Independent Orange

My name is Silva Branwen, and currently, I am in a class for advanced military tactics and strategies at Atlas Academy. Not that I am paying attention anyways, as thanks to using Soul Archive on the instructor, I know this subject by heart and then some. My focus is working on the Gundam manga I am drawing after I did my research on Remnant's mecha genre, which was almost non-existent. I went with a black and white manga-style drawing instead of colored comics because of personal preference.

After I finish the first volume, which includes Amuro Ray piloting the Gundam for the first time and his issues during the aftermath, followed by his first encounter with Char Aznable and his custom red Zaku, I am going to see how it does before drawing the next volume. I plan on adding the realism that I loved in the 8th Mobile Suit Unit anime to the original Gundam to give it a touch more depth. I also added some colored characters and mobile suit profiles for some lore knowledge. Unfortunately, despite having the experience and knowledge of several artists, my drawing skills are still lacking as I am an unpracticed hand, or in my case, a paw, at drawing.

Well, practice makes perfect, and all that. As I practiced drawing the various characters and mobile suits, I felt someone elbow me. I turned to see Winter looking at me with a slightly crossed expression as she asked me in a whisper.

" Can't you at least pretend to pay attention to class?"

" Nope."

Popping the P, the ice queen just sighed at my antics and said.

" You may be just a "guest" student, but the fact of the matter is that there is no shortage of people who would pay to be in your situation, to be attending Atlas Academy as the general's personal guest."

" Winter, do I give the impression that I actually WANT to be here?"

Winter didn't retort as I had made myself clear that I would rather be somewhere other than Atlas, and she kept silent for a few moments, then asked.

" What is it you want to do exactly, Silva?"

" A lot of things, really, but my most immediate goal is to be able to leave Atlas without a bounty placed on my head because I stopped a mob of humans from attacking the slums where most faunus reside."

" And after that?"

I considered Winter's question, and aside from asking the Lamp of Knowledge for the best way for me to become stronger so I could make Salem take me seriously as I try to reason with her on her doomed plan, I told her a few of my other goals.

" Go to the Menagerie for a while to escape all the bigotry I have had to deal with, plus for a bit of R&R and help out where I can. Then after that, I will make some preparations to attend Beacon Academy to get my Huntsman license."

" I see..."

The ice queen looked slightly downcast, and I teased her with a wide grin.

" Are you going to miss me?"

" Maybe a little."

She responded with a slight smile, and I assured her.

" Hey now, you can call me anytime you want, and I can come to visit with little to no issue."

" I would like that."

Winter said as she refocused the lesson, and I went back to drawing practice so that I could draw the Gundam manga I had in mind. As time ticked away on the clock, an announcement came through the intercom system.

" Silva Branwen, please report to the headmaster's office."

" What did you do this time?"

The ice queen asked me with a dry look, and I responded with a shrug as I wasn't sure. I gathered my things and went to see what Tindick wanted this time. I soon reached James Ironwood's office and entered it without knocking. I noticed that the Ace-Ops had returned and stood next to them as I waited to hear why I was summoned here. Tindick started his explanation.

" Good, now that you are here, Silva, I will inform you that the Ace-Ops completed their mission of exterminating the bandits that were attacking the convoys heading to Atlas."

I am going to check for myself to see if that b*stard Strife Skoll is dead or not, along with the Hati Chief, as I am not going to leave any loose ends to come back and bite my butt later. I nodded in acknowledgment at the general's explanation, and he continued.

" With the bandits dealt with, I plan on assigning you a new mission."

I was surprised that he was going to give me another mission so soon as I thought he was going to try and keep me here as long as possible within the Academy. Better use Soul Archive on him later to see what he is up to, and I got my new mission.

" I want you to serve as a guard for a survey team from the Schnee Dust Company that is looking for a new vein of Dust here in Solitas, and Specialist-in-training Schnee will also be accompanying you during this expedition."

" Understood."

I curtly reply, and I probably don't need Soul Archive to guess what Tindick had in mind. Thanks to the myriad of memories I have due to my second Semblance, I know these surveys could go on for months at a time, and he is basically playing matchmaker with Winter and me. He is trying to establish a solid connection with me through my favorite ice queen in order to manipulate my feelings. I will cross-check my suspicions just to be safe, and if I am right, this means war. I am not going to forgive or forget if this turns out to be the case.

James Ironwood then told me.

" Your mission will start next month after the maintenance on the CCTS tower is done; you are dismissed."

I turned and left the office, then headed back to the dorm room to skip the rest of the afternoon classes to be alone so that I could use Door To Darkness to connect with the general with Soul Archive in private. I entered the room and laid down on the bed, then opened a small paw-sized portal to Tindick to check my suspicions about this sudden mission. After lightly touching James and using my second semblance on him, I found that my thoughts were wrong, and this mission was simply a happy coincidence. I felt a bit concerned that I was starting to get paranoid as I remembered who I was dealing with here.

James Ironwood is a lot of things, but scheming and subtle, he is not to any noteworthy degree. Tindick is direct and hands-on most of the time, so I feel a bit silly for thinking of him as a mastermind. Although with this new mission of mine, I guess now would be a good time as any to work on making my main and backup weapons as I will have plenty of time to field test them. I got started on drawing a rough draft of what I had in mind, then see about getting the necessary materials in large quantities to try a few ideas of mine to integrate into my weapons.

Better make an appointment at the maintenance and forging area of the academy to get a fabrication forge ready for my use.

***

Neopolitan was honestly starting to miss Silva's constant presence along with Emerald as they were settled in Vale for the time being. The tri-colored girl's... mint-haired acquaintance was reading the Harry Potter book that the snow leopard faunus had finished and got her a first print copy. Interestingly enough, Argint, the pale vampire bat faunus, was reading along with Emerald. Neopolitan was considering giving the book series a try as she was bored enough to consider reading a book to pass the time as she had run out of things to do.

The tri-colored girl beat her games and wasn't very interested in playing competitively online as she had already won against everyone in the ranking at least once. There weren't any new games out that caught her attention as well. She did find an underground fighting arena to face others in live combat, but that quickly got stale as all the fighters there couldn't lay a hand on her anymore, and it became a one-sided massacre. Neopolitan also considered getting a job like the twins as they now work as bouncers at a club when they aren't clearing the area Silva picked out for their dream home.

Neopolitan walked up to Emerald and tapped her shoulder to get her attention, and she said.

" Yes, Neo?"

The tri-colored girl pointed to the fourth Harry Potter book, and the mint-haired girl guessed what she wanted.

" You want to read this?"

Neopolitan nodded in reply, and Emerald dug out the first book and then handed it to the tri-colored girl.

" Here, this is the first book of the series; let me know what you think."

Neopolitan shrugged as she took a seat and started to read about an unfortunate boy who learned that he was a wizard.