Alexa's Point of View

"Alex." I greeted with a small nod.

He looked up from the rifle he was cleaning and returned the gesture. Setting the weapon carefully on the workbench, he wiped his hands on a rag before turning his attention toward me.

"Alexa. What can I help you with?"

"Just curious about a few things." I replied, leaning against the doorway.

One eyebrow rose.

"Oh?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. What's your last name? Where are you and Andy from? Why do you talk funny? Stuff like that."

For a moment he simply stared at me.

Then he snorted.

"Talk funny? Lady, I don't talk funny."

The irony was completely lost on him. In fact, his accent somehow became even thicker as he said it.

I rolled my eyes.

"Right."

He muttered something under his breath. Whatever it was, it was spoken too quickly and in too heavy an accent for me to make out more than a few syllables.

"Anyways..." He continued, waving a hand dismissively. "...Andy and I come from distant places. Real distant."

"How distant?"

"Far enough that you wouldn't find them on any map you've got."

That only made me more curious.

"Try me."

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Andy's from the Philippines. Bunch of islands out in the ocean. Beautiful place. Hot, humid, and a pain in the rear to travel through if you don't know what you're doing."

"And you?"

"The United States of America."

I frowned.

"Never heard of either of those kingdoms."

The smirk vanished.

Immediately.

A look of mild annoyance crossed his face, as if I'd just insulted something important.

"America isn't a kingdom." He said firmly. "Never has been, never will be. It's a republic."

I blinked.

That's basically what the kingdoms are."

"Lady my country was once a colony of a kingdom. Then they had a revolution, and won. So we won't ever take the name of kingdom."

I stared at him.

"That sounds complicated."

"It is."

"And the Philippines?"

"Also a republic."

I shook my head.

"That sounds weird."

Alex laughed.

"Lady, from my perspective, you're the weird one."

I opened my mouth to argue before remembering another question.

"Fine. Then what's your last name? And Andy's?"

The grin that had been forming immediately disappeared.

For the first time since I'd entered the workshop, his expression became guarded.

"As for our last names..." Alex's expression flattened slightly. "That's classified information."

I blinked.

"Classified?"

"Means you're not getting it."

"That isn't what classified means."

"Today it does."

I groaned.

"That isn't a reason."

"It's the only one you're getting."

His tone wasn't hostile, but it carried a finality that made it clear the conversation wasn't going any further down that path.

I narrowed my eyes.

"You know, most people don't make their names sound suspicious."

"Most people don't come from unknown countries." He replied casually.

I paused.

"Fair point."

"Thought so."

The smug grin that followed made me want to throw something at him.

"So your kingdom isn't very strong if nobody's ever heard of it, then."

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I'd said something wrong.

Alex froze.

Not completely. Just enough.

His shoulders stiffened. His jaw tightened. The smug grin he'd been wearing vanished as though someone had wiped it off his face.

In its place was a scowl.

Not an angry scowl.

A dangerous one.

"Away n' bile yer heid."

The words came out sharp and fast, spoken in an accent I'd never heard before. It was thicker than his usual one and somehow far more intimidating.

I blinked.

"What?"

His eyes narrowed.

"I said stop talking rubbish."

His voice was calm.

That somehow made it worse.

"My country..." He continued, putting enough emphasis on the word to make it clear he was correcting me. "...is strong. The strongest there is."

I opened my mouth to speak.

He didn't give me the chance.

"Yes, it isn't known here. That's for a reason."

He jabbed a thumb against his chest.

"Back home we've got aircraft that fly faster than the speed of sound. Machines capable of crossing entire continents in hours. Weapons powerful enough to flatten cities. Even destroy the world if we're not careful."

I felt my stomach sink.

"Atlas likes to brag about its technology?" He continued. "Atlas would look primitive compared to some of the things we've built."

There wasn't any arrogance in his voice.

That was what made it unsettling.

He sounded like he was simply stating facts.

"We've walked on the moon. Not once. Six times." He held up six fingers. "We've sent satellites into space hundreds of times. Sent probes to other planets. We've got machines that have traveled farther than anything mankind has ever built and are still sending information back to us from the edge of the solar system."

I stared.

The edge of the what?

Alex wasn't finished.

"We've got stations in orbit around the planet where people live for months at a time. Sometimes over a year. Then they come home and another crew takes their place."

The workshop had become painfully quiet.

For several seconds neither of us spoke.

Alex took a slow breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

The anger seemed to fade as quickly as it had appeared.

"Look..." He muttered. "You didn't know. But don't mistake being unknown for being weak."

I swallowed.

Apparently I'd managed to hit a nerve.

A very large nerve.

"Understood." I said. "Is Andy's country the same?"

Alex tilted his head from side to side.

"Yes and no."

That immediately caught my attention.

"What does that mean?"

"The Philippines used to be an American territory." He explained. "For about fifty years, give or take. Before that, they belonged to another empire. Eventually the Filipinos wanted their independence."

"And America gave it to them?"

Alex gave me a look.

"Eventually."

I winced.

"That sounds bad."

"It was." He admitted without hesitation. "There was a war. The Filipinos wanted independence, and America wasn't ready to let them go. America won."

The fact that he said it so casually somehow made it worse.

"Yet despite that..." He continued. "...the two countries ended up becoming close allies. Then another empire came along and took the Philippines during a different war. After that war ended, and America took the Philippines back, America gave them their independence."

I blinked.

"You're surprisingly open about the bad parts."

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Most people don't like talking about their kingdom's mistakes."

"Most people aren't me."

I couldn't argue with that.

Alex leaned back against the workbench and folded his arms.

"Look, I love my country. I'm proud of where I come from. Doesn't mean I'm blind."

He shrugged.

"America's done some incredible things. America's also screwed up plenty of times."

The bluntness of the statement caught me off guard.

"You can be patriotic and still admit when your country made mistakes." He said. "In fact, I'd argue that's the responsible thing to do."

For a moment I just stared at him.

The answer wasn't what I'd expected.

Most people I knew either defended everything their homeland did or spent their time complaining about it.

Alex somehow managed to do neither.

"That's... surprisingly reasonable."

He barked out a laugh.

"Don't sound so shocked."

"I am shocked."

"Fair enough."

The corner of his mouth twitched upward.

I shook my head.

"You're weird."

"Says the woman who lives in a kingdom with no king."

I pointed a finger at him.

"See? That's exactly what I mean."

Alex chuckled.

The tension from earlier seemed to have finally left the room.

For a few moments, the only sound was the faint ticking of a clock hanging on the far wall.

Then another question came to mind.

"You said Andy's from the Philippines."

"Yep."

"Does that make him American too?"

Alex immediately snorted.

"No."

"But you said it used to belong to America."

"Used to being the important part."

I frowned.

"Then what is he?"

"Filipino."

I waited.

Alex waited.

Eventually I realized he wasn't going to elaborate.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Nothing else?"

He shrugged.

"He's Filipino. End of story."

I rolled my eyes.

"You know, you're really bad at explaining things."

"I'm actually excellent at explaining things."

"No, you're not."

"Lady, I once spent forty five minutes explaining how a diesel engine works."

"That doesn't make you good at explaining things."

"It does if the person understands it afterward."

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Somehow, despite barely knowing him, I was already developing a headache.

"So what about you?" I asked.

"What about me?"

"What are you?"

Alex blinked.

"A human."

"No, I mean..."

"Still human."

I groaned.

"You know what I meant."

"Do I?"

His grin returned.

I resisted the urge to throw something at him.

"I mean where are your people from?"

"The United States."

"Besides that."

"The United States."

I stared at him.

He stared back.

The smug grin never left his face.

"You enjoy being difficult, don't you?"

"Oh, immensely."

I let out an exaggerated sigh.

For some reason that only made him grin wider.

Then something occurred to me.

"Wait."

"What?"

"If your country is so advanced, how come you're here?"

The grin vanished.

Not completely.

Just enough.

I suddenly got the feeling I'd wandered into dangerous territory again.

Alex looked away for a moment.

Toward the window.

Toward the distant horizon.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than before.

"That's a long story."

For the first time since I'd met him, he sounded tired.

Not physically tired.

Something else.

Something deeper.

I watched him carefully.

The joking attitude was still there.

But underneath it was something I hadn't noticed before.

Homesickness.

The realization hit me all at once.

Everything he'd talked about. The technology, the moon landings, the aircraft, the satellites.

He wasn't bragging.

Not really.

He was talking about home.

And for whatever reason, he couldn't go back.

"Oh."

It was all I could think to say.

Alex gave a small nod.

"Yeah."

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then he pushed himself off the workbench and picked up the rifle again.

The conversation was over.

At least for now.

"So... uh... you cooking dinner tonight?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

Alex glanced over at me.

"Don't I always?"

The teasing tone in his voice told me he'd noticed exactly what I was doing.

I nodded anyway.

Out of the three teams living on this floor, there were only three people anyone trusted to cook unsupervised.

Team RWBY had Yang, which had apparently surprised everyone except Ruby.

Team JNPR had Jaune.

And Team AFAF had Alex.

All three were excellent cooks.

Ruby baked from time to time. Usually cookies, cupcakes, or cake. Andy occasionally made stir fry, soup, or some other dish from his home.

Beyond that, most meals came from Alex, Yang, or Jaune.

More often than not, the three of them ended up working together in the dormitory kitchenette, turning what should have been a simple dinner into a feast large enough to feed all three teams.

Other nights, one of them would take charge while the others stayed out of the way.

"What're you making?" I asked.

"Deer Heart Stew."

I blinked.

"Deer Heart Stew?"

The answer caught me off guard.

Not because it sounded disgusting.

Just unexpected.

The only person I'd ever known to make deer heart stew was my mother.

"Yep."

Alex nodded.

"My mom used to make it every deer season. Had me helping her in the kitchen since I was old enough to reach the counter."

For a moment a small smile appeared on his face.

A genuine one.

Not the sarcastic grin he usually wore.

"This'll be the first time I've tried making it on my own, though."

I tilted my head.

"You seem pretty confident."

"I'm not."

That answer surprised me even more.

Alex chuckled at my expression.

"I know how to cook it. Doesn't mean it'll taste right."

"What's the difference?"

"Recipe's easy." He said. "Making it taste like your mom made it? That's the hard part."

The smile faded slightly.

Not entirely.

Just enough for me to notice.

For a second I was reminded of our conversation from earlier.

About his home.

About all the things he'd left behind.

This wasn't really about stew.

It was about a memory.

A way to hold onto a little piece of home.

"I think it'll turn out fine." I said.

Alex snorted.

"That's because you're not the one eating it if I screw it up."

I laughed.

"Fair point."

"Exactly."

He grabbed the deer heart from a cooler beside the workbench and stood up.

"Now come on. If I'm gonna butcher my mother's recipe, I'd like to get started before everyone starts asking when dinner's ready."

For the next half hour, I helped Alex in the kitchenette.

Well, helped, was probably a generous way of putting it.

Alex handled most of the actual cooking while I acted as an assistant, chopping vegetables, peeling potatoes, stirring pots when instructed, and fetching whatever seasoning he needed from the cabinets.

Despite all the time he'd spent at Beacon, he moved around the kitchen with the ease of someone who'd done this hundreds of times before.

He rarely had to think about what he was doing.

One hand stirred the stew while the other chopped carrots. He'd add spices without measuring them, tasting the broth every so often before making another adjustment.

The entire kitchenette slowly filled with the rich aroma of simmering meat, vegetables, herbs, and broth.

By the end, even I was getting hungry.

Finally, Alex lifted the lid one last time and sampled a spoonful.

He chewed thoughtfully.

Then nodded.

"Nice."

Setting the spoon aside, he looked over at me.

"Make sure you tell everyone it's beef stew."

I laughed.

"I'm well aware of what'll happen if we tell them what it's actually made from."

Alex groaned.

"Ruby would spend twenty minutes asking questions."

"Yang would try it anyway."

"Jaune would look horrified."

"Pyrrha would pretend she's fine with it."

"Ren wouldn't care."

"Nora would ask for seconds."

I paused.

"Actually, Nora would probably ask for thirds."

"Probably."

Alex shook his head, though I caught the amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Point is, let them eat it first."

"Then tell them?"

"Maybe."

I snorted.

"You're evil."

"No." He replied, reaching for a stack of bowls. "I'm practical."

"That's not practical."

"It absolutely is."

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"It sleeps great, thank you for asking."

I couldn't help but laugh.

Alex pointed a wooden spoon at me.

"Go get everyone. Let them know dinner's ready."

"Aye, aye, chef."

"Don't call me that."

"Yes, chef."

The spoon narrowly missed the doorway as I darted out of the kitchenette laughing.

Still grinning from nearly getting hit with a wooden spoon, I headed down the hallway toward Team JNPR's dorm room.

The door was already open.

Inside, Team JNPR was spread throughout the room.

Nora was lying upside down on her bed for reasons only Nora understood.

Ren sat at the desk reading a book.

Jaune was working on homework.

Pyrrha was helping him.

And in the center of the room sat Andy and Francine.

The two were completely focused on a chessboard sitting atop the coffee table.

Neither looked up when I entered.

"Dinner's almost..."

"Check."

Andy slid a pawn forward.

Francine immediately frowned.

"That's not good."

"Usually isn't." Andy replied.

I blinked.

"Dinner's ready."

Neither of them reacted.

"Guys?"

Nothing.

Pyrrha looked up from Jaune's papers and smiled apologetically.

"They've been like this for twenty minutes."

"Thirty seven." Ren corrected without looking up from his book.

"Thirty seven minutes?" I repeated.

Ren turned a page.

"Yes."

I stared at Andy.

Then Francine.

Neither seemed aware the rest of the world existed.

Francine leaned forward.

"Knight to F-three."

Andy immediately moved a bishop.

"Counter."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You planned that."

"Obviously."

"You baited me."

"Also obviously."

Francine muttered something under her breath.

"Dinner."

Nothing.

I walked closer.

"Dinner."

Still nothing.

Nora suddenly appeared beside me.

"Watch this."

Before I could ask what she meant, she leaned down between them.

"Dinner!"

Both chess players jumped.

Andy nearly knocked over a rook.

Francine almost fell off the couch.

"What?!" They shouted simultaneously.

Nora pointed toward me.

"Dinner."

The two stared.

Then blinked.

Then looked at the chessboard.

Then back at Nora.

"Oh." Andy said.

"Dinner." Francine echoed.

"That's what she's been trying to tell you." Jaune said.

Pyrrha giggled.

A faint blush appeared on Francine's face.

Andy simply shrugged.

"In my defense, I was winning."

"You are not winning." Francine immediately shot back.

Andy pointed at the board.

"I have more pieces."

"You have one more piece."

"More is more."

"That isn't how chess works."

"It literally is."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Guys." Ren interrupted calmly.

The room fell silent.

Ren looked up from his book.

"Your food is getting cold."

Andy and Francine immediately stood.

"Good point." Andy said.

"Very good point." Francine agreed.

The chess match was forgotten instantly.

Nora burst out laughing.

"Behold!"

She dramatically pointed at the pair.

"The power of food!"

"Honestly..." Jaune admitted as he stood up. "...that's probably the fastest way to end an argument around here."

"Especially if Alex cooked." Pyrrha added.

That got everyone's attention.

"Alex cooked?" Nora asked.

"Yep."

"What'd he make?"

I remembered Alex's warning.

A grin spread across my face.

"Beef stew."

"Yes!"

Nora was out the door before I finished speaking.

The rest of us exchanged amused looks before following after her.

Behind me, Andy and Francine were still arguing over the chess match.

"I'm telling you, I was winning."

"You were absolutely not winning."

"I was."

"You were one move away from losing your queen."

"Details."

"Important details."

Their bickering followed us all the way down the hallway toward the kitchenette.

Reaching Team RWBY's door, I knocked twice before pushing it open.

The sight that greeted me was about what I'd expected.

Ruby was sprawled across her bed, surrounded by books, magazines, weapon parts, and enough scattered papers to violate several health codes.

Weiss sat at her desk trying, and failing, to ignore the chaos.

Blake was curled up in a chair with a book in her lap.

Yang was lying on her own bed staring at the ceiling.

None of them looked particularly busy.

"Food."

The reaction was immediate.

Ruby practically teleported upright.

"We have food?"

Blake's book lowered.

Yang sat up.

Even Weiss looked interested.

It was honestly a little frightening.

"Yes, Ruby. We have food."

Ruby was already standing.

"Why didn't you start with that?"

"I literally did."

"Fair."

Yang hopped off her bed.

"What's on the menu?"

"Beef stew."

"Ooooh." Yang said approvingly.

"That sounds good." Blake added.

Weiss nodded.

"A proper meal for once."

Ruby was already halfway to the door.

"Let's go!"

Yang grabbed the back of her cloak.

"Easy there, short stack."

"Aww."

"You act like the food is going to run away."

Ruby looked offended.

"It might."

"It's stew."

"You don't know that."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Why am I friends with you?"

"Because I'm adorable." She immediately answered.

"Unfortunately, she's got a point." Blake said.

Ruby looked victorious.

Weiss looked betrayed.

I just laughed.

A few moments later the five of us headed down the hallway together.

As we approached the kitchenette, the smell hit us.

Rich broth.

Cooked vegetables.

Fresh herbs.

Tender meat.

The scent practically filled the entire floor.

Ruby stopped walking.

Her nose twitched.

Then twitched again.

Slowly, she turned toward me.

"Alexa."

"Yes?"

"That smells amazing."

I shrugged.

"Alex cooked it."

Ruby nodded solemnly.

"That explains everything."

We continued toward the kitchenette.

Inside, several tables had been pushed together.

Alex stood near the stove ladling stew into bowls while Jaune helped set out utensils.

Nora had somehow already obtained a bowl despite arriving only moments earlier.

The girl was already eating.

"How?" Ren asked.

"I have my methods."

"You ran."

"I have speedy methods."

Alex looked up as we entered.

"There they are."

Ruby's eyes immediately locked onto the pot.

I recognized that look.

It was the same look she'd get whenever someone mentioned cookies.

Alex recognized it too.

"Ruby."

"Yes?"

"Don't."

"I haven't done anything."

"You were thinking about it."

Ruby gasped.

"You can't prove that."

"I absolutely can."

The two stared at each other.

Then Ruby slowly took a step toward the stew.

Alex picked up a wooden spoon.

Ruby immediately stopped.

The room erupted into laughter.

Even Weiss couldn't hold back a smile.

For the first time all evening, the earlier tension from my conversation with Alex seemed completely gone.

Now he just looked like himself again.

"Ah, yes." Andy said solemnly, eyeing the utensil in Alex's hand. "The ultimate weapon of any kitchen."

He pointed dramatically.

"The wooden spoon."

Several people laughed.

Alex didn't even miss a beat.

"And the slipper is the ultimate weapon of the house."

The moment the words left his mouth, Andy visibly flinched.

Not much.

Just enough for everyone to notice.

Alex immediately pointed at him.

"See? Even he knows."

"Unfortunately, you're right." Andy admitted with a sigh.

"Of course I'm right."

"Trauma doesn't make you right."

"It kinda does in this situation."

A few confused looks appeared around the room.

Ruby tilted her head.

"Why would a slipper be scary?"

Alex and Andy exchanged a glance.

The kind shared by people who had experienced something the rest of the room hadn't.

"Cultural reasons." Alex said.

"Very effective cultural reasons." Andy added.

Yang snorted.

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Trust me." Andy said. "You don't wanna know."

Alex nodded.

"Some lessons are best learned through observation."

"Or not learned at all." Andy quickly added.

The room erupted into laughter.

Shaking his head, Alex set the wooden spoon down beside the stove and gestured toward the large pot of stew.

"Anyways, come grab a bowl."

The rich aroma immediately drew everyone's attention back to the food.

"If you want bread, there's bread." Alex continued, pointing toward a basket on the table. "If you want butter, there's butter. If you want both, congratulations, you're normal."

Nora immediately grabbed three pieces of bread.

"I like this plan."

"Of course you do."

"It's got bread."

"That doesn't narrow it down."

Nora considered this.

"Fair."

Alex sighed dramatically and picked up the ladle.

"Alright, line up before Nora eats enough for the rest of us."

"Too late!" Nora announced proudly.

Everyone turned toward her.

Nora already had a full bowl of stew, three slices of bread, and a suspicious amount of butter piled onto her plate.

"How?" Jaune asked.

"You were standing right there." Yang added.

"I am a woman of many talents."

"One talent." Ren corrected.

Nora gasped.

"Rude."

Alex pointed toward the tables.

"Sit."

To my surprise, Nora immediately obeyed.

"Wow." Yang said. "It actually worked."

Alex shrugged.

"Food discipline."

"That isn't a thing."

"It is if you're the cook."

One by one, bowls were filled and handed out.

The smell only seemed to get stronger as the steam rose from each serving.

Chunks of meat floated among potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery in a rich brown broth.

By the time everyone was seated, the room had gone unusually quiet.

Everyone was staring at their bowls.

"Well?" Alex asked. "Y'all gonna eat it, or are we starting a stew appreciation club?"

Ruby was the first to dig in.

A spoonful disappeared into her mouth.

Her silver eyes widened.

Then she immediately took another bite.

And another.

And another.

"Ruby." Weiss warned.

Ruby swallowed.

"This is really good."

Yang tried hers next.

"Okay." She admitted. "That's pretty amazing."

Blake nodded after her first bite.

"The broth is excellent."

"Agreed." Weiss said.

Across the table, Pyrrha smiled.

"You've outdone yourself, Alex."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"No, seriously." Jaune added. "This is fantastic."

Even Ren gave an approving nod.

"Very good."

Alex seemed pleased despite trying not to show it.

"Glad y'all like it."

I noticed him glance down at his own bowl.

Just for a second.

Almost like he was comparing it to a memory.

Then he took another bite.

"Not quite Mom's." He muttered.

"What was that?" Yang asked.

"Nothing."

"It wasn't nothing."

"It was absolutely nothing."

Yang narrowed her eyes.

Alex ignored her.

A few moments passed as everyone continued eating.

Conversation slowly returned.

Ruby was explaining a weapon modification she'd thought up.

Jaune was trying to convince Nora not to put half a stick of butter on her bread.

Nora was ignoring him.

Business as usual.

Then Blake looked up from her bowl.

"This is definitely beef?"

The room froze.

I nearly choked.

Alex slowly lowered his spoon.

Across the room, Andy suddenly became very interested in his bread.

The two exchanged a glance.

A glance that immediately told me they were up to something.

"Oh no." I muttered.

"What?" Ruby asked.

Alex cleared his throat.

"Well..."

Yang pointed her spoon at him.

"Alex."

"Technically..."

"Alex."

"It's mostly beef."

The room became silent.

Everyone stared.

Alex stared back.

Andy quietly stood up.

"Why are you standing?" Francine asked.

"Because I value self preservation."

"Alex."

Alex sighed.

"It isn't beef."

The silence somehow became even louder.

Ruby blinked.

Weiss blinked.

Pyrrha blinked.

Nora kept eating.

"What is it?" Jaune finally asked.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck.

"Deer heart."

Nothing happened.

"You fed us what?"

Jaune's voice echoed through the entire dormitory.

Alex winced.

"See, that's exactly why I told Alexa to call it beef stew."

"I knew it!"

"Technically, it's venison stew."

"You said beef!"

"It was a strategic simplification."

"That's called lying!"

"Only a little."

Nora raised her hand.

Everyone looked at her.

"Can I have seconds?"

Alex immediately pointed at her.

"See? Nora gets it."

"It's delicious."

"Thank you."

Jaune looked horrified.

Ren took another bite.

"This explains the flavor."

"Good explanation or bad explanation?" Alex asked.

"Good."

Alex pointed triumphantly.

"Ren gets it too."

Yang shook her head.

"You are impossible."

"Yet everyone keeps eating."

Nobody had a response to that.

Mostly because he was right.

Even Jaune was still eating.

The realization hit him several seconds later.

He looked down at his bowl.

Then at Alex.

Then back at his bowl.

"...Okay, it is really good."

Alex grinned.

"Thought so."

The grin that followed was entirely too smug.

And somehow, despite everything, dinner continued as if nothing had happened.

The initial shock of learning what the stew was made from gradually faded.

Mostly because it was hard to stay upset while eating something that tasted that good.

Conversation slowly returned to normal.

Well...

As normal as it ever got around our group.

"So..." Yang said, tearing off a piece of bread. "What's the plan for tomorrow night?"

Alex looked up from his bowl.

"For what?"

"Dinner."

"You ask that like we don't have classes tomorrow."

Yang pointed her spoon at him.

"Answer the question."

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Depends."

"On?"

"What meat I've got left."

Yang nodded thoughtfully.

"Fair."

I watched as the two immediately slipped into a conversation that sounded less like two students and more like two chefs planning a restaurant menu.

"We've still got venison." Alex said.

"We did venison tonight."

"We've got enough to do venison tomorrow too."

Yang gave him a look.

"We're not feeding everyone deer three nights in a row."

"Why not?"

"Because some people are normal."

Alex pointed at himself.

"I think we've established I'm not."

"Good point."

He took another bite before continuing.

"I've also got chicken."

Yang thought for a moment.

"Oven roasted?"

"Could."

"Mashed potatoes?"

"Could."

"Gravy?"

"Obviously."

Yang nodded.

"I like this plan."

"So do I."

Across the table, Jaune was buried beneath a pile of notebooks.

I wasn't entirely sure where he'd gotten them from.

One moment he'd been eating.

The next he looked like he'd been attacked by school supplies.

"How are you already studying?" Andy asked.

"We have a history test."

"That's three days away."

"Exactly."

Andy stared at him.

Then looked at Pyrrha.

Then back at Jaune.

"He's serious."

Pyrrha smiled.

"Very."

"I hate you people."

"You say that every time."

"Because every time you're somehow more responsible than the last."

Jaune grinned.

"Jealous?"

"No."

A pause.

"Maybe a little."

The two continued discussing assignments, upcoming tests, and various forms of academic suffering.

Meanwhile, Nora and Ren were doing...

Whatever Nora and Ren did.

"So if a Nevermore fought a giant pancake, who wins?" Nora asked.

Ren didn't even look up from his tea.

"The Nevermore."

"What if the pancake was really motivated?"

"The Nevermore."

"What if there were two pancakes?"

"The Nevermore."

Nora gasped.

"You're not taking this seriously."

Ren took a sip of tea.

"I'm taking it exactly as seriously as it deserves."

Across from them, Blake had returned to her book.

At some point she'd managed to start reading and eating simultaneously.

I wasn't entirely sure how.

Weiss appeared to be attempting to explain something about Dust economics to Ruby.

The attempt wasn't going well.

"So if you increase production..."

"Weapon parts."

"What?"

"I was thinking about weapon parts."

Weiss closed her eyes.

"Of course you were."

Ruby smiled.

"I can think about economics if the economics involve weapons."

"They don't."

"Then I'm out."

Weiss looked ready to surrender.

Alex glanced over at the exchange and laughed.

"How does she pass classes?"

"Good question." Weiss replied.

"I ask myself that all the time." Yang added.

Ruby pointed her spoon at them.

"I feel attacked."

"You should."

The room filled with laughter.

For a while nobody talked about Grimm.

Nobody talked about classes.

Nobody talked about dangerous missions or the future.

They just sat together.

Eating.

Laughing.

Enjoying each other's company.

I glanced around the room.

At Jaune and Andy arguing over study habits.

At Pyrrha trying to mediate.

At Nora attempting to convince Ren that pancakes could achieve sentience.

At Weiss slowly losing her battle against Ruby's attention span.

At Blake quietly reading.

At Yang and Alex debating dinner plans as though the fate of the world depended on them.

And for the first time in a while, the dormitory felt less like a collection of teams.

And more like a family.

Even if it was a very strange family.
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A/N: And done. Wasn't sure on how to continue this. kuwebby2, what do you think?