Word of the wise: don't take a nap when it's update day. You tend to subsequently forget, then go play RWBY Dungeons and Dragons that a friend created. Sorry about missing update day yesterday! Hopefully you all don't hunt me down and castrate me in front of the RoosterTeeth headquarters.
To say Daniel was shocked would be like saying Mountain Glen was perhaps a mistake.
He thought for sure he was dreaming. That he'd somehow managed to fall asleep, and the events of the afternoon were nothing but a strange dream. He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, tasting blood. He didn't abruptly wake up in his bed, so that meant this was real.
He couldn't believe it. Someone was offering to give him an Aura? He didn't even know that Aura could just be 'given' to someone, much less that a lowly freshman going to a different school would qualify.
"Um, come again sir- General sir- sir General- sir?" Daniel stumbled, unsure how to address the head of the largest military organization on the planet.
General Ironwood chuckled at Daniel's reaction. "Mr. Ironwood will do for now, son." He turned around and focused his attention on Professor Ozpin. "I didn't know you picked them this timid Oz," he said, "I certainly hope they're up to scratch for the Vytal tournament next year."
"Well, I imagine Mr. Grigio didn't expect a famous General to offer him such an opportunity today," Professor Ozpin replied, "I would be more surprised if he wasn't a bit taken aback."
"Sorry sir, I-" Daniel paused and took a deep breath, composing his thoughts. "I just didn't expect, well, this. I mean, how is this possible?"
"Until recently, it wasn't," General Ironwood admitted. "However, several months ago, a team of researchers funded by Atlas made several interesting breakthroughs in Aura studies. Using these breakthroughs, there is a procedure developed that we believe can give you an Aura."
Slowly, Daniel was realizing that this wasn't a joke, but instead was the real thing. He was actually being offered an Aura!
Daniel's face was evidently showing signs of astonishment, as General Ironwood smiled slightly after seeing his expression. "I assume by your expression that you are interested?"
"I, yes! Of course sir, Mr. Ironwood!" Daniel hastily replied, mustering up the best smile he could do in his sleep deprived state. "I just, wow! How, how did you come up with a procedure so quickly?"
General Ironwood cocked his head to the side, seeming to think over his words carefully. "Unfortunately I can't delve into the specifics just yet; the project and results are still top secret. What I can say is that the procedure we have in mind was derived from a project the researchers in question are now conducting. I personally discussed it with them, and they tell me there is a very good chance that the procedure will be successful."
Daniel took a deep breath to compose himself. "Mr. Ironwood, thank you so much for this opportunity. I graciously-"
"Daniel," a cautionary voice rang out. Surprised, Daniel turned to Professor Ozpin, whom had been so quiet that he had honestly forgotten was there. "This isn't a decision to be made lightly. I discussed the agreement with General Ironwood before calling you here, and there are some points you need to consider before agreeing outright."
This made Daniel pause. While the offer was initially good enough to agree to outright, Professor Ozpin's hesitation was enough to make him think twice. He turned back to the hologram of General Ironwood on Professor Ozpin's desk. "What points is he talking about sir?"
General Ironwood cast a glance over at Professor Ozpin, but answered Daniel's question. "Well to begin with, this is an untested procedure. We don't know how your body will react, and quite frankly, it could be fatal. There's also the issue of compensation."
Daniel frowned. "Compensation? If it's money Mr. Ironwood, I don't think I can repay-"
"Daniel, in return for funding your procedure, General Ironwood has asked for your transfer from Beacon to Atlas Academy," Professor Ozpin answered.
Daniel felt like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. He gasped for breath, trying to fill his lungs once more. "Leave Beacon sir? I can't do that! I'm team leader of team Dandelion!"
"Which is one reason why I am very hesitant to allow your transfer," Professor Ozpin admitted. "However,"
"However there are protocols Huntsmen Academies put in place should a team member no longer be able to attend," General Ironwood finished. "If you choose to go through with the procedure, your team will be taken care of."
Daniel clenched and unclenched his fingers as he nervously sweated, trying to weigh his options. On one hand, he wouldn't be so defenseless anymore. Every time he'd been in actual combat, he'd either had teammates who could actually use their aura, or he'd been knocked around until the voices took over and he ended up attacking both friend and foe. Having an Aura could mean an end to the voices, an end to being kicked down by his foes!
But on the other hand, getting an Aura meant loosing everything he'd gained at Beacon. He'd met friends that he'd give his life for, and they were willing to do so to rescue him! Something like that, he didn't know if he could, or should, give up.
But at the same time, being able to wield an Aura,
"Daniel, as much as I would like to see you at Atlas, I do agree with Professor Ozpin," General Ironwood said, interrupting Daniel's thoughts. "This is a very big decision, and I wouldn't want you to make a rash choice you might regret later."
Daniel let out a breath and relaxed slightly. If he didn't have to make his decision now, he could talk to his teammates. They'd probably tell him to stay, but it would still be good to hear their thoughts. He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but stopped when he saw General Ironwood furrowed brow. He seemed to be contemplating a thought.
"Oz, I don't suppose I could convince you to let me borrow Daniel this weekend?" General Ironwood asked, "I would be more than happy to arrange a tour of the campus, and give him an idea what Atlas is like."
Professor Ozpin took his time to answer General Ironwood's request. There were several times that Daniel thought his headmaster was about to say something, but changed his mind at the last moment. Finally he took a long sip from his coffee mug and looked at General Ironwood's hologram. "I don't see why not. If Daniel is agreeable, I will alert Daniel's professors, and order a ticket on the next flight to Atlas."
General Ironwood laughed. "No need Oz. My trip, my treat. I'll send an Atlesian craft to pick him up. What do you say, Daniel?"
Daniel walked back to his dorm, thoughts swirling through his head as he tried to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of his options. Distracted by these thoughts, it wasn't until he was inches away from the student that he realized they were about to collide. Daniel instantly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a collision. As he turned back around to apologize, he was abruptly faced by a much larger student towering over him.
"Hey, you're that kid without an Aura, aren't you?" the student asked. "Danny, right?"
"Uh, I prefer Daniel but yeah," Daniel corrected.
"Yeah, Daniel. Pretty weird name for a Huntsman, am I right? Then again," the student said as his voice dropped an octave, "You're a pretty weird kid, aren't you Daniel?"
Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by the student when he put a finger to his lips. "Listen Danny boy, me and some of the other students here have been talking. We're looking out for your safety, you know. Guy like you who doesn't have an Aura could get hurt as a Huntsman. Thats why we don't really feel Beacon is a good fit for you."
Daniel face contorted into a mask of confusion. "What, what do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Well you see Danny boy, you not having an Aura makes you a helluva lot like the Grimm, who don't have Aura either. And we're training to kill the Grimm. So," the teen leaned in close, and Daniel automatically backed up, "The longer you stay here, the more likely one of us is gonna mistake you for a Grimm, and have a little accident. Capishe?"
"Capishe," Daniel answered. He had no intention of following this guy's demands, but he was willing to say anything to get him out of his face.
"Great!" the student said, abruptly backing up. "Glad we had this conversation Danny boy. I'd hate to see a fellow student get hurt." He slapped Daniel on the back, and Daniel stumbled forward from the force of the blow, gasping in pain as he clutched his chest wound. The student began walking towards the elevator, calling out over his shoulder, "See you around, Daniel!"
Daniel stood still for a moment, then peeked over his shoulder to be certain that the student wasn't about to sneak up on him while he wasn't looking. Only when the elevator doors closed on the student did Daniel breathe a sigh of relief. That guy had seriously freaked him out. Daniel wasn't sure if he was being hostile, or just generally creepy. But surely he wouldn't actually try and hurt Daniel. Right?
Daniel suddenly found it very important to get back to his dorm as soon as possible, which he did so immediately.
"Yes Ma, I'm fine," Nick whispered into his scroll grateful that Professor Goodwitch had come back to repair their broken window. Otherwise he'd never be able to be heard with his whisper of a voice. "I told you, I've been busy at Beacon. Yes Ma, I've been eating. No Ma, I'm not sick." Nick listened to his scroll for a moment before sighing exasperatedly, which for him sounded like sandpaper on gravel. "Ma, I told you already; I sound different because someone stabbed a damn knife in my throat!"
on the other side of the room, Dakota and Lewis sat on Daniel's bed watching their teammate swing on his hammock while trying to speak to his mother. It was something to be marveled at; Nicholas Ochre was visibly flustered, and the conversation had been going on for less than a minute.
Dakota smiled slightly as Nick held his scroll away from his ear as his mother's voice raised several decibels, and he was actually able to pick out several phrases. She was yelling something about Nick getting into fights, how she'd tan his hide if he got expelled, and how he'd better've won or else he'd be a disgrace to the family name; losing to some city kid. As Nick tried to explain how he'd gone in to save a friend, and that technically the group won, Dakota leaned over to Lewis. "Poor Nick," he murmured. "Getting blindsided like that; no man deserves such a fate."
"Yeah," Lewis said, slowly shaking his head. "His mom is freaky man. We should rescue him or something."
"Yes well, I think we've done our fair share of rescuing this semester," Dakota said as he repositioned himself on his bed into a more comfortable position. "Let Daniel do the honors this time."
"I don't know man," Lewis said as he watched Nick enter a violent coughing fit, and his mother yell that he was sick and that he was hiding it from her. "Daniel's been gone a while. What if he doesn't come back? What if Professor Ozpin expels him, or Atlas picks him up to continue Glas' experiments? We could never see Daniel again!"
Dakota shook his head. "Doubt it. One, Daniel still has stuff in here. I know it's not a lot," he said, glancing over at Daniel's replacement backpack, and the clothing drawers he knew were virtually empty compared to some of the others, "but he'd still come back for it. Two, where the hell you get Atlas coming to experiment on him?"
Lewis opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the rattling of the doorknob. It turned, and Daniel strode into the room, casting a glance over his shoulder before closing the door behind him. Nick saw his chance and pressed the scroll to his ear once more. "I got to go Ma. Leader walked in. Yes Ma, I'll call more. Ye-yes I'll try cough drops. I love you Ma. Tell Thomas to go f- sorry Ma. Bye." Nick ended the call and let the scroll slip from his grip and clatter to the floor. He let out a long gravelly sigh punctuated by several coughs as he slid further down into his hammock, pulling his hat over his face.
Daniel glanced over at his teammate, frowning slightly in confusion. "Um, do I want to know what that was about? Or who Thomas is?"
Dakota waved his hand. "Nah, you had to be there. So what's up? Ozpin didn't kick you out or anything, right?"
"Or Atlas trying to experiment on you?" Lewis asked nervously.
Surprise flashed over Daniel's face, and he eyed Lewis, trying to read him. "How did you," he began, "nevermind. I'm fine. Totally fine. Fine as can be, really."
Dakota and Lewis looked at each other, mentally arguing who should be the one to ask. After several seconds of debate, Dakota rolled his eyes and turned to face Daniel. "So, what did Professor Ozpin want?"
"Not much really," Daniel admitted. "It was more for another Headmaster. General Ironwood from Atlas. Wanted to do a procedure that would give me an Aura if I left Beacon and went to Atlas instead."
The room was completely silent. Even the crowd outside seemed to have died down. Dakota and Lewis looked at Daniel, mouths open in pure shock. Nick threw his legs over to the other side of his hammock, and tried to say something, only to be unable to make any noise besides a dry wheeze. He shoved his hands into his pocket to pull out his pencil and notepad. He scribbled roughly onto a sheet of paper, tore it off, and strode over to hand it to Daniel.
WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?
"I didn't agree if that's what you're thinking," Daniel answered after reading the note. "It was tempting though."
His three teammates let out breaths they hadn't realized they were holding, and visibly relaxed.
"Don't ever drop something like us again, and not immediately clarify," Dakota begged. "I am way too damn young to die from a heart attack."
"I knew you wouldn't leave us," Lewis said, "The spirits said you still have an important role to play."
Nick flipped to a fresh piece of paper, and wrote out another note, this time much slower. Daniel read it, and looked at his team. "Okay, seriously; Lewis was the only one who was positive I didn't say yes? You guys really don't have much confidence in me, do you?"
"Well, it's an Aura dude," Dakota said. "If I didn't have an Aura either, I'd be pretty damn tempted myself. How were they going to even give you one?"
Daniel shrugged "No clue. Mr. Ironwood said it was all classified, or something like that." He strode over to his dresser, and began pulling out clothes, tossing them onto his bed next to Dakota and Lewis. The two of them quickly stood up and moved aside as several of Daniel's underwear landed where they were sitting moments before.
"Wait, I thought you said no?" Dakota asked, suspicion written on his face.
"I did," Daniel answered as he compared two pairs of jeans before selecting the one with no holes and tossing it on his bed. "Mr. Ironwood offered to show me around Atlas. Figured I should get out of Beacon for a weekend, so I said yes."
"That is so cool man!" Lewis exclaimed. "I've like, always wanted to go see Atlas Academy from the inside!"
"Yeah, and with you gone, the crowds might dissipate," Dakota added. "Hell, I might even get a good night's sleep! When do you leave?"
Daniel paused in his packing. His shoulders slumped, and he replied in a much lower voice. "I leave tomorrow afternoon. Should give you at least two, maybe three nights if you're lucky."
Dakota pumped his fist in celebration. "Hell yeah!"
Daniel ignored him, and returned to packing. Lewis went over to their shared closet and pulled out Daniel's school uniform, which he handed over to Daniel. "Here you go man. Dress for success."
Nick grabbed a bottle of water from his nightstand, and drank deeply from it. "Dress for cold too," he said in a whisper of his usual whisper. "Atlas is colder than a Schnee at a-" Unable to continue, Nick burst into a fit of coughs, and had to turn away from the others.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Daniel murmured. "Wish I had a coat or something in case my uniform doesn't cut it. I could probably borrow that wool cap Lunare has again, but I wonder if he'd-"
Daniel was interrupted by Nick shrugging off his large brown duster, and placing it in Daniel's hands. Daniel looked at it in surprise, awkwardly murmured thanks, then placed it next to his school uniform. "Right," he sighed as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything."
"Toiletries?" Dakota suggested helpfully.
"Sleepwear?" Nick whispered.
"Earplugs in case the crowds follow you to Atlas and continue protesting?" Lewis offered.
Daniel groaned in exhaustion. "Gods I hope not. I need this vacation."
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