Chapter 1
~River King-Zhao~
A Desolate Heart
"Listen, River," a grown man with brown hair stood in front of a girl with shorter brown hair. He had put multiple bags on the floor next to her. "You're going to have to learn to hide your ears and tail. Normal people aren't so accepting of our kind."
"If that's the case, then just let me stay here!" the girl whined. She wore baggy blue pants, a deep blue colored long sleeve jacket, and had a bag on her back with a bag also sitting at her feet. She was a Faunus. A mixture of a human and an animal. She dawned a Lemur's tail and ears, as well as the bright yellow eyes.
"Today is the day your parents registered for Beacon Academy. I'm just looking out for you," the older man said. The girl, named River, gained a sad expression.
"Ming Zhao and Tuscan King. One a Faunus, one a normal human, both huntsmen with big goals. A forbidden love that dared to go on!" A lady said as she walked out of the house to the right of them. She hugged River's neck.
"Thank you, Aunt May," River said. She sighed. "I just don't want to leave...Being with you and Uncle Jin is the only home I've ever known and I don't want to go."
"Was the child that told me she wanted to follow in her parents' footsteps, not you?" Jin asked. River paused. She thought back to the last vision she had of her parents. Her mother had long, black hair and yellow eyes, and her father had light brown hair and blue eyes. She inherited her mother's Lemur features and dad's hair. They both went to Beacon Academy and were great at what they did...until the Red Fang killed them.
"I guess I did say that..." River said as she looked to the ground with sad eyes. She took a moment to think about what she was doing. Was she really going to be exactly like her parents? Being a huntress meant leaving her home, her friends, her family, and everything she knew. She sighed as her uncle hugged her.
"River, you're a talented young girl. You'll fit in and can learn what it was like being your parents. It might be fun," May said as she hugged her niece once more.
"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?" she asked. River shook her head.
"Wait! Don't go yet!" Someone yelled as they ran outside to embrace River in a tight hug.
"Oof! Rei!" River said, tears forming in her eyes. Rei was her younger sister. She had long, brown hair and light brown eyes. She didn't inherit the Lemur features. However, she was sick. She had cancer...
"I know I should be inside but I had to say goodbye! I'm gonna miss you so much, Rei!" Rei said with a big grin.
"Hey, I did give you that awesome hair, so just think of me when you see yourself in it!" River said, smiling and putting her hand on her eight-year-old sister's head. Her hair used to be past her waist by a few inches, but she cut it off to make her sister a wig. Rei smiled.
"I gotta go, Riv," River said. Rei nodded.
"Be safe, Riv," May said as she gave Rei one last hug.
"Keep up your training and your studies," Jin said. River bowed at the waist.
"Will do," she said as she sat back up. She waved to her family as she walked away from the house.
"This is going to be fun!" she said as she walked down a dirt path towards a nearby village.
River sat down on a bench seat. She sighed. Her feet hurt from walking. The road from their cabin in the woods to the village was a whole two-mile walk and she was tired. She sat her bags down under her seat, giving her room to stretch her legs a bit.
"Mother? Father? You listening up there?" she said in her mind as she looked up to the sky.
"I really hope you are...I need your help," she closed her eyes.
"I have no idea what I'm doing! Beacon is a big school and...and I don't know if I'm ready!" she said. She noticed someone sit next to her and she snapped out of her thoughts.
"Heya, Mink," the person said. They were an older man, somewhere in their late thirties. He dawned dark brown hair and lighter colored rabbit ears. Most of the people in the small village were Faunus or were really nice people without animal features.
"Oh! Hello Mister Soren!" River smiled. Soren and his family ran a shop that River often went to for groceries and herbs for medicine. She had learned many medicinal practices from her family.
"Your Aunt came to the shop last instead of you. I figured you were packing since school's starting soon," Soren said as he nodded towards the bags. River laughed sheepishly.
"You always had a keen eye, Sir," she said. She stared at her hands with a smile but narrowed eyes.
"You look upset...Is everything okay?" Soren asked. River nodded.
"It's just hard, having to leave Rei and all..." she sighed. Soren hummed.
"Minnie's been sick too, although I'm very aware that your sister has it much worse," he said. River looked out to the market next to her. She looked back a minute later and saw Soren bending down.
"Tying my shoes," he smiled. She nodded.
"How is Rei, anyway?" Soren asked.
"The doctor said she's getting better. I volunteered to give up my hair for a wig. She loves it and takes good care of it but..." River hesitated, softening her gaze. She took a shaky breath.
"I can't help but see our mother when I look at her," she said. Soren studied all the passing people.
"Ming was a beautiful woman, much like yourself," River smiled at his comment
"Anyone who got to know her would find that she cared for everyone and everything. She was very popular and strong, too. Everybody was shaken when she passed," the man said.
"Of course father had to avenge her...Ended up getting killed in the process too..." River said, eyes watering up. Soren chuckled lightly.
"Well, Tuscan wasn't the brightest..." he said. The two had gone to school together.
"But he knew how to fight for what he cared about. If he was here, he would tell you to do the same, Riv," Soren said. River looked up to the man.
"Thank you, Sir," she said as she hugged him. He hugged her back then nodded.
"Just be careful out there, River. You know how people feel about us," he said with a stern tone. River nodded.
"Well, I gotta get going," she said as she grabbed her bags.
"Tell Minnie that I'm wishing her well!" she shouted as she ran and waved. Soren waved back.
"Ming and Tuscan? Your daughter's all grown up now," he smiled.
A Long While Later...
River had traveled to the agricultural district of Vale, leaving her not far from Beacon. She had taken almost a whole day getting there from her home in the small village in Vacuo. She sighed as she made her way to a nearby inn. She walked in, the little bell above the door ringing as she did so.
"Hello, Miss," the lady at the counter said. River sat her bags down beside her, relaxing her cramped hand.
"Hi, uh, I need a room, please," she said, giving the lady all the Lien she had.
"Thank you and enjoy your stay," the lady handed River a room key. River nodded as she took the key then found her room.
"Thank the gods," she flopped onto the bed, dropping her bags at the door. She was exhausted. She took off her jacket and looked at the emblem on the back. It was a circle with a sword and a wave-like design on it. River looked over to one of her bags, pulling a photograph. It had her mother and father when they were young, then their teammates from Beacon. Soren was on the far right, holding the camera as he grinned. Tuscan and Ming were in the middle, holding each other at the waist. They were smiling, Ming's Faunus features hidden from view.
"Hm?" she raised an eyebrow as she wondered how the picture got in there. She hadn't put it in. There was a note on top of it. Her face lit up as she read the note.
"Team MINT in their golden days. Sincerely, Nero Soren."
"Thanks," River said as she sighed through her nose. She ran her fingers over her parents' faces. Once again, River fell onto the bed. She couldn't help but grin as she did her best at learning how to use the scroll. After about an hour, she began to yawn.
"I guess it's time for bed," she sighed as she changed into a dark blue tank top and a pair of sky blue shorts. She got under the sheets of the inn's bed and began to drift off into sleep. Soon, the brunette was sound asleep and dreaming of her family back home.
The Next Morning...
"I'm gonna be late at this rate," River grumbled as she tried to tuck her lemur tail into her pants. She was having trouble, so she got along a band from her bag. She tied it around her waist, securing it at the end.
"There," She exhaled a sigh of relief. She tied a wrap around her head, covering her Faunus ears. She grabbed her bags then walked out the door, leaving her key at the front desk. She took a deep breath as she looked above her, seeing an airship fly by. She smiled to herself then started walking. She passed by a small market. After about ten minutes of walking, along with the occasional stop to look at the items that were being sold, her hand cramped up.
"Damn it," she mumbled under her breath as she dropped her bags then relaxed her hand.
"WATCH OUT!" someone yelled. River looked over to see someone running towards her. Unable to stop, they crashed into her.
"Ah!" She yelped as she, and the stranger, fell to the ground.
"I'm so sorry!" the stranger, who river noticed was a teenage girl, jumped to her feet.
"It's fine," River said. The girl had burnt umber colored hair that was tied into a messy bun. She wore a deep orange-ish red dress and had a burnt orange-colored ribbon around her waist. She also had on wedge-heeled shoes that had a brown heel and underside but the part around her foot was black.
"I-I've gotta go!" the girl said, pulled a bronze pocket watch out of her orange cloth. It had gears on the back of it that seemed to be stopped.
"Sorry again!" she called as she put the watch back then ran off.
"Um...Goodbye?" River furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She went to get up, finding a box on the ground. It was white with a red ribbon tied around it, a tag with 'Saf' written on it was hanging off the ribbon.
"Saf? River thought out loud. Then, it dawned on her. She looked up to the direction the girl had run off in.
"She must have dropped this..." she said as she tucked it into an inner pocket in her jacket. She sighed as she picked her bags up then began to walk towards the school she could see in the distance.
"Here I come," she smiled to herself as she moved, her golden eyes lit up with hope for the future yet to come.
-Beacon-
River found herself getting more and more excited with each step into the school grounds. She was thrilled to see all the new people, her senses exploding with all the new sounds and scents. In the wild, lemurs are most interested in scent, so she focused on the scents of all the peoples. She saw many flavors amongst the people. She witnessed some people reuniting with their friends, a girl getting yelled at from tripping over another girls luggage, and even a girl just minding her own business and reading a book.
"Whoa," she smiled as she looked around. She was only used to the small town she lived in, and the sixty-something people that lived there. Seeing hundreds of students making their way into the school was exciting the young Faunus, soon to be Huntress. She looked around a few more times then spotted the girl she ran into earlier. Her eyes widened slightly As she ran over to her, tapping her.
"Eep!" the girl jumped, clearly startled. She even made River jump slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the brunette said. The girl shook her head.
"Leave the apologies to me. I get startled easily," the girl said as she laughed sheepishly. River smiled at her.
"Your that girl from earlier right?" the teen before her asked. River nodded.
"Ehehe...Sorry about running into you like that. I'm not very good at keeping track of time and I wanted to get here early. Beat the crowds and all," the girl said.
"Oh, that reminds me..." River reached into her pocket, grabbing the box. The girl's face lit up.
"I wondered where that went! Thanks!" she smiled as she opened it, smiling at the dust cartridges in the box. She then closed it and put it in the cloth around her waist.
"I'm Saffron, by the way! Saffron Cordova!" she grinned as she held out her hand to River who took it and shook it.
"River, River King-Zhao," she answered. Saffron raised an eyebrow.
"Do you go by King or Zhao?" she asked. Before River could answer, she put her hands over her own mouth, gasping.
"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't invade your privacy like that!" she apologized, bending at the waist to bow to River. The brunette shook her head as she sweatdropped.
"No apology necessary," she said. Saffron stood up.
"I do that a lot. At least, that's what my mother says," she said, chuckling nervously. River watched her fidget with the hem of her skirt.
"Zhao,"
"'Scuse me?" Saffron looked up at her, confused.
"I usually go by Zhao," she said. Saffron's puzzled look grew into a wide smile.
"However, my friends call me Mink," River noted. Saffron nodded.
"I don't exactly have many friends, but my family calls me Saf," she said. River took note of that. They were in the same lonely boat then. The two walked closer to the large school together, talking as they did so.
"So, what kind of weapon do you have?" Saffron asked with a smile and head tilt towards River. The brunette took a second to dig through one of her bags.
"Er...Um...Oh! Wait, here it is!" she smiled when she found her weapon. She pulled out what looked like two daggers, connected with a blue ribbon. She pulled the two ends together then pulled them apart, revealing a double-bladed scimitar sword with the blue ribbon wrapped around the handle.
"Woah," Saffron gasped in awe.
"Flusswellen was modeled after both my mother's daggers and my father's staff," River said as she twirled her weapon between her hands. She then dismembered the scimitar sword, using the ribbon around her daggers to tie them around her waist.
"How about you?" she asked Saffron in return. Saffron laughed sheepishly as she pulled out her pocket watch. River's eyes widened as she watched Saffron press a button on the stopwatch. Suddenly, the gears on the back of it began turning as a clicking and whirring sound came from the watch. It had turned into a steampunk-like gun.
"Each time that I press this button here, it will change to a different gun! I built this beauty all by myself, in fact!" Saffron explained ecstatically. She grinned.
"Woah," River said in awe as Saffron pushed the button, flipping through guns. She saw a pistol, rifle, sniper, and some guns she couldn't name. Saffron genuinely was proud of her work. River thought it was sweet.
"So, yeah! That's Zeitstopper for you," Saffron said as the gun reverted back to the watch form.
"What does that translate to? My weapon's name means river waves," River asked.
"Zeitstopper means time stopper. It's a little corny but I think it's a cool name," Saffron tappen her pocket watch then winked. She slipped it back into it's hiding spot.
"It is!" River encouraged. Saffron smiled.
"You're too nice, Mink," she said as she giggled. She sighed.
"Why do you want to become a huntress?" she asked. River was slightly surprised by the question but answered it anyway.
"Because my parents were huntsmen here."
"Mm," Saffron nodded.
"They were part of team MINT and were phenomenal in their line of work! I wanna be just like them," River talked highly of her late parents. She then paused, looking Saffron in the eyes.
"How about you?" she asked. Saffron narrowed her eyes towards the ground.
"It's nothing that's as ambitious as what you just said...but I wanted to come to Beacon because my older brother went here. He's really good, too..." Saffron said with a slight hint of despair in her voice.
"But I'll never be as good as him. I'm such a klutz and can't do anything. My grandpa gave me this pocket watch one day and told me that no matter what time of day," she said, rubbing her fingers over the pocket watch. River gave her a soft smile.
"Well, you're at one of the best schools around. So focus on your studies and getting stronger, then you can show your parents what you're worth," she said. Saffron looked up to her, pausing for a second before smiling.
"Thanks, Mink," she said. River nodded.
"Now, let's go inside before we're late for the orientation," she said. Saffron followed behind her closely.
Later...
Saffron and River made it inside the building in time to find a place close enough to the stage. They had just gotten comfortable when a cough came over the intercom.
"I'll keep this brief," a male voice said. River knew this man as the headmaster of the school.
"That's Professor Ozpin, right?" Saffron asked. River nodded.
"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. When you finish, you promise to dedicate your life to the protection of the people," Ozpin said. River looked around at all the people next to her. So many different people. There was even a Faunus or two close to her, one having rabbit ears which reminded her of Soren.
"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy. You are in need of a purpose. Direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this. But with your time at this school, you will find that knowledge can only carry you so far," Ozpin continued. River noticed Saffron looking to Ozpin with astonishment. Both girls, along with everyone in the auditorium, were excited about the school year. River smiled to herself.
"It is up to you to take the next step," Ozpin said. River took those words to heart, remembering to keep them in the back of her mind for later use. Another professor walked up to the microphone. This was Glynda Goodwitch.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready," she said, dismissing the students. River looked over to Saffron. Before she knew what was going on, Saffron grabbed her hand.
"Come on, Mink! We have to get a good spot to sleep at before everyone else does!" she said. River swiftly grabbed her bag as she ran with her. While running, she realized that she had made her first friend. A large smile made its way onto her face.
In The Ballroom...
Saffron and River had their pillows and blankets laid out. They had spent most of the evening talking to each other. They had just finished changing into their pajamas. River was in a dark blue onesie with a little pocket for her ears. She had it specifically made for this occasion. It was more comfortable than trying to hide her features. Her tail could stay in the back and her ears could go in the pockets. Saffron was wearing dark brown shorts and an orange tank top. Her umber hair was down, falling to her waist.
"How about a game before we go to bed?" Saffron asked. River nodded.
"Just so we can get to know each other a little better, I propose Two Truths and a Lie!" The umber-haired girl said. River gave her a confused look.
"Care to clarify?" River asked. Saffron nodded as she sat cross-legged in front of River.
"The first one to go has to think of two facts about themselves that are true and one that's a lie. Then, the other person has to guess which are false and which are true," Saffron explained.
"Oh!" River exclaimed. The instructions to the game seemed simple enough. She never got to play many human games as a child since she was always training or spending time with her sister, who just made them up.
"Easy, right?" Saffron asked, receiving a nod from River. Saffron giggled before motioning for River to go first. The brunette took a moment to think about her facts and lie.
"Okay...Number one!" she said as she finally had her thoughts together.
"I grew up in a cabin in the woods near a remote village. Two, I learned to fight from a very young age...and...Three! I love to eat meat," she said. Saffron laughed at the last one. River smiled awkwardly, not knowing what she had said.
"Okay, okay, okay," Saffron said, calming herself down.
"The lie definitely has to be that you love meat," she said. River sheepishly nodded.
"Yeah, you got it. I'm a vegetarian," she said. Saffron took note of that.
"What age did you start training?" she asked. River paused, thinking for a second.
"My father had started training me a bit at the age of four. A year after my younger sister was born, my parents passed and we went on to live with my Uncle and Aunt in that cabin I briefly talked about. My Uncle Jin continued to give me training, making sure I was strong and had some experience before I started Beacon," she said.
"Woah," Saffron said as she listened to River's story. River laughed sheepishly.
"If you think about it, I guess you could say I was homeschooled," she said. Saffron laughed with her before clapping her hands together.
"Okay! My turn," she said. After a minute or two of her thinking, she came up with three facts.
"One, I grew up in Atlas...Um...Two, I currently a pet cat named Lilly and three...I've never actually fought with my weapon before," Saffron said. River studied the girl's facial expression during the game. She narrowed her eyes before smiling.
"I'm going to say that the lie is the cat named Lilly," she said. Saffron nodded, looking down at her hands.
"Are you alright?" River asked. Saffron sighed.
"I'm worried I'm not going to do good during the initiation. During my whole time here, as a matter of fact," Saffron said. River took her hands.
"Look, you're going to do great., Saffron. Just try your best and everyone will see what you're capable of," she said. Saffron gave her an unsure smile.
"It's not like people will be lining up to be on my team or anything," Saffron said. River gave her a puzzled look.
"How many people are in a team?" she asked.
"Geez...You weren't kidding about that remote village cabin," Saffron sighed. River pouted, clearly displeased.
"Calm down, Mink. I'm just playing with you," Saffron giggled. River sighed.
"Saffron," she groaned.
"Alright," Saffron smirked.
"Teams are made up of four people. My brother won't tell me how we get our teams picked," She explained.
"They're named after colors, right?" River asked. Saffron nodded.
"Yup!" she grinned before yawning.
"I guess it's time to get some sleep. We have to be rested up for tomorrow," River said. Saffron agreed.
"'Night, Mink!" she called before flopping onto her pallet she made. River turned off the light they were sitting next to. She smiled, thinking of her family back home.
'Watch over me during this journey...Okay? Mother? Father?' she thought before falling into a deep sleep.
