CHAPTER 5

You did go back to the dorm eventually and turned in for the night. The rest of Team RWBY didn't look surprised when you returned so suddenly, Ruby must have informed them about what had happened. Hopefully without the more personal details.

It was a bit annoying how they walked on eggshells around you but your past behaviour didn't exactly help. You'd give it some time, you were done running away by now.

Although you admittingly did almost did run out again when Zwei greeted you with some enthusiastic face slobber as the others laughed at you. Had Auntie Blake lied to you when she mentioned the past being more hygienic?

Your first combat class was in the morning, this was where Huntsmen were pitted against each other to improve their skills. A little strange since this Academy was for fighting Grimm but you couldn't blame Ozpin for it knowing what you knew.

You sat quietly beside Team RWBY again. Professor Goodwitch was in the front asking for volunteers to spar with each other.

You decided against volunteering, you hated to admit it but without your Semblance most of the first-years could give you a serious run for your money. You'd just sit quietly and observe for now.

Well, that was the plan until your name was called out in challenge.

You should really learn to stop tempting fate.

A tall, bulky, brunette boy wearing silver-grey and golden-trimmed armor with a crested bird in the centre had his hair raised. "I'll fight this one teach." he stood up and looked back at you with a smug smirk. "I'll take that new, scrawny runt for today."

The scalding glare Professor Goodwitch sent him in return instantly wiped that smirk away.

Nevertheless, she sighed and turned to you. "Do you agree to be Mr. Winchester's sparring partner, Mr. Snow?"

You send the members of Team RWBY a questioning look to determine if you should say yes or not, but they, along with half the class actually, were too busy glaring at Cardin to notice.

You suppressed a groan and rose. "I accept, professor."

You and Cardin walked to the centre of the stage. The large monitor attached to the far end wall flickered to life with both of your pictures—that had been profoundly annoying to take—and Aura levels visible.

Cardin stood a few metres away and glared down at you with crossed arms, your head didn't even reach his chest. "Dunno why'd they let a toddler like you in here," he scoffed. "Time to see what you got runt." he withdrew a fearsomely large, Dust-infused mace.

Eesh, that looked like it would hurt.

"Go Silver!"

"Kick his butt!"

"Don't you disappoint Team RWBY!"

You turned your head and saw Team RWBY cheering you on from their seats, with the exception of Blake who just gave you a silent thumbs-up.

Your chest tightened. Well, you couldn't disappoint them now.

You unsheathed your scythes and got in position.

Glynda cleared her throat. "The match will conclude when either of your Aura levels reach a quarter." She waved her riding crop in the air to signify the start of the match. "Begin!"

Cardin thunders towards you, it'd be bit more intimidating if he wasn't moving so slowly.

But still, you'd rather avoid getting in his range. So with that in mind you pull out Harbinger's shotgun as he closes the distance.

Cardin's eyes widen and he stumbles mid-sprint as your scythe shifts into it's gun form. He tries to roll to the side in the last second but you've already pulled the trigger by that point and he goes stumbling backwards as a solid shot connects to his chest.

He impressively stays on his feet.

Cardin Winchester

Aura: 22/25

Well, that didn't seem to do much but piss him off judging by the way he continues sprint towards you anew, mace raised overhead to smash you into the ground.

You rolled to the side to avoid the overhead strike and jumped over the following leg-sweep. While in mid-air, you planted a foot on his face and kicked yourself off to send him stumbling backwards.

Swiftly connecting Crescent Rose and Harbinger together to shift into Grimm Reminder, you spun to connect a double slash against's Cardin's chest plate just as he finished recovering, earning you a pained grunt. You flipped away from the clumsy counterstrike and fired Crescent Rose midair to distance yourself from him safely.

A holler emerges from the body of students watching, you don't even need to check to know that it's Ruby.

Wow, if you didn't think he was angry before then the way he was trying to melt you with his glare was definitely proof enough.

Cardin recovered and barreled towards you again.

You blink.

Did this guy seriously not have a ranged weapon?

You resisted the urge to shrug and instead raised Grimm Reminder's hilt to your shoulder, steadied your aim, and fired. It hit him square in the chest once more.

Cardin lost it, he started smashing at the ground widely in a desperate attempt to crush you.

You easily sidestep each telegraphed overhead strike.

This was getting kind of sad now honestly.

As if to reinforce your point, Cardin got his mace lodged in the ground after the last strike. As he struggled to pry his weapon free you took your chance and darted forward, Grimm Reminder shining ominously behind you.

Cardin pried his weapon free in the last second and recklessly swings it at your approaching form, you slide under it and hook your scythe under his legs as you slip behind him.

Cardin faceplants to the ground.

You jumped up to your feet instantly as you finished your slide. Glancing at Cardin's crumpled form, the older boy tried shakily rise to his feet. You harshly slashed the back of his head to send him back down. His head crashes back down and the arena is soon echoing with his groans."Cardin Winchester is eliminated through Aura depletion." Professor Goodwitch's voiced called out through the room, a trace of amusement clear in her voice. "Silver Snow is the winner!"

Cheering fills the classroom, Team RWBY's being the loudest.

You blush at the attention and sheepishly ducked your head as the Professor instructs you both to return to your seat. You proceeded to lose more Aura from all the high-fives you received on the way back to your seat than you did from the fight.

Professor Goodwitch spent the next five minutes publicly shaming Cardin's performance and his refusal to change tactics and how everyone watching should learn to avoid his example.

Cardin himself had his head buried in his hands for the rest of the class as his teammates patted his back in consolation.

You leaned back in your seat in satisfaction. School was turning out to be pretty awesome after all.

You all retired to the cafeteria for lunch after class ended. Team RWBY introduced you to Team JNPR when they sat at the same table as the rest of you. They all gave you warm greetings and compliments from the fight which you accepted with a polite smile.

You were more than familiar with Uncle Jaune and Uncle Ren's past selves, they hadn't changed too much from the two men you knew. Although Jaune was noticeably more awkward and scrawnier while Ren was much less grim than their respective future counterparts. Auntie Nora also was there, you couldn't really tell if she was any different from the one you grew up with. You had only been seven when she and her toddler daughter had gone missing.

There was also a tall red-head with green eyes you didn't recognise, she introduced herself as Pyrrha Nikos. You didn't miss the way her brow had subtly risen at your blank face when she said her name. Was she expecting you to know her or something? She was nice enough at least so you forgave the slight arrogance.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Ruby gushed at your performance. "You were spinning all over the place! Cardin didn't even come close to touching you!"

Gods, she made your bubbly mother look like Ren with all the boundless enthusiasm.

You stopped nibbling on your sandwich as you answered, Auntie Weiss had always lightly smacked the back of your head whenever you talked with your mouth full. "It wasn't too bad, that guy... wasn't all that strategic." you answered carefully, not wanting to insult your opponent despite his earlier rudeness.

"That's one way of putting it." Yang roughly clapped you on the shoulder. "Good job on kicking that jerk's ass, kiddo!"

A round of laughter passes the table, the ever stoic Blake and Ren even cracking a smile too. You just glanced at their laughing forms in confusion, concerned at their sudden mean-spirited behavior.

Did everyone hate Cardin or something?

The conversation shifted to what everyone was doing for the weekend. Beacon Academy didn't have any classes during Saturdays and Sundays. It still boggled your mind to think about. Two whole days of an empty schedule? Bizarre.

"What about you, Silvy?" Nora questioned you suddenly, smiling brightly.

Your finger's unconsciously tightened around your carton of milk at the familiar nickname. Silvy, that had been the nickname Auntie Yang had referred to you by. How long had it been since you last heard it?

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"What are your plans for the week?" Nora clarified.

"I was planning on studying and doing some weapon maintenance." There were still plenty of holes in your education, you'd been doing your best to remedy that during your free time but there was only so much that you could cover in a week.

Nora's smile dimmed as you didn't continue. "And...?"

Your tilted your head in confusion. "And what? That's it."

The others exchanged concerned looks that made you even more confused.

"That's more like work than a hobby, Silver." Pyrrha replied, concern evident in her tone.

"Silver, do you have any actual hobbies?" Blake asked slowly, as if fearing the answer.

Didn't you just say what they were? Maybe they meant something aside from that since everyone must be doing it during their free time. You duck your head in contemplation before nodding. "Well, only two others aside from all of that."

The tension in the group lessened slightly at that.

Ruby leaned in with an interested expression. "Well don't keep us in suspense! What are they?" she asked, the others nodding in agreement.

"Well..."

"My mom taught me how knit and sew when I was young, I also liked to draw every now and then."

"You like to knit?" Yang squealed. "Oh! That is just adorable!" She slung an arm around your shoulder and drew you in for a close side-hug. "You gotta stop being so adorable kiddo, you'll give me diabetes if you keep continuing like this."

You struggled half-heartedly in her grip, more then used to the action after suffering years of it. At least her grip was softer than her prosthetic hand's rough grip.

Ruby bumped your elbow to grab your attention. "You like to draw? Can I see!"

You shook your head. "Sorry, but I can't, my old sketch book was destroyed a few months ago," You frowned, unhappy at the reminder of losing years of work. "Because of... y'know." You tapped your scar and were somewhat amused at how they all collectively grimaced, having gotten the got the hint.

People were honestly so sensitive in these times.

The atmosphere got a bit awkward after that.

Everyone had finished their lunch by now so they all planned to head off now. You couldn't help but inwardly cringe at their half-finished leftovers, how could people be so wasteful?

You contemplate packing them in your leftover containers before deciding against it, you might have had some major gaps in your education but you at least understood the importance of hygiene.

"Do you mind if I talk to you alone, Silver?" Blake called him, having stayed seated when the others rose and made to leave. The others gave her an odd look as they passed but shrugged it off and continued on their way.

You nodded.

Blake dug though her bag and pulled out a notebook. "Here, I used to sketch during my free time too but lost interest recently." She placed it on the table and slid it towards you. "It'd be a shame if it went to waste, so do me a favor and use it to practise, I know how relaxing it can be to do while stressed."

You flipped through it and saw that it was a mostly empty sketchbook, a half-finished sketch of a masked individual on the first page was the only thing in there. "Blake, I can't-'"

"It's fine, I would have never used it anyway," She rose and smiled down at you, laying a hand on your shoulder. "Just promise me that you'll let me take a peak into it when you're comfortable sharing."

You retracted the book and cradled it your chest, shyly averting your eyes. "Okay."

You walked back to the dorm together in a comfortable silence. Maybe you should knit her a hat or something later?

Yang dragged you to the school's infirmary the next day.

Apparently she was tired of having a 'walking skeleton' as a roommate. You didn't see the problem, so what if the outline of your ribs were visible through your pajamas? You could still fight fine. But you relented, Ozpin had recommended that you pay a visit when you were ready anyway.

A blonde dog Faunus greeted you at the infirmary, the name tag attached to her uniform reading as 'Honey Cedar'. Her gentle smile vanished when she caught sight of your scar, her expression twisting into one of horror. You didn't mind, you were used to it by this point. At least she was polite enough to mask her expression before things could get awkward.

You got your weight taken, got poked around a bit, were questioned about your previous diet, stood in front of some scanners, and took a blood test.

Judging by the nurse's frown the results weren't exactly positive.

She gave you some pills to take every morning and provided you with a chart of different food types you should eat every day in a week along with spouting some medical terms that went over your head. Yang seemed to understand though, judging by the way she nodded along and sent you concerned glances every now and then.

From what you could catch your height was permanently stunted, a fact you were more then aware of by now. Aside from that, your stamina and muscle mass would also be much weaker then average, although that could thankfully be rectified with an appropriate diet and exercise. Apparently your bones were also weak and were more likely to break under stress then normal? You hadn't actually been aware of that, it was rather unsettling.

In the end you had to follow this assigned food plan that the nurse and Yang had called a 'diet'. Yang seemed especially forceful of it. Not like you were stupid enough to disagree. Three meals a day? Yes, please. You were used to two a day at most back in your time.

Yang seemed both pleased and saddened that you don't have a problem with eating vegetables daily. You didn't see why. After all, why would you waste food just because it tasted bad?

You had to admit that you felt pretty good after trying the specified food, maybe this diet thing would prove to be beneficial in the long run after all.