Ch. 7 Night Antics

"You have GOTTA be kidding me" Daemond mutters under his breath.

He flings the shower curtain open. "Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable"

"Fa-La-De-Da~. La-La-De-De-Do~" Jaune sings to himself as he continues his shower.

Daemond steps out of his shower stall wearing a version of his pajamas he would rather not be wearing.

Instead of them being loose and comfy, his shirt is tight… and surprisingly not uncomfortable. His shorts however are a bit too short for his liking. They're short-shorts that show off way too much leg than he would like.

What happened to his regular clothes? He would also like to know the answer to that question.

He's not sure who took them and swapped out his pajamas, but he has a feeling that the person behind this has a name that rhymes with Bang.

Daemond leaves Jaune to continue his performance and goes towards his locker.

There are a few guys in the changing room where the male lockers are. They're talking about how the wrestling matches went, that is until they see Daemond. They laugh, but are still surprised by Daemond's physique.

Daemond doesn't wrap the towel around his waist because there really isn't a point. He doesn't have a spare change of clothes in his locker because he forgot to put them in there earlier in the day due to the scenic routes.

And it's not like he would walk out there with a towel around his waist, that would be even more humiliating.

He finishes up at the locker and hesitates at the exit. This reminds him of a story his Dad told him about his uncle Qrow during their first day at the academy. Daemond looks at the bright side, at least it isn't a damn skirt.

——————

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang exclaims as she plops down on her sleeping bag next to Ruby.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though" Ruby comments without looking up from her letter she's been writing.

Yang looks up at the last few shirtless guys messing around from the wrestling tournament. "I know I~ do"

Jaune comes walking by wearing his pajamas without a care in the world. He's wearing a blue full body footie pajama with each foot having two ears and a rabbits face on his chest.

Seeing Jaune kills Yang's mood and she looks at her sister. "So, what are ya up to?"

"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going" Ruby says while finishing her letter.

"Aw, that's so cuuuute! I wonder if Daemy is doing something like tha-" Yang melts at how adorable her baby sister is being but gets interrupted by a pillow to the face.

Ruby unhappily looks at Yang. "Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here! At least Daemond is getting along just fine…"

"What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!" Yang tries pointing out, and she wonders how her little bro is doing. It shouldn't be too long now…

Ruby rolls over to her back and stares up at the ceiling. "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..."

"There's no such thing as negative friends! And I'm pretty sure that Daemond may convince her to be friends with you guys yet!" Yang cheerfully expresses her view.

*Wham!*

Ruby throws her dog pillow of Zwei, their family pet, at Yang's face. "Exactly. Daemond to the rescue again. Back at Signal I was able to make my own friends without you or Daemond stepping in…"

Yang understands how Ruby feels. But she's actually more concerned about Daemond. He wasn't very friendly to the other kids back in Patch and it's only recently that he's started warming up to others. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me! You've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"

The lights go out completely with only the moonlight stopping the ballroom from going completely dark. The students that are still up immediately quiet down for a moment before wrapping up their conversations and getting ready for bed.

Yang and Ruby notice a lamp being lit close by, and a certain bow wearing girl is sitting reading a book all alone not too far away.

Ruby narrows her eyes. "That girl…"

Yang raises an eyebrow. "You know her?"

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything" Ruby remembers how she tried saying hello but got the cold shoulder… or was it technically a cold back?

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang stands up and grabs Ruby's hand.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Ruby struggles against her sisters hold.

Yang pulls the struggling Ruby towards the mysterious girl peacefully reading. "Helloooo-"

Yang's cheerful greeting gets cut off by a not so happy brother.

"Yang. Xiao. Long…" Daemond seethes.

"Pfffft!" Ruby covers her mouth with one hand and points with her other. "Your pajamas shrank!"

Upon seeing Ruby's enjoyment at his situation Daemond chooses to ignore her since she doesn't seem to be involved. She's a terrible liar most of the time and he can tell that was her genuine reaction. "I don't know who you suckered into doing this, but I know you were involved in this Yang"

Yang smirks as she puts a hand over her heart. "It hurts me that you would assume that I would specifically get a smaller version of your pajamas and get some guy to take your clothes so you would be forced to show all of Beacon your hard work~. It hurts, it truly hurts Daemy~"

"I'll make sure something hurts…" Daemond grumbles as he charges at Yang.

Daemond leaps at Yang, knowing that there is an unspoken agreement to keep things quiet.

Yang ducks down as Daemond goes over her head. This doesn't surprise Daemond as he plants his hands on the ground instead of crashing and pushes himself back attempting to kick Yang.

With a little bit of effort Yang drops even lower to the ground as Daemond's leg barely misses her as he brings his left arm back.

Yang twists her body in a millisecond and rolls out of the way of Daemond's hand that tried grabbing her shoulder misses.

They continue their relatively silent duel as Ruby moves out of the way, which coincidentally puts her next to the bow girl who is now completely distracted from her book.

"Er, uh… ahem!" Ruby tries talking to the girl but takes a second to find her words and clears her throat. "My name's Ruby!"

The girl ignores Ruby and tries to pretend to not be interested in the fight.

Ruby feels her anxiety sky rocket, but she pushes it down. This was her chance to make a friend without Yang or Daemond's help. It couldn't go worse than Weiss, right? "Sorry about them, I saw you earlier today and just want to introduce myself! My name is Ruby Rose! What's yours?"

The girl sends a side glance at Ruby. "Blake… Who are they? I saw you explode with that guy earlier today and that girl dragged you over here"

Ruby grins so brightly it could blind everyone in the ballroom if they saw it. She actually got a response from the bow wearing girl, Blake. "They're my older siblings! Yang is two years older than me and Daemond is one year older than me!"

Blake looks back to the fight. "How old are you then…"

Daemond gets grabbed by his left wrist as Yang goes to sweep his left leg. However he moves his right leg between Yang's and turns his back to her as he drops into a lunge. He may have been in Yang's grasp but that also meant she was in his. He throws his right shoulder towards the ground as he ensnares Yang's arm and tries to throw her.

As Yang barely gets caught off guard and gets lifted off her feet she reacts quickly and shoves her left arm around Daemond's left side and stops herself from being thrown.

Ruby also watches her siblings fight, but it's more of their usual spar so she isn't all that intrigued by it. But she's still excited, because Blake is continuing the conversation… willingly! "I'm 15! Me and my brother got accepted early so we're able to attend Beacon with Yang"

Blake doesn't respond and watches as Daemond struggles. His clothes don't hide how he tries to force Yang off her feet and Yang's orange tank top and short shorts don't hide her muscles as she enjoys the spar with her little bro.

"Fine" Daemond instantly stops trying to pull Yang forward and instead stands up as he archs his back. With his free hand he grabs one of Yang's legs and traps her other one between his legs.

When he stands up he prepares to fall backwards and slam Yang into the ground-

*Bam!*

Daemond gets smacked in the face by something hard that falls to the ground. It doesn't knock him down but it does stop the sibling's spar.

Yang gets off his back and picks up the object off the ground and inspects it. "'Advanced Dust Theories'?"

When Daemond hears Yang read the title of the book that hit him he knows exactly who threw it. "You girls have fun, I've gotta go calm an angry entitled princess"

Yang and Ruby can imagine who Daemond is referring to, but Blake doesn't understand.

"See ya around Blake" Daemond gives a brief wave to the now confused girl as he walks away.

"How did he…" Blake never told him or Yang her name, just Ruby. This unsettles her and makes her become wary as she prepares to withdraw from the situation.

Ruby sighs. "Daemond doesn't just focus on his fights. He 'pays attention to his surroundings as much as his opponents'… that's what he tells us. So he probably heard our conversation"

Blake isn't sure whether to believe that or not. How could someone listen to a whispered conversation while fighting someone even if they weren't seriously trying to hurt eachother.

Daemond points at Yang. "I better have my clothes back tomorrow morning"

Yang nonchalantly tosses the book to her brother and puts her hands on her hips. "They're safe, don't worry. After you're done me and Ruby are sleeping right over there, we saved you a spot"

"Thanks" Daemond walks away towards the book thrower. He's surprised that Weiss has such good aim at such a distance. Even if they're Huntsmen in training it's still impressive.

Yang joins Blake and Ruby as their conversation goes almost the same as cannon. Yang compliments Blake's bow and pajamas and hardly gets a response. When Yang is about to give up Ruby cuts in and asks about Blake's book. Blake explains that it's a book about a man with two souls who fight to control the body.

Ruby explains how Yang used to read her and Daemond stories every night before bed. The conversation eventually leads to Ruby explaining why she wants to be a Huntress.

The conversation eventually comes to a natural end and they say their goodbyes. Yang ecstatically hugs Ruby, happy that Ruby made a friend all on her own.

Meanwhile Daemond stands in front of the still sleeping Seraphina and a rather upset Weiss.

"Is that another one of your fashion statements?" Weiss dryly asks, even if she is blushing.

"Not willingly" Daemond runs his left hand through his hair. "Thanks for watching her"

Seraphina had eventually let go of Weiss' leg but didn't move away from her. Weiss didn't want to disturb the sleeping girl, so she decided to knock some sense into the meat head.

Daemond hands Weiss the book back and picks Seraphina up with his arms under her knees and behind her back beneath her wings that droop down and almost touch the floor.

"Mmm" Seraphina rests her head on Daemond's arm and chest.

Daemond remembers picking up Yang and Ruby every now and then throughout their childhood. Something about Seraphina just made a person want to protect her, as long as said person had a decent heart.

"That's it?" Weiss stands up as Daemond walks away. "I'm not a babysitter you know!"

Daemond turns around and walks back. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't have many options and it was getting late. Do you want me to pay you?"

Weiss gets offended. "I don't need money"

"Then what DO you want?" Daemond can hear his sleeping bag calling his name.

"Besides you putting some pants on?" Weiss deadpans. "How about leaving me alone from now on"

Daemond shrugs and walks away. "It's not that easy, but I guess you'll see soon enough"

Weiss' eyebrow twitches. "I can go the rest of my life never interacting with you again and I'll be set"

"Your words cut oh so deep Princess" Daemond quietly says over his shoulder.

Leaving the irritated Heiress alone Daemond goes back towards where Yang should be. Along the way he finds himself retracing his steps to not take another scenic route.

When he gets back to Blake she shut her lamp off but wasn't laying down. He tries to walk past her but:

"What are you doing?" Blake says with some hostility.

Daemond jolts a little bit and turns to Blake who is nearly entirely in the shadows. He can still see her lower face and glowing yellow eyes. "I'm not kidnapping her if that's what you're thinking"

"I wasn't…" Blake suspiciously eyes Daemond.

"That's good then" Daemond nods. "So, can't sleep?"

"You didn't answer my question" Blake needs an answer and won't let Daemond avoid it.

Knowing this won't end well unless he answers truthfully Daemond looks Blake in her eyes. He wonders how the others didn't notice she was a Faunus before, the eyes are a dead giveaway. Granted it's not always the case, but with Blake it's plain as day. "Her name is Seraphina. I met her after the opening ceremony when she was trying to get away from a guy who enjoys bullying Faunus, but he isn't picky and will prey on the weak as well. Anyway, she stopped me from confronting said bully and cried until she fell asleep. I carried her here and had Weiss watch her while I went to take a shower and change, but then my pajamas- I think you know the story from that point"

Blake can clearly see how he is Ruby's brother. "So what are you going to do with her now?"

Daemond picks up on the tone of the question, it is considerably less hostile. "I'm going to get her a sleeping bag and have her sleep near me and my sisters. That way she doesn't freak out too much when she wakes up"

Blake looks over at the blond who is laying on her side while chatting with Ruby.

"If that's all then I'm gonna head over there" Daemond followed Blake's gaze.

As he walks away he pauses and turns back around. He sees Blake not going back to her book and motions towards his sisters with his head. "You're free to join us. Yang says 'The more the merrier'… or whatever"

"I'm fine right here" Blake finally goes back to her book.

"Invitation still stands, Yang and Ruby would be alright with it" Daemond shrugs as he turns to leave. "Trust me, life is more fun when you have good people in it"

With those parting words Daemond leaves Blake alone with her thoughts. Her mom used to say similar words…

——————

Ruby and Yang are laying down getting ready to sleep with an empty sleeping bag between them.

A black sleeping mask with red eyes covers half of Ruby's face as she struggles to stay awake.

Daemond drags a sleeping bag over and lays it down by their heads, he figured Seraphina didn't want to wake up to feet. "You alive there Ruby?"

"Daemy?" Ruby lifts her sleep mask to see better. "What are you holding?"

Yang shoots up to her feet, now completely awake. "Who's you're little friend~?"

Daemond prepares to answer the same question for what feels like the hundredth time. "This is Seraphina, she bumped into me after you guys left me alone at the auditorium. One thing led to another and she ended up crying herself to sleep. I brought her here and left her with Weiss since I couldn't find you guys. Took my shower, you know the rest, and here I am"

Yang throws her arm around Daemond's shoulders and shakes him a bit. "Damn Daemond, you sure work fast. I guess Qrow trained you in more than combat, huh?"

"Can you just open her sleeping bag?" Daemond asks.

"I can, but it's more fun to tease you" Yang grabs the sleeping bag and lays it out.

Ruby rolls over to her stomach as she looks at the beautiful wall of feathers. She puts her extra pillow on Seraphina's sleeping bag, keeping the Zwei pillow for herself.

"How does she deal with these things" Daemond mutters while lowering Seraphina into the sleeping bag as Yang helps him, both taking extra care when moving her wings.

"Guess you'll just have to ask her when she wakes up" Ruby whispers while kicking her feet in the air.

Daemond rolls his eyes as he lets Yang take over. He plops down on his sleeping bag and rolls onto his back. Right above him there's a skylight, the shattered moon staring down at him.

After Yang finishes tucking in Seraphina she goes back to laying on her sleeping bag. "So, what's the plan?"

Daemond can feel his eyelids get heavier with each passing second. "Get some well deserved sleep, and tone down the people interaction tomorrow"

Yang gives her siblings a silly smile as she shakes her head. "Good night Daemond, Ruby"

"G'night" Daemond silently whispers as he falls asleep.

Ruby's feet fall to her sleeping bag as she also gets ready to sleep, however, she looks at her weird, but precious brother before moving her sleeping mask down. "Good night"

Yang looks around the room and can feel her excitement building up for the next day. She heard some rumors that the teams will have a unique way of being formed that has a bit of randomness mixed in. She doesn't expect to be on either Ruby or Daemond's team but hopes they'll be alright.

This will be the first time she won't be able to be there for either of them if they're on different teams. She's worried, but knows that she will have to deal with it sooner or later. They're gonna be Huntsmen after all and danger comes with the job. They've been training for years, it's time to put themselves to the test to see if they're cut out for it… and they didn't come all this way just to fall short at the doorsteps of Beacon.