What Happens Next (Slay The Princess/RWBY)

Well, no more votes since some time, let's make it official:


Vote is closed.

So, a funny thing about the winner:

I said that most of the options would lead to you either headshotting canon or watching the headshot... you chose the only one that doesn't do that.

The dossier could (probably would, the guy doesn't know how to fight), have led to you refusing Jaune as a candidate yourself (instead, someone else did it).

The letter was a genuine call for help so would have allowed you to learn more about the Grimm fang and disturb their plans (Glynda was called in your place and you'll see the consequences of that later).

General Ironwood did bring Penny with him, so you would have seen her being accepted at Beacon yourself.

The Ozluminati reunion is only a first look at them to learn who Ozpin trust, and will not change canon for now.

Though, it does have some interesting things in it I am happy to write anyway.

During one of your talks with him, Ozpin had mentioned that a handful of people actually knew about his curse of reincarnation. With Ironwood coming for a visit for some other business, he apparently got the opportunity to allow you to meet two members of this group that aren't there in most circumstances at the same time.

Thus, you and Sable are now walking to the elevator to his office on the pretext of *presenting a promising new couple to their new colleagues*, which, while true, is not the whole of it. You enter the room it is in just in time to see a young woman with striking orange hair leaving by another corridor. All you see is her back, but you can note that she seems to be wearing a little tiara as well as a haircut strangely similar to yours. Her outfit is a simple dress with a white section on the top and a light green, almost grey, bottom with bright green highlights. For some reason, she seems familiar despite you never having seen her before.

But she quickly disappears behind a turn and you decide to concentrate on the future. You are somehow certain that you will see her again. You get in the elevator with your love, and when it gets to the top of the tower, you are greeted by an interesting collection of people.

Aside from Ozpin, who's behind his desk as usual, as well as Glynda by his side, there is a man slumped on a chair in front of him and another in the middle of the room in a perfectly straight posture. The badly sat man wears a black and white outfit with the only spot of color being a red cape on his back. His hair is disheveled and he is clutching a flask. The soldier, for only a soldier would stand like this, actually wears very similar colors, a mostly white outfit with a black shirt and a red cravat. His hands are behind his back and you can't help but note the patch of metal on his head as well as the fact he is only wearing one glove.

Both of them turned to you as soon as the doors opened. One with a seemingly casual glance that actually judges all of you from what impression you can feel with your Nature and the other with a strict gaze that is more visibly judging. Everyone in the room knows that all is not as it seems, as you can feel your perspective change to an intriguing mystery with hidden potential under their gaze. Even Glynda, who already knows you, is giving vibes of wondering why you are here now.

"So, these are the two you wanted us to meet." The seemingly too tired man says with a gruff voice. "Have to admit, given how much praise you gave, I was expecting someone bigger." Then he takes his flask and begins drinking.

"Qrow! This is a serious moment. Stop acting like a drunk fool." Glynda harshly reprimands him.

Ozpin ignores the byplay and begins the introductions. "Indeed, those are the two new teachers that we will have next year to take care of our students. Miss Stella Panoply, who will be our long-awaited counselor, as well as Mister Sable Vault, who will teach about how to endure in adverse conditions." He then turns to the people you know are his confidants. "This is General Ironwood, headmaster of Atlas academy." The soldier nods at you, having deliberately not reacted to Qrow's remark earlier. "Qrow Branwen, a teacher at Signal and accomplished huntsman." The drunken man grumbles at you at that, still being under scrutiny by Glynda. "You already know Miss Glynda Goodwitch and me."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Ironwood, Mister Branwen." You decide to go all out and curtsy. Your love following suit… and curtsying too. You roll your eyes at that.

Qrow actually laughs at this, while Ironwood only raises an eyebrow. The meeting has only begun, but Glynda already seems like she is too tired for this.

"Ah, good one. The girl's too stiff but at least there's someone else with humor here." Qrow says between two bouts of laughter.

"I can see part of why Ozpin is interested in you. You, mister Vault, are quite fearless to act like this in front of two headmasters. One of them the one that will employ you next year at that." Ironwood says, still ignoring Qrow's antics.

"Oh god, there are two of them. Why." Glynda mutters under her breath so low you wouldn't have heard it before you became a Faunus and developed better senses.

You look at how they act, the long-drawn sufferance of Glynda, born of familiarity, and come to a conclusion.

"Excuse me, Glynda, but you didn't tell me you had a man you liked." You say to her, indicating Qrow.

Apparently, nobody expected you to point out the obvious, as they are all clearly surprised by your words, even Ozpin.

Glynda blinks. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, I can recognize that exasperated air anywhere, you two are flirting." You continue explaining. For some reason Opzin is now the one with his head in his hands and Ironwood has no idea what is happening. The second having gone as stiff as a board at your first remark, clearly not accustomed to people not being at least a little intimidated by him and his position.

"I concur with my dear Princess here." Sable adds. "It wasn't exactly like this, but this is close enough to how we acted with each other for us to recognize." He nods at the nugget of wisdom he imparted. Drawing the gazes of everyone but Ozpin, who is still looking at his desk while clutching his head for some reason.

"Ok, I appreciate a good joke from time to time. But this one is a first." Qrow is looking at you when saying this. "Besides, I am only interested in men, so Glynda is not in the running."

At that, you look at him, then at Ironwood. Both paling right away for some reason.

"No, I'm not into Mister stick in the ass either!" Qrow adds, at the exact same time Ironwood finally opens his mouth to say: "I can assure you that me and Branwen are not interested in each other."

You decide to simply let it slide and concentrate on a part of what Qrow said that intrigues you.

"Very well, if you say this is like that, I can believe you. But I am wondering why you said you are only interested in men, can't you change that?"

Before Qrow has a chance to begin speaking, clearly angered by your remark for unclear reasons, Ozpin intervenes.

"I want to clarify that the both of them come from a remote village, it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't know that homosexuality was a thing." Then he looks at you and adds with a stern air. "By the way, this will be added to your lessons to prepare you for next year. This is a delicate subject and you need to not say this kind of things to students. In fact, we may as well begin now, do you have some questions you would like to ask?"

"I deeply apologize if I offended any of you with my remark." You begin. Sable is actually serious next to you and nodding in agreement while adding a, "Me too, I apologize." Then you ask the first question you had. "While I can see why it would be taken as me not recognizing that people of the same sex are allowed to love each other, that wasn't what I meant. I was asking about how you implied you couldn't change it if you wanted. As such, I want to ask more about this part."

Qrow seems to have calmed down a little but is still agitated, and is the first to talk as a result.

"What, you thought people could just flip a switch and choose their orientation? Think about it, does it work like that for you?" Is his caustic remark.

"I have to agree with Branwen here. You have to understand that some people use this sort of talk to tell gays to *stop being degenerates and just go find a person of the opposite sex*." Ironwood helpfully adds there. You seem to have touched a very deep nerve given he is willing to support Qrow right now.

"Actually…." Glynda begins from her corner, breaking the silence she had maintained until now. Drawing all eyes to her. "After a coaching of Team CFVY by Stella, they reported to me that she had said that she had changed some ways of thinking and didn't seem to consider the fact important." She is almost questioning here. She wants to know more but the fact that you are amongst strangers makes her hesitate to fully put you against a wall.

"To answer Mister Branwen's question: yes, it does work like that for me." This seems to take him by surprise. "My Semblance makes me change in response to outside stimulus, and that does include mental ones. I chose to love my other half." You get closer to him when telling that and he puts his hands around your shoulders. "But during our history together I have also hated him with all my heart, seeing him as a traitor. It seems that while I do have a good understanding of others' psychology, mine is too outside the norm and leads to misunderstandings like this from time to time. Once again, I am sorry. I am sure it doesn't really help, but I will add that there is a chance that my harmful remark was in fact due both to not understanding, and the impression you got making my Semblance act out and leading to me choosing the worst possible words to say. I should have been more vigilant when talking about this subject that I didn't know, and watched myself to see if I was changing to stop it." You offer him a sincere curtsy, with your little bird bowing deeply at the same time.

"Very well. You will still have the additional lessons." Ozpin says, to which you firmly indicate your agreement. "But this has probably been enough about the subject for now given the circumstances. We should go back to the original goal of this meeting and learn a little more."

With that, you go back to a more normal reunion. You learn that Ironwood once had two seats in the council of Atlas due to being both the leader of the army and the headmaster of the biggest local Huntsmen school. He resigned from the army seat almost immediately to show that he wasn't going to be a corrupt dictator. Qrow gushes about one of his nieces being a prodigy with a scythe and asks Ozpin if he can take a little time from his current mission to go see her and her sister. Ozpin agrees but says that he should take the one he is escorting with him. When Qrow asks you about your Semblance to learn more about it, you decide to have a little fun and change into the Specter, your body dropping dead on the spot. Seeing it quickly turn to a long dead husk and your spectral form rising from the ground has them spooked. A thing that clearly amuses Sable.

When the meeting ends, Ozpin asks you to stay a minute and asks if you did it to establish that death wasn't an end for you. You answer that you didn't think about it, but that it is a nice bonus.

---

One week after your meeting with the loyal followers of Ozpin, you are called by Glynda in the middle of a night of snuggling with your love.

"Stella. Sorry if I woke you up. There is an urgent matter that requires your skills as a counselor. Can you come to Ozpin's office as soon as possible?" She instantly asks when you take the call, not even leaving you time to talk. She seems harried and right out of a fight.

"Of course, don't worry, I don't sleep anyway. I was just enjoying some time with Sable but…." You look at him on the side. He just smiles and motions that you should go. "This is more important. I will be there in five minutes."

"Thanks." Is all Glynda says before cutting the call short. She really has to be in bad shape to do this. She didn't even comment on you saying that you didn't sleep.

When you arrive in the office, the first thing that draws your eye is a shivering young woman in a chair in front of Ozpin. She is clothed entirely in black and has cat ears on her head. The most interesting part is how she sees you. A mixture of thinking you are here to help and a fear that you could turn against her. The girl doesn't know if you are friend or foe, in fact, she may well not know if anyone is right now. She seems simultaneously ready to bolt and unable to move, her eyes wide and darting everywhere in fear.

"Blake, this is the woman I talked about. Stella, this is Blake Belladonna. Are you ok with me explaining a little about why you're here?" Glynda talks softly, making sure not to make any fast movement at any point. At a nod from Blake, she ushers you to a corner.

"Poor girl asked Ozpin for help with an anonymous letter bearing the mark of the Grimm Fang. You know about them from what you told, right?" At your confirmation, she continues. "Then you probably also know that the daughter of the current chief of Menagerie and the current head of the White Fang has been kidnapped by their leader several years ago. I didn't get much from her, but apparently Adam was abusing her and grooming her to be a loyal figurehead that he could use to pretend legitimacy. She recently realized what was happening and called us to meet. I was the one sent and when I arrived she began asking for protection. Unfortunately, we had barely time to discuss before Adam showed up. He had followed her and was trying to stop her escape. I managed to make him flee, but some of the things he said…." She shakes her head at that. "Since you are a trained psychologist, and a future teacher here, you were the easiest contact we had that she could at least partially trust. She refuses to be seen by anyone that isn't related to Beacon right now. Refuses to move from here in fact, she is persuaded Adam will kill her as soon as she shows herself. And given some of his threats, she may be right."

You assess the situation, and instantly come to a conclusion. With a firm nod to Glynda, you change into the Thorn, which prompts a startled jump from Blake. With your best disarming smile and very slow movements, you begin approaching her. Feeling her eyes on you all the while.

"I am sorry for the fright. I should have told you before. As Ozpin said, I am Stella Panoply, currently in place to be the school's counselor next year." Once you are outside reach but close enough that talking isn't too difficult, you sit down in a position where you cannot move easily. Both putting yourself lower than her and showing you do not wish harm at the same time. "Glynda told me about what happened. I am sure they already asked, but how are you right now? In your own words, I know you're not ok."

She opens and close her mouth several times, clearly unable to articulate her current feelings. So you simply nod and continue.

"I see. Thanks for trying, that is already more than enough. Now, the reason I took this form is because it is related to betrayal, and from what I understand, you have just been betrayed." She nods timidly at that. Still shivering. "You need time to come to terms with what happened. If you want to, I will take some time in my schedule to help you. Ok?" Another nod, slightly more firm, good. "Now, as a little token of trust, I know it isn't the same, no story is, but I have been subject to some things in the past that could relate to you. Do you want to hear them?"

"Why would you do that?" You hear her voice for the first time. She is searching for your angle right now. Which make sense, Adam probably told her stories to make her root for him.

"Because that way you will be able to decide yourself if you want to trust me or not. If you do not want to believe me, or even hear me, that is fine, good, in fact. You need to have your own opinion and you seem to be taking steps for it. I am offering freely." You appeal to her desire to choose for herself, making quite sure to not act in any way in the directions some of her fears push you towards. It is a delicate balance and you hope you are doing well. You want to build a rapport, but her autonomy is more important right now.

"I…" She looks to Ozpin, who makes quite sure to look at her encouragingly but with no judgement. "I think I would like that."

You nod and begin. "Before I went to Vale, I was actually kept prisoner in a cabin in the woods for a long time. The first person I saw that wasn't my captor was a man I didn't know that told me he was there to help me. We talked a little and he even removed my shackles. I remember how I thought I was free." You take a small pause at that, looking at how Blake seems to understand things aren't that simple. "It was a trick. When I turned my back to my savior, he stabbed me with his blade. What followed is not something that I will tell right now, but it ended up with me back in the cabin's basement and him coming back. Except… except he was repentant, he told me he wasn't in control when he stabbed me, that my captor used his body to do it. He even gave me his blade to prove he had no ill intentions." Blake is enraptured right now, which leaves her startled when you address her. "Can you guess what happened next?" You offer her a smile, it isn't pretty.

"You… attacked him?" She tentatively says.

You laugh, not even realizing your voice is that of the Witch right now. "Exactly, I stabbed him back. I was so absolutely sure he was lying I didn't hesitate, just, right for the heart." And then you calm down. Your voice turning back to the Thorn. "The thing is, my little bird wasn't lying. Our Captor was really controlling him when he stabbed me the first time, and Sable didn't try to stop me when I returned the favor." You lose yourself in the memory for a moment, but soon return to Blake, you do not want her to take the wrong idea from your speech. "I am telling you right now, my other half is not Adam in that comparison. Adam is our captor, willing to manipulate and lie to get what he wants. I know trusting is difficult, I know words are not going to be enough. But all I can give right now is words, actions will take time." You look her up and down, note how she is shivering slightly less now. A little more in the here and now, a little less in her past. "You must be exhausted with all that happened. I am sure Ozpin can find you a protected place to spend the night. Do you want to come with me to it?" You offer your arm, making quite sure that she is at no risk of scratching herself on your thorns.

Slowly, haltingly, she places her hand in yours. You rise without relying on her to make quite sure she does not think you will attack, then you look to Ozpin. He quickly tells you of a room Blake can take and you move Blake to it, with Glynda escorting you.

Once Blake is in a bed and sleeping, beaten by the emotional exhaustion of the recent event, you begin trekking back with Glynda. The woman lost in thought all the way. When you reach her office, she invites you in, having come to a decision.

"Stella, the story you told…. Is it true? You told me that your semblance changed you depending on how people saw you, and you also described the Thorn as *A me that has known betrayal and the other offering a true offer of peace, one she regretted not taking but got a chance to follow on.* The more you talk about your past, the less some parts make sense. I…" she takes a stern and professional persona to hide how she really feels there. "As the co-director of Beacon, I have to learn about the past of our teachers. To make sure that the students are in good hands. Ozpin told me you explained more, but it would benefit the both of us if I knew more too." She looks at you expectantly, trying and failing to keep her mask on. The impression you feel change you is more honest. Glynda thinks you could be a friend, and she wants to learn more about you to see if that is true.

How do you react?

[] Take the form of the Stranger and explain about how you met your Killer/Betrayer/Destined Adversary/ Savior/ that Stranger. Hint at something more.

[] Just explain the Thorn story. Keep it simple for now.

[] Write-in.

---

A/N:

Phew, I barely managed, but the chapter is right on the normal schedule. Still during the week-end.

What, second of the week, that's not the normal schedule that's far in advance? I have no idea what you mean!

Anyway, this one was a doozy, lots of conversations and some tries at therapy.

Which reminds me:

I am not a trained therapist, do not try to follow the kind of things I wrote to do psychology, go see a real one if you have a problem (and hope it's a good one….).

For Blake, I had decided since the time I proposed the options that you not going would lead to this scene. Had you been there, you and Sable would have found Blake and then had a surprise Adam coming in. As for what it would've led to, who knows? But not going means that you have a Blake in a very bad state of mind (she would have been the same had you been there though), and your little story made Glynda curious/worried.

Vote will be open for most of the week.