I was going to kill Ozpin.

Really, I was.

I know that doesn't sound like me, but for Oum's sake! He paired me with the boy who has done nothing but torment me since he stepped into Beacon!

Cardin Winchester was my shadow!

Why?! Was this some kind of sick joke?! Of all the people at Beacon, on Remnant, why Cardin?!

There had to have been someone else, another option. Why not Coco? Or Fox? Or Yatsuhashi? Or maybe a girl from RWBY? Or Jaune, he was always nice to me! Ren and Nora could have served as two shadows...

ANYONE WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN CARDIN WINCHESTER! I would have even taken one of his teammates over him!

What was I going to do?

...

As we rode down a path on our horses, it was completely silent. Cardin and I didn't speak a word to each other, so I gazed around at the fresh snowfall.

At least one of my fellow Maidens was doing well. Lucky.

Finally, I decided to speak.

"So, where are we going?" I asked. Cardin raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? I'm the Shadow. I'm supposed to follow you."

"Oh, right... Where do you think we should go? We have a whole season before I have to do anything special."

"Hmph... No idea, Cottontail."

"Hey!"

"Honestly, did you really think that I'd lighten up because Ozpin stuck me with you?"

"I thought you'd make an effort to make this less painful than it is!"

"Painful?"

"In case you can't tell, I'm not exactly thrilled by this, either."

"I mean, what was Ozpin thinking?!"

"I know, right?! Hey, let's partner up the two people in this school who dislike each other the most and send them alone on a never-ending roadtrip with no choice but to work together!"

"They definitely won't kill each other!"

"Threaten each other constantly!"

"Look for every opportunity to embarrass each other!"

"It'll be great!"

We both started laughing.

Laughing at the situation.

Laughing at the irony.

Laughing at each other...

We both seemed to stop and calm down at the same time.

"Let's keep going." Cardin suggested. I nodded, gazing forward at the road once more.

I couldn't do this to myself.

I couldn't start associating with such a bully. With my tormentor.

He was a racist.

He was mean.

He was cruel.

He would always treat me like an animal, a push-over, a doormat, a monster.

It's like my father said, long ago...

"Bullies never change."

For the longest time, I didn't believe him. Even after he was dead, I refused to believe my father's words.

Then, I met Cardin Winchester.

/\/\/\/\

The next day, as we continued onward, I sensed something wrong.

We were being watched.

"Cardin." I whispered. "Cardin!" My Shadow looked back, and I gestured with my eyes to the left, my ears flicking slightly as I heard the snapping of twigs.

Cardin's eyes widened slightly, then he grew serious and gave a small nod.

We both leapt off our horses just as a pack of Beowolves leapt out of the trees. Our horses ran off, the Grimm not interested in them.

Cardin drew his mace as I placed my hand on my box, ready.

"Hope you've got something big up your sleeve, Cottontail." Cardin stated as we stood back-to-back. "There's at least twenty, including the Alpha."

"No problem." I gave a small smirk. "You forget. I'm on Team CFVY."

"Oh, please. I've never seen you do anything more than kick things, Spring Maiden! Your leader has that huge gun/briefcase thing, Fox has those claws that make things explode, your partner has that HUGE sword and that crazy strength! What is it exactly that you do, again?!"

I raised my hands and created a copy of Coco's gatling-gun, giving a devious grin.

"This!" I raised the gun and opened fire, killing ten Beowolves almost instantly. Cardin shook out of his shocked stare and started his attack on the remaining ten.

I summoned a copy of Ren's StormFlower and provided cover-fire, and soon it was just the Alpha left.

"Let me handle this." Cardin suggested. I nodded and willed my box to shut off, and Cardin charged the Alpha Beowolf.

Cardin dodged a swinging paw and slammed his mace into the thing's stomach, sending it flying into a tree. The beast got up and snarled, charging the boy. Cardin slammed his mace into the ground, creating a crack that glowed with Fire-Dust that unbalanced and burned the beast. One final swing to the Alpha's head ended the fight.

"Well..." I placed a hand on my hip, smiling deviously as Cardin walked over. "One thing's for certain... We are both HUGE show-offs."

"Yeah. Guess we've got that going for us, Cottontail."

"Will you stop calling me that?!"

"Nope. You're stuck with it."

"Hmph." I crossed my arms, glaring. Then, I whistled for the horses.

/\/\/\/\

As we continued on, I couldn't help but think...

While the nickname was a bit stereotypical, it wasn't exactly given in cruelty.

"Hey, Velvet?" Cardin asked. I jolted slightly.

He called me by my name?

"Yeah?" I asked. Cardin sighed, shaking his head.

"How did you do that? With those weird hologram-things?"

"Oh. My weapon allows me to take pictures of and copy weapons. It helps out with my semblance, which lets me copy abilities and skills."

Did Cardin look scared?

"So... You're literally everyone at Beacon in one person?"

"Weapon and skill-wise? I suppose."

"Okay, I'll admit... That's pretty cool, Cottontail."

"Thanks... I guess..."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The awkwardness! Cardin seeing exactly what he was up against! This is going to be interesting, very interesting... I own nothing! Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!