F. Y. R. E. *On Hold*

~6~

Reyna

Reyna examined Ellis's clothing. He was obviously rich, judging by the quality of the ice-blue fabric. The snowflake insignia on his jacket marked him as the heir to the Schnee Dust Company. A thought crossed Reyna's head: why would anyone as high-ranking as this boy fraternize with a thief? Then she noticed his hair; it was platinum blonde, almost white. It was nothing close to the tangled, bright red mess atop the boy commonly by Weiss King's side in photos. Besides, the boy in the pictures was visibly younger than Ellis. If he was the heir, his family must have sheltered him for most of his life. He couldn't have ever heard of the Hooded Fox, Reyna's alias. She'd never stolen directly from the Schnee Company. She was safe.

"You're a first-year student, too?" Ellis asked.

Reyna smiled. "Yeah," she said, wondering why she had never heard of Ellis King. What could have gone on that forced the Schnee family to keep him hidden from the world for seventeen years?

Ellis looked out the window. "Some view, huh?"

"Sure is," Reyna said, joining him. "You ever seen Atlas from the sky before?"

"I don't really get out much," Ellis said. "I've got this condition."

"Huh..." Reyna thought about this. Did he get panic attacks in front of crowds or something? She didn't have much time to mull it over, because at that moment she heard a loud, rather annoying voice from across the airship.

"You're talking to her?"

Portia.

"Let me set something straight," Portia said, walking over to them. "She's a little street rat. Why would you want to even sit by her, much less talk to her?"

Ellis straightened, and Reyna thought he looked more princely than anyone she'd ever met. "She seems fine to me. Besides, I can make my own decisions."

Portia flipped her bright blue bob cut. "Don't you know who she is? She's the Hooded Fox. A renowned thief. Surely someone of such a high position cannot be seen with someone so low. Perhaps someone of a..." she looked at Ellis like he was a Christmas present, "higher status?"

"She's never stolen anything from me," Ellis replied calmly. "Besides, if my family only socialized with the well-to-do, it might give off the wrong idea. A conversation with a thief or a beggar every once in a while is in order."

Portia scowled, jutting out her lower lip like she was pouting. "Just so you know," she said menacingly, "my father is a close personal friend of Professor Ozpin's. I can have her thrown out of Beacon in an instant."

As she started to walk away, Ellis called back, "Don't worry, I'll be careful."