A Conjuror's journey

[PieceThruWar]

The conversation dragged on for a few more minutes after Blackie's protestations, but Louise didn't pay too much attention other than to agree or disagree where necessary while Vicky chattered with Yang. If the cat-girl found it too embarrassing to embrace her feline side when in public, then Louise could accept that... even if Blackie was nowhere near as demeaning as being titled 'the Zero' and known as a complete failure, the concept of public humiliation was something she understood. Not that she wouldn't take advantage of any time they had in private to use the moniker.

Helping the poor, confused girl grow to accept her nature was only proper.

First among the subjects was a lecture by the aptly named Professor Port, whose poor attempts at humor were matched only by his apparent need for attention. The tale he told of his earliest exploits sounded impressive, capturing a beowolf with nothing but a head of cabbage and a rabbit for bait at the age of ten, it wasn't nearly worth the half hour that it took to tell. As the pinkette dutifully transcribed his every word, she was already beginning to dread the fact that first year teams were scheduled to attend his lessons every day of the week.

Not everyone shared Louise's scholastic responsibility however, though Vicky's team all seemed content to at least pretend to pay attention. As for her own team, Ruby was busy icing her head and napping despite being the one placed in command of the them, but Hinata was using her eyes to copy down every scrap of documentation on the Grimm that was posted along the walls and the reticent redhead had chosen to quietly polish her weapon beneath the desk.

Thankfully, Professor Port seemed to realize that most of the class were struggling to focus and decided to switch tacks. Asking for a volunteer and gesturing to a darkened cage, he threw open the door to reveal a porcine beast that he proclaimed was a 'boarbatusk' before boisterously shouting tips to the boy that was chosen. Not that it helped much in the heat of battle and the boy was soon trampled under a rolling mass of darkness and bone, forcing the teacher to kill it himself and end the class early. His request for a report on the weaknesses of a boarbatusk as he left earned a few groans from the students, but she had already been planning to find that information anyway.

Louise organized her and Hinata's notes on the creatures of Grimm as they walked to the next class. Perhaps she could obtain copies of Weiss' in the evening if she went to visit Vicky?

Glynda Goodwitch was the professor for their next class; Combat Class. Unlike Grimm studies, where they would the weaknesses of and strategies against the beasts of Remnant, Combat Class was focused entirely on fighting human opponents. A class that Louise felt confident that most of her team could handle without effort. After all, Hinata could literally rip a man in half with her bare hands, Pyrrha was a ruthless killer as evidenced by her immediate assault upon the Arc boy, and Louise was no stranger to combat either. Ruby was a possible weak link, but that remained to be seen.

The highlights from the initiation were evidence that the girl was fast and Louise knew from touching Crescent Rose that the weapon was versatile. A long distance rifle that could produce enough recoil to lift its ninety pound wielder a short height off of the ground as well as turn into a razor sharp scythe. There was no question about the weapon... the child holding it was the potential problem.

Lost in her pondering over the red cloaked child's capabilities and therefor having hardly paid any attention to the introductory speech, the pinkette was caught off guard when the professor called out, "Miss Valiere, if you are so disinclined to pay attention, then perhaps you would like to be the first to demonstrate."

"The proper pronunciation is 'Vallière'... and it would be my pleasure, madame." Louise declared with a curtsy, not backing down from a challenge. It would be a good chance to show the masses not to underestimate her based on her looks, whether based on her disfigurement or slow development.

"Very well then Miss Vallière, select your opponent and make your way to the locker room to prepare."

Status: Healthy
Magicka: (12000/12000)

Choose an opponent:
[] The other Heiress; Weiss.

[] The blonde harlot; Yang.

[] The murderous psychopath; Pyrrha Nikos.

[] All of the above!

[] The impossible victory; Hinata.

[] Write in.

----------------------
A/N:

Spoiler

Yeah, lavender is good. But this is the curse of a show havig characters have names for the soul purpouse of being thematic. RWBY Red White Blue Yellow. Team Ruby.
I think you're just going to have to rename the characters to fit the theme, kek.

Click to shrink...

Meh, as long as it fits the color theme, it's fine. I'm not going to make forty perfectly themed and named OCs to fill Beacon only for you guys to Cynric/Louise the place.

 

[PieceThruWar]

"Miss Nikos, if you could hurry this along..." Professor Goodwitch said impatiently, snapping Pyrrha out of her shock.

Why me? She wondered as she went to change into her combat gear.

Now, she wasn't ignorant of her fame, far from it. She knew that many of her classmates would challenge her to spar... just as she knew that they would be upset when they lost. That wasn't narcissism or a slight against their skills, it wasn't as if she held any of them in contempt for not being as experienced or gifted as her. Years of tournament fighting and a semblance practically designed for fighting other people simply wasn't something that one could overcome with pluck and tenacity.

How she wished it were so.

Every time she beat her fellows, it drove them away. Maybe not all at once, but as surely as the sun rose every day, jealousy or worship would turn potential friendships bitter like so much ash in the wind. Despite the choking effect of that metaphorical ash on her social life, she couldn't allow herself to give less than her all to a fight and it all continued on in a never-ending cycle.

She'd hoped that coming to Beacon would end that cycle. That perhaps her peerage at such an illustrious Huntsman academy would be less enamored by her prestige. That maybe, just maybe, she could make a few friends.

Standing opposite her own teammate on the stage shattered that illusion.

Not that Pyrrha blamed the other girl. Everyone in school had learned of her mistake during initiation and it felt as if they'd taken it as a sign that she was some sort of monster that would kill them all just to get ahead. It was the first time she'd seen public opinion so unanimously against her. That poor Hinata girl couldn't even look her in the eye without flinching away. Even Ruby, her excitable and innocent team leader, looked at her with something close to hatred... and why wouldn't she, her friend had been pinned to a tree to bleed to death in a Grimm infested forest because the 'invincible girl' thought she could make a friend by being helpful.

"Are you ready yet?" Louise asked without an ounce of dislike in her tone.

That was probably the most jarring thing about the situation. In spite of everyone's justified contempt of her, the pink haired girl had all but praised her actions. She might have thought the girl was a bloodthirsty sadist or something if not for the fact that she'd gone out of her way to fix Pyrrha's mistake.

Could this girl actually understand what the others didn't? That Pyrrha Nikos was just as fallible as them and it was an accident? That she hadn't been trying to kill Jaune, but rather save him when he was falling without control?

Nodding firmly, the champion fighter got into her stance and waited for the signal to begin. It pained her heart to know that this last spark of kindness toward her would be snuffed out.

Louise was leaning forward, a slight bend to her knees, one foot forward. A hand on the hilt of the blade that rested against the small of her back. When Miss Goodwitch declared the match's start, the pink haired girl did as expected and sprang forward on the offensive.

Akoúo̱ raised to block the first blow, Pyrrha grunted with effort as the impact of the giant weapon chipped at her Aura despite the successful deflection. Just how hard could the tiny girl hit? Flashing out in response with Miló's spear form caused her opponent to duck and roll to one side, which was answered with Akoúo̱ slamming down toward her head.

Rather than take the hit, Louise twisted beneath the flat of her blade and pushed off the floor to use the solid slab of steel like a battering ram, painfully knocking Pyrrha into the raised ceiling. Surprised, the champion once more changed her weapon, this time into rifle mode to keep the girl from taking advantage of her inability to maneuver midair.

It would have, should have worked, but Louise seemed perfectly content with allowing herself to be shot in the face if it meant she could maintain the attack. Pyrrha had a moment of shock at how little damage Miló's rounds did. She'd killed beowolves with single shots to the head and yet this little girl's Aura took each hit with less than five percent of her Aura per shot. The confusion almost cost the redhead as Louise activated the Dust in her weapon, shifting from absurdly-large-sword mode to a regular falchion type sword via explosively launching the larger blade toward the airborne fighter.

Desperately exerting her Semblance on the rapidly approaching blade, Pyyrha twisted as best she could and felt it scrape against her armored corset as it passed. Landing in an ungainly heap, Pyrrha had just a moment to contemplate that perhaps her opponent wasn't as unaffected by what she'd done as she'd thought.

Immediately after that thought crossed her mind, she was forced to roll out of the way of a downward stab. Abandoning subtlety, she threw Akoúo̱ and guided it to smash Louise in the face. The pinkette's head snapped back for a moment before she snarled and began a rapid assault of stabs and slashes that Pyrrha deflected with precision. Miló morphing back to spear form, she slammed the tip into Louise's sternum and knocked her feet out from beneath her with a slow sweep.

Lancing pain stabbed through Pyrrha's legs as knives of ice sprouted form the floor and though it did not pierce her skin, the cold was so intense it burned as the blades wrapped around. Rooted in place as the ice climbed higher, she pulled as hard as she could to escape and managed to free one leg by the time Louise retrieved her blade. Unable to do more than pivot in place, the redhead readied her shield for the coming strike. It was an impressive use of Dust, but this was where the difference in experience would come into play.

Skilled though the girl was, and Pyrrha wouldn't deny that her opponent was skilled, her timing was off. Showing your trump card so early in the fight was a mistake that she would need to help the other girl correct in the coming years, as a waste of an entrapping move like what was happening might see them killed. If the pinkette had waited to get a few more solid hits in, the fight might have ended with Pyrrha's defeat, but as it was she still had more than half her Aura left.

She just needed to take the hit as best she could and let the force free her from the ice.

---------------------------------

Louise caught her teammate's severed arm as it fell, ruined shield dropping from slackened fingers.

The gasps and shrieks from the crowd were nothing compared to Pyrrha's scream of agony. Ignoring it all, including the Professors call for order as the woman rushed forward, the pinkette grabbed the wounded teen by the shoulder and held up the arm with a golden glow. Thankfully the teacher understood what she was doing and didn't try to interrupt.

"Hold still so I can fix you!" Louise demanded, gripping down harder as she used Restoration magic to reconnect the blood-slicked tissue.

Ten seconds was all it took for it to be as if the whole thing had never happened... other than the copious amount of blood coating the two of them, but Louise was used to such things by this point. What mattered was that her team members were all healthy and the audience was properly cowed. Which they were if the flinching at her gaze was anything to judge by.

Reaching out a hand to help Pyrrha stand caused her to flinch back as well, but the other girl didn't disappoint and quickly recovered enough to accept the assistance. Walking alongside each other, the two made it back to the rest of their teams and as the instructor recovered her wits, the redhead murmured, "W-why?"

"Why what?" Louise asked in bewilderment, noting the teacher's eyes focused on her rather than Yang's fight against a mace wielding giant of a boy from Blackie's team.

Taking a deep breath, the redhead clarified, "Why did you pick me? Why come at me so hard? Why... Why?"

Louise leaned back in her seat and answered after a moment of silence. "Honestly, I saw how the others looked at you and thought you'd be more of a challenge. I meant it when I complimented you on the way you handled initiation."

"Wha- But I nearly killed someone!"

"Exactly!" Louise said with a friendly smile. "You knew what you wanted and went for it no matter who stood in your way. That takes conviction."

Vicky sighed in exasperation as the rest of their teams listened with mouths agape. Shaking her head, Weiss was the first to recover. "While I don't agree with your method, I agree with Vallière... even if... well, I can't say dismemberment sits very well with me as a punishment. Though you did nearly kill one of my team members, I trust the faculty to know the full scope of the issue and if they say you didn't intend to hurt him that bad, then that's that."

Pyrrha argued, "It was an accident! I was trying to help him, I swear!"

"By impaling him with a spear?" Hinata asked quietly.

"He didn't have control of his fall, what was I supposed to do?"

Blackie rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Probably anything that didn't involve impalement."

"That doesn't really matter anyway." Louise said, ignoring the general disapproval from the others at the statement. "He survived in the end. Who cares about how bad you hurt him if everything turned out fine? So long as no permanent disfigurement is done, it may as well be left in the past and if anyone has a problem with that, then just settle the issue with a duel like respectable people and be done with it."

"Louise... I don't think it's that simple. I might not be the one to talk, but violence isn't necessarily the answer to everything." Vicky argued halfheartedly just as Yang lit herself on fire and punched her adversary hard enough to knock him down, followed by swinging him back and forth over her head by an ankle.

Pointing to the stage, the pinkette smirked, "Maybe... but if necessary, healing gives plenty of chances to try."

Status: Healthy
Magicka: (10000/12000)

Free period/after classes:
[] Go into Vale to report to Master Cynric.

-[] Take the team.
-[] Go alone.​

[] Tinker with Ruby.

[] Study in the library.

[] Physical training.

-[] Endurance
-[] Agility
-[] Speed​

[] Write in.

--------------
A/N: was in a rush to get this one out before leaving for a family event, so I might have to go back and do a little editing when I get the time.

 

[PieceThruWar]

After Yang won her fight against the tall boy, Blackie and Vicky secured victory in their own matchups. There was a bit of a shock when the professor had to ask if Vicky's Aura was unlocked and even offered to do so, made even more shocking to the others when the offer was declined.

Louise, Hinata, and Vicky had contemplated what to do in that sort of situation and decided that their individual situations would be too much of a risk to try it until more information was recovered. Hinata's Byakugan and Chakra might prove incompatible with Aura since Chakra uses her spiritual energy, magicka in other words, and mixes it with whatever physical energy is.

Vicky simply didn't want to risk exploding or crumbling to dust if it pulled Quelaag's soul out.

Not that it made much of a difference in her fight against the freshly recovered boy who'd been mauled by the boarbatusk. Vomiting a single glob of molten stone to the face earned her a win and even more wary glances than before... though all eyes inevitably drifted back to Louise's bloody figure and the pinkette was satisfied that they at least weren't staring at her disfigurement anymore.

When Ruby took the stage against Tsun, the Aura issue arose once more, but Vicky spoke out against the unlocking for him as well. That fight ended swiftly when Ruby split the zombie at the waist, stared in horror at what she'd done, and was promptly tackled to the ground by the four limbed torso that proceeded to strangle her while punching at her stomach. Louise silently commanded her familiar to stop and repair itself once his triumph was apparent.

Stepping up to help her nominal team leader regain her footing and weapon, the pinkette guided them both to the stands as Hinata stepped onto the stage. A light burst of healing to sooth the bruises already forming on the child's throat earned a few smiles from those around them, but Louise brushed them off in favor of a much more interesting topic. The scythe she'd had the fortunate experience of holding for on three brief occasions by that point.

"So... I noticed that your weapon's fairly complex, would you care to let me see how it works later?" At those words, the black and red haired girl's eyes lit up as if she contained some unholy flame within her body and Louise spotted Yang looking at her with pity.

All injuries, both body and mind, were forgotten as the girl pulled her compacted scythe onto her lap and stroked it gently. "R-really? Of course!"

That settled, Louise pushed the oddity from her thoughts, choosing instead to settle for watching three Hinatas run from a cloud of smoke and effortlessly knock out the Bronzewing boy.

---------------------------

"-takes his rod and glides it smoothly into place. Lubrication is really important for this part, since it's a really tight fit. It's worth it though to feel him pounding against me with each pull... he's got enough force behind each round to lift me a few feet off the ground!" Ruby explained wistfully, carefully sliding a piston back into it's slot. "I could have gone with something smaller and easier to keep operating smoothly like the rest of my friends at Signal, but as Uncle Qrow always says, 'if it's big and fast enough, it doesn't matter how you use it'. I mean, he never said it directly to me... I just kinda overheard him when he used to bring friends over, but it makes sense right? Crescent Rose is huge and powerful, so he's just gonna grow stronger as I get better at finding just how he likes to be handled."

Louise nodded in appreciation, throwing a bemused look toward Hinata's flushed and insensate face. After all, the choice of wording might be odd, but massive damage potential was the same general principle behind her own choice in weapon upgrade. "I went with extra mass to increase cutting power, but using such large rounds to force the blade further into your opponent probably works better for someone like you."

"Yeah, not that it doesn't look awesome, cause it totally does... but I don't know how you can throw that huge sword around like that." The other girl admitted, rubbing the back of her head, not seeming to notice the oil being spread into her hair with the action.

"We could swap weapons for a spar if you'd like to try for yourself." The pinkette offered with a mischievous smirk.

It was surprisingly easy to talk with her team leader, at least when it came to the topic of weapons... a pleasant surprise given that she'd expected that either a continuation of that morning's attitude or some sort of rejection after how she'd dealt with their other team member. For all the similarities, Beacon was already turning out to be far different than Tristain's Academy. She supposed it had to do with the differing nature of the schools; one being for educating noble children in magic, while the other dedicating itself to readying young adults for brutal combat against monsters.

"And abandon my precious Rose?! No thanks." Ruby answered with a childish raspberry. "Anyway, we should probably finish up if we want to meet the others for dinner."

Shrugging, Louise slid the remainder of the scythe's parts over to her and finished reassembling the weapon, much to its owner's surprise. The grin that came over Ruby's face was contagious and Louise found herself answering with a small smile of her own. When the child remembered to stop herself from an uninvited embrace, the pinkette patted her head and went into the lavatory to wash up.

Through the door, she heard Ruby call out, "H-hey, Louise?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you maybe... Well... I was gonna see if Jaune or Yang were up for some gaming later if... if you want to join us."

Pausing to let the water heat up, she considered the offer. She'd never really played many games since she her days as a royal playmate. "Not tonight." Beyond not knowing what to do in such a situation, she didn't have time to play. "We have an essay to do and neither Hinata or I attended a school like Signal, so we have too much studying to do if we're going to catch up."

"Oh... alright." Came the saddened response, but the girl recovered quickly. "Well, I'll join you then. I got into Beacon early, so I should probably study too. Ooh, I'll see if any of the others want to join us!"

Closing her eyes, Louise sighed in annoyance. She'd never studied with a group before, but she didn't doubt that little actual learning would occur until after they all left. At the same time, it wasn't as if she could actually stop the girl from bringing people into their dorm without receiving the wrong type of attention.

It was going to be a long night.

The first week 4 points:
[] Spend time with-
-[] Vicky's team.
-[] Blackie.

[] Tinker with Ruby.

[] Study in the library.
-[] Remnant Metallurgy.
-[] Aura techniques.
-[] Aura awakening.

[] Physical training.
-[] Endurance
-[] Agility
-[] Speed
-[] Strength


[] Write in.

--------------------------------
A/N: Basic Principles of Compression Technology 1/5! Once complete, combine with Alien alloy, Remnant metallurgy, or Eezo weapons tech to produce mechashift capable weaponry.

 

[PieceThruWar]

As expected, not much studying was accomplished beyond that night's essay. Even then, the only reason they'd managed that was due to Weiss' supporting her in enforcing that much.

The next day went roughly the same, with the only real difference being a shortened distance between Pyrrha and the others during meals as well History replacing Combat class. Professor Oobleck turned out to be like a hyperactive version of Professor Colbert, in that he allowed no nonsense in his classroom and was quick to be distracted by subject that touched on his interests. A major difference between the two, other than the full head of sickly green hair and his obvious speed, was that Professor Oobleck felt much more inviting toward curiosity and theories that go against the general consensus... as evidence by his twenty minute conjecture over Vicky's origin.

Not that any of his guesses were anywhere close to correct.

After that, the rest of the week was roughly the same. Classes would alternate between Combat, History, and Wilderness Survival. Grimm studies remained a daily constant. Free periods and evenings were when Louise made sure to invest time into things that the school wasn't responsible for.

Learning from Ruby on how to maintain Remnant's transforming weapons for the second night in a row was the most enjoyable. The red hooded child was both insightful and enthusiastic upon learning that Louise actually wanted to continue their previous discussion. Apparently none of her friends or schoolmates had ever done so and the girl was almost in tears at the prospect. Once they'd dealt with the emotional outburst, which the pinkette had reluctantly allowed to escalate into an uncomfortable hug, they'd stayed up all night together to do a complete run-through of Crescent Rose's motorized blade assembly.

The night after that was spent on a trip to the library... once she managed to find the place. Students were given free reign to do as they wished, so long as it didn't cause any damage to the materials and Louise took full advantage. Thanks to the majority of the years she could remember being largely devoted to futilely searching for any scrap of knowledge that would prove her worth, the youngest Vallière was no stranger to monotonous hours of nonstop reading. Eight texts later, it was nearing dawn and she felt at least a little closer to understanding what Aura was.

Rather than the simple explanation of it being 'the manifestation of the soul', Aura was instead more of a permanent and contagious spell effect that leeches off of the magicka in the target's soul. To unlock Aura, one had to first have Aura. So how exactly the first person came upon the ability remained a mystery.

Following her night of research, it came as no surprise that she was tired. Still, that had never been an excuse to sleep during lessons that might end her time as 'the Zero' and it was no excuse to do so at Beacon. Determination kept her from dozing off and the occasional burst of healing reduced any physical signs of exhaustion, so the others had no idea as far as she could tell. Thankfully wilderness survival didn't entail much more than an introduction to basic plants to avoid.

A second night in the library helped her come to understand how to manipulate Aura, but she didn't want to risk soiling her budding reputation by being less than perfect in Combat Class, so she went to bed after finishing a book on movement enhancing techniques and another essay on the weak points of a beowulf... which was harder than it should be, considering how little substance there was to write on since the creatures' only real 'weak point' was their heads and even the rest of the body was fairly easy to score a kill on.

After thoroughly trouncing the boarbatusk victim and his team, Louise graciously accepted Professor Goodwitch's advice to try dodging more often rather than relying on her 'above average' Aura to take the hits. She neglected to argue about how weak her opponents had been and how little magicka they'd taken from her in the fight. It wasn't as if she would simply stand there while a legitimate threat was attacking, the gormless idiots just weren't worth spending more time to defeat by dodging.

As each member of her's and Vicky's teams won their fights, Louise pulled them aside and told them her plan to train for the evening. When class let out and they made their way to the running course beside the academy's exercise pool, she wanted to immediately begin to run, but the others apparently didn't want to dirty their combat clothing. The solution was not something she felt comfortable in.

Tight, short pants that didn't even reach the middle of her thigh and a sleeveless shirt that barely covered her ribs. Flat shoes with odd patterns on the bottom and nowhere to put the excess length of laces finished the ensemble... such as it was.

"W-why do I have to wear something l-l-like... like this?!" The pinkette demanded, fidgeting to pull the material down further.

She tried not to let the irritation show on her face when she noticed that including Hinata and Ruby, only her shirt had even the slightest amount of loose material. Considering Hinata, Pyrrha, Yang, and Vicky all seemed to have trouble even containing their obscene busts into the things, Louise had little success at the attempt. At least the Schnee barely filled it any better than she did.

Her fellow heiresses at least appeared to be more uncomfortable with the outfits, though Weiss had apparently found an alternative that covered her entire torso and legs. Ignoring the accusatory glare sent her way, the white haired girl replied, "Because formfitting clothes help prevent accidents and improve the aerodynamics of your profile. Aside from that, they should help with remaining cool while the material is one that dries quickly. It's common knowledge that more injuries occur in training than on your average field mission, so it only makes sense to minimize risk factors."

"Then why aren't you wearing this ridiculous thing?"

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Weiss called over her shoulder as she walked out, "I had the foresight to bring my own workout clothes."

Putting the ridiculous clothing out of her mind, Louise stormed out after her and began to run around the track at full sprint. Her only solace was in the fact that they were all females, as the Arc boy had needed to go to the healer when his arm pulled free of his shoulder for some reason... though he at least won his match, having embedded his opponent into a wall with a shield bash.

The others joined her soon after, but at a more sedate pace and she quickly passed them... except for Hinata and Vicky, but that was to be expected. When she didn't stop until she collapsed in the dirt several minutes later and spilled her lunch upon the grass, most of the others paused as well. Ruby immediately sped over in a flash of rose petals, but Louise healed herself and got back up to run on unsteady legs.

"Whoa, hold on!" The girl cried, chasing after her. "What are you doing?!"

"Running." Louise huffed, not wanting to waste the air to talk when she needed it just to lift her leaden feet. Restoration magic spread from her hands to alleviate the burning in her legs, but it didn't help the burning in her lungs.

"Yeah... But..."

Not listening beyond that, the pinkette pushed herself to go just a little bit faster. Her heart was pounding and her head felt strange, but she kept going, healing herself every other minute. Three more falls and Hinata forced her to take a break with the rest of them, dragging her to sit down next to the sweaty mob. Disgruntled and worn out, she lay down face first and just focused on breathing for a while.

"Holy smokes, girl." Yang said to her after giving her a minute to catch her breath. "Is this how you train all the time, 'cause you were pretty intense out there... even for me."

"Yeah, that was crazy! I don't think I could keep running that hard for so long... I mean, I'm way faster, but that's kinda my Semblance." Ruby agreed, pulling a bar of something out of somewhere and biting down.

Vicky, having not actually grown any more fatigued from the run, curled her legs inward to make space and leaned down to brush hair out of the pinkette's face. "Don't hurt yourself, Louise. I know you can heal any damage, but it's better not to get hurt in the first place."

"Well... I think it's quite admirable of you to work so hard."

At the redhead's words, Yang snorted, "Nobody asked you."

"I'm only trying to be supportive." Pyrrha defended, frowning back at the blonde.

"C-can we not fight, please?" Hinata begged as the pinkette sat back up.

If they were going to take a break, she wasn't going to spend the entire time lying down. Having seen Espinoza and plenty of other X-com soldiers doing their exercises, not that she'd stood and watched them or anything, she thought to emulate them. Sticking her feet underneath her pale eyed friend's rear, earning a squeak of surprise, the Louise used the girl's weight to hold them down as she began to do sit-ups.

After staring slack-jawed at her with the others that they'd met since attending Beacon, Yang smirked and asked, "Wow, was the death run Hinata-nuff for you?"

Status: Healthy
Magicka: (12000/12000)

Weekend plan:
[] Take a team to eat at Kwama Korp!

-[] Team RHPL
-[] Team DASY
-[] Both​

[] Wander Vale with RHPL.

[] Stay at Beacon.

-[] Study.
-[] Spend time with Blackie.​

[] Write in.
--------------------
A/N: Endurance and Spending time with Vicky's team tied, but fused since they aren't mutually exclusive. Endurance +1, Aura enhancement unlocked: study and practice to improve efficiency and effect, Aura Unlocking 2/100, Basic Principles of Compression Technology 2/5.

 

[PieceThruWar]

"No offense, but this is a waste of precious study time." The Schnee said, though that didn't stop her from climbing into the bullhead alongside them all.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde harlot from Vicky's team buckled herself in and said, "Ease up, Weiss-cream. There's nothing wrong with going out to eat with some friends."

"We aren't friends, Xiao Long, we've known one another for a week. That's hardly enough time to form any real bonds even if I was keen on doing so with an uncouth brute like you."

"Is this about that whole scar thing? I said I was sorry, didn't I?"

"What?! No, that is entirely irrelevant to this situation!" Weiss hissed. "I simply don't see the point in going to eat at some restaurant of questionable quality, whose product is something I've never even heard of, in an area of the city overrun by people who would rather stab me than shake my hand... and I'll have you remember that I was the one to apologize, not you!"

While Louise had been staying out of their little quarrel, it having been going on all morning even before she'd gone to fetch them, the mention of possible violence caused her to perk up. Even if the colorless girl was the closest she'd come to meeting a noble in her travels, it wouldn't be worth it to drag some preexisting conflict into Master Cynric's place of business.

"Why would anyone want to stab you?" Louise asked, ignoring Yang's immediate response of emphatic gestures meant to say 'have you met her?'

"Because I am the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss answered, earning a blank look from the pinkette. "The company that is constantly slandered and derided for how we supposedly abuse our faunus employees."

When Louise simply tilted her head, the girl threw her arms up in disgust. "You're as bad as Arc!"

"Hey!"

"Shut it, Jaune!" She growled, pulling up her scroll and typing something into it. Holding it up, she showed several pictures of vehicles and properties that'd had fancy looking snowflake emblems marred by claw marks and wolf heads. "The place you're taking us is a faunus infested slum likely overrun by White Fang sympathizers. Those people would probably like nothing more than to mount my head on a pike and bandy it about like some sort of trophy, the savages... no offense, Victoria, you've practically been a saint."

"Uh... Yeah, sure." Vicky replied awkwardly, shuffling her bulk about to try and squeeze in comfortably. "Either way, I'm sure nothing bad will happen with all of us around. Not to mention the owner."

Nodding vigorously, Louise agreed, "If there's anything that we can't handle, My Master would remove the threat easily."

Oddly, Yang started to choke and Jaune's face turned red at her words. Whatever was wrong with the two blondes, it was Ruby that voiced her confusion. "Master? I thought you were like a princess or something. Calling him that makes it seem like you're a slave or something."

"Heiress to the second line for the throne, but close enough." The pinkette corrected the child's blunder, scrunching her nose at the thought. "He's my master in that I am his apprentice in... combat techniques."

"Oh okay, that makes sense."

Still flushed, but having overcome whatever the problem was, the Arc boy asked, "So you're like a ninja? That's pretty cool."

"I think she means more like how my uncle taught me everything I know about scythe wielding, not ninja stuff." Ruby clarified before giving Louise a questioning glance. "Right?"

"Yes, like that. Hinata is the ninja." Louise explained, pointing to the pale eyed girl, who ducked her head in embarrassment at having everyone's attention diverted toward her.

-----------------------------

The rest of the ride and following walk through Vale was spent with the group questioning Hinata on her ninja skills... Other than Weiss, who spent the time discussing Terrorist attacks with Louise, the pinkette reciprocating with slightly modified recounting of the Reconquista's actions. A few groups peered out of the shadows and alleyways at them, but none made any aggressive moves.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Louise noticed that the building had been expanded with more conventional construction in Vicky's absence. An outdoor dining area was built to include an awning for shade and a short fence to prevent entry from anywhere other than inside the building. No new floors were added to the step-like structure, but another storage building was being built next to a dock that hadn't been there when they'd left for Beacon. Also of note was the professional quality sign posted above the wide doors.

"Tyne&Fontaine's Kwama Korporation." Jaune read off slowly. Turning his head to the others, he asked, "What does Kwama mean?"

"I don't-" Pyrrha hesitantly began, speaking for the first time since they'd met up with the others.

Only for Yang to forcefully cut her off. "It's not a word I've heard before."

"It isn't a word at all as far as I know." Weiss added, raising a delicate eyebrow toward Louise and Vicky.

Before Hinata or Vicky could let them know just what horrid monsters the creatures were, Louise gave an insincere smile and explained, "It's a livestock animal from where we come from. They don't survive very well in small groups, so nobody ever bothered to export them before we were forced to leave. It's no surprise you haven't heard about them."

Status: Healthy.
Magicka: (12000/12000)

Choose:
[] Find a table and let them order.

[] Introduce them to

-[] Cattleya
-[] Lily
-[] Master Cynric​

[] Leave them to Vicky while you go report to Master Cynric.

[] Write in.

 

[PieceThruWar]

Busy using her transformed state to help the kwama clear away the rubble that had formed when the workers accidentally opened a hole into an old man-made tunnel of some sort, Cattleya was pleasantly surprised to notice her sister jogging toward her.

Setting down the large stone in her hands, she grinned at the uncertain pause in Louise's steps and removed the bone helmet she'd been wearing to protect from falling rocks. "Welcome back, little Louise. Did something happen?"

"You can talk like that?!"

Snorting, the werebear giggled at her sister's incredulous expression. "Yes, I'm much more in control now that I've been using this form a lot."

Which was partially true, but not the whole story. Another reason for her keeping the skull mask on her person was because Cynric had helped her appeal to Lord Hircine again and they'd been instructed to engrave the bone with all manner of swirls and shapes before filling the grooves with her beast blood. Hircine was apparently offended by the mockery to his hounds that exist on Remnant and in order to allow her to slay more of them whenever she saw them, his totems would grant her increased abilities when transformed so long as she possessed one of them. The skull being the first of such he'd allowed them to create, it simply helped blend the two halves of her being so that she could better control herself when transformed... as well as protecting her from uncomfortable brain injuries.

Not wanting to get into a detailed explanation however, Cattleya simply picked her sister up in her arms and asked, "Was there something I can help with or did you just come to visit?"

"Well... I wanted to see you and also report my progress to Master Cynric, but going out without my team from Beacon would invite questions-"

"And you need me to distract them while you talk to him?" She guessed, making Louise blush at being called out on it. Poking her nose with a claw and grinning at the irritated scowl caused by doing so, she continued, "I'd be delighted to entertain your little friends."

"Please don't tell them anything embarrassing like when I left you with Vicky and Hinata." Louise begged as she was sat down so Cattleya could shift back.

Putting on her clothes that she'd set aside earlier, the elder pinkette innocently asked, "Do you really think I would do something like that?"

"Yes."

Pouting, Cattleya waved her off toward the portal room. "You should have more faith in your big sister! Just go talk to your teacher, I'm sure I can find them myself."

The outfit she dressed in as her sister ran off was one that Martin had helped her pick out to blend in; loose grey cargo pants, a tight red shirt with no sleeves a neckline that came down just short of being enough show cleavage, Black heeled boots, and a white tailcoat in the same design as her mother's that had red markings like the Ursa skull that she strapped to the shoulder. Enchanted by Cynric for flight, poison immunity, reflecting ranged attacks, and the same spell as Hinata's translation circlet; it was comfortable, didn't make her seem as unusual as X-com fatigues, and more useful than ordinary clothes.

It did still make her easily noticeable though, as demonstrated when all eyes locked onto her as she walked into the dining room of the shop. Approaching the table where Vicky, Hinata, and half a dozen other people sat, Cattleya gave a warm smile and called out, "Hello everyone, I trust my baby sister hasn't been causing too much trouble?"

"You're Louise's sister?!" The blonde girl asked in shock, doing an even worse job of not staring at her chest than the only boy of the group.

"That is correct, I am Cattleya Yvette La Baume Le Blanc de La Fontaine... Though as friends of Louise, I'd prefer if you just call me Cattleya."

"Weiss Schnee." The white haired girl said, offering her hand. "Judging by your name, I assume that you're one of the owners of this establishment?"

"Ugh... Weiss, don't make a scene." The blonde girl groaned.

"I beg your pardon! I was just going to request that a non-faunus employee handle my meal."

Pursing her lips, Cattleya asked, "Are you allergic to pet dander? Because I can ask them to cover their ears or something, but we don't have any cooks that aren't faunus."

"Pet... No, of course not. I'm not a racist! Just because some of them have cat or dog-like parts doesn't make them animals, so I don't think they even... No, that's beside the point." Weiss cut herself off. "I just don't want them having access to my food."

"Yeah... totally not racist."

"Excuse me for being concerned about what I put in my body, Yang."

"What or who?" Yang asked with a waggling of her eyebrows.

"You shameless, indecent-"

The little girl in the red cloak slapped a hand on the table when it looked like the two were going to keep going. "No fighting at the table!"

"Sorry about them." Vicky spoke up, drawing the pinkette's attention. "They're like this all the time. Anyway Weiss, you don't have to worry about them poisoning you or anything."

Scowling, the white girl replied, "I was thinking more along the lines of them spitting in my food, but thank you for that. I think I'll just wait until we get back to Beacon."

Deciding not to press the issue, Cattleya asked, "So... how did everyone do at the initiation?"

The flinch from the lone male, the scowl on the blonde's face, and the red head girl's shrinking in her seat were not good signs.

-------------------------------

Having finished giving her teacher copies of the notes that she and the others had made throughout the week, as well as reporting on the fact that she was making progress in her studies of Aura, Louise headed down from his private room turned laboratory. He didn't seem all that enthused about her report, at least not enough to look up from the work he was doing with what appeared to be a large tail, but that was okay. That he didn't seem to notice her quavering during the recitation of her past week was enough to lift her spirits a bit.

"-and that's was when uncle Qrow came out of dad's room wearing one of Summer's dresses with purple lipstick on his neck. Needless to say, dad was a little annoyed." Louise heard Yang finish as she entered the dining portion of the building.

I don't want to know. She thought with a sigh as she sat next to her sister and was immediately pulled in by an around her shoulder.

Noticing somebody missing, she asked, "What happened to Weiss and Pyrrha?"

"They went back early." Arc answered from his spot between Vicky and Yang, still acting uneasy whenever even the redhead's name was brought up. The fact he hadn't gone into a panic attack in the bullhead with her was probably only because he was too busy trying not to vomit. "So what took you so long?"

"Yeah, wasn't this your idea? Where have you been?" Yang asked rather loudly, making it obvious that she was trying to divert attention from their missing teammates. Instead of waiting for a response, the blonde shoved forkful of bug meat into her mouth and spoke around it, "This stuff is really good. I mean, it's weirdly sour for being meat and all, but still. I don't think I've had anything like it before."

Closing her eyes so that she didn't have to see the girl's food or think about what that food was, Louise was grateful when her sister took the burden of dealing with the harlot's complete lack of etiquette.

"Yes, it is quite the unique flavor." Off course, whatever gratitude there was died a swift death when she offered, "Would any of you like to see one of the kwama before you go? I can show you one in the back room."

"Absolutely not!" Louise cried out, startling people at nearby tables.

In her usual way of not understanding that maybe not everyone likes animals as much as her, as Louise had tried to explain several times over the years, Cattleya tilted her head and asked, "Why not?"

"I-I think Louise is right. We should probably leave soon, we... we wouldn't want to drive away customers by keeping this table to ourselves all day." Hinata agreed and Vicky nodded, much to the younger pinkette's relief.

Thinning her lips in annoyance, Cattleya relented after a few moments of silence. "Fine... Maybe next time then. Ooh, let me get you something to go."

"Well, that was... odd, but she seems nice enough." Jaune said when Cattleya hurried off. Holding his hands up as if to ward off Louise's glare, the boy nervously chuckled, "I was talking about the last bit, your sister isn't odd or anything bad. She's great, really."

Narrowing her eyes at the boy, Louise warned, "If you say or do anything untoward or offensive to my sister, I'll finish what Pyrrha started. Is that clear?"

"Would you really? I mean yes!" He yelped when Louise started to draw her sword.

"Not to be mean or anything, but I kinda agree with lover-boy." Yang said, making Jaune whine pitifully at the pinkette fingering her weapon menacingly. "What was all that about?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see one of the kwama things. Are they cute?" Ruby asked innocently, not knowing the horrors of which she spoke.

Vicky shook her head. "Nope, a bald bear is more adorable."

Status: Healthy
Magicka: (12000/12000)

Choose:
[] Propose a trip to a weapon store, that should at least encourage Ruby to get the others away before Cattleya brings up the insects again.

[] Cite the missing team members as reason to head back to the academy. Staying in Vale is just inviting more trouble.

[] POV switch:

-[] Cattleya.
-[] Cynric.​

[] Write in.

 

[PieceThruWar]

Barging into your room and throwing herself across your bed, Cattleya moans, "My sweet baby sister hates me!"

"Hmm..." You respond indifferently, inspecting a pale yellow liquid.

After over a hundred tests, you've determined that faunus traits are only functionally and visibly different. Magically, they have the same qualities in all but one which is based upon the location on the body. Eyes from cat, dog, bird, cow, lizard, et cetera all provide the night eye effect. Claws, teeth, and horns increase damage done to magicka. Tails all have the effect of aiding balance even though the only one among those you have access to that should have done so was a cat faunus' tail... the bunny and sheep tails really shouldn't have. Likewise the ears all cause painfully acute hearing despite faunus flesh having no differing effects from regular human flesh.

The obvious conclusion is that there is no such thing as a cat or dog faunus, nor are there any others, there is only the one type that can take any of the other shapes. Now, this might not seem any different to the layman's perception, but it most certainly is an important distinction.

If bloodlines are irrelevant to the manifested traits then that changes how Moira will be able to use them. Alchemically, this makes them easier to process while also making them potentially less valuable to your research.

Of course, this is all from a research and development standpoint as their faunus type can have a much more varied result in their daily life and combat potential. Perhaps you'll find a chameleon, winged, or more unique breed to compa-

"Mou... You're not even listening!" The pink haired skinchanger whines, distracting you from your machinations. "I just wanted her friends to like me, but she yelled at me."

Setting the potion of nighteye down and putting the ingredients for a mix of the same plus some added cat tail, you ask, "Are all the women in your family prone to exaggerating their problems?"

"Of course not. At least, I don't think so." She replies, twisting around so that her head is hanging off of the mattress.

"I somehow doubt that." Between her, Louise, and their mother... it wouldn't be a surprise if you ever met their third sister and found that she was just as bad. "Did she actually say that she dislikes you?"

"No. Okay, maybe she doesn't hate me, but she was shouting and wouldn't even let me go shopping with her and her friends."

The woman's answer causes you to sigh, "Did you come up here and interrupt my research because you were really upset or are you simply bored?"

Her 'innocent' batting of her eyelashes is all the admittance you need to know the reason for her visit. Rolling over when it's obvious that you're not fooled, she says, "I don't want to go back to moving rocks yet. Louise is going shopping and you have your research, what am I supposed to do for entertainment? I can't distract Martín while he's on guard duty and the Blake said I make the other faunus uncomfortable for some reason!"

Wanting to move on to your next project while the attempt to mix Balance and Night eye refines for a few hours, you ask, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Summon a pet for me?" Cattleya suggests, propping her head up just enough to make you wonder if she intentionally angles her chest in such a manner when asking men for something or if it's just a coincidence.

Intended or not, it has no effect other than being a vague curiosity and you use telekinesis to open the door as you turn back to your notes. "Out."

"Please?"

"I am busy and I see no reason to spend time conjuring a creature for something as trivial as your entertainment."

"Just one little summoning." She begs, making toward the door with exaggerated slowness. "I know that you don't even need a ritual circle."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I already told you why, now leave me in peace." You demand, tempted to simply Muffle and Paralyze the woman if she continues.

Pouting, Cattleya makes a show of sliding her feet across the floor in a childish attempt to make even her slow speed more obnoxious. "I guess I can just bring some scribs here and try to teach them to fetch."

Choose 1:
[] Fine, you'll summon something.

-[] A bound clanfear to force her out of the room.
-[] Random creature: 1/6 chance of a spider, a pig, a bird, a lizard, a cat, a snake.​

[] Don't indulge her, just return to your work.

Choose 2 or more:
[] Test a small sample of Meld for potion uses.

[] Test the faunus potions on a faunus to see if the effect stacks with their natural bonuses.

-[] Call the sisters' friend Blake to test them.
-[] Pay one of the employees a bonus to drink them.​

[] Check in with Moira to see what she's been up to.

[] Go down to the docks to see about purchasing a trading vessel or space on one so that you can open up for international sales once the kwama mine expands a bit more.

[] Discreetly observe your apprentice's interactions with her team.

-[] Take Lily and follow her in disguise, the child simulacrum can serve to throw off Louise's suspicions if she spots you and the girl probably needs to get out for a bit anyway.
-[] Scry. Use it as Mysticism practice.​

[] Write in.

 

[PieceThruWar]

Not wanting to deal with the fallout of her bringing kwama into the streets of Vale out of boredom, you sigh and grab the several of the potions before leaving the room ahead of her. With Cattleya humming along triumphantly behind you, the two of you head outside and down to the mostly empty storage building near the waterfront.

Upon entering, you bar the door and reach out for a simpleminded creature at random, pulling it across the gap between worlds. What appears in the violet flames is a semi-bipedal reptile wielding a spear in a defensive posture, steel armor covering it curved upper back and head. At the end of its helmet is a natural horn that sparks with electricity as its beady red eyes independently shift to watch both of you with one eye each. The entire creature is a dull golden tint with darker stripes across its hide and as Cattleya moves to reach out, you're forced to pull her back when it jabs its spear point at her.

Retaliating with a fireball, you watch incredulously as the lizard drops to all fours to avoid it and scurries up the wall, colors shifting to blend in with the surroundings until it is all but invisible. At the same time, you sense the sudden lack of an unknown energy that you hadn't noticed rolling off of the creature. It isn't magicka, you are sure of that, but whatever it is causes the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end as even the remaining dregs pool in almost invisble black and purple wisps at your feet.

"Cynric?" Cattleya asks uneasily, obviously feeling the same ominous energy.

Casting Detect Life does nothing to bring the lizard back into your awareness, but you haven't heard any glass breaking and you're blocking the door so it couldn't have left the building... unless it has a way to walk through walls. "Transform, now."

"R-right." She replies, quickly removing her outfit without the hesitance she might have shown previously now that you've been working with her on controlling her inner beast.

Once undressed and transformed, Cattleya places the carved skull on her head and begins snuffling about the room. Between her naturally decent intelligence and a werebeast's supernaturally powerful senses, the beast-woman quickly finds the trail and launches herself at a corner of the ceiling. The lizard creature responds just as fast, ramming its spear down her roaring throat and unleashing a torrent of lightning into the weapon's handle before throwing itself through a window.

You don't bother to watch her smoking body fall to the ground, choosing instead to chase after the reptile. Levitation allows you to catch up to it just as it reaches the water's edge and you freeze the shoreline while casting a Fireball at its back. One eye swivels to look back at you and the creature pauses just long enough to put up a dome of lightning that intercepts the ensuing explosion. Not waiting for the obscuring flames to clear, you unleash a volley of Ice spears in the general direction, but there isn't even a drop of blood on the ground when visibility clears.

Flying high into the air, you use the remainder of your magicka to unleash Sparks on to distant points in the river before closing the gap between them. While it covered a large area, the attack produces no sign of having injured the creature or even impeding its escape. That should be impossible.

No natural creature could have so perfectly resisted magical lightning passively. While the water would minimize any burns from the lightning, even the ability to ignore the magicka draining effect of Shock magic would not protect against the uncontrollable muscle clenching caused by electricity. An atronach or inorganic being wouldn't be bothered, but that lizard creature had an obvious musculature. Was it simply a construct that looked organic or did it have some natural means of channeling electricity through its body without being injured? The lack of reaction to Detect Life would point to the former, but it behaved too much like a living creature.

Exhausted and frustrated, you trudge back up to the storage building amid awed and fearful looks from several faunus employees that had been outside in time to watch. Ignoring them, you head in to check on Cattleya. The sound of gunfire from the rooftop was a sign that Espinoza and the other guards spotted the fleeing beast, but no confirmation of a kill came before the bullets stopped flying.

Cattleya at least appeared to be healing just fine, so after a brief check to be sure there were no lingering effects, you decide to put the whole incident out of mind until the lizard shows itself again.

Foisting the faunus based potions off on a trio of workers with the promise of an increase in pay for recording the effects, you head down around to the back of the building to where Raymond's new workshop is under construction. Without Victoria's ability to produce large quantities of volcanic rock, building additional facilities is once more down to conventional techniques with the assistance of Cattleya's daily delivery of 'purchased' bricks... though in actuality, she is simply using her magic to craft them out of the excess material from the mine excavation. Nevertheless, the large rectangular wing's construction is proceeding at a decent pace and should be ready for equipment in a week at the most.

Approaching the man and asking if he would find it acceptable for his daughter to accompany you, he of course asks what you intend to do. Since you plan to simply walk around Vale and perhaps make a few purchases, it is rather easy to get his permission. Not that you needed it exactly, but he would probably be less than cooperative in the future if he discovered her missing with no explanation. The fact that the child had spent much of her time stuck indoors recently is also a possible reason for his easy acceptance.

-----------------------

"Where are we going?" Lily asked for the fifth time since the wrinkly old magician had lead her outside.

She'd been playing tag with Jasmine and Peter, but those two were too good at it and she kept losing, so she didn't mind doing something different, especially since the few times he'd helped her do magic had been fun. The other kids in this place were weird looking, but she tried to get along with them so she wouldn't to cause trouble for her daddy. Fluffy animal ears or tails or pokey horns were fine. None of them made fun of her for being so much heavier than them or crying when she broke the necklace that the nice Amy girl made her, so she wouldn't make fun of them.

The old wizard had done some magic that made them look different, so she tried not to giggle when his bushy black mustache bounced as he finally answered, "We are looking for somebody and then we shall see about purchasing a ship."

"Oh." Lily said uncomfortably. Boats were alright, but she was kind of worried about sinking. The one time she'd tried swimming in the river by her new home, she ended up panicking when she got stuck in mud down at the bottom. She was old enough to know about drowning and even though she felt fine at the time, it was still scary.

Following where he was looking, she spotted a familiar head of pink hair moving in the same direction as them. "Why are we following Louise?"

"To see how well her associates receive her and whether or not she has recovered mentally enough to deal with large crowds."

Lily didn't know for sure what that word meant, but she guessed he was talking about the mean girl's friends. Not that she thought Louise deserved friends. Every time they'd been in the same room, the pink haired girl had looked at her like some kind of monster and been really rude. Cattleya was much nicer than her little sister, that was for sure, but even she looked uncomfortable in the same room as Lily and it made her feel bad.

What was wrong with her that they acted like that?

At least the creepy looking spider girl gave her friendly smiles in passing and the girl with the same face, Vicky, spent a lot of time playing games with her and the other kids. Amy did too, but she was kind of weird with how she always got a dumb looking smile on her face when she noticed that she'd touched somebody.

"Why am I here?" She asked curiously, not wanting to think about any of that anymore.

"Because people are less suspicious around children and I wanted to check on your progress in adapting to the mechanical body." He explained in a bored voice.

Shrugging, she accepted that as she noticed the group of girls walk into a store full of swords and stuff. Seeing an opportunity, she asked, "Can we get ice cream while they're in there?"

"You do not even need to eat, why should we?"

"Well... If we're sneaking, then won't ice cream make it look like we're doing something together instead of following them like weirdos?" Lily suggested with a sweet smile, which grew wider when the old guy nodded.

She didn't care if she needed to eat or not, ice cream would always be a great way to forget about sad thoughts. It also tastes better than those eggs and green jelly.

-----------------------------

Satisfied that Louise wasn't in immediate danger of causing an incident with her behavior and that her team seemed genuinely friendly with her, you stop the lesson on using enchanted items to manipulate magicka and make to leave. Those girls were taking far too long in the weapon shop across the street and Lily was far too happy to just keep eating and eating. That's what you get for allowing her to think she's pulled one over on you.

At least now you know that if it becomes necessary to migrate to a body like hers, you won't have to deal with stomach pains even after eating two gallons of dairy products.

With a promise to return with her to the parlor in the near future, that you may abandon on a whim, the two of you make your way to the docks.

Thankfully Raymond has instilled a modicum of manners into the child and she obediently follows along as you peruse the available vessels. Marking down the largest one in good repair for later purchase, a one point twelve billion Lien container ship that could easily carry all of Kwama Korp, you don't spend too much time there before heading back. when you finish paying off the debt to Ozpin, then you can focus on expanding. Besides, you would prefer to purchase one of those flying ships instead of a waterbound craft... though the cost would likely be outrageous.

Pausing mid-stride, you faintly feel Lily tugging at your arm, but pay it no mind. Why even bother purchasing a ship at all? You could probably build a flying ship of your own between Raymond, Moira, the Vallière sisters, and Victoria. But would it be worth the effort to start from nothing rather than upgrading a preexisting vehicle? There would be concerns over weight and size, not to mention choosing enchantments and armaments or even what to use technology for rather than magic.

These are the thoughts floating around in your head when you finally make it back to your compound and head to bed early, dismissing the child back to whatever inconsequential things children her age do these days.

----------------------------

"As you can see, even though I've managed to use the local Aura reading technology to create a device that isolates and maps out the unique patterns in an individual's soul, I'm still having trouble removing it." Moira explains, reaching around the sedated criminal to point at a screen. "Combining, modifying, and transplanting will be the next steps once I overcome this snag."

The display clearly shows the man's outline with a shifting lattice of lines and swirls that ebb and flow around pathways that throbbed in an off tempo rhythm to his heartbeat. "Have you tried simply sealing the chamber from his specific signature and then killing him? Perhaps with a timed explosive at the base of the skull?"

"I'm hoping to use this on allies as well, so that would defeat the purpose." She sighs.

While her end goal of manipulating magicka through machinery is interesting in an academic way, you don't understand the reason. If she wants to use magic, she could simply ask you for lessons. No machine is going to be capable of the sheer versatility in spell casting that a fully sapient mind possesses. The ability to feel and compensate for shifting energies is an important aspect of using magic in anything other than enchanting or similar practices that use a more static effect.

Between reading through the local internet for information on Aura and this magic machine project, the woman hasn't even been seen topside for three days. You aren't even sure how she managed to obtain her current test subject. What you do know based on what you can feel with her close proximity to your modified skin is that she has definitely given herself some augmentations recently, a secondary heart-like organ most noticeably. Shaking your head, you silently watch her continue to tinker and give the occasional tip on the principles of Soul Trapping.

Status: Healthy
Magicka: (650/650)

Choose 1:
[] Focus on alchemical studies for now.

-[] Test a small sample of Meld for potion uses.
-[] Check with the faunus volunteers.​

[] Speak with Raymond about building an airship.

[] Work with Cattleya on hastening the expansion of the Kwama mine.

[] Write in.

 

[PieceThruWar]

Having had your fill of watching Moira mutter to herself, you quietly leave the woman to her rather pointless work.

Yesterday had been a scattered series of events that were more mental than tangible progress, so it would be better to reign in your focus to a single pursuit today. Since alchemy had been what you were working on before Cattleya's interruption, you should probably finish that before moving on to a new project. Such is your reason for approaching the faunus test subjects.

Animal appendages perking up where applicable, the volunteers immediately notice your approach as you enter the stock room. Nodding at their greeting, you take the stack of notes from a lynx eared giant of a man. The balance potion had no noticeable effect on the cat-man, but the ram-girl twins both saw a tremendous boost to the point that they managed to walk across a pole while the workers' children threw rocks at them. You hadn't instructed anything of the sort, but initiative that aligns with your goals is always a good trait for subordinates.

As for the Night Eye potion... it was more of a debilitating poison when applied to faunus of any type, burning out their vision to the point that they each needed one of the health potions from the meager stockpile that survived the destruction of the last base. While not ideal, the loss of simple potions is better than losing valuable manpower needlessly and you did manage to discover a weakness for a race that is naturally superior to normal humans. Not to a Reachman though, that would be absurd.

It isn't hubris to acknowledge that interbreeding with every compatible race in Tamriel and some from without cannot be matched by Khajiit-like night vision, slightly stronger muscles, and random animal traits.

Still, even without Aura their abilities are sufficiently more advanced than their cohabitants of this world and the unmodified X-com personnel that having a countermeasure in place is reassuring.

After dismissing them with a promised five percent increase to this month's pay and an additional five for their continued service as test subjects, you retire to you bedroom. Flipping open a case of dust vials, you select one at random and prepare the alchemy equipment.

---------------------------

Well, as you suspected, red is certainly fire.

Pulling the calcinator from the ruined wood that was previously a workbench, you mark down your observations. Most Dust had proven at least somewhat willing to be processed in your equipment, but red Dust was just too unstable even in crystal form. The only thing close to a potion that worked was mixing it with chilled liquids and even that merely resulted in turning the resulting solution to flames that flowed like water and exploded with extreme force upon warming. While it made some sense, that didn't make it any more pleasant to confirm.

It was still useful information to have if only to avoid future attempts at potion making with the substance... though it at least became easier to manage when mixed with Wind to make Lightning. Somehow.

As for the rest; cyan Dust, aka Force Dust, is a combination of Wind and Ice that when mixed with an elemental Dust or salts and run through the alembic followed by the retort for refinement creates a Shield potion for that element. Ice Dust itself is a combination of Water and Earth, neither of which do much of anything on their own alchemically other than add magic to any given substance. Lightning was a good choice to add to more Wind, the yellow and white joining to make an eggshell colored potion that increases the imbiber's speed by a ridiculous degree for a short while. Combining Earth and Fire predictably made lava while using Water instead of Earth made steam, though both seemed to be useless in potion as well.

Perhaps Lava Dust would be good for Victoria?

Last is the single most expensive, to the point that you could only buy an ounce pre-made, and stable type of the magical material. Combining most of the remaining Earth, Wind, and Force evenly before sublimating and condensing into a small crystalline mass produces Gravity Dust. Seven pounds of all three each and the illogical result is a fifty pound gem tiny enough to fit into Louise's fist. While naturally inert, the dark purple gemstone reacts to an application of either Lightning Dust or direct magicka by emitting a deep blue glow and warping the effect of gravity. Experimentation allows you to make objects lighter or heavier at will, though this is one situation where one of Vahlen or Raymond's machines would probably be a better fit, the careful precision required for rapid or complex manipulation not being something you would trust to a distractable being in high stress situations.

While the uses for Gravity Dust are potentially endless, the immediate thought that occurs to you is that this must be how the people of Remnant create metals that are so strong despite being so thin.

Status: Healthy
Magicka: (500/650)

Choose:
[] Try to make a potion with Meld.

-[] An Eldritch Flesh Potion.
-[] The Gravity Dust crystal.
-[] A Tamrielic potion.​

[] Present Gravity Dust to Vahlen, she hasn't had a chance to study the excessively expensive material yet. Then again, maybe Shen would make better use of it.

-[] Give it to Vahlen.
-[] Give it to Raymond.​

[] Work with Cattleya on hastening the expansion of the Kwama mine.

[] Speak with Raymond about building an airship.

[] Write in.

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A/N: Dust Shield Potion Learned: Produces 100% physical and elemental damage shield for 1 hit of any severity, element dependent on Dust or Salt used. Dust Speed Potion learned: increases speed/acceleration x4 for 10 seconds. Gravity Dust recipe learned.

 

[PieceThruWar]

"Well, come on. What's the verdict?" Yang asked impatiently, drawing the small girl's attention from the blank wall. Smirking at the immediate blush that sprouted on the kid's cheeks, she suppressed an involuntary shudder at seeing the bulging veins and milky white eyes that looked like something from a zombie movie.

"I... she still isn't back."

Smirk growing into a full on grin, she leaned in for the kill. "If she's not in there, what were you staring at for five whole minutes? See something you like?"

The resulting mess of red cheeks and flustered denials was more than enough proof for Yang and she burst out laughing. Of course Ruby just watched on in naive confusion, but it wasn't like she was gonna explain what was going on... though it was even funnier knowing that a thirteen year old was less 'innocent' than her sister. A miracle in itself with their uncle living with them so often. Still, her mood sobered when she realized that their mission was a failure.

It had been an idle remark by Louise while they were shopping, but apparently Blake was a faunus! Who knew? Well... other than Louise, who now thought they were all kind of dumb for not noticing. In their defense, weird eyes weren't all that uncommon and a bow that looks like cat ears wasn't something she would use if she wanted to hide actual cat ears.

Anyway, they'd agreed not to mention it to Weiss on account of her whole 'thing' with faunus, but that didn't stop their curiosity about one very important thing that the cat-girl was hiding. Which was made even worse since Blake was nowhere to be found. They'd been waiting in an empty room across from Team Birch's dorm and having Hinata periodically look through the walls for hours! They just wanted to know if Blake had human ears as well as cat ones, but since nobody could think of a good way to ask the quiet girl without making things awkward... her cattiness... cat-ness? Her being a cat faunus was supposed to be a secret or something.

Hinata getting an eyefull of the studs for almost the entire time didn't help either since Yang didn't need any more competition for Tsun. It was bad enough with the fact that their coming from a destroyed minor kingdom had all the first and second year girls circling like Nevermore because his traumatized silence made him more attractive.

If she had to deal with Hinata or, gods forbid, Ruby trying to muscle in on her turf... things would get messy. She knew she couldn't beat up the little ninja after finding out that Hiinata was not only stronger than Louise, but at least as fast as Ruby's Semblance enhanced speed.

The girl was a monster when it came to combat, that was for sure.

There was only one real solution. She had to lay down the law, making it clear just what was what so there was no confusion as to where they all stood in the pecking order. Just this once, she couldn't afford to let it come to a physical fight or she wouldn't stand a chance... something she was uncomfortable admitting even to herself.

"-nd I can see in all directions, so I-I just forgot to turn my body when I started looking elsewh-" Hinata stopped with a flinch as Yang placed a hand on both younger girls' shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, the blonde waited a moment to make sure that they were both giving her their full attention before declaring with as much gravity as she could, "Dibbs."

"W-what?" "Huh?"

"I call dibbs." Yang answered, pausing a second to clarify, "On Tsun, I mean. You can have Cardin or what's-his-face if you can catch'em, Hinata."

"T-that's not... I don't... I-I wasn't-"

"Rubes? Wait 'till you're older."

"But I'm older than her!" Ruby argued, pointing a finger at Hinata. "Not that I want to do gross dating stuff, but you can't just say I can't!"

Letting her eyes shift to red, Yang tightened her grip on her sister. "You're right... but I have veto rights on any potential boyfriends."

"What about girlfriends?" Louise asked without looking up from her spot at the room's desk, having been so silent in her studying that Yang forgot she'd been there at all.

It was a good point, but not one any of them had expected the pink haired girl to bring up from their interactions with her. Eyeing her sister's teammate suspiciously, Yang was about to ask just why exactly she wanted to know when the girl turned to see their expressions. Between Hinata's surprise, Yang's wariness, and Ruby's blushing; It was to the blonde's mixed relief and indignation that the pinkette wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Don't look at me like that! As if I would do something as sickening as lust after Ruby or any woman." Louise snarled before taking a moment to school her features. "I simply ask because I know that Vicky's sister suffers from that sort of mental infirmity and though I know it isn't her fault, it's something you should consider."

Yang could only gape at that. What the princess had said was true... horribly worded and kind of a mixed signal on her personality, but true. She hadn't even thought of the possibility that Ruby would like girls instead or even as well as boys. Did that make her a bad sister? What if she'd been making Ruby uncomfortable, in a bad way, every time she teased her about guys. Come to think of it, it would explain why she was always so anti-romance and socially awkward if Yang was always stifling her like that about her sexuality. Not to mention how relieved she'd felt at what, if she did like girls, was basically her sister being rejected and told she had some kind of disease. Gods, I'm a horrible person!

"Hey, Jaune just messaged me!" Ruby interrupted Yang's building meltdown, having gone back to her scroll games as if nothing terribly important had been being discussed. "He says he just got out of the nurse's office and saw Blake leaving the library."

Well, if Rubes didn't think it needed talked about, then she'd let it go. For now. Hopping to her feet with forced enthusiasm to disguise her roiling emotions, the blond brawler perched her foot on an imaginary box and shouted, "You heard her, girls! To the library!"

"What the hell? Was that Xiao Long?!" Winchester's muffled voice came through the wall, causing her to wince. Putting action to words, she sprinted out the door before he could come investigate.