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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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SCWR Short: “Diamond in the Rough”

Series: SCWR Shorts Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language) Takes Place: During Volume 1, between Episodes 3 and 4 Summary: (1,589 words) “After an unforeseen schedule change, Haddy finds himself with an afternoon off. Deciding to use his time wisely, he tries to navigate the confusing halls of Beacon Academy to find a weapons lab to tune up Sleigh... instead, he finds two of his classmates...”

Why must Beacon Academy be set up like a maze? Never in his life did Hadrian think he would ever miss the rigid, overly organized, structured planning of Atlas… but here he was, turning corners in vain as he wandered around like an idiot. All he wanted to do was tinker around with his rifle, but that meant having to find the Weapons Lab, which was hidden away somewhere within the bowels of the Huntsman Academy…

It was a Friday, but his afternoon classes had been canceled after Mrs. Heather and her assistant, Mr. Port, were called away to deal with a minor grimm attack outside the city. Robyn and Ryder were playing videogames in their shared dorm and Monroe claimed she had some errands in Vale that needed attending, leaving just after lunch. So, he was free to finally roam and explore, deciding that the first thing on his list was to try to buff out some of the scratches on Sleigh’s stock.

After finally finding a holographic map that he could download to his scroll, Haddy could navigate to his target… on the fifteenth floor. No wonder he couldn’t find it.

Opting out of the stairs, Hadrian stepped out of the elevator and into the hall. It was the same as every other hallway in Beacon, but the classroom doors were spaced further apart from one another. He peeked into the first open door he saw, finding a large, open training room with a complex, aerial obstacle course; that could be fun to try out later. With a smile, he continued on, reading each nameplate as he passed.

As he came closer, he could hear voices in conversation. Hadrian’s shoulders slumped as he quietly sighed, he’d really hoped that he’d have the Lab to himself. It sounded like only two people. If the Lab was as large as the other rooms on this floor, he could probably just sneak in and take a station in the corner.

“... I’m just saying, Golden Boys makes more sense…” one voice said with a very slight, but deeper drawl.

There was a chuckling scoff as the other voice, much more beautiful and smooth, but definitely also masculine, “That could be for any of us. That could be our whole team’s nickname for all we know. Chatterley’s Knights sounds so much more sophisticated.”

“Did you even read that book?” the deeper voice asked, exasperated, seemingly offended by the mere suggestion.

“Of course not,” the other laughed, “That’s what I have you for…”

There was a brief pause, before the deeper voice flatly said, “You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

“Mmmm… if you lose your train of thought, we can leave.”

By this point, the husky had reached the door to the Lab. It was cracked open, allowing the sound to roam free– and entry if his feet would move– but Hadrian just stood outside dumbly staring at the door with a raised brow. He knew the voices inside, they belonged to one of his quite popular classmates and said classmate’s teammate. However, the tone they were using made him question whether or not they’d welcome him in right now…

The deeper voice purred back, “If that’s your plan… you know so many better ways to make me lose my mind…”

Okay. Nope. He was not doing this today.

Hadrian turned on his heel to walk back to the elevator in embarrassed silence. He hadn’t even taken a step before his scroll went off, the loud cawing of Qrow’s text message alert screaming through the crystal quiet hallway. He froze, tensing up as he refused to turn his head back towards the now silent Lab.

After a long moment, the deeper voice muttered under his breath, “Shit…”

“You can come in,” the, now embarrassed, softer voice said.

With a short grumble of his own, the dark-haired faunus pushed his way in through the open door, sticking his hands as deep into his pockets as he could as soon as he was inside, letting the heavy door close behind him. A few stations into the Lab were two blond boys. Gene Aurum and Lambert Aur of Team GOLD. Lambert was sitting in a roller chair, his katars disassembled on the workbench in front of him. They were out of his reach as Gene was sitting on the table blocking his view.

Lambert was slightly shorter than Ryder, but almost as lanky as Hadrian. He was very well toned with tight, compact muscle built to dance around foes and deal blows rather than avoid them despite his height. He had his arms crossed against his chest with a thin-lipped frown scowling his face with lines. He had shoulder-length, curly, dusty blond hair that he usually kept tied up in a tiny, high ponytail with the rest flowing down.

Gene, on the other hand, was drop-dead gorgeous. He was easily the most popular guy at Beacon because of his stunning beauty and charm, not to mention his fighting capabilities. His blond hair was brighter and a tad longer than Lambert’s, usually held up elegantly with a braid or two thrown in. His skin was tanned and flawless. Average height, a body sculpted from marble, and thighs that Ollie would have KILLED for. He usually wore a small amount of makeup to brighten his already stunning face, highlighting his killer cheekbones, jawline, and beautiful amber eyes.

Had Hadrian not found out about “Diamond in the Rough” before he met Gene, he would have died at the mere sight of him. It did make his heart ache just slightly from time to time when he saw him in class though.

Like, seriously, the man looked like how Haddy imagined a male version of Aphrodite would look.

And that wasn’t even getting into the model of a man’s personality and charm. How could one person be so perfectly beautiful, both on the inside and–

Focus. Bi-panic later.

He must have been lost in his thoughts a LOT longer than he thought because both of the golden boys were staring at him with crossed arms now. Haddy quickly motioned back towards the door and stammered out, “I was just coming to do some work, but I don’t want to interrupt, so I’ll just be going…”

“Wait!” Gene called, reaching out to stop him, “Uh, would you do us a favor and… not mention this to anyone?”

Lambert scoffed, throwing his head back before he flicked it over to Gene and harshly stated, “Oh c’mon. Of course, he’s gonna tell. He just transferred here, he has absolutely no friends or street cred, no life– I mean, seriously, it’s a Friday afternoon and he’s in the Weapons Lab– and now he has the world’s biggest scoop on the most popular dude in school? We’d be lucky if the whole school, Ozpin included, didn’t know before dinner.”

“A. Ow,” Haddy stated, a little dumbfounded by the blond’s bluntness, “B. Rude. C. I’m not a dick, I’m not gonna out anyone. D. What do you mean no life? You’re here too, and you have a freaking boyfriend you could be out on a date with right now–” Which got a short, hardy laugh out of Gene, “– And E. Why does it matter? Everyone already knows?”

Again, Lambert snorted in irritation, “Wow, you really are new here. Dude, no one knows.”

He felt his brow furrow as he turned to Gene. The handsome blond nodded, agreeing with his boyfriend as he hopped down from the table, “I appreciate that you won’t say anything, but, Lamb’s right. Ru and Doron– our teammates– don’t even know.”

Hadrian stared in disbelief for a beat-and-a-half, almost letting his jaw drop, before he quickly snapped back to reality and explained, “You– You guys do know my dorm is right beside yours, right? We share a wall.”

“Yeah?” Gene replied, confused, “What does that have to do with anything?”

Again, the husky just gaped for a minute before he stated the obvious, “Uh, I live with Monroe.”

He watched in slight amusement as all the color drained from both their faces instantly, realizing that Monroe had probably known for a LONG time about their relationship given her semblance. Lambert quickly stammered out, “Cade wouldn’t say anything! Hell, she didn’t say anything to us.”

“Yeah, but, we share a room with Robyn and Ryder too.”

“Oh shit.”

Hadrian smiled softly, adding, “I know I haven’t been here for too long, but I’ve been here long enough to know that Robyn has an extremely hard time not talking, and Ryder isn’t very good at keeping secrets...”

Lambert ran a hand through his hair as he sighed, “We are so screwed…”

“Um,” the husky added, “If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure it’s just our class that knows.”

“That would explain why Pygmy stopped hitting on me in second year…” Gene muttered.

“... And why Doron and Rupert never seem to bother us on a date night…” Lambert added.

With a smile, Hadrian turned back to leave the pair to grapple with the fact that their secret relationship was the worst kept secret in all of Beacon, pausing as he looked back and said, “Oh, and it’s not Golden Boys or Chatterley's Knights, by the way.”

When the blonds looked up, Haddy smirked, “It’s Diamond in the Rough. That’s what we called you guys…”

Without another word, he walked out, catching Lambert’s drawl just before the door closed, “Wait. Who’s the Diamond and who’s the Rough??” followed by Gene’s howling laughter.

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raebaekaedae · 1 year

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Volume One, Episode Seven: “Extracurricular”

Series: SCWR Rating: PG-13 (Foul Language, Violence against Fantasy Monsters, Violence, Death Mentioned, Prominent Themes, Themes of Racism) Summary: (3,583 words) “Finally healed and ready to return to action, Hadrian ends up trapped underground with Ryder after an extra credit mission goes awry. With no where to go but up, the boys will have to work together to escape the cavern crawling with Creeps. However, Haddy’s unsure of what will kill him first... the grimm or his awkward attempts to get to know his quietest teammate.”

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How could one person be so heavy? Hadrian heaved along with Ryder's torso thrown over his upper back, securing him by his scaled arms as his cheek was pressed into Haddy's shoulder. Sweat, iron, oil, and moldy dirt bombarded his nose. He could feel his fellow faunus's feet dragging along the ground, but he really couldn't help that Ryder was a solid six-and-a-half feet tall. His first day without that stupid sling in over a week, and he had to spend it trapped underground in a musty cave caked in a mildewy smell.

His scroll was secured in his teeth with the flashlight pointed forward, feebly trying to illuminate any obstacles; however, it was mostly just making annoying shadows that obscured said obstacles. When he stumbled over yet another loose rock, he let out an echoing growl of irritation. The sound reverberated quietly off the walls of the cave, slowly disappearing into the darkness behind them.

Haddy grumbled as he readjusted Ryder's weight on his back, pushing on into the cave system. As he sighed once again, he thought back to a few hours ago, before all this happened.

"Field trip!" Robyn excitedly shouted as she jumped up into the air with her arms and legs spread. Ryder caught her on her way down and set her back on the ground with a roll of his yellow eyes.

Monroe sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she asked, "Really? On the weekend?" The other students gathered around the student message board all groaned, some of the older fourth years and even bolder thirds even started to walk away.

"Welllllll, not exactly," the redhead drew out, snatching the flyer from off the poster board and reading it over, "It says here that Mrs. Heather is offering extra credit for each picture of a different grimm that you can take with your scroll by the end of the day."

"Sounds like a pain," Monroe said, linking her fingers behind her head as she sighed.

Hadrian, however, walked up behind Robyn and started reading the flyer over her shoulder. After a moment, he smirked, "It's worth it though. Ten points on your choice of attendance, test, or participation per grimm."

When Monroe again didn't look enthused, the husky faunus nonchalantly expanded, "It'd be perfect for three, unnamed students who skipped out on a class covering regional grimm-- in which their valiant leader had to cover for and tutor them-- and they lost precious attendance and participation points in said class, dropping them to B-averages."

The blonde pirate looked over at Haddy with a raised brow and judgmental frown. Ryder, however, chuckled as he walked over and started to look over the flyer as well. After a moment, the trio looked back to their secret leader and dug into her with shit-eating grins. Monroe huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes before also joining them to read the instructions.

She pouted as she glanced over the flyer, "If we want to get our grades back up to A's, we'll each need four grimm; two for attendance and two for participation."

"No problemo," Robyn chirped with a smile, "We can easily grab an Ursa, Beowolf, and Boarbatusk in the Emerald Forest."

Haddy rubbed his chin as he thought, "Yeah, but what about the last one? Sure there are Deathstalkers and King Taijitu out there, but they're pretty rare. How about a Nevermore?"

"Too quick and small," the blonde replied, "Goliath?"

"The closest herd is out by Mount Glenn, too far to get there and back before sundown," Hadrian sighed. When his teammates turned to look at him with surprise in their eyes, he nervously laughed, "I might have done a little research after our Goliath fight."

With a laugh, Robyn jumped up and ruffled Hadrian's hair. As he batted her away and started to smooth out his hair, Ryder spoke up, "What 'bout a Creep?"

The trio looked at him, before weighing their options. Monroe remarked, "They are indigenous to the Forest..."

However, Robyn quickly added, "We'd have to split up though. They're usually found underground."

"Not a problem," Haddy smiled, standing on his tiptoes to wrap an arm around Ryder's scaled shoulders, "Ryder and I can go spelunking while you guys find the easy shots."

He honestly just wanted a chance to bond with his fellow faunus...

Almost immediately, Robyn and Monroe looked at each other. He could have been wrong, but the husky was sure that he'd seen concern in their eyes. However, before he could ask, Ryder nodded, "Sound's good t' me."

Robyn hesitated before she reached a hand up to Ryder's forearm and asked, "You sure, R?" The brutish armadillo only nodded.

"Okay," Monroe decided, clapping her hands together before continuing, "Everyone's got their roles. Just make sure to grab pictures from four different angles so we can each use them for the credit."

As his mind cleared and returned to the present, he was reminded of the girls' behavior at Ryder's mention of going underground. He didn't seem apprehensive or frightened, but then again no one suspected his fear of Beowolves until he was half-dead in a field needing to be rescued. His pale eyes turned back to his friend as he slept.

They'd just entered the narrow of the cave when the Creeps came burrowing out of the walls. He didn't have time to even activate his semblance before the ceiling was caving in. If Ryder hadn't thrown himself over top of him, he'd have surely been crushed. Unfortunately, the scaled faunus hadn't been so lucky. Just as the tremor was dying down, a rock struck him in the back of the head and knocked him unconscious... His aura must have broken or gotten too close to it from the debris without Haddy noticing.

He cursed himself briefly for having to be saved, again, before he sighed. At least that meant that he had people who cared about him. As if on cue, Ryder started to rouse as a soft groan echoed through his chest. Immediately, Hadrian stopped, looking back at his friend as he lowered him to the ground. As he leaned back against the cold, damp cave wall, Ryder rubbed his head.

"Wha' happ'n'd?" The armadillo asked, his faunus eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light.

Haddy sat down indian-style in front of him, propping his elbows up on his knees as he finally took the light from his mouth. He worked his sore jaw for a moment before answering, "The Creeps took out the structural support and caused a cave-in. I think we fell down a level or two."

Ryder sighed and leaned his head back so that it rested against the stone wall as he stared up at the ceiling for a moment. Haddy examined his expression as the same emotionless look stained Ryder's face. After a moment, the armadillo faunus stood up and offered his partner a hand. With a half-frown, the husky joined him.

Without much more, Ryder headed off in the same direction Hadrian had been heading while he was unconscious. Quickly, the husky joined him, shining the light from his scroll ahead in the cave. He watched as Ryder silently examined the cave walls while walking down the claustrophobic corridor. He almost had to lean down so that his head didn't scrape against the jagged ceiling.

Against his better judgment, Haddy swung his arms back and forth awkwardly and slowly drew out, "So... Ryder..."

The scaled faunus glanced back at him, wordlessly signaling that he was paying attention. Hadrian instinctively looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "Uh, 'Roe and Rob seemed... kinda... hesitant about you coming down here..." The husky swallowed hard as Ryder remained quiet.

After a moment, he shrugged and turned back forward, explaining, "Yeah..." Ryder briefly paused before sighing, "My paren's died in'a dust mine when I w's a kid."

Great freaking job, Hadrian.

"Oh," he replied with a squeak in his voice, "I'm, uh, sorry to hear that..."

"I's all good, man. Not'chur fault..." Ryder answered solemnly, continuing to lead them through the cave system.

The pair of boys walked in silence for a few minutes, Hadrian too afraid of bringing up any more awkward topics of conversation and Ryder being his usual, quiet self. However, being left alone with his thoughts brought another question to Haddy's mind. He waited another moment or so before he took a deep breath and tested the waters again.

"You're from Menagerie, right?" He asked. When Ryder nodded in response, the husky quietly remarked, "There, um... aren't any dust mines in Menagerie..."

"Tha's right..." the armadillo replied after a moment, still not turning around to face his friend.

Hadrian was more than willing to let it go, but after a moment Ryder took a deep breath and sighed, "I grew up 'n Menagerie, but I w's born 'n Mantle, like you..."

The husky swallowed the lump in his throat as Ryder came to a stop and leaned back against the cave wall while he crossed his arms.

Haddy halted as well and listened as his quiet friend explained, "My folks weren't 's bad off 's alot'a tha people down 'n Mantle, but'cha know... i's still no Atlas...

"When I w's born, they both start'd workin' f'r tha Schnee Dust Comp'ny. Got trap't in'a cave-in. Coron'r said they prolly died as'a result'a tha residu'l dust 'xplodin'. I don't rememb'r nuthin' 'bout 'em, 'cause I's sent t' live with my uncles 'n Menagerie right aft'r. I w's two."

With a sigh and shrug, Ryder finished, "So, y'know... Cade an' Robby 're less th'n happy when I 'ave ta go und'rgroun'..."

Hadrian listened intently, hanging on every word until he was done. After a minute to collect himself, Haddy asked, "And you're not?"

Again, Ryder only shrugged before replying, "Not really... d'dn't kill me, so I ain't worried."

"That's..." Hadrian started, unable to find the right word.

"Morb'd?" The scaled faunus chuckled. Haddy could only slowly nod in response, so Ryder continued, "Y'know, if ya worry 'bout ev'ry lil' thin' that happ'n'd t' ev'ryone, you'd b' scar'd'a ev'rythin'. Sometime's ya jus' gotta leave tha past 'n tha past or it'll drag ya down in tha pres'nt..."

Something about that struck a chord in Hadrian. Honestly, it reminded him a lot of some of the wisdoms that Tadashi used to tell him and his team in bleak moments. Tall, kind-hearted, stoic, and quiet... he could see the similarities between the two. They could have been great friends in another life. Ironically, they would have had a lot to talk about.

As the boys' short break came to an end, Ryder pushed himself off the wall and motioned for Haddy to follow him. They followed the light from their scrolls through the damp cave system. They were walking on an incline, so it was assumed they were headed back towards the surface. After about another ten minutes of silence, Haddy couldn't take it anymore.

"Why'd you wanna be a Huntsman anyway?" He asked curiously.

They were walking side-by-side at this point, so Hadrian could clearly see the smirk and cocked eyebrow as Ryder smiled, "It w's eith'r th's 'r a dust mine."

The husky laughed, "Oh, so you've got jokes now?"

"Figur'd s'nce I told ya my 'trag'c backstory', I'd light'n up," Ryder replied, still smirking.

Hadrian chuckled as the armadillo elaborated, "I dunno, really. Just seem'd like tha right thin' ta do. I'm strong, an' I'm able t' prot'ct people. So... Huntsm'n Acad'my 't was..." Ryder paused as he looked down at the fluffy-tailed faunus and asked, "What 'bout you?"

"Well..." the husky started, rubbing the back of his neck, "I had this exaggerated idea of what being a Huntsman was as a kid. I thought it was all adventure, glory, and money... and growing up with nothing... well, it just seemed like a dream come true. Honestly though..."

He paused, shaking his head before solemnly repeating, "It really was either this or a dust mine..."

Ryder silently listened as he continued, "Leon-- my brother-- and I crafted our weapons based on designs that our dad left behind before he disappeared doing the job. We didn't use them to fight grimm so much as to hunt and keep our mom fed. We would sell the pelts for more ammunition, but after that we weren't left with much... if any. It wasn't going to work in the long run.

"So, I decided that I was going to apply to Atlas Academy's first-- and only-- Faunus Outreach Program. Leo did too. We were the only two who actually applied through the program. Guess no one else thought they were being serious. We were awarded scholarships and placed on an all-faunus team with the only other faunus in our year; both of whom got in through legitimate-- albeit a little back-handed-- means. Together we were four of the six total faunus enrolled at Atlas Academy.

"If we hadn't signed up, we'd both be at the bottom of a dust mine right now..." Hadrian sighed, finishing his long-winded rant. After a moment he glanced up to see Ryder looking down at him intently, so he quickly added, "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to carry on like that..."

With a half-smile, the scaled faunus raised a hand up to stop him as he replied, "Don't worry... I like ta list'n."

Somehow, that wasn't surprising. After another few quiet minutes of spelunking, the pair came into a wide, open cavern. There were three, rocky columns holding up the ceiling where stalactites hung and dripped water into a shallow puddle in the base of the cave. It was dark, but light flooded into the hollow from an opening collapsed in the roof. The boys could see the beginning of the evening sky between thick tree trunks and the emerald canopy. The only problem was that their escape was about twenty feet up.

"Well... we can get out through there... if we can make it..." Haddy frowned as he rubbed the back of his head.

The faunus had to slide down a small dip to reach the bottom of the cavern. As their feet splashed into the ankle-deep water, a familiar rumbling started to shake the walls. Before they could arm themselves, Creeps began to burrow into the underground room by the tens. Instantly, Ryder and Hadrian fell back-to-back as they pulled out their weapons. The husky nimbly leaned around his partner, sniping the entering grimm, as the armadillo shifted Allegheny into its minigun form and sprayed down any that got close.

They were quickly overwhelmed though, forcing the boys to switch to melee combat. Ryder swung the extended barrel of his gun up, smacking a Creep on the underside of its jaw and sending it flying, as he transferred it back into its warhammer form. Continuing with his momentum from the swing, he whipped around and smashed into three of the grimm that had tried to take him from behind. As he spun around, the dark-skinned faunus swept downward in an over-head arch, crushing one of the Creeps beneath the face of Allegheny.

Beside him, the husky faunus spryly limboed under the handle of the warhammer before he sunk his picks into the head of an approaching subterranean monster that was poised to attack his partner from behind. He twirled around, flinging the body of the grimm into an approaching hoard, sending them staggering back. Quickly, Haddy jumped up, flipping in the air and using Ryder's shoulder for support before falling into a roll to protect the armadillo's back.

As a Creep crept up from behind and charged, Haddy's instincts kicked in. Just as the grimm came into range, the husky whipped around-- putting all his strength into his riposte-- and met its armored maw with the tip of his ice pick. The black skin of the subterranean monster reverberated with shock waves as it shot backwards and turned to goop. He didn't know he had that in him.

The grimm kept coming though, pouring out of the tunnels they had already dug out. After a few minutes, Hadrian stumbled back into Ryder, who was breathing heavily. He could see the golden specks of the dark-skinned faunus's aura starting to falter. Haddy himself was starting to get a little winded. They needed a new strategy.

Ryder seemed to have the same idea as he asked, "Cant'chu use y'ur sembl'nce ta zip 'round an' t'ke these thin's out fr'm b'h'nd?"

"No," he answered, redirecting a jumping attack from another Creep, "The water is going to put up too much resistance. It'll be like trying to run in three-and-a-half feet of snow."

With a huff, Ryder nodded, bringing his hammer down on another pair of approaching grimm. That did give Hadrian an idea though as his eyes drifted down to the water where his feet shifted in the dark, murky liquid. As the cogs turned in his head, the husky leapt into the air to avoid a sweeping tail attack from one of the grimm. When he landed, and planted his pick firmly behind the thick plating of the Creep's armored hide, his plan came together.

"Ryder!" he shouted, gathering his fellow faunus's attention before he explained, "If you can use some dust to freeze the water and trap the grimm that are already in here, I can close up the tunnels. That should give us enough time to climb out of here."

With a smirk, Ryder gave him a thumbs-up as he shifted Allegheny back into its gun form, whacking another Creep on his way. He reached deep into his pocket and pulled out a large dust cartridge, snapping it into the underside of the minigun. Hadrian had just enough time to jump up and sink one of his picks into a column before the armadillo opened fire. Suddenly, hundreds of icy shards were pelting into the water and freezing it solid. The bipedal grimm didn't have time to react as they were stuck in the ice.

Haddy didn't have a lot of time to close off the tunnels before they would be flooded with more Creeps. He checked his dwindling dust supplies with a heavy heart as he pulled several of the cartridges out. There were five tunnels total, so he'd have to exhaust pretty much everything he had. In an instant, he assembled Sleigh into its rifle and pushed in the first magazine of dust.

He shot his remaining two ice containers, his last two earth, and had to get creative with his incendiary shot to collapse the final tunnel. With each discharge, he flicked the guard of his rifle down and reloaded with another set of elemental ammunition. When he was done, he lowered Sleigh and waited to see if his plan had worked. When nothing happened, Hadrian breathed a sigh of relief.

When he turned to look for his partner, he watched as Ryder took the last picture needed for their extra credit. In all honesty, Haddy had completely forgotten about the reason they were even in the cave. The scaled faunus smiled as he awkwardly tried to slide towards his friend on the ice. With a chuckle, Haddy clicked his heels together and allowed a set of thin blades to jut out from the soles of his boots, transforming them into crampons.

Ryder watched with an interested gleam in his eyes as Hadrian hiked over to him and took an arm to help guide him towards their exit. Before they made it to the base of the rocky wall, the armadillo remarked, "Ya got any more Atlas trink'ts ya wanna show me?"

With a devious smirk, Haddy replied, "Not right now."

It didn't take nearly as long to climb out of the cavern as they'd originally thought it would. That didn't stop them from only making by the skin of their teeth though. As soon as Ryder pulled himself through the cave entrance, the shaking started back up and new tunnels were drilled into the cavern. The pair watched as even more Creeps flooded the hollow expanse they'd just been trapped in.

The faunus exchanged a glance before they laughed and shared a celebratory fist bump.

Hadrian started walking back towards Vale when Ryder initiated a conversation for the first time since they'd met, "Uh, Haddy?"

"Yeah?" the husky replied, turning back to see that the scaled faunus hadn't moved yet. He stopped with a confused look on his face.

Ryder sighed as he remarked, "Ya said sumthin' 'bout a scholarsh'p back 'n Atlas?"

Oh, he did not like where this was going. Hadrian rubbed the back of his neck as he quietly answered, "Uh, yeah."

"An' y'ur family not havin' alot'a money," the armadillo continued.

"Yeah..."

"Then... how're ya affordin' all tha expenses of bein' a Huntsm'n-'n-trainin'? Like ammo, dust, an' repairs?"

Haddy turned away as he nervously laughed back, "Well, uh... I'm not?"

Ryder frowned as he closed the distance between them and crossed his scaled arms. Quickly, the husky clarified, "I'm looking for a part-time gig though. I figure there's enough stores in Vale that could be looking for an extra set of hands."

The dark-skinned faunus was quiet for a long time before he rolled his eyes with a half-smile and clapped a strong hand on Hadrian's shoulder. With a chuckle, he said, "I got a buddy who owns a stall in tha market. He us'lly works week'nds. 'E could use tha help."

With a half-hearted smile, Haddy shrugged, "I dunno, man. I'd rather find something without any help."

Ryder laughed as he wrapped his arm around Hadrian's shoulders and the pair started back towards the city, "Tha great thin' 'bout havin' frien's is that they're gonna help no matt'r what..."

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