Sylvia jumped at Lev's sudden intrusion, spinning to look at him. She chuckled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "H-hey! I didn't really mean to make a scene, honestly. I just was going to work out a bit by myself then Seymour came along and things just got a little heated, but hey at least we have some new training partners now!" Sylvia beamed before slipping into the bathroom and throwing off her workout clothes to throw on her pajamas. She opened the door again, the white bandages on her legs providing a stark difference between her normal leg and her silver shining prosthetics. The silverette slumped into her chair, taking off her boots and legs to give them a quick look over and make sure that they were okay and hadn't sustained any damage from the fire filled fight.

"You feelin' any better?" Sylvia asked, glad to find that there was no damage, the metal was just a bit hot to the touch. She moved onto her ports, checking for any possible damage or melted parts. "I know today's been a pretty hectic and stressful day, but I can promise you it'll probably get really boring, really quickly." Sylvia nodded with a satisfied smile as she noted that her ports were in the same condition as her prosthetics and boots.
 
"Sure, sure, it's not like half the campus crawled out of the dorms to watch that fight or anything." Lev responded from his side of the door. Once he heard the shower start, he shrugged his shoulders and settled on his bed, unoccupied for the moment. It was Sylvia's question after getting out of the shower that prompted more in-depth thought on the black haired boy's part. "...Yeah, I think I am. To be honest, I could use a bit of boring after all of this. The whole thing already feels like it happened years ago...I don't know, maybe it should have, considering how all my effort for her sake to end like it did. Regardless," Lev looked to Vance's sleeping form, then Reyna's, then back to Sylvia, "I'm glad you were all here to convince me otherwise. I feel like I owe everyone for it, y'know? Especially you, after how I've been..."
 
Sylvia shook her head at Lev's comment, turning to look at him. "Yeah, you did some crappy things, but you're learning so that's all that matters. Now, let's get to sleep, yeah?" So the week went by, Sylvia forced to sit out of off any sparring or intense training because of her burns. The team fell into a routine, Lev waking first with Vance close behind who dragged a reluctant and tired Sylvia with him. Reyna would wake up last and Sylvia would bring her team to breakfast to eat whether with Team SAGE or by themselves. Classes quickly picked up, homework and talk of a possible class mission filling student's minds. Finally Tuesday came around and Team SLVR headed off to meet with Team SAGE.

"Vance slow down!" Sylvia called, chuckling as the excitable faunus boy raced ahead. "Do you even know where you're going?" The silverette asked, watching as the wolf boy turned and started running backwards.

"I don't need to know! I can smell them!" Vance called back, turning around and whooping as he ran toward the training ground. "We're gonna have so much fun!" He practically skipped the rest of the way to the training ground, bouncing up and down as he waited for his teammates. The boy wore simple workout clothes, his weapon settled nicely on his hands.

Sylvia sighed with a fond smile as she and the rest of team caught up. She was still covered in bandages and antibiotic creams, but at the very least the burns shouldn't scar. At least the worst of it was hidden under her comfy sweatpants. She occasionally kept looking back at Reyna and Lev, mostly focusing on the pinkette considering her reactions to the faunus team.
 
Lev nodded at Sylvia's assessment, ready to make the best of what he had now. With this renewed mindset, he set to his work ethic even more than he had before. His mornings were spent alone, training his body with sprints, weights, and brief breakfasts away from his team. Once classes started, he did his best to stick with his team while he dug into his studies. Between classes was his reprieve to enjoy socializing with the other hunters, learning about the school from the rare upperclassmen that populated the campus. Homework was a breeze as long as he had time alone in the evening, though Vance never made it easy, and talk of class missions kept him active and inspired to work harder still. In his free time, he met with Wunderland to discuss the rest of his schooling, signing up for scholarships and grants where he could. With the recent "loss" of his family, his position in society, as well as his consistently high grades, made him applicable for many financial benefits in the long run. It wasn't long before he had a plan to proceed with. Everything was on track, so Tuesday came without a hitch, and Lev walked aside Sylvia, keeping an eye on her as he had been doing for most of her recovery time.

"Are you sure you're up for this, Syv?" He asked, folding his fingers into his hair with a smile. "With class missions coming up, it'd suck if you got put on any more meds." Worry for his leader aside, Lev was looking forward to training with team SAGE, especially since he had yet to meet them. Sure, he had seen them in class and around the halls, but he certainly couldn't talk about them like the rest of his team.

Reyna, meanwhile, was biting her thumb nail as she pondered the day's plans. Faunus. Faunus everywhere. They're so cool... she giggled to herself happily as she hung behind her team. Maybe she'd be able to just watch from afar today, so she hoped as she dragged her shield along.

Up ahead, Seymour and his team greeted Vance with a warm welcome. The SAGE leader was wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt, obviously ready for a full-fledged workout. He was pretty scrawny compared to his teammates, but his build wasn't lacking for anything regardless. His weapon didn't seem to be on his person, but a gym bag near their training site guaranteed he had something in store.

Gabe, being more withdrawn as usual, was stretching off to the side. He wore a black, sleek, form-fitting long sleeve shirt, and a pair of sweats for his training gear, and his weapons, a couple of modified hook swords, were at his side.

Abigale was right by Seymour's side, as usual, giving Vance a more pleasant greeting than his team ever received. It was obvious that it was because of Vance being a faunus, but it had become the norm for the lioness, even as she warmed up to most of team SLVR. She was dressed in the same clothes as the day she and Sylvia fought, taking a sense of pride in the tattered top and shorts.

Ellie was the most enthusiastic of her team, and had grown fond of seeing Vance's plucky and active personality where others had to get used to it over time. She had dropped her weapons, a pair of monstrous gauntlets that looked like they were ripped straight from a Paladin, to run and greet the approaching wolf boy. Despite being dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, she seemed to have the most to show for it. Her stockier frame and envy-inducing curvature was happy to have free reign in the shorter clothes, and the power that meshed itself into her arms and legs was way too obvious to put into words. It was like her muscles showed off without trying to.

"C'mon, slackers!" Abby called out to the rest of team SLVR, "We're bored over here!"
 
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As Lev voiced his concerns, Sylvia gave him her best reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. As long as I don't get into anything more straining than a very, very light spar or some typical training then I should be good. If worse comes to worse I can discuss tactics with Seymour." She stated, stretching out to crack her back before laughing at Abby's impatience. "We're coming, we're coming!" She continued her comfortable strides, smiling as she greeted everyone. "I hope you all are ready for today. Sadly, I'm gonna have to back out of any serious sparring, but I know my team's been itching to go." Sylvia smiled, glad to have a team far different than hers to learn from and bounce ideas off of.

Vance practically vibrated up until Sylvia mentioned that she wouldn't be sparring. "Aw, but I wanted to see you fight..." The faunus boy whined, trying to turn a puppy dog look onto Sylvia though he was glad his leader was taking some time to rest and recover. When he woke up to Sylvia covered in bandages, he had subsequently woken the rest of the dorm they lived in. It took both Sylvia and Rain a good thirty minutes to calm him down. Even then, when he saw Abby, he had growled quite loudly and practically lunged at her. He realized it was a spar so of course some injuries were going to happen, but Abby didn't have to go so far as to actually burn his precious leader! Still, the wolf boy had soon returned to his regular optimism and friendly demeanor once he got a good explanation and reminder that she hadn't meant to burn Sylvia so badly. Secretly the faunus still held a bit of a grudge against the lioness, wanting to release it through a good spar with her if possible. He knew he probably would lose, but gosh darn it she needed to know not to mess with his teammate and leader ever again!

Faint guilt washed through Sylvia as she smiled apologetically at the wolf faunus. "Sorry, bud, but Doctor's orders. Sides, I'd rather much see you and the others fight. You'll get to watch me fight a lot more later in the year, I promise." Looking over the two teams, Sylvia clapped her hands together and smiled. "All right then! Let's get started! What do we want to do first?"
 
Lev shrugged his shoulders before walking ahead, pulling out his rifle for a last minute inspection as he approached his new training partners, introducing himself officially to Gabe and Abby as Seymour came up to Sylvia, who overheard her comment to Vance.

"Ah, hello! It looks like you and I will be sitting out of spars for today then?" He spoke with a bit of relief, waving at Reyna before continuing. "Let's practice forms then! We can chat and observe everyone else too." The gazelle boy smiled, already prepared to have a slower day than his teammates.

"Well then, what are we supposed to do?" Asked Ellie obliviously. She had finished chatting with Vance, and had moved on to making Reyna more comfortable around her team.

Abby piped up in response. "What do you think, El? We're gonna fight!"

Before she could get another word out, Gabe teleported over to Vance, looking him up and down before shouting over to everyone else, "Dibs on him."

"No way! He picked a fight with me already! You think I'm just gonna let that go?" She stomped over to her panther teammate, eyes narrowed.

"...Dibs..." He shrugged, walking back over to his weapons and sheathing them in preparation. "If you wanted to fight him, you would've called dibs.

Ellie was quick to catch on to the trend. "Oh! Oh! I'll call dibs on Reyna!" She shouted as she prodded the pinkette over to the rest of the group.

"O-Oh no, Ellie, it's fine, really." She tried to back out of the cow girl's unbreaking grip, "I-I'm not feeling-

"You're sick? I can help! And don't be all intimidated. I promise I'll heal ya back to perfect health once I'm done beating the tar outta ya!" She said purely out of innocence. Reyna, however, felt her eyes narrow and a grin grow in response.

"...Oh it's on now!" She huffed, pulling her shield upright in a battle stance, causing Ellie to run off to collect her own weapons.

Abby could only growl in contempt as she watched her options dwindle, all until only Lev was left. Stomping up to him, she gave him a quick looking over before giving a glance back to Seymour. "Are you really gonna let them stick me with this twig? We don't even know him!"

"That's Lev, I assume." Seymour smiled, looking to Sylvia for confirmation before approaching the long haired boy, hand extended. "It's great to finally meet you! Your team talks a lot about you at breakfast."

Lev took the faunus's hand with an expression of curiosity. "Likewise... I hope they haven't talked too much." He forced out a chuckle, looking over his teammates. "I like to be a bit of a surprise, after all."

"O-Oh, no, not at all!" Seymour replied, quickly releasing Lev's hand with a less convincing smile. "Anyways, it looks like you'll be fighting Abby-"

"It's Abigale to him." Abby retorted, arms crossed.

"Right, Abigale." Seymour continued. "Reyna is fighting Ellie, and it looks like Vance will be sparring against Gabe. I'm excited to see what everyone can do!" He redoubled his jovial expression as he walked back to Sylvia. It wasn't long before everyone was in their own area, weapons at the ready, waiting for the word to begin their spars. Even Seymour had pulled his weapons out to practice with, a set of tonfa without any extraneous modifications aside from an extra handle for combative mix-ups.

"Why don't you give the word?" Seymour smiled at his training buddy before looking over his teammates with a bit of pride.
 
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As Gabe called dibs on Vance, the faunus boy tried not to feel disappointed. He bit his lip to keep from objecting as Abigale had, deciding instead to quip, "Don't worry Abby! I can kick your butt after I fight Gabe!" Before the lioness could retort the wolf boy trotted off to a different part of the training area, stretching out before facing Gabe. "Make sure you don't go easy on me, okay?" Vance smiled, ready to get going to fight.

Sylvia watched her teammates get paired off with a smile, chuckling as Abigale complained about fighting Lev. "I wouldn't underestimate him, Abigale. Lev's got quite a few tricks up his sleeve." Sylvia turned to Seymour, ready to get started when he asked her to give the word. Smiling widely Sylvia turned back to the pairs and shouted, "Everybody read? BEGIN!" With that the fights commenced.

Vance wasted no time, running at Gabe as soon as Sylvia announced their start. The boy was fast, reeling back and throwing a punch before turning and throwing another. Vance knew with Gabe's teleporting it would be hard to land a hit, so he kept turning to throw a punch, trying to predict how Gabe would move and where he would appear next. The wolf boy didn't seem to be tiring out as he twisted and turned, trying to find whatever advantage as he could while trying to avoid attacks from the panther boy.

The fights captured Sylvia's attention for a few minutes before she finally turned and started on her own training. "Right then. So, how've you and your team been? Excited for the possible class mission? I know Vance can't stop talking about it." Sylvia started, wanting to slowly edge into talking strategy after she had caught up a little bit on the happenings of team SAGE that they hadn't mentioned during their various breakfasts together. Sylvia stretched out as she talked, working to get everything nice and loose before she settled into her own forms, eyes occasionally trailing to the fights.
 
Gabe let his opponent's dismissal of him slide with a barely noticeable grin, eager to strut his stuff now more than ever. Abby wasn't so collected about Vance's assumption, but she had bigger fish to fry, at least according to Sylvia. As much as she hated to admit it, if the silverette thought her black-haired teammate could give her a good fight, she had to believe it.

At the call to begin, Gabe's stance sharpened. His first teleport saw him straight into one of Vance's curved punches, sending him flying to the side. Spitting out the taste of an initial defeat, he picked himself up and readied his blades. "Not bad, pup." He sneered, showing more emotion than he had for the whole week in that brief second. Then he was gone. The panther boy wouldn't let himself be beaten just because he started off small in his tactics. That's a mistake he wouldn't make again. Running up to his sparring partner, he teleported above his next swing, landing a solid kick to his jaw. However, instead of landing, Gabe teleported below Vance before his kick ended, using the leftover momentum to turn his flying kick into a leg-sweep. Catching the wolf boy on the hooks of his blades before he could stumble away, Gabe heaved him upward before teleporting in the air and catching him in the same way, then finally heaving him straight down. Now back on ground level, the panther boy rushed at his opponent in an attempt to finish him before he could recover.

Reyna, meanwhile, was clashing with strength on-par with Ellie's, meeting each other blow for blow. It seemed like an infinite amount of explosives were propelled from their fortress-like weapons as they fought, turning their portion of the battleground into a desolate waste of pure havoc. Neither side made much headway against the other, but it looked cool if nothing else.

Then there was Lev and Abigale. Taking a page from Vance's book, Abby started off strong, propelling herself towards Lev with a knee extended, intent on making contact with the black haired fighter. Seeing her come in close, Lev didn't even bother with using his rifle, changing to his melee set so he could deflect her attack with his gauntlet. She didn't give him any satisfaction, however, stopping her propulsion to extend her leg, bringing her heel crashing on the opposite side of Lev's raised guard. Using the stun from the hit, Abby didn't hesitate to batter her opponent senseless. If it was gonna be this easy, then she'd have a bone to pick with Sylvia.

Seymour smiled wide as he watched everyone fight, letting himself get caught up in the action before remembering his own training. Beginning with a basic Tai Chi form, he responded to Sylvia's questions. "Ah, well we've all been very hard at work." He explained, working his tonfa into his exercise as he talked. "I've been pushing Ellie to get a tutor, but she's very stubborn despite how she acts. She just wants to seem as independent as everyone else, when the truth is quite the opposite." He paused for a moment to focus on a particular set of movements, turning back to Sylvia with a grin once he found a position of rest, "We all rely on each other, no matter where we are. A mountain is no mountain without the snow, the trees, the rivers, and the creatures. That is what gives it life. Strength. That is what makes a mountain a mountain." He seemed to quote the explanation with an expression of serenity, matching the look of his water-like movements. He chuckled as he came to another point where he could talk. "Ah, but Ellie is a simple soul. I tend to overcomplicate things, so it is nice to have Abby and Gabe around. With all of them, I truly feel like we make up a most amazing peak. As for the mission, we are all eager to display our skills. There have been so many lectures, but we do not train to hear others speak. We train to act as one in order to protect and serve. I think the mission will be a wonderful change...but enough about SAGE. How are you and your fellows?"
 
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Finally landing the hit, Vance practically glowed as he watched the panther boy go flying. Then Gabe said it. Vance instantly lost his happy glow, shock at first permeating his features. Shock quickly morphed into anger. His wolf ears flew back, a growl leaving his throat. Vance quickly resumed his strategy as Gabe ran at him, only to be quickly kicked and thrown into the air. Vance didn't have time to retaliate, simply taking the beating for the moment as Gabe. Once back on the ground, Vance stood up slowly, planting himself as he turned to face Gabe dead on, watching him carefully and reeling his fist back. His eyes seemed to burn as the boy waited for his chance. Gabe reached him, unleashing his last attack. However, it didn't seem to affect Vance as he threw his fist. All the power that had been behind Gabe's final blow hit him with twice the force. He didn't stop there. Vance let Gabe get up and try to hit him again. Gabe's power worked against him. Every hit the panther made reversed and hit him instead. The wolf boy panted as he watched Gabe. "Could a pup do that?" Vance growled out, a deep venom lacing his voice as he glared at the other boy. Disappointment raced through the wolf boy's veins along with his rising anger. He had thought, out of all people, at the very least Gabe and his team would know better. "You know I'm not just some dog. I thought you of all people would know that." Vance growled out, his hurt lacing his voice.

Sylvia listened intently as she worked through her own exercises. Unlike Seymour's fluid and water-like movements, Sylvia's were sharp and steady. She bit her lip as she tried to think of what her team had been doing over the week. "Well, I'm still struggling to get Lev to join team breakfast, but he has his own little morning routine so I don't wanna put too much pressure on him to join the whole group when he still hangs out with us afterwards and such. I know Vance's been struggling a little bit with the amount of homework, Reyna too, but we're all helping each other out so nobody really has any problems. Honestly, right now I'm trying to get to know them and their fighting styles better so I can properly start making formations and combo attacks and the like. Though, I've got a really good feeling about us. I'm really glad they're my team. Plus, they trusted me enough to let me look at their weapons. I guess that means I better live up to that trust." She smiled, looking over her teammates before settling on Vance, frowning as she saw his hurt and angry stance. She hesitated, about to go over and figure out what was wrong, but she wasn't sure if this was something she should intervene with or let Vance handle himself.
 
It didn't take much longer for the explosive energy coming from Ellie and Reyna to cease. Their bout ended in a total draw, but it didn't seem to phase them. Now they were simply examining each other's weapons and semblances, and chatting and giggling like close friends.

Lev and Abby's fight, however, had just taken a sharp turn. Thick, heavy smoke was pouring out of the black haired boy's cloak, the pin to one of his smoke grenades twirling around his finger. He gave the lioness a sly grin before he disappeared in the smoke, prodding her frustration to a peak. "Don't think you're getting away with anything, runt!" She shouted, using her jet stream to blast away as much smoke as she could. However, wherever she shot, more smoke seemed to flood towards, as though it were an organic wall, constantly regenerating, reforming, and growing. At the top of it all, still unnoticed by his fiery opponent, was Lev, sniper now at the ready. His shots came fast and hard, cutting through Abigale's less than adequate defenses. Her situation only worsened as panic built up. At first she made a few pot-shots with fireballs, but Lev could move just as easy on the smoke as she could on the ground. There would be no hitting him like that. Eventually she got overly desperate, propelling herself up to his level, only to meet a poetic end as his heel, at the ready to intercept her ascent, came crashing down on her head, sending her spiraling into the cloud of smoke. From then it was only a matter of time before their battle ended, with Lev walking out of his dissipating cloud as the victor. Abby was quick to call him a cheater, but the black haired boy only chuckled at her assessment before getting into a more battle-centric topic with the lioness, effectively quelling her anger.

Seymour smiled as he watched his teammates and team SLVR in battle, getting a laugh at how most of the fights were turning out before returning his attention to Sylvia. "Yes, I know what you mean! There is something...pleasant, about having such wonderful people look up to me. I feel as though I am unworthy, but that only drives me to do better for all of us!" His excitement grew with his grin, though his movements were still as practiced as ever. "Even though the pressure of being called 'leader' is great, I feel like the bonds I have forged make the position easier. It is as though they would take the reigns for me if I needed the break." Seymour would have been happy to continue training on that note, but his eyes followed Sylvia's to Vance. "...Oh no..." the Gazelle whispered to himself, seeing how Gabe was taking the shift in attitude.

Gabe was taken by surprise as Vance's fury took hold of the fight. The panther boy was blown back with ease, landing on his hide plenty of times more than he had wanted. However, Vance's anger, disappointment, and offense kept him working harder, harder, and harder still. It was only when the wolf boy spoke out that Gabe's own expression changed. "Are you...offended? At a word?!" He scoffed, his voice taking a much hotter tone as he continued to fight. "You aren't that dense, Vance!" Gabe snarled back, changing up his strategies to a more grapple-centric approach. He let Vance's blows slide harmlessly into his hooks, using nothing but his opponent's momentum to run him into the ground. "How dare you think I don't respect you!" He roared, eventually releasing one of his blades to clasp his hand on Vance's face, driving him back towards the ground to hold him in place. "I am a kit, and you are a pup. That is our lot. I've accepted mine with dignity because I am no human." Gabe hissed, standing above the wolf boy with vigor in his eyes. The usually chilled out panther was clearly taking just as much offense as his opponent, but he vented it in a way that seemed honed and practiced for a long, long time. "I am a kit. Untrained. Still a child that needs to be taught. You are a pup. Untrained. Still a child that needs to be taught. Our friends are babies and adolescents! Untrained! Still children that need to be taught!" He repeated his point louder and louder as he looped a hook under Vance's shirt, tugging him up to eye level and practically clashing the wolf boy's forehead against his own. "We are all small in this big world. Don't twist my words for me. If we were really friends, that never would have been an issue." Gabe gave one last long glare before shoving Vance back down to the dirt and walking away, tossing aside his blade and ignoring any call to return, despite the battle's outcome.

Seymour turned back to Sylvia with concern in his eyes as his other teammates began to run after Gabe. "I-I'm sorry Sylvia, we'll have to talk more another time." He said quickly, packing up his things and dashing off with a wave so he could catch up with his team. Meanwhile Lev and Reyna were making their way over to Vance, wondering what the hullaballoo between the two fighters was all about.
 
The scene seemed only to escalate. Sylvia cursed as Seymour apologized. "No, it's all right. Go make sure he's all right." She said as the gazelle boy left. Sylvia ran towards her own faunus boy, eyes full of concern as Reyna and Lev ran towards him as well. Just what had gone on between the two boys?

Vance glared harder at the panther boy, unable to get a word in edgewise. Gabe just didn't get it! Vance had thought he would understand, he would know why such words were so harmful. Of course as soon as he finds someone who might understand they just go and prove him wrong. Slowly, he pushed himself up as his teammates rushed to his side. He could hear Sylvia ask him what was wrong, if he was hurt, but he brushed her off as he stood. "He called me a 'pup'. He called me a dog. I thought they would know better-he would know better. Just because we're not human doesn't mean we're animals!" Vance exclaimed, shaking as he tried his hardest not to lash out. His eyes burned with a bright fire, still riled up.

"Vance..." Sylvia started, stepping closer to the boy. "You know he probably didn't mean it like that. He was probably just teasing, that's all." Sylvia took another step, reaching to place a hand on Vance's shoulder.

He shrugged it off, turning his glare on Sylvia. "That doesn't mean he should still say it! I'm not an animal! I'm a person! Just like he is and you are and everyone is! I'm a Faunus, not some pet!" Vance practically growled at his teammates, his ears fluffed out and pulled back.

Seeing how her teammate was reacting, Sylvia sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Vance, I know-"

"No!" Vance cut off before Sylvia could start. "You don't know! None of you know! You don't know what it's like to be treated as a lesser, as some kind of pet! You guys don't know how many times I got called 'pup' or 'dog' by people I thought were my friends! You don't know what it's like to have to fear for your family or be afraid going into stores because the store owner doesn't trust you because they think you're some dirty animal! You don't know what it's like to be underestimated and belittled because of some stupid part of you that you can't change! When people call me pup they're trying to demean me! Don't you dare try to say you know when you'll never know!" The Faunus was practically yelling, glaring at his leader. Sylvia tried to speak, but Vance cut her off before she could even try. "And don't you dare try to say this is all okay when it's not! You all just don't understand! Just leave me alone!" In his anger, Vance threw a punch at Sylvia.

Sylvia saw the bullets working to leave as Vance activated his weapon. Almost instantly, Sylvia stared at the gauntlets, turning the weapons off and detaching them from Vance. The two weapons fell to the ground. Sylvia caught Vance's punch. Vance watched with shock, his anger slowly leaking away as he realized he had just been about to hit his leader. Tears sprung to Vance's eyes, slowly trailing down his cheeks as sobs started to bubble up. Sylvia's expression softened as she pulled the sobbing faunus into a hug. "I was going to say I know you're hurting Vance, but you need to apologize and talk it out with Gabe. You need to explain exactly what you were thinking and try to understand his side too, okay? For now, let's head back to the dorm. We can all hang out and relax there, okay? We're going to support you, Vance. I just don't want you to lose a good friend." Sylvia slowly rubbed the boy's back, up and down and up and down. The group waited for a while as Vance cried, starting to move once his sobs had quieted into the occasional sniffle and whimper. Team SLVR headed back to their dorm, ready to settle down after the dramatic battle.
 
Lev stood back once he saw Vance heating up. There was nothing he could do to diffuse the situation, that much was clear. Reyna, on the other hand, felt completely useless and didn't know why. She wanted to tell him to stop, to quiet down, to relax...anything, really, to help everyone get along. However, Vance's action immediately shut those feelings down, bringing a somber smile to her face. She got it now. That would've just been pity. After Sylvia had calmed down the wolf boy, Reyna stepped to his side and brought him to her level in a playful headlock-hug.

"Listen," she began, leaning her head on his as if she wasn't forcing it down in the first place, "I love ya Vance, but if you throw a punch at anyone on our team again, I'll treat you like everyone else who does the same." As she spoke she curled and uncurled her fist, as if playing with the idea of giving him a good sock in the shoulder. Looking into his eyes, she made sure her point was clear before dropping her fist and wrapping the faunus into a hug. "Try to control your temper, man. I don't wanna hit my best friend." She sniffled, giving one last squeeze before releasing Vance from her vice grip and walking beside him back to their room.

Eventually team SLVR arrived at the dorm. However, upon turning the corner to their hall, Sylvia was met with force, pushing her against the wall by her shoulder. Hovering a mere inch or two away from her face was a wildly grinning visage, with sharp teeth, and a vicious, copper-like hue sparkling from its eyes. With one hand pressed against her shoulder, and the other placed on the wall right next to her face, he spoke to the silverette like prey to toy with.

"Hey girl," he seemed to hiss through his teeth, "now that you're done playing paddy-cake with those tree-hugging pansies, why not watch a real man work?"

Before the strange new person could get another word in, Lev stepped up and removed his hand from Sylvia's shoulder. He could see the gears in her head turning, but this was a satisfaction he felt he earned. Where he hadn't been able to comfort Vance, he would do his part to protect his leader to make up for it. "Sorry man, but-"

"No! No it's fine!" The boy, now evident to be a faunus, stepped easily out of Lev's grip with no less of a grin than he initially had. "But did you see her face? Priceless! What are you, her boyfriend?" He cackled violently, slapping his knee in an unnatural sort of gut-busting laughter before halting all noise entirely and looking up slowly at his aggressor. "...but hey, you coulda twisted my arm off like that." The boy's splotchy black and brown ears matched his bristly, dusty brown hair as he stepped forward to Lev, causing the cautious sharpshooter to back up to his own wall. Leveling a growl at Lev, the hyena boy continued, "I can't let you just get away with that, can I? Letting off newbies too easily makes 'em get a big head." Once the stranger was about a foot away from Lev, he took in as much air as he could...and barked.

Lev didn't have time to be confused. As soon as the sound exited the faunus's mouth, the wave rammed against him with enough force to press him straight into the wall, indenting and cracking it. All the breath was forced out of Lev with the sudden attack, as though his gut had taken a hit from a train, causing him to cough and sputter on the floor.
 
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Vance nearly bust out into tears again when Reyna scolded him, but simply nodded as she asked him not to make him hurt her best friend. Faintly, the faunus boy felt a rush of pure joy run through his veins. He had a best friend! He really, truly had a best friend! A smile slowly started to return to his face but was quickly wiped off as some boy pushed his leader against a wall, getting far too close to comfort. Vance felt the hairs on the back of his neck practically stand on end. A low growl left his throat, staring at the boy that dared get so close to his leader, dared to make such insinuations.

Really, she hadn't expected it. Sylvia had thought they would all just walk back to their dorm and everything would be perfectly fine. Then she was pushed up against the wall with this stranger practically breathing in her face, standing too close far too close. Sylvia didn't get a chance to react, Lev pulling the boy away for her. The boy put her whole nerves on edge. As he cackled, Sylvia finally found her voice and interjected. "He's one of my teammates, now if you'd be so kind-" but the boy started to speak again, speaking to Lev once again as he seemed to enjoy the interaction far too much. Then he barked. At first Sylvia though it wouldn't do much when Lev was suddenly thrown against the wall with enough force to crack the surface. "Lev!" Sylvia gasped, about to move to help the boy when a growl caught her attention.

"You sick son of a-" Vance growled, moving toward the man. How dare this man not only lay his hands on his leader but hurt his teammate! He needed to be taught a lesson! He needed to know not to mess with his team ever again! Vance was going to beat the ever living crap out of him. Before he could even take another step forward, Sylvia put her arm in front of him, stopping him.

"Vance." She started, her tone gaining a commanding edge. "Go help Lev up."

The wolf boy stared at his leader, torn. "But-"

"Now, Vance." Sylvia knew this wasn't a person they wanted to mess with. Despite her urge to rip this guy a new one for hurting her teammate and trying to get far too close, she needed to remain calm. If this guy could take Lev down so easily then they weren't going to be able to just fight him off, especially in the dorm. Vance looked between Sylvia and the stranger, his teeth still bared in a growl and ears fluffed in absolute rage, but he followed his leader's orders and headed over to Lev, offering a hand and helping the boy up off the floor. Looking back at the boy in front of them, Sylvia crossed her arms across her chest. "I really don't appreciate you attacking my teammate like that and getting in my face. However, I'd rather not get into a fight, especially since we're in the middle of a dorm and way too close for someone to get hurt. Now, how about we just go our separate ways and you never bother me, my team, or any other girl that has the misfortune of meeting you again. Come on guys. Let's get to our dorm." Sylvia moved to brush past the strange other boy, wanting to just get to her dorm and work on some designs for her boots. She was so close to adding a bullet system, but there were still quite a few kinks she needed to work out first.
 
The hyena boy moved his eyes from one target to another with glee, ready to take a crack at Vance before Sylvia spoke up. "Oho? Lookie here at little miss smartie-pants!" He cackled, stepping up to her once more, though keeping a more respectable distance than before. He was about to retort, but Sylvia started to try and brush past him. Leaning against the wall to cut off her attempt, he sighed, baring his sharp teeth in a grin that, to Reyna, who was hiding in the back of her group, was starting to become grating on the nerves.

"Hey hey hey! Slow down! Who said anything about getting into a fight with a few weaklings? I'm just putting the trash in its place." He was looking at Sylvia, but something in his expression seemed to address Lev, intent on causing him to lash out again. Before that could happen, a long and lithe tail slunk around the faunus's neck, hoisting him up and away from team SLVR, and tightening enough to stop him from trying to yell. The culprit of the act was a monkey girl, which only caused Reyna to slink further into her shell. Brushing her lengthy, braided brunette ponytail off her shoulder, she looked up to the victim of her tail-noose.

"Zeppah, you're not even worth the muscle it takes to lift you. Why do you keep making me hunt you down? We're supposed to be training today." She spoke with a serious tone despite the bubbly sound of her voice, not bothering to address any of team SLVR.

"Don't act like you don't love me, Roxie." He coughed out a cackle before the girl could redouble the tightness of her tail.

Through all of this, Lev had been seething. He had finally managed to wiggle away from Vance's helping hand in order to retort, and even if there was now double the danger, he was intent on defending his pride. "Who are you calling weak?" He shouted, stepping up ahead of Sylvia. From what he could tell, his leader was probably right. These people were on a totally different level. That said, it hadn't stopped the black haired boy from picking fights before.

Roxie didn't even give Zeppah the time to smile at the reaction he wanted to see from Lev, continuing to tighten her tail as she walked towards the angry boy. Without warning, she threw a punch at his center of mass. It was a simple matter to block it.

"Is that all?" Lev huffed, already feeling the regret of the statement build up in his throat.

Roxie only smiled, pulling back and firing off again. And again, her punch was blocked. However, the other three that came with it crashed against Lev's jaw, collar, and hip, causing him to slump on the floor in a heap that was trying desperately not to curl up against his wounds. As much as he wanted to get up and shrug off the hit, his aura was already too low from his spar with Abigale. The blood coming from his lip and tongue told him that much.

"You shouldn't be picking fights you know you can't win, kid." The monkey girl sighed, looking proudly at her hand... hands. Her one arm had multiplied at the shoulder. Not split. Multiplied into three more limbs. The arms slowly meshed back into one as the girl looked over the rest of SLVR's members, curious as to what their reactions would be. Reyna bit down on her lip as she watched the event unfurl. Clasping onto Vance's arm to keep him from trying to interject again, she dug into her memory, trying to remember when she had seen these people before. They seemed so familiar...
 
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Sylvia wrinkled her nose as the boy kept badgering them, refusing to let them just keep going on and daring to call them trash. However, before Sylvia could respond a monkey tail wrapped itself around the boy's neck and pulling him away to Sylvia's relief. Now all she had to do was round up her teammates and get them-she stared as Lev decided to assert himself. Now, normally she was all about standing up for yourself and making sure you got the respect you deserved. Despite this, she desperately wanted to just pull Lev away and explain why they could do that later when there weren't upper classmen who were willing to physically attack them to prove a point. "Lev-" She started, a warning deepening her voice. She didn't get the chance as Lev seemed ready to goad these people even more.

If it weren't for Reyna's grip on his arm, Vance would have attacked the others for not letting them leave and attacking his teammate so brutally. His growls hadn't left for a single moment. His eyes switched from the boy-Zeppah was his name-and the newcomer, Roxie. It was faunus like these two that gave all of them a bad name, but at the moment Vance could care less whether they were faunus, humans, or Grimm themselves. They were hurting his teammate and he wouldn't stand for it. As soon as he saw Lev crumple, he lurched forward, stopped by Reyna's arm.

Watching Lev block the first two hits sent an unwelcome wave of pride through Sylvia, but she quickly felt that turn to dread and horror as Lev crumpled to the ground, lip bleeding. If looks could kill, Zeppah and Roxie would've been sent straight to hell and back again. Sylvia knelt down to check over Lev's injuries before pulling him up and keeping a hand on his arm, gripping it almost painfully. "Lev. They're stronger than us right now. Stop trying to goad them into fighting you. We know you're not weak, and we're in the dorm. You don't need to prove anything to them. So settle down and you can vent when we're in our room." She turned to the two, a fire blazing in her eyes. "I'd appreciate it if you all let us just get to our dorm room and stop attacking my teammate. There's a time and a place, but right now it's immature of you two to respond to a little goading from us trash." The silverette was working her hardest to keep civil and diplomatic with the older students, even if she wanted to take a leaf out of Lev's book and show these idiots just what trash could do. Despite her greatest efforts, she couldn't help the bit of venom that came out as she repeated their insult, still laying them with a glare that would make the coldest man flinch. "Let's go, Lev. Vance. Reyna." Once again, Sylvia attempted to shepherd her team into their dorm so she could just get to designing in peace. Her grip never left Lev's arm, ready to pull him away or back from any type of defense he may pull to salvage some of his pride.
 
Roxie crossed her arms and watched the rest of team SLVR react to Lev's injuries, a bit of frustration lacing her expression. Even as Sylvia spoke to her with coldness and fury, she didn't let her expression change.

"I don't know why you're lumping me with Zeppah here." she wiggled her tail, causing the hyena boy's body to ragdoll around. "Your friend wanted to be tested, so I tested him. He just couldn't handle it. That's not being weak. That's being unprepared. If I hadn't held back, I might've broken some bones." This caused Lev's eyes to blaze, but he could do nothing in Sylvia's grasp. Zeppah was in a similar position, simply smiling at his victims without a sound, knowing his neck would pay for any noise.

As Sylvia walked away, Roxie payed attention to the names she spoke. It wasn't until Reyna passed her by that she shouted back to her. "Hey, what's your name?" Before Sylvia could turn to response, a smaller boy crossing their path spoke up.

"Sylvia Slater," he reminded Roxie as he walked down the hall, "leader of team SLVR." While he was a bit short, his entire presence commanded obedience. His hair was dark blue with brighter highlights, and his eyes were the same: Vicious pools of sapphire that almost demanded obedience. He wore a trench-coat similar to Lev's, but underneath he wore a dark blue collar shirt and black khakis. Upon hearing and seeing him, Roxie had released Zeppah and hunched against the wall with a sigh, Zeppah following suit as though he wasn't being actively strangled by his teammate.

Meanwhile, the gears had been whirring in Reyna's head when the newcomer crossed their path. One look at him made everything clear. Releasing Vance's arm, she moved up to where Sylvia was walking and whispered her news out of earshot of the upperclassmen team.

"That was Azule! The Azure Emperor; The Grim Reaper; The Ice King! I totally forgot he went to Beacon... He placed second in the last Vytal Tournament, and those are two of the teammates that got him there. I can't believe I didn't recognize them-" but Lev had already heard what he wanted. With a deep breath, he struggled against Sylvia's grip to turn around, wiping away the blood from his mouth.

"Azule! I challenge you to a duel!" Lev shouted back at the blue haired boy. There was a brief silence that followed his request, but slowly, Azule turned around and observed his soon-to-be opponent.

After seeing the minor injuries Roxie left on him, Azule responded, "Why should I? If you couldn't stand up to my teammates, then you can't stand up to me."

Lev didn't flinch at his assumption. "My aura is down from a spar, and your team didn't feel light fighting fair. Now that I know what they can do, it'd be a breeze to send them packing." Roxie and Zeppah were both about to retaliate to the black haired boy's conviction, but Azule lifted an arm to halt them, nodding his head for Lev to continue, his expression unchanged. "...We're here to get stronger, right? I'm no pushover. I'll make sure you don't forget our fight. Maybe then you can wring out an apology from your teammates." Lev chuckled, but Azule's face didn't even twitch in response.

"...When and where."

"In three days, on the flats." Lev thought for a moment before adding, "Shall we make a wager?"

Azule visibly caught fire at the mention of a wager, and hints of emotion began to tug at the ends of his mouth. His teammates were starting to crack up, but he redoubled his motion of silence. "We shall."

"You look like you have an idea."

"I do. Loser has to change their weapon until after the first team mission of the semester. Winner decides what that'll be."

Lev pondered the idea for a moment before responding with a definitive, "Deal."


Azule acknowledged the duel with a final nod before looking at Vance, then Reyna, then Sylvia last, practically mowing her glare down with his impossibly straight expression. "If there's anything I can do to repay you for treating my team so civilly despite their actions, let me know." he said before walking away with his team close at his heels.

With a sigh, Lev turned back around and let his head droop. He knew he'd probably get it from Sylvia, but what was done was done. What he didn't expect was for Reyna to grasp his shoulders and start shaking him around.

"You idiot!" she shouted, "are you trying to get yourself killed? I don't know what's going through that wall of hair covering up your pea-brain, but at least inform us before you go making stupid decisions!"

Reyna was right to be frustrated, as was the rest of the team. Ever since the incident with Lev's mother, he had been in an emotional purgatory. He was as friendly as the first day in the Emerald Forest, and as open as a book, but it all seemed hastily painted on and overly casual. He backed away from emotional shows, and did his best not to get involved any further than a surface-level relationship.

"I appreciate your concern, but I don't have to answer to you guys all the time, y'know?" Lev responded, shrugging off Reyna's grip with the same smile that adorned his face since the week before.
 
Sylvia was about to respond to Roxie when a different boy did it for her. She was about to just ignore it when Reyna whispered to her that this boy was the apparently famed Azure Emperor who had gotten second in the Vytal festival. It flattered the leader that he knew who she was, though the feeling didn't last long as Lev spun around and declared his intent to duel Azule. She wanted to stop him, really she did, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise. All right, fine, Lev would have to learn the hard way that he couldn't just go around challenging the strongest person expecting to beat them and further feed his ego. Then he had to make a wager. He had to make the stupid wager that could only go so, so wrong. The girl wasn't just angry at the black haired boy now, oh no. She was livid. At Azule's comment of repayment, Sylvia simply gave a terse nod. Right now she just needed to get her team back in their room and for all of them to calm down... after she gave Lev the lecture of a lifetime.

Vance stopped his growling once the threat to his teammates was gone, but that anger quickly melted into fear when he noticed how stiff Sylvia was. He watched her expression change from mild anger to a vivid lividness that had him leaning away. He understood Lev's need to prove himself against the best, see how he stacked up, but the wager proved extremely problematic. Vance kept quiet and close to Reyna as Sylvia silently shepherded her team back into their room. Almost immediately Vance pulled Reyna onto his bed and hugged her, trying to hide from the wrath of their leader. Sylvia was such a calm and relaxed girl. He didn't want to be Lev right now.

Once everyone was back in the room, Sylvia shut the door with an almost delicate calm. With her back to the team, it almost seemed like the girl was just acting like normal. However, the room seemed to drop a few degrees as Sylvia turned around, frowning at Lev. "I don't understand why in the name of all that is holy you decided to do that." Sylvia didn't raise her voice, though her fury came clearly in her tone. "If you really wanted to prove yourself against the strongest kid in school you could have waited for a better opportunity, a tournament or anything rather than some random fight." The leader started to pace, frustration filling her veins. "Think of what could happen in that fight. Best case scenario, you get out with some minor injuries and a bruised ego. Worst case scenario, we have to bench you because you got injured in the fight. Lev, we have a class mission coming up. What happens if we need you and you can't be there because you got yourself hurt trying to pick a fight with someone way out of your league? I know you don't have to always answer to us, but when it starts to affect the team as a whole then you sure as hell need to answer to us." Sylvia's stopped her pacing and turned to face Lev, brought to her full height and chest puffed out.

"Then you had to go and suggest a wager! Lev, what were you thinking? What happens if you lose and you have to change your weapon? What happens when we need our sharpshooter and we don't have him because he's still learning how to use a different weapon? Lev, I know you're a quick learner and a great fighter, but you can't just go and pick up a new weapon just like that! It's not only going to be a detriment to you in the field, but to all of us. You're putting the whole team at risk just to boost your ego and defend your pride!" Sylvia's voice had started to rise, slowly reaching a shout as she got in Lev's face, eyes burning with flames. "You can't always keep thinking about how to prove yourself, how to benefit you the most! You're part of a team! Everything you do affects the team! You can't get away thinking so selfishly all the time and not expect us all to suffer for it! What if you chose to do something to boost your own ego in the field? That could put us all in danger and possibly get us killed! You need to stop thinking just about how to be the best and start focusing on how to help the team!" Sylvia was practically nose to nose with Lev, still fuming.

Vance flinched away at the yelling, curling to try and hide behind Reyna as he watched Sylvia tear into Lev. His arms still kept wrapped tightly around the pinkette, nearly whimpering as he could practically feel the anger and concern come off of Sylvia in waves. He just wanted to hide under the covers before that anger got turned on him.
 
Lev could feel the anger around Sylvia as they walked back into their room, but he made no mention of it. He knew it was directed at him, at the very least. It wasn't that he blamed her, but it really wasn't such a big deal, was it? She must be overreacting. So he stood at attention in the room's center, waiting for his leader to shut the door so he could look her in the eyes. Sure enough, the lecture started as soon as she turned around. It started like every other one he had gotten. I don't understand. You could have waited for a better time. Think of what could happen.

He had heard all that before, so he couldn't help letting a sigh of relief escape his lips as she shifted topics to the wager. Granted, that was something he hadn't expected, but a fight was never interesting enough without something riding on its coattails. He nodded at the points Sylvia made, but ceased once he started hearing familiar things again. You're putting us at risk. It's just to boost your ego and defend your pride. You're always thinking of yourself. You're selfish and we all suffer for it. It was like listening to his classmates back at Signal after a practice run, only he knew that his team now wasn't as weak as them.

"Yeah, but being the best will help the team." He responded casually, running a hand through his hair in boredom. "I think fighting Azule will be a good learning experience more than anything. Maybe a win isn't in my favor, but I couldn't let the chance pass me by. It's not like you guys really need me or anything. Seems like all I'm good for is single combat." He shrugged his shoulders and walked to his bed, ignoring Sylvia's proximity, and slumped down without much of a care. "So no worries. It'll be fine."

Reyna had let a smile creep to her face in the hall when she realized just what was going on between Sylvia and Lev. She didn't expect to be so suddenly drawn as a shield between them and Vance, but she hugged the wolf boy close regardless. Seeing the silverette in fumes was definitely not something they were used to. That said, this moment felt weeks late. Reyna had warned them all about the trouble Lev could cause. They trusted her, sure, but now they were really seeing. The pinkette grinned as the anger in her leader poured out in her words. She was finally getting it. Lev was a selfish jerk, and he'd get them all killed. He deserved to be scolded at the very least. Yet he took it in the worst way possible: Just standing there and responding as if Sylvia hadn't been shouting his ears off, her face turning red as a result. Just watching him walk after going through a lecture like that made Reyna angry. However, she couldn't do anything about it. This was Sylvia's beast to conquer now. Reyna had done all she could when they were all getting to know each other. So she sat back with Vance held close in her arms, watching the two partners clash in their own way.
 
His pure dismissal of her only got Sylvia more fired up. His words only worked to anger her more, hitting a particularly sore spot. "That's crap." She stated, her voice coming down from its shout but still holding the same intensity and fury. "That is complete and utter crap and you know it! We don't need you? Then what was the situation back in Emerald Forest? You're saying we didn't need you then? Or what about future fights? Are you saying we won't need you then? Damn it, Lev, if we don't need you then why did we fight so hard to keep you here with us? Why did we stand up for you? Why did I try so hard to help you if we didn't need you?" Tears started to burn at Sylvia's eyes from the pure frustration. Her voice started to strain as she continued to lecture Lev, trying to make him understand just what he was saying. "We did it not only because we care about you, but because we need you Lev. Because of that you can't just go and throw yourself against the strongest enemy all the time just to test yourself. If you lose then we're going to be stuck without our sharp shooter because he's most likely injured and still learning a new weapon!" Tears were starting to escape, but Sylvia wiped them away in frustration.

Vance's ears twitched as he noticed the change in his leader. He slowly let go of Reyna and watched as Sylvia worked to contain her tears. Her whole body had started to tremble, a far cry from her stiff and solid angry posture. He could still tell the silverette was angry. She still held herself high and puffed out her chest indignantly. However the salty tears trailing down her face and hitching breath ruined the effect.

"You're saying it's going to be fine, but what happens if it's not fine, Lev?" Sylvia started again, her voice starting to clog with the start of her tears. "What happens if you get hurt or something happens and you can't be part of this team anymore." Reyna's earlier comment rushed back, Sylvia now realizing where she had been going, why she had apologized so profusely. "You can't just go around saying we don't need you and acting like it won't affect us when it will! So don't you dare act like we don't need you or that you're better off going solo!" She rubbed at her eyes harshly, trying to stem the flow of tears that the floodgates had broken. She wanted desperately for Seymour to appear, to let her hug him tightly as he had when Lev had called her such hurtful things. Was that truly how he felt about her? Had all this niceness and openness just been a trick? The silverette wanted to run, to get away from the people and the responsibilities and the hurt that the room seemed to hold. But her team needed her. She couldn't leave. Her team needed her.

"Sylvia...?" Vance started, the name coming out as a whimper. He didn't want to see the poor girl cry, but it felt wrong to interrupt her when she was trying so hard to show Lev just how important he was to this team, how he had to think outside of himself and the pride he held.

Hearing her name, Sylvia whipped around to see Vance looking wide eyed and scared. The leader softened as she knelt down to look Vance in the eye, the faunus boy loosing the rest of his grip on Reyna. "Vance, I'm not angry at you. I'm sorry if it seemed that way or if I scared you." Sylvia started, her voice soft. "Though I still want you to apologize to Gabe tomorrow and talk with him, understood?"

Vance nodded fiercely. "I will." He gave a small smile as Sylvia breathed out a quiet, "good", pulling the faunus boy into a hug to let him know that everything was (hopefully) okay. As he hugged her, Vance sent Lev a quick glare for making their leader cry. He was willing to just keep holding onto Sylvia and let her cry when she pulled away.

Her tears kept coming stubbornly. Sylvia took deep breaths, turning to face Lev and wait for his response. She had tried to cross her arms and hold strong, but she found herself continuously rubbing at her face and harshly wiping away tears that seemed determined to dampen her fury and effect as a leader.
 
Lev sat with a neutral expression as Sylvia continued her rant, but then tears began to form, throwing him off from the usual lecture. Throwing him off of everything he was used to, actually. "It'll...no, you're wrong, it'll be fine. I just-" But she kept going. She kept crying. He didn't have a way to justify himself. This wasn't Signal. These weren't his "friends." No, once he was able to force himself to look Sylvia in the eyes, he could feel just how wrong he had been. Nausea built up as he listened on, and his chest burned, tormenting him further beyond his once-limited thoughts on his team. This was no school where he could return home after a long day of work.

His breath hitched. There was no home anymore. Sylvia had finished with him by now. Vance was comforting her, and Reyna was moving to do the same, her glare fixated on him. Before his breathing could become any faster, or his face any more red, Lev picked himself up, slowly, and moved to the door. Taking a glance back at his teammates, he felt his own tears begin to boil over. They were his only chance at a family now, and his decision to fight against Azule only acted as another shove away. Quietly as he could, he grabbed his rifle and left the room. It wasn't until he was out of the dorm that he let himself throw up, using a nearby trash can to relieve his stomach of guilt, self-hate, and fear. It didn't make his chest hurt any less though, so he pressed on, desperate for something to take his mind off of himself for a change.

Reyna, meanwhile, wrapped up her teammates as best as she could, angry to see Lev just bail on them, but happy that his true colors had shown, at least as she knew them. "Sylvia? Let us know what we can do." She sniffed, wondering what would happen now that the silverette had her fill of what her black haired partner had to offer.