"Nope."

...

...

...

...

...

Where in Vale could you get good lamb? Sear that with some thyme...

...

...

...

"Yes."

He came sidling back in a few seconds later, crossing his arms sitting on the dresser beside his TV and video game paraphernalia. He refused to sit on the bed yet.

"Your TV in here is crappy and probably not 4K. I'm using it as target practice next lesson. This is an Atlesian TV dorm now."

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy

Silver Applegate - Vale-Shopping Mall

"I don't really think jeans are good for swimming, but they look good for everyday use. Even an inept like me knows you can't go wrong with jeans." He said as he looked over his faunus companion. "Wait, that wasn't really a nice thing to say. I mean, I think it looks good. Tight pants are good for showing off your thighs." He blurted it out without thinking.

@Crimmy@Slime



Huh?

Beryl tilted her head in confusion. Why would she want to show off her thighs? Sure she was proud of how fit she was but it wasn't like she wanted to brag about it. Unable to comment on the second part of Silver's comment she decided to respond to the first half instead.

"Well yes it's hardly a swimsuit, but you'd be surprised how often I have to jump into a large body of water without the opportunity to change first. Plus drying off is really easy with my Semblance."

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy

Silver Applegate - Vale-Shopping Mall

Upon realizing what he had said, Silver cleared his throat and covered his face with a hand to hide a mild blush for a moment before looking back at Beryl. "Really? What does your Semblance do?" He tried to change the topic.

The door opened, revealing Sangue with relatively casual clothing. She had just finished wearing a hazy pink-red blouse to go with her jeans.

Turning to Ben, who seemed to be carrying Lauren, the red-haired girl nodded as she took several steps towards them. She noticed Amy’s absence among the two.

“Yes,” she said simply.

If Amy wasn’t around, she’d ask later, though Ben holding Lauren initially made Sangue wonder if Lauren had been hurt. Lauren’s expression screamed otherwise, though, so she seemed fine.

---

“Yup, yup! That’s me!”

Yun grinned. “You can just call me Yun, though. It rolls off the tongue better.”

Well, so far, she didn’t say anything that got people riled up. That was a good start! Then again, she did kind of just get here, so it’d suck if her first impressions fell over her head before they even began.

“Well, it’s nice to meet ya, captain!” She said before asking, “Say, where’re you from? I’m kinda surprised that there’s quite a handful of guys and gals from Mistral, but I’m one of them.”

Ferris' jacket happened to catch her eye as she talked. His jacket looked pretty comfy, but she did everything in her power to not call it fluffy. It just seemed... odd to just say that right off the bat, so holding her words back about it was probably a better option.

---

“…Elephant?” Hana mumbled, looking away for a moment in a futile attempt to mask her confusion.

Elephant? Hana thought to herself.

Elephant.

Unfortunately, confusion often led her to getting flustered- or just angry.

“W-Whatever! You get the point,” she said, slightly raising her voice. "Elephant or not, I'm gonna have to know at some point, so I'd rather know now."

@Crimmy@Slime



Lucky for Silver the faunus before him had turned her attention to folding the shorts in her hands. She still heard his question though.

"I can sense and control water. Comes in really handy with the whole swimming thing."

@Silvan Haven@Slime

Gratia Mindaro - Shopping

"Try them on," said Gratia, but her eyes were busy searching the store for any clothing that would go well with the pants instead of looking at Harken. Her priorities were placed firmly with the goal of the shopping trip, rather than dealing with the quirks of her newest teammate. "Make sure the material's of a good quality. And that it doesn't fuck up your skin."

Shuai Taidan

"I don't really like elephants. They have four legs."

To preface, I should have seen it coming. After the harrowing trials of Friday's mission, I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him once. The weekend was understandable on that front, of course, given that I'd been tossed out of the S-Ranked frying pan and into the high seas fire with about two or three hours of downtime between them—

But Family Day should have tipped me off.

And if not that, through some strange coincidence of scheduling and itineraries not matching up between my supercharged family and whomever might have came from his orphanage, then his total absence from the room and classes all through today should have easily clued even an imperceptive sod like yours truly into the simplest of facts:

Jack Orpheus was no longer here.

"Ah," I grunted in mild surprise.

Our lackadaisical, capricious, and lightning-quick leader had quietly packed his things and left. His space had always been rather spartan compared to mine, to say nothing of even a first-day Bianca Nuit's, but it had never been quite so barren as it was when we'd woke and broke for our lessons. He didn't have much, but what he did have made it very clearly his. Even it being orderly, when owned by someone with a nature so lax as his, was a break from normalcy—

So, if I was any good at paying any sort of attention, I might have been able to see something like this coming.

"Jericho..?"

The Atlesian operative, all 185 brooding and mysterious centimeters of him, was standing outside my open doorway with his patent guarded and carefully neutral expression, surrounded by the smell of food that wafted from within.

Hm. I knew he'd transferred since I saw him in Gym, but what was he doing loitering around my room for? Maybe whatever Bianca'd put together lured him here?

Well, no. His back was turned. Not even Jer Piper would just turn his back on food that was, let's face it, more than likely freely offered. Especially not quality seafood like what my nose was telling me.

Hmm. Maybe lost? It was a new venue and all, and as such it could be disorienting for anyone who had just moved in, even if I was sure he knew how to quickly get the lay of the land. He could be making that face to mask nerves because he didn't want to ask for help— However unlikely that seemed. He didn't care for posture that much.

How strange.

“Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer.” Bianca called in that syllable-stretching way of hers.

How peculiar.

“Are you… Moving in?”

How intriguing.

"Nope."

...

...

... After a second's deliberation, he did an about-face and walked inside, not having noticed my presence in the slightest.

"Yes."

"Eh?"

Hold on! Hold on, hold on, hold on!

Stop!

Pause!

I blinked twice before starting off after him, bursting into the doorframe just as he was sitting down.

"Oi, leave that TV alone! It went through hell with me!"

What on Earth were the odds at play here?! First we meet an Atlesian Double-O pastiche on a cruise trip who just happened to be our age, got roped into foiling an assassination plot with him, and now he was replacing our latest vacancy on this revolving door of a team?!

And moreover, weren't you going to be a Flapjack?

He was grumpy about the name and everything!

Is the Headmaster just shuffling a deck of students every two hours?

How were we even supposed to stay cohesive like this?!

"Trust me, you can't possibly be adjusting more than I am at this second." Now that the dorm was filling up, and Jer was being faced with the breakdown of all his move's predictability, he walked over protectively to his things. His eyes fell on the three photographs, but he didn't move them. Instead he reached for the lone open box of clothes, where the imprints of the three photographs were still faintly visible in a stack of folded shirts. He reached for the top fabric and pulled it out of the box; it was no shirt at all, but a matte black face scarf, faded slightly brown from age and wind.

He let out a long, deep breath. The fabric rolled through his fingers and slipped back into the box.

"Look." He turned around to face the two Beaconites, face inscrutably neutral. "I would rather take a jack-knife off that balcony right now than sleep in the same room with either of you. Especially for a sustained amount of time."

His teeth chewed, very slightly, on the corner of his bottom lip.

"But I would rather be here than return home a pancake. So I'm not going to question this until someone questions me. Are either of you team captain?"

“Huh? No that’s Jack.” I remarked taking the cap off of the wonton soup and pouring myself a small bowl. The warm broth released a gentle fog that rose to my senses, I repositioned myself to give Jer and Luke more room to get around the already fairly crowded room. I had seen that on an animal planet once before - it helps caged animals relaxed... or something.

I took a big happy mouthful of soup and immediately regretted it as the overly hot broth cooked my tastebuds, I felt my entire face turn red as I resisted he urge to spit the soup up.

Be a lady damn it you are practically a duchess.

I swallowed hard and forced a half smile.

”Yum!”

It’d probably taste better with non-scorched tastebuds.

I put the soup down carefully, examining both of the TVs in question in the debate. ”although now that Jack’s stuff is all gone I guess you’re taking the captain’s quarters!”

The remark was innocent enough but I realized that once again for what was probably the third time this week, Luke’s team shifted. I hope he likes being my teammate now.

Yeah...

Teammates.

It’s so cool!! I tried to keep my jubilation at bay so no one could tell just how excited I was, but...

Ahh!!

”You guys shouldn’t fight though, I had a projector installed while classes were on today - and it can serve as a disco ball for dance parties!” I tried and failed to not stare at the dance pad that had been moved with some of Jer’s other things.

”Anywaaaaaaay - why don’t you guys at least dig in! Once everyone’s done I’m probably gonna have to run all this food out anyway!”

This guy...

I felt the corners of my mouth tighten and my gaze narrow beneath a furrowed and pensive brow as he met Bianca's eyes, and then mine in turn. Had we not built up any goodwill in the past three days? If it were anyone else, it'd be hard to believe, but whether I bought it or not...

"Yeah, well, don't push yourself."

I couldn't say I was surprised either way. This was always the side he'd showed us on the cruise, albeit a bit more professionally— But I knew there were hints of something more underneath. He could have fun. He could loosen up. Even around us, the unfamiliar replacements, he could do it if we twisted his arm the right way.

Hopefully, it would just take less than always splashing his face, mercilessly, to pull it out.

I walked through and slung my backpack onto my bed, before turning back and folding my arms. I was being a little unreasonable to expect sunshine and roses and friendship immediately out of him, especially after it'd been a long day for all of us, but I still had to lay out ground rules. Chiefly amongst them, not touching my stuff.

I stood in front of my quadrant, a stalwart guardian. I held a steady gaze, regarding the Atlesian with the steely eyes of my homeland. I had drawn a line in the sand, ready to defend my belongings with valor and conviction—

I sighed. It came out through the nose, like a slow release of pressure that reflected in the tension through my shoulders and entire body, and I slid an eye over to... Wow, my most senior teammate now.

"And I'll say the same to you, too. Don't go and hurt yourself, Bianca."

The wonton broth smells extremely appetizing, don't get me wrong, but you need to blow on it first when it's still this fresh! Believe me, I get it! The stock used for the broth is amazing, the shrimp shells, pork bones, and dried flounder flakes all came together into a great, savory and unctuous base of umami that beautifully played against the neutral taste and chewy texture of the wrapper, and accentuated the meats within, almost as well as a bowl of proper ramen or udon from home, but in the same manner, you needed to exercise caution when it's still piping hot!

Blow, blow, then savor!

"And don't hurt your bottomless wallet either. Seriously, a projector?" I asked in muted amazement, glancing around the ceiling for the thing before my eyes settled back upon the group.

...Speaking of piping hot, I ignored the burns healing from my first bite—when did I grab this bowl?—and gave my own answer to Jericho.

"Leadership's in a bit of flux with him gone. I haven't been told anything about a promotion, and Bianca and Skye are both nearly as new around here as you are, so..."

The "J" in "Jericho" did slot perfectly into "Jumpercable". This had to be Ozpin's strategy, since I doubted I'd done anything to suggest leadership capability. After all, I barely scraped by getting in and could hardly keep myself in line— let alone three other qualified peers.

"It looks like you're it, buddy."

---

---

Sterling Johnson

"I like 'em. They're smart dudes. They remember things forever, man."

@Crimmy@Slime



Gratia as always with the slightly grating voice of reason. Beryl made a noise of agreement and grabbed a white T-shirt off another rack before heading off to the changing stalls.

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy

Silver Applegate - Vale-Shopping Mall

Controlling water, huh? That was rather vague, but depending on how good Beryl was at using her Semblance it could be very powerful. But before Silver could ask about that, Beryl made off to the changing stalls.

Now he was left alone with Gratia. He could already tell she had quite the sour mood, but he decided to speak anyways. "So, don't you need to get yourself anything?"

@Slime@Silvan Haven

Gratia Mindaro - Shopping

"Maybe a pair of jeans for myself and a work dress," she replied, running a pale hand through the rack of pants and checking the texture of each. "If Venetia's willing to be so fucking magnanimous, I'm not going to say no to her money."

The usual, flat tone of the Mistralese girl was present, but it was evident that she held no ill-will for her team leader. There was no heat in her words, nor did she seem particularly focused on them as much as she was on the clothing she sought to inspect. Gratia Mindaro only had one goal here, and that was to find something good for herself.

Jumper dress? Something for the winter collection won't freeze me to death.

"Haaah... I guess I should really figure out what I want to do right now." Selena had been chilling in her dorm after class was over. She's mostly just been playing video games and sort of doing homework. She knew she needed to keep up her studies but she wondered if anyone in Beacon actually cared about academic levels or if it was just an excuse to make everyone used to the routine. She wondered where the rest of her team was at and decided to try and call them up on her Scroll, maybe they could go hang out at an arcade or something. "Doot doot doot... Hello? Anyone there?"

Jericho realized what was happening to him all at once - he was being punished.

All that shit. All those years of lies. You would be wasted spending your life at my back. Live for yourself. Make your own fate. Only you are worthy of being at my side.

I go and do it, and what does he do? He starts screwing with me as soon as I'm out of the country!

That two-faced, passive-aggressive, needy, emotionally insecure, vainglorious...man-child. This would have never happened if Jer hadn't stopped the rest of his friends from killing him in that nightclub putsch like he deserved.

Make no mistake, Rich. I stopped that. Bekah had an elephant gun in the sound booth waiting for you.

Jer couldn't go back now, not without being told he was a flake, unworthy of his kingship, unworthy of his higher status as a knight. Was this Rich's way of telling him that he was a fool for ever having left? He couldn't remember mentioning Bianca--wait, had he mentioned Bianca in the AAR? Was this a jealousy thing!? Jealous of what!?

Looks like I picked the wrong week to swing both ways...

Speaking of both ways, the other boy and the girl in the dorm were both staring at their new captain expectantly.

...

Fine.

He would be the best captain - not king, captain - ever. Like Troy Piper was.

Rich would be begging for his knight back by the end of the Vytal Festival. Begging for someone who could pillage doughnut parlours half as well as he could, someone who could get them into clubs, someone who could prepare breakfast without consulting a twenty minute CCT video...

I am irreplaceable, you helpless goddamn queen.

---

---

Jericho Piper had never been more serious. He looked at Luke and Bianca with new eyes, ready to address this cobbled-together unit of hated foreigners as their captain for the first time. He needed to make an address - one that would seal their status as his second team for life.

"I guess."

Lauren turned to face Sangue with keen emerald eyes, aiming her clasped hands together at Sangue like a pistol. She fired it off as a greeting, grinning at Sangue as she leaned backwards towards the girl, clasped legs keeping her supported without the use of her hands.

"Sangue!" she said through her beam. "More life, my queen. Cap was just telling me about all the food he was copping us as soon as we found Amy! Two-for-one deals at Whamburger for students, some milkshakes, maybe swing somewhere else for some ice cream. All on his dime!"

She fired off her finger gun again, winking as the "barrel" cooled.

"Between you and me, I'm starting to think we could really take advantage of this pretty motherfucker."

It appeared that they intended on going out, and Sangue herself was far from opposed to that. She did dress up in hopes of perhaps following them, though she didn't think of what exactly they'd go out for. The enticing names of certain foods, however, caught her ear.

Hamburger deals.

Ice cream...

Personally, she always felt that she should respect her team members. It was a core aspect of her beliefs as a Huntress-in-training, and one of the few things she preemptively invested her efforts into without anybody's input. They were close to her, and also happened to be the closest to her, and she would do anything for them.

Food, however, was a different story. As soon as Lauren fired her finger gun a second time at her...



Taking a few steps closer to them, Sangue made it clear she was going to follow them.

_{@Krayzikk@Plank Sinatra@Kaithas}

"Yeah, Lauren was talking about how she wanted to pay but I wouldn't let her. She made me promise to let her get next time, though."

The girl got a single, casual wink directed at her. Two could play the say-shit-in-front-of-Sangue game. Not that it was really needed, he'd have been willing to pick up the tab anyway. Lauren just wanted to be Lauren about it. Ben had no idea where they were gonna find Amy, but he grinned a little at Sangue's expression. It was great to see her excited about something.

"Just let me drop my school stuff off, and we can get going." He ruffled the redhead's hair on his way by her, pausing to lean Joyous Guard against the wall by his bed. His backpack was dropped, without much ceremony, on his bed. He thought about taking the time to change all the way out of his uniform, but decided against it. Ditching the jacket and tie'd do just fine. "Lauren, Amy say anything to you about where she was going?"

Wow, typical Vale boy, can't pay reparations for once in his life.

Lauren's eyes widened in confusion at Ben's query, shrugging innocently and leaning against one of the team captain's bedposts. It occurred to her that she could have probably dug out that note or whatever that Amy had slipped her after Armory, but honestly it would have been so much trouble to go digging for it, it would have opened up weird floodgates to do it right there, and she didn't want to go whipping out Hautdesert for it.

Unless Amy was waiting for Lauren somewhere.

Oops.

"Beats the fuck outta me," she answered instead, scooting backwards and wrapping her legs around the bedpost. Her lip drooped in mock consternation, chin drooping down onto the spherical top of her support. "Nobody tells me shit. Everyone wants to fuck a nigga, no one wants to make plans with her...Sangue's my only real friend..."