Chapter 15: At Least Things Aren't All Bad

"No." Nora's response was immediate as she stared at the tiny headmaster, her eyes narrowing into a tiny glare as she frowned. In case it wasn't obvious, the Valkyrie was not amused, and immediately cut off Mini-Ozpin as he began to talk.

Apparently, the coffee gremlin did not expect her response, his eyes widening behind his glasses as Ozpin stared up at the orange-haired huntress-in-training. For just a moment, he remained perfectly still, searching her face as he read the Valkyrie's expression. In return, Nora's frown only deepened, causing the tiny man avert his eyes, looking away in response. Rather than speak, the man settled his eyes towards his female counterpart, shooting a concerned glance to maybe-partner maybe-archnemesis.

Nora followed his gaze, her own expression of disapproval not fading in the slightest as she watched for Cinder's response. Not that the tiny shoulder-woman did much of anything, as she stood in silence much the same way Ozpin had done. Amber eyes stared back at her, one brow raised as the shoulder-woman crossed her arms in confused silence, staring back up towards the Valkyrie.

Ozpin's voice finally broke the silence, his tone solemn as he settled his gaze back upwards. "...Truly? If I may be frank, Miss Valkyrie, I find that quite hard to beli-"

"No. As in, you're not going to pull any cryptic stuff this time." And whatever somber tone the two shoulder-people carried quickly faded away. The Valkyrie quickly clarified herself, immediately interrupting the shoulder-person's words as she released an irritated sight. "I mean, c'mon! I just asked who you two were! Why do you suddenly need to go into a long speech about mistakes and stuff?"

"... Because it's important."

Surprisingly, it was Cinder who answered her, the woman's tone far softer than anything she had used before. The hammer-wielder couldn't help but turn her attention to the red-garbed lady. After all, while it sounded like the two had agreed to do the explanation thingy, Nora hadn't actually expected the Cinder to explain things alongside the Ozman, since they hated each other.

"Because, as insufferable he may be, and as much as I want him dead, nothing changes the fact that we're both here for... similar reasons." Cinder clenched a fist as she spoke, her eyes drifting downwards and as she did so, suppressing a hiss before she continued her words. "I'm here because there's something I need to change. And he's here because, despite all that he's already ruined, he still seems to think there's something worse he could do."

Ozpin raised a hand in denial at those words, but a glare from both Cinder and Nora put a stop to any words he might've uttered. Instead, he simply shook his head, denying part of the woman's story in silence. In turn, Cinder's voice ceased after that, and Nora's expression slowly changed, her gaze shifting from disapproval to concerned doubbt as she stared at the two.

Just like that, the dull hue of orange and green that permeated the air seemed to flicker, a foreboding shift of colour as Cinder and Ozpin stood in stark silence.

"So... The reason you're both here is because you're trying to correct a mistake?" The Valkyrie's tone was cautious as she took in the tiny woman's words. Nora understood making mistakes, of course—she knew how much trouble she caused Ren, after all—but the teenage hammer-wielder couldn't begin to fathom what sort of mistake would require killing someone, just to fix it. Or to drag in someone completely unrelated to do it! And that's ignoring the fact that they were trying to do so in the form of cartoon-shoulder-people!

...Wait a minute. That detail was kind of important, wasn't? Yet, despite their solemn tone and cryptic words, neither of the two had mentioned anything about their current pocket-sized tiny-person-mode! Rather then grow silent like the two tiny strangers, Nora voiced her concern, leaning closer to the shelf that they stood upon.

"But how does trying to correct a mistake end with you two being cartoon characters? And why are you two trying to involve me in it?" Nora gave a slight pause as she spoke, her eyes settling on the two as the corner of her lips slowly curled downwards, contemplating her own words as she leaned down closer to them. Ozpin and Cinder both caught the change in her tone, but both chose to remain silent as the huntress-in-training grumbled her next words. "Why are you two trying to use me?"

The room fell still at the Valkyrie's question, whatever activity the three had caused fading away to an awkward silence once more.

"I thought you said she was the stupid one."

Okay, maybe not. Cinder turned to face her male counterpart, completely ignoring Nora's defiance at the woman's words. Of course, Nora couldn't let this slide, and her judgemental stare immediate returned to a complete glare as her gaze followed Cinder's. As two sets of eyes bore down on the tiny headmaster, Ozpin tried to maintain his composure, coughing slightly as he took a drink from his mug.

"Please try to refrain from exacerbating the situation further, Miss Fall." Cinder scoffed at the man's words, making no effort to maintain composure, their previous understanding with one another falling away entirely, as though it had been nothing more than an illusion. "What I said was, Miss Valkyrie was the most impulsive of her team. Not that she was foolish."

"No. You made it quite clear that you considered her... how did you put it?" Ozpin slouched away from the woman as she brought a single finger up to her cheek, her eyes rolling upwards in mock contemplation. That only lasted for a few seconds, however, and the sarcastic droll that followed was unmistakable. "Ah, yes. The 'easiest to convince and gain assistance from', I believe it was."

"What the heck are you two talking about? And what was that about my team? Don't bring Team Rainbow into this!" By this time, Nora couldn't remain silent any longer. The woman brought her hands down on the desk, the first truly startling sound they've had since the entire conversation, and one that caused everyone to jump. Then, without missing a beat, the Valkyrie rose up once more, pointing across the room with both arms as she glared at them. "I mean, you've already dragged Blake into this madness!"

"That was entirely your fault and you know it." Cinder scoffed, rolling her eyes before shooting a quiet glare back to the miniature Ozpin.

Nora was about to retort, before she finally came to a realization. Despite being the one to mention it, the hammer-wielder was the last person to remember Blake's presence, and it wasn't until a few seconds after she had spoken that the hammer-wielder finally turned towards her teammate. Just like that, her irritation fell away.

To her credit, Blake Belladonna seemed to be taking it well.

Nora had expected to see fear or unease from the black-garbed huntress, what with having witnessed her near-hysterical breakdown and subsequent argument... but instead of anything approaching alarm, her teammate simply wore a look of incredulous confusion on her face. For all intents and purposes, Blake seemed stunned more than anything else. At least that was better than disdain, right? Still... with the way she was sitting at the moment, Nora couldn't help but worry.

"Are you okay, Blake?" Concern rose up in Nora's words as she stared at the girl, not quite sure how her teammate hadn't fallen over yet. For some reason, the black-garbed huntress was leaning over the edge of her mattress, paying no attention to her surroundings as amber eyes stared at the spot where Ozpin and Cinder stood. While Nora was a bit worried about whether or not Blake could see them. she was more concerned about how close her teammate was to falling over. As well as... Well, there was something she simply couldn't ignore.

"Hey, Blake? Why is your bow twitching?" That seemed to snap her from her thoughts, as her teammate's eyes shot from the shelf to Nora herself, the blank stare that had been present on Blake's face immediately replaced by a look of alarm. Nora wasn't quite sure why, but even she could tell that it had something to do with her bow... but what?

"Do not be alarmed, Miss Valkyrie. Those are merely her ears."

For some reason, Ozpin chose that moment to speak up, interrupting the confused jumble of a mess that was the Valkyrie's thoughts. She wasn't quite sure what the tiny man had meant by that, so without sparing another thought, the girl turned towards the miniature headmaster, confusion heavy in her tone.

"Her ears? What do you mean by th-"

And before Nora could finish her words, a frantic black-haired huntress tackled her onto the bed, Blake's hands frantically trying to muffle her mouth even as she heard the tell-tale 'poof' of a fleeing coffee gremlin.

Blake was panicking.

It didn't take a genius to figure it out, since Nora recognized her teammate's mood the moment she was forced backwards. Widened eyes, pumping blood, heightened twitchy-ness... Nora Valkyrie saw all the familiar signs of unmitigated fear, as her teammate's instincts seemed to rise out of control. Really, given every thing she saw, Nora couldn't come to any other conclusion besides unrestrained panic or excessive sugar intake.

"W-who exactly are you? How do you know about that?" Blake's voice hissed out, low and quiet as she pressed the sheathe of her weapon against Nora's chest. "What are you doing here?!"

Oh, right. She was also threatening her with a sword scabbard thing. That was also a sign of panic, wasn't it?

Were this any other person, in any other situation, Nora might've been a bit more confrontational. However, the Valkyrie knew first-hand how irrational a person could get when they were panicked, and given what little she knew about her friend's partner, the hammer-wielder didn't necessarily believe that the other teenager was acting maliciously. Which was why she tried her best to placate her teammate. "I-I'm Nora, remember? And I know about your bow twitching because your bow's still twitching! A-and I was yelling at the shoulder-people!"

"Not that!" The black-haired girl hissed once more, the frustration in her voice spilling into the air as she pushed the scabbard upwards. Into... err... into her own arm. Honestly, she seemed even more frazzled than Nora had been. "How do you know about my ears?"

"Because the shoulder-man mentioned them?"

Nora felt her teammate freeze the moment she spoke those words. Well okay, it was more of a mumble, since the other teenager was trying to question her and quiet her at the same time. Either way, Blake seemed to grow silent at the Valkyrie's admission, no longer trying to force her mouth shut as she stared into the hammer-wielder's eyes. In return, Nora stared back, making no effort to hide her words, speaking the complete—and completely absurd—truth.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" The voice of the black-haired teenager was level, and Nora couldn't quite tell whether her tone was supposed to be threatening, confused, or just stunned. Heck, she wasn't sure whether Blake knew. Either way, Nora responded to her question with a slow nod. Which only caused her teammate's eyes to turn away from her, as the bow-wearing huntress settled her gaze over to the spot where Ozpin and Cinder had once been. "... And he was standing over there?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Of all the reactions she had expected to see from her teammate, entertaining her delusions was pretty low on the list. The Valkyrie might've been impulsive, but she wasn't stupid the way Cinder and Ozpin had apparently thought of her, and Nora was quite aware of how she had just behaved. To anyone else, she had been screaming at an empty shelf, to say nothing of the fact that Blake's first impressions of her were probably less-than-stellar. The hammer-wielder honestly expected her teammate to just treat her like a crazy person.

Instead, Blake seemed to seriously consider the Valkyrie's words, drawing no small amount of confusion from the girl as the bow-wearing huntress rose upwards, slowly making her way to the now-empty shelf. What surprised Nora was how she approached the shelf; her teammate wasn't just aimlessly looking at it. If anything, it was quite clear from the way she stared that Blake was looking at one very-specific spot. "There was one other, wasn't there? It wasn't just the one... 'Shoulder man', right?"

"... How did you know?" Nora widened her eyes at Blake's pointed question. She wasn't hiding Cinder's existence or anything like that, but the Valkyrie was fairly certain that she didn't go into any specifics back when she first tried to explain things to her teammate. Then again, she couldn't remember for sure, since the night before initiation seemed so long ago. Either way, she was surprised to hear Blake bringing it up so quickly.

"Because I saw them."

Oh. Oh. This... Nora wasn't quite sure how to react at this point. The Valkyrie still hadn't tackled the fact that there was a miniature version of her headmaster roaming around in the first place. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Blake's response to the tiny Ozpin would be. Slowly, she turned to face her teammate proper, trying to read the other girl's face as Nora stared intently at her.

Blake blinked. She looked less than amused, and after a few moments of silence, finally spoke up. "...I mean, I saw their aura. I didn't actually see them."

"Oooh..." Well, that explained why she looked a lot less frazzled than Nora had expected. Still, the hammer-wielder never would've imagined her teammate to see the shoulder-people's aura, but now that she knew, it made sense. Of course she should've expected that. What else could she have...

Waitwhat. Since when did they have aura? Weren't the glowy lights just cartoon wizardry tricks? Honestly, she had assumed that most everything the two had, at least when it came to visual effects, were just there for the sake of being there as shoulder-people. Cinder's fire-poofs were never real fires, and even Ozpin's tiny cane and chair were just fake props! Heck, it wasn't like Ozpin's coffee was real coffee or anything either.

So how do they have aura?

Nora blinked at that question a bit longer, before the thinking part of her brain finally decided to chime in. Why was she surprised at that fact? After all, having Aura had nothing to do with committing cartoon shenanigans; it was just a thing that living things had. And it was quite clear to her that the miniature Ozpin and tiny Cinder were very real, very living things. She still wasn't sure what sort of things they were, but at the very least...

"I guess I can understand why you were so... panicked last night." Fortunately, either Blake didn't notice her internal argument and subsequent resolution, or she didn't care. Instead, her teammate turned away from the shelf, making her way back to her mattress as she sat down, voice heavy in thought. "But if that's the case, how exactly did the... 'shoulder guy' know?"

"Know what?" Nora took her place at her own bed, curiosity pointed to her teammate.

Blake returned the gaze with a deadpan stare "About my ears."

Oh yeah. The entire reason she panicked in the first place. Nora still didn't understand, since it was completely spur-of-the-moment. After all, she had just finished her own vehement shouting at the shoulder-people, so it seemed completely weird that things progressed the way it did. Besides, what did ears have anything to do with a twitching... bow...

"Wait..." Nora blinked, then turned to Blake with a curious stare, as her thoughts finally clicked into place. There was only one logical explanation, even if it didn't explain the whole panicked part of her teammate's reaction. Still, she had to ask. "You're a faunus?"

The black-haired huntress twitched at the question, obviously disturbed by it in some way. However, she said nothing, completely silent as she slowly nodded her head, amber eyes glued on the Valkyrie. "Yes. Yes I am."

"Oh, okay then." Huh. Learn something new everyday. Yay for meeting new people! Still, just because Blake was a faunus didn't exactly explain her reaction. With a curious look on her face, Nora turned back to her partner. "But... why exactly did you attack me like that?"

Immediately, Blake's face flushed with embarrassment, the girl releasing an awkward cough as she turned away. "I-I thought you might've... No, it's nothing."

No, it was certainly something. But still, Nora didn't pry. After all, even if she could tell that her teammate was hiding something, Nora didn't get the same sense of tone in her teammate that she did from Ozpin and Cinder. The two shoulder people hid things from Nora because they had probably wanted something from her, but from the way Blake acted...

"Okay then!" Nora beamed, putting the situation behind her, pushing it completely out of sight and mind. It was clear that her partner was scared of something, and that it was something that Blake didn't want to speak about, so the Valkyrie dropped the issue. Instead, it was time for something else entirely! "So, what do you think about our classes tomorrow?"

"...You're not going to ask?" But, in spite of her efforts, doubts still lingered in her teammate's mind. Concern was clearly written on the black-haired huntress's face, her brow furrowed upwards in apprehension as Blake stared back at the Valkyrie. Even the way she spoke hinted at her worry, as her tone barely hummed above the silent air.

"Nope!" Nora's voice was in sharp contrast to her teammate's. Not only did she respond with clear certainty, she even popped the end of the word, just for silly emphasis. Honestly, it seemed like Blake no longer considered her crazy, which was reason enough to push the topic on. However, more importantly than that, Nora just didn't want to push the issue. "It's something that's bothering you and you don't wanna talk about it, so I won't!"

"Thanks..." Her teammate's voice seemed to linger for a moment, her eyes falling on Nora for a few moments before the finally shifting back to the shelf. "So, er... what do you want me to do about the shoulder-people thing?"

Oh, right. That was still an issue, wasn't it? The Valkyrie coughed at the question, still not quite sure how to handle things, as her own gaze followed Blake's attention to the empty bookshelf.

It was clear that she had to confront the two, and it was clear that the two shoulder-people didn't want that confrontation. But why? More to the point, was there anything she could do? If she thought about it logically, they were at a standstill. Neither Ozpin nor Cinder could really force her to listen to them, but at the same time, it wasn't like Nora could force any answers out of them either. There was no direct way for them to interact, at least not beyond shouting and pestering, and the two tiny people could disappear at a moment's notice.

Ugh. Honestly, there was no reasonable way to go about dealing with this problem. Still, that wasn't exactly what her teammate had asked, and unlike the whole mess with the two shoulder-people, Nora knew what to do about Blake.

"You don't worry about it, Blake. It's my problem, so I'll deal with it. Just..." Nora trailed off for a moment, her eyes falling on the other two empty beds as she cleared her throat. "Please don't mention it to Ruby or Weissy? I don't want them to think I'm crazy or anything. Or, well, crazier than I am, since I need to worry about talking shoulder-people."

"Alright." The corner of Blake's mouth curled up at that a faint smile that lasted for a few moments as she settled back in her bed. "But in return, could you not mention anything about me being a faunus?"

"Okay!" Nora nodded one last time. Personally, she didn't see the problem in Blake being a faunus, and she doubted her teammates would either, but from the way Blake looked when she was trying to hide ... something... it was probably better not to talk about it until the girl herself was ready to talk about it.

Besides, Nora still had her own problems to deal with. How exactly was she going to settle things with Ozpin and Cinder?

The Valkyrie groaned, her mind beginning to stir as consciousness slowly washed back into her. Washed back? No, that's not right... that was part of her dream.

That was a nice dream, now that she thought about it, and she missed it already. There was a large kitchen atop a thunder mountain, with Ren acting as a chef once again. There was something about tributes and a gladiatorial arena combat thing, complete with a stuffed teddy bear. One of the gladiators had yelled at her about something, and seemed really angry about having to fight a plush animal. Or was it the bear that was yelling at her, for being a plush animal?

She didn't quite remember. What she did remember was the whole Maple Syrup tsunami that happened when Ren added the Sugar-infused sugar crystals.

Nora yawned, still not quite sure what had actually happened in her dream. Still, the thought of maple syrup and Ren's cooking was enough to spur her awake, as she slowly pulled herself out of the bed.

"Good morning, Nora!"

The first thing that greeted her was Ruby's half-shouted whisper. Half-whispered shout? Either way, her leader frantically waved at her, smiling cheerfully as she stood in full school uniform. Nora waved back, about to shout out an equally not-loud greeting, before she noticed something odd.

For some reason, their fearless leader was poised beside Weiss's bed, a mischievous smile on her face as she carried a whistle in her hand. Weiss, for her part, was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the scene around them as Ruby quickly alternated her attention between a small notepad thingy and Nora's sleeping partner. Oh, and for whatever reason, Ruby was wearing that RNBW sombrero from last night. How did she not notice that the first time she saw her leader?

"What..." The Valkyrie blinked, not quite sure what to ask, too dazed to properly voice her concerns. Her eyes turned from the leader to the rest of the room, only to find that it had somehow become more filled with RNBW knick-knacks, at least more than it had been yesterday. T-shirts, hoodies, more flags... She didn't know what to make of it, and took in the entirety of the room with more and more confusion. As her eyes found the last person of their team, Nora muttered the closest thing she could to a question.

"Am I still dreaming?"

"No, it's just that the rest of Ruby's order arrived." Blake supplied Nora with an answer, though one that only drew forth more questions, as her teammate turned her attention back to a book. A few moments passed before the girl noticed that confusion was still present in the Valkyrie's face, and Blake cleared her throat a bit as she spoke out once more. "Ruby... ordered all this from the campus store yesterday."

Yeah, no. That still didn't clarify things.

What sort of school store sold memorabilia based on newly-formed Huntress teams? Especially teams that were formed just yesterday? Did they just have the equipment lying around somewhere? And more importantly, if they did have their own personal stuff-printer, could she commission them for sloth memorabilia? She had been meaning to get Ren a new sweater for quite some time.

"Well yesterday, Weiss said that I wasn't behaving 'appropriately' as a leader." Ruby chimed up from her spot, her tone simultaneously chipper and silent as she joined in the explanation. "So I asked Yang and her partner for help, and decided to try something more leader-like today! Or, well, more huntress-y!"

"What do you mean?" The last thing she remembered from yesterday, besides the whole conversation with Blake, was getting interrogated by the headmaster after their prank on Ruby's sister. And while Nora was interrogated for quite a bit of time, she didn't think it was nearly enough to get so much stuff. The Valkyrie was about to turn to Ruby for some clarification, before something else entirely caught her eye.

A pancake iron with a holographic RNBW label.

"Well, I got some ideas after learning about how Yang's partner was Pyrrha. I asked Pyrrha for some help, and she said that the main reason why people knew about her was because of all the branding and stuff, and so I decided to search the store for stuff, and then a teacher with a bushy beard noticed me and offered to help and..."

Admittedly, Nora felt bad. The story that Ruby was telling was definitely important in some way. However, this was a fancy glowy pancake iron. The last time she had one, Ren had decided to confiscate it, since he didn't approve of her awesome creations. She didn't know why, either! All she had done was create the best pancake the world had ever seen. They were breakfast pancakes, with syrup and coffee and fruits and and... something else. She couldn't remember most of that day, if she was perfectly honest, but what she did remember was that it was glorious.

And now, Nora had another chance to make the perfect pancake. Right here. Right now. A smile formed on her face.

"...then the guy got a call from the staff and finally agreed to make it all an-Oh! I think she's waking up!" Ruby's voice chimed up one last time, quickly bringing her story to a close as she settled by the end of the bed. Nora absently nodded, her hand slowly reaching out for the pancake iron, hesitant to touch it as she basked in its glory.

"Good morning Team Rainbow!"
"Ack!"

An exuberant voice shook Nora from her thoughts. Well, that, and the whistle, the scream that followed, and the crash that ended it all. Nora quickly turned her attention away from the appliance, concern written in her face as she tried to find exactly what had just happened.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" The familiar, exasperated voice of Nora's partner groaned out from her bed. Okay, from the floor beside her bed. From the way Weiss was sprawled on the ground, it was clear that she didn't appreciate Ruby's methods of waking her up, and after a few moments, the white-haired teen pulled herself back up onto her feet. "... And whose bright idea was it to get you that whistle?"

"Dad's. He said it was important for something, so I've officially decided to use it for roll call!" Ruby wore a grin on her face as she spoke out, holding out the tiny whistle for the team to see. Nora made a mental note to ask Ren for one, but remained mostly quiet as she watched her leader turn to address the rest of the room. "But that's not important right now. What's important is that today's our first full day as Team Rainbow! And now that you're finally awake, it's time for our first team mission!"

"What... What are you talking about?"

Weiss was still confused as she brushed herself off, clearly unamused as she stared at their leader. And if Nora was perfectly honest, she was a bit lost as well. She didn't remember anything about missions, and the Valkyrie still wanted to make breakfast.

In return, Ruby grinned, holding up that notepad thing from earlier, pointing to a spot that she had scribbled on before gesturing to the room around them. "Decorating, of course!"

Nora's eyes lit up.