Welcome to my first ever full-length story. I have been reading content on this site for a few years and wanted to try my hand at it as well, so here we go.
First of all, big thank you to both Coeur Al'Aran and Rainstorm4 for their willingness to allow me to springboard off of some of their ideas. I will make sure to credit any content in the appropriate chapters, as they deserve the credit for a few items in this story.
As a heads up, there will be no cursing or inappropriate content here. The Teen rating is more for some violence and slightly darker tones later in the story, but shouldn't be much worse than the content in RWBY already. If you have any feedback, please let me know.
Enjoy (hopefully)
A fresh start.
That's all Lilly wanted. A chance to finally put the past behind her and start over. Signal had been quite valuable to her training, but she longed to break free of the cliquish nature of the preparatory academy.
Now, sitting on the flight to Beacon, Lilly finally felt that she had her chance. Only a few people at Beacon would know her and she'd soon have a team to call her own. If all went well, she might even be made a team leader! Just the thought of it made her smile all the brighter.
At the very least, Lilly felt certain that she would be valuable as a strategist. While she might not be the greatest individual fighter, the Beacon examiners had been impressed with her planning and adaptability in the entrance examination. Professor Goodwitch's letter had even told her that she placed in the top ten percent!
Stay calm, she reminded herself for at least the tenth time, nervously fidgeting with the thick blonde braid that hung over her shoulder. They had yet to arrive at the school, but many of her fellow first-years would be forming opinions on each other during these first interactions. If she got too carried away in daydreaming, she would look live a naïve imbecile. Lilly tried to focus on looking serious. Not that serious! she screamed mentally. No reason to come across as a moody creep.
Lilly quickly scanned everyone around her and was relieved no one had noticed her facial acrobatics. Most were too busy either looking out the windows or staring absentmindedly at their scrolls.
I just need to keep myself focused. Yet again, Lilly checked the latches on her small suitcase, ensuring nothing would spill out. She was pretty sure having her clothing spill out on the floor would doom her social life. First impressions should not be made based on underwear and socks.
Content that her unmentionables were secure, Lilly began to brush off the imaginary dirt from her new outfit. Her old outfit was familiar, but was more appropriate for someone trying to blend in to a crowd. After numerous shopping trips, she had finally settled on something a little less subtle. After all, her goal was to finally be noticed by people.
Despite what her dad seemed to think, there was nothing scandalous about her new clothes. The white sweetheart top by itself would have given him conniptions, but the light blue jacket she had added covered her shoulders and upper arms entirely. Although she could admit that the jacket's underbust corset style (the shopkeep had referred to it as "steampunk") was a little out there for her, she did like how it accentuated certain things. After all, she was hoping to get noticed for more than just her tactics. Lilly huffed at the feeling of warmth creeping across her cheeks and quickly tried to find something to further distract herself.
"This is the best day ever!" Lilly cringed slightly at the familiar voice that echoed across the airship. Her eyes unwillingly zeroed in on the last person she wanted to see. Yang Xiao-Long currently had her sister, Ruby Rose, in a bear hug. Lilly saw them come onboard earlier, thinking it weird that Yang had her younger sister accompany them to Beacon.
Isn't the shuttle supposed to be for students only? Figures that Yang would get special permission to bring someone along with her. Then came the shock of hearing rumors that Beacon had accepted a fifteen-year-old this year. While she didn't usually put much stock in rumors, Lilly was pretty sure Yang had somehow gotten her younger sister into Beacon with her. As the top fighter at Signal, Beacon had probably given Yang whatever she wanted to ensure she attended there.
To say that Yang and Lilly didn't get along at Signal would be an understatement. It was no coincidence that they were never selected to spar with one another. Despite being told in their early years that they should expect to have a graded spar with each of their classmates at least twice per year, the teachers had made sure to keep them from meeting on the mat for the last two years. While Lilly was grateful not to have to face the top fighter in school again, most of their classmates were aware of the divide and had sided with the more popular of the two. Lilly soon became a loner, as few were willing to even try to be friends in the end.
When Lilly had heard Yang bragging about getting accepted to Beacon, she immediately looked into the other three Huntsman academies. Beacon was usually touted as the premier academy, but Lilly figured that was mostly just local pride. Beacon hadn't even won the Vytal Tournament in almost a decade. Atlas had the most recent victory, so surely they would be just as suitable for her. While the distance and militaristic attitude of the academy would be a downside, the lack of a certain buxom blonde bimbo far outweighed the negatives.
Unfortunately, her parents disagreed. Why would she want to travel all the way to Atlas when they could practically see Beacon from their home on Patch? Lilly knew that basing her decision on trying to avoid Yang would not go over well with them, so she instead tried to focus on the positives of Atlas. Each of her reasons survived about as long as a lone Nevermore chick against Vale's anti-air weaponry.
A chance to see the world and experience other cultures? Huntsmen traveled extensively, so that could wait until after Beacon.
She preferred colder weather? Change the thermostat in her room. Plus, her new outfit would hardly keep her warm (another swipe by her father).
She was impressed by Atlas's technology and research? Beacon has one of Remnant's largest libraries and digital access to most of Atlas' unclassified studies.
It became quite apparent that her parents would not be convinced. When she kept pushing, they finally had told her the decision was hers to make, but they would only fund Beacon. Having saved very little of her lien up to that point, her inability to fund both the entrance fee and the travelling expenses had settled the debate once and for all. The worst part was how her parents had managed to make it sound like she had the freedom to choose but knew they had already won. Sadly, it was her own fault for not saving better the last few years, so she couldn't exactly blame them in the end, despite how much her teenage mind wanted to.
All she could do now was try to avoid Yang and her diminutive sister for a few days. Gods forbid that she get put on a team with Yang. She doubted that they would last long living in the same room. Once she had her own team, Yang wouldn't be that much of an issue. At worst, their teams might have to spar once in a while, but the likelihood of her getting paired with Yang individually was pretty low, as there was a greater focus on team training over individual fighting. After all, they were already expected to be the best of the best by getting accepted.
A breaking news alert from the holographic screen nearby interrupted Lilly's thoughts as Lisa Lavender described yet another dust store robbery. Surprisingly, Roman Torchwick was said to have been present for this one. Unsurprisingly, he had escaped authorities yet again.
A lot of people often questioned how such a well-known criminal could be allowed to roam free, but Lilly understood. The police would never stand a chance against a thief with Huntsman training. It would take other Huntsmen to bring him to justice, but that was unlikely to happen. Huntsmen were too valuable to waste on a thief, even one as prolific as Torchwick. When taking down Torchwick might leave an entire village undefended from the Grimm, the choice was pretty straightforward.
A follow-up story regarding White Fang activity in a faunus protest caught Lilly's attention. She wasn't sure if the White Fang had become more active lately or if the news was just reporting it more, but it was rare that a White Fang incident didn't make the news at least once a week now. What do they hope to achieve? All theyr're doing is turning the public further against them.
Before Lilly could think on the issue further, the news feed suddenly cut out and was replaced by Professor Goodwitch.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon." Of all the faculty at Beacon, Lilly was most excited to meet Goodwitch. Many of the Huntsmen and Huntresses that had spoken at Signal tried were too laid back in her opinion. Being responsible for the very survival of humanity was no laughing matter, yet many of them would joke around or try to impress the students with their tall tales and heroics. Signal had even had Professor Port come speak to their class last year. Lilly never did figure out how Port allegedly scared away a pack of Gryphons with a slingshot.
From what she had seen from online videos of Goodwitch, however, the woman did not hold back. That was probably the reason she was in charge of sparring and second only to Headmaster Ozpin himself. Analytical to a fault, Goodwitch was always able to pick out the tiniest errors in a student's fighting style. Some students took offense to her critique, seeing it as her being nitpicky, but Goodwitch always had advice on how to improve, which Lilly saw as the mark of an excellent instructor. After all, those minor improvements could mean the difference between life and death, not just for the student, but for their team and whomever they might be protecting.
As the image of Goodwitch faded from view, the rest of the students began to crowd the windows. The spires of Beacon could be easily seen ahead, signifying that they would soon be landing. Knowing that there would be a frantic rush once they landed as everyone tried to quickly gather their items and rush to the auditorium for their official welcome by Headmaster Ozpin, Lilly grabbed her suitcase and decided to head towards the exit. The only downside was how close she would have to pass by Yang.
Just keep your eyes down and maybe you can slip by unnoticed. Luckily, much like those around them, Yang and Ruby were too busy admiring the view to notice as Lilly slipped by a few feet away. With the exit in sight, Lilly quickened her pace, only to be battered aside by a blonde idiot trying to hold in his breakfast. The foul odor that followed him showed how unsuccessfully he had dammed the putrid flow. What kind of Huntsman can't handle a simple shuttle flight? Lilly wondered as she carefully navigated around the drops of filth he left in his wake. Hopefully this wasn't a sign of how her day would be.
Finally reaching the door, Lilly flinched at the sudden yelling from behind her.
"Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!" Then again, maybe her day was off to a good start after all.
This is a relatively short chapter (~2k words) compared to what I expect the average to be (at least 5-10k words once we get past the start). Introductory chapters are a major struggle for me, especially since I will be introducing four main characters in 3-4 chapters.
Again, feel free to leave a comment at any time, as I genuinely value your feedback (both positive and negative). Also, make sure to check out Coeur Al'Aran and RainStorm4 as thanks for their assistance.
