Far from the kingdom of Atlas, there lies a village named Everwinter, a small settlement that lives off the land, never having any shortage of resources. Its villagers were all happy folk, capable of protecting their home from any stray wildlife that would dare harm their loved ones. It was a truly peaceful settlement, until it was plunged into chaos due to the creatures of Grimm. The villagers were no strangers to these evil beasts and had set up walls around their home that could keep a few Grimm at bay while they prepared to deal with them personally, but this time there weren't just a few Grimm. In no time at all, the walls fell and dozens of Grimm began to wreak havoc on the unprepared villagers. Panic spread throughout the village as the Grimm began destroying homes and killing its inhabitants. Some decided to try to stop the creatures but soon found themselves outnumbered or overpowered by the beasts. The villagers began to pray for salvation, hoping that someone or something could save them from these monsters.

Just then, a hooded figure clad in green appeared wielding a bow and began to dispatch of the creatures. One by one the Grimm died at the hands of the hooded figure and the remaining few charged at the unknown threat. The hero folded the bow in two, placed it on his back and pulled out a pair of daggers with which he began to take on his challengers. The villagers watched in awe as they witnessed their savior fight the beasts with such elegance and grace that it looked more like a deadly dance than a flurry of attacks. The Grimm continued to fall until one remained, the alpha. The two stared each other down and then charged at one another with the intent to end the fight in just one move. The large Grimm took a swipe at his opponent, who dodged it in time and drove his blades deep into its sides. But it wasn't enough. The beast slammed the hero away with a great force and sent him tumbling a ways back.

The hooded fighter stood up and readied his bow and took aim at the monster who in turned charged at him. The archer showed no hesitation and kept the arrow knocked, his green eyes locked onto his target as the wind howled. The Grimm continued its rush and once in range, let out a powerful slash. However, the hero was ready for that and swiftly jumped back and released his arrow at the creature's chest. The arrow pierced right through its chest and destroying its heart, killing the beast. The villagers were awe struck; they had been spared from death by this one man. Cheers could be heard throughout the village; their prayers were answered.

"Please, kind sir, tell us your name." asked one of the village elders as the rest of the people crowded around him.

The figure pulled down his hood, long, brown locks resting on his shoulders. and spoke "My name is Nathan Forrest, and I fight to protect the world." The elder smiled and said

"Well Sir Forrest, we are ever so grateful for your valiant deed today." The man let out a hearty laugh as he gestured into the masses, "Come, join us in celebrating your act of triumph over the Grimm!" With these words the rest of the village cheered and began to chant in glee, "Nathan! Nathan! Nathan! Nathan!" The chanting continued, slowly changing in tone and sound until it merged into one very familiar voice…

(N POV)

"Nathan. Nathan. Wake up, Nathan." Yep, I definitely know this voice. I opened my eyes and saw the orange-haired figure of my mom, standing over my bed. Did I oversleep again?

"Do you know what time it is?" Oh yeah, definitely did.

"Ummm, hopefully not noon yet?" I asked with a nervous grin as I rose up from the bed, knowing fully well it was probably one o'clock or something.

"It's 10:30 in the morning," she said in a terse manner. Wait, it's still morning and she's acting like I woke up at midday or something. It's not like today is anything important, after all, the only day I have to be up early is the day I have to go to Beacon, but that's isn't until… today. Oh. OH. I forgot. I'm supposed to leave today. I grabbed my glasses from the nightstand, jumped out of bed, and ran into the bathroom, hearing my mother sigh as I started a basic hygiene routine as fast as I could. After successfully combining a shower with brushing my teeth, I raced over to my closet and threw on my usual outfit: a dark grey shirt, black cargo pants and boots, and my favorite green jacket. It was a pretty wrinkled up, but I've never been conscious about my fashion sense and I'm not about to start today. I slapped on my wristwatch and glanced at the time. 10:45. I'm making good time.

"Hey mom, at what time does the ship from Atlas to Beacon head out?" I asked as I brushed out the bedhead of my naturally unruly hair into a more presentable state. I swept away the bangs from my eyes before looking in the mirror. I turned my head to look at the rest of the hair, reaching down midway to my neck. Maybe I should get a haircut?

"Well, it leaves at 11:30, so I suggest you get your ass in gear and get moving if you still plan on making it."

Shit.

I should leave the beauty decisions for another time. After brushing my hair into its usual shaggy form, I strapped on the rest of my gear and gave the room a final once over before bolting out the door. As I ran downstairs and made a beeline for the door, there was nothing on my mind except making it to the hangar before the ship took off. That is until I saw a flying thermos out of the corner of my eye, on a collision course with my face. The sudden assault caught me by surprise and could've turned the morning into an even bigger shit show, but I managed to catch it by sheer reflex alone.

"Heads up," My mom called out from the kitchen, tying her hair into a neat little bun (except for a few wild strands that managed to escape) as she cleaned the plates that had been used for breakfast.

"You're supposed to say 'heads up' before you throw something," I chastised her as I unscrewed the top and took a whiff inside the thermos to find out what was inside. It turned out to be full of coffee, and strong one at that. Which begs the question, why did my mother just throw a thermos full of hot coffee at her unsuspecting son's face?

"Hey, you caught it, didn't you? And if I had warned you, you wouldn't have stopped long enough for me get my goodbye," she said in a smug tone as she walked over and hugged me. "Take care, Nathan. I love you." I could hear her voice break a little when she spoke, just before she broke out into tears. Seeing my usually calm and cool mother crying like this was shocking. I didn't think she'd be so upset about me leaving home. I hugged her tight as she spoke between sobs, doing my best to hold back my own tears. "Remember to believe in yourself, go for broke, don't be a stranger, say no to drugs, and always use protection." I stood there dumbfounded as her words went from really moving and sweet to complete nonsense as she finished the sentence. I swear…

"Geez, Mom, with that kind of motivational speech, it's a wonder you didn't become a public speaker." She gave a series of mock bows, causing me to chuckle more.

"I'm gonna miss you over there. Bye, love you. Tell Jennifer and Saber I love 'em too." I gave her a two finger salute before grabbing my luggage and heading for the door, taking a swig from the thermos as I walked.

By the time I got to the door, the swig had turned into half the thermos, which was, incidentally, a lot. A bad feeling spread through my gut. Waking up with good coffee is a nice feeling. Drinking it on an empty stomach, not as pleasant. I looked at my watch as I reached to open the door, only looking up when it didn't budge. The reason for the resistance was my little sister Jennifer, who was pushing the door shut with her back while holding her cat, Saber, in her hands.

"Jenny, I don't have time for this, I'm not gonna make it if you keep standing there." I said, trying to pry her away from the door. It was pointless though, since she managed to stick herself to the floor so that I couldn't open the door or move her. Damn it. Sometimes I wish her Semblance hadn't manifested yet.

"Good! Then you don't have to leave me." Saber meowed as if in agreement.

"You hush, cat. You don't even like me," I called out, putting my finger directly in front of its mouth, only to be surprised when it nuzzled up to my hand rather than bite it. Wow, way to make me look like the asshole, Saber. I thought we were cool. Maybe I should switch my tactics.

"If I don't go out that door, I'll never be able to accomplish my dream, make new friends, or possibly meet the one. I'll never amount to anything and live a sad, lonely life. Is that what you want?"

"N-no!" she spat out almost immediately.

"Then, please, I need to go!" It was 11 sharp. There wasn't any time to waste.

"No! I don't want you to be sad, but I don't want to see you go away forever. I don't wanna!" Tears began forming at the corners of her eyes as she shook her head in protest, light brown hair dancing about. Is that why she's so determined to stall me?

I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her, accidentally crushing Saber, who wriggled around until he broke free. "I won't be gone forever you know, we'll be in touch and I'll try to come visit if I can. But right now I need to be out that door and headed towards the hangar." I let go of her to look straight into her bright green eyes, "Besides, you're supposed to be starting your own training tomorrow. A huntress must be cool and mature; she can't just throw a tantrum when things don't go her way. Imagine what Kaz would think if he found out about this..."

She jumped up from those last words and quickly wiped the tears away, replacing her sad frown with a defeated look. "Alright, I'll move. Just... don't tell Kazimir, okay?" She spoke low enough so our mom couldn't overhear her, a light blush forming on her face. "And promise you'll call."

I smirked, "Deal," pulling her in for one more hug before she reluctantly moved out of the way.

With that done, I grabbed my stuff and bolted outside, only to be greeted by my dad, dressed up for his job as a police officer. Seriously, does everyone want to stop me for an emotional goodbye?! If oversleeping causes this much stress, I should really get a better sleeping habit. I gave him a wide perimeter as I made my way to the car; I couldn't afford to waste a second on any sort of manly show of affection. I talked so he couldn't have the chance to, "Look, I know you wanna say your "goodbye" and "I love you", but it's…" I looked down at my watch, "11:08. The ship goes out at 11:30, and the bus takes twenty minutes on a good day, so-"

"Need a lift?" he cut me off and gestured toward his car. I stared at him blankly. Is he serious? Is he actually suggesting dropping me off at the hangar in his squad car? I mean, it could save me some time I could have spent idly waiting for a bus, and it's probably faster… Wait. Isn't he suppose to be working right now? Wouldn't he get in trouble if he was caught driving his kid to the airport while on the clock? On the other hand… My thought process was cut short as my dad put all my bags in the trunk and ushered me into the car.

"You might want to hold on to something," he said as he flipped on the police siren and put on his shades. Fearing the reason for that warning, my hands shot towards the handle and I braced myself for what I could only describe as the most intense car ride of my life. I didn't think it was possible, but we somehow survived and pulled up to the hangar after only ten minutes on the road.

"How much of that was legal?" I asked my dad as I caught my breath from the numerous near death experiences.

He took off his shades and looked at me, his green eyes giving me a cheeky stare. Do mine ever look like that?

"Today's the day, huh? You're actually going out there and becoming a hunter." Way to dodge the question. I asked him again, only to get the same type of evasion. "You sure you want to go through with this, Nate? I'm sure there are other things you could do with your set of skills." All jokes were gone from his voice; it was as cold and serious as his eyes had become. It's like he's testing to see if I'll hesitate. But I can't back down now. I won't.

"Yes, I'm sure. This has been my dream ever since I was a kid and it's one I intend to follow."

A huge grin broke upon his face. "Alright then. Just remember: this isn't just a dream anymore. This is your reality. Now, get out of this car before you miss the damn ship," he said, offering me his hand.

"Right. Love you, dad." I took his hand and shook it before pulling him in for a quick hug. After saying our goodbyes, I took my stuff out of the car and power-walked towards the front desk. Thanks to the police siren, all flights were delayed until they figured out why the police were there. Okay; this is definitely abusing of the law's power, but I'm not gonna complain at this point. I explained my situation to the staff and thankfully they allowed me to board, even going as far as helping me with my luggage.

Once the commotion with the siren died down, the ship took off towards Beacon Academy, my home for the next 4 years.