Shit, he thought, walking around the meadow. He'd gotten turned around in the fight, paying more attention to the Ursai and not enough attention to where he was. While he could feel out where the trees were (more or less) with his aura, they all looked the same, and now he wasn't sure which way was forward and which way was back.

"Do you have a partner yet?" a woman called from somewhere behind him.

Fox jumped at the woman's voice, but he didn't turn around. "No, but I don't think you want me as one either." Now that he was listening for them, he could hear her nearly silent footsteps in the leaf litter.

He heard the woman pause. "Name's Coco Adel, and you just took down three of the biggest Ursai I've ever seen - I'm pretty sure I do."

Admittedly, his semblance was pretty impressive at first glance. "Fox Alistair, and I'm quite certain you don't. I'm blind." He knew from experience that he should just get that out of the way now. Better to have her reject him now than to let her bind them for the next four years and then find out she can't handle it.

He heard her move across the meadow. "I really don't care, Fox. You're clearly a more than capable fighter." She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'd rather choose you now than take a chance later. If you'd rather I leave, I will."

He smiled just a little and turned towards her. "Not sure how we're supposed to make eye contact."

"Well, I just looked at your eyes and I will fight anyone who claims that doesn't count. Let's get moving. I think the temple is that way." She no doubt gestured with the statement, but it was difficult for him to make out such delicate movements, especially so soon after a fight.

Ducking his head, he said, "It's easier if you lead the way, give me a point to follow. I rarely need someone to take my arm and physically help lead me, but typically it's easier if someone goes first."

Her laugh filled the meadow. "Oh good, I was trying to figure out how to tell you you'd gotten turned around and were heading back to the cliff."

"Is it rude to ask how you do it?" Coco asked after they'd been walking for a bit.

"If we're going to be partners, you should know."

"I can work with what you've told me," Coco reassured him.

"No, it's fine." Fox gestured to her. "I can feel you. I can tell you're moving, that you're closer than the trees, and you generate an aura. Much further than you and it blurs together. A meadow feels much the same as a room with a high ceiling.

"Crowds, anything where there are a lot of people or things in the way, it's difficult to focus on a single thing. In large open spaces after a while it just... fades. I can't feel anything."

Coco squeezed his shoulder. "Thank you for telling me. Let me know if there's something I can do to make it easier for you."

"I will. Thank you."

They'd been moving forward as they spoke, breaking through the dense trees into a large open area. "I think we're here. There's a stone structure... thing with low pillars on it."

"Truly your descriptive powers are unmatched," he replies, laughing when she punches his shoulder.

"Asshole. Looks like we have to choose a weapon," Coco said as they walked up the steps. "There are several different types... all have a match. Presumably the teams will be made up from the pairs that match."

"What are our choices?"

"Sword, dagger, gun, brass knuckles, bow, whip... Small ones," she clarified. "Models. We'll be able to stow one in a pocket."

"Easy enough. Should we just grab one and go or do you think we should wait for another team, see if -"

"Down!" a deep voice echoed through the open area. Fox instinctively ducked, though he wasn't sure that it was directed at him.

Shortly thereafter, he could sense two people followed by a large group of Grimm. The howling made him think Beowolf.

"Two people, partners, followed by a pack of Beowolves," Coco confirmed in a whisper.

He turned towards the Beowolves, focusing on them. The two new humans were far enough away to not risk hitting them. He bounded across the distance in four quick leaps. Attention drawn to the howling Beowolf in front of him, he drew up his aura around him and focused it into his fists, losing sense of anything else in the area.

"Watch yourself!" Coco yelled.

He punched, putting the full force of his aura behind his fist. The shockwave echoed through his bones into the Grimm, sending it flying back.

It continued to echo through him as the Grimm shuddered and exploded. He hoped the newcomers had heeded Coco's warning and had dodged the projectiles - which seemed to have shrunk the mass of Grimm.

He couldn't sense what happened, but the air crackled with power around him. He lept back, away from the Grimm because no matter what was happening, away from the Grimm was the right place to be.

It was the right choice - the mass he'd identified as Grimm seemed to halve in size when the air stopped smelling of electricity and ice. He focused in on another beowolf, opting to take it down with his daggers and martial arts, rather than risking his companions with another burst of semblance.

The four of them were able to to make quick work of the beowolf pack. Fox gets knocked on his ass at one point from an unexpected shock wave. "Apologies." The man's voice was deep and came from above Fox.

He smiled and got back to his feet. "It's all right, it's not like I could have seen it coming. I'm Fox, thanks for the help."

"Yatsuhashi and it was our pleasure."

Coco walked over and clasped Fox's shoulder. "Have you two given any thought to teams?"

Yatsuhashi's partner spoke up. "Nothing specific, but after that - are you two looking for teammates? Velvet, by the way." Her voice was soft and almost lyrical. Fox took an instant liking to it.

"Fox," he offered. "Are you sure? I mean..."

"You're blind right?" Fox would do a lot to keep her talking so nodding was the easiest thing. "It doesn't change anything for me." Yatsuhashi echoed the sentiment. "What are we thinking? The two pairs that pick up the same artifact makes a team?"

"That's what I was thinking. Let's just grab the daggers and head back. No need to hang around here."

Coco slid into the booth next to Fox, carrying their drinks. "So how'd you two meet?"

It was their first day off since the naming ceremony, and they'd decided to go out for food and drinks to get to know one another better.

"Faunus rights rally," Velvet said. "Not White Fang, I don't agree with their methods," she hastened to add.

"Some assholes had gotten her cornered. I convinced them to leave her alone."

"Counter-protesters at those things are the worst." Velvet's voice had dropped to just above a whisper.

"You're far kinder than I would be, given the circumstances. Do you still go, Velvet?"

She shifted in her seat. "When I can, when I know it will remain peaceful. Not too many, lately."

The conversation eventually shifts to soulmarks.

"I'm a Faunus," Velvet says by way of explanation with half a laugh, confirming what Fox had suspected.

"I'm sorry, I thought you and Yatsuhashi..."

"Just good friends."

"So we're all without, then?" There were murmurs of agreement around the table.

It was rare - especially with the nature of the team selection process, a lot teams had a least one matching pair - whether it was romantic or platonic.

But it didn't matter, good teams formed from all situations - bond or no bond.

Going out for drinks quickly became a team bonding thing - though on this occasion it was only him and Coco.

"I don't believe in soulmates."

He heard Coco set her beer bottle back down on the table. "Pretty sure you're not old enough to be that cynical. I'm also quite sure I'm not drunk enough for this conversation. Do you want another?"

"Sure." He wasn't sure he was drunk enough for this conversation either. "But you're going to have to lead me home."

"Not a problem. Two more, please."

It wasn't long before Coco was pressing another into his hand. "So what's up with soulmates?"

He shrugged and took a swig from the new bottle. "Figure it's better to just make of it what you will. Why should you be bound to someone just because some words on your arm said you'd be compatible?"

"Hmmm," Coco said taking another sip.

He swirled the drink around in the bottle. "Did you know people lie about soulmarks, given the chance?"

He heard her set down her beer. "No, can't say I did."

Fox tilted his head at the tone. It was something different he'd never heard before. It was harder, colder, angrier. "Yeah." He picked at the label on the glass. "I couldn't see to know he was lying to me. Then my friend who told me he had been - well, he jokingly said we were platonic soulmates. Took another three years to find out he was joking too and I'm just done." He took another healthy swig of beer. "Plus it's not like Velvet has one," he muttered.

"No," Coco said, giving Fox's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "But you don't need a soulmark to be happy. I don't think she'd say no."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to screw up the team dynamics. I'd also want to have someone check first." He gestured to himself. "I don't actually know. But I'm not ready for that."

"When you are, all you have to do is ask."

Fox didn't think he was particularly skilled at offering comfort, but Yatsuhashi wasn't back yet and Coco was even worse than he was. He put his hands on Velvet's shoulders. "It's not your fault. You're a fantastic person. Anyone who can't see that is just a bigoted asshole." Velvet shrugged and sniffed a little.

"I shouldn't let it get to me. I should probably be used to it by now."

"Oh, Velvet, you shouldn't ever have to get 'used to it,'" he said, running his hands over her arms. "It's not something you should have to deal with at all…" He trailed off when he noticed a strange texture under his right hand. It felt an awful lot like Braille… He ran his fingers over it slowly, reading what the words said. "Oh." Fox Alistair. There was no mistaking that. He took a step back, dropping his hands from Velvet. "I'm just going to…" He bolted for the bathroom.

He paced in the bathroom. Stupid. How could he have been so stupid? He had been fawning to Coco about his crush on Velvet for months now and they'd known she had his name on his shoulder - she was his soulmate.

His whole body trembled. He'd told Coco about his ex who had lied to him about their soulmarks. Maybe it was just inherent in people to lie about this sort of thing - it was a miracle enough that Coco had accepted him as her partner for Beacon. He couldn't expect Velvet - or anyone - to accept a blind man as a romantic partner.

Maybe it's not too late to transfer schools.

Velvet collapsed onto her bed, hiding her face in her hands. She had never been more mortified in her life. Fox had just been trying to be kind and she couldn't keep a lid on her crush for long enough not to moan wantonly when he touched her.

"Velvet, are you all right?" Yatsuhashi had come back from a late lunch with Professor Port regarding an upcoming test he was assisting with.

She shook her head. Coco said something about going to check on Fox, while Yatsuhashi came over to sit next to her. She'd been fawning over Fox to Yatsuhashi for months, but she guessed he couldn't stand the thought of being with a Faunus. Good enough to be friends, but not good enough to love.

Maybe it's not too late to transfer schools.

"You have thirty seconds to explain." Coco's voice was harsh, commanding - pissed.

Fox whirled around to face his partner. "Oh, that's rich, coming from you," he snarled. "I've been telling you about my crush on Velvet for months and rather than just letting me down gently you strung me along. You could have just said the mark was platonic and I would have believed you - I trusted you to tell me these things!" He swiped at the tears falling from his eyes.

"Fox…" Coco's voice was suddenly gentle, kind, the way it was when she'd first approached him in the forest - like she was approaching a wounded animal. "What are you talking about?" He hated that tone.

"Velvet's soulmark," he spat out, temper rising again and taking over. "You know, the thing saying "Fox Alistair" across her shoulder? Or did you three think I'd never find out?"

Coco took two steps forward and touched his shoulder. He jerked away. "Velvet doesn't have a soulmark," she said, though it sounded almost like a question. "Why do you think she has a soulmark?"

Fox backed up until his back hit the wall and he slid to the floor. "She does though. It's on her shoulder in Braille." He started to tremble again. "You can't see it?" He wanted to believe her so badly.

Coco sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I swear to you there's nothing there to see. I wouldn't have lied to you about that, not even before I knew."

He moved in a little closer to Coco, curling in on himself. "Oh. What… what do I do now?"

She let out a huff of laughter. "Strip."

Fox scrambled out from under Coco's arm. "What? No!"

She stood and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "It's not like you'd be able to tell if you got a soulmark." Her voice grew soft again. "How long has it been since someone you trusted has seen you naked?" He could hear the underlying question and hint of uncertainty in her voice and part of himself hated knowing that he'd caused that.

He trusted Coco, he really did. The brief moment of fear wouldn't change that. "Fine," he conceded, stripping down.

Coco stood and walked around him, laughing as she grabbed his ass. Fox yelped in protest. "Velvet Scarlatina. Right there. Put your clothes on and go tell her. I swear to God, Yatsuhashi and I will lock you two in a room until you sort yourselves out so we don't have to listen to you pine after one another anymore!"

He didn't even bother with a shirt, just his pants and boxers, then hurried back into the main room. "Velvet?"

He heard a choked sound that sounded an awful lot like a sob. "Here."

Her voice came from her bed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she was saying over and over.

He barely noticed Coco dragging Yatsuhashi out of the room with a hasty "Hey, let's go study in the library."

"Hey, no, Velvet, I'm sorry." He crawled up on the bed with her, as close as he could to where she was wedged in the corner without touching her. "Why are you apologizing?"

She sniffled. "Thought you were disgusted 'cause I was kind of... Coming on to you?"

He reached out to her, finding her back then her head to stroke her hair. "Not disgusted." He moved his hand to her shoulder, finding his name and running his thumb over it. "These are new, aren't they?"

"Not really? They came in maybe a year and a half before I came to Beacon." She put her hand on his. "Why is there something wrong with them?"

He couldn't keep the smile off his face. "No, definitely not. Here, feel." He took her hand and ran her finger over the letters one at a time. "See this, this is a capital F," he said, then continued through his name.

She started laughing after the x. "I didn't think I had one. I didn't know." She reaches up to touch his face, then leans in to kiss him. Her lips were chapped, like she'd been worrying at them with her teeth. It was the best kiss Fox had ever had.

When they broke the kiss, Velvet asked "Do you have one?"

He froze in place. The old fears of someone lying about it bubbled to the surface. "It's...well." God how was he going to do this?

"it's okay if you don't."

He shook his head. "Coco said it's on my ass," he choked out. He couldn't quite shake the feeling of doubt.

"Can I see?"

Turning away before he could over-think it, he lowered his pants just enough that she would be able to see his soulmark.

Velvet brushed her fingers over it. "Guess that's why I was always so jealous whenever Coco grabbed it."

The question tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "So it's really there?"

"Yes." She ran a hand over his back. "Now put your pants back on and kiss me. I'm sure our teammates aren't going to be gone for long."

"See, we didn't even have to lock them in the room!" Coco said when she came back in and saw them curled up on the bed together, Fox petting Velvet's ears.

She laughed when Velvet flipped her off.