RWBY 1. Chapter 1

She had come running to them when her heart was breaking in two, when her tormentors were cruel and violent and rude towards her, and right now, she couldn't handle her stressors. Her world was collapsing, and she stumbled along the hallways of the dorms, grabbing onto the walls for support. Tears blurred her eyes, and she could feel the nerves in her ears tingling the way they did when she was unbearably sad.

Cardin had once again ruthlessly attacked Velvet for her Faunus heritage, calling her horrible names that no one deserved to be called.

She found Team RWBY's dorm room, the one that Ruby had decorated with posters, and knocked hesitantly, afraid that the team who had cared for her when no one did would push her away. Ruby flung open the door; her dark locks swinging around her face as she laughingly yelled behind her for Yang to stop bothering Blake.

When she saw Velvet, the drooping ears, the sad eyes, the tear streaks, Ruby grabbed Velvet into a bear hug and ushered her inside. The ruckus in the room and sunset that shone into their windows blinded Velvet and made her whimper. Her nerves were extra sensitive at the moment, and almost automatically, the room went quiet and Yang closed the curtains.

She could feel Ruby's strong arms guiding her towards Weiss's bed, which the heiress had offered up without a word. As she sank into the soft down, she began to sniffle.

"What happened, Velvet?" Blake asked, her voice soft and quiet. In moments like these, the other Faunus would unwrap her ears in a way to show Velvet she wasn't alone. Blake untied knots of black silk and set the bow on her book.

Yang knelt in front of the rabbit eared girl with a damp cloth, and rubbed it along her cheeks to soothe the flushed skin. Her older sister instincts kicked in for Velvet as much as they did for Ruby. Weiss grabbed her rapier, a fire in her eyes as she pulled on her white boots.

"Where are they?" She demanded, her pale composure disrupted with patches of angry scarlet.

"No, no, no. Don't do that." Velvet pleaded.

Weiss paused, her inner struggle showing on her face. She didn't want to upset the girl more, but an animalistic part of her wished to put Myrtenaster where the sun didn't shine. She sighed, pulled off her boots, set down her sword, and edged into her bunk next to Velvet.

"What happened?" Yang asked as she focused on wiping away budding tears.

"Cardin. He called me a mutt and a monstrosity. Sometimes… sometimes I feel like one." Velvet whispered before bursting into quiet sobs. She buried her face into her hands and cried tears that racked her ribs.

Ruby made a strangled noise in the back of her throat and spoke. "That's not true at all, Velvet. Don't ever think that. Cardin's a monstrosity for calling you those names."

Blake spoke while walking across the room. "Ruby's right. You're not any of those things. You're lovely and gentle." The brunette Huntress knelt next to Yang and hugged Velvet hard. "It's going to be alright."

"Group hug!" Ruby called, piling onto Velvet and encasing her in a tangle of arms and legs. Velvet's tears soon faded into watery laughs, and soon into a full-fledged smile, as she felt loved unconditionally.

It was a wonderful feeling.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is a prequel fic to Chapter 1! I hope you enjoy. Please visit my tumblr at : rwbyficsonffn. If you tell me you're from FanFiction, I'll follow you! I'm also taking requests. **

Velvet was small and quiet, and her Faunus heritage had always been a burden for her to carry. When she had made it to Beacon, she was hopeful for a new beginning, away from glaring, disdainful eyes, but she had been met with four pairs instead. Team CRDL, cruel and rude, had subjected her to a horrible bullying and oppression for her large, brown rabbit ears that she had once thought were beautiful. Now, every night after she had been chased away from her table in the dining hall, she would stand in front of a mirror and cry, beginning to hate her origins and the people she belonged to.

Faunus. The word dripped off of tongues like venom, spitting it out into the street like tobacco, stomped on like cigarettes, cursed like her. She was a Faunus and she wished so much that she could just be normal. She longed to be a girl who had no qualms and stood up to Cardin and his cronies with ease and elegance. But she was a muddled mess on the bathroom floor, hiding from her reflection so she didn't have to feel like her stomach was bottoming out.

The humiliation and torture that was directed towards her was observed and discussed amongst Team RWBY. They desperately wanted to help, and Ruby even tried chasing after her when she rushed out of the dining hall with tears in her eyes. Blake was sympathetic, knowing what it was like to be treated unfairly. Yang's heart ached for the girl, and her protective big sister nature was reaching towards Velvet.

The only one who appeared to not have any interest in their conversations about Velvet was Weiss. She was quiet and still when they brought it up, and always left the room in a rush. Her team members were puzzled and slightly intrigued by her opposition to talking about the meek Faunus girl who was going through a terrible time with Cardin, Beacon's uncivilized beast of a person.

On a cool fall night, Team RWBY was attending to their dinners, Ruby with a large pile of cookies instead. Velvet made her way in, her head low and her ears drooping with sadness. There was tension in the air as Cardin sauntered over to her seat and stomped on the space next to her. She yelped and jumped in a fright.

Cardin laughed, enjoying this torture thoroughly. "How's the class pet today? Are you overfeeding the rabbit, Russel? She's looking a little chubby." His henchmen cackled with malicious laughter, and Cardin basked in the attention of most of the dining hall. He upped the brutality with a snatch at Velvet's soft, sensitive ears. Velvet was crying now, trying to hold back the torrents of tears. He took out his weapon, the large mace, and hefted it over his shoulder.

"Perhaps we should do some experiments on the class pet." Ruby was about to get up, but she heard the familiar click of Dust chambers setting into place and saw a flash of white and yellow Dust flurry in the air. In a millisecond, Weiss was behind Cardin, her rapier pressed right against his Adam's apple.

"Don't you dare." Weiss said softly, her eyes gleaming with an anger that couldn't be controlled. "I swear, if you do, I'll do it." She tightened the pressure on his throat. Cardin gulped nervously, trying to brush off his impending doom. He put his weapon back, let Velvet go, and stalked out of the dining hall, humiliated and shaken up. Weiss sheathed Myrtenaster and gently wrapped an arm around Velvet. She led her to Team RWBY's table, and they sat there for a while, all in awe that the prim heiress had almost beheaded brutish Cardin.

Velvet cleared her throat. "Thank you, Weiss."

"Don't worry about it. He had it coming anyways." Weiss said primly, turning back to her dinner and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Ruby leaned over to Velvet to whisper loudly.

"That's how she expresses her true feelings. Don't worry, she likes you." Ruby's rasping voice brought out a soft giggle from Velvet, and Weiss scowled at Ruby.

"Shut up, you dolt."


End file.

RWBY, Friendship, Hurt-Comfort