(Not) Settling In : Prodigy

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Compulsive Reader, The Impossible Muffin

Adeptus Militaris, Wilger

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Beta(s) :

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Requested By : Polemoduke

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Pyrrha ducked back as the blade of Crocea Mors whistled through the air inches in front of her face, then ducked down and slid forward, slamming the flat of her shield into Jaunt's stomach and then the edge up into his chin. The blow sent him reeling with a spray of yellowish sparks and she turned with Milo, snapping out to bat Weiss' rapier aside as Akouo came up to rest across the backs of her shoulders and deflected Ruby's long-shot from the other end of the arena. The girl muttered something, but shot off before Pyrrha could turn to her. Instead, Pyrrha was met with Jaune, whose awkward swing she ducked under, spinning and sweeping his leg with her own, then propelling him away across the grassy ground with a push of her Semblance.

Finally, Ruby was forced to come into melee, Crescent Rose spinning around her in a blur as she advanced, her attacks so quick she forced Pyrrha to think, slipping forward enough to bounce a blow off one of her greaves. It was a play to off-balance her, if only a bit, but the other girl was skilled with her weapon. She compensated smoothly, turning at her waist and pitching a shoulder out to adjust the momentum of her massive scythe and bring it back under control. Pyrrha tried again, once, to the same result - and not even a tug of her Semblance was enough to stagger her.

She was good with her weapon…

But she was still small, and paranoid about Pyrrha taking advantage of that, which made her wary of even the tiniest tricks. And so she was easily distracted by the shield Pyrrha threw up between them - while her sword slid into rifle-form and she backed away, bracing it on her hip and slamming a shot right into the woman's stomach. She staggered and Pyrrha recalled her shield, turning and using it to block another of Weiss' thrusts. Stepping in, she angled her shield so the blade scraped by and wrapped her arm around her. Using her size and weight, she turned, hurling the Schnee through the air and into her partner with a muted 'whumpf' and 'oof'.

Standing, she smiled and cocked her head as heavy foot-falls echoed behind her-

And turned, snapping out a kick that caught Jaune in the chest. His momentum carried him past her, legs and arms flailing as he cart-wheeled and slammed into the other two. Pyrrha turned to watch Weiss fumble her way out of the groaning tangle and come staggering toward her, huffing and bringing Myrtenaster up between them. Pyrrha shrugged and launched into her own offense, her spear-tip dancing with Weiss' rapier-blade as she pushed her back.

"Move, you idiots!" The Schnee hissed as Pyrrha pressed her advance, side-stepping each time Weiss tried to and using her longer arms and legs to herd her back onto the path she'd set. "Before I- Ah!"

Pyrrha watched her tumble over the other two as they scrambled and fell over each other to try and get out of her way, and failed. Due in no small part to a nudge and push of her Semblance on Jaune's breastplate. Chuckling, she let the bottom of her spear rest against the ground and dropped her guard - a quiet signal that she was done, now, and one that two of the three groaned in relief at seeing.

"Screw the Grimm." Jaune groaned, "We need anti-Pyrrha classes."

"Right?" Ruby grumbled, flopping over onto her back with her scythe behind her. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and sighed, "Stupid long legs… And stupid, dummy long arms… How am I s'posed to get in any hits?"

"Shoot her…?"

"Tried that." Ruby whined, kicking her feet. "Dummy… Dumb dumb shield…"

"Ah, right." Jaune sighed, "The dummy dumb-dumb shield. Forgot about that."

"The only dummies here are you two." Weiss snapped hotly, sliding Myrtenaster into her belt and using a hand to smooth back her hair while Pyrrha watched her, blinking owlishly at the sheer acid in her voice. Flailing, she snapped, "Why couldn't you get out of my way?!"

"We fell?" Ruby tried, flopping her arms in the grass and dirt of their clearing. "So did you?"

"I got up!"

"That sounds like a you problem…?" Ruby tried and then winced when Weiss almost visibly bristled. Shooting up with a splash of rose petals, she dusted her skirt off and chuckled awkwardly. "B-But, I mean, Pyrrha's a monster. We didn't do too bad, I don't think?"

"No, you really-"

"A loss is a loss." Weiss cut her off with a huff, crossing her arms and paying Pyrrha an almost patronising smile. "Don't coddle them, Pyrrha. They have to learn."

"Alright…" That, at least, was correct enough, Pyrrha supposed. Even if she wished the heiress would… Phrase things better. So, with a sigh, she pursed her lips and said, "Well, Jaune, you were quite clever in your attacks."

"Wait, he was?"

"I was?"

"Why do you agree with me…?" The Schnee blinked away the question and sighed, "Pyrrha, he just… Ran at you, swinging."

"No, he flanked me." She shook her head and chuckled, "Or, well, he tried to. He recovered more quickly than you did, too, and kept coming. Even if we were attacked, and that was all he could do, he could hold a Grimm in place while any of us dealt with them."

"That's not his job, though." Weiss argued, "His job is to kill it."

"Oh?" Pyrrha turned to her, raising an eyebrow, "I couldn't kill a Goliath, or Gods forbid a Megoliath, on my own. That makes me no less a warrior. And him far smarter for knowing not to take me on directly, nor alone."

"Unlike someone…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss hissed while Ruby went stiff and then vanished, petals trailing around Pyrrha. She felt weight settle against her and raised her arms, looking at the girl peeking around her side nervously. Weiss ignored how scared she looked, though, ranting on, "What would a child know about fighting, in any event? You barely engaged at all!"

"I'm a marksman!"

"Markswoman!" Weiss hissed, "Markswoman! For the Gods' sake… And if that's true, why did you engage at all?"

"Because you and Jaune needed help!" Ruby argued, "You're my partner, of course I tried to help!"

"And all the good that did?" Weiss scoffed, tossing her head and rolling her eyes. "All you did was trip me."

"A-Actually, Ruby was, um…" Very close to her, right now, and Pyrrha wasn't sure what to do with that. Before she could muster up enough mind to say anything, though, Jaune stepped in.

"Hey, Ruby did her best!" He argued hotly, waving at himself, too. "So did I! Why did I try harder to work with your partner than you did?!"

"Excuse you!?"

"I-I don't think this is very, um, conducive to sparring sessions?" Pyrrha tried, laughing weakly as the Schnee got into Jaune's face and sneered.

"I was fighting you idiot!"

"Were you?" He laughed, "Because what it looked like to me was… I don't know, I guess, but not fighting!"

"Because you know so much!" She shouted, "All you did was tank hits! That's it! How dare you even think you can criticize me?!"

"Maybe I'm just a hit sponge, but you- You just rushed in, tried to… I dunno, duel her!" He shouted, voice echoing across the woods as he gestured at the Academy high above them all. "Up there, down here, why is it everywhere you go you feel like you have to put Ruby down like that?!"

"She's my partner!" Weiss howled, "Why should you judge how we coordinate?"

"She's two years younger than you!" He bellowed, face going red as the fury rushed through him. Enough that Pyrrha even recoiled, backing away and, on instinct, wrapping her arm comfortingly around Ruby's head. As if to protect her, somehow. "Why don't you act like the adult you are and help her? Rather than scream and demand and- And bitch about every little thing she does!"

"Well maybe if she'd do something right, on occasion, I'd do more than-" She must have seen something out of the corner of her eyes, because Weiss stopped, suddenly, turning to them and blinking. Slowly, her eyes widened, and she deflated, "R-Ruby, um, I-I- Why are you-"

"Ruby…" Jaune sighed, deflating just as fast. "Don't… Don't cry."

Pyrrha blinked and turned, twisting to look past her armored chest. Ruby's face was flat, cheeks red, and she sniffled as she rubbed at her eyes. Quietly, Pyrrha murmured, "R-Ruby…"

Then, suddenly, she vanished, rose petals trailing away through the woods. Off towards Beacon, with them all left in the clearing staring after her. Confused and, in Pyrrha's case at least, feeling a bit… Upset, with herself, somehow. In a way she couldn't quite explain.

"Great." Weiss snarked, "Look what you've done now, Arc."

"Me?!" He snarled, face tightening again before he sighed, shook himself, and turned away, collapsing his sheath and sliding his sword home clumsily. "Whatever, forget it. I'm gonna go find her, see if she's… Okay, I guess."

"Why should you?" Weiss scoffed, "I'm her partner. It's my job to-" Jaune cut her off with a snort and stormed off, face hard and brows knit down together, and the Schnee blinked after him. "That… That rude, asinine little churl!"

"Don't." Pyrrha sighed, stepping in front of her when she tried to storm after the young man. Shaking her head, she sighed, "They both need to cool off. As do you, Weiss."

"I'm perfectly cool, thank you very-"

"No." Pyrrha cut her off, "You aren't. You're upset, and that's… Fine. But-But right now, everyone needs some time. So… Let them take it. Alright?"

"...Fine." She finally relented, nodding curtly. "I suppose you are the leader, so I should default to your desire. Shouldn't I?"

"S-Sure."

"And besides," Weiss smiled, "the multi-year champion of the Mistral circuit clearly knows better than those oafs, regardless. You could tell how desperately flailing their attempts were, too, right?"

"I…" In truth, Ruby had put her under the most pressure, and Jaune had at least maneuvered. Weiss had just tried to engage her in duels over and again. Pursing her lips, she tried to explain, "Y-You… Kept me engaged, well enough. But, um, your coordination with them was… Bad?"

"Of course." Weiss nodded, filling Pyrrha with hope- "They couldn't coordinate their way out of a wet paper bag, after all. I'm unsurprised they ruined our chances."

"U-Um… Sure." Pyrrha shrugged, giving up and asking, instead, "Shall we get some food for everyone? I'm sure a nice meal will… Settle people, a bit, for the evening. And the hour is growing later. With classes tomorrow…"

"A wonderful idea." Weiss smiled, striding forward and tossing back. "Shall we, then? Preferably before any of the more high-class options we both deserve are gone, hm?"

Sighing, Pyrrha followed along behind her, spinning her spear on the top of her fist idly as they went. It was a 'waste of Aura', according to her old teachers in Mistral. But it helped her relax, at least a bit. And who said she had to follow their rules even now, so far away?

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Jaune paced through the halls of the Academy's workshop center, which a large building built just past the rec-center where the auditorium had been built. It was more sturdy than it, though, with thick concrete walls, plated windows, and dozens of tall chimneys that spiralled up into the sky, white smoke puffing out of them. Inside were halls of small workshops and tinkering rooms, for maintaining and upgrading gear, rooms mixing Dust ammunition, and at the bottom of the building proper forges, for making parts, spare pieces for armor, and even full weapons if the need arose. At least, according to Ruby, who'd talked for hours over the last few days about how much she loved the place.

Which was why he expected to find her there, just like Saph had always told him.

'Check a girl's comfort spots. And bring sweets.'

That had been dating advice, mostly, but…

Well, he was pretty sure the underlying idea would have to hold up anyways. Or why would it work at all?

So, a little box of cookies tucked under an arm, he spent an hour walking the halls, checking rooms and chuckling as other students waved him off. But, eventually, he found her. Tucked away into a small tinker room at the end of a long hall, Crescent Rose in pieces and spread out over a table that took up half the space and ran along the entire back wall. It had a little cut-out in its center, curving around the stool Ruby sat on while she worked, so the space was well-used at least.

She'd changed out of her combat-clothes into a pair of thick denim cover-alls and a thick cloth shirt with long sleeves, and leather padding on her forearms. Protective gear. She had a head-wrap on, too, along with a pair of headphones resting against the tops of her shoulders, almost upside down, that were held in place by the wrap for her work-goggles. It was haphazard, of course, and she'd gotten in more than a little trouble for doing it, too, but…

Well, it certainly made it easier to spot her in a group.

He leaned against the edge of the door-frame as it closed behind him and knocked on it. When that didn't work, he sighed and picked up one of the little screwdrivers hanging on a floor-to-ceiling tool storage drawer that looked a lot like the one his mom had hung up for their shoes on the inside of the door to his house. He pitched it at her and she squawked as it bounced off her head, then she flailed to catch it. And, finally, turned to glare petulantly at him.

"Rude." She half-shouted, before wincing and quickly, awkwardly, slipping her headset off an ear and hitting the button on the end to pause her music. "Um, sorry. Um… Rude?"

"Sure." He chuckled, padding over and holding up the little cardboard box. "Cookies?"

"Oh, uh, thanks." She waved at an open spot and turned back to her work, tugging her headset off as she did. Sighing when he set it down and leaned against the desk quietly, watching her, she complained, "I just can't quite get this gyro to tune up right…"

"Ruby…"

"I'm fine, Jaune." She sighed, "Weiss didn't… Didn't mean what she said."

"Yeah, she did." He pressed, "You know that."

"I-I mean…" Ruby froze, eyes flicking between her tools until, finally, she turned to open the box of cookies and bit into one angrily. Chewing it, she finally snapped, "Just… Why is she so mean to me?"

"You did blow her up…"

"Yeah, once!" She sighed, "Ugh, you blow up someone one time and you're a klutz forever…"

"Hey." He laid a hand on her shoulder and, when she looked up at him, he smiled and asked. "You okay? Don't play tough, just… Are you alright?"

"I…" She sniffled and turned away, nibbling at her cookie. "No. N-Not really, but I'll be fine. Not the first time she's yelled at me, ya know?"

"Yeah, I do." He scowled and she turned to look up at him, smiling as he waved her off. "I won't start anything, don't worry. Not that I even could if I wanted to…"

"I mean you could." She smiled, "Just wouldn't go too great for you."

"Gee, thanks, Crater Face."

"Oh, is that how it is, Vomit Boy?" She turned, kicking at him and pouting while he laughed and backed away, hands up in surrender. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her piecemeal project and sighed. "Now c'mon, help me out with this, would you? I wanna get her ready for stuffs tomorrow."

"Because I know so much about your scythe." He laughed, "Or, well, weapon engineering at all."

"I'll teach you." She shrugged, pointing at a long rod that ran the length of the inside of her weapon. "Okay, so this thingamajig is called a 'pylon' and it runs electricity through the whole thing, and works with the whats its here, here, and, um… Here, to stabilize her for me when I shoot."

"Okay…" Jaune shrugged and leaned over her, pointing out a little gear-box on the table. "That?"

"No, that's a mecha-shift gear-box." She snorted, picking it up and pressing a button that had it unfold into a flat surface, a handful of tiny cogs splayed out on little sticks. "Custom work. Slots in and opens 'n closes to work with bits around it as Crescent Rose shifts around."

"That's wild…"

"This is the simplest one, actually." Ruby smiled, "Two forms. Most of 'em have three. Rifle, scythe, and closed-down mode. Gotta work together in all of 'em. Here, lemme crack open her shell-housing and I'll show you…"

Jaune nodded and, even as far over his head as it all was, leaned over to try and keep up with what she was telling him. Which he failed at pretty quickly. But, luckily, Ruby was patient enough, and didn't mind explaining things over again. And, head-ache not withstanding…

Well, at least Ruby wasn't crying.

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Sen Slice :

As you can probably see, I have an idea for how he will mesh with his new team, as time passes.