Tuesday, 8th April, 79AGW.

Training Field B, Beacon.

3:11 pm.

Lima rejoined the group a little bit later than was acceptable.

“Lima!” Teak said, surprised, “Where did you go?”

Goddammit, he’d almost snuck in.

“Mr. Morta, where have you been?” Professor Goodwitch said archly, glancing up from her tablet on his arrival.

“Sorry, miss,” Lima said awkwardly, “I got lost, first week, and all you know?”

“I might have believed that if I hadn’t seen you sneak away a few minutes ago,” Professor Goodwitch said suspiciously.

Well shit, maybe he wasn’t as sneaky as he’d thought; lucky for him, he no longer had the need for secrecy-at least in this regard.

“I was checking where the Vytal Festival was being held this year,” Lima said sheepishly, in a rare bout of honesty.

He could practically see Lux’s face light up in understanding from where the rest of his team was standing, only meters away. He’d dodged a bullet there; it was coming to Vale this year, thank god-he ended up panicking for no reason.

“Interested in participating this year?” Goodwitch said curiously, “There is going to be a lot of fourth years entering-the competition won’t be simple.”

Well, he wasn’t interested in joining at all, but she was the combat instructor; he might be able to get out of this without punishment. Lux was also staring at him with a gaze that might as well turn him to stone if he dared to say no.

“Absolutely,” Lima said immediately, “You’ve trained us well, and now Team Malachite is going to win the entire thing, guaranteed. I’ll make you proud, Bestwitch.”

He could almost feel Weiss’s outrage and did his best to keep a confident smile on his face.

“I haven’t taught you anything yet,” Goodwitch said dryly, not even bothering to correct him this time. “I’ll look forward to seeing you participate then.”

“Now that we are finally all here, we can get started,” Goodwitch said clearly, “Today, we will be engaging in some targeting training exercises, focused specifically around an escort and protection mission.”

A simulated mission, huh?

“Hunters are often tasked with escorting civilians with expertise in specific fields; usually, the tasks involved finding rare resources outside of the safe sections of the cities,” Goodwitch explained easily, “You’ve probably heard about some of the essential or in-demand plants species from Professor Peach.”

Goodwitch scanned the group over the top of her glasses before continuing.

“There are also times when civilian contractors are needed to scout or evaluate locations for both public and private expansions, maintenance on radio towers, irrigation, waterways and numerous other things that a hunter is most often untrained to do,” Goodwitch said pleasantly, “In this case, the Hunters are employed as a protective detail to keep the clients safe from both Grimm, and opportunistic criminals while they perform the required task.”

Lima had experience with exactly one of those escorts and how badly things could spiral out of control when the Grimm become involved; it hadn’t been a pleasant memory at all.

“Now, today we will be simulating those situations in microcosm, two teams will be selected to oppose one another,” Professor Goodwitch said pleased, “The defensive team will be placed at a disadvantage, as they will choose a single member of there own team to protect from being captured by the offensive team-this ‘civilian’ will not be allowed to participate in the fighting at all.”

Lima already knew which team he wanted to be on, and it solved the biggest issue he was currently facing.

“The mission will conclude once the civilian is captured, the defensive team is rendered unable to continue, or the offensive team is subdued,” Goodwitch said clearly, making sure they all understood the rules of engagement, “Aura is of course set to twenty-percent depletion for disqualification-now who would like to be the on the defensive teams-and please select your civilians.”

“Shotgun being the civvie,” Lima called immediately, and Goodwitch noted it down on her tablet.

“I’m the weakest,” Teak mumbled, “Shouldn’t I be the civilian?”

“Nope, I want to show off my glam fam, can’t do that if I’m too busy kicking everyone's asses,” Lima laughed before wiggling his eyebrows. “-and yes, Teak, you’re obviously part of my harem.”

Claire snorted at the ridiculous claim before noticing the flustered look on Teak's face, and it quickly turned into laughter. Lux just stared at him with narrowed eyes, apparently seeing past his distraction with relative ease.

Damn.

“Why don’t you want to fight?” Lux demanded. “We should have been the offensive team.”

Lima scratched the back of his head for a moment before showing off his empty hands weakly.

“Stop leaving your weapons in the lockers!” Lux cried in outrage. “I thought that’s why you snuck away earlier! To go get them!”

“A civilian doesn’t need weapons, idiot!” Lima returned fire passionately, “Imagine being a hunter and not knowing that-”

“Shut up!” Lux said angrily, face red. “You know what? I used all of your shampoo this morning.”

Lima’s mouth dropped open in shock; that’s why her hair was looking so bright!

“Motherfucker!” Lima was accused at the top of his lungs.

“Mr. Morta! Please refrain from using that language in my class.” Goodwitch snapped.

He flailed impotently for a moment, avoiding the woman's sharp gaze.

“This isn’t over bright-eyes,” Lima mumbled. “You’ve crossed a line-prepare yourself.”

“Don’t worry, I’m already prepared,” Lux smirked, “I washed my hair and everything.”

This. Bitch.

Tuesday, 8th April, 79AGW.

Training Field B, Beacon.

3:47 pm.

When Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang returned, their clothing was dirty, but they also looked smug. Team Cardinal, the defensive team, didn’t look nearly as happy about the outcome. Professor Goodwitch followed them out of the forest, tapping away on her tablet.

“Very good,” Goodwitch said, pleased, “A good attempt by both teams, the numbers advantage seemed to be an issue for the escort team, but you managed to keep your civilian protected for a significant amount of time even if you were eventually overcome.”

“When do we get to be the offensive team?” Cardin asked, scowling.

“Next Tuesday, we will be out here again; the team roles will be reversed,” Professor Goodwitch smiled, “Okay, the next two teams are Team Malachite on the defense, and-Team Juniper on the offensive.”

“Hah! Dodged a bullet there; good luck with Pawpaw idiots.” Lima teased his teammates, striding over to stand next to the treeline.

Pyrrha looked up at the nickname and gave them a sheepish smile; Jaune looked like he was trying to psych himself up. Ren was as tranquil as he always seemed, but Nora was-disconcertingly-staring right at him with her face scrunched up.

Yikes.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t be the civilian?” Teak mumbled.

Claire tossed an arm around the boy's shoulder.

“I don’t think it matters too much,” Claire laughed, “I mean, we are definitely going to die.”

Teak gave the girl a nervous look, at her proximity or the comment Lima wasn’t sure. Lux, annoyingly enough, looked even smugger than she had before as she was dealt an immediate rematch against one of her chosen rivals.

“Why couldn’t we fight a team without the invincible girl?” Teak said weakly, “Isn’t this a bit too much?”

Pyrrha looked embarrassed at the comments and was holding her hands to her cheeks to hide the flush. Lima was about to add some more spice to the situation when he was viciously assaulted.

“Hey!” Lima cried as Lux grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him into the forest, “I’m a civilian dammit, treat me with some dignity!”

“Malachite, situate yourselves in the forest,” Professor Goodwitch said dryly, “Juniper will be sent in after you in five minutes time; fight well.”

Lima pouted as Lux continued to drag him back into the trees.

“What’s our plan?” Lux said seriously, “Teak?”

“U-um,” Teak squeaked before shaking his head. “I need a minute to think.”

They fell silent, the only sound being the footsteps and the sound of Lima’s shoes skating over the ground behind them.

“We can’t win a straight-up engagement against them,” Teak said quietly, “With Lima out, Lux is our strongest fighter, and even if she fights Pyrrha, that leaves Claire and me to fight off Jaune, Ren, and Nora while trying to stop them from taking Lima.”

Lux nodded but remained silent.

“So straight-up combat is out; our best bet is to either stealth, an ambush, or deception.” Teak continued, eyes flashing around to study the environment.

His eyes paused on the two grooves that Lima had inadvertently caused by refusing to stand up; it would lead the other team straight towards them.

“I have an idea.” Teak said quietly.

Tuesday, 8th April, 79AGW.

Training Field B, Beacon.

3:59 pm.

Lima cracked an eye open as his scroll beeped.

“This was a pretty good idea,” Lima said, impressed, “I love not having to do anything.”

Teak gave a startled laugh.

“That’s why you wanted to be the civilian in the first place,” Teak accused, “You forgot your bow on purpose!”

“Guilty,” Lima admitted sheepishly, “But still, it seems to be working.”

Teak just huffed before ducking his head.

“I feel bad,” Teak confessed, “It feels like Lux and Claire had to do all the work.”

“Lux will be happy either way, honestly,” Lima predicted, tapping the other boy's foot with the toe of his own. “Either it works, and she ‘beats’ Pyrrha’s team, or it fails, and she gets to fight Pyrrha’s team-you made her day, really.”

Teak kicked him back with a smile.

“Claire seemed pretty amused by it as well; how about when she grabbed you earlier?” Lima grinned before cupping his hand to his ear. “Oh! Is that wedding bells I hear?”

“Stop trying to embarrass me,” Teak flushed, “Claire’s just friendly.”

“If you say so, buddy,” Lima teased before letting him off the hook. “How long do you think this will take?”

“Not too much longer; they will catch up to them long before that,” Teak admitted, “Lux wasn’t exactly running, but Juniper will be.”

Teak’s scroll beeped, and they both looked down at it. Each of the four members had linked their scrolls up to keep track of everybody's aura levels. Claire’s Aura just dropped by half, and within seconds it had fallen all the way down to twenty percent.

“Looks like they caught up to them,” Lima snickered.

“Poor Claire,” Teak mumbled nervously. “I hope she’s not mad.”

“Nah,” Lima said, amused, “Give her some credit.”

“Your right,” Teak said, smiling, holding his hand out. “Come on, Lima.”

Lima took the offered hand and followed the shorter boy out of the treeline, only meters away. The other teams in their class were still seated around the field in groups, talking or waiting for their own turns.

“They got you, huh?” Ruby said sympathetically.

Lima shrugged and sat down next to her, pulling Teak down with him.

“Hey!” Teak squawked, managing to catch himself.

“Serves you right,” Weiss said snootily, “I overheard you earlier; you forgot your weapon again? How embarrassing.”

“Don’t be too hard on him,” Yang laughed, “He did manage to get Nora, remember?”

“Hmph.” Weiss huffed.

Blake spoke up, one of the few times he’d heard her do so outside of direct questions.

“Did you manage to defeat any of the others before they got you?” Blake said curiously.

“Um,” Teak said awkwardly, looking to him for help.

Lima just grinned.

“Not sure really,” Lima said, smiling, “They got Claire about a minute ago; how is Lux doing?”

Teak angled his scroll so they could see; Four bars signifying the Aura of each member were displayed. Claire’s bar was crossed out, signifying her defeat; Lux’s was at about sixty-percent and dropping quickly.

“Is she fighting them all at once?” Ruby said, impressed.

“Lux is probably having the time of her life,” Lima admitted, “She’s obsessed with fighting people.”

“Sounds like someone I’d want to be friends with,” Yang said confidently. “We should all hang out sometime; last time was fun.”

Ruby was staring at her sister in awe, most likely impressed by her confidence.

“Sure, you can tell me all your other embarrassing secrets,” Lima said easily, “I’m totally down, Teak?”

“Um, it sounds like fun.” Teak said quickly.

They watched as Lux’s bar hit the threshold and was disqualified.

“Unlucky,” Yang laughed. “She lasted a while, though.”

“Lima,” Blake said suddenly.

“Yep?” Lima said, smirking; she’d noticed.

“Both of you have still have full Aura,” Blake said, frowning. “You haven’t lost yet.”

Weiss snatched the scroll from his outstretched hand, and he let it go without issue.

“She's onto us, Teak,” Lima stage whispered, “Quick, ask her out or something!”

“Lima!” Teak squeaked, looking at her in mortification. “I’m sorry!”

Blake looked a little taken off guard by the sudden comment.

“It’s fine,” Blake said, flustered.

Yang started laughing as she realized what they had done.

“You tricked them somehow!” Yang snickered, “Do they think you're still in the forest?”

“Most likely,” Teak smiled.

“Wow!” Ruby said, amazed, “Wait, what if you get in trouble?”

“Why would we?” Lima studied her curiously.

“Um, well because,” Ruby added, scrambling, “-You left your teammates behind? Isn’t that kind of mean?”

Lima nodded in understanding, and Teak rubbed the back of his neck, looking guilty again.

“We saved the civilian-which was our only stated objective,” Lima shrugged, “Obviously, we wouldn’t sacrifice our teammates in a real scenario; we aren’t that cold-blooded. Lux wanted a good fight, Claire wanted to win, Teak wanted to impress you girls-”

“That’s not true!” Teak squeaked, flushing again. “Don’t listen to him!”

Yang winked at the boy, and Teak just about melted into a pile of goo, stuffing his face in his hands to hide.

“What did you want?” Weiss said sharply.

Despite the tone, it was the least amount of hostility she’d shown him in a while.

“I wanted to take a nap,” Lima admitted honestly.

Weiss twitched at the answer.

“Oh, for the love of-” Weiss snapped.

Tuesday, 8th April, 79AGW.

Training Field B, Beacon.

4:07 pm.

Lux and Claire were both smiling brightly, despite being entirely covered in sticks and leaves.

“The conquering heroes return!” Yang called out, “These two were just telling us about your noble sacrifice-nice work.”

“Thanks, Yang.” Claire laughed, “I got my ass kicked, though.

Yang motioned for her to sit down, and the two girls were soon having a rapid conversation and grinning at each other.

“Teak, that was the best idea ever,” Lux smirked, brushing some of her hair out of her face. “You’re definitely making all the plans from now on.”

“I feel bad you had to do all the work,” Teak said, guilty, “I should have come back and helped you two.”

“Hey, I agreed to the plan because I liked it,” Lux laughed, dragging the short boy into a headlock. “I don’t know why you’d feel bad; that was fun.”

“How long do you think they are going to be in there?” Ruby asked curiously, “Shouldn’t someone go tell them?”

Claire leaned forward for a moment, peeking around Yang.

“Goodwitch found us on the walk back,” Claire said, smiling, “We told her what we were doing-she’ll bring them back if they don’t figure it out.”

Unfortunately for team Juniper, they kept on diligently searching the area, and Goodwitch had to tell them what had happened.

“You guys suck,” Jaune whined as he spotted them sitting on the field. “Why have you done this?”

“Sorry,” Claire said, giggling. “It was pretty funny, though.”

Nora was dragging her hammer behind her with a sad look on her face, while, once again, Ren looked completely unmoved by the situation. Pyrrha approached them, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Pawpaw, your face is red!” Lima grinned, “Couldn’t find what you were looking for?”

Pyrrha covered her cheek with her hand for a moment before laughing at her own embarrassment.

“It was a good trick,” Pyrrha said happily, “Whose idea was it?”

Lima immediately threw Teak under the bus.

“The smartest Faunus in our class-” Lima declared; Strangely enough, Blake seemed to flinch. “-Nay! The world! The galaxy brain himself, Teak! I told you he wanted to match his wits against the Invincible Girl!”

Teak flopped over onto the ground, hiding behind Lux, who patted him on the leg. Pyrrha giggled at his embarrassment.

“Well done, Teak,” Pyrrha said happily, “I’ll have to take you more seriously from now on.”

“Please don’t.” Teak mumbled, still hiding.

“Your teammates are very skilled,” Ren said calmly, “We had quite the task in taking them down.”

Lux practically preened.

“I wanted to hit you with my hammer,” Nora complained.

“That’s my hammer you’re talking about!” Lima argued, reaching out towards it.

Nora hopped back and crossed her arms in front of her in a cross-shape, an attempt to ward him off like some kind of evil spirit.

“Stay back, you demon!” Nora cried dramatically.

Lima snatched his hand back wearily, feigning intense pain.

“Stop that!” Lima hissed, holding his arm up to block the sight. “You’re going to give me a sunburn!”

“See Ren!” Nora said gleefully, “I knew it!”

The calm boy turned to glance at his friend.

“I don’t think he's a demon, Nora,” Ren said, amused.

“He definitely is,” Teak mumbled.

“He’s not even crispy yet!” Nora cried, “We need more power!”

“I’m helping!” Ruby cheered, throwing her own warding symbol up to help.

Weiss just sighed.