"Tell the story again Grandpa!"

A request that came up so much during his time with his grandson, no matter how many other stories he would tell the young lion Faunus, he would always come back to the one story that he so loved, the old man in the chair just chuckled, scratching his head behind his own, scarred lion ears, "again Roran?" he asked in amusement, "I've told it several times."

The young lion Faunus looked at his grandfather with amber eyes, his dark auburn hair was ruffled in excitement, "I know, I just like hearing you talk about it!" he said, "I mean, you charged the Atlesian lines with nothing but your saber! And you won!"

"Depends on how you want to see winning," the grandfather said to the seven year old, looking around his home, the pictures of friends long dead, the trophies of battles long gone, old appliances and furniture covered in odds and ends of things that children and other people would leave as gifts or simply forgot, "yeah, I charged the line, I was a eighteen year old in the valerian military, there was eighty of us, all that was left of a two hundred man cavalry unit, we were low on ammo, and low on morale, almost everyone was injured, and yet, when the call came from our sergeant, for our lieutenant had died days before, to mount up so we could aid a group of troops pinned down by Atlesian fire, we instantly jumped onto our horses, I drew my saber, for I no longer had ammo for my revolver, and we spurred on, straight into the line of fire, we few, we privileged few flew across the battlefield and cut through our enemies like a hot knife through butter, for a few moments; a precious few at that, we were untouchable, we were gods," the old man smiled at the memory, "we had broken the Atlesian line that day, with a loss of thirty men, we were hailed as heroes when we got back to our line."

"Wow," Roran said, with eyes shining, "and no one cared that you were a Faunus?"

'No in the military at that time," he said with a smile, "there were too many people trying to kill us for us to be worrying about something as trivial as race or species, we were all brothers in arms."

Roran stood up, "Grandpa Gregory, when I grow up, can I be a hero too?"

"Of course you can," he said with a booming laugh, "they even have schools for it now, why, you could be the greatest hero you could ever want to be."

Roran looked excited at the prospect, but soon his excitement disappeared, "but…I'm a Faunus grandpa…no one…no one would let me try…" he said down cast.

Gregory frowned, "now, there's gonna be a lot of people trying to stop you, but no one will stop you from trying, and so long as you try, you will be a hero."

Roran smiled, "honest?" he asked.

"Honest," he said, then looked up as the door opened and another old man walked in, with a blonde haired boy trailing behind him, "now go have fun with Jaune, me and Grandpa Arc have some catching up to do."

"Die Grimm!" Roran shouted, swinging a stick at thin air, Jaune was beside him.

"Look out! There's a Beowolf!" Jaune shouted, kicking the air and thrusting his own stick into nothingness, "there's too many of them! What'll we do!?"

"We'll fight!" Roran shouted heroically, climbing onto a tree stump, "stand beside me and we'll make it through!"

Jaune jumped onto the stump and stood back to back with his friend, attempting to pull a serious face, but laughed as Roran's tail beat against his leg, "Roran," he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry, that happens when I'm excited," Roran said, jumping off the stump, "I mean, I could be a hero one day! Like my granddad!"

"Really?" Jaune asked with a head tilt.

"Yes! Apparently there's schools specialize in it!"

"They're called hunter academies," a deep voice said, making both Jaune and Roran look over, Jaune immediately dropped his stick as his father Joh Arc walked over, "and you have to be the best of the best to even hope to attend a school,"

"Then we'll be the best of the best!" Roran said.

The older Arc laughed, "That is very ambitious, little lion," he said, then looked at his son, "though you may have to remove the 'we'."

Jaune looked down for a few seconds, until Roran threw an arm around his friend, "we'll make it, I wouldn't leave a man behind," Roran said firmly, making Jaune grin.

"Good luck to you two then," he said, he was about to say more, but a scream made him turn around, his hand going to his weapon.

"Beowolves!" someone shouted, and instantly the seasoned hunter sprang into action, his weapon 'storm chaser' in his hand, extending into a large two handed long sword, "you two get to Gregory's house NOW!" he shouted.

Jaune and Roran instantly complied, until a scream sounded much closer, Roran and Jaune looked over and saw a woman being chased by a Beowolf, shaking in terror Roran shouted, "We have to help her!" Jaune looked at him as if he was crazy, but charged at the Beowolf none the less, picking up their abandoned sticks along the way, They both jumped and tackled it at the same time, making it stagger off to the side, Jaune was batting at it with his stick, while Roran jabbed his into it's eyes and then scratched at it with his needle-like claws, snarling the entire time.

The Beowolf howled in irritation and hit Jaune away from him, then grabbed Roran and threw him across the dirt road, he bounced twice before coming to a stop at the foot of an earthen mound, he struggled to stand and watched as the Beowolf slowly stalked around him, snarling and howling, Roran got to his feet and gave as menacing a roar as he could muster, which really sounded pathetic when compared to the Beowolf. He bared his teeth and his claws, ready to fight as the Beowolf charged, behind it, Jaune was running towards it with the broken remains of his stick. Just as the Beowolf reached Roran a shot rang out and the Beowolf flew back, a bullet in it's shoulder, it turned around in time to see Gregory swing his saber and lop its head off with one clean stroke. Behind him stood Grandpa Arc, Crocea Mors out and ready to fight.

"Wow…" Roran said in awe, looking at his grandfather, who walked up to him and hit him in the back of the head, "Ow! Hey!

"Stupid boy," he growled, his hair standing on end, "could've gotten yourselves killed!"

"She needed help!" Roran said, pointing at the woman who was numbly sitting in the middle of the street.

"And so you think two boys armed with sticks could've helped?"

"We distracted it long enough for her to get away." Jaune said, but flinched when his grandfather glared at him.

Gregory looked at the Beowolf lying on the ground, though it was slowly decaying, he could still see the small, but deep gash marks on it's chest, the stick lodged in its eye, and the dark bruises on its legs and stomach showed just how hard the boys had fought, he let out a sigh and put his saber up, "you can't do things like this boys," he berated them, both Roran and Jaune looked down in shame, "but," Gregory started, making them look up, "I have to commend you, you dealt some damage to the beast, despite your obvious lack of training, and you did save the woman." Gregory turned to grandpa Arc, "I say these two heroes deserve a reward!"

Roran laid on Jaune's floor, three pillows surrounded him, in his hand he held a small tin star that Jaune's father had made for them, said they were the Tin stars of courage, awarded for their bravery, but Roran didn't really care about the tin star, what really made him happy was the woman they had saved, she had walked up to them and thanked them for saving her, and that made everything better, "Hey Jaune…" Roran whispered, "You awake?"

"Yeah," Jaune whispered back,

"We're really gonna be Hunters when we grow up right?"

"Yeah," Jaune said, his voice determined, "we'll be the best there ever was."

Roran nodded and pinned the tin star to his chest. "Roran and Jaune, the Hunter Heroes of vale."

"Try Jaune and Roran," Jaune said with a smirk, "now go to sleep!"

Roran just smirked and stared at the ceiling, his lion ears twitching slightly, I'll make it there one-day…I'll be a great Huntsman!

Ten years later

Jaune threw up once more into the trashcan outside of the bullhead, groaning in queasiness, "I hate motion sickness."

"And motion sickness hates you." Roran said, stepping off the bullhead, adjusting his worn duster and hat, he checked his suspenders to make sure they were still holding his pants up right, and made sure his white button up shirt didn't have any stains on it, then he checked to make sure all his weapons were still on him, his shotgun and rifle were still on his back, his revolver and saber were still strapped to his waist, and the knife in his boot was still there, his hair was much longer then it used to be, easily going past his shoulders, he also had the beginnings of a beard sprouting on his face, making it look rough and rugged, he also had a scar that went down the left side of his neck and jaw, but that twinkle of mischief was still there "d'you think you could do anything other then throw up during the initiation?"

"Shut up Roran," Jaune muttered, standing up and looking at his friend, "I'll do fine during the initiation."

"Considering I'm the one who helped you train, I don't doubt that." He said, walking towards the school, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it.

"Could you not?" Jaune asked, "I'd hate for you to get kicked out before we even started classes.

"I'm seventeen, it's legal," he defended blowing smoke into Jaune's face, "besides, I'm stressed."

An explosion made both of them duck, instantly they had their hands on their weapons, Jaune had Crocea Mors out and ready, Roran had his hand on the revolver, looking around.

"You could've blown us off the campus you dolt!"

"I didn't mean to!"

Roran rolled his eyes, "Just a girl knocking over some poorly protected dust," he said, "Put the sword up."

Jaune complied, watching the fight, "the princess kind of cute." He said.

"You have no chance." Roran snorted, "me and the redhead however…"

"Please, ten bucks says she shoots you down quicker then hunters shoot nevermore down."

"Bet," Roran said, holding his hand out, Jaune just rolled his eyes and slapped it away, "come on, looks like your 'catch of the day' needs a pick me up."

Roran looked over and saw Ruby lying on the ground, looking at the sky with a hopeless look. "Give me some alone time with her," Roran said, walking towards Ruby, Jaune just snorted and walked towards the direction everyone else was.

"'Scuse me ma'am," Roran said, holding a hand out to Ruby, "looks to me like you need some help."

She took his help gratefully, 'thank you…I'm…ruby rose…"

Roran brought her knuckles up and kissed them, "Pleasure to meet you Ms. Rose," he said with a small smile, "my names Roran Vance."

Ruby was blushing as she slowly brought her hand back, "it-it's a pleasure to meet you," she squeaked out.

"So, what was the ice queen getting onto you about?" Roran asked.

"Oh you know…knocked over some dust…might've blown up."

"That was you?"

She turned red, "y-yes? I…kind of got turned around, and I ran into the little trolley thingy and I hit it over and-you have a tail…"

Roran quirked an eyebrow up, letting his tail swish back and forth lazily, "yep," he said, "that's because I'm a Faunus," he took his hat off and showed her his lion ears, Ruby looked at them in a sort of awe, she slowly started reaching up but then stopped, "probably not very nice to pet your ears huh?" she asked hesitantly.

"Eh, it don't matter to me none Ms. Rose," he said, bending his knee's a little bit so she could touch them.

"They're so soft!" she gushed.

Roran chuckled and slowly stood back up, "yes, they're soft, and slightly ticklish," he said, putting the hat back on.

"Oh…well…I have this." she pulled Crescent rose out, making Roran whistle.

"A scythe, very nice."

'It's also a high impact sniper rifle," she said proudly.

"Uh…."

"It's also a gun."

He nodded in understanding, "well, I don't have a fancy weapon like that, but I do have-" he pulled his revolver and the saber out, "a Colt .45, and a-"

"Valerian steel saber!" Ruby said in excitement, pulling the saber from Roran, "oh my god! This is sooo rare! I thought the mines for this steel were all tapped out!"

"They are," he admitted, he pointed at the sword, "that swords my grandfathers, he was an officer in the Valesian military back during the war, he kept the sword when it was all over."

'Wow…." She whispered, cradling the sword like a baby.

Roran laughed, "can I have my saber back now?" he asked with amusement in his voice.

"Oh…right…sorry…hehe I'm sort of a weapons nut." She said, handing it back.

"No need to be sorry," he said, "I'd rather call you a weapons specialist though."

"Oh stop it." She gushed, blushing a little.

He smiled and said, "Now, I think it's time to go to the auditorium," he gestured his hand to where most of the students had disappeared.

"Right!" Ruby said brightly, and the two started walking, as they walked, Roran pulled one of his pre-rolled cigarettes out and went to light it, only for it to disappear from between his lips, he looked at Ruby, who was wagging her finger at him as she threw the cigarette in the trash, "smoking's bad for you." she said simply.

"True," he admitted, putting his lighter up, "I guess I'll have to work on that…"

(BREAK)

Roran was lying against the wall, whittling a piece of wood with his knife. He was out of his every day clothes and in a pair of gray cotton sweats and a white t-shirt.

"I think you forgot to put your knife up," Jaune said.

"And I think you left your onesie back home." Roran retorted.

Jaune rolled his eyes; "you threw it out of my luggage and caught it on fire."

Roran smiled at that, "oh yeah, I did."

"So, what's got you all riled up?" he asked.

"Just…nervous I guess," he said with a small smirk, "I mean…we're finally here you know? We can finally prove ourselves."

"Thought we already did that?" Jaune asked, holding up his scarred left arm.

"we proved ourselves back home, not here." Roran said, adding more definition to the piece of wood in his hand. "These guys have all done something like we have, you know, battled Grimm, fought baddies…we're not very special here."

Jaune shrugged, "then we'll show them like we did back home."

Roran smirked, "Yeah…we sure will." He went back to whittling, but stopped as the candles were blown out, "Could you turn those back on please?"

After a few brief seconds the candles were relit, showing four very confused girls looking at him.

"Thank you," he said with a grin, "hard to whittle in the dark."

"Why do you have that knife in here!" Weiss exclaimed, "It's supposed to be in a locker.

"Well you see." He started, then resumed whittling, making Jaune groan and shake his head.

"Wha…hey!"

"What?" Roran asked, looking up.

"Are you ignoring me?"

"I don't know, did it look somethin' like this?" he looked down again, whittling, making Yang start laughing, "you like that huh?"

Weiss let out a sound of frustration and stormed away, Roran stood up, "Well, since I'm up, Howdy, I'm Roran Vance," he held his hand out to Yang.

"Yang Xiao-Long, and this is my sister Ruby!" Yang said, ringing Roran's hand.

"Good to meet you, and I'm already acquainted with Ms. Rose." He gave a slight nod and a wink to Ruby, who blushed in response, "and who's your slightly dark friend in the yukata?"

Blake looked up, "Blake Belladonna." She said, noting Roran's ears and tail.

"Nice to meet you," Roran said, he could smell the familiar scent of Faunus coming from the woman, he could also see her bow move ever so slightly, a Faunus hiding in plain sight…hmm… "Well, it's been a long day, and I'm slightly tired, I guess I'll be seeing you ladies in the morning, Ms. Xiao-long, Ms. Belladonna,' he nodded to Ruby and smiled, "Ms. Rose."

"Okay Slick, get to your bed." Yang said, pushing Roran over to his bedroll and walking back.

"You're gonna get shot one day," Jaune said to his friend.

"It'll be worth it though."