Compass Rose

by enigmaMystere

Chapter 10

She sets the big book in the seat, smiling at her student. "Let me know if you have any more issues, okay?"

She salutes, scrambling to get back in her seat afterwards.

Nodding at this, their teacher heads back to the front and looks up when the bell rings. "Hopefully that's everyone."

Ruby, sitting next to Daring, just shrugs, not sure whether it is or not, and not really caring at the moment.

She claps her hands once. "Alright class, my name is Miss River Song, and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. I'll be the one you can come to for homework help and any other things you might have questions about."

One student in the back raises their hand. "Why is there a tiny horse in the classroom?"

She answers smoothly, as though she had been expecting that. "She's just a faunus like some of you are."

"But Faunus don't have both ears and tails!" Another student interjects.

"Not normally, but seeing as there are no better theories, we believe she is simply a different type of faunus." She explains patiently.

"But she looks like a horse!"

"And?" Miss Song asks, giving that student a flat look.

She squirms in place, blushing softly. "...we have horses... I like horses... riding and petting..."

Her friend pats her on the shoulder reassuringly.

Smiling once more, the teacher continues. "There's nothing wrong with liking horses. Just make sure you remember that she's a student, not a pet, not an animal."

The girl from earlier whines a bit.

The teacher sighs. "Sweetie, I need to start class, but if you're still worried after, come talk to me once I let everyone have free time, okay?"

She nods once, her eyes wandering to Daring.

Nodding, Miss Song turns partly to her board. "Now class, the only real announcement today is 'welcome to the first day of school'. Today will be about meeting your teachers and getting a feel for your subjects. It's alright if you don't understand everything right away, because you're here to learn. Now, does everyone have their schedule? IF you don't, come see me and I can give you another copy."

Daring holds up her own in her mouth, letting her see it. Ruby and the other kids all just bring out the paper in question.

"Excellent. Well, there's not too much to do today, so I'll let you all talk amongst yourselves and get to know each other for the rest of the class." She claps her hands once.

The filly promptly hops off her seat and hurries over to the teacher, climbing up several drawers to reach the top of her desk. "Hi."

She looks at her with a smile. "Hello. Normally I'd have to tell a student to get off the desk, but I think I can make an exception for you since it's a bit hard for you to see sometimes."

Daring giggles, then looks at her curiously. "Miss Song? May I ask you something?"

"Of course, Daring." She motions her hand encouragingly.

"You know dad, right?"

She nods. "Yes, I know your father."

She looks down bashfully, her hooves pressing together to wrinkle a piece of paper in front of her. "...what do you think about him?"

Not expecting that, she tilts her head thoughtfully. "He's a nice man. He adores you and your sisters, and he seems to enjoy his job."

The filly looks like she's about to continue when her sister appears next to her, frowning a bit. "When we talked about finding a new mommy, I didn't mean ask everyone we come across."

Daring blushes softly in embarrassment. "...oh."

Miss Song laughs softly. "Well, if it helps, I'm flattered. Is your dad actually looking for someone?"

The girls look at each other, a little nervous, before Daring speaks up. "We... actually don't know."

The teachers smiles knowingly. "Maybe you should talk to him about it. I didn't really get the sense that he was looking for anyone, he was just focused on you three."

The filly, pouting a bit, looks up at their teacher hopefully. "...if he is... would you ask him out?"

"Hmm... I think I could do that, sure." She nods at the cute begging face.

The two siblings, beyond relieved, embrace the woman with big, happy smiles.

The girl from before squirms in her seat, her eyes focused on all of them, but especially the filly whose hooves are wrapped around Miss Song's neck.

Seeing this, the teacher motions her over once the hug ends.

She approaches, but stays on the side opposite the others, hands gripping the edge of the desk.

"Did you want to talk?" Miss Song as softly. "You've been a bit tense."

She whimpers, ducking her head down below the edge of the counter. "...I wanna hug her..."

Miss Song looks to Daring. "Would you like to allow that?"

She gives a small nod before the girl practically drags her into a hug, nuzzling her cheek affectionately.

Ruby, seeing the amount of attention this is getting, mutters to herself. "Maybe we should charge a lien per hug..."

Her teacher whispers to her. "It could be a way to get some extra money, but be sure it's safe."

The brunette girl just looks up at her questioningly.

"Make sure she wants to let them hug her, too." She explains.

She thinks for a moment before shrugging. "I'll let her choose if they can hug her. Or pet her, maybe..."

Miss Song chuckles. "Well, good luck with the lines you might have of students wanting to do that. Be sure to spend some of that money on a treat for her afterwards."

She blinks, looking at her curiously. "She's my sister. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because children your age can sometimes forget things in the excitement. I just wanted to be sure." She glances back at the filly.

She finds Daring stuck in the middle of a three-way hug, her cheeks squished.

"Daring... are you alright?" She asks, unsure if she should intervene.

Her leg kicks slightly as her face slowly starts turning blue.

Miss Song scoops her out of the hug, setting her on the desk. "Alright, children, give her some time to breathe."

Ruby pokes her arm, trying to get her attention. "I think she passed out."

"Oh dear..." She picks her back up. "Ruby, come with me to the nurse's office. The rest of you can go to your next class when the bell rings."

She nods, moving to follow her teacher and her unconscious little sister. "...I think I'll make sure it's one at a time, if we go through with it..."

"Probably a good idea, and keepa better eye on her." Miss sone leads her down the hall. "I think she should be fine, I just want to let the nurse have a look to be sure."

The girl nods and reaches up to comfortingly rub Daring's head. She casts a glance back at the students standing in the doorway of the classroom, who look back at her guiltily.

"Hopefully she wakes up before your next class," Song continues. "I wouldn't want you missing any classes on your first day."

"I hope so, too." Ruby looks up just in time to see a hoof twitch, a sense of relief coming over her.

Feeling the movement, the teacher looks down at the filly as they walk. "Maybe sooner than we thought."

The filly stirs, burying her muzzle in the crook of Miss Song's arm.

"How are you feeling?" She asks softly, stopping their walk.

"...squished..."

She nods. "I understand. That's why I took you from them so you could catch your breath."

She sleepily nods, leaning into the embrace. "...so warm..."

Song laughs softly. "Now now, no sleeping during school. You need to be awake to learn."

"...but I'm so comfy..." She snuggles closer, whining a bit.

"I can tell." She smiles. "But you still need to stay awake. Do you feel up to walking?"

"...I like being carried..." She looks up at her, pleading once more.

She sighs, shaking her head with a rueful chuckle. "Fine, I'll carry you back to the classroom."

Daring smiles softly, nuzzling into her neck as she tries to hug her.

"Daww... you are just an adorable sweetie." She giggles softly as she leads Ruby back to the room.

The two of them return to see the girls crouching behind the teacher's desk, an air of gloom about them.

Seeing them, the teacher smiles and walks over. "Girls? She's fine. We didn't even make it far before she woke up."

Startled, the one who didn't ask rushes away, while the other hugs the teacher around her hips, apologizing the whole time.

Setting Daring down on the desk, Miss Song pats the head of the girl hugging her. "It's alright. Just remember to always be gently when you're hugging."

She nods, casts the filly one more longing, if regretful, glance, then dashes to her desk, as well.

Sitting back at her own desk, Miss Song looks to the filly. "It might be good to let her know there aren't any hard feelings so she doesn't feel guilty."

Daring frowns a bit in thought, but shrugs in response. "I'll tell her later."

"Now are you two excited for school?" She asks the two sisters.

"Yep!" They both cheer at once.

She laughs. "I'm glad to hear that. Did you have any questions about it?"

"Can you tell us about history?"

"Can you tell us about weapons?"

The answers come at once, and the two look at each other curiously before turning back to their teacher, sheepishly smiling as the filly offers a third option. "...history of weapons?"

Smiling at them, she thinks. "Hmm... well, you'd be better off waiting for the actual classes, but if you want a little preview: did you know the first weapons were just improvised tools?"

They blink, looking at each other uncertainly. Ruby speaks up this time. "Then... weapons weren't also guns, back then?"

She chuckles, shaking her head. "Not at all. That came along way later. If people wanted ranged options, they needed to carry another weapon."

The girl blows a raspberry and crosses her arms. "That sounds like too much trouble."

The teacher holds up a finger. "And that's why those who wanted to be hunters started to get special training to handle that."

Daring, ever the curious one, leans closer, eyes sparkling in excitement. "They did? What kind of training?"

"Well, first they had to start with actually training with weapons instead of just swinging them how they felt was right." Taking a pencil, she draws them a small picture on a paper. One figure holding a sword is in front of many.

The sisters lean in, watching the pencil move with unbridled interest.

"Before there were so many different ways of fighting known, everyone would just be trained at once by the same master." She draws them all in the same pose. "We didn't really have the more individual fighting styles of today."

Ruby frowns, crossing her arms on the edge of the desk and resting her head on them. "That... sounds boring. Different fighting styles show a person's own... ness."

"That's true, and that's something that's important today. However, back then..." she draws some looming dark shapes. "The point was to be able to stay safe."

Daring taps her chin, looking at the new shapes. "Are those the Grimm?"

Their teacher nods. "Yes, Grimm are the primary threat we train against."

"How did they fight them?" She tilts her head to one side. "Did they have special plans?"

She nods. "Ambushes, flanking, and all the other tactics you'll learn. They were practiced for the Grimm."

The filly nods, satisfied with the answer. The girl pokes her teacher's arm. "So they kept them safe?"

She nods sagely. "Yes, the most important part of a hunter's job is to keep people safe."

Ruby stands up straight once more, grinning excitedly. "That's what I'm gonna do!"

"I'm sure you'll be a great one, Ruby." Miss Song responds as she nods. "It's great to see someone your age so determined about what they want to do."

Daring, not wanting to be forgotten, holds her hoof up and waves it for attention. "I wanna help people, too!"

Song turns to her, still smiling. "I'm glad to hear that. I bet you'll help in your own way."

Her hoof lands on the desk as the filly gives her a curious look.

"Fighting isn't the only way to help people." She clarifies. "There's all sort of combinations of ways."

Ruby, a little disappointed that the subject strayed from weapons, picks a pen from the cup on her desk and starts doodling on a day planner.

Daring, however, looks interested and hopes she'll continue.

"You could be a doctor, a teacher, one member of a hunter team who goes out on special exploration mission instead of just combat.." She lets her voice fade as she looks up, thoughtful.

The golden pony tilts her head, reaching over to poke her hand with a hoof. "Miss Song?"

"Hmm, yes?" She looks back down at the filly.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh... I'm just remembering some teams I used to hear about." She smiles softly. "Sorry, I suppose I drifted off for a moment."

They look at each other, silently asking if they should enquire about the team.

Then the bell rings.

"Well, that's all for today. You girls don't want to be late for your next class." The rest of the class is filing out even as she speaks.

They nod, but Daring hugs the teacher one last time before they leave.

She waves at them as they go, smiling happily.

"That was fun." Daring says, smiling brightly.

"Yep!" She brings her arms up behind her head, looking around at everyone. "I hope she becomes our new mom. She's really nice."

Comments

[Solaris_flare]

one thing you might want to do is not play the pronoun game as much, with characters who aren't going to be important in the long run, eh c'est la vie, but with your main characters you really don't want to do that i feel, as it gets hard to read like there were some portions where i thought it was only daring and ruby, while other parts it felt like yang was with them as well

[enigmaMystere]

9180633
Oh, yeah... that makes sense. Thanks!

[Solaris_flare]

9181496
no problem

[Skylight Blossom]

Oh, yay! It is still alive! And it's adorable!

[Ariel Schnee]

"Alright class, my name is Miss River Song"

Can we expect the guy with the blue box to show up soon around there?^_^

[enigmaMystere]

9455359
Not entirely sure how that would fit it. I could bring it up with my co-worker, though.