Silver Rose

Chapter VIII - An Unlikely Pairing

Echo was at the top of the CCTS tower, perched where there was no public access. From what she could tell, even janitors and maintenance crew rarely came up this high. But for her, this spot was perfect. The tower was so far up that she had a complete view of not just the campus, but all of Vale until the edge of the sea. Forever Fall was also visible from here, along with Emerald Forest and part of Mountain Glen.

She took a seat at the edge of the tower's roof, letting her feet dangle over the side. She reached into her backpack, pulling out her quiz.

62%

That was far too low, low enough to warrant Professor Branwen calling her to his office after class. He had made her an offer, that he would be willing to overlook such a low score if she were able to pull off an excellent grade during the practical exercises during the following weeks. Fortunately for her, he was the kind of professor who did not care so much about book smarts as he did about one's ability on the field.

She stuffed the quiz back into her pack. Even if Professor Branwen was that lenient about the quizzes, it didn't change the fact that Beacon Academy required Huntsmen to be just as squared away on theories and principles as practical field skill.

Her scroll beeped and she looked at it. It was a group text message from her team.

Perseus: Echo?

Perseus: Ecchhoooooo??

Athena: hey, we're a little worried about u

Xanthus: If you're upset about your grade, you should know that it doesn't matter to us what score you got.

Perseus: dude wtf

Athena: don't mind him he's just a little more earnest than the rest of us

Athena: wru anyway?

Athena: Echo?

Echo: getting som air

Athena: ok. just know that we're on ur side, k?

She pocketed her scroll before standing up, looking down the side of the tower. Before she jumped over the edge, a door behind her opened.

"I thought I heard something up here."

She turned around to face Headmaster Oscar Pine.

"Why don't you come inside and have some cocoa with me?"

She thought about it for a moment before accepting his invitation. Glynda was in the office with him.

"Your guess is correct, by the way," Oscar said, pouring a mug of cocoa for both of them. "This is most certainly about your grade. And don't worry, Qrow did not tattle on you. He and I share a trust that goes far back to before the Labyrinth War."

"We want you to know that your grade on the last quiz will not determine your future," Glynda said. "If a Huntsman's destiny were to be decided by a single foul-up in time, we would have no Huntsmen or Huntresses ever."

"On top of this," Oscar continued, "we did not accept your application because you were an academic genius. It was purely your practical skill that got you in. We've seen your performance in the woods. Your abilities with your staff/bow hybrid weapon are unmatched. Add to that your keen senses that rival those of a Faunus and your Semblance, which allows you to sense danger before it occurs, you are at a distinct advantage over your peers."

"We're not simply trying to flatter you, either," Glynda said. "We are trying to encourage you, to let you know that one failure is not the end of the world. You will have plenty of opportunities in the future to get your grade point average above a 2.5. Naturally, a minimum of 3.0 would be much more preferable, considering you are a member of one of the top two teams Beacon Academy has ever seen."