-- were messing around inside when a storm came in. It was terrifying. When it was fully overhead, lightning struck the mill and collapsed the roof in on us. We weren't seriously hurt, but ever since then... Momma and Pops have been severely over-protective."

Fynch put a hand on her shoulder as she finished. She looked... sad. An emotion that Haddy had never seen on her before. It was clear that Robyn thought very highly of what her parents thought of her, and that it was weighing on her that they didn't support her entirely. He felt for her... more than he ever had before. He knew the pain all too well.

His mom didn't want him to attend Beacon Academy, but for an entirely different reason. She had never supported him becoming a Huntsman, mostly because his dad had run off on the job when he and Leo were babies. That clearly wasn't the case with the Wyndhams given Fynch's status within the monster hunting world. She must feel horrible; always hiding behind a cheerful smile and perky attitude... even if she felt like she didn't belong.

The husky took a couple small steps forward before he sincerely said, "Hey, Rob? You know that you're one of the best Huntresses I've ever met, right?"

She was quiet for a minute before she smiled, "Thanks, Haddy. I'm not worried about them forcing me to leave or disowning me or anything like that... but it's still nice to hear."

Before Hadrian could do anything more than return her smile with one of his own, Fynch had already scooped him up in a large hug. Monroe, Ryder, and Robyn all laughed as the husky scrambled around for some semblance of control and Fynch buried his fist into Haddy's hair.

"I knew I liked you, Snowball!" The finch faunus cackled as Hadrian fought for control.

After a few moments, Fynch released him and his messy hair. His headband was resting over his blinded eye as his black locks went in every which way. His hair looked like Robyn's. The laughing, chuckling, and giggling faded out as Ryder walked over and pulled his hammer from his broken bed boards.

While Haddy smoothed out his hair, the scaled faunus smirked, "We ought'a clean th's up 'fore they get back, 'r we'll n'v'r 'ear tha end'a 't from Momma Wyndham."

There was a collective groan from everyone, but all together they worked to straighten up the dorm.

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Nine: “Favorites”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Minor Violence, and Subtle Themes) Summary: (3,391 words) “As Security’s investigation into Gae starts getting serious, they notice that they’ve fallen behind their peers. With the Vytal Festival only a few weeks away, Stark agrees to help out with some off-the-books training... However, when only one of the teams gets in trouble, things get a little tense.”

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After Team Security's jaunt in Wonderland, they worked out a deal with Checkers. If he happened across any more information about Diana Gae, he'd get in contact with them and they'd trade. Over the course of the next few weeks, they'd learned a few things.

First of all, she worked out of somewhere in the Industrial District. Whenever Checkers received any tips about her, she was always spotted in or near the district. However, it didn't seem like her fights were taking place in the city. Second, she had contacts everywhere. He warned them that she had eyes and ears all over the city and that if they wanted to keep tabs on her, they would need to be cautious. The last thing was her semblance. She rarely fights, but when she does, she seems to always win. Checkers determined that her semblance is pheromones, and she can influence any person just by being near them.

Of course, that also meant that Haddy had to tell the feral his secrets. For one reason or another, Checkers seemed interested in him; which was probably a bad thing. It did mean that he'd accept information easily obtainable to SCWR... and plenty of their lien. Thankfully, Monroe, Robyn, and Ryder agreed to pool their money for the investigation. There was one problem though.

The school didn't want them to have any affiliation with the official police inquiry. Ozpin was afraid that Monroe and the R's had already been scarred enough by the loss of Peri and forbade them from doing anything more than providing statements. Which meant that they had to be very careful who they told and who they let help.

Unfortunately, they'd hit a dead end. Monroe had composed a decent profile for this Diana Gae woman, and the team had already investigated every lead they'd gotten from Checkers. Which meant all they could do was wait for him to sniff out something more... of course, that wasn't important at the moment.

The Vytal festival was only two weeks away. With their investigation and personal lives-- i.e. Haddy's part-time job-- Security was falling behind some of their peers. After much debate, Monroe reluctantly asked Stark for assistance. Which is why they were here.

"Hand-to-hand combat takes skill," Tai started, pacing the line of students with his hands clasped behind his back, "Anyone can swing a sword and draw blood, but to take down an opponent with just your body takes training."

It was a Sunday, so they wouldn't be missed in their dorms despite the lowering sun. The teams were gathered in the mountainous forest behind Beacon. Team SCWR was sitting cross-legged on the ground as they watched Tai walk back and forth with the rest of STRQ standing behind him, grinning. Suddenly the blond stopped and whipped his finger around in line with Ryder. The armadillo swallowed hard.

"Ryder!" Tai exclaimed, "You and Summer, let's go."

His yellow eyes ran across the tiny girl in the white hood and he opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Summer herself, "It's okay, Ryder."

Reluctantly, the brutish faunus conceded. He took one last look at his team before standing up and joining Summer. The rest of her team stepped back, giving them plenty of room for their spar. Ryder took up a semi-relaxed stance-- not because he doubted her skills, mostly because of his own-- one hand raised to attack and one lowered to his side for defense as he bounced on his toes. His ombre-haired opponent simply stood with her body hidden within her cloak, the only thing visible was a smile on her lips.

Suddenly, Tai whistled, signaling the start of their match. Before the sound had even finished echoing through the blond's teeth, Summer had cleared all the distance between her and Ryder. The dark-skinned faunus hardly even had time to register as she hunkered down and aimed for a powerful gut punch. He twisted on his hip to avoid the strike but caught Summer's mischievous grin as her hood fell back and her face came by his chest.

As she whipped around and tried to backhand him with the same arm, Ryder jumped back, trying to get some distance for a semblance-enhanced attack. Quickly, he summoned up his sonic power into the sole of his boot as he hurled himself and tried to smack his foot down onto the white-cloaked leader's shoulder. She nimbly avoided the pummeling kick as she dropped said shoulder and almost seemed to dance out of the way, leaving a small crater where Ryder's boot landed.

Ryder was ready though as he used one hand to try to chop down with the same force, creating a loud boom of sound that shook the trees. However, Summer simply jumped back on one foot. Again, the faunus used his power to try to smack her out of the air with his other arm. With a smile, she rolled in the air, easily avoiding the strike once more as she twirled around.

This time she attacked. Using her momentum from the spin, Summer took the top of her foot and connected it with Ryder's blocking arm with enough force to break his defense. Before he could recover, she used her other leg and continued spinning to kick him in the chest, staggering him. With a giggle-- and still without touching the ground-- she pushed off of him with her legs, giving him plenty of space.

Ryder shook his head and summoned up his semblance into his hands again, rushing forward and diminishing the space between them in a fraction of a second. With his opponent being so much smaller than him, he aimed one last, resounding, sonic punch down at her chest.

Everyone watched in slow motion as Summer twisted around the punch, grabbing Ryder's wrist as it passed. She used the force of his blow to pin his arm between hers and her side. She twirled up in a backwards cartwheel using only the armadillo's wrist as support and landed a solid kick right across his jaw. Ryder fell with the toe of Summer's boot-- dazed and concussed-- to the ground where the dark-haired girl easily pinned him with his arm in the air behind his back. She had one foot planted firmly at the base of his shoulder and the other behind his head.

Again, Tai whistled as Summer let go of the once hulking figure of Ryder. She knelt down to help him up as Haddy, Monroe, and Robyn stared in disbelief with their shoulders dropped and jaws slack.

As the dark-skinned faunus was deposited back with his team, Tai turned and explained, "That was a good use of your semblance. Putting power behind your blows is a good way to beat down a foe; but, against an opponent as nimble as Summer... it was your downfall."

He frowned as he looked over the rest of Security before he instructed, "Let's split off into pairs for some one-on-one training." Tai paused before laxly pointing to the redhead, "Since Summer is our weakest hand-to-hand combatant, I want her and Robyn together."

The entirety of Team SCWR exchanged a dumbfounded, wide-eyed look, before Robyn suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"

Before she could complain more, the blond continued, "Let's have Qrow and Ryder together. You both seem to have a more brawler approach." The black-haired pair nodded to each other.

"Hmm... how about Raven and Cade," he smiled devilishly as both girls began to glower at one another, "Because, by the Brothers, no one could stand that much aggression and sexual tension. Plus, it'd be funny."

"Oh, ha ha," Raven sarcastically growled, crossing her arms.

"Which means..." Tai started, turning his attention away from Raven and down to Haddy, "You and me, big boy."

If Hadrian had any less self-control, he would have whimpered.

Everyone broke off into their groups, albeit somewhat reluctantly on Security's part. He was already regretting convincing Monroe this would be a good idea. The husky followed behind as Tai led him along. Once they'd gotten a fair ways away, the blond turned to him with a smile. When he saw Haddy's tail resting between his knees, he pouted.

"What's wrong, man?" he asked.

The husky faunus rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "C'mon. You're easily the best hand-to-hand fighter in school; teachers included. I don't stand a chance against you."

Tai crossed his arms as he continued to pout and raised a brow. He walked up to Haddy and remarked, "You can't think like that."

"I know I shouldn't, but--" he started.

However, the blond quickly cut in, "No. You can't."

When the husky only looked at him confused, Tai sighed. He loosened his arms and interlaced his fingers behind his head, explaining, "It's something Summer once told me that Ozpin told her. 'Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle; but, a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?'."

As he finished, Tai put a hand on his shoulder and smiled, "Being a leader is hard, and comes with too many responsibilities to count; as I'm sure you already know. Being an example to your team is just one of them, but if you ask me... it's the most important."

He was right, and Haddy knew it. It wasn't just their fight capabilities that made STRQ the best, it was their ability to inspire others and take time out of their own schedules to help them. They were so kind and generous, even when teaching SCWR and training them for the festival could backfire on them in the long run.

So he smiled, changing his attitude as he elbowed Tai in the ribs and said, "Alright then. Prepare to be knocked on your ass."

That got the blond laughing as he lowered his arms and readied himself. "Better be able to back those words up."

Hadrian followed suit, raising his arms up defensively, never losing his smile. Before they started, the husky said, "Thanks, man. For everything."

"Of course," Tai replied, signaling Haddy to come at him.

The husky steeled himself and charged forward, clenching his fist into an overhand punch towards the blond's face. Tai simply moved his head to the side, hardly shifting his body or toothy smile. As his hand fell down, Hadrian immediately brought it back up to try to backhand his opponent's cheek. However, Tai ducked just as the swing passed over his blond locks.

It was at that point Haddy noticed the blond's hands were resting in the small of his back. He frowned as he shifted into position to give an uppercut into the underside of Tai's chin. Again, he simply moved back, avoiding the swing entirely. This time, before the husky could recover, Tai laughed as he swung his head forward. Their foreheads collided, sending Hadrian stumbling backwards as stars danced in his eye.

This wasn't going to work. He rubbed his forehead and adjusted his headband before changing up his tactics. This time when the husky rushed forward, he leapt into the air and aimed a roundhouse kick at Tai's jaw. Predictably, the blond ducked under his boot. Before he landed, Hadrian swung his other leg around lower, once again missing as Tai widened his stance and further lowered himself to the ground.

As Hadrian bounced onto the ground, he took a half step back. He used the distance to gather momentum into a punch aimed at Tai's face. This time, the blond used his palm to deflect the attack. However, that wasn't Haddy's true intent. He knelt down, using his semblance to whip around as he landed the heel of his foot into the side of the blond's knee. He expected Tai to crumple, but he hardly even flinched.

He didn't have time to recover as Tai chuckled and pulled back his arm for a direct punch into the bridge of Haddy's nose. The faunus's eyes widened before snapping shut.

Before he could land it though, an angry shout rang through the woods. "Mr. Xiao Long!"

Tai's knuckles froze only an inch from Hadrian's eyes, which he gingerly peeked open. Everyone paused and slowly turned to see several teachers trudging through the woods towards them, all with an irate swagger. Professor Cray stomped up to the boys as he pushed them apart with a furious pout on his face.

"I cannot believe that you kids are out here pounding each other into a bloody pulp!" The rainbow-hued teacher continued.

Hadrian took the opportunity to look around. Summer was on Robyn's shoulders with her legs wrapped around the redhead's neck. Qrow and Ryder had already recovered from their fight and were standing off to the side with their hands clasped in front of themselves, trying to look innocent. However, that notion would have been thrown out the window when they saw Raven and Monroe currently in a clump of limbs, pinning each other down as they pulled each other's hair... still fighting.

Professor Cray sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose as the other teachers-- Mrs. Heather and her teaching assistant, Mr. Port-- moved to break up the remaining fight.

As Summer quickly climbed down from on top of Robyn, and the other girls were pulled apart, Qrow piped up, "Well, technically we were just sparring..."

The pink-haired teacher sighed again, still pinching his nose as he stated, "Which you all should know is against the rules!" He paused to look at all of them before adding, "You know sparring without supervision isn't allowed!"

As the students were gathered into a group, they were all looking down at the ground. Before Mr. Cray could tear into them anymore, another voice spoke up, "This simply won't do..."

The smell of coffee and freshly cut mint could only mean one thing.

Everyone turned to see the headmaster of Beacon Academy pushing a branch out of his way with his cane as his loyal assistant followed behind. Once Professor Ozpin finished his approach, he looked over each one of his students. When his eyes fell on Haddy, the husky could almost see the disappointment in his hazel brown irises.

He paused to look at them all as a group before continuing, "Ms. Rose, you and your team will meet me in my office in an hour. Until then, you are dismissed."

All the students exchanged a quick, lowered glance before the members of Stark scampered off back towards the school, eager to get away from the scrutiny of the young Professor. When they were safely out of earshot, the Headmaster returned his attention to the remaining four in front of him. He again looked at each of them before coming to a decision.

"I am very disappointed in all of you..." Ozpin started, "I think it goes without saying that you will all be punished for these actions... For the time being, you will not be permitted to leave the school grounds for reasons other than work or school activities, and you won't do so without explicit supervision."

With bowed heads, Team SCWR replied solemnly together, "Yes sir, Professor Ozpin..."

"You're dismissed," the Headmaster replied, turning to his assistant.

As the team started their hike back to school, they were silent. When they got out of earshot though, Robyn grumbled, "This is so annoying."

"Yeah, well, it could be worse..." Haddy replied, trying to lighten the mood.

Monroe's scroll dinged as they continued walking. She pulled it out and checked the message. When she stopped dead, the rest of the group waited for her.

She harshly sighed, "Things just got worse." She paused, flipping her scroll around so that everyone could see, before clarifying, "Checkers just got more info on Gae."

"Damnit."

The next day at breakfast, the team sat around scheming. With new information available to them, they could continue their investigation from its dead stop; but with no way to get down to Wonderland, they might as well never learn what Checkers had to offer. They'd stayed up late into the morning trying to come up with a plan, but it hadn't gotten them anywhere.

As Robyn pushed her eggs around with her fork, she mumbled, "Maybe if we offer to pay him double, he'll come up here to do the trade."

"Checkers already made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with the campus," Haddy sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"Ughhhhhh!" the redhead groaned, pushing away her plate as she leaned back dramatically.

Beside her, Monroe complained, "I wish he'd just let us do this over the phone... paranoid bastard..." Ryder nodded in agreement.

As they continued to brainstorm, Summer and the rest of STRQ waved at them as they approached with their breakfast trays. Quickly, the conversation ceased as the other team sat down beside them. Haddy raised an eyebrow when he noticed how chipper everyone was.

"Morning," Qrow chirped, digging into his pancakes.

His sister gave them all an appraising glare before remarking, "You guys look like shit."

"We feel like shit!" Robyn exclaimed, leaning forward onto the table with her chin resting on her crossed arms.

"Is everything okay?" Summer asked.

The rest of her team set down their eating utensils as they turned to their friends. Haddy rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah, we just had plans to go down to Vale today..."

There was a pause before Tai slowly asked, "Okay, and...? Do you guys need airfare money or something?"

Monroe and Haddy exchanged a look before he replied, "Uh, no? We aren't allowed off the school grounds?"

"What? Why?" Qrow asked, bewildered.

Monroe paused, again looking over her team before answering, "Because of the sparring match? Ozpin is punishing us? What did he make you guys do?"

This time it was STRQ who turned to one another, before Summer answered, "Nothing. He just told us not to do it again?"

"What!?" the entirety of Security yelled in unison, causing heads to turn in their direction for a brief moment.

Haddy sat there completely in disbelief. He knew that Team Stark was Ozpin's favorite team, but this was ridiculous. There was no way that any of this would have flown back in Atlas, no matter how much the Headmaster hated his team's guts... and Beacon was supposed to be the more progressive of the two schools!

Robyn stood up, throwing her arms out as she exclaimed, "That's so unfair!"

"No kidding," Tai said, "Do you want us to go talk to him? See if we can get this sorted out?"

Monroe pushed her tray away angrily as she harshly replied, "Oh sure, go use more of your favors to pity us."

No one said anything for a long time. However, after the pause, Summer quietly said, "We didn't know this was going to happen... or that this was the way that things would pan out... we just wanna help..."

This wasn't right. Ozpin wasn't right. But, it wasn't Stark's fault. Sure, he was pissed, but that didn't mean that they had to take it out on their friends.

Haddy stood up, drawing attention to himself as he walked over to Summer. He put a hand on the pale-skinned girl's shoulder, replying, "It's okay, Summer." He looked to the rest of her team and continued, "It's not your fault. We're just peeved. You did us a solid by helping out with training, I'm glad that you didn't get in trouble for something we asked you to do."

When he looked out to the rest of his team, he could still see that they were angry, but they'd realized what he said was true. Ryder sighed and nodded along with every word he'd said. Monroe shook her head as Robyn fell down into her seat with her arms crossed.

Beside him, Qrow stood up, rubbing the back of his neck as he put a hand on Haddy's shoulder and sighed, "Man, if there is anything we can do to make things right between us, just ask and it's done."

The husky's mind was drawn back to their information-related predicament as he replied, "Well... there is one thing you could do for us..."

Immediately, Monroe cut her hand across her throat, signaling him to shut up. However, he only looked at her and said, "C'mon. They helped us when we asked and we know they aren't gonna get in trouble with Ozpin if they're caught..." he paused before adding, "They're our friends."

After a moment of consideration, Monroe sighed and turned to Summer. She reluctantly asked, "Have you ever heard of a bar called Wonderland?"

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Eight: “Gae”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Violence Mentioned, Alcohol Use, Drug Use, Death Mentioned, Prominent Themes) Summary: (3,952 words) “There’s something going on with Monroe, and it seems like no one know what it it is... even Robyn and Ryder. After she’s caught falling asleep in class, Haddy insists on confronting her. However, Monroe denies anything being wrong. When she goes missing later that same night, it’s up to her team to get to the bottom of it.”

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"Ms. Monroe!" the sunny-haired professor snapped, planting a firm hand on her desk that nearly shook the classroom with its loud slap.

Hadrian, much like every other student in the room, turned just in time to see Monroe's head snap to attention. She had a page of her notes stuck to her cheek with her arms crossed on her desk as a pillow. Quickly, she snatched the note from her face and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as snickering and whispering started up. Mrs. Heather sighed as she closed her eyes and brought her free hand up to the bridge of her nose.

"Please, do not insult my class by sleeping through it, Ms. Monroe..." the professor started.

Before she could continue, though, Monroe wiped the drool from her cheek and replied, "My apologies, ma'am. It won't happen again."

Mrs. Heather sighed but went back to her lecture. Eventually, the other students' heads turned back to the chalkboard where the professor was drawing out a diagram of a Boarbatusk. Haddy's eyes remained on his friend for a moment longer as he watched her struggle to focus on the discussion. Monroe's eyelids started to drift closed again before she would jolt herself awake several times.

When class ended a few minutes later, the blonde jumped at the sound of the bell, grabbing one ear as if she hadn't braced for the shrill scream like she normally did. Haddy couldn't help but wince as he stuffed his notebooks and study materials into his bag haphazardly. He could organize it later, right now it seemed like Monroe needed him more than his bag did. However, when he looked back up from his disorganized disaster, she was already gone.

With a pout, Haddy instead turned to look for his other teammates. They had class in the same room after, so they usually hung back. Robyn was sitting on her desk, kicking her legs as she chatted with Ryder, who was leaning back in a chair next to her. The husky sighed before wandering up to them and setting down his disorderly bag on the table next to Robyn. They both smiled as he approached.

"Hey, Haddy!" The redhead exclaimed, "Don't you have Advanced First Aid with Mr. Turner right now?"

He shrugged as he poured the contents of his book bag onto the desk and started to shuffle papers into order. He replied, "I've got a few minutes before I need to be there. I was actually wondering something."

"What's up, pup?" Robyn asked with a joking grin.

Haddy rolled his eyes with a smirk of his own before he became pensive and asked, "Have you guys noticed anything up with Monroe? She never falls asleep in class..."

The R's exchanged a glance before Robyn threw her chin forward into her palms as her elbows rested on her knees. She mumbled, "She has been acting weird lately."

"Yup," Ryder added, now leaning forward off the chair to include himself in the conversation.

"Any ideas why?" The husky asked hopefully, continuing to reorganize his bag.

Robyn thought for a moment before pushing off her lap and replying, "Maybe she's having nightmares? They could be keeping her up at night?"

Hadrian frowned at the thought. It was entirely likely, especially since he was still having night terrors. Team Prosciutto had only lost their leader about a month before school restarted from summer break. He'd come to Beacon a few weeks into the semester. He knew from experience that the first few months after trauma were the worst; even if what they were going through was different than what he went through. Honestly, he was surprised just how well all his teammates were handling the death of their friend. It could be something they were all facing alone.

As he stuck his textbooks and such back into his bookbag, Haddy cautiously asked, "Are you guys having nightmares?"

"Of course we are," Robyn answered matter-of-factly. Hadrian winced slightly when Robyn straightened out and leaned back on the desk, using her hands to brace herself.

She sighed, "We're probably gonna have those for the rest of our lives. Losing Peri was... the worst thing that could have happened... but, he wouldn't want us to mope around and be sorry for him. He'd want us to complete our training and save the lives he couldn't."

Ryder nodded along as she spoke, before adding, "Course, that don't make tha nightmares any l'ss real. 'S alright ta need t'me t'gr'eve an' cope... We've jus'..." He trailed off, not able to find the right words.

With a sigh, Robyn finished, "We just didn't know him as well as Cascade. They were... together, always have been from what they've told us. They were just closer than he and we were."

Haddy set his bag down and placed a hand on each of their shoulders, exchanging a knowing smile with them. Ryder half-smiled back as Robyn put her hand over his and squeezed. They'd all been through Hell, but they weren't going to let that stop them... and they all knew that. After a moment the class bell rang and Haddy jumped.

"Aw, man, I'm so gonna be late," he frowned.

Robyn smirked as she reached forward and booped his nose, replying in a sing-song, "Not if you hurry."

Hadrian again rolled his eyes as he swung his bag over one shoulder and started a hurried walk towards the door. He paused in the frame, looking back at the R's before he slipped away into the mass of students.

A few hours later, classes had ended and Team Security was walking back to their dorm. As Robyn happily chatted about a message she'd received from her brother-- Fynch-- promising that he'd come watch them all in the Vytal Festival, Haddy couldn't help but notice that Monroe was slugging behind.

Now that he was closer, he could see the deep bags under her exposed eye and slump in her shoulders. She was hardly keeping up with the leisurely pace the gang was meandering at. She was sluggish, tired, and clearly exhausted. When Ryder opened the door to their dorm, Monroe stumbled in last and immediately collapsed onto her bed.

The R's exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes before looking back to Haddy. With a sigh, he loosened his tie and set his bag down on his new mattress. He shifted but walked over to Monroe's bed and sat down at the foot.

"Hey, 'Roe?" He asked.

The pirate took a deep breath and then rolled over onto her side, looking to her team with tired eyes. She propped herself up on her elbow and said, "I'm fine... just didn't get enough sleep last night."

Haddy looked to the R's before pressing further, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Monroe shook her head before sitting up and grabbing her pajamas from beside her bed. Without another word, she got up and walked out of the dorm towards the bathroom. Hadrian remained sitting on the end of Monroe's bed as he shifted back to Robyn and Ryder.

The redhead frowned, "I think she's lying."

"That much's o'vious," Ryder huffed, crossing his arms as he sat down on his own bed.

Hadrian sighed before asking, "You two have known her longer... what do you think we should do?"

Ryder shook his head, "Hon'stly, we should jus' leave 'er be f'r now... she'll op'n up when she's ready."

With a deep sigh, Haddy stood up and wandered back over to his cot. He finished taking off his tie, draping it over the bottom of a hanger. With a shrug, he slipped out of his uniform coat and placed it on the hanger as well. Hadrian hung the clothes on a hook next to the window before sitting down to take off his shoes. When he looked up, he saw the R's doing the same.

About an hour later, the majority of the team had changed into their pajamas and were patiently waiting for their blonde leader to return. Robyn was sitting in the middle of her plushie pile, texting away on her scroll to her brother. Ryder was leaned up against his bed frame, looking over notes from the day. However, Haddy was nervously watching the door as his foot bounced impatiently on the ground.

After a few more minutes, he couldn't take it anymore. The husky faunus stood up abruptly and started towards the door. The R's looked up as he walked past, raising a brow as he reached for the knob.

"Uh..." Robyn started, "Where ya going?"

Hadrian turned back to look at them, his hand resting on the doorknob, before answering, "To go find Monroe. As tired as she was today, I'd think that she'd want nothing more than to get in bed early... but she's not here."

From their respective beds, Robyn and Ryder exchanged a sideways glance, before both sighed and crept towards the edge of their comforters. They soon joined Haddy's side as the husky turned the handle and walked out into the hall. The dorm hall was quiet and devoid of life. Some of the rooms had faint lights shining from under their doors, but the majority were dark.

"Where do you wanna start?" The redhead asked in a hushed tone.

Haddy thought for a moment before quietly replying, "How about the girls' room? She was headed there when we last saw her."

"She wasn't there when I got there," Robyn frowned, "Unless she doubled back, I don't think we'll find her there."

He thought for a moment before asking, "Locker room?"

"We would'a gotten a notification if she unlocked her locker," the redhead sighed, "How about the Library?"

The pair fruitlessly bounced ideas around for a moment or two, before Ryder finally spoke up, "Why don't we jus' check 'er scroll locat'n?"

Haddy and Robyn blinked.

"That'd work," the redhead smiled quietly as she pulled out her scroll.

With a flick of her finger, she opened up the communicator as the boys crowded around her in the doorway. They peered over her shoulders-- catching the smell of wildflowers-- as she expertly navigated the mess of a contact list she had. Finally, she landed on "Water Lily". She tapped on the contact and pulled up the school map. After a moment of searching, Robyn frowned.

The little blip indicating the contact wasn't on Beacon's grounds... It was in a sleazy part of Vale's Industrial District.

"What's she doing down there?" Haddy asked with a pout.

Robyn sighed, pocketing her scroll as she turned back into the dorm. "Only one way to find out," she replied, heading for her bedside closet.

After changing back into their clothes and sneaking around to the locker room to gather their weapons, the faunus and their redheaded companion were covertly traversing the school's grounds. They managed to creep to the edge of the Academy's floating courtyard. Haddy peered over the side and saw nothing but darkness illuminated by the occasional apartment light.

He shuddered briefly before looking back to his teammates. Robyn rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck before she took a blind leap off the edge, spreading out her arms with a wicked smirk. Ryder chuckled and shrugged to Hadrian before simply stepping off the side as well. The husky sighed as he made his way to the perimeter, leaning over and letting gravity take him.

From above, he watched as the redhead brought her arms in close, speeding up her descent towards the quickly approaching ground. Haddy could hear her giggling over the wind, if only barely. She extended a hand just in time to summon up a barrier of wind beneath her. The springy gust shot her back up slightly, so she created another just before she crashed into the ground again, continuing to do so until she gently floated to the ground.

Less gracefully, Ryder lifted his hammer and brought it down in front of himself, creating a loud boom of sound as he bounced himself up slightly and slowed his descent. His sonic booms crafted a cushion of energy, but they didn't stop him from making a cracking crater in the ground as he slammed into it. The scaled faunus simply stood up and dusted himself off.

Haddy had his own landing strategy planned out. He aimed himself for the slanted roofs of Residential Vale. With enough momentum built up, he pulled back at the last second, landing with his feet flat against the slate. He activated his semblance as he leaned back to slide down the roof on his back and legs, slowly coming to a halt. He continued over the edge and fell into a roll as he hit the pavement, jumping back up on his heels with a flourish.

As lights in the houses lining the street started to flicker on, the trio made themselves scarce. They slid silently down the cobbled road as Haddy pushed them along with his semblance. Once they were far enough away to not rouse suspicion, the husky came to a stop so he could catch his breath. Robyn pulled out her scroll and started to chart a course towards their leader.

After a moment of searching, the redhead paused. Her blue eyes looked down at the city of Vale curiously before she took a deep breath and sighed. She pocketed her scroll with a huff and motioned for the boys to follow her.

"I know where she is..." Robyn said as she rolled her eyes.

A little over forty-five minutes later, the trio were standing outside a mismatched, modern-style bar that was just reaching its prime hour. The brick exterior was painted black with the occasional white or gray rectangle of sun-dried clay. There were four stories and a visible basement from the street. A short set of stairs led up to an open balcony on the first floor where bar hoppers could be seen waiting in line to enter the club. A kaleidoscopic neon sign above the club read, "Wonderland".

Robyn audibly groaned as she walked down towards a set of stairs leading down towards the cellar's white-trimmed doors, almost stomping as Ryder shook his head and followed. The pair had hardly said a word on the way here, which wouldn't have been a concern if it was just the hulking armadillo. Haddy raised a brow as he stuck his hands in his pockets and trailed behind the R's.

As they approached, he saw the formidable figure of a bouncer of some kind leaned up in the lowered entryway beside the doors. His arms were crossed against his chest as he wore a plain, black uniform. He was bald with a bushy, brunet mustache cascading down his cheeks from his upper lip. He eyed the students as they approached, watching them with a critical eye.

The redhead took the lead, stepping in front of the boys as she put her hands on her hips and stated, "We need to see The Broker. He here?"

With nothing more than an affirming grunt, the burly man reached over and opened one of the white trim doors, allowing entry into the lower bar. Whatever Hadrian was expecting, this was clearly not it. The door shut behind him, closing them into the dimly lit cocktail lounge. A fine mist of smoke from several rounded tables with built-in hookahs and diffusers lingered in the air. Hadrian's nose was immediately overwhelmed as he gagged and pulled his scarf up over his face. Psychedelic lights and music danced around as patrons relaxed with their drinks and smoke.

The husky couldn't help but cough and sputter as his nose cried out to him. The R's were unfazed though, as they pushed past the crowded lounge and strutted up to the bar. Hadrian did his best to keep up with them, but he ended up knocking into plenty of tables and wealthy junkies who gave him annoyed glances as he choked out apologies.

He hardly even registered when the heavy-set bartender looked him up and down before snidely asking, "Who. Are. You?"

"Uhhhh..." the husky started.

Thankfully, Robyn appeared at his side and replied, "He's with me, Charlie."

The pitch-eyed server again looked Haddy up and down before leaning over to his side and taking a long drag off one of the smokers. He exhaled the colored mist in a ring that slowly encircled the redhead's face before dissipating. He crossed his arms and rested against the bar's shelving.

"What do you want," he calmly demanded, "I thought I told you not to come around here anymore."

Robyn rolled her eyes before replying, "Look, we're just looking for Monroe. We'll be out of your hair just as soon as we find her." She paused before adding, "I know she's here, so don't bother trying to pull any crap. Just tell us where Checkers is and we'll be on our way."

For a moment, Haddy thought that the burly bartender was going to laugh her off and go back to his hookah; but just as he started, Ryder cracked his neck behind Robyn, making a show to roll his muscled shoulders as well. The server turned his gaze to the scaled faunus, having to crane his head upwards to see his entirety. With a defeated pout, the bartender yielded. He motioned back to the last booth in the lounge.

From over the high-rise counter of the bar, Haddy could see a man with lavender hair and cat ears in a partially unbuttoned, deep purple, expensive dress shirt sitting with one arm resting near his drink and the other across the back of his seat. He wore a suave grin with pearly, white teeth as he confidently spoke with someone seated with their back to them. It didn't take a detective to see that the curly, blonde hair and tricorn hat of the unknown patron belonged to Monroe.

Without another word, the trio started to make their way towards the booth. As they got closer, Haddy could hear tidbits of the conversation the two shared.

The charming faunus smirked, "Look kiddo, you know the rules. Information for information. If you don't have anything for me, then I don't have jack shit for you."

"The deal has always been for lien, not info!" Monroe snapped, slamming a hand on the table before sticking a finger in the strange man's face, "I have the money, and I know you have the intel."

"That deal..." he monotonously replied as he used his drink to move her finger away, "... was for Peri. Not you."

"This is for Peri!" she snapped harshly.

As the three of them got closer, Hadrian's interests peaked. What information was Monroe after? Who was this guy? What did all this have to do with Peri? Before they got any closer, Haddy grabbed the R's arms and moved them into the booth next to Monroe's. As they all sat down, the pair looked at him. Even if Monroe had her earbuds in and was distracted by the music and conversation, she'd still probably hear if they spoke so close. He motioned for the pair to remain quiet as he continued to listen.

Haddy heard the man sigh as he swirled his drink before taking a swig. He set the glass down as he remarked, "Okay Blondie, I'll make this simple. You wanna know more about the woman who runs the fighting ring, you gotta tell me more about someone too. Equal exchange."

There was a pause before Monroe asked, "What do you wanna know?"

He could almost hear the smirk on the cat's face as he replied, "Well... I've heard rumors about a new student in your little circle. A faunus boy with a scarred face. What do you know about him?"

Hadrian felt his heart drop. He looked up to see the R's staring wide-eyed at him.

However, he heard Monroe stand as she said, "No deal, Checkers. If you managed to find out about her, then so can I."

"Hmm," the man, Checkers, chuckled, "Good luck, kiddo. You know you don't have my skill set..."

As Monroe started to leave, the trio stood up and met her. Her baggy eyes widened as she saw them, before quickly turning into a scowl. Before she could nag them about following her, Haddy leaned around her to look at the smug cat.

"Can you give us a minute?" he asked.

With a smirk and raised brow, Checkers nodded before taking another swig of his drink. Haddy motioned at the table they'd just risen from, sitting down as he waited. Robyn and Ryder looked to one another before turning to Monroe and taking a seat as well. The blonde huffed and sat down beside Haddy.

"Okay," he started, "Can someone please tell me what's going on."

As everyone turned to Monroe, she sighed and explained, "On our last mission as Team Prosciutto, we were working some leads about an underground fighting ring somewhere in the kingdom of Vale. Huntsmen had been getting reports that people had been turning up beaten to a pulp or worse. Most of the ones who regained consciousness said that someone had drugged them and forced them into a ring with grimm against their will for people to place bets on.

"Our job was to get intel and get out. Unfortunately, that's not how it went," she paused, taking a breath before continuing, "We got caught. Peri got thrown into the ring. He didn't make it out. Huntsmen got to us before any of us got thrown in. Checkers knows more about the woman who runs the fights, and I want to go after her."

Robyn and Ryder were silent as they listened, but after a moment, Haddy asked, "Okay... and who is Checkers?"

"I'm an information broker."

Haddy looked up to see the cat-eared man resting his chin on his arms as they were sitting on top of the high-backed booth, grinning down at the students. The faint smell of hookah smoke and vanilla danced off him. He swirled his drink in one hand as he sat up slightly to cup his cheek in his other hand, eagerly listening to the conversation.

Robyn snapped up at him, "Can you not?"

The feral alley cat smiled his devilish grin as he lowered himself back down to his own table, taking the relieving vanilla fragrance with him. The husky's nose continued to cry to him. Haddy turned back to his teammates with a raised brow, only to see the R's sunk into their seats. He was about to ask what was wrong when Robyn beat him to the punch.

"You said that we'd go after her together, Cade," she said as she crossed her arms. Beside her, Ryder nodded in agreement.

Monroe sighed as she replied, "I'm sorry, okay? I just didn't want to get you guys involved with Check if I didn't have to... I know how much you hate working with him."

"Yeah," Ryder started, craning his neck up as he spoke louder, "'Cause 'e always wan's somethin' more, an' we end up gettin' screw'd!"

There was no response from the other booth, but Haddy could almost feel the feral faunus grinning. Monroe sighed, "He always has accurate info though."

Robyn grumbled under her breath, something about 'never should have trusted him'.

The three of them were silent for a long time, just sitting with their arms crossed as they wouldn't look at one another. Abruptly, Haddy stood up and leaned over the booth's wall to stare at Checkers. He was sitting back across from them, just waiting for their response.

With a frown, the husky asked, "Okay. What do you know about this woman? I'm not giving you anything until I know what you have."

Checkers smiled brightly, revealing a tiny gap in his front teeth, as he leaned around the booth and spoke to the trio, "I like this one... he knows a whole lot more about business than you kittens do..." Robyn stuck her tongue out at him as he chuckled and returned to Hadrian, "All I know right now is her name."

He pondered for a moment, before sighing and stating, "My name is Hadrian Snow."

"Hers is Diana Gae."

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raebaekaedae · 2 years

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Volume One, Episode Six: “Stark’s Secret”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Minor Violence, Death Mentioned, Subtle Themes) Summary: (2,928 words) “Forced to take some time off after the ‘incident’ on Patch, Haddy finds himself wandering Beacon’s halls when he stumbles upon a secret that just might tear apart his relationship with his bestfriend-- Qrow Branwen-- and his suspiciously amazing team...”

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"Ms. Wyndham, watch your hand placement!" Mr. Cray shouted over the arduous sounds of students working out.

Robyn let out an irritated groan as she let her shoulders slump so far that she nearly fell to the floor. "I aaaa-mmmm, Professor!" She sassed, readjusting her hands on the grip of the wooden battleaxe.

The red-haired Huntress huffed and set herself into a sprinting charge towards Ryder. She brought the axe up over her shoulders, ready to swing it down into the faunus's chest; however, he nimbly moved to the side just as she got close enough. Using her thrown momentum and the butt end of his quarterstaff, Ryder tripped her up and sent her tumbling into the training mat.

When she came to a full stop, she let out another exaggerated groan as she fell back and landed flat. She grumbled, "'Don't even use stupid two-handed weapons..."

Ryder half-smiled and walked over to her, offering her a hand up. With an annoyed sigh, Robyn pulled herself up. She crossed her arms against her chest and pouted as she lightly kicked the training axe with the toe of her boot. Professor Cray walked over to the pair and put his hands on his hips.

"Ms. Wyndham..." he gently warned.

The red-haired student grumpily leaned over and gathered the weapon back up. She asked, "What's even the point of me practicing with this thing? It's not like I'm ever gonna use it in a fight!"

With a smirk, the peculiar teacher answered, "You may not ever use a battleaxe in battle, but what about a warhammer, hm?" He motioned with his head towards Ryder, who was standing behind her.

"But that's Ryder's weapon," Robyn remarked, rolling her eyes, "Not mine."

"That's true," Professor Cray explained, "But what happens if Old Mill is damaged in pursuit of your heroics and your partner is downed, hm? All you would have left is Allegheny. Could you fight off a flock of Nevermore to protect him if the need came?"

Robyn frowned as she looked back up at Ryder. The dark-skinned faunus shrugged with a knowing smile. With a sigh, she turned back to the professor and muttered, "Point taken..."

Mr. Cray grinned, "That's what I thought. Now, you seem off-balance. Let me show you how to use your weight in that arching swing..."

Across the room, Hadrian was slumped up against some extra, rolled-up gym mats. He'd already finished all of his assigned work for the entire week. With his arm still healing and resting in a sling, he'd been forbidden from any physical training until his aura had healed it completely. It had been almost a week since the incident on Patch, and he was ready to get back to normal.

He sighed as he flicked through his scroll. Monroe was in history right now; Qrow and Raven were in dust studies; Tai wasn't answering his scroll; And who knew where Summer was right now. He sighed as he closed the communicator and stuck it back in his pocket. He leaned his head back on the mats for a brief moment, just staring up at the ceiling, before he looked down to find the R's.

He watched as Robyn hopped back and forth on her feet, trying to adjust to the added weight of her weapon. When she was ready, she charged Ryder again. As he lowered into a defensive position, she was prepared this time. Instead of swinging wildly, she ducked into a roll in between the faunus's legs. As she came to a stop, she flipped around and swung the two-handed axe into the back of Ryder's legs. Unfortunately, she took a fraction of a second too long and he jumped in the air to avoid the strike.

Professor Cray smiled and clapped his hands together, "Ah! Amazing, Ms. Wyndham! Now let's work on using that agility of yours to your advantage."

Hadrian stood up and dusted the back of his pants off with his good hand before quietly making his way over to his teammates and their teacher. He patiently waited for the cotton-candy-scented professor to finish explaining how Robyn could better her technique before he stepped forward and cleared his throat.

Mr. Cray turned to look at him, as did the R's. With a nervous smile, the husky asked, "Um, professor? Would it be alright if I went back to our dorm until my next class or practiced with a one-handed weapon?"

The pink-haired professor put a hand on his hips as he adjusted his weight, "Now, Mr. Snow, you know I can't condone you training with that injured arm of yours." Haddy's shoulders and tail slumped as his frown fell into a pout.

With a roll of his eyes, Mr. Cray continued, "But, I suppose there isn't any harm if you wanted to leave early."

"Thank you, sir!" Hadrian beamed. He turned and waved to their R's before walking towards the hallway, "See you guys later!"

Robyn and Ryder both returned the wave with smiles of their own before they went back to training. Haddy smiled as he nearly threw open the doors to the training room and happily ambled away. He pushed his good hand into his jacket pocket as he sighed and thought about how he was going to spend the rest of his day.

He was running low on ammunition and dust. Maybe he could go down to Vale and look for a part-time job. If he wanted to continue studying at Beacon he was going to need supplies, and he didn't have his Atlas scholarship to fall back on now. Plus, he was quickly running out of lien. He was lucky that when his scroll broke Qrow was kind enough to replace it.

With a heavy sigh, Hadrian decided. He'd swing by his dorm room and pick up his bag before heading down to Vale to see if anyone was looking for a part-time employee. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too much to juggle a job and his school work. With a half-smile, he rounded the corner and spotted two figures at the other end of the hall-- cinnamon and licorice filled his nose in an autumnal dance.

He squinted his eyes as he examined them from afar. Black hair, dark clothes, and spicy scents; the Branwen twins. Hadrian had his hand halfway raised as he was readying himself to call out for his friends when Raven pulled Qrow into a janitorial closet. Haddy raised an eyebrow as his hand slowly lowered. They hadn't seemed to have noticed him, but they were acting strangely.

At that moment, Hadrian's curiosity got the better of him and he slowly crept towards the closet's closed door. As he got closer and closer, he could hear quiet murmuring and what sounded like arguing. His hearing might not be as good as Monroe's, but he still had sensitive, faunus ears... even if they were human ears... it's a figure of speech, alright?

He stealthily inched his way up to the door and put his ear to it.

"... we need to report in. They're going to start getting suspicious," it sounded like Raven.

There was a brief pause before Qrow replied, "I know, I know, but... don't you think we could hold off until next week?"

"No, Qrow," his sister replied, "We said that last week and the week before."

"Raven..." he quietly pleaded.

"Don't 'Raven' me. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you signed up for this job." Hadrian's brow furrowed as he listened intently.

He could almost hear the frown and shake of his head as Qrow replied, "What if we weren't meant to be bandits?"

Hadrian's eyes widened as his hand instinctively rose to his mouth. He quietly backed away as the conversation faded back into inaudible whispers. Before he could comprehend what he'd just heard, the school bell rang and the class period ended. It wouldn't be long before the halls were flooded with students; and he knew that the Branwens knew that. Hadrian almost fell over himself as he activated his semblance and skated down the hall, rounding the corner before the twins could open the closet door.

He didn't stop until he reached his team's dorm, sliding in and slamming the door behind him. Hadrian fell onto his butt as he rested his back against the door and took a moment to just breathe and think. He ran a hand through his hair as he replayed the conversation in his head. Maybe he'd just misheard them, or it was just a misunderstanding. There was no way in all of Remnant that Qrow could be a bandit.

His heart pounded against his chest as his tail nervously twitched. He pulled himself up and scampered over to his make-shift bunk. He sat down with his good elbow on his knee as he continued to try to find a logical answer to his plight. As his head fell, his eyes caught a glimpse of something sticking out from underneath his pillow. Just the corner of a beaten-up picture frame that he was sure he'd covered all the way this morning.

Robyn must have been snooping again...

With a sigh, he pulled the photo out from underneath its soft protection and stared down at it. A smile crept onto his lips as he looked over his old teammates. As his pale eyes fell over the stoic figure in beige, a memory slowly started to resurface in his mind...

"I'm gonna become'a Huntress t' save people," Ollie chirped, rolling over upside down on her bunk to face all of them, her pigtails cascading over the edge.

The boys all set down what they were doing to look over to her. It had been their first night together inside the Academy. She smiled, "If a Huntsman hadn't come along, my brothers would b' dead righ' now, so I'm goin'ta repay the favor an' save as many lives as I can."

Haddy smiled as he lifted his folded quilt up onto the top bunk of his shared bed. He replied, "That's as good a reason as any if you ask me! I'm just in it for the lien and glory. I want to be a great Huntsman; just like our dad." Leon rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"The money and fame are decent reasons, but why you'd ever wanna be like that bastard will never make sense to me," his brother sassed, unpacking his bag.

Haddy smirked and elbowed Leon, jostling some of his clothes from his hands and holding them above his head playfully. Ollie laughed as Leon jumped up and tried to take the uniform back from his brother, "Okay, Leo. What about you?"

"Hads and I are a package deal," he said, finally wrestling the clothes away from Haddy, "Where he goes, I go. So, if he wants to be a Huntsman, then I guess I'm just along for the ride."

With a laugh, Hadrian rustled Leon's dark hair as he threw an arm around his shoulders. As the brothers started to fight and pick at each other, the collie looked down from her bunk to see Bēju silently unpacking his belongings and neatly organizing them. With a pout, she hopped down and crossed her arms. He turned to her with a half-frown as he pushed past her to get to his drawers.

"Oh, nuh-uh," the ginger sassed, pulling Bēju around by his ear. He tried to break free, grabbing her wrist; but given her strength, that wasn't gonna happen. She turned him around to face the huskies as she snapped, "Y'promis'd ya weren't gonna be all broody so spill it."

Leon and Hadrian turned around to look at the pair, pulling themselves free from their wrestling as Bēju sighed. He paused for a moment, looking down at Ollie, who nudged him forward. He grumbled, but explained, "I'm... not in it for glory or money or righteous reasons..."

The brothers looked to one another, before listening intently as Bēju continued, "My dad was the only family I had. He worked hard and got us a place up here in Atlas. However, he also had to travel a lot for business. When he was visiting Vacuo, his transport was attacked by bandits... they took everything and killed the Atlas security protecting him and his colleagues... and then left them. It wasn't long before the grimm found them... and killed him..."

As Bēju finished, he awkwardly rubbed his elbow and waited to gauge his friends' responses. He looked up to see both Haddy and Leo half-smiling, and Ollie was resting a hand on his shoulder. He sighed, "I just wanna make sure what happened to him, doesn't happen to anyone else."

With a reassuring smile, Hadrian walked up to him and also placed a hand on his shoulder, promising, "Well then, Team Solitude is with you. We'll take down any bandits we come across and make Remnant a safer place. I swear."

Leon joined them as they all grinned in a group for a moment, linking their arms and resting hands on each other's backs...

As the memory faded away, Hadrian was reminded of his promise. He leaned back, letting the picture frame rest in his lap as he let his head rest gently against the window. He closed his eyes as he muttered, "Damnit, Tadashi..."

After a moment, he took a deep breath and sat up straight. He took one last look at the picture before sticking it back under his pillow where it belonged. Hadrian slowly stood up and gathered half of Sleigh, clipping the ice pick to his belt as he slowly made his way towards the dorm room door.

The husky swallowed hard as he turned the knob and stepped into the hall. As the door quietly closed, his eyes landed on the plaque across from his dorm; "Team STRQ". He took a small step forward, then another until he reached his friends' dorm. His closed hand raised up to knock on the door, but he hesitated. Hadrian just stared forward for a moment before he closed his eyes and knocked.

"Come in!"

Tai.

Hadrian reached down and turned the knob to enter the dorm. He looked around until his eyes landed on the blond. Tai was laying on his back with a comic held up in the air. Summer was across the room, gently setting down her book as he entered. Raven and Qrow were nowhere to be seen. Hadrian swallowed hard again as he stepped inside and let the door close behind him.

The white-cloaked girl looked up at him with a curious eye as she asked, "What's wrong, Haddy?"

That got Tai's attention as he looked down from his comic and at Hadrian with an inquisitive eye of his own. The faunus rubbed the back of his neck as he hesitantly asked, "Um, have you guys seen the Branwens?"

The pair exchanged a glance before Tai sat up straight and Summer stood up. The blond crossed his arms as he asked, "Branwens, huh? Not Qrow and Raven?"

"Uhmm--" he started.

"Hadrian," Summer cut in, taking a few steps forward, "What's wrong."

He looked back and forth between them, before he bit his lip and quickly spilled, "I-overheard-the-Branwens-talking-about-something-shady-and-then-they-said-something-about-reporting-in-and-I-think-they're-bandits-and-I-don't-wanna-be-right-but-I-don't-know-what-else-they-could-have-meant-and-I-need-help."

For a moment, Tai and Summer were speechless. They just stared at Hadrian with surprise on their faces. However, almost simultaneously, the pair burst out laughing. Tai grabbed his sides as he fell flat on his back and Summer's hands rose up to her mouth as she giggled. Hadrian could only stare blankly at them as they started to die down.

Tai wiped a tear from his eye as he sat up again and chuckled, "Oh man, I thought you were gonna say something completely different!"

"Y-You're not surprised!?" Haddy finally exclaimed, throwing his arm out in emphasis, "Disappointed? Angry? Hell, intrigued??"

The blond continued to belt out laughter as Summer composed herself and walked up to Haddy. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and explained, "No, we already knew."

"What!?" Hadrian shouted, "And you didn't say anything!?"

"We didn't have to, silly," the dark-haired girl smiled, "They told us about three weeks into school, and they'd already told Professor Ozpin before that."

The husky faunus stood in complete shock, mouth agape as Summer continued to explain, "They were raised by bandits, and sent to Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen; but, when they got here, they decided that they wanted to do some good in the world instead."

"But-- But--, Raven said that they needed to contact their clan!" Haddy sputtered out.

Summer giggled again, "Yeah, so that they don't get suspicious of Raven and Qrow."

As the wheels started turning in Hadrian's head, Tai chipped in, "Raven still has friends in the tribe, so she likes to check in on them."

"But-- I-- wait--" Haddy started, but before he could continue the door to the room opened and the Branwen twins walked in.

Qrow looked up from his conversation with his sister as a grin ran across his face. He jumped forward and slung an arm around Haddy's shoulders, saying, "Hey man! What's up?"

Again, the faunus turned back to Tai and Summer with a dumbstruck look on his face and a stutter in his voice. Qrow raised an eyebrow as he pulled away from his best friend and Raven joined them. With a smile, Summer took Tai-- who was still cackling-- by his arm and started to lead him towards the door.

She looked over her shoulder as she laughed, "You three have a lot to talk about..." Before she walked out the door with the blond in tow.

Qrow and Raven glanced back at Haddy with questioning brows and confusion in their eyes. The faunus could still only sputter out half-words as he laughed to himself and rubbed the back of his head in light of his misunderstanding.

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raebaekaedae · 2 years

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Volume One, Episode Three: “Icebreakers”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG (Excessive Violence Mentioned, Subtle Themes) Summary: (2,375 words) “Finally the weekend, and Haddy is settling into Beacon just fine after his rough start. That is, until Robyn suggests that the new team playing get-to-know-you games to learn a little bit more about their new teammate! What does Monroe do with her free time? How many siblings does Robyn have? Is Ryder going to have more than four lines of dialogue? Who is Mr. Bubbles??? I’m sure nothing TOO personal will come up... right?”

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Hadrian had been settling into Beacon alright. He'd made a few friends, had a new team. Sure, he wasn't as close with them yet, but he had high hopes. Ryder was quiet but kind. Robyn had a little too much energy and kept everyone in line. Monroe reminded him of his brother, very serious with something to prove; even if Leo hid it behind smiles and laughs instead of 'Roe's cynicism. They all reminded him of his team in Atlas.

Today, he'd spent the morning doing a little online shopping for a mattress to fit his window-side bed. It didn't take him long to order a custom cushion from a local store and have it delivered directly to the school when it was ready; much to the dismay of his bank account. Until then, he set up the borrowed pillows neatly as he cleaned up his sleeping space. He smiled as he picked up the husky plush and set it down by his pillow at the head of his makeshift bed.

Across the room, Ryder was also making his bed, tucking the corners gently under the mattress. Haddy has woken up at dawn to the smell of cleaning polish and found that Ryder was already up and dressed. He was cleaning his hammer-- which the slippery faunus had learned was named Allegheny-- and offered him some lubricant for his rifle. They'd spent the morning quietly talking and fiddling with their weapons.

The next person up was Monroe. The first thing she did was let out a loud yawn and stretch, before lifting up her sleep mask and taking the nighttime earplugs from her ears. When she noticed the boys were up, she nodded to them before gathering her clothes, brush, toothpaste, and other toiletries and heading to the bathroom for her morning routine. She was back before long; hair curled, make-up applied, and dressed. She made her bed in an almost militaristic fashion.

Last was Robyn. As she rose from her sprawled-out sleep, dozens of stuffed animals and blankets rolled to the ground. Her hair stuck out in every direction as she tumbled out of bed, and groggily meandered towards the door to presumably change. She was back in a few minutes, fully awake and cheery as she bounded into the room with a toothy smile. She clearly hadn't run a comb through her hair and instead opted to just adorn it with her twiggy, flower circlet.

"Guys!" she exclaimed as she jumped up onto her bed, sending several plushies bouncing away, "I know what we should do today!"

It was Saturday, so they had the day off.

"And what's that?" Monroe asked as she finished making her bed and clipped her compacted fishing rod to her belt.

"We should do icebreakers!" Robyn said. She jumped into the air and then landed Indian-style on her bed with the same toothy grin.

Ryder raised a brow as he turned to look at Monroe, who had a similar expression on her face. He asked, "Icebreak'rs?"

"Yeah!" she sassed with crossed arms, "Y'know! Like get-to-know-you games!"

Another shared glance, before Monroe stated, "We already know one another, Robyn."

The redhead rolled her eyes along with her whole head as she remarked, "Yeah, but, Hadrian doesn't know anything about us! And, we don't know anything about him!"

At the mention of his name, Hadrian looked up from his clutter cleaning with a quilted blanket in his hands. All eyes turned to him as he suddenly felt pressured to say something. He quickly finished tucking the blanket into place before he turned to them with a nervous smile.

"I'm up for whatever you guys wanna do," he said cooly, or at least what he thought was cooly. In all reality, it probably wasn't that smooth.

With her iconic smile, Robyn looked to Ryder and Monroe. The scaled faunus just shrugged, but the blonde weighed her options before sighing out a nod. With a giddy giggle, Robyn scooted to the edge of her bed and motioned for everyone to sit down. After one last exchanged glance between the three of them, they each sat down on their beds.

"What should we play first?" The redhead asked, "Ooh! How about the Name Game?" She looked around to gauge everyone's responses.

"Sure," Hadrian smiled, "How do you play?"

"Well, one person says their name," Robyn explained, "Then the next person says their name and the last person's name too! So if we go clockwise, it would be; me, Hadrian, Ryder, and then Cadie! Oh, and you say a fun fact about yourself!"

The teammates nodded and waited for the wild-haired ginger to start, "Robyn Wyndham! I like flower crowns and bumblebees!" When she finished, she turned expectantly to Haddy.

"Uh... Hadrian Snow, I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches," the husky faunus started, "Robyn Wyndham?"

"Great! Ryder's turn!"

"Ryder Flaxen, I'm an av'd hik'r... Hadr'n Snow... Robyn Wyndh'm..."

"Cascade Monroe, I enjoy fishing on the lake. Ryder Flaxen, Hadrian Snow, Robyn Wyndham."

As the blonde finished, everyone turned to Robyn for their next instruction. The ginger rubbed her chin as she mumbled, "I think that one's supposed to be played with more people..."

Ryder chuckled as Monroe tried to hide an amused eye roll and Haddy smirked. After a moment to collect themselves, Robyn snapped her fingers and asked, "How about Never Have I Ever?"

"A much better idea," Monroe remarked with a half-smile.

"Okay! I'll start!" the joyous teen started, before pausing to think a moment, "Never Have I Ever... been an only child!" Robyn and-- after a moment to think about the rules of the game-- Hadrian both raised their hands.

"You got siblin's?" Ryder asked with a cocked smile and brow.

Hadrian rubbed the back of his head as he solemnly answered, "Yeah, a half-brother named Leon. He was on my old team back in Atlas..."

There was a shared response of nods and smiles as Robyn stated, "See? We're learning new things already!"

Hadrian smiled as he replied, "What about you, Robyn?"

"There's eight of us Wyndhams!" she said enthusiastically as she counted them out on her fingers, "I'm the only girl. There's Fynch, Thrysh, Jay, Wryn, Passeryn, then me, Osprey, and Heryn."

The husky faunus listened intently, before he awed, "I can't even imagine a family that large..."

Robyn smiled as he took a moment to think. He furrowed his brow as he started, "Hmmm... Never Have I Ever... had a sunburn?" Hadrian and Ryder raised their hands this time.

"Well, of course, you've never had a sunburn! You live in the freakin' arctic!" Robyn pouted with crossed arms.

That got a chuckle out of the false team leader as he shrugged his shoulders, "I'm playing for points, Rob."

The ginger rolled her eyes as Ryder thought for a moment. He said, "Nev'r 'ave I ev'r... made'a wish on m' birthday candles." He was the only one to raise his hand; which gave him a sly smile.

Monroe went on with her turn next, "Never Have I Ever... gone through someone else's stuff without their permission." She eyed the R's as she raised her hand.

"Aw, c'mon, y'u're not still holdin' a grudge ov'r that, 're ya?" Ryder smiled.

Monroe crossed her arms in a huff and snarkily replied, "I'd known you guys for like half-an-hour!" Robyn and Ryder laughed as she flustered herself.

"Aw, but Mr. Bubbles was soooo lonely in your bag all by himself," Robyn cooed with a giggle. Monroe reached back for her pillow to throw at the redhead but found nothing there, and cursed under her breath.

"Who is Mr. Bubbles?" Hadrian asked with a laugh of his own.

From out of her massive pile of stuffed animals, Robyn pulled a shoddily-made bass plushie. She held it up to her face and spoke for the animal, "I'm Cadie's bestest friend in the whole, wide world!"

Monroe quickly dove over her bed and snatched the bass with a hiss, "How did you even get him!?"

Ryder, Robyn, and Hadrian all laughed as Monroe held the plush close to her chest and pouted. The blonde stomped back over to her bed and sat down with a huff as she stuck the fish into her bag. She crossed her arms as Robyn counted up the points from the game.

"Looks like a tie between Ryder and Hadrian," she said, "Which means... Tie-Breaker Lightning Round!"

The husky asked, "And what does that mean, exactly?"

"You and Ryder ask each other the questions. The first person to fail loses," Robyn explained, "You'd go first because you were the next closest in the line-up."

"Alright," Hadrian said, pausing for a moment to think, "Never Have I Ever... been late to school."

As he slowly raised his hand, he and Ryder stared each other down. Tension rose as the pair glared at the other. However, the scale-covered faunus broke first. Ryder smirked as his hand rose. Hadrian let out the breath he didn't know he was holding as he groaned out a disappointing sigh.

Ryder thought for a moment, studying Hadrian's face before he stated, "Nev'r 'ave I ev'r... need'd stitches."

The tension returned, but for not as long. The husky faunus let his shoulders slump as he looked down to the ground and sighed, "Well played, Flaxen... Well played."

Hadrian got up and walked over to Ryder's bed to exchange a victor's handshake, which the armadillo accepted with a smile. Robyn and Monroe clapped as Ryder stood up and took an exaggerated bow, and Hadrian laughed. As the husky faunus took his seat, Robyn jumped to her feet atop her comforter.

"Soooooooo," she drew out, before pointing a finger to Hadrian, "What's the dealio with the scar anyway?"

Ryder's head whipped around to her as he snapped, "Robyn!"

"No, it's okay," Hadrian reassured with a laughing smile, "I don't mind."

As Robyn sat back down and all eyes turned to him, Hadrian rubbed the back of his neck as he retold the story, "It was a mission outside of Atlas, my last mission at the Academy.

"We were running a relief mission for the people of Mantle. A deadly plague called Ice Fever was running rampant, and people were dropping like flies. There was a cure in the works in an Atlesian Research Facility out in the middle of nowhere. So, my class and my team were assigned to deliver supplies from a military outpost a few miles outside of the city to another post in a relay.

"Unfortunately, the route we'd taken was full of grimm. We were able to fend off the majority of them, but a pack of icy Beowolves got the best of us. They got us separated and took us down..." Hadrian's voice faded away for a moment before he continued, "Anyway, a group of Huntsmen found us before anything irreversible happened. We got the cure to the next outpost and returned to the Academy with only scars and stories to tell."

Robyn listened intently with her hands on her chin and elbows on her knees. She had stars in her eyes as she awed, "Wow... that's amazing..."

"It w's very adm'rable of you an' y'ur team," Ryder pitched in.

When Hadrian turned to Monroe to gauge her input, he found her staring at him intently. It was a little off-putting as she seemingly stared into his very soul to interpret his true feelings. However, after a moment she relaxed and leaned back on her hands as she faintly smiled.

She cautiously asked, "Is that when you decided to leave Atlas?"

Hadrian nodded as he replied, "Yeah. It didn't feel right to lead my team-- any team really-- after I'd led them into what was basically a trap. So, I applied here."

"What were they like?" Monroe asked.

The husky faunus smiled as fond memories of his teammates filled his mind. After a moment he answered, "They were different, that's for sure. Leon-- my brother-- he was always joking around and keeping spirits high, but he knew when to be serious. Ollie was loud and always voiced her opinions, never backing down from anyone. And Bēju, he was stoic and strong, he was quiet but knew when he was needed."

"What happened to them after... y'know..." Robyn questioned, gesturing to her face where a scar would be if she was Haddy.

"Well, Ollie went back home to Argus to be with her family. She wanted to take a semester off to rethink whether or not she was coming back," he replied with a small, sad smile, "Bēju decided to stay enrolled and take the semester to just train and better himself. And Leo..."

His voice trailed off as he thought of his brother. He paused for a moment, before quietly continuing, "Leo decided that the Huntsman life just wasn't for him. He went back home and started looking for other jobs..."

The trio listened as Hadrian recited his past shortcomings to them. Their leader-in-name, however, only smiled as he lifted his head and stated, "Sorry if that was melodramatic! I didn't mean for it to come off as that depressing."

"No worries, man," Ryder reassured.

"Yeah! Don't worry about it!" Robyn added with a toothy smile.

An awkward silence filled the dorm as everyone continued to look at Hadrian as his story ended. He sat there for a moment, just taking turns looking to each of them before he put his hands on his knees and asked, "So... what now?"

The team glanced around to one another before their eyes settled on Robyn. She took a moment to think before she snapped her fingers and said, "Oh! How about we all go get brunch in the cafeteria and show Hadrian around?"

When no one objected, the red-haired Huntress-in-training jumped to her feet and scooped up her shield before hurriedly running off into the hall. Monroe rolled her eyes with a smirk as she made her way out into the hall as well. Ryder chuckled as he lifted his hammer and secured it on his shoulder, motioning for Hadrian to follow suit.

As Hadrian clipped his picks to his belt he asked, "Is she always this full of energy?"

Ryder only chuckled as he nodded and the pair left the dorm to follow after the energetic girl and their secret leader.

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raebaekaedae · 2 years

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Volume One, Episode Two: “In the Dog House”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Death Mentioned, Prominent Themes) Summary: (3,499 words) “When Headmaster Ozpin names Hadrian the team leader of the newly-minted Team SCWR (Security), things get a little tense. Monroe storm off in a huff, and it seems like Robyn and Ryder are siding with her. Honestly, given his past failures as a leader, Hadrian’s on their side... however, this seems to be where Ozpin thinks he needs to be.”

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"WHAT!?" the pair shouted at the same time.

Professor Ozpin stood like a statue with his cane in his hands behind his back. He again repeated, "I said that Mr. Snow will be leading Team Security."

"B-But, I--" Hadrian started.

However, he was cut off when Monroe harshly cut in, "Sir! I took command on our training mission, and have been acting leader for weeks! You can't just give Snow the job I've been doing without reason!"

He would have been hurt by that accusation if he didn't agree with it.

"I do have my reasons, Ms. Monroe," the Professor reassured, "In fact, I have quite the list of recommendations handy from the Headmaster at Atlas Academy."

Monroe's head whipped around to him as her eyes bore into him. Quickly, Hadrian stepped forward and explained, "I asked for those papers to be dismissed, sir!"

"You knew about them?" the blonde asked, accusingly.

"What!?" the faunus held his hands up in surrender as he stammered out, "No- I mean, I- Well, I'd heard rumors, but--"

"Ugh!" Monroe groaned in frustration, "You said you didn't want this!"

"I don't!" he replied, truthfully. He turned to the headmaster and reasserted, "I really don't."

"Well, unfortunately, the decision has already been made," the Professor replied, "Your ability to take action and formulate an adequate plan in the heat of battle was what put you above Ms. Monroe."

"But," Hadrian objected, "Monroe led the assault on the Goliath, and she ensured that we completed the objective!"

"Did she now?" The headmaster mused, "I do believe that it was your strategy that won the day."

The faunus glanced over to the interim leader before he lied, "No, sir. It was Monroe's plan."

The minty-haired teacher raised a brow and questioned, "Oh?"

"Yes, sir," Hadrian falsely explained, "She wanted Robyn and Ryder to distract the Goliath so that we could trip it up."

Ozpin's eyes rested on the dark-haired faunus for a moment before he pulled out his scroll. The professor's finger rolled over the screen for a moment but stopped when he came to a video file. He clicked play and showed the students. Hadrian's tail fell flat as he recognized the setting. It was his team competing in the last Vytal festival.

They watched as Hadrian and one of his teammates, a fiery-haired faunus girl named Ollie, danced around a team from Haven. The pair of faunus skated around them with ease, tying them up and tangling them in lines. Just as they finished and pulled the ropes taught, another member of the team, Bēju, sent the students flying.

As the video ended and the headmaster lowered his scroll, Hadrian tried explaining, "I- We- I just--"

"Mr. Snow," the silver-haired professor started, "I appreciate your dedication to preserve Ms. Monroe's wishes for leadership; but, I have made my decision."

With that, Monroe turned and stomped out of the office without another word. Hadrian looked back at Robyn and Ryder, who hadn't made a single sound since entering. The R's exchanged a glance and then turned to walk after Monroe. They silently left the penthouse office, leaving him there by himself.

One last time, he turned back to the Headmaster and pleaded, "Please, Professor Ozpin. I'm begging you; I can't lead another team."

"I beg to differ," the professor said with a smile as he sat down behind his desk.

Defeated, Hadrian took his leave. He rode the elevator down to the main hall in lonely silence. His tail laid flat against his legs as he rubbed his elbow, lost in thought. When the doors opened and his team was standing there, he felt a bit guilty.

Monroe glanced back at him and scoffed before walking off. Ryder and Robyn looked to one another before their eyes followed their true leader. Hadrian stepped out of the elevator and stood before them with trepidation and culpability fully visible on his face. The scaled faunus looked him over before sighing.

"Look, man," Ryder said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Don' take 't person'lly. She's jus' 'ad 'er heart set’on th's f'r a while."

"What about you guys?" Haddy asked cautiously, "What do you two want?"

Robyn glanced up at Ryder before she answered, "We just want our team back together. I don't care who's in charge, but..."

When her voice trailed off, the scaled faunus finished for her, "Monroe's 'r fr'end, an' 'f that's what she wan's, th'n we'll stand by 'er."

With that, the R's headed off after Monroe. Robyn offered Hadrian a wave on her way, but you could tell it was half-hearted. The husky faunus weakly waved after them. He watched as they left, leaving him alone in the hall with dozens of other students walking around.

"Guess I'm not their friend then..." he told himself as his shoulders slumped.

Just as he was about to wander off on his own, a message popped up on his scroll.

QROW: Hey, dude! Just heard about your promotion! Congrats! :D

Qrow... At least he had one person in his corner.

HDRN: Thanks... I wouldn't say I'm thrilled about that development tho

QROW: Wanna talk about it? My team and I are about to hit this great noodle place downtown

HDRN: Sure, that sounds good. Send me the address and I'll meet you there

He waited for Qrow to send him the address and then headed towards the entrance of the school.

About a half-hour later, he was walking the streets of Vale with his hands in his pockets and tail laying flat. He continued past groups of friends and other students who were using their day off to the fullest, under the tall buildings of the capital city. Hadrian's mind buzzed with activity, but none of the thoughts fully formed into anything meaningful. He just quietly walked in the direction of the noodle shop.

After a few minutes, he heard a familiar, happy voice call out, "Hey! Haddy! Over here!"

He looked up to see the gothic figure of Qrow standing up on the support between the legs of a stool and waving him over. The noodle shop he'd promised was more of a market stall on the side of the street. Beside him were three figures, only one of which he recognized; Raven. She was still staring daggers into him, which he didn't find surprising given his luck with people recently.

He walked up and gave a small wave as Qrow introduced him, "This is Haddy, guys. He's the guy I was telling you about yesterday."

"It's nice to meet you," the faunus added as he sat down on the stool next to Qrow.

The blond boy, who smelled like sunflowers and sunshine, on the other side of the stall had a mouthful of noodles in his mouth as he tried to speak, "I'ss no'se to mee' yo'uuu!"

Raven smacked him on the back of the head, sending the noodles back into his bowl. He laughed and rubbed the place where he'd been hit, "Sorry! I said, 'it's nice to meet you'! I'm Taiyang Xiao Long, but these guys just call me Tai."

The other girl, her rosy aroma dancing through the air, had a white hood over her head, but quietly smiled, "I'm Summer."

"You already know Raven," Qrow said as he vaguely gestured to his sister.

With a heavy sigh, she reluctantly said, "Yeah, whatever. We met yesterday. Sorry if I came off as rude."

Tai and Summer giggled as a light blush ran across Raven's face. Qrow slung an arm over her shoulders, which is when she immediately threw him off. He tried to keep his balance, but he fell straight off the stool. That got a chuckle out of everyone, even Haddy. Qrow smiled, happy with himself as he picked himself up.

The husky faunus ordered a simple bowl of noodles as Tai asked, "So, you just moved here from Solitas, huh?"

"Yeah, it's pretty different," Haddy replied.

"How so?" the blond questioned with a smile.

"Well," Haddy started, "it's a lot warmer."

When Qrow and Tai laughed heartily, Haddy quickly clarified, "Well, I mean, of course, it's warmer, but I meant like the people are warmer... or nicer I guess."

"I've heard it's all politics and discipline up there," Raven tutted before she took a bite of her noodles.

"That about sums it up," Haddy agreed as his own noodles arrived.

"If the people are so much nicer down here," Tai said as he leaned forward on his elbows, "Why're you hanging out with us instead of your team?"

Summer elbowed him, shushing him as he finished. "Tai!" she snapped.

"No, it's alright," Haddy sighed, "I guess I should probably be bonding with them or whatever..." he paused took take a sip of the noodley broth before continuing, "Monroe doesn't want anything to do with me, especially now that the Headmaster's made me the team leader; and, Robyn and Ryder are taking her side... so, I guess I'm here because I'm avoiding having to face them later."

The quartet exchanged glances before Qrow looked to him and assured, "Well, don't worry about it right now. I'm sure they'll come around."

"If you want my advice," Raven sighed, "You should meet them halfway."

Haddy forced a small smile, but he stared down into his noodles with a sullen look. Summer reached across the bar and put her hands on his with a smile of her own, "Leading can be hard, but if you need someone to talk to, we can be here for you."

"Thanks," he said, a little bit happier.

"Oh hey!" Qrow exclaimed, digging into his pocket, "I got you something!"

The faunus was about to say that he didn't have to get him anything, but Qrow had already fished out a light blue, almost white, scroll with silver gilding. He handed it to Haddy as he said, "To replace the one I broke yesterday."

"Qrow, I told you that wasn't your fault!" Haddy exclaimed, overwhelmed with the expensive gift, "You really didn't have to do this!"

"Yeah, Qrow," Raven snapped with crossed arms, "You didn't."

The crow-haired teen frowned at his sister before he turned back to Haddy and said, "Look, I was due for an upgrade anyway; but, I like this model so..." he gestured to the scroll.

Haddy opened up the scroll and saw that it already had all of Qrow's team registered in it. He looked over their names and then something clicked. He turned to them and asked, "Wait, are you guys Team Stark?"

"Yep," Tai answered as he stuffed another bundle of noodles into his mouth.

"I've heard you guys are, like, the best of the best," Haddy remarked with a smirk, before taking a bite of his own noodles.

"That's right," Raven replied, before Qrow elbowed her, "What? We are."

Summer giggled again as Haddy laughed in amusement.

"As you can tell," Qrow said as he shook his head, "some of us aren't that humble."

This time it was Tai who chuckled. Raven only crossed her arms as she pouted. Normally he couldn't smell her-- almost like she was a shadow-- but, right now she smelled like black licorice. The students spent the rest of the long lunch chatting and joking around. After he paid and the team took their leave, Haddy felt a bit more included in this new environment. He felt happier as he started the long walk back to the school.

He ambled his way down the nearly empty streets, he looked up into the darkening sky. He watched as the pink clouds passed over the lowering sun and cast him in shade. The shadows cooled the air around him and reminded him of home. He could remember the snowy fields and white-topped mountains.

Fresh hay... Earthy polish... Caramel...

Instead of being enveloped in memories, he looked to his surroundings and took in the sights this kingdom had to offer. The cobbled streets were as quaint as the short buildings that lined them. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he'd become accustomed to the skyscrapers and tall cityscapes of Atlas. He missed the cold of home and thought of his mother. He should call her later...

The streets were lined with banners and multicolored balloons in preparation for the year's Vytal Festival. He'd never been to Vale's version of the Festival. He visited Mistral the year before last with his team to compete in the tournament; and, he'd watched the last festival in Vacuo before that; and, he and his brother had snuck into the arena before that to watch the festival in Atlas. To think that was almost six years ago.

But, he'd never seen Vale's Vytal Festival. He was eager to get to see the cultures of his new home. He was more than ready to compete in the tourney again, although he wasn't so sure his team was. If he wanted to advance further than before, he'd need to get them to trust him. He wanted to prove to the people of Atlas that he'd made the right choice by leaving... not that anyone there would have even cared.

Maybe he should call home.

He pulled out his new scroll and tapped it to his old one so the data would transfer. After a moment, he opened the light blue communicator and searched through the contacts until he found his mother's; "Momma". He hesitated, but tapped on it and held the scroll up to his ear.

It rang-- well, sang-- once... twice... thrice... then a click.

He sighed before speaking to the emptiness, "Hey momma, it's Hadrian."

When no one responded, he continued, "I'm settling into Vale. I've made a few friends... I have a new team; Team Security. They're... different from the guys and Ollie. Less serious, y'know. Less to prove."

He waited again to see if she would respond.

"Um, the weather here is much more stable than back home," he said, "I actually camped out under the stars last night; kept the tradition alive, y'know. It was nice. Very warm."

There was still silence.

"One of my teammates is from Menagerie," he said, "His name is Ryder."

"D... Did you call for a reason?" she finally asked.

"W-Well, no, but--" he started.

"Are you coming home?" she questioned.

"I wasn't planning on it--" he again started.

"Then why did you call?"

"I just... wanted to talk to you, I guess."

"..."

"If you're busy, I can call back later."

"Goodbye, Hadrian..."

"Bye, mom..." he sighed dejectedly as he hung up the scroll... even though the line was already dead.

Not the best call to home he'd had in a while, but at least she picked up this time. He stuck the scroll back into his pocket as he continued walking back towards the school. He'd lied before, it was actually pretty cold last night, he was looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight.

When he did finally make it back to the team's room it was well into the evening. He'd walked through the courtyard under the stars. He stared at the brass plaque that now read 'Team SCWR'. He sighed as he held up his scroll to the lock and entered the darkened room.

He'd almost hoped that the rest of his team would be asleep, but he wasn't that lucky. They were still awake. Ryder was in bed, reading aloud. Robyn was sitting on the end of his bed, listening to him as he did. Monroe was in her bed, looking through her scroll. The R's looked up when the door creaked open, but Monroe didn't. She continued to ignore him.

Hadrian's tail rested against the back of his legs as he quickly ducked into the room and grabbed his bag from beside the door. He started to make his way over to the open bed when Robyn grabbed his arm as he passed.

She looked up at him apologetically before Monroe spoke up, "We've decided that you can't sleep there."

"What?" Haddy asked as he turned to the blonde.

"You can't sleep there," she repeated, looking up from her scroll.

He looked back at Robyn and Ryder. They both avoided his gaze, but Ryder clarified, "'T w's our old leader's bed... i's just... our way 'f r'memb'rin' 'im."

Hadrian's heart shattered. He knew that they'd lost their last team leader, and he knew that he'd died, but something about hearing it from them made it hurt. He watched as Ryder looked away and Robyn's eyes followed suit. He turned back to look at Monroe, who was still staring him down with anger in her eyes.

The bed itself was made up perfectly with a thin layer of dust settled atop it. He had a feeling that it hadn't been touched since their leader's passing. He noticed that there was a picture on the pillow that he hadn't seen yesterday. It was folded over on the sides to just show a handsome young man with a charming smile and wavy, purple hair. He looked so... happy.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled himself free from Robyn's grasp and held his hands up in surrender, "Okay."

"What?" She asked, turning to face him with tears in her eyes.

"I said that's okay," Haddy said as he made his way towards the bay window across the room.

"Y'u're not gonna argue?" Ryder asked.

The black-haired faunus began to unpack his bag in the space in front of the window as he simply replied, "No."

As he pulled out a large quilt and pillow from the bag and started to make a bed he clarified, "You guys are allowed to grieve in your own way, I'm not going to get in the way of that."

Robyn stood up and walked to her own bed, taking the pillow from it and handing it to Hadrian. Initially, he didn't take it, which prompted her to say, "Either you're gonna take this and as many plushies as you need, or you're gonna sleep in my bed and I'm gonna sleep there."

He could see the genuine feeling in her face as wildflowers filled his nose. So, with a smile, he took the pillow. Ryder had stood up at this point and was headed over with his pillow. He handed over the soft cushion with a smile.

"Jus' ta b' clear," he whispered, "I vot'd f'r ya ta get tha bed, an' Rob declin'd tha vote."

"Thanks, man," Haddy half-smiled, "I appreciate it."

"Yeah, well," Monroe said as she brought her pillow to him, "don't look too much into it."

The faunus accepted the headrest without a word, but did offer a thankful nod. Monroe didn't reply, just walked back over to her bed and laid down. She turned away from them and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. Robyn jumped into her own bed, tossing a husky plushie to Haddy as she did. Ryder gave him a pat on the back before returning to his own pillow-less bed.

"I just wanna make it clear," he started, "I don't want to be a leader."

"We don't have much of a choice in the matter," Monroe replied coldly.

Hadrian paused, before saying, "But we do."

That got Monroe's attention. She rolled over to face him with a raised brow. He explained, "We can make it look like I'm the leader, but Ozpin doesn't need to know that it's actually Monroe pulling the strings."

When no one replied, he continued, "If I overstep or make a decision that you disagree with, all you have to do is say so; and we'll switch it up to your ideas."

"You'd really step back at the slightest hint of disagreement?" Monroe asked.

He nodded and clarified, "If there's a split-second decision that needs to be made, you'll make it and I'll enforce it. If anyone were to look at it, they'd see a leader asking his team for suggestions."

After a moment of consideration, Monroe looked to him and half-smiled, "I think I'd like that."

"Great," Hadrian said, "'Cause I really don't wanna overstep."

With that, the tension lifted. Monroe rolled back over to go to sleep, and Haddy finally felt at peace. He smiled as he put the plushie at the head of his window-side bed.

"What are you reading?" Haddy asked as he began to arrange the cushions into a make-shift mattress.

"'S call'd 'Ventures in Caemor... 's ab't a group'a heroes trav'lin' th' world," Ryder replied, "I usu'lly read f'r ev'ryone 't night."

"Well, don't stop on my account," he replied, gathering his pajamas and toothbrush before heading to the restroom.

Ryder gave him a solemn nod, as he opened the book back up and picked up where he'd left off. Hadrian smiled back as he walked across the room to find the bathroom. After a few minutes, he returned and was surprised to see Ryder still waiting up for him. The girls were both clearly asleep, but he continued to read even as Monroe's ears were plugged with sleep aids and Robyn snored loudly.

As Hadrian climbed into his make-shift bed, Ryder nodded to him and read on. The story was interesting. A group of adventurers traveling around a fantasy world helping those in need and trying to expose a corrupt government all while trying to save the world from an eldritch horror. Ryder's voice made it soothing. Soon, his mind was calmed into a blissful sleep.

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raebaekaedae · 2 years

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Volume One, Episode One: “Back to Square One”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Violence against Fantasy Monsters, Subtle Themes) Summary: (5,324 words) “After successfully managing to make it to Beacon Academy, Hadrian Snow meets his strange, new teammates; Ryder, Robyn, and Monroe. Will he make a lasting impression during their team assignment battle? Can he figure out how to fight Creatures of Grimm from such an unfamiliar environment? Will he embarrass himself? That last one is a given. But, the real question is; Can he befriend his new teammates?”

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"Okay... just down the hall... then left... okay, this one."

As he wandered up to the dorm room's door, the husky faunus took a moment to tuck the crude, hand-drawn map back into one of the pockets of his backpack which was hanging from his shoulder by one strap. There were too many smells to discern how many people were inside. With a deep breath, he drummed his fingers along the strap of his bag as he reached his other hand up to knock on the door in front of him.

However, he didn't get the chance as the door opened before he reached it. Standing in the doorway was a massive, dark-skinned faunus with dark-to-blond dreads. A pair of tannish yellow overalls rested over his tunic and exposed, scale-covered shoulders. He smelt of iron and cleaning oil. His piercing, yellow eyes looked the newcomer up and down with a raised brow and blank expression.

With another deep breath and hard swallow, the husky looked up and spoke, "Um, is this Team Prosciutto's dorm?"

The hulking figure waited a moment before he gestured with his head to the plaque on the wall beside the open door. Its brass plate read, "Team PRCW".

The newcomer rubbed the back of his neck as he continued, "Uh, right. I'm, um, Hadrian Snow... your new teammate from Solitas..."

The Atlesian extended his hand to shake as he waited for a response. After a moment, the scaley faunus nodded and took Hadrian's hand to shake with a calm response, "Ryder Flaxen... c'mon in."

Hadrian internally breathed a sigh of relief as Ryder turned to let him in. Another figure jumped up to hang off of the armadillo's shoulder from his back before he could get very far though. The distinct smell of dirt and flowers hit him like a train. Her short, red hair was a bird's nest of tangled curls with a halo of golden twigs and wildflowers draped around her head. She swung forward with a quirky smile as she also looked Hadrian up and down.

"Solitas, huh?" She happily asked, "I'm from right here in Vale, Ryder is from Menagerie, and Cadie is from Mistral. I guess it would only make sense that we'd get someone from Atlas. Can't have too much diversity."

"Oh, uh, actually..." Hadrian rubbed the back of his neck as he asked, "well, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Robyn. Robyn Wyndham," The perky human quickly replied with a smile.

The husky nodded and walked into the room. It was certainly different from what he had expected. Four beds sat in the four corners of the room. One was made up gently with a hammer leaning up against one of the posts. The next was made up perfectly with nothing more than a pillow and blankets atop it. One was a mess of blankets and pillows with quite the variety of stuffed animals and plushies scattered in the nest of a bed. The final one had someone resting on top of the near-perfectly made blankets with boxed corners and a single fluffed pillow.

She had shoulder-length, beach blonde curls cascading down her shoulders and face. She wore a pirate's attire and blue make-up. She didn't even look up from her scroll as he entered.

Ryder closed the door and turned to the woman and asked, "'Ren't ya gonna intr'duce y'urself, Cadie?"

As she used her finger to scroll through articles on her screen, she simply replied, "I wasn't planning on it."

Hadrian's gently wagging tail suddenly found itself still between his legs. Ryder shook his head as Robyn hopped down from off of his shoulder and put her hands on her hips, "Well, you don't want us to have to introduce you."

With a sigh, the blonde let the scroll in her hand close as she paused.

She shook her head before she looked over to the group and said, "My name is Cascade Monroe. My friends call me Cade or Cadie, you may refer to me as Monroe. I am Team Prosciutto's interim team leader and as soon as we complete our training battle today, I will be named team leader permanently. I don't take well to strangers. Is that understood?"

"Of course, ma'am," Hadrian respectfully replied, straightening, "Trust me, I don't want anything to do with leading this team. You seem much more capable than me... although I do hope that I can one day call you Cade."

Robyn and Ryder exchanged a glance with one brow raised each as Monroe stared forward at Hadrian. After a moment, she stood up and walked over to the group. A tense energy followed her as both the R's took a small step back. However, the husky stood strong.

The pirate looked him over once more, before she gracefully offered him a hand to shake. Hadrian took the hand with a smile, much to the relief of Robyn and Ryder.

However, before the team could get to know each other any better, a young voice came over the loudspeakers, "Would Team Prosciutto please begin their trek to the Emerald Forest outside of campus for their training battle."

The newly acquainted team all looked to one another, almost as if to gauge the preparation or trepidation the others shared, before slowly readying themselves.

Ryder wandered over to his bed, picking up the massive hammer and resting it over his shoulder as he held it in place with the crook of his elbow and pulled a beanie over his dreads. Robyn pulled a shield seemingly out of nowhere and smiled as she closed it into a more compact form, clipping it in place across the small of her back. Monroe just closed her scroll and returned it to her pocket; she was already wearing a revolver at her side.

Unsure of where to put his things, Haddy just set his bag down beside the door as everyone loaded their weapons. He didn't have much time to dig around for extra dust cartridges as the rest of his new team headed out the door and, presumably, to this staging area. He quickly stuck a few of the rounds in his pocket as he lightly ran to catch up.

Robyn was already deep into a conversation, "... I think it'll be a grimm. Totally a Giant Nevermore... ooh, or an Ursa Major!"

Beside her, Ryder shrugged as he replied, "Nah. 'S gonna b' 'noth'r team. Prolly Birch 'r Gold."

"No way! Ozpin always chooses grimm for team assignments."

"Nev'r an' always 're strong words."

"Plus, even if on the very small chance I'm wrong, you know he wouldn't pick Birch or Gold. He'd SOOOO pick Stark..."

Hadrian felt it was time to include himself, as he caught up and asked, "Stark? Are they any good?"

"Good's 'n und'rst't'm'nt," Ryder chuckled a bit, as he replied, "Stark's th' best a' th' best; tha Headmast'r's fav'r'te team..."

"Yeah, and they totally kick ass," Robyn pitched in, "They wipe the floor with everyone; even upper-classmen."

Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, Haddy rubbed the back of his neck with a light chuckle as he asked, "I don't suppose you have a strategy for them then?"

With that, Monroe finally said, "We have a plan for everything."

Hadrian's tail, again, slowed as he continued to rub the back of his neck, "Well... um, care to share?"

"There won't be any need..." Monroe didn't turn to look as she simply replied, "We'll be fighting a Goliath."

Robyn let out a long groan as Haddy tried to remember which type of grimm a Goliath was.

Another question popped into his head though, "I thought the team assignment battles were supposed to be a secret? Why are you so sure, Monroe?"

"Let's call it a hunch..." She replied as she just shrugged.

Hadrian wanted to press the matter further, but by this point, the group had exited school grounds and were headed towards the woods. He wasn't sure if the terrain would affect his semblance since he'd never really used it outside of Solitas's smooth, snowy ground. His eyes found themselves examining the tall, silky grass that gently swayed in the wind... it certainly was strange to not see the ground blanketed in white.

However, it was almost a little more strange to see a young man, probably no older than them, standing just outside the large woods with another, slightly older woman with blonde hair standing behind him. He stood like a statue guarding the forest, leaning on a cane; and he was waiting for them. His greenish-silver hair gently rocked with the wind as the team approached. Slowly, they came to a stop in front of him.

He smiled and calmly addressed them, "Welcome students. Today you will be partaking in your new team assignment challenge. As I'm sure Ms. Monroe already knows-- and has undoubtedly shared-- your task will be to take down a Goliath hidden somewhere in these woods."

As he looked to her, Monroe solemnly nodded. With a nod of his own, the man continued, "That, however, won't be the only task you'll have to complete. Hidden throughout the forest are replicas of each of your emblems. You will need to collect those before taking on the Goliath."

"That doesn't sound too hard!" Robyn grinned.

However, the man added, "... And you must finish within the hour."

He pulled a pocket watch out of his jacket and glanced down at it, saying, "Which leaves you with fifty-six minutes." With another calm smile, he looked to them and said, "Good luck."

Hadrian didn't have time to register what he'd said before the rest of his team had taken off in a rush of wind. They all disappeared into the woods, quickly diving into the brush. The husky quickly drew his weapons, Sleigh, and started to run off towards the forest; however, the young, gray-haired teen stopped him.

"Mr. Snow... I don't believe we've been introduced," he spoke, "I am Headmaster Ozpin,"

The husky was taken aback. He knew that the Headmaster of Beacon Academy was young, but... well, he was just a kid. Hadrian shook away his shock and replied, "Oh, um, thank you, Headmaster. Thank you for accepting me into your school."

The Headmaster nodded solemnly as he calmly explained, "Of course, Mr. Snow. After hearing about what happened to you and your team, I thought it was only fitting that you should be partnered with our very own Team Prosciutto."

With a deep breath, Hadrian looked to the Headmaster and replied, "I'll help them in any way that I can. Thank you, sir."

With another calming nod, the Headmaster dismissed him. Hadrian wasted no time taking off into the woods. He ducked under low-hanging branches and hurdled over rocks and fallen logs. He glanced down at his scroll; 17:06. He had fifty-four minutes to find his emblem, meet back up with his team, and take down a Goliath... whatever that was.

It was only then that he realized another mistake he'd made; he didn't have access to the rest of his team's scrolls! He'd neglected to sync his with theirs before splitting off. Damnit. He couldn't think about that right now. He just had to focus on finding his emblem right now.

It was a while before he came upon a small clearing. He skidded to a halt and scanned the area before entering. The small field held some wildflowers scattered around that gave the forest a pop of color. There was a rocky outcropping with moss and vine creeping up its sides. The trees and brush surrounding the clearing seemed safe enough, so he stepped into the field.

The husky continued to look around as he walked up to the outcropping. He examined the rocks and found three pedestals standing alone. Each had a symbol resting into an indentation of its exact size. He ran a finger along the side of one to try to pull it out and found it stuck to the sides of its rocky prison.

He frowned as he mumbled, "Damnit..."

Hadrian took a closer look at each of the symbols. The first one was a fishing hook with an attached line whipping around it that was turning to mist. The next was the blades of a windmill encircled around in a shield-like pattern. Finally, the last was a set of circles, a smaller one than the last inside and all meeting on the right-most side. These had to be Monroe's, Robyn's, and Ryder's emblems.

The emblems were secured into indentations, but they didn't look like they were attached. An idea popped into the husky's head. He clipped Sleigh back to his sides and gingerly touched the center of the hooked emblem as he focused his semblance into his fingertips. Almost immediately, the emblem came loose from the stone and he easily slipped it out.

"Yes!"

The metallic emblems slipped into his hand with ease. As he stuck the symbols into his jacket pocket, another problem surfaced in his mind. How was he supposed to meet up with the rest of the group if he had no way to contact them? He couldn't just skate around this forest he'd never been in before until he happened upon them. There was a time limit.

"Looking for something?"

He turned to see a lanky teen with jet black hair and a gothic fashion sense. Hadrian caught the scent of cinnamon as the boy approached. He had a scythe resting on his shoulder and a hand in his pocket as he walked with a swagger towards him. He was smiling, very charming. Haddy turned to face him, a smile of his own on his face-- if only to hide the embarrassment.

The faunus rubbed the back of his neck as he replied, "Uh, yeah, actually. I'm looking for my team..."

"Your team, huh," the teen grinned, "Don't you have their number?"

"No..." Haddy sighed, "We got thrown into the thick of things before we could sync our scrolls..."

The dark-haired teen snapped his fingers and pointed to him as he said, "Oh! You're the new guy on Prosciutto. Hadrian, right?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, a little dumbstruck. He extended a hand to the teen.

He took it and gave it a firm shake. "Yeah, Ozpin mentioned you," he stated, "I'm Qrow."

"My friends call me Haddy," the faunus smiled.

"Well, Haddy," Qrow chuckled, "I don't think we've seen them recently, but I can ask the rest of my team if you'd like."

He was ready to agree, but something caught his attention, "Uh... we?"

A rustling in the trees above them sent Haddy's head whipping upwards. Another raven-haired teen sat resting in the branches. She stared blankly down at them, almost menacingly. Her crimson eyes bore into him as she examined him like he was a threat. Beside him, Qrow rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"My sister. Raven," he clarified, when the feminine figure didn't indulge him.

Haddy cautiously nodded, never taking his eyes off of Raven, as he called up to her, "Uh, it's nice to meet you."

At that, she leaned forward and dropped out of the tree with her arms still crossed. She eyed him up and down, before slowly turning her head to Qrow and saying, "We need to meet back up with Xiao Long and Rose. C'mon."

Without another word, she turned and started walking deeper into the woods. Qrow rolled his eyes again, as he turned back to Haddy. He swung his scythe around in his hand, transforming it into a stout shortsword, which he sheathed against his lower back. The dark-haired teen pulled his scroll out and opened it up.

"Here," he offered, extending the scroll out, "In case we see your team."

Haddy smiled as he pulled out his own scroll and tapped it to Qrow's, registering it instantly. However, his semblance must have acted on its own, because the communicator slipped out of his hand and fell to the forest floor, striking a rock and cracking the screen. Qrow dropped to a knee and picked up the fallen scroll.

He stood up and held out the broken scroll as he apologized, "Sorry, man... I didn't mean to wreck your scroll like that." Qrow rubbed the back of his neck with a frown.

"No harm, no foul, man," Haddy laughed as he took the communicator back, "Mistakes happen, plus it was probably my semblance."

Qrow's eyes lit up as he asked, "Your semblance??"

"Yeah," the faunus replied, "I can make things slide around like they're on ice."

For a moment, Qrow almost looked surprised, however, his charming swagger quickly returned; as did his smile. It looked as if he was going to continue, when Raven yelled from elsewhere, "Qrow! Now."

The oddly-named human rolled his eyes one last time before he shouted back, "I'm coming!" He turned to Haddy and winked, "I'll let you know if we see anything."

"See ya, man," the faunus waved as Qrow started to meander after his impatient sister.

He might have been back at square one, but at least now he was making friends. Haddy sniffed the air, trying to pick up a familiar scent, but found nothing. With a sigh, he stuck his hands in his pockets and started to walk back the way he came in hopes of finding one of his teammates. The woods were quiet, but it lacked the same serene silence that the wilds of home had.

It wasn't even a minute later that his scroll chimed in his pocket. He pulled it out and through the cracked screen saw a name pop up; "Q ;)".

QROW: Hey, so my team said they saw a Goliath in the clearing on the north ridge. Should be about a mile northeast of where we met up :)

Haddy smiled a sigh of relief as he replied.

HDRN: Thanks, man. You're a lifesaver

He caught a glance at the time on his scroll as he shifted to put it in his pocket; 17:43. Not good. He needed to find the rest of his team quickly.

With a new destination in mind, the husky faunus began skating northeast. He ducked under low-hanging branches and only tripped over a few rocks as he raced through the woods. With his rifle unlatched and formed into his picks, he easily grabbed onto trees to swing around in a new direction when his path wasn't clear. It wasn't long before the sounds of gunfire echoed in his ears and the artificial smell of dust filled his nose.

Another rush of slippery speed and he was running from thick brush into a ruined fortress of some kind. There was a broken bridge leading across a deep crevasse to a tall, stone structure. Thick pillars lead up into nothing and archways made between them. However, he wasn't as focused on that as he stared up at the sheer cliff face that backed it. Atop the mountain were the vague shapes of people moving around as well as a much larger, animalistic figure thrashing around.

His new team.

They needed him.

The surge of adrenaline was enough for his body to move before his mind could catch up. He skated forward, faster than he ever had in training, easily avoiding fallen pieces of debris and missing bits of the bridge. When he came up to a wide segment of the bridge that had fallen below, he jumped, throwing himself across and tumbling to the other side as he rolled back up into his sprint.

When he reached the base of the cliff, he realized just how far he'd come, because the sheer rock face was nearly triple what it seemed only a moment before. Without another second of hesitation, he took his climbing picks and started his ascent. Inch-by-inch he made progress as he found new footholds and short outcroppings. He spared a glance upwards and found that he seemed even further away than when he started.

"C'mon, Hads," he told himself as he shook his head, "They need you. You're not gonna let them down. You can do this."

With his determination tested, he growled and continued his ascent. His muscles strained as he swung his picks into the rock one after another, slowly climbing the cliff. He needed to do this; he refused to be a burden to his new team. But just as his aura and strength were dimming, a miracle fell from the heavens... literally.

A tiny glint of metal shone in his eyes from the top of the cliff, and as he moved a hand up to block the sun he saw it falling towards him. A thick line of steel wire whipped over the edge as a hook dropped towards him. Before he could even process the strange equipment, the hook snared the back of his hoodie and he was flying through the air towards the top of the cliff.

He yelped as he was flung away from the safety of the sheer, climbing wall; but, he quickly regained his composure as he was fished up into the sky. The faunus found himself thrown onto his butt atop the cliff with the smell of fresh rain filling his nose. Monroe reeled in the extra line from her fishing rod weapon as Hadrian unhooked himself.

"Thanks," he said with a simple nod.

Monroe replied with a nod of her own. Before she could explain the situation, Robyn and Ryder jumped back to them, guarding the pair as a loud, shrill trumpeting sound tore through their ears. Hadrian looked up to see a massive creature of grimm towering over them. It was solidly built with a mask of bone that had two, protruding tusks ready to skewer the team, and large ears with a long trunk.

A Goliath... it looked like a smaller Megoliath from Solitas. Well, at least he knew how to fight one.

With a smooth flick of his wrist, Sleigh was pulled back into its rifle form and he had it leveled at the eyes of the beast. However, just as he had the perfect shot lined up, Ryder happened to look back and started to stop him. It was too late as the shot rang out with a deafening echo. The bullet ricocheted off the bone as Monroe screamed and fell to one knee.

Hadrian looked over to her as he also dropped to his knees, placing a hand on her back as he exclaimed, "Monroe!? What's wrong?"

The scaled faunus took him by the shoulder and pulled him away from her. With an irritated sigh, he explained, "It's 'er sembl'nce, man. She's got increas'd senses."

"Oh Gods," Hadrian started as he quickly disassembled his weapon, "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know!"

"It's fine!" Monroe barked, still holding her ears, "Just stay out of the way!"

Robyn jumped forward, flying through the air like a leaf on the wind as she pulled her shield around to smack right into the Goliath's head. The grimm faltered slightly, but stayed standing and turned its attention to the red-haired student; giving Monroe plenty of time to formulate a plan.

She turned to Ryder and ordered, "Toss me."

He nodded and lowered himself to one knee, interlocking his fingers and readying himself. Monroe sprinted toward him and unsheathed her fishing rod as she hopped onto his hands. With a resounding show of force, the scaled faunus threw the de facto leader into the air towards the beast. She twisted and spun around in the sky, unlatching the hook from her pole and throwing it around the neck of the grimm. The line whipped around and latched itself on the base of the neck, where Monroe landed.

She yanked back hard on her reins and the Goliath jumped back onto its hind legs. From underneath, Ryder rushed it and swung his hammer into one of the beast's hind legs, while Robyn came from the other side and bounced her tonfa off the other. The elephantine monster reeled backwards and trumpeted a cry of pain, but still pushed itself back down on four legs. The R's were just barely able to get out the way of the falling feet. Monroe was thrown from its neck and easily landed in front of the grimm with her teammates.

Hadrian glanced down at his broken scroll once more; 17:57. They weren't going to make it at this rate! He needed to step in if he wanted his team to pass, even if they didn't want his help.

As Monroe was flung once again from the beast's back, she skidded along the ground and landed in front of him. As she was about to run back into the fray, he grabbed her wrist and loudly whispered, "Monroe! You aren't gonna beat it this way!"

She frowned back at him, "You don't have to whisper, Snow."

"Oh, sorry," he said normally, releasing her hand and rubbing the back of his neck, "I just don't want to overstep."

Monroe paused, looking back at Robyn and Ryder, who were still fighting the Goliath. "You... don't need to apologize. I should have been upfront about my semblance, not holding it back... I just... Ozpin told us that you used to lead a team, and I didn't want that to happen here."

Hadrian listened with bated breath, before letting loose a sigh of relief and smiling, "Don't worry. The reason I left Atlas was because I didn't want to be a leader."

"Okay," Monroe half-smiled, "Good."

The faunus's tail wagged gently as he offered, "I've never fought a Goliath before, but we have something similar in Solitas."

"Any ideas?" Monroe asked.

"A few," Hadrian asked, "Do you know how to ice skate?"

With a raised brow, she nodded. Hadrian sheathed his picks and fished his hand into his pocket, "One of my old teammates had a semblance that made her voice amplify; so, we all had these made..."

He pulled out a pair of wireless earbuds with a strange, little symbol of a paw on the base and extended them out for Monroe to take. She did, and when she put them in, she was surprised that she could still hear but that the sounds of the battle were muffled away.

"I designed them back in Atlas," Hadrian explained, "They pick up all sounds and lessen the louder ones."

"Neat trick," Monroe smirked, "Now about this plan of yours..."

Robyn flew through the air with a giant gust of wind beneath her as Ryder slammed his massive hammer into one of the Goliath's knees. The beast roared with pain, but whipped its trunk around and grabbed the scaled-faunus by his waist. With a trumpeting scream, it threw Ryder up and into Robyn. Both were sent hurtling to the ground next to Monroe and Hadrian.

Ryder shook himself off and started to stand to continue the fight, but Monroe put a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her as she smiled, "New plan."

He curtly nodded as Robyn jumped to her feet and asked, "So, now what, boss?"

"Just keep that thing's eyes off me and Snow, and wait for my signal," Monroe ordered.

With a wild-eyed grin, Robyn turned with her tonfa readied. As she raced forward, the elephantine grimm tried to whip its trunk around once more; but, Ryder caught it under his arm just before it hit her. The red-haired huntress clicked her weapons together to create a shield and then created a massive updraft under herself. Using the shield as a makeshift battering ram, Robyn blew into the underside of the beast's chin. Another pained cry echoed through the woods as its gaze was averted upwards.

While the R's kept the grimm busy, Hadrian took one end of Monroe's line as he touched her shoulder and activated his semblance through the steel wire. The pair stood up and started to skate towards the Goliath. Monroe was a little clumsy on her feet, but she handled it well. Together, they skated a figure-eight around the grimm's legs several times over. Once it was significantly tied up, the pair skidded to a halt and yanked hard; sending the beast to the ground with a loud crash.

"Gale Force!" Monroe shouted, turning towards Robyn and Ryder.

The pair briefly exchanged a glance before Robyn shouted back, "You sure, boss?"

"Ryder!" the leader called as the faunus's head faced her, "Let loose!"

Another quick, wordless glance was shared before Ryder turned back to Monroe and nodded with an excited smile. Robyn unlatched her shield back into their tonfa form and jumped up onto the faunus's back, latching the batons under his arms. With a resounding whirlwind of energy, the pair shot a hundred feet in the air.

The red-haired huntress flung herself forward and threw Ryder towards the ground with another gust of wind for extra speed. Ryder cartwheeled in the sky, taking his hammer in both hands. Waves of sound pulsated around him and then exploded with a deafening thunder as his hammer fell right onto the grimm's head, smashing it to pieces.

Both Haddy and Monroe were flung back about ten feet from the force of the strike, and only Monroe was able to keep her footing. Robyn gracefully glided to the ground with her wind, landing with a curtsey. With his hammer embedded in the dirt, Ryder just stood up as his aura finally broke into pieces. He only smiled though, as the Goliath started to dissipate.

As the husky faunus tried to pick himself up off the ground, he couldn't help but check the time on his scroll; 17:59. They'd passed!

However, just as Hadrian was starting to congratulate the team, a thought crossed his mind, "Wait! I never found my emblem!"

The team of students looked at one another before every single one of them pulled two metal emblems out of their pockets; one theirs and one his. The faunus quickly scampered to his feet, pulling the emblems he'd found out of his own pocket... None of them matched. Monroe's was just a fishing hook with no line, Ryder's had a horizontal line through it, and Robyn's had an extra circle holding the blades together.

His tail fell flat as his shoulders slumped. Great, he totally failed them.

However, Monroe walked up to him and put a hand on his back, "Hey, at least you tried."

"Yeah!" Robyn shouted as she took to his other side, looping her arm in his, "Plus, now we have souvenirs!" She plucked her fake emblem from his hand and stuck it in her pocket.

Ryder walked up and took his symbol with a stoic, but amused, smile, "You'll get'em next time, man."

"I feel like I didn't contribute at all," Haddy laughed nervously, "All I did was get lost in the woods, pick out the wrong emblems, needed a carry to get up here in time, and nearly deafened Monroe..."

The scaled-faunus gave him a firm pat on the back as he remarked, "Ya d'd way bett'r than we d'd on our f'rst mission."

"And, you totally had our backs when it counted!" Robyn added with a toothy smile.

He turned his head to Monroe as she pondered her response for a moment, "We all made mistakes. You did a good job."

As the team started to walk back towards campus, Haddy held out the remaining emblem to Monroe, but she closed his hand around it with a smile and said, "You keep it."

That got his tail gently wagging. He liked her smile, it was cocked to the left and showed her dimples. He beamed as he happily conversed with his new team on their way to his new home. He watched as the sun gently set on the horizon and bathed the clouds in pinks and oranges. He didn't have the best start, but hey; maybe this was a good idea after all...

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