A/N I'M BACK BITCHES!
Ahem. I have returned from my hiatus, with my revamped tale. Much has been fixed, much more remains the same. Thank you everyone for being so patient with me, I have been dealing with quite a lot as of late. As I mentioned shortly before taking my story down, I suffer from depression and this story is one way of handling it for me, along with other creative outlets. I became unhappy with the way my story was going, and decided to correct it as such. It took some time, and a lot of effort but I finally have this tale back in a place I feel it should be. Enough from me, now. Go read!
There are days in every persons life that changes them irrevocably. For some, it's a job offer. Meeting the person they will spend their life with. Losing everything. Starting over. Come with me now as I tell you the tale of how all of these happened to me.
"oh, today is so not gonna be fun" I slam my alarm clock, in a futile effort to turn back time ten minutes, or at the least shut that damn thing OFF. i dragged my body out of bed, and into a frigid shower. nothing quite like a busted heater, is there. After I had finished with my dose of early morning hypothermia, i shuffled into the kitchen to brew myself some tea so i could feel my fingers again, but the shattering sound of my teapot failing to bounce canceled that. "Oh thats just fuckin' PERFECT!" I bellowed out. My neighbors will complain about the racket, guaranteed. after i finish sweeping up all the shards of my morning, its time to go to work. fucking yay.
I walked into my thankless job, tying my apron behind my back and ensuring that no hair escaped the mesh sitting atop my head to contaminate the food. Working in one of the most famous kitchens in the greater Edmonton area meant that appearances needed to be upheld, after all. The hours flew by as order after order of the classiest people came through, monotony claiming my mind as a hostage. I began to daydream as I created my culinary masterpieces, idle thoughts flitting through my mind as quickly as the food I prepared.
My reverie was interrupted when I realised I was being spoken too. "Huh? What? I uh...Pancakes! Coming up!" I blurted out, reciting the last chit I recalled. My manager, Richard, had a grip on my shoulder.
"Hey, bud. I really don't want to do this, but you goofed up the wrong order. The owner wants you gone as soon as your replacement gets in." His words were delivered softly, but the meaning wasn't lost on me. I was fired.
"Seriously? He wants me gone, but I have to stick around so that fucker can make more money?! Fuck that, Fuck this, Fuck him!" I tore my apron off and walked out. If I wasn't wanted, I wouldn't stick around, plain and simple. I was pissed, for lack of a better word. Four years i had worked there, and one mistake gets me canned? so much for loyalty. I took off to a place I knew would help with my frustration.
The familiar feeling of tape around my knuckles soothed my mind as I entered a trance like state. Swaying back and forth, I exploded in motion, sharp reports cracking out of the heavy bag in front of me. It's been a while since I returned to my martial arts, although I hadn't lost my touch. After a while, I sighed in defeat. Punching bags aren't the same as real people, moving targets that can strike back and plan and counter and bleed just as much as I can.
Packing up the materials I dragged out, I set out from the gym with a dejected exhale. I had been wandering for quite some time, not realizing I had stepped into an unfamiliar neighborhood some time ago. "Aw crap on a cracker." Since I was already in a directionally challenged state, it couldn't hurt to wander around. Only a little ways into my stroll, my eye was caught by a fantastic piece of graffiti.
It was a doorway that was glowing from the inside, and there was a forest inside. it was the most vibrant green I have ever seen, greener than green itself. I stretched out my hand to confirm that it was just a painting, I felt as though I could open the door and walk through it. which is exactly what happened.
By reflex I closed the door behind me, only then to realize that the door simply did not exist… wherever this place was. "Wait, what just happened?" I began to look around, wandering the area once more as I looked for the alleyway I had just been standing in. "Alright, clearly I've been assaulted and am having one hell of a dream, courtesy of blunt force trauma to the back of my skull." In the midst of my musings, I felt the hair on the back of my neck begin to raise, never a good sign according to my grandfather. I slowly turned to the sight of a lupine creature which appeared to be wearing a skull over its face, and were those bone spikes coming from its arm?
The silence between the beast and myself was broken when it began to howl, baying for my blood. A primal fear overtook every sense I had, filling my mind with one pressing thought. I needed to be anywhere in the world that is not here. My body reacted instinctively, turning on a point and racing further into the woods. The resounding clamor only reinforced my belief that I had made the correct decision, until the beast came crashing through the copse, snarling all the while. It was evident that the beast was faster than I would ever be, switching my reaction from 'flight' to 'fight'. I pivoted on one foot bringing the other up to scissor into a savage boot straight into the creatures jaw. the resounding crack had me grinning like a fool while I watched the dark creature careen into a tree, splintering the bark with it's face. While the beast was stunned, I made my move.
Striding over, I chambered my leg into my torso, unleashing a devastating kick into one of the beasts spikes, causing it to snap off. The results were mixed at best, as the resulting pain snapped the creature out of it's stupor with an ear-shattering keen. I however, was beginning to form a plan. Scooping up the impromptu weapon, I began my jaunt over to the monster. "Well, looks like it's no fun when the shoe is on the other foot, huh?" I mocked the creature, still recovering from it's abrupt meeting with the coniferous flora. I stepped forward, raising the spike high, readying my strike. As I swung towards the creatures skull, it shifted and pounced on me. "God, you need a breath mint!" The creature seemed to take offense at that as it sunk its teeth into my right shoulder. I screamed in agony, before giving way to my blood-lust.
The sight of my own blood drives me into a frenzy. I gouge my thumb into the monster's eye, using its mask as a grip. The monster immediately released my thoroughly mangled shoulder in favor of attempting to force me to release my grip. having given me back my other arm, I proceeded to slowly raise my arm all the way up, shredded muscles screaming at me to stop everything now. Once my arm was in place, I proceeded to jam my thumb into the other eye, causing the monster to scream louder, whipping it's head back and forth in an attempt to dislodge me. I let go, bringing the spike I had removed to bear, allowing the creatures manic thrashing to impale itself, driving the spike into the brain. The monster proceeded to fall over, it's body spastically twitching from the interrupted signals. releasing a sigh, I proceeded to drag myself under a tree, and fall into a dream filled sleep.
My family was one of warriors, and has been. I traced my lineage all the way back to the highland warriors of Scotland, who blood carried the fires of war in it. I recall the conversation my father and I had about it, so very well. "Alright, kiddo. What happened?" My father was a very intimidating man if you didn't know him. Hard, steel eyes peered out from under wiry brows. His head was permanently covered in stubble, grey before his time, a fact he attributed to my mother. The man in question towered over myself, standing at six feet and three inches tall. I gulped.
"They were being mean to the new girl, just 'cause she's different!" I protested. He shook his head, not in disappointment but in resignation and acceptance.
"Remember what I said? We talk through our problems, we don't fight. do you remember why?"
"It's 'coz we're different, right?"
"Right. Our family is special. We are warriors, people that protect the ones who can't protect themselves."
"Then why am I in trouble Dad?"
"The school thinks that nobody should fight, and everyone should use their words to settle their problems and I find myself agreeing with them. You didn't need to beat those boys up, you could have gotten a teacher." My old man had dropped to a crouch, hand around my shoulders to pull me in. "Why didn't you go get an adult?"
"They were hurting her right then, the teachers would have been too late."
He chuckled a little. "And why would the teachers have been too late?"
"they had seen me, if I ran off to get a teacher they would have just run away too."
My Dad furrowed his brow as he worked his way through my childish thought process. "So, if you had run off, they would have disappeared with no way for them to get in trouble?" I nodded. "So rather than going and getting a teacher, you took it upon yourself to punish your classmates?" Again, I nodded. "Well kiddo, I think you had the right motive, but you didn't need to beat them so badly. You know that as well as I do, so I am going to have to ground you bud." I was crestfallen, and he saw it. "Hey, I'm not punishing you for doing the right thing. Far from it. What I am punishing you for, is the fact that you knew how far to take it and you went past that line." The way he phrased everything made me confused. I had done the right thing, but I was still in trouble. I decided then and there that adults were silly, and a grin crossed my face at the thought. "Hey, what's got you smiling there, buster?"
I looked up at the man who had raised me with my dazzling smile, and simply spoke up "Adults are silly."
I was roused from my slumber by three beautiful young women arguing in the middle of the clearing. Still delirious from being roused from my slumber, I listened in. The white haired one, looking for all the world like a Valkyrie, seemed to be aggravated. "I'm starting to think that Ozpin sent us out here as a joke. I mean, we've been wandering around here for an hour now, and we still haven't found any sign of someone trespassing in the forest." Trespassing? They must be looking for me. maybe they can fix up my arm!
As I struggled to make myself know, the tiny crimson one piped up. "Weiss, Ozpin doesn't joke. Have you ever seen him smile? There is someone out here, and we are going to find them." She seems pretty confident about the situation, but isn't she a little young to be in charge?
My attention turned to the final member of the trio, and I rendered incapable of making comparisons. She burned, a fire in the darkest of nights surrounding us. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders like spun gold, and her eyes sparkled, amethyst hues ensnaring me more surely than any restraint would. The firecracker bounced on her feet, seemingly anxious. "Blake's been gone for a while, she should have been back by now." Another member in this little search party?
A rustling noise behind me was all the warning I got before I was hoisted from my resting place and then heaved into the middle of the group. "Found him." I looked at the one who had launched me so carelessly. She was clad in a black vest, with a white underlay, and something about her eyes reminded me of the tabby down the street. I decided that now would be a good time to speak up.
"hello" I croaked out. The chambering of several rounds had my hands as high as I could reach them which wasn't very far as I was abruptly remind of the monster's loving, tender treatment of my arm. "ow ow ow, crap that wolf did a… number… on me?" confusion colored my statement as I surveyed the glade to see no such creature in the area. "did you ladies happen to see a giant wolf around here? Big skull mask thing, lots of spikes, missing its eyes?" My query was met with silence and shared glances amongst the group. the girl in black was the first to break the silence.
"can you describe the creature in more detail?" I pondered for a moment before answering with "it was a humanoid wolf creature, it ran on four legs although it didn't seem to need to. it was pitch black except for the bones all over it, it seemed to have a skull for a face, and its eyes glowed red. Thats about all I can remember, I am quite lost, and need to find the door back home, so could one of you wake me up now please?" the women all looked very confused, when the golden one, Yang I think her name was, crushed me with a very simple question.
"What door are you talking about?"
Fear and confusion seeped into my tone again "you didn't see a door in the middle of the forest? kind of glowy, looks almost like a painting?" their silence was the only answer I needed. I slumped down into the dirt. "I guess I'll just have to wake up a different way." I whispered to myself as I curled up in the dirt. I was abruptly brought back to reality by the sharp pain of laying on my mangled arm. "goddammit OW, Dreams aren't supposed to hurt."
The woman who tossed me spoke up "Why do you keep insisting this is a dream?"
"Well, in real life you don't walk through magical doors that transport you to another world, for one, and our animals tend not to have giant bones sticking out of them either, so there's that. Also, if this wasn't a dream then there is no way I would have four beautiful women looking for me." I grumbled, not bothering with my mental filter as usual.
My words garnered mixed reactions. The black and white members merely regarded me with a cool gaze, while the one in the red hood suddenly found the ground very interesting. The golden woman began to fan herself, flashing a megawatt smile at me. "Oh, be still my beating heart! I think I might swoon if ladykiller here keeps it up!"
"I-uh… Right. So, anyways, none of you would happen to be able to fix this up, right?" I gestured to my currently useless shoulder.
" I suppose Ozpin is going to be interested in him, this is obviously why he sent us here" surmised the white one.
"so, thats a yes?"
the golden one walked up and playfully punched me in the good shoulder "yup, you're coming with us. I'm Yang, the quiet one is Blake, ice queen over there is Weiss, and the little red one is my sister Ruby, she's the team leader. now can you walk, or do I have to carry you?" she she asked with a playful grin on her face. Weiss was glowering behind her, while Blake and Ruby seemed to be amused with the developments.
"now this is backwards. aren't I supposed to be saving the beautiful damsel, not the other way around?" she laughed, the most beautiful sound I had heard since arriving here, wherever this is. It sounded delicate, like chimes in the wind. "Nope. come on, champ. We've got quite a walk ahead of us. let's go." She made it ten steps before realizing I had passed out.
"Geez, he's so weak. Like, is he so out of aura that he can't heal himself after one little beowolf cub?" Yang groused as she scooped up the limp form that was my body. "well we can't have you dying on us, now can we. Ozpin would be upset for sure." Yang looked at the other members who all wore large grins on their faces. "what 's so funny? We gotta get back to beacon *before* he bleeds to death, ya know." Ruby, Weiss, and Blake glanced at each other again, shrugging their shoulders at each other before Blake finally spoke up
"You're just being unusually delicate is all." Yang blushed and stuttered out "I-I just don't want him to die on me is all. now lets go, seriously. He's bleeding all over me." The group set off, Yang striding well ahead of the giggling trio.
When I awoke, it was well into the night already. Looking around, the cold sterile walls and the cloying odour of bleach confirmed I was indeed in a medical building of some sorts. I quickly confirmed that I had received medical aid, as my arm was bandaged up, although yellow ribbon doesn't seem like standard inventory for a bandage. Very confused, I looked around my ward, ascertaining not that I was in a new place, but that I was alone. Quiet snoring directed my attention towards the window, in which lay a figure that seemed familiar. clambering out of my cot, I gingerly stepped towards the dozing form. Hair that seemed to be spun from gold itself framed Yangs face. My breath hitched at the sight, I was rooted to the spot. Was she injured? Did something happen while she was bringing me… wherever I am?
I put my mind at ease when I determined no wounds on her. Gently easing her up, I lifted yang and placed her in my cot and covered her with the blanket. once I was satisfied that my rescuer was comfortable, I turned to the window couch and crashed right back into dreamland. morning came quickly with the sun rising in my eyes, blinding me. I rose from my slumber, quiet thunder rolling through my stomach. "Gotta find food. Food good. Hungry bad." I mumbled to myself. Finding a nurse, i had him direct me towards a personal kitchenette. Surveying my cozy fortress of food, I smirked. This would do just nicely.
"Yang still isn't back, I'm worried. She never misses a meal" Ruby fretted over a plate of cookies.
Blake quietly commented "She could still be watching over the strange boy we found in the forest last night. she did seem worried about him"
Weiss was too busy filing her nails to listen in. Ruby sighed "Yeah, I guess so. She'll catch up with us at class, then"
Nora, in her usual manner, blurted out "Aww, its so sweet! she stayed up saving him, and is probably making him breakfast in bed! its adorable! REN! why dont you ever do that kinda stuff?!" Ren just sighed and continued eating breakfast.
Weiss was apparently finished with her nails as she chimed in "Yang doesn't cook, don't be silly. remember when we went out for steak? She had hers raw, remember? Euch."
"I believe its called 'blue rare' and it is technically cooked." Blake interjected, chasing her eggs around the plate.
"Cooked how? They just wave the meat in front of the grill to scare it a little before slapping it in front of her. Honestly, I swear it was still crawling away when she devoured it." Weiss countered, a grimace spreading across her face. Ruby merely pushed her remaining cookie around her plate, not hungry anymore for some reason.
Yang arose in a zombie-esque state to the aroma of coffee and bacon. Sniffing the air, she struggled with gravity for a moment before sitting upright, not completely registering that she woke up a few feet from where she slept. shambling towards the scent of an excellent start to a morning, she gradually made it to the kitchenette in which I was performing culinary artwork.
"Oh good, you're awake. Eggs?" I said with a smile on my face. She looked confused by the question so I wordlessly dished up some scrambled eggs, perfectly golden hash browns, two large pancakes, and a large quantity of bacon. Sliding it down the table, I poured some coffee. "Do you drink coffee?" She wordlessly grunted, clearly not a morning person. Sitting down across from Yang, I passed the cup over to her. 'I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life, so I made breakfast." I'll take the fact that she was too busy inhaling her plate as a sign that she enjoys my cooking.
"you seem to be settling in well, all things considered" Yang spoke up, her plate devoid of anything resembling food. "I figured that you would be freaking out right now, didn't you say you needed to go home?"
I busied myself cleaning up the remains of breakfast, weighing her statement. "In all honesty, I haven't had time to freak out. Literally the first thing that happened to me is some freaky looking wolf thing tries to make my arm into hamburger, and then I'm meeting the four of you, then I'm here. Besides, I was planning on skipping town anyways. this just wasn't exactly what I had in mind." I finished my statement with a deadpan tone as I put the last of my dishes away.
Yang paused, her brow furrowing into a channel as she attempted to stare a hole through her plate. "I was supposed to tell you something, but I can't remember what it was…" She continued to stare until she abruptly stood up, crying out. "I REMEMBER! Ozpin wanted to meet you today, go talk to him when you get the chance." Yang stretched as she checked the clock, her eyes expanding to the size of teacups. "Oh crap, class is in five minutes I gotta go bye!" the fiery blonde yelled out as she sprinted out the door and down the hall.
I was left baffled by one question.
"What's an Ozpin?"