'How do they name teams?' Dove asks abruptly a week later.

'Hm?' Sky looks up from his book.

'Teams,' Dove repeats. 'I mean, Ruby leads team RWBY, right? Cardin leads team CRDL, and Jaune leads team JNPR. Do they name the teams for the leaders?'

'I think that's probably just coincidence,' Sky says, turning back to his book.

'Yeah, but I mean, Ruby and Cardin? Hell of a coincidence. I mean,' he says, warming up, 'RWBY could be B-W-R-Y and just pronounce it berry.'

'Berry?' I repeat.

'Yeah.'

I snort. 'Or BRWY and pronounce it brewery. JNPR could be team PNJR, but it'd have to be a silent P.'

'Because Nora Valkyrie is what I think of when I think of a ninja,' Sky says with half his attention.

'Maybe that's what the ninjas want us to think,' Dove says in a mysterious tone.

'They must need to have the leaders first,' Sky says, still reading. If I didn't know better I would think his Semblance was the ability to read and carry on a conversation simultaneously. 'JNPR, RWBY, CRDL… even CFVY. They have the leaders first and then work from there.

''Thank fuck for that,' I say. 'Can you imagine being team dee-licker?'

Dove laughs so hard he falls of the bed.

'Um…' Sky looks up and gives me his full attention. 'About that…'

'Sky, seriously!' Dove sits upright and glares at him.

I look between them and I start to feel like a real moron. 'Oh.' I'm blushing, I know I'm blushing. 'So… you two…'

Sky is as red as I am. 'I couldn't think of a better way to tell him!' he protests to Dove. Oh god. It's so obvious in hindsight. This is so embarrassing.

'It's cool, man, it's cool.' I wave my hands to show them how cool it is. 'I just - honestly, I feel like an idiot for not realising.' I clear my throat. 'So you guys were together at Marker?'

Sky nods. 'Becoming partners here was a fluke, though. We found each other in the forest by accident. After all, I hate to say it, but we aren't really good fighting partners.'

I take a moment to ponder the allegedly-random partnering system that somehow stocked a full team and a half with romantic couples, even if the males of JNPR are too thick to realise their redheads have eyes for them. 'Seriously, man, I don't mind. Just sort of took me by surprise, you know?'

Sky looks relieved. 'I don't want to make it weird, but you were the only one who didn't know.'

'Bull shit Cardin realised before I did,' I begin. Cardin is many things, but more aware than I am of the nuances of the personalities around him is not one of them.

'He went to school with us, dumbass,' Dove reminds me.'

Crap, it's not my day today.' I stretch. 'Well, that's fun. You guys ever want the room, I'll take Cardin for a walk or something. Take a Frisbee, go to the park…'

Dove bursts out laughing. 'Dude, why do you think Cardin keeps inviting you to spend an hour at the gym with him?'

I begin to laugh too. 'That dick!' I have to revise my estimation of Cardin. I never even guessed. He's more subtle than I give him credit for.

'That's kind of the point,' Dove begins.

I hold up my hands. 'Ok, ok, dude, don't need a picture.' I pause. 'Unless Sky has a better ass than Xiao Long, in which case-'

'It's pretty good,' Dove says in a confidential tone.

'Why don't you ask Yang out?' Sky asks me. 'She's not seeing anyone.'

I shrug. 'I'm not that into her. She's hot, but that's about it.'

'This is true,' Dove agreed. 'She's pretty damn hot.'

'For some reason I don't think you're qualified to comment on that anymore,' I tell him.

'I'm gay, not dead .'

I laugh. 'Fair point. Whatever, Xiao Long's hot but she's got too much baggage.'

'The sister?' Sky says.

'The sister,' I agree. 'A fifteen-year-old chaperone is an automatic boner-killer. Plus…' I hesitate. 'She's… maybe not the only one with baggage.'

Dove looks up. 'What do you mean?'

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I reach under my pillow and pull the picture out. Without looking at it, I pass it to Dove.

Violet really was her name. People didn't believe it, not with eyes like hers, but she had the same eyes as her father. They ran in the family. In every other way, though, she looked like her mother: tall, slender, with sleek brown hair and thick dark eyelashes and a mouth that was made to smile.

She never did, though. Not after a while. We were together for four years. I should have seen it. I should have realised when she stopped smiling. I should have been - better.

'-even listening to me?' Dove actually reaches out and shakes me.

I snap back to attention. 'What?'

They exchange confused glances, then Sky hands the photo back. 'Who's this?'

'Her name was Violet,' I say eventually, taking my time folding the photo.

'What happened to her?' Dove asks. He's picked up on the past tense.

I snort. 'I carry around a photo and didn't tell you about her for six months. The fuck do you think happened to her?'

'I'm sorry,' Sky says quietly.

'Whatever. Shit happens.' I stare up at the ceiling. 'I probably should have told Cardin before I told you guys.'

Sky and Dove exchange glances and decide not to comment. But I've made up my mind. I feel better that they know. It was easier than I thought. Not like a weight has been lifted off me, but like there'ssomeone there to help me hold it. Plus, keeping secrets from your partner is just a dick move.

'I'm going to find him,' I announce. I slid the photo under my spaulder. Sky gives me a smile of encouragement.

I check the gym, the training hall and the library before I think of the dining hall. When I get there, I wish I hadn't remembered: Cardin's picked a fight with Arc again. First time in a few months, but at least he's consistent.

' 'Sup,' I say laconically as I approach the table. I'm just in time; it looks like the only thing stopping Valkyrie from breaking Cardin's legs is the fact that she hasn't finished inhaling her lunch. Also Lie Ren, but whatever. I catch Cardin's eyes and jerk my head at the door.

'We're not done here!' Arc yells. I wonder what Cardin did to make him this angry.

'Not my problem,' I say coldly. I still haven't forgiven him for sneaking into Beacon. I'm not sure I ever will. Not until he gets good enough that he could have gotten in on his own, I imagine.

'Going to run away again?' Xiao Long mutters under her breath.

I cock my eyebrow at her. 'Shouldn't you be washing your hair?'

She flushes angrily and rises to her feet, but the crack about running away got to Cardin more than it did me. He sneers at them. 'Let's leave these losers.' And he grabs my spaulder to tug me away.

The photo slips free and lands face up on the floor. I see it out of the corner of my eye and turn, but Belladonna has already bent to pick it up. She starts to look at it.

' Give it back .' I don't recognise my voice. Fear and rage mix together to form something more monstrous than any Grimm-sound.Teams RWBY and JNPR rise to their feet, hands going to their weapons. Belladonna starts to frown, but then Rose plucks the photo from her hands and passes it to me, concern and confusion on her face. Cardin is looking at me like I've turned into an Ursa right in the middle of the dining room.

I need to calm down. 'Thanks,' I mutter, trying to loosen my grip so I don't crush it.

'What's going on?' Cardin asks quietly.

I can't look at Belladonna. I'm afraid of what will happen if I do. I jerk my head in her general direction instead. 'None of their fucking business.' And then I walk away, because I'm finding it hard to breathe under the weight of their eyes and the pressure of my own memories. Cardin trails behind me, looking so confused it's almost funny.

Outside the door I stop to examine the photo. Cardin is so thoroughly spooked that he doesn't even comment.

It hasn't torn further, thank god. It's creased right down the middle, but it's still clear: me and Violet, in the shade of an oak tree. My arm around her shoulder, hers around my waist. We're both smiling.

God, we were young. Young and stupid. The photo's faded, now. The colours are disappearing. The green that used to be emerald is jade, and the smile on Violet's face is almost invisible.

I hate metaphors.

The door opens and RWBY and JNPR leave the dining hall. They're startled to find me outside. Cardin and I start walking almost immediately, but I know what they've seen: me, standing in the middle of the walkway, staring at the photo. It's pathetic.

I wonder if they noticed the tail.'

~o0o~

Ok,' Cardin says when we reach the dorm room. 'What the hell just happened?' Sky and Dove look up.

'I haven't told him yet,' I mutter to them. I cross the room so I can look out the window instead of at them.

'You guys know something?' Cardin crosses his arm. 'Do you know what made him just freak out in the middle of the dining hall?'

'What happened?' Sky asks, sitting upright.

'Dropped the photo,' I mutter. I can't speak up. The thought of how close I came to losing the photo is making my chest tight with panic. I need a moment to put myself together.

'What photo?' Cardin says. He's getting angry. He always does when there's something he doesn't understand.

I turn and hold it out for him to see. I don't let him take it; I can't bear to let it go again. 'My last girlfriend,' I manage to get out. 'These guys already know - I only just told them, though.'

'Violet?' Cardin asks.

I jolt. 'How d'you-'

'You were doodling a couple of months ago.' He grins. 'The flowers caught my attention. So what happened with her? Bad breakup?'

I lean against the wall, staring down at my folded arms. 'She lived outside the kingdom. On the holidays, we'd go to her settlement to visit her family. Then - she just-' Crap, I'm welling up again. I turn and stride to the window so nobody can see it. 'She killed herself.'

'Oh fuck. I'm sorry,' Cardin says softly, the shock clear in his voice. I see Dove and Sky stiffen out of the corner of my eye, and a part of me is glad because it means Cardin can see I wasn't keeping everything from him alone. 'Were - were you around?'

'I was there,' I say. I lean my head against the glass. 'We were fighting Ursai…'

I can still see it, too. It was a pack of three. I had killed one, and the village defenders had killed the second. The third was holding Violet at bay. She had scaled a cliff - she was safe, there was no way it could reach her. I was across the clearing, with my blades ready, waiting for her to see me and make a move so that I knew how she wanted to play it. And Violet had looked over, and she hadn't seen me, and she had dropped her weapons and stepped off the ledge.

I can't look at them when I finish. All I can do is stare out at the sky and wait for it to stop swimming. There's total silence behind me. Nobody knows what to say.

'She didn't see me,' I say. 'I mean, she looked, but I was - I was behind a bush. She didn't know that I was there.'

'I'm so sorry,' Cardin repeats.

'Whatever, man. It was nobody's fault.' I tell myself that every day. I think it's safe. I turn and shrug at them. 'Shit happens, y'know?'

They exchange shocked looks.

'That's all you have to say?' Sky asks, trying not to sound judgemental.

'Well, I don't have enough hair to braid, so unless you wanna start painting my nails, yeah, it is,' I say with deep sarcasm.

'He found out Sky and I are gay, so apparently we're into that now,' Dove tells Cardin.

'Oh, bullshit,' I say, wheeling around. I'm glad. Fighting with Dove means I'm not fighting with myself. 'You two being gay doesn't change anything. You're still an immature prick.'

'And you still sound like you're chewing lead when you speak,' Dove retorts, grinning. 'At least mine is getting better over time.'

That's what my foster-parents told me when I said I wanted to leave Vacuo. Stay. It'll get better over time. 'Yeah,' I say bleakly, my moods dropping like it's been pushed off a cliff. 'I've heard that before.'

I leave the room before they can stop me and I pray that they don't follow me out.