LJNT

False Pretenses

Lyra was not happy.

She grudgingly walked toward the dorms by herself, dragging her suitcase behind her dejectedly. Lyra couldn't move past the Grimm-like features that Nico possessed. Hearing about Nico's past was horrible, Lyra would admit. Nico was turned into a Grimm against her will, kidnapped, and made into a fearsome creature. She was dehumanized, but Ozpin was trying to grant the Grimm girl a second chance. Lyra knew she should do the same.

But when she looked at Nico, all she could see was another one of those monsters...

That's right...and those monsters must die. Do it for me, Lyra...

Ozpin had informed her on where her dorm was, and now Lyra trudged over to where she'd be forced to remain with her team. This wasn't right, how was this happening? This was the moment Lyra had been waiting for her whole life! Why was it that a Grimm had to ruin all of it?

After a long walk, Lyra finally made it to her new dorm. Everyone was already settled down into their dorms, and Lyra had absolutely no idea where Pyrrha was. She had no choice but to turn to her team. Lyra slowly pushed open the door, a tense look on her face.

Everyone else was already settled in and unpacking, and at the sound of the door opening, Lyra's teammates turned to face her. Lyra stood awkwardly in the doorway before heading to the empty bed.

She could feel their eyes on her, but she refused to look. She didn't know which direction Nico was in, but if she looked, she knew she wouldn't be able to control herself from reaching out and snapping Nico's neck.

"So...We're a team now!" Tanya tried to lighten the already tense mood, placing a bright smile on her face. "I can't wait to work with everyone here."

"Yeah, I..." Lyra paused, about to agree, but ultimately ended up being unable to lie convincingly about how much she was dreading working with the Grimm. Nico. She has a name, her subconscious scolded, but Lyra couldn't be bothered to think rationally. "...I...can't wait."

Kill it, kill it, kill it-

Please, shut up!

"If Headmaster Ozpin believes in the four of us to be a team, then I suppose I'll do my best," Janelle nodded, continuing to place her stuff into drawers. The rest of the team had started unpacking, but had given up by now. "Although this will be rather...strange."

"Yes," Lyra agreed with that almost instantaneously, glancing to where she had heard Janelle's voice come from. To her relief, Nico wasn't in sight. "But I'm sure we can...can...all get used to it. Yeah."

An awkward silence passed again, and Janelle eventually nodded somewhat reluctantly.

"Yes...we have no choice but to do so."

"...Um...s-sorry...a-about...w-well, y-you know..." Nico's timid voice resounded from the opposite side of the room. Right now, she seemed so shy and innocent. If Lyra didn't know that the voice belonged to Nico, she would think she was indeed perfectly innocent, perfectly normal. "Is...Is..t-there anything I c-can do to...n-not be a p-problem?"

"Oh, Nico, you're not a problem!" Tanya tried to persuade the girl otherwise hurriedly, shooting her other two teammates a dirty look. "Don't worry!"

"I-I see h-how you all l-look at me..." Nico said quietly, a hint of sadness in her voice. Lyra refused to relent, even with Nico's attempts to help, and Lyra kept her gaze away from the smaller girl. "...Y-You're...un..uncomfortable."

"There is nothing you can do to change that," Janelle replied sternly, pausing to quickly straighten out her dress. "I will trust Headmaster Ozpin's judgment about you. Just give us time to adjust, I am sure we will all eventually get along well once we get used to...this."