“Coco, we’re going to be late,” Velvet said. It wasn’t a whine, because whining was bad and Coco got really annoying when she thought Velvet was whining about something. Not that it would stop Coco from whining about literally anything at all.

The rules that applied to everyone did not apply to Coco Adel. That was the very first thing that Velvet learned when she met her partner’s eyes in that forest all of a month ago.

Coco sighed, adjusted Velvet’s beret (which was still sitting atop her head and which she refused to give back) and pushed her glasses back up her nose with a forefinger. “Bun Bun, it is vitally important that we present ourselves the right way,” she said while gesturing at her reflection in the window of a bakery. “Our client expects the best, so we need to look the part.” She glanced over at the two boys in the group. Fox’s hair was a dishevelled mess, red curls poking out in every direction, and Yatsuhashi’s combat suit was splattered in mud up to his shins. “Okay, so maybe I’m the one that has to look presentable. To make up for the rest of my lovely team.”

“Coco,” Velvet said for the millionth time. She could feel her long ears drooping, more so when she noticed all the people staring at their team. This wasn’t Vale, so the streets weren’t exactly packed, but they still stood out a lot.

Her team’s first mission, an event that was supposed to be super important in building bonds and teaching them how to work together--at least according to Miss Goodwitch--wasn’t going so well.

It wasn’t that they didn’t work well together. Coco was a great fighter and a really cool leader, the kind of person Velvet wished she could be. The boys were also pretty great, if a little too macho for her tastes. Fox was like a cool older brother, and he was a spectacular fighter even with his disability, while Yatsuhashi was a little strange, but not in a bad way.

No, that wasn’t it. The problem was probably Velvet herself. She... she wasn’t sure she was cut out for the life of a Huntress. Most of their sparring ended with her on the mat, even when the others went easy on her, and while her team was made up of the most awesome people, some of the other students weren’t so nice.

But then, they were far, far away from Beacon right now, out on their first ever real mission. A mission that was supposed to be led by Professor Peach. A mission that was supposed to be fairly easy and straightforward. A mission that they were going to fail before it even really began if Coco didn’t stop preening before the bakery window.

“What’s she doing?” Fox asked, one eyebrow perked as he faced more or less the direction where Coco was trying to arrange her combat dress so that it was perfectly stylish. She was wearing a beige and brown ensemble today, to better stick out from the trees or something.

“She is attempting to make herself more presentable,” Yatsu said. “Not that there is any need for such.”

“Not just presentable,” Coco said, and Velvet could hear the amusement in her voice. “I’m trying to look fashionable."

“Aren’t we in Patch?” Fox said. He turned his head left and right as if that would help him narrow down where he was.

Velvet had to agree with the sentiment. She was all for looking cute--though not to the extent that Coco was--but their mission was going to take place in the forests around a tiny settlement. It was hardly worth being all prettied up for it. Also, the people of Patch were mostly down to earth and they probably didn’t know how to appreciate Coco’s fashion sense.

Fox sighed. “C’mon Coco, you already look beautiful, let’s just go?”

“How would you know that I’m hot?” Coco asked. Her glasses slid down her nose so that she could pierce their teammate with a look. Velvet swore she was going to learn how Coco did that one day.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Yatsu said, sounding very wise until he noticed his mistake. “Or, er-, I mean beauty cannot be judged objectively, for what one person finds beautiful or admirable may not appeal to another.”

“Nice save,” Fox said, his blank eyes rolling. “And I never said you were hot,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but I still am,” Coco said as she finally abandoned her spot by the window and sashayed past Velvet and Fox. “C’mon, we’re going to be late.”

“I’ve been saying that the whole time,” Velvet said as she jogged to catch up to Coco. The sparse crowds on the sidewalk moved aside as Coco approached and she saw more than one young man give Coco a double or triple take.

She felt her cheeks warming as a few glanced her way, that was, until Yatsu moved up between the leers like a tall imposing wall of beefcake that happened to carry a sword. The staring stopped.

“So with whom shall we meet?” Yatsu asked.

Coco gestured a ways down the street to a tall brick building with a big clock tower on its side. It looked imposing, all grey and dark and old. It was pretty obvious that the building predated the Colour Revolution by quite some time. “The mayor.”

“The mayor?” Velvet squeaked.

Just by the way Coco moved her head, Velvet knew that she’d rolled her eyes. “Yeah. We’re not meeting the council, Bun, just the mayor of this backwater, no need to get your lacy underwear in a knot.”

“I don’t think we had to know that,” Fox said.

“Know that we were meeting the mayor?” Yatsu asked.

“That Velvet’s underthings are lacy,” he clarified.

“I was trying to give you a way out,” Yatsu said.

Coco snorted. “Poor Fox, the only way he’d ever learn about the laciness of Velvet’s underwear is if he felt them up.”

“Coco!” Velvet screamed. She felt lightheaded and just knew that she was burning up.

Coco’s laughter echoed down the street, boisterous and loud. She slowed down just enough to wrap an arm around Velvet’s shoulders. “Poor Velvet, I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for you too, Fox, you don't know what you’re missing. Bun Bun’s got buns.”

“Coco,” Velvet repeated, though this time it was more of a whimper. It only got worse when Yatsu made a noise that could only be an agreement. She turned blazing eyes on him, containing all of the fiery anger of a candle in a rainstorm. “Not you too!”

Yatsu at least had the good grace to look sheepish.

Her further mortification was saved when they reached the big building that turned out to be the town hall and were ushered to the mayor’s office.

There were two people in the room. One was a shorter woman that looked a bit like Glynda Goodwitch, though much softer and not nearly as stern. The plaque on her desk read ‘Mayor Grey’ in bold letters. The other was a middle aged man with a beige shirt and cargo shorts. He smiled at them, revealing perfect teeth and a pair of startling blue eyes that were both amused and encouraging.

“Ah, you must be the team from Beacon,” the mayor said. “I’m Danielle Grey, mayor of Patch, and this gentleman is Taiyang Xiao Long from Signal.”

“Hello, kids,” Taiyang said.

Velvet felt her blush returning as he gave them all a warm, welcoming look. She tried to slide behind Coco to hide a little.

Then Coco ruined her plans. “Damn. I wouldn’t mind you teaching me a thing or two,” she said as she ogled the man up and down.

Both Yatsu and Fox pressed their hands against their faces, but Mister Xiao Long just burst out laughing. “Oh, you remind me of my daughter!” he said.

Coco’s next words, whatever they might have been, came out as a sputtering cough and she gave the man the kind of look Velvet had seen wet cats give to the hose that had splashed them.

The mayor gave them a smug if rather flat look. “Yes, we’re all very fortunate to have Mr. Xiao Long here. Now, I for one have things to take care of. Shall we get to business?”

“Yes please,” Velvet said for the group since Coco was still sputtering.

The Mayor reached across her desk and tapped a pile of papers with one manicured finger. “We have been receiving reports of... strange Grimm sightings deeper in the forests across town. As you may be aware, Patch is a relatively small community, and as such we don’t have the same infrastructure as, say, Vale. Our walls are small and half of our citizens live outside of the city proper. Most can hold off against a single Beowolf and the island is well patrolled. We don’t usually have too much trouble. A few deaths every year, but that’s life on the frontier.”

“But these new Grimm are changing that,” Yatsu said.

The mayor nodded. “Exactly.”

“Grimm,” Mr. Xiao Long started. “All Grimm have unique ways of fighting. Usually we see Beowolves and the occasional Ursa. Folks around here can handle themselves well enough. A decent rifle with some dust rounds will do the trick, and Signal, that’s the school I work at, often has groups of older students go out on patrols around Patch. If a bigger group is spotted an actual Huntsman will get rid of it. That has worked for such a long time because we all know how to deal with the Grimm that are there. These new sightings, on the other hand...”

“So you need us to capture them?” Coco asked. “You want to study these new Grimm, or just confirm what sort of Grimm they are?”

“Clever girl. But no. Capturing a Grimm, even a smaller one, isn’t something I would want to leave to a group of Huntsmen and Huntresses in training.” He smiled as though to soften the blow to their pride. “If they are a known type of Grimm then we might be dealing with a migration. But if they really are new, then we’ll need some images and a good idea of how to handle them in the field. That’s where you come in.”

“I’m assuming,” Yatsu said, “that these Grimm aren’t widespread?”

The mayor nodded. “Most sightings have been to the northwest, in the more forested areas.”

“I was told that one of you has experience with photography?” Mr. Xiao Long said.

Velvet realised that he meant her and she raised her hand like a student in a classroom before blushing faintly and lowering the hand. “Um, yes, I do.” She lifted the camera pressed against her chest as though to prove her words.

“Brilliant,” Mr. Xiao Long said while shooting her a wide grin. “Could you take a few pictures for us?”

“C-certainly,” she replied.

“So that’s it?” Coco asked. “Walk around, find some Grimm, take some pictures and maybe kill a few, then come back?”

“That’s the whole of it,” Tai-Yang said.

Coco shifted her hip to one side and grinned. “Sounds easy,” she said.