• Published 31st Aug 2018
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SAPR - Scipio Smith



Sunset, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby are Team SAPR, and together they fight to defeat the malice of Salem, uncover the truth about Ruby's past and fill the emptiness within their souls.

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Dispensations (New)

Dispensations

“You’re back late,” Bon Bon observed as Dove slipped back into the BLBL dorm room.

“Not that late,” Dove replied, a smile on his face to match the lightness of his tone. “I haven’t kept you up; it’s not like you’d have gone to bed by now or anything.”

“No,” Bon Bon admitted. “But still, you were longer than we thought you’d be. We didn’t expect Pyrrha and Sunset to detain you that long.”

“Pyrrha and Sunset didn’t detain me,” Dove said quietly.

“Oh,” Bon Bon said mildly. “All right then.”

Silence fell in the dorm room. Lyra was sprawled across Bon Bon’s bed on her belly, booted feet raised up in the air, kicking slowly back and forth; her head was raised to look at Dove while a magazine sat open in front of her.

Bon Bon, banished from her own bed by Lyra’s presence, was sat on the floor at the foot of said bed, one of her gauntlets sat in lap. In one hand, she held a cloth rag, while a bottle of polish sat on the floor beside her.

Both Lyra and Bon Bon looked at Dove, who did not quite look at them.

“This would be your cue to tell us where you’ve been,” Lyra pointed out.

“Out,” Dove said.

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Out where?”

Dove walked across the dorm room to his bed, humming under his breath. “I didn’t realise that I had to tell you everywhere that I go or everything I do.”

“Well, tough, you do,” Lyra said, a grin spreading across her face. “Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

Dove chuckled.

“Don’t laugh, I’m serious!” Lyra cried. She reached down onto the floor — on the other side of the bed to where Bon Bon sat — and lifted up a rustling box of Dewberry’s Favourites, a collection of miniature bite-sized bars of the best-selling chocolates made in Vale by the confectioner Dewberry’s … and the coconut one that nobody liked but which seemed to find its way there anyway.

“Do you want one?” she asked, shaking the box.

Dove hesitated. “All right, I’ll—”

“Well, too bad; you’re not getting until you tell us where you’ve been,” Lyra said, putting the box down.

Now it was Dove’s turn to roll his eyes. “Fine. I’m not that hungry anyway.”

“You might not have to tell us where you were,” Bon Bon said, getting up off the floor to look at him over Lyra.

“Yes, he does!”

Bon Bon ignored her to carry on, “But you do realise how suspicious it is that you won’t say where you’ve been, right?” She sniffed at the air, her nose pricking at the smell that had wafted into the room with Dove. “And what is that smell?”

Dove froze; the humming beneath his breath died a swift end. “What smell? I don’t know what you mean?”

“I mean the smell, the smell that you brought in here, the smell that’s on you, the smell that was not here a second ago, what is that smell?” Bon Bon demanded.

She sniffed some more. It wasn’t a bad smell, by any means; it was noticeable, but having noticed it, she couldn’t deny that it was kind of nice. Fruity, maybe? A little bit, with something else in there; she couldn’t quite say what it was, but it felt familiar to her. She’d smelled this somewhere before, but—

Lyra’s eyes widened. “It’s Pyrrha!”

“What?” Bon Bon snapped.

“What?” Dove yelped.

“The smell!” Lyra cried. “It’s Pyrrha’s hair. Or it could be her perfume, but I don’t think she wears perfume, because it’s not that strong, and also, it’s the same scent all the time, and also wearing perfume everywhere even to class would be kind of a lot.” Her voice had dropped as she reached the end of her ramble of reasons, but now it revived in volume as she carried on. “The point is that I’m ninety percent sure that it’s scented hair care products, especially since the smell is strongest coming from her hair, but the point is that that smell, the smell that is on you, Dove, is definitely Pyrrha’s smell.” Lyra somewhat laboriously rolled over onto her back and then sat up on Bon Bon’s bed. “So, Dove Bronzewing, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Dove had frozen. He didn’t speak, he didn’t even move, he was just … frozen. He stood there still, petrified.

Bon Bon thought that he’d gone a little pale as well.

She folded her arms. “Something that you want to tell us, Dove?”

Dove didn’t look at either of them. “What do you mean?”

“We mean,” Lyra said, “are you and Pyrrha … you know…?”

“Know what?”

Bon Bon was beginning to suspect that Dove was being deliberately disingenuous. “Are you having an affair?”

Lyra looked up at Bon Bon. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“'An affair'?” Lyra repeated. “Kind of an old-fashioned way of putting it, don’t you think? It’s not like either of them is married.”

“I am not having an affair, I am not anything with Pyrrha,” Dove declared. “That you would think that I … you’re ridiculous. You two are being utterly and completely ridiculous. If I wasn’t in such a good mood, I would be heartily offended.”

“Why are you in such a good mood?” asked Lyra.

Dove hesitated for a mood. His good mood did not prevent him from sighing. “I … you two are my best friends; you know that, don’t you?”

Lyra held up one hand, a hand which Bon Bon took, feeling Lyra’s fingers close around said hand.

“We had the idea, sure,” Lyra said, smiling at him.

“There are things…” Dove began, before he paused. “Just trust me on this, alright? Trust me and … let it go. Pyrrha isn’t cheating on Jaune — not with me, and probably not with anyone else either, and even if she was so inclined, I wouldn’t be a part of it. Trust me and let it go. Now, since you’ve been so kind as to point out that I do have a slight smell around me, I think that I should go and get a shower.”

He walked into the bathroom before either of them could say another word, shutting the door behind him.

They could hear some faint humming coming from the other side of the door.

“He is in a good mood,” Lyra observed. “When was the last time he was this happy?”

“I’m not sure he was ever this happy since we’ve known him,” Bon Bon replied. “He’s always been…”

“Melancholy?” Lyra suggested.

Bon Bon nodded. “Sad and solemn. Maybe he’s finally over it.”

“You mean over her?” Lyra replied. “Over Amber.”

“She was the reason why he was sad,” Bon Bon admitted. “So … yes, maybe he’s finally over her.”

Lyra winced. “Is it awful of me if I say that I hope not?”

Bon Bon frowned. “Why would you hope not? Don’t you want Dove to be happy?”

“By breaking up someone else’s relationship?” Lyra asked. “Honestly, Bonnie, no. Not really, not like this. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that Dove owes Amber his undying devotion; she’s gone, whether she left without looking back or … or she … whatever happened to her, she doesn’t have the right to reach out from … wherever she is and demand that Dove not move on with his life. That’s why I helped you try and set him up with Ciel, for all the good that did. But of all the girls out there he could have gone with, why choose the one who's already taken?”

“No boy owns their girlfriend.”

“I’m not saying they do,” Lyra said. “But…” She flopped down onto her back. “If I were in a relationship, I would like my partner to be faithful to me. I’ll even go further than that: I think if we were in a relationship, I would have the right to expect that, to demand it. And so, because I’m not a hypocrite, I’m not gonna lie here and say that it’s okay with me for Dove to be a part of something like that. If you’re not happy, then break up. If you want to see other people, then break up with the person you're seeing already — or have a threesome or something, I guess, but anyway. Maybe it’ll be hard, but tough. Do it anyway, do the right thing. And don’t be a party to the wrong thing, even if you’re not involved with anyone else; that’s just basic stuff.”

“Hmm,” Bon Bon murmured. “And you’re sure that smell is Pyrrha’s?”

“My nose doesn’t lie,” Lyra replied. “Although … I have to admit I never would have thought that Dove would … he’s too upright.”

“Me neither,” Bon Bon said softly. “Still, there’s nothing that we can do to stop him, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.”


Glynda folded her arms. “Mister Bronzewing is Amber’s boyfriend?”

Qrow laughed sourly. “It sounds really weird hearing you talk like that, Professor,” he muttered. “But why don’t we start with the fact that Amber even has a boyfriend.”

“Oh, so you can say it?” Glynda asked.

Qrow smirked. “What can I say? I’m down with the kids.” He took a swig from his flask. “So … Amber has a boyfriend?”

Ozpin sighed. Glynda, Qrow, and Ironwood were all with him in his office; very soon, Amber would arrive, accompanied by Team SAPR and — so Sunset had informed him by text message — Mister Bronzewing, to discuss the arrangements for Amber’s security going forwards and her arrangements for the near future until more permanent arrangements could be made.

There would also need to be a talk with Mister Bronzewing about what he knew and how important it was that he did not share it.

For now, though, it was just the four of them: himself and three of his five lieutenants, the most trusted three. Ironwood stood at his left hand side; Glynda was on his right but a little farther off, a few feet from his desk. Qrow stood near the centre of the room, closest to the elevators.

“Yes, Qrow,” Ozpin said. “Amber has…” If Glynda could not say the word ‘boyfriend’ without it seeming strange passing from her lips then what chance did he have? “Amber is romantically involved with a young man.”

“I thought Merida raised her in the woods precisely to avoid this kind of thing,” Qrow muttered.

“And yet, nevertheless…” Ozpin murmured. “Apparently, he found her in the woods regardless. Love finds a way, it seems.”

“'Love'?” Qrow repeated. “Come on, Oz; these are kids we’re talking about.”

“Amber believes that she loves him,” Ozpin said.

“Really?” Qrow muttered. “Thank gods Tai raised Yang with more sense. But kids believe a lot of things; it doesn’t make it true; nobody knows what love is at that age.”

Glynda’s eyebrows rose. “And how old was Tai when he and Raven—”

“Raven left,” Qrow said harshly. “If you love someone, you don’t run out on them, leave them literally holding the baby. What Tai had with Summer, that was love, and that … that kind of thing takes time, maturity, the ability to pull your head out of your ass and see that the girl you needed might not be the girl you want, but the one who's been there for you the entire time.”

“Whether Amber’s feelings for this boy are as real as she thinks or just a passing fancy hardly seems relevant,” Ironwood murmured.

“Indeed,” Glynda agreed. “What matters is that he is here, a student at this school. Quite a coincidence.”

“Mister Bronzewing came to Beacon in part to look for, and to be with, Amber,” Ozpin said. “That is no coincidence at all. It also, I must say, speaks passing well for his character.”

“Who are you trying to convince, Oz?” Qrow asked. “Us or yourself?”

“Oz did the right thing,” Ironwood said.

Qrow blinked rapidly. He looked down at the flask that was still in his hand. “I must have had more of this than I thought,” he said, “because I could have sworn that you just said that you thought Oz had done the right thing.”

“I did,” Ironwood said, with an air of long-suffering patience.

You agree with Ozpin?”

“It has been known to happen,” Ironwood declared.

“Maybe, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen now,” Qrow said.

Ironwood clasped his hands together behind his back. “Recently, my students have reminded me about the importance of free will, of letting these kids make their own choices, their own decisions, maybe even their own mistakes … reminded me that if we try and put them in cages, even for their own good, then … then no matter how benevolently designed the cage, it’s still a cage, and it still ends up hurting them to be confined.” He sighed. “Which reminds me, Oz, we need to talk at some point.”

Ozpin leaned back in his chair a little as he turned it to face Ironwood. “There is time now.”

Ironwood’s eyebrows rose. “Aren’t we a little busy right now?”

Ozpin held up his hands. “What is there to be said? Mister Bronzewing has been informed and reintroduced to Amber. Whether you think that it was a good idea or no, whether you think that I should have allowed Miss Shimmer to do it or no … it is rather irrelevant now, wouldn’t you agree? What’s done is done.”

“What’s he like?” asked Qrow.

“Hard working, for sure,” Glynda said. “Of the male students in his year, I would have rated him the best—”

“'Would have'?” Qrow repeated.

“Mister Arc has been improving rapidly,” Glynda explained, “but Mister Bronzewing is no slouch, although I’m not sure that his choice of weapon does him any favours. He is not the most popular student, but he is far from unpopular. If I had to describe him in a word, I would choose … reliable. He does not possess star quality or exude charisma, but he is reliable. If I asked him to do something, then I know it would be done.” She paused. “He is also wasted in Team Bluebell. He should have been kept with Team Iron, and they should have—”

“Glynda, at this point, that particular argument verges upon ancient history,” Ozpin pointed out.

“Team Iron,” Qrow said. “That’s Yang’s team, right?”

“Of your two nieces,” Glynda said, “I consider Miss Xiao Long the more reliable.”

“That’s not a compliment,” Qrow said.

“It is from me,” Glynda replied.

Qrow snorted. “'Reliable' is what you look for in a family car or a refrigerator. In a warrior, you need some flash to get the job done.”

“Glynda,” Ozpin said, “would you really rather that it were Miss Xiao Long I had invited down into the vault to become the next Fall Maiden? Or Miss Valkyrie? Would either of them have been able to devise a way to save Amber without anyone needing to go through with the transfer?”

Glynda bowed her head slightly, even as she pushed her half-moon spectacles up her nose. “No, Professor.”

“In any case, as I said, it is ancient history now; what’s done is done,” Ozpin said. “As for Mister Bronzewing, at the very least, he does not sound like the worst sort of boy who could be in this position. He is, by all accounts and outward appearances, a conscientious young man. Yes, it could be worse. So, James, you were saying?”

Ironwood hesitated for a moment. “Miss Polendina’s transfer papers, her request to move from Atlas to Beacon next year. I know that she should have submitted the forms to you first, but given the special circumstances, I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“'Special circumstances'?” Qrow asked.

“Miss Polendina is … an unusual student,” Ozpin explained, without explaining very much of anything. “But one you may rest assured that we will take excellent care of, as we strive to take the very best care of all our students here at Beacon.”

“When you’re not recruiting them into this little war,” Qrow muttered.

Ozpin frowned, both because the sally pained him and because he knew that he deserved it; in the face of what he did, the way that he chose particularly talented students and recruited them into his private army, in the face of the way that he had treated Miss Rose … it did make Beacon’s nurturing pretensions seem rather hypocritical, didn’t it?

“There was no need for that,” Glynda said.

“And yet, you are not wrong,” Ozpin whispered.

Qrow looked guilty, biting his lip and sticking his hands into his pockets. “No, Glynda’s right; that was out of line. I’m sorry, Oz; I know that … I know you do what you have to do, just like I know that, for some students, joining up with you is the best thing that ever happened to them.”

And for others the worst, Ozpin thought. For every Qrow, there was a Raven … or a Miss Shimmer: someone who faltered and failed in the face of the burden that he placed upon them.

“I don’t have the right to lecture you about how to treat Penny, so I won’t,” Ironwood went on, “but … if it could be somehow arranged for her to stay close to Team Sapphire, at least at first, until she makes other friends, then I would take it as a personal favour.”

“That is not so easy,” Glynda said.

“But we will see what we can do,” Ozpin assured him. “After all … after all we ask of these students, these children, to try and ensure that they are happy and comfortable when they are not in battle with the world at stake … that seems like the very least that we can do, does it not? As it is with Miss Polendina, so it is with Amber. She is a Maiden, she is a Maiden who has been wounded and sundered from part of her power, she is … condemned to be a target of Salem until she dies. Letting her have her young beau is really little enough.” Compared with what I have asked of her, it is nothing at all.

There was the chiming of a little bell, and the elevator door opened.


With six people inside, the elevator up to Professor Ozpin’s office was definitely crowded. One might even go so far as to call it overcrowded.

Or one could just call it cramped, which it absolutely was, especially when five of the six people inside were trying to give Amber as much space as possible so that she didn’t feel too hemmed in.

Not that it was possible not to feel a little hemmed in in a place like this.

Sunset was turned partly side on, so that she could press her shoulder against the closed lift door without worrying about her tail getting caught in said door when it opened — if only because she was holding her tail out of the way with her free hand. She turned her head somewhat, but not too much, since she didn’t want to get her hair caught in the door either, to look at Amber.

Amber was in the very centre of the elevator; everyone was trying to make room for her, yet nevertheless, she was hunched up, shoulders bent and drawn in, hands clasped together in front of her, head down.

“It won’t be too long now,” Sunset assured her, although it seemed to her that the lift was taking longer than normal to grind its way up to the top of the tower. “It won’t be long, and we’ll be out of here.”

“And with him,” Amber murmured.

Sunset frowned. She knew exactly who ‘him’ was, everybody knew that she was referring to Professor Ozpin, but … Sunset didn’t know how to get Amber to stop feeling this way.

Pyrrha … well, Sunset hadn’t actually spoken to Pyrrha about this, but Sunset had the impression that Pyrrha, and probably Jaune too, felt that Amber was justified in feeling as hostile as she did towards Professor Ozpin.

Probably because they felt pretty hostile towards Professor Ozpin at the moment themselves. Sunset could not deny that they had cause to feel that way; what Professor Ozpin had been prepared to do to Pyrrha was … regardless of the emergencies of the situation, it had been a pretty monstrous thing to contemplate. It was not the sort of thing that Princess Celestia would have done.

No, Sunset could not blame Pyrrha for being a bit miffed about it, even if she had been willing to go along with it for the greater good; nor could she blame Jaune; it was a lot to ask that someone take almost losing the love of their life with perfect equanimity and no smouldering resentments at all.

But Amber … Amber had been … regardless of what mistakes Professor Ozpin had or had not made with Amber, Sunset could not help but think it would be better for both of them if they were to reconcile. It had been better for Sunset when she had made up with Princess Celestia, after all; she had felt less angry afterwards, less melancholy, less abandoned, less … less many negative things. She had regained a mentor, a confidante, a tireless figure of wisdom, authority, and patience whom she could approach for advice at any time. Someone she could trust to be there for her, no matter what.

Amber would benefit from having someone like that in Professor Ozpin. To be perfectly honest, almost anyone or everyone would benefit from having someone like that in their life, but in the immediate context of their present situation — and hers — Amber would certainly benefit from having someone like that in Professor Ozpin.

It was just a matter of how to make her understand that.

It was also a matter of whether Amber was receptive enough to the message that Sunset ought to risk it; Professor Ozpin had made a good point that if she pushed too hard, then she might jeopardise Amber’s trust in her. If Amber came to believe that Sunset was Professor Ozpin’s woman, set to be not her guard but her gaoler, then it would make things more difficult in the near term.

And yet, it itched at Sunset to just leave things like this; it stuck in her craw, knowing what she did, knowing how much it would help Amber to mend fences with the man who had taught and tutored and helped to raise her. It was difficult to simply see this situation, far from ideal for all concerned, continue unchecked.

There was a difference between allowing people the liberty of their own thoughts and opinions — such as allowing Pyrrha and Jaune their cooled feelings towards the headmaster — and not doing anything to help someone who needed it.

“He…” Sunset hesitated. “Professor Ozpin is not a monster.”

“What if,” Amber began, “what if he tries to take me away?”

“I won’t let that happen,” Dove declared.

“I don’t think Professor Ozpin will do that,” Sunset said. “In fact, I’ll go further and say that I’m sure he won’t, at least not right now.” She paused. “But, Dove … you do realise that Amber can’t stay here at Beacon for four years, right? Or even for the next three? People would start to ask questions.”

“What are you saying, Sunset?” Amber asked.

“I’m asking Dove if he’s prepared to leave this school to go with you, wherever you go,” Sunset explained. “Because it’s likely that you’ll be going somewhere sooner or later. Somewhere secret and safe.”

“'Safe'?” Amber repeated. “Where is safe now, in the whole world?”

“I’ll go wherever Amber does,” Dove said. “It will … it will be a wrench to leave Lyra and Bon Bon behind, and I don’t know how they’ll continue on as a team of two, but … I won’t leave you again.” He reached for her hands, taking one of them inside his own. “I’ll never leave you again.”

Sunset nodded. “Good boy, that’s the right answer.”

“Family first, huh?” said Ruby.

Dove’s cheeks flushed a little. “Well, I … I mean, we’re not … but I suppose you … could say that.”

Sunset grinned. “Your teasing game is getting better, Ruby.”

“But I wasn’t teasing anyone,” Ruby replied.

“Yeah, you were; you just didn’t realise it,” Sunset said airily, the smile remaining on her face.

Amber didn’t seem teased in the least. She seemed to relax a little more, her shoulders loosening and losing some of their hunch, a smile of her own spreading across her face. Not a grin, like Sunset wore, but a soft smile, a gentle one, although with a touch about it that some might call coy. She placed her free hand on top of Dove’s.

“Family,” she whispered.

Pyrrha’s smile was small but noticeable.

Amber’s brow furrowed somewhat. “What will I do when you’re not around? Do you … this is a school, isn’t it, and I can’t … I don’t think that I want to join you in your classes—”

“We don’t have classes at the moment,” Jaune explained. “The school year has ended, and we’re … we’d be on break, except that the Vytal Festival is about to start, so we’ll need some cover for that—”

“Vytal Festival?” Amber repeated. “What’s a Vytal Festival?”

“You don’t remember what the Vytal Festival is?” Ruby asked.

“Amber might not have ever known,” Sunset pointed out. “She did live in the woods. You didn’t have a television, did you?”

“No,” Amber replied. “Everything that I know about the outside world comes from … from Ozpin.”

She didn’t even start calling him ‘Uncle’ Ozpin this time. That’s not good.

“Very convenient for him,” Dove muttered.

“It’s not like that,” Sunset said.

“Then what is it like?” Dove asked.

“It’s like … I don’t know, I wasn’t there, but you do the man wrong; he’s not a monster,” Sunset insisted.

“Amber,” Ruby said, “you have woken up at just the right time; the Vytal Festival is going to be terrific. I hope it’s going to be terrific anyway. It should be. There are going to be parades and dances and parties—”

“Really? That all sounds lovely,” Amber said. “And you’re going? Can we go, Dove?”

“That’s something that we can certainly talk about once we get up to the office,” Sunset said.

“And if he says no?” Amber asked. “That’s it? I’m a prisoner?”

“No, of course not,” Sunset replied. “It’s just—”

The bell chimed, indicating that they had reached the top floor.

“Oh, thank goodness for that,” Sunset muttered, shuffling backwards as the doors to the lift opened up, not catching Sunset’s hair or tail or anything else about her.

They exited, as quickly as they could without spilling out, walking across Professor Ozpin’s office, passing beneath the shadows of the grinding gears of the clock above, to stand before the headmaster’s desk.

Amber stood in the centre, with Dove at her right hand side; they were still holding hands. Pyrrha stood on Amber’s left, with Jaune by her other side. Sunset stood to the right of Amber and Dove, with Ruby upon the far flank of the group.

Professor Ozpin sat behind his desk, his lieutenants arrayed around him: Professor Goodwitch at his right hand; General Ironwood upon his left; Qrow Branwen standing off to one side, arms folded, his back reflected in the tinted glass of the office windows.

Beyond said windows, one of the newly arrived Mistralian battleships could be seen hovering just beyond the cliffs, its nose and all the considerable armament of its forward battery facing their way. Bullheads seemed to be rising up towards it in some numbers; if Sunset had to guess, she would say that it was the Valish crew being taken up to their new ship to learn the ropes.

It would have been easier to do that in a dockyard, surely.

But in a dockyard, they wouldn’t look as imposing, and Vale wouldn’t look as safe.

She focused her attention on Professor Ozpin as he smiled. “Thank you all for coming so early; I’m aware that the dining hall hasn’t even opened for breakfast yet, but I wanted to get everything straightened out before the wider student body has a chance to come across Amber.” He paused a moment. “Good morning, Amber.”

Amber did not look at him. “Good morning,” she murmured, with a brittle quality in her voice that the politeness of her tone sounded strained already.

“How are you?” Professor Ozpin asked. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“I’m fine,” Amber said quickly. “Last night was fine.”

That was a lie, although perhaps only a little white one: Amber’s night had not been fine last night; she had slept, but fitfully, tossing and turning and moaning in her sleep, waking Sunset and the others up at various points during the night to hear her. None of them blamed her for it — after what she’d been through, it was hardly surprising that she was tormented by nightmares — but as it had not been restful for them, so Sunset doubted that it had been restful for Amber.

It was exactly the sort of thing that it would have been good for Amber to speak with Professor Ozpin about, if she could only have brought herself to trust and love him as she once had.

Perhaps Sunset would talk to him about it anyway, without Amber knowing; he could get her some sleeping pills or something.

The smile faded from Professor Ozpin’s face. “I see,” he murmured, pushing his glasses further up his nose closer to his eyes; the light seemed to glint off of them, hiding said eyes from view, concealing what might be found there. “I am … glad to hear it.”

Amber shivered.

“Are you cold?” Professor Ozpin asked.

“I’m fine; stop asking me,” Amber snapped.

Professor Goodwitch looked embarrassed. General Ironwood seemed to be staring a few inches over Ruby’s head at the wall at the back of the office, or perhaps the elevator door — and wishing he were inside it — anywhere but at the people in the office with him.

Nobody spoke.

Until Qrow said, “So, you’re the boy, huh?”

“If you mean me, then yes, I suppose I am,” Dove replied. “And you are?”

Qrow ignored that, saying instead, “Well, I can’t say I’d let you date my nieces; you look a little boring to me. But I guess I thought the same of their dad, too.”

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby said reproachfully.

“Uncle?” Dove asked.

“What, I’m just messing with the kid; you know I love your dad,” Qrow said breezily. “I just don’t get why so many cute girls go for these basic boring losers. Like that guy over there.” He gestured at Jaune with one hand.

“Qrow!” Professor Goodwitch snapped.

“I’m trying to lighten the mood! Gods know that this place could do with it, don’t you think?” Qrow declared. “They get that.”

He looked at the students.

Pyrrha was glaring at him like a beowolf that has just spotted its next meal.

“Tough crowd,” Qrow muttered. “All right, all right, I’m sorry; I’m sure your boyfriend’s a really nice guy; just forget I said anything.”

He huffed, and took a drink from his flask.

“'Uncle'?” Dove repeated.

“I’m sorry about him,” Ruby said. “He can be a little, uh … yeah.”

“Shall we proceed?” asked Professor Goodwitch.

“By all means,” Professor Ozpin said. “Thank you, Glynda.”

Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat. “Thank you all for coming,” she repeated. “We are here to discuss the arrangements for Amber’s security for the foreseeable future. At some point, more permanent arrangements will be put in place, but for now, certainly for as long as Amber remains here at Beacon, then the dispensations made today will stand. Mister Bronzewing.”

“Yes, Professor?”

Professor Goodwitch looked at him over the top of her spectacles. “You are aware of Amber’s … condition?”

Dove nodded. “I am, Professor.” He frowned. “I’m also aware that both you and Professor Ozpin knew all about where Amber was when I asked, and you both lied to me and said that you didn’t know anything.”

“Should we have told you the truth?” Professor Ozpin asked. “Knowing what you know, that Amber was in critical condition having been attacked for her powers, can you honestly say that we did not act in Amber’s best interests by keeping the knowledge of her whereabouts a carefully guarded secret?”

“I wouldn’t have blabbed the news all around the school,” Dove replied. “What reason would I have to do that?”

“You might have told Miss Heartstrings and Miss Bonaventure,” Professor Goodwitch replied. “Or Miss Xiao Long, your own team leader at the time. And who might Miss Heartstrings or Miss Bonaventure confide in? The risk was too great.” She paused for a moment. “Mister Bronzewing, a great trust has been placed in you with this. Not many are privileged to know what you know. I happen to believe that you are worthy of that trust, but I would hate to be disappointed in my assessment of you.”

Dove breathed in, and out. “I promise you, Professor, I promise all of you that I’ll do whatever I can, whatever I have to do, in order to keep Amber safe. You have my word on that.” He paused a moment. “I take it that means that you don’t want me to tell Lyra and Bon Bon—”

“No more than any other student ought to know,” Professor Goodwitch said, quickly and a little sharply. “That Amber is Professor Ozpin’s niece and that she is staying with Team Sapphire for a little while. You must not tell Miss Heartstrings or Miss Bonaventure anything about the Fall Maiden.”

“They might still wonder why you told me you didn’t know anything about her,” Dove pointed out.

“You may blame us if you wish,” Professor Goodwitch replied, “or say that we did not believe the Amber you were looking for to be our Amber. Either way, they are not to know about magic, or Maidens, is that clear? I want your word on that, Mister Bronzewing, upon your honour. Amber’s safety may depend upon it.”

Dove bowed his head. “Upon my honour, Professor, you have my word. I will not breathe a word of it.”

“Thank you, Mister Bronzewing,” Professor Ozpin murmured. “I am glad to see you understand the magnitude of all this. For what it may be worth, little enough though that may be, I am sorry that we had to deceive you. I took no joy from it, and Professor Goodwitch especially took none. We did … what was best for Amber. Although you may not believe it, Amber, we have always tried to do what was best for you.”

Amber said nothing. She barely seemed able to look at Professor Ozpin.

“Thank you, Professor, for letting us tell Dove the truth, now that Amber is awake,” Sunset said, glancing at Amber and at Dove. Maybe you could try for a little gratitude?

“Yes, thank you for not lying even more,” Amber muttered.

Sunset closed her eyes and tried to suppress a wince. I walked right into that one, didn’t I?

Professor Goodwitch ploughed on. “For the time being, Amber will remain as a guest in Team Sapphire’s room, where she will sleep.”

She waited a moment as though she expected Dove to object.

“We’ve already explained to Dove why that is for the best, Professor,” Pyrrha supplied helpfully.

“Thank you, Miss Nikos,” Professor Goodwitch replied. “Until Professor Ozpin decides otherwise, Amber should be accompanied at all times by a member of Team Sapphire, at least one member of Team Sapphire. When no member of the team is available to guard her — such as during your participation in the Vytal Tournament, which we have neither the desire, nor perhaps even the means, to deny you — then Miss Shimmer, you will be responsible for ensuring that other arrangements for Amber’s security are made.”

“Yes, Professor,” Sunset said. “May I ask what other arrangements will be considered satisfactory?”

“Dash or Belladonna will be fine,” General Ironwood said. “Or Penny, for that matter.”

“In a pinch, you can ask me for assistance,” Professor Ozpin said, “and I will have Qrow watch over Amber for a little while.”

Amber gave a little sniffing squeak, as if the idea alarmed her.

Sunset found that she couldn’t wholly blame her, Ruby’s uncle or not; quite apart from her distaste for how freely he used that flask, there was also the fact that … well, he didn’t look much like a gentleman, did he? Much as he might be at a loss for why girls like Pyrrha and Amber might be drawn to kind, courteous, and considerate men like Jaune or Dove, so too Sunset couldn’t think for the life of her what anyone in their right mind would see in a pirate like Qrow. She found herself fighting the urge to curl her lip into a sneer and call him ‘bandit scum’ or something.

“And … me, Professor?” Dove asked.

Professor Goodwitch’s mouth tightened. “I’m afraid, Mister Bronzewing, that we cannot trust you with this on your own.”

Dove swallowed, but otherwise kept any sign of disappointment that he felt to himself. “No,” he said softly. “No, I suppose not. I understand.”

Whatever you said to him last night, Jaune, it seems to have worked wonders.

Professor Goodwitch nodded. “It would also be for the best if Amber did not leave the school grounds for the time being.”

“Not leave?” Amber gasped. “So I am trapped here?”

“It is for your own protection,” Professor Goodwitch said.

“And your control!” Amber snapped.

“Professor,” Sunset said, taking half a step forwards. “If … if I may … regardless of the wider concerns, Benni Havens is only just outside the school grounds, so at the very least, an exception might be made there.”

“True enough,” Professor Goodwitch allowed. “Very well, Miss Shimmer.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Sunset said.

“I don’t—” Amber began.

“Amber, please,” Sunset said, looking back at her to cut her off. “Trust me, okay?”

Amber hesitated a second. “I trust you,” she murmured.

Sunset nodded and smiled at her, before turning her attention back to Professor Ozpin and his allies. “And, well, Professor, with the Vytal Festival soon to be upon us, and hordes of tourists soon to descend upon the school grounds for the fairgrounds and in between matches … is the school really going to be so much safer than the city of Vale?”

“The school grounds will be guarded and patrolled by my forces,” General Ironwood reminded her.

“Isn’t the city also under your protection, General?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, but I don’t have troops on the streets of Vale or controlling the entrances and exits,” General Ironwood replied. “It will be much easier for Cinder to slip into Vale than it will be for her to slip back into Beacon.”

“Nevertheless, the best guarantee of Amber’s security will be our presence,” Sunset said, “and she’ll have that whether she’s in Vale or at Beacon.”

Professor Ozpin hesitated for a moment. “I … I am sorry,” he said, “I know that this confinement is not to your liking, but with the present unsettled state of Vale, it is too great a risk.”

The present unsettled state of Vale is a reason why it would be good if we had Maidens who could go out amongst the people and inspire them to do better, Professor, Sunset thought.

“But Amber will miss some of the best parts of the Vytal Festival!” Ruby cried. “Yeah, she’ll be able to watch the matches and go to the fairgrounds, but there’s so much more to it than that. Right, Uncle Qrow? You remember, that time when you and Dad took me and Yang, and you got us those tickets to watch the final.”

Qrow smiled wryly. “Yeah. Yeah, Oz got me those tickets. That was … that was a good day.”

“That was a good few days,” Ruby said, “because I remember the time that we spent in Vale just as much, just as vividly, all the things that we did and the places we went, everything that was going on … it was the most wonderful time, the best time I’ve ever had in Vale, one of the best anywhere. I think … I know it’s dangerous, but so much is dangerous right now, I think that it would be good if … if Amber were to have a chance to make those wonderful memories before she has to hide again. I think she deserves that after everything she’s been through.”

“Perhaps,” Pyrrha began, “perhaps security in Vale could be stronger than it is at Beacon? Perhaps if two of us were to accompany Amber in the city, as opposed to just one on the school grounds?”

General Ironwood bent down and whispered something to Professor Ozpin; Sunset couldn’t make out everything he said, but she was sure that she caught the word ‘cage’ in there somewhere.

Professor Goodwitch furrowed her brow, but Professor Ozpin nodded.

General Ironwood straightened up once more.

Professor Ozpin said, “General Ironwood reminds me that misguided efforts at protection and safekeeping can do more harm than good. Therefore, I will permit Amber to be escorted into the city of Vale—”

Sunset smiled. “Thank you, Professor—”

“When escorted by all four members of Team Sapphire,” Professor Ozpin went on. “Or by Qrow. There will be no other circumstances in which I permit this, no exceptions, and you are to stay close by Amber at all times until you return to school. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Professor,” Pyrrha said. “Perfectly.”

“At the moment, this applies before the start of the Vytal Festival,” Professor Ozpin went on. “Whether it is extended to cover the Festival itself remains to be seen.”

“You mean, if it all goes okay beforehand, you’ll allow it?” asked Ruby.

“Yes, Miss Rose,” Professor Ozpin replied. “It depends entirely on you.”

Ruby nodded. “Then we won’t let you down, Professor. You won’t regret it.”

“I hope not, Miss Rose,” Professor Ozpin said heavily.

Amber opened her mouth, then closed it without speaking. She licked her lips, took half a step forwards, or began to but then hesitated. She put one hand to her chest, above her heart. “Uh … Ozpin,” she murmured.

Professor Ozpin looked at her. “Yes, Amber?”

“Thank you,” whispered Amber.

Professor Ozpin’s expression resembled a flower long cast in shadow that has just felt the sunlight on it once again for the first time. It was like watching him bloom and blossom before their eyes, his eyes, his whole face brightening.

“You are very welcome, Amber,” he said.

Sunset smiled as she looked down at the floor.

You know, maybe, just maybe, they’re going to be okay.

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