A Semblance of Emotion 002 (Patreon)

Jaune spent the entire next day walking around the city and he still barely scratched the surface. There was so much to see from the countless outlet stores, fast food chains and tourist locations that he could never take it all in – and that wasn’t even getting started on things like night clubs and other nightlife event areas. Vale was just so much bigger than he ever thought a place could be and by the time evening swung around again, he returned to that diner to finish off his day with another delicious meal. He had visited Beacon’s city office earlier and claimed his new scroll, as well as the ticket for the airship that would ferry him to the school, so now it was simply a waiting game. He was as prepared as he’d ever be.

He’d even found himself some part time work, unloading goods at the gate he had passed through the day previous. They remembered him and how he had tossed around loads that typically took more than a single person to move, and hired him on the spot. It was only a weekend gig as he would have class from Monday to Friday, but it was a start. The pay was decent for such simple, mundane work but that was because it was essential. Just like the people working the docks down by the sea, or the men and women that unloaded trains and airships that stopped in, these caravans delivered important materials to the city.

He was just happy that he would be earning some cash. He didn’t care what he was doing, as long as it wasn’t illegal. He’d clean toilets if that meant he could abstain from writing to his folks for money.

He still garnered a few strange looks during the later hours on account of being a human in a predominantly faunus neighborhood but he didn’t let it bother him. When he woke up bright and early the day of his trip to Beacon, the lady behind the counter even graced him with a smile as he handed in his key and bid her farewell.

It was around this time that his nerves kicked in.

Not only was he taking another step towards his ultimate goal, in a day of firsts, this was going to be the first time he had ever flown in an airship before. The only time aircraft ever visited his village was immediately after the Grimm attack. Otherwise, there was no other reason.

He didn’t have a fear of heights – or at least, he didn’t think he did? Then again, how would he know? Seeing as he had never been more than two or three floors off the ground before. He really hoped he didn’t have a fear of heights. Whoever heard of a Huntsman that was scared of flying in an airship or standing on the roof of a tall building? The Grimm were scarier than a little height!

“It’s fine. Everything will be fine,” he muttered to himself, tightening his hold on the strap of his backpack. The terminal was filled with people waiting for their flights, some charting a course as far as Mistral. Glancing at his ticket, he found the correct gate and took a seat on a nearby bench. He was a little early but already, many other students had already gathered. Some wore their weapons openly while others had them concealed in their luggage or on their person. “Even if it sucks, the flight is short. Just don’t freak out.”

He was already beginning to freak out.

To pass the time, he fiddled with his new scroll. It was a much newer model than any he had used before with a variety of options that run of the mill, civilian owned devices just didn’t have. One of those key options was the ability to track and read aura. Opening the app, it asked for his name, date of birth and his fingerprint. Inputting the required data, it then asked for him to focus his aura as the scroll scanned his thumb. With barely any effort, golden light emerged from his skin, a soft glow surrounding his form. When the scroll pinged, he let his aura fade away and he checked the screen, happy that everything was in order.

It was then that he noticed that he was no longer alone.

There was someone seated on the bench beside him and for a moment, Jaune thought it was a girl. He quickly corrected that; it wasn’t a girl but a very pretty boy, perhaps the prettiest boy he had ever seen. He couldn’t be blamed for the mistake, taken aback by his good looks. Glossy black hair framed an angular, attractive face, a singular magenta streak passing through his hair on the left side. He was dressed neatly in a dark green, diagonally-buttoned tail coat of Mistralian make, a pair of white trousers atop polished black shoes.

Even looking straight at him, despite his outlandishly good looks, he held very little presence. No wonder Jaune hadn’t noticed his approach or the fact that he had sat down right next to him; it was almost like no one was there at all.

“Er,” Jaune began awkwardly. “Hello.”

Pink eyes regarded him calmly. “Hello.”

Jaune hastily thought of something to say.

“Come here often?”

It took Jaune a few seconds to register his words. It took considerable effort to not cover his face in embarrassment, his expression twitching. He really was the worst at making small talk, especially with other people his own age. He was fine with children and those older than he was, but when it came to his peers? He was shockingly bad. He had a tendency to try too hard.

The pretty boy tilted his head, seemingly amused if his small grin was anything to go by. “No, this is my first time.”

Jaune cringed internally. “Right – uh, starting at Beacon?”

Black hair swayed as the boy nodded. “That’s right.”

“Well, uh, my name is Jaune,” he held out a hand. “Jaune Arc. I – er, never mind.”

Pink eyes stared at his hand and for a brief moment, Jaune felt ridiculous and almost pulled his hand back, self doubt rearing its ugly head. Fortunately, before he could take it back, the newcomer grasped his hand firmly and gave it a shake.

“Ren,” he introduced, bowing his head. “Lie Ren.”

The conversation stalled there, though it didn’t seem to bother Ren. Jaune watched as he closed his eyes, looking completely at ease as the silence stretched between them. He was clearly not the talkative type, something that Jaune was more than happy with. They remained that way for some time, simply sitting together and enjoying each other's quiet company.

It was not something that was destined to last.

“Renny~!”  a voice bellowed. “Where are you?”

Jaune glanced around, attempting to find the source of the loud voice. It appeared in the form of a short, ginger haired girl dressed in a black sleeveless vest with a white sleeveless undershirt, a heart shaped cutout above her beast line hinting at the soft, creamy skin underneath. Below was an extremely loud pink skirt with matching white-pink boots, the theme continued with her white elbow sleeves and pink fingerless gloves. Everything about her just screamed, ‘Here I am~!’ and when she bounced to a stop in front of them, her smile was more than a thousand watts.

“Ren~!” she shouted. “You’ve made a friend!”

She didn’t give Ren time to neither confirm nor deny it, turning Jaune’s face.

“Heya~! My name’s Nora. What’s yours?”

She leaned in close until her face mere inches away and Jaune had to fight the urge to recoil. She was very pretty; her turquoise eyes warm as she awaited his response, a faint floral scent tickling his nose. He maintained eye contact, knowing that if he let his gaze stray, he was likely to look at her chest; a chest that was exceptionally large for such a short, petite girl, exaggerated by her trim, slender waist.

“Jaune,” he answered, holding out his hand like he had done with Ren. “Jaune Arc.”

Her grip was powerful, and Jaune had to return it with strength to stop her from crushing the bones in his hand.

“Oooh, he has a good handshake, Ren,” Nora nodded as if that settled it. “He’s a keeper.”

Ren sighed, though he didn’t look annoyed. “Nora.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “What? You want to be friends, right?”

Jaune blinked.

“Uh – yeah,” he chuckled. “Yeah, I do. I don’t really know anyone here.”

“See?” Nora pumped his hand up and down. “We don’t really know anyone either. This is our first time in Vale. We’re from Mistral – well, you know, now we are. We used to live in this village – uh, don’t worry about it,” in the blink of an eye, her expression became sad and then lively again, giving him whiplash trying to keep up. “Did you grow up in Vale?”

Jaune shook his head. “No – I’m from a small place up north. This is my first time in Vale, as well.”

“We should totally hang out,” she nodded rapidly, excited by her own idea. “Yep. Renny, we can discover all the best places together with Jaune.”

Her energy was infectious, as was her positive attitude. Jaune found himself smiling and nodding along. His mother had been a hundred percent correct; strangers were just friends you haven't met yet. Nora carried the conversation forward, jumping from topic to topic with an enthusiasm that was frankly incredibly charming. At some point, she squeezed her way in between the pair of them and Jaune didn’t even feel nervous about being so close to such a beautiful girl, caught up in their discussion.

“You have what?” she exclaimed incredulously, the first expression of surprise since they’d met. Even Ren stared at him with wide eyes, clearly in disbelief.

“Aha – yeah, I have seven sisters. There is Saphron, Viridian, Violet – the two twins, Aquamarine and Cyan – Olive and Lavender,” with each name he listed off, Nora reeled back as if struck. “I’m the only boy.”

“Are you frickin’ kidding me?” Nora shook her head. “How does that even work? Your mom is a workhorse!”

“That is a really big family,” Ren added.

Being the youngest, that had always been his reality but meeting other people and families, Jaune had quickly discovered that most people had one or two siblings at most. Occasionally they had more but he now knew that seven was pushing it.

“Our house was really noisy,” he confessed. “And it wasn’t often that I got any alone time.”

At least he’d had his own room on account of being a boy, even if none of them respected his privacy. All of his sisters had to double up and share, shifting positions on the totem pole when Saphron left home.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” he asked, curious.

Nora jerked her thumb at Ren. “He is about as close as I get. We’ve been together a very long time.”

“We are both only children,” Ren clarified, sharing a look with his friend. There was a certain tenderness in his gaze alongside something else, something deeper and altogether unknown. Jaune would almost go as far as to call it sadness but that didn’t feel quite right.

There was something they were leaving out but Jaune didn’t push. If they wanted to share, then they would. This was their first meeting, after all. People didn’t typically spill all their secrets to someone they just met.

It wasn’t long after that when their airship landed and they began to board. Talking with Ren and Nora had distracted him well enough but now that he was handing over his ticket and stepping into the vessel, his nerves returned in a flash. The airship was long and angular, slender with windows every several paces. If he had to guess, it could probably transport around two hundred people if needed and it was already occupied by countless students from other regions within the Kingdom of Vale.

The well lit hallway they were in opened up into a large seating area, as well as an observation deck with high clear glass for walls. Jaune carried his bag over to a vacant seat and set it down. A large television occupied the front wall and in the back, there was a small store manned by a single worker selling drinks and snacks.

He always knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses dressed pretty wildly but some of the clothes on display were something else. Like Nora, many of the girls wore skirts and some of them even wore heels. The colors spanned the entire spectrum, too many to count. But more varied than the articles of clothing everyone wore were their weapons. Some were like his own; at a glance, he could tell what they were, be it a sword, an axe or a spear. But some of them were impossible to figure out, no doubt due to their mecha-shifting qualities. Crocea Mors was simple in comparison; a regular bastard sword and a collapsible shield that could become a sheath.

Even his clothing was on the simple side; basic brown boots, a pair of dark denim jeans and a thick, durable black hunting shirt that provided protection against sharp objects and the cold. Most of the people he could see didn’t wear armor of any kind, at odds with his white chest plate, vambraces and pauldrons, though he did spot one person almost entirely decked out in gray plate with gold trim, a golden bird splayed across the chest.

These were the potential next generation of Remnant’s protectors – and he was hoping to become one of them.

His stomach swooped uncomfortably as the engines roared to life and the doors snapped shut, the airship slowly rising into the air. A brief feeling of vertigo assaulted him as they became weightless, airborne. Grabbing the back of his seat to maintain balance, Jaune calmed his pounding heart and took a deep, steadying breath. It wasn’t long before they were pulling out over the city and despite his squirming stomach, Jaune walked over to the glass walls to get a better view.

Vale looked even more magnificent from the air. He could see everything spread out beneath him; the vital roads that were the very life blood of a kingdom, connecting industry with residential with commercial. He could make out the countless parks and green spaces, the transportation hubs, and where the new city bled into the past, where the faunus resided in greater numbers than anywhere else outside of Menagerie.

Ren and Nora joined him, staring out over the city in wonder.

They swung out over the downtown area before moving swiftly towards the towering cliffs that dwarfed the city. The midday sun caught the spray of the waterfalls gushing down the rocky face, erupting in a kaleidoscope of refracted light, the massive lake at the base glimmering like a sheet of polished steel.

A hologram of a well dressed woman suddenly appeared in the center of the room, catching the attention of everyone present. Her expression was stern, posture rigid; she carried the air of a strict disciplinarian, the type of person not to be trifled with. Green eyes peered at them from behind a pair of oval glasses, doing nothing to detract from her attractive features.

“Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch,” she began, her voice clear and cracking like a whip in the sudden silence. “You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world.”

Her piece said the hologram vanished as quickly as it came.

Nora puffed out her chest. “Hear that? We are the privileged few.”

Jaune grinned, fighting down that unsettling feeling in his gut. “I guess that makes us awesome.”

Beacon resembled less a school and more a sprawling stone cathedral with several enormous spires reaching for the sky, the largest of which was surmounted by a series of green spheres which earned the academy its name. Even in the light of day, the green hue could be seen quite starkly for miles around – at night, it would dominate the skyline with its luminous reach. The grounds encompassed a large swathe of grass land before leading into dense forest, as far as the eye could see. As the airship banked and began its descent, Jaune made out several large, circular aerial docking bays at the edge of the cliffside, beckoning their approach with blinking lights. Leading from those docking bays was a wide stone avenue that passed through a double ring of stone arches, their path into the school clear.

This was to be his home for the foreseeable future.

When the airship touched down, his stomach gave a flip. Nora noticed his discomfort, giving him a look of concern.

“Jaune? Are you okay?” she tilted her head in question. “You look a little green.”

He inhaled deeply through his nose and held it, before releasing it slowly. Feeling a little better, he said, “I think I might have motion sickness.”

Ren blinked. “You think you have motion sickness?”

Jaune shrugged. “I’ve never been on an airship before – or in the air, period. I – uh, haha – don’t think my stomach agrees with it. I think I’ll stick to horses or bikes.”

Horses might have a mind of their own but at least they were on the ground and he was used to riding them on the farm. Same with bikes; there weren't many things to do in a rural community so far flung as theirs other than enjoy the outdoors and one of Jaune’s favorite things to do was taking his bike down onto the beach and letting rip.

Nora inched away slowly. “If you feel like throwing up, let me know. I’d rather be somewhere else.”

Jaune chuckled. “Don’t worry. I think it’s already passing.”

Now that they were on solid ground again, he was beginning to feel his usual self. At least he knew now that he wasn’t scared of heights. He’d had no trouble looking out the windows and admiring the beautiful landscape. Fetching his bag, the three disembarked with the rest of the students and followed them as they made their way into the academy grounds.

“Do we know where we’re supposed to be going?” he asked.

Nora shrugged. “No idea.”

Ren consulted his scroll. “I believe we are to meet with the Headmaster in the auditorium for orientation.”

Jaune peered over Ren’s shoulder as he brought up a map of the campus.

“Here,” Ren pointed, tapping the screen.

“Forward march~!” Nora yelled, holding out one arm and straightening her back. She then proceeded to march with a controlled stride, pumping her other arm freely as several people stared at her in confusion. Jaune fought down a smile.

“Nora is a bit of a free spirit, isn’t she?”

Ren rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”

The layout of the school was fairly straight forward for such a large place, the amphitheater one of the first buildings you come across when entering from the main avenue. They were just passing through the large ornate doors when the ground shook, a minor tremor followed by the sound of an explosion. Everyone looked around in an attempt to determine where the disturbance came from but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“What was that?” Jaune asked.

Nora shrugged. “Accidental weapon discharge?”

“What kind of weapon could make the ground shake?”

She tapped her chin as if in deep thought. “Rocket launcher?”

“What?”

Did some Huntsmen actually use things like that?

She must have seen the surprise on his face, grinning as she tapped the collapsed form of her weapon that was strapped to her belt. It was one of the weapons he hadn’t been able to figure out, resembling not much more than a box of high grade dust steel.

“I could totally do something like that with this baby right here,” she sounded extraordinarily proud.

“Grenade launcher,” Ren supplied helpfully.

Nora liked explosives, it seemed. More students arrived as the short ginger haired girl waxed on and on about the glory of engulfing targets in a ball of fire and concussive force, her smile slowly becoming more unhinged as she went. The room was beginning to fill up when the lights dimmed, leaving the stage bathed in light as the woman from the hologram on the ship strode out, her heels clicking loudly against the wooden floor. Just like on the ship, chatter died instantly and silence reigned as she effortlessly demanded their attention.

Glynda Goodwitch came to a stop in front of a lone microphone stand, expressionless as she observed the crowd of prospective students. Her mouth opened and she was about to speak when the doors opened one final time, a short girl dressed in red and black stumbling through. Every set of eyes landed on her and she shrunk immediately, covering her face with the hood of her cloak as she rushed into position.

“Now that we are all here,” Goodwitch began dryly. “Please welcome Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy.”

The man who stepped out onto the stage to their polite applause was dressed sharply in a black three piece suit with a dark green vest atop a light green high collared shirt. He walked with a cane, the end tapping against the floor with every step he made. His hair was short and gray, almost silver, a pair of shaded spectacles perched on the end of his nose. Tall and slender, he struck an imposing figure but in a much different way than Goodwitch did.

There was something about him that felt different; old, almost, despite his relatively youthful features. He held an air of experience that totally eclipsed even the woman standing by his side. When he spoke, that feeling was only reinforced.

“I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge – to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people,” he paused, taking the chance to sweep across them with his intent eyes. “But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.”

And with that, he stepped away and left without a backwards glance, almost like he was dissatisfied, uninterested.

It was very odd.

Jaune shared a look with Ren and he shrugged, not knowing what to make of their strange Headmaster either.

Glynda Goodwitch then stepped forward. “You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Until then, you are free to roam the campus and familiarize yourself with the school. The older students have been instructed to show you around if you ask, so do not be shy. Weapons will be stored in rocket lockers until tomorrow and you can find their location on your maps. Dismissed.”

Chatter quickly filled the room as they were left alone, groups breaking off to explore. Before he could ask, Nora grabbed his hand and tugged him along.

“Come on, let's look around,” her other hand had seized Ren, keeping them both close. “I want to find where the food is.”

Jaune’s stomach grumbled, loudly proclaiming that he was in favor of her idea. She grinned at him cheekily and even Ren cracked a smile.

They spent the majority of the afternoon simply walking around, checking out all there was to see. The dining hall was large with towering windows and had a full spread available for the new students. The food was good, better than he was expecting – but perhaps he should have expected it. Beacon was an academy that trained Huntsmen. Keeping them well fed was an obvious advantage when they were required to build up their bodies and maintain them. After they ate their fill – Nora had thirds, while Jaune had seconds – they toured the various classrooms they would inhabit for the next four years if all went well. When that was done, they checked out the beautiful courtyards and gardens, the large Beacon tower that housed the Headmasters office at the top, the almost as tall Cross Continental Transmit System tower and the library. If he thought the dining hall was big, the library was gigantic with high arching ceilings and countless bookshelves, stacked to the brim. Ren was at home here and it took Nora some effort to pry her friend away from the countless books waiting to be read.

“325,” Jaune muttered under his breath as he stored his sword and shield in a locker. Holding his scroll up to the reader, they synced up and became a pair. “325, 325, 325,” he repeated so he would remember, knowing he had a tendency to forget simple things like this. Next to the rocket lockers were ordinary run of the mill storage lockers where they could store clothing, towels and essential toiletries without fear of them getting tossed around should they require their weapons at a moment's notice.

“We can be locker buddies,” Nora said while syncing her scroll to the rocket locker next to his. “That way we won’t forget,” she nodded, pleased with her reasoning.

“That isn’t a bad idea. The last thing I need is to be late tomorrow because I’ve forgotten where my locker is.”

It was a good idea. But it meant having Nora next to him in a place where they might undress. They were within touching distance of one another. Looking around, Jaune noticed that while Beacon apparently believed wholeheartedly in genderless facilities, the girls and guys had separated naturally for privacy when picking their spots. He had noticed earlier that the toilets had been unisex and it appeared that the locker rooms and showers were also co-ed. It was something that Jaune would have to get used to even if he had grown up around women all his life. Those were his sisters. It was a little different with girls not related to you.

Nora didn’t seem to hold any reservations about it, though. After spending the better part of a day with her, Jaune was beginning to suspect that Nora was the type of girl that didn’t let much bother her and rolled with it, no matter what ‘it’ was. Ren didn’t seem overly surprised by her choice of locker location, taking the one on her other side.

After dinner, they dressed into their pajamas and made their way to the ballroom as Goodwitch had instructed. Pillows, sleeping bags and futons were provided, and Jaune quickly claimed a spot near the ornate windows so he had a view of the night sky. Having so many young, fit teenagers in such close proximity was bound to loosen their hold on certain behaviors and he watched in amusement as a group of shirtless guys flexed and posed, engaging in general roughhousing much to the appreciation of many of the girls.

Ren and Nora had picked a different spot, leaving him alone for the first time since that morning. There was a raven haired beauty sitting nearby but he didn’t dare try to strike up a conversation, her head buried in a book. Not only was she busy but he wasn’t quite so bold. She was wearing a garment of Mistralian make, the yukata showing off the endless plains of her creamy toned legs. Jaune looked away quickly, not wanting to get caught staring, even if he clearly had been. He would rather not get labeled as a creep on the very first night, thank you very much.

But even if he was loath to disturb her, she held no such compunctions about starting a conversation. Amber eyes briefly darted his way before settling back on her book, before snapping up in clear surprise.

“What are you wearing?” she exclaimed incredulously.

It took him a few seconds to realize that she was speaking to him.

“Oh – uh, my onesie,” he replied.

Light blue and softer than a cloud, it was pure comfort against his skin. Not only was it soft, it was extremely warm, built for much colder weather than they got in Vale. It encompassed the entirety of his body, right down to his feet that were capped off with a pair of floppy bunny ears on each foot. Only his hands and space above the neck was uncovered.

She stared at him as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Aren’t you a little old for something like that?” she questioned.

Jaune gave her a look of confusion. “What does age have to do with anything?”

“Children typically wear them, not adults,” she said slowly, as if he was slow. “And it has bunny feet.”

Jaune shrugged. “I don’t think that’s true. The miners that used to come through town all the time wore onesies and they were all adults, and hunters would wear them in the winter under their clothes whenever they went out.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it again, unsure.

“Though I guess theirs were plain and didn’t have bunny ears,” he mused, looking at his feet and giving them a shake. “But you’re wearing a bow. Isn’t that something a little girl typically wears in her hair?”

Jaune watched as an attractive blush spread across her cheeks, enhancing her exotic looks even more.

“I like it,” she said defensively, reaching up to adjust it.

Jaune chuckled. “So do I – it looks good on you. I also like my onesie.”

Maybe it was because he had been around Nora all day and she was also a very attractive woman but he didn’t even hesitate when he said, “My name is Jaune. Jaune Arc.”

Amber eyes watched him warily, contemplating something. It looked like she wasn’t going to reply in kind and he felt a little silly, but then she sighed, looking away.

“Blake,” she said softly. “Blake Belladonna... and I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just... taken by surprise. I wasn’t trying to be a bitch.”

“You didn’t offend me,” he assured her, smiling when she met his eyes. “And you weren’t a bitch.”

She laughed, a subdued thing but lovely nonetheless. Blake smiled at him, tucking a strand of her glossy raven hair behind her ear, closing her book and giving him her entire undivided attention.

Whatever she was going to ask him was lost when two girls marched over, one much more reluctantly than the other. Jaune recognized one of them; it was the girl with the red hood, the one that had been late. Dressed in a pair of white sweat pants printed with red rose buds and a black thin strapped top, his first thought was that she looked really young. Interestingly, her hair was black that faded into red highlights. By her side was a much taller girl with long blonde hair and dressed much more daringly; a simple pair of black shorts showed off her long, smooth legs and her orange tank top was perhaps a size too small, cupping her impressive bust tightly. Describing her as a blonde bombshell was pretty accurate, the type of girl you’d expect to see in a magazine modeling clothes. They were both incredibly pretty.

“Huulllooo~!” the blonde greeted, waving in an exaggerated manner. “I believe you two may know each other?”

The younger one looked mortified, turning away and crossing her arms in an attempt at hiding.

Blake tilted her head. “Aren’t you that girl that exploded?”

“Uh, what?” Jaune said, looking between them. “Exploded?”

The girl in question turned back to them, face pinched. “Uh, yeah, that’s me,” she said before awkwardly extending her hand. “My name’s Ruby,” when Blake didn’t take her hand, she pulled it back and rubbed her neck. “But you can just call me – uh, well, actually, you can just call me Ruby.”

Blake stared at her blankly. “Okay...?”

Meanwhile, the blonde peered at him curiously. “Dude, what the hell is that thing?”

She gestured at his pajamas.

Jaune sighed. “Look. I’ve already been through this – it’s my onesie, and it is awesome.”

“It certainly is something,” she said doubtfully.

“It’s super comfortable and warm. Here, touch it,” he offered his arm.

Lilac eyes narrowed at him before she reached out, rubbing the material. She blinked and suddenly, both of her hands were caressing it. Jaune flushed as she gripped his arm firmly, rubbing up and down.

“You weren’t kidding,” she said in wonder. “I’m Yang, by the way. Yang Xiao Long. I’m Ruby’s older sister.”

“Jaune Arc – pleased to meet you. This girl here is Blake,” he jerked his head in her direction. “We just met.”

The fact that he wasn’t tongue tied was a blessing. It felt like every Huntress-in-training he had encountered so far was drop dead gorgeous. This thought was only reinforced when a stunning white haired girl joined them, her features doll-like and body slender, petite in stature. Dressed in a light blue nightgown, she looked like she had stepped off the pages of a fairy tale. Jaune stared at her, unable to look away.

She looked like a princess.

“Would you four be quiet? Some people are trying to sleep,” the newcomer said haughtily, flicking her hair dramatically.

Blake glared at the white haired girl, clearly unimpressed.

“Oh, not you again,” Ruby whined, backing away.

“Yes, me,” the white haired girl snapped. “Why am I not surprised that you are the one causing all this racket?”

“Hardly,” Yang rolled her eyes. “We were just talking. Now if you’ll just leave my sister alone and go back wherever you came from, everything will be just perfect.”

These girls obviously had some history and from the sounds of it, it wasn’t exactly good history. From here, the conversation derailed into an argument between Ruby, Yang and the princess.

Jaune glanced over at Blake, not knowing what to do. She shrugged, just as clueless and blew out the candle she had by her side.

Not the best way to end their first night.