Oh hey, a new chapter of Past is Present! Well, not really. It's a little ditty taking place some month before the first chapter actually, detailing STRQ's first fumbling steps at Beacon.
The midnight-hued ponytail bobbed up and down under the young woman's kerchief as she made her way through the airship terminal in search of her younger twin brother.
I'll kill him. I swear to Oum I'll kill him when I find him.
Normally Raven Branwen put up with her moronic brother and his never-ending quest for his next juice box fix, but this time he was most definitely crossing a line. Why did he absolutely have to feel the need for some juice now of all time? The airship carrying freshmen to Beacon academy could be leaving any moment now, and if they weren't on board? Well, let's just say their mother Fíona Branwen would be even more livid than she was when Raven had left her with her husband (and the siblings much-beloved father) Dubhán to look for Qrow. Raven allowed herself a quick smile in remembering her father's strained expression as he attempted to calm his wife's nerves. Living in the four-man Branwen matriarchy sure could be a handful sometimes.
Raven was roused from her train of thought as she became aware of commotion up ahead.
"Why'd you throw your juice at me, bro? Want a fight?" an unknown voice shouted.
"It was an accident, 'bro'! Watch were you're walkin' next time and I promise you'll never collide with anyone ever again! And sure, I'll fight you if that's what you want!" Qrow. Raven immediately started to shove her way through the gathered crowd. Qrow was held aloft by the collar of his shirt by a fairly large, blonde boy, gripping the arm of his assailant and trying to kick free, legs swinging wildly. Beside the blonde aggressor stood a short, redheaded girl wearing a white cloak, frantically trying to get her friend to back down.
"Tai, it's not worth the trouble! You heard him yourself – it was an accident! Please just let him go…" All right, enough is enough.
"You heard her blondie, let him go." Tai glanced over at the rapidly approaching Raven, then turned his attention back to Qrow.
"Oh, who's this now? Not enough man to finish your own fights so you gotta call in your girlfriend?"
"I don't need your help to take this guy down sis, don't do anything!"
"… Not even girlfriend, but your sister? What are you, twelve?"
"Hey, I said I didn't want her help didn't I?" Suddenly the tension was broken by a loud slap.
"Taiyang Xiao Long, you let go of this boy this instant! It. Was. An. Accident." The short cloaked girl was repeatedly poking the blonde boy's chest as she spoke in a stern tone, punctuating every word with a jab of her index finger.
"But Sum, he ruined one of the only two shirts I've got packed for this week! You know my mom was going to send more clothes the day after tomorrow!" The blonde boy lowered his fist and dropped Qrow's collar.
"Ugh, fine. I'll just have to use the clean shirt two days in a row." Qrow straightened out his shirt as he shifted on his feet.
"Sorry 'bout the shirt man. You should really look where you're going though. The name's Branwen, by the way. Qrow Branwen. My surly twin sister over there is Raven." Raven annoyedly rolled her eyes as she gave a small wave.
"Really? Crow and Raven?" Tai blinked in astonishment.
"That's 'Qrow' with a Q, FYI." Tai made an exaggerated bow as he pointed towards his female companion in the cloak.
"Pleased to meet you, 'Qrow with a Q'. I am Taiyang Xiao Long and this is my long-time friend and neighbour Summer Rose." Summer flashed a bright smile as she was introduced.
"Nice to meet you Qrow, Raven." Qrow and Raven smiled politely back before turning around to leave. Just before turning the corner, Qrow turned around to face Tai and Summer one last time.
"So long, Xiao Long. Pleasure knowin' ya. Not." Qrow then made an obscene gesture with raised middle fingers before slipping around the corner to follow his sister back to their parents' location.
"What a total prat."
"Relax, Qrow. It's not like you'll ever see them again. Besides, what the heck were you thinking trying to start a scene like that?! What's wrong with keeping a low profile for once? Idiot." Qrow avoided a lazy swing of his sister's gauntleted fist as he walked.
"Eh, you'll be there to bail me out if I get in trouble." Raven sighed.
"One day that may no longer be the case."
"Getting a bit too fatalistic for my tastes there, sis."
"We're huntsmen trainees, Qrow. We'd be lucky if we live past 40."
"Trainees being the operative word. It's not like they're going to throw a bunch of freshmen into a Myrmidon nest without backup, right?" Qrow took a swig from his replacement special edition Valesian Grape/Mango juice box before continuing.
"We'll be right as rain."
Boarding the freshmen airship after a stern talking-to from their mother about not running off, Qrow and Raven took up a spot near the panoramic windows overlooking the world beneath them. After a while, Raven tapped Qrow's shoulder and nodded towards her back. Discretely following her indication, Qrow saw Summer hunched over a bucket, loudly heaving while Tai gently stroked her shoulder in sympathy. Qrow chuckled as he turned back forward, only to notice Raven was still looking back at Summer.
"Hey… Tai, was it? Is it motion sickness? Get her to the windows, she needs to get her bearings back." Tai blinked in shock before replying.
"Ah, yes. Thanks. Guess you're not as bad as your ass of a bro…" Raven nonchalantly put an arm in the way of Qrow.
"Tell me about it… down Qrow, let's not start another scene."
Tai slung one of Summer's arms over his shoulder and helped her over to the windows, all the while being scrutinised by Raven. Hmmm… Maybe he's not all bad after all…
Shaking her head free of her errant (and traitorous!) thoughts, Raven resumed looking out the window at the rapidly approaching Beacon Academy down below. As they docked, she gave her brother a pat on the back as she turned towards Tai and Summer.
"You go on ahead, I'm gonna see if she's all right."
"Eh, knock yourself out. Better yet, knock him out. See ya later, sis." Qrow hefted Nox Nigredinis onto his shoulder and walked off the ramp down to the airship terminal and disappeared in the crowd of first-years. Watching him go, Raven soon turned her attention back to Summer and Tai. Quickly closing the distance between herself and the pair, she knelt down before the shorter girl.
"Feeling better now, Summer?" the cloaked girl nodded weakly.
"Yeah, I'm still a bit wobbly-kneed, but-BLEAURGH!" Raven reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, quickly picking up a nearby bucket and holding it up for Summer, only getting a small amount of vomit on her combat skirt. Letting Summer grab hold of the bucket for herself, Raven put one hand on her shoulder and the other supporting Summer's right arm, instructing Tai to do likewise on the other side as they walked out from the airship and onto the pier of the terminal.
"There you are! What took you so long, the Headmaster is about to do his speech!" Qrow hissed under his breath as Raven, Summer and Tai took their place beside him in the main hall. As they spoke, a lanky, grey-haired man took the podium.
"So what really took so long, sis?"
"…in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new…"
"We figured running would only upset Summer's stomach more, so we took the scenic route to give her time to recover." Raven answered with a shrug.
"And I'm feeling much better now!" Summer said as she jokingly started to flex.
"…to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted…"
"Dust, this guy's gotta learn to emote. My ears are going numb just listening to him…"
"Stuff it, Qrow. Just listen to him a little bit longer. I'm sure he's done any minute now."
And on Raven's word, Ozpin's speech ended and he left the stage. In his place a young, black-haired woman stepped up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
As the four freshmen cleared out of the hall with the rest of the crowd, Summer excitedly turned to Tai.
"I can't believe we actually got to meet the Ashleigh Fall! She's like, super famous!" Tai just chuckled at his childhood friend's barely contained euphoria as he gently patted her shoulder.
"I don't think 'being in the same room as' counts as 'meeting' her, especially not in a crowd like thi-hey! Watch where you're going, moron!" Tai indignantly shouted after a large boy that bumped his way past the group and casually flipped Tai off before disappearing from view.
The group's bedding arrangements could not have worked out better in Raven's opinion. She had deliberately picked a spot by the narrow end, so that the dividing border between girls and boys (and by extension, Qrow) was as far away as possible. Beside her, Summer was already done with her sleeping bag and had moved on to sorting the rest of her luggage. As Raven started to pull out her own sleeping bag from her duffel, Summer caught a book that had been pushed upwards and out of the bag.
"No way, the latest Jenny Starpepper book? Mind if I have a look, I haven't had the chance to get my own copy yet…" Raven regarded the book for a moment.
Nuts. There goes my bedtime reading…
"Have at it, Summer. Just remember to return it when you're done."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Summer practically leaped at Raven, before Raven put up a hand to stop her.
"And please, call me 'Sum', everyone does." Raven smiled back before crawling into her sleeping bag.
"All right, 'Sum' it is. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Raven."
Just before Raven was about to shut her eyes and drift off into sleep, there was a loud crash on the boys' side of the room.
Nope. Do not want to know.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin began, taking a sip from his coffee mug as he spoke. Beside him on the cliff in front of the gathered students stood Miss Fall, coolly regarding each student in turn.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams.' Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."
Raven noticed a lot of her future classmates perking up at this. Ozpin took yet another sip of his coffee before continuing after Miss Fall.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."
Well duh.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Raven quickly glanced over her fellow students to gauge their reactions. Some were shocked, some were whining over 'impossible tasks', others were enthusiastically balling their fists and grinning.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" The large boy that had bumped into Tai earlier stepped forward and raised his hand.
"Yeah, here. Clancy Winchester. You mentioned 'landing'. What was that about?"
"Ah yes, excellent question. If you would all be so kind as to take your places at those plates over there, and we'll demonstrate. Mister Winchester, if you'd be so kind to take the one furthest right?" They all took their places on the silver plates, as Ozpin and Miss Fall stepped to the side.
"Mister Winchester, I trust you have no objections to going first?"
"What do you meaAAAAAAAAAH!" suddenly the springboard underneath his feet launched the young huntsman trainee high above the Emerald Forest. Raven crouched down on her springboard, gripping Umbrae Corvinus tightly in anticipation. On her left, Summer had similarly prepared herself, letting her twin chain-axes swing idly at ankle-height. A few moments later the boy next to Summer was sent flying, followed closely by a whooping Summer. Any second now…
Raven braced as an incredible force pushed her upwards, high into the air.
AN: Why can't I stop writing about Raven? xD
Maybe Tai should've packed a separate bag for spare clothes then.
That particular flavour is a limited release, thus why Qrow just had to bail on his family to purchase a sample and setting off this entire plot.
I must be really emphatic, I started heaving too as I wrote that. Poor Sum…
Yay, reusing old lines. :P (Remember that thing in Physics of Friendship about how Ozzie was recycling his inauguration speech?)
Yep, Glynda's predecessor as Ozzie's babysitter was none other than Cinder's mommy. Small world.
The Jenny Starpepper book series is awesome and you should google them immediately.
"Clancy" means "red-haired warrior".
I do not own RWBY, that's RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum.