Hazel and Gretchen
It was a quiet Saturday morning; which isn't to say much, so far out from the city, there were few days when it wasn't quiet. Save from the occasional Grimm attack or the excitement of a visiting Huntsman, there were few occasions that resulted in loud noises. Today, however, nothing of note was happening. Aside from the regular ticking of the clock in the kitchen, there were no noises to distract Hazel from his current task of cleaning the dishes. The house was small and modest, located in a small village near the outskirts of the Kingdom of Mistral. Haven worked odd jobs here and there, and although he wasn't fully classically trained, he was, at his 8'0 stature, a formidable opponent against the occasional Grimm or bandit attack. Today however, Haven had nowhere to go, and was working on the simple domestic task of maintaining the household. It was a quiet day, and that made the yelling and excitement that Hazel heard next all the more jarring.
"Hazel! Hazel! I got in!" he heard as his sister ran into their home, letter in hand.
While Hazel had always been a large man; indeed, he hardly fit in the kitchen where he was currently standing, his sister, Gretchen, was not blessed with the same height advantage. While tall for a woman at 6'0, she was dwarfed by her much larger brother. She too wore the characteristic pine green that her brother adorned; a color that their parents once wore as well. Gretchen's hair was a beautiful shade of brown, not much darker than her own complexion. She was by all accounts, an attractive woman, and Hazel knew that their parents would have been proud of the way that she turned out.
"Hold on. Where?" Hazel replied; efficient and to the point. He knew that his sister was interested in becoming a Huntress; he too had such ambitions before their parents met their tragic demise. Ever since, he had given up on his dreams to help raise his younger sister, almost a decade his junior. He had dropped out of Haven Academy then, although he was already a couple of years in, and moved back home. The years had not been kind to Hazel, the act of suddenly becoming an adult and raising his sister on his own had taken a toll on the man; but now he knew that he would have gone through it all again just to see the look that his sister had right now.
"Beacon Academy! I'm so excited! I've never been to the city of Vale! I'm going to meet so many people and learn so much! I'm going to be the best Huntress the school had ever seen!"
Although it wasn't Haven, Hazel was still proud; but Beacon Academy was so far from their home in Mistral. Hazel liked to think that he wasn't an overprotective guardian, but it was hard not to be considering that Gretchen was all that he had left. Part of him wanted to wait, to tell Gretchen to go to Haven instead; but he knew that his sister wanted to go to Beacon. Still, he had to voice his concern.
"Beacon is so far away. Are you sure you don't want to wait for an offer from Haven?"
"Hazel! I want to go to Beacon though! Vale looks so cool! They're huntsmen program promises live field exercises – supervised of course! I'll make sure to visit every semester! The airship costs aren't as high as they used to be, and I could even get a part-time job in Vale to save up the Lien if I need to!"
Although money was tight in their household, Haven would not let that be an obstacle to prevent his sister from visiting; "Don't worry about the cost. I can buy the tickets for you if you're dead set on going to Beacon. I am concerned about the live field exercises though; I don't want you to be in danger before you're ready."
"I'll be fine! I've fought Grimm before! You saw how easily I took down that Boarbatusk that was just outside the village last week! Besides, Beacon Academy has some of the most qualified instructors in Remnant! The headmaster, Ozpin, has helped train hundreds of huntsmen! I'm sure that he'll make sure that everyone is safe while they're in the academy!"
Hazel thought back to old videos and articles he had read; it was true that Ozpin was an impressive individual. He was one of the youngest headmasters of any of the four academies in Remnant, and it was evident from old clips that Ozpin was an accomplished fighter himself. He fought with almost supernatural instincts, as though he had an inner voice that could help him anticipate his opponents moves. As headmaster, hundreds of students had passed through his doors already; and so far, no major incident had occurred. As Hazel gave the idea more thought, he gained confidence in Gretchen's safety at the school; however, he still had to know.
"Are you sure?"
"Am I sure about what?"
"Are you sure that this is what you want to do? Being a huntress is a dangerous profession."
Gretchen sighed, thinking back to their parents. Then with a newfound resolve, she replied confidently; "Yes."
She paused, "I've wanted to be a huntress for as long as I could remember. I want to protect people like mom and dad. I don't want other children to go through what I did. What you did. You weren't ready to be a parent. I know I can make a difference; I practice every day. I know it's dangerous and I know that I might die, but I cannot just lie idly by again…"
Hazel was taken aback. He knew that his sister was mature beyond her years; how could one not be, orphaned at such a young age? But still, he was surprised by Gretchen's resolve. He was proud of his sister, to hold such a strong conviction at such a young age was impressive. Hazel knew that their parents would have proud as well, and as he thought back to their memories, he replied, "Okay."
"Okay, what?" Gretchen replied.
"Okay." Hazel slumped his shoulders and sighed, looking down at his younger sister, "You're going to Beacon Academy. You better get ready."
And with that, Gretchen jumped into Hazel's arms and hugged him.
So, this was the first story that I've ever written. I had this idea popping around in my head for quite a while, and figured that I should go ahead and write it up. For some reason, when watching the show, I really related to the Hazel character. For one thing, he looks just like me, and for another, I think he's got a similar personality to what I do; very somber and calculating. I'm also an older sibling by quite a few years and I wanted to see more of the relationship between Hazel and his sister explored. I've got a couple of more ideas for chapters, and was thinking that I might try doing this as a sort of an origin story for Hazel. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this story and thanks for reading.