Ahoy there! Oh…I'm sorry. I won't do that again. Hello and welcome to my first fanfiction ever. I could sit here and tell you about how I was inspired to write this, but in all honesty it just kind of gradually formed in my head of its own accord. I love Qrow, Taiyang seems cool, and I want to see more STRQ. So I made more STRQ. You guys aren't here to listen to me ramble though, so let's get to the good part, huh?

What We Found in the Shadows

Welcome to Beacon

Red eyes roved across the occupants of the airship, examining each person in hopes of identifying a suitable target. If someone had asked Qrow Branwen what he was looking for, he wouldn't have been able to give an answer beyond "I'll know it when I see it." His gaze settled on the splash of white sitting in the far corner of the room. He ran a hand through his hair, sweeping it back. A grin spread across his face, only for his thoughts to be interrupted by the person seated next to him.

"Why are you still hanging around me?" Raven sounded annoyed, though to be fair that was par for the course for her. Honestly, she was the only person Qrow knew capable of translating an eye roll into the tone of her voice. "I thought you couldn't wait to start making new friends. I know I was really looking forward to it."

Qrow chuckled and reached into his bag. "Keep your shirt on, sis. I had to scout out the prospects first. I'll be out of your over-styled hair in a minute." He pulled a soda can out of his bag and opened it, the ensuing crack-hiss conveniently covering Raven's irritated growl.

"Over-styled? I'm sorry we don't all want to look like we just rolled out of bed. Ass." She punched him in the shoulder. Hard. She never did bother to hold back where the physical punishment was involved.

He laughed. It was always so entertaining to push her buttons. "I can't help it that I'm just naturally this sexy." Raven's groan of disgust only made him grin wider. "Anyway, I found someone, so I'm leaving." He chugged his soda and tossed the empty can into his sister's lap as he stood up.

Casually strolling away, he leaned to his left without breaking stride, easily dodging the can Raven had thrown at the back of his head. He flipped her off and made his way toward the girl in the white cloak. The airship, though full of Beacon's entire incoming first year class, was plenty spacious enough to make his way across without any trouble. A lot of them actually seemed to be clustered around some blonde guy on the other side of the ship, laughing like he just said the funniest thing in the world.

That wasn't really important though. Not when there was a cute girl sitting all alone. She had the hood of her cloak up, obscuring her face from Qrow's angle, but the glimpses he caught had been enough to catch his attention. "Hey, there," he called out in the smoothest voice he could muster. "I couldn't help noticing you sitting all by yourself. Mind if I join you?"

The girl jumped and whipped around, turning her attention from the window on her left to Qrow in an instant. She also sunk down in her seat, her hood falling back a little to give Qrow his first real look at her face. It took more than a little effort to keep from stumbling as he looked into those silver eyes.

"Oh. Um…I…guess not?" That was a definite note of uncertainty. Still, it wasn't a rejection yet. Shy, Qrow guessed, based on the quiet softness of the girl's voice. That was fine though, he could work with that.

"Thanks." He gave her the most charming smile he could manage as he placed himself in the seat next to her. "My sister was driving me crazy," he jerked his head back toward Raven, already absorbed in a book now that his distracting presence was gone. "I had to find someone to talk to. I'm Qrow. Qrow Branwen."

"S-Summer Rose." Her eyes darted from side to side briefly before settling back on him. The poor girl seemed torn between wanting to be polite and wanting to run like hell. It was almost enough to make Qrow feel bad for bothering her. "It's, um, nice to meet you."

"Thanks, nice meeting you too." He leaned back in his seat and slid down a bit. "Summer's a pretty name. Suits you." Summer's face went crimson in the space of a heartbeat as she sank further into her seat, leaving Qrow to cast around for a topic that could save this. "Excited to get to Beacon?" He barely managed to keep from wincing. Oh, real good, Qrow. Nothing wins the ladies like talking about school. He took a deep breath and got ready for the forthcoming rejection.

It never came. Instead, her face lit up with a smile as bright as her eyes. "Oh, yeah! It's going to be great. It still hasn't really sunk in yet that I got accepted, you know?" She turned in her seat to face Qrow a little more.

Qrow grinned. "Have you thought at all about what you want to do for your team? There's still space on Team Qrow if you're interested."

"I, um…" Summer blushed yet again and looked down. "I was kind of just…planning on seeing what happened. I never really put any thought into it."

Qrow's grin faltered, just a little. "Oh, yeah, no that makes sense. Don't want to try to force things…" He trailed off uncertainly. Before he could find something new to say, the ship grew dim as the image of an older man was projected onto all the windows and screens.

"I'll keep this brief," the man began. "I am Professor Ozpin, the deputy headmaster of Beacon. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you all to this academy. You have all chosen to dedicate yourselves to a higher calling, to protecting the people of Remnant from the darkness that threatens us all." Qrow grinned and chuckled at the way Summer seemed to sit straighter at the words. "The path you have chosen is not an easy one, and is certainly not a safe one. That said, we here at Beacon will do everything in our power to thank you all for this decision, and to prepare you for the futures before you. Congratulations and welcome to Beacon."

Ozpin's image disappeared, leaving a momentary silence among the occupants of the airship. Summer glanced over at Qrow and he opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by a sudden jostling as the airship touched landed. Summer shot to her feet. "It was nice to meet you. I have to go, bye." She disappeared in a puff of white rose petals before Qrow could so much as muster a goodbye.

Qrow sighed and pushed himself to his feet. Across the ship, Raven had the world's biggest shit eating grin and wasn't even trying to hide her laugher as she watched him. Welcome to Beacon, indeed.

-#-#-

Summer sprinted out of the airship, only to stop short at the bottom of the ramp and gaze up at the sight of Beacon Academy before her. She'd been the first one off the airship, but now the disembarking students flowed around her like water around a rock. Not that she cared, or even noticed. She'd made it, she was at Beacon. It was finally time to start making the world a better place. And she'd already made a…friend? A friendly acquaintance? She had a mostly positive interaction with someone!

She took a deep breath and a step forward just as something hit her from behind and sent her tumbling to the ground. "Ow…" she shook off the shock and pushed herself to her hands and knees.

"Whoa, sorry about that," a deep voice said from somewhere above her. "Got caught up in the view." A hand appeared in her vision and helped her to her feet.

Summer took a moment to dust off her cloak and look at the guy who knocked her down. Silver eyes met blue and Summer was suddenly thankful for the hood hiding most of her face. It helped hide the massive blush. Her fingers tapped together in a display of nervous anxiety. Of course the first two people she spoke to at Beacon had to be the two most attractive guys she'd ever seen. "I-it's fine. I did too. I shouldn't have stopped on the ramp like that."

He waved it off with an easy smile. "Eh, I should have been paying attention to where I was going. I'm Tai, by the way."

"Summer." Why did introductions have to be so difficult? Why were they necessary? The Grimm didn't care how sociable you were. Still…he was really handsome and he was smiling at her. Her cheeks burned.

Off ahead of them, some people were shouting for Tai's attention. He gave Summer another smile. "I better run before my friends get annoyed. I'll catch ya around, Sum." He winked and ran off.

That…was probably enough socialization for one day, right? Already, she felt fatigued from just two conversations. Nobody ever accused Summer Rose of being a social butterfly. With another great sigh, she started after the mass of students heading for the school. Heading off for the start of an exciting new future.

Summer started following them, only to stop short again and frown. That Ozpin guy…hadn't actually said anything about where they were supposed to go, had he? Or did she just miss it? This did not bode well. Missing key information hardly made for an auspicious start to her career as a Huntress.

Thankfully the roving crowd of other students didn't lead her astray and she soon found herself admiring the classical architecture of an auditorium of sorts. Stone arches drew the eye across the room to the raised platform at the far end. Already, the room was crowded with students waiting for further direction. She looked away from the empty stage and scanned the crowd. No sign of either of the two people she already knew, not that that was a problem. Summer Rose was perfectly happy to hover at the edges of a crowd and observe.

A few short minutes later, two men entered the hall and crossed to the middle of the stage. One, in probably his late fifties and walking with a cane, was obviously Professor Ozpin. The green suit and white hair were fairly distinctive. That mean the other would have to be…

"Good afternoon and welcome to Beacon." Headmaster Jeremy Rayleigh…did not match Summer's mental image of such a well-respected Huntsman. The top of his head fell a few inches short of even his deputy's collarbone. And he was fat. His entire form, from his jowls to his gut, jiggled with every step. "I cannot begin to tell you how delighted I am to see so many bright young faces before me today, ready to take the first steps to defending our world."

Now the eyes, those were a different story altogether. Those pale blue circles held a level of cunning, of intelligence, Summer had never seen before. Even now that Rayleigh had stopped moving, those eyes never did. They cataloged everything, constantly scanning for new developments and new threats. The eyes, at least, were those of a man long accustomed to battle, to both great victory and terrible defeat. Or maybe she was being overly poetic again. Her dad always said she tended to do that when she got excited. She blinked. Had…he kept talking the entire time she was spacing out? It would seem he had.

"…for the incredible prestige and glory this profession affords. You will be the defenders of the world, paragons of justice…" Summer quickly found herself tuning out again, excitement giving way to torpor. So many words, and yet he didn't seem to be saying anything. This man could probably bore an Alpha Beowolf into docility.

Still, maybe that was good for her? Living proof that good interpersonal skills weren't necessary for a successful career in Grimm murder. Yeah. She could live with that. Maybe not listen to it, but definitely live with it.

Some time later, and she truly had no clue how long the headmaster had been speaking, Rayleigh stepped away from the microphone and with one more wave to his newest students, walked out of the auditorium. Ozpin stepped up to take his place. "That concludes the welcome ceremony." Was it Summer's imagination or did even Ozpin seem relieved that the speech was done with? "You will spend tonight in the ballroom. In the morning you will report for initiation and the creation of your teams. Sleep well and good luck."

And that's it. On the short side, I know, but I didn't want to draw things out more than necessary. Initiation is next chapter. We'll start getting into the meat of it there. For now, I wanted to get this out there and introduce our heroes. Questions, comments, concerns? Drop a review. Thanks for reading!