The talks continued on, as Cyrus and Ariene worked together to give the relatively safe information that is deemed necessary towards Aurum. They may have entrusted their lives currently to them, but that doesn't mean that they have to give everything they have to them.

Time pa.s.sed, and Aurum got bored along with Samson. So, Aurum tugged at Samson, who nodded with an understanding expression. He neared Qrow and whispered 'threateningly',

Samson: "Cough up some money birdy, Aurum and me are gonna bounce and explore the school. Knowing him, he would most likely be excited by the cafeteria."

Qrow's eye twitched before he let out an audible sigh before begrudgingly removing his remaining precious lien from his wallet. Samson s.n.a.t.c.hed the money from his shaking hand, and merrily lead Aurum by the hand to the elevator.

Glynda: "Will you boys be alright? Do you need me to accompany you?"

Samson looks at Aurum who flinched, before flexing his right arm and firing a smile at the sorceress.

Samson: "That won't be necessary miss beauty. Exploring without a guide is what true adventurers do!"

Ozpin: "It's okay, Glynda. Let the kids have some fun. Better to exercise their legs, than sit around and not pay attention."

Glynda only gave a nod of understanding before giving Aurum a worried gaze. Ariene tried to sneak away and follow them.

Cyrus: "Oh no you don't missy, you're stuck here with me."

Ariene: "Noooooo~"

Ariene sulked, as the sound of the elevator opening rung. Going in, Aurum can't help but look back and give Ariene a curious look, which Samson waved off by pressing the b.u.t.ton for the ground floor.

Samson: "Don't worry, they'll catch up to us. We can explore this place to get more familiar."

Aurum nodded, and gave Ariene a cheering smile. The elevator door closed in time to not let Aurum see Ariene wearing a loose smile with her nose bleeding.

Qrow: "*sigh*, you better reimburse me Oz..."

Ozpin: "..."

Ozpin can only let out a nervous chuckle before returning back to their conversation.

....

Samson's POV

Once the elevator doors opened, I lead Aurum on to our first expedition!

I can't wait to bring him on our own magical beast expedition once we are older. I heard that the hunt is only part of the experience, and it's the sightseeing that is the true gem in the wilds.

We walked around the school, starting with the first floor. We soon arrived at the hallway for first years, and since this is where we would be learning, might as well take a little peek.

Aurum is just as curious as I am, so we stealthily opened a door, just enough so we can sneak a peek.

There were rows of students garbed in the school uniform, sitting and... sleeping? There were others who were fiddling with their scrolls, playing games and texting. h.e.l.l, some were even chit-chatting sneakily about scoring with some gals using hushed voices, as the teacher kept yap*cough* *cough* I mean teaching.

The man taking the front stage wore a striking burgundy suit with his slightly fat belly, and olive cavalry boots to pair with it. He had gray hair and a growing mustache to pair with his pompous storytelling.

???: "-He said, "Peter, you are one handsome young man! You are destined to be a great huntsman with you wily wits, and das.h.i.+ng appearance!" after speaking the irrefutable truth, he helped me drag the Ursa Major corpse to the village, where they celebrated my victorious hunt with a huge feast that lasted for 3 whole days, filled with debauchery."

Woooow. I don't blame the students for slacking off. The man sure has some severe case of self-love. Grimm evaporate shortly after death, so I know that the Ursa corpse is either a regular bear or a fake tax-cider-something replica. I looked beneath me and saw Aurum looking at the man curiously, then he looked at me and whispered,

Aurum: "I heard schools have teachers who teach you about 'no-ledge'. Why is he telling stories? From what I always hear, they teach stuff like this thing called writing and math. I also heard that "homework" is scary."

Taken aback by his meme-like cute expression, I replied unconsciously,

Samson: "Homework is the bane of fun. It takes your free time and makes you work hard for this thing called 'grades', which is a total utter bull. Grades aren't a basis for being an awesome hunter, it's your ability in surviving and combat do. But I do know that there are some practical knowledge that they teach, like basic math, writing, cooking and the characteristics and habits of your prey, i.e. grimm and beasts."

All of a sudden, We heard clapping coming from the teacher, which I found out was staring at us with a wide grin plastered to his face. I do admit that he has quite the magnificent mustache, and don't ask the specifics about how I know he's grinning, just play it as my gut feeling.

He started talking with an excited voice, addressing both me and the whole cla.s.s who now turned their attention to their teacher,

???: "Splendid! splendid words young man! Ignoring your first sentence, I wholeheartedly agree with your remaining words! An individuals' ability in combat and survival is the most precious resource a great huntsman like all possess. Remember cla.s.s, you can't boast your achievements with pride if you can't survive out there in the field! Truly, thank you for your words child. I presume that the brown-haired youth below you is Aurum?"

d.a.m.n it, did he rat about us to his whole crew? I clicked my tongue in annoyance before giving him a confirming nod.

While I was cursing Ozpin on my head, Aurum, having the attention of every person in the room seemed to suffocate him, as he was shaking and panicking like a chihuahua with a cute nervous expression, which immediately got everyone in the room to unconsciously let out slack-jawed smiles(To which I can agree to me having one as well). Without a warning, he immediately shrunk and ran away, leaving me awkwardly standing as everyone else besides the teacher give me a blaming look.

With a wronged expression, I followed after Aurum, but not before giving the teacher a wave and closing the door.

*Timeskip, provided to you by a Samson running around the school looking for Aurum*

..........

Aurum's POV(finally)

*BADUMP**BADUMP* *BADUMP**BADUMP*

I couldn't take their looks.

*BADUMP**BADUMP* *BADUMP**BADUMP*

They, they looked at me. They had a scary look on their faces.

*BADUMP**BADUMP* *BADUMP**BADUMP*

Their expressions remind me of Tai and Summer.

*BADUMP**BADUMP* *BADUMP**BADUMP*

So I ran.

*BADUMP**BADUMP* *BADUMP**BADUMP*

....

....

....

I don't know how long it took. But I ran without a direction, till I arrived at a place filled with many plants. It was beautiful, the trees had some round red things, some trees are taller than others. There were flowers of all kinds of colors and sizes, and in the middle of the place was a dirty egg-colored ground. In the center of it, there was a tree bigger, and not taller, than the others. You could say that it is as tall as the thing with the red b.a.l.l.s. The tree also was dark colored and had reddish-brown leaves. It had a hole big enough for Qrow, me, and Samson to fit perfectly. It let out a scary aura, but something that I seem to be comfortable with.

The place was beautiful. Really, really beautiful. From what I heard from Samson, important things should be mentioned twice.

I walked around looking at the place, and for some reason, I felt the tree in the middle pull me to it. Step by step, light yet still producing the sound of crunching dirt. Eventually, I arrived right in front. Now awake from my sleepwalking, I tried to turn away but hesitated. The inside of the tree looked comforting.

'This should be a good place to hide', I thought.

With that as an excuse, I went inside the tree, and all of a sudden, I felt sleepy. I tried to fight back, but I fell asleep defeated.

...

....

.....

'A dream?' I thought as I looked around where I'm 'currently' am. A cave the size of the living room back at 'that' house. There were 3 other people here. A man on his knees wearing a gentle and happy expression with flowing gold hair, and handsome features. On his right shoulder, was a purple mark. It looked like a chicken. The one he is facing is a woman. I can't seem to see how she looks like. But in her arms, is a b.l.o.o.d.y baby with brown hair and green eyes.

???: "....Julius....it's a boy...."

The woman spoke with a tired voice.

Julius: "&*@%#...what should we call him?"

???: "...How about... Aurum?"

.....What?

Julius: "Gold? But he has brown hair..."

???: "Julius Aurelius, are you doubting the naming sense of your beloved?!"

The woman answered him angrily, as he stuttered an answer,

Julius: "N-no ma'am!"

???: "Good, I need to rest for now, so go hunt me some food sweetie~"

Julius: "...But I want to hold my son..."

???: "Are you going or are you not?"

Julius: "Yes Ma'am!"

They... are my parents?

???: "....*sigh* Your father is an idiot Aurum, but he's my lovable idiot."

The scenery blurred after the man left the cave.

....

...

....

Now, it seems that I am in a forest, covered with white stuff. Is this...snow?

Julius: "&*@%#, Hurry!"

???: "Julius! It's no use, they've found us!"

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the couple, no my parents running really fast. I unconsciously ran after them, and miraculously caught up as I ran along with them. In my mother's hand, is a basket with me in it. The baby me seems to be crying.

???: "(*(#@$&)@#)!"

From behind us, were blurry figures, shouting out indiscernible noise.

???: "....We need to get Aurum away from us."

Julius: "&*@%#!"

???: "IT PAINS ME ALSO, JULIUS. But, we need to keep him safe."

My father seems reluctant, but he nodded.

Julius: "...Okay....Let's have him adopted to a family in the human world...."

....

???: "While we're at it.... we should try to hide in the human world away from him. That way, even THEY won't know our child is alive, and the pregnancy would be a miscarriage."

Julius: "....It's so frustrating, &*@%#. I don't want to abandon my son just a few days after birth."

???: "Julius... I'm tired of running, especially since I just gave birth to a child recently. A child we both made. It hurts me dearly to part with him, but I know we'll meet again someday."

My parents seem to be holding back from crying, as they heard the baby me crying.

BabyAurum: "Waaaaa~ Waaaa~"(AN: ...Idunnohowtocrybaby)

My father sighed, as he pointed his right arm at the basket.

Julius: "....I'm sorry, little gem. If only I wasn't cursed by that vile demonic chicken, or if your mother still had strength left, we could have still been a loving family. Forgive us for being bad parents, for not being there when you grow up. [Somnum]...."

All of a sudden, a small circle emerged from his finger, and a silver light flew to the baby me. I don't know what that was, but it put the baby into sleep.

The roars got louder, as the scene once again blurred.

...

....

...

Third Person POV

???: "...kid....up....."

???: "Wake.....bud...."

???: "—Kid, hey buddy, wake up. This isn't a place where you're supposed to sleep."

???: "Yeah, like shaking him gently like that can wake him up."

???: "Sorry if I'm not insensitive like you. Violet."

Violet: "I love you too, Lapis."

Lapis: "Don't I know that already?"

Violet: "tch."

Aurum: "...Dad?"

Light reflected into Aurum's eyes, as he blinked repeatedly. He heard a sigh of relief in front of him, as he registered the scenery. There was a pair right in front of the boy. A man and a woman. The man had blue spiky hair and brown eyes. He wore a black suit over a blue vest. He also had red headphones hanging by his neck. Meanwhile, the woman had dark brown hair with purple streaks and violet eyes. She wore a brown jacket over a white s.h.i.+rt and a red pleated skirt. Aurum looked at the man's hands that are currently in his sides.

Aurum: "!!!"

Aurum desperately shook off the hands as he backed away and tried to stick to the wall of the tree. The man was shocked as the woman had a brow raised. She looked curiously at the cowering boy.

Violet: "That's what you get for being a pedo."

Lapis: "You know, I seriously doubt myself why had I ever fallen in love with you."

Violet: "It's due to my good looks and gorgeous body, my good man."

The man rolled his eyes before looking at the boy currently hugging the wall as if his life depended on it. He spoke to him in a gentle and convincing voice.

Lapis: "Don't worry buddy, we're not going to hurt you. We just want to ask why did you sleep here, And where your parents are."

Aurum was doubtful at his gesture but reluctantly answered.

Aurum: "I-I don't know where my parents are. And I slept here because it was comfy."

Aurum knew he shouldn't tell that it was because of the magnetic feeling he felt. 'No one would believe that', he thinks.

Lapis thought that his parents were probably huntsmen that Ozpin hired. And that the kid in front of him wandered around since he wasn't allowed to listen in on the mission details. All of a sudden, a loud growling voice was heard. It came from Violet's stomach, which then got mimicked by Aurum and Lapis'.

Violet looked away with a pout, as Lapis laughed heartily. Aurum was embarra.s.sed since he couldn't control his urge for food.

Lapis: "It's lunchtime now buddy. Want to come with us to the cafeteria? Your parents should also be visiting there."

Aurum only nodded and didn't correct him, before cautiously nearing the man. Lapis chuckled at his approach, before standing up and backing away from the tree. Aurum walked out of it, as Lapis reached out his hand. Aurum didn't take it.

Lapis: "Hold my hand. We don't want you to get lost now, would we?"

Aurum nodded, before begrudgingly taking it.

Violet: "Finally, we can go eat."

Violet walked off ahead of them, as they too started walking towards the cafeteria.

Lapis: "Violet may be grumpy, but she's a sweet girl. She's a tsundere that way. Oh right, I forgot. I'm Lapis, what's yours."

Up ahead, they heard Violet let out a scoff. Aurum was puzzled on what a tsundere is, but still introduced himself.

Lapis: "Aurum Aurelius huh...nice to meet you!"

Lapis gave Aurum a beaming genuine smile. Aurum couldn't help but also give him a smile. This brought Lapis mental damage, of course.

'How can a kid be so cute?!' he thought. Another victim of Aurum's adorableness.

Lapis: "Does this mean we are friends now?"

Aurum pondered over the question.

Aurum: "...Sure?"

Lapis faltered over the questioning answer, as Violet snickered. All of a sudden, they heard shouting up ahead.

Samson: "—rum! Aurum! Where are you? Come out come out wherever you are~!"

Aurum visibly beamed at hearing Samson's voice. He quickly let go of Lapis' hand and ran forward to meet Samson.

Samson: "There you are! We really need to work on fixing you up you know, running away w.i.l.l.y nilly like that. And why are you dirty? did you slip like one of those legendary clumsy airheads?"

Aurum quickly filled in Samson on what he experienced with a hushed voice while Lapis and Violet approached them. He didn't talk about the dream though since Lapis and Violet might overhear.

Samson nodded, as he turned his attention at the couple, before bowing like a gentleman.

Samson: "Thanks for taking care of him. The name's Samson. Short, sweet, lovable, and fits me to a T."

Lapis and Violet let out a chuckle, as they introduced themselves. Samson was excited once they mentioned that they were Aurum's friend.

Samson: "That's quite lovely! Congratulations Aurum. You finally have friends!"

Lapis and Violet were confused while Aurum let out a nervous chuckle.

The 4 then chatted, well, mostly Lapis and Samson, as the other 2 just listened. Eventually, they arrived at the cafeteria. In front of the doors, were Qrow and Cyrus. They drilled Samson for information while reprimanding him for not keeping a good eye at Aurum, to which he only sighed before explaining.

Lapis and Violet were surprised, as Cyrus and Qrow only let out sad sighs.

Qrow: "Thanks for looking out for my kid."

Lapis: "No no no, it's our pleasure."

Qrow: "As thanks, how about I pay for your lunch?"

Before Lapis could decline, Violet finally spoke as she accepted the offer cheerfully. Qrow chuckled, as Cyrus and Samson let out giggles.

Qrow: "Seems like you have a lot on your plate, kid."

Lapis sighed.

Lapis: "That's only a little compared to her usual att.i.tude."

He earned a punch to the shoulder from Violet as he yelped from pain. Cyrus and Samson were on edge, once that happened. They quickly turned to Aurum, who thankfully didn't see that.

But seeing him s.p.a.ce out and staring at something, they suddenly had a bad feeling. Looking at where his gaze was at, they saw Ariene. She was being bullied by 4 boys, with a buff leader with burnt-orange hair wearing armor. The guy was pulling Ariene's ears as they laughed while she was in pain.

Samson: "Hey, let go of her!"

Samson shouted. The leader looked at Samson in contempt, and let go of her faunus ears. Before she could let out a sigh of relief, he suddenly kicked her. Hard.

*THUD*

She flew a meter away, as she dropped to the floor painfully. Her light blue aura s.h.i.+mmered, before breaking. She let out grunts of pain, as she curled into a fetal position, clutching her side. The 3 were furious at the bullies, but before they could even move, they saw Aurum suddenly dash out.

Aurum: "AAHHHHHHHHHHH"

He had his right arm raised and his hand knuckled, ready to punch; his expression dangerously cold. The bully scoffed in contempt, as he complacently crossed his arms. The 3 awoke from their stupor, before chasing after Aurum.

Arriving in front of the bully Aurum jumped and punched at the bully, who still had a complacent smile on despite Aurum's raging anger. Suddenly mid-flight, Aurum glowed gold, as his right arm was suddenly encased in a transparent fist, 4 times bigger than his own.

Aurum: "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

The bully didn't even have the chance to cry out in surprise, as the fist connected with his chest.

*BAM*

A loud impact resounded within the halls, as the bully flew upwards in an arc before being implanted on the wall, with his chest plate having a visible punch mark that caved in. His aura broke on impact, and the damage wasn't fully negated. And so, a mouthful of blood was released from his mouth, before falling to the ground with a resounding thud.

Silence dawned upon the building, as everyone was shocked at Aurum's strength.

It was when Aurum slumped to the ground unconscious did everyone finally take a breath. Qrow rushed to Aurum and quickly rushed him along with Ariene to the infirmary.

Meanwhile, Ozpin was looking at the video feed from his office along with Glynda. She was angry at the bullies' uncouth behavior and shocked at Aurum's display of strength. She was so shocked, that she missed Ozpin's mumbled words, despite being near him.

Ozpin: "The path of the body...interesting."