I tell Cardin what happened. I have to; he asks why I showed up to class late with a bruise the size of an apple blossoming on my jaw.

'You know Coco Adel?' I ask, keeping my voice down so Oobleck doesn't hear me.

'Yeah.'

'You know how Velvet Scarlatina's on her team?'

'That bitch!'

Sky elbows Cardin, reminding him to keep his voice down. I feel bad. I made it sound like Coco hunted me down for revenge. 'She thought I was coming back to mess with Velvet some more,' I say in a low voice. He doesn't look placated. I harden my voice. 'Let it go, man. I'm not picking a fight with Team CFVY. We'll get creamed.' No pun intended.

Oobleck says something to Arc, sitting right below us, and I lower my head. He's talking about the Faunus wars. I know a fair bit about them, actually. Violet's great-grandfather was a veteran. I brushed up on my history the first year I traveled out to meet her family, hoping to impress the old man.

He was sunk so far in dementia when we got there that he mistook me for a general he had served under and kept trying to salute. We had some good conversations, though. He never knew who I was, but I like to think it made him happy.

He died two weeks later.

I've zoned out for a bit. When I come to, I've dug a gouge the size of a penny out of the desk with the tip of my pencil, and Dove and Sky are staring at me.

'What?' I mouth.

'Were you not listening?' Sky whispers.

I try not to glance down at the desk as I shake my head.

'Cardin just got told by Nikos and Belladonna,' Dove says with a grin. I lean around them to glance at Cardin. He looks pretty fucking mad, alright. I'm sorry I missed it.

Cardin and Arc are held back after class, and I leave with Sky and Dove. 'So what'd he actually say?' I ask as we leave.

Sky snorted. 'He started shooting his mouth off about Faunus being easy to train, which is why they won the war.'

I groan. 'Oh, for fuck's sake… Listen, guys, do you actually believe that? That Faunus are less than humans? Because I don't. I support the Faunus civil rights movement, ok?'

They look surprised. 'Not the impression I got this morning,' Sky says as non-judgmentally as he can manage.

I look away. 'Yeah, well… that was out of character for me, ok? I went to apologise to Scarlatina afterwards. Didn't get a chance, but I tried.'

They exchanged looks. 'I don't really know,' Dove admits finally. 'There weren't any Faunus at Marker. There aren't that many here.' '

Yeah, but you don't believe it, do you?' I press. 'I mean, where the hell is the logic of it?'

'They're not human,' Sky says with a shrug.

'Yeah, so? They're different, not worse. We're not better than people who aren't Hunters.'

'We kind of are,' Dove says. 'I mean, I can punch an Ursa to death.' '

"Ok, fine. Let's say we're better 'cause we have training. Faunus have night vision. So they're better than us by that logic.' I spread my hands. 'Do you even see how dumb this is?'

Sky is nodding slowly.

'Whatever. I actually knew Faunus, so whether you agree with me or not, keep it to yourself,' I say, giving up. I might have made a mark on Sky, but Dove is just starting to look irritated. 'I'm going to tell Cardin the same thing-'

'Don't bother,' an angry voice says behind me. Cardin. Oobleck didn't hold him back as long as I thought. 'I heard you.'

He elbows past me and strides off, looking angry. Dove whistles. 'Someone's pissy.'

'Whatever,' I say grimly. 'He can deal.'

We make it to our room and start our homework in uncomfortable silence. Cardin is brooding and steaming over some essay Oobleck set him as punishment. At any other time, I'd offer to give him a hand, but whenever I move, he glares at me. After a while, the tension gets unbearable. I mutter some excuses about going to the library and leave in relief.

I'm browsing in the library when I turn a corner and walk straight into Ruby Rose, knocking a pile of books out of her arms.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

'Sorry,' I say, bending to gather them for her. When I straightened, Rose looked uncomfortable. 'You want these back?' I ask, raising one eyebrow and holding the books out for her.

'Thanks.' She takes them but doesn't move. I cross my arms, wondering what her problem is. She's got something on her mind. She keeps opening her mouth and looking at me, then looking away.

'What?' I ask, trying not to grin. She's really cute - in a small puppy kind of way, not an 'I'd tap that' kind of way. Adorable, not attractive. In a couple of years, she'll be like a blade, beautiful and sharp. At the moment, she reminds me of a foster sister I was close to.

'Nothing,' she says finally. A book slips free. She tries to grab it, and three more follow. I bend and pick them up again.

'Fine.' I hesitate. 'Let me help with these,' I say, nodding at the books. I can see them littering the route back to the dormitories like a trail of breadcrumbs.

'Thank you,' she says. We head out in silence. I haven't had much to do with team RWBY; all I really know about them are their weapons, their names and a few of the ways they while away class. I know Ruby Rose impressed the headmaster so much she got let into Beacon early, but that's about it. And I know her sister… Yang Xiao Long… I know she has purple eyes…

'You ok?' Rose asks next to me.

'Huh?' I glance down at her. 'Fine, why?'

'You looked really angry for a moment.'

'Just team shit.'

We reach the dormitory, and Rose pauses.

'Listen, I know Cardin can be kind of a jerk-'

'What makes you think it's Cardin?' I ask, raising my eyebrow just to be annoying.

'Uh, because you and Dove and Sky seem to get on really well?' she says, raising her own in response.

I want to tell her that's true, but I feel like it would be betraying Cardin somehow. 'Don't believe everything you see,' I say instead.

'I just wanted to tell you that what you guys did to Velvet was really awful.'

From the lips of children. She looks like she's worried I'm going to hit her. 'Way to speak your mind,' I say instead. She frowns. 'I'm serious. That's impressive.' Even if it did take you the entire walk here to build up the courage. 'It's brave. I can admire that.'

'What you did to her was wrong.'

Oh, Rose. It's so much more complicated than that. Of course, it was wrong. It hurt someone. It made me feel better. It took away some of the darkness in my heart. It was wrong, and for a brief, brief moment, it felt wonderful. 'Yeah.'

'You should apologize,' she says stubbornly.

'I tried,' I say.

Her mouth opens for the next question, but suddenly, I'm tired. I'm so, so tired. I pile the books on top of the ones in her arms, but she's not ready for the sudden weight. They all spill to the ground again.

I open my mouth, but a loud, angry voice behind me says, 'Hey!' and a hand grabs me and spins me around. Yang Xiao Long is standing there, and she is pissed.

After a moment, I realize what she must have seen: me talking to her defensive-looking sister, then a pile of books clattering to the ground. Why not? Cardin's done it to Arc before. After my behavior this morning, it would fit in with what she knew of me.

I don't care. All I can see are her eyes. They're shining with anger. They're so beautiful.

'Yeah?' I manage to get out.

She balls up her fist, and I wait to get hit in the face by a girl who isn't pulling punches for the second time that day. Rose rises to her feet. 'Yang, it was an accident!' Wow, Rose. Could you have chosen words that made it sound any more like you were lying out of fear of retaliation? Why not just tell her you walked into a door? Xiao Long obviously agrees because she swings at me.

I dodge. Xiao Long's punch breezes past my face. I also step on one of Rose's books in the process.

Rose doesn't notice; she steps in front of me, in between us. 'Yang, stop it! I dropped them. I wasn't ready for the weight, ok?'

'Chill, Rose.' My fatigue is still present, mixed with the rising tide of sadness. It makes my voice quiet and lethargic. 'It's fine.' She's just trying to protect you, Rose. Let her. One day, she won't be able to. Let her until then.

I step around Rose and walk past her and her sister, eyes on the ground, waiting to be punched. I would almost welcome it: physical pain can be dealt with.

It goes away, eventually.

I reach the room without even remembering that Cardin and I are feuding. He's not present, though. I climb onto the bed, throw an arm over my eyes, and doze off.

When I wake up the next morning, my hand is asleep, but I feel a little better. A little happier, like the day won't be terrible. I don't have to force myself up. Even Cardin seems to have forgotten that we're fighting. I pass team RWBY in the hallways; Rose gives me a wary look. I think I've confused her. Xiao Long, Belladonna and Schneeglare at me. Makes sense: Xiao Long is doing the big-sister thing, Belladonna is doing the angry Faunus thing, even if she can't admit it, and Schnee just doesn't like me.

~o0o~

The next few days are really, really weird.

Cardin has started hanging out with Jaune Arc. Actually, maybe hanging out isn't the right phrase: lording over? Yeah, that's more appropriate.

Sky and Dove have no clue, either. I sound them out, and they're just as confused as I am. Finally, I snap.

Arc has just come and gone to deliver Cardin's homework to him. All of Cardin's homework. In almost total silence. Cardin is grinning like an idiot.

'Ok. Cardin, the fuck?' I demand.

He tries to look innocent. 'What?'

'Exactly. What? What's going on?' I demand. 'You hate Arc.'

Cardin grins. 'Actually, we're friends now.'

'Bullshit,' I say firmly. 'He looked like he wanted to jump. Why is he doing all this shit for you?'

Cardin can't hold it in. 'He snuck into Beacon.'

I pause. 'What?'

'He forged his transcripts and snuck into Beacon.' Cardin spread his hands. 'That's why he fights like a three-year-old. He has no training.'

"That entitled little prick. That glory-seeking little bastard. Sky and Dove look just as angry as I do.

'He didn't even go to a combat school?' Dove demands.

'Nope.' Cardin smirks.

'So you're blackmailing him,' Sky says disapprovingly.

Cardin shrugs. 'So?'

Sky opens his mouth to continue, and I stop him. 'Let him,' I say to Sky. 'It's Arc's own fucking fault. The entitled little asshole wants to stay here. He may as well earn it somehow.'

'If you get caught, you're in deep trouble,' Sky says to Cardin.

'If he gets caught, we're all in trouble,' Dove says.

Cardin hesitates. He hadn't realized that by telling us he was making us complicit. 'Ok,' he sighs. 'One last prank tomorrow, then I'm done.'

'Will you tell anyone?' I ask.

'He can't now,' Sky says. 'Not without Arc telling them about being blackmailed.'

'Nice,' I say bitterly. 'So the little prick gets away with it?'

'Someone has to have realized by now,' Dove says. 'I mean, he fights like - I don't even know. I can't even think of a comparison because he's such a rubbish fighter.'

I look at Cardin and can't help but think this is his fault. If he hadn't been busy tripping on his own power, he could have gotten Arc kicked out. Cardin sees me and guesses my thoughts, and he flushes angrily and turns away.