Ruby hummed a tune as her team walked into the Beacon camp, now moved up into the courtyards of the school since the walls have been back up for a few months. The dorms were still uninhabitable in a few wings, so they were closed to all students and faculty for the foreseeable future. The classrooms were in working order, so those were back in use. Even Miss Goodwitch's combat arena had been fixed before the dorms.

With her hair slightly longer, Ruby had decided to change up her look some. She The silver-eyed reaper felt happy to return to school with a few new tricks up her sleeve. Plus, her uncle was going to be taking over combat class! While very much a drunkle, Qrow was able to sober up quickly when class time called for it. Or a serious enough fight. That little exhibition against Winter before the Vytal Tournament was a good example.

Weiss was beside her, and while still partners, their romance had been short-lived. It was sad, but neither of them were ready to commit just yet. Ruby wasn't sure which of them felt worse about it, but she'd given up trying to figure that out. For now, they were still partners and mostly friends again. Turning her thoughts to more combat related things (a much safer topic), they'd managed to upgrade just how they did Ice Flower and how long it lasted. Weiss had even let her look at Myrtenaster to try and upgrade it! She'd made a few suggestions, though the only one that was acted on was making the hilt a little longer and the blade a bit thicker in case she needed to slash more powerfully. It was still a Multi-Action Dust Rapier, with the blade meant for stabbing more than slashing, but some practical experience had given the Schnee heiress a look at how a wrong move could mean breaking limbs. Metal or organic. So a more flowing slash was the newest addition to her repertoire, and it was an actual slash instead of a bit of a flourish of the blade. The white-haired young woman had found it quite useful on their journey back to Beacon on foot.

Her new choice of outfit was fitting, and meant for practicality while being much more fashionable than the other three young women chose. Her ponytail had been moved a little lower and to the center to make possibly snagging, on branches or in claws or fists, much less of a risk. Being a little shorter thanks to some claws was slightly a bonus, but everyone agreed they'd rather not try Grimm Haircuttery again any time soon. Weiss still wore a combat skirt, same as her partner, but it was a little lower with how it hung and much less frilly. As was the rest of her attire. A blue sleeveless top went up into a black choker, with a transparent jacket of all things being used as a windbreaker. How she stayed warm in that, none of Team RWBY quite knew. The sleeves cut off into black cuffs that allowed her to hold Myrtenaster fine but looked like they'd interfere. Stockings led almost seamlessly into boots that were both the same color as her top, with a white rim to show where the support began. Ruby called it the 'Rebel' outfit, though she kept that to herself because Weiss would likely lecture her ear off if she said it out loud.

Blake had changed into a slightly more open individual, more willing to share her opinion without a good dose of snark behind her words. It was nice to hear the cat ninja input her thoughts without having to decipher any hidden meanings. Blake had also become more willing to join in the fun, more than before. With less to worry about, the whole team had actually gotten a little sillier, but Ruby felt that was for the better. Being grim and serious all the time was how her uncle Qrow had started drinking, and how Ironwood got all that white in his hair while looking relatively young. Blake's coming around to the Ways of the Silly had marked a change in her expressions and mood in general. She was a lot looser in her movements, which was a bit surprising to everyone but Ruby had figured trying to be what she had been so long had made her tense up a lot. While useful at times, being loose let her execute a lot more acrobatic moves.

Blake had changed into a much less monochrome outfit. The white shirt had been replaced by a slightly open-zippered black sleeveless turtleneck, and under that were slightly darker but still pale shorts. Those broke off mid-thigh and were followed by high boots that required a LOT of lacing up and down. Her jacket this time was more of a ruffled skirt than just two little tails, being a slightly lighter shade of brown than the boots. This was what Ruby called the 'Atoner', a name she definitely wouldn't tell Blake. Gambol Shroud hadn't undergone much change, just some sharpening and a bit of thickening, though under the jacket were a few multi-Dust bullet magazines, in addition to the many colorless Dust magazines she normally carried.

Yang had avoided any kind of hair cut and had managed to evolve her Semblance a bit. Instead of just throwing off a short wave of heat when angry, she now constantly generated a short field of warmth from wherever Aura originated. It kept the blonde from needing to wear anything that kept her good looks concealed by bulky clothes. Combat wise, she'd started to learn how to be a bit more patient with how she used her Semblance when Blake pointed out that she would've died to a couple bandits if she had tried to bumrush them as normal when it looked like Ruby was about to be overrun while they were on the road. Increased strength with damage taken was nice, but the lack of a defensive boost to go with it kept her from breaking down walls with her shoulder. Or trees.

Ember Celica would have been integrated into her arm while they were on the road, but they didn't have the right kind of tools on hand and Ruby did not want to be the reason her sister had to fight with half her normal damage output. That would not be good under any circumstances. Still, there were plans. And they involved big guns added to her gauntlet. For now, the biggest change was to Yang's outfit. Rather than a tube top under a jacket, that cut off at her stomach, the blonde now wore a yellow Mistralian style top with a crossing that looked like half an X and black lining, that cut off at her stomach. Some short suspenders were on her hips for some reason. They certainly didn't hold her ammo, that was in the thigh holsters now. Any new armor would have to be applied at Beacon. There were plans for that too. Ruby planned to call the full outfit either 'Fighter' or 'Mercenary', she wasn't sure yet.

Team RWBY walked into Beacon Academy, looking around and taking in the changes. All around, there were tents with students moving around. Some were milling about, others were practicing in the courtyard, while more were headed to the school, likely to take classes inside. Ruby looks around, grinning some. Weiss wonders what sort of accommodations they'll have on hand for her and her team. Blake hopes the library was intact. It had been awhile since she'd held a good book. Yang was looking forward to testing herself in a controlled environment against her fellow students. It'd take a while to relearn how to hold back to not deal lethal damage, and that was a fun challenge, she thought.

"Heeeeeey, look who's here, Rennie!" That got four sets of eyes to turn, locking onto an aqua and a pink pair. "Team RWBY came back!"