It was a calm, windy afternoon in the prestigious combat school, Beacon Academy. Its headmaster calmly sips the coffee in his trademark mug and gazes out into the expansive forest in front of him atop the highest point on Beacon Cliffs, overlooking the Emerald Forest below.
It has been quite the few months for this interesting year. Not a single soul was lost in the Initiation and he's seen a couple of promising teams beginning to shine. Most exemplary of these teams were Team RWBY, led by the young prodigy Ruby Rose with her exemplary combat skill and surprising knack for leading despite being only fifteen years of age. Then there was the boy, Jaune Arc who impressed him despite his obvious lack of any combat skill and experience whatsoever.
Yes, he knows that the boy attempted to enroll with forged transcripts and was initially planning on break it down to him in person, but he saw a glimmer of potential within him when he lead the now other three members of his team, Team JNPR, with one of said members being the famous Pyrrha Nikos, the textbook perfect amazoness who has won 4 consecutive Mistral Tournaments. What Ozpin saw inside the young Arc when he did what he did back at initiation was a small ember. An ember that if nurtured correctly can grow to become a bright flame. And where else to nurture that potential within him than in the most prestigious combat school in all of Remnant.
Indeed, he will make Jaune Arc an example, an example that his school can train even the most inexperienced of students and turn them into the finest of hunters.
Ozpin takes yet another sip of his coffee as he continues to gaze out into the evergreen forest before him. It was all calm as any normal afternoon for the headmaster of Beacon. Well, other than the sounds of the multiple airships patrolling the skies above him.
To think that Jame's would bring in this much of the Atlesian military with him... He does like the protection and the air of safety it brings to his school and, by extension, Vale. Though it hasn't been that well to the once green pastures surrounding his school, with Beacon Cliffs being the last area close by Beacon that still has grass-covered earth.
"This seems to be yet another normal day.", Ozpin affirmed, taking one more sip of his coffee before deciding to return back to his quarters in the Beacon Tower.
That was until a sound he has never heard from echoed from the forest.
"Hmm?"
It was a faint but beastly howl, which Ozpin was able to hear. Turning back around to face towards the forest again he saw a few acres off from his postion to his left, a small patch of treeline was shaking violently, before slowly stopping as the roar weakened till it went completely silent. Is it a new Grimm? No, that's impossible. There hasn't been any new Grimm appearing in the Emerald Forest for decades, and the roar was not anything he has heard ever in his entirety as both a huntsman and a headmaster. From how it sounds it seems to be only one for now but who knows, it could be from only one from a pack of many. Whatever caused that sound, for Ozpin, was something that he could not ignore. Why?
The Emerald Forest is the best place for his initiation, and being unable to use it due to a new pest appearing and spreading chaos may cause troubles for future applicants in the later years, which means possibly forcing him to hold the initation elsewhere. Having to plan out these things and find some sort of compromise for next year's initiations will only add more into his already steep workload.
He cannot afford letting whatever it is run free.
Taking his scroll wit his right hand in haste without puttng down his cup of coffee, he calls over his closest companion.
"Glynda, I need you to arrange a flight over the Emerald Forest immediately. I seem to have found an unwelcomed guest enter that needs to be let out, with extreme prejudice if needed.", the headmaster ordered without hesitation, to which Glynda queried. "Will I be accompanying you, Ozpin?"
"No need, I believe I can handle this myself. Besides, I believe your still not done with the paperwork for the missions to be given to the students later this month?", then questioned the headmaster, to which the bespectacled huntress let out an exasperated sigh. "Hardly, the influx of these new missions have been a pain to sort over. Not only that, most of these are too dangerous for the new students to handle, so finding and then organizing them may take me more time than usual.", as she says this, the sounds of paper shuffling can be heard in the background.
"Also,", Glynda started, "you seem to be rushing this, Ozpin. Usually you wouldn't so much as bat an eye with any problems thrown at you unless it endangers your school or the students in any way."
It was then Ozpin's turn to sigh, "I suspect a new Grimm has appeared in the Emerald Forest, and I have a hunch that it may cause us problems in the future. So, rather than facing those problems I have decided to hunt it down.", Ozpin explained to Glynda who, after taking a short pause, answers, "Alright then, I'll send in an airship to pick you up courtesy from Jame's own military forces. Mind you that you may be asked in by him later on when his men inform him of what you are doing. Where are you right now?"
"On the highest point of Beacon Cliffs, close by where we launched our students into a dangerous forest filled with Grimm.", Ozpin semi-jokingly stated.
After a few minutes an small airship flew overhead before slowly descending, stopping right in front of the headmaster with only a few inches away from the cliffside.
In terms of design, the airship closely resembles a Bullhead but wider, colored white, and has two long rectangular windows on each side. The door of the flying ship is also different. Rather than a hatch closed by a sliding metal sheet, it was a small rectangular door like that of a house's but flips down to become stairs.
Ozpin calmly walks up to the flying contraption and gets onboard. Inside, the pilot of the airship calls over to the headmaster.
"Sir, where to?", he asks without so much as moving his eyes from the front-view window. Moving towards the front of the vehicle, he points towards the small area where he saw the leaves quivered earlier. With a "Sir, yes sir", the pilot pulls the airship towards the spot Ozpin pointed out and then puts the airship on hover, a couple of feet from the treeline.
"This is as far as I can go, sir.", informed the pilot to the headmaster who didn't seem to show any concern of. Then, to the pilot's surprise, the headmaster took one step out from the airship. The pilot was about to shout out to the headmaster but he quickly lands on a branch and decisively jumps down from tree branch to tree branch before finally taking one last drop down into the grassy soil below.
"Man, these hunters sure are crazy.", the pilot said to himself before leaving the area. Within a few seconds the sound of the airship's engine disappears, leaving only the sounds of the leaves of the trees and the grass below swaying in the wind. Ozpin didn't waste anymore time and began his search for the invasive beast.
Taking only a few steps away from where he landed, he was once again greeted by the wails of the unknown creature. Now that he in on the forest's floor, he can now definitely tell where the creature's roars are coming from.
However, as he heads straight towards the sounds of roaring from what he believes to be the beast, he is greeted by a pack of four Beowulves that pop right out in front of him. Ozpin quickly took a battle stance and prepared for them to pounce on him but was interested to find that instead of attacking him all at once like they usually do, they passed by him without so much as batting him an eye. From how they were rushing out from the bush, they were scared off from something.
"That is unnatural.", the headmaster uttered to himself in honest surprise. A Grimm would never leave a chance to attack a human. Perhaps it was because of the beast he is following that scared them, but he has never heard of a Grimm scaring another Grimm out of its general vicinity. That was when a grim thought popped in his head, 'This is no Grimm.'
The headmaster pressed on though, focused on finding the beast responsible for the roar earlier, the creature that threatens the future of his school. He will not deviate from his goal, and since being a huntsman puts him into these kinds of situations on a daily basis he is more that ready to take on whatever shows its ugly face to him.
So Ozpin continues on his trek on the forest's grounds, going deeper and deeper into the Emerald Forest, like a lion prowling for prey, to find the elusive creature. He walked for what may have been 10 minutes and covered probably a 100 feet of forest before the creature roared again, this time however Ozpin felt he is now close to it, very close. Close enough to see the leaves above shake and feel the force of the roar pushing on his chest. It is right practically in front of him now.
That was when he started hearing footsteps, then he started seeing the trees from faraway being pulled out of their roots and falling like dominoes, with the direction of these collapsing trees heading straight for him.
Ozpin was given little time to react when all of a sudden a monster, whose size easily towers over the Nevermore the young Rose decapitated whilst running up a cliffside, leaps right over his head, toppling down anything in its way like a bulldozer on nitrous. Ozpin instinctively created a green forcefield around him to protect him from the flying debris it was making in its wake before turning around to face it.
Ozpin stares the unknown creature as it wildly claws on the ground to brake itself into a stop. It was truly nothing that he has ever seen before.
The creature had a head akin to that of a dragon, with a humongous mouth that looks as if its hinges are loose. The monster had orange and blue striped scales covering its body, which are unlike the Grimm, who all have pure black fur or skin, with the only offsetting colors being white from the bony armor covering its hide and bloody red eyes and markings. The creature also had wings, judging by the flaps on its large and powerful arms with large claws on the ends, and a long tail.
It was a truly terrifying creature, something he has never seen in his lifetime until now. And then came its roar. A roar that could send a man into a desperate panic as it claws on the ground, running at full speed towards its target with its mouth wide open, like what it was doing right now as it targeted the headmaster.
Ozpin quickly dashed to his left, causing the creature to miss rather easily since it seems to be unable to steer sideways once it goes into its deadly charge. Well, that's one thing he now knows what to do when it tries to do that attack.
Thinking fast and with little time to spare before the creature attempts yet another charge, Ozpin takes his cane up and goes into a battle stance. Seeing the challenge, the beast roars at Ozpin before charging straight for him with all of its might.
"Come closer...", Ozpin mutters as he keeps hold of his stance, the ground trembling more and more as the creature closes in. "Just a little more..."
It took the creature only two seconds to close the distance between it and the headmaster and opens its mouth to as far as it can go, hoping to catch the small man in its mouth for a quick and easy meal.
But Ozpin is no ordinary man.
The headmaster quickly created the green forcefield again around him and the creature's mouth impacted the shield, its dagger-like fangs puncturing it but otherwise holding. Now with its mouth trapped, Ozpin releases the shield and sends a great amount of aura into his cane and blasts the monster's exposed mouth, causing it to gargle and collapse. The quick and decisive blow caused the beast to writhe in agony from the aura-enchanced attack straight to its mouth, wailing as it gasps desperately for air. Moving hastily, the headmaster took up his cane yet again and with another decisive strike to its skull with another aura-powered attack that knocks the beast out cold, silencing its cries and sending it to sleep.
Ozpin breathes heavily, exhausted from the ordeal. Using that much aura, even when you're highly experienced in the use of it, can still tire out even someone like him. But it is now over, well for the most part.
Taking a glance down towards the unconscious beast laying before him, Ozpin was unsure how to deal with it. Should he kill it? He has never seen such an animal like it before, having previously suspected being a Grimm. It was intriguing, as he never suspects an animal species like it to ever exist in Remnant, let alone find its way over here in the Emerald Forest. Should he call in Peter to cage it? No, it would be too dangerous that even he would acknowledge it. Should he just leave it here then, or a least move it away from the forest so that it'd leave? This was quite the conondrum for the headmaster.
Ozpin circled the beast for awhile, checking on its anatomy to see if he can relate it to any species on record. 'It has a head akin to that of the dragons depicted in fairy tales, has an anatomy similar to that of a bird combined with a reptile's but has the size of a freight truck...'
As Ozpin ponders on how he'll deal with the slumbering beast, he fails to notice a small creature creep up towards him from the bushes. A tiny paw grabs onto the fabric of his pants and tugs lightly, releasing the headmaster from his thoughts to bring his attention to the small creature below him, which startled the headmaster.
First thing that came to his mind when he felt that little tug on his pants was "Did I just made a rookie mistake?", but as he looked down towards whatever has taken hold of him he was glad to find it was just a cat.
'Wait, a cat?', then thought Ozpin, just realizing that a cat has found its way over in this Grimm-infested forest. Taking a closer look at the cat at his feet he noticed a few key differences that this feline has than with the usual household variety. For one it stood on two legs, and does so with no problem. For a normal cat, that would need training and getting used to. Another is that it's holding a tool on its right hand, a small pickaxe with the axe-head being a fang from some large animal.
The headmaster was quite intrigued with the small bipedal feline, capable of not only walking and having opposable thumbs like a human's, but to also use basic tools like pickaxes-
"Mye-llo, good sir. Can mew help give nya's directions?", kindly asked the small cat, its small paw still latched onto his pants. The headmaster didn't give a quick response, rather couldn't respond at all for a moment which prompted the cat to tug on the man's pants again and asking once more.
For any ordinary man witnessing a cat can not only walking on two legs and use tools, but also hearing them speak human language, they would be completely bewildered at the sight of it.
However, again, Ozpin is no ordinary man.
"Very intriguing...", Ozpin cooed as he kneels down to closely inspect the small upright feline. The headmaster was now fully outstanded by the feline and upon closer examination, despite its obvious feline characteristics, their body proportions are much like that of a human's like its arms, which are spaced out and function more like human arms rather than their more animalistic cousins. It even has opposable thumbs!
"Truly fascinating...", the headmaster muttered in awe at the humanoid cat. The feline also started to show a similar level of curiosity towards the towering human, albeit due to how he was oh so closely scanning him like how an Arzuros would stare at him, judging if he was worth eating or not. The two unknowingly spent a couple of minutes looking at eachother like this before a voice snapped the two back into reality.
"Spruce! Come back already!", called the childish voice of a little girl or that's what Ozpin believes. 'Wait, a little girl?', then thought the headmaster before the owner of the voice revealed herself as she pops out of the greenery from where the slumbering dragon jumped through.
Upon just glancing at the new stranger, Ozpin immediately confirmed that it was from a 'little' girl, and by little he means up to his knees at height. The little girl had dirty blonde hair and wore a blue and white dress with a tribal design on the front. Around her neck was a shroud similar to that of Ms. Rose's albeit shorter, colored white and lined with red and yellow diamonds (not actual diamonds mind you, simply diamond-shaped). Sitting atop her head were two furry cat ears that are of the same color as her hair at the base but gradients into a dark brown at the tips.
The moment she appeared, the humanoid cat quickly lets go of the headmaster's pants and rushed towards her like how a child would run up to her mother when they get seperated. The little girl embraced the cat in a wide hug, comforting the little one before turning her attention at Ozpin.
The little girl was quite startled upon seeing the tall headmaster, but then again its not normal for someone (especially her) to be in a place like the Emerald Forest, a place crawling with Grimm that could swarm and eat her at any moment. Being wary of the strange gentleman before her, she hesitantly greeted him with a bow.
The headmaster replied in kind to her gesture, bowing as well before introducing himself.
"Hello, my name is Professor Ozpin. The headmaster of the prestigious combat school, Beacon Academy.", proudly greeted the headmaster, his hand planting his cane in front of him before laying his off hand on his other.
"Greetings, mister headmaster. I am Nekojo, a wandering caretaker who roams across the lands, looking for any orphans that need help.", then introduced the little girl with another bow. Quite respectful, this little one is.
Just as she finished her introduction, the sounds of rustling started to emanate from the bush where Nekojo came from, and instinctively Ozpin took up his cane yet again. Prepared to fight once again.
Luckily however, no Grimm nor other unknown creatures came through. Well, unless a goat with a fur akin to that of a sheep is something Ozpin can identify as an unknown creature. The goat-sheep hybrid that pranced out of the shrubbery was a very small fellow, no smaller than the little girl. In fact she's around half Nekojo's height, who is already quite small.
After it, a larger goat-sheep appeared from the bush. Carrying on its back was what appears to be a bag- no, a house? Ozpin waited for the larger goat-sheep to fully emerge from the bush and indeed it was a house that it is carrying. A house styled to that of a cat's head from what he's seeing, evident by the shape of the house, the painted features of eyes as swirls and whiskers as three lines on the side, and the large ears on top. On the left side, an opening round opening was there, which was currently being covered by a red cloth connected at the top with a rope ladder going down from the small opening. Hanging on the back was what appears to be a single green helmet.
Nekojo pats the smaller goat-sheep, which made it bleep in joy before gesturing the cat to return to the portable home. The walking feline nodded at this, and without hesitation dashed right in.
Turning her gaze back at the man, she just noticed the large limp body of a large flying reptile behind him. Ozpin notices this, and calmly assured her, "Do not worry. The creature is currently unconscious."
"Quite impressive of you, headmaster Ozpin, to have taken down such a fierce monster.", congratulated the little girl. "You must be quite strong and skilled to have quickly handled a Tigrex and knock it unconscious without the need of a tranquilizing agent.", shen then followed, which peaked the headmaster. She seems to be smarter than she looks and knows the creature's name. Maybe he should ask her later. For now, he is starting to get rather uncomfortable due to just realizing how silent it has been in the forest. He fears that the creature- Tigrex was it?- may suddenly awaken from its slumber and attack them, and with how the little girl has cargo with her, it will make protecting her difficult. And that's not even adding in the factor that the Grimm can attack at any moment. Its a good thing that there aren't any, which may be thanks to the giant dragon running rampant.
"Well, I would love to ask you some questions regarding the cat you're taking care of but for now would you be interested to come with me to my school? It is but above that cliffside and much safer than this Grimm-infested forest.", the headmaster urged, pointing at the cliffside on the otherside of the forest. Taking his scroll he quickly makes a call to Glynda to fetch him out, giving her his coordinates with the help of a GPS system inside his scroll.
"Now then,", Ozpin then started, turning back his attention towards the little caretaker. "Who is that feline companion accompanying you? It isn't normal to find a household pet being able to speak human language, walk on two legs and make use of tools.", he asked Nekojo, who quickly answered.
"He is called a felyne.", upon uttering her answer to the headmaster, the felyne from earlier popped its head out from the opening, along with three more of his kind. Then, another felyne popped up, this time at the top which apparently also had an opening, as well as the other side, which seemed to have a window that Ozpin didn't see until now.
"They are part of a race of humanoid creatures called Lynians who are pretty much like humans, except being smaller and more feral, I guess.", she explained, which intrigued the Professor even more about them.
"There are two more known Lynians, but those I'm not that knowledgeable about. I only know felynes and melynx, the latter being a fellow subspecies of the former. Oh, by the way, the felynes are identified by their white hair while the melynx are the opposite, having black hair as well as being more mischievous and a habit of stealing things they see interesting.", she then further clarified, which only made the headmaster even more intrigued, since she explained that they are part of a species, with two more of the Lynians existing.
Upon Nekojo finishing her lecture about the felynes, the all too familiar sound of an airship's engine roaring could be heard coming towards them. "I see that our ride has arrived.", said Ozpin as the airship slowly came into view. Nekojo couldn't help but 'wow' in awe at the airship. She has frequently seen these flying contraptions fly overhead many times whenever she's traveling around, but this is the first time she has ever ridden one and the simple thought of it excited her.
Thanks again to the slumbering dragon, a large area of trees that once inhibited the pilot to drop down any further has all been taken down and enables the pilot to lower his ship till it was but a feet off the ground.
Ozpin gestures the little girl to go first, which she accepts with a nod before calling upon the two sheep-goats to come to her, which they did. She first took the smaller of the two in her arms before walking into the contraption's hull. Next was the larger one, which took a few minutes to finally get ondboard since it kept getting frightened by to the airship's motions. Once it finally got on board the headmaster then followed, taking a few steps in and gave the pilot the signal to lift off.
Now in the air, Nekojo quickly looked out the window closest to her, not bothering to sit down so that she could see the world outside from above. The scenery was breathtaking, the lush green sea of treeline expanded out only to be stopped by a steep cliffside, and above that was a marvel of architecture if she's ever seen one. It looked like it was a castle for a noble- no royal family! It was quite large and it was situated in the middle of the elevated land with a pathway to another cliffside on the other side that leads into a large lake. She could also barely see the city, her initial destination to rest up and eat.
"That is my school.", Ozpin said behind her, who was also looking out of the window.
"That is your school?", the little girl asked, repeating what the professor had said in disbelief.
"It is a combat school. A special type of school that aims to train the next generation to become battle-ready hunters. Trained in the art of fighting the Grimm, and taught to become wiser and more prepared to battle against these beasts, students who are taught, or have graduated, from these kinds of schools are people who are responsible for protecting the kingdoms, its citizens, from the ever-present threat that is the Grimm." Ozpin explained to the little girl, who responded with a "Ooh..."
"In fact, my school is acknowledged for being the most prestigious of combat schools in the whole of Remnant.", he then added, a proud smile forming on his face. Nekojo saw a glance of it and chuckled softly.
"You seem quite prideful of saying that, mister headmaster.", Nekojo commented, not taking her eyes away from the view in the window. "Well I am its headmaster. You can't help but be proud of your school's reputation .", Ozpin replied.
The two went silent after this, continuing to look outside and take in the sights, then they started hearing cat 'meows' and 'nyas' beside them.
The two quickly changed their attention from the window to their left, and saw that the felynes had all went out for some sightseeing themselves. Nekojo giggled when she saw this, watching her felynes marvel at the view from above. She can't really blame them. This is their first time inside an airship along with herself.
She did notice that their was a few less felynes in the group that were sticking their heads onto the window, two to be exact, but quickly found them doing their own thing: roaming around the ship's interior and investigating anything they find interesting. Felynes, like normal cats, are born curious of the world around them.
"They seem to be having fun.", Ozpin quipped, sipping on his seemingly neverending coffee mug again. The felynes reminded him of children in a mall. He finds it quite adorable.
That was when they started playing around with the equipment inside the airship.
"Hey wait, don't play with that!", warned Nekojo at the felyne holding a parachute and trying to pull the release ripcord at the side before running after it to stop it from doing so. She gave the felyne a quick scolding about not touching things willy-nilly but failed to realize the other felyne trying to push a tab that opens the door of the airship. Luckily she was able to stop it when she glanced back to check on the other one. Unfortunately, once her attention leaves the felyne she scolded earler, it immediately went to annyo the pilot, who screamed wryly at the talking cat and almost losing control of the ship. The scene of the little girl trying to keep control of the two troublemakers like a mother with her troublemaking kids greatly amused the headmaster, so he watched her struggle to maintain control over the two.
Though he watched in utter amusement at the antics of his newfound guests were creating, he still was far more interested at the knowledge they hold. Important knowledge that may be from way back before the day humanity wiped out all sources of recorded history. The existence of the felynes, that Tigrex he faced back at Emerald Forest, these creatures that the world never knew existed, nor would ever imagine existed, appeared before him with the former being here and playing around while the latter is unconscious in the Emerald Forest.
The headmaster had too many questions for the little girl before him, but decided to ask these once they reached his school.