"Blake. Blake Belladonna"
"Mrs. Belladonna, you will be in Redforest house. Room 203"
"Thank you" said Blake
The first day was always exciting for any camp, but Blake felt uncomfortable standing in the student center as the crowd was herded through the check in process.
Once she got a room number, a drawstring backpack, and a water bottle, she was finally released from the crowd and stepped out of the building onto the Signal football field.
Redforest. She had seen the building on the way out. It was the furthest dorm house from the track and she realized that she would be walking a lot to the practices.
"Where is your house, dear?" Kali asked
"Redforest" she replied
"Then let's get you unpacked" Girha said.
"This is so COOL!" Ruby yelled.
"Yeah, it is" Yang replied
The girls were standing in the check in line and Ruby was looking star struck as she saw some of the top runners in Vale standing around and checking in. Ruby's eyes lit up as she saw one particular runner a couple people in front of them.
"Yang! That is Weiss Schnee!" Ruby exclaimed just loud enough for Yang to hear "She holds the fastest high school 5k time in all of Remnant! She finished a whole minute before anyone else last year!"
"Maybe you can get her autograph. Considering we're here for a week, you'll see her alot" Yang laughed.
"Hopefully" Ruby sighed.
"Got all of your stuff? Looks like we're up next" Taiyang said, smiling and putting his hands on his daughter's shoulders.
"Name?" The lady sitting at the table asked.
"Ruby Rose" she squeaked.
"Mrs. Rose, you will be in Redforest, Room 204" she said turning to face Yang "And your name?"
"Yang Xiao Long" Yang said proudly. Pointing at herself with her thumb.
"Mrs. Xiao Long, you will be in Redforest as well, room 203"
"Yang! You'll be in the room next to me!" Ruby said, excited.
"Awesome, I'll be able to talk to you through the wall" Yang smiled.
"Mrs. Xiao Long. Please move so the next in line can step up" the lady stated firmly
"I'm sorry Mrs - uh.." Yang stammered
"Goodwitch. Glynda Goodwitch" she said
"Oh" said Yang "Ok"
"Let's get you girls to your dorm. Thank you Ma'am" Taiyang stated. Giving a smile to the lady and leading the two girls away.
"Oh I'm so happy for you Blake, this will be a great chance to show the Coaches what you can do!" Kali beamed.
"I'm just going to run. If they notice me, they notice me" Blake said softly.
"Oh hush dear, Blake has enough to think about" Ghira said, gave a heavy sigh and continued "All of your stuff is in your room, so I guess it is time for us to leave. Goodbye Blake, I love you"
"I love you too dad"
"Have fun dear, and remember to stay in contact" Said Blake's mom.
"I'll try, but I might not have the time or the reception" Blake said with a small smile "I love you mom"
"I love you too" Kali said, giving her a hug.
Kali and Ghira turned and walked out of the room and down the hall. Blake listened to them open the door and exit the building and then started to unpack.
Once Blake had put her covers on the bed and loaded all her clothes into the dresser, she hopped up on the bed and opened her book. The window was right next to her bed and she enjoyed the slight breeze coming in.
Signal was different than Menagerie in many ways, but the most apparent was heat. Signal, and patch in general, was rarely hot, even in the summer. It was cooler in the summer than Menagerie was in the winter. And Blake was happy for the weather change. She was also happy that signal had a cross country team, so she would be running on actual trails. And not just through town and roads.
Signal was a boarding school in the fall. But during the summer, the school was handed over to the cross country team at Beacon for the "Remnant Running Retreat". It was named so that anyone would feel welcome to the camp, but usually only people planning on running for Beacon came.
"207"
"206"
Blake's ears popped up as she heard a small group shuffling down the hall.
"205"
"204, that's you Rubes"
"203! knock knock coming in!"
The door opened and standing in the doorway was a blond girl, beaming her head off, with a yellow backpack and a similarly colored suitcase.
"Oh, I see you've already gotten set up. I guess this is my bed!" Yang jumped up onto the bare mattress and faced the ceiling. After a few seconds she sat up and said "I'm Yang Xiao Long, and you are?"
Blake, who watched her from over the brim of her book, replied softly "Blake...Belladonna"
"Nice to meet you!" Yang said, holding out a hand to the girl.
"Likewise" Blake said, shaking the hand lightly.
Yang gave her a smile but it quickly faded as she heard loud noises from outside the room.
"YOU DOLT!" Someone cried from the hall.
Almost Immediately, Yang was out in the hall staring at Ruby on the ground and Weiss standing over her with a murderous stare trained on her sister.
"Woah what happened?" Yang asked.
"She happened!" Weiss yelled, pointing at Ruby.
"Ruby?" Yang asked.
"I was pulling my suitcase and I bumped into her and made her drop her bags on the ground and I fell and she started yelling and you came out and asked what was going on and she yelled at me again and then I started explaining it and now...and..now. We are here" Ruby stammered.
"Thanks for the play by play, Sis" Yang smirked.
"Anyways, I have to get to my room. Room ...204?" Weiss said.
"Oh It's right here! It's my room." Ruby said as she popped up off the ground, her over-joyous expression returning to her face.
"Of course! I get the room with the clumsy dunce!" Weiss stormed into the room and slammed the door.
"Sheesh, what's her deal?" Yang joked.
"I don't know" Ruby said, staring at the ground "I guess that autograph might have to wait a bit"
"Probably" said yang, ruffling the redhead's hair.
"Meet in auditorium in 15 minutes!" Cried a camp councilor as they poked their head in from outside.
"Come on we got places to be" Yang said, heading for the door.
"But I haven't unpacked yet!" Ruby cried after her.
"Neither have I! Come on!" Yang yelled back.
Ruby and yang sat down in the crowded auditorium just as the students were being settled down by the same lady at check in.
"Attention! Attention! ...Welcome all to the Remnant Running Retreat, I am the assistant director, Glynda Goodwitch. Today we will have a short afternoon run. Tomorrow we will be going to the forever falls state park and running some longer distances. After the run you will be allowed to swim in the water, downstream from the waterfalls. Bring clothes that you can get wet in. Now that that is settled. I introduce the camp director, the cross country head coach and headmaster at Beacon, Professor Ozpin."
There was a small wave of claps as the professor entered onto the stage.
"I'll keep this brief" The head coach said calmly.
"Welcome to the Remnant Running Retreat. Ever since I started this camp 12 years ago, we had a couple goals of the camp, and over the years they have stayed the same. Those goals are as follows: To be a better runner, to be a better person, and to be a better teammate."
"We will have big runs every morning, and smaller runs every evening. These are to work on your running abilities and help you improve as a runner. We will also have guest speakers for some of the afternoons, and they will talk to you about dietary habits, mental strength and other topics of self improvement. This will work to improve you as a person. And finally, we will have small team building exercises scattered through the days to get you familiar with your teammates and help each other improve."
"Speaking of teammates, many of you have probably met your teammates without realizing it. The dorms are arranged so that there are eight rooms on a floor, two people in each room, and a restroom in the middle of each floor. Your teammates will be comprised of your roommate and the people in the surrounding three rooms and your partner will be the one you are rooming with. This means you will eat, run and talk with your teammates. As well as sleep and live with your partner"
"Yang!" Ruby whispered "we're teammates!"
"The teams are arranged by skill. When you signed-up, you gave information on your various marks and we assigned you with people near your speed. I recognize some people are near, or even rooming with a person of another gender. We put utmost trust that this will not be a problem." That statement granted a few shifts from people in their seats as the headmaster paused and glared at the audience.
"And your partner is Weiss" Yang said softly.
"Oh no" Ruby whispered.
"Now, for the last rule I have to share with you. Have fun. We will be running and training for a majority of the time. But the odd hours in which we are not, do not forget to live. Enjoy the presence of your partner, teammates, and other campers. Try to make memories that you will treasure forever."
"Now please head back to the dorms. We have the afternoon run in 2 hours and you should use this time to unpack. And also introduce yourself to your teammates. Each team will have a team meeting with a counselor in about an hour and half. This will be your team councillor for the duration of the camp. Use their help and knowledge as often as you need it. Thank you for listening."
With his final words, the campers all stood up and left the auditorium, in a very unorderly manner. Ruby and Yang walked together back towards the dorms and they spotted both Blake and Weiss on their way, but they were too far ahead to catch up.
"I think we are going to have a real good time, Sis" Yang said, looking up to the clear sky.
"I think so too, Yang" Ruby replied.