Viridian hasn't ever thought he'd be where he was right now. Yet, here he was. No, he wasn't back in Menagerie training under his blacksmith father. No, instead, he was here in Vale. More specifically, Beacon Academy. Far from home and about to enter into one of the most dangerous professions known to both Humans and Faunus: becoming a Huntsman. All because he chose to be.
How was he to know that everything he once knew would change entirely? How could he have known he was immersing himself in something far larger than anything he could have ever foreseen?
Author's Note:
I wasn't entirely certain that I wanted to do this. "This" being putting forward my ideas and story for the public to read and critique. However, I'm glad I did, because I really wanted to share this. I wanted to share my ideas and conceptions in the hopes that readers would enjoy them, and maybe even share them. And as an author, I am always willing to take whatever criticisms, advice, comments, questions, and anything else that may arise from my writing.
That being said, I do not own, represent, or in any way am affiliated to the RWBY team, crew, or any other position that dictates the show officially. All rights and show concepts belong to them. The only things I own are: my original characters, weapon ideas, concepts, and names, and my original characters' backstories.
All sensitive topics will be well-researched and respectful to those whom it may concern. That being said, most of the sensitive topics will not be in vivid detail. Instead, they will be touched upon in conversation only. Only the upmost respect is intended to those it may concern. I only want to do right by those whom it may be relevant.
I thank everyone who may be interested in my work. And any comments, questions, or concerns are highly encouraged.
A boy of seventeen sat at the desk. He was handsome, roughly six feet tall, chocolate brown haired, with chocolate brown eyes with hints of russet brown. The most striking features, however, were his vibrant green bangs, that seemed too real to be simply dyed; and slanting from the right side of his forehead to his left cheek, were five scars, claw marks.
It's was early in the morning, the faintest gleam of morning sun on the horizon. Vale's mountain range stood in the distance, tall and stoic; dense forests lay sprawled out before the ranges.
Before him sat a man, grey haired, but still young and handsome despite his age; glasses on his face, along with a smile; and a coffee mug in hand.
Steam was wafting up from the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies; they smelled delicious, but that detail couldn't distract him from the nervousness and anxiety he felt at the moment. His eyes would occasionally dart around the room, taking it all in. They darted to and fro, rarely to a spot as close to the eyes of the man before him before flicking away. The silence between them was awkward, but he could tell there was no animosity or any other negativity sewn into it. His fox tail swung idly back and forth, hackles raised, as they often were in situations like these.
"Viridian, I must say that I am sorry for what happened to you," the man started.
The teenager, Viridian, flinched. It... it wasn't pleasant to think about. The mere mention of it brought him back to the Menagerie hospital, where he'd stayed for an extended time in the intensive care unit. It brought back the searing pain in his face. And it make him gag on the memory of pungent antiseptic. In response to the memories being dragged to the surface his body shivered involuntarily, despite him doing his best to hinder the action.
"Professor Ozpin... I know that my parents told you what happened to me. But, can you promise me something?" Viridian questioned.
"Of course, Viridian." Professor Ozpin said, intrigued to know what he was about to swear to.
"Could you please, not tell anyone what you know about me? It's redundant, I know. But can you leave it to me, to tell anyone, when I feel ready?"
"Viridian... above all else, I want you to know that you are safe here at Beacon. I will never tell anyone anything you don't want me to. I know what happened in Menagerie... But I'm curious, why would you enroll into my school, of all places, to become a huntsman?" Professor Ozpin implored.
Reaching forward, Viridian took one of the cookies, noting that it was still hot.
"Professor... My own face is a reminder of those four days..." Viridian gestured to the five scars, running across his face.
"I will never be able to take back what was done to me... I want to get back what I lost. I want to be able to help myself- at least this once- where I couldn't help myself," Viridian answered, taking a bite of the cookie.
"Although, fighting Grimm and helping people in need is a nice perk," Viridian added between chewing.
Professor Ozpin could only laugh.
"But let me tell you something," he began, stopping to make sure he had the Professor's full attention, "I didn't spend two years of my life training just to be told no and turned away as soon as I'd gotten my foot in the door. I didn't go out and hunt down Grimm alongside my sister for Menagerie just to fail when I've gotten so close. And I know you have the recordings of how we pulled it off." His eyes were no longer the warm chocolate they had been. No, instead they held a certain fire within, a fire that spoke of a challenge.
It was true. It wasn't unheard of for the drones that patrolled the sky to record huntsmen and huntresses killing Grimm. Though, usually, the recordings were subject to belonging to whatever Kingdom they'd been recorded in, and usually needed granted permission to be used outside of said Kingdom.
Wordlessly, and with the most neutral face Viridian has ever seen someone pull off, the Professor tapped the desktop with his index finger. The surface blinked to life and patiently awaited the Professor as he tapped some master codes into a digital keyboard presented by the desk. Within less than a second, video clips of him and his sister sprang to life, sitting stationary until the Professor chose to play them. He glances to Viridian, who waves his hand giving him permission to start the clips. A vocal command is given by Professor Ozpin, and the technology leaps to accommodate his words. The video changes, its focus taking on only Viridian's side of the skirmish between him and three Will o' the Wisps, an unusual type of Grimm, in that they're partly insectoid, and yet gaseous.
The Professor asks him several questions, pausing the video here and there to let Viridian respond. They're what one would expect: "Was it hard for you to take these three Grimm on? How did you prepare to do so? How long?" Questions like that. His answers leave the Professor humming in thought.
And it's with the same poker face that he shuts down the desktop, until a small smile has grown on his face.
"I think that given your extensive self-training, and how your transcripts have nothing wrong with them," the man went on to say, "that you'll do just fine here at Beacon. So long as you can pass the Initiation." He ended with a smile.