Morning came.
It wasn't the alarm clock or the sound of birds tweeting that woke everyone up. It was the loud yells of excitement as Eirian jumped out of her bed. "First day of Beacon Academy for Team AZRE!"
No one else shared her enthusiasm. While Adam and Zanthus groaned from their beds, Ruri was still sound asleep, wrapped up in her duvet like a sushi roll. Spinning around to see her teammate snoozing away, Eirian grinned brightly and, with both hands gripping the duvet, spun Ruri out of the roll.
"Time to wake up!"
She didn't know Ruri would spin that girl was jolted awake from the sudden movement, eyes snapping open as she stopped herself from faceplanting her bed by throwing her arms forward. Hands pressed into the mattress, Eirian was impressed by Ruri's quick reflexes, but then that quickly vanished when Ruri kept moving with the motion of the spin and kicked Eirian square in the stomach.
All air left her lungs. Burning pain spread through her chest, she grunted when the solid kick sent her flying across the room, slamming into the wall with enough force to leave a huge stress fracture. For a moment, everything was dark.
And then, over the sound of ringing in her ears, she heard Zanthus shout in shock. "Eirian!"
As her vision came back, she blinked a few times and winced, reaching up to touch the back of her head while Zanthus rushed to her side. Hands checking her for any injuries, she could feel her Aura flicker from the attack. Still intact.
"Ow…" She whined, glancing up at Zanthus with those big eyes of hers. "I think I broke the wall."
"Can we please go through one day without something happening?" He sighed, at least relieved that Eirian wasn't seriously hurt.
As he helped her to her feet, she noticed Ruri coming over. All the stoicness and hardness melted away, leaving a very nervous and guilty girl who stood there with her fingers pressed together, looking at Zanthus and Eirian with those purple eyes wide in fear.
"Don't worry about it, Ruri!" Eirian quickly comforted her, pressing her hands against her cheeks. "See? Nothing too bad."
Even with her attempts, Ruri didn't seem all that comforted by it. Slowly, she passed Eirian, looking at the stress fracture in their dorm wall. When Eirian looked back at it too, she was shocked to see just how strong the attack was. The power behind it was something to behold. Brief flashes to their fight with the Nevermore came across her mind, with the sight of Ruri flying through the skies with compressed air pushing her forward.
Was that the power of her Semblance? Just how strong was she?
"I have a plan." Zanthus piped up, moving past Ruri and Eirian.
Watching him from their spots just in front of the huge crack, neither of the girls said anything as he approached the wardrobe on the opposite side of the room. Without any sign of strain, he picked up the heavy furniture and walked back to the crack with it over his shoulder.
"We put this here," he started, dropping the wardrobe down in front of the cracked wall. "And move the desk over there."
While explaining it, he picked up the desk and dragged it over to the space that the wardrobe had once been. Pushing it against the wall, he was careful not to knock over the bird that Eirian had spent hours on.
"There. Now no one is any the wiser." He beamed, slapping his hands together before putting them on his hips.
"Problem solved." Eirian agreed.
As she turned to Ruri, she noticed the other girl was still not relieved with the easy fix. Hand holding onto the long sleeve of her pyjamas, she stared down at the floor, all the worry and guilt clear on her face. It was a surprise seeing her that way. Usually, Ruri was so focused and to the point, holding her cards close to her chest in a manner of speaking.
There, she seemed upset, and Eirian didn't know who she was upset at.
"Hey." Zanthus piped up, already in front of them when Eirian glanced up.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Ruri tensed up under the touch, looking up worryingly as he continued. "Don't worry about it. Everyone has problems with their Semblance from time to time. Don't beat yourself up over an accident."
With that, he removed his hand from her shoulder. No longer being touched, Ruri visibly loosened up, nodding silently with her deep frown lessening into a neutral expression.
Problem sorted and everyone awake, Eirian's enthusiasm came back tenfold as she jumped in the air. "Come on, we got a whole new day to do!"
"Is there a time where you're not so… energetic?" Zanthus asked, practically deflated with how exhausted he looked.
Deep bags under his eyes, a grey overtone to his skin, he even lost the usual gold sheen to his hair. He looked like he was ready to go back to bed. Compared to him, Eirian's bright beams of energy and excitement were almost blinding, and any sluggish feelings were brushed off with the aspect of the first school day.
Grabbing hold of Zanthus' hands, she tapped him on his cheeks with his own hands while psyching him up. "Cheer up, Zanthus! After breakfast, we'll have our first lesson ever with Professor Goodwitch!"
"Can you please stop slapp- Did you say breakfast?" The mention of food perked Zanthus' attention instantly. Round ears once lowered tiredly sprung up, twitching as all signs of tiredness vanished.
"Well, yeah?" Eirian pointed out, still holding onto Zanthus' hands as she continued. "We live in Beacon now. They provide food, lodging and facilities to enhance our learning experiences!"
"You read that off the advertisement poster in town, didn't you?" Adam piped up in the background.
There was the longest pause after that question. Eirian stood there, still holding onto Zanthus' hands, as she stared over at Adam. While they were trying to hide the giant crack that she and Ruri caused, Adam had gotten himself ready for the school day. Fingers fiddling at the red tie, he already had the black pants, grey socks and off white shirt on, though any thought of helping him vanished from Eirian's mind when she saw Adam's unwelcoming gaze on her.
With a saddened frown, she forced her attention on Zanthus instead, trying to ignore the horrible twisting in her gut when Adam carried on ignoring them.
Thankfully, Zanthus didn't seem to notice or at least didn't say anything, rather focusing on the fact that Beacon had food. Managing to escape his friend's grip, he ran back to the wardrobe where the group's uniforms and clothes were kept. As soon as he opened it, they were nearly attacked by the mountain of clothes that Ruri had shoved inside.
Eirian could only gasp when Zanthus disappeared under a mountain of clothes. "Zanthus!"
All she heard was muffled words, rushing to the pile as she tossed countless clothes away. "Don't forget to breathe, Zanthus! Crawl to the light!"
Surprisingly, Ruri was there right by her side, though her moving the clothes were more picking them up, folding them, and putting them to the side, compared to Eirian's frantic flinging. Finally, she spotted Zanthus' face in the pile.
"You alright?" She asked softly.
He didn't respond immediately. Rather, he sniffed his nose and scratched it, replying in a croaky voice. "I think I'm allergic to the lavender washing powder you use, Ruri."
While it wasn't fun for Zanthus, Eirian laughed at the scene before her after the initial shock wore off. Even Ruri was giggling quietly. Eyes closed and a hand in front of her mouth, she seemed so relaxed at that moment. It made Eirian grin wider. For that one moment, everyone seemed so happy together, she finally had friends.
All that vanished when she heard footsteps pass behind her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed Adam right by the dorm door. Shoes slipping on his feet, he opened the door, only stopping when Eirian couldn't hold her tongue anymore and called out after him. "Where're you going?"
"To class." She never expected him to answer.
"Huh?" She replied in confusion, getting up to her feet while Ruri helped Zanthus out of the mountain of clothes he was still stuck in. "We should be going to the Dinner Hall for breakfast. You can't start the day without a good meal."
"I'm not hungry." He muttered back. None of the hate or vitriol was in his tone like before, rather he just sounded tired and distant. Like something else was on his mind.
Before she could try and convince him to at least join them for breakfast, Adam left and closed the door behind him. With him gone, the atmosphere of the room turned tense, Eirian unable to stop staring at the door with a soft frown. Zanthus' warnings last night still stuck with her. Don't talk to him, he's not your friend, and on some level, she agreed with him. But that didn't stop her stomach from dropping every time he rejected her.
She didn't want Adam to be alone. She knew what loneliness did to a person.
There was no time to focus on that anymore. With Zanthus finally free, he made a beeline for Eirian and, with a hand on her shoulder, pulled her away from the door with tender words. "Come on. We gotta get dressed before going anywhere."
He was right. With a final glance at the door, as if she expected Adam to change his mind and come back, she sighed in disappointment and went to get ready for the school day.
The uniform was certainly comfortable. While Zanthus was dressed in the same uniform as Adam, Eirian and Ruri were given the uniform meant for female students. The same black and gold blazer as the boys, but with a puffy white dress shirt and a checkered skirt. Thankfully, the girls didn't have to wear a tie.
Pulling the white socks up to her knees, she looked up at the others, surprised to find Zanthus missing something in his uniform.
"Are you not wearing the tie?" She asked, leaving her socks alone for a moment. "They're part of Beacon's dress code."
"I, uh… I don't like things around my neck." He was nervous. Hand rubbing the tip of his ear, he didn't even look at Eirian as he confessed further. "Honestly, I'd love to be able to wear my cape with the uniform."
"I know the feeling," Eirian grumbled back, brushing a stray dread from in front of her eyes. Without her horned headband, her thick dreads hung down in front of her face, no longer pushed back.
Holding the tie in his hand, Zanthus stared down at it with a deep frown. He didn't like the idea of wearing it.
"Here," Eirian piped up, getting up from her bed while her friend glanced over at her. "Lemme help."
Taking the tie from his hand, she wrapped it under the collar of his shirt and started doing it up, pulling the knot up so that it was hanging loosely at the front. "Is this alright?"
Fiddling with the knot, Zanthus seemed thoughtful. Quietly, he gave the tie a few experimental pulls, before nodding at her. "It'll do."
"Great! Now, time for breakfast!" She shouted in excitement. With Zanthus and Ruri both in hand, she practically dragged them out of the dorm room, barely giving them time to slip their school shoes on before they have dragged them down the hallway and out of the dorms building.
Eirian had never seen the Dinner Hall before. When she finally arrived in time for their first meal of the day, she couldn't help but gawk up at the giant building in front of her. With the same grey and white stonework that was used in all of Beacon's architecture, giant stained windows that took up entire walls, and huge dark oak doors that were kept open, it was a sight to see.
And once they got inside, the interiors were even more impressive. Rows upon rows of long dining tables that stretched across the entire building, lined with foods that she never even was even a chandelier that hung high above the students' heads.
As she and her group took their seats near other first years, Eirian and Zanthus couldn't help but gawk at all the food that was lined up in front of them. Where do they even start?
"I'm starting to like this place more and more," Zanthus muttered, salivating as he helped himself to copious amounts of food while Eirian immediately grabbed some fruit from the fruit basket in front of her.
From across the table, Ruri had some more restraint than her teammates. A plate in front of her, she simply took some of the grilled fish that was still steaming, along with the bowl of rice that was laid out. Looking at her meal, Eirian piped up with a mouth full of tangerines. "How come they serve rice for breakfast? I thought that'd be more like what you eat at 3 am when you can't be bothered to make food."
"People in Mistral eat rice. Given how multicultural Beacon's capital is, I'm not surprised the Academy copies that for its students." Zanthus explained, chewing on a whole link of sausages.
"Aren't you from Mistral, too?" Eirian pointed out.
"Yeah, but I worried about eating at all." That shocked her, with even Zanthus adding in a more ashamed tone. "My family wasn't exactly on the, uh…wealthy side."
His ears fell flat against his head. Even his chewing stopped, with the teenager seemingly guilty for even eating so much food. Shying away from his other teammates, he shrunk in on himself, unable to say anything while Eirian and Ruri stared at him.
Without a second thought, Eirian blurted out. "I get that."
"Huh?"
"About the wealthy thing. Like, both my parents were Huntsmen, so we didn't have to worry too much about money. We had to worry about people not selling to us." She paused for a moment. "But when my mom… you know. My dad couldn't be a Huntsman anymore. There was no one left to look after me, so he ended up having to work odd jobs that he could around Menagerie."
Hearing her admit her past seemed to lift Zanthus' spirits up a bit, his ears perking up and his tail swishing about behind him, no longer hidden by his cape. "It made money pretty hard to come by, but there's no shame in that! It doesn't make you any less of a person just because your home wasn't as fancy as others."
"I didn't have a home." Oh.
Eirian didn't know what to say about that.
Seeing her shocked expression, he was quick to correct any thoughts she had. "It's not your fault for not knowing. I don't like thinking about it."
"Sorry. I just never knew you were homeless." She admitted.
"Yep. Ever since I was… thirteen, I think." He seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I guess your life wasn't as hectic as ours, huh Ruri?"
The deaf girl seemed surprised when the attention turned to her. Both pairs of eyes on her, she shrugged her shoulders and rubbed at the barely visible gills on her neck.
"You know her?" Eirian asked, leaning against the table while peeling another tangerine.
"No, but I know of her family," Zanthus explained, gesturing to Ruri with a smile. "The Kashima family. They're pretty big news in Mistral, ever since they created the city of Tsubaki. The city on the water, people call it."
"You're from Tsubaki?!" Eirian gasped, her excitement beaming from her as she started vibrating. "I can't believe it! I read all about the city on the water, the book detailing its creation and short life is one of my favourites!"
Tangerine long forgotten, she continued with a wide grin. "Even after only being around for a few decades, Tsubaki pulled itself out of poverty and near financial ruin thanks to the marriage between its patriarch and the wealthiest family in Mistral outside of the Empress! I can't believe I get to meet someone from there!"
Ruri seemed stunned by the warm welcome. Eyebrows quirked, she was silent while Eirian continued blathering, unable to stop herself. "I heard so much about the jewel mines that gave the Maneki family their name! Is Shinju Maneki your mother? What's she like? What's Hisui Kashima like? I heard his moustache is the longest in Mistral, is that tru-?"
"Eirian, calm down before you pop a blood vessel." Zanthus ordered, pushing her back down in her seat before handing the half-peeled tangerine back to her. "Eat."
All the time she was chatting away, she completely forgot that Ruri couldn't answer her questions. Most of the fast rambling was completely lost on the girl.
Thankfully, Zanthus came to her rescue. "I don't know as much as you do, apparently, but I did hear while in Mistral that Hisui Kashima and Shinju Kashima- not Maneki, Eirian, they're married- had two daughters. Everyone knows about Seigyoku, the prodigy who went to Haven Academy and is one of the most skilled Huntresses to come from Mistral. But hardly anyone knows anything about the younger daughter."
Accepting an apple from Eirian, he held it in his hands while staring straight at Ruri. "The younger daughter is you, isn't it?"
Ruri's gaze fell to her food. She didn't seem happy at all, rather frowning deeply while Eirian questioned her. "Wait, why does no one know about you?"
She didn't answer. Picking at her rice, both Zanthus and Eirian sat there quietly, glancing at each other with worry clear on their faces. Finally, Ruri simply put her bowl down and clasped her hands together, bowing her head slightly before getting up and walking away.
"Hey, Ruri! Wait!" Tangerine in hand, Eirian rushed after her friend.
Obviously, Ruri didn't slow down. Back to the other girl, she kept looking ahead even when Eirian caught up to her, following Ruri out of the Dinner Hall and into the warm Spring morning.
With the sun peeking over the horizon and the skies a mixture of blues and greens, the chilled Valerian breeze was freezing to the touch, chilling Eirian's hands as she rubbed them together gingerly. She missed Menagerie and its tropical seasons.
"Ruri, wait." She begged, holding onto the sleeve of Ruri's blazer and turning her around so she could see Eirian's face. "I'm sorry. If I upset you, I'm sorry!"
When she finally got a good look at Ruri's face, she was surprised to see no anger or hatred in those purple eyes. Rather, Ruri seemed downtrodden, playing with one of the strands of blue hair that framed her face. Something was on her mind. Eirian didn't know what exactly, but she wasn't going to give up when a friend was feeling down.
"Was it about what we said about your family?" She asked.
Ruri nodded. "Okay… are you on bad terms with them?"
She didn't immediately respond as she did before. Rather, her gaze fell to the side for a moment, almost like she didn't even know the answer. Slowly, she shook her head. "Complicated, huh?"
Another immediate nod.
"Alright." She started, messing with one of her dreads that were resting on her shoulders. "If it makes you upset, then we won't talk about it. Unless, like, you want to or anything."
That brought a smile to Ruri's face. Only small, but noticeable anyway. Staring down at Eirian, the smile turned warmer when Eirian added in a bashful tone, her eyes closed in embarrassment. "I'll take the staring as a thank you!"
"You two sure run away fast." A voice spoke up.
Eirian glanced over, with Ruri following her lead, as the two noticed Zanthus walking up to them. A half-eaten apple in hand, he took another bite as he asked Ruri softly. "You alright, Ruri?"
She nodded in response, letting Eirian talk in her favour. "I promised that we don't talk about her family anymore unless she wants to. It's pretty complicated."
"Seems like all of us have complicated issues with our families." Zanthus pointed out while chewing on the apple.
Eirian laughed nervously at that. Rubbing the back of her head, she instead ignored the thoughts slipping back into her head and picked herself back up, grabbing hold of Zanthus' hand as she gasped. "We're almost late for class! We gotta go!"
"Wait, I haven't finished my apple!" Zanthus' protests fell on deaf ears as Eirian dragged him and Ruri away, losing his apple in the process as its half-eaten core laid on the ground.
By the time they had managed to reach Professor Goodwitch's class, everyone else had taken their seats and were waiting patiently for the lesson to officially start. The silence in the air was thick. No one dared to say anything with Glynda down by her desk, sitting on it with her eyes fixed on the new students in front of her.
The ticking of the clock on the wall filled the room. With those emerald green eyes on them, some of the less emotionally strong students focused their attention on anything but her.
That silence was shattered when the door slammed open and Eirian ran in, carrying Zanthus and Ruri on her shoulders. "Sorry I'm late, Professor Goodwitch! I came here as fast as I could!"
"Miss Esna." Glynda's stern voice spoke up. "I was expecting you to be one of the first to show up for class. I'm disappointed to be proven wrong."
All of Eirian's strength vanished at that. Nearly dropping Zanthus and Ruri before they managed to land on their feet, leaving the deflated girl standing there practically bent in half. "I'm sorry…"
"Either way, your assigned seats are over there. Seems like your team leader got here long before the rest of your team did." Glynda revealed, gesturing to a row of empty seats in the front row.
Sure enough, Adam was sitting there silently. Not looking at his teammates, he was instead staring at a notepad in front of him, fingers fiddling with a pen. Eirian thought about going to sit in the row first, taking the spot by Adam, yet she paused, unsure if it was a good idea to do so or not. Thankfully, Ruri took the chance first and scooted across the row of desks until she sat down right next to their leader.
The glance he gave her was small, with his one blue eye softening at the sight of the aquatic Faunus. For a moment, Eirian felt a pang of sadness and jealousy hit her, before shaking it off with excuses. She was glad Ruri and Adam were at least amicable to each other. She just wished he was that way to her too.
Taking the spot next to Ruri, Eirian ended up sandwiched between Ruri and Zanthus, sitting there in quiet excitement as the lesson began. Just as Glynda stood up from the desk and walked along the length of the room while addressing the students, her words were ignored when Eirian realised that her pens weren't on the desk. How could she take notes without them?
Glynda wouldn't notice if she rummaged through her shoulder bag. Sneakily, she looked down to the floor, realising that in all the excitement of the first day of school, she had forgotten her bag.
Sadly, she sat back up, listening as Glynda continued. "I will be in charge of the combat training for your time here at Beacon. As first years, what will be expected of you won't be as much as the older years, but make no mistake."
She paused to look over at Team AZRE. "I expect results befitting of our Academy."
Eirian shrunk under her intense gaze. Even without her crop in hand, the way she stood tall, demanding the attention of every student in the school, was both inspiring and terrifying.
"Now, we will have a short introduction along with giving you your new scrolls, and then we will immediately head to the training fields for our practical examinations."
"Um, Professor Goodwitch?" Eirian piped up, raising her hand meekly when Glynda turned her attention to her. "Didn't we do physical exams when we applied for Beacon in the first place? What is the point of doing them again so soon?"
"The examinations for applications were to see if potential students could face weak Grimm, and more importantly survive. These are simply to record your physical abilities, such as endurance, strength, agility." Glynda explained.
All of that so early in the morning had everyone groaning to themselves. Even Zanthus, the most physically capable of their team, groaned to himself as he put his head on the desk gently.
"Now," Glynda started, turning around to something that was left on her desk. "These are your scrolls. Atlasgracefullygifted them to Remnant along with the creation of the CCT towers in each of the four kingdoms, so these will be your lifelines. They are your IDs while here at Beacon, will show your Huntsmen Licenses when you graduate and can be used to communicate with others when needed."
"Oh, they're so tiny! Cute!" Eirian blurted out.
That earned a sigh from the professor, but as she handed one of the scrolls to Eirian and her team, Glynda ended up politely tapping the scroll. Reacting to the touch, the scroll, which was hardly thicker than two of Eirian's fingers, opened up with a transparent screen glowing brightly.
Watching with her mouth open in a small o, she was surprised when her name and Student ID flashed across the blue-tinted screen. She could barely contain her excitement as she looked over to see Zanthus and Ruri holding their scrolls too. Both were as happy as she was, if able to contain it better than the fidgeting girl between them.
For a moment, she glanced over at Adam. He seemed different. Staring down at the scroll in his hands, she couldn't read what exactly was on his face, but the fact that he didn't seem pissed or sad was a plus. She hoped.
Hearing other students get up from their seats snapped her attention away. Looking around, she followed after Zanthus as he too got up, shoving his scroll in the pocket of his blazer while Glynda ordered from the classroom doors. "Follow me."
With her at the front, the droves of students behind her followed quietly. Some whispered to their friends, chatting away all while keeping an eye to make sure Glynda didn't catch them, but Eirian had never known being quiet. The thrill of getting her scroll, of starting her first day, and showing her moves to Glynda Goodwitch, made her want to hurry up and get to the training fields already.
Beacon felt truly empty during the class times. Everyone either in the lecture halls, the library, or even outside Beacon itself on missions, the hallways and the stone paths outside were bereft of anyone.
People trudged along. Feet dragging across the chiselled stone, the early morning still hung over them, all except Eirian. She was the only one walking with a hop in her step. Scroll shoved in her pocket for safekeeping, she kept to Zanthus and Ruri's side, trying to keep them from succumbing to the tiredness and disappointment at having to do anything physical for the first day.
Soon enough, Glynda's voice piped up. "This is where you all will change into practical clothes."
Turning her attention to her, Eirian looked up to see a secluded building built beside a huge fenced off area. Any windows were built high up, blocking any view to inside the changing rooms. With Glynda standing in front of two doors leading into the building, she gestured to them, explaining in that stern voice of hers. "Girls on the left, boys on the right. If I catch anyone trying to sneak a peek at the others-"
A crack of her whip startled them all. "Won't impressed."
The warning hung heavily over them. Nervously, the group of students shuffled past her and into the changing rooms, splitting off into groups of boys and girls.
With Ruri beside her, Eirian followed the rest of the girls into their designated changing rooms. It looked the same as the locker rooms back in Beacon's main building. Lockers holding the girls' clothes lining around, it certainly wasn't as big as the lockers storage room, barely big enough to hold one class as opposed to the whole school.
Picking a locker, Eirian was eager to get changed and start the tests already. Shoving her uniform haphazardly in the locker and grabbing a pair of dark green shorts, Eirian couldn't stop herself from chatting away with Ruri next to her. "You ready for these tests?"
No response. She expected it, carrying on with a chipper tone. "I think you'd do well with agility. That fight with the Nevermore was awesome, like wooooosh, gliding through the air all graceful like that. What'd you think I can do? I reckon endurance, I did practice a lot with running in the desert back home with my dad. What'd you say, Ruri-?"
She stopped when she turned to Ruri. Having shed her white shirt and holding onto the white T-shirt close to her chest, the flushed look on her cheeks was shocking, especially with the blue scales on her face turning purple.
"What's wrong?" Eirian asked, noticing that Ruri was staring at something in her person.
Following her gaze, she glanced down to see that, Ruri was staring at her chest. Her blue sports bra hid away anything, but they were still a considerable size, especially compared to Ruri's flatter chest.
With a nervous grin, Eirian rubbed the back of her head "Heh, oops. Didn't realise I wasn't fully dressed."
Clutching her shirt to her chest, Ruri glanced at the other girls around them. While she was still blushing, the way she looked down at herself wasn't something Eirian would give to someone intentionally perving.
"Hey." She started, adopting a softer tone as she pointed at herself with her thumb. "You don't need to compare yourself to others. I think you're pretty just as you are!"
The compliment brought a smile to Ruri's face. Warm and friendly, she nodded in response and slipped her shirt on, dressing while Eirian followed suit.
With everyone dressed and ready to face whatever Glynda had prepared for them, they walked outside to find that some of the boys still weren't ready. Glynda remained outside, not willing to go inside to a room full of half-dressed boys, and rather talked to a few of the more extroverted girls that wanted to learn more about what's ahead of them.
While Ruri waited patiently, Eirian was fidgeting terribly. She couldn't wait. It was too boring, and her mind was protesting harshly to being made to wait for others. What was taking them so long?
On a whim, she approached the door leading into the boys' changing rooms and stuck her upper body through the door. Over the shouts and surprised gasps from the boys inside, she didn't seem to realise why they were so shocked at her being there, rather looking over at Zanthus and piping up.
"Can you guys hurry up? We've been waiting for ag- Ouch!" A harsh whip to the back of her head had Eirian wincing before she was dragged away.
By the time Glynda had finished chewing the injured Eirian out for peeping on the boys, everyone had come out of the changing rooms fully dressed. Some were blushing madly, unable to meet Eirian's gaze as they scuttled away like panicked mice, while others grinned and whistled over at her, only to run away when Glynda looked over their way with a whip in hand.
Surprisingly, Zanthus was one of the few not even embarrassed when he reunited with her and Ruri. It wasn't surprising. He did have a habit of walking around shirtless when he wasn't wearing a chest plate that could also double as a crop top.
Finally, Eirian was ecstatic to be allowed into the training fields. Following the other students, she listened as Glynda stood at the front and explained to them. "These training fields feature numerous natural terrain that you all will be tested against during your years here. As we are only getting an idea of what your current abilities are, the tests won't be so… extreme."
"So, what're we doing here today?" A student piped up from the group.
"You all will be racing against each other. All your physical abilities will be tested here." A race?
Before anyone could question it further, Glynda turned to a blocked path ahead and waved her crop. Logs and rubble that once blocked the way rumbled, surrounded by purple light before slowly moving out of the way. The mere sight of it left the students speechless. Mouths agape, they couldn't say anything, even after Glynda closed the way and turned back to them.
"Your Semblance is Telekinesis?" Adam finally piped up, arms crossed over his chest.
"That's so cool!" Eirian gasped.
"I appreciate the compliment." Glynda accepted gracefully. Holding her arms over her chest, she changed the subject by bringing the students' attention back to the cleared path. "The race shall begin now. You all will be monitored and graded on your performance so that they can be used for improvement."
Moving out of their way, Glynda raised one hand, holding her whip. Everyone tensed up at that. Readying themselves for the signal, silence fell over the entire group. It made Eirian's gut twist. All she could do was glance over at her friends, finding them focusing on the upcoming race. It was alright. She could do it. She's worked hard to get there, right?
The pep talk barely helped her nerves.
"Go!" Glynda shouted, lowering her hand in one swift movement.
Everyone ran. Not waiting for even a second after the signal, the entire group ran into the training grounds, leaving Glynda behind as she watched them closely.
Eirian thought she was fast. But wow, so many students around her were faster.
Outpacing her, she found herself quickly left in the dust, unable to keep up when she noticed Ruri right at the front of the group. Moments back in the Emerald Forest came to mind. How Ruri moved so fast that Eirian couldn't even keep an eye on her, seemingly doing something before she could think. It was comforting back then when they were fighting savage Grimm.
Now, Eirian couldn't help but notice the vast gap in skills between them.
She didn't want to give up, though. Powering through, she tried to keep up with the slower students, running through the open fields towards cliffs in the distance. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed Zanthus lumbering far behind her, seemingly struggling to keep up with even the slowest of the group.
She couldn't leave him behind. Slowing down, she shot him a smile while piping up. "Need a running partner?"
"You shouldn't be purposely underperforming." He panted, ears low on his head. "We're being graded on this. I don't want you getting a bad grade because of me."
"It's not that bad. First-day grades don't mean as much as helping a friend."
The confession had him look over in shock. Running by her side, he simply smiled at that and looked at the approaching cliffs, silently accepting Eirian's company as they both ran along. By the time they reached the rocky faces, the other students had already begun climbing.
Even with the thought of being graded on her performance, Eirian pushed that worry down. She focused on getting her and Zanthus up. Fingers grabbing at the rocks, she grunted as she lifted herself off the ground, managing to climb up fairly fast with Zanthus right behind her. Still, she would've given anything to have her clay birds at that moment. She never knew she would miss flying so much.
Much to her surprise, Zanthus proved far better at climbing than running. Before she even realised, he was past her and catching up to the others, only slowing down to let her catch up to him.
"Stupid mountains. Stupid rock climbing." She grumbled to herself.
Shoving her foot in a little crevice in the cliff face, she tried to pull herself up with Zanthus right above her, his tail swishing while he looked down at her. "Come on, Eirian. We're almost there."
"At least… we get… to go down… on the other side." She panted, reaching up to grab a rock.
Suddenly, she felt her foot slip. Panic took over. Heart-stopping, she reached out for whatever she could grab at that moment. Fingers wrapping around something, she felt her body stop from falling back down, sighing in relief until Zanthus' pained voice shouted.
"Eirian!Get off my tail!"
Eyes wide, she looked at her hand to see that, in her blind panic, she grabbed hold of Zanthus' tail to stop herself. Letting go of it, she could only blurt out. "Sorry, sorry!"
"It's alright." He replied through gritted teeth. "Just please, don't that again."
Nodding solemnly, she followed after him up the rest of the mountain. As soon as they reached the top, Zanthus sighed in relief, rubbing the base of his tail that reached his shorts gingerly. While he looked over the rest of the terrain they would have to get past, Eirian stood behind him, rubbing her upper arm while glancing down at his tail.
She couldn't help the guilty feeling sitting in her chest. Grabbing onto her braid, she thought about saying something.
"Hey, is your tail alright?" She asked quietly.
For a moment, she wondered if Zanthus even heard about it, but the way his ears spun around to her even with his back, she knew he heard her perfectly fine. It took a few seconds of thinking before he simply responded. "It'll be fine. You didn't pop it outta its socket, thank the gods."
"I didn't mean to do that."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. Accidents happen." He turned his head to her. That smile, so welcoming and friendly, made the guilt fade away with Eirian nodding back, her smile returning brightly.
"Come on." He started, reaching his hand to her. "Let's finish this race together."
Looking down at his hand, Eirian couldn't help the tight feeling in her chest. The warmth and happiness unable to be described, she simply took his hand and joined his side, her smile turning confident as she replied. "Together."
Past the mountains, they had to pass through thick forests, deep rivers and reach the finishing line through blocked pathways. At that moment, Eirian was grateful for Zanthus' strength as he cleared the way. She was by no means weak, but even she had difficulty moving the giant logs or heavy boulders that blocked their ways.
Bruised, sweaty, and exhausted, the duo saw the finishing line in sight. Other students had already made it. Even Ruri was there, waiting at the finishing line for her friends to join her.
"Hey, look! We're almost there!" Eirian pointed out.
Following behind her with a log over his shoulder, Zanthus threw the thing away and wiped his hands together, looking down the path they were following to see the finishing line too. Ears lowered down, and right there she could see how tired he was as he bent over slightly. "Thank the gods. I don't think I can take another step."
"I told you to lift with your knees."
"Shut it." He grumbled back, rubbing his lower back gingerly.
Waiting patiently until he hobbled to her side, she helped her friend down the path to rejoin the others. With the end in sight, she could feel the tiredness hit her full-on, no longer pushed on by the desire to finish the test and at least get a passable grade.
With a deep sigh, she piped up. "At least we'll pass, right?"
Zanthus shot her an amused look. However, before he could reply, a loud yell rang through the forests. "Dammit!"
Immediately, Eirian recognised that voice. Looking behind her, trying to follow the direction of the sound, she gasped in fear. "That's Adam's voice. He could be in trouble!"
While she was visibly worried, Zanthus was more subdued. None of that panic in his eyes, nor the worry in his voice, Eirian didn't let it stop her when she guided him down the path. "Go to the finishing line. I'm gonna go find Adam."
"No." He immediately refused. "If you wanna go, then I'll come with you."
She didn't try to reject his help. Honestly, after their talks about Adam last night, she was grateful that Zanthus would put that animosity on hold with Adam seemingly in genuine trouble. So, with a sharp nod of her head, she and Zanthus ran back the way they came, trying to track down their lost leader by his numerous shouts of pain.
Worry turned to fear. What if he was genuinely hurt? There were no Grimm in the training fields, at least none they found, but there were still many natural dangers that could hurt the students. How bad could it potentially be?
Answers were quick to come when they finally came across Adam. It was no Grimm or beast that attacked him. Rather, he was pinned to the ground with one of those heavy logs on top of his leg, keeping it in place while he tried and failed to get himself free.
"Adam!" Eirian called out without a thought, rushing to kneel by his side while she checked his leg. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"What're you doing here?" He shot back with gritted teeth, pained by the heavyweight on his limb.
While Zanthus checked the logout, Eirian was kept by the trapped Faunus' side, pointing out with a worried tone to her voice. "We heard your screams. We wanted to come and make sure you weren't badly hurt!"
"This hasn't broken my Aura, so I'm fine." Adam pointed out sharply, though he quickly added in defeat. "But… I can't get my leg out."
"It's pinned you pretty good," Zanthus revealed.
"Can you lift it so we can pull him out?"
Glancing down at Eirian as she asked him that, Zanthus glanced between her and Adam quietly. Without a word, he nodded and bent down to grab an end of the log, waiting until Eirian grabbed hold of Adam under the arms before lifting it. With some strain, he managed to lift it enough that Eirian could pull Adam out with ease.
Dragging him away far enough from the log, she let him get up on his own, holding her hands up when she thought he was gonna fall over.
"Can you walk?"
Testing his leg gingerly, Adam started limping along with a grimace. "Yeah. It didn't damage anything. But fuck, it hurts."
"Aura can't exactly null the pain," Zanthus added in the background, dropping the log carelessly before joining the others. "Need help getting back?"
"No. I can do it myself." Well, the niceties were great when they lasted. However, rather than his usual aggressive tone, Adam seemed… distant. No longer biting anyone's heads off, he seemed to want to be apart from them, keeping to himself as he limped away from the duo.
As Zanthus shook his head with an annoyed sigh, Eirian found herself wondering what exactly changed. He was gone for most of yesterday after their big blowup. Did something happen during that time?
There was no time to dwell on it. Following back down the path they were previously on, both Zanthus and Eirian finally crossed the line and finished the test with some of the other students welcoming them back.
Ruri suddenly appeared, smiling when she saw her friends have come out of the terrain race in mostly one piece. Despite the tiredness and aching in her muscles, especially her scars, Eirian couldn't help but beam with pride at having finished the race, smiling brightly until Glynda came towards them.
"I see the two of you forgoed finishing the race to rescue your team leader." She revealed, staring down at them from behind her spectacles. "I, unfortunately, have to tell you both that this will negatively impact your grades."
Zanthus and Eirian deflated at that. Glancing at each other, they said nothing until Glynda added. "However, I am pleased that you did so. Sometimes, what is right and what you are ordered to do are not the same, and the choice won't be easy. I believe you two will make the right choices in the future."
The compliment had lifted the grim feelings in the two. With grins, they celebrated with each other, Eirian grabbing hold of Zanthus' hands as she bounced up and down in glee. With Ruri watching beside her, none of them noticed Adam sitting off a few feet away, having heard what Glynda had told them.
For a moment, he and Eirian met eyes, and for once, he didn't glare or look away in disgust. He seemed thoughtful. As he looked away when Glynda congratulated the group of students, sending them away to get changed in time for their next lesson, Eirian wondered what was running through his head at that moment.
Either way, she had the rest of the day to look forward to. What Adam thought of her would have to wait, but somehow, she knew that the darkness that haunted him would not be so easily dispelled.