Chapter 1 - The Hunter's Mentality
Today marked a special day for many young people. Well, the ones in the Airships at least. It was this day that one small group of students have been admitted to the most prestigious school in the Vale, one of four in the world in which they live in- Remnant. A world in which a pure evil coexists in, one that nearly wiped out humanity before the advent of Dust. Such a long time ago, this Dust became the hope humanity had been looking for, and with it, they began forming what will eventually be a suitable lifestyle for the people. The ones who utilized it were revered as heroes, warriors, and the eventual term, Hunters. Today, these students will follow in their path, and they too shall become Hunters in their own right. But they must first pass through many trials and tests, and not all will be academic.
Aboard the Airship, these new students will receive their first instructions: Go to the first meeting concerning their Initiation rites. All the students across are excited, nervous, and full of other youthful emotions, eager to take in what Beacon will offer them. However, a very select few do not share these emotions.
"Oi, look at that there!" a girl calls out, and a crowd forms, gazing at the jaw-dropping view of their new city, Vale. Many "oohs" and "awws" were had, but one particular student wasn't joining the crowd. He was content on the ride before much of the commotion found him, bystanders gazing down at what will become their home. The view didn't mean a lot; he was fine standing by the loading door.
"Ohh, they're talking loud…" the student says, crossing his arms, and rubbing his forehead. 'The church bells were quieter than this commotion,' he thought to himself. Minutes passed of the torturous noise before the crowd began separating, with minor groups moving about to look at other views. He breathes easier, and continues looking at the door.
"Y'know, mate, you'll be called a soursop if you don't show at least some interest in the new place," says the girl who yelled out loud earlier.
He doesn't bother to look at the girl but still responds, "I'm not really interested in the city. I'm more focused on receiving the new instructions, and stepping into the legendary academy called Beacon."
The girl giggles. "Someone's rather enthusiastic about the school," she teases, twirling her white hair. "Well, 'ope we meet again in there, lovely," and with that, she walks off.
'Long as you're competent,' he responds in his head.
Another half hour passes before the Airship begins making the descent into the school's landing zone, and after another dull minute, the doors finally open. Everyone begins exiting, stretching and taking in the absolute beauty of the school they've enrolled in. For some, it's their first time seeing the majesty Beacon holds, including the student.
"Oh, Remnant… " he says, nearly dropping his bag in the dirt. By instinct, he grabs it again, and then focuses his attention on finding the place, or signs at least pointing in the right way. His distractions cause him to bump into someone, and both fall to the ground.
"Crap, pardon me!" the student says, immediately grabbing his victim's bag and presenting it to them.
"Watch where you're fucking going!" the girl replies. She struggles to push herself back up, small frame and all. She grabs her bag and then stares up at student, due to her being slightly below the average height, and him being slightly above. "Where I come from, you fucking up like that means you're gonna help me with something," she demands, pointing a small finger at him.
"Oh, um, what do you need help with?" he asks nervously, not used to these types of accusations. Most of the guilt was spent on confessions where he came from.
The girl pauses for a bit, and then her finger points at him again.
"I'll hold onto that thought for a bit. What's your name?" she demands.
"Xanthous- Priest Xanthous," he says.
"Ok, Priest," she says, mocking him while staring at him. After a few seconds, she turns around and walks away into the growing bundle of students.
"Hey, you didn't say your name!" Priest shouts to a crowd, but of course he wasn't going to get a response.
"Priest… Xanthous…." a girl with blue hair says softly while typing onto a weird looking device on her hands. This device then showed a photo of Priest, with background information to add.
"Born in…..raised in the Church of….potentially ideal, but that's going to need…." she continues murmuring, typing fast in the midst of a crowd. A careless person then rams into her, causing her to fall. But she doesn't- instead, she performs an acrobatic technique, with her landing softly, and her "attacker" on the ground, struggling to get up.
"Sorry, sorry!" the person says, getting up and bowing an apology.
The blue-haired girl walks up to them, and offers her hand. "Hello, I'm Azuria Excina, and I accept your apology, despite your recklessness."
The person looks at her weirdly, but understand that she's not mad. "Um, yeah," they say, and they wave her goodbye, leaving her there.
"Hm," Azuria says, disappointed. She goes and picks up her device, to see the words she was glad to have seen: IDEAL TEAMMATE. She smiles, and heads into the building everyone else is going into.
"This isn't like me, looking for a needle in a haystack," Priest says, having to search for the olive-haired girl, wanting to know her name. The building is big, and is only getting more packed, making it harder to move through the people.
"'Scuse, me, I said, excuse me!" Priest repeats, as he is at this point, shoving people out of his way, as he thought he saw a glimpse of the girl's hair. No such luck, but he does run into someone he's already talked with before.
"Oh… Y'know, when I said we'd meet again in 'ere, I meant after a few 'ours, not immediately after, lovely," the white-haired girl says smoothly, stopping Priest.
"Did you see an olive-haired girl pass by?" Priest rapidly asks. The white-haired girl's smiles fades off.
"The name's Ivory, lovely, and I did see that lil' runt you're talking about. She's been getting on people's nerves now, with her attitude spouting up 'n all," she says, somewhat angry.
"Thanks." He says, trying to move, but Ivory grabs him by the arm with both hands.
"Sett'l down, you'll see 'er again. 'Sides, I'm the first person you've talked with since you got on the ship. Don't that make me a bit special?" Ivory teases, pulling him closer with a wicked grip. Priest only immediately yanks his arm free with sheer overpowering.
"Grab my arm again, and you'll wish I was the last person you ever talked to," and he begins moving through the crowd, but again is interrupted. Not by Ivory, but by a loud, female voice.
"I would like for all the students to please settle down, and stop moving, wherever they are."
Feeling the command presence of this woman, Priest stops and shifts his focus on the woman standing behind the microphone. A fairly dark skinned woman stands there, cleaning her glasses before readjusting them.
"I would like to start this with, welcome to Beacon Academy. For many of you, this is your first impression of us, and I hope you all feel welcomed thus far," she begins, with a voice so feminine and yet so authoritative.
"Due to a conflict in my schedule that is beyond my control, I am making this speech relatively vague and much shorter than I have initially planned. However, what I will say may just change your entire perspective of this prestigious academy."
Some of the crowd whispers and a few faces turn worried.
"Many have applied here only to have dropped out within the first semester because they could not keep up with their friends in arms. Many students were unable to complete initiation because they believed their talents and weapons alone would be all they needed. That is not what being a Hunter is about."
Priest's head leans to the side, now very much interested in what the woman had to say.
"A Hunter must know his limits, despite our training saying that there is none. A Hunter must know that they themselves can not quell a war, nor save the entire human race from what lies beyond Our Kingdoms. A true Hunter knows that they will have only so many years to make a difference, and in those few years, we will cut the wheat from the chaff."
'Cut the wheat from the- definitely not instilling fear, nonetheless her point makes sense...' Priest thinks to himself. A habit of Priest is him always having to say something in his head, but never wanting to say it out loud, because he knew many others' reactions when he did so.
The woman stands up a bit straighter, and encloses both hands. "You will be guided to your sleeping area for this night. Tomorrow, you will all arise early, and begin your long awaited and deserved initiation."
The crowd goes slightly rowdy, but quickly de-escalates.
"That is all, my new students. Dismissed!"
And just then, a group of people enter the building, all bearing the insignia of the Academy on an armband.
"Alright, newcomers, follow a representative! Let's go, let's go!" one of them yells out, and students begin moving about in all directions, and like Priest, are looking for someone.
Priest moves rapidly out the building, only pretending to follow a representative, but is really looking for the olive-haired girl, moving in and out of groups, his desperation beginning to peak.
"Seriously, this isn't like-" but before he can finish, he once again bumps into someone, but only Priest falls.
"So that's what it felt like for her," Priest says to himself, and as he looks up, a hand is being offered to him by a rather odd-looking individual.
"Forgive me," he states flatly. Priest takes his hand and stands back up, and catches a small glimpse of the person's eyes. A sort of red, but not a menacing shade of it. He's wearing a white medical coat with a hood hastily sewn on, hiding everything else but the small glimpse of red eyes.
"Forgiven, but listen, have you seen an olive-haired girl around?" Priest says without thinking.
"You have become the only other person I have had to acknowledge," he replies. "I can't help you with whoever you're looking for."
"Damn," Priest says, exhaling sharply. "Look, sorry for running into you like that. Appreciate the help," and with that, he leaves the odd individual, continuing his search.
_Beacon, Grand Hallway(?)_
Nighttime has fallen upon Remnant, and all students have been accounted for in the sleeping area. For safety and instinctual reasons, the males ended up one side, with the females on the other, a decision only a select number of males had a problem with. Priest however, is suffering another headache, listening to the absolute idiocy that his fellow peers are blathering on about.
"I would've have liked to have slept next to a girl."
"Imagine if she was the moving type."
"I hear some girls use body pillows. I would've wanted one to think that I was one."
"That's a bit creepy, even for you."
"Psst, dude, check her out!" one of the males says to the rest, pointing to a blue-haired girl sitting proudly on her make-shift bed, typing on some sort of digital pad.
"Niiice, I want her on my team…" another responds. The males continued to spew their affection for the girl. At this point, Priest had lost all patience, and possibly all hope for the rest of the male population in these walls.
"What are you even saying!?" Priest hisses. The males turn around, looking at Priest.
"What, you don't think she's cute too?" One of them says stupidly. Priest gets even more annoyed.
"You disrespectful little- do you have any idea where you are right now? You're in Beacon! A school for Hunters and Huntresses, not Grooms and Brides! Show a proper mindset!" he continues.
The group of three stand up and so does Priest. They size him up - Priest may be just taller, but he's definitely outnumbered.
"Who do you think you are, to tell us what to think about? What are you, some kind of priest?" one of them says, looking at Priest's clothing, and noticing its familiarity to a priest's robes. "Oh, look at that- he is a priest!" The same one says, pointing at his robes.
"Is it a sin to be looking at beautiful women? Eh? You gonna spank me, father?" the other one says.
"Oh forgive me, father!" they mock him. Priest is about ready to gravely injure the next guy who says something, when a familiar voice speaks out from the other side of the room.
"He's right," a female voice is said, and the four look. Laying a foot or two away from them, was a small girl, with short olive-green hair, eyeing at the boys. "You're inside this school for a reason, and that is not to procreate. You are here to become a Hunter, not some bachelor," and she gets up as she talks. The people around eye the group now, and the males notice.
"Jeez, sorry...c'mon guys let's move somewhere else," says the assumed ringleader of the group. They pass by Priest, and purposely bump into him, but Priest hardly budges, as he is oddly relieve to see the girl that just spoke, and is now laying back down, her back towards him. He approaches and sits next to her.
"Excuse me, miss… uh… I never got your name," he begins.
"Ivy," she says in a muffled voice.
"Miss Ivy. I appreciate your comment on the situation. I am also glad to see that someone else agrees with me as to how we should treat our position."
"No, not Miss Ivy," she corrects. "Just Ivy." Ivy rolls and faces Priest. "This is Beacon, like you said. We're here for something greater than ourselves. Just like the ones who came before us, and have died to keep that dignity intact."
"Yes, all true…" Priest looks the other way out of awkwardness. "By any chance, uh, Ivy, will you consider a pairing during the initiation? I would like to be around others with a proper mentality, and I feel as though you could do just that."
"Should luck have it, then yes, I will not mind being a part of your team," she says, her voice mumbling about, as if she only said it to shut him up. Priest gets up and feels as though it is time to actually sleep. Tomorrow will be the first test for him and those around him. Tomorrow, he'll hopefully never see some of those idiots again, if he can avoid it.
"Goodnight," Ivy whispers. Priest felt slightly awkward at hearing a girl say that.
"Don't be a victim, Ivy," Priest responds, not entirely sure of he should say.
"... What?" Ivy asks, unsure she heard Priest correctly.
"Don't fuck up tomorrow," he says again, with more confidence.
"I should be telling you that."
"Go away, mister. I'm trying to sleep!" says a girl nearby the two. Priest feels even more embarrassed, and rushes back to his mat. He lies down, feeling a weird sense of excitement and anxiety tomorrow, for he has guaranteed himself a competent partner.
Amidst the silence, only a few whispers can be heard, and the subtle, but almost soothing sound of typing.