Initiation V

[A/N:

This is a short note, but I won't be putting heavy details about their Semblances here. I mentioned in the dialogue between them that they would be speaking about it, but I will be keeping that "off-screen", so to speak.

Instead, I will be making a small chapter for each new/edited character's powers, and I will try to keep just up to date enough in balance to what the characters discover about their powers if they have more to discover (like the moment Penny revealed what Ruby's Semblance actually did. Before her reveal, it would've been the super-speed in the form of petals, but after the reveal, it would go into full detail about the breaking down of herself and others into petals. But for Yang, it would be her berserker the whole time, and therefore not need any updates. If that makes sense.)

Also, this is the end of the worked on section, so it is back to the unknown updates whenever I get around to writing the rest of it. Like I said before, any ideas for things to do, people to meet, etc for AZTC's Beacon years will be gladly read, but I can't promise their use.

That's all I can think of for now, so please enjoy.]

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<Celestia POV>

As Dawn and I sit in the bath, having eaten earlier and gotten the supplies to take proper showers, I think back to the many events of the day. The long and arduous Forest Initiation, the battle against the Nevermore, and then the making of my team…

"My team, huh?"

"Did you say something, Celestia?"

"Nah, it's nothing. And call me whatever, since we'll be teammates from now on and everything you can pick whatever nicknames you want."

"Gladly!"

As she gave me a bright, bubbly smile, I gently smiled back as I stretched and relaxed for the remainder of our bath. As per the agreement between us and the boys, we would take ours first today, and then from here on the normal order would be them first because of Argento's ability to perfectly tell time.

'Argento, huh?'

As I got dressed into my pajamas, consisting of a similar design to my Huntsman outfit but black with stars scattered over it, my mind seemed to wander to the interesting man that is now my team leader.

Earlier at the team-naming ceremony he noticed and showed genuine concern for a faunus because of the sudden loud noise that seemed to bother her; at the elevator, he seemed worried that it wouldn't be a comfortable fit for me with my wings, then he seemed happy once the elevator turned out to be massive.

Then when it came time to take bed spots that we would be in for the rest of our time here he chose the one closest to the wall, leaving me with more open room to make my wings have an easier time. Had each of these events not happened so close to one another I would think it just a coincidence.

It's not that a human showing concern over a faunus' well-being in a more human-based population and building is unnatural, but most feel the need to hide it because they wrongly believe their actions and thoughts to be seen as demeaning.

As I pondered these thoughts I took a seat on the windowsill, which I earlier opened to let in the cool nightly breeze, and began brushing my wings. While most females may take pride in their hair, whether that be because it's soft or luscious, or supple, I take pride in my wings.

They have saved me more times than my hair ever could, and I'm proud my faunus heritage is so present in my life. Others may try to hide or not be noticed in fear of those who believe us inferior, but I've lived through too much of that to care anymore.

'Hate me or love me, I am who I am. Whoever has a problem with that can take it up with my fists -'

"Woah…"

<Argento POV>

So I would say I'm a pretty level-headed man. Overall there is rarely something that can throw me off, and even more rarely is that something beauty. But as I walked back into the bedroom, only now noticing how tired I am, all understanding of said fatigue dropped as I saw Celestia in the window.

She sat on the windowsill with her legs bent inward into the room, just barely touching the floor with her toes, and her black, fading to electric blue hair was undone and lightly waving in the cool night breeze. Her right, electric blue wing was gently resting in its normal position, ever-so-slightly further out than her shoulder, while her left was extended in front of her as she gently brushed the inside with her right hand while holding the outside with her left.

The broken moonlight lazily shimmered off the night sky that was her silk-satin pajamas, the black making a sharp but beautiful contrast with the sparkles dotted about her outfit and the electric blue of her wings and the end of her hair. A particularly strong gust of wind blew the hair out of Celestia's face, showing closed eyes and the most at-peace smile any of the teammates had yet seen on her.

"Whoa…"

Involuntarily letting my awe out, her eyes fluttered open to land on me, and for a second my breath hitched. The beautiful electric blue of her eyes seemed to glow as the light of the moon hit them, causing her gaze to feel enchanted.

I had only seen something that made me feel this way once before, and as the image of pink petals and a setting sun came to mind my breathing harshly came back as I tried my damndest to hold back any signs of distress. It's been so long since I've felt this strong a connection to those memories, as if I just experienced them instead of 5 years ago, so while the two behind me couldn't see the brief flash of pain the concerned, beautiful pair of eyes staring into mine most definitely did.

"So, you gonna say something, or are you too breath taken by me to do so?"

Finally coming out of my spiraling control and getting once again a firm grasp over it, I take a quiet, shaky breath to not let the two behind me notice. Forcing my normal smile back onto my face, I look away slightly and close my eyes, lightly shaking my hand in a dismissing fashion.

"Nope, just the sudden breeze after such a warm bath caught me off guard. You should be careful with that, stay there too long and you might just get sick."

A very minor frown the other two mistook for a pout crossed her lips as she slid off the window and tossed me her brush. Catching it with no effort, I watched Celestia close the window and make her way to sit on the end of my bed, leaving her back to the rest of my bed with her legs slightly crossed and resting on top of the chest at the foot of my bed.

"Fine, I finished with the insides of my wings anyways. It's easier if I have someone else do the outside though, so I'll have you do it in recompense for taking away my window time."

"Haa, you sound like my little sisters."

"First I remind you of a grumpy old man, now of little girls? Am I just so great you can't help comparing me to people you already have a connection with?"

"As if, maybe act less like an old man or a little girl and you'd be your own individual in my mind - Ow! What was that for?!"

While I was making fun of her a light danger was felt behind my head, but knowing exactly what it was I let Celestia's pulse hit my head so lightly that I barely had to bring up an aura shield to block it.

"Oh don't be a pansy, you know full well that did jack shit to you. And it's cuz you have yet to stop yapping and come over here to brush my wings like you said you would."

"When did I agree?!"

"When you didn't say no."

<Eugene POV>

As my two teammates continued to playfully argue, with Argento learning how to brush her wings correctly being the new main topic, I got pulled out of my head by a decently quiet squeal. Looking behind me I saw Dawn and couldn't help but sigh as I went and sat next to her on my bed, which she sat on for some reason.

"Your plotting face is out again. Seriously, is this how you're gonna end up whenever they do anything ship-worthy?"

As she lightly cleared her throat she glared at me, which made me chuckle. Apparently, that wasn't the reaction she wanted as she swatted my arm, which did nothing.

"Can you blame me? I mean look at those two! If they aren't made for each other then peanut butter doesn't belong with jelly!"

"You are a strange woman, you know that?"

"That is completely off-topic here! If it weren't for the fact that you two did just come from the bath then he most definitely would've been lying about the windchill. I was even captivated by her and I'm straight!"

"Hmm, well I don't know about that…"

"About me being straight or...? "

"No, not about that, I believe you on that end. I came from the same bath, and we were with each other the whole time so I know for a fact there was almost no difference in temperature when we walked into the room. Does it feel cold to you?"

"…now that you mention it, I feel perfectly fine, and I get cold pretty easily."

As we silently observed the two talking while he brushed, I couldn't help but look over at Dawn. She looked at the two of them like they were a mystery she had to solve, and the smile she had on her face as she seemed to put pieces together correctly was simply beautiful.

<Argento POV>

"Thank you, by the way."

It had been silent for a few minutes, our playful bickering having gone out for companionable silence, so the sudden thank you caused Celestia to slightly tilt her head in partial confusion.

"For what?"

"For helping me back there. I haven't done that in years, so the sudden exposure caught me off guard."

"Oh, that? It's no problem."

A few brush strokes pass as I am stuck in my head, but in the way I always do and not in the spiraling out-of-control way. I'm brought back by a minor ruffling of feathers as she shifts just enough to look into my eyes.

"I won't ask what it was, we all have a past and some would rather keep it to themselves. But are you okay? And no lying, or I'll have Eugene interrogate you."

Chuckling at that, partially because I can tell she means it to an extent, I take a moment to consider if I'm okay. I'm not totally sure why the memory appeared out of nowhere like that, and so strong too, but it does mean I haven't healed as much as I thought I had.

"First off, thank you for not asking; it means more than you know. Secondly, I thought I was okay, but maybe I'm not as okay as I thought I was. Also third, don't you know it's rude to sick friends on friends?"

"Hehe, I believe in it when it's to help them. And just so you know Argento, I know we only met today so my words don't sound like much right now, but since we're teammates I want you to rely on me.

None of this leader bullshit like you can't have problems, or that you have to deal with things on your own. If you need help, promise me that you'll come to one of us, or if you can't come to us then go to someone who you know will be able to understand. An overburdened leader is a useless one."

At this point my brushing had stopped, since she was almost facing sideways and giving me a stare I had long forgotten; one that reached into my very soul, making me unable to do anything but give my most honest and heartfelt answer.

"I promise that if I have problems I will find a way to deal with them, and that I will not hesitate to rely on you or others to do so."

Giving me a bright smile at my promise, she snatches the brush out of my hand and flaps over to stand between our beds.

"Good, now I'm sure you know this with your freakish inner clock but it's about damn time we went to sleep. Goodnight Argento."

"Goodnight Celeste."

"Alright you two, I'm tired and surely you are as well. We have a few days to mess around before we have to get right into things, so there's no point staying up late."

While I chuckled at my teammates taking their time getting into bed, I simply slipped into the over-King size sheets of my bed and face toward the wall. Turning off the lamp on my nightstand, I close my eyes, setting my inner clock to wake me up in exactly 9 hours, as long as nothing happens in between.

As the noise around me slowly drifts away, bringing me closer to sleep, I can't help but think about what just happened. With these new revelations about not being as healed as I thought, I have to figure out how to fix that, because if I stay broken in such an important way I'll never truly move forward.

Because no matter how much or how long I may love them, even to the end of time, if I had been the one to die then I would want them to love again. No matter how painful the thought, to truly honor their memory I must learn to love as freely as I once could with them, even if it feels like my heart is being torn apart as I do so.