Cinder was still eating her cereal when there was a knock on the door, and someone rang the doorbell. The young girl, abandoning her breakfast, scrambled to my side and slipped her hand into mine. I smiled faintly and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"It's fine, Little Cinder." I told her. "It's just someone at the door."

She tilted her head, as if asking who it was that was there.

"If I've got my timings right, that should be the stuff for your bedroom." I continued with a smile. "You are sadly a bit small to help with putting the furniture together, but you can help paint, if you'd like? You did pick out that nice red, after all."

Her eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly. She stayed at my side as I opened the door, and remained silent as I opened the door.

The man was quite obviously Faunus, thanks to the presence of his snake-like tail. He had a thin smile on his face, and wore plain green overalls with what Casper assumed to be a company logo and slogan printed on one side ('Any time, Any where, Any Thing!').

"Casper Schwartz?" He asked.

"That's me."

"Got a delivery for you." He explained, and held out a scroll. "Sign here please"

I smiled and did so, offering him a thankful smile. Not only due to the fact that he and his colleagues had carried the various boxes up nine floors so I didn't need to, but because with luck, it would mean I might well get my own bed back. The sofa is comfortable enough for a night or two, true. But nothing quite beats one's own bed.

Cinder must have continued to hide behind me, given the odd looks I was getting from the snake/lizard(?) Faunus. "Forgive her." I smiled. "She's uneasy around strangers in general."

The Faunus nodded in understanding, and thankfully didn't question further. He merely went back to helping lift the other flat-packed boxes into my apartment. The mattress came last, and soon, everything was in my apartment and the delivery men were gone. I privately hoped that they didn't need to drag anything else up nine flights of stairs. Cinder let go of my hand, and went to investigate the boxes.

"Alrighty!" I clapped my hands with a grin. "Finish your breakfast Cinder and we'll get started. I didn't manage to get a coat of white paint on, so we'll need to do that first."

As I went to look at the boxes myself, Cinder's small voice filled my ears.

"...M-Mister Casper?"

"Yes Cinder?" I knelt down to be face-to-face with her. "Is something wrong?"

"Why are we painting it white?" She asked, hesitant disappointment in her voice.

"Ah! A good question, Cinder." I exclaimed with a grin. "We're painting it white first so that the red actually comes out better afterwards."

"Oh." She was silent for a few moments, before she nodded once. "Alright."

I smiled. "Trust me, little Cinder. I know what I'm doing."

I hope.

___________________________________________________________________________

Fiona Moss let out a sigh, and tried not to wish that the semester was over for the Nth time that morning. Whilst she had liked being Headmistress of Atlas Academy, her career had long since taken over her life, as had her other duties. Guarding the Staff of Creation...or rather, guarding the secret as to what was keeping the City of Atlas airborne was certainly the most vital thing she had ever done. Brothers only knew what certain people would do with that piece of information if it got out. Thankfully, her husband was understanding

But soon, it would not be her problem. Soon, the secret, the mountain of paperwork on her desk each morning, the irritating idiocy of some of her students, the mountain of paperwork on her desk each morning, the politicians wanting to force their ideals upon what she and her staff could teach and the mountain of paperwork on her desk each morning would all be someone else's issue.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

And if Fria Bernadotte and her..quirky bodyguard would stop visiting Mantle without telling anyone, maybe her last few months as Ozpin's lead Atlesian contact might well be almost peaceful.

Forty-five years she had given to Ozpin and his war, full of glories and tragedies in equal measures. It had been her that had sent Team HMMR to their eventual doom in the Grimmlands, then there was that mess with the elder Branwen twin..and everything else she had done..it had been enough. It had all been more than enough.

It was the sight of Albus Hawthorn striding into her office that drew her out of her thoughts. Oftentimes they found themselves arguing with each other or Ozpin over how to proceed. But nonetheless, they had more than a healthy amount of respect for one another.

The fact that he promptly placed a coffee from a local cafe on her desk made her all the more pleased to see him.

"Good morning, Albus." She inclined her head.

"Fiona." Hawthorn inclined his head in greeting. "You wanted to meet with me."

"Mainly due to your tendency to bring me strong coffee." She joked. "But I do need to talk to you about my successor here."

"Ah." Albus sighed, and moved to sit down in one of the spare chairs in his colleague's office. "I see."

"Absinthe Campbell is the frontrunner, in all honesty, but I understand that you want an excuse to bring that Lieutenant Ironwood into our little circle.." Fiona explained. "I would prefer Professor Campbell to succeed me, as she has something resembling an educational background. I am however open to alternative ideas. We are all allies in this, after all."

Albus sighed. "I know, Fiona. You need not remind me. In all honesty, I only put James' name forward in order to give myself an excuse to bring him into our little cabal. Absinthe is a fine choice, and it is clear that her family name will soon be redeemed at long last."

"An upside I am certain she will be happy with. The Campbell's have been paying for the sins of their ancestors for far too long." Fiona agreed, and took a sip of coffee with a contented sigh. There had been many coups and attempted coups over the course of Mantellian and even Atlesian history, but none more infamous than the one that was now known simply as The Campbell Coup. The coup that resulted in the end of the Mantellian Monarchy and nearly ended Mantle itself. It had taken nearly a decade and a half to stabilize the nation in the aftermath, and the Campbell Family had been ostracised ever since. "Two hundred and fifty years is long enough."

"Two hundred and fifty-three years, I believe." Albus corrected with a good natured smile. "Abby does get picky when it comes to the number of years, if I recall correctly."

"Same difference." Fiona shrugged. "Now keep distracting me, I have a meeting with the Council in two hours and wish to be the least annoyed I can be. Tell me of this 'Lieutenant Ironwood', it is a rare soldier that impresses you of all people."

The Senior Captain of the Air Fleet took a sip of his coffee and began to talk to his long time friend and colleague. It would help kill time, and the Brothers only knew how many times he'd get to actually talk face-to-face like this with Moss before she left.

"Well…"