Alden Cirq was face down in the dirt, his ankles stung where the staff had impacted and tripped him up. He heard a gasp and someone running towards him, the staff bounced off to his side and the soft pitter-patter of the small fest skidded beside him.
"Alden, are you ok?" A young girl's voice asked as she knelt down. He smiled and reached out, his hand locked around her ankle, he rolled and pulled. The girl lost her balance and she tumbled over, landing on his chest. She huffed in annoyance. All Alden did was laugh.
"Mary, the first thing we want to do if we think we have hurt someone is to check if they are OK. But unless it is someone you absolutely trust not to hurt you in return, you must be more cautious, most will exploit mercy." Alden explained, "If they are on their side, approach from the back because they will have to roll over to get you, leaving enough time to back off. If they are on their front or back, approach from the legs since it's harder to grip anything with them."
The girl- Mary looked up at him and nodded.
"Come on get up," Alden said and she climbed off him, Alden stood up and faced her. "I won't do that to you again, but just remember to be more cautious over real opponents.
"Again?" she asked. Alden nodded. Mary backed up and pushed a leg out behind her, the staff folded out and lightning arced at each tip.
Alden took a few steps back, the revolving cartridge in the devices on his wrists span until the Yellow chamber was at the top of his wrists and locked in. a pair of blades sprung out of the gauntlets and soon after lightning encased them. Alden kept his wrists near to his side, waiting for his sister to make the first move.
Mary sprang forward and brought the staff over her head to strike a downwards blow, Alden rushed forward and Crossed the blades in an X to block the path of the staff and pushed up, forcing Mary over his head, she flipped and landed on her feet. Taking it all in her stride she rushed back at Alden who had to spin to try and avoid the incoming attack, bringing the blades up just in time to stop the staff from grazing his side. The two sources of lightning fizzled as they contacted, sending a shower of sparks into the air.
After the weapons deflected off each other Mary pushed her staff in a circle trying to get another hit in before Alden could muster a retaliation. Alden foresaw the attack and easily blocked it. Alden pushed forward, forcing the staff out the way so she couldn't defend herself and moved in to press the atta…
"Timeout!" Someone called from the doorway of the house. Both Alden and Mary stopped mid-swing, their respective weapons sheathing back into their more passive forms. The Intruder was their father- Marcus, and in his hand was a letter. He approached the pair and held the decorated envelope out.
"The post just arrived, I think you'll want to see this." Alden took the letter and looked at it, emblazed on the face of the envelope were two crossed axes graced by a laurel- Beacon Academy. His breath caught in his throat, this is it, the moment that he and thousands of other young men and women before him had gone through, one of the most important questions of their lives: "Was I accepted?"
With shaky hands, he slowly ripped the envelope open and pulled the piece of paper out and unfurled it:
Beacon Academy:
Dear Alden Cirq:
We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into our academy!
Pack your things and be at the airport by 2 pm sharp next Monday for the beginning of the term.
We are looking forward to seeing you!
Yours faithfully
Headmaster Ozpin
"YES!" Alden shouted in his excitement "I got in!" He was suddenly tackled by his sister hugging him and he was soon joined by their father.
"What's all this racket about?" a woman stuck her head out the door- Alden's mother.
"Alden got in!" Mary shouted.
"Really!?" Ogora Cirq sprinted out and joined in on the group hug. "I'm so proud of you!"
A faint ringing sound could be heard from inside the house. "Oh, dinners ready, come on everyone," Ogora said and headed back into the house. Mary gave Alden one last hug.
"Good job" she smiled at him and together they walked back into the house.
The Cirqs had a delightful meal filled with cheers and laughter, everyone's spirits had soared through the roof. That night Alden went to bed happy, dreaming of a better future.
The week couldn't go fast enough. Alden spent most of his time out the back training with his sister, she was getting better. Originally Alden let his sister win from time to time to boost her very small confidence but still made it a challenge. Now… Alden struggled to stay ahead. Most people didn't take a threat which included a "young girl with a stick" very seriously, Alden very much did.
The day he was due to leave they found themselves once more crossing weapons. He had taught her various tactics about swapping dust crystals mid-combat, which… went well. The air was filled with clacks of rotating dust chambers as both combatants were constantly swapping one crystal for another, steam, dust, sparks, and embers surrounded them as they were locked in their fight, both sides dodging and slashing before retreating back to try and get a few shots in on each other before rushing back in.
Mary's fighting style often meant she was constantly attacking, keeping her enemy off balance, a task which she performed with great proficiency, however, if her attacks could be stopped- even for half a second she would be at a disadvantage and Alden could easily overwhelm her defence.
Mary swung her staff in a wide arc, which Alden skidded under before raising his left gauntlet, the blade sheathing into the main structure before a bright stream of energy lashed out and wrapped around the end of her staff, he pulled and Mary stumbled. Alden reached up and pulled the staff away from her before pulling his arm round so the blade rested near her neck, he locked his arm around her waist to stop her from struggling and accidentally hurting herself.
"That was too close." Alden said as he released Mary from his grasp, "Seriously Mary, when you get back to signal no one is going to know what's hit them." Mary smiled sheepishly and blushed looking down. Her staff folded back down and she sheathed it by her waist. Alden's gauntlets retracted in and flickered out.
"Alden! We're leaving in 5 minutes!" Marcus called from inside the house.
"I'll be right there!" Alden replied before turning back to his sister. "You, kick some serious butt for me tomorrow ok?" He said as he hugged her. Mary nodded and wiped a single tear forming at the corner of her eye.
"It'll be weird without you at Signal." She said.
"It will only be for a year, then we'll be together at Beacon," Alden reassured her
"If I get into Beacon."
"When you get into Beacon, next year."
Mary looked at him and snorted shaking her head but with a smile on her face. She hugged him again.
"You, kick some serious butt for me tomorrow ok?" Mary told him, smiling as she repeated his sentence.
"To the moon and back," Alden told her before he jogged into the house, ran upstairs into his bedroom and grabbed his backpack. When he got to the door he looked around his room one last time.
"See you around," He told it before moving on. He stopped and took a few steps back, he forgot something. He opened his bag and put in a small stuffed toy of a black dog, a present his parents gave to him when he was born. It was a good luck charm. He then ran down the stairs, hugged his mother goodbye and went out the front.
Marcus and Mary were waiting by the front door of their modest wooden abode. He hugged Mary once more before Alden and Marcus headed down the leaf christened path towards the port. Once they got a little way down the path he turned to see that his mother had joined Mary standing by the front, watching him go. He waved at them one last time before turning and continued further on.
They reached the port in good time and they soon found themselves on the ferry to the mainland, luckily there were no sea Grimm to harass the ship. Alden and his father leaned over the railing looking out to sea.
"You nervous?" Marcus asked him. Alden shrugged.
"A bit… but I'll deal with it."
"I know it's a bit late to ask but, have you got everything?"
"I checked it all three times, which means I've forgotten about half of it." Alden joked, Marcus laughed.
"If you have, I can run some things up to you." Alden nodded in thanks.
"I may need it."
Marcus left Alden to his thoughts as the ferry docked in Vale. They disembarked and wandered through the crowded streets, on their journey to the airport they passed a shop "From Dust Till Dawn" It read along the top in orange letters, it looked like it was going through some renovations or repairs for that matter. A window looked smashed in and there was various damaged equipment inside the shop.
It wasn't long until they reached the airport, it wasn't difficult to spot the airship with several young adults such as himself milling around it and some heading inside.
Alden turned to his father: "This is it…"
"You'll be fine, just call us when you get the chance ok?"
"I will don't you worry."
Marcus hugged his son once more and pushed him towards the airship.
"Go on, show em' what a Cirq can do kiddo." Alden spun around and gave him a two finger salute before turning and heading towards the airship. Once he got closer he scanned the crowd for any faces he knew. His eyes locked onto a certain yellow motorcycle and its owner. He jogged up.
When she saw him Yang called him over.
"You got in too?" She asked. Alden nodded.
"Yep."
"That's great! It's good to know you're coming along for the ride."
Yang looked lost in thought for a second before perking up. "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you, Ruby somehow managed to impress the headmaster and got early entry into Beacon!"
"You're kidding!" Alden said, not believing her.
"Nu-uh, she's over there look." Yang pointed to a small red clothed girl saying goodbye to who looked like Taiyang.
"The Airship will be leaving in two minutes." A man's voice over the PA sounded and everyone started to mill onto the airship. Ruby came running over, upon recognising Alden she used her Semblance to rocket in front of him.
"Alden! I didn't know you were coming!" She exclaimed, overactive as always. Alden smiled and fist-bumped her in greeting.
"You're not getting rid of me that quickly young lady." He told her.
Everyone stumbled ever so slightly as the airship took off and turned heading for beacon, and their destiny.
As the airship slowly drifted over the city Alden was staring out the window, in the distance, he could just make out signal tower. His mind wandered back to his sister, what was she doing right now? The pair used to be inseparable, but now they were forced apart. Alden wished that Mary could have been sped up like Ruby had, but… it was not to be.
Alden could see Yang and Ruby talking off to the side, they too were looking at Patch in the distance, he could hear Yang saying something about the "Bee's knees" but her voice was being drowned out by the countless other conversations drifting around the airship's interior.
Alden zoned out for a bit, just staring out the window, watching the buildings go past. He snapped back into reality when he saw a holographic news report being played about a dust robbery.
"The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who has so far evaded authorities. If you know anything of his whereabouts please contact the Vale police department." The picture flickered to show the damaged front of the shop he had passed earlier that day.
Oh… so it was robbed then… He thought. The picture flickered again to show a Faunus demonstration- one which apparently got violent due to the intervention of the White Fang. The hologram suddenly cut off and was replaced by a blond woman, clad in a white shirt with a black and purple cape. When she appeared it caught everyone's attention and they all gathered around to hear what she had to say.
"Hello, and welcome to beacon." The figure said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsman and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. Now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."
When she had finished her speech the hologram vanished leaving everyone with their thoughts… Well at least, mostly everyone. Alden did not fail to notice the boy who looked like he was going to throw up all over the airship's floor. Alden watched with one eyebrow raised slightly in amusement as he watched who he heard Yang nickname "Vomit boy" Scuttle from onside of the airship to the other.
When he looked out the window again he noticed the very large clock tower slowly approaching- their destination. After a few minutes, the airship veered left to pull up alongside the landing jetty. Near the other side of the ship a door opened allowing the collection of young adults aboard to disembark.
After Alden stepped off the airship he stopped for a second to admire the view. There was a long pathway lined with several flag posts which led up to the central spire. Along the way, there was a circular manmade lake, forming several pathways around the site.
Alden decided to follow the general mass of people towards the building- he had nowhere else to go. Everywhere he went it was a spectacle or architectural magnificence. As they got closer to the main spire he noticed it was much taller than what he initially thought. Even the dormitory wings were taller than most buildings inside the kingdom itself.
When they entered the building he found himself in a large entry lobby, which was packed with both existing and new students, there were a few guides directing all the newcomers down a hallway and they all ambled through the winding corridors before it opened up into a large amphitheatre.
He walked into an empty space, near the middle of the gathering area and waited. He was soon joined by a few other people he recognised from Signal, Yang included. They held a brief conversation about what could happen next before Ruby arrived looking rather flustered and… slightly singed? As the pair was talking his eyes wandered around the room, focusing on its inhabitants. He hardly recognised anyone, granted coming from Patch and its small population would certainly reduce the number of familiar faces.
Raised voices to his left drew his attention, Ruby looked like she was having an argument with a white-haired girl. Alden wasn't one to stereotype but "spoilt, over-privileged brat" was one of the first descriptions to come to his head about this newcomer. She was holding a rectangular piece of paper in Ruby's face and rambling off some nonsense about not being responsible, which sounded like she was forced to learn the mantra or had used too often for anyone to count. Maybe both. Ruby looked completely blown away by the onslaught- poor girl.
They were interrupted by two new people arriving on stage, one was that "Glynda Goodwitch" lady from the hologram message on the airship. The other was a very mysterious looking man: very lanky with an odd pair of glasses- so odd the Alden had the urge to call the spectacles just by their very nature. He carried a cane in one hand and like the rather rude girl not far away from him, this man had white hair but he looked like he carried the weight of all of Remnant on his shoulders.
The white-haired man approached the microphone at the centre of the stage and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"I'll… keep this brief." He began whilst looking out over the assembled group of students. "You have travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He left a brief paused as he looked over everyone in the amphitheatre again. "But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you from this. But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step."
He nodded to everyone and then unceremoniously wandered off. The woman that was stood next to him walked up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
The Amphitheatre was filled with conversation again as everyone talked about what just happened. After a few minutes, they were ushered out of the room and down some more twisting corridors until they entered another expansive hall. The entire room was lit by candles running along the lengths of the wall and two staircases either side led up to a landing which encompassed the entirety of the hall.
They were then led through to what looked like a large locker room. They were assigned lockers, and the codes to access them. Alden looked at his slip of paper:
Locker: 213
Code: 2459
Reminder: If you accidentally enter a wrong number, remember to press delete and NOT continue pressing numbers, when a 6 digit number is entered it will be assumed as coordinates and the locker will travel there, leaving you without your stuff.
Thank you for your patience
Alden kept walking along the lines of lockers until he came across number 213. He inserted the code and had a look inside: The locker was relatively plain, with just a few sockets to hold things down when in flight. Alden looked around to see that people were storing their weapons and other various items and decided to do the same.
The dust chamber of his gauntlets clattered round until a tiny slit was facing upwards, with a click it hissed open to allow him to remove them from his wrists and he locked them into the weapon holders .
The noise attracted the attention of the person standing next to him, Alden noticed him staring at his weapons which he just put away. When Alden looked at him the first thing he noticed was the two black triangles sticking out the top of his head- wolf ears. When he noticed Alden was looking, they flattened across the top of his head and he looked away in embarrassment, with a degree of anxiety.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I was just looking at your weapons there."
"That's alright," Alden said, he picked one of the gauntlets back out and threw one to him. "Look away." The boy looked up, eyes wide with surprise at Alden's friendliness.
"I'm sorry," he apologised again whilst taking a closer inspection of Alden's weapon, "most people see the ears and go all…" he trailed off, he didn't need to finish the sentence.
"Don't worry about me," Alden said, "I'm not like that." The boy smiled at him,
"Thanks, I'm Aegan, by the way, Aegan Losaw." He introduced himself.
"Alden Cirq" Alden replied holding his hand out, Aegan smiled at him and they shook. He then gave Alden his gauntlet back who proceeded to place it back in his locker."
"That's a really impressive design," Aegan remarked, referring to Alden's weapons, "I never thought about bladed gauntlets before."
"Well I'm not the strongest, and long weapons are too unwieldy for me, they make a happy medium," Alden replied.
They started walking back into the ballroom, several other people had already laid down sleeping bags and were getting ready for the night. Aegan walked over to a free space and started to roll out his sleeping bag. Alden looked around the ballroom, there weren't that many free spaces left. He walked up to Aegan.
"Are you saving this spot for anyone?" Alden asked, gesturing to the spot beside Aegan.
"Hmm? No, no go ahead."
Alden sat down and opened his rucksack. He pulled out his sleeping bag and rolled it out along with a single pillow. He then placed the rucksack at the top of the sleeping bag to keep it out the way. He shuffled on top of his sleeping bag and brought his knees up to his chest.
"So," Aegan began "Hell of a first day right?"
"Yeah," Alden said whilst rubbing his eyes "Never would have thought that standing around listening to someone talking could be so tiring, lesson learned I guess."
"What are you gonna' do when lessons start?" Aegan asked whilst smirking.
"Oh, don't get me started" Alden huffed in reply, Aegan gave out a small laugh.
Alden looked over towards the other end of the ballroom, he could see Yang and Ruby talking to the white-haired bra- girl they were arguing with earlier, as well as a black haired girl who looked like she was engrossed in a book.
He noticed that everyone started turning off the candles and clambering into their sleeping bags. Alden yawned, suddenly realising how tired he was. He blew out the candle that was next to him and curled up into his own sleeping bag. He looked around the ballroom one last time, burning the image into his mind before closing his eyes.