Chapter 3: Gifts of All Kinds

"And thus, with the creation of the Ozma Archive, the archaic period came to an end and the historical era began. Any questions?"

Half the dimly lit room was in a daze. Oobleck may have never missed his morning coffee, but first period was always rough, and the soft light of the projector was just so soothing.

"Yes the fact that all other records don't exist seems to indicate that what did was purged." Jaune replied, looking at the teacher.

"And your proof or logic?" 

"Civilizations and multiple of them across multiple centuries don't rise and fall without some form of written word. Humans and speech given orders and histories don't work on a grand scale like that. And as you point out there's nothing down to scratches in walls of any kind or legible text. We have older pictograms in some civilizations and cave art but nothing in a format that can be read. And if you look at several of the more famous castles and ruins that have been explored, almost all of them look like portions where doused in acid at some point. The grave catacombs in one had every headstone broken and the parts left in a burned mush like they had been drowned in hydrochloric acid."

"That is a theory that is considered in parts of the historian community. So much has clearly been lost, that the idea of purposeful destruction is appealing as the answer. But that doesn't explain the more oral traditions we do have and why we bother to study a series of fragmentary and contradictory fairy tales?" Oobleck finished. "Because Remnant did not emerge from nothing 1000 years ago. To recap, archeologists have found scattered sites across Remnant going at least 20 times as old as our records, and the planet itself is much older than that. Few and far between, they have been clustered in defensible locations such as here, here, here, and here." he said, tapping locations on the map corresponding to the core territories of Atlas, Mistral,Vacuo and Vale. "Of which Mr arc is correct something should still exist in these places."

" Before modern civilization there seem to have been several smaller systems, though we are the first to control the entire planet, and none seem to have reached our technological or economic level. Furthermore, as best as we can tell, every single one of them ended suddenly and violently. Then, between 2000 and 1000 years ago, the number of settlements seemed to climb steadily, and by 1006 years ago on this day, the Ozma Archive was created to maintain trade records on the border between the Kingdoms of Musea and Heian. It stands today in the center of the Greater Kingdom of Mistral, and its scholars composed the first written histories we have access to. Before that, all we have are legends."

"Which as I said implied the histories we have were created at that point to be more accurate or obscure other information. Jaune spoke while the machine did its job. 

"I won't deny your belief in it Mr Arc and this is a great turn around in your behavior but please remember to raise your hand." Dr Oobleck reminded him. Ruby was staring at him clearly perturbed that he had begun to debate the teacher.

The slides flipped, and stylized images flashed on the screen. "Half a dozen gods and creation myths, wicked thoughts bringing divine punishment, scheming witches and men with strength and speed many times greater than a normal human, able to weaponize their very souls. But all stories seem to share a common element- a race of demonic beasts known simply as Grimm."

The class was treated to a shot of a cave painting, chalked in wispy black mist. The pale white stone beneath was etched into tooth and claw, jagged bone, and the center of its face were two blood red eyes that complemented the flowing pool at its feet. The artwork was exquisite in its execution- you could feel the raw malice rolling off the chalk in waves, and in the flickering light it almost appeared to move.

It had Jaune's undivided attention he knew what it was and how dangerous they could be but the records of them were gone like the ash they became on death.

"Unfortunately, unlike even the more obscure of our ancient cities, we haven't discovered a single fragment of evidence for their existence. The absence of remains and the multitude of their alleged forms has led many to suggest that the 'Creatures of Grimm' are more metaphorical than material."

"Or we simply assumed the art we see that would indicate bone is actually bone in the first place or was on top of fur or scales." Jaune replied "We could assume fossil records might be mis labeled. I know dire bears and wolves are close to the size indicated by the art and might've been the inspiration for the art."

"Yeah right." Nora interjected ignoring what Jaune had said " Can a metaphor level cities? Could a pack of animals do that anyway?"

"In short, yes, There are multiple stories and tales from even recent wars where fighting stopped across entire fronts to deal with animal attacks because the dead could not be moved or removed quickly enough." Jaune said knowing that as a truth as it happened in his world as well.

"So you think Grimm are real, shortstack?" Cardin shot. "What's next, you're going to go on a hunting expedition under your bed?"

"Mr. Winchester, insulting your classmates during a discussion is disrespectful and counterproductive." Mr. Oobleck said. "Now, if you would like to rephrase..."

The redhead scoffed. " All I'm saying is the real problem is pretty obvious. Savage abominations that look like animals and bring down civilizations? What could those possibly be?"

A sharp dressed boy with antlers two rows back leaned forward. "Enlighten us." He said coldly.

Cardin's smirk widened. "The Faunus. Duh."

Oobleck sighed, and anxiously adjusted his glasses. "There are others who have made the same argument." He said, slowly and deliberately, quite out of character. "But our oral traditions have very distinct tales for Faunus and Grimm, and whatever it was that culled our numbers its effects were felt by the Faunus as well. Archeological evidence is very clear on that."

Cardin shrugged. "We slugged them and they slugged us, then. Eventually the stronger group came out on top and we've had the mongrels begging for our table scraps ever since. If we were smart we would have put them all down and been done with it."

The deer faunus lunged forward at that and clocked Cardin in the face. The taller boy didn't even flinch as he grabbed his attacker in a headlock and slammed him onto the desk.

"That's enough ." The doctor raised his voice.

Jaune and Ren had grabbed both of Cardin's arms off the boy's throat, while Nora had wrapped her arms up under the deer faunus's shoulders. Ruby had stepped in between the pair, putting a hand on each of their chests to push them back.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Winchester. To the Dean's Office. Now."

"That's bull!" Cardin saud. "He attacked me! You all saw!"

"Calls for genocide tend to be rather provoking." Oobleck said glibly. "You are entitled to your opinions, Mr. Winchester, but any student in my class deserves basic respect. If you're going to instigate a race war, you shouldn't be surprised when it comes to you." The bell punctuated his sentence.

Oobleck shook his head. " It appears we're out of time for today. Tomorrow, we start the unit on the Feral Wars during the foundation of the modern Kingdoms. I expect you all to engage with the material civilly ."

As the class filtered out, keeping several bodies between the two combatants, Jaune stayed behind. "Mr. Oobleck?" He asked.

"Oh, Mr. Arc?" The teacher said distractedly, rummaging through his papers. "This day is full of surprises." The man stood up, deciding to give his student some measure of attention. "Thank you for stepping in, earlier. These things tend to get worse the longer they go uninterrupted."

"Don't mention it." he said awkwardly. "I just wanted to know what books you might recommend on what we were talking about there at the end. Or a collection of the myths and how they might be interpreted."

"I do in fact have several." he said, zipping over to a bookcase and grabbed several of them. "These are the most thorough I've found. But are delicate, I'm trusting you and basing a lot of this recent turn in your behavior back towards the bright student you were before what happened."

"Thank you, i'll do my best to keep them safe." he said heading to leave and ontowards his next class and the largest struggle of the day. Miss Goodwitch's Physics class.

-[_]-[_]-

When Jaune made his way into physics, he spotted a tupperware container on Ruby's desk. His friend was eyeing it warily. "Who was it?" Jaune asked as he sat down next to her.

"Pyrrha." Ruby replied, eyes locked on the gift.

Jaune looked across the room to find the amazon's seat. Emerald eyes met his with a pleasant smile and the statuesque redhead sent him a friendly wave. She definitely reinforced the changed arc of expectations that this world brought.

"Well, it can't be too bad, then." Jaune said, trying not to eye the gift giver up too much. "Unless she added something to it she shouldn't have or can't bake to save her life."

Beacon was a strange school with strange traditions. Gag Gift Day was one of the more amusing. Every year each student would draw a name on the 7th Friday of the second semester, and the following Monday they would give their victim a custom present. The good ones had some thought put into them, but they also had to be embarrassing, disappointing or just suck on at least some level.

How Pyrrha's present was going to inevitably disappoint was an open question, as the heavenly scent wafted into his nostrils. "Smells good." He noted idly.

Ruby nodded. "It's just sitting there." She whispered. "Wafting up. Mocking me."

Ruby opened the lid with trembling hands. A small pile of innocent looking cookies sat there. Taunting her. She reached in, rubbed a thumb over, and brought the treat up to her nose to get a good whiff. Then she took an experimental bite.

"Oatmeal raisin." she spat.

Jaune snorted, "Well at least they're edible."

"My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined." Ruby said, scowling as she slowly scarfed down the cookies.

Feeling peckish he reached out hoping to snatch a cookie. Ruby's scowl deepened as she clutched them desperately to her chest. "Hands off, they're mine!"

Jaune looked over at Pyrrha. "And that is why I called you cookie monster little red."

Ruby flushed a bit as she realized her reflexive cookie hoarding had extended to even the bastard brand. She mustered all her self control and broke the last one in half, extending it to him hesitatingly.

He smiled at her and it was clear it and others that morning were of the genuine happiness kind. "Thank you, I appreciate your offering to the great Lord Arc." He said putting on fake airs at the end. Taking the cookie and gently eating it and enjoying the taste. The redhead across the room blushed for sure and looked away.

Just then Yang Xiao Long made her way back from across the building and began strutting over to his desk with a clear scowl from that morning. Putting the math together he looked sadly at her. "Me?" to which she nodded. 

"In the spirit of pranks i'll forget my anger for the moment. Enjoy," and tossed a small box to his desk. The item was a box of the largest sized condoms they made and would in reality be too small to work for him. The room snickered at the gift as he looked at it like it was a fine antique. "At least you got the biggest size you could, which I can't use.

Yang rolled her eyes. " If you'd stop bitching so much then maybe you could find someone to use them with."

"I could if these would even fit" He said knowing where this was going. 

The entire class was watching with rapt attention at this point, barely holding back giggles. Even the ever bold Yang looked at him askance, cheeks pink with vicarious embarrassment. Ruby had gone as red as her namesake and was trying to stammer out something to end the awkward encounter, but someone beat her to the punch.

"What's wrong, Jauney boy?" Dove chortled. "That scared of it slipping off?"

"Are you kidding?" Jaune deadpanned. " I don't want to squeeze my junk off."

The room went silent for a beat. Then it burst into raucous, howling laughter. Jaune looked around a haze of rage trying to work over him as everyone assumed he was average in that department. Gods, Yang was just right in front of him, laughing uncontrollably. Pyrrha was laughing. Ruby was laughing. "I mean if you all want a demonstration to the truth of that statement all you need to do is ask."

It was like a record scratched and stopped as they all looked at him in shock. "I'm not afraid to prove what I have equipped. And how much you all don't have." That last section was hard to place but even Geoff would've said it in his reality had something like this happened. Luckily he didn't have to say anymore as Miss Goodwitch walked into the room. Once again proving Umbra correct that his scale was fucked and getting a good reset.

Glynda Goodwitch was sex on legs. There really wasn't a better way to put it; she looked like what you would expect a supermodel to, not a school teacher. She was the reason to study calculus, and the math and physics enrollments at Beacon had shot up in the three years since she had started working there. 

But if Glynda was their hottest teacher, she was also their coldest. Barely out of school herself, Miss Goodwitch was keenly aware of how easy it would be to lose her sense of authority. She dressed in formal clothes, she wore stern looking glasses, she even slipped into heels every day so that all but her tallest students had to look up to meet her unflinching gaze. She did everything in her power to appear older and more intimidating, and if she couldn't help being beautiful she could refuse to let it come off as a distraction. If you were in Goodwitch's class, you came on time, did your homework, and followed her rules without question, and god help you if you caused any trouble. She was smart as a whip with a sharp tongue to match. She was not to be fucked with, no matter how much you might want to.

'And she has a soft spot for me. A true desire to see me grow. And some lust,' Jaune thought to himself and the others agreed.

"Is something wrong?" She asked curtly.

Jaune snatched up the condoms and put the useless things in his pockets before she could see them. While not technically against the rules, handing out that kind of gift would probably get Yang in hot water.

"No, just presents and the debate on usefulness on the one I received to which I said I would prove the infeasibility." Jaune said

Glynda nodded, aware of the day's gimmick, before placing a warm piece of paper on his desk, fresh off the presses. The front was empty, the business was on the back.

As she made her way around the room, several beads of sweat rolled down many a forehead. Her eyes roamed the class like a hawk's, daring someone to take a peek. No one dared. As soon as she had passed them out to everyone she spoke. "The quiz will begin as soon as the bell rings. You have 15 minutes."

The bell chimed and Jaune tried to focus his mind on his new problems. The inner remains of Geoff gulped, math had never been his strong suit. He could use what he knew well but the advanced stuff confused the hell out of him. Luckily both Umbra and Truth were aiding and he was getting through it.

' Alright, how am I supposed to figure out the acceleration of the car if I don't know its initial speed?'

'Goodbitch gave you the mass and force exerted.' His shadow shot. 'Use the force equation and basic algebra.' Jaune applied the math and got the result, sending the feeling of thanks to it. 

'Good keep listening to the smart part of you. Could've banged half the fucking school already-' 

'And we still might but on my terms, and a sex life like we desire will have consequences. Painful ones if we don't prepare, Getting the morning after pill to give to girls might be a good idea. That and ordering custom condoms.' 

'We could or not care, woman are supposed to serve men and bear children. Who are we to ignore nature?'

'When man created fire and began to farm. And we needed morals, gluttonous lust is a sure fire way to end up never having a dime because of child support payments.' Truth replied using some of Geoff's memories of the past.

He tried to focus with Truth's help to finish the quiz and just set his pencil down as the timer went off. Sighing in relief he had attempted and wrote an answer to every question. Due to Ruby's height she was in front of him and he could see Gylnda's look of surprise and happiness that he had finished the thing. And as she passed his eyes followed her pencil skirt which did a great job accentuating her ass. 

-[_]-[_]-

"Mr. Arc, a word?" Jaune grimaced before nodding to Ruby. He'd catch up later. The bell had rung to release them to the next period.

"Miss Goodwitch?" He asked politely, she directed him to her desk, and sat down in awkward silence at the seat in front of it. For several minutes he just sat there, ogling her as she typed into her computer. Geoff certainly had the occasional patience issue, but they only had so much time before his next class. And this was testing his new resolve.

As soon as he moved to leave, Goodwitch spoke. "Do I bore you, Mr. Arc?"

"...What?" Jaune asked, sticking to the script in his head.

"I asked you a question." She said, still not looking at him. " Do. I. Bore. You."

"Not in the slightest, Miss Goodwitch."

Miss Goodwitch finally swiveled around to face him. "Then why are you failing my class?

He couldn't directly answer that he lusted after her the likes of which are rarely seen. Add into things how this was playing out like a porno. The setting and timeframe was certainly exciting as his mind wondered and body reacted, Breathing in he replied. "It's hard, and I've been distracted."

Miss Goodwitch cocked her glasses at him. "Is it?" She leaned in and passed his quiz between the two, and began marking it in front of him. She also unconsciously gave him a killer view of her tits. His mind wondered just how large they really were.

'G-cups.' The shadow interjected happily. ' I fucking love this school.'

"You've scored 69 on this quiz, which is better than the last one of 34." She said, "Which combined is pushing you into failing my class, again . And it's irritating me. I would've thought after the last failure you would put more effort into the class. Am I wrong to assume you wish to graduate? Because your constant daydreaming and the fact it did look like you might not even finish the quiz leads me to believe as such."

"I have been distracted by something." Glynda's right eye twitched.

"Moving on." She said, gesturing over to the computer. "Your grades follow a similar pattern. Every year or so, your average has dropped between 3 and 5 points, depending on the class. Your homework has stayed fairly static, at an ...acceptable level. The decline is entirely isolated to in class assignments. And," she finished. "In the last semester this trend has accelerated. You are down between 10 and 20 points from your previous average in all of your other classes. And you are down 30 points in mine. Tell me the truth. Why?"

Jaune blushed looking down at himself in shame and also uncomfortableness. He was working on an answer. The process of thinking is clearly visible on his face. Glynda misinterpreted the strain on his features. Her own gaze softened, and she leaned in closer to him. " Jaune." She said gently, green eyes glimmering in concern. "You can trust me."

"I don't know how to describe what's going on."

Glynda sighed, and put her stern face back on. "Beacon Academy is among the most selective schools in Vale. If your grades continue to move in this direction, the board of governors will have no choice but to expel you."

Miss Goodwitch was only half right. Beacon was geared towards high achievers… and the well connected. Jaune had still been Mason Arc's legal child when he had applied, and after he had lost that distinction, well… they hadn't felt the need to kick him when he was down. But time had passed, and his spot was in high demand- all he needed was to give them an excuse.

"I- I'm sick." he admitted. Glynda looked at him curiously.

"I can't focus in class." He said carefully. Threading the line of what he thought the lines were at this moment. "I feel hot and achy, all the time. Like I'm going to explode. My senses are all over the place."

Glynda walked past the desk and placed her hand on his forehead.

"You don't have much of a temperature." She noted, he was warm but not outside the norm.

"But," she continued. "If you think it's a medical problem, a visit to the nurse doesn't cost anything." She began scribbling on a piece of paper. "I can sign off on any class you have to miss, though if you're making up the difference at home I suspect your grades will be helped by this little excursion."

Jaune sighed in relief. "Thanks." He said, and ruffled in his bag taking out a confection box. "I saw this while finding my gift for the victim I picked out of the hat. And thought it would be a nice thank you for trying so hard last year with me and putting up with me again. And I thought it would be fun."

Glynda sighed. " I am not one of your peers, Mr. Arc." she reminded him.

"I know," he said, letting her see the maker, "As I said, I have a legitimate reason to be thankful enough to give you a gift." 

It was an authentic box of Dorothy's chocolate truffles. It was a small chocolatier's shop on the edge of the city of Vale. A little on the pricier side, but, every couple of months, she allowed herself to indulge, just a bit. She didn't know how he knew- she must have let it slip at some point. Maybe left a wrapper on her desk?

Her eyes darted between her favorite chocolates and the handsome young man offering them to her. She licked her lips involuntarily. "This is a trap." She said matter of factly, cursing herself as she reached for the box.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Jaune said with a smile "That is why we play this game isn't it Gylnda." he said her name just as he shut the door.

"It's Miss Goodwit-" the door slammed shut. She fought back a smile. ' I can let it slide just this once.' 

Then, she locked the door and closed the blinds. The temptation was overwhelming. 'Oh, he got the Emerald Box!' That was the only combination that carried her favorite truffle, dark chocolate with white stripes and a raspberry creme filling. There was only one in every box- getting the ratio just right so difficult that Dorothy wouldn't make very many of them, but they were heavenly .

She shook the box, and its contents seemed full. Then she took off the cover, so that only a thin layer of decorative paper separated her from her treasure. There were no foul messages written on the inside of the box, the smell was intoxicatingly sweet, there was no hint that anything had been tampered with. Maybe the punch was just that she had to humble herself to accept it. Well, if that was the joke, it was on him. Such a small, private concession was completely offset by the-

Glynda's smile fell as she exposed everything in the box. They were genuine, pristine and delicious.But her favorite chocolate was missing. 'Well played. Jaune.' She thought wryly, settling on a highly inferior substitute. 'Very well played.'

-[_]-[_]-

For a few minutes Jaune thought his visit to the nurse would actually be fun. Nurse Tsune was a literal vixen, a red headed fox faunus with a respectable body. When she had looked at the note Glynda had sent the check up was upgraded to a full physical exam. The thought of bringing her into the fold wasn't the worst one given everything having a nurse or doctor at his beck and call would save time troubles. And if he was honest, the lives of people he loved.

Unfortunately, Headmaster Ozpin had been a practicing MD, once upon a time, and when an appointment was canceled at the last minute he had been made available and had returned to old craft. So instead of getting physical with the hot nurse he had a middle aged dude with a creepy, knowing smile feel him up while the sadomasochistic nurse brought in more implements to poke him with. Add to that Jaune's new knowledge of the man put this into a new light. It had taken the whole of third and fourth periods too, so when Jaune finally regrouped with his friends it was at lunch. The table had looked up in exaggerated surprise.

"We thought you were dead." Ren said in a very convincing monotone.

"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Then Jaune slumped down, showing them the note from the nurse. "...Maybe not greatly ."

"Aw, you big baby? Did they stick you with a needle?" Nora teased.

Nothing could stop Jaune from shaking in response to the question, Geoff's fear of needles reared its ugly head in the exam room and he had to look away heavily. But thankfully it was into Nurse Tsune's chest who clearly understood just how scared he was. The group caught it and Ruby spoke up her voice softer but harsh in a new way.

"A lot of them?"

"Two but they had to draw blood samples so I had the tube in there for a while, Didn't even offer me a sucker when it was done."

Ruby gasped, clutching her heart. "Okay, that is evil." Nora nodded solemnly.

"So, what's the good word?" Ren asked, picking up a rice ball.

"Well, while the blood work is pending, I've been tentatively diagnosed with adolescence." He said, playing it off as a joke, though that fucker Ozpin had actually said it. "There's no cure, but I've been prescribed therapy and advised to just get a girlfriend."

" I could have told you that." Nora said. " I think old Oz just wanted to fuck with you." Jaune hoped so and nodded. He knew the results and the coming conversation he would have with Tai and Summer. "Speaking of which," she said, voice lilting. "Who's your mark?"

"Velvet." Jaune answered evenly, taking out his food.

"Awww, she's nice." Nora cooed. "Hope you don't have anything too evil in mind."

Jaune slowly took a bite of his sandwich, savoring the taste. "I've got something sweet planned."

"Well, whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it fast." Ruby said. " You don't have any classes together and you've already wasted half the day."

"I take it you've already finished." Ren said idly.

Ruby preened. " I got her first thing in the morning."

Nora bounced up and down in her seat. "Oh, you got Yang?!"

"Yup." Ruby nodded.

Jaune looked at her waiting for her to finish the prank story.

"I made her a bowl of cereal this morning." She said proudly. Jaune arched an eyebrow, waiting for the punchline. Ruby made a finger gun with one hand while the other slowly brought a carton up to her lips. "Without any milk." Jaune chuckled lightly and rolled his eyes.

"Booooo!" Nora whined. "Ren, redeem this story. Now."

"I drew a sophomore named Clara." Ren answered dutifully. "I gave her a hug."

Nora pouted. " Renny. The gift is supposed to be baaaad ."

Ren couldn't be bothered. "What did you do?"

"Oh, they paired me up with some freshmen. Gave me his number so I could track him down." She said airily. "He practically creamed himself once he realized he was on the line with a girl. So I sent him a nude."

"Nora!" Ren shouted. Jaune recalled something about it not being her at all.

The ginger smiled mischievously as she whipped out her phone. "Wanna see?"

Some impulses were impossible to resist. Both boys looked automatically, ignoring Ruby's calls of 'filth'. They read through the whole awkward conversation before recoiling in horror. 'Oh that is just wrong .'

Nora's smile got wider. "I didn't say it was a nude of me."

Now Ruby was laughing at the boy's expense as the two tried to recover from the trauma. "Seen worse," to which Nora raised an eyebrow.

"EWWWW! Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Ruby shouted, gagging.

"Yep," the P popped on its own as he finished his food.

"This sucks." Ruby pouted, pushing her bag away. "I was gonna eat today."

"That's one hit and two misses." Nora said happily. "Gonna even up the score, Jauney?"

The blond shrugged. "Probably not."

While Nora called him a buzzkill under her breath Jaune felt an unfamiliar hand tapping his shoulder. He turned around to find a younger boy looking at him expectantly. "Jaune, right? Are you Azora Arc's older brother?" The table stared at the intruder to their scared spot.

"Ja, but I don't talk to her." Jaune replied, trying to stop this train wreck before it began . If the kid was cognizant of the minefield he was walking into, he showed no sign of it.

"I've been crushing on your sister for months, but as cute as she is, she's a little, well… frigid. I've wanted to approach her for a while, but I wasn't sure how. I was wondering if you could give me some advice? Maybe put in a good word?"

"As I said, don't talk to her. Mean it both ways." He said making it clear the conversation needed to end.

"Can't or won't?" The boy said, not taking the hint. " Look, I understand if you're protective, but I know Azora's a great girl and I promise I'd treat her right." Jaune gave the kid another once over. He seemed nice enough, certainly earnest. 'Mason would fry him alive to scare him off.' he thought clearly seeing the boy would be in danger.

"You say that but I can't talk to her or any of my sisters." he said tossing his empty food bin back in his bag.

The boy blinked. "Well... could you make an exception-"

"Drop it." Nora barked.

The kid finally got the hint and left the table. It was clear that the boy had soured his mood and despite her hesitations Ruby loved that he seemed to be finally coming out of his shell again. And now it was all dashed against the rocks. They tried to get his attention but he was focused internally. Before the reveal of why Geoff had thought it exceedingly cold that Mason had forced him out. But now he could understand the cold logic. Other solutions were available and could be used but Mason's ego wouldn't let it happen. And he knew why it never spread far and wide in the gossip rags or the in street variant.

He would only contact his sisters if it was a dire need like he was dying. That would probably even bring Mason back but he doubted it. Only Saphron had tried to work around it and almost was thrown out herself. The memories of the wedding he saw were nice while they lasted. Which prompted Jaune's full blackout on that front. Looking around he smiled weakly at the others. "I'll be okay," he said softly. Ruby looked relieved and gently put her hand on Jaune's who put his other hand on hers.