Sorry for the wait on this, but we're back on it! Jack gave me a new idea to run with for this AU, and it's about the unlikely sibling duo of Velvet and Cardin!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Chapter 5.

Velvet's parents had died when she was very young. She'd never known them, and with most of her other relatives living extremely far away, she'd been turned over to an orphanage as a child.

At the time, most orphaned children there were Faunus, for one reason or another, so she got along with most of the other kids rather well, though there were a few human children there as well. The boys liked to pick on her in particular because of her long ears.

No matter where she was, inside the building learning how to read and write, or outside playing, if there were no adults watching, the human boys would bully her and pull her ears. She never told anyone either, because they said if she did she'd regret it. The orphanage was rather large, and the children outnumbered the caretakers, so the adults never had a clue, and the other Faunus children were too scared to step in and help.

Velvet had just gotten used to the torment, though she prayed every day that someone would adopt her and take her somewhere safe. It had gotten so bad that some of the fur was beginning to fall off because of all the yanking. She hated it. She just wanted to get out, even if it meant running away...

She'd been too scared to try anything as drastic as that, though, because she knew the risk of people hurting rather than helping her on the streets was very high. So she stayed where she was, trapped by necessity, hoping the day things would change would come soon.

And it did.

One day, a scraggly human boy was brought to the orphanage. Velvet heard that his parents had just run away together and left him. He was about her age, and was actually a bit shorter than she was, but her first instinct was still to fear him, based on how the others had treated her.

His name was Cardin, but Velvet never thought she'd need to know it.

The next time the other boys cornered her and started pulling her hair and ears, Cardin stumbled upon it all. Velvet expected him to join in. She shrunk back and whimpered quietly.

"Please... Please stop..."

But to her astonishment, Cardin rushed over yelling at the other boys.

"Hey! What are you doing? Stop it!"

They turned and sneered.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do if we say no?"

"This!"

And Cardin lunged at them – all three of them – at once, punching and kicking and howling.

Velvet pressed back into the corner and cowered. The other boys punched Cardin back, but he never let up. Eventually, Velvet forgot about her fear for herself and it became fear for him. For the first time ever, she fought back, jumping on one boy's back and pulling him away.

"Stop it! Leave us alone!"

Together, she and Cardin fended off the others until the adults showed up. Cardin explained everything, and the boys at fault were reprimanded and punished for their crimes.

Velvet and Cardin were brought to the doctor on-site who patched up the scratches and put ointment on the bruises. They were given water and some snacks to help them wind down from it all.

Velvet sat quietly and took a sip of water while Cardin began wolfing down a sandwich. She flicked an ear and finally spoke her first words to him.

"Um... thank you."

The boy glanced at her from across the table with a questioning look.

"What? For doin' the right thing?"

Velvet put her cup down slowly.

"Well, it's just that... no one's ever done that for me before..."

Cardin gulped down another mouthful and grinned.

"Well then I'll be the first. Thanks for jumpin' on that guy. If you hadn't, he woulda decked me in the face."

The praise had Velvet smiling, and happy enough to pick up a cookie to nibble on.

They talked, told each other their names and about their lives and families thus far. Velvet had never spoken so much about herself all at once to any of the other children. She wondered what it was about Cardin that made it so easy. Maybe it was because when he smiled it didn't seem mean. It seemed real.

"So," he said after finishing another sandwich. "How old are you? Do you know?"

Velvet fiddled with her fingers in her lap.

"I'm either 7 or 8. No one ever found my birth certificate and my relatives don't even know for sure since they live so far away... What about you?"

"I'm 8!" he said proudly. "Gonna be 9 in a few more months. So that means I'm older!"

Velvet pouted a little bit at that.

"Well, I said I might be 7, but I might also be 8. So I could be older than you right now. I am taller, aren't I?"

"Wh-?" He almost spit out his water. "H-Height's got nothin' to do with it!"

"Really? I think it might."

"No way! I'm older and that's that!"

"You sure don't act like it all the time."

"Hey, listen..."

They bantered and bantered before it turned into laughter.

They ended up sticking together with each other more than Cardin hung around with the human children and Velvet with the Faunus. They became very close, a friendship no one at the orphanage had ever seen or expected before.

And when they were both about 12 years old, the day finally came. An older Faunus couple who had been approved to adopt visited the orphanage. They met with many of the children, but had been particularly drawn to Velvet.

When they asked her if she would come live with them, she did something she never thought she'd do; she refused.

She refused her dream of finally being adopted and starting a new life.

She'd refused to go... unless they took Cardin too.

By that point they were already like brother and sister, and the orphanage staff agreed they would be better of together. The Faunus couple happily agreed.

And so Velvet and Cardin had happily left the orphanage.

They'd grown up together under the loving guidance of their new parents. Cardin's birthday was known to be May 14th, while Velvet's was unknown. So she chose for it to be on May 13th and insisted she was older by one day.

Cardin had pouted for almost an entire month after that.

They'd gone to school together as siblings with their new parents' last name. When they'd turned 18, they'd legally changed their last names back to Scarlatina and Winchester, not out of any disrespect for their parents, but simply because they each wanted to keep a little bit of their pasts with them.

They'd stuck together even until now...

. . .

Velvet wakes up early this morning, finding Coco curled up at her side and snoring softly. She pokes her girlfriend's cheek softly before leaning down to give her a kiss.

"Time to get up, Coco. We've got things to do."

"Ugghh, five more minutes..."

"No can do, I'm afraid."

"Fine. But only because it's you."

They get each other out of bed and begin their morning routine around the trailer. The boys who play their teammates in the show – Fox and Yatsuhashi – stumble out from their room and greet the girls.

After showering, Velvet gets into her set costume and sits down for breakfast with Coco and the others. They begin discussing today's busy schedule for both filming and makeup. When they've just finished eating, a knock comes at the door. Coco waves the others to stay put.

"I got it."

Velvet helps the boys tidy up and clean the plates, but her ear flicks at the sound of her name.

"Hey, Velves? It's for you."

Velvet puts everything down and rounds the corner to see who it is. A smile spreads across her face.

"Cardin!"

He's dressed in his costume as well, hair slicked back and made to look intimidating and mean. But the second he spots his little sister running over, he grins like an idiot.

"There you are!" He opens his arms and Velvet throws herself right into them, giggling. He lifts her off her feet a bit before putting her back down.

"I'm still getting used to that," she laughs. "You only just got to be taller than me."

"What? You're losin' it. I got taller than you a solid 6 years ago."

"Mm, I think 6 is being a bit generous..."

"Hey, lemme have this, will ya?"

"I'd say I'm still taller than you now, actually."

"Hey, we already said ears don't count!"

Coco chuckles and gives Cardin a light friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Good ta see ya, champ. Maybe actually stop by for your makeup appointments on time, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"At least try to sound like you mean it." With this Coco meanders back into the kitchen, leaving the siblings to themselves.

"So," Velvet says. "What brings you by so early?"

"Would you believe it?" Cardin groans. "Ozpin's saying he might wanna shoot another scene of our characters fighting. Or, y'know, mine just bullying yours some more. Somethin' about makin' the audience get more attached to you so it's more of a victory when you eventually tell me to eat shit."

"Oh, my. Well I hope I don't have to phrase it exactly like that," she muses. "And I hate to remind you, but you did get cast as a bully, Cardin."

"I know. I'm still tryin' to convince Ozpin to let me have a turning point and eventually shape up, but he hasn't gotten back to me on it..." He pouts, an expression that hasn't changed much since they were kids. Velvet reaches up to pat his head.

"It's all an act," she reminds him. "Everyone knows you're exactly the opposite in reality. You're the strongest, sweetest, most considerate little brother ever."

"Hey, you can't play that card. You know you're younger than me."

"Do I? Our birthdays say otherwise."

"You chose your birthday, you cheater..."

Velvet laughs, and Cardin crosses his arms. Once she's had her fun, Velvet nudges him.

"Don't worry about the show. You can tug on my ears a bit. It's what bullies do. And trust me, you're the kindest bully I've ever known."

"...I guess so," he sighs. "Maybe there's still hope for me. No matter what Ozpin does to my character, at least I'll never have it as bad as Adam."

"Oh, yes, that is unfortunate. Ozpin must have a knack for casting the nicest guys as the worst villains."

"Let's just hope he gives me a break..."

By now the others are ready to head out, so the group of five goes together. Velvet and Cardin are greeted by many 'good mornings' along the way.

Eventually Coco leaves Velvet with a kiss and drags Fox and Yatsuhashi into the makeup trailer to do her job. Velvet's ears flick to the sound of Blake's voice nearby.

"Velvet! Do you want to practice with us?"

At the same time, Cardin's friend Russel calls for him.

"Hey, man, help us with this fight scene!"

Velvet and Cardin turn back to each other and smile.

"See you later, little brother."

She strains up to kiss his cheek. Cardin grumbles and ruffles her hair.

"Shut up..."

They turn and head off for now and get ready for another day.

A/N: This one gave me a bit of trouble just with jumping around between timelines and tenses, but I hope I still got the main point across. The only way I could fathom them being brother/sister is by adoption, and I wanted to make Cardin like Adam; a villain on the cast, but in reality a really nice guy.

Who knows what could be next?

Please review!