Legends—stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that they are remnants—by products of a forgotten past.
Man, born from dust, was strong, cunning, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction, the creatures of Grimm, set their sights on main and all of his creations. These forces clashed and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void; however, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change.
And in time, man's stubbornness, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led t hem to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named "dust." Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.
But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone… darkness will return. So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so called "free world," but take heed. There will be no victory in strength.
… But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten—things that require a smaller, more honest soul. . . .
It had been several weeks since the young woman in black and white had arrived in the city of Vale. For the most part, she spent her time either wandering the streets or sitting in cafes and parks reading a novel. On this particular day she had chosen to wander the streets. Her books had grown dull lately, but that was bound to happen once they were read a hundred times over. She needed a new book, but so far she had been unable to find anything that interested her. So to the streets she went.
Passing by a group of people who seemed to resemble her own age, she heard bits and pieces of their conversation. She never meant to eavesdrop, but her hearing was better than most and as such, she often wound up hearing things she didn't quite mean to. She tried ignoring them, knowing that they were probably just going on about some band or tween drama—something she wasn't interested in or cared for much. But the group was gathered at the corner of a street crossing and as she waited for the light change, she found it increasingly difficult to completely ignore them the longer she waited. Unknown to her, the light was broken and walkers had been carefully judging when it was safe to cross for the past couple of days.
"My cousin got in. He said it wasn't that hard. He's even giving me tips on how to pass the exam," remarked one young man proudly, as if he had been the one who had gotten accepted.
"Sweeet! Think you could pass them along to me?" asked the guy standing next to him, presumably a friend of his from the way they were talking.
"Ooo, me too! Me too!" chirped several others around them.
"Yeah, sure. Just, ya know, come over to place tomorrow."
"When?" inquired a girl, her voice a little calmer and less brainwashed than the others. Her simple question seemed to kill the mood and the guy who had previously been the center of attention, turned around to face her. "Well, when should we come over? I'm going to take the tutoring lessons they're going to offer," she demanded, explaining herself. A rustle of movement made her believe the girl was pointing to something.
"Uh… I dunno, later?" he answered, not giving it much thought.
Slowly, a few others took a few steps away from him and murmured various things like "Oh yeah, me too." Or "I forgot, I'm busy." Still, a handful of others remained next to him. Before long, the group had dispersed and gone their separate ways.
Curious, she turned around to look back behind her, wondering if there was anything on the wall. There was. So the girl from before had probably been pointing to this when she heard her moving. Seeing as the light wasn't changing any time soon, she walked up to the flier and inspected it.
Beacon Academy entrance exams—one week away! Get your own, special, private lessons now! Fees as little as 20 Lien a session! You too could become a famous Hunter or Huntress!
Upon further investigation, she found a postscript about various other things that would be necessary or highly recommended, making the fees come up to something along the lines of 100 Lien or more a lesson if she was doing her math right. She shook her head lightly. Only an idiot would actually pay for these lessons. She didn't doubt it for one second that it was just a rip off.
Still… the group from before had certainly seemed interested and excited about it. Come to think of it, she had heard the word beacon being mentioned several times within the past week or two that she had been here. She had always assumed it was just some local monument or landmark or something. Apparently beacon was a school, a well-known and high level combat school it seemed.
For a split second she humored herself with the idea of applying and taking the entrance exams. School. The thought sounded so silly she couldn't help but laugh a little. Right. Like I'd ever be in school. Looking away from the ad, she saw someone crossing the street despite the light not changing and hurried to cross over herself. It wasn't until she was on the other side that she realized the light was broken. Oh.
A few days since then, the young woman found herself wandering the streets of Vale once more. She had had nightmares the past couple of nights and was mostly looking for a way to get over it, or at least stop thinking about it so much. If she was being honest with herself, it wasn't really nightmares per se, but just reliving a particular event that had happened weeks ago. It was as if some part of her actually regretted it, but in her heart, she knew that if given the chance to redo it all, she'd do it again anyway.
Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that she had climbed aboard an airship heading to Beacon Academy. Her first time seeing it was definitely breathtaking with school by the cliffs and rivers running around it, cascading into the ocean and plenty of forests around with mountains rising up to the west. The blue skies and soft, fading white clouds made the place seem like something straight out of a fairytale.
As they neared the school itself, she admired the orderly state the school was in despite being surrounded by nature. The school didn't exactly mesh into the environment, but it didn't stand out a like sore thumb either. Distinctly man made, but elegant and following a color scheme that meshed well with the surroundings.
The airship soon landed and she was left wondering what to do. The airship would undoubtedly be making its way back to the City of Vale soon. She could just stay on the airship and wait it out… or she could get off and take a look around. It didn't seem to be an issue for you to just look even if you weren't a student since she could hear some of the people from yesterday getting off and boasting about how they'd be living in Beacon for the next four years.
Before she knew it, her feet were moving of their own accord. Seeing as she had no plans, she figured she may as well go along with it. Having gotten off much later than everyone else, she was left standing alone at the platform, but this didn't deter her. Taking a moment to collect herself, she finally stepped forward and began to explore Beacon Academy. In the end, she found herself in what she presumed to be the school's gardens.
There were few people here and it was quiet too. Settling herself underneath the shade of one of the many trees present, she leaned back against the trunk and closed her eyes. She let her mind go blank and tried to relax. But her thoughts strayed and eventually settled on that event weeks ago. Irritated, she almost got up to find something else to preoccupy herself, but in the end she decided she might as well address it here and now. It wasn't like she could keep running away from it anyway. Sooner or later, she'd have to accept what she had done… whether it made her feel any better or not.
He had been out scouting the area and making preparations, like he always did. Even though they were partners, he often wound up in the lead and taking charge. She didn't complain much though. He was serious about his job and did it well. There were few mistakes and hardly any casualties when he was in charge. Sure, he got them into difficult situations at times, but never anything they couldn't handle. It was little wonder why he had climbed the ranks within White Fang so quickly: he was skilled, produced results, precise, and charismatic to some degree. And she trusted him with her life, as he did with his. They'd been partners for nearly five years now, and they had been together even before then.
She wasn't quite sure what her feelings were for him. Did she love him? Yes. She did. But as a brother or something more? That she couldn't figure out, and was perhaps even afraid of finding out. It was a subject that never came up between them despite the rumors and talk going about back at base. And yet some part of her was sure that he too had questioned the depths of their relationship at some point.
Waiting for him, she was sitting on top of an outcropping of rocks in Forever Fall Forest. The scenery was beautiful. A part of her wanted to just sit there and relax, enjoy nature, take a break. The wind running through her hair and the soft, gentle falling of the red leaves was a nice break from her usual routine. But a greater sense of duty fired up within her as she sensed him getting closer to the clearing. Their mission was about to start.
She didn't approve of what the White Fang were doing… but time and time again, she had reasoned that since he was a part of the leading council, nothing truly bad would ever happen. But lately, that naïve thought had begun to dwindle more and more with each passing mission.
The violent acts the White Fang put on had been nothing more than scare tactics early on. But somewhere along the lines, blood had stained their claws. The gentle, peaceful Faunus image they had worked so hard to establish had quickly been destroyed. Humans already viewed them differently, assuming they were dangerous because they shared some traits similar to the creatures of Grimm or animals in general. Now they had all the reason in the world to label them as dangerous, aggressive hybrids one step away from turning into Grimm.
She didn't quite know what she wanted out of this mission or what would happen, but there was one thing she needed to know. Had he forgotten what they were fighting for, and why? Maybe he was misguided too, but if there was still reason for her to believe in him, then maybe... maybe she could bear with it a little longer. Maybe, just maybe, the violent acts were all a phase.
"Blake," he uttered. She wanted to ask him straight out here and now, but the urgency in his voice was clear. He was in mission mode. And talking to him in mission mode was like talking to a rock. "It's time."
Her head turned to face him, nodding just slightly. "Okay." And then they were off, running through the forest, barely making a sound. She remembered when they used to do this for fun—running around in the forest. How the times had changed. It wasn't long before they reached the edge of the forest. In the distance they could easily hear the train coming. They stood waiting, watching. The only sign that they were there was a crow they had scared taking off amidst a series of cawing.
The movement he moved, she moved. They slid down along the cliff, weapons at the ready, and then jumped, easily landing on top of the train, using their weapons as an anchor. Running along the top of the train, they made it to the next carriage. With a quick draw, he cut through the locks on the hatch, easily opening it up and fearlessly dropped down into the car.
"Looks like we're going to be doing this the hard way," he commented as she landed next to him. The both of them had landed on infrared lasers and trigged the robotic guards, AK-130 Androids from the look of it.
One quick glance told her that it was nothing they couldn't handle. "Don't be so dramatic," she replied, a faint whisper of a smile playing at her lips. She knew that he knew the androids were no match for them. Red lightning soon lit up the train car and the two of them prepared to deal with the androids. As always, he had one hand on Wilt, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.
One of the androids stood out from the rest, his arms shifting into gun form—machine guns from the look of it. "Intruder. Identify yourself," it warned, his arms pointed straight at them.
While she kept an eye on the other androids around them, he stood up straight and sent Wilt flying at the android's head with a shot from Blush. Shortly after Wilt had rebounded off of the android's head, he had already moved forward to grab hold of the blade and sliced through the robot's body and head with two quick and precise slices before sheathing Wilt.
It was then that the other androids began to move, their arms shifting into swords and rushing towards her after taking a brief moment to look at one another as if to confirm their strategy despite being robots. To her eyes, they were moving slow, almost so slow it didn't seem real, but years of experience told her otherwise. With a brief glance to acknowledge the droids behind her, she bent her knees and promptly propelled herself backwards with a little help from her Semblance. Gambol Shroud easily cut the two droids apart.
As she moved forward, she kept an eye on which droids her partner was targeting and positioned herself to cover him. Even while he was drawing Wilt, she jumped into the fray and took apart another droid while he dealt with one himself by using Wilt to first slice apart the droid or push it away and then firing a few rounds with Blush. Their fighting style worked in the sense that he tended to be stationary, expertly using quick draws and small bursts of gunfire to subdue his enemies as well as drawing their attention onto him while she dashed in and out with her speed and flexibility, using her Semblance when necessary, to either cover his back or disorient the enemy.
Less experienced pairs couldn't fight in such close quarters like this without hurting each other, but the two of them had worked together for so long that they knew each other's moves and range inside and out. There was a certain level of trust between them that allowed for them to operate without fear of hurting each other or worrying about getting in each other's way. Nor did they have to wait and take turns to make up for each other's abilities. They worked flawlessly together in a tight circle despite the limited room and being surrounded and outnumbered.
It was as if they knew each other's thoughts before the other did, like they were calling out to one another about what to do and what to watch out for without actually needing to speak. "Mine," he would say. "I've got your back," she'd answered. "I need a breather." "I've got you covered." "Watch out." "I know." "Two more." "One more." "Good job." "Nicely done." All this was expressed in each swing of the blade, every shot fired, each step, and every backflip.
They took a moment to collect themselves as the number of AK-130s had dwindled considerably, many of them lying in pieces on the ground. One of the droids switched into gun form and immediately fired down the carriage. She moved out of the way as he deflected most of the shots with Wilt, shifting the droid's focus onto him and allowing her to get a handle of the bullets' movements and swiftly move through the rain of bullets to subdue the gunner. She promptly proceeded to deal with the rest of the droids behind the gunner, linking all of her attacks with quick, precise slices and dual wielding Gambol Shroud by using the sheath as well.
With the last droid, she took care to toss it into the air with a series of back kicks. When she landed, he had caught his breath and promptly high kicked the droid into the back door hard enough to knock the door off its hinges. They wasted no time in exiting the car and moving onto the next platform. "Let's do this," he said as more AK-130s showed up, coming forward from the cart ahead. She only needed to take one glance to know what he was thinking. His words weren't needed.
Moving forward, he struck out at the two lead robots with Wilt, knocking them into the air. She followed through with his attack, having already jumped into the air before he had knocked them up. With a few slices from Gambol Shroud, the robots were easily subdued. The rest quickly arrived. Without a moment's hesitation, she sent Gambol Shroud out in sickle and chain formation, occasional gunshots being fired due to the chain being a reinforced ribbon tied to the trigger of Gambol Shroud and linked back to her arm.
On the wide, open platform, she could use Gambol Shroud to its full extent. Now it was her turn to be more stationary, controlling Gambol Shroud with the black ribbon and easily hitting the droids despite them being some distance away. And it was his turn to move in and clean up as necessary. It didn't take long to clear out the droids loosely surrounding them.
The moment they had, he moved forward to deal with the next group of androids through a series of quick draws. Most of the robots had been destroyed before they knew what hit them. But not all and she quickly moved in to finish off the ones he had missed or been unable to hit before they could react.
Moving on, they sliced up the next round of AK-130s using various forms of Gambol Shroud and combinations of Wilt and Blush. Lone droids were usually swiftly dealt with while closely packed groups tended to be tossed up into the air by one or both of them and then finished off with sickle and chain Gambol Shroud and quick draws with Wilt.
Just for the hell of it, she tossed the last droid back to him with a kick and with some fancy handiwork, he swiveled Blush around and took aim from behind, without so much as a glance, he pulled the trigger and ended the fight.
Entering the next car, they exchanged glances for a moment. "Show off." He merely looked away. "What? You started it." But they quickly focused on the mission at hand and moved ahead to check the contents of the cargo in the car. Opening up one box with the Schnee Dust Company insignia, he gave out the next set of orders. "Perfect. Move up to the next car," he ordered, closing the lid. "I'll set up the charges."
"What about the crew members?" she pleaded, genuinely concerned for them and taking the brief moment of peace as a chance to find out if he had changed for the worse.
"What about them?" he questioned, clearly not caring whether the crew members were injured or not.
She looked away from his gaze as he turned his attention to the strange noise that had filled the air, likely signifying another battle about to come their way. He likely hadn't seen her crestfallen face. Her worse fears had been realized. It wasn't that he had been forced to go along with what the other White Fang leaders wanted, as she had always theorized and argued for when doubts came up, he too agreed with their ideals of instilling fear and violence to get what the Faunus deserved. "Adam," she started, mostly in warning as he stepped forward to meet the Spider Droid, but her voice fell onto deaf ears.
The spider gathered energy for a shot and released it at them. Adam easily dodged them and she moved forward while dodging the shots with some difficulty. Arm out-raised with Gambol Shroud, she jumped up to strike it, but was easily deflected and fell to the ground. While she struggled to get back up on her feet, Adam rushed forward and through a series of quick draws, attracted the spider's attention a little longer before landing on the ground and getting kicked back and evading a few barrages of energy shots.
She had just about recovered when the spider focused its attention on her again. She would have likely been hurt or crushed if Adam hadn't rushed back into pick her up, quickly sweeping her up in his arms and running towards the door ahead. Back on her own feet and relatively safe now, she told him "We need to get out of here." But he wasn't listening and had already prepared to engage the spider droid again. For once their teamwork and communication had been disrupted. Their smooth, flawless, teamwork from before seemed impossible at this point.
The spider had gathered energy for another shot and sent a direct blast their way. If it wasn't for their Aura protecting them, they would have likely died from the blow, but as it was, they were merely pushed out onto the next open platform. The connection between them being broken, further confirmed when they had to audibly exchange tactics. When he ordered her to buy him some time, she couldn't help but ask "Are you sure?"
"Do it!" he confirmed, already taking up a stance in preparation.
With another slight nod, she immediately moved out to do as he had asked, or rather, ordered. Her movements were less jerky this time around and her attacks actually landed as she intended for them to. Using sickle and chain Gambol Shroud, she grabbed hold of the droid and launched herself into the air and quickly dealt damage to the droid by guiding Gambol Shroud with the ribbon once more before quickly shifting to the katana and its sheathe to deal more concrete damage. Use of her Semblance came in very handily this time around and more than likely helped her escape taking any serious damage. Firing Gambol Shroud several times directly at the spider's head, she moved back to Adam's side through a couple of back flips.
"Move!" he ordered as the spider droid charged up energy for another shot. She quickly moved back, having an idea of what move he was going to pull this time around. When the shot went off, she was long gone and Adam unsheathed part of Wilt, absorbing the incoming blast. With a small laugh, he quickly drew Wilt as the droid jumped in to finish him off; however, he destroyed it before it could with the same massive energy the droid had just tried to use to finish him off with.
Sheathing Wilt, he ran to catch up with her, slowly coming to a halt as he realized what she was about to do and reached out to her with his free hand. "Goodbye," she said quietly, turning to face him head on and giving him a proper goodbye. With one fell swoop from Gambol Shroud, she severed the carriages containing the cargo from the rest of the train.
The flood of emotions threatening to overcome her made her quickly open her eyes and stand up. The blood rushed to her head then and made her dizzy and disorientated. It was enough to get her mind off the matter for a split second and that was all she needed.
"You're not one of our students." She looked around to see who it was, surprised she hadn't been able to sense or hear them. Maybe she had been too absorbed in her memories to notice. It was rare that she was caught completely off guard, even when going up against others who matched or went above her skills. "May I help you?" he asked, an older man standing on the stone crosswalk.
Blake shook her head lightly, hoping that would be the end of it. But the man remained where he was. "… I… was actually thinking about applying," she offered since it looked like the man wasn't going to move and she didn't actually know if she was allowed to be there or not. She did not need the police on her case right now.
The man seemed to ease up. Did he think I was going to cause trouble or something? "I see. Well, are you?" he questioned.
"I… don't know," answered Blake honestly. The thought may have crossed her mind every now and then since discovering the ad and learning about the entrance exam, but she hadn't done any further research to find out if there were any other requirements or even where the exams were held, let alone the exact time. "I'm new to Vale," she added as an afterthought, not sure if that would make him more or less wary of her.
It appeared to be the latter as he nodded knowingly. "You must have a lot of questions then. I might have the answers you seek." He waited for her to say something, but when she didn't, he did instead. "What do you know about Beacon Academy?"
A part of her wanted to give some kind of excuse so that she could slink away, but that same part of her knew that if she did so, she'd go right back to thinking about Adam and the day of the train robbery. "Not much, actually."
"Ah, that makes it easy for me then," he replied, mildly amused. "Beacon Academy is one of elite combat schools in the kingdom of Vale. As such, we have a relatively rigorous entrance exam. We only take on the best and only the best of the best manage to graduate in four years."
"… I heard the exams were difficult. Are they really that hard?" asked Blake, beginning to open up just a little. The man before her seemed nice enough and didn't appear to have any ill intentions. He was giving her his full attention and taking care to explain things to her in a brief, but informative way. He was probably one of the teachers at Beacon.
The man before her stroked his beard lightly, considering her question. "Hmm. As a teacher, I can't say it's difficult… but to most applicants they find it challenging. This is probably because the written exam is short answer and based around hypothetical situations for the most part rather than concrete equations and answers. Should I explain more?"
Blake shook her head. "You're one of the quieter ones aren't you?" She wasn't sure how to react to that. "It's alright," he chuckled. "I've had my fair share of students. The quiet ones are the ones you need to watch out for. They've usually got a good head on their shoulders," he praised. She recognized the praise and nodded a little. "Mmm. There's a physical part to the exam. Asides from checking your physical capabilities, we usually ask you to run through a course for us. We use a combination of both results to determine if you qualify to join. There are different types of tests too… but since you're unfamiliar with the Vale, I'm assuming you come from the Wildlands?"
"… Yes. Not everyone grows up in the kingdoms," she answered. It was a half-truth if anything.
"Ah, I thought so." He saw her questioning eyes and quickly explained himself. "You have this air around you that speaks for itself. You're also very guarded and quick to assess the situation, looking for targets and exits. I suspect you're also quick to judge and gauge the situation, ranking it somewhere between safe and dangerous. You take care to choose battles you have a chance at winning. That isn't something you pick up as a habit growing up in the city. And you apparently deem me more safe than dangerous. It's the only reason why you're still here talking to me, isn't it?"
This man was dangerous… but not an enemy. She was beginning to think that even if she had been at her best she might not have noticed him approaching. "I… was wondering how you knew," she replied, blatantly refusing to give up more details on her background. She was getting a handle on him, and so far, she liked him. A tiny part of her even suspected that even her fellow White Fang members would like him if they ever got the chance to meet him.
He seemed to acknowledge it though and didn't press for details. "Yes, so this type of exam will likely be the one you aim for. There are certain forms you have to fill out prior to taking the exams though. These are mostly things like parental consent, a home address, how you'll pay for tuition, fees for the exam itself, and the like." He raised an eye at her. "But you don't have parents, do you?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Blake slowly nodded anyway. "A legal guardian?" Another shake of the head. "Mmm… well, something can still be arranged if you're interested. We do offer scholarships and various programs for those that can't afford the tuition, but can get in; although… paying the fees for the exam will still have to be covered on your own."
She thought it over, seriously thought it over, for a few minutes. The strange man before her didn't seem to mind though and looked away, as if taking in his surroundings for the first time. If she did go to school—the very idea of it still seemed humorous to her—then she'd be going to a combat school. Violence wasn't something she liked or enjoyed, but it was, undeniably, something she had become good at and was a part of her whether she liked it or not.
The only difference was that Beacon was teaching its students to fight off the Grimm while the White Fang taught their acolytes how to kill humans. Grimm didn't have souls. They were aggressive and violent by nature. Humans (and Faunus) were aggressive and violent by choice. If she became a, what did Humans call it, Huntress?—then she'd be protecting Humans… and Faunus.
If she did become a Huntress, then Humans would see her as a hero to some extent, wouldn't they? In turn, wouldn't it also mean that would be less quick to judge Faunus since she was one too? She had vowed that she would help her people in her own way. The right way. Wouldn't this fall under that? She bit her lip lightly in thought, a habit she herself was unaware of. She tried to imagine herself as something else, anything else, but she couldn't. She had too much blood on her hands as it was, even if it was indirectly, and all she really knew was how to fight. There was the option of the military or police… but that also implied having to fight Humans and Faunus. A Huntress was supposed to protect the world, mostly from Grimm, but also from Humans or Faunus who had gone astray. Didn't it fit the bill perfectly? Too perfectly, small voice inside of her whispered, but she ignored it.
"I… can cover the exam fee. How expensive is tuition?" she asked tentatively. She didn't like to owe people. And even though she had left Adam and the White Fang with little more than the clothes on her back and Gambol Shroud in hand, she had managed to make some cash legally to get her a small, rundown apartment and set up a bank account. The number he gave out made her pale instantly. "W-What kind of programs do you offer?"
He stroked his beard again. "Mmm. They vary depending on the situation. In your case, I believe if you pass the exams, you'd either be given a full ride or entered into a service program, the service program seems far more likely though," he added as an afterthought. "The exact service you provide will vary, but will usually be suited to your skills or interests and you will have several different options to choose from. Some of my students have been in the program. They managed to do quite well and graduate in the top of their class. The things you will be asked to do could be as simple as washing dishes or as a difficult as rounding up Grimm for in class use."
Blake nodded at this, even though she saw rounding up Grimm as the easier of the two tasks. "What about that thing with parental consent? My parents… are dead… and I live on my own." Again, a half-truth. She didn't actually know if her parents were dead or not, she had simply never met them.
"Mmm. You're 17 though, correct?" he asked, looking her over briefly. She nodded. "Then it'll be fine. You're technically still a child until you turn eighteen; however, we have had students enter before without parental consent despite their parents being very much alive and very much against the idea of their children enrolling in Beacon. It shouldn't be of too much concern. Anymore questions, young lady? I'd be happy to answer them, but I believe the last airship of the day is about to depart."
It was then that Blake realized how late it had gotten. She started to apologize for taking up so much of his time and being a bother, but he raised a hand out as if he already knew what she was thinking. From one the many folders pinned between his burly body and thick arms, he pulled out several sheets of paper and handed them out to her.
After a moment's hesitation, she walked up to him and took them. "These are the registration papers. Normally, you want to fill them out ahead of time and mail them in; however, seeing as the exams start tomorrow, you may want to hold onto them. All you have to do is fill in the forms to the best of your ability and show up for the exam. We usually have extra seats for last minute applicants so long as they complete the form beforehand. The exam starts tomorrow at 10:00 AM in one of our lecture halls. Please board an airship and arrive on time to be escorted there. If you arrive early, please wait at the front gates or be there close to 9:45. I look forward to teaching you, you lady."
"Ah… thank you," murmured Blake, not sure of what else to say. She had never met a Human as kind as him before. Granted, in the past she was a known Faunus or a Faunus supporter once she took to hiding her identity and she hadn't come into contact with Humans much since five years ago. It wasn't until she had boarded the airship that she realized she ought to have asked for his name, but she figured if she got in, she'd look for him and properly introduce herself and sincerely thank the man. He might very well have helped to get her started on a path of redemption.
Whew. Well that was a rather long chapter. T_T I'm sorry. I just now noticed its ~10 pages. Should I break this up into two chapters...? I don't plan on the next one being as long...
I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.
And now the author's notes. You may skip this if you wish! I'm sure your eyes could use a break by now. I am mainly going to use this at the end of chapters to explain some problems I ran into, things I thought about doing but didn't end up happening, and so forth. Generally, what went on while I wrote the chapter. They may be long or they may be short. It all depends on what issues I faced while writing each chapter.
Anyway, if you are still reading... (This is going to be one of the longer ones.)
Yes. I know that I changed some lines from the opening of episode one. It was intentional. If you aren't aware of what I'm talking about, it should have been "Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful..." and "And in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity..." Notice the bolded words. I replaced those with "cunning" and "stubbornness" respectively. Why? The story is being told from Blake's point of view, and to some extent, that of the Faunus. Naturally, an opening that just dotes on Humans would be kind strange, wouldn't it? Initially, I thought about changing it altogether to be similar, but reflective of the Faunus rather than Humans, but I decided to keep it in the end to reflect how Faunus are generally ignored and downplayed.
Next, the footage from the RWBY Black Trailer (aka Blake's Trailer). Let me just say this: I WATCHED THAT VIDEO REPLAYING THE SAME FIVE SECOND SCENES OVER AND OVER SO MANY TIMES in an attempt to cover the trailer in a fairly precise manner. I'm bad (read as suck to hell and back) at writing detailed action scenes (which makes me question why I ever got into role play forums based on Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, and so forth) so it was incredibly difficult even with the scenes playing out right in front of me rather than a pretend fight I had to make up in my head. At first I was just going to do a very brief recap of it, but while reading a RWBY Fanfiction story (Soulbound by xT-Zealot) I got inspired to actually try to write it out instead of shoddily summarizing it with snipets of Blake's thoughts thrown in. I have many, many, many different revisions of it, but in the end I was satisfied with this. (And I hope it doesn't sound too much like xT-Zealot's. If it does, let me know. I'm pretty sure it doesn't, but I may have unconsciously remembered his wording/formatting and copied it. -_-""")
My story is primarily going to be focusing on Blake and going to be told from her point of view (hence the titling... T.T I know it's not very creative/original, but I couldn't think of anything else that I'd like). It will be third person limited (or at least I'm going to try to stick to this as much as possible). Whether or not I follow the series episode by episode (at least for Volume 1) remains to be seen. For now, I'm mostly planning on working things in that happen "behind the scenes", i.e. the things we don't see on screen since Volume 1 takes up 1 semester at Beacon. Now, I don't know how Beacon's curriculum is set up... but I like to think that their semester was a bit longer than a few days and that a lot of other things happened. And judging by how Volume 2 is coming along, some other things must have happened since, in my opinion, Weiss' character has changed a bit, haha, she doesn't seem as "cold" anymore. Things will probably be kept in line with Volume 1, but may not necessarily match up with Volume 2, though I will try to keep in mind what happens in Volume 2, but V2 won't influence this story much.
As far as length... I'm not quite sure how long I want this story to be yet, but I do hope to finish it. (Yay, it'll be my first story ever that I finish.) I'm going to try to update daily or at least every couple of days. I'm just really interested in Blake and want to know more about her, but since it's kind of hard to demand answers from busy creators and animators... I can make do with my own made up fantasies until we get concrete answers. :3 And who knows, maybe I'll come up with something that's actually close to what Monty (and RoosterTeeth) have planned to reveal!
... So, yes, RWBY and Blake (sadly) are not owned by me and instead credit (and ownership) of them must go to Monty Oum and RoosterTeeth.
PS: If you are interested in who I'm going to pair Blake up with (let's face it, every character in every story ends up having a love interest to some degree at one point or another), I support Bumblebee! But I'm also open to pairing her up with Adam or Sun. The pairing isn't set in stone yet anyway, so we'll see. For once, I'd like to explore someone trying to figure out who the hell they like enough to have a romantic relationship with instead of just going "Hmm. X + Y. YEAH! Let's go!" (I really, quite honestly, don't know who I want to pair Blake with yet. Hahahahahahaha. Maybe it'll be Adam, Yang, and Sun.)