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raebaekaedae · 2 years ago

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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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rydertm · 5 years ago

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𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐏.

#fc. ( ryder monroe. )#muse. ( ryder monroe. )#c. ( ryder monroe. )#wc. ( ryder monroe. )#open. ( ryder monroe. )#closed. ( ryder monroe. )#replies. ( ryder monroe. )#social. ( ryder monroe. )#meme. ( ryder monroe. )#answered. ( ryder monroe. )#tag drop

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lost-in-time-marie · 4 years ago

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Into the Shadows: Chapter Two

The rest of the week passed easily. I hung out with Natasha and Katy whenever possible, easily getting into my familiar school routine. I put in extra effort to participate this year, shaking of the previous years’ disinterest. I avoided any form of contact with Ryder; in class a competition took place of who could pretend best that the other wasn’t there; I liked to pretend I won those. Classes picked up eventually and I started getting the first lessons and assignments of the year.

Things did, however, get interesting one Wednesday. Mrs. Robertson was announcing “Romeo and Juliet” to be the play of the semester, a super original choice, I noted with the roll of my eyes, when Mr. Monroe, the principal, walked in. He whispered something to Mrs. Robertson, and she nodded and smiled. A few seconds later Mr. Monroe walked out and ushered a tall, dark, and handsome male inside. A swarm of hushed, excited conversations passed between the girls in class. The guy was handsome; I had to say that, with curly, dark brown hair falling over eyes so brown they were nearly black, wiry muscles hidden under slightly tanned skin, and his face was all angles, smooth and sharp. The class watched curiously as an introduction took place. Mrs. Robertson greeted the new student kindly; he returned her warm smile and shook her hand. Mr. Monroe took his leave just as Mrs. Robertson turned and addressed the class.

“Class,�� she announced, “this is James Sampson, he is new to our area so please be kind to him.” Mrs. Robertson led him to my seat and loudly pushed a desk from the back of class to the side of my desk unoccupied by Ryder. Our school was very popular this year, apparently so was I. For the second time in so many days, the gazes of my peers shot daggers into my back, and I felt every single one.

“I know you already have a partner,” Mrs. Robertson said, gesturing to my other side where Ryder sat, “but would you be a dear and show James around? I know I can trust you to be nice.” Mrs. Robertson flashed a joyful smile and returned to the front of class without even waiting to hear my answer. I didn’t really mind helping out, but seriously? How many new students was she going to place in my care? At least this one appeared nicer than Ryder.

“Is Mrs. Robertson going to put her with all the hot guys?” The girl behind me, Kim, complained to her partner, Elizabeth, who muttered in agreement. I rolled my eyes. God, I hated them so much.

“Hello, I’m James,” the mysterious newcomer greeted me politely, flashing a charming smile and offering his hand after taking a seat. His molten gaze aimed in my direction quickly dispelled my thoughts of Kim and Elizabeth.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Kristin. Welcome to hell,” I joked surprisingly easily, my round face brightening with a warm smile as I took his hand.

“Is this class really that bad?” He chuckled.

“Oh, you have no idea. Mrs. Robertson can’t control a class to save her life, and she just finished telling us the play for the semester. Care to take a guess? It’s a huge cliché: Romeo and Juliet,” I whispered, as Mrs. Robertson began passing out the script.

He let out a low whistle, “Oh man, it’s so much worse than I thought. Just kill me now,” He joked.

“Only if you promise to take me down with you,” I laughed. James was easy to laugh with, I was surprised to discover. Generally being considered the school outcast and finding it a chore to relate to the rest of my species most of the time, I was impressed by our light interaction. After that, we became instant friends, joking about class and comparing schedules. It turned out we had AP Literature, lunch, and AP Psychology together as well. James glowed with warmth and oozed charm. Acting suddenly became my second favorite class of the day instead of a morning drag.

“Hey guys, this is James Sampson,” I introduced, plopping down with my tray at the lunch table. Natasha sat beside Aleks, a Russian foreign exchange student who had transferred to our school two years ago. Natasha always had an odd, bordering creepy, fascination with everything Russian for as long as I had known her. The moment Aleks had been ushered into our classroom in tenth grade with his shaggy dark hair, muscular build, dark eyes, pale white skin, and thick accent, she pulled up a desk and befriended him. He stuck with us ever since, I never minded because he was actually a very nice guy.

“Hello,” James greeted warmly.

“Nice to meet you,” Natasha said kindly.

“Hey,” Aleks said casually after a moment of eyeing James warily. I explained that James was new and Mrs. Robertson instructed me to show him around. Shortly thereafter, he won over Natasha and Aleks as easily as he had me. I got the feeling James was just good at that kind of thing; making friends, charming people, adapting to new surroundings. All of us already felt like we’d known him for much longer than a couple of hours.

“Well, you’re certainly better than the first new kid Kristin had to show around,” Natasha praised openly with a smile.

Aleks shook his head, before candidly adding “Natasha was just filling me in on that. Ryder is a huge asshole.”

“Our other partner in Acting?” James asked with a quizzical look.

“Yeah, I’d watch out for that one, he’s not terribly friendly. He’s said about one whole sentence to me since school started, and that one sentence wasn’t very nice,” I explained, recalling our brief introduction and the hallway when I tried to help him.

“Yeah, I kind of got that feeling from him. He doesn’t look at us at all; just sits perfectly still and straight in his chair, when the bell rang today, he practically ran out the door.” James observed.

Conversation eventually took a new turn, for which I was thankful, and the rest of lunch passed easily as we introduced James to the school and gave him tips and warnings. Soon the bell rang and I headed off to Teacher Assisting. Helping Mrs. Enders grade papers and make copies certainly doesn’t make a class period go by quickly, but at least she was nice and when I finished my work she let me do my homework in the library. Eventually the torture ended, and I headed off to AP Chemistry, an entirely different, more painful, kind of torture. After what felt like ages of hearing Mrs. Gold ramble about atoms, molecules, ions, and other things I didn’t care about, the bell rang and I bolted for AP Psychology, my favorite class. I caught up with Natasha and James before the late bell rang. We took seats near each other while Natasha dished the latest school gossip. Soon the bell rang, and Sinclair came sweeping in the door, right on time. Class passed quickly as he explained an upcoming project, when the bell rang again, I could hardly believe the school day was over.

“Hey, Natasha, do you mind waiting by the car for me, I need to drop off my volunteer application at the elementary campus,” I said, shoving a binder into my already heavy green backpack.

“Ooh, I want to see the babies,” Natasha cooed excitedly.

“Wait for me at the car, I don’t want to have to bail you out of jail for kidnapping,” I laughed. She sulked and grabbed her books, trudging off to the parking lot.

Our school had an interesting tier design. The high school, my school, stood at the very front of a large piece of property, behind it, across a grassy field, the middle school was built, and across another grassy field, in the very back, sat the elementary school. The elementary school had an after school care program to watch the students whose parents worked late, the school was always looking for volunteers to help out; I loved kids so it was a convenient way to get my mandatory volunteer hours for graduation.

I made the long trek to the elementary campus, taking my time, appreciating the vast greenness of the school fields and the dappled patches of wildflowers growing amongst them. A large brick building loomed closer and closer, a copy of the two other large, brick buildings behind me. My legs led the way without any prodding and I found myself in main office. Air conditioner and the scent of orange sterilizer blasted me the moment I entered. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. None of the office ladies sat behind the long tan counter, which bisected the room. Just when I was about to turn and leave, I noticed a small, black bin perched on the counter labeled Volunteer Applications. I placed my packet in the bin and turned to walk out the door. Instead, I slammed right into the person behind me. At least, I assumed it was a person, because it felt a little more like running into a brick wall.

“Ouch!” I yelled, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

“Are you alright?” A soft, concerned voice asked from above me. My eyes fluttered open to the sight of Ryder, except he didn’t look like himself. The stone mask I’d grown so accustomed to melted away, worry and concern softening his sharp features.

“I’m fine,” I replied a little dazed, still curiously studying his expression. His jaw line softened from harsh angles to a more rounded edge and his eyes looked more brilliant instead of glaring intimidation. Ryder grabbed my arms gently and pulled me up with ease; he studied me for just a moment longer, then all at once the stone mask slammed into place and he jerked stiffly away.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, not letting him turn to stone so easily.

“Picking up my little brother,” Ryder said in the same stiff tone he always used. I sighed and said a half-hearted goodbye, not wanting to be near stone-statue Ryder any longer than I had too.

“What took you so long?” Natasha complained when I finally reached her car.

“Long line,” I muttered sliding into the smooth, leather passenger seat of her car, not feeling up to divulging in a six hour play by play of my run in with Ryder.

“So do you want to come over my house and work on the AP Government assignment?” Natasha asked starting the car and backing out of the parking lot.

“Oh, I completely forgot about it. Yeah, that sounds good, just let me text my mom,” I said. I got permission from my mom and chatted with Natasha about James and other school events for the rest of the short ride to her house.

“Kristin?” Natasha asked in a more cautious voice than usual once we parked in her driveway. I paused halfway through undoing my seatbelt to turn to her, sensing a more serious turn of conversation.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I asked.

“That night I pulled you out of bed, I’m sorry for being so reckless. It was really irresponsible of me. You know how I get in those danger seeking moods with my bipolar disorder,” Natasha apologized softly, staring at the steering wheel.

“It’s really okay, once you ran off I just went home,” I shrugged, wishing to end the conversation. It wasn’t often Natasha had enough insight to realize her actions in her manic phases, I wasn’t quite sure how to take her sudden maturity. Perking back up to her usual self, Natasha retreated into the house ready to begin our project with a clear conscience. As I stepped out of the car to follow her, an image flitted through my mind, a dark figure darting about in the shadows, but the more I reached for the memory, the further it slipped away. I shook my head as if that would dispel the thought, grabbed my books, and ran after Natasha into the house.

My footsteps echoed on the wet asphalt street. I hugged my jacket closer against the cold, damp air. I warily searched each shadow and dark, empty yard for figures and silhouettes. I felt the oddest sense of déjà vu. Why am I being so nervous? I’d made the short walk from Natasha’s house to mine thousands of times, during both the night and day. I could probably close my eyes and my feet would just lead me home. I squared my small shoulders, shook my head, brown hair smacking me in the face, and told myself to stop being such a baby.

Natasha and I hadn’t intended to work that late. The assignment wasn’t due until next week, but we got an idea and finished the whole project in one night. The next time I looked up it was already 10pm. We quickly packed up and now I was practically jogging home so my mom wouldn’t ground me for breaking curfew. I silently cursed myself for insisting on walking when Natasha offered a ride, but I wasn’t ready to be home so soon.

“Hey! You’re the girl that got my brother in trouble!” A deep, harsh voice shouted at me. I jumped in surprise, shuttled instantly from my thoughts to reality. The dark street came into focus again, but this time in front of me a hulking man blocked my path. The darkness sheltered him; in the only bit of light offered by a distant streetlamp, I could make out thick, rippling muscles. I instinctually backed up. The monstrous man let out a bellowing laugh.

“That’s right, girlie, you should be afraid,” He taunted, taking a giant step forward. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach and I fought desperately against the panic rising within me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked annoyed, faking confidence, “You’re making me late. I have a curfew.” I crossed my arms and stared straight at him. This guy was bigger than a horse, but I was determined to keep up my façade, so I kept glaring at him defiantly and refused to show any weakness. The flashes of images were running rampant behind my eyes, confusing bursts, a flurry of overwhelming emotions. One thought tickled the back of my mind, taunting me with the clarity just out of my reach.

“You better make time for me then,” He bellowed angrily, “You got my brother arrested. He was just being friendly and talking to you. The police arrested him for no reason at all,” He ranted, walking closer. I refused to move an inch.

“What on Earth are you talking about?” I complained, forcing an exasperated sigh. My head was spinning with the force of the memories, and still the one memory I needed for them all to make sense danced just out of reach.

“I’ll just have to finish this matter then,” He rambled nonsensically with an excited smile, sauntering closer. I took several steps back this time, fear crashing down on me like an anvil. The snarky, sarcastic voice in the back of my mind joked about being attacked by such a cliché thug, but fear quickly gagged that voice. This was real, actually happening, it wasn’t like the movies I was accustomed to watching or the stories I was fond of reading. That thought almost pushed me over the edge, and if my joints weren’t locked in place I may have collapsed.

“Run little girl,” the thug whispered, “I’ll even give you a head start.” He taunted.

“That makes you nicer than me,” A light, teasing voice echoed from behind the thug. Suddenly, in the time it took me to blink, the man before me was lying on the floor, leaving a lean figure standing in his wake. The man roared and jumped up. I stood frozen as the lithe figure danced around the man, easily avoiding his blind, rageful attacks.

The memory ripped forward from my subconscious, finally ready to be discovered. I remembered Natasha rapping loudly on my bedroom window, calling me outside to seek danger, and then her leaving me alone in the street. On my journey back home, two experienced thugs trapped me in the dark street and a strange figure saved me. The next thing I knew it was morning and I was waking up in my room thinking the whole ordeal had been a strange dream.

“Oh, you’re going to have to do better than that,” The shadow teased, leaning against an unlit streetlight, pulling me from my reverie. I squinted to get a better look at the figure; it was definitely the one from the other night. The figure was rather tall, a head taller than my 5 foot 3 inches, lean, and muscular. That was all I could discern in the dark. The man bellowed and charged at the shadow, but the figure was already gone, the man instead punched an empty streetlamp with a metallic thud. The thug cried out in pain and whirled around searching for the taunting shadow. His eyes fell on me. Before I could move an inch, if I could have even moved at all, he had his thick, sweaty arms wrapped around me. I gagged on his overwhelming stench of sweat and body odor. His hot breath on my neck made my stomach churn in disgust. I might as well have been restrained by steel bars because no amounts of kicking or squirming made him even ease up.

“How about if I squeeze the life out of your little girlfriend?” The thug shouted at empty air, spinning wildly looking for the figure. This thug smelled about as pleasant as the last, apparently his brother, and his brother I only got a whiff of from a distant. Up close and personal was not a place I wanted to be with this guy.

One moment the man restrained me, the next I dropped quickly to the ground and the man lay behind me in a crumpled heap. The shadow stood with the unconscious man at his feet and made no attempt to approach me. My head swam, black spots dancing across my vision. I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the damp, dirty street and never move again.

“Are you okay? You’re not going to pass out again, are you?” The figured asked from the shadows, his voice softer now, wary. I quickly stood up and brushed myself off. Luckily my huge displeasure at showing emotion to strangers won over my weaker self.

“I don’t think so,” I said, scowling and giving myself a quick once-over. I squinted in the dark trying to get a look at my savior. In the glint of the moonlight I saw only a black, Lone Ranger style mask and dark eyes. I stepped closer to get a better look, but the figure retreated farther.

“It seems you have a knack for trouble,” the figure teased playfully, leaning lazily against the unlit streetlamp again.

“Whatever do you mean?” I joked with mock confusion. I thought I saw him flash a bright grin as he turned to leave.

“Wait!” I shouted, “Don’t I get to know who saved me? Twice,” I added.

He chuckled, “Just stay away from dark streets, they’re dangerous at night.” With that, my hero melted silently into the shadows.

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tabloidtoc · 4 years ago

Text

National Examiner, August 17

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Farewell to Regis Philbin and Olivia de Havilland

Page 2: Secrets behind Caddyshack

Page 4: Cher’s amazing looks over the decades

Page 6: Even a monarch needs some fun during a pandemic and that’s why a seven-year-old lad in England created a word game especially for Queen Elizabeth and got a thank-you note in reply

Page 7: Who can forget Kevin Bacon’s rebel-with-a-dance role in 1984′s Footloose that shot him to superstardom -- not Rob Lowe who was supposed to play the lead but suffered a terrible injury that kept him from the role, Orlando Bloom suffered a brutal blow after his beloved dog Mighty went missing and he was forced to admit he was gone, Dolly Parton is worth approximately $500 million but before she became a singing sensation she spooned up a lot of ketchup soup, Madonna says she was fined $1 million by the Russian government for a gay rights speech in 2012 but she isn’t about to pay up

Page 8: After years of portraying heroic Army soldiers in blockbusters like Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan Tom Hanks is starring as a World War II Navy ship commander in his new movie Greyhound and real-life sailors couldn’t be happier to welcome him to their ranks

Page 9: Animals have anxiety too -- how to help your furry friends relax

Page 10: Carlos and Denise Pagan have a note out front explaining why they can’t come to the door -- Carlos has been undergoing chemotherapy for bllod cancer -- and after an Amazon driver read it he returned with a very special delivery to cheer up the South Carolina couple -- he marched off to the store and returned with flowers and a get-well card for this customer he had never met

Page 11: Your Health -- keep an eye out for signs of cataracts, what your bruises may be telling you

Page 12: Cracking Hollywood’s most shocking unsolved murders -- George Reeves, Brittany Murphy, Natalie Wood

Page 13: David Carradine, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Crane

Page 14: Dear Tony -- to banish bad dreams remember the good times -- Tony predicts Winona Ryder will write a book that could well be made into a movie about her abuse allegations

Page 15: A struggling single mom with $7 left in her bank account won $100 with a scratch-off lottery ticket and donated it to the police

Page 16: It wasn’t all laughs and lunacy for the Three Stooges -- comedy favorites faced abuse, poor pay and heartache

Page 18: A North Carolina teenager with time on her hands during the coronavirus lockdown has found a great new way to occupy herself -- she sends handpicked gift collections to ailing children

Page 19: A New Jersey cop went the extra mile in a borrowed kayak to rescue a frantic dog stuck up to the neck in mud

Page 20: Cover Story -- Regis Philbin was a brave fighter to the end -- secret life of host who was everyone’s pal

Page 22: A Kansas dog that went missing for eight days turned up right back at home -- in Missouri nearly 60 miles away at the house where she lived two years ago

Page 26: Tony’s Mystic World -- have you lived before? Take this test and find out, here’s some great news for Grease fans -- a prequel is on the way, Jennifer Lopez is not above the law -- she was left stranded after she parked her dune buggy on a beach in New York’s fancy Hamptons and got towed

Page 28: Cover Story -- Olivia de Havilland took icy feud with sister Joan Fontaine to the grave

Page 30: The Good Doctor

Page 40: R.I.P. John Saxon a tough guy of westerns and drama and Elm Street

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves on vacation in Hawaii (picture), Jane Seymour leaves an Australian quarantine hotel after a 14-day stay (picture), Ryan Reynolds kindly offered a $5000 reward to help reunite a Vancouver woman with her stolen teddy bear that contained a recording of her late mom’s voice, two years after her reported overdose Demi Lovato says she’s turned her life around, Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae Young are engaged, Gwyneth Paltrow says she’s trying to raise her two teens to have a strong work ethic and not rely on their family’s fame, after the discovery of the body of Naya Rivera following her drowning death her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey vowed to keep her memory alive for their four-year-old son Josey, Courteney Cox is missing boyfriend Johnny McDaid who’s been quarantined in the U.K. while she’s been hunkered down in California, Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock will share custody of their children River Rose and Remington Alexander, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are now proud Greek citizens

Page 45: Carol Alt (picture), Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson show off their new Greek passports alongside the country’s prime minister and his wife (picture), Johnny Depp is showered with flowers and other tokens of fan appreciation in London (picture), Natalie Portman is super excited for her upcoming Marvel role in Thor: Love and Thunder, composer Alan Menken scored his first Emmy award making him the 16th EGOT -- someone who’s won an Emmy and Grammy and Oscar and Tony

Page 46: 10 Steps to a healthy heart

Page 47: Super sister acts -- Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Haylie and Hilary Duff, Ashlee and Jessica Simpson, Tamera Mowry-Housley and Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen, Dakota and Elle Fanning, Zooey and Emily Deschanel

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sosthemortalcoil · 7 years ago

Note

May we get a spoiler scene with Ryder?

Sure, a little bit of one. (And it’s not Romance based >.>)

“You know, it’d be really nice if crime scenes didn’t seem to draw out all the freaks.” Alice’s comment comes from above you as you crouch down, rifling through the deceased’s pockets with gloved hands.

“What?” you ask, glancing up at her. She was rocking a pair of sunglasses today, obscuring where she was looking at.

“That fellow, over there. I don’t know how he’s not dying of heat stroke from wearing all that black right now,” she comments, propping a hand on her hip and pursing her lips.

You shrug. “Maybe he’s not human,” you reply, returning to your examination of the body. Wallet missing, no jewelry of any sort on the body.

Alice sighs loudly behind you. “You can interview him then.”

“I’m examining the body,” you protest, rocking back on your heels.

“Uh-huh. Zaria’s not even here yet. And since you brought up the possibility of that guy being non-human, you can determine that for sure. You know I can’t tell for shit what someone is just by looking at them and talking to them. Really don’t think he’d appreciate me testing a variety of things like silver, holy water, gold, salt, iron and whatnot on him either,” Alice continues.

You cannot dispute her logic so you rise to your feet, making your way towards the police tape barrier.

The man was below average height for a male, though his shoes gave him back an inch or two, hefty black boots with studded steel toes. What had caught Alice’s attention was the heavy duty black duster he wore over a black turtle-neck and black cargo pants. The coat obscured most of his body, but as you approached you can detect a whiff of death and magic.

“Sir, I’d like to ask you a few questions,” you say, pulling out a notepad and pen in preparation.

“That man wasn’t killed here,” he says abruptly, flashing pale eyes to your face and impatiently tossing his head back.

“And how do you know that?” you inquire, your suspicions of him being a non-human increasing moment by moment.

He scoffs, and rakes his gaze over you. “The same way I know you aren’t actually a human,” he says, flicking long elegant fingers in your direction. A large ring catches your eye, the stone veritably glowing with excess stored power.

“Necromancer?” you ask.

He raises a pale brow. “I don’t kiss and tell, especially in areas where mortals may overhear. Like your human partner, for instance. I don’t think that’d be good for business, hmm detective?” The words sound mocking coming from him, and he tilts his head imperiously.

You take a deep breath, and catch a whiff of something far too familiar. Brimstone and hellfire.

“Might want to wash better next time you shower, warlock,” you state coolly.

His lip curls up in responds to your words. “Ryder.” At your raised eyebrow, he crosses his arms. “My name,” he adds. You jot it down, already planning on doing a background check as soon as you return to the precinct.

“And I had nothing to do with this incident. I would never be so sloppy.” He sniffs, and you wonder if you should bring him down to the station to question him in a more official setting. He clearly knew something about your John Doe.

“Well, Mr. Ryder, it appears you have some knowledge about this situation. Care to share?” you ask.

“It’s just Ryder. And I would never presume to do your work for you detective, but you should investigate the murder scene, not here.” His pocket beeps, and he pulls out a cellphone, scowling at the screen and brushing a few strands of his long hair that had drifted over his shoulder back.

“I am trying to save us both some time here, however. A... friend of mine thought it would be fun to raise a body and scare a few tourists. He did not kill the man. All he did was have the corpse reanimate and wander about for a bit before letting it return to rest.”

You sigh. “A necromancer and a warlock. Does this friend have a name?” you ask. Whenever a case involved non-humans it always got complicated, and fast. This one was already looking like it was going to be a doozy.

“He does, but I have no plans on giving it to you, detective.” The warlock’s fingers dance across his phone screen, his gaze fixated on the device.

“I could charge you with obstruction,” you state, not pleased with his superior attitude and lack of disclosure.

“I’d love to see how that goes. I start talking necromancy and magic and your co-workers will think that you got distracted by a local loon rather than a real lead,” he says, a smirk curling his lips. The emotion doesn’t reach his eyes, the two orbs remaining cold as they glance back at you.

“Monroe and 16th. The alley behind the Asian fusion restaurant. There’s your crime scene detective.” He slips the phone into a pocket and you catch a glimpse of what looks suspiciously like a short-sword sheathe.

“I’m not done with you yet,” you state.

“Detective, you already owe me for providing information that I was not obligated to give you. And as you have so aptly identified my particular specialty, you should also know that warlocks always collect.” He gestures towards the body.

“I dislike dealing with such mundane trivialities, so I will consider us equal if you refrain from bothering me or the necromancer further about this human’s demise.” He turns his back to you and starts to walk away, evidently done talking to you.

“Hey, that necromancer disturbed a crime scene and likely tampered with evidence, I will be needing to--” you reach out after him, only to grasp nothing tangible.

You curse under your breath. While you wanted to say you were surprised he would teleport in the middle of a semi-crowded area, warlocks with arrogant and humans were not really observant, so that would be a lie.

“I am glad I did not bet on him being a non-human,” Alice says from behind you.

“Would you quit sneaking up behind me?” you ask, turning to her.

She shrugs. “So, what are we dealing with?”

“Warlock, goes by Ryder. First name, I believe. I was going to run him back at the station. He gave us our murder site and also said a necromancer moved the body.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed. “Warlocks don’t give out information for free.”

“He wants the necromancer to be left out of the investigation, whoever he is.”

Alice smiles, the expression predatory. “Then we’ll just have to make sure that we bring both him and the warlock in on completely unrelated charges, like obstruction or evidence tampering.”

“I don’t know that you should be left alone in a room with him,” you say.

“Ah, don’t worry. I won’t hurt him much,” she says, walking away and grabbing the radio from your car.

You shake your head. Whoever this Ryder was, you were far from being done with him. You were going to find him, and when you did, he was going to give you more concrete answers.

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raebaekaedae · 2 years ago

Text

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?”

Read on Wattpad

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 · 2 years ago

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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 · 2 years ago

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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 ago

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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 · 2 years ago

Text

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 ago

Text

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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