Prologue: Flowers at the table, Knights in the garden

The sky was dark, and the moons were high in the sky on that warm august night. Pete Moss stood alone on the rooftop, watching the street carefully. His tan shorts flapped slightly in the sudden breeze, and he ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. His other hand gingerly fingered the stock of his weapon. He rolled his muscles slightly under his leather rerebraces, letting them slide up and down as he flexed. He slung his weapon over his shoulder and knelt down, listening to the voices below.

"Man, this job sucks. Why are we the ones who have to guard the warehouse while everyone else goes out shopping?" a man in a white sleeveless shirt and dark grey mask complained loudly from below.
"Shut up and do as you're told, Edgar," his accomplice said.
"Edgar, do this! Edgar, do that! That's all I ever hear anymore! I swear, I was treated better at the Schnee company," he went on. "And god forbid I try to get a job somewhere else, no. They're all too busy laughing at my damn ears!"
"Edgar, we're all faunus. All of us get mocked because of our heritage," his accomplice replied impatiently.
"Yeah, that's easy enough for you to say. You're a tiger faunus, that's actually cool. And Steve is a monkey, but what am I stuck with? I'm a cow. A bovine faunus of all damn things, and who respects a cow?"
"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!" Pete said from the rooftop. The two guards charged forwards and spun around, reaching for their guns. They whipped out the pistols as Pete jumped down, his unnecessary number of pouches clanking together as he hit the ground. The faunus guards aimed their guns and pulled the triggers, grinning as they waited for Pete to be knocked off his feet. But the sound of gunfire never came, simply a quiet click as two flags with the word "BANG!" written on them extended from the barrels.
"What the hell!?" the guards screamed, throwing the useless weapons aside. Pete roared out in laughter, almost dropping to his knees with mirth.
"Oh my god, I wish I could see the looks on your stupid faces right now!" he laughed out, merry tears streaming down his cheeks. The guards growled and grabbed their swords. Suddenly, the warehouse doors burst open and about a dozen more White Fang soldiers streamed into the alley. Pete stood up and slipped the Shaolin spade off his back.
"This is gonna be fun," he chuckled.

"Tulip, I'm home," a girl with bright pink hair and a purple shirt said as she cracked open the door to the tiny farmhouse. She slumped into a kitchen chair, resting her head in her hands.
"Violet!" a girl with short lavender hair squealed excitedly, jumping up from the couch and bounding across the room. She was wearing a light green shirt and a pink pleated skirt that curled inwards. A segmented steel belt with a single pouch on the back hung across her slender waist. In her hand she clutched a letter, sealed with two crossed axes. She nearly tackled the taller girl out of her seat as she wrapped her arms around her.
"Hey baby sister," Violet said tiredly as she wrapped her arms around the shorter girl.
"Sis, this came in the mail yesterday!" Tulip said, handing Violet the letter. She opened it up and Tulip slid into the next seat, bouncing excitedly.
"Dear Miss Leiostemones," she began reading aloud. "We write today to inform you that your application to Beacon secondary combat training and preparatory school has been..."
"Has been?" Tulip asked nervously. Violet placed her hand over her mouth, her eyebrows furrowing.
"...Has been accepted!" she cried out happily, and Tulip squealed with pure glee. Her cinnamon brown eyes were full of a happiness that could only be described as elation.
"I'm so proud of you, little sister," Violet said with a voice as warm as honey. Tulip gave her the sweetest of smiles. Suddenly, a ringing sound was heard. Violet reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, glancing briefly at the display before looking back to her sister.
"I'm sorry, I have to take this," she said with a sigh before slipping into the next room. Tulip turned around in her seat to watch her sister. Violet spoke a few words into the phone, then nodded and hung up.
"I need to go," she mumbled as she walked back into the room, stuffing her phone in her pocket.
"Again? But you must got back," Tulip pouted.
"I know, I'm so sorry," she sighed softly. "You know how it is with her."
"I know," Tulip replied. Violet reached down into her pouch and pulled out a small, pink package.
"I got you something. I hope you like it," she offered a smile and tossed the package to her before she left. Tulip opened the package and held up a delicate little cord necklace with five silver beads. She set the necklace down on the table and slumped in her seat.
"You can't cure loneliness with gifts," she whispered, tears welling up in her cinnamon eyes.

Aster Kalimeris sat at a coffeeshop, sipping on a mug of chai tea and staring at the letter laid flat on the table. Suddenly, a loud crashing was heard and she glanced up from her tea. People were running one direction from a Boarbatusk that had somehow gotten into the kingdom.
"Run away!"
"Somebody call a huntsman!"
"Help us, someone please help us!" people screamed as the beast charged, knocking over cars and generally causing a mess. Aster stood up and picked up her letter, tucking it in her belt before vaulting over the fence and drawing her chakram from its sling on her back.
"A huntress! We're saved!" the crowd cheered, applauding Aster's courage. The pig-like Grimm snorted a cloud of smoke and glared at Aster through its squinty little eyes before charging. Aster sidestepped the attack and slashed into its bony armor with her weapon. The monster squealed in pain and turned around. It jumped forwards and shook its head up and down, trying to gore her on its tusks. She slipped her chakram around one of the tusks and jumped over it, letting the cable feed out as she gave it a swift kick on the rump. It took off running and Aster planted her feet firmly into the ground. She flicked her wrist and the cable retracted, jerking the Boarbatusk to the ground and dragging it back. The monster struggled and squealed, and finally broke free at the cost of a tusk. The chakram retracted entirely and planted itself firmly in Aster's palm. The Boarbatusk lunged at her, and she drove the blade of her weapon into its forehead. The monster squealed helplessly and dropped to the street as the last glimmers of life faded from its eyes. Aster placed the weapon back in its sling and turned to look at the gathered crowd.
"You did it!"
"She's a hero!"
"Hurray!" the crowed cheered, and Aster blushed brightly. She ducked into the nearest alley to hide from the gathering onlookers.
"What's her deal?" one of the civilians asked aloud.

The silver moonlight shone upon the lily-white hair of Lily Martagon. Her tiger ears ruffled in the wind as she stood atop the roof, keeping a close watch on the warehouse below. She gripped her whip-pistol tightly as a boy in tan shorts hopped down from the adjacent rooftops and began taunting the White Fang guards. They went to shoot him, but as far as she could tell their weapons misfired. They reached for their swords and suddenly more White Fang operatives burst through the doors. Dozens of faunus flooded into the alley, but the boy didn't seem to be fazed by the opposition. He slid the Shaolin spade off his back and prepared for combat. Lily took off at a run and dove off the rooftop, catching a nearby fire escape with her whip and swinging down. She hot the ground at a roll and rose to her feet next to her ally.
"Who're you?" he asked, swinging his weapon behind him.
"The cavalry?" she suggested, shrugging as she swung her whip. Some of the guards winced at the resulting crack, but the group advanced. They swung their swords and charged, yelling loudly as they prepared to attack.
"Well, my name's Pete," the boy said as he tossed his weapon into the air. He caught it and jumped back, swinging the spade in a wide circle and knocking four opponents to the ground. Lily lashed out with her whip, disarming a nearby enemy and sending his sword clattering to the ground.
"Lily," she replied as she ducked a strike and rolled out of the way. She had to admire his style, it was something straight out of a kung fu movie. She cracked her whip numerous times in rapid succession, knocking foe after foe to the ground. Not one to be outdone, Pete began an elaborate sequence of moves. Utilizing both ends of his weapon, he easily knocked half of the remaining opponents to either their knees or on their backs. Suddenly, the doors of the warehouse swung open and a rather large faunus stepped into the alley. He produced a pair of scimitars from his back and pointed them threateningly at the duo.
"You really don't think you're gonna get away with this, do you?" the burly faunus asked.
"Is that a trick question?" Pete retorted, swinging is spade behind his back. Lily cracked her whip a few times, and the faunus roared angrily before charging. Pete knocked Lily back with the flat of his spade and prepared for battle. The burly faunus swung his swords in a flurry, but Pete matched his pace and deflected each strike he tried to place. Lily clambered to her feet and turned around. She watched Pete and the faunus trade blows, neither landing a notable hit on each other. She picked up her weapon and cracked the whip against the brute's back. He roared in pain, and Pete took advantage of the opening. He swung his spade in two circles and planted the crescent end into his chest, knocking him on his back. He spun the weapon and cracked him once across the face as he tried to get up again, and the large man slumped to the ground. A low groan rose from the throat of the unconscious adversary.
"That wasn't too hard," Pete said with a chuckle. Lily shot him a look of pure exasperation before she turned around and walked off into the night.
"What's her deal?" the boy asked himself before shrugging it off and examining the carnage.

A man with grey hair and an emerald green suit sat at a desk, watching these events unfold on a scroll. He smirked to himself, then turned to speak to the blonde woman standing beside him.
"Well Glynda, it appears our B group is going to be giving us quite a handful. Are you sure you can manage them?" he asked, chuckling.
"I'm ready for whatever they can throw at me, professor Ozpin," she replied curtly.
"Good. I believe we can welcome them with open arms, as well as the students from Avalon. This is going to be an interesting year."